Big Hero 6 Review

Today, I got to do something that was a lot of fun. I got to go to my local theatre, and I watched a fantastic film: Big Hero 6.

Greetings. I am Baymax, and you will be quoting me quite a bit.

Big Hero 6 was the first film done by Disney using characters from Marvel Comics, which they acquired in 2009. The team in the comics themselves are pretty obscure, so they had a lot of freedom to tell a story, and perhaps give some spotlight to some lesser-known characters.

I have to be honest, I was very excited about this film. Had been since I saw the first trailer. So, when I finally had the chance to go the theatre and see it, I had high hopes.

I was not disappointed. The film was preceded by a short called Feast. Feast focused on a dog named Winston who was fond of food. It was a sweet little short, and very adorable. Big Hero 6 focuses on Hiro Hamada (He was actually named Hiro Takachiho in the comics, I guess his name was changed because "Hamada" was easier to pronounce), a teenage genius and his sidekick, a robot named Baymax. He and his friends, a group of science whizzes with their own talents, become superheroes to stop a menace armed with nanotechnology.

The film's setting, a merging of San Francisco and Tokyo called San Fransokyo (Yup), was amazing to see, a futuristic world that was bright and colorful, a great setting for a colorful group of heroes like Big Hero 6. The group never calls themselves that by name, but I can imagine it would be hard to come up with a reason why the group would call themselves "Big Hero 6".

This film had something for everyone: action, humor, and touching moments. Disney was wise to focus on Baymax for their advertising, as he definitely was a breakout character. Scott Adsit's delivery was robotic, but also allowed Baymax to show a surprising amount of emotion and humanity.

The rest of the voice cast did fine work, too. Ryan Potter made Hiro Hamada a likable kid. T.J. Miller's Fred was goofy, laid back, and fit his design very well. Jamie Chung made GoGo Tomago tough and awesome. Genesis Rodriguez's Honey Lemon was incredibly sweet. Damian Wayans Jr.'s Wasabi was a voice of reason who was funny in his own right.

The one thing I really loved about this film's story was that the main villain and Hiro became parallels of each other in motivation. I'll leave you to watch the movie to see exactly what I mean.

The only real critique I have with this film was that it was a bit short, about an hour and fifteen minutes. However, it's a minor critique. The story went along at a good pace, and accomplished all it set out to do. And to be honest, I'd rather sit through a short film than a long film that drags on and on. Animated films are rarely longer than two full hours anyway, so again, the short time is not something that really bothers me.

Go see this film. It's a lot of fun.

Adventures in Pokemon Y Part 4: Santalune Gym

Okay, I've done some further training of my Pokémon, especially my three Fire-types (Vulcan the Fennekin, Bunsen the Pansear, and Firemane the Litleo), so now...it's time to hit the Gym, and try out for the first badge in Kalos: The Bug Badge. Bug Badge. Pretty obvious what kind of Pokémon the Gym Leader hands out, huh? Well, time to take on the Gym.

As I said earlier, when I first entered the Gym, it looked like an art gallery. It's appropriate. Evidently, when Viola isn't working as a video game boss, she's an avid photographer, and uses her Gym as a gallery to show off her work. I can't help but wonder if the Pokémon League in Kalos is cool with this. Wouldn't this be technically moonlighting? I'm guessing they're fine with it, because nobody in the Gym charged me for looking at the photos.

When I enter the Gym, the guy inside greets me and welcomes me to the Gym. How nice. He asks me if I'm thrilled with my first Gym challenge. You bet! I got three Fire Pokémon that wants to meet Viola's bugs. He shows me a pole in the center of the gallery, and tells me to challenge Viola, I have to go down it. Evidently, Viola was also once a firefighter, or she is a big Ghostbusters fan. Or of the 1966 Batman series. He also reminds me that Viola and the trainers inside specialize in Bug Pokémon. Yeah, thanks for telling me. I didn't go to the trouble to catch and train Bunsen and Firemane just for the fun of it...okay, maybe a little bit for the fun of training Pokémon.

I go down the pole, and find myself in the middle of a spider web. A big freakin' spider web. What is this thing made of? I know spider silk is supposed to be really strong, but geez! A spider web in a Bug-themed Gym. Yes, spiders are not insects, they are arachnids. Arachnids are a different class of creature. However, quite a few Bug-type Pokémon have been modeled on spiders, so I'm not surprised to see this.

