Am I talking about Ursula again? Yes, Yes I am.
But I’m not going to talk about how bad she is to play. I’ve already done that, and if you want to hear more about that, tune into the Let’s Get Wicked Podcast! (link on the home page)
Today, I’m gonna talk about how Ursula fails to be as thematic as she may first appear. I know I’m gonna get a lot of flack for this, but hey! it is an opinion piece, afterall. Feel free to disagree and ignore my rambling if that suits you.
Yeah… so, you see that lock token? How it moves? The more I think about it, the less thematic sense it makes to me. If this Disney Heroes, and we were playing as Ariel, I would totally get it. But Ursula? How is she held away from the surface world? I thought that the whole point was that she could send you to the surface world whenever. It requires magic, but not the kind that really strains her at all.
Besides, it feels like this strain between being on the surface vs under the sea seems apparent in the general location design. You know how you can’t play cards while you’re at the Palace. While it’s a little annoying, it reflects the fact that Ursula is kept away from her Magic Lair, and is weakened in that sense. It seems to me that these design choices both try and illustrate the same point, and make each other somewhat redundant.
I’ve talked about how Ursula deck composition is too passive and reactionary for a victory condition that really needs more proactive plays, but for this segment, I want to talk about how Ursula seems to be focused on the end of the movie, and things that she does at the end of the film, after she has actually achieved her goal that is set for her victory condition.
Cos, in the film, Ursula wins. Sure, it gets taken from her quickly in an admittedly rushed action sequence, but she achieves her goal, unlike Hook or Evil Queen, for example. Grow Giant and Whirlpool and the image for Arrogance are all based on the moments after she gets the Crown and the Trident, (again, both of them at once, cos it’s a package deal).
Granted, Grow Giant is referencing one of the most grandiose and over-the-top moments in the film, and I don’t want to say it shouldn’t have been included, especially as it is one of her most interesting cards. Whirlpool looks generic, though, and there were other ways to implement that kind of card in a way that felt more flavoursome.
The real issue with this warped focus is that it doesn’t capture the kind of Villain Ursula is. She isn’t is giant, whirlpool causing disaster, she’s a cunning, conniving, plotting mastermind. There is one card called Poor, Unfortunate Souls, but there could have been more references to her colourful lines.
“Rake ‘Em ‘Cross the Coals” would have been a much more flavoursome way to do an effect like Whirlpool. Without the Lock Token shenanigans (which I appreciate less and less the more I think about it) Change Form could have become something more actively useful and flavourful. “I’ve Been A Nasty”, which Swaps a contract on a Character with one from the discard pile or your hand. “Tough Choices”, which either gains Power or Moves a Hero to an adjacent space.
Not only do these reflect Ursula’s character better (and give some interesting gameplay decisions), they get the player(s) quoting the character, singing the songs, and ultimately remembering why they love these characters, these films and this game.
Another part that seems strangely unrepresented is the whole voice stealing schtick. That was a whole lot more interesting detail about Ursula than the Changing Form thing. Again, deciding between being human or mermaid was ARIEL’s thing, not Ursula’s. I mentioned in my first article that I thought it would be thematic for the Trident and Crown to be the one card, and for the second card needed at the Lair to be the Magic Shell.
But there is a whole aspect of silencing that could have been really interesting, even more interesting than the changing lock token. Those familiar with Hearthstone know where I’m going with this.
beThink of a card called “La Voce to Me!”, Which lets you ignore the ongoing effects of a Hero. You could have longer-lasting effects, like Eric stopping other Heroes from being moved from his space. These could be worked around with this silencing ability, giving you more ways to work around Ariel’s devastating effect or make it easier to attach a contract on King Triton.
Ursula’s greatest strength is her way for working around problems, which is why the Binding Contract system is actually really fun and engaging. The problem isn’t the system itself, its that it’s her only real method of getting around Heroes, and not a fast or effective one. It would be so much easier to tolerate if she had ways to move around obstacles, like ‘silencing’ them, and/or having location(s) reformatted so they’re more friendly to piling up Heroes.
With these thematic changes, I wouldn’t mind the Fate Deck being able to reflect their true strengths. As Eric is the one who ultimately defeats Ursula, it would be cool if he could actually help in thwarting her plans somehow. With a couple more Heroes actively stopping her, Return To Form wouldn’t need to be so prominent, letting more interesting Effects also enter the Fate Deck.
My one major Thematic gripe left is actually quite minor. The Trickery condition has… an interesting choice. Its artwork is… fine. It is a bit muted and distant, with little in the ways of striking visuals like Arrogance. When I think of Ursula being “Tricky”, there is a particular moment that I visualise. I’m sure you are thinking of it too, but just so everyone is on the same page, here is that moment:
SEE?!?!?!
This was a much more memorable part of the film, and captures the kind of Trickery much more clearly. Why they didn’t think to recreate this image is beyond me.
Thanks again for listening to me rant about Ursula again. I’m sure I’ll discuss something more interesting next time.
Though, if you want me to do more thematic reimagining’s like this, I’m sure I could do another character. Let me know in the discord server!
Until next time,
Madness Hattzer
Disney Villainous: Simply Atrocious 