Tag Archives: Sequel

Tetris DX Review

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Tetris is one of those games that is known to be virtually timeless. It continues to get more and more alternate versions but people always love pulling up the original. The reason is because good gameplay is good gameplay. As long as that part ages well then the rest of the game will quickly follow suit. For the most part you can see how it surpasses the legacy of the original although I do miss the hand drawn illustrations.

There are a few different modes here that you will notice right away. You have the classic mode here as well as survival mode and a number of others like marathon mode. They’re all pretty similar but of course there are key differences in each of them. It’ll take you a while to go through them all though so you’ll need some time here. I made sure to go through each of the modes to see how they played. Generally I’d say my favorite is classic but what I liked about some of the other modes is that they had endings.

For example, in one mode you have to see how quickly you can complete 30 lines within Tetris. The faster you do it, the higher your score is. It gives you something to try and surpass. Technically speaking the main mode had an ending point as well but very few people have ever managed to get there. I remember a kid made the news for accomplishing this because it was such a massive feat. It’s not something that just anyone could do. I could probably play the game for decades and not accomplish this feat which is really saying something.

The graphics are good here. It’s not like Tetris is the kind of game that shows off with a bunch of graphics or anything like that but the ones that are there are quite solid. The soundtrack is more on the forgettable side though. They have 3 different tracks you can choose from and they’re not bad. Just nothing to write home about, I would say they feel closer to public domain music than anything. Imagine hearing a lot of awesome beats while playing instead? Getting in Mario, F-Zero, Pokemon, and any other kind of music would be cool.

I imagine that the top level talents in Tetris may not want to hear any of that since it’ll distract from the gameplay but as a casual player, I’d certainly be down to hear some good tracs like that. It’ll just make the whole game pop more if you ask me. Naturally the replay value here is basically infinite as you can keep on playing more and more with every round being lightly different. Ultimately you just need to get the patterns down and then you can really operate on a high level but of course that is easier said than done. I feel pretty familiar with some of the shape combos but certainly not all of them.

Also after playing a few different Tetris titles, it can definitely be hard knowing the columns as well. Occasionally I would put a piece down in the wrong column by mistake so that’s something you’ll need to get used to. The spacing and such can look a bit different across all of the games even though the gameplay itself is really solid. This is just on the player at the end of the day.

There’s not a whole lot to really say about the game beyond this though. Tetris is a pretty easy to understand game after all and it’s not as if there are a whole lot of modes or variance. So you’ll know right away if you are going to like it or not. I’m still waiting for somebody to make a really story focused version of Tetris. That could really sell gangbusters because it really hasn’t been done yet. The story would draw in the more casual players like me who would otherwise not go our of their way to purchase the game. More players = more revenue. The games can thank me later!

Overall, Tetris DX is definitely a solid game. It’s a fun time even if you may not be here for long. It won’t quite top some of the other classics like Tetris 99 which has done a real good job of revolutionizing the genre. That one really took the series to new heights. The graphics here have held up well though and so it is definitely pleasant to play through. It’s free with the Nintendo Switch Online so I would definitely recommend checking it out. The more rounds of Tetris that you have played across different versions, the more you can really say that you are a Tetris pro.

Overall 6/10

The Legend of Frosty the Snowman Review

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It’s time for Frosty The Snowman to return to action but I can tell you that he is playing for keeps here. This time Frosty is the one breaking the rules and trying to get everyone to follow along. The Mayor will need to stop him but doing so may end up breaking all of his relationships. This time there will be no easy winners.

The movie starts by introducing us to a small town that is ruled by Tinkerton. Everybody is taught to follow the rules quite strictly from the start and then from there they grow up to be law abiding citizens. The main catch is that they have given up most of their free will in order to achieve this to the point where everybody is like a zombie. They must all repress their emotions and creativity. Well Frosty has decided to end this and so he starts appearing to some of the kids in town to lead them down the dark path. In the meantime the mayor’s right hand man figures this is his time to take over the village.

There’s quite a lot to unpack here but the main thing about this film is that it is absolutely insane. It is not trying to be all that realistic like the older films. Instead it’s really leaning into how the world could turn into a dystopia some day just by following the rules. The fact that everybody listens to the mayor is really quite telling and you wonder just how long it has been like this. Years, Decades? We know that at least when the mayor was a kid things seemed to be normal based on the book but that’s still more of an assumption I suppose.

The fact that there is a book that shows events of the future is another crazy thing. The inner mechanics of the book are never fully explained but it seems to show you the knowledge that you need in the moment. The best character here was the mayor because of how absolutely busted he was. The guy had more tears to shed about his clipboard than about his own sons. He was absolutely drunk with power and yet he is able to let it go a lot easier than you would expect. He becomes a completely broken man without the clipboard and then we learn that he has been gaslighting himself for years into thinking that Frosty wasn’t real.

I would say in some ways it feels like South Park or Family Guy where the characters can be rather cruel to each other but then this is still obviously aimed at kids. It just makes for a crazy experience where it’s like you’re watching a parody. It succeeds in the most important aspect which is that the film is absolutely hilarious! You’ll definitely be cracking up with the movie the whole time even when that may not have been the overall intent. Characters change personalities on a dime and keep getting in each other’s way but that just increases your enjoyment of the madness.

