Lurker > LightningStrikes

OoT3D is definitely a remake, they redid all the assets. of course the Resident Evil remakes do significantly more than that. They almost verge on being reimaginings rather than remakes.

As far as I am aware the highest rated remake is:

https://www.metacritic.com/game/3ds/the-legend-of-zelda-ocarina-of-time-3d

Though there are some even higher rated ports!

Just to be pedantic about it Control is a Finnish developed Italian published game with voice acting done in the UK (DLC was directed by one of Xenoblade 3s co-directors) although the cast are mostly American. With that said yes the voice acting is pretty great.

As for FFXII, it is arguably the best looking PS2 game so theres that. In general the presentation was a huge step up from CX which was showing its age before the PS2 was done.

I only checked betting odds for 2020 because it was so unclear and 2015 because there was also The Big Short winning PGA but:

Gravity - won DGA, tied for PGA, won the most awards on the night including Director, was seen as 50/50.

Boyhood - won GG, Critics Choice, BAFTA - arguably the favourite.

The Revenant - won DGA, GG, BAFTA.

La La Land - won nearly everything and got announced as the winner by mistake.

Three Billboards - won BAFTA and GG.

Roma - won BAFTA, DGA and Critics Choice.

1917 - won BAFTA, DGA, PGA, was arguably the favourite.

The Power of the Dog - won BAFTA, GG, DGA.

All Quiet on the Western Front - won BAFTA.

Yeah 2020 didnt really have a runner-up as Nomadland dominated throughout awards season but The Trial of the Chicago 7 won SAG Ensemble (for which Nomadland was not nominated) and was the second favourite in betting odds so I went with that.

Oh yeah this really highlights what an inane decision the layoffs were by Fandom. Lets lay off all but one of the production staff followed by production grinding to a halt the second the last remaining producer gets sick. They havent had one producer since right after the site started for a reason.

Late to this but David Cameron made changes to the way the BBC is governed replacing the old governing body the BBC Trust with the BBC Board. The board contains political appointees most notably the Chairman, and although the Director-General (who is editor-in-chief) is appointed by the board not the government, the chairman leads the appointment process so the government is effectively in control by proxy.

The current Director-General, Tim Davie who is at the heart of this mess is a former Tory and came aboard in 2020 on a platform of cracking down on activism of course given that the BBC was already supposedly impartial if not slanted to the right already that clearly meant suppressing anything left or progressive. The current Chairman, Richard Sharp, was appointed by Boris Johnson in 2021 and is openly corrupt helping Boris Johnson get an 800k loan which he did not disclose during appointment proceedings. He is also Rishi Sunaks old boss when they were at Goldman Sachs. It should be noted here that the Chairman can fire the Director-General yet this has not happened despite everything.

So in short, the BBC has over the last seven years been captured by the Tory party. It can and should be saved however. I see some so-called progressives online calling for its demise and that just seems nonsensical to me as if it goes away the replacement will be private media. You will not get progressive or impartial coverage that is run by capital. Labour need to clean house and reform the whole thing when they are in government. Especially as just today it came out that the Tories successfully pressures the BBC into being harsher towards Labour. Also not calling lockdowns by the word lockdown.

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/mar/14/bbc-editors-asked-journalists-to-avoid-using-lockdown-at-start-of-pandemic

So that one in particular is a case of a statement getting made and then fandom exaggerating it wildly. There was always direction obviously, but what context they had varied. Sometimes they had nothing, sometimes they had animatics or art, sometimes they had full cutscenes. It was basically I THINK whatever was ready. Its no secret that the game came in extremely hot to hit that 2017 date although given its success it was strategically the right decision.

Well its not so much that American voice acting is bad as much as that the series has not had fantastic luck with it and VIIR aside has at best sounded like a typical 2000s anime dub. I do think I will agree though that generally American-dubbed Japanese games dont sound as good as other instances of American voice acting because they rely on a pretty small talent pool and it can get repetitive. There are exceptions and Three Houses is among them.

As for Xenoblade 2 it was mostly Americans living in the UK or British-Americans like Pyra/Mythras actress. Also Rex is great he just has like four duff lines though unfortunately these all got lumped together right at the start of the game. The problem is the game was rushed to release in the Switchs first calendar year so the voice acting in both English and Japanese suffered for the first few chapters.

Xiahou_Shake posted...

Yeah I'll definitely add my, erm, voice to the pushback on American VA work being bad. Things haven't been "bad" in a blanket sense since we moved past the PS1 era (which even then had insane stuff like MGS1) and they're actually generally really fucking good now for both games and anime.

Id say it was more recent than that, about midway through the 360/Wii/PS3 generation was when game VA got reliably good, although there were a lot of good examples before then.

Stormblood is, overall, better than Heavensward - Heavensward has the better story but Stormbloods gameplay improvements, dungeons, trials, and areas give it the edge. This used to be a generally held opinion but now it seems like a hot take.

Shadowbringers is great but not a huge leap over the previous two expansions, more of a steady improvement. Endwalker on the other hand IS a big leap in quality.

A pretty cold take now but Vincent was never a good character, just a character design that looked stylish in the 90s. I was shocked he was so popular when I first played the game and that was back in 2006, he has aged even worse by now. So this is kind of hot take vindication. You can contrast that with Auron, who has a cool design but also is actually well written.

