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Post by Mandarin Dessert Version 0 on Jan 20, 2021 1:20:26 GMT -5
Let us return to Camp Crystal Lake and hopefully don't get lost navigating it when James & Mike play Friday The 13th: The Game: -Again, they don't really mention which version they play but considering how the controller (that we see in some shots) looks and Mike mentioning that James should hit the X button, I am certain that they play this game via the Sony Playstation 4. -As James later describes it, this is really one of the most perfect slasher games ever, either playing as a camp counselor trying to escape getting killed by Jason or as Jason trying to kill the counselors in a semi-open environment with the camp. The only thing I would find annoying is that you have to sit out the gaming session if you get killed early in the 20-minute round and can only change perspectives to other players. Sure, there is the caveat of coming back as Tommy Jarvis but if that doesn't help, you just sit around watching other people play the game and how lame is that?... -Well, of course they would say that this is far better than the NES Friday The 13th game. -"Stalker" sounds like an interesting game that James played with his friends as kids and it kinda fits James's interests to a tee. Thankfully, he didn't turn out to be a real-life Jason after that. -Would you just stop hitting the darn camera button, James! -Oh, that's actually a good strategy for building up stamina, standing still, even while Jason is coming for you. -Perhaps the only game where wearing a sweater is helpful (OK that and giving the hamster a tiny sweater in Day Of The Tentacle). -Overall, an enjoyable video again not so much for the discussions but for watching the two of them play an intense game.
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Post by Mandarin Dessert Version 0 on Jan 21, 2021 1:04:17 GMT -5
Well, as a hatchet-swinging, hockey mask-wearing dude you don't get much love, so it's only natural that James & Mike help this guy get his love back when they play Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti for the Famicom: -This is an entry in the Splatterhouse series, coming out after the first Splatterhouse game (that James & Mike played a long time ago for the TurboGrafx-16), which was only released in Japan and is notable for its anime-esque, super-deformed style which makes it look like the odd man out in the Splatterhouse series. -Sorry, Dracula and Mummies, but when I want to see dancing in a video game, I'd rather play a Shantae video game. -Like that after finishing every stage, your life meter automatically gets another bar which makes the game a bit fairer down the line. In fact, this might be the fairest of all the Splatterhouse games that James & Mike played (considering that they actually beat this game). -So, Raleigh's sewer monster is actually several thousand worms smushed together forming a blob creature? How disappointing. Compared to that, I found the shoebill stork story and how the bird looks more interesting (especially since while James is showing Mike the bird on his phone, he gets attacked one last time and gets hit. I admit, I would have loved to see their reaction looking up realizing that the bird caused them to die ). -Oh my, James comparing the alien chestburst to a real-life c-section. Though he does have a point that the makers of Alien had to get their inspiration from somewhere and a c-section makes more sense than anything else. We also learn that James prefers not to look away from creepy, ugly, vomit-inducing etc. stuff because he rather wants to face it head-on. -Love that the stages are parodying several horror movies (you get The Fly, Friday The 13th, Alien etc.). It also brings up the interesting topic of where they shot the Camp Crystal Lake scenes for the Friday The 13th movie. -It is kinda disappointing that the final boss is "only" a giant pumpkin floating around. I would have preferred a more...grander scale boss compared to that. -I am wondering if it is better when the ending turns out to have been a dream all along...or a movie shoot all along? And always remember....winners don't use drugs! -A very good episode with a hilarious-looking game and some entertaining discussions by James & Mike (especially about the blob monster and the c-section part).
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Post by Mandarin Dessert Version 0 on Jan 22, 2021 1:11:55 GMT -5
For those with fidgety nerves it would be better if you sit this one out when James & Mike play Ghost House for the Sega Master System: -Wow, even taking into account the US Mega Man box art and the PS2 Super Bust-A-Move cover, this one ranks probably in my Top 10 of worst game covers I have ever seen. I won't even spoil it here, just look for yourself.
-I admit that I am not that familiar with the Master System so I am confused: did it use both cartridges and cards or was it really a card-based system all along?
-*checking, checking*...Nope, turns out that this was indeed the last Master System game they featured on the show despite them saying here that they should be checking out more Master System games.
-Love that the focus, when they show the instruction manual, is on the German language part (I guess because the diagram they want to show is on there). And I agree that this sounds like a very confusing manual. I find it neat though that you can use a Genesis controller to play Master System games (knew about the whole Atari deal but didn't know about how that controller swapping is also possible within the Sega library).
-OK, you have to defeat five Draculas but four of them are dummy Draculas (i.e. you have to beat four dopplegangers before getting to the real Dracula) and the best way to do it is by stunning Dracula through hitting a ceiling light...which you can only do five times before all the lights become ineffective and you have to activate it when Dracula is in his human form...whenever he feels like it since there is no rhyme or reason when he turns into his non-bat appearance. Definitely can see the frustration in this.
-I would agree that bats might be the most common enemies in at least the 1980s/1990s era of video games...but here they are just too much!
-Basically most of the video is seeing James & Mike getting increasingly frustrated at this game and come to the conclusion that it is only marginally better than something like Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde for the NES due to your punch actually killing enemies, everything looks like it should (i.e. making it clear what are enemies and what not) although the graphics in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde might be slightly better.
-"You are open for attack when you are in door?!"
