Adventure Gamers - Forums

Karlok - 21 January 2024 10:09 AM

I’d be interested to know if people are familiar with all the characters from fairy tales and stories we’re meeting in the first episode. I wasn’t and I looked them up after my first playthrough.

Similar to you, there were some fables I hadn’t heard of, not least of all Donkeyskin but I certainly know Toad from “Wind in the Willows”. Did that not make it out of the UK? To be fair, it is very English.

One of the other things I like is that even where I do know the fairy tale, it’s not always obvious which one a character is from until you hear a name and make a connection. “Snow… oh that Snow!”

Veovis - 21 January 2024 03:24 PM

And Three Little Pigs I guess? Are we to understand Bigby Wolf is the bad guy from both stories?

I think so. Certainly sounds like it from what both Colin and Woody said to us.

Also Bigby’s comment on the picture of this guy from one of the Fable Books in chapter 3.

diego - 22 January 2024 08:12 PM

The whole scene reminded me of a movie From Dusk Till Dawn.

Ha, that is such a good comparison! I can’t remember the last time I watched that film, might have to do that now.

Like a lot of you have said, I really like the tone and asthetic of the game. I continue to like the juxtaposition of the fairy story and the gritty. Bigby interacting with the mirror that needs everything in rhyme for instance. It’s a great way of reinforcing how far these fables have fallen (or changed) since they came from the homelands.

Nico2021 - 22 January 2024 06:11 AM

Btw i found all book of fables except one and considering to replay to see if i can find the last one.

In case anyone is interested, some of the entries in here depend on the choices you make. I won’t spoil anything here, but you can ‘rewind’ a chapter into another save file, make the alternate choice and then pick up the entry, before going back to your other save file, if that completionist itch needs scratching.

Came to work dressed as Bigby today:

I’ve been playing along, read watching video, and I have a few questions.

I, too, would have chosen Toad over Lawrence. But once I got to Lawrence’s and Faith’s apartment things seem to unravel. If we believe Tweedle Dee. or is it Dum, Lawrence shot himself after learning of Faith’s death. That’s reasonable, but the gun we pick up and add to inventory hasn’t been fired in at least a week according to Bigsby. Assuming both are correct, where is the gun Lawrence used to commit suicide?

If people want to start Episode 2, please don’t wait for me. I will catch up.

I won’t be playing Section 2 until the weekend so I am not in a hurry.

OK cool, looks like we’re all mostly checked in and through Episode 1.

So, we’ve met a few fables, got a little taste for what life is like in fabletown and seen the sheriff in action. For me it’s a fascinating world and, as others have said, so well portrayed through the graphic style, the sound, the voice acting… pretty much everything. We’ve not had too much story yet, but the episode certainly ended with a really striking blow to Bigby, and I think to us as the players.

This gets me thinking…

We hear from more than one character through the episode that there seems to be a real ‘us’ and ‘them’ between fables outside the woodlands and those inside. The ‘outsiders’ feel that those inside don’t care about them. It’s a familiar setup I think, too much bureaucracy and self interest inside the institution, and some outside seem badly let down.

And to me, this is mirrored in what the player feels (or is invited to feel) about the two murders we come across in the episode. So the first is at the beginning and when we find faith’s head we have no idea who she is and the feeling is more one of a dangerous killer loose. i.e. in some ways the killer is more important than the victim.

Compare that to when we find Snow’s head at the end. Much more emotional weight for me, this time it’s a personal tragedy and all that seems to matter in that moment is the victim obviously for Bigby, but also, I think, for the player too.

It’s a delicious story moment but it was only in this playthrough I realised that my attitude to the discoveries of Faith’s head and Snow’s head were quite different, and along the lines of prioritising those inside the woodlands. It’s the way it’s set up of course, but I like how it puts us in Bigby’s shoes a bit, highlighting the injustices of the society and the impossibility and thanklessness of trying to help. [/reading too much into this]

Just in case you’re interested, here are my choices for EP 1.

1. Did you give Faith your money? I did not. Although if I hadn’t known she would be killed shortly afterwards (like on my first playthrough) I probably would have done!
2. Did you tell Beast the truth about Beauty? I stayed out of it. Not enough info to judge what’s going on with them at that point in the story.
3. Where did you decide to go first? I went to Prince Lawrence first. He looked like he was dying right there. Pretty sure I went to Toad on my first playthrough.
4. What happened to Prince Lawrence? Death prevented.
5. Who is your prime suspect? I went with Bluebeard. Not too much to go on really.
6. Who did you arrest? Got to be Tweedledee! Surely no one can be allowed to get the better of Bigby!

