Dragonball Z Movie 4: Lord Slug

This is one of the good DBZ movies; it often gets underrated. A lot of this is because it suffers from being between the nostalgic Tree of Might and the much-hyped Kooler's Revenge, as well as being JUST before the Super Saiyan Era.

While the previous movie had a Saiyan villain and the next one has a Freeza Race villain, this one gives us a Namekian villain to round things out. Not just any Namekian, either... a SUPER Namekian. The dub also features tons of licensed music from Disturbed and various other metal bands. It's worth a watch.

Dragonball Z Movie 3: The Tree of Might

Tree of Might is particularly significant to my generation because it's the first (and for a while, only) DBZ movie that got brought over to the U.S. by Funimation. This originally aired in three single-episode blocks over a number of weeks back in 1997, and since they dropped it right into the middle of the show's Freeza Saga airing, it was confusing for kids like me to say the least. Let's get going.

Dragonball Z Movie 2: The World's Strongest

While Dead Zone takes place before the show starts, this one takes place at about the end of the Saiyan Saga. Since that's impossible continuity-wise, I figure this takes place in the alternate universe that most of the DBZ movies seem to take place in.

Dragonball Z Movie 1: The Dead Zone

 

The first of many Dragonball Z movies, and the only one from the Z series (besides Movie 9) that actually fits within the show's canon time-wise. That's right, only two of the first thirteen DBZ movies are even possible to consider canon with the show they're based on. Figure that one out. Regardless, the idea that this one works as being show-canon makes it a lot more exciting.

Now remastered with HD images for 2016

The Top Ten Most Difficult Battles In Final Fantasy Tactics

Now that Final Fantasy Tactics is concluded, I'd like to rank some of the more difficult battles in the game. Which ones stand the test of time in difficulty? Which are the biggest roadblocks to progress?

NOTE: I'll be using the names from the original PSX version.

NOTE 2: Thanks to Orioto for the wonderful artwork above, check out his excellent work at http://orioto.deviantart.com/

Final Fantasy Tactics, Part 8 - Atropos

Atropos - Cutter of the thread of life

Final Fantasy Tactics, Part 7 - Sigil of the Moribund

Today on Final Fantasy Tactics: As the bounty on Ramza's head continues to grow like a Powerball jackpot, will Cloud achieve any level of usefulness any time soon? The good news: It's okay if he's useless, because now that I have Orlandu, I'll cut through the rest of the game like a hot knife through butter.

Final Fantasy Tactics, Part 6 - Rampaging Monolith

Today on Final Fantasy Tactics... a special guest star arrives: The Yellow Rooster himself, Cloud Strife, sans nose. Bawk.

Final Fantasy Tactics, Part 5 - Chapterhouse

Today on Final Fantasy Tactics... the hardest, most unfair, most obnoxious fight in the game. A fight that ended many playthroughs.

Final Fantasy Tactics, Part 4 - Queklain's Tinnitus

 Previously on Final Fantasy Tactics... I defeated Gaffgarion at Golgorand Execution Site, one of the toughest fights in the game. Now, I take a moment to fondly look back on the awesome cover art. It made a strong impression on me when I was younger, even though it lied about the five-character party. A lot of these battles only allow four characters! Da hell, Square?

Final Fantasy Tactics, Part 3 - Faithless

Today on Final Fantasy Tactics - bloodthirsty dark knight Gaffgarion reacts to the 2016 GOP Primary results.

Final Fantasy Tactics, Part 2 - None Shall Pass

The battle for Ivalice continues with the remainder of chapter one. In this one, I level up Ramza, murder my other party members, and deal with the bastardly Argath.

Final Fantasy Tactics (Playstation, 1998 / PSP, 2007)

 This is one of my favorite games of all time. I played it in early 1998 on the original Playstation, and it was a magical gaming experience. The great soundtrack and the unparalleled atmosphere gave it an edge over other strategy RPGs, while the gameplay and class/ability system were super-compelling and fun. Best of all, it doesn't have that stupid Judge system from Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. If you've only played those games, do yourself a favor and check out the original. This one...is where it's at.

It got a PSP remake in 2007, which I've never beaten, so that's what I'm on now. With a redone translation and some new additions like cutscenes and optional endgame stuff, this should be well worth a playthrough for me.

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain - A Smattering Of Screenshots (No Spoilers)

Big Boss... is watching you. Right now. Put some clothes on!

Zelda II: Adventure of Link, Part 3 - Shadows

Previously on AMC's The Adventure of Link... Our hero fought Not-Agahnim and rescued young Damien from the clutches of Maze Island. Now, in the final chapter, Link must face... Link? Featuring a live performance of "Forty Six and Two" by Tool!

Zelda II: Adventure of Link, Part 2 - Hammer to Fall

Holy Crusader Link sets sail for more palaces. I'm surprised Nintendo allowed a religious symbol into these games considering they're the same company that censored "Holy" to be "White" and "Pearl" in some of the Final Fantasy titles.

Zelda II: Adventure of Link (NES, 1988)

 Time to cover a Zelda game that I sorta skipped over before. If I don't cover it, it'll bother me, so here we go. This one suffers from the same thing that Castlevania 2, Dragon Quest 2, and Final Fantasy 2 on the NES suffered from: It reinvents something that was working fine before, to mixed results at best.

Sonic 3 and Knuckles (Sega Genesis, 1994) (Sonic and Knuckles Half)

 Here we go, second half of a double-header. This title screen is actually from the standalone version of the game, but I'm continuing to play it as the full Sonic 3 and Knuckles combination.

Sonic 3 and Knuckles (Sega Genesis, 1994) (Sonic 3 Half)

 Today I'm playing a game that I've never played before, even though it was beloved by a lot of my classmates in the mid-90's. I was a Nintendo guy across the board until around 1997 when the Playstation got Final Fantasy VII.

This is an interesting game. Sega wasn't able to get Sonic 3 done by the intended release date, so they ended up splitting it into two different games. One was Sonic 3, while the other was released later in the same year as Sonic and Knuckles. Via plugging the carts into each other, players could play the full combined game that was originally intended to be Sonic 3. That's a good thing, because individually the two halves aren't all that impressive as full games. I liked Sonic 2 more, and a lot of that is probably due to it feeling more like a finished product.

Ruminations on the Fourth Dimension

The book The Island of Dr. Moreau is a chilling look at what can happen when one man plays God in a world of his own design. As a mad scientist who specializes in genetic alterations, the titular character engineers horrors that would be at home in the LV-223 world of Prometheus. As humans tend to do, he utilizes his creations to control and dominate in a military-like fashion; either you are with him – or you are with the terrorists, as it were.

While Moreau – we think – is fully conscious of the world outside of his island, his engineered minions are not; so much so that it's likely he could tell them that the island IS the world and be believed without a second thought. He could go so far as to say that the ocean surrounding the island is a mere pond surrounded by their island, and those without critical thinking skills wouldn't bat an eye. This is the community that Moreau fosters: An unquestioningly loyal tribe.

This tribe sees only itself and its island as the world; much like ancient people who believed that the sun and the universe revolved around the Earth, Moreau's minions have no concept of “the outside”. This is much like the residents of Flatland (from Edwin Abbott's book Flatland), an entire civilization of beings who unquestioningly believe themselves to be the be-all and end-all in the universe. The difference being that the denizens of Moreau's island believe this because they're told to, while Flatland's residents believe this because they simply can't see anything else.