Digimon Adventure tri. 5: Kyousei

While I know it is tradition for me to write up a full post on these films due to previous installments, this movie did not grab me like prior films. In fact, I got easily distracted by other things. What movie you ask, O reader who did not read the title of the post?

Digimon Adventure tri. 5: Kyousei

Rather than do my usual points on what makes or breaks the film, I will mention what little I liked and disliked from the film due to how little it grabbed me. I am not opposing you if you did like the film, reader, I am stating why I did not find the movie engaging (unlike the excellent No Game, No Life Zero which you should be watching if you are in a country where it is released officially, reader).

Liked:

Unpredictability - The film's story was somewhat unpredictable with how it would go. While the previous film brought up a name familiar to fans of the Digimon series (that includes the various other materials it had), there were new elements (like a certain ocean) brought into the film that made it difficult to predict how the story would go. On the other hand, these new elements do add on questions that may end up being unanswered since at time of writing, I have been made aware that the next film will be the last of these films.

Digimon - Again, the Digimon were among the parts of these films I continue to like. Mostly because of how adorable they are and how amusing my nostalgic mind becomes when witnessing their antics. With the amnesia issue mostly a non-problem at this point (aside from lacking familiarity on certain things that they used to know), the Digimon are virtually similar to their pre-amnesia selves.

Characterization - One thing I did notice on my watch is that the characters appear to be adhering to the lessons they have learnt from previous films. Things like Tai's rational hesitance (rather than outright emo hesitance) and Joe's loyalty to friends did pop up from time to time. While part of me thinks that I probably noticed these traits because I was looking for something like that, it is nice if it was intentional as it does indicate adherence to advancing the character's growth.

Disliked:

Pacing - This has been a problem for these films due to being limited to average film lengths which means that at times, the story seems rushed. This film did seem rushed at times (even more so than previous films if the reader can believe that) in my viewing with events progressing fast that I found myself wondering how did the characters end up in one situation and then another. The time spent by the characters in the Digital and real world seemed rather rushed and unevenly paced.

Lack of Hikari - As posters seemingly indicated, the movie is supposed to be centered around Hikari and Mei which based on the end of this film does make sense (not going into that part because of wanting to avoid spoilers). The problem is that Hikari does not get any focus or character arc for the film. In fact, more attention is placed on Mei's angst over Meicoomon and the fact that Meicoomon may need to be put down. As a result, the end of the film lacked impact for me as Hikari barely got any focus to establish her character prior to her reaction towards the events of the ending.

Lack of a character dilemma - Part of these film's premise is how the characters would face a dilemma that they have to confront in order to mature and grow. The second and third film had those developments which made them watchable for me while the first set up the dilemma. The fourth, while placing less emphasis on this, did have a character dilemma for the characters centered upon (or rather one of them) which made it watchable for me too. This film did not have one, or rather had too much focus on Mei's plight that has continued from previous films. While her plight and angst is something one may face if placed in the same situation, it does mean that there are no character arcs or dilemmas to confront which made the film less enjoyable for me.

Lack of 02 -  Okay, now I am quite miffed about this. It is one thing for fans to disregard characters as non-canon out of preference (nothing wrong with that as long as those views are not brought out in official capacity or used to undermine the materials through misrepresentation) but it is another for the actual production to flat out ignore the characters of an official season entirely for 5 movies at this point. Where the heck are the 02 character at this point? Again, no clues are given and aside from an antagonist's usage of the Digimon Emperor's visage, there are no indications of the 02 team existing. In fact, the characters do not seem to acknowledge the 02 group nor do they wonder, at any point, where the group is.

Conclusion:

At this point, I am wondering if I should even watch the final film lest I encounter disappointment at left-hanging plot threads or excessively rushed pacing for the ending. I may watch it out of principle but I am not sure if I would enjoy the upcoming film. Here is hoping that I am proven wrong.

