TBF, Mags, you have been doing a lot of the heavylifting for the quest, so this will be in good hands.
To be clear to everyone, this is just me burning out on imagination of the quest, since my muse has been hitting me over the head a lot with so many different ideas that I just can't find myself too interested in this.
I'll still hang out here, though, since this still does have a sepcial place in my heart.
I'd like to thank you all for making this a wonderful experience while it lasted.
I'd also like to thank @Magoose, @Fluffy_serpent, and @Martin Noctis for doing so much to help prepare and write this quest. I couldn't have done it without you all.
How does this mean Sally dies and stays dead? I'd rather not kill her off. I'd also like to see a Mecha Sally type deal at some point. Even if not with Sally then with another of Sonics friends.
Penders had planned for Sally to die in chapter 50 of the comic, and it was the pressure from Archie Comics that had him go back and make it "all a dream", thus keeping her alive for the remainder of the time. If we're making the comics, and we're leaivng the creators due as they will (which we are) it means that Sally reamins dead at chapter 50.
We can still have there be a Mecha Sally later on, perhaps Robotnik using clone material to create it and hurt Sonic and friends by showing their dead friend now working for him.
Hey, so long as we keep Amy Rose and Knuckles in as characters in both games and comics then I'm all right with what we can do ti improve them. Those are my favorite characters aside from Rouge and Tails.
We could perhaps have Scourge and his suppression Squad as part of one of the games at some point since it would be fun to do the whole "Alternate Universe" or "Evil Twin". Notto mention how Scourge as a character is just one of those that you love to see fail and can be their own worst enemy as well.
Hey, I just noticed that this means how this time around Sally will remain dead after the 50th issue as planned by Penders. I always felt that going back from it was a dumb move, as it would have added so much drama and the understanding that no one was safe in the end.
I agree on both of them. I don't think our changes would change Knuckles much. He'd still be the isolated hermit guarding the sedan-sized magic gemstone from thieves. Though it'd be interesting to see how our pink little rascal would change. Keep in mind that if Amy is still a thing she'd be closer to her Sonic CD counterpart for a while.
And, of course, there's the debate on how much of Scourge's personality is him and how much is because of his negligent narcissistic "father".
I personally think that killing someone off because the writer wants cheap drama is dumb. Though that may be because I'm fond of Sally.
I never really liked Scourge he feel that he was always too different to be really a alternate universe versión of Sonic, mostly because i belive that a evil Sonic is possible he would never treat his Friends and companions like Scourge treat his, a key different between a good Sonic and a evil Sonic is how they go about they Freedom, a evil Sonic wouldnt want to rule or even care that he is not unique, all he would do is want to have fun with his friends and his defination of fun is not something that would care about law or the people he hurt when he goes about to have his fun.
Scourge is a bit of a whiner (and a bit of a joke when you think about it) but I think that's what would make him great as a villain in the Sonic Games. He can bring some of the credibility since despite his he still has the speed and skill so Sonic, but in the end it can show how it's not the powers but the attitude which makes Sonic who he is. Scourge spends all the time lamenting he's not unique, but Sonic would not even care that much about it, instead looking at how he can help his friends when he's not relaxing.
Besides, we can have so much fun exploring Moebius and the Suppression Squad in said game, it would at least make for an interesting game after the original trilogy.
How does this mean Sally dies and stays dead? I'd rather not kill her off. I'd also like to see a Mecha Sally type deal at some point. Even if not with Sally then with another of Sonics friends.
Penders had planned for Sally to die in chapter 50 of the comic, and it was the pressure from Archie Comics that had him go back and make it "all a dream", thus keeping her alive for the remainder of the time. If we're making the comics, and we're leaivng the creators due as they will (which we are) it means that Sally reamins dead at chapter 50.
We can still have there be a Mecha Sally later on, perhaps Robotnik using clone material to create it and hurt Sonic and friends by showing their dead friend now working for him.
We're making the assumption that Penders is still hired and still ultimately becomes head writer on the Sonic comics. While he's written things I like circumstances would be different. Namely since this is Marvel and they'd probably pick a pre-existing Marvel writer in their roster as the head writer. So Penders could get hired but chances are he might not get a leadership position.
We're making the assumption that Penders is still hired and still ultimately becomes head writer on the Sonic comics. While he's written things I like circumstances would be different. Namely since this is Marvel and they'd probably pick a pre-existing Marvel writer in their roster as the head writer. So Penders could get hired but chances are he might not get a leadership position.
If so, then he might not create many of the OTL characters we have, or the world they inhabit since it all came to him and his imagination where he could act as he willed. This means we get to make OCs for the new Sonic Comics... which might not be a bad idea all in all. I mean, we still have the OTL characters, and I do tend to prfer those above the later creations.
If so, then he might not create many of the OTL characters we have, or the world they inhabit since it all came to him and his imagination where he could act as he willed. This means we get to make OCs for the new Sonic Comics... which might not be a bad idea all in all. I mean, we still have the OTL characters, and I do tend to prfer those above the later creations.
You know atleast penders would be remembered as a great writer and a weirdo like he used to be before the lawsuit he used to be idolized and also seen as the Chris chan of Archie sonic
Fair enough. It's just that delving into the details has always been fun for me. I guess we can save the minutia for when we're creating adaptations like animated tv shows or movies. Or the games themselves.
This was what you asked your oldest son Joseph when the morning after Christmas, you awoke and was getting ready to make breakfast when you stumbled on Joseph playing Showtime Basketball on the Genesis in the living room.
"I'm trying Daddy." Joseph said, mashing buttons with fierce determination as he looked to be playing as the Lakers against the Portland Trailblazers. The score appeared to be neck and neck in the 4th quarter with the Trailblazers ahead 33-30.
"Joe's playing so he can avenge the Lakers for losing yesterday." Mary informed. You turned and saw her watching her brother playing on the couch, brushing a purring and content Alfred and Tigger.
"Avenge the Lakers?" You ask with chuckle. The Lakers had lost yesterday in a brutal shootout 141-121. Joseph had been rather bummed with the outcome, though it was still a very merry Chritsmas and the Goslings were super happy to have you back.
"Whenever the Lakers lose, Joe has to play the game again on Showtime and beat them for the team."
"Lakers always gotta win." Joseph said, "Go Magic go!" He cheered as Magic darted down the court and scored a slam dunk.
You smile at the sight, another one of your projects bringing joy to your children. With Carrie content to lay in bed and no signs of little George or Sarah being awake, you decided to hold off on breakfast for a bit and sat down next to Mary, rubbing Tigger's belly.
"So do you guys play the Genesis a lot?" You asked Mary.
She shrugged her shoulders, "I played it every day in the summer but I slowed down in the fall when I completed all the games, though I did do another run of Final Fantasy. Sometimes I'll play with friends, but there's not a lot of two player stuff." Mary informed.
"And you're sharing with your brother and sister?" You stressed, to which Mary looked at you insulted.
"Of course Daddy, I'm a good big sister!" Mary protested with a frown, "The Littles don't play too much since they don't have the best reflexes or skill. Joseph really loves Showtime and Ballblazer, we play together a lot, but that's about it. Sarah took a long time to complete Penguin Adventure and I helped her, but she's not really interested in anything else. Though they both like to play Karateka with me sometimes."
That...was alright. The Genesis as a console was more meant for ages 8 and up. Mary had an advantage thanks to her intelligence and love of computers, so it made sense that Joseph and Sarah wouldn't be the most enthused. Hopefully that will change as they get older., though Joseph seemed to love sports games as much as real sports.
"Mary let me play lots, she nice." Joseph informed, then hollered in joy as he scored a buzzer ending three pointer, winning the game. "Yay! Lakers win!" He shouted, then doing a little victory dance, making you smile widely and being heavily grateful to the Lord to be home with your family again.
"So overall would you say you like the Genesis and its games a lot?" You asked Mary.
She nodded, "Yeah, it's a good console and I have just as much fun as roleplaying adventures. Final Fantasy is just as good as D&D and I want to go on lots of adventures like it and Eidolon." Mary praised. Absolutely amazing considering a year ago she held video games in high disdain thanks to Atari's Superman.
"What do your friends think of the Genesis?" You asked Mary. The Genesis had yet to release in Europe so you had no direct experience for its growth in Yugoslavia.
"Umm, I'd say about a dozen own Genesis consoles, Mommy helped me give some of them for birthday gifts. Everyone loves Eidolon, Immunity and Final Fantasy. But, some of my classmate's parents don't want to buy them Genesis games because they think it's really expensive overall and they're worried that it'll end up like Atari." Mary informed. "That's silly, Sega would never be as bad as Atari."
