Fanboys Anonymous

I'm late to the game with my thoughts on Pokemon Legends: Z-A, but better late than never, right?

Truth to be told, there are three major reasons why this review is coming out so late, if I'm being fully transparent:

1) I was out of the country for the first couple weeks the game was out, so I didn't get around to playing it until the latter end of October anyway. All that initial response juice was already gone.

2) My attention has been away from Fanboys Anonymous for 2025 due to having to prioritize other jobs. This is why there hasn't been much content at all for the site this year. I always want to do more, and I have so many more ideas that just sit on the back burner.

3) I haven't exactly been motivated to write up anything about this after playing it. In fact, most of this list is going to be predominantly complaining.

The TL;DR coming out of that third point is that overall, while this is a fun enough game for something to do, I was finding myself writing far too many cons and not enough pros. I also found myself perfectly okay with putting the game down for days at a time, instead of feeling that itch to hop back on as soon as I could.

Look. Nothing will beat the original Generation 1 experience of playing Pokemon for the first time with Red, Blue, and Yellow for me. Not even the enthusiasm and wonder of Gold and Silver, which was in many ways a better game, can quite capture that magic.

But I had a TON of fun revisiting that region for Let's Go, and I felt my first real rush of the old school childhood whimsy with Pokemon Legends Arceus. While Scarlet and Violet had to match that had their pros and cons all of their own (in some ways, improving on what I liked about PLA, and in other ways, going in a different direction I wasn't fond of) I graded that with a bit of a curve, as it wasn't the true follow-up in Legends fashion. Z-A, on the other hand, wasn't going to get the same grace.

Unfortunately, my general assessment of Z-A is that there are VERY FEW improvements compared to PLA for my personal tastes, and more than its fair share of downgrades.

Biggest Con: Lumiose City is a Claustrophobic & Boring Location / Lack of Free-Roam

Easily my biggest complaint about this game, and the overall reason I've been let down by it, is the environment.

From the very first bits of news I had heard about it being one big city, I instantly thought "I hope that doesn't mean everything looks the same, everything is cramped, and there's no diversity."

Lo and behold, that's exactly what we got.

I hate that this is a city that looks almost exactly the same on every street. They're nearly identical throughout the entire map, and it makes it so I not only have no idea where I am and can't recall anything distinct enough for a location, but that I'm visually bored.

In PLA, I would mark sections of the map to explore another time. Venturing out past where they kind of wanted you to be meant that I would find myself panicking because the Alpha Snorlax or Alpha Rapidash or Alpha Alakazam in the first region was suddenly around me and I was severely under-leveled. The same for Scarlet and Violet, where I glitched myself to that platform I wasn't supposed to reach and could explore anywhere and it felt like I came across unique areas that were memorable.

For instance, when I came across that flying Gyarados in PLA, that was one of those magic moments for me. And it felt like every region was HUGE. I was just exploring and coming across a random creek with a Bibarel or the wooded area with the Scyther and Kleavor. Scarlet and Violet went a little overboard in that enough of the spots looked similar that it was hard to keep track of where I was specifically if I had gotten all the items and whatnot without consulting a guide, but it was still more fun to just explore.

There is no exploring here in ZA. That's partially because they lock everything behind invisible barriers (especially at the start of the game, where it was INCREDIBLY INFURIATING to be stopped in my tracks and told that I arbitrarily couldn't go somewhere because I needed to progress the story)

It's an interesting enough concept to change the landscape as you progress with the game, but adding some more of the bland scaffolding doesn't do the trick. Nor am I happy you got rid of my best spot to farm mega shards once I beat the story.

The rooftops are annoying. Having no means of flying or climbing or anything that makes traversing the environment easier, even after the main missions are over, is just a pain. I don't like having to get to the top of something and looking around for 10 minutes because the only way up is some arbitrary corner of some building 4 streets away that is my only access point ever to that rooftop. It just makes it a hassle and not fun when you have to either remember the differences between buildings that look identical and streets that look identical as well as specific little tiny rooftop mechanics.

Wild zones aren't making up for it. You just plopped a few static Pokemon into a corner of a street. Most of it doesn't make any sense to begin with. Also, fuck those Pyroar. 

Con: Stop Trapping Me to Death / Catching Mechanics

Because everything is so cramped, this made the whole "attack the player" health bar element of this game annoying, too.

I enjoyed running around Hisui and feeling like I was in danger from time to time.

Catching Pokemon by sneaking up on them, or throwing some Feather Balls, Wing Balls, or Jet Balls (three things missing from this game that I would've liked to see return, but you can't really have that when this game is so focused on keeping you in tight spots)—that stuff was fun before.

But I liked it better when I could throw a ball or toss out a Pokemon and start a more locked-in battle, particularly in an environment where I can actually move around.

What I don't like in ZA is that the lock-on mechanics are a bit finicky, and when I'm in an alleyway, there's no room for me to do anything but to immediately get spotted by a Pokemon and then take a bunch of damage. Effectively, to catch damn near anything in this game, I had to just barrel through, attack like crazy with some move that did residual damage to everything else that was attacking me as well, and then hope that I didn't mess up locking onto the wrong thing.

But in particular, there is too much going on at any given moment. How am I supposed to take in the entire environment, every Pokemon in an area, the HP bar of all those Pokemon including my own AND myself, the moves being set up, my moves that I need to execute, and somehow be dodging in a way that is a step ahead and in this tight environment to try to move in a way that my Pokemon also moves out of the way of another attack and I don't get caught where MY attacks just don't land because they're too far away or not facing the right direction or whatever? And when your Pokemon decides to just walk to another spot before doing the attack, or has to take 3 seconds to do its cry when you send it out, that is incredibly frustrating.

Battling wasn't fun in this game like it was in PLA, which I'm going to need them to basically go back to. This idea of my movements being in sync with where my Pokemon move as the means to dodge is just not great.

It's a step up in some ways from the auto battle stuff in Scarlet and Violet, but it's a step down from PLA, for sure.

Pro: More Value to Certain Moves Than Ever

For a short while, I found myself saying "Oh wow, I never use something like Growl, ever, but it kind of seems useful to do that before a Pokemon can notice you, and you can immediately get an advantage in the battle."

I say a short while, because I then found myself in scenarios where I needed to just power through anyway, so it became more advantageous to still just have powerful attacking moves for the most part, and that went out the window pretty quickly.

But hey, for the first time in a long time, I was using Leer and Nuzzle and Amnesia, which is kind of neat. 

Pro: Fainting Pokemon Can Be Caught

One of the big positives to the catch system this time around, though, is that you can knock something out and still get an opportunity to catch it, instead of it just disappearing immediately.

More often than not, that was my strategy with a lot of Pokemon.

Con: Give Me More Pokemon to Pick from at the Start! / Better Moves

Holy shit, I did not want to use Bunnelby. Why did you give me NO OTHER OPTIONS to use Rock Smash than that stupid thing? 

On top of that, I picked Totodile, and that movepool was atrocious for far, far too long. 

Con: Character Customization

It was annoying having to go searching through tons of shops and tons of menus to see the different options and to see that most of them weren't something I was super fond of. If I liked something, but didn't have enough money, I also found it very annoying to have to try to remember which of the 20 shops had that pair of shoes or whatever. This could've been made so much more efficient.

For that matter, those are your only options for haircuts? They weren't great, and I think they could've used another 10 options or so. I liked the hair options better in PLA for sure. Scarlet and Violet was terrible with that, so at least in this, I can wear a suit like I try to, instead of the awful orange and purple uniform options from SV. 

Con: Cafes are Dumb

Why do all the cafe drinks do the same thing, it seems? What's the purpose? Why should I pay for more expensive ones? And why are there tons of these cafes around if they all just sell the same things and we have a fast travel that makes it so I don't need to only go to a specific one to get a specific thing or that I don't have access to the previous ones?

I've never liked these extra mechanics of taking photos in the games or playing with your Pokemon. I hated the whole sandwich thing in Scarlet and Violet, for instance. Some people love that, but that's not me.

Con: The Story

I think I've gotten to the point where I barely even engage in the story with Pokemon games, to be honest. I liked the overall concept of PLA, but Scarlet and Violet was just too much dialogue and I didn't like the characters. ZA was basically the same situation. I couldn't even tell you the name of the 2 friends outside of Taunie, because I just skipped everything they said after a while. Everyone yaps too much and it isn't even good dialogue to justify it.

I miss Team Rocket and having better villains. Quasartico and whatnot were so meh.

Pro: Saved Pokeballs / Pokemon Centers / Picking Up Items

Whoever decided to put that guy outside the Poke Centers that gives you the balls you dropped, I love you for that. That was a great touch.

Also, I liked how you could easily just slide into one of these centers, kind of like in Scarlet and Violet, and that you could purchase things there, too. Having separate shops and centers is just obsolete.

