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What…the hell…I just read…? (O_o)

Okay, getting back to my senses…I understand how internet became a weirdest place to wander around, even when it comes with trolling upon Japanese culture. But there’s one thing that I was really disappointed about in Japan’s trend…the strong hatred towards seasonal events like Christmas.

I don’t know if this problem still continues on because it spread terribly throughout the internet, but long ago many people in Japan really hated Christmas as they strongly wanted to cancel or destroy it. Not that those days were related to Christianity since Japan was more stronger on Buddhism, but only for one pathetic reason. As I investigated the commented users, most of them were singles. Exactly, they all believed that Christmas is for love couples only, and they wanted to destroy Christmas due to their strong jealousy. That is something I really didn’t understand as I thought it was a stupidest belief they’ve every made. I didn’t even know where such belief came from, but I’ve heard that such belief has came from an old JR Christmas commercial, stating Christmas is for lovers, which is a definite misinformation. I don’t know if this was meant to be true as I later commented “Oh c’mon, it’s just a simple fictional TV commercial!! Why the hell people would fall seriously into such bullcrap, are they really that stupid!?” I forgot which commercial was that, but you can still check it through Youtube, but I’d rather say none of them have any meaning as its just a simple advertisement for the railways.

But not just only Christmas, these single people hate Valentine’s Day too as they all believe it’s for lovers only. But in my case, its not for lovers only, but can be celebrated between friends and families too. None of these days have to be lovers only, but these people just wouldn’t understand. They just take things seriously too much.

I gotta say…whatever’s out there are just simply personal. Its no need to take it seriously. If they don’t like Christmas in any meaning, then that’s fine with them since that’s their problem. But…JUST DON’T FORCE OTHER PEOPLE GET INVOLVED WITH THEIR PROBLEMS!!!

Anyways, if this has nothing to do with this article, sorry for bringing such nonsense topic. ?

From: Japan Isn’t That Weird…It’s the Internet

Your point about Mega Man and Snake makes me think Snake is definitely gone because Konami weren’t co-operating. There was speculation they never even discussed him when Kojima said Sakurai should put Snake back in Smash Bros but I’ve always been skeptical of this. I doubt they went through development of the game and Snake never once came up.

From: Squirtle and Ivysaur Probably Didn’t Get Far into Development

Crap, I forgot to write a review in time. My review is below, and I’ll try to keep it relatively brief.

Sonic the Hedgehog is one of my earliest video games, which I played on my Sega Genesis (Mega Drive for non-Americans) and Nomad (the portable Genesis). I no longer own the Genesis version, but I do have the game via Sonic Mega Collection, Sonic Generations, and Steam, which is the version I played for this review.

Sonic 1 controls very well, requiring only the D-pad and one button for (usually) fast-paced fun. Sonic’s momentum gives the game a less rigid flow, which allows players to experiment and play with their own style. Sonic 1 is solid on a technical level, as the few glitches that I’ve encountered have been limited to harmless collision bugs. The game’s framerate is usually good, but it may drop during particularly crowded sequences in Marble, Labyrinth, and Star Light Zones. Sonic 1’s graphics are nice to look at and are finely detailed, with Sonic and enemies being easily distinguishable from the level itself. The only level that I think looks ugly is Act 3 of Scrap Brain Zone, as I feel that the recolor of Labyrinth Zone’s assets don’t look very good. Sonic 1 sounds good, with most tracks being memorable and sound effects not being annoying or unfitting.

Green Hill Zone is an amazing first level, and is my favorite Sonic 1 level since it has an excellent mix of speed, platforming, exploration, and difficulty. Marble Zone is a disappointing followup, since it sacrifices speed, fun difficulty, and intuitive exploration for block pushing, waiting for platforms, fake walls, and obstacles blindsiding you from off-screen. Spring Yard Zone has better speed and exploration, but the pace grinds to a halt when having to wait on slow platforms and the rolling Badniks can quickly jump into you from off-screen. Labyrinth Zone is completely irredeemable, as most of the level is spent in water that worsens Sonic’s control and enforces a time limit, which is not at all helped by mundane level design, air bubbles spawning incredibly slowly, and a boss that requires near-perfect platforming. Star Light Zone is my second favorite level, as it has all of the qualities of Green Hill, but in lesser amounts, as well as increased difficulty. Acts 1 and 2 of Scrap Brain Zone serve as a good final level, focusing less on speed and exploration in order to offer more challenging platforming. However, Act 3 is probably the worst level in the game since it’s a recolored Labyrinth Zone that is more challenging and unforgiving with air bubbles and checkpoints, and a hidden shortcut doesn’t fix these issues. The Final Zone is just a rather simple, though unforgiving, final boss.

