YU-GI-OH: Dawn of the Duel | The Past, Present & Future of Duel Monsters

 "Ok, you promise me this is the last one?" 

"Of course, I'm done after this one?" 

"You are not doing GX or 5Ds?" 

"Absolutely."

"No Season 0 or any of the movies?" 

"I didn't feel compelled to watch that one, and I don't have much to say about the movies." 

"Awesome! *sigh* Well....then finish it off cowboy." 

*sniff* "Will do Jimmy Carter." 

We are finally here. I gotta say watching Dawn of the Duel was not unlike reading a high school year book. When you read a year book, you get a great sense of your past and present. Your past can take you back to that world as if you never left. It's almost like time traveling. It can make you feel like your there. It's also your present because that time capsule gives you a glimpse of what you initially thought about your future versus how you see it now living in it. 

My past with Dawn of the Duel is quite simple. I never fully seen Dawn of the Duel. It's ironic because Dawn of the Duel was easily the most accessible since it was apart of the Kids WB lineup. I had to watch almost all of YU-GI-OH from Duelist Kingdom to Grand Championship via DVDs and lucky happenstance on hotel cable. However, aside from the final episodes, I remembered finding Dawn of the Duel quite boring, so I skipped it. 

So now, we are in the present. I started watching Duelist Kingdom on the whim and then felt compelled to watch the entirety of the original YU-GI-OH. And after a long trek that lasted several months, we are finally at Dawn of the Duel. 

And it's...kind of boring. 

Ok, that is not entirely true. Really, similar to Duelist Kingdom, there is sort of a key to enjoying Dawn of the Duel. Where in Duelist Kingdom, the key is to treat the show like Dungeons and Dragons. In Dawn of the Duel, the key is focus away from the idea that YU-GI-OH is just about card games. You may be thinking "well YU-GI-OH is a card game show, right?" And you would be right. However, Dawn of the Duel is a notable departure on that concept. The focal point this time isn't about card games. It is around the lore and character drama. And while lore and characters aren't new in YU-GI-OH, it has never been the focus since they were usually used to supplement the card games. They bridged one card game to the next. They added stakes to a particular card game. They were a catalyst for tension in the card games. It's all cards games all the time. 

Dawn of the Duel just isn't that focus on card games itself. In fact, in the entire 26-episode run, there are only three traditional duels that happen. Two if you only count the ones that get a proper conclusion. Dawn of the Duel for the first time in YU-GI-OH's history feels like a traditional anime which is strange to say out loud. Yeah, imagine YU-GI-OH where the focus is the plot, the characters, and basically every basic thing that's in a story. That idea is really weird. Going back to the professional wrestling analogy from my Duelist Kingdom review, it is like watching the Undertaker vs. AJ Styles match that was filmed like a traditional movie. It can't help but feel off. It eats at me that in the back of my mind I am asking myself "sooooo, when are we getting another card game?"

The frustrating thing is that I like the story beats in Dawn of the Duel. For example, the opening episode is the best opening episode in the entire series. It's exciting. We get to see grandpa at his prime doing cool shit. And finally, we get to see the return of Bakura after being absent for three arcs. It serves as a great outline for all the good we are going to see in the series. 

First, and this is something I didn't expect, this show is an excellent prequel. 

I was taken aback at how well Dawn of the Duel executes its origins of YU-GI-OH staples, and I believe the secret ingredient is the fact that Dawn of the Duels mainly centers its origins on things most people wouldn't give two shits about knowing the background of in the YU-GI-OH lore. I feel why a number of prequels fail is that they focus on things people care too much about. Characters like Michael Myers or stories like the Thing are stories that theoretically could have benefitted from a prequel, but they fail purely because they destroy the mystery or audience expectations of their origins. They are also stories that don't need to be told. What do we gain now we know the mystery of Michael Myers? To name other examples, what does the viewer gain for knowing how the Death Star plans were retrieved, the origins of Hannibal Lector, or the history of Dumb and Dumber-"Wait! They made a Dumb and Dumber prequel?!?!?

