Before that old Naruto game review, I wrote an elaborate mini strategy guide for Final Fantasy XII for PlayStation 2 when it was relevant. I think that game had one of the best battle systems but a cheap plot and an uninteresting protagonist and for anyone crazy into voice acting like me, Nolan North (who's from my home state,yay) was also in FFXII as well as Naruto. I played this game for 3 straight days because it was snowing and mostly everything was closed down, back in '09 to write it. This is extremely long.
Ohmeingott Kyoto Fried Chocobo!
A FINAL FANTASY XII STRATEGY
Focus: Hunts and Side Missions, some Esper Information
There's
13 (?) Espers hidden within the game, for old FF players, Espers are
just the Aeons, like in this game, Shiva is called Mateus and can be
found at the Shrine of Mariam which is located southwest of the Paramina
Rift. Some Espers are storyline, like the first Esper, Belias (Ifrit),
and Hasmal. Most others though, are all hidden.
- For anyone
who has reached the Mospheran Highwaste, there is an Esper there on top a
ridge that seems unreachable but fear not, this is my strategy and I
have defeated the Esper hidden there called Exodus. You need to solve
the puzzle of the floatweeds using the wind shrines, this is actually
immensely easy.
- To reach Exodus activate these shrines
- South Wind, West Wind and NorthEast Wind
Now
once you activate the South wind and the Northeast wind, ride the wild
chocobo after feeding it some g. greens, provided you have any, up a
path where the Humbaba's are stalking around. Keep going until you
reach the rocky mountain ridge where the flying birds are. There you
will find a side path to the left, dismount from the chocobo and walk
down that path until you come to the West wind shrine, activate that and
head back to the path that you were just on. If you don't want to
fight the birds there, just use Time Magick, Warp spell and warp them
all out of battle. The floatweed now connects to the path to the top
most ridge where Exodus the Esper awaits. If you're a high level then
fighting him is very easy, just Dispel him then cast Slow and attack
like there's no tomorrow. If you're at a low level, then I can't help
you. Your reward is an Opal Ring which comes in handy in harder
battles.
When you obtain 10 Espers, the village elders of Jahara will allow you deeper into the Henne Mines.
I have 8 Espers myself. So I need just 2 more.
---------------------------------
Some
Hunts and Side Missions play important roles in the storyline, most
others are just for fun. I'll only cover a few and remember it is
important to report back to Montblanc at Clan Centurio in the North End
of Rabanastre, every time you gain a new Clan Rank or is in possession of
a new Esper, Montblanc the moogle will reward you quite handsomely and
some of those items will come in handy later. Also, speaking to
Montblanc you will have the option of doing some of the Elite Marks that
he has.
And for the Side Missions such as the Seven Sisters
Side Mission, the rewards are pretty good, especially for that one and
if you want 100% completion of the game it's best that you complete all
side missions.
Seven Sisters Mission
This mission
starts in the flying village of Bhujerba, home of Ashe's uncle the
Marquis and home of the Resistance against the Archadian Empire.
-
At the Aerodome, take the flight to Balfonheim and in the Sky Parlor you
see the Chief Stewardess being harassed by a man. Walk up and speak
to both of them to hear their conversation. At the end, Ann (the chief
stewardess) asks you deliver a letter to her 6 sisters who all work the
same position on different flights.
You're aero-hopping from
flight to flight and aerodome to aerodome with this mission, it's fun
and relaxing since there are no battles to be fought for once. However
tickets to take the flights are expensive, price ranging from 180 to 250
gil so make sure you have enough gil to take all 6 flights to deliver
the letter.
Here is the list of the flights you have to take
1.) Bhujerba to Balfonheim (where it starts)
2.) Bhujerba to Rabanastre
3.) Balfonheim to Archades
4.) Balfonheim to Nalbina
5.) Archades to Rabanastre
6.) Archades to Nalbina
7.) Nalbina to Rabanastre
after
successfully taking these flights and delivering the letter, you
receive the Ring of Renewal as a reward which equips Regan to the user. As a hint, while on the airships, they have 2 shops selling different
items, take a look around and buy whatever you need or don't have. 2
notable items is the X-Potion for 650 gil and the Arcane Magick Syphon
for 7000 gil. *learn sumtin' new bitches, Regan is a German word and
means Rain*
Another leisure side mission is this one:
Viera Randevous
A Viera at Rabanastre's South gate near the chocobo stable is seeking a soulmate, talk to her. Follow her into the Southern Plaza & look for a Lovestruck Man at the fountain, speak to him. She is at Yamoora's Gambits in North End, speak with her again.Travel to the SandSea in East End & look for her on the 2nd fl. (she's sitting on the railing), speak to her again. Return to Southern Plaza and speak to Lovestruck Man, agree to help him, return to SandSea & tell viera about his feelings. Return to Southern Plaza at the fountain and speak to them.
