#lego character mini review

[somuchforsnakes]

Fugi-Dove (his cry fills the night!) has a strange character design goal: he's supposed to be an endearing bad guy-wannabe with a bird gimmick, yet he's also meant to be so indistinct that no one remembers him, much less takes him seriously. One way the Ninjago designers kill two birds with one stone is with the colors; aside from the standard minifig yellow, Fugi-Dove is covered in grey and white with the occasional metallic blue highlight. They contrast just enough so Fugi-Dove can still read clearly, but blend together just enough that his colors leave your mind as soon as you see them.

How appropriate that the colors mimic a rock pigeon, a bird many people would find forgettable despite their splashes of color. Using Fugi-Dove's prison uniform to represent the gray plumage is a genius move because it also brings some Saturday-morning-cartoon bad guy energy to his design. In tandem with the ungainly wing-arms and helmet that looks like some budget Power Rangers cosplay piece, this birdbrain successfully reads as some pathetic wannabe who couldn't even take candy from a baby.

You can't spell "sympathetic" without "pathetic", of course, so it's no surprise that fans latched onto him. No matter how unmemorable his design tries to be, everyone loves this brand of bad guy when the rest of Ninjago's rogues gallery is so much larger than life.

[moomeecore]

compilation of mlp fakies that don't just go for the vauge "colorful horse" aesthetic but directly try and imitate the existing characters

a lot of these are available on sites like amazon, temu and ali express. generally its good to avoid those larger, ethically questionable and sketchy coorporations and go for small businesses and second-hand, but a lot of these you'd be hard pressed to find out in the wild, so the sites sure are tempting. if you do buy any of these, id love to hear your review of them / see photos. if i find second hand/ small buisness listings for em ill link those.

also, if anyone spots a listing (second hand or otherwise) for these that i didnt link, please comment/reblog with it! some of these i couldnt find any current listings for

this ones gonna focus on mini figures, but i'll move more towards brushables and plushes in reblogs

the fakies you will most often see online seem to be these guys. they attempt to emulate actual mlp characters, but to... tragic results. these creatures are made by a company called "kids corner" according to amazon, and are similar looking to blind bag ponies, but a bit bigger. they are still available on amazon and ali express

i was initially not going to put them on here bc they imitate the cast so poorly... but then i saw their applejack up close.

can't argue with perfection.... they gave her a silly hat.

the rarity, fluttershy (not pictured), and pinkie toys are also good enough to be charmingly silly instead of horrifying like the spike or utterly astoundingly innacurate like the celestia and sweetie belle

labelled "my little lony", this series of toys rips off mlp AND lego. its a lego immitation that uses figurines clearly molded off mlp blind bag figures. theres a lot of random figures that dont resemble any specific ponies, but some do more than others - and their hair is removable and can be switched, so you could probably make some more accurate ponies! they were sold on ali express & amazon, but currently seem to be all out of stock

these rings, spotted on ali express. my initial reaction was "holy [censored]" theyre so funny silly goofy! totally fakies! but then i was like.... thats clearly glazed ceramics. which is (relatively) accessible normal person art materials. not like... plastic. so, the fear was that its a fake listing of someones fan work, but reverse searches bring up pages upon pages of just ali express, with the exception of the sites Taobao and [Qoo10], which seem to be based in Vietnam and Japan respectively. Considering Ali Express is from China, this implies that whoever makes these is somewhere in Asia? all the info available points to them being unlicensed! so, while, unique, they, in my eyes, count as fakies

blind bag mlp-knockoff minifigures. theres quite a lot of these: you'll be seeing more down the list. theres a lot of these ones with this soft sculptural look to them from asia specifically, mostly china. these particular beasts are listed several times on ali express, but most seem to be out of stock atm. this might be for the best, considering this disclaimer of potentially hazardous chemicals. my favorites are the rainbow dash and twilight ones, although fluttershy partially-in-her-gala-dress is also very cute. theyre mostly not too innacurate, but the white pony who seems to be celestia stands out as being a lot less so... this listing took a while to find but actually is in stock, has more ratings than most, and dosen't have the hazardous chemicals disclaimer lol

more blindbag knockoffs! told you theres more! these ones are resin figures, wheras i think a lot of the others are plastic. theyre very chubby and goofy, and very politely included spike as well as the main six, sunset, starlight, and trixie. and the spike is actually really cute... this one seems unavailable online atm - at least on websites my computer will let me visit without screaming "scam" at me.

these blind bag knockoffs are incredibly cute, and some of my personal favorite fakies. i also find it incredibly funny that after making the mane 6 and starlight, their next choice for a pony to immitate was tree hugger lol! personally i actually really want the fluttershy, AJ, and tree hugger but have been devastated to find that there are no more listings up for these guys atm :( if anybody finds them pls tell me, esp if its a second hand listing!

these frankly adorable snow globes, which do have the mlp logo on them but don't seem to be actually official. theres a chance that they might be, but their resemblence to similar looking fakie statues makes me suspicious, and they arent listed as official on any of the mlp merch sites i use. part of why i dont trust it is the recolored twilight that seeeems to be meant to be celestia, but could just be a totally randomized pony. the only currently in stock online listings are on sites that scare me with lots of pop ups

... the other reason i don't think theyre official is these other snow globes, also with the mlp logo, which include... alicorn fluttershy??? yeah that dosent look officially liscened to me.

more snow globes! these ones are better than the other ones tbh. i actually kinda want the twilight and fluttershy if im being honest. theyre on this site for $14, and the site and price seems less sketchy than most you find these sorta things on, but im still nervous abt it.

once again, the mlp logo is used for these, but they don't seem to be legit. they are described as "desktop decorative figurines" and honestly cuter than they have any right to be. the twilight sparkle seems to have some yellow in her hair which i like a lot.

these squeaky toy figures. they sort of resemble the mlp "playskool" series of toys, aimed at younger children, or the "mashems" blind bags - but they are molded slightly different and have soft rubber bodies that squeak when squeezed. theres does not seem to be any current listings for them online. they include blob-like imitations of the mane 6, the cmc, and cheerilee

once again, a fakie that blatantly uses the mlp logo, but is in fact not official. this rip off on the equestria girls mini vinyl series is listed as "my little pont girls toy" on amazon, but not in stock, it seems. im mostly interested in it bc of the silly pony fakies in the middle

these fakie keychain figures, which honestly have a very nice applejack and rarity, and good dash and pinkie. they also have a unicorn fluttershy with the wrong cutie mark and one thats the exact same as their rainbow dash (including cutie mark), but with a vaguely twilight-esque color scheme. these are still available on ali express and temu. i like that they gave them hooves!

[hkthatgffan]

Do you have any particular hopes/expectations for future Gravity Falls merchandise outside of further books and other media? For me, I'm still holding-out for anything Gravity Falls from LEGO, be it a few mini-figures from a future Collectable MiniFigure Series if not a full-on playset of some kind. After all, it was the curious removal of a Mystery Shack submission from a LEGO Ideas review back in 2019 that prompted me to check-out the show in the first place... :-)

Outside of books (specifically an art book), I'm not really sure what else I'd wanna see for Gravity Falls. It's that rare show where if you can think up some merch for it that fans of any other show would wish for, it's already got it.

We need a Gravity Falls box set...oh wait, we got that in 2018! We need a Gravity Falls vinyl...already been 2 years since that! But okay...Gravity Falls plushies...been multiple of those! What about figurines...both official and fan made with SBE exist!

Long story short; we're spoiled rotten compared to other fandoms.

Gravity Falls fans are those kids at the back of the class eating a full 3 course meal (with Amphibia fans joining too given they're eating good too tbh which I'm happy about given after GF and Phineas and Ferb, Amphibia is my all time favourite DTVA show) after the teacher says no food allowed.

It's hard therefore to really figure out what else we'd need merch wise. Sadly, I fear we may never see a Gravity Falls Lego set happen. I've stopped hoping for that given I've seen multiple Lego set ideas for the show be hyped up, some by Alex himself, only for Lego to not make it. I think there's some issue with Disney themselves that stops it. Lego may wanna make it happen, but Disney has no interest in doing it.

That's the sad part about Gravity Falls; Disney owns it and so, anything that happens with it officially, is their call, not Alex Hirsch's. So, even if it's something Alex wants to happen...Disney has final say and they don't care (hence the artbook never became a thing).

I do hope The Book of Bill hype does turn the tides. Disney would be insane to not capitalize on this hype GF still has. I hope they don't do so in the wrong way, given I'm a hardliner when it comes to believing Gravity Falls ended properly and needs not continue unless it's with Alex Hirsch himself at the helm, but I am always down for more merch.

One thing I really wish we'd get merch wise that we have not yet gotten are plushes of other GF characters. We were gonna get them in 2018 but they got scrapped.

The Wendy plush was probably the one I really found interesting in this set, given it was the least cursed looking and most on point to her character. Really wish these got made to the same quality as that Wendy plush as I would've for sure gotten these back then, lol (not the barfing gnome).

One type of merch I would love to see made for Gravity Falls would be display models of stuff like vehicles or buildings. I collect aircraft and car models and it would be super cool to own say, a model of the Mystery Shack Golf Cart or Stan's car. Something like a Hot Wheels model or something would be cool to have.

Not to mention maybe one of those 3D puzzles for The Mystery Shack or like an Airfix/Revell model. That would be super unique and cool to see. Then again, I'm one of those guys that'll spend hours in a model shop looking at old WW2 plane model kits so that's more maybe saying a lot about me than anything, lmao.

If someone from Disney or heck, even The Mystery Shack or Studio Bad Egg (given SBE is making more GF toys in the future) sees this...please make a Mystery Shack Golf Cart/Stanmobile diecast model and I will order 20 of them each (JK, but I would buy one FR).

There's probably some other major Gravity Falls merch ideas I'm missing here that would be cool to see made, but that's what I could think up rn.

