Godzilla Week: The Half-Century War by James Stokoe

Godzilla: The Half-Century War by James Stokoe is a short but stellar comic book series that does the big G justice. The plot focuses on soldier-turned-“glorified weather watcher” Ota Murakami who documents his run ins with Godzilla since his first attack on Japan in 1954. As his Godzilla obsession takes control of his life, Ota tries desperately to stop the King while simultaneously thwart Dr. Deverich from destroying mankind with his monster attraction device.

Great read; here are some of my favorite points (warning, some spoilers)

–The art is appealing to look at. James Stokoe enthralls you with his art which is both clean and sharp. The setting is bathed in an eternal sunset of colors which compliments the dour nature of the comic. The only bright moments seem to come from Godzilla’s radioactive breath and his glowing dorsal spines. Also, Godzilla and his monsters look good which is always a bonus.

–The nods to the films are appreciated. Stokoe respects the franchise and references many different things from them without having them seem out of place. The weapons are one of them; from masers to black hole guns, whatever the Anti-Megalosaurus Force technology division came up with, it more than likely appeared in the films. These references give the story familiarity without it losing originality.

–Mechagodzilla’s design change as the series progressed. This is one of my favorites. Mechagodzilla first appeared in Ota’s story in the 1980s and was based off of the MechaGodzilla from the Heisei Era of films. It then appeared again in 2002 (the same year that Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla came out) and it received an upgrade that was based off of the Millennium Series. The characters even talk about how bits of the original Godzilla were in the new Mechagodzilla, something that GAM also did.

Japan does not get a royal beating. Japan gets attacked in the first issue but after that, Ota and Godzilla go global by “visiting” places like Vietnam, India, Ghana, and even Antarctica. I like, it really drives the point that this is a global catastrophe. Japan shouldn’t be a magnet of monster attacks, all the other nations should get a beating as well.

The specialized A.M.F. forces are amusing. This is also one of my favorites. When other monsters start popping up, the A.M.F. responded by making specialized forces for each of the monsters. We only get to see these forces in one issue but they speak volumes. I like it how the Mothra force are hippies who drive a van that has a psychedelic Mothra painted on it. I also laughed at the Hedorah forces. Poor guys, they look like they seen hell. One of them wears a protective suit while the other one looks like he’s five minutes from meeting his grave. I want to see adventures with these guys!

Image from http://everydayislikewednesday.blogspot.com/

Godzilla’s bemused reaction. I didn’t know it was possible to give Godzilla a facial expression but by God did Stokoe do it. The look on Godzilla’s face when he realized his atomic breath didn’t work was funny without it being silly. I like it.

In this end, this is a great series for you to read even if you’re not a Godzilla fan. There are only five issues so you can easily get through it in a lunch break. I haven’t read any other Godzilla comics but I doubt they can meet my expectations on a good Godzilla comic after Stokoe had set it so high. Give it a shot.

Godzilla Week: Kid Memories

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Of childhood icons that inspire both fear and awe, none can do it best than Godzilla.

He is the embodiment of destruction, the personification of nuclear warfare, the paragon of antiheros, the King of the Monsters. He is one of my favorite icons ever and this week, I’ll be celebrating the King with five articles covering him from movies to comics. I hope you’ll enjoy them as they were fun to write.

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As a child, my love for Godzilla knew no bounds. I religiously watched his movies, I pretended I was him, and I worshiped him.

My first memory of him came when I was four, when I was at a friend’s house and was playing with his Godzilla toys. They roared when you pressed the button on their bellies. At the time, I didn’t know what these monsters were, but at such a young age, I found them frightful.

Unfortunately, I can’t remember what the first Godzilla film I watched was. The first memory I recall was when I borrowed Godzilla’s Revenge (debated to be one of the worst Godzilla films) from a friend’s house and watched it again and again. However, by then I was well into being a Godzilla fan and I loved watching his films.

Oh God why

The best part about being a kid was that you didn’t care about plot continuity in the films even if it mattered (which was rare). Ghidora may be dead in the end of one film but then he’s back in the other and I wouldn’t question it at all.

TNT showed a lot of Godzilla films. I remember staying up late and hiding in the basement with the blanket over the TV to prevent it from disturbing my family members. I would sit two feet away from the pulsing screen and watch the Godzilla films intensely. They would usually show the classics from the 1960s. AMC also showed a lot of Godzilla films during October but that gradually died off as the channel moved away from their classic movie lineup and more into modern shows.

Mystery Science Theatre 3000 also did Godzilla vs. Megalon and I remember watching that one a lot as well for it was a winning combination of MST3K AND Godzilla. You can’t go wrong there. “He’s got a tree! That’s not the Godzilla we know!”

