Separate names with a comma.
What? Look, this kind of topic was forthcoming from me. Anyways, these are all my opinions of course. Course, I'm pretty sure only a handful of people will get this, but let's go for it. Obvious one is obvious. Twilight Sparkle/Hiroshi Tanahashi Let's go over the checklist, shall we? Main Character, perhaps even the primary main character - Check, Twilight is Twilight, and Tanahashi was in such demand by the fans that his match vs Nakamura for the IWGP IC Title at an earlier Wrestle Kingdom got voted as the main event. OVER THE IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH. Being beloved by the fans and having a lot of friends - Super Check. Tanahashi's good friends with a lot of people, including his rivals. The only ones he really hasn't at least seen eye to eye with are well... Okada and all the random heel stables like Suzukigun(Currently in NOAH) and Bullet Club. While Twilight has had a bit of a polarization with being a Princess, she's still a lovable character, at least, in my opinion. Royalty - Check. Princess Twilight is Princess, while Tanahashi is one of the 'three kings' of NJPW, and possibly could make his case for being it's ace/number one/crown jewel. ------------------------ Rainbow Dash/Katsuyori Shibata This is where I would have made the Shinsuke Nakamura speech, but he went to WWE, so I have to find a replacement. Just like I'll have to do with Applejack/AJ Styles next time since AJ left for WWE also. That's all completely fine. Shibata is a beast and ultra competitive, and loves to beat up everything. Remember Dash's dream when she was fighting all the changelings? Yeah, that seems like a dream Shibata would have.. just substitute the changelings for opposing wrestlers and you got something realistic there. Shibata is also getting pretty popular with the fans for his no-nonsense style and his ability to kick your face off your head. Which is what I think getting hit with a Sonic Rainboom might do to normal ponies. No, seriously, kick him more. Anyways, yeah, this is the first of a three part series, mainly because I want to cover a pair of ponies and end part 3 on a trio.
Truthfully, I haven't worked on this on some time. But, I've been working on combining Wrestling and MLP for something. I don't exactly know what I'm doing besides making MLP characters on Fire Pro Returns for a save. Like this type stuff, where I've taken EQG attires and turned them into wrestlers for Fire Pro Returns. A lot of this stuff has been updated since then though. Full Roster So Far: Twilight Sparkle Rainbow Dash Fluttershy Pinkie Pie Rarity Applejack Sunset Shimmer Trixie Starlight Glimmer Princess Celestia Princess Luna Princess Cadance Derpy Hooves Spitfire Octavia Vinyl Scratch Lyra Heartstrings Bon Bon Berry Punch Maud Pie There's still a few others that I'd like to make, but with 500 Edit slots, I can make a lot... and I mean a whole lot of MLP characters for the game. What are some of your favorite characters that you'd like to see me make for the game?
I know, I'm late to the party since the season has finished, BUT LET'S GET THE REVIEW ON ANYWAYS. ROUND OF 16 BABEH, FOUR FIGHTS HERE, LET'S GO! #2 Icewave vs #15 Chomp Chomp's got a flamethrower. It's too bad Icewave cuts through it's metal shell like butter. Eventually it chops off a wheel and continues to decimate the competition. Didn't really last all that long. I feel bad for Chomp, but this is the power of spinner bots. Chomp can't move, and gets counted out. Winner by KO: Icewave! #5 Stinger vs #12 Warhead Stinger instantly runs at Warhead, colliding with his spinner, but he flips Warhead over on his back! Warhead moves around a bit because of it's spinner, but Stinger rams it, slamming it against the wall, putting it on it's side now! Warhead is able to right itself from it's side, though, and Stinger instantly pushes him into the wall again! Warhead gets flipped onto the screws, and gets bounced around by them. A piece of Warhead comes off as Stinger keeps ramming Warhead back onto the screws. Warhead somehow drags itself off the screws using it's spinning disc, and Stinger hits him over to the pulverizer area. Stinger runs over and gets hit, BACK WHEEL IS DAMAGED ON STINGER! Warhead, upside down, somehow flips Stinger, but Stinger rights itself! Stinger goes after him again, colliding with him, while Warhead is still trying to right himself. Stinger slams Warhead into the Plexiglass, and he bounces off, landing RIGHT WAYS UP! Warhead strikes at Stinger a few times, before a hit sends him on his back again! Stinger charges and slams him against the wall again, Warhead's back up! Stinger gets pinned against the wall, and Pulverizer STRIKES! ONE, TWO, THREE! Warhead hits the killsaw, but is able to go the remainder of the Distance! Winner, by unanimous Judges Decision: STINGER #7 Warrior Clan vs #10 Ghost Raptor Warrior Clan goes after Ghost Raptor. Ghost Raptor has nothing but it's wedge after looking it's weapon vs Complete Control. Ghost Raptor instantly hits a Minibot, jarring it for a bit. Luckily, it's the one with a flamethrower. Warrior Clan tries to get under Ghost Raptor to flip it, but misses and gets hit by the pulverizers, stopping it's spinner. Warrior Clan gets under, but can't lift him. Without it's main weapon it's going to be hard for Warrior Clan to come back. After attempting to push Ghost Raptor, Warrior Clan starts smoking a bit as it stops moving. In response, Ghost Raptor picks a minibot up and rams it against the wall. Ghost Raptor picks up Warrior Clan and slams him into the wall one final time before the KO. Winner by KO: Ghost Raptor #4 Bronco vs #13 Plan X Bronco and Plan X circle each other, then Bronco instantly flips Plan X upside down onto the screws, where it gets stuck and loses the fight, after a love tap from Bronco. Bronco is flippy man 5000, and Plan X is going goodbye. I think Plan X also lost it's brain too. Winner by KO: Bronco Two fights were really short, the other fights were kinda long, there were a lot of great moments, Stinger and Warhead gave us a great fight for this season. Ghost Raptor pulled a massive upset, and Bronco/Icewave pretty much dominated their fights like they should. This episode was pretty good, but not like Episode 2. Episode Rating: 8/10 Next Show: ROUND OF 16 FINISHES BABEH.