[miloscat]

[Review] Sonic Frontiers (PS5)

The Legend of Sonic: Breath of the Shoes

After Sonic Forces, Sonic Team dug in and rethought what Sonic would look like in the future. Apparently the conclusion they came to was "Hey, Breath of the Wild is popular right now. Let's just do that." It turns out that Sonic is a good fit for an open world structure (see also Sonic Jam's Sonic World and Lego Dimensions), and with five years in the oven this is remarkably well polished by Sonic Team standards, but not without a few speedbumps along the way.

Sonic, along with Tails and Amy, is on the trail of Eggman's latest scheme and/or the gathered Chaos Emeralds, which lead them to the Starfall Islands (Knuckles is there already for reasons covered in a prologue webisode). These isles are littered with the highly advanced tech of an extinct civilisation, and we must unravel the mystery of their disappearance, the hostile robots they left behind, the cyberspace dimension that has trapped Sonic's pals, and a standoffish hologram girl. The latter is Sage, the designated "new character in this one" and she has a fun arc as Eggman's AI protector whose respect Sonic earns. Meanwhile Sonic is getting sicker from an infection of cyberspace corruption, replaying some of the beats of Secret Rings or indeed the Metal Virus arc of IDW comics.

After giving them a few too many chances, the dialogue writing team who brought us "Baldy McNosehair" has been replaced by Sonic nerd extraordinaire Ian Flynn, who was been writing for the character and his world for literally decades, first at Archie Comics, then IDW, and now graduating to actual game scripts. He's a massive lore-head and it shows with plenty of fun callbacks to past events... although there's lots more that Sonic spouts as incidental dialogue that I simply never heard any of, since they're on a long timer that annoyingly gets reset by basic actions and events. I was especially tickled by references to Sticks (who barely exists outside of Boom) and Tangle (a comics-exclusive character outside of a gacha mobile game cameo). These little winks and nods are nice and all, but next time put them in the game, you cowards.

It's not all just cute callbacks though. Scattered over the maps are opportunities for interaction with the core group of characters, which give a little time for introspection and developing their personalities. Plot details also get filled in through these, fleshing out the race of Ancients and their origins. There are some particularly big loredumps though just before the final act, which establish the extraterrestrial nature of these people and the Chaos Emeralds, as well as the force of galactic destruction that they contended with (and which is eventually dispatched in a single QTE sequence... unless you're playing on hard mode, which adds an extra shmup phase to the boss fight). Strangely, despite the clear visual connections these beings have to Chaos of Sonic Adventure, they never actually bring up Chaos or the Chao... in a game that relishes in referencing the past! [Edit: actually Eggman does briefly mention a connection between the Ancients and Chaos in an optional audiolog, for the record.]

Sonic's adventure plays out over five islands (although one is a simple series of platforming challenges on an otherwise barren landmass). The first three each have one imprisoned friend to help. This is done by solving little puzzles to unlock map parts to find and complete mini-objectives and fight robots to get gears to open cyberspace levels to get keys to get Chaos Emeralds to then take on the big bombad bot of the island. Phew. Along the way you find Kocos (a suspiciously Korok-like race of mascot critters) as well as fruits and skill points, all of which upgrade your capabilities in various ways, as well as the usual rings, plus coins to spend in Big's chill fishing hole minigame for good measure. It's a huge array of doodads and geegaws to snaffle up and while each has their purpose, the distribution is a little uneven; thanks to blood moon meteor shower events I was drowning in coins, and I filled my skill tree halfway through, ending the game with hundreds of unspent points.

To get around the huge island environments, naturally Sonic runs his little heart out. This game retains a boost system of a sort... although it's a little more like Lost World's run button, as boost is not a form of offence, nor is it finite. Instead Sonic has a recharging stamina wheel that looks suspiciously familiar to one sported by a certain Link. While the first and last island (and the loredump island) are green with some trees, there's also a desert-y one and a mountain-y volcano one to mix things up; these do exhibit a bit of the classic open world blandness at times to fill out their bulk, but they also are liberally littered with these kind of platforming... activities? There's just identical metallic platforms scattered around in varied configuration, joined by grind rails and bumpers. Sometimes they lead to goodies or progression, but often they feel like they're just filling space, and on the third island in particular they will on a frequent basis obnoxiously lock you in to 2D traversal which just distracts and sidetracks from actually getting where you want to go.

Another distraction is fighting. The skill tree is entirely dedicated to new combat moves for Sonic, activated by assorted button combinations. Luckily for me, the most important unlock will randomly activate these moves by button mashing so fights can still look flashy without much effort. However, many enemy types are resistant to simple mashing and their fights can be annoyingly involved, demanding you use certain techniques like parrying (cough Zelda) or the Cyloop. The latter is a new technique much like the Nights paraloop (or what Knuckles could do during digging sections in Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice!!) and is also a nice little way to interact with various things in the overworld.

While I viewed most fights as an annoyance to be avoided, the island boss Titans were another story. Massive, Shadow of the Colossus-scale mech monsters with slick creepy techno designs tower above you. You climb their bodies to nick their emerald. A hardcore Tomoya Ohtani vocal track kicks in. Now Super Sonic, you begin a bombastic bout of bodacious broportions. Huge slams and explosions, QTEs of tremendous spectacle. Your open world wanderings have all been leading up to this climactic battle. Then you get to do it all over again on the next island! Best of all, these aren't too challenging so they remain a fun release instead of a gruelling slog. The battling is actually the only thing that the difficulty setting affects, and I recommend adjusting things so the fights aren't too frictious so these moments get to burn bright without overstaying their welcome.

Controlling Sonic is maybe the smoothest it's ever been, and it feels great to zoom across these landscapes. There's more than just open zones though; cyberspace levels give you a more traditional 3D Sonic experience, in Forces-style bite-sized form. In fact most of these have level design lifted directly from a past Sonic game, although it's only from Adventure 2, Unleashed HD, and Generations HD, and presented in one of four aesthetics: Green Hill, Chemical Plant, Angel Island, or Highway. The excuse given is they're pulling from Sonic's own memories, but the choice seems a bit limited. Still, they're a nice change of pace and as a Forces-head myself I liked mastering these short levels and their optional missions (except for 1-2, which for some reason uniquely has an incredibly tight time limit for S-rank).

The cyberspace levels also give an opportunity for the soundtrack to deliver some certified EDM bangers. While in the open zones it's far more restrained and ambient, perhaps taking the wrong lessons from Breath of the Wild. A post-launch update added in a jukebox feature, which lets you play songs from past games as you roam around. This is most welcome and adds a new collectible to find in the form of unlockable songs, but the final selection should maybe have been a bit more robust. There's only two Secret Rings tracks and the version of His World doesn't include the lyrics! But they do have highlights like Rooftop Run, Windy Hill 1, and my all-time favourite Fist Bump, so I can't complain too much. On the VA side all the regulars do a good job, including the new Knuckles regular as of Team Sonic Racing. Roger's Sonic voice though is different to usual, with a deeper tone, the result of a creative direction decision to make the character sound more mature and serious; I just found it distracting.

I now have to address the third and final big update, which is where a lot of things change for the game. Final Horizons adds a new alternate ending for the campaign, where the fifth island plays out very differently. Amy, Knuckles, and Tails become playable with fun movesets and everyone gets access to the cool spin dash (otherwise locked behind tedious challenges). The island becomes densely packed with new platforming challenges, much more involved and interesting than the ones in the base game. The final boss gets a more proper fight. This is a huge addition: to my 24 hour playtime, it added an extra 14! Unfortunately things aren't quite as balanced in this new content...

Sonic's sections in this new chapter are a huge difficulty spike, with new tower climbs with no shortcuts that demand more precision than the engine is capable of. It's a poor fit that produces jank where before there was very little. Luckily in a desperate move I discovered that the difficulty setting actually does affect platforming in this DLC area, both in the overworld and these obnoxious towers, adding a bunch of assistive balloons and bumpers for enhanced accessibility on Easy. At the top of these towers are needlessly punishing combat trials that lock your stats and set a strict timer, and even worse is a boss rush that turns those cathartic Titan battles into a mechanistic chore. Easy mode affects these too, thank Gaia. New cyberspace levels also hugely ramp up the difficulty, becoming long and gruelling with no checkpoints, and there's no adjusting the settings on these (they are entirely optional, though).

Other odd choices plague the DLC experience: you never get access to fast travel? The jukebox is missing entirely, so you're stuck listening to a relatively short loop for each character? You're forced to play as each character in turn as the plot demands? There are map unlocks deviously hidden in unmapped regions? (Ok, that's a minor nitpick but it caused me some grief.) You do get some new lore drops and conversations, including meeting the four Ancient mech pilots, now ghosts... whose corrupted giant robots you were forced to fight... wait a minute, is that the Breath of the Wild design doc I see there, Sonic Frontiers director and writer Morio Kishimoto?? Don't hide it behind your back, I know what you're about!

Deserving of its own paragraph is the DLC's new final boss, a souped-up version of the final Titan. Fine in theory, but allow me to list off its sins: it leans on poorly-explained new mechanics (tick), now requires timing windows on parries (tick), has camera and hit detection dodginess (tick), can instantly recover its health (tick), can easily remove 90% of your ring count which can't be recovered (tick), and is generally finicky, RNG dependent, and basically the fight resets if you mess up any part of it (tick, tick, double underline, three sets of asterisks and a bleeding dagger). You just have to jump through so many hoops in a row that this fight soon becomes an inverse of the regular Titan battles, joining the ranks of many awful Sonic final boss fights. The stinky, janky ranks. It was honestly better in the base game when the climax took the form of a three-button QTE. Yikes.

So Frontiers is a fairly solid first effort in a new gameplay structure, and while it’s a little inconsistent it’s surprisingly free of major stumbles. The DLC has some great ideas but brings back some classic Sonic Team jank; just switch on Easy mode for the trials and it’s mostly a good time. Hopefully the next iteration of this paradigm can succeed without copying Nintendo's homework quite so much...!

