If they put the Wii map in the game, why is it only in Hero Mode? (Twilight Princess HD - What's New)

So Nintendo released a trailer for Zelda: Twilight Princess HD and I'm so hype!

I think I've talked about it before, but, Twilight Princess is one of my all time favorite games. I was absolutely obsessed with it six or seven (or, eight, maybe?) years ago and spent a whole summer literally playing it non-stop. I'd beat it, let it sit on the ending screen for an hour, then just restart and play from the beginning all over again.

So, obviously, Twilight Princess has a super special place in my heart and I'm super excited for this HD remake because I can't wait to step back into this world again. (Also it looks so good in HD? I'm gonna cry?)

Here's the trailer they released a few days ago: "LoZ: Twilight Princess HD - What's New"! 

The opening notes of the trailer music alone just get me so excited -- this is one of the orchestral pieces they released as promos for Twilight Princess. It's not my favorite orchestral piece for the game (that one's the song that plays in the intro trailer), but it's still really good to hear it!

Hearing the music, seeing this game, it just fills me with so many memories and emotions, I'm so excited for it, and I really really really can't wait to play.

- - - 

1 - the HD

Obviously, the HD is really kind to this game. I don't even, need to go in depth there. Everyone already knows it looks pretty as heck. The models are updated? Everything is rounder and smoother? Their faces look so good??? I'll cry again??

It looks so beautiful - honestly, out of all the Zelda games to get an HD port, Twilight Princess might benefit from it the most? The game already was shooting for a semi-realism style, and the HD makes that a lot less "nitty-gritty" and a lot smoother. The style of Twilight Princess benefits greatly from an HD update.


Of course, other than the obvious changes to make it HD, this game's had a few other modifications and added features as well. I'm gonna talk about a few of the things they added, and, brought up in this trailer here.


2 - Hero Mode

Just like any other Zelda Hero Mode, it features taking double damage every time you're hit.

It also features one more thing, though. The thing I'm most excited about, and, a most skeptical about.

Hero Mode is flipped! Like the Wii version of the game, Link is right handed. Originally, this was done because they figured the majority of people are right handed, so it would be comfortable to the majority of people to hold and swing the Wii-mote in their right hand. (See also: Skyward Sword.)

Of course, at the time of porting Twilight Princess to the Wii, they'd already made a large portion of the game for the GameCube, in which Link was left-handed. Rather than rebuild everything, it was easier at the time to just mirror it. Meaning, Link is right handed, while Zelda and Ganon become right-handed. All the cutscenes get mirrored, as well as the scenery and map. East becomes West. Right becomes left.

To anyone who's familiar with one version of the game, it's extremely disorienting to play the opposite version.

I was a little mad when they first announced Twilight Princess HD -- excited, mainly, of course -- but when I realized the map was the Gamecube version all I could do was let out this long-suffering sigh, resigned to get constantly lost all the time.

Finding out that Hero Mode existed, and was the mirrored Wii map, I was really excited. Now I could play that all the time, and never get lost again! A real blessing! But, then I got to thinking about it....

You see, if they're going to include both versions of the game in Twilight Princess HD, why like this? Why have one only be in Hero Mode, a mode you have to unlock?

And, if they're going to include both versions, why choose the GameCube version as default? Yes, it was the "original" version of the game, but, look at the sales! According to Wikipedia, the GameCube version sold 1.32 million, and the Wii version sold 5.82 million. That's over 4 million more copies. 4 million more people played the Wii version, are familiar with the Wii version. 4 million more people will probably struggle more with Normal Mode than Hero Mode -- at least in terms of navigation.

Sure, it won't make a difference to people who initially played the GameCube version, or to anyone who hasn't played the game before, but, still. Why choose the GameCube map as the default? Why assume the Wii map is going to be the "harder" one?

In my opinion, the game should start off with a choice -- a choice to pick which map, which version you want. Do you want the GameCube version or the Wii version? Pick, and then when you get put in Hero Mode, it automatically flips to the other version. Everyone's happy, everyone's challenged by the "Hero Mode is mirrored" thing. It's perfect!







