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Back in 2010, there was a lot of excitement about Team ICO's follow-up to Shadow of the Colossus, now scheduled to be released shortly on the PS3 and XBox 360. It was to be an epic tale of a boy guiding a giant creature with magical powers through a ruined kingdom, fighting creatures of darkness and learning about the past through beautifully rendered stylistic cutscenes. So when I saw that game at the local Wal-Mart, I bought it, confused as to why so many people seemed convinced that the game was still in development. Needless to say, this was not the Team ICO game that eventually finally saw the light of day on the PS4 six years later, but I enjoyed it just the same. The story isn't very deep, from what I remember, but the gameplay makes up for it. If you played Game Republic's earlier title Folklore or watched my shamelessly-plugged LP of it, you'll know what to expect in terms of pacing and plot. Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom focuses on the journey of a young thief and a magical creature? golem? spirit? as they try to save the world from encroaching darkness, each for his own reason. They have to work together in combat and to solve puzzles - without the Majin's help, our character will have to resort to stealth rather than fighting most of the enemies in his path. There are lots of hidden upgrades and shortcuts to be found or ignored, and it's just a fun romp all around. Also, there's actual talking. Quite a bit of talking, if you like. Please keep spoilers in tags, if you must post them. I haven't played this game since beating it when it came out, as will be evident, and I don't remember much of it being worth spoiling, but I'd prefer we discuss only what's happened in the videos. I'll try to keep them short and sweet, and as frequent as I can. Part 1: The Thief and the Majin Polsy Youtube Part 2: The Tree of Life Polsy Youtube Part 3: Hurling Tepeu at a Variety of Things Polsy Youtube Part 4: The Majin Grows Stronger Polsy Youtube Part 5: The Majin's First Power Polsy Youtube Part 6: Caprakan, the First Dark General Polsy Youtube Part 7: Night Terrors Polsy Youtube Part 8: Moving Bridges Polsy Youtube Part 9: The Majin is Thirsty Polsy Youtube Part 10: Zap! Polsy Youtube April Fools' bonus video Polsy Youtube Part 11: B'alam, the Dark Prime Minister Polsy Youtube Part 12: Jump on my Back Polsy Youtube Part 13: Royal Darkness Navy Headquarters Polsy Youtube Part 14: Water That Burns Polsy Youtube Part 15: The Majin is on Fire Polsy Youtube Part 16: Tlaloc, the Dark Admiral Polsy Youtube Part 17: Humans Love Sparkles Polsy Youtube Part 18: The Majin is Having Fun Polsy Youtube Part 19: The Majin Makes Things Sparkle Polsy Youtube Part 20: Ixtab, the Dark Queen Polsy Youtube DLC Bonus 1: Easy Missions Polsy Youtube DLC Bonus 2: Stealth Challenge Polsy Youtube DLC Bonus 3: Puzzle Challenge Polsy Youtube Part 21: The Laboratory and the Bridge Polsy Youtube Part 22: The Final Memory Shard Polsy Youtube DLC Bonus 4: A Notable Improvement Polsy Youtube Part 23: Return to the Castle Polsy Youtube DLC Bonus 5: Too Many Monkeys Polsy Youtube Part 24: Princess Toci Polsy Youtube Finale: The Majin is Not Strong Enough Polsy Youtube Nidoking fucked around with this message at 01:07 on Oct 7, 2017 |
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Jan 2, 2017 21:48
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Character profiles: Tepeu: A nameless thief who lives on his own in the forest. He has the ability to talk to animals, including the Majin. The Majin calls him "Tepeu", but doesn't seem to know why. He wields the key that sealed the Majin, now infused with the Majin's power, making it a formidable weapon against the Warriors of Darkness.  Teotl: A.k.a. The Majin, a.k.a. the protector god, a.k.a. angel, demon, guardian, any number of other titles. He's been imprisoned for a century, since the fall of the kingdom, but doesn't seem to remember much from before that. All he remembers is the girl he once protected and now needs to save. His once-great magical powers have been sealed inside fruit. Nidoking fucked around with this message at 03:47 on Jan 5, 2017 |
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Jan 2, 2017 21:48
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I liked the previous Folklore LP so I'm definitely sold for this LP.
