2017 Update

Turns out I've come up with what to do with this thing: doing it on YouTube!

I've had thoughts about this for a few months obviously, given by how I haven't kept this updated in any official capacity. Basically, Blogger is fine and dandy for written reviews and thoughts, but I feel it doesn't always convey any sort of emotion that a ton of my thoughts get into. As such, having a sort of vocal performance, even if I'm just sitting down and talking about entertainment I like, has a much better chance of connecting with someone who's curious what a nobody like me thinks about things.

As such, I'm about to review entertainment twice a week on my YouTube channel! The current plan is similar to how this was functioning for a while until I got caught up in how "quiet" it was here:

Every Friday I plan on doing video game reviews, with my obvious focus on games I've played and focusing on how series moved forward, from what a game franchise did differently or the same from its previous entries, how it was received, if they hold up on their own if applicable, and what they did better or worse as a result of whatever focus the game was aiming for. Very similar to what I was doing here, but in a video format where it can easily be more "heard" and to get me interacting out there with people wanting to discuss such things. I'd also love to start reviewing series I've never played if I get such requests! For instance, I've never fully beaten or played tons of major series, and I figure a "newcomer" has some sort of input when I'm crazy enough to want to play an entire series to fully appreciate it.

While that's the focus, I want to also do film and television series on Tuesdays, as I talk about this stuff with friends and family enough that I can do the same for non-video games as well. While games are my first love, movies are a close second followed by television shows. Might as well be part of the discussion of things old and new, right?

Kicking this all off hopefully sometime this summer, I am planning on either filming with my phone with little footage cuz copyright stuffs on YouTube is a pain and I'd rather play it safe starting off or simply voicing over simple screenshots or videos if I can figure out how that works instead of my mug showing up? Either way, I plan on beginning with some of the oldest video game series I know and have played and owned: Donkey Kong and Mario. Fridays will kick off with a focus on the Original Series of Donkey Kong, including the Original Edition, Donkey Kong Jr. and Donkey Kong 3. Early arcade-style games are so quick I don't think anyone will care, as I couldn't stand talking about three simple arcade games for three weeks; it's not fun for me or anyone wanting an opinion! Then Tuesdays will begin by focusing on Disney movies, specifically focusing on Walt Disney Animation Studios since that's the "real" Disney that everyone should think of when discussing the company's most influential films.

Fingers crossed, and hope it works out! I would love to add to the conversation on entertainment I enjoy, with my interest in how a series changes and adapts filling a sort of niche on the YouTubes.

Ciao!

2016 Update

Oh my gosh, it's like I forgot this thing! It's almost like nobody really cares about blogger or something. Whodda thunk?

Anywho, an update! As can be seen, I haven't quite updated everything given my 12+ month break on redoing those Semi-Retro Reviews. A few things've happened since, like getting a series ready in the background for its eventual time in the hopeful spotlight. I know many don't like to think any story, especially ambitious ones, don't plan out everything in advance to make sure many things click and aren't all retcons and can see how things were set up earlier in a story.

I obviously didn't get the memo!

2015 Review Updates!

Turns out I'm taking a break from these for a little while longer!

Noticing the older reviews, they were a bit inconsistent and full of little errors of the grammar and spelling variety, and I felt I could as a whole do better than constantly writing these up usually past midnight like I had been doing!

So my pseudo-reviewing/opinion pieces will be halted for a while as I take the last three years worth of posts and clean them up. Hopefully I get it all back up to snuff to wrap up 2002's games and some classic movies back on here!

I know, bated breath for some nobody's opinions on mostly-past entertainment, but I like expressing my opinion, no matter how futile! And you did get to this page somehow and maybe was curious for the missing few years. Answers, kinda?

So pardon the mess, I have everything past A Link to the Past back on July 27, 2012 in the vault as of today, September 25, 2015, so hopefully I can get the last three years back up and polished by the end of the year. On the bright side, it gets me to play the upcoming games with less of a deadline! As you can imagine, playing older NES-SNES titles are a lot less timeconsuming compared to how bigger games eventually get around the N64/PSOne era. Those RPGs are no joke, but more time to breathe is good!

