Game Review: Shining Tears

In a post not too long ago, I discussed the game Final Fantasy Adventure and what I enjoyed about it.  One aspect was the fact that, unlike many modern "traditional" RPG games, you aren't paired up with a squad or team of characters to take into battle.  Instead, there is simply the "main" character, and whichever other one (1) character you take with you.  This allowed for continuously changing strategies, as your plan when you were paired with a healer was much different than when you were paired with a character who did best with ranged attacks, or someone who flew into combat with daggers.  Sometimes you had to be the artillery, sometimes you had to be the medic, but the game play never got stagnant.

I also lamented that these styles of games have faded out of favor.  However, I forgot a series (specifically, one game) that I love and still play now and again.  I haven't much else in the series (though I want to), so I don't know if the tradition continued, but for now I'll just discuss the one I have.

So without further ado, it's time for Shining Tears.

I'm going to start out with the coolest part of this game for me, in that, except for the character-specific side stories, you run a two person team.  The game has a Plot Device known as the "Twin Dragon Rings" that grant great power to the wearers.  The main character, Xion, has both of them but also starts out the game with amnesia because it's a Japanese game and main characters always have memory loss of some kind.

However, a neat feature is that Xion's personality changes depending on which other character he gives a ring to (which you do to boost them in combat).  When Xion has both rings, he's a kind, if unsure character.  If your teammate is a kind, caring character, Xion's personality becomes more brash and antagonistic, but if your teammate is darker or rougher, Xion becomes gentler.  It's a bit like a permanent "yin/yang" cycle that happens between the characters, and that's great.  It allows for a bit more customization, and if you prefer your character's mindset to be a certain way, it changes how you pick which teammate you take into battle with you.

Now, this game still has some of the standard Japanese flavors that come with most of their video games.  Very few characters look like they're older than 20.  There's big eyes and pointy hair all over the place, and the costumes look completely impractical for any real world use.  But since that's like complaining that "there's always water involved whenever I go to the beach" you tend to look past all of it.  It also has a cat girl, but again, that's like adding "plus, I hate sandals."

The game also has eight separate endings, based entirely upon which character you have the best "relationship" with.  This typically means you spent the most time with that character, not that you're trying to buy presents for giant dragon-men and writing his name in your high school notebooks with hearts around it.  ...you could do that, I guess, if you're into that, but just...keep it to yourself, okay?  It's not part of the core game.

Combat has an interesting linking system, where you can combo attacks between two characters.  Certain battles I was able to pick off individual villains by luring them into place to perform such attacks without fear of being destroyed by that enemy's allies immediately, other times I found it frustrating when I wanted to deliver a powerful attack to something and things just kept not working out right.  However, like many games I play, it never got to the point where I turned off the system in anger or gave up.

Shining Tears is a solid game, one that I think got passed over a lot by people when it first came out.  I've held onto my copy for years now, and any time I'm tired of open world or huge CG moments in modern games (which can and does happen), this tends to be one of the ones I toss it for a bit of positive nostalgia, not the "I remember this game being so much better than it is now" nostalgia.  If you find a copy, pick it up.  I say it's worth it.

Influences: The Nostalgia Critic

People have asked me, "Erik, who are your influences?  Who inspired you to take on the task of writing to the masses, being one lone voice in the night, someone who will shout out when things are overlooked, forgotten, or simply need to be stomped on until they stop moving?  An <shameless twitter handle plug> Erik at the Gates </shameless plug>, if you will?"

...okay, nobody asked me exactly that.  And maybe it was just one person who asked.  Well, it's not someone you know.  ...or is real.  ...but it could happen!

That's not important.  What is important is the whole purpose of this blog is to look at things that might be discounted by a large number of people, or to ponder the things that most people don't want to ponder (mental note for later, ponder which comic book characters would be most fun to play Shadowrun with...where was I?  Oh, right), I suppose one of the big things that's overlooked is my influences.  Who inspires me to try to write?  To try to be funny?  To prove to myself that, for as long as I can, I should just get ideas out there?

