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[Tal Shiar Agent]

So as of this last Monday it's been 10 years since James Rolfe's AVGN took off with the release of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles episode. Earlier in the year he and Mike officially opened their YouTube channel (then JamesNintendoNerd) after hosting the Castlevania 2 and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde videos on his own website for two years.

I was just starting my freshmen year of high school 10 years ago and I remember it being an event whenever he uploaded a new video. As the years went on I found the toilet humor less and less appealing, but in the past few years Rolfe has moved away from that as well.

There is a small group of posters that still post in the OT, but I'm interested in what the rest of GAF thinks. Did you ever watch AVGN? Do you still? Did you enjoy it? What do you think of it 10 years later?

 

[themagicalkitsune]

I wasn't there since day 1 but I regularly watched his videos from 2007 to about 2010-2011 or so, I think. It's kinda crazy when you think a whole decade has passed by.

 

[Iztok Mravlja]

I've been there since the beginning! Even bought the movie!

I wish them all the best and hope they continue producing videos for as long as they possibly can.

 

[KZXcellent]

I go back and watch AVGN episodes in larger bursts rather than when new episodes just come out. His stuff is still great and it's amazing to see he's still going after a decade. I do prefer his movie reviews though.

 

[Flame Lord]

I haven't watched the last two or three new episodes, but yeah I'd still say I'm a fan. I remember the first time i heard of him was from his TMNT3 movie review being shown on Attack of the Show on fucking G4; time sure does fly.

 

[Torokil]

His older videos are still hilarious and still better than the millions of youtubers that copied his "angry guy reviews games" shtick.

I don't really like his newer videos much. It's clear that his passion is movies and not video games and he doesn't give much of a shit about video games past the 5th gen.

 

[EVOL 100%]

Used to be fucking fantastic, but I think it's pretty obvious that Rolfe either ran out of material to do or just got tired of the character. It got kind of by the motions at a certain point.

I'm still very fond of this stuff in general though.

 

[SuperSah]

His videos are excellent, though more modern 2016 AVGN is kind of boring me now. I did really enjoy the Seamen video - that was in particular superb.

 

[OnionPowder]

I think I started watching it around 2008? Been watching ever since, still love his videos.

 

[DownGrader]

While I'm still jumping from joy every time a new AVGN video goes live, there was nothing that was worth to see a second time since Toxic Crusaders episode.

 

[Gai Murakumo]

I was not there from the start, I started watching him around 2009 but man I cannot believe it has been going for 10 years. I watch his videos now from time to time.

 

[EvilKatarn]

Been there since day one. Didn't watch his stuff for a couple of years when the channel was saturated with shit I didn't care for. But just a few weeks back I watched the mega man episode and was surprised at how good it was. Dude's still got it.

 

[SonicMegaDrive]

I enjoy all of his content, not just the AVGN videos. I find them to be oddly comforting to watch. And occasionally they make me fall out of my seat with laughter (like the newest 'James and Mike Mondays' did).

I hope the two of them never stop producing content.

 

[Heckler456]

I watched him a bit right around the time I watched Doug Walker video's. It's been years since I've watched either though, just doesn't speak to my likes anymore.

 

[Azuran]

His Castlevania II review is still the best one. That last part where he mentions the ending sucking too is the hardest I've ever laughed in any of his videos.

 

[Zukuu]

Seen every episode multiple times. Wasn't there day one, but catched up everything and been watching ever since.

The movie is utter shit tho.

 

[ZarKryn7]

Love AVGN, also love James's discussion videos

 

[danmaku]

His videos are excellent, though more modern 2016 AVGN is kind of boring me now. I did really enjoy the Seamen video - that was in particular superb.

Yeah, that video was great. Probably because the game isn't really bad, just extremely weird. Big Rigs episode was also great.

Tbh I'd like to see more of his movie/tv reviews instead, I find them a lot more interesting than AVGN.

 

[Loxley]

I fell off from watching his content regularly around 2012, but I do watch his Monster Madness feature every October. I think really once his AVGN output slowed down and he started replacing it with more videos of him and Mike (who I'm not a huge fan of) is when I began losing interest. I will say I give James credit for going this damn long. In this day and age with flash-in-the-pan YouTube personalities, it's damn impressive that he's been able to do this for a decade.

 

[Harlock]

Atari 5200 was the best. The last episodes are not funny as the early one, but like a lot too. The Beavis and Buthead has cool talk about the cartoon. Is a more mature AVGN. And the other videos from Cinemassacre still good to watch.

 

[papusman]

Has it really only been 10 years? Dang! I was already two years out of college. I assumed he had been around much longer.

