Let's A Go! Illumination's Super Mario Bros. Teaser revealed!

The moment of clarity has arrived, yesterday rather, the long anticipated Super Mario Bros. animated film from Illumination itself has been shown off and at last, and in spite of my concerns (especially in regards to the company's recent input), it's proven to be very promising. To things in perspective, IMO at least, Illumination made 2 great films (Despicable Me 1 and 2) and everything else ranges to decent (The Grinch) to watchable (The Lorax, Secret Life of Pets, and of course Despicable Me 3) to well, crap (I'm looking at you Hop....), not exactly a great track record but it could have been worse, though I must stress that I haven't seen the rest the company made, especially the Minions Movies and the recent Rise of Gru (which looks like a return to form for the DM series and should basically be DM3 at this point but that's another story). Besides the idea of doing an adaptation of the Mario games, especially the Super series, is quite a feat for a company to do, especially after the um, not-so satisfactory nature of the SMB film that came out in 1993, even though it wasn't a bad film by all accounts. Although there was the Super Mario Bros. Super Show which is okay, ditto with the shows based on 3 and World, though Lou Albano is the most based voice actor for Mario of all time (damn shame he's dead now), and of course there was the book series which I enjoyed as a kid, but that's another story (pun intended). What is an interesting story is when Illumination's efforts in regards to this flick would end up being more promising than anyone thought, even though I had some small amount of hope for it. For disclosure, I watched the entire premiere exactly as it began at the time, and I got nervous at first which is a given but I got a great impression by now. Besides, it's something for me to get my mind off of bullets, bombings, bringing nukes, and bad orange people, so let's a-begin with my thoughts on the trailer, shall we?

Now, the premiere starts off with Miyamoto Shigeru-san showing up and thanking us for the wait along with Chris Meledandri chiming in along with two of the voice actors giving their thanks, Chris Pratt and Jack Black, of whom I forgot is voicing Bowser in this film (I'll get to Pratt later). They all seem pretty proud of their work which helps boost my confidence (of course) but by then I'm like, show the trailer! And finally the trailer starts off with Bowser Koopa's airship-world thing coming to invade what's presumably the Ice Kingdom populated by the penguins from Super Mario 64, and boy calling them adapted badasses (to put it in TV Tropes terms) is quite accurate. They put up a hell of a fight, though granted it's ineffective obviously but at least the comedy rights itself, and I got a good chuckle out of it, and during this time, we hear Bowser's voice which is pretty spot on, alot actually, though that last line where he says, "Who's gonna stop me!!!" is a bit more Blackish than anything. Boy, writing this makes it surreal to me that Jack Black of all people would be a good voice for the big Koopa himself. Not to mention, he looks pretty damn impressive, along with many of the characters shown (especially the Nook Nook or Koopa Troopas or whatever the hell you prefer to call them), exactly how I'd imagine they be in this film (I'll get to the other cast shown soon).

Then we cut to Mario being shot of a pipe, presumably, and smacks into some mushrooms in of course the Mushroom Kingdom and here we not only, for the first time, see the iconic plumber's likeness in 3D animated form but also hear Pratt's voice, about him asking what is this place, and it's pretty.......alright. I mean he could do worse but the other lines he says in the trailer aren't really impressive, especially where he says, "Mushroom Kingdom, here we come!" isn't really helping matters. Especially when the guy in the French dub does it way better, as pointed out by Yongyea and others, so that makes me wonder why did they bother with Pratt in the first place? At least the other characters shown sound pretty fine at least, though it would have been a golden opportunity to have Adam Sandler voice one of the Toads in the film, and that toad looks good, same with Luigi, as well as the Dry-Boneses attacking him. As for the obvious lead, he looks good too though oddly he looks like a relative of Fix-It Felix Jr. from Wreck-It Ralph if anything, which is ironic since Felix Jr. is practically an expy of Mario in the first place to homage the setup of Donkey Kong the arcade game, so it all goes full circle in terms of resemble, coincidental or not. Also he has a collar on him, nice touch. Though the least the trailer could have done is have somewhat more of Luigi so we can get familiar with how he might play in the film, but we will have to wait on that, as well as everything else.

So far, as I've said before, it's pretty promising for a company that has a generally okay film resume with two great films and one stinker. Hell, it's even more impressive that Nintendo green-lit this, though I suspect that the success of the Sonic films may have been a factor in influencing this for extremely obvious reasons, so obvious I shouldn't have to spell it out for the sake of not insulting one's intelligence. Still, though, I do wonder if this will be isekai just like how some American made adaptations of Mario addressed since Mario and Luigi did come from what's basically New York City of our world or that they were summoned from New Donk City that existed in the same planet as the Mushroom Kingdom did (just like in Odyssey) or maybe something else? Who the hell knows? But me thinks that the plot might be a combo of SMB 1 and 3 with many of the other games, especially 2, thrown in for good measure, though it wouldn't hurt to see Sunshine get a good representation at least along with the Land games. So much possibilities yet the important thing is how good the film is, even if it might be a tad predicable at times but whatever, if Sonic can deliver, so can his rival.

Shocked and Awed: Metal Slug Tactics Announced!

Now this is interesting, it just came out of the blue and it's very unexpected and all the while me and other people who are interested the Metal Slug series are waiting for the allegedly upcoming non-mobile game SNK mentioned 2 years ago yet have to deal with Awakening coming out, another entry has been announced, this time from the Frenchmen Dotemu and Leikir Studios during the Summer Games Fest. All this, while I was working out and getting ready to shower when I got wind of this on a fan club server on Discord and I thought it was a fan game of sorts, professional looking yet non-Nazca like in terms of aesthetics and sure enough it was a LEGIT game.