Your reward is a Luxley Bow and a Hi-Potion. Not much but it's fun.
A more important side mission is the one about the sandstorm that prevents movement through the Dalmasca Easter and Westersand.
The Sand Storm
Find a creature (bangaa) named Rimzat at Rabanastre's West gate.
Check the Southern Plaza for a man called Cotze who is sitting a top the fountain.
Locate Northon in the North Sprawl of Lowtown.
(In
the WESTERSAND) the Dynast-Cactoids are found in the secluded sec. of
the Windtrace Dunes which is accessible from Shimmering Horizons. Inspect them to find the Wind Globe.
Return to the West gate and
speak to Northon, Cotze and Rimzat then travel to the Wyrm's nest in the
Dalmasca Westersand to face the Earth Tyrant.
This battle is
actually pretty hard, make sure that when the battle starts you cast
Decoy on the party leader then use Slow immediately, this makes the
battle easy and it helps to be at a high level. Using that strategy you
shouldn't have much of a problem. Afterwards, the small section that
connects the Westersand and Eastersand is available and you can travel
through it.
*Just as a small note, if you've yet to obtain the
Time Magick Hastega, it can bought in the Eastersand at the South Bank
Villiage, a merchant who is lounging on the beach sells it but beware,
it is pretty expensive. *
It is possible to enter through the
closed off parts of Lhusu Mines, speak to Monteblanc to do the mission
Antilion Infestation. This battle is easy if you're at a high level, if
you're not then I wouldn't even think of doing it.
A Dark Rumor Hunt
This is a hunt posted by Montblanc
himself, basically there's a giant bird that is creating sandstorms in
the Nam-Yensa Sandsea but it's only a rumor, he wants you to investigate
it, if you accept the hunt that is.
What it is really, so you
don't waste your time, is a trap to lure out the hunter-stalker, if you
talked to the other clan members they will tell you that an unknown
person is going around and is attacking hunters while they are on their
hunts.
Enter the Nam-Yensa Sandsea from the teleport crystal in
the Ogir-Yensa Sandsea and make your way to the to the Zertinan
Caverns, from there, take the path that will lead you to the Withering
Shores of the Nam-Yensa Sandsea and if you cannot get through the
Caverns without being killed or if you haven't explored the whole map of
the place, then needless to say, don't attempt this mission.
Once
you are on top of the metal structure that is there, Ba'Gamnan the
bangaa from Lhusu Mines (when visited with Larsa for inspection of the
nethicite) appears and a scene rolls, a conversation between Ba'Gamnan
and Baltheir. After the scene, the battle starts immediately. Ba'Gamnan has 2 other bangaa with him, one who only does physical
attacks and the other only does magickal attacks. Dispatch them quickly
so it only leaves Ba'Gamnan. He only does physical attacks and one
magick. The battle is fast pace so use Slow on him. After that, you get
a lot of gil as a reward and it ends what happened earlier with him in
the mines, the confrontation is done.
Another story-related mission is the Medallions of Nabudis,
if you have explored the Nabreus Deadlands which is northwest of the
Salikawood, you have seen an old man sitting on the edge of the cliff,
talk to him if you haven't already. He tells you about a special item
and how he sent his two apprentices to find this item. Explore the
Nabreus Deadlands, defeat the Cyrstal-bug which turns into a Teleport
Crystal and even find the hidden area called The Fog Mutters which lead
into the area called Overlooking Eternity, there is a small shrine there
but don't worry about that now.
If you have done the Adding
Insult to Injury hunt successfully than that's very good because even at
a high level, that hunt is very hard. If you haven't done it yet,
don't until you are at a high level.
Now the 2 apprentices,
Roh'Kenmou and Roh'Kemu are in different places. Roh'Kenmu is in
Archades at the Magick Shop, speak to him to learn about the medallion. He is on the 2nd fl. of the shop but on the 1st fl. of the shop is a
man and a woman, speak to them to learn about an Archades Gentry man who
had fallen in love with a girl in Old Archades, which is a ghetto. Travel on foot to Old Archades and find the youg man, he eventually
hands over the medallion with no problem, return that to Roh'Kenmu.
