It's guest time again, as Felipe Diaz-Vera from Generation Animation makes his debut on our side of the podcasting realm. He brings with him much to discuss, starting with recent announcements regarding fighting games, Kingdom Hearts, and Sonic comics. John and Chris also dish out their thoughts on the recent adult-oriented Netflix cartoon based on the Castlevania franchise.
But the real conversation comes from Felipe's suggested main topic this week, as the three dive into a look back at the now-retro Cartoon Network hit The Powerpuff Girls. Expect discussions on John's mom being concerned, why Him is so darn evil, why John gives a certain voice actress a demerit, Felipe's impeccable ability to ad-lib Mojo Jojo speeches, and some touching on the current reboot and that weird anime you probably forgot about until we brought it up.
Timestamps:
06:50 - R.I.P. Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog
10:37 - Recent fighting game news
24:44 - Netflix Castlevania review (Mild spoilers)
38:40 - Powerpuff Girls retrospective
Show Twitter (Send feedback, questions, and requests!): https://twitter.com/sketchwatchplay
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Show homepage: http://sketchwatchplay.blogspot.com/
John's Twitter: https://twitter.com/Behonkiss
Chris's Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChristopTheWade
Felipe's Twitter: https://twitter.com/fizzucker
Watch John's Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy: https://youtu.be/LAE_qX2-bbc
Watch Chris's animated film, The Will of Monsters: https://vimeo.com/217121639/9a918876e6
Listen to Felipe's podcast, Generation Animation: http://fanoffmedia.com/shows/gen/
Chris has picked our most unique topic yet, but we don't forget to stick to more mainstream stuff for the first portion of this episode. John briefly talks about the Crash Bandicoot remasters and the recent indie film hit The Big Sick, and Chris joins him in discussing their overall thoughts on the recent Wonder Woman. (Where their opinions diverge may surprise you.)
For the meat of the episode, instead of analyzing another movie, show, or video game, it's time to get inside their nerdy heads and learn about the various animations and videos that they've made or hope to make. Expect talk regarding the learning experiences making their first cartoons, what they're hoping to do with more recent releases, what's been left behind, and what may lie ahead.
Timestamps:
02:29 - Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy + The Big Sick thoughts
07:38 - Wonder Woman movie review (Spoilers start at 16:35)
25:10 - Personal project talk (Spacious/The Will of Monsters/Button Mashers/WarioWare Tooned/Behonkiss Reviews)
Watch The Will of Monsters: https://vimeo.com/217121639/9a918876e6
Watch some WIP shots from Spacious: https://youtu.be/Aha8_zyOgHc
Watch Button Mashers: https://youtu.be/tWFb2WLUaMU
Watch John's E3 2017 countdown: https://youtu.be/Q0kXKOzIu9s
Show Twitter (Send feedback, questions, and requests!): https://twitter.com/sketchwatchplay
Show Facebook (Send feedback, questions, and requests!): https://www.facebook.com/sketchwatchplay
John's Twitter: https://twitter.com/Behonkiss
Chris's Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChristopTheWade
This year's Electronics Entertainment Expo has come and gone, and we tackle our biggest takeaways from it. John loses his mind over Super Mario Odyssey in a good way, but Hell hath no fury like a Rabbids-fatigued Chris. We also talk upcoming fighting games on the opposite side of the visual quality spectrum, Dad of War, and AwesomeCon.
But since this is unlucky episode number 13, John unleashes a true disaster movie to unpack with Chris, as we dissect the cinematic disaster that is 1993's live-action Super Mario Bros. movie. Discussions include why the film fails both as an adaptation and a standalone piece, what elements of its aesthetics and imagination deserve legitimate credit, and the best way Hollywood could go about doing a possible second attempt at bringing Mario Mario to the big screen again. Strap on your belts, get your plumbing tools, trust the fungus, and do your best John Leguizamo impression - this is a crazy one.
