Thrown in the Dark - A Pokemon Creepypasta

Yesterday I visited my parents' property to see if any of my stuff in storage was worth selling. After searching through bins of worthless toys and junk, I eventually dug up my old Pokemon Crystal cartridge. Well, actually it belonged to a childhood friend of mine. He'd frequently share his progress in the game and how it brought him joy during rough times. It's been a while since he moved away so I forgot exactly why he gave it to me, but it had to have been important. Pokemon Crystal always had this air of elusiveness as a kid, so I was eager to sink hours into it when I had the chance. Of course with the bustle of college and moving homes, it's inevitable that all my old electronics got put away. I'd still replay these games through emulation, but there's just something special about playing them on original hardware. So I figured I'd write down my experience with Crystal one final time before selling it.

I booted the game up and sat intently through the intro sequence, mesmerized by its appearance on the LCD screen. Once I pressed past the title screen, I was greeted by my old save file. I'm not one to get sentimental about childhood saves, so I gave it a toss and started a fresh file. The usual song and dance played out: I entered my name as Walter, picked Totodile as my starter, and ran into my rival after he had stolen the other starter. I've always had a soft spot for these mean rivals in old Pokemon games, they genuinely felt like kids I'd know in real life. Since I couldn't think of anything clever, I simply left my opponent's name as Silver.

With my journey underway I defeated the trainers north of Cherrygrove City, and went ahead into the Dark Cave. As the name suggests, the interior is pitch black with only the entrance and items visible. I wandered around the cave for a bit, but there's no real point in exploring without having Flash to light it up. As I walked back to the entrance I managed to encounter a Dunsparce, a very rare spawn in this area. At first I was mildly excited, but then I remembered this is Dunsparce we're talking about. With weak stats and a limited movepool, it's neither impressive mechanically or aesthetically. I mean who'd want a fat snake with its eyes shut? With enough scratches the creature fainted, and I made my way out of the cave.

When I stepped outside I was struck with a bizarre sight: the whole game was now engulfed in darkness. I knew this had to be a glitch of some kind, but the fact it even existed was bewildering. I could reset the system to see if the bug would solve itself, but not once had I saved since starting this new file. Well, it probably wouldn't take much time to replay up to this point, but I know it wouldn't take long to get Flash either. All I'd have to do is walk into Violet City, get the HM from Sprout Tower, and finally beat the gym to use the move outside of battle. If nothing else I could be the first person to document this glitch and this proposed solution.

The darkness effect made for an interesting challenge, as I essentially had to play the game blindfolded. I relied on the map and background music as general reference points, and used the visible NPCs for finer mental mapping. Combined with the sound effect that plays when you bump into surfaces, I was able to effectively feel out the level design. Occasionally I'd notice a trainer sprite flicker in and out the corner of the screen. This weirded the hell out of me every time it happened, as if someone in the shadows was secretly following me. I need to be rational, it's likely just a visual artifact caused by the glitch.

With enough trial and error I made it to the top floor of Sprout Tower, got the HM for Flash from the elder, and taught it to a Bellsprout I caught along the way. Since I needed more experience for the gym, I refrained from using the escape rope and walked back down the tower. As I stepped out into Violet City I received a phone call from youngster Joey, the first trainer I exchanged phone numbers with. I was expecting the usual message about his Rattata, but what I got was a bit more puzzling:

"I've heard some people can be read like an open book. I don't read much, but I can tell you're the type of person that's into battling. Let's meet up on Route 30 for a rematch."

Odd, I can't recall Joey ever having this dialogue, but I guess there isn't much noteworthy about what he says. I walked into the gym, beat the trainers, and swept through Falkner with just my Totodile. Now that I had the badge secured, Flash became usable in the overworld. With bated breath, I opened the party menu and commanded my Bellsprout to use Flash. As the screen turned white my suspense rose to an all time high, which made it all the more crushing when the brightness faded.

It is still dark, it is now silent, and I am all alone.

I opened the map to find my location, but the screen only displayed "???". I was nowhere, just an empty plane cut off from the rest of the world. I was reminded of that out of bounds glitch in Pokemon Diamond and Pearl, but I never heard of Crystal having something similar. While walking around I'd see chunks of glitchy garbage data littering the map, and it became clear this save file was beyond fixing. Though my curiosity had taken the best of me, I wanted to see what else was left in this void.

After enough wandering around, I hit some kind of trigger and was transported to another map. The title card informed me that I was in Ilex Forest, quite a bit away from Violet City. There was no darkness effect encompassing the area, so the glitch appeared to have resolved itself. It was such a relief to see the game in a normal state, however this moment became fleeting. After a few steps I received a phone call from a unnamed messenger:

"Hey, how about we play another game of hide-and-seek! I'll find a spot out here in the woods, and maybe this time it won't be as easy." 

I didn't know what to make of this dialogue, perhaps it's part an unused side quest? I tried searching the map for whoever was on the phone, even checked the shine to see if it was related to an event, but I quickly realized it was going nowhere. I decided to ignore whatever this cut content was and went north to Goldenrod City.

After exiting the area the game once again hit me with a curve ball, as I was warped to the middle of another pitch black void. I opened the map to see I was in Viridian Forest, though I can't imagine what I triggered to get sent all the way across regions. I'm not very familiar with this place in Crystal, so I spent a while getting lost in the darkness. Eerily enough, the only part of the music that played was the tinny percussion section. Here it sounded less like instruments playing and more like rustling in the forest, which I did not like the idea of at all. After some aimless walking another phone call popped up:

"Uh, hey. I went past a bunch of bushes and think I lost track of where I came in. Right now I'm resting near a really tall tree, but I'm scared I can't find a way out. You're still looking for me, right?"

