Did it Suck? - Wonder Woman '84

     Wonder Woman '84 has probably been the most longly anticipated superhero movie this year, seriously we’ve been waiting for it to come out since July and it kept getting delayed by COVID. Anyways it’s out now and we should clap our Amazonian bracelets in rejoice! This is the second installment in the Wonder Woman franchise and is the most recent entry in the DCEU. The last Wonder Woman film was a spectacular film that we all loved and it was the perfect homecoming for our favorite feminist icon. The bar was set high for the next installment. Was Wonder Woman '84 totally rad or do is it as played out as Members Only jackets and our neon leg warmers.

     As the '84 in the title implies, the film takes place in 1984, 60 plus years since the first year. Diana has adjusted to life in man’s world and is just as comfortable as the huge puffy 80s pants suits with huge shoulder pads she wears in the film. Early in the film Diana stops a heist which leads to a discovery of a magical stone that can grant wishes, at a price. Diana, still grieving over the loss of Steve Trevor in the first movie, wishes him to come back from the dead, which explains why Chris Pines is in the movie. We also meet one of the antagonist isn’t much of an antagonist in the film, but later turns into one as Barbara Minerva who is a nerdy awkward woman who never came into her looks and wishes to become like Diana and becoming a nerd girl turn hot trope. The main antagonist of the film, Maxwell Lord, is a con man who made a lot of promises who never came true and is basically pre-politics Donald Trump meets Ed McMahon with even a sting of cheesy commercials promising he can make dreams come true. As you can guess it he has been looking for the dream stone and later on wishes for its powers, becoming a human monkey paw in his quest for greed and power. Now it’s up to Diana and Steve to track down Lord and stop him before he sends the world into mayhem.

     The first film was basically an hour and a half ad for hope using one of the darkest periods of our world history, World War I, to inspire us all. Wonder Woman '84? Kinda. There is a message there folks and it does hit you around the end, using the 80s as the quintessential them for greed and lust for power and the theme of the movie being the antithesis of that,  not sacrificing your humanity for those things, which corrupts us all and can lead to a metaphorical mayhem, unlike the movie which had a literal mayhem as the world was close to an nuclear apocalypse. The message wasn’t consistent throughout the whole movie like the first movie which did beat you upside the head with it every moment in a good way, like BDSM. This time around it did a weird thing where it came full circle with young Diana at the Amazon Olympics in the beginning and it resurfacing around the end of the second arc, setting up the third arc and climax. Not well crafted but not an overall mess. What was good was that we got more Diana/Steve which was the height of the first film. Gal Gadot and Chris Pine have great chemistry. This is flipped as it is Diana who is the world (decade) expert as Steve is the new naïveté in the wonders of the 80s, you know with the being dead for 60+ years. You can pretty much describe the film as the further adventures of Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor, which could be a better title? The action scenes, while scaled back a bit for story, are still good. Not first film good but pretty ok. What was surprising was Kristen Wiig’s performance as Barbara Minerva a.k.a The Cheetah. We are used to seeing Wiig making us laugh in comedic roles and SNL, but she played the good girl gone bad villain well. Pedro Pascal’s Maxwell Lord was pretty solid. He played the cliche villain that’s doing all the bad stuff for good that we see in almost superhero film and tv show, but it didn’t feel sappy and over-dramatized as it usually is.

     So, does it suck? Not so much. While it was not as inspirational, impacting, or not as actioney as the first film it does set you on an adventure. Focused too much on story and plot, but entertaining. Most sequels try to go bigger than their first predecessors, the point that seems to be forgotten that they sometimes just have to be merely continuations and while, again, it didn’t delivered as much as the first film it still had its fun and entertaining parts. A pretty solid film that holds together. I’d give it 3 thank god they didn’t CGI Kristen Wiig as bad as CATS out of 5. 

What are your thoughts?

Was Super Mario Galaxy 2 Really Snubbed?

