The re-release of Final Fantasy VII has rekindled the flames of hatred for the game and I personally do not understand why this game is so often lauded or decried. I feel that a lot of people use Final Fantasy VII as the point in time when Final Fantasy lost its way. It ditched the old medieval fantasy setting the other games had and had a pretty dense story with cut scenes and flashy hair. I would argue, however, that Final Fantasy VII is a natural progression from Final Fantasy IV and VI. Cecil, the protagonist of Final Fantasy IV, is an emo brooding knight on a path for redemption and was a precursor to the emo brooding soldier named Cloud in Final Fantasy VII. Compared to the first three games, the story of Final Fantasy IV was massive and cinematic. While there were no pre-rendered cuts scenes, there were scenes acted out with sprites that actually made you feel a connection to the characters. This was furthered in Final Fantasy VI whose story is vast and follows many characters on seemingly different paths that converge on main story line. Final Fantasy IV and VI even deal with the deaths of characters that were important to the story line. The pre-rendered cutscenese, flashy summons, and melodramatic story of Final Fantasy VII is just an evolution of these tools and concepts from IV and VI using the new hardware capabilities of the PlayStation.
So why does everyone give Final Fantasy VII such a hard time? It deals with many elements that people applauded previous games for and does it in a new and fresh setting. Furthermore, Final Fantasy VII was a giant quest offering 100+ hours of content if you really want to do it. The reason for the hate, I believe, is the internet. For many people, Final Fantasy IV and VI were their first Final Fantasy game and these people have a strong connection with them. If they were young enough, some people may have fantasized about being in these games or drew pictures of the characters, but there was no outlet where these people could really be brought together. In 1997, the Internet had become main stream enough that the average PlayStation owner could find a Final Fantasy VII forum and let their mind run wild.
The craziest Final Fantasy VII fans, who write fan fiction or name their cats Sephiroth, probably experienced this game when they were young and connected with other people on forums while playing it which made their obsession worse. Imagine the amount of Cecil and Kane bullshit that would have popped up if the Internet was big back in 1991. By experiencing those early games in relative seclusion/ people eventually grew out of those games and moved on. I think the rabid Final Fantasy VII fanfare on the Internet allowed people to never get over Aerith or Cloud and their obsession and shameless devotion caused a backlash in the community that has created such a polarized view on Final Fantasy VII
I grew up in the late 90s onwards to around '09. The years between 98-09 were some of the weirdest and uncomfortable moments of my life. From liking girls to puberty to figuring out where to go to college, it was a giant mess of hormones, emotions, and alienation. But that is growing up and everyone went through it. It is fun to think back to those years and remember who you used to be and what you used to like. So in this series I will discuss what influenced me while I grew up.
Good Charlotte released The Young and the Hopeless in 2002, which I would consider to be around the height of the pop punk craze. It was around this time blink-182 released Take Off Your Pants and Jacket, New Found Glory released Sticks and Stones, and Sum 41 released Does This Look Infected. So in the midst of these giant bands why did Good Charlotte stand out?
Good Charlotte was basically punk for pre-teens and early teens. Their songs had punk subjects mixed with an amazing upbeat pop punk tone. While bands like the Dead Kennedys appealed to an older crowd, Good Charlotte spoke to younger teens with a softer message. Just compare The Sex Pistol's "Holidays in the Sun" about the Berlin Wall to Good Charlotte's "Boys and Girls", a song about about how girls only like rich guys.
I will admit I only listened to 3 Good Charlotte songs but that is all I ever needed out of them. "The Anthem", "Lifestyles of the Rich and the Famous" and "Girls and Boys" are the greatest Good Charlotte songs and some of the best pop punk made that year.
Sum 41 had similar elements, but Good Charlotte was way cooler by taking a twelve year's old idea of what a badass was and turning it into a real person.