What the hell are these messages? Despite the game continuing to escalate in strangeness, I pressed forward and eventually reached an exit on the map. Of course, this spat me back out into the glitchy nowhere void. This time I was left wandering for quite a while, and I began to question if I should call it quits. Eventually I received yet another phone call: 

"We understand your concern about the harassment your son faces, and have done as much as we can to reduce bullying across the whole school. We asked if he had any friends to support him, and he mentioned one student..."

At this point I was done with whatever was wrong with this copy of Crystal, so I promptly shut the Game Boy off without saving. I exited my room to make myself dinner, organize some shelves, etc. Really I was doing anything to take my mind off the game, but there was this nagging in my head that drew me back to it. What would happen if I started from the beginning? Would everything still be normal? In a bid to satisfy this curiosity, I picked the system up and gave Crystal another spin.

To my utter shock, a file had been saved. It even had my name and all the information from when I last played. I opened the save to found myself in some sort of room with an NPC. It actually resembled the player's room from New Bark Town, though a few decorations may have been moved around. I went to interact with the NPC, but for some reason the dialogue box took longer than usual to show up. When it finally did, the character said:

"The doctors said my condition is beyond treatment, so I'm left having it become worse every day. I wish you could understand what it's like, slowly losing your vision. It's as if everything I thought I knew is slipping away, and I'm sinking into a pocket of misery. Please, don't leave me. I don't want to be alone, not like this..." 

With every line of text the room grew darker and darker, until it became empty void. The music had been reduced a low ambient hum, with the menu sounds cutting through like a knife. The only thing that remained visible in the area was an item. I walked over and picked it up, which gave the message:

"Suicune was added to the party!" 

An upbeat jingle played alongside the message, but it felt wrong when cutting back to the low humming. After the text box closed the player sprite was replaced with the rival, Silver. Even the art on the trainer card was changed to Silver, though my name remained the same. I went to look at the Suicune in my party, but I was unsettled to see it named "No Return". 

When I checked its summary the colors of the menu had inverted, with white and black being swapped. Because of color palette limitations, the white on Suicune's sprite had also turned black. There was something especially off-putting about seeing the mascot of this game left darkened and hollow, as if I'm somehow causing it pain. There didn't seem to be an exit in the room, so with no other option I used the escape rope from Sprout Tower. 

I was expecting to be warped back to the nowhere area, but where I actually went was far more disturbing. I found myself walking in a white void. There weren't any glitched visuals, but instead large deep blue eyes filling the screen. The player sprite had darkened into silhouette while the music was comprised of discordant notes and textures, similar to what the radio plays in the Ruins of Alph. I tried to braving this area to find something, anything, but the eyes grew too unnerving. It's as if they were glaring straight through the screen and into my soul.

At a certain point my character stopped in place for what felt like forever, and I thought the game finally crashed. Eventually a garbled trainer sprite slowly walked up behind me. With my suspense risen once again, it said:

"You know the saying that some people can be read like an open book, right? I wish I knew it back then, back when I assumed you cared. You've left me in the recesses of your mind for far too long, but now is the time to make amends. So pay up, thief."

A battle was then initiated with the unnamed trainer, resembling a glitchy youngster sprite. His Pokemon team consisted of only a single Xatu, which it seemed to know moves that it normally couldn't learn. I figured with the legendary Suicune on my side this battle would've been simple, but it proved far more problematic. The Xatu would repeatedly use Sand Attack to lower my accuracy, use Confuse Ray to redirect my attacks, use Recover to undo any hits I managed to land, and use Mean Look to... I can't even begin to know. This left my team aimlessly flailing around, missing most of their attacks while damaging themselves. Even when I manage to land a hit, he'd simply use recover to gain that health back. The battle ultimately proved futile as, one by one, my team members struggled to death. After losing the battle, with sweat in my palms, the trainer gave the parting message:

"One way or another, we will meet again. So watch out, Wal-" 

SNAP, the lights in my room suddenly cut out. In a panic I flipped the switches over and over until everything came back on, to which I noticed my Game Boy had also shut off. I ran to the device and feverishly powered it on to see what else happened. The game booted up and made its way past the title screen, only for a message to pop up saying that my save data had corrupted. No matter how much I tinkered and reset the system, I could not create a new save. While I'm relieved that nothing unsettling could pop up again, I'm now stuck with a dead cartridge. Since I can't exactly sell off a broken game, the Crystal cart will remain tucked away just as it had before

... 

I'm writing this section as an addendum to the bizarre experience I had with that Pokemon Crystal cartridge. For the past few weeks I've been having strange, even disturbing dreams. Most often I'd find myself lost in complete darkness, only able to rustling and cries out in the distance. These dreams bore a striking resemblance to what I saw in the game, to which I accepted they had a connection. I eventually destroyed the cartridge in a desperate attempt to end these restless nights, but that proved to be a grave mistake. Now they've developed into full night terrors, and I've been struggling to sleep ever since. I remember in one nightmare a figure emerged from the shadows, its body deformed and mutated, drug me across the ground and performed unspeakable actions to my eyes.

At first I disregarded the idea that the game could be haunted, but now there could be no other explanation. Whatever the entity wanted me to fulfill, destroying the cartridge had prevented me from doing so. Now I can't see how else I could please this spirit, so I am left to suffer with these nightmares.

I am too far gone, and there is no return...

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Written by Zucchini, March 2026

Images taken from Pokemon Crystal, edited by Zucchini 

Why Infest my Nest?

