Thursday, February 28, 2019

Sleeping With The Enemy: Admitting Fault (Hey Poor Player)






Truth be told, I've been bearing some unflattering insecurities regarding my writing, and Sleeping With The Enemy took the full brunt. With its objective in bearing my soul, I feared my topics bore irrelevant fruit, that I lacked the appropriate prose necessary to convey an effective thesis, or, worst of all, that such hesitation proved my inability to maintain an audience as a game journalist. This caused a significant delay, and it's weighed upon me heavily.

Regardless, here's the next iteration involving Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. True to the subject matter, I hope any criticism paves the road to a better future.

On a lighter note, there's been exciting developments behind-the-scenes for Hey Poor Player! I can't share them now, but you can expect them within next month. I suspect this'll finally be the breakthrough our little site's been waiting for, so I'll be giving it my all!

Tuesday, February 26, 2019

One Piece Vol. 89 Review (Hey Poor Player)



....oh dear, I've been so focused on my next Sleeping with the Enemy that I forgot to archive this here. Anyway, BOY AM I READY FOR WHOLE CAKE TO END.

Wednesday, February 20, 2019

US Government “Borrowed” Yoshi’s Island DS Music For EPA Flash Game (Hey Poor Player)



I'm sharing this for no reason other than that this is the funnest article I've ever written. Yours truly took it upon himself to document the latest feud between Yoshi, tax-thieving extraordinaire, and our own US government.

(In case you were wondering, no, I don't buy the EPA's latest statement -- clearly Yoshi had a hand.)

Nyankees Vol. 1 Review (Hey Poor Player)




What, you didn't think a cat manga review was inevitable?

Anyway, expect a steady flow of "one and done" Vol. 1 reviews beginning this spring -- I'm beginning to recognize it's not just about analyzing what you love, but the general influx of what the media produces.

Thursday, February 14, 2019

Super Mario Bros. 3


Before I begin this review proper, I must confess there exist two factors that've always dumbfounded me regarding Super Mario Bros. 3, the NES game revered as the system's masterwork. Admittedly, one bears little on the game's quality in itself; mainly, the shock that its original Japanese release was a whole two years earlier in 1988 than its 1990 American release. Technically speaking, that's more so a year-and-a-half (Japan's October 23, 1988 to America's February 12, 1990 -- and that's to say nothing of Europe's August 29, 1991!), but the point is, I just think it's silly 1988 America was busy greeting a reassembled black sheep in Super Mario Bros. 2 while Japan was living it up with the Holy Grail of 8-Bit Gaming. As always with the medium, The Land of the Rising Sun really does have it good.

The other cause -- one immediately more relevant and, as evidenced by this Koji Kondo interview, has certainly confounded others -- is how I am never not baffled by the silent title screen. Anyone who's played the Super Mario All-Stars remake should certainly recall the jubilant ragtime remix of the classic Underwater Theme, perfectly accompanying the game's curtain-raising opening via choreography: the subdued drone introducing Mario and Luigi, the trumpeting eruption of delight greeting not only both the title and the theater's showers of enemies and power-ups, but our joy in playing one of the greatest 2D platformers ever crafted. A disorientation perhaps exclusive to those who played the SNES/GBA versions first (including yours truly), this aural absence unveils our first impressions of Super Mario Bros. 3 as a stunning retcon, its reduction to silent pantomime a bewildering relic.

Tuesday, February 5, 2019

Case Closed Vol. 69 Review




As mentioned on Twitter, this'll be the last Case Closed review for the foreseeable future. Not that I haven't fallen out of love with the series or anything, the series' rigid formula produced repetition that often impeded consistent critical thought. As I plan to branch out into other manga this spring, this difficulty rendered it prime for the axe. Consequently, I suspect my more ardent  readers may notice my wavering conviction throughout this particular review.

Regardless, we'll be back on track with game reviews here soon. Expect to see Sleeping with the Enemy return this month as well.