Meanwhile, Dawn of the Duel adds new meaning to the source material through recontextualization or just by giving origins to things you wouldn't expect would have an origin. Part of me wants to avoid details for spoilers sakes, and the fact I want to avoid spoilers in a YU-GI-OH anime is also strange to say out loud. Well since I brought it up....

{Spoilers of the original YU-GI-OH} 

Dawn of the Duel tells the story behind the Dark Magician, Blue Eyes White Dragon, and the millennium items. They're great because they make you completely rethink how these elements are played in the earlier seasons. In the earlier seasons, there are moments where Yami talks about his bond with Dark Magician which doesn't make sense because they are holograms. You kind of brush it off as stupid YU-GI-OH nonsense that is pretty commonplace. 

When you find out that Dark Magician is actually a reincarnation of one of Yami's friends, it completely changes the dynamic. Now, when Yami plays Dark Magician, it becomes an unknowing tribute to Mahad's tragic defeat. 

It's amazing how well Dawn of the Duel gets you to like the characters despite some of these characters being established quickly. The fight between Mahad and Bakura actually had an emotional weight to it compared to anything I've seen in the series. Bakura is actually a very good villain. He always was a good villain. His voice is a good voice. There isn't much to say on Bakura that isn't blatantly obvious since he demonstrates everything great about a classic villain. I suppose Bakura is elevated by how understated he is. He isn't overtop compared to other YU-GI-OH villains. And thanks to Dawn of the Duel, Bakura finally has a backstory to help contextualize his actions. Unfortunately, he is not perfect, and he suffers the Dartz problem where his powers are unclear and seem to be used to contrive ways to keep the plot going. It's not as egregious as Waking the Dragons, but it something I felt needed to be noted.

So Dawn of the Duel seems great. It seems like the best arc in the series based on how I described it. Well that's the thing. Despite everything going for it, Dawn of the Duel still feels boring. 

The show is rather dry, and it is hard to immediately pinpoint the problem. At first, I thought it was the aforementioned lack of card games, and that is a slight part of it. However, I have watched plenty of shows without card games. After all, Breaking Bad doesn't have card games, and that is one of the greatest shows ever made. 

I think the problem is that YU-GI-OH is always stilted by unpolished writing. There are a lot of great ideas. But at best, they are executed by scenes where two characters spout out their feelings in the most basic way. There is no nuance or style. You don't feel that lightning that comes when you hear an impassioned line. If you asked me to quote a line from YU-GI-OH that isn't a joke, an unintentional joke, or a meme, I wouldn't be able to.  

Certain story beats also could have used more time in the oven or were just missed opportunities in general, as is always the case in YU-GI-OH. The battle between Seto and the Pharaoh, which was built up ever since the beginning of Battle City, is just a one episode skirmish. Blink once and you will almost miss it. Joey Wheeler gets nothing to do. It would have been nice for him to have at least one moment where he dueled someone. Yugi's arc involves just one battle where he duels on his own before facing Yami. It would have been better if Yugi dueled several times throughout the season gaining more new cards to help show the fact that he is developing his own identity.   

The unpolished animation doesn't help. The action used in place of card games are shadow games where duelists send monsters to slap each other around for a bit before one overpowers the other. And similar to Capsule Monsters, there is no creativity that was seen in Duelist Kingdom for it to be engaging. It's arguably worse than Capsule Monsters since at least elemental types were use to give the Capsule Monsters some intelligence. 

YU-GI-OH strengths were always its creativity, and that creativity were usually card game related. When the show tries anything else, even at the best of times where the concept is great, it falls a little flat. When I look back at my favorite moments in YU-GI-OH, they involved the most creativity, and gravitas of getting out of a situation despite the restrictions duel monsters rules. In fact here is a quick top 10 of those moments right now. 

