Dishwasher? No!
February 20, 2011 1:00 PM   Subscribe

 
Super Mario party, so frustrating. I came to seriously despise it, refuse to even play the bullshit wii version.
posted by Ad hominem at 1:19 PM on February 20, 2011


Hee hee, this is actually really funny. Who'da thunk.
posted by Namlit at 1:24 PM on February 20, 2011


At first you think 'loner geek', but then he's really funny.
posted by gallois at 1:37 PM on February 20, 2011


He's definitely a lot more funny than you might at first suspect. The mere fact that he has a good-quality microphone and a good speaking voice set him apart from most youtubers, but he also has great comedic timing and some solid writing. I'm especially glad he doesn't rely on the one-trick pony of being constantly enraged that propels most video game nostalgics out there.
posted by Hargrimm at 1:53 PM on February 20, 2011


Man, I really need to buy Minecraft.
posted by snapped at 1:55 PM on February 20, 2011


I really enjoyed his Top 20 SNES games, partially because rather than trying to definitively argue for the "best" games, he picks the ones that mean the most to him, and explains why. Also, yes to above; dude's funny.
posted by Zephyrial at 2:08 PM on February 20, 2011


being constantly enraged

Nerd rage cracks me up, my current favorite is ltMkilla. Here is his SMB video.
posted by Ad hominem at 2:15 PM on February 20, 2011


reminds me of my fairly geeky, fairly brilliant little brother. thanks
posted by es_de_bah at 4:00 PM on February 20, 2011


His Top 20 SNES games list is great, largely because it features all three DKC games with DKC2 at the top spot (of those three games, of course. The top three real spots are all held by early Mario.)

So let me say, I'm a serious Mario cultist.Of the 15 Wii games I own, 8 of them have "Mario" in the title, and I love them all. My favorite Halloween ever I went as Mario, and convinced my friends to dress as Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, Peach, Daisy, Shy Guy and Toad. For groomsmen gifts at my friend's recent wedding, we all received belt buckes symbolizing something we love. My friend explained to me afterwards that it wasn't a choice for me about getting a Mario buckle, but of which Mario buckle to get me, because that was obviously going to be the choice for me. (For the record, an original NES controller narrowly beat out the Bullet Bill one.)

I say this so that I can say that nothing is the SNES for me like the Donkey Kong Country games, all of which are astoundingly good, and none of them better than DKC2: Diddy's Kong Quest. It is basically a game made out of love and perfection. If I were to rank the greatest games of all time, it would definitely be in the top finve, and depending on the day, would probably take the top spot.

It's not just the graphics, which tested the upper limits of what the system could manage, and evoked an unimaginable feel that the recent DKC Returns had to work like hell to emulate. It's not just the gameplay and level design, which were fluid and fun and delivered great platforming and puzzle-solving simultaneously. It's not even just the music, which is definitely the best ever offered on the SNES and stands with the greatest video game scores ever.

It's that all of those things add up to greater immersion than I'd see in anything until Oblivion (which the A.V. Club described as "not so much a game as a lifestyle choice, like having children.") The graphics create a legitimate world unlike any other. It's not that they look plasticky and shiny, but that they look unlike any other game. The gameplay and level design makes the two characters play differently, but in very useful and intuitive ways, and the level design encourages, and later forces, you to keep both Dixie and Diddy alive throughout the very difficult stages in order to continue, making you feel a sense of real comraderie between the two of them. And then, the music.

Sweet Jesus, the music. You could play this game with the sound off, but it'd be like playing Guitar Hero with the sound off; sure, you can do it, but now you're just mashing buttons on cue. Never have I played a non-rhythm game where music provided of much of the key to what made it so immersive and fun. The pirate levels (the game starts you off on pirate levels!) come complete with a brilliant and catchy "yo ho ho" kind of theme that ups the fun value immensely. The later bramble levels feature more trippy music, perfectly matching the feel of this otherworldly place, but more importantly, nudging the attitude of the player. Most great video game themes are simply iconic, which is nothing to sneeze at. But this one, well, in some of the game's toughest stages it gives you a continuous unconscious hint to slow it down a bit, be patient, take your time.

And then you get to this, the best stage theme ever. Seriously. If you've never played the game, well, this is one of the very last levels, seemingly the penultimate one, where you're ascending through the boss's tower. You've been through many tough things by now, and here's a level where the ground is rising and you've got to avoid traps and ceilings and enemies while it does so.

So the music evokes danger, yes, and heightening tension. But then it does something more. It grows, slowly, into a triumphant, heroic crescendo. This isn't just the theme of King K. Rule's castle - it is the theme of you in it. And you're a hero, dammit! Get this done!

I don't know of another theme which has managed this trick, and so DKC2 would have to be number one on my list of the greatest SNES games of all time.

I have a few quibbles about the "Best Mario Kart Tracks" list as well, but that seems kind of unimportant relative to this.
posted by Navelgazer at 8:37 PM on February 20, 2011


I love this, because I love both video games and parrots and this guy is funny.

They make a great mix, by the way. I have a Congo African Grey that trash talks when we play Street Fighter. It works to our advantage when we have friends over because they're not used to it, so they die laughing and get distracted. He'll yell stuff like, "OHHHHHHH!!!!!" and "What the hell!" and "Fuck off!" and "What the-- argh-- argh-- mrrghrraaaaaargh" and "HAH!" and "Fuuuuuuuuuck!"

Plus it feels pretty awesome to KO someone and have a parrot cheer you on. He's great to watch movies/TV with, too, because he laughs at funny parts, completely inappropriate parts, and when there's a big plot twist he'll go "OHHHH!!!!!" He just goes by our facial cues -- or at least I assume so, because I don't think he can actually follow an episode of Sherlock.
posted by Nattie at 8:06 AM on February 21, 2011 [1 favorite]


These are funny. Okay, I'm a sucker for parrots... that looks like a green-cheeked conure and one who's very happy with his human. Automatic points right there.

My Senegal parrot laughs at punchlines, pratfalls and other appropriate spots. I'm convinced that she does in fact follow plots and has a twisted sense of humor. She liked this, BTW. And laughed appropriately.
posted by kinnakeet at 10:32 AM on February 21, 2011 [1 favorite]


I expected to find these irritating, but they're surprisingly funny. Plus, he has pretty much identical game taste as me. So rare! But probably the inevitable result of growing up an SNES gamer.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 10:57 AM on February 21, 2011 [1 favorite]


I checked into a Best Western in Buffalo tonight, and while going through the check-in procedure, somebody kept calling at me from behind me. "You! Hey you! Yeah, you!" that sort of stuff. I was focused on my conversation with the woman at the desk and so just barely was making glances over my shoulder to see who was interrupting us, because I realized with a start that it was an African Grey in a cage behind me.

So that was pretty cool.
posted by Navelgazer at 7:54 PM on February 21, 2011 [1 favorite]


I'd like to see more of this kind of stuff. Shows with people and birds that is. This is pretty good stuff.

Our Quaker also laughs on his own...mostly when people fall down or get hurt on TV. It's really uncanny because we aren't laughing at the time and his timing is perfect.
posted by screamingnotlaughing at 4:21 PM on February 24, 2011


« Older Plastic fantastic?   |   Is Science Saturated with Sexism? Newer »


This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments