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Pokemon Legends: Z-A Review

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It’s time for the latest big Pokemon adventure. I was definitely hyped to get this one as soon as they announced it. At this point Pokemon is just one of those games that you have to get right away. It may not always have the life or death stakes that you will see from other big games but the pure gameplay and quality of life features are always on point. This game is incredibly smooth and while you may run into the occasional issue, I can recommend it without any reservations. It’s really just a lot of fun all the way through.

The game starts off with the main character getting off the train into a new town. His luggage is stolen but a girl helps him get it back and asks if he wants to join her team. She helps keep the city safe while working at a struggling hotel. The manager, AZ is a guy who is said to be 3000 years old and is rather mysterious. Still, this means the main character has a place to live and immediately has 3 friends so it’s a pretty good deal. He agrees to help and gradually rises up the ranks. Still, there is something mysterious about the tower in the middle of the city. Terry may be uncovering a mystery that leads to disaster!

Now to be clear, around 90% of the game is just happy slice of life adventures. If you’re looking for a super epic game, this isn’t really it. Although the climax does end up being pretty intense so I have to give it some credit there. The game also has a good amount of callbacks to the original XY games and the continuity is pretty strong. I wasn’t expecting much in that area so it was a pretty nice bonus. Also while the game isn’t particularly difficult, the climax did raise the level for the opponents quite a bit. I ended the game around level 80 and that felt right for an adventure like this.

The main campaign took me around 20 hours and there is a short post game that would probably add a few more. You’ve got a good amount of content for your dollar here. Completing the Pokedex and all of the challenges will probably take a little time as well although probably not a ton. The game keeps the recent addition to the games where every member of the party gets EXP at the same time which helps a lot. You can also earn screws to permanently increase the exp boost and other passive effects.

I ended up getting enough screws for most of the passive effects. There are also about 140 side missions, I beat maybe 20 of those. They’re mostly all really fast and easy so you can have fun going through those. The most important thing here is that the game is just a lot of fun to play. It’s why you can even go out of your way to play the bonus content because it’s very easy to access. I didn’t come close to 100% or anything like that but I certainly had more fun exploring and doing bonus content than in other games. It just ended up feeling natural.

Now when it comes to the gameplay, this is a full real time adventure. So when you call the Pokemon out, you can have it use any of the 4 moves. There is no PP or energy meter this time so you can spam the attacks after the cooldown is over. This is fun but it does mean that the game is way less strategic than usual. Just spam your attacks until you win. Potions and revives are dirt cheap so you can keep on healing your Pokemon until you win. It’s why you should rarely lose here. The only time you may lose is if you let your guard down and let the Pokemon attack you directly. You have a health bar of your own but you can’t see the progress of it so sometimes you will die when you thought you had more health.

Occasionally your Pokemon will attack a wall by mistake or something like that but otherwise I didn’t really encounter many glitches. At times if there are too many Pokemon, the game can’t load them all so they teleport out of nowhere but these instances are few and far between. While the game may not be the most strategic, I still had a lot of fun battling. That’s a good thing since you will have to defeat well over 200-300 opponents over the course of the story. Many fights are over in less than a minute though so I have to underscore how quick they are.

Meanwhile the graphics are pretty solid. The game looks good even if it’s not quite at 2025 level. It looks like a game you may have played on the PS3 at some point. Nintendo isn’t worried about graphics though, they’re here to hit you with intense gameplay and they succeed on that front. The soundtrack is also way better than you may have expected. The songs have a lot of pop to them and there is a large amount of variety. Various bosses have their own theme which is really nice since lately you are stuck with just a general boss theme.

As you play through the game, you will have more and more areas where you can engage in a little platforming. It’s pretty fun and a good way to get more items. The world has an abundance of rare candies and screws to trade for more power ups. They even seem to be unlimited but I could be wrong about that. Either way the game is set up so that it’s very easy to level up. This allows you to switch up your party if you want to. For the most part I didn’t do much switching as I get attached to my main fighters but it wouldn’t set you back much if you did. Of course I recommend saving your rare candies as long as possible since each one is a guaranteed level up so you get the best bang for your buck if you wait until near the end in order to snag it.

Overall, This was a great game. I do get the concerns about the company phoning in the effort to an extent. It’s clear that this wasn’t a super high budget game and the lack of voice acting is still disturbing. That being said, it’s a lot of fun to play and at the end of the day that is the most important part for any video game. It never felt like the story was dragging on for me and there was no point where I just wanted to put it down. I could easily keep on marathoning it for a long time and I have to give the company a lot of credit there. The gameplay itself is really tight and that makes up for having a smaller world/cheaping out on different areas. I’ll still be eagerly awaiting the next Pokemon game as soon as it comes out!

Overall 8/10

Sensor Review

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It’s time for one of Ito’s horror titles. This one definitely brings on the scares but I would say it is significantly less scary than any of his anthologies. It’s just missing that crazy atmosphere those had, but it could be because as a serialized story there is just less chance to be as weird. Also it is scarier than some of the short stories so maybe it was more luck of the draw than anything else. Either way it’s interesting but does have a very weak ending.

The story starts with a girl named Kyoko who happens across a village where everyone seems a bit off. They insist on her sticking around to see the stars with them as they explain how they have cosmic awareness. There was a prophet who used to live there and when he died, his remains were in the volcano and occasionally his golden hair shoots out. The whole thing seems a bit hard to believe but they all die during an eruption while Kyoko is protected by the golden hair. It all merges with her and she now understands the truth of the universe. The problem is that various cults are now after her and she must spend the rest of her life on the run.