 

     Nintendo recently announced a lot of goodies to celebrate Mario’s 35th anniversary. A few new games and surprises include a Battle Royale version of Super Mario Bros, Game and Watch editions of old Mario games, and an enhanced port of Super Mario 3D World coming to the Switch. The golden mushroom of the reveal is easily an announcement of a collection of 3D Mario games. Titled Super Mario 3D All Stars, the collection will include just that, a collection of 3D Mario games (Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy). All cool right? Not apparently.

     Some fans are noticing, and are a bit bummed, that a certain intergalactic sequel isn’t a part of the collection, Super Mario Galaxy 2. Super Mario Galaxy, released 2010, was an official sequel to the previous predecessor, coincidentally titled Super Mario Galaxy. Galaxy was already a hit and critically acclaimed as fans were amazed at Nintendo flipping the franchise on its head, literally with gravity defying gameplay that had everyone’s favorite Italian plumber running completely around mini planets and launching to new ones. What else could you do? Expand to new destinations with a sequel, and let you ride a Yoshi. Thus Super Mario Galaxy 2 was launched. People loved the sequel as much as it’s predecessor. So why no love for Galaxy 2 by not including it in 3D All Stars? There are probable reasons.

     One reason could be is that they wanted to focus more on the major Mario releases, no sequels. If you think about it, each game marked a major milestone in the Mario franchise. Super Mario 64 was the first leap into 3D. Super Mario Sunshine was a unique entry in the series as it improved on the discovery and platform concepts of the Mario franchise while mainly being all about puzzles to accomplish missions. Galaxy really gave us something refreshing with it 360 roaming mechanic. All three games were iconic in their own right and Galaxy 2 would’ve oddly feel out of place as it just piggybacked off of Galaxy’s mechanics.

     Another reason could be perhaps be future plans Nintendo have in store for us. A galaxy sized picture for Galaxy 2 that we're not seeing. Nintendo could have a plan to Galaxy 2, along with other 64, GameCube, and Wii titles on the Nintendo Switch Online membership. It is fairly new and I feel that Nintendo will eventually include more titles than the usual NES and Super NES stuff they always release. If you honestly think of it, and the announcement of including the original Super Mario All Stars online, this collection could be a nice beginning to announce future Mario titles, and other games online. What are your thoughts?

Pokemon Let’s Go Should Be a Series

     Nintendo recently had a mini Pokémon reveal last week. To recap, they released the Sword and Shield expansion as well as announced mega evolutions for Pokémon Go and Pokémon Smile, a app to help you brush your teeth or something. There was also something about a sequel to Pokémon Snap, but who cares about that (everyone who’s been begging for a follow-up for YEARS). If you still haven’t gotten your Poké fix yet don’t despair as there will be another set of Pokémon announcements this week. A lot of fans are anticipating what could be announced this week. A Pokémon Stadium revival? Sinnoh remake? Pokémon Super Ultra Mega Sword and Shield? Not really for both but maybe it could and should be a follow-up to Pokémon Let’s Go Eevee and Pikachu.
     For those who aren’t aware, Pokémon Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee was a enhanced remake of Pokémon Yellow. Very heavy on the word enhanced as it was a complete update on the previous games, incorporating the catching mechanic of Pokémon Go meanwhile using a tweaked updated  battle mechanic from the main series, so it doesn’t seem too outdated compared to the recent Pokémon games. So, you’re probably asking why the big focus on Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee? Simple. A follow-up would be good, but it could also make Let’s Go an official spin-off series.
     Pokémon isn’t new to spin-off and their not new to remake as they usually churn out a remake version of the previous generation every other generation with Red and Blue being the first remake made a couple of years apart from when they were originally released and have been a constant thing every generation. Let’s Go gamewise feels more than just a remake compared to the past ones. It’s Combining classic gameplay with Pokémon Go’s capturing system gives Let’s Go a fresh approach, fresh enough that it can stand on its own and be a spinoff on its own. There is obviously more to it and more they can play around with and improve that it would be a shame to only limit it to one game, well technically two, but you get the drift. What are your thoughts?

