Mystery of the Lowest Possible Standards
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| "Mystery of the Lowest Possible Standards" (Saiteigen no Kijun no Nazo) | ||||||
| Airdate | March 10, 2015 | |||||
| Writer | Kotaro Ishidate | |||||
| Director | Kotaro Ishidate | |||||
| Animation studio | DLE | |||||
Red Alert reports in with more crappy game criteria.
Synopsis
[edit]Red Alert arrives looking flustered to report to Optimus Prime that he's continued Tracks's research. Optimus and Bumblebee prepare to examine whether Mystery of Convoy meets the new criteria. Lockdown points out that the game already met one criterion last time to which the pair respond that it's not an instant game over situation. The first new criterion Red Alert has for them is that the content is incomprehensible, which luckily doesn't apply to Mystery of Convoy as Bee and Optimus point out you can play through it without much in the way of context. The second is design so poor that you require a guidebook to complete the game. The others think this is all fine with the possible exception of stage 9. Lockdown protests that this means the game fails, but the others claim that as it's only one stage out of ten, it's just a close call. The next new criterion is that the game doesn't reflect the original source material. When Optimus and Bumblebee again think Mystery of Convoy is fine, Lockdown points out the game has weird original characters and a Decepticon insignia boss, but the pair just claim that it's a close call. The last criterion is a failure to meet minimum standards of playability, which again Optimus is happy with. Optimus's assertion that Mystery of Convoy has passed all tests sends Lockdown into a rage, resulting in the Decepticon furiously speeding around in vehicle mode while yelling.
At Bumblebee's suggestion, the group considers what would be minimum playability for a game. Optimus throws the discussion to Bee, who comes up with the idea of having your job performance depend on playing a video game. Lockdown points out that that is already a thing as there are people who are paid to debug video games, which the group decides must be a terrible job. Optimus asks Red Alert what would fail minimum playability for him, to which Red Alert responds that the game isn't fun, though Lockdown thinks that's not much of a standard and that the entire concept is failing.
Featured characters
[edit](Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Others |
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Notes
[edit]Animation and technical errors
[edit]Continuity notes
[edit]- Tracks presented his research in the previous episode, "Mystery of Game Balance".
Transformers references
[edit]Real-world references
[edit]- Like episode 8, this episode takes place at the Kamikawachi service area in Imazatocho, Utsunomiya, but in the area for southbound traffic rather than northbound traffic.
- Bumblebee's example of someone being forced to play a video game for their job depicts someone playing Dead Space.
- Games being played by the debug testers include Final Fantasy III, Super Mario Bros., Star Luster, and Dragon Quest.
