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kyndaris · 4 years

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The Cost of Honour

What would you sacrifice to save the lives of the people you love and the home you cherish? How long would you be able to hold onto your morals when faced with an enemy that is impossible to win against? In the last exclusive for the PlayStation 4, Ghost of Tsushima from the developer Sucker Punch, asks these hard hitting questions and many more as it follows the journey of Jin Sakai in his quest to drive out the brutal Mongols from the island of Tsushima.

Considering the pedigree of Sucker Punch and chafing to dive into the world of Feudal Japan, Ghost of Tsushima was an easy buy for me. Immersed in the world of the Yakuza series and delighting occasionally in fresh new anime, it seemed imperative that I see what this game could bring to the fore. After all, the game looked very much like Assassin’s Creed. I liked Assassin’s Creed. And hadn’t the fans of the Assassin’s Creed franchise been clamouring for something in a similar vein for a very long time?

Once I booted it up, I was immediately struck by the visual representation. The colours were vibrant (though one could choose to play in black and white mode) and coupled with the particle effects, I could have sworn I had been pulled into a cinematic world. The opening scene used this to great effect and proved to be a masterful attempt of immersing me immediately with the world. As Jin raced down the beach, I thoroughly enjoyed the rush that came with swinging my katana at anyone that was foolish enough to stand in my way. Yet, it is not long before it becomes exceedingly clear that the samurai have lost the battle. Many are slain on the beach and Lord Shimura, Jin Sakai’s uncle and jito (land steward) of Tsushima is captured. Jin, having taken a couple of arrow shots in the back, is left for dead.

Enter Yuna. It isn’t clear why she singled out our protagonist as being alive and pulled him away to nurse him back to health.

As the prologue continued, I wondered if she was questioning her choice of companion as Jin, armed with only his sword and a broken piece of armour went to confront the Khan at Castle Kaneda, in a desperate bid to rescue his uncle. This first attempt is met with failure and Jin is essentially yeeted off the bridge. Yes. I know. I used the word ‘yeeted.’ I’m basically roasting my own hands over hot coals as I type this.

Despite plummeting what looked like several hundred metres down into the water below, Jin manages to survive. The man, it seems, is almost unkillable. You could say...he’s a ghost. Badum tss. I’ll see myself out now.

From a discouraging defeat, Jin, however, vows to avenge his fallen samurai brethren and rescue his uncle from the clutches of the evil Mongol invaders. Here, too, was when my journey to collect everything and complete all the side stories began.

Unfamiliar with the works of Kurosawa Akira, I can not rightly say if the narrative nestled in Ghost of Tsushima’s maze of collectibles plays upon the tropes of those that came before. What I did manage to glean was a story of revenge and hate, the cost of war and the values embodied by the notion of ‘samurai.’ With his back to the wall, Jin Sakai must adapt if he hopes to win. Much like Yuna’s speech at the start of the game, he and Lord Shimura have forgotten what it was like to face someone stronger and smarter than they were. If Tsushima and its people hoped to survive, instead of throwing away their lives, they needed to change their tactics.

In the early stages, Jin is shown to grapple with the idea of going in quietly and silently stabbing people in the back. But after the first mission and the first outpost, he was free of the burdens that were his old code of honour. I suppose in that sense, there is a degree of dissonance between the narrative and the play. Alas, I couldn’t have cared less as I went from camp to camp, observing the leaders and unlocking new technique points.

The end of Act 2 and the beginning of Act 3, however, is when Jin Sakai’s actions finally catch up to him. Instead of following through with his uncle’s plan of rebuilding the bridge at Castle Shimura after an explosion killed countless soldiers and allies, he poisons the Mongols drink in a bid to save the lives of his comrades. Classic war crime manoeuvre. Learning from this, however, the Mongols use this against the people of Tsushima as well.

It is this devastation that we see after Jin escapes from his uncle’s stronghold, desperate to free the people from the Mongol’s iron grip. Despite the gruesome nature of it all, it helped put Jin’s actions into a different light. By making the enemy aware of a new weapon, could he have possibly doomed his own people?

