Mario vs Darth Vader - Who Would Win

Mario vs Darth Vader – Who Would Win

Throughout the galaxy humanity is full of many iconic heroes and villains. Today I pit two of the most iconic of all in a battle I’m sure everyone in the universe wants an answer too. Mario, Italy’s greatest icon vs a returning CoolStuff Blog who would win champion and all powerful sith Lord, Darth Vader. In a battle with no outside interference who would come out on top? Let’s find out.

 

 I’ll start with gaming most recognisable figure, Mario. Appearing throughout countless games over many years Mario has a huge array of skills. He can drive, play multiple sports, is an Olympic athlete and has done pretty much anything you could possibly think of in his games except actual plumbing. Being a plumber, his most common activity is often saving Princess Peach, the universes most useless Human Being from the clutches of Bowser.

 

From his adventures it is highly apparent that Mario has incredible speed, agility and strength. He can smash bricks with his fists, crush creatures to death with the power of his stomp and can jump well over his own height. He also has incredible stamina as shown in his games where he can continue to run at full speed without ever needing to pause and take a break. Throughout his games he has also tackled many environments showing he can adapt to multiple environments such as places of immense heat or even under water without any difficulty what so ever.

 

Mario’s physical abilities are all well and good but most of his power comes through the power up’s he finds in his games, the most iconic being those strange red mushrooms that somehow make him grow bigger. This would likely increase his physical attributes and fighting ability. Beyond these super mushrooms Mario’s power ups almost all fit into two categories, exploration and combat. I’ll start off with exploration based power ups.

 

The earliest examples of these power up’s were the frog and Tanooki suit from Super Mario Bros 3. The frog suit does have the weakness of looking absolutely ridiculous however it does allow Mario even higher jumps, increased speed and the ability to swim at super human speeds. The Tanooki suit meanwhile allows Mario to glide and tail whip. Also he can turn himself into a statue however there is a glaring weakness that wearing it will incur the wrath of PETA. Animal rights group aside however the Tanooki suit has a strange bunch of useful movement powers. The Statue leaf also gives Mario abilities very similar to the Tanooki suit.

 

Mario can transform himself into different animal version of himself. The Super Acorn creates Flying Squirrel Mario. This means Mario can glide and cling to walls like a real flying squirrel and perform a mid-air jump which I’m pretty sure flying squirrels can’t do. There’s also the lucky and super bells that turn Mario into Cat Mario who is just like what you’d expect. Cat Mario runs significantly faster and can also climb poles and walls as well as slash at enemies with his claws. A carrot meanwhile turns Mario into Bunny Mario who can slow his decent and hover in mid-air and the penguin suit forms penguin Mario who can slide on his belly, swim freely and throw ice balls.

 

Gliding and swimming is all well and good but Mario has encountered many power ups that give him the power of flight. A good example is the P – Wing which lets him fly and also the cape feather which turns Mario into Caped Mario. Caped Mario can fly, glide and perform and ground smash or cape spin move. The wing cap can also provide Mario with temporary flight as can the bee mushroom, which also gives Mario the ability to walk on clouds and not that it’ll be relevant but stick to honey comb.

 

Mario Galaxy 2 introduced a cloud flower and rock mushroom which I like to think were though up of last minute by looking out a window. Cloud Mario can create up to 3 cloud platforms for himself which he can now walk on in cloud form along with other clouds. His jumps also become floatier. Rock Mario meanwhile can break and destroy things by rolling into them. Mario can also find a power balloon that allows him to inflate and float.

 

Mario’s most well-known combat power up is his fire flower, a flower that gives him the power to shoot fireballs from his hands. He also has access to the Gold Flower which allows him to throw golden fireballs which explode on impact. He can create clones of himself with the copy cap and turn himself into Metal Mario with the metal cap. Metal Mario has a huge increase to strength while losing no agility and gaining a lot of weight for attacking. He also has no need to breathe in this form as he can survive toxic fumes.

 

Mario can shrink to mini Mario with a mini mushroom and walk on water as well as make floaty jumps. A mega mushroom meanwhile turns him into Mega Mario, a savage destroyer of everything he comes across. The boomerang flower allows Mario to throw boomerangs and the hammer suit lets Mario throw hammers.

 

Mario’s most powerful power ups are his stars however. They grant him temporary invincibility and increased speed. He also instantly kills anything he touches. Mario isn’t much of a thinker but has overcome odds thrown at him for longer than any other video game character and is a match for virtually anyone.

 

Darth Vader is a powerful Sith Lord who wields the power of the dark side of the force. Vader at times seems completely invulnerable and undefeatable and yet he can also be extremely vulnerable with many exploitable weaknesses. His most obvious form of attack is his lightsabre. A lightsabre is not capable of cutting through anything, however it can cut through everything Mario has at his disposal outside of his invincible mode after touching a star. Vader is a highly skilled swordsmen, combining raw skill, strategy and the power of the force to overcome his cumbersome armour to be a highly skilled fighter with his blood red sabre.

 

Darth Vader’s armour is extremely tough and can withstand many strong blows. It also increases Vader’s strength and stamina making him physically superior to a normal human. The armour isn’t all good however. Most notably without it Vader cannot survive. It is a life support machine and it is the only thing keeping him alive. It is also heavy and cumbersome meaning Vader is not an agile mover. The armour surprisingly is also not very well optimized and uses out of date technology. It is uncomfortable to wear and limits Vader force potential and can be shorted out with electricity.

