Text Play: Pokemon Zeta #13

Hello, and welcome back to the Vesryn Region! It's time for entry number 13 in my Text Play of Pokémon Zeta!

Before I begin this, I just want to say thank you to everyone that has joined me so far on this adventure. I've had a lot of fun playing this game, and making these fun entries for all of you. And as usual, I want to warn you, I will be spoiling this game. If you wish to play it yourself, you can download it here. And now, let's go!

Last time, we had a bit of an...encounter, I guess you could call it, with a mysterious new Pokémon called Divaevus in Ladoga Town. We can thank Team Olympus being back up to their old tricks for that. But they managed to get their butts whipped, again.

With them out of the way for now, it's left me wondering what to do next. Well, I've been thinking about going back and doing that Ranger Club mission, like I've kept saying I've been wanting to do. Well, thanks to that Instant Lapras I now own, we can easily cross Route 311 back to Kivu. We can also battle the Swimmers there to power up my Weepinbell and Luxray (Swimmers tend to have Water-type Pokémon, so they're perfect for grinding up Grass and Electric-type Pokémon).

It is here that I do want to talk about a minor issue I have with this game. I may have talked about this before. If I had, I don't remember it, so bear with me, please. You see, in some Pokémon games, you culd have rematches with Trainers you battled. It helped increase the replayability of the games. This game does not seem to have this feature. I think it's a shame.

Anyway, let's go back to Kivu Town and take on that Ranger Club mission at last.

I've been doing a bit more grinding up of my Pokémon (as well as captured a few more for my collection. I mentioned in the eighth entry that the game's wiki recommended that your Pokémon be between levels 26 and 35. Well, my Pokémon are around level 36-37 now, so I'm hoping this gauntlet goes well this time around.

Before I took it on, I made sure to do something very important: Stock up on supplies. I bought plenty of Potions (regular and Super), and some healing items. The Team Olympus Gauntlet was easier to get through this time thanks to all that grinding. I do want to point out that something funny happened to me during this whole thing.

During my journey through this gauntlet, both my Weepinbell and Magmar evolved into Victreebel and Magmortar, respectively. Now, Pokémon evolving is not unusual, lots of them do it. However, here...it is unusual. You see, they evolved when they reached level 38 in this game. However, in the official games...it doesn't work that way for these particular Pokémon. You see, in the official games, Magmortar is obtained when you trade a Magmar while it's holding an item called a Magmarizer. You can get a Victreebel when you use a Leaf Stone on a Weepinbell. I can assume that when my Seadra reaches level 38, she'll evolve into Kingdra, despite needing a King's Stone for that in the official games.

I can understand why this was changed here. You see, the starters of this game are Magby, Horsea, and Bellsprout. Starter Pokémon tend to evolve by leveling up. They also tend to have three evolutionary stages. Charmander becomes Charmeleon, then Charizard for example. However, in the official games, it does not work that way for the three Pokémon they chose as starters here. It was a surprising change they made. I'm not complaining about it, I just noticed it, and I get why they did this.

Eventually, I made my way to the master Grunt.

The device he's using is one of four, being usedto create a massive square shaped area that will cause all the wild Pokémon in it to fall under Team Olympus's mental control. He calls himself the "Gruntmaster". I am not kidding. It's like "The Beastmaster", only stupider. I'm guessing he's the one who gives the orders to the grunts from the commanders. After he was defeated, one of the Rangers shows up to arrest the Gruntmaster...who makes his getaway somehow.

The device is called a "Gigaremo" from a region called Almia, owned by a group called Team Dim Sun. Almia...isn't that the region from Pokémon Ranger? It's interesting that non-mainline Pokémon games are given shout-outs here. Anyway, time to head back to Kivu Town and go to Route 312!

Route 312 is basically a winding dirt road with some plateaus and a couple of bridges. It connects Ladoga Town to Routes 313 and 315. See that item in the dirt road in the screenshot? That's a Full Restore. Get it. There's another item in the grassy area in the screenshot. We can't get that now, so don't worry about it. I did have a trainer encounter on this route that made me chuckle.

My inner child smiled. I was a Power Rangers nut as a kid. I wanted the original Megazord and Dragonzord as a kid, but the toy stores never had them. Always sold out quicker than the Flash after too much sugar. Maybe I'll get the Legacy versions of them one day online or something. And the Ranger's name there is Tuesday. I just thought that was amusing, ha ha. I eventually encountered some old..."friends" on this Route.

Well, well, well. Team Olympus. I swear, these guys are like cockroaches. You keep beating them down, and they keep coming back. We obviously can't go past them right now, so we can't see what they're guarding. They're covering the way to Route 315. There clearly is something there they don't want discovered. We can't really do anything about this right now, so we got no choice but to move on ahead to Route 313. But that's alright. We can whoop their butts another day. By the way, see that item on the right in the screenshot? That's a Full Restore. Get it. I don't think we can get the item on the left yet, so don't worry about it.

There are a couple of bridges we have to cross to get to Route 313. On the way, we find another item.

Isn't it nice when you find potentially useful things just lying around? I love RPGs. Anyway, get this. It's TM87 (Swagger). I continued on the bridges. Fun thing? You can fight the man who claimed to have helped build them on this route. Look for an Engineer named Kyle. I was about to enter Route 313, when I heard some people talking about something that needs to be found. And why are they trying to find this object? Well, to take over the world, of course!

We do get to see who is talking, though.

