Attractions We Need In Super Nintendo World

I know just like you, when you heard that there was going to be a Nintendo themed amusement park at Universal Studios I got pretty excited. This has been something that I've wanted ever sense a child. Earlier this week we kinda got an idea of what it would look like, at least the Mario portion of the park. Universal Studios has said that there will be other portions of the park that will be based on other games from Nintendo history. We may even have an idea on what some of the rides may be. Some leaked patents have reportedly leaked that shows that we might get rides based on Donkey Kong's mine kart rides from the earlier Donkey Kong Country games and a Mario Kart ride. What would the other rides might be? Well here are some ideas that I might want.


X: The Ride

For those who don't know, X was a game for the Game Boy. In the game you ride in this spacecraft. One of the pivotal parts of X was the music of you traveling through tunnels. The music was epic enough to be featured in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and the Wii U and 3DS versions. For an experience that inspired an epic score, why not have make it an epic ride. This could be the theme park's Space Mountain.

Charizard Roller Coaster

What's a amusement park without roller coasters? All those loops and turns and the feeling like your flying in the air. What could be more awesome, riding on an actual Charizard which is why a roller coaster ride based on the awesome dragon dinosaur? pokemon will be awesome. Would make you feel like you're riding on the back on one and using Fly.

Pokemon Stadium

I remember playing the awesome Pokemon Stadium games on my N64. Nothing like it. While we had similar games to it like Pokemon Coliseum, it was never the same. Why not bring it back, only to make it more epic. This attraction can be a booth that works like the games on a grander larger screen. It's a nice little throw back to nostalgia.

Badge Arcade

Nintendo has a lot of games. Why not play a ton of them. You could probably play some of the classic NES ones! Also, depending on how many token you get you can win real Nintendo badges. I think it would be a good way to show Nintendo's history of making excellent games over the years, and getting some pretty cool badges to show off to.

Metroid Space Tag

Inspired for the game form Nintendoland. It would be nice to see this become real, minus the obvious technological stuff we can't do yet. I'd still probably be cool to run around with Samus cannons and try to be the best bounty hunter in the galaxy. It would be like Metroid Prime Hunters, except fun.


Kirby's Hat Shop

Kirby has had some awesome hats in the series. Wouldn't it be nice if you could wear one too? You can wear a few of Kirby's iconic hats in the series. These won't give you powers.


Kirby Warp Star Ride

When we first saw the Warp Star in the Kirby games it looked pretty awesome. That's why a ride based on the Warp Star would be awesome. You'll almost as cool as Kirby does riding it in the games.

Hyrule Castle Town

In the teaser photo of Super Nintendo World we see what the Mario attraction would look like. We know that there will be other attractions as well. Why not a hub based on Hyrule and what would be better than Hyrule Castle Town. It will be like you're in Hyrule yourself as it will have games, goodies, and restaurants.

Link Cross Bow Training

Learn how to be an master archer like Link with archery practice. You get to shoot arrows at targets. Light Arrows for experienced archers too.

Luigi's Mansion

Luigi's Mansion is an amazing series so why not make a mansion based on the games. This could be the theme park's answer to Disneyland's Tower of Terror. You explore different rooms and may even encounter ghosts. We can even have a mini ride in it too.

Mario Obstacle Course

The Mario courses look like they can be fun if you tried them. This can be like Ninja Warrior where you can run a couple of courses designed after Mario levels. Swing on vines. Maneuver on rotating blocks. Climb and scale blocks. Even learn how to do a Super Jump into a foam pin.

What rides would you like to see?

Where Is Zelda in Breath of the Wild?

     We were recently treated to a new trailer for the next Zelda game, Breath of the Wild. In it we see towns and settlements as well as NCPs fighting Moblins. We also see what looks like the ruins of Hyrule Castle town in the wake of Ganon awakening and decimating the area as well as Hyrule Castle. What we also see is a bunch of characters most notably two female characters.
     One of the female characters we see is wearing a female attire almost identical to what Link's default outfit in the game and promotion. She also has a Sheikan tablet in her hands. Another woman is standing next to Link. We see this woman is wearing a gown embroidered in gold and blue. We  don't know exactly who these women are as their faces are not shown.

     Going back to the female in Link's clothing, you would think that this could be a female version of Link, right? Well, according to Eiji Aonuma, the director of the Zelda series, we are not going to have a female version of Link in this game. Perhaps this character will be Zelda in the game. This isn't the first time in the series where Princess Zelda's role hasn't been solely princess of Hyrule. She has been a pirate, and a Sheikan warrior in the past games. This could alude back to Aonuma's comments about a female Link in the game. He did say that if there were to be a female protagonist in the game, it would be Princess Zelda. In some form Zelda could have a role where she is going through trials and awakening posts just like Link is in the game or may even assist Link in some of his trials.

      If the woman in the female version of Link's cloths is Zelda, then who could the woman in the gown be? There have been rumor that this could also be Princess Zelda later on in the game, but it could also be another important character in the game. It could be Impa. The gown looks similar to the outfit Impa wears in Skyward Sword. It even has a braid, just like the braid Impa had. It makes sense for her to make an appearance in the game since you are using Sheikan technology and the Sheikan tablet in the game. Impa's role could be just like Skyward Sword where she is a guardian, or like other Zelda games where she is a sage. She could also very well be a priestess of something.

WTF Are Ultra Beasts: A Theory

 

     Pokemon Sun and Moon are mere days away from being released worldwide and the game looks like it is loaded with tons of goodies. Z-Moves, Alolan forms of classic Pokemon, revamping classic game mechanics like HMs and Gym Leader battles with Trials and Poke Rides. This is a lot to take in from one game. One of the biggest feature in this is also its biggest secret, the Ultra Beasts.

     With the game only days away we still have no clue on what exactly who they are. The only information they have given us is that the are "really powerful creature that could pose a threat to both pokemon and humans" and due to data mining we know that we are able to catch them. But exactly what are they? 

