Atlus Should Make Catherine Games for Smartphones and Tablets July 27, 2020

Catherine remains one of my favorite games of all time due to its unique art style and mature story while its base gameplay has been keeping me on edge every single night since Catherine: Full Body was released on Nintendo Switch. I loved playing the game on the Xbox 360 and the PS3 back when it launched in 2011, but I have to admit I may be enjoying it even more on the Nintendo Switch due to the portable/television nature of the platform. With the extreme popularity of modern mobile devices (including Android/iOS smartphones and tablets) and the record-breaking profits modern mobile games making due to that install base, why doesn’t Atlus release a Catherine game on mobiles?

I know that title is a huge proclamation but you gotta hear me out. I’m not saying Atlus should make a Catherine sequel for mobile devices. A full sequel would be better served on something like the PS5, Nintendo Switch or Xbox Series X. What I am saying is that Catherine’s addictive block climbing gameplay and even its story beats, if properly adjusted, could work really well on a mobile device like the iPhone. There’s more than enough processing power in a modern smartphone or tablet to replicate Catherine’s graphics and art style, and modern touch screens offer infinite possibilities for control. As for the game’s story (if they wanted to include one), there are tons of possible ways to present it. I want to break down my ideas for a portable Catherine game, and I hope that if I can paint a picture as to how it could work, would make you ask to play it yourself.

Before we get started, I would like to make my opinions on something quite clear. It would be critically pointless for me to write an article about a game made specifically for smart devices in today’s day and age unless I addressed the elephant in the room, microtransactions. Microtransactions have been implemented in smart device games for over a decade, and are considered today’s main source of income for mobile game developers. Old-school gamers like me would call them a plague. If Atlus was to release a game for the mobile market, especially something that features Catherine’s puzzle-based gameplay, in theory nothing would stop them making it a microtransaction-filled game that would probably lock content behind arbitrary timers. If that happens, honestly, I wouldn’t want to play it and even if I did, I wouldn’t spend a single dime on any in-app purchases. That’s because I’m against the use of microtransactions due to the fact that by definition, a game that revolved around it would be entirely dependent on Atlus’s continuous financial support. The second Atlus chose to end their support for the game, the game would cease working and all the money a user spent in it might as well have been set on fire. Granted, that’s true of all games that feature microtransactions.

If Atlus is going to release a Catherine smartphone game, there are superior methods to sell the game on digital marketplace that will not provoke anger from the gaming public. If they wanted, they could charge up front to buy the game in full, but I believe the better idea would be for them to go the Super Mario Run route and offer the first few levels of the game as a free demo on the marketplace, and provide the ability to unlock the rest of the game as an in-app purchase. Or, if Atlus planned to do an episodic release and add more levels later on, they might be able to get away with charging for individual chunks of levels, with a sale price for a full content unlock. If you remember I was a person who pleaded with Atlus back when Catherine was first released to release new puzzles as DLC back in the day and I think that would be the fairest pay structure gamers would be willing to agree to.

With all that out of the way, let’s talk about gameplay and controls. Catherine’s tight controls are legendary, and if you ask me they were improved a lot in Full Body. So how would gameplay work if adjusted for a smart device? You could use the device’s gyroscopes to adjust your view of the playfield (tilt up to move the camera to look up, tilt right to look right, etc) and swipe to move in several directions. Moving blocks could require pushing and holding your finger on the screen as the block is moved. I’m sure drop timers for the blocks could be extended beyond what they are in the original game to compensate for any potential misswipes, or if they choose to make a Rapunzel-type game, the power levels for maximum moves could be increased. That, is essentially how you could get a Catherine game on a modern mobile device. I designed that control layout over the course of mere minutes, just imagine how much they could be refined if I had given myself more planning time or had actual game development experience.

Now let’s talk about how we could present the game’s story. First off, there’s no requirement that we really have to have one. In fact, if Atlus just wanted to port something in the style of Catherine’s arcade game Super Rapunzel to portable devices they would save having to include a story entirely. However, if Atlus wanted to make a story-driven portable Catherine game, there would be plenty of options for them to present the story to the player.

