Top 5 Batman Villains

Published on October 7, 2024September 15, 2024 by KyraLeave a comment

Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. We’re kicking off spooky season a little late with a Top 5. The Top 5 Batman Villains to be exact. I struggled with whether to include The Joker and call it the Top 5 Batman Villains Not Named The Joker. But I decided to keep the Joker and add a sixth, honorable mention villain. The best of both worlds? This sixth villain is someone who wouldn’t have made the list. Eek! Batman has so many great villains. Let’s get started.

6: The Riddler

Yep. The Riddler almost didn’t make the list. This doesn’t mean that he’s a poor villain. It doesn’t mean that any of the villains you don’t see on this list are poor villains. I may have to make a Top 5 Underrated Batman Villains at some point. Let me know yours in the comments. Batman has a stacked rogues gallery.

Back to the Riddler. The Riddler began as a joke villain. TV executives even modeled the vibe of the 1960s Batman series starring Adam West from a Batman comic book cover that featured the Riddler. He’s been reimagined so many times that the Riddler has become a formidable foe. He got a little drip from the Batman: The Animated Series. He’s still one of my favorite villains from that cartoon series. “The War of Jokes and Riddles” is a must read if you’d like to see the Riddler portrayed as Joker’s equal. But the Riddler’s best story may come from Batman: Earth One, Volume Two.

Batman: Earth One shows a newer Batman navigating Gotham’s underbelly. The Riddler from Volume Two does a lot of Riddler schtick. He asks riddles of Batman and states that if Batman doesn’t solve the riddle in time, he’ll detonate a bomb killing hundreds. Batman solves the riddle in time because he’s Batman. But the Riddler detonates the bomb anyway. This isn’t your typical Riddler.

5: Two-Face

Two-Face has always been a layered Batman villain. He started as one of Bruce Wayne’s good friends and lost touch with reality after a criminal threw acid on the left side of his face. He’s another great villain from the Batman: The Animated Series. His two-part origin story in that series was fantastic and worth a watch. Aaron Eckhart’s portrayal of Harvey Dent was one of the most underrated elements of 2008’s The Dark Knight. But I’d have to go with the source material and 1990’s “The Eye of the Beholder.”

“The Eye of the Beholder” may sound familiar to fans of Batman: TAS. Commissioner Gordon and Harvey Dent form an alliance with Batman to rid Gotham of crime. Little do Gordon and Batman know, Harvey suppresses a second personality. “The Eye of the Beholder” does a great job of diving into Dent’s psychology and is well worth the read.

4: Mr. Freeze

Like the Riddler, Mr. Freeze began as a gag character. He used the name Mr. Zero at first and the 1960s TV show portrayed him like he appeared in the comics. Wild! It took Batman: The Animated Series to reimagine into the Mr. Freeze we know today. Mr. Freeze differs from most Batman villains. He isn’t crazy. He just wants to save his cryogenically frozen wife and will do so by any means. Tim Hill had a great Mr. Freeze story that took a different turn for the villain; he was a victim of Batman’s abuse. But I’d go back to the Batman: TAS classic episode “Heart of Ice” as a go-to Mr. Freeze story.

“Heart of Ice” earned a well-deserved Emmy. It’s the story that transformed Mr. Freeze from a gag villain into the tragic one we know today.

3: Bane

Bane not only matches Batman in brawn, but he can also go toe-to-toe with Batman on an intellectual level. That makes Bane’s inclusion in 1997’s shlocky Batman & Robin even more reprehensible. Tom Hardy’s turn as the villain in 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises gets closer to who the villain is. In the comics, Bane grew up in a prison, atoning for the crimes his father had committed. While in prison, he honed his body and mind. Tim Hill’s run on the Batman featured Bane as the main villain, but I’d go with the classic Batman: Knightfall story as starting point for Bane.

Batman: Knightfall features the moment that Bane “broke the bat.” He raises Batman up and breaks him over one knee, leaving Batman a paraplegic. This story will sound familiar to anyone who’s seen The Dark Knight Rises. This story element appears prominently in the film.

2: Ra’s Al Ghul

Ra’s Al Ghul translates to “Head of the Demon.” He’s another Batman villain who differs from most of the rest in that he believes his actions are just. Ra’s wants to save the planet and attain a perfect environmental balance by eliminating most of humanity. Marvel’s Thanos would borrow more than a little of this mentality. The Lazarus Pits he uses keeps him virtually immortal. Yet again, Batman: The Animated Series does a great job showcasing Ra’s Al Ghul’s origin. But I would turn again to the source material.

Ra’s Al Ghul first appeared in Batman #232 “Daughter of the Demon” and the story plays out almost exactly as Batman: TAS. So, never mind. I guess you could watch the show instead.

1: The Joker

I spoiled this one. I can’t see a world without the Joker as Batman’s ultimate villain. The Joker may be the greatest villain in all of comics. He needs no introduction. There have been numerous actors who have given powerful performances as the Joker. Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Hamill embodied the Joker in one way or another. I’ll always have a soft spot for Jack Nickolson’s Joker, even if he did venture from the characters a bit. John DiMaggio took the Joker to a gritty place with his vocal performances. But Heath Ledger’s Joker still takes the cake.

The Joker has too many great comic book stories to mention here. I could do a Top 5 of these stories. I’ll rattle off a few: “A Death in the Family,” “The Laughing Fish,” “Joker’s Five-Way Revenge,” “Batman: The Man Who Laughs,” and of course, “The Killing Joke.” The Clown Prince of Crime reigns supreme for a reason.

Did we get the list right? Let us know in the comments. And wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

X-Men Marvel Cinematic Universe Theories

MCU X-Men Theories

Published on October 5, 2024October 2, 2024 by Kyra27 Comments

Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. I have some thoughts and theories on what the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) should do with the X-Men. I already shared a few thoughts in a previous post for Deadpool & Wolverine, but let’s dive deeper into what the MCU’s first X-Men movie should look like. There may be some spoilers. Consider yourself warned.

I’ll break this down into two parts: heroes and villains. The stories the first movie could pursue will depend on the characters. I’ll mention some of these potential stories. Hopefully, I don’t ramble too much.

Heroes

The easiest road the MCU could take is using the original X-Men: Professor X, Jean Grey, Cyclops, Beast, Iceman, and Angel. Some comic book fans will rejoice. But I don’t know if casual X-Men fans or fans of the 90s cartoon will get as much out of the original X-Men. And Disney/Marvel promised that the MCU’s X-Men will resemble the X-Men 97 cartoon.

Just because the MCU uses the original X-Men doesn’t mean that they must tell a team origin story. They could, but the story structure that helps most non-comic book X-Men projects revolves around an established X-Men team with a new member joining the group. And that’s what I propose.

And that premise leads me to lump certain members into specific groups: senior members, established members, and the potential conduit character. Senior members are the leaders. Established members have seniority but don’t lead the team. And the conduit character is the new member (not necessarily young) who also functions as the audience’s point of view. The X-Men have a huge roster to pull from. I kept the movie’s cast to nine with one possible inclusion/honorable mention.

So, there are a lot of big names that didn’t make the cut, let’s look at some notable exclusions.

