Wow I Can't Believe It's Yet Another Updated List Of Games

So, I decided to update - yet again - the list of games that I own. Quite a few new games have been added to my collection since the last time. However, I also got a few video game films added to my collection, so I'll be able to review them in future VGFlicks segments. For the sake of not having too many lists, I just combined the two; video games first, movies second.

GAME BOY ADVANCE
DONE
Crash Purple/Spyro Orange Superpack
Mario Pinball Land
Pokémon FireRed
Garfield: The Search For Pooky
The Simpsons: Road Rage
Rayman: Hoodlum's Revenge
Yu-Gi-Oh! The Sacred Cards
(ALL DONE!)

NINTENDO DS
DONE
Big Brain Academy
Desktop Tower Defense
Thrillville: Off The Rails
Midnight Play Pack
Purr Pals
Flash Focus
Master of Illusion
The Simpsons Game
Puzzler Collection
Cartoon Network Racing
WarioWare: Touched!
Scribblenauts
New Super Mario Bros.
Drawn To Life
WarioWare: D.I.Y.
Rock Band 3
Mario Party DS
Rayman Raving Rabbids 2
Super Scribblenauts
Mario Kart DS
Hotel Dusk: Room 215
TO DO
Fossil Fighters
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
Picross 3D
Pokémon HeartGold
Pokémon White
Spectral Force Genesis (NEW!!)
Super Mario 64 DS

NINTENDO 3DS
TO DO
Pokémon X (NEW!)
Rabbids Rumble

WII
DONE
Castle of Shikigami III
How To Train Your Dragon
Wii Sports
Wii Music
Just Dance 3
Kirby's Epic Yarn
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Bass Pro Shops' The Hunt
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Drawn To Life: The Next Chapter
Rayman Raving Rabbids
Rayman Raving Rabbids 2
Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party
Sonic and the Secret Rings
Sonic Colors
Wii Sports Resort
Super Paper Mario
Fishing Master: World Tour
TO DO
Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors
Just Dance 2014 (NEW!!)
Just Dance 2015
Kirby's Dream Collection (See below)
Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games
Mario Super Sluggers
Muramasa The Demon Blade
Naruto Ckash of Ninja Revolution
New Super Mario Bros. Wii
No More Heroes
No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle
Rabbids Go Home (NEW!!)
Rise of the Guardians
Sam & Max: Beyond Time and Space
Sonic and the Black Knight
Sonic Unleashed
Spectrobes Origins (NEW!!)
Super Mario Galaxy
WALL-E
Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds: Duel Transer
IN KIRBY'S DREAM COLLECTION
Kirby's Dream Land
Kirby's Adventure
Kirby's Dream Land 2
Kirby Super Star
Kirby's Dream Land 3
Challenge Stages

VIRTUAL CONSOLE
DONE
Super Contra
Pokémon Snap
Final Fantasy
Mario Party 2
StarTropics
Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards
Super Mario World
TO DO
The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past
Mega Man
Paper Mario
Phantasy Star
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Super Metroid

WIIWARE
DONE
Yard Sale: Hidden Treasures Sunnyville
Pokémon Rumble
Reel Fishing: Ocean Challenge
Bit Boy!!
Pop-Up Pursuit
WarioWare: D.I.Y. Showcase
Play With Birds
Defend Your Castle
TO DO
Art of Balance
Deer Drive Legends
La-Mulana
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Sexy Poker
Sonic 4 Episode 1

NEVER OWNED/NO LONGER OWNED
Bugs Bunny: Lost In Time
Drawn To Life: The Next Chapter (DS)
Anubis II

MOVIES
DONE
Gamer
Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase
Spy Kids 3D: Gamer Over
Super Mario Bros. The Movie
Wreck-It Ralph
Scott Pilgrim VS. The World
Pixels (Look, my review of it had enough depth and covered everything I had to say about it. I am not reviewing it again once it comes out on DVD.)
Pokémon The Fiurst Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back
TO DO
Ender's Game
Max Payne
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
TRON
TRON: Legacy

IDEAS OF TV SHOWS RETROSPECTIVES
Code Lyoko
Kirby: Right Back At Ya!
Rabbids Invasion
Sonic Boom

VGFlicks: Pokémon The First Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back (Part 2)

Missed Part 1? Go read it here!

This boat just doesn't look safe.