One would be to offer still images with simple scroll text boxes after the end of every series of puzzles. This would be the simplest option by far. The developers would merely need to create an original high-resolution piece of art for each story beat, and the player could tap through a series of scrolling text boxes. You could have a voice-over for these sections, but I don’t recommend it as most users will click past to skip the sound clip as soon as they finish reading the text. This is not the most elegant way to present a solution, but it would help lower the app’s download size (which would make installing and updating it much quicker).

Another option for story presentation would be to include prerendered in-game cinematics. This would basically mean you would watch preproduced/compressed video files that were rendered on the developer’s computers. This would be a better option than still images. Part of Catherine’s charm was its great cinematics and we know Atlus still has access to the game’s assets. Including full motion video would allow for improved story presentation and could even include character voiceover and subtitles. The downside would be these cinematics would greatly increase download times (although streaming them could be an option it’s not a great one) and video compression would mean image quality won’t hold up well on higher resolution devices.

In my opinion, the best option would be to produce in-game cutscenes. Portable devices have more than enough raw power to replicate Catherine’s signature art style, and it might be more resource efficient to produce in-game assets, environments and textures and have the smart device render them. This could be a better option if the developers wanted to include an in-game voiceover, but text bubbles would be sufficient. This kind of option would not only cut down on file size, it would allow newer devices to scale resolution.

If you’ve read this far I know what you’re asking, how mature a story could we get away with in this day and age? I think the line the game’s developers have already set should work just fine. What would the story be? I would be fine with anything, as long as it followed the same logic as the original games and gave some nods to the original game’s characters. I really have a soft spot for this franchise, and I think it has the potential to be brought to even bigger heights.

Catherine: Full Body is out now for PS4 and Nintendo Switch. Catherine (Classic) is out for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3.

Does Pokémon HOME Mean The End for Pokémon Pass? July 18, 2020

Since the days of offering Mew at Toys ‘R US during the first generation games, there have always been promotional giveaways for Pokémon players tied to going shopping. I love when The Pokémon Company hosts a promotional giveaway. In fact I’ve done countless articles and videos on this site about all the ones I’ve attended. In the more recent era, these promotional events were held at GameStop stores, a game-exclusive retailer who would typically know when they were happening, and successfully distributed promotional items and Mystery Box codes to whoever asked. Then for some reason, The Pokémon Company decided to partner with larger retailers including Target and Wal-Mart for their promotions. To say that this was a failure would be an understatement.

Big stores are big, and it’s much harder to find specific promotions in large stores like Target and Walmart than it is to find them in a store like GameStop. Since Pokémon merchandise can be sold literally anywhere inside a large box retail store (ranging from electronics to toys) it’s a guessing game as to where a Pokémon promotional display could be put up. Also, asking a big box store’s employees about specific promotions the vast majority of their customers would not be aware of is an exercise in pain and futility. Trust me, I speak from experience. As someone who’s had to deal with asking a consistent line of clueless employees about events, I can tell you I am sick to death of receiving weird looks from retail employees who clearly have better things to do than answer my question about promotions their superiors failed to brief them on. For all those reasons, I can’t tell you how frustrating the decision to hold promotions at major retailers were for loyal players. Then Pokémon Pass was released, and it solved all those problems.

Pokémon Pass was everything I could’ve asked for. While it couldn’t help me obtain any physical Pokémon promotional goodies, most of Pokémon’s recent promotions are digital and Pass was able to distribute codes and digital downloads for in-game goodies perfectly. To use Pokémon Pass, all I had to do was install the app on my smartphone, enable GPS, and boot it up while the event was active. As long as it could detect I was physically at the address I was supposed to be, I could obtain the digital promotional code l needed, even if the store hadn’t put up the promotional material and employees weren’t briefed on the events. This was the greatest thing in the freaking world for many reasons. I didn’t have to make searches up and down the large retail stores for a poster or display stand that may or may not have been put up, and I didn’t have to hassle any of the overworked employees who didn’t get briefed about it either. If there was a problem with the codes for any reason, it could even issue me a new one (although there were limits).

