Nothing Special Here.

Hilarious.

2005-05-01T06:40:00.000-07:00

Darth Vader has his own blog now. Go read it.

And sorry about the lack of posts, but I'm finding it hard to stay motivated when no one comments.

Maybe I should write something worthwhile.

The 10 Most Overrated Games? Not this list.

2005-04-11T06:38:00.000-07:00

Recently, EGM (Electronic Gaming Monthly) posted their list of the most overrated games in recent memory on 1up.com, and I was mildly annoyed with it. While there are some games on there that deserve it, for the most part, it's games that haven't aged well, and when I think of overrated games, I don't think of those. So, lacking any decent subject material for today, I decided to go over their list and give my opinion on each game.

10. Ico - "This will upset the art school kids, but Ico hasn't really changed our lives. It's not that we don't appreciate the relationship between its characters and the understated themes, but the "games as art" folks need to get a grip."

Okay, fair enough, they're...

...wait a minute.

If memory serves me correctly, didn't EGM constantly push the "games as art" angle as much as everyone else? Hell, I'm pretty sure I got the idea from them in the first place!

If nothing else, they talked about that game in practically every issue after it came out for two years. If Ico didn't changed their lives, they certainly talked like it did.

9. Shenmue - While this game was certainly hyped up by every gaming magazine at the time, for the most part, the reviews reflected the blurb in the article. Shenmue definitely has a strong fanbase, but even with them in mind, it still wouldn't be enough for the game to be on this list.

Hmmm... maybe they mean by "overrated," they also mean "overhyped." The list works a little better, then.

8. Banjo-Kazooie - Rare has a lot of games on this list, and this is the first one. This is one I agree with, however, because I remember trying the game and becoming bored with it after an hour or so. So, EGM, you got one right.

7. Final Fantasy IX - Now, admittedly, my memory is a little sketchy when it comes to this one, because I was still reeling from the horror that was Final Fantasy VIII (yes, it was that bad of a game. How bad? It was so bad that I stopped playing RPGs for nearly five years. Thanks a lot, FFVIII!). Anyone can gladly correct me on this, but it always seemed like it was the sleeper of the FF PS1 games, excluding the buzz that all FF games get nowadays. But overrated?

6. NiGHTS - This one strikes me as something they did to piss off the fanbase moreso than it actually being overrated. The game may not have aged well (it's been years since I've played it), but at the time, it certainly deserved the attention it recieved. It's been nearly nine years since it was released for the Saturn, and nothing even resembling it has come out in that time, including a NiGHTS sequel (boo, Sega!). It may not be the best game in the world anymore, but still deserves better than being stuck on this list.

5. Perfect Dark - If you compare it to console FPS nowadays (like, say, Halo), it hasn't aged well, but by that regard, neither has Goldeneye (Rare's first shooter). But at the time, it was the best console FPS around, and a great game on the N64. The second Rare game on the list simply shouldn't be on here because at the time, it was as good as you could get on a console.

4. Donkey Kong 64 - Rare's third game on the list, and I'm not really that sure if it deserves to be on here. DK 64 is a perfect example of how not to do a platform game, and like Shenmue, I think the reviews at the time reflected that. But this was the time that Rare could do no wrong, and the game sold like hot cakes (although that could also be attributed to the N64 Expansion Pak that was included with it). So... now that I think about it, yeah, it deserves to be on here.

3. Killer Instinct - Rare's fourth game on the list. You'd think EGM just a thing against Rare or something, because the only major Rare game that didn't make it was Conker's Bad Fur Day. But yeah, this game definitely deserves this spot. The fighting was boring and rewarded memorization moreso than any other fighter before or after it. Character designs were ugly, even back then (at least, I thought so) and the music was just uninteresting. But, it was a Rare game... so there you go.

2. Donkey Kong Country - The game that brought Rare into the forefront, and its FIFTH game on the list. I mean, geez. Now, while the game was pretty for its time, the gameplay wasn't so hot. It wasn't a bad game, by any means, but you would have been better off buying the far superior Mario games as opposed to this. So, yeah, this was a good pick for the list, but it needs to be a bit lower on the list.

1. Battle Arena Toshinden - A non-Rare game? Yes, hard to believe. What's even harder to believe that this game sold, and sold VERY well. To be fair to consumers at the time, it was a PS1 launch title, and there wasn't many choices at the time, and it was a good-looking game when it came out. But did it deserve to sell? No way in Hell. A definitely good choice for the list.