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Jan 2, 2017 22:03
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Been looking forward to this one for a long time.
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Jan 2, 2017 22:07
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Why does his cloak have a braid?
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Jan 2, 2017 22:40
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This is a pretty neat game. I picked up a copy in a bargin bin ages ago and didn't regret. Nice aesthetic, nice music, and a real laid-back atmosphere. Haven't touched it in a while, so it'll be good to watch this. Also playing "English Anime Voice Actor" bingo for the cast; pretty sure we've just had Yuri Lowenthal, Crispen Freeman as the animals, and Paul St. Peter is defintely the Majin. Pesky Splinter fucked around with this message at 16:15 on Jan 3, 2017 |
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Jan 3, 2017 16:09
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I love the tutorial animals, shame they presumably only appear in this level.
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Jan 3, 2017 21:26
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Majin is happy and is my friend and should be your friend too
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Jan 4, 2017 04:52
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Majin is just so  that I love him already.
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Jan 4, 2017 05:09
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 The tutorial section of the game concludes with a demonstration of environmental features that we can use against enemies, and my utter failure to use any of them properly when it matters. The enemies get tougher, but with the Majin's power, we're nearly unstoppable. Then it's time to catch our breath with a fairly tender moment beside the Tree of Life, which will be our Tree of Exposition for the duration of the game. Here, we learn our characters' names, as well as their general goals in this quest. The Majin's memory seems to have faded over the century of his imprisonment, but we'll sort that out as the game goes. For now, we've got a new quest - to get into the castle we just escaped from. Also, to find the Majin's lost power so we can do something in there this time. That's important too. Part 2: The Tree of Life Polsy Youtube
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Jan 5, 2017 03:42
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I feel you could have gotten the Majin into position to push the wall by either going to the center of the wall first and then using the act command or telling the Majin to wait/not follow you to the edge of the platform before telling him to act on the wall.
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Jan 5, 2017 22:14
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Mraagvpeine posted:I feel you could have gotten the Majin into position to push the wall by either going to the center of the wall first and then using the act command or telling the Majin to wait/not follow you to the edge of the platform before telling him to act on the wall. Yeah, I know I did a lot of things wrong there. But the Majin was pretty confused, because he clearly jumped down and then tried to push the wall from below. I think the best course is to tell him to push the wall, jump down myself, lure the enemies into position, and have him push, then hurl barrels at whatever's left. But then people might think I'm good at a video game, and that would ruin my reputation. I'm sure I'll have more chances to do things properly with regard to environmental features.
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Jan 5, 2017 23:31
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Sooo... I'm guessing that Tepeu was the name of the girl, and that our lovable rogue will be mortified when he finds out that his new best friend has been calling him by a girl's name?
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Jan 6, 2017 13:17
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inflatablefish posted:Sooo... I'm guessing that Tepeu was the name of the girl, and that our lovable rogue will be mortified when he finds out that his new best friend has been calling him by a girl's name? It is the name of someone Teotl knew but it isn't the girl and I'll leave it at that.
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Jan 6, 2017 18:11
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This game looks pretty sweet so far. It's always nice to have buddy adventure game. I can definitely see why you might have thought it was made by the same people that did Shadow of the Colossus.
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Jan 10, 2017 01:38
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In this video, we finally start exploring the world outside the castle. At this point, it's pretty linear, and we'll be moving through a succession of rooms with set-piece puzzles that lead to various rewards as well as progress, connected by corridors that are always at right angles. It makes the map simpler, but does make the world feel considerably more built and less organic. Today's set piece is a catapult that I'm sure has more applications than we see here. We also see a bit more of the plot mechanism that will prevent our progress until we achieve specific objectives. We'll learn about those objectives soon, but for now, it's time for more open spaces with exactly the same amount of freedom we had in the tutorial, so far. Things will be opening up soon. Part 3: Hurling Tepeu at a Variety of Things Polsy Youtube
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Jan 11, 2017 02:54
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Ah, the night-time collectibles  There's a shitload of them and many are not obtainable the first time you go through an area.There's no way to switch the time of day quickly in this game.