BLARAAAAAGAAGGHH

Unlike nowadays, the Godzilla franchise was surprisingly good at releasing Godzilla films on VHS to the U.S. And being a kid that grew up in the 90’s, I got to see the just released films that were all the rage in Japan. The Heisei Era of Godzilla films was definitely a great time to be a Godzilla fan, ESPECIALLY a Godzilla kid fan. Return of Godzilla, Biollante, King Ghidorah, Mothra, MechaGodzilla, SpaceGodzilla, and Destoryah. Most of these films can be considered some of the best of in the entire series. The two that stood out to me the most though were definitely Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah and Godzilla vs. Destoryah (more on those films and my reaction to them later).

Some films though were just out of my reach for viewing, my town once did a special Godzilla exhibit to celebrate a Godzilla Anniversary. In it, I saw the pictures from the fabled Destroy All Monsters film, a film that I had never heard before but instantly I wanted to see it and its glorious monster rumble. This was a time when the internet was still young so I didn’t know what other Godzilla films were out there. Alas, many of these films I never got to see until I was an adult.

I remember when I was six or seven I had a Godzilla kid’s book that I would read abundantly. It was about Godzilla and his pals on Monster Island where they found an egg that later hatched into Mothra. Good stuff.

Taken from “Who’s Afraid of Godzilla?” originally scanned by http://rippledragon.tumblr.com/

My friends were also Godzilla fans as well. When we saw Godzilla vs. King Kong, there was a heated debate on who won the fight. I, rightly so, declared that Godzilla won it, my friend, however, declared King Kong was the actual winner. Either way, watching Godzilla films with your friends definitely enhances the experience.

Speaking of which, I only went to two Godzilla films in theaters when I was young, both of which were with my friend. The first was Godzilla 2000, and let me tell you something, that was amazing. Seeing the big guy on the screen really was a special treat. The second film was special though. My local theater did a Godzilla Anniversary and showed the first Godzilla film in its original dub. I had reached the right age, about nine or so, to appreciate that film. It was intense, moving, and special. You can debate which Godzilla films are the best in the franchise but the best, hands down, was the first one. A film that’s not only a good Godzilla film but a great cinematic film in general. It was so potent that it spawned not only its own franchise but the kaiju genre as well. And man, I was glad to see it on the big screen.

from http://somewhatbadasslol.tumblr.com/

Stay tuned for more Godzilla articles!

Ancient Animals and Their Fakemon: Introduction and Dunkleosteus

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Since 2007, I have been working an extensive side project that combines two of my favorite things in life; Paleontology and Pokemon. Basically, it was pokemon that was directly inspired from actual paleontological animals. It was originally supposed to be a fanfic where ancient pokemon were coming through time portals and the protagonist had to figure out why it was happening before major damage happens. However, the story was so big that I didn’t have the time or patience to do it. The idea also resurfaced again years later when I came up with the notion of having my ancient fakemon in an RPG. It too didn’t work out.

But the results of my hard work did not fade away; I had kept many entries where I meticulously wrote tons of data on these ancient fakemon. Now that I have a blog, I thought now was probably the best time to show the world these creations. Starting today, I will publish a post describing an ancient animal (what is it, why I like it, any interesting tidbits) and its inspired fakemon (typing, stats, moves, their initial roles in the storyline and such). These posts will only be released on Fridays, however, not every Friday will have an Ancient Fakemon post. I hope you enjoy them.

And brother, I think I picked a good one to start with.

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Dunkleosteus: Placoderm organism, Late Devonian

Image created by and is found on http://www.sebmeyerart.com/

I fear this animal.

I can’t explain why exactly, maybe it’s the soulless eyes, maybe it’s it terrifying appearance, or maybe it’s something else entirely. Whatever the case, I do not want to be in the water if this fish is swimming about.

Dunkleosteus terrelli is a placoderm, a relatively successful group of bony armored fish that dominated the seas during the Devonian Period. This unique group of animals died at the end of the Devonian Period leaving no modern day relatives. They are classified by their armor plated body structure which gave them protection at the sacrifice of speed. Most of them were bottom dwellers and clung to the seafloor. The Arthrodirans, a group within the placoderms, escaped the seafloor and actively swam in the water column.

Dunkleosteus is one of those Arthrodirans. The largest placoderm discovered; Dunkleosteus could reach up to 10 meters in length. Its “teeth” were not traditional teeth like you and I have but modified bone that functions as teeth. The blade-like “teeth” could continuously sharpen as the predator was feasting on its prey which is pretty wild.

Dunkleosteus status as the top predator in the seas is well founded due to its size and biting behavior. Anderson and Westneat (2009) estimated that Dunkleosteus could open its huge mouth in about 60 milliseconds. This rapid expansion created a vacuum which sucked water and prey into its mouth. Once the prey was in its mouth, Dunkleosteus would then crush or pierce its prey from as high as 6170 N at the tip of the mouth to a staggering 7495 N at the back of the mouth (for reference, we can only bite at 294 N at the tip of our mouths). This bite force is so large that only the great white shark and the alligator can match it (see Huber et al. (2005) for a general list of animal bites and Wroe et al. (2008) for shark bites). Both of these methods meant that Dunkleosteus was feeding on prey that was both elusive and armor-covered such as ammonoids, arthropods, and other placoderms (Anderson and Westneat 2009).