Filth, it's reviled by most people but for me is all I know. I am simply a filthy creature in a filthy room, and I don't see myself leaving anytime soon. Those who visit me, though few and far between, never mention the filth that makes up the space they stand in. Perhaps they're just trying to be nice, or they simply think I'm a lost cause. Not that it would mean much to me, I've already embraced the filthiness and made it my home. The junk cluttering the floor, the stench permeating through the walls, the marks and stains painting the canvas of my soul, it's what brings me comfort. Am I content with my life? Maybe, but I can only ever see myself as filth, no more than the worthless trash that furbish my living space. I dread having to leave this filth, anywhere else would feel like being held at gunpoint. But that's what this world asks from me, threatening my filthiness so that I may offer my worth to the public. But that's ridiculous, if I went out to work and do humanly things wouldn't I just bring in more filth? Then again, I rarely ever get to see new faces while I'm this cubicle of garbage, so to an extent I am dissatisfied with my pathetically lonely life.

But one day, from the corner of my eye, I spot a peculiar little cockroach scurrying across the floor. It's a bit of a surprise, one that would send most people into a panic, but I can't help feel a sense of joy at seeing a visitor take interest in my hole. After aimlessly crawling around the ground, the roach began to climb the tower of newspapers I keep near my nightstand. Does it want to eat the papers? Because I wouldn't mind if it did so. There was a time when the outside world fascinated me, and these pages acted as glimpses into a great story I was missing out on. Eventually this interest began to wane when it was clear I would never leave my apartment. Why would I bother to read these if I'd never get to experience the writing within the articles? But with these papers stacked in my room, it's as if the outside world has manifested its own space here, becoming just like the rest of the filth in my disgusting hole.

After a bit, the little guy crawled across my nightstand to give my bed a visit. "Huh, I guess this makes you a bed bug now?" I don't think the cockroach cares much for my quip, but now I wonder if I'm the bed bug. Here I am in a rather filthy bed, and my only form of human connection is with this disgusting insect. Of course I spend most of the day here because it brings me comfort, and at night it's where I dream. Though lately I haven't bothered to dream much of anything. For a large part of my life people told me what are the right dreams to have, but after so much exhaustion I can only ever dream about filth.

While I'm caught in this reflection, the roach seemingly approaches me as though it wants to offer comfort. I take a second to appreciate the gesture, before the creature skitters away, across the floor, and under my door. Where will it go now? I take an exhilarating walk through the hall and started darting my eyes across the rest of my apartment.

 

That's when I spot the roach on the kitchen counter, perhaps helping itself to the scraps adorning the surface. I've always cooked for myself, it's a skill that one should be proud of but has been a source of misery for myself. Every dish I've prepared has turned out disastrous, and over the years I've put in less and less effort to the point that I question why I even bother. It's hard to see how I'm capable of anything when everything I make is filth. And this filth has been accumulating over time, encompassing every square inch of the kitchen. Masses of expired meat and produce, emptied cans littering the area like a garbage disposal, it might be the most repulsive part of my apartment. 

As the roach scurries across the countertop, I unfortunately notice all the recipes I've failed to create. These childhood meals brought warmth on even the most dismal days, and were made by people that actually cared about me, whether or not I was filthy. Of course these meals remain out of reach, as every attempt to capture that nostalgia collapses in my grasp. Those memories, old friends and family, they're the only thing that I can look back on fondly. But now they're as distant as the ocean that separates the land, and I'm stranded on an island of trash. God it's too crushing to think about, I gotta grab a drink.

But just when I turn to reach over the table, the roach already beat me to the bottles. It can't be taking that drink for itself, I know it's better than that. I see those eyes, I can tell they care. It's remarkable how many meaningful interactions I've gotten from this cockroach throughout its meandering trek. It got me to reassess my life in a way wouldn't do otherwise. If there are people as smart and caring as this cockroach, then maybe now is the time I take a step outside.

 

Written by: Zucchini, 2026

Inspiration and screenshots from: Bad Mojo, 1996

Billy Hatcher is Very Cool

So Sonic Team makes Sonic games… or do they? Well judging by their output on the Sega Saturn it sure as heck seems a bit questionable. We’ve got pretty anime firemen acrobating in space, a genderless jester flying through trippy dream worlds, and then a Christmas version of that game because fuck you, get jolly B). And uhhh sure I guess we’ll release a compilation thing for the blue guy, it’s not like the Saturn’s success hinges on that spikey bum or anything -. Even when Sonic Team got back to regularly working on that hedgehog, they’d still put out original titles throughout the 2000’s in varying genres and styles. These games can be kinda rough and freakish, but they’re able to effortlessly express this wonder and charm that leaves me going “:)”.  And so I recently checked out Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg, a bouncy Gamecube platformer with like, Katamari rolling and monster collecting. Yeah it’s clear this game makes some strange design choices, but they come together to make a memorable experience, which is pretty much Sonic Team in a nutshell. Didn’t mean it sold well though, might have something to do with it releasing a few months before a certain someone but it’s hard to say ¯\_('v')_/¯.

 

Anyway goddang is this game silly and colorful :0. Everything is egg, and thus the chicken gods bestow Billy a chicken suit so he can save the chicken world. And of course every mission begins with the divine light of god guiding Billy on the objective, ranging from beating up bad guys to saving your kidnapped friends from explosives (these crow guys aren't playing around). This wild cartooniness is paired perfectly with the playful sound design, you can’t even take one step without hearing pops, pings, and smacks from every direction.The overall art design is very fun with clear traits from Sonic Team’s previous efforts. All the enemies and creatures look straight out of Chu Chu Rocket, and many of the locales are reminiscent of Sonic Adventure’s cozy areas. It carries on that fun Dreamcastian energy and is such a joy to bask in these Sega sunny blue skies. 

When I first took control of Billy I could immediately feel the Nights into Dreams DNA, as similarly to the kids in Nights Billy is pretty limited on his own. Thus you must find an egg to unlock your full movement capabilities, to which it can be fed fruit and powerups to further enhance the really kinetic rolling and bouncing. There’s an immense satisfaction from chaining together dashes and bounces, especially when enemies get involved and the score attack elements come into full force You can even shoot your egg into foes and have them ricochet around like billiard balls and drop your egg like a massive boulder to create shockwaves, it’s a very playful way of engaging with fights :D. Despite this era of Sonic games being kinda infamous for having shoehorned combat that’s stupid and dumb and bad and pacebreaking and dumb and stupid, I think Billy Hatcher actually manages to make its combat really fun. It all comes down to how your offense organically extends from the movement and the various ways it feeds back into the score and egg raising systems. Really the only pervasive issue comes from the egg’s collision being very wonky and thus leading to a lot of unintended frustration. Though let’s be real this isn’t a unique issue within Sonic Team’s games, and the core gameplay is fun enough for me to look past the jank.

The way Billy Hatcher’s structured is similar to that of Mario 64, with each world having a set of missions that reward you with emblems used for progression. Though only the final level is actually gated off by the emblems, so there’s some freedom in which missions you choose to take on. Also I find it very cute that you collect emblems of courage while wearing a chicken suit, defying connotations to prove your bravery. And something else I noticed is that these missions often revolve around specific landmarks of each world. Fixing a giant clock tower in the circus, disarming generators in the snow tower, finding a sacred hideout near the village, turning the giant statues in the desert. It opens up that sense of childhood wonder by poking around parts of levels that one would imagine their own little adventures in.

 

And that’s the other reason I’m so smitten with Billy Hatcher. As chaotic as the game can be it’s also such a vibe to hang out in. I mean the opening has Billy and his friends goofing off on some real after school hours energy, setting the precedent of loosening up and having a good time. I don’t need to get hung up on the game’s flaws, I just wanna soak up these crunchy skyboxes ^_^. And the levels themselves leave such an ethereal impression that only Sonic Team manages to do. The atmospheric lightshafts piercing through the tree thickets of the first world, the moody water caustics in the giant palace, the breezy boardwalks in the pirate world that literally launch you to each set piece. The carnival world in particular is a highlight with its impressive balloon crowds flowing through horizon as you swing across pendulums and rails. It even has a little fun house mirror section with the boss using said mirrors as its gimmick, it’s very cute :). You can see how this environmental design would be carried over into games from ex-Sonic Team devs like Rodea the Sky Soldier and  Balan Wonderworld, because as we all know Billy is a certified Balan Bro and you just gotta deal with it B). And these locales are elevated by the music, being a breezy mix of jazz, drum and bass, and goofy children’s music. Probably doesn’t sound that appealing on paper but it’s actually quite lovely, and all the more adds to this game’s charm.

Zucchini's Very Cool 2025 GOTY Awards

Yeah I'm doing this a bit late because I've got some larger projects at hand, but heck man I still wanna share my own GOTY list for 2025 because there were indeed cool games this year. If anything it's more appropriate to do this kind of retrospective after the year's already finished and everything's been released, though that's assuming I actually play everything that comes out which ain't the case lmao. Still, this extra time has allowed to me to further digest and reflect on the games I have played this year, so let's get this show on the roll!

First up are some honorable mentions that I don't have any particular rewards for about them, but I found notable enough a shout out:

Yume Nikki PS1

    It's Yume Nikki on da pee ess one but like actually for reals it runs on the PS1. Of course the PS1 style has become a bit of a trend in the indie sphere, and while most of these games are able to rock the style well and make it their own, nothing can quite capture the exact feeling of the real thing. This 3D remake of Yume Nikki, made by the wonderful Elias Daler, is created on real PS1 code and so has all the quirks and compromises of the system that modern pastiches tend to leave out, thusly feeling like an authentic old school experience. Also helps that Yume Nikki translates really well to a low-poly 3D style, with its surreal and haunting dreamscapes being just as alien in crusty foggy fashion. So far only a couple worlds from the original game have been recreated, but the project's nonetheless impressive and I'd love to see it go further in development. NET YAROZE IS BACK BABY!!!

Super Duper Amy Freaking Rose

    I didn't have much time to check out the vast catalogue of the 2025 Sage expo, opting instead to glance through all the entries to see what's interesting. Of course a title like "Super Duper Amy Freaking Rose" would immediately stand out to me with its shitposty nature, which made it all the more surprising when the game turned out to be quite delightful. It's a somewhat 3D sidescroller with a focus on score-attack gameplay, stuff like chaining together homing attacks and item capsules and so on. What makes this system really addictive are the hammer attacks that Amy can perform, which themselves reward a lot of points but can also break your chain if misused. This encouraged me to incorporate the spinning hammer move as much as possible in my runs, breaking bunches of item capsules and demolishing lines of enemies for the ultimate combo chains. Doing all of this while maintaining a speedy flow kept me going back to the handful of stages this game contains, really making the most of its small scale. Its got cute sprite art from the Advance games, and the music shockingly incredible! It's pretty rare for a fangame to resonate with me on a vibes level like this, but Super Duper Amy Freaking Rose does so wonderfully. Please go check out fractalcherries!

Mario Kart World

     Honestly I wasn't very interested in this game upon the build-up to its release, mainly because the idea of "Mario Kart but open world" didn't sound the most appealing to me. It was only when I decided to get it in the Switch 2 bundle and play it for myself that I realized that it kinda rules. The music and presentation are pretty excellent, with the breezy harmonicas emphasizing the free wheeling feeling of cruising down the road. They certainly turned up the chaoticness with the item spam and rubberbanding, which pairs well with the game's overall bouncy character, I vibe with this more than Mario Kart 8.

