How do you feel about the Angry Video Game Nerd?

[Prowler]

You know, the character James Rolfe has been playing for over a decade now(holy crap, time flies!).

I found out AVGN's videos completely by accident one day on youtube back in mid-late 2006 or so while looking for TMNT related stuff. Saw that there was a video review of the TMNT NES game by him. Took me a few weeks to finally check it out. One day I just realised "well it has a shi*ton of views, so there's gotta be something interesting about it, so I eventually decided to check it out and... well I didn't like it much at first because I wasn't expecting him to suddenly start cussing like a sailor in it. I guess the name ANGRY Nintendo Nerd should have been enough of a hint for me, but hey come on now, that style of reviewing games didn't get popular until James Rolfe hit it big.

Anyway, I decided to check his channel some days later. Up until then, his latest episode was Friday the 13th or Nightmare on Elm Street. So he already had a dozen or so episodes. I watched all of his older episodes on one weekend and laughed my ass off to them. I was going through the height of my "being a teenager sucks!" phase, being 15-16 years old at the time so his videos helped me give a good uplift.

Then, some months later he joins GameTrailers. His videos start to look more professional and polished, and tbh it's hard ot go back to his older episodes nowadays. They give you too much of a "Nerd living in his parents basement" vibe... which is ironic considering he used ot film on his own room/living room back in his old place while nowadays his gaming room is actually IN the basement. I'd honestly never have guessed, though. :lol:

Favourite episodes... oh man. From the top of my head: Dick Tracy, Die Hard, Silver Surfer, Action 52 + Cheetahmen, Dark Castle, Ghostbusters Trilogy, Top Gun,, Coleco and Intelivision, Sega CD, Batman two parter and Superman 64 are all hilarious. They're probably my most watched episodes of his. I think his "prime" was from around episode 44 to episode 91. Pretty much every episode of his was gold in this bracket.

As for his movie... I didn't expect a masterpiece but wasn't a big fan. I'm happy he finally got his big screen film but didn't care about the supporting cast(giving him some random guy as his cameraman, really?).

I'm yet to play "his" official game. I gotta do that someday.

Anyway, I can't believe I've been watching his stuff for over a decade now. Never would I've thought that he'd still be doing this stint in 2017. I find his videos very informative and I really admire his passion for games and such. He seems like a genuinely nice fellow and wish him nothing but success. Although I wonder how long he's gonna keep on doing this. He's set the bar too high(or too low...) now. He's already reviewed the likes of ET, Big Rigs, Plumbers Don't Wear Ties, etc. Unless he starts venturing into obscure PS1 and PS2 games there really isn't much left for him to do now as far as reviewing older crappy games goes. He's already reviewed most of the popular requests afaik.

So, what do you think about him? Like him? Dislike him?

[Powder]

I've been a fan since just about the very beginning. I support everything Cinemassacre does. Good dudes, good content. No shilling, no narcissism, no politics, just entertainment.

I pledged to the AVGN movie's funding campaign a while back & got a signed photo of The Nerd for doing so. It proudly hangs in my room alongside the one I got from Ernie Hudson in Ghostbusters garb, seemed fitting they go together. :trazz: Didn't care much for the movie itself, to be honest. The special effects & general plot were great, but the supporting cast ruined it for me. Couldn't f**king stand his two sidekicks. Still amusing, though, & I'm glad I supported it.

Mike shouted me out in a few of his streams which really made my day each time it happened, he also once drew Krang in Mario Paint by my request. :tlol:

The two AVGN Adventures games are MAAAAAD GOOD. Highly recommended. Frustratingly difficult at times, but in a fun way.

[Prowler]

I've been a fan since just about the very beginning. I support everything Cinemassacre does. Good dudes, good content. No shilling, no narcissism, no politics, just entertainment.

I pledged to the AVGN movie's funding campaign a while back & got a signed photo of The Nerd for doing so. It proudly hangs in my room alongside the one I got from Ernie Hudson in Ghostbusters garb, seemed fitting they go together. :trazz:

Mike shouted me out in a few of his streams which really made my day each time it happened, he once drew Krang in Mario Paint during a stream by my request. :tlol:

The two AVGN Adventures games are MAAAAAD GOOD. Highly recommended. Frustratingly difficult at time, but in a fun way.
Wait there's two official AVGN games? Are both available on the Nintendo eShop and/or in Steam? I know the first one is.

And yeah, I also like Cinemassacre's extra stuff and I've never felt dirty aobut giving their videos clicks. They seem like genuinely good guys. They're just like us, but managed to find a way to show the world their passion for games, comics, movies, etc. Plus, they listen to the fans, and give us what we want often. They don't give off a corporate vibe at all.

That's cool of Mike to do that for you. Tbh, I always found Mike to be someone I'd get annoyed with after a while. His humour in the James and Mike Mondays videos can be a bit cringeworthty and annoying at times. Oh well, his job is drawing episode cards and he certainly is more talented at it than I ever will be. I guess, as an artist, you've been inspired by his work before?

[Powder]

Yeah, a sequel came out last year & it's even better than the first. Both are on Steam, I know the first was in the 3DS e-shop, not sure about the second.

It's all dope. Some of James' material is really informative, the guy knows his stuff. & when he doesn't, he does thorough research. Very respectable. Whenever they do wanna push something, like a DVD collection or whatever, it's always a separate "commercial" video, & there's no begging or whatever, it's just a "Hey, this exists, here's where you can get it, thank you!" sorta thing.

I get that, Mike's kind of humor isn't for everyone. It's immature & full of innuendo, but it's organic for him, so I find it amusing. He just naturally goes there, it's not put on to try & sound funny, it's just his personality (for better or worse). I identify with him a bit. :tlol: I don't have any particular thoughts about his art, he's decent though.

[Prowler]

Yeah, a sequel came out last year & it's even better than the first. Both are on Steam, I know the first was in the 3DS e-shop, not sure about the second.

It's all dope. Some of James' material is really informative, the guy knows his stuff. & when he doesn't, he does thorough research. Very respectable. Whenever they do wanna push something, like a DVD collection or whatever, it's always a separate "commercial" video, & there's no begging or whatever, it's just a "Hey, this exists, here's where you can get it, thank you!" sorta thing.

I get that, Mike's kind of humor isn't for everyone. It's immature & full of innuendo, but it's organic for him, so I find it amusing. He just naturally goes there, it's not put on to try & sound funny, it's just his personality (for better or worse). I identify with him a bit. :tlol: I don't have any particular thoughts about his art, he's decent though.
The video where I got the most annoyed at Mike was in the Pilotwings 64 video. You know the part where they play the cannonball mini-game and he starts mimicking the characters' screaming as they get fired? That part really grated my nerves :lol:

[CyberCubed]

He's much better than all the youtube wannabe's who came after him, like Angry Joe and all those other guys.

In a way he was sort of a pioneer for all the youtube videogame players. He had his videos on his own site before he put them to youtube, and then it paved the way for all these people who came after him.

[Prowler]

He's much better than all the youtube wannabe's who came after him, like Angry Joe and all those other guys.

In a way he was sort of a pioneer for all the youtube videogame players. He had his videos on his own site before he put them to youtube, and then it paved the way for all these people who came after him.
By "his videos" you mean his AVGN episodes? Because his firt one is form 2004, but naturally since youtube still wasn't around in 2004, he only uploaded it onto it a couple of years later. He never meant his video game reviews to become a series. His dream has always been directing actual movies. Horror ones, in particular, from what I gather. He then made Dr. Jekyll and Mister Hyde as a follow up to Simon's Quest and then made Karate Kid, which was originally meant to be his dead last video game review. Funny how things turn out, eh?

I remember lots of "angry gamers" popping out at the time such as Armake, Monoxide, Spoony and the Irate gamer(f*ck that guy). Although there was one guy who was a subversion of that trend, The Happy Video Game Nerd.

Armake was big for a while but I dunno if he still does this stuff. And I remember reading screwattack's forums back in 2006-2007 and him being a member there. He was upset of all the hate he was getting at the time, because, for a while, anyone who reviewed games was accused of ripping off the nerd, even though Armake did his Ghostbusters review BEFORE James did his. Yet many AVGN fanboys were bashing Armake accusing him of ripping James Rolfe off.

I remember Spoony's debut episode, which was the Adventure's of Bayou Billy... never thought he'd become as big as he is nowadays. I'm guessing Pat the NES Punk also showed up around that time. I find Pat a bit too awkward for my taste, though.

Anyway, doesn't Nostalgia Critic pre-date the Nerd?

[sdp]

I'm pretty sure I found out about the Nerd here at the Drome after his TMNT review. I loved it and watched his previous videos. Back in the day youtube series' weren't really a thing so I thought it was a "we'll never see videos from him again", so I was suprised when he kept making more and got into other Screwattack shows like GameJew and hated all the youtube copycats which you still see plenty of influences of "angry" reaviewers of things not just video games.

I loved his show and when it moved to Gametrailers he indeed tried to make the show have more skits which people hated but I loved since by this point I was tired of the "angry gamer" and liked how he spiced it up with random stories in between. Sadly after a while he decided to go "back to basics" and from then on I kind of lost interest since they weren't as funny and there were no skits anymore, during this time he barely produced AVGN videos so I still watched them whenever they came out but that's about it. Only recently did I begin to enjoy his AVGN episodes again.

As for the movie, I was really looking forward to it and waited forever. Since I had always been a fan of his skits I thought an entire movie of it would be great but man did I hate it, I don't remember what I thought about the movie except I didn't like it but you can probably find my review of it here on the drome thread.

As far as his video games I played the first one and it's too f-cking difficult but that's the joke, the game is nothing special just a difficult Mega Man clone with AVGN/geeky and of course the overdone "8 bit" raphics. So it's a bit generic but the AVGN license makes it stand out over other "retro" indie games. I'll get the sequel eventually.

I enjoy a lot of the Cinemassacre content that James does like Monster Madness, and other movie reviews but not all. And I really dislike Mike, he comes off as trying too hard.

It's crazy that I've watched him for over ten years though and a shame he isn't bigger, I mean he literally started the whole "youtuber" scene before it ever began but because he left for a while he kind of lost that. I've wanted to re-watch all the AVGN episodes but there are so many I think I'll need to make a list of essential ones, but maybe I'll ask around since I don't really remember which ones were good.

[GoldMutant]

In terms of James Rolfe, the individual, he's one of the best guys on YouTube. As Powder put it, a guy who does a lot of research and has fun with what he does. After hearing about his daughter's condition last year, my respect for Rolfe increased with the charity event.

As for his content, I will admit the AVGN has lost some of its luster in terms of comedy, but man oh man, James' filmmaking skills are great. I especially love Board James much more than AVGN due to that one reason, it's impressive. To stay on point, my favorite episode of AVGN is the Super Mario Bros. 3 episode. The recent content is still rather solid, but I prefer the other work James does now; it is fun to marathon the older AVGN episodes though.

For his movie, I've only seen bits and clips due to the Nostalgia Critic and the ET review. I haven't seen the whole thing yet, but from what I've listened to, I love the soundtrack, especially that intro.

Same thing with the two AVGN games, only seen parts and listened to the music, but playing them I've yet to do.

[Prowler]

I'm pretty sure I found out about the Nerd here at the Drome after his TMNT review. I loved it and watched his previous videos. Back in the day youtube series' weren't really a thing so I thought it was a "we'll never see videos from him again", so I was suprised when he kept making more and got into other Screwattack shows like GameJew and hated all the youtube copycats which you still see plenty of influences of "angry" reaviewers of things not just video games.

I loved his show and when it moved to Gametrailers he indeed tried to make the show have more skits which people hated but I loved since by this point I was tired of the "angry gamer" and liked how he spiced it up with random stories in between. Sadly after a while he decided to go "back to basics" and from then on I kind of lost interest since they weren't as funny and there were no skits anymore, during this time he barely produced AVGN videos so I still watched them whenever they came out but that's about it. Only recently did I begin to enjoy his AVGN episodes again.

As for the movie, I was really looking forward to it and waited forever. Since I had always been a fan of his skits I thought an entire movie of it would be great but man did I hate it, I don't remember what I thought about the movie except I didn't like it but you can probably find my review of it here on the drome thread.