Oh hey, it's Jake! Remember him from entry #6? Man, that seems so long ago. Wait, why does he want to take over the world? Has his so-called "swag" gotten to his head? That would not surprise me.

Anyway, he wants to know if I've seen TM87 anywhere. Remember, we found it earlier. But you know what? Jake's a jerk, so I'm not giving him the satisfaction of seeing it. I told him that I haven't seen it. Jake gets mad about at, and screams that I'm lying. Not that he has any reason to think so. Anyway, we end up battling.

1st Pokémon: Klefki (Lv. 36) - Defeated Butterfree. Defeated by Magmortar.

2nd Pokémon: Lairon (Lv. 37) - Defeated by Magmortar.

3rd Pokémon: Kingdra (Lv. 38) - Defeated by Luxray.

4th Pokémon: Scraggy - Defeated by Gabite

5th Pokémon: Charmeleon (Lv. 37) - Defeated by Kingdra

And with that, Jake runs off. He screams "Team Yoloswag Out" or some other nonsense. I have no idea, he's an idiot.

And I think that's where we'll end things for now. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourself and each other. Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, and wear a mask! See you next time!

Pokémon Obtained

(Kivu Town)

- Krabby

- Corphish (120th Pokémon! Whoo-hoo!)

- Magmortar (Evolved from Magmar at Lv. 38)

- Victreebel (Evolved from Weepinbell at Lv. 38)

(Route 311)

- Tentacool

- Kingdra (Evolved from Seadra at Lv. 38)

TMNT/Ghostbusters #1 (October 2014)

In 1984, two icons of pop culture debuted. Theaters showed the a little movie about a quartet of blue-collar paranormal investigators/eliminators. Meanwhile, Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird created a little comic book about four anthropomorphic turtles trained in martial arts. The Ghostbusters and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles had surprisingly quite a bit in common. Both groups operated in New York City, both groups had successful long-running cartoons, and they have both have had adventures with various media over the years, including comic books.

Also, both groups have had their fair share of crossovers over the years, particularly when IDW got the comic rights for them. The Ghostbusters were involved in the first Infestation crossover, battling zombies alongside the original Star Trek crew, the Transformers, and GI Joe. The Turtles would be involved in the second crossover, alongside an alternate version of the Transformers, Dungeons & Dragons, GI Joe, and 30 Days of Night.

It wouldn't be until 2014 that these two groups would finally get to join forces for the first times. So, how did their first meeting go? Let's find out in TMNT/Ghostbusters #1!

The cover is a Dan Schoening piece, and it's pretty good. It's a bit basic, but it's good. I'd argue just seeing the Turtles and the Ghostbusters together is cool enough. What is interesting is how each Turtle and Ghostbuster is paired on the cover. Donatello and Egon make sense, as they're pretty much the brains of their groups. Leonardo and Winston are the serious fighters. Michelangelo and Ray are arguably the most kid-like. And then there's Raphael and Peter. Yeah, I don't see Peter as much of a hothead, but he and Raph do share a knack for cracking sarcastic jokes.

"Crossing the Divide"

Writers: Erik Burnham, Tom Waltz

Penciler: Dan Schoening, Charles Paul Wilson III, Cory Smith

Inker: Unknown

Colorists: Luis Antonio Delgado, Ronda Pattison

Letterer: Neil Uyetake

Editor: Bobby Curnow

The story begins with...a story. Long ago, powerful beings called immortals ruled the Earth...until they just up and vanished. Literally just decided to go disappear one day. These missing beings would go on to inspire many varied myths and legends, from the kitsune in Japan, to the Pied Piper of Hamlin in Europe. It seemed these immortals would never return. Yeah, never say never, folks.

We next look in on Japan during the Muromachi period. We look in on what appears to be a young woman trying to summon something. She senses someone nearby and demands he show himself. The woman is revealed to be a kitsune, the mischievous fox spirit of Japanese mythology. The man is her brother. He sensed the great power she was summoning, and he wanted to see if she was breaking some kind of agreement the two had made. She scoffs, as the man is so uptight about the rules. Someone then emerges from the portal.

Yup, it appears the Turtles' old sparring buddy Krang is up to something. The man, Chi-You, is infuriated. He believes Krang is a demon...and that the kitsune broke the agreement. You see, the two immortals had agreed to only use mortals as pawns in their games, not demons. He tries to punch her out, but she's able to dodge, and then judo throw him into the portal.

Krang assures the kitsune that thanks to the portal's safeguards, Chi-You won't be bothering her ever again. He gives her a device, asking her if the land he needs was cleared of humans. She had that taken care of. Everything's going to plan. We then next go across the Pacific Ocean, traveling a few hundred years into the future. In particular, we're going to modern day New York City, where the Heroes in a Half-Shell are looking over a portal device of their own.

The Turtles are joined by their longtime allies April O'Neil and Casey Jones. Also with them is Harold Lillja, a scientific colleague of Donatello's. April, Donnie, and Harold have been working on this transporter unit based on schematics from the Fugitoid robot. They think they got the bugs worked out, so they test it. How? By tossing an apple into the device...which ends up conking Casey on the back of the head.

It's nice little bit of humor. The Turtles want to use this thing for quick transportation. Like, to their underground lair to visit Splinter, perhaps? So, the Turtles, Casey, and April enter the portal. Unfortunately, Lillja is busy battling a fly. He manages to swat the fly, but ends up hitting the wrong switch.

Yeah, that's an oopsie right there. We then travel to New York City...an alternate New York City. Here, another heroic quartet are at work.

