Squad Teenage Angst

Most of us have played the amazing game that is Valkyria Chronicles (PS3) and if you haven’t, then something is obviously wrong with you. Regardless, if you didn’t pick up the original VC or beat it, you can still pick up VC2 and have a blast with it.

Given the decision to move Valkyria Chronicles from the PS3 to the PSP you would think that they would’ve downgraded the graphics so that it would be playable on the PSP, but this is not the case. The trademark “Watercolor” style has been kept for VC2 and everything from character movement to the cut scenes are equal to its predecessor.

The story starts off with a very detailed explanation of the events from the first game and what has happened in the two years leading up to VC2. You (or the main character of the game) are Avan Hardins. You join the Gallian Army and attend Lanseal Military Academy after you find out that your bigger brother Leon Hardins, a very well-known name at the academy has died. You’re in search of an answer as to why, also to stop the civil war that has been brewing since Archduchess Cordelia revealed she herself as a Darcsen and a new militia calling themselves The Rebellion have started to make moves. As deep as this story sounds, it’s actually not that deep at all. The story has potential but gets lost in a sea of teenage angst and drama. Acceptance and being who you are no matter what people think are the two main themes associated with the game.

The story was what made the first Valkyria Chronicles to begin with and taking the direction they took with VC2 was large disappointment to me but that shouldn’t stop you if you’re a diehard Valkryia Chronicles fan.

In Valkyria Chronicles 2, you will upgrade your armor, weapons, and classes as you would in the first game, but since there are new types of classes, there are new weapons and armor upgrades as well. Items now need materials to upgrade which you receive by defeating enemies and capturing bases. Special enemies like Ace enemies and enemies with a specially colored armor will give you different materials. This aspect of the game can get tedious as the game can easily become a grind fest for parts and materials.

There are more options to the tank upgrades now such as Body, Turret, Shoulder (example: Lamp to increase visibility during an night skirmish), Armor, Backpack (example: Constructor Arm to create bridges and ladders at marked locations on a map), Marking (example: Night Camo), and Stickers (different stickers have different attributes such as the Little Wing sticker which increases my HP by 5 and Rear Defence by 2). In addition, there’s also the introduction of a new type of tank class, the APC. The APC is used to carry up to 2 soldiers in it at a time. It doesn’t have very much in terms of fire power or armor, but it can move further than a regular tank could.

Gameplay and controls are pretty spot on from the first Valkyria Chronicles. You have the same overhead view of the map and get to choose which character you want to use. You move, shoot, change weapons, and crouch exactly the same. I have found myself many times forgetting that I was playing on my PSP.

A few of the earlier missions only require you play on one map, but later missions require you to play across three or more maps and be strategic in your placing as you can only place a maximum of 6 units at one time. The maps are relatively not large at all, but many of the “Free” skirmishes tend to reuse the same maps and even though they may start you at a different point on the map, it can get repetitive.

The AI is not as ruthless as the first game, but it seems that their aim has vastly improved. Lancers and snipers seem to never miss. If your characters get knocked out, they don’t die like in Valkyria Chronicles. If one of your soldiers touches them before 3 rounds pass, you can reuse them in the same skirmish after 1 or 2 rounds. If an enemy gets to them first, they retreat and you’ll have to play 3 complete skirmishes before they can become available. If your tank’s HP hits zero, you have to go to R&D and repair it at a cost.

One item that was not previously seen in Valkyria Chronicles is the addition of Ad-hoc co-op and competitive multiplayer. I never had a chance to use these but from what I’ve read, 2 players can battle across more than a dozen maps in competitive modes of varying objectives,  or complete co-op campaigns with up to four player who can team up and participate in simultaneous attacks.

Overall

There’s so much replay value in this from trying to achieve “A” rankings in all the skirmishes to getting all the credits needed to change classes to trying to find all the Ace enemies, finding the blue prints to create new weapons and the additional EX missions after you beat the game.