Now
Roh'Kenmou is in Lowtown at Old Dalan's Place in Rabanastre. Go there
and talk to Roh'Kenmou in which Old Dalan introduces you and asks you to
assist in his mission to find the other missing medallion. Agree to
help. The medallion was broken into 4 peices, Roh'Kenmou already has
one so you need to find the other 3. The first piece is in the
Garamsythe Waterway, you can only do this if you have completed the Lost
in the Pudding hunt.
If you have then proceed to the Central
Waterway Control: open all gates so that the lights are off. Begin by
closing gates # 11 and #4, then open gate # 11 and shut gate #3. Next
open gate #4 then walk around to gate #3 and look on the ground to find a
"shiny object".
The 2nd piece can only be obtained as a reward for completing the Crime and Punishment hunt which you can acquire from Montblanc.
The
last piece you have to speak to several people in order to obtain. First find Filo in the southeast corner of the South Sprawl in Lowtown
and speak to her. Go to the Southern Plaza and speak to the Curious
Woman at the fountain. Then head to the Muthru Bazaar and speak to the
"merchants", really it's a red Seeq. Visit Yugri's Magicks & speak to
the Sotted Imperial by the door and tell him about the woman at the
fountain. Go to Lowtown's North Sprawl and find Kytes, speak to him. Then find Filo at the location she was at before and ask to see the
woman. Return to Yugri's Magicks and speak to the Sotted Imperial
again, you obtain the 3rd piece from this ordeal.
Return all 3
pieces to Roh'Kenmou and if you are at a high level and want to, head
over to the Nabreaus Deadlands where you saw the two's master. A scene
occurs and he tells you about 3 legendary beasts trapped inside the
Necrohol of Nabudis. You do NOT have to fight them after you learn
about them, take all the time you want or need but for those who want
to, I will tell you what happens.
There are 3 locked chambers
inside Nabudis which in general is a pretty difficult area. You can
take on the 3 beasts in any order but I think its better to take on the
beasts' whose chambers are closer to the exit of the area than the one
in the middle.
Entering from the southwest of Salikawood you
can flee all the way to the first chamber if you don't want to fight any
of the monsters. Once you find the chamber, you will see a large door
called the Door of Horrors, if you want to proceed, insert the Medallion
of Bravery and enter. The boss here is a creature called the Humbaba
Mistant, as soon as the battle starts, Dispel him and cast Slow, if
you're high level then this particular battle is actually kinda easy. A
good trick is to cast Scourge on him as it inflicts Sap. You gain
nothing after defeating him though because he is only 1 out of 3.
Entering
from the Nabreus Deadlands, travel to the 2nd chamber in which you will
find the Door of Loathing, insert the Medallion of Love. The boss here
is called Fury but is actually a purple dreamhare, it looks like a
purple Evee from Pokemon but don't be distracted by its cuteness, it is
vicious. Cast Dispel on it then Slow. As the battle nears it ends and
its life is low, it casts Beserk on itself, Dispel it every time it does
that and use magick that causes a lot of damage to bring the battle to a
swift end. A good trick is to cast Scourge on it as in inflicts Sap.
Now
the Chamber in the middle is the hardest battle to be fought here, thus
the reason I say to do it last. Once you get there and use the
Medallion of Might to open the door you are faced with the Esper called
Chaos. Chaos prohibits you from physical attacks, he is immune to them
and items such as water mote, scathe mote, etc. You can only use
magick. Dispel him, after you do that because he has cast Faith and
Bravery on himself, he then casts, Shell and Protect so Dispel him as
many times as you need to.
He has 4 small elementals helping him, you
can attack those. A good trick before entering this battle is to equip
the entire part with Rose Corsage as it makes you immune from Silence,
Chaos will cast Silence on you over and over again if you do not equip
this accessory. However you cannot cast Silence on him, he's immune. The best way to take him out quickly is to first cast Scourge on him as
it inflicts Sap. Then to either summon one of your Espers to the battle
or use Quickenings. The longer the Quickening chain, the more damage
dealt so aim to chain 10 or more Quickenings in a single setting to get
the end move called Cataclysm. If you do that over and over, you are
sure to win. Another good tip is to have a lot of Ethers or more
preferably Hi-Ethers which are randomly found or handed out as rewards
for successful hunts and to have a lot of X-Potions. And after you've
defeated him, your MP will be completely used up so walk around the room
until you have the first rank of the MP back for your party. Ethers
are hard to find so I wouldn't waste them if I'm not in a dire battle.