As you can see, it's a top down isometric strategy game that utilizes 2D sprites, just like most of the previous games in the series. And pretty good sprites too, even though they are obviously different from the Nazca made and based ones, but that's fine with me. Mind you, this is not the first time that the series dabbled with strategy before, especially the likes of Attack and its mobage ilk but this time is different in that it's not only made by a Western dev of the Frenchie variety but in being for the PC via Steam. And yet, I do wonder about how might the game might play exactly? I say this since, judging by the trailer, as it seems to use a method of teamwork, specifically the "Sync" thing along with using Slug vehicles in combat along with POWs to save but that's about it. In addition, it looks it might use the SFX from the games, to an extent, how much, who knows? The least they can do is have nice remixes of songs from the games but I digress. The animated cutscenes do look impressive, being more reminiscent of animu-looking Western productions like the recent Voltron show and Netflix's Castlevania (and perhaps close to authentic Eastern animated productions of Japan and outside) yet at times it's also reminiscent of the cutscenes for the Pachislot machines of the early 2010's, especially Metal Slug 3 the Pachislot game. Although some character designs look odd, especially Marco's who looks more like Solid Snake but Aryan looking; Allen looks more like Mr. Clean and that is funny because I recall a joke about that in an old sprite-based webcomic I enjoyed a long time ago (Metal Slug History X btw). Everyone else looks fine so far, especially Fio, who looks appropriately buffed which makes sense since they're trained soldiers, and of course the Rebel soldiers look great as they're exactly how I'd imagined they look, even though their uniforms are a bit different. We haven't seen much vehicles in action in the cutscenes but the SV-001 tank looks pretty fat to me; I mean yeah it's big but that not that big in like looking like it'd fit Fat Albert in it. At least the game has destructible environments ala the first game to an extent, only that it can exploitered to your benefit. Not to mention that the design of the stages look pretty good, almost straight from the games themselves.

But, on that note I do wonder if there would be plenty of not only enemy characters and hardware but also the other characters and hardware made specifically for this game? It seems like there might be, judging by the knife soldiers and perhaps the supply guys so there might be. Same with me in wondering how would the Regular forces look like in the games? They have to be at least slightly different from the Rebels in terms of aesthetics but not too different, afterall the main conflict is basically a civil war in the vague butt Globalist superstate, only this time Morden's forces are involved with some outsider rogue state country that hates said superstate for nationalist reasons yet are happy to aid the Rebels. But on that note however, I can't imagine the game would go deep into the story and lore since the series isn't known for being such, yet it shouldn't be an excuse to NOT introduce any new characters for this game, Regular, Rebel, Ptolemaic, or whatever. Sure the aliens and the supernaturals might show up, it's in the illustration, that's a given.

Speaking of characters, I do wonder if more from the mainline and spinoff series arrive? I'd fancy having the likes of Ms. Nadia Cassel over along with Redeye, perhaps that might be a given too. And would the likes of the Attack newcomers arrive too? especially those many, many waifus? Who knows? but I'll tell you what though, I'd rather have at least a few of them show up compared to having the likes from the fighter games like KOF and Samsho over. God no, SNK could use less of that shilling them for the better! Although at least I'd settle with the Ikari Team coming over, including their CO, Heidern, and maybe some of the fighter waifus too, including Mai, Angel, and Iroha. Hell, maybe non-SNK characters might show up, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

And yet, it's a weird coincidence that earlier this week, I was thinking about the idea of an MS game made by Westerners, although at the time I had Wayforward Technologies in mind since they made some good games. Not to mention, good ol' AngryangryD is doing the character art for this game, chad and based I'd say. Same for the composer, Tee Lopes, who did the music for Sonic Mania, a pretty good game mind you.

However, I am aware that Awakening as I've mentioned before, had been announced and is coming out as of this writing but since it's a mobile game, I am not bothering to write it about it much (regardless of how good it looks). Not to mention it's from Tencent, who is a tool of the CCP regime, of which needs no explanation for their antics since 1949 but I digress. I should note however that Tactics is not the big non-mobile game SNK's hyped up before, obliviously obvious sure, but that doesn't mean that it's not worthy of discussion. I do know however that this game shares the name of another game that came out long ago in 2009, which can get confusing; so much so that I propose renaming the game into something like "Strategi-tactics", it makes more sense than Ubisoft renaming Rainbox 6 Quarantine into R6 Extraction, but that's another story.

All in all, I'd say MS Tactics the Dotemu one is the best news from Summer Games Fest for me for obvious reasons, at least it's not another KOF schlockfest for the bajilionith time, as after all, MS is SNK's most iconic series and accessible too. I hope there's more to come on the way since I don't think SNK can afford to squander on this opportunity, even as the big one might be coming as of this post.

Predictions for Shin Metal Slug 2: Guess-etric Boogaloo

Deja Vu, only two weeks until the upcoming big gaming event arrives, which isn't E3 but rather New Game Plus (which I never heard of until now) and this time, there's no uncertainty that SNK (the Corporation) will be there and will unquestionably show something there that isn't merchandizing. What would the stuff in question be? we don't know entirely, all we have is a post from the r/SNK post about what the company will (allegedly) put out and an article (allegedly) showing that there are 2 Metal Slug games in development, a mobile one (surprisingly not related to the Tencent made one) and the big one, the non-mobile one. As for the Reddit post, I have a suspicion that aside from being possibly half-false, it's possibly half-true, especially the new non-mobile Metal Slug game mentioned in the Seoul conference last year, which I will take it as the true part given the conference's talk of coming out with 2 big titles per year as opposed to one as well as the game in question being a reboot as opposed to a "quel" one. As for the article, it seems to corroborate with both the Reddit post and the conference talk altogether, further reinforcing my belief that Shin Metal Slug will be shown off at NGP this year, making me all the more anxious as to what SNK has to show (KOF XV is undoubtedly a given for obvious reasons and probably might take up almost half of SNK's presence in the event), which brings me to my next point. Almost last year, I made some predictions about what the new game might be like and suffice to say, I could have said that they sort of hold up well were it not for the recent news about 2 MS games being made (including the non-mobile one) during this writing, of which changed the direction of this post altogether. So henceforth, I'm going to make another set once again, this time reflecting what SNK can plausibly and realistically do in regards to how they'll make the new game in addition to the article in question (and the game being an ACTION SHOOTER and nothing else).

And like the last time, I will make these predictions under the (hopeful) assumption that the reboot game, Shin Metal Slug, retains a military theme, the same lead cast, and somewhat similar (or even the same) hardware, all in 3D graphics, cel-shaded or not cel-shaded (preferably the latter due to my distaste for them but I digress), and regardless if cutscenes are shown or not; all unless anything comes to contradict any or all of them. Nothing is certain until the day the game is finally shown off, if it's going to be so at NGP.

1. 2D Run-n-Gun similar to the first 3 games.

