While not directly game related this does relate to something near and dear to my heart, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and pizza. In this James Rolfe (aka the AVGN) and his friends sample the various pizza toppings mentioned in the TMNT cartoon from the late '80s/early '90s. Not surprisingly most of these combinations are rather bad. I remember thinking only a turtle would like those combinations and it turns out I was right.
Some swearing is involved but not all that much really.
Also check out James' site, Cinemassacre.com. He does a lot more than just AVGN and a lot of it is rather entertaining.
Showing posts with label AVGN. Show all posts
Showing posts with label AVGN. Show all posts
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
Zelda-Nation: Fun With Timelines
One of the more interesting aspects of Legend of Zelda fandom is the debate on the timeline, if any, that the franchise follows. Go to any Zelda fan site and you are sure to find numerous theories pertaining to the order and nature of the timelines. Typically they fall into two major groups, linearists and splitists which means you believe that the timeline follows a straight order or that you believe that the timeline splits, usually focused around the ending of Ocarina of Time. I'm not sure if I need to explain this but the ending of Ocarina of Time involves Zelda sending Link back to the past to live his life and Ganondorf will never come to be while also leaving a future where Ganondorf was sealed in the Sacred Realm and such.
Here lets let the Angry Video Game Nerd explain:
Now to be entirely honest I don't spend a lot of time on timeline of the franchise. While it is certainly interesting to a point, to me the whole debate seems rather fruitless because I am not entirely convinced that Nintendo has put that much effort into. I mean I could be wrong and I'm certainly not telling fans to stop debating it but people really put their emotions into it. I've seen flame-wars over the topic and it is kinda startling.
But for the sake of argument, I'll presume that there is a timeline that the franchise follows and see what I come up with. Probably won't be anything new or original and I'm not doing any real research on the matter outside of what I know of the franchise and my own observations. If there is anything I need to be corrected on, please say so and I'll make a note of it.
What we know for sure is that there have been several Links, several Zeldas and only one Ganon/dorf. Also we know that Hyrule's landscape has changed dramatically but there are commonalities of towns and landmarks. There are only a few obviously direct sequels (in which the same Link stars) in the franchise as well, those would be:
LoZ/AoL, OoT/MM, Seasons, TWW/PH
Though if LoZ/AoL are indeed directly linked (no pun honest) doesn't it seem weird that there are two different Zeldas unless the Zelda in AoL is different than the one in LoZ but I dunno.
Of course this leaves 6 other LoZ games that feature an unique Link or at least not obviously connected Link. One game I'm kind of curious about is Link's Awakening. While not explicitly stated, to my memory anyways, I've always thought that the Link in that game was the same Link as the one in A Link to the Past but I also vaguely remember reading something in some video game magazine (I'm thinking Nintendo Power) that somehow the events of Link's Awakening takes place directly in the middle of Adventures of Link when Link takes the raft ride from the West to East continent but that seems unlikely to me.
But really the crux of the whole issue is OoT and how you interpret the ending. The Wind Waker takes place after the Ganondorf is sealed time but if Ganondorf was never to exist when Link is sent back to his childhood could Twilight Princess really have happened? Most people put Twilight Princess coming after that but now that I really think about it how could it? Sure Ganondorf is essentially presented as being a god in Twilight Princess so it is possible that he could enter any reality he chooses. With that being a possibility I suppose if I had to say the majority of the Zelda games take place in the Twilight Princess branch of the timeline.
But to be honest, as interesting as this is, I'm starting to feel like I'm rambling. My true feelings is that outside of the directly connected titles most Zelda games can be taken as their own stories with meta-styled references thrown in for the fans of the franchise. If there is a truly deeper connection, fantastic, but until proven otherwise I'm not going to think too deeply about it.
Here lets let the Angry Video Game Nerd explain:
Now to be entirely honest I don't spend a lot of time on timeline of the franchise. While it is certainly interesting to a point, to me the whole debate seems rather fruitless because I am not entirely convinced that Nintendo has put that much effort into. I mean I could be wrong and I'm certainly not telling fans to stop debating it but people really put their emotions into it. I've seen flame-wars over the topic and it is kinda startling.