@rtrooney, sound logical reasoning there and a good question.

I’ll kick off section 2 later today.

Just in case you’re interested, these would have been my choices:

1. Did you give Faith your money? I did.
2. Did you tell Beast the truth about Beauty? I let the elevator door close with no answer.
3. Where did you decide to go first? As I stated earlier, I would have gone to Toad’s.
4. What happened to Prince Lawrence? Per-force, he was dead when I got there.
5. Who is your prime suspect? While sympathetic, I think I would still have gone with the Woodsman. But… while he was angry enough to kill Faith, did he have reason to mutilate her and leave the head on Bigby’s doorstep.
6. Who did you arrest? Remain silent. Not enough to arrest anyone.

Section 2: Episode 2

OK, time for Episode Two. We left episode one on, well maybe not a cliffhanger, but on quite a big and unexpected story development.

We’re going to see more of the ‘underside’ of Fabletown in this episode as the story moves on through some of the darker elements of the society. Without spoiling anything there are more new discoveries to be made, pleasant or unpleasant, in this episode so please do discuss but don’t forget to use spoiler tags where appropriate.

In terms of the format, things will run the same as last time. This Episode breaks down into 6 chapters of varying lengths and once again, you’ll be in no doubt when you’ve finished the episode. We’ll aim to start the next section on Thursday 1 February.

Finally, below is a template of the choices you’re presented with in this episode (so don’t look until after you’re done) if it’s helpful in sharing results.

1. How did you respond to Crane about Snow’s death?
2. How did you treat the murder suspect?
3. Did you let Snow come with you to the trip trap?
4. How did you handle Georgie Porgie?
5. Did you keep punching Beast when he was down?

Let’s get back into this!

In my previous playthroughs I tried to be either as good a Bigby as I could or be consistently bad. Bad Bigby does some pretty cruel things and although I did want to see what the consequences were it didn’t feel right. Same thing happened when I went for the Boulevard of Broken Dreams choices in Tex Murphy: The Pandora Directive. At first it was fun to be cynical and even harsh, but after a while I started to hate Tex. This time I am going for a more neutral approach by staying out of things or choosing silence.

Like others have said, the voiceacting is superb. I looked up some of the actors. Amazing that Beast, Dee/Dum, and the Mirror are all played by the same actor. Nice touch that Bigby and Woody are both voiced by Adam Harrington.

The one character I don’t like at all is Colin with his constant nagging, his accusations and nasty remarks.

Here are my choices for the first episode:
1. Did you give Faith your money? Yes. I shouldn’t have, it’s not exactly a neutral choice, but I didn’t think twice. 
2. Did you tell Beast the truth about Beauty? I stayed out of it with both of them.
3. Where did you decide to go first? Lawrence. It’s the best option, going to Toad first makes no difference to Toad but it does to Lawrence.
4. What happened to Prince Lawrence? He lived.
5. Who is your prime suspect? Bluebeard. Just because I hadn’t used that option in one of my previous playthroughs.
6. Who did you arrest? Not sure if arresting Dee is the better choice but I arrested the Woodsman.

diego - 22 January 2024 08:12 PM

edit: Yes, I played the game earlier. I stopped after the 1st episode for the very same reason I mentioned here, because Snow is dead

I remember that! I tried to persuade you to continue playing, but failed.

walas74 - 22 January 2024 10:08 AM

Overall, it was a good presentation of Fables and their stories, although I felt there was more information needed to understand everything better. I know it is a comic adaptation, but I wanted to know more, about the Exodus for example. Why did it happen?

We don’t really know. Shrouded in mystery. Someone or something came along and forced the Fables to leave their homeland. In the comics this very powerful entity is only referred to as the Adversary.

Wow! I certainly didn’t expect Snow to walk into the room. Way to start a new chapter with a bang.

Sorry, I played Episode 2 this weekend but didn’t post here.

My choices were:

1. How did you respond to Crane about Snow’s death? I accused him of not taking care of her.
2. How did you treat the murder suspect? I convinced him to talk with no violence.
3. Did you let Snow come with you to the trip trap? I let her decide for herself. What else if she just arised from the dead? Haha.
4. How did you handle Georgie Porgie? No violence.
5. Did you keep punching Beast when he was down? No. He is a friend mistaken by the circunstances.

Pretty quick chapter, more narrative than usual, but still very enjoyable.

I suspected they couldn’t kill Snow just like that, but good twist the glamour solution…

I think someone stopped playing after Episode 1’s ending. Well, I guess he/she should keep playing…

Can’t wait to see Crane’s explanation of his actions.