In 2002, Benji Madden was the coolest dude I had ever seen in my entire life. He had the classic punk spike head, was covered in tattoos and piercings, and had some juggalo inspired make up on. As a confused and angsty boy, I wanted nothing more than to look and be this man. I remember going to a middle school mixer and my friend showed up with his hair done just like that. I was so jealous. I never understood hair gel and still don't to ever attempt such a feat. Nor did I have the money to afford the Pac Sun clothes necessary to emulate my favorite Good Charlotte band member.
Am I embarrassed to admit that I admired Benji? No. I still think he looks cool. He personifies the '01-'04 pop punk look. 70s and 80s punk hair with a black shirt and like khaki/black shorts. I think that look is so cool. I never had the money to afford any cool clothes back then so I am forced to dress like a member of Sum 41 in 2013 with the fashion money I finally have.
The main event of the 2013 Royal Rumble was a disappointment and a failure in story telling and I believe the blame belongs to the Rock. The Rock never made it believable that he could win that match and the way he won was not believable either. In fact, not once in the lead up to the very end did I feel that CM Punk was threatened in any way.
First, we will address the physical aspect of the match. The Rock cannot wrestle anymore. This was true last year against Cena and is true now. Let us look at a comparison of The Rock's spine busters.
Here is The Rock performing the classic spine buster. Notice how his right leg jiggles a bit when he picks up Kane and how he springs up instantly from the move like he is a spring. It is a beautiful move that he obviously put time and effort into perfecting.
Now look at how modern Rock does it.
There is no spring or fluidity to the move. It looks sloppy.
It can be argued that The Rock has bulked up since he last appearance and is sacrificing finesse for size. Maybe he cannot do what he used to because of his age and stress on his body. That may be the case.
However, it is more than just the spine buster that is the problem. The spine buster is just the most noticable representation of the issue. From the mid 90s to the mid 00s, The Rock was flashy and The Rock was fluid. These traits come from practice. The Rock has not wrestled since Wrestlemania and before that even longer. His ring rust shows and it is gross. The same happened to Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker. You cannot expect to wrestle like you used to if you only do it once a year. Training for a month in a warehouse will not cut it. You need to be in front of a crowd on TV practicing for a year to get back into the swing of things. It is insulting to the crowd to have all this build up and then wrestle a shitty match because you did not put the effort in to prepare.
This ring rust also manifested itself in the Rock's mic work. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what happened to The Rock's mic work and I finally figured out why it has failed. The Rock has become desperate to be a face and to try and hide the fact that he is a annual wrestler. It is in his best interest to make the crowd forget that he comes and goes as he pleases. In 2002, The Rock was supposed to wrestle Lesnar at SummerSam as a face. This during The Rock's big movie phase and he was often dropping the belt so he could film another movie. The crowd, tired of him coming and going, turned on him and at SummerSlam, The Rock was heckled and booed like a heel. The Rock used this to make his last heel run as Hollywood Rock.
Unlike in early the 2000s, The Rock does not have the luxury of being a heel; he needs to be a face. He is competing against the #1 heel in the company and the best person on the mic since The Rock. So when The Rock returns from Hollywood and he needs to convince the crowd that he is a person of the people which is why he spent so much time trying to relate to them and pandered super hard every time he was on the mic.
The Rock and pandering is a funny thing. When The Rock hit the scene in the 90s as Rocky Maivia, he tried desperately to be a face and to appeal to the fans. The crowd turned on him because he was trying too hard to be liked and the crowd began chanting "Die, Rocky! Die!" This same situation is happening again now with The Rock.
The Rock in his prime was born from a heel persona that did not want to be liked. He said what he wanted and often at the expense of the crowd but he did it with charisma. When he switched to a face, the crowd was already deeply invested in his character and catchphrases. In 2013, we have Dwayne Johnson in the ring forcing catchphrases like Cookie Puss and Fruity Pebble and is saying what he thinks the crowd wants to hear rather than speaking as the character.
Also, when on the mic, Dwayne was clearly out of practice. He was repeating himself a lot to stall for time, he had a nervous energy, and he was not saying anything of value. His pre-match promo for the Royal Rumble was nonsense pandering that no one cared about. I do not remember one thing he said in that promo.
Let us compare 2 promos. Here is one from Smackdown! a couple of weeks ago.
