Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Echo Fighters: My Hot Take

If you couldn't tell from the last post I made, Nintendo unveiled what the latest Super Smash Bros. game will look like on the Switch at E3 this year.  They're calling it Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and it's the perfect title for this game, because they're going all out in bringing back all previous fighters from the series as well as bringing back favorite stages to deliver the ultimate Super Smash Bros. experience!  Best of all, Ridley is finally made a playable character, so as far as I'm concerned, the roster is perfect; any newcomers they add from now on will just be icing on the cake!  That being said, Masahiro Sakurai said that they're mostly focusing on bringing back old stuff, so there might not be as many newcomers this time around.  That being said, there is a new method of creating newcomers which he's calling "Echo Fighters", which are essentially just clone characters, characters identical to other fighters but with slight tweaks to their moveset.  Lucina and Dark Pit are labeled as Echo Fighters, and they introduced a new Echo Fighter in the form of Daisy, whose based on Peach's moveset.  Since it feels like making Echo Fighters wouldn't take as much work compared to a normal, unique fighter, it's possible that we could get other Echo Fighters to meet certain fan demands.

With that in mind, after ruminating a bit, I've come up with some ideas for Echo Fighters I either would like to see or wouldn't mind seeing in Super Smash Bros Ultimate. I should mention upfront that I'm not including Dixie Kong, Dark Samus, or Shadow the Hedgehog/Tails, because I feel they have enough unique attributes going for them to be more than just exact moveset clones of Diddy Kong, Samus, and Sonic respectfully. Same goes for Waluigi and Luigi; despite being an Assist Trophy again, there IS always a possibility that Sakurai could update the game to remove him from the Assist Trophy line-up and make him playable, but if he is, he'd better be unique; much like Wario being too unique to simply be a Mario clone, the same logic applies to Walugi (perhaps even moreso, given how ridiculous and surreal he is).

See my suggestions after the break.

So this happened...

...

Masahiro Sakurai, I take back every bad thing I said about you.  You're the greatest and I love you.

Mini-Review for Velocispider

I just downloaded my second non-Nintendo mobile phone game: Velocispider! Unlike Duke Dashington, this one up-front costs $2.99. There are also in-app purchases, but as far as I can tell, they're only for unlocking all stages right away, stages you can unlock by progressing normally, for $1. Not as bad as I feared, and not a bad deal if you want to get a taste of all the stages without having to beat them all first, but that's up to you to decide.

Anyway, the game is... basically Space Invaders. But you control a cross between a velociraptor and a spider that has a gun on its head. You have to use that gun of yours to defend your precious velocispider eggs from evil mutant sea creatures which, according to the website here, are part of the "Robot Seafood Corporation", the CEO of which wants to eat them. You get three hearts, lose all three and it's Game Over. To defend yourself and your eggs, you have to tilt your phone left and right as you autoshoot what's above you; you can also touch and hold the screen to do a charge attack. All and all, pretty straight-forward stuff.

My only gripe with the game is the controls; they're not bad for what they are and they work just fine, I'm just not a fan of motion controls or anything that uses gyro-sensors or whatever, which forces me to be in a certain position in order to play. With Duke Dashington, I could play sitting down, lying down, being sideways, what have you, but the ideal way to play Velocispider is to sit/stand upright while holding the phone like so. Again, it's not a deal breaker by any means, I just wish I could get comfortable while playing.

But that's ultimately a nitpick, the game is fun as Hell otherwise, and the overall look and designs of the characters is great pixelated fun, especially the design for the Velocispider itself; it's design alone from when I saw it in Indie Pogo was enough to make me look into the game, it's just a really cool/cute design! So yeah, another hardy recommendation from me, as far as mobile games go!

Mini-Review for Duke Dashington Remastered

So after much deliberation (and sharing this game for those unaware of it), I finally downloaded Duke Dashington Remastered on my phone. It's a free download, though it comes with ads; you can remove the ads by paying $1.99, which I did almost immediately. Really, I'm the kind of person who'd rather pay for games upfront than either deal with ads or microtransactions.

