Gamerwoman moving

When I created Gamerwoman back in 2013, I really didn’t have many plans for my future. I knew I loved writing and video games. I also knew I was an adult with real-life responsibilities and didn’t always have time to play games, I also didn’t have anyone around me to talk about my favorite things as much as I used to. 

Then August 2014 happened, I fought a wall and lost. (Fell up the stairs and fell headfirst into a cement wall) I started to have trouble concentrating and focusing and while I recovered keeping up on Gamerwoman became less and less of a priority as I tried to piece my own life back together. For 6 years I have been trying to find my way, and now ready to step forward with not just Gamerwoman, but other writing projects I have been working on for a while. 

To really give myself the best chance I need to succeed I am moving Gamerwoman along with other blogs and projects over to one central site on Squarespace. With this new change, comes a change to Gamerwoman itself. Firstly I plan on expanding Gamerwoman’s scope to TV and Movie reviews as well.  Something I have always wanted to do but didn’t have time to do. 

Along with Gamerwoman moving to Lynseyu’s Corner, I will also have several other projects available on the site. Random Thoughts, Is where other none media topics will be. From my recovery from my Concussion to anything that is on my mind. You will also find poems there as well.  Gamerwoman will be broken down into reviews, top whatever lists to beyond the game where tv and movie reviews will be up. Arya’s corner is where my photo gallery will be. Arya the Black cat who has a page on Facebook has been around for about 6 years, I am now adding her content to my site as wells as other pet pictures, Nature pictures, bug photos, wildlife, and a random category.  The final section that won’t be available at launch will be the stories category where I will be putting both short stories, and big writing projects I have been working on over the years. It will be 5 dollars a month for now. Of course, there will also be an about page to find out a little bit about me, because what website doesn’t include one.  I am also working with Patreon as well. 

Follow the link below to my new home, Upon launch, I will have a new article up in each section except for Stores. I will let you all know when something new it up…For those who have followed me and been following me all this time thank you. Your support has meant the world to me, I hope to earn your continued support with this new move. 

Follow me to : www.Lynseyuscorner.com 

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Return Of Gamer-woman

I know it has been a while since I last posted. Four years ago I stopped writing for many reasons which I won’t go into because that is not why you are here. The most important thing is I have not stopped gaming. So what do I want to talk about today, the rise and fall of my most beloved of systems – the Nintendo DS/3DS

Since it has been so long let me explain my gaming history with Nintendo. Born in the 80’s I had the privilege to grow up in the Sega VS Nintendo age. This meant that during my childhood, my family chose a side and you may be surprised to know it wasn’t Nintendo but Sega we chose. In fact, my first Nintendo system did not come until around 1998. By then the Sega had come and gone and the Playstation 1 (PS1) had come around and the Sega was dropped off at goodwill. (I know…I know but we were young.) I never really bonded with these systems so to speak. I remember them fondly because of the time with my family, watching my dad and brother play them. I was never really great at side scrollers…something that has continued to this day as my pathetic attempt to play Vectorman can demonstrate (Poor Vectorman…we cannot even get past level 1).  Then Pokémon came into being and I was gifted my first Nintendo system with Yellow. This moment in my history would turn out to be a significant moment for me. The Pokémon path would have me follow the handheld Nintendo systems.  

So why would the DS/3DS be such an important system for me? Because it opened more doors to the gaming world for me. I would start to pick games I would have an interest in rather than was recommended for me. More Importantly, I spread out from my pokémon games to other titles and genres. My first DS was actually the lite, a little white one I got when I moved from home to college. I have had some version of a DS for a little over a decade now, from my DS Lite to a DSi to the 3ds to the New 3ds. I have loved most…except for the 3ds which has caused me to implement the rule…never get a system when it first launches. (Sacrifice a Gamecube and a PSP for the 3ds and still pay a significant amount of money for the new system and watch the price drop from 260 to 170 and see how happy you are about it.)  This little moment in 2011 did cause me to step away from Nintendo…but, more importantly, it taught me a very important lesson….it doesn’t always pay off to be first to buy something brand new out of the gate. Something that I have applied to both cars and cell phones over the years.

The next question I am sure you are probably asking yourself is aren’t the DS and the 3ds two different systems. I would argue both yes and no. The 3ds is more than capable of playing all the DS games you want (including the downloaded DSi titles with a simple system transfer). Although admittedly trying to play a DS title on the newest 3DS model will cause a little glitch on the 3DS but it is doable with some patience.  That being said, unlike previous handheld generations you can play and insert all DS games into the 3ds, However, games will not play on a DS, and I would argue not all 3DS games can play in a normal 3ds…in the last few years, there have been New 3DS exclusives. It’s the fact that all DS games can (but not easily) play in the New 3DS that makes me loop this whole system experience together. 

When the DS initially launched it was arguably one of only two handheld systems out there (the Playstation portable being the other one). Back in 2004 however the handheld gaming market was mostly dominated by Nintendo…then something happened. While people were busily playing Mario party on their DS, the Apple iPhone came out and changed the course of gaming forever. Suddenly there was an app store and new games were coming out every day. Smartphones would change the way people played their games, and it began to reflect in the sales data. In almost every instance that you look at Nintendo’s eternal data, the DS and the 3DS outsold their console-based units, with the Wii selling 102 million units (rounded up) and the WiiU which only sold a measly 14 million units, leaving the home console only selling 115 million units as a whole.   Compare these numbers to that of the DS and the 3DS, with the DS selling 154 million units and the 3DS (as of June 30th) selling 76 million units, a total of 229.89 million units. Outselling the home consoles by 115 million units. Making them arguably some of the best selling consoles out there.  These numbers prove the growing shift in the market to the portable platform rather than the home console. I think Nintendo also saw these numbers and saw the consumer shift from at-home console purchase along with the growing cellphone gaming market and decided to build the Switch which is the Hybrid of the at home and on the go play, striking a nice balance appealing to the at-home players like some of my most lovable friends, to the on the go player who likes to sit in front of the tv and play some pokémon while rewatching some old Star Trek or take their car to the park and enjoy some outdoor time while fishing in Animal crossing (yes I know the irony here). 

I purchased my first DS Lite in early 2006 when I first moved into the dorms. Unwilling to have a pink one…because yes I am a girl but I didn’t want it to be too girly I picked a pearl white one. When my DS lite fell off my nightstand in 2007 and its corner joints snapped off and went ripping across my dorm room…and the system still worked I knew I had to replace it…and I did with another white one… A system may be the binding of a book, but it’s the pages inside that tell the story. From page one to the epilogue it’s everything in between that makes up your gaming story. 

