Your experiences with Video Games: Ant Dahl

This week I'm back with another interview about experiences with video games!, I'm really happy with how this is going so far and have been pleased with the amount of people who wish to be involved. One of the first to ask to be included was Ant Dahl who is one of the hosts of one of my favourite podcasts The Fortuna Podcast. I think I first started speaking to Ant shortly after letting him know that I enjoyed the podcast that he and Marshall put together and from there we discovered we were both in to the same sort of things as well as big fans of flannel shirts.

Shortly after Ant and Marshall were kind enough to invite me on their podcast which I really enjoyed even if it does require me to be up pretty late/early. I've been on since which you can check out here!
I actually got the opportunity to meet them both when I went to California to attend Gamedays 2015 in Anaheim and we had a blast even if we didn't get to hang out for as long as I'd hoped it was just nice to meet someone you admire and shoot the shit a bit. 

Ant and Marshall both speak in depth about video games amongst other things on their podcast so I'm really pleased to be talking to one of the Yankee-doodle double threat this week and I hope you enjoy the interview!

What were your first experiences with video games?
Some of my first experiences with video games came from playing games with my Dad as a kid. It's odd really because I remember having both a Nintendo and a Super Nintendo at that age, but my memories come from the times I played games like Donkey Kong Country with my Dad. We used to sink a lot of time playing the Super Mario Bros All Star Pack for Super Nintendo as well. But I also have these memories of playing this weird coloring game for the NES, where you colored pictures of Dinosaurs. It was terrible but I used to spend so much time with it. I have a bunch of memories that I can’t place in the right spots.

When do you feel you got in to video games as a hobby?
You know, I'm not entirely sure. It probably stems from getting Pokemon Red and Blue for the Gameboy. So this was somewhere around 1998 I believe. I had never been so sucked into a video game at that point in my life. As an 8 year old I was constantly trying to figure how to finish things quicker than normal so I could soak more time into them. I started waking up for school an hour earlier so I could get ready and have an extra hour to try and catch a Pidgey or some bullshit. 

I played the playstation 2 all throughout Middle School (6^th- 8^th grade in the states). I fell out of video games throughout high school until I got a Wii my senior year specifically for Smash Bros Brawl. But other than that, I probably didn't start looking at games as a hobby until I got the Xbox 360 when I graduated high school. But Pokemon was definitely the jumping off point for me. 

What are some of your favourite games and why?
Two of my favourites really stand out to me because of their cinematic qualities. I absolutely love film and if a game has a cinematic quality, I can easily be drawn into it.

I'm a huge fan of the Metal Gear Solid series. Those games are brought up in every day discussions with me. They're just so dense with information and things to question that if I have a moment to talk to somebody about metal gear in depth, then I'm stoked. I think my favorite out of the series is Snake Eater. That was really the peak of the story for me, I think about the writing and the story constantly and how genius it was. Especially since it was a PS2 game.

The original Bioshock was one of the most immersive experiences I've ever had with a video game. I had never felt like I was so apart of a world before. There was so much to explore and the way it unfolded stories of characters that weren’t central to the plot really struck a chord for me. It helped that it incorporated a lot of horror elements into the game. I'm such a sucker for horror games even though I'm easily scared.

Another important favorite of mine is Pokemon Red and Blue. I got them as a gift from my grandmother very shortly before she passed away and they have always been some of the most sentimental games to me. Like I said earlier, I changed my life to revolve around those games and now whenever a new instalment comes out, I take the day off just to play it. When Pokemon X and Y came out, I put 12 hours into it on the day it came out.

Just to name a few other favorites Donkey Kong Country, Super Smash Bros, Red Dead Redemption, Hotline Miami, A Link Between Worlds, Bloodborne, and Mega Man X. I think some favorites that will surprise some people are Tony Hawks Undergound 2, and Parappa The Rapper. This by far was the most difficult question, because my favorites change so often. 

What game has the best soundtrack to you and why, do you feel music is important in a game? 
Hotline Miami had a soundtrack for a video game that changed the way I look at video game soundtracks. The Phantom Pain has an incredible collection of music in the game. The Tony Hawk series has always had a great soundtrack. Except the most recent one that one was shit in every way.

Most vivid video game memory?
I was in first grade when this happened. My dad once called a Necky in Donkey Kong Country a “fucking prick” and I asked him what that meant and his response was “that thing”. So I went to catholic school the next day and called some kid that annoyed me a “prick” and got in a ton of trouble over it. My dad and I still laugh about to this day.

