OK, now I'm just a tiny, tiny bit PISSED OFF!!! because of players lashing on some Sam & Max episodes such as 202 (which had quite a refreshing atmosphere (with Sam and Max as kids (awww! )) and utilized the Bermuda triangles as the predominant puzzle mechanics of the episode quite intelligently and to a very good effect too, in my opinion) and ESPECIALLY 105! Reality 2.0 easily features the most fantastic game mechanics of a Sam & Max episode yet, as the parallel realities, influencing one another, functioned brilliantly! There's never been an episode which had me stuck so badly with the puzzles, as they were thought out in an impressive manner, and the way one reality influenced another was just stunning! Ever played Braid? Completing the game 100% is demanding as hell, but each next puzzle you solve yourself just fulfills you so much... By the way, the musical parallel between the realities in 105 is also totally worth hearing and listening to, and the finale in Reality 1.5 was simply chillingly philosophically phenomenal! For example, this would be my Top 5 of Telltale's Sam & Max episodes:
1. 105 - Reality 2.0 (read the positive rant review above. Nothing to add, it's a classic, especially given it was created in the first season, among episodes that didn't yet work out that well as a whole, at least not as well as those of the second and third seasons, in my opinion).
2. 304 - Beyond the Alley of the Dolls. The atmosphere from the beginning to the end is breathtaking, especially when music is considered; from the frenzy of Stinky's bunker to the grandiose freak piano symphony showdown it's one big congrats to Jared! The story with all the plot twists is great, the puzzle-solving using the Toys of Power reached its full potential, seriously overshadowing inventory puzzles (although that's logical, since it's the last episode really featuring the ToP), and Max in the finale needs no comment either. THE HUMOUR WAS ALSO ARGUABLY THE BEST IN ANY SAM & MAX EPISODE UP TO DATE. Just read Sal's mind everywhere for starters!
3. 204 - Chariots of the Dogs. Time-travelling at its finest in S&M universe, first appearances of Momma Bosco and Grandpa Stinky, explained origin of Bluster Blaster, connection and reminiscence of all the bits throughout the season, starring T.H.E.M. as one of the coolest concepts in games (and maybe even pop culture?) in general, and that's just the story! Of course, with almost any kind of time travel in the game mechanics the puzzles are destined to be a blast!
4. 305 - The City that Dares Not Sleep. It's the freshest episode for most of us at the moment, and while we may develop slightly differing opinions later, we can all agree on one: the sheer emotional depth of the game is definitely unprecedented in this episode, and it's going to stay that way for a long, long time. Highlights also include recurrence of many characters (with Juergen's new-old image), everything about Sam Jr., reminding oneself of all the souvenirs from the previous episodes, the Narrator - by far the coolest character, especially in the end (although I'm confused if he's used his bit of control from the start of the season or not), and, of course, the ever-memorable double credits ending, with a piano that transcends the whole season...
5. 302 - The Tomb of Sammun-Mak. Practically it's a total shift in environment necessary to explain a good part of the story that is about to happen in the present, and the whole concept of kinda reliving the film by astral projection through a film projector is one of the most original things Telltale has ever incorporated into a game. And the chronology which forces Sam and Max to collect information between film reels as Sammeth and Maximus to proceed... yes, I know, it's time travel again! But in what fashion.
I like your post. And Sam and Max are time traveling in 302, they are astral projecting themselves into the past portrayed by the reels. Also all episodes of season 3 are favorited by me and i never favorite a whole series, it was just a few from series 1 and 2, but after playing each episode of series 3 I had to favorite them all.
I like your post. And Sam and Max are time traveling in 302, they are astral projecting themselves into the past portrayed by the reels. Also all episodes of season 3 are favorited by me and i never favorite a whole series, it was just a few from series 1 and 2, but after playing each episode of series 3 I had to favorite them all.
Thanks, I'm glad you like it! (Now I know that at least someone has actually read what I wrote here. ) It shows how good Season 3 really is, doesn't it?
