issue 9: sick gains bro
Hello and welcome back. This is Issue 9 of “a bit of bird words” and, unfortunately, it seems my vacation is … over.
Also I’m sick because I think I might’ve signed a contract sometime that means I always get ill in the spring.
But you’re not here for my medical history! (I hope.) Let’s talk games. And books.
Game of the month: Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru (The Frog for Whom the Bell Tolls)
Nintendo/Intelligent Systems, 1992 (GameBoy)
The early 90s is replete with funky little adventure games on Nintendo systems. I played StarTropics a year or two ago and that was a quirky sci-fi adventure where you find your uncle with the help of your trusty yo-yo. Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru—which I will call Frog from now on—is also a funky adventure, but a bit more fantasy-flavored: you are a prince, ever in the shadow of your friend-rival Prince Richard. You and Richard learn that the Mille-Feuille kingdom has been invaded and the beautiful princess Tiramisu captured. You both dash off to be the hero of the day, but things hardly go as planned.
You’ll cross the world, help the many denizens of the kingdom with their problems, and transform into a frog (and a snake!) to rescue the princess and defeat Delarin.
Frog is not a game of (many) hidden secrets: it’s fully expected that you turn every stone on your way to save the princess. It’s also not keen to challenge the player on their combat skills, as victory ultimately boils down to “my number is bigger than yours.” And this is totally fine! I think it actually makes this a great game for people who don’t play too many games.
It’s also a relatively funny game! It’s clearly written to be a comedy, a light-hearted romp, and I think it nails that from tip to tail. I played this game primarily on the beach or while chilling in our apartment and enjoyed my time thoroughly.
Games finished this year: 12 (+3)
Book of the month: The Hades Calculus
Maria Ying, 2024
I wish I remember who gave me this recommendation, because it was an outstanding one. To be extremely reductive, The Hades Calculus is “what if Hades and Persephone but cyberpunk and also make it gay.” Persephone, the newly-crafted daughter of Demeter, breaks out of her mother’s home and seeks refuge in the house of Hades, a reclusive and brooding god who, it turns out, is seeking a new pilot for her mech to aid in the endless war against the evolving colossi that besiege their home. But just as the colossi threaten them from without, the internal politics of the gods lurk over their shoulders, knife in hand.
I had an absolute blast reading this one, but it did take a few chapters to really get going for me—mainly once the prose was a bit less poetic in form. There’s a wide array of genders on display, which was great to see, and … well, I won’t spoil it, but this particular take on Hades might be my favorite ever.
Be warned that there is some vore in this, though not quite graphic enough to put me off reading it.
Books finished this year: 17 (+9)
What else?
Spain was lovely! We didn’t pack it as full of things to do as the last time we were there, which gave us a chance to take it easy and savor the time together. I picked up quite a few games at various GAME stores, and was graciously gifted Star Fox Assault and Racing Lagoon for my birthday. (Which, neat, I’m 35 now.)
Earlier this week I was also bit by the make-things bug and so … I made some things! Specifically I made an album cover and a low-poly model of tikka masala for my website. Go check it out if you like, and leave a comment in the guestbook!
Finally, I want to share something with you: space email. What would you say if you didn’t know that anyone was listening? In essence, you can write little emails that are sent out into space, and you can refresh your inbox to get an email from somewhere in spacetime. Sometimes I open up the site and just refresh a bunch and read the words—funny, heartbreaking, mundane, silly—that people I’ve probably never met have written into the void. It’s linked on my website as well, along with some other neat things from the web.
My recommendation this month is to find something cool on the web and share it with someone else. So much of online social life has been compressed into a couple sites whose only goal is to extract as much value from you as they possibly can. Say “heck it” to these sites! Share a story from AO3 with someone, or maybe a site that lets you run virtual Mac systems from the 1980s, 90s, and early 2000s. Or how about a site that lets you listen to radio stations from around the world? Or just someone’s Neocities page! There are still so many cool places on the internet left, and often the way we find them is through each other. So find a thing, and share it!
Thanks for reading. You can check out what games I’m playing on Backloggd and what books I’m reading on The Storygraph.