Well, that's the point of yet another article series called "Influences."  I'll look at the individuals who have motivated me, directly or indirectly, and who have inspired me to put myself out in the world where I can be regarded, considered, and either accepted or rejected.

So let's start with the one who just had a major announcement recently.  Let's start with Doug Walker.

This isn't the most flattering one, but it was the first image on Google.  I'm probably lucky it wasn't porn.

Doug Walker is the primary face behind (in front of?) ThatGuyWithTheGlasses.com, a website name so brilliant, I want to punch my past self for not thinking of it first.  He's done sketches and bits for different programs on the site, and each one is unique and hilarious in its own right.  Video Game Confessions has the dry, observational humor from Dominic the bartender.  Ask That Guy is like any advice column, except for the answers frequently not being connected to the question or spiraling off to bizarre tangents.  Then there's the Nostalgia Critic.

This character, a man who looks back at cartoons, movies, and (in a few examples) video games of our collective childhoods isn't a new idea.  There are more websites out there going "Hey, remember this?  Remember how it sucked/ruled/was completely forgettable?" than I could possibly count (this one included, in many ways).  But what Doug Walker brought was a personality that thrived in the presence of bad films, with a keen eye and attention to research and detail that kept them as interesting as they were funny.

...unless you counted the number of times he misspelled his own name in the credits, but even that became part of the joke as he acknowledged his screw-ups in a few special episodes.

There's one thing that becomes very clear as you watch episodes of this program.  Doug Walker loves film.  He loves the craftsmanship, he loves the camera techniques, he loves lighting, set design, special effects, sound editing, the entire package.  You could easily picture him watching an awards show screaming that X should never have won "Best Production Design" over Y.  I don't even know what "Best Production Design" even means.

Most episodes, at initial inspection, seem to focus on the same formula:  Start watching bad show/movie, comment on particular aspect of bad show/movie, create a joke that sometimes carries over to other episodes, summarize why show/movie is bad.   But there's more.  It's almost never the same aspect of the medium that he focuses on from episode to episode.  A movie that has excellent acting might fall flat with its story.  Another might have a great story, but animation might be poorly done.  Another might be a mind-blowingly great visual to look at, but they bring in the wrong actors to be in it.  Perhaps it's just lighting, maybe it's editing, perhaps there's just a general theme that runs through the movie that's unpleasant.  Doug is able to dissect each film, distill down the unpleasantness to its purest explanation, and present it to us in a way that makes you both laugh and then think about how good the movie could be if those details were fixed.

It's also not always episodes involving things that are bad.  Before anybody thinks he must be a complete cinema snob (that's another guy), there are times he'll spotlight movies that might not be great, but that he has a special soft spot for.  Maybe the movie's just fun, or it has some great lines or one or two scenes so over the top you can't help but love it, he'll also distill any joy you can get from a film and highlight it.  He'll even go over things that were loved, like with his massive interview with several major individuals from Animaniacs, and detail how expertly they were crafted.

He manages this with the same precision and skill you'd expect from an expert in another field, be it a doctor diagnosing a medical issue or an architect laying out a complete set of blueprints with everything important highlighted.  His humor keeps it from being too serious, and the respect he has for the medium keeps it from just being silly.

Now, a while ago, during one of the multiple anniversary series he's done for the site (along with a ridiculous cast of friends and coworkers), he retired this character.  I'll admit, I was disappointed, as watching the newest review was a highlight of my Wednesday.  However, just the other day he announced that the Critic will be coming back, just perhaps not as full time as before to avoid burn-out.  Needless to say, I was very excited.

But, to get back to the point of this article, I still have to explain how he influenced me.  Now, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't tempted to grow similar facial hair sometimes.  In writing and presenting my ideas, however, Doug Walker helped me look deeper at things I liked, whether it was a major media production or simply a toy I kept from my childhood.  He made me recognize that I should look at themes that carry over from not just directors or actors doing multiple films, but also producers and writers.  He helped me be able to sit back and compare and contrast different aspects of a remake of a movie to a classic version to understand why I liked one better than the other (my comparison of the Judge Dredd movies is an homage to his "Old Vs. New" series).