A Look at Vampire the Masquerade – Bloodlines Part 19

After a trek in the world of Eora, it is time to return to the World of Darkness to check up on Mark Flavian, friendly neighborhood madman in my look at Vampire the Masquerade - Bloodlines.

Last time, Mark was left staring at this restaurant across the road from Kamikazi Zen.

Now to report back to Mr Ox regarding the bad luck charm from a while back.

That is not a comforting thought for Mark...

If one recalls the previous installments, one would know that Mark did not kill the owner of the locker where the bad luck charm was placed in. Therefore, it is not implausible to believe that Mr Ox wanted that man dead rather than charmed.

Take note of the second dialogue option, reader. Mark does seem to grasp who Mr Ox is and genuinely fears the implications of his identity. As for what it is though, it is not revealed.

With that, this employee of the month will bugger off!

Now to head back to Downtown.

To drop off the name plate for Gary.

Ah... a poster of Tawni. I wonder if there is additional value on account of her being dead.

Now to check for new e-mails from Gary.

Sure enough, there is one. I wonder where Mark would find a squashed Odious Chalice...

While he's back in the Haven, he may as well feed on Heather for a bit.

With all that done, it is time to go back to Chinatown.

I knew I have seen Zhao somewhere before.

With pimp coat on and weapons chosen, Mark heads in.

Pretty quiet and empty... For now.

There is Zhao.

Glad Wong Ho gave Zhao a head start on the info search.

Okay, substantial information that Mark can work with. Good.

Okay, clear directions. Great.

Now for a problem. Not so great. Also, Mark just detected a problem.

Now for a rather tough part. If you want to save Zhao's life.

Full disclosure: This part took multiple retries. The problem is that I was trying to keep Zhao alive which meant that I had Mark jump into every enemy's field of view to paint a bulls-eye on him. The problem is that I did not build Mark Flavian to hold out in a firefight without stealth. Plus the last Dementation power was rather useless here.

Eventually, I succeeded. Mostly thanks to Vision of Death. Personally I prefer the Tremere's Blood Theft (as per the Unofficial Patch) but Vision is pretty good.

At least, Zhao survived the encounter.

As far as I know, the player may only save Zhao with the Unofficial Patch. It is rather difficult for some classes.

On the other hand, it is in character for Mark to try to save someone in need.

The fight did drain Mark's resources so it is shopping time!

Some loot to sell.

New blood packs to buy.

Once all that is settled, it is time to proceed along.

The code is 0451... Oh wait, this is not a Looking Glass Studios game. Nevermind...

Good to see that Mark is finally dressed for a night in a club.

Even the guys want in on Mark's swag. An added bonus is that the hat does flop around.

While exploring the club, Mark comes across this important looking fellow.

Looks like he can get Mark access to Johnny.

Got it. Mark will be sure not to play tag with him.

Except Mark got permission so your word is naught.

One odd thing that happens here is that Mark always backs away whenever this thug says "Huh". Not a game-breaking bug but it is something to note.

Since Mark got permission, there is no hostility from the guards up here.

Allowing Mark to waltz in through the front door.

That is a nice office...

Here's Johnny!

With a mouth like that, I'm sure your mother wishes she used the heavy duty soap on your mouth.

Oh, Johnny... I doubt your mind could survive Mark telling you exactly who he is.

Hmm... a teleconference call? Was Mark interrupting something here?

So the man on the television is the brains of this operation.

Uh... I doubt Mark would like that...

In a nice touch, Johnny actually shoots the player character and the damage is registered as noted by the health bar going down slightly.

Well, this is going to be a problem for the Masquerade... Unless Mark can salvage an excuse.

Or not... Looks like Johnny has to go bye bye.

Looks like the man on the television also knows what Mark is. That will be a problem.

Time to handle Johnny with the most efficient way Mark knows.

Perhaps Mark is one of those people who has learnt how to control their body completely? Like Dio Bra- Wait a minute.

So we be dealing with one of Tony Stark's main enemies? At least you do not seem to be an actor named Trevor.

