__Happy New Year, everyone!😀
__I always put up my "first impressions" posts on the first Saturday of the month. But, by an amazing coincidence, this time that happens to be the first day of the month, and of the entire year as well! What a perfect way to ring in the new year!😀
__This is my recap of all the movies and video games I watched throughout the month of December. (If you're new here, that's how it is with games. I'm going through all the not-yet-played ones in my collection, sorted by year. I'll usually play them for a while, but if it becomes clear that I can't progress quickly, I'll start watching a longplay to see the rest.) Now, I already covered some of the movies in my "top ten favourites of the year" list, sometimes in slightly more detail, but everything deserves equal treatment here.
__Section one: cinema releases.
It's kind of a live-action version of Into the Spider-Verse.🙂 It acknowledges the character's core philosophy, while also giving the other two Spider-Man film series one last hurrah. It has its faults, but still very enjoyable.
My rating: 85%.
Both the humour and creative camerawork of the original Kingsman are almost completely absent. This one takes itself entirely seriously, resulting in a lacklustre story rooted in an all-too-familiar overprotective father scenario.
__Section two: movies I watched at home. It starts with two pairs of Netflix movies, then a few Christmas movies that I watched just to check a couple more titles off the Nostalgia Critic's old "best Christmas specials" lists. The last one is Finch, which I watched on the same day I went to see The King's Man, because that movie was such a letdown that I just had to watch something else; that could not be the last movie of the year that I saw!
It's an enjoyably silly action romp, though sometimes the humour comes from the characters' atypical competence, especially the guards in the prison break scene. Gal Gadot's performance is a ton of fun, but Dwayne Johnson mostly looks bored.
My rating: 65%.
I'm sure the book is better, but this movie is agonisingly dull. Phil explains his attitude towards Rose, but his actions in the third act seemingly come out of nowhere. Also, what's the point of the untitled chapter markers?
My rating: 40%.
The bookending narration implies that it's a tribute to Jonathan Larson as well as an adaptation of the musical. I wasn't crazy about the songs until Why, which was the turning point when the second half became much more poignant.
My rating: 65%.
The plot and characters are serviceable enough, but the direction significantly elevates the fun; it's so stylish that it's almost Tarantino-esque. I needed subtitles to understand the dialogue, and somehow I doubt it's of the time.
My rating: 70%.
It's a mixed bag. It highlights the hardships of the people's daily lives, resulting in a deeply unpleasant opening. But I like how the star is a convergence of three, and there's a precedent for Joseph's dream that saves their lives.
My rating: 55%.
A fictionalised account of the 1914 Christmas truce that stands as a testament to the positivity of the holiday. It has some corny moments, but it's a powerful one when the soldiers hear their enemies singing and realise they're just people.
My rating: 75%.
It packs a mighty punch in less than seven minutes. The lack of dialogue enhances the heartbreaking tragedy of the situation, and the outstanding animation perfectly captures the bitter cold and the warmth of the imaginary scenes.
My rating: 90%.
The effects on Jeff the robot are spectacular, and apparently practical just as much as digital. I can't say the same for the story itself, as the many overfamiliar plot elements aggravate its cheerless tone. Not bad, but nothing special.
My rating: 60%.
__Section three requires a bit of an explanation. Because I didn't want to start another game so close to the end of the year, I decided to watch a few longplays of shorter ones to fill in the time.
__First is BloodRayne, with which I finished off the 2002 set because I wanted to see how much the Uwe Boll movie missed the point, on top of being horrendous just as a movie.
__Then I decided to fill in the gaps in a couple of game series of which I'd already played a few scattered entries. I decided, since I was going through every Mario and Zelda title, why not do the same with Sonic and Castlevania?
__I've played the first three Sonic the Hedgehog games plus Sonic CD, and Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut is one of the upcoming titles on my playlist. But there were loads of other Sonic games in between, several of which were released on both the Sega Master System and Game Gear. In those cases, as they're just ports of the same game, I decided to review them both together.
__It's the same story with Castlevania. I've already sampled games one to four, plus Rondo of Blood, Bloodlines and Symphony of the Night, but there were several other games in between, including a few on Game Boy. And they're original adventures, not just ports of the NES games.
__In both cases, some titles will be showing up in the next section, because I liked what I saw, so I decided to download emulator ROMs of them so they'd become part of my collection.
It's fitting that the only way to gain health is to suck people's blood. It has a dark, sombre tone punctuated by gore and tragedies, but also features several anachronisms that led me to question whether it was meant to be taken seriously.
My rating: 55%.
I think it somehow looks and sounds better on Game Gear than on the Master System. One difference to the more familiar 16-bit version is that the Chaos Emeralds are hidden within the levels; the special stages are just for continues.
My rating: 75%.
These two 8-bit versions are almost identical to each other, and an entirely different game from their 16-bit counterpart – one that's nowhere near as fun, but still not bad. Here, Tails is captured and the goal is to rescue him.
My rating: 65%.
The graphics and music are fantastic, showing off the improved 3D effects in 32-bit. But I understand the criticism of the partner tether system: it looks frustratingly confusing, and the bloated tutorial put me off almost immediately.
My rating: 45%.
The gameplay is dull (it's another game where progression revolves around collecting items), and even for PS1 standards, the graphics are uninspiring. I do kind of like how your companion, Sparx, also doubles as your health indicator.
My rating: 45%.