What Animal Crossing New Horizons Should Do With it’s Missing Special Characters

     Animal Crossing New Horizons has been out for a while and let me say it has been a well worth the wait, as well the pill of sanity we’ve been taking since this quarantine. It features new mechanics like building you town up from the ground up and crafting everything from tools and furniture, but we're not here for that. One of the qualities that make us love Animal Crossing aside from all the building and collecting are its characters. While we see most of the villagers moving in and living on our islands, a big hole is missing, its core NCP characters. We see plenty of new characters like Orville and Wilbur our airport running dodos and new characters replacing old ones, like CJ and Daisie May replacing Chip and Joan. There isn’t that many characters that are long staples of the series, like fashion icon Gracie and psychic panther Katrina. Even greedy con man, I mean con fox, and rival to Tom Nook, Crazy Redd seems to be M.I.A. It does seem plausible that most of these characters are not completely gone and will show up as updates, future events, and probably DLC. But what will they do? Time to do some DIY speculations.

Digby

     When we were introduced to Digby in New Leaf, Isabelle's younger less popular brother, he was running the Happy Home Showcase where you could view the homes of other players and order item and furniture via Streetpass. Digby later worked for Nook Homes in Happy Home Designer where he, obviously help you design homes. The Nintendo Switch does't have the Streetpass functionality so, where does that leave Digby? Well, they can an online island version where you can visit, and order furniture, pretty much like Luna, another NPC character introduced in New Leaf. We can do that OR have Digby host a front lawn event where the villagers and the player will do a contest to see who can decorate their lawn the best where, if the player wins you can get exclusive items and furniture.

Gracie

     Gracie is you noted fashion maven and has been a staple of the series since the first game, Animal Forest. From cleaning her car to owning her own store in New Leaf. Gracie has been a high fashion angel helping towns in need of a makeover and upscale designer clothes. even having her on furniture line. It is kinda weird not seeing her in New Horizons, so far. Gracie can make her fashion debut on the Nintendo Switch by showing up on your island by giving you fashion DIY challenges to win even better clothes and even get her own shop if you win enough where Gracie can even sell Nintendo themed items. Mario/Luigi themed sofas? Actual shirt with a DK tie? High fashion.

Crazy Redd

     Crazy Redd is another staple that is oddly missing in New Horizons. Redd would set up his shop in your town and sell items, paintings, and furniture. Beware as some of the paintings would be found to be fake when donating them to Blathers in his museum. Redd would have the same role in most games. except in New Leaf where he would also set up to sell items during a festival. Redd's return can herald the return of paintings, which are also missing in New Horizons. Also Redd can also events where he can host festivals where you can play minigames in order to win exclusive Nintendo items and furniture or paintings, not counterfeit either. Maybe minigames where you spot the fakes?

Phyllis, Pete, and Pelly

     Phyllis, Pete. and Pelly used to work in the Post Office in the Animal Crossing games, with Pelly working mornings, Phyllis working evenings, and Pete delivering the mail. Their roles have been minimalized with only Pete appearing in New Leaf as the games stopped featuring a Post Office, New Horizons included. Where does that leave these characters? Running a speedy delivery service of course! Mail usually takes 24 hours to be delivered in the game. Don't have time for that? Well, unlocking Pete, Pelly, and Phyllis' delivery service could get your mail in a few hours. Just pay them a small fee. Pay them enough and you can get furniture, clothing, and items.

Brewster

     Brewster is the owner of The Roost, a coffee shop, in your town. Residents and special characters would come from all around to drink his famous coffee. So, how can they incorporate Brewster in New Horizons? They can have him be an unlockable and set up shop on your island after you order enough of his coffee. But that would be boring, so they can spruce things up by having you help him out by doing coffee deliveries for him and he can either pay you in beans which you can plant and sell back like turnips, receive exclusive furniture and items, or he can give you Gyroids as they are missing from the game as well.

