Impressions - Super Mario RPG

 Available on Nintendo Switch

Thoughts on the Story & Gameplay

This is a remake of the 1996 classic (getting a lot of remakes these days huh). The story is a simple one with Princess Peach getting kidnapped by Bowser for what seems like the millionth time. After a great intro battle a giant sword crashes through Bowsers castle and the game truly begins. The thing about this game is this is the first time that the Mario series went full RPG. The gameplay is turn-based and is in that style, player gets a turn enemy then gets a turn like that. A lot of the moves and characters are based on the Mario side of the Nintendo universe with a few cameoes from other characters making appearances in random places. This is one of the first times that Bowser actively teams up with Mario as well. Each character has there own movesets and abilities that you will have to manage. The villains are varied and can be a pain at times, especially in the early going. The remake keeps the design of the original but spruces up the visuals. From a story perspective it is heavy on the comedy. Nothing wrong with that in my opinion. A lot of the jokes are funny with the Toads having some of the more funny lines, at least to me they do. Also the story revolves around finding Seven Stars and that is what you'll be doing in each area. 

Thoughts on the Good

The visuals that are amazing in my opinion. It kind of reminds me what they did with Link's Awakening that came out a few years ago. The music has also been revisited however, if you want you can switch to the original SNES mix. I prefer the new mix as, to me, it just sounds better. I love the gameplay and combat here but to be fair I loved it in the original too. The triple move special, looks great as well as the animation for it. The enemies are varied as well and can catch you off guard if you're not careful. The game isn't hard but it is challenging. There are two modes much like the latest Kirby game but in all honesty, I don't think its to difficult. 

Thoughts on the Bad

I don't really have anything bad to say about this game so far. They only thing I have and this can be seen as a nitpick but that it is very linear. It is a remake so they weren't obligated to add anything to it. That being said it would have been nice if Luigi was a part of the cast for this game. I know but I'm a Luigi fan, what can I say. I feel like he gets shafted a lot of the time. 

For Parents

This game is a great gift idea, especially for fans of the original. Great music, great visuals, and a weirdly fun story. It is a little on the short side for today's RPGs clocking in at about 15 hours but that is how games were back then in all honesty. There isn't anything crazy in the game a lot of cartoon-ish style action and the comedy isn't suggestive or anything like that. A fun, quirky game that I think any gamer would enjoy.

Overall Thoughts

In my opinion, this game is a great addition to the Switch library. I have said on the Wingin IT Podcast before that I don't mind remakes/remasters from the 6th Gen and below as a lot of those games would probably do well and introduce them to a new generation of fans and this one is one of those titles. If you have a Switch it is definitely worth the pick up. Have you played the game yet? What do you think? Leave a comment and let's talk about it. Also check out below for the first hour of gameplay courtesy of the Wingin IT Podcast YouTube channel. 

Trailer

Gameplay (Livestream)

Images via Switchshare

Fresh Take - Loki Season 2 Thoughts (Spoiler-Free Thoughts)

 Available on Disney Plus

Synopsis (from IMDB):

The mercurial villain Loki resumes his role as the God of Mischief in a new series that takes place after the events of "Avengers: Endgame."

Thoughts

This season picks up right where season 1 ended, with Loki trying to stop the unraveling of time and the destruction of the TVA. I know that the Disney Plus shows get a lot of hate but one of the things that I like is the fleshing out of characters and ending their arcs. The Loki series, in my opinion, does just that. We, as viewers, get to see a different side of the Loki that we didn't get to see in the feature films because to be honest there just isn't enough time to do that. The cool thing about this season was how each episode was made to feel important. I haven't felt like this in a Marvel series since season 3 of Daredevil. The CG was done well, the soundtrack was great, and the actors and dialogue all worked for me. Even the comedic parts, which I thought would drag on, didn't, which is a huge plus. One of my favorite parts of the season was the back and forth between Loki and He Who Remains. Much like the back and forth dialogue in Secret Invasion between Fury and "Rhodey" I thought this was done to perfection. Jonathan Majors is really good in his dual roles and I look forward to seeing him in Secret Wars. The last episode, especially the last 10 minutes, is amazing. The shot that they did just has to be seen, I'm not going to spoil it here but I really thought that it was a nice cap to the season and to the character of Loki. The MVP of the season for me is OB, Ouroboros, he was awesome in every scene he was in.