What are you playing currently?
I generally try to play one game at a time because I absolutely hate starting a game and never finishing it. I kind of look at it like not finishing a movie or not finishing a book. Once I start something I have to finish it. But I'm in between semesters right now so I'm playing way too many games. 

I'm mostly focusing on Dark Souls II: Scholars of the First Sin, but I’m also playing Yoshi's Woolly World, Black Ops 2, Amplitude, and I'm slowly burning through Until Dawn.

What is the most obscure game or rarest game you own?
In terms of most obscure, I have this game called Incredible Crisis for the first PlayStation. I think its original name is Todemo Crisis. It's this super weird collection of these super difficult mini-games. Any time I bring it up to someone, the usual response is that they've never heard of it. It's a ton of fun though and it’s really funny. 

As far as rarest games, I don't have many, but I have a few. A while back I scored a copy of Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes for 20 bucks. I have a sealed copy of Super Empire Strikes Back. I don't think that game is rare by any means, but I've never taken it out of the box. I have an original copy of Manhunt before it was pulled from shelves and given an AO rating. 

Unfortunately I went through a period of my life where I sold a good portions of my games off, so I don't have a lot of the games that I used to own that would be considered rare and being a college student constantly leaves me broke. When I do have money, I often choose to put it towards traveling to meet up with friends or check out newer games.

What about video game memorabilia
I need to stop buying Amiibos.

Physical or digital?
Physical all the way. I can't believe there's actually debate about this. Even if I buy a game digitally I will make it an effort to get a physical copy down the road. I think with the most recent Konami scandal with P.T. it should showcase the risk of buying a digital copy of anything. You can own it one day and it could disappear the next. 

Was there ever a genre or series of games you were adamant you would not get in to but ended up enjoying?
I’m not entirely sure it’s a genre, but the “Souls” series was something that I thought would be the dumbest series of games, but I cant stop playing them. I’m not a huge fan of RPGs to begin with and the attitude that people carry about these games can be super annoying. But as of late, they are some of the most fulfilling games I’ve played.

What was the best co op experience you had?
Portal 2 had a co-op mode that was co-op in the truest sense of the word. I spend most of my time playing single player games so I haven’t played many co-op games. I played The Legend of Zelda: Four Sword Adventures on my own and I’ve even played through most of Triforce Heroes on my own.

If you were to have kids would you want them to be in to video games and what would you have them start with?
I thought about this question before and I’m never sure of the answer. I think I’d like to take the approach that my dad did with me. We played so many great games together when we were younger and that was a stepping-stone for me to explore new games. But now a ton of games don’t include split screen co-op because games have become so technically advanced since the Super Nintendo. I think it would be super cool to have those bonding moments.

But on the other hand I’d want my kid to hate video games. I’m not trying to raise a loser or anything.

Do you feel you'll always be playing games in some form?
Unfortunately.

What's a game series you feel is under appreciated? 
Garrett Hunter from Mega64 talks about The Legacy of Kain series every so often and its always met with strange looks or it illicit the response of “I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.” Soul Reaver and Blood Omen were such phenomenal games for the PS1 and PS2. I actually wish they would bring back that series. Soul Reaver 2 was also the first game that I played that had a long cut scene in the beginning of the game that I couldn’t skip and it sort of taught me that video games can be a great platform to tell stories.

Has there ever been a spin off of a series you've enjoyed more than the original series?
Technically Rock Band, but Metal Gear Rising takes the cake for sure on this one. It is so infuriating listening to people drone on about how much they hate Metal Gear Rising because “it ruined metal gear solid” or how “its not a stealth game this is bullshit”. All of that because they couldn’t read the games title to see that it wasn’t a Metal Gear Solid game. Of course its okay to dislike the game for valid reasons, but dismissing it for not being a “solid” game is bullshit. I don’t necessarily like Rising better than Solid, but that game is incredibly gratifying.

Now I know you're a big fan of Movies, Video Game movies have a bad wrap so is there any video game movie you actually enjoy, has there ever been a movie tie-in game you've enjoyed?
I actually have this really sick morbid curiosity when it comes to movie tie in games. Because I know those games have to be complete shit, but that cant be completely broken. I’ve actually had an idea for a series of videos based on movie tie in games that I eventually want to work on.

But to answer the question, there are tons of movie licensed in games and a ton of TV licensed games that I love. I think a lot of them come from the SNES era, but there are still some great ones. Toy Story 1 and 2 both have incredible games to accompany those films. There’s a Pagemaster game that I think is a ton of fun as well. You know, the movie where Macaulay Culkin gets sucked into a book by a wizard? The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie game was so much fun as well. Star Wars has several great games. I think movie tie in games have a bad reputation, but there are some solid ones there. 