I
defeated Chaos today but as fate would have it, died trying to get out
of Nabudis, now I have to fight him again. It's soul shattering. And
on a strange note, Chaos is rather fond of Ashe, without Ashe in the
party, he slaughters everyone before I have time to even use a
Quickening but once I put Ashe into the party, the battle rages on and
on. Another good tip is to cast Bubble for a higher HP or have one
character wear the Bubble Belt which for me is Ashe. Oh! and after
defeating Humbaba and Fury, try to make it out alive and save your
progress at the Salikawood and Nabreus Deadlands! It'll be a bitch to
have to keep fighting the 3 bosses over and over again.
end. I find Final Fantasy games are still fun to play even after you've defeated them.
Showing posts with label video games. Show all posts
Showing posts with label video games. Show all posts
Monday, March 31, 2014
Old Game Reviews
So I remembered I wrote a review for a beloved video game series adapted from a manga/anime and even though newer games has been released in the franchise, I don't own them yet. So I'm going to re-post my old game review. I don't aim to please, I aim to be honest.
The Tale Of Young Naruto
The Tale of Naruto Uzumaki (Shippuden)
The Tale of Sasuke Uchiha (Shippuden)
The Tale of Zabuza and Haku
The Tale of Jiraiya the Gallant
The Tale of Itachi Uchiha
The Tale of Kakashi Hatake
The Tale of Gaara
The Tale of Minato Namikaze
The Tale of Madara Uchiha (Tobi)
The Tale of Killer Bee (have to defeat Tobi's storyline to unlock)
Your choice with who to start with, I started with Young Naruto. The game play is easier yet harder at the same time. My problem with it is that you cannot Ninja Dash to your enemy, you literally just have to walk/run towards them in Story Mode although it's not much better in Free Fighting Mode. Now Substitution jutsu is a thousand times easier and sets up your battles to look awesome but it is so easy to get around people's Ultimate Jutsu which isn't welcomed if you're the one trying to use it. I also dislike the distance in this game, when you use Substitution jutsu, sometimes you appear close to them but other times you end up so far away from them and it's hard to close the gap, especially when fighting Deidara and Tobi.
I don't know what they were thinking when they programmed that in. It sucks but the overall battle is pretty if you can pull off some wicked combos. Sasuke and Killer Bees are beasts in this game, their taijutsu are damn near impossible to block or substitute so be weary of that, they have some long, heavy hitting combos which get annoying real quick.
Another problem with this game is the repetition of some of the battles, for some reason they thought it was fun to have Sasuke and Itachi fight one another 5 times throughout the game, it gets boring but the other fights are pretty cool. You can play as and against Tobi when he had the handcuffs as weapons, Tobi is one hard motherfucker to beat but it is possible.
The anime scenes however are awesome although the dubbing is atrocious. Seriously the words do not match the mouth 80% of the time, given the time they had with this game, this is no excuse for that. I WANT TO BREAK VIC MIGNONA'S JAW SO HE CANNOT VOICE ACT FOR A COUPLE OF MONTHS! Not only does he fail as Nagato but he also voices Obito which just does not fit. SOMEONE GET HIM THE FUCK OFF THIS SHOW!
Tobi's voice has changed from Ulitmate Ninja 2, both as his childish personality and "Madara" personality. His new "Madara" voice makes him sound like he's 100, it's deep but it's also graveling, like the guy is chewing on rocks. Actually, he sounds a lot like Kakuzu which doesn't fit either. I prefer Nolan North as Tobi's "Madara's" personality, that guy had a cool voice. Also, only Gaara had good voice acting in this game which he is voiced by Liam O'Brien.
A problem I have with the Shippuden cast is that all their characters still sound the same. This is a one in a million show where the characters grow and get older yet they still sound like they're 12, except for Gaara here. His voice is much deeper because Mr. O'Brien probably realized that his character is now 17 years old and is a respectable leader and not a 12 year old psychopath anymore. I salute you Mr. O'Brien, I salute you.
For Free Fighting, there are several modes such as single or team battle, Survive, Tournement and the return of Training Mode which is awesome since the gameplay is slightly different. I haven't spent much time here except to test try Hashirama Senju because I'm a Madara Uchiha fan. Fuck you and your wood jutsu.