This one might be the best case scenario for both me and the development team and perhaps others; basically the first game with a grounded war theme (or rather near-grounded) and setting (and destructible environments) with much elements of the other two games, the platforming segments of 2/X, and the branching paths and frequent genre-switch segments of 3. All in all, a mix of the first three (ish) games in one package, added with stuff that came after 3, including the slide mechanic of 5, the hijacking vehicles of 4, the zooming in and out camera function of 6 along with the character-specific abilities, and of course being able to have more than 4 characters to chose from. Who will those characters be aside from Marco, Eri, Tarma, and Fio? no clue. Trevor, Nadia, Ralf, Clark, and perhaps Walter, Tyra, Gimlet, and Redeye might be a given (for either unlockables or DLC) along with additional ones unseen and perhaps those from that Attack game but that's another story for another time. The setup would still be the Rebels vs. Government conflict within the vague world superstate, more or less, with other forces like that of the Ptolemaics along with supernatural and alien forces (Mars People, Invaders, etc.) coming into play, perhaps through DLC chapter packs of sorts if necessary. Same with the Slug vehicles, there might be both ones from not only Attack and the non-arcade games, but also new ones too; ditto for the enemies. And of course, there might be some stuff from the non-arcade games in question added (i.e. POW rescue missions, time trials, cards, Slug customization, etc.) along with possibly stuff from the prototype 1995 version (that has yet to be released sometime) but I'm getting ahead of myself; I should also mention the possible inclusion of combat school modes with the pretty instructor waifus (and possible husbandos added). As for the story, I wouldn't mind a somewhat more emphasis on it along with being more darker and serious in tone but well a sense of humor has to be retained, hence why I opt for it being like the first game (after all it's made for people in their 30's to 40's allegedly) but then again the developers might have other ideas. For all I know, they might go with 3's emphasis on supernatural and alien themes because muh MS3 love and the war theme of 1 be damned. Still, this might be the more likely route for the team to take in terms of setup given the need to be both appealing to old-timer veterans like myself and newcomers.

2. 2D Platformer Run-n-Gun similar to 1st and 2nd Missions and Advance.

Same as before in terms of characters, mechanics, setup, factions, and Slug vehicles, but only with more emphasis on platforming like the first three spin off games. Not a bad choice, given that I like the games, though the stages might be more adjusted to accommodate the platforming (not that the way the games in question were setup didn't stop them from looking good). In addition, there would be branching paths to other stages, depending on where you find the secret exits, just like in 1st and 2nd Mission; that and specific Slug and boss-centric stages too. There might be different paths depending on the characters chosen, though some might be almost the same for two characters each. In addition, there might be specific stages for combat school, with specific challenges for each of them in terms of mechanics (but that's another story for another time). Also, there might be more or less the same possibility of supernatural/alien stuff, though they might be more reserved for specific paths or just stages, but who knows? Overall, the second best case scenario for us MS fans in general and for the development team too, though not much fancy backgrounds to see in contrast to the above form that went for the bigger picture.

3. 2D Twin-stick shooter ala Neo-Contra (and then some)

Ditto here in regards to characters, mechanics, setup, factions, and vehicles, though this time it's a top down shooter. Though it wouldn't be the first time it went in this direction (MS Zero anyone?), but it would at least be more successful in contrast to that game, in terms of visibility and profitability perhaps. The gameplay and progression would be more arcade like yet have elements of the first 3 spin off games, namely the stage progression and character-specific paths. Admittedly I haven't played much twin-stick shooters to comment further but I will draw from Neo Contra for ideas. I say this since for one, there might be more emphasis on camera changes compared to the previous two in regards to setpieces and boss battles. That and the gameplay would have to accommodate the perspective change, though there might be the jump mechanic retained to some extent. I'm quite mixed on this since on one hand it would help bring in some new ideas to the series, but on the other hand, it wouldn't fit well with people who are accustomed to the old 2D platforming ways (unless this game isn't like Neo-Contra and is more akin to it's predecessors in not being top-down but you get the idea). So henceforth I consider this a worst-case scenario in general, even if the game would turn out to be good.

4. 3D Third-Person Shooter ala Splatoon and MS3D (sort of)

Like all the above, the same applies to everything though the game will be set up like the 3D game yet would look and play better than its PS2 predecessor. Yet ironically it might be the worst case scenario for the developers given the scale of this (and whether it'd be the same for the fans is up for debate but I digress), especially given SNK's niche status as of this post. So basically take what the 3D game had, at its core, and make it bigger and better, in that it would have mechanics and stages much more suited to the 3D environment (especially with SNK's improved experience with 3D development these days). There may or may not be as much cut scenes as the PS2 game had, but if there were, it'd hopefully be more coherent and have less mediocre voice acting (there's certainly worse out there but I digress). The Slug customization might be more useful here than the other three types above, given this one's heavier reliance on the 3D environment and the opportunities the stages might provide in terms of cover and terrain. In addition, there might be co-op added to liven things up along with other multiplayer stuff (admittedly I haven't touched upon this much until now given that I'm more focused on the single player aspect). I did thought out this a long time ago when the likes of the Wii, the PS3, and the Xbox 360 were the things back in the day (so much so, I've sketched out how the controls would work on the first and third consoles respectively), since afterall, I was and still am more fond of the 3D game than most other fans are, even when the game isn't all that great to play whatsoever. Still though, it's not too unthinkable for the development to fix what's broken, and the concept of a fully 3D Metal Slug game with 3D gameplay definitely is broken, even though it's not necessary to do so right now when the likes of KOF and Samsho-Spirits had their recent games retain their old-school 2D gameplay retained with 3D graphics. So furthermore, a much better and HD take on such a game would likely not be on the cards at SNK right now nor ever, but at least the experience of making MS3D would provide some lessons to be learned in both the present and the future. Last thing SNK needs is another radical take that alienates (or at least polarizes) most fans that end up not doing much justice to the series that long needs love and care.

So those were my revised top 4 predictions for what Shin Metal Slug will be like if and of course, like before, they might not be entirely accurate, since I'm just one random internet bum compared to a company like SNK and only they know what's going on behind closed doors. All I can do is speculate and nothing else, but again it's something to get my chest off before I go off to do my hobbies, chores, and life stuff before D-Day arrives. And when that day arrives, and Shin Metal Slug gets shown off at the very least...I guarantee it will make much bigger news than KOF XV ever will and it would be soo big, it'd make the PS5 reveal look like an Indie event.