Yup, the Ghostbusters are hard at work busting ghosts. Because bustin' makes them feel good. The paranormal investigators/eliminators are after a rather nasty ghost: An ugly three-eyed purple thing. The 'Busters manage to catch the ghost, but Ray Stantz is a bit worried. A Class-Five ghost should not have been this difficult to capture. The only way that's possible if some sort of dimensional breach had happened.

Peter's not worried. After all, Ray and Egon built a gadget to detect such dimensional breaches, so it would be alerting them of something. And speak of the devil, they get a call from Janine Melnitz at the firehouse.

In case you're wondering, the Goth girl with Janine there is Kylie Grffin. As in, one of the four "next-generation" Ghostbusters in the Extreme Ghostbusters animated series. I liked that show. Kylie reports that there's a potential Class-Seven on the Eastside. The Ghostbusters naturally go check it out. Meanwhile, the Ninja Turtles arrive in a church on the Ghostbusters' world...in the middle of a wedding.

Chi-You then appears, but he's confused. He can't sense Kitsune or any other of his Immortal brethren. He also has found himself changed, like the travel through dimensions and the centuries in limbo has made him more powerful. The Turtles engage the Immortal, but his newfound ghostly nature makes their attacks ineffective. Chi-You thinks the Turtles are demons sent by Kitsune to recapture him. He's not going to let that happen again. Chi-You tries to blast the Turtles. They dodge it, but Casey gets hit...and he ends up not looking very well.

He needs some face cream. Chi-You has taken control of Casey Jones. And there's another benefit for the ghostly Immortal: He has access to Casey's mind, which allows him to learn about the Turtles...as well as learn how to speak English. And he's not the only one. The wedding guests have all fallen under Chi-You's control. The Immortal knows that The Turtles will try to stop him conquering the world, so he'll have his mortal minions tear them apart. After all, the Turtles will try to avoid harming innocent people.

Luckily for the heroes, a wall gets blown open, and we finally get to see the Ghostbusters and the TMNT meet up.

This comic is awesome. It really is. It's great seeing two icons of the 80s meet up like this. The usage of alternate dimensions is fitting as such a thing is native to both franchises' mythos. We do get a nice little glance of each of the heroes' basic personalities, which is neat. The comic does hint at some previous events in the comic, but as someone who hasn't read it, I did not feel lost. I liked the mention of Gozer. That was fun.

The book was drawn by three artists, but I saw no real indication of that. The art has a bizarrely cartoony vibe to me...which is kind of appropriate as both franchises have benefitted from animation. The only thing I find a bit "off" is the faces. The artists almost makes some of the human characters look like ducks.

If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2015 trade paperback Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Ghostbusters. It's great mini, I highly recommend it. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other. Stay safe, stay healthy, wash your hands often, stay home, and wear a mask! Join me next time, when we join the Green Lantern Corps in the midst of a war...

Rivals of Aether Launch Trailer, My Thoughts

Back in 2017, Dan Fornace released a fighting game called Rivals of Aether. It hit the PC in March of that year, the Xbox One in August. The game was a spiritual sequel to a fan game called Super Smash Land. In the game, each of its fighters represented a natural element. One for fire, one for air, one for metal, etc. The game would be given heavy praise for its fighting mechanics and character design, but was criticized for lack of originality. And now the game has come to the Nintendo Switch! Let's look at the launch trailer!

I love that logo.

I also like the look of the game. I'm a bit of a sucker for the pixel art style.

I want to play as the lion. Lions are awesome.

I've heard of Extreme Volleyball, but this is ridiculous!

Cosmetics, huh? I wonder if they were like the spirits in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, little items you give your fighters to provide certain boosts.

Is...is that a kangaroo riding a mech?!

Well, this game looks like it will be a lot of fun to play! I can't wait to give it a shot. I love Super Smash Bros., so this looks like a blast as well. I like the characters (especially Shovel Knight, love that game), and the graphical style. I hope this does very well, and it's another for my list.

Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves, and each other. Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, and wear a mask! See you next time!

21st of September!

Hey, it's the 21st of September! So, let's groove!

Thunderbolts #1 (April 1997)

The Marvel Universe had it a bit rough in the mid-1990s. And it all started with a monster called Onslaught. Onslaught was a powerful psionic entity created from the merger of the darker sides of the minds of Professor Charles Xavier and Magneto, spinning from the events of the 1993 storyline "Fatal Attractions", which was a story created to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the X-Men.

In that story, Magneto used his magnetokinetic powers to literally rip the adamantium out of Wolverine's skeleton. Enraged by this, Xavier mindwiped his former friend. However, this caused Magneto's darker nature to enter Xavier's mind, which (as I said earlier) combined with Xavier's own suppressed dark side, creating Onslaught. The psionic being would eventually create his own body, and attempted to use the extremely powerful mutants Franklin Richards and Nate Grey to transform humanity into a collective consciousness.

The X-Men, the Avengers, and the Fantastic Four joined forces to stop the psionic monster. They managed to succeed...but the price was heavy. Earth's Mightiest Heroes and Marvel's First Family seemingly were killed destroying Onslaught. Of course, it turned out they were alive, but that's a story for another day.

With the FF and Avengers seemingly dead, the Marvel Universe needed A-Teams again. Sure, many other heroes were still active. Spider-Man, Moon Knight, Daredevil, the New Warriors. But there was a hole in the Marvel Universe. One team was determined to rise up and take up the mantle of being Earth's Mightiest Heroes...while harboring a very dark secret. First appearing in Incredible Hulk #449 (January 1997), this new team would create quite a legacy for itself. They are the Thunderbolts, and this is Thunderbolts #1!