The Trainers in the Gym weren't any real challenge, I was able to plow through them easily. Viola herself was surprisingly tough, though. She had a Surskit, which is partially Water. It was frustrating, but I also actually liked that. It showed that the Gym Leaders are smart enough to know that overspecialization is NOT good. And since it appears that Viola's liking of Bug Pokémon is well-known to the public, she's smart enough to realize Trainers will bring Fire-types against her (and considering the Santalune Forest and Route 22 are where a Trainer can find wild Pansears and Litleos), she knows she's going to need something to counter the Fire-types Trainers will be bringing against her. It does bring a bit of frustration, but it's nice to see a little savvy on the Gym Leader's part.

Anyway, I managed to beat her and get my Bug Badge.

This badge will stare into your soul...

The Bug Badge allows Trainers to command Pokémon up to level 30, even ones obtained in trades. This is handy, as I can now add my Chespin and Froakie to my team. I wanted them in my main team, now I can keep them on the team for a while. I never thought about it much in previous games I played, but now I can't help but wonder, how exactly does that work in-universe? Game mechanics-wise, I understand the reason for this, it prevents the game from being beaten too easily, but how does it work in the actual world within in the games? The anime has hinted that Badges are a sign that a Trainer is powerful and is to be regarded with respect by a Pokémon.

I also got a load of money and a TM, which is typical for a Gym. This TM is for a move called Infestation, a move that prevents Pokémon from fleeing for four to five turns. This'll be helpful in catching wild Pokémon, especially Abra. Abra is in this game, and I have caught one in previous games. They are a pain to catch and train, but having an Alakazam on your team is worth it.

Upon leaving Viola, the guy hanging out in the gallery area congratulates me on winning the first Kalos badge. They also engraved my name on the statues there. That's pretty cool. It's nice to know that there are still some traditions that don't change in the Pokémon world.

I've done pretty much everything there is to do here in Santalune City, so time for me to grab some supplies in the Poké Mart, make some adjustments to my Pokémon team, and then head out to the next Route and Town to collect some more Pokémon, train my team, and find more adventure!

Pokémon Obtained: None

Super Smash Bros. for 3DS, First Impressions

I have recently managed to obtain a game I had been eagerly anticipating for some time: Super Smash Bros. for 3DS. I didn't get the Wii U version because I do not own a Wii U.


I've been a fan of the Smash Bros. series, playing it since the first game on the N64 all those years ago. The concept was so simple, beautiful, and awesome: The stars of Nintendo's various games all facing off against each other a la Street Fighter or Tekken. This simple idea has evolved into a series that has become one of Nintendo's best and most fun series, the games paying homage to Nintendo history.


As such, I had to get the latest one. In short, I love it. The first thing I love is the roster. It's got a great roster of characters from a variety of series. One addition I liked was Little Mac from the Punch-Out series. When I thought about it, I thought it was strange he wasn't an actual fighter in the game series from the beginning. Little Mac is a boxer, he would've been a perfect fighter for Smash Bros. Ah well, I guess it was since his series didn't get any games for the N64 as far as I know. But then again, as far as I know, the Metroid series also skipped over the N64 as well, and Samus Aran got to be a playable fighter. Ah, well.


It was also really neat seeing Pac-Man as a fighter. It wasn't surprising, really, as Namco helped develop the game. What is also nice was his attacks also pay homage to other Namco games, like Mappy and Galaga.


Anyway, the game was huge! There's so much to do besides straight-up fights. There's the Home Run contest, the All-Star and Classic modes make their return. The game has no Story mode like in Brawl. I wish it did, but I didn't find myself missing it when playing. One of the neatest features was that you could take your little Mii character and put it in the game and have it Brawl alongside and against the gaming legends.


So far, the only issue I had with the game is the control. It does take some getting used to. However, you can change which buttons do what, so it's not a big deal. I also tend to lose track of what is going on slightly because of my 2DS's screen, but it's not a game-breaker to me.


I'm going to keep playing this game and see what else I can unlock. I've already unlocked Wario, so I can't wait to see what other hidden characters are there!

Adventures in Pokemon Y Part 3: Santalune City

Alright! We're here in Santalune City, the first real city the player visits in Pokémon X/Y. The first place I decide to visit is the local Pokémon Center to check it out. When there, I ran into Tierno. He's here to get his Pokémon healed up. I wonder what he has in his team...

Anyway, he explains what the Center is for, for all the rookie players (Every Pokémon game is someone's first, so it doesn't bother me that much). He also shows that the Centers now have Poké Marts built into them. In previous games, they were separate buildings. I actually like the idea of the Pokémon Center and the Poké Mart being one building. It's much more convenient. You can get your team healed up and stocked up in one place. Very nice.