Subsequently, when the Khan is killed and Jin is about to face his father figure, it makes sense for Shimura to point out many of his misdeeds. Can the people of Tsushima really be saved if Jin’s actions undermine the authority of those in power? What of the stories that paint him as a ten foot demon with eyes that glow in the dark?

So, it came as no surprise when Lord Shimura asked for a warrior’s death. And wishing to be the dutiful son, no matter how painful it would be, I granted it. One last ‘honourable’ act.

The gameplay in Ghost of Tsushima initially proved to be a challenge, although that was mostly due to the fact that I had to readjust my understanding of my controls. Navigating without a minimap in the corner or a HUD showing me the general directions of north, south, east and west also took some time to adjust to. I don’t think I’ve ever just ‘followed the wind’ when it came to video games before. But, because of that, it allowed me to actually keep my eyes focused on the screen in front of me rather than the top right/ left corner. I could actually take in the scenery instead of being solely focused on clearing out the fog of war.

As for the actual combat, the controls were incredibly intuitive. Square for a normal attack, triangle for heavy. L1 to block and circle to dodge. Where it seemed like the developers should have stopped a little when it came to the variety of options available to the player was mapping R2 as the interactions button - but also the stance and quick throw wheel.

Traversal also proved to be fun and because the HUD wasn’t as cluttered as I was used to, it made exploration easy. Equipped with the Traveler’s Outfit as soon as the game had started also made it incredibly easy to start hunting down collectibles and feeding my urge to see every nook and cranny that was on display. What pained me, however, was the fact that it took me a while to realise that I needed to progress the story and obtain the grappling hook before I could complete a few of the shrines in the first area. And to obtain a few choice head gear.

My only other gripe with the game is that my poor Nobu was felled so swiftly at the start of the third act. And the thin brown horse that served as its replacement was not the replacement I had hoped for. Thankfully, Yuna was able to gift me with another horse - which I named Sora - but my heart still goes out to the faithful Nobu.

Why do you have to kill all of my faithful steeds, video games? I was distraught when Red Dead Redemption 2 did it. Appalled when Shimmer was caught in an explosion in The Last of Us Part II and now...this?

The side characters and side stories also proved to be entertaining distractions over the course of the long journey to free Tsushima. While Masako’s revenge plot was a hollow echo of the pain Jin faced, it was Norio’s burning of the Mongol camp that left me frightened of the legacy of the ghost. At least the ending of Sensei Ishikawa’s story felt a little more redemptive and filled wit hope.

And, after IMDBing the cast, I was gladdened by the fact that many of the voice actors chosen for the game were Asian Americans. Jin Sakai was actually voiced by a Japanese man in the English dub! Imagine that!

Ghost of Tsushima is an excellent open-world game that hews quite closely to the more recent Assassin’s Creed formula. Despite that, I thoroughly enjoyed my time exploring Feudal Japan, inconsistencies and all! My favourite part of it was collecting Mongol artefacts, records and learning a little about each clan banner. The combat also provided a few surprises, although the duels were a little tedious in the latter half. With the world still unable to quite shake the virus that still threatens many of our loved ones, it’s fun to actually dive into this fantastical and historical inaccurate world that is Ghost of Tsushima.

#ghost of tsushima #video games #platinum trophy

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quite-a-sketchione · 4 years

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Pokémon: Bea, Allister, and Canon

Warning: Long post!

So this has always been in the back of my mind but after getting a couple of messages on the subject I figured this has been a long time coming!

Is there any reason that a fanfiction can’t be canon to the official series? That’s the question I’ve been asked in regards to Allister and Bea being siblings. Standard fanon/headcanoning.

My normal stance for fanon vs canon is ‘unless there’s concrete evidence to the contrary, why not?’

However, I’m going to pull in all the resources and go all in on this example.