Pankley is probably the weak point of the film if I have to pick one. It’s more of a by default pick since he still made for a good villain but he’s playing the role a lot straighter than the rest. He doesn’t have to act like a parody because compared to the others you could see him working as a standard villain. The pettiness of his goal is definitely impressive though. This guy never gave up and he nearly succeeded in his master plans. He just got a little sloppy at the end.

Tommy was okay but also mishandled most of his moments. He should have managed to get close to the kids to either prove he wasn’t a snitch, or to become one and make his dad proud. Instead he sort of does neither and fades in the background. The kids all avoid him completely as soon as he got the #1 sticker so it really wasn’t his day. I was definitely expecting that he would do a whole lot better.

Frosty is definitely not as heroic as in previous versions of the character. He’s not singing about good morals and things like that. Instead he’s mainly just messing around and gets sloppy by falling into the villain’s trap. You’d think that freezing water wouldn’t be the most effective thing against him but my guy Frosty folds immediately. He definitely needed some more power because this version of him just felt really weak the whole time.

All of the kids have fairly significant shortcomings the whole time though so it’s not like Timmy is on his own here. You have one kid who gets really selfish and wants Frosty all to himself. Not a very cool thing to do and so it’s easy for him to get manipulated. Then you have the girl who is rather rude to Timmy for no reason until the time skip ending. I know that he was terrible at making conversation but he wasn’t even breaking the rules at that point. There’s his brother who was a bully from the start but gradually got nicer. At least he had full agency the whole time.

In a town where everyone has their personalities suppressed, I suppose they’re all on eggshells. The characters being this flawed is part of what makes the film so much fun though. You’ve really just got to see it, it’s hard to do the whole scenario justice without you seeing it first hand. Even the animation is really crazy with the characters going on and off model the whole time. The character designs are poor to start with so the blend is crazy. The soundtrack is fairly weak. So you’re really here for the writing which is what hard carries the film. There ae just so many great moments here and a clever Youtuber could have a field day making an abridged version or just poking fun at it. For my money, this is a film with a tremendous amount of replay value. It’s certainly short enough to keep on rewatching it anyway and it’s just good high quality fun.

Overall, The Legend of Frosty the Snowman is definitely a really solid film. It may not have the heart of some of the old Frosty titles but this one is just having a lot of fun. You have to imagine the writers were grinning the whole time as they made this one. It’s definitely got much more of a comedic flair than the previous films but again it just works really well! It’s not like the laughs come out of nowhere or anything like that. It’s all balanced towards a grand goal and I expect it’ll be a hit for anyone looking for a fun time watching their Christmas flicks this year.

Overall 7/10

Banjo-Tooie review

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Banjo-Tooie is one of those games that gets worse the longer you play it. Initially it isn’t so bad but as the worlds go on and the mechanics get more and more annoying, you really feel it. It’s a game that should only be around 12 hours long and yet it ends up getting stretched to over 30 hours. The game just keeps on going on and on and on. Even after you unlock the initial ending, then there is a true ending after that. The main goal of a game is to be fun but the problem is that this one stops being fun early on. It lacks every possible quality of life feature and that’s just a shame.

The game starts off with a few years passing since the first one. Gruntilda is back and she is definitely aiming to take her revenge on Banjo. It starts out well for her as she murders one of our friends. We have to take her down now and avenge him but to do that we will need to collect all of the Jiggies and stop a bunch of powerful monsters. This may sound like a tough mission but it’s nothing that Banjo hasn’t done before. He is a trained hero after all.

Okay so the basic gameplay style here is that of a 3D platformer. You run, jump, and fight your way through the levels to grab some Jiggies. There are 10 of them per level which can be gained by completing different tasks and sub missions within the world. You need 70 out of the 90 in order to get the true ending here. As you complete the worlds you will learn more and more abilities that let you get more Jiggies. So in that case you could almost call this a vania type of game. There is a lot of backtracking that you have to do over and over again.

The worlds are all connected by the hub world but another way to phrase that is you have to constantly be going to the hub world to then go back to the actual level. There is no instant travel or anything like that. There are shortcuts and warp points but none that will ever get you to where you want to go directly. Trust me when I say that is a very annoying thing. With a huge game like this that is absolutely a must.

Additionally the actual walking speed of Banjo is incredibly slow. You should run with Kazooie as much as possible but the more the game goes on, the more times you have to completely use Banjo to get the jiggy which means that running is not an option. Just travelling will take you a very long time. The game also has a gimmick where every world has you control Mumbo at different points and also transform into various objects. You have to go to their huts to do this and then to transform back you have to run all the way there. Often times they have to take different routes around the level which means even more places to explore.

The worst one is definitely the dinosaur world which is absolutely massive. In addition to the usual transformations your dinosaur mode has two forms. You guessed it…you have to run back to Mumbo’s each time to set this up and then go back to the magic tent. Nothing is made to be easy here and that is a massive problem. It’s not something you can just handwave either. Not when it takes hours upon hours to get past this.

The annoying part is that at first it’s actually rather fun. It’s enjoyable to first enter a world and start to check out each of the passageways and find the Jiggy that you are looking for. That is the heart of this genre after all. Where it all goes horribly wrong is when you have to keep on coming back. At the very least they should have a limit like you have to only revisit world 1 once, or something like that. It’s fine to gradually unlock new powers but you shouldn’t spread them out so completely. Every time you have to go back to the same worlds again is more time that is just wasted. It wasn’t planned out very well at all if you ask me.