     With the ones that haven been revealed so far, we see that some of them look like characters from the game. UB-01 looks like Lillie, UB-02 Beauty looks like Lusamine, and UB03 - Lightning does looks like Guzma. UB-05 Gluttony does look like the new pokemon WishiWashi's school form. Hypothetically you could suspect that the Ultra Beasts are creatures that are made up of human and pokemon DNA. This isn't new to the series, at least not new to the manga series. In the Pokemon Adventures manga Mewtwo was made up partially of Team Rocket scientist and Gym Leader Blaine's DNA. If this theory is partially right, this leads to the question, who made them?
     There are two possibilities. The first one is Team Skull. We don't know what Team Skull's true intentions in Sun and Moon might be, but it might be more than just being gangsters in Alola, especially since they are at odds with the Aether foundation which is doing research on Ultra Beasts and where they come from. Another possibility on who created them is the unkown legendary pokemon that was revealed in the latest issue of CoroCoro last week. The unkown pokemon does bear a striking resemblance to the Ultra Beasts. Going back to what I said earlier, with Team Skull, and basically every villainous team in the series since Ruby and Sapphire,  this could be their intentions in the game to create their own pokemon using this unknown pokemon. What also supplies this theory is that one of the members in Team Skull, Gladion, has new pokemon Type-Null which seems to be a genetically man made pokemon almost in the same way Mewtwo and Genesect were man-made as well. It is almost named the same way as the Ultra Beasts are.
    These may be theories (wild guesses actually) and nothing is concrete but we will probably find out when Pokemon Sun & Moon comes out November 18th.

     

Will People Switch Over to the Nintendo Switch?

     After a long period of guessing, speculation, and really ridiculous rumors we have finally caught a glimpse of the NX, oops I mean the new Nintendo Switch. It didn't disappoint. The rumors of it being a hybrid of a console and handheld were true. You can disattach and take it with you anywhere from cars, flights, and even take it with you to play with you and your friends after playing a real game of basketball and reattach it to the modem at home. The controller looks pretty awesome as well as you can connect it like a old school controller or take it apart and use it like a Wiimote. You can even connect it to the Switch Pad and play games just like the Wii U screen. Yes things look really cool but will all of this'll ad to the Switch flying off the shelves? Will it get people to put down their PS4 and Xbox One controllers and Switch over to the Switch?
     It does look like a big step up from the Wii U which is already a good thing. It is apparent that the Wii U's launch and run was more of a fizzle than a big explosion. At first it wasn't anything that was setting it apart from the Wii other that a game pad. But the it would take more than technology to get people to buy the Switch. It needs games.
     One of the big problems Nintendo had with the Wii U, was its library of games during its launch. It didn't have enough solid game titles to get consumers to buy. Third party games were even worse as we barely had those during launch. They were in a drought for a couple of years until they had to revamp their marketing strategy.
    Fortunately for Nintendo, they are well aware of this issue they had with game title, especially third party ones and are making a system that encourages third party companies to want to work with the Switch and third party developers do want to work with the system. People are also excited based on only a snippet of what the Switch has to offer. Again, the technology look great but it doesn't matter if you don't have games that people want to play, especially at the launch period. It's great Nintendo is well aware of this and have a strategy to make sure we have some good games to play right from the start. It does have potential for it to be huge. It will be a waste if Nintendo squanders its chances by not backing it up with the right amount of effort to make sure it does well. It is expected to sell 2 million at launch if the demand is well deserved. We'll see if whether people are going to switch over to the Switch.

What do you think?
   

Did Paper Mario Sticker Star Really Suck?

     The latest entry in the Paper Mario series, Color Splash has been out for a while and the response has been very, colorfully bright. People have seemed to be recepting the game very well. Complimenting the game has giving the series a fresh paint job by having fun and witty writing, creative gameplay, and puzzles that are just as fun. Some fans have been saying that this has been a breath of fresh air and the most fun Paper Mario game in a while, especially to past games in the series, including the one in this topic Sticker Star.

     Most games often have a black sheep in the series. Zelda had Zelda II, Metroid had the recent Prime Federation Force, and Final Fantasy had everything post the PS era. For this series from word of mouth it would have to be Sticker Star. Is Sticker Star worth of the the hate?
    I personally played it, am playing it and I have no problems with the game whatsoever. I like the battle gameplay where it sorta went back to its RPG roots where you would go into a turn-based battle, this time being decisive and using strategy of what stickers to use and the thing stickers were witty and clever. But why the hate? If you could pin it on something, maybe because of the battle gameplay. It was something completely new. The original Paper Mario was completely RPG, which they changed with Super Paper Mario and they drastically changed again with Sticker Star and Color Splash. It was completely different from the original Paper Mario gameplay which instead of it just being turn based, you need to have a set of stickers to actually fight and progress.
     Of course Sticker Star wasn't perfect. Some people may had trouble solving some of its puzzles as others and the humor was a little light compared to past Mario RPGs. Despite that Sticker Star wasn't really that bad or at least bad enough to get the hate that it gets. It is still to some degree enjoyable.          Going back to what I said earlier, it was a big change for the series and maybe that is why people wasn't receptive of it at first. Luckily people have come around to Color Splash as it perfected the gameplay in Sticker Star. It's also a nice for them to step up on the humor that made the Paper Mario series great.

Metal Gear Survive: The Future of a Franchise?

     Metal Gear Survive is the newest game coming out for the Metal Gear Solid franchise. It has already have some differences form the past games. For one it is the first game since the departure of its creator Hideo Kojima. Second it seems that Konami is taking some liberties from the other games as this game will feature zombies. Konami Europe president Tashiro Tomotada has stated that Survive will be a "fresh take" on the series.
     So far the game has been met with some backlash. For one the most recent trailer on YouTube has been met with a lot of dislikes. Adding to that Kojima in a recent interview at TGS 2016 kinda did a backhand remark on the game, saying the following:
"That’s nothing to do with me!" “The Metal Gear games are about political fiction and espionage,” “Where do zombies fit in with that?”
     The idea of adding zombies in the series isn't new. Kojima himself had an idea of putting zombies in as "nanotech" corpses in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. Even though zombies never made it into the series, weird has never been new to the series. Psycho Mantis, time paradoxes, The Sorrow, and playing as an old Snake to name a few. This however does raise an interesting question dealing with the direction the series might go post-Kojima. Will Survive be an inkling of the future of franchise?
     Going by Tomotada's words, I see this as Konami's way to put their own spin on the franchise and as a way to differentiate themselves from the Kojima-influenced Metal Gear games of the past. They're testing the waters. Whether the franchise is in trouble or not is indeed uncertain. Some things will work and some things will not. Time will tell. What is important is that Konami sticks to what made the series great and not delve too far from that. Everyone is scared that concerned that with zombies, the series and the people developing the new games will lose sight of the past games and it will be a big mess, kinda like THAT other zombie video game series we won't talk about. If they stay focused on what worked for the past games and how they can improve that then maybe we won't have anything to worry about.

