THE Masterpiece
Almost 3 years ago, Knanakase tapped into the deepest dreams and hopes of classic gamers everywhere with his groundbreaking series, Ludas Animans--and now we see the continuance! Is it momentous? Yes. I was surprised there wasn't an Eclipse or planetary alignment when 6.4 finally hit the portal. And it's obvious that Knanakase put a lot of hard work and effort into this: Testing, spellchecking, proofreading, and tweaking. This flash was indeed crafted with the careful patience of an artist's love. Doesn't it show?
Graphically, it's more about HOW than WHAT. We’ve all seen sprites done WRONG before: A single frame of a character just standing there slid and warped around with no animation. An artist can at least add movements to a sprite, like walk, jump, or attack sequences. Knanakase, though, has come to a point where his Sequences have Sequences! A character flung through the air can have their cloaks fluttering through the passing currents. An explosion is sharp and crisply detailed, smoothly running frames, making smoke and flames seem to flow. It takes an artist of considerable skill to assemble these things properly. This is Knanakase's hallmark today. Ludas Animans' pyrotechnics make your blood pump, and it's for a damned good reason!
Knanakase has chosen a time-tested style that has seen better days. Sprite style has a wide range of coverage and quality, from tweening and twisting to the incredible detail and accuracy portrayed here. Not only does Ludas Animans characterize the standard at its best, it also practically redefines it, setting the bar higher than most of us have ever seen before. This almost makes Ludas Animans seem like it belongs in a class all its own.
As usual though, the soundtracks chosen reflect the keen taste of a well-seasoned gamer. Gamers are the sort of people that are today's storytellers, the modern analogue for the minstrels of old. It's practically to be expected that they should know just the right chord to strike to urge someone just over the brink into tears... or to turn one's blood to fire in their veins and rouse the spirit to an unparalleled sense of power! Knanakase has demonstrated this again and again, from the tragic, heart-pounding urgency of alpha city’s streets, to the soothing drone of a country lane, to the spooky, spine-tingling mystery of an ancient, advanced city locked away.
In violence, the action portrayed in THIS segment provides an adrenaline-pumping visceral charge. So many things happen at once even between just TWO groups in combat, the chaos of battle is brought straight to the user entirely untainted by the usual kid-gloves handling of lazier artists seen elsewhere. The dealing of damage in 6.4 is Gratuitous! If you're looking for a good asskicking, you've found it.
Interactivity, though, is more of a game quality, and usually all a movie needs is a button in the beginning that says start and a button at the end that says replay. However, let us not overlook the fact that Ludas Animans also includes a menu with scene selection and a small soundtrack lounge. You have basic function AND special features. That places Ludas Animans 6.4 comfortably above the Average.
Humor, though, is more of a gauge of how a movie affects one emotionally. This ability to appropriately sculpt emotions within the viewer is deceptively important to the quality of any movie... and Knanakase gets it SPOT-ON! Recall the fight with Magma Dragoon, right after he is literally torn apart by Ikumi's power beam... --THE MUSIC STOPS. DEAD. SILENCE. Oh the TENSION! The characters pause, stunned... "...Is it over?"
That is what Drama is all about, my friends. Bravo, Knanakase, BRAVO!
It is no surprise that I cannot give this film anything less than 9 over all. Somehow, I get a feeling that Knanakase is capable of yet -more- in the future... Surely this effort must have exhausted our beloved author, but there now looms large on the horizon the possibility of more potential than we had ever imagined.
Happy Flashing!