 

Don’t let this fool you into underestimating Vader however. Even with this restriction Darth Vader is still one of the most powerful force users ever known. His mastery of the force makes him extremely dangerous, he is quite capable of choking you with his mind. The force also grants him telekinesis and force push abilities as well as use his lightsabre as a throwing weapon, almost like a boomerang. He can also use the force to shield himself from attacks as seen by his deflecting of Han Solo’s shots in the Empire Strikes Back and the force also acts as like another sense, giving him knowledge of his surroundings.

 

The last thing of note to mention with Vader is his anger and how it channels the Dark Side. The angrier Vader gets the more dangerous he becomes. The greater his rage the more powerful the Dark Sides connection with Vader is and he can become almost unstoppable if in a blind rage.

 

Darth Vader is perhaps the most iconic villain in movie history and for good reason. Despite his many flaws he is a powerhouse, a highly skilled and intelligent fighter and surely capable of killing a plump Italian bloke with a silly moustache.

 

Is he capable though? Mario could draw the battle out with his array of movement based power ups. He could fly away, swim away, hide in the clouds or climb up a tall object. Running away won’t do any damage to Vader however and Darth Vader would catch him eventually.

 

It should be noted Darth Vader is a more intelligent fighter than Mario. Most of Mario’s victories over Bowser involve jumping on a switch that for some reason breaks the bridge Bowser in stood on. This will be a lot tougher and in a simple brawl Mario would stand no chance. He can jump higher and move quicker but Darth Vader would have no trouble cutting him down with his lightsabre.

 

Darth Vader’s force deflection and tough armour could protect him from Mario’s power up attacks and a giant Mario would have similar problems, it’s not like Vader couldn’t kill mega Mario in a similar way. Let’s face it, Mario’s screwed … or is he?

What dies Mario excel in in this fight. Metal Mario is completely unaffected by the force choke, he is far quicker than Vader and would have the edge in a large open environment and remember he is very experienced in facing impossible odds. The big thing however are the super stars. Increased speed and temporary invincibility are great and more importantly he kills anything he touches. It doesn’t last very long but does it matter if he can reach Vader before it runs out. In this invincible mode nothing can harm Mario, he would be immune to every force or lightsabre attack thrown at him. Vader isn’t fast enough in that bulky armour to escape an invincible and sped up Mario. There’s no way around this, the winner and I’m very surprised has to be Mario.

Why Cooking Mama is the most Perfectly Designed game in Gaming Histoy

Why Cooking Mama is the most Perfectly Designed game in Gaming History

This is not in any way a joke. When people talk about gaming’s greatest accomplishments they talk of the liked of Half Life and Ocarina of Time. Gaming’s most recognisable characters to most are the like of Mario and Sonic. Read on and you’ll be convinced you’ve been wrong all along.

 

What makes a good game? This is a pretty fundamental question to anyone who plays games and we all differ slightly in our answer. We’re all very aware that too many publishers these day try to appeal to everyone and completely fall flat, making something bland and mediocre. Cooking Mama does not attempt to appeal to everyone, I’m sure it would have been very easy to add in FPS, driving or zombie elements into the game but Cooking Mama chose to not to try to broaden its audience to every living thing on the earth.

 

Gameplay is quite naturally important in games and cooking Mama took its mechanics, refined them and made them work. Innovation is a hot topic when it comes to video game discussions and games often try to innovate for innovations sake. Take the WII U as a well-known example. Does Cooking Mama innovate a whole lot?  Honestly no, it takes its collection of mini games and executes each one extremely well.

 

Graphics is a big thing with video games too. The fact of the matter is realistic graphics tend not to age well. Think of old games that still look good today, they tend to be cartoon like graphics that instead of intending to look realistic look good, colourful and fun. A game that springs to mind for me in Donkey Kong country. It still looks good with its bright array of colours. My favourite games for artistic style are the Professor Layton games. The hand drawn style to me look superb, it’s artistic and looks great and never attempts to look realistic. Cooking Mama uses bright colours and a cheerful look. You can easily tell what each thing is supposed to be but it doesn’t feel the need to look like a real kitchen, the bright colours make the game look pleasant and fun.

 

How important is story in games. Some games make it THE priority. However let’s face it, many games do not do story well at all. A lot of game stories are there to fill space between gameplay and while some games do story excellently well many are pretty bad by the standards of other forms of media such as films and novels. These are things with story as the priority however and sometimes games just ignore complex story in favour of fun and light hearted gaming. Cooking Mama does this perfectly. A plot with many twists, conspiracies and complex characters could have been shoehorned in but it would likely have been annoying and under whelming. Cooking Mama knows what it is and sticks to it.

 

I have one final point. Cooking Mama is if nothing else, fun. Even the most jaded and overly masculine of guys who spend their free time drinking beer and fighting bears could sit down and enjoy a light session of cooking Mama. I’ve never met a single person who does not enjoy Cooking Mama and for good reason, no one can resist the enjoyment of being greatly overly praised by a warm motherly voice for completing simple tasks. If you’re reading EA, this is the game that appeals to everyone and will make all the money in the world you want to make. Now I’m going to stop typing, I want to go and play some more Mass Effect.

