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Angry Video Game Nerd

Balb

Member
Cinemassacre IS Mike's channel.

Isn't the stream stuff on Cinemassacre Extras anyway? Minor distinction but hey.

Also yeah, it's funny how Mike has played more games than most but hasn't really learned how to quickly adapt to games he's never played before. I don't really mind though. It's just annoying when he makes shit up like in the Splatoon video where he kept insisting that the game was a ripoff of a random Mario Party 4 minigame.

Also, like him or not, Mike has a HUGE influence on AVGN episodes. If you watch J&MMs, you'll notice that Mike resembles the AVGN more than James (in terms of the way they talk), and a lot of his one-liners probably came from Mike.
 
That's only partially true. When you die, you get a selection of options. If you choose Continue Level, you continue from where you died with a refilled health bar, and yes, states such as poison carry over. Think of it as being like a checkpoint system, and a forgiving one because you aren't sent back much at all and can keep trying. If you choose Restart Level, you restart the stage, so no poison but you start from the beginning again. If you choose Restore Game, you can load your savegame -- you can save anywhere in this game, you know. There's only one save slot per file, but you can save and load the file at any time. You can also save and quit, or quit without saving.

Save anywhere is a pretty awesome feature for a console game like this, none of the contemporary Tomb Raider games have it, yes?

That is a very rare feature for a console game. I'd like to give to give this one a go, but it wasn't released outside of the US from what I understand.
 

Lothar

Banned
Mike posted a stream of himself and his girlfriend. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sirNNA0NdXs Beautiful girl, into retro games, is competitive, and swears a lot while playing games. She couldn't be any more perfect for him is he created her in a lab.

I can't even come across a guy in real life that's into retro games. Lucky motherfucker.

Isn't the stream stuff on Cinemassacre Extras anyway? Minor distinction but hey.

Also yeah, it's funny how Mike has played more games than most but hasn't really learned how to quickly adapt to games he's never played before. I don't really mind though. It's just annoying when he makes shit up like in the Splatoon video where he kept insisting that the game was a ripoff of a random Mario Party 4 minigame.

Also, like him or not, Mike has a HUGE influence on AVGN episodes. If you watch J&MMs, you'll notice that Mike resembles the AVGN more than James (in terms of the way they talk), and a lot of his one-liners probably came from Mike.

I can totally buy that James based the AVGN character off of Mike. Every time I've watched him in the stream, he was complaining. Even with the good games like Mega Man and Doom 2. The Mickie Mouse game he was playing looked alright, but it put Mike into a rage.
 
I think people are being a bit harsh on James and Mike. I watch it as two guys playing a game for the first time (when they actually do that). The fun of watching it for me is watching them struggle with a game, but also beating a stage or game after they struggle. Their rants and complaints don't bother me too much. I do agree that they should do a little research into how to play the game so a situation like the Indiana Jones thing doesn't happen. The Contra 7 episode was so great to me!
 
I think people are being a bit harsh on James and Mike. I watch it as two guys playing a game for the first time (when they actually do that). The fun of watching it for me is watching them struggle with a game, but also beating a stage or game after they struggle. Their rants and complaints don't bother me too much. I do agree that they should do a little research into how to play the game so a situation like the Indiana Jones thing doesn't happen. The Contra 7 episode was so great to me!

I agree. I feel like they sometimes play as though they're 8 years old and just rip into the package. That's fine, but at some point someone should grab the manual or just look around online for 15 seconds to avoid some of the "duh, come on now guys" moments.

Still entertaining overall though.
 
He couldn't beat the yellow devil and he complained the whole time. He even tried to cheat with the pause trick but couldn't do it.

Shame on him for trying to cheat. He loses some old school points for that.

I'd like to refer Mike to his Golden Tanooki suit rant video where he essentially says that if you suck at video games you shouldn't be allowed to enjoy/progress in them. I never get mad at videos but that video legitimately pissed me off.
 

Lothar

Banned
I'd like to refer Mike to his Golden Tanooki suit rant video where he essentially says that if you suck at video games you shouldn't be allowed to enjoy/progress in them. I never get mad at videos but that video legitimately pissed me off.