-Overall, another good video with the fun factor being mostly in watching James & Mike trying to figure out this game and getting increasingly annoyed with it.
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Post by Mandarin Dessert Version 0 on Jan 23, 2021 4:20:46 GMT -5
What a horrible day to take some time into finding Dracula's belongings as James & Mike play Castlevania II: Simon's Quest for the NES: -DING, DING, DING! We have a new winner! This episode became the new longest J&MM episode up to that point with 1 hour 5 minutes of runtime, beating the previous record holder, the Battletoads video with Bootsy, by about five minutes. And we are still away from some episodes that beat even this record.
-Of course, everyone familiar with James Rolfe knows that this is the game that everything started with. It was the first episode of the Angry Video Game Nerd released back in 2006 when it was just a voiceover by James over footage from the game (although it was actually recorded in 2004 already). And everything that followed rolled from there. I am kinda thinking about, considering that this year is technically the 15th anniversary of the first AVGN episode being uploaded to YT (sure, the episode was available before that if you bought it on a film compilation tape with other short films by James Rolfe, but I reckon most of us know the show through the Youtube uploads), of doing a "Rewatching All AVGN Episodes" thread starting in April. I will be still doing J&MM episodes by this time but I figure since the first AVGN episodes are still rather short, I can still put them in.
-This is actually a sort of belated Thank You by James to Mike since Mike helped James years ago in playing The Legend Of Zelda II: The Adventure Of Link to get the footage for the AVGN episode. The reason why James decided to do so at this particular point was because in this year (2017), Mike did livestreams of beating Castlevania I and III for the NES so James thought now might be a good time to help Mike play through Castlevania II.
-Although James doesn't really remember whether it is or not, I would find it really neat if they did indeed played the same cartridge that he used in 2004 for his first AVGN episode. We also learn that Castlevania II was the first game James bought with his own money and for that alone the game holds a certain nostalgic value for him even if it is very flawed. Also, he beat it with a password at first that gave him all the items so he could just go straight to Dracula (although he beat it later fairly) and Mike played it up to a certain point but then found out that he much rather play I or III than this.
-Of course, they go into the terrible translations that plague this game with a special focus on: "Don't Look Into The Death Star Or You Will Die." They actually show a link to a really neat website that goes into detail about all the text that comes up in this game and how the various translations came to be and what the original meaning behind each text is. I wonder if that site still functions.
-The Game Atlas? Now that's one of the guide books Nintendo put out that I don't remember seeing in stores here in Germany (although I did have the NES, SNES and Super Game Boy ones). And yeah, I can follow James by both the Game Atlas and the Nintendo Power maps for this game are completely useless.
-The holy water sound effect...yeah, it really grates on your nerves after a while. And to think that you have to do this to find the trap blocks...*sigh*.
-Love that James actually has a shirt with the sentence that is, perhaps, the most associated with this game: "What A Horrible Night To Have A Curse". I don't know whether there are any games that did worse day/night cycles than this one but it has to be at the lower end (perhaps it would have been better if they used a day/night cycle like in the first Shantae game for the Game Boy Color). At least the game doesn't put you at the beginning of a section whenever you have this transition.
-It does kinda feel unfinished given that some mansions have bosses (that you can simply walk under) and others don't. As James said, either have all the mansions have bosses or don't so it has a theme at least. Doing it half-half like that just feels weird.
-Interesting trivia to learn here about the two castles that inspired Bram Stoker for Dracula (cannot remember their names though) with Mike wanting to visit them someday given his Romanian lineage.
-Also, if you wanted all the trivia you ever could ask for about Dracula's ring and cape in the movies, this is the video to go to. Including getting a lesson in how to correctly pronounce Bela Lugosi's name.
-Of all the mistranslations in the game, I think I like how consequent they were in whenever you get an item it says "possess" correctly but when you get a Dracula item it says "prossess".
-Yeah, some of the stuff in this game is almost impossible to figure out without a guide like kneeling at the lake with a blue crystal to open a passage or dropping garlic in the cemetary to make a merchant appear.
-I really love James's sly glee when he wants Mike to guess how to defeat the grim reaper...by just walking under him. Although I do learn that beating the bosses in general allows you to get certain attack items (also, I think the "walking under a boss" is a common theme in this game because you can also walk past the Phanto-esque boss in a later mansion).
-Oh my, I bet Mike really would have beat the couch into oblivion if that day/night cycle transition caused him to either start the platforming section again or dying.
-The Wicked Ditch, flying monkey enemies, getting taken away by a tornado at one point...yep, it seems the designers or the translators were big Wizard Of Oz fans.
-Still very weird that the last mansion (or is that Dracula's castle) has no enemies except Dracula.
-I feel the same way about Dracula's design in this game. He does look more like a grim reaper than actual Dracula. Also turns out either the fire or the golden knife kills him pretty swiftly, making him one of the easiest end bosses on the NES.
-Really love their discussion about the different endings in the game and how someone screwed them up severely. Personally, after some recent experience with the Shantae series as well as River City Girls, I hate it when you beat a game normally and get a bad or downer ending for it. I can understand getting a really good ending when you do really well, but for playing a game the normal way you should still get a decent ending that has some good in it. That was especially the case with River City Girls where I felt that I had wasted all the time I input in the game for one of the most unsatisfying endings I have ever seen.