Now, to be fair to the EGM staff, a lot of them weren't around when these games originally came out, so their opinions don't have to reflect those of previous staff members. However, a lot of this just seems to be games aren't as good as the current crop of games, so that somehow makes them "overrated," which isn't the case. But, they're the professional gamers, and I'm just a guy writing a blog that nobody reads, so who are you probably going to listen to?

cringes

2005-04-05T08:57:00.000-07:00

Holy mother of Christ!

Not that they don't deserve it, but still... *cringes*

Manga Censorship, Part Two.

2005-04-04T08:13:00.000-07:00

Sorry about not posting sooner, but I've had a slight case of writer's block, and still do to an extent, but I'm going to try to write through it.

Right now, there are a few possible things I'd like to see happen concerning manga publishers in the near future.

1) Each publisher needs to state their stance on editting, and enforce it across the board. I think that more people are annoyed not by the edits, but by how inconsistant they are. If there is a clear policy on what is and isn't going to make it, people might have less of a problem with edits happening(which is unlikely, really, but let's pretend it isn't). If a company has several different imprints (like Viz), then there needs to be a seperate policy for each imprint. But the important thing is that they stand by it, because if it's the slightest bit inaccurate, then consumers will lose trust in the company.

This one seems the most likely to happen, simply because the fanbase is going to force the publishers to say something to shut them up.

2) All the publishers should get together and create an universal rating board, similar to the MPAA and the ESRB, which would define what exactly would and could be allowed to get each rating. While this wouldn't nessarily stop edits from happening, this would force publishers to become more consistant, and afford them a certain amount of protection from possible legal action (if this is why the edits are being made).

Not too likely right now, as each company already has their own rating systems in place. But, this is still something I'd like to see happen.

3) Stop editting the artwork to force it into a lower rating. Seriously. If this is because publishers are concerned about legal action, well... it's too late now. Most companies already have uneditted, older material available on bookshelves now that could upset parents and other such groups, and it's very unlikely that it'll be editted in later printings. If anything, such as the case of Tenjho Tenge, edits makes things worse, since they're trying to shoehorn adult material into something for teenagers, and failing miserably. The effort spent by doing such edits would be better used by working more closely with the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, or by forming a simlar fund for foreign comics.

And if it's because they're just trying to make money... well, if it works, then nothing I or anyone else says is going to do any good.

My opinion on the edits? On general principle, I don't like it. But I don't really care about most of the titles (as I've said, I just think the editted TT is just stupid and really, immoral), so I'm not terribly upset about it. And there's the fact as long as they're making money off of the editted titles, then there's not a damn thing that can be done. They will continue to do so. But since this is an industry that markets itself as being uncensored, and it has comics for everyone, editting titles so that teenagers (that cursed demographic) will buy them is pretty depressing.

So what can people do about it?

If they truly care, then the easiest thing to do is to not buy it. Whether or not this will accomplish anything remains to be seen, but if nothing else, you're not wasting your money supporting a product that you feel isn't up to your standards, or the standards that the company is supposed to represent.

Write them letters. Real letters, and not e-mails. The fact that you actually cared enough to write something on paper will get more attention. Whether or not it will get the response you want remains to be seen, but it's worth a shot.

Spread the word. A lot of people aren't going to know about these edits, and informing them will fix that. Maybe they won't care, but they won't be able to claim ignorance about it.

The upcoming months will be important, because convention season is upon us (which means company panels and press releases), and we'll soon be seeing sales figures of these editted books. If these protests have worked, then sales should be low, and we might be able to get some answers out of these companies. If not... well, if it bothers you enough, you might need to consider a different hobby, because things won't be changing anytime soon.

Manga Censorship, Part One.

2005-03-31T09:12:00.000-08:00

If you're a manga fan, you may have of the recents edits made to Tenjho Tenge, published by CMX, which is a division of DC Comics (and which is owned by Time Warner). While the edits made to that comic by DC/CMX was an attempt to make the comic more suitable to the lucrative teen audience, it has not only insulted the intellenge of the built-in fanbase (and really, any adult manga fan), but the comic is still unsuitable for a teen audience. You can read the link for more information about the edits, but regardless, even if you don't like the unedited material, you can agree that it should have never been considered for the teen audience in the first place.

