I think it would be hilarious if you had the ability to go all the way to the end of the game, then hold down the rewind button and go all the way through the game... backwards.
Or if the Anniversary Edition had a fast-forward addition so you don't have to waste 2 hours to get one of the stars (If it does have something like it. Please let me know)
I feel like the indie crowd gets 2D Platformers better than a lot of the big guys. I absolutely love 2D Platformers, and it's grea to see the indie community pumping out so many great ones.
The soundtrack to Braid is one of my favorite things about the game. I was shocked when you said it was only sub-par. I actually put the soundtrack on whenever I read.
Since Johnny strikes me more of an old school gamer, it's refreshing to see him tackle modern indie games. I also find it refreshing to see a Braid review that doesn't sing hymns of glory in its honor.
I played the game with a buddy, and when we solved the last level and rewinded it, our heads were blown away. I think the thing bout the hidden stars is, that no one should find them in the first place. So when the first star was found, a hunting started to find the others.
I guess we're just slow, but me and my friend used about 8-10 hours to this game when we played it the first time, possibly more. There were mechanics necessary which we only found out by accident while taking our time. Puzzles like those were new to us. In addition, we only played a few hours on Sundays. It's a shame that you felt the need to use a guide through Fickle Companion, considering that we spent pretty much half of your whole game time in that level because we just didn't want to give up. We needed several tries because of the fucking key... but because of that, it is both my least favourite and also favourite level. When we finally got it, I couldn't stop smiling and for the rest of the day I felt incredible satisfaction I've never experienced from a game before. I think that's the main reason I love this game. It has this eerie feeling combined with all the satisfaction in the world (when you're puzzle-slow like me). Could've used a little less Purple Prose in it, though.
i play puzzle games in this same manner, some hours at a time, no spoiler, no rush, no matter how trapped or not. But i'm guessing since he saw it as a platformer more than a puzzle, then sonic, mario and crash come in with that kind of speed and chaos and thus, willingly or not, affect the judgment.
After watching many videos, I think I finally understand the story. So Braid made a mistake causing the princess to run away. Braid believes that you can simply take back mistakes. Which is what he does throughout the game. Hence the time reversal. But despite trying to find her throughout the 6 worlds. He can’t find her. It’s only when he collects all the puzzle pieces, which is supposedly a metaphor for Tim trying to put his life back together, does he finally get to go back to where it started. Which is world 1. The first half of world 1 is how Tim wanted things to be. Hoping that he could finally take back the mistake or simply make up with the princess now that he got his life together. But it because of that he now realizes the hard truth in the second half of world 1. He wasn’t saving the princess. The princess was running away from him. Ultimately he just simply relived what had already happened without anyway to fix it. The stars are meant to be Tim desperation. Since you have to do tricky and desperate means to get them. But it is enough that it causes some changes in world 1 to allow Tim to meet the Princess again. But Tim can’t change what happened causing her to disappear as a result. The stars at the end of all of this shows that despite everything Tim tried. Despite being able to see her and having his life back together. She is simply gone. Tim can see her, but is ultimately out of reach. Nothing more then just a memory in Tim mind.
Man are you kidding me? aside from the mechanics and gameplay it is the story with its amazing ending that makes this game so great. You don't have to understand every single piece of text to be surprised when you find out that *SPOILERS!* ........ . . . you are a psycho stalker and definitely not the good guy :0, I was playing this with my flatmates and the moment we realize that awful truth our minds just exploded haha. I thought it was genius yet so simple and done in a beautiful way from the design point of view.
Prince Kallian KidSnivy69 Wow I haven't been paying attention to games. Could one of you point me towards 3 or 4 other games where you unknowingly play the villain? I do like a twist. Thanks!
KidSnivy69 Ohhh, like other media where you don't control the protagonist and thereby personally contribute to the story yourself. Yeah I guess you're right, nothing different to experience here.
***** Braid isn't *about* the a-bomb. Braid is thematically about the journey taken to discover the evil within, hence the last level. **Spoilers** At the end of Tim's jourrney, which provides it's true meaning when executed in reverse, Tim (i.e. the player) realizes that he is the villain, the person his love is running away from. Only in his mind had Tim been the hero. Allusions to the a-bomb are included to maximize the scope of Braid's self-deception theme. Whereas Tim's journey is very personal, the atomic bombings were starkly massive in scope. Furthermore, the a-bomb is a stark contrast to Braid's world, which is colourful and abstract. And that's what Braid is as a whole. An abstract nexus that bridges game play and various tones with a deceptively uniform art direction.