Dunkleosteus has shown up a few times in pop culture. The first time I saw him was actually in the second Dinotopia book, The World Beneath, where the armored fish snapped off the claw of the protagonists’ underwater ship and briefly fought a Kronosaurus. The second time I saw him was again in Dinotopia only this time it was in the tv movies (where he was also terrifying albeit more angler fish-like). Dunkleosteus most famous appearance would probably be in the BBC’s Sea Monsters where Nigel Thornberry Marven journeyed to the seven deadliest seas in Earth’s history. Dunkleosteus and his Devonian Sea was ranked the Fifth Most Deadly Sea. Nigel wanted to interact with a Dunkleosteus so he got into a round shark cage and tried to get a closer look at the fish.

“I WILL EAT YOUR SOUL!!”

I have to say, if that was me, that would be a big bag of nope. Like I said before, I fear this creature so I don’t want to be ANYWHERE near this guy when I’m out on sea. God, being eaten by him would probably be a cross between a shark and a hippo. *shudder*

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CLUNKLESTEEL

Type: Water/Steel

Stats: HP: 82, Attack: 125, Defense: 125, Special Attack: 55, Special Defense: 78, Speed: 55

Ability: Strong Jaw. Hidden Ability: Hyper Cutter

Moves Learned Upon Leveling Up:

Start-Splash
Start-Iron Defense
15-Flail
20-Bite
22-Water Sprout
25-Headbutt
29-Shear Bite
33-Glare
37-Thunder Fang/Ice Fang
40-Metal Sound
43-Skull Bash
46-Screech
50-Aqua Tail
53-Crunch

Learnable TMs and HMs: Roar, Toxic, Hidden Power, Protect, Rain Dance, Safeguard, Frustration, Return, Brick Break, Double Team, Sandstorm, Rock Tomb, Façade, Rest, Attract, Round, Scald, Stone Edge, Rock Slide, Swagger, Sleep Talk, Substitute, Flash Cannon, Rock Smash, Snarl, Confide, Surf, Strength, Waterfall

Special Moves: Shear Bite: Steel Type, Power: 40, PP: 20, Accuracy: 100%. Sheer Bite raises the user’s Attack by one stage after damaging the opponent.

Egg Group: Water 2

Pokedex Description Version One: Scientists can tell how old a Clunklesteel is by the amount of rust that grows on their backs.

Pokedex Description Version Two: Clunklesteel have been known to ram small boats and even pierce the hulls using their steel-bladed teeth.

Basic Background: Clunklesteel is based off of Dunkleosteus. Clunklesteel was one of the easiest fakemon to come up and play around with. The armor nature combined with his fish status means he makes a great Steel/Water type pokemon. The Ability Strong Jaw also fits perfectly with his terrifyingly biting force. His famous chompers means that biting moves like Crunch or Thunder Fang are great compliments to him. Clunklesteel’s nature means he has great Defense and Attack at the cost of his Speed and Special Attack.

Shear Bite is a move made specifically for Clunklesteel. The continuously sharpening of his blade-like chompers fits well as a move. Shear Bite is the Steel Type version of Power-Up Punch.

Clunklesteel played an important part in my story. Originally, the protagonist had met a Clunklesteel when he was a kid and was traumatize by it and has since been afraid of the ocean. The same Clunklesteel had come back when the protagonist unknowingly released it and a bunch of other prehistoric animals at a terrorist facility. The Clunklesteel began to hunt him relentlessly and violently defeated the protagonist at every battle they met. Each time, he was too scared to act confidently in the face of his feared foe. One of the battles even cost him his pokemon. It wasn’t until near the finale of the story when the protagonist had finally faced his fear, defeated it, and captured the placoderm pokemon.

I always imagined him as being a mindless machine and with this design that my girlfriend came up with, that mindless machine really shined through. Don’t think, just eat and go, eat and go.

Finally, Clunklesteel evolves from Sillylepis (formerly Placoderp before that term became controversial) and is based off of Silurolepis, a primitive placoderm found in the Late Silurian. Sillylepis evolves at level 20 to Clunklesteel and is similar to Magikarp due to both having poor stats and a poor moveset.

Alternative Names: Placodoom, Placodeath, Dunksteelus

I hope you enjoy the first Ancient Animals and Their Fakemon! When time permits, I’ll make more of these later.

REFERENCES

Anderson P.S.L., Westneat M.W., 2009. A biomechanical model of feeding kinematics for Dunkleosteus terrelli (Arthrodira,Placodermi). Paleobiology. 35:251-269.

