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| Mosquiton 1329th Post
 
Red Carpet Executive Member
   
    
    
    
|  "To Pollyanna"
, posted Tue 31 Aug 10:34
Enough of hijacking the Sega thread... I wanted to speak to you (Pollyanna) in particular about Dororo's story.
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Hmmm...how can I say this? It's not that I'm concerned that it follows the manga or not, because I know it doesn't. Or, that is to say, no pictures I've seen of it look even remotely like the manga (or any scenes in it) at all. Really, what happens, or how Hyakkimaru gets his body parts back is pretty arbitrary, as long as it follows the initial setup of the manga...it's nothing but short stories anyway.
The problem is I'm not familiar with the manga... but the game's story seems have a classic manga feel. I got the feeling that the episodes could be adaptations of the comic...
The first episode is called 'Yudai'. A village watched over by a sickly woman whom the villagers believe to be an angel. However, they all suffer terribly and a demon continually steals their money. There's a very strange, big-headed troll ringing a bell involved...
Another chapter, 'Dragon Brood', is about a demon sword that craves blood. A man who owns the sword and his sister are the main characters. The sister plays a part in the story later on.
There's also a major character named Saburota, a plot involving a corrupt magistrate who can't stop eating rice, and a thought provoking plot twist toward involving the prophecy Hyakkimaru heard in the temple.
Any of this sound familiar?
Whether or not it's actually Tezuka's story, I found it to be involving and even touching... though like most action video games there's a certain division between the gameplay and the story (certain game conventions follow their own set of logic).
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So really, in terms of plot, as long as it's well written, I'll be happy...it's just that it doesn't match the "feel" of the manga in terms of style at all. I always felt like Dororo had to be a huge inspiration for Berserk...but when it actually LOOKS like Berserk, then I'm not interested anymore.
Well, human characters seem to have a certain something in their faces that reminds me of an older style, and the voice acting makes a good honest effort. Everyone in the cast can actually pronounce Dororo quite well, which must have taken serious effort. About the 'feel'...
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I remember when I first read the manga and I saw that Hyakkimaru had sword arms, I rolled my eyes and said "that's the stupidest thing I've ever seen", but when he said "Take a good look at my eyes" to Dororo and they popped out of his head, then I totally changed my opinion. I don't suppose he looks any different with his doll parts than he does with his human ones, does he? That's something I've always hoped for.
There is an early scene involving an artificial eye...
Spoiler (Highlight to view) -
Hyakkimaru kills the demon 'Homunculus' and regains one of his eyes, with the artificial eye rolling out onto the ground. He tells Dororo to pick it up and take a look at it, then asks if he's scared. Up until this point you saw the game in black and white, now it's in color.
End of Spoiler
Does he look different as he regains body parts? There are nice looking CG movies when you regain a major body part and see the transformation, but in-game there's usually no cosmetic difference... with the notable exception of Hyakki's arms. In a lot of cases you will 'feel' a difference, though... which is the coolest part of the game.
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| Pollyanna 470th Post
Gold Customer
|  "Re(1):To Pollyanna"
, posted Tue 31 Aug 13:56
Well, the first chapter you mentioned is indeed just like the manga, and the sword chapter as well. I don't remember Sabutora, but I also don't remember anyone but Dororo and Hyakkimaru's names (since they all go away fast enough). What does he look like? What's his place in the plot? You aren't talking about Hyakkimaru's foster father, are you? He looks just like Sarutahiko from Hi no Tori. (Tezuka recycles characters in all his stories) Don't worry about spoilers...I've read the manga from beginning to end.
Of course, it's going to be quite different in some ways, as the first half of the first book of the manga is devoted to backstory. (Hyakkimaru's father, his foster father, the person who taught him swordplay). When you discover that Hyakkimaru's body parts are fake, it's after he rescues Dororo from some thugs and a minor muck monster.
Anyway, I'll certainly have to check the game out and hope the trend for Tezuka games continues into Nanairo Inko. I'd REALLY love a Kingdom Hearts-style Tezuka game, though. I think that would make me cry. That's why I was really pleased to see a lot of cameos in both the PS2 and GBA Astroboy games.
AH, I don't suppose very many people have read Dororo, since it was made in the 60's, doesn't look like what people are used to in "manga" and isn't available in English. If you can hunt down the first volume, I highly recommend it, though. The other volumes are all right, but the first is one of the best volumes of manga I've read.
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| Pollyanna 471th Post
Gold Customer
| "Re(1):To Pollyanna" , posted Tue 31 Aug 13:56
Well, the first chapter you mentioned is indeed just like the manga, and the sword chapter as well. I don't remember Sabutora, but I also don't remember anyone but Dororo and Hyakkimaru's names (since they all go away fast enough). What does he look like? What's his place in the plot? You aren't talking about Hyakkimaru's foster father, are you? He looks just like Sarutahiko from Hi no Tori. (Tezuka recycles characters in all his stories) Don't worry about spoilers...I've read the manga from beginning to end.
Of course, it's going to be quite different in some ways, as the first half of the first book of the manga is devoted to backstory. (Hyakkimaru's father, his foster father, the person who taught him swordplay). When you discover that Hyakkimaru's body parts are fake, it's after he rescues Dororo from some thugs and a minor muck monster.
Anyway, I'll certainly have to check the game out and hope the trend for Tezuka games continues into Nanairo Inko. I'd REALLY love a Kingdom Hearts-style Tezuka game, though. I think that would make me cry. That's why I was really pleased to see a lot of cameos in both the PS2 and GBA Astroboy games.
AH, I don't suppose very many people have read Dororo, since it was made in the 60's, doesn't look like what people are used to in "manga" and isn't available in English. If you can hunt down the first volume, I highly recommend it, though. The other volumes are all right, but the first is one of the best volumes of manga I've read.
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