"That's what you thought first Mary, you act like it was Lying Thing." Joseph reminded, with Mary fuming a bit at her brother's correction. Joseph was a very loving brother, though he had some tendencies to correct his sisters gently.
"It's okay, I'm just glad you're having fun my little dragon." You say, with a hug and kiss from Mary with her returning a hug tight as the Goslings tended to do since you returned.
"Um...Daddy, did Mommy tell you what I wanted for my Birthday?" Mary asked cautiously.
You nodded with a playful grimace, "Yep." Carrie had informed you that Mary wanted a Nintendo NES to go alongside the Genesis in her room that she and the twins would sometimes play if there were a lot of adults in the house visiting.
"It's not that I think Nintendo is better, the Genesis obviously is the best. I just really want to play Zelda and Metroid, Sarah has the games at her house and they're so cool." Mary explained, perhaps expecting that you'd be mad at the request. Though you honestly should have seen it coming. A fantasy exploration dungeon crawler and space adventure where you played a cool female bounty hunter? Both spoke so strongly to Mary's interests and even as 8 bit games you couldn't deny they were excellent.
"It's fine Mary." You calmly assured your eldest, "I don't mind if you like some Nintendo games just like how Superman is your favorite hero." You teased with Mary giggling a bit, "Besides, we're not exactly enemies with Nintendo, I guess we're sort of friendly rivals."
"And they're not the evil and slimy Universal." Mary affirmed.
"Yep." Joseph agreed with a nodding head. Oh Lord, you really did rub off on the kids.
"Well, after Breakfast, how about you guys be the first to play some new Genesis games that will come out next month." You said. Carrie received some early copies a week ago though she waited until you got home.
"Yay!"
NES Sales: 8,879,562 Consoles sold
Genesis Sales: 3,494,193 Consoles sold
It has been nearly a year since both the Sega Genesis and the Nintendo Entertainment System/Super Famicon released. The start of the "Console Wars" as future generations had taken to calling the video game commercial feuds. At the moment, you wouldn't really say it's an outright war as Sega and Nintendo needed to work together to make sure there was an industry for both to compete in. However, it was undeniable that in spite of the Genesis' superiority, that the NES was still trailblazing itself as the king of video games with a gap that never really closed after release.
So far nine months in the Genesis had sold nearly three and a half million consoles with over 1.9 million in Japan and 1.5 million in the US respectively. By all accounts this was a strong success that went more than double what Sega had been hoping for goals with the Genesis and its games bringing strong profits and Genesis sales looking to cross the 4 million mark by the anniversary. The problem though was that it was not enough with the NES looking to cross 9 million by Easter and very much looking to reach 10 million by the one year anniversary if there wasn't substantial slowdowns.
It was very frustrating to look at the charts and see Nintendo consistently lead the pack with Sega's main accomplishment being that the rate of sales since launch was roughly equal. Outsiders looking in mainly contributed it to the price points as parents went for the cheaper option, not to mention that Nintendo was better than bundles as the Genesis hadn't really offered any deals besides a second free game with a Genesis purchase in December while Nintendo already had two free games for the NES and offered a substantial coupon system for new consoles and games. You would think that the Genesis' power and features, not to mention the pure quality of its library would be more than worth it, but there were other factors at play.
For one, Nintendo had most of the Japanese gaming studios at their beck and call for third parties. They already had 40 NES games in comparison to 21 Genesis games, largely thanks to most of their library being third party games. It's not that third parties didn't want to work with Sega, if anything they were lining up and fighting for developer kits. But the Genesis was so cutting edge that Japanese studios, and to a lesser extent the few surviving American ones, had to spend months studying the Genesis to code a game whereas with the NES they could just plop right in with familiar hardware and pump out a game. Thankfully, the Genesis should see some third party titles come the second half of 1984 with production really ramping up in 1985, but that still meant that the NES had a bigger library for gamers to play. It also didn't hurt that even with its Arcade investments, Nintendo's main priority was the NES whereas Lucasarts was split between the Genesis and Arcade.
There was the matter of reputation alone where Nintendo had for the past 20 years established themselves as the premiere company for home entertainment and was a leader in Japanese arcades. The Japanese youth grew up with Nintendo so the NES was really easy to promote for an established fanbase, while in the West Nintendo had strong support from their Disney partnership, Disney fans being willing to buy anything with a mickey seal of approval. In comparison, Sega until last year was a complete unknown to the public on both sides of the Pacific, and in America they had to face a hellish battle to clean the industry of Atari's rot that it brought to the video game reputation. By all accounts, first time Genesis buyers mainly bought it through it being a Lucasfilms console and your advocation, though Carrie and Mark's endorsements in commercials certainly helped.
Of course, your fanbase couldn't be used to its fullest potential when everyone had exhausted their wallets for casual fun and Christmas and birthday shopping with Star Wars and Gundam. At the end of the day your ludicrous wealth was still approaching Scrooge McDuck levels of money, but Sega had to share the heavily crowded spotlight with the rest of the corporate family and Sunset Toys having a fantastic year.
Admittedly, even then it was burdened by a very weak advertising campaign. Mike had to admit he didn't know how the hell to advertise video games and didn't understand the draw much. It didn't mean that the Genesis lacked any ads, but it was mainly reliant on theatrical promotions alongside Star Wars and some standout industry presentations like at the Consumer Electronics Show. The public knew of the Genesis, but they weren't familiar with it and the millions of household who distrusted computers kept away, nevermind its reputation as a rich kid's toy.
The good news is that these were merely features of why the Genesis was lagging behind Nintendo, and it was by no means permanent. The 1984 film lineup was pretty clear in blockbsuter commercial tie-ins besides Undertale, Ghostbusters and Gamera so the Genesis would be facing far less internal competition. The Great Recession was well and truly in the rearview mirror, so families with rising incomes would be more willing to spend their money. You were going to stay stateside for the entire year so you had a chance to really get involved in the ad campaign. The Genesis was very competitive in North America with it only being 500,000 units behind the NES, meaning you can capture the American market. The Genesis was set to go on tour in Europe and Oceania this year, two markets which Nintendo wasn't close to ready for a release. And perhaps most importantly, the mandate George had given to Lucasarts to hold off on release games based off of existing properties was coming to an end, meaning you could make a score of tie-ins to stuff like Star Wars for some nice sales.
Soon the world shall learn that Sega does what Nintendon't.
Tron 1.5 Director: Bill Adams
Game Developer: Lucasarts Entertainment
Published by: Sega Corporation
Release: August 1983 Quality: 223
Audience: 249
Critics: 212
Initial Release Sales: (Units) 774,853
Releasing last summer was the one game which got a reception to the existing IP cap, Tron 1.5. Here George was willing to be lenient since Tron was a video game movie, therefore it was a natural fit for a video game adaptation and Sega had already gone ahead with Space Invaders. The game was actually a legit in-universe sequel to the film as it sees Flynn take Alan and Lora to the Grid where they play non-lethal games with their digital counterparts, Clu, Tron and Yori. It had been Steven Lisberger who approached Sega with the idea of a Tron game when he heard of the Genesis, and it was a neat way to tie into the sequel and also explain why Alan and Lora would likely be aware of the Grid without wasting too much time on introducing them. The players would learn that the sequel was in pre-production where when they finished the tournament mode for the first time, a cut scene would pop up revealing the movie's development, which drew a lot of hype.
Basically Tron 1.5 was a two player game where players could face each other or a computer in games that came from the film; Light Cycles, Racket ball, Disc Dueling, Pike Fencing and a new form of Light jet racing. There wasn't any deeper story beyond the opening cutscene, and it was basically just a fun time to have the players feel like they were in the world of Tron. Overall gameplay mechanics were very solid and the programmers definitely recreated the Grid excellently. It could be a lot of fun going against other players and you loved to have matches against Carrie and Mary. However, the gameplay was very simple once you got the core concept of the specific game and there being only five games, it wasn't exactly something you could binge if you didn't have lots of friends. There was also some general disappointment from fans and critics that the games couldn't be a 1 for 1 match of the Grid's 3D graphics like how Space Paranoids managed to achieve with its psuedo 3D gameplay. However, such wasn't possible at the moment on 16 bit, though you do think they were a bit harsh as the graphics were still gorgeous.
