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So I've been Gone.....(Update)
So I've been gone awhile, it's been several months since I last posted. I've been through a lot, quit my job, got a temporary one and now I have a permanent one this fall. For awhile I just lost the drive to post but now that I am off all summer I feel the drive back. Bottom line... I'm back, enjoy some more posts about Star Trek Star Wars and more.
Sincerely,
JB
The Enterprise episode better than It has any right to be
CW: Due to the nature of this episode there will be some Nazi Imagery
Enterprise is truly a show of contrasts, it had amazing highs and some low lows and in Season Three they had a problem. Despite it being a very good season it's ratings were on the toilet and the series was in the real possible situation of cancellation. Show creator, producer and leader writer Brannon Braga was tired he wanted to leave but he didn't want the show to get canceled so before he left season 3 with a cliff hanger. A cliff hanger so weird that it would force Paramount to renew for a fourth season. That cliff hanger was... after Archer seems to die destroying the Xindi super weapon, he wakes up to see... an alien in a Nazi uniform.
In Season Four series writer for Season Three Manny took the helm of the show and his first duty was to explain why there was an alien in a Nazi uniform. The solution was the two part episode Storm Front an episode that would solve the cliff hanger and end the floundering Temporal Cold War arc. Let's see what they came up with.
Storm Front is an episode in which Jonathan Archer and the crew of the Enterprise have to face Timer traveling aliens from the temporal cold war to teaming up with the Nazis in alternative World War Two timeline were they have invaded the United States and are winning the. Yes time traveling Nazi aliens is a bit of a lot to take in and the episode is attempting to do a lot. To be honest while the episode is not that great it is better than it could have been.
There are some nice things about this episode, some of the character work is pretty good. Archer despite being very bewildered is pretty good and handles himself well in handling the Nazi scum, he has nice report with this woman from this alt timeline and I am glad there is no romantic connection made. There is also something to be said about how this alt history Nazi invasion brings people together. People of color, women and even the Mob are joining together to help Archer fix the timeline. Vosk as a villain is fine, he doesn't have much to do but the way he looks and the way he sounds is top notch. The moment he make a Nazi General shit his pants with fear is nice. The problem is ... he doesn't care about the conflict. He is only there and teaming up with the Nazi's because it is a good way for him to get back to his time period. The weakest part of this episode is that yes it is very much the Archer show, no one else from the main cast gets much to do in this episode as they are all mostly stuck on the ship while Archer is in the thick of it and their stories feel very disconnected and the writing is uneven . Considering how much there is to juggle it could have been worse but... its very .. okay as it is.
Sincerely,
JB
Hey guys just thought I'd share this. It has nothing to do with Star Trek, just a little slice of life piece of literature I'm working on.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/77235806/chapters/202194536
Gene L. Coon, the other Gene of Star Trek
Every Trekkie and Trekker knows Gene Roddenberry, the creator and originator of the Star Trek franchise. However there are a lot of fans who don't know about another man who helped Trek just as much as Gene Roddenberry whose name just also happens to be Gene.
Origin
Gene was born on January 7th 1924 in Nebraska. He was talented from a young age even appearing on local radio as a kid. He later moved to California and joined the Marine Corps, doing state side work for them and later going to college and later serving in the Korean war. He later found work in news broadcast and writing often doing some work on tv screen plays mostly on action and western shows like Dragnet and Banaza and in 1957 he started writing for the show that would change things for ever.
Wagon Train to the Stars
Wagon Train started in 1957, it was about a wagon Train heading west in the 19th century each episode would have guest stars in addition to the regular cast it was a great source of moral lessons for the audience watching. Gene L Coon got a job on the show... A show that another man named Gene would take inspiration from.
Star Trek
In 1966 John D.F. Black left Star Trek and Gene Roddenberry needed a line producer to make sure the show was going smoothly. So after his first three choices were unavailable he hired Coon to be his lone producer. Coon's job was simple but hard, make sure scripts were ready to be filmed. That met doing rewrites of scrips and at times writing scripts of his own to make sure everything got done. Gene liked Coon's writing work on Wagon Train, it was one of the inspirations for Star Trek, and Gene L. Coon was just the man for the job.