This brings us to a reporter named Wataru who becomes interested in the case. Unfortunately the more that he digs into it, the more he becomes tangled within this affair. Why has Kyoko not aged in 60 years? Do these cults actually have super powers or are they just crazy? Wataru’s world is about to go upside down from normal events to something that does more than just border alongside the supernatural. If he’s not careful, this will be the end of his short lived career.

The story works on a mostly episodic perspective until the end. Of course with this being one volume it does move pretty fast during the climax. The story also maintains the mystery angle all the way to the end so for the cosmic stuff you just have to roll with it. Kyoko has vague powers regarding seeing the future and being able to read people’s minds but she is unfortunately not able to see her own future and can’t read the minds of the characters who really matter. By the end it’s hard to say how much is still her and how much is the cosmic awareness within her actually trying to get out.

It makes for an interesting storyline but it does come at her expense. We never got to know her for very long so it’s hard to really say what her real personality was. She is a good character though and stays strong no matter how many trials she goes through. In a way it would be an interesting predicament to suddenly have all knowledge but to the point where it is crippling so you have to actively turn your cosmic mind off and on at times.

Meanwhile for Wataru, he’s completely out of his depth the whole time. He’s not bad but a little slow on the ball. It feels like he spends the whole series confused. For a while there it makes sense but once he’s seen enough things, I think he’s just got to roll with it. It should be obvious right away why people can’t see him in the past and for the stalker girl who was after him, he needed a more aggressive approach once she was working with a whole evil organization. Now there’s not much he could have done about all of that, but that’s why he needed a more aggressive front.

The stalker girl was probably the most interesting antagonist though. In some ways I would say she is the scariest because she’s a total psycho and with her magic powers, no cop can stop her. So Wataru has to truly live in fear whenever she shows up. Her eventual goal of merging with him would also be super scary. The cult leader gets some intense visuals but the reason he’s less scary is probably because his goals involve the cosmos and you can tell that he is absolutely over his head. In a sense that makes the terror be a bit less because he can’t accomplish his goal, compared to the girl who could crush Wataru.

Aside from the general horror, the volume also goes into some gross horror which tends to always be a thing with this author. There’s one story about a bunch of suicidal bugs who want people to smash them and then they regenerate to do it all again. Definitely some tough visuals to look at but I will give the author some credit. It’s such a specifically spooky concept that I don’t think anyone else would have come up with that.

Some of the stories in the anthology could go a bit too far in different areas as well while this one feels more on the same side. You can tell Ito isn’t afraid to tackle any topic and the volume is still dark but at least people are mainly dying in normal ways this time. They aren’t drowning in oil or anything like that. It would be a bit tough to recommend this volume without knowing a lot about someone’s threshold for all kinds of horror though. Then for people who are huge horror buffs, some of this might be a little too subtle with the slow burn approach to really get them.

So the appeal feels like it would be rather narrow. Also like I mentioned, the ending is really underwhelming. I feel like it’s going for a full cycle kind of ending but even if it makes thematic sense, it’s just not very satisfying. I would have either liked a big victory for Kyoko as she finally cuts loose or more of an epilogue showing what she is doing now. Otherwise the ending just feels a bit weak because it’s going to take place over a long time frame that doesn’t really end up affecting the Earth for a while. Maybe I just needed a bit more of a classic horror fake out or something.

The artwork has that classic Ito feel to it. While some background characters can start to look really similar, the abstract nature of the art helps to make it very scary. The art also goes really hard for the big zoom ins when you have a villain with a scary face or some other shocking visual like that. The style works perfectly for horror like this and will definitely keep you at the edge of your seat.

Overall, Sensor is definitely an interesting manga. It’s one of those very eerie titles where everything is just a bit off. I don’t think it’s Ito’s most effective or engaging one as the plot isn’t super interesting but it will still have you doing some thinking. I also think whenever you can get the reader to be slightly unnerved, it means the horror is succeeding. The volume also manages to do it with minimal shock value. It’s still not necessarily my thing and I wouldn’t rank it too high, I would sooner re read it than some of the others. It would also make for a pretty fun movie. So if you like horror, then you should definitely check it out.

Overall 5/10

Fatal Fury Special Review

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Fatal Fury is one of those video game series that has done pretty well for itself. It has tons of games and remakes over the years and yet it has always struggled to reach the same heights as Street Fighter and Tekken. It’s tough for any fighting series to match those two though. Street Fighter has decades of legacy among the core fans and Tekken has its legendary story. Fury is sort of stuck in the middle of that and has to share a lot of screentime with King of Fighters. Still, this is a pretty fun game to check out on the Nintendo Switch Online. A true retro title that keeps you on your toes.

I jumped right into Arcade Mode and naturally picked Terry Bogard as my character. That guy is a whole lot of fun to play and he’s also a good all around fighter. So I couldn’t really ask for much more than that. The arcade mode is quite a bit longer than the average one. Usually you have around 8 fights in this mode but this game went closer to 15. Not bad eh? It really makes you work for this and you fight all kinds of secret bosses.

It was a good decision because it does make you feel like you are playing the special version here. The gameplay is very smooth and you will have fun mixing up your combos. The game does a good job of not letting it feel like the villains know all of your moves ahead of time. You can actually “trick” them with a mixup every once in a while which was definitely a good thing. It helps make the whole thing feel more realistic.

Naturally the graphics are fun with the retro sprite look. It will feel like you were playing the game right at the arcade. The soundtrack is also very old school and fast paced to match the action. There are a good amount of levels for the game considering how old it is. There isn’t an abundance of content here so the value is really going to be in the multiplayer. That’s true for most fighting games to be honest. I’d say the ones with a robust story mode are outnumbered by the multiplayer ones, certainly back in these days that was even more true.

