Disney Dreamlight Valley: Jafar can’t simply join the valley

Disney Dreamlight Valley’s latest update drops this week, and with it comes the inherent problem of having villains who have done super ghastly things and then just expecting them to be normal inhabitants of the peaceful valley.

So, if you have gotten the A Rift in Time expansion for Disney Dreamlight Valley, you know that the expansion has given you a whole new big bad to thwart, the villainous Vizier Jafar from the Disney classic animated film Aladdin.

Granted, even though Disney villains have committed some pretty unredeemable acts in their films, when they come to The Valley, that’s pretty much in the past. Sure, they might occasionally be snarky and a little manipulative, but they aren’t trying to overthrow or kill anyone. And hey, it’s a fun balance to the goody-two-shoesness of the other villagers. But the main point is that they are keeping their more villainous traits in check.

This all changes with Jafar, who comes into play with the A Rift In Time expansion. Not only is Jafar manipulating you from the first second, but he genuinely has a plan that threatens to unravel Eternity Isle, The Valley, and time as we know it. That’s a pretty damn evil plan. And what happens after you thwart this plan? Well, in their latest update , the devs already reveal that Jafar will just become yet another inhabit for you to befriend and do quests for! I just don’t see how that works.

There’s no scenario I can see where it makes any sense that Jafar can simply join as a normal character in the village. He feels bad about what he did after you beat him? Too bad. He was being manipulated by some other outside force? That seems like a massive copout. I’m not saying Jafar couldn’t work his way back into your graces, but that would be a longer, more involved storyline than what is being suggested here.

Again, villain image redemption is pretty core to Disney. Villains are popular characters in the Disney theme parks. Assuming they survive their initial appearance in a movie, villains often turn into allies in later entries in series. And in Disney Dreamlight Valley, as I stated earlier, the villains are not actively trying to enact devious schemes that bring about ruin and are generally one of the more fun elements of the game. But Jafar is a villain actively doing villainous things with bad intent in the present storyline. He does not deserve a simple redemption. It’s a disservice to both Jafar’s character and the story that is being told with A Rift in Time.

That’s all for today. While D23 was a missed opportunity for Disney to spotlight or announce upcoming games, Gamescom is this week. While it’s not as big on announcements as things like Summer Games Fest or The Game Awards, there have already been promised to be some new game announcements along with a new look (and hopefully a release date) for Indiana Jones and The Great Circle so if there’s enough to write about I’ll be putting those thoughts up Wednesday. At the latest I’ll have another entry this Sunday so, either way, see ya real soon!