My only issue is that you’re still rewarded for running through skirmishes as fast as you can but if you do that you’ll miss out on most of the Ace Soldiers (special soldiers who have rare items that you’ll need to create new weapons/armor) who are hidden throughout the maps.

The maps at times can be repetitive and the difficulty is a bit less challenging than the first game, but with such great game play, you can easily lose track of how many hours you put into the game.

I personally give this an 8.5/10. In the end, the game brings many new additions and doesn’t dumb down the game we love. It took everything from the first and improved upon it. Well, everything except the story that is.

Ricky Ortiz is currently signed to Team Evil Geniuses and is a West Coast player. Last year at EVO Ricky lost to Daigo Umehara in the grand finals.

phire: Evo has recently been viewable online thanks to streaming and the games played have been introduced to a lot of new players. What do you think is important for a new player to get good enough to play at this level.

Ricky O: Travel, going to different regions and playing. I traveled a lot Ect (east coast throw down) ,etc. That way you get used to different styles of play so that way you get good experience playing against everyone.

P: How does the Evo compare to other Evos in the past? This one is my first.

R.O.: I think this year is smaller actually it’s about 1400 compared to last years 2200 or so. And I think Marvel is smaller this year too.

P: Did you like the new Lady gaga album? I was ok with it, I like the Judas tracks and the remixes. Another question so since she’s a motorcycle now do we call motorcycles gagas now?

R.O.: (smiles almost laughing) I liked it . On the motorcycle thing I’m not too sure about that.

Aqua Silk
Aqua as he is known in the communities is probably one of the best Zangief players in the world.

Phire: This is my first EVO and I know at home a lot of people are watching the streams. What would you say to the younger players and people that are at home that want to get to this level what should they do?

Aquasilk: I’m telling you guys practice, practice, practice. You have to come here. This is my first EVO also. This place is amazing, so many people and it’s great. Play Xbox Live, the reason why I say that is because skill level the has increased, there’s no doubt that it has improved over Xbox Live. Keep losing because the more you lose the more you are going to start winning. The Street Fighter scene has been getting really big. I encourage players to keep playing, get better and come out to these events.

P: I spoke to Ricky O earlier and he mentioned travelling as a big part of the experience as well, seeing how other regions play is that true?

Silk: Yes, that is great. Lately I’ve been trying to travel to other states just to go to tournaments here and there. I have not gone out too far ,mainly Philadelphia. Check out scenes,different styles of play, different types of personalities and I think that’s a great thing. It’s a good thing to join locals but it’s a better to actually branch out and experience different places.

P: I’ve seen a lot of players here making passes, are you a good wing man and would you step in and let them know what’s up?

Aqua: No, I will sit on the sidelines and laugh. I wouldn’t tell them the truth

P: Coldblooded

Aqua: And that’s the way it goes.

P: Ok Aqua last question. Kayo Police yay or nay?

Aqua: (thinks about it) I’m going to have to say no

Next set of players include EMP Dieminion, Marn and Gootecks. Stay tuned!

I must say I wasn’t as free as I was in Vanilla which is nice. I have noticed that the average dude in Japan is better than the average XBL player. I think it’s because they have a better grasp of the fundamentals and have had the gamer longer. I am happy that I have went 8-3 on my first night. Considering I have been up for 20+ hours I’ll keep this post brief and just put vids. Sorry guys D:

Phire’s soo free D: Video stuff is coming just bear with us (see what I did there?).

I am currently uploading the videos to our Facebook and Youtube.So give me a little bit, I am trying to be a one man army right now. You know I am still kinda salty about someone having the name for ChocolateLemon. In anycase we had 20 players out there. We had some beasts in the house such as Jago, Dieminion, Min, HZY and Nerd Josh. We also had some usual faces.

Here’s the brackets if you’re looking for ‘em.

