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Top 10 Best Video Game Characters by Rhino Water

1/1/2014

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(I'm sorry this is so late! While it is quite a bit after midnight, this is Wednesday's post. Today we are continuing the week of posts by people other than me. Today's author is Rhino Water, a friend of mine who contributed a countdown before. Also, I should give a quick warning that this does contain some spoilers. Enjoy!)


Hello, this countdown is my top 10 best characters in games. First, two rules:
- Only one character per series.
- Only characters from games I’ve played.
So let’s get this awesome countdown started.
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Number 10 is…

A Pokémon. It’s the best one out there. Its name is: Espeon. This Pokémon is the best one I’ve ever had. I remember first using it in Pokémon Colosseum and that's when I found Espeon’s awesomeness. I loved it so much I used it in Pokémon XD too. Why? Just because I could. Whenever I see an Eevee I have to evolve it into Espeon. But Espeon only made it at number ten. Which nine characters got higher than this awesome Pokémon?


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Number 9 is…

From the Star Fox series… Hmm who could it be? Fox? Falco? Krystal? Nope, they’re not even close. It is Wolf O’Donnell. This wolf is just awesome. I mean he is a wolf. A wolf. He is so awesome he was included in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Wolf just played amazing in that. Sadly, I could not use him in Tabuu's fight, but Wolf is still awesome. His line “play time’s over Star Fox” and his theme is just make him even more awesome. I know I am saying awesome too much but he is an awesome villain. One of the best villains I’ve had a chance to fight. He better be in the next Super Smash Bros.…


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Number 8 is…

From Kingdom Hearts. Which character? Well, a Disney character, really. That loveable duck, Donald.
I mean, I grew up with Donald Duck and I loved him when he was in Kingdom Hearts. How could you not like him? He uses magic and without him some of the comedy in Kingdom Hearts will not be there because he’s the funniest character in it.


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Number 7...

Okay, most of you will not have heard of this game but this character is from Bust a Move 4. It’s the villain Dreg. Dreg is awesome. Okay, sure he created a scary looking robot that’ll kiss anyone, but he has one of the best themes ever. He jumps really high when you win or if you are playing as him he jumps high if he loses and then a rock falls on his head. If it was not for him Bust a Move 4 would never have happened. He steals the rainbow bubbles so he can have power. MWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Then you have to stop him, but not right away you have to go through ten characters, then his scary kissing robot which he is inside of and then you can finally beat him once and for all. Dreg will not go down easily which means you have to listen to his awesome theme a lot. He drinks potions and then uses a flamethrower and then does an evil smile. Hehehehehehehe. Anyway, Dreg is one of the best villains I have ever seen.


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Number 6 is...

From the Sonic series. Who is it? Shadow? No. While he may be awesome there is one character that is much better.  He is best friends with Sonic: Tails. What’s there to say about Tails? Well he is a fox that can fly and he has an awesome theme. He had to save Sonic’s life lots of times. Yes Tails’s voice may have been really bad in Sonic Heroes but it improved in the other games. Tails was the first Sonic character I ever saw and I’ve liked him ever since. Tails has been in almost every Sonic game there has been so that must mean that he’s awesome. How can anyone not like tails? He’s is such a loveable character.  There is probably nobody that hates him. Go Tails!


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Number 5 is...

Someone who has had a sad life. Another wolf, but a good wolf this time. From Castlevania: Cornell.This character is awesome. Yes, I know he has a human form but I think of him as a wolf because his wolf form is best. He is from the children of the night, but he is good, although the humans hate him and think he’s evil. The others want him but Cornell says “I will never join you”. In Castlevania Judgment he has no friends and his sister is gone because of Dracula (yes, he’s very evil) and everyone thinks Cornell is evil because he’s stuck in wolf form.  Death and Carmilla both want him to join Dracula, but Cornell says “never” even if it means he could get his sister back. He will find her on his own. But let’s see how we use him in battle. Wow, awesome attacks. Awesome theme. Awesome final move. I mean, how can you not like him? Well, I guess you might not if you don’t like wolves. But still, he is the best. I know most of you will be saying the other Wolf is better, but I prefer Cornell.  His life makes me cry because I feel sorry for him. He should have had a much better life.  Cornell, you are awesome.

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Number 4 is...

This next character looks like a pirate. Then when I saw he was riding a dragon, he looked like a sky pirate.  But no, he is from Fire Emblem. Haar. He is awesome. I always seem to overpower him and he is just awesome like that. He likes sleeping a lot and he uses an axe. Man, is he powerful. Never try and beat him because you will die. He doesn’t do much in the storyline, he only has a small role in part 2 of Radiant Dawn. He’s just a character you can use to beat the other team, so, yeah let’s use him to destroy them! MWHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA. I am making him look like a villain but no, he is a hero.  He is also one of the strongest characters in the game, I mean, just use him for one turn and you’ll see that he’s awesome. He only just missed out the top three. Wait, there are characters better than him? How can this be?



