Rambling Reviews
So, I recently watched the season of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. I feel a couple disclaimers are in order before I start talking about it. First, while I was perfectly aware of the old series as it tied into the expanded MotU continuity, neither that series nor He-Man was a top-tier interest for me as a youth. It doesn't have the weight of nostalgia that some IPs do for me. Second, I feel the current series is definitely aimed at a younger demographic. There's nothing wrong with that, and it's probably natural. It just projects a vibe to me that implies adult appeal is more incidental than, perhaps, the more recent Voltron and Thundercats outings.
With that out of the way, I have to say I don't really get the early "this redesign is too social justice-y/'woke'!" outcry. I... guess that was about She-Ra herself wearing shorts under skirt and not showing cleavage? Whatever, it didn't come across as preachy or political beyond the typical themes of friendship and inclusion that show up in cartoons.
And overall, it's fine. I'd probably say "above average" and I'd like to see more.
A lot of things are pretty shallow. Most of the characters start from a basic archtype (and I'll circle back to that shortly). The various kingdoms (princessdoms?) are pretty one-note as well, with maybe a handful of extras. I'm not actually sure if Entrapta's land was inhabited by anyone other than herself and her kitchen staff while Mermista had a few guards that didn't even show up to defend the place? For all the princesses, only one seems to have a parent (and an aunt) and no siblings? This makes the setting lack a feeling of depth and realism - which is one of the reasons why I say it's more youth-focused than some others.
I'm also bugged by a few other things. The timeline is questionable in a typical fantasy way, with the "First Ones" having disappeared a thousand years ago along with their knowledge, but the princesses and their lands have been around for thousands (plural). The sword goes from being something to be lugged around in one scene to tucked over the shoulder and completely disappearing the next. And the climactic battle of the season gets wrapped up way too quickly and neatly.
For those criticisms, though, there are some things I really do like about the series. While it lacks a lot of depth, there are things that make me want to know more - more about the Horde, and Adora's origin, and Etheria in general.
Also, I find myself really liking some of the characters. Adora is pretty solid as an overachiever from a militant society thrust into something else. Glimmer may frustrate by not being open with her mom about things, but that strikes me as within the realm of plausibility with the teen-parent dynamic. I found Entrapta's easily-distracted-mad-scientist schtick actually very charming.
For me, though, it's really Catra that takes the cake in the series. She's a very believable bundle of love/hate/envy/resentment and capable of deftly stealing scenes and playing Adora easily when she applies herself without being just evil. Special kudos to the character designers there.
Star Control: Origins was a strange experience. It clearly wants to be a prequel to the old StarCon games without being able to legally use any of the original aliens and lore. So some of the aliens strike similar chords and fill similar roles. The "Observers" are clearly akin to the Arilou. The Lexites are synthetic/AI beings who left to get out from under humanity not unlike the Androsynth. The fanfic-crazed Tywom have some similarities to the cowardly Spathi. And the Scryve replace the Ur-Quan as the looming threat that conscripts or obliterates lesser races. We even have hypergates at Precursor space stations that serve as shortcuts like quasispace did in StarCon2.
And... I cannot totally break free of those connections to the old games and judge it fully independently, no matter how I may try.
There's an element of humor and wit to all the adventures through space, but it doesn't succeed with me as much as SC2 did. I'm not sure if that's because of the game or because of me, though. I've certainly changed and experienced a lot since then.
The game plays similarly to SC2 with a heavy focus on exploration. Combat is... okay. It's definitely old-school and it works decently enough, but it doesn't feel remotely as interesting as the old games did. Maybe it's because there's such a variety of weapons now that they feel repetitive? Maybe the fact that there are several different ships per race makes it too hard to know them all (while offering more variety)? Or again, maybe it's me.
The story works fine without being outstanding. Most elements are pretty predictable. There seem to be some pretty obscure things to find that might move along a thread or two, but there's also a ton of stuff to find on planets that appear to serve no function whatsoever, which is a bit disappointing. And the endgame felt like it went by very, very quickly compared to the rest of the game.
I bought it at a discount and had some enjoyment. Maybe with DLC story it'll be worth coming back do, we'll see. It certainly didn't have the impact of SC2 on me, but again - that could be more me than the game.