10: Yami vs. Raphael 

This duel is only on here for being the only time in the series where they handled Yami losing to an antagonist. The show was always bad at having the protagonist lose once in a while. They always preserved his pride one way or another. The duel is also arguably the best use of cards reflecting character which were used pretty effectively with Raphael. It's only number ten because it is an episode from Waking the Dragons, and I hate Waking the Dragons.

9: Yami vs. the Rare Hunter 

This duel is the perfect bridge between Duelist Kingdom and Battle City. It feels Battle City because there is a great boss situation in the form of three Exodias, and it feels like Duelist Kingdom because Yugi finds an out of box way of winning the situation. It is a short and sweet duel.  

8: Rebecca vs. Leon/Vivian

I really like Grand Championship. And part of why is because of how straightforward they are. Rebecca's duels are the pinnacle of that. They don't waste time with recap dialogue or flashbacks. There are some clever ideas. Leon's cards are comical for how situational they are, but they don't take away from their creativity. These duels are solid watches. 

7: Yami vs. Bakura (Battle City Quarter Finals) 

Similar to the last entry, this duel is nice and straightforward. Yugi is put in a creative and unique situation, and it sets the tone for the Battle City Finals nicely. Dark Sanctuary will forever be my favorite field backdrop of any YU-GI-OH duel. 

6: Ziegfried vs. Joey

I don't watch YU-GI-OH for the dialogue. However, I have to give an exception to Ziegfried. His one liners and smack talk is just *chef's kiss* delicious. I have such a soft spot for Ziegfried, and this duel is the highlight of his character.

5: Yugi and Joey vs. the Paradox Brothers

I think out of all the YU-GI-OH gimmicks, this one is my favorite. It's overall a solid Duelist Kingdom episode and pretty unique as the Yugi and Joey now have to strategize around positioning. The ending after the duel is stupid, but since when has YU-GI-OH ever been perfect?

4: Yami vs. Kaiba (Battle City Semi-Finals): 

A fan favorite for obvious reasons. It's great purely for seeing Kaiba's face when he realizes is going to lose the duel. It is so satisfying since Kaiba was at his cuntiest in Battle City. The duel also has a solid and creative back and forth, but I think its remember fondly for its climax. 

3: Joey vs. Yami Marik:

In retrospect, when I think about my favorite moments in Battle City. I look to this one. While Yami and Kaiba is great in terms of paying off a sizable amount of buildup. It lacks the moment to moment as this duel since there are parts that drag on with flashbacks and the like.

This duel works as being a great close to Joey's journey in this arc but also because there are great situations Joey is put up against such as the Lava Golem and Nightmare Wheel. It's probably the pinnacle of Joey as a character.

2: Yami vs. Panik: 

I have referenced Gaia being catapulted into a castle in almost every review of this show. To me, this duel is a perfect encapsulation of everything great about Duelist Kingdom. It's out of box. It's weird, and it doesn't devolve into crappy deus machina the show is guilty of having. No moment will top the fun genius of this duel except...

 

1: Yami vs. Yugi: 

I guess this segways back to Dawn of the Duel. After a climatic yet ultimately uninteresting battle with Zork (who by the way has the stupidest voice and name), the real climax of the show begins in the form of Yami vs. Yugi. If you asked me as a kid how I would have imagined the original YU-GI-OH to end, it would have never occurred to me to end it with these two characters. It's so obvious in retrospect. 

Other than my aforementioned problems where I wished they made Yugi dueled more beforehand, along with a few other missed opportunities, I think this battle is phenomenal. There is a great back and forth. It is genuinely creative with how Yugi takes down three Egyptian God cards at once. There is some good character moments. It is about as close to perfect as you can get to closing a series like YU-GI-OH.

Final Thoughts

I said that Dawn of the Duel was like a high school year book, a glimpse into the past and present. It really took me back in how I thought of YU-GI-OH at the time. I remember the YU-GI-OH anime felt like a refuge for card game aficionados like myself to live out the fantasies of a great player. I can remember myself looking at each episode fondly. I remember the excitement when I would see those cards in real life. How else would I be excited for something as terrible as Rocket Warrior if I didn't see it in a cartoon somewhere. 