-"Your blood and sweat will give magic and happiness to the people."...umm, ok.
-To conclude, even though it is a very long video, this is definitely in my Top 10 J&MM episodes. A great intense look into the game with fun discussions, hilarious exchanges and interesting trivia. For me personally, the long runtime is really worth it.
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Post by Mandarin Dessert Version 0 on Jan 24, 2021 0:40:29 GMT -5
A rarity those days: a 2-for-1 special! First up, let's experience Castlevania in a different way when James & Mike play Simon's Destiny for the PC: -What we have here is a (at the time) unfinished game combining Castlevania and DOOM as in the creator recreated Castlevania I for the NES as an FPS in a DOOM-like style. I have to say that it looks really good and really faithful to the original game though, not being a big fan of FPSs, I cannot see myself playing this. -Indeed, like a moth to a flame, whenever James finds candles, he has to whip them. Although this being an FPS, it is better here to use the secondary projectile weapons. -Interesting to hear that both of them met the original Creature From The Black Lagoon at one point. I can imagine James, being a big horror movie buff, being really giddy when that happened. -Philosophical question: wouldn't a chain whip be technically just a chain? A question to ponder.... -Oh my, the in-joke the designer put in there is priceless just to see James's reaction! -Overall, a shorter but still entertaining episode. Next up, James tells us an interesting story that happened to him at a gaming convention: -Basically, it is about him having his most intense session of playing Super C for the NES ever, playing a glitching game with invisible enemies while his thumb is bleeding. Probably not the most sanitary story ever heard, but an interesting one nonetheless.
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Post by Mandarin Dessert Version 0 on Jan 25, 2021 1:14:48 GMT -5
Don't lose your hat while watching James & Mike play Super Mario Odyssey for the Nintendo Switch: -At the time (Nov. 2017), probably one of the most recent games the two of them ever did for James & Mike Mondays. Since James didn't get the Switch (because it was marketed as portable and he usually does other stuff while on the road instead of playing handheld video games as well as not having the room to buy another console to wire up), they play it with Mike's Switch. -At first, they go through the basics of gameplay including Mario having the ability to "possess" other enemies or objects with his hat named Cappy...including a rather photorealistic looking T-Rex who is in the Mario universe for some reason. -Wow, that has to be the snappiest looking Mario has ever looked in the video games. -So, in this game you collect moons which are, I guess, the equivalent of the stars in Super Mario 64...makes me now wonder whether Mario collected any suns in any of the 3D Mario games (and here I gladly admit that I don't know much about any of the 3D Mario games post-64). -Yeah, New York City...uhm, no, New Dunk City definitely looks unlike any level seen in any Mario level especially with the photorealistic people interacting with a cartoony Mario. I like that they make the comparison that this is like a better version of Sonic '06 in regards to a cartoon character interacting with realistic looking town inhabitants. -Mario on the motor scooter definitely feels like I am playing Grand Theft Auto: Mario Edition for some reason (and we even get to see a Mario mod for GTA V at one point). -Also love that at some points you play NES-style stages which is definitely a great nostalgic appeal. -Hearing how James has never watched the Super Mario Bros. Super Show since childhood kinda makes me want to see him do a reaction video to some of the worst episodes (both live-action and cartoon) from that show. That could be hilarious. -Pauline makes an appearance here. Nice (though kinda sad that Donkey Kong only makes an appearance in an old-school area here). And it also gives James a bit to talk about how Cranky Kong is the original Donkey Kong and how he talked about the issues between Nintendo and the creators of King Kong during his King Kong week. I might be interested in giving that a look. -OK, when did you ever have had to pay to lose your clothes? That's kinda poopy. -Overall, a good video giving a good introduction to the (then) newest 3D Mario game and James definitely seemed to enjoy it.
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Post by Mandarin Dessert Version 0 on Jan 26, 2021 1:23:18 GMT -5
Going back to the basics because what good are games if you can't control them? So let's join James & Mike talk about game controllers: -To spoil the end results, they both have the same opinion about which ones are the best: *SNES controller: fits perfectly in your hand and doesn't have the edges the NES controller had (James especially likes the layout for letting Mario run in his games which feels really good). Interesting that they released a "dogbone" NES controller at one point that used the SNES one's rounder edges. *Gamecube controller: perhaps the best controller ever made in their opinion. I really like the story how this controller is still so popular with Smash Bros. gamers that Nintendo released an adapter (up to the Wii U, at least) allowing you to play the Wii U Smash Bros. with the Gamecube controller. *Playstation 2 controller: again a very good controller with a comfy design. -One type of controller that they always had a big of a problem with were the arcade-style controllers (like the NES Advantage). Mike likes using it for arcade-style games like Pac-Man etc. but otherwise, they are just too unhandy and due to them being rather lightweight, they move and slip around quite easily. The only good one is the Genesis one because it is actually heavy enough that it doesn't move around like heck. -While they acknowledge that the original Atari controller is perhaps the most classic controller, they don't like it too much because the joystick gets too easily broken. They also both agree that the original Atari 5200 controller is perhaps the worst controller in existence due to it not working 99% of the time (and as can be seen in James's Atari 5200 nerd episode). -Was Atari the only video game company that had so many third parties make controllers for them? That's certainly a lot (with interesting designs like the baseball bat one, the buttplug one, the "Dirty Stick" etc.). -I wonder what other interpretations we could get from that drawing on the underside of one of the Atari controllers. -Perhaps I mentioned it in a previous posts but personally, I never got why the Nintendo 64 controller confused so many people because when I played it as a kid I got used to it pretty quickly. -Gotta love Mike's 1960s Batman-themed XBox 360 controller . Also, their opinion is that the controller for the original XBox was too heavy and you could get your fingers stuck with the shoulder buttons but they fixed it with the XBox 360 controller onwards which is a good controller for them. -As for Sony, they like that they found a design that worked for the original Playstation and stuck with it through the generations with minimal changes. They certainly like the continuity of it where it isn't as experimental as Nintendo got with its controllers. -Finally, the Wii-mote. While they liked the whole motion theme at first, they grew tired of it and found it to be one of the worse controllers (due to the actual control buttons on it being too small, that you have to use batteries for it which get drained pretty fast, that the danger of corrosion is very real etc.). -Overall, an interesting discussion-heavy video which is a nice change of pace. I certainly enjoyed it.
