My VG Music Picks #85 – The Final Antasma Battle (Mario & Luigi: Dream Team)

/ Michael Beckwith / Leave a comment

WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Mario & Luigi: Dream Team

It’s such a shame to hear about AlphaDream going bankrupt. They were the studio that brought us the imaginative, funny, and just enjoyable Mario & Luigi series of RPGs. And while we can argue about whether or not the quality of the games diminished over time, there’s no denying that all of them were at the very least decent and fun games to play. I had high hopes for the potential of the series when the Switch was released but, sadly, it is not to be.

There is quite a bit I love about this series; one primary aspect being its music. The legendary Yoko Shimomura lent her talents to all of the games and created such varied soundtracks, filled with pieces that fit right at home in Mario’s world, as well as ones that felt like they belonged in more “serious” RPGs. That’s not me complaining, by the way. I think that’s amazing, hearing these Final Fantasy-like dramatic scores in a game starring a short Italian plumber who jumps on turtles. One example being this track. Continue reading →

Five Ideas for MCU Team-Ups

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One of the best things about the Marvel Cinematic Universe is seeing all our favourite comic book heroes recreated on the big screen. But one thing that’s better than that is seeing them all interact with each other. After all, when you have a universe filled with such a colourful cast, not having them hang out is just a waste. Why have all these characters in a shared universe if they’re not gonna team up once in a while? And Disney and Marvel clearly know this. The Avengers movies were all huge successes primarily for this very reason. But while we’ve enjoyed these awesome cross-overs, we’ve never had any proper team-up movies.

Sure, Black Widow helped out Captain America in The Winter Soldier, but that was still Steve’s movie. And while Hulk showed up in Thor: Ragnarok, it wasn’t really a Thor/Hulk movie; just a Thor movie that the Hulk happened to be in. We’ve had “team-ups,” but no movies where two characters get to enjoy equal footing, and I feel this is something Marvel should do more of. The big crossovers are great but they run the risk of some characters having less to do than others. Focusing purely on two individuals can lead to stronger interactions and a tighter narrative. There was even a whole series of comics called Marvel Team-Up that explored this very concept. Imagine a series of movies like this.

So, purely for my own enjoyment, here are five ideas for team-up movies that I’d love to see be made for the MCU. Continue reading →

Favourite Moments in Fiction #24 – All Might VS Nomu (My Hero Academia)

/ Michael Beckwith / 1 Comment

WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for My Hero Academia

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I’ve only very recently got round to watching My Hero Academia, but I can already tell you that All Might’s battle with Nomu in Season 1 is one of my favourite scenes in the whole show (possibly a contender for my favourite scene period). Which is impressive considering that, on paper, it technically shouldn’t be that good. Continue reading →

My VG Music Picks #84 – Night of the Ninja (Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order)

/ Michael Beckwith / Leave a comment

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3‘s soundtrack is certainly a bit of a mixed bag. As I mentioned in my review last week, a lot of it consists of rather generic orchestral tracks that aren’t particularly catchy or memorable. It’s especially disappointing since there are a quite a few tracks that manage to avoid this; tracks that are full of energy and excitement and sound… videogamey, if that makes sense. Tracks that make running down hallways while taking down the swarms of enemies that come at you all the more exciting. For example, this piece from the game’s third chapter. Continue reading →

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order – Marvellous Masterpiece or Boring Button-Masher?

/ Michael Beckwith / 1 Comment

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One game that I used to play the crap out of during my childhood was Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2. A loose adaptation of the Civil War comic story-line, it was a top-down action-RPG/beat ’em up featuring a tonne of famous and not so famous heroes and villains from across the Marvel universe, enjoyable and addictive gameplay, cool character interactions, and some great replayability that had me coming back again and again, just so I could keep making all manner of different teams to play through the game as.

That game came out ten years ago and it very much seemed like a series that wasn’t going to get revived any time soon, especially with Disney now holding Marvel’s reigns. So I was pleasantly surprised to see a new, third title get announced out of nowhere. And if that wasn’t enough, Activision and Vicarious Visions were out and Nintendo and Team Ninja were in. Suddenly, everybody was getting excited to see how this game would turn out. Aside from those big names, the roster looked great (the presence of the X-Men alone helped tremendously) and the presentation was delightfully stylish, but does the game have the substance to match it, or should this series have been left back in the late 2000s? Continue reading →

Ten Things You Might’ve Not Known About Kingdom Hearts

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WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Kingdom Hearts

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For as much as I get frustrated with Kingdom Hearts, it’s a series that’s near and dear to me. I may grumble about some aspects of it constantly, but I’ll always keep coming back for its tight, action-RPG gameplay, enjoyable characters and its general oddball charm. And if I didn’t love it, I wouldn’t be interested in finding out curious tid-bits and random trivia all about it. So how about we take a look at the game that started it all and learn something new today? Continue reading →

Favourite Moments in Fiction #23 – “My Friends Are My Power” (Kingdom Hearts)

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WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Kingdom Hearts

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It sounds a little weird to say this but there was a time when Kingdom Hearts was oddly simple. While the series is notorious nowadays for its convoluted story-line, the first game is actually pretty easy to follow (for the most part – there are still some nonsensical moments). And while it may not seem as grandiose or have presentation on the same level as its superior sequels, the first game is responsible for some of the series’ most iconic traits and moments. Case in point – this scene. Continue reading →