Worlds of Power: Castlevania II — Simon's Quest (1990)

Authors: Christopher Howell and F.X. Nine | Page Count: 138

"I was not born a hero, Timothy Bradley, but I have faced my fears.

He who confronts his deepest dreads everyday… that person is a hero."

F.X. Nine is the pen-name of Seth Godin, an entrepreneur, as such. It seems he sketched the basic plots, players, and game-related specifics of this series. In this entry, Christopher Howell is the one who brought it all to life. As the dialogue is what overwhelmingly sells this for me, as opposed to the adapted aspects, my praises will naturally fall primarily upon Mr. Howell. It should also be noted that Nintendo did not ultimately endorse this endeavor.

To specifically address the nature of this as an adaptation of an NES game, I must immediately relate that it does not strictly follow the events of the game. I’ll pull a percentage out of my posterior and say it’s about 40% accurate, I guess? A sincere attempt is made to respect the geography and layout, but significant changes are definitely afoot.

The most far-reaching change is that Simon Belmont is not traveling alone in this iteration of the tale. He plucks a middle-schooler from earth to accompany him on his quest to rid himself of Dracula’s curse. Funny how that’s actually the name of the third game, even though it’s a significant part of the second. Simon and Timothy Bradley are a classic odd couple. Simon is stoic and severe; Tim deals in puns, bad jokes, and bad habits.

If you’ve ever wondered what it’d be like if there was an episode of Kyoryuger where Nobu and Tessai worked together, this is the book for you.

There are a few typos. I believe I counted four, but they honestly aren’t problematic. There are hint boxes, referring to the game, presented at the end of some of the chapters. They don’t always paint a full-enough picture (you have to break through the floor to find both the laurel and garlic salesmen in Aljiba), but everything actually stated in them is accurate. Oddly enough, one of them uses the alternate romanization for Rover Mansion (Lauber), when Rover is used in the main text.

Oh, and get this: Howell actually explains why the townsfolk are cryptic and deceptive!

In one instance, an item is established as being necessary, only to have another used when the requisite situation occurs. Also, two of Dracula’s parts were changed. None of the above are huge deals, for a few reasons: 1.) The bits referring to the game—the hint boxes—are correct, as stated. 2.) The item switcheroo can actually be interpreted as the set-up for something much later in the text. 3.) One of Dracula’s pieces in the game wasn’t even part of his body! 4.) The specifics of the lore and mechanics aren’t the actual focus, here. Emphasis is placed, instead, on the characters. Specifically Tim, of course. Through his eyes, we’re exposed to ridiculously clever metaphors, similes, and descriptions of the world of Castlevania. There’s also a great wealth of wonderful statements about life itself.

What’s on display here is so effective that I’m willing to overlook one of my biggest pet peeves in fiction: event skips. As a kid, I even wrote Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman asking about the excised quest for the Hammer of Kharas between the end of Dragons of Autumn Twilight and the beginning of ...Winter Night. Hmm, looks like they did end up writing a book about it. Too bad I don’t care, anymore~

Here, I think it was to preserve the surprise of some of the puzzles, but the journey through Berkeley Mansion definitely whet my appetite for five more helpings of urban exploration that were in no way delivered upon.

If you end up purchasing and enjoying this, please, please consider watching Engine Sentai Go-Onger and its dedicated movie. You will find much the same sentiments, therein. You will find that Sentai deftly balances humor and meaningfulness in exactly the same manner as this book. The excerpt read during Awesome Games Done Quick a few years ago is NOT representative of the entire experience. This is a book very much worth reading, especially for children. It’s the perfect mix of heartfelt inspiration, goofiness, and the quaintly macabre.

Son, You are 4 Too Young To Be Telling Old Man Jokes out of 5

Nutted by NEG.

Official Final Fantasy VII Strategy Guide (1997)

Author: David Cassady | Page Count: 223

"Thanks to everyone for trying their hardest
to make this the best book possible."

Umm....

I purchased this guide the same day my dad spontaneously decided that it was time for us to get a Playstation. He was going to buy one over Christmas, but he really wanted to play Nascar 98 with his friends (I know, I know). Ergo, we had an impromptu spending spree. It’s a memory I will always cherish. I still have the games, this guide, and Smash Mouth’s Fush Yu Mang. Let’s see how this holds up.

Like the game itself, there are a number of typos. Unfortunately, this bleeds into the very way the guide is structured. They set out to label the entrances and exits of each game-screen with numbers. Except, sometimes, they forgot to include the exit number from the previous picture on the next picture, as an entrance number. Further, based on the sidebars, they initially intended to label items with letters. However, in the text, they refer to event locations and NPCs by letters, as well. Eventually, they start referring to significant buildings that way, too. In one instance, there are similar pictures of the same screen, and the second one, on the next set of pages, is labeled, but not the one that exists beside the relevant text. Some things referred to in the text by a letter seemingly correspond to screen-shots that were not ultimately included.

At one point, the use of letters to denote shops, treasure chests, NPCs, and entrances(!) AT THE SAME TIME results in a gigantic confusing mess. There are ‘A’s as far as the eye can see on those pages, in addition to the usual numbers!