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Post by Mandarin Dessert Version 0 on Jan 27, 2021 1:06:13 GMT -5
Golly gee whiz, let's put on our rubberhose and wiggle our fingers as James & Mike play Cuphead: -Here we go again: due to not seeing the controller and them not mentioning it, I don't know whether they play the PC version or the XBox One version which were out at the time. -A premiere: the first (and I think only) game I actually bought after seeing it on James & Mike Mondays. And that one was an odyssey in itself: played it first on my Windows laptop with the keyboard, making it up to Inkwell Isle Three. Then for some reason, the game wouldn't start. Even after un- and reinstalling it, I couldn't get it to work anymore and I couldn't find a solution for it either so I reluctantly had to let it go for a long while. Saints be praised though that last year the game finally got a PS4 release and I immediately bought and I could finally finish the game (though I ask myself whether the first isles were now easier than before due to me being familiar with it or doing it with a controller this time). -Interesting to hear that James, at one point before entering college, actually thought about getting a degree in animation. One wonders how an animated AVGN might look like. -Dang, James really takes a long time at that first Run'n Gun stage. Though, to be fair, that could be because he talks with Mike on the side. -Yeah, to imagine that this might have been a video game played by people in the 1930s and which was buried for a long time for being too hard. -OMG, now I would have liked to see a J&MM episode with them playing Donkey for MS-DOS. -That Tron discussion...it is eerily similar to how the WWE announcers completely overlooked HHH and Undertaker having had a WM match in 2001 before when they were building up their match in 2011. -Things I learned from J&MM: Walt Disney accidentally killed someone during a polo game once and Jerry Lee Lewis drunkenly crashed into Elvis's state once. But come on! Don't tease us with the Alice Cooper story and then don't deliver! -Huh, different strokes but I really liked the Spread weapon in Cuphead (guess they only like it in Contra). I didn't use the extra hit point at all because I didn't like that it decreases your firing power. -James, while I agree that it is hard, it is not too hard as in frustratingly hard but challengingly hard. -Definitely a very good episode featuring a fantastic game and some nice off-the-wall discussions.
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Post by Mandarin Dessert Version 0 on Jan 28, 2021 1:27:05 GMT -5
Ah, after a restful slumber of 100 years, I'm free! It's time to watch James & Mike play Zelda: Breath Of The Wild for the Nintendo Wii U! -Or not. As it turns out, this video is more a discussion video about the game with gameplay footage from other sources or Mike's stream video mixed in. It definitely feels even weirder than the game controller one and I somehow doubt that this is supposed to be part of the J&MM canon but since it is in the playlist (and when we see James & Mike talking, they have t-shirts they wore during a previous J&MM session), I figured to cover it as well. -The main reason James wants to talk about it is because this is the game that he has invested probably the most time into ever...with 145 hours. I dunno what the average gamer nowadays logs into with their games but it does seem like a pretty large amount of time to do in a game. He mentions that currently (as in Nov. 2017 though I think that hasn't changed much since then), he simply does not have the time to invest into video games so he has to do a tough choice on which game to buy and Zelda seemed like the safe choice...though he certainly never imagined spending so much time with it. -He actually mentions playing the Wii U version and from what I see the graphics compared to the Switch version are only different resolution-wise. In that regard, he admits that he didn't like the graphics that much, preferring the style of Twilight Princess more and kinda wishing for the graphic resolution of a GTA V for Zelda one day (they explain though that because of hardware limitations on the Switch, such high-level graphics will probably not be possible). -Interesting explanation in the difference between "open-world" and "seamless" games by Mike. I wonder if those interpretations are that common in the gaming world. -One of their major criticisms is the lack of enemies in the shrines/dungeons where from their discussion, it appears that there's only one enemy in every shrine/dungeon...a far cry from the dungeons of the 8-bit, 16-bit or other previous games. Dunno if they exaggerate or if that's true. Furthermore, that the four guardian bosses are just incarnations of Ganon instead of something different and that there are far too many enemies that can kill you with one hit. They do mention later that you can add enemies later by using Amiibos. -One of their favorite parts in the game is sneaking into people's houses...and from their discussion, you can tell. -Awwww, love the parts where James mentions doing the cooking aspect of the game with his daughter who would tell him which ingredients to add and how much fun they had with the guardians in Hyrule Castle (so much so that they did a real life game based off of it ). I understand that James probably doesn't want to include his family in his videos and I don't mind...though I admit that I would love to see a video one day of him playing with his daughters (perhaps as the spiritual successor to J&MM). -Overall, a different kind of video but nevertheless an entertaining, interesting and never boring look into the then newest Zelda game.
