Mario RPG and the Legacy of the Seven Stars

It's been twenty three years since this game came to the market, it has been one of the most influential games even if it only had one installment and fans two decades later still want to see a continuation (including myself) of the game, because after the break of Square and Nintendo I honestly feel there was no proper conclusion to the saga.

It was 1996, I remember I got this game along with Donkey Kong Country 3; the gamed itself came late on the Super Nintendo Life as the N64 was already on the market and creating a buzz with his debut title Mario 64 and subsequently Ocarina of Time which became staples on the brand but also influenced story telling on other games as well on how the gaming can be art but also to reach an audience.

My first impression of the game hasn't change since 1996, I was surprised by the intro music and the sequence, there wasn't anything else as that with the exception of Star Fox but finally the fans we had something more relatable as many of us from that generation we grew up with Mario since day one on the NES and that first jingle that I don't need to describe is in our heads 30 something years later.

At that moment I wasn't a huge fan of turn base RPG's but I was feeling interested as I wanted to see Mario and see what he would do on a more complex enviroment than the platformers. The intro of going inside Bowser's Keep and reaching Peach and learning how the game works it made me feel happy, there was finally this complex story of Mario that still kept the essence of saving the princess but also that you could interact with other character's, it was the first time I learned about what an NPC was as I had no previous interest in genres that contained them and obtaining the Legend of Zelda "Link's Adventure and Link to the Past" were difficult.

It was the first time I feel a connection with video games and I was only 12 years old, it was the moment in my life where I saw them as an item similar to books or puzzles but more entertaining and I was playing the games my father had on the Atari but it was the first time I feel identified with a hobby or an activity and with the merchandise.

The narrative of the game influenced the spin-off such as Paper Mario and the franchise of Mario & Luigi, they contained the elements but not the essence of what was Mario RPG, which let fans for years asking for a sequel a true sequel, a product that maybe will impact the Mario universe or tell a new story of the plumber of the Mushroom Kingdom?.

Surely Mario Galaxy is the epitome of the story telling, it just unifies all the games, it can even be given the possibility on the new universe to set a new RPG game, it can be 3D and bring old characters back such as Bellome or Mallow, it can really happen if Nintendo and Square reach on an agreement, it would be amazing to explore the Mushroom Kingdom far away from the concept of Mario Odyssey, and to see it on a more classical way.

At the end the question is would a sequel would generate the impact the original game had? Probably no, Mario RPG was one of is kind, a game that was meant to be a standalone concept, but a sequel wouldn't be bad, it could be a nice piece of nostalgia that could find is position with the demographics who grew up with Mario and contribute new elements on the Mario Lore. 

The Seminal Process of Adventure Time

The memories I had from Adventure Time came within the first time in three years that I had access to cable television, it was the first time in almost ten years that I saw a show that wasn't placed on the slapstick realm of programming as back in the first decade of the 2000 much of the cartoon oriented show where aimed to a light entertainment.

It made me think, this was the first show of it's kind of the second decade of the 2000's mostly because it grabbed elements on the narrative from shows of the early 90's and anime style because there was a narrative, a well developed mythology, characters that grew up with the seasons and cohesion between the episodes; it quickly became a fan favorite because it showed a complex narrative whenever the programming in Cartoon Network was in decline.

On the first couple of seasons the show seemed to be oriented mostly as a Shonen-style program, nothing out of the ordinary that premise showed "just a boy and his dog having fantastical adventures" until the episode Business Time where a frozen business men who appeared in a glacier gave the first indications about the setting of the show.

We have to notice that even it it was a kid's show it was set in a post-apocalyptic land where essentially humanity was whipped down because of the Mushroom War which also led to the evolution of items such as candy, animals and other objects as the predominant life forms of the planet. The Mushroom War is the quintessential story element of the show because it's the moment in the timeline where everything develops into what we had as the arcs in Adventure Time.

