Crossopholis Reviews: Dragon Quest Series

tl;dr: I'm going to review all of the Dragon Quest games. Hold on to your butts.

The longer version, plus a childhood story: As part of a recent urge to write more, I've decided to review what is quite possibly my favorite role playing video game series (yes, I did have to specify the "video game" bit): Dragon Quest. I say possibly because I have not actually played all of the games the series has to offer. Since its release, the Gameboy Color remake of Dragon Warrior/Quest III has been one of my all-time favorite video games (third only to Mega Man X and Donkey Kong Country 2). I remember wandering into an old Movie Gallery when I was a wee lad with my mom and seeing the game on one of those rotating displace racks for $20 new. Being the typical 11-year-old that I was, I thought the cover looked fucking amazing, and I really wanted to have it. Alas, I had no money, and my mom would hear none of it. It seemed I was destined never to experience the title's glorious, hidden wonders...

Pictured above: my childhood dreams, just out of reach.

Then fate stepped in and bitch-slapped destiny.

A few weeks had passed since my fateful first encounter with that triumphant cover promising heroism and adventure. At that time, adjacent to the aforementioned Movie Gallery was a Food Lion. Generally, I would tag along with my mom while she bought groceries and be bored all the while, but this time something magical happened. This time I found a $20 bill lying on the ground as we were leaving. As if sent from the gods themselves! I pointed the heavenly gift out to my mother who, being the kind woman she always is, snatched that shit from my hands and immediately lingered in the store longer to see if anyone looked like they were freaking out because they lost some money. When none did, I convinced her to go next door to the Movie Gallery and the rest is history.

I spent many hours playing Dragon Warrior 3, often hurting my neck as I attempted to find nice lighting for those damned backlight-less GBCs. It was amazing. From the personality test in the beginning, to the ability to create your own party of adventurers, I was hopelessly hooked. Additionally, if bought new, the game comes with a map that players can use to help find towns and such while exploring the overworld.

Years later, I played a bit of the Dragon Quest Monster games and eventually bought and played through Dragon Quest VIII on PS2 and Dragon Quest IX on DS (both are awesome). After recently buying and playing through most of the GBC remake of Dragon Warrior I+II, I've decided I'm going to go back and fully review each main game in the series. I plan on being extremely thorough with these reviews (non-spoiler unless otherwise noted), and, as I've hinted at earlier, many of the games I will be playing through for the first time; as a result, I can't promise they'll all come out quick, but they will pop up semi-regularly between random posts as I finish playing each game. Afterwards, I may go back and review some of the spin-off titles. We shall see...

Random morning thought.

You know, I can’t even count the number of times I’ve heard or read from people that the stuff that goes through their minds would freak me out, and I’ve thought the same about my own thoughts on many occasions. I’ve come to the conclusion that there’s a vast underestimation of just how pleasantly insane we all actually are.

The greatest movie trilogy.

I wasn't in the best of moods today, so I decided to sit back and enjoy the greatest trilogy that's out there. Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings have nothing on the cinematic masterpiece that is... 

Welcome to Night Vale

This podcast has been posted in a lot of places recently, and a friend of mine got me hooked the other day:
http://podbay.fm/show/536258179

If you're unfamiliar with Welcome to Night Vale, it is a comedic podcast with Lovecraftian horror elements thrown in and released twice a month.  The series is told from the perspective of a radio host broadcasting the current events of the fictional town "Night Vale."

Whether new or familiar to podcasts, I highly recommend checking this one out. If you're into weird and dark humor, Welcome to Night Vale may be right up your alley.

Regarding technology and the younger generation...

I felt the desire to make another post about language recently. Nothing quite as philosophical as the last, but something on my mind nonetheless. Apologies to those who don't find this kind of thing interesting. Anyway, my thoughts here come in response to a post I read on a (admittedly politically-charged) news site. In a nutshell, the article expressed a sentiment that, really, could be applied well beyond language and has been around all my life: the all-too-common view that some older people express which essentially states younger generations are damning the world. 

The idea in the post was that technology, particularly smartphones and texting, is destroying the younger generation's notions of correct spelling and grammatical usage. 

Here's the thing, though: this problem has existed well before the emergence of smartphones and widespread internet use. It's almost as if, at a certain age, many people in America just stop caring about the intricacies of the language.