3 - The Ghost Lantern.

This is a new item they introduced, which, according to the Twilight Princess HD official website, will glow when you're in the same area as a Poe, making the Poe soul collecting sidequest much easier. This is something myself and other fans had already speculated about, when we first saw it. It's good to see it's got an official description, though!

Even though it's pretty clear what this item is for now, I'm gonna point out one interesting thing I noticed about it.

The trailer made it explicitly clear to show the lantern glowing during the daytime---meaning not only will it glow when you're around a Poe, it also serves as a sort of signal. "Hey, there will be a Poe here at night, better wait around.

Another interesting thing, I realize, now that I'm comparing the two images side by side: Link's standing in two different spots.

The lantern glows while Link is standing down by the water, and, the Poe is up a couple levels, by Auru's watchtower. This is something hard to convey without a video visual, but the point remains. Link is in the same area as the Poe, but not right where the Poe is.

How close to the Poe do you have to be before the Lantern starts to glow? Does it glow brighter when you get closer? Some interesting things to consider.



4 - Gamepad functionality

Obviously, the Wii U Gamepad is used to play the game, and there's quite a few things it does.

1 - This wasn't in the trailer, but they mentioned it in the Nintendo Minute on the game. In Twilight Princess HD, you can tap the Gamepad to instantly transform into a wolf! It seems like a neat little thing, and I'm sure it'll make a lot of speedrunners happy.

Personally, I never minded talking to Midna to do this, but, maybe that's because I never had a faster option! My opinion may change after I've tried out this instant transform thing.

2 - Your map and items are both on the Gamepad screen! This is a semi-expected feature, seeing as Wind Waker HD and A Link Between Worlds (for the 3DS) did this as well.

It means that you can check your map and swap which items go on which buttons in real time, taking out the need to pause the game to do so. Maybe you're a little skeptical of that, since swapping items in real time is hard, but, hey. It's worked in other games. It can work here, too.

5 - Wolf Link Amiibo / Cave of Shadows

The game also includes a Wolf Link amiibo packaged with (some versions) of the game, and, not only does it look good, it unlocks a brand new dungeon called the Cave of Shadows. It looks like the Cave of Ordeals that's in the original game, but designed with being a wolf in mind.

- - - 


That's all the new content I know of, and all that was really in the trailer, but, still, I'm super excited! It comes out March 4th (three days before my birthday!!) and I already have it pre-ordered (it's a gift from my sister!!!) and I can't wait!

I really do love this game so much and I'm so excited to play it again.

Thanks for listening to me yell about Twilight Princess.

Midgar Is Now Too Big To Fit On One Disc (FFVII Remake news)

The Final Fantasy 7 Remake got another trailer at PSX, back on December 5th! The game looks stellar so far and, I'm excited!!

Back when it was announced at E3, my opinions on the FF7 Remake were more like "holy crap? they're actually doing it???" than legitimate excitement for the game. But when I watched this trailer, my attitude shifted quite drastically. This trailer managed to remind me how much I cared about FF7, and how excited I was to see it retold in better graphics and in full voice acting. (No lie: I had to pause the trailer the first time I watched it when Jessie said her opening line because I was too overwhelmed.)


I'm excited for a lot of things shown in this trailer!! The graphics look gorgeous, and the gameplay looks like it's gonna be a lot of fun.

The trailer showed Cloud, while navigating what I assume is Sector 7's dilapidated Mako Reactor, ducking through a hole in the wall, and squeezing between a small gap, which, are little things, but seeing that sort of stuff on a more frequent scale could be pretty interesting, in my opinion! A Midgar that's fully capable of being interacted with? Awesome.