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Post by Mandarin Dessert Version 0 on Jan 29, 2021 1:05:59 GMT -5
With the flaming shield of justice equipped, our hero will not fail in his quest as James & Mike play Rygar for the NES: -Yeah, that is really weird that the "Old Man" music is the same as the opening screen from Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. Kudos for James though for recognizing the music as a child when playing the latter (since he did play the former beforehand). -A good question: what exactly was Toho's stake in Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (a new Godzilla opponent maybe?)? -Bah, this hero may have a flaming shield of justice as a weapon but if he can only stun turtles by jumping, then he's got nothing on Mario. -While we have heard the stories of James & Mike getting back into those old consoles aka the whole retro gaming biz in college, the one about a drunk James staggering home in the rain with a paper bag containing a bottle of Rolling Rock and Rygar is just too funny. It is also, according to him, the first time he ever tried Rolling Rock and he immediately drank five bottles of it (I wonder what the others drank at the time). -Well, when you play a game like Rygar, of course, you talk about Elvis. It makes sense...in some way, I guess. Anywho, the story about Elvis freaking people out with his gun pranks from his gun collection is not that funny. I find their discussion about there having never been a good actor portrayal of Elvis in movies (coming off of the recent Elvis & Nixon movie that came out a year before this episode) more interesting, especially Mike saying that the closest Elvis portrayal in his opinion was Andy Kaufman. -We also learn that Mike doesn't really like abstract, experimental etc. movies. They have to have some sort of coherence or thread for him to follow (bringing them to bring up the topic about people who think the plots in video games are too unrealistic and preposterous but don't see the same thing when questioned why they find Alice In Wonderland to be a good book then). -OK, I learned that when you are stuck at a boss and don't know how to beat him...hope for a glitch that gets you to the next area. Though I appreciate James & Mike not being happy with that since they did want to beat that two-headed hamster turtle (or whatever it was). -Overall, another good episode with some entertaining stories.
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Post by Mandarin Dessert Version 0 on Jan 30, 2021 0:51:01 GMT -5
Let's hope that the quest for our hero will be glitch-free as James & Mike continue playing Rygar for the NES: -Huh, I guess glitching to another area didn't sit well with them, so they start at the beginning again. Though this time they learned how to power up so the boss where they glitched through is not a problem anymore.
-I agree that this was a sight to behold in NES games when the game slowed down and started to flicker (I am kinda glad that they kept this effect until today like for example for the Mega Man Legacy Collection).
-When enemies just won't leave you alone...just glitch them out.
-Seems like beating the bosses is just a matter of powering up at the right intervals. Then even the mightiest foe will not be a problem for you.
-Oh my, what a nice and beautiful ending shot we get for this game. Almost as harmonic as what Gwonam describes in The Faces Of Evil.
-Odd that they put a charity advertisement at the end of the video and not before. Wouldn't it make more sense to do that before?
-Nothing more to be said. Only a decent episode due to the game, besides the glitches, not being that interesting compared to previous entries and nothing in the way of interesting discussions going on.
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Post by Mandarin Dessert Version 0 on Jan 31, 2021 0:55:30 GMT -5
Somedays, you just appear to your job at a TV studio and all hell breaks loose like when James & Mike play Gremlins 2: The New Batch for the NES: -My knowledge of the Gremlins is: I have seen the second movie once many, many, many years ago. I tried watching the first one once at late night on TV and I fell asleep. Never tried again and, thus, still haven't seen the first one. -Somehow, I feel that movie tie-in games would have gotten a better reputation if Sunsoft had been in charge making them all. Then again, perhaps we would have had too many frustrated children due to the difficulty level. -I wonder whether those twin actors did other stuff besides Gremlins 2 and Terminator 2. Also forgot that Christopher Lee was in this movie. -Personally, I think that at least Spike is slightly more creative than just calling him Mohawk Gremlin. -Really wondering which is the prevalent sentiment about Gremlins 2 these days: Not as good as the original but still fun or on the same level as the original? -Interesting discussion about the mandela effect as far as deleted movie scenes are concerned. Though I wish I can remember which movie it was again that had that Alamo scene described by Mike in it. -Of course, they mention the Gremlins interruption of the movie with the appearance by Hulk Hogan as well as mentioning the VHS version. I ponder whether the DVD version fan spoof they mention is still around on YT and I would really like how the streaming version of that scene will go. Also have to say, although I have seen this episode when it came out, that gag based off of that still got me so kudos to James & Mike for that. -I agree, the cutscenes look really awesome for the NES (came out in 1990 so about the middle of the life cycle of the NES). -Having read too many Not Always Right stories that had this one (answering yes or no to a question that is not a Yes Or No question), I do feel irked by it like James and Mike do. -Yikes, the platforming in the later levels really looks completely insane! ;;;; -Overall, a funny video with many interesting points about Gremlins made and an entertaining game to boot.