As for the game itself, it's pretty simple, honestly; you play the titular Duke Dashinton as he explores various temples to find the legendary treasures within. Thing is, the temples he goes into are always collapsing, so he has to dash his way through them, Wario Land style! Each temple is made up of several single-screen levels where you have 10 seconds to figure out how to progress to the next level. Your only options are to dash left, right, or up, each of which have their own corresponding button on-screen, and typically once you start dashing you won't stop until you either hit something or tap a different direction. It's basically rapid-fire puzzle-solving, in which you need to quickly figure out when and where you need to dash to, while avoiding traps and spikes along the way.

As someone who does not play mobile games (unless they're from Nintendo, and even then I don't play them that often), playing such an action-oriented game that required me to think on my feet and actually focus on what I'm doing is quite the change of pace from what I'm used to out of games on my phone. Even Super Mario Run is pretty laid-back in terms of challenge; with this game, the pressure of clearing a room before the time runs out while trying to figure out what the gimmick of that room was gave me quite the rush. Not to worry, though; if you run out of time or mess up, you almost immediately start off on the same room you died on, and as far as I can tell, there's no lives system in play, so you can try again as many times as you want.

I should probably note that I only know about this game through Indie Pogo from Lowe Bros. Studios, and the similarities to Wario Land, one of my favorite Nintendo series, is what really caught my attention. The fact that it was a mobile game made me hesitant to look into it, but finally getting it made me realize that beneath the swamp of freemium games littered with microtransactions and loot boxes that skimp out on content, there are wholly entertaining games that offer a decent challenge ad reasonable prices. I haven't looked that much into it, but I believe the game is available on iOS, Android, and Google Play, and for those who either play mobile games or are into a more traditional gaming experience from a mobile game, this one gets a hardy recommendation from me!

Quickie: Playtesting Indie Pogo with Lowe Bros. Studioes

I'm working on my next SSB Character Pick of the Day, it's taking longer due to having a particularly busy week, not to mention an even busier weekend ahead, but don't worry, it's still coming.  Until then, I'm going to tell all of you something you need to know (if you like video games).

 

I just spent an hour playing Indie Pogo with the dev team Lowe Bros. Studios, all while chatting with them on Discord! They're really great guys, and it's a REALLY fun game! I'm not even kidding, there's a lot more strategy to it than one would think, and each character has their own strengths and weaknesses to where one character plays completely different from any other, which is not something you'd expect from a fighting game where everyone auto hopes and there's one one attack button!

This game and these guys deserve more recognition. They got lucky having GameXplain play their game and promote their Kickstarter, and I REALLY hope it grows more of a following. Take it from someone who talked directly to them while playing against them, this game is a blast and everyone should check it out!

...Though I guess I ought to tell you where you can learn more. Here's their main website:

Indie Pogo

And their Kickstarter page:

Indie Pogo by Lowe Bros. - Kickstarter

Of course, you can always like them on Facebook

Lowe Bros. Studioes - Home

And go follow them on Twitter here:

Lowe Bros. Studio (@LoweBros) | Twitter

Not sure if this counts as an endorsement or plug (not that I have anything to gain for this game getting popular other than being glad that it's succeeding), but regardless, Indie Pogo is definitely a game to look out for!

SSB Newcomer Pick of the Day #3: Marshal/Tibby

Official artwork of Marshal (left) and Tibby (right).

Hello everyone, sorry this article took so long; free time to work on this was rather short with my schedule, not to mention this one took a bit more research than the other articles, but it's also one that I really wanted to get done and (hopefully) get done right!  Before I get into that, though, I'd like to mention that my Isaac article ended up being more popular than my Ridley one!  Once again, I greatly appreciate everyone who took the time to read it and give feedback!  These articles are somewhat laborious but also a lot of fun to make!  I also hope to shine the spotlight on a character or game series that could use more attention, or help inform people on not only the characters/games I'm talking about, but also what Masahiro Sakurai has stated as far as the Super Smash Bros. series goes.  Hopefully, it'll clear up misconceptions and false statements attributed to him.