The cover is a Mark Bagley piece, and it's pretty good. It depicts the Thunderbolts, basically giving an idea of who they are. I like the usage of the lightning bolt behind them. I do feel the group should have some shadows on them, helping symbolize that there's a dark side to them.

"Justice...Like Lightning!"

Writer: Kurt Busiek

Penciler: Mark Bagley

Inker: Vince Russell

Colorist: Joe Rosas

Letterer: Comicraft, Dave Lanphear, Oscar Gongorra

Editor: Bob Harras

Editor-in-Chief: Bob Harras

The story begins with a reporter at the site of a battle. She's here to give us a bit of a recap. She basically tells what I explained earlier in the entry, without the reveal of Onslaught's origins. A teenage girl watches the crew.

Meet Helen "Hallie" Takahama.  A few weeks ago, she was celebrating her 15th birthday. But then Onslaught showed up and her parents had been killed in front of her. Since then, she's survived on the streets. However, things are not going to get much better for her, as a mysterious man uses some chloroform to knock her out and drag her away.

Elsewhere, a group of looters and scavengers called the Rat Pack are looking around for items and valuables. However, they get a visit.

The gentleman's name is Citizen V, and he's here to make a citizen's arrest. The Rat Pack aim their guns at him. After all, he's seemingly just some nut in a funny suit and sword, right? Well, no. You see, Citizen V has some friends.

Meet the Thunderbolts! Songbird, scintillating sonic siren! MACH-1, armored aerial ace! Meteorite, space powerhouse! Techno, brilliant king of machines! And last but not least: Atlas: the gargantuan guardian! The Thunderbolts leap into action. A helicopter notices this and gets out the news. One of them is one Dallas Riordan.

Back to the battle! The Rat Pack's leader sends the craft with his group's loot flying. MACH-1 and Songbird pursue after it, but MACH-1 is brought down. Thankfully, Songbird saves him with a bubble of solid sound. The Thunderbolts get the win, but the Rat Pack manage to get way, thanks to some explosive tunneling.

With that done, the Thunderbolts return to their HQ...one of the abandoned buildings due to Onslaught. It's here we get some more character moments with the group. Techno complains about the dilapidation and wants to use one of the hidden bases that the Green Goblin and Dr. Octopus must have all over the city. Citizen V tells him the Thunderbolts can do better, and they don't have the money for a high-tech base anyway.

Neearby, MACH-1 and Songbird do a bit of talking. The sonic diva worries that she may not up to this gig, but MACH-1 assures her that she's got what it takes. Meteorite watches this and mulls over it. She then spots Atlas lounging in a chair. The powerhouse doesn't like the fact that Techno's grandstanding could have gotten them killed. You see, Atlas was a military man once. As such, he likes order and being able to depend on the rest of the men in the squad. Meteorite basically tells him, "Citizen V and I will take care of it, don't worry about it."

Meteorite then goes to check on Techno, who's been occupying himself with creating a robot.

Awww, ain't it cute? Meteorite blasts the robot. Because she is a jerk. Seriously, she fears it will arouse suspicion. A group of news helicopters arrive, and Citizen V takes the opportunity to formally introduce the Thunderbolts to the world. Who they are, their powers, that kind of thing. Interestingly, V reveals the team's name of "Thunderbolts" was inspired by a quote from 17th century poet Thomas Randolph:

"Justice, like lightning, ever should appear to few men ruin, but to all men fear."

We see a bit more character stuff with the individual interviews. MACH-1 talks about his suit, Songbird is a bit nervous, and Techno is a braggart. One of the reporters alerts Citizen V that the Rat Pack was spotted nearby the last place the 'Bolts faced them. And with that, New York's newest heroes jump back into action!

Back with Dallas Riordan! She gets a call from the mayor. People are talking about this wild new team, and he wants them to be connected to New York City. And that will be Riordan's job. So, where are the Thunderbolts right now? They're pursuing the Rat Pack to Liberty Island. And it's here that our new heroes have gotten themselves into an ambush.

Techno is worried about them. After all, the Wrecking Crew are known for regularly trading blows with Thor, who is a god. Despite this, the 'Bolts engage them. Citizen V taunts the Wrecker by reminding him of the time he got beaten by Captain America [Iron Fist #12 (April 1977)] and "a glorified SWAT team" [Journey to Mystery #505 (January 1997)]

During the battle, Piledriver causes a shockwave, endangering some tourists. Songbird manages to save them. Bulldozer tries to run her down, but MACH-1 manages to make him miss. Atlas is able to knock Wrecker silly, but Thunderball (My favorite member of the Crew because he shares a name with a James Bond movie) manages to knock him silly.

Ooh, right in the jaw!

Thunderball's blow manages to knock the gigantic Thunderbolt down and into the water. This distracts Meteorite, who ends up eating some flying rubble courtesy of Piledriver. In the process, the torch-holding arm of the Statue of Liberty is knocked off. Wrecker smashes a hole in the Statue's base, making one demand: The Thunderbolts surrender...or he'll live up to his name and turn the Statue of Liberty into a pile of scrap metal. With Atlas and Meteorite down, the 'Bolts can't fight the Crew head-on. Or can they?