Listen to how he is trying so hard to relate to the crowd. Listen to how he seems so eager to be liked. He is trying to show emotion and interest but it comes off as fake because he is not genuine in what he is saying.
Now let's look at a promo from 2000
This promo feels right. The crowd is eating it up because he is being The Rock. His insults are funny, his speech is natural and it seems like he is talking with his heart, not his brain.
Now you put an out of practice, desperate Dwayne Johnson against the greatest mouth in the WWE and he gets demonolished. Punk's "Boxing with God" promo was a nuclear bomb on the Rock's pitiful attempt to combat Punk on the mic. Don't believe me? Watch this and tell me who won.
So to review, leading into this match, you had a desperate Rock pandering super hard to the crowd, getting destroyed on the mic by Punk, and who has not wrestled on TV for a year. Does it seem reasonable to you that The Rock would beat the 400+ day champion who has wrestled every week for more than a couple of years and is the best in the company? Logically speaking, it would not make sense that The Rock would win especially after his piss poor display of wrestling at last year's Wrestlemania.
So we get to the actual match. Starts with some good emotion with Punk and The Rock trading punches. They quickly get outside of the ring where the crowd chants Punk's name the way the millions...and millions of Rock's fans used to. Now there was some funny parts with Punk. The match had typical back and forth where Punk was in control, then the Rock was in control. Nothing seemed to be really happening in the match. They traded submissions but they occurred so early in the match that there was no sense fear or suspense.
Then the Rock tried to Rock Bottom Punk through the Spanish announce table and it collapsed under their weight so he just did it on the outside. I know that was not in their control but it just furthered the mediocre feeling of the match. They made it back into the ring eventually and The Shield interfered before the People's Elbow by slamming The Rock through a table. Punk won. Vinny restarted the match. Punk continued to beat the shit out of the Rock and yet The Rock wins with a Spine Buster and People's Elbow. Match over.
What was wrong with this match? 1. It was by the numbers. It was nothing but a long RAW caliber match. There was not much drama in the match and there were not many (if any) nearfalls. Typically you have finishing moves done multiple times in matches like that but that was not the case here.
2. The Rock wins with just a Spine Buster and People's Elbow AFTER the Rock was beat up, could not answer the 3 count, and beat up some more. It made Punk look weak. Stone Cold took 3 Rock Bottoms at Wrestlemania before being pinned. Punk got 1 that was not even for a pin. It would be like John Cena beating The Rock with the a backbody drop and the 5 Knuckle Shuffle. A Spine Buster + PE should not finish Punk off that quickly.
3. The story at the very end (The Rock winning) did not agree with what was happening leading up to the match and what happened in the match. Leading up to the match, Punk was hands down the better the wrestler. In the match, both men seemed to be on the same level and at the end, Punk clearly had the upper hand. At the end of the match, Rock gets brutalized by the Shield, gets pinned, gets beat up again, magically no sells these beatings, literally Hulks up and and wins out of nowhere.
And to add insult to injury this all so Cena can win the title at Wrestlemania from The Rock so The Rock can return to Hollywood and so Cena can rule WWE again. I got the feeling that WWE stepped over Punk for this. It made Punk look bad. Between The Shield's interfence these past few months and this weird finish, management has deligitimized Punk's reign by making him look weak. HHH often used DX to interfere in his matches but I do not remember being made to look this bad.
This is a subjective list and all opinion based. I was originally going to get into why these songs are my favorite but this is not the place to tell the tale of my dark angsty emo teenage years. Each song is linked for your listening enjoyment.
Kentucky Route Zero (KRZ) is a text adventure at its core. You play as an antiques salesman making a delivery to a
customer. The only way to reach the customer is through the mysterious Route
Zero and the game starts with you asking a man how to get to this Route Zero.
