25 Sep

The Best & Worst of Pokémon: Generation IV

Posted by vagrantesque in 3DS, DS, Games, GB, GBA. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Games
Pokémon Diamond Version
Pokémon Pearl Version
Pokemon Platinum Version

Platform
DS

Region
Sinnoh

New Pokemon
107
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+6. It’s all in the details

I remember quite vividly the day I brought home my copy of Pokemon Diamond to play. It would be an understatement to say I had followed the game’s Japanese release rather closely, and yet I was still surprised, not to mention floored, by the sheer number of tiny yet noticeable changes the game brought to the series as the first entry I could enjoy on my already treasured DS. From the way my Turtwig appeared to physically eat a berry in battle, to the slightly randomised animations of certain moves, to the vastly improved bag and PC Box structures, to the way buying 10 Pokeballs would just grant you a free Premier Ball, completely un-advertised, all these small touches added up to give me the same wide-eyed feeling of wonder I had experienced four years prior with Gen III. And at that point in my life, I had not thought that was possible.

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22 Sep

The Best & Worst of Pokémon: Generation III

Posted by vagrantesque in 3DS, DS, Games, GB, GBA. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Games
Pokémon Ruby Version
Pokémon Sapphire Version
Pokemon Emerald Version

Platform
Game Boy Advance

Region
Hoenn

New Pokemon
135
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+7. Starker contrast

When a new generation of Pokémon games is announced, said games inevitably come in pairs, and there is inevitably very little difference between the two versions. While it may not quite be an exception to the rule, out of all the main series releases Gen III arguably brought the loudest suite of differences between its corresponding games. The third generation arguably has the single most robust lineup of version-exclusive Pokémon in series history, and they begin to show up very early on. What’s more, Ruby and Sapphire are still the only games to offer a version-exclusive villainous team, which changes the flavour of the story, the types of Pokémon you face in enemy battles, and even the type of natural disaster that befalls the region late in the game (not to mention its accompanying music track). Only Gen V even comes close to that level of contrast.

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20 Sep

The Best & Worst of Pokémon: Generation II

Posted by vagrantesque in 3DS, DS, Games, GB, GBA. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Games
Pokémon Gold Version
Pokémon Silver Version
Pokemon Crystal Version

Platform
Game Boy/Game Boy Color

Region
Johto/Kanto

New Pokemon
100
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+6. Ooooooh shiny!

Ever found a shiny Pokémon in the wild? There’s no feeling quite like it, is there? You can thank Pokémon’s second generation of games for that very feeling. The design idea was so simple – give every single Pokémon a colour scheme variation, however slight, make the odds of encountering that variation astronomical, and watch human nature go to work. Introduced via a story-integrated red Gyarados, the thrill of seeing that trademark flash before a wild encounter would go on to become one of the most consistently treasured experiences in the entire franchise.
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17 Sep

The Best & Worst of Pokémon: Generation I

Posted by vagrantesque in 3DS, DS, Games, GB, GBA. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Games
Pokémon Blue Version
Pokémon Red Version
Pokemon Yellow Version

Platform
Game Boy

Region
Kanto

New Pokemon
151
.

+6. Straight lines, good times

You won’t catch many people pretending any iteration of the original Game Boy was a powerful piece of hardware, even for its time. And yet walking around the world of Kanto in Pokémon Red, Blue and Yellow still set off a generation of kids’ imaginations. Sure, part of this was due to having the anime as a point of reference, but even playing the game nowadays, it doesn’t look all that ugly (at least outside of the battles – see below). And that’s because its art direction is on point. Everything that can follow the natural pixel lines of the screen, does – and all those right angles and all that charming sprite art adds up. Not exactly pretty, per se, but not distracting either. Just a canvas for building a world inside the player’s mind.
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16 Sep

The Best & Worst of Pokemon – Generation by Generation

Posted by vagrantesque in 3DS, DS, Games, GB, GBA.

So Nintendo pulled a surprising move this year (one of many) – For the first time since 2008, they aren’t planning to release a new main series Pokemon game within a calendar year. This decision is being mitigated by all kinds of tangential announcements and releases, from shiny Pokémon giveaways to interesting spin-offs like Pokémon Shuffle, Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon, Pokken Tournament and current hype train conductor Pokémon GO, but none of that changes the fact that it looks like we won’t be earning another bagful of gym badges by Christmas.

This unusually long separation from the series has energised me somewhat, and now I feel like writing some stuff about the main Pokemon games. It’s also September, and given that last year this month was devoted to a countdown series (my top 30 favourite Nintendo franchises – on which Pokemon placed first), and the year before to 15 Zelda-themed countdowns, I figured I’d do another Nintendo-flavoured series – this time a set of pros and cons for each generation of main series Pokemon games.