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Okay, the next three characters have always been close to me. At number three we have that awesome bandicoot, Crash Bandicoot. He was a huge part of my childhood.  His first three games were awesome. Crash  Twinsanity, awesome. Sadly, the games are not as good now, but I still love the characters, like Ripper Roo, Dr. Cortex, Tiny (before he looked weird) and Uka Uka (when he looks like a mask) but Crash beats them all. How did he? By being  himself. He’s always happy and always funny. Crash Bandicoot is really awesome. Are there any other bandicoots like him?  There’s Coco but Crash is more awesome. He spins, he slides, he jumps, he smashes, he does what he does best: being himself and beating Dr. Cortex (or helping him to beat the evil twins).

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Number 2 is...

Speaking of happy characters, here we have a Mario
character who is green and happy all the time and that it's a lot of things.Yes, Yoshi. He was so awesome they gave him his own series. Yoshi's Island: beating Baby Bowser (yeah, Yoshi can take him down) with a screaming baby on his back, awesome. Yoshi can also drive a car, play in the olympics and go to Mario Parties. He's also in the best crossover ever, Super Smash Bros. Brawl. In that game he has one of the best Final Smashes ever. Yeah, fire. Fire! MWHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA. Now I am making Yoshi look like an evil villain.Oh well, how can something so happy be evil? Well, maybe The Joker. But Yoshi is so loveable, just like Tails nobody could hate him. I mean, he's much better than that mushroom Toad and much more helpful. He's the best Mario character ever. Only one character is better than him,..


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This next character is the first gaming character I ever saw. The first game I played was the first game he was in. He is a dragon and also the biggest part of my childhood. Number 1 is Spyro the Dragon. Spyro is the best character ever and I grew up with him. The first game I played was Spyro the Dragon and I have to say it was awesome. It made me who I am today. I could talk about Spyro a lot but we'd be here all day so I will keep it short. Spyro is a dragon who can breath fire and roar, but like Crash Bandicoot his games have been going downhill. Oh, no, not Skylanders, nooooo! Me sad. Me very, very sad. Anyway, back to the first Spyro game: the music was awesome, the dragons tell Spyro what to do... Ah, those were the days when Spyro was awesome. Spyro you are the besto. He always has friends to back him up too, like Sprax the dragonfly. He doesn't talk in the first two games and in the third he just says buzz buzz buzz, but he is still awesome. Anyway, Spyro is the best character ever. No other character will ever beat him.


(I do not own the copyright to any images in this post)

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Top 5 Incarnations of the Doctor

8/23/2013

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Doctor Who is one of my absolute favourite television shows. For me, its only real rival is The Waltons. One of the best things about Doctor Who, I think, is the way that it changes. In any other series, if you want to see a reinterpretation of the main character you have to wait years for it to be remade or look online for fan projects, but with Doctor Who, the main character, or, the Doctor, is reinterpreted every few years, and the best thing is, it all happens without them having to change the continuity or anything. Originally, I was going to make a 'Top 10 Incarnations of the Doctor' but I'd feel bad leaving out just one, and 'Top 11 Incarnations of the Doctor' doesn't really flow well. Anyway, without further ado, I'd better get started.

Number 5 is The Ninth Doctor.
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Back in 2005, I'd only seen a little bit of Doctor Who via my Dad's old videos and DVDs. I thought it was pretty cool, and I especially liked the Third and Seventh Doctors, but I wasn't the huge fan that I am now. Then, in March, Doctor Who came back and I thought "Oh, that's nice, some brand new episodes to see" and so I watched all of that series and, my goodness, I think it was incredible! I still think that the 2005 series is the best one since Doctor Who came back; pretty much every single episode was of a very high standard. So, this is when I became a proper 'fan' of the show. Of course, part of that is due to the Ninth Doctor himself. All of a sudden, the Doctor is a little more mysterious than he had been before, mainly due to being seen from the point of view of Rose Tyler, but also due to having taken part in a mysterious war since we last saw him. This Doctor can be both serious, and also very funny, and that's a very good mixture for the character, all of which is why he is my number five. The biggest downside to him is that he only has thirteen episodes... I must also say that I was very torn between giving the number five spot to the Tenth Doctor and the Ninth Doctor, but in the end, the Ninth won. Just.
(Image screen captured from the episode 'Rose' available in the Series 1 Box Set .)

Number 4 is The Fourth Doctor.
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The Fourth Doctor is, I'm sure, the best Doctor for many people and, while I do think he's very good, he's not my number one. I suppose the best way to describe him, is just to say he's kind of weird. Now, I know that sounds very rude, weird being quite an offensive word, but I mean that in a completely positive way. He's very unique, and all of his quirks are very charming. This is the Doctor who offers jelly babies to allies and enemies alike, who one time saves himself by randomly being able to scream really loudly, who tossed his hat onto a Dalek's eye piece and then shoved it away and who, basically, did whatever he wanted. The goal seems to have been to make this Doctor seem very alien, and I think it worked exceptionally well.
(Image screen captured from the Robot DVD.)