There was also an area where a Trainer could adjust their outfits. I had noticed that there was a clothing store nearby. Upon entering the clothing store, I found it was a place that sold hats. I have to admit, this is an interesting new feature for the Pokémon games. I have to admit, it's a cool idea. I'm sure that there are players that would like to customize their trainers' outfits, and shops like this are a great idea to help players make their avatars look unique. Now to my understanding, shops have different items available every day. Personally, I'd prefer all the choices available all at once, but I can see how this can be used as incentive to get people to play the game daily, like rewards on some iOS games.

I had decided to make an adjustment to my team. I decided to switch out Chevy (my Fletchling), for Stingerette (my Weedle). Yeah, it means I now have three bug Pokémon on my team, but I want to build up Stingerette's power levels and evolve her into a Beedrill. Route 3 also is a great opportunity to add some more Pokémon to my collection. Route 22 is also nearby, so that'll be nice to see what Pokémon reside there. I've managed to get my hands on a Litleo on Route 22 (Cute little Pokémon. If I didn't have a Fennekin, I'd use one in my regular team) and I got a Pansear in Santalune Forest. With my Fennekin, that means I have THREE Fire-type Pokémon. Viola is a Gym Leader in specializes in Bug-type Pokémon. Fire beats Bug. All I have to do is train them a bit, and she'll go down faster than a building rigged by an expert demolition crew.

The Gym's front door was guarded by a roller skater named Rinka. I had to beat her in order to get inside. When you win, she gives a nice reward: special attachments to your shoes that'll make them into roller skates. As an idea, the roller skates are awesome. They allow you to move real fast, which cuts down on time it takes to get places (at least until you can get a Pokémon to learn Fly). The thing is, it can be hard to control with the stick.

One of the centerpieces of the City, besides the Gym itself, is the Trainers' School. This place is mainly here to explain to players about the various status changes Pokémon can endure in battle, like Paralysis, Poisoned, and Frozen. Now, I have played many a Pokémon main series game. When it comes to status changes, I can remember my Pokémon getting paralyzed, poisoned, or being put to sleep quite a few times, but I didn't encounter them getting burned or frozen that much. And keep in mind, I've battled and captured quite a few Fire and Ice-type Pokémon in my time. I'm guessing those two are rarer inflictions.

As for the Gym itself, it's quite a beautiful little Gym. The first room is essentially an art gallery. Turns out Viola, when she's not making life miserable for rookie Trainers, is a photographer. She hangs up her photos of Bug Pokémon on the walls. I can imagine that in this world, she lets people visit the Gallery, and sells prints and souvenirs in order to bring a little extra income into the Gym.

Well, time to get ready. Gotta train my Pokémon some more, and then...I'll battle Viola for my first badge. Wish me luck!

Pokémon Obtained:
Neptune (Froakie)
Chestnut (Chespin)
Gnaw (Bidoof)
Stingerette (Kakuna) - evolved from Weedle
Spiral (Dunsparce)
Church (Frillish) - Obtained via Wonder Trade
Honedge (Honedge) - Obtained via Wonder Trade
Tula (Azurill)
Spewpa (Mothra) - evolved from Scatterbug
Butterfree (Kojima) - evolved from Metapod
Beedrill (Stingerette) - evolved from Kakuna
Shada (Burmy)
Firemane (Litleo)
Daffy (Psyduck)
Hanzo (Farfetch'd)

Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase 3

Marvel's Cinematic Universe has grown. Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, the Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy. And it is continuing to grow. The Avengers' sequel, Age of Ultron, is coming. And Marvel Studios has announced Phase Three is coming over the next six years. As such, I thought I'd give my thoughts on them. Now keep in mind, I may not say much about some of these films, as all there is about them are release dates. So, not much to work with here.


Ant-Man - July 2015
I have talked about this film already, but I have found that I some more to say on it. I want to be excited about this one. I really did. After all, all the Marvel movies before this one got me excited. I liked and enjoyed every one of them. However, this one will definitely be the big stumbling block. I think this one may be a misfire. With all the liberties taken with the mythos in this film, and the controversies regarding the production, and the exclusion of the founding Avenger Janet Van Dyne/The Wasp, I sadly think this one will be Marvel Studios' first disaster. Hank Pym deserved better. Scott Lang deserved better. Janet Van Dyne DEFINITELY deserves better.