VIIs script significantly hurts the game as is and its ridiculous that none of the modern versions have an up-to-date translation, although the PC translation they use is marginally better.

The World of Ruin is better than the World of Balance and was truly ahead of its time.

After XIV and what weve heard of XVI, the series should stick with British VO going forward. XIV runs rings around the rest of the series in terms of voice acting (this one might not be that hot I dont know).

The series should drop numbers because its getting silly now.

Balthier is a fairly dull character people latched onto as the XII cast is so dry. The only really good character in that game is Basch.

I feel there have been so many final nails at this point that it wont be over until its over, but barring a big turnaround it definitely seems to be on the way out. This is a real shame as following Gerstmann leaving/getting fired they had a pretty remarkable bounce back only for Fandom to completely scupper it. A lot of their best ever stuff was in the last year.

All the best to Rorie though, glad he got a new job.

EEAOs runner-up was All Quiet on the Western Front which won BAFTA, but it was a case of the runner-up having a late surge from behind but still not quite winning it rather than coming out of the gate as the favourite then dropping off.

My genuine hot take is that the dey gotta surfer stuff always felt incredibly meanspirited given that somebody actually died. Never liked that.

Also the Resident Evil Gaiden meme is lame and only exists to punish people asking genuine questions for no reason.

Yeah 5-5 rules the only thing to hold against is that it is kind of half of a case but I guess since Apollo Justice went the way it did they didnt want to do only four cases again.

It MIGHT be the second worst final case but theyre all great except for 4-4 and even thats still pretty good. I might take 5-5 over TGAA1-5 though.

Speaking of which TGAA1-5 hot take: the opening portion is amazing and necessary for the case to work at all. The actual part where it drags is the first part of the trial before Ashley gets involved.

Im less mad about Green Book as the likely number 2 that year was Bohemian Rhapsody which is one of the worst films to ever be nominated for Best Picture. By contrast Elvis is much, much better than that, at least it had an all-time great performance at its core, one who actually sings at that. Also on Elvis I think it is a case where it deserves nominations for Actor, Cinematography, Costumes, Sound and so on so they added up to a Best Picture nomination.

Parasite>Spotlight>EEAO>Nomadland>Moonlight>CODA>12 Years A Slave>The Shape of Water>Birdman>Green Book

The top eight are all great films, Birdman I have mixed feelings on and Green Book is alright. Generally since they widened the membership and changed the rules in 2019 theyve been a lot better.

Maverick deserved it for the sheer level of craft as well as helping revitalise cinemas but shouldnt (and wont) win. Also it not getting a Cinematography nom is ridiculous.

Anyway to answer the question, yes and yes. It was my top film last year. However while on the subject of awards I hope it doesnt sweep since there are many deserving films in many categories this time.

Just realised I messed up that post, talking specifically about AAI1-5. I love that guy, hes the best and hes frankly the best for all the reasons everybody hates him.

Only 6 reviews but a very good sign. Not too surprising as Game Night was great but still really good to see.

Yeah even though I dont think its that hot a take I will also add to those saying AAI1 is great. Really felt like a breath of fresh air for the series. That does however lead to an actual hot take I forgot to add earlier

AAI1s length is great and helps to sell its villain who is one of the best in AA history. Fantastic case all round. Also the Lethal Weapon 2 thing is one of the best uses of a pop culture reference in the series.

Also this is a really niche thing, but while I know that this series has never been about accuracy it really annoys me that they talk about the Supreme Court in TGAA. The British Supreme Court was only founded in 2009, they mean the High Court.

Im pretty sure series sales are much higher now than they were before Apollo Justice so Im not sure I agree with that KP.

Anyway:

Not sure if this is a hot take, but these games have gotten far too long across the board. They should get back to the levels of length from T&T through AAI1.

4-2 is really good despite some bad decisions around Trucy. The way they go from the three mysteries to the main case is a fun idea.

JFA is the worst game in the series and given a huge pass because its part of the original trilogy. Apollo Justice, AAI1 and TGAA1 are easily above it.

On the game Apollo Justice, while it does suffer for just kind of stopping a full third of a case before it should, its a much better game than its given credit for. It has a great mood that really felt fresh for the series.

Now likely my hottest take of all: Phoenix is the worst leading protagonist in the series by a lot. He is very plain compared to everybody else and Ryunosuke does the same type of character better.

I think this one is the best I have seen (with one issue I will mention below, and some arc names are different to what I used) particularly if you have time to watch all the honourable mentions:

https://imgur.io/81s9xVc

The one problem with it: *The Return of Maul arc is essential, do not skip the last four episodes of season four.* I dont know why they listed them as honourable mentions. Id also have The Hidden Enemy as an honourable mention too and unless theres stuff in Rebels I dont know about, Kadavo is an honourable mention at best.

Also, watch at least the first half hour or so of the movie, youll know when you can stop!

Edit: imgur link because GameFAQs did not agree with the embedded image at all.

Great game. Definitely more in common with point and click adventures than VNs though.

It certainly looks much better than the Bay-directed films, and has a good shot at being decent fun. However I think Im burnt out on the franchise and have tired of that kind of action as I got older. I never even watched Bumblebee though by all accounts it was actually good. I wish we had gotten films like Bumblebee and presumably this ten to fifteen years ago, frankly Bays style just does not fit this franchise at all.

