|
Have you played this game?You can rate this game, record that you've played it, or put it on your wish list after you log in. |
Playlists and Wishlists |
RSS Feeds![]() ![]() ![]() |
About the StoryA samurai explores a haunted shrine. Game Details
Language: English (en)
First Publication Date: January 5, 2016 Current Version: 1 License: Commercial Development System: Inform 7 Forgiveness Rating: Merciful IFID: Unknown TUID: ybxxoxn4i4jqv0a |
Emily Short's Interactive Storytelling
Even though the piece is quite short, there is room enough in Groover’s story for several surprises. A lovely, eerie meditation on what is truly monstrous.
See the full review
michaelbaltes
Was das Spiel interessant macht, ist das Setting im historischen Japan des 16. Jahrhunderts (Feudalzeit, Sengoku Periode). Der Autor integriert auf gelungene Weise japanische Begriffe und zitiert japanische Schriftsteller in einer für die Geschichte adaptierten Form. Zugleich erzählt er den historischen Kontext der im Spiel erwähnten Figuren.
See the full review
Segue
The writing in verse enforces a certain rhythm to the story and greatly eases the constant breaking of time and continuity it does – descriptions of immediate objects flow in and out of flashbacks. This is perhaps even gentler than Groover’s past work in terms of accomodating people who are not accustomed to the parser; almost every interaction is explicitly prompted by the game.
See the full review
| Average Rating: ![]() Number of Reviews: 3 Write a review |
For me, Chandler Groover might be one of the best prose stylists in IF today. And Fuwa Bansaku is no exception, illustrating another tool in the author's already formidable toolbag.
Fuwa Bansaku, a telling of how the titular samurai undertakes a quest from his emperor to investigate a haunted temple, and paying homage to traditional Japanese poetic form and structure, is a lovely piece of work. Mechanically, it is simple. Advance, return and examine provide all the entry commands needed to advance the story and uncover additional player commands that deliver the back story. And this works extremely well. It is an entirely accessible piece of parser IF.
In what it aspires to, it achieves. It is an elegant, clever and innovative work of literary fiction. I urge everyone to spend the time to engage with it.
(Spoiler - click to show)If I have a criticism, it is that I would have liked the second half of the story to have bifurcated. Could I have made a choice that would have altered the ending?
Unlike a previous reviewer, I believe that the parser format, and the requirement to actually type a command, interacting with the text physically gives weight, and forces the player to focus on the prose. In a link format, where the eye is draw to the options before the prose is fully internalised, this story would have suffered. This prose needs to be savoured.
Much kudos to Sub-Q also for bringing works like this to a wider audience. More, please.
This short, haunting piece requires the reader to advance (a) or retreat (r), with a variety of other actions suggested after you look at or examine the scenery. It's very linear, but like much great character-driven interactive fiction, the linearity feels natural as you discover your character and what their limitations and compulsions are.
Interspersed throughout the work are fragments of poetry from Basho, Kikaku, and other 17th-century poets. The end result is a haunting, elegiac work, telling a stylized version of the semi-historical story of Fuwa Bansaku, a 16th-century samurai.
Near the end, the work features a ukiyo-e print by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, a 19th-century japanese woodblock printer; this famous image from his series, 100 Ghost Stories of China and Japan, seems to be the inspiration for this short and dramatic ekphrastic piece.
This is a beautiful use of the format and a moving, haunting piece, which should inspire the reader to learn more about Yoshitoshi, the poets, and of course, Fuwa Bansaku. Very lovely.
This Sub-Q game is tightly focused and compact. You play as Fuwa Bansaku, a samurai based on a real-life Japanese swordsman. You are investigating an abandoned shrine that is rumored to be haunted.
This game uses a small number of directional commands and tightly-written poetry to achieve a compact and peaceful feel.
The story revolves around court drama and the story of the abandoned shrine.
An enjoyable, short piece.
For All The Saints Who From Their Labours Rest, by James Chew, Failbetter Games Average member rating: ![]() Join an Intrepid Deacon on a deadly mission for the Church. Hunt for a missing saint, infiltrate the Brass Embassy and uncover the hidden history of Hell. What will you give up to learn the truth? |
For a Place by the Putrid Sea, by Arno von Borries Average member rating: ![]() At some point, going back would have been inevitable anyway. And why should I not have been allowed a bit of rest? After all, no one could say I hadn't tried to run. But when you're running, you need to stop eventually, or else you risk... |
robotsexpartymurder, by Hanon Ondricek Average member rating: ![]() When suspects and witnesses are “property, not people,” how should those who seek the truth proceed? Date robots. Avert scandal. Bring protection. Content warning: Adult Situations, Language, and Humor, Sexual Descriptions, Mild Violence... |
Linear thriller games by MathBrush
These are games that are pretty straightforward, and which are designed to be easy enough that you can keep moving forward while hard enough to make you nervous. These games get your blood pumping.
Great "lunchtime length" games by MathBrush
These are games that can generally be completed in 30 minutes or less. Some can be completed much faster. Included in this list are games that have multiple endings that can individually be reached quickly. It also includes several Twiny...
For your consideration: XYZZY-eligible Best Games of 2016 by MathBrush
This is for suggesting games released in 2016 which you think might be worth considering for Best Game in the XYZZY awards. This is not a zeroth-round nomination. The category will still be text-entry, and games not mentioned here will...
Games with detailed descriptions of art works by Greg Frost
I am looking for games which use the literary technique of ekphrasis: "a vivid, often dramatic, verbal description of a visual work of art, either real or imagined" (Wikipedia).
The Best Games of 1st Half of 2016 by Anya Johanna DeNiro
Sometimes by the end of the year and after the Comp it's hard to keep front-and-center the games that appeared earlier in the year! Here is a place to list what has tickled your fancy so far. One vote per game only please.