The gameplay is nothing special, and the levels are unusually long. Somehow, the graphics are a downgrade from the first two Game Boy games. It's funny how, in all three, the whip launches a projectile to hit enemies out of range!
My rating: 55%.
__I should mention that I haven't bought BloodRayne partly because it's rare and expensive. Yes, I know about the remaster called BloodRayne: ReVamped, but I wanted to experience the original.
__Also, a note on Sonic 1 on Game Gear: I actually had a friend in my childhood who had it and brought it when he visited occasionally. At the time, I was fascinated by Sonic existing on a handheld console, but the device's batteries never seemed to last long at all.
__And I included Spyro the Dragon because I have bought the Legend of Spyro trilogy, so I thought I might as well see what came before.
__And finally, the games I was checking off my list. I finished off the titles from 2002 (including Sam & Max Hit the Road, which I was counting as a 2002 game based on its Windows release according to Wikipedia) and began the ones from 2003, then I went back to try and fill in the blank rating for Ace Attorney 2, with which I kept losing patience and leaving unfinished. Eventually, the lapses in logic infuriated me so much that I couldn't even finish it through watching a Let's Play. So I just read a plot synopsis to see what happens in the rest of it, like I did with Final Fantasy 6 and 7.
__And then, like I said, I decided to download several of the Sonic and Castlevania games that I was previewing through longplays.
__Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast is among them too. This is what the two Dark Forces games were building up to. I've been curious about Jedi Outcast ever since GameTrailers listed it as the best Star Wars game ever made.
__There's also Superman: Shadow of Apokolips. Yeah, Superman 64 wasn't the only game based on the Animated Series. I'd tried playing Shadow of Apokolips before, but never got too far.
__All right, enough stalling!🙂 On with the list.
With the involvement of creator Steve Purcell, I expect it brought the comics to life brilliantly. But it's a little too insane for my taste, so I had little tolerance for the cryptic puzzles. I prefer the Telltale games by far.
My rating: 60%.
The voice acting is very shaky and the plot feels a bit scatterbrained as it throws tasks at you randomly, but it expands Star Fox into a bona fide action adventure where the star is the delightful world of Dinosaur Planet.
My rating: 75%.
It's better than the two preceding games, but not by much. It still suffers from tiresome combat and labyrinthine levels, not helped by the lack of a map. But it's such a thrill to be accompanied by Luke and Lando.🙂
My rating: 65%.
It's the same formula as Super Mario 64, but with the addition of the FLUDD, a water gun that's very hard to aim accurately with these controls. My favourite part is the vocal rendition of the Mario theme in certain stages.😀
My rating: 70%.
You have a wide array of moves to play around with, not to mention flying at will, but their appeal is quickly dulled by clunky controls and tiresomely repetitive levels. Sadly, it's arguably the best Superman game ever made.
My rating: 45%.
It's a treat to see some familiar locations given the 3D treatment and even expanded. It's another solid adventure, but the humour isn't quite on par, the controls are a mess, and there are a lot of tedious box puzzles.
My rating: 75%.
The novelty of the first game has worn off. This sequel's littered with insultingly, infuriatingly stupid moments, and I'm already sick of the limited graphics. But it's almost worth it for the last case.
My rating: 45%.
Easily the best 8-bit Sonic game so far. It comes as close to resembling the 16-bit games as it gets, partly thanks to including the Spin Dash. The levels' final speed counter makes me wonder: what exactly is Sonic's top speed?
My rating: 80%.
Maybe even better than Chaos, if only for the huge innovation of being able to Spin Attack in mid-air. Every game handles its Special Stages differently; this time, they're in monitors with the Chaos Emerald symbol.
My rating: 80%.
The graphics are great for Game Gear standards, the music is good, and the double-jump can often get you out of a pickle. But they couldn't have made Sonic any slower if they tried! His walk cycle often makes him look like he's just strolling!
My rating: 55%.
I wasn't keen on the isometric perspective at first, but the outstanding graphics and music quickly won me over. Some tracks are recycled from Sonic 3, and I love the inventiveness of the final boss.
My rating: 90%.
The graphics and music are great for an early Game Boy game, but I guess they were too ambitious because it runs painfully slowly. Seriously, Christopher Belmont makes Simon from the NES games look like an Olympic sprinter!
My rating: 70%.
What a huge improvement on The Adventure! It runs much smoother, and you even have sub-weapons like in the console games. You can complete the first four levels in any order before ultimately heading to Dracula's castle.
My rating: 85%.
It's barely recognisable as Rondo of Blood, so it's more like a remake than a port. It's not as good, but still decent. The levels and boss battles are altered, so this time you fight Death on a clock tower instead of a ship.
My rating: 70%.
__I have a couple more notes on this lot as well.
__You know, between Super Mario Sunshine, Wind Waker, Star Fox Adventures, Metroid Prime, the Resident Evil remake and Resident Evil Zero, it seems 2002 really was the year of the GameCube!😀 Also, it's funny how the GameCube instalments of both Mario and Zelda revolve around water.🙂
__I went with the Mega Drive version of Sonic 3D Blast, but it was released concurrently on the Sega Saturn. I remember seeing it around when I was a kid, but I never actually played it. At first, I thought it was Sonic 3, because I'd never heard of the actual Sonic 3 – and never did until many years later.
__Well, that's 2021 effectively done and dusted.🙂 Now it's time to look ahead to whatever I'll watch and play in the coming year. Here's hoping for a lot of good things.🙂
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