Instead of reviewing what I believe to be the weakest parts of the show(The filler information), I'm just going to make this a review of the robotic fights. We got four full qualifying fights(as well as highlights of four others), so let's get to it! So, let's start with the first one. "Death Incarnate" Tombstone vs "WEEE ORANGE BLADES" Counter Revolution. Tombstone has a lawnmower blade, while Counter Revolution has two spinning orange blades in front and back. .... Glorious Glorious murder. Counter Revolution comes out, and just gets tore up by Tombstone in record time. I can't state how amazing that was. THAT BOT'S GOT A FAMILY. Just... just watch the video. Winner: Tombstone by KO. "The Flipper" Bronco vs "Two Headed Magical Beast" Witch Doctor(and Shaman) Broncos a flipping machine from the minds of the team that made TORO, while Witch Doctor, has a dual minibot called Shaman that has a flamethrower. Bronco instantly comes out, and the minibot rams into him, but Bronco just gets Witch Doctor and throws him into the air! Bronco chases, hitting WD into the wall, but gets himself stuck. Shaman flames Bronco while WD hits him, jarring Bronco free. Shaman gets itself under Bronco's flipper, and lights him, while Bronco uses the flipper to shove himself away! Bronco flips WD again, and chases, flipping him over and on top of the screws, WD CAN'T GET BACK DOWN! Shaman is trying to light Bronco on fire, but the refs are counting down, as WD is the main bot, so it's getting counted out. WD can't get off the rail, so Bronco wins! Winner: Bronco by KO. "MIT DREAM" Overhaul vs "Aren't you just Diesector minus Hammers" Lockjaw Both robots begin ramming into each other, trying to shove each other into the screws and/or the walls of the arena. Overhaul's doing well for being the rookie team, and they actually lift Lockjaw onto his back. Lockjaw self-rights! Overhaul just rams Lockjaw into the walls multiple times! Lockjaw responds by grabbing Overhaul's right side! Overhaul gets out, but Lockjaw shoves him into the wall anyways! Lockjaw attempting to flip Overhaul, but cannot! Both bots continue to push each other around, Lockjaw almost gets flipped again. Enough Time for one more big shot, and Lockjaw rams Overhaul into the screws, flipping him over! Time expires, and Lockjaw hits him after the bell, to send a message. OVERHAUL'S TEAM IS ANGRY! It's Split Decision... and our winner is. Winner: LOCKJAW - Split decision! "Got a Present" Complete Control vs "I Got Spin Weapon" Ghost Raptor Yes, Complete Control has a present. Bot fight starts, and Complete Control's present hits Ghost Raptor, OUT POPS A NET. WHAT KINDA THING IS THIS. COMPLETE CONTROL'S TEAM IS TROLLING AGAIN. Ghost Raptor can't do anything, everyone complains, match is called. Complete Control says it's not in the rules, the rulebook gets checked, and even though it doesn't list the specific entanglement, the ruling is given in favor of Ghost Raptor. So there's gonna be a refight! REFIGHT! Complete Control goes against the box, hitting an inconsistency on the floor, getting hit upwards a bit. Ghost Raptor spins around Complete Control, but it's spinner hits a wall of the battlebox. The jar of Complete Control has made it hard for the bot to move, he's barely moving around. Ghost Raptor goes in for the strike, and loses part of it's spinner! Ghost Raptor lifts Complete Control, but can't do anything with that. Repeated lifting attempts, and Ghost Raptor gets hit with the Pulverizer by getting too close. Complete Control is facing the right direction and attempts to light Ghost Raptor on fire. Complete Control picks up Ghost Raptor and is shaking him, still bathing him in flames! Ghost Raptor's being held upside down now! Ghost Raptor gets free and re-rights himself! Ghost Raptor pushes Complete Control around for a bit longer, Complete Control eats a Pulverizer shot and the match draws to a time limit. So Judges decision. Winner: Unanimous Decision for GHOST RAPTOR. Remaining Qualifier highlights: Hypershock(W) vs. Mohawk, Radioactive(W) vs. Sweet Revenge, Chomp vs. Overdrive(W), Captain Shrederator vs. Stinger(W). And the four wildcards that make it to the round of 16 are the following! Wildcards: Witch Doctor Warhead Overhaul Chomp Four awesome fights, and one trololololol moment. Overall, a very good show, better than the first week. 9/10 See you next review where we show the bracket of 16, and begin the actual tournament.
