Wandersong is a wholesome peaceful and amazing game. Honestly, it's what I needed this week, and I hope this video helps if you're having a good, bad, or somewhere in between week.
I feel like the game did a really good job of making me hate Audrey. By the time I got to rulle, I dreaded asking her for help as much as the bard did and when she smacked #BestGirl with lightning, me seeing her only as the villain was cemented. I really like how they ended Audrey’s character. It’s a little subtle but throughout the whole game, she never does anything without her sword, the object that makes her the hero. The most she would do is jump on a rock. That is until the final moments of the game where after losing her sword when the Bard is caught up in their speech, she slashes him with her scarf. The only things we hear after this is that she was the one who cursed the troll’s boyfriend and a villager in Rulle saying she has decided to take a humble life now. This line of dialogue about her having a less extravagant life and her slashing the bard with her scarf is all evidence that points to deep down, the Bard did get through to her. I think these hints work much better then some sort of redemption or scene of her apologizing because she never truly earned any sort of scene like that.
Great video! (Spoilers ahead) My personal favorite act was Act 4 because I think it was an excellent "parody" of the Bard themself. How their happy and positive outlook was simply just for the sake of the people around them and not really for themself. Happy Kid in that act I like to think was the personification of the Bard, and Chistmest was the inner turmoil they had a nasty habit of bottling up. And while we don't know a whole lot about their mom, based on her insistence of him smiling, I wonder if it was a learned behavior. Finally, it wasn't the Bard that was the one dishing out joy. Instead, it was the people around them that slowly brought hope back, which is something I think they needed. Thanks for making this analysis, I love the Bard and I love opening up discussions and conversations surrounding this game.
Another thing I love about the game, so many scenes and moments tie into the themes of the game and advance important character arcs. It's impressive how much they fit into such a short game.
@@CommRio Indeed the moment he admitted to being joyful because others need him to be while bottling up his darker feelings reminded me of a certain character from Doki Doki Literature Club.
I wonder if Happy Kid was modeled to look like the bard, since his father is the one that runs the factory. It would make sense since the slogan is that “Happy Kid is the only thing you’ll ever need” and “Happy Kid brings joy to everyone” if those are how the bards father feels about him
I like how everyone doesn’t expect the bard to do very much to save the world But they are literally the only person capable of doing so This isn’t a very surprising when you look at the lore I mean the god of their world is literally a singer who creates reality with her music Of course someone who is good at music will be able to save a world made of music
This game is so criminally underrated and it deserves WAY more praise! It's the game everybody, especially in these hard times with the bug and its variant rolling around the world taking lives, needs to play, if not, see. I cannot put into words how thankful and lucky I am to have come across such a powerful game that really tries to speak to its audience.
Thank you for talking about Wandersong!! A very good analysis of the Bard's role in the story. They are a very 3-dimensional character, not just a blank player character. They are their own person with their own emotions & morals and it's neat to see a video analysing them! They _aren't_ "the Hero" and that is such an interesting premise to explore! And thank you for mentioning how the Bard's & Audrey's motivations are what sets them apart. I didn't really think of that! (also random thing, your mic quality is very good)
I'm glad that they made it more nuanced than "silly bard saves the world by singing" and the bard isn't always optimistic they have points where they doubt themselves and fall into depression 19:19 Audrey, the bard and mereim all deal with this in the story
Sorry for answering so late, but I think there is a little irony you might have mentioned about Audrey and the bard: On Steam - that's where I bought Wandersong - you get several achievements. And all of them are gathered by Audrey (using her sword, killing the Dream King and others). Yes those were Achievements nobody should take serious, but I love how this concept still tries to nudge you to thing Audrey is the hero - wenn she is, bus she is a total jerk as well... and in Wandersong - to say it with Tina Turner's words: We don't need another Hero.
I played on Steam as well so I had the same experience with that and even the momentary disappointment I hadn't gotten all the achievements before realizing what that meant. A clever bit of storytelling in the achievements
I really liked this game, I played it years ago right before my mom passed away. I also suffer from the bard's toxic positivity in the way that I am always happy and cheerful around everybody even if I feel pretty bad, maybe my version of act 4 is coming sometime. Very nice game
Great video! The editing is high quality and this video probably deserves more attention because your analysis was very in-depth. Though I am a bit sad you didn't talk about the scene in the Crater Theatre as I feel it's one of the more important character moments between the Bard and Miram. It reveals that the Bard chooses to deal with their negative emotions by ignoring them and pushing them away because they would be more helpful if they stay positive. It certainly isn't healthy, but it made them feel more like a real person and I started to sympathize with them a lot. This is game is amazing and I'm really glad you did an analysis video on it
As always with these videos some scenes can't make it if I want it to remain a reasonable length, but I agree thinking back on it the Crater Theatre scene should have been included. It adds further proof to my point about Imposter Syndrome for the Bard and Miriam, and mirrors the later scene between Audrey and the Bard. Glad you enjoyed the analysis, and thank you for the comment!