Number 3 is The Fifth Doctor.
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I must admit, I only recently started to like the Fifth Doctor, but I can see now that he is really very good. I always used to think he was just boring, but then a friend of mine told me that the Fifth was his favourite, so I decided to give him a bit of a reassessment. I bought a boxset of three more of his stories and rewatched everything of the Fifth Doctor I had, and, after that, my opinion of him was much higher. With the other Doctors you get the impression that they're unstoppable heroes who go out on adventures because they really love doing it, whereas with the Fifth you get the impression that this is a very put upon, vulnerable man who so often saves the universe, simply because he HAS to because, if he doesn't, who will? Despite his very good intentions, things never go well for him; his companions often get annoyed at him and start being mean, he's one of the few Doctors who suffered the death of a companion, and while other Doctors would save the day, make some kind of joke and happily head off in the TARDIS, he'd often be left horrified with all the death and destruction he'd witnessed. He's just so endearing.
(Image screen captured from the Earthshock DVD.)

Number 2 is The Third Doctor.
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Unlike most of the other Doctors, the Third spent a big portion of his life living on Earth, which makes quite a difference to his era. The Third Doctor, despite being my second favourite Doctor, actually has my favourite story of all Doctor Who: Inferno. But the best thing about him, I think, is that he's a man who seems to be very reasonable. Sure, he does seem to be a little reckless in his early stories (mainly due to his anger at having to live on Earth) but he quickly becomes a much more mature and responsible man and, in the end, his decision to take responsibility for his actions is what cost him his life. Another thing is, he seems to have a really strong affection for all of his companions and lots of the people he meets during his adventures; this isn't really a particular thing that he DOES it's just that, whenever he's having a chat with somebody you just get the impression that he really cares for them, without being over the top about it, and I really like that. He's also the first Doctor I ever saw, and I remember I really liked him as a young child, I used to call him 'The Nice Doctor'.
(Image screen captured from the Day of the Daleks DVD.)

Number 1 is The Second Doctor.
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I must admit, the distance between first and second on this countdown is VERY small, but the Second Doctor wins, even if only by an inch. The Second is nearly always so jolly, which makes it fun to watch him even if it's an episode which isn't particularly exciting, so he's able to make all of his stories very enjoyable! Everything he does is pretty loveable, really; in a good situation he'll probably be having a laugh while eating a sandwich with his companions, in a bad situation he'll get all worried and flustered, so he'll cling onto his companion Jamie for protection. Strangely, I'm finding him to be the hardest to write about, but perhaps that's because every single thing about him is excellent. The biggest downside, of course, is the fact that the BBC wiped so many of his stories, and now he has very few complete stories left. Hopefully more will be discovered sometime soon...
(Image screen captured from The Three Doctors DVD.)

(Also, it's Friday, so don't miss today's Finger Puppet Show! This week's features Jake and Amir.)

(I do not own the copyright of any image in this entry.)
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Top 10 Creepiest Characters/Creatures in Video Games (with Rhino Water)

8/5/2013

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As you my remember, my good friend Rhino Water contributed a countdown to this blog during my week of entries by others. So this gave me the idea that it could be quite fun if the pair of us made our own version of a countdown and then posted them together to see there similarities, and that is exactly what today's entry is! I must admit, I found it very difficult to make this list, when I thought about it, there weren't that many creepy things I'd seen in games. I really wanted to include Slender Man (who's really me, by the way) since he is very creepy in the Slender game, but he's really a game character, I didn't include him. Anyway, without furthur ado, here is our countdown:

Rhino Water: Number 10 is from Spyro 3: Year of the Dragon. It’s the third boss: Scorch. Yeah he was creepy when I first saw him. He was a monster to end all monsters…  he failed. But he was creepy and he can make baby monsters with his mouth. He throws it out and, boom, an egg comes out creating monsters. Still no match for the awesome dragon Spyro though. He no longer haunts me, but the next nine, they do.

Adam:  For me, Number 10 comes from the Pokémon series. My choice is Missingno. I guess this may be a bit of an odd choice, since Missingno is a glitch, rather than something which came about after the game designers sat down and thought “Let’s make something creepy!” But that doesn’t change the fact that Missingno is a creepy creature that exists in a game. Basically, after fulfilling a very strange set of requirements, a battle will start and the wild Pokémon will be a glitched set of pixels called Missingno. You can catch it and it’s extremely powerful, but doing so makes the whole world become very glitchy. All of this is good reason, I think, for this reality warping abomination to be tenth.
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Rhino water: Number 9 is from a Donkey Kong game: Donkey Kong: Jungle Climber. It is the ghost. The ghost is creepy:
1) You can't kill them.
2) To not get hurt you have to not move.
3) If they do hit you they go right up to the screen and scream.
Yeah, that made me jump and it does not help the fact that creepy music is in the background.