Here’s how it breaks down standing wise:
1.Jago-Emp
2.Dieminion-Emp
3.HZY
4.Min
5. Mike G and SKSKSK
7. Chung and Poem
9.Pan,Adanan,Nerd Josh,Spab
11.Phire,Megaman Steve,The Haitian, Krismas.
13.Bones,Zeicheick, Mech Warrior, Bosnian

Team Champ Mountain didn’t do so well this time out . I personally lost to a Fei Long that I should have beat since I have been plaing the Cammy vs Fei match up quite frequently. I must have done some Wally-type stuff.I did have a really good match against HZY. The Bosnian just wasn’t feeling it that day. Maybe we need to feed him more meat and cheeses. Krismas just had a rough match up against a jabby rog. However we all had a good time. If you want to watch it again you can do so at the bottom (my match is 1 hour in).

Watch live video from teamsp00ky on Justin.tv

We are working on February’s Calendar so we hope to see you! All our tourneys are held at 8bit and up.That’s located at 35 St.Marks Place in New york City (Manhattan).

Honorable Mention: Tetris

Now before I start getting angry comments, let me say that I acknowledge that Tetris, just the game of Tetris itself, cannot qualify for being a boss fight. That’s the only reason it’s not on this list. But if you look past that, you see that if Tetris qualified as a boss fight, it would probably end up at number 1 on this list, or at least pretty close to that. It fits every other parameter. The music is great, it’s a fun “boss” to play, and it’s definitely unconventional.

Another drawing factor for Tetris is that you actually cannot beat it, at least to my knowledge. Maybe on some versions of the game there are alternate modes that you actually can beat, but the beauty of Tetris is that it goes on forever, or at least until the player can’t keep up anymore. It’s that kind of simple elegance that not only makes Tetris a great game, but also ensures at least a mention on my list. I really wish that I could put Tetris on this list, because it’s such a different entry than you normally see on lists like this, but it actually has a very strong case for it being here. Oh Tetris, if only you were somehow a boss, I would love to put you on my list. But alas, Tetris isn’t a boss, it’s only a game that fits every description of a boss, except of course, being a real boss. Sorry Tetris, you’ll have to settle for my honorable mention, but you’re still awesome.

10. GLaDOS – Portal

Let me start off by saying this. Portal is a very strange game. Whether it’s your character’s barely explained robot legs, the mind-bending puzzles, or the surprising amount of compassion people show towards the Companion Cube, Valve’s physics-defying puzzle game is just weird all the way through. But by far the strangest part of the game is GLaDOS, the only known entity besides the protagonist Chell in the game. GLaDOS “guides” you through the games puzzles, and her dialog changes from somewhat helpful to downright sinister as the game progresses.

One of the best things about the final confrontation with GLaDOS is that the player doesn’t expect it. Sure, some of you might have suspected it, but it’s not really foreshadowed, it kind of just happens. The last puzzle of Portal, where you have to escape through the test center’s inner workings, is an amazing change of pace from the rest of the game. All of Portal up to that point is pristine, clean, and neat, and causes a pretty sinister atmosphere because of how “perfect” it all seems. It’s too good to be true, and the escape through the factory proves that assumption. Scribbles on the walls left behind by past test subject indicate that “The cake is a lie!” and other helpful hints, and the creepy robot voice of GLaDOS telling, pleading, and threatening you to stop moving forward just enhances this atmosphere.

So you make it all the way through the test center and you finally encounter GLaDOS. The giant machine’s voice is actually slightly clearer now that you are face to, well, insane homicidal machine, then when you hear GLaDOS in the test center, which is a great little addition that just further immerses the gamer into the experience. And now we move onto the actual boss fight. This battle gets some bonus points for having some of the funniest moments in the whole game right at this scene. I won’t ruin anything, but when GLaDOS drops her morality core, if you don’t put it in the incinerator right away, GLaDOS spews out some of her greatest lines. There’s a few videos of it on Youtube, and I encourage you all to check it out if you haven’t seen them already. So anyway, you drop her morality core into the incinerator, and then the battle begins. GLaDOS is a remarkably different boss than anything I’ve experienced. It takes a bit of time to figure out how to even hurt the machine, but once you realize what to do (no spoilers here, I won’t say) it’s pretty easy and very fun. You get to see the concentrated forms of all of GLaDOS’ emotions, the most entertaining one probably being rage, the way it seizes around spewing angry voices. Anyway, GLaDOS is not only a very different boss fight, but a very fun and entertaining one, and a perfect way to start off this list.