My Predictions for Shin Metal Slug

A while ago back in April at some conference in Seoul, South Korea, SNK made an announcement that a new (non-mobile) Metal Slug game was in the works and nothing and I made a post about it and basically made a wishlist that definitely would not be fulfilled but still something to get it off my chest. So flash-forward to today, that damn Samsho game came out (outside of the Switch of course), and while it seems SNK would be just on the sidelines selling merch and likely just showing off that game's Switch port at this year's Tokyo Game Show (or at least seems that way as of this writing), the time is quite getting ripe by now for us to see the new non-mobile Metal Slug game, perhaps at the alleged September Nintendo Direct conference (then again it might not and instead end up somewhere like at PSX in December for all I know). And if there to be anything, it'd most likely be a trailer where the titular Super Vehicle tank appears in the way the intro to the first Metal Slug game had, followed up by title drop ala Metal Slug 2/X's, mostly rendered in 3D to reflect the game possibly being made in Unreal Engine 4, or at least that's what I think it might be so who knows? That after mentioned new Samsho game was shown off at last year's TGS (to my dismay) so why the hell not the new (non-mobile) Metal Slug game, even if it won't be at TGS? Though depressingly, the new King of Fighters XV might be given the most attention and frankly I'm not looking forward too it; last thing I want is SNK wasting most of its attendance on just KOF and nothing else but then again there are a couple other things for them to show off like the new Neo Geo "systems" and the mobile Metal Slug game that I do not care for nor look forward to see (had enough of them by now), but I digress.

So anyway I've jotted down my top predictions for what the game will be like presuming they would retain a military theme in all of them (hopefully no martians or any other supernatural garbage this time around, unless they come as DLC), have at least some of the core characters (and vehicles), and serve as a reboot of sorts (either with or without 8 attached to it); all while considering SNK's current capabilities (and rendered in 3D graphics no less and artistically cartoonish/stylized). Seriously I have been thinking about this ever since the news broke, like for every day at least, shows that above all I do care about the MS series alot. Still, no guarantee that one of them would come to fruition; hell it'd be easier to speculate on how and why Jeff Epstein was murdered but I'm getting ahead of myself. These predictions can be safely made out to be my kind of contingency plans in case any of them do happen but nevertheless no matter what happens, if the new Metal Slug game shows up, it'd be the talk of the town compared to the usual and expected KOF XV (and funny enough speculation of a major war in the Middle East as of this writing might not deter the existence of said game); though before going on I will refer to the hypothetical new non-mobile game in question as "Shin Metal Slug" with "Shin (新)" being the character for "New" just for convenience's sake.

1. 2D style Run-n-Gun Shooter with elements of the 1995 version and the NGPC Mission Games-This one would be the best case scenario IMO; a return to the epic warfighting of the first game with elements of the games that came after, with of course the premise being that General Morden stages a coup to despose the supposedly democratic World Government with a stratocratic Burma-style dictatorship because globalist reasons and the lead four (Marco, Tarma, Eri, and Fio) has to stop his military forces. The gameplay would be just like the previous 9 games with the same controls (plus the weapon change and alternate melee attack from MS6 and 7/XX) albeit with some new additions to differentiate itself from the others, what they might be I don't know. This might as close to being unironically MS8 for as far as I'm concerned but with the return to a more grounded war theme and a focus strictly on the Rebel-Government conflict, the other human organizations like the Ptolemaic Army and Oguma Enterprises may or may not show up. The reason why I mentioned the 1995 early version and the Mission games before in the same line is because this Shin Metal Slug has the branching mission paths, various objectives to complete, and escapes from POW camps plus the slower pace emphasizing a bit of strategy and use of uniformed POWs to fight alongside you; talk about a match made in heaven! That and the Combat School and Another Story modes thrown in as well! And destructible environments, which should be easier to implement in 3D than 2D graphics wise; and speaking of graphics, if anyone's played Kirby 64 and some of the 3DS games, along with Contra Shattered Soldier and any other similar 2.5D game, then at least they would have a good understanding of what the game will look like visual-wise.
2. 3D Third Person Shooter ala Metal Slug 3D-Truth be told, I'm one of the small group of people who think the 2006 3D game has merit, not just because it was the first 3D game in the series but also one that had potential but wasted (perhaps due to SNK possibly wasting its resources on the Maximum Impact games), compared to many others who think it's the "worst" game in the series and totally not the Defense nor Attack games but I digress. Anyway, the plot might be the same as before though the gameplay is much more akin to 3D, albeit with the controls being changed up to be less awkward than before (with the attack buttons used on the shoulder buttons instead of the front facing ones); and of course the addition of Combat School and Another Story might apply or at least some equivalent modes. The good thing about this objectively is that at least the game wouldn't look like a beta this time around, if it comes around.
3. 3D Twin Stick Shooter ala Neo Contra and Contra Rogue Corps-If Contra had those two games which deviate from their conventional predecessors perspective wise so can Shin Metal Slug. The plot is the same as before, though perhaps a bit loose depending on how they treat the story, same with the tone. What applies to the previous entry can apply here though the controls again would be different this time around; ditto with modes and whatnot.
4. 2D/3D Fighting Game-The worst case scenario; basically SNK's answer to Akatsuki Blitzkampf. I put this out here since the last three non-mobile games SNK made were fighters and I fear Shin Metal Slug might be one given that SNK didn't make one move towards making something non-fighter (at least not publicly). And if it ever were to be such, this game would just basically play like KOF and Samsho, albeit with a heavy use of firearms and military hardware, just to justify the military theme. Whatever applies to KOF and Shamsho in terms of controls and modes can apply to this version of Shin Metal Slug; I don't care if the gameplay is either close to SNK Heroines in terms of simplicity or not. Also the plot would definitely be very loosely related, just whatever it takes to give context to the game, whether it's retarded and silly or retarded and serious (just like KOF's had in terms of the latter).

So there you have it, my top 4 predictions of what Shin Metal Slug would be like and even they might not be accurate considering what little do we know about Shin Metal Slug right now. Still, making them is at least something that I can do to get my worries off my chest for but even that won't stop the possibility of Shin Metal Slug being shown off and all we can do is wait and see. Just wait and see...the last thing I want from the company is just another fighter game with the Metal Slug name and them plastered on it which would definitely not be a good look for some company who wants to return to gaming.

Update: rewrote the first paragraph to reflect SNK's current status within Tokyo Game Show 2019, which is unfortunate but details could change.

