Figured so :)
So excited :D
Just like with the Smash Bros. direct I might make brief liveblog posts/reactions to anything I find notable throughout the stream~
Here’s the one for Season 2. Expect another lengthy post and also much gushing over an episode where a purple pony goes insane~
Yesterday I picked up Mario Kart 8. And managed to get probably a good 8-9 hours with the game. So I think that’s pretty solid enough time to get a good impression. Probably even too much that I can’t even really call it a first impression ;)
Anyway, I’m enjoying the game very much. It may very well already be my favorite Mario Kart in the entire franchise. I think for the most part it combines the best things about Mario Kart Wii & Mario Kart 7. Having 12 racers, Able to look behind you, the choice of Controller and all the options you have in Vs. Mode. Plus all the new stuff introduced in Mario Kart 7 with Gliding, Underwater racing, and the new Anti-Gravity all provide a lot of variety in not only the new courses, but also makes old dogs do new Tricks (AKA makes old tracks seem new again).
Really the only frustrations I have with the game is the usual frustration you get in pretty much any Mario Kart when you’re screwed out of 1st Place at the end. And how the Kart Part unlocking is random. Because I got over 1200 coins (1400 as of this morning) in my first day with the game. And I still don’t have the Kart body that I want. That being the Pipe Frame. Goddamn it game, is racing on the remade N64 Rainbow Road (Which BTW is my favorite Rainbow Road ever) in a kart that looks pretty much exactly how the karts are in Mario Kart 64 too much to ask?! (Even sadder is how the CPU can still show characters and Karts you haven’t unlocked it yet. And I’ve seen many of the CPUs driving the Pipe Frame. It’s as if the game is teasing me ):
Well, anyway at least that I have all the characters. Not that I really care about that. I’ve always said the roster of a Mario Kart game could be just everyone that was playable in Mario Kart 64 and a few more bonus characters and I’d be ok already. All I need is Luigi to be happy. It’s why while I like Waluigi, I just kinda shrugged when he somehow didn’t make it into Mario Kart 7. It’s also why I don’t get so upset with weird additions in the roster such as Honey Queen, Metal Mario. And Baby Rosalina & Pink Gold Peach. If people want to play as these characters, I say more power to them. Characters aren’t the bread and butter of Mario Kart. That goes to the courses.
And speaking of which, the Courses are really amazing. I think they’re far more interesting and diverse then the set we got in Mario Kart Wii. And I even think the Retro courses were really well chosen and remade. This is the first time we can truly say a Mario Kart game legitimately looks beautiful. The HD graphics really highlight a lot of the visually impressive stages such as the Electrodome and looks amazing on remakes such as Moo Moo Farms and of course N64 Rainbow Road. The soundtrack has to be one of the best if not the best soundtrack in a Mario Kart game. As I said, the bread and butter of Mario Kart are the courses. And I can truly say Mario Kart 8 has some really, really good bread and butter. What’s my favorite course of the game so far? I think it’s actually quite obvious. The remake of N64 Rainbow Road is just so amazing. I think personally that the N64 Rainbow Road looks better then Mario Kart 8’s new Rainbow Road, While the main course is based on N64 Rainbow Road. It’s definitely not an exact copy. As otherwise there’d be absolutely no places where there are no Rails. In some ways, the N64 Rainbow Road is a bit of a fusion of multiple Rainbow Roads. You have the star gates on the ground like in MKWii’s. Some in the Air like in MK7’s. The Chain Chomps instead of chomping down the road like they did in the original N64 Rainbow Road, they slam down on the ground and make the road wiggle like the Thomps do on the remake of the SNES Rainbow Road in Mario Kart 7. A City being under the Rainbow Road is similar to Double Dash’s Rainbow Road. The only Rainbow Roads that I’m not so sure there’s any reference to at all in it. Is the GBA and DS Rainbow Roads. But nonetheless, as a result of this. This makes it even better as it has features from pretty everyone’s favorite Rainbow Roads. But we shouldn’t forget most of all that the course is centered on the N64 Rainbow Road. Which is my personal Favorite Rainbow Road of the series. Hearing that this course was in the game gave me as much joy as anyone seeing a character they really liked getting into Smash Bros. Now I wouldn’t say I was just as happy as when Sonic was announced for Brawl. But nonetheless I smiled when we got a new trailer that confirmed N64 Rainbow Road would be the Retro Rainbow Road. It was my biggest hope for the game after I remembered how MK7 now made it possible for Rainbow Roads to be Retro courses. And I’m glad that this game has a Rainbow Road where instead of having a reaction of “Ugh, Rainbow Road…” like I have for Double Dash’s, SNES both original and Remake, and Wii’s I’m more like “YES! Rainbow Road! :D” like how I am with the original N64 Rainbow Road, Mario Kart 7’s Rainbow Road, and now the N64 Rainbow Road remake :)
Anyway, I think I’ve said enough. I’ve done all the cups at 50cc and 100cc and will eventually take a crack at 150cc. But I think I’m going to spend the time of unlocking karts until I finally get that damn Pipe Frame that’s eluded me before I start getting to the really frustrating part of the game. But I love Mario Kart 8, and I can’t wait to play more. This will surely help hold me over until Smash Bros. arrives to all our doorsteps. :)
its-homerj-deactivated20140626 asked: Also, the reason I feel that the message in "Magical Mystery Cure" comes off as hypocritical is because, wasn't the first part of the episode trying to teach its audience that, if you just accept the destiny that's been forced on you, you'll end up being miserable? Yet when Twilight was forced to become an alicorn princess (since she had never decided to become one), that gets a free pass? What kind of message is that I ask you?