Notable Excluded X-Men

Wolverine

Rip off the Band-Aid. Wolverine sucks the oxygen from every room. The Fox movies depended on Wolverine’s box office draw. Wolverine’s importance to the Fox X-Men movie franchise was even the inciting incident for Deadpool & Wolverine. Wolverine can’t show up in the first X-Men; no one will care about any of the other characters. Wolverine should get a brief, and I mean super brief, cameo or even a teaser. Perhaps in the mid or post credits scene.

Beast

This one hurts. I like Beast a lot, but in the context of the team I’d like to see first, he’s best suited with staying in the lab and getting a cameo.

Colossus

Another fave. Colossus, like Beast and Wolverine, could receive a cameo, but shouldn’t appear in the film for very long.

Senior Members

Professor X

Charles Xavier began the X-Men. The only way he doesn’t make the MCU film is if the writers explain his absence. Too much work. Just include him.

Cyclops

Scott Summers got a raw deal in Fox’s X-Men film franchise. He unceremoniously died at the beginning of X-Men: The Last Stand and had a limited role in the previous two films. James Marsden could’ve made a great Cyclops; he looked the part. He just didn’t have enough to do. Omitting Wolverine and some other fan favorites could give Cyclops some much needed attention. And the new X-Men film should have plenty of romance.

Jean Grey

Speaking of romance, Jean and Scott’s relationship can have the space to take off with a reduced cast (or at least a focused cast). Complications to this relationship can and should occur, but the 90s cartoon leaned too heavily on the Scott-Jean-Wolverine love triangle. Jean!!! Let’s see some different bumps in the road.

Storm

Ororo Monroe is badass. She also has a link to Marvel’s Black Panther. Canonically, she’s married to T’Challa. Shuri taking her brother’s place could put a wrinkle in that, but Storm has had lesbian lovers in the past (specifically Yukio—yes, the same Yukio Deadpool says hi to in the movies). But the romantic options don’t stop there. Storm has been linked with Doctor Doom, Cyclops, Wolverine, and Forge. There are plenty of options for Storm’s love life to reach soap opera levels.

Established Members

Gambit

I liked Channing Tatum as Gambit; he gave a fun, memetastic performance. But if Gambit intends to romance Rogue, Rogue shouldn’t be in her early to mid-twenties. And if you don’t have Gambit putting the moves on Rogue, why include him? Fans have waited for a proper Gambit to make the big screen, and Tatum didn’t disappoint. If he’s our Gambit, who’s our Rogue.

Rogue

Fans have also wanted a more comically accurate Rogue. Anna Paquin gave a good performance in the Fox films, but Rogue as the conduit character was both good and bad. It was good because Rogue’s power can seem like a curse. But Fox aged her down to the point where she could only have high school love interests.

Oddly enough, Anna Paquin could reprise her role as Rogue. Paquin is more appropriate age for the character now than when she was originally cast. While Tatum’s age could be an issue (for a younger Rogue), Magneto would be an even greater one. A Gambit-Rogue-Magneto love triangle often occurs. We gotta see an ill-fated Rogue-Magneto romance on the big screen at least once.

Possible Conduit Characters

Kitty Pryde

Kitty is the classic X-Men conduit character. Readers saw the futuristic world through her eyes in “Days of Future Past.” She was also the point-of-view character during the 80s cartoon pilot, Pryde of the X-Men. Even if Kitty isn’t the conduit character, she should be included. The same will be true of the other characters in this group.

Elliot Page, like James Marsden, gave a good performance in the Fox movies but had little to do. This version of Kitty should explore her infatuation with Colossus, and Kitty should show her disgust when first meeting Nightcrawler. It takes time, but Kitty discovers that she has more in common with Nightcrawler than Colossus, and the two of them form a deep connection.

Nightcrawler

Kurt Wagner makes this list, too. Nightcrawler is one of the few mainstream X-Men who can’t hide his mutation. As such, humans’ hatred of mutants could play a huge role in any story where Nightcrawler is the conduit character. Non-comic book X-Men project have never done this before (to the best of my knowledge). Nightcrawler also tends to skew toward the religious and that opens the door for so many interesting storylines.

Iceman

If the MCU wanted to make the original X-Men their first X-Men team, Bobby Drake would serve as the conduit character. Iceman represents something else that no other non-comic book X-Men project has done to date: make a member of the LGBT community the conduit character. Iceman is bisexual.

Bobby has had plenty of love interests. Emma Frost could be interesting, likewise with Mystique but in a very different way. But the two that make the most sense are Romeo and Pyro. Romeo is an inhuman. The Inhumans had a short-lived TV series and if the MCU wanted to reintroduce the Inhumans, Romeo could be a good choice. Pyro’s fire abilities could pair well visually and narratively with Bobby’s ice, and it’d be a great way to introduce the Brotherhood.

Honorable Mention

Changeling/Morph

Morph could replace one of the other X-Men or perhaps squeeze in as a tenth member. Professor X may need to be in the movie, but he can have a smaller presence. Morph is another potential conduit character and another member of the LGBT community (nonbinary). Morph can shapeshift, so they give X-Men plenty of chances for cameos.

Villains

Just like the heroes, I have a few notable X-Villains who should probably not show up in the first MCU X-Men Film.

Notable Excluded X-Villains

Magneto

Magneto may be best served as a mention or cameo. Like Wolverine, Magneto can steal focus.

Apocalypse

It’s too soon to include him. Apocalypse makes for a poor first X-villain; he’s someone the MCU should build toward.

Mister Sinister

Likewise for Mister Sinister. Fox teased Mr. Sinister for years. The group running the facility in the New Mutants was named Essex, as in Nathan Essex (Mr. Sinister’s given name). But I’d like Mr. Sinister to get a real build before we see him on the big screen. I do like the idea of Mr. Sinister working behind the scenes. We could, and probably should, catch glimpses of him. Better yet, an Easter egg like the New Mutants.

X-Villains

Humans/Sentinels

So many of these stories and the villains within these stories hinge on who is the movie’s conduit character, but humans can be present with any conduit character. Nightcrawler has the strongest case for humans, but bigotry is something that always plays a role in X-Men stories. But which specific humans should make the list? Let’s talk about a few.

Boliver Trask invented the sentinels. If you include the sentinels, include Trask. Friends of Humanity founder Graydon Creed makes another good starting point. Creed also has a connection with Sabretooth and Wolverine. Religious zealot William Stryker works as a good sounding board for Nightcrawler’s beliefs; it could lead to some great philosophical discourse. And Henry Peter Gyrich has served several government agencies. Gyrich has had connections with SHIELD and could introduce something like a Mutant Registry.

Brotherhood of Evil Mutants

If Bobby Drake dates Pyro, include the Brotherhood. But any other conduit character could work with the Brotherhood as the main villain. The Brotherhood serves as an ethical alternative to the X-Men. Don’t agree with Professor X’s mission statement? Join the Brotherhood. Many characters have been a part of the Brotherhood. Even Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver got their start here.

I’d keep the group small with characters who haven’t been used much in recent years: Pyro, Blob, Avalanche, and Toad. The team must have a leader. Mystique could work; she has connections with Nightcrawler and Rogue, but Mystique has also shown up a ton. If Morph does make the X-Men’s first movie, don’t include Mystique at first. Emma Frost hasn’t seen the screen as much and would be my preference. As a telepath, she can give Professor X and Jean a run for their money. And Frost also has ties with the Hellfire Club.