There are more collectibles here and you get to buy titles, yay. I defeated all 11 Storylines but that just doesn't get you half the collectibles. Not by a long shot which made me feel as if I played Story Mode for no freaking reason. Story Mode however is good for ryo. Anyone else notice that Zetsu is yet again forgotten in this game? Poor Zetsu.
All in all, it is a fun game to play and the anime scenes that haven't come out in English yet are very good so I give this game 4 stars. I spent $59 on this game, I'm keeping it for that reason alone. You can defeat this game in a day.
Tell me your experience with the game and if you are stuck on a battle in story mode.
NARUTO ULTIMATE NINJA STORM: GENERATIONS REVIEW
Received the game yesterday because it was preordered and I defeated Story Mode already, today. Short playing time if you're only playing Story Mode. There's 11 'tales' you can play through:The Tale Of Young Naruto
The Tale of Naruto Uzumaki (Shippuden)
The Tale of Sasuke Uchiha (Shippuden)
The Tale of Zabuza and Haku
The Tale of Jiraiya the Gallant
The Tale of Itachi Uchiha
The Tale of Kakashi Hatake
The Tale of Gaara
The Tale of Minato Namikaze
The Tale of Madara Uchiha (Tobi)
The Tale of Killer Bee (have to defeat Tobi's storyline to unlock)
Your choice with who to start with, I started with Young Naruto. The game play is easier yet harder at the same time. My problem with it is that you cannot Ninja Dash to your enemy, you literally just have to walk/run towards them in Story Mode although it's not much better in Free Fighting Mode. Now Substitution jutsu is a thousand times easier and sets up your battles to look awesome but it is so easy to get around people's Ultimate Jutsu which isn't welcomed if you're the one trying to use it. I also dislike the distance in this game, when you use Substitution jutsu, sometimes you appear close to them but other times you end up so far away from them and it's hard to close the gap, especially when fighting Deidara and Tobi.
I don't know what they were thinking when they programmed that in. It sucks but the overall battle is pretty if you can pull off some wicked combos. Sasuke and Killer Bees are beasts in this game, their taijutsu are damn near impossible to block or substitute so be weary of that, they have some long, heavy hitting combos which get annoying real quick.
Another problem with this game is the repetition of some of the battles, for some reason they thought it was fun to have Sasuke and Itachi fight one another 5 times throughout the game, it gets boring but the other fights are pretty cool. You can play as and against Tobi when he had the handcuffs as weapons, Tobi is one hard motherfucker to beat but it is possible.
The anime scenes however are awesome although the dubbing is atrocious. Seriously the words do not match the mouth 80% of the time, given the time they had with this game, this is no excuse for that. I WANT TO BREAK VIC MIGNONA'S JAW SO HE CANNOT VOICE ACT FOR A COUPLE OF MONTHS! Not only does he fail as Nagato but he also voices Obito which just does not fit. SOMEONE GET HIM THE FUCK OFF THIS SHOW!
Tobi's voice has changed from Ulitmate Ninja 2, both as his childish personality and "Madara" personality. His new "Madara" voice makes him sound like he's 100, it's deep but it's also graveling, like the guy is chewing on rocks. Actually, he sounds a lot like Kakuzu which doesn't fit either. I prefer Nolan North as Tobi's "Madara's" personality, that guy had a cool voice. Also, only Gaara had good voice acting in this game which he is voiced by Liam O'Brien.
A problem I have with the Shippuden cast is that all their characters still sound the same. This is a one in a million show where the characters grow and get older yet they still sound like they're 12, except for Gaara here. His voice is much deeper because Mr. O'Brien probably realized that his character is now 17 years old and is a respectable leader and not a 12 year old psychopath anymore. I salute you Mr. O'Brien, I salute you.
For Free Fighting, there are several modes such as single or team battle, Survive, Tournement and the return of Training Mode which is awesome since the gameplay is slightly different. I haven't spent much time here except to test try Hashirama Senju because I'm a Madara Uchiha fan. Fuck you and your wood jutsu.
There are more collectibles here and you get to buy titles, yay. I defeated all 11 Storylines but that just doesn't get you half the collectibles. Not by a long shot which made me feel as if I played Story Mode for no freaking reason. Story Mode however is good for ryo. Anyone else notice that Zetsu is yet again forgotten in this game? Poor Zetsu.
All in all, it is a fun game to play and the anime scenes that haven't come out in English yet are very good so I give this game 4 stars. I spent $59 on this game, I'm keeping it for that reason alone. You can defeat this game in a day.
