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pyrajanison

Tale of Two Lobotos: An Analysis of the state of Loboto's mind

So I've been thinking of how different Loboto's mind seems to be from how we see it in the Rhombus of Ruin, and how it is in Psychonauts 2. I do think that Raz did make a positive impact on him. This can be seen in the presentation of the two versions of Loboto we see in the mad dentist's mind.

In Rhombus of Ruin, we are presented with First Mate Loboto, a ship-hand on a boat, and Monstroboto, a giant sea monster. These seem to be representations of Loboto's sanity and insanity. At this point, insanity is large and unruly, tormenting and trying to destroy the last shred of sanity left. Only when his past is confronted and his moral compass restored do we see a change in this balance, if albeit a minor one.

When entering Loboto's mind again in Psychonauts 2. We are once again presented with the imagery of two Lobotos, one tormenting the other, only this time both are now the same size. It seems that Loboto's sanity is now equal to his insanity, but the insanity still has rule over his sane mind, thanks to the fear instilled in him by Gristol and the belief that he's in too deep to 'turn back now'.

Now, I'm no expert in psychology, so if there are other aspects of this mental dynamic I'm not aware of or things I missed, feel free to add your thoughts.

BONUS THOUGHT: I originally thought in the Rhombus of Ruin version of Loboto's mind, dental imagery was absent, but apparently that wasn't the case. When looking at the concept art for Loboto's ship, we see a bunch of dental equipment making up the design of the ship. Sadly we can't see much of the ship in Rhombus, but the top of the one mast does have the look of dental mirror, so it seems that this design does carry over into the game.

homoquartz

psychonauts players: we loved the game but universally hated the last level, the sound was especially annoying.

psychonauts 2: sorry about that. have this. *it's a small world simulator*

o-lanterns

I am once again overthinking and overanalyzing Psychonauts 2, more specifically, this memory vault slide here:

We've all laughed about it, Compton being held like a foot at least off of the ground by Otto, it's funny.

But of course I'm looking at all the little details and overanalyzing, lol.

Here we see Cassie looking at Compton and Otto posing for photographs taken by reporters, who are probably asking a million questions because "look, it's two of the Psychic 6, founders of the Psychonauts, the people who defeated Maligula", of course these reporters are going to be asking question after question after question all at once.

Which would be an overwhelming situation, all those lights, voices, questions.

And we know that Compton gets overwhelmed fairly easily.

Looking at Compton, to me, he looks like he's checked out a bit, like he's zoning out because there's just Too Much Going On, like he's shutting down because of all the excess stimulation.

And the thing is, Otto would know that Compton gets overwhelmed easily, he potentially made the first psychoisolation chamber for Compton (I headcanon that he did, especially since the chamber in Green Needle Gulch is right by Compton's menagerie), he knows that Compton gets overwhelmed, which can potentially be disastrous.

So I think Otto is holding Compton like that to try and help him get through this photoshoot/interview.

Because holding someone like that? With just one arm that's wrapped around their shoulders? That would provide a lot of pressure, which could be a grounding sensation for Compton. It would provide a lot of pressure and be as close to a hug as possible for while they're in front of a bunch of reporters.

Because Compton wouldn't be able to just walk away from the situation without people wondering where he's going and getting focus put on him. If he suddenly teleported away, people would ask where he went and potentially theorize about why he just suddenly left. You have to remember that this is during a time that they Psychic 6, those who remained at least, were probably under a microscope because they defeated Maligula, everyone would be wanting to know more about them, and everything they did would be analyzed to at least some degree.

But if Otto just held Compton like we see here? Maybe make a little joke, say "now it'll be a little easier to get us both in the picture" to make the reporters laugh and keep the focus on him? Then it would have helped Compton get through the situation and help keep people from realizing that Compton was getting overwhelmed because then people would have just reacted just like we did, by laughing about how Otto is just holding Compton like that and then moving on. By holding Compton like that, it helped him get through the situation and also hide the fact that he was probably getting seriously overwhelmed by it.

psychicbeeboops

seaboigium asked:

Do you think Psychonauts 2 takes a better approach to mental health than the first game?

aquato-family-circus answered:

I definitely think it does, yeah

the mental health advisory being there at all is a testament to that

not to say the original game did it….. The Worst? but there's definitely a lot of dated shit in that game, which I won't hold too hard against it. It's worth criticising but it's also 16 years old and critisisms for said game are directly addressed in PN2. Many other people have said this better than I can here.