In any case, this time we're going to do something a bit different.  Not only is the character(s) in question from another underrated Nintendo series, but we're actually going to talk about two potential characters for the price of one (and maybe more)!  It's Marshal and Tibby from the Rhythm Heaven series (known as Rhythm Paradise for all you Europeans out there), and I'm annoyed that I couldn't even out their images more here, but I did the best with what I know how!  ...Uh, yeah, more info after the break. (and if anyone can help explain how to make these two images the same size and fit within the same space, I could definitely use the help)

SSB Newcomer Pick of the Day #2: Isaac

Smashified Isaac made by colossalcake (Andrew Coleman)

Well I said I'd make this a series, which means there has to be more than one, right?  Got quite a bit of feedback on my Ridley post, which by the way, thank you to everyone who read the whole thing and providing said feedback!  I'm glad it got the reception it did!  Two main things I got criticized for were the whole "Ganondorf is based on Sakurai's father" thing (it's fake, should have been obvious to me honestly) and my ranty tone when trying to argue against Sakurai's points.  Rest assured, I've taken all legitimate criticism into account and will keep it in mind with future characters I cover.  From now on, I'll be sure to verify the validity and accuracy of my sources and I'll try to keep a more neutral tone with what I'm talking about.  After all, there are more than enough false accusations and angry blogs on the Internet; even though my feelings in my Ridley blog were genuine and I wanted to be sincere with it, I think we can all agree to stay classy with this stuff so that we all have a better time here.

But all that's in the past, it's time now for our second Super Smash Bros. potential newcomer!  This time, it's Isaac from the Golden Sun series!  Go beyond the break to see my break-down!

SSB Newcomer Pick of the Day #1: Ridley

Smashified Ridley made by Zesuil (Chris Szczesuil)

Hello all, and welcome to the first in a series I hope to keep going for some time, or at least until the new Super Smash Bros. comes out.  I'm going to be listing a whole bunch of Nintendo characters (as well as other third-party video game characters) and talking about them in a would-be analyst way in terms of who they are, how they'd play, and their chances of being playable in Smash Bros.!  I'm not going to pretend that I know what I'm doing, or that I did any research going into this; most of this stuff I'm just winging and based off of knowledge I've accumulated from this or that resource over the years.  Hopefully you'll be interested enough to hear what I have to say, though.

For our first character, we're going to start things off in a BIG way (though I am LOATHED to use that word when talking about him): it's Ridley from the Metroid series!  See my ramblings after the break!

Super Smash Bros. Newcomer Pick of the Day coming

I don't know how many people read my blog, but in case you couldn't tell from the blog's name, I love Super Smash Bros.!  For me, it's the ultimate love-letter to long-time Nintendo fans (and preferably I'd like to keep it that way and not lose sight of that with certain unwanted addition, i.e. characters who have nothing to do with Nintendo and characters who aren't even from video games).  It's been on my mind a lot recently, what with the announcement of a new installment on the Nintendo Switch, particularly what characters they could add to the series.  Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U had the biggest roster yet, and some say it'll be hard to top, though I could certainly think of some new additions that would either shake up the roster a bit, or even improve it, and I don't just mean bringing back the Ice Climbers!

So here's what I'm going to do: for as long as I have the brain power and dedication able to handle doing this, I'm going to see if I can do one blog post a day detailing potential newcomers for Super Smash Bros. on the Nintendo Switch.  Each entry will go over who the character is, what they can do in Smash Bros., how much I'd like to see them, their actual odds of getting in (based on what I know about the series and its director Masahiro Sakurai), and perhaps a few extra details I feel like adding.

