I ship that like The East India Company @shanwaters-blog - Tumblr Blog

Visit Original Link

Hi everyone, here’s the first episode of the site’s accompanying podcast, the Colorcast! You can subscribe to the RSS feed by clicking here, so you can get updates in your favorite music player, or simply check back on this blog for the newest episodes in the sidebar (newer episodes will most likely not be audio posts like this one). We aim to have episodes up on iTunes, Google Play, and Spotify soon, but it’s a work in progress.

Our first episode (with Seth and Alex) discusses the new God of War (that I just reviewed not too long ago). We do discuss spoilers, but we give you a heads up to the point of no return - just be aware of it! Let us know what you think; we hope you enjoy the show!

colorcastmedia

Super Mario 64 Review

Image credit: mariowiki.com (sourced from Nintendo’s original promo materials)

One must wonder how it feels to have created a game like Super Mario 64. It’s a work so seminal, so important, that people continue to mark it as the point where 3D gaming truly began. Too often, Nintendo gets more credit than they deserve… Mario 64 is by no means the first 3D game, the first 3D platformer, or any of the other firsts it’s sometimes credited with. Considering that it’s harder to remember those games than Mario 64, it’s fairer to say Mario 64 is the first truly excellent 3D game. No, Nintendo deserves the credit they get because even though they might not be the first, they’re always the best.

Just about everyone possibly reading this has played the game, so it’s pointless to discuss the revolutionary analog controls, the game loop (jumping into paintings to go to new worlds, completing the Star objectives, beating the Bowser bosses), or the dated but quaint polygonal graphics. Instead, it’s more important to list the little anecdotes that make people swell inside. Imagine an after-school program where the well-worn N64 had a copy of SM64 running near-constantly, where every kid did the Princess Secret Slide star and then left Mario to idle in his electronic playground. Recall the terror of the hungry piano, munching after Mario. Fuzzy, otherworldly feelings shoulder the over-saturated colors of the prototypical 3D worlds the player explores; Jolly Roger Bay embolizes this haunting but beautiful atmosphere, with both the most memorable enemy (the giant eel) and song of the game.

The Eel, awaiting dinner. Image credit: joshuarivers

This game feels nothing like the classic Mario games of yore. The faces and places are familiar – Peach, Mario, Bowser, Toad, Goombas, Koopas, the Princess’ Castle – but the way the game is played and the spaces traversed distances itself heavily from the 2D iterations. The decision to choose a free-roaming objective-based style of gameplay over simply crafting a 2D Mario level from behind isn’t just bold, it’s downright bizarre. It’s impossible to see Nintendo as anything but visionary; Mario was used as a canvas for a new playstyle Nintendo wanted. Nobody else could have done this.

Super Mario 64 displays a level of confidence Nintendo didn’t have again for years. It again uses Miyamoto’s signature guided-hand design mantra, but with even less guidance this time, thrusting the player into the game with little to no tutorial. Jumping through giant portraits of the levels is the only way to access the insides of the worlds the painting detailed. It’s hard to pinpoint when players figured out how to do this, but it feels like it’s something that’s just always been known. Think about how to cross Bob-Omb Battlefield and get to King Bob-Omb. The star’s hint text suggests a straightforward clue: Big Bob-Omb on the Summit. It’s hard to think of a time where the path wasn’t ingrained into player’s minds permanently. With no tutorial, no overt text, no glowing guiding markers, millions of players figured out which direction to go and how to defeat the boss at the top. If that isn’t incredible game design, what is?

Defeating the Chain Chomp in a novel way. Image credit: suppermariobroth.

The ability to clear the Stars in ways other than how it’s scripted is so novel, it won’t reappear in even Nintendo’s own games for years to come. There’s an owl in Whomp’s Fortress that spawns when the star ‘Fall Onto Caged Island’ is selected. The intended method to clear this objective is to ride the owl to the cage and fall into it. Many players had no idea about this, most of them (including the author of this piece) simply leaped and climbed and finagled their way into the cage. This sort of open-ended design is the truly momentous achievement of Super Mario 64, the secret sauce that countless designers continue to use for their own games.

There’s not a lot to knock the game on that’s not related to its age – the difficulty is uneven, the goals can be obtuse, and the repetition of tasks and bosses is wearisome – but mostly, the biggest hurdle is how old it feels. As we get farther from the release date of early 3D efforts such as this one, it’s harder to recommend them to players today. Super Mario 64 is a truly excellent game, but the flaws that are there are harder to ignore when they’ve been improved upon by its successors. It’s always worth experiencing a landmark work of art, however, so if a player can look past the layers of dust time has worn onto the game, they’ll find an experience that changed how the world made video games.