I interpreted that as meaning more RAM than hard drive!

Yeah I definitely agree that this was the weakest of the three premieres. However, it was still enjoyable just all over the place. It crammed a huge amount in and none of it had any time to breathe, while most episodes focus on a singular central storyline. The good news is people who have seen episode 2 say thats where it really kicks off.

Yeah Kirby may be a C-list franchise but Forgotten Land is definitely not a C-list game, its perhaps the best received and definitely the best selling in the franchises history. I do think there was a little bit if people just trying to stop Elden Ring though. Vampire Survivors is great too. 2022 was certainly not a disappointing year.

Also lets not pretend that people didnt love Skyward Sword when it came out. It was later on when it became cool to hate that game.

The wording of the bill is also very obviously trying to go after trans people, and there it could cause some problems. Never mind the fact that biological male/biological female are incredibly deficient terms and you cant just easily reduce people to that.

This is literally what dictators do.

Okay lets finish this.


Season 7 - The really remarkable thing about this is how after so long and after this team made a whole other show, this fits in perfectly with the other seasons, like the series never went away at all. You can just go from season 6 to season 7 without watching Rebels or knowing the other stuff in-between and have a seamless viewing experience. Of course in top of that this season is excellent.

The Bad Batch Arc

This is mostly an action focused arc that really feels like a backdoor pilot for the Bad Batch show. Which it both is and isnt as this arc was mostly finished during the production of season 6. The real star of this arc is Dee Bradley Baker showing off his impressive voice acting range, but the action is solid throughout. It does drag a little in the middle which apparently is cut down from the original version so they made the right call there.

A few highlights spring to mind here. The Anakin/Padm scene confirming that Obi-Wan super knows everything was great. Echo surviving was pleasant after so many clone deaths. Lastly I really loved the last scene with Anakin and the villain, every time Anakin acts a bit dark side in this show is amazing.

The Martez Sisters Arc

A lot of people hate this arc, but I quite like it! I understand why, when this was releasing weekly, with only 12 episodes I can see why you would be concerned about the pacing. Watching it all together though, its fine. Its all worth it for Ahsokas arc, and to highlight how the common people if the Republic view the Jedi. It emphasises how the Jedi Order is no longer fit for purpose and serves to make Ahsoka more disillusioned with them which justifies some of her actions in the final arc. This was also the first arc where I felt the animation could easily belong in a feature film.

The sisters themselves get there as characters but come across as abrasive at first, and Trace dumping the spice may be the single stupidest action anybody has ever done in Star Wars. Good acting fir them both though. All things considered though this is Ahsokas arc and thats why it works for me.

The Siege of Mandalore Arc

I knew this was going to get real the moment I saw the original Lucasfilm logo.

There is so much to say about this arc I need to go through it mostly linearly, but to summarise, this is amazing. It is the best arc in the show by far, and the animation was already great but here is some of the best I have seen. If this were a Star Wars movie, it may be the best one.

Even from the start its clear this is special, after those titles I almost would have preferred a text crawl to the narration but it was nice to give the narrator one last hurrah and we get a chad new Grievous model for one shot. Seeing all the Jedi Masters fighting where they are killed in Order 66 sets up that this is going to be a tough one and it definitely is. The intro battle sequence mirroring the movie further brings that sense of finality. Anakin even does the same war crime as the one in the film!

Everything about Ahsokas interactions with Anakin and Obi-Wan is perfect. The way that she never actually has a proper final conversation with Anakin hits home, thats how it usually is. You dont often get to say goodbye to people before you lose them. I could tell they were going that way with it and every time somebody mentioned the next time she talks to him it really gave the dread of knowing that conversation would never happen.

So they go do another war crime by breaching a treaty to invade Mandalore, and the resulting battle sequence is just stupendous. The action is the best in the series, but the atmosphere along with the new Mandalorian characters makes Mandalore feel even more real and lived in than it did before. Of course at the centre of it all is Maul, who is at his best hear. For all his bravado you can tell hes terrified of Sidious and whats about to happen. He is clearly broken, clinging to a terrible, no-hope plan to get Anakin before its too late.

The duel between him and Ahsoka (with Ray Park doing the mo-cap for Maul) is stunning and one of the best in the franchise though it did feel slightly shorter than I expected. The way hes defeated is pretty unique too. Two episodes in and youre already like wow that was an amazing finale.

Then the third episode hits. First of all I found the scene with the Jedi council really interesting. It confirmed what had been suggested for a long time - if Anakin hadnt interrupted and Mace had killed Palpatine the Jedi would have pulled a coup to take over the Republic. In a sense Palpatines propaganda reason for destroying the Jedi was accurate - just leaves out the whole evil Sith lord and genocide including mass killings of children part if his plan! The meat of the episode though is Order 66, its terrifying through Ahsokas eyes. I love how Fives is the reason Rex hesitates at first, making it do he didnt die for nothing, actually he is the one that ultimately sets Rex free. It really feels like Ahsoka can die here (Lucas wanted to kill her off) despite the fact that obviously she cant due to shows set in the future. When she frees Maul and he immediatrly tries to Rule of Two her AGAIN I laughed, and I really enjoyed how candid she was about regarding him as no more than a distraction.