Not to mention, Midgar itself. It's HUGE. The streets are fully rendered, completely with city lights (that reflect off of Cloud's sword!?) and an atmosphere that feels really good. There were only a few sections shown in the trailer, and not for very long, either, but it feels really big. It feels like there's a lot to explore, and, that's one of the things that excites me the most about this trailer. I can't wait to walk around this Midgar. I can't wait to see the buildings around me, rather than looking down on them. I can't wait to move through these streets, especially now that there won't be any preset camera angles to deal with. I can't wait to explore Midgar as if I'm really there. It looks.... It looks wonderful. It looks fantastic. I really, really can't wait.


Another thing that caught my attention about the trailer was at roughly 1:10, when Cloud is surrounded by Shinra troops. This is an effect any fan who's watched the Advent Children movie will be familiar with. The image glitches, flashing, blurring, accompanied by a high-pitch whine and static.

In Advent Children, it was meant to portray the effects of geostigma. Or, basically, portray that something is wrong. 

Here, I figure it is meant to signify Cloud's not-quite-stable memories and mental state. This happens plenty of times within the original game itself, just with different effects. (The latest I saw: a red overlay, that high-pitched whine, while Cloud's model distorts for a second.)

I'm really excited to see this play out, to see how they carry out this plotline with the technology and graphical capabilities they have today. I have high hopes.

(Also, did anyone else find it interesting this happened when he was surrounded by Shinra troops? I mean, considering....)

Slightly on this subject, here's something a lot of people have pointed out, including tumblr user princessmatsuoka and Nomura himself:

Cloud looks sick.

He's thin, he's pale, he's got bags under his eyes---sure, he's got muscles, but his skin is still sticking to them, and he's hunched over most of the time. It's a good reflection of all the trauma he's been through before getting to Midgar: locked in a test tube for four years, Mako poisoning, on top of his emotional / mental state.

To quote tumblr user leonheartleon, Cloud doesn't look like pretty. He looks "like a young adult who suffers from multiple traumas and mental disorders". And that's real good.


(The thing I'm obviously most excited about when it comes to this remake? The things they can do to portray this story with the technology they have today.)

Anyway, I should probably talk about the battle system, too.

As shown in the trailer, the game is going to have an action-based battle system. Or, more action-based than the original, anyway.

Kitase says they're aiming for a "seamless active battle". 

Nomura adds: 

"There won’t be any actions that require a technique. By using the new system, we want to do action battles while also being able to fight while thinking strategically.”

A couple of people are mad about this decision, and would prefer it stuck to more traditional-RPG roots. While I agree revamping the original FF7's RPG battle system to make it more interactive might not have been a bad idea, I honestly couldn't care less. 

I started replaying the original FF7 a few nights ago, because I wasn't sure how else to vent my hype for the Remake, and found myself quitting within the hour because I kept getting really pissed off at random encounters. Sitting around and waiting for your attack bar to fill is boring, the encounters felt like they happened too frequently---you walk three steps, and then, oops! Another random encounter. It was really frustrating, and how slow they were paced played no small part in that.

Honestly, I'll be glad to see any battle system in the Remake, so long as it's not the exact same as the original's. Besides, it's reportedly going to be a little like Kingdom Hearts, and, I love Kingdom Hearts. So, I'm alright with that.

Finally: the FF7 Remake is going to be a multi-part series. Kitase says they knew it wouldn't fit into a single release from the beginning.

Here's the full section of that interview:

Final Fantasy VII Remake is a multi-part series. Please tell us more about this decision. 

Kitase: “The idea that a remake of Final Fantasy VII would not fit into a single release was there from the very beginning. We still can’t share more information about its multiple parts, but please look forward to future announcements.” 

Nomura: “If we dedicated our time to a single release, parts of it would become summarized. We’d have to cut some parts, and additional parts would come in few, so rather than remake the game as a full volume, we decided to do multiple parts. 

Kitase: “As you can see in the trailer, we showed Sector 1 and Sector 8, but in those areas alone, I think you can see a lot of density. When you’re remaking the entirety of the original version in that quality, it’s not possible to fit it all in one release.”

The world has been made so big that they can't fit it on a single disc.