It may come off as stupid, but let me argue here. Yes, Sam's walk through the city was rather melodramatic (similarly to 303), but there was a real loss, real drama beneath. And while everybody knew secretly that Max will be back, there was a 1% chance that he wouldn't (there's always that element of uncertainty), and that built a bit of tension while watching Sam's sad progress. Since you knew what was coming, you could focus your attention in the details, and could laugh, but when I was playing through for the first time, I was just looking at every corner if there's a miraculous manifestation of Max in there, and was going like "when? come on, when?"
I guess that's what I mean when I say it wasn't an ironic scene or a parody, but it was still intended to be funny and have humor along with everything else going on. I'm more than fine with people empathizing with Sam, but he's surrounded by as much extreme music and comic-like crime as I could get in there in the time we had for that ending, because even though it contained Sam genuinely feeling the loss of Max, it was important to me that that moment exist within the world of Sam & Max maybe more than we even usually try for. Again, who knows how well we landed with that, but that was the aim!
Personally, I think of the gross number of pies Jake has his fingers in, the director pie turned out the best despite the presence of a gross game developer finger in it. I guess others disagree and latch on pretty strongly to minor semantic differences and exact states of being even though on the whole nothing changes.
Well, still, if I was in your place, I would've certainly favourited the whole Season 3 anyway.
I know you would, you bought the season on telltale then did you? What day did it come out cause i got in tuesday morning, so it must have come out late monday night or early tuesday morning for me
I guess that's what I mean when I say it wasn't an ironic scene or a parody, but it was still intended to be funny and have humor along with everything else going on. I'm more than fine with people empathizing with Sam, but he's surrounded by as much extreme music and comic-like crime as I could get in there in the time we had for that ending, because even though it contained Sam genuinely feeling the loss of Max, it was important to me that that moment exist within the world of Sam & Max maybe more than we even usually try for. Again, who knows how well we landed with that, but that was the aim!
I felt Max's appearence in the famous elevator and his gleeful commentary of his parallel adventure took care of the Sam-and-Max-ishness, but I understand why you wanted to add some extras.
I guess that's what I mean when I say it wasn't an ironic scene or a parody, but it was still intended to be funny and have humor along with everything else going on. I'm more than fine with people empathizing with Sam, but he's surrounded by as much extreme music and comic-like crime as I could get in there in the time we had for that ending, because even though it contained Sam genuinely feeling the loss of Max, it was important to me that that moment exist within the world of Sam & Max maybe more than we even usually try for. Again, who knows how well we landed with that, but that was the aim!
The crime just made it sadder to me, to see Sam ignoring it.
Yeah...it was like telling the player, "Sam just doesn't care anymore. There's no point without his buddy there." and then I felt incredibly depressed.
Sorry to insist, but when is next season to be expected? Please tell me there will be a new one. These are the best adventure games I've ever played
If there's a single thing I missed in the third season, it was the funny songs. Don't get me wrong, the music was great, but the funny songs were so good in season 1!! Also Bosco. Momma Bosco is a great character but Bosco is just SO FUNNY, the funniest, laugh-out-loud-for-serious momments happened in the Inconvenience Store.
And it's not really a wonder when someone has just lost his best friend like.. 5 minutes ago.
I have to say, on my first playthrough I was sad and a little shocked too. All I really thought about was Max and Sam's grief of losing him in the credits. But when I played it through a second time (with that alternate ending in mind), I already knew what to expect of the ending, and I paid more attention to what was happening around Sam now. And really, I have to say it worked really well. Seeing all the familiar characters (and criminals) doing what they've always done (despite all the sadness) gave that genuine feeling of Sam & Max universe for me. And that's how even real world works, really - it doesn't stop for one person's loss and grief just like that. Was that.. Midtown Cowboys-director running there at some point? I could swear I saw a glimpse of her hair.
I'm not really good to put my thoughts into words like this, but.. yeah, I can see what Jake means now. It was a sad ending, no doubt of that. But in a good way. I think it would have been over-to-top depressing if there was absolutely NO other activity besides Sam's sad walking in the background, and.. honestly, that wouldn't have been good. No good at all.
The ending was brilliantly done.
Damn it this text was so much better when I first wrote it, but when I submitted it just gave me a blank page and removed all my precious typing into nothingess. Sorry for any possible spelling errors/badly made sentences.
