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https://www.essence.com/lifestyle/travel/weekend-escapes-nyc/
New York may be the city that never sleeps — but sometimes, that’s exactly what you need to do for a little R&R.
With New York City (almost) back up and running following the global coronavirus pandemic, recharging in a remote locale is the self-care you may not know you need. Thankfully, there are plenty of options, all within driving distance of the Big Apple, and they’re all short on time, but big on fun, excitement and adventure.
So if you’re looking to escape sometime in the near future, here are a few options that are within 6 hours or less, making for the perfect road trip for family, friends or even lovers.
The post Best Weekend Escapes Within Driving Distance of New York City appeared first on Essence.
Back in Fashion
In the eccentric library of the Nintendo DS, The World Ends With You was singularly unique. At the time, the 2008 handheld-only JRPG from Square-Enix shared more in common with the style of Atlus’ Persona games than SE’s own flagship Final Fantasy series. That style tied deeply into the game’s characters and setting, based in the fashion-forward Shibuya district of Tokyo, Japan. A sense of curiosity around the game’s signature design has earned it a small but devoted fan following.
With the announcement of an anime adaptation coming in 2021, TWEWY gets an opportunity to draw even more interest to its 10th anniversary re-release on the Switch. It’s a second chance for the cult favorite one-off to make the jump to broader recognition. A second chance is all Neku Sakuraba wants. TWEWY begins with the teenaged protagonist awakening in the famous Shibuya Scramble crosswalk.
Run all you want, there’s no escaping your Kingdom Hearts crossover.
Invisible to nearly everyone around him, Neku must partner with Shiki, a young girl he’s never met. The streets of Shibuya have become a maze of death separated from everyday life, where both kids are harried by monsters called ‘Noise’ at every turn. Only by surviving these minions and their ‘Reaper’ masters can Neku and Shiki hope to return to the real world. Their struggle to escape the ‘UG’ (Underground) of alternate Shibuya will lay bare the secrets that brought them into these circumstances.
Off the Rack
The anime-ready tale unfolds in a visual novel format flavored by the unmistakable art of character designer Tetsuya Nomura. Running through the districts of ‘the UG,’ Shibuya’s alternate dimension, looks better than ever on a big screen. The result is what feels like a Jet Set Radio homage by way of Kingdom Hearts. Instead of skating around styling on public spaces and cops, though, the bulk of play is spent silencing the phantom Noise plaguing Shibuya.
When the Switch is docked, player control shifts to the Joycon for use as a Wiimote. An option to reset the cursor when it goes off-target is readily available, but players are better off swiping and tapping enemies in handheld mode. Whatever the player’s preference, mastering TWEWY’s pin system is the key to combat. Individual spells that Neku can call upon in battle are reduced to collectible pins, associated with the different trending brands in Shibuya’s various regions.
“To fight graffiti, we created graffiti of our own.” cue Pacific Rim theme
These can be won through combat or bought from brand-name stores, selling pins alongside the latest fashions (the RPG equivalent of equipment). Pins can level up and evolve but gain more effectiveness in areas where they are en vogue. Fighting enough battles in a given area will cause the brands the player uses to gain more popularity. It’s a clever way of keeping fashion in mind even during the heat of battle.
Wack Market
In addition to the clever marriage of mechanics and themes throughout the game, TWEWY is made for portable, intermittent play. The difficulty can be adjusted between to reap increased rewards or lower the frustration in encounters. When logging back in after not actively playing the game, pins can be leveled with up to 7-days worth of experience from your absence. One can only wonder what modern RPGs would look like if they had been willing to take lessons from the systems here.
So, for an RPG that respects one’s time as much as The World Ends With You, it’s a shame that the game seems incapable of respecting anything about Black culture despite how heavily it relies on it. Fashion as we know it is literally an industry built upon repurposing and reselling other cultures, but the Japanese street style on display here is glaringly devoid of any brown or Black faces beyond ‘ganguro girl’-style tans. From the ‘Bling’ onomatopoeia that comes up when collecting pins at the end of a battle to the design of the cast, it’s more of a wearying disappointment than a surprise.
Beat’s character design is ‘a living forum post about how ‘Eminem is the G.O.A.T.’
Considering the teeth-grindingly annoying stereotype of characters like Beat (a character that’s best described as every teenage white boy that listens to rap shoved into a skull beanie), perhaps it’s best the story goes no further than referencing Shibuya’s alternate dimension as ‘the Underground.’ Choices like Neku and company only becoming visible to the ‘real world’ in places where they spend money seem like accidental commentary on the game itself: like Blackness, the player only shows up as a commodity. Stripped of the gameplay that makes this worth revisiting, The World Ends With You’s eventual anime will have little more to bring than dated-sounding noise.