My gaming story with the DS started with a few missteps as I tried to find my identity as a gamer, remember this is my first significant step outside of Pokemon and maybe a few games on the PS1, that were my choices. These games would define me…teach me, reach me, make me smile, laugh, and cry. Some of these games would sit with me like a good story and I would just have to sit there and think about them for a little while…before I was ready to move on to the next adventure.  You know what? I think this will be easier if I do this as a list form….everyone likes lists right? Here is how I will break it down, since I arguably have or had played more DS titles then 3DS titles, I will have a top 10 DS titles followed by my top five 3DS titles.  Now, these are my top favorites, games I have gone back and played over and over again….or whose stories have sat with me long past the time I played them.  I acknowledge the fact that favorite games are a deeply personal thing and my list might not match up your list and that is ok…let me know your top favorites in the comments below. 🙂

DS titles Top 10

10: Advance Wars Dual Strike: This little turned-based strategy series came to my attention with the GBA (Gameboy Advance). I really enjoyed the gameplay elements of this series…and often find myself longing for it. I did make a solid attempt at Days of Ruin which had a very solid and intriguing story…however I got stuck in one scenario and was never able to beat Days of Ruin.  Why is it on the list…because it’s one of those titles that if a new one dropped tomorrow I would absolutely buy it…I may not be able to beat it but I would absolutely buy it.  (Side note, there is a Switch title that is similar to Advance Wars called Wargrove…if you are like me and hankering for a little something like Advance Wars give it a try…and yes I got stuck in it as well.)

9: Glory of Heracles: This is a title that got my attention by its opening credits. I was at my local Gamestop when I heard the opening titles…and that just won me over. When I played the game, I found myself really enjoying the story…so much that I replayed it almost immediately upon completing it the first time. Now it’s been about a decade since I last played this RPG, but I still recommend it to anyone who will listen to me about it….and I still love the opening title (very much listening to it now :).   

8: Digimon World DS/ Dawn & Dusk: Digimon is a series I have always enjoyed…but the Digimon worlds of the past have always left something to be desired. The Digimon games for the DS both world and Dusk & Dawn is where I felt the series finally hit its stride as a series. There was a story and adventure to go on, and it wasn’t just about fighting Digimon. Yes you could argue they were following Pokemon’s formula…but hey Pokémon’s formula works (sometimes a little too well). If you like Digimon I recommend this series…if you can find them. (If not I recommend Cyber Sleuth complete edition for the Switch which is another solid entry.) 

7: Professor Layton: Unwound Future (Lost Future in the EU AND AU): Professor Layton is a series I have stepped away from in recent years…I wasn’t happy with going backwards in the timeline of the series. (I am not fond of this in any series…move forward not backwards people). The first three Layton games are wonderful but Unwound Future is my favorite of the Layton series. The only one to get me straight up bawling at the end of the game…the story was that good.  I have never stopped thinking about this game…and sometimes I wish I didn’t step away from the series…but I guess if I returned…I would be going backwards. 

6 Final Fantasy IV DS Remake: I didn’t start playing the Final Fantasy series until 7, and by the time IV had come out to the DS I had played 8 and 10. I tried 9 I really did but I had trouble with loading screens (which I later learned is the game just took its time and I was impatient..). Anyways because I had developed a fondness for Final Fantasy by the time 4’s remake came around it was a no brainer. I found like most Final Fantasys the story was fantastic. I can go on and on comparing 4 with its fellow Final Fantasy titles but that is another blog for another day…for now, this was a welcomed addition to my gaming Library. It like Glory of Heracles it also has a wonderful remastered opening sequence the introduces new and old players to this new world.  

5 Puzzle Quest…the whole darn series: This combined two of my favorite elements…an RPG story..with the fun of gem-matching (think of bejeweled or candy crush with story elements.).  When last year they announced that Puzzle Quest was coming to the Switch…I squealed..yes I actually squealed out loud I was so excited.  I even play a version of it on my phone now (Marvel’s Puzzle Quest). While Galactrix played very differently then most of the Quest series it was still an enjoyable entry. The best part is it’s a game you can drop for a few years…and come back to and not be completely lost. Its replay value alone is why I love this series so much. 

4 Pokémon Black and White: It is no secret I am a huge fan of Pokémon…It has been the driving force behind my system upgrades and the eventual exploration of different gaming titles.  The DS was lucky to see two generations of Pokémon and a remake of Gold and Silver. While I adore the remake of Generation 2 of Pokémon…and think highly of Pearl and Diamond…It’s generation 5 Black and White I go back to most often. It was the first Pokémon series that had a storyline that treated me like an adult…and plus it’s the generation that has a lot of my favorite Pokémon in it…including my beloved Joltik. It had NPC’s who I enjoyed interacting with and was the last generation to be a core Pokémon that has some difficulty to it.  One last point about this generation…it is the only generation to have the story continue with Black and White 2…all others have been a rehash of the story…so gen 5 rules!

3 Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy. This series is the only one I have bought most often. I played the games first when they were sold individually..then again when they came out as a Trilogy set for the New 3DS…and will eventually break down and again buy it for the Switch…I just love the series.  I think I have bought every title in the series at least once. It’s just a smart, quick-witted game. I love the detective elements and the courtroom elements and the Trilogy is just good. (Although I also recommend Apollo Justice as well…we will get to him in the 3ds section.) The rich characters and the stories…this is just a good series…and yes I think I will buy it again when it’s on sale :). 

2 Tetris DS: Yes I know girls like Tetris…everyone likes Tetris. Yes, I have Tetris 99 on my Switch and there are a lot of elements in that game that it takes from the DS version…but the DS version will always be my favorite…just because of the hours and hours of fun I had with my friends with this game. That coupled with some Nintendo themed music like Mario and Zelda made me really love this game. It’s sad with the online play cut off now this game doesn’t get played as much as it use too…and like I said 99 is now around for the Switch…so I can get my Tetris fix when I need it…but it’s not the same as playing in your dorm room with your buddies. 

1 Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution: I had to give it to this game…the amount of times I have replayed this game and continue to play it is just amazing. The new one confuses and confounds me…but the DS version is just enjoyable. I cannot tell you how many lunch breaks I took playing this game. When my 3DS stopped working briefly and I went back to my DS games, this was the first one I picked back up. I will never ever sell this game. It is easy to pick up…you can win and lose just as easily depending on the moves you make. It’s just a fun game…and eventually, I will figure out the Switch version…or I will just keep playing the DS one.

3DS Favorites top five

5 Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney Dual Destinies: I like this game because of its combination of everything you have been through in the series so far. Both Apollo (who was a spin off character) and Phoenix’s story….In a way, it sort of feels like a goodbye the way it was written. While I hope this isn’t true…the way this series was written and played out…just feels like a love letter to the fans. Time will tell if there will be more…but for now, I will just have to be satisfied with this. 

4:  Radiant Historia: This was a game sort of like Glory of Heracles in my mind, under the radar at first, unlike Glory which got my attention with a song, Historia was recommended to me. Hadn’t heard of the game before, I looked at reviews to see that this game was a remake and it had such love around it…I had to try it. I fell in love with this game. It isn’t a simple straight forward RPG which I love…there are some back and forth, jumping between different timelines. It’s a game whose world is easy to get lost in and the end game villain is a pain in the butt to defeat…but because it’s just ever so different than the run of the mill RPGs I am used to this is what makes it a great entry to my list and a fun game to replay. 

3: Pokémon X&Y: While not my favorite entry in the Pokémon franchise, this one holds its own. Though a victim of the gimmick it does have a pretty interesting side story…which I wish they fleshed out just a bit more. X & Y beat out Sun and Moon because of the friendship element. I spent a lot of time with my friend filling out the Pokédex to get a 100% completion. Plus the addition of Fairy helped make my buddy Bulbasaur really useful once more. 