So compared to newer games in the series this one won’t be able to compete but if you look at it in a vacuum, this is a good game. It’s very basic but delivers what you are looking for in a fighting game. The characters all have distinct movesets and the combat is executed well. The gameplay is smooth and the game doesn’t seem overly unbalanced. I’m sure it probably would be in the hands of an expert but for the most part on a casual level it feels like the devs did a really good job here.

At this point I own most of the Fatal Fury games. I’m certainly not caught up but I’m always glad to play a fun fighter like this one. The Switch Online has been a great way to play through a lot of retro games so I look forward to seeing which ones come up next. There is certainly still room for quite a lot more titles in the future especially if they keep on adding more consoles.

You probably won’t need rewind a whole lot for this one compared to some of the other old games but of course it can never really hurt. Some of the secret bosses at the end can really hit like a tank and the game’s sped is just fast enough where it can be difficult to react to their attacks at times. You have to absolutely bring your A game at all times and also have to be careful not throwing out too many big hits. They deal a lot of damage but naturally leave you open for quite a while as well.

Overall, Fatal Fury Special is a really good game. It’s one of those titles that reminds you of the fundamentals the whole time. You can’t just close your eyes and start spamming specials. Instead you have to slowly close the gap and win. Also I couldn’t figure out how to use most of the special attacks even if I wanted to do them. So I did a lot of sweeps and throws which is a fun and balanced way to play anyway. I would definitely recommend checking this game out.

Overall 7/10

Bubsy in Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind Review

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Uncle Bubsy has returned! It’s always fun to play another title in the franchise, even if this one does end up feeling a little more dated than the last few. The game doesn’t have the best gimmicks and is a reminder of why sometimes the platformers should really play it straight. When you start to get into all of these gimmicks, it distracts from what could have been a better game. Ah well, that’s just how it goes sometimes though.

The general format here is that of a 2D platformer. You are trying to get to the yarn ball at the end of the level but along the way you will have to dodge several obstacles and take on enemies. Bubsy himself is very fragile so a single hit will take out his life. Yes, there are no rings to protect you or a bigger form to absorb one hit. If you get hit at all then it’s curtains and it is very difficult not to get hit here. I’m afraid that puts you in a rough spot because there are a ton of obstacles here.

The game does not hold back in terms of difficulty. This is the kind of game where you really have to concentrate at all times because if your concentration slips at any moment, then it is curtains for you. There will be no coming back from all of that. Of course that is where the rewind feature comes in handy. Without that, it would be incredibly difficult to defeat this game. You would certainly have to be going slow which is what the developers intended. My problem is that this goes against the genre.

Now this might just be me, but I like to be zooming through levels. I don’t want to have to be going really slow and watching out for things at all times. I want to be having fun going through the levels. This is hardly the only game to do that though so it’s really just a debate between me and the genre itself. If you can get past that, then the game is fundamentally sound. I can’t really give any big negatives against it.

The graphics are also pretty solid and that’s in large part because they have a really fun artstyle here. It’s the kind of artstyle that will continue to look really good even 20 years from now. So Bubsy did good there and the soundtrack is decent although I will say it is a lot more forgettable. I couldn’t recall any of the tunes for you right here but during the gameplay they certainly sounded good enough.

There isn’t a lot of replay value because the game itself is fairly short. Not like there is an extended postgame here or anything like that. Of course that is fairly par for the course when it comes to platformers. Ultimately it’s a game that I would recommend checking out but only because it’s on the Switch Online. If you had to buy it, then I’d say to make sure you could get it for around $10-$15. Purely because you won’t be playing it for very long and you want to make sure not to overdo it.

One of the ways I’d improve this game aside from removing the maze like structure would be to fix the jumping. The mechanics here are way too floaty and it makes things difficult for you when it comes to momentum. The jumps are harder than they should be and naturally that just results in more deaths. Seeing as how platforming is all about jumping and crisp movements, this ends up hurting the game as a whole and should be a top priority to tighten up. I would also say you should be able to endure at least one hit and adding more checkpoints would be a nice addition as well.

Overall, Bubsy is a good game but definitely not a great one. There are too many obstacles to have to run around and the mazes can get rather old. The bosses are also a bit glitchy with one of them just dying and nothing happened so I had to restart the battle. If they had stuck to pure platforming then this would have probably worked but the back tracking and dying to every obstacle really takes its toll here. I will still be hyped for a more modern adventure though because you can see the potential here. It’s just a little dated in multiple ways.

Overall 6/10

Ranking all Season 2 Death Battles

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It’s time to finally dive into season 2 of watching all of the Death Battle fights! This one certainly took me a long while but in my defense it’s much longer than season 1 and may be the longest out of all the Death Battle fights. Over 30 fights in a single season is absolutely crazy. You can feel the animation starting to improve quite a bit in this season and it’s all a precursor to how eventually some of the fights would feel like real animated events! Now lets see which fights were the best and the worst!

32. Ivy VS Orchid: Verdict: Correct

They really didn’t try much with this fight. Not only is it potentially the shortest Death Battle in the series but there really just isn’t much to it. It feels like the fight was made in a rush and there are many season 1 fights that would still manage to defeat this one as well. I’m not the biggest fan of either character though so if a fight had to be sacrificed then it might as well be this one.