Timestamps:
08:05 - Super Mario Odyssey impressions
14:40 - Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle impressions
27:43 - Super Mario Bros. (1993 movie) review
Informative YouTube documentary on the making of the Super Mario Bros. movie from which we pulled some information: https://youtu.be/Ve26GpPDTgY
Watch Chris's animatic film, The Will of Monsters: https://vimeo.com/217121639/9a918876e6
Check out John's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/Behonkiss
Show Twitter (Send feedback, questions, and requests!): https://twitter.com/sketchwatchplay
Show Facebook (Send feedback, questions, and requests!): https://www.facebook.com/sketchwatchplay
John's Twitter: https://twitter.com/Behonkiss
Chris's Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChristopTheWade
A month away from the mic has not stopped our flow of guests, as Chris's brother Tyrone Selby joins us for a Unicron-sized discussion (Sorry not sorry) of the various TV incarnations of the Transformers franchise, though John's current obsession means that we spend time singing the praises of Injustice 2 first, including observations on Harley Quinn and her Tara Strong-ified face, along with a little more Breath of the Wild talk.
Once we tackle our main topic, we attempt to discuss every major series from Beast Wars onwards (Don't blame us for skipping G1, we were born too late), taking the time to praise two particular series, shrug over several others, and marvel at the mind-boggling ineptitude of one in particular. Expect discussion on weird fan Wikis, Decepti-nipples, moms who love Optimus, and surprise Ernie Hudsons.
Timestamps:
05:17 - Injustice 2 review
15:54 - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild talk
22:18 - Transformers TV show retrospective
Watch Chris's animatic film, The Will of Monsters: https://vimeo.com/217121639/9a918876e6
Read Tyrone's webcomic, Elements of Light: http://eolcomic.blogspot.com/
Show Twitter: https://twitter.com/sketchwatchplay
Show Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sketchwatchplay
John's Twitter: https://twitter.com/Behonkiss
Chris's Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChristopTheWade
Tyrone's Twitter: https://twitter.com/tyronehydraulic
We're not doing having super-long guest-filled episodes just yet! Longtime friend Colin "Skipperwing" Byrd joins John and Chris to talk many things this week, starting with Chris and Colin's thoughts on the recent smash hit anime Your Name and thoughts on its director in general. John also shares his overall thoughts on the Kickstarter-funded throwback game Yooka-Laylee, and an impromptu discussion on crazy moments all three of us have encountered in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild bridges the gap to our biggest topic.
Inspired by the recent Hollywood remake, all three delve into the flashy yet intellectual world of the iconic Ghost in the Shell franchise, touching on the original theatrical anime films, the Stand Alone Complex TV series, and the ScarJo-centric live-action remake. Expect speculation on its themes of technology and identity, discussion on the remake's controversial casting and troubling Hollywood trends, and the inception of what may become Chris's least favorite recurring joke ever.
Timestamps:
03:07 - Your Name spoiler-free review
23:07 - Yooka-Laylee review
38:18 - More Breath of the Wild thoughts
46:18 - Ghost in the Shell discussion (Spoilers for 1995 and 2017 movies)
Show Twitter: https://twitter.com/sketchwatchplay
Show Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sketchwatchplay
John's Twitter: https://twitter.com/Behonkiss
Chris's Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChristopTheWade
Colin's Twitter: https://twitter.com/Skipperwing
We hit the double digits with all we've got, as Tyler Moliterno from Generation Animation joins us for our longest episode ever (We started early and ran long, which explains a lot). We kick things off with a talk about the recent rash of bizarre direct-to-video movies featuring classic cartoons teaming up with WWE superstars, which ended up being the best way for Chris & Tyler to bond without any of us planning for it.
Afterwards, John and Tyler dive into their overall thoughts on the recent big-screen reimagining of the Power Rangers, complete with nostalgic thoughts and speculation from all three hosts. And the episode isn't even halfway over when we tackle our main topic, as we discuss and rank the movies that make up the cultural juggernaut that is Marvel Studios' interconnected superhero film franchise. We talk about Tony Stark's "peak dick" period, Edgar Wright's Howard the Duck, John's co-worker's adoration for talking raccoons, and Tyler's hands-on experience with one scene from the film that ends up universally topping our lists. We also touch on the TV spinoffs briefly, but that may be a discussion worthy of its own episode...