As a result of Johnny firing a shot, the Tong in the club have turned hostile. Probably presuming that Mark killed Johnny.

Unfortunately for them, Mark is a vampire with Obfuscate and Dementation. Some visions of death should do nicely.

Along with a blood drain to replenish his supply.

Now for long ranged silent kills. Vampirism is quite useful for this.

Some visions of death here.

It all ends with a Voice of Bedlam-assisted blood drain.

As the Mandarin stated, Mark now needs to go to the Fu Syndicate. Helpfully labelled here.

Now to pass through the front doo.r

To an empty reception area. I will docking points for that.

An open door proves to be the only way forward.

Inside is the Mandarin, telling Mark to head through a door which I am sure is not a trap...

Now he can start to hypothesize why Mark is not falling for an obvious trap.

A little of both but Mark is under the control of a player who has gone through this part before.

Now you are just being petty, Mandarin.

Now you are just being direct.

Why should Mark go through?

Okay, now he is giving some reasons but Mark is not buying it.

No matter what Mark says, ultimately the Mandarin's orders need to be complied with in order to proceed.

So let us head into this seemingly empty and innocuous chamber.

That houses an elevator.

To a test chamber.

Ironic that Mark's physical age matches his true age due to being a fledgling and all.

More of the Mandarin's observations on the top left of the screen.

A lot of carbon monoxide in the room.

Tasked you say? Interesting...

How shiny. Maybe you could add some scented candles why you are busy lighting up the room.

In that sense, vampires here have an advantage over the Pillar Men. Only the actual Sun may harm them.

Lasers. Never a good sign.

More Mandarin observations.

Here is Mark bypassing the lasers.

And here is Mark coming across the spinning blades of death.

The actual goal here (that is admittedly not so obvious to first time players so that is one point against the game in this part) is to shoot out the generators powering the blades.

Here is Mark taking out the last blade.

The item highlighted to the right of the spinning blades is a Glock. It is probably there to ensure players without firearms can shoot out the generators powering the blades. While that makes sense from a gameplay perspective, I am not sure how to justify the loaded gun's presence from a story perspective. Perhaps some foolish employee dropped their gun here?

Now to move on. What other horrific torture implements will Mark face ahead?

Ah!!! A cross!!! Whatever will Mark do!?

A fire axe should be sufficient.

Now men with shotguns are sent in. Luckily, none of them have any peripheral vision.

So Mark easily disposes of them. With that kind of challenge, I am sure the next room would be a cake-walk.

And... it is not...

What is not obvious here (which I will again hold against the game in this section) is that the player is expected to shoot the electrical coils until they are rendered non-functional.

With the last coils shot out, it is time to move on.

The Mandarin looks to be running out of test rooms.

Okay this looks like a problem.

Until Mark realizes that the flamethrower's tanks are vulnerable and he shots at one, blasting open the windows.

Now to take care of the Mandarin's men in the other room.

Before proceeding, Mark goes down the hall to investigate the last room he would have ended up in.

Inside is the item Gary asked for in his e-mail, a squished Odious Chalice. I get the feeling Gary knows where these items are and just wants to make Mark go through the ringer for these items.

Now to check out these rooms.

I have no clue what these rooms and these sarcophagus lids are for. Perhaps the Mandarin likes their aesthetic value. Though in that case, I would advise him to buy a potted plant.

Here is the actual way out.

Into a storage area.

Whoever the Mandarin pissed off with his failure here must be terrifying to face if he would rather be killed by a vampire.

The Voice of Bedlam will make him reconsider that position though.

Now to kill him with the most basic of vampire techniques. Wry!!!

With the Mandarin dead, Tony Stark will have less enemies to deal with. Also he dropped some keys.

Those keys are needed to open the cell housing this vampire.

This must be Barabus. He looks like a Nosferatu though admittedly not as ugly.

He is right. The Masquerade needs to be upheld.