2 Professor Layton VS Phoenix Wright: This was the game I never knew I wanted until it was announced. It was everything I could have wished for and more, somehow combining two different styles of art and writing to create this masterpiece. I took one weekend, essentially locked myself in my room and played it through and it was glorious. If you are a fan of either series I highly recommend it. 

1: Fire Emblem Awakening: This was another game that was recommended to me by a very dear friend. I had not played any games in the Fire Emblem series before, I had stayed away because I was afraid it would be a continuing story. I was assured Awakening wasn’t like that…an independent story…and an interesting one at that. Awakening drew me into the series and I have played a couple of different titles now, from Warriors to Fates…but it’s Awakening that will always hold a bit of a special place for me because it introduced me to this world. And no it is not lost on me that it is the same company that was behind Advance Wars…part of my top 10 from the original list is also behind the Fire Emblem series. 

The DS and the 3DS have played such a significant role in my development as a player and as a person. Some stories have left deep thinking moments…others have helped me pass time through a difficult period of my life. These are the gaming systems of my adult life. In a life that throws constant curveballs, having a safe adventure to go on is important. Although I have the switch now, I don’t feel they are as durable as the DS’s were. Its clam-shaped design made it easy to stick in my purse and take it with me. I cannot say this of the Switch…and while it is hands down more powerful then my DS’s, It will never be as portable, as long-lasting or as diverse as the DS, the predecessor to so much. And while the last game for the 3DS has been produced…the legacy of this system will not be soon forgotten. The little Dual Screen system that stole my heart. 

Thank you for reading…I am hoping to do more of these although not on a regular schedule at the moment. Please like and subscribe for more content….and if there is a past article you would like an update on or you have your own personal list of favorite games please feel free to comment below.

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Numbers for this article can be found: https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/finance/hard_soft/

Links in titles will lead to Amazon.

Seek…the real life pokedex

As someone who grew up as a Star Trek and Pokemon fan, I have longed to have had something like a Pokédex or a Tricorder in my pocket. Something I can use to take a photo of something in nature, like a mushroom or a bug, and a piece of technology would be able to identify what the item is. As smartphones started to grow smarter and smarter I waited until the day someone built an app for that. 

Well, I am happy to report that someone did and the App I am talking about is Seek by iNaturalist. iNatualist started as a Masters program by Nate Agrin, Jessica Kline, and Ken-Ichi Ueda for UC Berkeley, in 2008 (About · iNaturalist ) It grew with some additional help from Sean McGregor and Scott Loarie and grew into an LLC (Limited Liability Company). From there it joined forces with the California Academy of Sciences and National Geographic.  Its core though, what makes iNaturalist tick is the community surrounding it, learning from one another, observing and teaching each other about the amazing world surrounding us. 

iNatualist, while an App in itself that helps you connect to the community to help you identify that critter, it is its sister app Seek that is in my humble opinion the star in this show. Seek does almost everything a real-life Pokedex should. I take a picture or stand in front of what I want to identify until all seven little dots light up, and there! You now know what is staring back at you. It is an app I highly recommend to all thoughts who want to learn about the wonderful world surrounding you. 

Pros:

  • Identifies bugs, plants, animals, fungi, and other such creatures. 
  • You get fun little badges when you find so many critters.
  • It is user friendly. 
  • It sets weekly goals to get special badges…but is not overly aggressive about it.
  • It will id things off of camera rolls as well. (If you have a backlog of spider pictures like I do that need identifying.)
  • It stores your previously found items for quick recall.
  • It has community resources you can access on another app if the camera cannot ID what you are looking at. 

Cons: 

  • It can take a few minutes to ID things; this could be a problem on subjects that move. Cumbersome on plants when you’re trying to defeat a shadow. 
  • When it comes to plants, animals or bugs that could be potentially hazardous to a human’s health there is no warning that pops up. Ideally, I would like to see this on mushrooms, or poison ivy. 
  • It can be a bit fussy about pictures in camera rolls and has misidentified a few things in older photos. 
  • It doesn’t allow you to change your location. I put a butterfly I took a picture of in Florida in the app, and it wouldn’t let me switch the location from where I was currently sitting in Upstate New York to Florida…so that could mess up ranges of critters if the information being gathered is going into a community collection. 

Seek is a wonderful little app, that is available on both IOS and Android, and can be a great gateway for both adults and kids to get to know the world around them just a little bit more. 

Learn more about this app by clicking here

Download the app for Ios or Android by clicking the link Seek 

Pokemon Spotlight: Grass starters

 

Aaa Spring is in the air, birds are in the air, bugs are buzzing and trees are (oh dear god) pollinating ugh. (I hate allergy season.) Anyways, speaking of getting in the mood of spring, it brings me to a brand new spotlight! I think given the blooming of flowers it’s only appropriate to cover Pokemon’s Grass starters.

There are over 95 different grass type Pokemon in the games, and a majority of them share dual typing. While it’s not as big of a category as some of the other types there is something that grass has consistently brought to the table – a starter. While a water type is more useful, and a fire type is almost always more powerful, the grass type to me has always represented balance. Often not as strong as a Charizard nor as swift as a Greninja, but tough enough to take a hit from the former and survive to do its own damage.

So as I did in Starting birds, let me break down each type then rank them.

Bulbasaur Family: one of the original three of Gen 1 and often times one of the most overlooked of the three starters, it doesn’t grow cannons on the back like Blastoise, nor does it turn into a “dragon” like Charizard. However it is one of the most consistent; balance is the name of the game when it comes to this starters. As I have mentioned before, it was Ash’s Bulbasaur I really fell in love with, along with the fact it helped stick up for weaker Pokemon and refused to change when others did. For me however its poison typing was a bit of a setback for the Pokemon, due to its weakness to the highly over-powered psychic type. The years however have been very kind to this Pokemon – with the introduction of fairy typing in gen 6 plus a new mega evolution this little one’s future is looking very bright.

Chikorita Family: I have a confession to make. While technically Bulbasaur was my first grass starter, since I chose Yellow as my first Pokemon game I didn’t really choose to play him (I collected him, not played him). So it wouldn’t be until Gen 2 that I would make my very first starter choice, and again influenced by the show I picked Chikorita which even I admit is one of the hardest starters to run in Gen 2.  While I will admit right now I don’t believe I ever completed Gen 2 with Chikorita, I did run her for more than half of Johto. When you struggle so much in the early gyms, you grow fond of your starter. However despite all of this…I do admit Chikorita is one of the more forgettable starters. Like I said before, the gyms in this game actually work against this Pokemon. Bird, bug, normal, ghost, fighting, steel, ice and dragon….none of these gyms would this starter or its moveset have an advantage in. Sorry Chikorita…

Treecko Family: I honestly do not have too much experience with this particular family. Gen 3 was the generation I went with fire…but I will get to that maybe one day. This is not a bad family though, and the generation has more balanced gyms so there are opportunities to really shine. Like Chikorita, Treecko is a solid grass type,  with solid grass moves. There just isn’t much that makes this starter stand out in my opinion. I had really stopped watching the show by this point so it is all personal experience and I am afraid I just don’t have it with Treecko. Hey at least he has a mega form.