The crux of the game play involves you driving along the Kentucky high way
stopping at places of interests. Places not germane to the main story line are
played out as a traditional text adventure with text choices for movement,
actions, and dialogue. Stops that are important to the main story are played
out in beautiful cell shaded scenes and animation with scene transitions that
will leave your jaw on the floor. The game the audio uses in these scenes and
on the high way map are spot on. The sounds at the gas station reminded me of
the days of my family’s annual road trip the southwest. The way the developer
managed to capture the feel of the open road in sound is magical.
It would be an understatement to say
that KRZ is immersive. I literally cannot find the words to describe how this
game feels. This game made me feel the spectrum of emotions from happiness to
dread but no matter what happened, the illusion was never broken. I played the entire Act 1 on a plane and
within 5 minutes, I was no longer in an airplane; I was at Equus Gas talking to
the old man about poetry and I stayed in Kentucky until Act 1 was over and I
was kicked to my desktop. The striking visuals and authentic audio created an
atmosphere and game experience that has a taste you can’t find anywhere else.
Now I could go on and on about the
cool things that occur in this game but I feel like that this happens too much
in game reviews and discussion as ways to entice people into playing the game.
While these “teases” do make games more appealing, I feel they do more harm
than good. KRZ is amazing because of what you discover and notice that could
easily be passed up by other people. It’s like The Elder Scrolls and Fallout in
that way; it is a personal experience. While the audio and visuals are impressive, the Fallout moments of
this game are what finally sold me on the game.
Perhaps the most important part of
KRZ for me is how it made me think about story telling. In my teenage years I
was fascinated with JRPGs. JRPGs are popular for one reason: story.JRPGs traditionally have piss poor combat. I
loved the idea of playng JRPGs more than I liked playing them. The combat always
felt like it got in the way. Maybe this is why I have such a fond memory for
Final Fantasy X, a game I never played but ingested through story summaries and
video. I got everything I wanted without the annoying middle man.
KRZ is essentially my Final Fantasy
X experience in a unified medium that still allowed me to actually interact
with the story. While I like books and movies, they are a passive way to tell a
story. You simply sit there and the creator tells you everything. Video games
provide a way to have active stories where you are participating which gives
you more investment in characters and the story as a whole.
This game is not for everyone but
the $7 price is not asking too much and I believe that it is well worth that
$7.
Last night, the WWE held the 25th annual SummerSlam in Las Angeles. SummerSlam has historically always been one of the biggest PPVs with matches like Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon and the Rock vs. Booker T. This year was supposed to be no different, having HHH vs. Brock Lesnar as the main event. Anyone thinking that now feels like a huge idiot.
Match 1: Santino vs. Antonio Cesaro for the US Title
Fun match. In fact I would say this might have been the best match of the night. There was actual wrestling in this match and fun moments like when Cesaro got a hold of the Cobra sleeve. Cesaro won the match and the US Title. Hopefully the new champion will breath some life into the belt. I like Santino but his title reigns have been rather bland. Cesaro has heat and hopefully he can make something fun come from this feud with Santino and make some new ones.
Match 2: Ziggler vs. Jericho
I did not expect this match to open up the official PPV (Match 1 was pre-show). This match was supposed to show that Jericho still has it but he certainly does not. He seemed so slow during the match and his moves were not crisp at all. It was sad to watch, but at least Ziggler still wrestled well. Jericho won with the Walls of Jericho. I feel like Ziggler tapped way too early for a PPV. I prefer the more drawn out drama where the fans are wondering if he will tap but oh well. Overall an okay match but I think Ziggler should wrestle a more abled body.
Match 3: Kane vs. Daniel Bryan
I don't even remember this match so that should tell you how it went. This story line is totally boring. Bryan won and Kane got pissed and chased him out of the arena so I assume that means this will continue. They should have Bryan feuding with Orton, not Kane. A guy of Bryan's size could work way better with Orton. Also, Bryan has heat from the fans and would help Orton get back into the swing of things since his hiatus.