Oh yeah? Well I agreed 100% with that video, lol.

I don't think everyone should be able to beat every game. Seeing the end should be a reward and a goal to work towards. That there's no way to see what the next stage looks like or what the ending is motivates you to get better.

If I was a kid and there was a way to easily bypass everything to get to the end, would I have been motivated to beat it for real? I doubt it.

Like Mike, I grew up with NES, and I really appreciate the challenge of NES and the sense of satisfaction I got from improving and getting to the end of those games. Someone who doesn't value the NES as high as us or the experience provided by not being able to see the ending would of course disagree. So most would disagree. That's okay.

However, he is being hypocritical here for wanting to use the pause trick in Mega Man, you're right. If he can't beat the yellow devil on his own, by his own words, he shouldn't see the rest of the game.
 

Morfeo

The Chuck Norris of Peace
The two that immediately come to mind are, first, that old AVGN episode where the bashes Castlevania for N64 for that part where you have to carry a bomb, and he makes it look really hard and it's exploding constantly and then he says how bad the game is and quits, or something like that; it's been a while. In reality, you basically need to be INTENTIONALLY messing up for what's happening in that episode to happen. He either was hopelessly clueless or misrepresented the game on purpose, either way making the game look a lot worse than it is -- it's actually a good game, or at least I think so!

Sine you seem to know the Castlevania for N64 a lot, can you easily tell me the difference between the two versions? Never quite understodd if it was two different games - or just an improved version of the first. Internet seems to give me different answers, depending on were I look.
 
Sine you seem to know the Castlevania for N64 a lot, can you easily tell me the difference between the two versions? Never quite understodd if it was two different games - or just an improved version of the first. Internet seems to give me different answers, depending on were I look.

Allow me to answer:
Basically, in Legacy of Darkness they:
  • added a few levels
  • changed some of the older ones (like adding bosses in previously boss-less levels, or just streamlined the levels)
  • added 2 new characters
  • improved some visual effects
You start the game with Cornell, who can transform into a werewolf, but you can unlock the characters from the first game as well, each with their own story.
All characters traverse mostly the same levels but a few are unique to each character and all three have at least two or three exclusive bosses to fight that tie in to their respective storyline.
In conclusion, LoD contains an updated version of the first game and only a few details are missing (the voice acting in certain cutscenes of the first game was cut, unlockable costumes are different, awesome intro/title music is missing).

Info on the first N64 Castlevania and LoD.


I'm a big AVGN fan, but I always hated the episode were he played CV64. He made it look like the game was impossible to beat because he couldn't select and use a certain item from his item menu to destroy a cracked wall, but never considered pressing the "use"-button on the controller, the button that is used all the time to pick up items, open doors, or operate levers.
 

Morfeo

The Chuck Norris of Peace
Allow me to answer:
Basically, in Legacy of Darkness they:
  • added a few levels
  • changed some of the older ones (like adding bosses in previously boss-less levels, or just streamlined the levels)
  • added 2 new characters
  • improved some visual effects
You start the game with Cornell, who can transform into a werewolf, but you can unlock the characters from the first game as well, each with their own story.
All characters traverse mostly the same levels but a few are unique to each character and all three have at least two or three exclusive bosses to fight that tie in to their respective storyline.
In conclusion, LoD contains an updated version of the first game and only a few details are missing (the voice acting in certain cutscenes of the first game was cut, unlockable costumes are different, awesome intro/title music is missing).

Info on the first N64 Castlevania and LoD.


I'm a big AVGN fan, but I always hated the episode were he played CV64. He made it look like the game was impossible to beat because he couldn't select and use a certain item from his item menu to destroy a cracked wall, but never considered pressing the "use"-button on the controller, the button that is used all the time to pick up items, open doors, or operate levers.

Thanks alot for this!
 
Sine you seem to know the Castlevania for N64 a lot, can you easily tell me the difference between the two versions? Never quite understodd if it was two different games - or just an improved version of the first. Internet seems to give me different answers, depending on were I look.