What are your thoughts on the future of the Metal Gear Solid franchise? Is it in good hands?

Is The NX Nintendo's Last Chance For A Good Console?

     The NX is probably the biggest secret Nintendo is keeping right now. Since the past two years of what we've heard it being announced we know absolutely nothing about it. Also every bit of information from it has been rumors so far. Nothing legit or official. They have chosen not to reveal anything about it in the past E3 and more recently this Nintendo Direct happening today. You can kinda makes sense of Nintendo being reclusive. They're trying to do something extraordinary. And they kinda need it.
     What isn't a secret is the underperformance of the Wii U and the 3DS. Not that many people bought the Wii U. It is low even compared to the its console rivals the Xbox One and PS4. They did many attempts to try to boost up sales and it did somewhat work, but the company has still faced revenue lost for a few years. With this failure of the Wii U, and once upon a time the Gamecube, Nintendo is starting to repeat the previous failures of their former rivals Sega. In a recent interview with Alistdaily, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime has said that one of the problems with the Wii U's failure was not successfully demonstrating the Wii U's software capabilities with consumers.
     If they don't think of it as their last console, then they ought to. Nintendo cannot afford another failure console. Fortunately they are aware of the issue they are facing. In the same interview Fils-Aime further stated:

"One of the things that we have to do better when we launch the NX—we have to do a better job communicating the positioning for the product. We have to do a better job helping people to understand its uniqueness and what that means for the game playing experience. And we have to do a better job from a software planning standpoint to have that continuous beat of great new games that are motivating more and more people to pick up the hardware and more and more people to pick up the software."

     It is apparent that a lot is riding on the NX's success so it is understanding that they are taking their time to officially announce things. They're making sure everything is perfect and the NX raises standards and expectations. Whether things come out perfect or people are willing to buy the NX will be determined when we Nintendo finally announce what the console can do.

Is Pokemon Go Over?

 

    Pokemon Go is the breakout game of the summer. Pokemon Go is an app developed by The Pokemon Company and Niantic where it uses your phone's GPS and allows you find and catch pokemon, find pokestop locations for items like pokeballs and lures to attract pokemon, and fight at gym locations. If you are unfamiliar with the franchise, I would like to know how was living on the moon. When the game was available for iOS and android in July, it was 90s Pokemania all over again. It has done extremely well. It caused Nintendo's stock to rise like a Ho-Oh form the flames. It had more users on it than Tinder and Twitter. Everything seems just perfect, except it's not.
     Over the past few days Pokemon go has been in a bit of controversy. The recent update was an attempt to fix some issues with the app like the 3-step glitch. The latest update removed it all together as well as the batter-saving option. Reasons for the removal were quoted

"We have removed the ‘3-step’ display in order to improve upon the underlying design," the company wrote. "The original feature, although enjoyed by many, was also confusing and did not meet our underlying product goals. We will keep you posted as we strive to improve this feature."

     This was enough to make some fans of the game outraged. The game is still facing problems with lag and crashing. It seems like everytime Niantic, the company responsible for Pokemon Go takes one step to fix an issue, they get knocked two steps back. The features are slated to be coming back. But is the damage already done? Is this and continuing problems with the app enough to give this game a short lifespan?
     First of all there seem to be a lot of issues with Niantic. We were basically handed a broken game when it had server issues in the beginning and even now. They weren't prepared. They are however acknowledging the problem and Niantic's CEO John Hanke says they are working tirelessly to making improvements. All problems can be fixed, with the right people fixing the problem.  So is the app officially dead? Not really. Luckily for them people are still using Pokemon Go. It is obvious that  there is some serious work done. Hopefully the problem is fixed soon, and especially before Gen 2 pokemon get here.

Ghostbusters: Did It Suck?

The original Ghostbusters is one of the classic comedy movies of all time. It harbored famous comedians Bill Murray, and Dan Aykroyd. It has won fans alike who still to this day quote lines from the movie. When the movie came out it was a hit. We've gotten a sequel, a cartoon, and let's not forget the Ecto Hi-C. There have been trouble getting a third Ghostbuster movie started ranging from script troubles to cast fighting. We wouldn't have anything Ghostbusters for years until now. Is the franchise back from the dead or is it time to put it to rest?
      Ghostbusters, just like the original movie its rebooting, is a comedy. It was a bit different than the original as it kinda went for less of the dry humor and went for a bit more slapstick and the stuff you'd usually find in Paul Feig, the director, movies. It is full of jokes. The beginning did start off slow with some witty writing, but as the movie progresses, things build and things do get outrageously funny. Despite it having some funny moments, I felt the jokes were kinda tame compared to Feig's previous movies. There were a lot of funnier moments and the movie could've gone out with certain moments. Feig brought the funny, but it wasn't necessarily his A game.
     The story was pretty much your standard Ghostbusters story. It's up to the Ghostbusters to save New York, and maybe the world but mainly New York, from a spiritual catastrophe. the only difference this time is that the antagonist is not some powerful ghost, but a human. Neil Casey plays the villain and like the Ghostbusters he is doing some ghost hunting as well for some really bad reasons.
    Watching Ghostbuster was almost like remix of the original in that it seems like a completely original movie and it had some moments that were inspired by the original movie. The first encounter in the mansion was the library scene. The rock concert was the hotel scene where they caught Slimer. And the subway scene was from Ghostbusters 2 even with one of the ghost brothers that was electrocuted. Also their are a ton of cameos. The movie is almost one big Ghostbuster reunion as it featured almost the whole cast in different roles except for Rick Moranis and Harold Ramis you know because he's dead. You even got one from the Stay Puff Marshmellow Man.
     As for the female Ghostbusters, everyone did their job well. Melissa McCarthy was classic Melissa McCarthy is almost every role she's mainly been whether you like that or not shame on you if you don't. Kristen Wiig is in full comedy prime quirky Erin Gilbert. They were the Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd of the reboot. Kate McKinnon was great playing the pretty much out there "Egon" of the group, Jillian Holtzmann  The highlight of the movie clearly was Chris Hemsworth. He played a ditzy male receptionist well. He has amazing comedic timing. It was shocking to see him able to have a comedic side and him doing it so well. Also cred to due to Lesie Jones. She was amazing and despite some claims that her character was too "stereotypical" (and like they even care?) it wasn't nor did she come across that way. She was a sassy and witty New Yorker who wasn't just sitting back on the side lines to say something witty compared to the other girls' characters. And to boot Jones' was funny as hell delivering her lines.
     Overall the movie was fantastic. Is it better than the original? No. Definitely not. But it's not trying to be. It was made to show love for the original Ghostbuster movies and bring it to a new generation, with a modern twist. It's a great popcorn movie. It was fun. The audience I was with had a good time dancing when the original Ghostbusters theme played as well as during the ending credits. The people who are spending all their time hating this movie and crying over their "tarnished childhoods" are seriously missing out. I'd give it 4 out of five stars.