Somewhat related, I like the mechanics of just walking over the glowing items and not having to press the A button to interact with them. I like the abundance of them, too, which helped a lot with money management. 

Con: Night and Day Loading Screens

Yo. Stop pausing my game and giving me the battle zone activated or deactivated notifications all the time. That goes especially true for when you just despawned something I was catching or reset the battlefield and now, I'm caught in the line of fire of some Pokemon that weren't there before.

Con: The Grind

As I'm writing this, I'm at the point in the game that the Infinite Z-A Royale has been unlocked. You mean to tell me I'm going to have to get 50,000 points for EACH MATCH of that?

That's just an artificial way to force me into stretching out the amount of time I play the game by doing mindless battle after battle in the same areas that never change. This is probably going to be something I abandon instead of finishing, as I don't know if I want to put that many hours into just repeat battles that offer me nothing else but another battle and a reset to do it all over again 20+ more times.

Con: Why Can't I Run?

There should not be any moments of this game where I'm forced to walk at a snail's pace, and yet, there are several. How are those beneficial? Having to walk super slowly to follow something or whatever was just infuriating. 

Pro: Changing Moves / Box System

This was the most efficient way to just go into a menu and change a Pokemon's moves. I appreciated that so much, and the ability for the TM menu to show me that lineup rather than for me to have to open up a TM individually and see what can learn it and such.

Go with this box system and all going forward. This was the best it's ever been. 

Mostly a Pro: Alphas are Back

I like Alpha Pokemon. The idea behind it is pretty great just by itself about how certain Pokemon are just bigger, stronger, meaner, etc. I'm glad they didn't forego that. But with the diversity and location problems, this left much to be wanted.

In the future, Alphas should be in almost any game, I think. Just give me a wider variety of them and in locations that are different and bigger so I can feel like I'm actually going out in the wild and catching things that aren't spawning directly in front of me or just hanging out on a tiny street.

Speed Round

This is already a long and rambly post (apologies for how messy it is, but I'm just not motivated to polish it up better). So let's just toss out some other pros and cons in a quicker fashion bullet point list:

• Why did I skip half the letters in the alphabet?
• For the most part, I'm not a big fan of mega evolutions. The gimmicks like the Z-Moves and the Dynamax and Terrastalized Form and whatnot just don't really strike me as super interesting. Some of these designs, in particular, are just not good. That's all you could think of for Starmie? What's up with Dragonite? Froslass looks more like a Gigantamax form than a Mega Evolution.
• Yes, the graphics could be better. There really isn't any excuse for it. I played this on a Switch 1, but I don't see any real difference with the Switch 2. They should be better than this. 

For Anyone Who is Curious...

If you want to know what my core team was for the majority of the game, my Feraligatr held down the fort predominantly with a Lucario. Talonflame was my #3, I would say. Gardevoir was around for most of it, but I found it not doing super well and would replace it from time to time. Krookodile and Venusaur rounded out the team once I got those. Some of my other things I would swap in from time to time were a Dragonite, a Dedene, and a variety of others. I was really disappointed that I didn't get the opportunity to use Hawlucha or Aegislash for the first time in a playthrough, but you gave me access to them at too late of a time for them to be worthwhile. Instead, you wanted me to suffer with that damn Bunnelby forever. I won't forgive you for that. 

What do you think are the best and worst parts of Pokemon Legends ZA?Drop your thoughts in the comments below!

A few years ago, I binged the entire series of The Office during COVID-19 lockdown quarantine. It gave me an excuse to tap into a show that I had completely missed out on, as I had never watched it when it was airing. I always heard good things, but I've heard that about all sorts of different shows and movies only to be disappointed when I engaged with it, so I assumed The Office would be another one of those. Clearly, I would start watching it and hate it.

On the contrary, I ended up doing what I did with Modern Family: I started watching it, pretty instantly realized that I liked it, and breezed through my binge watching, going episode to episode every day until I swept through the series in no time.

It wasn't perfect. There were certain characters that didn't resonate well with me. The show fell off after Michael Scott was no longer the centerpiece and some other characters came in that were annoying. But overall, I ended the series wishing I had experienced the journey for several years with other people, rather than just watching it all in 2020 long after it had ended.

So when they announced that The Paper was going to be a show, I knew that I had to give it a chance from the onset, instead of waiting.

Here are my thoughts—for better and for worse—on my impressions and review of season 1 of The Paper.

75% Pro: The Tone

Arguably even more than the cast of characters themselves, the real gem of The Office was its tone. For the most part, The Paper gets that right, but not fully on the mark.

There's a certain level of awkwardness that it should have so that it plays off as believable. Things shouldn't feel like the pacing sets up for a laugh track, nothing should look staged, reactions should seem genuine. At times, though, I did find myself thinking that they lost track of this and dipped too much into sitcom tropes.

This doesn't feel as "lived in" as the original. Everyone's clothes feel a little too chosen for them, for example. I do feel like some of the acting can turn into performing rather than being. Sometimes, it feels like they were told to ham it up a bit because it would come off too flat, whereas the flatness is part of what sold The Office. It needs that tension.

This feels like The Office, but it feels like the later seasons and not the core 2-5 I would say that really make up what people love about the original the most. IE, The Simpsons of 2025 has some of the essence of the prime 2-10 seasons, but my milk still tasting like my cereal doesn't mean it literally is more cereal, if you catch my drift. 

Mixed Bag Pro & Con: Jim & Pam x2

The dynamic between Jim and Pam was in many ways the main hook of the show for a lot of people. Maybe I'm diluting it a bit, but I feel like most fans could probably say they either watched the show primarily for Michael's antics, Dwight's antics, or the Jim and Pam romance. A big portion of the crowd loves shipping people and love stories, so that becomes their investment.

As such, I fully understand not only why the writers of The Paper would want to revisit that dynamic for themselves, but why they would also feel obligated to do that. If there wasn't a couple to root for to get together, I think a good number of viewers would tune this out and say they can't get into these characters.

But they've decided to double it up and have two of those couples right out of the gate in The Paper, and I don't really love that. It feels like there is another layer to this that could possibly be an excuse. Did they not think they could write one of them well enough, so they have a backup couple in case fans reject one of them? Did they not think they were strong enough on their own and want to double up because quantity over quality? I sure hope it isn't that they wanted two white people and then wanted two non-white people to get together for a quota or demographics thing and they were just running the math behind this. Likewise, I don't wish to find out it was manufactured by the studio as some sort of generic equation of "people liked Jim & Pam, do 2 Jim & Pams and we'll get double the ratings!" Ploys like that don't ever really work out.

Between the couples of Ned Sampson & Mare Pritti and Nicole Lee & Detrick Moore, I do like both of them, but I don't LOVE both of them. Honestly, it didn't feel like I watched 10 episodes of growth between these characters in any fashion to reach a point where I was really hoping they would get together in some fashion. That all felt very rushed, and I think part of what made Jim & Pam so special was the teasing.

I can only assume that season 2 will start with Ned and Mare being awkward with each other because "they shouldn't" while Nicole and Detrick are awkward with each other because Detrick got his heart broken and needs to chill out a bit while Nicole needs to grow a heart herself and get closer to his level. Tada. 

Ned and Mare comes off as the slightly better duo in the sense of being equals with the caveat of being a little bland, while I feel like Detrick and Nicole comes off as more interesting characters but the power dynamic kind of makes Detrick "winning" Nicole kind of like a contest rather than a romance blossoming. To be honest, both couples kind of feel like they could almost play the brother and sister vibe better than love interests.

I do like all four characters, overall. Detrick is probably my favorite of the bunch. 

Massive Con: Esmeralda Grand & Ken Davies

Holy shit, do I not like Esmeralda. Her character is supposed to be obnoxious, but not in this way for me. This is the same problem I had with Nellie in The Office, where a villain is supposed to be disliked, but I didn't want to see her get her comeuppance, I just wanted to see her not in the episode. In pro wrestling, there's a term called "go away heat", where instead of the villain heel getting boos because they're a bad person and you want to see them lose the match, you're booing the performer and the character's writing and you don't want them to take time away from other performers/characters you genuinely do find entertaining.

Esmeralda is like someone watched Modern Family, said "we gotta have a Gloria" and then told Sabrina Impacciatore to do her best Sofia Vergara impression. I've seen some people defend the character, saying they're interpreting it as Esmeralda as a character is trying to put on a performance for the camera. I don't think that is the case at all, or we would have seen her change her voice and act like a human being during her sad moments manufactured to try to convince me to like the character and sympathize with her. Newsflash, it didn't happen. I would love to see her character written out of the show or coming back in season 2 with a completely different vibe. I don't want to watch the redemption of her villainous character at all.

