Drabble Geeks

Geeks…Being Total Geeks.

Tag: adventure

Along That Yellow Brick Road Pt 11

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Back in the land of Oz with the Lost Princes of Oz, we start with a different situation than one we have had for a while. This difference, I don’t think we have seen since the real introduction of Ozma. This one was actually interesting, and I wanted to know how it would work. In essence, what if all of the OP items that these fairytale adventurers were missing? The Wizard lost all his magic items, all of Glinda’s potions and spellbooks are missing, and Ozma and her mirror are missing. In essence, we are in a completely normal journal in a completely abnormal.

I was actually interested in this book in the series for that exact reason. As soon as I know the book includes Dorothy, I usually become uninterested because she has all of these powerful people at her beck and call. Because that has all been taken away from her, I was actually interested in how this would work out for her. It was interesting because I couldn’t come up with an easy solution to the problem. This one is a good return to what was interesting about the first book, with everything up in the air.

Along That Yellow Brick Road Pt 10

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I don’t think I’ve ever been so ready to follow someone else in a series before. Usually, I love listening to the continual development of the characters that we have grown to love at this point. I’m so tired of Dorothy at this point that I was nearly crying with happiness when told that we would be following someone else in Rinkitink of Oz.

This time, we follow a Prince as he tries to save his parents and the people from the evil conquerors who showed up one day to capture everyone. While there is a hint of magical help, we still get to follow a boy who struggles and is constantly making mistakes, like a kid should. He was relatable and always trying to think things through. It was adorable and very somewhat engaging. I just wish there was another ending. All the characters from the most recent adventure meeting everyone from previous adventures has gotten tiring. It is about a two-to-three-chapter spectacle every time, and I’ve just stopped caring. It was cute the first couple of times, but ten books in, it’s gotten old. If only Baum’s Army of Children told him that.

Old New Machines

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I have a love-hate relationship with the classics. Some, I believe, are amazing and deserve their legendary setting in the halls of the library. Others, I’m not too sure about. This is one I’m not too sure about: Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. The entire time, we are listening to a guy talk about another guy. That’s it; that’s the plot. No subterfuge or secret meanings, no analogy for something else. I was expecting a twist so badly that I thought the characters we were being spoken to about were fake the entire time, something ala Jekyll and Hyde. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. It was a book about a steamboat captain taking about the atrocities of colonialism through the lens of something absolutely amazing. There was nothing else to the dehumanization of nearly everyone else, or those who wanted more money. It was just what it was, unless that was the entire point: a book about the very real perspective of colonialism from an old man who thought that was all his life would grant him as we plundered the world for more of its resources. That’s also something to think about when considering this a classic: whether the accurate depiction of a time far away is what makes it amazing.

Along That Yellow Brick Road Pt 9

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I have journeyed back to the land of Oz and was met with utter confusion. Apparently, Baum was ordered to do something from the Army of Children, his words. This time, we were introduced to Bill and Trot because the children demanded it. Apparently, while The Scarecrow of Oz is the ninth book in the “Oz” series, it is also the third and final book in the “Trot & Cap’n Bill” series. The Army demanded to know what would happen if Trot and Bill somehow landed in Oz, and I was apparently supposed to know that another series was in production alongside. What annoyed me the most was that I was already expected to know who they were, but I suppose it wasn’t that hard. It was just another part of Oz with a girl who acts exactly like Dorothy and an elderly man who tries to keep her out of trouble. Unfortunately, it was a story that we heard before, except that the girl’s name was Trot and the man didn’t have a mysterious title. There was a talking animal, so maybe that makes up for the tired old story. Either way, it was a quick read, so it didn’t waste that much of my time, and it was okay. That’s about all I can say. It was okay.

Going Ghost Hunting

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This is a bit early for Spoopy Month, but I was just so excited to play this game. Not only has this series been on my want-to-play list for a while, but I also got access to one of the games on the better Nintendo brother. The game is Luigi’s Mansion 3. Now, I will go back to the previous games if I ever get access to them, but for now, let’s discuss the third game.

First, let’s start by discussing how relatable Luigi is. If I found out there was a ghost haunting about, I would nope right out of there. Then, after discovering that I was trapped, I would put on my brave cap and get to work. Maybe that’s from years of watching Supernatural, but it’s my basic stance: leave and get someone clearly more qualified. Unfortunately, you are the most qualified person in the game, although the quick and simple tutorial with a cute ghost puppy wasn’t bad to refresh our anxiety-ridden memories. I will also mention that I am really sensitive to jump scares, so every little bump in the night I was not expecting got my heart racing. This isn’t supposed to be a horror game, I don’t think, but it was a horror game to me, except this time I couldn’t hide my face since I was the one at the controls. Don’t get me wrong, I do love a good or had horror film or gameplay, but I will be watching from behind a pillow or between my fingers. Every level being different and having different themes kept everything from getting too samey, so I never felt too comfortable roaming around this “mansion.” I was always inching my way around everywhere.

The one thing that did get annoying was the unskippable boss cutscenes. I know I’m bad at video games, but I don’t need to see every boss’s “monologue” and amp-up four different times, as that was usually the minimum for me to truly get some of the later ones’ three-phase patterns right. There were also some boss “tells” that were hard to see on my tiny switch screen, so it did take a while for me to notice some things. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed my time playing, but I am aiming for an A rating now. I got a B on my first try, and that clearly is not good enough.

This may take a while.

