The cool thing about watching older Pixar movies is trying to spot all the things they probably had to invent regarding CGI technology in order to make certain scenes.
And then the stories are still awesome.
Good thing the fullscreen version at least adapts to the frame, so that's alright. Just... one of those weird things of that era, the time where the screens were slowly moving away from 3:4 to 16:9, and home meia had to adapt I guess...
Watching tonight a collector's edition DVD of Finding Nemo that I got at a flea market two weeks ago. It's got two discs, widescreen on 1st, and full frame on 2nd.
The widescreen disc is English-only, the full frame disc has the other languages.
What, couldn't have more languages for widescreen??
There's no point to making odds that low where an average player won't even see them happen!
I compare it to Shiny Pokémon, which are perfectly normal aside from their color change - they don't impact gameplay. The stupid low odds for things that can change in DM2 kinda DO impact gameplay.
Or that you have one chance out of 256 after a duel to see Grandpa Muto and receive an extra card, only on one save file out of eight... which isn't worth it because you can already get his cards after other fights anyway, and they're not even that great!
So much of that game made me ask "Whyyyyy".
Honestly, despite the parodic wear for the title card, the joke holds; giving the info about DM2 kept leaving me flummoxed that the game had such stupidly small odds of gameplay-important things happening. Like, say, changing the post-final boss on its own (3 chances out of 4096).
A spoof of a "clickbait"-y title card. The Steam picture for Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection is on the top left, above the box art for Duel Monsters II: Dark Duel Stories, which shows Yami Yugi, Kaiba, and a Blue-Eyes White Dragon. I am holding my face in a "shocked/surprised" expression on the right. Above all this, breaking over everything else in bright green text are the words: "probabilistic NIGHTMARE?!?" as well as various probabilities: "1/2048, 3/4096, 1/1@24??"). The last bit of text, much smaller on the bottom right, says "OK but is it worth it though?"
Shout-out to my parody of a clickbait title card that I added to the review of Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters II: Dark Duel Stories that I posted this morning. I just had to indulge in the gag and do this sort of silly thing for once.
I pretty much never force clickbaitness onto my stuff anyway.
Continuing this Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection Month with the second Duel Monsters game! This one introduces mechanics that will stick for many games from the era, such as monster Alignments, Duelist Level, and Deck Cost/Capacity. Okay, but do these new features make the game better at least?
Tomorrow, I'll publish my article about Duel Monsters II: Dark Duel Stories (to not be confused with the title that's just Dark Duel Stories; that's Duel Monsters III. I know, it's weird.)
Anyway, feel free to catch up if you haven't, since I posted about Duel Monsters I last Friday.
Dungeon Dice Monsters also has a lot of mechanics to explain (and of course I have to discuss whether they are implemented well, and whether they make for fun gameplay - hint: not always).
So does Destiny Board Traveler, but I am currently writing that one. The writing process is going smoothly!
However, I admit this month is a little special as I only cover two games focused on the card game itself, while my last two reviews focus on titles showing different games (like Dungeon Dice Monsters or Destiny Board Traveler).
I will do this again in 2027, and I think it'll be all card games.
However, I had to thoroughly explain all the ways in which those changes either improve the experience or hinder the player - mostly the latter, to be honest. DM1 limits you to playing one card per turn, which severely limits your strategic options, as an example.
The second Duel Monsters game, which I'm covering this Friday, was the introduction of Duelist Level, Deck Cost, Deck Capacity and Alignments (which are two sets that function with rock paper scissors rules). Most early games past it would follow these rules.
...and thus used something a little similar to the rules of Duelist Kingdom (no tribute summons, Field Spells boost monster stats by 30% and Equips by 60%, and so on) while also being limited by the capabilities of the Game Boy (no Traps, etc.) So it's an... interesting experience.
Reposting just to add: If you read my Yu-Gi-Oh! reviews this month, you'll find that they are very technical. I talk a lot about game mechanics and how they change in comparison to the card game as we know it. This is especially notable for Duel Monsters I, which predates the Konami cards...
On top of the music purchased this morning, I also have those two albums I found at a flea market last Sunday. Not just any two, either. One was "Once in a LIVEtime" by Dream Theater (their live albums are rare in the wild!), and the other is...
...King Crimson's "In The Court of the Crimson King"!
Ah! I see! Didn't know about the original, but now I do see the reference.
It's Bandcamp Friday! I'm not a musical artist at all, but if art matters to you and you've been keeping an eye on a couple of indie bands on there, you should absolutely buy something on that platform today.
I know I did; there goes another 4.6 hours of music into my collection.
When it was made, the card game as we know it didn't even exist physically yet, so a lot of mechanics were left up to what was shown in the manga. What's the result like?
New themed month! I purchased Yu-Gi-Oh!'s Early Days Collection, which was released last year. I'm now planning to cover these games across several years, including 4 this month. And what better game to start than the first, chronologically, in the collection?
Hm, I think I know what this references! ...An old Smokey the Bear PSA, am I right?
If you use generative AI willingly, if you engage in cryptocurrencies willingly, if you need ChatGPT to type out your emails and live your simulation of an actual life then you have compromised your soul unblinkingly and are someone who simply chooses to feed the beast for your own convenience.
Closing this review of Free Guy, and I just HAD to put Dude front and center. Such a ridiculous concept could only happen in such a film. His face doesn't fit his body.
...Did I... Did I forget to post the link here this morning? Darnit!
Speaking of, I finished adding images to the article on Duel Monsters II: Dark Duel Stories (to not be confused with the game whose title is just Dark Duel Stories, that's Duel Monsters III). So I have a two-week period to play games and get the articles further down the line finished and ready.
Tomorrow, I'm finishing my review of the movie Free Guy.
And then, starting Friday, I'll be focusing on reviews of Yu-Gi-Oh! games off the Early Days Collection. That's gonna be an... interesting month. I found myself being surprisingly far more critical of those games than I expected that I'd be.
I just created the most clickbaity title card I could. Spent like thirty minutes on it, and the point was just to parody clickbait.
It is not the actual title card for its review, I'm adding it further down into the article.
I was laughing the entire damn time I was making it.
Doesn't have to just be stand-up comedians; "Weird Al" Yankovic gave a terrifying performance when he voiced the villain Dollmaker for the DC animated film Batman vs Robin.
As for other comedians who haven't been given a villainous role yet? Oof, no name comes to my mind at the moment.
Free Guy review, part 3! Guy is forced to confront his existence as just code. He will have to come to his senses fast, because his world is literally in danger of getting erased in two days, and he's the only one who can help Millie and Keys save it. Geez, talk about pressure!
Belatedly remembering to check my Duel Monsters I and II articles for any instance of the word "Spell" slipping in when these games predate the switch in terminology in the card game from Magic to Spell.
Yep, I'mma be talking about Equip Magic Cards and Field Magic Cards. ...Magics? ...Magics.
