Conventions about Dragons!

Aloha, homies!

Over the last weekend, I had the ever so lovely pleasure to attend the Dragon Con convention, in Atlanta, Georgia.

It was super dope.

I got to see all kinds of great panels, I got fantastic food, I got to hi-five Will Friedle (Eric Matthews, Terry McGinnis, Ron Stoppable) just because, I got to see Austin St. John slip into the role of one of my childhood (and all time) heroes, and I got to see a whole bunch of amazing cosplay.

And a whole bunch of not so amazing cosplay. (Who cosplays as the twin towers on 9/11?)

And a hundred million Pokemon Go related things.

And a hundred billion Harley Quinns.

But overall, super dopeness.

So here's a photo gallery! Regularly scheduled gaming type stuff will re-commence on Saturday!

https://nomadicdopeness.shutterfly.com/pictures/852

Yep.

Continuing undeath!

I couldn't have put it better myself.

Despite beliefs and rumors to the contrary (and a solid year+ of inactivity) the eternal engine that is Stuffimus Maximus soldiers on!

The theory is that this time I will be able to finally get it together and start making content on a semi regular basis again. Now, true, I've been a liar many times before, and there is little assurance that this time will be any different. But I figure as long as I keep trying, something's gotta give somewhere, right?

Right!

So, let's make with some updates!

• Beat Dark Souls II and Bloodborne. Had great fun with both, and have cemented my eternal fandom to the souls series
• On a related note, Dark Souls 3 is nearing release, and is supposed to be the end of the Dark Souls saga. It looks amazing, the beta was hella fun, and y'know, stuff. I need it. Totally pre-ordered the collector's edition, and I really want the collector's edition strategy guide cause it comes with an Estus Flask! But I can't justify paying 130 for that...
• I never did get around to playing the DmC reboot. So much for that.
• Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition lived up to many expectations and fell short of some, but what that all comes down to is Vergil's awesomeness has not decreased in the slightest. Like, not even a little bit.
• I... As I write this, I remember now that I completely forgot about Winter-Een-Mas. I am a failure. Blarghl...
• In less depressing news, Pokemon Sun and Moon were just announced, and I have no idea which one I'm gonna pick! I generally always pick the "Blue" version game, but... Praise the Sun... WHAT DO?!
• Beat Uncharted 1 and 2, getting ready to work on 3
• Recording most of my Street Fighter V games, so I might start uploading those to el U-Toob channel.
• Have been playing Phantasy Star Online 2 like a madman, and may need admittance to some sort of center for rehabilitation for my addiction. Possibly. Maybe.
• My Holy Game Trinity of Sonic the Hedgehog, Ryu and Cloud Strife have all made it into Smash Bros. My life may be on the verge of completion.

That about covers the important stuff that I can remember (It has been a year...)

So  on to the continuing saga of Final Fantasy.

FFX: FFX may be one of the best games I've ever played. All of my feels, feels everywhere. While the undying fanboy within will not let me have the game as my favorite FF, it is certainly the best as far as I'm concerned. 9.5/10

FFXI: I finally made a character!

FFXII: I'm trying to slog through this. I really am. The lore is cool, and I like the world itself. But Ebony Jesus Cristo, this game is boring as watching paint dry. No score for now, but I don't have high hopes.

And with those out of the way, the most important piece of FF news is that XV will have its release date revealed at the end of this month...

I am not ready. I don't think I can be ready. But I will be in LA to see the reveal with my own two eyes. May God have mercy on my soul.

At some point in the near future, I'll be posting about my plans with StuffMax going forward, but as far as reviews go, my next planned review will be Dark Souls 3! Plenty of time for me to gear up to actually commit and do it!

Let's hope this works out!

More Poke-musings!

So, filler material until I finish the next review.

Within recent times, Nintendo was kind enough to finally grace me with the news of the remakes of my favorite Pokemon Generations: Gen III.

The ever wonderful Hoenn, home of Pokemon Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald are set to be remade in glorious 3D in the forms of Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.

My excite level is off the charts.

Anyway, shortly after the announcements, rumors and theories ran rampant, due to the new look presented for the game's mascots; Groudon and Kyogre, in addition to Nintendo's choice of words regarding the presentation of the remake, specifically: ""

My own particular points of interest lie less so in the choice of words for Nintendo, as I have no doubt, and as far as I am aware, it has been confirmed that this is a straightforward remake. Sure, there will be some minor differences and stuff, graphic bueno-ness and some new features, mayhaps some storyline changes, but in all, I imagine the core of the game will retain what I loved about Hoenn in the first place.

