In a Fix, In a Bind, Call on Us Anytime

 Every once in a while, I like to go back and revisit media that I have not watched/read since childhood, in order to see if they hold up. Most recently, I did this with two of Disney's animated features: The Rescuers (1977) and its sequel, The Rescuers Down Under (1990).

Now, as a young'un, I watched these movies in the reverse order from when they were originally released (as a matter of fact, The Rescuers Down Under is one of the earliest films I can recall watching) and so, for years, my opinion was that the sequel was the better movie. As an adult, this is no longer the case.

Credit where credit is due, there are certain aspects in which Down Under outdoes its predecessor: For one, It's undeniably a much better-looking film,(though the art-style of the original The Rescuers is not without its charm), with some truly impressive flying-scenes  and as far as child-characters go, Down Under's Cody is more palatable than The Rescuer's Penny. I also kind of liked Jake, the kangaroo rat and appreciated that the writers didn't go the obvious route of making him into a complete douchebag. 

As for each film's respective main villain; Madame Medusa and Percival C. MacLeach? I'd say they're about equal in my eyes. Neither is among my favorite villains (or even favorite Disney-villains), but they both play their roles well and are entertainingly loathsome (though MacLeach has the better animal sidekick; Joanna the Goanna is easily the best character introduced in the sequel and completely steals the film).

So, why do I prefer The Rescuers to its sequel? Well, one major reason why is that, although both movies are the same length,  the original makes much better use of its runtime, with every scene advancing the plot in some way. Meanwhile, Down Under gives way too much attention to the antics of bumbling comic relief characters, who either should have had their screen-time reduced (Wilbur), or be cut from the movie altogether (Frank). 

Another reason is that, despite the movie being called The Rescuers Down Under, there isn't really that much of the two titular characters in it. Bernard and Bianca does not appear until almost half an hour into the movie (and keep in mind that we're talking about a film that runs to a grand total of 77 minutes) and throughout the film, they feel oddly inconsequential. Though at least, Bernard actually gets to do things, unlike his colleague/love-interest. Poor Bianca is just completely wasted in the sequel. It's a shame, because she was a great character in the first movie, easily the most charismatic and engaging female lead to come out of Disney up until that point and would remain so, until the Renaissance Era.

Despite what I wrote above, I must make it clear that I don't think The Rescuers Down Under is a bad movie. Certainly, I've seen far worse animated films, including worse from Disney (if you put a gun to my head and forced me to chose between watching The Rescuers Down Under or Home on the Range, I'd pick the former without any hesitation). I simply do not agree with those who think that its an underrated classic, or superior to its predecessor.

And that includes my younger self. 

Changes In Taste

When it comes to entertainment, no person's taste is completely set in stone and Yours Truly is no exception to this rule. Certainly, there are plenty  works of fiction whose plots, characters, themes, etc will always resonate deeply with me and which I revisit regularly without finding that the love and admiration I felt for them when I first encountered them, has in any way faded. That said, there are also plenty of works of which is not the case. These are the works that I used to be really into at various points in my life, but that do not resonate as strongly as they used to back in the day. "The Day" in question can refer to any time in my life, from childhood and adolescence to just a few years ago.

TV-shows, whether animated or live-action are particularly prone to falling victim to this, especially long-running ones, which is why the majority of my favorite shows tend to be comparatively short, either by design or due to cancellation. Now, there are of course long-running shows that avoid this, Mad Men being the first example to come to mind. I actually thought that that show got more interesting in its later seasons, but again, its an exception.

Then there are shows like The Simpsons, South Park, Archer, Adventure Time and Steven Universe, among others. All of them clear-cut examples of this. Out of these, Steven Universe is the only one that I'm caught up with and even there, I can't say that I'm as invested in the show as I used to be.

Moving away from television, there is the Star Wars franchise. Now, I'm too young to have seen the original trilogy when it came out, but it  was nonetheless a part of my childhood. As time went on though, my interest in Star Wars as a whole, became more and more casual. These days, I've come to the realization that I find the setting in which Star Wars takes place more interesting than any of the actual movies or shows. This also applies to the Harry Potter books, by the way.

Let me provide one final example, this time from the 9th artform. Jacques Tardi's Adele Blanc-Sec comics was a favorite of mine when I was in my teens, but upon revisiting some of the albums recently, I found that it didn't quite hold up to me. Still entertaining, but not in the same class as some of Tardi's other work.

There are other examples I could mention, but I'll stop here. I should point out though, that I do not dislike any of the works I listed here. No, at worst, I'm simply indifferent towards them and even when that's the case, there are parts of them that I will always be fond of, but none of them are works that I consider to be indispensable to me, even though, at some point, they might have been.

Favorite Adventure Games

Ever since a cousin of mine introduced me to Day of the Tentacle, back when I was a child, the graphic adventure (or point & click adventure, as it has also been called), has been my favorite type of game, rivaled only by the RPG. As such, I thought it high-time that I paid some tribute to this genre, by showcasing what I consider to be some of the best games it has to offer. Are you ready? Well, than, let's jump right in.

Day of the Tentacle (LucasArts, 1993)

Seeing as how this was the first graphic adventure I played from start to finish, its only fitting that Day of the Tentacle kicks off this list. However, its not just sentimentality that makes this game earn a place on it. While Day of the Tentacle may no longer be my favorite game (or even favorite adventure-game, for that matter), I can not argue with any list who puts it in the top-spot. Day of the Tentacle is one of those games that does pretty much everything right; everything from the cartoony graphics, to the puzzles, to the humor of the game are terrific. Created by LucasArts. the uncrowned king of the genre at the height of its power, Day of the Tentacle is, in many ways, what all adventure games should strive to be.

Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge (LucasArts, 1991)

No list of great adventure-games is truly complete without at least one Monkey Island title on it and while everyone has their own favorite game in this series; LucasArts' flagship title, which focused on the adventures and misadventures of Guybrush Threepwood ("Mighty pirate!"), I'd have to go with the second one. LeChuck's Revenge is everything a worthy sequel should be, being bigger and better than its predecessor, with more locations to visit, more puzzles and more characters. The second (and longest) part of the game, where you are free to travel between various islands in order to find all the map-pieces is pure adventure-bliss that anyone interested in the genre should experience at least once. Also, this game features one of the most memorable endings of any game I can think of.

Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (LucasArts, 1992)

Easily as good as Raiders of the lost Ark and better than any of the subsequent movies, Fate of Atlantis has everything that a fan of everyone's favorite whip-wielding archaeologist/grave-robber could want from an Indiana Jones game. As Indy you have to race to stop the Nazis from exploiting the ancient technology of Atlantis for their own nefarious purposes. There are three different paths you can take in order to reach the lost city; one path puts the focus on traditional puzzle-solving, the second on action and the final one has you collaborating with the game's heroine, Sophia Hapgood (who rivals Marion as the best female character in the franchise). Regardless of which path you choose, Fate of Atlantis is a great game. Seriously, screw Crystal Skull. For me, this game will always be the real Indiana Jones IV.

Grim Fandango (LucasArts, 1998)

The last truly great adventure-game to come out of LucasArts and in many ways the company's magnum opus. Although the new keyboard-controlled interface could take a bit of time to get used to, compared to the old "point & click"-ways, the richness of the plot and the characters more than make for any of that. In fact, Grim Fandango in my opinion, has the best plot of any LucasArts' game and its set in a brilliantly realized world influenced both by Mexican tradition and classic film-noir tropes. If I have any complaints about this game, I guess it would be that the last half of it isn't as interesting as the first one (a flaw it shares with Monkey Island 2, by the way). However, that's small stuff. everyone should experience the after-life with Manny Calavera as their tour-guide, at least once before they shuffle off the mortal coil for real.

Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers (Sierra, 1993)

Back in the genre's heydays, Sierra Entertainment was LucasArts' rival for the much coveted "King of Adventure Games" -title and although the quality of Sierra's products tended to be more inconsistent than those of its rival, when they were good, they were damn good. The finest game to come out of Sierra was Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers, the first in a trilogy by Jane Jensen. Like its sequels, Sins of the Fathers was a mature game in all the right ways, featuring believable characters and a gripping, complex plot that dealt with themes like revenge, guilt and redemption. The two sequels are also good (a rather infamous puzzle in the third game not withstanding), but the first installment is my favorite. Had this been the only game featuring Gabriel and his assistant Grace Nakimura she had made, Jane Jensen would still have earned her place among gaming's great storytellers.

Quest For Glory IV: Shadows of Darkness (Sierra, 1994)

Next to Gabriel Knight, my favorite series to come out from Sierra would be Quest For Glory, an adventure/RPG hybrid created by husband-and-wife team Lori Ann and Corey Cole. The best game in the series, in my opinion, is the fourth one, Shadows of Darkness which takes place in the land of Moldavia, a land which the forces of evil has a strong grip on. There are several reasons why Quest For Glory IV is one of my favorite adventure-games; the plot is the best one in the series, with influences from both Bram Stoker and H.P. Lovecraft, as well as Russian folklore. The characters are memorable, including the antagonist, who is one of the best in all gaming and it features John-Rhys Davies as the narrator, what more could one possibly want?

Tex Murphy: The Pandora Directive (Access, 1996)

Under A Killing Moon, the third game in Access' series about Tex Murphy, the down-on-his luck P.I., who continually gets caught up in cases in which it turns out that the World itself is at stake, was an innovative game in many ways; featuring an immersive 3-d environment. in which the player could hide behind doors, look for clues underneath desk-drawers, among other thing. However, it was also held back by some amateurish acting (Chris Jones would improve in later games) and a pretty cheesy plot, with a villain whose plan was lifted from Moonraker. of all things. Its sequel, The Pandora Directive took everything that was good about Under A Killing Moon and improved upon it. One of the most interesting aspects of the game was the opportunity to lead Tex down various paths, leading to several different endings, some of them happy, others less so.

The Last Express (Smoking Car Productions, 1997)

Jordan Mechner may be most famous for having created the Prince of Persia series, but in my opinion, his finest work is this game. The Last Express puts the player in the role of Robert Cath, a doctor, who finds himself aboard the Orient Express at the dawn of the first World War.
One of the most unique things about The Last Express is the fact that the game takes place in real-time with all the characters you meet having their own schedules. This means that you have to choose carefully what you're going to do next, whether its to meet a character in order to dig out information from them or wait until the character is gone order to go through their stuff, among other choices. The plot of the game is also very strong, being a mystery in true Agatha Christie-fashion, which successfully uses the political upheavals of the time as a back-drop. Oh, and did I mention that the characters all speak in their own native language, with the Russian passengers talking Russian and so on? How often do you see that? Not just in games, but media in general? The Last Express is by far the classiest adventure-game I've played.

The Wolf Among Us (Telltale, 2013)

Last but not least, we have The Wolf Among Us. I've actually written about this game before, so, I recommend reading my old review of it if you want more details. While The Walking Dead: Season 1 was the game that truly put Telltale on the map, this is my favorite out of the ones I've played from them, so far. Here's hoping we get a sequel at some point.

*****

Well, that's it for now.  If you haven't already played any of these games, than I hope I've made you interested in checking at least one of them out. Most of them are available via Good Old Games or Steam, so they're quite easy to get ahold of.

Until next time, dear reader.