To clarify my point: Braid is very abstract and all over the place. For example, there isn't much that ties it's locations together. Likewise, it's theme is overarching and sparsely encountered directly. You get whiffs of Braid's theme through game play (As an aside, I think Braid was developed from the ground up starting from it's time reversal mechanic. It is a solid mechanic, and developing around one is a structurally sound choice in an interactive medium, considering how difficult it can be to connect story and game play. That mechanic can be understood as analogous to the process of obsessive introspection, which I believe is a process heavily related to Braid's theme and story.) To convey it's theme, Braid chiefly uses Tim's story. Tim's story limits the scope of Braid's theme to the personal level, though. To expand the scope of Braid's theme, I think the addendum that is the a-bomb allusion was inserted to show that "the evil within" can be confronted on a much larger scale as well as a personal one. Also, the tone evoked by the a-bomb allusion starkly contrasts that which is evoked by Braid's pastel art direction, consequently transplanting Braid's theme from an ethereal frame to one that is very real and thus palpable. Whether the allusion is cheap is debatable. If you believe more parts of Braid are about WMDs or violence in general, then the a-bomb allusion isn't that arbitrary. To be honest, I haven't played the game in a couple of years, so I can't comment accurately on the game's "books", which would probably illuminate said ambiguity. At the end of the day, nobody really knows what Jonathan Blow intended with the a-bomb allusion. He's pretty hush-hush about Braid's meaning, which is pretty pretentious. So, after all is said, the possibility that Braid is actually more like a "stuffy art house film" is real.
I bought this game on Steam's 2016 Summer Sale. Beat it today and I totally agree with this review. A lot of the puzzles, at least for me, were extremely hard, but I managed to complete it without any sort of guide and I felt fantastic for it. That being said, the vagueness of the story is complete bullshit as well as the 8 hidden stars.
Ness Pyrosa okay dude, what makes you so special to say that most people can't appreciate art because art is a subjective thing and saying that most people don't deserve to know the "rich story" you said. Look it is okay to be vague but not to vague that you are left unanswered and confused.
I don't know how anyone could not understand Braids story if they played through to the end, it all begins to make sense when viewed in context with its final chapter, this is very much a story that is not written in the order you expect it. Think Momento.
I'm gonna say Cave Story because that game seems like it would be right in your wheel house. I agree with you about Braid's story. It's a shame that there is so much plot text when the gameplay in the last level succinctly sums up the narrative.
+Maleko the princess blows up the same way plus (and this is up to interpretation) the game is kinda about a guy being regretfull about making an atomic bomb
I usually agree with your reviews, but you're wrong with this one. The game is amazing and the ost is brilliant. Oh, and spoilers, the story is about the creation of an actual nuclear bomb and Tim had something to do with it. Also, he is actually a bad guy. He's stalking the princess. If you play the last stage reversed, you'll get the picture. At any rate, the game was great.
Well it's not really a mediocre game, it pretty much depends on the person that plays it, for example Johnny here is not really a fan of the game where other people find it to be a real piece of art o_o...it all depends on your own views on games themselves
Braid may not be worth $15 considering how short it is, but the fact that this game will change your life if you're smart enough to understand it makes it priceless at the same time. Also, the music was AMAZING and gave the game more immersion than any other soundtrack I've heard in a game. Sadly, only people who have studied psychology and the depths of the human psyche will be able to fully appreciate Braid.
Ness Pyrosa not shit on Ur comment with more pretentious shit, but Pyschology is an overrated soft science that has no where near earned the credibility of hard science nor does it have as solid predictive power. Of Course the actual good stuff overlaps with biochemistry etc.
Concerning the star you have to wait two hours to get "being dumb"... that's kind of the point. This game has prominent underlying themes of obsession, and who would bother to go through the blood, sweat, and tears of obtaining these stars unless they let their obsession for completing the game influence their decisions? Sure, it's not fun, but it's a major aspect of this game's deeper symbolism.