No, I'm interested in the new glowy designs for both Kyogre and Groudon. Aside from the new Tron-like lines carving huge swathes across both legendary poke's bodies, both Pokemon now seem to have symbols on their body representing Omega (Groudon) and Alpha (Kyogre). I really wanna know what kind of significance this has on the game itself. Are these things representative of new forms and powers? And if so, are they only for the legendaries? Or are they some new spin off of the Mega Evolution? And what does that mean for the ever-awesome third member of the legend trio, Rayquaza?

Or perhaps it's all just fun new designs for the covers? Who knows? All musings. Anywho, that's what's on my mind right now. That, and the ever-present spectre of Final Fantasy XV. It haunts my dreams.

But that's a tale for another time.

Yep.

Guest Vid!

So, my bro John is gettin' into that online Street Fighter scene, (though he may lie to you and attempt to tell you otherwise. You ain't low John.)

He started posting replay vids, and the ending for this one was just lovely, so, with permission, a-posted it goes, right here on StuffMax.

El Link!

Side note, much respect to the Fei-Long. I shall love Ryu and Ken until the end of days, but maaaaaaaan, am I tired of fighting them. Dat variety makes the soul happy.

Yep.

Fight Vid courtesy of Johnanthony Gonzalez (sub to that youtube channel, sucka!)

This totally needed it's own post.

I totally forgot to make enough of a point about this during the review, so it's getting it's own post.

JETSTREAM SAM IS THE FUCKING MAN.

That's it.

Yep.

Lies, plans and resolutions (which are also likely to be lies)

Okay. So clearly that Pokemon X review hasn't happened yet. I am a liar.

I will get around to it.

I also have reviews for a few other games in mind. And for once, I won't even make it a mystery! Consider this a preview post, if'n you will!

Upcoming reviews (In no particular order):

Nier
Pokemon X
Grand Theft Auto V
Demon's Souls
Sonic Generations (Warning: gonna be fanboytastic)
Metal Gear Revengeance
Fire Emblem Awakening
Various Final Fantasy Games

And of course, there are more, but those are what I'm gonna try and focus on.

Now for the final part, resolutions.

It is my plan and resolution to go forth and try and write two reviews a week, starting in January. I dunno how well I will hold to it, but I'm gonna give it a go.

In January, I will also be tracking my Winter-Een-Mas tribute. Last time, it was Demon's Souls. This time, I shall tackle Dark Souls.

Pray for me.

That out of the way, as a bonus, I finally finished FFIV, and while I haven't finished XIV, I've gotten far enough that I can give a solid impression, so some quickie reviews:

FFIV: Strong storytelling with a diverse plot hampered by a basic overall story, bland world, and a truly forgettable endgame. Tired of Kain's punk ass betraying me. But very enjoyable as a whole. Love that soundtrack. 7.5/10

FFXIV: Hard to describe why I like this one so much in quickie format, but screw it: Lush and lovely world, excellent soundtrack, fluid (for the most part) gameplay, solid story, and decent, if sometimes sluggish pacing kept me hooked. The community, at least pre-level cap is pretty solid, and I can even bear playing with people I don't know, something I am normally very much against (weird, I am aware, but it's just a quirk.). Don't have the money to continue my subscription atm, but as soon as I do, it's go time. 8.5/10. Very much considering a 9.

Okay. So that's that.

Yep.

Wherein-which I muse on the Pokemon.

Okay.

So, here we are just days from release of the next generation in the Pokemon franchise: Pokemon X and Y.

Me? I am stuck at a strong crossroads. Well, not so much anymore, but I was. So I feel like talking about what kind of crossroad I was once stuck at. You see, I am a Pokemon fan. Very much, through and through. I look forward to every new generation, and this one was no different.

At least, at first.

When the Legendary Pokemon for X and Y were revealed, I was quite impressed. They showed a level of imagination a step up from Black and White, which in and of itself was leaps and bounds above Diamond and Pearl. This could only be a good thing. But as more and more designs were revealed, my enthusiasm dwindled. The starter Pokemon weren't anything of note. And save one or two designs, they just seemed to steadily go downhill from there.

But I wasn't too worried. Game Freak had only revealed some 15 Pokemon, and didn't seem keen on revealing anymore, so I assumed I'd see some cooler designs in game.

It is at this point that I feel I should touch on the fact that Pokemon designs are very important to me.

You see, the gameplay of a Pokemon game rarely if ever disappoints me. It is a tried and true method that I haven't found fault with yet, and so much of my anticipation and enjoyment of a Pokemon game does not come from that. It's nice, but adds up to about 20% of my overall love for the game, if that. No, my true passion for Pokemon stems from the Pokemon themselves. I love seeing new Pokemon to catch and raise and journey with. I mean, if it was the same Pokemon every time, the tried and true gameplay would require strong changes. There would have to be a much stronger story. But with the core of my love coming from the new blood, I never have to worry about that.

