What’s Going On with Star Wars?

*sigh*

Man, I wanted to do another post on Kamen Rider Ex-Aid, but I guess this is slightly more important.

Slightly.

Slightly.

Are We Done with Zombies Yet?

Would it enhance or reduce my credibility right out of the gate if I admitted that I haven’t watched an episode of AMC’s The Walking Dead in years?  Probably reduce, but at least you’ll know where I’m coming from here.

I used to watch the show every Sunday, but in all honesty, I came in late.  I didn’t see a single episode of the show until somewhere in the midst of Season 2 -- and from what I can gather I chose a hell of a starting point.  Farm life without amenities!  People arguing!  Sometimes there’s a zombie!  People arguing!  Friendly fire!  People arguing!  Incredibly poor choices!  People arguing!  Now there’s a bunch of zombies!  People arguing!  So yeah, I can’t say that I had the best impression of the show, but I stuck with it.  I’ll get into why I dropped it in a little bit, but for now I’ll switch gears.

If you’re reading this post, you’re probably well aware of how much zombie fiction has dominated the landscape -- up to and including that long since established holy bastion of artistry, video games.  But the times, they are a changin’.  So that makes me wonder: have we reached peak saturation with zombies?  Are they on their way out, having done their duty across all forms of media?

Uh, probably not.  But work with me here -- even if Sony and SIE Bend Studio won’t.

So How Good is Fire Emblem, Really?

You know, sometimes it seems like whenever I do these “So How Good is [X], Really?” posts, the title implies that I’m questioning the quality of X.  And technically, I guess I am.  But don’t worry about it.  I don’t mean any ill will, or to make it sound like X is worse than you think it is.

That’s definitely the case with Fire Emblem, at least for me.  I think that it’s pretty good.  Sooooooooooooooooooo…I guess I just summed up this post in a couple of paragraphs?  That’s a new record.  Okay, time to pack it up and go home.  See you guys later.  Go watch some EVO footage or whatever.  It’s got Tekken 7.  And I know how much you love being on the receiving end of Paul’s death fist.

…Okay, let’s talk about Fire Emblem.

So How Good is Yu-Gi-Oh!, Really?

Hey, wait a second.  Wasn’t E3 last week?  Shouldn’t I be doing a post on that?  Yes, probably.  But I need to talk about how I’ve strayed further from God’s light, sooooooooooooooo…here you go.  Don’t worry, I’m sure I can come up with something for this post.

But to start things off?  Damn you, Hiroaki Tominaga.  May you be forsaken till the end of days, as you have forsaken me.

Should I go see Power Rangers?

I haven’t had an internal crisis this severe since that time I found out that “fans” of The Magic School Bus were willing to make Rule 34 art of Ms. Frizzle.  I mean, yeah, I get it.  Rule 34 is Rule 34, but…is there nothing sacred?  I guess not.  And knowing that there are people who see Ms. Frizzle as an object of lust is -- well, it’s just the sort of thing destined to shake your faith in humanity, you know?

All right, enough about that.  Let’s talk about the Power Rangers movie.  No, not that one.  Not that one.  Not that one.  That one.

Yep.  Thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat’s the one.

So How Good is Cosplay, Really?

You know, I can’t even begin to guess the number of posts that have been inspired by conversations with my brother.  I swear, he’s like a goldmine of writing material -- which is partly to be expected when he’s the perpetual Ken to my Ryu, the Sol to my Ky, the Jin to my Ragna.  So yeah, throw this one onto the pile next and hope it doesn’t topple onto you.

I was playing The Last Guardian one day, and getting pretty into it.  Meanwhile, he was online and looking at stuff -- Injustice 2 footage chief among them, so he could be the Batman to my Superman -- but I didn’t pay much attention to him.  At one point, though, he made a bold declaration; it was the sort of thing that made me take pause and divert my attention (but not my eyes) from my adventure with Trico.  What did he say, you ask?  Three simple words.

“I hate cosplay.”

Should Nintendo Keep Reviving its IPs?