Huber D.R., Eason T.G., Hueter R.E., and Motta P.J., 2005. Analysis of the bite force and mechanical design of the feeding mechanism of the durophagous horn shark Heterodontus francisci. The Journal of Experimental Biology. 208:3553-3571.

Wroe S., Huber D.R., Lowry M., McHenry C., Moreno K., Clausen P., Cunningham E., Dean M.N., and Summers A.P. 2008. Three-dimensional computer analysis of white shark jaw mechanics: how hard can a great white bite? Journal of Zoology. 276:336-342.

And Berkeley website on the “Introduction to the Placodermi” http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/vertebrates/basalfish/placodermi.html

Friends, Board Games, and Wil Wheaton

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About two years ago, I was worried about my social life, what person isn’t? For me though, I was worried about technology’s increasing strength on my life. It was serving more as a barrier than as a passageway towards interacting with my friends. Desperately, I was trying to figure out a way I could interact with my friends without the use of video games, TV, or cell phones. The answer to my problem was actually solved, funny enough, by one of my friends (we’ll call him “Mr. Pink”).

One day, Mr. Pink was talking to me about this great board game that we should try out called Ticket to Ride. A game about building trains to connect between cities on a real-world map. At first, I wasn’t convinced. He then showed me a video on Youtube called Tabletop which was hosted by former Star Trek actor, Wil Wheaton. On Wil’s show, he invites several semi-famous actors, writers, and so forth to play a board game with him. Each episode the board game and the guests are different. The episodes are high quality, nicely edited, and highlight the basis of the board game very well through both explaining the rules and playing the game.

Not Pictured: Felicia Day

I was convinced. Almost immediately after I saw the episode, Mr. Pink and I got in my car and we drove over to our board game store. We bought Marklin Ticket to Ride, where you play on a German map, and we played the game that night with our two other friends.

As I was playing the game, I realized that I had found the solution to my problem. Board games. They are non-electronic, they take a few hours to play, and they offer a (mostly) positive interactive environment for us to be in. This was it.

Soon after, my roommates and I religiously watched Wil’s Tabletop and after every episode we would discuss if we should get the game or not. Our board game collection is now filled with games, most of which were recommended by Wil. You name it, we got all the greats; Pandemic, Settlers of Catan, Betrayal at House on the Hill, the list goes on. Our bookcase can barely contain them all. Our collection has given us the opportunity to pick games that suit our current mood and I love it!

My favorite thing to do now is to invite some random friends, who probably haven’t met each other before, and play board games with them. Let me tell you, getting a diverse group of people together and them playing off of each other as much as they play off of the board is a satisfying experience. Sometimes, they even bring their own games with them and that thrills me as well.

For those kinds of situations, Pandemic does a great job setting the mood. Everyone works together to stop the looming diseases. This really builds up the players’ trust towards one another and can break down reservations the players may have. People take on roles that fit them and they interact, they inform, and they suggest strategies to partake in. This builds and builds as the going gets tough and we might tooth and claw to suppress the diseases from spreading. Even if we lose, we still have fun. From there, it’s really up to the players what they want to play (though I like to encourage Betrayal due to its rather weird nature). Overall, it can be a fun time.

Wil and his show was a definite influence in my social life. And last March, I was able to tell it to him in person. He was going to show up, along with other Star Trek actors, at a local comic convention. When I heard this, I knew now was the best time to meet him in person and autograph a board game while I was at it. But what board game?? Ticket to Ride seemed like the best choice since it was our first board game but the box was unfortunately too large for my backpack. I decided to go for Powergrid, a board game that my roommates and I love to play.

I was a little nervous when I finally met the man himself. I briefly told him that he got my friends and into board gaming and then I gave him the box for him to sign. His eyes immediately lit up and he said, “Isn’t this a great game? I love this game a lot! The first goes last rule is a great mechanic.” We talked briefly about the board game, he then signed it and I was soon on my way. I have to say, that was probably my best encounter with a celebrity (though I haven’t had that many encounters yet). He was kind, earnest, and he gave the time to talk to me even though there were many people before me and just as many afterwards. Needless to say, it was a great experience, and I’m glad I got to meet the man that helped me find a new way to connect to my friends.

Why Turtle Science is Good Science

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Recently, in my Herpetology class, my professor informed us about a recent revelation in turtle evolution. The turtles’ closest living relatives are in fact, birds and crocodiles (collectively known as the archosaurs to which I’ll refer to this as the archosaur hypothesis). This is quite different from what I learned while growing up mainly that turtles were a weird outgroup of reptiles (see the figure below). This was even commonly accepted in the scientific community. Intrigued that a major shift in the Tree of Life has happened, I listened intently.

Too bad crocodiles can't fly, oh God, that would be terrifying. Imagine them crashing through your window.