This all builds up to the final episode. First of all I just want to say that the moment that got me to nearly tear up again wasnt any of the big headline moments but when the droids helping Ahsoka got shot. I was not okay. The last big action scene is really beautifully staged and takes us to the powerful last scene.

Ahsoka marking graves for the ones who were just forced to try and kill her was touching. You can tell just by looking at her that nothing will be the same for her as a character after this. Using the image of the clone helmets juxtaposed against Darth Vader to close out the show really highlights how this age of the universe has ended. It contrasts even with the end of Revenge of the Sith in that its not a triumphant or remotely hopeful ending, its just a sad tribute to a bygone era.

This was so good I immediately wanted to watch it again. Even the best arcs to now did not do that! Stellar ending.

Yes I believe Bariss is a case where her old canon fate conflicted with the episode so they came up with a handwave and then it all got deleted.

On the darksaber do they explain where it goes between seasons 5 and 7?


Season 6 - The quality stays very high but you can tell this was them kind of dumping out what they had ready post-purchase and cancellation. It doesnt feel like an ending at all, even less so than season 5 so Im glad season 7 is out there now.

The Protocol 66 Arc

What a way to start a season. One of the all time great arcs, it answers a lot of lingering questions about Order 66 (also the old canon on Order 66 before this made no sense sorry). Like the arc before it its a great paranoid, almost noir thriller with some really good action scenes. It also has my favourite gag in the series (You were experiencing drag in the vacuum of space?).

At the core of it all is Fives though. Without his character this arc doesnt work. His death is perhaps the most upsetting death in a series with a lot of upsetting deaths. They do a good job of selling not just the horror of what the clones are planned to do but also the horror of their existence being essentially slaves and property for the Republic. To which point I did enjoy the clone-droid solidarity sub-plot.

The best part of this arc, and one of the best bits of worldbuilding in Star Wars though, is the clone bar. Probably the most realistic this franchise gets tbh. Did not expect this show to have drunk clones and a taxi driver yelling fake slurs at each other but here we are!

The Clovis Arc

Okay an Anakin/Padm love triangle episode which also features a banking plotline sounds terrible, but this is great? The bank stuff is cool, and shows how a figure like Palpatine would operate (ie by nationalising their arses). The relationship stuff works really well too and highlights how toxic that relationship was even before Revenge of the Sith. Also theres a cool sled chase so thats nice.

The Disappeared Arc

All of the Jar Jar episodes are strange but this one takes the cake. We get to discover all about his sex life and he teams up with Mace Windu against some at least borderline racist caricatures. I dont even need to review it that says it all!

The Lost Ones

An effective thriller where we get to find out all about Syfo-Dyas. Also my 11 year old selfs understanding/fan theory was more or less right. Very good episode even if it is just there to plug holes.

The Living Force Arc

Much better examination of the force than Mortis in my eyes. I love how old and frail Yoda seems here, you can see the toll the years and war have had. I feel like after watching this I finally understand what George Lucas actually means when he talks about the force in Star Wars. I also understand what Whills are, kind of.

My only issue with this is the Darth Bane scene. That was kind of just fanservice though its nice that hes canon still.

Season 5 - The show basically continues its high quality level with a major dip in the middle Ill get to. First they start with a Maul episode taken from the second to last arc of the season, which was the right move given how weak that middle part is.

Revival

Follows up on Maul and Savage with some incredible action and more high-ranking Jedi death. This episode also is what finally made me like Hondo. He had been either irritating or boring until now bit here hes great.

The Onderon Arc

A solid war story about terrorism and revolution. Its a little long in the middle but mostly a good time. I absolutely loved Anakin just vouching for state-sponsored terrorism from the start leading to the Anakin that sounds like terrorists Insurgents! exchange. This is also where Saw Gerrera is introduced but they dont have his character so clearly defined yet. Lastly Hondo is again very entertaining here, coming in clutch to illegally smuggle weapons- wait a minute.

The Younglings Arc

A weird mishmash of scripts that were intended to be part if a youngling show that never happened. The first episode is really good. Great worldbuilding around Ilum, lightsabers, and Jedi culture regarding the younglings. The characters are cute too. Unfortunately the next three are kind of middling adventure stories but its not bad. Really weird how Hondo goes from palling around with Obi-Wan and Anakin early in the season to threatening to sell Ahsoka into sex slavery then back to a kindly father figure though.

The D-Squad Arc

Oh boy. The first two episodes of this arc are some of the worst Star Wars content ever, as film and TV goes they make Attack of the Clones and episode 3 of The Book of Boba Fett look like masterpieces. Which is a shame because the concepts are both fascinating. The trouble is WAC and Gascon are highly annoying characters, and the void in the second episode just looks awful (it also isnt much of a void). They both feel double their short length.

Fortunately, things do improve from there. The third episode introduces a really cool, unique clone with a great story in Gregor. The last episode just has a fun concept of the abandoned ship with the holographic crew and one amazing explosion. It doesnt save it but the second half does stop this from being the worst arc of the show.

The Shadow Collective Arc

What a turnaround from D-Squad to this. Each individual episode here could support its own arc and be great. The look at the criminal underworld in the first episode is excellent. I love how it feels like the Maul brothers and Death Watchs plan is barely holding together, likely to spin apart at any moment. The action and visuals again move up a level, as does the brutality.