I’ve mentioned this in passing, but I’ve got a buddy who asks me about the Nintendo NX pretty much every time we cross paths.  He’s not wrong for it; the house of Mario has been horrifically mum on the subject, and I’m at a point where I just want them to show it off.  There’s playing the cards close to the chest, and then there’s shoving them directly into your lungs -- at some point you’re just going to end up hurting yourself.  If Nintendo’s big reveal doesn’t sync up with the anticipation and speculation it’s been mongering for well over a year, then it might start the NX off on the wrong foot immediately -- which to be fair is something that Nintendo’s already learned in the past few years.

Still, I wish the Big N nothing but the best.  Even if the Wii U isn’t the most popular console, I’m extremely grateful for its existence.  In a world where the PS4 spent 2013 through the first quarter of 2015 floundering its way to millions of sold consoles, the Wii U won the moral victory with gusto.  It didn’t rely on unkept promises from marketing campaigns, and it didn’t coast on goodwill earned from the Xbone’s onstage seppuku.  It did the very best it could -- and still does today -- with what really matters: the games.

But now Nintendo’s opting for a do-over -- and I’m wary of what that means for the future.

Who’s the Biggest Badass in Gaming?

And by “biggest” I mean most prominent or obvious -- not necessarily in terms of scale.  If that was the case, then we’d all have no choice but to give it to…I don’t know, Wyzen from Asura’s Wrath.  And that hardly seems like a win, so let’s not count it.

Anyway, King of Fighters XIV has long since started making the rounds.  Say what you will about the graphics or the way it looks -- and even if you don’t, I probably will at some point -- but let’s just be thankful that we’ve even gotten a fourteenth entry.  I wonder how much this miracle was expedited by SNK’s purchase by a Chinese company looking to get the most out of the license; it might be a lot, and it might be a little.  Either way, we’re talking about a franchise that in recent years has paled in comparison to the competition (by which I mean Street Fighter IV, V, and other Capcom ilk).  It’s not like there isn’t a dedicated fanbase -- and rightly so -- but SF’s iron grip puts KoF in a less than ideal place.

It’s fine, though.  Even if it’s not the most popular, I don’t think anyone’s going to fight me on its quality over the years.  KoF XIV is no exception.  Even if its particulars can scare off newcomers, those who put in the effort are justly rewarded.  Of course, that’s a lot of fancy talk and sidestepping around the real draw: boy, KoF has some dope-ass characters.  So let’s take a minute to celebrate what kind of badasses video games can birth -- en route to the big question, of course.

So How Good Were the 80s, Really?

Wait.  Should it be “How Good Are the 80s?”  Or is it okay for past tense?  I mean, it is literally the past we’re talking about here.  But we’re talking about it in the present and the context therein soooooooooooo…

Ah, forget it.  I’m done thinking about it already.

So anyway.  I’m pretty sure that if you’ve got a working set of eyes and ears, you know that Ghostbusters has made it back into theaters.  Again.  And as preferable (if not easy) it would be for everyone to just let it come and go, it’s been mired in controversy for months on end thanks to the less-than-ideal trailer and the boat-rocking by some Sony executives -- itself helped by the clash of opinions in nerd culture.  Now that people have actually gotten to see it, results have been “mixed”, as far as I can tell.  It had a good score on Rotten Tomatoes, which implies that a fair number of critics gave it their blessing.  On the other hand, plenty of internet/YouTube personalities have effectively loaded the new movie with bullets.  We’ll see what happens when the dust clears, especially in terms of money-making power (which is probably why Ghostbusters has been trotted out again in the first place).

But I’m not here to talk about Ghostbusters, because everyone else already has.  I have a more important question in mind.  Any guesses as to what it is, person who read the title of the post?

Who’s the Best Superhero Ever?

So both Captain America: Civil War and Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice have made the rounds in the past few months.  One of them is great; one of them is not so great.  Still, they do represent an important talking point: even though superhero movies have been around for a good while now, they still have enough clout and momentum to stay self-sustaining, at least for a while yet (and more for the Marvel camp than, say, Fox, Warner Brothers, or Sony).  We’re bound to see more of them, obviously.  There are detractors, and they have a good point -- we’re at risk of oversaturation, for sure -- but hey.  Maybe we’ll get a good Doom Patrol movie out of WB, so that my dream of seeing Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man on the big screen can finally be fulfilled.