Captain America: Civil War - May 2016
To be honest, I winced a bit when I saw this title. I hated Civil War in the comic books. Well, to be fair, I thought it was an interesting idea, just the execution stunk. I'm guessing this film will involve a conflict between Captain America and Iron Man. I'm just hoping that this film just involves an issue between them and it doesn't drag every other superhero into it. One thing for sure, this film probably will be better than the mini-series.




Doctor Strange: Serpent Society - November 2016
I was surprised to hear him being mentioned in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and now he's getting his own film. I've never read much of his solo stuff, just his Defenders and New Avengers adventures, so for me, this is new territory. I'm curious how they will incorporate the Master of Mystic Arts into the MCU, as that universe is more science and real world-themed. I have read that MCU's magic and mysticism will involve quantum physics and string theory and stuff like that. I will be honest, it'll be...well...strange hearing Doctor Strange quote Werner Heisenberg and Niels Bohr instead of yelling "By the hoary hosts of Hoggoth!"




Guardians of the Galaxy 2 - May 2017
OH, YEAH! I LOVED the Guardians' big film debut! I wrote my thoughts on it here. When it was announced a sequel will be made, I was so happy! I cannot WAIT to see Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Groot, and Rocket back on the big screen! I'm hoping this one will be as good as the first!


Thor: Ragnarok - July 2017
This one will be interesting. Ragnarok was the final end for the Norse Gods in the myths, so I'm fearing that this will spell the end for the God of Thunder and his family and friends in Asgard. I am hoping we get to see Balder appear in this movie. Or at least Amora the Enchantress. After all, her sister Lorelei appeared in Agents of SHIELD.


Black Panther - November 2017
Much like The Winter Soldier, I can see this film going to political thriller territory as T'Challa is the King of Wakanda. They've cast Chadwick Boseman for the role. I'm not familiar with his work, so I'm hoping he's good. I can't wait to see how Wakanda is going to look.


Captain Marvel - July 2018
Carol Danvers is making her MCU debut! The first MCU film with a female superhero in the lead! Awesome! Can't wait for this one! Hopefully this'll lead to Black Widow getting her own movie as well.


Inhumans - November 2018
MCU's X-Men movie. 'Nuff Said. I do wonder how they are going to adapt Black Bolt, Medusa, Karnak, Triton, Gorgon, and Crystal into the MCU, though.


Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 - May 2018
Avengers: Infinty War Part 2 - May 2019
This is it. The big one. The Main Event. Every MCU film has built towards this in some way. Avengers vs. Thanos. I can't WAIT five years! I want this NOWWWW! NOW NOW NOW NOW! I'm hoping we get a big epic super-team-up! Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, Inhumans, all teaming up to fight Thanos! If this is what it'll be...the epicness will make Marvel fans' heads explode with joy.

My Thoughts on Ghostbusters 3

Well, it has been confirmed. Ghostbusters 3 is coming. Now, not much has been revealed about the new film, whether it's going to be a sequel or a reboot of the franchise. As such, I don't have a whole lot to say about it.



To be honest, I'm hoping that the new film is a continuation of the series rather than a reboot. To me, a reboot is something that to me the Ghostbusters franchise does not really need. It's a franchise that really doesn't need rejuvenation like the Star Trek franchise did. Not to mention that recent attempts at reboots and remakes, like Robocop, didn't exactly work out very well.


Another thing that has seemed to cause a lot of anger for some reason as far as I understand is that the new Ghostbusters will all be female. I don't really see a problem with this myself. It's not like we haven't seen women wear the proton packs before. In The Real Ghostbusters, Janine Melnitz herself donned the proton pack herself. In the sequel cartoon Extreme Ghostbusters, one of the "next generation" 'Busters was a Goth teen named Kylie Griffin, who is also now appearing in the IDW comics. The game Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime (a game I enjoyed personally) had a female Ghostbuster named Bridget Gibbons. There are a lot of genuinely great funny women out there, so I can see an all-female team working out on film. I would be genuinely disappointed if Tina Fey wasn't in this movie, though. She'd be a great Egon-type.


I would love to see the third film have more of a "passing-the-torch" theme to it, which a continuation would allow. Ray Stantz and Winston Zeddemore (Since Murray won't get involved, I'll say that he's not available, and since Harold Ramis is sadly no longer with us, I'll have to say that Egon is also deceased), realize that age is catching up to them, and decide to recruit a new team of Ghostbusters to do the actual legwork. However, only four applicants show up: four women with their own quirks and wacky personalities. You can get the humor from the surviving Original 'Busters training the rookies, and after one big epic adventure saving the city once again, Ray and Winston hang up the proton packs for good, letting the ladies be the defenders of New York against the supernatural.