Through the Mushroom War we learned as being the viewers that the universe in the Land of Ooo is far more complex than the setting it's placed, it's a world where humanity is on the verge of extinction due the ruins that are shown on almost every adventure Finn and Jake step in, is a show that even if it's aimed to children it exposes the idea of a post nuclear war setting.

Is not only to the scenario, on several episodes there are corpses and nuclear weapons, even on the episodes centered around Simon Petrikov prior his transformation showed that the world was already savaged by the war or at least in the process; it's almost important to notice that in the universe of Adventure Time - magic is real - and there is a pantheon of deities that form part of the cosmology.

It wasn't a common kids cartoon, thanks to services as Netflix it also got aimed at adults because of the dynamic between the characters, all of them being more than stereotypes they represented. Over the years, there were implications about the relationship between Princess Bubblegum and Marceline as they seemed to be a couple making them one of the first lesbian couples in a children's cartoon.

Over several episodes there where hints and we learned their past story but it wasn't fully as it was shown to be mostly exes, as in one episodes Princess Bubblegum seemed to had a shirt that Marceline gave to her and kept after they broke up, mostly because the shirt had Marcy scent around it; but, it was until the series finale when we finally saw the real feelings they where holding for each other after a long time.

Maybe if the show runner's would made a different plan, the arcs would had shown a stable couple trying to survive in a hostile enviroment instead of a more platonic scenario that lasted for almost the entire duration of the show, yet we have to remember thanks to Adventure Time it opened the doors to another cult favorite which is Steven Universe and it does has a more diverse representation towards a queer inclusion in children television.

The show itself it was refreshing because on the surface it was quite lighthearted but the appeal that reached to adults with the clever writing made it interesting; it's good to note that the adults that enjoyed the show today where the children in the 90's who woke up early to see the Saturday morning cartoon and moved that enthusiasm of cartoons up to the early 2000 and the influence of Anime and Manga in the American society.

A Year in Cosplay and Comic Cons Part Two

The Salvatorian Way

Etiquette is everything at the conventions or in other words "Cosplay is not Consent" that describes the major set of rules whenever you are participant in any con, but there are other implicit rules that you can learn with the experience.

As I mentioned in the last entry there is a lot to learn whenever you go to the cons, the first day can be extremely overwhelming as there is a sensory overload on everything, there is music as many guests like to play on the hallways if they don't interrupt certain panels, there are dance gatherings, cosplayers posing for photos (which this will be discussed later) hosts looking to attract people to their panels, etc... there is a lot to do all day long.

Planning ahead is the key, but also there has to be a moment of your day that you can dedicate to take photos of the cosplayers, is fun to see how much detail they invested but also how much they bring the essence of the character to life. Not long ago I overheard a friend of mine saying Sometimes studios should hire cosplayers, because they can recreate costumes better and they bring the characters to life better. In essence that became part of my motto when taking photos.

There is one social component that you have to know "conventions attract a lot of people, they are a safe heaven for many introverts (including myself), people within the spectrum, LGBT+, people with social anxiety and other psychological issues, I do not know how to say it properly but the most eloquent way I can express is "Conventions are places that have a demographic that pay to go to socialize, because they know they will feel safe, is a zone with no judgments and even if you see cosplayers that project certain aura with their costumes, please respect their personal spaces".

Whenever you are taking photos remember to say please and ask politely, if the cosplayer refuses keep walking because they deserve time for their privacy, it's easy to understand. Also remember there will be younger cosplayers that are accompanied by their parents or guardians, and always ask permission, because they as human beings also deserve their privacy to be respected as they want to enjoy the experience too.

Jada.

I can't seriously offer any trick of getting a good casual, candid photography I used to master that skill a long time ago when I had to act as my crew when I was working in the media, but for every good photo there are at least a 100 bad ones. Whenever you are walking on the aisles of the convention as we mention before be polite to the cosplayers, say hello, ask how the initiate into cosplay, how they create or from what vendors they find their supplies? There are plenty of way to start a conversations and make friends with similar interests.

