The Video Game/Movie Review Blog

Well, this has been a long time coming, but I've put this off for long enough. I wanted to see if I could bring myself to get past the point I was at in this without completely getting ragey and dropping the game. I am sorry to say that I was enjoying the game, until one specific point, which I could not get past, and after trying many strategies, including looking online, I could not get past the boss I was stuck at, so I am dropping this game. Now, I think that this game is totally fine, and think that there is a lot of redeeming value to it, especially in the story and character interactions. The story is very sweeping, like you'd expect from a JRPG. It involves a bunch of titans that live in the clouds, acting as the continents of the world, known as Alrest, and the story focuses on a young salvager named Rex, who ends up finding a mythical sentient blade known as the Aegis, although her human avatar usually prefers to go by the name Pyra. The Aegis is being sought out by a...

Getting back into the monster movies after a little detour yesterday, I remembered liking this film when I last watched it, and on a rewatch, it still proved to be extremely fun. So, let's get right into this one. The story starts with a mysterious egg washing up on the shores of Japan, and immediately, a corporation takes ownership of it and wants to build a theme park around it. However, this egg is actually that of the giant moth creature from a place called Infant Island known as Mothra, and two of its ambassadors, called the Shobijin, ask the corporation to return it to the island. As can be expected, the corporation is greedy and refuses, which causes those from Infant Island to lose faith in Japan. This only gets worse as Godzilla turns up once again to terrorize Japan, forcing a group of reporters to beg the islanders for Mothra's help in defeating Godzilla. After an initial refusal, the islanders agree and Mothra goes off to fight Godzilla. The story, both from the mon...

Well, this was an interesting movie. I have a lot of mixed feelings on this one, so let's talk about that. Based on the famous horror video game of the same name, Five Nights at Freddy's is about a disgraced security guard named Mike Schmidt, played by Josh Hutcherson, who is urged by his career counselor to take a job as a security guard for the now defunct pizzeria/arcade, Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria, to help provide for himself and his younger sister, Abby. Sounds fairly similar to the plot of the game, but then the movie decides to do its own thing while also playing with the mythos established in future games. There is a subplot where Mike is trying to remember who took his younger brother, Garrett, in an incident that happened when he was around 12. Honestly, this subplot was kind of dull and to me, it really distracted from the horror elements. I don't mind a good mystery, but this wasn't a good mystery. It just kind of consists of Mike having the same dream ov...

Right from the get go, you can probably guess this movie is going to be ridiculous and corny from the title alone. Well, I am pleased to say that you would be right. For Godzilla's return to the big screen after seven years, the resulting film does not take itself seriously at all, but for the Godzilla series at this time, I think that is a good thing. The story basically focuses on Godzilla coming back to Japan while also focusing on a pharmaceutical company trying to boost ratings by exploring the mysterious Faro Island to find a giant evil spirit, which turns out to be King Kong. Once both monsters have their opening scenes out of the way, they just kind of fight for the rest of the movke, and it is hilarious. I love watching them fight because of how cheesy and ridiculous it is. It's literally two guys in suits punching each other and doing silly stunts in the process. A particular highlight for me is when King Kong shoves a tree down Godzilla's throat, which is as ridi...

Well, this certainly was a movie. I've never been a particular fan of this film, but rewatching it for this review made me realize how utterly pointless it was. So, this was released about a year after the original Godzilla film, and, honestly, you can tell. I'm assuming that Toho wanted to capitalize on the success of Godzilla and so quickly rushed a sequel, and...this is what we got. The plot focuses on a couple of pilots, Tsukioka and Kobayashi, who encounter what appears to be Godzilla while helping a fishing company search for the best places to fish. Turns out, there was another Godzilla, and he's been fighting against an Ankylosaurus-like creature called Anguirus. Death and destruction follow, as can be expected. Now, unlike most future Godzilla films where the monster fights are entertaining and campy, this fight is kind of boring. It literally looks like a kid hitting two action figures together because that's how fighting works, right? Plus, the fight is over ...