Meanwhile, I hope everyone's enjoying Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (I am!), looking forward to Kingdom Hearts HD II.8 Final Chapter Prologue (knew they'd have something big for next year's HD release of KH3D and a lead-up to [chi] and III!), and Star Wars Episode VII to round out this year in entertainment! Not to mention all the stuff I missed in-between, but I can only focus my energy and excitement on so much. In this case, editing my stuff to be up-to-snuff.

Ciao!

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

I want my Dream to Drop now, but the Distance is still too great.

...sorry.

The birth of the Zelda franchise font!

Super Mario World

Rewatching Once Upon A Time, I recall how fond I am of how it reminds me of a Western take on Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle and Kingdom Hearts. All the fairy tale crossovers make me happy, as I could watch Snow and Charming flirt all day. They're so adorable!

Seeing as how there's a month until the next 2D Mario game releases, time to return to one of his best adventures:

Colors! Colors everywhere!

NES Open Tournament Golf

Just catching up on Adventure Time. God, I love that show.
(PBxMarcie forevah!)

Now to review a freebie:

Can't find just the logo again. Old games, right?

Balloon Kid

It's always a joy just to go through the Metal Gear series for a combination of gameplay and story.

Say what you will for the balance between control and cutscene, Metal Gear is the second of two current on-going video game series to keep me entertained by their mix of gameplay, their polished production values and being emotionally invested in their characters. Playing as Solid Snake, then Raiden under Snake's guidance, then Snake's father, then a jaded Old Snake, then back to Big Boss forming Outer Heaven has given me a special story few series can even match in my heart.

Hopefully Kojima can return to grace us with the next Metal Gear. We need more Snake!

And I obviously mean Big Boss though I wouldn't mind a cameo or two with Snake.

Next up, a happy little arcade game:

No bigger size, I'm afraid.

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon

Man, I forgot how demoralizing it is going through MGS2's VR Missions. I never completed them fully on my Essential Collection, but now I have to on my HD Collection, cuz that's the only thing preventing me from Platinuming the damn thing. There's so many of them..! Good thing I moved on to replay MGS3 and MGS4 (personal faves to play, as is Peace Walker) otherwise I'd be stuck in a bad lull before Raiden's game comes out next year (so long!). I get a feeling I still won't have all the VR done by the time Revengeance is out...

I've also decided that since I'm going through every interesting/big/favorite/recommended/acclaimed movie in existence using Netflix (there's quite a bit - I started last Fall and I'm only in 1955!), I can also rank certain series and whatevs that are relevant to my interests. Prolly do that next week, alternating between lists, because I like lists and ranking things! Makes me realize why I like certain aspects of something and whatnot.

Anyways, Turn-Based Strategy!

The start of a beautiful franchise.

Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake

LET'S DIVE INTO THIS THING.

Truly a fine title to a fine game.

Super Mario Bros. 3

One of my favorites!

The game that solidified Mario's presence.

Final Fantasy III

It's that weird crunch time when kids are finishing school and college finals are taking everyone's time and you're counting down the days to relative freedom unless you have a job that doesn't revolve around the typical 9 month school schedule, in which care you're S.O.L. and can enjoy the free time you have to yourself. It's also that time when I just want movies to come out, yet I know I won't even see 75% of them in theatres because I'm a mixture of lazy and cheap; plus I know the movies I go to theaters for, which are summer blockbusters, the occasional Disney flick and certain franchises. Movie-wise, I'm in a state of hype and hurry-up-and-get-on-disc-so-I-can-borrow-and-watch-them.