[cptn-m]

One Piece chapter 1128 review

I'm still editing the full Egghead review I pitched after the last chapter. I ended up having a lot of thoughts and real life has been busy, but it's coming.

Meanwhile, we've got a packed early arc chapter to play with here. It's fun to see how everyone was a little right and a little wrong about the mysterious kingdom in our weeks of speculation. A lot of people hit the right cues to notice the people weren't giant size, and of course this place wasn't actually meant to be a retconned design of the central Elbaf village we'd seen in the past. But with the full picture of it being basically a terrarium and the surrounding room having stone walls and an actual giant present, I'm much more inclined now to say we're somewhere on the island proper.

The much-speculated inconsistencies with outfit pieces turn out to just be mistakes. I might not have fully ruled out the possibility, but I was always skeptical they were intended to mean anything. I'll be very interested to see how far the corrections go when volume 111 comes out.

But if I may nitpick, even in this chapter we can see the Lego castle crumbling like brick and mortar instead of plastic construction materials. Despite being told that they're all synthetic materials that smell funny when they burn. It's a missed opportunity not to draw them like what they're meant to be. A decent adaptation could go the extra mile with this kind of thing, maybe do a CGI physics sim of a Lego wall coming apart and the pieces scattering realistically instead of the standard cloud of dust environmental destruction we're getting here.

This week's Jump cover and colour spread make a great first impression. The painted style Oda's used for a handful of recent covers has been awesome, and I love the details of the colour spread. Franky's souped up broom bike - absolutely radical. And of course Zoro just sits casually on the dragon's head. And the forced perspective on Luffy's broomstick coming right up to the camera gives it all such a dynamic, active composition.

The chapter builds fantastically to the key reveal as Luffy's group descend into the town and meet the locals, with little hints like the lack of wind after they hit the ground. Nami making the suggestion that the crew could have been gigantified is a funny if you remember chapter 410 (titled Giant Nami, and in which Kalifa mistakenly assumes Nami has transformed into a giant after seeing Chopper's Monster Point) but that's probably a coincidence rather than a deep cut. I'm actually surprised in hindsight I didn't see anyone theorising the crew turned giant (or shrank) as a way to reconcile the size issues of last chapter…

I like Luffy calling out Usopp's handling of the cat. Calling attention to his weakness so directly feels like setup for a character arc, instead of it just being another instance of a running gag. I'm less enthused with the standard set of Sanji gags, particularly the idea of setting up a two-way mirror in the womens' bedroom. But what's new? Better humour is the reactions and expressions of the crew when confronted about the sacred animals they just beat up. And Nami extorting Chopper after saving him. It's classic Strawhat humour all the way down, the bad and the good all together.

The scale of the reveal shot after Luffy hits the mirror (another great gag) is jaw-dropping. And I love the expectations play that this isn't a toyroom or child's play place but a fully enclosed human terrarium by what has to be an adult hobbyist who's sewing clothes for his miniatures and everything. His craft room is well-stocked, and he cares enough to call it a temple. I've done a decent few model ships and Gunpla in my time, so I see and respect where that comes from. I'd be pretty miffed too if those 1/144 pilot figures broke out of the display cabinet and set my study on fire too.

The page leading into the Sun God's arrival (love the headgear btw, is it hard to sew at a mini scale while looking out of that thing?) is a lot of fun. The slow build up of the suspicious noises and snippets of offscreen dialogue. The smoke under the door as he reaches it. The door flying open to the battle already in progress. It all makes me very happy.

If I may nitpick again though, I still don't like how Luffy's outfits are working with Gear Five. The Egghead one vanished entirely and came back when he left the form. The Egghead cape stays and turns white, but the boots and axe vanish, and the helmet fuses into his hair somehow? You can see the horns turned white and still sticking out, even with the rest of it gone. That's going to bug me for days. And of course it all returns to normal when he leaves Gear Five in a few pages. I don't understand or like how this works. Just keep the outfit, turn it white. It's like Oda is trying to treat the Gear Five design as too iconic to change and is putting the reversion to it over the story's continuity.

As the chapter wraps, the plan to bust through the opposite mirror and the wall behind it becomes a tiny bit questionable when we consider that said wall will be built to giant proportions, orders of magnitude thicker and denser than the crew must be picturing. But it's the monster trio there, so if anyone can do it…

I know it's the new arc honeymoon phase, but man this one was a fun ride. Creative ideas, mostly funny gags, the mystery of who and where and how building with every new detail. My nitpicks can't bring down the joy of exploration that comes with the opening of each new story in this series. Can't wait to see where it goes next.

[batmannotes]

Explore over eighty years of Batman history in this updated official edition featuring a wealth of new content, including a new chapter on acclaimed feature film The Batman.

Full video review below:

Featuring two new chapters and content from the new feature film The Batman, this updated volume tells the complete story of Batman and his many guises throughout the years. Since his 1939 debut in the pages of Detective Comics, Batman has become an icon, instantly recognizable the world over. Yet, despite being known to millions, Gotham City’s Guardian has been interpreted in so many radically different ways that we all now have our own Batman. To some he’s the colorful Caped Crusader who dispatches villains with a POW! To others he’s the grim Dark Knight hell-bent on avenging the death of his parents. And to others still he’s made of LEGO, has great abs, and likes to eat lobster thermidor!

This deluxe edition explores the Batman across comics, TV, animation, film, video games, and beyond, to present a compelling portrait of one of the most recognizable and versatile characters in the history of fiction. Covering the complete history of Batman in vivid detail, this deluxe edition features exclusive commentary from the key creatives who have been instrumental in building the Dark Knight’s ongoing legacy, including Neal Adams, Tim Burton, Paul Dini, Steve Englehart, Mark Hamill, Grant Morrison, Julie Newmar, Christopher Nolan, Denny O’Neil, Joel Schumacher, Scott Snyder, and Zack Snyder.

Along with taking readers on an unparalleled journey into the creation of the most memorable Batman moments in the character’s eighty-year history—from the “Knightfall” comics arc to Tim Burton’s films and the Arkham video game series—the book busts open the DC Comics and Warner Bros. archives to deliver an avalanche of never-before-seen visual treasures that are guaranteed to blow the minds of Batman fans everywhere.

Filled with exclusive insert items that further deepen the reading experience, this updated edition of Batman: The Definitive History of the Dark Knight in Comics, Film, and Beyond is the ultimate exploration of a true legend whose impact on our culture has no limits.

COMPREHENSIVE HISTORY: Over 400 pages detailing every incarnation of The Caped Crusader across comics, TV, animation, movies, videogames and beyond. ALL-STAR CONTRIBUTORS: Read interviews and insights from those who have shaped The Dark Knight’s legend, including Christopher Nolan, Mark Hamill, Tim Burton, Michael Keaton, Grant Morrison, Julie Newmar, Joel Schumacher, Scott Snyder, Frank Miller, Kevin Conroy and more.

 EXCLUSIVE BONUS INSERTS: Filled with pull-out cards, posters, mini-books, and other interactive ephemera that bring the history of the caped crusader to life. NEVER BEFORE SEEN IMAGES: Taken directly from the archives of DC and Warner Bros., enjoy exclusive, unseen treasures from the 80-year history of Batman. COMPLETE YOUR COLLECTION: Batman: The Animated Series, DC Comics: Anatomy of a Metahuman and DC Comics Variant Covers: The Complete Visual History also available.

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Insight Editions; Updated edition (December 2022)

Language ‏ : ‎ English

Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 440 pages

ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1647228964

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1647228965

Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 7.5 pounds

Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.25 x 2 x 12.75 inches

Available now at Amazon. Direct link here.

[courtneysmovieblog]

Valentine's Day Mini Reviews

Funny Girl: I finally watched this movie after seeing the national tour this weekend. Honestly? As much as Barbra earned that Oscar, I like the stage show better. The ending is done way better.

The Competition: Richard Dreyfuss and Amy Irving are competing pianists. I honestly was more invested in the subplot about the young Russian student who freaks out when her teacher gets arrested by the Russian authorities or something. Spoiler alert: she's fine but she didn't win.

The Object of My Affection: The more time passes, the more you realize than Jennifer Aniston's character was actually the worst. LGTBQ friends are not your pet unicorn that you cherry pick to raise your baby and fix to your liking. And even if the bi erasure of Paul Rudd's character wasn't an issue, he never considered her as anything but a friend and he's not an asshole just because he didn't feel the same way about her.

Basmati Blues: Oh Brie Larson. I know you were just starting out in this movie, but you're still better than this.

Mr. Church: Eddie Murphy plays a cook for a white mother and child. Why do networks play shit like this and Crash and Green Book during Black History Month? There are better movies that directed by ACTUAL Black people.

Ugly Dolls: The Lego Movie this ain't.

The Holdovers: Curmudgeonly teacher (Paul Giamatti) and cafeteria worker are left in charge of left-behind students during the holidays. Wow, I enjoyed this better than I thought I would! I'm now officially rooting for Giamatti and Da'Vine to win the Oscars!

Bottoms: This was peak stupid, and I loved every minute of it!

The Greatest Night in Pop: Documentary depicting the making of the famous "We Are The World" music video. A must-watch for behind-the-scenes footage!

[gertlushgaming]

Undead Horde 2: Necropolis Review (Nintendo Switch OLED)

For our Undead Horde 2: Necropolis Review, where we play as a powerful necromancer and we have the ability to raise the dead and command them in battle. With each victory, our army will grow stronger and our city will become more powerful. Undead Horde 2 is an action game with elements from RPG, strategy, and hack N slash. Rise from the crypt and rebuild!

