Possible contradiction between the game and the graphic novels?

[Banterus Maximus]

So, after completing the game, I was thrilled by the story of and blah blah blah I got the first volume of Fables covering issues 1 to 5, which take place 15 years after the game (year must be 2000 or so).

So, in the comics, Snow refers to Bigby as "Mr Wolf" - even in private - all the while Bigby himself asks an employee at the Woodland(s) building if her "royal nibs is in"... In the game it seemed that Wolf and Snow not only were good friends, but they also seemed to be really close (there is a scene with strong tension between the two that Colin interrupts). Did I perceive something wrong here? Have things changed over the years?

Also, in the comics' first arc, Bigby seems to be quite annoyed by her meddling with the crime at hand, constantly reminding her how "he wants to be left alone" and how "this is all HIS investigation, and not THEIR investigation" and that "she shouldn't be there distracting him". However, in the games, no matter how much of an ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ you are as Bigby, he seems to not mind Snow sticking around...

I am mostly directing the questions to older fan of the series, the people that were reading Fables before the whole video-game thing came up.

[NoNameSteak]

Well if you read farther into the comics, you'll know that Bigby was always in love with Snow, and then some stuff happens between them finally, yay, etc.

But this game just needed some sexual tension is all, so they juiced up Snow and Bigby's relationship to make for a more compelling narrative.

[Darth Invader von Wookiee]

Telltale/the creator wanted to show the players their relationship from the start to make you care for the characters, it takes a long while for it to develop in the comics and it's impossible to replicate in a series of games, besides even in the comics they're pretty close right from the start, Snow only acts formal towards Bigby to keep her feelings in check. If they were to make Snow "misunderstood" and cold in the game, people would end up hating her for no reason.

[Banterus Maximus]

That makes sense. Thanks a lot for the answers. Book 1 is great up to the point I have read. I still need to get used to the artstyle and the fading colour, but so far so good.

[gombicek]

Originally posted by Viscero:

If you want a contradiction, a few big ones are:
1) Bigby should be able to distinguish between fake and real Snow by smell alone. Apparently his nose has been nerfed for drama purposes.
2) Bigby can't be killed in a traditional sense, because he is one of the most famous fables in mundy folklore (in the world of Fables, the popularity of a fable's "story" determines his/her resilience to physical harm or immortality) he is also one of the the so-called great beasts/evils in the world Not to mention the fact that he never got his ass kicked by a "lesser fable" like Bloody Mary in the comics.
3) The Snow/Bigby relationship is also wrong. Once again, for drama purposes I assume. Read the comics and you will get some answers.

In summary: I view it as a spinoff which has very little to do with the comics. I started reading the comics after I played episode 1 and I was done with all of them by about episode 3. The comics are far superior, but I still enjoyed the game.

Well but the game takes place 20 years prior to the comics. ANd people and their feelings to each other can change in that time. So they realtionship could have changed by the time comics starts.

And Bigby should be able to distinguish them by smell. But its possible that Lily used so much Snow's perfume that Bigby wasn;t able to smell anything other than the perfume.

[MorningLightMountain]

Originally posted by Viscero:

2) Bigby can't be killed in a traditional sense, because he is one of the most famous fables in mundy folklore (in the world of Fables, the popularity of a fable's "story" determines his/her resilience to physical harm or immortality) he is also one of the the so-called great beasts/evils in the world Not to mention the fact that he never got his ass kicked by a "lesser fable" like Bloody Mary in the comics.

All of the Fables are immortal but can still be killed by mortal injuries even Bigby if enough damage was done to him. The popularity thing is a suggested theory in universe but never actually proven and contested. Bigby isn't one of the cardinal powers in the Fables universe such as Hope, North Wind or Mr Dark. He also does get beaten by a lesser Fable in the comics

[Pothocket]

My only grip is that they completely nerfed his sense of smell in order for the story to work. Not just about Snow's head, tons of other times too.