Gotta Go Ass(ed)!: Live Action Sonic Trailer...released

*Look out internet, Sonic's live-action. This motion picture's like real-ly crappy-y!* (I'm pretty sure some music folk will critique it but whatever it fits the subject matter of this post)

Today is quite an interesting day, not only did I have a good lunch at the Tomato Bar but also it's the beginning of the Reiwa Era in Japan with Akihito abdicating and Naruhito taking over and THERE'S GOING to be a CIVIL WAR in Venezuela or at least an attempted uprising to rightly oust that commie loser Manduro; that and another shooting in some North Carolina university...whoop de doo, cue the nuttiness from ideological vultures just like the last numerous shootings did, it's a clown world after all.

Anyway, aside from that, the big news is that the "anticipated" live-action Sonic film has gotten its first trailer and...it looks like retarded crap. Like seriously, did any of the folks behind it think it would even be good? There's so much wrong with it that I might have to do a little analysis of the trailer.

Now to start off, it takes place in the real world, in the USA no less. Why? isn't it established in the games that the Sonic franchise takes place in a fantasy fictional setting that has a USA-like country with a powerful military (aka GUN)? That and Green Hill is a town of sorts; yes I know that the setting has both realistic cities and fantastical landscapes but how hard is it just to have the setting be the way it was in the games, even if some liberties need to be taken? Secondly Sonic himself looks crappy and that he looks like he belongs in another dimension. That or some college project to impress some chumps that never seen at least decent CGI before. Not to mention he gets hideous looking in some scenes thanks to him having teeth, real attractive guys. Thirdly, the plot seems to be alot like Detective Pikachu and some others where a human and a non-human creature team up to save the world or somethin', real original and the film doesn't bother trying something creative to compensate for using that trope. Fourthly, the humor is mostly lame, the whole "baby in a bag" is absolute cringe (that and him making a reference to the Fitbit device that I use). Also I forgot to mention that the film (at least this trailer) really likes to use SFX from the Mega Drive games to highlight that it really is about Sonic, talk about putting lipstick on a pig.

Speaking of cringe and putting something that James Marsden guy's in this film, just like he was in that piece of s--t Hop film; it's almost as if it's another sign the film's going to be bad. And if you ask me, I never found him as a decent actor, he's quite mediocre at best and a bore to watch. At least the best part is his him tranqing Sonic in the leg, just like how I feel only that I want to kill his ass instead of knocking him out. Though at least, there's Jim Carrey as Dr. Eggman (I refuse to use the name "Robotnik" thank you very much) and frankly he seems to be the best part of the film, even if my first impressions of him were slightly amused. Almost as if he needs to work on being funny and entertaining instead of having his energy wasted on austistic screeching on twitter about the USA being "infected" by "fascism" (less said about his artwork about Mussolini's corpse that brought his nutty granddaughter on board the better, and yes that s--t happened). I know I brought up his politics but still I don't give a damn what side on the spectrum he's on, he better be at least work on being something worthy for some unfortunate movie-goers to have when watching this asinine film (Samuel L. Jackson was still fun to watch in that lame-s--t Captain Marvel film despite him being salty about Trump). Afterall, after second viewing, he does come across as at least funny and entertaining and is trying to make the best out of a crappy film, so I rest my case.

Safe to say, I'm not looking forward to this stinker and if anything, either look forward to renting it or a Nostalgia Critic review (of which I will rightly be okay with and will not blame him not one bit). Hell all it does is make me look forward to seeing Detective Pikachu, which already looks promising and perhaps awesome as hell, at least it got the source material of Pokemon right in many respects. That and I'm glad many others around the internet are rightly trashing it as well, we all knew it was going to be bad, not the absolute worst but still; I'm even sure the likes of Chris-chan would not like it, neither will some of the notorious Sonic fanboys will.

For Real? New (Non-Mobile) Metal Slug in the Works and My Thoughts on a Reboot

I know I haven't made much posts since my last one, though lots of crazy s--t happened lately, namely with Notre Dame taking fire damage, and Monkey Punch dead. But of course I'm not in the mood to talk about those two tragedies, namely that I'm more interesting in talking about something that concerns a certain gaming franchise from SNK (the company).

Nowadays, it really seems SNK (Moneymore) on the ball with not only getting more publicity but also making games (what with KOF XIV, SNK Heroines, and the upcoming Sam-sho-spirits) and this time they might make their first non-fighter game since the purchase by 37Games, and that is...*drumroll*...Metal Slug!

Now, I'm sure that you'd think that me being a long time fan of the MS series would be extremely excited for a new MS game that FYI ISN'T a mobile game (thankfully), to the point of being like that Butts bum who streamed himself crying happy to a teaser of the upcoming Star Wars Episode IX (and in case you ask I don't give a flip about what he thinks, I have no interest in Ep. IX though that's another story for another time). But to be honest, I'm kind of skeptical, nervous even, namely that there are many ways a new Metal Slug game can go, either as a sequel/prequel/interquel ala 8 or a reboot. Mind you, they did talk about rebooting it back in September, mainly talking about the possibility of a one-hit death like the original had, though frankly I'm more concerned than just that. Oh much more than just a mechanic, so sit down folks, this might be a long story.

Now first off, I don't give a s--t if said mechanic comes back, if it doesn't it doesn't unless it's part of some adjustable difficulty thing, case closed.

Anyway, what concerns me more is what kind of reboot will it be, especially in regards to of course the gameplay and the story, I mention story here given that the franchise notoriously lacks such even though there are a few titles that sort of had one, namely 2nd Mission, 3D, and of course...Attack of all games (much to my dismay but I'll get into that later). It's quite a bummer given the vast amounts of potential the mythos had regarding the backstories of the characters though granted this is a franchise where gameplay matters the most so there's that.

I'm probably going to be the odd guy out and invite controversy but frankly if there's going to be one it will have to be a gritty one, a dark n gritty one. Now I know that phrase "gritty reboot" will probably either conjure up failures like the Fan4stic one or Bomberman Act Zero but I will invoke the success of the Dark Knight Trilogy, namely that the people behind them (Nolan included) TOOK the time and EFFORT to make said reboot WORK. I say this since some numb-nut fanboys n girls will probably autistically screech the idea that a more dark and serious Metal Slug reboot will be bad n s--t but damn it I'll argue otherwise (especially for some folks from Hardcore Gaming 101 who disagree with me on this).