The Hellfire Club

Sebastian Shaw and Emma Frost made a great one-two punch in X-Men: First Class. That’s a positive and a negative. The MCU could recapture the magic with the next X-Men film. Or it might be too soon, and they should wait to introduce the Hellfire Club. That said, the MCU can’t introduce the full group. We’re talking an entire chess set of characters. White and black kings and queens and bishops and the like.

Still, the MCU could introduce one or two key members of the Hellfire Club in the first movie and wait to introduce the full roster in a future movie. If the MCU does that and waits to introduce Wolverine, Wolverine could be available in that future movie, and fans could see a big screen adaptation of one of the X-Men’s greatest fight sequences.

This early battle cemented Wolverine’s reputation as “The Best There Is At What I Do.”

Full disclosure: Jean Grey premieres as Dark Phoenix in the story arc that includes this combat sequence, and I don’t think the MCU should touch the Dark Phoenix Saga yet. But the MCU also doesn’t follow the comics beat for beat, so we could see the fight sequence accompany a different story.

If Kitty Pryde is the first movie’s conduit character, the Hellfire Club could make a lot of sense, too. An alternate Kitty (from Astonishing X-Men) strikes Wolverine’s pose before she takes on Emma Frost.

Juggernaut

Keep it simple. If the goal of the first movie is to introduce the X-Men, Juggernaut ties into Professor X’s past and he’s a classic villain. He also has more going on than most casual viewers know. But the reason why I say to keep it simple is that casual viewers know Juggernaut and the story doesn’t have to venture too far beyond the X-Mansion. Juggernaut has a knack of seeking out the X-Men.

Closing Thoughts

The next leg of the MCU is titled The Mutant Saga. A lot rides on the MCU’s first X-Men movie succeeding. And Marvel could do with a little going back to basics. That could mean the Original X-Men team or using the formula that’s worked in several previous X-Men projects. But those are my thoughts on the X-Men. Feel free to share yours in the comments. And wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Top 10 Worst Origins for Mega Man Robot Bosses

Published on September 30, 2024September 15, 2024 by KyraLeave a comment

Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. We’re taking a break with the Top 5 Tabletop Games through the years and decades and taking a detour with Mega Man. This list will try to pin down the ten worst Mega Man Robot Boss origins.

Some of these origins will be humorous or downright silly. Others may be tragic. Mega Man robot boss origins run the gamut of both origin types. So, let’s start with the sometimes sad, sometimes weird origins of Mega Man Robot Bosses.

10: Pirate Man

Companies made most if not all Mega Man Boss Robots to serve functions one might need like snow rescue (snow-themed robots like Ice Man) or construction robots (like Guts Man). Why did a company manufacture a robot specifically for piracy? Furthermore, why did that company name him Pirate Man? And why didn’t another company call them out on making a robot named Pirate Man?

Pirate Man? I’m sure that’s legit.

9: Bright Man

Scientists created Bright Man so he could illuminate dark places. He’s a flashlight, a sentient flashlight.

8: Magic Man

Magic Man was a traveling magician. Unlike most of the Mega Man Robot Bosses, Magic Man wasn’t turned evil. He chose to join the dark side so he could show off. Never trust a magician.

6: Blade Man

Blade Man was a tour guide. A shocking number of Mega Man Robot Bosses started off as tour guides. Blade Man guided people through a castle filled with swords and he himself was a sword.

No one saw Blade Man turning evil. They didn’t see him as a threat, even though he’s a literal weapon.

5: Time Man

Time Man is a time machine. That always goes well. No further notes.

4: Magma Man

Magma Man was a production plant safety inspector. My father had an adjacent job, but the last I checked, he wasn’t made of molten lava like Magma Man.

4: Shade Man

Someone saw a creepy animatronic ghost in the corner of an amusement park and thought, that creepy ghost should have sentience. What could go wrong?

3: Clown Man

Clown Man runs around, acts a fool, and never tires. Kids cry whenever Clown Man works a birthday party. What could possibly go wrong? Turns out. Everything. This is a Joker who can live forever. Great.

2: Torch Man

Torch Man was another tour guide, and he gave tours in national forests. Torch Man was the Mega Man universe’s version of Smoky the Bear, only he’s on fire. He’s constantly on fire. I assume his slogan was, Only I can cause forest fires.

1: Bounce Man

Bounce Man’s first job was as a Crash Test Dummy. That may not sound bad, he’s a robot after all, but all Mega Man Robot Bosses are sentient. Which means these robots feel pain. Some jerk scientist thought why not make a robot used for smashing into things at hundreds of miles per hour capable of feeling pain.

You know what. I could see someone creating a robot like Bounce Man. Humans can be the worst.

Did we get the list right? Let us know in the comments. And wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

My Favorite Storytelling Element of Breaking Bad

My Favorite Storytelling Elements of Breaking Bad

Published on September 28, 2024September 6, 2024 by KyraLeave a comment

Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. Like I said a few weeks ago, I’ve sprinkled in new posts with the old stuff, but we’re running out of the older posts. This one’s about Breaking Bad and my favorite storytelling elements from that show may be our final older post. Yay!

There are so many places to go in terms of storytelling elements that work in Breaking Bad. The characters grow and change over time. The strong narrative stayed on point, tension increased during each show, it explored concepts of storytelling, and didn’t over stay its welcome like other popular shows during its run. Despite the show’s groundbreaking nature, one of my favorite storytelling elements of Breaking Bad is the show’s adherence to a famous storytelling precept: Chekhov’s Gun.

Essentially, Chekhov’s Gun states that every element in a story must be necessary, irrelevant elements should be removed, and no element should appear to make false promises. Everything must have a purpose. Chekhov used a gun for his analogy. If a gun is mounted on the wall during a play’s first act, it must go off in the second act. Otherwise, why have the gun?

I’m all for subverting traditional storytelling precepts, but there is a reason they exist, and storytellers should know the time and manner to subvert these practices. Readers and viewers will assign meaning to something a storyteller shows them. The more elements a storyteller shows that don’t matter, the more likely they’ll lose their audience because their audience will start assigning meaning to things that don’t matter. The best example of a Chekhov’s Gun fail is Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

The bit of dialogue in the previous Star Wars film (The Force Awakens) concerning the origin of Rey’s lightsaber dubbed it Luke Skywalker’s and his father’s before his. This suggest that Rey is part of the Skywalker bloodline. If she was Luke’s former pupil (a popular fan theory prior to The Last Jedi), the line could include Luke, but not his father. If Rey had no connection at all to the Skywalkers, then don’t mention the Skywalker name.

Okay. Let’s get back to Breaking Bad and how it uses and subverts Chekhov’s Gun.

Breaking Bad is brilliant at assigning meaning to elements it shows. Viewers may find an odd camera angle that brings an electrical outlet into the forefront. Don’t worry there’s a reason to show said electrical outlet. A bit a dialogue that feels like it should be throw away banter will make an impact later in the episode or series. Why are they beginning an episode with a crawl space? There’s a reason. Even a Roomba has purpose.

But Breaking Bad subverts Chekhov’s Gun as well. Up to this point I’ve stayed as vague as I could. I’ll try not to spoil anything with this next example, but it’s difficult not to with this type of write-up. Consider yourself warned.

