Saturday, March 22, 2014

POKÉBLOG 2014 #2 WORD OF THE DAY! 3/22/14!

speed run [speed-run]
noun
1. Video games. The act of a player/s taking on a video game related challenge, especially beating a game under specific conditions, as quickly as possible.

EX. I've replayed a lot of my games before, that's sorta the point of keeping them instead of trading them into Gamestop, but I don't think I've ever set out to speed run a game before. I tend more toward the Completionist route and obsessively hunt down every side mission and item (unless tedious). For example, I have all of the achievements in Elder Scrolls: Oblivion on the Xbox 360 (I'm sure that's not that impressive, but it was a bit of an undertaking and I'm proud of it). But after a frustrating round of League of Legends games, I decided to take a break and try to beat a Pokémon Yellow Emulator as quickly as possible:

The goal was to beat the Elite Four and Champion as quickly as possible.

Some of the reasons my run didn't go as quickly as I wanted were that, rather than focusing on maxing the stats of one Pokémon that could easily dominate the gyms and elite four, I was preoccupied with keeping a full balanced team. I also fought every trainer that I could and searched for certain items that were unnecessary. This play thru was mostly to reteach myself where everything was and develop a strategy for future Let's Play action. Still, I beat the game pretty quickly but don't have the exact time due to a glitch in my emulator.

Now, let's talk about my team a little bit:

BUTTER THE PIKACHU

The weak link of the team, Butter's only real assets were his Body Slam & Thunderbolt (giving him the sweep on Lorelie) for Paralysis, Quick Attack to speed out for last hits, and as my Flash slave. Still, I was glad I played through with Pikachu to remember just how cute but useless of a starter he is even in a game completely centered on him.

CHUNK THE NIDOKING

I've always been a big fan of the Nido Pokémon and I discovered, for myself, that Nidoking is pretty much the most OP Pokémon for sweeping the Elite Four. He has great stats and can learn a variety of awesome moves/movesets. For my run, Chunk was Moonstone evolved before I had my second badge and by the end his moveset was: Earthquake to take out just about anything, but especially Poison Pokémon like Agatha's Gengar, Surf to take out Bruno's team, Rockslide for flyers like Golbat and Dragonite, and Thrash (which I should've swapped for Horn Drill in retrospect).

Chunk is the King.


POMA THE NIDOQUEEN

Body Slam, Thunderbolt, Icebeam, and Toxic seemed liked a great combination of abilities to paralyze, freeze, and poison her targets, but Poma was too gentle. Still, she made for a great tank and I was glad to have used her despite the fact that a Psychic Pokémon probably would've been more appropriate.

GOJI THE CHARIZARD

Goji was probably the second most valuable member of my team thanks to his mobile moveset; Fly is a stab move that also helped me travel, Dig helped me wipe out Lt. Surge and sweep lots of Pokémon, Slash provided a good reliable damage dealer, and Flamethrower is the classic killer in many situations.

Charmander is still probably my favorite 1st Gen starter.

TUSKY THE BULBASAUR

Tusky is a simple boy. Tusky is a good boy. Well, he would be... If I hadn't accidentally overwrote Sleep Powder to give him a toolset to set up sweeps with Sleep Powder and Leech Seed. Instead, Poison Powder was a somewhat useful combo with Mega Drain and Cut for needs (I didn't want to waste time picking up an HM slave). Unfortunately for Venusaur, I always find him to be the least useful in 1st Gen games because of his weaknesses to already OP in 1st Gen Ice and Psychic with neither the tank nor the speed to make up for it.

ZENDO THE BLASTOISE

The funny guy of the group had to be Zendo. He was a clincher in situations thanks to his powerful Surf and Blizzard attacks. He also had Strength to help me on Victory Road and Skullbash (which I should've traded for Takedown or some other attack). I didn't use him nearly as much as Goji or Chunk, but I definitely appreciate Blastoise more as I get older.

In the end, I beat my Rival Numchuk after a few trial runs of the Elite Four.

In a real speed run, I would focus on Nidoking, skip certain objectives, and take advantage of the AI's weaknesses to push as quickly as posisble.

To see a real speed run, as opposed to my lame amateur attempt, check out the link below. Neat to know that my theory about Nidoking being the perfect Pokémon to sweep the Elite Four is apparently the dominant strategy... with which Werster, below, beats his previous record with a time of 1 Hour & 55 Min.

 

Thursday, March 20, 2014

WORD OF THE DAY! 3/20/14! (GAME OF THRONES SPOILERS!)






bannerman [ban-er-muhn]
noun
1. A person who carries a flag or banner; a standard bearer.