But, hey, in my opinion? I'd rather have the giant world to explore. I'd rather have all the story there. I don't want anything to be unnecessarily cut from this, and if this is how they have to ensure nothing from the original is lost, then so be it.

This multi-part approach means that they can explore each episode, each section of the game more deeply, too. And, they can even expand on parts of the story. Nomura says this about it:

“In addition to delving into these episodes more deeply, we’re preparing a number of mechanisms and such. To those who played the original version will know the important parts and understand the story from the beginning to the end. Also for these people, I hope that they can be surprised once again.”

I'm looking forward to see where this is going.

All in all, I think it looks like the FF7 Remake is gonna be really great.

Nintendo Direct 11 / 12 /15 !!!!!!!!

WOW!! A LOT OF NEWS HAPPENED!!!!!

I'm only gonna talk about what I'm interested in but it's still! a lot!! There's a lot.


We start with something I'm unfortunately very invested in! (Unfortunate only because *sadly turns out empty pockets* no money.)

Twilight Princes.... HD REMAKE.

There's also some news about the new Zelda Wii U game at the end of that video, but, EH, it wasn't anything new or jawdropping, in my opinion.

SO! TWILIGHT PRINCESS!!! HD!!!!!!

Twilight Princess is my favorite Zelda game, if only just because it was the first I played and because I spent a whole summer endlessly replaying it so it's filled with Very Fond memories. STILL, regardless of the whys, it is my favorite Zelda game, and I'm!! I'm excited for this.

 

It was rumored well before it actually released and so it wasn't entirely a surprise when it showed up but!! IT WAS STILL VERY GOOD TO SEE!! It looks so pretty and, I just, I really really love this game. It's probably not the best investment I could ever make when it comes to video games but BOY, I want it really bad, and will probably end up buying it at some point. Or getting it gifted to me for my birthday. (It comes out three days before and I left enough hints about it, haha.)

A little more unfortunately for me and every other fan who played the Wii version, they ended up porting the Gamecube version of the game to Wii U. I'm not, like, surprised, because I figured this was most likely since gameplay wise you wouldn't have to do much. (Gamecube controllers vs the Wii U Gamepad have nearly all the same buttons), I'm just.... still a little disappointed, because I'm going to get lost all the time now. Having everything mirrored is, well... disorienting.

Here's the Very Obvious proof it's been mirrored, by the way. You can tell through all the cinematics that it has been, of course, but for a split second I was sure the gameplay footage from the trailer (top) was the Wii version because Hyrule Castle sat on the right of the screen. Turns out I had the Link's position on the map wrong, and, once I placed him in that spot in the Wii version, saw I was wrong. It's, obviously, 100% the Gamecube version.

BUT THAT'S FINE! I'm still excited.


This was one of the top three things I was really excited about, but, while I'm still on the subject of Zelda, take this news, as well:

This is Linkle!! That is, Link, if Link was a girl. There's actually been concept art of her around for ages, so I wasn't horribly surprised to see her added to the roster for Hyrule Warriors: Legends. Looks like she's just in Legends (the 3DS version of the game), by the way. Maybe I'm wrong, but! Tossing it out there.

My opinion: she's cute, and this is cool, and she looks like she might be a fun character! Gameplay-wise, giving her a separate weapon than Link is obviously a good idea, but I'm a little mad that she's not more straight-up a Link clone, because apparently Girls Must Always Used Ranged Weapons and that.... Idk. If this is just female Link, why doesn't she wield a sword like Link? Also, the name Linkle isn't.... a very good one.

I mean, it doesn't matter much to me. I'll never buy Hyrule Warriors: Legends, so I'll never play her. If she was DLC for Hyrule Warriors itself, this might be another story, but maybe not. I'm kind of.... over Hyrule Warriors. The story was kinda bad and the gameplay's only engaging for a while. But! This isn't a review of Hyrule Warriors!! It's a news post!!!


NEXT UP? SPLATOON!!

