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Megas

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  2. Megas
    Given how much bad luck these two put together seems to bring in, I figured it needs to be talked about. So Equestria Girls, that franchise that had a ho-hum start as a spin-off and then changed everything with a very well-loved sequel in Rainbow Rocks and the rest is history until some bone-headed toy decisions in it's later years caused Hasbro to get cold feet and put an end to the franchise in a bit of a whimper(Now Holidays Unwrapped was actually a pretty damned good special but it's obvious it wasn't meant to be the finale). Then you got the IDW comics where they were getting insanely popular until the Reflections arc where writers were getting to big for their britches and making comics that were to ambitious for them to handle only to wind up rubbing people the wrong way and since then the comics have been a real rollercoaster, with standalones doing pretty average to fairly solid while major arcs tend to fall under high scrutiny depending on how big the stakes can get. However despite the fact that Equestria Girls wound up being a very successful spin-off, and at one point one could argue even became more popular than the main series, it comes as a surprise that IDW rarely made comics featuring the girls adventures in Canterlot High, however, if you read what they did offer, it's pretty easy to see why. Seems like every single time IDW makes a comic based around the alternate reality of Equestria Girls, something always seems to go very.....very wrong. So let's take a look as to why that could be the case


    Not a great comic by a long shot, but damn that's a pretty cover

    First off you got the Annual 2013. At first glance there doesn't seem to be much wrong with it, more or less a double feature with a short origin story for Sunset written by Katie Cook(with art by Andy Price), followed by the main meat dedicated to the rest of the girls written by Ted Anderson. However this was the first Annual ever made for for the comics and when it was revealed it would be centered around EQG that didn't sit well with a lot of people, Now the Sunset comic was fine, it was pretty much what you expected from Sunset's origin given what we know about it, and I mean that in a good way, it didn't do anything different from what was expected, just set out what it was meant to do. The problems lie in the other part of the comic. It's about as basic of an origin story about high school freshmen becoming friends as you can get but there's just too problems going on.
    For starters the art is really bad. This was back when Tony Fleecs was getting used to Pony aaaaaand it shows





    Second on is how....uncomfortable it can get. There's the existence of Babs Seed  and her friend Sunflower, the popular Queen Bees of the school. Now for starters Babs Seed is older here than AJ, which just looks really....not right at all. Then her characterization, she's even more unpleasant here than she ever was in Bad Seed, which says a lot given she was really bad there too. Then here friend Sunflower who openly neglects her puppy. Together they're especially cruel, they regularly, openly mock AJ and Fluttershy for being who they are and actively wedge Rarity who they treat well because she can make them more popular. RD I'm pretty sure they forgot about repeatedly because she hardly matters in the story and feel like they occasionally brings her up as a way of saying "oh RD is here too"(which isn't too surprising, they forgot about her too in the Dark Water arc, and Ted Anderson forgot about her too in her own FF Comic with Shy). Pinkie's really the only one that gets to shine in this comic as she was both the most interesting to listen too and the one who brings them all together. There's also how rushed all of their conclusions were and just really unsatisfying, especially with how much Rarity, AJ, and Fluttershy had to put up with. Heck, remember that dog I brought up? I completely forgot about it after Sunflower rushed to the vet for FS's help after treating her like garbage the whole time. There's still a lot of little things that bug me, like how Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon appear as the same age as the mane 6, and how we don't get any of the Soccer team and how they are. But hold on to your butts because the worst is yet to come

    Because now we have the Holiday 2014, and boy is there a lot too say about this one. I want to get this out of the way, but Tony Fleecs does the art again, its a little better but still has a lot of his early jank. Much like the Annual, this is the first Comic's first Holiday special and just like the Annual that didn't sit well with people. This one, written once again by Ted Anderson, now deals with the mane 6 after Rainbow Rocks, and how Sunset is handling with her friends. It has the hallmarks and set up for a cute and relaxing Christmas story, but instead they decided instead it was better to make a story addressing social media and cyberbullying, because having a cute and relaxing Christmas story apparently wasn't good enough, they had to make it about a really difficult topic instead, and boy did they royally drop the ball. Starts off fine enough with Sunset still getting used to being with the rest of the girls with the girls inviting her to a Slumber Party. After Applebloom asks what AJ is doing and after being told she's busy, shenanigans ensue and the girls are having fun. Next day Applebloom reveals inflammatory posts by a user on MySpace named Anon-A-Miss along with photos of the girl's slumber party the day before. The girls are quick to blame Sunset and Anon-A-Miss continues to make nasty comments towards several other students who has a MySpace. Cue the rest of the comic spent on Sunset being abandoned by the girls, and other students being incredibly cruel to Sunset, to the point of crying multiple times. Then the end and probably the worst part of the comic, when Sunset finally confronts the girls about her innocence, the CMC spill the beans and reveal that they were Anon-A-Miss the whole time and they were jealous of Sunset becoming friends with their sisters and spending time with her instead of them, so they decided to spy on their sisters and proceed with posting everything on social media, and admit to it after everything gets outta control. After that is one of the most insulting conclusions to this topic, with everyone brushing off the CMC almost destroying Sunset's life and their friendships as "they're only human" or some shit and no one even apologizes to Sunset(in fact Sunset forgives them still)
    I don't think it's hyperbole to say this is one of the worst things I think the entire MLP franchise has ever put out. The mane 5 are completely unreliable friends who don't even think about giving their new friend the benefit of the doubt, the lengths the school goes to tormenting Sunset is beyond unpleasant, and the CMC are straight up monsters for what they did, like this is the kind of thing that makes them completely irredeemable. I'm pretty sure I'd rather watch Newborn Cuties before I'd even consider reading this comic ever again. Still don't think I'd take Newbie Dash over it though since that episode straight up justifies hazing, and it's a canon episode. To this day though, this comic still grinds people's gears, to the point it still has an active "accusation fic" fanbase, possibly rivaling that of MMDW, full of fans who are....really vindictive of this comic. Heck, you've probably ready one of @Dark Qiviut's rants about the comic at some point
    I'd love to say we have no where to go but up, buuuuuuuut

    Up next we got a comic from the Fiendship is Magic line, a comic line dedicated to the Dazzlings written by professionally hired EQG hater once again Ted Anderson. This one is an origin story of the Dazzlings, what they did before arriving in the EQG universe and how they ended up there. One thing I do want to bring up is how the art is done by Agnes Garboska, aaaaand this is more like it. The problem I have this time though is how it treats the Dazzlings compared to the rest of the villains in this line. It deals with how Starswirl originally dealt with them and how he banished them, but how they got on his radar is....another matter. Story starts out with them in the early Canterlot times, wanting to become famous so they enter a music contest only to be boo'd out by the audience. They decide they need to try something new so they decide to make a their own genre of music(obviously Pop music) and the wind up winning over the crowd as a result except Starswirl who sees them as dangerous. Cue him coming up with new music to combat them, and they both come up with pretty much every genre in the world. After losing to them he decides to send them through a magic mirror to the Human world in hopes they won't be able to use their magic ever again. And we know how well that went.
    While it's not as bad as the other two EQG comics, it's....really lame. Especially in comparison to the other Fiendship comics that actually help build a threatening aura to the other villains featured(even tragic in the case of Sombra), here the Dazzlings come off as unthreatening jokes, which is especially disappointing given they're actually incredibly effective villains in Rainbow Rocks and are arguably some of FiM's best who were really able to get the Humane 6 and their backs to the walls without any bullshit. Starswirl also comes off as really lame as well as he couldn't even handle these and decides to send them away to another world so he wouldn't have to deal with them. Overall just a really lame and underwhelming origin for two two characters, and evidently Hasbro and IDW thought so too because they'd eventually retcon the comic with both Shadow Play and the Legends of Magic comic. But we're still not done with EQG because we got one more comic to go over.
    The last EQG comic so far, March Radness

    This one hurts
    This time around, instead of one big piece of background or handling sensitive subjects, they decided to split it into 3 short and simple stories(thankfully for once not written by Ted Anderson), followed by a rerun of Fall of Sunset Shimmer.

    The first story is called Detention is Magic written by Danny Djeljosevic, focuses around the girls getting detention over a misunderstanding and them trying to figure out what happened that landed them there and who started it. At first each person blames the next person that it was their fault(whether it was Pinkie Blaming Fluttershy for her gerbils for ruining homecoming decorations, FS blaming RD for scaring her gerbils with her soccer ball, RD blaming Sunset for popping balloons near her and scaring her, and so on). This lasts until Rarity reveals she recorded everything, and is able to reveal that everything was a complete accident. They then go on to apologize to each other and then see go to Harshwinny to prove their innocence, in which she forgives them, but then reveals they already served their detention anyway and go home. Not an amazing start but given what's come in regards to EQG is a massive step in the right direction, it's a fun and simple story that doesn't promise anything big and is probably enough to convince it's just here for a good time
    Before I go on, I do want to say that the art is a huge step up from what it usually is, this time being illustrated by Toni "Pencis" Kuusisto. There are some iffy looking moments, but he's gone on record to admitting he had to rush through this and wasn't able to clean up everything(you'll see most of the polish halfway through), but even then this is leaps and bounds better than some of the stuff from what we've gotten before

    The second story is titled Dashin' Around written by Christina Rice, this time focusing on Rainbow Dash wanting to go to a book signing by AK Yearling, however she was reminded that she promised AJ to help her out on her farm with chores the same day, so she goes and hopes to get everything done as quickly as possible, including apple cider(and you know how how she is about that). But after a couple of ours of talking they have to go through chores, which RD takes care of them and rushes through them(and to her credit, she's at least not being sloppy with them). But when Applebloom comes back home from the bookstore and shows she got a new book signed by Yearling, AJ remembers RD's a big fan and tries to get them there as quick as possible, but unfortunately it was too late. As they walk out the bookstore, AJ realizes that's why RD was so quick to rush through all of their chores. While RD says she did so because she really wanted to meet Yearling but she still remembered that she promised AJ to help out and didn't want to flake on AJ and disappoint her. AJ goes on to say that she still did disappoint because AJ just wanted to hang out(especially with school and all the crazy stuff that goes on)and RD should have been honest and she would have happily comply. And damn, gotta say, that's a really good spin on things. RD realized she was too focused on meeting a stranger she pretty much forgot about hanging out with her friend and apologizes, which AJ gladly accepts. But just as their about to head back AJ calls for Yearling to get RD's book signed, much to her surprise

    The 3rd story is called is called Getting Seconds by Toni Kuusisto, which basically serves as RD's "Last Round Up". This one focuses on a sporting event where RD vows on placing first in all events while all the other girls want to participate, and decide to focus on one event they could do best in. This leads to RD stretching herself too thin and landing second on every even while each of the girls barring Sunset land first on the ones they practice for(though RD places first in the leaderboards, which is important to know). During the final event, the soccer game, RD begins to feel that she's holding everyone back and attempts to sit the game out. And when the girls find her, they convince her to join the team and remind her she still topped the leaderboards, but RD's insistent. Sunset then is placed as captain of the team where she puts AJ as rightfield, FS as Goalie, and Twilight as defense much to RD's dismay. She begrudgingly joins back after seeing Sunset's horrible plans and manages to win everyone the game. 