What series are you connected with the most?
This is a weird split, but Metal Gear Solid (series) and Pokemon. Pokemon for the reasons I’ve already stated, but Metal Gear for how in depth those games are. Metal Gear Solid just hits me hard with the story and its game play. These games have actually taught me to be extremely patient in video games. I mean, certainly the story of the series has had its ups and downs, but I think the thread of MGS has always been there. The fact that I’m able to carry on hour-long conversations about different theories of what’s happening in these games, should say a lot about how connected I am with these games.

How do rhythm games fare since their resurgence?  
Rhythm games are one of my favorite genres of games. If you’re making a rhythm game, chances are you have to have a dope soundtrack, your game play requires you to think fast and put your hand to eye coordination to the test. Amplitude was just “rereleased” for the PS4 and that alone should show people that rhythm games don’t have to be clones of Rock Band. I love Rock Band, but in that whole 5-year span where everyone had their hand in the “plastic guitar rock music” pot, it became super saturated and boring. 

Now there are games like Crypt of the Necrodancer, Amplitude, Elite Beat Agents, Bit Trip, and even Guitar Hero has understood that these games need a drastic change or need to be drastically different from their competitors to stand alone. Rock Band really tapped into best of the genre and now others need to figure out how to make it their own.

I hope that now that they’re returning that it’s a regular genre of games. Playstation is testing waters to see if people have an interest in Parappa the Rapper by releasing the sequel for the PS4 (which I hope spawns a third game). I hope rhythm games are here to stay. I think they have a shot. Even some of the Tony Hawk games have felt like rhythm games to me at times.

I feel like you secretly knew I had an undying love for rhythm games, and that’s why this question is here. I like this question.

Are there any areas or stories you wish were explored more in games
Dark Souls and Bloodborne have such vast worlds to explore in games that I know I’ll never get to all of those areas. I wish I had more time to go back through Bloodborne and explore more of Cainhurst Castle or the Upper Cathedral Ward, maybe even some of the chalice dungeons. I just don’t have that much time to devote to completing games. Once I’m done with a story, I like to move on to the next.

What game are you most excited for in 2016
Dark Souls 3 for sure. That is hands down the most anticipated games for me this year. But I’m also really excited for The Legend of Zelda Wii U, Ratchet and Clank, hopefully Rise of the Tomb Raider hits PS4 this year, Yooka-Laylee, The Last Guardian, and I’m sure there will be a few more down the road.

How do you feel about video games currently?
I think we’re in a fine state of video games. I think a lot of people get wrapped up in the politics of games a bit too much. Some I find to be incredibly understandable, but then there’s shit like Gamergate where I’m ready to check out. There just seems to be such an incredible sense of entitlement to people who use the word “gamer” to describe themselves that just straight up grosses me out. And that falls on both ends of the spectrum as well. I totally understand and support people that want better things in their games, such as portrayal of women and minority characters. Certainly not all of that is done properly or the way that I would go about discussing it, but I would rather support that than support a group of man-children calling in death threats because a woman spoke ill of the a game they probably mildly like.

Games can be complete shit and handle things poorly, but those things get recognized for being piss poor and eventually get weeded out. At the end of the day the video games I’m playing are fucking fun as hell and if that has indication of the state of games, then I suppose that means we’re doing something right.

Where do you feel video games will go in the future?
I’m excited to see what people do with the VR that isn’t virtual porn games. I think since I’ve been playing video games since I was around 3 or 4 years old that games have only gotten better, that they can only get better. I think we’re on the right track to make that happen. I hope video games become more accessible to more people and that they become learning tools teach kids moral and life lessons. I hope that they become more cinematic and really showcase how powerful a story telling medium it can be, more so than it already has. I hope they become more inclusive to women and minorities. Other wise they belong in the trash. 

 

I just wanted to thank Ant for this in depth interview and also for his and Marshall's work in putting together a really entertaining podcast that you should totally check out! Fortuna podcast returns on Wednesday the 26th with episodes generally coming out every Wednesday, be sure to follow their Tumblr linked above for updates or Ant on Twitter.

Mobile Suit Gundam: Thunderbolt: Episode 1 (2015)

This week I thought I'd go back to Anime as Gundam has had a few releases I need to catch up on, it seems the franchise has been going at light speed recently with multiple Anime releases one after another and OVAs on the side every few months, It kind of worries me in some respects because while I have enjoyed each entry I have viewed so far back in the early to mid 90s the franchise had one series after another non stop and this generally fatigued audiences and made the last of these series, Gundam X suffer with a huge amount of episodes cut.