The ways they managed to screw up the labels in this book are a little bit awe-inspiring.

The explanation of one puzzle in particular is almost perfectly made more confusing by one word utilized therein. It's so acutely wrong that it seems intentional. The Chocobo raising guide is a nice starting point for understanding how to create the special types, but if you want detailed specifics (I.e., you have better things to do with your life than endlessly experiment with breeding birds), go find a dedicated FAQ. The lists in the back of the book were compiled by someone other than Cassady. One thing that he stopped short of spoiling in the text, is spoiled in a list. Communication, guys. Communication.

Nice pieces of official artwork are used, but outside of the stock character art, they are universally desaturated, lowered in contrast, and exist only as backgrounds that are barely visible. Why bother? A piece of Vincent is used for every set of pages covering the Side Quests. Consequently, the top of every left-oriented page has black text on a black portion of the background. It’s barely legible. There are errors in the bestiary entries, and some are entirely blank of data. Some enemies present in certain areas are not listed beside those sections of the text, only in the dedicated appendix. I suppose they included only as many as they had space for on the cramped pages. In several places, they include a gaggle of FMV caps when they could have used that space for appropriately rendered artwork.

I don’t know why enemy skills are not prioritized in these guides. Yes, most are gimmicky and you’ll never use them, but a few are always virtually essential. I like how they’re mentioned after-the-fact, here, when they’ll be useful, not when you can actually learn them. That's sarcasm, folks. Some of them are entirely missable.

If you’re willing to ignore the screenshots and just read the text, you will be MOSTLY fine, but you shouldn’t have to. They are a crucial part of an endeavor such as this. In a world of FAQs, the pictures and artwork are the only selling point of these guides, for most consumers. An author’s approach, their humor and elaboration, can also bring purpose and life to them, but this one is written in the most basic way possible. It fails to have any significant, lasting purpose.

Everyone at Brady Games should have tried harder. Unlike Olafson, who mostly only suffered from the lack of information inherent to being a Westerner, writing in the year VI was released, Brady Games failed to properly visually lay out the (mostly correct) information (and artwork) they actually had at their disposal. The blame falls squarely on their heads.

If you want a comprehensive FAQ that has wit and verve, I recommend Absolute Steve's.

½-Assed, At Best out of 5

Nutted by NEG.

Final Fantasy III Players Guide (1995)

Author: Peter Olafson | Page Count: 164

“They’re a good bunch of people, in a real story, full of twists and turns, and you can put your heart into them. Many of them have something in their past that’s holding them back, and you’ll have to help them come to grips with their inner demons.”

In the days before Squeenix was hiding things behind otherwise unremarkable endless walls of textures, and denying you an ultimate weapon for doing something as natural as opening chests at the beginning of a game, Square Soft was in the business of providing players with far more innocent secrets. The type that you could actually stumble onto yourself, if you were thorough enough in your explorations. Back then, your parents may have bought you a strategy guide out of the kindness of their hearts, because they saw them on the rack, not because they were harangued by an employee who counterintuitively wants to remain in the employ of a vampiric and entirely disreputable mega-chain.

Times heartbreakingly change.

My original copy of this went missing, sadly, and I will wholeheartedly admit that this is an endeavor of nostalgia. However, as a matter of personal principle, I do not allow things to remain solely in its softening and heralding glow. I’m here to be (as) completely objective (as a human can be) about its advice, given my twenty plus years of experience with the game. There is no disrespect intended to Mr. Olafson, regardless of the outcome, not the least of which is because of a passage of the introduction that has stuck with me all this time, completely in the absence of the book itself:

“Finally, if possible, hook your machine up to stereo speakers and a nice big TV. The music is superb, and the graphics shine whether you’re looking at something as simple as a section of wall, or whipping across the landscape in Super NES’s special ‘Mode 7.’”

Even the walls in FF VI are works of art, and he acknowledges that, the same as I do, to this very day. Graphics and filmmaking, and honestly anything created by mankind, are all a product of the realities of the world and the technology available at the time that they were birthed. Yes, sometimes we’re able to eventually do some things ‘better,’ but the age of a piece of media shouldn’t be held against it, as a matter of course. There are people out there who disregard things because of such circumstances and I pity them. I won’t say ‘limitations,’ because in some cases they are actually strengths. Technological Zeitgeist can be very powerful and I unquestionably believe it to be in regards to FF VI. Sprites are beautiful and these are the best I’ve seen.

Unlike with Chrono Trigger, where I adore the sprites, but cannot stomach the original Dragon Ball Z-esque artwork, I do in fact like Yoshitaka Amano’s foundational character artwork for VI. It is deliberately peppered throughout this book, to my utter joy. It is joined by a number of boundary-less charts detailing things such as the Magicite available in the game and the characters’ unique skills. However, there are some rather grave omissions on that particular front, and a few others. Olafson fails to list the majority of Strago’s Lores, or what monsters he can learn them from. Only a small few are mentioned in passing, which is unfortunate because many require special techniques to even be elicited at all. He does not touch on the Dances that Mog can miss out on permanently. I cannot hold the lack of coverage on Gau’s Rages against him, however, as the list is extensive and intensely daunting, which in turns makes it unlikely that he, or any casual fan, would know that it’s actually not completable at all, without a cheat device. Especially as a Westerner in 1994-95!!!

