#same with the sonic corruption arc which i’ve talked about before

[chromaji]

enough time has passed. Supreme was the least interesting of the titan fights imo like is this even a contest

[ganymedesclock]

a thing about your headcanons that really intrigues me is that, much as Knuckles seems to have originally been done as a contrast or rival to Sonic back in the Genesis days, your take on them has a opposite approach to the responsibility they feel, but done in opposite ways. Sonic runs from responsibility and doesn't want to think about it, while Knuckles feels guilty about NOT being responsible to an extreme, and since people don't often deal with how they're similar, i really like this

Honestly, this is a thread that is not exclusive to Sonic and Knuckles, but actually ties in heavily to a major theme I'm considering and working in Worlds AU.

Basically, "freedom" has always at least nominally been a theme associated with Sonic. It's in his motifs, it's in his attitudes, it's the quality that people tend to envy when they compare themselves to him- whether that's Knuckles who feels bound by fate and obligation, Tails who feels like he might not be enough or can only keep up, Amy who dreads the drudgery of her ordinary life by comparison. Hell, one could say it's even in the many one-off characters who are introduced with Sonic blowing into their life, changing things, inspiring them to grow, and then leaving- Elise, Merlina, Chris Thorndyke, Chip, Shahra.

But it's a theme that's kind of been weakened in the direction that the games took.

In Sonic SatAM, the concept of freedom vs. tyranny was rife in the setting. Robotnik had his boot down on 90% of the world and the remaining pockets are either actively dwindling, or struggling along as best they can through limited resources. All characters are- at any time- in danger of losing specifically their freedom; not their minds, but control of their bodies. And it's a compelling hook.

But the gameverse has very long not been that, and since Sonic Adventure, the world of the games has been very metropolitan. There's a bunch of cities and countries and everybody's going about their daily lives and Eggman's still a wannabe conqueror but he's now become abstracted, a supervillain, who might have this big scheme or that, but- basically until Sonic Forces- we have never had Eggman really decisively in control. And in his absence, there are not really ever any consistent or clear threats to freedom except that, yeah, we guess if we let someone like Solaris or Perfect Chaos or Black Doom run wild long enough that would kill people and then nobody would be free, but... that's an abstract and inelegant way to speak to one of your main center themes.

(and I personally don't like Forces basically trying to reinstate- even if temporarily- the SatAM status quo, even if I think some people like the IDW comics have done interesting things with that, but that's my personal relationship with the character of gameverse Eggman and how I view him distinctly from SatAM Robotnik, as absolutely iconic as the latter is)

I don't think you need an encroaching dystopia per se to make a meaningful discussion out of freedom- I think using the modern gameverse's more colorful, populated world opens up a lot of possibilities for that. So, a major thematic thing I've landed on is that abject tyranny- while the easiest 'threat to freedom' to scan and oppose- and an important one!- is not remotely the only thing that challenges freedom.

A big thing is responsibility.

Responsibility is the thing that most of us sacrifice our freedom to on a daily basis. That may sound dramatic, but it's true; we may have other reasons for it, but we don't just run off somewhere else or go have an adventure or leave our job because we feel responsible to things. And responsibility isn't a bad thing- it's good to feel reliable or trustworthy. If you enjoy your job or your coworkers, you want to do well at it. Having a house is a responsibility, we take care of them. Having a relationship of any kind is a responsibility; so is having kids. If none of us were ever responsible, society would fall apart and we'd all live lonely lives. Moreover, we'd have very little power- ironically a lack of responsibility can lead to a lack of freedom in some regards.

But also, it's very easy to give too much of yourself away and not have any left. I mentioned before that many characters are consistently depicted, across many continuities, idealizing Sonic- because Sonic's free! Sonic doesn't buy groceries or pay taxes or do boring stuff, he certainly isn't stuck in a frustrating or isolating situation, and this can even tie into one of Sonic's major themes- he refuses to be talked into accepting lesser evils.

In Sonic and the Black Knight, Merlina tries to explain to him why she's using Excalibur's scabbard- why she's doing bad things, trying to justify it that she can't just let the kingdom end, even if that means needing to twist it into a horrible place to live- to which she at one point, in frustration, asks if Sonic understands, to which he responds, "No, and I don't want to."

While it's not exactly a perfect moral stance (those don't exist), there is something to be said powerfully for the idea that Sonic as a person has a certain rejection of responsibility as a chain to let bad things happen. He rejects loyalty to a thing that drives you into cruelty.

And this is really interesting, when we consider- specifically in the very first game that featured Shadow and featured him explicitly as a dark antithesis to Sonic- that is exactly what happens to Shadow.

Shadow is not, by default, an amoral person. Pre-trauma, we see that he doesn't want to hurt others, and frankly, as much as "ow the edge" circles (and is somewhat warranted), we can often see that he's standoffish but fairly civil; someone who is dealing with a lot of stresses and problems, but doesn't often relish hurting others unless he's already desperate, frustrated, or looking for an outlet or solution. And in adventure 2, Shadow is led into nearly ending the planet on account of loyalty; to the idea of Maria, to what he believes she asked him to do (and what he believes is owed to the people who killed her)

It's kind of conspicuous that if you think about it, most of Shadow's arcs in various games that focused on him are about questions of what's owed- to him, or to the world. Does he owe a debt to Eggman? Rouge? Black Doom? Gerald? Maria? Does the world owe him a debt of anger and pain to be paid back in vengeance, or, is he the one who owes the world a chance? Does he owe himself a chance? These are questions of Responsibility.

So to bring this back to Sonic and Knuckles, I think that's an interesting context to set them apart, because both of those two definitely have a special relationship with the Chaos Emeralds. Knuckles is the guardian of the shrine that doesn't just have positions for the Master Emerald, but all seven smaller ones as well; and Sonic... well, Sonic consistently and regularly does stuff with the chaos emeralds nobody else does. He transfers super forms to other people, or even awakens them in people who haven't done it before (as implied with Burning Blaze in Sonic Rush). And at least according to Sonic 3&K, his arrival (?) was foretold.

But Sonic... does not feel responsible about the chaos emeralds. If something's happening with them he wants to know but it's about curiosity. When the chaos emeralds are corrupted, tarnished, and lose power, Sonic... juggles them, while he's confused about his own (related) corruption. It's weird, it's concerning, but it's not an obligation. He gets distracted buying ice cream in the same scene.

By contrast, the only time Knuckles feels confident shattering the Master Emerald, it's as an obligation- he has to protect it from Eggman even if it creates more work for himself, and he later freaks out and nearly crashes the shuttle he and others are on when a near-miss scatters the master emerald pieces he's collected across the ARK. I can only imagine half of the plot of Sonic Unleashed would've given Knuckles an ulcer if he'd been around for it. You did what to the Chaos Emeralds, Sonic????

Basically, I think while freedom vs. tyranny is definitely Sonic's brand, you can have a lot more fun and shore up the thematic strength by also factoring in "responsibility" as a secondary theme and this strengthens or illuminates many characters and their arcs.

[thankskenpenders]

So, about the movie...

At long last, a week after it came out, I was finally able to see the Sonic movie. The Daytona 500 being held across the street from my favorite theater and conflicting work schedules had been keeping me away, but now I’ve finally seen it. And it was...

Decent!

Which is way, way, way, way, way better than a movie with this awful premise has any right being. That’s for damn sure. I enjoyed my time at the theater. I don’t know how they did it, but they did it. If you like Sonic and haven’t already seen it, you will probably get a kick out of this film. If you don’t like Sonic (or Jim Carrey), there is very little in this movie for you

Okay, now that that’s out of the way, it’s time to break that whole movie down. This will contain full spoilers for the Sonic movie

This movie kinda gave me deja vu because it’s set up so similarly to the Bumblebee movie. Both open with a slavishly faithful CGI sequence on another planet to ensure long time fans that the creative team gives a shit, but a conflict sends the title character to Earth. There, they form an emotional bond with the human lead as they’re pursued by the bad guys, who are working with the US government and tracking the energy signature of the title character. This setup worked extremely well for Bumblebee, because it’s so similar to the usual plot of Transformers. For Sonic, it was... a mixed bag. But it worked better than I expected

(This shot does not happen in the movie.)

That opening though, huh? Green Hill Zone looked great, and I was pleasantly surprised to see they did, in fact, use the Hyper Potions track from Sonic Mania in the actual film. (The piano rendition of the Green Hill theme used later was also lovely.) Longclaw was also interesting. I’ve seen one person bring up all the bird-themed ruins in Sonic 1 and 2 as a possible source of inspiration for the character, and I think that’s a valid take. And man, the echidnas! I wasn’t expecting that AT ALL. I guess that was probably the Knuckles Clan or something? I would never, ever picture them being alive during Sonic’s lifetime, but like... I guess Knuckles had to come from somewhere, right? If they do another movie with Knuckles, will the rest of his kind have died out?