While I was a bit sour on the concept of an open world, the way it's actually implemented with the karting structure is kinda genius. Each track has a place in a large map, and thus the open world fills in the gaps between these ares to make them all interconnected. It essentially creates a bajillion permutations of these in-between tracks, and the way the grand prix makes you drive towards each of the main tracks keeps up this sense of forward momentum. The free roam is also pretty nice to dink around and take in the atmosphere of these lovingly crafted areas, which contributes all the more to this game's charm. Like as much nostalgia I have for say Mario Kart Wii, I can't lie this is probably my favorite Mario Kart now and will become a staple of couch multiplayer for time to come.

 

With the honorable mentions out of the way, it's time for the main awards...

 

Best Woah Realism Game - Silent Hill f

    I was already impressed with the visual design of last year's Silent Hill: The Short Message, boasting densely littered urban spaces with graffiti and knick-knacks that make the building feel like a real space with it's own history. Silent Hill f then takes this approach to environmental design and applies it to a rural 60's Japanese town, which while being a well explored setting in horror games is sure done wonderfully here. Every surface has this palpable layer of condensation, and combined with the intricate fog effects it makes the act of walking through this world cold and depressing. And like the design of the town itself is probably the most dense and compact the towns have been in the series, as exploration becomes tense and claustrophobic due to how enemies can emerge from any crevice and corridor. And it's in these closed in pockets of townage that you can admire the oppressive concrete water channels and metal sheets patchworking the buildings, even in an old country town like this the series industrial visual elements still make their way. 

Though my favorite area of the game's gotta be the foresty mountain area later on, with the trailing tree roots and lush gloomy fauna framing every view of this trail. It's almost like the opening of Silent Hill 2 but made into a whole level and shit owns. I especially love the little pond area with the wee bridges and fishing spot, fleshing out what would be just a random bit of wilderness into a cute little vignette. I will say the otherworld portions got kinda underwhelming and repetitive by the end, but overall the environmental design of Silent Hill f is a real treat. 

Best Artstyle - Dear Me, I was 

This isn't much of a game as it is an interactive experience, but god damn is it a pretty little experience. The lead artist of Hotel Dusk worked on this game, and seeing that sketchy rotoscoped style in HD is frankly breathtaking. Especially with this game's use of watercolor and the different moods and tones they create throughout the story, it's very nice. And the game being driven by its beautiful art correlates well with the significance that art and creativity have to the characters. I don't have much else to say, it's just an amazing looking game with a sweet story, and of course there's a cat.

Best OST - Lost in Transit 

    Wow, ThorHighHeels made a game and it's pretty cool! I've already written a little review of this game on Backloggd, so you can check that out for my general thoughts on it. 

This entry will mainly focus on the music cuz it's definitely award worthy. It's done by Thor and girls@computers, with the soundtrack in the files denoting who worked on what. Their various tracks perfectly capture the atmosphere of this traincentric city, the coziness, mystique, and sleeziness that all dwell within it, And the music's able to hit all these moods while fitting comfortably in the ambient electronic trip-hoppy canvas of sound. Never would've expected Thor to sample Alex's Theme from Silent Hill Homecoming but dang is it rad, transforming what was originally a cold yet assertive track into an oddly relaxing mood that only hints at the seedy underbelly of the story.

 

And now for the moment of truth, the Zucchini certified Game of the Year winner...

 

GOTY - Stray Children 

Not really a surprise if you've watched my Youtube video on this game, but yeah it really is incredible all around. Fun characters, an emotional story, satisfyingly frustrating gameplay, gorgeous visuals, and great music. Actually I didn't really talk about the music in my video, but it's a lot of varied playful stuff. I especially love the tracks for the boss fights, taking cues from Onion Games' previous operatic Black Bird to make for dramatic and weighty character moments. Actually there's a plenty of other nods to past Love-de-Lic/Onion Games games beyond the obvious parallels to Moon. It has a lot of social commentary in-line with Chulip along with some subtle psychological elements similar to Rule of Rose, as well as straight up name checking that game in the rose kingdom. If this is the last game Yoshiro Kimura ever directs then it sure fits as a send off, beautifully encapsulating his life's work while leaving on an uplifting yet melancholic note.

Sonic X-treme Could've Been Ethereal

One of the many ways I spend my time is by reading and watching videos on the development of whatever game is on my mind, instead of y'know, playing it. This includes many fascinating little nuggets, from cut content and unused concepts to games completely changing during development (a la Silent Hill Origins). Obviously it's fun to look at all the differences and the creative process at play, but there's also something more subtle to it. There's a sinking feeling I get whenever I play beta or prototype and it persists throughout the whole experience. It can come from the uncanniness of seeing the familiar be slightly off, or from the melancholy of seeing a fleeting moment in time captured in playable form.

Anyway, I've recently been interested in the development of Sonic X-treme, the infamous cancelled Sonic project for the Sega Saturn, a system that notably lacked an original mainline Sonic title (well I’d say Sonic R is that, but the cowards out there just don’t get the vision). I don't really know what got me re-invested in the history of X-treme since I've known about it for a while, but I guess my newfound interest in the Saturn itself got me digging into what would've been its killer app. Despite remaining unreleased officially, there are actually plenty of betas we have access to from multiple points in X-treme's creation, which leads to the real topic of this post: the July 18th, 1996 prototype of Sonic X-treme. The miscellaneous screenshots of X-treme you see may appear different from what was shown to the press back in the day, which is what particularly caught my attention. It doesn’t have that weird fisheye lens, nor does it have the blocky gravity defying level design similar to Bug (y'know, this guy). Well this prototype comes from major reworking X-treme had in its later stages of development called “Project Condor”, being issued after Sega of Japan’s president Irimajiri was displeased by a presentation of the game. It's basically the latest build of Sonic X-treme that is currently accessible, and is the closest we have to seeing what the game could’ve looked had it released. While it’s not much beyond a rough proof of concept, I find this small glimpse of it incredibly fascinating, and I wanna share my experience with this prototype.