With Ken Davies, I just feel like the whole bible of the character is just one page that has typed out in big letters "do The Office". He feels the least like an actual character and more like a fever dream of what someone remembers characters from The Office to look and sound like. I don't believe whatsoever that this is an actual person living in this world. What is he, The Great Gazoo from The Flintstones?

I haven't seen Tim Key in anything else (same with Impacciatore), but I assume they're better than this. In 10 episodes, they never got out of coming across to me like people auditioning to be in an Office spoof, rather than actual characters within the show.

Major Pro: Travis

He's not on the same level of the series regulars, for some reason, but Travis stands out to me as the most consistently funny character of the show. Frankly, he's funnier when he's interacting with the others than he is in his own side bits, which I'm already afraid will contribute to his flanderization and turn him into a total dimwit doofus instead of the more subdued character that I like better now. Give me more scenes of him just being a sly scumbag and less of him pulling a Kramer waking up from the melatonin.

The Oscar Situation

Why is Oscar here? Don't get me wrong, I like the character. I liked him a lot in The Office. But the coincidence of him working at the place that the documentary crew is going, and then going from an accountant to a report, just screams to me "we reached out to see how many people would be interested in a sequel series and Oscar Nunez was one of the only ones who said yes, so we had to figure out a way to put him into this new show instead of where he would've fit in with The Office 2.0"

I did enjoy him calling up Stanley. There does remain potential for him to bring other guests onto the show, which could be fun. But I didn't get a chance to see much from him so far in 10 episodes, and it still feels a little forced.

The Others

Is Barry just literally that they took jokes they wrote for Stanley and made a new surly older black man?

Adam has some charm, but he's also a little over the top already. I don't find him as engaging of a character as Ryan was, if he's in a similar position. 

Adelola hasn't completely won me over yet, but I like her sass. She just hasn't had as much to do and no real episodes primarily focused on her.

Marv and everyone else either were there just to fill a functional role in a scene or weren't memorable enough for me to even recall their names. 

My Expectations Going Forward

I think this is going to end up following the pattern of That 90's Show where as a follow-up, I felt like they were doing a decent job trying to replicate the formula, but they weren't able to capture the magic. I didn't watch season 2 of that show, as I wasn't loving the characters (and some of them I outright disliked and thought were obnoxious). Season 2 of The Paper will get a watch from me, but I'm going to be hoping that it is as much of a level up as The Office had. The first season of that was rough as well, and season 2 was where it really anchored me in. Maybe The Paper will, too. If it doesn't, I could very well see season 2 being the last season I watch. There is still time to find a better rhythm, prevent some stuff from getting too wacky, and further bring depth to some characters that have a lot of potential, but haven't hit their stride yet.

That's me telling my truth on the Toledo Truth-Teller, but what do you think about the series? Drop a comment below!

One of the main ways I first got into the James Bond franchise was through the GoldenEye 007 video game for N64. Not only is GoldenEye my favorite Bond film, but the game itself is one of my top 5 favorite games of all time.

This is why you see posts on this site asking why Jack Wade and other characters aren't in the game, and why I have a backlog of content I still haven't had a chance to put out yet where I try to pitch how Rare could have made a GoldenEye-style video game about all the other 007 films.

I bought the Nintendo 64 specifically for this game back in 1998 or so. My bachelor party even involved playing this game. Needless to say, after so many years of waiting impatiently for a remaster to come to a future console (and the remake doesn't count), to finally see that it was coming to Nintendo Switch had me doing mental cartwheels.

That is...until I loaded up the game and saw that it was completely unplayable with these controls.

I'm not talking "it'll take me some time to get used to using a different style controller" confusion. I'm talking "who the hell mapped out these buttons this way and why can't I fix it no matter how hard I try?" levels of frustration.

So frustrating, in fact, that I gave up.

No online multiplayer, like I had assumed. No upgraded graphics. No possible combination of remapped buttons felt the slightest bit comfortable to even go after the first few guards in Dam, after years of being able to essentially play it blindly because it was muscle memory.

And after spending all this money to upgrade my Nintendo Online account subscription for the Expansion Pack, I couldn't even pay more money to buy a N64 Switch controller because the online Nintendo Store was perpetually sold out!

I resigned myself to disappointment, turned off the game on my fourth attempt at "coming back to it another day to see if I can get the hang of it" and figured that was it. I even considered trying to get a refund for the subscription upgrade.

Thankfully, I have a wife who cares enough that she was looking into trying to find more of the N64 style controllers and did some research of alternatives, eventually coming across the Retro Fighters Brawler64 controller.

It had great reviews and a lot of testimonials from people saying it was just as good, if not better than buying the official Nintendo 64 Switch controller, and she bugged me to take a chance to pick one up. Specifically, I ordered the Retro Fighters Brawler64 Bluetooth NSO Edition controller as I'm now used to wireless controllers and didn't want to be stuck in a position where I had to crank my neck up and sit closer to my television.

I had my doubts, but let me tell you: this makes a world of difference.

The moment I picked it up, I could tell the adjustment time between what I was used to with the N64 controller and this would be minimal. Obviously, there is some unfamiliarity in comparison to the way I used to grip the other style controller and had grown accustomed to the sensitivity of the buttons from my N64. But I went from not being able to functionally MOVE in this game with the Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons to beating all the way up to Statue (on Agent) within a few minutes.

Spending the extra money on top of the subscription just to buy a controller that can allow me to play the game irks me, along with how Nintendo should have definitely at least tried to upgrade the graphics a bit better (widescreen can't even happen in the pause menu or the mission select screen??) and DEFINITELY should have online multiplayer functionality. But finally, after so many years, I'm able to play arguably my favorite game of all time once more without having to go through the annoyance of trying to hook my N64 up to a modern HDTV with God knows what types of cables and distortion.

And that is entirely due to this Retro Fighters Brawler64 controller saving the day.

So if you're on the fence about picking up this game again, and you're struggling with the controls making it feel entirely unplayable and too frustrating, and you can't find an N64 controller, do yourself a massive favor and pick up one of these Retro Fighters ones and thank me (or more so, my wife) later.

What do you think of GoldenEye 007 for the Nintendo Switch?
Have you tried the Xbox version?
Drop your thoughts in the comments below!

On the latest edition of the Fanboys Anonymous REVIEWPOINT podcast, host Tony Mango breaks down the hits and misses of Marvel's Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania by discussing what worked, what didn't, and whether you should see it or skip it.

MARVEL'S ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA (2023):

DIRECTED BY
Peyton Reed

WRITTEN BY
Jeff Loveness

STARRING:
Paul Rudd (Scott Lang / Ant-Man), Evangeline Lilly (Hope Van Dyne / Wasp), Jonathan Majors (Kang the Conqueror), Kathryn Newton (Cassie Lang), with Corey Stoll (Darren Cross / M.O.D.O.K.), Bill Murray (Lord Krylar), Michelle Pfeiffer (Janet Van Dyne) and Michael Douglas (Dr. Hank Pym)

Ant-Man and the Wasp find themselves exploring the Quantum Realm, interacting with strange new creatures and embarking on an adventure that pushes them beyond the limits of what they thought was possible.

Make sure to subscribe/follow on whatever platform you're listening, leave your comments on the videos or this post, share this with your friends and geek out with us!

Subscribe to Fanboys Anonymous on:
YouTube - Google Podcasts - iTunes - Spotify
and more!

By no means was That '70s Show my absolute favorite program growing up, but it was still part of that pantheon of staple things I had watched.

In an era where there wasn't a near-infinite amount of options available if you wanted to watch TV (ie, no YouTube, on demand, Netflix, etc), you grew to just start liking shows after watching them enough times. I've seen the majority of Frasier, Everybody Loves Raymond, King of Queens, and so many other shows like this just because they happened to be on around the time a rerun of The Simpsons was about to air or something along those lines.

This is a long-winded way of saying that outside of some parts of the final season—since it just wasn't the same—I had watched nearly all 200 episodes of That '70s Show and grew up with the characters, graduating high school just before its final season, of which I remember watching the finale and liking that it ended with the countdown to the new year into 1980.

Naturally, when That '90s Show was announced, I was curious. Revisiting nostalgia can sometimes be amazing. Other times, it can fail miserably. I've never felt the need to watch Fuller House, but I'm excited to see the revival of Clone High, for instance.

After binging the 10 episodes of That '90s Show, I figured I'd give my quick rundown of thoughts, mostly in pro/con form. You'll have plenty people super obsessed with That '70s Show that will either love or hate this on principle alone, but I'm one of those middle of the road types, which you might find a refreshing change of pace for this type of review.

Without further ado, let's start breaking down what worked for me and what fell short of the mark.

