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October 2006 Donation Item Critique |
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This month's Donation Items are the Shadow Spiritand Pixie!
Anime Cliche # 1309B
It looks as if the avatar artists this month are going deep into the anime cliche list and pulling out the two most common images in any fantasy anime. Hell, now that I think about it, they are common even outside of anime. They are probably the second most common thing in the fantasy genere. It must be the fact that I just came back from the Highlander Days at Radford University, but whatever the case may be, these items are still rather dull for the month.
"I am the shadow that flaps in the night!"
("I am the peanut butter that sticks to the roof of your mouth! I am DARKWING DUCK!" wink
The Shadow Spirit unapologeticly is an attempt at apeasing the "dark" Gaians out there. If anything, it's trying to make that group look remotely darker than it can be right now. But don't believe the fancy illustration of that one Gaia that's dead and in the dark cloudy arms of the Grim Reeper. It's not that dramatic of an item. Or spooky for that matter.
The default setting of this item Pokemon fans will probably like. It's a parody of all those misfit spirits that you see in every other story about some haunted woods and the life that curses it and what not. But the strange thing is, this little spirit is actually kind of cute for something that is ultimately a trickster. Because the gimmic of this item is that it is a shadow, the little guy is connected to your avatar's feet, which is a nice touch but offers some strange effects in Gaia Towns. For a shadow, you would think it would match your leg blur when you walk, but it doesn't. Hell, it doesn't even have it's own walk animation, unlike Moochi and G-Bot! So, if anything, it's just there to look cute and to ground your avatar.
Reeper's Shadow is the mode feature in the preview image as well as in the dramatic illustration for this month's item. Unfortunatley, it's not really much of anything to write home about. While it's cool that everyone now can have their own Grim Reeper so they won't be jelous of Billy or Mandy, it's not all that scary. It would be so much cooler if this mode featured a skull or something simlar to the design of the Wrath Mask, but no such luck here. Instead we get a face hidden in the shadows and a freaky glowing eye. It worked for the Death Eaters, but not for this item, unfortunately. However, I would like the scyth as a separate item.
Shadow of Doubt is an interesting mode, and probably one of the freakiest to unsuspecting users. Here, that little shadow sprite has grown up and is looking over your shoulder. However, the body language (assuming shadows have a body to begin with) reads like he is whispering something into your ear. Something evil. Unlike CoCo, who is just peeking over for the sake of looking cute, this mode makes the shadow look like he is in control of your every decision. Too bad we don't have a light side version to balance out this mode like in every other cartoon where there happens.
Pillars of Shadows is a mode that almost warrents the purchase of another Shadow Spirit, as it matches nicely with the Reeper's Shadow mode. This mode features a black flame that comes out from your butt (No, seriously. It does.) that produces three dark looking monk characters, each with a pair of glowing eyes. Possibly to do your bidding, possibly to take you to the underworld. With the Reeper's Shadow mode, they would probably be his underlings. The only problem is they are kind of separate from your avatar. While this is good for that whole "these are my dark minion" idea, it does kind of make it off balaced. This wasn't a problem with Gwee, but since the Shadow Monks are designed to look like the are connected to you, it does make the atavars a bit top heavy.
Dark Possession reminds me of that one Samurai Jack episode where Aku has a cold and ends up sneezing a glob of himself into Jack. Slowly, over the course of the episode, Jack turns into Aku. The design of this transformation was rather sweet. Now, you can walk around trying to fight off the forces of darkness within with this mode! To be perfectly honest, however, I wish you could pick what level of possession your avatar was at, as the "half head and an arm" look is rather cliche. This can be solved, somewhat, by the addtion of the Guitar of Demona in Demon Arm mode and the Chestplate of Arachne. However, as much as I would like to, you cannot cover up the other half of your face that is showing. What does this mean exactly? You can't have the shadow go over any masks your wear. And I mean any and every masks. Yeah, I know, it sucks. Want to know what's even worse? The shadow takes away your hair while in this mode.