The second episode was already my favourite to this point. The takeover of Mandalore by Maul and Death Watch is just a fun plan to watch unfold. Then you get the duel which is a fantastic fight scene, highlighting the darksaber as well as the Mandalorian fighting style. Hopefully a preview of whats to come in The Mandalorian.

The third episode eclipsed even that. The death of Satine was a true gut punch and everything around Bo Katan completely changes how I view that character in The Mandalorian. The way they handle Obi-Wan here also makes his actions in the prequels more interesting. Then there is another incredible duel this time involving Sidious, I was not expecting him to kill Savage like that, mirroring how Maul killed Qui-Gon even. This arc also makes good on the Corruption arc with Almecs appearance here, making that arc seem better in retrospect. This arc was fantastic, yet the next one manages to top it.

The Rogue Jedi Arc

This was where I started to think of the show as some of the best Star Wars ever made. A Hitchcock tribute that actually works. It starts with an interesting look into how the people of Coruscant are starting to turn on the Jedi but quickly spirals out of control when Ahsoka had to go on the run.

Each episode has the construction of a really good movie. The action and character development are exceptional. You can feel how far the Jedi have fallen by this point. I love the way they used Bariss here. It does a great job of not only bringing Ahsokas arc to a close (almost) but also really gets into why Anakin himself is turning on the Jedi. It also has one of my all-time favourite Anakin moments, him walking into Barisss room and instantly picking up her lightsaber. Great stuff.

However, the pinnacle of this arc is without a doubt the final scene. Ahsokas goodbye is so powerful, and theclast scene between her and Anakin really makes me wonder what happens if Anakin joins her and leaves as well. I basically never have strong emotional reactions to media and never to Star Wars, but I teared up at this.

Im really looking forward to it whenever I get a spare momemt!


Season 4 - This is where the show really takes off and becomes great. Unfortunately you wouldnt know that from the first chunk of the season!

The Mon Cala Arc

Dreadfully dull action-focused arc with one of the most annoying characters in the series. The problem is they want to do a Return of the King-type story but the king in question is a totally uninspiring kid with nothing to offer the people. Its really weird how at the end the Quarren just agree to be ruled by him with no reform. Also, that one guy exploding into chunks was ridiculously graphic even tor this show.

Shadow Warrior

This is such a strange episode. That seems to be par for the course for Jar Jar episodes but this one disturbed me by killing General Tarpals in a random semi-comedy filler episode. Such an odd choice. Also the grievances the Gungans have with the Naboo suddenly all being down to magic is problematic to say the least.

The Droid Adventures Arc

A silly pointless pair of episodes that are not very good but some of the gags do work. I like that the clones at the start know theyre in a filler episode and complain about it. I also like when R2 and 3PO kill a dictator, declare that they have brought democracy and just leave while burning the people with their engines on the way out. Now THIS is political satire!

The Umbara Arc

Time for the show to get great. One of the all-time great Clone Wars arcs, just an incredible war story focused on the clones and the difficult decisions they have to make in the face of incompetent or actively malignant leadership. The fact that the show is willing to deal with concepts like executions and fragging at all is impressive but they handle it pretty well besides. To add to all of that Pong Krell is one of the most hateable characters in Star Wars. There are some complaints about him wanting to join Dooku kind of watering down the theme of him just being a bad general who doesnt see the clones as people but I think there are enough references to his past record to mitigate this. I think he wanted to join Dooku because he was a selfish incompetent not the other way around.

This arc is also just well constructed, the way they make the war look here is unlike anything in the show before, absolutely hellish. It shows that you can make sci-fi action show about war without glorifying it.

The Kadavo Arc

The one with the furry slavers. Overall this arc is fine but there are a few highlights. Some solid development for Anakin here with his reactions towards slavery though I think the next big arc develops him better. Also Rex killing that guy was genuinely quite shocking.

A Friend in Need

Even more than the first Mandalore arc this just feels like a flashback episode of the Mandalorian. While it would have been better as a two-parter its good stuff. Also Ahsoka decapitating four people at once is something that happens in a kids show.

The Obi-Wan Undercover Arc

This is another great arc. You get some really good development for Obi-Wan and Anakin where Anakin struggles to keep it together while he believes that Obi-Wan has died. There is the predecessor to the prison arc from Andor. There is the greatest scam I have ever seen with the two brothers and the ship. There is a great fun semi-standalone death game story in the third episode.

What brings it all together though is in the final episode where it becomes clear that the whole thing was just an elaborate set-up by Palpatine to get Anakin to kill Dooku like at the start of Revenge of the Sith. The fact that its Obi-Wan that stops this highlights the bond between them and suggests that if theyd stayed together Anakin never would have fallen. When thinking about The Clone Wars making the prequels better, this is one of the bits that comes to mind.

The Return of Maul Arc

This is kind of an arc in two halves. First of which we have Asajj Ventress losing her sisters then becoming a bounty hunter. The scene where the nightsisters are killed is fairly strong, it highlights the power of the Separatists and makes Grievous intimidating again. I also like how later Asajj stabs the guy harassing her in the crotch. Also theres a human trafficking/sex slavery storyline which I did not expect!