Now, how I see my relationship with YU-GI-OH in the coming years is a middling one. I still appreciate YU-GI-OH. In fact, I gained a newfound appreciation for its creativity particularly in Duelist Kingdom or how it develops origins for source material in Dawn of the Duel. That said, age had me aware of problems I wasn't privy to before. There are constant interruptions and random dialogue nonsense made worse if you are watching the episodes in order. 

If I learned one thing is that even the weird and sometimes nonsensical can be interesting and even enjoyable. If I learned two things it is that I probably shouldn't delve into a 200+ episode series probably ever again.  

Would I recommend YU-GI-OH? Absolutely. However, you may want to use an episode guide. In fact, as my final gift, I will end this review with one that I feel is the best way to enjoy the original YU-GI-OH. Reading these reviews wouldn't hurt either :)

But that is the end. Now if you excuse me. I got to figure out what the hell to do with the rest of my life. 

Episode Guide (Use Wikipedia as Reference)

Duelist Kingdom 

{Episodes 1-6}

{Episodes 11-24}

{Episodes 26-40}

{Episodes 43-45}

Battle City 

(First 6 episodes are optional if you want additional backstory)

{Episode 7-18} 

{Episode 21-24}

{Episode 30}

{Episode 33-35} (36 is optional if you want additional backstory)

{Episode 37-45}

{Episode 47-48}

Noah Arc & Return to Battle City 

Most if not all of the Noah arc can be skipped. However, if you are still interested in some of the duels, here are the ones to watch: {Episode 11-12} {Episode 14-16} {Episode 23-24}

{Episode 25-37}

{Episode 38-40} (This duel is alright, but I feel it's fine skipping it)

{Episode 41-45} (Episode 46 is also optional if you want a more complete ending). 

Waking the Dragons 

Likewise, most of Waking the Dragons can be skipped. However, here are the episodes that are decent: {Episode 12-14} {Episode 16-18} {Episode 30-32}

Grand Championship, Capsule Monsters and Dawn of the Duel

{Episode 3-14}

{Episode 27-29} (Episode 30-31 optional for additional context)

{Episode 32-36} 

{Episode 39-46}

{Episode 48-52}

Films That Didn't Click (ANIME EDITION): Ghost in the Shell, Akira, & the Wind Rises

Like a glass of wine or a shot of heroin, I like a good anime every once in a while. However, I noticed that when it comes to the classics of anime film I would enjoy them less than others. Sure, there are classics that I love like Spirited Away and anything Satoshi Kon touched, but there were still a handful that weren't my cup of tea. You can say they didn't click with me. 

For today, I am going to rewatch three of them and see if my opinions have changed. Maybe I was wrong and there was something I missed? Maybe I have changed to where I can better appreciate these films? Or maybe, we are in an unfortunate reality where I still don't care for them, and I am just a boring contrarian. 

Oh well, at least these films won't make me nearly as mad the Prom. Ugh, I am still not over that. 

Ghost in the Shell 

Ghost in the Shell released in 1995 and was the type of innovation where a lot of people since were inspired by the style and themes of the story. Without Ghost in the Shell, we wouldn't have the Matrix, James Cameron's Avatar, and other mainstream films that no one cares about anymore. Without Ghost in the Shell, we wouldn't have elements of Metal Gear Solid or Deus Ex. It's clear that Ghost in the Shell has the same staying power as Alien or 1984. It left an effect on a multimedia scale, and Ghost in the Shell's legacy is much farther than most can comprehend. 

That being said, I am of the opinion that innovative qualities can only go so far in determining the quality of something. After all, Birth of the Nation and Gone with the Wind were both innovative, and both have aged poorly with varying degrees of racism. And while Ghost in the Shell isn't nearly as bad as those, the point is that even innovative films can have problems.  

Thankfully, Ghost in the Shell isn't dated in a moral or political sense. In fact, in a modern sense, it has aged beautifully, taking on queer readings as well as being more relevant thanks to today's discussions involving AI and our place in the world as certain jobs become more automated. Where Ghost in the Shell becomes dated is the plot. 