But for the sake of argument, I'll presume that there is a timeline that the franchise follows and see what I come up with. Probably won't be anything new or original and I'm not doing any real research on the matter outside of what I know of the franchise and my own observations. If there is anything I need to be corrected on, please say so and I'll make a note of it.
What we know for sure is that there have been several Links, several Zeldas and only one Ganon/dorf. Also we know that Hyrule's landscape has changed dramatically but there are commonalities of towns and landmarks. There are only a few obviously direct sequels (in which the same Link stars) in the franchise as well, those would be:
LoZ/AoL, OoT/MM, Seasons, TWW/PH
Though if LoZ/AoL are indeed directly linked (no pun honest) doesn't it seem weird that there are two different Zeldas unless the Zelda in AoL is different than the one in LoZ but I dunno.
Of course this leaves 6 other LoZ games that feature an unique Link or at least not obviously connected Link. One game I'm kind of curious about is Link's Awakening. While not explicitly stated, to my memory anyways, I've always thought that the Link in that game was the same Link as the one in A Link to the Past but I also vaguely remember reading something in some video game magazine (I'm thinking Nintendo Power) that somehow the events of Link's Awakening takes place directly in the middle of Adventures of Link when Link takes the raft ride from the West to East continent but that seems unlikely to me.
But really the crux of the whole issue is OoT and how you interpret the ending. The Wind Waker takes place after the Ganondorf is sealed time but if Ganondorf was never to exist when Link is sent back to his childhood could Twilight Princess really have happened? Most people put Twilight Princess coming after that but now that I really think about it how could it? Sure Ganondorf is essentially presented as being a god in Twilight Princess so it is possible that he could enter any reality he chooses. With that being a possibility I suppose if I had to say the majority of the Zelda games take place in the Twilight Princess branch of the timeline.
But to be honest, as interesting as this is, I'm starting to feel like I'm rambling. My true feelings is that outside of the directly connected titles most Zelda games can be taken as their own stories with meta-styled references thrown in for the fans of the franchise. If there is a truly deeper connection, fantastic, but until proven otherwise I'm not going to think too deeply about it.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Five Video Game Reviewers You Should Be Watching If You Aren't Already
Sure everyone knows about the Angry Video Game Nerd and how he has inspired others to do videos covering retro and modern games via the internet. In fact I spend a great amount of time watching these videos as they are often entertaining if not informative so I thought I should highlight the lesser known guys or as they are called the AVGN-clones (and no a certain irate person won't be showing up on this list) with a sample of my favorite video of theirs.
The Happy Video Game Nerd
Probably the most obvious clone, in fact he created his series for Screwattack's Out Nerd The Nerd contest several years back. While a parody of AVGN the HVGN has developed his own style that has really gone a different route from his early days. His gimmick as it is basically highlighting great and unappreciated classic games that we love to play as opposed to the total crap that the Nerd does. The HVGN has turned me on to several great games I missed such as Metal Storm for the NES or Rocket Knight Adventures for the Genesis.
Roo's 16-Bit Gems
Similar to the HVGN Roo is also looks back at overlooked classics but generally focuses on 16-bit era gems (hence the name). His reviews tend to be a bit more information driven and often gives a general history of the game and it's developers with a bit of humor thrown in for good measure. As of yet he really hasn't turned me onto any games (though I am interested in a few) his EarthBound overview and review ranks as one of my favorite videos anywhere.
The Spoony One
Definitely one of the angrier of the clones, Spoony (named after the insult Tellah threw at Edward in FF2) while not focusing strictly on games has gotten himself a firm niche of reviewing PC games and FMV games. His reviews tend to be very skit heavy and referential to other media which makes his reviews extremely enjoyable. My favorite review of his is his 11-part deconstruction of Final Fantasy VIII (a game that really had it coming) and his Let's Play of Phantasmagoria 2, an FMV game from 1996. Also some of his best recent work is his series of Ultima reviews starting from the beginning and still on-going.