This game is very abstract! That is what makes it probably one of my favorite games of all time. So instead of saying what the game "means" its more about what the game means to you. Alot of people will say that braid is all about the atomic bomb and, I think this is a quite literal look at it. I'm not saying that it is wrong but, Jonathan Blow in an interview said that this is only half the story. When I play the game, I don't can't see the atomic bomb as an actual part of the story. I do not think that Tim had any part in creating the a-bomb. The A-bomb to me is metaphorical for a single moment where Tim completely lost it and may have physically hurt the princess. Braid was one of the first games my father ever let me play. A beautiful game where I would jump on silly porcupine bear things and flower bunnies. I would casually play through the game, but I never really looked in to the "lore" to the game. One of my close relatives found themselves in a position similar to what I feel time is in. Trying to have the princess see and forgive him. Wishing he could "Undo his mistakes." During this time period Tim would go on to self-reflect learning tough lessons such as patience (b.s. star 1) and how to go back to being independent in hopes that the princess would see his change and forgive him for what he did. But what was done was done. Tim fought over the princess, but she had moved on seeking comfort in the arms of another man. The fact that world 1 is the last world of the game shows how he never got the princess. During this time frame Tim struggled with other problems such as substance use and Seeking admiration from others. In the end of the game leaving a completely broken and changed man Now Tim never was a "bad guy but he wished so hard that he could take back the "The atomic bomb."" This is a brief personal synapsis of what I feel about the game but because Of its symbolism it will forever hold to be my number 1 game!
If you ever do another Indie series, I would love to see Volgarr the Viking. Some people complain about the fixed Castlevania-style jumping, but it has a double-jump that allows you to change direction at any time during the arc, so I actually find the jump control quite pleasing and intuitive. I would love to hear your opinion.
CaveStory+ (Since you want it to be on one of those, otherwise I'd suggest the normal version of CaveStory which is free on PC.) CaveStory+ is the original IndieGame that is inspirational to many modern day indie developers. I believe it'd be a great way to show off the roots (To one degree or another.)
That one line "any more of it and it would fucking explode like an atomic bomb" is ironic because if you collect all the stars and reach the princess at the end of the game, she fucking explodes.
I love your reviews, and I started to play Legend of Zelda because of you, althought my only nintendo system is a 3DS and so I can only play, for now, Phantom Hourglass, I loved it. I'm waiting to hear more of Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past 2
I'd just like to say that I really enjoyed the soundtrack to Braid. I don't think you could oppose - the music was chosen to sound interesting forwards and backwards, fast and slow, highpass and lowpass - it does this. If the music isn't your cup of tea, that's fine, but you can't say that the sound design of the game was off - it did what it was meant to do with great efficiency.
But still, the world 2 one is just incredibly ludicrous, like Johnny said, nobody would even think about waiting on the cloud and even if they DID think about it, nobody would know the amount of waiting time, and if they DID, they would never wait at all.
I played through the demo of braid and that's all I need. I found it pretty enjoyable and solved ALL the puzzles without looking up a guide. Two extra worlds is NOT worth ten euro in my opinion.
I asked him during one of his live streams if he ever played the series, and he said he hadn't. Plus, the Jak and Daxter series isn't an Indie developer, it's from Naughty Dog.
I swear if he finishes off the indie game month with Minecraft, that video is going to be even longer than his Sonic Adventure 2 review. Just-no one request that to him...it would take a while.
If you saw the end of the video, he said he will be reviewing mine craft at the end of the "indie Marathon." he also said not to suggest it. Just a heads up.
Indie game = Independent game. It's a person (or group) who is/are developing a video game and publishing it by themselves without the aid of big companies like EA, Nintendo, Activision, Capcom, Take Two, Square Enix, Etc. Sorta like Indie Rock and stuff like that.
And this also could lead to several individuals spamming likes on the comments that do suggest their game, making the clear winner even more hard to determine. Johnny, I honestly think the game should be decided by the one with the most comments (repeats from the same person don't count) or by a select list that you assemble in the Author's Comments page.
They are games made by smaller companies independently from bigger ones like EA and Ubisoft and such. That's why they are called ''indie'' (independant)
JETPACK JOYRIDE!:D It's on the Playstation Store and the Microsoft store, and you can also play it on facebook, the iApp store and a bunch of others. It'd also be a super short video. It literally takes 1 minute to play. oooo Or Castle Crashers... I love that game. Oooo Cthulu Saves the World and Breath of Death VII!!!!!!
no way to prove what? why Cave Story is good? then let me explain. the weapons & levels basically made to compliment each other. like fireball/bushlands, how the area is made of mostly slopes, bubbler/sand zone, how it manages the flying projectiles well, & blade labyrinth, how you really need a powerful long range weapon. and the physics, jump physics in paticular make traversing the areas easy & fun. not trying to sound like an ass or anything, i'm just presenting a counter-argument.