Vendor hall can be interesting, because usually at least on the Florida circuit it will contain the artist section and the autograph lane, it will be all together, sometimes it can get too crowded but you can find the best cosplayers roaming there, but be patient and let them do their business as they are there like you, to have fun.

Now that we are talking about photos and etiquette, I do follow a series of rules to navigate to any public event but I modified them whenever I am in the conventions, whenever I am looking for a photo I always try to look for any person who gets my attention (I do not go for people with no little to no clothing, is just one of my rules) but what gets my attention? A cosplayer who is having fun but also that captures the essence of the character.

On the last time I went to Metro Con there was an event of Boku No Hero, several cosplayers went as the characters but I only found one almost at a last moment on Saturday that got my attention, a young woman dressed as Inko Midoriya, between all the Deku's and the League of Villains, there was someone who got my attention because she captured the essence of the character. We have to think, conventions on a larger or medium scale they bring around 10 k people and that's on the busiest day that is Saturday, so trying to find Inko became an almost impossible feat.

After trying to find her for a few hours, I gave up and I decided to go to the autograph lane to try to get one or two before going to another panel, to my surprise Inko was walking near the line of the autographs and I knew I had to take the chance, I approached her and ask her as I ask everyone in the most polite way if I could get a photo, because I never saw anyone dressed as Inko less with the props she had which was a board saying Proud of My Son which also displayed several photos of Deku.

Going forward in time, a couple of days later thanks to the Facebook group and good social media skills between the participants, the photos of Inko where published and they were one of the most heartwarming photos I ever saw; she brought the character to life, she looked proud of the Deku's that where in the photo ops, I do not know how to describe it but it was one of those moments framed in time on why gatherings as comic cons are important, because they are spaces of self expression.

Another cosplayer who goes by The Salvatorian Way made a cosplay related to the Sponge Bob episode where he and Patrick sell chocolate to Mary and her mother; it was one of those cosplays as he said made with a tight budget but checking on social media it was a hit, nobody around the area has done something like that and it was extremely and creepy when he was asking for chocolate with Mary's Mother voice around the convention center.

Kurosaki as Deku

One of my biggest inspirations in the cosplayer circuit has been for over a year a woman named Kurosaki Cosplays, she and her troupe represent the kindness on how veterans receive newcomers as myself, besides my friend Kimmy who was the one who introduced me to the conventions, Kuro is one of those friends that through her account shows a detail on tutorials, convention life and photo ops.

Probably the first memory I have of Kurosaki is on how she made everyone feel welcome, and this is one of the photos I have that reflect the happiness.

Probably my main goal by going to the conventions became to celebrate the cosplayers, the freedom of every day life they represent but also the ability they have to unite people with their creations. In a year I had gathered for my personal use around 8,000 photos of the conventions I been, probably by next year that number will double.

A Year in Cosplay and Comic Cons Part One

I haven't wrote too much lately; I been in the process of finding my own voice at a late age in life, for a long time I was having issues writing, creating content and drawing, I felt as if my voice was shut down after a long time but part of my soul and physical being were still active towards creating and interacting with other people.

My friend Kim, last year ask me probably for a fourth time if I wanted to go to Metro Con and as many times I replied "I'll think about it" after checking that two of my favorite musicians which are Caleb Hyles and Jonathan Young where invited I feel some regret that I didn't requested on time the days to go; but certain cosmic event the one who was my assistant manager which later became my manager ask me if I could switch with someone else my schedule, which let me had Saturday off.

Without hesitation, I said "yes!" I will take Saturday off and work the next day without any problem. As soon the schedule change happened I called Kim and explained that I was heading for the convention, it was going to be my first time officially and I was excited because I finally could see two of my favorite musicians but also to sit down and spend time with my friend.