As far as his video games I played the first one and it's too f-cking difficult but that's the joke, the game is nothing special just a difficult Mega Man clone with AVGN/geeky and of course the overdone "8 bit" raphics. So it's a bit generic but the AVGN license makes it stand out over other "retro" indie games. I'll get the sequel eventually.

I enjoy a lot of the Cinemassacre content that James does like Monster Madness, and other movie reviews but not all. And I really dislike Mike, he comes off as trying too hard.

It's crazy that I've watched him for over ten years though and a shame he isn't bigger, I mean he literally started the whole "youtuber" scene before it ever began but because he left for a while he kind of lost that. I've wanted to re-watch all the AVGN episodes but there are so many I think I'll need to make a list of essential ones, but maybe I'll ask around since I don't really remember which ones were good.

I was a bit hesitant when he moved to GameTrailers at first, although a guaranteed new AVGN episode every two weeks was sweet. I think the time he spent at GT doing two episodes per month burnt him out a bit, though. Did you see his "Making of an AVGN episode" video? Crazy how many hours he plunges into one game review.

I didn't like his Atari 5200 and Ghostbusters episodes much at first. Perhaps because I was just getting used to his more polished and professional style. Also, one review I've never liked much of his was his Spider-Man review. I'm also not always a big fan of those more theatrical reviews of his where he fights Matt matei or Kyle Justin in costume/disguise. I guess they worked fine for those Halloween special episodes with James being a big horror movie fan, but I'm not a fan of horror movies overall. Sometimes I like it, other times not so much. I'm also not a huge fan of the Bugs Bunny episodes. I've always preferred his straight up video game review episodes.

My "least favourite" AVGN episodes, though? Either Master Chu and the Drunk Fu or wtv that game's title was(I blame sh*t pickle for it) or Independence Day. Independence Day was the most uninspired and forgettable review AVGN did, imo. But hey, a couple of "bad" episodes in over a hundred is not a bad track record at all.

Yes, I like how his episodes have variety. He's good in that aspect. But I did like how he went "back to basics" for a while. In that video f his where he tells you about the process of making an AVGN episode, he states that NES games episodes always turn out the best and I'd agree with him on that one. Maybe because that's how I got to know him and how he started out.

Yeah, AVGN didn't transition so well into movie format, imo. It was way over the top even for an AVGN product. I mean, up to then, we had already seen all sorts of whacky sh*t in his show, so surely this would mean the movie would take it to the next level? But no, not really.

I think he's back to releasing new eps whenever he feels like it? Is he gonna release more movies(unrelated to the AVGN character that is) in the future?

In terms of James Rolfe, the individual, he's one of the best guys on YouTube. As Powder put it, a guy who does a lot of research and has fun with what he does. After hearing about his daughter's condition last year, my respect for Rolfe increased with the charity event.

As for his content, I will admit the AVGN has lost some of its luster in terms of comedy, but man oh man, James' filmmaking skills are great. I especially love Board James much more than AVGN due to that one reason, it's impressive. To stay on point, my favorite episode of AVGN is the Super Mario Bros. 3 episode. The recent content is still rather solid, but I prefer the other work James does now; it is fun to marathon the older AVGN episodes though.

For his movie, I've only seen bits and clips due to the Nostalgia Critic and the ET review. I haven't seen the whole thing yet, but from what I've listened to, I love the soundtrack, especially that intro.

Same thing with the two AVGN games, only seen parts and listened to the music, but playing them I've yet to do.
Actually, Super Mario Bros. 3 was a quite disappointing episode. Again, I was reading the Screwattack forums often back in the day, and this episode was VERY hyped up. It was supposed to be the most epic or at least the most memorable and outrageous AVGN episode to that point... well I personally think he went waaaaaaaaaaaay too over the top with the game coming from hell and bringing cyborg Jesus 3000 or wtv that f*ck that was. Clearly he had too much Rolling Rock when he came up with the script.

His daughter's condition? Huh? What's wrong with her? First time I hear of this.

[Wildcat]

I've seen all the AVGN videos but not the movie yet. I'm a bit backed up on the James and Mike series.

I don't really plan on playing either of his video games since I don't like brutally difficult games but I wouldn't mind trying them out. I've only seen videos.

[Powder]

I don't think they're too brutal. I can't get through Megman or Castlevania titles on NES but I beat both AVGN Adventures games despite their difficulty. The smooth controls/physics & checkpoints (optional) make the challenge a lot more accessible. If you're actually interested, I'd suggest the 2nd over the first. More levels, less cheap deaths, flashier visuals, it's great. Any Technodromer would appreciate the many TMNT references throughout. :tlol:

[shuriken]

AVGN has always been funny to me. Lots of creativity and a lot of useful info about the games along with a lot of over-reacting video game complaints. I really enjoyed his Rocky episode and the Batman ones too. Also the Big Riggs one and Hong Kong 97 made me laugh way too hard.

[Prowler]

AVGN has always been funny to me. Lots of creativity and a lot of useful info about the games along with a lot of over-reacting video game complaints. I really enjoyed his Rocky episode and the Batman ones too. Also the Big Riggs one and Hong Kong 97 made me laugh way too hard.
Yeah but whoever made Hong Kong 97 was one messed up individual. Jesus there's a picture of holocaust deadbodies and of one unknown deadbody in that game. Plus it seems to wish death upon chinese mainlanders. It was probably made by an ultra-nationalistic right-wing Japanese.

[sdp]

IIRC his daughter had a problem and thanks to a charity she recovered, this was during the filming of the AVGN movie, after that he auctioned off a bunch of AVGN memorabilia and donated everything to the charity that helped his daughter.

He mentioned he wanted to do more full length movies and not an AVGN one and he'd continue releasing AVGN shows but whenever it was possible, so no real schedule which is fine by me.

And see that's where my opinion differs from most of the fanbase, I loved the insane SMB3 review and all the over the top episodes like Bugs Bunny and others. James did as well, he's not really a gamer but a filmmaker and that's his passion so he tried to do things he liked with the AVGN but because the majority of the fans didn't he went "back to basics" which is actually easier for him to do as the other skits required a lot of work. A shame really, I just find reviews of just games a bit boring as he's done it for over 100 episodes, the laughs are not the same as the firsts time he said "f-ck this game" and countelss copy cats, but to each his own.

The movie wasn't that wacky though, so even though I'm a fan it was just a bit generic and boring since it wasn't paced very well. I thought I'd love it since I missed his long skits he used to do in episodes but I didn't. It's worth a watch if you like AVGN though and I think most dromers here enjoyed it, as usual I was the one with the odd opinion.

edit: oh I remember when the Wii U version of the AVGN game came out and everyone was getting banned for posting screenshots of the game on miiverse in the games community, it was hilarious. Eventually the AVGN Adventures community did not allow screenshots being posted as most of the game included things not allowed by their terms of service.

[Wildcat]

I don't think they're too brutal. I can't get through Megman or Castlevania titles on NES but I beat both AVGN Adventures games despite their difficulty. The smooth controls/physics & checkpoints (optional) make the challenge a lot more accessible. If you're actually interested, I'd suggest the 2nd over the first. More levels, less cheap deaths, flashier visuals, it's great. Any Technodromer would appreciate the many TMNT references throughout. :tlol:Oh. Well I would like try them just fun. I know the difficulty is part the joke about how hard some things are in older games.

[Icebot]

I found the AVGN while searching for TMNT stuff on YouTube and I saw his TMNT NES review and I ended up loving it. Then I watched his other game reviews and ended up becoming a fan.

[snake]

I started watching back in 2010 and I've been a huge fan of Cinemassacre ever since. Honestly one of the best guys on the internet.

[Shark_Blade]

I suppose he is one of the pioneers of youtube game reviews and gameplays. He's still entertaining - but since he plays older games (that is his forte), I much rather other youtubers that mostly play modern games like DashieXP, KatiePlayStuff, JackSepticEye and Pewdiepie.

[ssjup81]

I like James Rolfe. He seems so humble and hated all the hate he got regarding his stance on the newer Ghostbuster film and why he didn’t have an interest in seeing it and that he wasn’t going to review it, despite many people requesting it. I also didn’t know his daughter had been sick. What was her ailment?

So yeah, I like his Nerd videos and was watching his videos when he was still the Angry Nintendo Nerd. Not sure what my first video was, but I did find him entertaining. My fav Nerd eps tend to focus around eps on actual gaming systems, like the Sega CD/32X and the Atari Jaguar are a couple of examples. I also like how he gives information on what he may review, so yeah.

I watch his other stuff too, occasionally. One thing he used to have on his site years ago, was this type of history of Batman thing…onscreen stuff, which included information about the 1940s serials. Wish it was still there. It was very well-informed, imo.

Let’s see, the only negative about his nerd persona is the gross-out humor, which I’ve never been particularly a fan of in general. Even as a kid, I couldn’t tolerate stuff like Ren & Stimpy after a certain point because it was too gross for me. One review, that I know of, that I have never been able to get through, is his Toxic Avenger one. It was too crude for my tastes I guess.

Oh, one review that comes to mind that I do find pretty hilarious, mainly because the game actually exists, is the Hong Kong 97 review. IMO, that wasn’t the AVGN, that was just James being James. lol

[snake]

I'm with you man, I love the episodes about consoles or accessories.

[Prowler]

I like James Rolfe. He seems so humble and hated all the hate he got regarding his stance on the newer Ghostbuster film and why he didn’t have an interest in seeing it and that he wasn’t going to review it, despite many people requesting it. I also didn’t know his daughter had been sick. What was her ailment?

So yeah, I like his Nerd videos and was watching his videos when he was still the Angry Nintendo Nerd. Not sure what my first video was, but I did find him entertaining. My fav Nerd eps tend to focus around eps on actual gaming systems, like the Sega CD/32X and the Atari Jaguar are a couple of examples. I also like how he gives information on what he may review, so yeah.

I watch his other stuff too, occasionally. One thing he used to have on his site years ago, was this type of history of Batman thing…onscreen stuff, which included information about the 1940s serials. Wish it was still there. It was very well-informed, imo.

Let’s see, the only negative about his nerd persona is the gross-out humor, which I’ve never been particularly a fan of in general. Even as a kid, I couldn’t tolerate stuff like Ren & Stimpy after a certain point because it was too gross for me. One review, that I know of, that I have never been able to get through, is his Toxic Avenger one. It was too crude for my tastes I guess.

Oh, one review that comes to mind that I do find pretty hilarious, mainly because the game actually exists, is the Hong Kong 97 review. IMO, that wasn’t the AVGN, that was just James being James. lol
The onyl instance I remember James getting some flack was in that time where he and Mike promoted someone else's kickstarter campaign or wtv it was and that guy turned out to be a scammer in the end. I dunno, it was some years ago already and I never bothered to research much about that controversy. Someone else enlighten me, please.

Well I didn't watch the newer Ghostbusters either. Doesn't appeal me. I wonder how James felt about Bay Turtles tho. James really likes the Turtles but, from what I gather, he's pretty much a FW and movie fan only.

[ssjup81]

I'm with you man, I love the episodes about consoles or accessories.Yeah, I always find those interesting. For instance, I remembered the 32x, but didn’t know anyone who had one. It was crazy that Sega even released it so close to the launch of the Sega Saturn.
The onyl instance I remember James getting some flack was in that time where he and Mike promoted someone else's kickstarter campaign or wtv it was and that guy turned out to be a scammer in the end. I dunno, it was some years ago already and I never bothered to research much about that controversy. Someone else enlighten me, please.

Well I didn't watch the newer Ghostbusters either. Doesn't appeal me. I wonder how James felt about Bay Turtles tho. James really likes the Turtles but, from what I gather, he's pretty much a FW and movie fan only.Last year, he made a video telling his fans that he wasn’t going to watch or review the 2016 Ghostbusters film and gave reasons why he wasn’t going to see it. People pretty much called him sexist, was attacked by Sony, and stuff like that and it even made the actual news. The majority of what he said was the main reason why I had no interest in seeing it. The thing is, he didn’t mention gender at all, practically. He compared it to the Force Awakens and was pretty much saying that he would prefer a pass the torch type set up, like Star Wars did with the Force Awakens. That’s what I wanted.

As for the Bay Turtle films, he’s seen them. As a matter of fact, he did two crossovers with the Nostalgia Critic as the AVGN for both films. The second crossover was between him, Nostalgia Critic, and Black Nerd.