The technical aspects of the game are surprisingly good though. The graphics are quite sharp with all of the character models being good and the stage deigns are on point. They hold up really well to the current day. Then there are quite a few catchy tunes to listen to in the game as well. At least that helps you to ignore how long you’ve been playing the game. It’s not enough to block the negatives to be honest but having a bad soundtrack would have made it all way worse that’s for sure.

Throw in some maps, basic descriptions of what’s missing and an effective quick travel. Adding those 3 things would do a whole lot of good for the game. Keep in mind that it took this long even with all of the rewinding and such to avoid going down random paths that lead nowhere. If not for that then this would be even worse. That’s a rather terrifying prospect because some Jiggies require an insane amount of platforming while others are very unrelenting with the damage count. A single death will send you wayyyyyyy back which is definitely something to consider. When I say there are no quality of life considerations here I really do mean it. They were all ditched long ago which is a real shame. his may be the most realistic treasure hunting game in the sense that it is so hard and you are given no direction but that’s no a good thing. The game manages to squander some really entertaining writing and a good story which is an absolutely tragic feat.

Overall, Banjo definitely fell down pretty hard here. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the first by any means but it is worlds better than this one. Whenever you have a sequel that is worse than the first one then you’ve got a big problem. That kind of thing just should not be happening. The core concepts are here that could make this a good series but this game did not reach its potential. I’d definitely advise you to stay far away from this one. It’s just not worth the playthrough and makes for a very exhausting game.

Overall 3/10

Donkey Kong Land 2 Review

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The next DK Land game has arrived and it’s a pretty good continuation from the first one. In general I miss DK and his strong way of fighting but Dixie is certainly the most powerful all around character with how she can fly anywhere. The game also doubles up on all the summon animals so on a purely gameplay sense it may beat the original. I would still have liked for DK to have been involved more though since this is supposed to be his series.

There’s still not much of an actual story to be had here though. The game is much more focused on just throwing you into the action so you’d probably have to read the booklet. Somehow or other King K Rool has kidnapped DK though and it is up to Diddy and Dixie to save him. They are ready for this though and prepare to use all of their skills to get past the waves of enemies and help him out. There are a wide variety of worlds to go through here so prepare for a lot of environments.

One thing that is evident from the stat is that the gameplay is quite hard though. A lot of these levels require split second reflexes and you always have to be moving or you will be left in the dust. One big example of this is the level where you play as a spider. You have to shoot out your webs and then keep on rising through the level as some boiling water follows you. The way you do this is by shooting out the web with B and then clicking select to stop it and turn this into a platform. You have to continue with this process at top speed or you will quickly be overwhelmed. It’s really hard because of how far apart the buttons are.

Then you have to consider that a lot of the enemies are impervious to your jumping. So you have to use your rolls which isn’t always easy to time. If you don’t time it well then you will end up taking damage instead. The bosses also attack rather quickly so you want to learn the timings real fast. The game is definitely unrelenting which is impressive. Since the levels aren’t overly long and there are checkpoints, I say bring it on! Of course with the Switch Online and rewinding it’s a non factor but even back in the day it would have been fun.

There are more worlds here than in the first game and of course you also have a bonus world for if you had gotten all of the collectibles. That is some good replay value here and it feels like the modern Nintendo platformers where there is a lot to do. You definitely do get the bang for your buck with this title. Then the graphics are hard to really praise since everything is so faded out but the sprites for the characters look good. It’s the kind of game that would probably look great if we did have full colors but sadly that was not in the cards here.

The soundtrack is good though. Probably not as good as the first one to be honest but it’s close and I would keep it as a positive either way. The game’s technical elements are on point and I also enjoyed the gameplay. It’s not the tightest Nintendo gameplay that I’ve experienced but it definitely does hold its own. The fact that they came up with different gameplay for all of the various animals and Kong members is also impressive. They didn’t just go the lazy route and establish a single mode for gameplay.

My main recommendation is to hold the run button at all times. Some of the jumps are really hard to handle but if you are running then you will be able to make them without any issue. The only weakness is that it can be easy to fall that way and of course if you are in a place with a lot of minions then you might bump into them. So you probably want to be patient but for any gap, immediately start running. One thing about the 2D platformers is they will punish you if you rush through the levels too much. It’s just hard not to since I love going full blast all the time.

The game has a fun cameo for Mario at the very end of the game so make sure you check that out. It’s Nintendo’s way of reminding you that he is always around. If we ever do get a modern plot based DK game, I really want them to include Mario somewhere. Have him show up as a secret boss battle or any ally who helps out at the end. Mario and DK are in the same universe after all so it’s about time that they start crossing over more.

Overall, Donkey Kong Land 2 is a pretty fun game. It ends up being over very quickly but such is always the fate for a platformer. That’s why it is important that you enjoy the gameplay. So it may be a short time, but that way it is a fun one. Additionally with the collectibles it can last a bit longer that way. Hopefully the Switch Online continues to deliver more DK games since there are definitely more that I need to play. We’ll see if any of them beat this one. At the end of the day this one’s a basic platformer so there isn’t a ton to talk about but it handles all of the fundamentals well so it’s a good game.