The second half is all about Savage and Maul. When it was confirmed they were bringing Maul back, I think myself and a lot of people not keeping up with the show thought that was frankly a very stupid idea. However its very well done here. They actually use it to flesh out his character and show the impacts of the way he was defeated and discarded on him. Theres also an entertaining snake guy. Another excellent arc.

The Ahsoka trial arc is in here as the Rogue Jedi arc. That is indeed a great one. Will absolutely watch Tales of the Jedi next especially as I hear its only an hour.



Season 3 - Finally the show everybody was talking about makes its entrance. From the second half of this season onwards it is effectively a whole new show with longrunning storylines and longer, more complex arcs. It also starts to look good. The first half of this season is basically on a level with 2 but the second half really shines.

The Kamino Arc

An interesting duo of episodes that bookend Rookies. Its a fun look into clone murder school and the action in the second part is terrific. It also introduces the clone 99 and I was not preferred for them to kill such a sympathetic character like that, so brutally and without much of a noble sacrifice. That was a sign even better than stuff like the Ryloth arc that this was not just a regular sci-fi action show or even just Star Wars.

Supply Lines

The best thing about this arc is that it spells out the difference between the Trade Federation et al. and the Separatists. The second best thing is Jar Jars performance art. Its fine and probably the best Jar Jar episode.

Sphere of Influence

This is an episode about which I remember little. I still like Chuchi and George Lucass self-insert is here.

The Corruption Arc

The plot of this arc sounds great, a look into political corruption on Mandalore resulting in the overthrow of the Prime Minister. Unfortunately the execution is anything but, and the word corruption is repeated about a million times. At least it gets paid off later, otherwise this was a big disappointment. I appreciate trying to teach kids about governmental corruption but this sadly doesnt do a great job of it.

The Ziro Arc

This arc is mental in both structure and plot. First you have Assassin which seems like a normal standalone thriller then suddenly jerks into this larger Hutt plot. Then there is Evil Plans which may be the worst episode of the series - we see R2-D2 and C-3PO buy fruit then get tortured to reveal information we already knew. Then (chronologically) the last episode of the first season happens. Then we get Hunt for Ziro which features Sy Snoodles as a femme fatale in a relationship with a really annoying Hutt, Quinlan Vos for some reason and another recurring character death. A bizarre arc, yet other than Evil Plans I kinda liked it?

The Heroes on Both Sides Arc

My favourite type of Star Wars story is the one designed to answer a random detail about one of the films. In seriousness this is a pretty good political story showing how the Separatists are run and the people working to end the war on both sides. It also features a very obvious 9/11 parallel. This is mostly really good but man the Muun designs for the Banking Clan in the first episode are SO antisemitic. Its not Harry Potter goblin bad but it does make me wonder how it got past anybody. Especially when they only look like that here.

The Nightsisters Arc

Finally the show actually starts. Totally blows away everything else to this point. Asajjs arc is great and Savage is a terrific character. The shift to an entirely different style if storytelling is immediately obvious. Also an example of fansevice I liked with Asajjs ship from the 2003 series.

The Mortis Arc

The arc that changes everything you know about the force or does it? There are a lot of cool scenes and the character development for Anakin and Ahsoka is great but I really think I need to watch this again to see what I really think of it.

The Citadel Arc

Solid blockbuster action arc with a good villain, more great Ahsoka development, young Tarkin and lots more. Just a proper Star Wars good time, although killing off a Jedi council member and fake-killing off a high profile clone in the same arc was intense.

The Padawan Lost Arc

Another really good for Ahsokas character development. Laying all of these out makes me realise how good this season was at pacing out her character arc. A good version of The Most Dangerous Game in space. The one real issue with it is the character who appears in the second episode being the most pointless fanservice in the entire show.

Elden Ring

Season 2 - A significant improvement from the first, but I dont think it quite gets to great. It is good but very much feels like a better version of the random episodic stories about the war from the first season, with one exception.

The Holocron Heist Arc

An even better introduction to Cad Bane that actually takes place before the last one. Having Cad Bane in both highlights how big the visual jump between 1 and 2 is. Overall this arc is good but a little messy, and Sidious cooing at a baby will be with me in my nightmares. Also Ahsoka gets a slap on the wrist for getting a bunch of people killed which is weird.

Senate Spy

Is this part of the next arc or standalone? Either way I enjoyed the politics but Clovis fell flat as a character this time. Hes much better later on.

The Return to Geonosis Arc

What if we relitigated the climax of Attack of the Clones, but it was good this time? Yeah this is the best arc to this point, with the first episode being the first great episode of the series with its non-stop action. The last episode of this arc is also great, mixing horror throwbacks with Anakins first dark side moment of the series. It also has a really powerful ending with Anakin reassuring Ahsoka (not mentioning the whole choking a guy thing) and it showing the tableau of Republic ships looking very Empire Great stuff. Feels a bit like two two-parters stuck together but it works.

The Grievous Arc

Speaking of two different stories combined into an arc, Grievous Intrigue and The Deserter. Grievous Intrigue is decent sci-fi action with the tension reduced by all the characters being unable to die. The Deserter is mostly really good, with an interesting exploration of clone identity. This is marred slightly however by a tensionless Grievous chase that cant go anywhere.

