[Review] PAL Inn – Episode 五

Sītú Zhōng leaves without his hopeful would-be apprentice, Lǐ Xiāoyáo, whose defeat of the Moon Sect revealed that they have plans for Zhào Líng’er.

Caution: Comedic violence

Source: Viki (6% English subbed at the time of this review)

[Review] PAL Inn – Episode 四

Aunt Lǐ’s blend of alcohol brings Sītú Zhōng! And the Moon Sect are driven off by Ā Nú eating their messenger pigeon!

Caution: Comedic violence

Sofurce: Viki (46% English subbed at the time of this review)

[Review] PAL Inn – Episode 三

Having been electrocuted by an orb from Zhào Líng’er brought back from Xiān Líng Dǎo Lǐ Xiāoyáo finds himself suddenly empowered.

Caution: Comedic violence

Source: Viki (54% English subbed at time of review)

[Review] PAL Inn – Episode 二

The dreamer, Lǐ Xiāoyáo, suddenly finds himself joined by three awesome young women – Zhào Líng’er, Lín Yuè Rú and Ā Nú – at his aunt’s inn. However, instead of drawing more customers their arrival has had the opposite effect!

Caution: Comedic violence; blood

Source: Viki (100% English subbed)

[Review] PAL Inn – Episode 一

The marvellous world of Xiān Jiàn returns! This time our beloved protagonists are brought to us in the form of a web-series – with the help of Youku – to bring us glorious, glorious comedy.

I should preface this by saying that this might not entirely be objective… Because it’s Xiān Jiàn!

Caution: Comedic violence

Source: Viki (100% English subbed)

Can’t Wait for Chinese Paladin 5? Watch PAL Inn!

A Youku original series PAL Inn is a hilarious merger of Xiān Jiàn games. There are thirty episodes in all of hilarity and nostalgia. It isn’t a ‘serious’ series. There wasn’t as much of a budget, which shows in the use of wooden swords, and it does take a lot of humour from more modern amenities – Plants VS Zombies, for one – but these are the characters that we love! And it’s so good to see them again!

Look at them! I absolutely adore the original in-game costumes so these character stills make me so happy!

 Lǐ Xiāoyáo  Zhào Líng’ér

 Lín Yuèrú  Ā’nú

Aren’t they wonderful? Go and watch it! It’s magnificent!

You can find the episodes here!

VIKI

Youtube

Xian Jiàn 六 – Thoughts, Speculation, Characters & Concerns

Now that it seems like all of the major revelations have been released, I’m going to compile some of my thoughts on the game. For the most part, I am absolutely, positively delighted about the game. On the other hand, this sudden shift in dynamics and direction worry me. Not because I’m a stickler for the ‘old’ way, though I don’t think I have any complaints about the prior releases, but because – and maybe this is just because I’m not able to play the games – these revelations seem incongruous to the series.

I’m most familiar with the series through it’s Tangren adaptations. Which, while fun and delightful until everyone i love dies is not the most loyal to its PC counterparts. Having said that, however, Tangren’s adaptation of Xuān Yuán Sword makes heavy use of technology easily recognizable in this modern age. I don’t know the games very well, but even I’m not going to claim that Tangren diverged that much from the source material.

So, where is all of this technology coming from?

As far as I’m aware, Xian Jiàn 五 and 五+ didn’t have huge mechanical beasts running around as battle buddies. Now, unless they’re going to skip a generation or two, that seems like a pretty huge mis-step. I mean, Li Xiāo Yáo is in his fifties in 五. You would expect to be seeing highly advanced – at least, for its time period – technology in the original game if you want to slot in this kind of stuff in 五’s sequel! The kind of technology required for creating a mechanical beast isn’t going to just spring up out of nowhere. It’s not Aphrodite. You need to give it background. And, frankly, even if they do, this still seems like an unrealistic leap in technology.

If they have the technology to make mecha beasts, what else has changed? You don’t just make mecha beasts. In most scenarios, you need a reason. Like war. A single crazy person could work, but making your audience believe that mecha beasts are suddenly up and functioning to that standard is probably about as much of a leap of faith as you could pull off in a single game.

And then we have the seemingly floating fortress.

I’m going to be honest with you here. I see absolutely no way of integrating this into the game without raising serious questions about continuity and canon. I don’t even know what it is. A fortress? A citadel? A city? A villain’s lair? A Howl’s Moving Castle?

There are few occasions where I curse my mono-lingual ability more than this. It makes no sense. With what I’ve gleamed from watching the games and scouring the websites, it makes no sense. None of this does. Where has it come from? How long has it been coming?

You can’t just chuck something into a series mid-way and expect it to stick! Especially if it isn’t feasible! And I can’t see how this is at all feasible. It contradicts so much of the narrative that’s been built up. It contradicts your entire understanding of the game! What, Xian Jiàn? The fantasy wǔxiá series set in ancient China?

Ancient China isn’t what I think of when I think of that kind of technology. Fantasy isn’t what I think of when I think of that kind of technology. Steampunk, maybe. Hell, go full sci-fi. But until this point Xian Jiàn has been neither a steampunk series, nor sci-fi.

Creating a good fictional world comes down to three main points.

An interesting premise.

A good cast.

World-building.

Xian Jiàn 六 is so vastly different from its predecessors. Of course it’s premise sounds immediately interesting, if a little worrying. Xian Jiàn 六 has a good cast. We know this from previous installments. Cast is not a particular concern for this game. World-building… feels a little thrown out the window.

The thing about fiction is that there is always an element of suspension of belief. This is why world-building is important. You need reasons why the world is the way it is. You need history. You need people. Civilizations. An actual world. Politics. Gods. Or no Gods. Or one God. Mythology. Science. Technology. Racism. Sexism. Prejudice. Discrimination. Or not. But if not, why there is not, how there is not.

There is nothing in a fictional world that is there by accident.

There is nothing in a fictional world that is there by accident.

Creator accountability.

Someone, somewhere, made a decision. Is it a good decision? Is it a bad decision? Time, and personal preference, will shape your view. Magazines will publish an attempt at non-bias. To do so they will weigh up different features and judge by them their overall merit.

I adore the Xian Jiàn games, but I see no merit here.

Xian Jiàn 六 – Mega Update Article

The entirety of the Xian Jiàn 六 main cast has been released! I’m going to go ahead and call them the 六 Pantheon. It sounds cool. They’re cool. It’s a match made in Heaven.

We’ve gotten a look at some of their weapons and new settings have been revealed. We’ve also got an approximation for the game’s release – this summer. It’s been a long time coming, but I’m kind of sad that we’re already at this point. The excitement of scrolling through FaceBook and hopefully, maybe, perhaps finding something new is one of my favourite feelings and while there are hopefully still some releases to be had we’re winding down.

But listen to the theme song! Isn’t it beautiful?

鏡中人

The song has been composed by Zéng Zhìháo, written by ediq, arranged by Diū Zi (Lost Child). The singer is Qīng Nòng. The title translated into English is supposedly ‘Man in the Mirror’. According to what I can gleam from a page on the gnn.gamer Taiwanese website, there will possibly be four theme songs.

You can find the pīnyīn lyrics on my Tumblr right here.