He also somewhat inaccurately describes the mechanics for maximizing one’s score in one specific mini-game and neglects the specifics of a boss with an unorthodox gimmick. I suppose he simply got lucky on all of his playthroughs? He seemingly missed seeing three essential flashbacks on all of those runs, as well.

I realize that the immediately preceding paragraphs are very punitive in nature. However, outside of the final bullet-point, Olafson repeatedly demonstrates that he possesses not only a chronic sense of humor about the proceedings, but also a deep abiding reverence for the STORY. One that I have always shared. Even though he does not deliver a few important pieces of information, he will not lead a player astray in terms of the timeless and shining narrative. In fact, he basically retells it, here, and when I read this straight through, I felt the same emotional stings as I do when playing the game. He conveys so eloquently that he understands the value of it. He kids about it because he loves it, the same as I do.

I had completely forgotten that he outright states to the Western audience that this is actually FF VI, and not really III. I clearly forgot early on, as I was befuddled when VII was released, like many others were. He was ahead of the curve in many regards, including his passion. And, in this day and age, that’s really the only reason to buy this: if you want something that accurately embodies your feelings about the game. To know that you’re not alone, much the same as what is conveyed by the game itself.

3 Startlingly On-Point Beatles References out of 5

Nutted by NEG.

Silent Hill — Past Life (2010)

Author: Tom Waltz  | Artist: Menton3  |  Page Count: 88

"Postmaster? But…you’re a negro."

"Ha! I am that, ain't no lie. Funny thing about Silent Hill…it don’t worry much ‘bout what’s on the outside of folks."

The four issue Past Life miniseries is a prequel of sorts to Silent Hill Downpour, but its intrinsic value is somewhat questionable. One of the game’s writers (Tom Waltz, who also penned Anne’s Story) sets this particular tale in a time close to the origins of the town, and while this is something I have often wished would occur, its focus only treads lightly on the periphery of its digital descendent.

Past Life’s story structure is unquestionably the most basic I've borne witness to in the franchise. Jebediah Foster and his wife Esther have come to Silent Hill to begin afresh, cut all ties with their pasts. I'm not claiming that some of the games aren't predictable, but even when they are they’re still a good deal more subtle in pacing and execution and there is enough doubt present in the set-up and unravelling of the thread to make them compelling. That’s not so, here.

To Anne’s Story’s credit, it at least brought something to the table significantly relevant to the incarnation of Silent Hill that houses Downpour’s narrative. Even if its events can be inferred, they’re still presented well in terms of art and dialogue flowing from legitimate ancillary characters. Rather than simplistically spotlighting Jebediah, a better use of resources could have been a miniseries about Howard Blackwood, the town’s postmaster, who appears here, in the game itself, and later in Book of Memories on the Vita. Regrettably, one fact worth knowing is revealed for fans of the game. To save those respectable folks time and money, I will gladly share that information HERE.

If there’s anything overly positive worth noting it’s that Menton J. Matthews III’s artwork is systematically inconsistent, veering between sloppiness and startling precision. In this framework, I do see that as a strength, especially the nearly scrawled lettering and mystic-flavored HUD that surrounds certain panel-esque areas. A worn, zealot-inscribed Jarvis for a witch-powered Iron Man.

If you’re looking for a diaphanous jaunt into Silent Hill you can admittedly do worse when it comes to comics. In perspective, the level of connection to Downpour could easily be considered finespun and appropriately vague if Jebediah’s story was handled with nuance. It isn't and I feel justified in criticizing it for falling short in both of its intended purposes.

2 Unsuccessful Henshins out of 5

Nutted by NEG.

Note: You can find spoiler-free, mini-reviews of some of the Silent Hill games, including Downpour, at our sister site, Nut Load.

Silent Hill Downpour -- Anne's Story (2014)

Author: Tom Waltz | Artist: Tristan Jones | Page Count: 80

"I'm just sayin', if you don't change the record you gonna hear the same damn songs over and over again... change takes guts, though."

In Silent Hill Downpour, fans were presented with an NPC who was seemingly up to bat in the town at the exact same time as the game’s playable protagonist, Murphy Pendleton. While all of the games have had notable and plot-relevant ancillary characters none of them appeared to have experienced things in exactly the same manner as those directly under your control. They showed up where they needed to but it didn't feel like they were on a continuous journey of truth and discovery, akin to your own.

Anne Cunningham, however, very much was. In a perfect world, she would have gotten her own complete scenario in the game itself. In this one, she gets a four-issue mini-series penned by one of its original writers, Tom Waltz. Things could be much worse, and I am pleased with the outcome.

Admittedly, revelatory isn't a word that can be used to describe this endeavor. There’s literally nothing here about Anne that a thoughtful player hasn't already inferred from what’s presented in the game proper. Further, the artwork is inconsistent when it comes to her appearance. In some “panels,” it’s spot on. In others, it’s too soft and vague to resemble her in-game model. I suppose one could argue it’s done to mirror internal turmoil, and I do appreciate the way other characters’ faces are purposefully changed in certain situations. There’s also a few series references casually peppered into the art for attentive readers to find.