Anyway, I will make it clear I'm for a more serious and mature take on the MS series since that piece of ass Defense came out which convinced me the series is culturally dead (or so I thought given that Attack came around later) and that something needs to be done to make it something again, something to be RESPECTED not sodomized and molested and (in the case of Attack) hypocritically put new characters and s--t in just to make said sodomizing look "okay", you know putting lipstick on a pig or rather making pretty pictures on the rear of said pig after it got raped. I know I sound hyperbolic but that's the best way to describe the latter's business model, since after all it made money thanks to suckers falling for the game's unwarranted charms via waifus and husbandos, not that they don't deserve to be in the series (mostly) mind you. Anywho, outside of the mobage-molesting, I feel merely making 8 even with 3D graphics yet plays in 2D like some of the recent Kirby games would not help given that 7 and XX did poorly commercially, and that said franchise hasn't seen much action lately since then and suffers from being quite obscure and dare I say underutilized in comparison to KOF and Sam-sho Spirits. All this makes me advocate for a gritty reboot to change all of that and get the mainstream gamer crowd to notice; afterall, what better way to get attention than to do something radical (that's in a good way and not like removing sexual themes)?

Though said gritty reboot can't just any gritty reboot but one that can do it justice, namely by emphasizing the war theme like the first game did but in a manner more akin to Metal Gear and Call of Duty (the singleplayer campaigns). And yes that does mean taking the mythos seriously, I mean there's lot of stuff that happened before and during the big conflict between the Government and the Rebellion and I believe the best way for a reboot is to highlight that; not that the reboot needs to have a deep story ala Metal Gear but at least have something for us gamers to GIVE a damn about the conflict. Afterall, the war's like what take place in some vague world superstate in some alternate 21st century that oddly has WWII-esque hardware? Then again some liberties have to be taken and I'll accept that as long as the conflict's still about the Rebels fighting the Government in a "One World Nation" and that much of the same cast is around.

Speaking of the cast, I'd be mighty damned if any of them Attack newcomers don't make the cut, though I'd be lying if I say that I didn't like any of them. Namely Caroline, Simon, Midori, and Vicky are part of my favs (namely due them being very cute and adorable), though the others are at least fine or I just don't care though some have some serious design issues (like Rita and Vita's outfits, are they like trying out for KOF or somethin'?). That and their backstories have a lot left to be desired in general, like where do they come from and what are their likes and dislikes and such? Not that long stories need to be made about them but again they need to have their worth proven, if KOF can have a bunch of characters in it with some wacky wardrobes, then so can MS, though some can use some fitting redesigns (I made a few for Rita and Chunyan that I probably need to upload in a more completed form in the future), but there are other fish to fry.

Back on the setting, I can't help but notice that the games have a s--tty sense of geopolitics. Though funny enough Defense and Attack sort of rectified that with plenty of nations spelled out in the Attack modes, though still that is not enough. I mean I can barely figure what the locations the games are set in outside of those two and funny enough seem to be like modern times with again WWII looking stuff thrown in. Another reminder that this should be one aspect the reboot should address, there's this thing called alternate history which can excuse the fictional setting. In fact, it would help if there was like a backstory of how the world state came into being, though I like to think it would have took a WWIII of sorts (preferably in the 1940's to 1950's in regards to nukes) and an aggressive as hell World Federalist movement to get things going, just like one of my maps had (but that's another story for another time). Though I wonder how China itself would be handled since SNK is owned by a Chinese company and the last time China (under the CCP) was going to be depicted as villainous, a whole game's setting was compromised to appease the Beijing regime; still at least there might be more Chinese representation this time around but whatever.

Keep in mind that there was a franchise that retconned the setting to be an alternate history one, namely Homefront (the after mentioned game that had an issue with China in case you didn't figure it out by now) with its recent game Revolution that changed it from a "future" history involving a united Korea under the Pyongyang flag to an alternate one where North Korea "loses" the Korean War and yet becomes a corporate-ruled superpower. I covered that in a post I made almost three years ago and flatly trashed it, but at the very least it's a good example of a series that did at least tried to readjust the timeline so it wouldn't be overtaken by whatever current year-clown world event happens down the line. I mean it's 2019 and there hasn't been any progress toward a world government and good riddance, I do not welcome it nor any other globalist attempt to have something close to that, just no (and that's another story for another time and I do not feel like doing it anytime soon); that and many militaries around the world using some hardware that dates at least back to the 1960's at the least that are upgraded like no tomorrow (especially the Chinook which will make it past the 2020's by the look of things). Nope, nothing like what Metal Slug envisioned geopolitics-wise, and I haven't even touched the supernatural/alien/ASB s--t. Nope all of that needs to go, case closed.

Anyway, another example of a franchise retconning itself well timeline-wise to an extent is Metal Gear, which of course was made to be a "future" history changed into an "alternate history" (I use the words "alternate history" loosely given that it's basically OTL's just with the events MG made thrown in, talk about contrivance). The games may had some great stories (and some duds) but with the timeline being almost exactly like ours just with again the fictional events thrown in sounds like a cheap attempt at being "timely", especially with 9/11 and the Tea Party referenced (though that may have been Reveangence doing that to my knowledge); that and having some secret organization formed in the 1920's with the Philosophers as the "POD" and have s--t go almost exactly like they did IOTL up to 1995 reinforces the contrivance. I know it's not a good example of having a "future" setting made into an "alternate" setting but that and Homefront are just two of them that do just that to a degree and to be fair there are many more examples (especially the Psychotechnic League novels) but I think I made my point; if you want to have the setting taken seriously, at least get a good sense of geopolitics, at least Code Geass for its questionable plausibility issues had a timeline and map of sorts.

As for story, well the gist is that Marco and gang are wrapped up in the vague war(s?) against the Rebellion led by the dissent General Morden and other groups and forces yet we don't get into their struggles and such in regards to their roles; now granted I know story again isn't important but damn it if KOF can put some effort into the story (as s--t as it is), so can MS. Though frankly I rather take a story in Metal Slug seriously, provided if it isn't on a mobile platform, though in the case of this hypothetical reboot, it would have to be a war story of sorts focusing on Marco and many of his comrades. I mean if anyone knows the backstory, Marco clearly has a grudge against Morden after his friends were killed in the Rebel atrocities; sounds like fodder for a Beserk-esque story to me. In addition other characters have interesting backstories as well, Eri for one regarding her being a former spy, Fio in her relationship with her family, and Tarma for well being with Marco. Morden seems interesting too, for he is the guy who started the conflict (sort of, some sources say the conflict started before the Donald came but whatever) with a grudge against the Government's alleged corruption and whatnot, how deep is it is unknown. And of course the various other fellows, ones from Attack included, Red Goblin included. At this point, the key to having at least a good story hinges on developing the roles of the characters involved; after all I'm mighty interested in the conflict itself than the nonsense in KOF regarding the plots of Orochi Rugal Krauser-stein summoning clones of Kyo to impress his gay boyfriend Verse and Samsho-Spirits with Haohmaru fighting with that shirtless chump with red hair and that Akumasu dude.

