I ended the last post with a side note that I didn’t finish because I was too tired. I reached the end of my ‘can do’ and abruptly stopped doing.
I was talking about how I’m such a weirdo and how I have learned to mask it so effectively, I have a hard time not masking. It’s one reason I prefer spending my time alone–because that’s the only time I can truly relax.
I have compared Promise Mascot Agency (Kaizen Game Works) and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive) because they are both indie games that I have played in the past few months. That’s it. They are not similar in many ways, but one way they are is that they are both stories about a rag-tag bunch of people who band together to work for a common good.
Except in the case of CO:E33, it’s the Hollywood version of the Brat Pack, much like The Breakfast Club. Each of them supposedly outsiders, but still impossibly good-looking and more put together than most average people.
When I was playing CO:E33, I could not get over how ridiculously good-looking everyone was. And how impossibly hot. Not to mention super-capable, fit, and better at everything than anyone else. Yes, they were in a tenuous situation, but it never felt real to me. There was no danger, really, and I never doubted that they would triumph in the end. I cared about them and wanted them to succeed, but it was with the thought in the back of my mind that they were just a bit too too (perfect) in order to be real.
They had flaws, yes, but they weren’t that deep. Not that they had to be, but…how do I put this in a way that isn’t mean because I don’t want to be mean? The tragedies were pretty generic. I look at the stories of each of the characters, and they were not that standout in and of themselves. It reall ywas the outstanding voice acting work that brought the characters to life. I have said this several times, the voice actors made the characters much more fleshed out and layered than they were as written.
The characters in PMA, on the other hand, were more on the cartoony side, yes, but they were real with their ugliness. The devs did not shy away from making some of the mascots visually unappealing, and their personalities were hard to take at first. They were true weirdos and freaks, and not in a Hollywood way. For instance, Trororo (whose name, I’m sure is an homage to Totoro and if not, it should be), a cute cat covered in yam, was interested in cooking and adult entertainment. He would wax poetic about the latter and bemoan how people were so prejudiced against it.
Another is Salary-Nyan (a play on words for Salary Man), who is also a cat. He was canned from his job for which he worked so hard and diligently, and he dreamed of revenge against his manager. He described in detail what he wanted to do to his manager, and it got pretty dark. Michi tried to encourage him to move past the rage, but Salary-Nyan refused for most of the game. I could identify with his rage and despair.
All the mascots really tugged on my heartstrings in a way that I can’t fully exlpain. The best I can say is that they represent the weirdness inside of me, and to have a game that openly celebrates them felt really validating.
Michi didn’t just put up with them, he took them into his heart and encouraged them to be their very best. He put his foot down when he needed to, but for the most part, he was supportive of them in a stoic, but loving way. He wanted everyone to go for their dreams, and he would brook no opposition from them.
Pinky was right there being very vocal in her support as well. Yes, she’s rude, crude, loud, obnoxious, and very dark, but she also has a generous heart and just wants her friends to succeed. Was it campy and over-the-top? Hell, yes! I had no problem with that, though, beacuse I had bought into the premise completely from about thirty seconds into the game.
I think that if you don’t gel with the characters, you’re not going to like the game. Yes, there is gameplay, but it’s mostly about the quirky characters doing quirky things. All the gameplay is pretty basic, and, no, taht’s not me being sarcastic. Well, maybe a wee bit, but I’m mostly sincere. I think it helped that I went in not knowing anything about the gameplay itself, but was willing to be taken for a ride (literally).
I knew there were mascots that you had to recruit, but that was it. I did not remember watching the trailer, and I might not have done it at all because I was going to play it. Though, I don’t think that I was set on playing it from the start. It was on my Wish List, but I was feeling pressed to play it. As I mentioned before, it was because someone in the RKG Discord mentioned they were playing it and loving it that it came onto my radar. Still, even then, I did not actually play it until several weeks later.
I can’t tell you why I was so smitten by the game right off the bat. I mean, I knew there was something special in the game, but I didn’t expect to love it within minutes. I will admit that I had a bit of trouble with Pinky at first, but I fell under her spell and absolutely adored her by the end.
When I played CO:E33, I could only play about an hour a day because I just did not get into it at all. I felt that same disconnect all the way through my playthrough, and I never felt truly into the story.
I’m not saying PMA’s story was any better or more real. But I still loved the characters with all my heart and wanted to spend more time with them. I wish there would be a sequel, but there can’t be, really.
Oh, I will say, their first game (Paradise Killer) was first-person, and I was really sad beacuse it made me very nauseous to play it. I gritted my teeth and soldiered on for a few hours, but I had to give it up in the end. In this game, you can drive the truck in first person or third, and there are two distances for third (and maybe for first). Weirdly, though, if you drive in certain ways, the view will automatically switch to first–which disoriented the fuck out of me. And made me slightly nauseous.
I’m sad this game is over. After 100%ing it, there is very little to do. Sure, I could start it over again and play the game again, but there doesn’t seem to be a reason to do so. I loved my time with it, and it’s my GOTY so far. I would give it a solid 8, maybe an 8.5 because of how much I love the characters. I highly recommend it for how much heart it has.