Nothing super major, but there's some update news!! And, a lot of neat stuff, from the looks of it!

Lots of new gear, some cool new stages -- both things I want more of in my life! The new stages look like a lot of fun, and, more gear is always wanted! Gotta look as fresh as possible while I'm inking up the place. Plus, bandanas?? cool????


SOME MARIO STUFF!

Mario and Luigi: Paper Jam has a release date! Dec 3/4 in Japan and Europe, Jan 22 in North America! A little funny to me that it's taking it a full month more for it to come to North America, but, whatever.

Doesn't look like there's much new in the trailer, outside of the introduction of battle cards! They look kind of cool, I guess?

I dunno, I'm not super interested in this game. I mean, I run a fairly successful Paper Mario blog on tumblr so I'm obligated to be interested but, personally... I love Mario and Luigi series, I love Paper Mario, but my hopes for this game aren't that high, and there definitely a lot of other games I'd rather own first. (I've already played Twilight Princess, but I'd buy it in HD much sooner than Paper Jam, honestly.)


Then, well, I'm not into Mario Tennis, but I noticed this while watching its segment:

Rosalina's floating. It's hard to tell in a picture, so you may have to watch this segment yourself, but... she's floating. Of course, she's floated in every other game she's been in, rather than walked, for... whatever reason, so I'm not surprised. It just makes me smile.

See, her feet don't touch the ground, and it's not just because she's mid walk-cycle or anything. She's just straight-up floating. Amazing.


SMASH BROS NEWS!

This may be something you just have to see for yourself, but....

Cloud Strife, of Final Fantasy 7 fame....

...joins the roster for Smash 4.

My initial reaction was something along the lines of "huh, FF7?" (coupled with "oh is the HD port of FF7 coming to Wii U or--) then it was "Nope, Smash, the music just sounded thE WAIT A MINUTE. WHAT THE HECK!! YOU LITERALLY CAN'T DO THIS!!!!"


I mean, I'm not, like, upset. I'm just!! I don't know!! how to handle!!! these feelings!!! This feels so strange!! Cloud?? In Smash???? It's!! IT'S COOL! IT'S WEIRD!! I DUNNO!!!!! I'M JUST YELLING!!!!


AND, TO TOP THAT OFF....!!!

I BELIEVE IN MIRACLES.....

I SWEAR

I'VE SEEN A FEW!!!

Mother 3 gets a Virtual Console release in Japan!!!! 

Mother 3 gets a Virtual Console release in Japan!!!

Anyone who knows anything about Mother 3 knows that it's the sequel to SNES RPG Earthbound and the final installment of in the beloved Earthbound or Mother series. It was never released outside of Japan, though, and eventually, fans made their own English translation of it.

"Wait, why is a Virtual Console in Japan good news? It's still not in English, officially!"

No! It's not! But hopes are higher than ever. Mother 1, or, Earthbound Zero Beginnings was localized and put on the eShop back at E3 this year. (And, you should've seen the fandom's reaction then.) That already had Mother fans real excited, not only because was it released outside of Japan for the first time, but also because, if they finally localized it, could Mother 3 possibly be next?

Mother 3's release on the Virtual Console is a step closer in that direction, and as it turns out, Mother 3's tenth anniversary is next year. What better time for an announcement this big than then?

Tumblr user mariettapk sums it up pretty well in their post here.


SO! YEAH!! MOTHER 3!!!!


Anyway, that's all the games I cared about, but you can watch the Direct here for yourself!

What a great time to be alive, huh?

SPECIAL POST: KH NEWS?!!? / KAIRI IS REAL

apparently I started doing updates every other Tuesday BUT THIS IS AN EXCEPTION BC KH NEWS. Technically this is Late but.... I WAS EXPECTING A TRAILER, and we didn't get the trailer, so now I gotta!! Give the news!! without!! the trailer!!

It's fine.

A little backstory though, first!!