9. Gigantic Blooper – Super Mario Sunshine

Now to be fair, I haven’t played much of Super Mario Sunshine, so don’t get mad if there’s an awesome boss fight late in the game, because I haven’t gotten to it. But I have played enough of it to know that there’s one amazing boss fight very early in the game. To be fair, this is more of a mini-boss, and is very easy, but just based on how much fun it is, and how strangely sadistic it is, the Gigantic Blooper fight just had to be on my list. You all remember this, you’re running around, doing Mario things, when all of a sudden, a giant blooper falls from the sky and then you’re in a boss battle. I just love how unexplained this one is, it’s just like “Hey! There’s a giant squid! Go!”. It’s completely out of nowhere, and it’s completely hilarious! But anyway, the only real reason this fight is on my list is how you fight the blooper. People have been long making observations on how strange and sadistic Mario games are when you really delve into them, but this is the epitome of that. There is no way around this fight, Mario jumps on a squid’s tentacles and rips them off, despite the pleading tears by the creature to stop. How sick do you have to be to do that? Mario is literally dismembering living creatures here! Forget Dead Space, this fight is the first use of graphic dismemberment in a game that I’m aware of. And it only gets worse. After Mario has ripped every single limb from this blooper with his bare hands, leaving the creature completely incapacitated, Mario could have just walked away. But no, that’s not nearly enough satisfaction for this sick person. Mario then grabs the blooper’s nose, pulls it back what looks like 15 feet, and then let’s go, causing the blooper to be violently slapped in the face with his own nose. Now that’s cruel. And yet, the player is having a blast while observing these sick acts.

Now I did mention that this boss is very easy, and I wasn’t exaggerating. This is one of the easiest bosses I can think of, it’s actually no challenge whatsoever, the music isn’t outstanding, I can’t even remember what the music was! But it all comes down to the gameplay, and the Gigantic Blooper fight is so much fun that it had to be on my list.

8. Free Bird – Guitar Hero 2

Here’s where some people might start disagreeing with me. Or maybe they started with the Gigantic Blooper, I don’t know. Free Bird, the final song in Guitar Hero 2, and the possessor of one of the most famous, and infamous guitar solos of all time, is an awesome boss fight. Some people might not call it a boss, but I say it is, just look at the facts. It’s the last song played in the game, it’s harder than any other song in the game, it has it’s own music (well, so does everything in Guitar Hero, but I’m making a point), and there’s a big buildup to actually playing the song. You know, the build up is actually one of the best parts about Free Bird as a boss, and in my opinion, one of the funniest moments in a game ever. I can’t really explain it, but I find it very amusing to see 3 consecutive warnings when you try to start the song. They’re almost urging you to go back, and it prepares you for what you’re about to go through. Even with all the quick reflexes and rapid button pressing required for some bosses on this list, or some people would want to see on this list, nothing will hurt your fingers more than Free Bird. Well, maybe that Dragonforce song, but that song is awful.

Yeah, I’m going to take a minute to explain why I put Free Bird here instead of Through the Fire and the Flames, or even Bark at the Moon, for those of you who were around for the first Guitar Hero. Well, I was never really good at the first Guitar Hero, and never got to Bark at the Moon on a difficulty where it would be challenging at all, so that kind of makes me unable to put it on the list. But the main reason is that Free Bird is a far better song than Bark at the Moon, or Through the Fire and the Flames for that matter. And it’s also a far more appropriate song. When you think of being a Guitar Hero, you don’t think of playing some Dragonforce song, or an Ozzy Osbourne song, even if it is pretty good. Maybe it’s just the classic rock fan in me, but Free Bird far eclipses both those songs in that matter. Also the notoriety of Free Bird (Even if you don’t know the song, you know what people mean when they say “Play Free Bird!”) makes it even more hilarious because you’re actually playing Free Bird. When I found out that this song was going to be in Guitar Hero 2, I was incredibly excited. The song definitely lived up to my expectations, and is easily one of the greatest boss fights of all time.

