Horror Blogs Part 1: A Nightmare on Elm Street

    Hello everyone and welcome to the first blog in my Horror Blogs series. This series will feature game reviews, thoughts, and experiences involving games of the horror genre. There are a ton of games that fall into this genre from the Atari through the Sony Playstation and Nintendo 64. There is no way I will be able to tackle them all between now and Halloween, so chances are good that next year I'll be doing this blog series again with different games. This series is not just going to be a review series. It will be a series in which I share my thoughts and experiences on the games that I am looking at. In some cases I may even bring some comparisons to a games respective movie if it has one. Speaking of games based on horror movies, the first game I will be taking a look at is based off the popular movie, A Nightmare on Elm Street.

****MOVIE AND GAME SPOILERS AHEAD****

    One two Freddy's coming for you.... A Nightmare on Elm Street on the Nintendo Entertainment System was unleashed in North America in October of 1990. Six years earlier, Wes Craven wowed audiences with a horror movie called A Nightmare on Elm Street. The plot of the first movie in a nutshell is that a child killer by the name of Fred Krueger gets killed by the parents of Elm Street. Despite being killed, Freddy is able to appear in the dreams of the children of Elm Street where he can do whatever he wants with them, including killing them. If Freddy kills a kid in their dream, they die in the real world in the same fashion. For example, the first teenager to die gets cut up by Freddy and thrown around. As Freddy is doing this in her dreams, the damage is being done to her in the real world. This style, for the most part, is what dominates the Nightmare on Elm Street movie franchise. The question is, how did it transfer into the game?

    That's a topic that everyone has their own opinion on, and here is mine. In the game you play as one of the teenagers on Elm Street and you're task is to search the houses, school, etc of Elm Street in search of Freddy's bones. On the top of the screen there is a sleep meter. As you play the game the meter falls and eventually you fall asleep. In the dream world the game continues as usual until you hear an 8-bit rendering of Freddy's song from the movies. When the song ends Freddy attacks. If you manage to fend him off, the game continues as normal. While the sleep meter naturally drains, you can replenish it by finding coffee, one of the things the teens in the movies continually make use of to stay awake. While in the dream world you can find a boom box to wake you up. I guess that is supposed to simulate an alarm clock or something. Not sure...

    I think it's a pretty good system that the game has as far as the transition from awake to asleep. In the movies it's so seemless that you can't even really tell when the characters slip into a dream until it is obvious they're in one. Beyond that, the game runs into a challenge. As you wander Elm Street and it's many buildings you run into a lot of well, lackluster enemies. Some of these enemies include snakes, bats, rats, and Frankenstein's monsteresque zombies. I feel like these types of enemies were overly common in older horror games, so I guess it works. In the dream world the enemies are similar, but some of them gain Freddy heads or look simply creepier. Even though they are lackluster I feel like I can give it a bit of a pass because in the movies, Freddy is literally the sole enemy so any additional enemies in the game wouldn't be the same as the movies. I mean I guess they could have had like random street thugs or something, but the typical creepy animal enemies and zombie looking guys work just fine.

    Where the game lacks the most I think is in it's music department. The sound effects of getting hit and what not are alright. It's the NES so I don't expect a whole lot, but outside of the opening screen I have no idea where they were going with the music here. If you've ever watched A Nightmare on Elm Street, you know that the music is so haunting and creepy that it can send chills down your spine. Well, the music in the game is pretty much the exact opposite. It is generally upbeat. At times it tries to be more creepy, such as during boss battles, but it sounds more like an underground level in a Batman game or something like that. Whatever it is, it does not sound like music that should be in a Nightmare on Elm Street game. There is one point where the music fits perfectly though. If you stay in the dream world too long Freddy's song will start playing. It's actually a pretty cool 8-bit rendition and while it may not have vocals, it still gives that feeling of desperation to wake up.

    I find it interesting that this game is called simply A Nightmare on Elm Street. Based on that title you would be led to think that the game is based off the first movie. In reality though I find that it has more in common with the third movie, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors. The first movie featured one main protagonist in the form of Nancy Thompson, but Dream Warriors featured a small group of teenagers that Nancy was mentoring in controlling their dreams to combat Freddy. In the NES game you can play with up to four people. Yes, four people in an NES game playing at the same time.  Another interesting note is that during Dream Warriors, Nancy's father aids in an effort to round up Freddy's remains at the town car dump. The main objective in the buildings, as I mentioned before is to round up Freddy's bones. There is also a junkyard that the player ventures into as well in the game. The difference here is that in the game you burn Freddy's remains in the school rather than bury them in the junkyard. Perhaps the most interesting note though takes place in the dream world of both the game and Dream Warriors. In Dream Warriors, the teens, despite being in Freddy's world find a way to gain dream powers. The game is the same as the teens are able to find different powers in the game. All of this pushes me in the direction of this game actually being based on the third movie as opposed to the first. Not sure why they just named it A Nightmare on Elm Street, but whatever.

