Thursday, April 26, 2018

Why Bit.Trip Presents: Runner 2 Future Legend of Rhythm Alien is one of my favourite games



Hey hey folks, and welcome to episode 8 of Dave’s Favourite Games. This time around, Bit.Trip Presents: Runner 2. Future Legend of Rhythm Alien. I’m just going to call it Runner 2 from this point forward. Before we get to the game, I want to quickly talk about the Dave’s Favourite Games series. It doesn’t feel like it has its own identity yet and over the last year, I’ve felt it’s morphed into Dave’s Critiques but with games I love. Moving forward, the series will still cover games I love, but will focus on just what I love about them, instead of being critical of their faults. This is a place to celebrate the games covered. I’ll do my best not to spoil too much for those who haven’t played the game, in the hopes that they might want to play it for themselves. Ok, let’s continue.

One reason I looked forward to 2018 is that my 5 year rule would end for Runner 2. If you’ve watched my episode on Flower, you might remember that I feel a period of 5 years has to pass before any game can get on my favourites list. It has to withstand the test of time. I have thought about and replayed Runner 2 a few times since its release in 2013. Not only is it now eligible for me to make a video on it, but the timing couldn’t be better seeing that Runner 3 is released on May 22nd (if there are no delays).

Seeing that I’m trying to focus only on the positives, Runner 2 is a wonderful game for this approach. It has a goofy irreverence. There is a dedicated dance button to use as your character runs through the stage, increasing your score. Each character has different dance moves, and the characters include an upright pickle and a Hamburger with limbs in a disco suit. He’s my favourite. His name is Whetfart Cheeseborger. Many levels contain treasure chests that unlock costumes. Want to see Commandgirl Video in 80s gear? Captain Video in his nancy blueboy suit? Commander Video as Little Mac? There’s some wonderful costumes, and the final unlock is spectacular. Don’t worry, I won’t ruin it for you. Oh and the narrator is Charles Martinet, the voice of Mario. I didn’t need to look him up in the credits either. He lets you know.

Before I get too carried away, it’s probably best that I explain how the game works. Runner 2, like Bit.Trip Runner before it, is a rhythmic platformer. The levels start with a simple tune. Each stage has these pulsing red blocks that add to the complexity of the music when collected, but most importantly, all the obstacles are timed to this rhythm. As you jump, slide, kick, deflect and bounce, your actions create a musical soundscape, and if you’ve collected every piece of gold, the stage will culminate in firing a cannon into a target for extra points. It sounds a little odd, so what I’m going to do is show you an early level start to finish to demonstrate how things work.

Looks great huh. Another aspect I love is that most of the game is a player motivated challenge that feels essential to the core idea of what the game actually is. You don’t have to unlock Commander Video’s friends and their costumes, but it feels like you’re going against the spirit of the game if you don’t. You don’t have to collect all the gold in each stage, but it feels like you’re going against the spirit of the game if you don’t at least try. You don’t have to select the tough paths when you have a choice in a level, but then how are you going to collect all the costumes, unlock the other stages, and feel accomplished for rising to the challenge? So much of the game is optional, but aside from the cartridge levels which I personally don’t care for, I feel that everything else is required to enjoy my playthrough. I need more friends, I need all the costumes, I need to beat every stage, and I want to try my hardest to collect all the gold in every run.

Unlike most games I play, I find that Runner 2 is effortlessly able to get me into a flow state. Each stage has its own mini-flow with an easy start, rising action, and triumphant finish. What this does is create a larger wave of riding inside the flow state. Each time I loaded up the game it took about a level to get back into the swing of things, but from that point on I was a part of the game. I was able to know exactly what button to press and when, not only from the visuals of the incoming obstacles, not only from their place in the sound landscape, but from my own intuition. There were only a couple points in the whole game where this state was broken by my confusion about what the game wanted from me, and once this confusion was overcome, it was back to the joy of Commander Video’s adventure.

Let’s end by asking the overall question. Why is Bit.Trip Presents: Runner 2 Future Legend of Rhythm Alien one of my favourite games? Few video games give me such a feeling of joy and accomplishment as I’m playing them. Not an accomplishment that I’ve slammed myself at a difficult challenge and been able to overcome it, but an accomplishment that I’m enjoying every moment of playing a video game. That I am able to handle anything that the game is throwing at me, because the game’s design is facilitating the state I need to be in to do so. I am perpetually engaged. I also appreciate how Runner 2 knows how light and goofy it is, and it takes every opportunity to revel in this goofiness. We need more overtly positive games. Hopefully the upcoming Runner 3 can keep this trend going.

Thanks for watching. If you enjoyed this video, please like, comment, share, and subscribe, and I hope you’re having a wonderful day

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