A very bizarre aspect of X-treme’s development was that it made use of two separate game engines. Firstly there's the engine for the main levels that was developed on Windows computers, and would’ve required a third-party to port the game to Saturn code. Then there was an engine dedicated just to the boss fights that was built directly on Saturn hardware by Christina Coffin (see this Metal Sonic boss fight). These little boss arenas actually look pretty striking, and definitely show more promise than the levels themselves. Thusly this prototype is an attempt to build the rest of the game off the boss engine, and I think it's quite successful. The environment feels organic, incorporating the queer distorting terrain featured in Nights into Dreams. I have always adored the way 32-bit consoles like the Saturn handled scaling cloud effects. The way they stretch out into the horizon really sells the sense of freedom and adventure. I also love the use of billboarded sprites in 3d environments, though from screenshots later in Project Condor’s development, it seems they would’ve adopted full 3D models for all the characters, which makes this prototype feel like a special moment in time where all the elements were able to come together to make this specific look.

Of course jank is to be expected in a prototype like this, especially with the lack of dynamic physics. You can breeze over every hill with nothing ever slowing you down or speeding you up, it's almost cathartic in how wrong it feels. The way the spindash works is also very strange, pressing the button once puts you in the charging state, then tapping the d-pad shoots you in a given direction with little influence. There’s a funny bug I discovered where jumping in the spindash state sends you way higher than usual. There’s no application for this in the area, but I do really like how the camera moves to accommodate your jump height, kinda like a refined version of what Bubsy 3D was doing. Another oddity I found is holding the shoulder buttons puts the hog in a jogging animation while standing still, and my genius level theory is that this might’ve been a placeholder for the super peelout, but it’s hard to know for sure. There are also these mysterious floating crystals placed near the beginning, and jumping into one can launch you up into the air. Only one of these crystals actually works, but it seems to have more dynamic physics with even a cute little sparkle trail to boot. I can easily see how this could be used for interesting platforming challenges, and it inspires some confidence that the reformed team at STI could make something that feels true to Sonic.

Uh oh

Despite how barebones the play area may be, it's still able to convey little “scenes” using the few assets and landscapes on hand. Taking a trip in the river, chilling out with some flickies, it makes me long for the kind of atmosphere that’d be in the final game. And despite the bright and cheery nature of this demo, there’s this isolating ethereal vibe that I can’t shake off. The earlier versions of X-treme do have their own strange otherworldly feel to them, but this prototype does something similar while simultaneously capturing the kind of unexplainable essence that makes Sonic so appealing to me. It probably helps that it’s using music from the Japanese soundtrack of Sonic CD, which if nothing else shows that the project might’ve taken more influence from the Japanese side of Sonic. The combination of music, visuals, and general unfinishedness culminates in an almost melancholic experience, one that leaves me room to ponder many things. Images of Sonic running towards the horizon, chasing the Sega Saturn dream…

Now this isn’t me saying that X-treme should’ve been finished, it’s more of me wishing for a hypothetical good outcome where STI was given a realistic deadline and proper direction. The entire debacle of shifting visions and changing of hands is very much a product of the mismanagement fuckshit going down at Sega of America, and was the running theme for a lot of the Saturn’s unfortunate life here in the states. Considering that the Project Condor team were literally becoming sick from how overworked they were trying to make that Christmas 96 release, it was probably for the best to have the whole thing canned. But you know what, we still got Sonic R in the end so I can't be too upset.

By the way shoutouts to Sonic Retro and The Cutting Room Floor, since I've gotten most of my information from them. I basically got to unleash my inner Cybershell for this post, so please give these sites some attention.

An Investigative Report on Deadly Premonition [SPOILERS]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Say Zach, I'm having trouble thinking of what game I should play next next. I've already gone through most of the Silent Hill series, now those are some atmospheric towns, love the stories and directing in those games. I've also finished playing Chulip, and man the stuff those townsfolk talk about are so funny and charming. Well Zach, if you don't have any good ideas then I guess I'll just continue pouring cream into my coffee... Wait, look at this Zach! D P in the coffee. Now I've got it, the coffee is telling me to play Deadly Premonition! Isn't that a wonderful idea, Zach?

Well, that's at least what I like to think my thought process was for playing Deadly Premonition, but reality is way more boring as it tends to be. Basically I hear people say it's cool, see some funny clips on social media, and hear about the influences from Twin Peaks which all piques my interest. For better and for worse I've also heard a lot of stuff about the game's director and writer Hidetaka Suehiro, aka Swery, so I was interested in checking out his most iconic work. When deciding which of the various ports of Deadly Premonition to go with, I ended up settling with the Director's Cut on PS3. Would've been funny to try and get the PC version to work but I ain't downloading a 4gb patch just to still deal with crashes and save corruptions. And I don't have any Xboxes to play the original 360 version, which kinda sucks cuz that one has some cute fixed camera angles that the other versions don't have, and it's apparently less janky but I'm not as concerned with that. I also heard that the Switch version can be brute forced to run at 60 fps on Switch 2, so that might be the most accessible and comfortable way to get into the game if you only got modern hardware. Though if you're not playing Deadly Premonition at a single digit framerate, are you really playing Deadly Premonition?

