For those that don't understand, click here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nF_Ca45JRFs This was The Spoony One's reaction to the new Xcom first person shooter from the people that made Bioshock, and this journal is about just that. Betrayal.
Recently, I was watching the last part of Spoony's review of Ultima 9. At one point in the review, he, basically, gives up. He starts talking about him and his brother playing Ultima as a kid and why he loved the series so much. He, then, talks about how he has watched many things from his childhood turn to shit. Listening to him, I honestly felt for him because I have seen that happen to many of the things that I love, as well. Some of them I share in common with Spoony. Here, I am going to list them off, explain why I loved them and explain how they got fucked at one point or another. For anyone interested in the Spoony video, go here:
Why I love it: I love it for probably the same reason that you love it. Star Wars told a fantastic story with great and memorable characters, and it told it very well. The movies are fun. At times, they are funny. They can be very dark (especially Empire). They are filled with wonderful and likable characters and one of the most intimidating villains in the history of cinema. They are highly imaginative works of art. They are true masterpieces of film. My parents bought me these films on VHS when I was 9 or 10. They got the box set with all 3 as they originally were.
How they got fucked: Do I even need to explain this? The new trilogy of movies are no where near as good as the original The acting is wooden, more often than not. Jar Jar is a terrible and annoying character. They took the proud Jedi that we all thought Anakin was and turned him into a whiney bitch with anger issues. You do not even want to believe that he will turn into Vader. That is how far away from him Anakin is in this trilogy of movies. They are riddled with plotholes. They use way too much CGI and not enough practical effects. As if that were not bad enough, he had to go and fuck with the original films. Every CG addition and new scene he added stands out like a sore thumb because the quality of cameras has improved since they were originally shot. Some of the additions are stupid, like the singing and dancing scene in Jaba's palace. Why did that need to be there? Others actually take away from the characters, like Greedo shooting first. Not only is the added effect of Han's head moving to the side terrible looking, but it takes away from your initial impression of "this is a guy you do not fuck with."
Alien
Why I love it: The first two Alien films are fantastic. They were original and very inventive. A lot of imagination was put into them. Alien was downright scary, and Aliens is one of the most intense movies ever made. I got into this series when I was 13 or 14 when I just decided, on a whim, to pick up Alien on DVD at a local movie store back in Texas. I loved it. I loved the art of the film. I loved the characters and the story. The creature was unlike anything I had ever seen before, and the chest burster scene was truly shocking. My parents bought me the 10 disc Alien DVD collection with all 4 movies and tons of bonus features. It is one of the best DVD sets that money can buy. I want to get the Blu Ray version at some point. Those first two flicks are more than worth it.
How they fucked it: Alien Resurection should never have happened. I think Alien 3 is a decent flick, even if killing off Newt pissed me off. I think they did the best they could with how restricted they were for time and cash on that set. They put David Finch on it, and he was a new director at the time. As such, they kept him on a tight leash. I still enjoy it, though. Resurection, on the other hand, just plain sucks. On top of being overly sexual in a horror movie about bioengineered killing machines, the Ripley clones was pretty stupid. They failed repeatedly and kept the Ripley clones alive and in pain for what? They weren't even doing anything with them. They were just there suffering. Fuck you movie. IT gets worse, though. The natural birth thing with the Alien queen is the stupidest moment in the series, by far, and the creature that comes to be because of it looks stupid.
If this were not enough, they made the two Alien vs Predator movies. The games were smart about this. They took place in the future with colonial marines. The movies, on the other hand, were set in modern times. That does not fit into the continuity at all. The human race did not even come into contact with the Xenomorphs until much later, but they were just lying dormant in a temple in the middle of no where? Fuck you movie. Also, the Xenomorphs were created for the sole purpose of being the prey of the Predators? Fuck you! fuck you! Fuck you! That is an incredibly stupid concept. It ruins the honor of the Predator's hunt. Yeah. We were bored, so we created something to kill. There is no honor in that. The second AVP movie didn't even have a story. It just introduced you to a stock collection of characters and killed them off. That is it. That is all they did,. Where are the space marines? I want space marines!