Sadly, though, this sequence felt like it was over in a heartbeat. We barely see Sonic’s life on his home planet, and we’re expected to feel emotional over Longclaw’s sacrifice when she only gets like three lines before Sonic is sent to Earth. This is a common theme with the film--it goes for these big emotional beats that it just does not earn with its rapid fire pacing

Anyway, then we fast forward and Sonic’s a teen. This is actually kind of an interesting one if you’re constantly neck deep in Sonic Character Analysis like me, because it’s a pretty different take on the character. It’s hard to give them credit for doing something somewhat fresh with the character, though, because like... how much of that was intentional, and how much was just Hollywood writers trying to squeeze a generic action-adventure movie out of Sonic? (Honestly, it’s probably mostly the latter.)

The closest other piece of Sonic media to the movie would probably be Sonic X, a story in which Sonic isn’t really the protagonist. The Sonic of the anime is fairly emotionally distant. He cares deeply about his friends, and does nice things for them, but he’s totally fine with running off on his own for extended lengths of time, and he doesn’t really talk about his feelings. He’s not the character the audience is meant to sympathize with, but is instead this cool older kid who Chris wants to impress. This is pretty much in line with how Sega likes to depict the character. He cares about his friends, but he’s also cool with being a loner. It feels like he only runs into them incidentally, usually when Eggman is causing trouble, and then when the crisis of the week is taken care of he’s back to going on his own adventures. There’s a reason why one of his catchphrases is “long time no see”

The Sonic of the movie is the polar opposite. His main conflict is that he’s lonely and desperately seeks friendship. He’s also an overly-eager, extremely earnest goober. He literally flosses twice. (Which I loved.) I’ve seen him compared to Silver, and honestly, that’s not a bad comparison. I did like it, though! I don’t mind Sonic being a more emotionally open character, like he was in a lot of older Western media. I mean, he cried in like the second or third episode of SatAM

It’s just that, like many things in the movie, it feels less like a deliberate creative choice and more like a logical string of decisions to make when writing a generic action-adventure film for general audiences. Sonic’s the only one of his kind on Earth, so of course he’d be lonely. He has to have some sort of arc for audiences to connect with him, and if he’s gotta be accompanied by James Marsden for the whole movie, well, his arc’s gotta be about them becoming friends

I’ve gotta say, though: Ben Schwartz is great as Sonic. As much as I like Roger Craig Smith, I wouldn’t complain if he became the new main voice of the character. And thanks to the redesign, he looked great. I can’t imagine how nightmarish this movie would’ve been if Sonic wasn’t cute

My main fear with this movie, though, was that Sonic wouldn’t really be the protagonist. As a fan of Transformers, I know all too well that the cost of doing a full CGI character usually means that said character can’t really be the star of the film. Optimus and Bumblebee aren’t the stars of the Transformers movies--they’re supporting characters who are primarily present for the sake of the action scenes. The humans are the real stars in those movies, and the robots are barely even characters. I was terrified that Sonic would be the same, with the actual character I paid to see taking a backseat to James Marsden The Cop

I’m not quite sure if they struck the right balance there, but they did better than I worried they would. Sonic is central enough to the film and gets enough screentime that you can easily say he’s the protagonist. BUT there is absolutely too much of Tom and his family. The human cast is fine, the performances are fine, and there were a few good jokes, but every time the movie tried to get me to care about Tom’s life I was bored out of my mind. It’s just so trite and passionless. The other characters barely felt fleshed out at all, including Tom’s girlfriend (wife?) and Agent Stone. The little girl who gives Sonic the shoes had some cute moments, though

I do, however, love the part in which James Marsden is walking around in a San Francisco t-shirt, to remind us that he’s planning on moving to San Francisco... which then becomes the excuse for Sonic to think about San Francisco and accidentally send his warp rings there, which becomes the excuse for the buddy road trip aspect of the film. And as much as that was a focus of the marketing, the actual road trip part is like... maybe 20 minutes of the movie? There’s like three scenes with Sonic and Tom on the road and then they’re in San Francisco for act 3. The movie tries to act like they’ve formed this deep bond and I just did not give a shit. I don’t care about the cop. All Cops Are Bastards, and that absolutely includes Tom, whose dream in life is to join the extremely corrupt San Francisco PD

The whole excuse for Sonic having to sit in the passenger seat of a car going the speed limit for a good chunk of the movie is also, just. Stupid. If he doesn’t know where San Francisco is and time is of the essence, just... give him a map?

And then there’s Jim Carrey. I was worried about this one. The previews tended to highlight his most Jim Carrey Being Wacky moments, and as fond as I am of movies like The Truman Show and Bruce Almighty, that’s just. That’s not Robotnik. I was pleasantly surprised by the actual movie, though! I thought he was pretty good. I’m not sure what incarnation of Eggman I’d most compare him to, but like... it was close enough, and he was entertaining enough. I’d pay to go see another movie with him as Robotnik. Sure. (Especially with how he was looking at the end of the film.)

There were some other little interesting tidbits here with Eggman, although again, a lot of that is less “let’s do a new take on Eggman” and more “let’s do a marketable movie with Eggman in it, which requires us to explain some stuff.” Like him straight up just being a normal human from Earth, with none of the confusion present in the current “two worlds” canon of the games. Or him apparently being an orphan who was bullied in school, and who trusts machines more than other humans. It’s a safe way to depict the character in a Hollywood movie, but I thought it worked

The way they got to his nickname was kind of funny, though. Like, obviously they didn’t put Jim Carrey in a fat suit, and thank god for that. So instead of mocking his weight, the nickname is derived from the egg-shaped robots he uses. Which made sense, I guess. It at least felt logical for this incarnation of Sonic, who had annoyingly been calling Tom “Donut Lord” the whole movie, to make up the nickname “Eggman.” (Said robots, by the way, were a weak point of the movie to me. They just didn’t have that Eggman whimsy and felt very safe and very Hollywood. Honestly, though, if they had just made Robotnik’s ship grey and slapped some hazard stripes on it, it’d probably be fine.)

As a whole, I thought the humor of the movie was... okay. Sonic had a lot of good moments thanks to Schwartz’s great performance, as did Robotnik. There were just so many weird lines, like James Marsden telling Robotnik that he was breast fed, or the agonizingly long child trafficking joke with Sonic in the duffel bag. Stuff like that

The action was great, though. They definitely owe a lot to the Quicksilver scene in that one X-men movie (I forget the one), but they had a lot of fun with Sonic’s powers and it felt extremely true to the character. Seeing him do one of his Smash poses during the San Francisco fight was great. The action scenes were an absolute delight

And then the ending. Oh, that ending

So, I had already heard that Tails shows up in the stinger before I saw the film. And when I heard that, I expected it to be like, the classic Tails origin story. Maybe Sonic would return to his planet, and run into this precocious kid who decides to follow him around... but no! Not at all! Tails is already the Tails we know and love. He’s already an inventor, he’s already tracking down Sonic. I’m shocked that Sonic actually stayed with Tom instead of running off to have new adventures, but hopefully this is a sign that more characters will be brought into the fray if they make a sequel

And boy, they better make that damn sequel. This movie had a great opening weekend and a positive reception. They have no excuse not to. GIVE US SONIC AND TAILS GOING ON AN ADVENTURE

Other stray thoughts

Holy shit they put Sanic in the movie

The Sega logo animation meant that Kiryu from Yakuza was in this movie for a few seconds

The pixel art credits sequence, which featured both the Sonic 2 special stage and Get Blue Spheres as well as the Eggman logo screens from the Studiopolis Zone boss, was cute

The Saturn logo could be seen on the diagram of the other habitable planets

Robotnik had a label for “Badniks” on his circuit breaker. I wonder if the drones in the movie are intended to be Badniks, or if we’ll see actual ones if a sequel gets made

Also, was it implied that Robotnik committed war crimes for the US government

One of the government guys who I think only got one line was played by Garry Chalk and as such sounded exactly like Optimus Primal

I can’t tell if Sonic getting a red race car bed was an intentional shout out to the Archie comics or if it’s just a coincidence, but I loved it

A dude about my age wearing a Sonic Mania t-shirt literally stood up and clutched his head in shock when Tails showed up

After the movie a very excited kid got his mom to take his photo with the Sonic display in the lobby. Afterwards he was so excited that he flossed

I can’t believe they talked about Olive Garden so much

[cryptoriawebb]

My Little Pony: the Movie (review)

I really wanted to love this movie. I really really did. 

I’ve been following along this series almost from the beginning; when I heard a proper animated film was in the works I was very excited. I had no idea what lay in store, of course, but it seemed like such a milestone, and rightly deserved. I can’t believe this series has come as far as it has, and still going after all these years. Not only that, but the characters have continued to grow organically, one-off characters return and develop as well, and story arcs went from episodic to partially serialized. It’s really inspiring for someone like me, to see a little show about colorful ponies evolve into quite frankly, a phenomenon I’ve never before seen. Nor have I seen a company/studio respond the way Hasbro did: they’ve really seemed to embrace their fanbase and both broadened and improved their merchandise along with it. I’ve said it before but I really hope one day I’m able to create something with half as much meaning and inspiration as I’ve seen My Little Pony give so many others, myself included.