Now I started these countdowns on paper in a “five pros, five cons” format, but I just couldn’t stretch my brain enough to make things that even. So some of the lists you’re going to see have six pros and four cons, while others go for a seven-three split. This does not necessarily mean I like the generations with seven pros more than the ones with six. After all, more pros/cons might just mean smaller, less consequential list entries. I will not, for the record, be singling out which generation is my favourite.

Also, it goes without saying that these lists are entirely my opinion, and they WILL differ from yours. On that note, thanks for checking them out! Let’s get started in a little bit with Gen I.

28 Aug

Album Review: REBOOT – Wonder Girls

Posted by vagrantesque in Music. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

That’s it – It’s happening. I’m finally going to start reviewing K-pop albums. Perhaps not regularly, mind you, but any reason I may have had against doing so in the past is starting to look a bit arbitrary in light of how little content I’m able to get up on this blog these days. Sometimes if an opportunity appears, you have to take it. And people should know about such brilliance as this. People. Should. Know.

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Released: August 2015
Label: JYP Entertainment
Genre: K-Pop
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It’s not enough for the album to sound like the 1980s, it has to look like them, too.

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TRACK LISTING

1. Baby Don’t Play
2. Candle (feat. Paloalto)
3. I Feel You
4. Rewind
5. Loved
6. John Doe
7. One Black Night
8. Back
9. Oppa
10. Faded Love
11. Gone
12. Remember

1980s pop musical tributes may not quite be a dime a dozen at the moment, but they’re certainly in vogue. When someone as big as Taylor Swift decides to emblazon her polaroid-inspired album artwork with the title “1989”, you just know a trend is in motion. Synth hooks, big bass and full-ham electronic mixing are all back and you don’t have to look very hard to find them, as this entertaining 2014 list from Pigeons & Planes paints clear as day. And that’s amazing, because the musical quirks that define a “1980s sound” are pretty damn fun, particularly when used skilfully. Trend or no, I’ve always got time for a good 1980s inspired album.

REBOOT, the aptly named, long-awaited comeback piece from one-time Korean supergroup Wonder Girls, is a very good 1980s inspired album.

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26 Jun

Movie Review: Inside Out

Posted by vagrantesque in Movies. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

It’s a bit more difficult to see and review movies these days. Here’s a good one though.

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Starring: Amy Poehler, Bill Hader, Mindy Kaling
Directors: Pete Docter, Ronaldo Del Carmen (Monsters Inc, Up)
Rating: PG
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It’s probably safe to say that the dwindling reputation of Pixar has been one of the most widely discussed trends, in one way or another, of cinema this decade. Following the superlative Toy Story 3 in 2010, the relatively run-of-the-mill (though masterfully animated) Brave attracted far more negativity than it deserved, simply because it wasn’t quite as memorable as any of Pixar’s previous non-Cars output. When Monsters’ University hit a couple of years ago, it’s comparative lack of originality hurt its perception, though I really liked it. The wonderfully original likes of Up, WALL-E, The Incredibles and Finding Nemo seemed like the product of a different Pixar era, particularly as Disney Animation Studios’ run of stellar recent films began to take over the animation spotlight. So it is shaking out as somewhat of a surprise (though it really shouldn’t be) that Inside Out is exactly the kind of film that Pixar fans have been waiting for. It ticks all the boxes – Unique, visually arresting, and above all emotionally resonant.
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19 Jun

My 10 Favourite Reveals From E3 2015

Posted by vagrantesque in Games. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

And so another year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo has come and gone, and I have to say this one was a real peach. Despite an astonishing number of pre-show leaks, there were still some real megaton surprises on show, while known titles just got better and better in prospect. Here are my picks of the event.
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10. I Might Actually Be Into Fallout 4

I’m not a Western RPG guy. I’ve tried to get into them over the years, but for one reason or another, it just hasn’t happened. I knew Fallout was a big deal, but the hype around 3 and New Vegas came at exactly the wrong time in my life. The extended gameplay reveal of Fallout 4 at Bethesda’s E3 press conference, however, has my interest well and truly piqued. The customisation options are off the charts, and man, those base building mechanics alone…


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9. Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros Looks Fantastic

I’ve made no secret of my affection for Nintendo’s “Mario RPG” franchises on this blog in the past, so to see both of them merged into one incredibly crazy 3DS game is a bit of a treat to say the least. The opportunity for the kind of quirky, often hilarious banter both series are known for is clearly ripe. The game is coming this year, too, which is a very nice bonus even if there are so many games oh my goodness so many games TOO MANY GAMES TO PLAY.

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13 Jun

Get KE3N

Posted by vagrantesque in Games. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

It’s almost time for yet another annual Electronic Entertainment Expo, which still seems to bring the goods again and again even in today’s leak-heavy internet age. This year, instead of the customary five press conferences, we have eight to take our sleeping hours away. EIGHT. Like, eight of them. If you plan to watch them all, best of luck to you. What a treat, though!