Godzilla:
Why I love it: When I was 8 or 9, I was visiting my grandmother in Oklahoma. It was probably 8 or so at night, and we were just flipping through the channels when we came across the Science Fiction channel. They were in the middle of a Godzilla movie marathon where they were showing a bunch of the Showa series of movies. My brother and I sat down and watched them. I could not tell you what movies were shown, aside from Son of Godzilla. I remember that one because my brother and I were laughing at how pathetic Manilla is. I had fun watching the movies, though. I always wanted to see more Godzilla movies at some point, but it was not until after I met a friend of mine who is a big Godzilla fan that I started actually looking for them. I do not know why it took me so long, but I loved them. These movies are full of funny and bad acting, giant monsters destroying everything and fun. That is the easiest way to put it. Godzilla movies are just fun. They might be so bad that they are good or just pain good fun action flicks, but they are all good for one reason or another.
How they fucked it: I remember being excited about Godzilla in 1998. We all were, weren't we? The American movie had a brilliant add campaign with things like "his foot is this big" printed on the side of a bus. None of us suspected what was to come. Roland Emmerich managed to make a Godzilla movie without Godzilla in it. What were they thinking when they decided to drastically change the look of a 44 year old iconic character? We all know what Godzilla looks like, and that was not Godzilla. That pissed me off to no end, and I wrote the movie off because of that, alone. I did, eventually, see it, and I did not like it. Godzilla does not crash through buildings. He does not lay eggs, either. The creature cannot fit into the subway. Finding an egg down there makes no sense. How did they fuck up the movie this badly? Holy fuck. I felt so betrayed by this flick
Final Fantasy
Why I love it: This is another thing that I did not get into until I was about 13 or so, but it is not in the same way that everyone else got into it in about 1998. I did not get into it because of Final Fantasy VII. A friend of mine recommended to me to try the earlier games. I couldn't afford them at the time, so I just wound up emulating them. I do own the originals now, though. Final Fantasy V was the one that really grabbed me at the time, largely because it was the one that I tried first. Games with character development and complex stories? This was new to me. I had always played things like Doom and Quake before this. I loved it. I loved the characters and the music. The story kept me hooked, even after the random battles began to annoy me.
How it got fucked: Honestly, the deterioration of this series began with Final Fantasy VII. That is not a bad game, but I think it pales in comparison to Final Fantasy IV-VI, the golden age of the series. Cloud was a boring character. Sephiroth spent the entire game frozen in the northern crater. He didn't kill Aerith because he was frozen in the northern crater at the time. A clone of him killed Aerith. The setting went from fantasy to more modern sci fi. That felt weird to me. The game just wasn't up to par, but I would not call it a betrayal.
What I would call a betrayal, on the other hand, is Final Fantasy VIII. Lets make the battle system about getting your ass kicked while you draw magic. Lets have a stupid card game that you can spend endless hours playing. Lets add some stupid plot twists and things that just make no sense. Lets make the main character completely unlikable. In fact, he barely even speaks. Lets have plenty of plot convenience. Hey. A ship just floats by. THAT'S LAZY WRITING! THIS ENTIRE GAME IS LAZY WRITING, and it gets wors. Final Fantasy IX was great. IT was everything I loved about the series in one game. Final Fantasy X was a mixed bag. Some of the story elements make no sense. It is very linear. Tidus sucks. Rikku sucks. Auron and Khimari are cool, at least. Then, X-2 happened. It was the first FF game directed by Toriyama, and boy does it suck. Hey. You know ever single thing you ever loved about Final Fantasy? Lets get rid of it all. Serious plot? Who needs it! Good soundtrack? Nope. You get Jpop. Character consistency? Fuck that. Lets turn Yuna into another Rikku for no reason at all. Fuck this game. Dirge of Cerberus is an embarrassment to both shooters and Final Fantasy. FFXII was great, though. IT brought back a lot of the classic elements that I love so much, and it breahted new life into the series. Hey. I have an idea. Lets do away with EVERY SINGLE FUCKING THING that Final Fantasy XII did right in FFXIII and make the worst Final Fantasy ever. Do not even bet me started on this game. IT blows. IT blows hard.
That is all for now. I might do more later if I feel like it, but I think this is, at least, a good start.