7. Devil Dragon / Living Walls – Mega Man 2

(sorry, that was the biggest picture I could find, and I couldn’t find a picture of the living walls)

Yeah, I have two bosses on this list, but I really can’t decide between the two. First let me talk about the Devil Dragon. A lot of people say that this boss isn’t as great as some people say it is because of how easy it is, and while it is a fairly easy boss, there’s still some challenge. The blind jumps you need to make when the dragon is chasing you constantly give me trouble, but once you get to where you actually fight the boss, it’s an easy one. It’s not as easy as the Gigantic Blooper from Super Mario Sunshine, however, so I can’t discredit it that much for its lack of difficulty. But the real reason that the Devil Dragon is on this list is just how iconic it is. Think about it, we all remember how much that Dragon freaked us out the first time we saw it pop up, and how most of us probably fell off the blocks just out of shock. But once you get over the tricky platforming and the surprise of the Dragon popping up, the boss is actually quite easy. Freakishly easy, really. So that’s why I made this entry a tie between these 2 bosses from Mega Man 2.

The other boss battle at this spot is the living walls boss from Mega Man 2. This boss is at the end of the third stage of Dr. Wily’s castle I believe, and I think I’ve only beaten it once or twice. I’m not great at Mega Man games, so maybe this boss is actually really easy, but to me it’s a pretty good challenge. But my favorite thing about this boss is just how weird it is. I mean, it’s a living room that is breaking apart, reforming, and then trying to kill you. If that’s not creativity, I don’t know what is. This boss fight also has a fair amount of shock, although not as much as the Devil Dragon. You jump down into that room, and start to wonder what exactly is going on, and then before you know it, the room is attacking you. Look, I know I’m repeating myself, but I seriously cannot get over just how creative this boss fight is, it’s genius! By combining this great idea with great execution, the living walls boss and the Devil Dragon from Mega Man 2 are two of the greatest boss fights ever, I just couldn’t choose between the two.

6. Abyss – Marvel vs. Capcom 2

(Why the hell can’t I find big pictures? Stupid hotel internet in Halifax…)

This is definitely one of the most interesting boss fights I’ve ever seen. Throughout all of Marvel vs. Capcom 2, you only see 3v3 team fighting, so when you get to Abyss, the final boss, and you see that he’s just one gigantic armored guy, you expect him to be really freakin’ hard. And he actually isn’t. Sure, he has some powerful attacks, but they’re all very slow, and he’s a very easy boss to beat. Now if this boss were as lackluster as I described him, why would he be on this list? Because after you beat this gigantic armored thing, the screen kind of melts away, revealing this strange green guy with a laser that’s insanely creepy. Yep, that’s right, this is a multi-part boss. And boy, is it a good one. Now I understand that I kind of trashed Abyss’ first form, but it’s actually pretty good. He’s incredibly foreboding, and on a first impression is much more sinister than the second form. Also, while his attacks are a little on the slow side, hot damn are they powerful! You do have to be very careful when fighting this boss, because if you mess up, your chances of beating Abyss in all of his forms is significantly lowered. But the first part of Abyss has nothing on its second form. Insanely creepy, this small green entity has quite possibly the creepiest voice in video game boss history. I can’t really describe it, but it’s horrifying. It shoots a laser at you, shoots bubbles, and if you don’t have a projectile character in your team, is very hard to beat. The only problem is that if you do have a projectile character such as Cable in your team, this part of the Abyss fight becomes very easy. Like, way too easy. But the third form, oh god the third form on Abyss. Not only is it challenging no matter who you have in your party, but it’s scary. Really freakin’ scary. Let’s see, how can I say this, you’re fighting ON THE BOSS. ABYSS IS THE STAGE! I don’t think I’ve ever seen this before in any game. It’s pretty awesome and frightening at the same time. For a lot of the fight, you have to just block in anticipation of a sudden attack by Abyss. Then you have to quickly react when the boss comes on screen and formulate an attack. But why isn’t Abyss any higher? Well, once you figure out how to beat this boss, it is really easy to beat. So even though it’s kind of easy, it’s definitely memorable, and easily one of the greatest boss fights ever.