    Even without taking the low bar set from the last few EQG comics, March Radness is easily the best one by far. Only surprising thing is how Dash-centric it is(though I feel the name should have been a dead giveaway). But it's still even great on it's own right. Art is great and the stories are fun and cute reads and proof that you there's no reason to up the scales or tackle some heavy themes to make a worth while story(especially if you can't do it right), sometimes having something simple is perfectly fine. Heck, this was one of those instances where I loved a comic so much I actually tried to track down a physical copy
    Now you're probably wonder "Hey Megas you just spent this whole half of your blog gushing over this comic, what's so bad about it?"
    It came out in the middle of a pandemic when everything was lockdown

    whoops
    Yeah, unfortunately, just because something is good doesn't mean it wasn't cursed. It's been ages since the last EQG comic, and given none of them have been good before March Radness, I can't imagine it helped its sales much better anyway. And it's really heartbreaking to think how EQG finally gets a good comic, but it's probably gonna have the lowest sales of all and it's probably gonna be the last one we'll get unless IDW is extremely generous. It's a shame because March Radness showed that with some care people will accept more EQG comics and I do believe they have their place
  3. Megas
    Whether it be because they have the worst english ever, can't seem to speak properly, are more annoying than Moe the Clown's laughter, or just aren't very interesting characters, there are always "those" characters in the Phoenix Wright series you wish you never had the misfortune to speak to(I'm only putting people from the first 3 games since they're the only ones I've played)
     
     
    Wendy Oldbag
     

     
    Always makes things a chore for you to do. Likely due to the fact that her favorite movie stars always wind up dead, but for some reason she likes taking it out on you specifically. The only reason she's low on the list is because even when she pisses me off, her old lady banter sometimes will crack a smile out of me.
     
    Also seeing her hit on Edgeworth is scary
     
    Cody
     

     
    Because dealing with fanboys always sucks
     
    Victor Kudo
     

     
    He suffers from crazy old people syndrome as well, but unlike Oldbag, he isn't as entertaining
    Also, who else is grossed out by his jiggly nose?
     
    Jean Armstrong
     

     
    I can get passed the blatantly gay stereotype, I just wish he didn't mix his French and English together
     
    Meekins
     

     
    Looking at him just screams annoying and incompetent
     
    Sal Manella
     

     
    Probably one of the creepiest characters in the series. He's also the reason why I hate internet slang. Seriously how did this guy get to be a director(then again with people like Uwe Boll and Michael Bay in real life, it probably isn't surprising)
     
    Lotta Hart
     

     
    She intentionally makes things difficult for you just to be famous. And what's worse is that she kept showing up everywhere
     
    That Creepy Docter
     

     
    How the hell is this guy not in prison yet?
     
    Moe the Clown
     

     
    "AHA! AHA! AHA! AHA! AHA! AHA!"
     
    Honorable Mentions:
    Everyone else from Turnabout Big Top - Didn't put them in because they'd make up most of the list
    Angel Starr - A Grade-A bitch. I was contemplating, but decided against it since she still managed to get a decent backstory
    Furio Tigre - See Angel Starr
    April May - Averted because boobs
  7. Megas
    So I for the last couple of years I've ran into a new hobby, collection 3rd party Transformers.
    For those who aren't familiar, 3rd party Transformers are unlicensed toys of Transformers often aimed at high-end collectors(those who usually collect Masterpiece TFs), however they are not knock offs, knock-offs are usually counterfeits and bootlegs of existing official toys, some times try to get away with it by oversizing them in hopes of getting away with it. 3rd Party figures, while unlicensed, are usually original molds of existing characters and selling them without emblems and different names, which usually enters a copyright grey area, though is not too different from buying fan-made plushies, statues, etc., of existing characters. And while some 3rd party companies can get pretty cocky and/or dumb and release or reveal figures around the same time as Hasbro which usually can get pretty bad with Hasbro not being afraid to go down hard on them(one example being Unicron), otherwise they're surprisingly lenient on them(though they don't like them), usually still supporting online retailers that sell them, or even attending cons that usually features them.
    What makes these figures so special? Accuracy, not just of the G1 cartoon, but also the likes of Beast Wars, the Japanese G1 continuity, the IDW comics, and even the Bayverse shockingly enough being home to some of the best. Some figures feature some complicated but at the same time very impressive engineering while still retaining the integrity of the character's designs, sometimes outclassing the official thing, and 3rd party companies come in many shapes and sizes, and I want to focus on a few (mainly ones I own, though I'm not gonna post pictures of my own because I'm too lazy to go through every figure I have lol)
    One of my favorite companies has been Mastermind Creations who both make great figures(mainly base on the comics) with some pretty good transformations and engineering, my first introduction to them was from their Ocular Max series, namely Saltus, their take on Springer. He isn't the only one who exists as other companies have done him, but he's one of my favorite figures and I don't see myself replacing him any time soon

    Another one is Azalea, their take on Arcee

    One of the better Arcee's on the market, mainly because the company doesn't focus too much on sexualizing her to a creepy degree
    Next up, we have one of their most well regarded figures, Sphinx, their Mirage

    As far as my collection, one my main focus has been completing the original 18 Autobots from S1, and with Hasbro releasing their figures in small spurts of different lines(between G1, Beast Wars and the Movies), it's gonna be a while before they release that entire line(especially when they try to license real cars, which is why some characters are much harder to get like Porsche being difficult to work with, making fan favorites like Jazz and Cliffjumper unlikely for a while). And since I don't see Hasbro releasing Mirage in a while, this guy does a good job of filling that gap.....or did, but more on that later
    Lastly there's their Assaultus, or their Combaticons/Bruticus


    What makes this group so special is that Ocular Max decided to go with an All-In-One gimmick that avoids "parts-forming"(bits you have to add after transforming). While there are some drawbacks(namely Onslaught is a chunky boy) the limb bots are fantastic, and while the combined mode has some issues(some weak ratchets and stability, to the point of needing an upgrade kit), the end result looks bloody awesome
    Another company I'm familiar with is DX9, a company that's one of the more mixed out there in terms of quality, but when they get it right they knock it out of the park.

    Another Mirage, this time named Invisible, is from DX9, and while there are some things I like about it(love the transformation), but it does look really skinny and doesn't go as well with the MP figures like Sphinx does, and lastly it has trouble standing and unlike Assaultus it doesn't have enough pluses to forgive it.

    Chigurh is their Astrotrain and like Sphinx it doesn't mesh well with traditional MPs, however, it's a lot more fun to play with and does the job well enough, and goes well with alternative collections with other lines. Though he's not the only Astrotrain and certainly not the best

    But now we're getting to the good stuff, their absolute beast of a Blitzwing, Gewalt. He has issues like being bigger than Megatron, but damn everything about this guy from his size to his alt modes just screams Blitzwing. There are other Blitzwings(KFC Ditka) out and coming out soon(Fanstoys Berserk), but damn this guy just feels perfect for the character


    Now for something more interesting, a T-Beast Hot Rod of him as a lion. T-Beast is a fan interpretation G1 characters giving them animal inspired alt-modes ala Beast Wars, and Ancestrod is not the only one of these(other companies have done them of several characters such as Bumblebee, Sideswipe and Starscream)

    Lastly from DX9 we have La Hire, their Bayverse Hot Rod, and this guy rocks. Despite The Last Knight being a fairly shite film, some of the things 3rd parties have done with these characters are truly something special. He has a fun transformation, better than those of the official toys, a gorgeous car mode, and lots of poseability and fun to play. If you ever want to give the movie figures a chance, this one is a good start
    While on the subject of the movies, let's look at Unique Toys, who some fans have called black magic when it comes to their figures

    Challenger is their Age of Extinction/The Last Knight Optimus Prime, and to think this guy actually transforms is insane. To this day I still love messing with this guy from time to time. And not only can it transform, it's surprisingly easy yet involved


    However, their Dragoon is even more insane. Their TLK Megatron, this guy is Challenger on steroids. Not only is there a ton to the poseability, much like Challenger, through black magic this guy is capable of transforming.
    After Unique Toys though, we have Toyworld

    This time going to the Bumblebee movie, they made their Optimus Prime from that movie, this time called Freedom Leader(or Tactics Waistcoat). This figure looks awesome as someone who really wanted this version of Prime and despite some issues like the lack of ratchets and ballpoint joints on the hands, this guy is insanely fun to play with and really looks the part to satisfy. Unfortunately Toyworld doesn't have the black magic of Unique Toys so the transformation is kind of a nightmare, so it's not easy to recommend unless you want to keep this guy in robot mode, which I can easily do
    And it looks like that's it for now. I want to do more of these in the future because there's a ton more to talk about, such as Transform Element and their fantastic Optimus Prime, the like of GCreation and Generation toys, Fanshobby and Newage, Zeta Toys, Badcube and especially 3rd party darling Fanstoys, but I'm trying to avoid making a bloated blog and I kinda want to dedicate more of these to certain companies, so I hope to keep this a regular thing, though I'll probably spread this out especially since this collecting hobby can get.....really expensive
     
     
  9. Megas
    Ramblings of a Smash Bros and Final Fantasy fanboy, GO!
     
     
     
     
     

     
    Anyone is possible
     
    Ok, so maybe that's not entirely true. I'm sure suggestions regarding characters like Spongebob, Goku, Shrek, etc., are regularly thrown in the garbage. But the point is, absolutely NO one expected Cloud to appear in Super Smash Bros, prompting one of the biggest surprises in the series since Snake's reveal in Brawl. Hell no one though we would get another "Snake" but here it is.
     
    Cloud's notoriety for the Playstation, like Snake, prompted most fans to write him off, which still led to grown men to shriek like little children at the reveal. Though again, it's not entirely true since Cloud is a Square Enix character rather than a Sony character like many believe, so don't expect Sony or M$ first party characters or anything(though Banjo & Kazooie isn't totally out of the picture)
     
    How disappointing it is that hardly any Smash fans recognize the FFVII opening
     

     
    This is more of a personal thing, but for an opening that's widely considered iconic by gamers everywhere, it's really sad how many people on Youtube didn't recognize it. It bugs me more than it should, seeing people constantly yell out "WOLF?", "RIDLEY", or "PIKMIN" instead of recognizing FFVII's freaking opening. I'm probably just being an old fart.
     