The latest entry is Gundam Thunderbolt in the format of a four part OVA series which will be released every few months. This entry is interesting as it was originally a Manga with the same name produced by Yasuo Ohtagaki in March of 2012. It's actually still going now which makes me wonder if this series will differ from the Manga or just go in its own direction. The first episode aired on the 25th of December 2015 and has been praised by many.

The series' plot is actually very similar if not the same to the original series as in many ways it is a retelling of that show. The year is again 0079 in the Universal Century and the war between Zeon and the Earth Federation has again been raging. This is the same war, the same factions and pretty much the same ideologies at play, but this is not set in the same universe as that show or any other it is very much its own self contained show.

There seems to be an attention to detail throughout the episode which I suppose is warranted as it is only a very short piece of animation compared to a usual OVA. The scenery is very dark and industrial as are the mobile suits themselves, it really shows that is a war and not a particularly nice one at that. The battlefield is not just dark because it's set in space it's full of the derbies of not only previous battles but of now uninhabited colonies.

This is a theme in the Universal Century where those living in space seem to suffer, the destruction of a colony is the destruction of all life in that sector so really hits home the nature of this war without actually showing you what happened. The amount of derbies really greys out the battlefield but has its uses in that it provides cover for snipers and also multiple objects to dodge when flying at high speed, this can of course be a negative or positive to the pilot but it does make for some interesting scenes.

As I mentioned this episode is only around seventeen or so minutes long, I don't really think this is a negative thing though, it keeps it concise and to the point, there was no scene that I felt was particularly unnecessary and no scene felt like it went longer than it needed to, the plot flowed pretty well although there was not really an in depth look at what was going on. I think what you need to bare in mind while watching this is it's more an advertisement for the Manga which is still ongoing, I don't really feel as though we're going to get some in depth plot as the show goes on for a further three episodes but I could be wrong.

This series generally feels like a war, everything is dark the scenarios and scenery are bleak, the conditions of the ships are super cramped much like in real life and the monotony of the suits launching is much like the almost cog-like format of real military vehicles rolling out. There seems to be nothing flashy about the way in which the suits launch (other than the Gundam) and I really like that, usually it's a big song and dance every time a suit launches in Gundam.

It's interesting as Zeon who is generally portrayed as the 'big bad' of much of the original series time line is so far portrayed as just another side of the coin in that they have suffered losses too, their conditions are much the same as the Federations and their side has dealt with a lot of tragedy from the start. I'd almost argue that Zeon seem more victimised this time around as the majority of the soldiers have artificial limbs from previous battles and they're the only ones who focus on the death of their comrades.

I suppose this series is an alternate take on the original story but so far there has been no focus on certain areas of the original series, the only mentions so far are the two factions, I like that though because in your head you can treat this as you like, you can have it as another battle during the original series if you'd like or just treat it as something totally unrelated and standalone.

I think a big stand out part of this episode was the music, it was only for a few short moments but the main character tends to listen to Jazz music, kind of like what you'd expect from Cowboy Bebop in some respects but much faster, now I've seen pretty much every Gundam series and I don't ever remember there being any Jazz or at least a focus on it to this degree. It's a nice change actually and it's become a part of Io's character as he informs his enemies that as soon as they hear Jazz they better run because he's coming for them.

Although there was only one proper battle scene within the episode I felt it was really entertaining, it focused on a number of Federation suits flying into a heavily littered debris field while trying to locate the enemy. What they didn't know was that the enemy consisted of snipers with high powered weaponry. Needless to say the federation suits were totally destroyed save for a few, almost effortlessly at that, it shows what was mentioned in the original series that the Federation were suffering.

Io as a character is quite fresh to the franchise. He is an utter daredevil as he seems to live for the thrill of the battle, he seems to speed through the battlefield with no regard for the debris around him that claimed the lives of some of his comrades during the battles. He's also very sarcastic and quite funny when insulting the music taste of the enemy when stealing their mobile suits. I like his attitude really he seems unafraid to die and almost quite sadistic in his methods, he honestly feels more like a villain at this point than a protagonist.

I think the use of Io flanking the entirety of Zeons forces and jacking a suit after headshoting the pilot with a standard pistol was brutal yet shows again that Io is not your squeaky clean protagonist and this is war, war is hell for every side.

I absolutely adore the designs of the mobile suits in this show, I had actually bought one of the model kits back when it was only Manga because of this. Generally this series just takes existing suits from the original series but tweaks them in such a way that they remain faithful to their classic look but also have these exaggerated features.

