Hi, I'm Dranzerstorm
Welcome to the Video Game & Music Lounge
This world is dedicated to Video Games and Music as I'll be showcasing the following.
Video Game Reviews set to the same tones as Retro Retrospective's Anime Reviews
Music reviews of Anime Openings & Closings
Western Cartoon music
Vocaloid Classics.
We may even have some Top Tens
I hope this World entertains you.
When you make a legendary IP like Pokemon or Mario, it's hard to break free of that legacy to create something new without being reminded of what they made before, so I've assembled five different industry legends and one legendary company to see if leaving their legacy really was the right decision.
Keiji Inafune
The man behind the Blue Bomber Megaman ended up leaving Capcom having started from illustrator moving up the hierarchy to some top positions, his two most notable titles since leaving have been Azure Striker Gunvolt and Mighty No.9.
Verdict
While Azure Striker Gunvolt is pretty well received if very niche, Mighty No 9 was an infamous failure that even destroyed consoles, meanwhile legacy collections of Megaman continue to sell well with pretty much every title coming back in some form.
Yuji Naka
The man behind the Blue Blur Sonic the Hedgehog was a prominent Sega figure throughout Sega's tenure as a console maker up until 2006, his only notable game since was Balan Wonderworld for Square Enix.
Verdict
Balan Wonderworld was a doomed project from the start and Naka would fall out with Square Enix and leave all while Sonic began a new renaissance guided by new talent, Naka's career would come to a halt as he was arrested for Insider Trading Fraud last year.
Hideo Kojima
The man behind Metal Gear Solid turning a stealth top down shooter into a cinematic gaming juggernaut would later divorce from Konami following some messy disputes, creating Death Stranding with his own studio.
Verdict
The eccentric personality behind Hideo Kojima really shows when even four years after release, no one knows what Death Stranding is supposed to be, meanwhile it's clear that Metal Gear Solid can't survive without Kojima.
Yu Suzuki
The man, the myth, the legend and now the new breakfast cereal, Yu Suzuki is Sega royalty behind their best arcade titles creating a metric ton of hits including Space Harrier, Outrun, Virtua Fighter, Daytona USA and Shenmue. He would establish his own company to finish the ill fated Shenmue saga but also reminded the industry what he's capable of with Air Twister, a Space Harrier/Panzer Dragoon legacy game.
Verdict
It's clear that Shenmue is never going to leave his shadow while Air Twister is a reminder of what he can really do, it's clear that he maybe should've stopped on Shenmue as we could've continued to have some really stellar titles. It's worth noting that much of what made Shenmue work is now in the Yakuza/Like a Dragon franchise that other than Sonic is Sega's money maker.
Game Freak
The developers behind Pokemon being the main driving force of it's video game success although the franchise is facing rougher waters with how messy Scarlet and Violet are, it's not showing signs of waning in popularity. Game Freak have shown willingness to make their own games with the most notable being Tembo the Badass Elephant.
Verdict
I doubt they'll ever escape Pokemon and I can foresee a future that Pokemon will switch from Game Freak to a different developer. Tembo isn't a bad title but it's certainly not bringing in Nintendo money.
Christian Whitehead
Credited with saving the Sonic franchise, known as Taxman, Whitehead provided all the support for Sonic's current gen classic re-releases with polished versions of the classics as well as the legendary Sonic Mania.
Verdict
He's burned a few bridges with Sega following Origins so whether we'll see him contribute to Sonic in future instalments remains to be seen, his team are working on Penny's Big Breakaway, an attempt at a 3D platformer, remains to be seen if he can breakaway from Sonic.
Now for the return to form for the Blue Blur.
Sonic's latest adventure takes him to the Starfall Islands where his friends get captured and placed in Cyber Suspension, watched over by Sage, a mysterious AI, Sonic must crush the Titans and save his friends.
Pros
Open World actually suits Sonic.
Battle system works really well.
Super Sonic Boss Fights are Hype.
Soundtrack is Undefeatable.
Such a big game with more due on the way for free no less.
Story is amazing and very heartfelt.
Fishing that doesn't suck.
Cons
Typical jank camera.
Game can throw you through several set obstacles if you are even a little bit off your target.
Game has a bad habit of locking you into enemy fights.
Easy to get lost without the map.
Enemies in the overworld don't stay dead.
Pinball kind of annoying.
All the short stages are rehashed from Sonic Generations.
Overall
I think we can honestly say that there is no more Sonic cycle, Sega and Sonic Team kept all their promises of learning from their mistakes and gave us a 3D rival to the Adventure titles.
Almost done, the last game will be tomorrow, hope this has been a fun experience.