Pokemon's top 5 Toughest Gym Leaders

Pokémon’s top 5 Toughest Gym Leaders

Pokémon Gym’s act as the boss levels to Pokémon games. They usually have an interesting design and puzzle inside and usually each gym leader has a unique and memorable design. There is a problem of course. Gym leaders are usually pretty weak. This is partly due to only using one type and partly due to and let’s be honest, being accessible to kids. The GameCube games were noticeably harder with some tough fights but the main series of handheld games are mostly filled with battles that are pretty easy with a team of properly levelled Pokémon. Occasionally however you stumble across a pretty difficult gym leader who poses a good challenge. I list what I think to be the five toughest below.

 

5. Misty, Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen

If you look at the tough battles from online lists Misty is barely ever mentioned yet I’d often have massive trouble with her. Staryu wasn’t much of an issue, Starmie on the other hand was a massive pain. Starmire is a fast Pokémon for a final evolution meaning it can out speed pretty much everything at this stage of the game.

 

Its main attack was water pulse which was not only a move with a decent damage output for that stage of the game but also has a chance to cause some really irritating confusion. The other move of note to be used by Starmie is recover, which instantly recovers half its hp. Take into account its high special attack, decent defensive stats and good typing for what you can throw at it at this stage of the game and you have one tough customer.

 

4. Whitney, Pokémon’s Generation 2

We all know this one and Whitney’s infamous Miltank needs no introduction. Countless internet memes have been created in this things honour and it’s perhaps this that makes her so satisfying to beat as afterwards she runs of crying. Yeah nothing quite makes us happy than making a little girl cry.

 

Whitney’s Clefairy isn’t really an issue. It goes down fairly easily and while it can occasionally do some annoying stuff with metronome but it doesn’t have the offense to pose a problem. The problem as everyone knows is Miltank.

 

Miltank has tank in its name for a reason. This dumb thing will sometimes just not die. Being a normal type means if you don’t have a fighting type of something with a fighting type move you cannot abuse any sort of type advantage which can after be key in gym battles. Then there’s its moveset. Attract will prevent you from attacking if you are using a male Pokémon. Defence curl boosts its already high defence and then rollout can do some serious damage. There’s nothing I can say that hasn’t already be said, that cow is a massive pain.

 

Why is she not higher up? Honestly I never had that much of a problem with her. Look at me, such a Pokémon master but while I can see the frustrations that are without a doubt possible with her and in later play trough’s with strange team ideas I did sometimes have an issue, in my first few journeys in generation 2 I took her down without being sent back to the Pokémon centre once.

 

3. Clair, Generation 2

This to me is the toughest gym leader in generation 2, not Whitney. Clair uses dragon types which are well known for being pretty over powered and notably in the time the generation 2 games were made only had 2 weaknesses, ice and other dragons, two typed Pokémon that are difficult to obtain.

 

Clair’s Gyarados could be a pain without an electric type on your team but a quick swift thunderbolt would take it down without issue. She also had Dragonairs, that being dragon type had some very useful resistances, including to what your starter Pokémon could throw at them.  They also like to paralyse and thus slow your Pokémon down.

 

Finally there’s a powerful Kingdra to contend with. It uses a powerful water and dragon attack that grants is a same type attack bonus as well as hyper beam, a very high damaging normal type move, meaning your Pokémon probably doesn’t resist all its moves. Water and dragon type also means its only weakness back then was dragons as dragon slaying fairy’s hadn’t been thought of yet. The only dragon type Pokémon in the game is the Dratini line that you find in the dragon shrine, a place you cannot enter yet and another Kingdra, something that evolves in a really awkward way involving trading a Seadra with a dragon scale.

 

This is all well and good but its Kindgra’s final move that really makes it insufferable. We all know the most annoying thing in a Pokémon battle is messing with accuracy. Naturally Kingdra uses smokescreen. Want to whittle down its health and be one hit away with your best and final Pokémon only to miss because you have smoke in your eyes? If yes then this is the battle for you.

 

2. Norman, Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire

Firstly it’s important to note that the Ruby and Sapphie version of Norman was more difficult for one reason that second Slaking. Terrible ability aside Slaking is a beast, its stats are absurd, surpassing those of many legendries. Its ability is atrocious, making it attack only once every other turn however at this stage of the game it’s naturally got enough defences to take some hits as well as its normal typing only having 1 weakness. You are also at a point in the game where moves are not that strong meaning taking down these guys is a real issue.

 

The first time I fought Norman his Slaking wiped my whole team. Since Slaking is surprisingly fast I decided to paralyze it, not realising what façade did. It didn’t go well. I beat Norman eventually and it was a fantastic victory for my 7 year old self but I never forgot how tough Norman was and all because of those damn Slaking’s. Oh yeah he had a Vigoroth too, it was decent enough I guess. Whitney may the well-known tough normal type gym leader but Norman was always the toughest in my eyes.

 

1. Fanitna, Pokémon Platinum

Seriously, how come no one ever mentions this battle and more specifically her Mismagius? That thing was ridiculous. I’ll discuss her other Pokémon first. They were decent but nothing special. She had a Duskull that could use will o wisp as well as take a hit with some decent defences. She also had a Haunter that was a little frail however could hit hard and fast as well as use hypnosis to put anything it fought to sleep.

 

The big problem however was Mismagius. I had such trouble with this thing and unlike Nroman’s Slakings, this was a problem to me at an age where I was old enough to actually use half a brain cell and I still couldn’t take this thing down without more grinding than I’d like to admit. Was I really the only one to struggle with Fantina. Her Mismagius was very fast, hit like a truck with plenty of good coverage moves and good take a hit from an unevolved Pokémon that you were almost certainly using. Down to her tough Pokémon, difficult to counter ghost types and being in shcok that the French person didn’t immediately surrender, Fantina was definitely the toughest gym leader in the history of Pokémon.

