The Music of Zelda: Prelude

Tomorrow is the day Zelda fans have been waiting for. It's been six years since a console release and even though there's been two pretty good DS games to help me get by, this is what I've been anticipating ever since I finished Twilight Princess. Tomorrow on my break I will go and get my pre-ordered copy of Skyward Sword, and then finished what will most likely be the longest shift of my life. With Skyward Sword is a 25th anniversary orchestra CD, which I am equally excited for. I've been wondering what songs could be on the CD and here's some of my favorite's which I hope will make the cut. I'll extend this list soon, think of it as a teaser. A teaser to great music, and who knows with Skyward Sword out I might have some new favorites within a week.

Legend of Zelda Theme
Anyone who doesn't include this song on a list is only doing to seem cool and different. This one is an obvious pick so I thought I'd throw it out there first. It's a classic it's been there from the beginning, it makes me want to stab a Octorok and ride around on a horse. It's awesome.

 The Song of Healing
 I am not a Majora's Mask fan. I might go into the details why another time, but lets just say it scares the crap out of me. Even though I don't enjoy the game, it has one of my favorite songs in the series. The Song of Healing haunts you, which makes sense when you're looking at what game it comes from. It can be nice and calming if you try to forget that you played it before taking the image of a dying Zora. I also think it's funny that it's Saria's song backwards since that would be on the list of my least favorite LoZ songs.

Temple of Time 
I associate this song with the first time I realized just how big Ocarina was. I was pretty young when I played it and thought reaching the temple with the three Spiritual Stones was pretty much if for the game. Anyone who has played the game can get how wrong I was.It was just the beginning. Temple of Time is the song that sticks out in my mind when I exited the temple seven years older with a brand new mission. Which means I associate it with seeing the ReDeads for the first time. Even with that I still love the song.

Ballad of the Wind Fish
I don't know what makes this song stick out so much.Probably because it makes me feel depressed due to the whole island fading away deal. You gather the instruments and save the day, but is it really a win? That island had a Chain Chomp for god sakes!

Fairy Fountain
It's not so much the song itself, but what it represents. The next time most fans will hear this tune is when they put their new game into the Wii. The Fairy Fountain represents the beginning of everything. The start of a journey into a new world, a new addition to Zelda's history, new friends, new foe's, new weapons, a new sidekick and a complete loss of one's social life. Enjoy fellow fans. Enjoy.

Mass Effect/Mass Effect 2: The Comparison

Mass Effect and its sequel are both amazing, but as someone who played the games one right after another it’s safe to say that they have some distracting differences. I wanted to take a look at the both of them, compare some major changes and the versions I like better. These are the biggest changes that affected me, and hey, maybe Bioware will incorporate the ones I prefer into the third game! A girl can dream.  

Battle System

It took me forever to get used to the battle system in the first game so jumping into a different one was pretty devastating for a gun rookie. I preferred the overheating to the bullets but after a while I stopped noticing. My one main concern was with the way Shepard would die. The whole veiny red screen as you get hit more addition was the most infuriating. I know this is a staple of many shooter games because it’s “more realistic” or whatever, but it really caused me to die a lot more than I would have without it. Plus I’m not looking for 100% realism in a game with aliens and space travel. Let me see the screen! Also I was really bad at pressing A twice, which would cause me to jump over whatever I was hiding behind which would mean I’d get shot a lot and my screen would go red and I’d die. This has caused me to say many bad words. I have made baby Jesus cry more than once.

Romance

Mass Effect 2 wins this one for sure. Not only because you have the ability to romance more than 1 male and 1 Asari, but because you can go after Garrus. If there is one solid awesome factor in the ME universe it’s Garrus. Though I’m sure ME3 will have an awkward Kaidan vs Garrus moment I’m not looking forward to. 

Uh 3 way?

Mako

All I can say is na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey goodbye.

Achievements

The original Mass Effect went a little overboard on replay when it came to their achievements. They had some great achievements like the weapons based ones and the ones you get for killing enemies, but there were also ones that made you replay the games three times(four for me because I didn’t get the ally achievements on the first go). In no way do I want to play with Ashley Williams, she annoys the hell out of me, but to get the gamerpoints I have to play the game with her. The entire game.

The second Mass Effect lightened up on the difficulty of receiving the achievements. You could get most achievements on your first game if you ported you character from the first Mass Effect. My only problem with the achievements in the 2^nd game is Tactician and the Specialist ones. I would use the same methods trying to incinerate armor and warp barriers but it only seemed to work once in a while. Pretty frustrating. This is probably my fault but I’ll blame the game.

My favorite change is the ending. You have the ability to actually continue your game after completing the story. My poor past self didn’t realize that the whole Citadel would get destroyed, thus making it pretty impossible to scan the Keepers. At the end of Mass Effect 2 no planets with assignments on them get destroyed thankfully, so I’m able to keep working on the achievements I need without starting a new game with the same character.

Death and Spider-Man

Spoilers for Walking Dead, Y and Watchmen, but if you haven't read them I pity you. 

There are only two mediums where death is looked at as an inconvenience. Soap Operas and Comic Books, and since I know absolutely nothing about Soaps I’m going delve into my least favorite aspect of comic deaths. For most it’s the longevity of death. The fact that the character you’re watching bleed out will be ready for action in a year or two. For me, it’s the fact that we need 5 months of previews, 4 tie in comics, 3 press releases, 2 national headlines, and a partridge in a pear tree to announce the death of a character, before they even die.  

Death, especially in the Marvel and DC comic universe has lost any and all impact it originally held. When a story arc is called “The Death of Spider-Man” the surprise is kinda ruined. Telling us that a character is going to die ahead of the time not only ruins the story the author is creating, but it also takes away any emotion we should feel from the loss.

When I found out Spidey was next to hit the bucket I distanced myself from him emotionally. Which isn’t fair to the character or Bendis who has shaped him to be the great guy he is. I’m not saying that writers should rely on the shock of a death to form a good story, but I’m not denying that good shocking death used in the right context can propel a story to the next level.  

This is why comics that fall out of the direct line of Marvel and DC have me gripped. In Walking Dead there is no way that Kirkman was going to tell you Tyrese was dying months before it happens. When I picked up the issue, I didn’t know, and I had to watch the slow agonizing process knowing he wasn’t coming back from a good solid decapitation. Comics like Walking Dead, Watchmen, Y:The Last Man, and many more have impacted me greatly with character death, when they weren’t even my favourite characters, but when ultimate Spidey, one of my all time favourites died, it didn’t feel the same at all.

Sure part of it was because they weren’t coming back, but it was mostly due to the fact that their death wasn’t shoved in my face beforehand. It happened out of the blue. It felt real. 

For Marvel and DC death is a gimmick, and I’m usually okay with gimmicks. Whatever keeps my favorite industry in business I’m up for, but when it ruins the experience for the fans that have been supporting the industry for years? I’m less sympathetic. 

Nothing stays on the brain like a shocking unexpected death. This is true in real life and it’s also true in fiction. No big lead up. No huge event crossover. No blatantly telling me. If you’re going to kill something I love. Do it right. 

yeah, like that

A Quick Bat-Note

I was re-reading Scott Snyder's amazing run on Detective Comics when I came across this panel.

 

 Batman sounds like a cross between a hipster and a small child trying to one up another small child.

On a side note the hardcover for this run will be out at the end of November. It's called the black mirror I highly recommend picking it up. This is how I feel about the author Scott Snyder:

He was awesome enough to respond.

If I ever have children I don't think I will be as proud of them as I am that tweet.