The ‘Bea and Allister are siblings’ fanon has been around since the official portraits were shown off (i.e. before the game’s release) and wasn’t invented by me by a long shot, but it’s still something I feel strongly about.

So is it possible the two know each other and exist in the same canon (being version exclusives in game)? Yes, but is it likely? I’m going to argue also yes, despite the lack of immediate information. I think beyond reasonable doubt that it’s very likely the two know each other.

Only official sources will be used for this to save muddying the waters.

1st point: Why the discrepency?

-This isn’t the first time there’s been exclusive gym leaders, contrary to popular belief. In Pokémon Black and White, Iris and Drayden are exclusive leaders with one acting as gym leader and the other tutoring Draco Meteor depending on your game.

-In the sequels Iris acts as Champion while Drayden acts as sole gym leader: the two obviously inhabit the same space.

-Similarly, although Gordie and Melony don’t appear in Shield and Sword respectively, Melony’s official League card cements that the mother/son disagreement you hear about in Circhester is between them.

Without the League card it isn’t possible to confirm the relationship between the two UNLESS you have a copy of the official artbook; in Melony’s art she’s shown with Gordie and her other children.

-Bea and Allister are the exception to the rule set by the previous examples: The two aren’t mentioned anywhere in the opposite version. This seems somewhat odd given the track record of the previous two examples.

2nd Point: So what evidence supports the two existing simultaneously and knowing each other?

1. -The main indicator that Bea and Allister would at least know the other in passing is their title: Gym Leader. It seems strange to bring up, but bear with me. It’s officially confirmed that there’s a gym of each type in Galar to make 18 gyms. 8 in the ‘major’ league and 10 in the ‘minor’.

-After defeating them in their respective versions, the player can wear their gym uniforms, but you can also purchase the other leader’s outfit from the shop from the version you don’t have. The uniform is accurate to them, further supported by both the poison and psychic uniforms corresponding to Klara and Avery (who have ties to those gyms) in the Isle of Armor DLC from before the DLC was released.

-It’s unlikely that there would be another character in charge of the gym in a type the two are very proficient at, but you could argue it’s possible. Allister and Bea are also specifically stated to be Stow-on-Side’s Gym Leader in their respective versions, and that their hometown’s are also Stow-on-Side.

-One would either have to rationalise Bea/Allister heads a fighting/ghost gym in a different town and also was born somewhere different, or was born in Stow-on-Side but left since there can only be one gym per town (as stated all the way back in the 1st generation with Sabrina’s gym).

-Not impossible logic, but convoluted to explain why the other isn’t present.

-Even if one is in the major league and one in the minor league, that would still assert the ghost/fighting gym that isn’t in Stow-on-Side does exist, just not in the location the player visits. That’s a long stretch, but again it’s plausible.

2. -Bea and Allister are stated officially to both be Gym Leaders in Galar in Twilight Wings, a series shown only on the official Pokémon youtube channel. There isn’t any reason why the episodes of Twilight Wings wouldn’t be set in the same continuity; Bea and Allister are linked together by a third party, namely John and Tommy.

-It’s Bea’s challenge against Leon that John is watching in episode 1 and in episode 6 Tommy meets with Allister. Tommy meets Allister resolve a conflict that stemmed from episode 1: Tommy and John have fallen out because Rose hasn’t yet replied to the letter Tommy wrote for Leon, which is revealed in a flashback. Tommy clearly states this was the issue.

-It’s nitpicking, but one could still argue this doesn’t place Bea and Allister in the same continuity: John could’ve been watching another match during episode 1 in episode 6′s continuity.

3. -The most decisive piece of evidence that the two exist in the same continuity is actually the offical artbook, surprisingly: Allister and Bea appear together in Allister’s artwork.

-The only other characters who do this are the aforementioned Gordie and Melony. The overlay in Pier’s art with Ness and Milo’s heights doesn’t count due to being an overlay, and not a contructed scene: Bea is reacting to Allister’s hair spike dousing for ghosts.