When brawn fails, brains will work. MACH-1 flies in, firing small balls of sleeping gas into the Wrecking Crew's mouths. With Songbird creating sound bubbles around their heads, the gas sends three of the Crew to dreamland. Only Bulldozer remains, due to his helmet shielding him. An angry Atlas rises from the water, wanting a piece of Thunderball. But since Thunderball is busy with his nap, Bulldozer will make a nice convenient target for him. Atlas punches Bulldozer, sending him flying over the horizon like Team Rocket after a failed scheme to get Ash's Pikachu.

The Thunderbolts hear a noise, and...it's cheering. People are cheering for them. A short time later, Dallas Riordan arrives to Liberty Island and introduces herself to the 'Bolts. Atlas is a bit spellbound by the bespectacled redhead. The 'Bolts help repair the Statue and take their leave.

New York City has fallen in love with their new heroes, and even other heroes like Spider-Man, the New Warriors, and Black Widow have taken a shine to them. Back at their HQ, the 'Bolts are watching TV, seeing how the city has accepted them. An unmasked Citizen V enters the room, showing that he's...got some problems with his face. V decides to put on an older mask...and that's when we learn this team's startling twist.

Yup, they're actually supervillains in disguise. Citizen V is Baron Helmut Zemo. Techno is the Fixer. Songbird is Screaming Mimi. Atlas is Goliath, and Meteorite is actually Moonstone. All of these characters have served in various incarnations of the Masters of Evil. MACH-1, aka the Beetle, served with the 3rd incarnation of the group, first appearing in Avengers #222 (August 1982). That incarnation was led by an evil genius called Egghead. The others served in the fourth incarnation, debuting in Avengers #270 (August 1986). Led by Zemo himself, it was the biggest version of the team to date, with twelve members. This version made their name by storming and wrecking Avengers Mansion in the underrated "Avengers Under Siege" storyline. Back in 1997, this was a shocking revelation, helped by Marvel managing to keep it secret.

The story ends with Hallie Takahama in a dark cell, miles from New York, praying for anyone to help her.

This comic is awesome. You really don't get much of a hint that the Thunderbolts are actually supervillains until the end, which puts the hint of personality each of the members had shown into question. Was it real, or were they acting? We're left unsure and rather unsettled. We also have a bit of a mystery on our hands here. How exactly will posing as heroes help the Masters achieve their goal of presumably world domination? And what of Hallie? Well, we'll have to read on to find out.

I also liked Mark Bagley's art. To me, it has a bit of a cartoony vibe to it. One detail I really liked was that he was able to show Citizen V's facial expressions despite his face being fully covered. I did feel his faces were a bit generic at times, though.

If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2011 trade paperback Thunderbolts Classic Vol. 1. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other. Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, and wear a mask! Join me next time, when we look at a titanic team-up between two 80s icons...

Collection of SaGa Announcement Trailer, My Thoughts

The SaGa series was the brainchild of game producer Akitoshi Kawazu. In the late 80s and early 90s, he was working at the game company Square. This company would eventually become Square Enix. WIth the growing popularity of the Game Boy, Square wanted some of that sweet sweet portable money. As such, they called upon their developers to make a game for the little gray brick.

Kawazu and Koichi Ishii (creator of the Mana series) suggested they make an RPG. After all, at this point, Square had shown themselves quite the hand at the genre. The SaGa games differentiated themselves from Final Fantasy by using non-linear plots and open world exploration. The series has had ten games so far, and has sold over 9 million units on various consoles. And now the first three games of the series are coming to the Switch! Let's look at the announcement trailer!

A lot of companies have been bringing their older games to the Switch. I, for one, love it. It's a great way to introduce a new audience to some classic games that they've never played before. It also allows

Final Fantasy Legend - Released in 1989 in Japan and 1990 in North America by Square for the Game Boy. The first in the SaGa series. The first game developed by Square for the Game Boy. In this game, you play as a group of heroes travelling around a series of worlds with a giant tower centered around them.

This game would get highly prised, but was criticized for its difficulty and graphics.

Final Fantasy Legend II - Released in 1990 by Square in Japan, 1991 in North America. In this one, your player character is searching for their father while trying to assemble the pieces of the statue of a goddess. This game was praised as superior to the previous entry.

Final Fantasy Legend III - Released in 1990 by Square, and 1993 in North America. In this game, the world's been flooded by a being called the Pureland Water Entity. Like the previous two games, it was heavily praised. However, it was criticized for its story and its equipment screen.

There isn't really much to say about this trailer. I do like the new features that have been added. I think I just may give this a shot. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourself, and each other. Stay safe, Stay home, wash your hands often, and wear a mask! See you next time!

Dune Trailer, My Thoughts

In 1965, Frank Herbert's novel Dune would be unleashed on the world. The novel would be tied for the 1966 Hugo Award, and win the first Nebula Award for New Novel. It's become known as the best-selling science fiction novel of all time in 2003. In 1984, the novel would be adapted into a film directed by David Lynch. The film had a large cast, featuring actors Kyle MacLachlan (his film debut), Max Von Sydow, Patrick Stewart, Dean Stockwell, Virginia Madsen, Linda Hunt, and Sting. The film would be a box-office bomb and was negatively reviewed by critics. This version would go on to be a cult classic.

In February 2017, Denis Villeneuve was hired to direct a new adaptation of Dune, with a cast including Oscar Isaac, Stellan Skarsgard, Zendaya, Jason Momoa, Josh Brolin, Rebecca Ferguson, and Dave Bautista. Let's look at the trailer!