Pro: The General Premise

This is simple and rather perfect. I feel like they sat down, hashed out a few conversations at a conference table, and settled on the easiest, yet most effective foundation that just flat out works.

The old cast probably wouldn't have been all that interested in being the absolute focal points of the show, would be more expensive, and you're missing Hyde. Plus, That '70s Show was about teenagers, so if this was all about adults, it wouldn't have the same vibe.

But if it had been a scenario where Eric and Donna stayed living in Red and Kitty's house, or had moved next door, or anything along those lines, how do you start the show? Their daughter would have grown up with all her friends and the audience would have been plopped into it just skipping 15 years while being asked to "just go with it and love these new characters and don't pay attention to why we're ignoring their parents that you really want to see."

It wouldn't have worked.

But framing this as a summer break for Eric and Donna's daughter, wherein she can stay with her grandparents at the base home of the series, meet a colorful cast of new friends, go on a personal journey of growth and have some antics along the way is exactly the right formula.

Kudos to them for figuring that out and not trying to force anything else. It very much gave me the exact same vibe of the original, with a logical extension follow-up, rather than trying to reboot it entirely or be the show in name only.

Con: The Laugh Track

Unfortunately, one thing that hasn't aged well compared to 1998-2006 is the laugh track.

Generally speaking, I can't stand this anymore. I can only tolerate it when it comes to Seinfeld reruns.

Every show that I rewatch from back in the day—even a show I loved, like How I Met Your Mother—just doesn't feel right with the laugh track. It has become more obnoxious than anything else.

The Big Bang Theory is partially responsible for this (and before you say it, I've watched every episode of that show, so I'm not "just a hater", even if I grew to dislike how Flanderized the show became). Also to blame are the growing number of shows that don't use a laugh track. Even The Simpsons and Scrubs from back in the 90s didn't, but you can also throw in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Modern Family, The Office, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and other comedies that work better without it.

To be perfectly honest, there wasn't a single joke over these 10 episodes that made me laugh out loud. Part of that is the writing itself, with that old school "oh brother" or "you couldn't have told me that sooner!? womp womp" style behind it that doesn't do it for me anymore, and part of it was the canned laughter.

Of course, if this was abandoned, it wouldn't have felt like the same show, so this is a con in a general sense and not something to ding this show itself on. But if this weren't a relic return show and was just something brand new, I wouldn't have bothered with the second episode.

Pro: Leia Forman

Naming Eric and Donna's daughter Leia is perfect. Having her be awkward like Eric, but not just a full-blown Eric clone, was the right way to go, too.

Callie Haverda didn't quite give me "She looks like she'd be the daughter of Erica and Donna" vibes as far as casting goes, but Eric never looked like the son of Red and Kitty, did he? Shut up. It's a sitcom. Just go with it.

Transitioning from a male protagonist to a female lead doesn't matter. The show retains its spirit without becoming about how "it's a GIRL now", which is often incredibly frustrating to watch. Instead of making a statement about it for the sake of it, the writers do what should be done, in that they just treat it like it is natural, so it feels natural. Major kudos for not falling into that trap.

As mentioned with the general premise, having Leia be a fish out of water (sort of) to act as the audience surrogate while introducing these new characters, where she's familiar with the old characters just like the viewers are, worked super well, and not making her some total brat or a buzzkill went a long way in making her likable.

Con: Ozzie

Not likable, though—at least, not for my tastes—was the character of Ozzie.

I get it. He's the Fez of the group. Fez was the quirky and effeminate one with the sass who stood out as not fitting in with the regular kids of Wisconsin, and they felt they needed a similar archetype character, so they came up with Ozzie.

But holy hell, this character was written to just be "the sass machine" 24/7. Every single line he says has no value to it because they are nothing but punchlines. But they aren't even good ones. They're just bitchy "I wouldn't do that if I were you" and "Sorry. I wasn't listening. I have my own problems to deal with" type tropes.

I knew every time the camera focused on him exactly what he would say and I just grew to roll my eyes.

The only good moment he has was when he comes out to Kitty, but that moment is only made good in her response of treating it like it is no big deal and just accepting him for who he is. So really, it is KITTY who makes that scene worthwhile, rather than Ozzie.

If the show comes back for another season, I'd be more than fine with them shipping him off on a bus and replacing him with someone else. He was easily my least favorite of the cast and needs to be toned down considerably and given some actual depth and better jokes other than being cheeky and impertinent.

Pro: Jay Kelso

Who I did really like, though, was Jay Kelso. Pretty much in every possible facet.

Michael and Jackie getting together made more sense to me than the Jackie and Fez thing. And for their son to be just like his father is great. You get to keep the Kelso character alive, basically, but apply it to another generation.

Great casting. I fully buy that Mace Coronel looks like a mix between Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis. He also does a great job being a little dim, but not quite as dumb as Kelso, since he does have half of Jackie's genes, too.

The "Buuuuuuuuuuuuuurn" was a good callback. Definitely a highlight.

I really like how they went with the Kelso/Forman romance, rather than to just frame them as friends. Personally, I'm one of those people who thinks Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon should end up together, I think Sam and Izzy are definitely destined to be a thing for the future of Scrubs, and so on. When you've got the ability to take those characters and merge those families together, it's going to likely be a positive for me, so bonus points there.

Mixed Bag: Gwen, Nikki and Nate

Honestly, when it comes to the other three, I could take or leave them. They were fine, with some good and bad moments each.

Gwen works well as the best friend coaxing something out of Leia, but I'll admit that she often felt like she was there just for that reason. I couldn't tell you what her character actually is beyond "Leia's friend who seems kind of cool, but nobody actually gets her" because that's all they've told us and shown us.

Nikki has more depth to her. She's the smart one of the group and has the right level of sass to her. I like her the best of this trio, but I felt like she was just getting started right when the show ended its season.

Nate needs to find himself. Is he the biggest dope of the group, rendering one of Kelso's traits rather moot? Is he the sentimental one like they suggest at the end? (By the way, I didn't like the whole Leia/Nate thing. That felt forced.) Is he a football player or a lazy schlub? Some retooling could go a long way.

Pro: Red and Kitty Forman

These two were exactly as they were in the original show and haven't skipped a beat. They were absolutely perfect all across the board.

There isn't much more to say than that. 10/10

Mixed Bag: Sherri Runck

The show "needed a Bob" in a sense, so they have Sherri. She fills the void of the annoying neighbor rather well.

At no point did I ever get the sense that she was the mother of Gwen and Nate in any fashion, though. I guess if they had had 22 episodes like network television normally has, they would have explored that further and it would have potentially come across better. But as it is, if you told me she was flat out just a neighbor unrelated to anyone else, I'd have bought it.

I don't know why, but she was the character more than any that I looked at and thought to myself "I don't get a 90s vibe from her" even though I didn't get that with essentially ANYONE on the show, if I'm being honest. My brain must have just thought she needed to be more 90s in some way.

Pro: Pacing

This was a quick breeze of a watch. I had it on while I was working on other things that didn't fully require my attention, and it was easy to just keep it running. Before I knew it, another episode was starting. It didn't seem like it was dragging or rushing.

Pro: Cameos

The best part of the show was the first episode. Seeing Topher Grace and Laura Prepon back as Eric and Donna, interacting with Kurtwood Smith's Red and Debra Jo Rupp's Kitty is what sells the show.

I'm glad they were able to get Donna back in a few more scenes. I wish the same could have happened with Eric.

Tommy Chong coming back as Leo? Great.

Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis nailed their return as Kelso and Jackie. Awesome. Definitely one of the top 3 highlights of the season.

Don Stark's return as Bob Pinciotti was great to see, too. I'm really glad they were able to put that character back in there.

Even just seeing the familiar sets was a nice flashback that I really appreciated.

I will say, though, that since I'm not a total nut about the show, I didn't remember Jim Rash was even on it, let alone this Fenton character. That didn't do anything for me.

I'm on the fence about Fez. Having Wilmer Valderrama back was something that they needed to do, as it would have been weird not to see Fez in any fashion. But while the character was nailed in many ways, I found myself wondering if I had ever found Fez funny. I don't know if I would care to revisit the original series, but I'm starting to think that maybe if I watched it now, I would actually not like Fez, whereas I remember him being an enjoyable character before.

Con: No Steven Hyde

Who I did like even more than Fez back then was Hyde, and it is a shame that he couldn't make a return in some fashion.

Now, before you lynch me, I know why this is the case. Danny Masterson's assault history—true or not—makes it difficult for Netflix and other parties to want to just insert him in there and deal with the potential backlash.

Nothing outright says that isn't a possibility for the future. It isn't as though they said "Boy, it sure is a shame Hyde is dead and we'll never see him" or anything. In an ideal world, there wouldn't be any issues standing in the way of this (for multiple reasons, not the least of which being those things he's accused of doing just wouldn't be a reality). I would have liked to learn what he's been up to.