Undead Horde 2: Necropolis Review Pros:

- Decent graphics. - 901MB download size. - Own in-game achievements. - Gameplay settings - command direction from walk direction, show active quest arrow, highlight the king, opaque mini-map, draw tooltips, and anti-nausea camera swapping. - Can rebind controls. - Graphics settings - dynamic shadows. - Four save slots. - Cutscenes are a mix of comic book art style and in-game scenes. - Opening tutorial levels. - Kill enemies and then bring them back from the dead and fight for you. - Command your army by pointing at something and issuing the command. - Buildings have health bars and generate enemies, luckily you can take buildings down. - Necropolis is your home and it's in Ruins, you restore Death and work together to rebuild Necropolis. - In Necropolis you can unlock statues that allow you to build up your army without the need for enemy remains. - The stash is your central chest for storing items etc. - Full inventory system out of the stash part. - Soul jars are collected from areas and are needed to fix up Necropolis. - The Hud shows how many minions you have but you can bring up a more detailed information board with a button press. - Offers both a mini-map and a giant map of locations. - Hover is where you move faster, but it only kicks in when you are out of combat. - You can dismiss just wounded minions. - Looks stylish. - Earn EXP and level up to get choose one of three upgrades each time. - Loot can vary from currency to weapons. - Weapons will show green and red text comparisons. - Loot chests can be found. - On-screen button prompts. - Clear areas to get a soul jar that is then used to upgrade minions in your horde. - You can sell unwanted loot from within the inventory. - Unlock fast travel points. - The handy circle bar shows how many minions you have and how many of particular minion types. - Very playable. - Can get very addictive as you progress further. Undead Horde 2: Necropolis Review Cons: - No voice work in the game with the characters. - Takes some getting used to as the aiming of orders is quite loose. - Slow starter. - The button prompts are huge. - You don't have any camera control. - Effigies need to be found and collected to unlock new minion types. - Your view can get easily obstructed. - A lot of loading screens. - Difficulty spikes. Related Post: LEGO 2K Drive Review (PlayStation 5) Undead Horde 2: Necropolis: Official website. Developer: 10tons Publisher: 10tons Store Links - Nintendo Read the full article

[norwegianfantasia]

Figures, badges, keychains, and games for sale:

I accept payment through PayPal send a direct message and I'll weigh them and find the shipping price and send them out as soon as possible. Prices are for each, so if you want all 4 Inuyasha oval badges will that be 20usd.

Badges:

Inuyasha oval: 5usd (Kikyo, Kouga, Miroku, Sesshoumaru)

Inuyasha round: 4usd (Shippou, Kagome, Miroku, Sango, and Sesshoumaru)

Zombie Land Saga: 6usd (Sakura Minamoto, Tae Yamada, Junko Konno, Ai Mizuno)

Digimon Adventure 02: 6usd Iori Hida, Miyako Inoue, Ken Ichijouji, Daisuke Motomiya)

Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne/Phantom Thief Jeanne: 4usd (Jeanne, Fin Fish, nervous Maron, Miyako Todaiji, Sinbad, Chiaki Nagoya, happy Maron, surprised Maron, floral Maron)

Keychains:

Inuyasha: 8usd (Sesshoumaru, Kikyo, Miroku, Kouga, Kouga flattening Inuyasha, Slapped Miroku, bumped Shippou, Sesshoumaru stepping on Jaken, Inuyasha playing with Buyo, embarrassed Sango)

Splatoon: 20usd (Spyke)

Figures: (first two based on ebay prices but lower)

Final Fantasy Static Arts Mini*: Sephiroth (slightly damaged box lid 60usd, box in perfect shape but sword fell down 100usd), Tifa (150usd)

Attack on Titan Ichiban Kuji Ymir and Krista (80usd)

Hunter x Hunter sitting (20usd, Chrollo Lucilfer, Shalnark, Feitan Portor)

19th century office blind box (18usd 10/10 left, perfect for making an office for Dai Gyakuten Saiban characters)

Nintendo DS Games: (these are Norwegian exclusives** and region free, still sealed, not dumped online)

Flunkene Superskurker (50usd, 10/10 left, here they are supervillains)

Flunkene På Månen (50usd, 10/10 left, here they go to the moon)

Vinter i Blåfjell (100usd as there's just 1, based on a cinematic universe, if you want can I try getting as much of it to go with it as possible, so the TV shows and the movie)

Lego:

Lego Technic 8272 (100usd, unopened*** but the box is a little banged since it's been years)

Feel free to ask any questions.

* I was planning to use these for some customizing before I noticed nendoroids so the figures themselves are mint as I haven't touched them.

** I have nothing against sending them to a streamer/let's player/reviewer of your choice if you want them to try another language, I won't be insulted by they pronouncing anything wrong as I find it funny)

*** my family gave it to a cousin of mine for Christmas many years ago, but his overprotective mother returned it before he even opened it in case it was something that could hurt him 😓, kid was 12.

[somuchforsnakes]

Mini Review: Paisley

If I asked you to design a shy LEGO Friends character, Paisley would be one of your first drafts, wouldn't she? Her design is basically a greatest hits album of friendly-yet-timid character tropes: bangs covering her right eye, exclusively round shape language, loose clothing, hiding her arms and legs within her silhouette, harmonious color scheme meant to blend in instead of stand out, with cool colors representing her social hesitance while warm colors represent her kindness...it's effective, albeit familiar.

This design's twist on the archetype lies in the guitar. It's a memento from Paisley's late mother, who was more social and willing to share her musical talents than her daughter. While this may not have been intentional, the guitar's coloring reinforces their contrasting personalities and closeness: the guitar's orange where Paisley's colors center around purple, but the two share some light blue and red. Paisley holding the instrument close to her and hiding behind it are also used to get the idea across that she was close to her mother and depended on her support.

It's a shame that Friends characters don't use props when they appear on box art, but maybe it's for the best that her sets don't flood collections with hand-me-down guitars. Even if Paisley loses what makes her unique, her character design is good enough at informing children who she is and how she interacts with other characters. In a theme like Friends, that's what matters most.

[felikatze]

I played every Ninjago Toggo game

Toggo is a german children‘s TV channel that airs the german dub of Ninjago. On its website, Toggo features select episodes from every season (except season 12, for reasons unknown), and many different browser based games. As such, it‘s the channel that introduced me to the series, and the one I blame for my many sufferings.

I played every Ninjago game on the Toggo website. Here‘s some reviews.

First, though, look at Akita.

The “plots“ for these games, as like, random browser games, is obviously just whatever‘s going on in the season. “Fight your opponent in the tournament of elements“ “rescue nya from nadakhan“ “defeat the nindroids“ yadda yadda. Not riveting stuff, exactly, so I won‘t detail them.

1. Schlangenstämme (Snake Tribes) [Season 1]

Simple matching game. Take the snake images, match them to the correct tribe. This one is kind of a hack, because after 1k points new snakes just appear so fast you can‘t possibly progress.

The art is pretty cool though, even if it‘s probably reused.

2. Chens Labyrinth (Chen‘s Labyrinth) [Season 4]

You navigate a labyrinth as either lloyd or kai to get to zane. it‘s.. suprisingly difficult? I needed a couple of attempts to get past the first level, with five total. Though which levels those five are seems randomized. There‘s spinning blades and guards to dodge, pits to avoid, and even pistons that will push you into pits.

Arrow key controls, and nothing else.

This one reuses soundbytes from the show, which is fun. Like the wilhelm scream when you get hit by a blade. Or a Cole soundbyte when you fall down a pit. You can‘t even play as Cole. Definetly the high light of the game, because I was in hysterics.

Wassup with this Kai design though. Cool hair. The character models in the game look like someone took a picture of actual lego figurines. Ten out of ten.

3. Im Land der Drachen (In the Land of Dragons) [Season 9]

You play as the fire dragon, and you gotta burn down the dragon hunters, and free other dragons for upgrades. The description makes it seem like freeing dragons is your goal, but the high score is entirely dependant on how many enemies you defeat.

Control scheme is kinda wack at first, since the direction of your inputs depends are relative to your character, and the game starts you backwards, for no reason.

It‘s really hard to actually hit stuff with your fire breath. You can upgrade your dragon with the coins you collect from defeated enemies to do more damage and stuff, so if you really wanna go for a highscore, this game can keep you entertained for a bit. Suprisingly fun.

The music choice is really intense though to be playing constantly.

4. Nindroiden-Niederschlag (Nindroid-Beatdown) [Season 3]

Push the arrow key in the direction enemies are coming from to slap em. Don‘t get slapped yourself. That‘s it. You have a timer that fills up whenever you pass a level, and decreases rapidly when you get it.

Once again in hysterics over sound effects because there ARE multiple attack sounds, but they‘re not mapped to one per Ninja, they‘re random. So maybe the same Jay soundbyte plays five times in a row. Or maybe you get three different ones when hitting the same direction three times.

Shoutout to some guy named Kane, who takes up 5 out of 10 top 10 player slots. You‘re truly dedicated.

5. Wettkampf der Elemente (Contest of the Elements) [Season 4]

Beautifully reused assets from Chen‘s Labyrinth. The floor falls behind you, so manouvre your enemy into falling into the abyss first. Kind of dull, kind of difficult. Took me. A feewww attempts to do. I eventually settled on the tactic of “try to make a separate arena from my opponent as fast as possible and then just wait it out till they fall down.“

You face off against Bolobo, Neuro, Karlof, and then Skylor as the final boss. It‘s neat.

Though I was of course an immediate expert at this, because there‘s a Minecraft mini-game just like this. With the falling floor and stuff. I want to play minecraft now, instead of all these, but I‘m in too deep now.

6. Rettung aus Dschinnjago (Rescue from Djinjago) [Season 6]

This one gets points for using the intro music for skybound cuz it‘s swanky. The loop is wayyy to short though.

THERE‘S 22 LEVELS???

props to this one for being the first that‘s like… pretty to look at? And for having 8 directional movement. Similar to Chen‘s Labyrinth, navigate the levels as Jay with the arrow keys and don‘t fall off ledges or get caught in traps n stuff.

