The Zelda rap - Link the gangsta rapper

Zelda rap - Link with an attitude problem

Smosh.com  presents a fantastic and very well produced video, in which we see the hero Link, from Zelda video game series, with an unexpected gangsta rap attitude, complete with Link bragging about all his money (Rupees in this case).


In fact the video is so good that I'll leave you now to watch it for the umpteenth time.


Oh, and thumbs up for the parts in which the princess Zelda herself sings, and the part where Link and Ganon engage a rap duel.


Watch and enjoy, bro!

Dragon Age: Redemption - a brave web series

Dragon Age: Redemption

Dragon Age: Redemption is a web series set in the universe of Dragon Age. The series premiered on 11 October 2011, coinciding with the release of the DLC Mark of the Assassin for Dragon Age II.

Written and starred by the geek Muse Felicia Day, the first season of the series will consist of six episodes, each episode focused on presenting one of the central characters (including Tallis, Cairn, Nyree and Josmael).

Felicia Day plays the elf assassin Tallis, in the service of Qunari, her mission to capture the wizard Saarebas , played by Doug Jones (Abe Sapien in Hellboy II and The Faun from Pan's Labyrinth). Yes, the web series had the cunning to bring people of this caliber, surprising those who still take web series with a grain of salt.

Some criticize the series, comparing the production to questionable television series like Hercules & Xena. In our humble opinion, critics should consider that it is a web series, a format that is still in its infancy, but Dragon Age: Redemption is a big step toward more ambitious productions, and an evolution of the format itself. It is clear that the budget was lower than expected, and production had limited resources, as well as the actors, including wonderful Felicia, have their limitations.

But it is also clear that despite the limitations, the effort of both production and cast are legitimate and both did the best with what they had.

We must take into consideration that our favorite genre, medieval fantasy, always faces difficulties when transposed to the screen, like Game of Thrones, which even with the budget funded by the powerful HBO have faced it's own share. Surely a film set in our contemporary world would find far less difficulty than a production set in a medieval setting, with the same budget.

Still  with Game of Thrones as an example, the medieval fantasy genre finds an additional complication with disbelief by the studios and the massive public, that before Game of Thrones saw the genre with suspicion, taking it for a "nerd thing" or something for adults who did not grow up. Game of Thrones has changed a lot this view by general television audience, in spite of the little faith in the genre initially put by HBO itself . Dragon Age: Redemption can do the same for the web series genre, as long as the true fantasy fans  keep in mind that this is a web series, a format that is still in its infancy, and does much with little, and certainly still does not count with a Hollywoodian budget.

Dragon Age: Redemption did its part in the process by presenting a relatively decent series, now it's up to fantasy fans to do their part by acknowledging the effort. With this, our favorite genre can just profit by leaving behind the stigma.

Diablo III street art at Gamescom 2011

Diablo III street art at Gamescom 2011

In the video below, you can follow the making of a street art by artist Manfred Stader, with Diablo as theme. The reason for the artwork is the presence of Blizzard at Gamescom 2011.

The piece lies in central Cologne (Germany), Hahnentorburg Rudolfplatz to be exact. Some unsuspecting observers may swear that they risk falling into the pits of the Burning Hell if too close to the painting, but the truth is that the technique used by the artist evokes a 3D hell illusion.

What do you think? Personally, I think the choice of illustration could have been better. Others are of the opinion that the release date for Diablo III could have been included in the painting ... And some christians surely loved it! :)

Diablo III Cinematic Black Soulstone - "Evolution" of terror in Diablo III

Diablo III Cinematic Black Soulstone - "Evolution" of terror in Diablo III

Another fantastic Diablo III video released. Apparently, this is the opening of the game, or some other in-game video that will serve as a transition between the chapters. The video shows Deckard Cain's niece, Leah, trying to decipher the secrets of a black soulstone from the writings of his old uncle. Notice in the video the old book, how fantastic it looks, apparently an authentic medieval codex, full of illustrations and Prime Evils lore. I would definitely love to put my hands on one of these. Would you not?