Is he in prison? Did he die from some overdose? Is he still working with Leo? I'm curious.

He's the only character that felt missing because he was one of the core cast. Not having a cameo or reference about Randy Pearson or even Eric's sister or anything along those lines can be ignored, but I'll admit that no mention of Hyde whatsoever felt like a bit of a void.

General Verdict

All in all, this was a success. It is a short 10 episode semi-reboot follow-up that keeps the spirit of the original going, doesn't spit in its face by any means, tries to deviate a little here and there but keeps its foundation.

If you're a fan of That '70s Show, you should certainly check this out. You won't be disappointed.

What did you think of That '90s Show?
Drop your thoughts in the comments below!

I've been waiting to write up a review of Pokemon Violet until after I had reached a point where I felt like I had the full game behind me, so I could properly evaluate it.

You don't want to read an intro for this—especially after seeing how long this post goes on for.

So without further ado, here are my pros and cons of Pokemon Violet and some comparisons to Legends: Arceus.

What did I like? What did I hate? What can be improved on and what is the best it has ever been?

Let's dive into it! 

MAJOR Pro: Free Roam

We can explore!!!!!! Finally, they gave us a game that can be almost wholly played in whatever fashion we want to.

Naturally, there are some blocks in the way. You obviously can't face the Elite 4 without beating all the gyms and such. Some obstacles are built-in with the travel itself, wherein you can't really get to a location that requires you to swim or climb until you've eaten the Titan Pokemon that can give you access to that power. But those are to be expected, and they're a perfectly acceptable countermeasure put in place to make sure players don't progress too far too fast.

But by and large, you can go where you want—particularly if you abuse the glitches that will place you in another spot—and you can choose the order of missions in whatever way you want.

Naturally, I found myself exploring like crazy and not bothering to do anything, so within no time, I had my level 15-20 team going up against level 50 Pokemon out of my league. It was difficult, which made it interesting.

Then, since my team was leveling up fast, I was wiping the floor with the competition, and it became easier to do other challenges that I was apparently supposed to do first. Whoops!

For anyone's curiosity, this is the order of the main challenges that I ended up doing:

1. Cortondo Gym - Bug
2. Quaking Earth Titan
3. Team Star Dark Crew
4. Artazon Gym - Grass
5. Cascarrafa Gym - Water
6. Stony Cliff Titan
7. Medali Gym - Normal
8. Open Sky Titan
9. False Dragon Titan 
10. Team Star Fairy Crew
11. Glaseado Gym - Ice
12. Montenevera Gym - Ghost
13. Lurking Steel Titan
14. Levincia Gym - Electric
15. Alfornada Gym - Psychic
16. Team Star Fighting Crew
17. Team Star Poison Crew
18. Team Star Fire Crew
19. History Class (for the location markers of the shrines)
20. Collecting the Remaining Stakes and Catching the 4 Legendaries
21. Academy Ace Tournament
22. Getting my Backup Miraidon
23. Unlocking 6-Star Raids

None of them were difficult until I got to the 6-star raids. Those have been hard. The rest were all extremely easy, as I had a level 40 Flamigo by the time I did the second thing on this list, and used that to wreck nearly every type of challenge out there. Who knew that dumb flamingo would be my ace?

Con: A Lack of Level Scaling

That first part of the game, where I was exploring into different areas that had massively higher level Pokemon than what I was equipped for, was way more interesting than the opposite. Once I was in my 40s for my team, and I had to backtrack to Titans and gyms and such that were a much lower level, it was too easy.

Ideally, there should be some sort of level-scaling for the challenges.

The wild Pokemon would be too difficult to implement this, but why not have the gym leaders all have different teams based on how many badges you've already collected? And the same for the Team Star members and the level that the Titan Pokemon are?

MAJOR Pro: A Specialist of Every Type

Since the very first generation, I've wondered why there wasn't a gym leader of every type. It just made sense to me that you'd have to prove you're a master of all the types to be eligible for the Elite 4 challenge, rather than 8 random types with the rest just not having any representation.

This time around, we finally got an equivalent to this by having the Team Star battles cover the rest of the types that weren't covered in the gyms.

It's about time!

Con: More Character Customization

I really can't change my character's outfit beyond just some dumb hats and such? Let me deck myself out with a full-on white suit like I'm The Man with the Golden Gun, like I was able to do in Pokemon Legends: Arceus.

There aren't even a whole lot of hair options.

For that matter, I'd like more variety in trainers. Same hiker woman all the time if they aren't just another student. And why are there elderly students and such?

Pro: What's in the Box?

Being able to click on Boxes in the menu and switch Pokemon was the easiest it has ever been. This improvement was so much more functional and a quality of life upgrade that it beats every other game before it, including Legends: Arceus, wherein you needed to go back to the tent base and talk to someone to have access to your boxes—or go to the specific person in the village for that.

Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge fan of just having this available at my beck and call.

Con: Buying Food

Up until the point that I started doing the 6-star tera raids and finishing out my Pokedex wherein I needed to get eggs, the entire picnic mechanic was a complete waste for me.

I didn't want to spend the time to set it up at a spot that it let me, I didn't see any real benefit to doing much of the stuff you can do in the picnic, and the worst part of it all was that I hated the process of these power-ups.

First and foremost, why are there like 6 shops per location with all different types of combinations, and the only way for me to know what I'm going to get is to visit EACH ONE OF THEM and compare EACH INDIVIDUAL ITEM?

If I wanted something with Egg Power, Water Encounter and Dragon Catch, for instance, I have no idea where I can find that, or if I can find it. I'd have to go consult an online guide, which you shouldn't have to do.

I don't like having to make the sandwiches and buy separate ingredients. It just isn't for me. Some people will play entire games like that. My wife loves Cooking Mama, for instance. But I want to play Pokemon, not do more work than I'm even willing to put into my own lunch in real life.

Why is there no way of knowing what current power-up you have, and no measure if knowing when the time is up?

I do like how much easier it is to get 10+ eggs when you do that power up and just set up a picnic, but this whole process could have been made a lot better than what it was, too.

Mixed Bag: The Story

I like that the school is used as a framework for everything. That works well for a lot of plot devices.

Team Star is particularly lame, though. I wanted to skip past almost all the dialogue in this as it was, but the whole story revolving around the losers being picked on and creating their own gang and all these cringy lines were unbearable.

Whatever happened to rivals in these games being jerks who you wanted to beat, and not just your brand new friends and people who spend most of their story apologizing?

Arven was cringy, too. Let's just say every bit of dialogue was cringy and write that off. But at least his reasoning for looking for the herbs was decent.

The time travel stuff is hit and miss. The game doesn't do enough to make me feel like I'm playing something in the future.

Con: Paradox Pokemon

Regional variants are better, particularly since they have actual names. All this "Iron ____" stuff is awful, and I don't like how they aren't even directly evolutions of Pokemon they clearly are. It comes off more like a Mega Evolution than an entirely separate thing, and I don't think any of the designs are good enough to justify it.

Some are decent looking, like Iron Moth and Iron Thorns. But why couldn't Great Tusk and/or Iron Treads just be a third evolution to Donphan?

Con: Terastal Phenomenon / Terastallized Pokemon

Maybe I'm in the minority, but I don't like these one-shot gimmicks they've been doing in this series.

Mega Evolution is dumb, overall. Those should be third evolution stages, regional variants, or not exist at all, and it is still the best of the bunch.

Z-Moves are ridiculous. Dynamax and Gigantamax is super lame.

The whole tera type thing isn't doing it for me. I NEVER use it in battle, and I hate when I come across something in the wild and I don't know what type it is, or how much longer it takes to beat it just because you need to go through that stall period where it doesn't fully take it down in one shot.

This gimmick isn't going to continue going forward, for sure, and that makes it even more annoying, knowing that it won't even stick around and it'll just be replaced by something else the next generation.

Also, your symbols suck. Why does Ground look almost exactly the same as Poison? And why is Psychic an eyeball for all these generations and still the thing above a Pokemon's head, but the type symbol used for that is closer to a mix of Normal and Fairy, while Dark is an eye, instead of the moon thing? Dumb.

Instead of wasting time trying to come up with a similar, but slightly different gimmick for each generation, why not focus your efforts on fixing the things that are problematic with each game, like the graphics and the lack of the full National Dex?

Con: Still No More Eeveelutions?

C'mooooon. You've had 1000 Pokemon, and you keep making some of the same stupid things like these generic birds and fish. Make an Eevee evolution of every type. Even if you introduce ONE of them per game, that would be something.

Guaranteed, you're sitting on a lot of money with this, too. People love these Eevee types.

Mixed Bag: Treasures of Ruin

Even though collecting them was hard because of the map, I liked the stakes being how you unlocked the 4 shrines for the legendaries.

