dolphs-world

[dolphs-world]

Damashiiiii I i i (dun. dun. dUn. dun, da de da dun)

We Love Katamari gets rid of all the problems with the first. The load times are better and you can skip the King's rambles. There's only one Zodiac level but this time you can roll up either a Bear or a Cow. So, what's the biggest Animal? A CowBear! And it runs through the stage so you're bound to see it and some point no matter where you start. The gimmick levels are actually fun, eating food as a Sumo Wrestler to gain weight and be larger than your opponent, rolling up 1000 of one type of item, trying to make a Katamari of a specific size with no help from a counter, making the biggest Katamari but only being able to roll up 100 items. We Love Katamari is way better than the original and was what I thought the first game was on my initial playthrough. Or so I thought after only playing half of the game. Then you have to play every level twice with a twist that doesn't change much. Regular levels become "how fast can you reach 'x' size?" which doesn't mean anything and isn't fun. With the gimmick levels, I don't even remember what the replay actually changed, I think that's how little they changed. And then there's other stuff. The "light a campfire" gimmick wasn't that fun. Some of the gimmick levels continue in scope but it lacks that build up. I think that's one of the biggest problems of the game, the lack of building upwards. Despite having 5 unique regular levels they're now too spread out with the constant replaying of every level with little change. And the last 3 levels feel the same as the first games'. By the time you're rolling up the world you're thinking to yourself "haven't we already done this?". After this game the lead developer left the series which many sight as to why the games after got worse but I don't think that's it. We Love Katamari explores why so many people fell in love with the first one and if a sequel could ever live up to it. Could they recreate the magic of the first? Whilst I think it's better than the original I don't think it does. It fixes the pacing problems of the first and has actual good gimmicks but in terms of the core gameplay there is no building upon the foundation of the original. It doesn't improve or take the gameplay in a new direction, it just copies it. Katamari had nowhere else to go but sideways. Katamari Damacy and We Love Katamari are still great games but do not live up to it's reputation. The second is better and fixes all the problems of the first but creates one glaring hole in it's place.

[dolphs-world]

Katamari

You are going to miss out on so many great games growing up. I think that at this point we know all of the best games from up to the 6th generation. Super Metroid, DKC2, Mario 64, Crash 2, Ocarina of Time, Crazy Taxi, San Andreas (most susceptible to change on replay), Snake Eater, Mother 3, all these games completely live up to their reputation. These are some of the greatest games of all times. And reading this list makes me realise I need to play more RPGs and Fighting games and finish Chrono Trigger and Deus Ex. One game that does not live up to its praise, just falls short, with a few tweaks would, is Katamari Damacy. I can't remember how long ago I initially played Katamari Damacy but I thought it was perfect. Maybe 2 years back I was showing it off to my mum because I thought it was a game she could get into and the King of All Cosmos would just not shut up. It wasn't the content of what he was saying, I like the character, but it just interrupted the flow of a time-sensitive game. On top of that the load times between the double monologues at the start and end of each level completely destroy any flow. The levels with a lower time limit are not worth it to replay for this fact, which is antithetical to the games core idea. How many objects can you roll up in 'x' amount of time and can you improve each time you play? And then there's the Zodiac levels, the ones where you have to roll up the largest zodiac animal you can find but if you accidentally roll up any Zodiac Animal the level ends. All of these suck. It's not that it's different to the regular level, is that it's too easy to lose and it's not clear what the largest Zodiac Animal is in each level. And they don't use new areas just for these levels so the layouts never gel well with the different gameplay style and you're constantly reminded of the better game you could be playing. There are only 3 areas as well which is not as bad as it sounds. The game was built around this and would often trick the player into thinking they're playing in a unique area until they reach a certain size and realise they just started on a different part of the map. But in levels where it's the same starting point but with a longer time limit and more items to pick up it just feels cheap. The game does have an amazing sense of build up though. Starting in the house, exiting the house, moving into the town, going back and conquering the house, playing more of the town, a little taste of the world by being by the bay, conquering the town, and then rolling up the world while the title theme is playing (the best Katamari song), although eventually the vocals disappear. Katamari is still a great game but it could be improved.

[dolphs-world]

Since 100%ing Mario 64 5 years ago I've done it again 3 more times, one of those times on the DS. - Sidenote about Mario 64 DS - Mario 64 DS is weaker than it's original. This is the first Mario game that looks bland, a precursor for what's to come, which is a shame because Mario 64 is still such a unique game. I think the reason the only good "Iceberg Theory" video is about Mario 64 is because of just how unlike anything after it is. They would never do Hazy Maze Cave or Wet-Dry world again or an enemy like Mr. I and the music for Big Boo's Haunt. Like Mario Sunshine is a weird game aesthetically and I think it pays off, except for the Boos, but it is a poor imitation. Sorry, that was a sidenote in a sidenote, back to Mario 64 DS. The camera is worse, the new content is pointless with the only good additions being the mini-games, which were then just added to New Soup DS, and Luigi who just breaks an already easier version of the game. The 100 coin stars are a joke. But still better than Bowser's Fury and 3D Land.- End Sidenote -Honestly, I think I like Mario 64 more now. I still agree with my criticisms besides the camera and wall jumps. But one day I got to thinking, way have I replayed Mario 64 like once every year and not Sunshine a single time. I've planned out every piece of media I want to experience. Instead of forcing myself to start something I just wait for a strong feeling to come along and than act on it. So I played Mario Sunshine and just kind of lost my mind. Still a 9/10, it is a mario game but after playing Bowser's Fury for the first time and not understanding the praise it got (it's a good blueprint) I know understood all the complaints from the internet.