Still, considering Tron was one of Lucasfilms' most popular and influential movies, Tron 1.5 was destined for greatness and it was a strong breakout success with many fans feeling obligated to play in anticipation of the sequel. Hopefully when Tron 2.0 becomes a blockbuster it can drive sales of 1.5 even further.
Karateka Director: Jordan Mechner, Jaime Lee Evans
Game Developer: Lucasarts Entertainment
Published by: Sega Corporation
Release: September 1983 Quality: 251
Audience: 298
Critics: 212
Initial Release Sales (Units): 548,995
The first Genesis fighting game, conceived by the kid who made the Prince of Persia script of all people, Karateka was a martial arts game where the player was a Karate black belt named Braden on a quest to save the lovely princess Mariko who was kidnapped by the evil Warlord Akuma. Thus, Brandon goes on a quest against a score of master martial artists and beasts to free Mariko. So essentially it was Mario but Karate. The game was developed by Yale student Jordan Mechner, who originally wanted it to be an Apple II game, but the video game crash threw everything for a flux. When he travelled to Apple personally to pitch it, Gavin took notice and pushed him towards Sega's way where Jaime Lee Evans converted what was originally a slow and choppy 8 bit fighter into a fast and fluid 16 bit throwdown on the Sega Genesis.
Karateka may not have been the pinnacle of martial arts on screen that the Batman films were, but it offered a unique opportunity to have players simulate Karate and engage in swift and complex brawls with a Genesis controller. Karateka was probably one of the most fluid, smooth and fast paced video games period thanks to Jaime's experience with Nidhogg. Each punch and kick had a lot of power and the combo system was very intricate and rewarding to master. The Genesis' six button controller was absolutely perfect for this and playing Karateka on Black Belt difficulty was one of the most intense experiences on the Genesis. The presentation of the main mission mode where Braden has to store the castle is well done and presented like an action movie. Mario wishes he could kick as much ass as Karateka.
Best of all was the two player mode. It was essentially an arcade experience at home, polishing on Nidhogg's flaws and with the removal of the escape mechanic and it being a simple duel of Karate skill, it was a really fun party game for you to throw down with friends. Mary absolutely fell in love with this game and it was usually a preferred first when playing with friends, especially Brandon when he came over and they could Pretty Dance to the digital death. You also noticed the twins slowly come around to playing it more often after you got home and they were jealous of your many play sessions with Mary. Karateka may not have been the top seller, and critics had some words about the violence, but it was heavily beloved by all of its players and held in esteem as one of the system's top games for which Nintendo had no counter. A nice redemption story for Jaime, and Jordan has showed some interest of a potential sequel after he graduates college, so a good win.
Mr. Goemon Director: Shinichi Nakamoto
Game Developer: Lucasarts Entertainment
Published by: Sega Corporation
Release: October 1984 Quality: 224
Audience: 289
Critics: 215
Initial Release Sales (Units): 443,361
Following Karateka came another redemption story with Shinichi Nakomoto, the creator of Pirate Ship Higemaru. Based on the historical Ishikawa Goemon, essentially a Japanese Robin Hood, players control the titular Mr. Goemon on a quest to free Japan of a demon invasion due to one of the feudal lords, with Goemon needing to steal a lamp to stop them, though he also does his usual m.o of stealing from the rich for extra points. As fast as Jaime's games were, Goemon was extremely fast, with enemies rapidly descending and Goemon often finding himself being ganged up, thus the players needed to have fast reflexes and a mastery of the level parkour to escape and progress, though there were options for quick ranged and close combat if players were smart enough.
In spite of its high speed, the game was a simple and fun platformer with beautiful background art and a fun visual story with some goofy yet tough enemies. The game could be really short if one was able to master the controls as normal difficulty through the eight levels was around 30-40 minutes. Still, it took quite a while so there was several hours of gameplay for most and it was fun to complete again on hard. Though critics were relentless on speed and combat, being reminded too much of Nidhogg, audiences had a great time and it was a comfortable seller. Though perhaps its initial success was more on the aesthetics of it being an overtly Japanese game and Goemon's tale gaining popularity thanks to imported literature and of course, Lupin III where his descendant Goemon XIII was Lupin's friend and partner. Still, you were glad that it was able to succeed and maybe if sales kept at it there could be a franchise involved down the line.
The King of Dragons Director: Koichi Nakamura
Game Developer: Lucasarts Entertainment
Published by: Sega Corporation
Release: October 1984 Quality: 249
Audience: 253
Critics: 288
Initial Release Sales (Units): 1,607,547
The game with the best release before Bomberman (Though Final Fantasy was still the dominant killer app of the Gensis), The King of Dragons was a strange lovechild of Final Fantasy, Immunity, Karateka and Dungeons and Dragons, and man it was AWESOME! A beat em up adventure where players could choose one of six fantasy classes to defeat wave after wave of monsters through 16 levels on a grand quest to slay the Red Dragon Gildiss who is leading the monsters to ravash the land. While the game wasn't exactly a roleplaying game, it did have roleplaying elements with the six classes each having their own attributes and special abilities to alter each playing style. As you leveled up, your attacks increased in strength to handle the more difficult enemies, you gain more health and you even have some forms of customization. It was just like progression through a long D&D campaign. While the action wasn't as fast paced as Karateka, it was still dynamic with lots of combos to choose from and the animation was some of the best on the Genesis.
While Nintendo may have many high quality games, it was the Genesis that was the console of innovation and King of Dragons was an excellent showcase of it through its hybrid construction, thanks in large part due to inspiration from Team Fantasy. It absolutely dominated October and blew out all other video game sales thanks to Final Fantasy players seeing it as a natural evolution and the combat system had no direct equals. It was thanks to King of Dragons that the Genesis was pushed over 2 million units and it was a hot seller throughout Christmas. Thanks to the six classes, there was plenty of replayability as one could take six paths, essentially turning what was a one and a half hour game into nine hours. It was the most praised game critically of the release cycle and would go down as an important step in video game history.
Mary had already played through all six paths by the time you returned home from Conan, but she played again, wanting to share the experience with you like Conan. Man was it just so precious and sweet watching Mary get so invested in the game and having pure fun and wonder as she went on another Dragon quest and was able to slay all the creatures and dragons with her might. When you went through a playthrough, you went as Derek the Fighter the first time and it was an amazing journey that was like a D&D session under an action-focused GM. It almost became Mary's favorite game, but she still prefered Final Fantasy because in that game she could explore an entire world with lots of freedom whereas King of Dragons was a straight forward monster clearing game. Witnessing King of Dragon's success, you were completely floored when Bomberman came and surpassed it.
Ice Climbers Director: Tokuro Fujiwara
Game Developer: Lucasarts Entertainment
Published by: Sega Corporation
Release: December 1983 Quality: 241
Audience: 241
Critics: 215
Initial Release Sales: 724,349
This was a fun surprise. A vertical platformer instead of its horizontal competition, Ice Climbers focused on two friends, Popo and Nana who were on a mission to reach the top of an icy mountain. The game would see them breaking ice blocks to progress upwards, fighting against the clock as the ice was quick to reform and both would be beset by all manner of animals. The game was really simple, but it was solidly fun and the potential two player gameplay along with its unique premise helped it to stand apart in contrast to Pirate Ship Higemaru. With its winter theme and the allure of being two player, Ice Climbers was a comfortable seller during the Christmas season, actually managing to be one of the free games picked by nearly 100,000 Genesis buyers.
Ice Climbers would be a particuarly warm memory for you as the Goslings had played it on Christmas Day, having waited until you came home to play, and it was adorable seeing Joseph and Sarah get to work as Popo and Nana and cooperate in-sync to get to the top, not caring about having a better high score, just making sure they both won. Surprsisingly for all Mary said that Sarah wasn't into video games, she really loved Ice Climbers. Huh, first Penguin Adventure then this, maybe she just really loves winter stuff?
One weird thing in relation to Ice Climbers is you had the strangest dream the night you first played it of the Ice Climbers fighting against Mario, Tron and Penta the Penguin on a floating stage. Weird.
Bruce O'Brian Olympics Director: Keiichi Yamamoto
Game Developer: Lucasarts Entertainment
Published by: Sega Corporation
Release: January 1984 Quality: 290
Audience: 259
Critics: 266
Initial Release Sales (Units): 621,976
Honestly, you had completely forgotten about the upcoming Olympics due to Conan, not to mention your sports life being dominated by Carrie's Lakers and Fighting Geese. PBS didn't contract you for another documentary, perhaps due to monetary stuff, but you would still wind up promoting it through a video game tie-in developed by Lucasarts. Perhaps one of the most ambitious Genesis games due to the inclusion of a dozen Olympic sports with players able to choose their country to represent with some athlete customization, and either playing each sport individually or doing an Olympic tournament.