Booker and Copper (and Blanca)

     Booker and Copper are police dogs in your town. In most games they would run the police station where they would be in charge of a lost and found, where things would be “lost” and you find them to   claim. There’s already a lost and found/recycling bin in the in Tom Nook and Isabelle’s office so there doesn’t seem to be a purpose for Booker and Copper, right? Wrong! We can have an event where Booker and Cooper can be promoted to detectives a la Sherlock Holmes and Watson and they’ve come to your town to solve a capper where a person (animal) is trying to steal a valuable item and you have to help them out. Who’s the culprit? None other than our resident copycat Blanca who will be disguised as villagers in order to steal the item. Just like in New Leaf Blanca would leave clues, facts about the villager in your town, that you can use to decipher who’s Blanca and who’s the real villager. You win the item when you guess correctly with all the villagers.

Tortimer

     Tortimer has been the residential mayor of the towns you moved in in the earlier Animal Crossing games. That role has been diminished in the recent games in the series as in New Leaf you were the mayor and now in New Horizons, you’re basically building the town island from the ground up. That didn’t stop Tortimer from not showing up in games as he had his own island where you could get currency and points by winning mini games which you could use to purchase items and furniture. We can still have that in New Horizons where you fly to his island, by getting Tortimer miles, and play mini games. But why stop there with just winning furniture, maybe have a special Tortimer event where it could be the long awaited return of demo NES games you could win when he visits your town or you go to his island.

Katrina

     Katrina is a black panther fortune teller where she would set up her tent in your town and she would see into your future. She would tell if you had good luck or bad luck for the week and she would either cleanse you for a set number of bells or give you an exclusive item for protection. We could see her being an unlockable when she comes to your island and she reads your fortune a set number of times. Her good luck can range from trees and bell rocks giving you more money than usual and regular rocks giving you better ore, maybe gems like ruby, emerald, and sapphire nuggets. Not just gold nuggets in which you can craft better furniture. Bad luck could be bell rocks giving you less money and more wasp trees than usual. She can give out exclusive items like crystal balls, rabbit foot, or maybe a four leaf clover DIY tutorial. In October she can even have an event where she gives out the Spooky series, instead of Jack.

Harriet

     Harriet is a poodle uses her noodle to create the most amazing hairstyles in her own boutique Shampoodle. New Horizons already does this for you with their new customization mechanic which you can already unlock early in the game. So, what is Harriet to do? Well I guess this means that Shampoodle is in need of a new makeover. Shampoodle can be a boutique/wig and hat shop where adding to the hairstyles that you’ve already unlocked, you can choose to add two tones, or highlights. You can even have rainbow hair if that is possible. As for the wigs and hats, of course you can purchase extravagant and out of this world ones that aren’t already available at the Able Sisters’ Shop. Maybe exclusive Nintendo hats and wigs. A Big bro, Lil’ bro, Wario, and Waluigi hat? Maybe a Princess Peach or a Princess Daisy wig and crown? Bowser Mohawk? Maybe a Link cap. Fashion varies.

Cyrus and Reese

     Cyrus and Reese debuted in New Leaf where they ran a thrift shop/repostering shop ReTail. It would be a shame that we would only get one game appearance from them, considering that they laid the ground for New Horizons’ biggest mechanic. So, what they can do in New Horizons is that they can probably come to town and offer new DIY items.

Don and Mr. Resetti

     Mr Resetti's omission from New Horizons is probably the biggest shock to us. For most of the series Mr. Resetti has been talking off the ear of players, giving us long long loooooonnnnng lecture about the ethics of saving and not “cheating” by resetting the game. We’ve kinda seen it coming where in New Leaf, having Mr. Resetti, and his more laid back brother Don, actually be optional meaning you could reset the game. But I know some of us with morals and integrity chose him anyway. So, what could New Horizons due with one of its most popular characters? With his absence I’m sure this leave a lot of residents thinking that they can cheat and go unpunished. Which leaves Mr. Resetti and Don to form a task force: Hyper Super Surveillance Force Five (two other villagers can join)! It’s up to you to go patrol the island and stop people from doing not so nice things. You may get a few exclusive items and furniture for your heroic deeds. Hyper Super Surveillance Force Five Mecha? Maybe a Mr. Resetti suit and overalls.