Coon got to work and his speed was amazing he was able to rewrite scripts at blazing speeds making adjustments he thought brought life into very dry scifi TV at times. Under his tenure the very basics that would become the Star Trek universe. He is credited with creating, The Klingons, The Augments, Kahn, the eugenics wars, Zefram Cochrane, The prime directive, and the United Federation of Planets itself. Perhaps though his most important contribution to Star Trek was the dynamic between Kirk, Spock and McCoy. Star Trek at times could be very dry and off-putting, it needed real "human" drama to back it. This is exactly what Coon did. In his rewrites and original episodes he always made the connection between Kirk Sock and McCoy real, the friendship between Kirk and Spock, the semi antagonistic verbal jabs of McCoy and Spock, in other words.... he made them more human.
His list of original episodes is a list of classics of the original series.
Arena
Erind of Mercy
Taste of Armageddon
Space seed
Devil in the dark.
A piece of the Action
Metamorphosis
However the good times were not to last, at the end of season two he was exhausted, his writing was tiring him out along with his constant butting of heads with Gene Rodenberry, he left at the end of season two. He did however later write a few episodes from season three under and a pen name, the underated Spectre of the Gun, the timely Let This be Your Last battlefield and the horrible Spocks Brain.
Legacy
Gene L. Coon never got to see his time in the sun unlike a certain other Gene. Coon a chronic chain smoker died in 1973 of cancer. He never got to see the resurgence, the popularity Trek had in the 1970s, he never got to see the movies or help in the TNG era. Later on Gene Rodenberry egotist as he took credit for a lot of Coon's work knowing that he was not alive to contradict him, his name has been largely forgotten outside of die-hard fan circles. Some people such as William Shatner in print and in person have said that he contributed as much as the Great Bird himself and I agree. So.... 102 years after his birth let's remember Gene L. Coon the other Gene of Trek.
Gene L. Coon, the other Gene of Star Trek
Every Trekkie and Trekker knows Gene Roddenberry, the creator and originator of the Star Trek franchise. However there are a lot of fans who don't know about another man who helped Trek just as much as Gene Roddenberry whose name just also happens to be Gene.
Origin
Gene was born on January 7th 1924 in Nebraska. He was talented from a young age even appearing on local radio as a kid. He later moved to California and joined the Marine Corps, doing state side work for them and later going to college and later serving in the Korean war. He later found work in news broadcast and writing often doing some work on tv screen plays mostly on action and western shows like Dragnet and Banaza and in 1957 he started writing for the show that would change things for ever.
Wagon Train to the Stars
Wagon Train started in 1957, it was about a wagon Train heading west in the 19th century each episode would have guest stars in addition to the regular cast it was a great source of moral lessons for the audience watching. Gene L Coon got a job on the show... A show that another man named Gene would take inspiration from.
Star Trek
In 1966 John D.F. Black left Star Trek and Gene Roddenberry needed a line producer to make sure the show was going smoothly. So after his first three choices were unavailable he hired Coon to be his line producer. Coon's job was simple but hard, make sure scripts were ready to be filmed. That met doing rewrites of scrips and at times writing scripts of his own to make sure everything got done. Gene liked Coon's writing work on Wagon Train, it was one of the inspirations for Star Trek, and Gene L. Coon was just the man for the job.
Coon got to work and his speed was amazing he was able to rewrite scripts at blazing speeds making adjustments he thought brought life into very dry scifi TV at times. Under his tenure the very basics that would become the Star Trek universe. He is credited with creating, The Klingons, The Augments, Kahn, the eugenics wars, Zefram Cochrane, The prime directive, and the United Federation of Planets itself. Perhaps though his most important contribution to Star Trek was the dynamic between Kirk, Spock and McCoy. Star Trek at times could be very dry and off-putting, it needed real "human" drama to back it. This is exactly what Coon did. In his rewrites and original episodes he always made the connection between Kirk Sock and McCoy real, the friendship between Kirk and Spock, the semi antagonistic verbal jabs of McCoy and Spock, in other words.... he made them more human.
His list of original episodes is a list of classics of the original series.
Arena
Erind of Mercy
Taste of Armageddon
Space seed
Devil in the dark.
A piece of the Action
Metamorphosis
However the good times were not to last, at the end of season two he was exhausted, his writing was tiring him out along with his constant butting of heads with Gene Rodenberry, he left at the end of season two. He did however later write a few episodes from season three under and a pen name, the underated Spectre of the Gun, the timely Let This be Your Last battlefield and the horrible Spocks Brain.