    Of course Joshscorcher is an exception(probably because seeing him get excited and screaming over a character he hates from a game he doesn't care for says something) and MaximillianDood(seen above) exploding was glorious
     
    Super Smash Bros will finally have Final Fantasy music, thus becoming the greatest collection of VG music ever
     

     
    'Nuff said
     
    Never Disregard "My Uncle works at Nintendo" stories
     

     
    http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/72811117
     
    Seriously this time it actually happened
     
    Sakurai's bullshit "rules" don't exist
     

     
    Technically this has been a thing since Snake, but became more solidified with Cloud. Character speculation is always a dangerous thing when it comes to the Smash community, with people always arguing how a character is qualified to be in Smash. "Oh x needs to be in x games on x nintendo console of this many gens", "series needs x many reps" "x is more deserving, y isn't Q". However, Sakurai has constantly proven fans wrong time and time again, for better or for worse. Hell it wouldn't surprise me if we saw the freaking King of Hyrule from those awful Zelda games at some point
     
    Lets be honest here, FFVII doesn't have much with Nintendo(though there's plenty of history between the two), but no one should care. Cloud's not in because he has an illustrious history with Nintendo....He's in it because he's freaking Cloud, which leads me to my last point
     

     
    Smash is no longer about celebrating Nintendo's History
     
    And I mean this in the best way possible.
     
    For years Smash Bros has always prided itself as being a celebration of Nintendo's history, fully loaded with virtually any tribute to games fans can think of, big an small. But even going as far back as Melee, including 3rd party characters has been always been in the suggestion, and then coming into fruition on Brawl with the arrival of two massive gaming icons, Metal Gear's Snake and Sonic the Hedgehog. A few years later Nintendo ups the ante with 4 more characters from beloved franchises, Pac-Man, Megaman, Street Fighter's Ryu and now Final Fantasy's Cloud. This coupled with Sakurai's desire to turn Smash 4 into "The Greatest Character Game Ever" has lead me into the one conclusion: Smash is no longer a celebration of Nintendo's history, but instead of Gaming as a whole.
     
     
     
     
     
    Of course it's still missing something
  11. Megas
    First minutes and it already uses nearly every every Buzzword we expect from E3
     
    - Halo 5. Was pretty meh about it. I liked Halo 4, but I feel pretty burnt out by the series at this point. Especially after the disaster that was the Master Chief Collection
    - ReCore. One of the more interesting games showed off imo. Though nothing was shown in terms of gameplay, seeing Keiji Inafune and Armature's name on it piqued my interest. Hoping to see more from it in the future
    - Xbox One Backwards Compatible with the 360. One of the highlights of the show for me and many others. While the way M$ has done BC in the past with the 360 leaves me skeptical, from everything I've seen it looks right. I also love the burn directed at PSNow
    - New controller. Not much to say. Looks nice though
    - Fallout 4. Game looks good. Being able to support PC mods is awesome
    - EA. Madden. Time for a potty break
    - Still not sold on EA Access.
    - Plants vs Zombies 2. Never played the first one, so I'm not interested in it
    - Forza 6. Looks nice. Not much else to say
    - Dark Souls III. Just a reminder that I still need to play these games
    - Ubisoft here to remind us that The Division still exists(beta in December)
    - Rainbow Six Siege finally releases this year. Comes with RB6 Vegas 1&2 which is pretty awesome
    - 4 Indie games showed off. Tacoma, Ashens, and Beyond Eyes look neat, but holy shit Cuphead looks amazing, better than I thought it'd ever be
    - Xbox One Game Preview. Good idea. But I'm getting bad memories of Steam Early access
    - Gigantic looks awesome till it was announced free-to-play, then all my interest disappeared
    - Collection of Rare games. Awesome. No Goldeneye though
    - Sea of Thieves looks good, but still skeptical
    - Ion, meh
    - Rise of the Tomb Raider. Again a reminder that I still need to play the first game
    - Nice to see M$ and Valve partnership
    - Fable Legends. Meh, 'nother Free-to-Play. Never cared for Fable
    - Still not sold on Hololens, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't look awesome, see some huge potential
    - Not a big Gears fan, but Gears 4 actually looks interesting
     

    OVERALL: I actually liked it despite it's boring moments, which I don't normally say for Microsoft conferences
  13. Megas

    Top 10 cancelled games

    By Megas,

    Earlier today, a game I've been looking forward got the axe. Kaio: King of Pirates was one of several games spear-headed by Comcept and Keiji Inafune(who's known for his work on the Megaman, Dead Rising, Onimusha, and several other Capcom franchises as well as the upcoming Mighty No. 9) and sounded like the perfect game for me(Pirates? Penguins? RPG? Hell yes!). But unfortunately, shit happened and the game has officially been cancelled.
     
    This of course this isn't the only promising game that has been shitcanned however, throughout gaming's history many games have been killed in the middle of development, despite the amount of potential they had.
     
    10) Unknown Disney Brawler(I'll just call it Disney Smash Bros)
     

     
    When you think about it, Disney is probably the one of the very very few companies with a stable of characters more iconic than Nintendo's(which says a lot), which is why I'd be the perfect company to have their own Smash Bros clone. Not much is known about this game other than it was an idea that was never greenlit and this artwork is the only thing we know of it. Most likely it never came to light for the same reasons Dissidia went from being a Kingdom Hearts fighting game to purely Final Fantasy, as Disney probably wouldn't like to see their characters beating each other up
     
    9) Star Wars 1313
     

     
    Another game that was cancelled because Disney seems to hate good ideas. 1313 was a game intended to put Star Wars fan favorite Boba Fett in the spotlight in his early adulthood as a bounty hunter. The game was cancelled when Disney closed down Lucasarts after buying out the Lucasfilms and its assets in 2013. However Disney has said that they are willing to revive the project if a studio with the license is willing to work on it, so there's still hope. In the mean time...hey we still have Star Wars Kinect.....
     
    8) Dinosaur Planet
     

     
    The reason this one is much lower on the list is because it technically still exists.....as Starfox Adventures. At first Dinosaur Planet was originally going to be an original IP for the N64, and was going to be RARE's swan song to the console. However, despite the original game being in near completion, it became Starfox when Miyamoto noticed the one of the main characters, Sabre, looked close to Fox McCloud of the Starfox series. As a result, he asked Rare to change it up into a Starfox game and move development. The game was mostly going to be the same until Rare was bought out by Microsoft in 2002(sometime during the game's end development) and the buyout resulted in the game becoming rushed. In the end, a lot of content was cut from the game(leftovers can be found on the game's code), Sabre turns into Fox McCloud, Krystal(Dinosaur Planet's original lead character) turns into a fox and gets royally screwed over, General Scales(the game's original main villain) also gets royally screwed over, and Arwing sections feel tacked on. Despite it's problems I personally enjoyed Starfox Adventures, however there isn't a moment in my life where I wish it stayed Dinosaur Planet, and I hope that one day the original game has a chance to come into light
     
    7) WWE BRAWL
     

     
    Developed by Blue Tongue Entertainment(Known for their work on the de Blob series and the Nicktoons Unite games)WWE Brawl was going to be different from what we expect from traditional WWE games, even different from WWE All-Stars. Instead, the wrestlers were put into some kind of alternate world with over-the-top interpretations of their characters, beating the crap out of each other in a Power Stone style fight, free from "real world" rules. Ultimately it wound up as one of the many casualties of THQ's financial struggles in 2011(who closed down in late 2012). It still pains me that this game was never made while WWE Immortals and Crush Hour exist
     
    6) The Avengers FPS
     

     
    Despite not knowing much about this game, whether it had its own story or if it was based on the upcoming movie, it looks awesome. Much like WWE Brawl, it was also a casualty of THQ's financial issues.
     
    5) Raven Blade
     

     
    Before working on the critically acclaimed Metroid Prime series, Retro Studios working on 4 different games at the companies foundation, including a Vehicle-Combat game(like Twisted Metal), an untitled Action-Adventure game, a football game, and an RPG called Raven Blade. Development was insane, probably because they were working on 4 different games at once. When he looked at the different projects, he had a peculiar interest in the Action-Adventure game, which would wind up becoming Metroid Prime. The Car Combat game and the football game wound out getting cancelled to put more focus on Metroid, but Raven Blade still had a chance, and eventually got to show it off at E3 2001. Unfortunately the game was cancelled due to technical setbacks and so the could put all of their focus on Metroid Prime. Perhaps with everyone clamoring for a new IP from Nintendo, and Retro working on a secret title, maybe there's still a chance?
     
    4) Dead Phoenix
     

     
    Dead Phoenix was one of the Capcom 5, a set of games that Capcom intended on releasing exclusively to the Gamecube, along with Viewtiful Joe, P.N.03, Killer 7, and Resident Evil 4. Unfortunately it was the only one to never see the light of day, and no one knows why.
     
    3) Lily Bergamo
     

     
    Much like Dinosaur Planet, Lily Bergamo does exist...as Let it Die, and being a big Suda fan I had to put it on the list. Lily Bergamo was first revealed at the 2013 Tokyo Game Show, and it showed a lot of promise. Then by E3 2014, the game turned into something completely different, instead of looking colorful and stylish, it became a dark and gritty hack-n-slash featuring a bunch of half naked convicts trying to violently kill each other. Oh, and the game has been confirmed to be free-to-play
     
    I'm sorry Suda, I love you, but Let it Die looks like complete shit
     
    2) Starfox 2
     

     
    For some reason, despite the game practically being finished, the game was never released and ultimately cancelled. After the success of the orginal Starfox, developers Argonaut went on the create a second game, one problem however, was the coming release of the N64 and Nintendo was afraid of the game getting overshadowed by the new console. When it was cancelled in 1995, Nintendo planned on having the game release on the N64, but eventually Nintendo ultimately decided to reboot the original game instead into the space shooter we all now and love as Starfox 64. Despite the game ultimately being the original Starfox, Starfox 64 reuses a lot of Starfox 2's assets, including Star Wolf, and even more assets were used in Starfox Command.
     
    Eventually, fans have found a full ROM of the game, which can be easily played on SNES emulators. But still the game has a bit of cult following, and two characters exclusive to the game, Fay and Miyu, are surprisingly popular among the Starfox fandom. Hopefully someday, Nintendo can finally release this game(or at the very least, let Fay and Miyu become official characters )
     
     
    Now before I get to number 1, here's a short list of games that should have stayed cancelled:
    - Duke Nukem Forever
    - Aliens Colonial Marines
    - Too Human
    - Ride to Hell Retribution
     
    And now Number 1
     
     
    1) Megaman Legends 3
     

    C'mon, don't act like you're surprised, if you know me then you should have seen this coming. 10 years after the release of Megaman Legends 2(which as everyone should know, ended with Megaman stuck on the moon). 10 years fans have been begging to see a sequel. 10 years later they're prayers would finally be cancelled. A few months later Keiji Inafune(One of Megaman's leading forces) leaves Capcom on bad terms. Then Capcom announces a Prototype demo for the game in order to gauge interest. Then Capcom cancels the game, without releasing said prototype. Then Capcom would blame fans for the game's cancellation....
     