"Any more of this deep story and it would explode like an atomic bomb..." I see what you did there....
I was just about to say that too! LOL XD
Starbow Official I know your comment is 4 years old, but if you still remember what he meant can you explain it to me?
Thanks
@@Chad_Eldridge I see, thanks
...wait atom... bomb... *remembers the world list, and* oh...
... *oh...*
I think it would be hilarious if you had the ability to go all the way to the end of the game, then hold down the rewind button and go all the way through the game... backwards.
actullally, you are playing the events of the game backwards.... so... technically you are playing backwards.... its somewhat hard to understand
Geikaal huh....
Or if the Anniversary Edition had a fast-forward addition so you don't have to waste 2 hours to get one of the stars (If it does have something like it. Please let me know)
I like the "anymore and it would explode like an atomic bomb" clever ;)
As I read this the same part came up on screen
Funny thing is there is an Easter egg where the princess blows up like an atomic bomb
I feel like the indie crowd gets 2D Platformers better than a lot of the big guys. I absolutely love 2D Platformers, and it's grea to see the indie community pumping out so many great ones.
The soundtrack to Braid is one of my favorite things about the game. I was shocked when you said it was only sub-par. I actually put the soundtrack on whenever I read.
2:22 Ah...I see what you did there.
I'd really like to see Johnny review "Don't Starve" someday.
"I'm glad he's gonna tell us what he thinks about it."
That implies that it will be made.
I completed fickle companion without guide, but i cant comprehend what exactly i did.
To me it made perfect sense. The key isn't green, so it takes the path you previously took when you go left.
2:19 I see what you did there.
+FireRedTails I'm pretty simplistic, please elaborate
+mladthelad1 I don't plan on playing this mind bogling game, so can you please tell me
***** ........Ok
I didn't see that coming.
***** Still
Damn
Since Johnny strikes me more of an old school gamer, it's refreshing to see him tackle modern indie games. I also find it refreshing to see a Braid review that doesn't sing hymns of glory in its honor.
"Any more symbolism and it would explode like an atomic bomb"
Ah, I see what you did there
I played the game with a buddy, and when we solved the last level and rewinded it, our heads were blown away.
I think the thing bout the hidden stars is, that no one should find them in the first place. So when the first star was found, a hunting started to find the others.
I'll give you a hint about when you get all the stars. KABOOM!
thanks for the spoilers. this is way too big of a hint.
2:19
The irony in that sentence is the game's true ending.
2:19
I guess we're just slow, but me and my friend used about 8-10 hours to this game when we played it the first time, possibly more. There were mechanics necessary which we only found out by accident while taking our time. Puzzles like those were new to us. In addition, we only played a few hours on Sundays.
It's a shame that you felt the need to use a guide through Fickle Companion, considering that we spent pretty much half of your whole game time in that level because we just didn't want to give up. We needed several tries because of the fucking key... but because of that, it is both my least favourite and also favourite level. When we finally got it, I couldn't stop smiling and for the rest of the day I felt incredible satisfaction I've never experienced from a game before.
I think that's the main reason I love this game. It has this eerie feeling combined with all the satisfaction in the world (when you're puzzle-slow like me). Could've used a little less Purple Prose in it, though.
i play puzzle games in this same manner, some hours at a time, no spoiler, no rush, no matter how trapped or not. But i'm guessing since he saw it as a platformer more than a puzzle, then sonic, mario and crash come in with that kind of speed and chaos and thus, willingly or not, affect the judgment.
Beating Braid without a guide has been one of my most rewarding gaming experiences ever.