Let’s talk about the Ricin Incident of season 4. We’ll start with a rundown of what happened. Walter White plans to have Jesse give Gus a ricin-laced cigarette. Walt chooses the nerve agent ricin because it’s difficult to detect. Jesse chooses not to poison Gus because he doesn’t trust Walt at this point and has grown closer to Gus. Later, Brock (the son of Jesse’s girlfriend) falls ill from an unknown cause. Jesse finds that he had lost the ricin cigarette and blames Walt for giving the poison to Brock. Walt convinces Jesse that he couldn’t have poisoned Brock; it was Gus. Eventually, doctors find out that Brock ingested the berries of a Lily of the Valley. At the end of the episode, the camera zooms in on a Lily of the Valley in Walt’s backyard.

Phew! That’s a lot to get through. The upshot is that Walt poisoned Brock and turned Jesse against Gus. Breaking Bad uses Chekhov’s Gun the entire time, but it layers each element and nests them together like Matryoshka dolls. The lilies were mentioned in dialogue earlier while Walt and his wife Skyler discussed landscaping. It’s banter that most viewers dismissed, but there’s a reason for everything in Breaking Bad. Viewers could also dismiss the ricin cigarette as a red herring, and it was to a point, but it returns later in the series and serves in this episode (or two episodes) as character motivation. It also does a lot for character development. If there was any lingering hope for Walt’s soul, and it’s debatable, it was lost here.

Oh, man. That ricin vial got around in this series. That Roomba makes an appearance as does the electrical outlet. I won’t say how, even though I’ve spoiled quite a bit already. Oh, well. You should watch Breaking Bad.

If you’ve watched Breaking Bad, what are your favorite storytelling elements? You could pass it to me, hidden in a marzipan strawberry or you could let me know in comments. And wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Geekly News: Spider-Man Marvel Cinematic Universe and Spider-Man Cinematic Universe

Geekly News: Sony Pictures and Marvel Pictures Closing On New Spider-Man Film Deal

Published on September 26, 2024 by KyraLeave a comment

After years of speculation and arguments, we may have some resolution to the Spider-Man movie drama.

Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. And today we have a big development between Sony Pictures (the owners of Spider-Man’s movie license) and Marvel Pictures. Ever since 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming, Sony couldn’t include Peter Parker in any of their live-action Spider-Man universe movies, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe couldn’t use a secondary Spider-Man character (like some of Spidey’s rogues) if Sony included that Spider-Man character in a Sony-backed Spider-Man movie. This arrangement led to Venom getting a trilogy of movies without Spider-Man (those weren’t so bad) and other Spidey characters like Morbius and Madame Web also got greenlit (both of which tanked). This kept Marvel from using Venom, Morbius, and any of the gagillion characters in Madame Web. All of that may change soon.

Multiple sources have stated that Sony plans to reboot their Spider-Man Cinematic Universe. This will most likely occur after the third and final Venom film. We still don’t know what this will mean for the upcoming Kraven the Hunter film. If the agreement takes effect, Kraven the Hunter could be included in the Marvel Cinematic Universe canon.

The details of this agreement are not finalized. Things can change. But the gist is that Sony will be able to include Peter Parker in any of their future live-action Spider-Man Universe movies, and any Spider-Man Cinematic Universe movie will be included within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I don’t believe this means that Marvel will oversee every Spider-Man Cinematic Universe movie that doesn’t involve Peter Parker’s Spider-Man, but it does mean that the characters within Spider-Man’s mythos will be available for both movie universes. And new Spider-Man Cinematic Universe movies could have an impact on the Marvel Cinematic Universe going forward.

This potential deal could help both sides as several Spider-Man villains become unfrozen by the current deal, and we could finally see that Tom Holland Spider-Man and Tom Hardy Venom mash-up fans have been waiting for. This deal couldn’t come at a better moment. As I mentioned, Sony Pictures will finish their Venom trilogy (their most successful live-action Spider-Man franchise to date), while the Marvel Cinematic Universe wraps up the Multiverse Saga, which could go a long way to merge these two Spider-Man universes. And Secret Wars isn’t too far away. Peter Parker first met the Symbiote Suit (the black Spider-Man suit that would become Venom) during Secret Wars.

I can’t wait to see what a new agreement between Sony and Marvel Pictures brings. Let us know in the comments which movies you’d like to see. And wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Top 5 Tabletop Games from the late 1960s

Published on September 23, 2024March 1, 2025 by Kyra15 Comments

Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. Back with another Top 5 Tabletop Games of an era and we’re also back with the second half of the 1960s (1965-1969). If you want to see our picks for the first half of the decade, you can follow this link.

We’re getting back into the swing of things, so let’s reiterate the ground rules again before we get started.

1: Cultural relevance plays as much of a factor as overall quality. A game might make a list that doesn’t hold up to others of its type, but you must admit the game is everywhere.

2: Only one game from a franchise makes the list. This will become more of an issue the closer we get to games with expansions.

3: Longevity plays a role, too. A game doesn’t have to fly off the shelves today, but it had to have some widespread appeal for a decent time.

Feudal board game Top 5 Games from 1960s

5: Feudal (1967)

The 1960s had a lot of Chess-like board games—and I do mean a lot—but none of the Chess variants reached the heights of Fred Beustchler’s Feudal. A part of the 3M Bookshelf Series (3M also produced a lot of Sid Sackson and Alex Randloph’s early work), Feudal tasks players with occupying an opponent’s castle or capturing all an opponent’s royalty. The play area consists of four plastic peg boards depicting empty, rough, and mountainous terrain.

Feudal tabletop game Top games from 1960s

Feudal has a unique set-up. Players place their pieces on their peg boards in secret and reveal how they deployed their units simultaneously. This leads to different strategic problems each game and every game plays out differently. We had to include one Chess-like board game. Feudal is the best of the bunch.

Triominoes board game Top 5 games from 1960s

**4: Triominoes (1965)**

Simply put, Triominoes is a variation of dominoes that uses triangular tiles. The tiles are equilateral triangles so they fit in neatly with each other. Players can play a Triomino if they have matching numbers with the six potential values 0-5.

Triominoes tabletop game Top 5 Games from 1960

I’ll be honest. Triominoes intimidated me while I was growing up. So many numbers close together looked confusing. But there’s no doubt that the game has a legacy.

Kerplunk tabletop game Top 5 game from 1960s

**3: Kerplunk (1967)**

Sometimes the simplest concepts make the best games. Kerplunk consists of a transparent plastic tube, plastic rods called straws (26-30 of various colors), and several dozen marbles. Players take turns removing a single straw from the tube while trying to minimize the number of marbles that fall though the web and into their trays.

kerplunk board game Top 5 game from 1960s

Kerplunk beget several similar games in the future, specifically Jenga. This family of games has built-in tension. Remove the wrong straw and the marbles pour out.

Twister tabletop game Top 5 game from 1960s

**2: Twister (1966)**

The tail end of the 60s saw a lot of simple games or new twists on older games. Speaking of twists, our next game is Twister.

Each version of the game comes with a spinner. And each spinner is divided into four labeled sections: left foot, right foot, left hand, and right hand. And each of those four sections are divided further into the colors red, yellow, green, and blue. After spinning, the combination is called (right hand red) and players must move their matching hand or foot to a circle of the correct color. Last player standing wins.

Twister board game Top 5 game from 1960s

Simple enough. And we’ll see a lot of other simple designs that have stood the test of time on this list.