What I mean by this is the base of the suit is the same it looks pretty much the same as its original series counterpart but once you begin adding weapons to it it becomes this heightened version of itself, be it by having huge guns, multiple shields or beefy armour. I also like that this series makes the suits feel more like something belonging to the military rather than a kids robot show. the colours seem more akin to military aircraft or machinery and they also have relevant markings, decals and general wear and tear.

If you're familiar with the franchise as a whole you know they are trying to sell models, they always seem to tweak the original Gundams design ever so slightly in order to sell another model of their flagship suit. This time around the lead Gundam actually feels different enough to warrant a new model to me it's so far removed from what it is based on it's quite refreshing.

I think my favourite scene is when the Gundam first launches and we're treated to a first person point of view shot of the Zaku it absolutely decimates, this scene is really great at conveying the power of the Gundam as the way the zaku moves in first person is like a struggling unarmed person scared for their life, something that is never really done in Gundam.

I feel like this was a good entry in the series so far as it did enough differently in the short amount that it had to make it stand out, the soundtrack the animation and the mobile suit designs are all pretty unique to this show, especially in the way that they are matched. At this point however I feel as though this was a show to promote a Manga and some model kits that had already been out for a few years. This is fine but also bitter-sweet because I believe that even if the West gets this series I believe it will end on a cliffhanger for the Manga to finish.

With the Wests track record for bringing over Gundam Manga I feel that unless a group online begin to translate the Manga then Western fans of this series may never really have the experience of finishing this series without looking up a written synopsis online in a few years time, this kind of bums me out if it is indeed the case.

For someone who has never really watched Gundam I would say this series will probably be a nice easy ride to start with if the first episode is anything to go by, I say this because it's self contained while remaining true to the themes of the original series, beautifully animated and has so decently choreographed fight scenes so far.

The short length of this series' episodes is also a huge bonus to someone new to the franchise, it's only roughly 15 minutes an episode so it's not really much to sit yourself down for, this would make it pretty easy to make a decision on before you've used up too much of your time only to find that halfway through you don't enjoy it.

Overall I think this format has been quite beneficial so far, it's a story that usually would only be told in a Manga that the West would never get and perhaps a few models from the series would appear, but there are so many Manga side stories in this franchise, some quite good  and some downright bizzare but this series shows that they can be animated and used to sell more model kits even if they length of the show is quite short.

The thought of this is really exciting to me and I hope Sunrise and Bandai take advantage of this, it really wouldn't hurt them to do so and would be way better to me to have a short series rather than no animated representation at all. I wonder how this series will fare overall when it's over and I wonder if this will perhaps tip the balance for Sunrise and make them more open to trying new things with their franchise.

Your experiences with Video Games: Liam Gardner

This week I wanted to continue with the focus on experiences with video games as I had a lot of fun writing up that fucking essay of a post last time, however I thought about getting others involved in it so that I could get not only a more varied look at other peoples beginnings with video games but also to see how similar they may be to my own and who better to start with than my best friend and forever Co-op partner Liam (who some of you may have met at Gamedays last year!).

I think Liam has been my longest friend ever since we were around 13 years old in high school, I think we first started talking about video games and Dragonball when we met so we were probably a good match from the get go, I was more in to single player games at the time but he convinced me to get an Xbox 360 with Halo 3 and from there we'd play most multiplayer games together.

That's kind of died down a little now as we're both busier with work and things and I've began to focus more on the PS4 and single player games again but we always make time for Halo at the very least, he's probably more in to games than me currently but let's see why that is!

What were your first experiences with video games?

The first time I ever played a game was Alex Kidd in Miracle World on the master system, my memories of it are very vague other than I remember playing it, the first game I remember vividly enjoying and playing was Super Mario All Stars on the SNES the sounds the colours it was all so engrossing to me as a child, I didn't know it then but video games were going to become a major part of my life and I will always have Super Mario on SNES to thank/blame for that.

When do you feel you got in to video games as a hobby?

The cliché answer people seem to always give is that I was playing the game with my parents and it was a bonding experience that stuck with me for life. Its not a bad answer because it was playing games with my Father and Brother that really got me hooked on them, I'd say it was around about the time I got my very own Gameboy Color (lime green is best colour) along with a copy of Pokemon Blue (best version) the hours I spent on that game could no doubt have been used for something 'more productive' but to me as a 7 year old the best use of my time was Pokemon, you could go outside and climb a tree or spend your time recruiting weird new creatures and going on an adventure unmet with what I could achieve in reality.