Honestly, you should have seen it coming that Sega would try to use your image for a direct sponsorship unlike Kojima using you to play a character. You were fine with it, but you just wish you were alerted ahead of time, then again they did somehow not only manage to complete it in a month, but manage to complete it in such high quality. There was some minor butting heads between legal and the IOC, but in the end they recognized that a Bruce O'Brian endorsed game could only increase Olympic interest so they gave their blessing in return for a share of the revenue.
You were greatful they went ahead with it as Bruce O'Brian Olympics like your Light Heavyweight run, struck gold. The gameplay was as smooth and polished as Showtime Basketball, and the devs did an excellent job in creating tough computer opponents and interesting mechanics for the various sports. It was released on the eve of the Sarajevo Winter Games and was an instant seller due to you being on the cover carrying the flag. In fact, you could be played in the Light Heavyweight and there was a fun cheat code for boxing where any US player would one shot a Communist opponent in a match. With Los Angeles hosting the Summer games, Olympic interest was mounting up and you could easily see this game crossing one or two million copies in sales by the games.
The kids all loved to play it since it was "your" game and for many days you had to fulfill requests to play boxing matches with them on the game, though the other game modes were really fun. Joseph LOVED this game and it was probably his favorite due to the variety of sports. It's also made him quite obsessed with the upcoming Olympics, marking the days on his calendar and begging you to take the family to the Coliseum for the opening ceremonies. Well at least he'll never be a couch potato gamer.
USFL Continental Football Director: Mike Benna, Jeff Sember
Game Developer: Lucasarts Entertainment
Published by: Sega Corporation
Release: March 1984
Quality:D100 + 200 => 277
Audience: D100 + 200 => 253
Critics: D100 + 200 => 263 Initial Release (Units): 847,274
The third Genesis sports game following Showtime and Olympics, USFL Continental Football was the first American football game on a video game console and also made history as the first video game for the newborn USFL. Like Showtime Basketball, the game was an electronic recreation of the USFL with the same teams and players. All the unique USFL rules were kept in and the game had an impressive scale to cover all 100 yards with the deep and breakthrough plays leading to some really cool moments. It had improved from Showtime with better graphics and an impressive season simulation where you could go through the first USFL season as one of the teams and then run a simulation of the Playoffs. More often than not this favored the Generals, but if you were skilled enough you could go far as even the Denver Gold or Pittsburgh Maulers.
Players and critics alike loved how "life-like" the gameplay was and how it was an excellent representation of the newfound league and a good introduction of football. Considering how wildly successful the rookie season was, it was guaranteed to be a grand success, having the fourth best release with its debut coinciding with the start of the second season and thus a must have for all USFL fans who owned a Genesis. Surprisingly, it did well in Japan, going over 100,000. Then again, American football was developing a cult fanbase in the Far East with Japanese bars often playing live games late at night.
It's a shame that it was Herschel Walker who was on the cover and not Steve Young, but Carrie vowed that a Goose would be on the cover next year. Joseph once again fell in love with the sports game and was happy to play as the Geese while the season was ongoing. However, you did notice your oldest son very much liked to do a particular pattern. Beat the Roughnecks, then the Wranglers, then the Generals. The RWG run as Mary called it was something that Joseph played a lot on the Genesis with such fierce and fiery determination. Thankfully, Joseph was a good sport when the Lakers or Geese lost on TV or in the live games he attended. He was bummed but happy to see the game and looked forward to them improving. Though it seemed that any frustration he kept in check was unleashed on the Genesis. Well....you had a talk with Joseph and he said he doesn't hate the other teams, but he really wants the Geese to be like the Lakers so he wanted to experience that on the Genesis. It was actually somewhat mature if you say, Joseph keeping any anger in check and letting some steam go harmlessly in a video game, and if he ever lost on a Genesis he'd just start over and learn from his mistakes. Looks like Joseph was more like his mother in regards to his temper, which was all around a good thing.
So when you returned from Tunisia filming the Tatooine scenes of Return, Brian requested that you do a cameo scene where you would appear as yourself meeting Tony in an airport bar, you off to film another blockbuster and Tony to visit Peru.
You know if Sonic 06 happen we definitely are going to be in it as Elise father and make sure it doesn't have glitches making a more mature Sonic game series
"I'm Bruce O'Brian, and this is my favorite bar in the airport."
Also I wouldnt really worry about losing to Nintendo in sales. Better tech means, unless they roll some serious nat 100s, Nintendo's next logical step is tech comparable to the Genesis, and we've already established a solid foothold by that point and probs on our way to the next technological step.
Also, we're still having problems keeping the money down? Is this what Sony felt at some point???
Also, related to the money issue, do we offer third party devs, who are making games for the Genesis, very generous deals. Im hoping this'll encourage them to avoid cutting corners and go all in on quality?
Also I would like to continue advocating for Discworld Animated Movies. There is some amazing stories there and I think the world would fall in love with the characters.
Also the depiction of Death the character, irl, brought a lot of comfort to people in terminal conditions. Terry Pratchett got a lot of letters from people like that that said they hoped Death was the one he depicted.
Reaper Man in particular is one I think that deserves to be made. It would be.... Weirdly comforting for a lot of people to see Death and how much he cares for the life of the world... After all what could the harvest hope for but the care of the reaper man?
Equal Rites would also be a great one.... If only because I could see us getting Mary to participate.... It would take a very clever girl with the Wits of a Wizard yet with the Wisdom of a Witch to portray the disc's first female wizard tutored by the most powerful witch alive.
Edit: And if WE don't make them and do them justice chances are.... Someone else will try and possibly fail to do them justice
Also I would like to continue advocating for Discworld Animated Movies. There is some amazing stories there and I think the world would fall in love with the characters.
And perhaps most importantly, the mandate George had given to Lucasarts to hold off on release games based off of existing properties was coming to an end, meaning you could make a score of tie-ins to stuff like Star Wars for some nice sales.
Also if you don't remember, a major part of American Graffiti was some of the characters whining about the new age of Rock and how bands like the Beach Boys and Beatles are replacing the 50s artists on the radio. So George can be a bit grumpy about music, lol.
I just got an idea for TTL's Sonic games. Namely that we bring the concept of "Egg Bosses" to the games. So the boss fights wouldn't necessarily be against Robotnik/Eggman himself. One example being that a level set in Eggman's propaganda film studio could have the boss be a preening actor named "Gary/Gregory Goose". And maybe that character was initially a joke before Bruce discovered the sketch and laughed his ass off about it.
My current plan for the Sonic franchise is to have a Genesis trilogy consisting of 1,2,3 (here having Sonic and Knuckles included as one game). After that on our Saturn equivalent, I was hoping we could do Sonic CD as Sonic Quantum with a bit more polished mechanics, mainly to introduce Metal and Amy. After that will be Sonic X-treme as basically our Super Mario 64. We can also introducing some spinoffs like Sonic racing or RPG. Then a Sonic Adventure trilogy.
Speaking of characters, should we try to add some of the ones that Penders created for the Archie comics version of Sonic? I mean, I assume that this time around we'll make an ironclad contract that won't have him sue us (while also giving him his due of course) so we should have that possibility available.
Honestly whenever discussion of the Sonic comics being more represented in the games comes up, to me it just seems like a disguise for how people wanted Sally to be in the games as Sonic's love interest instead of Amy. Personally I don't mind either path, although I would have been firmly pro-Sally if it wasn't for the great glow-up Amy's character has undergone in recent years. If we stick with Amy, maybe her early years she can be more like her Sonic Boom show counterpart.
Maybe, though I really don't want to get rid of the iconic blimp scene as its one of the best parts of the film. Maybe Bruce says it casually and it isn't given much attention but then the blimp really cements it in Tony's mindset.
Also I wouldnt really worry about losing to Nintendo in sales. Better tech means, unless they roll some serious nat 100s, Nintendo's next logical step is tech comparable to the Genesis, and we've already established a solid foothold by that point and probs on our way to the next technological step.
Also, we're still having problems keeping the money down? Is this what Sony felt at some point???
Also, related to the money issue, do we offer third party devs, who are making games for the Genesis, very generous deals. Im hoping this'll encourage them to avoid cutting corners and go all in on quality?
Yeah, our next leap is the Saturn while Nintendo's next leap is the Super Nintendo. Barring the nat 100s as you say, we'll always have a major tech lead until the 2000s and most importantly with SegaNet we'll likely be the first online multiplayer console. It'll be really hard to deny the Sega Superiority when we have 3D while Nintendo is still on 2D.