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Post by Mandarin Dessert Version 0 on Feb 1, 2021 1:09:53 GMT -5
All those foolish old wizards getting lost in dungeons....Oh well, at least there's one other looking for him as James & Mike play The Immortal for the NES: -I agree with James & Mike that the game has an interesting look and gameplay where you enter a fighting mode (or rather a hack'n slash mode) to fight enemies and it is in an isometric angle and you have to solve riddles to advance to the lower dungeons and stuff...but oh boy, when you finally play that game.... -What better way to take a break than some Star Trek TOS trivia? While I knew about the "Orion Slave Girl" story, I had never heard about the "Runes/Ruins" incident from "City On The Edge Of Forever" beforehand...and that story is really hilarious! -Somedays you just cannot get anywhere without falling into traps. -Wow, a suicide bait so that you can kill yourself...how helpful. -You know things are pretty bad when even James says that Nintendo Power sucks in helping you in getting any further. -There is not much in the way of interesting discussions going on here but still this is among my Top 10 favorite James & Mike Monday episodes...mostly for their growing frustration and confusion about this game (especially the whole holding up the amulet to the light and then NOT read the runes and that you have to enter the ladder hole a specific way or else you die). It is just so funny for their reactions alone. -There's nothing else to say really. Sure, this is rather short compared to others but the humor in this one is mostly derived from James & Mike's incredulous faces as they play further into the game. As James says at the end: "One of the worst games he has ever played". Definitely among the best J&MM episodes in my opinion.
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Post by Mandarin Dessert Version 0 on Feb 2, 2021 1:08:40 GMT -5
While we had some of those in the past, this is the first 2-in-1 in a long time that actually deals with two games and not just one with the other being a short bonus clip. First up, move over Mario Bros. because there's a new team in town when James & Mike play Snow Bros. for the NES: -Lots of Bubble Bobble comparisons made here due to the gameplay being having to destroy all the enemies on screen to advance. Though in this case you encase the enemies in snow and roll them over. -Interesting observation as there are a lot of Bros. games on the NES but never any Sister games. Maybe the only Sister game in existence was the Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen video game James did as the AVGN. And now thanks to them, I have the "Sister, Sister" theme song stuck in my head. -I wonder if there is any rhyme or reason to the lives you have in this game because even by the end, James & Mike do not know exactly how many lives you get from the start. I am in the same boat as even watching them I cannot figure out a pattern here. -Dang, the Snow Bros. faces on the title screen look straight out of Creepytown. -The bosses look pretty great IMHO and makes me wonder if you also fight monsters in Bubble Bobble. -Overall, a good video with them playing a fun game. Next up, we meet someone who might try to be as awesome as Sgt. Frog but we shall see how he turns out when James & Mike play Amazing Frog for the PC: -And it is off to a good start with James & Mike already cracking up not one minute in with James asking him "Where do you find this s***?" and giving comparisons to Who's Your Daddy that they a long while before this. -Personally, I feel like it reminds me of a less funny variant of Goat Simulator. James & Mike certainly have fun bouncing off of trampolines, driving carts through an art gallery, getting shot out of cannons etc., but it misses some of the joy they obviously had when playing Goat Simulator. -Things I learned today: when going into a dixie toilet, you might come out wearing a ballerina outfit for some reason. -And what better way to end on than getting eaten by sharks. -A decent, short episode but, as already said, they already played a way funnier game in a similar vein (that also led to perhaps my favorite episode of the show) with Goat Simulator so I will always compare it to that and in that case, Amazing Frog cannot hold up.
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Post by Mandarin Dessert Version 0 on Feb 3, 2021 1:00:36 GMT -5
Mario will be with us always, no matter what happens, so it makes sense for him to appear here when James & Mike play Super Mario 3D World for the Nintendo Wii U: -Not a look at the normal gameplay but rather James enlisting Mike's help to do the Mystery Box Marathon, an endurance test that James needs the help of a more experienced player for. -I love again hearing how this is another game besides Breath Of The Wild that James plays with his daughter. I dunno, it is just adorable how father and daughter connect through playing video game and her even doing some stuff in the game with his support. I know that this will never happen and I am respectful enough of James to not force it but still...it would be sweet to see a father/daughters video one day on Cinemassacre. -OK, this Mystery Box Marathon looks like a pain...especially considering that you always get sent to the very beginning if you don't get a star in time. I can definitely imagine James becoming really frustrated with that. -Have to say that I really like Cat Mario in this one since he looks like a lot of fun to play. -Love how the final stage is basically getting coins and pretty easy compared to the other marathon levels. -Again, not a video where there is much to say, but it is still a fun episode due to seeing all these different challenges this marathon throw at you and how James & Mike overcome them. Definitely a good one worth watching.
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Post by Mandarin Dessert Version 0 on Feb 4, 2021 6:29:27 GMT -5
Seeing this world in 3D offers more possibilities as we see when we continue watching James & Mike play Super Mario 3D World for the Nintendo Wii U: -OK, this time they are doing something called the Champion's Road which, from the look of it, is probably this game's equivalent of the "Tubular", "Radical", "Wicked" etc. levels aka the levels in the special world in the original Super Mario World.
-Well, Mike very quickly drops this Rosalina character in favor of Luigi...which makes me, who is not that much of a Mario player, wonder who the buck Rosalina is. Is she anyone notable?
-Dangit, this really looks like a stage that makes you pull your hair out lots of times. Probably the hardest level in the game, I reckon.
