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hopeymchope · 2 years

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Considering why some of the twists in World’s End Club don’t make retroactive sense

I was recently watching the YouTuber Food4Dogs talk about World’s End Club, and she seemed to suggest at one point that some of the issues with the game’s storytelling may well have stemmed from Apple’s push to release the incomplete version as a sort of “Early Access” game for Apple Arcade users.

A refresher: Typically, if a game is on Apple Arcade, that’s because Apple paid for that. Which means Apple directly gave funding to TooKyo Games for World’s End Club, and they got early access to the incomplete “2/3″ version in exchange.

For this reason, the devs not only saved any Apple Arcade player’s progress at that cliffhanger point — they also created a way for people who’d previously played the Apple Arcade version to skip past the first 2/3 of the game if they later opt to pick up the Switch version.

This is part of the cliffhanger ending that existed in the original Apple Arcade release. It’s also an unlockable extra video in the full Switch version.

However, by doing that, the developers basically locked 2/3 of the game into place. Any big reveals they did in the last 1/3? There was no way to further edit the first 2/3 to make it work in retrospect. If users were going to be playing through 2/3 of the game and then waiting to finish the adventure later, you can’t exactly go back and change what happens in the first 2/3 anymore, can you?

When TooKyo Games eventually finished the game, they would go back and update some of the music for previous sections and remove some glitches as well as adding English VO and new collectibles throughout.. but they didn’t change any text or plot points.

This suggests that perhaps the game’s writing wasn’t entirely locked down when they put out the incomplete Apple Arcade version. Because it’s really hard to square some of the late-game revelations up with some earlier events.

I will not be attempting to explain the giant neo-impressionistic water dog.

Let’s get down to SUPER-SPOILERY business under the cut.

Is it really possible that Reycho was controlled by Pochi (and, occasionally, the “Otherworlder” i.e. the player) throughout the duration og the game? I submit to you that this does not make much sense in multiple scenes.

In particular, please consider this scene from Chapter 1. This is the moment where Pochi proposes to Vanilla and Reycho that they all share their wristband tasks. That way, nobody among them can use those tasks against the others. It seems like a solid idea, except... Reycho refuses.

Here’s the scene (partly as screenshots and partly as text):

Vanilla: And you haven’t been brainwashed!?

Pochi: I’m totally fine.

Vanilla: .........................................

Pochi: Come on, Vanilla. Show me your wristband!

Vanilla: You think I’m gonna say “Sure!” just like that? Tattsun just showed his wristband and he...

Pochi: Here you go... *Pochi extends his wrist towards her*

Vanilla: *reading Pochi’s wristband* “Aniki’s Task: Eliminate everyone besides yourself”!?

Pochi: *pulls another wristband from his pocket* This is Tattsun’s wristband. I picked it up after he dropped it a minute ago. I guess something makes the wristband come off once the person is eliminated.

Vanilla: *reading the second wristband* “Kansai’s Task: Don’t bleed until 7 minutes before the time limit.“

Pochi: See? Do you get it now? You won’t end up like Tattsun if you show us your wristband.

Vanilla: But Reycho still hasn’t shown us what his wristband says...

Reycho: *shakes his head*

Vanilla: I see... so no negotiations, huh.

Pochi: What... that’s not fair, Vanilla!

Vanilla: Why? You were the one that showed it to me! I’m sorry. It’s not that I don’t trust you two, but... I can’t show you my wristband no matter what. Anyway, good luck you guys. See ya! *Vanilla runs off*

Pochi: Vanilla! *she leaves* Well that’s it, there goes my strategy. It didn’t seem like Vanilla had been brainwashed, so I thought she’d show her wristband. Well, it is what it is, I guess. Only one thing to do now: Keep everyone from doing their tasks!

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IN SUMMATION: Reycho. The robot that supposedly has no free will or self-awareness at this time. The robot that Pochi is directly controlling with his phony portable game console. REYCHO refuses to go along with POCHI’S plan.

.........WTF???

Pochi had to know Reycho’s task already when he proposed the above idea. Why did he spend the time to make this suggestion if he himself wasn’t willing to go along with it?! It makes no sense. ............... Unless we’re supposed to believe that Reycho just asserted his own will or something, foreshadowing his eventual self-awareness. .........................Buuuuuuuuuuut if that were the case, shouldn’t Pochi have mentioned this strange occurence later — either to the others or when he’s just alone, trapped in the school and thinking to himself? (Uh, maybe so much had happened by then that he forgot?)

I’ll forgive the fact that Pochi is talking to Reycho alone. That actually happens quite a bit in the game, but I don’t think it has to be a big deal. That could just be Pochi putting on a front just in case anybody is watching them. Or maybe he just got used to treating Reycho like a friend and colleague after a while, so it came naturally.

Regardless, it’s still a bizarre scene in light of later events. And it’s not even the only thing that calls into question how Reycho is functioning.