So to walk away from their film with a mediocre “meh” hurts me to admit. It really does. I wanted something new, fresh and impressionable from this movie. Both the plot and characters felt standard, expected and honestly, tired because of that. The Storm King felt essentially like a rehashed Tirek, without half the same terror. While I maintain season four of MLP was essentially Dragonball’s Goku vs Freeza, it was still one heck of a finale. Tirek stands as my favorite villain in the series: he was threatening, powerful and quite honestly, terrifying in his own right. He straight up ate magic.  Changed physically because of it. Came very very close to destroying Equestria and my gosh I wanted to feel that same sense of dread in the movie. I didn’t. Instead, I saw a wannabe and less-impressive Tirek conquer Equestria in a less-impressive way.  He also received no backstory whatsoever. I suppose that’s the case with most MLP villains, I suppose I just hoped for something different in the first feature for this incarnation.

Likewise, I also hoped for a far more interesting backstory for Tempest. She had such a presence on-screen, and I’ve never seen the concept of a broken horn explored before. Her song, too, was by far the most powerful in the film…which is why I was so disappointed to learn she became the way she was through an Ursa Major attack. Ursa Majors are huge and intimidating, I get that, it just seemed a bit weak for such a powerful villain against friendship…and reminded me strongly of Starlight Glimmer’s origin. A pony turned against others due to feeling abandoned. Just like Tirek, Starlight’s conclusions and subsequent revenge against the mane six made for a much greater impact. I’m also not at all surprised she turned around when the Storm King (surprise surprise, I say sarcastically) betrayed her but Twilight saved her. How often has this happened in the series? I know friendship is Twilight’s title, and the focus of the series, but I wanted something stronger, something—as I said—unique to this movie. 

Honestly, Tempest embodies a lot of what I love about Zira from Simba’s Pride (the Lion King sequel, because there are some people who don’t know that.) The way she carries herself, speaks and sings…just with a lot less maniacal bloodlust. The murderous mania I can do without, I just wish Tempest felt more like a villain, a proper villain. The Storm King, too. They were caricatures, and I don’t think caricatures don’t always work well in a feature.

Villains aside, I also had a lot of problems with the behavior of the mane six. From what I’ve read, production for this movie began in 2014, which would explain why they act so different from the ponies we see in season 7, now. I don’t believe the Twilight of 2017 would angrily state it might’ve been better if she hadn’t been friends with Pinkie and the others. I also do not believe she would have tried to steal a magic pearl. Ever. Even in season one. That is not a Twilight thing to do, no matter the stakes. Of course, compared to the others she was the only one taking this entire threat seriously. I’d witness fear and dread in her friends but then they’d carelessly make a scene and draw attention to themselves, something that, again, did not work for a feature like this. I know this movie is primarily for children, but the balance between humor and darkness didn’t flow as well as it does in the series itself. With more time to carry out a story, it should have. (Also, didn’t Spike get over his Rarity-crush?) Most of the characters behaved like they might have in seasons three or four, not seven. It felt really out of place and at times took me out of the urgency.

On a more positive note, I adored the seapony sequence. Everything about it: the backstory, the design and visuals, and the characters! I will say I figured out pretty quick they held some kind of relation to the hippogriffs, but it was cool nonetheless! The princess’ introduction felt very “Little Mermaid.” Kind of a fun nod, although I’m not entirely sure if it was intentional. Definitely the best part of the movie. A friend of mine pointed out—and I agree, actually—a movie set almost entirely underwater would’ve been a lot more fun than what we got. It was so colorful, and the origin blurb has a lot of potential for deeper development. Pinkie Pie was by far my favorite of the mer-designs!

I’ll go back to visuals in a second: I want to talk about characters for a minute. I don’t for a second think there needed to be as many new characters as there were. Was it cool to see pirate-bird-creatures-seriously-what-were-they and an anthromorphic cat? Yes, yes it was. Did we need them? No. No we didn’t. Too many characters, not enough time to develop them beyond tropes seen time and again. I would’ve preferred the creative team use this opportunity to bring more minor characters to the forefront: a “Slice of life” combined with the mane cast for an epic adventure or something. Actually—and I was talking to the same friend about this—if this movie had been written even a year later, it might’ve been a great opportunity to throw Starlight at the forefront of the other mane ponies to rescue/stop a corrupted Twilight Sparkle. I know that’s not something done so easily in a kid’s movie: they want to root for their favorite princess to save the day. However…Midnight Sparkle made such a great impact, at least I think so, in Equestria Girls, and the older Tempest might very well have succeeded in corralling a disheartened Twilight to her side, even if she were reluctant. Maybe Twilight’s magic gained an explosive side when reacting to negative emotion: similar to Tempest and even Starlight. Or maybe she really felt like there was no other way out or that she hurt her friends beyond recovery or something… just something. Something better. I’m not sure how I felt about the series kind of making fun of itself, either. I liked that they were out of their element, that their streak of making friends and solving problems so easily wasn’t working and yet essentially did by the end. However, they’ve traveled to other kingdoms before, and made friends, solved problems in these kingdoms, despite not always seeing eye to eye with the locals. It seemed a little weird they’d grow frustrated with themselves over leaving equestrian and expecting the same results: they have left Equestria and gotten the same results. Makes enough sense to me they’d grow used to expectation.

Now to the visuals.

WOW. W-O-W. Absolutely stunning in every, and I do mean every, possible way. Fluid, colorful, sparkly, the very definition of eye candy. I can’t get over it. The added shadows and movement in their hair, eyelashes, everything…I wish the show were animated like that all the time. It was a tiny bit jarring, trying to adjust to so much more on a big screen but I’m not complaining. There were definitely a few shots in there I’m sure the studio put in to show off their animation but again, not complaining. They worked hard on this movie and deserve to show off.

It was also really wonderful to see an animated film reminisce the hand-drawn cel-animated look of old. I know that computer-generated look is cheaper and the next “big” step in animation, but I’m a little old school at heart. Disney, Don Bluth, Dreamworks, you name it: they created such wonderful, fluid work back in the day…I miss it. Some highlights that stood out to me: THE EYES. They were so big and sparkly. So expressive. My gosh. The hair/mane, especially on Celestia and Luna. Such volume! Really mystical. The sonic rainboom, however foolish of Rainbow Dash, might’ve been the most visually appealing moment in the film. So vibrant and rich. Wow. As I said, the seapony sequence. Although Tempest’s magic gets special mention because I definitely felt her rage and dazzling power whenever it went off. 

I can’t think of anything else to add…I think this about sums up my thoughts. If there’s anything else, it’s the jokes/references to Hungry Hungry Hippos and the Wizard of Oz. Not necessary, exactly, but done, at least I thought, with more taste than Moana’s attempt at pop culture. As much as I loved that movie. Setting them in the background, or split apart amongst a group made you do a doubletake: a ‘listen-close-or-you-might-miss-it’ sort of thing. I liked that.

So to sum up: Average movie, not good or bad, although disappointed with the storytelling. I’ve seen this team do so much more, pull off concepts that would otherwise come across dull and cliché. What happened?

[furederiko]

Electronic Entertainment Expo 2017 was held on June 13-15 in Los Angeles, USA. Meaning, it has once again come and gone, and now comes the time to talk about some of its biggest news (ones that matters to me, at least). That's right, it's a Video-Game Special Random-News-Digest this time around...

NOTE: In general, the topics below are categorized under the company that released them. But in some cases, they go by their separate franchises instead. And one more thing, this was supposed to go up yesterday, precisely one day after E3 2017 ended. BUT... due to unexpected technical issues (internet connection, and... my health), I had no choice but to postpone it. Better late than never, I guess... *sigh*

Marvel vs Capcom

Let's kick this off with a collaboration of Marvel and CAPCOM. Aside from another "Monster Hunter" title that I honestly couldn't care less, "Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite" was one of CAPCOM's big showcase this year. Remember that leak that arrived earlier this month, the one that spoiled the game's roster? Looks like that report might be true after all. CAPCOM has officially unveiled several more playable characters: the Marvel side has been added by Sorcerer Supreme Doctor Strange, cosmic warrior Nova, assassin Gamora, and the Mad Titan Thanos; while the CAPCOM side was expanded by silver haired Dante of the original "Devil May Cry" (so NOT the latest reboot "DmC"), Zero from "Rockman X" series, cyborg Spence of "Bionic Commando", and goofy knight Arthur from the action comedy franchise "Ghosts 'n Goblins". Considering all eight of these names fit that roster report, I'm pretty sure the credibility of that leak has been confirmed. Everyone was revealed through the new Story trailer, that also announced that a Story Demo has been made available to those who want to experience the game first-hand. You can also check out some of these characters in action, as well as possible in-game pairings (like Gamora-Strider, Strange-Arthur, and so on), through the official gameplay video.

