Color Palette: Mega Man 01
Tag: mega man
Top 5 Red, White, and Blue Video Game Characters
U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! The United States of America celebrated its Independence Day yesterday, so we’re celebrating belatedly by listing our picks of the top 5 video game characters that use a red, white, and blue color palette.
Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. We’re doing something a little different with today’s Top 5. It’s no longer the United States’ Independence Day, but who are we kidding? Someone will be lighting fireworks tonight. We can set off a few of our own with these top 5 red, white, and blue video game characters.
5) King Dedede
Video game designers may have ulterior motives when selecting their characters’ color palettes. Nintendo certainly did with King Dedede when they introduced him to the Kirby franchise. Visually, he combines Santa Claus’s outfit, a bald eagle’s beak, and John Henry’s hammer. Personality-wise, King Dedede is a glutton, selfish, and hostile toward the color pink. In short, he’s all American.
Take that, you pesky amoeba. King Dedede won’t be the only video game villain who wears red, white, and blue. ‘Murica!
4) Blinky (a.k.a. Shadow)
Blinky (from 1980’s Pac-Man) may not be the first character you think of when discussing red, white, and blue video game characters, but he is classic. Shadow is the leader of the team of ghosts (they’re actually monsters) who chase Pac-Man. While Pinky (Pink) and Inky (Cyan) attempt to ambush Pac-Man by taking routes the player doesn’t choose, Blinky chases our protagonist and applies pressure.
Shadow is the most aggressive of all the ghosts (monsters) and the most dangerous. When players get caught, they’re usually caught by Blinky. He has true American vigor. He races to chop down Pac-Man like George Washington chopped down a cherry tree.
3) Dr. Wily
Wow! Are there any video game heroes who use a red, white, and blue color scheme? Yes. They’re next on our list, but we have one final video game villain before we reach them: Mega Man’s Dr. Wily. Before Dark Souls, Dr. Wily pushed gamers to “get gud.” I don’t know how many times I attempted a Mega Man level, only to leave my palms sweaty after countless hours. Thank you for making me a better gamer, Dr. Wily. I salute you.
Dr. Wily also happens to have an advanced degree, adding to a long line of PhDs with nefarious plans. You’d think universities would weed out these bad eggs before they graduate. Oh well. If Wily’s university had expelled him, we may not have gotten a killer robot dragon in Mega Man II.
2) Sonic
Sonic is Sega’s mascot. Ever since the speedy hedgehog raced onto game consoles in 1991, he’s worn red and white shoes, white gloves, and he has blue fur. Very patriotic of you, Sonic. Sonic is ubiquitous with Sega. He’s the first character–and possibly only character–one would think of with Sega Games.
It also doesn’t hurt that Americans are an impatient bunch. Sonic’s speed gets you those rings now. Not later. Now! Hot dogs, muscle cars, and Sonic the Hedgehog. Is there anything more American?
1) Mario
Yeah. We couldn’t go with any other video game character than Mario. You probably read this list and already knew the fictional plumber would top this list. Mario has always featured red and blue. Even in his short stint as “Jumpman” in his Donkey Kong debut (1981), he was always pictured on the video game cabinet to be wearing white gloves, even if the hardware at the time couldn’t effectively render those pixels.
You know you’re a big deal if people know you mononymously. If you utter Mario, most people will picture a plump plumber, wearing a red shirt and hat with blue overalls. Since Mario wears red, white, and blue, he tops this list. It also doesn’t hurt that Mario is often seen with stars. Talk about a Star Spangled hero.
Did we get the list right? Which red, white, and blue color palette video game characters should make this list? Let us know in the comments. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
Top 5 Video Game Pets
8Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. We haven’t covered video games for some time, and I figured we would start with a top 5. This week’s top 5: video game pets. Cuteness overload is incoming. Limiting video game pets to just five is difficult, so we’ll have a couple of honorable mentions. I also didn’t want to include only dogs and horses; video game dogs and horses could fill an entire list each (future list idea). But we will see at least one (sort of) dog on this list.