Adam: My Number 9 is one that people might not think of as creepy at all. From the Super Smash Bros. series, I chose Giga Bowser. Why, you ask? Well, we all know Bowser; he’s that loveable villain from the Super Mario Bros. series. He’s nice, safe and predictable. But then in Super Smash Bros. Melee, all of a sudden he transforms into a horrifying beast with disproportionate body parts. I found that very creepy and unexpected.
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Rhino Water: Number 8 is… Hey, Crash Bandicoot! I like Crash but I don't like Fake Crash. I mean, Evil Crash from Crash Twinsanity is cool but Fake Crash, no. I get scared of him.
1) He looks stupid.
2) He appears in some random levels.
3) His eye brows are spooky.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
Oh no, this is only Number 8, it is only going to get more creepy…

Adam:  Funnily enough, my Number 8 is kind of an evil copy of somebody too. I chose the SA-X from the game Metroid Fusion. Now, looking at the picture, you’ll see that it is basically just another Samus, and that’s true, but that’s not why it’s creepy. In the story Samus gets some kind of infection and needs to have her suit removed, but it can’t all come off or she’ll die, so they just take off all of the most powerful parts… Which then become possessed and come after you! You’ll be going through an area, then suddenly a wall will explode because an extremely powerful, invincible version of you has knocked it down, and is now heading your way… All you can do is run.

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Rhino Water: Number 7 is from Pokémon, and no it is not a Pokémon, it is a Pokémon trainer. From Pokémon XD:  Gale of Darkness, it is Greevil. Yeah, if you see his eyes, you will be creeped out. Man his eyes are creepy! And he is just spooky in a spooky way. Yeah, I don't like people who are spooky in a spooky way and who have creepy eyes.

Adam: My Number 7 comes from Super Paper Mario. I’m sure anybody who’s played the game will know that I’m going to pick Mimi. Now, for those who don’t know, Mimi starts out looking like a regular little girl (or, as regular as Mushroom Kingdom people can look) but then at one point her neck suddenly breaks, giant spider legs come out of her head, and she starts chasing you around a haunted house… That place is huge too, so you spend quite some time running away from this monster.

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Rhino Water: Number 6 is… Hey, Rayman. This next creepy person is, well, creepy in a creepy place and his name is Jano. He sends Rayman to the Cave of Bad Dreams and that place is spooky. But it gets worse once Jano has found Rayman; he comes from the ground like a zombie and says in a creepy voice says “uhhhhhhh, your trip ends here”. Then Rayman runs away and your screen shows the view from behind his jaws as he is trying to eat Rayman. But once you are away from him he battles you and he fires fire balls at you. Okay, not scary. But then he throws skulls at you. Yes, creepy again! Jano is very creepy, but he just missed out on the top five…

Adam:  I’m picking another Pokémon for Number 6, but this one is creepy through design, rather than just being a glitch. My choice is Confagrigus. As you can see from the picture, it’s a coffin with four arms, and when you play it’s just moving erratically all over the place with its arms grabbing in each and every direction.  His cry is pretty creepy to. But the best thing is, I can just capture one and then use it whenever I like!
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Rhino Water: Number 5 is… Hey, a horror game: Castlevania: Judgement. No, it is not Death. But what is worse than Death or Dracula? Well, something that looks like them both combined. Yes it is the Time Reaper. The Time Reaper is very hard, I mean creepy hard, like “Ahhh, this is hard!” and also it made me jump when I first saw him. But, hey, I beat him. Well, that was creepy too. I mean, once you beat him all that is left is his skull and then it crumbles then it’s just his glowing eyes and then the Time Reaper is dead. Yay a creepy thing is dead!

Adam: My Number 5, is my friend’s Number 6, so, I guess I don’t have to say much, or I’d just be repeating him!
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Rhino Water: Number 4 is… Hey, Mario is not scary. I mean, King Boo is not… Well, except in Luigi’s Mansion. King boo is actually scary. Ahh! Just by looking at it, it’s scary. Ahh! Let’s go onto the next one before I get too scared.

Adam:  Number 4… This comes from The Legend of Zelda series, specifically Ocarina of Time. I chose the ReDeads. Now, every other thing on this list is something I think is kinda creepy, but this is the first that actually scared me. I’ll admit that I’m no longer scared of ReDeads, but when I was first playing the game I was terrified of them. They make this really creepy groaning noise, paralyse Link with fear and then jump on his back and start eating him once they get close enough…
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Rhino Water: Number 3 is… Hey, who plays Bust a Move 4? What an awesome game. The villain is Dreg, but his robot is creepy. Madame Luna. It may not look scary, but it is a love maniac and ahhhh it scared me! I mean, if you were a kid you would get scared of it. If Madame Luna wins, well, she goes right up to the screen and kisses it. Yeah, I try to beat her because she is scary. Don’t kiss me.

Adam:  I also picked one from the Donkey Kong series. My Number 3, Kackle, comes from my favourite game ever: Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest. In one level you get onto some kind of rollercoaster ride in a haunted house, and then Kackle starts chasing you.  There is a timer that appears on screen, and when it reaches zero, he catches you.  Possibly this is only because I played it when very young, but this is another that actually scared me at one point in my life.

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Rhino Water: Number 2 is… Hey Kingdom Hearts! Hey, who likes the heartless? Well, the heartless are cool but what about a ghost heartless? Just like King Boo this thing is creepy. I mean, his eyes have popped out. And, ahhh, it’s scary battling it too. But, wait, something is creepier then this thing? Oh no.