Legacy
Gene L. Coon never got to see his time in the sun unlike a certain other Gene. Coon a chronic chain smoker died in 1973 of cancer. He never got to see the resurgence, the popularity Trek had in the 1970s, he never got to see the movies or help in the TNG era. Later on Gene Rodenberry egotist as he so, took credit for a lot of Coon's work knowing that he was not alive to contradict him, his name has been largely forgotten outside of die-hard fan circles. Some people such as William Shatner in print and in person have said that he contributed as much as the Great Bird himself and I agree. So.... 102 years after his birth let's remember Gene L. Coon the other Gene of Trek.
Doctor Who The Movie is fun
The 1996 Doctor Who made for tv movie is quite the oddity in the Doctor who franchise. A co-financed American and British Doctor Who movie set in America that was a failed attempt at a revival. Its status as canon was even questioned for a while by the fanbase. Derided by some as "too American" but I quite like it, is it perfect? .. No... But it's a fun ride that's worth watching.
The Doctor is Dead
In the 90s Doctor Who was dead, dead as it ever has been. In 1989 the last classic story ended with "Survival" a rather odd episode involving cat people and the master growing... fangs and cat eyes. It ended with the 7th Doctor and Ace walking into the wilderness and into an uncertain future. That was it, Doctor Who was gone and the BBC did not want to renew it and didn't want to pay for the cost alone and the series would drift into comics and one very bad charity special. They needed someone to co-fund.
A desperate plan
The BBC wanted to have Doctor Who return to TV but they weren't interested in funding it. In the early 90s they were approached by American TV producer and British expat Philip Segal to make a new Doctor Who series for American TV and he was rejected at first but years later when he became involved with Steven Speilberg's Amblin Entertainment and applied again earning interest from the BBC and a TV movie was commissioned to act as a pilot for a new American Doctor Who show and be a soft reboot for the series and would premiere on the FOX network and the BBC in 1996.
The Story
The story starts as the Master has been executed by the Daleks and the 7th Doctor played by a returning Sylvester McCoy must take his ashes back to Galifrey. Unfortunately on the way back to Earth The Master does what he does best and revives escaping his confinement and forcing the Doctor to land in San Fransisco in late December 1999. He lands the TARDIS in a back alley and after leaving the TARDIS he immediately gets gunned down by gang members. Welcome to America Doc
After he gets gunned down one of the gang members from the other gang Chang Lee finds the Doctor and takes him to the hospital where there is a botched operation to do him having two hearts and dies. It takes a while but after being dead for a while and the Master now a good Snake kills a random paramedic and steals his body as the master usually does. After that the Doctor regenerates and eventually finds the Doctor that accidentally kills him and the two team up. They need to stop the Earth from being destroyed and the Master from stealing the Doctor's body. After some strength the day is saved and happy new year!
The Doctor
The 8th Doctor is played by the ever talented Paul McGann. He really shines in this part when the 8th Doctor is on full display. He has a natural charisma that really makes the 8th Doctor special, everything he says is done with the feeling that this man who has seen yeh universe for hundreds of years still sees amazement in small things. He's great he really sells it, wish we would have got more of him on TV.
The Master
The Master this time around is played by Eric Roberts. His approach to the character is interesting. The problem with the Master is that they couldn't agree on a tone with him. Sometimes he's deadly serious and sometimes he's campy and over the top and it doesn't blend together. Though there are times we're Robert's does well and has proven in Big Finish he can do the part well with a better tone.
The Script
The biggest problem with this movie is the script is not that good. The writing is very "Stuff happens because the writer says so" Few things happen for logical reasons and there's a lot of technobable to justify the plot. The dialogue is also pretty clumsy not being especially great but in a few scenes where the Doctor talks about his home planet and how he finds humans amusing.
Conclusion
Despite me laying a lot of bad things about this movie I quite like it. There are a lot of things that I like and find charming. The set design is amazing, this movie has the best TARDIS interior to this day and they sets have yet to be matched even in the most recent Doctor Who seasons. A lot of the things classic Doctor Who fans got in arms about at the time seem very quaint these days. Like the Doctor being more romantic or having too much action. Which today is laughable as the 2005 reboot doubled down on both of those to the point it makes this movie look humble. Yes the writing is not the best and the story is not very good but it's still a fun ride through and through. It's not the worst thing Doctor Who has ever done, heck it's not even the worst thing the franchise did in the 1990s. Ultimately the movie did well in the UK but in the US it was bomb, doing terribly in ratings and killing any chance of a show being picked up. This meant that Doctor Who would rest for a while longer but when it did ... It did well.
