Ghost of Tsushima (2020)

[Enrico_sw]

^ The Japanese voice actor that plays Jin is the one that dubbed Mugen in Samurai Champloo. His voice is really well fit for these types of roles.

[Cult Icon]

I finished viewing the game (100%, hard, japanese voices).  

 

I would rate it as 9 out of 10 game with 11 out of 10 potential!   It's something special, but with some gameplay/pacing/story/mission quality flaws so it loses 2 points.  It's the most interesting open world game since RDR2 and in the top 5 open worlds for me and has some terrific moments spread around.  

 

The game's depiction of the samurai, bushido, mongols, and japanese feudal culture will be controversial. 

 

 

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14 hours ago, Enrico_sw said:

^ The Japanese voice actor that plays Jin is the one that dubbed Mugen in Samurai Champloo. His voice is really well fit for these types of roles.

 

That Ronin in your gif looks exactly like those in the game.  They are called "straw hats".  

 

his english voice acting reminds me of some asians I know.  Soft spoken but firm in conviction.

[Cult Icon]

some of my favorite poems in the game.  I prefer the Japanese recitation:

 

Spoiler

The strength we need is all around us

The mighty fall at last

To be no more than dust before the wind

 

Light for my father

His grave close

His soul distant

 

Unbreakable walls

Endlessly flowing water

Life flows onto death

 

Soaring ambition

But the works of men are frail

Life flows onto death

 

 

[Cult Icon]

This is the ending, one of the most intriguing endings in gaming history

 

Spoiler

 

 

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2018 deput, vs. the same situation, in-game

 

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

[Cult Icon]

Ah, VERY cool, a new difficulty mode with a new patch.  This is just what this game needs.  I have more action to watch now

 

https://www.suckerpunch.com/ghost-of-tsushima-patch-1-05-details/

 

New difficulty level: Lethal

• – Enemy weapons are more deadly, but Jin’s katana is also more deadly
• – Enemies are more aggressive in combat
• – Enemies detect you faster
• – Tighter Parry and Dodge windows

[Cult Icon]

just watched a bit of the game on "Lethal"- it dramatically changes the gameplay, making it like Bushido Blade.  Player is killed in  ~ 2 hits, AI is faster and more aggressive.  However the enemies also go down in 1-3 hits from what I've seen.  The combat is finally interesting.

 

It looks like they are avoiding spongy enemies & spongy combat.

 

 

 

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player reactions to the new game mode:

 

 

 

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watched a few more clips and read some player commentary- apparently the new mode makes the game much more unforgiving but it actually can be "gamed" so to speak.  Some valid complaints that the increase in katana damage makes "lethal" mode too easy in certain respects, especially with bosses.

 

Now that players can no longer waltz into camp and kill everybody with low risk, they have opted for more stealth and hit & run tactics.  They are using the bow a lot more or are trying to separate enemies and defeat them in detail.    So a lot of running away is involved.  However it still seems like fighting 1-3 enemies is still fairly easy and an even faster affair.  Players are often using kicks to unbalance the AI and then 1-3 strikes later the minion is done.

 

This is a radically different design option- "lethal" mode could have easily been more aggressive, spongy enemies, more like mini-bosses etc.

 

 

[Cult Icon]

@Enrico_sw  have you heard about the Japanese praise of GOT from gaming executives?  The most intriguing part is when they say that the game couldn't be made in Japan and that the main character was "too ugly" for the standards of the Japanese market. 

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=japanese+praise+for+ghost+of+tushima&oq=japanese+praise+for+ghost+of+tushima&aqs=chrome..69i57.8351j1j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

 

 

So Jin would have been designed into a happa (half japanese half dutch) male model / popstar/ over-stylized anime type..

 

TBH I find it refreshing that the game has normal looking people, and it seems like the character models were based on mostly Chinese American voice actors.  I don't like how Japanese cultural products don't like to make their people look like real people.  It's as if they are ashamed of their looks or something.

[Enrico_sw]

18 hours ago, Cult Icon said:

@Enrico_sw  have you heard about the Japanese praise of GOT from gaming executives?

 

Yeah, apparently the historical depiction and the art is very faithful. I have to buy this game (but it's less practical for me to play on the PS4 - I wish everything was on PC).

 

18 hours ago, Cult Icon said:

So Jin would have been designed into a happa (half japanese half dutch) male model / popstar/ over-stylized anime type..

 

TBH I find it refreshing that the game has normal looking people, and it seems like the character models were based on mostly Chinese American voice actors.  I don't like how Japanese cultural products don't like to make their people look like real people.  It's as if they are ashamed of their looks or something.

 

Japanese always "westernize" their characters (in manga, anime, etc.). I never understood why. Maybe, they're ashamed, but they have no reason to be.

 

I don't mind pretty people (that's why I'm on BZ) and I like Jin's looks (they shouldn't say he's ugly, he has fierce look, and that's the spirit of his character). Globally, the art direction is extremely good.

 

It's funny because when the Japanese perceive a flaw (whether it's real or not), they try to transcend it. They always try to improve themselves, it's in their culture. You always see it in Japanese entertainment, the main characters always try to overcome their flaws. That's what appeals to the audience.That's also what makes their content superior to 2020 Western content.

 

In 2020 Western productions, people don't overcome any hardship/flaw. Their are either intrinsically good or bad (and it's based on stupid criteria, like gender, etc.)