Will Pokemon GO Be The Next Miitomo?

     Ladies and gentlemen Pokemon GO is finally out. It was released over a few days ago and everyone seems to be downloading it like crazy. Pokemon GO is a new app game brought to you by Pokemon Company and Niantic. It links to your phone's GPS posts spots where you can catch AR images of pokemon outside. It is as real as real life pokemon we're going to get, sadly. Pokemon GO is just the recent release in Nintendo's plan to make games for mobile phones with more titles coming out this year and next. Whether or not Pokemon GO ends up being successful, you could draw comparison to it and the previous app game Nintendo released, Miitomo.
     For those who haven't heard of Miitomo, it marked the Nintendo's debut in the mobile gaming market. In it you designed a Mii and communicated and make friends with other people's Miis, whether by the app itself, Twitter, and/or Facebook. Think of it as Miispace. You also could collect and buy clothes for you Mii and that was just about it. Since the end of April, over 10 million people downloaded Miitomo. in the long run the Miitomo  excitement over it was short and it got boring rather quick. The question is will Pokemon have more longevity than Miitomo did?
     For one thing that sets GO apart from Miitomo is that there are a ton of things to do other than catch Pokemon in parks and on the street. Unlike Miitomo Pokemon GO does have a lot of things to do. Of course you can catch pokemon and fight other people. You can also join teams and pretty much mark your territories by claiming gyms and being gym leaders. The game also does have a huge thing with exploration that Nintendo is really about recently. It encourages you to go out and visit certain spots in your neighborhood and even landmarks to catch them all. It does seem the the Pokemon Company does have plans to keep players interested in playing. So far we have only generation one pokemon available, but they can release other generations of pokemon in the near future. They can even have legendary pokemon sightings at certain landmarks a la pokemon giveaways for the handheld games. There is a lot they can do. Whether or not this will be too much we can't tell.

What are your thoughts?

E3 2016: What Didn't Suck

Anothe E3 came and went. This year's E3 has been basically about one thing basically: games, games, games. Noone really left me surprised as each press conference and Nintendo Treehouse was all about giving gamers a ton of games and content to keep you entertained for the next year. What didn't suck? Let's see.

Crash is Back

Nostalgist of 90s video games rejoice! After all of the internet wishing and maybe thousands of mail Sony has gotten from you, they have finally caved in and Crash is finally back! Not in a brand new game, but instead his first three games are going to be remastered for the PS4. I remember playing these games on my PlayStation so I'm just as excited to play these remastered games as well. It's going to be interesting to see how everything will look. Hopefully this would lead to a revival of new Crash Bandicoot games in the future and the remakes would be Sony testing the waters to see if how he will do in this new generation. Until the remasters come out, you can get your Crash fix

Sea of Thieves

Rare is back with this game which was announced last E3. This time around we got to see actual gameplay. You get to see characters interact in town, swim in the sea, and of course drive and fight in pirate ships. It's nice to see a glimpse of what the game is about and what you can do. Hopefully no bears ruin this game, birds too.

Final Fantasy XV

We've seen the battle system before. It is moreso like the the battle system of previous games but a bit more fluid as you a switch between combat and weapons. This time around the is based on how you make combos switching from different attacks. This time around we actually got to see a boss battle against Titan. To see it the party battle something as huge as the Titan boss is something impressive.  Bottom line it does look cleaner and gorgeous just like everything else in the game. That and over 100 hours of gameplay I'm completely stoked to play this when it comes out.

Resident Evil 7

Much to everyone's surprise we're getting another Resident Evil game. It looks very different from the other games, especially the recent ones, as it's not so much action-horror. It seems to be going back to its roots, which is a good thing. A really good thing. The game is covered in so much mystery with Capcom just giving you a demo of you wondering around in a spooky old house. Regardless with what we've been giving and not knowing how this will fit into the main series, it does look cool. It is giving the series a new breath of life, after choking on Resident Evil 6.

God of War 4

As you can guess this E3 was full of surprise announcements. One of these was a new God of War. So this time around Kratos is a new daddy. The gameplay was pretty much new. Everything has been reworked including the Spartan Rage-timed ability. You gain knowledge points on weapons as well as craft resources. This game seems to be as Kratos said in the demo a new beginning as not only is the battle mechanics are new, you are in a new environment. This time around you'll be battling Norse gods and monsters, you know because you killed all the Greek ones. This overall looks great. Can't wait to see more.

The New Spider-Man Game

The teaser trailer looks crazy. The game is a joint project with Marvel, Sony, and Insomiac games. All we got was a teaser, but it showed a lot. The game does have a lot of potential that we're excited to see how it turns out.