And as part of taking itself seriously, there might and will be unpleasant things the story will have, war crimes, suffering, the various intrigues within and between factions involved, WMDs, PTSD, moral ethics (and morals), dehumanizing, and lots of deaths, not just of the many Rebels and Regular soldiers but established ones. Though personally I like to think of the Rebels as the objectively evil side that can give the Nazis a run for their money despite implications of them being multi-racial and multi-ethnic (the same way ISIS is), and the Government being the not-evil side but did some questionable s--t. Though again, I'm not sure how well their likeness to the Nazis would fly in reality, it ain't like Miss Black General that's for sure. And speaking of reality, may I stress that the reboot I propose be grounded in realism, more so than MS1 did. Again none of that alien/mummy/zombie crap, just two (or more) human factions at each other's throats just like MS1 and a few others did.

As for graphics; 2D sprite art is out of the question. Last time SNK did upscaled 2D sprites, it nearly went out of business (KOF XIII anyone?) and would have had it not been for 37Games but the rest is history. So 3D is in, and I don't care if anyone brings up the dud that was Metal Slug 3D, the circumstances are quite different, if SNK can make KOF XIV and the upcoming Samsho-Spirits game look good then so can the new MS. Though given the gritty reboot I advocate for is unquestionably in 3D and in 3D the aesthetics will lean towards the photorealistic side while retaining some stylization like how KOF XIV and some fighter games did; I say since I despise the photorealistic look which IMO is insanely unnecessary, same with cel-shading (of which the new SsP game employs to an extent), I rather take the middleman approach personally. Anyway, instead of having cartoony aesthetics, I'd would take a more serious aesthetic with an artstyle more akin to Yukimura Makoto's which again fits with a stylized approach. Though I wouldn't mind having some animu touches here and there just to help make some characters recognizable. Speaking of which, the military hardware will need to be updated to be less WWII-ish (provided that they apply) and more akin to modern military stuff, and I did the math; some of the designs (like the Di-Cokka and the R-Shobu) can transition well into the Cold War era and beyond, though some can be tricky (namely the Big Shiee and the Keesis), and that's even getting into stuff that's constantly introduced with every update in Attack. Still, a great care in how the updated hardware function is needed, especially in regards to physics, in order to fit with the grounded take. Though one thing is for sure, the SV-001 tank can still have the iconic treads and vulcans and whatever turret thing it has.

And of course, the meat and potatoes, the gameplay: now of course the originals were side-scrolling run-n-gun shooters with platforming elements though lately the run-n-gun genre hasn't been much active with just Cuphead of all games picking up the slack. Clearly, it's just not profitable anyone, at least in the mainstream sense; now I know SNK's a niche company and the last thing I want is for them to follow whatever trend is profitable to the series' detriment, especially FPSes (I still remember the COD-shooter trend to this day) but still they need to reinvent the series's gameplay to have it stay relevant. Though granted FPSes in the COD/BF way are not very profitable nowadays with instead TPS battle royale stuff is with Fortnite making the news. Anyway, the reboot would work perfectly with a TPS with a camera style akin to Metal Gear 6 and 7 (Solids 4 and 5 respectively) and that the action, while reliant on cover shooting ala Gears of War, would be slow paced and requires strategy, much like how the first MS game was kind of was going to be in the early stages. And by strategy, I mean more than just spam s--t and occasionally something close to a challenge, rather take advantage of the environment while utilizing the best tools and wits to overcome the enemy; not that the game needs to be like ARMA but challenging enough to get some nerves ticking. And yes there can be an easy mode that is still challenging enough to bear through, and hopefully dice some whiny game "journos" in the process (so much for them wanting the game to "respect" them if they can't respect the difficulty but I digress). Still, the game needs to be a squad shooter ala Ghost Recon, since afterall Marco does lead a squad of sorts and the reboot needs to emphasize that. Run n gun is out of the game, tactical gunplay is the name of the game, you game? no seriously tactics are a necessity aside from the point and shoot routine, sometimes stealth will need to be factored (the element of surprise as tacticians say); not that the game has to be like Metal Gear but at least a robust stealth system. In addition, good use of supporting forces will be a necessity, both land, air, sea, cyberspace, and perhaps space itself, there is a thing called combined arms. That and the mission maps being more akin to being between Medal of Honor: European Assualt where it's nearly open ended and nearly linear yet still allow plenty of replayability akin to how Metal Gear 7: Phantom Pain does (though hopefully not like take MOAR than 24 hours to beat the game); hell the gameplay can be summed up as European Assault-esque with elements of Phantom Pain for good measure. As for health, frankly it'll have to be the regenerating stuff most of the COD games along with others do these days and I'm down with it, though there might be some moments where there might be injures that can't be healed by the regenerating and some item is required, like some fancy nano-medicine to heal broken bones and whatnot. Vehicular usage is still around and will help determine the tide of war though they're not really like powerups as more like tools of war and can be easily destroyed if not handled well, especially by the enemy. No, there wouldn't be bosses, not in the way the originals did, but there will be plenty of individuals to take down, Morden included, and how you dispose of them is up to you. There still will be prisoners and rescuing them is a necessity, though there is a risk of them being killed and some being fakes.

All of these wrapped up would make an epic war fighting experience that while not in 2D can blow the socks off many war-themed games out there and surpass that of the first game, hence why I picked TPS, to homage said game's epic warfighting. In a nutshell, I feel a tactical TPS with many elements of European Assault and the Phantom Pain, combined with a more serious and gritty story with a universe grounded in realism that at least allows some imagination would be the best way to go.

