My top ten favorite Nintendo franchises

Seeing as I'm running a little low on material, (and I don't want to review any games for Wii or Wii u yet) I'm going to be doing a top ten. It's my top ten favorite Nintendo franchises. (BTW there will be no Smash bros. on this list. Because that would be cheating.)

#10 Super Mario bros.

Yes Mario is at number ten, but hey this isn't my top ten least favorite Nintendo franchises, it's my favorite. Mario just doesn't really do that much for me, because I wasn't raised on Platformers, (played lots of strategy games instead like: Warcraft, Starcraft, and Advance wars.) But Mario is still a really good franchise, and has actually tried the innovate it's formula in recent years with the release of the Mario Galaxy series.

 

And Mario pretty much saved the video game industry during the 80's, so I tip my hat to you Mario.

#9 Kirby

Ah the Kirby series. Not many games make me just happy in general than the Kirby games do. But if I do have one negative thing to say about it, it's probably that I think to many of the Kirby games are really easy. That's not a bad thing by any means though, because Kirby is a great way to start kids off when they are beginning to play games.

#8 Pokemon

I've recently hoped aboard the Pokemon bandwagon, and I have to say its only okay. But they are a fun little set of games anyway, and I'm glad I checked them out. I can see the appeal to having a pet Pokemon, especially when it's a hybrid of my two favorite animals.

But I don't really like the combat system, and if you don't like the combat then the story isn't much to stick around for. But the idea of having over a hundred different party members is really cool for an RPG, I just wish they weren't animals.


#7 Earthbound

Earthbound is the game that spawned our favorite psychic kid Ness. Its a cult classic, and is very under appreciated. Earthbound is bright and colorful, and has a great sense of humor.

Ah who am I kidding, this game is messed up!

#6 Metroid

Metroid is awesome.

I really don't feel the need to say anything else, other than it was the first video game ever to have a female protagonist, which is really cool too. So yeah.

#5 The Legend of Zelda

I LOOOVEEE Zelda. You can't go wrong, every Zelda game is near perfect, (with only a few minor flaws.)

The combat is great, the story is great, the puzzles are great. ITS GREEAAT.

But that timeline is kinda stupid.

#4 Punch Out

AWE YEAH! Its the only game series that makes me think of Rocky when I play it. Punch Out! While the game's outward appearance would have you believe that it is a fighting game, Punch Out is really more of a puzzle game.

You have to try and memorize your opponents patterns, while trying not to get knocked out. And that theme is really awesome!

For 30 minutes because why not.

#3 Xenoblade Chronicles

I know this is kind of cheating, but Nintendo did buy Monolith soft back in 2007 so this is a Nintendo franchise now. Xenoblade is a fairly new series, but it is related to the Xenogear games. Xenoblade Chronicles is a really awesome game.

It has so many hours of gameplay, story, and one of the only games on the Wii that has near close to an open world.

Don't get into this series without thinking about it first though. Its too much fun, it will suck you in and you won't be able to escape! Oh and Shulk is in Smash now, so yay!

#2 Fire Emblem

Fire Emblem is the type of game you learn to have a love-hate relationship with. One minute you are having a great time defeating enemies, and then your favorite character gets him, or herself killed. If you keep going and finish the battle that character won't be usable for the rest of the game, so of course you have to start the level over, and hope you don't screw up this time.

Its a very unique strategy game, and I highly recommend it.

Before I talk about #1 here is an honorable mention.

Honorable mention: Sin and Punishment

Sin and Punishment is what you would call a bullet hell shooter, your enemies projectiles litter the screen, leaving your only options being dodge, and fight back.

These games are really hard, they almost remind me of one of those punishing arcade games were if you aren't playing right you could die really fast.

I really like hard games like this, because I feel like my hand isn't being held the whole game. And speaking of difficulty...



#1!!!


F-Zero

If you've ever talked to me for more than a few minutes about Nintendo games, I will have mentioned F-Zero. And if you've ever played Mario Kart with me you will have heard how I prefer F-Zero over it. I can't help it, F-Zero is my favorite Nintendo franchise, but man is it hard.

This is a game that you have to practice to get good at, or else you will just get slaughtered on the higher difficulties. And while you are being pounded into the ground even on the easiest difficulty, you just want to give up! But once you get good at the game, it becomes so much fun to play.

It may seem rather simplistic, compared to Mario Kart, but F-Zero has a surprising amount of strategy. Do you use some of your life to boost and try to catch up to the person in front of you, or do you wait because they might get blown up by one of the other racers.

F-Zero practically invented the futuristic racing genre, and its probably the best one too. Not to mention how awesome everything looks, and man Captain Falcon is just too cool.

Well guys that was my list of My Top Ten Favorite Nintendo Franchises. I hope you enjoyed it.

Get Wrecked!

Trigun

Anime, I say the word and it probably conjures up some image in your mind, and it may be very different than what I think of. I see Anime as an art form, and as a medium for telling amazing, high quality stories.

But as with all other mediums for telling stories there is lots of crap you have to sort through, and I mean a lot of crap. Anime is notorious for lots of subpar shows, crappy animation, sexiest interpretations of women, and lots of shows you should just NEVER watch. Really a lot of this stuff is unavoidable, now you might be saying "Well why the heck would I ever watch Anime?" Well because sometimes when shoveling through the sea of crap you may well find a gem mixed in with it all. Really gross analogue aside, I'm here to help you find those gems by taking about all of my favorite Anime. So enjoy the ride.