The Last Guardian

We got to see another trailer of The Last Guardian. We got to see a bit more this time around. The art looks more colorful. Aside from looking at gorgeous scenery your character will be encountering other birddogs, which may try to eat you. Overall it looks beautiful.

Pokemon Sun & Moon

Nintendo decided to show us some gameplay of the upcoming Pokemon Sun and Moon. They tweaked the battle gameplay a bit. If you battled a previous trainer or another pokemon in the wild, you have an indicator of what moves work were really effective against that pokemon. We also got a peak of how the pokedex will work and it seems to be more organizing even indicating the evolutionary family of the pokemon you caught. We were also treated to our "Pidgey", "Rattata", and "Caterpie", of the Alola region: Pikepek, Yungoose and Grubbin.

Death Stranding

We got a stunning trailer without any gameplay. Even though the trailer didn't show any gameplay you can get some ideas of what the game is about. It looks to be another game where you scavenge for thing like Far Cry Primal which isn't a bad thing. It does seem nice to see that a collaboration between Kojima and Norman Reedus work after all after the cancellation of Silent Hills and PT. It looks great and we can't wait to see actual gameplay footage. Afterall we know it will be amazing since Kojima is involved. We get treated to a naked Norman Reedus so that's also a big plus.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

We finally got to see the new Zelda and it holy crap does it look good. This time around the new Zelda seems to be more technology based as Link will be going around all over Hyrule with his Shiekpad Pro accessing towers and dungeons, called trials. As true to Aonuma's word everything you see you can have access to and climb. They also tweaked clothing around this time gaining some RPG-ish rules to it. Some clothes help you in some environments. Also Link will have to forage and hunt this time around so he can have maximum health. You do get items as well as finding and crafting items to help you on your quest. There is a stamina meter that when low or out it limits Link. Breath of the Wild is giving a new spin on the franchise with it being vastly different than the other Zelda, also with Link jumping for the first time. The demo Nintendo provided as grand as it was was barely one percent of the game. Can't wait to see more.

Was there aanything I miss? Leave your comments.

Who You Gonna Call When You Hate the New Ghostbusters?

     The Ghostbusters reboot just around the corner. We haven't had anything Ghostbusters related in a while with the last movie, a sequel, made in 1989, a couple of failed projects to get a third movie made, and a video game made almost 6 years ago in 2009. With the smell of nostalgia in the air, you can can feel the excitement or better yet the hate.
      The new Ghostbusters has been the subject of internet hate. Fanboys have taken to repeatedly  down vote trailers and have even gone as far as to harass director Paul Feig and cast members. It's has gone pretty much downhill ever since it was announced that who was directing it and that the reboot would feature a mostly female cast. The most recent of the negativity has come from YouTuber cinemasscre. Cinemasscre, real name James Rolfe, has pretty much made a 6 and a half "non review" discussing about how much he is not going to see and review the Ghostbusters movie. I could talk about how absurd, childish and the lack of professionalism that a supposed amateur movie reviewer on YouTube would go to make a 6 minute rant about how much they're not going to see a movie, but that's another day and another topic. This inspired me to finally talk about the movie and address the hate that the movie has brewed.
     Some opponents of the movie claim that the movie is just another cash grab for the studios to make money off a popular franchise. Hollywood has been the culprit of doing this for the past years and this could spark a debate on truly if Hollywood should should stop the trend of making remakes or reboots just to make quick cash instead of coming up with new innovative ideas and concepts and that is a actual problem. Whether that is the case for this particular movie or not is up to debate. One thing is for sure is that issue will not be resolved with giving the director and cast death threats and harassment.
      Bottom line it's just a movie. It's no need to get this worked up over a movie. No movie is worth this much hate. No movie is worth sending the cast and director harassment and death threats. For the people citing nostalgia and claiming that the movie will ruin the franchise, if one reboot is capable of doing that, then your childhood nostalgia and the franchise itself had nothing to stand on. If this is truly bad then I think the franchise is be just fine, it survived Ghostbusters 2. You can still watch the original Ghostbusters movie and enjoy that. You can even watch Ghostbusters 2 which wasn't as charming and funny as the first one. The new reboot doesn't take anything away from those movies. The new Ghostbusters reboot might be fine after all, then again you wouldn't know that if you're too busy downvoting trailers and making "non review" videos.

P.S. Harold Ramis probably wouldn't be upset over the new reboot. We tried contacting his ghost but reportedly its held in storage in a firehouse in downtown Los Angeles.

What are your thoughts on the negative wave of hate on the new Ghostbusters reboot. Is it justified?

Captain America: Civil War vs Batman vs Superman: Who Did It Better?

 
     Captain America: Civil War is out and you know what that means. No, not comic book nerds flexing their comic book knowledge and pages of feuds of Team Captain America or Team Iron Man all over forums and Twitter. Review time! Instead of doing a typical review like I always do I'll do a compare and contrast putting Civil War up against another superhero movie that was similar to it: Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice. Civil War was suppose to be Marvel's answer to Batman vs Superman with the plot being almost identical: Superheroes fighting each other and the world being pissed at them. With both movies having the same story and theme, which one did it better?

     Both movies touched on a similar subject: Should the government keep superheroes in check? In both cases you had issues where superheroes while trying to save the day cause accidents where casualties are taken.

