Yeah, even during my playthrough of 9, I was thinking to myself, "This might be the most fun I've had playing an RE game." There's what, 15 mainline games if you count the remakes? The fact that there's only been a couple of duds in that entire 30 year run is super impressive.
Ys I & II Chronicles + Red Dead Redemption II Uncharted 4 Resident Evil 4 Remake Shenmue Persona 5 Royal Metal Gear Solid Pokémon SoulSilver Sonic The Hedgehog 2
My 9 games. I feel ok with this lineup, I think. I could swap RE4 for RE2, but this is how I feel today.
Using that version of Ys I & II to represent Chronicles +.
Not in any ranked order.
RE 9 is a spectacular game. I'll finish it this weekend and give more thoughts then. In short, for now, I really love it.
As the player, WE experienced these characters and events just as much as Leon did. It's not so much as a "remember this?" as it is putting us back into this place we spent so much time and experienced a variety of emotions.
And none of the callbacks are much of a "Leo Pointing GIF" either. They feel earned. It's things like the skeleton of the zombie whose jaw falls off, Branagh's name plate, Jill's beret, or the lobby typewriter and storage box.
Especially since what comes before it is this absolutely absurd motorcycle setpiece where you fight giant zombie dogs, and then you get this insane shot:
I just got to the RPD, and I don't know if a game has ever hit me with this level of nostalgia as this moment has. RE2 Remake is one of my favorite games ever, and the police station is one of my favorite areas in any game. To see what's left of it and our time in that building is sobering.
Light RE9 Spoilers Below:
And last up, everyone's favorite gentleman thief caps off the announcements...
Lupin the 3rd: TV Specials Collection 2!
The 5 Lupin TV specials from 1994-1998 are here in HD, subbed & dubbed!
Plus galleries, liner notes, alternate versions of Twilight Gemini, & more!
This is potentially the first cool water starter since Oshawott 15 fucking years ago.
I need the Gecqua line to be pure heat, I'm tired of choosing grass starters.
I guess this was a very long-winded way of saying, "Happy birthday, Pokémon."
Here's to 30 more years.
Since then, I've been on and off the Pokémon train. I've played a few of the games since, and living in Japan really reignited my love of the series. I'm heading back to Pokémon Center DX next week since I'm visiting Tokyo, here's some pictures from last year.
Gen 6 though, I came back hard. I loved Pokémon X, and Alpha Sapphire is one of my favorite games in the whole series. I loved playing the re-releases of the Gen 1 and 2 games on 3DS, too.
After that, I kind of fell off of Pokémon. I remember my mom asking me if I wanted to get Pokémon Black and deciding that I didn't want it. I want to go back and play the Gen 5 games someday for sure.
I fell in love with Johto. It felt *real* to me. I could easily picture myself as the MC, running around this deeply rich, ancient region. I put over 200 hours into that game. If you asked me to pick a favorite Pokémon, it's probably gonna be from Johto. SoulSilver is one of my favorite games ever.
The game that left the biggest impact on me though, was Pokémon SoulSilver. It came out in the US on March 14th, 2010, a few days after my 9th birthday. We had a rare March snow day, so my mom took me to go get my pre-order from Gamestop. The Lugia bonus figure was so awesome.
Nothing was more fun than everyone bringing their cards to school on days we had indoor recess. No one knew how to play the game, but no one cared. We all loved Pokémon. A few of my favorites I had:
For Christmas that year, my parents got me a blue DS Lite and Pokémon Diamond. It's still maybe my favorite Christmas ever. My first Pokémon was a Piplup. She helped me conquer Johto and got moved up all the way through the 3DS era. Her name is Happy, the best starter I could have hoped for.
Pokémon hit big for me in 2007 with the Diamond and Pearl Era. My brother (would have been 18 at this point) got Pearl, and I loved watching him play it. I thought the pre-order stylus was so cool. The D & P anime was huge for me.
I absolutely adored this Squirtle plush as a kid. The whole line was awesome, but I loved this one the most.
My older brother's are a fair bit older than me, and they were the prime age for when Pokémon hit in the US. I was born a few months before Crystal came out in America, so there isn't a time that I don't remember Pokémon stuff being around me. I loved Ash and Pikachu and all of the other Pokémon.
It's Pokémon Day, so here's a thread just to show my appreciation for this great series!
Shadow Moses is one of the best settings in video game history, and running back and forth between locations on the Big Shell just doesn't do it for me. Shadow Moses feels MASSIVE. With The Big Shell, I find myself saying "Oh I'm in Strut D again," and hoping for a cutscene to move the story along.
General thoughts on MGS 2 at this point: the story and set up is fantastic (obviously in the year 2026 I know where the story is heading), but the gameplay itself isn't has fun as MGS 1.
Currently playing through MGS 2, and this moment and the sequence that follows is just so fucking awesome. From a story perspective, Raiden fully figures out who Pliskin really is, and as the player, we finally get to see Solid Snake take up that mantle and break the dramatic tension.
Not his "best" movie (Apocalypse Now exists), but I love Robert Duvall's performance in Days of Thunder. Duvall brings so much to the Harry Hogge character, and every scene he's in is a standout. His performance is one of the reasons I think DoT is better than Top Gun.
Finally!
Yeah, pivotting towards the eventually Reunion Era after the Greatest Hits sessions with the band was totally the right move. But to my knowledge, this thing was sequenced and ready to go. I'd have 0 problem putting it with his later great albums like Wrecking Ball or Letter To You in a ranking.
It really feels like a coming together of his ToL-LT era ideas, and one that's doesn't make me think, "I would enjoy this more if the E Street Band was playing it instead." I love Clarence's Secret Garden solo, but the album version with just the synth pads and drum loop is really moving.
Yeah, the great sounding Bruce albums are definitely the minority in his catalog. By the way, did you dig into Tracks 2 much? The Streets of Philadelphia Sessions has become some of my absolute favorite Bruce stuff.