Tell me your experience with the game and if you are stuck on a battle in story mode.
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Caligula 1979
The movie by Gore Vidal and Tinto Brass. I never seen it in it's entirety but I have seen clips from it. I like Malcolm McDowell's voice, he kind of sounds like Dr. Muraki from Descendants of Darkness, and from what I have seen of it, I think he did well for playing a mad man. Like David Tennant as Doctor Who and Bartie Crouch Jr. I'd like to see the rest of it now. My only problem is that it looks more like a play than a movie, the Harem of Monsters and Imperial Bordello scenes....felt and looked like they were on a stage rather than a built set. Needless to say that the props looked completely fake but it's the performance that is important.
I know people have issues with the rampant sexuality in it but I have an issue with every movie I watch there is more naked women than men. So yeah....it's unfair and shut up about it. Hollywood isn't going to change. Sex is so natural and is actually healthy for you (still everyone should be safe) and it's a shame we now live in a world where we are demonized for our choice of partners and is made to feel ashamed for it.
I think people when watching this should try to actually educate themselves and learn a little bit more about who Caligula was because there's nothing an actor can do that can be captured on camera that will even come close to the atrocities he committed in real life. We all know the inaccurate/accurate history of Julius Caesar, Augustus Caesar, Caligula and Nero (the Julian-Claudius Dynasty) through film (for everything the Romans accomplished, their eras aren't actually taught well in schools. Seeing how we use their alphabet, you'd think they'd get a little more credit) but I actually rather see something about Trajan, the Emperor from Hispania. He was brutal, bloody, fair and good. But I have a feeling that the monotheistic oppressive overlords don't want to admit that pagan leaders were good just as much as they were capable of evil.
Then, for some reason, Youtube recommended me the videos for Total War: Rome II. I don't play military games but I watched the live action trailer for the game anyway and it was done surprisingly well. You can watch the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKglskMfyWA
I wished there was some sort of narration to the trailer but the cinematography was done well nevertheless. Looked like it would have been a good movie, better than Pompeii anyway. So the trailer inspired me to write something while listening/watching random clips of Caligula because the full streams I found had terrible audio and the streams with good audio was either in Spanish or had actor commentary on it. So an excerpt from what I wrote, again no title.
It hadn't been going well since the younger Emperor's son met his Athenian relations. The men of his mother's family had been trying to fill his head with nonsense of Athenian pride. So much pride did them after Rome helped to crush them along with their allies. Not even the ever war hungry Spartans could be moved to help their fellow Grecians.
Alecto didn't like what his maternal family had been telling him, they were conflicting the boy and he did not need that. Not when there were older heirs for the throne who would see Aries as a rival when he came into his manhood just the same they would see the child as a threat whenever Alecto died. He feared, that without his co-Emperor and elder brother, Saturn, his two nephews would turn feral on him.
If they didn't fear him and Octavio, his paternal cousin, but then again, without Saturn, Octavio could become an enemy all too well. He was going to set things straight for his son as gently as the boy could understand, he was young still, only seven years old and had grown up living on Palatine in a villa, what did he know of betrayal?
His own father had began his career in the Senate at a young age and spurred it in his youngest son, it was the Senate they were leaving now, walking in step with one another. Alecto was old, there was no denying that but his brother was older and there was no denying that either, while his brother had been favored in his youth, Alecto had come to power only a short decade ago when he returned from his own adventures outside the city and country.
It was only noon, the sun reflected off the white buildings and stone, a trick of architecture to make the insides of said buildings cooler, a trick learned from the Grecians but ah well...he would give credit when credit was due. He wore his Senatorial robes, as he was also Consul, he had been elected by his peers inside the governing body before he made himself and his brother Emperors, naturally no one opposed the two dangerous men.
If they did, they would only be silently removed.
He stopped at the top of the stairs to look down upon the square teeming with the life that made this city great and glorious. "Where were you born?" He asked his son. Aries had been made to listen while inside the Senate but after the meticulous meeting of who would be his superior one day while he trained, Aries made an off comment about a democracy.
A part of the boy wanted to understand the difference between the two governing sanctions but the voice that came out of his lips was condemning at best. Fortunately for him, his father knew that Aries didn't know enough to appreciate the reasons why a republic was better and since he was still a child, he was easily influenced by the adults in his life. Aries' grandfather was beginning to become a pain in his ass although he only met the older man twice.