Sonic 1 is a rather short game and isn’t particularly difficult, although it can be unforgiving. Sonic starts with three lives, which can be increased by collecting 100 Rings or by finding a hidden extra life. Continues are gotten by collecting at least 50 Rings in a Special Stage. The Special Stages are frustrating, as they hinder Sonic’s control and require the player to play incredibly slowly in order to know which way to go. This is exacerbated by the Special Stages being challenging to get to, the player not having many opportunities to attempt them, and the Chaos Emeralds that are collected via their completion not giving a worthwhile reward, merely changing the ending scene slightly. The most frustrating thing about Sonic 1, however, is that the player must restart the game from the beginning if they lose all of their lives and continues. This can be mitigated by using the level select cheat code, but it’s still an annoyance.

Overall, the original Sonic the Hedgehog is a good platformer for those who want to see where the blue hedgehog got his start, but is not a game that I’d recommend to Sonic newcomers or less skilled players. Sonic 1 introduced many of the franchise’s well-loved staples, but I’d recommend Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic CD, and especially Sonic 3 & Knuckles over this game. Sonic the Hedgehog is readily available on a huge number of platforms, and just about every version (minus Sonic Genesis on the Game Boy Advance) is a perfectly viable option.

From: Game Club #1 — Sonic the Hedgehog (1991) Roundup

The joke’s on you, Source Gaming! I’ve already read all of these articles! ?

Happy belated birthday to Daddy Sakurai! I hope he’s enjoying his well-deserved break.

From: Quintessential Sakurai Reading List

You hit what I was trying to do with the controls and art. Amazing redo of the logo by the way. I appreciate the in depth analysis and agree this kind of control customization is the highlight of the experience.

From: Bloc – Review

Exactly, things go unused all the time. Having an audio recording going unused could simply mean that they didn’t want to use it. It is not conclusive of the intents of the developers.

From: Featured Comments

Or maybe he thought the title was too long? Seriously, you don’t know.

From: Featured Comments

Who knows? There might be 100 characters, or maybe even just 16.

From: How Many Characters Could the Next Smash Have?

When you think about it, some of the series have earned the amount of representatives that people don’t comprehend. The Director would always consider on as to whether or not certain franchises deserve that amount of characters as playable fighters. Fans criticized Sakurai for “bias” towards the Fire Emblem series even though it was the rest of the development staff that picked Corrin for promotional reasons (And even Sakurai was concerned about this issue).

Some franchises (such as F-Zero and Mother) have always had 1-2 characters due to low sales, falling in terms of popularity, or being obscure while popular franchises (such as Pokemon and Legend of Zelda) are likely to receive 5 or more characters. Some Franchises earned extra characters (Kid Icarus, Star Fox, Fire Emblem) due to either adding clone characters in their spare time or the franchise(s) is growing in popularity. Wolf, Jigglypuff, Roy and Ganondorf were characters that are likely to have never been added in the Smash games that they initially appeared in if the developers had no free time before the release. Even the Mario series was put on a limit, for Sakurai was afraid of overshadowing the game with Mario characters and making it feel like that it’s just another Mario Spin-off game (he even considers Donkey Kong as a Mario character).

Franchises such as Metroid are likely to receive 1-2 characters probably because they don’t have as much unique characters as fans think the series does. The only characters that I see that have returned in Metroid were Ridley and Sylux, with the former being rejected several times while the latter appearing in only a few games with more obscurity than some of the one-shot characters in Other M. It could be possible that Sylux could make an entry if he has a growing popularity.

Think about it this way, if Marvel decided to make a Super Smash Bros. style party game, who do you think they’re gonna add? If they think of “go with their most popular characters” idea instead of “try and promote the next upcoming comic/movie” they would have to pick characters from the most popular of the comic book series (Spider-Man, X-Men, etc.) down to the some-what obscure (Guardians of the Galaxy). Some characters that have branched off from the original series that they came from (Hawkeye and Black Widow from Iron Man, Punisher from Spider-Man, Deadpool from X-Men, etc.) will have to count for their original series (Like how Wario, Yoshi, and Donkey Kong counts as part of the Mario series in Sakurai’s eyes) to avoid making it feel like it would be another Spider-Man or X-Men game and would have to avoid adding characters that were intended to promote another product (Like Roy, Corrin and, to some people at a certain extent, 3rd Party characters).

As stated in one of SG’s articles about Japan, the internet tends to magnify everything. We all assumed that King K. Rool would get in through the Smash Bros. Fighter Ballot even though it never said that the highest voted character would get in (The same could also be said for Al Gore’s campaign. Highest voted, never promoted). Characters such as Toad, Daisy, and Waluigi were begged for by the fans to be put in despite the fact that it would’ve put too much representation towards the Mario series at the time.