Operation board game Top 5 game from 1960s

**1: Operation (1965)**

We go from moving one’s body in weird ways to a game featuring someone with a weird body. Operation challenges players with extracting silly body parts from a hapless patient. During the game, you acquire cards which dictate body parts you must remove. The body parts rest inside a hole and if you erroneously touch one of the hole’s metal sides, a sudden buzzer and light-up nose indicates the patient’s pain. Players want as little pain as possible in Operation. Successful extractions give the player money and the player with the most cash at the end of the game wins.

There have been countless versions of Operation. I believe my kids had a Spongebob themed one. Maybe it was Shrek. Regardless, Operation has never been out of print since its release. And I don’t see that happening in the next 60 years either.

Did we get the list right, for the most part? Let us know in the comments. And wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Check out the other lists in this series:
Top 5 Games prior to the 1930s
Top 5 Games of the 1930s
Top 5 Games of the 1940s-50s
Top 5 Games of the early 1960s
Top 5 Games of the early 1970s
Top 5 Games of the late 1970s
Top 5 Games from 1980-1981
Top 5 Games from 1982-1983
Top 5 Games from 1984-1985
Top 5 Games from 1986-1987
Top 5 Games from 1988-1989
Top 5 Games from 1990-1991

Gacha Game Review: Genshin Impact

Published on September 21, 2024December 27, 2024 by Kyra1 Comment

Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. I’m kicking off these gacha critiques with Genshin Impact. I have two logins (one for PC and the other Playstation), so I’ve spent plenty of time in Teyvat (the world Genshin is set in). But I’ve only recently revisited the game. The new continent Natlan brought me back. So, what does Genshin look like in over a year? The graphics are dated but not as bad as I would’ve thought. The oversaturated colors bugged me. They’re loud. So loud that I almost grabbed a pair of sunglasses to shield myself from the glare. The music was always great, almost iconic. But these are surface-level viewpoints. How does Genshin Impact hold up to some of these new or updated video game criteria that we talked about in yesterday’s post? As it turns out, not too well.

Mechanisms: 5/10

Genshin conducted a massive copy paste to Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s mechanisms, so you won’t find too many innovative game mechanisms. The mechanisms that are here work well, even if they are dated, but more on that in the following segment. Is there anything left to say than Genshin’s mechanisms whimper banal?

Above Image from GameDesigning.Org

Gameplay Loop: 8/10

It worked in Breath of the Wild, and it works here. The core gameplay loop can keep players engaged for countless hours. That can be a good and bad thing. Elemental reactions play a huge role in Genshin’s combat, so players will often switch characters. Breath of the Wild only has Link. The physical swapping of characters goes a long way to hold a player’s attention, and it doesn’t hurt that players need to build more than one character and that each of these characters have different interactions.

Respecting Time: 2/10

Genshin does little to respect a player’s time. It’s an older game, four-years old at this point, and it shows its age. As I mentioned previously, Genshin borrows most if not all of its gameplay from Zelda: Breath of the Wild and that includes the glacially slow glider and snailing up mountain faces. And there are so many mountain faces. But it goes deeper than that. Repetitive storylines and dialogue with no way of skipping said dialogue can make me want to rage quit. The game time gates upgrade materials. One can only farm materials on certain days of the week. I forgot about this in my year off. Why can I only farm skill scrolls on specific days? It makes no sense.

And speaking of these upgrade materials and skill scrolls, one can’t skip the domains these items can be found. You must defeat the same bosses or mid-level bosses every day. Every. Day. I miss older gachas. They knew they were mobile/timewaster games and allowed players to skip. I’ve beaten this level with a five-star rating before, so I can spend my energy and auto-clear this domain. The trend of disabling auto-clear in gachas began with Genshin. Hoyoverse assumed the attitude of “I created a robust world with better graphics and demand you see this world as much as possible, even if it’s repetitive.” Ugh!

It takes one-two minutes to defeat these domains. That’s not that long but considering you could clear about eight to twelve a day, that’s a good ten-twenty minutes. It’s half that if you use condensed resin (which acts like finishing the domain twice in one go), but you also need to farm the items with which to make condensed resin, and we’re doing the time warp again. And not in the fun Rocky Horror way. These domains don’t sound like they take long, but time adds up fast. Genshin also offers daily tasks which don’t take that long, but they’re daily tasks and they can last up to five minutes. It’s a lot of busy work with not enough pay off.

And it goes even further with minor time wasting inconveniences. Items burst out of things. I don’t know how many times I’m on a mountain face, open a chest, and the treasure spills down the mountain. Really? Auto-collect the treasure. And I can’t interact with things like a waypoint for the first time if an enemy spots me. I don’t have to see the enemy. Half the time I’m scratching my head wondering where the enemy is. Genshin invents new ways to waste time. But it’s super easy to finish the battle pass. That’s a huge plus.

Battle Pass: 4/10

Genshin doesn’t really require a player to purchase its battle pass. I advise purchasing the battle pass once annually because some extra goodies can go a long way, but one can get by without it. And if that was all that mattered, I would’ve given Genshin top marks.

Unfortunately, Genshin has seen few upgrades to its battle pass in four years. There has been one major inclusion: artifact experience items. Genshin Impact is playing with a player’s ability to build their own artifacts with these experience items and that could ease the pain of farming artifacts. I didn’t mention this in the Respecting Time segment, but Genshin’s artifacts are the most time consuming of all items one must farm.

That said, I still can’t give Genshin high marks in Battle Pass because the BP weapons are okay at best, and the ability for players to build their own artifacts is getting tested in this patch. We don’t know if Genshin intends to keep this function, even though it’s been in Honkai: Star Rail from the beginning. Fingers crossed that it stays.

True Cost: 3/10

Genshin is below average in terms of True Cost, but I struggled with how far down it should fall. It originally received an average score years ago, but I have more context with which to stratify Genshin Impact. The release of Wuthering Waves (WuWa) and how much Kuro Games gifts their players with free five-stars and upgrades and convenes (those are WuWa’s version of a gacha turn) leaves Genshin in the dust.

Even so, I can’t crater this score. One doesn’t need that much in terms of primogems (the in-game currency players can buy with real-world money) and only a few characters are needed, specifically anyone who can facilitate hyper bloom. But it’s fun to get new characters and Hoyoverse’s other game Honkai: Star Rail (HSR) is far more generous. Both HSR and WuWa provide more in-game currency for exploration and completing events.

Sure, Genshin has given their playerbase more primogems and free gacha turns in this patch (5.0) than most other patches, but someone smarter (and more dedicated toward number crunching) than me kept track of how many gacha turns a person can make with freemogems and gifts in Genshin versus HSR. Over the years, Genshin has given players 80 turns per patch. To date, HSR gives players at least 100 turns per patch with just finishing in-game content. That means that HSR players are guaranteed a five-star character each patch, while Genshin players must pay for 20 turns of the gacha crank or not get a five-star. Or they need to get lucky. Just be lucky. Simple.

And it doesn’t stop there. Genshin Impact changes for the worse with its weapon banner. You must lose the 33% chance twice before getting a guaranteed weapon. If you miss both times and go to hard pity every time, you could spend hundreds of real-world dollars. Yikes! Genshin’s weapon banner is abysmal. What’s worse is that the current banner is an improvement. I saw a video years ago of someone spending thousands of dollars and never getting the banner weapon.