What are your thoughts? What do you think New Horizons can do with these charaters?

Is Harley Quinn the DCEU’s Deadpool?

     Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn (Oops due to name changes it is now Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey) is out now. The movie staring everyone’s favorite Not-Clearly-All-There sweetheart Harleen Quinzel better known as Harley Quinn. Now this isn’t exactly a review of the movie, which was an amazing zany fantabulous trip of fun and violence that matched Ms. Quinn’s personality and was only as outrageous as its incredibly long movie title, but is more about the contents within the film and how it harkens to another crazy comic book character but back to the movie. It had it all quick and crazy pacing that was only showed up with its amazing fight scenes. This and Harley’s character and quirky personality reminded me of another crazy comic book messiah of mischief, Deadpool.
    For those who are new and don’t know exactly who or what Deadpool is, he is the wise cracking mercenary who’s love for violence and one liners is almost as big as his love for chimichangas. We don’t call him the merc with a mouth for any reason. There seems to be a big connection to Harley and Deadpool that is not only obvious in both characters being as being as crazy larger than life characters that are just as insane as their fighting gets. There’s even a bit parallels in both movies that are over the top violence and comedy bonanzas. Harley even takes in a kid protege in Cassandra Cain like Deadpool did with the fire wielding kid at the end of Deadpool 2. So you could say that what Warner Bros is giving our miss Harley Quinn the Deadpool treatment in its DCEU, right? If not they should.
     How well the critics are loving the new Fantabulous Emancipation of one Harley Quinn, oops again I mean Harley Quinn and the Birds of Prey and whether they are going to make a whole franchise out of her there is a abundance of untapped potential in what they can do not only with her character other than giving her movies R-ratings, and a pretty lame name change if we’re really being honest. As big and over the top and full of personality that Birds of Prey was, I feel like things can be bigger and grander if WB decides to turn Harley into her own movie franchise. They can really up the ante in fights scenes, character, and story that outdo every movie. They can go full Charlie’s Angels Full Throttle where they went, umm Full Throttle on the action and campiness of the first film which made it such a gem and is appreciated by fans of the series and millennials all over social media. It wouldn’t hurt to match that in promotion as it has done wonders for Deadpool and his franchise. I want to see Baby Harleys, I Didn’t See Birds of Prey t-shirts and I’m a huge loser for it, and witty jokes on Twitter, even Oscar snub jokes or them making fun of Joker and Joaquin Phoenix’s passionate and moving speech about cow milk. Almost as much as I kinda want Deadpool to tackle Moulin Rouge after that Diamonds Are a Girl’s best friend hallucination scene. What are your thoughts?

Characters That Should Be Added to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate DLC 2 Pack

     Last week we were treated to the last, and long awaited, DLC fighter for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate lived up to its name by including every character that was featured in its past installments. But they were not done yet, by announcing that they will include five characters as part of a DLC pack as well and their own stage and a collection of music from their series. Was it another character from a third party game like Banjo, Joker, and Terry Bogard? No, it was Elise from Fire Emblem, yes folks another Fire Emblem character. Elise’s inclusion to the franchise would be a nice ending, except it isn’t. Along with her announcement, there will be another DLC pack, along with five other characters to be added. Six slots need to be filled, but whom? This is a list of who I think could be good inclusions to Smash's roster in the next DLC Pack.



Impa

Impa’s inclusion into the Smash Bros series has been long deserved. For most who don’t know, most incarnations of Impa have been fierce Sheikah warriors who have served the Royal Hylian family for years. Impa herself has been the personal bodyguard to Princess Zelda herself. So Impa is more than qualified to join the fray. As for her moveset, they could be a combination of Sheik and Zelda’s to give the players who missed the Zelda/Sheik duo that was recently split in Ultimate and the Nintendo/3DS games.