5. Volvagia – The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

This is one of my personal favorites, and is actually such a good boss fight that it turns the otherwise unremarkable Fire Temple into one of my favorite parts of Ocarina of Time. Before the fight with the fire dragon Volvagia, the Fire Temple is pretty standard, and not that much fun at all. But then, once you get to this boss, it’s just so much fun that it really makes up for the rest of the temple. You walk into the room, see those puddles of lava, and then the triumphant reveal of Volvagia, whose actually a pretty silly looking boss. But still, running around with the Megaton hammer, waiting for the dragon’s head to pop up, and then BAM! You smack him with the hammer, it’s just so much fun! I don’t remember much about music for this boss fight, although the Bolero of Fire is a really cool song, but the main reason why this boss fight is on this list is just how much fun it is. I know I keep restating this over and over and over, but I really can’t explain just how much fun I had the first time I played this boss. Something about just appeals to me, I guess. Ocarina of Time has some great bosses, from Volvagia, to Phantom Ganon, to the thing that you fight in Jabu-Jabu’s belly, but considering that I haven’t gotten past the Water Temple yet, I have to say that Volvagia is the best boss so far in Ocarina of Time, and easily one of the greatest of all time.

4. Huff N. Puff – Paper Mario

Paper Mario has some of the greatest and most creative bosses in both RPG history and in gaming history in general. The hardest thing about this list was picking just one boss from Paper Mario. In fact, I could probably make a top 10 of just the greatest boss fights from Paper Mario. But in the end, I had to go with the first boss that came to mind, the battle against Huff N. Puff. The giant evil cloud is one of the most visually memorable bosses in Paper Mario, right up there with the giant Piranha Plant and the Invincible Tubba Blubba, and has a bit of innovation in the fighting mechanics. Instead of the exact same fighting style for every battle throughout the whole game, when you fight Huff N. Puff, you need a bit more strategy. You see, every time you hit him, little particles come off of him and become separate entities, and also new enemies. So you have to be careful at some parts. Also, one of my favorite things about Huff N. Puff is how goofy he is, but also how sinister he is. You take what is pretty much the happiest place in the entire world, Flower Fields, and he completely corrupts it, darkening the sky with his cloud machine, and basically ruining everything. That’s so silly and at the same time, so freakin’ creepy. Also just look at him! He’s a giant cloud! That just screams silly/sinister. If you really think about it, a gigantic cloud would be a really horrifying thing to encounter in real life, so this boss fight definitely has a sinister angle to it.

Now the other boss that I strongly considered for this spot was the Crystal King. Now the Crystal King is one of the hardest bosses I’ve ever gone up against. He is freakishly hard. Much harder at that point in the game than Bowser is at the end. Not only does the Crystal King deal out a lot of damage, he has a large amount of health, and heals himself. In short, a very, very hard boss to beat. But he couldn’t take down Huff N. Puff, just because the Crystal King fight isn’t memorable enough. When I was thinking of Paper Mario boss fights, the first one that came to mind was Huff N. Puff. There’s a reason he left that much of a lasting impression on me, and it’s because the battle against Huff N. Puff is one of the greatest boss fights ever.