Earlier this year, Pokémon HOME was released. This is a badly needed service for players of games like Pokémon Go or Sword/Shield. It’s a cloud-based platform where players can store Pokémon from across multiple Pokémon games. On its surface, HOME seems to include all the features of Pokémon Bank and Pokémon Pass in just one application. The Mystery Gift feature inside Pokémon HOME can use your smart device’s GPS to determine if you’re somewhere a promotional event is happening and award you a gift even if you’re a free user. You would think I would be happy about this, one less application I would need to keep on my phone, but I am not.

As far as I can tell, The Pokémon Company has not used HOME’s method of distribution at this time, but they certainly could start whenever they feel like it. I’m kind of torn about how I feel about this. First off, you have to install Pokémon Home on both your Switch and smart device to obtain a gift through it. That means you can’t currently obtain Mystery Gifts in the Switch version of Home even if you’ve earned one. Second, any Pokémon obtained in Home will stay there unless they get manually transferred to a supported game using the Switch version of the application. This is so much more annoying than simply redeeming a Mystery Gift code in a supported game. I’d rather just put the Pokémon in the game I’m playing, and then transfer it to Pokémon Home later. Home can generate Mystery Gift codes, but only for in-game item distributions and if you’re a free user, Pokémon Home can only hold thirty Pokémon before getting full! Since you absolutely need to transfer Pokémon out of Home as soon as possible anyway, you might as well obtain them in the game.

Here’s my biggest problem with this service, Home’s smart device interface. Unlike Pokémon Pass, Home does not currently give a heads up on the details of upcoming exclusive promotions. Home does have a News feature, but that can get filled with lots of miscellaneous news, including updates for Sword and Shield. With Pass, I could always get a clear heads up when promotions were happening and where I had to go to use them. HOME also doesn’t support photo stickers or digital wallpapers like what is offered in Pass. I really like that feature, and as someone who changes their phone wallpapers regularly (sorry honey), it will mean I’ll need to get that content from other places.

I implore The Pokémon Company to keep supporting Pokémon Pass for the time being. Sadly, since HOME launched, not a single promotion has been offered in Pokémon Pass, although I acknowledge the current worldwide pandemic might be a reason why. Obviously the world is currently in such a state that precludes non-essential travel, but when the world returns to business as usual it would be nice to see more promotions coming for it!

Movies to Binge Watch for Tabletop RPG Players July 1, 2020

It’s Independence Day Weekend, and with venues all over the country still closed due to ongoing safety concerns, many RPG players who play their games on tabletops with pencil and paper will be stuck home unable to resume the games they’ve been playing with their games. So, to kill some time, I’ve been combing through several of the various online streaming services for some films I’ve enjoyed about the subject over the years. I’m going to include a little bit of something for everyone here. Some of these are fictional, some of them are non fictional. None of them, as far as I know, received a major theatrical release.

Just a few notes here. A lot of these movies are made with low budgets, but in my opinion that kind of adds a layer of sincerity to them. All synopsis will include a trailer and a tip as to what online service might be offering it. Honestly this is not a complete list and if there’s any movies you’d like to see in this list post a comment below and I’ll check it out.

Of Dice and Men

This was probably the first fictional film I ever saw that was about Tabletop RPG players so I wanted to talk about it first. This is the story of a DM who has to pull together his players after life and politics causes turning point in their lives. From what I heard, it was based on a play that was originally written for PAX and was adapted to a film. You can find it on Amazon Prime.

Zero Charisma

This was the first RPG-inspired film I had ever heard about but since it had been off certain streaming services for a while. I wasn’t able to watch it myself until recently. This is about people who keep their lives the same for as long as they can. Just a heads up about this one, it has a lead that’s hard to love but a lot of people can relate to him. You can find this on Tubi or Amazon Prime (I’ve also been recently informed it’s on Crackle).