Hey everyone! It's been a couple months. I'm at a crossroads on my Switch Adventures series after running into a little trouble in Xenoblade Chronicles 2, so I'm not sure what will happen with that quite yet, but in the meantime, I have another lengthy review block that I have wanted to do for awhile, and that is the Godzilla series, which is the longest running sci-fi series to date, I believe. So, this will obviously take awhile, but it should be enjoyable. This movie's plot is both simple yet says a lot at the same time. Where most monster movies are just about the destruction, and believe me, destruction is very much present in this film, this movie focuses more on the devastation that comes in Godzilla's wake. Basically, after three Japanese ships sink due to...something, the Japanese government decides to research the incidents. It turns out that the culprit is an irradiated dinosaur known as Godzilla by the locals of a nearby island called Odo Island, who is ...

So, an explanation on why I'm picking this up again instead of continuing Switch Adventures. Switch Adventures is merely on hiatus and I wanted to do something different for a change, and so I am reviewing more of the Star Trek franchise for your enjoyment. Today, I have three episodes to discuss, so I hope this ends up being a fun read for you! The first episode I watched was my personal favorite of the three, which is called A Piece of the Action. The idea behind this episode is Kirk, Spock, and McCoy travel to a planet that hadn't been visited by anyone from the Federation for 100 years. When they arrive, they find it to be basically the set of an old style gangster movie, except literally the entire planet is 1920s-style gangsters constantly taking hits out on each other. The two main bosses, Bela Oxmyx and Jojo Krako, try to get the Enterprise crew to supply their gangs with futuristic weapons to be able to take full control of the planet. Well, this leads to a lot of hila...

This was...certainly a real game I played. I mean, I went into this knowing people didn't like it, and that it has a customizable avatar who is one of the playable characters in the game. After playing this, well, I do have a couple thoughts. The story was really confusing, and I wasn't really able to follow it at times. I guess Dr. Eggman took over the world with the help of an edgelord jackal named Infinite, and they use that ruby from Sonic Mania to defeat Sonic. So, that's where the customizable avatar comes into play, as a rookie who help rescue Sonic from Eggman's clutched. Also, I guess Classic Sonic is also part of the game as well because reasons. It just felt like there were very surface level plot points, and looking at what the initial trailers promised with a darker and deeper story, well, it obviously didn't deliver. The gameplay was also a mixed bag. You play as Modern Sonic, Classic Sonic, and your custom avatar character. Easily the worst of these c...

This was...definitely a game. I know that when I say things like this, that means I'm about to go negative, and in this case, that's not really true. I do have complicated feelings on this game, but at the same time, it was an enjoyable experience, so hopefully you get something out of this review. The story isn't anything to write home about. I mean, it's a Mario game. Mario has to save Peach from Bowser's newest scheme, which in this case is marrying her, which I think many Mario fans were wondering why he didn't think of this as a plan earlier. I mean, even The Super Mario Bros Movie had it as a plot point so it was kind of obvious motivation for him. Regardless of my random rambling there, the gameplay is where this game really shines, as can be expected from a Mario game. It plays like a modernized version of Super Mario 64 and Sunshine (more on those in later reviews), where your goal is to traverse a world and collect plot coupons, in this case, Power Moo...

First things first, this game has the honor of being the first Sonic game I have ever finished, so that's a milestone for me (despite having not played much Sonic in my lifetime.) Now, onto the review itself. This game, first off, blew me away with its retro visuals, looking like the classic Sonic games from the 90s, but a little bit more cleaned up and with smoother animations. I know visuals are only a small part of the presentation, but I felt I should acknowledge the amount of work that went into this looking as faithful to the original games as possible. The story isn't much to write home about. From what I gather, it's something about Dr. Eggman getting a strange ruby that makes his robots stronger and gives Sonic fans a 'best of' tour of the classic Sonic levels as well as a couple new ones thrown in for good measure. Regardless, it's serviceable in getting you from point A to point B. As for the gameplay itself, this is, once again, a Classic 2D Sonic ga...

Hello again after an extended hiatus. I have finally decided to return to the world of reviewing for a new series, obviously, this series is called Switch Adventures. The idea behind this is that I will be reviewing games that are playable on the Switch, regardless of if they were originally for the console or not. And what better game to review first than the critically acclaimed launch title, Breath of the Wild? So, first off, is the story, which, compared to other previous Zelda games, is pretty open ended and a little shallow compared to the previous games. Now, that isn't to say it's bad, it's just a unique way to tell a story, where you start out waking up without any memories and have to explore the world of Hyrule to find out what happened and what you need to do to save the world from the evils of the Calamity Ganon. I enjoyed this way of storytelling in that it allowed me to explore the world at my own pace and didn't interfere with that exploration too much. ...

