July in Free Fall Forever

This exists... yay.

Last month, I finished a demo of the first three quarters of the game I've been working on and shared it with my friends. I'm mostly satisfied with it, but there are a bunch of script changes I want to make still, and I haven't yet made much progress on the ending. However, I think it's reasonable to expect it be finished this summer at least.

It was an interesting learning experience that has motivated me to continue work on games and other creative endeavours, and I am excited to finally finish it soon.

Ludological Logorrhea

Deltarune Chapters 3 + 4

I never properly wrote a review for Chapter 3 so here (spoilers ahead (also this is completely unstructured sorry)): This chapter was really good as a last hurrah for the wacky fun side of Deltarune, whilst also serving as an excellent transition towards the darker, more serious side of things. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about Tenna at first, but I came to really love him. I think Toby did a great job of making him feel distinct from other characters (like Mettaton or Queen) without being overly gimmicky, and the way he ties into the Dreemurr’s divorce, Kris’ longing, Susie feeling alienated, and Ralsei's self-worth was handled excellently. Plus whilst this chapter is relatively frivolous and gimmicky at times, the hints towards December and the weird meta stuff in the S-rank area kept me hooked the entire time. I still don’t really understand the significance of the snowgrave parallels/potential foreshadowing with the bunker. There’s some meta thing about Kris’ agency, what with the whole ‘games are fun’ thing, but I’ll probably have to sit on this for a bit. Speaking of Kris’ agency, that was probably one of the most gripping things about the new chapters for me. Learning more about them through how they disobey the player was really interesting, and I’m interested to see what Kris’ motivations are for working with Carol and the Knight, especially since we know they care deeply about all of their friends. And Chapter 4 Snowgrave, uh… I’m scared. The scene with Kris kicking the soul after putting the thorn ring on Noelle was utterly heartbreaking to watch (I’m too much of a coward to actually play it myself and I don’t want to hurt Kris or Noelle please).

I’m getting way ahead of myself. The bulk of Chapter 3 is just really fun. I can imagine the minigames and 8-bit sections weren’t everyone’s cup of tea, but they were all integrated very well with a lot of the game’s signature humour. I really liked the set-up with the Fun Gang at the couch talking with Tenna in real time as they play the game. That was so cool. I especially liked the way they played with that setup by having them switch controllers and other gags in the foreground. Also the Rouxls bit was so funny, I don't even care if they just reused his battle theme. I can imagine some people were wanting for it to go straight into lore drops and plot, but I think it was a good idea to start out this release with just Kris, Susie, and Ralsei having a good time. It makes it all more the more bittersweet considering what follows and what’s coming...

The only real thing that I was kind of disappointed about was that, with the Dreemurrs’ House setting, I would have liked to have seen more flashbacks and details about the Dreemurrs’ and Holidays’ lives before the events of the game. That said, I can understand if there were spoilers surrounding Dess and Asriel that couldn’t be avoided had we learned more about them this early. Knowing Toby Fox, it’s likely that there was more foreshadowing that I’ll only notice in retrospect anyways. But I was really happy to see the Knight get properly introduced with arguably the best and most difficult battle in the entire game so soon, alongside basically being confirmed to be December. The speculation was fun for a while, but I’m glad that the driving force behind the story isn’t just ‘who is knight??? paprys????’ for several chapters. Instead, there’s a whole conspiracy to unravel with many different players with their own potential motivations and objectives, which I'm really intrigued to see play out.

I have a mostly spoiler-free review of Chapter 4 that I did immediately after finishing the chapter which probably better encompasses my overall thoughts on the game, but whilst I’m talking about Deltarune, I might as well rant about Chapter 4 a bit more.