In a vacuum, it would be strange (and damning) to say that the things revealed about and said by the side-characters are the most interesting nuggets found herein. In context, however, it’s the highest praise I can give because they are the means by which we’re shown how this exact version of the town exists for Murphy AND Anne.

On top of that, this taught me something I wouldn't have known otherwise and officially canonized my preferred ending. If you’re only a casual fan of the series or haven’t played the game, please, save your time and money. There are (appropriately) recreated scenes, but Murphy’s narrative is not rehashed in anything close to full. I can only truly recommend this to those who explicitly mention Downpour when reciting their series favorites.

3 Weeping Bats Living in Reseda out of 5

Nutted by NEG (last seen re-entering the hardware store).

Note: You can find spoiler-free, mini-reviews of some of the Silent Hill games, including Downpour, at our sister site, Nut Load.

ICO: Castle in the Mist (2008)

Author:  Miyuki Miyabe  |  Translator:  Alexander O. Smith  |  Page Count: 370

'Whatever it was that dripped from the cage, it was blacker than pitch,
the colour of melted shadow.'

The story as presented in the ICO video game (2001) was purposefully vague. It encouraged players to speculate about the backstory of the characters. The act of filling in the blanks created a more personal experience, making us not just the protagonist but also the teller, the narrator of the story as it was being lived in real time. Reading someone else's version of those events is interesting, but when put into context, isn't a published version of such simply fan-fiction sold at RRP?

Regardless of whether or not that's a fair assessment, I made sure while reading to judge the work for what it did well (or otherwise) with regards world-building, characterisation, etc, and not for being different to my own interpretation of the game's story; to have did otherwise would be a disservice to everyone involved.

I was wholly ignorant of Miyuki Miyabe's reputation in Japan. She has a huge catalogue of titles available. Castle in the Mist is her seventh novel to be translated into English. In all honesty I thought it was a first novel, period. The stiffness of the dialogue and the formulaic spoon-feeding of conventions that make the majority of fantasy novels so bland is adhered to from the very first page. The stiffness may in part be explained by it being a translation—there's a definite lack of love and flair inherent in that aspect—so I can't say with any certainty if a poetic sensibility is inherently absent from the work or just missing from the English language version. I'm not able to read Japanese.

Things pick up a little when the story delves into Yorda's past. The author is more comfortable and thus more successful exploring things from a female perspective, which makes sense, but even then the story never dares to break away from a safety zone or a trite, established way of genre thinking. It's a typical fantasy about a Princess in a castle, a cruel and overbearing guardian that stifles her, and a male saviour with selflessness and innocence in his arsenal.

Kudos to the publisher, Haikasoru, for being brave and taking a chance on it. The game didn't sell in huge numbers in the West, so I can't imagine the target audience for the novel was projected as groundbreaking, but, even so, they didn't opt for cheap paper to cut costs. It's a beautifully presented book.

1½ misshapen shades out of 5

Batman: Arkham Unhinged: Vol. 2 (2014)

Author: Derek Fridolfs  |  Artists: Various  |  Page Count: 168 

“Penguin’s been hiring people to kill you.”

“That old crow’s wasting his money. I’m already dying… of boredom.”

The second volume of video game tie-in Batman manages to outdo the first, but unfortunately it's on the scale of tedium that it excels. Being tied to a game plot limits the freedom an author has, and at the end of the day any changes made must be reset so that everyone is returned to their game setting. In a situation like that the dialogue becomes even more important than normal, so extra effort should've been made to spice it up as much as possible, but—no disrespect to Fridolfs, perhaps he was busy with other, more important projects—the majority of it could've been written hastily over a light breakfast.

Robin pops in and out of the walled city as if it's a twenty-four hour supermarket, making a mockery of the idea that it's supposed to be near impossible to escape from. Whilst there he becomes an ineffectual bit player in what amounts to an extended fight scene that goes nowhere interesting.

The Arkham City Sirens story fills in some of what happened to the trio of women after the events in the first game, but mostly it feels like an excuse to have ladies with back-breaking breasts jumping around. The three women are at least largely faithful in personality to their game counterparts, which is to say they lack any kind of warmth or likeability; even the colourful Harley, who's admittedly a love-her-or-hate-her character ordinarily, never escapes two-dimensionality.

The only part of the text that I enjoyed was a flashback to a time years before the walled city was in existence, a time that deeply affected one of the villains and set him on the path he's currently on. It's not in-depth enough to be called an origin story, but it's an insightful glimpse into what spurred him to take the first steps into his current career. It was a clichéd moment but because it dared to be dramatic it still managed to feel superior to anything else. Repeated use of flashbacks would eventually draw too much attention to the technique, but the distance it provides from the walled city seemed to have given Fridolfs the space he needed to better express himself creatively.

The book collects together Batman: Arkham Unhinged issues 6–10.