The Return of Doctor Mysterio is silly but I like it.
The Moffat era of Doctor Who has had a mixed reputation with its Christmas specials, some are fine, some are great and some are bad. I had never seen "The Return of Doctor Mysterio" before today. I knew it by reputation as a bad Christmas special even one of the worst and .. I very much disagree.
Don't get me wrong this episode is not one of the best Doctor Who episodes but it's not as bad as its reputation lets on.
"The Return of Doctor Mysterio" starts out as a lot of stories do in New York City where the 12th Doctor finds himself in need of help and luckily there is a young boy who can help him out. Grant is a kid obsessed with comic books he reads them all the time and his room is decked out with them. Through some technobable Grant gains superpowers. Fast forward a few decades later and he is now a Superhero called The Gost. He helps the Doctor foil a plan by aliens to replace world leaders' brains with their own and finds love along the way.
First of all this episode is silly, very silly but that's what makes it a fun watch. This episode fully dives into the superhero genre in full force accepting all the cliches with sincerity and heart. While there is some snarkiness on the Doctor's part it is mostly played straight on the part of Grant/ The Ghost. Inspired by a mixture of superheroes but mostly Superman, he is a very honest and just person, only using physical violence when necessary and not killing his enemies. The cliches are there in full force about every superhero one you can think of and while they are played with a wink and a nod they are sincere nods to superhero comics and never cynical.
The Doctor or "Doctor Mysterio" as Grant calls him is very much on the sidelines for this one helping out when he can and throwing in some comic relief when needed. It is very funny that for all his knowledge of earth he didn't know that Clark Kent and Superman were the same person until reading a comic book. Of course Nardole is in for the ride as well, being... his very weird self. Over all it's a fun watch especially if you like the superhero genre and I think the haters need to chill out and have some fun
Its placement is very telling for the series this was the beginning of Series 10 and the last series for the 12th Doctor and acted as a soft reboot for 12. Series 9 was pretty dark showing 12 at his most desperate and cruelist and the Christmas Special that came at the end of that series was a somber farewell to a long running companion. So we needed a lighter touch to start the series off and I'm glad it is here for a pallet cleanser. Series 10 would go on to be a mixed bag with a great finale and an amazing Christmas Special of its own.. but that's a story for another Christmas.
Next week we hit the first New Year's Special of Doctor Who and this is a big one. You don't want to miss it.
The Doctor The widow and the Wardrobe is the Doctor Who Christmas special at its fluffiest.
As I said in the last review there are two types of Christmas specials, required viewing and fluff. This is because the Christmas specials usually come at the end of a season or the start of the next season, so important status quo changes can happen. This can happen in the form of a new companion, an old one leaving and in a few cases a regeneration. The Doctor The Widow and the Wardrobe is not one of those cases, it's pure Christmas fluff.
This one might be a short one because I don't really think much of this one. This one takes place at the start of season seven, after the big series 6 arc which resulted in the Doc companionless for a while, so the 11th Doctor is going at this alone. In the year 1938 11 is fending off a Cybermen invasion, at least I think it's the Cybermen. He falls to earth and a random Earth woman helps him out. A few years later when her husband is missing in action, presumed dead in World War II, the Doctor returns the favor by giving her and her kids a Christmas they will never forget and everything goes sideways pretty fast as you would suspect.
As the title suggests, this is a take on "The Lion the witch and the Wardrobe" in. A round about way, the Doctor and his three companions get stuck on an alien world with living trees who are about to get harvested and they need the humans to help save them. The Doctor reunites with Rory and Amy at the end, also she saves her husband.
The episode itself is .. fine. There is nothing wrong with it but it's not very good. The Mother is chosen because she has a strong will and the living trees store their life force inside her head for a while. The first half of the episode is okay, it does set the Christmas mood but the last half is kind of dull. Overall, if you aren't in the mood for a Christmas episode you can just skip this one.
Join me next time for "The Return of Doctor Mysterio"
Oh boy.....
Doctor Who's First proper Christmas special, The Christmas invasion.