Chapter 4 on first playthrough is easily my favourite chapter and one of the best things I’ve ever played. This is where the plot, which has thus far mostly been coyly hinted it, now starts to bear its fangs, without revealing too much just yet. The [[$%*@]] has yet to hit the fan, but we’re given both a ton of interesting plot leads (e.g. Kris is colluding with the Knight *and* Carol? Asgore has a dark shard and is trying to investigate Dess’ disappearance? The Weird Route isn’t doomed just yet? Suselle real?) and satisfying self-contained arcs (e.g. Gerson, Ralsei trying to hide the Last Prophecy). Plus, the aesthetics and gameplay of this Dark World was phenomenal. The dark fantasy aesthetic is great and fits the shift in tone very well without sacrificng the humour entirely. I don't feel like I really need to mention the music, but yeah, Chapters 3 + 4 is now one of my favourite game soundtracks ever. Plus, Jackenstein, the Hammer of Justice, and the Titan were all really fun bosses. My only issue with the Titan is that I found it surprisingly easy even without the dark shard. I was surprised to hear people struggling on that boss more than Tenna to be honest.

Uh, I might have been thinking nonstop about this game for the past two months lol… Game is good…

Oh, and whilst I am ‘at it’, here are my top ten favourite tracks from the new chapters:

The Best of the Best of Chapter 3 + 4's Music

10. The place where it rained

I mean, it’s It’s Raining Somewhere Else, but now *we’re* somewhere else! And also emotionally devastated! The way this track slowly fades in following the aftermath of Susie learning the Last Prophecy is amazing and perfectly suits the melancholy of the scene. Oh, and it reminds me of Valak Mountain (Night) from Xenoblade 1, so that’s pretty cool.

9. Hammer of Justice

As good as Spear of Justice is, it was never particularly one of my favourite Undertale tracks. In fact, it’s probably one of my least favourite battle themes from the game simply due to its strong competition. So I’m glad to see Undyne’s mentor get a theme that expands upon it whilst also being its own thing. The banjo(?) part that leads into a more energetic part with the same motif is reminiscent of the best part of Battle Against a True Hero, which is really cool and also makes me kind of emotional. I absolutely loved Gerson’s arc where he becomes the mentor Susie really needed and gets one last chance to fix his relationship with his son. Susie being needed to send the message not just because she can return to the light world but also because Gerson wouldn’t be able to find the right words to assure his son is really cool and I’m interested to see where these themes go forward. Oh yeah, and the song is really good, especially in context.

8. GUARDIAN

At first I wasn’t sold on this track. It’s quite different from most of the boss themes we’ve heard from Toby before, being far less melodically driven in favour of atmosphere and dynamics. But the dynamics and the way the melodies play off of each other is stunning. This track sounds like a constant battle between despair and hope, fitting not only thematically but mechanically for the Titan battle. And the part with the little guitar break going into the From Now On riff is pure euphoria. I’m really excited to see Toby explore this direction more with future chapters.

7. Raise Up Your Bat

Woah, Toby Fox making a rock song with lyrics (albeit not sung)??? How crazy! Alas, I can only imagine the demo where Toby sang this like the ska cover of Sunsetter he did. But yeah, this is a really really fun song that I never got tired of replaying in the rhythm game. Plus the use of the Lost Girl motif in the chorus is amazing. It’s a really cool idea that Raise Up Your Bat by Bloodcrushers the Band (per the Spamton Sweepstakes ARG) is the in-universe ‘origin’ of the Lost Girl motif and makes me hyped to see what more we’ll learn about Dess. I’d love to see if these lyrics turn out to be foreshadowing. Oh, and check out the NyxTheShield vocal cover, it’s very good! Check out their cover of Don’t Forget as well.

6. Another Day in Hometown

One of my favourite parts of Chapter 4 was the recurring piano motif. E.g. Kris going to play piano on their own as soon as they’re free from the player, the playable piano in the Dark Sanctuary, and Susie’s anecdote about the piano in the church. It’s clear that in many ways Toby is writing from his own feelings towards playing piano as a way of exploring various themes like Kris’ agency and Susie’s fear of rejection and inferiority. I’ve always really loved Toby’s piano playing (probably why Last Goodbye is my second favourite song of his), and it sucks that his wrist pain has gotten in the way of that. But the parts in this chapter where Kris plays piano inspired me start practicing piano again after writing it off for a while out of frustration, and for that I must thank this wonderful game. Oh, and this track is a really really beautiful rendition of Hometown’s theme.