-Lazy Mike, letting James do all the work while you sit leisurely in your bubble doing nothing.
-Geezus, this is probably the first time in one of these videos that James becomes the couch slapper (something normally done by Mike) out of frustration.
-Gotta love how one part (jumping off piranha plants to get to a higher level) has Mike at first go "Nah, I don't get this, you understand it better" and later in the video it is Mike who is the go-to guy to do that part.
-Even collecting the cat suit items and extra lives doesn't seem to level the playing field better.
-Holy bleep, I think this is perhaps the closest we have seen those two be on the verge of losing their minds over being unable to finish a level.
-Ultimately, they manage to do it still, giving us a Lethal Weapon quote from them (and they say that they spent 5 hours on this one level...that's some dedication).
-This is an episode I completely forgot about but seeing it again...it is one I consider one of the Top 10 episodes in the show. The main reason for that is, by the end, I was internally cheering for James & Mike to do this and hoping that they succeed, i.e. I really got in this video, and I was really happy that they pulled it off. Sure, there was nothing much in terms of discussions or it being a bad game but seeing James's look of elation at the end is worth the watch. A fantastic episode.
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Post by Mandarin Dessert Version 0 on Feb 5, 2021 7:26:44 GMT -5
*sings* When you wish upon a star...you might get a Disney game as seen here when James & Mike play Disney Crossy Road for the iPad: -A premiere: our first sponsored James & Mike Mondays episode where Mike shills an online strategy game named Vikings. At least it was not ExpressVPN again. -A modern isometric version of Frogger basically. Both of them actually mention the weirdness that you play such a basic Atari-style game on the most modern thing that kids nowadays play games on like the iPad. -Just one more thing to add what makes James likable for me: that instead of playing games on an iPhone/iPad while he waits for something, he learns Japanese. Wondering whether he kept up with it through the years. -Another thing: him liking the Goofy animated shorts with the Skiing one being his favorite. No lie, that is also my favorite Disney short too (mostly because when I was a kid going skiing with my parents, we usually would try to figure out which was the mountain that Goofy accidentally slid off, uttering his legendary holler). Mike liking the classic b/w Mickey shorts (mostly The Mad Doctor) because Mickey had more of an edge back then is a pluspoint in my eyes too. -Of course, James also likes The Nightmare Before Christmas although they do mention that they like movies in that vein in general like Coraline, The Corpse Bride etc.. -Both James & Mike are really good at Donald Duck impressions. -Sorry Mike, but that IS Magica DeSpell as a silhouette selection. Though I agree with him that it is ridiculous that you have to play through the Ducktales portion several times with much less important characters before you get to play as Uncle Scrooge (heck, before you get to play as him, you have to do this section by playing as FRIGGIN' FALCON GRAVES who was funny when he appeared, but he only appeared in two episodes of the Ducktales reboot in total (at the time of this episode's release, it was only one episode he appeared in even). -Hearing them mentioning the Disney Vault in here, made me look it up out of curiosity...huh, that's not what I would have imagined under the term Disney Vault. -James mentioning The Sword In The Stone as one of his favorite Disney animated movies...another gold star for him in my book! -Talking about James wanting to show his daughter the classic Disney animated movies initiates a discussion about how the only way to watch Disney movies is via physical media since they are not on any streaming services...*checking* This episode is from Jan. 2018 and looking up on Wiki, we would indeed be a little less than two years away from Disney+ becoming a reality. Makes me wonder when the first Disney+ announcement took place. -Their opinion on the whole 3D CGI vs. 2D handdrawn animation: They prefer a variety of movies and they were kinda surprised when Toy Story came out and it signalled the end of 2D hand drawn animation. -Overall, another good episode with lots of interesting Disney discussion and fun moments.
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Post by Mandarin Dessert Version 0 on Feb 6, 2021 0:59:41 GMT -5
Venture to those troubled isles to free them with your mighty powers by watching James & Mike play Lords Of Thunder for the TurboDuo aka the PC Engine CD: -Kind of a bittersweet note to start the video hearing Mike be so happy saying that he loves doing James & Mike Mondays and could imagine doing them until the day they die since there's so many games to play...if only that could have been true. -Explaining a bit about the TurboDuo / TurboGrafx 16 again, in particular that it had lots of shooter games or "smups" as they call them. I dunno, is that really a thing they got called as? I know that it is a portmanteau of shoot 'em up, which is a term that I am most familiar with, but I have never heard of those games being called smups before (are games like Final Fight, Streets Of Rage etc. now being called "bmups" as well?). -I agree, that game cover looks pretty metal. -Playing the game they talk about their favorite smups which, of course, include classics like the R-Type series (of which James considers Super R-Type for the SNES to be his favorite), Gradius, Life Force (which they did an episode on if you look back several pages back) etc.. Their opinion at that time considering Silver Surfer has also mellowed in the sense that it is not really a bad game, but very challenging and difficult. -Dangit James, learn to remember your buttons! Then you wouldn't be losing your bombs all the time! -The perfect flicker: that's what James considers the perfect indicator of when you have hit an enemy in a smup. One of the reasons he likes Super R-Type is that because it has this perfect flicker. I agree that that type of mechanic is really helpful compared with games like Silver Surfer for example. -Speaking of Silver Surfer, the game is kinda similar in that you can choose the stages you want to do in any order, but also adds some flair from Shadow Over Mystara by letting you buy power-ups in a shop beforehand. -Learning that James really likes Aqua Teen Hunger Force and also the classic Powerpuff Girls Not a bad taste in show either. -At the end, there's a small written ad for a Detroit con called Astronomicon that James will attend. Wondering if they could still do that in 2020 before the pandemic started. -To conclude, an entertaining episode featuring a great looking game.