Okay, now I will admit I was very curious about this one, because I had never seen it before. I am aware that Paul Verhoeven, the director, made a career in the 80s and 90s out of violent and completely bonkers science fiction films, but I still wasn't sure what to expect all the same. I have to say that the praise this film got was well deserved. The story focuses on Alex Murphy, played by Peter Weller, a Detroit police officer who ends up getting killed by the criminal Clarence Boddicker, played by Kurtwood Smith. Despite this, a mega corporation known as OCP rebuilds Murphy as the robotic law enforcement officer known as Robocop, minus his memories of who he was previously. Well, that all changes when he begins to take steps to solving his own murder. As can be seen, it's a simple premise, but one that holds lots of promise. I liked seeing Murphy established with just a single scene before they transition rather violently, because yes, this movie is extremely violent, into h...

How do I even start with this movie? It was definitely something. I feel that it was a lot more popular in 1987 than it would be today. Not to say it doesn't have merit but, well, not all of this film has aged too well at the same time. The story focuses on a group of soldiers, led by Arnold Schwarzenegger, who embark on a rescue mission somewhere in Central America. Everything seems like a typical rough and tumble action film, minus the appearance of hanging and skinned human bodies, but things go into overdrive once one of the soldiers ends up getting killed by an unknown creature, a creature who is systematically hunting and killing every member of the party for sport. As you can tell, despite the sci-fi bent, this is a military action film first and foremost, and with that comes a lot of testosterone, and a bit of toxic masculinity for good measure. Some of the jokes and comments that the characters say to each other definitely wouldn't fly in today's world, with a lot ...

How do you follow up on what is one of the best sci-fi horror films of all time? It seems like that would be a lofty goal, and yet, with this film, that goal was very much reached. Aliens is definitely a bigger and better followup to a film that didn't appear to need it. The story follows the last surviving member of the Nostromo's crew, Ellen Ripley, played by Sigourney Weaver, who wakes up from cryostasis over fifty years  after the Nostromo massacre. She is then almost immediately roped into a rescue mission at the planet where the original alien was discovered, now a human colony with over sixty families living there. To say that it's in a bad state when Ripley and the military arrive is an understatement, although a young girl named Newt, played by Carrie Henn, is found as the sole survivor. Unfortunately, the rest of the colony is crawling with aliens, and if you thought one was just bad, wait until you see several. This film definitely leans more into action than the...

Before I start this review, I'm going to be perfectly honest upfront, because I absolutely LOVE the Terminator franchise. The concept is cool, the visual effects and action have always been fantastic, and I believe each of the films, even the not-so-good ones, brings something new to the table. But, as this is a popular franchise, it had to start out strong, didn't it? So let's look at what this first installment is all about. The story focuses on a young woman named Sarah Connor, played by Linda Hamilton, who is being hunted by a humanoid machine known as a terminator, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger. The reason she is being hunted is due to her being the mother of John Connor, the leader of the resistance in a future war where all machinery goes rogue and attempts to wipe out humanity, controlled by an artificial intelligence known as Skynet. But she is not alone, in addition to Skynet sending back a terminator to win the war before it begins, John sends one of his own so...

This definitely was a movie. There is a lot to discuss with this one, as, well, it's Blade Runner and it kind of merits discussion, but still, I'll try to keep this review as concise as possible. This movie had a lot happening in its nearly 2 hour runtime (for this review, I watched The Final Cut, seen by many as the best version of the film), and so the plot is kind of complicated. Basically, the story takes place in 2019 and follows a former Blade Runner, which is a police officer assigned to kill (or as they like to call it, retire) humanoid robots known as replicants should they go rogue. This Blade Runner's name is Rick Deckard, played by Harrison Ford, who is brought out of retirement to retire four rogue replicants, led by a man named Roy Batty, played by Rutger Hauer. It seems like a simple premise on the surface, but this isn't your typical neo-noir film. This film really is there to comment on the nature of humanity and what makes somebody human. Replicants lo...

So, where did this film come from and what is it part of? Well, I decided, since I did a fantasy watchthrough a few months back, that I should do another one for sci-fi films, and thus this happened. I also want to take the time to announce that I will be doing a group of reviews focusing on the Mega Man and Final Fantasy games, because I have been a fan of both of those series for a time, so keep an eye out for those as well. So, Alien, what can I say about it that hasn't already been said? This film was and still is quite revolutionary. It was billed as a haunted house film in space, and wow, does it deliver. I have only seen this film once before and it has been years since then, so I went into this not remembering the subtleties that went into this story, and that is really where this film shines. So, obviously, the plot focuses on a group of 'space truckers' who are the crew of the cargo ship Nostromo, and they encounter an odd signal from a nearby planet. When they go...