For the past year, I've been heading a movement on tumblr and twitter (but largely tumblr) known as #KairiNeedsLove2k15 - it's got an official tumblr here, and an official twitter here! (both run by me)


It started back in February, while I was replaying KH2. I started getting really worked up about Kairi and her subsequent lack in any KH game made after KH2 (I mean, alright, she was still in BBS, but that's only 1 of the 4 games released since 2006, while the other 3 had very heavy emphasis on Sora and Riku and their relationship).

You can see my initial posts about the matter here.

And if you want a good portion of the original posts I made for the movement, you can find them here!

I got really invested in this movement, blogging aggressively about Kairi, reblogging art, and other people's posts (if you want proof other people besides me want Kairi to have a larger role, check out this tag in particular). I made fanmixes, photosets, wrote a fic, (three, technically) along with hosted two major events and boy, I got this ball really rolling. 



Kairi E3 Fest 

This event was held around E3 of 2015, the basic concept being "E3 is when social media goes wild over video games, let's make some noise about Kairi during that time!"

You can find details about it here, along with see everyone's submissions for it! (We had somewhere around 70 posts made for this event.)

The E3 Fest was even mentioned in an article by Game Skinny! Pretty awesome.


Kairi Week

I'd seen other appreciation weeks on tumblr where you'd dedicate a whole week to making content about a character (or game, or series, or ship, whatever) and I decided to do one for Kairi! It didn't go quite as planned, but it was still a huuuuge success! It lasted July 6th - 11th, and had somewhere over 150 submissions. 

You can see the details / everyone's posts here!


SO, as you have probably got the gist of by now, I've spent the past year running a largely successful Kairi movement!


Here's one of the Kairi mixes I made for it:

Today's your day from rarmaster on 8tracks Radio.

Art's by ramflega on tumblr - check her out, she's got some real good Kairi / KH art!


The biggest fic I wrote for the movement was Dream, Drop, Don't Leave me Behind! - a retelling of KHDDD where Kairi actually tagged along to watch Sora and Riku's Mark of Mastery exam, becuase Kairi's lack in KHDDD is probably the biggest sore spot for me.

You can read it here!

I also wrote a smaller set of Namine-centric Kairi fics for Kairi Week, exploring the ways I would really really like their relationship to pan out. You can read all three of them here!


The crowning moment -- or, the moment that really sets the stage for my reaction to the news we received on November 3rd, is a post I made the literal day before, about why I really hate KHDDD, followed by a post further detailing its shortcomings regarding Kairi. (In sum: I'm really bitter about the fact we don't have an explanation at all why she isn't in KHDDD, we're just supposed to be okay with the fact she isn't there.)

So, there's that post, and then kind of churning bitterness for a whole year about how "Yeah Kairi's PROBABLY gonna have a role in KH3 but that's only a PROBABILITY, not a definite thing I can count on, and she's been treated so awfully by the games for the past five years and I don't have my hopes high at all".

I wasn't expecting it, and I'm pretty sure, well, no one was.

When we heard there would be KH news at the D23 in Japan, basically everyone expected it to be a lot like America's D23 - a new world reveal, and that's it, no Kairi. No Kairi.


The clock hits 1 AM my time, where I have waited four hours for the embargo on information to be lifted, hoping to get a glimmer of news as to what happened at the panel (because there were no livestreams and no one was allowed to post any information about it.)

The first post I see when loading twitter up is this:

Kairi is real.

It's one picture and that's all we got because the trailer revealed at the showing has not be released online but, it's, Kairi.

Kairi is there.

Kairi is there.

Kairi is there.


I didn't cry like others reportedly did, but I was shaking so hard, and my heart was pounding, and then you get a string of incoherent tweets from me which largely consist of "HO LY FRIK, KAIRI" becuase!!! Oh my god!!!!

I'm getting pumped thinking about it even now!! Kairi is real!! Kairi is here!!!


