Arcane Arcade Table
Over 100 pre-installed retro games. MAME-compatibility and flexible front-end means you can easily add emulators. Built-in Pentium Dual Core processor, 500GB hard disk and Ethernet ports as well as a built-in LCD flat screen.
Available from Firebox
(via: mahlibombing)
Chrono Characters: Robo
“After 400 years of experience, I have come to think that Lavos may not be responsible for the Gates… I have come to think that someone, or something wanted us to see all this…”
These are not the words of a mere walking computer. These are the words of Robo, the electronic enigma of Chrono Trigger.
You first meet this automaton in the bleak future, a glimpse of what the world will be after Lavos. This droid becomes very useful in this apocalyptic cyber world where broken down computers are the norm. Robo becomes not only useful in helping the plot move along, he becomes helpful in the party. When he joined my team he had the strongest hit and soon gained healing abilities.
While his use in the plot and party are valid, I find the most intriguing element of Robo is his development. At first he is a short-circuiting bot that does what it is told, but by the end you have a character who has gained the uniquely human ability to feel.
Lucca is crucial in Robo’s growth. On two separate occasions(as far as I can remember) she fixes his broken state. At the beginning she restors him to life, and during a later secret side quest Robo is restored from a shrine after helping rebuild a forest for 400 years. There is this mutual adoration between these two characters that I see as a creation/creator love. Lucca is proud of Robo as her accomplishments and enjoys teaching her (Robo credits Lucca as the one who help teach him how to feel). And Robo will do anything for Lucca. When Lucca travels back in time to be given the opportunity to save her mothers legs I failed to complete the task. But robo was quick to offer his legs to Lucca’s mother.
These honorable acts of sacrifice and devotion make Robo another altruistic character. He is always ready to help not because he was programmed to do so, but because he has developed a soul. While the idea of a robot having emotions is far from new, Chrono Trigger never belabors the point. He has become a character in the story rather than a tool to be used. This troubles me slightly. I cannot wrap my mind around the idea of a walking computer having feelings. Because of this, I subscribe to the belief that Robo is not a robot, but was a man at one point. I’m not into fan fiction, but if I was, I would love to write/read that story. Robo is to compelling of a character to just be a moving computer. He has depth to him and I think there is more depth than the game lets on.
(What do you think of Robo? Let me know in the twitters or comments)
Atari Retro Prints
Created by Rob Osborne
Each for $20 @Etsy: Pong | Pitfall | Space Invaders
(via:mahlibombing)
Sometime next month I’m releasing an original strategy guide specifically for the Blizzard Man stage from Mega Man 6. Here’s a cover prototype.
