Reloaded

The new year will bring about new things for me, good things. My channel will be changing for the better. So stay tuned for new videos.

I'll be doing a series of "reloaded" videos. They'll be videos in which I go back and do a better, higher quality version of it. Not only because I feel I could have made it better, but also because I'll be having a higher quality camera to work with.

I don't know all of the titles that will get one, but I do know a few: Turtles In Time, The Big Green, Aladdin, Digimon, and Super Mario World.

Thank you guys for the support. I appreciate it.

"Reloaded" is my chance to do it over, and do so in a higher quality fashion--higher quality webcam included-- so that I can do it more justice. Right now, I choose to focus on Digimon. Why? Because I love Digimon, and everything about it. The battle of good vs evil, as one would come to expect, but it's also more than just that. This series is about a world in which the DigiDestined are as much a part of it as their Digimon--that was until season 4, where they became Digimon. I love that about this show. The humans, along with their creatures, save the world each season, and it always feels like this big event, like you just finished watching something special--that is especially the case with season 1 and 2, but I won't spoil it. This show, apart from what I just said, is all about changing and growing as a person. This makes the characters easier to relate to. These characters have issues of not feeling wanted anymore, feeling a little useless, being scared, etc. These feelings aren't exclusive to the human characters, not at all. The Digimon also experience emotions, which is something that I loved because it made them feel more real.

The Power Rangers

This show takes me back. It takes me back to the early 90's, a time where all I needed to worry about was school and watching TV or playing video games.

The Power Rangers were huge back then--much like the TMNT were. They had video games, action figures of all kinds, and the TV show that ran for several upon several seasons. I remember coming home from school and watching this every single day on Fox Kids. I remember the original five: Jason, Kimberly, Trini, Zack, and Billy. Each of them represented a different color and a different type of prehistoric animal. Jason had the Tyrannosaurus and was the red ranger. Kimberly had Pterodactyl and was the Pink Ranger. Billy had the Triceratops and was the Blue Ranger. Zach had the Mastodon and was the Black Ranger. Trini had the Sabertooth Tiger and was the Yellow Ranger. Together they combined to form The Megazord.

Sure the show was cheesy, but it was awesome. It was the show that we, the kids, could not get enough of.

Yoshi's Island

This is one game that I am really looking forward to reviewing. It's one of the many great games on the Super Nintendo, and with good reason. The graphics are beautiful and colorful. You get to play as Yoshi for the most part, and you can even use a souped up baby Mario for some spice and innovation. The music is also really catchy and happy. You can't help but to be in a good mood when you play this.

I love the pure innovation of this game. They gave Yoshi a lot of cool moves like his ability to use his eggs as projectiles. He can also transform into vehicles such as a car, a submarine, a helipcopter, and a digger. The game also has you control Baby Mario for a short time once you collect a Starman. Baby Mario can run up walls and ceilings, glide using his yellow cape, and he's invincible.

Knightfall

I'm reading Knighfall at the Barnes and Noble in the mall, and I absolutely love it. Everything about it. The artwork. The story itself is so well-done that it needs to be read.

The story is about Bane and his obsession with studying Batman and then "breaking" him the moment he sees fit. Bane's plan is to break out all the inmates from Arkham Asylum and let them roam the streets with weapons. You see The Ridler, Killer Croc, The Joker, The Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, Victor Zsaz, Film Freak, among others. It's a who's who of villains and it's up to one man to stop them: Batman.

Batman isn't feeling good at all, and you can tell by the way he's drawn. The more he fights, the more tired he becomes. His body and mind is pushed to the limit in this exciting must-read book.

Bane is depicted as someone who is strong, but also really intelligent and calculating. Instead of rushing in and attacking Batman, he waited and waited for the right time.

This book has two obsessions. You have Bane with his obsession of crippling Batman. You have Batman and his obsession with putting them all behind bars, even if it kills him.

I'm loving this book and can't wait to finish it!

Boy Meets World

I've been a nostalgic person for a long time now, and part of that nostalgia involves me remembering ABC's Friday night line-up that was called TGIF. It had shows like Family Matters, Step by Step, Sabrina The Teenage Witch, and Boy Meets World--the latter of which I'm currently obsessing over. Not that that's a bad thing, mind you.

This show was really entertaining and really funny. The characters were so fun to watch and unforgettable. You had Corey Matthews, the dorky and strange lead character. Shawn Hunter, the often brooding character that struggles to find love and a place to belong. Topanga, the once weird girl that ended up stealing Corey's heart. Eric Matthews, the hilarious older brother of Corey. Mr. Feeney, who was both a teacher and a mentor to the four characters mentioned.