My brother had a copy of Red which only increased the appeal this sibling competition continues to this day, from the Gameboy colour to the new generation and is a major component of why video games have stuck with me for so long.

What are some of your favourite games and why?

My all time favourite games is something that changes so frequently its hard to pin down.

I'll go ahead and make a list of the top 3 and give my reasons why.

1 : Ocarina of Time - About 10% nostalgia but this game is often labelled as one of if not the greatest of all time and with good reason, playing it again on 3ds  only solidified this choice, the sense of adventure is grand, the characters are all charming and unique and oh god that music, especially that of The Lost Woods.

2: Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

The perfect spy game

The perfect James Bond game

The perfect Metal Gear game

Have you ever eaten a tree frog?

3 : Halo 3

Two words, Custom Games.The reasons for why I love Halo 3 are covered in depth in Lewis' article on the Halo series so click here to find out my reasons in a lot more detail.

What game has the best soundtrack to you and why, do you feel music is important in a game? 

A special soundtrack to me will always be games like Ocarina or Mario 64, listening to the music fills me with a flood of nostalgia I mean how many other games have such great music at their file select screen?

Another song I really enjoy is Saria's song from Ocarina of Time, this song in particular is one track that no matter when I hear it makes me smile because its just such an upbeat track and I feel like Darunia every time I hear it.

Of course my love for Halo is obvious and the music is a huge reason for that the main theme for Halo is up there as one of the most iconic tracks in all of video games that Gregorian chant, the heavy thudding bass, the string section and the ever climbing urgency presented makes it a masterpiece.

Without music in games would people enjoy them as much? no its as simple as that, a good soundtrack doesn't so much as enhance a game it is a core integral part of that games identity 

Would Super Mario Bros be as fondly remembered without Koji Kondo's genius? probably not, you ask anyone to hum the Mario theme and chances are they can and that is proof itself of how important music is to the video game experience.

Most vivid video game memory?

Oh man I can't choose one, I've played too many games and have so many moments its impossible to choose any single occurrence. Some stand out moments for me include finding the hidden stages in Super Mario World, Becoming Adult Link in OoT, The ending D of NieR,Getting the vidmaster achievements with friends in Halo 3, Beating my brother with a single kick in Tekken (He never enjoyed fighters after this) or just the entirety of MGS1 which was a whirlwind of a game both story and game play wise, there are just too many moments to list here.

What are you playing currently?

Xenoblade Chronicles X

Halo 5

Senran Kagura Burst

They couldn't be 3 more different games...

What is the most obscure game or rarest game you own? 

Most obscure is probably the Japanese version of Lost Odyssey I had imported because its a beaut. The rarest game I own is either the boxed copy of Pokemon Stadium 2 or my signed copy of Super Mario 64 by Charles Martinet and MGS HD Collection signed by Hideo Kojima.

What about video game memorabilia

A full scale golden retro lancer from Gears of War 3

a jewel in my memorabilia collection...

Are you as in to video games as you once were ?

There was a period where I was kind of annoyed with the politics surrounding video games

I just wanted to enjoy the worlds people created, the adventures and wonders I could delve into but for a while the focus was on whether or not game X represented community Y appropriately 

I mean look at this shit!

Why focus on this tripe politics and dilute why we even play games in the first place.

Thankfully I tuned out the click-baiting social justice crowd and focused on what actually matters to me, the game.

Favourite game you never beat?

Probably The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past. I'm on the 3rd to last? dungeon of that game and I really need to revisit it.

Physical or digital? 

If it is available then I will always go physical but if I don't have any other option I'll get the digital version if only to support the franchises I enjoy, Such as the Ace Attorney franchise on the DS/3DS.

Was there ever a genre or series of games you were adamant you would not get in to but ended up enjoying?

For me it was Visual Novels. I had Never played a single one until the Nintendo DS and now I love the genre, the Hotel Dusk series is fantastic as is the Zero Escape series. The genre has such rich storytelling and phenomenal characters but are often overlooked by the mainstream which is a shame because they'll never experience the thrill of finding a paperclip...

How do you feel about video games currently?

I'm loving them at the moment, the games I've enjoyed the past year are going back to what made me love them to begin with, they're focusing on the game play and how to wow the player again. Of course there are still the soulless vessels that were once great like the Assassins Creed series to make a point but in general gaming has gotten much better at least for me personally.

Where do you feel video games will go in the future? 

Anywhere but away...