2:20 over the top foreshadowing
After watching many videos, I think I finally understand the story. So Braid made a mistake causing the princess to run away. Braid believes that you can simply take back mistakes. Which is what he does throughout the game. Hence the time reversal. But despite trying to find her throughout the 6 worlds. He can’t find her. It’s only when he collects all the puzzle pieces, which is supposedly a metaphor for Tim trying to put his life back together, does he finally get to go back to where it started. Which is world 1. The first half of world 1 is how Tim wanted things to be. Hoping that he could finally take back the mistake or simply make up with the princess now that he got his life together. But it because of that he now realizes the hard truth in the second half of world 1. He wasn’t saving the princess. The princess was running away from him. Ultimately he just simply relived what had already happened without anyway to fix it.
The stars are meant to be Tim desperation. Since you have to do tricky and desperate means to get them. But it is enough that it causes some changes in world 1 to allow Tim to meet the Princess again. But Tim can’t change what happened causing her to disappear as a result. The stars at the end of all of this shows that despite everything Tim tried. Despite being able to see her and having his life back together. She is simply gone. Tim can see her, but is ultimately out of reach. Nothing more then just a memory in Tim mind.
Man are you kidding me? aside from the mechanics and gameplay it is the story with its amazing ending that makes this game so great. You don't have to understand every single piece of text to be surprised when you find out that *SPOILERS!* ........
.
.
.
you are a psycho stalker and definitely not the good guy :0, I was playing this with my flatmates and the moment we realize that awful truth our minds just exploded haha. I thought it was genius yet so simple and done in a beautiful way from the design point of view.
Eh not the first time I saw that story
Great an overused story
Prince Kallian KidSnivy69 Wow I haven't been paying attention to games. Could one of you point me towards 3 or 4 other games where you unknowingly play the villain? I do like a twist. Thanks!
Scowlie Meerkat
I said I've seen the story, NOT that I've seen it in games.
It may not be overused in games, but its overused in other medias
KidSnivy69 Ohhh, like other media where you don't control the protagonist and thereby personally contribute to the story yourself. Yeah I guess you're right, nothing different to experience here.
Well, the whole meaning of Braid is to symbolize the dropping of the a-bomb.
***** Braid isn't *about* the a-bomb. Braid is thematically about the journey taken to discover the evil within, hence the last level. **Spoilers** At the end of Tim's jourrney, which provides it's true meaning when executed in reverse, Tim (i.e. the player) realizes that he is the villain, the person his love is running away from. Only in his mind had Tim been the hero. Allusions to the a-bomb are included to maximize the scope of Braid's self-deception theme. Whereas Tim's journey is very personal, the atomic bombings were starkly massive in scope. Furthermore, the a-bomb is a stark contrast to Braid's world, which is colourful and abstract. And that's what Braid is as a whole. An abstract nexus that bridges game play and various tones with a deceptively uniform art direction.
To clarify my point: Braid is very abstract and all over the place. For example, there isn't much that ties it's locations together. Likewise, it's theme is overarching and sparsely encountered directly. You get whiffs of Braid's theme through game play (As an aside, I think Braid was developed from the ground up starting from it's time reversal mechanic. It is a solid mechanic, and developing around one is a structurally sound choice in an interactive medium, considering how difficult it can be to connect story and game play. That mechanic can be understood as analogous to the process of obsessive introspection, which I believe is a process heavily related to Braid's theme and story.) To convey it's theme, Braid chiefly uses Tim's story. Tim's story limits the scope of Braid's theme to the personal level, though. To expand the scope of Braid's theme, I think the addendum that is the a-bomb allusion was inserted to show that "the evil within" can be confronted on a much larger scale as well as a personal one. Also, the tone evoked by the a-bomb allusion starkly contrasts that which is evoked by Braid's pastel art direction, consequently transplanting Braid's theme from an ethereal frame to one that is very real and thus palpable.
Whether the allusion is cheap is debatable. If you believe more parts of Braid are about WMDs or violence in general, then the a-bomb allusion isn't that arbitrary. To be honest, I haven't played the game in a couple of years, so I can't comment accurately on the game's "books", which would probably illuminate said ambiguity.
At the end of the day, nobody really knows what Jonathan Blow intended with the a-bomb allusion. He's pretty hush-hush about Braid's meaning, which is pretty pretentious. So, after all is said, the possibility that Braid is actually more like a "stuffy art house film" is real.
AHHHHHHHHH! THE SPOILERS! THEY BURN! (good job i allready knew about this beforehand)
I bought this game on Steam's 2016 Summer Sale. Beat it today and I totally agree with this review. A lot of the puzzles, at least for me, were extremely hard, but I managed to complete it without any sort of guide and I felt fantastic for it. That being said, the vagueness of the story is complete bullshit as well as the 8 hidden stars.