Again I like the graphics on this one? It looks good. Full 3D environment. Def a step up from the previous games. But also goddd make the music loop longer if you have one song for TWENTY TWO LEVELS. Yes i did play all twenty two but i did not go for 3 stars in each because collecting all the coins would take forever. Let‘s call it speedrun strats.

Levels get increasingly longer and more complex with all sorts of switches to press to advance, and some memorable sections like an honest to god chase sequence. So this actually took a while to beat, unlike the more „one and done“ games so far. It took like, 20 minutes to actually finish, even though I was ignoring coins

Jay‘s game over quote is “please not crap like this“ which is very polite for the fury with which it‘s shouted. Iconic.

I liked it, even though I turned off the swanky pirate whip after level 4 to listen to my edgy vocaloid instead.

Shoutout to Wu3000, who takes up slots 2-18 on the leaderboard. Man, you tried.

7. Die Kunst des Spinjitzu (The Art of Spinjitzu) [Season 1]

ORGH THIS ONE HAS CUSTOM NARRATION. Like an actual narrator. Reading the small blurb of “once upon a time there was the first spinjitzu master and you have to fight his evil son.“ what.

It‘s kind of funny how it refuses to name garmadon though. He‘s just “the evil brother.“

You get three minigames to pick, which are apparently the three disciplines of the art of spinjitzu. Dexterity, team spirit, and… spinning. Fascinating.

Each discipline has a ninja narrating how it works which is hilarious, because they‘re not like, the actual VAs obviously, just some guy trying to sound young and hip.

First up, dexterity, draw a symbol with your mouse cuz that‘s how you sword good ig. According to off-brand cole, at least. Except the “symbol“ is just one vertical slash. Three times.

With team spirit, you got the four guys tied together with rope, and you just kinda hold right, occasionally stopping to avoid obstacles. That‘s it. The voice acting on this is funny as shit though. I recommend checking it out solely for probably one guy trying to sound young. It‘s really funny.

With the last one, spinning, you press the left and right arrow keys as fast as you can to, well, spin.

After that, you play each one again, this time trying to beat “the evil brother‘s“ score to defeat him. It‘s not specified what said score is, but there is one. Supposedly.

All very one note minigames but worth the experience for that fantastic voice acting alone. I wish this post was a video. If I had a recording software i‘d stream this on youtube.

8. Im Niemandsland (In the Never-Realm) [Season 11]

This one is… an honest to god action rpg? Well, the „action“ is so clunky it may as well be turn based. You navigate either the forest or an ice cave to complete various fetch quests as Lloyd. You get exp from picking up collectibles and from defeating enemies. Your hp is so obscenely high you can eat attacks for breakfast. Or you get obliterated almost instantly. Depends.

There‘s ice samurai and wolves as enemies. The wolves actually made me feel bad, because you can oneshot them with a charged attack, and then they do this really pathetic whimper. Then there‘s “ice giants“ which are rock monsters that make buzzing sounds. You can kite these with your charged attack, which is the most fun i‘ve had over the course of the entire game. This does not say much.

As you do chores for Sorla and Nya, you encounter Akita in her wolf form, at which point the game starts playing episode audio of Lloyd naming her Red. Fun fun. After that, Akita follows you around, which is honestly precious.

Sometimes, when you accept or complete missions, the game has a seizure and crashes. Incredible.

Akita, your dps sucks. And most chores are just „collect wood“ over and over.

There‘s some vague semblance of a story, but not much. Collect wood for the fire! Oh wow, a white wolf! Oh no, Sorla‘s missing, go find her! Now Nya‘s missing, go find her!

My game crashed (again) on the rescue Nya mission, and then when I started again, Nya was there n gave me another rescue Sorla quest. I think these are randomly generated, for the most part.

There‘s entirely too much filler. For every “story“ mission, there were two side missions to complete first. And a story mission only amounts to the same fetch quest with one more box of flavor text. I kept playing for like, fifty minutes, I bet, and at some point i was just too bored.

Two maps, four enemy types, you learn spinjitzu at lv5 and it‘s free iframes and p much instakill for everything with a ridiculously short cooldown, so combat is a joke. Enemies scale with you, so why a level system?

The maps appear to be randomly generated, too, but following a pattern. You start at the bottom, make your way to a central area, and then have three paths to go down. These paths vary in length each time, and the longest typically features whichever objective you‘re after. This means there is  a lot of backtracking if you went down the wrong path. Hooray.

Boooooooring. Novel for like three minutes, but then it‘s just rinse and repeat. Maybe a „one and done“ type deal would‘ve been better.

I played until level seventeen. SEVENTEEN. Story wise, i got up to finding the land bounty, but after that…. Man i just can‘t. This game is so boring. At some point there started being three to four side missions between each main quest, and I was watching video essays on the side. I don‘t know for how long I played this, but it was over an hour. Not even the sunk cost fallacy could bring me to continue further.

Don‘t play this one just enjoy the screenshots of low poly akita.

9. Lloyd gegen Garmadons Motorrad-Gang (Lloyd versus Garmadon‘s Motorbike Gang) [Season 8]

A breath of fresh air after the slog that‘s the last one. Here we got a simple racing game. Press left and right to dodge obstacles such as cars or gang members in an autoscroller highway race track. You win once you catch up to Ultra Violet.

There‘s a couple power ups, such as speed boosts, shields, and a 5 second time reduction for a higher score. Nothing special, three difficulties, and i def zoned out playing.

10. Das Große Rennen (The Big Race) [Season 12]

A season 12 game when the website pretends that prime empire doesn‘t exist? Fun fun.

Here we have a racing game with… actual multiplayer? It has local multiplayer, and random matching. Did I play against actual people??? Did I obliterate some poor kids in the janky lego browser racing game??

The controls are, as expected, janky as hell. You can‘t turn properly and thus keep bumping into walls. Power ups (your typical shell and banana substitutes) are supposedly used by pressing the space bar, but they just kept getting used automatically.

You can unlock different cars based on all the vehicles featured in the season. I think this only changes the appearance and nothing else.

Is this what kids do now that spieleaffe is an endless pit of ads? I miss the good days of spieleaffe….

11. Chens Rückkehr (Chen‘s Return) [Season 4]

This is one of those “press left and right to dodge shit“ games like the bike gang one, except. It‘s zoomed so far in I can‘t actually see the obstacles?? What‘s happening here???

12. Morro greift an (Morro attacks) [Season 5]

It didn‘t load, what can I say. From the small preview video, it appears to be a balancing game though. Morro is attacking the bounty, press left and right so the Ninja don‘t fall off. Y‘kno, identical controls to half the games here.

13. Turnier der Tapferen [Tournament of the Brave] [Season 7/8]

Okay this one is a hot mess and it‘s actually super fun. You move with the arrow keys and use your weapon with the mouse (excellent design, I know). You play in an arena with five other (real, human) players and try to hit each other. Whoever gets most points wins. There‘s traps all over the arena, too.

I got dead last because this was my first time playing, but I did have fun. It‘s havoc. I was suprised to actually have a full party fill up so fast? Gg to the acronix player.

Oh yeah, this game has a full on character select! This is, in the end, just skins, cuz everyone starts with shurikens anyway. You pick up different weapons around the arena, such as swords, or that weird mace that lets you throw potions.

This one slaps actually. I saw one player with my sister‘s name which jumpscared me a lil. What are you doing here. Only my sibling is allowed to have that name.

Again, first one I had a blast playing. Rounds are 80 seconds, so you gotta play super aggressively if you want points. If you see someone play Acronix, Harumi, Ultra Violet, or Machia, you know they‘re good, cuz those characters are unlocked with points.

One time I even came in second!!

14. Kartenduell (Card duel) [Season 1]

This game uses the season 1 subtitle Year of the Snakes, yet has After the Blackout by The Fold, a Season 3 song, as the title theme. WHICH I DO NOT MIND BECAUSE AFTER THE BLACKOUT SLAPS. Okay. Glad we got this over with.

It‘s a rather simple card game. You put four cards from your collection in your deck, each with four attributes. One game is four rounds, where one attribute per round is compared between the card you and your opponent play. The higher attribute wins.

Which attribute gets compared is randomized at the start of a round, but in actuality, it‘s only the order. You always do all four in one game.

Whichever rounds you win gets you your opponent‘s cards. When you lose a round, you lose the card. Except not really. I dunno. Not all that special, except for the music. It‘s tolerable.

15. Rückkehr der Oni (Return of the Oni) [Season 10]

Another suprisinlgy fun one!

It‘s got “cutscenes“, as in, powerpoint style pans over show shots with corresponding audio, which were very silly. Just recapping the season 10 finale, of “oh no the oni are here. Fight them.“

Gameplay is in a circular arena. Oni enter from all sides, and you gotta fight them off. Controls are click for short attack, hold for charged kick. That‘s it. You can only move by attacking. Each attack propels you forward. Charged kicks send you flying. You get wreckt if you get surrounded so movement tech was actually pretty fun? Figuring out how to best manouvre yourself around with attacks n stuff.

There‘s a stamina system to attacks (stamina refills automatically and when you defeat enemies) but I barely noticed it. Additionally, you get a spinjitzu button that also charges when you defeat enemies, but more slowly. It makes you invincible for a bit, instakills all enemies you get in contact with, and lets you move consistently. P busted.

You have 6 lives in form of the Ninja. They all play the same, and when one gets defeated, the next one jumps in till you run out.

Since there‘s actual high score hunters for games like these, I bet they invented some insane niche techs. Congrats to them.

Once all your ninja are down, you get another powerpoint cutscene of them defeating the oni with the tornado of creation, and that‘s it.

P good time actually.

16.  Sumpf-Arena (Swamp-Arena) [Season 7]

Last but not least, we have a PVE game in the style of tournament of the brave. You play as Kai and fight your way through endless waves of snakes in one of two arenas for a highscore.  Control with arrow keys, attack with space bar, yadda yadda.