    Civil War only touched on the subject a couple of times. It was talked about a couple of times, but completely took a back seat to fill the movie with more action and Bucky's story.  The whole let's keep the Avengers in check felt more like a ploy or excuse to have everyone fight for the last leg of the movie. It wasn't very coherent as it went to can we trust the Avengers to handle thing properly to a basic story of revenge.
    BvS did a much better job dealing with this issue. It was more of the plot behind the movie. It was better handled as it was a common issue throughout the whole movie. The issue affected almost every character. You got a idea of how it affected Superman, Batman, and the people proposing the idea of if we can trust Superman and should we regulate him.
     Piggybacking off of the topic of story, Civil War's pretty fluid. Aside, again, from the issue of regulating superheroes and just trying to make that issue a catalyst for a revenge story, nothing felt out of place or weird. For the most part the plot was woven well compared to BvS where its director, Zack Snyder, was for the most part tried to fit concepts in that weren't executed as well. Especially using the movie as the introduction to a vast DC universe, where Civil War and Marvel did exactly right (no shock).      
     The introductions of new characters, Spider-Man and Black Panther and old ones like Ant-Man were done well, especially how the introduced Spider-Man without the long origin story, at least not yet. BvS didn't do that well as they just did a "five minute oh, here are the guys we're putting in the next Justice League movie at around the end of the movie, fun times lol?"
     So who did it better? Civil War was a cookie cutter superhero movie and there is nothing wrong with that as a lot of them are good and they know what the fans want. A lot of action, testosterone, and a little bit of comedy in the mix. I do respect BvS more as it was trying to be a bit different.  It didn't work out like Snyder hoped it did, but I can see what he tried to do. It probably was trying to be the Manturian Candidate of superhero films. I did like the fact that BvS had a theme of can we really trust these superheroes and it kept if throughout most of them movie, which Civil War didn't really do that much of and it got messy a bit.


What are your thoughts?

Why Releasing the Nintendo NX and Zelda Wii U in 2017 Doesn't Suck

We all heard the news earlier that the next console from Nintendo, the NX, would be officially released in March 2017. We also heard that Zelda Wii U has been delayed and is coming out sometime in 2017 instead of 2016 as well, but hey we get a new official artwork of Link cool right? The recent news has been a total bummer, or is it?

     The biggest reason behind the delay is also the obvious reason why the push back is a good thing. Nintendo has pushed back Zelda Wii U and the NX possibly due to not having anything to show us. We know exactly nothing about the NX and Zelda Wii U. The only thing we have gotten from the up and coming Zelda game is just a teaser trailer and a couple of artwork. We have no story or anything to see if game mechanics. The thing about the NX is just rumors of what it possibly can do and false rumors of how the controller might look like and work.

     Adding the the fact we know and have nothing about Zelda Wii U and the NX, the idea of them both being released this year, even in the fall quarter would've been bad. We have to have an idea of what we're buying in order to buy it. Nintendo can't expect consumers to buy based off of why and speculation. Even if they supposedly revealed anything at E3, it wouldn't be enough time to get people excited to buy these products.

      Luckily we are expected to have a playable demo of Zelda Wii U this E3. That does give us sometime this year and possibly next year to get an idea of not only how Zelda Wii U looks and plays, but more importantly what the NX can do. Until then, there's Miitomo. Don't know whether if that's a good thing or not.


What are your thoughts?

Live Action Pokemon Movie: How It Can Be Super Effective?

Rumor is that there will be a live action Pokemon movie. Nothing is official yet, however The Pokemon Company is selling the movie rights in a top secret auction. It seems that the Pokemon Company has been trying to make Pokemon as real as possible as they can with the new Pokemon GO app and hopefully this. There is no possibility that this could be done. After all we did get a small taste of this with the Super Bowl commercial. The commercial does make it seem that a live action Pokemon movie isn't as bad of an idea as it might seem. But what would a live action Pokemon movie be based off of? These are a few thoughts as to what they can go with it.

     First the idea to make a live action movie based around the anime. That would be the worst idea. I feel like the anime and the possible universe of the live action movie should be kept separate. It's in its own realm as the games and the manga are. Also, the anime already have movies on their on so this wouldn't make sense. Also the thought of a live action Ash is cringe-worthy.

     Another thing is possibly who or what the movie could center around with is the game universe. Since Ash is completely out of the picture, literally, the next candidate could be Red, right? Wrong. I feel that Red as a character would be too old for current fans to identify with. He's our first and second gen hero. The new protagonist in X and Y and possibly Sun and Moon would probably be too new for the old fans to identify with as well. 

     The answer of how to do the movie justice could rest in one of the games. Not the main ones, one of its spin-offs, Pokemon Colosseum. No there shouldn't be a live action movie based off of Pokemon Colosseum, but the fact that it is in a completely different universe is exactly how the movie should be done.  It could make sense is if they could make a movie universe in of itself that is separate from the anime and the games. A separate movie universe, with a different region, and a completely different protagonist. It would be good for whoever gets the movie rights to give us something completely new to identify with as well as setting the movie as something new and separate from the games and anime. Now them pulling a Resident Evil with occasionally dropping video game characters like Red, Professor Oak, and Giovanni is a different story.

What are your thoughts on a live action Pokemon movie and what should it be about? 

Batman v Superman: Does It Suck?

The most anticipated movie of 2016 was just released over this Easter weekend: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. The hype and anticipation for this movie was and still is crazy and for good reasons. For one, this movie is suppose to be the first film of many that will start the DC movie universe. A lot is riding on this movie, especially considering that it is a follow-up, not a sequel (sort of) to Men of Steel that was favorably a disappointment by DC fans and critics alike. Will it rise above our standards and expectations? Does it suck?

Story

The premise of the movie is that it takes place a couple of years after the events of Man of Steel. Superman has become a polarizing figure. You have people who trust him thinking that he is here to help humanity meanwhile you have people who think that he is a problem that needs to be dealt with or be put in serious check. One of these people is Bruce Wayne/Batman. Lex Luthor also has that issue, but to those who haven't seen it yet I don't want to spoil it too much. The movie did feel like a mix-up of The Manchurian Candidate, an episode of Homeland, and the last season of Smallville (only written better. Slightly)
     Batman v. Superman for a majority of the movie had this sort of political feel to it and deal with the issue of Superman in a political way. There is a lot of action in it, but what director Zack Snyder tries to do is mainly focus on how the world would react to a being like Superman if he did exist.
     For the Batman parts it did feel like Snyder try to make things Christopher Nolan-esque, but he didn't execute it properly. Another thing that wasn't executed properly was the DC Universe tie-ins. Batman vs. Superman is suppose to be the first movie that launches the live action DC movie universe. The film did feature a few cameos from other heroes that will be in the upcoming Justice League film, but these cameos were too blatant and didn't offer anything to the storyline other than oh look here they are. Wonder Woman was the already and most obvious tie-in they have and it would've made more sense if they would've just stuck with her and subtlety include the other heroes in other DC projects. Snyder should've taken notes of what Marvel has done to construct their movie universe more carefully.

