The Wild Blog in the West

Image: Nintendo This critique contains spoilers for Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild . I had not played video games for 25 years.   Then came The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild . The Legend of Zelda premiered in 1986 as an eight-bit top-down style adventure game for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES).   It involved an elf-like warrior named Link wandering through the land of Hyrule, seeking out eight pieces of the Triforce of Wisdom in order to rescue Princess Zelda.   Critics lauded the game for its open world style of play, which took Link through mountains and forests in search of his objectives.   Over the decades, The Legend of Zelda would form a series with a cast of familiar characters and its own lore.     Breath of the Wild (2017) set off an earthquake in the Zelda franchise.   It took the open world concept of the first Zelda and turned it into a 3D experience where Link could climb on ne...

Have you ever wanted to play a video game, but didn't have the money or the time?  Thanks to the power of YouTube, you can see how that game is played, and then some. I first stumbled upon video game playthroughs, or walkthroughs, when I was looking for video on the famous S uper Mario Brothers "minus world."  If you've ever played the classic Super Mario Brothers , you may be aware that there are certain glitches in the game, and those savvy enough to exploit them can find themselves in, as they say, a whole new world: In case that wasn't weird enough for you, here is minus world in the Japanese version: But playthroughs aren't just for watching cool glitches in beloved classic video games.  They are also for watching entire video games and interactive stories.  For instance, when I was young, I beat Nintendo's classic game, Mike Tyson's Punch Out .  Years later, they came up with an updated version on Wii, which I don't own and don...

Last time, I focused on the ways in which The Legend of Korra was intertwined with its predecessor, The Last Airbender , to the point where it's almost useless to compare them (though many will try).  This time, I want to focus on what made Korra such a great, and at times frustrating, show.  In many respects, it's more difficult than I thought because since the final Korrasami moment, news outlets have tripped over themselves (many of which had previously shown no interest) to glorify every aspect of the series.  Coming up with something unique and non cliched is rather difficult.  Maybe it would be easier if I began with the less impressive aspects of the series... The Less Good Some Choppy, Underdeveloped Plot Points.   I am mainly referring to the Season Two arc, but the same is true of the other seasons to an extent.  Season Two suffered from Nickelodeon's sudden reward of three additional Korra  seasons, forcing the Korra creators to scram...

Beware of spoilers... When I did my first review for The Legend of Korra , I had seen only Book One and had no previous exposure to the Avatar  universe.  What little I knew about Avatar: The Last Airbender  came from the Nostalgia Critic review praising the series while rightfully ripping on the movie adaptation.  Now I come with a richer perspective, having having watched both series in their entirety, and I have one thing to say: Korrasami!!!!!! Just kidding.  I do want to talk about that, but it can wait.  First I want to focus on what else made The Legend of Korra such a memorable show. Background I already gave basic background about the Avatar universe in my previous review.  Both Avatar  series are set in a world parallel to our own, divided into four nations based on the elements: earth, fire, air, and water.  Inhabitants of these nations who can manipulate an element are known as "benders."  The Avat...

For my previous Things That I Love, read here . I'm always the last one to know. That's an exaggeration, but not a big one.  I usually discover awesome shows only after their awesomeness has been proclaimed to the world.  Such was the case with Mad Men , Breaking Bad , and Homeland .  And such is the case with Orphan Black . The buzz surrounding Season One and early Season Two brought me to BBC America, even though I watch maybe five shows a year, and usually never on channels not named HBO or AMC.  I knocked back 10 episodes in two days -- hooray for On Demand and marathon viewing! -- and never looked back. Orphan Black  is the type of show that could not have worked even five years ago, due to the special effects required.  It is an amazing blend of technology, writing, and acting.  If any of those parts failed, the show would fail.  Fortunately, they seem poised to succeed for quite some time. So?  What's It About? From here,...

When it comes to television series, I'm almost always late for the party.  I tend to hop on board the love train after one or two seasons have passed, when the show is safely critically acclaimed and therefore worth investing my time. Such was the case with Avatar: The Last Airbender  and its sequel, The Legend of Korra .  I learned about Avatar  at the same time as its much-maligned film version, and thought little more about it.  But after Doug Walker from That Guy With the Glasses did a review of the film/series, I became intrigued enough to check it out.  While Avatar  was not readily available,* Korra was.  And oh my God, after one episode, I was in love. A little context: since childhood, I have been an absolute nut for great animation.  Until I was 10 or 11, I was convinced that I would become an animator, and spent my afternoons doodling comical dogs and dragons on large sheets of paper.  Disney was the default style, though...