Also one really strong advantage to Sega being a Lucasfilms subsidiary is that they currently have billions in reserves to support Sega if there are ever rough times so the debt issues that helped to cause Sega's downfall don't exist while Nintendo has a lot less revenue and a lower chest for support if things go rough, so we can go at our own pace.
But for anyone whose complaining about Nintendo still being successful in the face of the Genesis, remember that when the Saturn and PS1 came out, most of the North American market was still dedicated to playing Genesis and Super Nintendo for a few years, so we have precedent for people being content with lower tech, and more recently the Switch's dedicated fanbase in the face of the PS5 and Xbox One.
Honestly whenever discussion of the Sonic comics being more represented in the games comes up, to me it just seems like a disguise for how people wanted Sally to be in the games as Sonic's love interest instead of Amy. Personally I don't mind either path, although I would have been firmly pro-Sally if it wasn't for the great glow-up Amy's character has undergone in recent years. If we stick with Amy, maybe her early years she can be more like her Sonic Boom show counterpart.
In my opinion there's room for both Amy and Sally. I like both characters and a properly written love triangle can be interesting. Emphasis on the "properly written" part. But yeah current Amy characterization is the best way forward if we want to add her.
Honestly whenever discussion of the Sonic comics being more represented in the games comes up, to me it just seems like a disguise for how people wanted Sally to be in the games as Sonic's love interest instead of Amy. Personally I don't mind either path, although I would have been firmly pro-Sally if it wasn't for the great glow-up Amy's character has undergone in recent years. If we stick with Amy, maybe her early years she can be more like her Sonic Boom show counterpart.
I never wanted to have Sally in the games personally. As mentioned before, Amy Rose is among my faavorite characters, even before her recent character developement in the series (both before and after the reboot). Having her be Sonic's love interest is something I would also agree with though I think there should be some time in between them meeting and that happening of course.
As for Sally... well, I just feel that it would have worked better if Penders' plan to have her die in the 50th issue would have been kept.
Question, if we are going to be launching in Europe and Oceania soon will we have enough time to make some game for that market? I feel like given our success with sports games maybe one for Soccer would be good. Could we get the license for FIFA?
Question, if we are going to be launching in Europe and Oceania soon will we have enough time to make some game for that market? I feel like given our success with sports games maybe one for Soccer would be good. Could we get the license for FIFA?
Honestly with the amount of IP we could be publishing, our teams would be too busy to do an annual sports franchise. A game to accompany each cup would be an excellent way to galvanize enthusiasm for the actual games. Including brands to reflect actual sponsorship could also net us further revenue.
Well, our new "Playstation" console at least will be able to remain on the market for at least a decade if not more. In the meantime, we can make 8 bit games, 16 bit games, 32 bit games and 64 bit games for it without having to limit ourselves when it comes to story or worldbuilding. In a way, this is kind of freeeing since our console can suit itself for any kind of game we want for the rest of the decade without limitation.
We won't have to bow to conventional wisdom when they tell us a console should only havve certain kind of games, since from the beginning it will be able to do all of them.
This is good, I have some game Pitches to work on.
GUNPEI: STRONG HARDWERE GOOD GAMES AND STRONG STORIES! NINTENDO WILL RISE AND YOU WILL ACCEPT US AS EQUALS AND TITIANS OURSELVES!
Miyamoto: Hey can you guys help us make a Tie In Anime for something called Zelda?
Yamaguchi: Eisner.
Mike: Yamaguchi...how are sales?
Yamaguchi: They enjoy my companies work, tell me, do you wish to have brunch and discuss a deal, we've been talking with Sony, but they've been unusually preoccupied, so I wanted to see what you were interested in?
Thank the Lord that Disney was only releasing DuckTales on Disney Channel because you're not sure how LucasTV would have been able to handle it being on one of the Big Four. You take great pride and joy in what Hanna-Barbera has produced and do on a personal level prefer the New Scooby Doo Adventures or The Nguyens to Duck Tales, but there's a good reason why so many are saying it's the best children's show on the air, it's just so damn good! A faithful adaptation of the highly beloved Duck Tales comics, the show sees Donald Duck's nephews go on adventures with their Uncle Scrooge along with Donald himself and new friends such as Webby Vanderquack, Launchpad MacQuack, and...Daffy Duck as Cousin Daffy (Explained to be on Scrooge's other side of the family)?! Each episode usually revolves around the ducks being on adventure in search of treasure or ancient mysteries, often battling various villains seeking to steal Scrooge's fortune.
Ever since Star Wars came to theaters, the Adventure genre has dominated screen and book alike as people try to replicate the magic and fill the human desire for journeys and wonder. DuckTales really stands up there as the pinnacle of the genre along the likes of Buck Rogers and Indiana Jones, just nonstop fun and wacky action really pushing the best of animation. It also helps that most of its episodes are some variation of an adaptation of the classic comics, with its writer being one of the Executive Producers, bringing the art and fun of the comic line along with some new concepts and ideas from a modern setting.
Every episode is just amazing from start to finish and the worst or weakest only gain such a title from having like a single flaw and 99% of the episode is still amazing. A fantastic cast of mallards all memorable and fun in their own right, including giving the triplets some distinct personalities and unique appearences beyond just different colors. Best of all to your enjoyment was the Daffy episodes, where he stole the spotlight while the show still remembered its leads and cast, adding his brand of goofy fun that can really drive an episode from 0 to 100 in an instant with no ability to guess where the plot would head. Stellar animation, great comedy, one could argue that this was peak Disney and it'd be hard to argue against them.
The show was the greatest success on Disney, and was perhaps its biggest push for the great subscriber climb as everyone wanted to watch DuckTales with the Ducks becoming the flagship of Disney Channel, helping to push it to 20 million subscribers by year's end. Duckmania was insane as DuckTales merch was definitely outselling Mickey merch at the parks and Disney stores while the Duck Tales comics were competing directly with the likes of Superman, Batman and Spider-Man. No matter what came to Disney the rest of the decade, the Ducks would be leading the charge. Perhaps it was only inevitable that the best weapon to fight against a Goose was a duck.
Had it not been for just the sheer awesomeness of Duck Tales, Chip N Dale would have likely been the most popular and beloved Disney toon. A fun fusion of modern cop shows and adventure serials, Chip N Dale sees the two titular chipmunks go on various adventures with their friends as part of the "Rescue Rangers" to save those in need and take on any crime no matter how small. It weirdly makes you think of it being Disney's Charlie's Angels, especially with Mac and Tosh of Looney Tunes fame taking on the role of Charlie of sorts. Chip N Dale does well in combining the best of its two inspired genres and like Basil of Baker Street, creates a fun and vibrant miniature world coexisting alongside the human world that our heroes venture into every episode. A really likable cast of memorable characters with strong personalities, fun and creative settings and cool action, what's not to like?
Hmmmm....maybe you should greenlight the Basil sequel soon.
Most definitely something you never could have imagined when watching the Jungle Book, TaleSpin is a rather odd choice of a spinoff with Baloo the Bear going from a happy and free ursine in South Asia into an adventuring bush pilot in what appears to be an African island in the late '30s. TaleSpin is perhaps the most reactionary of the Disney toons with it being made in response to the newly rising Adventure genre which was dominating fiction thanks to Indiana Jones, along with the heavily popular "Tales of the Golden Monkey" on ABC. For the most part the series is fine and fun with a likable cast of characters and exciting animation with consistently high quality action scenes, most especially the flying with Baloo giving Launchpad MacQuack a run for his money as a pilot. You have to give credit in that the show does in a sense perfectly embody the old Adventure Serials with it being a consistent favorite in the Lucas household for obvious reasons. Unfortunately its lack of a central focus along with a grounded setting leaves it often out of the spotlight in comparison to Duck Tales or Chip N Dale. Still, it's a fun experience for people wanting adventure stories and there is another season in production with rumors of a tale spin coaster for one of the parks.
Definitely the weakest of the Disney toons, Loonatics Unleashed was the strangest concept, somehow weirder than Baloo being a Bush pilot. Instead of having the first Looney Tunes show focused on the Tunes, it was focused on their descendants in the 21st century who gain superpowers after a comet hits Earth and then fight crime as super heroes. Alright, the Looney Tunes parodying superheroes make sense, especially in light of their former cousins in DC's success, but basing a whole show around it, and not having the actual Tunes themselves star? It was a pretty risky and bold gamble, and while it probably hasn't reached the success Disney hoped, it did managed to stick a landing and find its own fandom as a fun little chapter of the franchise.
Had they gone with a super serious and edgy story played straight, it would have probably bombed. Thankfully, most likely through the influence of Warner vets, Loonatics is very self-aware and knows what its parodying, and thus while at times it can be serious and gritty like Batman, this is done through comedic parody as it kind of dissects the recent wave of superhero popularity and the many tropes of comics while adding a good ol' Looney twist with zany physical comedy and some clever dialogue at times. It wasn't perfect, but at least it felt like genuine Looney Tunes, helped by many elderly Tunes making cameos throughout the show. Considering the wide slate of Looney Tunes content Disney announced, it's not like fans will be dry of material for years to come, and there are many kids who are growing up and having a good time, so you guess there's no harm done.
So this is largely like it was IOTL, but actually doesn't take itself completely serious? I think this is somewhat better than OTL's show. How long does it last?
Anne of Green Gables
Quality: 44+300=344 Audience: 87+300=387 Critics: 96+300=396
In addition to its four main "Disney Toons" there were two Japanese imports on the Saturday morning block with reruns in the afternoon. Anne of Green Gables from Nippon Animation and Touch from Group TAC. At first you considered this just to be a distribution stunt to try and recreate Gundam, but you became very concerned after a trip to Dreamworks when the Japanese animators warned you that Disney had some of the best anime in their lineup, and boy were they right.
Growing up, Anne of Green Gables had been a favorite book of yours like a laid back and calm final chapter to the Western genre. You had been in the mind to do some sort of project for it, but never got the motivation to follow through. Now you might never will as the Anne anime has sort of cemented itself in the minds of many as the definitive version. It's a pretty faithful adaptation that highlights the best of the book along with some new stories, and the animation while not movie quality like Sunrise, is still a beautiful show that brings warm and nostalgic feelings of classic Disney animation, which is ironic with its eventual distributor in the US. The stories are heartwarming and magnificent, reminding you a lot of Little House and the Prairie at its peak.
Audiences and critics fell in love with the show and Japanphiles, or Weaboos as they are called for some reason, are stoked that there's another venue for excellent anime besides LucasTV. Admittedly, Disney chose well by distributing one of Japan's best works in slice of life and drama which showed the full potential of animation as a medium for serious and grounded storytelling, and admittedly Sunrise has mostly been focused on various forms of fantasy and action. Although it is slightly frustrating that chronic Lucasfilm critics point to Anne as a right example of how to keep animation family focused, even though Anne absolutely did not shy away from the book's more mature themes and stories.
WHY?! Why is it always Disney that can do no wrong?!
With the anime's success, it has brought Anne of Green Gables back into the public consciousness and it's now appeared on many school reading lists overnight. Disney has also done its best to make Anne a Disney character of sorts by managing to negotiate with Nippon to have Anne be a permanent fixture of the Canadian Pavilion at EPCOT, which Canada was more than happy with since Anne was first and foremost a Canadian character so it was a nice bit of national pride for the country. You have a feeling you'll see many Anne reruns on Disney for years to come.
Also, you got some messages from Sunrise that Anne's successful western distribution combined with its existing popularity has sparked a debate within Sunrise on whether or not they should animate Shoujo original stories and manga, not just female-lead like Miraculous, but shows fully in-line with the traditional genre.
The second Saturday morning anime, Touch was an adaptation of the manga by the same name following two twins and their best friend as they try to follow their dreams in sports, and navigate the mess of adolesence, made all the more confusing by a love triangle between the three. Considering Touch was breaking manga records and was selling millions per year along with being competitive with Zeta Gundam, it was clear that Touch was something special. Yet its performance was still stunning as it was the second most popular program on Disney Channel, just behind Duck Tales.
Its success can be attributed to Touch hitting so many genres and niches that were super popular right now. America was obsessed with Japan, Touch showed a slice of life story set in suburban Japan and your average Japanese youth experience. America was obsessed with sports, the main characters are all involved in their own sports with baseball being a central focus. Romance fiction was seeing new heights of success, we have a sweet and heartfelt love triangle that motivates the audience to watch and pick sides. It offered a lot of new experiences in animation that Americans weren't familiar with in the cartoons of old and did it with a great cast and awesome stories. While you can't say animation was consistently artistic, when it shined in the drama or sports highlights they really put in the effort.
For your personal take, why Touch was most successful was because it told an authentic-ish teenage story. Unlike your average American show where teens are an afterthought or a plot device for wacky shenanigans in family sitcoms, in Touch they are the main focus and it shows all the highs and lows of growing up in relatable storis that go past the culture barriers and when written with likable and endearing characters, it makes for a show that kids growing up can really get and relate to. Add in all the other factors, and it's no wonder it's a hit. It certainly grabbed Joe's attention who is utterly fascinated with a sports cartoon of sorts.
While it didn't hold the same popularity and social spread as say Gundam and Pacific Rim, Touch did reguarly see more than 10 million viewers and was considered a popular series with kids, while at the same time being considered Disney via association. Critics have consistently given Touch high praise as an endearing tale of adolesence and great showcase of Japanese culture. Some kids get more interested in baseball. Also strangely, Minami like Sayla explodes in personal popularity and is considered a quentessential childhood crush, although that makes sense considering she's a literal girl next door and holds a lot of qualities you see in Mary Jane from Spider-Man.
In late 1983, the Touch manga would see an English release in the US where it sold competively with Marvel Eclipse and works from DC and Charlton. With its success, a growing topic within the world of animation is how they can do a sports show and not repeat the mistakes of the Globetrotters cartoon. Hanna-Barbrea believes they have the answer, or at least one potential answer, stressing that you meet with them when you return to approve production of an Olympic cartoon.
Lupin the Third Part 2
Quality: 68+300=368 Audience: 95+300 Critics: 36+300=336
While Disney may be okay with anime on their channel, it's clear they want to do venture into more mature anime the likes of Dreamworks and Sunrise, but at the same time the Disney image prevents such material from being Saturday morning material. With Disney Channel prime time set for "Disney Night time" to rerun movies and a lack of primetime shows, there were limited opportunities to support such. Still, Disney persevered and created an anime-exclusive lineup named Jetix (What the heck does that mean?) to show new anime episodes geared towards more mature stories on Saturday nights. The lead of this lineup and star was Lupin the Third.
Having already struck gold with Castle of Cagliostro, Disney was eager to follow up on Lupin, and fortunately Part 2 came around which managed to remove the uncomfortable edginess of Part 1 and make it an excellent comedy and wacky adventure series. Everything that was great about Cagliostro is present here and while the obvious draw is the cool heist and adventure stories, the dubbing cast managed to really outdo themselves and turn what was already a funny script into one of the most hillarious shows of all time with their translations which even if not 100% authentic, elevated the lines and made it more relatable to American audiences. It's easy to see why the franchise has become so iconic in Japan by just watching a single episode, and overnight Lupin III has managed to become more famous then his original namesake.
Lupin III while facing confusion and occasional disapproval from critics, was wildly popular with audiences and achieved a respectable 5-10 million viewers per new airing. Had it been syndicated on LucasTV then you suspect it could have been a Top 30 Nielsen material, with its performance in Disney only limited by the brand and Disney's smaller viewer pool. Audiences generally felt Lupin III was an amazing heist series and exciting adventure with favoritism for the memorable cast, great voice acting, hilarious comedy and exciting action. It may not have had the pure cinema of Cagliostro, but damn it was a fun show.
You hoped that perhaps somewhere down the line you could find an opportunity to work with Lupin III like how Lucasfilms distributed the live action film so many years ago. But the end of the decade would cement Lupin being an unofficial Disney icon when the 'Lupin III Epic Stunt Spectacular!' opened in Disney World's Hollywood Studios and became an instant icon and must see attraction for the park. Darn you Miyazaki!
Wait, so Lupin the Third is a Disney show? This should yield interesting results. Also, I have a suggestion. Make Disney Prime Time a block for shows like this, while we leave the Jetix brand to the kiddos and make something else. Or.....we could make say, a different block for the kids and Jetix for the more mature shows.