Every game inspired by Twin Peaks is obligated to include a vibey diner

Being a fan of Twin Peaks it's hard not to notice the similarities and references to Lynch and Frost's beloved series. You have FBI agent Francis York Morgan being sent to a murder case in the small countryside town Greenvale, and by interacting with its strange residents he uncovers the dark underbelly of the place. You even have more specific elements like an equivalent to the red room with the recurring red forest area, as well as the characters having an absurd obsession over coffee. That's not to say that Deadly Premonition is only defined by its references, it's just that the elements that DP borrows from TP happen to elevate the tone and general direction it goes for. Detectiving inside homes and buildings, conversing with suspects and pondering events taken place, it's great stuff for world and character building. Even the supernatural elements are taken in a different direction more akin to Silent Hill, where representations of characters' psyche are used to help piece together the case. But in a way it does live out the fanfic dreams, going into the minutest of minute details of characters that realistically couldn't be explored in a tv show, which shows the sheer joy the devs had in creating this world.

What especially stuck out to me was how DP would often play and shift around the tone. You'll have York and the gang are dour over failing to save Diane from her gruesome murder, and then be immediately hit by a lol so random dog investigation section. Even in scenes solely focused on serious subject matter there'll still be the ever present casual whistle music playing in the background, and idk it evokes such a strong feeling in me. You could say that it kinda takes the piss out of these scenes, but to me it actually instills a sense of sincerity. It's as if "yeah these horrible things are happening, but with the right attitude we can make it right", which such a positive message to me, one of the many ways Deadly Premonition feels like a cozy cup of coffee in a calming afternoon. 

A rare playable Emily segment, wish there could've been more of these throughout the story

Ok lemme take a moment to talk about the introductory cutscene of York crashing into Greenvale, because I've been obsessively rewatching it and trying to comprehend the genius on display. First of all, there's the bold creative choice of opening a horror mystery game with god damn Tom and Jerry discourse. Secondly, the hilarious way York describes the duo as some depraved masochists, with "but that's fine, as long as that's what Tom wants" and "it's his partner's job, to fill that need. And Jerry knows that." Thirdly, the inter-dependency that York describes foreshadowing the reveal of him and Zach being alternate personalities. Fourthly, the way York says that the phone guy's interpretation of Tom and Jerry is wrong, insinuating that something earlier in the call sparked the other guy to give his deep reading of Tome and Jerry. Fifthly, the fact that York is even having this discussion with a physical person instead of Zach, meaning there's another freak like York in the Bureau of Investigation. And sixthly, the absurdity of York simultaneously smoking, calling on the phone, and checking photos on his laptop ALL WHILE DRIVING, which is especially insane if this is how he drives in the city.

If you look online you may find that Deadly Premonition has a reputation of being a "so bad it's good" game, but that's not how I'd view it. Sure the egregious stock sound effects and general jank would leave that impression, especially with the ports becoming increasingly broken, but the actual contents of DP with its design and writing are genuinely really good and create an inviting atmosphere to Greenvale. That sentiment also isn't particularly new or unique considering the cult status of this title, but I think it just says more about how I'm able to roll with all the faults with the game instead of treating it with shame. Not to say I'm the most gracious reviewer out there, but I like to think I have a more good faith approach to viewing any sorts of works of arts. It's a habit I've picked up of not assuming incompetence on the devs end, cuz you never truly know the kind of thought and intention put into these aspects, and the kinds of emotions they're meant to elicit. For example some of the jank and bizarre moments could possibly be channeling the feel of the low-budget B-movies that York talks at length in his car trips. I mean that's only thing that could explain all the awkwardly elongated scenes of enemies showing up. Even the finicky driving feels pretty realistic to navigating real life rural towns, York's in a whole different world he ain't ready for. 

 

 

Taking a morning walk through the Penis Plains

 

  

 

 

 Chilling at Mr. Stewart's McMansion

 

 

 

Even with the severe engine and budget limitations I do really enjoy how DP looks. It's almost like a Wii game that's been gussied up with a PS360 shine, a "hey we're modern, we can do bloom, we can do depth of field" type beat. It works well in conveying scenes of breezy trees blanketed in sunshine, or solemn roads drenched in the rain of night, with a lot of detail and care put into room interiors and their believability. Roaming through the halls of Polly's hotel, rummaging through every corner of the sheriff's department to find the correct squirrel keys, investigating the sleek exhibitions and statue laden gardens of the art gallery. The art design especially shines with the more surreal locales York visits, like the ethereal white rooms contrasting the red rooms, and the trippy darkened skies of some of the otherworld sections.

Unfortunately, what I do find pretty bad are the questionable ways the game handles certain themes and characters that end up being problematic, particularly with abuse victims and transphobia. I could go deeper into this but that's beyond the scope of what I feel like writing in this blog post, so I'm just gonna lay down that I both see what Swery was going for and believe that he had no idea what he was writing about. For taking so much inspiration from Twin Peaks, it's disappointing that they didn't carry the same level of tact when handling sensitive topics. I've heard that Deadly Premonition 2 is even worse in this regard, so it all does kind of paint a weird picture of Swery, despite how well meaning he seems. Also I find combat segments to bog down the pacing but that probably ain't the most concerning issue here.

Really though, despite the handling of themages blemishing the game a bit, I do adore Deadly Premonition quite a bit. Once again it's not just "so bad it's good", it's an experience that's so lovingly made and thought out that I can't help but be charmed. Though I gotta say the low bugdetedness and bizarre moments are also pretty hilarious, so in that way DP has it's cake and eats it too. Having been smitten by DP's mixing and melding of tones made me realize how much I value it in art, and I've began recognize it in a lot of the other games I play. So thank you Deadly Premonition, you've altered my taste just as you've had for many others. 