Possible phylogenetic relationships in Turtles. Tree A represents the traditional tree with turtles as an outgroup of reptiles. Tree B represents a different take using morphology as an example. Tree C represents the new tree with turtles a sister group to the archosaurs (the “archosaur hypothesis”). Image from Hedges (2012).

The first papers that questioned turtles’ relationship on the Tree of Life were few and far between; some of which were even inconclusive. However, Kumazawa and Nishida (1999), Cao et al. (2000), and Iwabe et al. (2005), were among the first scientists to question if turtles were actually a sister group to the archosaurs. They had found strong evidence that this was so. But, all three of these were either led or helped by Dr. Kumazawa meaning only a few scientists supported this hypothesis. This changed in 2011 when we got a deluge of papers dealing with turtle relationships. Shen et al. (2011), Crawford et al. (2012), Chiari et al. (2012), Fong et al. (2012), and Lu et al. (2013) all concluded that turtles were actually a sister group to archosaurs (this partially excludes Fong et al. (2012) who thought that turtles were either a sister group to lizards or to the archosaurs).

Again and again and again, we see continual support for the archosaur hypothesis from various different research groups analyzing various different genetic components. I thought this was cool, but my professor by the end of his lesson seemed more annoyed then gratified by all this research. Yes, alright, we get it, turtles are a sister group to archosaurs, move on.

But I had an appreciation for these scientists and their experiments. This is science at its best. We have rigorous testing of a novel hypothesis that has shaken traditional knowledge. And through this rigorous testing, again and again, the hypothesis stands strong.

This may seem odd to praise repeated testing, but lately, science, particularly pharmaceutical science, has been faltering lately. If you have the time, you should definitely read the article here which highlights how repeated testing has taken a backseat in modern science. Why is that? Well, as the article states, it could be that the scientists want to make a name for themselves by testing new things, or journals may have no interest in repeated testing, or it’s just too costly. Any of these could be a factor. This lack of critical, unbiased repeated testing harms science as certain information we could perceive to be correct could actually be false due to human error.

This was why I was pleased to hear these multiple experiments done on turtle phylogeny. It showed me that scientists are still questioning not just science but each other. What’s more, the turtle phylogeny question has still not been accepted by everyone. Morphologists, who study the structure of organisms, disagree with the archosaur hypothesis based on turtle anatomy and the fossil record. However, even they have seemed to accept this hypothesis as the amount of research papers refuting the archosaur hypothesis has gone down considerably since the mid-2000s. What’s more, I even found a morphological paper, Bhart-Anjan et al. (2009), which supported the archosaur hypothesis.

As such, in the space of about two decades, we see a great example of how our perception of science can change from one standpoint to another. First, we have a generally accepted hypothesis (turtles are an outgroup of reptiles). This was then challenged by a few scientists (turtles are actually relatives of archosaurs). Finally, it ballooned to many scientists coming forth and supporting this new hypothesis through repeated testing. To me, I find this awesome. And that is why, my friend, turtle science, is good science.

Bhart-Anjan S., and Bever G. S., 2009. An Archosaur-like Laterosphenoid in Early Turtles (Reptilia: Pantestudines). Breviora 518:1-11.

Cao Y., Sorenson M. D., Kumazawa Y., Mindell D. P., Hasegawa M., 2000. Phylogenetic position of turtles among amniotes: evidence from mitochondrial and nuclear genes. Genes 259:139-148.

Chiari Y., Cahais V., Galtier N., and Delsuc F. 2012. Phylogenomic analyses support the position of turtles as the sister group of birds and crocodiles (Archosauria). BMC biology 10:65.

Crawford N. G., Faircloth B. C., McCormack J. E., Brumfield R. T., Winker K., Glenn T. C., 2012. More than 1000 ultraconserved elements provide evidence that turtles are the sister group of archosaurs. Biology Letters 8:783-786.

Fong J. J., Brown J. M., Fujita M. K., and Boussau B. 2012. A phylogenomic approach to vertebrate phylogeny supports a turtle-archosaur affinity and a possible paraphyletic Lissamphibia. PloS one 7:e48990.

Hedges S. B., 2012. Amniote phylogeny and the position of turtles. BMC Biology 10:64.

Iwabe N., Hara Y., Kumazawa Y., Shibamoto K., Saito Y., Miyata T., and Katoh K., 2005. Sister Group Relationship of Turtles to the Bird-Crocodilian Clade Revealed by Nuclear DNA–Coded Proteins. Molecular Biology and Evolution 22:810-813.

Kumazawa Y., and Nishida M., 1999. Complete Mitochondrial DNA Sequences of the Green Turtle and Blue-Tailed Mole Skink: Statistical Evidence for Archosaurian Afﬁnity of Turtles. Molecular Biology and Evolution 16:784-792.

Lu B., Yang W., Dai Q., and Fu J. 2013. Using Genes as Characters and a Parsimony Analysis to Explore the Phylogenetic Position of Turtles. PloS one 8:e79348.