The cast had such great chemistry together. Chemistry that was not, and could not, be denied. This show is an absolute treat to watch. It's entertaining. It also offers moments that makes you feel either good or bad for the characters. The show does a great job of making you feel invested. You can relive all the great moments, all the great memories with the entire DVD set. Boy Meets World: The Complete Series

Turbo

I saw Turbo last night, and it was an amazing movie. The animation was top-notch, and it's the same type of animation that you would come to expect from a Dreamworks movie. The cast had a ton of notable names like Snoop Dogg, Samuel L. Jackson, Ryan Reynolds, and Michelle Rodriguez.

The movie is about a snail named Theo (Turbo) who is, ironically enough, a speed freak deep down. He loves to watch racing. He has a dream of being fast and being able to race. The other snails, including his brother, just brush it off and proceed with their lives. Dreamworks once again dives into the lives of animals, and in an effective way. It made me like snails.

There's a human named Tito, a big guy with a good heart, who works at a taco shop with his brother. There's a nice connection between the two sets of brothers. The younger one wants to achieve this big dream while the older one, the more grounded one, tries to get his brother back down to Earth.

The movie is a nice underdog story about a snail that could, and did.

Super Nintendo

The Super Nintendo (SNES) was my very first console, and I have fond memories of it. You'll always find me singing the praises of this system. Why? Because it is a great system. It also got me into gaming, and for that I'm grateful.

I remember being little and playing Super Mario World on Christmas morning, and several days following it, and I was amazed. The graphics. The music. The innovation. It was all there. I see LPs of this game and it's amazing just how much they did with this game. There are several different surprises involving keys and other forms of different exits. The game has power ups like the flower and mushroom, which are common in the Mario universe, but they also have new ones like a cape and a P which turns you, more or less, into a balloon.

This game is also the debut of Yoshi. He's both cute and very useful. He allows you an extra hit and he can gobble up most of your enemies. There are also several different versions of Yoshi.

The SNES had other great games like Knights of the Round, Turtles In Time (which looked just as good as the arcade version and had an added stage), Star Fox, A Link To The Past, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Donkey Kong Country 1, 2, 3, Mega Man X-3,  among others.

This system was amazing, and it still is. I recommend picking it up in some form, if you haven't had the pleasure of playing it. You'll be glad you did. Retro-Bit Retro Duo Twin Video Game System, Silver/Black

New TMNT Movie?

There's going to be a new TMNT movie, and apparently it's going to be done by Michael Bay. Now I'm excited for a new movie starring the Ninja Turtles. The fan in me, the one that feeds off of this kind of nostalgia, will always be excited for a new movie based on my childhood favorites. Just the idea alone makes me excited. Why? Because we haven't had a live action movie since the 3rd one, and that one wasn't well received by the fans.

I write this blog entry as a lifelong fan of the TMNT. I, along with several upon several others, grew up with them and collected the merchandise. Lets face it: we couldn't get enough of them. They knew it. We knew it. And unfortunately our parents knew it.

But the more I find out, the less excited I get, and the more skeptical I get. Megan Fox as April? She doesn't look anything like April, and that has me worried. I want this movie to be good. We, as fans, need for this movie to be good. That way, it can wash away the taste from the 3rd one and replace it with something better.

Retron 3

I remember seeing this beauty a few months ago, and I was blown away. This system, for anyone that doesn't know, plays NES, SNES, and Genesis games. That is amazing! You get to play all of your favorite games on one system. Not only that, but it saves space and less wires.

I'm really excited about possibly buying one of these. I'm a gamer, and a nostalgic one at that. This system is all about great games and nostalgia, so it looks like it would be perfect for someone like me.

The Avengers got me back into comics. Since then, I have read and collected several comic books. It brought my passion back and gave it life that it never had. Before last year, whenever I would read a book, it would always be from the library. It was nice, but I want to collect.

As I walking through the busy aisle of Target, I realized something: this is the perfect time to get into comics. This is also the best time to be a fan. Think about it: we have several movies to go back and watch. We also have Thor 2: The Dark World out in theaters as we speak.

The future is bright for us. In the future we'll have: The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Superman vs Batman, and the sequel to The Avengers, which did wonders for me.

This is a great time to get into comics and enjoy them the same way that I, and several upon several others, do and will for a long time to come. The Avengers, Vol. 1, No. 1-10 Avengers: Absolute Vision Book 2 The Avengers, Vol. 2 (Marvel Masterworks)

Luigi

Luigi started off as a simple character that looked just like Mario, only with different colors. As the years went on, and as the games kept rolling in, Luigi developed into a much different character. He became taller and skinnier. He even got a different personality. Nintendo had separated the brothers with something other than colors. It was a nice move by Nintendo, one that I'm really happy about.

Luigi, unfortunately, has always lived in the shadow of his older brother. His first game, I believe, was Mario Is Missing for the NES and SNES. Sadly that game was mediocre at best.