It's vague because not everyone deserves to understand the genius of the story, just like how most people can't appreciate art in general.
Ness Pyrosa okay dude, what makes you so special to say that most people can't appreciate art because art is a subjective thing and saying that most people don't deserve to know the "rich story" you said. Look it is okay to be vague but not to vague that you are left unanswered and confused.
Kyle Hill
Christ, I can smell your 2-year philosophy degree from here.
I don't know how anyone could not understand Braids story if they played through to the end, it all begins to make sense when viewed in context with its final chapter, this is very much a story that is not written in the order you expect it. Think Momento.
Ryan Stewart Or maybe people just want a story that's more simple than the mindfuck braid's one is
At least Tim is a true time lord. He can actually bend time by himself.
Without a tardis time lords got nothing.
I'm gonna say Cave Story because that game seems like it would be right in your wheel house.
I agree with you about Braid's story. It's a shame that there is so much plot text when the gameplay in the last level succinctly sums up the narrative.
2:21 I see what you did there John and Im not impressed
+Cryope I don't get it. Explain it to me before I get angry.
+Maleko the princess blows up the same way plus (and this is up to interpretation) the game is kinda about a guy being regretfull about making an atomic bomb
Cryope Oh alright. Thanks.
BRAID IS AN ART HOUSE MASTERPIECE, NOTHING, LIKE YOUR MAINSTREAM KIDDIE GAMES! lol
How?
Its a refernce to a joke i heard on youtube
What i am saying is what tim says in the video to mario.
Oh yeah. I saw that, Dorkly right?
Yeah. Funny isnt it?
lol ya
I usually agree with your reviews, but you're wrong with this one. The game is amazing and the ost is brilliant. Oh, and spoilers, the story is about the creation of an actual nuclear bomb and Tim had something to do with it. Also, he is actually a bad guy. He's stalking the princess. If you play the last stage reversed, you'll get the picture.
At any rate, the game was great.
+Abner Anaya it actually forces you to see the ending backwards unless you get the ending with 7 stars
Opinions are a thing dude.
Seriously get your head out of your ass
KidSnivy69 He is also entitled to his own opinion.
Cansteam Headcannon And I'm entitled to mine
Well, now Jirard reminded me of how obsessed I was with this game 10 years ago.
*pulls hands apart in rainbow shininess*
Saaaaaaaaaaaarcaaaassssssssssm... REEEEECOLAAAAAAA
klonoa > braid
That is one of the weirdest comparisons I've ever seen.
Christopher Carrasco Microwave> Refrigerator
Forza>Mario
@Excailivar Saying one game is better than another isn't a comparison.
FACTS
So the guy wasted that much money for a mediocre game?
Is $15 really that much money?
TheSourLemonz No i meant the maker
oh my bad
Well it's not really a mediocre game, it pretty much depends on the person that plays it, for example Johnny here is not really a fan of the game where other people find it to be a real piece of art o_o...it all depends on your own views on games themselves
NekoSoren I know but several features could have been implemented MUCH better
Braid may not be worth $15 considering how short it is, but the fact that this game will change your life if you're smart enough to understand it makes it priceless at the same time. Also, the music was AMAZING and gave the game more immersion than any other soundtrack I've heard in a game. Sadly, only people who have studied psychology and the depths of the human psyche will be able to fully appreciate Braid.
Well people don't really play games to learn life lessons. They play for fun.
why not both?
And you have the ability to "fully appreciate" Braid?
Ness Pyrosa wow the pretentious levels are OVER 9,000!!!
Ness Pyrosa not shit on Ur comment with more pretentious shit, but Pyschology is an overrated soft science that has no where near earned the credibility of hard science nor does it have as solid predictive power. Of Course the actual good stuff overlaps with biochemistry etc.
Concerning the star you have to wait two hours to get "being dumb"... that's kind of the point. This game has prominent underlying themes of obsession, and who would bother to go through the blood, sweat, and tears of obtaining these stars unless they let their obsession for completing the game influence their decisions? Sure, it's not fun, but it's a major aspect of this game's deeper symbolism.
This game is very abstract! That is what makes it probably one of my favorite games of all time. So instead of saying what the game "means" its more about what the game means to you.