2 punch bag thugs for hire out of 5

Assassin's Creed: The Chain (2012)

Authors: Cameron Stewart / Karl Kerschl  |  Illustrators: Cameron Stewart / Karl Kerschl  |  Page Count: 96

"They like to think of themselves as a Brotherhood. A family. But if that’s true, then they’re a family of wolves."

A sequel to Assassin's Creed: The Fall (2011) that continues the story of both Daniel Cross and the assassin Nikolai Orelov. In one man's world a peace time is broken, while in the other a kind of peace is attained but it’s quite possibly fallacious.

The book explores the resultant struggles of the two men, but it's difficult to say how Daniel got to where he is at the beginning without spoiling the end of the previous entry, so I’ll take the easy option and not mention him again directly. On the other hand, the Russian born Nikolai's story is easier to summarise. He's settled in a new territory but experiences the same old prejudices. It follows that where there’s hatred and men willing to do evil for money there’s often tragedy.

Central to everything, and the part that carries the most emotional weight, is the journey of a young boy who learns the difference between killing out of necessity or mercy and allowing suffering to continue by doing nothing—the understanding of which is a basic tenet of the Assassin order.

There’s a second lesson to be learned, too, that every deed has consequences even if sometimes they take years to surface or occur. How we deal with them determines what kind of man we are, and that in turn determines which side an individual is compelled to take in the Templar/Assassin war.

There are a number of pages with little or no dialogue, meaning the onus is on the art to tell the story, which it does very effectively. The changing colour palette also contributes in a clever, almost subliminal way.

3 balance adjustments out of 5

.hack//Alcor (2009)

Author: Kanami Amou | Illustrator: Rena Izumibara | Page Count: 176

“…do you have any quests where you don’t have to fight?”

The .hack// world can accommodate many kinds of stories within its virtual bordered structure. Alcor is just one of the possibilities. It’s a one-shot about Nanase, a young girl who wants to progress in life but is afraid of taking risks and of failure. She uses the game world as an escape, but brings into it her anxieties and failings, making her online world as complicated as her offline one.

Except it’s not complicated at all. The book could easily be summed up in one sentence. I won't do that, so don't worry.

It’s fair to say, though, hopefully without seeming too harsh that it's wishy-washy, angsty, early-teen drama. So if you're an irritating, self-absorbed, angsty teen with troubles of your own making, Alcor might just be for you.

Most everyone else will have trouble connecting because the other characters, of which there are many, are loosely written and two-dimensional. It’s only Nanase who provides any kind of solid gateway into the work. That may have been the author's plan from the outset, because it's clearly targeting a younger, less emotionally discerning demographic. If so. then the book successfully explores another aspect of the hack// versatility that I mentioned previously.

2 lucky animals out of 5

Assassin's Creed: The Fall (2011)

Authors: Cameron Stewart / Karl Kerschl  |  Illustrators: Cameron Stewart / Karl Kerschl  |  Page Count: 96 / 128 (Deluxe)

"Nothing is true, everything is permitted…"

Considering how asinine and clusterfucky the story of the AC games was, is and likely will become, I didn't have high hopes for The Fall. Shock news: It’s surprisingly good. It's not amazing but it does a better job at balancing two different time periods and making them feel like one cohesive whole than any of the games I've played so far have managed to do.*

You ought to know by now that each instalment has two protagonists; one in the present and one in the past. In the present (sometime around the turn of the 21st Century) there’s Daniel Cross. The book spends a fair amount of time showing us what kind of guy Daniel is and, perhaps more importantly, what kind of guy he isn't. He’s not a noble champion of the people. He’s quick to anger and full of doubts, dislikes authority, enjoys a drink and is slowly spiralling out of control.

By contrast his ancestor, a Russian born assassin named Nikolai Orelov, is selfless, honourable and fully committed to a cause greater than himself. His goal is that of all his Order: to stop the Templars from creating a new Eden structured solely to service them. (If you think about it, there are zealots on both sides.)

There are similarities between game and comic, such as the obligatory artefact that, like Desmond’s Apple, is of great importance but easily forgettable. However, by being self-contained the book doesn't have to drag out the modern day part of the story ad nauseam. It has a proper beginning / middle / end.

Okay, there’s a sequel, so you could argue that the 'end' is merely a stop gap, but you don’t have to read the sequel if you don’t want to. In short, it doesn't tease you with something and then fail to deliver it like the games do.

The artwork serves the story well. Panels aren't just rigid squares, there’s some thought put into them, including splash panels and pages when needed.

The Deluxe Edition has some extras including a 10-page epilogue that diminishes the power of the original ending and leads into AC: The Chain (2012). If you've more money than sense, both The Fall and The Chain were collected together in AC: Subject Four, a TPB that was part of The Ubiworkshop Edition of AC III (2012).

2½ things that 'used to be' out of 5

*You can read reviews of some of the games on our sister site, Nut Load.

Ōkami: Official Complete Works Art Book (2008)

Author: Capcom | Illustrator: Various | Page Count: 288

‘As my evangelical work, I do record herein the various events to which I bore witness during my long travels with Ōkami Amaterasu.’

~Issun, Celestial Envoy.