Shadow Flame and Flame Ring are two modes featuring those little ghosty spirits that I saw being petitioned for in Site Feedback. That being said, anyone with a Kimono, Yukata, or Gung Xi outfit will be pleased to know that, yes, they match nicely for that undead Asian look made ever so popular with Inuyasha. Just take your pick on how you want those little spirits to be flying around you. Shadow Flame has them hovering around your waist while Flame Ring has them going in a circle behind you. The one thing that bothers me about this mode is the number of ghosts flames there are around you. There seems to be too many. While this looks fine from an iconography stand point, particularly with Flame Ring, our avatars are not suppose to be rock carvings in a temple wall somewhere. I would have been fine with only three of those ghost flames max.
Flame Aura is pretty much a good example of what a good idea on paper always ends up being. Here, you are suppose to have this ring of ghostly fire around your avatar to symbolize your spiritual powers and how strong your aura is. Thing is, you have to really focus in order to make it look like a ring of fire and not some strange ring of that jelly substance inside of a lava lamp. While it does sit at your feet, it offers nothing special in Towns when you walk around. Hell, the whips at least lifted themselves off the ground when you walked, but this guy just sits there for some reason. Like Gwee when in your arms, this mode looks better sitting down. In fact, if you have a decent Asian Temple Monk outfit, you can make this mode look really good sitting down!
Overall, this item isn't so much a 'Buy Now' than it is an unneeded accessory. That being said, as an accessory, it is pretty nice and offers a lot of accents to what could end up being a rather dull outfit. Although, the people that would benifit from such an accent probably already have every other expensive item in the Dark fashion line. New people will probably only seek this item out if only for the Grim Reeper option. Other than that, if you are looking for something to give your dark look that extra push over to the dark side, it does it's job.
Clap if you believe in Fairies!
Peter Pan fans and Link Cosplayers rejoice! Your little Fairy has arrived to Gaia! But is she worth the purchase price? Well, it's hard to tell at this point, but if you kept your four or five Elegant Veils, you will want this item for that extra sparkle.
The Pixie's default mode is your standard fairy hovering around near you. As said before, those that want to dress up like Peter Pan or Link finally have that last little accessory to complete the look. For everyone else? Well, who wouldn't like a fairy hovering around them? Don't answer that.
The other modes from here on out get a little bit questionable. I could go into detail as to what each mode is and what they offer, but they all have the same problem. They are so light, each mode is practically non-existant unless you are walking around in Gaia Towns. That is the only place where you can see what each of the modes have to offer, as it is the only place right now that has a dark enough background for you to see the individual modes. It's kind of pointless in the forums to try and wear the Dusk Cloak or even the Dusk Skirt, because people will barely see it. In fact, in all of the other modes, the only part you can see is that trail of sparkling pixie dust that is suppose to be in the shape of said modes, be it a circlet or a scarf. However, even then, you can barely make out that those sparkles are suppose to be ear rings and a crown. The only thing visible is where the fairy lands (or in the Pixie Clips case, how many fairies are with you).
Dust Cloud, however, is one of those exceptions. While you can see it for the most part in the forums, the only way you'll even notice it is if your avatar doesn't wear any hats. That being said, the only reason that this mode is the exception to the above is that you can use this mode as a subtle halo. This kind of halo is common in European Catholic Art around the time of the Renissance give or take a few hundred years. Incidently, you can also find this same halo design in Eastern religion, most commonly as the light of Buddah. So, yeah, the Sari set finally has a culture correct accessory, even if the irony is that you get this halo from a European fantasy creature. For those of you keeping score, the Dust Cloud makes the fifth halo variation in Gaia (Angelic, Dark, Solar, and Pheonix being the other four).
Overall, nobody will really benifit from this item unless they have a Sari or kept all four or five of their Elegant Veils for their wedding dress. And with only one or two modes that are actually visible in the forums, I doubt anyone will buy it short of just wanting a fairy to hover near them. But, I've been wrong before.
Peter Pan Month
So, Peter, which will it be? A shadow with a mind of its own or your own little Tinkerbell? Either way, the only way you would actually appreciate this month's offerings is if you have a large amount of items that go well with it in either color or in style. Fantasy Gaians will love this, both the dark and light users. Everyone else should skip this month's items unless you REALLY want a pixie or your own little pet Heartless.
 Zeek Slider · Mon Oct 16, 2006 @ 12:55am · 6 Comments |
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