And thank you for reading this blog post! As a token of my appreciation, I will leave you with this message from the Milk Barn convenience store:

"If it is an idea of cooking, cultivation of vegetables, recommended cooking ingredients appetite and health. I OK anything!"

An Introductory Post (With Lego and Murder)

Hark! Could it be? 

After a long video break, 

is a blog from Zucchini? 

Perhaps this is a mistake!

Nah it's real, and it's terrifying. As you read these words I have successfully infiltrated your conscious mind! For real tho I've been on a bit of a drought with my creative output, as there's been some stuff in the background that's put a load on my mind. You see, I was working on a standalone video for Onion Games' Black Bird, and planned to release it somewhere around the beginning of July. I had the script scripted, the voiceover voiced, and even had most of it edited before scrapping it in the end. The video was only 9 minutes long so not much was really lost, but it was a signifier of some deeper self-esteem issues because that scrappage was due to dissatisfaction with my writing. It's a feeling that had been arising ever since I started making videos, feelings that my writing style was awkwardly flat and that I haven't truly developed my voice as a creative person. I figured this stuff would naturally figure itself out over time but it didn't happen as fast as I hoped, so in my extended break from video creation I came to the idea of making a blog. Figured that the best way to improve my writing would be to write more, without the major investment of time and energy that video creation necessitates. And like, it'd still be more productive than just posting microthoughts on Xitter all day. 

An aspect of my writing that I think blogging will help improve is my sense of pacing, especially with how much time I focus on a single subject. Take Lego Island for example. Realistically there's not much I can say about it beyond "woah this is really charming and funny", but god damn is it heckin charming and funny. I'd watch let's plays on it and be drawn in to all the cutscenes and music, so I'd try to check it out for myself but to make it short: getting old PC games to work on modern systems fucking sucks.  Thankfully tho the mad lad fans of Lego Island did the work of the LeGods and decompiled the game, making it more accessible to newer computers and even playable in your web browser. With this island opened in my tab I set out to explore its contents, and yeah the vibes are pretty great. Loads of funny character interactions and unhinged moments, with the island being just big enough to facilitate all its little challenges while still keeping a brisk jaunty pace. It's almost like an open world version of those activity center games you'd play at school, which makes it the perfect little world for a child to become immersed in.

All the freaks of this island gather around plotting the Brickster's demise. Of course it's up to Pepper, the dude with the food, to fulfill their desires.

 

 

  An atmospheric view of the endless seas surrounding these folk. Feels a lot like Myst, though I'm certain you don't get harassed by the ghost of a pirate in that game.

But hey, if the idea of a pizza that can melt metal isn't scary enough then there's always Warp's FMV horror adventure game D. Though I'm gonna be real, I mainly played this out of obligation before I'd get into the sequel D2. I hear people talk about that game in such a high regard with its strong narrative and bizarre gameplay systems, but I don't see as much buzz around the original D. Well, besides the time where Limited Run Games rereleased the 3DO version on fucking CD-Rs and thus didn't work on original hardware. Might as well have had Dennis burn all the copies in his basement. Also I only just now realized that the stories of D and D2 are completely unrelated, with Laura being a different character between them. I hadn't even played any of Kenji Eno's games yet and he's already bamboozled me, what a legend.

Immediately the game hits you with an off-kilter tone that emphasizes the morbidness of the scenario. A famous doctor has committed mass murder in a hospital? Heh, still not as scary as the medical bills! There's some genuinely strong directing in its wide and close-up camera work, and the composition of its shots creating hella frameable frames. This probably ain't that much of an original thought, but I still find it fascinating how this early 3D style really taps into that uncanny feeling that pairs wonderfully with the dark horrors of the story. It may even come off scarier now than it would've in 1995, but even then the blood tinged flashbacks and trippy visuals of colorful bugs still elevates D's presentation beyond just its technical limitations. While exploring the dream world manifestation of Laura's father, the sheer thickness of the game's atmosphere comes across almost tangible. Slow methodical plodding around tables and up stairs, pulling out each individual drawer as the occasional deep drone chimes in.

With these kinds of adventure games it's inevitable for me get stumped on some puzzles or sections, so when I was consulting online guides I was shocked to learn that the entire game has a 2 hour time limit. I really don't like this, especially for the type of game D is where the pace is already slow and trying to solve the puzzles take up so much time. It's like they realized that the FMV adventure gameplay doesn't have much inherently tense about it, and so added a time limit to artificially create stress. I could've probably finished the game well under that limit if I just followed a guide closely, but there's just like a mentality thing that I can't really get over, so in the end I just watched a longplay of the game. Even tho I didn't have a real first hand experience with the puzzles and stuff, I was still taken aback by a lot of the twists the story takes. For a game released in 1995 it does seem pretty boundary pushing with its themes and depictions of more taboo violence. So even though I didn't fw the time limit, I still gotta respect D for pulling off all the wild ideas it set out to do.

 

 

This shot of the mirror outside the barrel room genuinely unsettled me a bit. Such a genius use of lighting and composition to cast Laura ominously, which may be some foreshadowing for the twists later in the story.

 

 

 

 

A cozy red room where the chairs share a fair bit of the same pattern as the wallpaper. But in turn the urn is a bit strange from what I can discern.

 

 

But yeah, by now you should sorta get the vibe on what these blog posts will be like, at least tonally. I might experiment with with different styles and formats, from more analytical essays with a central thesis to recounting experiences, writing stories, and creating little galleries of images. It's all stuff that I could probably post on YouTube if I felt like it, but again without the burden of video production I feel more free to really just do anything I want and see what may stick. I can already feel my voice as a writer become a bit stronger just from making this post, so I'm really looking forward to see where this will go. Thanks for reading!