I learned that there's nothing wrong with calling out something when you have a problem with it, and that there's no shame in later admitting when you might be wrong.  You don't have to be afraid of offending people when you present your opinion, because it really is your opinion.  As long as you don't tell other people "you can't like this," nobody should be able to criticize you for having independent thought from them.

There are many aspects of his work that I've picked up over time, blending it into my own style in the hopes of having something new and fresh.  Those of you who already know the site can probably see these, but those who haven't should certainly go back and look at his archive of videos.  It's an amazing list of productions, some of which I never knew existed, and he gives each one quality time in his analysis.

Perhaps, one day, once I establish myself enough with this blog, I could perhaps contribute something (an article, an idea, or maybe even a voice) to him and the rest of Channel Awesome.  It would feel great to provide someone I respect as much as I do with even the smallest contribution, to be able to point and say "that's great because of him, but I take pride in the sense that I helped."  For now, I'll just try to continue this blog as best I can, and, in the words of the Nostalgia Critic, "remember it so you don't have to."

Ask Erik: Episode 3

Every week we take your questions and run them through the gamut of tests, evaluations, and research projects to come up with the perfect answer, backed with science and opinion (mostly opinion)!

Keep sending those questions, I'm still dreading looking forward to finally being able to answer any and all questions about the miniseries "JLA: Act of God" and how it sucks takes an interesting idea and kills it implements it terribly.

So, without further ado:

To Erik: Huntress or Green Arrow, who wins?

All right, then!  A basic battle question, the sort of which engages liveliest of debates and the silliest of fist fights in comic books.  One based solely on preference and utilizing examples of character behavior derived from moments of being the protagonist of a story (which, in layman's terms means "they can do what they need to do to suit the story").

What could possibly go wrong?

Now, I know this question stems from the new CW TV series Arrow, and I'm going to give my opinion of it and Smallville thusly:  having a show on the CW is a blessing and a curse, because you introduce new people to an original telling of a character, but the story is often not very good.  I genuinely hope nobody asks me to pitch several CW superhero shows, because I'll have to figure out which characters I like enough to have their own TV series, but ones I think deserve stories that usually involve at least one visit per week to a dance club.

Now, there are several ways to approach this kind of debate.  Is it a simple knock-down, drag-out fight?  Is it an open world hunt, where the contestants stalk each other through a smoky urban landscape?  Maybe a cage match in a wrestling ring, best two out of three pins?

Or I could just have them both sit down and see who wins a game of horse.


So before I decide who wins, it's time to look at the contestants.  One is a revenge-fueled mafia princess who used to fight crime with a bare navel, and the other is an archer who sees no problem in the richest man in town and a vigilante having the same ridiculous facial hair.  Let's break it down!

Backgrounds:

Helena Bertinelli, The Huntress, underwent her own Batmanesque journey in life when she witnessed her parents murder.  She traveled around the world, studied under various masters of combat, and for some reason thought that a handheld crossbow was the way to take revenge on criminals (my guess is that Frank Castle took all the guns).

Oliver Queen, on the other hand, was the spoiled brat of people with more money than taste who drunkenly fell overboard On his own yacht, washed up on the island the new Tomb Raider game is based on, and learned to fight criminals with a bow and arrow set.  Afterwards, he returned to his home city and spent his money on a lot of silly stuff to make him a Batman clone (an Arrow-car and Arrow Signal, I kid you not) before finally realizing his niche and becoming the best archer on his world.

He also has a son who went by the same name, but while Connor Hawke might be a better martial artist, Ollie is a better archer, and I'm going to go with the original here.

No points are awarded for best background, but it's important to know who's in the match.

Martial Arts:


Martial arts are tricky in comic book universes.  Besides a few who are quite simply "the best of the best," most fighters fall into a gray area that varies form writer to writer.  So, the way I figure we should judge this is look at who trained them.