Turtwig family: I have a special fondness for this family. I love turtles and this one was the very first that was a totally uninfluenced decision. Turtwig is the first dual type since Kanto, picking up the the ground typing in its final evolution Torterra. Having the ground typing can be both a blessing and a curse. The blessing is it makes getting through Gen 4 easy; I love multiple typing and Pokemon that can learn a variety of moves. However, it now becomes four times weak to ice types, making it not as successful in the competitive world. Still Turtwig is adorable and one of my favorite designs and I played him though not only Pearl but Platinum as well, bonding me pretty tightly to this little guy. I wait long for the day that Torterra can mega evolve!

Snivy Family: Poor Snivy, it’s not its fault that Gen 5 was the generation I drifted away from Nintendo and Pokemon. I did eventually return, and when I did Snivy was my choice.  Snivy is another grass starter that I think is destined to be forgotten. Like Chikorita and Treecko it is another solid grass type. I always love Snivy’s final snake-like design; there are really not enough snake Pokemon in the game. The sad fact of the matter is that Snivy’s move pool is limited, and with pure typing there is just not much other than design going for it. I fear as we move further and further into Pokemon this family will grow to be forgotten like the other solid grass types.

Chespin family: Chespin is what happens to chipmunks when they eat too many acorns and they become one. That being said, I think poor Chespin like the rest of Gen 6 starters did not have the chance to shine in game. The reason I say this is before we even get to gym two we get to pick another starter, this time from Gen 1. On top of that, these Gen 1 starters have mega evolutions. Gen 6 starters were overshadowed in their own game, with so many old school Pokemon that I didn’t really give this one a chance. Also I want to note with Chespin that this is the fourth generation to include fighting as part of the dual typing.

Ok so that is the 6 starters, so where would I rank them from worst to best….

Snivy: I love Snivy’s design, but this starter has little going in its favor; it’s not as fast as Treecko’s family nor as defensive as Chikorita’s family. Its move pool is fairly shallow as well leaving little chance to really let this well-designed Pokemon shine.

Chikorita: another pure-blooded grass type, at least unlike Snivy its move pool is slightly deeper, and it’s the more defensive then Snivy. Still I find this starter just as forgettable as Snivy and nothing really makes her stand out to me. Its own generation fights against her as there are no gyms that really allow her to shine until the second half of Gen 2.

Chespin: Poor adorable Chespin, it could not even shine in its own game because a second starter was added. While I am generally in favor of dual typing, Chespin’s dual typing just makes it so weak to flying and psychic. While I am sure it has its pluses since almost every starter that got fighting typing did well, I just never really got to use it…sorry Chespin one day maybe.

Turtwig: I love this cute adorable starter, you guys know I love this little guy. While it rocks through Gen 4, I cannot and should not ignore the fact it’s four times weak to ice. While its move set should make up for this fact, the sad fact is that a good chunk of ice users will likely out-speed Turtwig’s final evolution before it could do any damage. However Turtwig does have access to a wide range of moves making it a diverse fighter, and unlike the later three Pokemon at least its own game Turtwig can shine in.

Treecko: While a pure-blooded grass type, Treecko has one thing the last four do not have – mega evolution. while I can honestly say I have never played this grass Pokemon, I do however acknowledge that this grass type may be the best of the three pure grass Pokemon. Like Turtwig, it does have access to a diverse move pool, however unlike Turtwig it can mega evolve, although for the life of me I cannot explain why it becomes part dragon….really now it is also 4 times weak to ice. Still the mega evolution adds a nice boost in stats.

Bulbasaur: Before mega evolution and fairy typing Bulbasaur might have been lower on the list, however now I say it’s the number one of all the grass starters. Now it has the stats, the moves and the mega evolution to take this grass starter all the way, of course game freak has also had 20 years to perfect Bulbasaur.

Well what’s your opinion? who is your favorite grass starter?

 

 

 

Pokemon Anniversary

Wow 20 years….man I feel old. 20 years ago Pokemon roared into all of our lives, I was the mere age of 14 (good god I was just a babe…..this article is going to make me feel so old).  So I thought I would talk about my history with gen 1, and then because everyone likes a countdown list I thought me with my co conspirator pianoelf (who will be in red) would list our top 5 favorite gen 1 Pokemon.

When Pokemon came out I was in junior high school, I didn’t even know there was a game until I started watching the anime. After the anime and a babysitting job I got to play the game a little bit on my on my own.  It wouldn’t be until Yellow launched that I really showed a strong desire for the game, I liked getting all three starters and Pikachu, I didn’t like having to make the choice at the beginning. It would be my birthday that I would get my first Game Boy and Yellow. I loved the game and played it a lot, coming to rely on other Pokemon not featured in the anime. Yellow would start my Pokemon journey, I would go on to play every single main series entry, and a few side ones.

I don’t remember how old I was when Pokemon first came out, but I remember getting Game Boy Pockets with my two brothers and each of us got to choose Red or Blue. I chose Red, although I really wanted Blue because I loved the color blue. I think at least one of my brothers chose Blue, but at any rate, the next thing we knew, we were in the living room together choosing our first Pokemon. We all chose a different one of course, so that eventually we could see each one. I loved the variety in the different Pokemon seen in the originals (even though the original designs don’t age too well), and caught everything I saw. Since then, I have played at least one entry in each generation of games. While there are things I love in the later games, I will never forget the first one I played.

So on to my top five gen 1 Pokemon (or Pokemon family)

 Diglett & Dugtrio: I loved these little ground dwellers. I remember reading in my first Pokemon walkthough a Versus book (which sadly doesn’t exist anymore) that speed wins battles and if there is one thing this little mole Pokemon has, it’s speed. During the course of gen 1 this little guy would more than earn its place on my team. It is also one of the only Pokemon i can consistently draw and when I get bored you can find one or two on the page of a notebook.  I wished it aged as well as my love for it because as the generations grew this Pokemon fell out of favor in my teams, to stronger ground types. However, Diglett will always hold a special spot for me. 

    Pikachu: So cliche, I know, but Pikachu was the first “rare” Pokemon I ever caught. I remember the first one I saw in Viridian Forest, being surprised at never having seen one before (and how cute it was), and then quickly realized how rare it was to encounter one. This little electric mouse may have never made it as a permanent member of any of my teams, but its charm and personality have stuck with me from the very beginning. (Ash’s Pikachu is infinitely adorable too.)

 Zapdos: Out of all of the legendary Pokemon in this generation, Zapdos was by far and away my favorite. This wonderful little electric Pokemon would be a firm fighter for me. With Zappy (yes that’s what I named it) by my side I always knew I would make it through. In game Zapdos is truly the key to getting the other legendaries, We zapped Moltres and Articuno and drill pecked Mewtwo. Whenever I see the Zapdos in future games my heart jumps a beat because I know with this bird at my side…nothing will stop me. 

Pidgey, Pidgeotto & Pidgeot: Pidgey was one of two bird Pokemon you could catch at the very beginning of the game, and I always liked Pidgey’s design better than Spearow’s. As this little bird evolved, he became my Flyer and a very reliable member of my first team. In a recent playthrough of Soul Silver, I made it a point to use one, and while he had a period where he was close to useless, now he has proven himself to be a core member of the team. There have been many new bird Pokemon introduced since Gen 1, but they will never replace the Pidgey family for me.

