30/11/2018

Avalon Code: My own private cult classic


I've been replaying Avalon Code lately, for the 15th-or-so time. This game is an absolute cult classic of mine: I played it first in late 2013, racking up seven playthroughs in a row for a total of 150 hours; and I've been playing it on-and-off since then, which probably makes my global tally of played hours a good 300 and counting. Avalon Code is even to thank for the existence of that very blog, which I started in no small part due to my desire to convey my burning passion for that game.

Of course, years and runs have changed my vision of Avalon Code. It's still very much a cult classic of mine, but I'm not as crazy in love with it as I used to be back in the days. Some things have gotten worse with time, such as the entire second half of the game: while said second half was a feverish, desperate race to regain what was lost during my very first playthrough, it feels more and more like a fake longevity-infused trudge as runs go on. This is not surprising, though: the impact of the devastating event that takes place at the halfway mark is bound to diminish as one replays the game and knows what to expect, exposing the game's second half as the poorly designed rehash of the first half it is. Nowadays, I don't always bother replaying said second half, preferring instead to give up after the Tournament and the love confession if I get one, that is.

And since I'm mentioning love confessions, romance is another feature that kinda lost its shine with time. I still like the overall romancing process very much, with its simple and no-fuss mechanics and its varying outcomes depending on when you start wooing sweethearts; however, I really cannot say as much about, well, the sweethearts themselves. More specifically, the huge quality gap between the male and female romance material. While the beaus are complex characters with shades and rich backstories, the belles are deep-as-puddle one-trick ponies. Duran is a coward haunted by guilt, who tries his hardest to overcome its crippling weakness; Fana, on the other hand, is just a sweet sick girl who spends her days in bed. Anwar is a cold loner who slowly warms up to human affection; Sylphy, his female counterpart in the 'ice queen' department, is a snotty elf who does little else than bitch about how weak human ares. (Granted, she gets to mature a bit, but only if you tackle her personal side quest; Anwar, on the other hand, evolves no matter what.)

To make matters worse, the belles hardly take part in the overarching story beyond a few cameos here and there, while the beaus are all over the place all the way to the end. Say goodbye to Sylphy, Dorothea, Lauca Meia and Fana once you're done meeting them for the first time, because you won't see them again unless you actively look for them. The only belle that manages to avoid that sad wallflower destiny is Nanai, who is graced with a complex personality and touching backstory on top of playing an important role in the story which is probably the reason I always end up as her (barely-legal-and-maybe-not-even) mate when I play with the male avatar. Either the writers thought that male players would be fine with just a pretty face to woo, or the romance options for the male avatar were added as an afterthought; at any rate, this lack of depth on the belle side is really frustrating.

Not all is gloom and doom, fortunately: some things have gotten genuinely better with time. Arranging codes is getting easier by the playthrough, because I remember better and better where to find the codes I want. Fighting, I could do with my hands tied behind my back, as well as solving dungeon puzzles and finding secret spots on the map sections. Overall, each playthrough is getting smoother thanks to my ever-growing mastery of the game; and since I went platinum during my very first playthrough, finding every single item, fulfilling every single side quest and generally doing everything that was possible, I'm now free of the completion pressure and can play for as long or as little as I want, as superficially or extensively as I want. And I love that.

So indeed, this is not the last time I play Avalon Code. As for writing about it, well... There are sure a couple of subjects I haven't covered yet in my posts about that game, such as the aforementioned romance; so there's definitely some untapped potential when it comes to writing about that personal cult classic of mine. Only time will tell if more tidings of Avalon Code come your way, dear fellow gamers! Thanks for reading, and be my guest anytime!

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