Unless you have read additional source material or some type of cliff notes, Ghost in the Shell's plot is barely understandable. The film starts off with an unhelpful opening crawl before dumping us into a story that is completely unexplained and marred in technical jargon. Even with the Wikipedia article opened on a separate tab, you are still left with questions. 

For example, "following a request from Nakamura, chief of Section 6, she successfully assassinates a diplomat of a foreign country to prevent a programmer named Daita from defecting." 

  

Ok...why is does this matter? What are the consequences if Daita defects? Why is Section 9 following Nakamura's request? These questions may not mean much, but they do a lot to pull me into a story. You can say there is a lack of a personal connection between the viewer and the narrative. 

Here is another example: "After a chase, they capture a garbage man and a thug. However, both are only ghost-hacked individuals with no clue about the Puppet Master. The investigation again comes to a dead end."

So...I didn't realize we were even on a paper trail of evidence looking for this Puppet Master in the first place. Even Wikipedia doesn't have a great explanation, they simply go from "trace telephone calls" straight into "after the chase" with no in between because that's just what the movie feels like. It feels like I am watching random bits and pieces of a TV show, and I probably am considering this is adapting a manga. I imagine a lot got lost in translation. I guess this is one of those "the manga is better situations." 

Although, I feel that sentiment can only go so far. After all, the movie is stunning to look at. Besides the audio, if you told me this movie was made this year or at the very least within the last two decades, I would likely believe you. The look of Ghost in the Shell aged beautifully. It may very well be one of the best looking animations of all time. 

And to give credit to Ghost in the Shell, while the plot feels underdeveloped, you can argue that that is not what you watch Ghost in the Shell for in the first place. You watch Ghost in the Shell for the main character, her struggle with existentialism, and the themes surrounding it....and probably also her nipples. 

I found myself enjoying this second viewing a bit more than my first when I realized the plot is practically ignorable. All that matters is the story between Kusanagi and the Puppet Master, and that stuff is pretty good. It is where the themes shine through. It is where the viewer can personally connect with the film. You will be left with something to take away, a moment or a quote. My quote I took away was "what's the importance of being human then?" That quote left me in a pointed silence. If we are doing everything we can do to invent immunity to diseases, change our organic structure, or other enhancements, can we can really call ourselves human anymore? Are we just made to make us inherently pointless? Is the meaning of life just the slow path to becoming obsolete and that we are no better than the dinosaurs that came before us..... 

So yeah, this film is pretty good. Onto movie #2....

Akira 

Like Ghost in the Shell, Akira is very influential, and that is putting that lightly. If Ghost in the Shell's influence was a frag grenade, then Akira is an atomic bomb. Akira's legacy can be seen in almost everything from the Dark Knight to musical artists like Michael Jackson and Kanye West. Imagine making something, and it is so great it would influence both Batman and Kanye simultaneously. You might think you were living in a weird world. 

Admittedly, I was initially a little down on Akira. I certainly liked the film my first time through, but I didn't love the film. I couldn't quite fall into the hype of what is considered by many to be the greatest animated film ever made. 

However, after watching the opening sequence, which contains scenes of police violence & government protests set in a decaying city, my feelings went from like to love real quick. 

The relevance Akira has to today's society is stunning. And now that I am at an age to better grasp these concepts, Akira's power was more resonant this time around. 

Akira's strength is that it has everything. It seriously has everything. It's an entire package. It has action, humor, and drama. It's got a power fantasy trip, political intrigue, and body horror. Anyone who likes movies can walk into Akira and basically get something out of it. 

What I got out of it was that Akira is the quintessential animated experience. I know there have been talks for a while about a live action Akira, and there is a possibility that a theoretical movie could be good. Unfortunately, the reality is that an Akira movie would not work as well in the same way Super Mario Bros. wouldn't work as a movie. In fairness to cinema, Akira wouldn't work in most mediums. Its power comes purely from its animation. 