 

 

So How Was Arrow Season 3?

So How Was Arrow Season 3?

So Arrow season 3. Boy has this one split the fans straight down the middle. You could easily argue that the show has really upped the stakes and taken things in a bold new direction while others could just as easily talk of how the show has become bloated and lacking in focus. My thoughts? Read ahead and beware of spoilers.

 

So Arrow season 3 starts 6 months after the end of season 2. Everyone’s happy for once and the whole crime fighting thing is going well. Being a 23 episode season Arrow has to at least at the start be very episodic with a villain of the week thing going on and season 3 was no exception. While this is not a bad thing as these villains are often used well and early season 3 felt a lot like early season 1 and 2.

 

The big thing of course was Sara dying very early on. Whether you liked this season or not you cannot help but agree that there were some seriously big twists and moments in Arrow season 3. Some bold moves were certainly made to the show and this is where some people have a lot of problems. Arrow’s biggest strength in my eyes has always been its core group of characters. While side characters have always been sort of up and down the main group, usually Oliver, Diggle and Felicity have always had great and interesting interactions and been enjoyable. This ‘Team Arrow’ was what made the show tick. Season 3 introduced a lot of new characters and equally bought a lot of others into the spotlight. While especially towards the end of the show some of the shows lesser characters such as Laurel, Thea and Roy were really improved and developed. New characters were also introduced and the show became rather bloated. This was one of the shows biggest shortcomings however. With so many characters it didn’t give enough screen time to pass around. Going into season 4 however the show is looking far more streamlined so hopefully this won’t continue being a problem.

 

Arrow’s flashbacks have always been a high point for me of every episode. The plot going on was always just as if not more exciting than the present day and it always linked and benefitted the present day plot seeing the island flashbacks. Hong Kong was an interesting turn, however I don’t think it worked. I don’t think they really added to the show and honestly the flashbacks I enjoyed most were the ones focused on characters other than Oliver. I know I’m not the only one to share this opinion, hopefully the flashbacks will pick up again in season 4.

 

More problems. Arrow is a dark and gritty show but the darkness and grit has gone into overload in this season. Especially when compared to the Flash Arrow to some has seemed extremely dark and over dramatic. Strangely however I haven’t had a problem with it. The theme of season 3 has been self-identity and discovering oneself and a dark tone I think was necessary. It’s easy to forget what these characters are going through. After everything Oliver has been through and always prevailed Ra’s al Ghul broke him. As for the romance related angst I again think this was an important point. Oliver needed to learn to accept both himself and the love and support from others to progress as a character. Do I think this was all done perfectly? No, it was a little overdone at times however I’d rather they try to progress the character like they did than keep the show standing still.

 

A problem I did however with the identity theme was that the show at times didn’t really feel like Arrow any more. Arrow at times was used as a platform to promote spin offs and new characters and at other times everything got a tad convoluted. Despite me enjoying the new characters and an interesting new direction I want Arrow to remain as Arrow, not a stepping stone for other shows.

 

I’ve moaned enough, a lot of good came out of the series. I’ve mentioned I enjoyed some of the characters developments and I’ve really enjoyed Ra’s al Ghul. He was everything I wanted Ra’s al Ghul to be. I loved the presence he had every time he was on screen. There was such a sophistication to him and yet it was made very apparent how powerful he was. He was also very interesting as a character with some interesting backstory and giving us some interesting insight into the league of Assassins. Season 2 had one incredible villain in Slade Wilson but I think season 3 did as well as it possibly could to follow up on the fantastic Deathstroke.

 

I really need to talk about Malcom Merlin. I really want him to be back for season 4, Merlin is perhaps one of my favourite television characters period. Always an ulterior motive, always having a plan and being a lot of fun to watch on screen. I really liked the twist of him working with Oliver, any time we saw Malcom really lit up the scene. 

 

Arrow season 3 is very difficult to talk about as parts of it were very average and parts of it I thought were up there with the best Arrow has ever been. The episode that stands out in my head is the one where Roy left, I thought that one was great. My overall thoughts however are extremely mixed as I like most the individual elements, not including the flashbacks of course. I still really like the main characters, Oliver is still an incredibly well written and developed character, Diggle is great and even after not quite being as great as last year Felicity is still a superb character. I liked the tone, the action was cool, I liked the Atom and how Thea has developed. Laurel has come on leaps and bound to become one of my favourite characters, the villain was great, there were some great twists I really didn’t see coming and I appreciate what the show was trying to do to keep Arrow fresh and interesting even if it seemed to bite off more than it could chew at some points. Did I enjoy it as much as season 2? Honestly no, however I still think Arrow season 3 was a very good season of television. Take my opinion for what it is, a very biased opinion from a fan of the show but for what it’s worth I thought it was really good. It had its problems for sure but they definitely do not hold Arrow back enough to make the show any less than really good.

Arrow Season 3 Episode 23 - My Name is Oliver Queen Review

Arrow Season 3 Episode 23 – My Name is Oliver Queen Review

Well it’s over … I miss is already.

 

Episode 23 was the finale of season 3 and featured team Arrow reunited to try to prevent Ra’s al Ghul using the bioweapon to destroy Starling City. Meanwhile in the flashbacks we see the aftermath of the unleashed bioweapon as well as the death of Akio.