Narrative: 7/10

I gave Genshin an 8/10 for this category years ago. I would’ve given it 9/10 if I only gauged its story and not the storytelling. Genshin Impact has an engaging story; Hoyoverse stinks at telling stories.

This will be a problem with most gacha games. Gachas tend to dice up a story, toss the segments into the air, and let them fall wherever they will. As a result, I can seldom follow what’s going on in Genshin’s story. I need YouTube creators like Ashikai to compile Genshin’s story from various mediums, to include mangas, short animations, one shots, forums, and even some events that I may have missed because I was AFK. Quick plug, you should check out Ashikai’s YouTube channel; they do amazing work.

Once you know the plot points, Genshin Impact has a great story. The idea that this could be a post-apocalyptic world, and the sky is fake fascinates me. I won’t spoil the whole thing here. You should check out Ashikai’s playlist on World Structure Theory. Great stuff. The narrative itself rocks. I just wish Hoyoverse would elevate their storytelling.

Storytelling: 2/10

Ugh! Genshin hardly makes sense half the time and the times when it does make sense, Paimon repeats what a character just said.

Random NPC: I think the wolf headed east.

Paimon: It sounds like (random NPC) thinks the wolf headed east.

Skip. Skip! Skip!!! I already know that. Why don’t you give me a skip function? Why does Paimon repeat everything? Why doesn’t Paimon recap the parts of the story that I could’ve missed in timed events or the manga or some other media I haven’t seen? Hoyoverse’s team must’ve heard that no one can follow their plot, but they didn’t get the memo that their tossed salad method of storytelling could be the issue. It must be that the player wasn’t paying attention. Let’s repeat the same dialogue five times because the following happens way too often:

Random NPC: That’s right, Paimon! I believe the wolf headed east.

Paimon: Oh! (Random NPC) believes the wolf headed east.

Random NPC: That’s right, Paimon. You should head east in order to find the wolf. Paimon: Paimon thinks that Paimon and the traveler should head east in order to… Stop! Skip! Why?

User Interface: 7/10

Genshin Impact streamlined a lot. So many gachas have cluttered interfaces. Tower of Fantasy (ToF), which was released after Genshin, is a good example of a cluttered interface. I can’t follow half of what ToF is trying to show me. It has too many sub-sub-sub-sub categories. Send a search party.

Genshin does a good job of showing the most pertinent information. But it can be better. I can do with even fewer sub, subcategories. Even so, Genshin has done such a good job at minimizing clutter that Wuthering Waves copied Genshin Impact’s interface as much as Genshin Impact copied Breath of the Wild. That tends to happen when a game does something right. If something works, copy the homework.

Presentation: 9/10

Like I said, the graphics look good but they’re dated, and I could do without Genshin’s oversaturated color palette. But the music catapults this score. Hoyoverse sunk a ton of money into making each region and even specific locations within a region unique. It says something when you can close your eyes, listen to a track, and know exactly where the piece plays.

A high music score will be a common trend for Hoyoverse games. Hoyoverse knows the value of good music. They honed their skills in Honkai Impact 3^rd. “Nightglow,” anyone?

Aggregated Score: 5.22

These new scoring metrics lowered Genshin Impact’s overall score. I still have a little hope that Hoyoverse will improve Genshin Impact, but several of the game’s improvements were first tested in Honkai: Star Rail, and it took over a year for those improvements to make their way from HSR to Genshin Impact. It’s the same company.

Hoyoverse has shifted assets and focus to HSR, Honkai Impact 3^rd: Part 2, and Zenless Zone Zero. As I said in my review years ago, Hoyoverse may cut their losses and not give Genshin Impact the overhaul it needs. They don’t improve their profit margins if they upgrade the current Genshin Impact. It’s only a matter of time until Hoyoverse releases Genshin Impact 2^nd: Give Us More Money. That’s all I have for now. Let me know your thoughts on Genshin Impact. And wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

The State of Video Game Reviews and Free-to-Play Games

Published on September 20, 2024September 7, 2024 by Kyra2 Comments

Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. I haven’t shared a video game review in quite a while. I started by covering a bunch of Gacha games and intended on including them all in this post, but I pared that down to one gacha Genshin Impact, which will post tomorrow. I found that most video game reviews aren’t effective when discussing free-to-play video games. So, let’s give video game reviews the enema it needs.

Video game reviews often cover things that are easy to spot. Visuals? You can see screenshots: unnecessary. Audio? I guess that’s helpful, but again there are video shorts, and one can get the feel of a game’s audio before purchasing. Gameplay might be the most useful and some sites will even include a video game’s replayability. But we’re living in a free-to-play video game world, and there are video game review categories that get overlooked.

Respecting a player’s time may be the biggest omission. Replayability is fine and all, but video gamers are getting older. So many of us are parents and grandparents and even the ones who don’t have kids have other real-world obligations.

Respecting a player’s time has become more important than replayability. I said it. Whenever I see a game boast that it has 100s of hours of replayability, I lose interest. I don’t need another part-time job playing a video game for certain unlockables or item upgrades. That’s good for someone whose job is video games or someone still in grade school. The rest of us have other things we could be doing or other things we need to do.

True cost. Free-to-play games need a true cost category. Can players effectively play a game without buying the battle pass every patch? Yes. Battle passes should also have their own category, because most free-to-play games include one. Heck! Several paid games include a battle pass in today’s climate.

But Gacha games, which have gained popularity in recent years because of their monetization system, find ways to price-gouge players with drop rates for characters and items. But Kyra, you could play 40 hours a week to—see respecting a player’s time. I guess this one could also be called respecting a player’s money.

I’d take it further with splitting gameplay into mechanisms and gameplay loop. Mechanisms are what you’re mechanically doing in a game, but what one does in a game only matters if the game mechanisms are unique. And gameplay loop is how satisfying and engaging the mechanisms work together as a whole.

Gameplay combines the two ideas. I guess the combo works, but separate categories may attract different gamers. Some like playing a unique game even if the combination of elements gets clunky. Other gamers look for a cohesive whole.

I’d do a similar thing with story or narrative. Storytelling and a story are not the same thing. John Updike’s A&P has a simple premise, but Updike’s storytelling elevates the story into a classic. On the flip side, Genshin Impact has a great story if you can follow it, but Hoyoverse has done a piss pour job at storytelling. Oops! That may have spoiled the Genshin Impact review.

With all of that said, let’s see if we can pin down a good set of video game review criteria before covering the first of a few larger gacha games. But before we do that, we’ll need to discuss what makes a gacha game for the folks who may not know. For those of you who know what a gacha game is, feel free to scroll past this next section. I’ll try and keep it short.

Gacha Games

Gacha games have been around for decades. One of the first, MapleStory released in 2003. Yikes! It has been decades. But the polish and larger budget and success of 2020’s Genshin Impact launched gacha games into mainstream popularity.

Gachas have always been popular, especially in eastern Asia, but Genshin’s blend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s gameplay and the gacha monetization system brought in new fans. Let’s be real. Genshin is a Breath of the Wild clone. So, the only new thing Genshin really introduced to that formula was the gacha system. So, let’s discuss what makes a Gacha game.