Monster Camp

I have mentioned this documentary a few times when I’ve talked about Live Action Role Playing (LARP) so this is a little something for the LARPer crowd. This documentary goes into great detail about everything that goes into creating a fun LARP, what the players are expected to do, and what kinds of characters end up running it. You can find this on Amazon Prime.

The Dungeon Masters

I first saw this on Hulu many years ago and it’s been floating around streaming services for quite some time. This is more a reality show type documentary about specific gamers and how they deal with their desires to play, and how the game effects their lives. You can watch it on Tubi.

The Dwarvenaut

https://youtu.be/XGFr7yGpqEY

This is a documentary about the life of artist and businessman Stefan Pokorny of the Dwarven Forge. Stefan’s plan is to start a kickstarter for an all-new expansion set. He needs to generate several million dollars to to release the expansion, can he make it? Sadly, this is not a film you can find on any streaming service right now but it’s so good I could not ignore mentioning it. After it got pulled from Netflix in my region I haven’t seen it return to any other service. If you want to check it out, try seeking out a home video release.

My Thoughts on the First Pokemon Presents Stream June 17, 2020

The first Pokémon Presents stream was held this morning and we have a ton of new announcements to go through. It was an incredible way to kick off this new format of video announcements and I’m going to break everything that was said down for you.

1. DLC1, the Isle of Armor is out for Pokémon Sword/Shield and you can play it if you purchase the expansion pass on the eShop.

If you already purchased the Expansion Pass off the eShop just update your game and get back into it. Also update Pokemon Home while you’re at it. I’m loving the first expansion so far, since there’s a lot to do in it with an enormous wild area to explore with tons of classic Pokémon returning. I’ve been throwing my PokéBalls left and right. The issue I see is it’s got a serious level grind (All Wild Pokémon are level 60) and one of the challenges requires you to take a low level Pokémon an level it to at least 70. That said it has fun collectibles although those Diglett are near impossible to find in some areas.

2. Pokemon Smile is out free for iOS/Android devices.

It’s free so there’s no reason not to at least test it out but I’m clearly not the intended demographic for it. I tried it out and am currently unable to angle my phone in a way to have the camera see my face while I’m brushing unless I’m brushing while on my knees. Children would probably have a lot of fun with it.

3. Mega Evolution is coming to Pokémon Go‬. Also, you can find Galarian Far’fetched if you play Pokémon Go right now.

Can’t comment on Mega Evolution since that’s not really out yet. However, it was a GEN6 staple…even though Pokémon from earlier Gens could do it. Does this mean we will see GEN6 Pokémon come into Go yet? As for the limited-time event, Far’Fetched found in this event do not evolve into Sir’Fetched. That is a huge bummer but when you take into account that far’fetched are not supposed to even spawn in the US at all, if you previously missed an opportunity to get one, nows your time to rectify that.

4. New Pokémon Snap!!! No seriously that’s it’s title.

I know a guy online who will be very happy about this announcement. It looks incredible can’t wait to play it myself. Honestly I don’t care if it’s merely a remaster of the first game with new Pokémon or if it’s a sequel. Pokémon Snap is a beloved game that deserves attention, it was probably one of the most fondly remembered of the Pokémon spin-off games by the mainstream Nintendo audience.

5. Pokémon Cafe Mix is up for preorder!

This game looks cute but that’s not all I have to say about it. A Pokémon Cafe exists in the real world and it looks almost exactly like this! Now can we get more of them, I want to drink a latte with a Pikachu in the foam! Anyways you can preorder this for free on your platform of choice, iOS, Android, or Switch

6. Mythical Gigantamax Event in Sword and Shield for 1,000,000 player defeats of Zeraora.

Can’t comment on how I feel about this. Don’t know anyone who would want to do it with me and I really don’t think I have a chance by myself. I do think it’s great that all players can benefit together for a combined goal. That is typically the component that makes Pokémon Go Fests so much fun!