Their wasn't much bad that I can think off outside of what could be considered nitpicking. There was one thing that really annoyed me and that was the character of Sylvie. I really had a problem with the non accountability she seemed to have as everything that was happening was essentially her fault but she had the nerve to talk down to Loki. That part got to me a little bit. Those scenes didn't drag but they were annoying to me. 

For Parents

If you've watched season one and enjoyed it, I don't see why you wouldn't enjoy this season. I think this season is better than the first with an interesting story and it will be nice to see how this will effect the MCU as a whole going forward. All 6 episodes range between 45 - 55 minutes in length. Nothing is drawn out or lags. I think each episode is well paced and that last episode was amazing.

Final Thoughts

If I had to give this a rating I would say FULL PRICE/WATCH THIS NOW. Its a great series and one of my personal favorite from the MCU side of things on Disney Plus. Have you seen the series? What did you think? Leave a comment and let's talk about it. You can also catch myself and Fangirl Reviews thoughts on Fresh Take on the YouTube channel. 

Trailer

Fresh Take - The Marvels Spoiler-Free Review

 

Synopsis (from IMDB):

Carol Danvers AKA Captain Marvel has reclaimed her identity from the tyrannical Kree and taken revenge on the Supreme Intelligence. But unintended consequences see Carol Shouldering the burden of a destablized universe. When her duties send her to an anomalous wormhole linked to a Kree revolutionary, her powers become entangled with that of Jersey City super-fan Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel, and Carol's estranged niece, now S.A.B.E.R astronaut Captain Monica Rambeau. 

Thoughts

Going to be completely honest with you here. I didn't hate this movie, it actually wasn't half bad. I know people have their feelings about Brie Larson and the state of super hero movies and that those feelings are varied and in some cases warranted. This movie, in my opinion, I thought they did a good job of balancing everything out and not dragging certain things out. Now if you haven't seen Ms Marvel or WandaVision you may not know who some of the characters are as they use characters from the Disney Plus shows in the movie. There are some cameoes from certain characters in the MCU that serve a purpose and are not just there to be there. I love Kamala Khan and Monica Rambeau. I think both Iman Vellani and Teyonah Parris do a great job in there respective roles. The movie is pretty much a team up movie and in that respect it works. I thought the switching of the powers issue that was going on was done well and made sense. I think the greatest strength of this movie is the cast and the fact that the story isn't a drawn out mess. The visuals are great and the CG is well done in my opinion. Another plus is that this movie isn't long and is paced well.

So I do have a couple of issues with this movie. I think that this movie, as most movies in the MCU, the villain. I just don't think she was written well and there wasn't enough time to get me to care as they tried to make the audience care about why she was doing what she was doing. Then when they show in the movie that all of this could have been avoided if she had just talked it made it even worse. The other thing is that, and you wouldn't know this if you haven't been watching the Disney Plus shows, but this movie pretty much negates everything that happened in the Secret Invasion show. This normally wouldn't be a problem but everything is supposed to connect and this makes that seem to be an issue. I know the pandemic threw the timing of certain things off, hopefully it won't be an issue going forward.

For Parents

The movie has a runtime of an hour and forty-five minutes. It's paced very well nothing drags on and they get you in and out. Its rated PG-13, there is some language (its Sam Jackson, he has to get his one liners in) and violence here nothing out of the ordinary for the super hero genre. I know there is one mid-credits scene that I think is very important as it could lead to how certain teams are going to be introduced into the mainline MCU. There was an issue at the theatre I was in where right after that the film stopped so I don't know if there is another one.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I enjoyed this movie and I would give it a MATINEE. I think its perfect for a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. Its not to long and I think its a fun movie. It does expect the viewer to know some things going in so if you haven't been keeping up with certain Disney Plus shows then you may be wondering what's going on. Have you seen the Marvels? Leave a comment and let's talk about it. As always thanks for supporting the blog and don't forget to catch the Fresh Take and Wingin IT Podcasts on YouTube, Twitch, Facebook, and Kick. You can also catch the audio version on Spotify, Amazon Music, and Google Podcasts. 

Trailer