But I do think PN2 can take the better approach it does at all because they made the smart decision in the first game to treat the asylum inmates with compassion. Like they have some dated jokes and conceptions about how some mental issues work but ultimately show that they're people who had the wacky worlds they did because of issues in their life we could relate to.

babycharmander

WARNING, THIS AUDIO FILE AND POST CONTAIN END-OF-THE-GAME SPOILERS FOR PSYCHONAUTS 2!

(The first half of the above audio is the music as heard normally in the game; the second half is reversed.)

During my playthrough, I noticed some very… interesting audio. At first I'd thought there might be something new hidden there–a hidden detail or something–and while I was not entirely correct, what I did find reinforced my interpretation of some themes the game presents.

Analysis under the cut, and, again, SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE GAME. This is going to get long, but stick with me!

Keep reading

art-by-neko

Psychonausts Friends Explanation & List

With the release of Psychonauts 2, new enemies were introduced. While thinking on these new enemies, I began to wonder why there aren't more representations of the positive thoughts people have. I first focused on the bad idea, wondering why good ideas couldn't pop up to help out Raz somehow. Then I remembered that when a bad mood is defeated, their eye's change color and they smile, possibly turning into a good mood. I thought it would be fun to explore what the opposite of each recurring enemy might be.

As an in-game explanation, maybe Raz learns a new power that can change negative thoughts to positive (and vise versa)? Or it might just be a gimmick that only applies to a single level? Or maybe these friends just show up in levels the same way that the enemies do? It's up to you to decide.

Anyway, check out what I've got so far and what'll be coming up next!

Good Mood (Bad Mood)
Good Idea/Bright Idea (Bad Idea)
Permit (Censor)
Certainty (Doubt) [TBP]
Hindrance (Enabler) [TBP]

Positive and negative is relative to how the thoughts react to Raz, because censors are actually a sign of a healthy mind and doubts and regrets aren't necessarily bad either

demonoflight

Something I really liked about Psychonauts 2 was that, for the most part, Raz isn't just going around fixing people's problem for them - the owners of the brains he's popping into are part of the process.

Compton Boole's anxiety is so overwhelming at first that Raz has to cook all the gameshow dishes himself and describe the process to the judges for him. Raz helps him with kindness and recommendations for mental rest, and slowly but surely, Compton gains enough confidence to give his own thoughts on the dishes. By the time of the boss fight, Compton retakes control as chef with Raz supporting him as sous chef. In a way, Compton is the one fighting the boss, not Raz; the only thing that can damage the judges is the food Compton makes.

PSI-King is almost comically useless in his Mote of Light form, but he follows Raz everywhere in the Sensorium. It's his senses they're bringing back and he's seeing it through, even if it's kind of terrifying! But even with this "uselessness", his mind is actually doing a lot of heavy lifting through his bandmates. They are able to lead Raz to the right places to find the instruments and restore PSI-King's senses, accompany him at the concert, and when he is overwhelmed by his lost memories rushing back, the band pops up to reassure Helmut of his friends' trust and love for him, and brings him back to focus.

Cassie desperately wants to help Raz and see her friends again, but the trauma of the Battle of Grulovia caused her to form a mental block preventing her from doing so - a mental block turned physical due to her being a psychic. Cassie is fully aware of how much this impedes her, and actually conspires with Raz to remove this mental block. The Writer, Teacher and Counterfeiter archetypes gladly band together and actively help Raz weaken the Librarian archetype and overwhelm her, eventually turning her to their side and becoming whole again.

Bob isn't as active in his own healing as the others, but when the moth in Bob's mind cocoons him up to prevent him from feeling pain, it isn't Raz who frees Bob from the cocoon. When Bob hears the Helmut plant say something he knows his husband would never say, it breaks him out of his funk completely, and he frees himself. Thanks to Raz, for the first time in decades, Bob is confronting his feelings and catching his subconscience in a blatant lie - an intrusive thought, something he knows for a fact he isn't true. He is then able to toss the alcohol-induced numbness and self-isolation away (quite literally) and is willing to confront his seeds of grief, regret and anger, one at a time.