It seems like every cash-grabbing, whoring video game developer or publisher these days is producing special editions of their biggest titles that require fans to dig deep into their pockets to acquire.  Most include some kind of plastic figurine with little or no articulation; they’re for display purposes only and that’s fine as long as you know beforehand what you’re getting.

The lazier developers don’t bother with any kind of plastic tat.  They throw in an A5 art book with shiny paper and minimal content and think it'll suffice.  The Ōkami Complete Works is like that except it’s on a bigger, grander and more beautiful scale.  Another difference is that it wasn't part of a game bundle.  It’s a separate release.  But if ever a game needed an art book, it was Ōkami.* It crosses the line from fan-pleasing tie-in into a collection of genuine artwork that justifies itself by being worthy of gallery space.  The Japanese watercolour style that made the game so stunning is returned to its origins on parchment style paper.

You get all the usual stuff, character art, concept sketches, location designs and production notes from the creators of the game (Clover Studios), but you also get some piano arrangements at the back of the book, so if you’re able to read music you can learn how to play the score.  I’m aware this’ll sound like I'm fan-wanking pretty hard but the music of the game is one of the finest video game scores I've ever heard.  Even separate from the imagery, if you play it to someone who likes Japanese instrumentation they’ll likely fall in love.

If you’re a fan of this kind of thing and can afford the asking price, it doesn't get any better than the Official Complete Works.

5 image scrolls out of 5

*There's a review of the game on our sister site, Nut Load.

Batman: Arkham Unhinged: Vol. 1 (2013)

Author: Derek Fridolfs | Artists: Various | Page Count: 160

"There's always a reason to send in the clowns."

A collection of stories of differing lengths that are connected to events in the Batman: Arkham City (2011) video game. I didn't much like the game, but it's Batman in comic form so I read it. It's okay. It's better than expected.

Both the game and comic exist in their own kind of Elseworlds universe, so any changes to character design or attributes from the norm should be overlooked.

In this version of Gotham the old part of the city, Old Gotham, has been sealed-off and now houses the inmates from Arkham Asylum and Blackgate. The area is a large prison but the freedom given to the inmates makes it also a playground for crime, similar to how Manhattan was in John Carpenter's Escape from N.Y (1981). The area is overseen by Hugo Strange, Operations Manager. Batman mistrusts Strange, so he enters Old Gotham to sniff out the professor's true agenda.

Batman is the moody, broody kind. He kicks some ass and then returns to a nearby rooftop to converse with Gordon and comment on the themes and concerns that weren't able to be fully explored during the action scenes.

The familiar locations are there and the characters are plentiful, but putting heroes in a building that features in a game doesn't enrich the story all that much. What's more interesting are the alliances and disagreements that the villains, who will eventually each control their own little area of the game-world, engage in.

For the most part the art is as good as the other half a dozen (or more) regular Batman monthlies, which was a welcome surprise.

The book collects together Batman: Arkham Unhinged issues 1–5.

2½ double-crosses out of 5

.hack//4Koma (2010)

Author: Koichi Sumimaru | Illustrator: Various |  Page Count: 192

“Your morals as a protagonist are being challenged, aren't they?”

A yonkoma, often shortened to 4koma, is a four-panel manga similar to the kind of thing you’d see in a Sunday newspaper, except that most yonkoma are read from top to bottom, not left to right horizontal.

The .hack yonkoma parodies Project .hack and .hack Conglomerate.  The comedy is derived mostly from non-canon meetings, rivalries, awkward social situations and typically friendly people being dicks to other characters.  As such, in-jokes are definitely the order of the day, so if you're not very familiar with each person's usual demeanour, or the .hack world, you'll miss most of the situational humour.

There are a lot of familiar faces, such as BlackRose, Balmung, Mistral, Shino and Atoli (even Lios the system admin gets some page time!), but it’s mostly about Kite and moody Haseo—both of whom are perfect targets for the kind of piss-takes and rebuttals that the format is best used for.  But Haseo’s troubles don’t stop with Kite's frequent slights.  He also has women to deal with, and that gives rise to an entirely different kind of anguish for the G.U hero.

2½ brands of crazy out of 5

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (2009)

Author: Akira Himekawa | Illustrator: Akira Himekawa | Page Count: 190

“…everything changed, and nothing did.”

The game (2007) on which the Phantom Hourglass manga is based is a sequel to The Wind Waker (2002)* but WW didn't get a manga, so if you read PH without having played WW you may be wondering why Link is on a sailing ship with a crew.  Alternatively, you may not care very much because the story of PH offers little to connect with.  Of the ten LoZ mangas I've read, it was the least entertaining.  The saving grace, ironically absent from the game, is the inclusion of a dangerous guilt that eats away at the conscience of one of the characters; it plants a seed of unpredictability within the already shaky group stability.

The elongated midriff and stumpy legs design is recreated.  I was prepared for that but without the eyegasm attained from the beautiful cel shading that makes everything glow, the weird perspectives are harder to overlook.  There’s also more chibi but it’s not as frequent as it was in The Minish Cap (2006).