Shen X. X., Liang D., Wen J. Z., and Zhang, P 2011. Multiple genome alignments facilitate development of NPCL markers: a case study of tetrapod phylogeny focusing on the position of turtles. Molecular biology and evolution 28:3237-3252.

The Last True Gaming Console

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Back in February, Nintendo announced that it would disconnect the Wii and the DS’ internet service for games on May 20^th, 2014 https://www.nintendo.com/whatsnew/detail/vyWpoM6CBIe6FjW8NIY7bvzOrgBURhzw. When I heard this, I was both sad and not surprised. I expected this to happen as Nintendo is not seeing any use for games that are no longer popular. Ridding themselves of these internet services will cost them less money.

Even so, many of these games are now affected by their lack of internet connection. Sure, games like Pokemon and Super Smash Brothers Brawl will not be totally impacted by this, but other games like the Professor Layton series would be. In the Professor Layton games, you could download many puzzles which were otherwise not accessible in the games. However, with the discontinuing of their internet connection, gamers, who might have picked up the games used, will not be able to enjoy these puzzles as we do now.

It’s here that we see the weakness of modern consoles and that is the internet. The strong reliance of the internet makes modern day consoles handicapped to certain situations. If you are in a place that has no internet connection then you can’t play online nor could you download patches or expansion packs. As such, the enjoyment of certain games goes down considerably. You can also get some games like SimCity 4 whose total dependency on the internet ended in complete disaster. Eventually, most of these consoles will become obsolete as their games will eventually lose their internet service making them obsolete.

But I don’t see this happening for older, traditional consoles. The beauty in them is that you can transport them wherever you go, connect them to the TV, and play some fun games without worrying about internet connection. My N64 and Sega Genesis works just as well now as it did years ago. These traditional consoles do not have to stress about being outdated as you can still get your full enjoyment from them (provided you have a TV you can connect them too).

As such, I believe the Nintendo Gamecube is the last of the traditional gaming consoles most of us grew up with. Nowadays, modern consoles focus strongly on versatility by including features such as playing or streaming movies, social networking, surfing the web and so forth. Video gaming itself almost takes a backseat to these consoles.

The Nintendo Gamecube, however, strived to be an actual gaming console. With its contemporaries already playing music with CDs or movies with DVDs, the Gamecube stuck to its guns with fun-to-play video games. Also, the Gamecube didn’t have to worry much about internet services being terminated. Yes, there were some Gamecube games that had internet capabilities (such as Phantasy Star Online) but that was it. Some of these games, like Mario Kart: Double Dash, can still be played online using a LAN server. Besides these exceptions, you did not need the internet in order to fully enjoy Gamecube games (besides, you had to buy the Gamecube Broadband Adapter which was sold separately from the console, again, supporting the fact that the Gamecube was not originally intended to be used for internet purposes).

Even with one foot lingering in the past, the Gamecube was still a product of its time. Some of its characteristics we still see in modern consoles today. There was the use of discs instead of cartridges which prompted the use of memory cards as well. As said before there was (some) internet connectivity. The Wavebird Controller was wireless and freed the gamer from the restriction of cords. This was also the era of videogames when old games were being redone in higher graphics (e.g., Metal Gear Solid: the Twin Snakes, Resident Evil 1 and 2, and etc.). All of this indicates that the Nintendo Gamecube represents a bridge between the then and the now.

Regardless, a focus on games and a freedom from the internet means that the Gamecube is the last of the true, gaming consoles. Which means I can take my funky lunchbox console wherever I go and have a blast with it. Arceus bless you Gamecube, you silly, dorky, fun-as-hell console.

The Darkness Series by Harry Turtledove

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Long before I knew about Game of Thrones, there was another fantasy series that I was heavily invested in during the course of its publications. It was known as the Darkness Series, written by Harry Turtledove (also known as “the Master of Alternate History”). The Darkness Series is, in a sense, very similar to the Song of Ice and Fire series. Mainly, many viewpoint characters that are from different nations whose individual stories weave a larger, more epic story. These characters are from a fantastical world in the grip of war and who, even if they are a viewpoint character, can still die.

There is also another similarity the two have. If A Song of Ice and Fire is inspired by the War of Roses, then the Darkness Series is not only inspired by, but directly paralleled with, the events of World War 2. Each country in the Darkness Series, which takes place in the fiction continent of Derlavai, is usually based on one (sometimes a few) country(s) in our world. For instance, Algarve represents Nazi Germany while Unkerlant represents Soviet Russia. The similarities don’t stop there as these fictional nations have the same languages, city names, customs, and so forth as our world does.

These similarities though are highly jumbled. The Algarvian people speak Italian, have red hair, and wear kilts. Unkerlantians, meanwhile, speak German, wear tunics, and have a darker complexion. For those of you who are curious, the Jews are a race of people called Kaunians who are fair skinned, tall, have blonde hair, and speak a Slavic-like language.