And it's not really a wonder when someone has just lost his best friend like.. 5 minutes ago.
I have to say, on my first playthrough I was sad and a little shocked too. All I really thought about was Max and Sam's grief of losing him in the credits. But when I played it through a second time (with that alternate ending in mind), I already knew what to expect of the ending, and I paid more attention to what was happening around Sam now. And really, I have to say it worked really well. Seeing all the familiar characters (and criminals) doing what they've always done (despite all the sadness) gave that genuine feeling of Sam & Max universe for me. And that's how even real world works, really - it doesn't stop for one person's loss and grief just like that. Was that.. Midtown Cowboys-director running there at some point? I could swear I saw a glimpse of her hair.
I'm not really good to put my thoughts into words like this, but.. yeah, I can see what Jake means now. It was a sad ending, no doubt of that. But in a good way. I think it would have been over-to-top depressing if there was absolutely NO other activity besides Sam's sad walking in the background, and.. honestly, that wouldn't have been good. No good at all.
The ending was brilliantly done.
Damn it this text was so much better when I first wrote it, but when I submitted it just gave me a blank page and removed all my precious typing into nothingess. Sorry for any possible spelling errors/badly made sentences.
Rule No1 with long forum posts: always write in notepad then copy and paste. If the forum swallows it (which sod's law, will only happen when you don't), no harm done.
Despite his seemingly heartless personality, he believes strongly in protecting Sam. However, Max can still act violently towards his friend, stating that when he dies he will take Sam with him.
Rule No1 with long forum posts: always write in notepad then copy and paste. If the forum swallows it (which sod's law, will only happen when you don't), no harm done.
Yup, learned that from a hard way now. I shouldn't have done things in a hurry.
I was more shocked by the character development of having Max as a WRITER of moving, sentimental novels o.O
I thought his novels were hilarious, and I would love to read more of them. If there's a season three case file, we should get one of Max's books as the item for 305.
I just played through this episode. While it was a bit shorter than most other games (though that might be because it was more fun than most of the others...), this episode was incredible. The art is absolutely gorgeous, the story is great, the puzzles were fun and it was a good closure of an awesome season. Please keep making games this awesome Telltale. I can't wait for the inevitable Season 4...
... but give us Strong Bad Season 2 first, will ya?
I just finished the episode. I ddn't like it as much as the previous one though. But the whole series was very nice. Telltale keeps getting better and better. The end was a little bit unexpected ... seemed like a cliff-hanger for a next season ...
By the way, I think I've spotted a "Shining" reference ... when the Narrator talks about "correcting" Max, it reminds me a lot of the butler talking about himself correcting his family. :-o
I just finished the episode. I ddn't like it as much as the previous one though. But the whole series was very nice. Telltale keeps getting better and better. The end was a little bit unexpected ... seemed like a cliff-hanger for a next season ...
By the way, I think I've spotted a "Shining" reference ... when the Narrator talks about "correcting" Max, it reminds me a lot of the butler talking about himself correcting his family. :-o
I'd say it's pretty open ended! It sure felt like a cliffhanger to me. And so many questions were left to be answered. Superball is still a huge mystery of course. I want to know his connection with that time travelling too.
Fantastic ending, I really wasn't totally certain where it was going. The puzzles however were less than taxing, it seemed more like an interactive video. I don't mind in this instance, the story was strong enough to keep me interested.
304 was a pain in the ass, boring conversation, boring characters, stupid riddles, pfff story, ... i spare myself the rest, that was nothing at all. At some point i used a walkthrough just to get through it in a shorter time. The only thing i liked was the puppet but somehow TTG managed that even the puppet got on my nerves with the piano part.
305 started as 304 ended as another dissapointing episode but surprisingly as soon as you got into Max it was a lot more interesting. Very nice lightning, nice scenes and situations there. What still sucked were the boring almost superfulous conversations, so clicky clicky through those, a few nice riddles and a nice atmosphere. I was a bit sad that you couldn't do more with the Max monster, just walking around was a bit lame. The ending was okayish but it would have been stronger just by ending with Sam walking alone through the streets and without seeing Max's return.
