Videos I Like #24: 128 Ways to Die in Super Mario 64

I've played Super Mario 64 more times than I can count. Naturally, I've died in the game more times than I can remember. I didn't really stop and think of how many methods there were to die in Super Mario 64. But someone did. I'm not sure if there's a set number of ways for Mario to be killed in the game, but Nintendo64Movies compiled a video of Mario meeting his demise a total of 128 times. Quite the hilarious video.

Videos I Like #23: FF Tribute - Chocobo Mix

Ah, the Chocobo Theme. Such a joyous, upbeat, catchy tune. In November of 2001, Joe Redifier's Chocobo Robo Voice, a remix of Boko's Theme (Final Fantasy V) was posted on OverClocked Remix. It's a hilarious tribute to the Chocobo Theme and sums up a lot of Final Fantasy fans and gamers in general. Some might take offensive to some of the lyrics but those that do, probably have zero sense of humor. In July of 2002, LegendaryFrog's flash animation FF Tribute - Chocobo Mix was uploaded to New Grounds where it won the Daily Feature as well as the Weekly User's Choice award.  FF Tribute - Chocobo Mix uses Joe's Chocobo Robo Voice remix and goes along with FF Tribute like bread and butter. Seriously, this song and flash animation were made for each other. I haven't seen this flash animation or heard this song in years and I suddenly remember to look it up. Next thing I know, I'm giggling like a school girl.

Videos I Like #22: All Your Base Are Belong to Us

I'm sure that anyone that plays video games either core or casually has heard of this phrase: All Your Base Are Belong to Us. This is actually a mistranslated line from the Genesis game Zero Wing, which can be seen in all it's glory in the game's intro. While horribly translated, it has gone on to become one of gaming's biggest internet memes and ranks right up there with "Thank You Mario, but our princess is in another castle."

In 2001, Bad-CRC at New Grounds made the hilarious All Your Base video that pays homage to the famous quote. I must say, that music is pretty tight. Zero Wing is actually a side scrolling SHMUP, but most people remember the game or have heard of it thanks to the All Your Base line. Most gamers would have a fit if All Your Base Are Belong to Us was actually translated correctly. Kind of like How "You Spoony Bard" has always been kept in whenever Final Fantasy IV is released.

Videos I Like #21: Mega Man X Fanimation

In honor of Mega Man's 25th anniversary, Shane Newville put together an incredible seven minute Mega Man X feature. It shows X in a way you've never seen him before. Using Kung fu and looking more rad than ever. He also uses his dash abilities in new ways that would be amazing to see in the games. The nerd in me says X doesn't fight like this, but this is just too awesome to dis. You jaw will be on the floor the whole time you're watching this.

Videos I Like #20: Mega Man and the Pompous Robots

Mega Man walks into a robot master's chamber, prepared for battle. Tengu Man descends from the sky and... goes on and on about how great he is. Never mind the fact that Mega Man already beat him twice. Then, as if there isn't enough robot arrogance in the air, Bass appears on the scene. Tengu Man and Bass get so wrapped up in themselves that they forget the reason they're even there in the first place: to fight Mega Man.

Released in 2004 on New Grounds, Mega Man and the Pompous Robots is one of my favorite flash animations. It's good humor without using any obscenities so it's good viewing for kids, too. Using Bass and Tengu Man for the boastful robots was an excellent choice. Tengu Man always seemed full of himself to me and Bass was created to be Mega Man's rival so it should go without saying hat he's got a huge chip on his shoulder.

You can view the original on New Grounds in the highest quality, but there's also a version on YouTube complete with annotations commentary. You can view that version below. Kudos to MalamiteLtd for making such a good Mega Man flash video.

Videos I Like #19: The Nintendo Office

This was a video that was made for a contest years back called Nintendo Short Cuts. Nintendo Office shows what it would be like working for Nintendo. Working for the Big N if it were crawling with Nintendo characters, specifically the mooks from the Mario games. It isn't the funniest video I've ever seen. Not by a long shot, but there are numerous things I really like about it Like the Bob-omb blowing up, Luigi's removal from the building and the bathroom segment. Give it a watch.