Conclusion/ TL;DR

-In order to fit the rule of ‘exclusives’ set up in B/W and indeed Sw/Sh, Bea and Allister do indeed reside in the same continuity.

-While circumstantial, the fact there are 18 gyms and unlikely to be any other experts in their type that can surpass them (Bea was trained since she was young, Allister can talk to ghosts), means that the two do head the ghost and fighting gyms in Galar at the same time in the same continuity.

-Twilight Wings supports this through the 3rd parties of John and Tommy

-The official artbook shows Allister and Bea interacting, which is a huge exception to the otherwise solitary gym leader artworks.

-So why isn’t there a more definitive explanation in the games themselves? It’s GameFreak, we should know just how inconsistent they are by now!

-My hypothesis is that a more solid link was planned (as the artbook heavily showcases), then not implemented due to lack of care/time. We know Sw/Sh was heavily rushed. It’s very likely Bea and Allister’s connection was cut to get the game out by the deadline, but the framework for it still exists.

-This has been a TED Sketchi- Talk, thanks for reading ^_^

#pokemon #pokemon sword and shield #bea #allister #pokemon sw/sh

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wetsteve3 · 4 years

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1974 MÜNCH MAMMOTH TTS-E 1200 -The motorcycle world is a richer place for the likes of Friedl Münch. Starting in 1966, working out of his shop in West Germany, he gave us one of the most interesting, charismatic motorcycles ever to roll a wheel. His Münch Mammoth – Mammut in German – can rightfully lay claim to being the world's first superbike. "It was simply the fastest, most powerful, most expensive bike of its time," wrote moto-historian Hugo Wilson of the outrageous machine.

Not content with the twin-cylinder motors powering most bikes of the day, Münch went to the automotive arena and plucked the engine from an NSU 1000 TT Prinz. In retrospect, this engine seems almost perfectly suited for motorcycle use. Four cylinders in line, 1,000cc, air-cooled, with a single overhead cam and a rugged five-main-bearing crankshaft. The Münch-designed frame was a robust twin-cradle affair, obviously inspired by the stellar Norton Featherbed, best of the day. Two years before Honda's blockbuster CB750, Münch produced the world's first modern inline-four.

Not that it was a simple drop-in operation. Münch would need to fabricate an oil pan, primary cover and gearbox case – the latter carrying a modified four-speed cluster from the defunct Horex operation. He wanted more horsepower than stock, so camshafts had to be developed, dual-throat Weber carburetors fitted. No problem for Friedl, engineer and inveterate tinkerer.

Everywhere your eyes fall on a Münch, you see components designed without regard to cost. Friedl Münch was an indefatigable one-man design team, not hemmed in by norms in his pursuit of weight savings, power or speed. Münch's metal of choice for his castings was electron, a magnesium-alloy lighter than aluminum, though harder to work with. Besides various covers and cases, he used electron for the one-piece seat base/rear fender, the double-leading-shoe front brake of his own design and the vaned rear wheel, also his own design and the first cast motorcycle rim to make production. Like the rest of the bike, the exotic metal was not cheap: At a time when a top-of-the-line BMW sold for $1,895, buyers had to part with $4,000 to acquire one of those first Münch Mammoths.