31. Fulgore VS Sektor: Verdict Correct

Definitely one of those fights that feels like a season 1 battle. The fight is ultra short and there’s really nothing to it. No story or any lore that could make the fight reach the next level. Ultimately as a result I would have to give it a thumbs down, it just doesn’t have any replay value.

30. Hercule Satan vs Dan Hibiki: Verdict: Correct

This fight was definitely more about the gags and pointing out how both fighters were really weak. I get it thematically but I would have liked to have seen more actual fighting. The guest stars and easter eggs were fun but ultimately this would have to be one of the weakest Death Battles on the basis that there just wasn’t enough of a battle here. It goes against the concept of the show if you think about it.

29. Beast VS Goliath: Verdict Correct

This fight’s another really short one and both fighters are just hand to hand style combatants so there isn’t a lot of variety. It’s a good fight for what it’s worth and the sound effects are intense but this is definitely going to stay near the bottom of the list. It just isn’t memorable.

28. Chuck Norris VS Segata Sanshiro Verdict: Incorrect

Ties are never a good idea. Beyond that I thought this was a pretty fun battle though. They went all in with the memes and letting the characters really go all out. It was one of the highest stakes Death Battles with the whole universe in the battle. It may have been played for laughs but it worked out pretty well in the end.

27. Shao Kahn VS M. Bison Verdict: Incorrect

This was a pretty fun fight and definitely a retro one as it felt like something out of season 1. It may not have had the highest production values but I did appreciate the various fake outs here. Bison nearly managed to do something at the end but ultimately he was outgunned in the fight. The battle could have popped out a bit more though.

26. Ryu Hayabusa VS Strider Hiryu Verdict: Correct

Strider really went hard with the speedblitzing here! As always it’s fun to see the battle use the various gameplay mechanics and everything to feel super authentic. It may not have had too much dialogue or extra polish to feel more cinematic but the sprite fight itself was really sharp here. I can’t say that I had any main complaints.

25. Luigi VS Tails: Verdict: Correct

It’s always fun to watch an episode that Death Battle got right back in the day where you think it could falter in a rematch. It’s a fun battle but it does get beat by some of the other fights coming up since it just isn’t quite as cinematic. They could have done more to make the characters really shine and do something iconic.

24. Batman VS Captain America: Verdict Correct

Technically Batman fights guys with super strength all the time so this shouldn’t be too difficult for him. It’s a fight that I wish could have happened in a later season though because it definitely feels very dated. It’s a fun visual fight but there’s not much of a story and it’s also very fast so unfortunately it will go down as one of the weaker Death Battles.

23. Gaara VS Toph: Verdict Incorrect

Toph is strong but Gaara’s just way too versatile and his defense will always overpower her offense. A fun fight though and the retro sprite look definitely helps add some charm. It’s not quite able to hang with the best of the Death Battle adventures but I was glad there was a lot of interaction going on here. The quieter death battles tend to be the weaker ones although I doubt we’ll see any more of those after this season.

22. Godzilla VS Gamera: Verdict Correct

It’s always nice to see Godzilla fighting and not just standing around to get hit. His battle with Gamera is pretty fun. Their movements are going to be a little limited due to their size but I did appreciate the backdrop for the battle. Additionally the serious tone is fitting for such a grand kaiju battle. It may not be my personal favorite fight but it is a strong battle within the season.

21. Darth Vader VS Doctor Doom Verdict: Correct

This was a pretty fun fight. It started out a bit basic but lasted long enough where each character really got to show their stuff. I was definitely on Team Doom all the way because he just has way more options at his disposal and overall higher stats. It’s a quality fight which may not be near the top but holds its own.

20. Guts VS Nightmare Verdict: Correct

It’s always good to have a classic swordfight and I was not surprised to see this be a very solid one. We had some solid fake outs and the choreography was on point. In a way there isn’t a ton to say about this one but that’s not always a bad thing. Just a quality fight from start to finish with good technical elements.

19. Ragna VS Sol Badguy: Verdict Incorrect

I’d have to lean on Ragna here. He’s just a quicker fighter and his combat style is also so savage that it will be hard for Sol to hang in there. It’s a good fight that really shows off the fast combos. Perhaps a little forgettable next to some of the other fights but a good all around battle either way. I would definitely recommend checking this one out and hopefully Ragna gets to return at some point.

18. He‑Man VS Lion‑O Verdict: Correct

This was a pretty fun battle with a solid amount of homages to both series. The music was definitely on point with both characters getting some narrow comebacks in there. Definitely a fight I could see myself going back to with all of that polish.

17. Pokémon Battle Royale Verdict: Incorrect

A battle royale between the big 3 starters of Kanto is a fun idea and each one got to really show off their stuff. That being said, we all know Charizard would definitely win this one. I appreciated the remix of the classic battle theme at the end of the episode and this one was definitely thematic. Definitely has that old school violence Death Battle was known for so you’ll feel bad for the fallen Pokemon though. A fairly solid Death Battle.

16. Donkey Kong VS Knuckles Verdict: Incorrect

Cmon now, Knuckles would destroy Donkey Kong in a fight! Ah well this was still a pretty fun fight overall and we got a whole lot of changes in scenery. I can appreciate the effort that went into this one since it’s just a lot of fun overall. Try finding the unofficial remake of this fight where someone showed how it would really go down. Either way this is certainly a classic battle.

15. Fox McCloud VS Bucky O’Hare Verdict: Correct

Gotta say it was pretty nostalgic seeing the Super Smash Bro combos for Fox here. He really gave it to Bucky throughout the fight. I definitely don’t remember seeing this one back in the day. The music and everything was fun, plus I liked the intro to set up the fight. All in all, a lot of good things to say about this battle.