That’s not all! Another Pokémon Presents will stream next week. We still haven’t heard a peep about Pokémon Sleep or Detective Pikachu 2 (Nintendo Switch) yet so my fingers are still crossed those will finally be revealed.

Things to Do While Waiting for Pokemon Go to Come Back June 1, 2020

If you’re reading this as of the time it is being posted, you’ll know that Pokémon Go is currently down for scheduled maintenance. It isn’t expected to come back online until 9PM EST (6PM PST). Seven whole hours of downtime! What do we do until that happens?

Here are some things you can do while you wait for the service to come back online. These are in no particular order.

• If you have a copy of Pokémon Sword or Pokémon Shield you can obtain a free Galarian Ponyata right now through the game’s Mystery Gift function. Here’s how to do it.
• Download the Pokémon TV app to your smart device. It is a free application. A bunch of great Pokémon animated films are currently up for free viewing on it. If you have an Apple TV or Google Chromecast you can also watch the films on your television.
• If you have a Nintendo Switch, a PokéBall Plus and a copy of Sword, Shield, or either of the Let’s Go games you can still transfer Pokémon into the ball. While you won’t be able to use them in Pokémon Go while the service is down, the PokéBall Plus can still track your steps and respond to your training gestures on its own.
• Look up some hilarious Pokémon Memes, or make some of your own.
• Watch Pokémon: Detective Pikachu on HBO if you haven’t already seen it. If you have already seen the film and own a copy of the movie on disc or digital services you should totally watch the film in Detective Mode! It offers a picture-in-picture filmmaker commentary throughout the film that provides a behind the scenes look into the making of the film.

So those were just some of our ideas. If you think there’s any we missed post a comment below and we might add them! Stay safe out there, and Train On!

Pokémon Go is out now for iOS and Android devices. Pokémon TV is out for iOS, Android and Apple TV devices. Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield are out now exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.

Forgotten Halo Media May 9, 2020

We have started to receive the first game information for the newest Xbox console and players are chomping at the big hoping there will finally be some unveiling of the next Halo game, Halo Infinite, soon. The Xbox brand has been intertwined with Halo since the original console launched back in 2001, and as Halo games shifted from being developed by Bungie to Microsoft’s internal studio 343 Industries, the expanded Halo universe took off.

In 2009, shortly after the release of Halo 3: ODST, Microsoft’s 343 Studios launched the Halo Waypoint app. The app gave Halo players easy access to their online progress, awarded avatar items and offered exclusive video content you couldn’t find anywhere else. At around the same time, Halo: Legends was about to get released into Blu-Ray Disc, and Halo Waypoint was poised to take advantage of promoting the anthology.

Sadly, that app has not been ported to the Xbox One, and as of the time this article is being posted, many of the Halo Waypoint videos have not been officially added elsewhere, either to the Halo Channel app, a special feature in a Home Video compilation or Halo’s Official YouTube Channel.

The Mona Lisa

The Mona Lisa was an animated short produced for the Xbox 360’s Halo Waypoint app during its heyday. It was an animated adaptation of a short story included in Halo: Evolutions and was produced by the same company who later went on to animate Halo: The Fall of Reach for Home Video in 2015. Here’s the trailer:

As you could see from the trailer, the titular Mona Lisa is invaded by Halo’s most insidious foe, The Flood. With no Master Chief to help them, the surviving crew must find a way to defeat the parasite or prevent it from spreading at all costs.

The short is horrific and just awesome, telling a gripping story in the Halo universe. It wouldn’t be the only animated short to get neglected…

Midnight in the Heart of Midlothian

A cancer-stricken soldier is recovering from major surgery as his ship is invaded by the Covenant. With the help of the ship’s AI, he needs to figure out how to keep the location of Earth safe from the invaders. The short was absolutely beautiful, told in many parts, with an epic ending. It has never been brought to the Halo Channel, nor has it been officially released on any other medium.

