Cordoba Chronicles I: A Forward

This bit is to let you all know that the novella "Cordoba Chronicles IV: the Necromancer's Fury" was not written in a vacuum, and not without prior setup.

I created the fantasy world of Cordoba from 1994 to 1997 while attending high school at Design and Architecture Senior High, a magnet art school in Miami, FL.  It was in response to a lack of cool fantasy stories accessible to the mainstream audience.  I made a point to make something I wanted to see, and I figured that the big thing missing from the stories I liked and knew were the fact that there were no popular leading Black or dark-skinned characters.  They had popular Black supporting characters (sidekicks, rivals, mentors, love interests, etc.) but none that the average viewer would want to emulate, due to the lack of a leading role. These Black characters are not the center of a universe, and no story is told or experienced through their eyes. I decided to change that.

The story has a great number of influences. Cartoons, comics, science fiction, video games and action films were a big portion of my life prior to writing the Cordoba Chronicles, so a great deal of influence comes from them.

The short list reads like this:

• The graphic novels TITANS: Scissors, Paper, Stone, Ninja High School and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Book II
• the DC comic book Legionnaires (formerly Legion of Superheroes, rebooted after Zero Hour in 1994)
• CAPCOM's "Mega Man 2" and "Street Fighter 2010: the Final Fight"
• "Black Magic: M-66", "Bubblegum Crisis", "Appleseed", "AKIRA", and other Japanese animation films
• the American cartoons "Galaxy High School", "Beverly Hills Teens", "Jem", "Centurions: Power X-Treme", "Thundercats", Silverhawks", "Tigersharks", "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe", "Bravestarr", "Bionic Six", "Shirt Tales", "Dinosaucers", "The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers",
• the British cartoon "DangerMouse",
• the French cartoons "Spartakus and the Sun Beneath the Sea" (AKA "Les Mondes Engloutis") and "Ulysses 31"
• Live action shows like "Ultraman", "Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future", and of course "Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers"
• the Universal Pictures' "Action Pack" movie "Hercules and the Circle of Fire" starring Kevin Sorbo and the follow-up TV series "Hercules: the Legendary Journeys"
• the "Star Trek" TV series (TOS, TNG, DS9 and Voyager) and the original "Star Wars" trilogy (A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi)
• the movie "Conan the Destroyer"
• the 1980 movie "Flash Gordon"
• the movie "Passenger 57"
• the Japanese animation imports "Voltron: Defender of the Universe", "Transformers", "Robotech", "Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs", and "Mysterious Cities of Gold"

It goes without saying that I have a long-standing flirtation with Dungeons & Dragons (both the game and the cartoon), regardless of what people say.  I think I've said enough; I hope you enjoy Cordoba Chronicles I. Enjoy!

-swatson

Video Game Review - Contra: Hard Corps (1994 - Sega Genesis)

The only Contra game in the series to reach the Sega Genesis, Contra: Hard Corps (now "CHC") is frickin' awesome. The game definitely expands on the capabilities of what a Contra game is all about, making it into an example of what a Contra game should be.

The story starts thus: Red Falcon, the alien overlord, is at it again. He has sent his troops to plague the cities of Earth and to wipe out the human race. With ground troops. Whatever. Anyway, the Earth defense forces have selected four specially-trained soldiers to combat Red Falcon and his forces of evil. It is with these four troops that the whole game comes together.
Instead of the Droll Duo of Steve (aka Player 1) and Lance (Player 2), we have four unique soldiers that have made it their job to use certain weapon power-ups (A,B,C and D) in different ways.

• Ray is "the guy" of the crew, a natural with a weapon and a career soldier. The best weapon for him is weapon D, which gives him the old Contra standby, the Spread Gun.
• Sheena Etranzi is "the girl", a jungle commando without equal. Her best weapon is weapon B, giving her Homing Missiles.
• Brad used to be human, until Red Falcon got its hands on him. Now Brad is a cyborg werewolf with a penchand for close combat and sunglasses. Since I played Brad a lot, it's a toss-up between weapon A (Spread Vulcan) or weapon C (the greatest Flamethrower ever) as to what is his best weapon.
• The robot Browny is a scrappy lil' guy. It has the extra skill to use its built-in jetpack. Its best weapon is weapon C, the EM Grappler. It's a homing weapon that never leaves the enemy unless you let go of the button.