Image credit: n64thstreet

Verdict: Recommended

colorcastmedia

Avengers #1 Review

Image Credit: Marvel Comics 2018 copyrighted material from Avengers #1 (05-02-2018), Art drawn by Ed McGuinness

Writer: Jason Aaron Artist: Ed McGuinness Date of Release: 05-02-2018 Price: $4.99 Page Count: 32

Jason Aaron has undeniably established himself as one of Marvel’s premiere writing talents. His six-year run on the character of Thor, in various titles including Thor: God of Thunder, Thor, and Mighty Thor, has been nothing short of magnificent. Earlier this year when Marvel announced that he would be taking over the Avengers with artist Ed McGuinness, I made sure to add it to my pull list.

I haven’t regularly kept up with an Avengers comic since Jonathan Hickman’s run on Avengers and New Avengers ended in 2015. Although I’ve been keeping up with Aaron’s work for the past three years, I’m working with close to a three-year gap on the Avengers title. I’ve been looking forward to picking up Avengers #1 for a while, and it certainly didn’t disappoint.

Avengers #1 sets up a mystery that could have major ramifications for the Marvel Universe’s timeline as we know it. As soon as the issue starts, it assumes that the reader has probably read Jason Aaron’s Marvel Legacy #1 one-shot issue from last September, which introduces the 1,000,000 B.C. Avengers. If you haven’t, the book does a decent job of catching you up to speed. If it’s a little confusing, and if you’re a new reader, know that confusing is ‘okay’. No one should ever expect to understand everything about a book after only reading the first chapter, and the same principle applies to comics.

Standing on its own as a concept, the prehistoric Avengers may sound utterly ridiculous. Odin Borson leading a team of Avengers, featuring the Phoenix, the original Black Panther, and Agamotto among others? Turns out it works and in a strangely satisfying way. They’re only in this issue for a very brief amount of time, but when it was over, I found myself wanting to know more.

The 1,000,000 B.C. Avengers as seen in Marvel Legacy #1 (09-27-2017), Marvel Comics 2017 copyrighted material, drawn by Mike Deodato Jr.

When we get to the present, we find the “big three’’ Avengers sitting in a bar, raising glasses to days of Avengers past. It’s good to see Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, and Thor Odinson together once again. “All-new, All-different” Marvel certainly shook things up for better or for worse, depending on your opinion, and that fact isn’t lost on these three. The Avengers are no more, as of now. Should they resurrect the team?

Image Credit: Marvel Comics 2018 copyrighted material from Avengers #1 (05-02-2018), Art drawn by Ed McGuinness

Tony isn’t sure that the three of them have a right to start the Avengers again. He thinks that maybe someone else could make something “new and exciting” on top of the foundation they built. Steve thinks that they have a responsibility to one another to get the core team back together; to return to the roots of what it meant to be an Avenger. Thor is of the mind that they need one another, everything else be damned. This conversation addresses each way fans have felt about Marvel over the last few years, and each point is valid. It feels refreshingly honest.

Image Credit: Marvel Comics 2018 copyrighted material from Avengers #1 (05-02-2018), Art drawn by Ed McGuinness

On a fundamental level, this issue has some pretty sterling qualities. Aaron manages to balance the team elements of the book well. Most of the issue is purely set up, and there’s little to no action involved. The bulk of the issue focuses on five of the eight members of the team, but the remaining members seemingly are going to play a larger part in the following issue.

Structurally, the choice to let the prehistoric Avengers start the issue off seems a little out of place. It wouldn’t have changed the issue much for their story to have taken place in the middle of the narrative, or as an epilogue. There’s a scene that takes place in the middle of the issue where Doctor Strange references Agamotto by name, and the story would have been fine there. It may have been a little less odd for new readers to start the issue in the present day. That being said, the issue comes in for a solid landing and left me excited for the follow-up.

Ed McGuinness gets to flex his muscles on a couple of two-page spreads. His character designs give love to the classics for each character but also feel plenty new in some ways. He really excels at keeping the facial expressions of the characters emotive and engaged. When drawing the cosmic elements, his art takes on Jack Kirby-like energy. Aaron and McGuinness have the makings of a fantastic creative team, and I hope they stick together for quite some time.

Overall, I’d highly recommend you pick up Avengers #1. It’s a great issue and hopefully, it will build up into a run that Marvel will dedicate itself to. Given their track record, I can’t promise you that there won’t be another Avengers #1 next year, but with this creative team, and the quality of this first issue, it’s a hard one to pass up. While print comics are always great, you can always find a copy on Comixology.

phuiscribbles

I binge watched Aggretsuko the other day and golly this show is just TOO CUTE AND SILLY. RetsuHaida is the death of me… [On Twitter]

colorcastmedia

Violet Evergarden Review

As I sit here at my computer, contemplating the words to talk about this show and fully do it justice, I’m nearly at a loss. Violet Evergarden is at its core a tremendously gorgeous and poignant anime that follows the titular character through the aftermath of a longstanding, brutal war as she attempts to recover and find purpose in life.

