Fresh Take - X-Men 97 Season 1 Thoughts

 Available on Disney Plus

Synopsis (from IMDB):

A band of mutants use their uncanny gifts to protect a world that hates and fears them; they're challenged like never before, forced to face a dangerous and unexpected new future.

Thoughts

This is how you do a continuation of a series. This was one of my favorite animated series in the 90s, especially the first four seasons. This series follows the ending of the series and picks up exactly where it left off. The animation is crisp and clean, the action is well done, the stories are off the chain, and the soundtrack is well done. Up and down the team did an excellant job. One of the things I enjoyed the most is the focus on the team and letting every character get their time to shine. This series adapted some of my favorite X stories from the 90s; Operation Zero Tolerance, Fatal Attractions, and E for Extinction. The writing team found a way to adapt these stories into their narrative and make them work. They did such a good job that I would not mind that team writing the live action X-Men whenever the MCU decides to do that. Honestly, there is so much to like even if you're not into the nostalgia. The team just did a great job all around especially with making the social commentary just as relevant as it should be when you're talking about the X-Men. 

I do have one complaint, its kind of like a nitpick. I feel like the season could have been 13 episodes instead of 10 and this is mainly due to the LifeDeath episodes. Those episodes felt rushed and I feel like there could have been more done there, especially with Storm and Forge's relationship. I felt it was just to fast, we don't really see the passage of time with those episodes so it does feel rushed. Now that I think about it I also think that a couple of the episodes could have added a few extra minutes here and there. 

For Parents

This series is rated TV-14. This is not the same as the original Fox animated series. There is death and heavy themes while I do believe kids can watch it. I will say there are a few episodes you may want to watch first to see if they are appropriate for what you allow the 10 and under crowd to see. Everybody else it should be fine as it is your standard super hero show. There is death and there are a couple episodes where humanoid sentinels do lose limbs but outside of 2 scenes that show blood and a couple of horror style mind trip sequences I think there shouldn't be to much of an issue. 

Final Thoughts

Overall this is a MUST WATCH show for me. It is so well done. It is a great way to reintroduce the X-Men. Honestly, I feel like it is the best thing to happen to the X-Men franchise since the original animated series. I have a serious love/hate (mostly hate) relationship with the Fox live action X-Men franchise as I felt they didn't do a good job with the team aspect and other problems with the stories they were telling (looking at you Phoenix). This series just brought a smile to my face and I was looking forward to every Wednesday to catch the next episode. Have you seen X-Men97? What did you think of the show? Leave a comment and lets talk about it.

Trailer

Fresh Take - Impressions Tales of Kenzera: Zau

 Available on Nintendo Switch, PS4|5, XBox S|X, & PC

Thoughts on the Story & Gameplay

This game, in my humble opinion, is a very enjoyable experience. The story in this game deals with grief and loss with the gameplay of a side scrolling action/platformer aka 'MetroidVania' (I really wish we could stop using that word). The game is from Surgent Studios and is from Abubakar Salim, whom you may know as the voice of Bayek in Assassin's Creed Origins. In my opinion, the game's story and themes are really well done and I love the interactions between the characters. There are "echoes" that you can unlock while traversing the world that help build upon the lore, I like these little touches as for me they help to expand the narrative. 

From a gameplay standpoint this game revolves around the 'Dance of the Shaman'. There are two masks through which Zau can gocus his power, the Sun and the Moon masks. The Sun mask allows Zau to control 2 spears with flame style attacks, while the Moon mask is used for quick style attacks that help with crowd control. The platforming aspects of the game can get a little frustrating from time to time. However, I feel once you get the timing down that the game opens up a little and with the addition of trinkets that can be modified at workbenches and the skill tree the rhythm becomes more natural. The boss fights are pretty fun to me and follow the standard figure out the pattern and the boss will fall. The gameplay doesn't necessarily reinvent the wheel but I don't need it to, its fun and that's what matters most to me. At the time of this post I haven't beaten as I missed a few of the Echoes in the beginning and I am trying to go back and find them. Hence, why this is an Impression and not a review.

Thoughts on the Good

It goes without saying but I love the artstyle and setting of the game. As someone who doesn't really get to see characters that I can relate with done with respect, it is really nice to see. Also, the soundtrack is very good as well. I love the music in this game. Would buy the soundtrack day one if they would sell it (please catch the hint EA).  Once the flow combat is down and your trinket use is figured out the game really does open up from an action standpoint. Lastly, I can not say enough good things about the story. I love the banter and the back and forth between Kalunga and Zau. There are points in the game where I just like listening to the two of them talk. Its kind of like talking to your older Uncle, he's trying to talk sense into you but you just to hard headed and stubborn to listen.  That's the feeling I get when listening to the two of them. 

Thoughts on the Bad

Sometimes the platforming sections can be frustrating, especially at the beginning. It sometimes feel like you're meeting those one hitter quitters i.e. spikes way to often. At first I thought maybe it was input lag and that may be the case on the Switch version but I also have it on my Series X and the same problems occur.  To be honest those sections when I got past them were straight up luck. This is a small thing but certain sections of the game feel like they can go on and good while with no enemies showing up. It was kind of throwing my rhythm off a little bit. On the flipside of that sometimes you'll encounter a Streets of Rage Elevator sequence where everybody and they Mama show up. I feel like there could have been a little bit better balance there.

For Parents

This is a fun action platformer. Personally, I think it may be a little to hard for the little ones but pre-teens and up I think will enjoy this game a lot.  The enemies in the game are incarnations of spirits that look unhuman and they just disappear when they are defeated. No gore or anything like that. Like I stated earlier this game deals with grief and the actions someone who is greiving will take. I think this is a great game for everyone but especially black kids, boys in particular as a lot of times in gaming there isn't really that many positive portrayals of black boys, kids, and men. I think this is a game that should be in every gamers library, especially if you love the action platforming genre.

Overall Thoughts/Is the Game FUN?

This game is a FULL PRICE buy for me. I find myself having so much fun with this game. I love the atmosphere, the environments and the gameplay. The soundtrack is superb and the story is excellent in my opinion. Also, the game is not expensive and the replay value is in finding all of the unlockables. This is something I wished more games did instead of microtransactions but that's a story for another day. Have you picked up Tales of Kenzera: Zau? What did you think? Leave a comment and lets talk about it. 

Trailer/GamePlay

Fresh Take/Quick Take - X-Men 97 Tolerance is Extinction Part 1 Quick Thoughts

 Available on Disney Plus

Thoughts

That's how you start a 3 part season finale. This episode picks up where the last one left off. If you haven't read Operation Zero Tolerance from the mid 90s then you probably don't know who Bastion is and what the Prime Sentinels are. This episode did a good job of introducing them and giving you an idea of where this will go. One thing that can't be denied about this series is that even though they have a lot of storylines going at the same time they do a really good job of making them tie together. This episode is action packed but did add a horror-ish element to it that I think worked as it made the stakes rise. The music in this episode also is very well done especially the last sequence in the episode. There are a lot of cool notable moments from characters. They even let Wolverine get in on it, which was very cool to see. There were also a few noteworthy cameos that I am really looking forward to seeing what they do with them in the future. There wasn't much that I didn't like only the fact that there is no Storm in this episode and I would have thought she would have been back with the team by this episode. Neverthless, I enjoyed this episode immensely. Have you seen this week's episode of X-Men 97? Leave a comment and let's talk about it. You can check out the spoiler filled review on Sunday with myself and Fangirl Review over on YouTube and Twitch.