 

There has been a very mixed response for this episode. Overall I have to say I really enjoyed it. I thought it was exciting, paced well and had some great action set pieces. As an episode of television it did its job. This is the finale of Arrow however, a show that has captured many of us and a show I’m sure everyone reading this really does love. When I was watching it I was really into it, looking back I can see some issues however.

 

I’ll start with the good stuff and as always Arrow delivered some really string and powerful scenes. I’ve seen quite a lot of complaints over the fight scene between Oliver and Ra’s however I thought it was very well done. The choreography was quick and entertaining and the chant in the background was excellent, really adding to the mood and size of the scene. I thought it ended well too, I remember thinking last week it would be really cheesy to have Ra’s get stabbed through the chest in the same way Oliver was however now I’ve seen it I like how it was done. It signified the arc and progression Oliver has made throughout the season, he truly has become something else. While I don’t necessarily thing killing off Ra’s was a good idea I liked how he died with dignity and never lost that class and presence even in death. He was a fantastic villain this season and did the impossible of not being a disappointment in comparison to Slade Wilson.

 

The strongest character in this episode for me was Diggle. A lot of team Arrow forgave Oliver very quickly over what he did but I liked seeing it continue to grate on Diggle. He shook Oliver’s hand at the end but even then you could see Diggle hadn’t forgotten about what Oliver did to his wife and the trust he broke. It really came across how he felt let down by it all and really I think he’s completely right to think so. We all know Diggle is a great character, the voice of reason, our eyes into this insane world and really the glue that hold everything together and this was another great episode. More than anything else I’m glad with so many characters Diggle still holds focus as I’m always glad when he’s in a scene.

 

I liked the flashbacks this week. I think it did a good job of explaining what happened to Tatsu and Maseo’s characters and I honestly found it quite emotional at times. I liked the comparison between Maseo and Oliver both in some way becoming a monster and up until the ending I thought it was quite well done. The problem isn’t really to do with this flashback, rather the ones leading up to it. This had some really big moments and should have been really impactful, the problem is that the flashbacks leading up to this one haven’t been great and thus haven’t invested me in what’s going on. Purely as a single episode however I thought this week’s flashbacks were good.

 

The Flash had a really enjoyable crossover in this episode, a lot of what he said really made me laugh. It amuses me to think what the assassins must be thinking after being taken out in a fraction of a second before hearing some smartass talking about the cool hot tub. I think The Flash is great and apart from being fun his appearance did a good job of showing the juxtaposition between Oliver and Barry and how they do things. The whole episode in fact had some fun moments, the one that stands out to me is when Captain Lance said the city’s under attack, it must be May.

 

Arrow has some really strong characters so I’m not going to ramble about how Laurel, Thea, Malcom and Ray are good well developed characters but I do enjoy seeing all the members of team Arrow interact. It’s fun but it’s also serious when it needs to be and watching the team do what it does is enjoyable in itself.

 

I mentioned problems with the episode earlier, some of my more nitckpicky one were how it was a little cheesy at times, the part where Felicity used the Atom suit to save Oliver springs to mind. Felicity still isn’t that great character she was in season 2, she was kind of summed up when she wanted Ray to save Oliver over an entire city. I’m also not pleased about Ra’s al Ghul dying. While the fight was done well and I’m glad we’ve seen Oliver progress as well as overcome that mental block to allow him to defeat Ra’s., I just don’t think he should’ve died. He’s Ra’s al Ghul, one of the most dangerous men on the planet after all.

 

My biggest problem however is Oliver and Felicity driving off into the sunset. It just seemed really cliché and while I know they’ll come back and there is going to be a season 4 and Oliver Queen isn’t going to stay retired I can’t help but think this will slow down the start to next season but more importantly this seemed like a big last ever episode of Arrow moment with Oliver finally coming to terms with who he is and what he has become and is now happy for it. I’m not against the Oliver Felicity romance, I just don’t want to see it end at some point into next season and then be forgotten. This would really undermine the arc of season 3 as well as negate the point of the drama.

 

There were some big twists in the episode and the significant one I haven’t yet mentioned is Malcom becoming the new Ra’s al Ghul. This is what made the former Ra’s death okay to me, Malcom is a great character, one who we can never quite be sure of the intentions and it makes you wonder if this was his plan all along. It does make me look forwards to an league of assassins based stories in the future, especially after the scene with him and Nyssa

 

So overall the finale was a good one. It was entertaining, enjoyable and did a good job of bringing this up and down season to a close. It wasn’t perfect by any means but one thing’s for sure, I am looking forwards to Arrow season 4.

Top 5 Favourite Metal Gear Solid Bosses

Top 5 Favourite Metal Gear Solid Bosses

My original idea for a post today was to do a top 10 favourite video game boss battles. I started listing off bosses and realised most of them came from just two game series, one of those series of course being Metal Gear Solid. So here’s my top 5 (Sort of) and bare in mind there will be spoilers.

 

5. The End / Crying Wolf

Okay before pressing the cross in the top right of the screen to close this page hear me out. Technically speaking The End is probably the best boss fight on this list and while the two are similar basically a more vast and difficult version of Crying Wolf. You’re probably thinking “It’s just because you can’t do it”. Honestly … you are completely right. I suck so much at The End boss fight it is so incredibly frustrating. Crying Wolf always seemed like a dumbed down version and that’s why I like it, because I can do it.