Game-wise, I'm currently running through five series is preparation for new installments in each. Final Fantasy got held up on VI due to other franchises and the final DLC releases of XIII-2 (which I heavily enjoyed) but I'm now reliving why I loved VI so much as a kid. Replaying through Kingdom Hearts for 3D's July release and because I convinced a friend to finally delve into all six games so someone else can be hyped for it. In my handheld Zelda run I've recently started Oracle of Seasons for the first time in what has to be a decade; the Oracle games are the two Zelda games I'm definitely most fuzzy on besides Spirit Tracks, which I've still yet to actually play despite owning. Playing through Metal Gear Solid 2 in the HD collection for Revengeance's eventual release, and I gotta say Platinuming MGS2 is a test in endurance - lookin' at you, VR Missions and Extreme Boss Battles. Playing the post-game in Pokemon White and going through the main story in Pokemon Black, cuz they finally revealed an anime trailer for Black and White 2 (!!!) and color me hyped; returning Gym Leaders, connected continuity to all other generations, continued focus on a story - these are all things that make me want to move to Unova until Gen VI is announced.

So yeah. Super-important stuff goin' on (yeah right). Once I kick Monday's Final I'm free to indulge in my pastimes in overdrive. Then I'll finally be able to focus on drawing decently again. It's been too long...

And so has this pointless opening. Onto the Retro Review!

All hail the nameless protag with the awesome swords!

Dr. Mario

So, The Avengers is worth all the hype the five films built up. Super fun, love Joss Whedon, great start to Summer '12. Glad that Brave looks fun, Prometheus looks phenomenal, and The Dark Knight Rises will obviously be fantastic.

On the drawing side of things, I'm slowly getting my sketches to be presentable. Helps that I'm running through Avatar: The Last Airbender again so I can appreciate The Legend of Korra (and move beyond the two episodes I've seen, which were good) and have more inspiration to actually draw stuff. Nothing like American/Korean animation, right? That reminds me: Nintendo needs to get on announcing Golden Sun: Mourning Moon for 3DS already. I needs me a new old-fashioned RPG!

Now for one of my favorite puzzle series:

Heh, medical humor.

Super Mario Land

Finally caught up on all the Marvel films leading up to today's US premiere of The Avengers, the first bona fide hit of the summer. Gotta say, being a fan of continuity and cameos, this is one of my favorite moments in cinema. Granted, most of my knowledge comes from the various television shows and films and the rest comes from asking my more American comic-inclined friends.

These 'modern' version of comic book adaptations, beginning with Bryan Singer's X-Men, allowed the non-comics-reading audience such as myself to recognize and connect with these decades-old established characters in a more mainstream way. The production values are usually pleasing to my eye (always a fan of the bombastic-looking films, am I) and they get a surprising amount of actors fitting their characters like gloves. I do admit this view is due to my limited knowledge on the various lores.

Point is, I'm now officially excited to see The Avengers. Not to mention Joss Whedon directed it. Man, do I love that man. Man.
I love you, man.
STOP IT

Moving on to one of my earliest gaming memories:



Look at that old font! I miss the Game Boy.

Tetris

So turns out an E3 trailer internal video demonstration was leaked online, showcasing not only a sequel to Rayman Origins and its features but also footage of Rayman Legends running on Wii U and its exclusive features.

I came off impressed, having only briefly played a few Rayman games before. After playing for an hour or two of Rayman Origins with family a month ago, I can appreciate how much they're looking forward to the title, as it does look pretty good. Hopefully this also puts to rest the odd rumor that Wii U can't output graphics on par with the PS3/360. I don't know where this idea came from, but I suppose it stems from the erroneous belief that Nintendo's always sucked at graphics compared to the competition.

Lemme put that to rest: they weren't. The Nintendo Entertainment System was pretty decent back in '85, as were the games that accompanied it. Granted, it was an 8-bit system, and all of them had that charming blocky quality you either see as rosy or pixelated. The Super NES was also decent in comparison to the Sega Genesis, lack of "blast processing" or not; that generation's graphics hold up the most, since genuine care and personality were present in many of  those 16-bit sprites. While most know Sony's PlayStation won against all competition (including the Nintendo 64) by the widespread use of discs instead of cartridges, the N64 was a damn-powerful machine, worthy of the codename "Project Reality". It could produce true three-dimensional worlds, the most prominent being Super Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, that helped set the standard on how 3D games should work, yet it was limited by cartridge space and how difficult it was to program.