Released in 2002, Sonic Advance 2 continues the adventures of Sonic on the Gameboy Advance as this time he has to save all his friends meeting a new friend in Cream the Rabbit and Cheese the Chao who has been separated from her mother. Like pretty much all Sonic games, it's your standard fair Sonic 2D platformer. Of the Advance games, this one is the strongest of the trilogy.
Amy Rose is a bonus character for completing the game.
Pros
Solid mechanics improves on Advance 1 engine.
Good roster of characters with Cream fitting in nicely among the cast.
Huge levels with plenty to explore.
Cons
Special rings are time consuming to get.
Cream and Cheese are stupidly overpowered.
Special stage is insultingly easy (might explain why the special rings take so long to get)
Verdict
While Sonic Advance 1 had a solid foundation, Sonic Advance 2 was able to improve on it and surpass it.
It's been a while since I've graced the Video Game Lounge so lets look at Sonic R.
Sonic R is a racing game using 3D environments that give you freedom to run as all your favorite characters. It was released on the Sega Saturn and is probably best remembered for largely being unimpressive yet surprisingly addictive, mostly thanks to the cheesy poptastic soundtrack along with legends of the Tails Doll being evil and the gameplay being less than stellar.
Sonic R came with a lot of high expectations but never amounted to anything special, mainly because the idea is supposed to work really well, a Sonic racing game without cars just suits him down to the ground and there was no excuse for skipping on characters as there were plenty to choose at the time of release.
What we got really isn't bad, playing it now you can see where they wanted to go with it and it still did things that most racing games are only recently doing which is weather effects. Yeah Sonic R created the concept of weather effects in racing games bet you didn't know that; but overall the experience for most players was just disappointing but you know Sonic has done a lot worst.
Current State: It was last seen in 2005 as part of the Sonic Gems Collection, it's not been seen since but it's main theme Super Sonic Racing is a staple of Sonic History.
Why Should it be Revived?: believe it or not there is still enough potential in the game to give it another try, it can't be any worst than Sonic Boom.
Following directly from the last list, lets look at the games that have no morality.
Honorable Mentions
Final Fight - You'd think being a professional wrestler would clean up Metro City but it doesn't, but at least there's an attempt to stop it.
Duke Nukem - He's a product of his time, he can get away with his misogyny in the 90s but these days it's vulgar and not wanted in this day and age.
Saints Row - Your a criminal anyway but some of the crazy stuff that happens in this Grand Theft Auto clone are too crazy to be real sometimes.
10. Mortal Kombat
Although this is standard for a lot of fighting games, Mortal Kombat features actual graphic killing so it represents pretty much all fighting games attitudes in general, story or not, the object is to kill your opponent and the more gory the better.
9. Shadow the Hedgehog
Any one playing this game will do the same thing, just rush to the end of the stage, the fact that this game makes you play it ten times minimum just to see which morality you'll take only for the final story to suck all the fun out of judging for yourself what path Shadow should take.
8. Watch Dogs
Your a genius hacker and you want to take revenge on the syndicate that killed your loved ones, what do you do? Destroy the lives of innocent people by using them as collateral to take your revenge, bonus points to the game company for trying to bribe reviewers with gifts for decent scores.
7. X-Blades
Your not supposed to use dark magic, it gives you the bad ending, thanks a bunch because a) Completing this crap game requires dark magic, b) the lead character is such a bitch that I can't see a benevolent bone in her body and c) I utterly refuse to play the entire game again just for the good ending.
6. Prototype
Why tell me not to kill civilians when they restore your health and provide you with disguises for killing them, which proves crucial in completing this game without dying.
5. Bulletstorm
Your drunken exploits got most of your crew killed, you avenge them by still being drunk and trigger happy to the very end. Even the worst pirates aren't that bad.
4. Kirby
You devour everyone and everything in your endless stomach even if they look like the most harmless creatures in the world, Kirby is a monster puff ball not a star warrior.
3. Fable
You can be good or evil but being evil is just easier, ruling with tyranny and fear doesn't punish you at all and you even get achievements for it.
2. Pokemon Black & White
Team Plasma logic: "Fighting with Pokemon is wrong, your using Pokemon for violence every time you use them in battle. So we'll use Pokemon to fight for this cause" yeah you get the picture it's just hypocrisy.
1. Tomodachi Life
Yet the most selfish jerks in the gaming world are the Tomodachi Mii's. They demand everything, get into domestics over stupid things and break up relationships as if it was nothing. Out of the blue a Mii would just destroy it's own relationship with no reason why despite you telling them otherwise. How does Nintendo sleep at night?