EX. I am a bannerman of Game of Thrones. This post is the standard I bear today in my fan adoration of the books and TV program, both of which I highly recommend, and I wish I had something more creative to say, but alas I am at a loss for words.

Regardless, if you are fan, I think you will appreciate the videos shared above.

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

WTF WED! BANJO KAZOOIE, BLASTOISE, AND VEGA ALL GET IN A STREET FIGHT...


I love Banjo Kazooie.

After Super Mario 64, it might just be my favorite N64 game. It is, technically speaking, superior to SM64 and creates a world of fun puzzles and platforming filled with so much character. Heck, if it weren't for the pure "like OMG I can beat SM64 a million times and love triple-jumping" nostalgia that SM64 gives me, this would be my go to game on the system.

Then Microsoft bought Rare and poorly used all of their properties...

For this, I am a sad Bojo.

Related: JONTRON: BANJO KAZOOIE: NUTS AND BOLTS!?

GUEST GRUMPS: GRANT KIRKHOPE



I'm not gonna lie; I am not a street fighter fan. I am not even a fighting game fan. The only fighting games I ever really enjoy are Smash Bros. and anime fighters with gameplay like in the DBZ Budokai and Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm series.

BUT, I appreciate whacky characters and I do own a copy of Super Street Fighter 4, just in case a guest wishes to play them some cell-shaded combos out with their favorite character.

In Mortal Kombat, it seems there aren't really any rules except that you can't help out another "kombatant". But in Street Fighter, the competitors are supposed to be in martial arts tournaments with fair stakes. Despite this, there are character who wield weapons, magic, and other unorthodox and seemingly should-be illegal tactics....

Like Vega. And his "claoww".



Let's end with a question:

If I were to do a Let's Play of a Pokémon ROM with commentary, possibly with a Nuzlocke Challenge, which game should I play first? Pokémon Yellow and Emerald are my two frontrunners, at the moment.

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

WORD OF THE DAY! 3/18/14!

METAL GEAR SOLID 5: GROUND ZEROES REVIEW OR EGORAPTOR VS. GHOST PEPPER!

Scoville scale [scoh-vil-yoo-nits]
noun
1. The measurement of the pungency (spicy heat) of spicy foods, especially peppers, measured by capsaicin concentration. Regardless of the fact that this is an empirical method dependent on the sensitivity of testers, it is the most prominent method of measuring capsaicin concentration.

EX. You should subscribe to Hot Pepper Gaming. The channel's premise is to get a youtuber, have them eat an especially hot pepper, and then try to review the game despite their mouth, throat, stomachs and bodies being racked with pain, heat, and revulsion in reaction to the peppers. A little over half a year ago, Egoraptor made his first appearance on the channel with his review, and it was hilarious. The pepper he ate before reviewing Monster Hunter 3 was a Habanero pepper with a Scoville Scale rating of 100,000 to 300,000 units. With Tabasco sitting at about 30,000 to 50,000 units, that means that a Habanero is about ten times as powerful. 

In the two pictures at the header of the article, Arin Hanson AKA Egoraptor, is seen before and after eating a Ghost Pepper or Bhut Jolokia, a pepper grown and cultivated in India, for his review of Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes. Its Scoville rating is much more varied but lands it closer to 1,000,000 units. That means it is often ranked about 10 times more powerful than a Habanero or 100 times the power of Tabasco. Some police forces in India use the Ghost Pepper as an ingredient in weapon's grade pepper spray. This means Egoraptor is in a hilarious amount of pain for our amusement. To schaudenfreude!

Monday, March 17, 2014

MUSIC MONDAY! MARIO & METROID SITTING IN A TREE, BEING WATCHED BY KRAID, YOSHI & LUIGI!


Today we have four Nintendo themed music videos:

We're starting with the official Regetroid Lyrics video from Egoraptor & Danny Sexbang of internet supergroup Starbomb (and Game Grumps) featuring Emily Hughes as the voice of Nintendo's intergalactic bounty huntress, Samus Aran. I'll admit I was a little crestfallen when I saw the video didn't include an animation like Luigi's Ballad, but I still enjoy the tune.


On the other end of the spectrum is a love song written by brentalfloss, performed by Alysha Umpress, and animated by Oscar Diaz. I'm not sure how I feel about this one, having no context of experience from the modern era of gaming, but I can see why the fans are divided on this piece.


Then we got an awesome bit of Little Shop of Horrors crossover with Piranha Pete taking the position of Audrey II in this awesome animation from Terminal Montage. I love the characterization of Mario, as determined hero, and Luigi as his goofy, sometimes easily frightened, but well-meaning brother that you normally miss out in parodies.


And last... just promise yourself you won't cry.