Honorable Mention 1: Palicos (Monster Hunter Series)
I never know if palicos count as pets or not; I love them as characters, but they may be less pets and more of a species of humanoids. The Monster Hunter series muddies the waters with palicos. Some palicos are your faithful servants and present little more than their servitude to the player character. Other palicos have jobs (like the Meowscular Chef in Monster Hunter World, he must have a wife and kids at home to support) and the Monster Hunter Stories series shows palicos as having a culture separate from humans. Many people still classify palicos as pets, but their ambiguity makes them just miss this list.
Honorable Mention 2: Pokémon (Pokémon Series)
Pokémon, like horses and dogs, can fill a list by themselves. And which Pokémon should I pick? Pikachu is the obvious representative Pokémon. He has his own Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon. But that’s reductive. I’ll include Pokémon as a video game pet type, but these critters deserve a list for themselves. Maybe even a Top 10 Iconic Pokémon list.
With Pokémon, horses, and palicos eliminated (and dogs for the most part excluded), how many video game pets are we left with? A lot. So many that I could make a Top 10 if I wanted, but these are the ones that made the Top 5.
5: Rammy (Castle Crashers)
Cheater! I can hear some of you Castle Crashers players now, you’re a cheater if you use Rammy. I say, you still have to unlock him after the bear boss. And he’s a cute orb-shaped ram. And who doesn’t like a ram charging through a side-scroller beat ‘em up game, knocking down every monster they meet? If Rammy is cheating, then I don’t want to play honorably. Charge away, Rammy. Charge away.
4: Munchie (Dragon Quest VIII)
This one is esoteric. It took me a while to think of Munchie from Dragon Quest VIII. I vaguely recalled a pet mouse who rode in the main character’s coat pocket, and the only thing I could remember was that Munchie had a mohawk and liked to eat cheese and certain cheeses gave him special abilities. All of that is true (to be precise, Munchie is a pig rat), but Munchie was central to advancing Dragon Quest VIII’s plot. The game has several moments where the player controls Munchie as he conducts reconnaissance.
Munchie often procured keys to enter or exit rooms, gathered intelligence to better interact with NPCs, and even scouted ahead before major battles. Munchie may also be a little of a cheat for this list. While he spends most of the game as your pig rat pet, he’s much more than that. I won’t spoil any of the story here—Dragon Quest VIII is well worth the play and it’s available on plenty of platforms—but there’s a lot more to Munchie.
3: Blob (A Boy and His Blob)
A Boy and His Blob uses a common 1980s movie trope of a boy befriending an alien (like E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and The Last Starfighter), but that doesn’t discount the titular blob as a pet. And it’s one heck of a pet. I’m sensing a theme here with these video game pets: they’re useful. Rammy helps you cheat and Munchie progresses Dragon Quest VIII’s story. The Blob from A Boy and His Blob can transform into various objects (to help the player solve puzzles) by eating different flavored jellybeans.
The original A Boy and His Blob is at best unbalanced, but the concept is neat. I like the idea of a blob morphing into a ladder if fed a licorice jellybean or a parachute if it eats a pear jellybean. The other combinations are fun: tangerine (trampoline), berry (balloon), and punch (hole). But my favorite had to be apple and jack. I see what you did there, A Boy and His Blob. And of course, coconut transforms the blob into a coconut. Were you expecting anything else?
A Boy and His Blob got a sequel in 2009, but I wouldn’t mind some more time with this property. Not going to lie, I ate more jellybeans after playing this game. What would a Buttered Popcorn Jelly Belly turn me into?
2: Rush (Mega Man Series)
Rush from the Mega Man Series is our one dog-like pet on this list. I could’ve gone a different direction here, but I don’t think Rush gets enough love. So, what if Rush makes another list in the future? He’ll make a future Top 5 video game dogs list. He’s Mega Man’s best buddy.
Rush continues our trend of pets who have multiple uses. Throughout the Mega Man Series, Rush has been a coil (trampoline), a jet to cross long pits, a submarine, a spaceship, a flashlight of sorts (with its “Search” function in Mega Man 7), and a motorbike to name a few. Mega Man’s Rush bridges the gap between a pet that can help in a fight or solve a puzzle and one that aids with pushing the story further. The first two Mega Man games are two of my favorite games from that era of video games, but those two games have a lack of Rush.