[Prowler]

Yeah, I always find those interesting. For instance, I remembered the 32x, but didn’t know anyone who had one. It was crazy that Sega even released it so close to the launch of the Sega Saturn.
Last year, he made a video telling his fans that he wasn’t going to watch or review the 2016 Ghostbusters film and gave reasons why he wasn’t going to see it. People pretty much called him sexist, was attacked by Sony, and stuff like that and it even made the actual news. The majority of what he said was the main reason why I had no interest in seeing it. The thing is, he didn’t mention gender at all, practically. He compared it to the Force Awakens and was pretty much saying that he would prefer a pass the torch type set up, like Star Wars did with the Force Awakens. That’s what I wanted.

As for the Bay Turtle films, he’s seen them. As a matter of fact, he did two crossovers with the Nostalgia Critic as the AVGN for both films. The second crossover was between him, Nostalgia Critic, and Black Nerd.
So I just finished watching his video where he talks about the Ghostbusters movie and... it's totally sensible. Really? That video of his generated a lot of backlash? Wow people get butthurt so easily nowadays.

And yes, the idea behind this new Ghostbusters movie was ridiculous from the start. As if anyone asked for it in the first place. I wouldn't want to watch a Sailor Moon anime with an entirely male cast either.

Does this mean we might see an all-female TMNT movie one day? Now that would kill this forum for good.

[Wildcat]

If he had no interest seeing it that's fine but to make a video just to say "I refuse to see it etc..." was obviously just done to hate on it.

Out of everything he's reviewed Ghostbusters '16 is the one thing he refuses?

He even posted a DVD review of the cartoon the day the movie released. I mean come on.

It takes more effort to show you're ignoring something than it is to just ignore it.

I liked the movie but I would have preferred he make fun of it in a review instead acting all dumb. He did both Turtles movies.

[ssjup81]

So I just finished watching his video where he talks about the Ghostbusters movie and... it's totally sensible. Really? That video of his generated a lot of backlash? Wow people get butthurt so easily nowadays.

And yes, the idea behind this new Ghostbusters movie was ridiculous from the start. As if anyone asked for it in the first place. I wouldn't want to watch a Sailor Moon anime with an entirely male cast either.

Does this mean we might see an all-female TMNT movie one day? Now that would kill this forum for good. Yeah, he got a lot of backlash, and as mentioned, this even made the news. People were attacking him and his wife, iirc. It was absolutely ridiculous. He didn’t mention gender, he was talking about the concept of the film’s existence. I don’t feel he had a problem with them being all women, just the set up and stuff he had a problem with. They had Ernie Hudson in this film playing the uncle of black lady (sorry, don’t recall her name). Why not have all of the former Ghostbusters make appearances as themselves? The blonde could’ve been Egon and Janette’s kid. Seriously, so much potential to start a new series of Ghostbusters films, like they’re doing with Star Wars.
If he had no interest seeing it that's fine but to make a video just to say "I refuse to see it etc..." was obviously just done to hate on it.

Out of everything he's reviewed Ghostbusters '16 is the one thing he refuses?Why not? He said himself that he’d been receiving many requests to review the film. It was easier to just make a video saying why he wasn’t planning on seeing it than to probably post it on his site. He didn’t really say or do anything wrong here and I don’t see how it was “hating on the film”. NC, as Doug, has done a video about films he said he’ll never review, so how is this any different?I liked the movie but I would have preferred he make fun of it in a review instead acting all dumb. He did both Turtles movies.But why should he review something he actually had no interest in? That was the point of the video he made and to keep people from constantly sending him messages and requests to go see/review it. He gave his reasons and then did a Ghostbusters retrospect of what he liked about the original film and the other scrapped movie projects after the second film. I honestly don’t see how he did anything wrong and stuff or why people would get offended by it.

[Wildcat]

@ssjup81,

I don't know if he was flooded with requests or what Doug Walker has purposely avoided but all James needed to do was state he was not interested in seeing a Ghostbusters reboot.

Posting a lengthy explanation and GB cartoon reviews the day it opened was obviously done to "throw shade" at the new movie.

Like I said...it takes more effort to show you're ignoring something than it is to just ignore it. Especially considering all the other "crap" he's reviewed (no I don't think he's being sexist just hating)

[chrisdude]

Big fan. I watch Cinemassacre on a near-daily basis. I leave the AVGN season uploads on autoplay the way most people watch Netflix. I especially enjoy James and Mike Mondays. I look forward to those.

[Prowler]

New AVGN episode came out a few days ago. Powerangers games. Pretty fun episode even if he didn't go crazy on it.

[GoldMutant]

New AVGN episode came out a few days ago. Powerangers games. Pretty fun episode even if he didn't go crazy on it.

"Angry Nintendo Nerd!"

"Atari Nerd!"

"Sega Nerd!"

"Playstation Nerd!"

"Tiger Electronic Wrist Watch Game Nerd!" I died at this. :lol:

[Prowler]

"Angry Nintendo Nerd!"

"Atari Nerd!"

"Sega Nerd!"

"Playstation Nerd!"

"Tiger Electronic Wrist Watch Game Nerd!" I died at this. :lol:
And him trying to sing a song in Japanese.

[Tyma]

It's hard to imagine would Youtube would be like without AVGN. He's one of the pioneers, and definately one of the 'good guys'.

He did a lot of TMNT coverage in his early videos, as well. I remember he did a few in-depth videos of the Fred Wolf cartoon, and a video or two covering the Turtles' pop culture boom.

I wonder what he thinks of the current Turtles' output?

[The Deadman]

I like his short horror film reviews, especially the Top 40 Sh*tty Shark Movies. That was his best countdown video by far.

[sdp]

The new video is about Sonic the Hedgehog 2006...When AVGN started that game was a current gen game.

[Wildcat]

I thought he was really gonna rip it apart. It was nice to see he acknowledged it was playable but just littered with annoyances.

I've played the whole game and it's not nearly as outrageously broken as people say. I don't even think certain glitches happen unless you force them.

I've seen a play through where the person just glitched his way through stages. I have no idea how as I played it normally.

[Shark_Blade]

It's playable but I detest the looooooooooooooooonnnnnggggg loading times. I can literally read a book whilst waiting it to load. And it has loads of places to load like a segment of dialogue when talking to people, different place, levels etc.

[Turo602]

I honestly don't know how I ever managed to beat that game. I don't know if people make the game seem a lot worse than it really is, but I do remember it being really frustrating very often. How I tolerated the loading, sh*tty design, and glitches is beyond me.

[Netkeeper]

The video was still a blast to watch, though. I loved this one.

[Prowler]

The new video is about Sonic the Hedgehog 2006...When AVGN started that game was a current gen game.
Yeah same for Mega Man X6 and X7.

Funny thing is, James and Mike played Sonic 2006 sometime ago, and people were asking James to review the game as AVGN someday.

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

I like when he talks memories of older consoles, like NES and Super NES.

[Prowler]

He released two new game reviewing episodes recently. And is currently doing a Halloween special on a game called Polybius. One video per day. let's see where this goes.

[PApagreg]

He's alright, if a bit too repetitive for my taste

[Prowler]

He's alright, if a bit too repetitive for my taste
Tbh he's been doing this since 2006... or well 2004. He knows this and notice how he hasn't done much AVGN related stuff in the last few years? Most of his channel these days consists of him playing games with Mike Matei and other guys. There was also Board James and You Know What's BS series. And also videos where he talks about movies and such.

Perhaps he is focusing more on his film making career... but he seems to have been regaining his love for the AVGN character lately again.

I don't think he is a s popular as he used to be. Many people who were watching him back in 2006-2009 no longer care for him. He was one of the pioneers in the YT gaming community but has been bested or even surpassed in popularity by other game reviewers that came a long in the current decade such as Angry Joe and JonTron. I don't care for those two guys, but can't deny their fame and popularity. Also, when AVGN became a well-known internet persona, social media was not what it is today. And James isn't the type of person who is constantly on twitter and such voicing his opinions and getting into drama. he's a bit more of a low profile, as low profile as a "celebrity" can be, that is. Plus he has a wife and two daughters. He has an actual life.

I wonder if he'll ever retire the Nerd character. How has his movie career been doing so far? his AVGN film was a letdown tbh.

[Prowler]

James has released 7-8 new AVGN episodes since May. Seems like he's been putting out several episodes lately. I guess he's back at doing this regularly? I remember the Earthbound episode coming out and me not watching it at the time. I watched it recently, and when I was about to I expected him to have released a couple of new ones meanwhile at best, but no, more like 7, which surprised me.

The Earthbound episode was excellent and one of his best episodes ever. Looks like he's not past his prime yet like some of his critics think he is. AVGN stuff is always good/fun for me, but these year's episodes have been the best ones in a while, imo. 2017 had some good episodes such as the Power Rangers episode and the Polybius episode, but overall it was not his best year, imo. Seems like he's getting back to form again.

[Leo656]

I always check out his latest AVGN stuff. Still entertaining to me.

I don't really look at the other Cinemassacre stuff too often. I wanna punch Mike Matei so hard. You have no idea at all.

[Shinigami]

I always check out his latest AVGN stuff. Still entertaining to me.

I don't really look at the other Cinemassacre stuff too often. I wanna punch Mike Matei so hard. You have no idea at all.

Literally everyone I know who’s a fan says this exact same thing. Myself included.

[Leo656]

I bet James gets tons of requests, like, "Please do an episode where Mike gets the sh*t beat out of him repeatedly." :lol:

He's just really unlikable in that Ryan Seacrest, "You haven't done anything wrong to me, specifically, I just really want to smash your face in" kinda way. Y'know? Of course, on certain episodes he really is a smug and annoying prick, but he's just kinda punchable in general.

[ProactiveMan]

I feel that way about Doug Walker. James did a couple of videos with him and Brad Jones recently, and just the way he looked standing there with his Baby Huey posture and uncomfortable grin, made me want to squeeze my drinking glass until it exploded in my hand.

[Prowler]

I've been told that James nowadays has a small team working for him and writing scripts and editing his videos, or helping him out with them. Otherwise he'd take more time to make those episodes and it'd eat up most of his time. Some fans dislike this because they think the AVGN episodes no longer have that "authentic feel", but tbh, I have not noticed any significant change and I'd never have guessed that he no longer does everything by himself with the occasional help from Mike and Kyle Justin.

Some fans also think he's not angry enough anymore and acts more like James all the time than like the Nerd. I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. He's almost 40 by now, and no longer 25 when he first gained notoriety. Plus he's married and has two kids now whom I assume he loves. Why would he need to force anger in his videos anymore? If he's still doing this stuff when he's 55 years old it'd be embarrassing to watch an angry old man yelling at his TV constantly. Also, he's been doing this for over a decade by now. Let the guy have some fun, especially considering how much work is required to put into the AVGN stuff.

James true passion is film making. You see, some people forget this, but back in 2006 his YT channel only had AVGN stuff and 2 or 3 other videos. In the last 5 years or so he's been working on other projects. He had the Board James series, the Nerd movie, and other stuff on his channel, mostly him and Mike playing games on Mondays with occasional guests like Pat and Spoony. That's why we had periods with barely any AVGN stuff. It's by far his most successful thing, but he wanted to branch out. He really enjoys making movies, particularly horror ones.

I think James realised he's not gonna make it as a huge director or producer, and tbh the Nerd movie kinda sucked and is my least favourite Nerd thing ever. Some say he secretly is burnt out of being AVGN and such, but that's what makes him the most money. It's both a blessing and a curse. If it wasn't for AVGN no one would know who he is, but it also has typecast him. We all see him as AVGN, pretty much. :lol:

I honestly think the AVGN series has surprisingly remained consistently good throughout the years. There's very few AVGN episodes I'd go as far as call "bad". And even those aren't terrible. They area, imo:

Mr. Chu and the Drunkhard Hu
Independence Day
ToxicCrusaders
Lightspan Adventures

So 4 weak episodes out of like 160? Not a bad track record! James always listened to the fans and varied his episodes and the intro a bit as well. That's also a big reason why he has a very loyal core fanbase. He treats his fans well.