This isn't a young vs. old comparison, either. I've tutored countless people in their 50s, 60s, and 70s who claimed to have excellent grammatical skills but just "couldn't understand why their English professors were all so nit-picky." You know, with "silly" little things like subject-verb agreement and fragmented sentences. I even had one older guy tell me once that "English didn't work that way when I was in school" to defend his comma splicing problem.

That said, I'll be one of the first to admit that there are certainly outdated and arbitrary rules within the English language today, and I don't take grammar quite as seriously as most of the people I know. I'm simply noting that, based on my own experiences as a mere observer and tutor, technology is certainly changing the ball field, but whether or not it is worsening the language as a whole has yet to be seen.

A word is worth a thousand pictures?

I wanted to write, briefly, on what I perceive as a vast underestimation of the impact language has had on the world around us by the general populous. A quick google search or two will tell you just how overlooked language is in the eyes of the public. The widespread usage of the wheel, agriculture, and electricity seem to consistently rate as the most important developments in mankind's history.

Here's the thing, though: without a common form of communication, a group does not have lasting organization. Without organization, there is no adoption of agriculture, inventing of the wheel or harnessing of electricity. There is very little knowledge passed down at all. It is language, above all else, that separates humanity from animals. One only needs to consider that every human tribe with any sort of culture that has ever existed, no matter how remote, has some form of communication responsible for holding them together.

Further, though it may be difficult, stop for a second and imagine the human thought process without any form of language. Imagine trying to have the thoughts currently going through your mind without words. Go ahead. Right now. I'll wait.

Are you done? I don't know about you, but it's not an easy thing for me to do.

Next, pretend you are in the wild with a small, dialect-less group, and, for the first time ever, you come across a delicious red apple. Hesitantly, you decide to bite into the strange object and are delighted. You're now able to remember the color, taste and emotional response provided by taking that bite, but the only means you have of sharing such an experience is by physically gesturing to those nearby, pointing at the apples, and eating more. Now let's pretend you've simply never tried or seen an apple before in your life, but you speak one or more languages. Though you've never seen a picture of one, others have told you what apples look and taste like. Consequently, without fear one day, you pick up an apple and eat it knowing full well its characteristics in advance. This example may seem like an obvious triviality for most, but think of the gravity of what has occurred here; people in your past have successfully managed to alter your perception and expectations of the world by making sounds at you.

This trend continues onward to the point where sometimes language can incite emotional responses that would otherwise not even exist. For instance, if someone calls another person ugly or makes fun of his or her personal outlook of the world, then the provoked individual will likely react in some way. The very fact that this kind of thing can even occur should blow your mind. Why? Again, such a reaction occurred simply and only because one person made sounds at another. The person feeling bad or angry for being verbally insulted has changed their own thought process based on noises emitted from a foreign entity. That's no small feat. That's the equivalent of mind control.

Let's try a more complex and emotional example, now. Say you're in the wild, again without language, and you have a mate. While you were off hunting and gathering food for the day, your mate has had some afternoon fun with a nearby tree-neighbor. You return, notice something is up and become emotionally distraught upon discovering (maybe through subtle body signals) what has transpired. Without any way of expressing your understandably conflicted feelings, perhaps you shout, throw a stone pot, or storm off. Regardless, do you know what you're not doing? Organizing your inner feelings in your head with linear thoughts or expressing such emotions aloud to your mate in an understandable manner.

To put things even more in perspective, these words I am writing now would be impossible to express without my knowledge of English. Likewise, any emotions or thoughts that you, the reader, happen to experience while reading this are only possible because you can understand my writing. Language forms ideas where there would otherwise be none, promoting organization, communication, and development. The more able an individual can distinguish and express their thoughts, the more they can understand and act upon the reality around them. An unfortunate or interesting side effect, however, is that, just as if people that existed in the wild without words would be limited in their ability to express certain thoughts and emotions, people with language are all similarly ignorant of their own thought potential. All humans, regardless of what language or languages they happen to speak, are governed by the specific set of rules that organizes their language(s). For instance, I happen to speak English, so my thoughts are governed by English's own organization and structure. A person that speaks only French or Japanese or German, or even all three, would similarly be limited. As a result, think of the potentially limitless thoughts and emotions that we'll never experience simply because the languages we speak prevent us from attaining them.

This is the staggering power language has on humanity. Greater than religion, greater than electricity, greater than war, greater than agriculture. Language is our superpower.

As a final point, if you happen to disagree with anything I have said, just remember that your reaction, whatever it may be, is based on the fact that you've been staring, idly in front of a screen, at otherwise incomprehensible and irrelevant scribbles for as long as it took you to read this.