I'm disappointed that the superior Twilight Princess (2006)* was passed over.  TP has a more dramatic story with a dark ambiguity that could've been brought to the fore.  Taking into account how well Akira Himekawa has handled similar themes in previous books, I've no doubt that it would've been better than PH.

2½ monsters with obvious weak points out of 5

*You can read reviews of both The Wind Waker and Twilight Princess games on our sister site, Nut Load.

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap (2006)

Author: Akira Himekawa | Illustrator: Akira Himekawa | Page Count: 190

"The road you travel will be dangerous.  Take this."

Link is always recognisable in his green duds and pointy hat but he’s not always the same Link.  There are exceptions but usually the character is different in each game.  It’s not a drastic change; it’s more of a variation on a theme.  Akira Himekawa applies the same principle to each of her Links in the books.  The art in TMC is 100% chibi.  It would've made sense to draw certain parts of the story that way but unfortunately it’s used from beginning to end.  I'm not a fan of the style but judging by the level of excellence shown in the previous books, I'm guessing it’s at least good chibi?

Something else I wasn't enamoured with was this version of Link; he’s a moody child in need of a reality check or a swift kick up the ass (if Hyrulian law allows such things).  Fortunately, he gets it (the reality check, not the ass-kick) when a villain casts a spell on Princess Zelda.  Personally, I’d have left her as she was; she’d complain less and the only maintenance required would be a dusting every now and then, but Link wants her back so he sets off to right a wrong.

When child Link is the protagonist, LoZ fans are required to dismiss questions about why a child is sent into danger with a sword to kill and maim but TMC addresses those concerns wonderfully by providing a valid reason for that kind of irresponsibility to be necessary.

I really enjoyed the game's story* because it explores the ordinary from an extraordinary perspective.  I hoped that behind the eye-bleeding cuteness the book would deliver the same.  It does, but in a much shorter span of time.  I also love the changing history of Hyrule that shapes the societal and religious beliefs each time; that part of it is well represented here.

Hopefully I've made it clear that the problems I had with the book adaptation were predominantly of my own making and based on my own preferences, so take that into account.  The story is good and takes some risks that pay off handsomely.  If you love chibi and you love LoZ, then TMC may be tailor-made for you.

3 pieces of happiness out of 5

*You can read a review of the GBA game on our sister site, Nut Load.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (2005)

Author: Akira Himekawa | Illustrator: Akira Himekawa | Page Count: 184

“Somewhere under heaven is the Golden Power…”

All the LoZ mangas can be classed as action/adventure tales but ALTTP* is more traditional than the rest.  Its simplicity reminds me of the classic fantasy movies of the late 80s.  Ironically, that’s also its weakest aspect.  It’s too familiar.

It’s not all bad, though.  The emotional content is increased to compensate for the lack of originality.  From the very beginning, ALTTP grips the reader's sympathies more aggressively than any of the preceding books.  It weighs the immensity of the task ahead against the weight in the hero’s heart.  The hero is (of course) Link; he’s kind, gentle, noble and selfless.  His quest is threefold: save the princess, uncover his own origins and protect the innocent by conquering evil.

Akira Himekawa created an original character to accompany Link on his quest.  It might sound heretical to people that hold ALTTP in high regard but it works beautifully; the relationship between them helps detract from the all-too-familiar nature of the story.  They share common ground but have different motivations.   The praise for Himekawa doesn't end there.  Her artwork gives life to the adventure more successfully than the simplistic dialogue; even during a quest montage!  She's an artist that makes contrasts work in her favour.

Ultimately, if the sensitivity of the protagonists and newly created concerns that drive them hadn't been to the fore as much as they are, the book would've struggled to rise above its failings in other areas.

3 revitalising apples out of 5

*You can read a review of the SNES game on our sister site, Nut Load.

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords (2004)

Author: Akira Himekawa | Illustrator: Akira Himekawa | Page Count: 196 + 176

"There’s a new Link in this chain!"

I've not played Four Swords Adventures (2004) because the stores near where I lived didn't stock it and I didn't have access to online retailers back then, but after reading the two-part adaptation I'm wishing that I could play it right now!

After some brief but satisfying establishing of Link’s uppity nature and his close friendship with Princess Zelda, the Big Bad is unleashed and the adventure begins.

The environments will be familiar to anyone that’s played any of the previous games (Castle Town, Mountain / Ice / Desert regions etc) but that familiarity doesn't result in reader apathy because the situations that the Links find themselves in holds the attention completely.  The comedy is situational and more often than not caused by confrontation; it’s rarely the goofy kind that I complained about in Oracle of Seasons (2001), so it’s much more enjoyable.

The art is black and white, so the four colours identifier on the cover is redundant inside.  Akira Himekawa gets around that by giving each Link a unique tone / pattern instead.  She also provides each with a unique personality.  There’s plenty of help in the narrative but frantic battle scenes can be confusing.  Rather than try to remember who the darker gray was and who the dotted pattern was, etc, I found it more engaging to remember which colour was impetuous, which was cautious, etc, and then note the expression on each Link’s face as he responds to words or actions.  The temperaments are so well depicted that it made it both simple and fun to match them to their colour.  At the same time I could note the strengths and weaknesses of each one at specific times.