    So overall I have to say that I like A Nightmare on Elm Street a lot. Is it the best horror game? No. Does it pay good homage to the movie it's named after? I think it plays more to the third movie in the series. I also think that a different, creepier music score, at least in the dream world, would have made for a much better atmosphere. I think the gameplay is pretty straight forward, the controls are responsive to the point where I never really had an issue, and the boss battles, while generally following a pattern are certainly something I could see Freddy doing. I think the sleep meter is fine and the transition from the real world to dream world and back again, are all fine. They take a few seconds, but it isn't really annoying or game breaking. Just enough time to take a deep breath is all. At the end of the day the game I think sits in that category of an alright game. It doesn't do anything spectacular for the time and it really doesn't do much wrong either.

    One final word on this game is it's developer. While LJN was the publisher, and the game is widely known as an LJN game, Rare actually developed it. This is one of several games for the Nintendo Entertainment System that Rare quietly went about making back when they're biggest claim to fame, or infamy was Battletoads.

    Thank you for reading. I know this blog was in a bit of a different style so I apologize if it wasn't what you were looking for. Don't worry though, Horror Blogs will continue and the next game that I will be taking a look at is a bit of a revisit, Clock Tower.

 

Opinion: Pokemon: Which Generation Rules Part 2: The Pokemon

Hello everyone and welcome to part two of a blog that takes a look at the generation of Pokemon that I believe rules them all, generation two! Last time I looked at the games that came out in this generation in regards to what they brought to the series and why I love them so much. Today will be a continuation of that blog as I take a look at some of the more influential Pokemon that came out in that generation. Before looking at those Pokemon I want to just reiterate one of the biggest changes in these games was the introduction of two new types, Dark and Steel. Today these two types are quite powerful when combined with other types such as Psychic or Ghost. The combinations have gotten pretty crazy including the Dark/Ghost typing that literally has no weakness. Fortunately though the only couple of Pokemon with that typing are not that crazy to deal with. In generation two though, the Steel and Dark types were a bit more tame. That being said I may address a Pokemon or two that had it's type changed from Red/Blue/Green/Yellow to Gold/Silver/Crystal. So without further delay, lets look at some of the more interesting Pokemon that generation two brought to the game.

#81 Magnemite/ #82 Magneton

    In the first generation, Magenmite and Magneton were both pure electric types. They were weak to ground moves, resisted electric and flying, but everything else did normal damage to them. Being the first Pokemon to undergo a type change (and the only until the fifth generation where Rotom gained another form allowing for a new type) Magneton and Magnemite gained several resistances and a couple more weaknesses as well. It became even more weak to ground, which in generation two where abilities did not yet exist, was it's ultimate weakness. In addition to ground it became weak to fire and fighting as well. The trade off though is that it became totally immune to poison while resisting every other type with the exception Dark, Water, and Ghost type attacks. This significantly changed the way that Magneton was viewed and for me personally it pushed it to my go to electric type thanks to all those new resistances combined with a now sturdy defense and great special attack. 

The Starters

    I just want to note something about the starters in this game. The evolved forms of Chikorita (Grass), Totodile (Water), and Cyndaquil (Fire) all maintain the basic grass, water, and fire typing. This means the Gold/Silver/Crystal are the only games in which all three starters have one type and do not gain another. I just find that as a fun fact as every other generation has at least one starter that either starts with a second type or gains one as it evolves. 

#169 Crobat 

    Crobat is very interesting for a couple of reasons. On reason is that numerically, it is the first of the generation two Pokemon whose previous evolutions are from generation one. Crobat evolves from Golbat, but not by traditional leveling means. In the last blog I talked about how you could get Pokemon to like you more through a few different means. Well, once Golbat likes you a ton and levels up, it will now evolve into Crobat. The effort to raise Zubat and Golbat pay off huge here as Crobat is one of the fastest Pokemon in the game and can cause serious problems if left unchecked. Despite it's speed though it does still have the same weakish typing of poison and flying which means electric, psychic, rock, and ice all wreck it's day. At least ground types can't hit it...

The Babies

    

    I feel like starting with generation three there were just some Pokemon that just seemed like the creators ran out of ideas or something. That being said, generation two had a few Pokemon, that while cute and fun, just never really appealed to me. That being said, these Pokemon do serve a purpose in the greater Pokemon story since breeding was introduced in this game. I am talking about the baby Pokemon. Yes, Pichu, Elekid, Magby, and the rest are all cute, but outside of them being able to gain egg moves through specific breeding combinations, they really will never be the go to Pokemon. I guess that doesn't matter much since they evolve and in some cases those baby egg moves can be quite powerful. 