Alot of people will say that braid is all about the atomic bomb and, I think this is a quite literal look at it. I'm not saying that it is wrong but, Jonathan Blow in an interview said that this is only half the story.
When I play the game, I don't can't see the atomic bomb as an actual part of the story. I do not think that Tim had any part in creating the a-bomb. The A-bomb to me is metaphorical for a single moment where Tim completely lost it and may have physically hurt the princess.
Braid was one of the first games my father ever let me play. A beautiful game where I would jump on silly porcupine bear things and flower bunnies. I would casually play through the game, but I never really looked in to the "lore" to the game. One of my close relatives found themselves in a position similar to what I feel time is in. Trying to have the princess see and forgive him. Wishing he could "Undo his mistakes." During this time period Tim would go on to self-reflect learning tough lessons such as patience (b.s. star 1) and how to go back to being independent in hopes that the princess would see his change and forgive him for what he did. But what was done was done. Tim fought over the princess, but she had moved on seeking comfort in the arms of another man.
The fact that world 1 is the last world of the game shows how he never got the princess. During this time frame Tim struggled with other problems such as substance use and Seeking admiration from others. In the end of the game leaving a completely broken and changed man
Now Tim never was a "bad guy but he wished so hard that he could take back the "The atomic bomb.""
This is a brief personal synapsis of what I feel about the game but because Of its symbolism it will forever hold to be my number 1 game!
From what I got from the story, the princess was running from Tim, unsure why though....
If you ever do another Indie series, I would love to see Volgarr the Viking. Some people complain about the fixed Castlevania-style jumping, but it has a double-jump that allows you to change direction at any time during the arc, so I actually find the jump control quite pleasing and intuitive. I would love to hear your opinion.
The Braid guy and the Fez guy should totally join forces. Blow + Fish = Blowfish.
CaveStory+ (Since you want it to be on one of those, otherwise I'd suggest the normal version of CaveStory which is free on PC.)
CaveStory+ is the original IndieGame that is inspirational to many modern day indie developers. I believe it'd be a great way to show off the roots (To one degree or another.)
Yes, he has a Dreamcast.
He got it in 2001.
He recorded footage from it for SA1 and SA2's reviews.
So basically, he collects puzzle pieces like Banjo and has time travel like Prince of Persia.
That one line "any more of it and it would fucking explode like an atomic bomb" is ironic because if you collect all the stars and reach the princess at the end of the game, she fucking explodes.
Dust: An Elysian Tail,you love Metroid and SOTN,you'll love this.
I'm happy as long as Cave story shows up at some point or another!
hahaha ohhh if you sit there for idk 2 hrs you find the magic star.... WHO THE HELL does that!!! Cracked me up
It's a medicine, not a soda.
But if we're on that topic, I'd go with Sierra Mist and A&W. Good stuff.
Nice review as always! you should do your next one on Bastion!
I love your reviews, and I started to play Legend of Zelda because of you, althought my only nintendo system is a 3DS and so I can only play, for now, Phantom Hourglass, I loved it. I'm waiting to hear more of Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past 2
2:20, oh John, that was a smart joke you put into it, considering the game ;)
Dungeon Defenders, Jamestown and HOARD are my favourite indie titles in the past few years, do i hope you can give at least one of them a shot.
Cry of fear. For a free title, it's pretty impressive.
I feel I'm probably one of the very few that know that beginning song is from final fantasy 10.
I kind of feel a little old now
I'd just like to say that I really enjoyed the soundtrack to Braid. I don't think you could oppose - the music was chosen to sound interesting forwards and backwards, fast and slow, highpass and lowpass - it does this. If the music isn't your cup of tea, that's fine, but you can't say that the sound design of the game was off - it did what it was meant to do with great efficiency.
But still, the world 2 one is just incredibly ludicrous, like Johnny said, nobody would even think about waiting on the cloud and even if they DID think about it, nobody would know the amount of waiting time, and if they DID, they would never wait at all.
I love the music in this game
but it's not.
I can only imagine what John's reaction would be if someone said Serious Sam
Oh I forgot to mention, Cave Story can be bought Via the Wiiware,Steam, or 3DS Eshop. Ten dollars. Good luck and have fun if you play it! :)
I played through the demo of braid and that's all I need. I found it pretty enjoyable and solved ALL the puzzles without looking up a guide. Two extra worlds is NOT worth ten euro in my opinion.