"Rome." Aries answered going no further than his own father.
"And where was your father born?" He asked what seemed like a fruitless question to his son. Did he forget where he was born himself?
"Rome." Aries answered automatically.
"And his father and his father before him?" Alecto kept an eye on the square, following the moves of the guards meant to keep the peace.
"Rome."
"And what is a democracy? What is a republic?" Alecto asked.
"I don't know." Aries admitted.
"So you're equally ignorant of both of them. Have you ever been to Athens?" Finally he looked down at his son, his thick eyebrows pulled closely together but they were so often furrowed, Aries couldn't tell if he was angry. He didn't sound upset or offended but that meant nothing.
"No."
"Do you know anyone from Athens?" Alecto continued, hoping that Aries would draw the right conclusions as he baited the right answers from him.
"You know I do." Aries huffed out a warm breath as he pulled on the front of his tunic, it was a warm day even in the shade.
"What?" Alecto glared at him now but Aries was brave and stupid enough to ignore his expression. He'd chalked that up to youth but the boy needed to learn, he wouldn't be around forever and he had enemies in familiar and unfamiliar places.
Aries choked down a response before listing his relatives that had been relocated to Herculaneum but only as a favor to his wife. He only knew her cousin and had no love for the Athenian merchant. He was more interested in saving the lives of his former quartermaster and the former hoplite who would become his personal assassin and ended up saving them from slavery by taking them as his own slaves during the triumvirate attack on the port city.
It was a ruse of course, the families he had saved were now free in Herculaneum but people and friends they once knew........
"And you've only just met them. They were not here when you were born, they were not here for any injury, sadness nor joy that befell you in your short years. Your loyalty is to your heritage and your heritage is here," he pointed to the square and to various well known landmarks and statues that stood erected testaments to what his heritage had accomplished.
Aries frowned at the gist of his words, he liked his Athenian relatives and their food. He looked away from the glinting trophies of wars passed to look upward at his father. "Does that mean I can't wrestle?" Wrestling was a Greek sport and one not often practiced in Italy.
Alecto rubbed the top of his head as he pulled him to his side. "Of course you can wrestle. You'll be a little Alexander but without blonde hair."
The ancient Romans were very family orientated and believe it or not, had excellent morals and values but all we ever see in fiction and film is the worst of them. All conquerors are brutal, if they weren't, they'd never win their wars but war is war and it doesn't make the soldiers evil in general or when they've return home. Anyone with family serving in the military knows that. I've included a link for anyone to read and or discover what ancient Roman virtues were. Don't demonize the past because without the past, you'd have no future.
Roman Virtues
I know people have issues with the rampant sexuality in it but I have an issue with every movie I watch there is more naked women than men. So yeah....it's unfair and shut up about it. Hollywood isn't going to change. Sex is so natural and is actually healthy for you (still everyone should be safe) and it's a shame we now live in a world where we are demonized for our choice of partners and is made to feel ashamed for it.
I think people when watching this should try to actually educate themselves and learn a little bit more about who Caligula was because there's nothing an actor can do that can be captured on camera that will even come close to the atrocities he committed in real life. We all know the inaccurate/accurate history of Julius Caesar, Augustus Caesar, Caligula and Nero (the Julian-Claudius Dynasty) through film (for everything the Romans accomplished, their eras aren't actually taught well in schools. Seeing how we use their alphabet, you'd think they'd get a little more credit) but I actually rather see something about Trajan, the Emperor from Hispania. He was brutal, bloody, fair and good. But I have a feeling that the monotheistic oppressive overlords don't want to admit that pagan leaders were good just as much as they were capable of evil.
Then, for some reason, Youtube recommended me the videos for Total War: Rome II. I don't play military games but I watched the live action trailer for the game anyway and it was done surprisingly well. You can watch the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKglskMfyWA
I wished there was some sort of narration to the trailer but the cinematography was done well nevertheless. Looked like it would have been a good movie, better than Pompeii anyway. So the trailer inspired me to write something while listening/watching random clips of Caligula because the full streams I found had terrible audio and the streams with good audio was either in Spanish or had actor commentary on it. So an excerpt from what I wrote, again no title.
It hadn't been going well since the younger Emperor's son met his Athenian relations. The men of his mother's family had been trying to fill his head with nonsense of Athenian pride. So much pride did them after Rome helped to crush them along with their allies. Not even the ever war hungry Spartans could be moved to help their fellow Grecians.