But here, the similarities to our world end. Great rhinos are tanks, dragons are airplanes, fierce leviathans are submarines, rifles and pistols are wands that shoot energy beams, and magical crystals serve as communicating devices similar to our radios and telephones. Also, like Game of Thrones, the world’s countries are mainly monarchial. These fantastical elements are amazing and give a great twist to a world at war.

I never had such joy in reading and appreciating a series such as this before. Figuring out what historical events are happening and guessing how the characters will survive was a real treat. And though we know that dear Algarve will eventually lose the war, what we don’t know is if our characters will survive the war or not. Some of my favorite characters did eventually past away and that was a great shame.

Turtledove has a greater appreciation for characters than George R.R. Martin does. Though characters may die, their deaths do not seem premature or forced. We have grown to love and respect the viewpoint character as Turtledove takes time to flesh them out. We are also not bogged down with tons of characters who may show up for a few chapters and then go away without any further notice on what exactly happened to them.

Some of the best moments in the book are when viewpoint characters meet each other for a brief moment. They may fight each other in the battlefield, walk by one another in a busy town, or develop an actual relationship of some kind with the other viewpoint character. I even developed an intricate diagram years ago dedicated to how all of the characters were connected to each other and it was amazing (too bad I can’t find it now).

Well before I knew about Game of Thrones, I imagined what it would be like for this series to hit the small screen. At the time, I thought it would never happen but now with Game of Thrones being quite popular nowadays, that idea isn’t too far off. However, because of their similar concepts, people might think it was just a shameless rip-off which is too bad. Regardless, seeing the Darkness Series in live action would be amazing.

In short, if you are fan of Game of Thrones, epic fantasies, or World War 2, this is a great series of novels that is fun to read. I highly recommend it if you have the time.

(for those who are curious the series goes Into the Darkness, Darkness Descending, Through the Darkness, Rulers of the Darkness, Jaws of Darkness, and Out of Darkness)

Possible New Super Smash Bros Characters

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With the new Nintendo Direct approaching soon, I thought I would offer my thought on possible characters that Nintendo might be introducing in the new Super Smash Bros games. I’m already happy that one of my favorite characters, Little Mac, got in. However, there are still other characters who I would like to see as well. Who would be added to the roster as well?

Masahiro Sakurai, creator of SSB, has said when concerning characters “When we’re looking at candidates for new characters, we get a list of characters that people are interested in and we go through those with a fine tooth comb. The biggest feature we look at in Smash Bros is, what does this character bring to Smash Bros that other characters don’t?” (http://www.nowgamer.com/features/2034386/super_smash_bros_sakurai_speaks.html). As such, here is my list of characters I think are very likely to be picked in the upcoming games based on SSB history and on what they would bring to the overall roster. It’s entirely possible that NONE of these characters will be chosen, but I’m hoping at least one of them does. I go from most likely to least likely, enjoy.

Mii: The Mii character is perhaps the most likely character to be included in the new SSB game. With the Mii available for both Wii U and 3DS, personalizing your fights has never been so easy. Also, the Mii has already been used in the Mario Kart games so it shouldn’t be too much of a stretch to include him in SSB as well. His attacks could include tennis racket, golf club, baseball, and other wii sports and 3ds mini games that he has done.

Why it wouldn’t happen: the Villager is already the “everyman” type of character, do we really need a second similar character as well?

New Challenger Approaching? Very Likely

Chrom: Chrom is an obvious choice as well for the next SSB game. Since Melee, we have had a Fire Emblem character that was featured in a recently made Fire Emblem game. With Marth making a return as usual, it stands to reason that this time, the unique Fire Emblem character will be Chrom.

Why it wouldn’t happen: Another sword fighter will bring down the uniqueness of Chrom. Chrom’s character needs to have a different approach to fighting with his sword if he wants to stay in.

New Challenger Approaching? Very likely

Tails: Tails is definitely a character that the new SSB game will benefit from. Tails can be a combination of Sonic and Diddy Kong; light and fast, with use of gadgets to help him in a fight. The Deathbattle Youtube series definitely highlights Tails’ fighting diversity, check it out.

Why it wouldn’t happen: Sega already has Sonic which more than covers the Sega franchise. Why need another character?

New Challenger Approaching? Likely

Simon Belmont: Whip it! WHIP IT GOOD! With Mega Man and Little Mac joining SSB, Simon Belmont would round off the classic NES characters and create one Hell of a nostalgiafilled roster. A variety of attacks would make him a unique and interesting fighter who could kick balls and take names. Also, Snake was from Konami, so we know that Konami isn’t a stranger in allowing Nintendo to use their characters. Do it Nintendo, do it for the fans!

Why it wouldn’t happen: It’s just too good to be true.