As I've commented on my previous R-N-D, most of the names (with the exception of two) revealed here are 'has been' characters. So while some people were happy about them, many were equally disappointed, which isn't good considering the internet hasn't been kind towards this title. An issue that stemmed from public's disappointments to "Street Fighter V", really. Thankfully, there was one pleasant surprise that came along with this trailer. And it's Black Panther! Those X-Men enthusiasts who cried foul when Wolverine is omitted from the game, can stop whining because the character officially has a replacement now. I'm pretty confident that Panther is going to share a similar 'slash and dice' movesets, if not simply a re-skin version. Panther's inclusion made a lot of sense, considering his first-ever solo movie is arriving in February 2018. The same logic goes to Thanos, as "Avengers: Infinity War" that will put him in the spotlight will arrive a few months after in May. And thanks to Thanos' importance in the story mode, now I understand why Gamora (who shares a famillial link) is necessary to be included in the core cast. Somehow I suspect she's going to be a re-skin of Jill Valentine though, and that might be an issue. Speaking of problem, Panther's not among the core roster. He will be part of the upcoming 6 character DLCs that already includes Ultron and Sigma, though seemingly will be available on launch as part of the 'Deluxe Edition'. And since we already have Gamora, Rocket Raccoon, and also Groot (who has been confirmed to be an official assist of Rocket, as they come in one package), I wouldn't be surprised if Star-Lord will follow suit among this DLC wagon as well.

Story is usually not a fighting game's forte. Even the seamless touch of "Mortal Kombat" couldn't hide the fact that it's... ridiculous at best. And well... this one is no different. Jugding from the trailer, this game seems to rely heavily on the Infinity Stones, or as Captain America suggested, "Infinite Six". Again, it also makes sense, due to the movie based on it happening in less than a year. After all, why would the title even bothered to have 'Infinite' as the sub-title, if that's not the whole point, right? The universe-shattering plot somehow reminded me of "Street Fighter V" all over again, which wasn't that great. So I'm not too sure CAPCOM will be able to pull this 'cinematic experience' off into something significantly better. The CAPCOM characters already felt... what's the word... out of place? And yikes, what happened to Chun-Li?! Subjectively speaking, she's not as 'ugly' as NetherRealm Studios' design for female characters, but I've certainly seen the Chinese Interpol agent in a much better shape before! On the other hand, never thought I'm gonna say this, but Thanos totally kicked-ass with his Infinity Gauntlet. Getting me more and more excited for the "Infinity War" movie, which might be the other primary goal of this game from the very beginning.

I don't know what you think, but overall this game doesn't look half bad. The design might need some getting used to, but I think it feels closer and closer to the previous 3 titles the more I see it. Unfortunately, as I've said before, the general sentiment of this game is definitely leaning on the side of negative. Fans who have 'tasted' the Story Demo have expressed a similar pessimistic tone as well. With a release date crawling closer and closer, how would CAPCOM react to this? I guess we'll just have to wait and see when the game is officially launched. "Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite" will be released for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on September 19.

Sonic the Hedgehog

SEGA released a new trailer for "Sonic Forces", and this time around, they introduced the set of villains that Modern, Classic and Custom Sonic will be teaming up to face. I was already sold by the inclusion of a Custom character, but seeing all those arch-nemesises in one place just turned me into... a pure happy camper. And that's not all, because a new powerful and mysterious enemy will be joining, if not commanding them. Infinite, no relations to the above category, will be teaming up with Doctor Ivo Robotnik/Eggman (from... duh, almost every game?), Metal Sonic (who debuted on "Sonic CD"), Chaos (of "Sonic Adventure"), Shadow the Hedgehog (of "Sonic Adventure 2"), and Zavok (from the recent "Sonic Lost World") to take over the world. Seriously, that new villain looks scary, and he's totally stealing my attention. Dang it, I totally wish I can play this game. There's no release date so far, but "Sonic Forces" will be released for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC this holiday.

Dragon Ball

I actually couldn't care less about any "Dragon Ball"-based games beyond the ones released during the 90s, but this one... "Dragon Ball FighterZ"? This totally got my attention! Indeed, it was that good, that it was stealing many E3 attendee's attention with its high speed action, flashy moves, and colorful anime graphics. For some reason, the "Marvel vs Capcom" style felt strong in this, to the point that many people have come to loving this more than that franchise's upcoming release. Ironic, huh? I guess nostalgia does play a crucial factor...

This title is under Bandai Namco, but developed by Arc System Works, and somehow was leaked a few days ahead of its planned official reveal. The latter is the company that is known for franchises like "BlazBlue", "Guilty Gear", and also the "Naruto" series. But unlike the Naruto ones that went full-on 3D style, this one utilized a 2.5D style, which once again, is the right call! Why? The development is in 3D, which as producer Tomoko Hiroki has confirmed, makes some technical elements much easier to pull off, but the visual is of 2D animation. And I say, not just that. "Dragon Ball" IS and has always been an anime, thus the anime style is definitely the way to go when it comes to adapting Son Goku and other character of the long-running franchise. It also easily reminded me of those classic "Dragon Ball" fighting game I used to play on my SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive with my family. Aaah, the good 'ol times when the world was still kind, and people hasn't been corrupted by the irony called... growing up.

The game's official reveal trailer only included 6 characters so far: Son Goku, Vegeta, (child) Son Gohan, Cell, Frieza, and Majin Buu. But since the game will be based on the whole "Dragon Ball Z" arc, it's obvious we'll be seeing many more characters like the twins Android 17 and Android 18, Krillin, (future and child) Trunks, and even Son Goten. Especially with Bandai Namco stressing out that "famous scenes from the Dragon Ball anime reproduced in 60 frames per second and 1080p resolution.". A closed beta demo will be held on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One before the end of summer, so fans who are intrigued to give this game a shot, just need to wait a bit longer. For the time being, we can indulge ourselves with several gameplay videos taken as direct-feed from the E3 hall. You can visit Gematsu (HERE, and HERE) to view them. "Dragon Ball FighterZ" will be released for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC worldwide in early 2018.

Nintendo

Contrary to previous report, Nintendo did take the stage this year, as they announced numerous exciting titles that made MAAANY people happy. Not a surprise as well, because Nintendo Switch was just released 4 months ago, and there haven't been many softwares to complement the hybrid console.

Let's start with what's probably the biggest signature title for Switch. A game that IGN has even crowned to be the "Game of Show", "Best Platformer", and "Best Nintendo Switch Game" of E3 2017. It's none other than... "Super Mario Oddysey"! In this game, players will take Mario on a globe-trotting 3D adventure to collect Moons, a fuel for the airship 'Oddysey' that is necessary to rescue Prince Peach from Bowser. Yeah, I know what you're thinking. How many effing times do Mario needs to walk through the same scenario, right? But never mind that, because this game looked super fun.

I haven't purchased Switch yet, but even I'm already itching to play this game. For so many reasons. That great and catchy theme song that made me dancing like a child. That white broadway top-hat, or Mexican sombrero? And Mario 'possessing' practically any living beings around him with a cap throw? Dang it, if only I can play it right NOW. This looked a lot like "Super Mario Galaxy" on Wii, but with its own... spin. Get it? Here, just take a look at its reveal trailer, or the gameplay videos (available on Gematsu), and tell me if you're not easily charmed by this game. Because if you're not, then I seriously pity your sad childhood (just kidding, no need for death threat!). "Super Mario Odyssey" will launch on October 27th, 2017... only on Nintendo Switch.

The second Switch game for Mario is "Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle", that combines the world of Mario and his Mushroom Kingdom, with Ubisoft's "Rabbids" franchise. Yep, this worst-kept secret collaboration title has been developed by Ubisoft, hence why I don't give the company their own exclusive category (because its content will be separated in two). In this game, Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, and also Yoshi will join forces with their four... Rabbids dopplegangers, to journey four different worlds, in the hope of restoring order to The Mushroom Kingdom. I'm personally NOT a fan of the Rabbids, but even this crossover game looked FUN. And beyond that, according to IGN it has a deep strategic battle system too. But more importantly, this game also proved that Nintendo is becoming more open to allow other developers to use their properties. A fact that inspires great potentials and possibilities in the future. You can watch the official announcement trailer on Youtube, as well as a Development Diary for the game. Gematsu also had 21 minutes of gameplay from the E3 floor, so go ahead and visit the site. "Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle" will be released for Nintendo Switch on August 29th, 2017.

More Mario? Yes... more Mario! Announced during Nintendo's E3 2017 Treehouse live stream, "Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions" is a renewed classic that will arrive on October 6th, 2017 exclusively for Nintendo 3DS. In this game, rather than trying to battle Bowser, the Mario Bros are teaming up WITH Bowser to restore Princess Peach's voice. Visit Youtube for the official trailer, and also Gematsu for 25 minutes of gameplay videos. Wow, Mario is killing it, huh? Nope, not just him, his green dinosaur friend Yoshi is also getting his own Switch game! Conveniently titled as "Yoshi", the 2D side-scrolling adventure will see Yoshi exploring a world of miniature diorama filled with flip-ping surprises. Go ahead and watch the trailer and have your mind... flipped. LOL. "Yoshi" will be released in 2018.