Dunno, i have mixed feelings about the Sam&Max season 3. Sometimes it was nice, almost very good, but often it was simply too boring with a dull humour and boring characters/conversations/scenes/storyline, so that i ended up not playing the games instantly anymore and by using a walkthrough for 304, just to get through it a shorter time period.
I would welcome if something would change.
TTG is very strong on the production, technical and marketing sides but they aren't on the inner values of an adventure. It's a little bit like Walt Disney films used to be, everything looks and sounds polished but the films were just boring.
OUCH, it appears EuroGamer were not impressed with the finale at all:
For more than a decade, many of us would have given our left testicle for another Sam & Max game. Nearly four years since the comeback, we would perhaps have settled for just one genuinely brilliant sequel rather than a shedload that never quite hit the heights.
In the epic season three finale (the 16th episode in all), we catch up with the ever-patient doggie detective Sam trying to persuade his demented lagomorph buddy Max to stop being a giant slavering demonic hyperkinetic beast. Having long since dispensed with any vague sense of Sam and Max being a crime-fighting duo, Telltale seems content to follow a thread of surreal excess, with mixed results.
With the gameplay mechanics reduced to a largely predictable run of conversations and (in)appropriate use of objects, The City That Dare Not Sleep feels stuck in a rut much of the time. The season having started in such sparkling and imaginative fashion, this one's something of a formulaic slog by comparison. With the contrived return of season regulars barely raising a titter, there's little to keep you going other than dutiful routine. It's an underwhelming finale.
This far down the line, we wish more than anything that Telltale would have a complete rethink. While it always does justice to the central duo, the rest of the cast provide limited amusement, to the ultimate detriment of the series. Telltale also badly needs to freshen up the visuals and finally ditch the cheap and nasty 3D engine that is light years from Steve Purcell's wonderful art style. Maybe one day Telltale will also be brave enough to pour its creativity into a full-fat adventure game, rather than continue to head down this depressing creative cul-de-sac. We can but hope.
Meh, you can't please everyone. I honestly loved the episode, and I disagree with "the rest of the cast provide limited amusement". I like Sybil more in this episode than any other one for example. Maybe just the comments about her and the situations involving her. I also disagree with "pour its creativity into a full-fat adventure game". I like this once a month thing, the episodes are well worth the wait, plus the season on it's initial run is usually five months long. Of course, when they come, it is an enjoyable four or so hours game.
Anyway, as I said, you can't please everyone unfortunatly.
Well, I too was very disappointed with the last episode, especially after how awesome 304 was.
I really missed Max's comedy, found the puzzles lacking, missed the psychic toys (the inventory system wasn't really used much either) and found the turns and twists the storyline made rather poor. Sadly.
To me, it could've all ended with a finale like 304's.
I want to thank Telltale for the best season yet. This is what introduced me to the wonderful world of Sam and Max to which I am now fully addicted.
However, I've got to say that after the amazing "halfway" point of this episode (brilliant execution!) I was....really disappointed. Don't get me wrong. I loved how this ending tugged at your heartstrings. These last three episodes made me really love Sam as a character on his own. I thought it would be really ambitious of them to have an entire episode (especially the final one) nearly Max-less, but I think they pulled it off rather well. The Max spores didn't do it for me though, humor-wise (liked the D&D references though). The "sleep" thing got old and that was mainly all they were concerned with. I'm glad Sam rejected them for not being Max. So anyways kudos to them for doing something way different for the final episode, even if we love our Max.
Anyways continuing on, it just felt like the ending was SO rushed. Nothing felt like it came together. First of all, the character deaths. Not Max. I mean, I was still upset that he died and we get a Max who's basically completely different from the one we know of (then again, he'll probably just sort of be handwaved so that he knows everything from the last three seasons....it'll feel empty though), but did.....did Stinky DIE? People are saying Sal didn't die in this thread so I don't know about him, but if so that's killing off one of the best characters from this season. Stinky though. Why did we need to go through this back and forth with finding out what her deal REALLY is? The cloning chamber sequence in this episode was confusing as anything. I show up and examine stuff and basically get the "that's how she fooled us all into believing she was a cake and to have us not realize she made those tunnels with Sal!" Umm...where did this come from? (although I do like that she is actually a mermaid after all, even if it doesn't mean anything) I never even got that she was actually a villain after all. There was supposedly an explanation for grandpa stinky and skunkape's clones and what her plan was? Missed that. Even with the explanation it doesn't make any sense. Then she....dies with Skunkape at the end. There's no conclusion with her and Sal there. They both just...get separate, irrelevant deaths.