I've spent the whole year working up to this moment and it's just one image and confirmation she'll be in the KH2.8 game - in the section called 0.2 which is about Aqua, reportedly she and Riku are learning about Aqua and the 7 Guardians of Light, etc - BUT ANYWAY, it's just one confirmation, but it is proof. They haven't forgotten her. Her chances for a Big Role in KH3 are even higher than ever, and I'm just!!

I'm hooting!! I'm hollering!! I'm so!!! excited!!!!


I mean, chances of this actually having to do with my efforts and continuous #Kairi4KH3 yelling are pretty slim but!! BUT!! THAT DOESN'T CHANGE THE FACT!! KAIRI IS HERE!!! AND REAL!!!

I'M SOOOO!! HAPPY!!!

KAIRI CONFIRMED FOR KH0.2 AND PROBABLY FOR KH3!!!


THIS IS SO GOOD.

It's so good.


Anyway if you want other coverage of the D23 event, KH13 has a masterlist of all the info they have here!

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS JUST, KAIRI, THOUGH.

Kairi is real.

UNDERTALE

Hello. I'm here to convince you to play UNDERTALE, an indie RPG game by Toby Fox.

from the UNDERTALE Kickstarter

UNDERTALE releases tomorrow, September 15 2015, on its website (undertale.com) and on Steam!

It's a charming and extremely well written game with witty dialogue and humor, along with plot twists that left me screaming for days. (Well, that's what I have to say about the DEMO, anyway. The full game isn't out yet!)

And, get this: It's only $10! What a bargain! (For music loving fans, you will reportedly be able to get the game and its soundtrack for $18! How wonderful!!)


So... What is UNDERTALE?

From the Kickstarter:

A traditional role-playing game where no one has to get hurt.

From the Steam page:

Welcome to UNDERTALE. In this RPG, you control a human who falls underground into the world of monsters. Now you must find your way out... or stay trapped forever. It'll be a perilous journey, but don't worry. Your best friend, FLOWEY, will be with you every step of the way.

Here's the Steam greenlight trailer for UNDERTALE, which was released earlier this year, and acts as a psuedo-trailer for the DEMO:

Interested yet? Maybe?

You can try out the DEMO for yourself (about 30 minutes to an hour of gameplay) and see how you feel about it from there! The DEMO is completely free, and a great experience all on it's own!! Download it here.

Just the DEMO itself has:

• great music
• charming dialogue
• the ability to fight or spare enemies, of course!
• at least four different endings based on your choices throughout it! 
• wonderful characters ft. goatmom Toriel and sad ghost Napstablook
• some great plot twists
• questionable spider bake sales
• cool puzzles

If you play the DEMO, be sure to replay it at least once for maximum enjoyment!! And, check out the instruction manual before and after you play. Trust me.

Gigi D. G., author of Cucumber Quest (a webcomic about bunny people going on an adventure, and RPG trope subversion) says this about UNDERTALE:

She also drew this (among other) cool fanart for it!!

Toriel and player character by Gigi D. G.

Personally? I had an absolute blast playing the DEMO. It took me by surprise at every turn, even on my second and third and fourth times playing it. It didn't seem to matter how many times I went through that game, and how many different strategies I tried, it always found at least one way to surprise me by the time I reached the end again.

The art and writing style remind me vaguely of MOTHER 1 and the rest of the Earthbound series, though truly, UNDERTALE is its own. I absolutely loved the characters (Napstablook is my favorite!!) and I think the music is absolutely wonderful (you can listen to the soundtrack here!).

The UNDERTALE DEMO absolutely blew my mind with how well written it was, and how fun it was to play. All I've heard is that the full game is even better. I can't wait to see for myself.


Here's the release trailer for UNDERTALE:

I'm so excited!! Please play it.


And, while waiting for it to release, check out:

The official UNDERTALE website

The official UNDERTALE tumblr

The official UNDERTALE twitter

Play the UNDERTALE DEMO!



UPDATE: NOW THAT THE GAME IS OUT AND I'VE BEATEN IT (TWICE) CHECK OUT MY FULL REVIEW FOR IT, HERE!!