What about other franchises, you wonder? Well, ask and you shall receive! In list form... LOL - The honestly weird-looking "Arms", is getting rave reviews. It's ridiculous fun, even with its lack in the story department as well as... logic. It might look simple, but it has a startling amount of depth that will wow anyone. Many are saying that this will be a hit for families entertainment, and the game is already hitting the market with a DLC already announced. - Fans of the "Metroid" series will also get their share of excitement. "Metroid Prime 4" has been announced for Switch. There's no release date for now, but I'm sure information about that will come in the near future. The same can't be said about "Metroid: Samus Returns" though. A 3D polygon remake of Game Boy classic "Metroid II: The Return of Samus", the title will be officially released for 3DS on September 15th, 2017. - The pink ball Kirby also gets Switch-ed, in the equally conveniently named "Kirby". Kirby will be adventuring in a party of four, which means up to 4 players can play this game together. Don't forget to check out its Hollywood style trailer! "Kirby" doesn't have a release date yet, but is set to be released in 2018. - And "Skyrim" fans? You got it! Complete with amiibo support and Legend of Zelda skins...

As you can see, the library of Switch is expanding like crazy, and it's an exciting turn around especially compared to what happened to Wii U. Those who have purchased this hybrid console since day one, no longer has to worry about not having a game to play. And for those who haven't had a chance to do so... well, the more the reason to get a Nintendo Switch, right? *grins*

Pocket Monsters

Are you among those who are waiting for a core Pokemon title on Switch? And you were disappointed when "Pokemon Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon" was announced for 3DS instead of the rumored "Pokemon Stars"? Well, turns out you only need to wait... a little bit longer. The Pokemon Company president Tsunekazu Ishihara officially announced that Game Freak has begun developing a core RPG title for Nintendo Switch! So it is indeed happening, folks! He added though, that the title "may not release for more than a year, but we hope you will look forward to it all the same", hence why I told you to wait. Then again, more than a year from now can also mean... it MIGHT arrive on November 2018, right? Wow, I'm getting excited for no reason... LOL.

In a way, this announcement has also partially confirmed that the Switch is indeed the officiall replacement of 3DS. Moreso, and this is just a wild guess, but likely the rumor about "Pokemon Stars" was actually referring to this particular development, instead of the recently announced extension of "Pokemon Sun & Moon". Either way, this is a great news, because we're finally getting what many Pokemon fans have been dreaming: a chance to play a Pokemon RPG on the TV screen! How is that possible, you dare ask? DUH, Switch is a hybrid console that enables that! Of course, this also works wonder to Switch itself, because quoting my own words from last week: "The hybrid console is definitely in need of a fan favorite franchise like Pokemon to attract more players". Yes, the E3 announcement for those Mario titles and many others have shut down the public concern of 'Switch is lacking of exclusive game titles'. But having a Pokemon RPG on Switch, will undeniably attract Pokemon fans who are still on the fence to purchase the console and help boost its sales. Want prove? That's easy, because mark my word, I'm TOTALLY getting a Switch (sooner or later) just for this! *geeks out*

By the way, technically speaking, this section should've been part of the Nintendo category. But since it has already established its own category (in various form of medias) for such a long time, I've decided to put it separately.

Assassin's Creed

At long last, Ubisoft officially unveiled "Assassin's Creed: Origins" during Microsoft's E3 2017 stage. It was certainly not a surprise announcement, considering the title was already leaked since May. More than that, a Game Informer coverage was already leaked ahead of E3, officially spilling the beans in a non-official manner. Ouch! Someone at Game Informer is going to get fired...

Confirming the rumor, the new game will take place in Egypt, and as the title suggest, will be telling about the founding of the Assassin's Brotherhood. The main character (but not the only playable one) will be Bayek, a protector of the land whose story will be root of the Creed. Since the game takes place in the ancient Egypt during Cleopatra's reign, we can expect to see Great Pyramids, mythologies, pharaohs, and many other awesome bits from the country's history. Eventhough this game has been in production before the infamous "Assassin's Creed Unity", it will have a new free-form combat system with new A.I., revamped narrative experience and freedom to choose quests, an entire country to full explore, while still retaining and improving the series existing signatures like puzzles, Eagle Vision (through an Eagle named the Senu this time), stealth, that annoying climbing, Naval adventures, and many others. You can check out the official reveal trailer on Youtube, a Gameplay Demo, coverage by Game Informer, as well as a "Mysteries of Ancient Egypt" that gave additional details about the game.

There are several version of the game that fans can purchase. First is the "Deluxe Edition" that contains the game, printed version of the hand-drawn world map, soundtrack, and Digital Deluxe Pack. Second is the "Gold Edition", that adds a Season Pass for upcoming expansions and equipments. There are also the "Collector's Edition", "Dawn of the Creed Collector's Edition", and the special "Dawn of the Creed Legendary Collector's Edition". That last one will add a highly detailed resin statue of Bayek and Senu, The Collector's Certificate of Authenticity, replica of Bayek's eagle skull amulet, two Steelbooks, and four large lithographs signed by the studio artists. This limited edition (only 999 units for worldwide sale) is already available for pre-order exclusively on Ubisoft store for $799,9. As the pricing suggest, this is totally for that devoted fan with plenty of money to spare! *sigh*. Visit Gematsu for further details of these items. "Assassin's Creed: Origins" will be released for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on October 27th, 2017.

Square Enix

The company brought their top franchise to the convention this year. Several new iterations of "Final Fantasy XV" were announced during the event, while new development on the highly anticipated "Kingdom Hearts III" was also revealed elsewhere.

Second DLC episode for "Final Fantasy XV", one that will focus on Prompto Argentum's solo adventure will be launched on June 27th, 2017, alongside the "Regalia Type-D" update (brings greater freedom to drive Regalia off-road). Just like the first that featured Gladioulus as the central character (released back in March), "Episode Prompto" will likely take place in between the infamous Chapter 13 of the main game as well. If Gladioulus was a hack and slash action genre, then apparently Prompto will take on a first-person shooter experience. Makes sense, really, considering his signature weapon of choice. You can check out a six minutes gameplay video of this DLC on Youtube.

Expanding the "FF XV Universe", two more extension games have been announced. The first one was "Monster of the Deep: Final Fantasy XV", that will be available for PlayStation VR. It's a... fishing game, that let players explore oceans, lakes, ponds, and rivers alongside Noctis and his friends. Clearly based on one of the main game's mini-mission, the game will be launched in September. For now, you can view the official trailer to know that I'm not at all kidding. The second was "King's Knight: Wrath of the Dark Dragon", which apparently is an action RPG. This one's an App game, and will be released on iOS and Android later this year. I can't see the relation of this title with the main game, but I'm sure Final Fantasy fans will dig it like crazy anyway, right? Last but not least, the main game will soon have a major update to support Microsoft's new console. One which I will talk about at the end of this post. "Final Fantasy XV" is available on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

As for "Kingdom Hearts III", Square Enix debuted a new trailer during the "Kingdom Hearts Orchestra World Tour". Compared to the "Final Fantasy" one, I personally liked this one better. But while the game looked great, the story seemed to have gotten... even more confusing by and by. Apparently, Hades, Maleficent, and Pete are looking for a Black Box or something, while lead character Sora alongside buddies Donald Duck and Goofy want to bring Roxas to reality, with a certain 'dire cost'. I recall only getting to the second game, thus never experienced the Nintendo DS ones to even have a clue of what's going on. Still, the charm of this series is the various Disney/Squaresoft worlds, and at the end of this trailer, Square Enix officially announced that new information will be delivered at the Disney D23 Expo 2017 on July 15th, 2017. That means there will be new worlds to explore, and I bet it will involve recent released titles like "Frozen", "Moana", and/or "Big Hero 6". "Kingdom Hearts III" is still under development, and hasn't gotten a release date, but is likely to arrive in 2018 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Taiko no Tatsujin

The latest iteration of the "Taiko Drum Master" series, the "Taiko no Tatsujin: Session de Dodon ga Don!" has been announced on Famitsu Magazine. The game will have a special jam session against other player's musical performance data, that can even be achieved when they are not actually available online. This game will include over 70 songs that cover from famous Japanese classic anime songs, classic orchestral musics, recent tunes from the J-Pop circle, up to modern hypes like the "Pen-Pineapple Apple-Pen". A teaser website has been opened by Bandai Namco, that revealed a special feature to play the game alongside popular characters from Japanese shows. Development has reached 80% and the game is set to be released for PlayStation 4 later this year.

Spider-Man

As proven by their smartphones games like "Future Fight" and "Contest of Champions", or the collaboration with CAPCOM that I've talked about above, Marvel is ramping up on their video game divison. And the one I'm going to talk about here, is their collaboration with Insomniac Games, in form of the non-nonsense titled "Marvel's Spider-Man". It is best known as "Spider-Man PS4" though, because as the nickname suggests, it will be exclusively released on PlayStation 4. And well, since SONY is the copyright owner of the Spider-Man franchise, it's not really much of a surprise huh?