One would think the journey is cut short by the mighty storm outside. How will Ash, Misty and Brock get to the mysterious island? Thankfully, a duo of Vikings appear on a wooden boat, with a cat as their figurehead, offering them a ride to the island. It’s friggin’ Team Rocket trying to snatch Pikachu again, but at least they’re helping move the plot forward, so Ash’s team embarks. Water or boredom; the choice is simple. That’s the age-old tabletop RPG dilemma; you know there’s something in the water just waiting to rip you, your comrades, and the ship apart, but it’s either that or the adventurers just sit on their asses and the journey comes to a halt. And frankly, I doubt seeing Ash and Co. play Monopoly in the public area while waiting for the storm to calm down would make for an interesting film. If the main conflict is that Togepi is chewing on a hotel piece from one of Ash’s properties…

Okay, enough with the silly tangent.

Truly a lair to inspire the greatest
bastards in all of fiction.

So, the trio bites hook, line and sinker in Team Rocket’s plan, but it fails rather quickly after a large wave hits the boat and causes their disguises to fall off. But the bad guys don’t have time to recite their motto as a second wave strikes, sending everyone into the water. Ash, Brock and Misty get out of this alive using their trusty Water-type Pokémon, and reach the island, where it’s unusually calm in comparison to everywhere else. Also, wow, what an island. This place could give most spy film villains a run for their money.

This place looks suspicious.
"There is no reason to feel any suspicion."
Okay!

They are welcomed on the docks by that woman from the holographic invitation card. To say her acting is a bit wooden is like saying a Snorlax is just a bit overweight. Brock immediately recognizes the woman as the Nurse Joy who went missing in the nearby town. Well, he’s better than I am. To me, it could have been just about any of the other 40+ Nurse Joys in the Pokémon world. Ash, Misty and Brock are permitted inside the lair the hideout the respectable creepy-looking good-looking mansion of the “Strongest Trainer in the world”. What nobody knows, however, is that another guest has arrived; a flying pink kitten…

As they enter the main room, our protagonists see that only three other Trainers fought the storm to get to the island. Our heroes are asked to release their Pokémon from their balls, and then the doors close in what is totally not some conspicuous CGI, I swear.

VGFlicks: Pokémon The First Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back (Part 1)

Now with more species than the human
brain can remember!

Today begins a new theme month: The second edition of Poké-Month! Yes, I know, we’re not quite in October yet. I know that. But despite offering only two reviews in October, I felt like I needed to start early. Reviewing a main series Pokémon game can be extremely long and arduous, so I will try to shorten the resulting review, but I can’t make many promises. Either way, I decided to open this new edition of Poké-Month by taking a look at the first entry in the cinematographic side of the Pokémon anime. So far, there has been 18 movies in the franchise, and no, I am not gonna review all of them. Just one. Maybe another one much, much later if I’m running out of video game films to review. The latest film in the series, titled Hoopa and the Clash of Ages, involves Hoopa the Ring Pokémon, and a dark version of himself, fighting into what becomes a full-blown war in which they pull just about every other Legendary. This can only end well. The anime franchise also includes 27 Pikachu shorts (and please understand that, for the sake of shortness, I won’t review the one that came with today’s movie) and 890 episodes, and then there’s the second (very short) series named Pokémon Origins, all the side-games and spin-offs, and who knows just how many manga series, both amateur and professional… Just who wouldn’t panic at the thought of going through all of this?

Long story short, I’m only reviewing one Pokémon movie for now, and it’s the first one. And I know I’m probably the 1000^th critic do be reviewing this particular film. Almost everything has already been said about it. Pretty sure that, if you’re a Pokémon fan, you know everything about it. So, don’t complain if I’m doing something that’s been done. We never know, I might actually bring some new points. I guess I’m writing this review for anyone who doesn’t know much about the franchise… and also because, due to being an adaptation of a video game series, I had to talk at one point or another about the Pokémon anime, and give my thoughts about it. Think of this as a review that covers enough ground for the newcomers and makes many precise jabs at the franchise for those who know it inside and out.

As is the case for many “First Movies”, there was a world to set in place. There had to be an explanation of the special elements of the universe depicted here. As a result, Pokémon: The First Movie was dubbed with the intention to explain everything in great detail, to make sure every newcomer to the franchise could watch and learn, immerse themselves into this odd world of colorful and mythical creatures, and...

Pokémon X&Y: Why Team Flare's Plan Sucks

So, I bought Pokémon X about four weeks ago. Great game. I might review it sometimes later. The gameplay is awesome, Pokémon-Amie is a lot of fun, I love a lot of the new species, I’m slightly warming up to Mega Evolutions (but very very very very very slightly; I at least went through the troubles of getting all the Mega Stones and use all the Mega Evolutions once in battle), and it’s probably the first Pokémon game in which I complete the Pokédex since the third Generation. Which, since it has almost twice as many Pokémon as there were back then, is quite the achievement. But there is one thing that annoys me: Team Flare.

