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The Zelda and Mario bits were cool, but damn, seeing them play the Dr. Who theme was satisfyingly appropriate.

This. His human body bot was Oroku Saki. I don't know whether he kept showing up as Saki or not after the reveal.

Poltergeist attack the town and you must exorcise them from each residence. Each home has been distorted into themed dungeons on the inside. As each demon gets stronger, the illusions they create become more vast and convoluted (from a small dungeon, to a large world). Once each home has been bested, the town is ripped into their world for the final dungeon/task, accessed by the well in the center of town. Adjust whimsical or horrific nature of the poltergeist to your and desired audience's liking.

Yeah, if they got the rights to use the old show's character designs, one would think the TV theme could easily follow. The 4Kids voice actors are pretty bad all around in anything they do (I hate the actress who does April, and they overuse her in their projects), but I thought they did a good job trying to copy the originals. With 4Kids, the fact that they cared to try was impressive.

The 03 series at the outset tried to stay fairly close to the original storylines of the comics. The turtles personalities were more distinct, the Purple Dragons were around, Baxter was black and slowly had his body destroyed, etc. But slowly over the seasons strayed and did their own thing. The huge reveal that Shredder was an Utrom was the jumping point for me where I lost interest. Now that they have two DVDs to a season, I'd like to check out what I missed. A few years back, the commercial machine decided the show needed a revamp, scrapped an entire nearly finished season, and had Flash Forward made to promote new toys and the like. Didn't go over well, TMNT came out around the same time, and thus the 03 series picked up again as Back to the Sewers. I heard the scrapped season is on DVD, but I haven't seen any of the show since '05. I guess Flash Forward was swept under the rug. The Miller style monologues were hilarious. I was impressed that the animators tackled two other art styles with their own and stayed pretty faithful. As a fan of the Turtles in general, the movie was a lot better than I thought it would be.

So... Who's seen it yet, and what were your thoughts? I'm really curious to see reactions from the different fans out there, whether you were one of the hard core original comic fans, the late 80s group that I would think many of us are from, or the newer blood who only really knew the current cartoon. And for those of you who have no clue what I'm talking about.

Wow, that was impressive. It fit, and you synced everything together really well. Very cool.

Not to mention SMW is older than at least a third of its user base, and they have a gift for strong opinions on shit they know little about.

I'd just attempt to take its food bowl while it's eating. ...it works for dogs.

That's pretty ridiculous, but it's been done before. Some countries just get left out for economic or political reasons. China never got the N64 until the iQue, seven years later and well into the GameCube era. It sounds stupid, but apparently this pays off for game companies somehow.

They're bitter over alterations like this and blame you as part of the reason they happen. But there are ethnocentric assholes out there too you know. America is God's country, everything great is American, "What's this ching chang chong shit, we live in America!", and all that jazz. I just think it's crazy that the US can send all its shit out into the commercial world, yet there are idiots who will never even consider giving other cultures a shot at sharing back. Who was the last non-English/Spanish speaking artist to really hit it big stateside? I thought about Rammstein, but then considered they might be too underground, have they ever been a chart topper here? Tatu was pretty big waay back when. And then, those two do use English on top of their native language.

Chrono Trigger, Lunar SSSC, Earthbound, and Super Mario RPG are all excellent non Final Fantasy JRPGs. All predate the millennium. Chrono Trigger had a great cast and story with multiple endings. Lunar SSSC had a hilarious translation and was just put together very well. Earthbound is a hilarious 4th wall busting, RPG criticizing adventure. And Super Mario RPG... is an idea that by all rights shouldn't have worked in concept, yet brought new characters, reinterpreted established ones (mainly Bowser), and was just insanely fun to go through again and again.

If they used a western singer, the issue wouldn't be nationality, just that it didn't fit Final Fantasy (something I feel neither theme does for XIII). Squenix may be trying to differentiate their two biggest franchises, Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest (which also has long featured epic classical scores). There are plenty of Japanese games and anime that used English lyrics or foreign artists worldwide, and not many complain about it. I think what's so upsetting here is that the deliberate decision to change the theme abroad is made on the assumption that foreign audiences are too stupid to tolerate/appreciate something different. True or not, I just don't like adapting things just to make it more "marketable" somewhere else. It only adds to the mentality of separate and completely incompatible cultures, rather than trying to break down barriers. Drawing the line is a tough call to make. Squenix is doing what they did with the Kingdom Hearts themes, except they picked a Japanese singer who already could write and sing in English. The songs were the same, with different lyrics, and Kingdom Hearts took off with a strong fanbase domestically and abroad. Nobody really complained then. Japanese horror movies are always being remade elsewhere, and I think those work well, as well as raise interest in the originals. The main difference here though, is that they two could coexist. I really doubt Squenix will try and publish FFXIII Special Japanese Edition (although Japan getting the western version is almost assured).

Thanks Coop. I found a used Saturn in box at a thrift store here, and wondered if it could play US and burned games too.

I don't think $40 Canadian is steep for either of those systems. I will also vouch that the Saturn should be your priority in an either or scenario. On a similar note does anyone know if the Japanese Saturn was region locked? If so, is it as easy to mod as the North American version?

Harvest Moon The game is quite bland. Repetition becomes old. Why can't I stop yet? Godzilla 2: War of the Monsters Like Famicom Wars. But you fight giant monsters. Don't use the A-Bomb. Streets of Rage (all) Blaring loud techno. Amazing moves and levels. Kicks Final Fight's ass.

Happy Birthday Mazedude! You're one of the best here.

I had the recent inspiration to try and put together a really cheap proton pack and be a ghostbuster. I've found most of the materials; the question now is having the time to put it together this late in the game.

I remember not being impressed way back when he did the first episode. But once the Axem Rangers showed up, and damn, I've been a fan since. This VG Exile series looks like a good way to make the wait between episodes a bit better.

I clicked on the link thinking, "Pfft, you can't animate sand." How wrong I was.

Alas, there will never be another Patrick Swayze Christmas ever again. We'll be gathering round the Roadhouse this year without him.

I have long enjoyed Total Annihilation. It's as old as Starcraft, which ended up completely over shadowing the game, but there's still a dedicated fanbase out there for those willing to look.

I hope you had fun at Soda Lake...

It's so sad that FOX has always given this show a hard time throughout its existence. Some things never change I guess.

Wow. I remember the trailer for this from about a year or so ago, and I thought it looked like a fun concept. I'm glad the reviews have been surprising (for a Wii title), so I definitely will check this game out.