Battlebots has risen in 2015. 24 Heavyweight Robots, only one can win the trophy. There's only one division, with faces old and new. Who will reign supreme? There are four fights on this episode. A cool intro, and then we go over the basics. 24 robots, 12 winners advance, 4 losers get wildcard spots to make the round of 16. We go into the Battlebox to get the new rundown. Saws, Pulverizers, Screws all made a return... Hellraisers, Spikes, and such didn't. Good, those weapons were horrible. Quick look at the back for the robots being built, and we get a video package of a spinner bot with a lawnmower-esque blade on it, Icewave, one of the bots competing today. After the video package, we get the rundown of the first fight, Razorback vs Icewave. The 'experts' give a tankish wedge-bot Razorback the advantage in 3 out of 4 categories, but you know how so-called 'experts' are. So, IT'S ROBOT FIGHTING TIME! Icewave vs Razorback Icewave comes out strong, spinning his blade at full speed, and connects with several hard blows to Razorback, cutting a hole through it's wedge. In fact, it rips the wedge right off to reveal the lifter arms! Razorback attempts to push Icewave, but Icewave is all about taking off parts of Razorback, ripping one of the lifter arms off too! One of Razorback's wheels comes off! Icewave continues the pressure, taking off more of his body, but Icewave's smoking now though, and the ref counts down Razorback for the knockout! Your winner, ICEWAVE! Winner by KO: Icewave Post match interview by Team Icewave - "I think my robot's on fire, I would like to go in there and put the fire out." Hype for Plan X, hype for Warhead(yes, that UK Warhead made by the Razer guys), commercial. We come back, Plan X, a unique looking bot from the mind of the girl who made Tentomushi, and Wrecks, the walker bot with a spinning blade. Plan X Package, showing it's... uniqueness... You really should see this bot, it looks fantastic. I mean honestly. Judges are putting them at 2-2. Plan X also has minibots, so it should be entertaining. Plan X vs Wrecks Wrecks looks good, but... honestly, his turning is garbage. He's not going to be able to compete with any other robot considering he can't turn to face them easily. That blade though hits Plan X who accidentally turns Wrecks into him, and cuts through Plan X's armor. Plan X gets behind and starts doing some damage with it's weapon, which I think is also a spinner, flipping Wrecks over. Wrecks' blade almost gets stuck in one of the spinner holes on the box, and runs into the screws, trying to right itself. But here comes the back of plan X, with a vertically spinning hammer. Wrecks finally rights himself though. Wrecks does a little bit of last second hitting, ripping a bit off of Plan X as we go to time over. Aggression, Strategy, Damage, and Control are the four things judges are voting on. Winner by Judges Decision - Unanimous decision for Plan X! Biteforce vs Warhead, oooooh. Warhead. Some Warhead hype, showing that the UK Razer team is looking at US Domination again. Anyways, I'm just looking forward to the fights, which the experts are putting them at 2-2 again. Here we go. Biteforce vs Warhead Biteforce comes out, instantly going around and shoving Warhead around from his side. Warhead's weapon is spinning, glancing Biteforce, but Biteforce just rams him into the screws, sparks flying everywhere. Warhead almost gets stuck on the spikestrip, but gets off. Biteforce keeps shoving Warhead around, then rams him from the front, sending Warhead up a bit. Warhead's spinner stops as Biteforce takes him around some more ramming him into everything. Biteforce goes after him again, trying to lift and flip him, but Warhead continues to stay upright. The round ends with Biteforce taking a few more pushes at Warhead. Warhead was pushed around from the very beginning, so it's obvious how this is going to go. Winner by Judge's Decision: Unanimous Decision for Biteforce! Time for the main event. Team Whyachi hype video. This is a feud years in the making, with Nightmare's loss against Son of Whyachi, which if you read my best of battlebots post, you'd know all about the controversial finish. To put it simply for you people, Son of Whyachi had extra weight because he was a walker bot which were allowed to have extra weight. Not to mention a crap obstacle called the 'Hell Raisers' rose and set Nightmare off his attack angle towards Whyachi at the start of the match, causing Whyachi to take off his wheel and get an instant KO. It's the revenge match, maybe. 'Experts' are going 3-1 for Warrior Clan and his minibot flamethrowers, but Nightmare's leading quality is his blade of death. Nightmare vs Warrior Clan LET'S GO! The Minibots swarm around Nightmare as Warrior Clan comes in, flipper first. Nightmare hits the flipper, and sparks fly! The Flipper is immediately messed up as a Minibot approaches, and gets some of the blade too, sent flying! Nightmare's blade meets Warrior Clan's other weapon, a blade of it's own! More Sparks! Minibot rushes in and IT EXPLODES DUE TO THE BLADE OF DEATH! Nightmare's running wild! Nightmare goes in for the kill, and bounces on the flipper, which apparently only has enough juice to work with Nightmare's bounce to flip him! GAME, OR IS IT? Nightmare's using his blade to spin around on the battlebox, moving forward! Nightmare continues to get good shots in while upside down, spinning over to Warrior Clan, hitting him, while trying to hit the wall and re-right himself. Nightmare's suicide driving sends him right into the Pulverizer, which hits him a few times! He continues to still move around, bouncing off the floor of the Battlebox. He runs right into the Screws, and goes up and over them, getting himself stuck against the wall! He gets counted out and Warrior Clan Wins! Winner by KO: Warrior Clan! Holy... crap. 3 Great robot fights and 1 good one, honestly, I was surprised. Battlebots is kicking it off super well from the start. I'm hoping the momentum can continue. If you are a fan of robots, you should watch this, because it's just as good as the old show, actually, probably a lot better then it, but that's just my opinion. Review Score: 9/10