This'll probably be a big mistake, and I'll end up biting off more than I can chew with this, but hopefully it'll be a lot of fun as well.  Stay tuned.

Quickie: Mario Tennis Aces

So a new Mario Tennis game was announced in the form of Mario Tennis Aces:

I already did a massive blog post about what my ideal roster for a Mario spin-off was, but after Super Mario Odyssey, some updates should be noted.  I'm not going to rewrite the whole thing again, instead, I'm just going to do a basic outline which hopefully will be self-explanatory.  With that in mind...

Confirmed
Mario
Luigi
Wario
Waluigi
Donkey Kong

Sure Thing
Peach
Daisy
Yoshi
Bowser

Most likely
Toad
Bowser Jr.
Rosalina

Since they already have models for them from Ultra Smash
Toadette
Boo
Sprixie

Characters who SHOULD be obvious inclusions but might get passed over for who-knows-why
Diddy Kong
Birdo
Cappy
Pauline
Chargin' Chuck

Characters who will probably be included even though I'd hate it if they were
Baby Mario (well, I guess I wouldn't mind as much if it were only him)
Baby Luigi
Baby Peach
Baby Daisy
Baby Rosalina
Dry Bowser
Metal Mario
Pink Gold Peach

Other characters I wouldn't mind seeing
Shy Guy
Koopa Troopa
Koopa Paratroopa
Wiggler
Petey Piranha (doubt it since he's a boss, but still possible)
King Boo
One of the Broodals (most likely Topper and maybe Hariet)
Dixie Kong
Larry Koopa (if any Koopaling makes it in, I hope it's him)
Kamek
Nabbit
Funky Kong
King K. Rool
Dry Bones
Hammer Bro
Monty Mole
Pianta
Noki
Whittle
Tostarenan
New Donker
Shiverian
Boom Boom

Characters who definitely won't be playable in this game but I'd want to see anyway
Donkey Kong Jr.
Foreman Spike
King/Big Bob-omb
Blue Bowser (Bowser's brother from Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels; I like to call him Bluser)
All Seven Koopalings (one or two of them, maybe, but all seven, highly unlikely)
Toadsworth
Professor E. Gadd
Cranky Kong
Mouser
Wart
Tatanga
Captain Syrup
Ashley (from WarioWare)
Stanley the Bugman
Il Piantissimo
The Chimp
The Kings from Super Mario Bros. 3
Mad Scienstein/Dr. Arewo-Shitain

...And that about covers it I think.  Here's hope Nintendo surprises us some more with this game (and GOOD surprises at that).

Mario Spin-Offs: My Ideal Roster

Disclaimer: I originally started this article months ago and have struggled to finish it until recently.  Since then, a lot has changed, and new information has come to light.  I've tried to change what I've written accordingly, but if some spots sound weird or outdated here and there, well, there's your reason.  Apologizes in advance if any of this is confusing.

So I'm playing Mario Tennis for the Nintendo 64 on my Wii U's Virtual Console, and I thought to myself, "There's a nice selection of characters in this game, for its time anyway...  Why can't all Mario spin-offs have rosters like this?" See, it feels like lately Nintendo's been throwing in random "new" characters to their spin-offs while neglecting old favorites; Mario Kart 8 and even it's Deluxe Switch counterpart are the most recent and notorious example. It makes me wonder who decides these things and why they thought people would want to play as Baby Rosalina or Pink Gold Peach of all things... And it's a good thing Link was originally bundled with Tanooki Mario and Cat Peach as DLC for the former, otherwise I would seriously question who at Nintendo thought people would pay extra money for such uninspired characters...

