Can someone explain Bastion to me?

[karthink]

I just finished the game, and despite listening to most of what the narrator said, I have no idea what was going on. I'm ashamed, but only a little. The narrator's comments were too disjointed or often played when I had to concentrate on dodging something on the screen.

From reading Alec's article and the comments, most people appear to have understood the characters' motivations. So:

1. What is the Kid's story? Is going through that horde/survival mode in the Bastion the only way to find out? (I gave up after a few rounds.) What was that (drug-induced) flashback in the middle of the game about? (The one where the kid does some mining.)

2. Who was Zia? I only got that she was an Ura raised in Caelondia. Was Rucks narrating the entire story to her?

3. Why was Zulf in Caelondia in the first place? Why were the Ura attacking him in the end?

4. Who is Rucks? What caused the calamity and was he involved? Where did he get that cannon?

5. Where did the cores/shards come from?

6. Why did the Ura stop shooting the kid as he carried Rucks? They knew all along he was trying to fix the Bastion and then the world; what changed in those last moments?

I also didn't feel any gravitas to the ending choice. Didn't see how it mattered, the game was going to end at that point anyway. (Also, no sadness. Which is sad in itself, because I really wanted to get into it.)

Again, I want to consider this a lack of attentiveness on my part, but honestly the narration just didn't work for me.

[Voon]

6. Why did the Ura stop shooting the kid as he carried Rucks? They knew all along he was trying to fix the Bastion and then the world; what changed in those last moments?

No, he carried Zulf. Rucks was safe and sound back in the Bastion with Zia. It's probably out of remorse that they stopped shooting them.

[Berzee]

Answering from somewhat old memories, so take this with grains of salt and spoiler warnings that may or may not even be accurate, but to my understanding...you'd be better completing all the survival modes than listening to me chatter on. =P I could have googled these answers, but that would take away the personal charm and the exciting prospect that everything I say could be wrong.

1. What is the Kid's story? Is going through that horde/survival mode in the Bastion the only way to find out? (I gave up after a few rounds.) What was that (drug-induced) flashback in the middle of the game about? (The one where the kid does some mining.)

The drug-induced flashback was I think not actual history, and just some nightmare to weird you out. The story told in survival mode makes much more sense, I don't remember most of it though, but it was something about how he had a rough childhood and then he worked as a defender of The Walls...two stints, which is one more than anyone else ever volunteered for. So he was a kind of rough n' tuff...Kid. No particular connection to the calamity though, until the game starts.

2. Who was Zia? I only got that she was an Ura raised in Caelondia. Was Rucks narrating the entire story to her?

Her father was an Ura scientist (learned during survival mode of course) who was kidnapped and forced to work on the weapon to make the Calamity...so he rigged it to destroy Caelondia instead of the Ura Terminals place. Rucks was telling the story to Zia because they didn't have anything better to do while they waited around for the Kid to get back from chasing Zulf.

3. Why was Zulf in Caelondia in the first place? Why were the Ura attacking him in the end?

He was a missionary/ambassador =P he had decided that the Caelondians and the Uras should get along, so he came to further relations between them. He met a Caelondian that he was going to marry (you find this out in the survival mode too), but she died in the calamity and he got all sad. You know how he got all crazy when he discovered that the calamity was planned...especially since his life was devoted to producing peaceful relations between the two nations. The Ura were attacking him in the end because...hrm...neither me nor Mrs Berzee can quite remember, but I think they just didn't appreciate him leading The Kid to their doorstep with his giant gunz.

4. Who is Rucks? What caused the calamity and was he involved? Where did he get that cannon?

Rucks worked on the construction of the Walls (maybe) and he was vaguely consulted about the Calamity weapon but not really involved. He mostly worked on creating the Bastion, in case the Calamity caused too much...calamity. He invented that cannon because he's awesome, and has a lot of free time while waiting for The Kid to do his thing, I suppose.

5. Where did the cores/shards come from?

We can't remember if they were ever explained, or just...ya know...energy. =P Or, ain't they some kind of crystal organism that contains a living memory of the world and its history...and if you gather enough you can get the whole memory back and make everything right again. That's why when you get a shard or a core, you can restore some building from the past (say, a brewery or a museum or the armory).

6. Why did the Ura stop shooting the kid as he carried Rucks? They knew all along he was trying to fix the Bastion and then the world; what changed in those last moments?

As pointed out, he carried Zulf rather than Rucks. =) They stopped shooting him out of RESPECT! for his willingness to carry a Ura at his own peril through a band of bloodthirsty...Uras. I guess they saw he wasn't out to kill 'em all, after all.

I also didn't feel any gravitas to the ending choice. Didn't see how it mattered, the game was going to end at that point anyway. (Also, no sadness. Which is sad in itself, because I really wanted to get into it.)

But if you choose to go back in time, then New Game Plus mode becomes an exercise in a sort of pleasing melancholic futility, and makes the other choice so much more exciting the second time around! (In theory...I never finished New Game Plus mode and I decided to stay away from time travel the first time because time travel is always trouble). I wasn't sad at the end necessarily, but I did sit on the couch with my wife for a good ten minutes asking "Wife, what decision must we make!?"