A special 9 minutes gameplay video has been released to give players a sense of what to expect from this game. My reaction? If you're eager to see how Spider-Man gets trapped in a Rocksteady's Arkham game, then this is easily your answer. The whole stalking, cinematic quick-time sequences, as well as exciting one-vs-many combat totally reminded me of those Rocksteady titles. But instead of Batman and his vast array of gadgets, we have Spider-Man and his iconic humor, jokes, acrobatic movesets, and... gadgets in his place. Creative director Bryan Intihar also described the footage in details, through PS4's official blog. It seems Spidey will 'cooperate' with Wilson Fisk, to deal with the Inner Demons gang, who works under Martin Li or Mr. Negative. He will be exploring an open-world of New York to deal with super villains as well as personal matters.

Honestly, I'm not too keen on the human character design, as well as the first suit that has too much white. But this certainly caught my attention. Heck, I think every Marvel fans would be amazed by this. In fact, this game has been confirmed to include additional Spidey suits, as well as multiple Spider-Man characters, meaning there's more to it than what we've seen so far. With strong emphasis on story, it's not a joke that IGN has awarded it as "Best PS4 Game" as well as "Best Action Game" of E3 2017. Here's hoping the actual game will be as good as, if not better than this achievement suggested. "Spider-Man" will be released in 2018.

LEGO Games

New characters have been announced for "LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2"! Giant teleportation mutt Lockjaw, and Inhumans Queen Medusa have officially entered the game alongside Agent Venom. As to be expected, the whole roster of Guardians of the Galaxy have also been confirmed to be playable in this second game, because the story will pick up directly where the previous title left off. Not to mention tying in to this year's "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" movie. There weren't many details offered for this game, because likely TT Games and Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment is saving more reveals to be delivered on Disney D23. For now, you can watch various gameplays through the official LEGO presentation stream on Youtube. "LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2" will launch for all consoles on November 14th, 2017.

Professor Layton

Following last month's reveal of the first episode of "Layton's Mistery Journey: Katrielle and The Millionaires' Conspiracy", LEVEL-5 celebrated E3 2017 with with details for the second one. Episode 02, entitled "Song of a Certain Love: Riverside Festival" will focus on the town's tradition of confessing love from opposite sides of River Thames. One that is called "Riverside Confession Show". The legend told that the couple who engaged in that would die unnatural death. But this time, contrary to the annual festive that usually went victim-less, two young people actually get killed! An event that shakes the town, for better or worse. I found the premise of this episode to be exciting, because it means Katrielle isn't just a run-of-the-mill detective in this game. She's going to be investigating deaths, and possible murders!

Another two of the "Seven Millionaires of London" have also been revealed. Joining Ridley Fremens and Clerk Gospec are Andrea Quinto and Zach Lyell. Quinto is a young multi-millionaire who inherited a vast sum of money following the death of her parents. While Lyell is a sharp business who is extensively expanding businesses. He's the president of a group enterprise that owns Long Roller Bank. Up to this point, it's still unclear how or in what capacity these Millionaires are involved in the game. Are they part of a secret organization, that is somehow responsible for Professor Layton's disappearance? Or is there other mystery behind that? And how will they affect Katrielle's life?

Several new features have also been announced. Katrielle will be able to change clothes in the game, and they are specially designed by famous stylist Shouhei Kashima. New outfits can be obtained by using "Special Coins" in the 3DS version, or actual money in the smartphones version. Those who purchase the 3DS download version in Japan will receive a Flora Reinhold-style outfit. Player can also decorate the interior of Katrielle's "Layton Detective Agency" through the new "Room Coordinate" feature. New furnitures might be obtained by trading "Interior Tickets". As for the puzzles, this game is said to have the highest number of them, of all Layton titles. Lastly, the game's theme song "Girls" is sung by Kana Nishino, and will be officially released on July 26. "Layton's Mystery Journey: Katrielle and The Millionaires' Conspiracy" will be released worldwide on July 20th, 2017.

Atari

No, you're NOT reading it wrong. Atari, the classic 90s gaming console that even I have never even seen in real life, is getting back into the hardware business. Apparently, CEO Fred Chesnais had publicly stated this news on the E3 2017 floor. He didn't really go into specifics about this, aside from saying that it is based on PC technology. But could he be talking about that "Ataribox" that has been teased on Youtube? The video DOES call it 'a brand new Atari product'. It even has its own website. The current speculation on the internet, that Atari is attempting to replicate Nintendo's accomplishment with their NES Classic. You know, the one that only saw limited release and has been discontinued? Especially because the video hinted at the "Atari 2600" which was the first console ever released by the company. I guess we'll just have to wait for more information about this. But be honest, would you purchase a NES Classic-esque console just to play classic and likely long-forgotten Atari games? Personally, I'm NOT too sure...

Microsoft

Speaking of console... Okay, let's end this R-N-D with a topic that many are calling to be... the 'MOST POWERFUL' reveal of the Expo. Microsoft has officially unveiled the name of its high-tech console Project Scorpio, and it officially goes by name "Xbox One X". That's... so many Xs, huh? LOL. By 'most powerful', I'm obviously talking about the console's technical specifications of course. And not about that over-confident official tagline that's being boasted throughout the event on T-Shirts, as well as flaunted pretty much everywhere. Hold on... HUH?

Really, its technical specs is certainly no joke. True 4K resolution with 12GB GDDR5 graphic memory, that enable games to run smoothly in 8 million plus pixels resolution (that's the highest possible, for current technology at least); 8-core Custom AMD CPU with 6 Teraflops GPU and 326GB/s Memory Bandwidth, for realistic and smoother animations; liquid cooling and supercharger-style centrifugal fan, to ensure it stays cool with less noise, a system that, according to Xbox Software Engineering Kareem Choudhry, is usually implemented for servers; 8GB flash and 1TB internal HDD storage, with faster hard drive speed; 4K UltraHD Bluray Disc Drive; DTS and DOLBY TrueHD Atmos sounds; various connectivities via wires and wireless; and not to mention being the smallest consoler the company has ever released. To be honest, eventhough I might have an IT background, I have NEVER been into hardware. Thus all these gibberish tech-talks almost put me down to sleep. But I don't think it takes a genius to easily tell that this thing is massive. Undeniably a 'First Class' product that offers immersive gaming experience. According to IGN, the CPU is 30% faster than the current Xbox One, with a GPU that's 4.6 times higher. To ensure backward compatibility with it, all of its accessories and games will work on this Xbox One X, and existing games (like "Dragon Ball FighterZ", "Final Fantasy XV", and "Assassin's Creed: Origins" that I've mentioned above) will soon receive major updates to ensure faster loading time, even for a player who isn't utilizing a 4K TV.

Said technical specification is certainly an eye-popping fact. This is basically a super high-end PC set, in form of a standalone console. Unfortunately, that comparison also immediately raised several glaring questions among the public, particularly game enthusiasts. One that ranged from the most simple, like "Who is this intended for?" to the most philosophical like "Why even bother choose this over PC?". Indeed, which gamer market is Microsoft really trying to aim with this product? Because obviously, to make full use of the UltraHD 4K resolution, a gamer needs to eventually own and plug it into a 4K TV as well. Which is... STILL a really pricey technology that NOT everyone can afford. The fact that the console itself will arrive at an equally 'premium price', feels like a hard wake-up slap to every average guy's face.

Will this win over those gamers who have abandoned home consoles and have since moved on towards PC? In an interview with Gamespot, a developer (who's working on exclusive Xbox title... a random FYI to see the bigger picture) sang praises for Xbox One X by calling it as the most developer-friendly due to its super over-powered hardware. He said, "it's like a high-end PC crammed into this tiny little box". Of course, the logic that follows is, why not just... use a PC instead? A PC World writer has even made a possible comparison to the budget necessary to build one with similar specs. With its own valid pros and cons. The point is, PC gamers will likely opt to spend less money to upgrade their existing PC sets. So is this meant for Xbox fanatics who are looking to upgrade from a very recent Xbox One then? Or VR enthusiasts, eventhough it might be a veeeery niche market? Why not go with the cheaper Xbox One S instead? Hmmm...

Sure, technically speaking, Microsoft has created a console that's... uncomparable, and has no competitor in terms of power and performance (that's the words of Head of Xbox Phil Spencer himself). Will that guarantee a win in the console competition? Remember, the hip and popular neighbour PlayStation 4 (and its 4K extension PS4 Pro) proudly carries the advantages of having far richer library of titles and DLC exclusives, one that only continues to add as we speak. While the sweet and seemingly innocent new kid-on-the-block Nintendo Switch, is offering the ease of mobility, family-friendliness, and multiplayer experience both offline and online. Both are already promising long hours of entertainment with a relative 'family-budget' that seems more inline with the current economical climate throughout the world. So can Microsoft really be certain that their luxury product will appeal a much bigger mass than those? Particularly when sales for the current Xbox One isn't even doing... good? Learning from past experience, the answer to that is rather... skeptical.

