Category Archives: Lists

Hachi’s Games of 2016 (For Both Measures of that Phrase)

I’m too lazy to make a proper opening pic, here’s what Google Images gave me. Just imagine more guns and Italians.

So, 2016. What a fucking thing THAT was, huh? Famous folks dying by the dozens, politics becoming more cartoonish than ever before and people finding new and creative ways to hate each other while inuring themselves against criticism or mind-expanding influences. The cesspool of the internet becomes ever more violently knee-jerk in its reaction to new or unpleasant ideas, and I’m pretty sure someone from Tumblr mailed me an envelope of anthrax for being a straight white guy in a progressive world. DC movies were trash, bookstores disappearing, fire at the disco, dancing in the streets, mass hysteria!

But none of that really matters, because it was also a remarkably good year for video games, both on an objective and personal level. Sure, the stagnation of the Triple-A gaming market is still alive and well, but I found myself drowning in a veritable smorgasbord of high-quality games across handhelds, consoles and even the indiesphere. I played more games this year than I have in quite a long time, even dipping into my long-neglected backlog and investing in some missed gems from generations past, and even if I didn’t finish every one that I got my hands on, good times were had by the bucket-full.

Typical ground rules of listmaking apply. Even though I own a great many of the big releases of the year and plan to hit them all in time, I’m limiting it to games I played either to completion or for enough time to have an informed opinion on them, so sorry to DOOM, Uncharted and Final Fantasy XV. You all look great, but I just haven’t tasted you enough yet. And because I have delusions of legitimacy, abstract superlatives will be handed out to those deserving of them. And finally, the most repetitive but necessary of disclaimers: For the most part, this list represents the games I got the most enjoyment out of regardless of popularity, mainstream appeal or review opinion. Games that left an impact on me in the swirling vortex of activity that is my life. In short, it’s personal opinion so if you don’t like it, eat me. Continue reading →

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FSW List 76: Top 8 Hajime no Ippo Fights

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What do you do, when everyone is blue…and punching each other.

So, there’s this show. Hajime no Ippo. And it’s about struggle and friendship and humor and self worth. And you know what else it’s about?

Boxing. That sport that involves people punching eachother a lot. So naturally, you’d expect there to be some hardcore matches in the series. This is a list of the top fights in a series filled with great fights. Fists will fly, tears and blood will be shed, and you will shout many “OOOOOOH!”s as you watch. As I list the fights, I’ll also go into some small detail of the arc of episodes that leads up to the fight, since in some of these cases, the lead in adds an extra level of depth to the matches themselves.

Note, this is from the series as a whole, so that includes the first and second TV anime, the TV movie and the OVA. Oh, and of course, SPOILERS WILL ABOUND IN THIS LIST.

That being said, let’s get started! READY! BOX!

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Top 50 Most Wacky Bootleg Boxarts: PS1 Edition

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After about three months of waiting for the SyrianGames website come back, I’ve now returned with even more wacky bootleg boxart, this time from their PS1 catalog. Now, an odd thing occurred after that last article was published. After some gaming outlets posted articles about how crazy their boxarts were, SyrianGames went into a sort of Admin mode where only the site runners could access it. Afterwards, the syriangames.com URL redirected visitors to their Facebook page. This probably meant that 1) they wanted to hide their shame, and 2) they took the site offline.

So how do I have more boxarts to show? Well, for some odd reason several weeks back, their old site was back online. I found this out I checked out my old article (for kicks) and wondered if the site came back. I took the opportunity to look at their PS1 catalog and pick out the funniest ones from the bunch. Good thing I did it too since their URL is once again redirecting to their Facebook page.

Anyway, let’s end this little tangent. Hit the jump and check out the PS1 Edition of the Top 50 Wacky Bootleg Boxarts.

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Top 60 Most Wacky Bootleg Boxarts: PS2 Edition

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Last week, a new light was shined upon within the videogame community, followed by many faces of bewilderment, amazement, and side-splittting laughter. Coming from African game distributor Syrian Games, the games presented had boxart that can only be described as a drug-filled surrealist trip. Heads of characters photoshopped on the bodies of other characters, overly simple title fonts, and the overabundance of greenery and rainbows for relatively dark games. I mean, I’ve seen bootleg boxart before (namely from fake Famicom games), this but this a whole ‘nother level of zany. There were over 700 games in the PS2 section, and I sifted through all of them. Yes, I’m that serious. As I clicked page after page, I thought that it’d stopped be funny eventually. But it never did, and this is just the PS2 section. Rest assured, I wanted to show many of these and was initially raring to only show 20. But screw that, we’re going for 60!

So after the break, the The Top 60 Most Wacky Bootleg Boxarts: PS2 Edition.