I just wish the legendary Pokemon themselves were anything noteworthy.

Wo-Chien, Chien-Pao, Ting-Lu and Chi-Yu are not only all names that I'm never going to remember because they don't register to me as any recognizable words (ie, Squirtle = squirt turtle), they don't even really look like Pokemon to me. Chien-Pao, maybe. But even that's a bit of a stretch. They all seem like they'd belong better to another series.

I like legendaries that are more akin to Mewtwo/legendary birds, Groudon/Kyogre/Rayquaza, etc, and less of the Reshiram/Zekrom, Glastrier/Spectrier, Dialga/Palkia types.

Pro: Trainers Don't Automatically Battle You

I like that you have to engage with the trainers to battle them, rather than being forced to try to avoid their faces.

Con: Which Trainers Did I Fight??

MAJOR Con: Travel Mechanics and Map

One of my absolute biggest complaints about this game is how TERRIBLE the map is and the whole gameplay of maneuvering around the region as a whole.

I really like how you've got the same Pokemon to ride and do all the HM stuff. That's a huge bonus, even more so than needing to switch between Wyrdeer and Basclegion. But the climbing system is glitchy and I hate how the gliding is nowhere near as easy, fun or fast as flying with Braviary in Legends: Arceus.

Even more of a problem, though, is how the map functions.

You zoom out, look at an area, hover over it, zoom in, and it doesn't zoom into that area???? How counter-intuitive is that?

The waypoints system was INFINITELY better in Legends: Arceus, wherein you could place some markers at any random location and identify that there was a purpose behind it. I used it to map Alpha Pokemon or noteworthy spots with items, or areas I wanted to explore later.

Pro: Auto Battle

This was a fun little addition to the system. I liked being able to gather items quicker than individual battles, and it could help sometimes with gaining XP, too.

It's a shame they go so quickly back into their ball when you walk at even a moderate pace, though.

I also wish you could send out more than one Pokemon in the overworld like you can in the Team Star stuff, and that it wasn't so damn glitchy in those Team Star missions.

Speaking of which...

Con: The Ridiculous Lag

Con: Stop Bumping Into Me!!!!

I hate it when Pokemon pop up and keep starting battles. Let me save the game or MOVE somewhere, bro. You're spawning out of nowhere.

Why is there no repel?

MAJOR Con: Lock-on Target System to Aim for a Specific Pokemon is Wack

Legends: Arceus has such a better system for catching Pokemon. Not only is it more fun to just throw the ball yourself and not have to engage in a battle, but that you can choose to battle if you WANT to, the actual aiming is infinitely better.

How is the lock-on mechanic in this game so fundamentally flawed that it might as well not even exist?

Con: The Way the Pokemon Appear in the Wild

Everything is too goddamn small. It makes it impossible to even see some of the Pokemon, not only to avoid running into them, but also to TRY to find them. Sinistea, for instance is so tiny that you're better off farming chips by just sending your Pokemon out in auto battles and hoping for the best.

Also, it's impossible to spot a shiny unless it is super blatantly obvious. I've only come across one that I'm aware of, but I have no idea if I've passed by shinies that are too similar in color or anything.

That's if they even pop up at all in general. Most of the time, I check the map, see that there are supposed to be a few things around, and nothing at all is showing up unless I look in the opposite direction and turn back around, or run in circles.

Con: TM Selection

Most of the TMs are trash, like the terrain ones. It's almost all setup moves and not enough powerful damaging attacks.

I'd get excited to see a TM in the wild, only to find that it's yet another Agility, Fling, Substitute, Swift, Encore, etc. Where was Thunder Fang when I needed it, or how I didn't have a single decent Water move for like half the game?

Con: Classes

Nope. These are dumb and take forever. Even the fact that you have to keep loading the front entrance and going through all those menus is too long of a process. Just ask me all the questions and let me take the finals without having to begin and end classes and such.

Mixed Bag: Gimmighoul

I expected something cooler for the 1000th Pokemon. Having it be that you have to collect 1000 coins just gives me vibes that Pokemon is more drawing attention to how much money they make on this franchise than trying to celebrate it being a special milestone.

Ideally, I think it would have been cool to see a Kanto variant of sorts in this spot. Maybe since there's a Pikachu Clone in every game, this could have been a legendary version of that? Or maybe just something ultimately cooler that doesn't have to tie back to Generation 1?

Gholdengo looks weird. It's like a Kraft mac and cheese noodle mixed with Silver Surfer.

Other Miscellaneous Notes

• I've used more Repeat Balls and Quick Balls in this than any other game or any other ball.
  
• Is Larry an Elite 4 member just because you wanted to reference the abundance of Normal/Flying Pokemon, or because you couldn't think of another character? I'm assuming the former.
• I'm still curious why Scarlet has oranges for its logo. Shouldn't that be Pokemon Orange, then?
• That first lighthouse is a lifesaver for hatching eggs.
• I like the whole idea of crafting more TMs, but for simplicity's sake, I liked it better when you could just use them infinitely.
  

My Elite 4 Pokemon

My starter was Fuecoco, so Skeledirge was on my team from the start.

Flamigo got on my team super early, and I said to my wife "Look at this dumb flamingo. What a lame design and name. They really couldn't be bothered to think of anything better than a generic flamingo and the name is just taking the N out? Stupid." and then, as a joke, I put it on my team. But before I knew it, it was WRECKING things, and it ended up being the one I used the most during this playthrough.

I had never used a Skiddo before in a playthrough, so once I caught one of those cute little guys, it became a fixture of my team from before the first gym. Gogoat was an ace in the Elite 4.

Bellibolt, Clodsire and Veluza rounded out the team. Those 3 spots were revolving, for the most part. Tinkatink lasted a while on my team before I replaced Tinkaton with Bellibolt. Garchomp was always kept on standby, as was Garganacl. I had used a Pawmi for a while at the start, but it quickly got outclassed.

Obviously, there were some others I used along the way just to try them out, like Smoliv, Tarountula, Wiglett, Corviknight, and even a Hoppip was one of my mains at the start until I had gotten Skiddo.

But ultimately, the Elite 4 were taken down by Skeledirge, Flamigo, Gogoat, Bellibolt, Clodsire and Veluza.

Thoughts on All the New Pokemon in Generation IX

• Sprigatito / Floragato / Meowscarada = I didn't pick you for a reason. Bland. Generic. Not interesting in the slightest.
• Fuecoco / Crocalor / Skeledirge = I love the dopey gator. Crocalor is ugly as hell, though. Skeledirge is cool, but I could do without all the singing.
• Quaxly / Quaxwell / Quaquaval = Dumb.
• Lechonk / Oinkologne = Perfectly fine generic early mammal.
• Tarountula / Spidops = Meh. It's okay.
• Nymble / Lokix = Nymble is annoying. It keeps bumping into me. Lokix is fine. It's so far the only shiny I have. I keep thinking its a Steel or Fighting type, though.
• Pawmi / Pawmo / Pawmot = Cute. Super tiny. But Pawmo and Pawmot are lazy designs.
• Tandemaus / Maushold = Adorable. What a weird concept.
• Fidough / Dachsbun = There are too many dogs in this generation and this one doesn't stand out.
• Smoliv / Dolliv / Arboliva = Smoliv is the best of these three, for sure.
• Squawkabilly = Lame. We have enough Normal/Flying generic birds. Chatot would've been fine in this place and you could have designed something new.
  
• Nacli / Naclstack / Garganacl = Nacli is adorable. The other two are okay. Pure Rock type is weak, though, so it isn't very useful like if it were Ground.
  
• Charcadet / Armarouge / Ceruledge = Cool. A little too overdesigned, but I like them in general.
  
• Tadbulb / Bellibolt = Tadbulb is goddamn amazing of a name and adorable. Bellibolt is a chunky boy and I love it.
• Wattrel / Kilowattrel = Pretty decent. A little bland looking, but I dig it.
• Maschiff / Mabosstiff = Too many dogs. This isn't special.
• Shroodle / Grafaiai = Neat, but I'll never use it.
• Bramblin / Brambleghast = Very cool. I love that they did a tumbleweed and made it a Grass/Ghost. That's perfect.
• Toedscool / Toedscruel = Super weird. This should be a regional variant and not an entirely different species.
  
• Klawf = It's okay.
• Capsakid / Scovillain = We finally got a pepper, but it had to be this ugly design?
• Rellor / Rabsca = Bug and Psychic? Not Bug and Ground? What's up with that shit...literally?
  
• Flittle / Espathra = Flittle is supposed to be a chick?? Whatever.
  
• Tinkatink / Tinkatuff / Tinkaton = Ehhhhh I could see a ton of people having this as their favorite Pokemon ever. I liked Tinkatink for a bit, but I moved on.
  