The spell that she finished was what made her ascend to Alicornhood. And it took what she knew of her friends to finish the spell. It’s not exactly forced because it’s not like it was Celestia who transformed Twilight into an Alicorn. (The magic that makes Twilight ascend comes out of her own heart, not from Celestia’s horn)
Also even though there are people who complain about how Twilight never mentioned she’d like to be a Princess. I don’t think she was ever against it either. It’s an appointment that Celestia is trusting her with. Twilight takes this more as a bit of graduation. She’s more sad that Celestia possibly won’t be her teacher anymore then she is about actually being a Princess.
its-homerj-deactivated20140626 asked: I also respectfully disagree with you on how "Twilight's Kingdom" is not just the best of Season 4, but in the entire show. Because, while I loved the episode, I feel that "Lesson Zero" is still my favorite episode, and that "Pinkie Pride" is still the best episode of the season, in my opinion.
I don’t think I ever explicitly said Twilight’s Kingdom is the best episode of the show. Even though it could very well be. I think we need to see how Season 5 goes to really see how Twilight’s Kingdom stacks up. But nonetheless I do feel it’s the best episode of Season 4. It’s not to say I don’t love Lesson Zero or Pinkie Pride (Because I really, really do love both of those episodes. You’ll like what I have to say when I get to posting the Season 2 overview where I praise Lesson Zero quite a bit). Just that Twilight’s Kingdom is still really fresh in my mind and it was just an awesome end to the Season.
its-homerj-deactivated20140626 asked: Though I have to respectfully disagree with you on how "Magical Mystery Cure" is the best episode of Season 3. Because, while I still feel that it's a really good episode, it's not without major problems (namely the songs are mostly there to just pad out the running time, due to not being a two-parter it feels rushed, and the message while with good intentions; does off as hypocritical). I actually feel that "Too Many Pinkie Pies" is my favorite of the season, in my opinion.
Yeah I get that the main problem with MMC that it seems rushed. And it probably would have been better if it was a two-parter instead. But I think this is really a case that this was the best they could do with the allotted time we had. They’ve always wanted to do a Musical episode, musicals allow for you to put alot of things both subtle and not-so-subtle of passing through a whole lot of time. (As you can see the episode starts in the morning, Twilight would come back to Ponyville as an Alicorn in the nighttime. Along with probably days or even weeks later when everypony is invited to Twilight’s coronation).
And hypocritical moral? I don’t think so. I think Mr. Enter covered this in his review. The first part makes it that Destiny can be bad, and Friends can help you see that. And Twilight when she becomes a Princess is Destiny can be Good, and Friends can help you see that. While that may seem hypocritical. I quote Mr. Enter on saying it actually makes it complete. The moral is Destiny can be good or bad, and Friends can help you decide. Your destiny can only be determined by yourself, but friends can help you along the way. Twilight helped showing the rest of the Mane 6 who’s Cutie Marks were swapped that their switched destinies were not good for them and got them on the right track on what their real ones are. And Twilight’s experiences throughout the entire show and her friends support near the end of the episode helped Twilight with her rise to Princesshood.
And I feel Too Many Pinkie Pies is alright. Not it doesn’t even reach my favorites of the Season. I do give it credit for being the best Pinkie would be portrayed since Party of One and was the best Pinkie Pinkie portrayal up until Pinkie Pride came along. It’s not a bad episode just not anywhere near my favorites (Another episode like this is Suited for Success, Even though it’s considered one of the best of the entire show. I don’t actually care for it as much as others do. I probably would be if I was an artist though)
its-homerj-deactivated20140626 asked: For Season 1, I actually consider "A Dog and Pony Show" to be my favorite episode of the season, and my least favorite is "Owls Well That Ends Well", in my opinion.
Not too bad a choice. While some people say Suited for Success was the episode that made them love Rarity. Personally it was A Dog and Pony Show that did it for me. And some really good humor such as Spike imagining himself as a knight saving Rarity from the Diamond Dogs.
As for Owl’s Well That Ends Well. Yeah that’s probably one of the bottom 5 of the Season. But I think what really keeps it from being the worst of the season. Is that ending. I love me Spike and Twilight heartwarming moments. And as much it’s not really enough to save the episode. I do admire that moment at least. Spike at your Service might have tried something like this where Twilight tells him she’s glad to have Spike back. But it feels tacked on compared to how Owl’s Well did it. Twilight was really concerned for Spike because Spike ran away. Which is normally a real fear that a Mother has for a Son. As such the ending of Owl’s Well That Ends Well is the first episode that made me love the whole somewhat Mother/Son thing about Spike and Twilight. And as seen in Genie Twilight, you know that’s gotten pretty far. Though it is also thanks to future episodes that I also interpret as a little bit of Mother/Son that were in actually good episodes (Ex: Secret of my Excess and Crystal Empire [ESPECIALLY THE FEAR DOOR SCENE :D])
I will be heading to SmashFest at my Best Buy on probably Saturday, June 14th to play the Wii U Smash Bros. demo. Mingle with other players and play as much of I can to get a taste of it before I have to wait probably close to half a year until the WIi U version will be in my grasp (Though luckily it won’t be too long until the 3DS version comes out)
I can’t wait to try things out. I’m likely to drag my cursor right to Sonic as soon as I start playing :) I may try out some of the Newcomers. But otherwise, I’m going to be the Sonic guy (Might even wear my Classic Sonic shirt that I have to the event)
Also Mario Kart 8 came out not too long ago. I’ll be getting that next Monday. I’m excited to play that as well. ^^