I've decided to start breaking down/reviewing one of my favorite animes of all time. Saint Seiya was originally a manga started in January of 1986 by Masami Kuramada. October of 1986 it was turned into an anime for viewing. The story follows the Bronze Saints of Athena(five of them in particular), as they fight to protect Athena and save the world. I've always found this to be one of the most interesting animes that I've ever watched, and I'll try to do it justice. The episode begins giving an overview of the Saints, and a small description of how strong they are. They can break the ground with strikes. Then it shows the Saints of this story, all the Bronze Saints. Then the thing decides to give you a slight glimpse of the future as the episode title is shown. "A New Era Of Heroic Legends" Cutting to Japan, where some stray dogs eat out of a trash can, eyes glowing. Glowing eyes probably means EVIL... Except it doesn't, as they turn their necks to look at the main place of this arc. The Colosseum, where we get to go inside. We get to see perennial 6th man Unicorn Jabu(purple) fight against Lionet Ban(orange). Several strong body shots from Ban put Jabu on the chain ropes. You get to see the crowd react as Ban continues his ferocious assault. We get to see Saori Kido, the 'Goddess Athena' in a throne watching. Well, she's more of a reincarnation of Athena. Jabu looks up at her and gives a smirk. Backflip reverse by Jabu, getting behind Ban, kicking him away. Now Jabu takes to the offensive with strikes, a super huge punch takes Ban down. Jabu poses, because he's won. OR HAS HE. Ban's back up! Welcome to the Galaxian Wars, everyone. The Bronze Saints are fighting each other, to fight over the Gold Cloth of Sagittarius. Now, to state this, Bronze Cloths are the lowest cloth. Then there's the Silver and the Gold. The Bronze Saints are fighting to be the next person to wear the Gold Cloth. Saori is sponsoring the event on behalf of her grandfather, who is deceased. Pan to the Bronze cloths below the Gold cloth. Oh, there's a spot missing. Saori says Seiya is missing, and that he needs to hurry up and bring the Pegasus Cloth back from Greece. We go to Greece, where Seiya and some giant man are standing in the middle of another Colosseum. A masked man, the Grand Pope, is standing telling them they are the final two. Seiya says he's bringing the cloth, and is instantly nailed in the side by the giant. The giant then begins squeezing Seiya, saying that he, Cassios, will keep it. Cassios thinks that only a Greek should hold the cloth, not some kid from Japan. Marin, Seiya's masked trainer runs down to say Cassios attacked him when he wasn't ready, when it was unfair. Shania, Cassios's also masked trainer, looks at Marin and tells her Seiya should've had his guard up. She also tells Cassios to finish him. Cassios continues to squeeze at poor Seiya, saying he'll go slower to he can feel his body break. Way to have a mean streak, Cassios. Cue Marin shouting at Seiya. Cue Cassios trying to chop off Seiya's ear. FLASH... An ear lands on the ground, also Seiya lands on the ground, and he's still got both his ears. Cassios is on his knees, holding his 'non-existant' ear as he just lost his. Cue Cassios cursing at Seiya for taking his ear. Cue Shania looking back at Marin, monologue about Seiya actually seeming decently strong. Cue flashback of Cassios beating up Seiya when Seiya was more of a kid. Seiya tells Cassios to bring it, and Cassios rushes in. Jumping kick to the face from Seiya. Cassios questions how it's possible that he got strong. Cue Cassios getting beat down. Seiya spares his life because they both survived Sanctuary(the name of the place where they are), for six years. EVERYONE'S SHOCKED. Seiya just wants the cloth, Cassios says he isn't going to let some non-Greek take it. Cue Racist comment from Cassios, saying Japanese are not worthy to wear the cloth. Desperation strike and Cassios gets straight up blocked with one hand. Seiya tells Cassios he's not worthy because he's never felt the Cosmos in his body, relying on a Saint's physical strength. Another flashback, as Younger Seiya attempts to break a stone, fails, and Marin just crushes it in her hand. She says everything is made up of atoms. To destroy something means to destroy it at the atomic level. She tells him to focus his entire being into a hitting his fist on a single point of the stone. He breaks more then the stone, and the Earth also. She tells him about the big bang, and how the Saints use something akin to it, called Cosmos for power. Marin wants Seiya to explode his Cosmos to make it stronger. His guardian star is Pegasus... Oh, and he's fighting for the Pegasus Cloth. It all makes sense now. Back to current day. Cassios says if Seiya can harness the Cosmos then he'll hand him the cloth himself. Seiya's hands go through an attack motion, and Cassios runs at him like an idiot. Pegasus Meteor Fist! Cassios gets rekt. Seiya smiles, VICTORY. Seiya gets the cloth. The Grand Pope tells him it should only be used to defending and not for personal gain. Shaina isn't happy her guy lost. NIGHT PHASE! Seiya attempts to open the Box the cloth is in, but Marin's right there to tell him he should have a reason to open it. Marin senses something and bails, followed by Seiya carrying the cloth box. Apparently everyone's chasing Seiya to take the cloth back and kill him, because Shania said so. Neat. Marin explains this to Seiya as they keep running, then suddenly stops. Seiya falls over due to momentum, then gets up. Why did Marin stop... Oh. Shania's right there. Seiya questions her, wondering why she's doing this, he won fair and square. Shania asks Marin to hand over Seiya, or will Marin fight