I guess the next step to revenge after leg ripping would be to blow up the building?

With that, Barabus accompanies the player under AI control. Admittedly, the AI is not terrible so this is not a problem though it leads to one annoyance.

Here is Mark draining this guard and Barabus being stuck to the furniture. This is a good thing though.

One of the guards will drop the key to a door.

This door to be precise.

The computer here seems to be in charge of door controls.

Seems like an appropriate password.

Now the doors are open.

And Barabus is dealing with the newly spawned guards. Potence is quite useful.

Before going through the newly opened doors, it is time to investigate this other set of doors.

The lock is quite hard to pick. Luckily Mark had Bloodbuff.

Inside is this book that Mark cannot read.

And a computer with this password.

The gist of the e-mails are that the Mandarin and his Syndicate (along with the Tong) have been under the employ of someone with the code-name, Priestess, to cause problems in the area (along with orders to kidnap Kiki as well). Say, don't we know somebody in Chinatown who just happens to be a priestess?

Anyways, it is time to move on.

Door codes. Seems important. Especially if it is a complicated code.

You have got to be kidding me...

Back to the homepage.

Now to investigate the species-X data with this password.

With that, the files are purged. Hopefully Mark made sure to permanently delete the data rather than send it all to the Recycle Bin.

Okay, that settles Gary's quest.

Now to feed on some guards to replenish blood.

As I mentioned before, the annoyance about Barabus here is that he attacks any enemy he sees even if you are feeding on them. Leading to situations where Mark is feeding on the air due to the human being punched out.

With the Fu Syndicate dismantled, it is time to leave.

Upon reaching the outside areas, the payphone rings.

Mark goes to answer it.

With a rather coherent response.

Tim Curry, I didn't know you were in this game! Kudos to whoever gets what I am referring to here.

The Giovanni? Another faction?

Okay, good. Freebies are generally good.

I wonder if Hannibal ever tried that combination for his meals.

Now are we talking full corpse sitting there or just a head-in-a-jar kind of sitting?

Good thing Mark can blend in with the depraved.

I did too but that is because I have played this game before.

Well you are sending me e-mails about posters so we will be in touch.

One more thing to do though.

One of the e-mails mentioned Wong Ho. In the manner that indicates an upcoming elimination.

Since Mark is a friendly madman and Wong Ho has done him a solid, it is not without reason that Mark is coming to warn him.

First Mark informs Wong Ho about Zhao.

Interesting mention of Zhao's past...

Now to get some info on Zhao.

So he was the head of the Tong. The Tong must have downgraded severely if it ended up with someone like Johnny as their head.

So the man chose to reform himself.

But kept in touch with his former contacts. Hopefully those contacts will help him go underground after all the effort Mark put in to save the guy.

Now for more questions.

So the Mandarin has ties with Ming Xiao.

Interesting...

Time to reveal some truths to Wong Ho.

Let us hope he does not ask about the experiments.

Ah... well, Mark ought to deflect him from his line of inquiry here.

Now to drop the bombshell.

And now for the second bombshell.

Now for Mark to use his Persuasion or else there would not be much of Wong Ho left after Ming Xiao has her way with him.

Good. That ought to keep him safe from Ming Xiao and the Kuei-Jin at least.

With that, Wong Ho prepares to leave Chinatown. Presumably doing this guarantees his survival.

You're lucky that Mark gives a damn for your father and that Mark is a friendly madman.

Now to check up on Ming Xiao.

As if we need any guidance from you.

Here is her response regarding Wong Ho.

Now to reveal that Mark knows about her ties to the Fu Syndicate.

I detect hints of sarcasm laced in there.

That's fair.

Now to declare that Mark will regard her as an enemy from now on.

With that, Ming Xiao will refuse to speak with you.

With all that done, the way to the Giovanni stronghold is open. Join Mark next time as he continues this trek through the World of Darkness in this look at Vampire the Masquerade - Bloodlines.