I don't think he owes us anything, tbh. He busts his ass making these videos and we can watch them FOR FREE. So really, what reason do I have to complain? Even if I don't usually laugh out loud at his videos I ALWAYS enjoy them.

I think the best episodes are ones based on NES games because those have the "pure AVGN formula". It's a bit odd for me to see him reviewing PS1, PS2 and Xbox games very occasionally; but that might be due to me not realising at times how much time has passed since those games.

I always check out his latest AVGN stuff. Still entertaining to me.

I don't really look at the other Cinemassacre stuff too often. I wanna punch Mike Matei so hard. You have no idea at all.
Oh I definitely get notified on my phone when he posts new content, but most of the time it's James and mike Mondays stuff and I also get notifications from a few other YT channels, so I guess Nerd episodes' notifications sometimes get lost in the shuffle and I overlook them.

As for what you said elsewhere, yes his kids are probably now a bit older. His first one was born quite a while ago already. Like in 2008 or so, I'm guessing? And his youngest one was also born some years ago already, I think? Both are probably old enough to go to school by now. Meaning they're no longer babies and aren't inside almost 24/7 anymore.

As for what you said about Board James, didn't that series end some years ago with the phone episode where the phone tells James to kill Mike and Bubsy? :lol:

Literally everyone I know who’s a fan says this exact same thing. Myself included.

Mike is quite cringey and so are his jokes. Honestly, I feel like a lot of James' dirty humour is Mike's influence. I could be wrong, though.

I bet James gets tons of requests, like, "Please do an episode where Mike gets the sh*t beat out of him repeatedly." :lol:

He's just really unlikable in that Ryan Seacrest, "You haven't done anything wrong to me, specifically, I just really want to smash your face in" kinda way. Y'know? Of course, on certain episodes he really is a smug and annoying prick, but he's just kinda punchable in general.
Well, Mike is usually the bad guy when he appears in an episode for a reason :lol:. Unlike Kyle Justin or other occasional guests who are usually Jame's friends or work together with him.

I feel that way about Doug Walker. James did a couple of videos with him and Brad Jones recently, and just the way he looked standing there with his Baby Huey posture and uncomfortable grin, made me want to squeeze my drinking glass until it exploded in my hand.
Doug Walker is Nostalgia Critic, right?

[RaphaelinSTL]

Still love his videos. Can't believe it's been over a decade of me watching him.

[Coola Yagami]

Still love his videos. Also loved how he destroyed the CD-I. I liked how he blasted it with special effects and then lampshades it by saying 'no, this deserved more than just digital effects' and burns it down with a real blowtorch.

I have noticed his bald spot in newer videos. I don't know why but part of me kinda respects him for paying it no mind and continue to do his stuff, instead of the Nerd suddenly wearing a cap or beanie or something. But man, hard to believe he's like 40 now. And has kids. Plural.

[Prowler]

Still love his videos. Also loved how he destroyed the CD-I. I liked how he blasted it with special effects and then lampshades it by saying 'no, this deserved more than just digital effects' and burns it down with a real blowtorch.

I have noticed his bald spot in newer videos. I don't know why but part of me kinda respects him for paying it no mind and continue to do his stuff, instead of the Nerd suddenly wearing a cap or beanie or something. But man, hard to believe he's like 40 now. And has kids. Plural.

He's 38 years old atm. A full decade older than me, then.

Yeah he is balding, but other than that, doesn't seem like he's aged much. He seems heavier now than he did back in 2006-2012, though. But hey, a lot of people are skinny up until their 20s and then put on some weight in their 30s and 40s. Metabolism slows down and you get fatter more easily.

[Sumac]

He is amazing. He has real passion for what he does and he is real fan of 80-s stuff. And while his new stuff maybe not as funny as his old videos, he is still fairly decent.
Though I must say I like when he tells stories about consoles and stuff, even more than when he is in his AVGN persona.

[Andrew NDB]

I haven't watched him in a while but he's great. Way better than the FAKE hacks that followed in his foosteps like Nostalgia Critic.

[sdp]

He basically helped create modern youtube and I feel he doesn't get the credit he deserves even if he's very well known. Now you have adults who say "I remember watching the AVGN when I was a little kid, I was like 18 when the TMNT video on youtube became viral lol

[CyberCubed]

Yeah, wasn't he the first guy doing videogame videos who wasn't affiliated with any major gaming site? He was like the prehistoric version of what became a youtuber.

[Prowler]

He is amazing. He has real passion for what he does and he is real fan of 80-s stuff. And while his new stuff maybe not as funny as his old videos, he is still fairly decent.
Though I must say I like when he tells stories about consoles and stuff, even more than when he is in his AVGN persona.

Yeah, I just enjoy hearing him talk about his favourite stuff and the history of cinema and video games. It's funny because, back in 2006-2008 me and many fans found the real James boring and only wanted to see him as the Nerd. It was strange seeing him act out of character. But in the last 4-5 years or so, his character toned down and you don't really feel like he's acting anymore. Or it seems like he forgets in the middle of the episode that he's supposed to be the Nerd and not James and then goes back to it :lol:

I haven't watched him in a while but he's great. Way better than the FAKE hacks that followed in his foosteps like Nostalgia Critic.
I thought Nostalgia Critic pre-dated him?

He basically helped create modern youtube and I feel he doesn't get the credit he deserves even if he's very well known. Now you have adults who say "I remember watching the AVGN when I was a little kid, I was like 18 when the TMNT video on youtube became viral lol
I've talked to 19-20 year olds who told me "AVGN was my childhood"... which is kinda crazy, when you think about it. Someone who was 19 in 2016 was watching AVGN when they were 9-10 years old. I don't think I'd have enjoyed AVGN much if I was that young at the time. I was 15-16 years old and going through a retrogaming phase, so it's like I was introduced to AVGN(at the time, Angry Nintendo Nerd still) at the right place at the right time.

I remember how in the previous decade AVGN's fanbase would get criticised often for being full of young kids. Most AVGN fans at the time seemed to be people around his ageat the time(mid-late 20s) or 12 year olds. I guess that's why a lot of people under 25 nowadays say he was a big part of their childhood. He probably indirectly got a lot of people into retrogaming and directing.

It's baffling how Cinemassacre only has about 2.7M subscribers. He's very well known and his videos get a lot of comments, yet he only gets less than 3M subs? I guess because he mostly focuses on older games unlike pewdiepie and others who focus on current games. Also, for some years, James new AVGN content was coming out on GameTrailers and he could only upload them onto youtubue a year or two afterwards. And keep in mind this was in 2007-2010 already. There was no James & Mike Mondays nor Board James or any other extra content besides your very occasional movie review or something by James. His channel was named AngryNintendoNerd for ages until it got renamed to Cinemassacre.

Yeah, wasn't he the first guy doing videogame videos who wasn't affiliated with any major gaming site? He was like the prehistoric version of what became a youtuber.

In 2006 he was like the hottest up and coming youtuber. The most popular ones were probably Smosh with their parodies of video game and cartoon theme songs. And one of the most popular videos was evolution of dance.

No one went on YT in 2006-2007 to watch the news or to know what the latest controversial event was. YT was a place to watch older cartoons, anime, video game TAS emulator plays, AVGN, and videos people uploaded of their nephews playing Beethoven. Pre-google/viacom buyout YT was a great place. Honestly, it was more fun back in the day. No clickbait videos or people making money off videos where they talk about their boring lives. Back then, if someone made a video where they showed their faces, they'd get to the point. Plus, videos had a 10 minute limit. Only people with director accounts could upload videos that were longer than 10 mins.

James started the "angry reviewer" trend. I remember a lot of them popping out at the time due to AVGN's influence, most notorious ones being the Irate Gamer and SpoonyOne.

[Leo656]

But in the last 4-5 years or so, his character toned down and you don't really feel like he's acting anymore. Or it seems like he forgets in the middle of the episode that he's supposed to be the Nerd and not James and then goes back to it :lol:

:lol: I noticed that, too. It's like "I really just wanna talk about this old game, but... (sigh) here's a 'sh*tload of f*ck' and 'sh*tpickle' for you whiny brats who're gonna bitch me out in the Comments section if I don't put it in there." :lol:

He's like an old touring rock band who wants to branch out into other things, but is resigned to the fact that people only wanna hear the hits.

[Prowler]

:lol: I noticed that, too. It's like "I really just wanna talk about this old game, but... (sigh) here's a 'sh*tload of f*ck' and 'sh*tpickle' for you whiny brats who're gonna bitch me out in the Comments section if I don't put it in there." :lol:

He's like an old touring rock band who wants to branch out into other things, but is resigned to the fact that people only wanna hear the hits.

I still think he does a good job at being creative with cursing and insults. And even if it's not exactly funny he has good delivery. Anyway, I don't really laugh my ass off at his videos. I just enjoy them or think "oh that's funny". I did use to laugh a ton back when I was a teenager. Like that time I first saw him say "AAAAASSSSSS F*******CK!" in the Top Gun episode really made me laugh a lot. Nowadays it doesn't at all. I guess because I was a kid still and also because the novelty of the AVGN(still known as ANN) was still a thing at the time. I remember being SHOCKED when I watched my first video of his, the TMNT review, and hearing him cuss, especially when he goes on a cursing tirade at the end of the video. :lol: I was like :o

[Leo656]

:lol: I hear ya. "It's AAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!" is a personal inside joke between my wife and I.

I also agree that it would be nice to hear him talk about newer games more often, but he's mentioned several times that he kind of dropped off after the PS1 era.

I know he and Mike have occasionally played newer games in their other videos, but I just can't get into those. I'll be honest, watching other people play video games is super boring to me, especially when they talk/mumble in meandering fashion the whole time. And they often say dumb/ignorant stuff when discussing basic pop culture stuff they really ought'a know, and I end up yelling at the screen. :lol:

I'm sure James is a real nice guy, but I really only like his AVGN and Board James videos. And even with Board James he kinda seemed to give up on it halfway through, thus the strange and abrupt ending he gave it.

[Prowler]

:lol: I hear ya. "It's AAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!" is a personal inside joke between my wife and I.

I also agree that it would be nice to hear him talk about newer games more often, but he's mentioned several times that he kind of dropped off after the PS1 era.

I know he and Mike have occasionally played newer games in their other videos, but I just can't get into those. I'll be honest, watching other people play video games is super boring to me, especially when they talk/mumble in meandering fashion the whole time. And they often say dumb/ignorant stuff when discussing basic pop culture stuff they really ought'a know, and I end up yelling at the screen. :lol:

I'm sure James is a real nice guy, but I really only like his AVGN and Board James videos. And even with Board James he kinda seemed to give up on it halfway through, thus the strange and abrupt ending he gave it.

I don't want him to talk about current games much, tbh. Unless they're Nintendo, ofc. James is all about nostalgia, as the theme song says "he's gonna take you back to the past".

Honestly, it's a bit odd to see him review a PS1 or an Xbox 360 game like Sonic 2006, which was current gen back when AVGN became a thing :lol:.Man, AVGN reviewing a 360 game! Wow time flies.

One thing I agree with James is that the NES games seem to make the best episodes. He even says it himself that the NES is his safe zone. I guess it's because that's the console he started with and the console we primarily associate him with. Not to mention a lot or most of the NES games he reviewed are games he grew up with, so you can feel how genuine his frustrations are. While games for the Saturn and games like Sonic 2006 are games he did not play until this decade as a guy in his 30s. Not the same sort of long lasting trauma or nostalgia.

Tbh, James wasn't even THAT big of a gamer until he started AVGN: His main passion is film making. He did the first couple of videos as a joke and Karate Kid was meant to be the last of the trilogy... but it snowballed and the rest is history. Basically, his collection grew a TON, and a lot of sh*t he owns have been donations from fans. He made a video in like 2007 about console wars where he had to edit a Saturn in because he didn't own a Saturn... but then got mailed 4 SEGA SATURNS as gifts from fans :lol:. Not a bad gig to have. Buying and playing games as a hobby and job and also getting consoles and games as gifts from fans :lol:. Also, some of the games he reviews are Mike's. Mike is the bigger gamer of the two, I think.

James and Mike's Mondays is hit and miss. Mike can be rather annoying and grating. Some have good moments and jokes, but not really a must see thing.

Board James was fun.

Movie reviews... well James is a bit too much into horror movies and such, which aren't really my thing. So meh.