No offense to the company, but somehow the term 'most powerful' itself feels... exaggerating much? I mean, A for effort, but it's nothing but a temporary bubble with a very limited lifetime. We are talking about technology here, a means that is ever-changing and ever-evolving. This month, perhaps Xbox One X is indeed the strongest there is, but another console will surely swoop in with better specs and surpassed it. Perhaps next year, if not sooner or later. Trust me, this is coming from a proud Xbox360 owner, who still has the fully operational console and plays its numerous game titles every now and then, and who has consciously skipped out Xbox One due to the lack of interesting titles (aside from monetary situation LOL). What I'm trying to say is, I don't really see the point of moving on towards Xbox One X, at least in the near future. Which is ironic, because what seems to be winning over many gamers' heart, was none other than Xbox One's backward compatibilites. Yes, the exact thing that SONY has been failing to deliver for years, has become the big positive difference that Microsoft is generously offering. Said function will not be available until later this year, but it will support up to classic/original Xbox games! That's an era of 15 years ago, so we're talking about valid nostalgia boost here.

In the end, the common sense is the Xbox One X is NOT for everyone. But it's still all up to you to decide whether you want, NEED, or even afford to have one decorating your already-possibly-expensive home. Lest we forget, freedom of choice, is everyone's basic human rights, regardless of their financial ability *sigh*. This 'most powerful console' is set to be released on November 7th, 2017 at the mindblowing price of $499. I guess that's when its accessibility strength to the general public can truly be tested. So as always, we'll see...

[thankskenpenders]

While we still have three issues left featuring stories written by Karl Bollers, we’ve pretty much come to the end of his run as lead writer on Archie Sonic. As I’ve said many times, his work certainly had flaws, and there were stories of his that bored me. (I definitely could’ve done with less stories where Sally’s parents prevent her from joining the action.) But there were also many I quite enjoyed, and on average I’d say his stories were usually pretty okay. He definitely went out on a high note with Return to Angel Island, though. That’s for sure

In this post, I’d like to look over the list of scrapped story ideas listed on Bollers’ wiki page, and give some thoughts. Had he continued writing Sonic, this is what he would have done

Sonic and Amy becoming a couple after being stranded at sea together and keeping it a secret from Princess Sally.

Ehh... I’d have to see how this really played out. Sega was pushing SonAmy super hard at the time with Sonic X, though, and the Archie comics had barely even acknowledged Amy’s crush on Sonic, so I guess something like this had to happen eventually. I’m also sure it wouldn’t have lasted long, since it was obvious Bollers would have Sonic and Sally reconcile eventually

Tails reuniting with his parents by traveling into space on a modified Tornado.

This would’ve been pretty neat, honestly! I’d just hope that Tails wouldn’t stay out in space for too long

Amy's origins being explored in a fuller adaptation of Sonic CD.

Very cool! Definitely would’ve liked to see this. But Ian ended up doing more with Amy and incorporating the stories of the Genesis era games into the comics later on, so I guess we didn’t really lose much by not getting this story from Bollers

Knuckles departing Angel Island after learning that his presence exposes the location of the Master Emerald, going on a global pilgrimage to learn martial arts, and battling a Dr. Eggman controlled-Monkey Khan while under the control of the Iron Queen before discovering the Master Geode.

Now THIS sounds cool. While I’m not exactly a fan of Monkey Khan, I think sending Knuckles off on a big adventure and having him learn more fighting skills would be a great use of his character. Way better than having him sit around on Angel Island all day, that’s for sure. And after how great Return to Angel Island was, I would’ve loved to see more Knuckles stories from Bollers

Mammoth Mogul beginning to age rapidly due to his original Chaos Emerald running out of energy, forcing him to seek out alternative sources through illicit archaeological expeditions and hiring mercenaries like Nack the Weasel. The Master Geode, a powerful gemstone that would fulfill Mogul's needs, would be contested by him, the Iron Queen, Robotnik, and Rouge the Bat.

Also pretty cool. I’m assuming this is all part of the same overarching story as Knuckles’ martial arts training. It’d be fun to see this combination of new and old game characters as well as old Archie characters vying for power. I also love that all these forces would be vying for control of this powerful gem, but then Rouge is also there because... she just wants it. All of these characters would have their time to shine in Ian’s run, though

Sally being a pawn in a villainous plot by the corrupted Source of All and Ixis Naugus to prevent the future first previewed in Sonic In Your Face.

Antoine gaining his scar due to an accident with a knife and becoming a villain after allowing himself to be possessed by a corrupted Source of All in hopes of winning Bunnie back.

The Source of All surviving Robotropolis' destruction and reconstituting itself in a remote mountain range, beginning to exert control over King Max, brainwashing the Arachne and another group of Spiders known as the Strand, and possessing Antoine while under the control of Ixis Naugus.

We’ve already talked about this canceled subplot before, but oh man, I would’ve loved this. I always hated the concept of the Source of All, and the idea that Max’s actions were all justified by some sort of omniscient future vision. The Acorn family rituals surrounding the Source were also already extremely creepy, so turning their bonding with the Source into a bad thing would’ve been an incredibly easy pill to swallow

Bunnie and Antoine breaking up due to a change in Antoine's personality, with Bunnie's origins later being explored and her true name being revealed as Scarlette O'Hare

I mean, Bunnie’s last name being Rabbot (pronounced Rab-OH) was always silly, but I don’t know if we really needed this. Y’all know I’m down for more Bunnie, though

Rotor retiring from field duty in order to pursue a role analogous to that played by "Q" of James Bond fame.

They’d already been leaving him out of missions for years. I guess this makes sense, and at least turning him into the guy who makes the gadgets for everyone would give him a more clearly defined role

Locke and Lara-Le putting aside their previous disputes to help raise Knecapeon "Kneecaps" Mace after his father Wynmacher ends up in the Egg Grape Chamber.

I’ve talked about all this a bit before. Really not sure what to think of it. My gut instinct is that I don’t like the idea of Locke reuniting with Lara-Le at all. He hasn’t earned her forgiveness. But I’d have to see how Bollers wrote it, I guess

Robotnik kidnapping Hope Kintobor under the pretense that he is the only correct choice to be her legal guardian, while genuinely using her as bait to lure in Shadow the Hedgehog.

Not sure how I feel about Hope getting kidnapped, but the mental image of literal tyrant Dr. Eggman going to child protective services and pretending he’d be a good guardian for Hope as part of a scheme to get Shadow is really funny to me

Ixis Naugus attempting to return by transforming Max's body into a duplicate of his own, only to be thwarted by the destruction of the Crown of Acorns

I would’ve liked to see Naugus explored more, but hey! Ian sure used him a lot. So this is another case where we aren’t missing out on much

Nate Morgan surviving the destruction of Robotropolis, being De-Roboticized by the Bem, and returning as Coconuts' amnesia-addled ally, who creates a new Metal Sonic, Metal Amy, Metal Knuckles, and Tails Doll that are mistaken for Robian versions of the heroes.

This would’ve been a REALLY interesting development. Bollers was very open about how he hated the direction Nate Morgan had gone in and had some interesting plans to bring him back. And, well, this is it. Kind of reminds me of a certain subplot with Eggman in the IDW comics, except in reverse

I also love how this would’ve brought in Metal Knuckles, Tails Doll, and a new Metal Amy. Bollers really seemed to be enjoy bringing in elements from the older games in his later years at Archie, with much of the action in Return to Angel Island taking place in actual zones from S3&K. Getting Coconuts involved is also wild. This would’ve been a really fun story

Snively taking up a fifteen foot-tall mechanical battlesuit and the alias "Skarkus" in pursuit of revenge against Robotnik for leaving him alone against the Xorda, leading to an alliance between him and Shadow.

Yeah, this one sure is. Something. Honestly I have no idea how it would turn out. It’d be all about the execution

A.D.A.M. and NICOLE becoming romantically involved, leading to A.D.A.M. seizing control of the Shadowbot army and leading them from New Megaopolis to Knothole.

Okay I hate this one lol. But to be fair, I mostly hate it because the other writers ended up taking Nicole in a completely different direction and giving her her lynx form (and eventually pairing her with Sally). Bollers had no way of knowing that Nicole would become such a central character, so I can’t really blame him for having an idea like this, I guess

A new Dingo Regime leader named Colonel Mange being introduced, with Croctobot, Jack Rabbit, and Gala-Na being reintroduced as Robotnik Sub-Bosses over Downunda, the Great Desert, and Albion. This would have led to the disappearance of the Downunda Freedom Fighters and a confrontation involving the Mercian Freedom Fighters.

Ah, the beginnings of Eggman having Mobian sub-bosses working for him. I guess Kage in Return to Angel Island was really the start of this, but still. Gala-Na becoming a subordinate of Eggman actually makes a lot of sense to me. She was already an antagonist in the Chaos Knuckles arc, and it’s painfully obvious that the Albion echidnas are selfish pricks who only look out for themselves. If she thought that siding with Eggman would protect Albion, I totally think she’d sell out

Anti-Sonic coming to enjoy impersonating Sonic and enjoying the love of his parents and adulation of his people, leading him to plan to eliminate Sonic and permanently take his place.

