The Stand throws the bag of popcorn at the man and tells him; "You can see your destiny through a trivial, little thing." The task is trivial, yes, but the stakes are high, and the popcorn is emblematic of everything this man is. He’s a corn magnate - as ridiculous as that is - and this symbol of his success is also the harbinger of his undoing. It feels to me like a postmodern Aesopica - Aesop’s Fables - and the untimely undoing of once humble, but often selfish characters within. When a goose lays golden eggs the owners slice it open in search of gold surely hidden inside, only to find nothing. This unrivalled greed has always been an undeniable sin, but it takes on a different flavour when under capital

Due to that, many players want some idea as to what they are diving headfirst into. Fable has an abundance of nuance, and it's easy to miss out on a plethora of gameplay mechanics, story beats, and hidden goodies left waiting to be discove

Conversely, if you eat vegetables lying around, your character will be more agile and healthy overall. Wandering from village to village in Fable often means you will happen upon many varieties of food to load into your inventory. Be wary, because each type of food or drink can affect you differen

Once the tavern is unlocked, Team Snakemouth can exchange their Crystal Berries for Medals. Additionally, they can also take on bounties for optional bosses and begin another important sidequest . Finally, they can buy the exceptionally rare Dark Cherries from a shady trader. This item is used in recipes for some of the best items in the g

What follows is a long-winded fetch quest that culminates in Vi gifting some Red Paint to Jaune, finally putting aside their familial quarrels. Afterwards, Vi will unlock the Sharing Stash skill. This can hea the entire party, along with curing poi

His success was a lucky break, yes, but it also came at the cost of the lives and well-being of those around him. And now he stands in a park in Venice, praying that he can flick some popcorn into the air and land them in his mouth, all while pigeons swirl around him and the twisted visage of his daughter growls threats to his life. On the third attempt, the sun breaks through the clouds above, blinding the man and causing him to fail his final popcorn catch. Almost an act of divine intervention. The man’s head comes off, fulfilling the threats the Stand made years earl

Just like Aesop’s Fables, this short, self-contained story has a powerful message, but one that Aesop could never have predicted in a world ravaged by global capitalism. The powerful abuse others, the powerful feel no empathy, and the powerful will use those around them to get what they want, even at the cost of their own happiness. But ultimately, no matter what, the powerful do not feel the brunt of their curse. They do not have to face the consequences of their actions. They just let those around them do it for them, and keep walking forward, living their life. As the man rises from the confessional booth and leaves the church we see the headless servant, bearing the man’s old face, crawl behind him, alongside the homeless man from years before, while the corn magnate himself strolls out, unscathed, with a face that isn’t even his

Let’s also remember that Fable 3’s dog companion extends far beyond the contemporary "Can you pet the dog?" phenomenon that seems to have been adopted as a marketing tactic for new and upcoming games. In Fable 3 you can teach your dog tricks, and 30 seconds later it will rip an enemy’s throat out. This disparity is par for the course for Fable 3, which is a game that seems to have amassed every existing genre into its massively hodgepodge makeup. Fable 3 is The Sims. Fable 3 is Dishonored. Fable 3 is Grand Theft Auto. You can use your magical affinity to protect innocent people from hordes of vindictive monsters, or you can pump the rent prices in Aurora up so high that people can’t even afford to buy vegetables in the worst place on earth. You can marry someone, absorb their assets, and then file for immediate divorce. They won’t be happy about it, and the COVID-19 Game development’s morality system will have its due impact on you — but you can do it. It’s a life simulator, a fantasy RPG, a tycoon management game, a rom-com, and every single thing in between. Sometimes it’s too much — how do you even begin to reconcile all of that in a coherent way? But most of the time it’s actually genuinely smart. It’s just not Fable 2, and people — including 14-year-old me — hated that.

Fable 3 is ten years old today. It’s not as good as Fable or Fable 2 — if you’ve read this far, you’ll know that isn’t the argument I’m making. The argument is that Fable 3 is an oddly unique game. Ten years later, I’ve yet to see anything remotely like it, and I think you’d be hard pressed to find something that is more unanimously ambitious than it is. Yes, there have been more impressive art styles. Yes, I’m sure another game has a far better skill system. But as a whole, nobody ever told the people making Fable 3 that actually, what they were doing was a bit too much. Actually, maybe more is not better. Actually, we can have property management and an entire monarch simulator lapped onto the end of an industrial revolution/medieval fantasy hybrid RPG, but come on. Do we really need full animations for baking pies and dog tricks? "Of course we do," came Lionhead’s resounding response in my imagination. "Otherwise it wouldn’t be Fable."