Performance

The movie is sort of a sequel of Man of Steel so I'm not going to discuss Henry Cavill and Amy Adam's roles as Supeman and Lois Lane. For the most part it was a continuation of their roles in the last film so it you loved/hated it then, you probably will in this movie. The standout of the movie was Gal Gadot. Not much was known about her and her acting chops before she was cast as Wonder Woman. People were worried about whether or not she would deliver the role and she did effortlessly. Another person that did good was Ben Affleck. When we heard that he was going to be Batman people flipped, almost like how they flipped when Michael Keaton was cast as Batman in the 1989 film. I kept an open mind about him playing the character and he didn't disappoint. Affleck played a different Bruce Wayne than what we normally seen in the past live action films. His Bruce was more of a person who was haunted and troubled by the death of his parents and moved by vengeance that it almost driven him to insanity. Jesse Eisenberg was good in most parts. The movie's version of Lex Luthor was pretty much a paranoid almost in the same way of Superman turning against humanity as well as Bruce was, but on a more extreme way. Eisenberg played brilliant militant genius well, insane brilliant militant genius not that much.

Final Verdict

Did Batman v Superman suck? Not that much. I respected the script and its topic, however there were parts that were poorly executed and were unnecessary. A lot. It wasn't a bad movie at all, but it's nothing precisely to write home to, especially considering how other superhero movies fared better. Snyder made a much better film than Man of Steel but he's no Christopher Nolan, and that was apparent with what he tried to do with Batman. It gets a 2.5 out of 5.

Will the Nintendo NX Use VR?

VR is turning out to be a big thing this year. A matter of fact, a lot of VR devices will be released this year. Consumer versions of Oculus Rift are coming out in mere days as well as Playstation VR's release date and price has been revealed recently. It is becoming a trend. Everyone seems to be catching on to it. Will Nintendo catch on the trend? Will the NX support VR?
      Ever since the NX was announced Nintendo has been very tight lipped about it. There was a supposed leak about what the controller could look like and work, but we can take that with a grain of salt and brush it off as being fake. They have announced what it will support, including the 3DS, PC, and smartphones but not exactly how. We basically know nothing. Could it very well support VR as well?
     VR seems like it's going to be a big thing in gaming with a lot of companies interested in it as well as people who are looking forward to it as well. It would be a terrible thing for Nintendo to pass this up, especially if they want to undo the errors of the Wii U. President of Nintendo, Tasumi Kimishima did promise that the company would do and try plans that were outside of what they normally would do. However if they do decide to go the VR route, the NX shouldn't be solely VR. They should however do something like having the NX support a VR device, pretty much like how the PS4 supports PlayStation VR. Also hopefully they learned their lesson with the Virtual Boy.

PG-13 vs. Rated R: Dawn of Better Superhero Movies?

   
     Deadpool is killing it at the box office. It has currently made over $600 million worldwide and is sitting at #1 for three weeks. It has been reported to be the highest grossing R-rated comic book movie of the US box office. It is making millions. What Deadpool is also doing is creating a trend of R-rated Superhero movies. The next Wolverine movie has been confirmed to be rated R and there will be a rated R version of the Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice movie for Blu-Ray. The question is does a superhero movie need to be rated R to truly be good.
    Let's not forget the fact why movies are rated as they are. Most of them have been rated PG-13 in order to get the most people to go in and see them. They want a broader audience, something they might have trouble with a rated R movie. Superhero movies are cash cows for studios. They make serious money. It is expected for a Superhero movie to make over hundreds of millions, if not billions or else it is considered to be a flop. So with that of course studios would be clamoring to try to get the broadest rating to get the broadest number of audience members to sit and watch. Now that didn't seem to be the case with Deadpool, but before its success studios might have been scared to lessen things down in order to get that PG-13 rating. But will you have a better experience with a R-rated Superhero movie than a PG-13 one? Would a little bit more blood and a tad bit of nudity, with an occasional vulgar line make the movie better.
     Not necessarily. Like all good movies it all depends on the writing. After all that's truly what makes Deadpool great. I should know, I reviewed it. Deadpool's awesomeness all has to do with its script and the people aboard than the stuff that probably gave it it's rating. It is nice to see that due to Deadpool that studios are deciding that maybe it is all right to not be scared to experiment a bit and do something diffrent, or maybe they've just decide to make it a trend and cash on it until a few films tank at the box office.

What are your thoughts?

Deadpool: Does It Suck?

     The Deadpool movie was released over this weekend. If don't know who Deadpool is, he is this wacky mercenary with a heart of gold and quite a hardon for killing bad guys. The comic books Deadpool seems almost like a self-aware parody of most comic book heroes and antiheroes. The character has the nickname Merc with a mouth as he is wisecracking and never shuts up, often saying and doing things that are out of place and comical. This is do to him being mentally unstable and unpredictable. His mind is so out of wack that he often breaks the fourth way in his comics and other Marvel characters' comics as well. This isn't our first run of seeing Deadpool in movies. How could you not forget, or try to, his appearance in X-Men Origins: Wolverine also played by Ryan Reynold. That version of him was a contrast to the comic book version where that movie's version was more of a badass that occasionally said something funny and smart whenever the bad script provides time to do so. Anyway, long painful lack of story short, that version sucked. This film promised to be more inclined to the comic book version of the character. Even if that is true, it could still be bad, Reynolds was cast as Deadpool in both movies.  Will this movie break our hearts as well as the fourth wall? Does the move suck?