[Leo656]

My problem with the NES reviews is that it's kinda low-hanging fruit. I do love hearing him talk about games I too grew up with, but going back to any of those games WITHOUT nostalgia goggles on, and they're all mostly crap. A few decent Konami and Capcom games, sure, but by and large, if Nintendo themselves didn't make it, it was crap. Video games didn't get truly "great" until the SNES era. Before that, people were still learning how to program, or to figure out that there were other types of game designs besides "side-scrolling platformer" or "turn-based RPG".

So whenever he does an NES game, it almost feels "too easy". The flipside is, if he reviewed good games it'd be kinda boring. :lol:

I love when he does a whole series of games based on the same thing, like Back to the Future or Ghostbusters. I've found out about a whole bunch of games I never even heard of before from those videos.

[Prowler]

Well, yeah:

"He's gonna take you back to the past, to play the sh*tty games that suck ass!" :trazz:

I am still getting used to James reviewing 3D games. I get it why he does it, though. I mean, Xbox,PS2 and GameCube games by now are retrogames. And were the popular games when people of my generation were 10-15 years old. Let's not forget the PS2 came out in 1999 already, despite living up to like 2011 or so? So my point is, those games and also the ones from the PS1/Saturn/N64 generation are to people aged 25-30 nowadays what the NES was to people of your generation. Ofc some lucky people like myself who grew up withan odler brother also grew up with the NES and the SNES and such :tgrin:

James said he plans to do Nerd episodes until he no longer can. He's been going strong again lately so I think it's safe to say we'll have a lot of new AVGN episodes until, at least, 2020. And there's A LOT of stuff for him to review in the DC/PS2/Xbox/GC gen. The PS2 had more games than any other console and like 70% of its library was shovelware. On PS2's library alone there must be like, AT LEAST, 45 crappy games that could give James a lot of material to work on a new episode with.

I mean, at this point, are there even many old crappy games left for him to pick apart? He's reviewed pretty much ALL of the infamous ones already:

Action 52 + Cheetahman
Plumbers Don't Wear Ties
Shaq Fu
Kasumi Ninja
The Town With No Name
Big Rigs(not THAT old)
Desert Bus
Crazy Bus (doesn't even qualify as a game)
Hong Kong 97
E.T.
Ghostbusters (NES)
Superman 64 (not THAT old either)
Pretty much every LJN game ever. Seriously, is there any LJN game left for him to review? If there is then they account for like 3% of LJN games ever published.

James even admitted that he didn't know whee to go after Hk97,since it was gonna be hard to find something as bad or worse than it. So he needs to venture more into the PS2 era and such to find obscure crappy PS2 games that he probably doesn't even know about. It's best for them to be obscure, though. I mean, he reviewed a bad 360 game, Sonic 2006, but talking about how much that game sucks in 2017 or 2016 wasa bit too late to the party, since that game came out in the internet era already and everyone sh*t on it back when it came out already. So it's not like he had much new stuff to bring to the table with it.

He's 38 years old now. When he's 50, if he's still doing AVGN, he'll be reviewing PS3, 3DS and Wii U games. And possibly even a Switch game or two :lol:. I mean, he needs to grow with his audience. Back in the day the 25-30 year olds who watched him grew up playing NES games. Nowadays the 25-30 year olds who watch his videos grew up with 3D games for the most part already. And in a decade, the 25-30 year olds of the time will have grown up with a DS or the 360 as their first system.

[Leo656]

Sometimes I wanna do Retro Game Reviews, just to get some stuff on my YouTube channel since I'm mostly-retired. But then sometimes I don't wanna bother because they really wouldn't be a big deal compared to his stuff. I'unno.

[Prowler]

Sometimes I wanna do Retro Game Reviews, just to get some stuff on my YouTube channel since I'm mostly-retired. But then sometimes I don't wanna bother because they really wouldn't be a big deal compared to his stuff. I'unno.

And making money on youtube is NOT easy. Good luck getting consistent hundreds of thousand of views and attracting sponsors. Plus, can you work well with cameras? If it's just you doing voice over over the game footage or images then that' not gonna appeal o most people.

James has inspired me to take some interest in photography and filming, and at one point I've entertained the idea of making a game review or two as well, but I'm not good at reviewing stuff nor do I really enjoy it so meh. I do like learning about camerawork and such, though. But it's hard to decide what to work with. I like taking pictures of my city and places I might travel to, but nowadays EVERYONE does that, and it's hard to make your stuff stand out. I wouldn't be surprised if in the next 20 years or so, professional photography and video editing(well not the ones that work in Hollywood and such) become oversaturated jobs/fields. I mean, have you ever worked with a program like imovie? I did for a college semester once. And it's not hard to work with.You can learn it pretty quickly. We shot a few videos and did a final project with cameras the Uni lent to us. Quality cameras. And the videos looked pretty professional in terms of footage. Not so much in terms of editing because it was our first try and obviously we made mistakes, but it was NOT a complicated skill and program to pick up and learn.

[Andrew NDB]

Sometimes I wanna do Retro Game Reviews, just to get some stuff on my YouTube channel since I'm mostly-retired. But then sometimes I don't wanna bother because they really wouldn't be a big deal compared to his stuff. I'unno.

I've got something big planned for 2019. A "Red Letter Media" kind of deal... with a twist!

[Sumac]

A few decent Konami and Capcom games, sure, but by and large, if Nintendo themselves didn't make it, it was crap.
Not really.
There are quite a lot of good games that has nothing to do with either of those 3 companies.

[Leo656]

General statements are General.

Prowler: I have zero interest in trying to make money on YouTube, sir. Far more energy and effort than I'd ever be able to put in.

[Sumac]

General statements are General.
General statements quite often can be not true.

[Andrew NDB]

General statements are General.

Prowler: I have zero interest in trying to make money on YouTube, sir. Far more energy and effort than I'd ever be able to put in.

Maybe you could do a regular segment under the umbrella of my little media thing I have going next year.

[Prowler]

Btw, when he changed his name to Angry Video Game Nerd it took me a while to get used to it and it sounded weird for like a year. But nowadays, when I go back and re-watch his older videos it feels odd reading/hearing Angry Nintendo Nerd in the title and by Kyle Justin. Am I the only one who feels that way? Because, back then, it was kind of a big deal when he changed from ANN to AVGN. Some people didn't like it "Angry Video Game Nerd just doesn't roll off your tongue!". Man, all of this was in 2006 already and I remember it as if it was yesterday.

It also took me a while to get used to his change to GameTrailers back in 2007 and his new house and increased production values. Probably because, until then, I was used to his videos having more of a "regular guy who makes these videos from his bachelor's apartment with a crappy camera" vibe and image quality. And then, his videos began looking more polished.

Also, the most overrated episodes he made were the Super Mario Bros 3. and the Bugs Bunny ones, imo. SMB 3 was just a bit too over the top for me, even when it came out and me being 17-18. And Bugs Bunny was also a bit too over the top for me. He just beat up Bugs when all he did was show up at his home, coming in peace, come on :lol:. When Spider-Man dropped by uninvited, James befriended him fine :lol:

Maybe you could do a regular segment under the umbrella of my little media thing I have going next year.

I'll be damned, Leo, but if I understood this correctly, I believe you've just gotten a job offering. Who'd know the Drome would be a place for that?

[Leo656]

Well how d'ya like that. :lol:

So far it's barely a germ of an idea, but I appreciate that, and we'll talk about it. :)

General statements quite often can be not true.

Yeah, but they usually are. You're a big fan of generalizations, yourself, so you know what I mean.

List 25 NES games that weren't developed by Nintendo, Konami, or Capcom that scored higher than 8, if you like. I really don't care all that much, but it would go a long way towards proving me wrong, if that's what you're interested in.

[Coola Yagami]

I still think he does a good job at being creative with cursing and insults. And even if it's not exactly funny he has good delivery. Anyway, I don't really laugh my ass off at his videos. I just enjoy them or think "oh that's funny". I did use to laugh a ton back when I was a teenager. Like that time I first saw him say "AAAAASSSSSS F*******CK!" in the Top Gun episode really made me laugh a lot. Nowadays it doesn't at all. I guess because I was a kid still and also because the novelty of the AVGN(still known as ANN) was still a thing at the time. I remember being SHOCKED when I watched my first video of his, the TMNT review, and hearing him cuss, especially when he goes on a cursing tirade at the end of the video. :lol: I was like :o

Honestly the very first videos he did, it took me a while to realize he was portraying a character. I honestly thought he really hated the NES TMNT and just called him Angry Nintendo Nerd because back in the day everyone used some sort of cool alias online and not their real names like some social media would eventually force you to do.

The whole scene where he was swearing as trying to make a difficult jump in TMNT felt real to me cause it reminded me of all the times swearing when trying to get past some annoying part in a videogame. Plus the bit with him blowing the NES cart to make it work was classic.

[Prowler]

Honestly the very first videos he did, it took me a while to realize he was portraying a character. I honestly thought he really hated the NES TMNT and just called him Angry Nintendo Nerd because back in the day everyone used some sort of cool alias online and not their real names like some social media would eventually force you to do.

The whole scene where he was swearing as trying to make a difficult jump in TMNT felt real to me cause it reminded me of all the times swearing when trying to get past some annoying part in a videogame. Plus the bit with him blowing the NES cart to make it work was classic.

I probably thought that at first, too. Especially since I was only 15-16 at the time and still had that naivety in me. But I quickly googled info about him and ran into the screwattack forums which had an ANN/AVGN sub-forum at the time and began reading many threads about him, so it was easy to know about the man behind the character back then already.

Speaking of ScrewAttack... I think they're no longer a thing except for some youtube videos?

[Sumac]

Yeah, but they usually are. You're a big fan of generalizations, yourself, so you know what I mean.

List 25 NES games that weren't developed by Nintendo, Konami, or Capcom that scored higher than 8, if you like. I really don't care all that much, but it would go a long way towards proving me wrong, if that's what you're interested in.
Do you want me to list all non-Nintendo, non-Capcom and non-Konami games that were considered success back in the day by contemporaries or do you want me to make my own list?
I can do either. :D

[Leo656]

It'd be best for us both is you did neither. You don't wanna do it and I really don't wanna read it. :trazz:

And even a lotta those "successful" games simply aren't great anymore. I maintain that only a handful of NES games truly, truly hold up as anything that's fun for more than a half hour today. And most of the ones that are, were made by a select few companies, by and large.

"Successful" isn't really the issue; my point is/was, most NES games, barring a handful, aged like fruit, and thus, it's almost "too easy" for someone like AVGN to focus on "Bad Games" from that era. Because even a lot of the best ones are, objectively, kinda "bad" now.

Why this is an idea that causes upset, I have no idea. Anyway, no, no list; you have better things to do. I hope. :trazz:
----------------------

It was always fairly obvious to me that "The Nerd" was simply a character, but at times I've wondered where the character ended and how much was "James". Like, you get the sense that if nothing else, those are his opinions, just dialed way up to 11. Some of it feels more forced nowadays, but I think we covered that.

[Sumac]

It'd be best for us both is you did neither. You don't wanna do it and I really don't wanna read it. :trazz:

And even a lotta those "successful" games simply aren't great anymore. I maintain that only a handful of NES games truly, truly hold up as anything that's fun for more than a half hour today. And most of the ones that are, were made by a select few companies, by and large.

"Successful" isn't really the issue; my point is/was, most NES games, barring a handful, aged like fruit, and thus, it's almost "too easy" for someone like AVGN to focus on "Bad Games" from that era. Because even a lot of the best ones are, objectively, kinda "bad" now.

Why this is an idea that causes upset, I have no idea. Anyway, no, no list; you have better things to do. I hope. :trazz:
Running away? :D
As expected, since your argument didn't really had any merit.

[Leo656]

More like "I don't read way too much into throw-away statements people make so I can try and play 'Gotcha' games with them on the f*cking internet." :roll:

It may interest you to know that, at times, I've quietly come to your defense when others would call you on your bullsh*t, if I felt you were making a fair point.

That stops today. Next time people talk about wanting to Report you, I'm not gonna waste time trying to talk them out of it.

I'll give you the same choice I give everyone: Since you have a personal problem with me, for reasons I don't get and don't care about, put me on Ignore and save us both the aggravation. Or, I can yank a few strings, and your next Ban won't be temporary.