Well, maybe not after seeing what happens to the poor Leah long after diving into the secrets of this devilish book. The helpless girl has a vision which shows a scene from hell, and she being tormented by the devil Azmodan, Lord of Sin, who promises to go after the black soulstone and take the world of Sanctuary with his hordes of demons. Azmodan is one of the Lesser Evils which led to the banning of the Prime Evils (Diablo, Mephisto and Baal) to Sanctuary. The video leaves us in doubt whether Azmodan is one of the main bosses, and we can only wonder how things will go between him and Diablo, as the two big devils are, in principle, mortal enemies. What do you think?

Diablo losing its "soul"?

With the progress of the game towards its launch, some criticisms arise from old fans of the franchise, who would compare Diablo III to its previous versions. Many say that the game is so far very "colorful" and "light" compared to Diablo I and II, and would be losing much of its gloom and appalling "feeling". Many say this is an influence of the huge success of World of Warcraft (another Blizzard title). Diablo III could have been "contaminated" by the more cartoonish style of World of Warcraft, a Blizzard's attempt to replicate the massive success of WoW with Diablo III, by bringing some WoW concepts to DIII, including the "lighter" and unpretentious feeling of WoW .

In the opinion of a fan of this franchise that spent much of his adolescence playing the two previous versions of Diablo, this is likely to happen.

For those who have forgotten how were these games or for one reason or another did not know Diablo I and II (probably because they were too young to play. After all, it's been ten years since the last version), I highly recommend the video below, in which Chris Metzen, Senior Vice President of Story & Franchise Development, talks about the 15 years of Diablo and its "evolution." Watching this video not only brought me good memories, but left me with the impression that Diablo I had a heavier atmosphere of terror than we saw in Diablo III so far (as "faux terror" it may be).

The perfect world of Neverwinter

The perfect world of Neverwinter

Neverwinter by Cryptic, is a game that was promised a year ago, primarily as a cooperative online RPG, but not necessarily an MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online game).

In May this year the Chinese company of MMOs Perfect World (of the game by the same name) has acquired Cryptic, and with it the game Neverwinter. As expected, now the game is designed to become a full MMO. The good news is that it will be free to play (no charge), in like manner of Perfect World.

The bad news is that this transition process delayed the game by at least one year, and Neverwinter is scheduled for the end of 2012. Anyone who believes the world will end on that date is not counting on playing Neverwinter...

I personally believe that Neverwinter will be a suitable game to play at Judgement Day.

I also believe that the game will appeal more to fans of Dungeons & Dragons than to fans of Perfect World, as we can infer from the video below. The classic scene of the tavern where the characters get to know their mission, the mysterious veteran soldier who "gives the quest" for the characters, the epic battle against armies of undead, liches and chromatic dragons (in this case a blue lightning-breather dragon) , all these elements of oldschool Dungeons & Dragons are there in the video.

In fact, I think this video only is much more D & D than the latest D & D books, in which Wizards of the Coast is trying to do a "pen & paper" World of Warcraft, targeting the very success of the most popular MMO ever. Surely a foolish goal, as tabletop RPGs and video game RPGs are two different things, each with its own niche. But that's a topic for another post.

For now, enjoy the Neverwinter video, which is pretty cool:

World of Warcraft commercials. Awesome. Enough said.

World of Warcraft commercials. Awesome. Enough said.

Here in Medieval Fantasy we always strive to provide a new perspective on the worlds of fantasy and heroism. We adopt a policy of  "if we have nothing new to add to a subject, then do not touch that subject." The Internet already has too much "content reproducers", and do not need another.

But some subjects speak for themselves, and simply there is nothing to add. This is the case of the video displayed here. It is a Mountain Dew commercial, World of Warcraft flavored. And there's an orc. Fighting a night elf. In a supermarket. Need I say more?