Anyway, his potty-humor shtick wore thin for me after a while, but his original TMNT review remains an internet masterpiece.

 

[TheUsual]

His Plumber's Don't Wear Ties video was amazing.

 

[TheDinoman]

James is pretty great, but I'm not really a big fan of his recent AVGN videos. I dunno, I feel like he kinda lost his edge and spark of inspiration right there. The latest episodes feel kinda forced to me.

 

[bjork]

I generally like most of the AVGN stuff, but there were a few videos there where it seemed like he was trying to really play up the facial reactions more than usual, around the time he did Hong Kong 97. Some of the J&MM thumbnails were wacky faces too are that time. I find that I enjoy their content better when they just play regular, even if the reactions aren't zany or whatever.

 

[ForkNetwork]

2007-2008 was the nerd"s peak, but the new episodes are still pretty good,i enjoyed the Megaman episode quite a bit and the MK mythologies one was also a lot of fun.

 

[hushlorentz]

I also jumped on around 2008-2009 and it was a pretty sweet few weeks going through the backlog. I follow Cinemassacre on youtube, so the newest stuff appears in my feed and I watch it, but I don't go out of my way to rush home and watch it or anything. It's kind of like a great band that has 15 albums out at this point - Nothing ground breaking, but it still makes me happy to watch.

 

[Lionheart1827]

I still watch and love to go through the entire AVGN series from time to time. My introduction to the series was the TMNT episode, was hooked after that. His newer stuff got a little bit too by the books and its few and far between, but I totally understand that he's been concentrating on his family after the movie came out. His Board James series was awesome as well.

I loved the AVGN episodes where he didn't just review one game, but a series of shit games, like batman, etc. I liked how he'd go through the history before really getting into the play/review. One of my all time favorite episodes is the Tiger games. Its just so damn good.

My friend and I still hold off on watching new episodes until we both hang out and watch em together. Same with Game Chasers.

 

[cyborgnumberblue]

I actually only got into it within the last year and I love it. James is a great dude and I enjoy his AVGN stuff, as well as James and Mike Mondays, and his movie reviews on Cinemassacre.

 

[Tal Shiar Agent]

His videos are excellent, though more modern 2016 AVGN is kind of boring me now. I did really enjoy the Seamen video - that was in particular superb.

I really enjoyed the Paperboy episode. It was hilarious.



Also excited for Monster Madness this year. It'll be his last full 31 episode run as it's extremely resource intensive to do 31. He'll still do Monster Madness in the future, but not every day.

 

[Darrenf]

I'm a huge fan. Not a massive fan of the newer AVGN vids, but I still watch every one. Love the games as well.

 

[SonicMegaDrive]

His older videos are still hilarious and still better than the millions of youtubers that copied his "angry guy reviews games" shtick.

I don't really like his newer videos much. It's clear that his passion is movies and not video games and he doesn't give much of a shit about video games past the 5th gen.

That just makes him more endearing to me!

 

[Hermii]

His best video is still the original djamh review imo. You can see the sincerity in his eyes.

 

[eXistor]

The videos mostly feel like work now. They're still entertaining enough but it's obvious he doesn't have the passion for it anymore. But hey, it rakes in the cash so why stop? That said, I very much enjoy the extra content found on Cinemassacre.

 

[tesqui]

I still frequent his channel! James & Mike Mondays is great! His AVGN videos were getting a bit stale, but I think he's bounced back.

 

[ZombieSupaStar]

I like his content. The avgn stuff now is a bit more blah but I like his movie stuff, or just commenting while playing games not having to force being angry for the sake of the character.

 

[zer0das]

I watched the AVGN a lot at the start. I stopped for 3-4 years. I started watching him again pretty regularly in the past year or two. I do think his older work was better, but I also like James and Mike Monday's where they just play games, Mike's stream that he does every now and then, and Talk About Games with Mike and Ryan (sometimes). So AVGN has evolved and branched out enough to keep my interest.

I also bought his movie long after it came out. I didn't have any expectations and I enjoyed it quite a bit for what it was. I figure he had given me years of free entertainment, might as well pay it back a little.

I still go back and watch some of the classics now and then. Some of those videos are timeless.

 

[Corpekata]

I was never a big fan of the AVGN character shtick. A few amusing videos but aside from some neat trivia I didn't get much out of it so my interest petered off. I do like some of his non-character stuff though.

 

[Bjoern the Smexy]

The Angry Video Game Nerd is probably the only web video series I've been with from the beginning and followed it ever since, without missing a single episode.