  Rapidash: When I was looking over the list of the original 151, and looked at good Rapidash and Ponyta I got this warm happy feeling. Like most little girls, I grew up loving horses. I can’t tell you how it absolutely blows my mind after 20 years and 722(?) Pokemon that there are only 3 horse type Pokemon. Rapidash is too often overlooked in my opinion as a fire Pokemon, but it has something that is so key, the same reason i love Dugtrio: speed. It’s not only that. I loved encountering it in Snap. It is beautifully designed, and has the moves and the stats to be a great Pokemon, and she really is.  

  Butterfree: Yet another Pokemon found close to the beginning of the game! I loved Butterfree even though she was always swapped out later for something more useful. I think it’s because I loved butterflies as a kid, and hated bees (Beedrill is the Pokemon opposite Butterfree). Leveling up a Caterpie or Metapod and then seeing this beautiful Butterfree emerge was always immensely satisfying.

 Bulbasaur: Ok let’s be straight here ppl, yes Charmander grows into Charizard which even I will admit is kind of badass, Squirtle grows into a giant turtle with cannons on his back, In comparison Venasaur is not that impressive, even when we got mega this Pokemon got shafted, but to me it will always have a special little place. It was the anime that sold me on him, not willing to change when everyone one else like him did, protective of the weak and friends, tolerant of ones who annoy him and loyal to his friends. Bulba was the one out of Ash’s Pokemon that I identified with, and that’s why I love him. 

 Eevee & Flareon: Ok, another cute choice, but this Pokemon is not found until much later in the game. You can only get one Eevee, and then you find that Eevee can evolve into one of three Pokemon depending on what kind of stone you give to it. Eevee is cute enough already, but Flareon’s design always attracted me more than the other two options. Flareon just looks so fluffy! Eevee has consistently been a team member in later games, sometimes as its original form, and much more often in one of its now EIGHT evolution choices.

Lapras: By now are you really that surprised to see Lapras here? If you have read my past blogs you know I absolutely love this Pokemon. She has carried me through so many games, but it was Yellow where I first met her. Once I had her by my side I dropped my Blastoise for her and I have never looked back. Lapras has been at my side since the beginning, My love for this Pokemon goes longer and deeper, met in gen 1 and by my side until the end. Beautiful, serene, defensive and strong this one has gotten me though many Elite Fours. 

 Charmander: I’m sure you can guess by now which Pokemon I got while my brothers got the other two. Charmander has always been my favorite Pokemon, partly because he was the one that started it all. I remember that I didn’t want to evolve my first Charmander, but eventually gave in and Charmeleon and Charizard became heavy hitters as I faced the Elite Four. But in every game since then, I have tried to have a Charmander on my team and never evolve him. There is something about this cute little lizard that makes me happy to have him by my side. Perhaps part of it is seeing Ash’s Pikachu and wanting my Charmander to be the same kind of friend. Ash’s Charmander may have evolved into a stubborn Charizard, but my Charmander will always be my faithful companion.

Well there you have it,  our top fives. We both enjoyed revisiting our past, and look forward to replaying the original games in the not so distant future. In the meantime please enjoy the video below, done by natewantstobattle, It seems appropriate to end the article with it.

 

Please feel free to like us on our new facebook page Gamerwomen, where we (try) to post upcoming news or interesting articles we find from around the web about various games; and of course alerts to when new articles are posted up.

 

Pokemon Go

a few days ago i woke up to the exciting news of a new Pokemon game. My friend sent me the video which i will happily include in this post. These are my initial thoughts

  • Pokemon has returned to its root. (remembering your roots Pokemon, very cool) what do i mean by this. The old trading system had users face to face with one another actually talking to one another. Something that over the years of technology developing it the way it has, trading has become very impersonal. This seems to bring pokemon back to is original social features, with us getting out and talking to one another.
    • the down side to this could be for the people like me who live in more rural areas, where there are not a while lot of people around, of if there is another player around they could be a distance away. i would like to see how they would go about implementing something like this so that everyone feels included and its not something like only people who live in nyc can get a Mewtwo but people out in the boonies only run into Hopip.

 

  • the idea of going out to the world and finding real pokemon, is really exciting to me. I am the first to admit that i am not exactly healthy and could use motivation to exercise. it seems like pokemon over the years has seemed to accepted responsibility of trying to get its players up and moving. It seems to had started with Gen 4 and the rerelease of of soul silver and heart gold with the pokewalker. I loved that thing and until the battery died and i lost it in the black hole that is my bed room, i used it a lot. I loved taking my pokemon for a walk and it inspired me to move more. I think that the idea of going out to the world and finding my favorite pokemon. I might even get myself some hiking boots.
    • the downside here could be people who live in the city. if this is implemented like certain pokemon only show up in certain spots, someone like me who has access to a verity of different landscapes, (mountains, lakes, rivers, plains and caves if i wanted. Folks in the city may only have access to city and maybe one kind of body of water.
    • another downside or possible potential hazard is the people in rural. i don’t care how good of pokemon might be ahead of me if i am in a situation where i am driving and a pokemon appears on a busy rode i will pick life over mon. They will have to be really careful to make sure pokemon don’t appear on major interstates or intersections or where going to find some injured or dead pokemon fans.
  • I also love that this will be available, on a phone rather then a 3ds and here is why. I have found over the years is much easier to stuff a phone into a purse or pocket then a 3ds. Its bad enough that now a days that taking the size of the 3ds into consideration when buying a new purse.
    •  however the phone could lead to its own separate trouble. particular with data costs, or if it becomes like shuffle is now, where you have pay for certain items in the game. I think price for this new little add on may also me a major factor too, hopefully its only a one time cost but who knows.
  • In some ways i feel like this game has a posiblity of giving fans something we have been asking for a very long time, a massive multiplayer game. It may not be in the way that fans had dreamed but i think it is so much more then what fans dreamed, bringing pokemon into real life.
    • my concern is they will stick to only one generation, while i am excited for go there was one thing i noticed in the trailer…all the pokemon featured were gen 1 pokemon. now i am not sure if this is because gen one pokemon are pretty much the most well known or that they are only sticking with gen 1. If its the later your leaving out 568 other pokemons. (yes i did the math…well i used a calculator.) I really hope they allow all of the pokemon to be found, i would love to find a little joltik.

There is still much to learn and i am sure as the weeks pass, we will learn more about how this works. I am sure like others i have a lot of questions, questions which i am sure will be answered as time passes. In the mean time lets just enjoy the possibility of pokemon in the real world

 

Twisted Metal Series: A Review

I know nothing i do here matters in the grand scheme of things, but i am a little upset about Nintendo’s recently released youtube policies. While i myself am not a youtuber, I am way to shy and an recent injury over the summer has left me with a studder, i do watch quite of few really spectacular youtubers, JWitz, Tamashii, Natewantstobattle (love his music) and dooksheid who just brighten my days with there comments and music and i feel Nintendo’s policies might stifle there creativity. So in solidarity with the youtubers i watch and enjoy, i am doing this review on a non Nintendo product and taking a break from my pokemon series. i might return to it but in the mean time. lets talk about a game series that changed the course of gaming for me Twisted Metal.