On the way to Metro, I realized I forgot to ask her about parking space as I had no clue about that bare necessity that within Tampa is a privilege because it rains way too much and I ended up parking on a spot that cost me US$40 which I could had avoided if I knew I could park behind the hotels or in the convention center and the overall of the experience for the four days would had been US$40 and it would be under roof.

A year later, I finally took the time to explore the options through the website as every con offers information about parking spaces and they aren't expensive, but as a newbie I made the mistake on my first day towards finding parking; second, it wasn't difficult to navigate through the tickets and security check points, in fact it's quite straight forward but every single convention is different and if you buy the tickets in advance it can be annoying as well if there is a carryover promotion from one year to the other, because people who volunteer aren't properly trained to know what to do with certain sales.

One aspect, one important aspect you need to know is to bring money because if you want autographs, celebrities won't take credit card and a similar situation applies to the artists in the artist hall, where not all of them will take plastic; but the vendors they usually 99% have PayPal or any other similar form of payments such as Apple Pay. also some vendors they can hold your purchase before the vendor hall closes and you can retrieve it before you go home which is really convenient.

Food wise not all the convention centers offer the same variety, the Orlando Convention Center offers an amazing variety of food that is tasty and varied but opposite to the convention center in Tampa Bay, that the food options are extremely limited the people who are assisting should note what restaurants are near and if they will fulfill their dietary needs on site our outside.

A good thing about the two convention centers I mentioned is that they are located near different food establishments, as food on site can become a problem due the high prices they place to create a profit. Walking distance in Tampa is better because there are a lot of stuff around, while in Orlando walking near International Drive it will take a lot of your day and not even thinking about using Uber Eats or any other delivery service because that is an extra amount to your budget.

Set a budget if you go to the vendor's hall and artist alley, same with autographs, set a budget that is friendly to you, that you know you will have money to eat and pay for parking and won't screw you over until your next paycheck, which is important that you can enjoy your experience to the fullest.

Organizing your time is essential to enjoy the panels, as much of the panels are only an event for the day and that's it and they usually aren't repeated by the subsequent year, sometimes newer hosts go and panels that aren't that full tend to be the best ones on some cases as it leads the interactions better and you can learn about the culture and social norms that are within the conventions, but also to meet other nerds and make friends on the panels.

Lines can become ridiculously long, is also one reason I had avoided so badly doing photo ops as I feel I can lose some valuable time exploring other faces of the cons, albeit from friends that I made on the cons they mentioned that the photo ops are actually quite fast and whenever they are group photos they are even faster. Some of the things that bothered me but is understandable is the fees that are payed for the photo ops and selfies, they are negotiated by the celebrities and the agents.

Not all the guests charge for photos and autographs and also that depends on the convention, my experience with Metro Con and Mega Con was split, to explain better I will divide this with each con. Mega Con brings A-List to Central as well it has a section dedicated to content creators and cosplayers, regards is Mega Con Tampa or Orlando, in Mega Con the celebrities charge each for the autograph, now the tricky part comes to understand the rules some of the cosplayers who are invited charge for the photo as it part of their personal branding and it can go between US$10 to US$25 but they don't charge for the autographs, albeit more famous cosplayers i.e. Jessica Nigri or Yaya Han will also have package included within the photo ops.

Metro Con is far more interesting as is less celebrity oriented but more fan oriented, which it can be unique towards the experience. They also bring cosplayers, but they don't have a specific space as they are outside interacting with fans and they blend in, which you can be sitting anywhere and suddenly expect one of the cosplayers that are guests and throw a small show in the middle of the hallway. Also with Metro since it's more fan oriented you can get more merchandise related to the guest and even get autographs for free if you bring anything to sing, but I will continue talking about my experience in my first year as a con goer in an upcoming entry.