Space Battleship Yamato
Quality: 24+300=324 Audience: 56+300=356 Critics: 44+300=344
Considering the moon landing is coming up in two years, Zeta Gundam's supremacy on the airwaves and Return of the Jedi coming out, you would have expected Space Battleship Yamato to be the most popular "Disney anime". However, while well liked, it doesn't appear to be held in the same league of adoration and fandom as its children, most likely through a combination of older animation that can age roughly in some spaces and a more bleaker setting. As dark as Sunrise could get, they never got close to Yamato starting off with Earth dying thanks to radiation bombardment and humanity only having one year to live. Still, one cannot deny the excellence of Yamato's storytelling and its rich cast of characters, and the space combat scenes while not Star Wars level, are gripping engagements. When watching it, it's quite easy to see where Gundam and Macross descended from, and you can respect Yamato for starting so many trends and innovations in Japanese Sci-Fi and being bold in its presentation. Space Battleship Yamato may not be anywhere close to its domestic popularity in the States, but many Americans are no aware of it and are fans, and that's a win for Japan.
Mazinger Z
Quality: 48+300=348 Audience: 88+300=388 Critics: 29+300=329
Unlike Yamato, Mazinger Z had no trouble achieving the same relative popularity as its spiritual children and proved why it was the OG of mecha anime. While some critics said the plot was stale and simple, audiences didn't care as they fell in love with Mazinger Z for the same reason as Godzilla, cool monsters and awesome fight scenes. Seeing the Mazinger go all out against the Hades Robots was awesome to watch every time and you can see a lot of influences that would later go to Pacific Rim. Sure it may not have been the most epic story, but it was a fun show from start to finish and showed that super robots are really super and can stand just as tall and proud as real robot. Though it was liked for very different reasons, everyone agreed that Mazinger was in the same league as Gundam, making Disney very excited to distribute the sequels in the future.
Speaking of Super Robot, apparently Marvel before being bought out worked on some live action superhero shows for Japan. Something called Super Sentai? Maybe you should give it a look.
Awesome! Hopefully Mazinger Z gets a better chance in the States ITTL. I could also see this being a staple of afterschool programming. Also, Lucasfilm's about to bring over Super Sentai, aren't they?
King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table
Quality: 89+200=289 Audience: 87+200=287 Critics: 96+200=296
Okay, why did no one from Dreamworks or Sunrise tell you that one of the best shows of all time was a King Arthur anime?! A retelling of the many Camelot tales with a focus on Arthur's rise to becoming King and forming the Knights, the anime straddles the line between faithful retelling and a sort of classic Disney-ish adaptation style that makes it more family friendly and turns it in different directions from the original material. No matter what is written down, it can't be denied that the anime perfectly encapsulates the spirit of Camelot lore and delivers a truly epic adventure and grand opera tale so great that it may be a definitive version for King Arthur, it's certainly leagues above Sword in the Stone.
Toei Animation may not have the same working conditions as Sunrise, but they somehow managed to create a masterpiece that feels like it should belong to Sunrise on quality alone, something that makes sense considering Sunrise did a number of co-productions with Toei before you bought them out. The animation is gorgeous, smooth, vibrant, cinematic. The action is exciting and epic. The characters are iconic and play their roles perfectly for a great drama and grand story. It was a glorious spectacle and probably among the best non-Dreamworks animation out there.
Considering it was far more family friendly then the rest of the Jetix lineup, reruns of King Arthur would be played in the afternoons alongside the other Disney Toons, and as such it managed to be wildly popular with heavy critical acclaim as some of the best fantasy works in animation. Audiences most certainly love it and it's considered a peer to Black Cauldron with many kids playing their own adventures of King Arthur. The only thing that holds the show back is that its new episodes come first on Jetix and it's reruns are a secondary priority, likely internal Disney politics at play for fear of Sword in the Stone becoming irrelevant and not wanting greater competition to the Prydain trilogy in production. If Sunrise ever makes full blown fantasy anime, you suspect they'll have done so taking notes from King Arthur.
The Looney Tunes Go to Disney World
Quality: 26+250=276 Audience: 74+350=424 Critics: 13+200=213 VHS: $275,638,846
A two hour commercial, that was the most common derisive tagline that critics gave to 'The Looney Tunes Go to Disney World'. It was a sentiment you couldn't help but agree with, for while it was undeniable the movie was of high production quality, having originally meant for theaters, at its soul it was just one cinematic ad for Disney World and Looney Land at Disneyland. Yet while the critics harp and complain about the commercial, damn if it isn't a glorious nostalgia fest and a movie that any fan of Warner Bros and Disney Animation would die for just for the pure awesomeness of seeing so many characters interact with one another.
That really was the novelty of it, just two hours of glorious fanservice where everyone's childhood icons just interact with one another on the screen from all of the Disney and old Warner canon. Sure, the Tunes and the Sensational Six have interacted with each other lots of times by now through shorts, but it was another thing to not only have all of the Merry Melodies cast, but have cameos from every Disney character too, a first for Disney itself. Even if many characters only had a couple of lines or non-speaking cameos, seeing such a huge collective like Peter Plan flying with Dumbo, Eilonwy hanging out with the Disney princesses, or all the classic villains scheming together was a pure delight.
It was a beautiful love letter to old Warner Brothers, what they had been before the rotten state they died in the 70s, and a celebration of all things Disney. Taking the best of both companies animations, the comedy and chaos of the Looney Tunes with the magic and wonder of Disney into an awesome fusion that was just pure fun and joy.
Originally it was meant to be a theatrical release, but office politics along with LucasTV forced it to be the innagural movie on Disney Channel, to support both the Channel and Disney Home Video with the movie meant to mark the opening of the Disney Vault. In this measure it succeeded in both regards as the free trial of the first week meant over 50 million households watched the movie and it sold more than a quarter of a billion in VHS titles. A hell of a way to start a channel, and a brilliant move from Disney on the great chess war of animation.
Fortunately for Lucasfilms, you already had a veteran of crossover animations with Hanna-Barbera, and the definitive best work of animation with Gundam. As Bugs himself would say, 'This means war!'.
Hotel Transylvania Directed by: Phil Monroe, John Baker
Written by: John Dunn
Produced by: Andy Heyward
Production: Blue Sky Studios
Distribution: Universal Pictures
Starring: John Cleese, Cyndi Lauper, Michael J. Fox
Now you're not the type of man who usually prays for films to fail. People who made films that competed with Lucasfilms were only artists trying to chase their dreams, but you weren't afraid to admit a certain Schadenfraude at watching Universal fail and stumble for their past transgressions. With how painfully boring and mid Ice Age had been, Carrie referring to it as "One of the films of all time", you fully expected for Blue Sky to collapse and dissolve by 85 or 86. No one within Dreamworks took them seriously and the general public just thought of animation as Disney and Dreamworks. However, failure can be a humbling and learning experience and somehow Blue Sky managed to turn things around and managed to release not only a good movie, but a massive blockbuster that dominated the Halloween season and just may have curbed a bit of Shining's success. UGH.
So the film was about the famous Count Dracula, who in this rendeition was not a Romanian Revolutionary, but a Vampire who settled down with a wife and daughter. When humans kill Dracula's wife in the 19th century, the vampire becomes both embittered and protective of his daughter Mavis, transforming his famous castle into "Hotel Transylvania", a place where monsters can vacation and relax free from the dangers and stresses of the human world. Throughout the hotel and part of the wider cast, many famous monsters, most especially the classic Universal monsters reside and have leisure as guests, though there is some notable disgruntlement from the younger monsters over the castle never changing. In modern day, Dracula's daughter Mavis has become a young adult and yearns to explore the world and interact with humans, while doing his best to keep Mavis home, Dracula unknowingly attracts the presence of a human tourist and horror enthusiast named Johnny who falls in love with Mavis at first sight and vice versa through their "Zing". Thus Dracula has to keep Johnny a secret before the monsters find out and also deal with his daughter having her first romance, shenanigans ensue.
It was a really bad sign when you couldn't help but notice that the Croatian theaters had lines and packed theaters going to see Hotel Transylvania, and it was even more fervent in the film's setting of Romania where it was the number one film for October, the same country that was so devoted to Lucasfilms. You tried your best to tune the movie out and just focus on completing Conan, but you the rising profits, the continual praise, and the worrying reports from Dreamworks caused the film to tug at the back of your mind and be a partial stressor. When you finally returned home, you decided to see what all the fuss was about and went with the twins to see a showing to see if they could finally handle theaters. Mary wasn't included both because she was hanging out at a friend's house and she had a strong and stubborn hatred of all things Universal. You didn't know whether to be proud or concerned, though considering you made sure to not contribute a single cent to Universal by using your connections with the theater owner to let you and the twins in for free...yeah you might be part of the problem.