So with that in mind, if I was working at Nintendo, and I was head of whatever group decides what characters should be in a Mario spin-off, who would I pick? Now, obviously, there are some factors that affect who gets chosen or not; some characters are not adequately build for certain spin-off, such as being too big or too small.  Of course, the Mario series has always been fickle when it comes to that sort of thing, but that doesn't mean there are still some unspoken rules for some spin-offs.  Mario Party, for example, is a series where Bowser will never be one of the main playable characters, given that his whole thing in those games is to mess things up for the actual players.  If he IS playable in Mario Party, it's through a special mode or mini-game like in Mario Party 10.  There's also the size of the roster, you can only have so many characters before things start to get overwhelming.  The exception is Mario Baseball games which are build around having lots of characters to build 9-player teams out of (incidentally, I REALLY hope we get a dedicated Mario Baseball game for the Switch, the one on the 3DS game Mario Sports Superstars just feels REALLY lackluster).

So that being said, the characters and roster ideas I mention are going to be games like Mario Kart, Mario Tennis, Mario Golf, that kind of thing.  This will be broken down into 5 sections: "Gold Standard", "Other Favorites", "Playable Generics", "Potential Newcomers", and "Pipe Dreams", and I'll explain what they mean as I go.  Also, this will only pertain to Mario characters, no other Nintendo characters or third/fourth party characters allowed on this list, otherwise this could go on forever.  With all that out of the way, click the break to see what characters I'd have in my ideal Mario spin-off!

Yooka-Laylee - Initial Impressions

So I played Yooka-Laylee for about 2 hours, according to Steam anyway, and I gotta say, I feel pretty overwhelmed... For me, that is. If something's too big or too daunting, I sometimes have difficulty getting motivated to do it all, especially now since my time to play games is so limited. Plus, even though the game emphasizes the whole "explore or expand" thing (which really should be called explore or expand THEN explore, because that's what you're doing regardless), I'm the kind of guy who tries to go for 100% completion, which can be tiring when each world has so many collectables in it. This more than ever makes me miss the Banjo-Kazooie mode; decently sized worlds with just the right amount of collectables and challenges in each of them. Again, this isn't a criticism against the game, it's just how I feel.

Also, yeah, the camera's a bit wonky but not as bad as I was expecting. There ARE some forced perspectives at certain places and my gosh, does it get caught on objects like crazy, it's like I'm bumping around whenever I try to maneuver the camera to how I want it to.

Other than that and some REALLY minor nitpicks, this game isn't bad at all. In fact, I love it! The story had me intrigued, and there's already a mystery element with the book, the Pagies, and Yooka and Laylee's shipwrecked home. The characters are all great, yes, even the minor, incidental ones! I really do feel like each character has their own personality, and each one of them could be on their own personal adventure (though that's not to say I'd want a game focused on each one of them), and the humor is typical Rareware dry, British humor, the kind of humor that would make many people groan but dang it, I just love it! I also want to say, I am LOVING Yooka and Laylee's design, how they're textured, hwo they move, how expressive they can be; already I feel a personal connection with them akin to Banjo and Kazooie! Even characters I didn't think I'd warm up to right away like Trowzer I find myself adoring! Also, some people may take issue with the voice grunting, I didn't mind in the slightest. It's what I've wanted since Banjo-Tooie and I'm glad it's back in full force!

Even though exploring all this space and agonizing to get every single collectable with be tough, I want to pull through just because I love the world this game set up! Thank you, Playtonic Games, for giving me a joy I haven't felt in ages!

Edit: OH, I almost forgot, I didn't know you could switch to a first-person perspective until I accidentally pressted the left control stick once. I had SUCH a difficult time aiming projectiles until that point.  There are other times I performed something I didn't realize I could do, though I can't remember exactly which moves they were.  It's weird, considering the tutorial at the beginning, they'd leave out some extra stuff that could have been helpful to know...

What new character do you want as DLC for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe? - Poll on StrawPoll.com

What new character do you want as DLC for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe? - Poll on StrawPoll.com: What new character do you want as DLC for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe? - Whats your opinion? Vote now!

What I'd like to see for the Nintendo Switch

Man...  What a reveal that was...  We might not be getting any more info on the Nintendo Switch until November, but I can't contain my excitement regardless!  In fact, after a recent YouTube video, I made a MASSIVE list of stuff I want to see out of the Nintendo Switch!  See what I mean after the break (MASSIVE wall of text follows, you've been warned).