The best thing about trying to predict these things is figuring out how accurate you are. I was able to predict Robin’s entry just fine (since I’ve always considered him as the protagonist of Fire Emblem: Awakening rather then Chrom) along with Pac-Man and Mega Man but was never able to guess that Palutena would get in (due to my own self-made “No Gods” Rule because they seem too OP).

Also you might want to consider the pre-DLC final roster before considering the DLC characters. They were just added for fan-service. We could possible end up with 59-75 characters in the next game’s final roster (pre-DLC, that is).

From: How Many Characters Could the Next Smash Have?

With as popular as Ashley’s been getting in the past few years, combined with the sheer numbers of Badge Arcade badges she has and her appearance in Game&Wario, her possibility seems pretty high at the moment. She would also have a very unique playstyle, casting spells and flying around. Her broom move could be similar to Wario’s to match her companion fighter too. Honestly she’s one of the character I find most likely to get into Smash NX/6. She’s unique, fun as a fighter, relevant, and popular.

From: Potential Characters for the Next Smash [Part 1]

I like a lot of the ideas presented here – the characters are represented pretty well in the ideas you have for movesets. I do think that cutting Pokémon down to five characters is unrealistic, as it’s one of Nintendo’s biggest and most popular franchises. While Pokkén does exist and helps represent some of the other ‘mon that don’t appear in Smash, all of the Pokémon that are already in Smash have unique movesets, and each bring something different to the table. Personally, I’d have used the two extra slots for Pokémon – one to make sure that all six of the Smash for Wii U veterans return, and another to include a Gen 7 / 8 Pokémon. (My bet’s on Rowlet’s evolution.)

Oh, and I like how you flipped the Triforce upside-down for Hilda – that was a nice touch, haha.

From: Potential Characters for the Next Smash [Part 1]

“It was actually a temporary exhibit in a science museum in Tokyo, not a permanent exhibit. It also had educational purpose and wasn’t that shitty.”

I will like any article with puns like this.

Jokes aside, this was an informative article as usual, even if on an unusual topic. I used to believe all those “Japan is weird” stories, but it actually became easier to separate the standard weird from the intentionally weird as time went on. And it is as you say, a lot of things only seem weird because of unfamiliarity of the culture around it, or misinformation about what it actually is.

From: Japan Isn’t That Weird…It’s the Internet

Another great article, there’s clearly been a lot of effort put into this. There’s an awful lot to talk about, but I’ll try to keep things short and go section-by-section.

I’ve weighed my thoughts on a new Mario rep in the past, and I think as long as we’re speaking uniqueness (since that is a major factor in determining new characters for Smash from Sakurai’s perspective), Captain Toad, Geno, and Ashley are good picks. Waluigi is possibly also a good choice, but I don’t know enough about him personality-wise to make that judgement. Paper Mario might be too similar to Mario, though he has the potential for a completely new moveset. Giving Dr. Mario a new moveset is a cool idea, I personally wouldn’t mind it, even though I like the current Doc.

People have been over this several times, but I do not want a new moveset for Ganondorf. I love the way he plays right now, and I think just giving him a sword wouldn’t necessarily make him more interesting. If I wanted a powerhouse with a sword, I’d play Ike (and I do play Ike!). However, that being said, I would be cool with the sword enhancing his current moveset. For instance, his custom Warlock Punch that uses the sword was a great addition to his character, and I wouldn’t mind moves like that being added to replace some of his moves. I’m probably biased because I like playing Ganondorf more than I like playing Toon Link, but on the other hand, I wouldn’t mind a new moveset for Toon Link. I guess in this case, Toon Link already has another character on the roster who plays somewhat similar to him (Link), while Ganondorf doesn’t (Even though Ganondorf is a semi-clone of Captain Falcon, their playstyles are completely different). Besides this, I don’t have enough familiarity with the series to say anything other than I think Midna and Vaati would be great picks. I don’t think Masked Young Link will happen though, since he’d essentially be another transforming character. If I’m not mistaken, part of the reason there were no transforming characters in Smash 4 was (in addition to system limitations) that it forced people to learn multiple characters (Pokemon Trainer) or people would just pick one and never use the other, essentially wasting a move (Zelda/Shiek).

I’ve said in the past that I don’t like talking about cuts, and this is with my favorite series too D: With that being said, I’ll try to restrain myself. Blaziken and Sceptile are pretty safe choices, and Gengar could bring a really sneaky moveset with him to mess with opponents. Red is 100% not going to happen though. I remember hearing that when Bandai Namco was asking the Pokemon Company who they could add in Pokken Tournament, they explicitly said no trainers. Which makes sense to me, since its the Pokemon themselves that do the fighting and are the main draw of the series. I think a 7th Gen Pokemon is highly likely, but I’m not going to make any calls yet as to who it might be. One thing worth noting is that I recall Sakurai saying that he paid attention to the movies often when deciding which Pokemon to add, which would explain Mewtwo’s and Lucario’s inclusion. If a movie is released during the next Smash’s development cycle that’s centered around a Pokemon that’s not too overpowered for Smash, I could see that becoming inspiration.