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Post by Mandarin Dessert Version 0 on Feb 7, 2021 0:57:39 GMT -5
As the saying goes, to get an omelette you have to break some eggs...or in this case, modify some cartridges into something new when James & Mike look at hacks: -The last statement before has to be taken literally as it is the majority of the video: James & Mike just looking at hack/homebrew/mod game cartridges and commenting on them (though they do play one of them later in the video) since Mike has a whole basket full of them. -Nice to see them looking at games that they have done (New Strange Super Mario Bros. and Super Contra 7) and ones that they will go to in the future (like Brutal Super Mario World and Kart Fighter). Gives you a frame on how far we have come with this show. -"Adventures Of Link Part 3 - Zelda II"...I guess the maker of this hack was a fan of the Rambo movies? -Now that's a hack I can get behind: A My Little Pony game (based off of Friendship Is Magic) using Mega Man 2 as a base, combining a favorite game of mine with one of the best animated shows I ever watched. Nice to hear that James's daughter at the time loved to watch it and James thinks it is pretty cool, too. -That Mega Man cover that has James & Mike fascinated? That is actually the European box art cover for Mega Man 1 and, yeah, it kinda looks better than the US Mega Man cover. -Interesting to hear them talk about the differences between some of these cartridges where sometimes you would get a modified game and sometimes you simply would get a game that was never released in the US...like The Firemen for the SNES for example which was a game I rented two, three times as a kid and enjoyed very much. I was actually surprised hearing that this one was never released in the US for some reason. -There's really a lot of adventures in these cartridges. -OK...I would have thought that the game cartridge's color is poop brown but I guess it is not? Does anybody else know what color it is? -Mike is really a big fan of the Bomberman games and recommends the Sega Saturn Bomberman to James as another game to play in the future. Those comments make me a bit sad hearing them talk about all the games they want to do and which never materialized. -The hack that they do decide to play in the video is Mega Man In The Mushroom Kingdom for the NES which is Mega Man 1 using Super Mario graphics and sprites (surprising Mike since modders and hackers usually go for Mega Man 2 to mod). -It looks like a pretty good and enjoyable game to play and I could dig it as a Mega Man fan and they both certainly have fun with it. -Overall, an interesting and fun episode to look at all these different types of modified games.
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Post by Mandarin Dessert Version 0 on Feb 8, 2021 1:21:52 GMT -5
It is time again for us to meet the king of all monsters as James & Mike play Godzilla: Battle Legends for the PC Engine CD: -But first, a quick background into the game including that it was intended to be released on the SNES but then got cancelled, disappointing a young James who read about it in Nintendo Power. But now, a long time later, he finally gets to play it.
-And it is really obvious that James greatly enjoys this because this is the Godzilla game he always wanted to play as a kid rather than the "chess" game that got released on the NES. He makes a point that Godzilla games went from bad to good to great and then bad again (talking about the PS4 Godzilla game they covered on James & Mike before).
-I have to agree: the game looks great and it being in a Mortal Kombat/Street Fighter II style really makes you feel like there are two monsters fighting. He admits that it is not as good as the later Melee games when Godzilla went 3D and you could pick buildings up and throw them around but for a 13-year old James this really would have been heaven.
-Him learning Japanese also helped him to identify the monsters in the instruction manual at least...though that is kinda made pointless because from the silhouettes and the Vs. introduction being in English, you would know who to fight even if you didn't know Japanese.
-Where do you stand...regarding how to pronounce King Ghidorah?
-We learn that Mike likes the Heisei-era Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (the one with Mecha Ghidorah) the best while Godzilla vs. Megalon is his second favorite (in general, he really digs the more campy style of the later Showa-era movies than the more serious Heisei-era movies) while for James, his favorite Godzilla movie changes all the time.
-Like that in the Megalon fight, you see Jet Jaguar and Gigan fight in the background which they also notice.
-Huh, OK, that's new. I personally didn't know that Kong: Skull Island and the new American Godzilla movie are part of a Monster Cinematic Universe...or rather, the Giant Monster Cinematic Universe (not to confuse with the dead Monster Cinematic Universe which they already made an RIP for in this video). This leads to a lot of discussion about the original Kong vs. Godzilla movie and whether it is part of the 1933 King Kong movie or not. Though I think we could agree that the US poster for Godzilla vs. Megalon showing Godzilla fighting Megalon on top of the Twin Towers made no freakin' sense.
-James knows enough Japanese to learn the monster names...but sadly not enough to do an in-game Godzilla quiz fast enough.
-Somehow at the end, we go to a discussion about Creed (due to Creed II coming out later in the year that this episode was released in) and James & Mike's ideas about what to do with the Rocky franchise going forward...let's just say that I wouldn't want the franchise to be in their hands.
-All in all, a very good episode featuring a good game and lots of animated James & Mike discussion that shows that they love their Godzilla...and which made the video entertaining for me too because I also have a soft spot in my heart for the giant lizard.
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