Bonus video: World of Warcraft commercials are a power to be reckoned! They can put in these videos artists and rock stars such as Ozzy Osbourne and William Shatner. And before you recover from the awesomeness of which World of Warcraft commercials are able, we will leave you with a bonus commercial, this time in partnership with Toyota. Too bad this video can not be found in better resolution (if you have it stored somewhere, please let us know).

Diablo III - A more immersive Diablo

Diablo III - A more immersive Diablo

 

I still remember back in 2001. I was an addict. Much of my afternoon was filled by playing (back then) innovative Diablo II. As I was (am), also an avid (Advanced) Dungeons & Dragons player, I was naturally attracted by the game of the devil. Like Dungeons & Dragons, Diablo II gave me days and days of monster slaying, treasure hunts and great adventures. I could see places and fantastic cities and be the hero of the day. But after the initial euphoria, I missed something that Dungeons & Dragons gave me, but I did not have in Diablo II: character role-playing. After all, the game was sold as an RPG-Role Playing Game. But where was the role-playing in Diablo II? Sure, the game had an almost unparalleled replayability by the time, but I did not feel like role-playing my character. The conversations were always the same. Epic, but shallow. Basically, people giving you missions using flowery words. But I could not choose to refuse the mission, or bargain my reward. My paladin would always be a champion, and always have the same lines in all the times I play with a paladin. Diablo II was perhaps the best game of that season, but lacked something to make it perfect: world immersion. My character in Diablo was just an avatar through which I clicked to kill. If I truly wanted to feel like my character, I would have to resort to good old paper, pen, dice and imagination of Dungeons & Dragons. The irony of all this is that the creators of Diablo said they were inspired by afternoons full of Dungeons & Dragons and snacks.

Baldur's Gate

 
After many, many games of Diablo II at the end of that year I discovered a certain game that was released about the same time as Diablo II, but because of the hype built around the latter, I'd overlooked: Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn. At first I was little surprised by the 2D graphics and isometric view, and a lot of dolls that seemed to be involved in some kind of chat on the screen. But, boy, this game marked my life. That was the game that came closest to a tabletop RPG experience. You choose what your character will say or do (of course, within a limited number of choices), according to her personality. You choose to accept or not (most of) their missions. In fact, you might as well kill the good guys instead of helping them, if you choose to be evil. Imagine being able to kill Deckard Cain because you think that you just had enough of the old geezer. The experience of playing Baldur's Gate was quite different if you played with a paladin and later with an evil necromancer. And not only the equipment and expertise available, but the story itself. Hell, you could even have a romance, if you wanted!

It made me think that the perfect game to ever be created one day would be a blend of the randomization and factor "cool" of Diablo with Baldur's Gate deep immersion. Dreams...

Diablo III

Ten years later (wow! it's been so long? Am I getting old or is it just that Blizzard took a "little while" to make this game?), We are about to get Diablo III. The beta testing is already going on, but the debut of the game was postponed (again) for early 2012.

Is it worth the wait? Well, from what I've seen, for those who had nothing to complain about Diablo II and want more of it, yes. There will be endless hordes of monsters to be killed with endless hours of clicks, and treasures lying on the ground, and much sound and fury.

But what about us, the bored roleplayers who expect a greater world immersion? After all, we believe that if we are supposed to be escapists, make it extreme then! We truly want to feel like our heroes, and not only be driven by a mechanical series of dialogues and a predetermined path, only pixels on the screen. We want to feel that the world of Sanctuary (the world of Diablo) breathes and bleeds.

Fortunately, Diablo seems to have evolved in that direction. Here's how the game became more immersive compared to the previous edition. This greater immersion was implemented through both mechanical and aesthetic changes.

Sexism

No, it's not what you're thinking, you naughty devil. So far at least, Diablo is still safe for children (the violence, on the other hand, oh, that remains the same ...).

We're talking about freedom of choice. Now you can choose the gender of your character. A change merely aesthetic, but certainly allow for greater identification with the character. Besides the freedom of choice itself. And between us, I'd date that barbarian lass any day ... wouldn't you?