You can collect time blades as upgrades, but they‘re pretty confusing to use tbh? Just kinda like. Teleports and that‘s it. But weirder. You use them with the control key.

Multiple enemy types from itty bitty snakes to fire spitting machia copies to big axe wielders who kill you in two hits. It‘s decent.

And thus, I conclude my review of every single toggo ninjago game, excluding the one that didn‘t load. As browser games, they‘re all super simple. Some of them were still fun though, even if only for the three minutes they took to beat.

My favorites are definetly Tournament of the Brave, for a fun little PVP experience, and Escape from Djinjago, for having multiple gimmicks that made its stages non-repetitive and made me use my brain to some capacity.

My least favorite is In the Never-Realm, for being the longest and most boring game. Endless slog of repetitive sidequests.

The games for later seasons were definetly more impressive visually, and typically more expansive. This does not automatically make them good, though. Some older ones like Chen‘s Labyrinth were also fun.

And there you have it! Thank you toggo for setting me on the path to write this with the like, 2013 probably? Marathon rerun of the first two seasons. Also curse you. Also, why the hell doesn‘t season 12 exist on the website?

[miloscat]

This was 2022

What did I do in 2022? The year in review, from me to you.

2022 has been eventful for me. I got a new job and seemingly a new chronic illness?? So it’s been up and down. As far as my hobbies go w/r/t this blog, things have been a little slow, perhaps due to the aforementioned factors.

In my capacity as a scanlator of video game comics, I did publish that holy grail manga that I’d been longing for: the comic adaptation of the 1993 Super Mario Bros movie. There was also the Famicom Manga mini-comic for Zelda 1. And that’s it. I’ve been gradually working on a Diddy Kong Racing 4koma volume, which might be released next year but at the rate it’s going I don’t want to make any promises. My filehosting account being taken down was a setback for making my work on comics available but I managed to get all of it up in various places, in particular maintaining my page on Mangadex. Also, recently my incredible spouse has helped me establish my own website! It’s a work in progress (and not really ready for public viewing just yet) but I wanted it primarily as a convenient way to browse my scanlations as well as a hub for my other hobbies. This Tumblr is not going away, I just felt I needed something more permanent.

I’ve continued creating pixel art cast portraits and posting them here as well as on DeviantArt. This year I did some Zelda, Star Trek, and Lord of the Rings along with a few shows, as well as updating the big Donkey Kong collage (now up to 327 characters!).

Podcasts? Just a few. 1 new episode of the Donkey Kong Arcade Era Power Hour with Gibbon, and 3 Eurovision commentaries. I kept a consistent streaming schedule, with 48 almost-weekly streams of various retro and indie games. Doing these makes me happy, and I covered a few queer-themed Itch bundles, cracked DSiWare emulation, continued delving into Donkey Kong fan works and bootlegs, and explored the fringes of Sonic and Lord of the Rings games, among many others. The streams are all archived here.

In my regular gaming habits, I did a big bonanza of Lord of the Rings-adjacent games. This was really interesting and culminated in a month spent in the still-running MMO originally from 2007. Aside from this I played the modern Doom games, a selection of cat and primate games, all of the 2D Dimps-developed Sonic games, more Picross, and some cool LCD and self-contained game units (more on that in the new year as well). I’ve also just hacked my 3DS in the last few days, which opens up possibilities for some region-exclusive titles becoming available to me.

And now the awards show. “Best not-Donkey Kong game”: Marsupilami: Hoobadventure (also wins “best post-launch update” for adding a new free world). “Best open world”: Lord of the Rings Online with the surprise upset; in my hot take opinion, Elden Ring would’ve been better without an open world...! Middle-Earth: Shadow of War was also a runner-up. “Most improved sequel”: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King console game. After playing The Two Towers for the first time this was a big step up. Runners-up are Shadow of War again, Anodyne 2, Sonic Advance 2, and Sonic Rush Adventure. The Toejam & Earl games were too different to compare fairly. “Best co-op game that we haven’t finished yet so I haven’t reviewed”: Darksiders: Genesis. Runner-up is Lego Star Wars Skywalker Saga. The “Thoughts and Emotions” award: Anodyne 2. Runners-up are Stray, Elden Ring, and Gibbon: Beyond the Trees.

Thanks for reading, and see you next year!

[wiypt-writes]

Stark Spangled Forever

One Shot: Wings

Intro: They say that once you’ve been inked, it kinda becomes an addiction…

Warnings: Bad language.

Pairings: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

A/N: CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR STARK SPANGLED BANNER

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Katie Stark and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Stark Spangled Forever Masterlist // Main Masterlist

 “Jamie, ”Katie sighed exasperatedly as her 9 year old looked up from where he was sprawled on the rug of the den, piecing his newest lego kit that Sam and Bucky had bought him for his birthday “You need to get your stuff for school.” “Don’t wanna.” he pouted.

“Tough.”

“I don’t feel well.”

“Oh no, really?” Katie bent down, feeling his head. “Hmmmm. You do feel warm. What’s wrong?” “Sort throat.” “Oh, well… that means no soccer practice tomorrow then…and you should go straight back to bed until I can take you to the doctors later today…”

Jamie paused and looked up at her and she raised an eyebrow “Nice try Pal.”  

“Mommmm”

“Don’t make me shout your father.” she used her ace card.

Jamie gave an exaggerated sigh and stood up, rolling his eyes. Katie bit her lip to stop herself laughing at the utter indignation on his face.

“It’s Friday dude.” she smiled at him. “You got all weekend to play legos if that’s what you wanna do.”

“Does that mean I can stay up late tonight to work on it?” he asked hopefully.

“Define late.” Katie looked at him.

“11?”

“Hmmmm, I dunno.” she said playfully.

“Please?”

“I’ll speak to your dad.” she said and he smiled at her, the pair of them both knowing full well that Steve was a soft touch when it came to stuff like that. He’d probably be there helping him out with it anyway.

“Ok Mom. Can you make sure Harry doesn’t touch it whilst I’m at school?”

“I’ll keep this door shut, I promise.”  Katie assured him.

He left the room and true to her word Katie shut the door to the den and watched him head up the stairs, passing Aurora who was on her way down with her rucksack, Steve right behind her with their youngest placed on his hip.

“Hi mammamama!” Harry babbled at her and she grinned, taking him off Steve and planting a kiss to his cheek.

“Hi baby!” she grinned as his hand instantly went to grab the chain of her necklace.

“Jamie not planning on going to school today?” Steve asked her with a grin as Rori headed off to find her shoes.

“Tried telling me he was sick so he could stay home and play legos.” she snorted “Soon decided he was ok when I told him that meant no soccer practice tomorrow morning.” Steve shook his head, smiling to himself.

“Daddy?” Rori tugged on his trouser leg and he turned his attention to her.

“What’s up Princess?”

“I can’t find my sneakers.”

“Where did you leave them?” he asked, his hand gently dropping to the back of her head.

“Erm…” she pondered for a moment, before she looked up at her mom bashfully.

“Somebody left them in the middle of the lounge…” Katie looked at her. “So the Fairies put them away.”

“Sorry…” Rori wrinkled her nose and blinked up at her mom.

“It’s ok. They’re on the shoe rack sweetie.” Katie nodded to the kitchen in the direction of the utility room located at the back of the house.  

“Thanks momma.” she said, running off to retrieve them.

“What time does Emmy’s train get in?” Steve looked at Katie.

“Just after twelve.” Katie said, blowing a raspberry on Harry’s cheek. “I’ll meet her and then take her straight to get inked…” Steve let out a breath from his nose. All Emmy had talked about since turning 21st was a tattoo. Steve wasn’t particularly sure he approved but then what could he do? She was an adult now. Katie hadn’t been bothered, but then as she’d pointed out, she had a big enough one on her thigh so it would be fairly hypocritical if she had. Emmy had won Steve over though when she’d asked him to draw it for her. She’d described what she wanted, a small Phoenix type bird that would sit just above her ankle. So after a few designs and sketches she’d finally settled on something she wanted and after a consultation she was having it done this afternoon.  

“You staying with her?” Steve looked at Katie, concern etched across his face. Katie gave a soft laugh.

“She’s a big girl now Steve but yeah, I’m gonna stay.” she said, tugging on his beard playfully.

“Good.” he nodded, jerking his head out of reach. “Do you need me to pick the kids up later or…”

“No, by the time their afterschool clubs are done we’ll have finished so I’ll do it.” she smiled as Rori came back, sneakers in her hand. She sat on the bottom step and proceeded to push her feet into the pink converse, Steve crouching down on one knee to tie her shoelaces for her.

“Thanks daddy.”

“You’re welcome sweetheart.” he said, dropping a kiss to her head before he turned to look up the stairs “Jamie! Come on!”

“I’m coming…” came the surly reply, and no sooner had they heard it he appeared at the top of the steps, rucksack in hand.

“Drop the attitude.” Steve said sternly as Jamie trudged down the stairs, scowling. Steve looked at Katie, raising his eyebrow as their eldest son stalked past them, heading to the door, Rori running behind him.

“Wait for me Jay…” she called, her small feet slapping on the tiles of the hallway as she went.

“Told you…” Katie said, smirking “He’s a mini you…”

“That filthy look he had on his face? That is a Stark expression.” Steve said, looking back at her as he picked Rori’s rucksack up.

“Is not.” Katie laughed “That’s the face you make whenever someone’s pissing you off.”

Steve gave a snort before he dropped a soft kiss to her lips, making Harry shriek.

“Kissy!” he laughed.

“See you later.” Steve smiled against her mouth “Love you.” “You too” she said, and with a last peck and a ruffle of Harry’s hair he headed after Jamie and Rori, barking out an instruction for them to quit their squabble over who was sitting in the front seat.

“Easy solution…” Katie heard Steve say loudly “You can both get in the back. End of discussion.”

Their protest’s died as the door snapped shut.