• Wiglettt / Wugtrio = Why is this not a regional Diglett?
  
• Finizen / Palafin = Finally a dolphin. Palafin is dumb.
  
• Varoom / Revavroom = Ehhhhhh I don't know.
  
• Cyclizar = I don't like that this isn't a pre-evolution to the legendaries in proper form. But it's kind of neat.
  
• Orthworm = Ugly and dumb. That face looks like it is a design from another game.
  
• Glimmet / Glimmora = What is this thing?
  
• Greavard / Houndstone = I've been wanting a Rock/Ghost tombstone Pokemon. Why is this not part Rock type? I like it a lot, though.
  
• Flamigo = Instead of the amigo route with Fighting/Flying, I would have gone with FLAMEigo and made this a Fire type. Horribly dumb generic design, but it has a special place in my heart now for being my top guy for this playthrough.
  
• Cetoddle / Cetitan = Ugly. They could have had better narwhal designs.
  
• Veluza = I like it, but I can't help but to think Water/Psychic doesn't fit it. It looks more Steel type. And it seems like it should be stronger than what I keep coming across.
  
• Dondozo = I kind of like this big dope.
  
• Tatsugiri = Cute. Stop offing yourself with memento.
  
• Annihilape = Bad ass!!! Taking the idea of Primeape getting so angry it dies off and turning it into a Fighting/Ghost type is awesome, and the name is so sweet.
  
• Clodsire = What a dopey looking good boy. I love it.
  
• Farigiraf = Every Pokemon should have its full three-stage evolution. Doing this with Girafarig isn't exactly the design I would have gone with, but I appreciate the name, at least.
  
• Dudunsparce = Screw you. This thing is dumb.
  
• Kingambit = Very cool looking.
  
• Great Tusk = Dumb name. Why isn't this a true evolution of Donphan? Decent design, albeit I'm still left wanting.
  
• Scream Tail = Dumb name. What's wrong with this Jigglypuff?
  
• Brute Bonnet = Dumb name. I don't even like Amoongus as is. Awful design.
  
• Flutter Mane = Dumb name. The design is barely even there, too. It just looks like Misdreavus.
  
• Slither Wing = Dumb name. Why is it part Fighting type?
  
• Sandy Shocks = Dumb name. Dumb design.
  
• Iron Treads = Dumb name. Again, why isn't this a true evolution of Donphan? And why is it not right next to Great Tusk in the dex? I like the design, though.
  
• Iron Bundle = Dumb name. Why is this not Steel type? Ice/Steel or Water/Steel? I love Delibird, but this shouldn't exist.
  
• Iron Hands = Dumb name. It's just a different colored Hariyama. Also, IRON hands. Fighting/Steel instead of Fighting/Electric. C'mon.
  
• Iron Jugulis = Dumb name. I love Hydreigon, but they didn't try with this design. It should have become more of a tank.
  
• Iron Moth = Dumb name. Cool design, though. Not sure why its Fire/Poison instead of Bug/Steel or Fire/Steel.
  
• Iron Thorns = Dumb name. Should just be a regional variant. Obviously, this should be Steel/Electric or Rock/Steel or something, not Rock/Electric.
  
• Frigibax / Arctibax / Baxcalibur = One of the lamer pseudo-legendaries. I'm not a fan of the design.
  
• Gimmighoul / Gholdengo = Interesting concept, but not what I would have gone with for #1000. As stated, Gholdengo looks like a noodle from Kraft macaroni and cheese.
  
• Wo-Chien / Chien-Pao / Ting-Lu / Chi-Yu = I'd be fine with these not even being in the game and just having the shrines be something else. I don't like any of the designs, names or anything.
  
• Roaring Moon = Dumb name.
• Iron Valiant = Dumb name.
  
• Koraidon = Cool.
• Miraidon = Very cool. I dig this a lot, I like the typing, and I chose to start with Violet primarily because of it.
  

What do you think are the best and worst parts of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet?Drop your thoughts in the comments below!

Everyone has their blind spots with movies and television shows, where they ask themselves "Why haven't I seen that yet?" despite how massive it is in pop culture. One of those for me was The Karate Kid series.

Like Back to the Future (which I didn't watch until 2019—I know, I know. But I liked them, so it's all good!), this was a franchise I simply hadn't watched when I was a kid (I'm a product of '87, mind you) like most people who tend to love this.

I'm always worried that with those films and television shows, not watching it when I'm a kid will spoil much of the mystique and wonder that gets people hooked, as that's happened before with me. And, to be honest, there are films and shows that I loved as a child and teenager that don't hold up now that I'm in my mid-30s, so why would I believe anything other than that could be the case for this, too?

Surely, if I watch it now, I won't like it, because I'll be watching it with the eyes of a 35 year old. Then, I'll have to always say to people that I don't like it, rather than have plausible deniability by saying I haven't seen it.

Well, finally, in September 2022, I decided enough was enough and that I needed to just pop on The Karate Kid and see what I thought. Frankly, it came out of pretty much nowhere. My brain just told me now was the time.

And boy am I glad that I had that random urge to binge.

So, while I was watching these movies and the Cobra Kai television show, I decided to tweet out some of impressions, rather than to do a full review for each project, or one generalized franchise review after it was all said and done. This way, you could get my potentially changing opinions throughout.

I did hold off on talking about anything until after watching the first three films, and I regret not tweeting out some thoughts midway through and at the end of each of those movies for some little gems about how great the song "Cruel Summer" is and such.

Nevertheless, I present to you my tweets, first impressions, running thoughts, review commentary and random asides during what I ended up referring to as a binge series called "Watch On, Watch Off" of the four Karate Kid films and every season of Cobra Kai. Enjoy.

Thoughts After Karate Kid Part III

I got done #3 earlier. Going to start The Next Karate Kid sometime tonight. Here are my takes so far:

• Mr. Miyagi is THE MAN. Definitive. From the start. Easily the best part of the series.
• I love how Daniel is equal parts kind of a jerk sometimes, but with a heart of gold. He never breaches that line of being a punk kid or annoying, or too sappy.
• Pure 80s. I love it. They even take the time twice to remind us with "it's the 80s" dialogue haha
• The easy-to-spot yuppie villain (give a guy a slicked back ponytail, an ill-fitting suit and a giant cell phone and make him smile, he's your bad guy) and all, too lol
• Kumiko >>>> Ali Mills >> Jessica Andrews
• Johnny Lawrence >> Mike Barnes > Chozen Toguchi
• John Kreese >> Sato > Terry Silver
• John Kreese says no actual dialogue to Daniel. He only grunts and such, and talks to other characters. Weird, right?
• It's funny how with #2 and #3, they promptly went "Yeah, we don't need to see the mom. Miyagi is all we need." And they're right. She would have only taken away, because Miyagi is the heart and soul and, I repeat, THE MAN. We all need one of him in our lives.
• Its interesting watching this as an adult instead of a kid. I'm sure people who watched it in the 80s/90s and grew up on it identify more with putting themselves in Daniel's shoes, having a crush on Ali and so on. As per usual, I hate that I missed out on that.
• More thoughts maybe to come. I might write up something about this or do a podcast or whatever. And I'll check back in with a follow-up after I watch The Next Karate Kid, which I'll admit I'm not as excited about, but maybe I'll be proven wrong.

Thoughts After Watching The Next Karate Kid

• Trash all across the board haha.
• Miyagi is still great, but it's all so bad. Julie-san is insufferable compared to Daniel-san.
• Had I watched this back in 94, though, add Hilary Swank to the list of crushes (like the Pink Power Ranger lol)
• Gotta love that the grandmother is so fed up with Julie that she just takes a vacation and never returns at the end to be like "Wow, you've grown so much and we're going to be fine now" haha

2 Episodes Into Cobra Kai Season 1

Continuing on with my Karate Kid binge expedition, I've decided to skip the remake (at least for now) and start Cobra Kai. 2 episodes in, here are my initial thoughts. Let's see how they change over time, if at all.