I was going to make another post about religion...

I was going to make a post about why people dwell so much on the origin of life and humanity, but then I saw this video and figured I'd save it for later.

Separating the past from present.

For an arguably more trivial topic: ever have those moments where you want to watch, read or do something but can't because it reminds you of something or someone else? Every once in a while I'll come across a book or movie, maybe one I haven't seen or don't remember, and absolutely refuse to experience it. Why? Because it reminds me of an aspect of my past that I don't like.

My most recent example is absurdly simple: Harry Potter. Here's the thing, I like the series. Though I never read all of the books, I remember greatly enjoying the ones I had. Though I haven't seen all of the movies, I've likewise enjoyed the ones I've watched. The problem? I want to bring myself to read/watch them again in their entirety but can't. Every time I think about watching the movies, I am reminded of a girl I used to date. And that thought alone keeps me from watching them again.

What I find strange, though, is that I don't regret the memories I have with that person, nor do I "hate" her in any regard. In fact, she isn't someone I've thought or cared about in years. For whatever reason, though, those memories are just ones that I do not wish to be reminded of. I definitely wasn't as happy with my life back then as I am now, so maybe I'm just afraid to remember what I was like back then? Or maybe I just don't want to catch myself thinking about a person not in my life anymore? I'm not sure, but I do know that my case isn't necessarily isolated. Occasionally I'll talk to a friend who will give the same excuse for not wanting to watch or read something I've suggested to them; either it reminds them of a time in their life in which they were unhappy, or it reminds them of someone they'd rather not think about.

In my case, the thought has crossed my mind that if I were to watch the movies again, freshly, I would create a new experience separate from my past. Even still, I wonder what causes such strange reactions within people; how seemingly irrelevant or outdated memories can have such powerful impacts on the present. How many things in my life will I miss out on because an aspect of my past dissuades me from experiencing them?

Scientific progress as an objective good?

I've been mulling this idea around in my head for a few days now after visiting my brother fairly recently. We were discussing the age-old topic of religion when he had me watch this presentation by Neil Tyson concerning the detrimental role religion, more specifically intelligent design, can have upon scientific progress when called upon. The mild debate we were having regarding this matter was never fated to get very heated. My brother, at least now, classifies himself mostly as an atheist and, to the best of my knowledge, believes religion to be outright detrimental to the human race as a whole. As for myself, I align more towards an agnostic atheistic school of thought; in essence, I also do not believe in the existence of a personal god yet simultaneously do not discount the possibility for others, nor do I believe religion holds any absolute detriment to mankind. As a result, even if we weren't on the same page, we were most assuredly within the same book.

While I've heard the usual claims that without religion there would be less conflict, dissonance, etc. in the world, I've never heard a compelling, quantifiable argument against religion itself. Not really, anyway. In the video, however, Tyson argues that intelligent design should be taught in the classroom as an example of what not to do. He makes a very cohesive point concerning the dangers of enacting intelligent design by bringing up countless thinkers that have been limited in their discoveries due to the idea that only God was capable of solving certain problems (i.e.- enacting intelligent design). Tyson's point is that the so-called "unsolvable" problems were then solved by other mere mortals at later points in time.

The most interesting example Tyson brings up by far, however, is the case of medieval Islam roughly 1,000 years ago when Hamid al-Ghazali essentially claimed many scientific discoveries as sacrilegious in nature. Religion in this case basically halted all scientific progress. Halted human intellectual development.

My brother at least felt that this served as a good example of the overall negative impact religion can have. Indeed, I found Tyson's argument to be equally convincing against religion, but a thought that I can't quite separate myself from is the objective good of human progress. In Tyson's case, he was arguing against religion in relation to scientific discovery. In that regard, I agree wholeheartedly: intelligent design, by its very nature, most assuredly limits discovery. Where I'm not so sure is if that is inherently negative or not. Happiness, for me, is the most important aspect of humanity given that it doesn't forcibly encroach on another individual's happiness (which admittedly is sometimes impossible). While religion may indeed halt scientific progress, if that is what the majority of people desire who is anyone to say that a halting of said progress is, objectively, a bad thing? Like religion can sometimes give people inner peace and happiness, scientific progress can sometimes cure diseases, extend lifespans, and encourage discovery. However, just as religion can fuel conflict and strife, scientific progress can create environmental destruction and devastating weaponry. In the long run, who knows which is more detrimental than the other? I certainly do not.