Yup, that's how I'd do it.

Adventures in Pokemon Y Part 2: Santalune Forest

So here I am in Santalune Forest. It's a big ol' forest. I kinda wish that my Zigzagoon, Rocket, had the Pickup ability because he could pick up plenty of free potions and Poké Balls.

I'm not going to traverse through this big ol' forest alone, though. Shauna is going to be joining me on my trek through the forest. She is real handy. The girl is a living Pokémon Center, healing your Pokémon up for you when you need to. How does she do that? Does she magically conjure up Potions and Ethers or something? Is she a witch? Ah, it doesn't matter, she's going to be handy exploring this forest. Can I have her with me throughout the whole game?

While I'm here, I might as well take a shot at training some of my Pokémon, and prepare them for the first Gym. During my training, I'm adding on to my collection. One of the Pokémon you can encounter in the Forest is Pikachu. A neat little detail the game designers put in is when you encounter Pikachu, his cry is not the standard-style Pokémon cry. It's the speech Pikachu does from the anime series. I thought that was a really nice touch the game designers did. Kudos to them.

One thing I do like about the Santalune Forest is that there is a wide variety of Pokémon to catch here. Bug, Flying, Electric, Fire, Water, Grass, it's really diverse. You could build a diverse beginner team out of Pokémon here alone.

A ways into the forest, I encounter my new friends. Serena just rushes off, saying something about beginning training. Nice to see you too, pal. -_-(). Trevor remarks that he has observations to perform. Okay... To be honest, I don't get Trevor's purpose at this point. At least with Shauna, she heals my Pokémon here in the Forest, and Serena is probably going to be in the role of the traditional rival in these games. Tierno says he was challenged to a battle, and he and the youngster he's battling are just standing there, staring at each other. Okay...

Anyway, after further traveling, I got to battle a couple trainers for the first time. One tried to fight me with a Pikachu, but my Scatterbug Mothra easily dispatched it. Speaking of Scatterbug, the other Trainer there had one, but fell in one blast of Ember thanks to Vulcan, my Fennekin. His Fletchling also fell to Rocket.

I also encountered Serena again, who gave me a Poké Ball. Hey, you can never have too many of those. I also noticed that Tierno had finished his stare-off, I mean battle, and he's found in a grassy area, looking for Pokémon to dance with. To be honest, I find the image of him dancing with the Elemental Monkeys hilarious.

The Santalune Forest is a wonderful little place. Has a couple trainers so you can get some money, a diverse array of Pokémon to add to the collection, and you can get your Trainer some exercise with all the running around. The amount of wild Pokémon running around also means that your Pokémon team will get some much-needed experience. Not to mention that with Shauna by your side, you can keep your Pokémon in fighting shape.

As much as Santalune Forest is beautiful, it's time to leave the forest and hit the next town. Besides, towns have Pokémon Centers, which have PCs. I need one to make some adjustments to my team.

Upon leaving, Serena runs up and says I'm the first to arrive. Well duh, you were just standing in a grass patch when I was running around grabbing items and training my Pokémon! She does tell me I have potential, which is awful nice of her. Tierno and Trevor catch up, Tierno remarking how much he loves seeing Pokémon move and he's hoping his dancing has that much spirit. Yeah. Good luck to you on that, buddy. Trevor admonishes Tierno for this, make me like him more. Anyway, Shauna expresses her excitement on going to Santalune City.

Upon leaving the forest, Serena asks what the group's plans are. Trevor says he's out to complete the Pokedex. Tierno wants to observe how different Pokémon move, so to improve his dancing. Okay. Serena plans to take on the Gym Leader there. She gives me a book of tips called "Adventure Rules", for all the rookie Trainers out there. Serena says she's going to spend some time getting to know her Chespin. I hope she trains it well. She asks me what I'm going to do.

What am I going to do? Go to Santalune, kick some Gym Leader butt, and then keep it up until I become Champion! ...But first, I gotta get through Route 3...where I got nearly ran over by a rollerblader! HEY!

Pokémon Obtained:
Panpour (Kappa)
Pansear (Bunsen)
Metapod (Kojima) - Evolved from Caterpie
Pansage (Shrub)
Pikachu (Amperage)
Weedle (Stingerette)