her. Marin says she doesn't owe Seiya anything and leaves. BETRAYAL? She goes and sits down, saying Seiya needs to beat Shania in order to go back to Japan. Shania comes down and Thunder Claws the heck out of Seiya. She goes for it again, he responds with Pegasus Meteor Fist! She blocking or dodging every single one. NICE GOING SEIYA! She hits him again with Thunder Claw, he goes flying, box goes flying away from him also. Seiya goes to attempt to open the cloth box, and he does! He then puts on the cloth, or rather, the cloth puts itself on him. After Seiya practices a few punches, Shania finally checks to see if Seiya's dead, and well... He's not. In fact, he hurts her with a practice punch. She asks where he is, and he's actually behind her, on a hill. Thunder Claw attempt, jump kick attempt by Seiya, and Seiya gets drilled again! Shania says the cloth is no use on a weakling like him and begins stomping him. He gets up, only to be kicked, commenting that the cloth is too heavy. How can it be that heavy when he was just using it. Marin with more exposition, saying the cloth needs his power and cosmos to work! Shania continues to beat up the Pegasus Saint. If Seiya has any doubt, then the cloth is nothing but heavy armor. Shania wants to know if he learned anything. Seiya says it's impossible, as he actually could never hit a woman. Marin's like 'YOU IDIOT, SHE'S TRYING TO KILL YOU.' Shania gets ready for a Thunder Claw to finish it, but then her guys hop in, and begin stomping on Seiya. Seiya gets up and smirks, as her guys are not female, so he beats up the scrubs. In fact, the shockwave of the punch cuts her mask, and it falls off. Seiya says he thought she would've looked devilish. Shania says next time, she will be wearing a cloth as well, because both Marin and her are Silver Saints. Seiya says he doesn't want to meet under those circumstances. Marin bids goodbye to Seiya and tells him how to get to Athens, he asks to see her face. NOPE, not gonna happen. Get a look at some of the other saints, and that's the end of the episode. Overall, I enjoyed the episode, as you got to have a decent breakdown of Seiya and what's going on... But I filled in a bit of the stuff not known in this review/breakdown. Cassios isn't exactly a memorable bad guy, but he's a good first start to show the strength of Seiya, and Shania helps him a lot in the end. This is a good opener, but it's definitely going to get better, as I know. Rating: 7.5/10
I know my last blog was on some of my favorite battlebots matches. Kind of ties together with this one. Robot Arena is a two-game series where the general basis is imitating Robot Combat. The game was released in February 2003, and is currently a dead series because no one bought the rights when Infogrames went under. At least that's what should've been. It should've been dead. Yeah right. So, the game has a pretty big fan community, both in the custom bots and IRL bots, like both Toe Crusher and Wedge of Doom seen here. These are AI bots, you don't get to play as them(unless you do a few bits of tweaking). Your thing is to make your own bot to compete against these bad boys. Most people will straight up make a heavyweight bot.... Mainly because lower weight classes are hard to make stuff for. Middleweight was a decent challenge to make a bot for, and lightweight... well... to put it simply, I only used 8 pieces and BARELY fit under the limit. Lightweight bot of Destiny. One battery, one control chip, two wheels, two engines on the wheels, the spike and the spike holder. It stabs like a champ, plus it still flips others over and can drive upside down. A lot of the lightweight bots either have some type of spinning attack, can flip others, or shove you around. Which means old Stabby Mcgee can actually do well against some of those bots. That's not it's actual name. The AI will attempt it's best to come and destroy you. Usually it battles straight up, not trying to pull sneaky tricks or anything. Sometimes a charging enemy will make you want to run for the hills, because it's got a spinning blade that will cut up your bot in an instant. I'm looking at you, Hazard. It's all about taking your shots or building a bot that can play defense so you don't have to move much. There's also some online play that you could attempt doing, but as a whole, it's a fun game that's worth a look. It's running for free at www.gametechmods.com where you can get both the vanilla and the DSL2 versions as full downloads, as well as several different AI packs(I'm using a battlebots pack). It's something fun and probably the best robot combat game made. Quick rating: 8/10
Battlebots, the US equivalent of Robot Wars, just finished up their second day of TV Taping, so in tribute, let's go to the list of awesome bot vs bot combat that happened in Battlebots. It only lasted 5 seasons, but they had numerous legendary moments in robot combat. Let's start with an obvious one, and one of my personal favorites. For the Heavyweight Golden Nut Trophy in Season 2, the final round. "The Lowest Skirts and Season 0.1(Long Beach 99)" Biohazard takes on "Season 0.2(Las Vegas 1999) and Season 1 Champion, The Immortal" Vlad the Impaler. Two lifting bots. The eternal battle. Arguably the Most Memorable fight in Battlebot history, the fight was all about who could get lower. Not even 20 seconds in, Biohazard flips Vlad, but Vlad rights himself with his new bar, the first time he's had to do that in Season 2. Vlad tries to charge and lift Biohazard for a push, but he can't get correctly under him. Biohazard attempts to charge and flip, and lifts Vlad up, but no flip. Vlad gets under, but before he can get a push, Biohazard gets off his lifter arm. Killsaws do some damage to Biohazard and Vlad lifts and slams him into the spike strip. They pace around, and Vlad drives over Biohazard. Another flip after by Biohazard, and Vlad rights himself once more! Vlad backs up near the giant hammer pulverizer