I managed to get a copy of Dune from a sale at my local library for about a dollar. Still have yet to read it. Admittedly, I'm a little afraid to, as I heard it's a bit...heavy.

"All this sand everywhere...no wonder Anakin Skywalker hated it so much."

...speak up, Paul! I can't hear you!

"Man, I need to stop putting all that spice on pizza before I go to bed..."

That must have been one wild party.

...that box contains copies of Dark Phoenix?

Yeah, I felt the same way when I ate too much pizza that one time, Paul. It was not fun...

Man, Poe Dameron got old.

"Fighty time, fighty time, blood blood blood!"

- Deadpool

"Imma get friggin' drunk, what's what I'm gonna do!"

"Yeah, there's a Sarlacc down there, son. You don't want to face that thing."

"Man, this sand is shiny..."

...SANDWORM! SOMEBODY CALL BEETLEJUICE!

Well, this...is something. I admit, I've never seen the original Dune movie (Yeah, I know. The guy who loves 80s movies never saw Dune. Gimme a break), and this seems...well...a bit bland. I'm wondering if that's what they're going for. The big thing that I'm into is the cast. This is an incredible cast here, and it's gotten me excited for this movie. I do hope it does well.

Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves, and each other! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, and wear a mask! See you next time!

Wonder Woman #219 (September 1975)

It's that time again! It's time to rejoin Wonder Woman on her journey to rejoin the Justice League! It's September, so that means our dear Diana is gong to deal with labor number nine. Last time, we joined the Amazing Amazon as she battled Felix Faust and an ensorcelled Statue of Liberty. It was a crazy story, but I figured it was forgivable as magic was involved. But now Diana deals with a new threat: A dimension that seemingly hates women. So, how does she deal with this? Let's find out as we look at Wonder Woman #219!

The cover is a Dick Giordano piece, depicting a bound Wonder Woman asking a group of men to kill her. It's an intruging cover, and when I first saw it, I was quite curious as to how this came about.

"The World of Enslaved Women!"

Writer: Martin Peaks

Penciler: Curt Swan

Inker: Vince Colletta

Letterer: Unknown

Colorist: Unknown

Editor: Julius Schwartz

The story (this time being narrated by Elongated Man) starts with the Invisible Jet racing to save a woman about to be run over.

Wonder Woman is able to stop a potential tragedy by using her lasso to tie the truck to a nearby lamppost. Another epic rescue by the Amazing Amazon!

However, the woman herself has a very...odd reaction to Wondy saving her life.

Sheesh, no good deed indeed. Wonder Woman uses her lasso to get the woman to go home. She then reports to the U.N. Crisis Bureau in her civilian identity of Diana Prince. The U.N. is hosting an international feminism conference...and two of the prominent guests have vanished: Bonita Doolin of Ireland and Minna Golden of Israel. They literally disappeared in public view. Blinked right out of existence. Thanos is up to something...

Anyway, Tracy Morgan gives Diana a list of the American guests at this conference. Her job, should she choose to accept it, is to make sure they don't vanish. And of course, being a Wonder Woman comic in the 70s, Morgan has to make a chauvinistic remark about her being able to handle. No wonder Morgan became a supervillain later on.

Ralph Dibny notices that one of the women on the list is a world-famous tennis player named Betty Jo Kane...who faced off against the infamous Willy Wrigley in a "Battle of the Sexes" tennis match.

If you don't get the reference, allow me to explain. You see, Betty Jo Kane is a pastiche of Billie Jean King. King was regarded as one of the finest female tennis players in history. In 1973, she participated in a "Battle of the Sexes" tennis match in real life, too. She faced off against 55-year-old Bobby Riggs, whom she defeated. The match has been marred by controversies regarding Riggs supposedly throwing the match because of debts, and criticism of the age differences between King and Riggs, but it is still seen as a major event in women's tennis, with King helping pave the way for women's tennis superstars like Steffi Graf, Monica Seles, and the Williams sisters.

Wonder Woman and Elongated Man were at that match when Miss Kane...up and vanishes. The disappearance threatens to cause a riot, but the Amazon is able to calm the crowd down with the help of her magic lasso. Looking to find some clues to the tennis star's sudden exit, Diana finds a receipt from a beauty salon called "Consciousness III". This confuses Diana, as in her mind, a supposedly liberated woman like Betty Jo Kane would never go to a beauty salon as that would be seen as...sexist? What?

What, Betty Jo can't just want to get all dolled up once in a while? Anyway, Wonder Woman learns from a newspaper that another name on the list, Margaret Matthews, is attending the opening of another Consciousness III salon. Matthews is the wife of the attorney general (we can assume of New York, as Diana's work at the time, and we may assume that Mrs. Matthews is rather famous herself). Anyway, sensing a link between the salon and the disappearance, Diana Prince suddenly finds herself in the mood to get a bit of a makeover.

Diana hears a scream and goes to check it out. Luckily, it was only that the salon's shampoo gave the lady what looks like She-Hulk hair. The attendant presses a button on his razor and she disappears. he also uses a hidden communicator in it to announce that his bosses have got their target. Diana demands to know what the employee did, but he refuses to answer and a fight breaks out. Naturally, our heroine is able to handle herself...despite her taking a bottle of shampoo to the head and getting suds in her eyes. It's here that Diana joins the ranks of vanished prominent women. Luckily, Ralph is taken along for the ride so he can record this. It turns out that the missing women were transported to a world on another dimension.