I'll start with the things I disagree with compared to others. My favourite parts always have always been the Galaxy-esque sublevels without F.L.U.D.D., except for the Sirena Beach ones as that is the worst level in any Mario game. And I actually like the Pachinko Machine, both times I've beaten it on my second attempt. But that's it. All the BS, the lillipad, the watermelon, the Sandbird, the Chuckters, I hate it! And the mission structure is so repetitive. I know Mario 64 also had a lot of repeats but I can't think of a single time that was a problem. And speaking of structure, I know get the complaint of getting booted after completing a mission. I know that Sunshine does more to change the level but it's just a time waste. And there's no freedom! Mario 64, you only HAVE to do 5 missions, beat King Bob-omb, get the Star on the Submarine, and beat Bowser 3 times. From then you can choose whatever to do get the other 65 Stars needed to beat the game. You can completely skip levels. But Sunshine, no, you have to get the first 7 Shines from each level to beat the game. And only Ricco Harbour and Noki bay are good stages. But none of the stages compare to the ones in 64. I don't even understand the supposed structure the game wants you to take. Do you only get those 49 Shines + 2 from Corona beach? But then most of the 8th Shines are really easy. And what about the blue coins. Collect them as you go, use a guide. I always miss a few and can't be ASSED to go through the whole guide again. I couldn't even be bothered to attempt to 100% the game, I stopped at around 70 Shines! For years, FOR YEARS I've proclaimed that Sunshine was better and it's just not. I'm honestly thinking that 3D world is better. I've just fundamentally lost a part of who I am.

[dolphs-world]

So: SNES > DS > Wii > GameBoy > GameCube > 3DS > NES > Colour/Advance > Wii U Why no N64? Well, here's the thing, I still haven't played it. Despite opening the last post with how it was one of my dreams I've somehow played a lot of GameCube games now and only 3 N64 games. And none of them on the system itself! I've never even touched an N64 controller!!! I want to play DK64, I want to play Banjo-Kazooie, I want to play MK64 but I just haven't. What I have played, more importantly, is Mario 64. When 3D All-Stars came out I was like "finally I can play 64 and Sunshine". Now, Sunshine is a "weird" game in that the discussion around the game is weird. Mario fans are weird because we all have this opinion: "There's no bad Mainline Mario game besides the Lost Levels. Even the weaker blander New Soup games are still good and better than most games out there. We should consider ourselves lucky because there are tons of other Platformer series and series from Nintendo themselves that have bad games and our one bad game was so early in the series that it doesn't really matter." And yet there is still this idea that Mario Sunshine is "the black sheep". People who like the game enough to put it in their top 10s or top 5s still call it "the black sheep". Even 3D World has been reevaluated. Now, remember how I was talking about these Millennials who dominated the landscape on internet gaming opinions, essentially rewriting history? Despite the pushback on this statement in recent years and the whole "actually, I don't Ocarina of Time is the greatest game of all time, Link to the Past is better"; which, they're wrong, Ocarina of Time is still the greatest game of all time and Link to the Past isn't even the best 2D Zelda; this pushback never happened to Mario 64. And as the contrarian that I am, I was determined to think otherwise. Initially, I did. I much preferred Sunshine to 64. I loved them both near equally but I thought Sunshine was just a liitttle bit better. Criticisms of Sunshine: I missed the Long Jump and I hated Sirena Beach. Criticisms of 64: I disliked the camera, I disliked the wall jump, I disliked that if you went from one direction to its opposite without snapping the joystick that you would do a little circle that would walk you off the edge on small enough platforms (Here's a clip to demonstrate it better, watch for 10 seconds, I don't agree with this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n34UjikWUg0&t=115s), Snowman's Land and Jolly Roger Bay are forgettable and I don't like Shifting Sand Land, and the Bowser boss fights suck. So yeah, Sunshine is better than 64, take that Millennials! I strive for consistency in myself, I think that defines who I am. And I am very consistent in my opinions. Like, despite some parts of my identity from when I was a teenager that I look back and kind of cringe about I struggle to rewatch things because most of the time it's the exact same experience, I haven't changed nor have my opinions. Actually, sometimes I worry that I haven't really grown since graduating I was 15 but that's besides the point right now. What has been happening a lot is that my opinions on games have changed. Pikmin 3, no longer top 5 games now it's in the top 20. Crash Bandicoot? A little bit weaker. Katamari Damacy? A little bit weaker. I'm never going to replay GTA:SA because of my opinions on other Rockstar games. But none of these have been crushing blows to my identity.

[dolphs-world]

One of my biggest dreams growing up was to one day play all the great games on N64 I missed out on. Earlier Consoles were much easier to emulate so I didn't miss out on those in my childhood. The way that Millennials talked about the N64 made it seem like the best console; despite the controller design. Right now (maybe it's dying down more but definitely from 2017-22) the trend in Nostalgic Gaming is the GameCube. I don't really think the Wii will be able to overtake it because everyone had one, people prefer to defend/talk about something they think is niche. But since I was much more present and aware of the 6th generation as a whole (just read old Webcomics to know how MASCULINE the XboX was) I don't think I was as swayed to play GameCube games compared to the N64. I knew about how weird the games were: Luigi's Mansion as a Launch Title, Sunshine to 64, DoubleDash to 64, the StarFox games, Wind Waker and that whole reevalutation, DK: Jungle Beat, Geist, Beyond Good and Evil, Eternal Darkness, Chibi-Robo, Doshin, Odama. (I view Pikmin as more of a Wii game) The discussion around Melee and Kirby Air Ride never really piqued my interest. I think the only games that did in this hidden gem discussion was Thousand-Year Door and F-Zero GX. I haven't played TYD yet but I'm sure it lives up the hype, GX does. Point being the way talked about StarFox 64, Goldeneye, and Banjo-Kazooie were may more convincing to me at the time than any GameCube discussion. Hell, the way people STILL talk about WarioLand 4 is more convincing and makes me feel like I'm insane for not liking it.