Timestamps:
06:38 - WWE/Hanna-Barbera crossover movies discussion
14:04 - Power Rangers (2017 movie) review (Spoilers at the 35-minute mark)
49:06 - Marvel Cinematic Universe retrospective (Spoilers throughout)
https://twitter.com/SketchWatchPlay
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John: https://twitter.com/Behonkiss
Chris: https://twitter.com/sparkflowfilms
Tyler: https://twitter.com/TylerMoliterno
The Switch is out, John's geeking out, and Chris's cats do their best to get on the show. John starts the episode out by discussing his impressions so far for the much-hyped new Zelda game and some thoughts on the Nintendo Switch in general, then dives headlong into a review and dissection with Chris of the 1999 animated classic The Iron Giant.
Full disclosure: We spoil the crap out of the movie, so go watch it if you haven't already (Especially since it's just been put back on Netflix). Also be prepared to hear John gush about something like never before, because there's a good reason he wanted to discuss it.
03:16 - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild initial impressions
23:47 - The Iron Giant review (Spoilers)
Our hiatus is over, and it's time to get back to geeking out. John recounts some more recent convention silliness and an impromptu cameo in a video from one of his favorite YouTubers, followed by his thoughts on the giddy fun that is The Lego Batman Movie. Chris then discusses his impressions of the still-going anime series Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid, the nature of which inevitably results in us tackling the topic of anime fanservice for the first time.
The main event is one that Chris has wanted to cover from Day 1, as we dive into the recent anime phenomenon that is Yuri on Ice. We talk about pretty men, character development and the show's "personal" nature, and even the significance of how the series handles gay representation compared to other anime. And, of course, pork cutlet bowls.
Timestamps:
9:27 - The Lego Batman Movie spoiler-free review
17:18 - Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid discussion
30:35 - Yuri on Ice review
Show Twitter: https://twitter.com/sketchwatchplay
Show Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sketchwatchplay
John's Twitter: https://twitter.com/Behonkiss
Chris's Twitter: https://twitter.com/sparkflowfilms
John's YouTube guest appearance (22:53 onwards): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZ0wdIWKGxI&ab&ab_channel=SomecallmeJohnny
Our first podcast recorded in 2017 is also our longest yet, packing in a ton of impressions from John and Chris on many gaming-related topics (And one movie as well). John details his most memorable experiences at the recent gaming convention MAGFest (DAVID WISE!) and dishes out his thoughts on the recent tearjerker fantasy film A Monster Calls, followed by shared impressions of Nintendo's big Switch stream, and thoughts on what we've seen regarding the system and its lineup so far.
Afterwards, we lose our limbs and dive into the kooky, fantastical world of Ubi Soft's long-running Rayman franchise. This includes recalling the series' heyday as a numbered series, its change in direction brought on by the Raving Rabbids, its rebirth as an old-school sidescroller with Origins & Legends, and even touching on the cartoon series you probably didn't know existed. We discuss how fine-tuned the gameplay has become, the one aspect of the older games John misses most, and more Billy West than you'd ever expect.
02:11 - MAGFest 2017
08:44 - A Monster Calls (Spoiler-free review)
23:14 - Nintendo Switch presentation thoughts
46:22 - Rayman retrospective (1, 2, 3, Raving Rabbids, Origins, & Legends)
A new year also brings a personal first, as this episode gives us our first guest in the form of John's brother and fellow geek Patrick. After Chris and both brothers catch up regarding their individual holiday gifts and experiences, Patrick and Chris share their overall thoughts on Rogue One (No spoilers here, as John hadn't seen it at the time of this recording) and some overall thoughts and memories of Star Wars in general.
But no, that's not why you're listening to this episode, is it? We let Patrick choose this episode's main topic, and it's resulted in one of our longest discussions yet, as we tackle the behemoth that is the Pokemon franchise and our memories of it from the beginning, particularly the main games, the anime, and some of the spinoff titles, including a recent smartphone title you might have heard about. High points include Patrick's angry letter to Niantic, Chris's tragic story involving Pokemon Snap & Australia, and how Meowth of all characters tugged at John and Patrick's heartsrings the most in the anime.
Timestamps:
7:10 - Rogue One spoiler-free review
20:38 - Pokemon retrospective
Patrick's Twitter: https://twitter.com/fleuryp
Show Twitter: https://twitter.com/sketchwatchplay
Show Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sketchwatchplay
On our belated fifth episode, we manage to fit in a ton of discussions. John praises the recent Netflix-exclusive animated adaptation of The Little Prince and also discusses his early thoughts on Super Mario Run, while Chris finally dishes out his impressions of Pokemon Sun & Moon.