3. Rival – Pokemon Red/Blue

While I could technically put the Rival from any Pokemon game at this point, I picked the one from Red/Blue because not only is Red/Blue the best game in the Pokemon series, but it had the most compelling rival. I never played Ruby/Sapphire all that much, but in both of the last two generations of Pokemon games, the “Rival” has been replaced with a friend of yours whom you just battle continuously. That’s nowhere near as entertaining and compelling as actually battling someone you hate. And the Gold/Silver Rival is so arbitrarily angry, and is such an underdeveloped character, that I really can’t get involved in it. But your rival from versions Red/Blue is a well-developed character, you hate him for a reason, he doesn’t feel too overly evil with no good reason, and he ends up as a very intriguing antagonist. But people at this point might be wondering which fight against your rival I’m putting on the list. Well, there really shouldn’t be any debate. Does anyone not remember how the felt when you finally defeated the Elite 4 and you thought you beat the game, and then your freakin’ rival comes in out of nowhere and demands that you two battle? That was intense! And not only is it a great battle, but it has some of the most intense battle music in gaming history. Seriously, it’s that awesome, You just need to listen to it, and you’ll understand.

But wrapping this all up, the final battle against your Rival in Pokemon Red/Blue really has it all. Challenge, great music, great timing and shock value, and it all adds up to one of the greatest boss fights ever.

2. Mike Tyson – Mike Tyson’s Punch Out!

OH DEAR SWEET BUTTERY JESUS! THIS IS THE DEFINITION OF HARD. I can’t even begin to explain how difficult this boss is. By far the hardest boss in gaming history, if you haven’t tried to take down Iron Mike, there’s just no just way to explain it’s difficulty. I just can’t. I used to think I understood how hard this boss was, but then one day I looked up the code to get to Mike Tyson, found a version of the game online, and I’ve been scarred ever since. I tried to beat him three times; here are my results:

Try 1: Landed 0 punches and got knocked out.

Try 2: Landed 1 punch and got knocked out.

Try 3: Landed 0 punches and got knocked out.

One might say I just suck at Punch Out, and that may be, but still; Mike Tyson is hard. And that right there is the reason why Mike Tyson is on this list. The music isn’t any different than the rest of the game, the fight mechanics aren’t any different, the game just ramps up the difficulty to a legendary status. Because that’s why we all remember this boss, because of how many bloody tears we’ve shed trying to take down the champ. And that’s why this boss fight is on the list.

1. Giygas – Earthbound

I have to explain something. I really like Earthbound. I’ve talked about it in one other list I made, but it is quite possibly my favorite game of all time. I consider it to be a perfect game, and gaming’s single greatest achievement in terms of both quality, fun, and artistry. But all fanyboyism aside, I really feel that the final battle against Giygas is such a good fight that it can actually be thought of as the greatest boss fight of all time. The fight against Giygas has some of the best music in Earthbound, as well as all time, has memorable moments, a very interesting shift in battle mechanics, some humor (you can’t grasp the true form of Giygas’ attack!), and of course, quite possibly the most visually horrifying sight in any video game ever. There are theories circling the internet that………. Actually, no spoilers, I won’t say anything.

But anyway, the fight against Giygas really has it all. It kind of sums up Earthbound in that it accomplishes so much without apparently setting out to accomplish that much. Part of why the fight against Giygas is so amazing is because Giygas is such a good villain. Through the whole game, you never really hear much about him, and then when you finally reach Giygas you find out that he is so evil that his evilness destroyed his own mind and that now he is evil incarnate? That’s pretty badass. And when you take something that badass and fight it, you’re going to get a badass fight. The bottom line is that the fight against Giygas is so memorable either through its humor, interesting way of winning, or just how it looks, that it couldn’t not be number 1. The battle against Giygas is quite simply the greatest boss fight of all time.

Post-SBO what else is there to do in Japan?  After we caught SBO day 2 (we didn’t do day 3), we were left with about 4 days before Beast had to come back stateside.  Besides shopping and arcade crawling, we also went to check out the giant Gundam at Odaiba.  That thing is really impressive and it makes you wonder whether or not the Japanese are in true possession of an actual working Gundam.