Lightsaber Lost

Mostly average Kurosawa riff (in Star Wars? Well I never!) with two really good things in it: that one scene with Palpatine giving a speech projected onto a building, and the best random minor Jedi yet in Tera Sinube.

The Mandalore Arc

I knew this show tied into The Mandalorian, but I didnt expect it to tie in THIS much! There is stuff here thats just straight from The Mandalorian, and you learn a lot kore than I expected about the culture. The middle episode on the starship is particularly great. A very good arc and pivotal to the series.

Senate Murders

I wish this was better. The political side of Star Wars is so intriguing but here the writing just doesnt work well enough despite featuring the first recurring character death. Also the detective character wasnt great. Just okay.

Cat and Mouse

Solid submarine story in space with a cool villain. Not much more to it.

Bounty Hunters

Profoundly mediocre throughout. I cant believe THIS is the episode they dedicated to Akira Kurosawa! Not the worst episode but the one I cares about the least. Watch Seven Samurai instead.

The Zillo Beast Arc

A solid arc which shows us the world of the Dugs and some good Palpatine scheming. Kaiju in Star Wars is fun. I just wish that the second half took place anywhere other than Coruscant, youd think a Kaiju attack there would be a big deal.

The Boba Fett Arc

Probably the most interesting Boba Fett has been as a character though thats not saying much. I liked his quest for vengeance and I liked Mace verbally destroying him at the end even more. Decent action packed season finale arc.

At some point I will discuss season 3 and we will get to see the show jump from okay to great.

Well with Andor it is really digging into the details of that world in a way The Clone Wars sets up. Both understand the value of the serial format for television. I think both (and The Mandalorian) highlight how good a fit Star Wars is for television, much more than Marvel for instance.

pjbasis posted...

Does this include the 2D version as well?

I watched that when it came out and really liked it! Actually was not super happy about the CG show at first accordingly. Its interesting how despite the 2D show no longer being officially canon most of the events depicted are still canon and the CG movie clearly refers to the 2D series.

And with that, thoughts on arcs!


The Clone Wars movie (2008)

Okay first I need to talk about this movie. Its bad. Looks terrible, the plot takes an absolutely jarring turn after the first half hour and it all leads to a climactic action scene that makes no sense. This was obviously 3 episodes stitched together and it shows, frankly it should have stayed that way. Id call it the worst Star Wars film except I barely consider it a film. The first half hour is alright and introduces Ahsoka, so just watch that.

Okay, onto the actual show (heavy spoilers will be tagged).

Season 1 - Overall this season was rough. The animation quality varies enormously but never gets great. There is no clear story arc or vision for the show yet, but some good episodes.

Ambush

A weird decision to start the series with this. It does two things right - introduces the concept of clones as individuals and synthesises wise prequel Yoda with the more trickstery ESB Yoda. Otherwise its a middling episode.

The Malevolence Arc

The actual pilot. It does a good job of setting up the arc-based structure of the show, as well as establishing Ahsoka more and making Anakin and Padm seem like a real couple. Also Plo Koon is in it which is usually a plus. Overall the action and visuals are still ropey but this is a decent enough start (just ignore the two hours of stuff before this).

Rookies

The first really good episode of the show. Does a great job establishing Domino squad and some of the themes of the series. Its also the first time Clone Wars gets surprisingly brutal beyond even something like Avatar - I was definitely not prepared for droids just executing a wounded clone!

The R3-S6 Arc

This arc is mostly terrible with bad animation, in particular one part that looks like a test animation not the finished show. However I do find the message of sometimes you trust somebody but theyre just bad actors kind of funny for a kids show and R2 killing that droid was pretty good.

The Nute Gunray Arc

A trio of loosely connected episodes (Bombad Jedi, Cloak of Darkness, and Lair of Grievous). Bombad Jedi is bizarre. Its so important and introduces vital concepts to the politics of the war and the ethos of the show like the idea of the Republic failing systems in their care. Then it also has some of the most absurd Jar Jar antics and worst animation in the show. The Ralph McQuarrie monster design was nice though. Cloak of Darkness is a relatively stock plot that is well done. The gap in animation quality between this and Bombad Jedi is absurd. Lair of Grievous is quite good, nice to have Grievous be competent, get a bit of his backstory in canon, and see the effect the war is having on young Jedi. Overall this arc is decent and near-essential viewing but Bombad Jedi is a trip.

The Dooku Captured Arc

Profoundly meh and again feels like test episodes they just released. It does introduce Hondo but hes incredibly forgettable here. Also it was really messed up the way that senator just dies.

The Lurmen Arc

A cool space battle leads to an encounter with straw pacifists and evil George Takei. Kind of the middling Star Wars for kids the show seemed to be at first but its not bad. The last shot was quite good but they do it better later.

Trespass

A good standalone episode with a firm message about colonialism. Kind of like an episode of Star Trek in the Star Wars universe. Chuchi is one of my favourite minor characters.

The Hidden Enemy

More good surprisingly mature standalone storytelling. Handles the different place in the timeline better than later episodes. Solid characterisation of the clones too.

The Blue Shadow Virus Arc

Again, this is quite terrible. A laughably over the top virus plot with a mad scientist leads into a totally different story that was clearly stapled to the first one to form one arc. Also an Angel turns up.