When I first learned that Nintendo was doing an animated movie with the help of Illumination, I was both excited and skeptical. I was excited because maybe it could wash the taste of the 1993 film out of the mouths of audiences, but nervous because Illumination wasn't known for quality films. When I saw the first trailer, I was hyped, and so, for all of you, I am going to be doing a day one review of a film I have waited my entire life to see on the big screen. So, the story follows the brothers Mario and Luigi, voiced by Chris Pratt and Charlie Day, who end up being transported to the Mushroom Kingdom and Dark Realm respectively after finding an odd pipe underneath Brooklyn. Luigi, unfortunately, gets captured by the evil Bowser, voiced by Jack Black, who wants to take over the universe. Mario therefore goes on a quest to stop Bowser and save his brother, with the help of many characters including Princess Peach, voiced by Anya Taylor-Joy, Toad, voiced by Keegan Michael-Key, and D...

Alright. Today is a big one with four episodes to cover, and the majority are ones I like, so without further ado, let's just jump right in. The first episode I watched was called Obsession, and it is about Captain Kirk encountering a cloud-like alien that had previously killed the majority of the crew, including the captain, of the starship Farragut, where he served as a lieutenant on his first deep space mission. This episode is a little strange as it was written as if it was a Moby Dick style story with Kirk doing anything he possibly can to kill the cloud creature. But where Star Trek normally tries to show every alien race as sympathetic in some way, this cloud creature is just a killer and the episode ends with the Enterprise crew successfully destroying it, so even the Moby Dick analogy falls apart because Kirk was right the whole time. It's a fine sci-fi episode, but I would have liked to see the cloud have some sympathetic traits or have it be a tragic villain, so as a...

Alright. Just one episode today due to having a busier day, but it's still something regardless. Today's episode was The Deadly Years. In it, Kirk and the crew encounter a planet where all of the members of a Federation research team have prematurely aged rapidly and have died off as a result. This unfortunately ends up getting transmitted to Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and Scotty. The episode mainly focuses on the characters getting more old and senile as their physical bodies and their minds rapidly deteriorate, which I thought was well written. Regardless, I didn't really care for the episode, though, as it just kind of dragged, and most of it was about Kirk getting to the point where he can't command the Enterprise anymore because of his mental deterioration, which was fine, but, I don't know. The episode just didn't interest me. Again, this is a fine episode, just not one that stands out. Overall, this episode does what it was intended to do. It tells a story of ra...

Okay, it seems like I'm going to be doing two episodes a day for the time being, but we'll see what happens. Regardless, here are the next two episodes I watched. The first one I watched was called Journey to Babel. Although you would think that the setup, about a bunch of Federation delegates, including the Vulcan ambassador Sarek, who is Spock's father, traveling aboard the Enterprise to the planet Babel to discuss a new planet's induction into the Federation would lead to a more political thriller type episode, well, it doesn't. There are some elements of sabotage among the delegates, including a murder and an attempt on Captain Kirk's life, but what really stands out is the focus on Spock and Sarek's relationship. Sarek has been having heart problems, and only a blood transfusion from Spock during heart surgery will be able to save him. Spock has to choose between duty and his father, and while he is forced into saving his father, it is eventually shown ...

Guess who's back? It's me! I was kind of working through many things and trying to figure out how I wanted to do this, but I decided to start doing daily reviews of Star Trek in the leadup to another major block of reviews I have planned at an unspecified date within the next few months. Anyways, for now, it's back to the Original Series of Star Trek we go to pick up where I left off a long time ago. The first episode I watched is I, Mudd, and yes, it does indeed feature Harry Mudd from the season 1 episode Mudd's Women. This one is arguably my favorite Mudd episode, at least until Rainn Wilson portrayed him in Discovery, but I'll get to that much later. This episode focuses on Harry Mudd being marooned on a planet of androids who serve his every whim and he has convinced them to help him take over the Enterprise because he is bored with having everything come to him so easily. But, the androids just want the Enterprise for themselves so they can...help people and b...