Gachas work like collectible card games or like the gacha machines the game type borrows the word. Gacha machines are the machines one can find at the front of a grocery store. Insert a coin (quarter) into the machine, turn the crank, and a plastic ball with a toy inside spits out from a spout. Gacha originates in Japan. The Japanese call it that because they believe that’s the sound a gacha machine makes as one turns the crank. Gacha. Gacha! Gacha!!!

In gacha games, players wish or warp or convene—each game has its own word for what you’re doing, so let’s come up with a universal term “turn”—or takes a turn on a banner. Each banner will feature a character.

Usually, but not always, players take a certain number of turns on the banner before they can receive the featured character (usually about 80-100 turns). I say “can receive” because gachas typically employ a percentage chance of gaining the featured character or item. Often, one needs to lose their percentage chance of gaining a featured item before receiving a guaranteed character/item.

As you can guess, this monetization system is how gacha games make most of their money. And they make a LOT of money. Despite most gacha games using a free-to-play model, one will often find gacha games at the top of the most money earned over any given month. This fact is also why gachas became popular. Video game companies like money.

With those new ways of earning—or syphoning—money from customers, we may need new video game review criteria. So, let’s pin down some free-to-play/gacha video game categories.

Mechanisms

This will be a category for the folks who like interesting mechanisms in their game. Games that push what can be done with video games from a technical gameplay standpoint will earn good scores.

Above image from GameDesigning.org

Gameplay Loop

This is how the mechanisms work together to make a cohesive product. A formulaic game can score a high Gameplay Loop score, but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t anything unique.

Respecting Time

This applies more to free-to-play games, but I’ve seen plenty of other games waste a players time. Games that don’t waste a player’s time with busy work will score high in this category.

Battle Pass

If a game has a battle pass, it will receive a score in this category. Who are we kidding? Most, if not every, gacha game has a battle pass. Even some paid games boast battle passes. I’ll split this score between the necessity of buying the pass and what one gets for completing it, giving difference to the latter.

True Cost

How much does the game actually cost? Again, this is more a question for free-to-play games, but players can be asked to purchase add-ons. How much does everything cost?

Narrative

I mentioned this prior. This is the story, not the storytelling. Gachas have a nasty habit of chopping up their narratives and tossing them into the wind. I’ll be leaning on YouTubers and other people to help me piecemeal these stories together.

Storytelling

Again, this I mentioned this prior. How well does the game tell its story? These are two very different concepts, especially for gacha games.

User Interface

Gachas are also notorious for having difficult to manage menus. This wouldn’t be that big of an issue for most video games, but free-to-play games have a knack for hiding things within sub-sub-sub-sub menus so gamers can’t find them.

Presentation

Yes. It’s obvious but still a necessary category. I’ll use this as a catch all for graphics and audio, giving an internal score for both within the segment.

Final Thoughts

And with that, I think we have a good set of parameters. I’ll see you tomorrow. And wherever you are, I hope you’re having a nice day.

Top 5 Tabletop Games from the Early 1960s

Published on September 16, 2024March 1, 2025 by Kyra15 Comments

Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. We’re bringing back an old series: Top 5 Tabletop Games. The lists prior to this one (the 30s and 40s-50s) had fewer titles to choose from during their time periods and served as the best board games of that decade instead of a year. But the 1960s produced so many popular and great games that we split it into two Top 5 lists. One for the beginning of the decade (1960-1964) and another for the end of the decade (1965-1969). We’ll publish the second list next week.

So much time has passed since our last Top 5 Tabletop Games that we may need to reiterate the ground rules before we get started.

1: Cultural relevance plays as much of a factor as overall quality. A game might make a list that doesn’t hold up to others of its type, but you must admit the game is everywhere.

2: Only one game from a franchise makes the list. This will become more of an issue the closer we get to games with expansions.

3: Longevity plays a role, too. A game doesn’t have to fly off the shelves today, but it had to have some widespread appeal for a decent time.

**5: Hi Ho! Cherry-O (1960)**

Woo! Hi Ho! Cherry-O just barely made this list. Perhaps I should run a survey and see which tabletop games were people’s first games. Hi Ho! Cherry-O may be near the top of that list.

Each player begins with an empty basket and 10 cherries on their tree. Players take turns spinning the spinner and performing the actions they spin. The first player to collect all the cherries from their tree and yell “Hi Ho! Cherry-O” wins. Simple premise. Easy rules to explain and understand.

And yet, mathematicians used a Markov chain to determine how long a game of Hi Ho! Cherry-O would last. Who knew that picking cherries could get so intense?

**4: Focus (1963)**

Focus is the first and not the last Sid Sackson game that will make these lists. It’s an abstract strategy game where players move stacks around a checkerboard with the three squares in each corner removed. Stacks may move as many spaces as there are pieces in the stack. Players may only move a stack if the topmost piece in the stack is one of their pieces. When a stack lands on another stack, the two stacks merge. Basically, one tries cornering their opponent(s) into no longer having moves.

Focus also happens to be an early recipient of the Spiel des Jahres, the German Game of the Year (1981). This award elevated the quality of board games that came from Germany after its inception. Sackson did the same for the board game industry prior to this award, which is why, in part, Focus earned this honor. That and Focus is a great game that has inspired countless tabletop game designers.

**3: Mouse Trap (1963)**

How many of you have built the Rube Goldberg-like mouse trap for this game and never played it? Show of hands. Mouse Trap has players building the least efficient trap to catch a mouse. But the game doesn’t play anything like it did back in 1963. The original Mouse Trap required an opponent to land on the “cheese” space by exact count and the player to land on the “turn crank” space by exact count for a chance that the clunky Mouse Trap might work and eliminate a player.

Fast forward 12 years and the game play surrounding the trap was retooled by Sid Sackson. Hey, there’s that name again. Sackson added the cheese-shaped tokens that allowed players to move themselves or other players or turn the crank of the machine. Sackson streamlined a game that could take several hours into one that can be played in under an hour.

Mouse Trap may lean heavily on a gimmick, but one can’t question its staying power.

**2: TwixT (1961)**

TwixT began as a paper and pencil game in 1957 by Alex Randolph. And in 1961 Randolph was commissioned along with Sid Sackson (Hey, there’s that name again) to start a games division. TwixT was one of Randolph’s first produced games. It was even short-listed for the first Spiel des Jahres (Hey, we know that award, too) in 1979.

Players take turns placing pegs of their color into a 24×24 square grid of holes. One tries to move from one end of the board to another, connecting one’s pegs by making knight moves (in Chess). You cannot cross two connected pegs, so it’s possible to block your opponent’s progression and that’s what you’ll want to do. TwixT has a bunch of strategy but is easy enough that young children can play. No wonder it was inducted into the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design’s Hall of Fame along with Randolph.

1: Acquire (1964)

I wonder who designed Acquire. Wait! It’s Sid Sackson. Again. In Acquire, players attempt to earn the most money by developing and merging hotel chains. When a hotel chain that a player owns stock is acquired by a larger chain, players earn money based on the size of the acquired chain. Player will liquidate all their stock at the end of the game and whoever has the most money wins.

Acquire was also short-listed for the first Spiel des Jahres in 1979 and was inducted into the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design’s Hall of Fame along with Sid Sackson. The tabletop gaming community owes a lot to both of these incredible game designers.

My aunt Erma had a copy of Acquire but lost the rulebook, so I made up my own rules to this game. So, Acquire holds a special place for me personally. I may be a little biased with this number 1.