And then there's Lucrecia Mux. Despite her fears, she leads Raz and Ford to where Maligula has been locked away. During the final battle, she makes every effort to escape Maligula's form and reconnect with her grandnephew/grandson. When she succeeds, she gives him "her all", empowering him so he can defeat Maligula and put her back in the depths of Lucrecia's mind, where she belongs. And even then, it's Lucrecia that cuts Maligula off in the end. She got a lot of help from a lot of people, but it's something she needed to finish herself.

Raz helps people help themselves, and I think that's beautiful.

goosterbold

(minor Psychonauts 2 spoilers) Oh, we're always talking, darling. … Sasha says hi!

duckapus

All of Psychonauts 2′s bosses are upgraded versions of normal enemies(and I love that)

Okay some of these are admittedly a stretch but here me out.

Lady Luctopus: Bad Idea

The one pretty much everyone can agree on. Between her blue main body, bulb bombs, and the fact that she was quite literally born of Raz's terrible idea to change Hollis's mind, it's pretty blatantly obvious.

Nightmare Maligula: Memory Vault/Panic Attack

More specifically, a Memory Vault that's having a panic attack. It's a bit hard to tell since she's the only thing on stage that isn't covered in colors unlike the standard Panic Attacks, but if you focus on how the Vault acts before she emerges, how strongly Time Slow affects her, and how weak she is once Helmut calms down it's pretty clear what's going on.

The Gluttonous Goats: Judge

First off there's obviously their role in the cookoff as the literal judges, but there's also their movesets. A strong but simple primary attack(Vomit/Gavel) that gets taken out of play and thrown back in their faces by the Telekinetic Hand(ingredients/gavel again) and is replaced/supplemented by a weaker but more versatile set of attacks(spatula and egg beater/throw the book and headbutt). It's just that melee and projectile got swapped in the transition to full mental constructs.

The Die-brarian: Doubt

First off, at the very beginning of the fight she questions if this is the right thing to do(at least in the playthrough I've seen), so clearly at the very least she has doubts that she's pushing down. She also has that attack that leaves massive blotches of ink on the arena that act like the Doubt goo puddles with an added damage-over-time effect. And, while she moves around too much and is usually too far away to test this with Pyrokinesis, she's made of paper, which in the real world is Highly Flammable.

The Moth: Regret/Enabler

Even if you never directly fight it it's still the main antagonist of Bob's Bottles so I'm counting it. And come on, orange flying creature that tends to carry emotionally heavy objects? Textbook Regret right there. And as for the Enabler side of things, it's got the high cheery voice, it claims to be helping but just makes things more difficult than they have to be, it legit starts cheering for the enemies during the Mook Rush portions of the boss, and most glaringly it's explicitly the representation of Bob's addiction and is thus an actual enabler.

Truheltia Memonstria: Bad Mood

Okay this one's a bit harder to explain. While yes, unlike a normal Bad Mood you fight them directly, there's still the first Mook Rush where the fight only progresses when you break Bob's Cocoon, similar to how you can only beat a Bad Mood if you break its Good Mood out of its cage. Plus, like, symbolically, a mood that bad(as in the actual depressive episode this whole level is) is going to mess with your perspective, make you remember things as worse than they actually were, make you feel like the people in your life hate you, much like the little plants of his loved ones ballooning into spiteful violent monsters until Bob realizes that the way he's seeing them iswrong and starts fighting The Moth so he can finally start to get better.

Maligula: Censor/Inner Demon

Okay so the Censor might be obvious since she's explicitly stated to be Lucy's mental defense system gone haywire, but some of you might be asking "what the hell are Inner Demons?" Well, they're the little charging bomb guy enemies from the first game, stated to be rage and pain and all that sort of stuff made manifest. Sound familiar? It would also fit her fighting style, since all she does is attack attack attack, without ever bothering to defend herself or change attacks. Even her water snakes sort of explode on impact just like the Inner Demons did.

percill