Toaster's Ramblings

Warning: I have many things to ramble about, so this may be a little scatterbrained.

A while back I was given a Nintendo E-shop card from my brother for Christmas or birthday, I forget which since my B-day is only eleven days after Christmas. Anyways, I decided to put this toward the downloadable characters that Nintendo was designing for Super Smash Bros. Wii U. So a little less than two weeks ago I decided to buy the characters for both Wii U and my 3DS. My first discovery was that because of tax, my $20 card wouldn't be able to buy all four characters of Mewtwo, Roy, Lucas and Ryu. So I bought Mewtwo, Roy, both of whom I had sorely missed since Melee, as well as Ryu (including the exclusive Ryu battlestage). I wasn't not going to buy Ryu! I decided to wait on Lucas as he was really just a more unpredictable clone of Ness.

On Tuesday I picked up another $20 Nintendo E-shop card. My main objective was to put the classic Yoshi puzzle game onto my 3DS, a game that previously had only been available for the original Gameboy. I had figured that the remaining balance would be accessible on my Wii U, I mean it should be all under one account, right? Well, apparently not. Somehow, and for some dumbass reason, both work as separate accounts. So to get Lucas and anything else for Smash Brothers, I have to buy yet another E-shop card. Kind of ridiculous. The only silver lining is that there are lots to games to download for the 3DS to use the rest of that card. I added Dr. Mario and Mega Man 6 to the 3DS, so that's cool... I guess. It just seems stupid that the E-shop is not exactly user friendly and work separate from both systems.

Moving on, the title of the sequel to Guardians of the Galaxy was revealed. It will be called: Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2!!!!!!!!!!! (note: exclamation marks used for sarcastic effect) What an underwhelming title. Look at the names of some of the other sequels from Marvel... The Dark World, The Winter Soldier, The Age of Ultron, Civil War. Their are numerous titles from comics that the Guardians of the Galaxy could have borrowed (in the same was Age of Ultron didn't really follow the storyline of the same name from the books). I'm avoiding Annihilation as I doubt Marvel can use Annihilus and one shouldn't be used without the other, but Guardians of the Galaxy 2 could have had subtitles like Conquest, War of Kings, Realm of Kings, or there could have been an original title. I get that Volume 2 references Star Lord's mix tapes, but generally the term "volume" suggests a new start, like in comics when a series ends and is picked up later with an issue one. The end of the first Guardians movie really had just established them as a team, which would lead to the next storyline, not a rebirth. For example, the recent run of Deadpool ended with the beginning of the Secret Wars event. Once that event is over, a new series of Deadpool will begin, hence a new volume.

So when it was revealed that the part of Ma Kent in Man of Steel would be played by Diane Lane, it weirded me out a little. I think that, for a woman her age, Diane Lane is very attractive. But I have never ever considered that I would think Ma Kent was attractive. It was odd. So fast forward to a few days ago when it was announced that the Marvel/Sony Spider-man reboot had found it's Aunt May... Marisa Tomei! What the hell? First of all, Marisa Tomei is not that old. She's only 50! Also, not that long ago, Tomei was in The Wrestler where she was topless and still quite sexy. So... now Aunt May is sexy? That disturbs me. Aunt May is supposed to be a sweet old woman, sort of like Ma Kent. You know, come to think of it I've seen Diane Lane topless... many years ago, but still, by proxy I have seen both Ma Kent and Aunt May topless! Aaargh! What the hell is going on?!? The Raimi Spider-man trilogy had Rosemary Harris as Aunt May and she seemed right for the part. Sally Field was younger, but she's at least in her 60's. But again, Marisa Tomei is only in 50! She is not elderly yet! Essentially, Peter went off to live with his hot aunt.

A while back I touched upon the topic of Marvel and Disney cancelling their Fantastic Four books to try to stick it to Fox for still retaining the film rights to the property, I guess so there would be no inadvertent advertising on Marvel's part. Well, the plot has thickened some on that count. XM Studios, a company out of Singapore that sculpts high end collectable statues, was asked by Marvel to put a "hard stop" to all X-men and Fantastic Four related statues they were working on. So my question is, how far will this go? Does it extend to action figures. What about Heroclix... it's been many years since we received Fantastic Four Heroclix pieces. It doesn't appear that Marvel is releasing any new Fantastic Four series after their Secret Wars event; in fact, they appear to be splitting up the team. The Thing is the pilot for the Guardians of the Galaxy, Human Torch is with the Inhumans... I assume Invisible Woman is still with S.H.I.E.L.D. and I have no idea what their doing with Mr. Fantastic. Not sure if the X-men are getting the embargo treatment. I haven't seen action figures of them much lately, but we do get some Heroclix of them. They will also have a few new comic book series after Secret Wars as well.