 

That’s not to say Crying Wolf isn’t a good boss fight in its own right. The nostalgia it pulls on you is great and the snowy and decently sized battle ground makes an excellent location for a sniper duel. You are required to enforce your stealth skills to the max for the fight with the roaming soldiers and the Crying Wolf herself and like the rest of the Beauty and the Beast units the fight ends on quite a sombre note putting a tragic and mentally destroyed women out of her misery. Even if I didn’t suck at The End and put it higher I would still include Crying Wolf.

 

The End is a masterfully crafted Boss Fight. Many consider it one of if not the best Boss fight of all time and I completely understand why. The vastness and varied nature of the jungle you fight in is a fantastic setting, the End himself is an intriguing yet creepy character who remains mysterious to us and the battle itself for someone who can actually do it takes tactics, intelligence and all you’re survival instincts in a raw and intense experience that can feel like the ultimate game of cat and mouse. It is so incredibly satisfying to sneak up on him and point a gun at him and even things like ways of missing the fight through leaving the game or shooting him outside a warehouse are ingenious editions to make the game feel so much more real. I appreciate and respect this boss fight a whole lot, I just hate it because I can’t do it properly.

 

4. Metal Gear Ray

What do you do when you’re series have awesome futuristic walking tank / robot type things in your game series? Make them fight of course and what better way to do it than after a daring and thrilling escape from a crumbling facility. This is probably the most explosive and action packed battle in the entire series but that is certainly not a bad thing.

 

Not many things in general can appeal to my inner child quite like this boss fight. I love deep and intelligent storytelling along with symbolism and metaphor but that doesn’t mean that I can deny that giant robots are awesome. It felt like something out of a Godzilla movie, especially with the height and size of the structures. The weaponry feel immensely satisfying to use and the battle has an epic and grand feel to it in terms of attacking power and significance.

 

Honestly there’s not that much to say about this one. I just feel that joyous and giddy feeling inside because I was fighting a cool giant robot inside another giant robot. It’s a similar feeling I had to watching Pacific Rim or like watching Robot Wars back in the day. Entertaining and awesome, the best way to describe fighting Metal Gear Ray.

 

3. Psycho Mantis

This fight sure is infamous. Perhaps one of the most unique gaming boss fights in gaming history, we all know how this fight works. Metal Gear has never been afraid to break the fourth wall and this battle emphasises this point to the full. Switch the controller into the second port, what an amazing idea. I can’t imagine how great it would’ve felt to figure that out when the game first came out.

 

Him vibrating the controller and reading your memory card was also a brilliant piece of bizarre Metal Gear humour and this fight was full of bizarre personality. This fight is great for it’s being unique and incredibly clever. It’s so off the wall when you compare it to your standard boss fight, I really enjoy boss fights that you defeat with your brain and not brawn and this does this perfectly.

 

Psycho Mantis is such a fantastic moment to play through, I’m the kind of guy who loves clever and interesting atmosphere and personality to a boss battle and Psycho Mantis has it in abundance. I have no complaints for this at all, the only thing stopping it from being higher up isn’t even a criticism of the game, it is in fact that I played Metal Gear Solid 1 years after it had been released and because of the years each game came out it was in fact the last of the four original Metal Gear Solid games I managed to play. I already knew about Psycho Mantis when I played MGS 1 and while it did blow my mind I can’t begin to imagine how much it would’ve blew my mind when the game came out. This takes away nothing however, Psycho Mantis was a spellbinding experience and one of the most innovative things I have ever done in a video game.

 

2. The Boss

The word emotion is throw around a lot. Here it couldn’t be more appropriate, throughout Snake Eater we go through Snake’s journey, we feel the confliction about having to kill his mentor and friend. The connection between them is more than just a romance thing, they’re buddies, friends, and comrades. They’ve been through a lot together and Snake would’ve trusted the Boss with anything and here he is fighting her in a fight to the death.

 

This battle is full of touches that make is magnificent. The white flowers and the silence at first really highlight the difficulty in what Snake has to do. The lack of music says so much in its ambience and atmosphere is such an emotional journey to go though. You then get the kick ass Snake Eater song playing out in the background and the intensity of the battle really shines through and only receiving 10 minutes before you’re bombed to hell adds a new level of urgency to the fight.

 

I’ve been talking about this fight like it’s a cut scene, this fight in terms of gameplay is excellent. It puts all your CQC skills to the test against probably the toughest opponent in such a battle you could probably ever be pitted against. You can’t simply overpower her with weapons she’s too good for that and I love how you need to have mastered the superb CQC controls to take her down. It’s true what she says, there is only room for one Boss and it makes you feel like you have surpassed her when you finally defeat her. Then they makes you press the button to fire the final show and that killed me, it was such an emotional and tragic moment to have to be the one to fire that bullet from her gun, especially if you go through the whole game without killing anyone as you still have to kill the one you’d like to least. The battle is so fitting for such an incredible game and really it doesn’t get much better … only very slightly better.

 

1. Metal Gear Solid 4’s final Boss fight

Forget favourite Metal Gear boss fight, this is my favourite boss fight period. I have no idea how to put how much I love this battle into words but I’m going to give it a go. I talked about emotion in this post. This battle gives you that emotion more than any other I’ve experienced. As the final event in the Metal Gear Solid events with everything with the patriots over there’s one thing left to settle. A great rivalry between two men who despite their fights have the greatest f respect for each other.

 

First things first I really enjoyed the gameplay here. It’s simple but that’s the point. Neither have weapons other than their own bodies and all the fancy gadgets have been thrown out the window. This is a bare knuckle battle to the death between two rivals who are on the brink of death. There’s nothing left to do but have this one last fight, that moment where liquid injects Snake with the nano machines for me was a huge moment, it signified the beginning of the end.