Pokemon XY anime - Saw the first episode!

So I just watched the first episode of Pokemon XY, and... I liked it!

Yeah, I wasn't going to write a blog post about this, but since I made a MASSIVE post about it on Facebook, I figure I might as well.  Click the break to read my thoughts...

Actually, no, watch this, and then also click the break the read my thoughts.

NES Classic Edition: The Game Nintendo Missed!

I'm working on my first Wander Over Yonder blog, don't you worry about that, but before that, there's something I want to talk about.  I'm a gamer at heart as well as a cartoon enthusiast, after all, and I'd be remiss if I didn't mention something really cool that just happened!

Nintendo announced a few days ago that they'd be releasing something called the "NES Classic Edition", a console that you can plug into your TV and you can play up to 30 classic Nintendo Entertainment System games!  Learn more about it here:

Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic Edition - Official Site

 

I've seen a lot of people complaining about this news, or not interested, saying it's for kids or people who don't own a Wii U or 3DS.  Personally, I love this idea!  It's a great value for all of these games, especially considering how much some of these cost on the Nintendo eShop.  Besides, as long as there's a TV, you can just plug and play, and there are some REALLY good games in this collection, as well as some overlooked classic and obscure titles!  You can check the site for which titles that were included, but I, for one, think that there are enough popular games to draw people in, and also enough overlooked classics to hopefully introduce people to those classic games!

Besides, this is coming from a guy who got basically the same thing as a gift, only it was for Sega Genesis games!  Having all those games in one place is REALLY convenient, especially if there are games you could just play for hours!  I can only hope Nintendo does the same for SNES, that would REALLY be something!

...That being said, there are some games I were surprised weren't included in this collection, especially given the presence of other games...  I'm going to get into what kinds of games that weren't included that SHOULD be included in this...  Or something else?  Click the break to see what I mean.

 

#SaveWOY Blog Prelude - How I Got into Wander Over Yonder

So, before I actually get into the episode recaps, I figure I'd start out this series by going into how I first discovered Wander Over Yonder, as well as a general overview for potential newbies to the series.  I aim to be informative, since I can't help but go into extreme detail with stuff I really like.  Because of that, I should warn all of you that I tend to talk a LOT when it comes to stuff like this, so prepare for giant walls of text!  I'd also like to apologize for grammatical or syntax errors, or repeating myself, or stuff that doesn't flow right with what I say; I'm not a professional essayist, I just tend to talk in-depth with a lot of things.  I suggest you take some time out of your day if you're interested in what I have to say.

Also, while I want to be general with my overviews, I still can't help but talk about things from my own perspective, so you might find yourself disagreeing with what I have to say about this character or that episode or whatever.  That's fine, though; we don't all have to like the same thing, and differing opinions is what helps make great shows like this anyway.  I'd also like to add, I know SOME behind the scenes details for this show, but not all of it.  Truth be told, even when I was intensely following Wander Over Yonder back when it started, I could barely find anyone to talk to about it, let alone anyone to actually share behind-the-scenes stuff, unlike today, where the SaveWOY movement has brought the fandom and the staff closer than ever!  So keep in mind, I might bring up some things about the show's production, but I don't know all the facts.  I apologize in advance if I get any particular detail wrong.

Alright, with all that out of the way, the prologue for my Wander Over Yonder blogs begins after the break!

#SaveWOY - The Movement to Bring Back Wander Over Yonder

Wow, it's been FOREVER since I last made a post here...  It looks just as abandoned as when I first started this blog.  Then again, I never got that much traffic.