Starting with Green Arrow, I'll admit to little knowledge of his martial arts training.  Mostly, I think he goes with a more classic brawling style, but I do remember he was trained for one (1) year by Natas, the same man who trained Deathstroke the Terminator, one of the deadliest assassins in the DC comics universe (unless he has to fight Aquaman).

Huntress, meanwhile spent her key formative years training for battle in back alleys and slums, and also studied technique under Richard Dragon, a martial artist so awesome that his mere presence makes some of the deadliest Chinese assassins who live suddenly discover the joys of religion and western languages.

She also once managed to fight Lady Shiva, the deadliest fighter who exists in the DC universe.  She lost, but she managed to last a few minutes and didn't die instantly.  That's about as good as you can hope against her.

In martial prowess, I give it to Huntress.

Archery:

This one is going to be rather easy.  One of the two of these is a skilled enough archer that he was able to hit a target one mile down a cleft in a cliff side.  The other...well, isn't.  Plus, Huntress would have one other handicap.  When Green Arrow shoots someone with a bow and arrow (unless you count some recent years story lines that are complete garbage, and I don't), he never hits a vital spot.  Huntress, up until her time with the Birds of Prey, didn't always care that much.  And unless she believes Ollie is a serious threat that needs to be taken down by any means necessary, she'll need that microsecond more to make sure she doesn't hit anything vital.

In this category, I give it to Ollie.

Versatility:

Huntress tends to be a rather single note hero.  She does best against common criminals, mobsters, and martial artists.  If you put her up against characters with actual super-powers, she tends to struggle a lot more.  Green Arrow, having been a long-serving member on the Justice League, has faced threats from guys who ride around on flying playing cards, intergalactic conquerors, and giant alien starfish.

But in a one-in-one, that might not apply so much...unless you count Ollie's weapons.  He doesn't just shoot point-tipped arrows like Huntress does, he has gimmicks that make Batman look simple.  He has handcuff arrows, boomerang arrows, sonic attack arrows, net arrows, boxing glove arrows, and who could forget the fire extinguisher arrow?

Plus, Ollie cheats.  Whether on a tropical island or in a city, if Ollie knows he has to face somebody who would be a genuine challenge for him, he won't hesitate to work the environment as best he can.  Huntress can expect rigged smoke bombs, tripwires, and other traps to keep her off balance.

So, from this, I'd rule in favor of Ollie taking the fight.  While Huntress would apply a better foot to his face, her major problem is getting close enough to apply it.  But Ollie would undoubtedly be gracious, and knowing his character, I wouldn't be surprised if he put the moves on her immediately after the fight.

The round goes to Ollie!  I mean, it's not like there's another character out there named "The Huntress" who would stand a better chance against him, right?

Because if you're going to use a picture, and Adam Hughes is a choice, then of COURSE you use it.

Oh right, the original Huntress (ignoring the one from the Golden Age who was a villain not at all connected to this character), Helena Wayne.  The daughter of Batman and Catwoman, trained by both parents to be a superb athlete, the version that's back now in the Earth 2 series currently published by DC Comics was also the original Robin to her father's Batman.

So, let's see...training under one of the best martial artists there was?  Check.  Training in stealth from the man who can sneak up on Superman and the premiere cat burglar of her universe?  Check.  Adaptability?  Well, Helena was a member of the Justice Society for years, and frequently went on adventures with Power Girl, her earth's version of Supergirl.  Being able to keep up with threats that challenge a kryptonian means you're doing something right.

So yeah, Ollie might take down the mafia daughter, but in this one I'm definitely giving the battle to Batman's Daughter.

Pending Posts

Hey folks, I've got a lot of posts that I'm fine tuning and tweaking, but I didn't want a day to go by without having something here.  So for this post I'm doing a preview of upcoming subjects.

Video game reviews of Lollipop Chainsaw, Bulletwitch, and a few classics!

More Reviewing is Magic episodes, including a battle with a dragon, a mysterious sickness that creates the most insane moments I've ever seen, and a swarm of locust-like creatures.  Awesome.

Looks at more classic video game covers that you wish you could forget.

My countdown of the top 11 characters with accents in comics and animation.

And of course, more Ask Erik columns, answering your questions!