As i have mentioned in my source post journey into the Digital World and my top 15 non pokemon games twisted metal is defently in my top 10 games, it was the first game i really played independently. The playstation meant a bit of a revolution for me and my brother, up until then we often played video games with my dad. i was about 13 years old when the ps1 first came into my home. i really don’t remember some of the the first games we had for this system, meaning they really did not make much of an impact on me, It was when my brother borrowed a copy of twisted metal 2 from a friend did things really change. Me an my brother divided up the cars taking turns playing though the game. We bother fell in love the game and have now played every single version out there, with me owning most older games. I guess the best way to review this series the best i can from memories. I am going to start this off by saying, i did not get to play the playstation 3 game because i was unable to afford a ps3, and i only briefly own a psp. Also since my ps2 never had any really online capabilities so i really cant judge that.

So before i get into the review lets talk about what kind of game this is, It is not typical for me i can tell you that. Twisted metal is a at best a combat game, with cars. At the beginning of ever game you get a choice between 5 to 7 types of cars with different capabilities and weapons and a few secret cars you can unlock. Each car has a special weapon unique to that car, could be a short range or long range weapon, and of course no car is the same could have better speed but sucks on defense. Each game usually has a few cars that appear in every game, others rotate, other are only there for one game. The goal of the game is to kill each other, lets be frank, to the victor comes one wish and that wish depending on the game itself can be twisted around to screw over the player at the end. Others depending on the game get what they wish for, some stories are actually heartbreaking twists. The game does very much live up to the twisted ending.

So why do i like this game so much, well as i will go into below almost every game is a little different, every car is a little different with a different story each time, which gives this game a very high replay value, because lets be honest once you caught them all in pokemon you are pretty much done. Not here, i have played in particular 2, 4 and black multiple times over the years and every time i play though the combat is a little different, yes the story remains the same, but the game play changes. With each ones of those cars you have different specials and a different way to fight. And at the end of a long day this game is a fun way to blow off steam, i mean come on i am running around destroying cars and property in a game, i would never ever do this in real life, but that is why we have video games.


So let me quickly go over my favorite cars and stories.

Outlaw/ Outlaw2: this car is almost always some sort of police cruiser, with the exception to black and its sequel are swat style vehicles. Its weapon is mostly a lighting life sucking energy, it has a mixture of speed and deference but its special weapon is lackluster. There story, in the end there almost always one of the good guys, doing wrong to eventually do right. Even if at the end, they usually don’t accomplish what they wanted.



Twister: This car is why the god code was made. The god code in the game essentially gave the player unlimited health, weapons and turbos (speed boost). Twister is the fastest car in the game it is a race car after all, and its ability to sweep other cars up in its path like a twister but can also be damaged itself. Twisters defense sucks but i swear i don’t know how they did it but speeding around around the game it always felt like i was going super fast, i always always loved that. Her story was one of the funnier ones and she got in the ending she deserved.


Grasshopper: This Car is one of the most difficult ones to control in the game, it has a seeking homing front that jumps up and attack the nearest car, with sometime deadly consequences. Grasshopper is modeled after a dune buggy God codes do not save you from falling to death and if your little car has decided to target the car then fell off the edge of something, your going over too. However as hard as it is to control this car, she has one of my favorite endings in Twisted metal 2. Which honestly makes the pain of dealing with this car totally worth it.


Roadkill: Roadkill like outlaw has been featured in all the twisted metal games except for four. Most always some sort of junkyard muscle car. It is a lot like Outlaw, its is sort of medium range in most its stats but honestly what gets Roadkill on my list is he almost always has one of the most intriguing stories. Its a little different in each game, but in the end his story is always worth it.


Axel: Probably one of my favorite cars in the game, added in 2 he has been a staple of the series since then. a man trapped between two large tires with often his feet underneath. His power he slams on the ground causing cars near by to go flying off, particularly fun on those levels with those ledges, but he is arguably one of the hardest ones to navigate around a level and is really sluggish. His story is defiantly one of the most heart wrenching of the series, in almost every incarnation he has some sort of tragedy in his past and he is punishing himself, or something or someone has trapped him in this vehicle. I almost always enjoy his story line

So with a series with at least 7 main games and a few spin off and re-released what do i think of each entry, well as a stated easlier i cannot rant twisted metal 2012 because i have never played it. So other then that here is what i think.

Twisted Metal Small brawl (ps1): Easily the worst entry in the series, i not sure what the people at Incognito were smoking when they game up with this one, but this one. Alright so what went wrong here? the concept take all the carts from twisted metal 1 and 2 shrink them down into RC cars and let them run around and shoot each other. cute, concept…wrong, this is game looks and feels poorly executed and rushed. Levels and stories feel incomplete, and most importantly there is no codes that let me run though the game killing things. Without my god code, i found i really couldn’t loose myself in this game which at the end of day what these games are for, to loose yourself, and relieve stress.


Twisted Metal 3 (ps1): So what went wrong here, well some back ground, Twisted metal has had multiple publishers over the years, and Twisted metal 3 marks the first time that Sony’s in house studio 989 took over the franchise.  So what went wrong, the story lines were garbled. The game play was terribly inconsistent, with bosses appearing in random levels. With a boss appearing at level 2? Plus the levels where not well put together having some of the glitchest game play in the series. i can’t tell you the amount of times i ended up in random spots. It did have some instances of brilliance though, that being when the level itself had a random damaging item, like aliens….ok then moving on.


Twisted Metal 1 (ps1)Yes i understand this is the first entry in the series and without it, the rest would not exist, still i cannot ignore its faults. Twisted metal 3 yes if glitchy, but this was king glitch, but you have to forgive it because it was the first What i hate most about this one the most about this is really the end game. After this one the final scenes had actual cut scenes, some better animated then others still it engrossed the player more into the story. This one, you have to read though the text of what happens before you car speeds away. However i have to give it points because this is the start of one of the most unique franchises in the gaming world, yes today there are a lot of combat games on the market, but none do what twisted metal introduced to us.


Twisted Metal 4(ps1): This one is the second and last one done by 989 studio, and honestly its not that bad. It was different.This one sort of flips the story on its head putting the evil clown sweet tooth in charge (by the ways he is a hard ass villain to face here,)  Calypso is now one of the contestants driving a nuke truck. Almost non of the regular cars are in this entry except a few who are end stage bosses. Like most games you can unlock them and they later become playable characters, however they do not get their own story, just a generic ending. The music was done by rob zombie who gets his own car, This is not a bad entry, to the series, it just isn’t perfect and not the twisted metal game, I had come to love.



Twisted Metal Heads-on (psp, ps2): Now i played this entry when it finally came to the ps2, so i will speak based on this. This one is the “official” sequel to twisted metal 2. I honestly don’t have any many play hours on this one as i do the others, but its graphics are of course stepped up from the past and it runs really smooth, but what i really love it taking the characters i got to know so very well in 2 and continuing their story. They even added some new characters, Heads on is a great tribute to 2, Plus this was the game that allowed me to download all the twisted metal music (except from 3 and 4) on to my ipod. I love free music :). It Doesn’t have the graphics Black did, but it stayed pretty close to the art style and level designs of Twisted Metal 2. This one gave to fans what they had been asking for years an actual sequel to TM2, Continuing where it had left off 9 years prior. For that this one humbly takes the number 3 spot on my list.