The Story:

Taking place on a distant desert planet, this space western begins with Meryl Stryfe and Milly Thompson who are sent by the Bernardelli Insurance Company to evaluate claims regarding Vash the Stampede.

The Humanoid Typhoon (aka Vash the Stampede,) has a 60 Billion double dollar ($$) bounty on his head for the destruction of an entire city and all of it's inhabitance. Because of the amazingly large bounty on his head everyone is gunning to catch him. But when Meryl and Milly finally catch up with him, they find that Vash the Stampede is nothing but a smiling, kind-hearted idiot, who wants nothing more than to promote love and peace!

But trouble always seems to find him, as Meryl and Milly follow him on his journey. Along the way, they will meet the down on his luck priest who carries a giant cross on his back named Wolfwood,

and the sinister villain named Legato.

But the question remains is this the real Vash or is there something else going on?

The Anime:

Trigun is a really awesome show, you don't even have to go very far to see why. While it may look like a simple westren, Trigun is an action science fiction series. There are crazy gun fights in this show, and lots of fooling around on Vash's part.

He always gets into these ridiculous battles were he is outgunned and you think: Oh man there is no way he will make it out of this one, but then he does! It feels a bit like he is always in control, and he is just toying with whoever he is fighting. This often leads to some very comical moments, where he might end up dropping something and make someone trip, and then it sets of some chain reaction. If fact you might say that Trigun is more of a comedy than anything,

I mean the show opens with a whole Saloon getting literally destroyed.

But no Trigun really isn't a comedy because the are a lot of sad and serious moments, and when they hit they hit hard. Vash himself may look like a fun loving, pervy, womanizer, but its really just a cover for something else. Don't get me wrong he is like that, but he is a character that suffers from a lot of pain, and grief of the past.

While we are on the subject of characters in Trigun I say that they are all really well done. Meryl and Milly may look like plain damsels in distress type characters,

but Milly carries around this big honking gun which she "accidentally" beats people up with.

Meryl is sort of there to deal with Vash's antics, and while it may not always seem like she has that much of a character, she has a great friendship with Milly, and she does have some awesome moments. And who knows she might just end up falling for Vash.

As for the rest of the cast I really don't want to say much as to not spoil anything, but the villains are really cool.

Oh and Wolfwood is the best.

The Music and Presentation:

Trigun's world very much resembles that of the wild west, and if I didn't tell you anything about the show before you watched it you would probably think it was just a western. But then there are these crazy characters that almost look like monsters, and creatures, and they carry giant space guns.

The planet that it is set on is never named but it is completely made up of desert, and they do a good job making it look like it.

The action in Trigun is very top notch, and the animation still looks really good even 14 years later. And there is very little repeat animation, thank goodness!

As for the music it is pretty varied. Some of the music sounds like the music in a western, some of it sounds like heavy metal, and then some of it sounds like Jazz. It is a very weird mix, but it works quite well, I feel like it is all Trigun.

As for the theme song it gets me all pumped to watch the show, it is awesome. Check it out.

Final thoughts:

Trigun is a wild ride of a show. It tells a well constructed story that keeps you guessing. At the beginning it seems like it isn't really going anywhere and doesn't know how to end, but then it comes from left field with an ending that you realize could only have been thought up at the beginning, as it was setup pretty well. And while the show would have still been great if it was just about Vash helping people, but it is the ending that really makes this one worth watching, and then rewatching. Go out and enjoy this great anime. You won't regret it. Oh and watch it in Japanese.

LOVE AND PEACE!

The Unspoken Rules of Everything.

I often feel like I live in a completely different world from the one other people live in. I feel constantly alienated by the people around me. How could people be so dumb? I'm not necessarily talking about people I know, but more about random people around me. I mean how am I suppose to enjoy Big Hero 6 if the little kid next to me leans over and says something to me?

So I have decided to make a list of "The Unspoken Rules of Everything." Not that I am going to be able to make a list of every rule of all time that people should follow, but here is a list of things I have just been thinking about recently.

#1. When in a Movie theater, or a live theater and the show has already started, please be quiet and courteous and silence your cell phones. And Shut Your Yaps People!!!

#2. When posting on Facebook please refrain from posting more than a maximum of 3 posts at a time, as to not flood the notifications of your friends.

#3. When reading this blog, comments are a good way to tell me what your thoughts are about it, as well as a good way to tell me what you would want me to review in the future. So please use them.

#4. Also tell all of your friends to read this, and then it will become popular and then and can turn this into a job, and I can stop washing dishes.

#5. No one likes spoilers, so warn people if you are going to spoil something.

#6. Don't automatically go ballistic on someone if they spoil something, because this leads to lots of fighting. And what the told you might not even be a spoiler as it my appear in the trailer, or might just be speculation.

#7. If you are more of a "Nerd" than somebody, (know more about a particular movie, comic, or videogame, than someone else.) Don't rub it in that persons face, or assume that they don't know anything because you know more. It is just mean, and you shouldn't do it.

#8. When watching Anime or a movie that was originally in a foreign language, watch it in that language with subtitles. A lot of people worked really hard recording, and acting to make the original version so you should honor them by watching it as it was originally intended to be seen. That and it is almost always a better experience.

#9. When watching Anime or any other TV show watch at least the first three episodes, if you aren't hooked, or don't care to see what happens next, then the show is not for you and you can stop watching.

And now I given you some great rules to follow when/if you decide to watch the Anime I am going to start recommending to you.

Ulterior Motive Man away!