Fire Emblem is another interesting thing, since I’m a fan of its characters. Roy setting his sword on fire for bonus damage at the cost of recoil is an interesting idea, I like it. Lucina losing her clone status to accomodate her personality is a bit funny, considering she was the one who literally poses as Marth in Awakening. I don’t see any particular Fire Emblem character bringing more than one weapon to the table unless they do it like Robin does, but it could be done. I think it’s worth noting that Sakurai intended Lucina to be easier to play than Marth, so it may be worth keeping that in mind for any future moveset she might have. Tiki and Hector both sound like interesting options to me, and while it’s not listed here, there was a great Dream Smashers article for Azura that makes me think she’d be a good fit too, as far as uniqueness is concerned. I think relevancy is the more important issue, and since Tiki and Anna are recurring characters, they have a boost in that department.

…This didn’t end up being short at all ?

From: Potential Characters for the Next Smash [Part 1]

You labeled Metroid as Pokemon in one part.

From: Potential Characters for the Next Smash Roster [Part 2]

The possible Donkey Kong choices are all pretty close, but I don’t see DK getting two new characters. My bet’s on King K. Rool, since I feel that he offers more to the roster than Dixie and Cranky do, as he’s a heavyweight villain that uses both hand-to-hand combat and gadgets, and though he lacks recent appearances, K. Rool is still popular and important to the DK series as a whole. Dixie Kong also seems like a good choice, as she’s had more recent appearances than K. Rool and is probably a bit more intuitive to design a moveset for than Cranky. Cranky is the most recurring of the bunch and is highly important to the series, but I feel that he doesn’t offer as much as Dixie and K. Rool. I feel that a Dixie/Kiddy tag team would be unlikely, as that’s pretty much a transforming character, and those are probably gone for good, imo.

Metroid doesn’t have too many characters in general, and most are killed off within one game, so there’s not much competition. Ridley is the obvious choice here, being one the most important and recurring characters in the series, but Sakurai is just so adamantly against adding him, even though it is feasible. I doubt that Dark Samus will be picked, as that seems very redundant and uninteresting. Rundas is not a very important character, and he gets killed off very quickly within his sole appearance. A Federation soldier would coincide with Federation Force, but Sakurai is against adding Mooks and Red Shirts to Smash, and Federation Force is looking to be an unpopular game. I find the suggestion of an actual Metroid silly, as it is a Mook that doesn’t seem to lend itself well to a full moveset, as it lacks limbs. Sylux would offer a neat moveset, but I doubt that he’ll appear in Smash until the distant Prime game about Samus and Sylux is actually released.

Kirby is in a similar situation to Metroid. Bandanna Waddle Dee seems to be the most logical choice, as he’s been promoted from Mook to a recurring playable and/or supporting character. Galacta Knight seems to be the resident bonus boss, but I feel that he lacks importance, popularity, and frequent enough appearances. Prince Fluff is a one-off character and looks to stay that way. Magolor’s had only one true appearance and survives off of cameos and popularity, so I doubt that he’d be a serious contender for Smash.

Star Fox was just recently revived with Zero and Guard, but I feel that it’ll never get more than three characters unless the revival is not just a short-term thing. Falco is a safe pick, as he’s a popular character who’s appeared in three Smash games in a row. Wolf seems likely as well, since he was in Brawl and is a popular villain/antihero character. Krystal is erased from canon until further notice, so her chances for Smash are effectively dead. Slippy might just get into Smash since he’s somehow popular in Japan, isn’t hated nearly to the same degree as Tingle in the West, and got his own spinoff game. I feel that it’s a tossup between Falco, Wolf, and Slippy unless Star Fox manages to get four characters, as they each offer something different.

TL;DR:
Donkey Kong: +King K. Rool OR Dixie Kong
Metroid: ~Ridley (if Sakurai changes his mind) OR Sylux (if the Samus/Sylux Prime game is out)
Kirby: +Bandanna Waddle Dee
Star Fox: +Falco, Wolf, Slippy (pick two)

From: Potential Characters for the Next Smash Roster [Part 2]

In one of my videos I make a joke of it, with the scene from “Léon: The professional” in which Gary Oldman character wants EVERYONE!! when I asked him for which pokemon he wants to see in the upcoming games.

From: Potential Characters for the Next Smash [Part 1]

One thing I don’t understand here: Why designate 8 spots for retro characters? Even if you still consider Little Mac retro (and he’s pretty ambiguous, since he was heavily based on the Wii remake of Punch-Out) and assume the Ice Climbers will come back, why would they bring in three retro newcomers when we’ve seen two at most in previous games?

From: Potential Characters for the Next Smash [Part 3]