Compared to Baldur's Gate: In BG you could choose the gender of the PC (Player Character) as well. This mainly influenced romances.

Mercs with a "soul"

In Diablo II, the mercenary, that helper you can hire was a mere computer-driven puppet that went to and fro, and, frankly, was more annoying than useful. There was not much interaction with them. The most they did was thank you for an equipment you handed them. But they themselves were little more than walking equipment. They had the same appearance and their name was randomized the same way monsters dropped loot.

In Diablo III, they have not only a name, and not just a face, but also heart and soul. There will be three: the Scoundrel Lyndon, the Enchantress Eirene and the Templar Kormac. They have a history that will be developed along your path together. You can not control them directly. Just as in the previous version, they act independently, following you wherever you go.

Compared to Baldur's Gate: In BG you could take up to five other characters with you. Each had their own personality (very complex, by the way) and agenda, and interacted with each other. In fact, some characters could bicker among themselves and might even kill each other if things got ugly. You control all their actions, but not their reactions and desires.

Recruitable Baldur's Gate Characters: all too human...

To each, it's own

In Diablo II, your character had two resources: health and mana. The latter was used to recharge spells, from the sorceress' fire spells to the barbarian special attacks. Mana was recovered with time or through potions. This for all characters. Now, each character has its own resources to fuel their powers, according to their class.

The Wizard uses arcane power for her attacks.

The Demon Hunter uses hatred for her attacks and discipline for defense.

The Barbarian uses fury, which is replaced as you fight, but this ebbs away with time. That is, the barbarian should not stay too long without a fight.

The Monk uses the spirit feature, almost exclusively for defense, but unlike the Barbarian, this feature is not lost with time, and is also gained through attacks.

The only who got to keep the traditional mana was the Witch Doctor, whose mana is restored slowly over time, just like it was in the good ol' times.

These features are much more aligned with each character, providing a very different experience for each class. It also encourages a "proto-role-playing" of the character. For example, whoever picks a barbarian is encouraged to beat as one.

Compared to Baldur's Gate: Along with Diablo, BG is one of the games with the highest replay value around. So much so that you can find people playing Diablo II and the old BG even today. This is mainly due to the gaming experience to be different according to the chosen character class.

In conclusion: I always thought the perfect game was a blend of Diablo and Baldur's Gate. Baldur's Gate "evolved" into Dragon Age (yes, for those unaware, the same people are involved in both games), but Dragon Age disappoints in this regard, since Bioware has seen fit to make the game more "friendly" to consoles, and thus , "dumbing" down the game. Diablo III seems to be a little closer to the dream of the perfect game. Maybe in ten years?

Amazing promotional video for Magic: The Gathering 2012 - Duels of the Planeswalkers

Amazing promotional video for Magic: The Gathering 2012 - Duels of the Planeswalkers

"My name is Gideon. And I am about to die. I was born on a world long since destroyed.

Some said I played a hand in it's destruction. Less charitable voices said I was the soul to cause it's demise. I cared little at the time, as I was blinded by my own self-righteous fury.
But then a reckoning came upon me. I found others that could travel between worlds. And whose beliefs conflicted with my own. I was humbled by their power and tempted by their convictions".

Duels of the Planeswalkers 2012 is both a sequel to Duels of the Planeswalkers and part of Magic 2012 core edition line of products, scheduled to be released on July 15, 2011. In fact, when referring to Magic 2012, Wizards of the Coast has made it clear on their website that Magic 2012  refers to both the game and the cards set. Both present the same mechanical and cards. DotP 2012 will be released for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC, via Xbox Live, PSN, and Steam.

Actually DotP 2012 is scheduled for release on June 15, therefore, it acts as a preview of the cards and mechanics that will be in Magic 2012, due out later in July.