Twisted Metal Black (ps2): Black marks a great revolution with in the series. Twisted metal returns to its home studio after a stint at 989 studios. Twisted metals original creators left single trac to create there own studio. You honestly can tell this series is back with the people who honestly love it. Its better in almost every aspect, graphics, music, story and game play. This game, brings back old favorites while adding a few new ones, it brings in what i have always loved about the series, random destruction of everything around you as well as enemy cars. The opening song Paint it Black just sets the tone for this amazing entry into the twisted metal series. This one Story wise is probably one of the darkest entries in the game, but its wasn’t so dark that it turned me off as a fan. It also had both bosses and levels step up in design, even letting players pick on occasion which battle field they want to fight it. There is also a ton of unlockables here, Including big car names from the past. The final battle field is very clever taking you to a Rooftops, making it very challenging to even players like me who love the god code, because the god code does not give your car wings, and if this final boss pushes you off the edge of the building, you will fall, you will die you can loose. Black was for this franchise the revolution this series needed to bring it back into players hearts and minds.


Twisted Metal 2 (ps1): How do i describe my utter love for this entry. I am not sure how much i can tell you this one influenced me. The amount of hours i played this game both on my own and with my brother are countless. We traded back and forth taking different cars and trading victories. When we eventually had to return the copy he borrowed we went out and bought our own copy. When the two of us separated for college and he took the ps2 i kept the game cube. I went out the local gamestop to buy my own ps2 and copy of the game. So what do i love the most about this game, oh that’s hard to pick really, the stories are great, i love the music, (its on my ipod) which matches each levels environment to a T. The levels are so much fun, with Paris being and Holland being two of my favorite levels. Paris i can find a good hiding spot and attack unsuspecting cars. Holland because its just flat out run around shoot and kill. The final boss is huge, and difficult like he should be. I always liked that even with a god code on in places like NYC sky line and Antarctica we were still very much at risk for dying. For me Antarctica is probably the hardest level in the game because during the course of playing the level, pieces of land melt away and fall into the ocean taking what ever is on it with it. Not to mention that almost every level you can destroy something on it as well as the cars around you. I know by today’s standards its graphics aren’t great and yes even this one has its glitches, but some of those glitches you can take advantage of, like seeing though walls…that was always super handy, especially if you were in a car with close range stalking weapons. This is the one i talk about with so much love, and i have logged the most hours with, because it is the best one, best music, best story, best game play.

Will there be another entry in this series in the future, that’s a big unknown, still if the series is over now i am glad for what it has given me and the legacy it has left in my heart. Hours of fun both alone, and with my brother. A chance to blow of steam after a hard day and the chance to be a little bad for once.  And my one wish Calypso is that everyone can appreciate how innovated and unique this game.

pokemon spotlight: starting birds

The pokemon world is vast, with many many different pokemon to pick from, from strong to weak, many battles to a world that you as the player must save. We all start off our journeys small however, When you turn on that pokemon game for the first time, you are given a choice of thee starters, always fire, water, and grass. Then you are sent on your journey with a pokedex and balls to build your team up. It never fails though your first few grassy patches on your own you will encounter one of three guanteed types. a normal pokemon, a bug type and a bird. for the latter two you will likely out level there usefullness as you progress but the world is large and a reliable flyer will likely stay at your side for a long while. With this Spotlight instead of talking about one starting bird, i decided to do all of them, from pidgey to fletchling and all that fall in between. I have two rules that allow this flyer on this list, one it must start off as a bird, no bugs that evolve into flying. Two you must be able to catch them before you arrive at your first gym.

So who quailifies, i think most of you know, From gen 1, you have pidgey and spearow. From gen 2 we add in hoothoot, (pidgey and spearow appear again here. In gen 3 we add tallow and wingul to the mix. Gen 4 is starly, gen 5 we have pidove, and finally in gen 6 we have fletchling. I am going to try and not make this article two big but before we get to the ranks, maybe we should take a little stroll down discription lane first.

Pidgey’s family: Pidgey is probably the most famous out of all the birds on the list, well known to fans of the anime and gamers alike. Pidgey is the only bird in this group of starter birds that not only gets two evolutions (pidgeotto at 18 and pidgot at 36) but it also gets a mega evolution. That is high praise in deed, from both fans and the pokemon company to give one of the first bird types that most players run into a mega. The train doesn’t stop there either for pidgey, no this birds fan base grew even more when earlier this year Twitch played pokemon. A whole lore built around the game and Pidgey became so much more to people. it became bird jesus…the protector of the helix. I tell you out of all the starter birds here…pidgey’s fame beats all of them.

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Spearow: poor forgotten and neglected Spearow. This bird was released the same generation in the same areas as Pidgey, but this guy is often neglected and forgotten for one of two reasons. One likly reason, gen one is oozing with birds and it just gets worse after. two Pidgey has two evolutions Spearow just has the one fearow. dispite all this, fearow is a really decent flyer who learns one of my favorite flying moves drill peck. This is a ferce bird type that deserves just as much love as pidgey. Sadly though…i think pidgey got a better agent.

Hoothoot: I honestly don’t have much to say about this guy, all my playthoughs in gen 2 i rocked spearow all the way though. I really can’t think of single time i really played with this guy. i will say this though, i really like owls so i have always been a big fan of the design. Its kind of sad though that this is the only instance of owls in the game. I have used this bird to breed with snorlax though, Noctowl learns zen headbutt, one of my favorite psychic moves, breeding it with a snorlax (holding a full incense) you will get a little munchlax born that knows this move. It is a difficult process but to me makes this starter bird worth having around.

Wingull: Oh wingull so cute…so damn annoying. Its only when playing oras did i remeber how annoying this bird is, and how much fun it is to electrocute the crap out of it when i run into it. Most starting birds have it rough with electric, ice and rock out to get them, but add water to the mix, wingull can’t even look at an electric pokemon with out fainting. Do not even get me started on Pelipper, I just have never been a big fan of its evolution. Sure its nice the game gives you a water type, especially since the first gym you come across is a rock type, but no.

Taillow: this is another generation 3 starting bird and honestly the better of the two. Taillow has a little more durbility then wingull ever had, but i am afraid unlike wingull if it wasn’t for ruby and sapphire rerelease this might fall into to the forgotten bird catigory. like wingull and hoothoot this little one only has a single evolution. I honestly forgot this pokemon existed until i was trying to complete my dex in Y, that is really sad, because taillow was also featured in the anime as on of ash’s pokemon. the problem here i think is its move pool is very shallow and the first three gyms where starting birds can really shine. Hoenn is just not a good place for starter birds with shallow move pools and gyms that don’t really take advantage of thes starting critters, gen 3’s starter birds just get obscured. so while design wise taillow is one of my favorites, it never really makes into a party.