While I want Marvel to get the film rights back to the Fantastic Four, I have mixed feelings about their embargo strategy. Will it make any impact at all (considering the majority of movie-goers do not read comic books) or is it really just "cutting off their nose to spite their face?" Doing that with the Fantastic Four is obviously much easier than banning all X-men related books. Fantastic Four's popularity is minimal these days while the mutants still make up a big chuck of Marvel's profits. At the same time, it's messed up that outside of the books themselves, all X-men merchandising seems to be at risk of being cut off. A long-time X-men fan (Uncanny X-men was the book that got me into comics in the first place), I would be pissed to not receive any more new X-men related Heroclix as long as Fox holds the rights. Let's face it... it's doubtful that Fox will ever lose the rights to the X-men. It makes them too damn much money! X-men First Class proved they don't even need Wolverine to sell a film! Until the public gets sick of comic book movies, which may be coming sooner rather than later, and Fox no longer brings a profit from X-men movies, the mutants aren't going anywhere. That's okay with me... Marvel doesn't need the X-men as much as they need the Fantastic Four and more importantly the universe (Skrulls, Kang, Annihilus, Galactus, Dr. Doom, Silver Surfer) they bring with them.

Finally I want to point out another reason why Dave Grohl is awesome. The Foo Fighters frontman recently broke his leg in a stage accident, so to complete the tour, he had a throne made for himself to rock out in... the rock n' roll equivalent of The Iron Throne from Game of Thrones! Replacing swords are guitars and those black things lining the top? Laser projectors. Further proof Dave Grohl is the man! 

Until next time, Stay Strange

Toaster's Ramblings - Playing Smash Bros. 3DS

So I got the new Super Smash Bros. for the 3DS. I haven't played it a ton yet, I was busy trying to get some writing done on my novel for the Writer's Workshop this Saturday. However, I've played it for an hour or so. My initial impressions are that the game is pretty amazing. It's honestly what you'd expect from Smash Bros... except smaller.

I have 2 problems with the game so far. The first is that I am having a little trouble adjusting to the button configuration of the 3DS. I am used to the Gamecube controller for Super Smash Bros, so having less buttons to work with is hard. I get confused as to which button does what... which really sucks when you need that super jump to avoid falling to your death and you press the "punch" button. Also, there are more button combinations to remember with less buttons. Charging your energy weapon (like Samus does) requires a pressing B and the D pad in the direction you want to fire, but it has to be done in a certain way or you will just shoot the gun. I'm adjusting, but it's a learning curve to get back to the skill level that I had with Brawl.

The other problem I have is that the screen size can be difficult. When the camera zooms out, you have a tough time keeping track of which little moving guy you are as opposed to the other 3 moving guys and all the other flotsam and jetsam on the screen (objects, assist trophies, Pokemon... etc.) A few times I thought I was one guy when in reality I was falling to my death, and vice versa. Now the game does have a red "tag" that hovers over your character to help, but amidst the super fast action going on, it's not always easy to look up and make sure you are actually controlling who you think you are.

That said, the game-play is definitely Smash Bros. It looks and feels the same as the console versions. The movement is fluid, the action is fast and intense. It's really just Super Smash Bros. shrunk into a portable size game.

I haven't had a chance to play all of the new characters yet (some still have to be unlocked). I have most enjoyed Mega Man (no surprises there). He has some awesome attacks and his super jump being assisted by his robo-dog Rush is a great touch. Pac Man is interesting. I like his "chomp mode" attack where he turns into his classic arcade look to bite his opponents. Little Mac is a lot of fun to play. He is fast and has some great striking attacks including a jumping uppercut that would make Street Fighter Ryu's jaw drop. Robin seems cool, but is kind of a finesse character with his various magic spells. Shulk feels a little like Robin to me as he can switch between battle modes, but he has a cool energy sword.  Greninja is also really fun. He's like a super fast water-bending ninja frog. He may be my new Star Fox (one of my go-to characters).

I have not played Palutena, Rosalina, Villager or Wii Fit Trainer yet and I have yet to unlock Lucia, Duck Hunt Dog, Bowser Jr. or any of those really. The only character I have unlocked so far is Wario, which I accomplished by winning the 100 Man Battle.  It will be fun to unlock the rest, I just hope there's nothing stupid hard to open any of them, like defeat 10 men in Cruel Melee mode... I can't take out even 1!

So for those who have a 3DS, I recommend picking up Super Smash Bros. I also look forward to getting the Wii U version... someday. Who knows, it may be released next month in time for Black Friday. Or it may be delayed until next year. If that's the case, the 3DS version will hold me over until then.

Toaster's Ramblings - Super Smash Bros for Wii U and 3DS Edition!