The Ryloth Arc

Just a good military sci-fi arc that covers all the bases of Clone Wars. Character development for Ahsoka, a look at the horrors of war, and some well constructed action. The middle portion is very 2000s but this is solid overall.

Hostage Crisis

Cad Bane is great. Again this is pretty solid thriller stuff aside from the appearance of a very annoying character at the end, also the Anakin/Padm/Anakins lightsaber scene might be the most sexual scene in Star Wars. This was good but I feel like the next arc might be a better Cad Bane intro.

Thats season 1 done, I will talk about them but this will take a while lol so Ill get to it when I have time. Talk amongst yourselves!

First of all, wow, what an ending, and on the whole I came off of this incredibly positive. Overall loved this show, though unfortunately not without some caveats.

I was incredibly impressed by the strength and maturity of the themes for a nominal kids show, or even just Star Wars. They handle a lot of complicated topics in a smart way thats digestible for younger viewers but also still actually saying something and still interesting for older viewers. It doesnt quite go the full Andor but it does a (mostly) really good job of digging into the society and politics of the late prequel era while also fleshing out the characters in such a way that their arcs in those movies now actually work.

I think I finally understand what people mean when they say this show makes the prequels better, because it does. It is most obvious with the character arcs, the huge leaps in character development between Episodes II and III are quite jarring, this smooths that over. I think after watching this Anakin might be the best Star Wars character? Darth Maul goes from just a cool character design to a fantastically rounded antagonist. A lot of plot elements from those movies there feel underbaked but here have time to breathe. I think its hard to go into Episode III with the knowledge of The Clone Wars and not be more emotionally stirred by it with that context.

Its funny knowing how much Lucas worked on this show and contrasting that with the prequels. My understanding is he came up with the pitches for basically every arc then had other writers handle them. Unsurprisingly it turned out better than the prequels. This basically proves the old theory of him as more of an ideas guy than a writer and makes me which hed handed the prequels story to another scriptwriter - hes good at story, not so good at dialogue.

Also after a good while the show just starts to be incredibly well made, eventually it looks gorgeous with great action scenes, music and dialogue. The earlier arcs look incredibly rough but the last one is absolutely movie quality. Incidentally Im interested in watching Rebels but put off by how much of a visual downgrade it is.

Unfortunately that leads to the main issue with the show, and the thing that stops it from being an all-time animated show and all-time Star Wars entry for me: theres too much of it, and a lot of it is not that good. This is especially true early on, season 1 is not a good season of television and why I never kept up with it when it aired. However the show gets better as it goes, especially after it shifts to longer-term storytelling halfway through Season 3 and by the end is not only more consistent but also has done of the best Star Wars content ever made.

If you havent seen this show and are sceptical, it is absolutely okay to use a skip list. While you do get something from watching all of it, if youre not already sold on watching the whole thing there is a chance some of it will be a tough sl

Thorn posted...

your family owning an emerald mine in apartheid south africa helps with that

To add, your family leaving Canada because of changes in the social fabric for apartheid South Africa helps with that.

Vampire Survivors

When a rail disaster with huge consequences for the environment happens, I know I for one think the answer lies with the pro-deregulation anti-environmentalist party.

Garmonbozia!

RE2 vs. Bloodborne?

Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

Yeah PS4 Ghost got good reviews but not among the best of the year reviews - I think all the ones I listed and Hogwarts Legacy averaged within about 1% of each other.

If were looking at this years contenders:

Dead Space
Hi-Fi Rush
Resident Evil 4
Tears of the Kingdom
FFXVI
Starfield
Spider-Man 2
Redfall???
Diablo 4???

So that seems like a quite competitive field at least. I may be forgetting something too.

The thing is theres always been a more populist, less well-reviewed (but still well reviewed) than the other nominees game nominated in recent years. Assassins Creed Odyssey, The Outer Worlds, Ghost of Tsushima, RE Village, arguably even Stray. Hogwarts Legacy fits the bill unfortunately. A strong year would block it but in a normal year it gets in I think.

Also while the post is likely bait I think it is fair to say that the bulk of the controversy is not due to people streaming it getting harassed but rather as stated the fact that its funding a hate campaigner.

Rick and Morty

Fire Walk with Me is not just canon it is fairly essential for The Return. It not being included in most of the box sets is annoying. There is also The Missing Pieces, a 2014 film made from the deleted scenes of FWwM (yes there are 90 minutes of deleted scenes) that is canon too though you can skip that. While it is good and provides some context youll get The Return without it.

As for the reception of FWwM it got slammed when it came out but has since been reevaluated. Great film.

But also more people have touched Elden Ring than FFVII after only a year, so while it is more fractured the growth of the industry counteracts that to an extent.

However, in some ways it has also gotten less fractured thanks to a preponderance of multi-platform games. If you werent on Playstation you didnt play FFVII. These days there are fewer and fewer games like that. Really the issue is that some of the 90s crowd are just stuck in their ways like how sone insist there are no Pokmon after Gen I.

Also, the most recent part is getting lost a bit and people seem to be talking about the most iconic recent music. The Elden Ring theme is from last year and is iconic.

Elden Ring

Yes theory is literally the basis of science. One of the main philosophical ideas behind science is that nothing that is not directly observed can be truly proven, thats why everything is theoretical really. For instance, this could easily be used to ban the teaching of evolution or gravity. If I had a family in Florida Id get out right now.