Castlevania for N64 has two playable characters, Carrie and Reinhart. Each one has somewhat different gameplay and several exclusive levels. There are two endings for each character, with a good ending if you finish the game in under a certain number of in-game days, or a worse one if you don't. It's an interesting 3d action-adventure game with a heavy focus on platforming and exploration, much more so than combat. I like that about the game, but it is somewhat unpolished.

Less than a year later, they released the enhanced version, Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness. Gameplay and most content is the same, but there is more of it. The game has better graphics, supports the Expansion Pak for higher-resolution support, two new playable characters, and several new levels. It's much more polished than the first version. First you play as Cornell, a very powerful werewolf. As Cornell you play through all of the levels in the game in order, including the new stages and all of Carrie and Reinhart's exclusive levels. This mode has only one ending.

Once you finish, you unlock Henry, a knight who plays through a short 5-or-so-level version of the game, trying to find and rescue five children within a pretty tight time limit. If you can save them you'll unlock stuff, including the ability to play as Carrie and Reinhart in remixed versions of their original campaigns. The new Carrie and Reinhart modes aren't identical to the originals, as they use the new versions of the old stages instead of the same ones as the first game had, but they are similar enough that only hardcore fans really need both versions.


I know the first version has some fans, but I think that LoD really is the only version you need... the original game does have awesome music on the title screen, but the worse ingame graphics are an issue (LoD looks a lot better! And I know some people can't take the framerate, but I played and beat the game in high-res mode, so I didn't mind it; I think the better graphics are worth the framerate hit.), and the second version has most everything from the original, plus a lot more. I know it costs more, but LoD is a good game well worth playing.

I'm a big AVGN fan, but I always hated the episode were he played CV64. He made it look like the game was impossible to beat because he couldn't select and use a certain item from his item menu to destroy a cracked wall, but never considered pressing the "use"-button on the controller, the button that is used all the time to pick up items, open doors, or operate levers.
Yeah, essentially, you have to be intentionally playing the game wrong to do the things he did in that video. I mentioned it as one of his worst for that reason.
 

Forsythia

Member
That was another great episode of Board James.
Loved the split second flash in the beginning as he mentioned the 2 ghosts.

I even had that dumb Pac-Man board game he played first. Had no idea how to play it, until now, that is.
 
James writing has been really good on this season, it's amazing what you can do even with just simple board game reviews.

I feel like James has less pressure when making a new Board James episode than he does with AVGN. Because he doesn't have to try and top himself. So he seems to end up making more of what he wants with Board James. It also seems like an excuse for James to just make horror/ thriller suspense mini movies. Which is what Board James has mostly been up to this point.
 

TheYanger

Member
If he really merges the characters I think it helps the AVGN become less one note as well, which I like. Board James has really been on point.
 
I like his scripted stuff so much more than his unscripted stuff. I've all but stopped watching James and Mike Mondays, but I'll always come back for AVGN and Board James.
 
Great episode. Sent back and watched the TGIF episode after. The part when Mike is wearing the Urkel glasses and says something like "you like these glasses, don't you? They'd suit you."
 
So, is Board James a prequel to AVGN now?

The Dream Phone killed Bad Luck Bootsy and Mother Fucker Mike... It made Board James live in denial and he eventually became the bitter AVGN. I honestly wonder where James is going with all this? He said in a live stream that they are working on the next AVGN.
 

Teppic

Member
The Dream Phone killed Bad Luck Bootsy and Mother Fucker Mike... It made Board James live in denial and he eventually became the bitter AVGN. I honestly wonder where James is going with all this? He said in a live stream that they are working on the next AVGN.
Dream Phone didn't kill them. Taken from the Urkel episode Mike didn't exist in the Crossfire episode, which is episode 3
 

Kudo

Member
Thanks for the links both, great morning to wake up to.
Kinda weird that James didn't post that Podcast on his blog.
 

Lothar

Banned
I love that Bootsy considers punching in the water to avoid the spikes cheating. That's how I usually do it. Maybe he has a point.
 
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