AVGN: Ikari Warriors

[Mozenrath]

I didn't see this posted. Enjoy.

[Jedi-El of Tomorrow]

"They're bad walkers."

Kyle causing James to crack, and spawning in rocks.

Hilarious episode, and I had that cassette. Actually I had all the volumes, nobody was renting them anymore, and my video store had them out with the previously viewed movies for a buck each. Damn I wonder where I put them.

There was one joke that James didn't make. I thought he'd make it with that code he had to put in all the time. But he didn't take a chance.

[Seth Drakin of Monster Crap]

Mar 6, 2013 17:13:26 GMT -5 Jedi-El of Tomorrow said:

"They're bad walkers."

Kyle causing James to crack, and spawning in rocks.

Hilarious episode, and I had that cassette. Actually I had all the volumes, nobody was renting them anymore, and my video store had them out with the previously viewed movies for a buck each. Damn I wonder where I put them.

There was one joke that James didn't make. I thought he'd make it with that code he had to put in all the time. But he didn't take a chance.

You mean ABBA? I do wonder what that band had to do with the game.

By the way, glad that Kyle Justin is back..........I missed him.

[Red Impact]

Most of it was pretty boring, but "Where did their hair go" had me cracking up.

[Spider2024]

Mar 6, 2013 17:21:09 GMT -5 Seth Drakin of Monster Crap said:

Mar 6, 2013 17:13:26 GMT -5 Jedi-El of Tomorrow said:

"They're bad walkers."

Kyle causing James to crack, and spawning in rocks.

Hilarious episode, and I had that cassette. Actually I had all the volumes, nobody was renting them anymore, and my video store had them out with the previously viewed movies for a buck each. Damn I wonder where I put them.

There was one joke that James didn't make. I thought he'd make it with that code he had to put in all the time. But he didn't take a chance.

You mean ABBA? I do wonder what that band had to do with the game.

By the way, glad that Kyle Justin is back..........I missed him.

(after entering the code for the 75th time) "Mamma Mia, here I go again, A B B A."

[Deleted]

Glad Kyle's back. I love how much he uses major and minor 7th chords.

[StuntGranny®]

Really enjoyed this one. I always hated the NES port of this game so very much.

On a side note, I really wish that James and his wife would release another episode of their podcast. I really enjoyed the first one.

[Free Hat]

I'm glad he finally got around to doing another two player game, but unfortunately I didn't find this one as funny as the Battletoads review. It's just not the same without their constant bickering over getting in each other's way.

It is nice to see Kyle again though. The idea that he apparently starved to death behind the Nerd's couch is hilarious to me.

[Mozenrath]

Mar 6, 2013 19:45:38 GMT -5 StuntGranny® said:

Really enjoyed this one. I always hated the NES port of this game so very much.

On a side note, I really wish that James and his wife would release another episode of their podcast. I really enjoyed the first one.

Huh. I have not listened to that. Is it up on his site?

[Kash Flagg]

I guess I'm the only one who doesn't like that Kyle guy.

[stealthamo]

Mar 6, 2013 20:36:50 GMT -5 Kash Flagg said:

I guess I'm the only one who doesn't like that Kyle guy.

Actually, I kinda agree with you, at least for this review. I thought the songs took away from the review and were a major distraction, though I've liked the other AVGN episodes that he has been in.

[wildojinx]

I kind of wish he had covered the second and third games, just because IW II has lots more crazy stuff going on (though he did touch on the unintelligible sounds from victory road briefly).

[DZ: WF Legacy]

Very clever way to bring Kyle back. I like him, but this felt more like a promotion of his music career than a AVGN episode. It dragged a bit after awhile.

I grew up playing Commando on NES, and this game shamelessly ripped it off, right down to the powder-blue suits. I was hoping James would bring that up. But oh well...good to see a new AVGN regardless.

[J is Thunder Justice]

Fun episode but too long.

[Deleted]

Good episode. I liked how laidback this review was.

[andrew8798]

I laughed myself to tears while editing the latest AVGN episode. It was that kind of laugh when you feel your guts tense up and you topple over in pain. That’s how it was. I literally collapsed in front of the computer, wiping tears from my face.