Welcome to the world of Xro. On this world, men rule and names have no vowels in them. Women here on this world are basically nothing more than slaves. One day, two of these slave women stumble into a laboratory, where they learn of Earth...and its feminist movement. Remember, this is a comic from the 1970s. The two slaves get some inspiration: travel to Earth, learn from this movement, then fight for their freedom.

The slaves make it to Earth, but it turns out there was a side effect of it. Somehow, their minds were altered, reversing their emotional responses. An example of this is shown when one of the slave women is crushed and killed by a falling statue. The other woman, instead of being horrified and saddened, finds it hilarious instead. Despite this, the surviving slave is able to return to Earth and incite a rebellion.

Xro's government has trouble putting down the rebellion. However, they get a brainwave: If women from Xro get mentally altered by traveling to Earth...maybe the same is true in reverse. Maybe if they bring prominent Earth women to Xro to speak in rallies, their reversed mentality will cause them to convince Xro's women to end their rebellion and re-submit to male rule. They try to enact their plan.

The leader of Xro, named Mchsm, is quite happy that Diana is here, though. You see, Diana has her magic lasso with him, and the leaders of this world think they may be able to use that to further make the women submit back to being slaves again. Diana says that she's happy to hand it over. However, presumably to her Amazonian physiology, she's not completely compliant. The guards distract her with a bit of bullets and bracelets, allowing one of the men to get her lasso and bind her with it. Marston would be proud of the guard's binding work.

Wondy uses some trickery to free herself, as well as the other Earth women kidnapped by Mchsm. Outside, the female mob is bursting their way in, out for blood. Mchsm refuses to admit he's beaten. He'd rather die than live in a world where he gets told what to do by a woman, so he ignites his building's self-defense mechanism. Yup, he's going to make everyone go kablooie.

Wondy gets the Earth women to the teleporter, back to the Conciousness III salon. However, the salon is about to go up as well, maybe because of the teleporter. One flight on the Invisible Jet Airlines later, and the women are arriving at the U.N. conference. After Diana used her lasso to make them forget that Diana Prince and Wonder Woman are one and the same, of course.

Ralph completes his report, while explaining a plot hole: Men are presumably immune to the emotion-switching effect of traveling between Earth and Xro. I don't know.

Basically, the Elongated Man feels that Diana has earned the right to rejoin the Justice League. And with that, there's one final piece of business to take care of. With Batman unavailable due to the events of Detective Comics #444-448, someone has to monitor Diana's tenth labor. Out of the Leaguers present (Superman, Flash, Atom, and Hawkman), the Mighty Mite and the Winged Warrior have not monitored the Amazon yet. Which will get the job? Well, there's only one fair way to decide it: Grab a coin, and call it in the air, gentlemen.

Yeah, this story was...not that good. It really wasn't. The art was the saving grace of this story. The story felt like a first draft that needed some heavy editing. I did get a good laugh out of this one part: Green Arrow flipping out over Ralph buying a video-tape machine. That is hilarious considering the existence of camera phones these days. I did notice the gag of the leader being named essentially "machismo", and one of the slave women being named "Stnm", as in Gloria Steinem. Yeah... Really, the best thing about the comic is the art. Curt Swan turned in some good art for the issue. It was nice to see him back.

 

If you really want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2012 trade paperback Wonder Woman: The Twelve Labors. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourself and each other. Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, and wear a mask! Join me next time when I look at the first issue of a title that helped premier a new team of heroes, with a dark twist...

Happy Labor Day!

This is a reprint of a blog entry from 2017. Apologies for this, as I lacked the time, and I was far too tired to make a new one. So, Happy Labor Day, everyone!

What is Labor Day, you ask? Well, the American Labor Day is celebrated on the first Monday in September, which is when Canada also celebrates their own Labor Day. It marks the end of the summer, and it's a federal holiday here. It also means a three-day weekend.

What is Labor Day? Well, it's basically to honor and celebrate the working person, the people who work hard to build, to heal, to create, and to feed. A day to express gratitude to the worker and remember their contributions to the country.

So, how did Labor Day get started? Well, in the late 19th century, the growth of trade unions and labor movements led to a call to celebrate the working person. In 1887, Oregon became the first U.S. State to declare Labor Day a public holiday. 29 other states would do the same by the time 1894 rolled around, in which Labor Day became a federal holiday, signed into law by President Grover Cleveland. You can learn more about the history of Labor Day here.

The labor movement is the reason we have a minimum wage, Social Security, a 40-hour work week, Medicare, and even family leave. So when you celebrate this day, think about this...and thank a working person.

Black Panther #2 (December 1998)

Last month, I took a look at the first issue of Christopher Priest's acclaimed run on the Black Panther's solo title. It was a fun comic that genuinely made me laugh and show that T'Challa is nothing to mess with. I had originally wanted to continue my monthly look at the 12 Labors of Wonder Woman, but then I had learned of the tragic and untimely passing of Chadwick Boseman.

I admit, the first time I was aware of Mr. Boseman was when he was cast as the Black Panther for Captain America: Civil War. His performance as the Panther, not to mention his portrayals of important figures of Black history like Jackie Robinson and James Brown have been shown to be incredibly inspirational, not to mention that the man himself was described to be quite a wonderful human being.

I wondered how I could pay tribute to him, until I realized something. Christopher Priest's Black Panther run was a very heavy inspiration for the film, so I figured, why not pay tribute by taking a look at another issue of that. Let's take a look at Black Panther #2!

