Not much is known about the past of the Grand Inquisitor, the leader of the Force users serving Darth Vader and The Emperor. It is known that he was a Jedi, specifically a Jedi Temple Guard from Coruscant. How he survived Order 66 isn't known, nor is how he became one of the cruelest and violent figures of the Imperial era. The Grand Inquisitor chose to die in a battle with Kanan Jarrus rather than survive the loss and face the wrath of Darth Va
It does something that a remake or remaster can never do. No matter how much Mass Effect Legendary Edition or Spyro Reignited may look like how we remember them, they’ll never be able to capture the experience of playing games as a kid. Revisiting classics through remasters and remakes definitely induces nostalgia, and they have the power to trigger all manner of memories and feelings from the past, but a fresh coat of paint just isn’t enough to truly bring me back. Resident Evil 4 VR, despite it being a completely different format, has moved me in ways a normal remake never could. This game makes me regress, and from talking to other people and watching streamers play it, it seems to be doing the same thing to everyone that grew up with Leon’s Spanish advent
Catra from She-Ra and The Princesses of Power and Amity Blight from The Owl House also change their hairstyles to serve their character development, whether that be accepting their own sexuality and leaving behind oppressive familial structures or welcoming those who once pushed you away and putting aside a toxic life of villainy. Once again, these are all female characters confronting a heteronormative society and fighting back against it, even if said worlds are fantastical in nature and far more eccentric than our own. If done right, characters can still be grounded and relatable, as their struggles become ones we can sympathise with. It’s beautiful, so perhaps there’s a reason this tried-and-true trope has so much staying power in modern media.
The Bad Batch opens with the end of the Jedi in the waning moments of the Clone Wars. It also provides a very different take on a scene from canon Star Wars comics : the escape of Caleb Dume from the clones. Caleb Dume and his master Depa Bilaba are fighting on the planet Kaller against Separatist forces when the Bad Batch comes in to lend a hand. Right as the fighting winds down, Order 66 is given. Dume goes on to be Kanan Jarrus, a major figure in the early Rebellion and one of the lead Mario side characters in Star Wars: Rebe
RE4VR doesn’t function like a remake or remaster at all. When I play it, it's a way of experiencing something I’m intimately familiar with. It’s somewhere between nostalgia and deja vu - like going somewhere you’ve only been in your dreams. When I’m fully immersed in a VR game, it's the closest I ever get to that childhood feeling of getting totally lost in a game, and the familiarity of RE4 makes that even more profound. I know every inch of this game, yet somehow I’m also seeing it all for the first t
Hyrule is safe once more, but so much was lost to acquire even a semblance of peace. Now, Zelda must emerge from the ruins of destruction and build something from the wreckage. It’s a heartbreaking conclusion to her destiny, and Zelda is left with so much emotional and physical baggage that it’s easier just to cut it all away - this detachment has been presented in a rather literal sense with her new hairstyle.
RE4 isn’t the first game to get a VR remake, but it is the first to really capitalize on the nostalgia potential. Skyrim VR, No Man’s Sky, and LA Noire VR are all modified - and in some ways, compromised - versions of modern games, but RE4VR is entirely modernized and enhanced by VR. This isn’t just an alternate way to play RE4, it’s the best way to play it in 2
One of the first anti-RPGs to come out that was woefully underappreciated for its time, people can see why Earthbound has such a cult following that continues to grow even now. The idea of controlling children in the modern setting who fight run-of-the-mill may not sound all that engaging but is a huge part of why Earthbound has such a dedicated fanb
_ Resident Evil 4 _ is so narratively inconsequential that Capcom remaking the game before _ Code Veronica _ might be the studio’s way of fixing the franchise’s overall plot. Who’s to say _ Resident Evil 4 _ won’t make its own narrative changes? It’s possible the game won’t flash forward, won’t dissolve Umbrella, and might actually serve as set up for _ Code Veronica
Female characters parting with their hair has been a deliberate sign of growing maturity in media for decades, a changed appearance highlighting that women are willing to leave behind everything in service of something greater. Mulan is the most popular example, with the titular character cutting her gorgeous hair to join the army and assist her ignorant father. It's the opposite of Zelda’s situation - instead of pulling herself away from the royal family, Mulan is doing everything she can to preserve it. But the core motivation remains the same: these are two women who realise a sacrifice must be made, even if it means altering their appearance and walking away from a life of security.