To Sum it up. NES games: Mario games and nothing else. Everything Nintendo did here they did better on SNES (including Mario 3). Castlevania, Mega Man 2, and Ducktales. Everything else is nostalgia or was better in the Arcades. Oh and Zelda II, the Greatest Game on the System. Gameboy: Tetris Machine. All joking aside, completely lives up to the hype. Every series that came from NES was done better on here, especially the Mario games. I love Land more than the NES games, besides SMB3 I guess, and 2 is the 5th best Mario Game. Even though I don't them it's still incredible that the first Pokemons are some of the bestselling games of all time despite coming out 9 years after the console released. And Gen 1 has the best designs which is the only part of the series I care about besides Jessie and James. SNES: Also lives up to the hype. The most realised versions of all of their 2D games are on here with a long list of great 3rd Party games to boot. And a great variety as well. - Sidenote - I think the DS and PS2 did so well for capitalising on a new market but also for having the most variety - End Sidenote - The only thing Genesis had that matters that the SNES didn't is Sonic. I don't think Sega's 1st Party IPs were great until the DreamCast. But yeah, SNES, one of the bests. Gameboy Colour/Advance: Eh, who cares? The WarioLand games I don't care for and more Pokemon. A weaker Gameboy and a weaker SNES. I actually may have to give the Colour the edge for MGS: Ghost Babel and RE: Gaiden. And the Oracle Games, the best Handeld Zeldas. Oh but Advance did have Superstar Saga, Warioware, Advance Wars, Fire Emblem, Golden Sun, and the Sonic Advance games. But most importantly Mother 3. Still, the weakest from Nintendo until the Wii U. GameCube: Yeah, underrated with great unique exclusives but compared to what came before it doesn't hold up. And whilst the SNES was better than the Genesis, the GameCube is not better than the PS2. It missed out on a lot of 3rd Party games. Hell, I think the exclusives on the DreamCast were more interesting and fun to play. I'll take Crazy Taxi over F-Zero any day. And the defining games, apart from Mario, were ported to Wii and I think are a stronger part of its identity. Better than NES though. DS: Perfect. I struggle to think about which is better, this or SNES. I think I have to give it to the SNES because even though it has a great variety of games and strong 3rd party support the exclusives are not as strong. Best Handheld of all time though. Wii: My personal favourite. I love all the games on here even the ones that suck. And also had a lot of 3rd party support from old PS2 Games. 3DS: Better than Colour/Advance but I honestly think it's really weak. The only good exclusives were remakes but there were a handful of interesting indie games on here. I think it's better than the DS in a technical sense but I mainly use it for DS games. Although, it does have MGS3! Wii U: It is the worst. I like it and prefer it to the 3DS but all the good parts of it have been sucked up by the Switch bar Nintendo Land. The only other thing I can say is that it was the last bastion of Iwata and you can tell. A lot of soul is here and I think Nintendo as a company has become worse since Iwata's parting. Switch: I'm really really mixed and I think mainly because I hate the joycons that it blinds my enjoyment of the whole experience. Switch 2: I don't care, I will probably pick one up in like 3 years time.

[dolphs-world]

I call it an Anti-bacterial Drug because it rhymes with Grug

I quite like 'The Croods'. I'm already fond of The Stone Age in media especially when there are more mammalian animals and 'Croods' does the 'Avatar' approach of mixing animals together. A small aspect of the film but adds to its visual flair. The film holds up visually on top of this. Some may be put off by the uncannyness of the cave men but that's the point. A) Neanderthals looked like this and B) we still see these characters as human. Rewatching the film there were two things that surprised me. Really simple things. Like the film excels at set up and pay off/callbacks. I remember in the theatre all the kids laughing at the "rhymes with Grug" scene and then when he creates a hug all the parents awwwing at the film. There are tons of these little seeds being planted that pay off in the long run. In Lindsay Ellis' video on 'The Little Mermaid' she talks about the difference between the protagonist and which character is the narrative about, whose growth drives the story. 'Croods' protagonist is Eep, the daughter who wants more but the story is about Grug, he's the one who grows over the story. Even if the ending narration implies that his behaviour is still the same we know that he's open to new ideas and trusting the next generation. You'd think the sequel would be able to follow up the theming of the first. 'Croods 2' is not a bad movie. While I think it loses a lot in its more smoothed out character models and cartoony rather than realistic design, this is not a problem. And in fact, a lot of the comedy moments suit this style more even if comedy replaces heart as well. What is an issue is how the film forgets what happens in the first one and ends up with the opposite message. I'm not talking about little things like Grug having this unrequited desire for a banana despite being able to eat one in the first film or Gran's hair being a wig. Stuff happens like this in long-running TV all the time and these additions further the story they're trying to tell so I'm not going to be a nitpicking asshole. I will criticise the development of the story and characters starting with Grug. Grug is completely right at the beginning. Guy and Eep being too in love to help the family and wanting to start their own "pack" is bad. At this point, they are the only people left. Ugga says that Grug and her did the same but I don't believe that for a second. Gran is a part of the family. It just doesn't make sense. And Grug is also completely right in not wanting the live at the Betterman's place. Grug's journey in the first movie is not about how the "pack" being together is wrong but forcing them in a strict set of rules and keeping them stir crazy in a cave is bad. Why now would he want to force his family to do that again? Eep makes a parallel between Dawn's situation and her old life before the end. She calls the Betterman's place a cave for crying out loud! So then I guess Grug's lesson is learning to let his family go? Which he did in the first one by sacrificing himself so that his family could live. So there's no point for this story to happen from Grug's perspective, how about anyone else? Sadly, the rest of the characters don't matter. Ugga and Eep don't change and the others are more like side characters. But Guy does. Guy has changed a lot from the first movie. He no longer invents thing, he only gawks at inventions. Him and Eep don't function as people. No, now Guy's goal is searching for "Tomorrow". News flash, asshole, "Tomorrow" was figurative! I don't know how you turn competent character into a moron, but the writers for 'Toy Story 4' did the same to Buzz, but also miss the point of Guy's quest. He is not searching for an end goal, he is trying to make each day better than the last. He finds tomorrow in Belt, he finds tomorrow in Eep. Tomorrow is the Croods. The end of the first movie is them riding off into the sunset, why would any of them want to stay in another cave?