in the corner to attempt to get room for a speedy strike, but Biohazard rushes! He lifts him up into the pulverizer. Several strikes by the Pulverizer, and... IT BREAKS in mid-strike! Vlad is able to get free and keeps charging Biohazard, but he keeps running over Biohazard instead of getting under him, and the time limit runs to zero, we go to the judges! Decision: Judges vote 27-18 in favor of BIOHAZARD, new champ! Post-notes: Gage says he's going to build a Superheavyweight, guess we'll see how good that turns out later in the blog. In fact, it's the next match, but a bit in the future. Season 4 - Superheavyweight Division Quarter Finals "The Robot Flipping Champion" Toro vs "Season 3 Champion, and Vlad the Impaler's brother" Vladiator Would Toro flip Vladiator enough? Vladiator comes out with his spike, but he hits a bump in the floor, jarring the spike. Toro comes in and rams it, and BAM, the spike is gone. Vladiator has no other weapon besides his pushing power now. Vladiator and Toro engage in a pushing battle. It's abandoned when Vladiator gets under Toro's flipper, but he runs off and avoids getting flipped. Though, against a bot like Toro, it's like fighting against time. Eventually Toro gets under him and flips him massively in the air, twice, spinning him. Luckily, Vladiator can work upside down and right side up. Toro continues to pursue and flip him, as Vladiator attempts to stay away. Vladiator tries to push Toro into the spike strips, but slides off. Vladiator continues to go at him like a raging bull, but Toro continues to either dodge or flip him. Vladiator's still got a chance if he can put him into the pulverizer, but no, Toro flips him into the wall, and he's stuck at an angle! Time expires, but we have what seems like an obvious judge's decision. Decision: Toro wins 32-13. Post Notes: This is the year that Toro would win the Superheavyweight Division, flipping the entire competition. Season 5 - Middleweight Semifinals "17-0 Undefeated 3-Time Middleweight champion" Hazard(Hazard didn't compete in Season 2) vs "New Flipping Arm" T-Minus. Let's talk about Hazard knocking out 2 bots in under a minute and winning a 43-2 decision over his quarterfinal opponent to talk about the domination he had. T-Minus got a new flipping arm to try to combat Hazard. Will it work? Both bots approach each other. Hazard's blades make a strike. T-Minus gets under, and lifts a skirt up into Hazard's spinning blades of death. One of the front skirts is stuck on the blade, so the blade is stuck! T-Minus is in disbelief, then approaches Hazard and flips him, ending the 17-match win streak! Everyone flips out! Decision: T-Minus wins by KO! Post Notes: T-Minus, he wins the division this year, yep. Season 3 - Round of 16 Heavyweight: "Vertical Death Spin" Nightmare vs "Horizontal Death Spin" Son of Whyachi The hit heard around the world. Both bots closed in on each other, the hellraisers shaking Nightmare but not hitting SoW. SoW gets his one hit and literally just tears Nightmare apart with one shot, knocking off a wheel and sending it flying. Some people consider the Hellraisers to be the reason why Nightmare lost, because he got knocked off his angle of attack, while SoW wasn't affected. You be the judge. Decision: Son of Whyachi wins by KO. Post: Son of Whyachi would win the Heavyweight division, defeating Biohazard in controversial Judge Decision fashion. However, the weight max bonus which was given to walker-bots, like SoW, would be limited in the next competition, making SoW a Superheavyweight. Season 1 - Round of 16 Lightweights "Lightweight Killer" Ziggo(Season 0.1's Kilobot/Lightweight champion) vs "The Phonebook" Missing Link This was the first fight of the Battlebots TV show on Comedy Central. Missing Link put on it's 'phonebook' at the end of it's weapon to absorb the blows from Ziggo. Missing Link charges in to Ziggo, using the Wooden Phonebook to poke at the Lightweight Killer. Not a good idea, but it seems to be working, but not as well as hoped. Ziggo is able to hit the edge of the pole, sending Missing Link spinning around, and gets it's wheel, knocking it off. Missing Link only has one wheel! Missing Link spins around in circles, and turns his back to Ziggo. Big Mistake, as Ziggo attacks, taking off it's other Wheel! Missing Link has no wheel, and after a bit of Killsaw abuse, it's all over. Decision: Ziggo wins by KO Post: Ziggo would then lose it's Quarterfinal match against Das Bot, as Ziggo would brutalize Das Bot, but ricochet during one of those attacks... straight into the spike strip where it got stuck to lose. Season 2 - Round of 16 Middleweights "Watch me Spin" Turbo vs "Seriously, don't do it." Buddy Lee Don't Play In The Street. Buddy Lee also had a lifter arm, but it was taken off for this battle because Turbo could damage it. Buddy Lee waits for Turbo to approach him at full speed, then goes at him. Buddy Lee keeps getting hit rough by Turbo, but stays alive, and keeps going after him. Full aggression by Buddy Lee. Repeated shots from Turbo cut up one of Buddy's front tires, but THE BOT JUST KEEPS COMING. More damage to Buddy Lee, as the tire comes off the axle, and Buddy keeps coming. Super aggressive Buddy Lee actually slowing down Turbo's blades with the strike, and pushes him around a bit. Buddy Lee keeps striking as the time expires. Judge's Decision. Decision: 28 to 17... Buddy Lee Don't Play In The Street wins! Upset here, Turbo technically was ahead on weapons shots and hits in general, but Buddy Lee wins due to his aggression. Season 3 - Heavyweight Finals: "Legendary Metal Skirts" Biohazard vs "Soon to be moved to Superheavyweight" Son of Whyachi SoW had a weight advantage going in, because of the max weight increase for all walkers. At the start, Biohazard charges Son of Whyachi, who takes off one of his front skirts. But that doesn't phase Biohazard, as he charges again, breaking one of the connecting bracing arms, and charges him into the