Videos I Like #18: Super Kaizo World Special Stage 2

If you're into watching Let's Plays, then you've probably heard of ProtonJon. I came across this video in the summer of 2008 and have since been a subscriber to his videos. He's a YouTube Partner and a member of ThRunawayGuys. Super Kaizo World is devilishly hard ROM hack of Super Mario World. If you're easily frustrated, I don't recommend playing it. However, if you delight in the suffering of others, then you'll no doubt find watching videos of people failing at it hilarious. The following video contains strong language so if you're easily offended or don't want your kids learning new words, don't click the following link. For anyone that wants to see a healthy dosing of epic failures, you'll be in stitches in no time at all. Jon fails A LOT in this two part video but the big one comes at 7:38 minutes in. He absolutely loses it and it's perfectly understandable. I mean, if that happened to me, I'd flip a table. The Kaizo Trap trope was named after Jon had the misfortune of unearthing it in this very video.

Super Kazio World Special Stage 2

Videos I Like #17: Advanced Robotics

One of my many favorite things about Toonami were the sweet music videos they made up from anime and western animation clips. Advanced Robotics explores the aged old fear that robots will rise up and conquer humanity. I've always been fascinated by robots and the thought of robots rebelling against humans makes for some intriguing story telling. An awesome promo video, it's kind of ironic that Peter Cullen  is talking about robots dominating humanity. That's the voice of Optimus Prime for the four of you that didn't know. The music piece, "Ignition" is particularly awesome here.

Videos I Like #16: 21 Years and Counting - Sonic Q&A

This month, Sonic the Hedgehog is turning 21 years old. He'll be able to go out on the town and drink it up. But since hangovers aren't going to help him stop Dr. Robotnik, er, I mean, Eggman, he should lay off the alcohol. But I digress. For Sonic's 19th anniversary Juan "John" Ortiz wrote and animated a Q&A staring Sonic and friends. It was a nice tribute to one of my favorite platforming icons. Johnny returned in April with a Q&A for Sonic's upcoming 21st birthday and managed to top himself. Funny stuff all around and a great way to celebrate Sonic hitting the big 2-1.

Videos I Like #15: NES TMNT Theme Song

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on the NES was a, how shall we say, difficult game to put it mildly. Anyone that played the arcade TMNT first and then played this one was in for a surprise. It was a single player game sidescroller with some overhead segments making up the overworld. The gamers over at dorkly covered the famous 1987 TMNT cartoon intro song and bash the first TMNT game to shreds. I don't completley agree with everything said in this song, but I do find it hilarious, nonetheless. Some profanity is in the song so keep the kids at bay.

NES Ninja Turtles Theme Song

Videos I Like #14: The Roast of Mario

If you're not familiar with a roast, it's like this. Usually a celeberity is on the stage while other celebs take humors shots at him/her. It's all in good fun, though. If anyone in the video game world deserves a roast, it's Mr. Video Game himself, Mario. The people from College humor bring us another comical, well-written video with a few jokes that only a video game fanatic would understand. Even Bowser joins in on the roasting festivities, being voiced by none other than Patrick Warburton. This video is not safe for work so view it at your own risk.

The Roast of Mario

Videos I Like #13: Foamy the Squirrel: Achievements

Foamy the Squirrel. It seems like he's always ranting about something. I happen to agree with him on achievements in gaming. Not all of them are bad. Heck, I shot for a few of them in Mega Man 10, but some get way out of hand. The following video is very NSFW and since Foamy has a potty-mouth, be sure to keep the kids far, far away.

ACHIEVEMENTS 

Videos I Like #12: Ice World

Ice levels. You either love them or hate them. Rarely is there any middle ground. To make matters worse they seem to make an appearance in just about every single platformer. Like it's obligatory or something. Seriously, who likes fighting the slippery terrain? Not I. It is so nice to know that Brawl in the Family shares my pain. Brawl in the Family comic #388 is musical sung to the tune of It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas, detailing the many trials and tribulations associated with the dreaded ice world. I'm currently playing Rayman Origins and I'm on the third world. Guess what the gimmick of this world just happens to be.

Videos I Like #11: Zelda: The Musical

Do you like Zelda? Do you like Zelda music? If you answered yes to both of those, then I highly recommend checking out Zelda: The Musical. Now if the word "musical" next to Zelda makes you shudder, fear not. This three minute and forty four second video is made of wonderful sprite animation with excellent music and vocals. Its also laugh out loud funny. Special thanks to Kayleigh Powis at 8-Bit Girl for bringing this awesome video to my attention.

Videos I Like #10: Mario RPG: Rawest Forest

I moved into a new pad and due to internet being out, I was able to do any blog posts. Now that it's back up, my hiatus has ended. I've got some catching up to do so I'll start with another video post.