Overall 7/10

Mario & Luigi: Brothership Review

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Mario is one of those characters who has been around for a very long time. He has had games in many different genres and has two different RPG series. It’s definitely impressive and it was nice to get a new Mario & Luigi title after many years. The story is not particularly strong as this modern era of the plumber tries to steer away from getting too serious but the game itself is still fun. I have some quality of life issues here but all in all it is a fun game for you to have fun with.

The basic plot is that Mario and Luigi are transported to a whole new world all of a sudden. Their assistance is required as all of the islands here have been split apart. This is preventing friendship and harmony from being united across all of the land. It’s a sticky situation to be in but the bros are ready for this. The situation gets more complicated though when Peach and Bowser show up. Now the stakes are higher than ever and they will have to rely on their bonds of Brothership to get through this.

Like I said, the story isn’t going for a very hype kind of vibe so you shouldn’t take this too seriously. It’s not like the whole thing is played for laughs or anything but when things are getting too serious the game will try to throw a gag or two in there. Even the main villain not being able to remember names seems like a way to diffuse every cutscene that he is in. Ultimately I would say that you are playing this game for the gameplay and not for the story. I still like the cutscenes when they show up and every scene with Bowser is a winner but the story does move at a very slow pace.

This is by far the longest game in the series as well. Typically you can expect around 15-18 hours but this one is over 30. There is a lot of content here but the story didn’t really make the most of it. They tend to repeat the info quite a bit or drag out the conversations. Unfortunately the game uses the most annoying vocal sounds that I’ve ever heard. Think of the Banjo & Kazooie games but if two characters were talking at the same time for every cutscene. It ends up being quite brutal as a result and you end up having to hold that L.

The audio direction was really quite bad. We do have a few limited sound clips but as a result they have to be thrown in randomly a lot of the time instead of really making sense in the moment. The graphics are good at least. The game isn’t trying to be too bold with them so you’re not going to see anything on the level of Sonic Frontiers but the art style is fun. As for the soundtrack, there are some decent tunes but it’s not the strongest Mario soundtrack. It could have used one or two more really good tunes.

As for the gameplay, it’s your classic turn based system. You have your standard attacks as well as your Bros attacks. Along the way you also get equipment that amps up your abilities as well as badges that you equip which then expire after a few turns. This adds a lot to the strategy as you have to be careful when you turn these on. For example if you use your best ones against some minions then you will be in a really bad spot for the boss battle. There is no quick way to recharge then either as you just have to fight for a certain amount of turns before they are back to normal.

This is one of those games that prefers to go with a long approach to level ups. It takes a long time to get a level up because every combat animation is on the long side. Normal battles are much longer than they need to be. I know a lot of effort was put into the animations but they really should have an option to turn these off after a while. In particular the Bros attacks take a while since you have to do some command prompts. I suppose it wouldn’t be possible to turn those off but it’s definitely unfortunate.

I also think they should let you skip encounters when you are vastly over leveled compared to the enemy. For example when you go back to the first world to grab some collectibles, those level 1 enemies will still force an encounter. You can run away of course but now you’re already in the battle. These are fairly basic quality of life updates that would make the game a lot more fun. It’s why I would say the game is fun but it’s not going to touch almost any of the other big RPGs. They are in a completely different league.

One thing that was implemented rather well were the collectibles. Each world has some extra sparks which is how you unlock the new plugs (badges) and gives you a reason to explore every world twice. Most of the sparks don’t appear until after you have beaten the world after all. There is just enough where it doesn’t feel like a chore and additionally this is completely optional which I was glad about. So this is the right way to add a collectathon element.

Aside from the campaign itself being super long, there are also a number of side quests and optional items to grab. A lot of the side quests are time sensitive as well so you will want to take care of them quickly. There are also a lot of landmarks to find outside of the islands but the most disappointing thing was I bothered to find them all and there was no reward. Felt like a let down, I was expecting something. Ah well, it was still a fun thing to do on the side.

As for the new Luigi mechanic, it’s not bad but doesn’t really change much. This game tries to really show how Luigi is the smart one of the group and it’s one of those really unassuming twists. Like he’s scared of everything but when he focuses then he can do great things. The concept is sound, but the execution just feels a bit tacked on. I would have liked it to have effected gameplay a lot more or been presented in a way where it enhances the experience. Instead it’s just something that’s around.

Overall, Mario & Luigi Brothership may be a little underwhelming but to be honest I wasn’t expecting a ton out of it in the first place. That probably sounds bad, but at this point I play Mario for the fun gameplay experience as opposed to the story. The story does have its fun moments to be sure but just don’t expect anything too grand. The gameplay has a lot of strategy to it and I would even say that the game can be reasonably difficult at times. That’s something that I was impressed by. You really need to learn the enemy’s attack patterns or you will be buried in short order. Hopefully the next game brings in the Mushroom Kingdom more but either way I can recommend this game.

Overall 7/10

Challenge to Lassie Review

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It’s time for another Lassie film and this one is definitely ready to give you that emotional punch. Fortunately it focuses on the humans taking their Ls again instead of Lassie which is definitely the right way to approach it. It certainly works for me at least although Lassie still does get injured a bit here and there with all of the big jumps. I would say that it doesn’t end up beating the last film but still beats the average Lassie experience.