LGBTQA+ Importance and Visibility in Steven Universe

Ruby and Sapphire Cosplayers @Metrocon 

I been thinking for over a month what approach I can take writing this entry, and today I found the inspiration at Metro Con Tampa, which is an anime and video game convention but it also bring some really good cosplayers to town, as well fans of the seminal show of Rebecca Sugar "Steven Universe"

Today I finally saw with more clear eyes after last weekend at Metro Con in Tampa, Florida; the fans (at least the segment who aren't toxic) found a way to express themselves not only through what happens on the cartoon but socially.

The convention was the first place I could finally see it on my many LGBTQA+ enjoyed the show so much (including myself) and the importance of the themes it offer. Let's start that the show itself is set on a fantastical enviroment with aliens but also it follows topics as acceptance, happiness and finding your true authentic self.

The show itself can be compared to the pop culture status that Avatar: The Last Air Bender had 18 years ago, it's one of those rare shows that can reach to people easy because of the message it offers but also that it aims to the community which most of the time is ignored in the prime time television. At the convention I realized how critical how Rebecca's creation has been, especially in the last two years were the most vulnerable point of the LGBT being the Transgender, gender non conform, non binary parts of the community have their rights attacked over and over, and having a show that is inclusive gives a voice of reaffirmation to their identities but also having a space of self-expression without fear.

If we analyze the characters, much of the main characters that are the gems have no gender as their bodies are just a mere construction of light, like hard-holograms, they can modify their own bodies but they always go by their personal pronouns which are always she and live in a matriarch oriented society; each gem also have a peculiar ability to fuse and create a new form of life while the new form of life can act independent, the gems that compose the new creation need to be under constant harmony to keep the new one stable.

Gems such as Garnet (and by default Ruby and Sapphire) act on the spectrum that an emotional stable partnership can originate wonderful results into tow individuals, but also it shows that gender itself can be fluid, that we aren't bounded to our own preset notions about who we are an individuals.

We can see main characters are gender fluid, not only the main Gems but Steven himself, as he doesn't comfort with his boy attires but on ocassions he dress with women clothes (sure it can serve for comedic purposes depending on the view) but also when he and Connie fuse they become a different persona, a persona that is not referred by male or female pronouns but rather by neutral such as they or them, which I can't think of a television show on mainstream and less in a children's show.

Not only the show focus on the dynamics of who we are, but with who we relate to and who we love. Maybe the best example is with Pearl and Pink Diamond, is an unrequited love in which also mixes the different social status people have depending on where they were born and money. Pearl fall in love with Pink but Pink never reciprocate it, even if they were close enough to do a fusion, Rose never loved Pearl.as a potential partner but rather as a close friend.

The structure of the episodes is quite simple that a child can understand that the gems are complex beings, that use female pronouns but are agender, they can be aromantic or even express feelings; and the same episode structure can be enjoyed by adults because they are seeing the drama and epic elements that maybe a child can dismiss, albeit to a generation of children that are more vocal and there are parents who can be supportive of identity expression and sexuality, Steven Universe offers what other shows don't which is the ability to connect with their audience on a one on one and give them ideas on how to express their creativity in public spaces but in private, but overall the show gives a message of unity that we as a community we need.

Thimbleweed Park and Twink Peaks Similarities

Is been a few months since I played Thimbleweed Park and the more I think about this game, the more I believe the game could be an extension of Twin Peaks, and maybe Thimbleweed Park could catch an audience if is placed as as a mini series.

The idea of the game turned into an audiovisual format is not that strange as it can offer some really solid arcs that can developed into a bizarre world similar as the ones created by David Lynch with his magnum-opus.

The more I played the game, the more I realized that the inspirations of Thimbleweed Park and Twink Peaks are almost on a parallel level, i.e. both are settled on locations that seem common, such as Twin Peaks that is situated in Washington, Thimbleweed Park seems to be located somewhere in Oregon but honestly the ultimate end of the location is far surreal than anything else.