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On 7/30/2020 at 5:12 PM, Enrico_sw said:

Japanese always "westernize" their characters (in manga, anime, etc.). I never understood why. Maybe, they're ashamed, but they have no reason to be.

 

I don't mind pretty people (that's why I'm on BZ) and I like Jin's looks (they shouldn't say he's ugly, he has fierce look, and that's the spirit of his character). Globally, the art direction is extremely good.

 

 

They also have a strong tendency to opt for happa looking characters.  Hollywood does the same thing.   

 

While I admire the Japanese creativity I find their art styles to be very off putting.  I tend to prefer the older styles than 99% of what I see today.  Their art styles is what keeps me from getting any interest in manga/anime.  I stick to western comics, which are mostly garbage too but have a few great ones here and there.

 

Jin's appearance and the Japanese voice acting is perfect for the character. I would be annoyed if they used Keanu Reeves..

 

 

Another thing I noticed about the game is how old fashioned it is.  The samurai tropes are from 1950s, 1960s era black & white films, this may be considered passe by modern Japanese.

 

[Enrico_sw]

15 hours ago, Cult Icon said:

While I admire the Japanese creativity I find their art styles to be very off putting.  I tend to prefer the older styles than 99% of what I see today.  Their art styles is what keeps me from getting any interest in manga/anime.

 

I guess it depends on the manga. They have very different style. If you take the most famous ones: "One piece" has a kind of psychedelic and childlikestyle, "Attack on Titans" is more brutal, but still has teenage vibes, Berserk's style is crude and brutal, etc.

 

I don't like all of their styles, but at least the stories are always very creative as you say.

 

15 hours ago, Cult Icon said:

I stick to western comics, which are mostly garbage too but have a few great ones here and there.

 

It depends on what you call western comics. American comics until ~ 2010s produced a lot of very interesting stuff (though at some point, they tried to overexploit some concepts), but, since 2010, it has gradually become bland and vapid (mostly because the writers don't care about the storylines anymore, it's all about politicization today ). In 2020, the US comics industry is in very bad shape (and for reasons that came before covid)

 

French and Belgian comics have always been good and they are still really good today. We don't have superhero themes, but there's a wide spectrum, I'm sure you can find some you'll like.

[Enrico_sw]

BTW, it's interesting that you mentioned the US comics, because manga have gradually taken market shares from them. Manga are focused on storylines/creativity, while 2020 US comics are just about politics and that's killing them.

 

The US comics industry have realized that, that's probably why there are various attacks in the US and Australia against manga (often times, for fallacious pretexts). In many instances, activists seize their politicians (Congress/Senate) to make the legislator take action against the mangas (for stupid pretexts). These attacks could also be "just" politically motivated, but there's probably industrial competition behind all this.

[Enrico_sw]

That game is really insanely beautiful.

[Enrico_sw]

On 7/26/2020 at 7:00 PM, Cult Icon said:

some of my favorite poems in the game.  I prefer the Japanese recitation:

 

  Reveal hidden contents

The strength we need is all around us

The mighty fall at last

To be no more than dust before the wind

 

Light for my father

His grave close

His soul distant

 

Unbreakable walls

Endlessly flowing water

Life flows onto death

 

Soaring ambition

But the works of men are frail

Life flows onto death

 

 

 

They say you have to compose haiku poems at some point in the game.

 

That game looks awesome. I wanted to buy it (even if I haven't finished my current game), but it was sold out (and I don't want to download it, it takes for ever these days...). I'll try in another shop.

[Enrico_sw]

I'm sure I'll enjoy this game.

 

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On 8/5/2020 at 6:58 PM, Enrico_sw said:

 

They say you have to compose haiku poems at some point in the game.

 

That game looks awesome. I wanted to buy it (even if I haven't finished my current game), but it was sold out (and I don't want to download it, it takes for ever these days...). I'll try in another shop.

 

The poems are in many locations of the game and most give some sort of upgrade.  Some of them are death notes.

 

did you manage to find the game?

 

In honor of GoT I put hagakure on my audiobook queue and got Miyamoto's discouses and five rings audiobooks..

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On 8/1/2020 at 5:33 PM, Enrico_sw said:

BTW, it's interesting that you mentioned the US comics, because manga have gradually taken market shares from them. Manga are focused on storylines/creativity, while 2020 US comics are just about politics and that's killing them.

 

Actually US comics don't really have much "woke" in them, except for the superhero genre and the mainstream stuff.  There are a lot of indie companies that produce really innovative stuff with the medium that sadly appears and disappears.    The creativity and artwork are better than the Japanese manga industry but they can't match the sheer scale.

 

The Manga industry is massive and dwarfs the US comics industry if I'm not mistaken.  However I rarely find a manga that is readable.  With anime/manga I prefer the old school stuff eg. pre 2000, miyazaki etc.  The recent artforms I find them to be very poor.

 

Both industries have quality issues- in general they are poor quality.  Maybe there are 0-5 good books in circulation at any time in the US while the manga I can spend a lot of time trying to find something readable and not come up with anything.

 

Check out this site for US comics.  It seems to have been not updated since May 1st though:  https://view-comic.com/

 

eg. Birthright is an example of a good quality US comic series that is also mainstream in its target.  Either a film or TV series is in development IIRC.

 

https://viewcomiconline.com/birthright-039-2019/