Several years passed since then and we were introduced to Luigi's Mansion, which was a much, much better game. That might not sound like much, but it is. It's a big deal because his game was in fact a very good game. Mario was missing, again, and it was up to Luigi to save the day. You do this by patrolling the nicely designed mansion and sucking up ghosts and fighting bosses with the help of a vacuum. It's very innovative, and I love it!

I will be doing an analysis video on Luigi soon, but I decided to do it in text form for the time being. This is the year of Luigi, and rightfully deserved. I love Mario and all, but Luigi deserves his time to shine. He did indeed do that with Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, Mario and Luigi: Dream Team, and New Super Luigi U.

Luigi has come an awful long way. Here's hoping that Nintendo will do even more Luigi games in the near future. Mario and Luigi: Dream Team This game is a ton of fun! The game has you playing as both Mario and Luigi. You can run around freely, which is nice. The combat is very creative and it allows the brothers to work together. There are other things to note such the dream world. The dream world itself is designed very well. One of the things that I love is that Luigi can become part of the background. You then use Mario to get up to greater heights. How do you do that? By using Luigi's mustache. Now that is creative! One of the things that I love about this game is how fresh it feels.

LPs

This is something that I not only want to, but I feel I need to do. Let me explain. I love the idea of an LP. It allows the person to play while giving commentary on the game. The idea is simple but great. I'll be looking forward to playing the games for you guys, all while providing my commentary for entertainment reasons. Lego Batman Batman: Arkham Origins - Playstation 3 Batman: Arkham City (Game of the Year Edition) - PS3

Pixar

Pixar is one of my all-time favorites, and let me tell you why. They can take any idea and make magic out of it. Magic that lets us, the viewer, get into the world of toys, monsters, talking rats, etc. They have had several different movies, and they have all been great. They have all been great because, and I genuinely believe this, they have a passion for what they do. They take an idea like talking cars and transform that into a great movie, into a great experience.

Pixar is phenomenal. I love their passion and their creativity--the same two elements that go into each and every one of their movies. Disney Pixar Ultimate Blu-ray Collection Pixar Short Films Collection Volume - 1 [Blu-ray + DVD Combo] Pixar Short Films Collection 2 [Blu-ray]

Lack Of Passion

I'm sure you guys read my earlier post about passion. If you didn't, I would recommend reading it. I feel that passion is important to have. I already did a good job explaining why it's important to me and why I like it. Now we get the other side of the coin, if you will.

One thing I can't stand is lack of passion. There's a difference between a movie/game/comic being bad but with a legitimate effort and crap without that effort. They need to try. Otherwise, I just rip it to shreds in a fit of rage. Unfortunately, there have been a ton of media that never had that kind of passion, the kind that helps you create a good product. Some of that being: Kickboxer 5, any Bloodsport that isn't the 1st one, Son of the Mask, Ricky (a lousy spoof of the superior Rocky, Space Ace for the Super Nintendo. among others.

I'm someone that appreciates both creativity and passion. I'm someone that is both of those things. So I think you can understand why I don't like it. There's no reason why you can't make money and create something good, something fun and worthwhile.

Amazing Spider-Man 2

I'm a huge Spider-Man fan. That said, I was excited to know that there was a trailer leaked. Unfortunately, it was in a language that I did not understand, but that's alright. Why? Because I saw footage of the movie, and it looks great. I'm so excited for this movie. The trailer was great, and it did its job, which is to get people hyped up for a movie.

It's going to be even better when we get the official trailer. I'm so excited for the movie. Luckily for me (and anyone in the same boat as me), 2014 isn't far away. I wouldn't be able to take it if I had to wait until 2015 or something.

Creativity

I love creativity. Creativity in video games, comics, movies, music. Anything really. It could even be as simple as making a meal and doing something a little different with it.

Back on topic. I love it in the first three especially. Whenever I play a video game, I want to go on a journey and experience something fun, something innovative. That's what I loved about games like Super Mario World and Super Mario RPG. Sure, it was Mario, but it felt fresh. There was an even bigger reason to care about those games, and that reason was: creativity. The games are so fun and so...well, you get the idea.

The games that stick out, for me at least, are the ones that are different. I love it when a game can do something like put Mario in space. I love it when a DKC game takes DK out and puts his sidekick at the helm. It's risky, but I respect it.

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays to all! I am, as you can tell, in the Christmas mood this year. Last year was a bit tough, but things are much better this time around--and I'm grateful for that.

What will you be wanting this year? I don't know yet, but that's where the fun lies. You see, I enjoy window shopping at the mall and browsing through Amazon's impressive comic and video game selection.

In fact, that's what I will be doing immediately following this blog post.

I wish everyone the absolute best. As always, thank you so much for the love and for the support. I truly do appreciate it.