A sensational promotional video was released. This is a short dramatic narrative by the noble planeswalker Gideon Jura. From what we can see, Gideon tells about the fateful events in the block of Magic, Shards of Alara, in which his glorified world, Bant, is "invaded" by the worlds of Esper and Naya, bringing war, death and destruction. He also reveals his discovery of the existence of other Planeswalkers: Sorin Markov, Jace Beleren , Chandra Nalaar, Garruk and Liliana Vess, as well the infamous dragon Nicol Bolas.

Initially, we find that Gideon meets these Planeswalkers on not so friendly conditions. But as the almighty dragon Nicol Bolas enters the story, (as always) the tide reverses. Apparently on the verge of death, prostrated on the ground with the shadow of Nicol Bolas upon him, Gideon says, "I did something that my opponent could never do: I made allies out of enemies". Meanwhile, we see the planeswalkers being "contacted" by some sort of symbol. And then, one by one, the Planeswalkers Jace, Sorin, Chandra and Garruk appear around Gideon. And the video ends abruptly with the promise of an epic battle between these five planeswalkers versus the all-powerful and hated across the multiverse, Nicol Bolas.

As for the video game, there are no secrets. It is already confirmed that all these Planeswalkers will be "playable". The question remains as to the Magic 2012 core edition. Will these five Planeswalkers be reprinted and be part of Magic 2012, as in the virtual game? We can see that every color is represented by a planeswalker - blue, Jace, black, Sorin; green Garruk; red/Chandra, and white/Gideon. Some wonder why the choice of Gideon and not Ajani.

Well, in game terms, Gideon is arguably a better planeswalker than  Ajani. In terms of flavor, I think the folks at Wizards have reached the conclusion that a human would create more empathy with the audience than a a lion-headed man could. Moreover, the super-group of human planeswalkers a la Justice League becomes more harmonic like that (racial prejudice not intended).

Another element of the video that raises questions is the appearance of Liliana. What's the reason for her appearance, if she does not get into the group of super friends? Well, I think she is just there for the drama. We also suspect that, as is almost certain that the next expansion, Innistrad, will revolve around the black mage, Wizards declined to wear off the image of the character, and Sorin got to replace her. The same would happen in the case of Gideon and Elspeth. Since the latter already figured prominently in the last expansion, Scars of Mirrodin, it was necessary to choose another planeswalker to represent white mana, and Ajani lost out to Gideon. I do not think it was a bad choice because for the little I saw, Gideon is a character with plenty of dramatic potential, being able to add an almost Shakespearean depth to the captivating, but often futile, Magic the Gathering plots.

Unlike other promotional videos so far, this seems to be the first that has not exclusively used photo animation (of the art in Magic cards), which is not necessarily bad, but also 3D animation. The quality of the video raised the standard for Magic lore, and fans certainly hope to see more videos like this whenever it launches a new product, especially the expansions. We also gather from that video that Magic lore has enough potential to become an animated series or even a movie, provided they keep the same visual quality, epic and dramatic feel  seen here. Of course, a successful Magic The Gathering movie would require respect for said lore (something hard to find in Hollywood adaptations) and the casting of actors as good as the guy who lent his voice to Gideon in this video. It's what us fans hopefully await for the future.

And now that we've done our considerations about the video, let's go to a bit of trivia. Can you identify the cards that were used to make the video? Let's show a few:

Apocalypse Hydra

Liliana's Caress

Near-Death Experience

Yōkai in the fantastic medieval Japan - Part 1

Yōkai in the fantastic medieval Japan

Japan has faced, as we know, a great tragedy in recent days, with the earthquakes followed by tsunamis, since 11/03/2011.
 
The images and the consequences, as we can read in the news, are heart breaking.

But Japanese are tough to beat, as history has proven, and also extremely disciplined. It is no wonder that samurai and ninja originated in feudal Japan, warriors with impressive skills, bordering on the supernatural; warriors that have inhabited our fantasies and pop culture for decades. As a fervent admirer of these people, I have full confidence that they will recover impressively, with the same stoicism, honor and discipline of a samurai, as they did rise from the rubble of World War II to become a technological and economic power.