However, those two aren’t the only animated short that has seemingly been “lost”. There is one more.

The Return

The Return was an even shorter animated story taken from Halo: Evolutions. In fact I think it was the very first animated Evolutions short. Set before the events of Halo 4, the short tells the origin of the Elite that was not willing to accept the peace that was settled at the end of Halo 3.

Given that this was such a major component of Halo 4 (and its origin is very glossed over), this is an important story that should have been made a permanent addition to the Halo Channel.

I have no idea why the animated short and The Mona Lisa weren’t included on the Blu-Ray Disc release of Halo: The Fall of Reach, in fact the home video release of that animated special came with no special features at all.

The Experience Halo 4 Launch Event

Experience Halo was an enormous event that many press believed transformed an entire country into the Halo world for one night. If this sounds a little familiar it’s probably because some of this idea (interacting with Halo in the real world) is a reoccurring idea for Halo marketing since Halo 2‘s I Love Bees Campaign in 2004 and most recently has been expanded upon (to great success) for Halo: Outpost Discovery.

In Liechtenstein, the gaming press were treated to a fun little experience in anticipation for the release of Halo 4 on the Xbox 360. They were shuttled into busses and given instructions to complete a series of challenges in some wild environments. Along the way, they encounter the Chief in the middle of a battle. Here’s a press video of the event.

Halo Reach Developer Commentary

Players who picked up a copy of the Halo Reach Collector’s Edition or Halo Reach Legendary Edition received download code to unlock a special video commentary for the game that could be watched through the Xbox 360’s Halo Waypoint application. The commentary video is an hour long as features interviews with four major developers of Halo: Reach.

Due to the fact that the video required a DLC code to unlock it, it’s unknown how many people watched it, but we made a review of it years ago.

So there are a few examples of Halo media that has gone forgotten for all these years. If there’s anything you think I’ve missed, please post a comment below. We could be weeks away from seeing our first in-game footage of the next Halo title, and my hopes are high this will restore Halo to its place as the top game of the next Xbox console.

Halo Infinite is coming Holiday 2020 to the Xbox One, Xbox Series X and PC.

What’s Missing from Disney+? April 25, 2020

Not much gaming news going on with the new choice of developers delaying their games, so I thought I would give the Disney+ service, something that I’m sure is getting a huge boom in new users, a closer look. There are a few glaring omissions from the Disney+ Lineup, in what series, shorts, and documentaries are not currently being offered, even though there doesn’t appear to be contract issues with them. I’m not going to list incomplete show lineups here, as that is kind of pointless since Disney will eventually offer all seasons for the shows they’re currently streaming, but there are tons of great shows, documentaries, movies and shorts that for some reason or another are not currently offered. We’re also not going to list content we know has exclusivity agreements with other services at this time.

Gamer’s Guide to Pretty Much Everything – Starring the late Cameron Boyce, this is a show I’ve been meaning to talk about on this site for a while. Boyce plays Kid Fury, a former Pro Cyberathlete who must return to regular High School after a disappointing performance at a major event. Once back in school, he makes friends with three very unique students, and end up forming a new professional gaming clan. The show only lasted two seasons and ended on a cliffhanger that (due to the death of Mr Boyce) sadly will never be resolved, but this show’s charm eventually won no nonsense gamer over. I have no idea why this series is not currently on Disney+. Maybe some day I’ll write a review about this show, it really deserves to be talked about.

TRON: The Next Day – This short film (yes Disney+ does offer shorts) was included as a special feature on the Tron Legacy Blu-Ray Disc and served three purposes. First, it was a coda to the film and showed what the consequences of the film’s events meant for the characters we remembered. Second, it was a proper ending to the storyline of the Flynn Lives ARG campaign. As someone who participated in that campaign (and still has the ENCOM employee badge to prove it) it was nice to see that wrapped up. Third, it set the stage for TRON 3. The short film itself was heavily praised by critics and fans alike after it was released and I have no idea why there isn’t a legitimate place to watch it. Heck it’s not even included as a special feature in the various streaming versions of the film.