 

The fight itself is so atmospheric. Things like the health bars that change thought the health bars from previous games and the previous sound tracks playing created an extremely fitting and incredible experience. This for me was the ultimate closure of the characters involved, especially Ocelot who gradual retains control as the fight goes on until eventually as Snake Eater starts playing he does his signature little salute thing and settles the one final score. Talking about this makes me want to go and play Metal Gear Solid 4 again, it’s so hard to talk about it without wanting to gush a bunch of incomprehensible words.

 

I wanted to applaud when this fight was over, that’s how much it impressed me. What this fight did was stir the emotions can be described as truly epic. It took something truly special to end the Metal Gear saga and this boss fight certainly did that.

 

Time for a little self-promotion so I’d understand completely if you don’t want to read although I would appreciate it massively if you did. I’ve had a bit of a spike of views lately and far more than I ever thought I’d get, I figured I’d be getting like 3 view a post, one from me and 2 from my parents. In all seriousness it makes me feel great that people out there I have never met actually enjoy reading some of my posts. I would love a little feedback on the blog both on the quality of the blog (Constructive criticism is welcome) as well as what people would like to see on the Blog.

 

Finally I’d like to say that next week I’ll do my Top 5 favourite boss fights from another game that has incredible boss fights. Meanwhile did you agree with my list? If you enjoyed this click one on the sharing / social media type buttons below.

Arrow Season 3 Episode 22 - This is your Sword Review

Arrow Season 3 Episode 22 – This is your Sword Review

So things are getting intense.

 

Episode 22, This is you Sword follows team Arrow heading to Nanda Parbat to prevent the use of the Alpha-Omega bioweapon. Meanwhile Thea hunts down Roy and in the flashbacks Oliver and Maseo try to hunt down a cure for the bioweapon to use on Akio.

 

I really enjoyed this episode, overall it was really strong and I hardly have any faults with it. My favourite thing about the episode was seeing team Arrow interacting with Oliver now they think he has betrayed them and gone to the league. Props to Stephen Amell, he pulled off the Al Sah-him character really well and sure had me fooled that he had changed for good. Seeing his former allies, especially Diggle being so enraged at him was done really well and at the same time really painful to see such a strong bond broken especially seeing as Oliver is putting on a façade for this whole thing.

 

I also enjoyed the scenes with Ra’s and Malcom. Ra’s as I’ve said before carries such presence and power and it is very apparent that he is the most dangerous man on earth. Malcom is always a joy to watch, you’re never quite sure of his intentions and it makes him extremely interesting. He also has some charm and almost decency but in a sick and twisted kind of way that makes him an interesting character. Despite how many bad things he does it is as if he sees himself as the good guy and convinces himself he is doing the right thing. It makes for an interesting character.

 

Remember last season when after every episode of Arrow you’d think wow Felicity is awesome. She’s strong and has some sass and wit without being a typical strong female stereotype and brings some humour to what is quite a dark show. These days Laurel is the character that does that for me. I find myself looking forward to her in every scene she’s in and I have actually really enjoyed her growth from someone who I thought was pretty pointless and not needed into arguably the level headed and strongest member of team Arrow. Thea is similar in how I used to find her a whiney brat and now I’m looking forward to where her character is going. I want to see some after effects to the Lazarus pit but equally I enjoy how now she tries to fix her problems instead of crying about them as she did when she went to find Roy.

 

Speaking of Roy I want him back on the show. He had developed into a good character, one who while similar to Oliver in some ways was an individual and could have plots focused on him. Saying that the way he left this episode I think was perfect for the character he has become. He became Arsenal to do the right thing and that’s exactly what he did and now you could argue he’s saved both Oliver and Thea, keeping Oliver out of prison and giving Thea purpose again.

 

The big fight with the assassin’s vs Team Arrow was one of my favourite fight scene all series. I thought it was really well done and it was simply entertaining, plus I’m glad Ray turned up, he’s another character I look forward to seeing developed more in the spin off show (It cracked me up seeing him talk to Ra’s al Ghul, maybe I’m just easily pleased). The fight was entertaining but also had some emotion behind it with Katana and Maseo In their battle. It was quite tragic seeing them have to fight like that, especially for Katana who has now seen both her Son and Husband die in her arms. I do think some more time devoted to them in previous episodes would have been good as this kind of came out the blue having Katana back but she is a really cool character and hopefully she’ll be important in the finale.

 

I even thought the flashbacks were decent in this episode, a rare thing recently. They weren’t amazing but I did enjoy them and it didn’t just feel like being taken out of the much more interesting plot as they did tie in to the present day. Not much more to say on them, they all things considered they were okay.

 

I had one problem, Felicity. Man can she whine. I remember back when she was strong and witty and had a fire inside her. We still see glimpses but for the most part she isn’t that same great character I remember. I realise she’s going through a lot and I like seeing characters going through tough ordeals but it’s being just too much of a downer. Diggle is going through a lot too and he still remains interesting and not whiney. Don’t get me wrong I don’t dislike her, she’s just not quite the same. The thing that sums it up for me is when all team Arrow were locked up and she starts about how Oliver is marrying Nyssa. It seemed a little over dramatic and like something out of a soap opera. It’s not even like I’m against the whole Olicity thing, I think it can work as long as they stick with it throughout the seasons and don’t just throw it aside for a new love interest and thus undermining all that happened this season. Not a major complaint, I still like her as a character, I’m more just a fan of Laurel now instead.