Anyway, I'm going to revive this blog a big, starting with a series of posts relating to the Disney animated show, Wander Over Yonder, by Craig McCracken (creator of The Powerpuff Girls and Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends).  The series was suddenly canceled, right after the staff had already planned out what the overall story would be for season 2 and many episodes were already written out.  Unfortunately, there was a lot left hanging, and set-up for season 3, and they were completely unaware that Disney pulled the plug on them.  Because of this, and because the show's so awesome to begin with, a movement has begun for fans of the series, with the hashtag "SaveWOY" for social media outlets.

I figure I'd do my part by giving my thoughts on the series as a whole, and re-watching every episode of the series.  For some, I'll be giving my initial thoughts, while for others I'll be seeing if my opinions have changed for them.  In the end, I hope my comments on the show will help open up people to it, and maybe even help convince Disney to bring the show back.  Really, if Craig and his team were given just ONE more season, just to tie up the loose ends season 2 left hanging, I'd be satisfied (though I wouldn't mind getting more than that).

I'll be going in the order of when the episodes were produced as opposed to when they aired, since "The Greatest" was meant to be the first episode, "The Picnic" was just meant to be a sneak peek.  I should have it ready within a few days, so please look forward to it!

Nefarious - A New Game Where You Play the Bad Guy

That's right!  Play the villain!  Kidnap princesses!  Outwit the good guys!  Even turn the tables in a boss fight (whereas you're the big guy trying to thwart the little guy jumping around)!  Nefarious, a new game coming for the Wii U, Windows, Mac, and Linux (and currently undergoing voting for Steam Greenlight)!

As you can see, the game is fully animated, almost akin to Wario Land: Shake It! or other such titles.  You play as Crow, a man who prides himself in being a classic villain, as he kidnaps various princesses, each of which unintentionally assist him through various stages, and uses his skills and tricks, including his specially made "power glove", to both escape pursuing good guys and make it back to his lair.  You can even interact with your minions back at Crow's Lair, though most of the management for them is handled by Crow's assistant, Becky.

What I found most notable about this, thought, is that Matthew Taranto, aka TriforceBun, the author and artist of Brawl in the Family is doing the music for the game (as well as another guy named David Levy who I'm not that familiar with)!  He even wrote the main theme, which can be heard on BitF's site and on the Kickstarter page.

...Oh yeah, this is a Kickstarter.  The game needs $50,000 to get funded, and it's almost a fifth of the way there.  Of course, there are also stretch goals, including...

$60,000 - Musical Stage!
$70,000 - Additional Princess!
$80,000 - Hero Rush Mode!
$90,000 - Additional Princess!
$100,000 - New Game+
$110,000 - Additional Princess!
$120,000 - Minion Co-Op Mode!
$130,000 - Local Versus Mode!

For more information about the game, and to back it, visit the Kickstarter page here:

Nefarious by Josh Hano - Kickstarter

...Just so you know, I'm not tied with this game or the production team at all, I just think this is a really cool-looking game that deserves to get made (and NOT just because they're making it for the Wii U).  Besides, I'm a bit tight on money at the moment so I can't really back it that much, so I want to try and support it however I can.  Here's hoping this gets funded!

My Thoughts on The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out of Water trailer

So, if anyone's curious, I'm feeling better now, but man...  I was in some major depression there.  It might take me a while before I can watch any Robin Williams-relates stuff without breaking down...  But I'll get better with time.

So a while back, Nickelodeon announced their intentions of making a new Spongebob Squarepants movie.  My reaction was pretty much the same as everyone else's at the time, that of surprise, exasperation, and apathy.  It's pretty much common knowledge that Spongebob hasn't been any good since the first movie (and when the creator left the show), though at the time, I had no idea how horrible the show had gotten...  After that, this news kind of faded from memory, or at least my memory, until the first trailer came out...  a few weeks ago; I procrastinated on talking about this sorry about that.  The movie will be called "The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out of Water"...  It's almost like the titles both implying that the previous Spongebob Squarepants movie never happened, while also denoting it as a sequel by giving it a subtitle.  Anyway, the trailer itself:

Read what I think of this after the break.