The classic era of Doctor Who didn't have any Christmas specials but The Feast of Steven. However when the new era began in 2005 it brought a new tradition that Doctor who would do for over a decade. The Christmas special, let's see what Russell T. Davies and company cooked up.
There are two types of Doctor Who Christmas specials, essential viewing and fluff. This as it happens to be is essential for any first Doctor Who watch as it is the first proper appearance of the 10th Doctor.
In the previous season finale, the 9th Doctor sacrificed himself to save Rose and in the beginning of this episode the TARDIS crash lands on earth and the Doctor is a little sick from his regeneration. The new Doctor is sick in bed for most of this episode only showing up to save the day. The plot of the "Christmas Invasion" is very simple, Earth is invaded by a species known as the Sycorax, the Doctor Who Predator type alien that is mandatory in all sci-fi franchises. The characters must find a way to deal with the aliens without the help of the Doctor and Rose actually does pretty well for her first time trying and failing to bluff the aliens but it doesn't work, and then the Doctor shows up to duel the leader of the pack, he wins the earth is saved but Harriet Jones the PM of the UK blows up their ship anyway to show the earth means bissinus. Then The Doctor gives a stern finger wagging and he and Rose go into Series 2.
This episode is pretty good for the most part, it being mostly Doctorless gives a spotlight to the supporting cast. Everyone gets a small part to play and time to shine. From Rose's boyfriend Micky to random government officials get some time.
Admittedly the time between the crash landing and the invasion is a tad dull but it does set a Christmas mood, with killer Santa's and Christmas trees it's all enjoyable fluff. It's nice to see Rose confused by the concept of regeneration like many new viewers would be at the time.
When the Doctor does awake it's good stuff, this first impression of Ten is strong as he easily shuts down their plans and duels the leader with the swashbuckling action and funny mannerisms Ten would be famous for. There is a moment where the leader once defeated tries to kill the Doctor in which the Doc dispatches him in a very cold manner and proclaims "No second chances" it's a very interesting development for the Doctor that goes nowhere in the future, it's just a strange blip.
Overall it's an enjoyable watch with a basic premise to start out the Christmas special. Next time I will visit a Christmas special I have never seen before when I visit "The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe"
I create orginal works of fiction based on classic literature
Hey folks my patreon is here and it's free! Where I talk about my new series Children of the Night.
Classic Doctor Who's First and only Christmas special is a mess
You know me, I talk mostly about Star Trek on this blog, the big problem is that Trek doesn't do holiday specials except for that one time they did a Halloween special. If only there was another long running sci-fi show that was famous for its holiday specials... Oh wait yes there is.
If you have only popped your head into modern Doctor Who you might think the annual Christmas special was a thing that has always existed since the beginning but no. Classic Doctor Who only had one Christmas special in 1965 featuring the first Doctor, The feast of Steven.
The feast of Steven is one of the infamous lost episodes of Doctor Who the only thing that remains is the audio track and a few tele-snap photos. I myself watched a well done amateur animatic recreation on YouTube, Link included.
The Feast of Steven is a strange episode even excluding the lack of footage. It is the 7th episode in the Dalek's Master plan, but don't get your hopes up the Dalek's do not appear in this episode. The episode is about The Doctor and his companions spending Christmas at a Liverpool police station. When the TARDIS lands in front of it, The Doctor goes out to fix it when he is taken by the police and questioned about what he is doing there. After some banter, The Doctor's companion Steven steals a police officer uniform and gets him out and they fly off to their next destination, a Hollywood movie set during the 1920's. After some more ... confusing shenanigans the group gets out of there too and back to the TARDIS where the Doctor gets some drinks out for his companions and breaks the fourth wall by wishing the audience a Merry Christmas.
The Feast of Steven could only be described as confusing and inessnetal. This was not intended to be a Christmas special, it was just an episode that happened to fall on Christmas so they made it a special. It really has no plot to speak of, it seems to be made up of a series of gags and physical comedy. If we had an intact episode it might be different but I don't feel like my life was enriched by the episode. The first Doctor Who Christmas Special is one you can skip.
https://youtu.be/ZRFlWddgi2Y?si=dwlfxTLMHG8nmZbX
i am hereby crowning next weekend, november 29th and 30th, as mutual appreciation weekend BECAUSE I CAN
itll be awkward if theres already one tho.....