The blood and gore are a prominent example of this. Akira lends itself a sickly feeling that's unique compared to live-action films. While movies can bring their own effective gore effects, it couldn't exude the same style as Akira as it couldn't replicate the squash & stretch and other techniques unique to animation. An Akira film would feel considerably less Akira just from gore effects alone. A book or a game also couldn't replicate that feeling as the cinematography forces you to absorb the visuals. With books, your imagination can tame some of the gore. And with games, interactivity could lessen the impact. The sound design adds pain and a visceral feeling meaning art or other non-audio mediums also can't reach the level of Akira's animation.  

There is such a unique feel to Akira despite many stories since taking cues from its style. I cannot reiterate enough that there is so much to like. Unlike Ghost in the Shell, the world building gives you enough information about the world but not too much to bog down the pacing. Tetsuo is easily one of my favorite versions of the "power breeds insanity." Tetsuo is powerless in a multitude of ways in a societal outset and a personal outset. There is a subtle rage that becomes more obvious as Tetsuo realizes he can retaliate against a world that has aggressively marginalized him. It's played naturally and not written in a way where they merely contrive the scenario to have an antagonist halfway through the film.

If I had anything bad about to say, it would be the first half has a bit of a slow boil to set up the numerous pieces that will be relevant to the last stretch of the film. However, this is a minor issue especially when said last stretch has a very satisfying payoff. 

Well it seems after three movies, I finally found a movie that I had a complete 180 on in terms of opinion. When I set out to do these reviews, my hope was to find a movie that I would go from not clicking with to loving it, and Akira is the first so far to really do that for me. While Akira isn't personally one of my favorite films, it is an enthralling experience and a must watch. 

The Wind Rises

Miyazaki's 'last movie' was a poignant moment for me at the time. Miyazaki, and by extension Studio Ghibli, have made some of my favorite animated films ever. Even before I officially got into movies, I was into their stuff. Kiki's Delivery Service specifically, was a childhood favorite of mine. 

So I was anticipating The Wind Rises. I was even more excited when I heard the premise was an animated biopic which, while wasn't a new concept at the time, was new to me. And when I saw it, I was very meh about it. Again, like Akira, I liked it, but it was a middling experience which didn't match the hype I had at the time. 

Thankfully, we live in a world where we can call backsies, and Miyazaki would do that just a few years later with his upcoming film How Do You Live? Now, I can rewatch this film as its own movie without the reputation of it being a master's last hurrah. 

And yeah, much like a lot of these films so far, I gained a newfound appreciation for the Wind Rises. Although, my opinion is still slightly middling. At least it is better than Howl's Moving Castle which is another Miyazaki film that didn't click and never will. 

Anyway, The Wind Rises has the usual trimmings of a Miyazaki film. Even though this film is about a Japanese engineer that would invent fighter planes that tragically would eventually be used for kamikaze operations, this is still a very relaxing watch. It's a serene experience and at times surreal. The sound designed vocally gives every scene a dreamlike quality. 

But unfortunately, that's all about all I can say that really stands out about Wind Rises. 

I remember a reviewer once describing a concept that certain art can either be more-good than less-bad or less-bad than more-good.

Miyazaki's pretend last film is an example of a movie that is less-bad than more-good. Obviously this film is solid. The story is decently told. It gives enough screen time to Jiro Horikoshi's engineering prowess but also allows to delve into his personal life without overemphasizing it. This movie could have easily turned into A Beautiful Mind or Theory of Everything where the movie is focused mostly on his family life and almost ignores the thing that made the person famous in the first place. Instead, they achieved a better balance than most biopics about famous geniuses. The voice acting, regardless of which version, is pleasant to listen to. Which one you watch is going to come down to personal preference. 