Only a handful of the Series 1 Mammoths were built, as few as 14, with just nine making their way to America, where they were sold as Clymer-Münch Mammoth IVs, thanks to a partnership with publisher and wheeler-dealer Floyd Clymer. Clymer's ad slogan for the bikes was, "Built up to a Standard, Not Down to a Price." Upon Clymer's death in 1970, importation of subsequent Mammoths passed through a variety of hands. Worldwide it's estimated that perhaps 500 bikes were built before operations ceased in 1975 – though as has been pointed out, bookkeeping was never Friedl's strongpoint. As production continued into the Seventies, in effect every machine was a special order, no two alike. This 1974 TTS-E, built for Ford of Europe engineer Helmut Bickenbach, illustrates the point perfectly. With the Alps in his backyard, Bickenbach liked to sport tour, so ordered frame no. 246 as the foundation of a long-wheelbase chassis, some 2-3in. longer than the usual short-coupled Münchs. By '74 stock displacement had grown to 1200cc, but in search of 100bhp he specified the engine be bored to 1286cc, requiring separate cast iron cylinder barrels. Also added to the work order was a high-lift cam, bigger valves and a quad-port Kugelfischer mechanical fuel -injection sytem – making the bike an Einspritzer, hence the E in its model designation. In those days before electronic onboard computers, fuel injection had to mechanically mapped, accomplished here by a quaint ramp-and-ball setup. By request the TTS-E was outfitted with a long-distance fuel tank holding almost 9gal., plus a well-padded solo seat complete with lidded tool compartment. The optional single 200mm Sportlich headlight was selected over the usual dual-beam arrangement. Leading the TTS down the road was a stout fork assembly made to Münch's specs by the UK's Rickman Brothers to accommodate Friedl's massive 250mm four-shoe racing brake. Also on Bickenbach's wish-list were twin oil coolers and a chromed luggage rack that also served as mounting point for a pair of saddlebags. Second owner of this TTS-E was Perry Bushong, master mechanic, Münch aficionado and formerly the longtime BMW dealer in Fort Worth. He purchased the bike in 1986 from Bickenbach, who had been transferred to Detroit and taken the Münch with him. Bushong actually met Friedl Münch in the mid-'60s on a trip to Germany. The two remained in touch and became friends; in fact, on a visit to the U.S. Münch made a point of visiting Texas to see Bushong – and to lay hands on the bike's timing, which had been acting up. Bushong enjoyed the Münch for 25-plus years and put on most of the 23,000 kilometers now showing. In 2012, John Landstrom of Blue Moon Cycle in Norcross, Georgia became the third and current owner of Münch TTS-E no. 246. In his care it was shown at the exclusive Hilton Head Concours in 2017, and now, with a new battery and fresh tune-up, is ready for a new owner to enjoy. Included in the sale are an owner's handbook, service records/receipts going back to 1974, original advertising poster and sales brochure, original German and Texas titles, and hand-written notes by Friedl Münch. Mr. Münch is no longer with us, but his motorcycles remain – rare, quirky, charismatic, technically advanced, historically significant, a fitting reflection of the man who made them.33833818 CommentsLikeComment

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ramajmedia · 5 years

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Mad Men: 10 Hidden Details About The Costumes You Never Noticed

Fun and reasonably scandalous, Mad Men presents an invigorating narrative that has always attracted a wide audience. The characters are larger than life and their interactions, dynamic. Still, what really makes the show the prized series that it is, is the wardrobe of the characters. They are convincingly dressed to fit the part and to portray all the magic and allure of a bygone era.

Here are 10 things you might not know about the show's costumes, to add to your appreciation from the series which gives one a glimpse backward in time to the 1960s, a decade when things were hip, happening and the world was everyone's oyster.

10 Episode by episode

The creative team behind Mad Men's costumes worked on the series' wardrobe episode by episode. Designer Bryant said that the team would sit down to talk about each episode's narrative and the characters at the beginning of each season. This would then be discussed in terms of costume design.

RELATED: 10 Shows To Watch If You Like Mad Men

Following this, research was done so that the best of each character and each episode's narrative could be brought forth. For the costumes of Mad Men, it was all about planning and remaining true to the initial costume design vision - to recreate the 60s, and remain true to what was real in terms of fashion in those years.

9 Character by character

Each character in the series was given their own design book. This meant that a special team was designated to each character, and factors such as the actor/actress, their habits, their lifestyle, their personality... and then the broader factors, such as the time era and area in which they lived were taken into account.

For each episode, a week was given to create the design book for each character, making for tedious, thorough research and quality investment in each facet of costume design for the show. Add to this some vintage hats or ties and voila!