pulverizer. Pulverizer just begins killing SoW, but SoW gets free. Biohazard tries to flip SoW, but almost does. SoW looks dead but revives himeself Biohazard looks like he can't move, and SoW somehow gets his spinner to spin again, taking off a side skirt off Biohazard. They start counting out Biohazard, but Biohazard REVIVES! Both bots reviving. Both bots having issues moving at the end, the refs begin counting. The ref counts out Biohazard, but they count him out early, as he moves right before! Big boos, big discussion, and they decide to call the Judge's Finish, even with 10 seconds on the clock. Decision: 29-16 for Son of Whyachi. Post: This is what I don't agree with, because I feel like Biohazard was the much better driver, and did something that hadn't been done before, slowing down SoW. Either way, it should've been much closer than it was, IMHO. SoW was bumped up to the Superheavy division and wouldn't be able to recapture it's Season 3 run. Season 3: Round of 32 Middleweights "Even shelless, I run" Turbo vs "REALLY?" Double Agent Turbo and Double Agent take shots at each other. Turbo knocks off shards of armor from Double Agent upon contact. Double Agent keeps rushing in, not allowing Turbo to spin up to full speed. One slight knock by Double Agent into the killsaws, sends the shell right off Turbo, sending it flying 5 feet into the air, and Turbo goes flying 2 feet up. BUT... BUT TURBO RUNS! Turbo is able to put Double Agent into the killsaws, and Double Agent goes flying too, but he still has his shell. Double Agent gets mad and pushes Turbo into the Pulverizer, and the Pulverizer begins murdering Turbo, to where Turbo cannot move, and Double Agent is called the victor! Decision: Double Agent by KO. Post: Double Agent would go into the round of 16 vs SABotage, and SABotage would come out victorious, making the Quarterfinals. This loss sent Turbo out of seeding position, and after an issue during Season 4's prelims where it couldn't move, it made a slight appearance on TV for Season 5, losing to Wrath Jr. Season 5: Round of 32 Superheavyweights "Liverpool, New York's" Final Destiny vs "Plow Mode" Diesector Final Destiny has a spinner on the top of it's long skirts. Diesector, normally seen with two killer hammers, currently has a plow and a lifting arm+New Attachement. Oh no. Diesector can get under Final Destiny. He lifts the skirts into Destiny's blades, and it rips off one of the skirts itself! He keeps doing it, and another skirt gets ripped off because of it! Diesector puts him on the killsaws too. He does it a third time, and Final Destiny's self-hurting technique gets it flipped on it's back! Final Destiny goes down and gets counted out! Decision: Diesector wins by KO Post: Diesector was actually Season 1's Heavyweight Champion. Final Destiny got ripped apart. Diesector would go to season 5's final where it would face... well... That match is actually next. Season 5: Superheavyweight Final "Hammertime Mode" Diesector vs "Ramp Mode" Vladiator Diesector charges Vladiator at the beginning, swinging it's hammers wildly, giving him multiple shots as he slams him into the wall. Vladiator gets off, but Diesector continues to push and hammer him into the wall. Vladiator slams into Diesector, catching it and flipping it. But Diesector can run inverted, but keeps making strikes at Vlad, as Vlad attempts to escape the bezerking Diesector, and picks him up, ramming him right into the wall! Both bots keep ramming into each other, and suddenly... they call it. With 1:36 left on the clock. Why? Apparently Vlad's ramming into the wall caused a panel of the battlebox to actually come loose. Judges Decision again. Decision: 26-19 in favor of Diesector! Post: I can understand the early shutdown, even though I hated the fact that it was shutdown SO EARLY, and they went to the judges instead of a restart. But, safety #1. They probably should've stopped after this, because a certain event involving Nightmare would stop the show during it's 'after-final' rumbles. As a tooth of Nightmare would fly through the air, breaking through the Lexan ceiliing, and actually land into the crowd. No one got hurt though, whew. Also, earlier to that in the rumble, a shot from Nightmare sent a lid from a combatant up into the air and brought down some lights. But our journey's not done. These are just some of the matches that I love about Battlebots. I have some more for you, though I'm not going to give you the recaps here. Season 2 - Lightweight Final: Toe-Crusher vs Backlash https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NYLJY2qvII Season 1 - Middleweight Final: Deadblow vs Hazard https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8hsIXqAmyA Season 3 - Heavyweight Round of 32: Mechavore vs Vlad the Impaler https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hCD5tv1uv8 Season 2 - Middleweight Quarterfinals: Blade Runner vs The Master https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKpAetOkksE Season 4 - Heavyweight Semifinals: Tazbot vs Biohazard https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TppLWy5_2b0 Season 0.2(Las Vegas 99) - Superheavyweight Semifinals: Minion vs World Peace https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYYs-z9-byg Season 4 - Superheavyweight Final: Toro vs New Cruelty https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzMJvIseDew Season 3 - Round of 32 Lightweight: Dr. Inferno Jr vs Toe-Crusher https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbWP0TnSJ2E And... just to have a rumble. Season 2 - Superheavyweight Rumble https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QsV-MEzHm4