I catch the new guys, I fight the gyms, I beat the evil team, save the world, fight the elite four, become champion, go home happy.

All is well.

Carrying on from where I left off earlier.

Not long after making the decision to wait out the game for other designs, Mega Pokemon were announced. This blew my mind. New designs for older pokemon?! At first, I assumed these would be branch evolution chains. Lo and behold they were not. No, they were temporary forms granted by Mega Stones. Okay. Taking the Digimon route. Not my favorite idea, but I can live with it. Besides. MegaAmpharos was now an Electric/Dragon type with luxurious hair. Fine by me.

Not too long after this though, things began to go south.

More and more designs continued to be leaked. More New Pokemon, and more Mega forms.

And they sucked.

Like...

EXTRA hard.

They made a fucking key ring Pokemon.

A key ring...

Ugh. I'm getting off track. Anywho, the rather dismal designs began to crush my hopes for the games. Damnit, if my enjoyment of the game comes from the new damn critters, and the new critters suck hot eggs, what the hell do I want to play the game for? Surely not the story?!

Argh...

Not long after I had reached a point of disgust with the game (something that occurred after they made the decision to make one of my favorite Pokemon, Gyarados, Mega Evolve into a giant ass shrimp...), I came across an interview.

And to be honest, it changed my whole view of the game.

I find myself now thoroughly looking forward to the game. I have to know just what they're going to do with the world itself. It seems they've stayed true to the main formula, but have made enough changes to garner interest. Without needing a million new cool critters. And if I really think about it, there are already 600+ of the little dudes, so I kind of don't need more. But there's still a huge part of me that can't stand the idea of dealing with such craptastic designs.

Or at least, there was that part of me.

As I stand now, I've gotten over that. There are a couple of new dudes I can get behind, and, mixed with some of my old favorites, I'm sure I'll enjoy my journey through Kalos just fine. And with any luck, the game will surprise me, and be one of the better outings in the series.

Here's hoping.

On Bats, Ubermensch and Relate-ability.

So, I was sitting down a few minutes ago, browsing over IGN's Top 100 Superheroes list of 2011, and upon reaching the end, decided to browse the comments section. Wherein which I discovered an interesting trend. Quite a few people leaving comments on the article expressed distaste with Superman, the #1 superhero, and firmly believed he should have placed behind the #2, Batman. And that's not simply something I've seen on that article. It occurs to me that I've heard this opinion numerous times over the years.

As far as I could tell, the only reasons were either A. Batman is more relate-able, or B. Superman is Overpowered and Boring. Capitalized for my amusement.

So, I just wanted to bring up a few counterarguments to what appears to be the general opinion.

On the first point: I'm not sure about most people, but I'm pretty sure I'm not a millionaire, nay, billionaire playboy by day and an unstoppable beacon of fear to all villains by night, who learned every martial arts style ever, continuously works out and so am capable of benching at least 1000 pounds for multiple repetitions as my regular workout, had both of my parents gunned down in my face, psychologically scarring me forever and driving me to utilize my vast fortune in the pursuit of ending evil, in possession of incalculable levels of insanity and paranoia, which has driven me to design a system that can literally keep an eye on every being on the face of the planet, and a fond father figure to various young people who I've trained into a similarly unstoppable evil thrashing force with similar psychological issues, who never loses to any being unless it's to further a future victory, despite a rather vast majority of them being considerably more powerful than me.

A moment for a deep breath.

Ok.

And if it's less those issues, and more the trials Batman must deal with, Superman deals with just as many emotional and moral issues. How well would YOU manage to retain a mind for the path of righteousness when you have the ability to single-handedly change the entire societal system of the planet, simply by virtue of no one can possibly match you in strength? Not the best example of relate-able, but still an issue.

For another set of examples, Superman experiences love in it's various forms (Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, Ma and Pa Kent, Kara Zor-El), hate (Darkseid, Lex Luthor), sorrow (The deaths of various people over his long tenure as Superman, his whole characterization in Kingdom Come), happiness in simple things (Ma Kent's Apple Pie. Capitalized for TRUTH.) and all of the other trials, tribulations, ups and downs of life that most of us do. And in a far more human, healthy and relate-able fashion than the Goddamned Batman. In fact, quite a few of Superman's stories are about the fact that he identifies as the totally relate-able farm boy Clark Kent far more than he does as the untouchable, iconic Superman.

As for Point B. Overpowered? Have you ever heard of The Utility Belt?  

Alright then.