But did we get the list right, for the most part? Let us know in the comments. And wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Check out the other lists from this series:
Top 5 Games prior to the 1930s
Top 5 Games from the 1930s
Top 5 Games from the 1940s-50s
Top 5 Games from the Late 1960s
Top 5 Games from the Early 1970s
Top 5 Games from the Late 1970s
Top 5 Games from 1980-1981
Top 5 Games from 1982-1983
Top 5 Games from 1984-1985
Top 5 Games from 1986-1987
Top 5 Games from 1988-1989
Top 5 Games from 1990-1991

3 Lists of 3 Anime: Take 3

Published on September 14, 2024September 14, 2024 by KyraLeave a comment

This is one of the last older posts that I haven’t yet published. Up to this point, we’ve been sprinkling in some newer stuff, but it may be mostly new stuff from this point forward. This is the third and possibly final 3 Lists of 3 for anime.

Just in case you’ve forgotten how these posts work, I’ll break down some of the more popular anime genres and list a few anime for new viewers to dip their toes into. This series differs from our typical starters writeups because we won’t spend too much time on each anime—usually—and it’ll function more as an “if you like this story, you may like this other one.” Let’s get started.

Mystery

When one hears mystery as a genre, one thinks about stories that feature detectives and gumshoes. The same holds for anime—for the most part—but there are some anime that go a little off that tried and true formula.

Detective Conan

We’ll start with the one that’s the most familiar for westerners. Detective Conan (also known as Case Closed) features a precocious teen detective Jimmy Kudo who solves the police’s most difficult cases. He gets poisoned by a secret organization, but the poison doesn’t kill him, it turns Jimmy into a short pants kid.

To keep his identity a secret, Jimmy adopts the alias Conan Edogawa (he names himself Conan after his favorite author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle). Detective Conan continues to solve crimes, while unearthing who reversed his aging into a child. Detective Conan plays out a little like Inspector Gadget with Conan solving crimes for an inept adult detective, but while Detective Conan has its comedic moments, it’s a classic detective series.

Hyouka

Here comes another young gumshoe—or a group of gumshoes. The Hyouka anime is based on the manga, which was in turn based on the novel series Classic Literature Club by Honobu Yonezawa. It’s set in Kamiyama High School where the members of the Classic Literature Club help others out by solving crimes. If you liked series like the Hardy Boys or the Babysitters Club, you might want to give Hyouka a try.

Eden of the East

Eden of the East is the one anime on this list that journeys the furthest from a traditional detective story. This gets a little convoluted. Eden of the East behaves a little like the cloak and dagger elements of 100 Bullets, so there are plenty of twists and turns.

Essentially, the two main protagonists are given 8.2 billion yen that’s supposed to be used to “save” Japan in some way. They must use their money to pay a group named The Seleção, but if they use the money for selfish reasons, they fail, and Japan is destroyed. There’s a lot more to it than that—a lot more—but Eden of the East builds on a series of terrorist attacks and who’s behind them. It asks moral questions like if you could sell out your home country for a small fortune, would you?

Horror

As you can see, I’m going with more traditional subgenres with this list—for now. Horror anime ranges from ghosts and goblins to myths or just the plain creepy. Get ready for a few chills.

Another

We’ll start with a horror anime that could classify as a pseudo mystery. Another is set in a high school where a student died in 1972 and in the wake of that death, everyone denied that it happened. As a result, a curse befalls the school, and students, faculty, and their family members are at risk of gruesome deaths like the ones you might see in a Final Destination film.

We’re talking plenty of blood and gore. But there may be something or someone behind these murders and that’s where Another blends mystery and horror. Expect plenty of red herrings in this short, twelve-episode series. You may also want a change of pants.

When They Cry

When They Cry is adapted from the video game series of the same name. Set in June of 1983 and in a quiet rural village Hinamizawa, protagonist Keiichi Maebara leaves his hometown for Hinamizawa after a series of unfortunate events. He makes friends in this sleepy town, but soon finds out that there’s more to the town than he first believed. A series of murders and other gruesome events occur in Hinamizawa, and the friends Keiichi has made may not be all they seem. Who needs enemies when you have lunatics for friends?

Parasyte

I could’ve gone with Corpse Parade here—another great, short series—but it’s another spooky school anime and I wanted to branch out. Parasyte, based on a manga that ran from 1988-1995, has plenty of stunning visuals, gore for those of you who like gore-fests, and aliens. That’s right. Let’s give some aliens a little love. The titular aliens enter orifices and transform humans into monsters.

Main character Shinichi encounters such an alien, but the alien can’t overtake him and only manages to turn him into a human with one alien arm. Shinichi maintains control of the parts of him that aren’t an alien arm, but the alien arm has a mind of its own. Parasyte explores many issues of what it means to be human, and it’s a much watch for horror fans who like scares like Alien.

Josei

I’m venturing a little off the beaten path here with Josei, but just a little. Josei is more of a demographic than an anime genre. It targets female viewers around the ages 18-40 and depicts life and romance in a more mature light. Romance doesn’t have to factor into the story all the time; a Josei anime needs to cater to women of this age range (essentially not teens or children) and feature more grounded characters, instead of idealistic fantasies.

Princess Jellyfish

The crux of Princess Jellyfish rests with a group of otaku (geek) women who happen to be flat mates. They bond with each other and no men are allowed in their club. Protagonist Tsukimi, one of the otaku women, hopes to become an illustrator and loves jellyfish because they remind her of her mother who took her to the aquarium to see them.

Enter Kuranosuke, the illegitimate son of a politician, who cross-dresses to rebel against his father and feel closer to his mother. Tsukimi befriends Kuranosuke and allows Kuranosuke to join her band of otaku, hiding Kuranosuke’s gender from her flat mates. Princes Jellyfish addresses gender identity and challenges one’s preconceptions. It also makes for a non-conforming romantic-comedy as Kuranosuke develops feelings for Tsukimi.

Nana

Nana’s title derives from its two main characters, both of whom are named Nana. Nana Komatsu has a habit of falling in love at first site. The other Nana, Nana Osaki, is the lead vocalist of a band called Black Stones (BLAST for short). Osaki’s boyfriend, the band’s bassist, leaves BLAST for a better gig, but Osaki continues with BLAST. Nana centers on these two Nanas as Komatsu seeks love and happiness, and Osaki pursues fame and recognition. Neither Nana finds what they want at first and perhaps what they want isn’t what they need.

Whenever I get enough of the Nana manga, I may have to place eight of them on the shelf with a Batman graphic novel after them, that way anyone who looks at the books in my library will get the 1960s Batman theme stuck in their head. If you’ve heard the song, you have it in your head right now. Mwah-ha-ha!

Seriously, Nana is a great read.

Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu

Shouwa Genroku is a shot of fresh air for anime. Set against the art form Rakugo, a traditional form of Japanese entertainment where a storyteller must sit and convey a tale with only a paper fan and small cloth, Shouwa Genroku unveils the story of two friends.

One begins his path as a Rakugo performer after being released from prison, the other takes a different path and both have disparate performance styles. Shouwa Genroku may be the most intimate of all the anime on these lists and one of the most character-driven stories.

Final Thoughts

I hope there are plenty of anime in these lists for you try out. I’m sure I got something wrong. Let me know in the comments.

And wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.