That does bring up something worth discussing, though.  Obviously, the Marvel movies (and others) have brought once-obscure characters into the spotlight, and pretty successfully; where would Iron Man be if not for the efforts of Robert Downey Jr. way back when?  But I wonder how many people the movies are actually converting.  That is, how many people have gained enough interest in comics thanks to the movies to actually seek out these heroes in their natural habitat?  How many people who weren’t already down with stuff like Asgard or the Infinity Gauntlet have even run a Google search?  Are people actually converting into true fans?

I’d imagine so, because the movies serve as condensed introductions.  But that leads to a follow-up question: who are people choosing to follow, and why?  Who’s captured their hearts and minds?  Who is the best superhero?

Okay, that’s like three questions (technically four), but whatever.  It’s for a good cause.

So How Good Are Microtransactions, Really?

I feel like I should start by apologizing for the title, because that would imply that microtransactions -- the scourge of gamers everywhere -- can actually be good.  And I should apologize even more, because there’s a part of me deep down that thinks they actually can be good.

Deep, deep, deep, deep, deep, deep, DEEP down -- but it’s there.  So let’s talk about microtransactions for a bit, and ignore the fact that Word refuses to recognize the term as legitimate.  I, uh, can’t say I blame it.

How Many Reboots is Too Many?

First things first: even though the title has “reboots” in it, I’m extending the scope of this post to include reboots, remasters, and reimaginings.  Also, I’m tacking on sequels to the mix, especially if they pick up on a long-dormant canon or franchise.  So…yeah, you just know this’ll be a fun post.

Anyway, Independence Day: Resurgence has hit theaters -- a little before the actual Independence Day, but close enough to it.  Supposedly, it’s a continuation of the movie that it shares a name with; the aliens that ran amok in ’96 are back with a vengeance, and now it’s up to the good guys to fight them off.  Or something.  I can’t say I’m in any rush to see it -- which is to say I’d rather give a piggyback ride to a rhinoceros -- and the reviews out so far suggest that dodging it is probably a good idea.  So my brother asked me if I wanted to go see it, because of course he did.  I politely refused, because he was the same person who thought seeing RoboCop 2014 was a good idea.

Side note: I was thinking about that movie when I accidentally scraped my middle finger.  I blame RoboCop ’14 for my minor injury, and relish the fact that it was my middle finger.

So How Good is The Simpsons, Really?

A while back, I found out that there’s a site called Frinkiac that lets you find pictures from The Simpsons based on quotes tied to the image you want.  You won’t find every image, but you’ll still find enough of them.  Type in “dr zaius”, for example, and you’ll find 36 separate images featuring the Planet of the Apes musical and the doctor himself.  Given that I’ve used Simpsons pictures in my post -- and wasted time trying to find specific clips that Fox and company have banned from YouTube existence -- it’s a very valuable resource.

It’s also just one more reason why I love humanity, and proof of why human potential outstrips the heavens themselves.  But I digress.

It should go without saying, but I’m extremely fond of The Simpsons.  I like it, I use it as inspiration, and I’m more than willing to pay my respects.  I pretty much have to, since it’s older than I am.  Where would I be in terms of comedy if not for that pack of Springfieldians guiding the way?  Where would any of us be?  It’s such a massive part of the public consciousness that I’m legitimately dreading the moment when the production crew says “That’s it, we’re packing it up.  This is the final season.”

Still, just because you love something doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to point out the faults.  So I will.  But first…

So How Good is Pokémon, Really?

Not to start this off with a tangent, but I have to ask a question: which theme song from the Pokémon anime is your favorite?

I know that -- by virtue of being the first of the bunch -- the first theme is undoubtedly the most popular, and holds a special place in the hearts of gamers the world over.  (Voltech Pro Tip: look up Powerglove’s take on the song for a metal delight.)  But I think it’s important to at least give the other songs their fair shake, especially with so many songs collected over the years.  Compilations are fully available on YouTube, and I listened to one a while back.  Some are good.  Some are…less good.  But you know what?  My favorite of the bunch is the Galactic Battle theme -- which is weird, because I haven’t seen a single episode of that season.  I don’t even know what season the show’s on right now.  Twenty would be my best guess.