    Yeah you can see how well that went. The game's cancellation is still to this day considered one of the most unpopular moves Capcom has ever made, as well as prove to one of the company's biggest PR nightmare. Fans eventually made a 100,000 Facebook page in hopes of getting the game resurrected, and has already passed it's initial goal. While many Megaman games have been cancelled leaving fans sour, Legends 3's cancellation still hurts the the most
     
     
    Keep in mind that this is really a personal list, but I still acknowledge that there are many promising games that were cancelled and people would love to see come to light, like Starcraft Ghost or Earthbound 64, so share your thoughts while I go cry endlessly in a corner
  14. Megas
    I've been thinking about this for a while, but I've finally came up with a definitive, top 10 list of games that I can comfortably call my favorite. I've put this off long enough, time to get it going.
    10) Tales of Symphonia

    I dunno why I put off putting this game on my list for so long, but recently replaying this game, I realized, yup, it definitely belongs here. My introduction, along with many others, to the "Tales Of" franchise of Action RPGs(more or less serving as the Tales equivalent of FFVII, as it was the first real big success story for the franchise in the West), this game follows the adventures of Lloyd Irving and his friends on a quest to reunite two divided worlds whole again. This game had a big impact on my childhood, loved the cast, surprisingly solid voice cast both for a JRPG and a 6th gen title(featuring several prominent Voice actors like Cam Clarke, Scott Menville, Jennifer Hale, Tara Strong, etc.). It was the game that introduced me to the world of shipping(being a pleb, I shipped the predictable Lloyd/Colette and Zelos/Sheena) and I'd be lying if I said I didn't waifu one of the characters. The soundtrack is fantastic and really adds to the game's atmosphere whether it be the small towns, the different battles or even when exploring the Angel comet floating above the two worlds. One of Motoi Sakubara's best. It was a game where I loved it's world so much I replayed it an unhealthy number of times just to get and see everything I could, and I'm talking 25+ times for a 30+ hour game(one of my friends was actually worse about this, doubling my plays). It's a game that every time I see it get a rerelease, I go out of my way to get it, even with the recent Switch version having issues, I still went and bought The Chosen" edition steelbook, I guess I'm part of the problem. One of my favorite JRPGs, but not the top, there's one game that's just that much better
    9) Persona 4 Golden

    More or less an updated version of the PS2 release, Golden is basically a better version of the original game with it's own assortment of improvements such as extra social links, extra story content, an extra dungeon, etc. The game is part social, high school dating sim and part demon summoning, dungeon crawling JRPG, where your character is sent to a small town for the year to live with his uncle and befriends several fellow school kids who wind up in the middle of a series of grisly murder mysteries involving a shadow world behind TV. Believe it or not, the actual JRPG is the weaker part of the game, as real appeal of the game is building your friendships with the different citizens of the town of Inaba, Japan, as well as romancing the many characters you come across(Chie and Naoto are best girls don't @ me). Despite being a small town, the cast is fun and brimming with personality, the storylines you follow range from legitimately hilarious, to creepy to downright heartbreaking, and the story changes a lot on how you approach these situations whether it's the decisions you make regarding the story's progression and how your relationships with your friends go. And it shouldn't go without saying that the music is fantastic, who knew that demon summoning and Japanese pop music would make for a killer combo?
    8) Bioshock

    Taking a break from JRPGs to go shoot some stuff.
    Actually the shooting part of Bioshock is the least interesting part of the game. This game is about your character being trapped in the underwater city of Rapture, that wanted to break away from government control to live their own lives only for everything to go straight to Hell, with a majority of it's citizens becoming addicted to a type of genetically enhancing drug known as plasmids, and generally just becoming psychos. Game is generally just incredibly creepy and disturbing, and you must fight through everything to escape to the surface, from the drugged up splicers to the various Big Daddy enemies that'll wreck you if you're not careful. You can use everything you find to fight your way through with the various weapons you'll find, but what really makes the game shine are the plasmids you'll come across that'll give you special powers like telekinisis, fire, and shooting lightning and you can use them along with the environments to make your escape easier. Despite the lack of cutscenes, the story is easy to follow yet still engaging, and the creepy atmosphere really caries it all the way through. Admittedly this was a game I didn't think much of despite all the huge praise it got(game came out during the whole Brown and Gray shooter craze of the 7th gen), so I held off playing it for the longest time, but, man I'm glad I gave it a chance when I did
    7) DOOM 2016

    Using the Nintendo Switch cover, and not the garbo PS4/Xbone cover
    I mean, what is there to say about this game? It's the FPS genre in it's purest form. No squads, no ADS, no reloading, just one angry guy, tons of guns, and tons of demons to blow up. As simple as it does sound, the story is pretty cool, and what you expect from Doom. A company wants to make money, and risks opening the Gates of Hell to do it, and now one angry fellow needs to clean up their mess. But where the game really shines is in it's gameplay, it's violent, it's hectic, it's fun. Between all the shotguns and machine guns, to the chainsaw, to the glory kills and power ups, mixed in with fun platforming challenges and hidden goodies throughout the levels, all to some of the raddest music you'll hear. Really, you can never go wrong with Doom
    6) Metroid Prime

    Well this one is perfectly timed. Probably one of the best examples of going from 2D to 3D with a huge genre change I can think of, all while keeping the spirit of the franchise there. Tons of new gameplay enhancements along with all the staples we're familiar with, Metroid Prime does something new by prioritizing exploration and collection over completion time. The most fun thing about the game is the new scan feature, just going around Tallon IV and scanning everything to learn more about the world of not just Tallon IV but the world of Metroid as a world.
     
     
  15. Megas
    Some cartoons are pretty successful, some aren't. Some are even successful enough to warrant a theatrical adaptation, and that's what this list is for. Only two things to note
     
    - Full theatrical releases, so no TV movies(like Fairly Odd Parents Channel Chasers or MLaaTR's Escape From Cluster Prime), Direct-to-DVD movies(like Wakko's Wish) or limited releases(like Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks or DBZ: Battle of the Gods)
    - Animated Adaptations only, so don't worry about seeing those horrific movies like The Last Airbender or Dragonball Evolution
    - Only including movies I watched, which will explain why the Power Puff Girls movie isn't on here
     
    10) The Wild Thornberrys Movie

     
    Genuinely surprised that the movie(or the show for that matter) doesn't get much attention as I feel both it and the show was some of Nick's best(as well as Klasky Csupo's last good efforts, Rocket Power was eh and As Told By Ginger was boring).
     
    9) The Rugrats Movie

     
    Surprisingly heart-tugging, from what I remember this was the first and one of the very few Nicktoons to get it's own movie. It introduced Dil and while the show wasn't as great as it used to be before the movie(though imo Dil was All Grown Up's saving grace), the movie itself was still a fun romp. Spike being a badass, And that one scene with Tommy and Dil in the rain is still really powerful
     
    8) Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius

     
    This one's kind of cheating since the movie was really more of a pilot than a movie adaptation, but the movie wound up giving us the 3rd of what I like to call, "The Big 3 of the 2000s", which included Spongebob, Fairly Odd Parents, and Jimmy Neutron. The movie itself was really fun and gave us some great characters to look forward too despite some...really impractical science when you really think about it(and lets not forget that they were able to breathe in space freely)
     
    7) The Spongebob Squarepants Movie

     
    Before you youngins had "A Sponge Out of Water" this was the first Spongebob movie and boy was it awesome. Originally planned as the series finale, the movie encompassed everything that made the show great while putting our heroes on a huge adventure, giving us one of the
    , Patrick's crush on Mindy was adorable, and best of all

    6) Rugrats in Paris
     
    Last Nickelodeon Movie, I promise!
    In my opinion the best Nickelodeon movie(or at least the most memorable), this time starring Chuckie as he tries to get a new mom. Not gonna lie, some of the scenes are...really heartbreaking. On top of that you get moments of Chuckie being awesome, you get see mechs sorta fight each other, and you even see a moment of Angelica actually feeling guilty for being a shitty human being and actually trying to make up for it(including humiliating the movie's villain)
     
    6) A Goofy Movie

     
    It was a tough choice between this and An Extremely Goofy Movie, but when I realized that An Extremely Goofy Movie was a Direct-to-DVD movie(which was actually really surprising considering the quality of most DtDVD Disney movies). Plot is nothing too special, Max and Goofy want to do different things for Summer, with Goofy going camping and Max wanting to go to a concert. But the parts surrounding Max and Goofy is what makes this movie for me
     
    4) South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut
     

     
    This movie is basically what happens when South Park doesn't hold back. It also has some of the
     
    3) Beavis and Butthead Do America

     
    Much like South Park, this movie is what happens when Beavis and Butthead don't hold back(though I prefer this one slightly more). It involves the duo doing what they usually do, this time on a national scale, while trying to find someone "to score". It also features a pretty insane music video.
     
    2) Recess: School's Out

     
    This movie imo, is how you both make a series finale. The movie returns to the "getting rid of recess plot" but this time the stakes are higher, with a crazy madman trying to make a permanent winter and trying to get rid of the biggest Recess of all, Summer vacation. Everything that made the show good is here and then some, you get to see some good buddy to buddy interaction between TJ and Prickly, heartwarming moments between the gang, and you get to see Gus, Prickly and Ms Finster being badass
     
    1) The Simpsons Movie

     
    Released during the times when everyone was saying the Simpsons was far passed its prime, this movie comes out and proves that the Simpsons still has it in them. Pretty much in development hell for a long time, much like Recess and Spongebob, the movie has everything that made the show great and then some. It also has a ton of heart and genuinely heartwarming moments and tons of laughs. Apparently the show's creator says that if he ever gets the chance, he wants to make another movie and use it as a series finale, and honestly I wouldn't have it any other way, if this movie is anything to go by, I wouldn't have it any other way
  16. Megas

    Top 10 Playstation Games

    By Megas,

    The Sony Playstation is one of the most beloved game consoles among gaming, and it was what helped Sony become a gaming giant. From its beginnings as a SNES peripheral to it's continued success on the PS2 and eventually PSN, the original Playstation set tons of standards for the industry, including disc based consoles, dual analog, built-in rumble, and etc. It's also has had one of the biggest and strongest library of games, including some of the most iconic and classic games and franchises gaming as seen. The console itself played a huge part of my childhood, introducing me to some of my most favorite games ever, and this is what this list is about.
     
    10) Medal of Honor

     
    One of my favorite shooter franchises, Medal of Honor was one of the earliest console FPS games, and was heavily influenced from the N64's hit shooter, Goldeneye. It was also the first game to have a story from a movie director, as the game's story was written by one of the biggest out there, Steven Spielberg(who's also responsible for classic films like ET, Saving Private Ryan, Jurassic Park, and Indiana Jones). The game's music was composed by Michael Giacchino, which was what really made him big as a composer. The game's presentation and combat was great and would help set of the big WWII shooter boom during the 6th and most of the 7th gen console games.
     