Reviewing is Magic: Episode 6

There is no shame in confessing that, up until this episode, I thought all of the adventure was gone from this show.  I mean, I had heard rumors of things the main characters would face, but after this many episodes where the main lesson seemed to be repeating "be good to your friends" (and one episode where the moral was Wil Wheaton's law), I had given up on the insane adventure theme and dire threats from the first two episodes happening again.

And then Twilight Sparkle defeated a bear made of outer space.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Something that's easy to forget, in these first few episodes, is that Twilight Sparkle is, for all intents and purposes, a foreign exchange student.  She is in Ponyville to learn about friendship, yes, but she is still first and foremost studying magic.  This is why her name is Twilight Sparkle and not Awkwardia McMakingfriends.  That and it doesn't roll off the tongue as well.

We start the episode with Twilight Sparkle and Spike deep in the study of magic, with Twilight learning what might be the most awesome thing you could ever do with a cosmic force that a cosmic being uses to make the sun rise:

Giving creatures mustaches.  That is a glorious 'stache that Spike is rocking there, one I can only assume is titled The Bruce McGill.

And of course, Spike's immediate thought is that he can use it to make Rarity fall in love with him.  And sadly, the rest of the episode is not about Spike trying to hit on Rarity while looking like an extra from Animal House, but instead moves on to the arrival of- oh wait, first we're introduced to the two worst characters ever.

Meet Snips and Snails.  Every episode that has them pop up is like biting into a nice lasagna, until you realize the meat you're tasting is someone's thumb.  They are the one constant reminder that this show was originally meant for young girls, as we all know you can't get away with naming a character "puppy dog tails" without ticking off pet lovers.  Also, having a character named "Snails" who acts like he's mentally slow is rather offensive.  It's not the worst character to have that name, I'll give them that much.

Oh god, I just know someone's going to "Ask Erik" me about that movie now.

Anyway, all of the citizens of Ponyville are excited because there's a new pony in town, and apparently this new pony has one hell of a PR agent, because everybody is already claiming that this new pony (that nobody has seen before or heard of before) has the most magical power anybody has ever seen.

So yeah, this is Trixie, and I think she's great.  Up until this point, the only pony characters we've seen be mean are Nightmare Moon and....well, that's about it.  Gilda wasn't a pony, so it's to have a villain for an episode who is so over the top in her behavior, she's one castle and lightning storm from saying "I'll show them all!"

Trixie is fully serious about her act, though, and this is the other thing I love about Trixie.  For all her posturing and claims that she's defeated terrible creatures and saved the day, she never takes on the role of a dastardly villain.  She rolls into town, essentially announces she's better than everyone, and then sits around for a while before moving on.  She doesn't demand money, she doesn't destroy anything or steal anything using her act as her cover, and she doesn't really endanger anyone's life, she just acts like the embodiment of the opposite of Wil Wheaton's law.

Now, Twilight has the right idea during this, but for the wrong reasons.  Twilighht is afraid that if she were to try and beat Trixie at her own game, it would be showing off even worse than Trixie is, and everyone would hate her as much as they hate Trixie,  She and the rest should just ignore Trixie, let her boast, and then she'll move on, but Trixie's dares to very pony present to try to prove themselves get Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity to all step up.  Trixie is amazing here, because each one of the native ponies perform stunts that are simply amazing and her response is to just humiliate them and not even try to duplicate their stunts.  Amazing.


So the show's worst characters are completely fascinated by Trixie, and can't stop singing her praises, especially about how Trixie claims she once defeated an "Ursa Major."  Spike points out there's no proof and that nobody around saw Trixie do it, so Snips and Snails...well, they do the stupidest thing ever.

They go wake up an Ursa Major and lure it back to Ponyville.

I will now present to you one of the most badass monster designs I've seen in ages.

I mean, damn.  Everything about that bear screams "terrifying.". Its size, it's design, the fact you can see through it, leaving you wondering if it really is made up of star stuff...it's a great threat, and one that I've been waiting to see.