Marvel One Shots – (Update: They’re added!) Starting with Thor, Marvel commissioned several short films to be included with the Blu-Ray Disc release of several Marvel movies with the intention to bridge the gap between the films and provide insight into some of the secondary characters of the MCU or provide a coda to the film it was attached in. I know at one point Disney considered doing a stand-alone disc release of all the shorts together (kind of like how they’ll bundle some animated shorts together) but as far as I know that didn’t happen. Some of the shorts were funny, like A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor’s Hammer, some were exciting like Agent Carter (not to be confused with the ABC show of the same name that came later), but they all were a nice extra piece to one of the greatest achievements in film history. I have no idea why I can’t find them on Disney+.

Marvel’s Super Hero NYC Tour – Next up is a documentary that originally aired on the now-defunct Discovery HD Theater Channel. This documentary was a fantastic look at the real-world locations that inspired Marvel’s universe mixed with a history of Marvel itself. Since most of the locations seen in Marvel’s comics are real, I’ve always wanted to visit the same real locations Marvel’s superheroes have traveled to compare them to their real location. It featured interviews with plenty of greats including Joe Simon, Stan “The Man” Lee, and John Romita (with son). While I’m certain that Disney had nothing to do with making it (they didn’t produce it and it was made before the MCU started and Disney bought Marvel) I’m assuming Discovery Channel has no further claim on this documentary due to the fact they haven’t aired it in 15 years. I mean it’s a great documentary that mostly holds up today, surely if someone had the rights to it they would air it regularly? There are a few Marvel documentaries already on Disney+ including their 75th Anniversary documentary produced by ABC, no reason this documentary couldn’t exist alongside it.

First off, I want to give props to Disney+ for offering more 4K (UHD) HDR compatible films than any other streaming or cable service currently in existence. The fact that most of their Marvel movies, some of the greatest films ever made, are watchable in 4K HDR is an immediate positive. Some of the films they’re offering in 4K HDR (as of the time this is being posted) are surprising, and a few are missing 4K support that is badly needed. Some of these are badly needed due to the fact their HD transfers were horrible, like for Disney’s The Black Hole. Tron Legacy’s Blu-Ray transfer looked better than what’s in Disney+. Can someone please tell me why Hocus Pocus can currently be watched in 4K HDR, but neither Tron nor Tron Legacy, films that actually were produced on 70mm film, can’t? What about Avatar? Disney has four sequels in development and a whole world devoted to it at Animal Kingdom? While they’re at it, where’s a 4K version for The Rocketeer?

Then there’s some stuff that’s missing but at least I could tell you why they’re missing. Marvel films Avengers: Infinity War and Ant-Man and the Wasp are exclusively locked on Netflix for the time being along with a bunch of animated shorts including Paperman and Frozen Fever.

Oh and finally, where’s Cloak and Dagger? That first season was without a doubt the best series Marvel Television ever produced, don’t tell me it’s going to be trapped on Hulu forever.

Why Won’t Disney Sell Sea Salt Ice Cream in the US Parks? April 17, 2020

I know you’re looking at the title and thinking to yourself, what the heck does ice cream or Disney World have to do with a video game website? I can assure you, the answer is EVERYTHING. Before we get started, let me tell you about a beloved gaming franchise called Kingdom Hearts.

Kingdom Hearts, developed by Square Enix, was a real-time RPG that thrust the player into the same worlds of Disney’s animated and theatrical films. Joined by Goofy and Donald, the player is tasked to travel from iconic world to world to help its inhabitants and defend it from the Heartless. In Kingdom Hearts II, the player takes control of Roxas, a boy spending the final days of summer vacation with his friends in a place called Twilight Town. Their favorite snack to eat at the end of the day is Sea Salt ice cream, iconic blue ice cream bars that the characters say are the perfect mix of salty and sweet. Later, you meet Scrooge McDuck and his nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie, as he tries to recreate his favorite ice cream, Sea Salt, with the intention to sell it.