• Daniel-san running a car dealership makes PERFECT sense. I don't know why I didn't think of that ahead of time. He's using his skills he's picked up from helping Miyagi run the bonsai business (nice touch with giving every customer a bonsai tree) and the appreciation he had of the car in the first film. He's a good talker / salesman, too, so that fits.
• Nice to see that they've kept his character as he was: goodhearted, but realistically a bit abrasive, and someone you could imagine someone else calling a prick. Even with Johnny Lawrence framed as the protagonist, we haven't grown to dislike Daniel. Lesser projects take that avenue of "but now, your hero is a jerk" because they don't know anything better (cough * The Last Jedi * cough)
• Great job with Johnny Lawrence, too. He's still a jerk and a bully, but not a cartoonish bad guy impossible to connect with. As a protagonist with faults, he works super well. There's clear room for growth, but he doesn't need "redemption". He's already a guy we can root for.
• Big fan of Miguel. Likable from the start. Not falling into the "annoying kid" or "insufferable loser you're frustrated to see is in this scene" or "too cool for school" tropes. I like the dynamic he has with Johnny. They can teach each other along the journey.
• I haaaaate Daniel's kids and all their friends. Good job if that's the intention. While I get a sense that I'm not supposed to fully dislike Samantha, since she's already proven herself to have a conscience, she's going to need to do more to win me over. Anthony, though? Nope
• Bo Mitchell would be the absolute perfect fan casting for Bulk in a Power Rangers reboot. He steals each scene he's in.
• Random Ed Asner was random. I wasn't expecting that. But he's always a win. I hope he pops up some more.
• I'm fully on board to see cameos from EVERYONE, so long as it makes sense, of course.
• Martin Kove, Mike Barnes and the lunatic Terry Silver should DEFINITELY return as villains to put Johnny into perspective. Not sure if Chozen would make sense to pop back up, but I'm down.
• Definitely give me Kumiko. Frankly, I'm a bit disappointed she's not Daniel's wife, but whatever.
• Ali coming back would make sense for a typical "This is your ex?" tension storyline with Amanda.
• I'm fine with no Jessica Andrews. She was meh. But I do want Julie to show up.
• Amanda's okay so far. She's a voice of reason and not too preachy. Hopefully, she grows on me even more.
• The same for most others. All the other kids like Robby and Aisha and Eli are just sort of there. Here's hoping they end up being worth connecting with.
• MAN do I miss Mr. Miyagi. He was the best part of the series. RIP.

Thoughts After Cobra Kai Season 2

I've finished Cobra Kai season 2. Still haven't seen the reboot film, which I'll probably save for last.

Here's where I'm standing on some stuff:

• I definitely ship Robby + Sam rather than Miguel + Sam.
• My favorite parts of the show are Daniel and Johnny becoming reluctant buds. I want to see them actually join forces against Kreese.
• Terry Silver DEFINITELY needs to return now in season 3. No spoilers!
• I'm not sure what I want out of Ali's potential appearance now. It seems odd if she were to end up with Johnny. She's got a family and all. They could do the "yeah, well, things are better on social media than behind the scenes and we've split up" angle, but is that really where I want Johnny's story to go? I'm not so sure.
• I know Carmen + Johnny just feels too convenient. Even though I wouldn't be opposed to it, they still need to build more on that before I'm okay with that as the 100% endgame, especially since Miguel means more to Johnny than Carmen in the grand scope. No reason why he can't be more "Uncle Johnny" in a sense more so than "my new step-dad" which is a bit on the nose.
• I like Miguel + Tory. She's feisty. He's more reserved. That's a balance.
• Stingray FTW.
• Good for Moon, breaking up with Hawk. Fuck that guy. (Fan of the character, but in that universe, what a dick)
• Anthony and Louie and a few others just totally got sidelined haha Some make sense, though.
• I kind of want to see Kreese get increasingly more militaristic with Cobra Kai to the point they become a full-blown gang & this expands beyond a karate rivalry into a "heroic vigilante Miyagi-Do vs. Gang Cobra Kai" thing? Or is that just the superhero fan in me coming out?

Thoughts After Cobra Kai Season 3

Season 3 of Cobra Kai down on my Karate Kid series binge. Latest thoughts are as follows:

• Kumiko continues to be great. Super glad to see her return. I loved how Yuna came back as a good karma thing to help save the dealership.
• Chozen's face turn works, too. More evidence of redemption that we're applying to Johnny and now, even Kreese, with his backstory making him more sympathetic.
• Speaking of that backstory, it is cool we got to see that more fleshed out.
• I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who thought Ponytail was supposed to be Terry Silver. That confused me at first when he died haha
• Ali's comeback was basically what I was hoping for. I'm glad they didn't lean into the cliche of Amanda or Carmen being jealous, too.
• I still think Robby + Sam is better than Miguel + Sam.
• Nice to see Hawk turn away from Cobra Kai.
• I dig the face/tweener/heel dynamic (in wrestling terms) for Miyagi-Do, Eagle Fang and Cobra Kai. Good balance.
• Eagle Fang. LOL. Iron Eagle was taken.
• Louie and Anoush returning was done well, overall, as far as just playing bit parts.
• Big fan of Kyler coming back as a Cobra Kai. That makes perfect sense.
• It's a good thing the LaRusso family has money, cause their shit keeps getting ruined all the time.
• So I guess Tory + Robby is going to be a thing next season. Meehhh we'll see.
• Get it, Demetri. Just don't give Yasmine a front-wedgie.
• I want to try that chicken cacciatore.
• Lots of product placement on this season. "It's just Crystal Light" and such
• Interesting that they nixed Aisha. I wonder if they just couldn't think of what to do with her.
• Speaking of not knowing what to do with someone, Anthony's been a nonfactor from the start.
• Moon just went away, too.
• It sure is convenient none of these kids has turned 18 yet to be disqualified from the Under-18 tournament haha
• Still want a Julie-san cameo where she and Daniel can talk about their bond over Mr. Miyagi.

Looking forward to season 4!

Thoughts After Cobra Kai Season 4

Season 4 of Cobra Kai down on my Karate Kid series binge. Here are my latest thoughts:

• I warmed up more to the Miguel/Sam pairing instead of Robby/Sam. After all, Robby's endgame isn't Sam, it's his relationship with his father, Johnny.
• The Whopper Jr comment for Anthony's growth spurt was great.
• So Sam and Aisha haven't talked pretty much at all about her moving and her new school and all? They don't text or anything? haha
• Thumbs down on the Carrie Underwood cameo
• Miagyi-Fang FTW. My favorite part of the show is perpetually Daniel/Johnny teaming up.
• "Queen Cobra" vs "Bonsai Badass" = nice
• Love madman Silver turning on Kreese and just being the worst piece of shit. He's awesome.
• I'm not sure I feel like going down the rabbit hole of Miguel looking for his father, but hopefully, I'll be wrong about that.
• LOL at LaRusso just going "Yeah, that deal to leave? Nah. Fuck that."
• Chozen showing up at the end was a surprise.
• Good call on the cheating finale to the tournament. I liked Amanda's interactions with Tory this season and it'll be nice to see Tory turn to the good side in season 5 (I'm assuming).
• It's a good thing the new students have cheat codes and can fast forward their training
• So the All Valley Under 18 Tournament really forces this story to end once these kids all turn 18, doesn't it?
• I can't see the series lasting on the foundation of Anthony vs Kenny in comparison to the core cast of Miguel, Sam, Robby, Hawk, etc.

Looking forward to season 5!!

Thoughts After Cobra Kai Season 5

Holy shit was this a good season!! Here are some specific thoughts:

• It might mean nothing to some, but being able to say "fuck" really does help this feel more grounded.
• Big fan of Hawk getting the Miyagi-do cover-up tattoo. I'm curious what hair color he's going to stick with.
• That story about Miguel's father was wrapped up super fast, but I'm down for it. Short and sweet.
• Mike Barnes looks more of a bad ass now than in KK3. Glad he returned.
• I still want to see Julie-san at least referenced, even though Next Karate Kid was awful.
• Making Jessica Amanda's cousin and the way Daniel met her was a GREAT touch. It finally gives her purpose.
• Great joke where Johnny's internet search auto-fills are "How to tell my student that I'm banging his mom" and "How to get rid of graffiti" and "how to find hot babes" - This show's writers not only have so much appreciation for the original films, but their own continuity.
• Always great job on little details and callbacks, like using "protect the egg" at the end.
• I'm glad Robby and Miguel worked out their issues AND responded so positively to the new baby, instead of it being a whole jealousy thing. It's totally going to be a girl.
• "No mercy mother fucker" HELL YEAH. One of Daniel's best moments in the entire franchise.
• Cutting off a finger and such? Nice way to up the stakes.
• The Kreese death situation was SO GOOD
• Chozen + Kumiko is a good way to wrap that up.
• Season 6 feels like it pretty much has to be the finale. Where else could they go from here? Even though I only started watching this franchise a month ago, I've grown attached, so if they've got more seasons in them past #6, I trust this crew.
• FANTASTIC work. SO GOOD.

So....when does season 6 come out? Cause now, I just realized I'm out of material to watch until then, outside of the reboot film, and I'm going to go through some withdraw!

Eventually, I will watch that movie and add that information in here, as well as my thoughts on the next and likely last season of Cobra Kai. Maybe for that one, I'll go episode by episode to fully flesh this out.

In the meantime, let me know what you think about this franchise by leaving a comment below to keep the discussion going!