A truly beautiful experience. I've never experienced anything like it, a flawless game. The gameplay is magnificent, simple but wonderful. The way you move around and discover what you must do is a perfect way of showing rather than telling. Every step you take in this nature-filled land feels like it makes an impact. Like you're truly doing something great with every press of a button you make. You do not understand the joy I get from standing there in the midst of flowers and wildlife, hearing the blissful music this game ensnares upon your ears while appreciating the beauty of not only this game but life as well. The music design in this game is perfection incarnate, a symphony of genius strumming through this simple yet heart-melting game. The sounds that are paired with the calm, warming music is truly intoxicating in the best way. I can't stop coming back to feel the tenderness this game brings. This experience is nothing short of a gift for this earth to revel in. Conan The Mighty Pig is my #1 favorite game, because it symbolizes something so important to us all. it symbolizes being determined even at your lowest, and pressing forward no matter what hardships you encounter. The way Conan the Mighty Pig shows the audience to fight to get what you want in such a simplistic yet fascinating way is immaculate! The way he wanders through fields of grass, mountains, and caves searching for his precious truffle almost makes me want to cry.. The way the game rewards you for being patient and continuing forward after getting your truffle stolen from you by a wolf, it does something no game I've ever played has done before. The lesson doesn't come in some kind of corny message that flashes upon your screen once the game has been complete, it doesn't come in the form of a character realizing something they were too blind to see previously... No. It comes to YOU, the player of the game. You realize the lesson, that by helping Conan The Mighty Pig, that by sticking by his side and appreciating the good in life while also brawling through your struggles... You realize that you should appreciate every moment that you've been given. No matter how bleak a situation looks, no matter what kind of bees or dungeon-ghosts appear to stop you in your tracks.. Every second counts. The pig on your screen that is continuing to trek on for more truffles, he is a metaphor for seeing the beauty in life. He trudges through the land, jumping high and crouching low with a smile on his face. He's never deterred into giving up, he never sits down and ponders about what he's doing what his life. No. He understands the hardships of his life and others, and will forever fight on to make it better because he truly believes that life is something to be proud of. These enemies that you face, are not truly villainous. No, they are metaphors for the cruel people you come across on your journey through this reality. Take the wolf, as an example. The wolf is portrayed as a stronger force than you, someone who will chase you down upon seeing you and will ruthlessly rob you of your truffles without a thought of how you feel. I like to think that this wolf represents the bullies, the people who take out their own frustrations on others. Like the wolf, bullies will be stronger than you at times. They will mock and ridicule you for seemingly no reason, and they will find pleasure in ruining something good you had. And to surpass the wolf, you must become the boar. I think that this is symbolic in how when you bully other people, when you make others feel worse for your own benefit, the people you once insulted now become what you were. They become the bullies. Similar to how Conan must become the boar, a stronger and more aggressive animal, to make the wolf leave him alone. Now take the Bees, as another example. They will sit in a hive, and they won't bother you at first. But when you appear and get to close to them, they start stinging you and attacking you in a group. I think the bees represent a group of shy, sad and scared people. The group that stays within their own habitat, and doesn't take to kindly to new people because of the trauma they might've felt. Similar to these people, the bees don't leave their hive until Conan gets to close to them. And once he does, they will come together in a swarm to shoo Conan away. They don't have any intent on hurting Conan, all they want is to be left alone- similar to the lonely people I'm connecting them with. I believe the flower you get to avoid the bees is meant to represent that certain 'understanding' that you may have towards these people. The feeling that you do feel empathy for these people; that you may even relate to them on a certain level. This sense can be lost and found once again, as your emotions change with hardships and struggles. Like how Conan can only hold an item or ability for so long before it goes away. These items all represent different emotions Conan is going through! Conan can go through the act of being a bully, he can get overwhelmed and get a jerk sometimes. Conan can feel a sense of sadness or depression, Conan can try to be an empathetic, shy person. But in the end, Conan will always be the same Conan. He will be mighty, he will be the adventurous Pig we all know him to be at the end of the day. Just like us humans. We will feel sad and lonely sometimes... We will feel angry and hurt sometimes. But it's important to remember that this is not the end of your exploration. Our worst days will eventually end- we will stop being a boar. We will stop carrying around the yellow flower. And our best days will end too! We will eventually lose our green-beans. We will eventually have to slow down once we have lost our chili peppers. But in the end, we can look up at our beautiful nature, our rising sunset, and a nicely placed truffle amidst the flowers... And we can smile. That's what Conan the Mighty Pig teaches us. Conan the Mighty Pig understands this earth, this society, this universe! It understands it on a level no game ever has before. And it reflects these themes of societal pressure and change perfectly amidst the game it is in. Despite having these undertones, everything remains NATURAL. Like how these themes are all NATURAL, as well. The wolves still act like how a wolf would act. Bees still remain an accurate depiction of the honey-making flying creatures. The bunnies will continue to hop around, just as a bunny would. Because that's just how our world is. And that is why I love Conan The Mighty Pig. Because it means something that will never be reflected in the same way again. Conan the Mighty Pig is truly a beautiful experience.
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