An Entirely New World Pt 7

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I have officially done it; I have finished a series that I guess I could technically say that I’ve been reading since I was a child. That’s right, I have officially finished the Chronicles of Narnia. I honestly believe that this last book, The Last Battle, is one of the best books of this series and does not hold back with the religious allegory. If you weren’t sure before, well, you’re sure now.

Overall, I think the series is… okay. Some books are definitely more memorable than others, while some I sometimes feel were not worth my time. And because I don’t want you to waste your time, I’ll tell you the ones I think are worth it. You may disagree, but you’re allowed to. My top books of the series are the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, followed by the Magician’s Nephew and the Last Battle. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is a great introduction to the world and the magic that surrounds it. The Magician’s Nephew is a wonderful prologue that delves deeper into the creation of the. Finally, The Last Battle is a fantastic ending. Yes, if you are only reading those books, you are going to miss some information on some characters, but I think it’s worth it if you just want the main sense of what Narnia is. There are some interesting series of events that occur across the other books, but I think those three are “the books” to read in this series.

While I may not have enjoyed some of the plots, I loved the world development and the thoughtfulness Lewis put into everything. I had to go back through some of my religious knowledge to catch on to everything. Also, because I read the series in publication order, there were some call-backs that would make me gasp as I remembered the stuff from the previous books and put some of the pieces together. Maybe some fans will disagree with the order I have read everything in, but I definitely enjoyed my travels into this new world.

The New Charon

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It’s been a while since I’ve posted about a game on here, and I think it is time. I have just gotten through what I would consider my absolute favorite game for the sixth time. Spiritfarer has a lot of what I absolutely love in a game: beautiful animation, amazing story, personable characters, and a fishing minigame. (I’m not joking, I love a fishing minigame. In Spiritfarer, you follow Stella and her cat, Daffodil, who are the new spiritfarer after Charon passes through the Everdoor, where souls go to their final resting place. Yes, this game is quite literally and figuratively about death, but it is still one of the most moving and heart-warming games I have ever played.

This game, on top of the amazing story, there is a bit of a resource management game as you race across the map trying to keep your passengers as happy as possible. Do I forget to feed them? Yes, but they’re fine; trust me. Also, along with the subject of death, you eventually don’t get a choice but to let some of your passengers go. It’s a requirement to continue the story. Even though I’ve played this game several times, for some characters, this choice does not come easy. I’ve tried to keep them, but the game forces this choice upon you sometimes, and letting them go is the best choice.

Anyway, please check out this amazing game. Grab some tissues for your journey across the sea. I truly believe that you are going to love it.

Fighting for Death

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I don’t often read shounen manga, but this has been on my list for a while. I was told that it was amazing, and I couldn’t wait. The manga of interest today is Bleach by Tite Kubo. Very simply, you follow a boy named Ichigo, who is able to talk with ghosts. One day, he stumbles across a Soul Reaper, hijinks ensue, and he becomes a Soul Reaper himself. I think that’s all I can really say about this three-arc story without giving too many spoilers.

While the fights were interesting and the transformations were gorgeous, the story was a rollercoaster in terms of plot. The first and last arcs were amazing and kept my attention. The second arc, while each individual volume was good, I couldn’t have cared less about that story. I can’t really get into why I don’t care without spoilers for everything else, but honestly, you can just get away with reading the outer arcs. It also didn’t feel necessary. I had a friend tell me that Kubo may have been forced to write the second arc, and I completely believe it. The story could have ended after the first arc, and I would have been happy. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the last arc, and it was beautiful and gripping, but I could have lived without the drag that was the second arc. Overall, it’s a fantastic story, and I’m eager to see what the anime is like. Perhaps the show performed better with the second arc, given that they had more time to develop the story.

An Entirely New World Pt 6

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I’m almost done with the Chronicles of Narnia: a series I technically started when I was a child. I don’t even remember when the first movie came out, but that was how long it has been. This time, because I’m reading in publication order, I read The Magician’s Nephew, and what a wild ride it was.

If you didn’t understand that Aslan is an allegory for Jesus yet, there is so much Christian imagery in this iteration. It was a bit funny how I could guess the next plot point because I grew up in the church. I was in fact internally giggling. No matter how predictable the plot was, I was surprised by how good it was. If you read the last couple of my reviews, you know that I felt like I was dragging my way through the content. Insert random characters I didn’t care about. Insert literally nothing happening as we just listen to people talk. Insert absolutely no imagery, of which I could barely imagine what was going on, even with the included illustrations.

No, this story engaged me, and I practically read it from beginning to end in one sitting. There was just so much happening and so many questions I had as I reading. There was an entire chapter of which a landscape was being described, and I loved every second of it. The imagery was vivid and drew me further into the world of Narnia, something the few previous books had not done. This was a journey to Narnia that was unforgettable and should be read again and again.

Along That Yellow Brick Road Pt 8

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I’m back again to the fairytale land of Oz, and once again am wondering why. Why did I want to read all of the books of this series? Why did I make this a goal in my life? I don’t know, but I’m still going. This time I read Tik-Tok of Oz to read a story that I swear that I read before. A random girl and animal fall into the land of Oz, meets a bunch of random people and creatures, and then tries to defeat a great evil. Yeah, there is nothing new about this book. Except the random animal is a mule and the great evil is the exact same great evil from Book 3. The only thing useful in this book is the slightly more fleshed out nature of Oz, but half the time I feel that it is once again they author trying to make money off of his child audience who would have been obsessed with this series. Luckily for me, all these books are in the public domain, so I’ve paid nothing for them, or I would have gotten them from the library. I forget what book I said that you could have stopped at before, but there is no reason the read this book unless you are a completionist like me. Nothing interesting here.