The movie starts by showing us how a guy named Jack raised Lassie for a long while. She was a small pup at first and then gradually grew into full size. She had a really good upbringing and it all turned out well but Jack was an old man. He was already breaking down and it only got worse when he was beat up by a bunch of thugs. That really accelerated things and he ends up dying. This forces his friend John to look after Lassie but it won’t be easy. She wants to always be with his grave but the grave is located among church grounds where dogs are not allowed. Now the cops have been alerted and since John has no formal license to Lassie, she is in a lot of trouble and may get the death penalty. Can’t anything be done?

I would say the weakest part of the film is how a lot of the characters are super unreasonable. This is a dog after all and a rather harmless one at that. The whole putting him to sleep business makes no real sense. They try to explain how it is necessary because that’s just how the law is, but it feels rather forced the whole time. There is no real reason to be this stringent about it. When the kids ask the judge about why he has to pass the law, the guy can barely even answer. Deep down he also knows that this is all a bunch of nonsense.

The basis of the law is that because John doesn’t have the license, he isn’t able to get one after the fact. Instead of waiting the usual 3 days for someone to pick up the dog, they can skip right to the execution. It’s a case of the process being put ahead of the logic which is where the whole thing breaks down. If a rule doesn’t make sense then you have to find a way to agree with it or just ignore it entirely. Now you do have to put some real effort into understanding the law first as you shouldn’t just break laws that you disagree with but this was a very clear example.

So I can’t say that I really liked any of the policemen or judges here. Then you have the church personnel who aren’t the best here. At least the big preacher at the end seemed reasonable and wouldn’t rat him out but the main guy wasn’t the nicest. You can understand why Lassie wouldn’t be allowed on the church grounds since there could be a lot of cleanliness issues but in this case you should just move the body then. Put it somewhere where Lassie could visit it and you would solve all of the problems at once.

I’ll give John credit for fighting pretty hard to save Lassie the whole time. He went to court and risked his reputation the whole time as well. It’s definitely not something that just anyone can do. His son the young lawyer was also pretty solid here. There were a lot of limitations on what he could really do before he was fully certified but he was always ready to help as well. Even the kids weren’t bad here as they were all on Lassie’s side. It was nice to see the whole community supporting him like that.

As I noted earlier, an issue is that Lassie still goes through a certain amount of grief. It’s nothing as crazy as in the earlier films but she is pushed to her physical limit the whole time as she has to scale mountains and constantly be on the run. You can’t forget the emotional burdens as she wants to be with the old owner the whole time and keeps on being prevented from doing so. Her dedication was definitely second to none but of course those scenes aren’t very fun.

That is a common theme with a lot of the Lassie films which is that they generally aren’t very fun to watch. This one has some fun dialogue and reasonable characters but it is mainly lacking a big hook. One framing device that could have really helped it would have been to have the film start in the court-room and have that continue as the present throughout the movie. We then see the scenes spread across as several flashbacks. Have more and more of the characters enter the court room as witnesses and then we see the scenes from their perspective. It would have turned this into more of a courtroom thriller film which always tends to work pretty well. It would have given the movie a bit of a boost.

Overall, Challenge to Lassie is a decent film for the most part but I wouldn’t say there is much reason to watch it. In some ways the last one is still a more satisfying overall picture with Lassie mainly getting the sweet end of things. In this one, Lassie may avoid a lot of the physical trauma of the original films but still has to deal with the emotional trauma of the fallout that occurs from the owner dying. It’s not like he returns at the end or anything like that so in the end it’s still a net loss for her. The fact that she still goes to the grave every evening to mourn also shows that she isn’t really over the loss and perhaps never will be. I like to think that eventually she would change and not have to visit the grave but it’s hard to say. Either way if you’ve seen all of the Lassie films then you may as well check this one out. Otherwise you can give it a skip.

Overall 5/10

Sonic The Hedgehog Volume 8: Out of the Blue Review

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With this volume we really finish the metal virus arc and I can definitely say that it had a really good run. It was definitely an arc with a whole lot of action and excitement so it sets the bar rather high for the next storyline. Even though this is more of an epilogue we do get some good action here as well. There is one plot that is rather rushed but ultimately it worked out since I was ready to see the character return sooner than later.

After the events of the metal virus arc, Sonic has disappeared and the heroes have to try and regroup. It will be difficult though since Eggman has decided that this is the perfect time for him to rule the world. He’s not wrong, most of the heroes are on their last legs and are still exhausted from the fights. Additionally, The Deadly Six are on a rampage. The world needs Sonic the Hedgehog and may just end up falling without him.

The first story is an anthology though as we see what different characters were doing during the big invasion. For example Big was chasing Froggy around and beating up on the metal zombies. We see two radio broadcasters and how they handled the invasion. One panicked while the other stayed on the line but eventually they both banded together here. We get more details on what was going on with Team Chaotix as well as the jewel fighter. It’s a pretty nice anthology although by default it is the weakest point of the volume. These are side characters for a reason after all and it’s why these story beats could not make it to the main title. They are fun to see but aren’t exactly at the top billing.

