Twilight and Rainbow Play Dragon of Grace

The game shifted to Maria's point of view in the state of Georgia. She finished her morning workout with pull-ups behind her house.

"So this chick's really intense like Mikasa in Attack on Titan." Rainbow noted.

"She's struggled with existential depression since she was five years old."

"This is where the real hardcore shit comes in."

"The story is completely and utterly merciless. There's no fluff, no unnecessary romantic sub-plots - it's pure brutality from beginning to end."

"The way it should be."

"The band in the background is Decontaminate by the way. They put out an EP called Cleanse and Burn and a split with another band called Absone."

"Vocals are crushing. Of course I love it."

"Thought you would."

Rainbow gained control of Maria as soon as she entered the house. The Pegasus collected the items Twilight described and headed upstairs.

"The funny thing is, she actually grabbed snacks in the first comic. It was one of the lighter moments of realism Spike put in just 'cause he felt like it. I guess the mundane can contribute to a story in its own way. That's why I put the drinks in there."

"Makes sense."

"You can start grinding after the next cutscene. Check the computer. You'll see Robert's message."

"It's all gothed out! That's awesome!"

"Those old computers look so ghetto now, but they have a charm that'll never be matched."

"Well, duh. Old school always dominates. I mean, they had 3-D Pinball for crying out loud. How do you think my love of PC gaming got started?"

"Can't argue with that."

The following cutscene showed Maria calling her brother at the local hospital. He suggested calling animal control, but Maria protested, knowing their lives would be at risk as well. Instead, the pair opted for a rescue mission.

"See, this is what I love about you guys' work. You go the unconventional route and spice things up."

"This was all Spike's doing. I just programmed what he gave me to work with."

"Little dude's got a firm grasp of plot progression."

"He was always like that. We used to sit around with our folks and tell scary stories on Halloween. I see this as us turning that tradition into an art form."

"That's a good way to look at it."

"The cutscene will end when Brandon gets back and changes into his regular clothes. You'll spawn on the veranda. You can start exploring the city from there. Just be aware Brandon won't join your party until you trigger the next series of cutscenes. It might be a bit tricky since we're on hard mode, but I'll guide you through it. Your first save point's coming up soon."

"There any goodies I can loot?"

"Oh, yes."

"Nice."

After the cutscene, Rainbow assumed control once more.

"Go back inside and go upstairs again. You'll find Maria's payment from her last computer job. Between her and Emily, you should have 800 bucks in total at this stage. From there, go north past the car to the next block. The save point's right on the edge. There aren't any enemies on this side of the city, so you can explore to your heart's content. I put treasure everywhere, so take your time."

"This map is HUGE!"

"I wanted to make it the size of a real city. The main story's not very long, so I had to think of creative ways to pad it out. You'll see what I mean soon."

"How short is it?"

"There's only three story bosses. The rest are optional ones that reference earlier versions before Spike revised it."

"I gotcha. By making big maps with lots of quests, you could make it longer and give the player more bang for their buck."

"I took a few liberties and put in a bunch of neat extras. Spike's only concern was keeping the characters and story intact."

"Kinda reminds me of Koudelka. The game was only seven hours long if you knew what you were doin'."

"Yeah, well, I'm not charging people thousands of bits for a short-ass game."

"That's beyond highway robbery."

"Don't I know it. Buncha bastards gouging the ever-loving fuck out of old RPGs like Lunar and Dragon Warrior. To hell with 'em."

"Hear, hear!"

Rainbow raised her bottle of Pibb. She took a small swig in an effort to recreate Lord of the Rings.