The flaws with 'Broken Toys'

Holy shit, I can't believe we never made one of these! So, following up on my previous thread and @Ghetsis's before it, here s a thread following the issues that existed in Episode 3.

Some guidelines for what may count if you're not sure what to say:

  • Things that bugged you.
  • Gameplay hiccups or oddities.
  • Characters that felt neglected, inconsistent, or otherwise.
  • Screentime for any given or scene.
  • Opportunities that weren't capitalized on.

These are just broad examples, though. Feel free to address your feelings on this episode, how much you enjoyed it, ideas that could've made it better, etc.

Comments

  • I feel like the party could have been tighter. I was fully expecting to get shit faced with everyone and to catch Louis busting a move or two, but noooo all we got to do was sit in a circle ?

  • -They could've done more with Willy seeing how vital he became to the story since he never got much development.

    -Tenn could've had a more centered focus as well since he didn't have much to do for the bulk of the episode.

    -Rosie was also a character that was largely forgotten who could've been a great companion to accompany the kids on their journey to Delta.

    -The party was somewhat underwhelming with the exception of Louis/Violet's performance at the end. There could've been more of a lively feel to the atmosphere along with several determinant minivans.

    -Lily also felt like she was a background villain that only showed up in sporadic instances and never felt like an established villain. There was never a point that Lily herself had legitimate relevance to the story or had much to contribute to it.

    -Personally I found the walker mini game towards the end to get to Delta more of an annoyance then anything. That one part specifically kept lagging at the beginning or an inadequate enough walkers would spawn resulting in a game over.

    -AJ I also felt was a missed opportunity as this episode could have been the vital culmination of AJ's teachings and experiences to define what he became for the finale.

  • I feel like the party section should’ve been a hub where you can walk around and chat to the other kids and shit, maybe throw in some collectibles as well.

  • I think you mean 'the final season'. xo

  • ‘A New Frontier’

    I think you mean 'the final season'. xo

  • I am watching it now, lool.

    Melton23 posted: »

    ‘A New Frontier’

  • I was both waiting for five comments as well as doing backsearching to help gather thoughts to eventually do a post myself, but I gotta say I'm pleasantly surprised by what sort of stuff has been said thus far.

  • So overall, looking back over my messy impressions of the episode at the time, I most liked parts of it and going by my admittedly a bit fading memory, still do. But unfortunately, it was odd in places and with it's overall pacing, with a couple of "really?" moments and a third act that I definitely visualized as a business chart that variably zigzagged on it's way up before suddenly plummeting on the last third. I honestly didn't know how to feel about it as a whole and needed to sleep on it before setting in dislike.
    I might also note that the walkthrough I watched(as well as many others) had them save Violet, so the experience was very shot in the end. It's not a major, but I guess in the name of fairness, I'll reestablish that. I do recall actually bothering with an alternate playthrough a day or two after, but again, my memory is fuzzy.

    Anyway, for the sake of saving time and planting seeds for further expansion, I'll try to be brief with each of my points to keep this from being a veritable wall:

    • Minnie was the worst.
    • Maybe it's just me and/or my memory, but Louis/Violet's presence in this episode if saved feels somewhat superfluous and/or a noticeable demotion.
    • Willy, sorta reminiscent of Gabe in From the Gallows, kinda just felt...okay/there in this, for the most part. Not really a flaw in itself, but it is a little off.
    • One thing I saw people mention about the interaction with James was how you can bring up other instances where a character got bitten and/or died.
    • The Hootnannie should've started as a proper hub and/or dance off, which it was clearly/confirmed as intended to be.
    • Could've used more backstory on the other characters. Tenn in particular is a pretty blatant tease in this regard, but it shouldn't have hurt to breeze over the likes of Marlon, Aasim, and Omar for the sake of the game.
    • A minor thing, but Ed and Diana don't come up at all[ to my knowledge]. Neither did Alvin and Rebecca, for that matter. Which is...telling.
    • Lilith somehow pulls a TTW!Joan here and thus her characterization overall/now was something I eventually settled on as so confused. And that's being concise and neutral.
    • This is probably one of the big ones, but what happens for those who lost poor Louis and how it reflects is....
    • One collective element of why the episode tanked was the running time throughout the ship sections, which could've been longer.
    • Sullene, for giving quite a performance last time and even having another actress join the cast, is kinda not there in this.
    • No Other Side of the War
    • The ending was kind of a sharp note to stop on.
      That's the generals, off the top of my head.
  • Uh, he had a fair number of notable scenes and a few side moments, but they just didn't put much focus on him otherwise.

    It's somewhat telling that him bringing up his bomb idea has Clementeen respond as if this is something he's talked about before.

    -Tenn could've had a more centered focus as well since he didn't have much to do for the bulk of the episode.

    Oh yes, I just talked about this a few days ago.

    -Rosie was also a character that was largely forgotten who could've been a great companion to accompany the kids on their journey to Delta.

    Honestly, I completely forgot she was a thing at points.

    -Lily also felt like she was a background villain that only showed up in sporadic instances and never felt like an established villain. There was never a point that Lily herself had legitimate relevance to the story or had much to contribute to it.

    This more or less.

    -Personally I found the walker mini game towards the end to get to Delta more of an annoyance then anything. That one part specifically kept lagging at the beginning or an inadequate enough walkers would spawn resulting in a game over.

    Oh, really?

    -AJ I also felt was a missed opportunity as this episode could have been the vital culmination of AJ's teachings and experiences to define what he became for the finale.

    In what way(s) do you have in mind, specifically?

    Chibikid posted: »

    -They could've done more with Willy seeing how vital he became to the story since he never got much development. -Tenn could've had a mor

  • It would've taken more than just episode 3, but I would've followed the Joker template from "The Enemy Within" where EP3 would be the defining culmination of how/what you taught AJ that finally materialized itself in AJ throughout the series.

    And depending on how many variants of AJ there could be would dicate the finale storyline that you followed.

    They could've even done it to where in some paths that AJ dissolves himself from Clementine/Boarding school coming to the realization that he had outgrown the use of Clementine seeing her ideology as rather ineffective and more of a hindrance than an advantage.

    DabigRG posted: »

    Uh, he had a fair number of notable scenes and a few side moments, but they just didn't put much focus on him otherwise. It's somewhat te

  • It was supposed to be that initially, but for [need to verify] reasons, they just took what they thought were the best material and cutscene'd them.
    They even left in Ruby telling Clementeen to mingle.

    I feel like the party section should’ve been a hub where you can walk around and chat to the other kids and shit, maybe throw in some collectibles as well.

  • You know, in hindsight, I probably should've been a little more succinct here. Ah well.

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