A few linear notes from the season retrospectives to get caught up.
Season Nine narratively really shouldn't have worked out as well as it did. Everything about that season from "PM-Gate" to insisting on strategy to
@JokersWild being sent to Outcast Island right away was pretty much designed to fail in retrospect. It's kind of a miracle that it somehow became a classic in its own right and I still think Jokers win this time around was one of the biggest storylines for any winner. Let's not forget that not only was he sent to Outcast Island in round one, he came back into the main game at the merge only to be sent right back to Outcast Island again because of bad timing on a trip he was taking. He finally ended up solidifying his spot in the actual main game a couple rounds before semi-finals via a Walt's Vault twist. It truly was a bonkers narrative and he did a TON of solo heavy lifting to persevere through some legitimately unfair twists that we'd never pull off now adays.
Season Ten is one of my all time favorites. At the time getting to double digits was a huge milestone. Snoopy is one of my favorite winners because of how consistent he was with pulling off killer smaller scale additions to bigger group projects and that being a specific style he put his fingerprints on as a valid winning strategy. Of course this was also the debut of Basketbuddy's 3D concept art which was a HUGE deal and really went on to visually redefine what the game could be. MEW getting Miyazaki'd and Jokers once again continuing his getting eliminated right before the finals curse even after he'd won were icing on the cake narratively, but generally speaking this felt like a triumphant return to form as far as an emphasis on pure creative writing over strategy and drama.
Season Eleven was definitely a bit lowkey, but it had its moments. I'm still not a fan of how the season doesn't really have an identity and how we switched themes a couple rounds in. I had a big vision for a season-wide park building exercise that we really nailed with 1986 years later. The difference here was that it was essentially designing a whole Nintendo park, so it was one specific IP. Way too niche of a concept and I really should have had the foresight to see that it wasn't going to work. Just from a production point of view this one doesn't land with me because of how lopsided it is.
Season Twelve...I mean it's not as bad as season three, but that's about the best I can say about it haha. People constantly dropping out was genuinely depressing. The Blue Wedding happened essentially because I wanted some sort of narrative hook to the season and given the fact that the event is what the season is most remembered for I think I at least succeeded there, for better or for worse. One thing I will give credit for this season is that it's one of
@monkey92514's stronger seasons. Him really coming into his own was one of the few redeeming elements of the last two VF-centric seasons.
As far as season 13 goes...I know
@spacemt354 has thoughts and the Killer twist was certainly a daring and potentially unfair idea, but given the "13" of it all and the fact that it was the first WDWMagic era season, I truly think it's one of the most unique seasons we've ever had as far as game mechanics and narrative are concerned. I'd never repeat the killer twist again and it probably wasn't the best concept to introduce people here to the game with, but
@RMichael21 is probably THE biggest "strategy" winner the game had ever seen. At the time it was the equivalent to if
@AceAstro had won 1986. Very interested to see the reaction some of the newer people have to Joker's write up on that one. Should be an interesting conversation starter.