In honor of this people, I decided to talk about their captivating folklore in the feudal period. In other words, now let's talk fantasy in medieval Japan.

Let's start with an infamous creature from Japanese myth, one that features in legends from the feudal period to the present day: the yōkai.

The yōkai can be defined as a monster, spirit or demon. Actually it can be considered a class of Japanese monsters, since not every monster from feudal Japanese culture is (generally) considered a yōkai - for example the oni, kappa and Yurei. In some sources, however, these monsters will be considered yōkai, like in Inuyasha, a manga / anime which will be further explored in our posts about yōkai. In this manga / anime, all the supernatural creatures, including the three I mentioned above, are considered yokai.

InuYasha

  As a rule, what defines a yōkai is some kind of supernatural or spiritual power. Yōkai with ability to shape change are called obake. Obake examples are:

    * Tanuki (raccoon dog)
    * Kitsune (Fox)
    * Hebi (snake)
    * Mujin (Badgers)
    * Bakeneko (cats)
    * Ōkami (wolf)
    * Tsuchigumo and jorōgumo (spiders)
    * Inugami (dogs)

Tanuki

Stories of tanuki disguised as members of society (priests, for example) are common through the Kamakura period. Other stories are more sinister. In a story called "Kachi-Kachi Yama", a tanuki kills an old lady and serves her as a soup to her unsuspecting husband. A tanuki is also a character in InuYasha, acting as a servant of the monk Miroku.

Kitsune by ~who-stole-MY-name

 While the tanuki is portrayed as a prankster and joker, kitsune stories tend to be more serious, portraying these yōkai as intelligent beings, whose magical abilities increase with age. Kitsune have several tails, up to nine. The more tails a kitsune has, more wise, venerable and powerful it is. In the manga / anime Naruto, a fox of nine tails features heavily in the plot. The protagonist Naruto has one of these creatures within. Here, the creature is portrayed as demonic and destructive, and also a source of power coveted by the villains of the series. Traditionally, however, the kitsune were generally portrayed as Zenko (literally, "good foxes) or yako, malicious and harmful. In folk tales, they acquire a tail every 100 years. By acquiring the ninth tail, they became omniscient and their fur became white or gold. Commonly, they shapechanged into beautiful and seductive women.

Nine-Tailed Fox, from Naruto

Ōkami, bakeneko and especially inugami are prominently portrayed in InuYasha. InuYasha himself is the son of an Inugami, and a Ōkami named Koga is a rival as well a reluctant ally of InuYasha.
 
An interesting class of yōkai are obake tsukumogami, household objects that come to life by completing 100 years of existence. Common tsukumogami can be sandals, umbrellas, jars of sake and teapots. These yokai are also portrayed as pranksters, although they can also gather in droves to avenge those who have spent them or throw them in the trash, without consideration for their feelings. An interesting detail is that, according to the folklore, modern objects can not become tsukumogami, since these spirits are repelled by electricity. Moreover, few modern object last long enough to earn a "soul."

Yu Yu Hakusho. Hiei (left) and Kurama (red hair) are yōkai

  Besides the aforementioned InuYasha, yokai are often portrayed in modern and contemporary popular culture. Examples are also manga / anime YuYu Hakusho. Here we have Youko Kurama, a kitsune, and Hiei, a fire yōkai, born from yuki-onna (snow yōkai). In games, we have the Felicia from Darkstalkers, a bakeneko. Nor must we forget Ōkami, an action-adventure game by Capcom, which is worth being checked for any fan of yōkai and Japanese folklore and culture in general.

Felicia of Darkstalkers: yōkai bakeneko

And last but not least, RPG players, especially Dungeons & Dragons, who are also fans of yōkai and always imagined what would it be like playing one, check out Oriental Adventures, a supplement that provides the option of hengeyokai character (similar to obake).

Coming Soon, Yōkai in the fantastic medieval Japan - Part 2