14. Green Arrow vs Hawkeye Verdict: Correct

At the end of the day these two may both be pretty close in terms of actual archery skills but I’d say that Hawkeye’s feats are simply better. He’s done way more over the years than Green Arrow and I would trust him to make the critical shot every time. It was fun to see the difference in their arsenals as well as they both like messing around with arrows but in different ways. A simple but effective battle.

13. Ryu VS Scorpion: Verdict Incorrect

Scorpion’s regen is good but ultimately he’s definitely not taking out Ryu. Ryu’s hits are far too powerful for that and the damage would be way past anything Scorpion can endure. Still, it was a really good fight with a lot of back and forth so I can definitely appreciate that. The fight was a good credit to both series and the dialogue was really sharp.

12. Tigerzord VS Gundam Epyon: Verdict Correct

The story was trying a bit too hard on this one but I did enjoy the lyrical song at the end and the fight was definitely intense. I’m not particularly familiar with either character but you could still get the context of what’s going on here. The fight had a lot of good back and forth although it doesn’t stick out as much as it could have.

11. Kirby VS Majin Buu: Verdict Incorrect

This fight is very creative and really allows Buu to go through all his forms so I have to give the fight a lot of credit. That being said, Kirby would stand absolutely no chance here. He’s definitely not built for this level of power. I did enjoy the fight though and so this is a bit higher than I would have expected going in. There was clearly a lot of passion that went into this one and the visuals/songs were great.

10. Terminator VS RoboCop Verdict: Correct

This one was definitely really good. I was impressed and it shattered my expectations. For starters the fight was nice and long which was really cool. It felt like a full on saga at that point with each character really getting to show off a lot of what they can do. The gun spin that Robocop did near the end was also really hype.

9. Mega Man vs Astro Boy Verdict: Incorrect

Astro Boy is powerful but how are you going to take down Mega Man? I did like seeing the Rush fusion form since that always looked like a really cool finishing form though. Mega Man also got to show off a whole lot of his super forms and power ups which was nice. It was a good battle and I just wish it could have had more of a fancy setup/intro to really get things rolling.

8. Wolverine vs Raiden Verdict: Correct

All right this is one of those fights that I completely did not remember so it was pretty fun to see it. The CG has aged really well and Raiden’s speedblitz was really on point. This is more or less how I would picture the fight to go down, albeit it a bit quicker. Wolverine is strong but regeneration will ultimately not be a match for pure speed and skill. That will give you the edge as well as the win every time! A real impressive fight.

7. Pokemon vs Digimon Verdict: Correct

This was always a pretty intense fight and it stands the test of time. Low key I do think Red would put up way more of a fight but Digimon do tend to scale above Pokemon. It really should have been called Red vs Tai or something though instead of just generally Pokemon vs Digimon since this was a true 1 v 1. I suppose this title would get more clicks though. Either way it was definitely a real fun battle and you feel bad for Red in the end.

6. Deadpool VS Deathstroke Verdict: Incorrect

This fight is as crazy as you would expect with a lot of 4th wall breaking gags and Deadpool messing with Deathstroke. Definitely a good way to do this kind of battle and the 3D was nice because the fight was long and they got to do a whole lot with it. It may lose to some of the other 3D fights of the season but beats most of the traditional ones. It’s also nice hearing the tunes they picked for this episode. As the series goes on they would use less licensed music like this.

5. Boba Fett VS Samus Aran: Verdict Correct

Another fun thematic fight right here. The artstyle really looked like it came out of a Metroid Prime cutscene and the fight was high action from the start. I definitely had no issues at all with this one. It may not have the length and story needed to pass some of the higher ranked fights but this was a really good one all the way through. Definitely a fight that was worthy of being a good remake.

4. Iron Man VS Lex Luthor Verdict: Correct

This was a super fun battle, the 3D ones always are right? The dialogue was super good and this plays out how you would expect the fight to go down. It’s a long fight with plenty of time for both characters to get their shots in and will always be a very memorable battle. One of Iron Man’s final lines is one of the most iconic ones in all of Death Battle!

3. Solid Snake VS Sam Fisher: Verdict Correct

Wow, I was extremely impressed with this one. The fight is seasons ahead of time in terms of overall quality and it only didn’t get higher because the top 2 are absolutely insane. The animation for this fight is really incredible and the length is impressive. Both characters are really portrayed to perfection here and the fight is intense. The music is the only miss in this video.

2. Goku VS Superman 2 Verdict: Incorrect

At this point it’s a bit of a meme on how out of character Superman was the whole time in this fight but at the same time you have to appreciate just how intense the fight is. The battle is really solid and I would say it holds up well as a solid rematch. Naturally Goku should be owning him the whole time and the ending to this fight can be pretty annoying with how condescending it is. It doesn’t take away from the fact that the actual fight is still really on point though.

1. Yang vs Tifa Verdict: Correct

Tifa may be strong but most of the best feats from her game are with Cloud. Tifa has shown time and time again how fast she is and to date this is still one of my favorite Death Battles. The actual fighting is incredibly polished and has easily withstood the test of time. The song is also pretty catchy while watching the fight, it’s hard to really top this one.

This season got 21/32 of the fights correctly so they actually had better accuracy than season 1 which just barely broke the halfway point. Pretty impressive I have to say. I hadn’t seen quite a lot of these fights back in the day and I expect that will continue into season 3 since I was still a really casual viewer back in the day. I look forward to seeing which fights will end up being the best over in that season. The gap shouldn’t be quite as long until the next rankings, particularly since season 3 shouldn’t be as long…I think. I haven’t actually looked it up yet so I’m just guessing.