Image credit: MangaHelpers

Violet herself is a teenage girl who appears to be almost emotionless and doll-like. She doesn’t seem to understand basic human emotions or actions, but this is due to her exposure to wartime traumas at a young age. As the story progresses, however, you begin to catch glimpses into the reality revolving around her history. Without giving too much away, you learn that Violet has been raised to essentially be a weapon of war, to the point where she exhibits almost inhuman qualities. This is shown in the very first episode, during a flashback that depicts the night that the war ended—which also happens to be the night that Violet lost both of her arms in combat.

Image Credit: Youtube (Primary Senpai)

While you might think that this would drive the overarching plot for the series, you’d be mistaken. After losing her appendages, Violet awakens in a hospital bed with fully functional mechanical arms that add to her quasi-superhuman persona even further. Within no time, Violet is able to master the use of these arms and writes a report to her superior officer and dear friend, Major Gilbert.

I’m going to take a second to discuss this opening cinematic that occurs here because it’s absolutely breathtaking. Within mere moments I was completely hooked, plot be damned. It’s not often that you can pinpoint the exact moment where any form of media digs its claws into you so strongly that you know from then on out, you’re fully committed to seeing this story through to the end. The pure aesthetic of the wide camera pans shows the viewer a glimpse of not only the anime’s setting but also the current climate among a population of people who have long been at war. The viewer soon learns that this is a stark contrast to Violet herself, who is ready and awaiting her next orders from Major Gilbert.

Violet is soon visited by Lt. Colonel Hodgins (an old friend of Major Gilbert) who’s come to retrieve Violet so she can with a family in the city that’s agreed to take her in. Through this, Violet discovers that Hodgins has his own postal service company, where he offers Violet a job. Through this job, Violet discovers the Auto Memory Doll department. Auto Memory Dolls in this universe are essentially ghostwriters for hire. They’re skilled individuals that assist in writing letters for those who don’t know how to write or are having trouble properly conveying their emotions through text. Auto Memory Dolls are highly regarded and requested for services across several surrounding nations. After witnessing the power that these letters can have on a person, Violet decides that she wants to become an Auto Memory Doll so that she can learn the true meaning behind Major Gilbert’s last words to her: “I love you”.

Image credit: violet-evergarden.wikia.com

While I have to admit that this plot does sound contrived, the ultimate emotional payoff of the series is worth it - if you have the patience to make it through all 13 episodes. I’d say one episode in particular—Episode 10— is worth taking the plunge into the series. This particular episode is one of the most beautiful stories I’ve witnessed in recent memory and could easily become its own stand-alone short film. While the outcome is slightly predictable early in the episode, it still left me a weeping mess by the end of it. I’m still thinking about, all these weeks later.

Image credit: myanimelist.net

If you can manage to power through the moments of political subterfuge and side plot, your ultimate payoff is the masterful character and relationship development throughout the series. The animation continually stays excellent and will leave you in awe time and time again. Also, this review would be amiss without discussing the pure grace with which the series handles human relations during wartime as well as the life-altering effects that it can have on both those at home and on the battlefront.

I feel like I’m probably not doing this masterpiece of animation justice, but I’d hate to spoil too much for potential viewers; it’s an experience unlike any I’ve had in years. All 13 episodes of Violet Evergarden are available to stream on Netflix.

Verdict: Highly Recommend

shanwaters-blog

Hey, I wrote an anime review! Check it out and give us a follow!

I'll still be posting on this one just nowhere near as often! Love you all!

#anime #otaku #shanwaters #queenoftheotakus

Okay, I have made an executive decision...

Since most of my followers on this blog aren't really anime fans, I'm going to make a second blog. So, if you have any interest in following it, drop something in my ask and I'll send you the URL once I make it or you can track down the post I'll put it in later on. Fair warning: it most likely will be nsfw but I will do my damnedest to tag everything.

#anime #second blog

moraniarty-blog

songs that have an amazingly catchy and cool tune but really uncomfortable lyrics

justplainsomething

I think we’re all thinking of the same thing but don’t dare speak its name for fear of summoning it.

stardustkr7

The-song-that-must-not-be-named

flores--silvestres

We don’t talk about it

maljoylove13

joybang-blog1

ARE THOSE BLURRED FUCKING LIMES

potentialslayerette-deactivated

If you’ve ever asked yourself whether or not you should watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer then the answer is yes. You should watch Buffy. Everyone should watch Buffy. Your family should watch Buffy. Your friends should watch Buffy. Your dog should watch Buffy. Obama should watch Buffy. The world would be a better place if everyone watched Buffy