What sucks is that I've really tried to be patient and fair with you. Thanks for the lesson.

[Sumac]

More like "I don't read way too much into throw-away statements people make so I can try and play 'Gotcha' games with them on the f*cking internet." :roll:

It may interest you to know that, at times, I've quietly come to your defense when others would call you on your bullsh*t, if I felt you were making a fair point.

That stops today. Next time people talk about wanting to Report you, I'm not gonna waste time trying to talk them out of it.

I'll give you the same choice I give everyone: Since you have a personal problem with me, for reasons I don't get and don't care about, put me on Ignore and save us both the aggravation. Or, I can yank a few strings, and your next Ban won't be temporary.

What sucks is that I've really tried to be patient and fair with you. Thanks for the lesson.
Stop being so fragile and reacting like you are 15 year old.
I don't have problem with you.
I have problem with your opinion, those are different things.

You made statement, I've made counter-statement. You've got in your head that it's some kind of personal insult.

Stop acting like a kid, please, and stop making those awkward statements and threaten me. This is really childish behavior, that doesn't show you in a good light.

[Prowler]

It was always fairly obvious to me that "The Nerd" was simply a character, but at times I've wondered where the character ended and how much was "James". Like, you get the sense that if nothing else, those are his opinions, just dialed way up to 11. Some of it feels more forced nowadays, but I think we covered that.
Yeah, he definitely exaggerates a game's flaws... or used to. Nowadays since he feels more like James than the Nerd it's hard to tell anymore. And that has posed problems before, because, back in 2006-2009, a lot of younger people who watched his videos took his word for gospel and just parroted about how bad some of the games were without even playing them themselves.

For example, the very first Nerd episode is CastleVania 2. James himself has stated that he does not think it's a bad game, just not as good as CV1, CV3 or Super Castlevania IV. He has always thought the game had some flaws that he felt the need to address... but the review he made where he trashes the game was originally an inside joke between him and his friends. He didn't make it to show to the entire world. He was just trying to make his friends laugh. But, two years later, Mike Matei creates a youtube channel for James and suggests he posts that review, which James basically says "ok, why not?"... and the rest is history, as we know. I think Dr. jekyll and Mr., Hyde was also made in 2004 as well?

So basically, yeah. James does not hate every game he has complained about. Those SNES LJN games... he has admitted in a Q&A at a convention and also had admitted on a James and Mike Mondays episode that he likes the Royal Rumble game. He even used that game as an answer to "is there nay LJN game you enjoy?" But in the wrestling games episode, as the Nerd, he says the game and the other two SNES games suck and have boring graphics and wtv. So he does still play up the Nerd despite his acting being less convincing nowadays than it was in the previous decade.

Some episodes contradict the show's theme song, anyway. He doesn't just review "the sh*tty games that suck ass" :trazz:. He broke that rule first in the Super Mario Bros. 3 episode.

[Leo656]

Stop being so fragile and reacting like you are 15 year old.
I don't have problem with you.
I have problem with your opinion, those are different things.

You made statement, I've made counter-statement. You've got in your head that it's some kind of personal insult.

Stop acting like a kid, please, and stop making those awkward statements and threaten me. This is really childish behavior, that doesn't show you in a good light.

Pardon me, I'm not the one who got bent out of shape because someone made a mostly-true, off-the-cuff remark about a gaming console that's been dead for 25 years. You didn't HAVE to say anything about it. But you did. I tried to blow it off, treat it like a joke, no big deal, but then you had to pull the stupid "Running away?" nonsense. I simply have no patience for sh*t like that.

Your VERY FIRST interaction with me, before I even "met" you, was when you posted some flame-bait bullsh*t on my "wall". Ever since then, I've not been inclined to give you the benefit of the doubt. As stated, in cases where we happen to agree, OR, other people were upset about something you may have said, I've been inclined to argue for fairness. BUT, most of those people have argued, "Sumac is just here to stir sh*t, he's not worthy of defense."

I have said, more than once, "I'm not totally convinced that's true."

But now, I rather think it is true, and I simply don't interact with people who's only motivations are in being willfully obtuse, or getting people pissed off "for the lulz."

If that's not your game, feel free to prove me wrong. But as I've said, I feel it would be best if we simply don't talk.

Not at all "fragile", but I have zero patience for bullsh*t. You wanna hash this out privately, fine, but if you're going to continue to engage me either way, come correct or not at all.

[Autbot_Benz]

Today's Newest Nerd Episode is perfect for the Christmas Month

shwFNKP_mI4

[Leo656]

Oh, Jesus, me and the wife are gonna have to watch this later. :lol::lol::lol:

Thanks for the heads up, I think I'm a few videos behind and had no idea about this one.

[Prowler]

Wow this is unexpected. Will have to watch it as well.

Also, maybe that's an unflattering photo to go by, but it looks like Macaulay Culkin didn't age so well as compared to James, who is as old as he is.

[Leo656]

Macauley Culkin has consumed several garbage trucks worth of heroin since about age 12, that's why.

[Prowler]

Macauley Culkin has consumed several garbage trucks worth of heroin since about age 12, that's why.

Yeah, I feared that would be the case. Although I hope you're exaggerating about the "since about age 12" part.

Hollywood is a place full of drugs and shady people, anyway.So not that surprised.

[Leo656]

I never read his book. So... maybe 15 or so? I know he's been into hard drugs and sh*t since he was a teenager, but the specific timeline escapes me.

Also makes me wonder about Mila Kunis, since she was in a relationship with him for a while. It is 100% impossible to be in a relationship with a "Heroin Person" unless you're also one, and if you're not, you will be, or you'll leave.

I know drugs was part of why they broke up; for her sake, I just hope it ended before she started sticking needles in her f*cking arm.

[Prowler]

I never read his book. So... maybe 15 or so? I know he's been into hard drugs and sh*t since he was a teenager, but the specific timeline escapes me.

Also makes me wonder about Mila Kunis, since she was in a relationship with him for a while. It is 100% impossible to be in a relationship with a "Heroin Person" unless you're also one, and if you're not, you will be, or you'll leave.

I know drugs was part of why they broke up; for her sake, I just hope it ended before she started sticking needles in her f*cking arm.
I didn't even know they were together at some point. Speaking of which, there's very unflattering photos of her online without any make-up on. You can just say that everyone has bad days and that a lot of good looking women look quite plain without any make-up on, but Mila Kunis seems more like the type of chick that you wake up to the next day and end up jumping out of bed once you see her morning face. :lol:

So perhaps, she's actually ugly... or she partook in hard rugs and that has deteriorated her looks.

[Leo656]

I don't think she looks THAT bad without makeup, I'unno. :lol:

I know she drinks a lot; that'll put some miles on a person. Plus, she's with Ashton Kutcher, who's been known to be something of a "cocaine enthusiast", so do the math on that one. Y'know how the saying goes, "Every line up your nose adds one on your face." True story.

I'd still nail her though, I'unno. :lol:

[Prowler]

I don't think she looks THAT bad without makeup, I'unno. :lol:

I know she drinks a lot; that'll put some miles on a person. Plus, she's with Ashton Kutcher, who's been known to be something of a "cocaine enthusiast", so do the math on that one. Y'know how the saying goes, "Every line up your nose adds one on your face." True story.

I'd still nail her though, I'unno. :lol:

Well everyone has their own tastes in chicks. Some people say Scarlett Johansson looks ugly without make-up but I don't agree at all, based on the photo I saw of her without it.

Coke is like something tons of politicians, rich people and celebs do at some point. It's almost like a rite of passage, I'm guessing.

[Leo656]

For f*cking stupid people in general, sure.

A lot of stupid people also happen to be rich and famous.

[Prowler]

For f*cking stupid people in general, sure.

A lot of stupid people also happen to be rich and famous.

Yes, and a lot of them just become rich without deserving it or without understanding why and how. Like Kim Kardashian, for example. Granted her pops was rich, but her fame skyrocketed due to a sex tape. And now she's famous... because. I mean, if that's what the general audience demand then ofc she's gonna make loads of money, which begs the question: WHY does someone like Kim Kardashian have such high demand in our society?! People are strange, man...

[Leo656]

That was the worst goddamn sex tape I've ever even seen.

I'unno how true the rumor is that her mom told her to do it, but it was definitely staged for publicity, 100%. No bitch with tits that big has sex with a top on, ever. Total f*cking tease. If you wanna be famous for literally being a whore, more power to you. But I can't abide being a goddamn tease. It's disingenuous.

[Prowler]

Yeah.

Anyway, I'm still surprised Macaulay Culkin is in an AVGN episode. That's something I'd NEVER expect. I wonder how much James had to pay him for it?!

[Leo656]

Probably a lot, but probably less than you think. He's been doing a lot of stuff lately, like indie wrestling shows and whatnot. He can't be that expensive.

[Prowler]

Probably a lot, but probably less than you think. He's been doing a lot of stuff lately, like indie wrestling shows and whatnot. He can't be that expensive.

Wow how the mighty have fallen. Indie wrestling shows, really?

[Leo656]

Yeah, I know there was a video that went viral some time ago of him hitting someone with a chair. I know he's done a few since then but I don't really pay that much attention, so I can't tell you more.

[Andrew NDB]

lol... AVGN sits down with Macaulay Culkin to talk about all the Home Alone games.

shwFNKP_mI4

[Leo656]

We learned about this SEVERAL POSTS AGO, brutha. :lol: Scroll up.

Isn't it a bit early on the West Coast to be partaking of the devil's brew, lad? :trazz:

I was totally gonna watch this with my wife today, because she's a huge Home Alone mark and she'd love it. But now she's being a f*cking rag, so who knows.

[Sumac]

Wow how the mighty have fallen. Indie wrestling shows, really?
I don't think he was "mighty" since...well, Home Alone movies.
He is certainly not a "super star" by any margin.

[Leo656]

I don't think he was "mighty" since...well, Home Alone movies.
He is certainly not a "super star" by any margin.

On this, we agree.

Kind of a shame. Seems like an okay guy. I totally empathize with his position, being forced into stardom by his Dad, having it break up the family, not being "allowed" to pursue any serious acting because everyone just wanted him to be "The Home Alone Kid" forever. It's gotta be rough. I totally empathize.

But the fact he ended up being a junkie "to cope" is something I have no respect for. He definitely deserved better up to a point, but everything after like 1997 he did entirely to himself.

[Prowler]

I don't think he was "mighty" since...well, Home Alone movies.
He is certainly not a "super star" by any margin.

I know, but that's how the saying goes.

Btw, what about the Sixth Sense kid? I know he was in A.I Artificial intelligence shortly after The Sixth Sense, but did he become a big star as an adult or not really?

[Leo656]

Nah, last I heard he got real fat and was busted for driving with weed. But that was several years ago.

His sister Emily's the bigger star. She was on Hannah Montana for the entire run, and after that became a fairly successful actress and country singer. I think she does more singing now, but I'm not sure. I saw her on some rerun last week when my father-in-law was watching TV, but I have no idea what it was.

I finally watched that Home Alone AVGN episode. :lol: Epic.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" :lol:

[Sumac]

WlY0nU9ipDk

****************
To my dear friend Leo:
Pardon me, I'm not the one who got bent out of shape because someone made a mostly-true, off-the-cuff remark about a gaming console that's been dead for 25 years. You didn't HAVE to say anything about it. But you did. I tried to blow it off, treat it like a joke, no big deal, but then you had to pull the stupid "Running away?" nonsense. I simply have no patience for sh*t like that.
Oh, I am sorry, that under your usual veener of pretentious "irony" I haven't noticed that you've made a joke.

Your VERY FIRST interaction with me, before I even "met" you, was when you posted some flame-bait bullsh*t on my "wall". Ever since then, I've not been inclined to give you the benefit of the doubt. As stated, in cases where we happen to agree, OR, other people were upset about something you may have said, I've been inclined to argue for fairness. BUT, most of those people have argued, "Sumac is just here to stir sh*t, he's not worthy of defense."
It had started "slightly" differently.
You've said some hilarious **** and I've responded. As usual in your case, you went ballistic like an electrocuted bear and started insulting me.

I might add to that, eventually, when most of the forum was laughing about your butthurt about people's opinion on the Batman v. Superman, you've called everyone "arrogant jerks" and dissappeared, like some wrestler, whose carrier went to its nadir.