What makes these elite soldiers much better than Steve and Lance is the fact that they can slide. Sliding allows you to do damage to the enemy while remaining invincible. It's very useful for evading bullets and the only way you'll ever defeat some of CHC's bosses.
The bosses in Contra: Hard Corps are wonderfully animated by the crew at Konami, who took the time to stretch the capabilities of the Genesis. From Cyborg Joe (the nastiest bounty hunter on their side of the war) to robotic fish to, most importantly, the Burgundy Ball Tank in stage 5, every enemy boss is tailor made to make you work for its defeat. Never will you ever spend this much time fighting that boss once you've beaten him already; not because of a save feature but because the Burgundy Ball Tank exists in all 8 possible endings. Yes, eight.

CHC has a branching storyline that pits you against different enemies and bosses in different locales. Each choice you make changes the direction of the story and the mission that our heroes move to complete. For instance, trying to kill Cyborg Joe after you beat him ensures that you'll have to fight and beat him twice more. Letting Cyborg Joe go prompts him to go all suicide bomber on you and self-destruct. The choices you make are important to keep ing the game fresh, because some branches are sealed off once you make a choice. As soon as you realize this, you'll actively make an effort to get all 8 endings. Some are good, some are bad and a few straight up suck. You'll be able to see a bad decision a mile away.

If there's a Contra completist out there, make an effort to get all the Contras you can (with the exception of Contra: Legacy of War for the PSX), making this game paramount on this list.

RATING: 9/10

Video Game Review - Shining Force II (1994 - Sega Genesis)

This is the one.

This is the one game that really got me to play an RPG. it reached me because of its ability to involve me in the worlds of the game. The storyline kicked ass as well as did the controls. The most important factor to playing this game and enjoying it had to be the easiest: the fact that no one else rented it at Blockbuster!

Back in the days when most Negroes wouldn't be caught dead with an RPG (for fear of being called [a] a nerd or, God forbid, [b] white) , I could always expect certain games to be checked out. Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter II: Championship Edition and X-Men were among that number and they never seemed to be in. Later I found out that broke-ass Negroes stole the games, yet the staff at my local Blockbuster would keep the box on the shelf. Doesn't make much sense, but what sense it does make outweighs the nonsense. In lieu of being up on the games that everyone would talk about in school later, I'd settle for some of the games that were always there.

Shining Force II was one of those games.

When I started playing, I had no real trouble getting into the game. I quickly adapted to the fact that I was stuck in a forest with an old hag who'd never let me escape unless she finished telling her story…
Said story is about a boy named Sue--or whatever you named him--and his school chums Chester the centaur, Sarah the elf and the mighty dwarven boy Jaha. Sent to assist your school teacher Sir Astral, you're pitted against the forces of the Demon World who wish to resurrect the King of Devils, Zeon. In their attempts, they've turned neighboring kingdoms against each other, possessed our king and run off with the princess Eliza (SAVE THE PRINCESS!) Further investigation reveals that such happenings didn't occur out of the blue; they were the work of the master thief Slade who stole the jewels of Good and Evil, the latter of which has bonded to the main character's neck. As more plot points develop, the amount of people who can join your crew becomes diverse and numerous. To illustrate this point, we'll compare four characters from the roster: Kazin, Peter, Claude and Zynk.

Kazin is the fourth member you recruit in your quest to save the world (man, I love saying that) after you've defeated the soldiers who have trashed his home and mortally wounded his mentor, Master Hawel. He's a versatile mage who can take care of business with his BLAZE spell. The BLAZE spell doesn't compare to the power of Volcanon (the creator of the game's world) or his assistant, Peter.
Peter joins the Shining Force crew to assist our hero with sonic screams and tornadoes from his rainbow-feathered wings. His special ability in the game is that he never needs to be resurrected by a priest--he IS a phoenix after all. While we're on the subject of mythical creatures, we must not forget golems, like party member Claude.
Saving Claude the golem from the nether dimension gets him on your party and he is the ultimate tanker. While not the same as a traditional golem, Zynk the metal golem is from the future. He has stretching arms and a laser cannon in his chest. This may be a fantasy world, but nothing has stopped time travelers from entering and helping out the good guys.

The controls are very simple and allow you to save without having to consult a priest (the save points in the game). This is an option offered during a battle scenario, and well-placed. Time and time again, I'll play this game from beginning to end to see if I can get all 30 characters and if I can stand playing against the final boss ONE MORE TIME. Why is the final boss someone to play again and again? Why, because it just defies all logic to fight this man while standing on his BREATH. That and the copious amounts of secrets. All in a day's work for those bent on saving the world.

Eventually, I had to give this cherished game of mine to someone I really liked.  I met her, we let each other know how we felt about each other, and I gave her my copy of Shining Force II to really let her know.  That may sound geeky, but she was a big fan of the game and she understood.  That's how much Shining Force II meant and still means to me everyday.  It has given me more memories and enjoyment that I can put in this post.

RATING: 10/10