The closest I will get to my own Gundam is the arcade game which has been going strong for about 2-3 years now.  I make a trip to this arcade every time I go to Japan and it is one of the few locales to have that honor.  How does it play?  It’s one part Armored Core, another part Virtua On, and a tiny bit of Steel Battalion.  The controls are 2 pedals and two levers.  The pedals are used for forward boost and upwards boost and are positioned like the gas and brake pedals in a car, respectively.  The two levers controls movement.  Pushing both levers forward will move you forward, back moves you back, and left and right allow you to side step.  Turning is a bit tricky but once you get used to it you’ll be a pro in no time.  Turning to the right involves moving the right lever back while moving the left lever forward.  To turn to the left, simply make the opposite motions.  There is also preset text chat, and there are is a headset in most of the pods.  The triggers control different weapons, each Gundam has its own unique weapon set.  The lock-on is automatic but it is possible to force the lock to remain on one target.  There are four weapons depending on the Gundam, but I haven’t figured out how to use the other two.

The  factions in the game are simple, either the Earth Federation (boo) or the Zeon (hail Zeon!).  I’m pretty sure you can tell which side I picked.  The side you pick determines your Gundam type.  You start out with a basic MS-05 Zaku if you choose Zeon.

I believe you get an RGM-79-GM if you choose the Earth Federation.  I wouldn’t know because I hate those Feddie bastards.

I do know that the Earth Federation does get RX-78-2′s and they have shields (that are  so cheap).

There are different maps, each with its own layout and strategic points.  Different events are organized for the Gundam arcades.  As of my last play they had organized eastern Japan vs western Japan depending on where the arcade was located.  I was in Tokyo most of this trip so I’ll leave it up to you to figure it out.  They also update the game with new Gundams you can use after you acquire the appropriate number of points.  You can save your points with a “pilot card” that costs 3 bucks.  It’s a pretty cool system that keeps track of your  kills and points.  I initially lost my first pilot card (the one that I had in 08), but here’s my newest one.

Combat is in real time and it operates on a basic mission, defeat the enemy.

What will we do in the days after Gundam?

Main Event – Fedor VS rogers
Jason “Mayhem” Miller VS Jake Shields
Mousasi vs Soukoudjou
Antonio Silva vs Fabricio Werdum
Jeff Curran vs Dustin Neace

More fights on the undercard BE SURE TO TUNE IN TONIGHT!!!

Chocolate (phire) :  has joined the ranks. With more free time he has been to a few events with New York-Tokyo. The most recent events were the Tekken 6 tournament at the White Rabbit and Emily Cook snowboarding event. There was the second Street Fighter Fight Club that was attended.  What has he been playing? Demon Souls, DJ Hero, the last few days of the Mag Beta, Tekken 6, and some Dragon Age.
Lemon (jwong) was in an issue of  Gamepro along with his rival  Daigo.  He also attended the SFFC, you can read his thoughts on it here. He fought in Seasons Beatings and lost only to Daigo for second place. What has he been playing?  The usual; Street Figher, Tekken, and some Dungeon Fighter Online.
Galarian: Due to all his retro reviews is currently caught in a time warp and is working on a way to get back to the present.
Megumi: is lost somewhere in the Alaskan wilderness, was injured during a game of MAG.
Krismas: Is currently dressed up as Snake and behind you.
Wally: Is still in shock about reciving his first set of press passes for NYAF along with a reviewer’s copy of FairyTale Fights. He will be working with Jessness to cover that game.
Jessness: Avoiding her mob of fans and doing the school thing. Also maintaing high levels of Jessness. Working on the review for FTF.
Allowei: currently time travelling but still making time to write. Is working with Mircosoft to make sure you’re playing good games.
Beast: has been dealing with deleting data on his hard drive.
Expert Penguin: is in hiding due to the fact he made the switch from pad to stick after being so set in his pad player ways.
Everyone else has been off doing err something or the other in filler episodes obviously. That brings us up to date and that is (wait for it) the story thus far.

So here are the top 3 and their CLP:

1) Jiyuna-161
2) Drunken Chicken-46
3) Lord Knight-23

Everyone else who entered has one point,

The other finishers were:

4)zidaniel1337
5)Blaze 2 u, Nas
7)shine, Alzarath

Without further ado, here are some the vids in no particular order. The rest can be found on our channel . Oh snap, there are some photos here too!