[dolphs-world]

Rockstar's game design is outdated

I have recently been playing 'Bully: Scholarship Edition' on Wii. After giving up GTA IV a while back, never planning on returning to SA, and never going to play V, VI, or RDRD 2 I'm quite surprised that I picked 'Bully' up. The game is so outdated and I don't mean in the writing department. The overall structure is poor. Missions aren't fun, extra content is tedious, waiting around to do anything is repetitive, and because it's on the Wii it has forced pointer controls. - Sidenote: I have never had a problem with Motion Controls. I love the Wii, the Wii and Nunchuck is my favourite controller. The only problem is sometimes the A button isn't as snappy so it doesn't get pushed down all the way. Flicking the controller, balancing it, never had a problem with it. The Pointer, however, sucks. I think the only game it works well in is 'Pikmin' but that's because the game is in 3rd person and has the perfect control scheme. Shooting in first person sucks. - The main gameplay is not fun. And yet, I have really enjoyed the game. Rockstar games on the PS2 have always had great movement and control. I love mashing the button to run/ride even faster. Unlocking the Go Kart is the greatest payoff in any Rockstar game. The atmosphere is great, the look of the game is great. It's amazing how well the structure of 'GTA' fits in a school setting. And the map is the perfect size. Like, I shouldn't enjoy the bland missions are the tedious classes but I do. And the main character is bisexual. There's a mechanic of kissing girls in the game, which boosts your health, and it becomes easier to woo them over the more you progress. But there's one boy from each faction you can kiss. I initially thought it was a bug but it wasn't. There's a famous post on here about bisexuality not being named in gaming until 'MGS2' so it's pretty cool to see that within the same generation Rockstar put this in one of their games. Pretty cool. What's not cool is that my game crashed halfway through the final chapter and I don't really care enough to try and finish it. Just play 'Chinatown Wars'.

[dolphs-world]

Update MMXXV Edition

Dear Diary, It's been awhile since I last wrote on this platform. That is because I broke my laptop, got a replacement, bricked that, tried via 2 different people to fix it, which they couldn't, and finally bought a cheap 2nd hand one. God, have I missed a landscape screen with a keyboard. I think that's the worst thing about smart phones, they feel like shit. Your eyes are horizontally separated, not vertically, and having a physical response for you inputs makes the simple act of scrolling or typing that much better. I know I've used this site more for any thought I have about movies and such but I have let on a bit of my personal life. I took a break from uni because I hate and am now figuring out how to further that without wanting to put a bullet through my head. I've unofficially been looked over for a promotion at work. Not that anyone has gotten the job just that they know I'm going to do the extra work without the extra pay. My previous incompetent manager has now been replaced with an even more incompetent manager. And despite working in a female-dominated space the workplace is only becoming more and more sexist. Everything's going down the shitter, I'm going to join a union. I've also "broken up" with an important person in my life. Our relationship is too complicated and personal to put out like this so I'll just say they were a very "special" friend. And this is going to have a ripple on my main circle as they are all much closer with them, which is fine because there's something wrong with me causing me to not enjoy being around my friends. Like right now they are all on a trip down south to one of the major cities and I, out of my own volition, am not with them. I need to fix my life. But I don't really care because as long as I'm not thinking about these things and some other thoughts I wish I didn't have I am completely happy.

[dolphs-world]

Ohhhhhhh, Banana

About 3 years ago I made a slideshow presentation about why the character designs in DKC3 is bad. There were two main points: 1, there was no general theme like the first two had, imperialism and pirate, and 2, the general design was ugly, everything looked like fetish material. And now I'm starting to have these feelings again. RareWare rebooted the image of Donkey Kong for 'Country' in 1994 with the earlier DK now being his grandfather Cranky. Apart from DKC3, every game has looked great and stylised. DKCTF is a visual masterpiece and I would argue is the best looking Nintendo Game with 'Pikmin 3' and 'Mario Galaxy' being close behind. But for the port in 2018 they gave him a nose job and ever since DK has kept that feature. It appears that they are trying to replace the RareWare design with the Arcade one and I don't like it. His rebooted design has served them well for almost 3 decades and now he's being treated like this. It's really weird seeing the Switch 2 announcement on the same day as the "remake" of DKCR. DK's latest design seems lifted from the movie

- sidenote - Much like how Peach's design has become more aggressive since the movie which also annoys me. Not because Peach has become a strong woman like some idiots online think but because I don't think the source material should change because of new more mainstream (probably not the right term in this case) mediums like what is happening since the MCU. But this is relatively minor as it was just some box art that tweaked expressions like they do with Kirby for different audiences, there is no indication that Peach is going to change character - end sidenote -

and this is being shown the day the "remake" which they couldn't even be bothered to update DK's design like with the DKCTF port and, besides the HD, has worse visual effects than the Wii! Without RareWare ... I don't think Donkey Kong would have become obscure by Nintendo Standards without RareWare but they wouldn't be as beloved as a franchise, only recognised due to pop-culture osmosis. It's been over a decade since we got a new DK game, the time between DKC3 to DKCR is now shorter than DKCR to now. It is disrespectful Donkey Kong that this is how he's being treated. The new model still looks better than he did in MK8 though.

[dolphs-world]

Hey, Jude

I really missed Eccleston during Series 2. He could have commanded respect, he could have switched between drama and comedy more easily. He was fantastic.

Today I watched a movie called 'Jude' with my mum. It starred Christopher Eccleston and Kate Winslet. Our DVD copy was so old that it was in 4:3 I really liked it. The film had a musical score with real instruments and knew when to end itself without any unnecessary epilogue. The last third was tense as everything seemed resolved at that point but new elements kept getting added that could only end poorly and it did My mum says it's one of the hardest things she's watched. But I my mind had a spanner thrown in the works when David Tennant appeared for one scene in after the first third.