Alecto didn't like what his maternal family had been telling him, they were conflicting the boy and he did not need that. Not when there were older heirs for the throne who would see Aries as a rival when he came into his manhood just the same they would see the child as a threat whenever Alecto died. He feared, that without his co-Emperor and elder brother, Saturn, his two nephews would turn feral on him.
If they didn't fear him and Octavio, his paternal cousin, but then again, without Saturn, Octavio could become an enemy all too well. He was going to set things straight for his son as gently as the boy could understand, he was young still, only seven years old and had grown up living on Palatine in a villa, what did he know of betrayal?
His own father had began his career in the Senate at a young age and spurred it in his youngest son, it was the Senate they were leaving now, walking in step with one another. Alecto was old, there was no denying that but his brother was older and there was no denying that either, while his brother had been favored in his youth, Alecto had come to power only a short decade ago when he returned from his own adventures outside the city and country.
It was only noon, the sun reflected off the white buildings and stone, a trick of architecture to make the insides of said buildings cooler, a trick learned from the Grecians but ah well...he would give credit when credit was due. He wore his Senatorial robes, as he was also Consul, he had been elected by his peers inside the governing body before he made himself and his brother Emperors, naturally no one opposed the two dangerous men.
If they did, they would only be silently removed.
He stopped at the top of the stairs to look down upon the square teeming with the life that made this city great and glorious. "Where were you born?" He asked his son. Aries had been made to listen while inside the Senate but after the meticulous meeting of who would be his superior one day while he trained, Aries made an off comment about a democracy.
A part of the boy wanted to understand the difference between the two governing sanctions but the voice that came out of his lips was condemning at best. Fortunately for him, his father knew that Aries didn't know enough to appreciate the reasons why a republic was better and since he was still a child, he was easily influenced by the adults in his life. Aries' grandfather was beginning to become a pain in his ass although he only met the older man twice.
"Rome." Aries answered going no further than his own father.
"And where was your father born?" He asked what seemed like a fruitless question to his son. Did he forget where he was born himself?
"Rome." Aries answered automatically.
"And his father and his father before him?" Alecto kept an eye on the square, following the moves of the guards meant to keep the peace.
"Rome."
"And what is a democracy? What is a republic?" Alecto asked.
"I don't know." Aries admitted.
"So you're equally ignorant of both of them. Have you ever been to Athens?" Finally he looked down at his son, his thick eyebrows pulled closely together but they were so often furrowed, Aries couldn't tell if he was angry. He didn't sound upset or offended but that meant nothing.
"No."
"Do you know anyone from Athens?" Alecto continued, hoping that Aries would draw the right conclusions as he baited the right answers from him.
"You know I do." Aries huffed out a warm breath as he pulled on the front of his tunic, it was a warm day even in the shade.
"What?" Alecto glared at him now but Aries was brave and stupid enough to ignore his expression. He'd chalked that up to youth but the boy needed to learn, he wouldn't be around forever and he had enemies in familiar and unfamiliar places.
Aries choked down a response before listing his relatives that had been relocated to Herculaneum but only as a favor to his wife. He only knew her cousin and had no love for the Athenian merchant. He was more interested in saving the lives of his former quartermaster and the former hoplite who would become his personal assassin and ended up saving them from slavery by taking them as his own slaves during the triumvirate attack on the port city.
It was a ruse of course, the families he had saved were now free in Herculaneum but people and friends they once knew........
"And you've only just met them. They were not here when you were born, they were not here for any injury, sadness nor joy that befell you in your short years. Your loyalty is to your heritage and your heritage is here," he pointed to the square and to various well known landmarks and statues that stood erected testaments to what his heritage had accomplished.
Aries frowned at the gist of his words, he liked his Athenian relatives and their food. He looked away from the glinting trophies of wars passed to look upward at his father. "Does that mean I can't wrestle?" Wrestling was a Greek sport and one not often practiced in Italy.
Alecto rubbed the top of his head as he pulled him to his side. "Of course you can wrestle. You'll be a little Alexander but without blonde hair."
The ancient Romans were very family orientated and believe it or not, had excellent morals and values but all we ever see in fiction and film is the worst of them. All conquerors are brutal, if they weren't, they'd never win their wars but war is war and it doesn't make the soldiers evil in general or when they've return home. Anyone with family serving in the military knows that. I've included a link for anyone to read and or discover what ancient Roman virtues were. Don't demonize the past because without the past, you'd have no future.
Roman Virtues
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)