Those who follow will no doubt correct me on all points that need correcting (or if not them...Google and survival mode will =P). I can see how based on your mood at the time, it might have come off feeling underwhelming; for myself though, I relished it throughout. =)

[Berzee]

Also, I am excited that there is a new DLC detailing the History of Rucks! but I haven't had time to play through it yet (I think it's released now, though?)

[Shane]

"5. Where did the cores/shards come from?"

I think the crystal of the Bastion's core was shattered by the assault of the Uras and shattered remnants are what are called shards.

[karthink]

Berzee, thanks for the answers.

The gameplay was far too mediocre for me to try and tough out the survival modes.

[Voon]

I think the Kid was a Mason who built the Bastion for a couple of shifts. His mother died during his first shift and the money he sent to her were gone. Rucks was the architect of the Bastion and probably a had a small involvement with the Calamity. Zia was the child of a Uran scientist who was blackmailed by the Cael to work on the Calamity in exchange for his daughter's freedom after she ran away from home, caught by the Marshals. Now, Zulf was an ambassador/missionary to bring peace to the Cael and Ura, as Berzee mentioned. He probably raised to be one as he was guided by his foster parent, who's a Cael. He was going to marry a Cael but she died, either the Calamity took her away or killed by some conspirators prior to the Calamity, I'm not sure.

Some say that The Kid caused a time loop, which led some to think Rucks is the Kid. What would you say?

[Shane]

The game isn't about the gameplay, you know. It's more about style over substance, kind of like modern fps games. You'll be disappointed if expect to find depth in it, just try to enjoy it for what it is.

[karthink]

Shane: No, this game is about the atmosphere, story and narration. However, I cannot experience any of these if I cannot progress in the game. I found the actual thwacking bits too hard and boring.

[Shane]

Shane: No, this game is about the atmosphere, story and narration.

My point exactly.

However, I cannot experience any of these if I cannot progress in the game. I found the actual thwacking bits too hard and boring.

Yea, I found the actual gameplay a bit dull too but the story kept me going.

[Voon]

I like the gameplay. It's a bit hard to get used to, sure, but when I do, the game just clicked. Especially the time when I took the musket, the machete and the dual-pistols. Shooting and dodging like one crazy psycho till the end of the game. Activated Idols just for a bit of challenge, then shit gets real. My hands hurt.

[Flint]

Yeah, the gameplay really clicked with me as well. It's not the greatest, deepest thing in the world but it's fun and varied (based on your loadouts which can really alter gameplay) enough to make it surprisingly addictive. Together with the atmosphere it's rather lovely little snack. I wouldn't really call it an example of presentation before everything else.

But yeah, answers to pretty much everything asked are found in the dreams/survival levels.

[Oshada]

I've found that the Pike and Mortar are pretty much the best combination, providing you with an optimal balance of range, power and crowd management. Drink some Leechade and Mender Mead, get the Mortar upgrade which makes you immune to the blast, and go to town!

Regarding the cores, they are (were) the power source for Caelondia. They were made like coal, bio-matter (windbags) crushed under rocks for a long time at Burstone Quarry. Shards are, well, shards of cores.

[Vague-rant]

SPOILERS

I also didn't feel any gravitas to the ending choice. Didn't see how it mattered, the game was going to end at that point anyway. (Also, no sadness. Which is sad in itself, because I really wanted to get into it.)

Gamers With Jobs had a podcast on Bastion a while ago, and I think they were saying the choice ultimately came down to how you dealt with regret. Did you try to go back to that moment and change the past (Bastion) or did you try to start again and learn from those mistakes (Fly away)?

Zulf ultimately lets his bitterness over his loss consume him and he screws everything up in a quest for vengeance and trying to right the wrongs of the past. Zia representing the new start and they do mention how they all wouldn't have been brought together if not for the Calamity.

Edit: Also, I liked the combat. Simple, fun and effective.

[ReverendMoosey]

Shane: No, this game is about the atmosphere, story and narration. However, I cannot experience any of these if I cannot progress in the game. I found the actual thwacking bits too hard and boring.

If that's the case, they added in an easy-mode in the last update, "No-Sweat" mode. It lets you see the story without having to worry too much about the whole gameplay side of it.

[karthink]

SPOILERS

Gamers With Jobs had a podcast on Bastion a while ago, and I think they were saying the choice ultimately came down to how you dealt with regret. Did you try to go back to that moment and change the past (Bastion) or did you try to start again and learn from those mistakes (Fly away)?

Zulf ultimately lets his bitterness over his loss consume him and he screws everything up in a quest for vengeance and trying to right the wrongs of the past. Zia representing the new start and they do mention how they all wouldn't have been brought together if not for the Calamity.

Edit: Also, I liked the combat. Simple, fun and effective.

Only I don't feel any regret, because neither I (the player) nor the kid is responsible for the calamity. I'm basically fixing someone else's mess.

[Berzee]

Only I don't feel any regret, because neither I (the player) nor the kid is responsible for the calamity. I'm basically fixing someone else's mess.

I think the regret comes in where you have a choice between saving the friendships and people and memories you've built since the Calamity, or tampering with fate and trying to save the throngs of dusty dead people you ran into early on.

Me, I say each person has one appointment with death and that's plenty...and would rather make the best of a Calamity than mess around with something as strange as the Bastion. =T