Katie chuckled to herself and looked at Harry “Shall we get you ready to go too baby boy?”

“Go!” he nodded, grinning. 

*******

Katie’s morning was reasonably easy. A meeting and a manuscript to review which she’d managed to do by half 11. Changing out of her office clothes into a loose pair of sweats, trainers and a hoody she headed out and made her way to Grand Central.

She spotted Emmy emerging into the main terminal and swept her daughter up into a hug.

“Hey mom.” Emmy said, squeezing her back.

“Ready to go get inked?” Katie asked, Emmy grinned and slung her satchel over one shoulder, linking her arm through her mom’s.

“You eaten?” Katie asked as they walked out into the early April sun.

“Yeah, followed the instructions.” Emmy nodded.

“Good.” Katie said. “Nervous?”

“A little.” Emmy shrugged “It’s gonna hurt right?”

“It’s not so bad.” Katie shrugged, “Some places hurt more apparently but…most important thing to remember is if you need a break just ask.”

“Ok.”

The two women walked a few blocks, catching up. It had been a couple of weeks since Emmy was home, fast approaching the last few weeks of the semester at Harvard before her exams started. All of her marks so far had been sky high, leaving her parents immensely proud, although both had taken great pains to tell her that they didn’t care what the outcome was, as long as she tried her best.

Eventually they reached the place and Emmy opened the door, stepping in. David, the man that had done the consultation a few weeks back beckoned them both through.

“Ok, so…” he said, tilting the screen to show Emmy the picture of her design he’d scanned “I gotta say I’m excited about this one, it’s pretty unique.”

“My dad drew it.” Emmy beamed.

“It’s phenomenal.” David smiled “I had to sharpen some of the lines up but there’s no major changes. Are you happy with it?”

Emmy nodded.

“Ok, and yours Mrs Rogers…” David clicked and the imaged changed. “The touches we’re adding to your thigh are fairly straight forward but this one…this is what I think it is right?”

Katie nodded.

“Awesome…” David smiled, and hit print and stood up to collect both the prints.

“Have you told Dad?” Emmy looked at her. Katie smirked and shook her head.

“Nope.” she popped the p on the word “Thought it would be a nice surprise when he gets to see it later.” “I’m not sure if I should be grossed out by that thought or not.” Emmy mumbled and Katie simply laughed.

Just over 2 and a half hours later they were done, leaving the parlour with strict after care instructions. Emmy had hardly flinched through hers, whereas Katie’s new one had been slightly uncomfortable due to the placing.

“Think that earned us a beer…” Katie said checking her watch. “Come on, we got time before we need to collect the heathens.”

***** “Show me! Show me!”  Rori demanded.

“You can’t see it yet short stuff.” Emmy said fondly “It’s still wrapped up.”

“When can you unwrap it?” Jamie asked.

“Another hour or so yet.” Katie answered “So quit bugging your sister and go put your school bags away.”

“Emmy do you wanna watch Sponge Bob with me?” Rori asked. 

“Only if we can sing the special song…” Emmy grinned, holding her hand out for a hi-five. Rori giggled, and slapped her smaller palm against her sister’s.

“What special song?” Katie looked at her.

“Oh just a variation on the theme tune we made up.” Emmy said, grinning mischievously 

“I dread to think.” Katie muttered, watching Jamie and Rori head up stairs to deposit their rucksacks in their room.

Katie bustled around making dinner, simple spaghetti and meatballs as requested by all 4 kids…well, the elder 3…Harry merely clapped his hands and yelled “getty” in agreement. She was stood stirring the sauce when she heard Steve walk through the door an toss his keys onto the table in the hall little under an hour later. 

“Daddy’s home!” she heard Rori shriek and a moment later Steve chuckled.

“Hey…” he said, sweeping her up and placing a kiss on her cheek. He carried her through to the kitchen where he greeted Harry with a ruffle of the hair as he sat by the table doodling on a pad with Emmy.

“Hi sweetie.” Steve said, as Emmy stood up to give him a hug. “How was the tattooing?”

“Good.” she nodded, “Oh, actually, mom….should I unwrap it now?”

“Errr, yeah.” Katie said, turning the heat down on the stove and accepting the kiss Steve offered. “Can you watch these 2. I’ll go help Emmy out…”

“Sure.” Steve said, “Where’s Jamie?”

“2 guesses” Katie grinned at him and Steve shook his head, smiling, knowing full well that meant he was nose deep in lego.

Katie and Emmy bounded up the stairs and returned about 15 minutes later, Emmy proudly showing off the design on her right ankle. Steve had to admit, it did look pretty good, but then he would say that, he drew it after all.

They dragged Jamie out of the den for dinner, where the boy managed 2 helpings before he ran off again, almost having a meltdown when Katie told him he had to share the den as Rori wanted to watch Cartoons. One stern look from Steve nipped the tantrum in the bud and the 4 kids departed once dishes had been deposited in the sink, Katie waving away Emmy’s offer to help, telling her to go spend some time with her siblings. It didn’t take her and Steve long to clear down and they were heading towards the living room to collapse onto the sofa together, but the shriek and cheers coming from the den made them both stop in their tracks.

“What on Earth are they watching?”  Steve looked at his wife.

“Sponge Bob, apparently…” Katie said. The two looked at one another, before they headed back towards the den and peeked through the door which was open a crack.

Emmy was stood, swaying with Harry held on her hip, the pair of them laughing, whilst Jamie was doing some kind of strange running man dance as Rori bounced up and down on the sofa as the opening credits began to roll. Emmy opened her mouth and started singing along to the opening theme tune in a pirate voice.

Only she wasn’t singing the theme tune. They were completely different words.

“Who lived as a Capsicle under the sea?” Emmy paused to look at Jamie and Rori who both yelled back in chorus, Harry mimicking them as best he could whilst clapping his hands.

“CAPTAIN ROGERS!”

Steve blinked, looked at Katie, his mouth dropping open as she burst out laughing at the look of utter confusion and perplexment on his face. She pushed the door open further and all the kids turned to see their parents watching them. But instead of stopping, they continued to sing even louder at Steve as he folded his arms and leaned against the door frame.

“Saluting a hello and killing Nazis…” Emmy continued

“CAPTAIN ROGERS!”

“If patriotism be something you wish…”

“CAPTAIN ROGERS!”

By this point Katie was laughing that hard she couldn’t breathe. She doubled over, tears pouring from her face as the kids continued their relentless serenade to their father.

“Then throw a big shield and punch with your fist…”

“CAPTAIN ROGERS!”

That was it. Steve couldn’t keep his face straight any longer and he too started to laugh, grinning as Rori ran over to him and pulled on his hands dragging him into the room to make him twirl her round.

Eventually the song stopped and the room was simply filled with laughter which died down. Steve wiped his eyes and looked at his kids before he crossed his arms.

“You’re all grounded.” he smirked, and then ran as they started pelting him with throw cushions.

****

Later that night, as always, Steve couldn’t stop his eyes from roving his wife’s body as she walked out of the en-suite and into the bedroom, dressed in one of his shirts and a pair of sleep shorts ready for bed. As he lounged on top of the duvet, back propped up against the headboard, his gaze travelled down the lines of her body and he frowned as he spotted something on her thigh that looked different.

Suddenly it dawned on him what it was.

“Is that…is that a new tattoo?” Steve sat up, looking at her leg then to her face, and back again.

“Technically it’s an addition to an existing one.” Katie grinned as she made her way to the bed and knelt up in front of Steve. His hands gently fell to her hips as he examined the new ink. The area surrounding one of the 4 stars that formed part of the original tattoo had been shaded with red and gold in a water colour effect. He didn’t need her to explain, but she did anyway.

“That’s for Tony.” she said softly, “And these…” she pointed out 4 additional stars she’d had placed within the existing design “One for each of the kids.”

“Not one for me?” he eventually pouted playfully, looking back up at her.

She bit her lip and grinning slightly, pulled his shirt over her head leaving her top half naked, and she turned her torso slightly the left, holding her arm over her breasts so he could see. His eyes widened as he saw the design that was now etched onto her skin just underneath her left breast on her rib cage.

It was his wings. The wings he had worn on his helmet. The wings adopted by the Howlies as their symbol in the war. And above that sat a star that was the same as the others on her thigh.

“That’s for you…” she said softly.

Steve was struggling for words. There was something he was finding outrageously sexy about the fact she’d had that placed somewhere that no one would really see other than him. And something ridiculously sentimental about the design she had chosen.

“Do you like it Soldier?” she asked softly, biting her lip.

He looked up at her, smiling as his hands gripped her bare waist and he pulled her down with him so she was led on top of him. “I love it.”

“I love you…” she grinned, melting into his arms as his hands ran up her bare back, her nose nudging his softly.

“Back at ya pretty girl.” he smirked, before his lips claimed hers in a heated kiss.

 **Original Posting**

[lavenderek]

sometimes when i play an old game from my childhood, like donkey kong (1994), im like, wow this is a fun game! some of the levels were too hard for me because i was a child, but the gameplay is really engaging and easy to understand!

lego island (1997) was a different experience entirely. this is my review of the first eleven minutes of game time, because i turned it off after that. 

first of all, i think it was banking on the customizable nature of lego sets making for inherently humorous situations? like, all the animation showcases the lego people and structures coming apart and coming back together, pieces being replaced with other pieces, things changing colors, that kind of thing. it’s kind of cute, like, if you visit the brickster - the bad guy in the game - in jail, he’ll insult you, and then he’ll just stand there unresponsive while you click his hat and turn it into random different objects and hairstyles. turns into a different hat, and then a flower, and then a sleek bob, and then a cat. it’s pretty cute. 

only, the animation and graphics are so primitive and jerky that sometimes it’s not clear what’s happening? and also, they put cartoon sound effects every single time this happens. and it happens with every object in the game. 

for example, at some point you’re walking down the road and you see a woman walking toward you. as you approach her, she disappears and reappears on the other side of the road, this time with three other people all in a row. they are walking in sync like a really peppy chain gang, and leaning back really far, while goofy music and a rubber stretching sound effect play. 

why is this happening? did i cause it to happen? does it mean something? is it a reference to something? what do i do when this happens? this is never made clear, so i just kept walking. 

i think it was supposed to be funny, and that’s pretty emblematic of the entire game - it’s full of these like, standup comedy bits that A. aren’t funny, and B. last for seven years each. 

like, i walk up to the police station, and a cop runs at me, yelling at me.