Here's my second favorite Trixie moment,  in that when the two worst characters on the show try to coax her to defeat the Ursa "so they can watch" and "it took a lot of trouble to lure it there" Trixie again doesn't act like a stereotypical villain.  Me?  I would've magically lifted those two idiots up with magic and tossed them into the bear's mouth, cause that kind of stupid shouldn't breed.

Instead, Trixie tries to beat up the bear, single-han- hoofedly?  Anyway, this is great, since she knows she's full of it but still gives it her best shot.  Granted, her best shot does nothing, but hey, there was always a chance it would suffer cardiac arrest or spontaneous combustion or something.

Twilight arrives, Trixie confesses her false boasting, and the TWC start to realize that things just got real, and the Twilight steps up to bat.

Now, I'm not going to spoil what Twilight does, but I am going to show you just how much magical power she's putting out.  Keep in mind that, up until this point, lifting every apple at once from all those trees in the apple bucking episode required just a small amount of sparkle around Twilight's horn.  Let's see what she's doing now.

Again.  Damn.

So the Ursa is vanquished, Ponyville is saved, and we learn two important lessons.  One, your talents are part of who you are, and you shouldn't hide them just because you're afraid of looking like you're showing off.  Two, well, the twist involving the Ursa Major is cool enough that I won't spoil it.

Now, the show ends with one great moment and a scene that proves that there is no justice in Ponyville.  The great moment is that Trixie gets one more boast about her awesomeness out before she straight up "ninja smoke bombs" her escape.

 The part that disappointed me?  Well, watch for yourself and see the punishment that Snips and Snails get.

I wish those two would get turned into glue.  I really do.

The Good:

Where do I begin?  The Ursa Major is one of the best designs for a monster I've ever seen, and the animators did a great job with it.  Trixie is one of my favorite characters on the show, and seems like she could easily come back to be a recurring arch-nemesis, one driven more and more mad by her inability to destroy Reed Richards show up Twilight Sparkle.  All of the ponies also get a great moment, but the story really does make us pause and wonder how much power "Princess Celestia's favorite student" actually has.

The Bad:

Snips and Snails.  Thinking of ways to express how much better the show would be without them strains my ability to not make explicit swearing part of this blog.  The voices do perfectly capture just how obnoxious and self-interested they are, but that's like saying the stench perfectly captures the emotion behind what you just stepped in.  I comment that Trixie is a great villain, but in this episode it's Snips and Snails who seem to be the real villains.  It's because of them lives are put in danger.

Overall:

Still one of my favorite episodes, this is the one that got me to look into the show in the first place.  I heard the phrase "a bear made of outer space" and knew I had to investigate.  And now that I've seen it, I can't wait for more, because this lived up to and surpassed all of my expectations.

So, uh, what's next?  An episode about flower arranging, or a hidden moral about jealousy when it comes to competing musical instruments?

What's that?  They fight a dragon?

This show amazes me on every level.

Comic Spotlight: Batman: Going Sane

I like comic books.

Phew, it's good to get that off my chest.  Keeping that secret buried has haunted me, keeping me awake at nights and making me pull away from those close to me.  Thankfully, I think I kept it hidden well enough that nobody noticed up until now.  I mean, sure, the signs were there, but I think that only in hindsight will people realize it was always there.

But back to the point, I like comic books, and I particularly like great comic books.  Now, a "great" comic book can mean a lot of things.  It can be an in-depth analysis of a character, something that we can compare to our own strengths and flaws to see what kind of person we are.  It could be a metaphor for an aspect of society, or simply a careful analysis of how people who are blessed with means beyond normal people can function in today's society.  Sometimes it's just Nikola Tesla's robot fighting a (supposedly) time-traveling dinosaur.

Man, Atomic Robo's a great book.

Anyway.  Today I'm going to spotlight a look at one of Batman's greatest villains.  The Joker has been portrayed a multitude of ways in all sorts of media, from a bumbling goofball with elaborate deathtraps, a crime boss who just robs things with a clown motif, a psychopath willing to murder people just to see if anybody gets the joke, and a complete and total anarchist, as in the movie The Dark Knight.