@39sm1le @roryamami @rawrfatherwhatsthenews @silentlyhowlingatthemoon @skeletal-spire-man-aka-overfit @wh0sisabella @gradient-pjsk
YIPPEE
@loacace @mcflurrina @orikeys @kamisheep @shuichisdarkmistress @talking-twix
AYEEEE THANK YOUUU <3
beautiful people I love and adore: @calciumhasarrived @lifecouldbeworsecalvin @bluenerdd34 @ieatrox @roselikevelvet @bloodbatter @littlebodybighearttinywings @whycantibeajellyfish @girlinblueblogs @alacritik @ultimatecori @oseoula @battersweet @ediblebloodvessels @thejesterfrog @komokiri @jellyrybka @cayennedarling @alacritik @mickyx-x
YIMPEE TY!!
All of my favorite mooties: @ravenstea @r4venlyn @pinkangelglitterdusttt @ariannagram @starrycreator @slightlysophoric @daughterofdeath28 @lonelybatz @livermorium-and-arsenic-tales @leechesontheroof @lucidental @virtualcoffeemoon @manicamelodic
Aw thanks! I have a lot of moots but these are the ones I talk to/ineract with the most
@asher-cherryblossom @aspenindatree @where-re @journal-of-janus @corvine-cosmos @adamantinetoska @jellyrybka @ginger-snap-doodles/all my other moots
@its-hard-to-let-go-of-an-echo @theklutzycrow @marigold-solis-harp-player @leechesontheroof @the-broken-stargazer @gracious-midnight @purple-dinosaur17 @always-emo @i-put-the-hyper-in-hyperfixated @thatonecoveyin12 @vannisundercover @auxsillyary @lightwdangelo @drksanctuary @reca-yuan @forsakencollie @juicemetheus @singusasongchousthepigeonman @the-stonekeepers +all my moots. I love you all, but I have trouble remembering you all T-T
Omg you put me!!!
@beautyqueenxwisegirl @fatuousion @tea-cake-and-sarcasm @a-dam-tris-prior-fan @arikakari @youngjusticerulez @chloee0-0 @minnow-does-not-approve @diktatorpickles @shenanigan42 @aviscerate @rerejunebug @journal-of-janus
I LOVE YOU ALL
I LOVE YOU MY MUTUALS
@tea-cake-and-sarcasm @localfandom @greypigman07 @the-stonekeepers @thisisnoplaceofhonour @reireicryblood @spizeydizey @sholmeslupin @casino-stan
I don't have many and they have mostly been tagged but yay! We love mutuals!
@whenyoulikeandwhereyoulike @mcrandfobfan
@amypihcs @rosemelodyshah @moroniccats @anon-remsha @lestradelurkshere @triflesandtea @nessahero @loveforjeremybrett @oceangems85 @tyrannosaurusnacks @identitycroissant-tm @millie-hum @whimsicalhappeningsareafoot @yamy-brett and any others who I have forgotten
Awww yay moot appreciation!!
@iknowwhatimdoinghehe, @blairhousemd, @morbandy, @species8472kisser, @ratenemy, @cringeunworthy, @alittleliedown, @cosmic-aquamarine, @siopea, @kateiscoolaboutit, @itookthetardis2liveaid, @mormtastic, @hospitableasacactus, @moldybee, @ghostonagravestone, @mimisher, @alphabetablocker, @creaturedrawsthings, @ceasefulwatcher, and anyone else i mayve forgotten
Lovely people, ily all <3
I LOVE ALL OF MY MOOTS🫶👽
@whimsicalhappeningsareafoot @revlerie @qcontinuumumum @cdr2002 @weyoun-five @evviejo @godsfavoritepunchingbag @ussjellyfish @qcontinuumumum @voidgivnfocus and anyone else i’ve forgotten💜🛸
Awww thanks
I love my friends! ❤️❤️❤️
@andrewtreks @jbtrekpost @warpcorecontainmentfield @nerys-kira-major @attiredpan @ajtal @not-a-spy-garak and anyone I forgot
And most of all I LOVE MY GIRLFRIEND
@laneleeta 💋
I love my friends!
@cdr2002 @laneleeta @jbtrekpost @nerys-kira-major @attiredpan and everyone else I've become friends with.
And I love my beautiful girlfriend, who unfortunately isn't on Tumblr.
Ah thanks
Red Dead Redemption II is an odd game sometimes. It's a game where you can beat a guy to death in front of a dozen witnesses and no one cares. However, the moment you loot his body people go insane run for the cops.