Acting

     Ryan Reynolds did a great job playing Deadpool. That really shouldn't comes to no surprise. The man has a pretty stellar resume not only playing superheroes, but in comedy as well. See two of his most comedic performances X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Blade Trinity. It does seem like he has gotten a bit of his character from the school of Nolan North, that's a good thing, but do get a bit of classic him in it as well. Not only did Reynolds deliver, but most of the cast did.
     Stefan Kapicic did a good job voicing Colossus, who is not played Daniel Cudmore (as if the X-Men movie universe is not as fucked up as it is with the continuity errors and Kitty being somehow able to phase consciousnesses through time). He played Colossus as this very comedic goody two-shoes that worked in counter balance with Deadpool's anti-heroic attitude. Brianna Hildebrand as Negasonic Teenage Warhead was another gem from the movie. She played this brooding teen which often acted as the straight man, err woman, to many of Deadpool's jokes throughout the movie. It's also funny how Warhead and Colossus plays almost like a Batman and Robin throughout the movie, almost like an Adam West Batman meets a non killing Damien Wayne type Robin. Most of the cast was good except for Ed Skerin. If his role was to play a pretty boy dick then he should be nominated for an Academy Award. He wasn't very intimidating or very menacing. Hell, the woman who played Angel Dust, Gina Carano, was more of a badass villain than him.

Story

     Deadpool isn't just your normal superhero (origin) story, it's a love story, or a horror story, maybe a revenge story. It's probably all the above. Kinda like When Harry Met Sally meets Kill Bill with a bit of Spider-Man for taste. Any, the story is Deadpool basically getting his revenge on a guy who turned him into a superhero, and super ugly, and therefor can't get back with his girlfriend. It's a lot better than what I described it.
     The comedic writing was masterfully done. Of course if you're new to Deadpool, you would know that the character, and comic, is a mixture of comedy and action. That's exactly what they've done to the script, incorporate the comedy and action and had them coexist together. Unlike the other Superhero films, it did intend to focus more on story than action. There were some little fourth wall bits to look for in the film, not just in the obvious points where Deadpool himself breaks it. It's fun to see a couple of more times to find them.

Action

     The movie is jammed pack full of action scenes and very cool action scenes at that. The comedic spin of Deadpool cracking jokes and playing around gave the scenes a little more personality.

Final Verdict

     Did Deadpool suck? Not at all. Again it was a lot of action and a lot of comedy and the great thing was that they were mixed together beautifully. It didn't come off as all try hardish like how most superhero films do, and often fail miserably. Also kudos to the production team for giving us a Deadpool who was faithful to the comics and undoing the one we got from the X-Men Origins: Wolverine movie, which was greatly referenced in the movie. If I had to rank Deadpool, it would get a five out of five. Take you girlfriend, it's kinda a rom-com movie. Deadpool said it himself. That's your excuse to take her to it. Now have a Happy International Women's Day, if you're into that kinda thing and like it.

9 Shows Nintendo Needs to Make

In last week's post, it was announced that Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima was going to start 2016 by doing five key objectives in order to branch out the company and make even more money. One of these objectives was to start making more anime and shows that could feature Nintendo stars. This is huge news. I remember watching the Super Mario and Legend of Zelda cartoons during the 80s-90s. They occasionally did make shows based on the other characters like Kirby and Donkey Kong, but now it seems that they are going to be invested in making more shows with more characters. Here's a list of shows that hopefully Nintendo might make or probably some ideas that sound just as good.

Detective Pikachu

The Detective Pikachu trailer came out this week and it was glorious. You're not only a Pikachu, but you're a Pikachu that talks with a weirdly adult male voice. There is comedy gold in this as well as potential to make this something more than just a video game. Detective Pikachu already has a little Detective Conan feel to it but that's a good thing already and would be a greater thing if they make a show to tie with the game coming out in the near future.

The Cat Mario & Cat Peach TV Show

I know there's a show online on the Nintendo UK channel, but  maybe it is time to move it to another format? The possibilities they could do with the Cat Mario and Cat Peach is huge. Along with games facts, which they give in their episodes, they can also do skits, jokes and probably play cartoons in the middle. Almost a revival of the Super Mario Super Show with Captain Lou. They could even play some of the old Mario and Zelda cartoons if they get the rights from them. Hopefully we'll include Kitsune Luigi and Tanooki Toad.

Wacky Mario Kart Races

For those who aren't old enough to remember. Wacky Races was an awesome show. You had Yogi and other Hanna Barbara characters race along on weird and funny track full of comedy and suspense guessing who will win the race. Since the Mario Kart games are almost the same thing, why not make a cartoon series to showcase the wackiness of the games. This would probably mean that Bowser Jr. will probably be the Muttly of the show.

Koopalings Series

I'm a Koopalings fan and I'm proud of that. They have been used in Nintendo games recently after a hiatus since Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga. Ever wonder what they did during that hiatus? A cartoon series could be an explanation of what they've been up to and what they do in-between helping Bowser take over the Mushroom Kingdom and kidnapping Peach. It could explain why they're not related to Bowser anymore too.

Zelda Anime

I know people were excited about the possibility of a live action Legend of Zelda series being on Netflix only to be saddened by it being a false rumor. While I don't exactly think that a live action Zelda could ever work. The story could wind up be poorly written fanfic and game pandering, going Once Upon a Time bad quickly. An anime or at least an adaptation based on the manga series could work however. The story is already there and I feel it could do more justice to the series than a live action Zelda series ever could. Just add a great animation team like the people behind the Marvel Anime series and it could be solid.

Animal Crossing Series

For those who loved the Animal Forest anime movie would probably love the idea of an Animal Crossing series. The idea could be to do everything in the movie but better and hopefully including more things in the game that couldn't fit into the movie.

Wario Series

A Wario series is kinda long overdue. you have Wario which gets into the most bizarre adventures in his own video games. Add that along with the zany characters of the Warioware games and you'll have a pretty awesome cartoon series.

Captain Toad

When we first introduced to Captain Toad we loved the little guy. We loved how adorable he looked navigating on the giant 3D puzzle grabbing stars. We loved him even more when he got his own game. We'll probably love him even more if he got his on cartoon. It could be him discovering places and going on adventures finding treasure, not just stars. Each episode could even start like Uncle Traveling Matt from Fraggle Rock with Toad or Toadette receiving postcards from Captain Toad himself.

Metroid Anime

I feel that a Metroid show was is way overdue. Even during the height of Nintendo's popularity there should've been a Metroid cartoon. It would be moreso like the idea I have for the manga Zelda anime except it would be have original stories instead of it being adapted by the Metroid manga series. I think anime Samus would look awesome.

What video games do you think Nintendo should make into shows?