When we get back to the main story is when we really have the hype. For example we get to see Shadow vs Metal Sonic which is always a great matchup. I admit that I would usually expect Shadow to do a little better but I can definitely buy into his being weakened and exhausted which made this tougher. Additionally it’s not like Metal Sonic is a slouch, the guy is a credible threat at all times so I am definitely fine with him getting a win every now and then. He’s earned that much. I’d say it was the highlight fight of the volume.

It was also nice seeing Silver and friends take down Zavok. That guy may be the power hitter of the Deadly Six but at the end of the day I wouldn’t really expect him to last all that long. Then of course we have Sonic vs Eggman but it’s so short that it’s barely a fight. Just enough to remind you why Sonic is the crucial piece for the heroes. As long as he is around you can bet that the villains will be put on notice. They won’t be able to keep up with him. Sonic looks great as always too with all of the confidence that he has.

The subplot I referenced earlier was after sonic gets amnesia so he hangs out with Blaze for a little while. It’s a fun enough moment but ultimately ends real fast so it doesn’t really add much. It’ll be fun to have her join the crew for some adventures soon though. Her fire powers were always a lot of fun to see after all and she is definitely powerful. The heroes can always use more help with how much destruction has occurred. It feels like damage from the Sonic Forces storyline is still in effect with the world constantly in rebuild mode. Throw in the whole metal saga and it could only have gotten worse.

I wouldn’t be surprised if this was a last hurrah for some of the big characters like Metal Sonic, Shadow, Silver so they can show off some of the other characters a bit. The Sonic verse has a ton of characters after all and while this one had a whole lot, there are still others who will probably want their screentime. Not to mention that we have all of the new IDW original characters to think about as well. So long as Sonic is there, it’ll always be a good balance.

Some characters can probably use a power up as well. This comic showed once again that when Sonic is not around, Eggman actually has a reasonable chance of taking over. The rest of the characters may be strong and skilled in their own ways, but for some reason they need Sonic as the leader to take charge. I wouldn’t want to ever have them write Sonic out to put that to the test but it is a great excuse for a training arc at some point. Realistically Shadow and Silver should have the world really well protected but Eggman’s only weakness continues to be Sonic himself.

As always the art is really good here. The colors are super vibrant and the characters are all really well written. Part of what makes the comics so fun is how they really flow together. It feels like an ongoing story where everything has been carefully planned out. This would make for a very good video game. The characters are still some of the best characters in all of gaming after all and that translates really well into the comic realm. Now I just need Infinite to show up.

Overall, There are definitely no negatives to be had with this Sonic comic. There is a little less to talk about than usual since it is in epilogue mode but it’s an excellent wrap up to the arc. If you’ve read the previous volumes then you really need to check this one out as well. There’s a ton of great content to be digested after all. I also doubt they are going to try and have another end of the world plot with the whole cast teaming up again for a long while so you really need to savor the experience. This kind of grand event is always worth the wait but that wait can feel awful long. Regardless, I have yet to read a bad Sonic arc and I doubt the next one will change that.

Overall 8/10

The Sun Comes Up Review

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It’s time for another Lassie title! This may be the best out of all the Lassie films which may not be saying much…but we take those. I was a little unsure of how to score the film at first because it can be a little dull but does avoid most of the negatives. I had a good enough time with it. It’s not really the kind of film that you would go back and rewatch to be honest but you don’t have to re watch everything right?

The movie starts with some singing as Helen reminds the world why she is a premiere singer. Her skills continue to amaze the world and things are going well until her son is destroyed by an incoming truck. Helen retreats to the country-side and takes a break from singing. Initially she is going to ditch her dog Lassie but is forced o take her in. Helen doesn’t want to be around kids anymore since they all bring back her ptsd but she is shamed and pressured into letting the kids hang around. Will this town break her spirits until she is back to normal or will she go back to singing in order to leave this place behind?

Most of the film is really about Helen desperately trying to fit in no matter what she has to do. Whether it is driving the kids around or memorizing lines that the shop owner gives her in order to fit in, Helen is ready. At the same time, it can also be a little annoying because she is constantly doing everything to please them and it feels a little overdone. It would have been better if she could have been herself and they would gradually get used to her instead. I would also say it’s a bit rough that even to the very end she was planning on leaving the town never to return and didn’t even tell anybody. That’s a pretty big knock against her.

Also, the town is one of those old fashioned places where they figure even the quickest show of friendship means that a romance has to happen. A neighbor puts a lot of pressure on Helen because she didn’t immediately start dating the landlord when he showed up. I suppose normal friendships between adults just can’t be a thing right? The adults were definitely annoying here and the fact that the neighbors initially gave Helen the silent treatment instead of talking to her also comes off as rather petty.

Even the shop owner, who was the most entertaining character wasn’t the nicest one. Quickly letting the cat out of the bag to intentionally force a problem wasn’t a great move. I cut him a lot of slack though since Helen’s decision to keep everyone in the dark was even worse. We do have a dramatic fire at the end to allow the situation to work out for the characters but otherwise I’m sure there would have still been a lot of sore feelings around.

Naturally I didn’t like Jerry either. Definitely an annoying character who was always running off and making things even worse. He constantly panicked and he was also quick to forget his chores and cause problems for Lassie. Jerry needed to be better at clock management and making sure he took care of his responsibilities. It may be a hard thing to hear but at the end of the day, that is what is to be expected. So Jerry just kept sinking the more that the film went on.