However, aside from the Hidden Folks sound design, there isn't anything that stands out in this film. It doesn't wow compared to Miyazaki's other works. Yeah the animation is gorgeous, but Studio Ghibli have basically standardized their animation style ever since Spirited Away. At this point, it is the minimal expectation that Miyazaki films will look good. Storywise, while told well, doesn't delve too much into the big picture of Japan's involvement in the second World War. I understand this film is trying to achieve a more personal and therefore less emotionally intense story, but I would have preferred a more political intriguing premise, and Wind Rises only reaches that in a few particular moments. 

This film is less-bad. There is very few points that Wind Rises can be described as lacking. However, it isn't more-good. It doesn't exceed expectation. It merely rides the wind to its natural conclusion.

But hey, it should reflect the status of Miyazaki and his creative team that the worst I can say about this film is that it wasn't a masterpiece but merely a solid film that (no pun intended) could fly circles around its contemporaries. 

I am certainly more appreciative of it. However, now that I have a better grasp of my thoughts on this film, I have no interest to see it again much like Sunset Boulevard and Lost in Translation. 

And that is Films That Didn't Click: Anime Edition. Tune in next time where my quest to justify my contrarian opinions continue!

  

Why Psychonauts is One of My Favorite Games

Psychonauts 2 is coming out this month. After over 15 years of waiting and hoping, we will finally see a continuation to a story that ended on one of the most notable sequel hooks of all time. 

I love the original Psychonauts. In fact, if Mother 3 didn't exist, I would consider Psychonauts as my favorite game of all time, so I figured I write a quick ramble on the game in time for the sequel. What works and why Psychonauts remains so special to me despite not having childhood nostalgia for it. 

For starters, I want to point out how weird the video game medium is. I find it comparable to Western animation in that both mediums struggle to be 'adult' compared to other artforms. And when it tries to be adult, it sometimes comes off as pandering or blatant. This is likely due to both mediums originating as catering to children. The NES was marketed as a toy while cartoons up until the 90s were mainly fed to kids as another method to sell toys. Because of this long history of being childlike, a lot of the greatest works in games aren't adult in terms of tone, subject matter, and audience. Look at the Top 100 AFIs Best Movies and compare it to IGN equivalent to games and the sincere, serious, and thought provoking titles will mostly be found in the AFI list whereas the simple, light-hearted, and action-oriented titles fall into the IGN one. 

Is this a bad thing? Of course not. Comparing films to video games is as pointless as comparing pizza to salads because both contain tomatoes. Sure, you can't make Citizen Kane into a video game. But by extension, you couldn't possibly recreate the power of Journey into a movie either. However, because these two mediums are often compared (likely started by the early animosity by film critics and government figures), you get a sense that there is an insecurity with serious games due to them sharing the stage with more lighthearted romps. And because of that, we get poorly written messes like Gears of War that try to be serious but end up being absolute shlock. 

I point this out because Psychonauts is not serious. It is written by Tim Schafer, one of the most iconic comedy writers in the game industry. Of course, it isn't going to be serious. However, Psychonauts is far from insincere. It doesn't seem fake. Everything from the jokes, to the premise, to the art style, feel incredibly deliberate as they work hand and hand to create a unique experience. To go back to the Western animation comparison, it reminds me of Avatar: The Last Airbender or Gravity Falls. Childlike works that excel purely because they embrace their charm. 

Psychonauts goes balls deep into its premise. A summer camp for psychics where you (Raz) have to explore different people's psyches in order to gain new psychic abilities or help them work through their problems in order to proceed through the game. Every gameplay mechanic is effortlessly characterize by the premise. You collect figments of imagination and emotional baggage. Enemies are personal demons and mental censors. Even other mechanics that are simply accepted as commonplace in the genre are contextualize. The game is a platformer, so Raz is established to come from a family of acrobatic circus performers. Water is considered a stage hazard, so it is established that Raz and his family are cursed to die in bodies of water. These kinds of things aren't innovative. Conker's Bad Fur Day did it as well back in 2001. However, I love it when games put in effort to design a little story for each of the game's mechanics. It makes the world that much more believable and immersive. 