This one’s also kinda interesting I suppose, although we definitely got no shortage of Anti-Sonic impersonating Sonic in the last year of Penders stories. Can’t say I’m dying to see this story told

---

So, all in all, definitely some interesting ideas! If there’s two major throughlines I see in this plans, it’s 1) bringing back forgotten elements from both the games and earlier comics and 2) reinventing Penders characters and concepts. Which makes a lot of sense, because that’s exactly what he was doing with Return to Angel Island

Part of me is sad that these stories were never told. The Source of All being evil and Knuckles’ martial arts training stand out to me in particular. But there are other ideas that are pretty similar to things Ian would do in his run, like Eggman having Mobian sub-bosses or Naugus coming back, so it’s hard to feel too sad. It’s also hard to know how good the execution would’ve been on these pitches

Of course, if there’s one thing I’m certain of, it’s that these stories probably would’ve been better than the ones we actually got from Penders and Chacon over the next year and a half

[ganymedesclock]

So okay hey y’know what’s a thing that bugs me about Shadow’s arc throughout the games?

The Biolizard and the Black Arms.

Because... two times, there’s the person that Shadow has the actual, justified beef with, and then a second party who is connected pretty directly to Shadow. A peer. 

The Biolizard is Shadow’s prototype, which, considering Gerald, at least before the massacre, was as far from a cold uncaring researcher as possible- this is Shadow’s older sibling. And, yeah, as a prototype organisms, she has some serious health concerns- her tendency to hyperventilate definitely being one of them- but it doesn’t seem like she’s suffering.

And, yeah, she doesn’t vocalize, isn’t small and Mobian-like but there is clearly someone home. A mindless animal ruled only by instinct would not be taken as the vehicle for Gerald’s revenge. A mindless animal couldn’t operate the ARK’s systems, much less by projecting them, or use the sophisticated, complex attack pattern that the Biolizard does- comparable to Eggman’s boss robots. Hell, one of the hardest things to do fighting Biolizard is dodge. She’s a really good shot, and the one exploitable opening in her combat is where she needs to stop and hyperventilate with her life support, which, she can’t exactly do anything about.

Hell, you’d argue considering the whole repetition of “power enriched by the heart” that whatever nebulous sources we have in Sonic would state that Biolizard has a soul. She has to have a will and “heart” or how would she be able to use Chaos Control?

Biolizard is smart. And what’s the other thing we see about Biolizard? That video left behind by Gerald- repeating over and over and over again.

The video left behind by Gerald- who tampered with Shadow’s memories and otherwise twisted a quiet, sensitive, traumatized individual into his vehicle for revenge.

This is the one thing we “hear” from Biolizard who is absolutely smart enough to communicate somehow. Who, if we assume she, like Shadow, is synthesized from Arms DNA, would probably have been on some level communicating with Shadow the entire time- considering Shadow’s the one utterly unsurprised when Biolizard warps in to mess them up.

The Biolizard was manipulated and exploited by Gerald just like Shadow was. Much like Shadow, we have no reason to believe she is inherently violent or hateful. There is no good reason to carefully and lovingly deliver Shadow from Gerald’s machinations and kill Biolizard.

��But Clockie, she would’ve killed everyone with the ARK!”

So would Shadow, given he was instrumental in delivering the emeralds to Biolizard in the first place, and literally in the scene leading up to the Biolizard fight he’s calmly looking out the window waiting for the impact.

Literally- Shadow’s realization that this was wrong was a last second incident.

What did the Biolizard believe? What was her perspective on the ARK? She’s so large and heavy- unable to move through most of the facility except by teleporting- did she hide and avoid GUN? Was she captured? We have no idea. But Gerald clearly tampered with her- the presence of the video aligns directly with her appearance.

Just like Shadow, she was acting on his orders. And we don’t know how easy it is for Biolizard to communicate or understand- it might be hard for her to get a grasp on her situation just through eavesdropping on the united Hero & Dark teams.

I could write this entire post on the ambiguity of “Supporting Me” and how much it sounds like a conversation more than a soliloquy. “I know you were supporting me,” and the repetitions/variations on that- who is he talking to, or, rather, who is talking to him? A lot of the lyrical SA2 themes are very straightforwards- almost comically so at times- but Shadow’s themes for that game are... weird. Ambiguous. Distorted. I’m honestly kind of sad they dropped that for his later games, but that’s getting off topic.

Biolizard, in every way, is just like Shadow, and we watch her rip herself apart trying to fulfill Gerald’s revenge with no idea if this was ever what she really wanted. The finalhazard form looks incredibly painful. This is someone who has a body that does not lend itself well to stress-free movement and the tendency to hyperventilate when overexerting herself and she never hesitates to protect herself.

And, for all that? For all of her sharing Shadow’s tragedy? We get nothing. No sympathy. Not even a second thought except “wow wasn’t that a cool boss fight” in Sonic Generations. Shadow calls her an ugly prototype. Her downfall is treated as synonymous to Gerald’s downfall- she’s treated as a mere symptom or face of his revenge.

And this is, quite frankly, so much of how the Black Arms are handled. Shadow finds another messed up branch of his family tree in Black Doom, who is all too eager to do exactly what Gerald did- gaslight Shadow and use him for Doom’s personal vendetta. Only unlike Gerald, Doom isn’t a desperate specter from the past, he’s the patriarch of an entire species. What he’s trying to do to Shadow, he’s already done to all of the other Arms.

The Black Arms- who are, seemingly, hypersocial, mentally linked on an incredibly intimate level, and who would be, thus, incredibly vulnerable to exactly the kind of manipulations and attacks Doom lavishes on Shadow.

Once again- the only reason Shadow is our hero, the only reason he’s spared, is because of the people who reach out to him, in past and present. And this is framed as a very narrow thing- sure, most of the routes, especially the dark routes, are noncanon, but it’s still emphasized as a very real possibility that Doom is able to break Shadow entirely to his will.

But again- for the Arms? There is no sympathy. They’re in exactly the same boat as Shadow, as far as carrying out Doom’s orders against Earth, the angle of the True Ending tells us that the Pure Hero route is as noncanon as the Pure Dark route- that at bare minimum, Shadow gave Doom the Chaos Emeralds and put Earth in danger. Hell, even more than Biolizard, you can argue the Arms may have actually had no awareness or control of what they were doing- Gerald’s manipulations just convinces the person that this is what they need to do in a guise they’re least likely to refuse, but consider how incredibly off Shadow acts in the scenes where he’s heavily under Doom’s influence.

And this is infuriating to me not only because Biolizard and the Black Arms are written off, but because- a significant plot thread for Shadow going onward from his decision to turn his back on his history and try to use his power for good is that he has like two friends and is in an incredibly difficult situation to relate to people.

What I’ve seen of Archie’s plot exploring Eclipse and the Dark Arms... also, honestly does not encourage me, because Shadow’s sibling seems to be presented overwhelmingly as a corrupting force, and the heroic course of action is for Shadow to once again fight off his extended family.

Which... if Shadow’s a Black Arm, and the Arms are a hypersocial colony species... is it really any wonder Shadow’s not doing so hot, or why the familial ties of Gerald and Maria meant so, so much to him? Sure, genetic influences only do so much in the realm of the psychological but if Arms aren’t even supposed to be completely alone in their own heads, outside of the freaky subjugation that Doom gets up to- there have been studies that babies will die from insufficient contact. 

I could write an entire different post on the beautiful, beautiful found family feelings I have over Team Dark’s relationship, and how wonderful Rouge and Omega are as stabilizing forces in Shadow’s life (I mean, heck, look at the fact that in some of the worse routes in ShTH they’re there for him- Rouge in particular is your lone ‘get out of jail’ card to help you away from the worst ending)...

...but that’s not to say that he’s fine, and it doesn’t matter if he’s alone.

Nobody’s going to argue they should’ve blown up Earth with ARK, or that Doom was anything but an abusive, tyrannical person who needed to get his miscellaneous appendages out of Shadow’s brain. And I’m not trying to spin this at all to suggest leaving his biological family means Shadow’s Never Going To Be Happy- that’s an awful message to send because sometimes, people really do just need to cut ties with their blood relatives.

What aggravates me is that there’s no satisfactory explanation or even acknowledgement for why Shadow is the one redeemed and not his siblings, when it seems like the only thing that separates them is once again, that people reached out to Shadow.

Which is ridiculous because our supporting cast is packed with people who care! 

Rouge paints herself as only in it for personal gain in contrast to the selfless, duty-bound Knuckles, her rival- and yet even her debut game framed her repeatedly as someone who ultimately is kind, trustworthy, who says things like “Even if the world turns against you, I won’t,” and means it. Hell, in SA2, she was the one who was actively an undercover agent for the forces of good.

Eggman wants to take over the world but god dammit he has standards, he deplores senseless destruction- we see him angrily decry both Gerald and Doom, the former rather personally since Gerald was his hero.

And Sonic? It’s pretty solidly established Sonic will take under his wing and give an affectionate nickname to anything that’s around him for more than ten minutes.

This is not an arrangement of people who don’t care. There’s no actual good in-universe justification for the Biolizard and the Black Arms being met so coldly when none of the amounts of violence they enacted or attempted exceeded Shadow’s.

Also there are so many incredible ways to explore the idea that Shadow is related to a freaking space dinosaur. Literally whatever character you ascribe to the Biolizard, it’d be amazing.