This is a very artsy type of game and it's all what's implied. Kinda like Journey on PS3.
Aw. I thought the music was one of the best parts. It's one of the video game soundtracks I've listened to most.
I asked him during one of his live streams if he ever played the series, and he said he hadn't. Plus, the Jak and Daxter series isn't an Indie developer, it's from Naughty Dog.
Cave Story. One of my favorite games ever. If you haven't heard of it, please at least look it up.
I swear if he finishes off the indie game month with Minecraft, that video is going to be even longer than his Sonic Adventure 2 review. Just-no one request that to him...it would take a while.
*rips out heart and tears off body parts*
Super Meat Boy! Lets see John pull out what little hair he has left!
If you saw the end of the video, he said he will be reviewing mine craft at the end of the "indie Marathon." he also said not to suggest it.
Just a heads up.
Cave story! You can take your pick on which version
in the end of braid tim finds out he IS the monster and has kidnapped the princess himself
Ugg, don't call them gimmicks. Gimmick has negative connotations. Call them devices.
Cave story man. It's amazing.
Well, it's official, people. John will be tacking Super Meat Boy......or is it Castle Crashers??
No, it's made by Valve, a software delveloper and it's also well known as the creators of Steam, Portal, Half-Life, and so on.
i feel like that first star exists solely to fuck with 100% speedrunners
I have three suggestions for you. Cave story, cave story, and.. CAVE STORY!
I'm an artsy guy, and i till found braid to be a little too self aware of how indie it is.
Indie game = Independent game. It's a person (or group) who is/are developing a video game and publishing it by themselves without the aid of big companies like EA, Nintendo, Activision, Capcom, Take Two, Square Enix, Etc.
Sorta like Indie Rock and stuff like that.
If you've seen the complete ending, yes it is.
I would like to see Johnny try to play Don't Starve.
Not all stories are going to be spelled out for you. There are some that actually require thinking and piecing things together yourself.
Best intro yet
Cave Story! I cant believe no one suggested this.
he already said not to ask because he is closing the indie game marathonish thing with minecraft.
Johnny: Who? Who, wasted hours of their life trying to solve this puzzle?
Me: Luis from Brain Scratch Comms?
I am the antagonist of this adventure! fear my powers of INSTANT GAME OVER!
And this also could lead to several individuals spamming likes on the comments that do suggest their game, making the clear winner even more hard to determine.
Johnny, I honestly think the game should be decided by the one with the most comments (repeats from the same person don't count) or by a select list that you assemble in the Author's Comments page.
I'd personally love to see Limbo or Fez reviewed :3
Braid is supposed to be symbolic about a need to go back in time and reverse the effect of the atomic bomb. The bomb is the princess herself
Cool :) Your gona be doin Indie games
Hidden stars!? I thought not completing the game without guide was enough!
There were hidden stars? News to me...
I look forward to theses reviews Johnny because this was great :D
Dust an Elysian Tail!!!!!!!!!! I don't care if it doesn't come next, but John please play this game!!! Thumbs up if you agree.
And when you get to Minecraft, make sure at the end to have "WHEN'S THE REVIEW OF SONIC & ALL-STARS RACING TRANSFORMED?!" or something like that.
best intro sentence ever
They are games made by smaller companies independently from bigger ones like EA and Ubisoft and such. That's why they are called ''indie'' (independant)
JETPACK JOYRIDE!:D It's on the Playstation Store and the Microsoft store, and you can also play it on facebook, the iApp store and a bunch of others.
It'd also be a super short video. It literally takes 1 minute to play.
oooo Or Castle Crashers... I love that game.
Oooo Cthulu Saves the World and Breath of Death VII!!!!!!
It'd be cool to see you do a review of Dust: An Elysian Tail. It's on XBLA and coming to Steam here soon.
watches the ending to video* so we wait until January?
no way to prove what? why Cave Story is good? then let me explain. the weapons & levels basically made to compliment each other. like fireball/bushlands, how the area is made of mostly slopes, bubbler/sand zone, how it manages the flying projectiles well, & blade labyrinth, how you really need a powerful long range weapon. and the physics, jump physics in paticular make traversing the areas easy & fun.
not trying to sound like an ass or anything, i'm just presenting a counter-argument.