But of course, this is all what I wish the reboot would be like and God knows if SNK will do something like that. Likely not, given how radical it is (which no doubt would rub many fans the wrong way but frankly I don't care), but at least there might be some similarities they might pull off in their own reboot. Then again there might be a possibility they might not and perhaps do some more different than thought. Perhaps the reboot not only might not have the same gameplay nor style but also not have the same cast in the same way Advance Wars Days of Ruin did in regards to have different characters in comparison to its predecessors, despite that game being pretty awesome in hindsight. Or they could pull a Gundam and have an alternate universe where it has some things in common but the setting and cast are different; mind you, there are like a bajillion Gundam universes even though the Universal Century is the main one, and many of them have different hardwares and stuff save for a similar design regarding the protagonistic mecha in them. Speaking of which, there might not be a guarantee that the reboot's Metal Slug tank will even be like it's counterpart, hell it might not even be a tank at all. Neither will the rest of the hardware, if the reboot will still be military themed. Hell, the reboot might have a different theme with military elements thrown in, fantasy, sci-fi, horror, etc. And speaking of difference, there is also no guarantee the reboot will be a shooter of sorts at all, it might be a TPS battle royale mode or even a fighter since the last 2 games SNK came out recently were such; I shudder at the thought of a new Metal Slug game being a fighter, I mean what can you do with it? Having the next game be a fighter would be an insult to the fanbase, probably more so than the two tower defense games were (though to be fair they do have fans...plenty of them...). Then again SNK came up with Defense and Attack and ran with them, though to be fair it did rely on a pool of mostly already made sprites to keep themselves unfortunately going (and funny enough at the time of this writing KOF is getting a tower defense game too even though its getting another non-mobile game but that's another topic for another time). Still, the possibilities are insanely endless but frankly mostly undesirable IMO.

For all I know, SNK might go the way having the setting be about "teh evol Drumpf lookalike runz a Nazi sty-ohl Empire oppressin n exterminatin POCs and teh Resistance gotta punch dem Nazis tuh seyv deh dey", something like the new Wolfenstein games but much more cringey and pandering to the far-left loons. That and having the gameplay be like a lame-ass walking simulator only with "push X to shoot" quick time events to give the illustion of a thrill, just to justify having the "Metal Slug" name on it. Oh and maybe change the character roster to be more "diverse" never mind the idea of just adding non-white and non-cishet folks. Unlikely sure, but given the whole nutty hysteria about a supposed rise in far-right activism, there might be some SJW groups to push for that (afterall failure to do so would be considered "apolitical"); I mean Marco Rossi sure looks kind of "Alt-Right" to them and knowing them they would get offended at that and many other things, I really hate to see the reactions places like ResetEra will make but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Still nothing is guaranteed, and honestly I could have made alot more speculations on what direction a reboot would go but they would take up much more space and be better written on other posts, that and I'm not in the mood to do so. For all we know, the next non-mobile game might not even be a reboot but merely a -quel with 8 on it, but then again Soul Calibur had a "6" that ironically is a reboot of sorts so the same might possibly happen with the MS series. Then again, it might not even materialize at all, just like how the planned crossover with World War Toons turned out.

Other than the last part, the sky's the limit, at least within SNK's limits, but to quote the Genie from Disney's Aladdin, "here's hopin'".

Oh yeah there's talk of more Neo Geo stuff that aren't Neo Geo minis but frankly I don't give a damn.

Slug in Arms! Metal Slug is crossing over with World War Toons!!

(originally I intended this post to be about my disappointment with Samurai Spirits/Shodown being announced since I care little for the series just like KOF but recent events changed my mood)

Holy hell, I figured this was coming but I never thought that SNK would go through with it, the Metal Slug franchise is crossing over...again, this time with none other than World War Toons, a VR FPS game for the PS4 that's well very cartoony and takes pretty silly liberties with the historical setting (which at least is more forgivable and understandable than BF5 does, though I still want me swastikas...not that I'm a fan of Nazism mind you, lord no, but I digress). And given that the two franchises are technically cartoonish, military themed franchises where realism often goes to the sidelines for the sake of not taking themselves seriously, it seems to be a perfect fit for a cross over between them, though WWT takes place in a WWII setting while MS takes place in a pseudo-modern-ish setting that was sort of WWII-esque but not really so since MS2. And yeah I know it's going to be in a FPS perspective but frankly I don't give a damn, neither do I about the possibility of some of the Metal Slug Asstack waifus making appearances (though it'd be funny to have MS-Alice be a playable character, albeit in her Slug tank). That and it's all in 3D, 3D rendered and by golly they look pretty good; like holy s--t check out these models of Marco and Eri:

And of course there's the titular SV-001 tank to feast your eyes on but I couldn't get a good image link here so you have to go to the text link yourself. Still, they're all mighty better than what they looked like in Metal Slug 3D. Granted I didn't think the style in that game was bad but still SNK could have done better and that of course we have Studio Roqovan succeeding where SNK stumbled. And speaking of SNK (Moneymore), quite frankly, I did fear that the company would have opted to have KOF or Samsho-Spirits be the crossing over franchise since the two are more well known than MS and that the two did appear in fantasy settings...fantasy settings! Thankfully my hopes have come to fruition and now MS is getting represented at last, and in 3D no less (HD 3D graphics mind you). The last time MS did crossover was with Battle Cats...in a mobile tower defense game with the old Neo Geo sprites and that disappointed me given that I felt the MS could have done better (and chosen a better franchise to crossover with though I'm willing to bet Battle Cats is somewhat more fun to play than both Derpfense and Asstack altogether but I digress). Still, this crossover is part of what I have advocated for ever since the damn company's like gettting into the liscensing business and getting back into video game development, cuz you know, the MS series NEEDS REPRESENTATION at least!? Something that SNK often FUMBLES, MUMBLES, and STUMBLES time and again with their unwise decision to put them in mobage apartheid (which I do not need to revist) and having much of their stickers be in the aftermentioned sprite form instead of like having someone like Falcoon draw stuff on them like he did with KOF (hell I wouldn't have cared if it was Dai doing it). Yeah I may have nick picked the merchanizing aspect but still I can't help but feel like SNK has almost no idea what to do with the series but at least this news proves that now the Slug is getting the representation it deserves and I don't care if it does in 2D or 3D (or both).

Still, this is good news for the franchise and I'm glad that the MS is getting a crossover in a good way and not in a mobage at least. Heck at this point, hopefully it'd open the road to other possibilities with other franchises like World of Tanks, Armored Warfare, and wait for it...Smash Bros. Ultimate. SNK ought to have it be featured in the upcoming game with Marco being a playable fighter and the team being "different colors" of sorts, similar to how Bowser Jr and the Koopalings are respectively if you know how they go; but then again that's another discussion for another time. Still, to quote Syndrome from the Incredibles, "oh man! I'm still geeking out about it!". You done good SNK, you done good...for once.