What about when they all ride away on that massive 12-person bicycle together? Pochi’s game console is stowed away because he’s peddling on the bike and has his hands on the handlebars. Meanwhile, Reycho is... doing the same thing somehow? Without being controlled?

Reycho even thrusts his fist out when Kansai does it!

And what about when we’re told later that all Pielope’s transformations and all of the weird creatures they encountered along the way were just hallucinations that MAIK created - simple illusions? If that’s the case, explain this:

What’s holding Reycho and Chuko up?! Pielope’s transformations were all just illusions, remember?

Shortly thereafter, when Pielope tries to burst into the lead cars to “punish the traitor,” a bunch of the kids grab his giant robot legs and hold him back with all their might. So what the hell are they grabbing if the transformation isn’t really there?

What happens if you get snapped up by the giant carnivorous plants in the first abandoned town? I mean, Reycho can get grabbed and chewed up in that segment, but supposedly the plants don’t exist and are mere illusions. So uh, what the hell is doing that? .... I guess you could argue that since this causes a Game Over, it never actually happens and is non-canon content or something. But it still irks me.

It definitely feels like, instead of writing the whole story out beforehand, Uchikoshi came up with (or just changed his original intent for) these endgame explanations very late in the production process. And at that point, they had no way of going back to adjust earlier sequences.

Don’t get me wrong: These two issues (Reycho being constantly under control and the “illusions” claim) are really my only two issues with the storytelling. I still loved the story as a whole, and there are tons of other events and twists that worked!

But those elements... they clearly stick out.

#world's end club #wec #wec spoilers #too kyo games #tookyo games #writing #kotaro uchikoshi

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posthungergamessyndrome · 4 years

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It's a month before "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes"so here's a little PSA on where you should buy your book in the era of corona:

Book release midnight parties? Book tour? Book signings? Forget it, they're cancelled before they were even announced.

If you follow its official Twitter, it's been asking you to pre-order the book, and depending on your country, it will show you a list of places to pre-order.

I'm in the US so that's what I'm covering in this post, but those in other countries feel free to reblog and add where it's best to buy the book.

So if you go to songbirdsandsnakes.com, click pre-order, click United States, it will give you several options to buy: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books a Million, IndieBound, Target & Walmart for hardcovers (then apple store and audible for ebooks and audiobook versions).

So the most expensive place to buy is IndieBound, which is a network of independent bookstores and you can enter your ZIP code, find the closest one to you, and order directly from their website. If you got that coin or extra stimulus money, consider buying from them since they're the ones who need our business the most.

If you want to cut through any middle man, buy directly from scholastic. BUT note that it doesn't offer free shipping under $25 AND it will likely arrive AFTER may 19, BUT THIS WILL BE TRUE FROM ANY PLACE YOU PRE-ORDER:

Here's target saying it will ship BY MAY 19, you will most definitely not get it by may 19, and with free standard shipping, expect up to a week before it arrives.

Books A Million is the same, it will ship ON May 19, so will likely take longer.

You can Amazon Prime to get it faster and it has the lowest price too (along with Walmart) but it still likely won't come by may 19 and Amazon is shitty to authors and publishers and hasn't Jeff Bezos taken enough of our money already during this time of corona?

Here's Walmart and it says it will arrive by MAY 21.

For me IMO the Goldilocks choice to pre-order the book is at BARNES & NOBLE

It's 29 percent off, you can do curbside pick up if available in your area, ships free with $35 order (idk buy another one for a friend or pay the $5 shipping) AND it's the exclusive edition. Doesn't say what's exclusive about it: different cover art? Additional art work inside? Merch? Bonus content? Not sure but I want it. Edit: bonus content is a readers guide and q&a with Suzanne Collins.

It will likely still arrive after may 19 tho, but any OG hunger games fan on Tumblr know we like to buy the ebook version too coz it's quicker to look up quotes and how we made the hunger games the most highlighted book on Amazon.

Ebooks will likely drop at 12:01 am EST (so west coast take note) along with audiobooks.

I suggest getting the ebooks with the audiobook coz it will be narrated by this guy:

(could I have gotten a better screenshot? Yes)

“Santino Fontana is an accomplished and talented stage and screen actor, as well as an award-winning audiobook narrator. Santino’s range and ability made him a perfect choice to handle a multiplicity of characters, and he brings depth and richness to Suzanne Collins’ extraordinary writing.” said Lori Benton, President, Scholastic Audio.

POTENTIAL SPOILER: we likely mostly will follow Snow all throughout the story, multipov unlikely.

No money? Try audible for free: https://amzn.to/34STmCe

Also start stalking your public library website and request the ebook if they haven't gotten it yet and request it as soon as it becomes available.

#hunger games #suzanne collins #president snow #the ballad of songbirds and snakes

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