Meanwhile the songs aren’t particularly good but that is to be expected when you see that the tag is part musical. It’s well known that musicals tend to have songs that aren’t as good as standard or concert type titles. Musicals are the weakest link after all and these songs will have you shaking your head. Okay most of this sounds really negative so what are the positives? Well, for one thing the movie plays it pretty safe like I said. There aren’t any real bad scenes or moments where Lassie is put through the wringer. This time the humans are given all of the trauma which is absolutely the right way to go about it. I’d prefer the humans have to take the Ls over the animals any day. That’s the right way to do it.

While I didn’t love any of the characters, the writing is good enough so they don’t get too far onto your nerves. The film is short so the pacing is reasonable. In some ways the film has aged a bit too hard in the wrong directions like Helen being such a passive main character but it is also nice to see a small town where everybody just helps each other. So there are some positives about the case like that. Lassie may not be the biggest character here but it’s the first time we see her having fun the whole time which is really nice.

Perhaps the final important thing to note is that it’s just an easy film to watch. You can plug it in any time as a pleasant watch to have in the background. It can be a little boring at times but sometimes you need an uneventful film to unwind with. The film could have probably added some kind of a rude townsperson to add some drama though and that could have helped to elevate things a bit. A lot of what ifs to think about but at the end of the day, this film destroys the average Lassie film and that’s something to be proud of.

Overall, The Sun Comes Up has its share of weaknesses but in the end it is still a good film. The main moral I would give here is that when you’re trying to move on from something, a new environment may actually be a bad thing since you won’t have much time to yourself. Ultimately things worked out for Helen but the town didn’t always make this easy. She had to deal with quite a lot of people the whole time.

Overall 6/10

Hills of Home Review

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You ever start watching a film and almost immediately start thinking to yourself, “Get this stuff off of my screen!!?” Well that is what happens with this film as it is definitely a thumbs down almost immediately. It makes every kind of mistake in the book as it puts Lassie through way too much. There aren’t really any redeeming values to be had with this film and so it ends up being a heavy thumbs down. Definitely a title that you will want to skip at all costs.

The movie starts by showing us that Lassie is on tough times as she is owned by a rather cruel owner. He traumatizes her into being deathly afraid of the water and fortunately her next owner ends up being a doctor named William. He is kinder but also in a rush and initially tries to sell Lassie off. Fortunately his conscience wins out and he keeps her. William is pretty busy as the only doctor around with a never ending stream of patients. He is getting older too but the guy doesn’t complain about it and just keeps on working as hard as he can. Will he be able to cure Lassie of her fears or is this one mission that will be too difficult even for him?

I won’t say that he’s a perfect character though because he does betray Lassie a few times here. Aside from selling her the first time, he also yells at her at different occasions and isn’t very patient with her fears. You would think as a doctor that he would know how difficult these things can be to get over but instead he doesn’t act all that sympathetic. He’s a fun enough character when it comes to interacting with the other humans, he just doesn’t seem like he’s the biggest dog person.

He’s also not that smart as he lets one of his “friends” get away with not paying him back on a lot of loans and then being tricked with Lassie. For starters that isn’t a good friendship and he probably should have asked for some serious money in the end. He let the guy get off easy despite being a major thorn throughout the whole movie. The guy’s son is an aspiring doctor to be but the path forward is made a lot more difficult because of this guy’s objections. Basically the way I would explain it is that the father is very old fashioned in an annoying way.

The aspiring doctor Tammas is okay but way too soft spoken and doesn’t really stand his ground. He gets pushed around so easily and so I never really grew to like the guy all that much. He’s okay at best but that’s a main problem for the film as a whole. The characters don’t really stick out and can come across as boring. You certainly aren’t all that invested in any of the characters, I can tell you that much. They come and go without a ton of impact.

As for Lassie, well like I said the film is rather brutal to her the whole time. It’s just so mean spirited and you get the feeling that none of the characters really knew how to handle a dog both in and out of the movie. Whether it’s Lassie being forced to lay down and clearly not wanting to or the whole water trauma moments, it’s all rather distasteful and holds the film back in a massive way. Even throwing in the big time skip at the end as if this was an anime could not save the film. That’s because there was no saving it by that point.

The writing itself isn’t terrible I suppose. We have some nice dialogue at times but there just isn’t much of a point to it all. Even for a complete slice of life film, you are expecting some dynamics to keep you interested and things like that. Instead you have nothing to hold your interest until the storms start setting in. Even when characters get sick you find it hard to care because of how unlikable they are.

Put it this way, even if we remove all of the animal violence, this film would have been probably stuck around a 5-6. It’s just not interesting enough and I tend to enjoy old time films like this one. Well, this time it wasn’t enough to carry the film which is a really big blow. In my opinion it’s not very hard to make very compelling characters in a setting like this. You just have to make them likable so they shouldn’t be doing anything crazy.

The movie is also fairly short even if it can feel long at times. So there isn’t a ton to talk about here beyond what we’ve already gone over. I suppose the final thing is that if you live by a road that is submerged during all big storms, you should probably have a better backup route rather than trying to swim through with your horse. That just seems like a terribly dangerous way to do this and there has to be a better way. There just has to be, because with this way people are going to die sometimes. I didn’t blame the big city doctor for panicking because the whole thing seemed absolutely crazy.

