Foot in the Mouth

I saw a trailer for Skyward Sword a ways back, and as infatuated as I was with the previous incarnation of Legend of Zelda, was not impressed. Twilight Princess was the darkest, most awe-inspiring game in the franchise to date; still under its spell I sneered at the bright watercolors and giant ducks of Skyward Sword, thinking the darkened Hyrule far its superior. Last fortnight or so I reiterated my objections, but thought I ought to substantiate them, so I went and found all the cutscenes online.

I was blown away. Skyward Sword is one of the most beautiful video games I have ever seen; rivaling, if not surpassing, such beauties as Final Fantasy VIII and Chrono Cross. Two examples come to mind: life in Skyloft and Link's relationship with Zelda.

The goddess Hylia, sparing some men the flame of the war which ravages Hyrule, raises earth to the heavens above an impenetrable cloud barrier, where the inhabitants live in peace. Each child is granted a Loftwing, a guardian bird, as a gift from Hylia, and which they meet while still small. To summon it, each child leaps off the edge of Skyloft and calls their guardian Loftwing, who never fails to catch them and fly away. Nintendo pulls off this extraordinarily beautiful concept exquisitely; for who has not wished to soar like a bird? The freedom and trust in another, manifested in unhesitating leaps into the abyss is nothing short of exhilarating.

In all previous Zelda iterations, the titular princess has been the collected, reserved, graceful heiress of Hyrule; especially in Twilight Princess, where her nobility was unmatched. This was quite lovely in itself, but Nintendo changed it in Skyward Sword. Zelda is no princess here, but only longtime childhood friend of the soon-to-be hero. As such, she is cast as a charming, wonderful young woman who loves life; it would not be too much of an exaggeration to describe her as life incarnate. And as we know from my adoration of St. Joan in Mark Twain's Personal Recollections and Anne from Anne of Green Gables, I'm a sucker for women so portrayed.

So from every important aspect the game offered, I reversed my earlier disdain; I thought I knew when I in fact did not. Let this be a lesson for me. In the meantime, I shall quietly acknowledge Skyward Sword as perhaps the best Zelda game yet, possibly surpassing such wonders as Ocarina of Time.

You Can (Not) Advance, You Can (Not) Redo

More than a year since my last update, yes? Sadly, nothing has really progressed. Monster took forever to get moving, so I eventually lost interest. A handful of comedies passed my way without much of note, including Birdy the Mighty. But there is good news on the horizon! Anno has finished Rebuild of Evangelion 3.0 and it shall be released this fall! Since Eva is quite possibly my favorite anime and favorite television series, and since You Can (Not) Advance was one of the best films I had seen in a while, I am terribly excited. The animation quality was astounding, the story compelling and wrenching as always, and the blending of music and animation simply superb. 

The weakest part of most anime and popular media in general these days is the ending (The Book of Eli is a significant exception). Eva draws out perfectly the pain of being, but, since modernity has abandoned the faith, must create something new for salvation; thus the final applause scene of the anime was a bit of a letdown, as it seemed little more than a mediocre understanding of popular psychology. I have only found the Church and the noble paganism of ancient Greece to answer the complete problem of man's being, and though the former is far mightier than the latter, even the latter, with its heroic depiction of man, would do; sadly, we are three millennia past ancient Greece, and the closest shortcut to return, Nietzsche, fills most democrats with horror. Their solution is to strip Christianity of everything sublime, leaving only the 'nice' parts: "treat others as you would be treated", etc. A noble sentiment in its place, to be sure, but if you strip such a moral claim from its context of the saint, the faith, and metaphysics, such an attitude becomes contemptible, as Nietzsche saw.

Perhaps Anno will do something spectacular with the conclusion of the Rebuild tetrology. I hope something noble and sublime is produced. Till then, I shall enjoy the ride, and hope You Can (Not) Redo gets released in American theaters.