This actually is a picture of Kane after watching HHH vs. Lesnar
Match 4:The Miz vs. Rey Mysterio for the Intercontinental Title
You can tell a wrestler is past his prime when he starts wearing shirts to the ring. Poor Rey. Well the match was alright I suppose. The Miz brought out some new stuff so we are seeing growth from him which is good but Rey continued his same old shit again. Oh and he dressed like Batman. Yawn. If they want Rey and Kane in PPVs so bad just have them feud together for the pre-match show and stop wasting the good young talent. The Skull Crushing Finale the Miz did to win looked a little odd but I've been watching too much Botchamania lately so I'm extra sensitive to that.
Match 5: Alberto Del Rrrrrrrriiiiiiioooooo vs. Sheamus for the World Heavyweight Championship
Our first main event of the night and boy oh boy did it set the bar. So the match started out as you would expect with some back and forth between the two wrestlers. Alberto threw out the Cross Arm Breaker waaaaay early into the match which I saw as a BAD sign. ADR did some awesomeness by pounding his chest and yelling Brogue like Sheamus but he couldn't get the kick out and was unfortunately countered. Now after ADR gave Sheamus a face slam to the exposed turnbuckle and a nice kick, he went for a pin but Sheamus kicked out. ADR was furious so he dragged his ring announcer into the ring and slapped him around for no reason. The ref was busy trying to get Ricardo out of the ring and Ricardo secretly threw his shoe to ADR, I think. But why would he do that after ADR just beat him up? Anyway, ADR missed catching the shoe and Sheamus smacked ADR in the face with the shoe, which is almost as brutal as a water bottle to the face from R-Truth. Sheamus then delivered the Irish Curse Backbreaker. Sheamus went for the pin and got the 3 count despite ADR getting his foot on the rope at the 2 count. Sheamus won. ADR was pissed. The crowd was pissed. This was a WCW finish. I bet someone at TNA was pissed they did not think of this bullshit.
#moneymakingscholars
Match 6: Kofi and R-Truth vs. The Prime Time Playas for the Tag Team Championship
Does anyone find it odd that the WWE is advertising Truth's twitter name which is @RonKillings, his actual name? Just seems strange they didn't make him use @WWERTruth or something. Anyway, the match was fun with good heel tag team shenanigans from the PTP. I just do not understand how the low and mid card matches are always more interesting and better than the main events. Kofi and R-Truth won the match and there was a noticeable absence of AW which, in terms of the story line, has yet to be addressed. I hope the feud continues, but the PTP either need to brush up on the mic or find a new manager ASAP.
Match 7: CM Punk vs. Cena vs. Big Slow for the WWE Championship
Fuck you WWE. Who books this shit? First of all, I do not understand why Punk is using the spinner belt. At least try to change it. So shitty. Anyway, Big Show was in control the entire match. He did only 1 fucking move for 15 minutes. He did the "Shhh!" Chest Slap at least 5 times. YAWN. He did a sidewalk slam but that was it. Cena and Punk managed to get Show on the mat and both applied their signature submission moves at the same time and Show ended up tapping out to both at the same time. Again, is this TNA/WCW?! Russo, I know you are backstage! AJ comes out and says to restart the match. Are you kidding me? Big Show tapped out to BOTH Cena and Punk. He should be fucking gone. Slow sack of shit. Show got up and delivered a choke slam to Cena and Punk and tried to pin them but they kick out. Cena gave Show the AA and Punk ran in and pushed Cena out of the way and pinned Show to retain. So since Slow tapped out twice and was pinned in a one fall match, hopefully he is FOREVER done being in the running for this belt. I never thought I'd say this but I hope it is Cena vs. Punk at Night of Champions. Shitty match. So bad.
Match 8: Kevin Rudolph vs. The Fans
How old is this dude? He looks like one giant midlife crisis. Anyway, this old guy performed the theme to Summerslam live and the Divas came out and awkwardly danced on stage with him. Rudolph applied his signature Shitty Song Vice and held it for the entire duration of the song and won the match via KO. What an asshole.