Book I is fantastic and surpasses all the LoZ books that came before it.  If Book II had kept the same level of momentum then Four Swords would've scored even higher but I need to take an average of the two, therefore:

3½ lucky finds in the toy box out of 5

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons / Oracle of Ages (2001)

Author: Akira Himekawa | Illustrator: Akira Himekawa | Page Count: 194 + 196

"Use your left hand!  Your left!"

Each of the two Game Boy Colour games that were released simultaneously back in 2001 got its own manga adaptation.  The games were connected but also cleverly designed to be enjoyed independently in whichever order the player chose.  You could say the same of the books but it makes slightly more sense to read Seasons before you read Ages; I’ll explain why later.

Oracle of Seasons begins in Hylia.  Link balks at the suggestion that he should practice his sword skills more fervently.  He doesn’t yet understand why Hyrule needs knights willing to lay their life on the line to protect its citizens, but the power of the Triforce will soon change all that…

The main problem I had with Seasons was the exaggerated comedy typical of manga aimed at a younger audience.  I’m aware that the books are targeting a young audience but the previous volumes, Ocarina of Time (2000) and Majora’s Mask (2001), avoided that kind of cliché for the most part.  Having it so prevalent in this volume was unexpected and lessened my enjoyment of the story.

Oracle of Ages is superior to Seasons in every way.  It’s less comical and thematically more satisfying.  There’s also more action but not at the expense of story or character development.  It’s as if the events in Seasons have helped Link grow less foolish, to gain confidence and have faith in his decision making.
The story puts him in a race against time to stop an evil from destroying the present by meddling in the past.  It takes place in a different land than Seasons but the structure is similar in that none of the dungeons from the game are featured and his new-found companions come to his aid when needed.

3 seed abilities out of 5

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (2001)

Author: Akira Himekawa | Illustrator: Akira Himekawa | Page Count: 208

"As long as I see that in the sky, I can’t rest."

Majora's Mask continues the story told in Ocarina of Time (2000).  Link enters a mysterious forest searching for his missing fairy, Navi.  Trouble ensues and Link ends up in a situation wherein he has just three days to stop a major disaster or everyone caught in the impact will be killed.

The way the N64 game is structured* doesn't make any kind of linear adaptation easy, so Akira Himekawa took the only sensible route open, which was to focus on the acquisition of those masks that directly effect Link and ignore all but the most pertinent side-quest, i.e. the one that offers the most opportunity to pluck at the heartstrings.  You can likely guess which one that is.  Consequently, a lot more changes have been made to the story than was made to OoT, but in most cases they were unavoidable and as before they're respectful.

MM had some very dark themes; some of which make it onto the page.  The Happy Mask Salesman is wiggins and the main antagonist is somewhat disturbing in ways that I won’t mention.  What’s even stranger is that, while they’re innocuous enough to be overlooked, the inclusion of a small number of questions asked by some of the characters can be interpreted in such a way that they lend credence to the theory that sprung up amongst fans to explain how Link got from Hyrule to Termina in such a short space of time.  It's interesting, to say the least.

MM is one of the few Legend of Zelda games in which Princess Zelda doesn't play an active role, so it seems fitting that the bonus story that comes after the main story has no Link; but it’s connected nonetheless, so don’t skip it.

3½ shtump steps out of 5

*You can read a review of the N64 game on our sister site, Nut Load.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (2000)

Author: Akira Himekawa | Illustrator: Akira Himekawa | Page Count: 192 + 192

“You’re certainly popular with the ladies.”

The first LoZ manga from Akira Himekawa* was a two part work based on the excellent N64 game of the same name.  It essentially tells the same story but there are some significant differences in how characters are introduced, none of which I found to be in any way disrespectful.  In fact, the opposite was true.  The narrative makes new connections between existing characters, and in doing so enables some very successful emotional moments to surface.
The drama is never underplayed but nor does it ever take itself too seriously, so it's able to have an occasional laugh at its own expense (see above quote).

The artwork is magnificent.  Even the rough sketches that are included are fantastic!  Child Link world has a different feel than Adult Link world and the danger level in each reflects that.  Seeing the locations rendered in comic book form is great fun but it’s the little things lurking in the background that make it extra special.  The cuccos at Kakariko Village and the dogs and sleeping Bombchu lady in Castle Town were my personal favourites.  Akira Himekawa obviously spent time in the game world and drank of its delights.**

The hurried pace as a consequence of content removed is the only thing that drags the books down.  Although it’s not all bad: the Water Temple is reduced to about 4 pages that amounts to Enter / Kill / Exit, which is something that many gamers wish they could've done while playing, myself included.

After the main story, there are two bonus stories.  One is a prequel featuring the mysterious Skull Kid that I liked a lot.  The other is unconnected to the game story and features a new race that was less interesting.

It's presented in the original Right to Left manga format, which seems to have eliminated the usual need to flip the images, so yes, Link is a lefty.

3½ bottles of milk out of 5

*Akira Himekawa is a pseudonym used by two authors / artists whose real names are unknown.  It was simpler just to use the one name to refer to them both.

**You can read a review of the N64 game on our sister site, Nut Load.