Also, I would never attack someone without ANY reason.
And boy, you do give those reasons like a leaky fountain in the tropic rain.

Not at all "fragile", but I have zero patience for bullsh*t. You wanna hash this out privately, fine, but if you're going to continue to engage me either way, come correct or not at all.
For what purpose?
You don't want to talk to me. Or you are saying so.
With loev!

[Coola Yagami]

WlY0nU9ipDk

****************
To my dear friend Leo:

Oh, I am sorry, that under your usual veener of pretentious "irony" I haven't noticed that you've made a joke.


It had started "slightly" differently.
You've said some hilarious **** and I've responded. As usual in your case, you went ballistic like an electrocuted bear and started insulting me.

I might add to that, eventually, when most of the forum was laughing about your butthurt about people's opinion on the Batman v. Superman, you've called everyone "arrogant jerks" and dissappeared, like some wrestler, whose carrier went to its nadir.

Also, I would never attack someone without ANY reason.
And boy, you do give those reasons like a leaky fountain in the tropic rain.


For what purpose?
You don't want to talk to me. Or you are saying so.
With loev!

Ay Dios Mio..... are you like... asking to get banned?

[Leo656]

I'm tempted to watch that video, but f*ck Mike right in the goddamn ear. Guy irritates me worse than hearing the word "Skittles" spoken out loud.

[Coola Yagami]

I'm tempted to watch that video, but f*ck Mike right in the goddamn ear. Guy irritates me worse than hearing the word "Skittles" spoken out loud.

He wasn't too bad. Keep in mind most of the attention was on Mac this time around, and he even got to play first. It's too bad it wasn't just James and Mac, with Mac replacing Mike, but oh well.

[Prowler]

Mike is James best friend, so we'll have to put up with him forever unless both break of their friendship one day all of a sudden. Plus, it was Mike who created the channel originally. So it's only fair for James to allow him in videos as well. Took years for Mike to finally appear on camera, though. I remember browsing the ScrewAttack forums in 2006-2008 and Mike Matei being a user there, answering fans questions about AVGN and stuff. For years, AVGN fans didn't get to see Mike's face and only read what he wrote online. I'm sure many wish they'd never had seen his face and let alone heard his voice, but whatever.

Mike is fine as long as he isn't making his cringy jokes.

[Coola Yagami]

Mike is James best friend, so we'll have to put up with him forever unless both break of their friendship one day all of a sudden. Plus, it was Mike who created the channel originally. So it's only fair for James to allow him in videos as well. Took years for Mike to finally appear on camera, though. I remember browsing the ScrewAttack forums in 2006-2008 and Mike Matei being a user there, answering fans questions about AVGN and stuff. For years, AVGN fans didn't get to see Mike's face and only read what he wrote online. I'm sure many wish they'd never had seen his face and let alone heard his voice, but whatever.

Mike is fine as long as he isn't making his cringy jokes.

True, but if Mike isn't cringy, he wouldn't quite be Mike. He's a necessary evil I guess. I have a feeling if he goes, James goes with him.

[Prowler]

True, but if Mike isn't cringy, he wouldn't quite be Mike. He's a necessary evil I guess. I have a feeling if he goes, James goes with him.

You're right he is a necessary evil. James and Mike are not only best friends but also work together. Mike probably gets a share from James' profits.

[jason89]

Wooow, it's wonderful, for more information check my profile)

[Prowler]

So, I finally watched the Home Alone games episode. Decent episode, but not one of my favourites. Clearly, Macaulay Culkin was the star of the episode, as expected from a big guest star. And I thought having Lloyd Kaufman as a guest in one of the episodes several years ago was already a bit mind-blowing.

I'm glad there's still some bad old games out there for James to review. But he seems to be slowly getting into more "modern" games, like Xbox, PS2 games, etc. And you don't really feel much of his "anger" when he review those games since he didn't grow up with them; unlike Karate Kid, TMNT or Ghostbusters, for example.

But oh well, still fun. I think I'm always gonna enjoy the Nerd.

[Sumac]

I feel like he can't get into this "super angry nerd persona" from the early episodes.

But he still is an entertaining host and a good reviewer. In fact I always liked his episodes where he is less AVGN and more of a reviewer.

[Prowler]

I feel like he can't get into this "super angry nerd persona" from the early episodes.

But he still is an entertaining host and a good reviewer. In fact I always liked his episodes where he is less AVGN and more of a reviewer.
Well, he's nearly 40 by now. Not a guy in his mid-20s anymore fresh out of uni. Plus, he's married and a father of two daughters now. So it makes since he grew up and changed a bit. And like I've said, it's harder for him to get angry at games he didn't grow up in, especially the more modern ones. Keep in mind he mostly grew up playing the NES and the SNES and then sorta fell a bit out of gaming around the Saturn/PS1/N64 generation. His main passion is film making and not games, but ironically AVGN has became the main thing that puts food on his table. I think he wishes he could move on from the character and take off as an actual film maker, but by now I think it's obvious he's never gonna become a very successful director as he wanted to. He could have gotten bigger with his AVGN movie... but that movie was bad and made fans wish he'd just have focused on doing his AVGN episodes. That seems to be the time where his popularity began declining a bit.

It's hard to believe how big he was back in 2006-2007, considering nowadays he "only" has like 2.9M subscribers and his videos usually have about 1M views "only". Getting 1M views on a YT video nowadays isn't as impressive as it was back in 2006-2008. Pewdiepie can easily get like 6-7M views on a below average video. I'm not even a pewdiepie fan, but I can't deny the facts.

AVGN both came at the right time and also a bit too early. 2004-2006 was a time where nostalgia for older games started to become a big things. Remember when you could still buy NES/SNES/mega Drive/etc. games off ebay for practically pocket change? Around 2007 or so, the prices of older videogames online skyrocketed, since A LOT of people got interested in revisiting their childhood video games or taking an opportunity to play good games they had missed on when they were kids. Adding to the fact that the number of internet users kept growing every year, ofc. So James Rolfe was in the perfect place at the right time to portray an older video games obsessed character.

I think he failed to capitalise on his fame at the right time, however. I don't even blame him for moving to GameTrailers in 2007 for a few years, since back then no one made money off YT like they do these days, but clearly that stalled his channel's growth a bit, since he could only upload his GT episodes on YT a year or two after he originally uploaded them on GT. There was no James and Mike's Mondays at the time. It took YEARS for Mike Matei to appear on camera, in fact. I believe J&MM only started in like 2013? 2014?

Plus, James content focuses on older games, while obviously the masses are gonna prefer other gaming channels that focus on current games. So that relegates James' stuff to a smaller niche in the gaming community.

Oh well, James was just destined to go down in history as a pioneer and not as a guy who could remain huge forever.

[Leo656]

Did he do any new ones recently? I haven't had a chance to check.

[Prowler]

Did he do any new ones recently? I haven't had a chance to check.

He did one about being confused Kingdom Hearts chronology and one about video game magazines. Haven't watched those yet, though.

[Whatswiththeheadbands?]

AVGN is less like the 'Angry Video Game Nerd', and more like the 'Slightly annoyed Video Game Nerd' in recent years

[snake]

I don’t know, I still enjoy his stuff as much as I always have. Everything recent from the Megaman episode on has been golden, and it seems like James is actually having fun doing them again. I still look forward to new episodes, and I always enjoy them. Doing the “angry” thing constantly is forced at this point, so the more professional tone of these episodes make the legitamately angry moments so much funnier in comparison.

Yeah, there’s no moments like trying to use the grappling hook in Batman Forever or “I CAN’T TOUCH THAT RED POT?”, but I still find it entertaining.

[FredWolfLeonardo]

In response to Prowler's long post.

James may not be a huge youtuber by today's standards, but he was certainly one of the more revolutionary ones, if not the most during his time.

I might be wrong on this, but I am pretty certain that he is solely responsible for starting the "angry video game reviews" genre.

Also, when you compare the scale of Youtube back then compared to now, I think it could be argued that James was one of the biggest Youtubers of his time.

Heck, the Irate Gamer got his videos featured on the front page in 2007-2008, and he is the poor-man's version of AVGN

Just goes on to show how influential and big AVGN himself was, if his rip off managed to reach such popularity at the time.

His content is also timeless I would argue, in the sense that I still check out his old reviews from more than a decade ago, and still enjoy the ever living hell out of it.

Many Youtubers nowdays however, who became more popular than AVGN in terms of subscriber count, were just fads who faded out over a period of time, and are hardly remembered nowdays.

Atleast there seems to be a steady stream of AVGN (like the ones here on the drome) who have been fans for a decade (if not more), and continue to look back on his old stuff with fondness.

My favourite AVGN review of all time has to be Turtles 3, that will always be a classic for me.

[Powder]

I don’t know, I still enjoy his stuff as much as I always have. Everything recent from the Megaman episode on has been golden, and it seems like James is actually having fun doing them again. I still look forward to new episodes, and I always enjoy them. Doing the “angry” thing constantly is forced at this point, so the more professional tone of these episodes make the legitamately angry moments so much funnier in comparison.

Yeah, there’s no moments like trying to use the grappling hook in Batman Forever or “I CAN’T TOUCH THAT RED POT?”, but I still find it entertaining.

Pretty much this, in the now. I enjoy Cinemassacre on a whole, especially now that the Silvermania gang have been absorbed. I've always liked those dudes, having two of my favorite Youtube outfits meld together is a rad thing. They mesh well.

[Prowler]

I don’t know, I still enjoy his stuff as much as I always have. Everything recent from the Megaman episode on has been golden, and it seems like James is actually having fun doing them again. I still look forward to new episodes, and I always enjoy them. Doing the “angry” thing constantly is forced at this point, so the more professional tone of these episodes make the legitamately angry moments so much funnier in comparison.

Yeah, there’s no moments like trying to use the grappling hook in Batman Forever or “I CAN’T TOUCH THAT RED POT?”, but I still find it entertaining.
Yeah, I still enjoy him. Apparently he no longer plays the games and has a team playing the games and writing the script for him nowadays? I wouldn't know if I had never read that online, though. So far it's been working. The crowbar joke in the Dirty Harry episode was bad, though.

I'm glad James has more free time to work on other stuff and be with his family.

Pretty much this, in the now. I enjoy Cinemassacre on a whole, especially now that the Silvermania gang have been absorbed. I've always liked those dudes, having two of my favorite Youtube outfits meld together is a rad thing. They mesh well.
I guess you're talking to the guys who occasionally show up in the James & Mike's Mondays videos?

In response to Prowler's long post.

James may not be a huge youtuber by today's standards, but he was certainly one of the more revolutionary ones, if not the most during his time.

I might be wrong on this, but I am pretty certain that he is solely responsible for starting the "angry video game reviews" genre.

Also, when you compare the scale of Youtube back then compared to now, I think it could be argued that James was one of the biggest Youtubers of his time.

Heck, the Irate Gamer got his videos featured on the front page in 2007-2008, and he is the poor-man's version of AVGN

Just goes on to show how influential and big AVGN himself was, if his rip off managed to reach such popularity at the time.

His content is also timeless I would argue, in the sense that I still check out his old reviews from more than a decade ago, and still enjoy the ever living hell out of it.

Many Youtubers nowdays however, who became more popular than AVGN in terms of subscriber count, were just fads who faded out over a period of time, and are hardly remembered nowdays.

Atleast there seems to be a steady stream of AVGN (like the ones here on the drome) who have been fans for a decade (if not more), and continue to look back on his old stuff with fondness.

My favourite AVGN review of all time has to be Turtles 3, that will always be a classic for me.

Yeah, he pretty much is responsible for that.

Irate Gamer certainly ripped him off a lot. He was the only one other than James back then who had access to special effects and higher production values, and also the only one who also had some film making and editing experience. At the time, me and many others hated IG for blatantly ripping off AVGN and even getting featured on YouTube for a while, while AVGN got his channel removed a couple of times for whatever reasons. But now, looking back, I guess anyone else that had the same skills and resources as the Irate Gamer would have tried to become the next AVGN as well. A lot of people at the time wer doing the angry gamer shtick, and they ALL got some hate from AVGN fanboys for being heavily inspired by him. Irate Gamer was the least original of the bunch, and ironically became the most popular of the bunch. Plus, in the first couple of IG videos he made, I doubt he even dreamed of becoming as notorious as he did, so I guess we cant' really hold it against him for his earliest reviews being a bit similar to the ones by James.