Overall, Hills of Home is definitely a film to stay far away from. It’s incredibly mean spirited and doesn’t really have anything to it. All of the characters have moments where they are acting like big jerks and you get the feeling that they all probably hate each other. After all you don’t just forget the comments so quickly. Whether it was one wife blaming the doctor for not doing well enough, another guy saying his new method for knocking out someone was terrible, everyone laughing at him at the bar, etc.; they were all taking some major shots here. Lassie doesn’t really get the respect that she deserves at any point which is a shame.

Overall 2/10

The Rescuers Down Under Review

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It’s time for the big sequel to the original Rescuers. It’s pretty impressive that they managed to really capture the feel and atmosphere of the first film after such a long break. It’s a film that has definitely aged well and made for a good watch. It’s what I would call a fairly basic animated film. Nothing too fancy but you generally enjoy i either way with no big negatives to stop it.

The movie starts with Cody adventuring through the wilderness and helping animals along the way. Unfortunately he is captured by Percival, a big animal hunter who wants to take down one of the legendary birds in the area. Cody is presumed dead by the authorities so it is up to the Rescue agents to save him this time. They send their best operatives Bernard and Bianca for one last mission. It’s not good timing for Bernard since he was getting ready to propose to Bianca but hey villains don’t wait for a good spot after all. They are greeted by Jake, a guy who is a little too comfortable flirting with Bianca while Bernard is right there. Will Bernard still be able to bring his A game and save Cody or will he be too distracted to be of much help?

Now while this plot is mainly for laughs at Bernard’s expense, it doesn’t make Bianca look particularly good. To an extent you should always be able to know when someone is flirting with you. The fact that for pretty much the whole film she just thinks he is being polite was a little hard to buy. I appreciate Bianca being a super nice character who is always trying to help but even that has limits. A the end of the day, you gotta keep your guard up.

This is also a really bad look for Bernard for not saying anything. He just needed to be direct. I know the guy is always really nervous and has a hard time doing anything but this would have absolutely been the time to change his reputation. He needed to man up and set the record straight. While he’s not as nervous as in the first film, it’s still a pretty big knock against him.

The only one you don’t really blame for this is Jake who has every reason to be oblivious about Bianca already being taken. So yeah that guy just has natural charisma and confidence. He is even quick to cheer Bernard on in the final scene. That may have been sudden and super forced but hey he’s a good sport. I wouldn’t say he’s a great character or anything but he’s entertaining and definitely gives the cast some real energy.

Then we get to the main villain Percival who is actually really good. This guy makes plans and is highly effective at his job. Yeah perhaps tricking a kid isn’t so hard but he still pulled it off. He’s also rather intimidating like when he pointed his gun straight at Cody. It’s the little things like that which you imagine would be a whole lot tougher to do nowadays. This guy was completely unhinged and an absolute danger to all parties involved. He was constantly threatening his animal assistant but unlike other villains you could actually picture those threats as being credible.

It really helps in any movie to have a villain who is a serious threat like this. Whether it’s an animated film for kids or not, you should be able to pull this off. The short length of the film also helps for things to be moving fast at all times. The only part that felt rather forced and a bit drawn out was the subplot with the bird trying to have his back fixed. Ehhh I just didn’t think it was all that funny and I wanted to go back to the main plot. The character himself is pretty fun without a doubt but this didn’t add anything to the film at all. Give me more scenes of Cody working to break out of the facility or the mice getting closer to their goal instead.

Well, the animation is definitely quite solid as you would expect. The movie has a very fast paced/chaotic vibe to it the whole time. The characters are super expressive and the colors are very sharp. It’s the kind of movie that will continue to look really good even 50 years from now. A true feat if I do say so myself. The music is okay, nothing all that special but it’s not as big a focus as in the original movie anyway.

The writing is good so at the end of the day the film nailed the fundamentals. I even enjoyed the setting and Australia is not always the best backdrop. They just did a really good job of making the backgrounds all look fun. I also enjoyed the accents the whole time, I thought they did a really good job with that.

As with the first film, you may question just how effective the animal army can be at times. A lot has to go right for them to even set up the missions since they have to distract the human at the controls every time. This movie goes a bit more in depth on how the missions are set up so it makes sense to spend a few lines on it. This is just the kind of film that you can’t think about too hard. You have to suspend a little disbelief here but I would say it’s honestly not a ton. The film is still smartly written overall so I have no problems here. I do think there is quite a nice opportunity to eventually have the humans get involved though. No reason why they couldn’t right? Humans can understand the animals after all so a joint partnership could work really well. Maybe the villain could be a disgruntled UN agent who doesn’t like the new competition or something like that.

Overall, The Rescuers have maintained an impressive level of quality and consistency here. I would easily be able to recommend this to anyone. It’s just a fun story that doesn’t overstay its welcome and produces a lot of fun characters. The main villain was especially impressive with just how hype they were allowed to make him. He’s a total villain through and through. They just allowed him to have some actual charisma and bravado within that role. I’d definitely be down for more films in this series.

Overall 7/10