Entering the last decade was the Nintendo GameCube. The little cube was actually more capable than the PlayStation 2, contrary to popular belief. Nintendo made the conscious choice to make it much easier to develop for, stuck with mini-discs to combat piracy and other means, yet that didn't seem to diminish the quality of titles first- and second-party developers that managed to shine through the dark times of the early 2000's. However, the PS2 was again the undisputed winner of the sixth generation, where third-parties by and large deserted Nintendo's little purple lunchbox. When it was time for the seventh generation, Nintendo decided to take a gamble, not satisfied with the Console Wars' fixation on technical prowess and graphical limits: the first step came from their then-crazy gamble known as the Nintendo DS. The dual-screened wonder was a runaway success all things considered, and was followed up two years later by the Wii, with Nintendo's attempt to target a new audience to mingle with the current crowd with simpler controls and a mainstream push for motion controlled game play. Both the DS and Wii were technologically inferior to the opposition, Sony's PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable and Microsoft's Xbox 360.

Nintendo's only been the 'weakest' hardware since '05, but as the sales will show, there's more to gaming than graphics. The DS absolutely smashed the PSP and the Wii is now owned by practically everyone on the planet who's wanted one by now. While their technical limitations prevented them from having an even port of multi-platform releases and ignored by most third-parties, the DS was truly a unique experience, combining button and stylus control schemes for some truly exclusive experiences, including Squeenix's The World Ends With You and made established franchises more accessible, including Animal Crossing: Wild World and the Generation IV Pokémon games. Wii also brought in people of any age into gaming, albeit with the unfortunate labeling of the "hardcore vs. casual" nonsense that happens every week. As an unintended sideeffect of the new control scheme, many developers didn't know how to tackle the Wiimote's unique simplicity and instead created loads of broken and under produced shovelware and minigame collections. It didn't even get many large-scale games like Skyward Sword and Xenoblade Chronicles until its twilight years on the market.

Wow, I go on and on. Point is, the Wii U looks fine, it seems to be able to handle the two things the competition had over its predecessor: a decent online component and high-definition graphics. With its new tablet/classic hybrid controller, it can both handle current 'hardcore' games like Darksiders 2 and Assassin's Creed III while still being the home for Nintendo's iconic first-party efforts, which is where I end my argument: Nintendo makes hardware for their own ideas, and they know better than anyone how to use their own creation. As long as Nintendo games exist on Nintendo systems, said systems will always sell. As for their half a billion dollar loss, let's not forget what they gained from the Wii alone: they have around $10.5 billion in the bank. That billion with a capital B. They'll be fine; the 3DS is on a roll since Mario showed up last November and 3D Land sold over 5 million alone.

All this doom-and-gloom for Nintendo, all the "make cellphone games" or "stop making console" talk is ridiculous. I admit I'm a Nintendork, but you don't see me laughing at Sony's ridiculous initial $600 asking price for the PS3 (okay, I lied; we all mocked them at the 'you'll want to work more to save more for this obviously superior system' talk) or their more consistent losses as a company. It doesn't represent their gaming faction and I think they've been doing fine since '08. Competition's good, something Microsoft does a good job at doing. While they were first out of the gate, answered Nintendo with Kinect and still throw their money for advertising anything they wish, I'm sure they're also doing fine. I may not care for the Xbox line in general (I'm not a shooter fan, nor do their exclusives or controllers really feel 'right' in my hands) but I also don't spout the sheer bigotry and hatred you see on the Internet, which we all know is utter truth.Can't we be happy a Nintendo console can have HD graphics and decent third party support?

*sigh*

TETRIS.

Gotta love the logo.

Final Fantasy II

I've done odder things than typing up a review for Final Fantasy II whilst watching An American in Paris. I just can't think of any at the moment.