 

Next episode is the final episode of the season :’(. Who knows what I’m going to watch on television for the months afterwards (Suggestions will be appreciated) but despite having some ups and downs I do think they have set up this final episode extremely well. I look forward to the finale after a solid episode today.

 

A Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003) Retrospective

A Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003) Retrospective

 

Nostalgia is a wonderful thing. Nothing beats going back to that happy place from long ago where unlike the present which is tainted and despicable everything was perfect. There is a catch of course to the great nostalgic love we have for things. It is just that, nostalgia and thus our views are often tainted and thus it’s perfectly possible to go back to it years later and find something that does not even come close to being that great thing we remember. Being the genius I am I decided to revisit one of my favourite childhood shows, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, specifically the 2003 series. How was it? Were my childhood memories punched in the gut like they were with the recent movie? The short answer is at the end of the post, the long answer starts now.

 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is funnily enough about the four Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. They become mutated by a strange ooze that somehow mutates them into giant walking turtles. A similar thing happens to a rat name Splinter who takes them in as his sons and trains them in the art of ninjitsu which he learned from mirroring the moves of his owner while he was a simple pet rat. They fight crime such as street gangs and the evil foot clan along with their master, the infamous Shredder.

 

That was obviously a very basic outline to the show and many more allies and villains were introduced and many story arcs happened along the way.  The most important aspect of the show were the turtles themselves and naturally if they were bad the show would be bad. Fortunately this was not the case. What was so well done about them is that they each had a very distinguishable personality but it was never forced down your throat with out of place lines or just one character trait. Generally we think of Leonardo as the leader, Donatello the brains, Michelangelo the joker and Raphael the one with some serious need of anger management. While each of these traits does exist they are not all that exhibit personality, you’re very aware that they are still teenagers. Leonardo isn’t immune to having a light hearted moment and Raphael could have a logical and well thought out moment every now and again. Not so often to break their character but often enough to make them feel like they really exist and are not just bland stereotypes.

 

Having good main characters is well backed up by some excellent side characters. Master Splinter stands out as the significant side character and for good reason. Interestingly this was the first Splinter to be called Father by the turtles and this shows in their interactions. They’re a family, a dysfunctional one but a family none the less. We had human characters too and unlike Megan Fox they’re not annoying! April O’Neil isn’t a reporter in this version, she starts out working for Baxter Stockman and is a tech savvy scientist but ends up running an antique shop. She acts as sort of an older sister character to the turtles. The other important human character, Casey Jones is introduced and I think we all thought he was there to be a token love interest for April. To start with the only turtle he really interacts with is Raphael and then the obvious getting on each other’s nerves happens with him and April. What we get however are two likeable characters who are not only likeable for separate reasons but likeable for being individuals. They have their own storylines and episodes to develop them as characters who aren’t there solely for the reason of benefitting the other.

 

Villains are important and the Shredder is a very well-known villain. If I told you the Shredder in this series, at least at first was a small alien squid thing inside a robot suit would you be confident of a good villain? I certainly wouldn’t but I really like this version of the Shredder. In the armour he looked badass and while slightly cartoonishly evil at times his motivations for wanting to get back home and take revenge are at least understandable and not simply to destroy the world for no apparent reason. He also had an interesting backstory and overall made a cool villain and not to mention had one of the biggest plot twists ever when he picked us his disembodied head. I won’t discuss all the villains as I’d be here for hours but I do want to mention Baxter Stockman and Kurai who were both interesting for their inner turmoil and struggles.

 

This host of characters made for some really great plots and episodes and the icing on the cake was how dark and gritty it could be at times. There were plenty of cheesy and silly moments, it’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, it’s impossible to bot have them but this show showed us that this was a series that could be taken seriously in terms of its plots and themes. I’m surprised 4Kids got this dark in a show they were involved in. However while it as gritty and serious when it wanted to be it was never to a point where it was no longer fun. However the dark moments were certainly there such as Baxter Stockman’s ‘punishments’ by the Shredder or the episode where an alien creature messes with our heroes heads in a horrific way or how they were perfectly willing to kill themselves in order to stop the Shredder to name a few. There was a perfect balance of dark and serious with some humour and silly moments splashed in to keep it serious and gritty enough while still being fun. Above all else this is what I think the show does so incredibly well, the tone and character.

 

The animation still looks great too, it’s sharper and more anime like than the original series and I think it works well. The fighting and action is great and while it is kind of noticeable how characters with blade weapons rarely hit enemies with them it still works well as a spectacle. The voice acting is good (An interesting thing I found that was funny is April has the same voice actor as Ash Ketchum from Pokémon) and while not the greatest in the world the opening theme song is catchy and it did have a very cool video playing in the background. So what was wrong with the show?

One thing. It didn’t know when to stop. You could argue it should have been after series 3 but I personally think series 5 should have been the final series. At the end they had just taken down the ultimate evil and most characters had their closure.  Sure not all of them did but the next series was set far in the future anyway so it hardly matters. While we don’t lose out on anything by having a couple subpar extra series I think it would have been a great send off to finish on series 5.

 

When I was younger I liked Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles because it had cool action, a bunch of awesome moments which were funny and action packed as well as thinking the turtles were really great. Now I still think those things but I also enjoy the plots, character’s development and evolution as well as the darker moments and personality to the show. In other words I think that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is better now than I did back then. So the short answer to my earlier question is yes, it holds up and then some.