Audrey Rose Review

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This is one of those films that can only happen if all of the characters are as passive as possible. They are continually not standing up to the situation and so the things deteriorate. The film tends to be on the annoying side as several characters act really crazy but nobody really does anything about it. I wouldn’t have been surprised if Bill had completely crashed out in the courtroom because to an extent it would have been justified.

The film starts off by introducing us to Bill and Janice who live a normal life with their daughter Ivy. Unfortunately a weird man has been stalking them for a while now and they quickly realize that he is mainly stalking their daughter Ivy. One day Janice is in a car crash so this man named Hoover takes the chance to meet with Ivy and then has dinner with the parents. He explains that he thinks Ivy is the reincarnated soul of his own daughter who died in a tragic car accident and so he intends to keep on meeting with Ivy. Bill says this is crazy but the cops can’t help since nobody has been hurt yet. Unfortunately Janice thinks that Hoover may be right and so Bill will not have to find a way to stop Hoover while also watching out for his own wife.

Janice is easily the most annoying character here because of how quick she was to believe Hoover. He starts talking crazy for a few minutes and she immediately thinks that he may be on to something. We learn that Ivy has had crazy episodes on her birthday for a long time now and this would track with the date that Hoover’s daughter died but that’s still a rather big stretch to go through here. Janice immediately ignores how weird it was to have Hoover following her for so long and even invites him up to her apartment to help Ivy through one of the episodes.

Hoover is able to help Ivy each time but this feels like an awful big chance considering his intentions. Also just letting a crazy guy into your house is basically asking for trouble. Then even after Hoover kidnaps Ivy to go to his place, Janice is quick to side with him here. She completely betrays Bill in court and does seem willing to let Hoover keep the kid. She really closed off any chance for her and Bill to come to terms here. They were just way too far apart and she gave up her kid too quickly.

Janice is panicking for most of the film so she doesn’t always make a lot of sense but she made all of the mistakes possible. I’d also say that Ivy looks pretty bad here since she is soundly defeated by the spirit of the other girl. She seems to have no mental defenses here as she crawls into fire and burns herself at several points just because the other girl forced her to. Can Ivy not fight on her own? I get that in these possession type of films that always tends to be the case but it can be annoying. In this film the opponent is another girl who was around the same age. This should not be as hard as usual.

As for Hoover, well the guy seems nutty from the start. He drank the Kool-Aid real fast and then didn’t choose the best way to make an impression on the family. In this film the whole reincarnation thing appears to be true so then he should have found a better way to break the news. The way he did it would make anyone think he was insane. Honestly the best way to get close would be to own a nearby business or become a teacher but that isn’t as easy as it looks. So in that case, rent a nearby room and try to be a good neighbor. Or just meet up with the family and talk rather than stalking. It would have been hard to have made a worst first impression.

As for Bill, he definitely doesn’t plan to be very agreeable right from the start of the film but I don’t blame him. This is his daughter we’re talking about and Hoover effectively wants to take her away or be a second parent. No way he could let that fly. Hoover also continually refers to Ivy as Janice’s daughter as well as his and leaves Bill out of this. Unfortunately Bill isn’t very strong and easily loses to Hoover in every confrontation.

It was not a good look there and it was also crazy that Bill forgot his own apartment has a back entrance that is unlocked. I know it was a tense moment but how do you forget that? I was definitely rooting for Bill in the court case. Yeah a lot of weird stuff was going on and perhaps Bill could have handled some things better but on the whole he was doing what he could. He was prioritizing his daughter which is the only choice that makes sense in this situation.

The film doesn’t even have a satisfying ending so that definitely ensured that this was not going to be a very positive film. You’ve got a mostly annoying cast of characters with a kid who has absolutely no idea what was going on and then you couldn’t even stick the landing. This is definitely not a film that will stand the test of time as I would say it hasn’t even aged well up to this point. It’s not particularly scary either, just more on the annoying side.

Overall, This is a film that I would recommend skipping. On the whole I’ve never been all into possession films and this one is no exception. Not even the courtroom scene could save it, although I was glad that it was there. It was nice to see the rest of the world a bit although I would have liked to have seen what the jury made of all this. I like to think that they all thought Hoover was super crazy but Janice turning sides would have definitely hurt the situation quite a bit. It would have all been more interesting than the main plot. A good ending could have at least helped things out but ultimately there was to be no saving grace for this film.

Overall 3/10

And Soon The Darkness Review

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It’s time for a film that really reminds you to follow common sense and to be careful when travelling in a strange land. There are all kinds of things that can go wrong when you’re in unfamiliar territory after all and that becomes apparent very quickly. Unfortunately the film is going to rather extreme methods to point this out and the film quickly ends up going for the low hanging fruit here. Certainly one relying on cheap tension to keep you at the edge of your seat and so that’s not going to be a winning strategy.

The movie starts by introducing us to Jane and Cathy who are biking across France. They don’t really speak much French but this seemed like a fun way to spend the holidays. Unfortunately Cathy wants to take a break in the middle of nowhere and the two were already off the beaten path. Jane points out what a terrible idea this is as it will be dark out pretty soon but Cathy doesn’t care and goes back to sleep. Jane is forced to go on without her and sure enough, Cathy vanishes and is presumed dead. Jane doesn’t want to give up on her but night is approaching soon and a mysterious guy keeps on following her. This feels like trouble.