And soon I'm going to tell you all why everybody who thinks the Joker was the embodiment of randomness and chaos in that movie was flat-out wrong.  But that's for another day.

Right now, we're going to stick with the "homicidal" aspect of the Joker, and see what happens when he gets the one thing he truly wants: the death of Batman.  I present: Going Sane.

Now, I'm not going to spoil the book, because it's worth reading on its own grounds, but I'll lay out the basic premise.  The Joker is up to another high-profile crime (seriously, the guy never does anything with subtlety, even stealing some kid's report card to make him cry.)  Batman confronts him and things go horribly wrong.  The Joker kills Batman, dumps his body in a river...and has no purpose anymore.  After all, as the book says, "It's a role I've been playing to keep the audience amused.  But the audience is gone now.  The theater's empty.  And I don't have to play anymore."

Now, I don't have the image here to share, but if you do read this, watch the font of the thought boxes on the pages of this comic.  The transition from the Joker's usual hen-scratched thoughts to smooth font is both startling and scary, we're not sure if we're watching a man completely lose it, or actually manage to get his thoughts together.

The book does a great job of portraying Batman and the Joker as the ultimate enemies, as long as one exists, the other also has to be.  In this instance, the book suddenly turns into a magazine following Joseph Kerr as he tries to make a life for himself, meets a woman, and falls in love, all while still having nightmare of two terrible figures haunting him.

It's a book that examines a fine line between sanity and insanity for this character, and there are some truly heartbreaking moments, such as watching "Joseph" attempt to smile, not like a lunatic, but as a normal person would, trying to keep that other side of him pushed down.

Now, of course Batman does come back, which of course means the Joker needs to come back as well.  The book manages to detail the lives both Batman and the Joker could have if they just put away their ridiculous costumes and toys and simply rejoined society, but as long as both parties live (and one knows the other is alive), the cycle never ends.

But it's that length of time between these meetings that are the most fascinating, and make this a truly great book to pick up.  I have the collected edition as well as the individual comics (one is for reading, one is for stashing away), and I suggest anybody who likes a good look into the mind of a psychopath (especially one that makes you feel bad for said psycho) give it a try.

I'll even loan you my reading copy if you want.  What have you got to lose?

Bite-Sized Reviews: Kinder Bueno

Any time I travel, I make it a point to explore the various foods that are available in a region.  In Arizona I watched for ingredients and flavors I couldn't get in, say, Maine, Ireland, or Italy.  Overseas, of course, you're going to explore the local cuisine, but there's one thing that I always love to do when I go into a grocery store:

Hit the snack and candy section.

I'll go into more detail later about how I used to binge on ice cream bonbons in Sweden like a drug addict, or my exploration of the different types of gummy candies in Europe, but for now I'm going to spotlight one that is now carried here in the United States, since I found it at a Walgreens in California.

I present the only candy I know with a name both German and Spanish: the Kinder Bueno.

Let me start by pointing out that I love chocolate mixed with hazelnuts.  I keep a jar of Nutella at work and at home, and I indulge now and again with some Italian Baci candies.  However, the treat I found in Italy when I was there were these chocolate bars, and I immediately felt them call to me.

Now, the first thing to remember is that this bar is actually made by Ferrero, maker of those little golden wrapped hazelnut chocolate balls that are only advertised as belonging to the swankiest parties.  Odds are they know their hazelnut.

What makes this treat different from every other hazelnut treat I've had is that this isn't just hazelnut blended into chocolate or sprinkled throughout.  Instead, this is a hazelnut cream-filled wafer with a chocolate coating.  Doesn't that sound luxurious?

The bar is also segmented, and when you break off a piece, hazelnut cream doesn't leak out everywhere, but when you bite into it, your tongue will get a tasty coating of flavor.  It has a nice crunch to it with the wafer, and the chocolate is consistently creamy.

This is one of my favorite candy bars on the market, and I need to find a local Walgreens to see if they carry it nationally, or if that one shop was just special.  Otherwise, looks like I might have to hit up Amazon.