Now the BBC are known for being quite insular. Barty Crouch Sr. and Jr. are big players in the 'Cyberman 2-Parter', Matt Smith was on Billie Piper's 'Secret Diary of a Call Girl' and 'The Sally Lockhart Diaries'. Hell, Colin Baker and Peter Capaldi were on Doctor Who before they were Doctors. Jodie Whittaker has worked with both Tennant and Eccleston. There's clips of Eccleston meeting Smith and Capaldi for the first time and he's done a panel with Paul McGann and Baker in the past year. After all this rationalising it's still the most surreal thing seeing Tennant and Eccleston in a scene together.

They're not even talking to one another, Tennant is heckling Eccleston but their eyes meet. Because like, they would have filmed at least one scene together, right? Eccleston regenerated into Tennant and has never been on the show since. The BBC has not fixed their relationship with Eccleston 19 years later. All the other modern Doctors have interacted with each other in the show. But their is footage of Eccleston with every other Doctor who's come after him. But for Tennant, the man he regenerates into, the only footage of the two of them is 9 years earlier with James Nesbitt in the scene!

This is the weirdest and most strongest connection I have ever seen on my TV. And in the scene, Tennant is Blonde!

[dolphs-world]

Series 2

Sorry for any typing mistakes, I'm using my phone as I have destroyed my laptop.

It's the end of the year and I watched Series 2 of Doctor Who. It has been over a year since the bad taste 'The Christmas Invasion' left in my mouth and I thought it was time to continue with the show. I might even wait another year to watch Series 3, though probably not.

I didn't like it anywhere near as much as the first season. From a 9/10 to a 7/10 between seasons; even ignoring 'The Christmas Invasion'. Here are my problems with the Series 1: I didn't care for the 'Unquiet Dead' and I thought that after the really strong "coward or killer" moment that Bad Wolf was anti-climatic deus ex machina. The speech before the regeneration was really strong though. That's it, those are my criticisms. I even loved the Slitheen episodes.

My main problem was that I only liked half the episodes: 'New Earth, Cybermen 2-Parter, Satan 2-Parter (even though I thought it was a bit ridiculous), Love & Monsters (yes, really, the Abzorbaloff was scary), and Doomsday' but not the first part before it. Yes, the reveal of Mickey and the Daleks was cool but I hated Jackie telling Rose that she'll end up some spinster, Rose trying the psychic paper for once and failing, and the reference to Harriet Jones, the retconning bastards (see last Who rant). I preferred 'Fear Her' to the other episodes not mentioned as it had the Doctor bring kidnapped instead of Rose and the scene with the Tardis was fun. I didn't hate any of the episodes but even the ones I like I can only see myself rewatching 'New Earth, Cyberman 2-Parter, and Doomsday'. I just didn't really care for the situations Rose and The Doctor ended up, I only cared for their interactions. I did cry at the end though.

I like David Tennant, controversial opinion. I like his demeanour and outfit, although he also looked great in Eccleston's jacket. He may have even had better chemistry with Rose than his predecessor. And he did have range. However, there was one thing he wasn't good at. He was good at being annoyed and gaining respect. Whenever he had to be angry and yell to command authority I never bought it. That was Tennant's one failing, I don't think he could demonstrate rage dramatically, it always fell flat and his 2 scenes as Barty Crouch Jr. were more convincing. But, I've seen snippets of him in later episodes and I believe he can improve in this regard. Here's to the next few years of his tenure.

Doctor Ranking out of what I've seen: 13<8<1<12<7<10<9

I love Rose. She was the best part of this season and, again, Piper and Tennant had great vjemistry. Her short hair looked better as well. I found her more compelling than the Doctor and, even though I know she comes back, I cried when she left. Billie Piper is so great I want to watch every show she's been in. God does she get kidnapped a lot or taken out of action. Another reason why I didn't like this season as much, the episodes felt like a rhythm you had already figured out. I feel like Series 1 is going to stay as my favourite but only time will tell.

[dolphs-world]

World of Light

Who else's reputation stems more from Smash than their own series? Why Captain Falcon and Ness of course. Lucas doesn't make the cut, despite his story in Subspace, because people actually still talk about Mother 3 even if only to localise it. Earthbound is moreso known for being the inspiration for every indie game. Mother was a complete series. F-Zero peaked with GX so no more games for Captain Falcon says Nintendo. Ness and Captain Falcon also have infamous catchphrases, Falcon Punch and PK Fire respectively. Both get bonus points for being in every game. Captain Falcon gets extra bonus points for using the same model as the original fighters from before Smash was a game about Nintendo characters duking it out. Let's go one step beyond, what about a character created for the sole purpose of being a Smash character as well as representing an often forgotten part of Nintendo's history? That's right, Mr. Game & Watch is number 8. R.O.B is also in for being more well-known for Smash, top tier, and the Ancient Minister. Going back to the Meta, Sm4sh and Ultimate were balanced games until the DLC arrived. Bayonetta and Steve, whilst not nearly as infamous as Fox or Meta Knight (and Bayonetta never will be), are the best of their respective games and Steve is continuing to make a name for himself. You know who has been near the top of tierlist 3 games in a row? Diddy Kong. A tier in Brawl and S in Sm4sh and Ultimate, #4, #3, and #9, it's fair to say that Diddy Kong is the best and most consistent character in Smash. And here I am remembering when I though DK and K. Rool were going to be top tier this game, crushing Diddy. *sigh* Oh, also apparently Fox is top tier again. Good for him. Falco isn't, haha. What about bad characters? Consistently, Zelda and Ganondorf have always been at the bottom. You know who else has always been near the bottom, except for Melee when they were third somehow? Jigglypuff. Did you know that Jigglypuff was apparently a joke character in the original game? As much as I hate to say it, Jigglypuff is an important character in the history of Smash, as are Pichu and Piranha Plant. At least Piranha Plant is fun to play as. Now, I probably should have added this part earlier when talking about Captain Falcon and Ness but I couldn't find a good lead in. Fire Emblem, you can't talk about Smash without talking about Fire Emblem. Now I've already talked about how I would improve their impact, just trim off some of the fat, but they are important to history of Smash. Marth is the obvious choice but Marth is lame and doesn't say "Ether". Ike. Now, the characters that are important to the actual lore of Smash are also the one's from series Sakurai was the director of, who could have thought. We already have Meta Knight but Kirby and Dedede join him as well, without Dedede Tabuu wouldn't have been defeated. Pit joins because they gave him his modern design soley for Smash then made a third game for a dead series, how bizarre. Palutena joins as well but she also has those charming guidance conversations. And I just found this out while writing this but Sakurai considered sparing Bayonetta and Palutena from Galeem. I think that is more evidence for their importance. You know who else get charming conversations in Smash? Snake. Snake is also important for being the first 3rd party rep, being a mash of two characters, and looking so unfitting compared to Nintendo characters that he fits in. And finally, Sonic. Sonic could have escaped Galeem, Sonic defeated Tabuu, Sonic is top tier. Sonic is our final character. And Peach, I'm adding in Peach, she is also top tier. Kirby, Fox, Ness, Captain Falcon, Jigglypuff, Peach, Bowser, Ice Climbers, Zelda, Pichu, Ganondorf, Mr. Game & Watch, Meta Knight, Pit, Wario, Snake, Ike, Diddy Kong, Sonic, King Dedede, R.O.B, Palutena, Bayonetta, Piranha Plant, and Steve. 25 important characters. And also Mr. Saturn, he's on the mural art.