    9) Syphon Filter 2

     
    Unknown to a lot of people, in 1996 Eidetic was involved in making Bubsy 3D, one of the worst games ever made. Yet Sony still saw some value in them, and in the end it looks like they made the right call. 3 years later they'd go on to make Syphon Filter, which wound up being one of the Playstation's most popular titles. And Syphon Filter 2 is exactly how you improve on an already great game, with better levels with more variety, a better story, and much more varied weapons compared to the first. And the air taser still kicks ass.
     
    8) Legend of Dragoon
     

     
    After getting introduced to Final Fantasy with the Playstation, I decided to try out other games like it. One game that caught my eye was Legend of Dragoon, one of the few JRPGs made by Sony themselves. This game was awesome, the Dragoon transformations and attacks, were awe-inspiring, I was amazed to see voice acting(especially with Final Fantasy opting out), the additions were fun and engaging and I absolutely loved the story. I'm still bitter that a sequel was cancelled...and that Dart was cancelled from PSASBR.
     
    7) Megaman Legends
     

     
    While many people prefer the second game to the first, the first still remains a much more special game to me. When it came out, seeing Megaman both in 3D and without a helmet was such a mind blower to me. And the radical departure was one of the biggest things that made this game special for me, I loved exploring the ruins just to find what goodies I could find, and trying out new weapons never got old, especially when you maxed out all of their stats. Even playing the game on easy with the overpowered Max Buster was blast. And it was probably one of the very few Megaman games that actually had a decent story to follow, and was full of character and charm. Also Megaman's voice wasn't lame like MM8, Legends 2 or X4
     
    6) Final Fantasy VIII

     
    Yes, Final Fantasy VIII is my preferred game in the main series, but can you blame me? FFVIII was the first game in the series I ever played, and was the game responsible for me getting into the series, which I still hold as one of my favorite franchises ever. I still remember my brother buying it,
    . Visuals were great, FMVs still hold up very well which says a lot with how ugly a lot of them can be. Squall, Edea and Laguna still remains some of my favorite characters in the series, the OST fantastic and is one of my favorites of all time. Yeah, it has its flaws like the battle system, the utterly broken junction system(which actually add to the game's charm for me personally, nothing beats overpowering yourself to godlike levels in the beginning of the game) and how the story goes to hell by disc 3(Disc 1 and 2 though are fantastic, as well as the final dungeon), but goddammit those do nothing to deteriorate the sheer happiness I get from playing it. 
    5) Megaman X4

     
    Easily one of the most fine-tuned Megaman games of the PS1/N64/Saturn era, as well as one of the best Megaman games, period. While Megaman X2 and X3 were well-liked by fans, they didn't have as much of an impact as the original Megaman X did which is still highly regarded as one of the best in the franchise, but X4 is the only game that could stand in equal footing to the original game. X4 took the best parts of X2(Speed) and X3(Zero playable), and took it to bigger and better things. The game was much more action packed and frantic than the last two, Zero opened up a whole new way to play with his up-and-front style combat, great music as usual for the series, and the bosses and characters were some of the most memorable since X1. And while the voice acting is atrocius,
     
    4) Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

     
    Much like what games like FFVII, Ocarina of Time, and Super Mario 64 did for their franchises, Castlevania would become the new standard of what future titles in the series would be like. Unlike the more linear platformers of the past games, Symphony of the Night actually takes a lot of influence from the more unpopular Castlevania II(as well as the Metroid series, thus coining the term "Metroidvania) and would focus more on exploration. The game is has some of the most finely-tuned gameplay in the series and sports some insanely good hand-drawn sprite work, the music is, as usual, fantastic, and exploring Dracula's castle was a blast. Also, much like Megaman X4, the voice acting is also several kinds of terribad, but still gave us some of the greatest lines ever
     
    3) Metal Gear Solid
     

     
    This is probably the biggest surprise that this is only number 3 considering how much of a fanboy I am of this series, but I digress. Regardless, the original Metal Gear Solid is a fantastic game that set a lot of industry standards. MGS was one of the earliest games to take a cinematic approach to its storytelling and game design, as this would influence a ton of future developers to adapt that same cinematic approach, for better or for worse(admittedly for worse is more common). It was also one of the first games to have voice acting that...well, wasn't awful. The game's visuals and music do a lot to help the game's cold and metallic atmosphere.The story is very engaging and does a great job at making you feel for all the characters, including the villains. Speaking of which, the game also sported some of the most memorable boss fights in gaming, such as Grey Fox, Psycho Mantis, and the fist fight with Liquid.
     
    2) RESIDENT EVIL. 2

     
    After the massive success of the first game which also came out on the Playstation, Capcom decided to capitalize on that and make a sequel. What we got was a game that improved on everything that was great about the first game and then some. Improved visuals helped add a lot to the game's creepiness, the controls were more streamlined compared to the last, more weapon variety and tons more scares than the last, and tons of puzzles that block your escape. Story was a great follow up to the last despite using mostly new characters, though they were just as great as the last cast. The voice acting is still bad but not as bad as the first game. Sometimes I still have trouble deciding which is my favorite in the series, RE2 and RE4
     
    As usual, honorable mentions, since there's more than just the 10 games I listed that made the PS1 great:
    - Final Fantasy VII and IX
    - Chrono Cross
    - Metal Gear VR Missions
    - Resident Evil 1 and 3
    - Megaman 8 and Legends 2
    - Silent Hill
    - Syphon Filter 1
    - Grand Theft Auto 2
    - Xenogears
    - Soul Reaver
    - Tekken 3
    - Medal of Honor Underground
    - Die Hard Trilogy
    - Tail Concerto
    - Persona 2 Eternal Punishment
    - Misadventures of Tronne Bonne
    - The Spyro and Crash Trilogies
    - and tons more I'm forgetting
     
    1) Final Fantasy Tactics

     
    Best Spin-off ever. Best Final Fantasy Ever. Best PS1 game ever. Final Fantasy Tactics is one of the very few examples of how to do a darker take on generally light-hearted franchise without being "try-hard" or "edgy". It also takes the series to a new gameplay direction while incorporating almost everything from the Final Fantasy series fans know and love. The combat's great with tons of great and over the top spells and abilities, the story is fantastic and mostly refreshing in comparison to other Final Fantasy games, with tons of characters to love and hate. Hell, Cloud from VII is a hidden playable character which was mind-blowing at the time. The job system is one of the best in the series, and the OST is on par with other Final Fantasy games even without Nobuo Uematsu. The ONLY flaw I can think of with this game is that it can get a little grind heavy. Even with that said, it is still one of my favorite games and one, if not, the best game on the Playstation.
     
    _________________________________________________________________________________________________________
     
    Did your favorite game not make the list? What were some of your favorites?
  17. Megas
    Bored today, so here's another random top 10, this time about video game character themes. By the way, clicking the picture will bring you to the song
     
    10) Theme of Cecil - The Red Wings(Final Fantasy IV)

     
    Best theme song for second best Final Fantasy Hero
     
    9) Philistine - Margaret Moonlight(No More Heroes 2)

     
    It's not everyday there's a villain song that actively rips on you while you fight them
     
    8) Star Wolf - Starfox Assault

    This song's had many arrangements, but I still think Assault's is the best
     
    7) Ken's theme - Street Fighter II
     

     
    This song never fails to put me in an ass kicking mood
     
    6) Guile's theme - Street Fighter II

     
    This one too, but with more America
     
    5) Captain America - Marvel Vs Capcom

     
    But this right here is as American as you can get
     
    4)Terry Bogard - 11th Street(Fatal Fury Wild Ambition)

     
    A good song succeeds when it's both great to kick ass too and to chill out too
     
    3) Zero - Megaman X4

     
    Can't have a list of character themes without one of Zero's million themes. Personally X4's takes the cake
     
    2) Psycho Mantis - Mantis's Hymn(Metal Gear Solid)

     
    Haunting and Iconic. This one also gets a nifty boss theme in Twin Snakes
     
    1) Godot - Fragrance of Dark Coffee - Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations

    C'mon did you expect me to put anyone else at No. 1?
     
    Honorable Mentions:















     
    And billions more I undoubtedly missed
  18. Megas
    Because I realize my iPod is mainly video game OSTs, I decided to make a list of my personal favorites OSTs.
     
    10) Dynasty Warriors 3

     
    As odd as it sounds to have ancient Chinese warriors fighting each other to loud Japanese rock music, it works very well. The Dynasty Warriors series usually does a good job having the music blend with the intense action of hack-n-slashing swaths of enemies, but Dynasty Warriors 3 is the cream of the crop. My favorite soundtracks here are
    , , , , and  
    9) Call of Duty 3 - Joel Goldsmith(RIP)

     
    I remember when I first booted up the game on the Wii(yes I got CoD3 for the Wii and enjoyed it, sue me) and just hearing
    Sometimes I'd just sit at the menu for minutes on end just to listen to it. Made even more epic was when that same theme would come back in the end of the final mission. Of course there are tons of great tunes in this game like , , and . It's still one of my favorite WWII themed soundtracks ever, only beaten by one other game... 
    8) Medal of Honor Frontline - Michael Giacchino

     
    Composed by the same guy responsible for UP, The Incredibles, and Ratatouille, Medal of Honor Frontline is another great addition to his work. Stand outs in this one include
    , , , and  
    7) Marvel Vs Capcom - Capcom Sound Team

     
    The musicians at Capcom were usually geniuses when it came to their older style of music when it came to their arcade fighters. It was disappointing to see the second game set to smooth and slow jazz music(for a fast-paced fighting game '-_-) especially coming off the heels of the first game's OST. It did a great job of finding fitting themes for all the characters whether it'd be based off older games or based off the characters. Favorites include
    , , , , , and  
     
    6) Persona 3 - Shoji Meguro

     
    High School, Teenagers, and Pop Music is usually a recipe for disaster but holy shit does Persona 3 subvert and completely curb stomp that trope. Persona 3 has the kind of music you either be walking around school too, driving to, or just use to sit down and chill. Some of my favorite songs here are Mass Destruction, Burn My Dread, I Want to Be Close, Iwatodai Dorm, and
     
    5) No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle - Akira Yamaoka

     
    No More Heroes 2 was really something. The first game's soundtrack was already awesome, but the second game managed to top it in almost every way, while at the same time it manages to be as batshit insane as the game itself.
    . Other great songs include , , , and  
    4) Super Smash Bros Series - Various Composers