Not just the deaths though, the super-ego's plan....not really sure what it was. Max's display of sympathy for Sybil was kinda sweet, but it didn't mean anything. He didn't/couldn't do anything about it. The super ego then just showed up again "Oh hey Max showed some sympathy I'm totally good now. Trust me" Er...okay. That last puzzle was something I think everyone discovered long before.
Overall the puzzles in this episode were weak. Certainly not all of them, but I never felt that there was a real zinger that stood out for me, especially in critical moments like the cloning chamber. The solution was provided for you there, but it seemed like it was supposed to be a bit more epic. Frankly I expected the game to keep going after Sam's "walk". I thought the credits rolling would just be a gag...or something....
So with the season as a whole I still loved it, but I feel like episode 4 was more suited to a finale than this one, but at the same time I understand they were going for a different feel for an ending. It just had too many loose ends and sudden shifts in narrative to really do it for me personally though.
I'll end on a positive note.....JURGEN! Thank you for that. I also liked the "Sam and Max fans are the best in the world!" gag. Awesome. This season was by far my favorite. It was such an awesome mix of genres that worked so well together and created such an epic and hilarious story. Can't wait for the special edition dvd ^_^
OUCH, it appears EuroGamer were not impressed with the finale at all:
Finishing off with a 6/10 score.
Actually, I pretty much agree with them, except the last pragraph. I loved the first half and the ending, so it eventually came out very well for me, but the episode did have its faults.
I'd like to say I liked the episode but if there was one thing that was lacking it was the level and puzzle design. The only new locations were inside Max's body and the whole thing just felt so uninteresting and not creative. I could understand the idea of the house design but it just made things so samey. One of the worst examples was Max's mind, it seemed so empty and didn't reflect anything about Max's personalty. The mind should have been so much more it could have been more hectic, why couldn't we see the id, Max's inner child and other parts of his mind. Also I didn't get the 70's decor it seemed only there to make the place seem stylised.
I played it the second time (for the different ending, I didn't even knew it had two endings before coming to the forums!) and this time I noticed the Portal reference. SWEEEEET
Comments
1. 105 - Reality 2.0 (read the positive rant review above.
2. 304 - Beyond the Alley of the Dolls. The atmosphere from the beginning to the end is breathtaking, especially when music is considered; from the frenzy of Stinky's bunker to the grandiose freak piano symphony showdown it's one big congrats to Jared! The story with all the plot twists is great, the puzzle-solving using the Toys of Power reached its full potential, seriously overshadowing inventory puzzles (although that's logical, since it's the last episode really featuring the ToP), and Max in the finale needs no comment either. THE HUMOUR WAS ALSO ARGUABLY THE BEST IN ANY SAM & MAX EPISODE UP TO DATE. Just read Sal's mind everywhere for starters!
3. 204 - Chariots of the Dogs. Time-travelling at its finest in S&M universe, first appearances of Momma Bosco and Grandpa Stinky, explained origin of Bluster Blaster, connection and reminiscence of all the bits throughout the season, starring T.H.E.M. as one of the coolest concepts in games (and maybe even pop culture?) in general, and that's just the story! Of course, with almost any kind of time travel in the game mechanics the puzzles are destined to be a blast!
4. 305 - The City that Dares Not Sleep. It's the freshest episode for most of us at the moment, and while we may develop slightly differing opinions later, we can all agree on one: the sheer emotional depth of the game is definitely unprecedented in this episode, and it's going to stay that way for a long, long time. Highlights also include recurrence of many characters (with Juergen's new-old image), everything about Sam Jr., reminding oneself of all the souvenirs from the previous episodes, the Narrator - by far the coolest character, especially in the end (although I'm confused if he's used his bit of control from the start of the season or not), and, of course, the ever-memorable double credits ending, with a piano that transcends the whole season...