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HP Countdown: Top Ten WTF Moments in WWE 2012

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Hey guys (and gals). Before I begin the second countdown, I forgot to elaborate on a few things. First the new RAW theme. If you listen to it closely, it kind of sounds similar to the song, “Remember The Name” by Fort Minor (a Linkin Park spin-off group). And secondly, Brock Lesnar’s return ranking pretty high on the list. Aside from throwing around John Cena and Triple H, Brock kicks peoples’ asses for realsies. And where CM Punk and Daniel Bryan showed everyone there is still wrestling in a wrestling company, Lesnar added the extra edge from his time spent beating people up in UFC, and showed everyone that professional wrestling (and entertainment) can be pretty violent. Also I neglected to mention Daniel Bryan becoming more of a mainstay on WWE television (he’s doing a lot more on television since 2012, whereas he was just kind of there for most of 2011…even with his Money In The Bank briefcase).

Back to the subject at hand. With every Top (insert x-amount of positives here) list, people always want to see the contrast, and see what they disliked. I’ve always fancied myself as a bit of a nitpicker when it comes to wrestling, and find myself complaining about it more than I do praising it. Seriously, my WTFs outline for this is at least TWICE as long as my FTWs one. Now you may be asking, “Jon, if you complain about it so much, why do you keep watching?!” The answer is at the end of the day, I’m still a wrestling fan. I enjoy professional wrestling on an intellectual level. I like reading dirt sheets on what goes on behind the scenes, as well as off camera. Remember, these wrestlers/superstars play a character, and it’s always interesting to see how they act in real life. I’m a fan of independent wrestling and their wrestlers. Guys who are either just breaking into the business, have been in the independent scene for a while and are still waiting for a break, and the occasional former big timer either there as a way of putting butts in seats, or offering advice to the up-and-comers. I’m a fan of companies like New Japan Pro Wrestling, Ring of Honor and Chikara where even though it’s wrestling, it’s still extremely entertaining. To me, WWE just seems to water down the product (immensely) with the inane amounts of promos, using body builders and fitness models as their featured “talent” (wrestling ability not available in all), pushing guys who don’t really deserve it, and wrestling seeming to come last on a program that is supposed to be about wrestling. In the past year (more so every year since 2005), WWE has left this smark (a smart mark) scratching his head in confusion. Here it is, I bring to you, My Top Ten WTF Moments in WWE 2012!

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HP Countdown: Top Ten FTW Moments in WWE 2012

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Happy new year everyone! I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday season. With 2012 firmly in the rear view mirror, we often look back on the memories that have occurred over the past year…some good, and some bad. I reflected on the past year in WWE, and what they accomplished and what they left us to scratch our heads at. For the past couple of years, I’ve done a ranking system similar to “cheers” and “jeers”, but titled FTW (For The Win) and WTF (What The F**k) moments for the wrestling group I’m a part of, and I figured since I have a means of distributing my diatribes to an audience outside of Facebook, and the year just ended, why not do one of each for WWE in the past year. Today, I present you with my personal list of FTW Moments in the WWE for 2012!

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Top 10 Hard Rockin’ Nintendo Songs

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Back when videogame music was still bleeps and bloops, it was hard to really make a song that sounded, well, like a familiar genre. Some managed to attempt certain genres (like what we’ll cover today), but overall many just focused on making memorable melodies with the tools they had available. Then as the generations progress and improved, so too did the sound capabilities. Familiar genres could be heard as early as the SNES (and some NES). With Nintendo themselves, they stuck with what they did best: memorable melodies and happy tunes. Of course, they would venture off into some Space Opera-like themes with Star Fox. But a majority of the music made by Nintendo consisted of Jazz arrangements (PilotWings), easy listening (Sim City), or pop-y (most Mario games). With this light-hearted reputation, it’s sometimes a surprise to hear Nintendo come out of nowhere with a rock song in a game, and it freakin’ awesome every time. So sit back and get ready to bang your head, it’s Top 10 Hard Rockin’ Nintendo Themes.

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List76: Hachi’s Top 24 Kung Fu Fights

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If you are like me, then this is one of the most wonderful sights in the world...

It may have come to your attention by now, but I like Kung Fu movies. As a matter of fact, I love them. I love all the cheesy, epic, glourious, laughable, jaw dropping, awe inspiring, heartwarming, heart pumping beauty of the genre itself. Directors like Yuen Woo-ping, Chang Cheh, Lau Kar Leung, Corey Yuen, John Woo, Tsui Hark, Tong Gai, King Hu, Sammo Hung, and everyone in between and beyond. But most of all, even beyond the mood, the fondness for the sets and the actors and the directors, the thing I love most is the fights.

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