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Jan 11, 2017 14:20
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We're still just setting out, and the world remains pretty linear for the moment, with paths that are blocked off and only one way to progress. That's going to change shortly, as we learn the secret of the shadow-covered doors and how to open them. We'll also get our first few powerups for the Majin - he doesn't grow the way Tepeu does, through experience, but by eating various fruits that can be found throughout the kingdom. I'm going to cover a lot of ground in this video, so let's get right to it. Part 4: The Majin Grows Stronger Polsy Youtube
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Jan 17, 2017 00:29
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The number of times they beat you over the head about that scarecrow makes me wonder if one of their playtesters just constantly didn't get it.
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Jan 17, 2017 21:38
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My suspicion is that their playtesters wasted a buttload of time trying to find a way to get the Majin into the area to help them with the enemies (especially the archer) instead of just bumrushing the scarecrow and skedaddling afterward. Still annoying, though.
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Jan 18, 2017 01:10
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I think they were just trying to make the mechanism for opening the door seem a bit more organic - a bit less "When you destroy this thing, the door will open" and a bit more "There's a scary scarecrow with a mask, maybe you should do something about it, oh hey look the door is open." They won't harp nearly as much on this sort of thing going forward, since we'll be familiar with how destroying masks opens doors. The animals will be delivering more backstory and less hand-holding in the future.
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Jan 18, 2017 03:25
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A while back, we learned about the amazing powers that the Majin once had, which were sealed away inside fruit. We've been led to a giant fruit that's heavily guarded, and with it, the Majin's power will increase dramatically. The only snag in the road is getting to it, but we've gained a lot of levels and upgrade fruits, so none of that should be any problem. If anything gets in our way, we'll just have to blow it away. Part 5: The Majin's First Power Polsy Youtube
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Jan 23, 2017 01:33
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Nidoking posted:I think they were just trying to make the mechanism for opening the door seem a bit more organic - a bit less "When you destroy this thing, the door will open" and a bit more "There's a scary scarecrow with a mask, maybe you should do something about it, oh hey look the door is open." They won't harp nearly as much on this sort of thing going forward, since we'll be familiar with how destroying masks opens doors. The animals will be delivering more backstory and less hand-holding in the future. I'm still looking forward to the next hour being full of animals reminding you that the Majin has a wind power now, and them wondering aloud if maybe *precise puzzle walkthrough* might do something.
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Jan 27, 2017 19:56
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Surprisingly, the game isn't very heavy-handed about the efficacy of wind power in combat or puzzle-solving, so I keep forgetting that I have it. We do get a pretty big hint about the boss, though, which means it's time to see how boss fights in this game work. It takes a fair bit of what you already know about combat and adds a unique environmental element, which always requires the Majin's newest power to activate. What I think is special about this fight, though, is not the fight itself but what we learn about the history of the Kingdom and the Majin. Like collecting powers, defeating bosses will be one of our major story beats, and we get some revelations that almost seem like endgame material in any other story, although it probably won't be a surprise to most viewers. Part 6: Caprakan, the First Dark General Polsy Youtube
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Feb 4, 2017 20:13
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Having just gone through everything, I gotta say that I'm digging this more than I thought I was going to from the intro cinematic. I agree with everyone else about the heavyhanded tutorials up to this point. It's weird, between the handholding tutorials, cute talking animals, and big, goofy, friendly monster, it seems like a game aimed at younger audiences. But then you have these creepy shadow monsters that look like someone got the curse from Princess Mononoke, along with this video's reveal.
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Feb 5, 2017 17:10
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I really liked this game, especially the boss designs. The arms during the opening escape in the opening are particularly interesting because of their design - whatever is doing this isn't made of the tar, it's skin is visibly white and mottled, it just secretes it, which is much more interesting.