5. 302 - The Tomb of Sammun-Mak. Practically it's a total shift in environment necessary to explain a good part of the story that is about to happen in the present, and the whole concept of kinda reliving the film by astral projection through a film projector is one of the most original things Telltale has ever incorporated into a game. And the chronology which forces Sam and Max to collect information between film reels as Sammeth and Maximus to proceed... yes, I know, it's time travel again! But in what fashion.
Thanks, I'm glad you like it! (Now I know that at least someone has actually read what I wrote here.
I guess that's what I mean when I say it wasn't an ironic scene or a parody, but it was still intended to be funny and have humor along with everything else going on. I'm more than fine with people empathizing with Sam, but he's surrounded by as much extreme music and comic-like crime as I could get in there in the time we had for that ending, because even though it contained Sam genuinely feeling the loss of Max, it was important to me that that moment exist within the world of Sam & Max maybe more than we even usually try for. Again, who knows how well we landed with that, but that was the aim!
Well, still, if I was in your place, I would've certainly favourited the whole Season 3 anyway.
I know you would, you bought the season on telltale then did you? What day did it come out cause i got in tuesday morning, so it must have come out late monday night or early tuesday morning for me
I felt Max's appearence in the famous elevator and his gleeful commentary of his parallel adventure took care of the Sam-and-Max-ishness, but I understand why you wanted to add some extras.
If there's a single thing I missed in the third season, it was the funny songs. Don't get me wrong, the music was great, but the funny songs were so good in season 1!! Also Bosco. Momma Bosco is a great character but Bosco is just SO FUNNY, the funniest, laugh-out-loud-for-serious momments happened in the Inconvenience Store.
I have to say, on my first playthrough I was sad and a little shocked too. All I really thought about was Max and Sam's grief of losing him in the credits. But when I played it through a second time (with that alternate ending in mind), I already knew what to expect of the ending, and I paid more attention to what was happening around Sam now. And really, I have to say it worked really well. Seeing all the familiar characters (and criminals) doing what they've always done (despite all the sadness) gave that genuine feeling of Sam & Max universe for me. And that's how even real world works, really - it doesn't stop for one person's loss and grief just like that. Was that.. Midtown Cowboys-director running there at some point? I could swear I saw a glimpse of her hair.
I'm not really good to put my thoughts into words like this, but.. yeah, I can see what Jake means now. It was a sad ending, no doubt of that. But in a good way. I think it would have been over-to-top depressing if there was absolutely NO other activity besides Sam's sad walking in the background, and.. honestly, that wouldn't have been good. No good at all.
The ending was brilliantly done.
Damn it this text was so much better when I first wrote it, but when I submitted it just gave me a blank page and removed all my precious typing into nothingess.
Rule No1 with long forum posts: always write in notepad then copy and paste. If the forum swallows it (which sod's law, will only happen when you don't), no harm done.
BROMANCE
I was more shocked by the character development of having Max as a WRITER of moving, sentimental novels o.O
Yup, learned that from a hard way now.
I thought his novels were hilarious, and I would love to read more of them. If there's a season three case file, we should get one of Max's books as the item for 305.
... but give us Strong Bad Season 2 first, will ya?
By the way, I think I've spotted a "Shining" reference ... when the Narrator talks about "correcting" Max, it reminds me a lot of the butler talking about himself correcting his family. :-o
304 was a pain in the ass, boring conversation, boring characters, stupid riddles, pfff story, ... i spare myself the rest, that was nothing at all. At some point i used a walkthrough just to get through it in a shorter time. The only thing i liked was the puppet but somehow TTG managed that even the puppet got on my nerves with the piano part.
305 started as 304 ended as another dissapointing episode but surprisingly as soon as you got into Max it was a lot more interesting. Very nice lightning, nice scenes and situations there. What still sucked were the boring almost superfulous conversations, so clicky clicky through those, a few nice riddles and a nice atmosphere. I was a bit sad that you couldn't do more with the Max monster, just walking around was a bit lame. The ending was okayish but it would have been stronger just by ending with Sam walking alone through the streets and without seeing Max's return.