Where things get real meaty is our in-depth review of Undertale, the little indie RPG that took the gaming scene by storm. While Chris can safely proclaim the title as one of his all-time favorites, John has long been hesitant to dive into it due to fears of it being hyped up too much beforehand. Were those fears unfounded? Either way, we both have a lot to say about this quirky title. We try our best to not discuss plot points for a while, but be warned around the 51-minute mark that we dive headlong into major spoilers, particularly some of the last boss fights and moments.
Timestamps:
04:53 - The Little Prince (2015 animated version)
15:37 -Super Mario Run
22:57 - Pokemon Sun & Moon
37:57 - Undertale
51:00 - Undertale spoiler talk
This week, after a bit more random Final Fantasy XV talk, John pulls a random topic out by discussing his revisiting of the charmingly unique 2011 open-world title Driver San Francisco, leading to talks about other favorite racing titles among both him and Chris.
But that's not what you should listen to this episode for. John's first proper review pick is a childhood favorite of his, the short-lived and semi-obscure mid-90s Kids' WB Spielberg-produced cartoon Freakazoid. Chris revisits the series for the first time in a while and walks away reeling, because there's no better way to describe the show as one of the most unapologetically insane cartoons ever produced. Both hosts give a general overview of the show's recurring elements, standout episodes and jokes, and why they both recommend it despite having overall differing opinions. HUGBEES!
Timestamps:
02:29 - Final Fantasy XV latest thoughts (Mild spoilers up to the ending of Chapter 2)
08:32 - Driver San Francisco & general driving game talk
15:19 - Freakazoid review
Thanksgiving dinner and its accompanying hawk (We'll explain) are done with, so John and Chris settle back into the groove by discussing their early impressions of Final Fantasy XV, their overall impressions of its tie-in CG film Kingsglaive, and per Chris's recommendation, all their reasons why Dreamworks' popular Kung Fu Panda films have turned out surprisingly great.
Spoilers abound for both Kingsglaive and all three Panda films, though in the former case, you're not missing all that much. We don't actually give traditional overviews for the series in this particular review either, instead focusing on what elements of the writing and animation make it so special to us. (Hint: A lot of it revolves around Shifu and the villains.)
Timestamps:
04:15 - Final Fantasy XV early impressions
12:42 - Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV review (Spoilers within)
25:55 - Kung Fu Panda 1, 2, & 3 review (Spoilers within)
Pay no attention to John's opening words in this episode, because our test recording turned out good enough to become the podcast's official debut, making this number two in line.
With a more concrete template worked out, Chris and John share both their takes on possibly the last big Wii U exclusive, Paper Mario: Color Splash, John gives spoiler-free thoughts on Doctor Strange and details his initial impressions for Watch Dogs 2, and Chris details both what drives him up the wall and keeps him coming back with Dragon Ball Super's Future Trunks arc, with some light spoilers to go along with his reasons.
Timestamps:
2:56 - Paper Mario: Color Splash
22:05 - Watch Dogs 2
32:22 - Doctor Strange
40:23 - Dragon Ball Super (Future Trunks arc)
Have a listen to the test recording that John ended up finding good enough to serve as our first episode! Due to both of us having some discussions on our personal tastes and what kinds of stuff we'd like to discuss on the show, this is a bit more freeform than the template we've since established. (Also forgive John sounding so quiet most of the time; sound issues should be less frequent from this point.)
Among many things, John discusses his mixed feelings with the recent Ratchet & Clank feature film, Chris discusses his own mixed feelings with the recent Shin Godzilla, and John gushes over the PC indie title Owlboy. Shorter tangents include both guys elaborating on some of their favorite game and movie genres, how the time they've each spent as film critics has affected their viewing experience, John namedropping a favorite podcast, and Chris's tough love for the Kingdom Hearts franchise.
Timestamps:
05:40 - Kingdom Hearts
10:11 - Ratchet & Clank movie
31:37 - Movie criticism talk
37:10 - Shin Godzilla
47:56 - Owlboy