[dolphs-world]

Emissary

But man are those cutscenes awesome. Diddy Kong dragging Fox and later Falco, Peach being portrayed the best out of any game she's been in, Samus's story, Lucas's story, the respect the heroes have for one another, the ships used to attack the Halberd, King Dedede hugging Kirby, Dedede flicking Bowser on the nose, Bowser attacking the trophy of Ganondorf, Wario, Ness, Luigi, and Dedede snapping, Sonic saving the day, and of course, Captain Falcon and Olimar. The best pairing I have ever seen. There's a reason why Olimar and Jody Summer went on a date. These cutscenes are cool. You play through Subspace to get to them and they are paced in a way to reward you for your effort. This is a great story, pure and simple. But every story has a protagonist, who is the protagonist of Smash? Kirby. He's there from the start of Subspace, he's the only one to survive Galeem, he's one of 4 to survive Tabuu, and he's Sakurai's little boy. But Sonic is the one who saves the day in Subspace and I still subscribe to the theory that Sonic could have survived Galeem's attack. After playing through Subspace and watching all of the cutscenes and reveal trailers of the latter 3 games I have thought of a question, who are the most important characters to Smash's lore? What characters have standard moments from a story and meta perspective? I am first going to start this discussion off with dead memes and the Mario characters, then talk about the rest. These first two points are more so honourable mentions. Ridley is too big for Smash. But now he's in Smash and no one cares. Same with Banjo. As much as I love the reveal trailers set in the jungle, the K. Rool one is better because it came first, K. Rool is more fun to play, and Microsoft still hasn't done anything with Banjo. At least DK is getting another remake. Final dead meme is Waluigi who leads us into the Mario characters. The issue with these dead memes is that they have very little to do with the game. As opposed to the Meta aspects I will discuss later, they are not based in any reality of the game. They were wishes that were granted or with Waluigi, a joke. If you want to see a character who was actually affected by Smash look at Wario. People were already resistant to the changes of Wario from the land series to Ware but Brawl seemed to change Wario from a character of Greed to Gluttony and Grossout. Wario's in-game portrayal, unlike Waluigi who has always been about self-pity, has actually changed since Brawl and as such I believe he is a central character to Smash. Another one would be Bowser. Bowser becomes Giga-Bowser, a boss you can actually fight. Sakurai has said that this interpretation of Bowser has come from his initial depiction as a dark magic user and monster as opposed to the go-karter dad he is now. Bowser is #2. Mario, Luigi, and Peach. As said, Peach is perfect in Subspace and her design as a whole is better in Smash than the regular Mario series. Although, like every other character, she looks bad in Brawl. It's mainly to do with her lipstick, her and Zelda look like they smothered clay on their face. - Sidenote: I am so glad Samus got a breast reduction for Smash Ultimate. Not only is her design in Brawl bad but her breasts would remain as perfect spheres for 10 years. Thanks helping her out, Sakurai. But no thanks for Jiggle Physics for Pyra/Mythra and Hank Hill ass for Snake. - Luigi met death, became a ghost but not a boo, but somehow survived Tabuu. And he did the negative dance. And Mario is character numero uno, almost died to Sephiroth, and the final shot of the series was him shaking hands with Sora. This is decent evidence for these three characters but I don't think is the same push as changing Wario's personality or changing Bowser's appearance. Honourable mentions for sure but their characterisation has more to do with their own series than Smash's influence on them.

Here's the next sections: Smash Meta, relationship eclipsed by Smash, the actual lore of Smash.

There's no better place to start this than Fox McCloud. If you know nothing else about Melee you know the phrase "Fox, Final Destination, no Items". Fox being at the top of the tierlist for Melee and not having a good game since StarFox Assault places Fox as our third character for the Smash Canon. Fuck Falco though, asshole. More infamous than Fox in Melee is Meta Knight in Brawl. 1.000, the only SS on the tierlist and a Kirby character, Sakurai's baby, definitely places Meta Knight as apart of the Smash Canon. But in Brawl you can't forget about Ice Climbers, #2 on the tierlist. Ice Climbers are more well-known for Smash than their old NES game. Ice Climbers make the list.