Dunno, i have mixed feelings about the Sam&Max season 3. Sometimes it was nice, almost very good, but often it was simply too boring with a dull humour and boring characters/conversations/scenes/storyline, so that i ended up not playing the games instantly anymore and by using a walkthrough for 304, just to get through it a shorter time period.
I would welcome if something would change.
TTG is very strong on the production, technical and marketing sides but they aren't on the inner values of an adventure. It's a little bit like Walt Disney films used to be, everything looks and sounds polished but the films were just boring.
Needs a health warning.
"Do not play in the same room with a pregnant girlfriend".
I almost snorted wine over the monitor.
http://objection.mrdictionary.net/go.php?n=4291876
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Finishing off with a 6/10 score.
They're entitled to thier own opinion, despite being completely wrong.
Anyway, as I said, you can't please everyone unfortunatly.
I really missed Max's comedy, found the puzzles lacking, missed the psychic toys (the inventory system wasn't really used much either) and found the turns and twists the storyline made rather poor. Sadly.
To me, it could've all ended with a finale like 304's.
However, I've got to say that after the amazing "halfway" point of this episode (brilliant execution!) I was....really disappointed. Don't get me wrong. I loved how this ending tugged at your heartstrings. These last three episodes made me really love Sam as a character on his own. I thought it would be really ambitious of them to have an entire episode (especially the final one) nearly Max-less, but I think they pulled it off rather well. The Max spores didn't do it for me though, humor-wise (liked the D&D references though). The "sleep" thing got old and that was mainly all they were concerned with. I'm glad Sam rejected them for not being Max. So anyways kudos to them for doing something way different for the final episode, even if we love our Max.
Anyways continuing on, it just felt like the ending was SO rushed. Nothing felt like it came together. First of all, the character deaths. Not Max. I mean, I was still upset that he died and we get a Max who's basically completely different from the one we know of (then again, he'll probably just sort of be handwaved so that he knows everything from the last three seasons....it'll feel empty though), but did.....did Stinky DIE? People are saying Sal didn't die in this thread so I don't know about him, but if so that's killing off one of the best characters from this season. Stinky though. Why did we need to go through this back and forth with finding out what her deal REALLY is? The cloning chamber sequence in this episode was confusing as anything. I show up and examine stuff and basically get the "that's how she fooled us all into believing she was a cake and to have us not realize she made those tunnels with Sal!" Umm...where did this come from? (although I do like that she is actually a mermaid after all, even if it doesn't mean anything) I never even got that she was actually a villain after all. There was supposedly an explanation for grandpa stinky and skunkape's clones and what her plan was? Missed that. Even with the explanation it doesn't make any sense. Then she....dies with Skunkape at the end. There's no conclusion with her and Sal there. They both just...get separate, irrelevant deaths.
Not just the deaths though, the super-ego's plan....not really sure what it was. Max's display of sympathy for Sybil was kinda sweet, but it didn't mean anything. He didn't/couldn't do anything about it. The super ego then just showed up again "Oh hey Max showed some sympathy I'm totally good now. Trust me" Er...okay. That last puzzle was something I think everyone discovered long before.
Overall the puzzles in this episode were weak. Certainly not all of them, but I never felt that there was a real zinger that stood out for me, especially in critical moments like the cloning chamber. The solution was provided for you there, but it seemed like it was supposed to be a bit more epic. Frankly I expected the game to keep going after Sam's "walk". I thought the credits rolling would just be a gag...or something....
So with the season as a whole I still loved it, but I feel like episode 4 was more suited to a finale than this one, but at the same time I understand they were going for a different feel for an ending. It just had too many loose ends and sudden shifts in narrative to really do it for me personally though.
I'll end on a positive note.....JURGEN! Thank you for that. I also liked the "Sam and Max fans are the best in the world!" gag. Awesome. This season was by far my favorite. It was such an awesome mix of genres that worked so well together and created such an epic and hilarious story. Can't wait for the special edition dvd ^_^
Actually, I pretty much agree with them, except the last pragraph. I loved the first half and the ending, so it eventually came out very well for me, but the episode did have its faults.
http://objection.mrdictionary.net/go.php?n=4297419
I agree with this completely.