I've always been a fan of him, even if it does move towards toilet humor more than I want to handle sometimes, but his stuff is still a pretty good package all around.
That said, I still haven't seen the movie, even though I owned it since the day it was released on Steam. Gotta give that a look sometimes.

Even his other series (Board James, Monster Madness, etc.) are generally likeable.
Though I don't really care for his Let's Play stuff, but that's because there's simply better Let's Players out there.

 

[E-flux]

I don't watch him that ofylten but I do value his opinions on movies, games not so much since he has said many times that he really doesn't play newer games much and that's totally ok. His castlevania videos were his best in my opinion. Also his movie wasn't the worst so that's kinda cool.

 

[Nocturnowl]

I'll always appreciate the work Rolfe put into this, the right mix of silliness, earnest love or dislike for certain games and just being something of a trendsetter in general in an internet now buried under many "personalities", many of which claim to be angry.

I will forever love the Ninja Gaiden episode.
"When you get hit you gravitate towards the nearest hole!"
"You must see beyond the screen"
Such truth in these statements.

 

[galvenize]

two years.I was just starting my freshmen year of high school 10 years ago and I remember it being an event whenever he uploaded a new video. As the years went on I found the toilet humor less and less appealing, but in the past few years Rolfe has moved away from that as well.

I think it's more a case of his anger not feeling genuine anymore over time. It became more and less empty anger and that wasn't funny.

 

[Like the hat?]

There's a reason he's been successful in my opinion, compared to all of the other "angry" reviewers. He has charm. He plays this character that you know is just a character, but he does it so perfectly, in a way that makes you feel empathy toward his frustrations. So many other people are just obnoxious. Rolfe does it in a way that makes you feel the annoyance at the games.

 

[Anth0ny]

There's a reason he's been successful in my opinion, compared to all of the other "angry" reviewers. He has charm. He plays this character that you know is just a character, but he does it so perfectly, in a way that makes you feel empathy toward his frustrations. So many other people are just obnoxious. Rolfe does it in a way that makes you feel the annoyance at the games.

Well said.

I've been watching his videos since the beginning, hard to believe it's been 10 years.

14 year old me nearly pissed my pants at his "putrid anal fecal matter" rant at the end of the Ninja Turtles episode.

 

[SonicMegaDrive]

There's a reason he's been successful in my opinion, compared to all of the other "angry" reviewers. He has charm. He plays this character that you know is just a character, but he does it so perfectly, in a way that makes you feel empathy toward his frustrations. So many other people are just obnoxious. Rolfe does it in a way that makes you feel the annoyance at the games.

I've always felt that he's basically doing Wayne's World for video games. Like, he obviously has a personal life and a family and all that, but it's fun to imagine that he's just a big nerd who spends all his time downstairs in that basement with Mike just playing video games all day long and making silly comedy skits about them.

 

[Torokil]

The plumbers don't wear ties video belongs in the national archives.

 

[stilgar]

There's a reason he's been successful in my opinion, compared to all of the other "angry" reviewers. He has charm. He plays this character that you know is just a character, but he does it so perfectly, in a way that makes you feel empathy toward his frustrations. So many other people are just obnoxious. Rolfe does it in a way that makes you feel the annoyance at the games.

Yep, exactly.

He does it the right way : you know his anger is ridiculous, you know his reviews are not "fair" but a funny way to review old and bad games, and under his comical angriness you just feel his enthusiasm.
In short, he's the guy you wanna have a drink with while playing mario kart on snes.

 

[bjork]

I've always felt that he's basically doing Wayne's World for video games. Like, he obviously has a personal life and a family and all that, but it's fun to imagine that he's just a big nerd who spends all his time downstairs in that basement with Mike just playing video games all day long and making silly comedy skits about them.

I like it in the NWC video when they're fantasizing about owning both games. Pat is at some award show, but the Nerd is just looking at them on a shelf in his basement by himself, totally content.

 

[TheDinoman]

In a way, I always did see the AVGN as a relate-able character in a weird way. In a way he kinda represents childhood frustrations. We've all been there, getting ridiculously pissed over minor shit while playing video games in our youth. That's what the AVGN sorta symbolizes, with his childish/juvenile temper tantrums over old video games.

Meanwhile, people like the Irate Gamer, Nostalgia Critic, and what not all feel like guys that just get mad for the sake of getting mad.

 

[Comet]

I remember him starting around the time I started college. I ate up all of those videos since I had played so many of the shitty games he reviewed. As a kid you didnt know any better before buying a game. Wish him the best on whatever he does.

 

[PMS341]

I still think AVGN remains one of the greats, and definitely one of the funniest. A lot of copycats out there.