Adam: Number 2 comes from the Metal Gear series.  This is actually the only thing on this list from an ‘adult’ game series, which I guess gives a good impression of what kinds of games we like to play! But anyway, my choice is The Sorrow. In Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater you find yourself wandering through a river in the fog, while The Sorrow flies around just ahead of you, beckoning you onward. It’s a boss fight, but, right from the start The Sorrow’s health gauge is empty. As you walk further and further down the river, the tormented souls of all the people you’ve killed come walking by too… An excellently creepy and atmospheric moment.

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Rhino water: Number 1 is... WARNING: this next character is scary and if you get scared easily do not look this up on Google images. This one is from the Sonic series. Hey Tails, how are you? Tails is awesome. I wonder what he would look like if he was a doll. Huh. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.Scary. Yes, Number 1 is the Tails Doll. You won't last a second of looking at the Tails Doll. It’s creepy. Just saying its name is creepy. In fact, it’s so scary that it can make adults cry. I mean, I love Tails. I never thought Tails could be scary. But the Tails Doll is so scary, even just to think about. Why Sega, why did you come up with this Tails Doll? The Tails Doll is in my nightmares. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Yes, the Tails Doll is the creepiest thing I have ever seen in games, and not just games either, but in movies too. The Tails Doll, go away! In fact I am stopping this countdown now. THE END

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH TAILS DOLL

(there is a picture of the Tails Doll below, so, I guess you might like to stop scrolling)

Adam: My Number 1 is another from The Legend of Zelda series, specifically Majora’s Mask, which may well be the creepiest Zelda game. In this game, you can visit a ranch and there’s a little girl on the ranch who acts very strangely.  You also know that something bad has happened there, but you don’t quite know what. Eventually, you can go back in time and see for yourself what happened there, and it was aliens. Referred to only as Them, they come from a strange light in the sky and head towards the ranch all night long, and if you don’t stop Them, they take all the cows and the little girl too, who screams as she’s sucked into the sky… Plus, the music is pretty darn scary too. As of yet, I’ve not seen anything in a game I could call scarier than this.
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Top 10 Most Hated Villains by Rhino Water

7/16/2013

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(This week on my blog I am posting an entry every day, and each entry will be written by somebody other than me. Today's entry is written by somebody I can't write the name of, so I shall call him Rhino Water. He has a very large number of video game related countdowns and this is one of his favourites. Also, just a quick warning, there are spoilers in ths countdown. Enjoy!)


Number 10 is King K. Rool (don't kill me).

I hate King K. Rool, he is so annoying. All he does in Donkey Kong: Jungle Climber is laugh, talk and have an annoying final battle. His design is bad too, I mean, it looks like he was drawn by a ten year old. Also, he steals crystal bananas, isn’t that more the kind of thing Donkey Kong would do? Lastly, his name. What is the ‘Rool’ about?  King K. Rool. Fair enough with the K, but Rool? Really? Sorry but Rool is a stupid name. But he is not as bad as the next villains…

Number 9 is, a Crash Bandicoot villain, (no it is NOT Dr. Cortex): The one and only Emperor Velo XXVII.

Yes, him. He is in Crash Nitro Kart. I love the game, but the villain sort of ruined it. First he gets the bandicoots, Dr. Cortex, N. Gin  and Tiny just to race. I mean, why them?  Can't he pick Sonic? He’s fast. And another thing, he could use his own species to race instead of going all the way to another planet to get people to do that for him. Also he is mean to his four friends when they lose. Lastly, he is a sore loser, when you beat him he says go home, but then says he will destroy the planet because you’re refusing to race, but he said they could go home if they beat him… But noooo, they have to get the relics then beat him again. ANNOYING. But who is a worse villain than him?

Number 8 is Wario.

I mean, he does not act as a villain. He helps Mario in Super Mario 64 DS. He is supposed to beat Mario, not help him! And all he does is steal money… Wow. Also, he is stupid. In Wario Ware: Smooth Moves, all he does is steal a Wii Remote and then just puts it back at the end. Yeah. He is a stupid villain.

Number 7 is Tabuu.

Okay, his theme and battle were cool, but everything else was awful… First his design, what's that, with a full leg and a half leg? Secondly, how can he beat all the Nintendo characters (and Snake) in one go, but not Sonic? WHAT? It just made the Nintendo characters look bad. I mean couldn’t Yoshi use his speed? Or Pit and Link use their arrows? Or Fox use his gun? Lastly, why is he a villain and what is Tabuu? We don't know what he is, where he came from or even his back story. But he did not get higher because of his cool battle and theme, just everything else was bad.

Number 6 is Baron Dante from Croc.

I mean, really, he looks like King K. Rool’s brother. Also, he is a bully because picks on the little hair ball creatures for no reason which left Croc all alone. He’s also a coward, he gets animals to get rid of Croc for him. Really. When you finally battle him it takes forever and when you beat him, guess what? The final battle it just him as a ghost, but very easy. I only played the first game, not the second one, but he is so annoying though. He’s just missed the top five…

Number 5 is, a Sonic villain, Merlina (from Sonic and The Black Knight).