Match 9: HHH vs. Lesnar
Did these guys take notes from Big Show?! Lesnar spent the first 5 minutes applying the Kimura Lock to HHH a dozen times. That was literally the only wrestling move. Lesnar jumped off a table to deliver an Ax Handle to HHH. Yawn. HHH irish whipped Lesnar into an announce table. Yawn. Then HHH spent another 5 minutes kneeing Lesnar in the stomach. Yawn. Then Lesnar applied the Kamura Lock AGAIN and HHH tapped out. That was literally the match. For a match with some much buildup this was a fucking dud. Also, what was the point of HHH telling the ref to no make this a No DQ match? They only used that to avoid count outs. I would have thought HHH would have broken Lesnar's arm with a sledge hammer or something. What the fuck.
About 3 moves were used the entire time. It started at 9:25 and ended at 9:45. The last 15 minutes of the PPV consisted HHH crying and apologizing to the WWE Universe about losing. Cole dropped the "This is the end of HHH" line out of nowhere. Are you serious? This was a career vs career match?! Jesus! Get Russo out of there. The crowd chanted "You Tapped Out" at HHH as he left which is appropriate because NO ONE KNEW THIS WAS A RETIREMENT MATCH. I would have thought you learned how to do a retirement match after you beat Cactus Jack in the Hell in a Cell at No Way Out.
I'd look like that too if I orchestrated this piece of shit
Summary
WWE mainevents are pieces of shit. The low and mid card are carrying this company. So fucking bad. These matches are Extreme Rulez level of mediocre. This is fucking SummerSlam. At least try.
On Friday, AW (Abraham Washington for those around for his run on ECW) was released from the WWE for comments he made a few weeks before about Kobe Bryant in Colorado. Now I have never been a fan of rape jokes, but to fire AW over this and allow other bullshit to occur in this company just highlights the ridiculous double standards of the WWE.
In 2003, Kobe Bryant allegedly sexually assaulted a hotel worker. If the WWE is trying to protect its PG image that means it is protecting its fans that are like 12 and under. That would mean that these kids were born around 2000 or later. The odds that a 3 year old had any idea what the fuck was going on one the news in 2003 is slim to none. So who is the WWE trying to defend here? Oh it is trying to defend itself! Well let us look at some other bullshit that has gone down that has not seemed to ruin its image.
The Rock on live television in front of a live audience with children in attendance called the PG poster child, John Cena, a kung pao bitch. But as we all know, outdated rape jokes children will not understand are much worse than cursing in front of them.
At the last Wrestlemania, HHH crotch chopped the Undertaker in a HELL IN A CELL match where HHH tried to crack Taker's skull with a sledgehammer. The Wrestlemania before that, Taker and HHH both delivered unprotected chair shots to each other. So telling someone to suck their dick and blatantly disregarding company policies on the grandest stage of them all is okay too right? Oh they got fined? Yeah that definitely sends the right message. I bet if either of them got busted for steroids the US Senate would be okay with a fine as well. Mr. Kennedy was fin...oh wait.
One of the most PG matches in recent memory.
The WWE has PPVs involving elimination chambers, table matches, ladder matches, chair matches, and extreme rules. But of course, in the this country, violence is much more acceptable than sex. So watching Batista get AAed off a car through the floor is a better image for a child than something he does not understand. Gotcha.
And of course there is always the classic 2002 Kane raped a dead girl storyline and Edge and Lita fucking on live TV in 2006. But that was before the PG era so we can ignore it forever obviously. Oh and before I forget, Mark Henry had sex with Mae Young and she birthed a human hand on live television.
In an era mired with boring television and shotty mic work (Yeah you too Punk), it was refreshing to see a new manager who was not Vicky. To FIRE the man over the comments seems a little extreme. Fine him and take him off TV a few weeks maybe but do not fire a fresh mic talent. Your tag team division is already shitty enough. It has become the "Oh-Shit-What-Do-We-Do-With-These-Two-Midcard-Wrestlers" division. There are no real teams anymore besides the Colons, but they are Superstars talent f-f-f-f-fa life. You broke up the Heart Dynasty and Cryme Tyme to create four wrestlers who flopped in singles competition. Instead of firing the manager and necessary mouth piece of an up and coming tag team, fire your bullshit hollywood writers and start running a wrestling company that is not there to service Linda McMahon's bullshit political ambitions.