So with less than a month left before the US release of Super Smash Bros for the 3DS (and that it was already released in Japan), it would appear that the character roster is set. In all there looks to be 51 fighters from various video game properties, including 3 Mii fighters that I assume you can import your likeness into, for both the 3DS version and the Wii U version (which apparently has the same roster and a November release date). While there are over a dozen new characters added to the game, there are some omissions from previous games. So let's take a look at the new and the lost characters.

The new Smash Bros fighters are Mega Man, Pac Man, Bowser Jr., Dark Pitt and Palutena (from Kid Icarus), the Duck Hunt Dog, Greninja, Little Mac (Punch Out), Lucina and Robin (from Fire Emblem), Rosalina & Luma (Super Mario Galaxy), Wii Fit Trainer, Villager (from Animal Crossing), and Shulk (from Xeno). We also have the return of Dr. Mario, last seen in the Game Cube version of Smash Bros.

Of these newbies, the ones I am most looking forward to... okay, I am totally psyched for Mega Man, above all others. Beyond him, Pac Man is very cool and I am very curious about how Duck Hunt Dog will play. (Finally we will all have our chance to shoot that damn dog! Laugh at this you furry bastard!) As for the rest, I will have to wait and see. I am worried that Villager will be a lot like the Pikmin guy, one that I never really got into from Brawl. Wii Fit Trainer also seems really odd.

I do want to point out that I think this version will have too many characters fighting with swords. Seriously, they already had two from Fire Emblem, and now there's two more. In all, there appears to be 10 characters that fight with swords! Maybe there will be some unique variations between them (for instance, Pit played a lot differently than Marth in Brawl), but that also worries me. Especially when I see who was cut.

The new Smash Bros Games do not appear to include Ivysaur, Squirtle, Solid Snake, Lucas (from Earthbound), Wolf (from Star Fox) and the Ice Climbers. Ivysaur and Squirtle were both in Brawl as two of the three Pokemon that could be summoned by the Pokemon Trainer. That was a neat idea, but was a little awkward in execution. So in the new game they just went with the third Pokemon, Charizard, as a regular player option. I'm not that torn up over losing Ivysaur and Squirtle. I'm also not that sad over losing Solid Snake, though I imagine others will be. Snake always felt out of place in Brawl. In a game with cartoonish characters having near ridiculous battles, you have this realistic looking soldier fighting with handguns and grenades. (For note, I will miss Snake's hiding under a cardboard box... that was hilarious.) Lucas was really just a crappier version of Ness, so he's no big loss either.

I am disappointed to lose Wolf and the Ice Climbers. Wolf is not a huge loss as he was really a finesse character of a finesse character of a finesse character. Fox was already tricky to master, Falco was even harder, but Wolf was for the advanced students. He has that weird angled charge attack that was great... if you could get it to work. He was stronger than Fox and Falco, but slower. I guess I just liked Wolf as the bad guy option. I would have been sadder to see Falco get the axe.

The Ice Climbers really bug me, though. They've been around since Melee and were very unique. No other character in Smash Bros. operated like them, with their tandem movements and attacks. I know a lot of people hated using them, but I actually enjoyed using the Ice Climbers. I kind of feel like a unique option was replaced by a random sword fighter.

I also want to add that although MewTwo was replaced back in Brawl with Lucario, I still miss him. He had neat attacks and that evil laugh. I get why Lucario replaced him, but I still miss the evil MewTwo.

I do have to say that 51 playable characters is a weird number. Not 50, or 52, or even 55. This makes me think there could be other unlockable characters or possibly future downloadable packages for both the 3DS and Wii U that give new characters, skins, locations, etc. Then a lot of my complaints may be rendered moot. I hope that's the case. I also want to add that the addition of Mega Man trumps every cut character combined. I am really excited for these new Super Smash Bros. released (the expectation of a new installment was my biggest reason to get a Wii U!) and will buy both versions as I am a tool like that.

Top 10 New Playable Characters I Want in Super Smash Bros. for the Wii U

The Wii U launch is approaching and the anticipatory build-up for this new system has been… well, pretty underwhelming. (Seriously Nintendo, you had NOTHING to show for G4?)  We were promised, among other standard “like you would really put out a new console without this game” franchises, that we would get a new Smash Bros. game. Honestly, that would be my biggest reason to buy the system. I am a huge fan of the Super Smash Bros. series going way back to the N64. I love the unique fighting style and insane gameplay of the series as well as getting to use so many diverse video game characters, each utilizing their own special and often legendary attacks. Now the Gamecube and Wii installments each brought many new characters to the game which really expanded the possibilities of play and I imagine that the Wii U will provide an even bigger array of playable characters to choose from. No two additional characters changed the franchise as much as the inclusions of Solid Snake and Sonic the Hedgehog. Both those PC’s are special in that they are not owned by Nintendo and as such really opened the door to all sorts of dream match-ups and battles. So, here is my list of the Top 10 PC’s, either owned by Nintendo or not, that I want in the next installment of Super Smash Bros.