I mean, the game had weird story, like who could be the villain? First it was the black knight, then Amy for giving him the power, then Merlina’s granddad for creating him and then it was Merlina. Now, let’s see, when she becomes the villain, she looks stupid and then she could have won when battling Sonic: She summoned Sonic  when she could have desummoned him and send him back, then she’d have won. Lastly, her battle is so annoying, it took me lots of tries to do it and the monster looks like Tabuu’s father.  When you defeat her she is happy at the end and everyone is…

Number 4 is, a Pokémon villain, Ghetsis.

He is the one bad Pokémon villain. The others, they’re awesome. But back to Ghetsis, I mean, he walks left and right when he is just talking to you, I am saying time waster! Also, he makes Team Plasma bad by saying we shall save Pokémon from humans when at the end was that only he can have Pokémon and no one else, and all to take over the world. He’s bad to his son and insults him, and he cheats in his battle with one Pokémon. When you beat him he says “I am invincible” (well, something like that). Stupid. But he is only number four…

Number 3 is Fawful.

One word to describe him: annoying. He is the most annoying character EVER! There is one good thing about him: his theme. That’s all. He looks like a yellow blob with glasses and also he makes Bowser look like an idiot; he turned his castle in to a theatre. What? He brain washes his minions too. Also, his annoying voice and he repeats some lines over and over again. His battle is very annoying. Grrr, I hate him! But who can be worse?

Number 2 is Ashera from Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn.

I mean really, her final battle is not fun. She needs to have a hobby, I mean, all she thinks about is war. She also turns everyone except the Fire Emblem characters to statues. I mean, if she had turned  Ike in to a statue she could have won. Also, her voice is stupid, and what’s the point in falling asleep? Okay, Yune falls asleep but she could have kept her awake. But what can be worse than her?

Number 1 is The Dark Master.

Man, I can't stand him! He is from Spyro. Now, first thing, he is hateable and his voice is rubbish. In fact he has one thing in common with each of the other villains.
Let’s start with King K. Rool: both have stupid names:
Velo: Both sore losers.
Wario: Both stupid.
Tabuu: We know nothing about their backstories.
Baron Dante: Both bullies and cowards.
Merlina: Both could have won.
Ghetsis: Both selfish.
Fawful: Both annoying.
Ashera: Both need to think of something else.

The Dark Master has all of them, and he made the Spyro series go downhill, which is sad because I really liked Spyro until The Dark Master showed up. So, he’s not just the worst villain, he also made Spyro bad. I really hate him, and that’s the end of my countdown.

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Top 5 Songs by Chris Hunter

4/22/2013

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I have mentioned before that my good friend Chris Hunter is a young and upcoming musician. In order to help him get a few more listeners, I have decided to write an entry on, what I consider to be, the best five songs recorded by him so far. I'll also include links to them on his SoundCloud page so that you can all listen and make your own decisions! All of these songs are entirely original, I have decided not to include any covers, but he has covers too.

5. Intense Whispering
Now, this is pure speculation, but this song seems to me to be about the negative effects of spreading rumours. I may be entirely wrong, but then again musical enjoyment is partly down to your own interpretations and I certainly enjoy the message of the song, even if it may only be there in my imagination! Quite a sad song too, like much of Chris's work.

4. Break It Down
One of Chris's most recent songs, and it's quite happy and upbeat too! As I said, most of Chris's songs are quite sad, so this is a refreshing change. This is very catchy and just generally enjoyable and there's not much more I can add to that.

3. Addicted
This song is both quite sad, and also quite catchy which is, in my oppinion, a rather nice combination! In the song, the singer is quite down on himself, and it's a feeling that I'm sure everybody has had at some point and so will be able to relate to. I find it quite hard to explain why it is that I like this, but there's a certain quality that this song has which makes it a very nice listen.

2. Heart of the Storm
This is a pretty sad song, probably Chris's saddest, and I think it's been done very well. I find that, sometimes, you'll listen to a song and you'll know that it's supposed to be a sad song, but you won't really feel anything, because it's not being sucessfully emotionally engaging,

1. Rich!
This song is also on iTunes, so, if you want to support Chris, go there and download it! This is far from his most serious song (a light hearted, upbeat song about how the singer wants to be rich) but it's so catchy and fun, that I can't help but like it. As Chris described it to me, it's a parody of modern pop music, and a very good one at that too. I find myself listening to this on many a bus ride.

I hope you've enjoyed reading/listening through this countdown :)

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Top 10 Pieces of Music From Video Games

5/10/2012

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10. Theme A from Tetris
Tetris is my favourite puzzle game. It's fun to play it all the time. One of the upsides is that it has a very nice and catchy tune which plays as all of the blocks fall into place. Sure, it might be an old 8-bit tune, but I love it!

9. Lavender Town from Pokémon Red, Blue and Yellow
Another 8-bit tune here. I'm sure, if you ever played the original Pokémon games, that you remember that creepy graveyard town; well, this is the theme music from it, a tune I think is excellently eerie. Although, all the versions on YouTube seem weirdly echoic, which I think is an alteration, but still this is mostly the original tune.

