Read Bites #1: DC, Pokemon Snap, Digimon (2020)

This week is going to be a bit of a different kind of post. Rather than going deep into a particular subject, this is going to be a few smaller sections about things that don’t feel like they are enough to make a up a full post on their own.

DCEU – From Universe to Multiverse

Since the DC Extended Universe began, with 2013’s Man of Steel, it has felt like one of the biggest problems holding it back has been an attempt to play catch up with the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

While the first movies tried to set themselves apart from their Marvel competition by leaning into the darker tones, they were in such a rush to catch up that the links to a greater universe often felt more ham-fisted than natural (with the files Bruce Wayne gets in Batman V Superman as the worst example).

This isn’t to say that Marvel has always done it well (Iron Man 2 comes to mind as one of their clunkier versions of this), but the MCU’s success in building out its universe arguably comes down to the how many of its early movies function on their own.

Recently it has come out that DC is changing their tactics and building out a multiverse instead of a single universe. What this means in a practical sense, is that they can have their next Batman movie without having to worry about how it connects to Justice League’s Batman.

If this change in direction frees their future movies from trying to force in as many references as they can, it could be exactly what they need to really compete with Marvel. While it is a relatively subjective thing to say, DC’s best movie is probably The Dark Knight. It isn’t a coincidence that this is also a movie that, while it is part of a trilogy, can function on its own, and it has no connections to a bigger universe. It is also interesting to point out that The Dark Knight actually came out in 2012, the same year and the MCU began with Iron Man.

This multiverse plan is one that could be beneficial, but also raises a lot of questions as to how it will actually be implemented. Claiming two movies exist in a multiverse doesn’t really mean anything outside of possibly an argument of semantics. Unless there are ways in which these universes can communicate at least once, it may all just be a way for them to claim all their movies are connected without actually having it be the case.  

But they do seem to have an answer to this already built into a plan they have had for a while. The Flash movie has always been talked about as one that will adapt the Flashpoint story, in which Flash changes an event from the past. When he comes back to the present, he is in an alternate universe where his change has rippled through everything. With small events like this, the DCEU can create enough connection that their multiverse can have a real point outside of simply the name.

The Batman is set to come out in March 2022, so it might not be until at least then that we begin to see what this new chapter looks like for DC. But, as someone who wants them to succeed at least enough that we finally get a great Green Lantern movie, I hope this new approach helps them out.

New Pokemon Snap – Hope for the Levels

We have only seen two trailers (counting the original announcement teaser) for New Pokemon Snap so far. While we have gotten to learn some cool stuff about it, like the how there will be ways to snap photos of special glowing illumina Pokemon, there is still so much we don’t know.

One thing that feels safe to assume is that this will be a level-based game, much like its predecessor, and be reliant on replaying the levels in order to weed out all their secrets. And with this in mind, a major factor in how much fun the game is, could come down to how rewarding it is to replay the levels.

With this in mind, what are some possibilities to keep these levels engaging through the repetition?

Let’s just assume the game is still entirely on rails, with little to no control over the movement of the Zero-One (the vehicle the player rides in). This is almost definitely the case, but that doesn’t need to be entirely limiting.

One simple element that can take the original game’s conceit and give the player twice the possibilities for what to do, would be to have elements always going on to the left and right of the player. There are a few moments where this can be seen in the original, but they were few and far between. This can probably be attributed, at least in part, to the relative power of the Nintendo 64. Presumably, levels in the sequel for the Switch should be able to run well with far more Pokemon running around at any given time.

An even easier possibility could be giving the player the ability to speed up (which was possible in the original, after playing the six main levels), but also the ability to slow down. If everything in the level moves in real time, with events taking place at particular points in time, this could create a whole new dynamic. Having to slow down in order to get the perfect photo of a Lapras rising out of the water, or having to speed up and race to the end to not miss, say, an Abra before it teleports away.

To be honest, this suggestion is entirely based off the ways in which NPC characters in Hitman levels move. The consistency of when particular events occur creating a sense of excitement as the player begins to really learn what can happen when they arrive in a place at the right time.

For a third, and probably least likely possibility, let’s look back to the end of Tunnel, the second level in the original Pokemon Snap. The only way to reach the following level is to throw an apple at an electrode so that it explodes and opens up another path. Now imagine you take that very same concept but introduce it early on in the level. If the player has electrode explode, it sends them down a separate path for the rest of that run. You’re in the same level but finding new things to experience. Or, at times when the paths are in close proximity, finding new angles on similar parts, creating new photo possibilities.

New Pokemon Snap is a game that has had some fans waiting decades for its existence. These are just a few ideas of how it can keep its levels feeling exciting on subsequent playthroughs. The game is finally hitting shelves on April 30, 2021, and so we’ll know sooner rather than later how it will pull of this feat.

Digimon Adventure (2020) – Action Over Theme

The reboot to Digimon Adventure first aired nearly a year ago, and at the point of writing this, the series is approximately halfway through its total run of episodes. There were two things made incredibly clear even with the very first episode:

1) It’s not trying to be a 1:1 remake, but it does nod to major moments from the original.

2) It’s animation, especially in its action scenes, blows the original away.

While these two points felt at first like they could be the series greatest strengths, at this point they are beginning to feel like its greatest weaknesses.

The original series was incredibly limited by its animation budget, leaving a lot to be desired in many ways, but doubly so in fights. The majority of the action was built out of reused assets of the main Digimon attacking from a distance, cutting to some kind of attack landing on the enemy. In the reboot, there is a lot more hand-to-hand and otherwise up close and personal kinds of attacks, where both fighters are often seen duking it out in a wide shot. This is fantastic! This is the way in which the reboot really shines.

But it seems like because of this focus on the fights and their animation, the show doesn’t let itself sit in the quieter moments. At least half of every episode is taken up by some big fight, and because of this, the characters are given less of a chance to develop. And more than that, Digivolutions that are often used to win the fights are given less purpose than they once had.

Jumping back to the first point, many pivotal moment from the original show still occur, but not usually in the same ways. For an example of this, we see the symbols of the crests when partner Digimon digivolve, but without the physical crests or even the explanations of how they work. This point about the crests on its own doesn’t ruin the show in anyway, this isn’t about complaining about changes. Rather, the possible problem here comes from the fact that the way they were used originally was to demonstrate the children using the power of their emotions to make their partners stronger. In the reboot, the digivolutions feel just like any other power boost to make the main characters win.

This show is about building up the action, not about building out the characters. And because of this, much of the action, while it looks cooler, doesn’t have the same kind of weight to it.

This show is still only halfway through, and there is still plenty of time for the series to reveal itself as having another goal entirely and end up with an amazing pay off. We’ll see how things end, but at least at this point, it all feels like we haven’t gotten the best version of this series yet.

In a perfect world, they could take the heart from the original, and the action of this one, and it could possibly hit the levels of a prestige anime.