8 Purple wonder

Every actor or actress has an item of clothing they just love on set! It was the same with Mad Men. Peggy Olson's long-sleeved purple dress was a firm favorite with viewers.

RELATED: Mad Men, 10 Hidden Details About The Main Characters Everyone Missed

It also had quite a story behind it. Costume designer Janie Bryant said she had been contacted by a woman from Queens who wanted to give her some dresses from the 60s. The purple dress had been among them. Within a few days, Peggy Olson was wearing the dress on set.

7 Vintage rules

Donations are costume designer Janie Bryant's favorite when it comes to kitting out a cast such as the cast of Mad Men. This is because donations cover clothing from across different eras, genres, ages, and cultural groups.

RELATED: Mad Men, 10 Storylines That Were Never Resolved

An old woman called Jean Bell donated a whole lot of clothes to the show, including all of her bags and hats, and her husband's ties. Vintage, according to Bryant, is more valuable than exclusive pieces designed especially for the show.

6 Reflecting the times

However 'thrown together' some of the outfits on Mad Men might appear, they are completely accurate in reflecting the desired time period which they depict. A great deal of research went into the costumes for the show, with the outfits reflecting the years from the early 1960s to the beginning of the 1970s.

The clothing and details are accurate to an astounding degree. This is partly because of the research done into this specific time period, but also because vintage clothes were used for the cast. This means actual clothes worn by those who were fashionable at that time.

5 Emmy winner takes the lead

Janie Bryant, who has won an Emmy Award for her costume designing, for Deadwood, was the mastermind behind the wardrobe of Mad Men.

Mad Men was not her first 1960s drama and so when she heard about the series, she was super excited and even flew out to meet the directors of the show, specifically Weiner, who had just finished work on The Sopranos.

RELATED: The Best TV Series Finales Of The Decade

With a portfolio and track record like that - and an unhealthy interest in the 60s - one can hardly expect to be surprised at Bryant's successful wardrobe for Mad Men.

4 Coupling up

Throughout the show, it would seem that couples are showing up with matching wardrobes, when they are in unity, and with clashing outfits when they are, well, clashing.

To give an example, consider when Pete Campbell was dressed in brownish-red checks, and Trudy Campbell, in pink floral swirls. The couple didn't need to open their mouths to show something was amiss. Or how about the scene where Peggy Olson and Ted Chaough are having an affair. They are dressed in colors which show agreement and unity in their act of deviance - greens and blues.

3 Hats and all

There are many hats in the series and this is no mistake. In this specific time period (the end of the 1960s), men were still wearing hats. This is why Don and the other men in the narrative walk around with stylish hats for much of the on-screen action.

Bryant explained that the decline of men wearing hats actually came around the time Kennedy and Elvis stepped onto the scene. This was to say, the beginning of the end of hat-wearing. Kennedy, she said, hated hats and it seems he was a bit of a trendsetter with the general public.

2 Peter Campbell, a trendsetter

Fans will agree, Peter Campbell definitely knows how to pull some fashion strings. He is very fashion conscious and at the beginning of the series was shown wearing the coveted blue suit of the day.

Bryan explained this fashion consciousness in Peter Campbell was a deliberate move of the costume design team. It was only as Campbell aged in the narrative that he was shown wearing more sombre, three-piece suits. However, the design team made sure to express his coolness and his youth, as well as his pizzazz with fashion, from the outset.

1 Far from practical

Designing costumes character by character means considering their unique personalities. The character of Joan was never practical, while at the same time is the epitome of femininity. This made for some great costume design moments, and for a designer, designing dresses and outfits exploring the power of Joan's femininity was a great treat.

When the character was eventually dressed in pants, it was in the classic 1950s cigarette pants - also dubbed the Marilyn Monroe pants.

NEXT: Mad Men, 10 Hidden Details You Never Noticed

source https://screenrant.com/mad-men-10-hidden-details-costumes-never-noticed/

#screenrant

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