The two audiovisual products contain supernatural elements, narratives that let the players and viewers to explore different time frames but also on how the two start with a murder, Laura Palmer on Twink Peaks and some random Russian guy on Thimbleweed that honestly speaking has nothing to do with the development of the storyline but serves as an excuse to bring two of the five protagonists to Thimbleweed Park.

Much as Twin Peaks, TP has different perspectives that offer several angles about the story line; in theory the story can sound complex on the first run of the game, as it offers different pieces of information mixed with some red-herrings that make everything almost difficult to place in order; same with Twin Peaks, watching the show once is not going to be enough to process everything as several stories interlock with each other.

The two agents mimic the behavior of Agent Dale Cooper, as they embark into a surrealist trip that takes them to a world that doesn't seem to be, a world where everyone has fled the town the leave and there is not many people behind who live there; there is an air of mystery in which everything seems to be surreal; opposite to Agent Cooper, Agent Ray and Reyes play the classical good cop and bad cop in a dynamic that try to uncover the mysteries of the town by their own.

Albeit the divergence point of the characters development is that a lot of their motifs are left unexplained such as who really they are, and what they expect to find in Thimbleweed. A problem with the game lays on the narrative, it's extremely vague and can turn anticlimactic in certain moments, where the ending comes and how the characters develop.

Other similarities is that the game takes places on the 80's mimicking the era where Twin Peaks take place. The 80's seem to generate an influence on how the game developed, such as references to Amiga computers, hexadecimal codes, pay telephones, meta references about the graphic adventures but also on how the clothing influenced the characters and music. Both products in certain way showcase the era they are settled.

Talking about the era, even on both products technology influenced how it was shown, the 80's was a moment in time where technology developed and personal communications took place and revolutionaized the way we see the world; cellphones could be the key before anything else, and in Twin Peaks as well Thimbleweed cellphones play a role towards into finding a solution to the mysteries but on how the characters interacted with each other until the end.

This list will be expanded later...

Bullet Hell by RichaadEB Album Review

Bullet Hell Cover 

I haven't played any games of the Touhou Project or as is known in the West Project Shrine Maiden; the only reference I had from the game itself where so videos a former co-worker showed me around 4 years ago about this new game that he was keen to play, but it never got my attention. 

Without knowing and almost four years I found myself appealed by a musician named RichaadEB  and his metal covers, but also his different adaptation towards Eurobeats, video games music and collaborations with other musicians such as Family Jules and Jonathan Young; his channel got my attention by mere accident after finding a cover of Super Mario RPG around 2013 but it wasn't until 2016 where I finally subscribed after listening to a cover of the Theme of Schala of Chrono Trigger.

During the last year, Richaad uploaded covers of the Shrine Maiden, some of them got my attention but I never imagined it was the same game series my co-worker used to speak about; I enjoyed some of the ones I was able to listen during my break time and the power chords with the upbeat tempo got my attention.

I got the album two weeks ago, when he first announced without realizing the inspiration, I opted to bought as I was already a fan of his work and I started to listen Bullet Hell. The different images the sound made me imagine where towards a battlefield in which cute girls battle a mystical evil; it made me imagine scenarios that could be found in series such as Puella Magical and Sailor Moon, but mixed with the Saga of Tania the Evil.

An epic fantasy in which Metal plays a quintessential part of the storytelling, and let epic battles that involve magic and cute magical girls; but, what is the most amazing aspect of the album is the skills RichaadEB to create something charming and compelling, to make someone who never heard about Touhou Project fully until this day, to feel mesmerized for the music and the journey that Bullet Hell takes.

The jewel of this album is track 14, Bad Apple which it closes the entire journey with Christina Vee's voice, it totally sounds amazing as the production gives a fresh air to the song and to someone who never heard about Bullet Hell it will be something fresh as well a neat introduction to Metal.

If you want to purchase the physical copy of the album you may click here and even request any special signed message, which I did as I requested an interpretation of Richaad's cat Kocha, been asleep while wearing a Cappy and as an extra bonus I got his cat barking also.

Thank you for reading me.