New Challenger Approaching? Likely

Bomberman: Bomberman has been a recurring character in Nintendo history ever since the NES days and has appeared in almost every major Nintendo console since. He is also very different at what he does which is BOMB THE HELL OUT OF EVERYTHING. He can kick bombs, throw bombs, make bombs bigger, throw even more bombs, and…ride kangaroos?? Regardless, Bomberman is awesome; he’s a unique fighter who would be a welcome addition to the roster.

Why it wouldn’t happen: At this point, he’s been snubbed so many times that it just makes you wonder why Bomberman has not been recognized at this point. Plus, if Konami had to go for one character, they probably would choose Simon over Bomberman.

New Challenger Approaching? Likely

Paper Mario: If Dr. Mario was in SSBM, why not Paper Mario? However, unlike the good Doctor, Paper Mario has skills and equipment that regular Mario doesn’t have. Hammers, stickers, badges, partners, the list goes on. His main draw though would be his paper powers like paper airplane, paper tube, and other papery gimmicks.

Why it wouldn’t happen: Mario is already in the house so Paper Mario’s chance is kind of low. However, if Toon Link is making a return, why not Paper Mario as well?

New Challenger Approaching? Likely

Mewtwo: I know I’m not the only one shouting this Legendary Pokemon’s name, many people want him back. His chances of coming back would be really low if it wasn’t for Pokemon X and Y. The return of Mewtwo in the recent movie and in the game has brought a popularity surge for him. Also, his Final Smash attack would obviously be his Mega form, either X or Y. If there was a chance for him to return, it’s now, or never.

Why it wouldn’t happen: Freaking Lucario. With Lucario returning, Mewtwo’s chance has plummeted. Nintendo can’t have too many characters from one franchise and they have to pick carefully who they want to fight. Perhaps if they got rid of Pokemon Trainer?

New Challenger Approaching? Somewhat likely.

Ryu: HADOKEN! Street Fighter may not be popular with Nintendo as it once was, but that shouldn’t stop Ryu from joining up with SSB. One of the best fighters in the Street Fighter universe going toe-to-toe with Mario and co. would be fantastic. And since CAPCOM already has Mega Man, why not Ryu as well?

Why it wouldn’t happen: CAPCOM may decide to stick to just Mega Man. Also, Ryu may be too similar to Mario or Little Mac. But Mario’s fighting style has been changing these last few games so Ryu might stand out more as such. Aw well, there’s always Blanka.

New Challenger Approaching? Somewhat likely.

King K. Rool: More enemies! We need more enemies! GET KING K. ROOL! The different outfits for him would be hilarious. His attacks would be just as diverse as well; crown attack, blunderbuss, boxing gloves, body slam, and so forth. They can definitely play around with him since he’s not very restricted at what he does and how he does it. Many people have been calling for Ridley but I don’t see it happening, I’m putting my money on the King.

Why it wouldn’t happen: There’s already a lizard King on the battlefield. Plus, King K. Rool may be a little out there. I don’t know, he just doesn’t strike me as someone Nintendo will be like, yeah, let’s choose him on our roster! Fingers crossed though!

New Challenger Approaching? Somewhat likely.

Phoenix Wright and Professor Layton: These two sleuths go hand in hand. Both of them are featured prominently in Nintendo’s handheld consoles by consistently chugging out great hit after great hit. Their crossover game also showed that their parent companies aren’t afraid to lend their characters elsewhere. They don’t traditionally fight in their games though Layton isn’t afraid to swing a sword and Phoenix has gotten his hands dirty in a recent Capcom vs. Marvel game. Nintendo may have to think a bit on how they fight but if the Villager can get in, why not PW and PL?

Why it wouldn’t happen: Unfortunately, as stated before, they aren’t really fighting characters so that’s a barrier they may have to overcome. Also, both of them may even be the other’s worst enemy as their brains over brawn manner may eliminate the other character’s chances.

New Challenger Approaching? Somewhat likely.

Banjo-Kazooie: Holy crap, yes. They starred in two of the (arguably) best platformers in the N64 era. Their fighting would be similar to Ice Climbers but probably with the two characters more closely tied to each other and less independent. Unfortunately, I haven’t played any of their games yet but from what I have seen, not only would they bring their own unique style to SSB, but they would fit in extremely well with the rest of the crazy cast.

Why it wouldn’t happen: Microsoft currently owns Rare, as such, any chances of getting B-K are extremely low. Aint gonna happen.

New Challenger Approaching? Highly unlikely.

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The Unapologetic Nerd

Celebrate your inner nerd

Godzilla Week: The Half-Century War by James Stokoe

Godzilla Week: Kid Memories

Ancient Animals and Their Fakemon: Introduction and Dunkleosteus

Friends, Board Games, and Wil Wheaton

Why Turtle Science is Good Science

The Last True Gaming Console

The Darkness Series by Harry Turtledove

Possible New Super Smash Bros Characters