     
    Yes I'm putting the entire series into this category as they usually bring back 90% of the soundtracks from the previous games into the next one. In short, if your a Nintendo fan(and Nintendo makes fantastic music), then you better make sure you have this in your music device, as it has a plethora of music from nearly every single Nintendo franchise(including some third parties like Sonic, Pac-Man, Megaman, and Metal Gear). Too many favorites to choose from, but some from the top of my head are Fountain of
    , , , , , , , Gerudo Valley(Smash 4), and  
    3) Metal Gear Solid - TAPPY

     
    There's something about the heavy sound of MGS's soundtrack that makes it so memorable for me. Every theme fits its scenario to a tee, from the slower sneaking parts to the adrenaline pumping fighting moments. And boy songs like
    , , , , , , and of course the game's  
    2) Final Fantasy VIII - Nobou Uematsu

     
    It was hard for me to pick which Final Fantasy OST should go over here, but if I had to pick just ONE OST to stick with forever, I would definitely go with Final Fantasy VIII. Seriously it's hard to beat a first impression like
    . To go along with it, I'd consider the game's boss theme, , to be the best one ever. And lets not forget , , , , , , , , and . Regardless of your feelings towards the game, the game has an amazing soundtrack, and honestly, if your not even gonna give its OST props, then you are, quite frankly, fucking insane. 
    1) Megaman X - Capcom Sound Team
     

     
    Kinda feels weird to give to the No.1 spot to a 16-bit game after praising the hole bejeebus out of fully orchestrated OSTs. It may be my love for rock music. Megaman X is not only my favorite game OST, it's my favorite OST ever, which is saying a lot considering Juggernauts like Star Wars and Disney movies. Nearly every single song in this game I find memorable and has a place in my heart.
    , , , , , , , ...Jesus the list goes on. Hell even the . All of the soundtracks above I hold in such high regard, but Megaman X has the biggest spot in my heart
  19. Megas
    Much like video games based on movies, games based on cartoons also have had a stigma for having....not so good games, some of which can be legendarily bad. But much like games based on movies, there are still those cartoon-based games that will break the mold and show us that there can also be good ones too.
     
    10) Tiny Toon Adventures: Montana's Movie Madness(Gameboy)

     
    This game really surprised me when I was a kid. Unlike most others, I actually never got a Pokemon game with my Gameboy until much later. While my top games for the system were Donkey Kong and Legend of Zelda A Link's Awakening, but one other game that got as much attention as those was Tiny Toon Adventures: Montana's Movie Madness, a surprisingly challenging platformer with various movie themed levels. I adored it, a lot. Early on, both Capcom and Konami actually had their fair share of strong licensed titles and this was one of them.
     
    9) Goof Troop(SNES)

     
    One of Capcom's many Disney games back on the SNES, and it is also the first game designed by Shinji Mikami, creator of the Resident Evil franchise and the Father of Survival Horror. Basic premise is that Goofy and Max were trapped on a pirate island and you have to save Pete and PJ. What makes this action-adventure game fun is the co-op mode where one player controls Goofy and Max respectively, and co-op mode can lead to some seriously great times. Playing it alone is a lot of fun too.
     
    8) Sailor Moon: Another Story(SNES)

     
    A game that unfortunately is Japan only, Sailor Moon Another Story is a surprisingly good JRPG. Having an original story that takes place between the 3rd and 4th story arcs, the biggest selling point(at least for me) of the game was being able to control the Sailor Senshi as much like the anime, they all have their unique abilities that make them useful depending on the situation. And there's also multiple ending encouraging replayability
     
    7) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time(SNES/Arcade)

     
    Another game from Konami's Licensed Catalog, Turtles In Time is one of the very, very few SNES arcade ports that didn't get neutered*coughfinalfightcough*. Despite not being able to play up 4-players in the SNES version, it's was actually able to add a lot to the SNES version like a couple more levels and tons of cutscenes and visuals faithful to the cartoon airing at the time.
     
    6) Mickey Mouse's Magical Quest

     
    A Capcom platformer starring the Iconic mouse himself, it kept visuals that was some of the best on the system as well as staying true to Mickey Mouse as well as featuring some very fun and solid platforming
     
    5) Ducktales(NES)

     
    I think the best way to describe this game is that it's basically a Megaman game if it was produced by Disney(helped by the fact that Keiji Inafune and most of the staff behind the series worked on it). It boast similar visuals, and a soundtrack and difficulty on par with Megaman. Plus Ducktales was the birth of the legendary pogo bounce. If you can there's a remake on the PCPS360U by Wayforward that's fairly faithful to the original game
     
    4) Spongebob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom(PS2/Xbox/Gamecube)

     
    Another game that took me by surprise. Battle for Bikini Bottom is a strong platformer in vein of Super Mario Games like SM64 or Sunshine, where you collect golden spatulas in order to unlock more levels and defeat Plankton and his robot army. Has a pretty fun physics engine, tons of references to past episodes(back when the show was still good), and excellent use of the 3 characters Spongebob, Patrick and Sandy. The Spongebob Movie game is also pretty similar and just as good
     
    3) South Park: The Stick of Truth(Xbox360/PS3/PC)

     
    What makes South Park The Stick of Truth so memorable to fans is that it is a South Park episode in almost every single way. The humor, the visuals, the voice actors are very true to the series. Tons of fanservice and being an overall fun RPG makes this game a favorite for fans as well as being a solid RPG
     
    2) Dragon Ball Z Budokai 3

     
    First off, DAT THEME SONG.
    That said Dragon Ball Z Budokai 3 is both a great love letter to fans and a solid fighter. It marks a high point in the Budokai series by getting rid of some of the fluff the first two games had, having a giant roster, and having tons of content that keeps you going. The movesets are much more manageable to make the game more balanced than the past games(though admittedly it's still unbalanced) and the Dragon Universe lets you play through the main story(as well as some movies) with multiple characters(though it's still a step down from Budokai 1's story mode). It also has a fairly large roster(at the time) featuring characters from every saga, as well as the movies and even a couple from GT and the original Dragonball. Also, again, DAT THEME SONG
     
    before I get to no.1, here are some honorable mentions, either because I never got to play them(but other people liked them) or because they just missed the mark:
     
    Honorable mentions:
    The Simpsons Arcade game
    the Sailor Moon Arcade game
    X-Men Mutant Apocalypse
    Dragon Ball Z Legacy of Goku 2
    Budokai Tenkaichi 3
    Naruto Clash of Ninja Revolution
    Chip n' Dale Rescue Rangers
    The Spongebob Movie
    Futurama
    The Simpsons Game
    Kim Possible What's the Switch
    Harvey Birdman Attorney at Law
    a Megas XLR game that'll never happen
    a decent Friendship is Magic game that'll never happen
     
    1) The Simpson Hit and Run(PS2/Xbox/Gamecube/PC)

     
    When I say this is one of the best Grand Theft Auto games ever...I mean it. While it was a blatant GTA clone(much like how Road Rage=Crazy Taxi, and Skateboarding=Tony Hawk), one thing Hit and Run did what the other two failed to do was copy everything that made the original game good. While obviously the gratuitous violence isn't there, it's still a GTA clone, but a very excellent one. The game has it's own charm and fun that makes it stand out. The gameplay and car controls feel surprisingly great, missions are fun and diverse, exploring Springfield is a blast and the fanservice is glorious. If you love the Simpsons, or just GTA-style games, and haven't tried this game yet, you are doing yourself a huge disservice
     
    Also the soundtrack is excellent, which is something I don't say to most licensed game's OST
     
     
     
    EDIT: I'm pretty sure if I remade this list, Transformers Devastation would be no.1.
     
    Sorry, I still can't shut up about that game
  20. Megas
    When a game comes to a close, they often end with a final, satisfying challenge, often in the form of a boss fight, with the player using everything they learned to overcome it. Unfortunately even the best games can deliver a final boss the is completely underwhelming compared to everything else you've gone through throughout the game. Sometimes the ending can be satisfying enough for you to forgive it, but more often than not, the boss fight can sour your opinion of it.
     
    Just like every other list, this'll only have final bosses from games I've played
     
    10) Ganondorf(Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess)
     

     
    Even though I will always consider Twilight Princess one of my favorite installment in the franchise, even as far as my second favorite, I can't say the fight with Ganondorf was a highlight. Sure it had a lot to live up to with how great Windwaker and Ocarina of Time's fights were, but even then, surely they could've done better than give us a fight with what is essentially a beefed-up Darknut(which is a generic enemy in the game, let that sink in). Also his weakness is the fishing pole....no I'm serious, just swing it and he'll be distracted, giving you a chance to attack. Still as underwhelming as the boss is, at least that last tidbit can garner a good laugh.
     
    9) Bowser(Super Mario Sunshine)
     

     
    For a game that was fairly difficult, especially compared to other Mario games, this boss battle was surprisingly weak. In most other Mario games, you use different kinds of tactics against Bowser, such as using his own attacks against him, outsmarting him, sneaking up to him. Here you just go to the a certain point of the hot tub, shoot up with Rocket Fludd, and then smash the floor, all while avoiding easy to avoid projectiles. Also hearing Bowser with a voice is really weird.
     
    8) Hell Sigma(Megaman X6)

     
    Regardless of your opinions on Megaman X6, it's hard to deny that the game can get ridiculously hard. Yet no matter how much the game loved to crush your balls with a sledgehammer, one thing everyone can agree on is that the endboss is insultingly easy, especially if you're using Zero or the Shadow Armor. Hell any attacks that chain damage(like...the saber). You'll be done before you even realize it.
     
    At the very least it almost makes up for it by having one of the
     
    7) Necron(Final Fantasy IX)
     

     
    Nowadays you'd be hard pressed not to find a Final Fantasy fan who doesn't consider IX their favorite, and who could blame them? It was a return to classic Final Fantasy with a good story and fun characters.....yet it managed to deliver one of the lamest endbosses in the franchise. Would have been fine with just Kuja, but no they had to throw one more guy, as Necron appears literally out of nowhere. He's a fairly difficult boss, but you just got done getting thru Kuja, they guy you've been going after the entire game(who was already a difficult boss as is), now it just feels like a huge waste of time fighting someone who literally has absolutely no reason to appear. And I can only imagine how angry people would be if they lost to this guy.
     
    6) Tabuu(Super Smash Bros Brawl)

     
    Tabuu shares some similar problems Necron had; he shows up near the end of the game, and is supposedly the mastermind behind everything rather than the guy you've been going after most of the time, Master Hand and a plethora of Nintendo villains. What makes him worse is how absolutely boring and generic he looks and acts, which is criminal for a game with a cast of colorful and diverse characters. You know you suck when a floating hand has more life and personality than you. His fight is also nothing to write home about, aside from one desperation most of his attacks are fairly easy to dodge or don't do much damage.
     