The takeaway here is that the sheer number of songs codifies the franchise’s enduring legacy.  You know you’ve made it big when a compilation of theme songs creeps past the thirty-minute mark -- and while there’s no guarantee that everyone will like everything you do, at least you’ve put something out, right?  There’ll always be people that buy in wholesale, no matter when they decide to do so.  We should celebrate that; newcomers, veterans, and everything in between can come together and enjoy something magical.

And now that that thinly-veiled argument against the “genwunner” mentality is out of the way, let’s press on with gusto.  And lots of fancy balls.

So How Good are Indie Games, Really?

EA.  Ubisoft.  Activison.  WB Games.  Square-Enix.  Capcom.  Konami.  If you know any of these companies by anything even a half-step beyond their names, then you probably know that they’ve each done some less-than-savory things over the years (either that, or you’re so filled with rage that you’re puking blood into the nearest receptacle you can find).  Whether it’s shady business practices, hamstrung games, or business decisions that a sleeping toddler would advise against, those companies and more have all done something to earn the ire of the gamers they cater to.  But what are we supposed to do about it?

I’ll contend that Capcom’s Street Fighter V is a very good game, but it hasn’t gotten off to a good start in the eyes of many -- and for a lot of legitimate reasons.  Things are looking up, but players have had to suffer -- and they’ve got no choice, when you get down to it.  What can you do when a company’s effectively holding that glowing new installment or beloved franchise hostage, especially when said company’s done some nasty stuff in the past?  Further, what can you do when you have to count on the big companies or pretty much be denied of video games, period?

Well, good thing we’re not living in such a bleak dystopia.  Indie games are here, and they’re saving the medium…well, probably.  Ostensibly.  Hopefully?  Eh, let’s just talk about indie games for a bit.

So How Good is Ubisoft, Really?

I hope that title doesn’t imply that Ubisoft is a developer/publisher solely capable of evil -- as if we can only count on it for acts of avarice, trickery, and the closest thing to evil a company could ever know.  It can do a lot more than that, right?

Right?

Uh…right?

Well, let’s go ahead and move on, and not think about that implication any longer than we have to.

Do Me a Solid: Tumblr Arrange

Everybody have a good Valentine’s Day?  Cool.  Then let’s completely disregard the allure and appeal of selflessly showing affection to the dearly beloved, and focus solely on helping me.

Because I’m an altruist, you see.

So How Good are Fighting Games, Really?

Given that Street Fighter V is basically a week away and this entire blog is based off of a fighting game concept, it’s only natural that I throw this post out there.  Although I’m kind of surprised it took me this long to write it.  I would’ve figured that it would be number one on the docket.

Oh well.  I'd better make up for lost time.

So How Good is Animation, Really?

Kind of casting a wide net here, I know.  But whatever.  This should be fun.

So How Good is Tomb Raider, Really?

Hey, anybody remember PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale?  Anybody?

A lot of discussions have been had on the game’s roster, which is completely fair.  Not all of the choices made in/for that game were what I’d call good, and the lack of some key faces is proof of that.  Chief among them?  I’m pretty sure there were some people calling for Lara Croft (with Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon pretty much locked away in Activision’s dungeon), but were passionately denied the chance.  Why?  Who knows?  I mean, I’m not an expert on the franchise, but I thought that Tomb Raider was a mainstay of the PlayStation family until semi-recently.  Granted I’m guessing some installments and ports made it to the PC, but even if Lara’s jumped to other consoles, it’s a moot point when she would’ve shared a game with a Big Daddy and Isaac Clarke.

Anyway, Tomb Raider.  Thanks to the 2013 reboot and the recent game, the name’s seen a lot of traction.  Like plenty of properties these days, what’s old is new again; there’s a new Lara Croft and not one, but two brand new adventures, with a whole new style and the horsepower to make each new game the most extensive to date.  That’s not to undermine the successes and legacy of the earlier games, of course, but it’s a safe bet that the new stuff -- spearheaded by Crystal Dynamics -- is here to stay.

But is that a good thing?  Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…