8. Banjo Land from Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts
Probably only really here for nostalgic reasons: it's a big orchestral version of several tunes from the Banjo-Kazooie series! All put together as one lovely medley. Still, it might sound nice to people unfamiliar with them.

7. Stardust Road from Super Mario Galaxy
A lovely little tune which makes you think of the strange, cold emptiness of space. Beautiful and slightly melancholy.

6. Beware the Forest Mushrooms from Super Mario RPG
An immersive little theme from the SNES classic, it's very fitting that it plays as you wander through a thick forest!

5. E-102 Gamma Theme from Sonic Adventure
Ah, E-102 Gamma, the best character from Sonic Adventure. This song is just the perfect theme for the sad story of this robot!

4. Click Clock Woods from Banjo-Kazooie
A nicely optimistic song played when you visit Click Clock Woods during the spring, an uplifting, catchy song.

3. Sunset Shore from Donkey Kong Country Returns
This song plays in dark levels which only use silhouettes; it really suits it.

2. Final Hours from The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Actually, a really depressing piece of music. This tune plays right before the end of the world and you literally hear it everywhere you go, just as a reminder that literally everywhere and everything will be gone if you don't do something about it. And if you don't do anything, a particularly depressing cut scene shows you the world ending...

1. Stickerbush Symphony from Donkey Kong Country 2
How could this not be first? Just listen to it, it may be from an old SNES game, but I still think it sounds beautiful and it really captures the feeling of wandering in wilderness.

Note: I just wanted to point out that it's the 10th of May, one year ago today I wrote my first entry and thought that I'd probably end the blog a few days later! I guess I was wrong.

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Top 5 TV Christmas Specials (TWAC Day 20)

12/20/2011

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_ I imagine that, by this point, the majority of my readers (who, I'm guessing, are either secondary school students or university students) will have finished for Christmas and will be left with a lot of time on their hands. As such, today's blog entry is my suggestion for the best five Christmas specials out there. So if you find yourself with a free hour or so, why not watch one of these excellent television episodes?

5. Blackadder: 'Blackadder's Christmas Carol'
If you're unfamiliar with Blackadder I'll give you a brief description of the series (as it is, very slightly, obscure): Basically, every series is set in a different period of history but also featuring the same characters (Edmund Blackadder and his underling Baldrick) though (with the explanation being that they are either ancestors or descendants of the characters from the earlier series. This episode, as the title probably gives away, is an adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol (a story which, in my opinion, can't be adapted enough times). However, this version of the classic Christmas tale puts quite a spin on the well-known story, I won't ruin it, but I imagine you'll be quite amused by its ending. Plus, another nice touch of this Christmas special is that we get to see the incarnations of the characters from the previous series and how it was that they spent their Christmases, which I very much enjoy. You can't go very far with this festive romp; you even get to see the Blackadder of the future, which is pretty funny.

4. Futurama: 'Xmas Story'
I'm guessing everyone knows the story of Futurama? I won't bother explaining its premise then. 'Xmas Story' is about Fry's first Christmas day in the future. For obvious reasons (that all of his old friends are dead, just in case it wasn't so obvious to you) Fry begins to feel a little sad about this. Around the same time, Leela begins to feel a little sad too, mainly due to the fact that she doesn't know anything about her origins. Fry goes out to buy a present for Leela (a parrot), but he doesn't really know about the evil robot Father Christmas of the future who goes around killing people on Christmas Eve because everyone is his naughty list (except Zoidberg). The episode has a nice Christmassy feeling about it, we see the characters putting up Christmas decorations and everything, and it's also quite a sweet story really. I like the whole unrequited love story that Futurama has between Fry and Leela, and this episode has them being rather close with each other, which is nice.

3. The Simpsons: 'Miracle on Evergreen Terrace'
Another cartoon series by Matt Groening! Since The Simpsons has been going for a fair few years now, it has quite a large number of Christmas specials (I'm pretty confident that I haven't even seen them all) but, so far, this is my favourite one. It's a very bittersweet episode really; I was very shocked when I first saw it. If you haven't seen this episode, and don't want to have it spoiled for you, I suggest that you stop reading this now! Basically, Bart burns down the family's Christmas tree and presents, then he tells the family that what actually happened was that a burglar came along and stole them. The whole town feels sorry for them, gives them money out of Christmas generosity, but then they find out what really happened (after the family has already bought a new car which Homer accidentally destroyed) and so to get even with the family they steal all of their stuff, leaving them with an empty house. They literally have nothing at all apart from one washcloth, but then they start jokingly fighting over whose it is. I was much younger when I first this episode, and I wondered what would happen in the series after they'd lost everything. Obviously, at the time, I didn't know that they had it all back and did a crazy musical episode the next week... But still, as a standalone, this is a very good episode and, as I said, very bittersweet throughout. Probably one of the darkest episodes of The Simpsons.

