New blog entry!

Author: dapierce

content/blog/2024-06-26-retro-emulation-done-easy.md

@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ tags:
   - retro
   - emulation
 featuredImage: "images/2024-06-26-retro-emu-shadow.png"
-featuredImageAlt: "A screenshot of Shadow of the Colossus (PS2)"
+featuredImageAlt: "A screenshot of Shadow of the Colossus (PS2): the hero rides a horse through a grassy field with ruins in the distance."
 ---
 
 After a year enjoying the comfort of playing old games on my TV, I can fully recommend my retro gaming setup: a mini PC running Batocera Linux.

content/blog/2024-12-01-mystic-ark.md

@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+---
+title: Mystic Ark
+description: Review of the 1995 Enix RPG for the Super Famicom
+date: 2024-12-01
+tags:
+  - longform
+  - video games
+  - retro
+  - review
+featuredImage: "images/mystic-ark-box.jpg"
+featuredImageAlt: "The box art of Mystic Ark for Super Famicom. A knight dressed in white enters a checkerboard floor tiled room, surrounded by elemental creatures."
+---
+
+My review of the Super Famicom game, released in 1995 by Enix.
+---
+
+Never released outside of Japan, *Mystic Ark* was always a curiosity to me since I discovered it from a single screenshot from Nintendo Power. It was a simple screen of the battle interface, taking inspiration from tabletop aesthetics with a sort of ornate board on which the characters and monsters were arranged.
+
+{% image "images/2024-12-01-mystic-ark-battle.png", "A battle screenshot with the characters positioned on a board, with an abstract background" %}
+
+The game has long since received an excellent English translation from Aeon Genesis: https://aeongenesis.net/projects/mysticark
+
+Playing the game now as an adult, the tabletop battle screen is only one aspect of the game’s overall metatextual theme. The characters in your party are represented by figurines in the course of the game, and the various worlds you venture to are represented by objects in the shrine you start from. The figurines you find become imbued with life from the Arks, the world saving elementals that you collect throughout the game. Your main character is the center point on which everything else revolves around—it’s game over when the hero dies, and the ending of the game is the main character leaving the game world and you, the player awakening to the sounds of the modern world.
+
+{% image "images/2024-12-01-mystic-ark-pirates.png", "Two pirate cats stand in front of the main character, saying 'Eh? Haven't seen you around here, meow! This ship is Captain Alonso's Bloodhook.'" %}
+
+The game is at its most joyous when you are exploring and making sense of each new world. Surreal landscapes and premises bring a lot of humor and charm to this game. Take for instance the first world: a desert where a war between rival pirate cats plays out. Or the world that is entirely within a horror mansion, complete with inane Resident Evil-style puzzles to solve. The breadth of ideas keeps the otherwise pretty generic RPG plot fresh and novel.
+
+The way the game works is very much in the fashion of Dragon Quest, with distinct character classes/skill sets and limited item inventory spaces. Additional party members, when you are able to give them life with the Arks, can only be revived by going back to the starting shrine to pick up their figurines again. Battle skills to buff your party become central to the bigger battles, but a useful Auto mode allows you to program a decently intelligent party for the swarms of random battles.
+
+{% image "images/2024-12-01-mystic-ark-witch.png", "A pink cat in a room, with a dialog box. Matoya: Well, you took your dear sweet time, didn't you? I thought you'd be a little swifter getting here." %}
+
+The scenarios generally consist of finding the right townspeople, going to a place to collect the right items and so on, but moreso than most Dragon Quests or Final Fantasies, there is often an element of trolling to some of the things the game asks from the player. Requests will end up taking more effort than anticipated, items may be found in random locations that are barely hinted at, finding the person you need could become a wild goose chase. The witch's tower in the first world really drives this all home to the player with hidden falling tiles at the top that will send you back to the very start.
+
+If you're willing to put up with this (or are prepared to save-state your way through), you will find a charming, if a little long-in-the-tooth role playing game.
+
+{% image "images/2024-12-01-mystic-ark-giant.png", "A horned giant emerges from a hilly landscape as dawn breaks." %}

content/blog/images/2024-12-01-mystic-ark-battle.png

@@ -254,8 +254,10 @@ p code {
 }
 
 p img {
+	object-fit: contain;
 	width: 100%;
 	height: 100%;
+	max-height: 580px;
 }
 
 /* Header */