Bandai Namco, or Namco Bandai, is one of those companies that intrigues me. They have the anime market pretty much covered to a point where no one can compete with them. However, because of them we are seeing, what I believe is the 3rd(2nd for the people in US/EU) emergence of the anime game. To put the first one in retrospect, you need to look back at the NES and how, mainly in Japan, anime games would flood the system. From RPGs to Sidescrollers to Fighters and so on, games were loaded onto the system, for better or for worse. While I can say some of these games are... kinda bad, as a whole they were okay. You even had a barcode reader for the NES which was used in several anime-based videogames... that and Ultraman, of course. There was an Ultraman Olympics game. We saw such heavy hitters as Fist of the North Star, Yu Yu Hakusho, Dragon Ball, Saint Seiya, among others join the platform. There was even a Kinnikuman game, that made it to the US as M.U.S.C.L.E. The second one, is something everyone's probably at least known about. Early-Mid 2000's, the anime games reemerged. Budokai brought DBZ back into prominence, Naruto games started, there were Yu Yu Hakusho games, an Inuyasha game released, ULTIMATE MUSCLE showed up as well, and it was great. One Piece also inched in, and it seemed like the quality of those games were a step up from the old NES anime-based games because they could do more with them. However, the anime craze dipped once again and only the biggest names were allowed to keep making titles that could come to the US. Fast Forward to 2012. March. Naruto Shippuden Ninja Storm Generations releases and begins the 3rd reemergence. One Piece Pirate Warriors drops soon after. It's simpler if I make a list of just Bandai Namco(or Bandai or Namco) anime based games that released after 2012. 2012: Naruto Shippuden Ninja Storm Generations One Piece Pirate Warriors Dragon Ball Budokai HD Collection Mobile Suit Gundam Extreme Vs(Japan-Only, Full Boost in 2014) 2013: Digimon Adventure(Japan Only) Saint Seiya Brave Soldiers Sword Art Online: Infinity Moment(2014 for non-Japan) Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3(And Full Burst edition) Gintama no Sugoroku(Japan Only) Macross 30: Voices Across the Galaxy(Japan Only) Jojo's All Star Battle(2014 for Non-Japan) One Piece Pirate Warriors 2 2014: Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution J-Stars Victory Vs(June 2015 for Non-Japan) Digimon All Star Rumble One Piece Unlimited World Red 2015: Dragon Ball Xenoverse Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth(Japan Only) One Piece Pirate Warriors 3(Forthcoming) Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Eyes of Heaven(Forthcoming) Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4(Forthcoming) Saint Seiya Soldier's Soul(Forthcoming) Geez, that's a lot, and this is all by one company. And I know I missed some, as there are a few other Anime games not made by Namco Bandai. Fist of the North Star titles and more Gundam titles as well. I can safely say, that all of the US released ones are at least okay to play, and they have some great titles up there. Xenoverse, All Star Battle, Unlimited World Red are all great games, IMHO. All Star Battle is a game that could be a competitive fighter guaranteed. Xenoverse is probably the most original Dragon Ball game in it's history, and Unlimited World Red is a blast to play, as I feel it's less Dynasty Warriors and more simple Beat Em Up than the Pirate Warriors series. The Naruto games are always a blast to play also, and Saint Seiya, for all it's flaws in Brave Soldiers, actually plays decently. Now, more so then ever before, these games are actually going full international. To the point where you could see lesser known titles get a digital release. I implore you to at least take a look at some of the new one's coming up. J-Stars could be the biggest anime crossover game of all time, and has the potential to be the next Smash Brothers. Saint Seiya looks like it's gotten a major improvements. One Piece is chock-full of new things that should bring the interest about. Eyes of Heaven has literally changed what the original game was about favoring a 'team battle' mode. Also, Naruto's only going next-gen, so that should be exciting. It's going to be an exciting time to be an anime fan and a video game fan, and I hope if you like video games or anime or both, that you check some of these titles up. Maybe you'll find a new favorite. I sure have in these last couple years of the 3rd emergence.
You know, I realize something that I've continuously had to deal with all my life. The echoing statements that I hear for being a fan of various media. 'Oh, you like Pro Wrestling? Isn't that fake?' 'Oh, you like Anime? Isn't that childish?' 'Oh, you like MLP? Isn't that for girls?' There are times when a good story is just a good story and draws people in. I feel like that's what I look for, a good story, good action and everything. Take Wrestling for example, Seth Rollins breakup from the Shield and winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship was an amazing story, well done on the companies part. Over across the pond in Japan, a trolling character by the name of Yano Toru has outfoxed their former world champion multiple times in matches via rollup, making the ex-champion, Hiroshi Tanahashi, the John Cena-esque superface, kind of do what Yano's doing to him. Pulling hair and trying to outtroll the troll master. Anime has some of the most epic stories of all time. AKIRA, DBZ, Yu Yu Hakusho, Cowboy Bebop, and the like. All done fantastically, IMHO, blockbuster movie-quality stuff. DBZ's Frieza saga, with Goku's buildup to super saiyan, is pretty fantastic stuff. The Dark Tournament as a whole for Yu Yu Hakusho is also great. I can even go to one of my personal favorite and call the Sanctuary Saga of Saint Seiya good stuff. Then we have MLP, if I'm wrong for liking a franchise for giving me good action, then I don't want to be right ever again. I mean it has a good message and it's enjoyable to watch, action, adventure, pretty much has everything that I wanted, even a Time Paradox thing mocking Solid Snake. If I find it Good, then I find it good. And you CAN'T TEACH THAT(or teach me what I find good).