 Starly: in gen 2 and gen 2 the starting bird types have ranged from not choosen because there were better and more familer options there, to competly useless and forgetable. When Pearl and diamond rolled around i think many pokemon fans were looking for a change in this trend, and what we got was starly. For me at least this little bird impressed the heck out of me, staying on my team though the elite four (five). This was the first starter bird in a long while that had pretty unexpected natually learned moves. I mean it learns close combat, then it has a pretty nice arrary of teachable moves as well. Plus this little guy is tough, i played though gen 4 twice, and both times i had a starly at my side. This one is one of the few starter birds you can take to the elite four and know they will be right there till the end. This is the only one on this list, i want to have a mega evolution to.

Pidove: this derpy thing, I can’t blame its design, honestly unova is more of a city scape, and supposdily designed around good old NYC. You can’t go a block in nyc without running into a pigion, so to have one in the game espeically in gen 5 must have been a no brainer to the designers or unova. My complaint with this isn’t pidoves design even though i really hate the male design, but thats ok i primarily go female anyways. My complaint with this guy, is more to the fact given how awesome starly was in gen 4 pidove is kind of a let down. no where near as strong as its predecessors i think pidove is doomed that as the years drag on to be forgotten like little taillow and hoothoot. Unlike hoenn though, unova has a few more bird types later game, so if you havn’t ditched by then you likely will by the end of game. its design is great its just if your a player like me who has been there for every generation, to see how stater birds can excel then the following generation we return to mediocrity. poor little pidove.

Fletchling: Well we have seen it all with starting birds, from gods, to forgetable and everything in between, but until gen 6 we hadn’t seen a starting bird quite like this one. Until fletchling all starting birds were normal flying with wingull being the only exception, now we have this one that as it evolves gains fire typing. None of these birds had been featured in a story. this all changed with the latest entry into the pokemon universe. the game starts off with as i would call it a smart ass little fletchling waking up out character, and when the game closes out we see probably the same smart ass fletchling flying away, talk about a good agent, (must be using pidgys). For a starting bird fletchling is probably the most useful bird on this list, not only does it gain a fire typing, it gets flame body, making talonflame the perfect pokemon mother(or father) to what ever pokemon you might be trying to hatch. Example pick up five eggs from the breeder, fly to Luminous city to bike around in a circle, until the five hatch, (hatching faster due to flame body) then taking flying to the next city to check on your new babies potential, just to start the process over again.

So now you have met, or reintroduced yourselves to the starter birds how would i rank them.

1 Fletchling, for its ability to help with breeding and its decent combat skills.

2 Starly, decent move pool, access to fighting and some of flyings best move sets.

3 Spearow: Fogotten by many, but not by me. a decent all around bird with the potential to take you end game

4 Pidgey: while a star in its own right with being dubbed Bird Jesus and getting a mega stone. compared to the others pidgy is just average bird.

5 Hoothoot: learns some intresting moves, but overshadowed in its own game by two birds from the previous generation. great for breeding move zen headbutt into other pokemon

6 Pidove: doomed to be forgottened, just an average bird with nothing really special going for it besides having two forms based on gender.

7 Taillow: Forgotten warrior of hoenn, and taillow was in the anime. Just an average starting bird with nothing to really make her stand out

8 Qingull: falls way to easily in battle, while it might be able to beat fletchling in a fight due to typing, in the end wingulls frailitys just makes it the worst of the starting birds.

What do you guys think, am i being fair. How would you rank these guys an why? Anyways until next time.

Oh and on operation hoenn christmas day, this week i am going to start breeding turtwigs to send over, who will you choose/

Pokemon Spotlight: Zigzagoon

Pokemon is nothing if not consistent, we know over the years when we start up any game, that a few things will always happen. We will always get a starter pokemon, we will always have a mom that we leave behind who supports us, And the first catching areas we will always find a bug pokemon, a bird pokemon and one normal swiss army knives pokemon. From ratatta, to bunnelby and all in between. there have been good ones, terrifying one (looks at patrat and shudders). For me my favorite starter normal is really zigzagoon, i squeed that’s right i squeed when i started X a year ago and found this little guy in the beginning areas. My original one way back when when sapphire was still new was named bandit, future ones were names lil’theif and current one is named ziggy.

So what makes this little guy so special, Honestly like most beginning level normal’s you will out grow this little guy by gym four or five, but for be its that ability pickup that makes him so unique. When you start the game you can find you run though pokedollers really quickly. Zigzagoon picks up random potions, pokeballs, status heals, even berries as you travel along. Most of these items are very useful, and sometimes even life saving if your going though a forests or a cave. Early game before you get the full heals and full restores these extra little status saves are quite useful. Your little pickpocket turns out to be a real butt saver.

Zigzagoon  and Its evoluton linoone  can also be very useful learning four different hm moves, so if you need someone to carry the hm burden for your team this is a good choice learning, cut, strength, surf and rock smash. The can also use non hm but field moves like dig and rock climb. Also like most normal pokemon they are swiss army knives learning a veriaty of different type move sets, so if you decide to actually work with one longer then gym five i have a feeling you will be rewarded. however nither i nor  smogon recommend this guy outside your own game, its not built for competitive just to get you though the beginning of the game.

While its likely you will eventually outgrow the zigzagoon linoone family by the time you hit gym five, you cannot deny what this little guy does for you early game and should be recognized for that.

Omega Ruby: Final reactions and thoughts.

I have been enjoying the post game a lot, but have decided not to go into details about the final game because i want to leave some surprises left for you guys. so let me go over some of this.

Pros

-hoenn is beautifully redone.

-flying on latios/latias is a dream come true, always one of my favorite features in final fantasy was free flying, to see it here is amazing. Its a new feature i really really want to stay

-the little omages: when you talk to random npcs, they will sometimes mention other regions, kalos, unova, johoto shinnoh and kanto. it makes the game feel more global. Its a little thing but it helps.

-finding non hoenn pokemon from later games in hoenn. I cannot tell you how surprised i was to find Deino of all creature hiding at meteor falls.

-return of contests. i know i have ralled against the contests in the past, but its a nice break from all the battling you do. I didn’t really focus much here on it, but i have sapphire in the wing, i plan on doing contests more.

-secret bases. this is another element i plan on focusing more on the other game but i am very please to have this back again.

-bigger post game. thank you this was the one thing that really hurt x-y the post game was so small. hoenns is much bigger with contests the battle zone coming soon and the delta episode, it just pays off the player

Cons:

-Regis’ and the lake trio are still a pain in the ass to catch.

-sneaking, while i liked this element i found points in the game this just did not work for me. I am still working on what happened here but until i figure out why this didn’t work i will not be a fan.

-missing elements: there are some elements that players of the orginal games really missed whether it was the bathing grannies or the running the ash off the leaves, those few little tweaks broke some hearts.

-Camera angles we are still dealing with is not perfect yet.

– customization. i understand that kalos was Paris and fashion and hoenn doesn’t have that elements.  Often these games are made very close to each other so its possible the customization wasn’t added in because it was never part of the original game.

-the change in pc option order, Organize boxes was always the third one down this game the changed it to the first spot. after years of being the same spot they move it!! Are they trying to drive me crazy.

Anyways i hope you guys have enjoyed hoenn as much as i am. I will later once i really get sapphire going will post up my base.