Brian Erickson

Warning: Splut Enclosed.

[acquired-stardust]

Secret of Mana Super Nintendo Entertainment System 1993

[brianerickson]

Since apparently the only use I have for this blog anymore is reviewing/commenting on media I've been consooming, I suppose I shall offer up another example of such:

Recently finished "Secret of Mana" for the first time

I got to tell all of you, as someone that's been a lifelong, dedicated fan of JRPGs, I'm genuinely surprised it's taken me this long to get through this one

It's a wonderful little game; almost up there with all of the other titles Square has on the system

I say "almost" because you can definitely tell when they had to cut some corners in order to get the game finished, especially if you're familiar with the backstory of how the game came to be in the first place, but you know what? It's still a great experience all the same

[brianerickson]

ok, like, is this ultimately a desperate plea for attention from Deck Nine after the horrid reputation that "Double Exposure" got? Undoubtedly.

Is this also a glaring admission that they've run out of ideas and that we should probably consider the series all but dead at this point? Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised

Am I still going to play it because Chloe was one of the reasons I ended up loving that first game? Yeah; that's pretty much a given

[brianerickson]

dispatch was fun, huh

i kind of lost the plot during the last few years of the original telltale's existence (yes, i'm one of those "strong bad/sam and max, then all downhill from there types, i'm sorry in advance...walking dead and wolf among us never did much for me), but man, it's impressive what a team is capable of when they really want to demonstrate that there's still life in a style of game

this one was a lot of fun; fun characters, better actual gameplay than i've seen games in this particular genre have in a minute (i found myself genuinely enjoying the whole RTS dispatching sections by the end of the game), and, you know what? i genuinely found myself invested in finishing invisigal's redemption arc by the end of it; to say nothing about how genuinely great the visuals were-seriously, that was better than some anime I've seen, which is as high of a bar as it sound

if this is the game that brings the whole choice heavy flavor of adventure game back to public consciousness, then, you know what? i'm totally OK with that

[brianerickson]

hell. yes.

[brianerickson]

trying persona 3 for the first time

i think things're going pretty good thus far

[brianerickson]

also got to see a production of "spring awakening" for the first time

i'm old enough to remember when this show was a big deal the first time around, and man, the rush of nostalgia i felt for something i technically hadn't seen before was unreal

like, i don't need to tell the fans how much of a gem this thing is; this is the sort of show that deserves to live for as long as teenage angst still exists

[brianerickson]

finally got to see a production of "Falsettos"...that thing probably shot up into my top 5 favorite shows; William Finn is a madman when it comes to melody

seriously, I can't remember the last time I saw a show where every song was as catchy and memorable as they were in this one; incredible stuff

[brianerickson]

recently finished final fantasy 9 for the first time since it came out

i don't know how controversial of an opinion this is at this point, since apparently this game has had quite the reappraisal since then (as well it should), but, holy shit, that may very well be my favorite game in the series now, if not at least tied with 7 (and oftentimes 6, depending on my mood) as well as probably one of my favorite games period

insanely lovable cast, beautiful scenery, incredible music, the "you are not alone" segment is up there with the opera scene in 6 and aerith's death scene in 7 as the most emotionally impactful moments the series has ever produced (no, before you ask, I haven't played 10 recently, that's probably happening next)...just, impeccable stuff; what a wonderfull video game

[brianerickson]

I think the only thing better than seeing a production of "Next to Normal" is being seated behind a group of people who had never seen it before and getting to see their reactions in real time

[brianerickson]

sometimes i buy stuff off of mercari

[nintendocompositions]

Visit Original Link

[brianerickson]

finally played "mouthwashing" for the first time this past weekend

now, keep in mind i'm old as hell by tumblr standards so that if there's any sort of memes surrounding it or it's attached to any sort of fond memories people have of a certain streamer (one of the ways the game apparently spread via word of mouth), i'm about as out of touch as one can be, but, you know what? that was a heck of an experience, if i do say so myself

i've been a fan of adventure games since as long as i've known what video games were, and this is probably the best time i've had with one since that surprise monkey island game that came out a few years ago

just, everything about it worked for me, really; memorable characters, striking imagery, very thought provoking themes, great atmosphere...like, that's what good horror is supposed to be, as far as i'm concerned (which likely isn't very far, seeing as how i'm just some gormless, faceless asshole on a tumblog, but hey, we all have to start somewhere)...some of the scenes for this are going to stick with me for a while, like swansea in the graveyard

just excellent stuff

[itsbenedict]

incidentally i am open to suggestions for Stuff I Should Voice As Strong Bad

[lolzychan-is-over-deactivated20]

this image please

[myp1anos-forsale]

screaming crying imagining this in my head

[itsbenedict]

good news! now you can imagine this in your ears! unfortunately!

Visit Original Link

[brianerickson]

are we sure this isn't secretly matt chapman? this impression is flawless

[brianerickson]

OFF getting a legit release rules; it's easily one of the best games of the last 20 years, and it deserves as much recognition as it can get; heck, if for no other reason than so people can see just how many other games it's influenced

[tmbgareok]

[brianerickson]

just bought tickets to see the ff7 rebirth orchestra concert in richmond, virginia in a couple weeks

i've been all convention-ed out for a while now, and finding other, more somewhat unique things to spend both my PTO and my disposable income on has been a bit of an imperative concern for me, to say nothing of my desire to keep seeing new places...this seems like a perfect fit, to say the least

i also snuck a few previews on YouTube and caught myself tearing up a little when they started playing "Anxiety", so, you know, it seems like I'm in for a good time