The outing was a success by all means as the twins enjoyed the film and they both behaved themselves and weren't bothered with the sounds, meaning they could join Mary for theater trips. Though the fact they enjoyed it was a win for Blue Sky, and damnit you had to begrudgingly admit it was a good film by all means. It was a state of affairs more than likely caused by Blue Sky's reported culture shift, great hiring of many animation veterans, and 180 hands off approach by Universal. You wouldn't put Blue Sky in the same tier of quality as Dreamworks and Disney, but Hotel showed they could compete.
What helped Hotel Transylvania to be a success was that it didn't try to copy its competitors. Hotel Transylvania didn't have the magic and wonder of Disney or the ambition and innovation of Dreamworks, but it was a really fun movie and knew how to play to its strength as a comedy and just overall entertaining family film. The story featured some cliche tropes and it was surely a kids film, but it wasn't ashamed of it and colored in the lines well with some creative direction and a really fun atmosphere and tone. At the same time, for the serious impact moments of the drama and romance, Hotel put in effort to keep it grounded and have impact so the whole film wasn't just a goofball script and you could still feel and root for the characters.
The animation really helps to add to the fun as instead of taking any anime or classic Disney influences, it harkens more to the Golden Age of animation with a style reminiscent of classic Looney Tunes and MGM. The animation is extremely fluid and fast paced which very exaggerated motion. This is thanks to a decent amount of animators on the film being veterans from those two classic studios, and it shows with a strongly zany physical humor reminiscent of the classics. The slapstick is perfectly timed and when it's combined with very clever and witty dialogue and character banter, everything just hits so well with treats for both adults and children.
You also have to admire the designs for the movie. Despite focusing very classic and recognizable monsters, most especially from the Universal line, the cast is given very distinct outlines and designs that play into the tropes but also make them stand out in a sort of fusion of modernism and gothic horror. It leads to plenty of fun gags playing on the genre and how the monsters act like normal people on vacation and how they fear humans. It's also hard to exactly describe, but despite dark colors dominating the pallete, the ones chosen and how they are positioned feel very bright in the same time thanks to the animation. Thus the movie is very stylized though it combines well its source material and tone.
While the story can be rather by the numbers, it's really carried by great characters. Dracula was a fun and goofy lead who while being the bumbling and overbearing Dad, comes from a place with a lot of heart and love for his daughter and fellow monsters which makes him a very likable hero of sorts, even if he does make a fair share of mistakes. As a fellow Dad, you really liked him and his backstory with his wife was some powerful stuff.
Johnny and Mavis are a pretty cute couple and each represent a different and relatable aspect of adulthood with Mavis being a naive and adventurous girl yearning to explore the world while Johnny is an easily excited and passionate horror buff whose still trying to find himself. They have some good arcs with Johnny being inspired to mature and take responsibility through helping Drac with the hotel, finding his calling through helping the guests, and Mavis starts to break free from her sheltered life and be more independent yet careful and patient. While they do have a very cliche love at first sight connection, you admire the film for how the conflict was not 'will they won't they', but rather how with both being very inexperienced teens stumbling a bit with Johnny's love of vampires leading him to fantasize Mavis and treat her more as an object while Mavis learns to trust others and not rush into life. They make each other better, and it's a sweet story. Though you have to strongly disagree with the whole "Zing" nonsense. Sure you and Carrie had a strong instant connection, but the best part of the two of you falling in love was how the relationship was built overtime and you formed a bond through shared experiences.
The rest of the cast is pretty fun, mostly serving as comedic foils for the main trio and delivering jokes, but overall a solid lineup of supporting characters and clever plays on the Classic Monsters. Blue Sky had also wizened up from Ice Age's failure in a voice cast and instead of automatically going for just generic A-listers for brand recognition, they mostly went for talented actors with distinct voices and great comedic senses, though a fair amount of star power still in the cast, such as how Cyndi Lauper played Mavis. She was decent for a beginner though she was probably chosen for her soothing voice. At least there were veteran actors on board with John Cleese doing a hillarious Dracula impression yet also playing into the dramatic moments really well. Frustratingly, Michael J. Fox was chosen to play Jonathan, and his performance really drove in just how much of a star he would become with great comedic delivery and doing a job well as the nerdy everyman of sorts. Hopefully you can keep him for live action film as Zemeckis is interested in him for a time travel movie.
There's also some interesting references to the Romanian War which Hollywood up until this point has been a bit unsure of how to approach due to its bloodiness and intense total war aspects. It's kind of an ever present shadow though rarely directed featured with how the brutality of the war basically reinforced Dracula's fears and paranoia and did the same for the monsters and their attachment to the hotel. Though when Drac and his friends go after Johnny, they are surprised to find how the human world, and Romania in general has embraced them since the war as heroes and great figures which lead into the resolution hinting at the monsters breaking the masquerade and the two worlds coexisting, which sort of plays into real ongoing embracement of horror in Romania with Vampires seen as a symbol of national pride and honor.
If you had to say one area that the film was weak in, it was its music. Special effects were decent, but for some reason the film opted to rely heavily on pop culture songs, which was a shame because when the Halloween theme that they set up for the Hotel was pretty spooky and neat. Though perhaps this was a major factor to Hotel's success as perhaps the most iconic scene of the movie is Mavis' birthday party where Johnny manages to lead Dracula, Mavis and the rest of the Monsters to dance to Thriller. Yes, that Thriller. WHY MICHAEL WHY?! It was a genuinely awesome and fun scene that matched the best of MTV and along with playing some role in pushing Thriller to Platinum, it also undoubtedly helped to push ticket sales. Sure you may have done such a thing first with Queen and Killer Queen, but oh boy it was frustrating. Well, at least it was cute to watch Sarah and Joseph dance in their seats to it.
Hotel Transylvania would mark itself as the first true blockbuster since the release of Return of the Jedi with near $600 million globally. To Hollywood, it was as if Luke's X-wing had fired its proton torpedoes into the Return's Death Star, restoring hope to the galaxy....yeah this is why you leave the Star Wars metaphors to George. In addition to it topping the domestic box office for weeks until the arrival of Dune, it had a surprisingly robust foreign performance and had great turnout in the free markets. From personal experience it seemed to fill a third of the theaters in Yugoslavia, and within Romania it actually reached more than $40 million with Romanians happy they had a film about their country that wasn't about misery and suffering and paid tribute to their monstrous hero in a fun light.
Aside from Hotel Transylvania being just an entertaining and funny animated movie that did all the marks well, it seems that one reason for its massive popularity was the fact that it was a family film in a year severely lacking in G and PG movies. So far with Star Wars in theaters, the studios sans Disney were saving their general audience films for next year so people would be drawn to the adult films that theoretically have nothing to do with Star Wars. Hotel Transylvania filled a much needed niche at a time when most people had seen Return of the Jedi as much as they wanted and wanted something fresh at the theaters, especially little kids. This also brought to mind a debate that had been ongoing in Lucasfilms for a couple of years, the tone of your works. It's not like anybody wanted to go full Disney, but admittedly most of your works were targeted towards adults and at most teens, even Dreamworks tended to be adolescent orietnated. LucasTV was balanced, but even then it was mostly thanks to Hanna-Barbera's presence. You know, you wouldn't mind making stuff specifically for the kids.
To the eyes of critics, while Hotel Transylvania didn't carry quite the same prestige as a Dreamworks creation, it did legitimize Blue Sky Studios in their minds and many of the cartoon puritans were happy for a return to simpler animation storytelling. Praise was given to the setting and the creative depiction of the Universal monsters, the voice actors performance and their chemistry, the heart and the very fun and zany animation style that had been absent from animated films for some time.
So yeah, Blue Sky is for better or worse here to stay, and Sid wasn't shy in letting the world by New Years that a Hotel Transylvania 2 and 3 had been greenlight. A bit ambitious, but with such profits more than understandable. At least their slow and steady approach meant that they would most likely only pump out a few films by the 90s which left so many openings for Dreamworks and Disney to still dominate, nevermind their supremacy in television and anime. One can only wonder how their next film, The Boss Baby will do.
Nah. I think Blue Sky could be a bigger player. I have some ideas.
I also think that the animation scene should have more bigger players than just Disney and Lucasfilm.
We also need a new studio to replace Warner. In fact, what is United Artists doing?
As for an idea for Columbia:
UPA, or United Productions of America, should be revived as an animation studio. The Ghostbusters and Karate Kid animated series would probably be made via UPA, as well as some other animated films and stuff. Any ideas for UPA? The DCAU and other DC animated adaptations will also be made under UPA as well.
There's no need for that.