The cover is pretty cool. I think it's a Mark Texiera piece, depicting T'Challa facing off against Mephisto. It's so awesome, and sadly that does not happen here. That makes me sad.

"Invasion"
Writer: Christopher Priest
Penciler: Mark Texiera
Inker: Mark Texiera
Colorist: Avalon Studios (credited as Avalon Color)
Letterer: Richard Starkings, Siobhan Henna
Editors: Joe Quesada, Jimmy Palmiotti
Editor-in-Chief: Bob Harras
The comic also credits Alitha Martinez for "Background assists" and Nanci Dakesian as "Managing Editor"

The story begins with Everett K. Ross finding himself in a...troubling position. He's sharing a couch with Mephisto, one of the Marvel Universe's substitutes for Satan...and he still doesn't have any pants. Not knowing what else to do, the hapless State Department worker tries to make a little small talk. So, what's the comic's titular character up to?

"AHHHHH! CAT PEOPLE ARE REAL, MAN! I KNEW IT! MY NECK!"

He's getting to know his temporary neighbors a little better. T'Challa is building himself a little intelligence network, hoping to root out who was responsible for the death of a Wakanda-connected charity's poster child. While he's working on that project, the Black Panther figured he'd do the superhero thing and help clean up the projects a bit. He sent out two of his Dora Milaje, Okoye and Nakia, to help with that.

"Beloved, when we were injuring these men, they spoke of something called 'pizza'. We wish to try some."

Yeah, they're not exactly Danai Gurira and Lupita Nyong'o, huh? Well, this was how they first appeared in the comics. The two did not kill anyone, as per his orders, but they will have to spend some time in the hospital. Presumably in bodycasts and eating Jell-O. Mmm, Jell-O...

The two also confiscated various gangs' weapons and drugs, and donated their money to charity. Anonymously, of course.

Back in Ross's apartment, he manages to make a little small talk with Mephisto, who gives him some pants. This leads Ross to worry that he may have just sold his soul for them. We get a bit of a recap of the previous issue focusing on T'Challa and his party's arrival to America. They arrived at JFK airport, which will need a bit of redecoration thanks to Zuri.

"God help all of us if Zuri ever discovers pro wrestlers."

As for T'Challa himself, he's speaking to his stepmother Ramonda. She's reporting that a man named Achebe had stuck, using sympathizers within Wakanda to cause some kind of civil war in the country. Ramonda tells T'Challa to stay in New York for now. Achebe wants the Panther dead, and he may be safer in New York. Besides, the Panther has a mission there anyway. Again, last issue.

Zuri, being a bit of a psycho, wants to go back to Wakanda and get some killing done. But T'Challa is able to calm him down, and they all go for a ride in Ross's little red car, Ross finding himself thinking about the film JFK.

"...how did you all manage to fit in this thing?!"

Back, and to the left...Back, and to the left...Back, and to the left...now Ross got me doing it. Speaking of Ross, he flubs up trying to order some Chinese food. One Manuel Ramos (remember him from last issue, too. Panther's new buddy?) sees Okoye and Nakia. He figures, "Hey, a couple of hotties! Maybe they need some nice male company."

Ross tries to intervene, but he's a bit of a twerp. He gets his ID stolen. He and his boys prepare to turn the fed into a street stain, but he's got a savior.

Sgt. Francis Tork. You may remember him from my reviews of the Falcon miniseries back in the day. I love it when books revive characters like this. Anyway, Ross realizes that Ramos still has his ID...and Tork scared him and his boys off. So, while the Panther does some more investigating, Ross tracks Ramos to a seedy club, where he ends up in a mud wrestling match with a few women. And Zuri decides to join in as well.

Tork breaks it up, and everyone gets arrested. Also, the mud wrestling match is how Ross lost his pants. So, where was T'Challa? Well, our man was in a hospital. He was visiting one of the patients there: One Marion Vicar, the Executive Director of the Tomorrow Fund. He wants a name. He wants the name of the one who corrupted her, the one who turned her against the charity. She tells the King of Wakanda to "go to hell". Well, T'Challa has ways of making her talk.

I'm not sure if it's Nakia or Okoye here. Either way, she uses the interrogation technique of "baton-on-throat" on Vicar. T'Challa demands the name. The name of the devil who caused this. Vicar finally gives it up.

Achebe. Who is Achebe, you may ask? Well, that's what Nikki wants to know, too. Remember, this story is flashback. It's being told by Ross to her. He just slams his head on the table, and laments that's when the "fun" started.

This was a pretty good second issue. We got a bit of expansion of some things established in the first issue, and Ross provided some humor as well. One detail I liked was in Black Panther's conversation with Marion Vicar. His dialogue referred to devils and corruption, implying that he was suspicious of Mephisto's involvement. Would explain why the big red monster showed up in Ross's apartment, ha ha. I will admit, I am a bit sad that Zuri in the Black Panther movie was very different from his comic counterpart because comic Zuri is hilarious and awesome.

As I said about the first issue, I did like Mark Texiera's art. It looks like this was drawn in chalk, and it has a gritty feel to it that fits the issue. I did wish he made Nakia and Okoye's faces a bit more distinct, though. When one of them was wearing the police uniform, I could not identify them because they didn't have the different hairstyles.

Rest in Peace, Chadwick Boseman. Thank you for all you have done. And thank you all for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Remember to stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, and wear a mask! Join me next time as I look at the next Labor of Wonder Woman...