Pat the NES Punk
A more manic sense of style than the others his reviews focus mostly on the NES both good and bad. Also a skit heavy show his reviews are a bit between HVGN and AVGN as far as tone goes. He does bring a fair dose of information to his reviews along with the humor which is expressed well in his idiosyncratic voice and motions. While not unearthing anything I didn't know about, he did get to that legendary piece of crap, Action 52 well before the Nerd did, so points there.
Far From Subtle TV: Awesome Video Games - Video Games Awesome
Yes two shows from this group: Awesome Video Games is a show based on the antics of two young boys Ace and Chet (work with them here people) and their strange, quick to rage father, Dad Esq. The main gimmick of the show is that Ace and Chet love games, but seem to barely understand how they work. Typically they completely fail to understand the goal of a game or misinterpret it in other ways. While not a review show in the traditional sense their shows do often highlight some aspects of a game; like how Friday the 13th is fairly boring or how R.O.B. isn't as fun as he looks. If you can stomach the quick camera movements and get the joke behind the show, you should love this.
Video Games Awesome is one part review and one part Let's Play. Typically the show features the 4 actors of the show (right now with show creator Fraser's girlfriend filling in for Ben (Ace)) as they play through newer games on a mystical floating screen. The show's typical highlight is the rather easy going nature of the cast as they play and react to games they show.
So yeah these are my favorites of the many game reviewers out there now. If you've got any you'd like to share be my guest as I love watching these kind of things.
The Happy Video Game Nerd
Probably the most obvious clone, in fact he created his series for Screwattack's Out Nerd The Nerd contest several years back. While a parody of AVGN the HVGN has developed his own style that has really gone a different route from his early days. His gimmick as it is basically highlighting great and unappreciated classic games that we love to play as opposed to the total crap that the Nerd does. The HVGN has turned me on to several great games I missed such as Metal Storm for the NES or Rocket Knight Adventures for the Genesis.
Roo's 16-Bit Gems
Similar to the HVGN Roo is also looks back at overlooked classics but generally focuses on 16-bit era gems (hence the name). His reviews tend to be a bit more information driven and often gives a general history of the game and it's developers with a bit of humor thrown in for good measure. As of yet he really hasn't turned me onto any games (though I am interested in a few) his EarthBound overview and review ranks as one of my favorite videos anywhere.
The Spoony One
Definitely one of the angrier of the clones, Spoony (named after the insult Tellah threw at Edward in FF2) while not focusing strictly on games has gotten himself a firm niche of reviewing PC games and FMV games. His reviews tend to be very skit heavy and referential to other media which makes his reviews extremely enjoyable. My favorite review of his is his 11-part deconstruction of Final Fantasy VIII (a game that really had it coming) and his Let's Play of Phantasmagoria 2, an FMV game from 1996. Also some of his best recent work is his series of Ultima reviews starting from the beginning and still on-going.
Pat the NES Punk
A more manic sense of style than the others his reviews focus mostly on the NES both good and bad. Also a skit heavy show his reviews are a bit between HVGN and AVGN as far as tone goes. He does bring a fair dose of information to his reviews along with the humor which is expressed well in his idiosyncratic voice and motions. While not unearthing anything I didn't know about, he did get to that legendary piece of crap, Action 52 well before the Nerd did, so points there.
Far From Subtle TV: Awesome Video Games - Video Games Awesome
Yes two shows from this group: Awesome Video Games is a show based on the antics of two young boys Ace and Chet (work with them here people) and their strange, quick to rage father, Dad Esq. The main gimmick of the show is that Ace and Chet love games, but seem to barely understand how they work. Typically they completely fail to understand the goal of a game or misinterpret it in other ways. While not a review show in the traditional sense their shows do often highlight some aspects of a game; like how Friday the 13th is fairly boring or how R.O.B. isn't as fun as he looks. If you can stomach the quick camera movements and get the joke behind the show, you should love this.
Video Games Awesome is one part review and one part Let's Play. Typically the show features the 4 actors of the show (right now with show creator Fraser's girlfriend filling in for Ben (Ace)) as they play through newer games on a mystical floating screen. The show's typical highlight is the rather easy going nature of the cast as they play and react to games they show.
So yeah these are my favorites of the many game reviewers out there now. If you've got any you'd like to share be my guest as I love watching these kind of things.
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