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Mobile Suit Gundam The Origin I: Blue-eyed Casval (OVA: 2015)

This week I move back to the Gundam series with part one of a new OVA series Mobile Suit Gundam The Origin. This OVA is interesting as it is essentially based on a Manga adaptation of the original 1979 television series which was not produced by series creator Yoshiyuki Tomino but Character designer for the original series Yoshikazu Yasuhiko. The reason for this adaptation was to look at the One Year War in a lot more depth by focusing on the reasons the war started, the politics and also the characters themselves. Due to this there are a number of changes to the story in order for it not to be a complete retread such as Mobile Suit designs, characters and plot points.

The Manga also has entire volumes dedicated to certain characters and their perspective, in one case being series antagonist Char Aznable, how he came to be involved with the conflict and his subsequent awakening as a Newtype. This OVA rather than beginning where the Manga does actually decided to use this volume as its basis and tell the story of Char who at the time was known as Casval. Perhaps this decision was made as not to reanimate familiar scenes and focus on what had never been animated before or perhaps it was due to the popularity of the Char character who has been involved heavily in the majority of the Universal Century time line.

Originally this OVA was announced as a four part series with room for more episodes in March of 2014 as part of the Mobile Suit Gundam 35th Anniversary ~ RISE! project along with the final episode of Gundam Unicorn and its release and the announcement of a new television series set after the Universal Century time line by original creator Tomino titled G no Reconguista which aired its final episode a few months ago. Clearly this event was jam packed with great content for fans and while the latter animations were received quite well how does this OVA fair?

The first episode was released in February of 2015 and sits at just over an hour long as opposed to the 45 minute time frame usually seen within the series OVA's and begins with the story of Casvel and his Sister Artesia as they must survive after their father Zeon Deikun's death during a speech for independence from Earth which would soon be known as the precursor to the Principality of Zeon. We soon find out the cause of Deikuns death was actually due to an assassination via poisoning by the Zabi family who would go on to control Zeon during the One Year War.

We soon see the Deikun family ripped apart as they are moved around for their own protection thanks to the loyal Ral family. But as time progresses and the situation worsens the children are taken away from their mother and smuggled back to Earth.

While the focus is very much on the past of these characters there is a brief action sequence set during the One Year War at the beginning of the animation which I believe was done purely to sell more Gunpla model kits as there is only one mobile suit featured during the main focus of the story, although I'm not complaining as the sequence was quite well done and gives a viewer not familiar with the franchise a quick look at why Char is regarded as the Red Comet of Zeon and an Ace pilot.

What I particularly enjoyed about The Origin was that is likes to focus not only on what happened before the conflict but also the roots of a lot of characters and factions motives which are just sort of there in the original series. For example we get to see the roots of the rebellion from the Earth Sphere via the protests riddled throughout the colonies as well as the low morale of those who would join the side of Zeon. We see that they are not just some evil soldiers like they are presented to be in the original series but a group of people who truly believe that they need their independence and not be governed by Earth.

It also makes use of showing the squabbling and betrayals ridden throughout the Zabi family siblings with numerous siblings plotting the others deaths in a bid to gain complete control of Zeon.We even see one of the siblings die early on from a bomb assassination implied to be by his sister, however it is blamed on the Federation and only fuels the growing hatred between the two parties.

While it does paint Zeon supporters a lot more positively it also shows the Federation in a more negative light, especially during the protests by having the use of tanks and other means as scare tactics to quell the problem. This differs from the way they are portrayed in the original series as the saviours and just side of the conflict. This portrayal actually works really well with the way the federation is portrayed in later series such as Zeta Gundam and Unicorn in that there is no 'good' side during a conflict and each has their questionable methods, this is a portrayal of each side I greatly appreciate as it adds some depth to both sides rather than a simple good v evil storyline.

The Animation quality is quite good all round especially in terms of character designs, however unfortunately it is not as spectacular as the previous OVA series Unicorn which is a shame as that only increased the overall quality of the animation in that case, but perhaps there was less budget to work with this time around and we must remember that there are not as many action sequences with robots pulling off crazy moves like in Unicorn.

Thankfully a few of characters voice actors from the original series make a return such as Shūichi Ikeda who reprises the role of Char in the opening sequence. Interestingly before release there were rumours circulating that the majority of voice actors were to be replaced as they were getting on in years and many important characters Seiyuus had unfortunately passed away in recent years, however much like with the latest Dragonball films using as many if the original voice cast as they can this OVA tried to do the same.

In this first episode there was not a huge reason to do this however as Casval and Artesia were still children and therefore used different Seiyuu, but perhaps as the episodes go on and the need to expand into a complete retelling of the series like the Manga goes on to do then there will be more reason to have a returning cast even if it is only the likes of original series protagonist Amuro Ray. With a number of returning characters in the mix generally it was great to see them again and see how they began their paths to wherever they may end up during or after the war but there was one character who pretty much stole the show for me and that was a younger Ramba Ral.