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Feb 5, 2017 22:30
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Was not expecting a revelation like that to show up in this game.
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Feb 6, 2017 03:54
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Naturally, after defeating the boss, we have to backtrack to the waterfall area we passed a few videos ago to continue to the next area. Backtracking isn't such a bad thing, since we can generally use our new abilities to collect things that were inaccessible before, and the fights should be a bit easier. There will be other things that will help us get around more easily later on, and I'll be condensing as much of the future backtracking as possible into montages of interesting moments and perhaps even Indiana Jones-style lines traversing a map. This time, however, there are some new things to see along the way, and a lot of things I didn't get my first time through. Don't worry; I'll get into new territory in this video as well. Part 7: Night Terrors Polsy Youtube
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Feb 15, 2017 03:21
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Well, I'd say the shadow creatures are pretty alien-looking already, so I hope we don't also have alien shadows running around. That's a sad history there for Tepeu, but it's kind crazy that nobody ever really gave him a name. Also Tlatol continues to be very .
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Feb 20, 2017 18:53
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This time, I'm actually going to get somewhere in the forest. The first time I played through the game, I got very lost around this point because I thought I needed the next power to get through the moving bridge room. As you'll see, it's the other way around, but I wandered for a while and probably leveled up much more than I should have before finally making any progress. That won't be a problem this time, although there are always new annoyances to be found everywhere we go. Part 8: Moving Bridges Polsy Youtube
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Feb 25, 2017 17:22
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Can't wait to see the new Majin power! I wonder what other enemy types we'll be running into in the future? Also, I just noticed that Tepeu doesn't speak to any reptiles--so far it's just birds and small mammals.
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Feb 28, 2017 01:49
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I made this video and then got so busy that I forgot to upload it. Whoops! So, a bit late but none the worse for wear, we have a brand new puzzle mechanic and the return of one that we haven't seen for a long time. I'm embarrassingly bad at figuring out some of these puzzles, but that shouldn't be a surprise to anyone by now. Part 9: The Majin is Thirsty Polsy Youtube
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Mar 14, 2017 01:52
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I vaguely remember seeing this game in stores and may have rented it once.
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Mar 14, 2017 02:33
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Was there anything to do behind the wall over the waterfall? The one you broke first with the catapult?
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Mar 14, 2017 11:17
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Nuramor posted:Was there anything to do behind the wall over the waterfall? The one you broke first with the catapult? Indeed there was! I forgot about it, but I'll be back during a collectible round-up in a few videos to get it.
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Mar 14, 2017 11:39
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In this video, we unlock the Majin's second power, and it's hardly a secret because we've already been told what it is. It's a fun power to use in combat, though, particularly because it powers up Tepeu's weapon as well as attacking enemies directly. It's also probably the solution to the most annoying type of puzzle - the jumping puzzles are only difficult because I'm bad at jumping. Fortunately, we'll get a few of them early on, and then they'll mostly go away. Part 10: Zap! Polsy Youtube
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Mar 25, 2017 00:09
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I was going to make a Mazinger Z joke earlier in this LP, but I think we're getting worryingly close to the game doing it for us. Or a Grendizer joke, at least.
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Mar 27, 2017 13:31
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It's time for one of the most intense fights we've had so far! Our buddy will be rather incapacitated for a significant portion of this video, which is a deviation from the rest of the game, but we'll find ways to accomplish things anyway. Eventually. I'm frankly embarrassed by how long it took me to figure out most of the things I needed to do, and the amount of backtracking I did in the meantime. But don't worry. I carefully edited out the most boring parts and left you with only the slightly boring parts. The fight is pretty good, though. Short, but good. April Fools' bonus video: Polsy Youtube Nidoking fucked around with this message at 12:16 on Apr 2, 2017 |
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Apr 1, 2017 03:04
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Edit: Sorry for saying too much.
BioEnchanted fucked around with this message at 11:29 on Apr 1, 2017 |
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Apr 1, 2017 08:09
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Thanks for leaving space for other people to enjoy it.
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Apr 1, 2017 11:07
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