I’d forgotten that a week before, I was sitting in that same place, trying to come up with a script. I was scratching my head, staring at a blank screen. Nothing was coming to mind, other than the same generic game rant. “Look at that?” “I’m stuck in the wall! “What were they thinking?” The verbal inspiration was gone.

The game itself was one I’ve been wanting to do ever since 2006 when the Nerd first became a regular series. The Nerd’s initial hit list included games like Top Gun, Ghostbusters, Fester’s Quest, Dick Tracy, Super Pitfall, Ghosts N’ Goblins, and Ikari Warriors. All NES games that I’ve played when I was a child, that frustrated the hell out of me. Over the years, I’ve been completing that list.

Now that I’ve finally gotten around to Ikari Warriors, I had trouble writing something that was fresh. Had I reviewed this game earlier, it wouldn’t have been a problem. But now, the formula was wearing old, and knowing that so many people are going to be watching, makes it even tougher. If only I could make it feel original again, and go back to the past…

So I called an old friend, none other than the Nerd’s “guitar guy”. I wrote Kyle into the script. The script still sucked, but I had good faith that he would be able to ad-lib and improve on my mediocrity. Also, with Mike in the room filming and suggesting ideas, it helped fuel the creative process. The songs Kyle sang were improvised entirely without any rehearsing. It was so spontaneous that doing another take only resulted in a different song. That’s why you see me laughing. There’s no other takes to use. It was probably the most improvisational AVGN video since Spiderman.

Meanwhile, the AVGN Movie went on halt. Anytime I work on something different, people are waiting on me for instructions. I can’t do two things at once, especially when both require so much focus. That’s why I had to finish this episode as quickly as possible. It felt just like the old days when I had deadlines. Since this video was so improvisational, it was a lot harder to edit. I’d have to watch through hours of footage, just to figure out how to assemble it all, and give it a nice flow. While editing, I saw the sun rise many times. Smoothing out the audio transitions, fixing the color, making revisions. It was the same old process that I’m so familiar with. My wrists hurt, my eyeballs felt like they were burning out of my skull. That’s the feeling all us editors, filmmakers, web producers and anyone with an “abnormal” job all must feel.

That’s when the laughter kicked in. Full force! Maybe the exhaustion made me delirious. I asked myself, did we lose our minds? What kind of video did we just make? But that’s no different from when I started the Nerd. I didn’t stop and think about what I was doing. I just did it. Is it funny? That’s up for the internet to decide. We all thought so, and we hope anyone can at least get a laugh out of it, and feel like you’re in the room hanging out with us. Enjoy it, because now I need to go back into hibernation and work on the AVGN Movie. (That doesn’t mean not to expect another episode. More will come.)

cinemassacre.com/2013/03/06/notes-about-avgn-episode-110/

[Mozenrath]

Incidentally, Kyle Justin also played Spider-Man.

[mizerable]

I thought the songs were okay. It felt like a bad Adam Sandler impersoation as a means of making the other person laugh. That seems like the kind of thing I would do as a kid when playing a pain in the ass game.

People always assume rifftracks are for movies, but back in the day when you paid $5 for a shitty rental game at Blockbuster, it was always fun to have a friend over and just rip on the terrible shit as you're playing it.

Ikari Warriors is a pain in the ass. He's not kidding when he says the speed of the game is shit and if you don't know the password, you're as good as screwed.

As I was watching, I thought to myself at least Ikari Warriors doesn't have the awful cover art that it's sequel Ironsword had, before I realized I was thinking of Wizards and Warriors, not Ikari Warriors. I wonder if he'll ever review those games?

[Glitch]

Could have used less singing. It worked in certain parts(like singing the game's ending dialogue to the avgn theme), but it got grating after a while.
It wasn't a bad episode, but would have worked better at 15 minutes rather than 20.
Also, funny how I didn't notice how James' frown takes up half his face. XD

[nate5054]

I'm still not convinced this game had an ending. Me and a few friends of mine must have played this game for 8 hours straight and it never ended.