Once again for those Sydneysiders and Melbournians (etc) who are keen to watch any of the conferences but can’t be bothered looking up and cross-referencing time zones to work out when they have to get up, I’ve written them up right here, so look no further.

All times are in AEST.
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12noon JUNE 15TH
BETHESDA
THEY WILL TALK ABOUT: The recently released console versions of The Elder Scrolls Online, the long-awaited Doom reboot, plenty of information on the juggernaut that is Fallout 4.
I HOPE THEY TALK ABOUT: Dishonored 2 would be very nice indeed.
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2:30am JUNE 16TH
MICROSOFT
THEY WILL TALK ABOUT: Single player gameplay debuts for what could potentially be the best line-up of console exclusives this holiday season – Forza 6, Rise of the Tomb Raider, the Remastered Gears of War and Halo 5: Guardians. Not to mention the reveal of Rare’s next big game.
I HOPE THEY TALK ABOUT: Specifics on Quantum Break‘s release plans, a significant slice of attention towards awesome indie titles like Cuphead and Inside.
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6am JUNE 16TH
EA
THEY WILL TALK ABOUT: Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2, the first official gameplay showings from Mirrors Edge: Catalyst, Star Wars Battlefront and the new Criterion extreme sports game, the shape of the new Mass Effect, sports games aplenty.
I HOPE THEY TALK ABOUT: The other Star Wars game. The one Amy Hennig is working on.

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8am JUNE 16TH
UBISOFT
THEY WILL TALK ABOUT: The normal serving of Assassin’s Creed and Just Dance footage, more info on The Division and Rainbow Six Siege, some as-yet unknown surprise that will inevitably get everyone talking about how cool it could be.
I HOPE THEY TALK ABOUT: Same as last year – a new Rayman game, or the reappearance of Beyond Good & Evil 2.

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11am JUNE 16TH
SONY
THEY WILL TALK ABOUT: Project Morpheus, the insane success of the PS4, Uncharted 4, Drawn to Death, Tearaway Unfolded, new Destiny stuff, lots and lots of juicy third party/indie partnerships.
I HOPE THEY TALK ABOUT: Persona 5 please. Lots more indies on Vita, too. And seriously, where is Gravity Rush 2?

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2am JUNE 17TH
NINTENDO (via “Digital Event”)
THEY WILL TALK ABOUT: Always the toughest to predict, but surely at least the new Star Fox game for Wii U, plenty of new amiibos, that leaked Hyrule Warriors 3DS port, the next main Pokemon game, Splatoon DLC plans, Mario Maker.
I HOPE THEY TALK ABOUT: It’s about time for a new Metroid game. Also, please please please let that Paper Mario rumour be true…

NOTE: Nintendo is doing their normal thing again and spreading their content out over the length of E3. These additional times might be useful for Nintendo fans:

12:40am June 15th: Dedicated Super Smash Bros for Wii U / 3DS “New Content Approaching” Live Stream

8am June 15th: Nintendo World Championships 25th anniversary edition

June 17th-19th (schedule TBC): “Treehouse Live @ E3” Presentations

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3am JUNE 17TH
SQUARE ENIX
THEY WILL TALK ABOUT: A solid chunk devoted to Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, the unveiling of the long-teased new Hitman game, my potential game of the year Just Cause 3, some Heavensward: Final Fantasy XIV mentions, that new online robot shooter Figure Heads.
I HOPE THEY TALK ABOUT: With the confirmed lack of Final Fantasy XV at E3 this year, surely there’s some big Kingdom Hearts 3 stuff to show?

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10am JUNE 17TH
PC GAMING SHOW (Presented by AMD and PCGamer)
THEY WILL TALK ABOUT: Plenty of tech talk, Epic’s highly anticipated Fortnight, who knows what else? It’s the longest and most diverse conference on the schedule, so let’s hope it’s also one of the most exciting.
I HOPE THEY TALK ABOUT: Overwatch, Overwatch and more Overwatch. Come on, Blizzard, let’s get the whole world hyped.

6 Jun

Movie Review: Mad Max – Fury Road

Posted by vagrantesque in Movies. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Yes, this one’s kinda late, and kinda short. Also, a bit of background: I have not seen the first three Mad Max movies, but you really don’t need to if you’re interested in this new one.

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Starring: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult
Director: George Miller (Mad Max, Happy Feet)
Rating: MA15+
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OK, wow.

If there’s been a bigger example of late hype pulling me into a film over the last several years, I can’t remember it. With next to no knowledge of Aussie director George Miller‘s acclaimed 30 year old Mad Max trilogy, other than the fact that it was kind of a big thing once, I went to see Mad Max: Fury Road based on pretty much word-of-mouth groundswell alone. And goodness, gracious, what a ride.

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