1: Yoshi (Nintendo)
Could it be anyone else? Even if I included Pokémon, horses, and all video game dogs, Yoshi from the Super Mario Bros. series would still take the top spot. Heck, I named my dog after Yoshi the dinosaur. And who wouldn’t want a dinosaur as a pet?
Yoshi may be the one character on this list who doesn’t need an introduction. Most people know them and their abilities. Like Rush, Yoshi has done it all. They’re even one of the few characters on this list that have had their own video game series. They’ve had more than one.
You’re probably wondering why I keep referring to Yoshi as they; Yoshi is a sapient species of dinosaur-like creatures. They can lay eggs, which suggests that they’re female, but most people refer to the Yoshi one finds in Super Mario World as he. Yoshis (or Yoshisaurs) blur the line between male and female. They can be both or neither.
I also loved playing as Yoshi in the original Super Mario Kart. I got pretty good at managing their fast acceleration and the fact that they couldn’t take too much damage without getting knocked off course. Yoshis come in different colors. Some of these colors depict different abilities, but usually, these colors are cosmetic. Whatever their color, Yoshi rules.
Which Yoshi is your favorite? Did we miss any video game pets that aren’t dogs, horses, or Pokémon? Let us know in the comments. And wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
Top 10 Worst Origins for Mega Man Robot Bosses
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.
5 Great Mega Man Bosses
Mega Man doesn’t get as much love as other classic video game characters. Mario, Sonic, Link and even Samus have enjoyed more publicity and fame. Maybe this is due to the games being too difficult. I don’t know how many hours I wasted trying to time one jump. Perhaps it’s the character design or the fact that Capcom couldn’t decide on how to spell Mega Man (MegaMan or Megaman). It could even be that Mega Man’s enemies are more popular than the original character.
To celebrate the first new Mega Man game in over a decade good old Uncle Geekly will break down five of the best Mega Man bosses from the previous 10 numbered games. These are personal preferences and they’re not even in any kind of order. Seriously, not even in chronological order. Let’s get to these robot Highlanders.
Fire Man (Mega Man 1)
Fire Man’s theme music captures the frantic nature of a player jumping and dashing through a hazardous work zone and the industrial robots helping to defend his stage. Fire Man’s look is classic. He almost looks like a robot version of Firestorm. He even thinks he’s the hero, which gives him even more character. The “Flame of Justice” makes for a good Mega Man foil.
Metal Man (Mega Man 2)
I always liked the look of Metal Man’s circular blades cutting through the air. He’s another classic design, but what separates him from many Mega Man villains is his sardonic wit. I don’t know of many Mega Man villains who love tearing down fellow robots. “Sorry. Were you expecting some kind of formal intro first? I’m Metal Man, the robot that Cut Man should’ve been.” Oh! Take that, Cut Man.
Skull Man (Mega Man 4)
His name says it all: Skull Man. He has a skull or ghost motif and happens to have one of the most diverse strategies. While most Mega Man bosses will initiate an attack as soon as Mega Man enters their realm, Skull Man waits for the Blue Bomber to make the first move. His is one of the most difficult boss battles and that makes sense. Skull Man is one of a few robots with combat as their only function. This lack of a life outside combat plays into his character.
Elec Man (Mega Man 1)
I could’ve gone with Quick Man because speed kills in Mega Man, but I had to go with the robot who inspired Quick Man’s design: Elec Man. He’s the original speed demon and electricity boss. As the robot built to control the voltage of nuclear power plants, he was considered Dr. Light’s greatest creation. With that being the case Elec Man is an egomaniac. But in the most sadistic way.
Knight Man (Mega Man 6)
Sometimes you want a robot dressed up like a knight. Knight Man doesn’t have much in the way of backstory, but he’s one of the most unique robot designs in the series and the counterattacks players must time (he’s only vulnerable when he attacks) make his battle one of the series most memorable.
These are your uncle Geekly’s favorite Mega Man bosses. If you don’t like the robots I chose, I’ll challenge you to a duel with some of your favorite Mega Man bosses, or you can let us know in comments.
jkgeekly.com 