Turns out Pokémon Black and White 2 have been confirmed to be direct sequels taking two years after the originals. Both games follow the traditional Third Version additions, including animated Trainer sprites to match the active Pocket Monsters, some of which boast new animations. The addition of non-Unova Pokémon into the National Dex as well as new areas; a piece of artwork shows most of Unova covered in ice - a nice attempt at showcasing Kyurem's increased involvement as well as to possibly mask more changes and additions. The new protagonists will hopefully run into an older Hilbert/Hilda and/or Cheren and Blanca (love you!) in a similar vein to Gold and Silver's battle with Red and Blue.

I can't wait to dive further into Unova and lose hundreds of hours to Pokémon yet again. I will catch 'em all, dammit!

Now, onto a far older RPG:

Pink, cuz the Emperor is FABULOUS.

Metal Gear

Absolutely no lead in to:

Starring Kyle Reese! Wait...

Kid Icarus

Kid Icarus: Uprising is still amazing. The exhausting amount of content is certainly keeping me busy, though I am happy something's distracting me from the fact that Dream Drop Distance finally has a localized release date of July 31! On the bright side, there's only 115 days remaining! On the down side, there's still 115 days remaining. Now I await the English trailers.

I realize I talk about Kingdom Hearts more so than other series. Wish I didn't, cuz it isn't even my favorite series of all time (that honor goes to Zelda). It's just that KH is my ongoing series that builds hype in me more than others, mainly for it's involved plot. As much as I love my beloved Nintendo franchises, most of them aren't directly linked to each other by plot. I can be excited for New Super Mario Bros. 2 as much as I want, people aren't going to get that excited, especially for those who claim "it's the same damn game" and disregard that it's still the best pure platforming experience out there.

Onto a newly-revived classic:

Happy yet deadly.

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

Currently digging Kid Icarus: Uprising. The game's amazing. Definitely my favorite 3DS games next to Super Mario 3D Land. And it's packed to the brim with content, not surprising noting that Sakurai's behind the helm.

As anyone who's played any of his Super Smash Bros. games from Melee on knows, the man makes a living on stretching replay value to its limit, and Uprising is no exception. Idols are Trophies ripped straight from Melee and Brawl, three Treasure Hunt achievement lists will be familiar to anyone who appreciated the under-appreciated Kirby's Air Ride will recognize the verbatim accomplishment menu, and hundreds of semi-customizable weapons headline an insanely-addicting Together (read: Multiplayer) mode. Titled Light vs. Dark, they begin as basic Team matches that turn into Protect the VIP for that is essentially Super Smash Bros. in 3D.

Add to that a Solo mode that features a delightful and charming tongue-in-cheek story that pushes the player from set piece to set piece (a la Star Fox 64) with one of Nintendo's best localization efforts fleshing out witty and likable characters with undeniable Nintendo Charm rounds out the best 3DS game for sheer content and one of the most enjoyable games I've ever played. And I'm not even done with the story! Excellent production values, additively fun with an insane amount of content. Highly recommended for all 3DS owners. *obligatory warning about how the controls apparently suck and how I'm biased and a horrible judge of taste for liking the hand-cramping control scheme*

Now onto another sequel:

"YES! Now no one will ever mistake me for Zelda again!" -Link

Super Mario Bros. 2

The wait for Kid Icarus: Uprising is now over, though my love of Amazon means my copy won't arrive until Tuesday . That, coupled with the fact that Kingdom Hearts 3D is out next week in Japan -thus my self-imposed information blackout comes into effect to strictly English trailers and previews- means I can really use Uprising to distract me from my wait and dazzle me with that simple-but-deep Sakurai gameplay. That, and Together Mode looks ace.

Now onto an interesting classic:

I spy with my little eye a place where Mario's hat goes.

Final Fantasy

Just finished Journey for what must be the 10th time since I bought it on Tuesday. Even when I finished it under roughly two hours I knew it was one of my favorite games I've ever played.

I don't know how they constantly do it, but thatgamecompany has done it again. No game has managed to make me feel a gamut of emotions in two hours as easily as Journey since their last game, Flower. If you have a PS3, do yourself and everyone you know a favor and buy all their games: flOw, Flower and Journey. You won't be disappointed.

Now onto the start of one of my favorite franchises:

I've always loved how simple Final Fantasy's logos tend to be.