Shangri-La Frontier (シャングリラ・フロンティア)

Ah! Ahh!

The Dark Lord has been defeated, once and for all!

You did it, Sunraku, thank you!

I am in your debt.

From the onset, it's been a long

and difficult journey, hasn't it?

Yes.

I've been waiting for this very moment.

Faeria.

Ah?

Why don't you join the Dark Lord,

and go straight to hell where you belong!

You're the real Dark Lord of this world,

and it'll be a hell-uva lot better without you!

TIMES NEW ROMAN

THE PRAYER OF THE FAIRY PRINCESS

Let's go!

I finally beat this epic "Fail"ia!

Aah! And I got to top it off with some sweet revenge!

Boo-ya!

At a time when traditional console games

are considered retro,

fully immersive VR games have become the norm.

Today, with the exception

of a small number of standout titles,

there lies a mountain of games

whose core design elements fail to live up

to the high standards of next-gen technology.

These buggy nightmares are known as "trash games."

And while most people go out of their way

to avoid terrible experiences,

there are a select few who actually get off on them.

We call these elite trash hunters "freaks."

The rumors were true.

That was some steamy, top-tier garbage.

This is one of those freaks.

His name is Rakuro Hizutome.

There's nothing like the sweet release of freedom.

Man, I wonder if this is how an ex-con feels

when they get outta prison.

Okay! What pile of trash am I diving into next?

Otherwise known as

The Trash-Game Hunter.

WHAT DO YOU PLAY GAMES FOR?

Good morning!

Anybody home?

TIMES NEW ROMAN SOFT & FLUFFY MELON PAN

TOWA AMANE

THE CELEBRITY MODEL ON FASHION'S BLEEDING EDGE

Heads up, Mom!

It looks like one of your butterflies got out.

Really? Thanks for letting me know, sweetheart!

Sure thing, gotta go!

Uh? Have a good day!

Goin' anywhere cool this summer?

Yeah, man, we're going to Hawaii in two days!

Awesome!

- You? - Makuhari.

Right on! You going to their game expo?

Hmm.

Hey! What's up, Hizutome?

What have you been doing lately?

I mean...

No, not that!

Well, what I really wanted to ask you

is what game are you playing.

Oh, really? That's crazy,

because the truth is, I've also--

Okay!

Hmm.

Hmm.

-Hizu-- -'Sup, Rakuro?

-Hey. -Up all night gaming again?

Let's just say it was less "gaming,"

and more "suffering through a crap-fest."

Truly the trashiest of all trash games!

Hmm. Summer vacation starts tomorrow.

MANA IWAMAKI

OWNER OF "ROCK ROLL"

That oughta drive up sales.

Come on in! Well, if it isn't Rei!

Hello, Miss Mana!

REI SAIGA

HIGH SCHOOL 2ND-YEAR

Done with practice?

Yes.

Sorry, you're outta luck.

He's not here today, either.

Ahh! Oh! It's not that!

I was just here to check out some games!

Nice try, kiddo!

We've known each other too long for that to work.

Aw, what a lucky girl!

What I wouldn't give to be young and in love again.

Stop! Not cool!

As far as I know,

he's been pretty busy with an extra-trashy game.

So he hasn't come in for a good while now.

"Extra-trashy?"

See the game that guy's holding?

That's it.

"Failia" Chronicle Online.

It may be a while before he's done.

Oh, Faeria!

I've actually heard about that one!

My sister couldn't stop talking about it,

she said it was almost too tough to play.

A legendary piece of hot garbage.

The friendly AI is mostly a joke,

enemy attack patterns are impossibly hard,

and there's so many bugs

it should never have come out of beta.

Hmm?

I've heard you practically have to be a pro gamer

to make it past the first boss.

People get so frustrated with it,

they throw their headsets across the room.

But the real cherry on top

is having to fight the final boss

in a wrestling mask and tiny swim trunks!

That's kinda weird. Why?

Who knows. Maybe it's more efficient,

or you get a stat bonus or something.

How's your game going? Making progress?

Yeah.

I am, but it doesn't...

Ah!

'Sup, Mana? You got somethin' new and trashy for me?

Well, hey, look what the cat dragged in!

Okay.

Just like that, she's gone.

What was that?

Oh. Ignore me, it's nothing.

Hang on. Did you already beat "Failia?"

Heck, yeah! Finally took that trash to the curb!

How was it?

It was awful! The hottest of all hot garbage!

Huh. I couldn't be happier for you.

And Faeria, the title character,

was an absolute abomination.

I've never been so pissed off in my entire life.

She is the cause of almost every problem in her world.

I mean, it's like you can't even move an inch

without her killing a random villager or party member.

Aah! Oh, no! I didn't see you!

You killed a guy, what the hell is your problem?

And don't expect her to suffer

the consequences of her actions.

Dark Lord!

Curse you for these unavoidable disasters!

That nut-job blames the final boss

for every problem she has!

The guy's innocent!

It's your fault, bozo!

It's like that the whole game,

and if you get frustrated

and even give her the tiniest poke.

I'm done! And I refuse to take another step with you!

She'll put the whole story on hold!

And then the auto-save locks you in place!

Then it takes three freaking hours

to cheer her up, come on!

Aah! Just thinking about it makes me go feral!

I'm just impressed

you decided to stick it out to the end.

Oh, but you see, that's how they get ya!

'Cause in the three minutes between beating the final boss

and watching the credits roll,

you're thrown into a cut scene where you get your chance

to knock the crap out of her

without any fear of retribution!

Like, the sick irony of it all,

is that the more she gets on your nerves,

the more determined you become

to brave trash-hell just to experience

those sweet three minutes of heaven.

And then, when the time comes.

Elation washes your sorrows away,

and you realize your purpose has been fulfilled!

It sounds like it was worth it.

Oh, yeah. But when you've finally

beaten the pinnacle of trash-gaming,

What could you possibly follow that with?

Hmm. Why don't you change it up?

Play something that's good for once.

A good game? I dunno.

What have you got to lose?

Playing terrible games all the time

can make you appreciate the good ones.

And vice versa.

-Huh. -Fully immersive VR.

Thirty million players can't all be wrong.

Maybe I'll try Shangri-La Frontier.

It can be fun to lose yourself in something mainstream,

every once in a while.

Right?

The polar opposite of trash.

A real triple-A game, huh?

Shangri-La Frontier,

which is also known as SLF,