#196 Espeon and #197 Umbreon

    

    Gold/Silver/Crystal brought us two new evolutions of Eevee. The way you could evolve your Eevee into Umbreon or Espeon depended not on which stone you used, but what time of day you leveled it up with max happiness. If Eevee evolved during the day, it would become Espeon. During the night, Umbreon. Umbreon got the privilege of becoming one of the first Dark types, while Espeon joined a group of already strong Psychic Pokemon. Both are still incredibly popular in both competitive play as well as casual play alike. While Espeon focuses more on speed and attacks, Umbreon can become a tank capable of incredible stall and effect damage from poison and confusion. As straight Psychic and Dark types, the two only run into a couple weaknesses. Espeon gets put down by Ghost, Bug, and Dark types while Umbreon has a tough time holding up against Fighting, Bug, and as of Pokemon X and Y, Fairy. Speaking of Umbreon, it is totally immune to Psychic attacks making it a pretty big counter to Espeon. Odd how that turned out. Either way though, both are always an awesome option in and Generation two team!

#208 Steelix

      The first time I saw Steelix I went into a panic. This thing I thought meant serious business. Then I calmed down and realized that at the end of the day, Steelix just looks really cool. It's the evolved form of Onyx and much like it's previous evolution, has glaring problems. First off, Steelix has an odd typing of Ground/Steel. While the Steel typing removed it's weakness to grass, it was only replaced by fire. It also picked up a weakness to fighting. The combination of Ground and Steel did give it complete immunity to both poison and electric, but in these games, there were not many effective poison moves to begin with. Steelix was and is still great on defense, but much like Onyx, doesn't deliver the attacks it looks like it should. Nonetheless, Steelix is certainly a Pokemon that everyone remembers first appearing in Gold/Silver/Crystal. 

#212 Scizor

    Both Steelix and Scizor actually evolve from their previous evolutions in a new manner that debuted in the second generation of Pokemon games. In order to evolve Onyx into Steelix, or Scyther into Scizor, you needed to trade the respective Pokemon while it was holding a metal coat. Unlike Steelix, Scizor was and still is one hundred percent worth the effort in obtaining. It keeps Scyther's Bug typing, but adds Steel to the mix. This strong typing bears weakness to only fire. It's surprising speed and power along with a pretty good defense has made Scizor a force to be reckoned with since these games were released. 

#227 Skarmory and #242 Blissey

    Few combinations of Pokemon are as famous as the duo of Skarmory and Blissey. Right from the first time these two Pokemon were seen they had a solid purpose. Defense. These two on the same team used to be nothing short of a nightmare. Skarmory, with it's Steel/Flying type had one of the best defense stats in the game and boasted eight resistances (nine today) and immunity from both Ground and Poison. Access to Curse, Whirlwind, and Drill Peck made this bird very hard to deal with. On that same page Blissey boasts one of the best Special Defense stats in the game while having one of the highest HP totals in the game as well. Blissey has access to moves such as Heal Bell that help the team while also able to heal itself with Softboiled. Throw something like Toxic on it and it is a very large wall that can be a nightmare. Switching back and forth between the two given the situation can be overwhelming. Today their uses have dropped a bit, but both Pokemon are still far from useless.

The Legendaries

    To wrap up this portion of the blog I just want to mention the legendary Pokemon in this game. While Raikou, Suicune, and Entei are basically dog versions of the legendary birds, they do have something special about them. These were the first roaming legendary Pokemon. They would randomly run about the world map. Running into them was pretty much up to chance. In addition to them we have Celebi, which is basically this game's version of Mew, and the two new legendary birds, Lugia and Ho-oh. Ho-oh is another fire-flying type and is the Pokemon that Ash sees at the end of the first episode of the anime. Lugia on the other hand is known as the guardian of the sea and had a major role in Pokemon the movie 2000. In the game it boasts a strong special defense and defense, making it virtually the perfect single Pokemon wall. That is something that has remained fairly consistent to this day.

    Well there you have it. Those are what I think are some of the most noteworthy Pokemon that were introduced or fixed for Pokemon Gold, Silver, and Crystal. I'm sure there are others I did not mention that had an impact as well, but these are the ones I remember the most and in some cases are still the ones I gravitate to. With that being said I just want to say one final thing.

    Pokemon is a series that has continued to expand and grow. Is generation two the best? I think it is personally, but I honestly can't say that that's fact. Other generations brought all kinds of new stuff to the table. In fact Pokemon has become quite complicated over the years and now things like EV training and IV breeding are huge deals and new forms and mega evolutions seem to pop up everywhere. For me though, if I had to pick one last Pokemon game to play it would be one of these three. With a fantastic story, awesome new innovations from the original, and a slew of really cool new Pokemon, Gold, Silver, and Crystal are the generation of Pokemon that in my opinion, rules them all. 

    As always, thanks for reading. I love the Pokemon series of games as a whole so be sure to check back for more Pokemon blogs in the future. For now though I am prepared to begin my Horror Marathon! Expect the first of these blogs to be out around the middle of the month and for them to be pretty regular from there on. The first game I will be taking a look at is A Nightmare on Elm Street for the Nintendo Entertainment System!