Honorable Mention: Shadow – The evil Sonic could be awesome, but the game designers would really need to make him different from the blue hedgehog. The best way of doing that is with his Chaos attacks. The problem is Shadow seems a lot like a repeat of Sonic, like Dr. Mario, Young Link and Pichu from Melee.

10. Bowser Jr. – Imagine a smaller Bowser with the same shell attacks as his daddy, except make those attacks slightly less powerful in exchange for greater speed.  It seems inevitable that at some point King Koopa’s favorite kid, and considering Jr. is the youngest of 8 that’s saying something, gets included in a Smash Bros. game. He may offer some unique attacks such as using the magic paintbrush or throwing Koopa shells. I think there is definitely enough potential to make a cool and different character for the game.

9. Tails – He’s one of the characters people asked about when Sonic was revealed to be a part of Brawl. Tails is a fan favorite of the Hedgehog series and being a flying character he could be very interesting to play. Plus his mechanic skills could lend him some weapons and gadgets to attack with.

8. Waluigi – You have Wario, why the hell not Waluigi? I suppose the biggest problem would be making Waluigi distinct, especially after Wario was made so drastically different from Mario. But he is definitely a character that people asked about when they saw he was only an Assist Trophy in Brawl and Wario was a playable character. Maybe Waluigi could be based on various sport appearances he’s made like in Super Sluggers.

7. Bonk the Caveman/AirZonk – Going back in time there was a groundbreaking videogame system known as the TurboGrafx 16 which at the time was the only home console to offer 16 bit graphics. The original mascot for the system was Bonk, a cave-boy with a large invulnerable head that he would use to head-butt his enemies. He was featured in several games before being retired and replaced with his great, great, great… way too many greats to bother listing, grandson AirZonk, who was a punk/cyborg boy from the future. Either of these characters would be cool, or Bonk could ‘evolve’ into Zonk much the same way Zelda could become Sheik or the Pokemon change out in midgame; then you could have a change in gameplay as Bonk is more physical and Zonk is a shooter. 

6. Dr. Robotnik – It only seems fair that since we got Sonic, we should get his nemesis. I’m not sure what his power set would be, partly because I haven’t played very many Sonic the Hedgehog games. Maybe he could summon minions like King Dedede (I think that was his name, he was Kirby’s nemesis) or he could use robotic weapons.

5. Knuckles – Again, it was awesome to get Sonic, but Knuckles was a cool character that can be used to expand the speedster design. Knuckles seems made for Super Smash Bros. as he is a major brawler. I would guess this want of mine has one of the best shots at being made into a PC due to his following.

4. Samurai Goroh – This villain of Captain Falcon first appeared in the game as a trophy in Melee, then as an Assist Trophy in Brawl. I think it’s time he graduates to a full on character. His move-set could be similar to Falcon’s, except slower. In return, however, Goroh can attack with his katana. I could even see a special energy slash attack similar to the “Falcon Punch”

2 & 3. Megaman and Dr. Wiley – This might be wishful thinking as Capcom seems content to make their own fighting games using their own catalog of characters, but I would actually want those two 2 characters (Megaman and Dr. Wiley) and one Assist Trophy (Rush). Now we don’t really need Megaman when you consider Samus is really similar to him, but he is so iconic, plus if he could change out types of blasters (ice gun, fire balls, etc.) he could be really cool. I could see Dr. Wiley having a Shang Tsung type of shape shifting ability where he can summon robot armor resembling (and having the powers of) various robot bosses from the games. Rush could be a flying missile launcher or something, I’m not sure, but he should be there. If they wanted to expand further, I would also love to see Zero and Proto Man join the fray.

1. Simon Belmont – Perhaps another case of wishful thinking (unless a deal can be made with Konami), the hero of Castlevania 1 & 2 has been such a Nintendo icon that he appeared in that bizarre Captain N: The Game Master cartoon. I think he could be an entirely unique playable character. Nobody uses a whip! Samus and Link have a grappling hook, but that’s not the same. Simon could whip opponents and use his leathery weapon to latch onto cliffs to avoid falling to his death. Plus, he could have throwing knives, those ‘wall of flame’ magic things he threw in Simon’s Quest, maybe have options for the flaming whip… I don’t know, there are a lot of possibilities here. All I know is before Brawl came out, there was 2 Nintendo characters I wanted most to appear… one was Pit from Kid Icarus. Poor Simon has yet to join the fight.