In later games, sharing a Sea Salt ice cream on top of Twilight Town’s clock tower would become just as iconic an image as anything from Disney’s wheelhouse.

But what about Sea Salt ice cream itself? Salty? Sweet? Sounds delicious! Can I try some? The answer, it seems, is complicated. Since Kingdom Hearts II’s release, a demand for actual Sea Salt Ice Cream to exist has been at the forefront of nearly every video gamer’s wish list. In fact, plenty of gaming gourmets over the years have published their own make-your-own recipes.

Here’s one of my favorites, from Nerdy Nummies.

So this is great right? Heck there are tons of other recipes out there. Here’s Binging With Babbish’s version:

While these look delicious, they have two problems. One, these are made based on fan theories and who knows if the taste is meant to match what the game’s director had in mind. Second, people who don’t know how to cook or lack access to an ice cream maker might have problems making their own. Surely there’s gotta be some place, maybe a supermarket, we could buy Sea Salt Ice Cream?

Shortly after the release of Kingdom Hearts II, the game’s Director was interviewed and asked about the inspiration behind Sea Salt ice cream. He responded it was something he remembered eating while at Tokyo Disneyland’s DisneySEA Theme Park, and he had assumed it was a well known Disney dessert that fit the Disney license. This made a lot of sense because Disney has ALWAYS provided iconic dessert treats at their parks ranging from chocolate covered Mickey-shaped ice cream bars to the iconic Dole Whip.

Editor’s Note: As of the time this editorial is being written all Disney Theme Parks worldwide are closed due to COVID-19. They are expected to reopen although no official restart date has been announced at this time.

Sea Salt Ice Cream sold at Tokyo DisneySEA is not a complete match to its in-game appearance but it does match taste. In the real world, it isn’t colored blue, it’s white, and it would be served in a container (with spoon) and not on a popsicle stick. I have seen more recent video of it served in other ways including what looked like a seashell shaped wafer sandwich, so it may only be sold in that form these days. The problem is it only seems to be sold at one location in the entire world, Tokyo DisneySEA. As someone who lives in a country with two Disney Parks in it (neither one of them being DisneySEA), I’d like that to change.

Unlike Disney’s Magic Kingdom Park which has clones all over the world, DisneySEA is currently relegated to Japan and no clone of it exists at any US Disney park. That said, I can think of literally hundreds of potential places in the US parks something like Sea Salt Ice Cream could be sold. Let’s take a look at some shall we?

In Disneyland’s California Adventure Park at Anaheim, Pixar Pier would be the perfect location to sell Sea Salt Ice Cream on the West Coast. The pier was inspired by the old timey seaside attractions Walt Disney (Ed Note – RIP) would have remembered from his youth. If you’d prefer a location outside the park, the Paradise Pier Hotel on Disneyland property matches that same inspiration. Sea Salt Ice Cream would fit in perfectly there.

On the Walt Disney World side, let’s talk about EPCOT. In EPCOT’s World Showcase, they sell all sorts of imported goods including foods and snacks. To this day I still remember how good Norway’s gummy candy was. Since Sea Salt Ice Cream is (currently) only sold in Japan, bringing it stateside could classify it as an imported snack. The Japan Pavilion is known for selling sushi, why not offer Sea Salt ice cream there?

Another place they could be sold could be on Disney cruises. Disney has prided themselves on offering the best cruising experience in history with large beautiful ships that offer unique theatrical shows, high end movie theaters, and access to private islands. You can even order the same Mickey ice cream bars you’d find at the Disney parks from room service. Why not stock the ship up with some Sea Salt ice cream? It could be offered through room service or maybe at Castaway Cay.

Those are just some of my ideas for where Disney could sell Sea Salt ice cream at the American Disney parks. Now if you’ll excuse me, all this talk of ice cream has made me want some.