I am going to blame Cathy for a lot of this right from the start because she was being completely unreasonable. You can’t just decide to go to sleep when the place is already dangerous. That doesn’t make any sense and she resists all of Jane’s efforts to make her get up. So when Jane eventually leaves I could not blame her because staying there would have just resulted in both of them being dead. Yeah leaving your friend is always rough but it’s not like Jane could physically force her to get up. That would be an even fight at best and then you have to drive both of them with the bikes.

Cathy also didn’t seem to have much of a sense for danger with how she was encouraging the weird stalker throughout the opening. You probably want to be keeping your distance at that point instead of thinking about how cool he looked. So yeah she played every part of this as badly as possible and definitely made Jane’s life a whole lot harder.

As for Jane, she was a good friend the whole time. She went out of her way to try and help Cathy by taking a lot of risks and doubling back to find her. Jane would have been all the way to safety immediately if she hadn’t had to go back. Jane also studied so she knows at least a little bit of French which helps out. It may not be enough to speak the language but she can tell when a translator is lying about what is going on at least. Ultimately she was much sharper about her surroundings and wouldn’t make anything easy for the villain.

As for the mysterious guy, Paul, well he definitely does a terrible job of trying to look normal. He tends to be very quiet for large parts of the film and when he speaks it is always to say something that just makes him look more suspicious. I can’t forget how he asked Jane if she wanted to search deep in the woods with him during their first real conversation. That’s something only a possible serial killer would say right? Throughout the film we learn about how he’s lying to her on several occasions and in the past another woman was murdered around this spot.

The film very much enjoys its misdirects and twists but does so in a very low effort way. Basically it makes people act very suspiciously and in ways that do not make sense in order to help trick the audience. So it’s basically cheating by that point and will have you shaking your head. There is a very small cast here so you’ll probably see through it pretty quickly but it doesn’t help make the experience any better.

Meanwhile of course the film would immediately not be satisfied with just murdering the heroes and so the threat is very quickly escalated into being more than that. So now as the audience you have to hope that even if Jean dies, at least it’s quick because the motive for the villain is going to be rough. It’s what I would call cheap tension here. The film isn’t confident that it can actually make you nervous on the basis of the writing or characters so it has to add on extra elements.

The villain gets away with a bit too much here and I definitely wouldn’t have minded missing out on the details. Even the climax of the film has to go on with this rather than just having a quick fight. Yeah this movie was definitely doomed and it’s a very dreary affair. There aren’t many lighthearted moments ere at all and the film’s pacing isn’t always great. They don’t translate any of the dialogue in order to help you experience how lost the main heroine is. I understand the goal here narratively but it also means there are just more scenes that are effectively gibberish.

The film will also probably hit harder for people who have ever been tempted to do something like this. Biking across the country as a way to explore the unknown does not interest me in the slightest. It’s not something I would ever want to do and even if it was guaranteed to be safe, it’s just not my cup of tea.

Overall, This is one of those films that definitely feels rather mean spirited. It’s definitely collecting all the things that can go wrong if you wander into the wrong area but you don’t really need a whole film about that. A simple disappearance or getting lost in an unknown territory could make for a good suspense film. Once you add in the threats of being assaulted by creeps and other elements like that, then it just feels like one of those cheap thrillers you might come across on TV. It’s not a film that is seriously trying to impress you with a good message or anything like that. I would definitely say to avoid this one as much as possible.

Overall 1/10

The Gex Collection Review

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Gex is one of those series that I was not overly familiar with before playing the collection. I knew about him in a vague kind of way but I can’t say that I knew the story behind the games or even the gameplay. Well, now I got to play through the trilogy and it is definitely an example of a game series that has aged well. The first game is definitely the weakest since it’s in 2D, but as soon as it went over to 3D, it was off to the races.

The first game is your classic platformer, only there is an extra objective. You have to find various TV remotes in order to clear each level until you make it to the end. If you finish the level without it, then you don’t unlock the next level and in a way all you’ve done is waste your time there. So you don’t want to let that happen. They aren’t that hard to find once you’re really looking for them but if you don’t know about this objective, you will probably waste a little time when you complete the level the first time.

It’s a pretty quick game all around though. It doesn’t take you very long to beat all of the main levels. There is a bonus world at the end which does take more time since those levels intentionally go crazy. I ended up going through them for the Platinum trophy but otherwise they aren’t quite as fun. I enjoy a good 2D platformer as much as the next guy but it’s just not as satisfying as playing in 3D. You aren’t able to rush on through and do what you want because there are always pitfalls to watch out for. There is also a bit less of a story in this one as the original. So all in all it’s fun, and certainly brings in a good challenge but it doesn’t hold pace with the next ones.

The second game is where things really kick it off. Gex is called back into the TV worlds to beat his arch nemesis and we get our first look at the 3D environments. They’re definitely quite a bit of fun and feel like something out of Mario 64. You have different worlds which each have multiple remotes to obtain. So you will be completing each world several times until you’ve really gotten the knack for it. You need to complete most of the missions in order to reach the final boss, but not every one. So if there’s a mission you don’t like, you can just skip it.

The gameplay is smooth and without any real issues so you’re able to just enjoy it. The game is much easier than the first but that is pretty hard to avoid with the 3D environment. The jumping and tail spinning are both mechanics that are handled really well. You will be moving with purpose the whole time and the only tricky thing can be the camera at different points.

The game continues with Gex’s smooth sense of humor and boundless confidence. He’s always got something to say about everything. The lines do run out early on so you will be hearing the same tunes quite a few times, but that’s fine. It’s still better to have reused lines than to not have voice acting in the first place after all. It’s all about that balance.