However, while I agree that the edits made to TT were pretty stupid and unnessary, the controversy has caused the fan radar to go on high alert for ANY sort of edits being done to their comics, and we've seen the next two blips in the form of Masakazu Katsura's I"s and Descendants of Darkness, both published by Viz, one of (if not the) oldest publishers of manga in the United States. In the English version of I"s, there is a scene where a girl's bare nipples are covered up with stars, and in DoD, a scene where a man is giving another man a blow job is editted to where the man is now offpanel, talking with the nude man. And in another Viz release, Eyeshield 21, there is a possiblity that the main character's language was toned down in the English version, but without a professional translator saying otherwise, I'm dismissing this as rumor, since translations tends to vary between fans and pros (and generally between person and person). It's much easier to prove that there were edits done to artwork, which is pretty much black or white.

There's a lot of problems here.

Viz wants to sell these titles to the Teen market, because that's where the money is. Editting these titles ultimately does not affect the storyline of these comics: The nipples in question in I"s were barely drawn in the first place (just enough to show that the breasts are bare, but the stars still tell you that she has them), and the dialouge of the main character in Eyeshield 21, from my understanding, is still rough and tough, but only without the "fucks." The scene in DoD is a little different, and the edit does change the feel of the scene slightly. However, if the scene was intended to show readers that these characters are lovers, the fact that they are naked and lounging about still communicates that fact, but not as bluntly.

Now, Viz has a rating system, and both I"s and DoD are rated 16+, which is their rating for Older Teens (no idea what Eyeshield21 is rated, but I would assume at least 13+). While this may sound about right, even with the edits, the problem is that the edits are wildly inconsistant across the board. Video Girl Ai, a previous work by Masakazu Katsura, is also rated 16+, but nipples are left uncovered, and there is plenty of fanservice in it (and also in I"s, which makes the covering of the nipples odd, considering the amount of panty shots and camel toe left uncovered), and in Flame of Recca, another 16+ title, has bare nipples as well, and even a "Cocksucker" or two thrown in the dialouge. I"s falls under the Shonen Jump Advanced umbrella, which would account for the editting (another SJA title, Ultimate Muscle, has had all its nudity covered, both male and female), but again, it's inconsistant; Dragon Ball is published as a Shonen Jump comic, which is aimmed at a slighly younger audience than the SJA comcis, yet all the nudity in it is left intact. So why does DB, a title aimmed at the younger crowds, have nudity, and I"s, something aimmed at the older crowd, doesn't?

Like I said, there's a lot of problems here.

It's obvious that there are several different editorial policies at work here with Viz, which would account for the baffling edits made to some titles, but not others. It may be that Viz is becoming increasingly concerned that as the manga industry continues to grow as mainstream entertainment (which is what they want), the chances of a potential political backlash grows as well. It wouldn't be a stretch of the imagination; the United States is on a conservative backswing after years of becoming more and more liberal, and if the wrong person got ahold of, say, DoD unedited, it could cause the manga industry a serious headache. So, with their more mainstream titles (i.e. the Shonen Jump/Shojo Beat titles), they perform minor edits to give themselves some protection. Dragon Ball might be exempt from this line of reasoning due to the fact that it doesn't get the same amount of attention that Dragonball Z does, and so gets a little leeway.

Another reason may be that as the market grows, shelf space becomes limited, and retailers are going to want titles they can sell. If I"s and DoD were unedited, they might be shrink-wrapped to prevent the wrong people from looking at it, which might hurt sales. If a person can't browse through the title, it's less likely that it will sell. While some titles that are shrink-wrapped still move (Negima, Berserk), it's not something that publishers want to do, or something that retailers would be willing to risk. Also, shrink-wrapped titles sell better in the direct market (comic book shops), but the money is in bookstores, which is the mainstream market.

There are counter arguments to this. Firstly, if Viz wants to sell titles for the mainstream Teen audience, there are plenty of unlicensed titles in Japan that are more suitable than I"s or DoD that wouldn't require any edits at all. While these titles may be more high profile, there are a lot of teens that will buy anything as long as it's called manga (which is a problem in itself, but that's another rant for another day), and they (lesser titles) would probably sell just as well. Secondly, the manga community loathes edits with a passion, and editting a title is a sure way to hurt sales (from all reports, Tenjho Tenge is selling horribly, just because of the word of mouth that it's getting. The Bookscan report for March will be interesting to see). There is also the argument of protecting artistic integrity, but it's more used to support the first two arguments.

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Whew. That's a long post. I'll post the second part after work.

First Post.

2005-03-31T08:45:00.000-08:00

Hi.

The purpose of this blog will be me just writing something to keep in practice, and if I ever develop an audience, it may keep me motivated. So, like any other blog, you can expect random musings and rants from me, the author, and maybe you'll find them entertaining. Maybe.

Like the name says, nothing special here.