The story is just as effortless as the plot develops so naturally. It avoids a lot of writing missteps that even 'serious' game stories fall into. There aren't random story detours that are there as an excuse to add in extra levels. The characters have agency and don't feel like they are on a plot conveyor belt. THE FEMALE CHARACTERS ACT LIKE FUCKING PEOPLE! It teaches the same lesson that Princess Bride or any of the beloved Western animated shows teach. That you don't need to be a high art piece to be well written and well made on a technical level. It also teaches the lesson that you don't need to be dark to tell dark themes which I will get into a little later. 

At this point, I want to talk about the game's biggest strength which is its moment to moment sequences, because Psychonauts has one of the best lineup of set pieces ever. 

Want to play a level where you explore a mind of a conspiracy theorist? Want to explore a summer camp that contains telekinetic bears and pyrokinetic bobcats? Want to destroy a city of scared fish people or recruit chess pieces to fight in a Napoleonic battle? 

Psychonauts exudes wackiness, and it's funny and charming while doing it. Psychonauts has some of the most creative levels out there only rivaled by Rareware from the N64 era. None of it feels like random for random sakes. Every weird joke and funny situation feels as deliberate and thought out as everything else. This is not even mentioning the dialogue and voice acting which are pitch perfect. They really sell the jokes and the situations perfectly. 

So what's there to be excited about Psychonauts 2 other than hopefully the same level of creative energy as the first one? For me two things come to mind. 

First is the hope that Psychonauts 2 will polish up the gameplay since the actual platforming of Psychonauts 1 isn't the greatest. At its best, it is pretty manageable for a player to get to one set piece to another which is perfectly acceptable for a game like this. At its worst, Psychonauts has moments of tedium where the player has to wrestle the camera, deal with wonky collision, or finicky platforming sections. There is also a few areas where extra polish would have helped. If you intend on going for 100%, then collecting figments will become incredibly taxing as they will sometimes blend into the surroundings. It also has the purple coin problem from Mario Odyssey where there is no alternate way to track them down other than combing through extremely large environments polygon by polygon. It makes completion runs far more unruly than necessary. If Psychonauts 2 included a figment radar as an upgrade, it would be highly welcome. Finally, Psychonauts has a notorious point of no return where you can lock yourself out of the hub world which is a cardinal sin in my eyes. It is even worse in Psychonauts since the hub world is one of my favorites to explore in any game. 

The other hope is that Psychonauts 2 continues to take more opportunities to explore mental health issues. Psychonauts does it already by slyly touching on issues of paranoia, grief, and even abuse to an extent. It shows more mature subject matter without being self-congratulatory about it *cough* Detroit: Become Human. The only problem is that I wish to see more of it. This world is a gold mine to explore a plethora of mental health issues in an age where mental health is so prominent to the well being of our societies. I heard Psychonauts 2 consulted a psychologist during the development which is a reassuring thing. I am really excited. I hope that consultation also lead to some Inside Out layers of discussion. 

If someone were to ask me what my ideal game looks like, Psychonauts is about as close as I can think of in terms of that image. I love collectathons, and there are plenty of things to collect from emotional baggage to quirky scavenger hunt items. I love intimate and explorable worlds, and the Whispering Rock camp is so rich with detail with fun nooks and crannies to explore. I love a good story with strong characters, and Psychonauts has that. I love a game that evokes the nostalgia of childhood imagination without lazily exploiting the source material of established franchises. And yeah, you are starting to get the idea. Psychonauts is everything I like in a fun game, and I hope the sequel can recapture that spirit. 

Of course, I am hyping responsibly. I doubt it will be terrible. If Rhombus of Ruin taught me anything, it is that Double Fine hasn't lost their touch with this franchise in terms of personality and humor. However, the level of how good it is is still up in the air. Maybe it will be like Mario Odyssey and will completely surpass its predecessor and become a new favorite. Maybe it will be like Banjo Tooie where it is solid albeit less perfect than the original. Or maybe, it will just be like any other gaming sequel, an inoffensive yet underwhelming experience. For my sakes, I hope it is something truly worthwhile.