[dolphs-world]

Subspace

This past week I have decided to return to Super Smash Brothers Brawl after probably a decade. I never picked it up after Sm4sh and I never picked up that game after Ultimate. I will probably never play Sm4sh again despite having 2 copies of it. Much like a lot of Wii U games, it's been replaced. I often here this statement applied to big gaming series that are largely consistent, the newest game replaces all the rest. As a Mario Kart fan, this is where I hear it the most and really 8 is the only game that replaces any, 7 and even that game had first person for whatever reason and some neat tracks that haven't been brought back. Brawl is very unique and therefore unreplaceable. What a bizarre game. Everything outside of the core appeal, a fun party fighting game with a competitive streak, is great and better than any other in the series (I haven't played Melee) but it's that core that's missing. Best new roster, almost cut out Jigglypuff, best new stages, all the best items come from this game, Masterpieces, Stickers, great remixes of music. Olimar is third best in the game. Wow, although I prefer him in the later games, he is way more balanced. However, I love the Pikmin models, so low poly. And I love Luigi's final smash in this one! But the items are broken, R.I.P Cracker Launcher, and you really start to notice Nintendo falling behind the times. A distaste for the exploits and competitive scene of Melee has lead to a clunky feeling game with slow movement and a 1% chance of tripping during any movement. I tripped during the final boss! The game is definitely a product of partial malevolence but compared to Sm4sh it shouldn't be forgotten. And how 'bout that Adventure Mode?! I may take back everything negative I've said or thought about cutscenes, these are great (I'll come back to this). But honestly, it's decent. It's a fine time made cool by everything else outside of the core gameplay, are you noticing a trend about this game? The Metroid and Donkey Kong sections were highlights feeling like a nice bridge for those series in 2008, especially for classic Metroid at that point. Apart from Link and Yoshi, I seldom had to play a character I didn't like and I don't think I ever played as Falco. The game makes you appreciate the remixes of classic tracks, although the Earthbound ones were and still are strange, and Brawl has the best theme out of any game. And the best Final Destination, that yellow sunset is beautiful. I didn't realise that the song meant something, I just thought it was like Duel of the Fates. What a surprisingly deep game (ew, I feel like a video essayist) for a game where Wario farts on Samus. The main issue is taking damage. Because this mode is like a moving action platformer instead of stationary stage, the camera locks for you to get flung off and it felt like it was really easy to get launched. There is a lot of just bad feeling controls in this game. Why doesn't the c-stick do a charged attack? Stuff like that. The enemies were really cool, I wish there was more unique Smash stuff in later games. Leading in to my next point. Is the Subspace Emissary better than the World of Light? Yes. Playing this reminded me that Smash Ultimate is that in name only, that game removed a lot of the uniqueness of Smash's history, specifically Melee and Brawl. No events, no trophies, weakened singleplayer stuff. Brawl feels way more like a singleplayer game than a multiplayer one, which is probably a bad thing. The World of Light is tediously long and the gimmick of spirits wears of really fast. - Sidenote: I beat Pikmin 1 and Subspace Emissary in the same time and Pikmin 4 and World of Light in the same time. Weird little coincidence. - But, and major but, World of Light prepares you way better for the actual core gameplay of Smash. Everything is a fight and those fights are better. The only good boss is Rayquaza, the rest are cheap. Gharleem and Dharkon blow Tabuu out of the park, he deserves to stay in Subspace. Subspace is fun but is mainly held up by the cutscenes.

[dolphs-world]

Cars vs. Monsters, Inc.

Monsters, Inc. is better. Monsters, Inc. has such a unique concept, the most unique out of its contemporaries, and a surprisingly deep theme around the electricity company, the emotional moments hit harder, the jokes are the funniest out of any Pixar movie, John Goodman, Billy Crystal, and Steve Buscemi is some of the best casting in general, and besides some of the textures (which is depressingly true for Monsters University as well) the animation holds up completely. The only thing Cars is better at is cinematography and direction, which is something not generally talked about in 3D animation films. Cars has a much deeper understanding of the language of cinema with its action scenes, montages, and editing. Cars is still a decent movie and, like the other first 11 movies, has deeper themes than American kids animation in the decades prior and after but the best aspects of Cars come from reading into the film. The story and moment to moment scenes are serviceable but the gesturing towards the erasure of smalltown America and the death of Paul Newman and Joe Ranft allow a deeper reading of the film. Cars is definitely the weakest film of those original 11 and doesn't hold a candle to Monsters, Inc. but it gets a lot of unfair criticism. A while back I talked about the idea of Cars' "Lazy Worldbuilding" and how it is false and a product of adults reading to deep into it. Not everything needs a complex and unique world like Dune, it's a representation of our world because it is a kids movie and it is a means to an end. Kids like cars more than humans in movies. This past week I've been thinking about the opening of Monsters, Inc., specifically the rhythm of the line deliveries. It's interesting the things that have been permanently etched into my brain and this opening is one of them. The lady saying "bup bup bup, ah" and "becaaaaauuse" and later Mike Wazowski speaking calmly then yelling than an airhorn to wake up Sully and then John Goodman's yell. So I decided to rewatch the opening and holy crap is it effective. The little 2D opening sequence, the bait and reveal, Mike and Sully starting their day. And the exposition is so effective. This is a performance review so no one is going to question them questioning each other about the way the world works. Mr. Waternoose's presence and how he demonstrates scream power in 2 shots is phenomenal, it should be taught in school. Monsters, Inc. may have the most effective opening in demonstrating how the world works. The next scene is Mike and Sully walking to work with little gags about how the world itself works. I love the detail of the door being a two for one, one for Sully and one for Mike. And then the cherry on top is Sully twisting the small door knob into the larger door, showing how the door works, and then shutting it completely, further demonstrating Mike and Sully's contrasting personalities. Then there's the scream shortage causing them to walk, Big Eye, the kid with the tongue being used as a skipping rope. But hold on, some monsters can sneeze fire so shouldn't newspapers be flame retardant? How can Ted live here, he doesn't fit in frame and I didn't see any houses big enough in the city? And sewer grates so that jelly monsters can lose their bodies? This is now actually shitty worldbuilding because it doesn't account for everyone's needs and just isn't practical. Do you see how silly that sounds? The point of those little additions is that their jokes. There are differences between monsters and humans so we're showing you via human concepts like sewer grates and newspapers and how they wouldn't work here. Monsters, Inc. doesn't get this bad-faith criticism because it's a way more beloved movie than Cars. "I don't like Cars but I have to pick apart every aspect of it and rationalise it so I sound smart and because I can't just admit that the story and characters just aren't that effective, there has to be something more for my distaste otherwise people may not respect me". Understand why something is effective beyond picking apart every little detail.