I also caught X-Men: Apocalypse over the weekend on TV. I'm glad I didn't bother in the theaters. I guess Days of Future Past reset a bunch of the timeline, but I didn't want to see more young Cyclops, Jean, Nightcrawler, and even Wolverine again. Quicksilver's scenes were sort of cool, but seemed to have given him super strength as well as speed with some of the moves he performs. And maybe it's partly the jumping around to cover all the characters, but I didn't find myself much invested in any of them. That earns a big ol' "meh" from me.
With that out of the way, I have to say I don't really get the early "this redesign is too social justice-y/'woke'!" outcry. I... guess that was about She-Ra herself wearing shorts under skirt and not showing cleavage? Whatever, it didn't come across as preachy or political beyond the typical themes of friendship and inclusion that show up in cartoons.
And overall, it's fine. I'd probably say "above average" and I'd like to see more.
A lot of things are pretty shallow. Most of the characters start from a basic archtype (and I'll circle back to that shortly). The various kingdoms (princessdoms?) are pretty one-note as well, with maybe a handful of extras. I'm not actually sure if Entrapta's land was inhabited by anyone other than herself and her kitchen staff while Mermista had a few guards that didn't even show up to defend the place? For all the princesses, only one seems to have a parent (and an aunt) and no siblings? This makes the setting lack a feeling of depth and realism - which is one of the reasons why I say it's more youth-focused than some others.
I'm also bugged by a few other things. The timeline is questionable in a typical fantasy way, with the "First Ones" having disappeared a thousand years ago along with their knowledge, but the princesses and their lands have been around for thousands (plural). The sword goes from being something to be lugged around in one scene to tucked over the shoulder and completely disappearing the next. And the climactic battle of the season gets wrapped up way too quickly and neatly.
For those criticisms, though, there are some things I really do like about the series. While it lacks a lot of depth, there are things that make me want to know more - more about the Horde, and Adora's origin, and Etheria in general.
Also, I find myself really liking some of the characters. Adora is pretty solid as an overachiever from a militant society thrust into something else. Glimmer may frustrate by not being open with her mom about things, but that strikes me as within the realm of plausibility with the teen-parent dynamic. I found Entrapta's easily-distracted-mad-scientist schtick actually very charming.
For me, though, it's really Catra that takes the cake in the series. She's a very believable bundle of love/hate/envy/resentment and capable of deftly stealing scenes and playing Adora easily when she applies herself without being just evil. Special kudos to the character designers there.
Star Control: Origins was a strange experience. It clearly wants to be a prequel to the old StarCon games without being able to legally use any of the original aliens and lore. So some of the aliens strike similar chords and fill similar roles. The "Observers" are clearly akin to the Arilou. The Lexites are synthetic/AI beings who left to get out from under humanity not unlike the Androsynth. The fanfic-crazed Tywom have some similarities to the cowardly Spathi. And the Scryve replace the Ur-Quan as the looming threat that conscripts or obliterates lesser races. We even have hypergates at Precursor space stations that serve as shortcuts like quasispace did in StarCon2.
And... I cannot totally break free of those connections to the old games and judge it fully independently, no matter how I may try.
There's an element of humor and wit to all the adventures through space, but it doesn't succeed with me as much as SC2 did. I'm not sure if that's because of the game or because of me, though. I've certainly changed and experienced a lot since then.
The game plays similarly to SC2 with a heavy focus on exploration. Combat is... okay. It's definitely old-school and it works decently enough, but it doesn't feel remotely as interesting as the old games did. Maybe it's because there's such a variety of weapons now that they feel repetitive? Maybe the fact that there are several different ships per race makes it too hard to know them all (while offering more variety)? Or again, maybe it's me.
The story works fine without being outstanding. Most elements are pretty predictable. There seem to be some pretty obscure things to find that might move along a thread or two, but there's also a ton of stuff to find on planets that appear to serve no function whatsoever, which is a bit disappointing. And the endgame felt like it went by very, very quickly compared to the rest of the game.
I bought it at a discount and had some enjoyment. Maybe with DLC story it'll be worth coming back do, we'll see. It certainly didn't have the impact of SC2 on me, but again - that could be more me than the game.
I also caught X-Men: Apocalypse over the weekend on TV. I'm glad I didn't bother in the theaters. I guess Days of Future Past reset a bunch of the timeline, but I didn't want to see more young Cyclops, Jean, Nightcrawler, and even Wolverine again. Quicksilver's scenes were sort of cool, but seemed to have given him super strength as well as speed with some of the moves he performs. And maybe it's partly the jumping around to cover all the characters, but I didn't find myself much invested in any of them. That earns a big ol' "meh" from me.
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