7.75 Out Of 10 Collectible Pins
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The post ‘The World Ends With You: Final Remix’ Drops The Beat appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.
Writer: Al Ewing / Artist: Valerio Schiti / Marvel Comics
Well, Empyre certainly escalated quickly and hasn’t seemed to slow down at all. The premise was set up pretty quickly and executed with an action heavy approach. Though Issue #4 can’t lay claim to the “action heavy” part as much as those before it, but the intensity is still there.
The Avengers and the Fantastic Four are managing the chaos from different sides of the war. It’s not quite as accessible as earlier issues, and it’s very clear that there are moments that are specifically tasked with compelling you to buy the tie-ins. And the script is more likely to give you a mention of a tie-in event than a teaser via flashback panel, so there’s a little more telling than showing….something this event has excelled at up to this point. However, #4 still does a pretty good job of keeping the story moving while still offering some “Holy Sh**” revelations.
One of the particularly interesting moments is the dynamic between Reed Richards and Tony Stark. Ewing does a pretty effective job of contrasting their drastically different thought processes and approaches to science while highlighting Iron Man feeling betrayed and outsmarted. Valerio Schiti’s artwork is meant to be fawned over endlessly. I’m pretty sure just about every page had a panel that I wish had been a splash page because the level of attention to detail and eye for epic moments deserved that much spotlight. The Skrull Queen’s poses and facial features were like a homage to that kooky Golden Age era of comics where the villains were just mischievous goofballs that were having the time of their lives being a wrench in the machine.
Bottom Line: Although this wasn’t quite as “jump right in” accessible as those before it, the dynamics between the characters, the reveals, and the general fun I’m having with this book are still a decent tradeoff. A solid book still absolutely worth the coin.
8 Clobbering Times out of 10
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The post Empyre #4 Review appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.
Here’s what we reviewed in comics this week that you might want to check out:
Batman #96
The issue starts off with Batman chasing down Mr. Freeze, who apparently has twins now, and using a satellite to send alerts to pedestrians to get out of the way. (Super cool touch, by the way). Then we see Bruce get back to the Batcave only to be greeted by Alfred, reveal some distinguished patches of grey hair, and look over a peaceful Gotham City.
Captain America #21
First off, I appreciate a slow burn as much as the next guy, but this book didn’t seem to progress the story much further from the obligatory “story so far” synopsis on the credits page. I’m pretty sure I downloaded my 32-GB Call of Duty update at faster speeds than this story moves.
Die #12
But Die #12 is herald of things to come, the turning point where the split party is positioned to collide and confront each other now that they have explored and grown in their own ways. Now that they have reconciled with their personal (and maybe a little more) little demons in… what is probably best described as a spectrum of healthy ways.
Empyre #4
The Avengers and the Fantastic Four are managing the chaos from different sides of the war. It’s not quite as accessible as earlier issues, and it’s very clear that there are moments that are specifically tasked with compelling you to buy the tie-ins. And the script is more likely to give you a mention of a tie-in event than a teaser via flashback panel, so there’s a little more telling than showing….something this event has excelled at up to this point.
Far Sector #7
In her current adventures, she’s investigating a series of murders on a planer where biological life and artificial life coexist. Issue #7 picks up with her battling a series of artificial beings who have taken over the (dead) bodies of local citizens to control fighting suits of armor.
The Terrifics #29
Issue #29 of The Terrifics plays out as if Greg Berlanti produced an episode of Succession. With the cast of all the Arrowverse shows. ‘Crisis On Infinite Boardrooms’. The A-plot follows the aftermath of the death of billionaire businessman Simon Stagg. His prodigal son returns to stake his claim in the family’s legacy after being shipped off to boarding school in the dark and twisted Gotham City.
Vampire: The Masquerade #1
I myself have never played The Masquerade, but I have plenty of experience with other games that utilize the Storyteller system (a d10-centric paradigm) including Prothemean: the Created, Geist: The Sin-Eaters, and Scion. All of this to say is that my biggest piece of praise that I have for Vampire: The Masquerade #1 is that it makes me want to get another core rulebook.
Also from Last Week
Decorum #3
This is an issue dedicated to fleshing out the relationship between Imogen and Neha. This is a third issue decidedly slowing down the tempo to reinforce the foundation of the series, this concept of a polite assassin. This idea of being lawful in a chaotic world. This principle of holding oneself to an impossibly high standard and getting strength from that.
What books did you check out this week that we didn’t cover? Hit us in the comments or on our social media!
Want to see what else we’ve reviewed? Check out our previous Pulls.
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The post The Pull – 08/05/2020: (Forced) Back to School Comics appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.