“HEY! YOU’RE UNDER ARREST! oh wait, it’s just you! you’re not under arrest. you’re in jail! no, you’re not! you must be here to build the helicopter. it’s about time! we’ve been waiting! i object! i mean, you’re in contempt! i mean, you’re under arrest! oh wait no, it’s still you. just go inside and speak to the deputy! i could really go for some pizza right now! i mean, what? cake! oh, i’ll just go over here!”

he walks back over to the police station, and i stand there like 👁️👄👁️

i try clicking around for a bit, but this mostly just makes people’s heads spin around and stuff, so i eventually just like, walk away lmao. never did find out what he was referring to with the helicopter thing

that’s the other problem, is the gameplay. the gameplay is so unintuitive that whenever i enter a building, an NPC has to give me very detailed instructions to figure out what to do next. there is no exploratory clicking around to be had, because even if they didn’t have their two minute standup to do for me, i wouldn’t be able to figure it out, i guess. that’s what i assume, because all their instructions go right over my head. i have no idea what they’re talking about. 

i’ll explain. you begin the game in an information building, where a lego man gives a speech about how you are on lego island, and in order to play on lego island, you must become a lego person. in order to become a lego person, you must select their portrait on the wall, and drag it to the location on the map where you want to go. 

but before you can do that, you have to click on a book and sign in. i click on the book, and there’s a bunch of letters, presumably so that you can enter your name if you’re a little kid in 1997 and don’t know how to use the keyboard. before i can enter my name, the man interrupts me and explains that i must enter my name, and then click the checkmark, and then i can begin my wonderful adventure on the glorious lego island, or whatever he says, he talks for way too long. 

i enter my name, i exit the book, and now i can choose a character to play. i select Pepper, who is a child who delivers pizza riding on a skateboard. instead of allowing me to drag the portrait, clicking on him triggers an introductory animation of pepper skateboarding around with a pizza. 

“i’m pepper, the pizza delivery kid! watch me go! whoa!” he hits a ramp. “45 degrees! up in the air! ollie!” he hits an identical ramp. “90 degrees! i’ve got all the degrees! more degrees than a thermometer! i’ve got more degrees than a professor! i’ve got more degrees than i know what to do with! ten degrees! two degrees! and i land it! i’ve got the pizza, here we go!” 

as he skateboards away, unboxed pizza in his little lego hand, an unidentified voice comments, “Pepper: he’s hot.” 

the animation ends. i’m like, “isn’t he like, a child?”

“great job, now you’re Pepper!!” yells the man. now i can play the game. i guess i don’t drag the portrait after all? 

i click an arrow on the side of the screen, trying to leave, but it just takes me to a big cube, and the man gives a TED talk about the cube. it’s just like, a score card, and whenever you do a mini game, your score shows up next to whatever character you were playing. he could have explained that in one sentence. or, better yet, i could have figured that out from context when i started playing mini games. but this requires another standup routine. 

i click another arrow, and finally i guess i have turned around, because i’m looking at the door to the lobby of the info building i’m in. there are some flowers in here too. i click on the flowers. with a bunch of metal clanging noises, the flower turns into a huge yellow tree. when it finishes, i am suddenly outside. 

i remember when i was a kid that i would struggle to play this game for a little while and then give up. i did this a lot. i remember i was able to paint a car. i couldn’t get the car to move the way i wanted it to, so i would never be able to finish a race. i’d just paint it red, and lose the race. i also have a vivid memory of some kind of thing where the brickster escapes from jail, and you have to find him before he steals... something. 

so i’m running around this unnavigable island, but sometimes trees and birds lean over and block the road and harass you, so you can’t go that way for some reason (which - relatable, that happens to me irl when i’m driving to walgreens to pick up my cymbalta). and all the while you hear the brickster’s disembodied voice being like, “you’re never gonna catch me!” and a different voice being like, “you’re going the wrong way! the brickster’s gonna get away!” and i would eventually fail this objective, and then give up and play the magic schoolbus instead lmfao. i remember this happening more than once as a kid. 

so like, at first i was like, this is a lot, but it’s not for me, you know? i wasn’t trying to engage with this game as an adult, because this was a game for children. but i was clicking around and i remembered being bored and annoyed as a child, too. so like, lmao. 

but the main reason i stopped playing is that the 3D pov animation as you move around the game was making me motion sick. i seriously thought i was gonna vom. so that’s why i stopped playing. 

[thegame-r-boy]

LEGO MARIO TIME! - A short review of a collaboration between LEGO™ and Nintendo

So as many of you know, I AM A BIG Super Mario Fan! I played the first game of Super Mario Bros. 3 on the NES, which originaln cartridge I still have and also played the latest version of the 2D Super Mario game, called Super Mario Maker 2 and a 3D variant, called Super Mario Odyssey, both for the Switch. When I first found out in March of this year, that there will be a group project between LEGO™ and Nintendo, I was quite shocked! Fast forward 5 months later and today, I finally got my own LEGO™ Super Mario Bros. started pack! :) (The second one on the photo is for my as-of now unboarn child. In ca. 10 years, he/she could play it!

The box is really nice, it has an uneven feeling to it. It is something to definitely put on your shelf and let your friend feel your brag about them. Easily, that package is really a cool one!

Now, when you first open up the box, you get really LOADS of LEGO™ bricks to connect. And I mean, really LOADS of them! But after you settle down by that fact, you find the instructions enclosed in the package. So now, let’s start with the building proces - That is quite a long one, indeed!

When I first got up from my desk to build the LEGO™ Mario figure together, I just though “Oh, no, I need a tool from my garden shed!”. Yes, that is right - first, I needed a screwdriver, so I could open up the figurine and put two AAA’s batteries in it. So I got up, went to where my family had it’s tools, and fixed that figurine all together. Then, you have to take the mini-packages inside of the big one by their capital number (#1, #2, #3, #4, etc.) and build him up together.

Everytime goes well and the first time you open the Super Mari figure and hear this (this is heard every time you open it), it just feels like magic :) :

It’s sooooooo adorable!!! 😍😍😍

Now, I will have to get back to bricking everything together.

So far, so good! Because I don’t have that much time right now, I will add my personal review of this LEGO™/Nintendo package later in the late afternoon. Until then, wish me luck with building everything together! ;)

Edit: I’ve already built all the bricks together! Let’s continue! :D

After I continued my building session, I found out one thing: in order to start building the other sets for Mario, you MUST have a smartphone or other device!
There just aren’t any physical instructions or manuals in this box. You just have to use a screen to build everything together. That is kind of a bummer, if you are a parent/husband/wife/man/woman etc. who doesn’t like to use technology (myself included). What a bummer! :( 
So I had to download the app and start building everything together.

And then, you have to have both devices, that is the Super Mario figurine and your phone connected with the app. Which you can easily do.

After I finished putting those two objects together, my Super Mario figurine needed and update, which it got quite fast through my Wi-Fi connection.

After roughly 5 minutes of downloading the update, I was FINALLY ready to build everything up.

The app is quite nice actually. Every brick you have to stack up together is displayed on the screen of your smartphone. Heck, you can even rotate it in 3D, just like in Nintendo Labo! I think I needed around 2-3 hours to build everything from the ground up, although you must admit that I did quite speed up the process by doing everything as fast as possible. Even then, while I was building, I knew exactly which brick goes where. You just really can’t go wrong!

My first mini course! ^^

All in all, the experience of playing this toy was just great. As a long live Super Mario fan, there was just everything there - a cloud, a pipe, a goomba, a question block, etc. Too bad there was no Bowser included, but still, it was quite fun. By building these block together, I felt like I was a kid all over again. And by seeing what I’ve made, I was just more proud of that. Still, would I recommen buying this kit? Absolutely! But only, if you have a kid, that likes Super Mario or a videogame where you can play as this character. In fact, this kit is also a great conversation starter, therefore, I would recommend it do adults as well - single or already taken, it doesn’t matter.

The course was made and everything went fine. But there is one place where Mario was missing. And that is on the shelf (also got a punch from Sonic, ‘cause the Blue Blur is jealous about that Italian [pizza] :D):

Final Review: 9/10

The Good:

- Looks lovely

- Fun to build

- Even more fun to play

- It is a Nintendo/Mario game!

The Bad:

- There are no physical instructions in the box

- No Bowser

- You must have space, where there is no dust, to leave it somewhere

- Could be quite expensive for some

[bearpillowmonster]

Non Spoiler Mandalorian Ep7 Review

I heard this connects to TRoS and I think is why it came out on a Wednesday rather than the usual Friday. That is to say, after watching it, I guess we'll see if it does because there's nothing glaringly obvious that I could see being in TRoS.

This episode is BIG, I mean remember when I said that the one extra thing I would like to see is some connection between the episodes and to maybe gain an overall goal. YEP, here it is! You want payoff? It's happening. There's a part where these two characters have a fight and they're wearing belts, the two belts connect each other with a pulsing electricity line which I assume works as a bungee rope, I paused the video and had a mini fanboy moment because it feels like something you would see in Lego Star Wars and also because it features the return of a certain character and a familiar species. To build off of what I wanted, they added in a cliffhanger, meaning this is just the first part of this arc that they're doing and I love it! Probably the best episode so far in my opinion, introduces so much stuff, they even have a MedPak which might even be a reference to KOTOR as well as something that Baby Yoda does...👀