Dixie Kong

Dixie’s been a top choice pick for fans ever since the Melee games. At one point she was even considered to be added to Brawl but alas things weren’t meant to be. Maybe Ultimate is finally the opportunity for Dixie to swing right in. In the games Dixie used her ponytail as a weapon and to hover over things so it’s only natural for her to use them for attacks. Dixie could be for those fighters who want to keep their distance between competitors. She could even use her ponytail to deflect projectiles and for recovery purposes, floating back on stage. Dixie could whip the other fighters into shape.

Dr. Eggman

Sonic’s looking a little lonely as being one of the few characters in the series that is the sole representation of his franchise. Even Ryu has Ken! It’s been a long time coming for someone else from the Sonic franchise to join him. Tails and Shadow seem to be the top choices, but they’re also the most predictable and probably be clones, oops ECHO FIGHTERS. Dr. Eggman would be the perfect choice to mix things up and surprise fans. His attacks could range from his evil collection of gadgets and he could use his Death Egg as a final smash to deliver the final blow. Also, imagine seeing him, Bowser, King K. Rool, and Ganondorf in the same game. Iconic villains of video game history unite!

Medusa

Medusa has been a formidable for Pit and Palutena where Pit, umm PITTed himself against her forces. Before the events of Uprising and the original Lid Icarus she waged a war against Palutena, so there’s a grudge there. So how will Medusa fare in Smash? They can use attacks she used against Pit in Uprising and even her snakes as projectiles like she did in the original Kid Icarus.Plus it’s be nice to hear Cree Summer verbally smack talk Palutena and Viridi in one of those Palutena guidelines.

K.K. Slider

Yes, another Animal Crossing character. We already got Villager and Isabelle, who is fancy Echo Fighter with flair, and adorableness, so what will set K.K. apart? He can have attacks based on his guitar, literal killer beat attacking you with notes. His final could be DJ K.K. where you could jam right before you fly off stage.

Professor E. Gadd

Luigi’s Mansion is becoming a big series on its own so why not celebrate that by adding Professor E. Gadd? E. Gadd have introduced a ton of gadgets all throughout the Mario series, so why not use it. Magic paintbrush that uses the paint effect Inkling uses, damaging other fighters with paint that lingers on. He mainly attacks with his Poltergust sucking in character for quick attacks or thrashing them about like in Luigi’s Mansion Dark Moon and 3. You could even use the elements from the first Luigi’s Mansion, switching them out. Paranormal studies find that Professor would be a good inclusion.

Tingle

Tingle’s inclusion would be only because he would be a good joke character and we don’t have that many in Smash. Him being a joke character wouldn’t mean he wouldn’t be fun as well? He can use attacks based off his spin-off series and might even blow himself up with Chuchus, hurling himself at fighters, damaging them. Tingle would be fun!

Rick, Kine, and Coo

Sometimes you need your friends. These three helped Kirby in Kirby’s Dreamland 2. They can help our little pink puffball in Ultimate using attacks they used in the game. You could also switch them out like Pokémon Trainer and in Kirby Star Allies. Gooey might even make an appearance.

Cinderace

Smash loves adding Pokémon. Smash loves adding starters as well. Cinderace also seems to be the popular final evolution for the recent Gen 8 games (Pokemon Sword and Shield) and I’m sure that the Pokémon Company was pushing Sakurai to add him in the game.

Lip

Lip’s stick has been a staple since Melee, so I’m sure Lip would be wanting to be reunited with it after being separated from it after all these years. Lip is from the game Panel De Pon, which we got as Tetris Attack here in the states. So being in an iconic game that has been a staple in Nintendo’s history warrants her being added to the roster. Aside from giving her opponents energy sapping flowers she could summon block to hurl at other fighters and her final smash could be an actual Tetris Attack where she summons a ton of blocks and rack up combos and hit points.

Who do you think should be added?