I'm very late to this video but because Miriam wasn't around I wanted to explore a bit...I didn't go inside to meet the spiritual groups when they said 'come inside...' before going to the snowy mountains and I went too far to turn back....but I heard about the bad ending if everyone in the world wasn't in harmony the bard would fail. SO I AM SO GLAD THAT IT WASN'T RELEVANT AND THE WORLD WAS SAVED BECAUSE I WOULD HAVE CRIED. Edit: Oh AND I wish we could get to know more about the bard's father (the factory owner). I also want to know more about the dream king's emotions and the queen of order and the king of hearts! I WANT MORE 😭😭 but sadly...no wandersong 2....never I think
Ooh! You'll find it interesting to look at the bad ending on yt! It's so so sooo sad. It basically happens when you skip side quests (meeting other characters and helping them) and then just sing the song straight away to see that overseers, and if you do this all the way until the end that means that not all the characters will be in harmony which means that it will be the end of the world because they didn't sing the Harmony song with Bard. But I've always wondered if I skipped one side quest or perhaps two but did all the others, I wonder if the world would still end.
If my information is right, you can only get the bad ending on repeat playthroughs by already knowing what the solutions to certain puzzles are, thus skipping huge chunks of the game.
I've recently played and finished Wandersong myself and enjoyed it. I liked the analysis on The Bard (along with Miriam and Audrey) throughout who I find a likeable character throughout with their optimism, kindness, full of hope and even when they hit a low point, they were able to move forward which is the kind of character that we need and how we can be inspired to be just like them.
This was an awesome video and really helped to fill in the gaps in why I thought The Bard was such an iconic character. I played Wandersong a bit after it released, and I was going through a real low slump in my life during University; not knowing my place in the world and what the point of it all was. I think The Bard's positive attitude and disposition really influenced me back then and still today, and they remind me why I should keep going on and to spread happiness and positivity to those around me. Thanks to all of that, I'm in a much better place and I've found myself surrounded by people who I was able to connect with because of these lessons. Hearing how the Bard really sets themselves apart from most characters in media really helps to put things into perspective, and I want to thank you for taking the time to make this!
Hey man I just came across your video recently and I just wanted to say that this is an amazing video! I believe that Wandersong is a game the deserves more attention than it has been given
@@CommRio I just opted to buy it for a bunch of people when it was on Sale. I mean I didn't do it BECAUSE of the sale necessarily. I got sold on the game in the first few minutes of playing! But your video analyzing the character was extremely on point. I'm not super good at describing how great things are, or noting specific points I suppose, but your stuff is seriously high quality. I hope you get many subscribers in the future!
This is an Amazing analysis video and I really wish more people saw it and knew of Wandersong and it's beauty. It's shocking how this video is so unknown.
ive loved this game for years im so happy i found this video thank you this game is genuinely so special to me, its one i keep coming back too and i never get over how the characters are portrayed. gah!!! i love this game so much!
Great video! I didn’t know that the bard is non-binary before you’ve mentioned it. And I always thought about them as him, but it may be because it’s easier for me relate to them this way. And I also like the fact that them and Miriam didn’t end up a couple at the end, cause it’s also relatable to me
absolutely amazing video i love the fact that you talked about all of the similarities between the bard, miriam, and audrey, because i feel like that's a crucial part of what makes them work so well their similarities end up highlighting the ways they're different in turn, while still letting each of their personalities and feelings tie into the game's themes incredibly well
I always enjoy talking about how the main characters and supporting characters are woven together to support the theme and highlight differences and similarities in their personalities and Wandersong does it so well.
I wonder why I don't have any knowledge of a fan-made story wherein you play as the hero, and it follows the exact path as the bard from the hero's perspective. It would be really cool.
mask boy: no dance eyala: no sing mask boy/eyala: no worthy to stay this home,go to everhood and suffer pain and death in your loop life,awake the nightmare of night...red doll and cat audrey:cat? cat.G: meow meow suffer in my playroom,life doesn't matter and suffer with another buddies*poof* done red doll: ....
I named The Bard "Kiwi" since it's the canon name and I've been using the pronouns: him, his, he since they look and sound more boyish. And I've only grown up around only male and female so don't bully me because I used to think that non-binaries didn't exist
That's all fine, as the developer said any pronouns are good for Kiwi or Bard. As for non binary people yeah it took a while for me to learn about the possibility and now I can count several non binary people among my friends, everything is a process.
One of the things that makes the bard interesting is that they ARE ultimately the hero of the story, but they're not *supposed* to be. They're not the chosen one. They're a total nobody who, through sheer goodwill and determination, ends up becoming the *real* hero in a universe that wants them to die. In a way, it's a lot like being LGBTQ+.