    SSE had a lot of potential, but unfortunately it still needed a ton of improvements. Getting rid of this guy would be a good first step
     
    5) Abyss(Marvel Vs Capcom 2)

     
    Tabuu before Tabuu. Abyss was the first and only time a Vs Capcom title used an original character for a final boss. Normally they've used various characters, either their own or from the franchises they've crossed over with, such as Marvel's Onslaught(MvC), Apocalypse(XMvSF, MSHvSF), Galactus(MvC3), Okami's Yami(TvC), Akuma and SNK's Rugal(both CvS2). You'd expect someone interesting, perhaps someone like Sigma, or Mundus, instead you get some really generic blob of energy that can also control armor. The first form is a joke while the second one is outright cheap unless your character uses projectiles. Then the 3rd form isn't much to write home about either. MvC2 is still highly regarded as one of the best superhero games ever, but it drops the ball when it comes to a final boss.
     
    4) Ehrich Rhoemer(Syphon Filter)

     
    As much as I love the Syphon Filter series(heck the second game is one of my favorite games on the PS1), admittedly the game does not hold up very well, and that is most evident in the final boss battle with the game's big bad, Erich Rhoemer. After you abort a nuke and saving the world from World War III, you find yourself face to face with Rhoemer. Sounds good and all right? Except the guy has a fucking M-79(grenade launcher) and your in a little square box with very little room to do much, and the only way to defeat him is with Gas Grenades(which you better fucking hope you find it). The only real strategy is to exploit the game and spam and gas grenades you have at the little opening where Rhoemer appears then after the cutscene he'll immediately die from the gas. But because the game has a checkpoint immediately when the battle begins, you can't do much to correct any action. While I still had fun with the game, I still found it have an incredibly frustrating endgame
     
    3) Andross(Starfox Adventures)
     

     
    Despite not being a Star Fox game on any right, I still have a lot of fondness for Adventures, fun combat, fun characters, fun world to explore, and I especially loved the villain, General Scales. So you can imagine my enjoyment going up the him in the final Krazoa Temple. I begin with swinging my staff and then*plop*...what the fuck just happened. Turns out Andross was just waiting for his power to be restored so he could begin to conquer Lylat again with the Power of the Krazoa gods. Strike one. He also suffers a lot of problems seen with Necron and Tabuu, he literally shows up at the last second and suddenly he's the real bad guy all along. Strike two. He's also significantly crappier compared to his SF64 boss fight, it was such an unfun fight and so rushed you could tell he was thrown in at the last second. The straw that broke the camel's back? You never get to fight General Scales, the guy who was built up to be genuinely terrifying villain, suddenly disappears and I doubt we'll ever see him again.
     
    2) Yu Yevon(Final Fantasy X)
     

     
    Final Fantasy X is one of my favorite installments of the series. I loved some of the new things they attempted such as the Sphere Grid and the new battle system and had one of my favorite endings of all time, and despite some bullshit like the minigames, it's one I hold very close to the top, along with IV, VIII and Tactics. Yet that doesn't stop this boss fight from sucking all kinds of ass. At first you'd expect this guy to be some god-like being, as he goes to possess every Aeon you have. So far so good. When he finally appears? He's just a tick....who's weak to practically everything. Normally the final bosses in Final Fantasy games are near-godlike beings, capable of having some of the deadliest attacks and are invulnerable to nearly everything with ridiculous amounts of health that even the best weapons in the game aren't enough. Then this guy shows up, vulnerable to practically every status effect, can be killed with Full-Life and Phoenix Downs(since he's already undead), and can be one-hit KO'd with your best weapons, all while you have permanent auto-life. There's easy endgame bosses, and then there's handing you over the ending. Still, at least the ending was worth it, unlike the no. 1 spot
     
    1) Jasper Batt Jr(No More Heroes 2)
     

     
    Fuck this guy right off
     
    This guy is the main villain of No More Heroes 2, who kills Travis's friend Bishop as revenge for you killing his father and brother. Remember those assassination missions from the first game that had you killing to generic CEOs at one point? Yup that was them. Besides being absolutely grating in every sense of the word and stupid-looking with a very punchable face, he redefines throwing-your-controller-across-the-wall-with-testicle-smashing-cheapness. His first form is nothing to write home about, but his third and especially hiss second form is what does it, as he's absolutely difficult to get a hit on(he rarely, if ever, staggers) as well as having a automatic kill attack where he punches you off the roof if your not careful. All of his attacks are incredibly strong to the point where it's unfair, and the final form which is one of the most hideous things you'll ever see, with the same cheapness as the second form. It's unfun, unfair, and frustrating that it leaves you finishing the game unsatisfied...speaking of which
     
    The best part? This was intentional. Apparently Suda51 wanted to tell the story to make it a point that revenge was usually never worth it.
     
    Suda51...I love you, but fuck you too
  21. Megas
    While there are many moments in E3 that everyone remembers for the really bad acting, bad demos underwhelming hype, there's just as many moments at E3 that are memorable for hitting the right notes. Unlike the last one, this will mostly focus on moments rather than whole conferences, as it was kind of hard for me to find entire great conferences as opposed to bad ones which was miles easier. So without further ado.
     
     
    5) Microsoft E3 2008 - Microsoft's Final Fantasy XIII bomb
     

     
    Microsoft unveils Final Fantasy XIII going multiplatform and comes to the Xbox 360, much to the dismay of hardcore Sony fanboys around the world. Regardless of what your opinion on the game itself was, it was worth it for the complete meltdown of the internet for several months.
     
    4) Nintendo E3 2010 - The Nintendo 3DS steals the show
     

     
    No one expected it but holy hell did the 3DS reveal leave a huge impact. The 3DS was officially revealed, with tons of games and surprises to go along with it, such as getting remasters of Ocarina of Time and Starfox 64, as well as surprise announcements of several third party titles no one expected like Metal Gear(MGS3D), Resident Evil Revelations and Mercenaries, Street Fighter, Kingdom Hearts 3D(Dream Drop Distance), Assassin's Creed(which actually never happened), and Saint's Row(never happened either). The 3DS reveal was such a popular moment for Nintendo despite the steep price point of $250.
     
    3) Microsoft E3 2013 - Insomniac goes to Xbox with Sunset Overdrive
     

     
    Much like the Final Fantasy XIII multiplatform announcement, in 2013 Microsoft announced that it would be working with former Sony developer Insomniac to work on the Xbox One's Sunset Overdrive, again much to the dismay of hardcore Sony fanboys everywhere. However this internet meltdown was arguably more notable than FFXIII due to the controversies involving the Xbone.
     
    2) Sony E3 2013 - Sony Owns Microsoft and Xbone DRM
     
    Truth be told, Sony's 2013 conference wasn't anything special, it isn't the jizz-worthy conference Neogaf says it is. But at the time everyone was still losing it over the Xbox One DRM, no-used game policies that Sony used to their advantage. Sony would go on to announce that the PS4 would allow used games, easy to share games, would be $100 cheaper, and would not need to be always online. So many people were absolutely ecstatic that they forgot about that the PS4's multiplayer would be stuck behind the PS+ paywall.
    Also they released that sick burn moments later
     

     
     
    1)Nintendo E3 2004 - Zelda makes grown men cry
     
    Much like the Sony 2013, Nintendo's 2004 conference wasn't very remarkable either, that was until the final surprise, the first trailer for Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess, everyone exploding over the visuals, and Miyamoto coming out with the Master Sword and Shield.
     

     
     
     
    What were some of your favorite E3 moments? Because I sure as hell know that there are tons I am missing
  22. Megas
    Characters have always been one of the biggest things in Super Smash Bros, and with the Wii U version coming right around the corner, I figured it was time to look back at all of the characters we’ve seen in this series, more specifically, the newcomers of each game. What qualifies as a newcomer is a new character whose been added to the series roster whether as a hidden character or the starting roster. Since this is about newcomers, this list won’t include the first 8 original Smash characters(Mario, Donkey Kong, Link, Samus, Yoshi, Kirby, Fox and Pikachu.), but I will count the secret characters in Smash 64, and most of the characters here are there for their impact, whether it be for Smash or for Nintendo in general. Now, without further ado
     
    5) Mr Game and Watch
     

     
    There’s a really irresistible charm about Mr Game&Watch, whether it be his bizarre fighting style or his general goofiness. But in all Mr Game and Watch was the character that started a trend of weird characters appearing within each game(otherwise known as WTF characters in the Smash Bros fandom), with other characters like ROB, Wii Fit Trainer, and Duck Hunt Dog joining Mr. G&W. While some may argue that Ness was the first WTF character to his obscurity, but Mr. G&W was the true leader in weirdness….speaking of Ness…
     
    4) Ness and Lucas(Earthbound and Mother 3)
     

     
    Included both Ness and Lucas since they’re both here for pretty much the same reason. To put it simply, Ness and Lucas’s appearances in Super Smash Bros is one of the biggest contributors to the Mother series’ popularity in the US. Before SSB64, hardly anyone knew what the Mother series or Earthbound was, come Ness’s appearance in Super Smash Bros and BAM, everyone is suddenly interested, with the series exploding in internet popularity, prices of the game skyrocketing, fan translations of the first and 3rd games, and constant petitioning of Nintendo to bring the series to America.
     
    3) Pit(Kid Icarus)
     

     
    Even before Super Smash Bros, Kid Icarus was a pretty popular game(with a solid sequel on the Game Boy) among the Nintendo fanbase, and a game that fans pretty much begged a sequel too. Seeing his inclusion in Brawl brought a lot of happiness to KI fans, even with his design being drastically different from past appearances(cartoon angel to anime pretty boy), and his inclusion must’ve been really well received, as Nintendo finally released another sequel on the 3DS, Kid Icarus Uprising, which was led by Sakurai himself, with Pit sporting a new look. Thankfully the game was well received and sold well, which helped build its popularity(even if Sakurai shows disturbing bias for the series in Smash 4)
     
    2) Snake(Metal Gear Solid)
     

     
    This list could consist mostly of the 3rd party characters since they’re well… 3rd party characters, but if you asked me which one was the best, surprising, most important 3rd party character in Smash, my vote would go to Snake, and no that’s not my MGS fanboyism kicking in. Here’s a brief history lesson: Hideo Kojima and his son Kojima Jr. are playing Smash 64 on a nice day, Kojima Jr asks why isn’t his character in it, and since Kojima is an awesome dad, he goes to Sakurai(whom he’s friends with btw) and asks his if he can put Snake in Melee, Sakurai says ok, realizes that Melee is too far into development, so he says “meh, I’ll put him in the next game” and the rest is history. Whatever your opinion on his inclusion is, you can’t deny that his inclusion had a huge impact on the series. We probably would have never gotten Sonic, Megaman, or Pacman without Snake, and I'm personally happy for it...even if it means we'll now have to deal with Sonic fanboys begging for the entire Sonic roster
     
    1)Marth and Roy(Fire Emblem and Fire Emblem Sword of Seals)
     

     
    Taking the number one spots are two characters that were originally intended as Japan exclusive characters(which I’m glad didn’t happen since Japan exclusivity sucks balls). Marth and Roy were main characters in one of Nintendo’s older franchises and formerly Japan-exclusive, Fire Emblem, specifically the first game and Sword of Seals respectively. No one knew who either of these characters were, but their appearances were insanely well received in America, that Nintendo decided to release Fire Emblem Blazing Swords, the first Fire Emblem to reach America. The game sold very well and received critical acclaim. Every Fire Emblem game since then has been released internationally and continues to do well, and I’m very glad for that. I’d hate to think of a world where Fire Emblem Awakening was only released in Japan, since that’s probably one of the best games I’ve played in a long time.
     
    ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
     
    I'll probably make a top 5 worst newcomers list sometime in the future depending on my mood, though I'm less inclined to make one since no.1 is probably going to be Dark Pit
  23. Megas
    With E3 being about a month away, lets take a trip down memory lane, as E3 has always been a huge even for gamers, as their always prone to both great and just utterly awful moments for gaming industry giants. But for the sake of this blog, lets just get the bad stuff out of the way
     
    Honorable mentions:
     
    UBISOFT E3 2011
     
    The actual conference wasn't actually that bad in terms of game announcements. But then I remember that Mr Caffeine was there
     

     
    5) E3 2012 in general
     

     
    For a showing that was set to reveal two new platforms(Wii U and Vita) you'd expect this one to be great, but surprisingly and unfortunately, it was very lacking. On top of Microsoft still being Kinect heavy and EA being EA, it's really sad when freaking Ubisoft had the best E3 showing that year with the reveal of Watch Dogs(which unfortunately didn't turn out the way people hoped)
     
    4) Microsoft E3 2010
     

     
    Why was this conference so awful? One word: Kinect. Microsoft's E3 2010 conference was the first and most infamous of many Kinect heavy E3 conferences. No one was interested in the Kinect, and none of the games they were showing were doing them any favors. Topped with bad actors, grown men asking the Kinect to put up Justin Beiber, and one of the most embarrassing showcases of Star Wars within recent memory, it'd be a while before Microsoft would be able to have another good conference.
     
    3) Sony E3 2006
     

     
    Many legendary memes were born from this trainwreck. Giant Enemy Crab, riiiiiidge racer! Five Hundred Ninety Nine US Dollars. The list goes on. Not only a weak showcasing of games, but the PS3's price point revealed is what hurt this conference as well as the PS3's launch, which delivered an awful blow to Sony's finances(who were already selling the PS3 at a loss), It wasn't until a $300 price cut 2 years later that the PS3's sales would finally improve
     
    2) Nintendo E3 2008
     

     
    Unfortunately Stong shows 2 years prior wasn't able to stop Nintendo from dropping this turd of a conference. 2008 was a dark year for Nintendo fans, which is inexcusable when earlier that year they release Super Smash Bros Brawl. But they couldn't keep that momentum going, as for this conference they went full-on casual, nearly every game spotlighted were mostly minigame collections, tons of peripherals, Cammie Dunaway and boring stuff like sales numbers. And to top it all off, they ended the show with Wii Music...let that sink in. The conference did a huge number to Nintendo's and the Wii's rep among the press, gamers, and fans alike
     
    The only announcement worth mentioning was GTA Chinatown Wars and maybe Nintendo cockteasing Skyward Sword
     
    It was such a disaster that Nintendo would hold an October conference later that year, formally apologize for the E3 conference, and then announce games that would've definitely been welcome then, such as a new Punch-Out(which is awesome btw), a new Sin and Punishment, Madworld, Fire Emblem Shadow Dragon and etc.
     
     
    1) Konami E3 2010
     
    It was a tough call between this one and Nintendo 2008, but in light of recent events, I feel like giving it to Konami out of spite. Then I decided to watch it again and just though "wow...no wonder they're in such an awful state". Seriously, just watch, this video speaks for itself
     

  24. Megas
    There was a point in time(between 2001 to 2007) where the Simpsons began churning out a few games that were very unsubtle rip-offs/clones of other very successful and popular games at the time(like wrestling games, Tony Hawk, GTA, etc.) with mixed results to say the least, ranging from great, like Hit & Run and The Simpsons Game(2007), to outright abysmal like The Simpsons Skateboarding and Wrestling. The Simpsons Road Rage is very different on the other hand, it's easily the least subtle rip-off of the bunch. Is it a gem like Hit & Run, or a car crash like Wrestling? Let's find out
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    The Simpsons Road Rage
    Platforms: PS2, Xbox, Gamecube
    Developed by Radical Entertainment
    Published by EA
     
    Story
     

     
    The story is, erm, underwhelming to say the least, though pretty par the course for Simpsons games. Mr. Burns buys out the Bus Transportation Systems in Springfield, and replaces the buses with ones that run on nuclear power. And this is obviously a threat to public health, so the Simpsons and a few other members of Springfield ban together to raise money($1 million) to buy it back from Burns. Of course, one has to wonder how $1 million is enough to change Burns' mind considering he's a billionaire. And to go along with that, the delivery isn't very interesting or funny enough to be invested in it, not to mention Burns' motivation for buying the transportation system is never explained.
     
    Gameplay
     

     
    If you're already aware of the game Crazy Taxi, then you already know what the game plays like. You drive around 6 different levels of Springfield picking up different locals an take them to the destinations in a certain amount of time, and the amount of money you receive from the passenger depending on how fast they get there. The more money you raise the more characters and locations you can unlock.
     
    There are 6 locations of Springfield, consisting of the usual spots like Moe's, the Kwiki-Mart, or the Android Dungeon, to more obscure places fans will recognize like Springfield Gorge or The Box Factory, and the places characters are either places they normally visit or places they've visited in past episodes sometimes with a a quote related to that episode. There are also 17 playable characters to choose from(including 3 versions of Homer). There is also a Sunday Drive mode with is more or less a "Practice Mode" which is mostly just for you to explore different locations, looking for shortcuts that can benefit you in the main game, there is also no time limit or money earned, so you don't have to worry about any penalties. Lastly there is a Mission Mode where you play missions with certain stipulations and finishing them all gets you a reward, The Car Built For Homer. There's also a multiplayer mode where you race against another player to get your passengers quicker.
     
    Overall, the gameplay, while not awful, is not amazing and gets old quickly. The cars themselves drive very quickly and turn quickly, though perhaps to quickly, there are many moments where you take a corner to quick and lose your path and must recover often wasting time. There's also some very sketchy hitboxes between cars, items, and buildings, as there are many times where a small piece of debris can get you stuck and you must mess with your car or reset your position to get out of it, same with buildings, as hitting corners can also get you stuck. Raising money's not very difficult, as in each playthrough you can get a good $10000 if your quick enough, and it's not very difficult to master either. Thus the easy difficulty makes it very tedious. There's also the lackluster mission mode, no clever mission, with all of them consisting of you hit X amount of Y in Z amount of time. Only three levels really take advantage of the game's main gimmick. The mission's aren't very hard either, as you have enough time to complete them and there's usually an infinite amount of items to destroy, and whether you accomplish them depends on where you are if you're in a lucky place. The absolute worst mission is Lisa's mission, which consists of her destroying groups of tree's in a small amount of time, and unlike the other mission's there's a finite amount of logs to destroy as well as a fork in the road, with both roads containing a group of logs, and there just isn't enough time to get through the other fork and is near impossible to make. I swear no matter how I approached the level I could never find away to complete it in time. Then there's also the fact that if you lose/restart a mission enough times you can skip it completely and move on to the next one, and unlike The Simpsons Hit & Run, these DO count as a completed mission, thus making doing these missions a waste of time.
     
    There's also the problem with the characters, they all feel the same. Some exceptions like Mr Plow, Plow King, and the Canyonero are mainly due to their size, and cars like the Hover Car, Apu's Sports Car, and the L'il Bandit due to being sports cars/high tech, but even then the differences are negligible, especially once you get going.
     
    Visuals
     

     
    As you can see, the game doesn't look very good. While not awful, the game could look better, character models look very strange and, at least for the year the game was released, it still could look better. The buildings also have very saturated colors, as a lot of them look a lot darker than their TV show counterparts. Also, why is the Simpsons house red? On the bright side, the vehicles look great, while some of them do have saturated colors, it's no where near as bad as the buildings, and they really benefit from a bit of cel-shading.
     
    Audio/Music
     
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZLCbPlUaoo
     
    The Simpsons usually relies on humor, dialogue and jokes for its main source of entertainment. Unfortunately very little bit of it is there, as 90% of the time they just throw out one-liners that get old and annoying quickly. There are some funny exchanges between certain characters(which happen rarely unfortunately), or towards the locations they're attending, but both of these are very rare and not really worth sitting through everything else. The music is really nothing special either, there is a nice jazz tune played during Sunday Drive, but otherwise the OST is pretty uninspired and forgettable.
     
    Summary
    + A lot of playable characters
    + Easy to start
    + Some funny jokes here and there
    + Some decent fanservice and with lots of locations to see
    - But gets dull very quick
    - lackluster visuals
    - Lots of annoying one-liners
    - Little to no diversity between characters
    - Weak multiplayer
    - Weak Story
    - Awful Mission mode
     
    Overall, to reiterate, the game isn't awful, it's playable and can be fun in short bursts. But as I've repeated, it gets old very quickly, there's not enough diversity between the characters, and while the levels can be interesting, it can't carry the game. The mission mode is also a complete waste of time and the story just isn't interesting enough to care. I can really only recommend it to Simpsons fans who might enjoy some of the dialogue/jokes and the references, but even then it won't keep their attention for long.
  25. Megas

    Ubisoft Conference

    By Megas,

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKu3R_qJy-I
     
    - South Park: The Fractured But Whole. Loved Stick of Truth and this one looks just as good. Matt Stone and Trey Parker shows up being awesome
    - For Honor. Reminds me of Dynasty Warriors but not as fun. That said it still looks pretty interesting
    - The Crew gets an expansion. But the game was too fucked up for me to care
    - Trials Fusion DLC featuring gun-toting cats riding on Unicorns. Looks really stupid. I'm in
    - More Division. Already saw it
    - Aisha Tyler trying to force memes. Kill me now
    - Just Dance. 'Nother bathroom break
    - ANNO 2205. Looks great. Not into these kind of games, but I could see this doing well with it's intended audience
    - Musical Number. Reminding us why people hate E3 now
    - Rainbow Six Siege. Again, already saw it
    - Trackmania Turbo. Second favorite of the bunch
    - Assassins Creed Syndicate. Don't care about this franchise. I only want to see if they'll actually finish this game and avoid having floating eyeballs
    - New Ghost Recon. Eh. Called it Cinematic.
     
    OVERALL: Not as bad as EA's...but still pretty mediocre despite a strong start.
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