Then we have the third game which changes up the flow quite a bit. Gex has gone from being ultra confident to being a very pleading guy as he begs for the attention of a girl who’s been kidnapped. She enjoys making fun of him while waiting to be rescued and it’s definitely a real crazy dynamic. That being said, the gameplay is still really solid here. The game is even easier than the second one as there are even less levels that you need to play through in order to unlock the final boss. You can skip a great chunk of them and so I had to go out of my way to at least get to play one level in each world. The war level is probably the best one in the game. It’s definitely a lot of fun and shows how the game could really tackle different genres.

Control wise it’s basically the same as the second game so it really stayed consistent there. I’d definitely have no real complaints on this end. So the Gex Collection was definitely solid and the graphics have aged well. The art style works and everything is very clear. Additionally, the soundtrack isn’t bad although it could use a few more all timers. The tunes we have here are good, but I doubt you will be remember any of them a few years from now.

The only weakness is that the third game’s story is not able to hold on as well as the others. The nonstop flirting between Gex and the captive gets old quick and the game is leaning a bit too hard on the fanservice angle here. I would argue it even makes Gex look a little out of character since he was always in control for the first two games and suddenly he is ultra desperate in this one. It may be hard for you to be a fan of the guy by the time this one ends.

There isn’t a ton of replay value here because the Platinum trophy is very easy to obtain. I got it upon beating the third game and so your game’s length will really be based purely on the story modes. Fortunately, that’s the advantage of being a collection. You’ve already got 3 games lined up here and clearing them all will still take some time. Between the three of them you’re probably looking at around 10-12 hours or so and that’s definitely not bad. The games are all individually fun as well so this won’t feel like a bad purchase. I’d definitely say to check it out when you have some time.

Overall, Gex is definitely a fun character and the collection ended up working out pretty well. I’d definitely recommend this to anyone who is looking for a solid platforming experience. The story in the third game can definitely be a bit of a weak point as it’s rare for a video game to be relying on fanservice but as long as you can get around that you will be okay. I think the series would definitely do well with a modern reboot someday although we’ll have to see if that’s in the cards. For the most part this does feel like a forgotten series all the way through.

Overall 7/10

Mr. Driller 2 Review

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I’m not really familiar with the Mr. Driller series so it was pretty interesting to be getting into this one. It’s a very short game but does have voice acting which is pretty cool. Basically an alien race has shown up and is causing trouble with their weird blocks. The hero has apparently had to give them a talking to once before. He will have to do so again before the entire planet is crushed by all of these blocks. Fortunately the aliens are not directly malicious, they are just ultra careless. So finding them is the only challenge.

The hero is nice enough. I like how he did not hesitate when deciding to go over there to talk to the aliens. He talks about saving the world in a very nonchalant manner so from the very start you know that he is the real deal. The game reminds me a little of DK Bonanza in that you are going through a bunch of layers and can see what level you are on as you play through the game. There are 3 main levels here and in each of them you have to keep going as far as you can. One level goes down to 2500 feet, then the others are 5,000 and 10,000.

The graphics for the game are pretty solid. It feels like a modern take on Dig Dug and the various blocks all look solid. Think of the intensity from Tetris and that’s what you’ve got here. You are always at the edge of your seat and the game never holds anything back. Additionally the soundtrack isn’t bad so the technical elements are good. A mild game design choice that didn’t work was how it is very easy to start the game on the second level rather than the first. I accidentally beat America first because that’s where your cursor starts. Level one is all the way at the end of the map for some reason.

Odd choice there but it’s not a big deal. The game is definitely hard because you have to continually dig deeper underground while dodging the falling blocks. In a way you have to be calculating a whole lot of things at once. You want to grab the air bottles which restore 20 points to your life bar which is constantly draining. Breaking through any wood blocks automatically takes away 20 points and the air is constantly surrounded by those. So you have to cause a bunch of matches below those in order to get the blocks to fall just right. It’s a really involved process.

I died a bunch of times and the rough part here is with how long the levels are. So if you die, that’s a lot of replaying that you have to do. Perhaps that is why there are only 3 levels but in that case the game would have been better off increasing the level count and just making each individual one smaller. That is always better game design to me because then there isn’t too much disappointment in defeat and you can continue to hone your skills until you are finally a match to go all the way. That’s the best way to improve if you ask me.

What keeps the game from going any further is ultimately that length so hopefully it’s something that can improve with a sequel. There’s a lot to like here, like having the actual story mode and the fun gameplay. It’s just that I would have absolutely not been thrilled if I had spent any money on the game. That would have really felt like a waste. Since I played it for free, that’s a different story but I still couldn’t give the game a higher score. It’s worth about an hour’s worth of content and you’ll have fun for that hour but that’s it.

Overall, Mr. Driller is a pretty fun game but it could have used more content. Once you have beaten the 3 levels, there isn’t a whole lot to do. You can try to beat them quicker and with a high score but the amount of replay value here is ultimately low. The story had a little charm to it but mainly this is something that is content to be aimed at kids. So ultimately this won’t be changing your life, not nearly as much as you might be hoping that it would. Still, the game is free if you have the Nintendo Switch Online so you should check it out. The gameplay is original and I can’t stop giving it props for the fact that they actually got voice acting in here. That was really cool.

Overall 5/10

Pokemon Go Update

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The game had their big level realignment the other day and so I got to see my level transform into Level 70. The requirements didn’t look too bad for the next level though so I dashed and now I’m level 71!

The next level will take a little longer although I’m not expecting it to be too crazy so hopefully that update will be sooner than later. In general I don’t expect to be level 80 for quite a very long time though.