2. The Waltons: 'The Homecoming' / 'The Best Christmas'
For my favourite programme, I really couldn't decide which of these two episodes were the best. As such, they have to share second place in this countdown. First, I'll talk about The Homecoming. Not long ago, I reviewed the book which The Homecoming is adapted from (here's a link to that entry: ) so I won't bother to explain the story again to you. While it may not feature the regular actors for John, Olivia, Zebulon, Ike or the Baldwins, a lot of the regular cast is still there, so this doesn't distract from the enjoyment. What it does perfectly is capture the climax there is on Christmas Eve, how everything, on that day especially, is building up towards Christmas. Though this story, of course, has the added suspense of whether or not the children's father will make it home for Christmas alive or not!
Now, onto The Best Christmas! This is actually the first, and last, time that the whole regular cast is together for a Christmas special, which gives it added meaning. Before this there was only The Homecoming which, as I said before, was before the roles had been properly cast, and afterwards, cast members would leave due to fear of typecasting/a stroke/death/over exhaustion, so it is nice to see them all together for this one Christmas special. Also, this one seems somehow more Christmassy to me too, with lovely Christmas decorations, snow storms etc. But, on the downside, this story is half as long as The Homecoming, which means you can't sit back and watch it as if it were a Christmas film. But, like I say, I can't decide between these two, hence why both of them are here! Though I will say that it's The Homecoming that I try and watch every Christmas Eve.

1. Doctor Who: 'The Christmas Invasion'
So The Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) had just died and turned into The Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) before crash landing in London on Christmas Eve 2006. The Doctor actually spends most of the story asleep in bed, so the story mainly focuses on Rose and how she reacts to the regeneration. But, with no Doctor to do crazy and exciting things, Rose basically does regular exciting Christmas build-up things with her (ex?)boy-friend Mickey. To me, it seems like such a realistic representation of the time before Christmas, without being boring. Later on, aliens show up and invade the Earth and The Doctor has to save the day, which, you'd think would ruin the Christmas spirit of the story, but it actually makes it even better. This is just a very well done episode, and hence why I rate it as the number one TV Christmas special.



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Top 5 Video Games to Get You into the Christmas Spirit (TWAC Day 13)

12/13/2011

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_ One thing that can be occasionally fun to do (in moderation) is to play video games. Around the Christmas season I imagine that you have a lot of free time on your hands (well, that's assuming you bought your presents on time!) so here are a few games that're particularly good to play around Christmastime.

5. Super Mario Galaxy
I'm not entirely sure why this game makes me feel festive, but still, it does. It could be down to the fact that the soundtrack for the game is wholly orchestral, or it might be because of the vibrant cold feeling landscapes in space that you're strolling through, but either way, this game gets me in the Christmas spirit, and it might do the same for you. It especially helps if you choose one of the wintry levels: you can stand in a vast snowy landscape while snow slowly falls around you and chilling music plays! You can even turn into ice and skate around on the surface of lakes because the water freezes under your feet, it’s awesome!

 

4. Scribblenauts
Now this is a game where you write in the name of an object/thing and then it immediately spawns beside you, able to be used however you like. This means that you are able to create a lovely Christmas scene; you could perhaps go to the North Pole summon up Father Christmas and the reindeers, have a snowman and Christmas tree, whatever you need for the perfect yuletide feeling… Only to then summon Cthulhu and have him destroy everything and kill everyone. Plus, on top of that, you also have a number of festive missions that you have to do throughout the duration of the game.

 

3. Diddy Kong Racing
And now we move on to a game by one of the greatest game makers of all time: Rareware! Diddy Kong Racing is a nice little racing game featuring all of your favourite video game animals: Diddy Kong, Banjo the Bear, Conker the Squirrel, Tiptup the Turtle etc. But, aside from being a generally fun game, there are several winter themed race courses which feature some lovely festive music. You can race through a silent snow covered village in the middle of the night (complete with Christmas lights on display!) or even fly over a snow filled gorge and through an icy cave. Excellent for achieving the Christmassy feeling and what makes this one an even better choice is that you can play with up to four players at once!

 

2. Animal Crossing
There are four Animal Crossing games out at the moment (with a fifth being worked on) but for number two I’m really referring to any of the four as they’re all very similar. Anyway, if you play your Animal Crossing game around Christmas time you’ll be pleasantly surprised that the whole world of the game is covered in snow! But that’s only the start of the festivities, now you’ll find that several trees will have been decorated with Christmas lights, you can buy Christmas trees from the local shop, and if you play at night, you can walk through the snowy fields while the snow crunches under your feet and shooting stars fall overhead. It’s lovely!

 

1. Banjo-Kazooie
I’m not going to hide the fact that this is one of my favourite games, and coincidentally, it also happens to have been made by Rareware.  While this game in general is not overtly Christmassy, there is one particular level, called Freezeezy Peak, which captures the feeling perfectly. The whole level is a large snow covered world, you’ll find lakes that’re too cold to go in, making you shiver, snow men who through snow balls at you, a snow covered village, a polar bear family who want you to help find their Christmas presents, toboggan races, giant Christmas trees that need their lights switching on, ice cube people, walruses and everything else you’d expect in a Christmas level! It’s just magical.

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