I don't know if it's me growing older but Video games just aren't drawing me in like they used to. I've barely touched the Outer Worlds 2 since it came out.
Well Pokemon Legends ZA was one of the Pokemon games of all time. Not the best but not the worst either. Will say having someone actually die in a Pokemon game is bold if nothing else.
My feelings after finally beating Pokemon Legends ZA
Pokemon Legends ZA Impressions
I have been a life long Pokemon fan since generation 3, all the way back to Fire Red when I was 5 years old and the journey the Pokemon franchise has been on has been quite a ride which brings us to the latest entry of the highest grossing media franchise in history.
Pokemon Legends ZA is not a bad game, it is not even the worst Pokemon game in the franchise. I much prefer it over the likes of Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, not that is much a compliment. BDSP was the only Pokemon game that was outclassed by gree ROM hacks. Pokemon Legends ZA is not bad ... But it is disappointing..
I played this game for about 20 hours since it was release on the original Switch hardware. I have not completed the game but I have seen about as much as I think I need to in order to get a good impression. Let's start out with the battle system.
The Battle system
Unlike the regular game which have turn based combat this game takes a different approach. Instead of getting the traditional JRPG route we have more of an action RPG based system where each attack has unlimited PP and is instead put on cool down timers. Stronger attacks will take longer to charge up and cool down and weaker attacks will take much shorter. In addition to this you can move your pokemon around at times to avoid attacks completely. This comes with its strengths and weaknesses. On the good side this makes battles go by much faster than in the old games, with sneak attack moves a battle can end in mere seconds. It also feels a bit more like the anime where sheer numbers are not the only factor. It also depends on the terrain and how far the attack reaches. Also the mega forms can add variety. On the flip side this can also get very hectic real fast especially in a scenario where you have several will Pokemon with agro on you at once. There is little time to take a breath and think about how you want to handle this also can lead to some switching in and out exploits and some weird collision detection. Overall this system is novel but I wouldn't want this to be the standard going through.
The world and story
To make a long story short the world in this game is not very good. Unlike the previous legends game which took place in the past as you explored a region that had not yet been heavily colonized here you are in the Kalos region in the not too distant future of the X and Y games. By Kalos region I mean one city. Lumiose city is the sole location in the game which is very limiting. No more caves or forest, in everything from the wild pokemon catching to battling is done in the streets. There are several wild areas you can go to in order to catch Pokemon, there are also a few in the street at times. Each wild area is pretty small and bare bones leaving no feeling of exploration at all. It's more like you are a tourist on safari then actually walking among the Pokemon. It feels very boring compared to before games and especially Legends Arceus which had a big focus on exploration. At night time a zone of the city will turn into a battle zone where trainers can freely battle as they please and whoever they want. It's an interesting idea but these locations are just regular parts of the city with nothing interesting. The City itself is pretty bland and undercooked. For a city based on Paris this is pretty boring. Everything is pretty similar, the only thing breaking it up are construction platforms that you can ...parkour on which is not very fun because the switch controls are not precise enough which leads to a lot of falling off and losing progress. Also while I don't care much about graphics the flat textures on the building are hard to ignore once you see them. The story is .... fine nothing special but better than the story of Sword and Shield.
Character Customization
I am happy to say that this is the best character customization in a pokemon game yet. No gender locking clothes or hairstyles so you can pretty much mix and match anything you want. It being based on Paris, does have a lot of good fashion choices. Probably too many try out and too expensive to get in one shot as fashion is by far the most expensive stuff in the game and I find the choices to be nice. Very mainland European style fashion choices that definitely leans more to the female side than the male side. I do however find the selection of hats lacking or at least nothing that fits my personal style of hats. You do get a trilby by default but I think that it makes you look like some kind of French hipster. It is however the best hat in the game and I have yet to find my preferred flat cap from the past few games.
Verdict
Over this game is a real mixed bag of interesting game play tweaks, great customization and some interesting ideas but also a pretty bland game world without the whimsy and exploration of other games in the franchise. Die hards might want to check it out for its new battle system. New players are better off looking out for another entry to start with and players who dropped off the franchise will be wooed back by this game. Also yes the price is way too high for this game and what you get with it. I would tell you to wait for a price drop but you know it's never gonna happen.
Sincerely,
JB