I really enjoyed the portrayal of Ramba Ral, a character who was more or less the first Ace pilot faced by the protagonists in the original series and a loyalist to Char and the Deikuns, Ral was always shown in the original series as an honourable man who enjoyed a battle and not necessarily one who agreed with the majority of Zeons motives. While he died quite early in to the series he was always a fan favourite character so it is great to see him as a more important entity in this OVA as well as a caring and charismatic ally to the Deikuns with one scene involving him going out of his way to retrieve Artesias cat.

While he is a lot more goofy and perhaps even innocent than he is in the series I think that works well, by having him help in the seclusion of the children he quickly becomes a much more serious man and the episode even takes a quick turn into a sort of noir spy thriller with him by having him go undercover in a bar in order to find his soon to be lover Hamon and get her help in smuggling the children to Earth. I sincerely hope we get to see Ral more as the OVA progresses as a reanimated segment of his battle with Amuro would be absolutely fantastic.

Of course the main focus is on the two children and I found Casval to be quite an interesting character with  the way he becomes almost like an adult  as the innocence of childhood is quickly taken away from him, especially when he meets with the Zabi family to show he is not and will never be afraid of the people who killed his father. Already we can see this will be the man to adopt the name Char and work his way up the Zabi ranks to destroy them internally during the end of the One Year War.

But while his innocence is quickly taken away from him his younger sister remains the same, even though I have seen her as an adult and seen her become a more capable character entirely I believe by having her remain innocent at this age it keeps Casval in check and stops him becoming too reckless as we see when he takes control of a mobile suit for the first time and begins picking off the enemy. If it were not for his sister he surely would have continued killing or got everyone else on board killed.
Perhaps this is why he becomes the man known as Char later on and why his  sister becomes Sayla and joins the protagonists in the original series, because without her he loses his way and becomes a character driven purely by revenge only.


Towards the end of the episode there are some very sad scenes which involve the children leaving their mother forever, which Casval understands but Artesia believes will just mean they will see their mother not long after they arrive on Earth, while some may not find this that upsetting I always find I can't deal with any emotional scenes involving young children or animals for whatever reason and this scene got to me a little!

While the episode begins to change Casval the ending is great because it ends on the child like wonder of discovering new things and looking on at something amazing as the children travel to and see Earth for the first time, which I feel works quite well in that it reminds you they are just kids caught up in this whole thing that they never asked for, but to have Casval explain to his sister the reason they left Earth was because it was beautiful until the humans polluted it really does remind you this is the child who will one day take this to an extreme and try to make the earth uninhabitable for humans to they move on to space and evolve as a species.

While I greatly enjoyed this episode there are a few issues that i've seen mentioned online. For example a number of people seem to complain about the popularity of using CGI in action based sequences as it sort of cheapens the look of the animation and is very noticeable. Personally I have never minded it too much but I have not seen many shows or movies that have actually used it, but more recently when I watched the first of the new Berserk movies I found it to be really bad and not suited to the beautiful art style that was in the majority of the film. While in that case it allegedly gets better in the latter films released in the case of this OVA I actually did not mind it's use at all.

I feel that style actually suits the action sequences because it fits with something mechanical and makes them stand out as more than just animated in the same way as humans therefore if it doesn't look as organic in its movements it actually benefits the whole use of something mechanical.

Another issue I've seen pop up is that there really is not enough action in this episode, which I again don't find as an issue but perhaps that's because I know the battles that will come. I understand that the average viewer of a Mecha Anime are expecting over the top battles but I feel like this series was produced more for the long time fan who want to get a deeper understanding of the events and characters of the One Year War. That is why the focus is on these back stories and more of a political drama at times, I honestly think this is fine but we must remember it is only the first episode and with the second approaching soon there may be more action as we progress.

Overall this OVA acts as a nice little start point for the Origin storyline and gives a wealth to expand upon in the next few releases. While it is light on the mecha action it more than makes up for it in terms of character development so I believe it is well worth the watch for any Gundam fan interested in the Universal Century.

But is this OVA a good starting point for someone new to the series? Yes and no, yes in the sense that it is set before anything during UC and does a decent enough job of explaining what is going on but no in the sense that you don't really know where any of this is going if you don't have prior knowledge to the original series. In my opinion I would recommend viewing the 3 compilation films of the original series which cut out a lot of filler and has superior animation quality and then view this OVA.