5. Ruder Buster

He made Rude Buster ruder, guys. I’m going to be honest, though I love Rude Buster it was never one of my absolute favourites, primarily since it feels like doesn’t exactly get to ‘go anywhere’ as a regular battle theme. It *is* a perfect regular battle theme, but this version makes it into everything it was meant to be, with those last forty seconds providing the perfect emotional payoff.

4. Dark Sanctuary

Chapter 4 is so cool. Every chapter has it’s ‘first area theme moment’ that stopped me in my tracks the first time playing with an overwhelming feeling of ‘Toby is back’. However Chapter 3 did something kind of different with having it’s first and only ‘proper’ area over halfway though, and as much as I love TV WORLD, I have to admit I didn’t find it quite as strong as its equivalents in the previous chapters. However, Chapter 4 more than makes up for it with one of Toby’s best area themes. This track is just so utterly beautiful and awe-inducing. The moment the drums kick in you know you’re in for something special. That and I really love the dark fantasy aesthetic with the choir and oboe(?). This and Chapter 4’s other area themes make me relieved to see that Toby is still trying new things with his music without sacrificing the quality. Man, this chapter was cool.

3. The Second Sanctuary

More thoughts ahead, but this track is basically everything great about The Third Sanctuary condensed, with some amazing strings as well. As such, I will talk about my eleventh favourite track that only got excluded because this OST is just That Good. From Now On (Battle 2) is one of the best regular battle themes I’ve heard and perfectly fits the change in tone present in Chapter 4. Transitioning from the more carefree Rude Buster to something much more Determined and heroic was a great choice and reminds me of the battle theme changing from Enemy Approaching! to Stronger Monsters in Undertale or from Time to Fight! to Mechanical Rhythm in Xenoblade.

2. Black Knife

This is probably mechanically the single best fight in the series just as a bullet hell game, with amazing aesthetics and one of the most absolutely kick[[Behind the scenes content included!]] battle themes Toby has created. The fact that this theme never even began to wear itself out over the hour of attempts I did is a true testament to Toby’s musical prowess. Also I’m a sucker for weird warbly pitch bends and ‘sparkly’ instrumentation in otherwise heavy tracks, so this track immediately became a favourite. I can’t wait for the Chapter 5 scene where Noelle and the rest of the part have an emotional battle with an unmasked Dess as a theme combining Black Knife and Raise Up Your Bat plays.

1. The Third Sanctuary

peak

Honestly I don’t really know what to write about this other than It’s Goode and It’s Everything I Want In Music Basically. The last minute is pure 11+12/8 bliss, it’s like Toby Fox in his Masked Dancers: Concern in So Many Things You Forget Where You Are era, just as the Angel intended.

Stuff (Other)

Okay, okay, so because I already drew five pixel art pleople for Deltarune and ranted about it too much I’m just going to do a lightning round where I quickly summarise my thoughts on a variety of media I’ve started or finished recently.

Finished Oyasumi Punpun. Well-written and beautiful art, but a bit too indulgent in its misery for my tastes.

Started corru.observer. Really really liked the mixed media approach and hard sci-fi worldbuilding. Excited to see where this goes.

Played more Touhou (PCB and IN). I love these games music and gameplay but I don’t really have a clue about the plot or characters. Also I’m really bad at it but addicted at the same time. Maybe I’ll 1cc a game on Normal eventually, who knows?

Replayed Finding Paradise. Wrote a review already.

Started Silent Hill 1. I love the atmosphere and the puzzles are pretty cool.

Been reading Brideshead Revisted with some friends and it’s pretty good. Don’t really care for the conservative British aristocracy stuff that much, but it has some pretty good writing.

Watched Madoka Magica. Really liked it even if I felt it was slow at points, but the ending payed off.

Watched Kaiba. The art was cool and it had some neat concepts but idk I retained much.

Watched Ping-Pong: The Animation. I liked this a lot more than I thought I would. I kind of hate sports because of my experience with them but I was surprisingly engaged by the well-written characters.

Extra(neous) Thoughts

Uh, I hope I can finish the game soon. Other than that, wow, I wrote a lot more than I was planning to lol.