[themadhatter114]

They definitely gimped Bigby's sense of smell. He would've known all along that Nerissa was the one who left Faith's head at his doorstep. He would not have lost that scent.

However, his ability to tell fake Snow from real Snow depends on the nature of the enchantment. Maybe the glamour works on the natural odor, as well. The body didn't smell like a troll drenched in Snow White's perfume, she smelled like Snow White, wearing the appropriate amount of perfume.

[Shadowedfoxfire]

Originally posted by themadhatter114:

They definitely gimped Bigby's sense of smell. He would've known all along that Nerissa was the one who left Faith's head at his doorstep. He would not have lost that scent.

However, his ability to tell fake Snow from real Snow depends on the nature of the enchantment. Maybe the glamour works on the natural odor, as well. The body didn't smell like a troll drenched in Snow White's perfume, she smelled like Snow White, wearing the appropriate amount of perfume.

Stress can also make for him messing up on smell when it came to the fake Snow head. Dispite him being the big bad, he can get freaked out and lose focus. They also make a point in the in the comics to point out that when he is in town he smokes like a chimney just so he can deaden his nose enough so he can even function.
As for Faith there was no point in him not using his nose. In fact at points i started saying outloud to the game"Use your nose D*** it!"

I would have really have liked them giving that option to smell for something. Bigby didn't start his life as a human and should be like all canines in that they lead with their nose.

[DrEmile]

the comics have the relationship evolve over time because that makes it interesting. The video game has to do the same. It's a tricky thing to have the relationship evolve naturally, give the player some choice in the matter and wind up in the same cold starting point as the fables books.

I think this is just a natural limitation of the genre - if the player has a choice in the matter, it will vary, and when this doesn't match up with the comics (or sequels) it's a problem. They can try to take care of basic things like which fables live and die and how they wind up, but when it comes to subtle things like tone and relationship quality, it's a lot harder to both get a perfect match with the comics, while also giving the players any semblance of control.

I've only played through once, so I'm not sure if it's possible to end with Snow disliking but needing Bigby, but I suppose that's how you'd have to play it if you really want to start at the right place for the comics. I suppose if the story deviates, due to your own choices, you could blame yourself and not the developers that the finish-line wasn't where you expected it to be.

[PrincessOzaline TTV]

Also the reason he smokes at all is to nerf his own sense of smell otherwise living in the city would give him a total sensory overload.

[modestystudio]

The game definitely got me into the grahpic novels. The style changes as the volumes go on and I think I've finally hit the point where the "official" artist settled on a style. The comics also tend to have many spin-offs or side stories.

They did make Bigby pretty darn handsome in the game compared to the comics. I was a little jarred at first...but they've both grown on me.

However, as many have pointed out there's a difference between the narrative formats and the interactive narrative the game provides.

[themadhatter114]

It's just that with his sense of smell it would have made several scenes pointless.

Bigby could have followed Nerissa's scent from the drop-off of Faith's head.
Bigby would have been able to smell the Woodsman in the Trip Trap Bar and wouldn't have needed to argue with Holly and Gren about it.
Bigby would have smelled Dee at Toad's and at Lawrence's.
Bigby would have smelled Crane upon entering Room 207. He likely would have been able to smell Crane's scent on Lily's body.
Dee and Dum likely wouldn't have been able to surprise Bigby at Lily's funeral because he would have recognized their scents before they approached him.
Bigby probably could have followed Crane's scent from the Business Office directly to Auntie Greenleaf's place.

Essentially, for Bigby to not be able to detect or follow something with his sniffer, it has to be concealed by magic. So maybe he wouldn't know that Nerissa and Faith are the same person at some point in time. Maybe he wouldn't know that the Snow White head was fake. But he also probably could have recognized Georgie's scent from the heads as soon as he met him.

[gombicek]

HE shouold be able to do it. But the game would be over after 15 minutes:)

[Banterus Maximus]

Happy to see that my thread got so many replies, when I was only expecting one or two :). Just got my hands on volumes 2 to 5. Completely hyped atm. I hope they deliver.