Those outfits are so ugly.
You'd have to pay me to wear these.
Not that they'd fit on me, anyway.

Now, don’t get me wrong. They’re a creative group of villains; their leader, Lysandre, desires to keep the world in perpetual stasis and become immortal at the same time (in Pokémon X, anyway). Oh, and only members of his Team Flare will survive in this world, along with a few species of Pokémon. See, Lysandre starts off with honorable intentions; with the increasing population of the world and the decreasing number of resources, eventually a large part of mankind, and numerous species of Pokémon, will have to go, “if we want everyone to have enough resources”. *cough*bullshit*cough* So yeah, Lysandre’s plan is to trigger a genocide with an ancient superweapon that would annihilate every human in Kalos (and the rest of the world) who isn’t himself or a member of Team Flare, as well as many species of Pokémon living in the wilderness. Talk about extreme, huh? Considering the sheer number of similarities with the Nazis (which is kind of an obvious comparison, seeing as these games take place in the Poké-World version of Europe), it makes me wonder if the first Pokémon species they get rid of is Nosepass and Probopass. It also makes me wonder if Lysandre wasn’t a liberal arts major before helping Professor Sycamore… Okay, I try to lighten the mood with jokes here, because the rest of this article will be very dark.

But Lysandre’s plans suffer from plenty of problems. More than I can count, actually. First off, their Team, despite definitely becoming a threat after the seventh Gym in the game, is taken as a joke by most Kalosians. What's more, the only thing that even links Lysandre to Team Flare by that point is his flaming hair and his long-winded passionate diatribes that oddly enough seem to say just what the Flare grunts encountered so far seemed to imply. And even up to that point, Team Flare’s plans seemed just… weak. Like they were just looking for more money to pull off their bigger plans. Like an even lamer version of Team Rocket. Then again, I can probably understand why the Flares want to make money; after all, they had to shell out 5 million Pokédollars to join Team Flare…

Top 12 Power-Ups in the Mario Series

Like I said last week, the Mario series is gigantic. With over 20 platformers, over 10 Mario Party games, 9 RPGs with another one on the way (Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam), quite a number of edutainment games, ports, re-releases, spin-off sport series (such as Kart, Golf, Sluggers, Tennis, Hoops)… and don’t get me started on all the supplementary material, like the Super Mario Bros. Super Show and its sequels, the large number of comics, and the movie! And since the 30^th anniversary of the franchise was last Sunday, I decided to dedicate a second week to the Mario series.

A gigantic franchise like this means a lot of characters, a lot of enemies and bosses, and thus a lot of items… that is, a lot of power-ups. The Super Mushroom and the Fire Flower are incredibly popular. But there’s always going to be power-ups that are overlooked. Or some that become forgotten over time. Some are recent, others are old. They're all supposed to be useful, though some of them may be more difficult to master. Today, I’m counting down what I consider the 12 best power-ups in the Mario series!

Keep in mind that this is MY list. MY opinion. You’re free to disagree with it all you want. And if you were to choose different power-ups for such a list, I’m all ears; just don’t be all superior about it. Okay, we’re counting down!

12. Flight (Multiple items)

Always getting a little closer to Asterix.

I believe I can fly; all I need if a whole bunch of power-ups. Flight is one of Mario’s most common abilities, though unlike the Fire Flower, our hero can choose among many objects that let him soar the skies. It’s like it changes in every game. The Super Leaf gives Mario a raccoon tail that can also be used to attack enemies. The P-Wing is a “Skip Level” power-up, a rare item to use when you find a level way too difficult and you’d prefer to just fly over it. The Cape Feather, as I said in Super Mario World, can be used to “bounce” in the skies and skip portions of certain levels. It also allows a slower descent when Mario jumps down from a high ledge. The Wing Cap doesn’t give an additional ability, and activating flight may be tricky if you can’t triple jump. Thank goodness there are cannons all over Super Mario 64. The Red Star from Super Mario Galaxy is pretty cool too, but it doesn’t do much. The Propeller Mushroom puts the Bros (and some Toads) in jumpsuits and propeller hats. It’s not quite flight, but it’s useful to reach very high ledges, and pressing down while in the air causes the character to ground pound. Of course, those are not the only power-ups that allow flight, but the other ones that appear later on this list have something more that makes them stand out.