[dolphs-world]

Twinsanity Acappella

Was somehow able to talk to both of my parents (separately) about video game music and sound design, the state of Crash Bandicoot, game industry, game fidelity, polygons, and Nintendo as a company. Just the other day I was thinking "Wow, Super Mario 64 spawned a whole wave 3D platformers in the late 90s that as a whole are very fondly remembered, except Donkey Kong 64, and then every else tried to capitalise too late during the 6th console generation. Now however, only Mario and Sonic that both a) consistently make 3D platformers and b) have a lot of supplemental material in between those releases. There's only really been remakes and indie hits, 'A Hat in Time', 'Super Lucky's Tail', (and somehow Spongebob) although the PS5 are using their IPs for 3D platformers so we'll have to wait and see how all of those pan out. Still, the big players would be Mario and Sonic. Who would be number 3? Why, Crash Bandicoot, of course! "Nitro-Fueled' is the best kart racer (bar Mario Kart DS and Wii). 'It's About Time' was fantastic and only needs some work on making completing the game better, fleshing out other play-styles, and fixing the double jump. Hopefully they take inspiration from Twinsanity. I love Coco's new design, I'm so hopeful!" Yes, I thought all of this. Yes, I am the maddest I have been over a video game. The third pillar is, sadly, no longer Crash Bandicoot but Ratchet & Clank.

I choose to look on the bright side instead. Hell Pie, Super Lucky's Tale, Yooka-Laylee, What Lies Between, Mail Mole, Nottolot, Boomeroad, Candleman, A Hat in Time replay, Sonic Heroes, Jak & Daxter, Crash Twinsanity, Frogun, Half-Life: Opposing Force replay, Phogs, Sonic Adventure 1 + 2, No Straight Roads, Penny's Big Breakaway, Pac-Man World, SCHiM, Mekazoo, Super Sami Roll, Lunistice, Super Kiwi 64, Kao 4, Corn Kidz 64, and, if I can get it running, Psychonauts 2. These are all games I own or could get very easily. Then there's Sly Cooper and Ratchet & Clank. Now to be a downer, they are probably going to suck as a whole. A bit of a Pikmin 4 effect but my standards are too high, despite loving 'The Simpsons Game' and 'Epic Mickey'. But I will say, from what I've played and somehow it's almost been a year!, 'What Lies Between' is fantastic. If you somehow read this and like 3D platformers get 'What Lies Between' on Steam. Also, Spyro the Dragon sucks, that's why he wasn't considered as a pillar of 3D platforming. The first one is baby's first platformer and the next two are somehow worse. But actually I'm just going to master every racing game I own instead. I watched the Sonic 3 trailer and my only thought is that it is really funny that they tried to epicify the 'Green Hill' theme.

[dolphs-world]

Possum's World

I don't hate anyone. There's too much beauty in humanity to hold any hatred to any member. But that doesn't apply to my neighbours. Both sides. On one side you have an old couple that would always make a fuss over a dog barking in the neighbourhood, approaching us when we entered our cars or placing passive aggressive letters in the mailbox. Either they realised it wasn't our dog or they got to old to leave their own yard. The other neighbours raised a brat of a son (my age) and would not chop down their tree for 6 years until it came crashing down on our powerline. 4 days, no power. We had to get a generator for the fridge. And then it happened again, thankfully no power outage and thankfully they were forced to cut it down. That's not the worse thing that tree has done, that's not why I hate them so. That tree and its relationship with the powerline spawned the worse smell I have ever smelled. Electrified Possum. The only thing worse than the smell of an Electrified Possum is its carcass. Other animals have the dignity to look anguished in death, the Possum retches its jaw open letting you know the hatred and anger it could unleash on the world. The only thing worse than a fully Electrified Possum is the rotting skull of one. Jaw open wide and with not enough flesh and hair to cover it. The silver lining is how great my life is otherwise if this is the worst I've ever seen. But I don't want children to experience it no matter how awful it isn't in comparison to their lives. Outside my work there was Possum Carcass fully intact, most likely killed by a car and nonetheless with its jaw open wide. My coworker had to call the wildlife clean up crew and identify whether it was male incase of a baby being in the pouch. I was prepared to do it, I had the gloves and everything. It wasn't the face that threw me off, it was the feet. They are too human like. I just imagined a coffin that would fit the Carcass but there shouldn't be coffins that small. A day later and the Carcass was still there. If no one else were to deal with it then the burden fell on me. I would do it at night because I thought it would be less visible but they have gotten brighter in the two months since the Winter Solstice. Clouds were moving fast that night, on the Eve of the Full Moon. Instead of black the night was blue, perfect visibility for me to see all the Possums. 10. 10 Possums looking at me with my shovel. I wondered if they knew what I was doing. The Possum is a sensitive creature, a cute creature when its mouth is shut and when it's talking to another. I can see why we put them on our currency. But the chatter stopped when I walked past, replaced with a scurry, and less and less appeared as I got closer to the Carcass. The Carcass was removed. No alas but a thankful relief. Though there was a smell and as I write this I reminded of that smell. The smell of Electrified Possum.