Do you love Super Mario RPG? Why am I even asking that? Of course you do. It's a great role playing game AND a great Mario game. It also has some splendid music. As if Yoko Shimomura's awesome Beware the Forest's Mushroom wasn't infectious enough, Martin Hagwell, aka Märta remixed it, giving it some hilariously catchy lyrics. Chris Niosi heard the remix and came up with an equally awesome flash video, dubbing it, Mario RPG: Rawest Forest. It's a fine tribute to one of my favorite Mario games and Yoko Shimomura's excellent music. I'd like to give a special thanks to my friend Tommy Wilson for directing me to this videos a few years back. It's been one of my favorites ever since. You can also download this song here.

Videos I Like #9: Two Best Friends Play DKC Returns

WARNING: The following linked video contains strong language.

Matt and Patt. Two best friends that play video games together. Surely it's full of nothing but good cheer, right? Nah, not really. Sure, Matt and Patt are good friends but that doesn't mean they behave like Batman and Superman did in the Silver Age. In fact, Matt and Patt are the very definition of vitriolic best buds. Add in some co-op on Donkey Kong Country Returns and you've got an 8+ minute video that's easily one if the funniest things I've seen on YouTube. Did you think the mine cart games in the SNES DKC Trilogy were hard? DKCR takes them up to eleven.

Two Best Friends Play began when Matt and Patt posted a video on YouTube of the themselves playing Kirby's Epic Yarn Machinima loved it so much that it has since become a weekly event and one of my favorite net series.

Videos I Like #8: Rage Quit: Mortal Kombat

WARNING: The following linked video contains strong language.

I never could beat Shao Kahn in Mortal Kombat II because, well, he was pretty cheap. The only reason I saw the ending credits to that game was thanks to Game Genie. If the latest Mortal Kombat is any indication, it looks like his cheapness has been cranked to unbelievable levels. Rage Quit: Mortal Kombat shows the frustrations a gamer can go through when facing this boss. The stories you've heard about how insanely hard he is to be? They are all true.

Videos I Like #7: The Problem With Warp Whistles

Nearly every game in the Super Mario series allows the player to use warps, a means to skip entire worlds in order to make your journey shorter. But in making the trip brief, what of all the things you'll miss along the way? The unexplored worlds, the unseen enemies, the unused power-ups. Seriously, when you warp you can miss quite a bit. At least Bowser certainly thinks so. Brought to you by the gamers over at CollegeHumor, The Problem With Warp Whistles explores the nature of warping and it's affects on the hero. Sure, you got to Bowser in a hurry but what about all that stuff you passed up? Well, unless it's Lost Levels. The quicker that game is over and done with, the better. But I digress. At 2:16, this video is pretty short and it's safe for kids to watch. I'm especially fond of the placement of sound effects in this flash video. The sound of a Koopa shell bouncing back is used to go along with Mario's shocked facial expression when Bowser tells him one of the power-ups that he missed because he skipped some worlds. Great stuff from a great animation short.

Videos I Like #6: Super CHEATER Kart

Many fans of the Mario Kart series trumpet Super Mario Kart, the first entry in the Mario Kart series as the best. It's still one of my favorite Mario games but I'm not oblivious to it's biggest, glaring flaw: cheating AI. It could be due to hardware limitations of the SNES, but Super Mario Kart has some of the worst cheating AI I've ever seen. I could tell you about the tactics the CPU uses, but then, that's what this hilarious video is for. There's a few text-based profanities in this video, so if your kids can read well, keep them way. People like to say the computer was cheap in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! and Mario Kart Wii. Fact is, the computer was cheating from the very beginning.

Videos I Like #5: Sequelitis: Mega Man vs. Mega Man X

I have long been a fan of Egoraptor and his Awesome series. He has a knack for animation and humor. But he can also make players think about the choices implemented in level design. In the first episode of his new series Sequelitis, he talked about what they did wrong and what they did right in Castlevania II. In the second episode, he demonstrates why the Mega Man games are very good teaching tools for players without needlessly holding our hands or shoving tutorials down our throats. There's a lot of profanity thrown around so don't watch this one in front of the kids as it's very NSFW, which is why I'm linking instead of posting an embedded video.

At 20 minutes long, this happens to be the longest video I've posted, but it goes by pretty quickly and it's highly informative. If I heard correctly, Egoraptor wants to get into game design himself. After watching this video, I think he'd be a very exceptional game designer.

Sequelitis: Mega Man vs. Mega Man X