A lot of the people from back then are forever grateful to James, and even in a roast they did for him some years ago, Brental Floss said "this man was an inspiration to all of us".

I agree that his old videos are still fun to watch.

Well, who knows if some of the hottest YTers these days will be remembered several years from now on. Maybe in a decade or so no one will care about pewdiepie anymore, who knows.

I guess James was just destined to be a pioneer and not someone who stays on the top for several years. Nothing wrong with that, though. The big video game fans will forever remember him, at least a sizeable portion of them will. Plus. James is not a person who likes to get into drama and obnoxiously forcing himself into everything, so I'm not surprised he's not as big as some other guys out there. Even his social media accounts feel very down to Earth. He doesn't go around acting like a loudmouth or anything. He sticks to games, movies and such. He conducts himself professionally, and that's part of what makes him so likeable and his fanbase so loyal. If James was a jerk, I'm sure he'd have lost a lot of fans by now. He seems like a genuinely decent fellow and nothing about him says that he might be an asshole deep down.

And lastly, he focuses on retrogames. People mostly want the new stuff out there, so it makes sense they'd prefer YTers who play current games than those who review old games, a lot of them bad and/or obscure.

It's a bit odd to see him reviewing PS2 or Xbox games. Sonic 06 in particular was a 360 game iirc. I think talking about how bad Sonic 06 is in 2017 or so is a bit way too late. We're talking about a game that got a lot of bad press and reactions online back when it came out, and not a bad game that came out in a time where the internet wasn't even a thing yet. So by 2017 I don't think criticising Sonic 06 had much of an impact anymore. Plus, a part 2 for the episode as unnecessary, imo. But oh well, still entertaining enough.

[snake]

I’d like to see a source on the “he doesn’t play the games anymore” thing.

[Prowler]

I’d like to see a source on the “he doesn’t play the games anymore” thing.

I read it somewhere on the internet recently. I think it was through a google search that took me to Cinemassacre's sub-reddit or something? Someone basically said that. Maybe I'm not remembering it well enough or someone was BSing. Who knows.

[Prowler]

Wow, the Life of Black Tiger episode was pretty bad. I guess James and Screenwave just focused on having Gilbert Gottfried as a guest.

And PS4?! I mean, it's fine if it was a James & Mike Mondays video, but AVGN is supposed to be retro. I guess occasionally a more modern game is fine, but still, it's just odd to see AVGN reviewing a PS4 game. I think James works best with games that came out on systems before the PS1/Saturn/N64 era.

Besides, the "magic" of talking crap about an old game is that back then it was harder to know if a game was bad or not. Nowadays if a game is bad the entire internet will know pretty quickly. And even back in the mid-2000s word of mouth ran rather fast already. James reviewed Sonic 06 in 2017... talking about how much Sonic 2006 sucks in 2017 seems rather redundant. Even though the review was OK, he didn't get that far in the game, and the second part episode wasn't that great.

Also, there wasn't much of a need for James to play Superman 64 again. Especially considering he already reviewed that game around a decade ago.

AVGN changed since Screenwave began taking control of things. I guess he no longer writes the scripts. His episodes have become rather hit and miss lately and more focused on guest stars. Macaulay Culkin and the Pepsiman guy worked out well for their respective episodes, though.

[Leo656]

Treats me fine.

Dude's got a family now, we're lucky to get anything. I dug the most recent video since my wife's a huge Jurassic Park mark.

[Prowler]

Treats me fine.

Dude's got a family now, we're lucky to get anything. I dug the most recent video since my wife's a huge Jurassic Park mark.

I have no issues with him having a crew shooting and editing his episodes now. I wish he still wrote the scripts, though. Sometimes it can be a bit off. It's hard for writers to sometimes emulate an already existing character. In the Dirty Harry episode, James makes a crowbar joke. "Is the bar made of crows" which is a joke I couldn't imagine him ever writing/coming up with. It was reaaaaaally lame.

The good episodes are still good, but they've gotten more hit and miss in the last couple of years.

[Prowler]

New episode is out:

KvGxHuEUXgs

This one has a different take by James on an AVGN episode with the episode being filmed in... one take.

He was obviously reading off a script throughout a significant portion of the video, but it's a one take episode, so I can't blame him.

I found it an interesting episode artistically-wise and I can see what they were going for here. It wasn't really funny, though. James spoke a lot and sometimes a bit too fast. The way he spoke fit the tone of the episode, but it wasn't funny. The show is a comedy and this episode wasn't really funny. It's not a bad episode, though. But I can see it being a bit polarising with the fans.

[snake]

The screenwave slobs really went and changed both the thumbnails and the episode titles from the old videos. Shame, shame.

[Turo602]

The screenwave slobs really went and changed both the thumbnails and the episode titles from the old videos. Shame, shame.

I don't see the problem. They're modernizing it in an attempt to grow his channel.

[snake]

The screenwave content is complete garbage. Why does a relic of internet history like the nerd need clickbait thumbnails for old episodes? I understand doing it for new ones, but why tamper with the other videos? Anyone who would be interested in AVGN already knows about him.

[Prowler]

The screenwave content is complete garbage. Why does a relic of internet history like the nerd need clickbait thumbnails for old episodes? I understand doing it for new ones, but why tamper with the other videos? Anyone who would be interested in AVGN already knows about him.

Mike Matei said he and James didn't like the idea of changing the thumbnails much, but due to YouTube's algorithm, thumbnails that have the faces of the uploader are more likely to top searches and get more views. Notice how in most of pewdiepie's videos he puts his face on the thumbnail and the style in that they are which Screenwave is trying to emulate?

Anyway, people say James no longer is playing the games he reviews but I'm yet to see solid proof of that. I do believe when they say he no longer writes the scripts or edits the videos, though.

[Powder]

The screenwave content is complete garbage. Why does a relic of internet history like the nerd need clickbait thumbnails for old episodes? I understand doing it for new ones, but why tamper with the other videos? Anyone who would be interested in AVGN already knows about him.

Don't let /tv/ get to you so much, yo. They're just tryna bring in cake.

[Prowler]

I feel like the AVGN fandom is quite split lately. There's a lot of fans who simply hate anything James did in the last few years and some people even dedicated an entire sub-reddit to bash him and mike. Jesus, get a life, people. Also, I don't think James owes any of us anything. He has provided us 170+ episodes of FREE entertainment, and at some point he was making 2 episodes a month. Keep in mind they usually take like 30+ hours to make, and some like the ROB the Robot one took him about 100 hours to make.

I remember back in 2006-2007 when James and ScrewAttack went to GameTrailers and people complained he wasn't uploading his newest episodes on youtube anymore, someone in a forum said "be grateful you're still able to watch AVGN's episodes for free. That might not be the case in the future." Well, we're in 2019 and he's still providing us with FREE content. So yeah, I don't think he owes us anything. I kind of expected him to retire the Nerd character with the movie, kinda like Sacha Baron Cohen did with Borat, but fortunately he kept on making Nerd episodes.

Btw, AVGN's prime was pretty long, imo. It went from the very first episode, Simon's Quest, up to Ikari Warriors. That's 2006-2013. Then Toxic Crusaders came and since then, while he has put out some good and even some great episodes, the quality slowly began getting more hit and miss. But hey, that's 110 episodes or so of James at his best. From Simon's Quest to Ikari Warriors there's only 2 episodes I'd call "bad": Master Chu and the Drunkhard Hu and Independence Day. I think SMB3 is very overrated and WAY too over the top, but I'd not go as far as calling it a "bad episode".

I guess a lot of people are just disappointed that James no longer does everything by himself or with the help of Mike Matei and Kyle Justin. I understand why it made it more special and "human" for James to have full creative and technical control of his own show, but I guess he's tight on time and has other things to do, so he can't fully commit to AVGN anymore. I don't just mean family. He probably has other projects to work on or ways to make a living.

[Turo602]

The screenwave content is complete garbage. Why does a relic of internet history like the nerd need clickbait thumbnails for old episodes? I understand doing it for new ones, but why tamper with the other videos? Anyone who would be interested in AVGN already knows about him.

How exactly is it clickbait? The thumbnail promises exactly what the video provides. It's just using a popular format so people are more likely to click on the video than scroll passed it. The channel also wouldn't be growing if that were true. Seems like a trivial thing for anyone to be upset about, no matter how much one dislikes Screenwave.

[snake]

I just didn’t think it was needed. Algorithms and the “shocked face” on the thumbnail look so jarring with the older, obviously made for fun videos. It’s something I’ve always associated with clickbait, and especially Doug/NC videos.

The past couple episodes have been so terrible, with the exception of Chex Quest. I don’t care whether or not James plays the games anymore, but it doesn’t even feel like AVGN anymore (references to things like framerates or walk-cycles take me out of the video). To be clear, I like some of the screenwave stuff, and the first batch of episodes post Megaman were awesome. But Aladdin Deck Enhancer, Life of Black Tiger, and Jurassic Park were so bad that not even r/cinemassacre is defending them anymore. Either let AVGN die off or improve the writing. The elaborate skits were never funny in CA videos, and they aren’t funny here. There’s a clear difference in having a character show up in an AVGN episode (which is a staple of the show) and the Jurassic Park episode. Pepsiman is a recent episode that does the skit aspect right, Aladdin Deck Enhancer is not.

Sorry I don’t believe in defending everything a channel does because they used to be great. The Screenwave management change has done more harm than good.

Oh, and Rental Reviews is just Redlettermedia without anything that makes that channel exceptional.

[Prowler]

I just didn’t think it was needed. Algorithms and the “shocked face” on the thumbnail look so jarring with the older, obviously made for fun videos. It’s something I’ve always associated with clickbait, and especially Doug/NC videos.

The past couple episodes have been so terrible, with the exception of Chex Quest. I don’t care whether or not James plays the games anymore, but it doesn’t even feel like AVGN anymore (references to things like framerates or walk-cycles take me out of the video). To be clear, I like some of the screenwave stuff, and the first batch of episodes post Megaman were awesome. But Aladdin Deck Enhancer, Life of Black Tiger, and Jurassic Park were so bad that not even r/cinemassacre is defending them anymore. Either let AVGN die off or improve the writing. The elaborate skits were never funny in CA videos, and they aren’t funny here. There’s a clear difference in having a character show up in an AVGN episode (which is a staple of the show) and the Jurassic Park episode. Pepsiman is a recent episode that does the skit aspect right, Aladdin Deck Enhancer is not.

Sorry I don’t believe in defending everything a channel does because they used to be great. The Screenwave management change has done more harm than good.

Oh, and Rental Reviews is just Redlettermedia without anything that makes that channel exceptional.
Yeah, I didn't notice someone else was working on the episodes until someone pointed it out to me. The early days of Screenwave were alright. But from Aladdin Deck Enhancer on I feel like something changed and for the worst. Pepsiman was a cool episode, though.

[sdp]

AVGN hasn't been great for over a decade, his videos are still entertaining enough for me and quality between videos differs a lot as it has always been the case so it's really nothing new. I think the formula needs change and while the screenwave episodes aren't amazing at least they're trying something new.

[FredWolfLeonardo]

Pepsiman was a cool episode, though.

Getting the tv game guy was the icing on the cake.

The game is so much easier than what AVGN makes it out to be though lol.

[Leo656]

Was playing the Aladdin/Lion King set recently. Good stuff. Bouncing around on YouTube just before, saw a James and Mike video about The Lion King. I usually don't watch these because Mike is f*cking insufferable, but I figured "Eh, I'll give it a shot."

I remember now the other reason why I only like watching James do the Nerd gimmick: These guys are f*cking terrible at video games considering... Well, everything. Like seriously, I know it's considered a "hard" game, but not really. Watching people constantly screw up on super easy parts is so annoying. They spent 20 minutes whining about the super easy monkey level and never even talked about the stupid Hyena Maze at the end with the respawning enemies and almost no health items? Give me a break!

I like AVGN videos but watching him actually struggle with easy stuff is so frustrating. Last time I was so annoyed by him was when he did the wrestling games video, and declared that Raw and Royal Rumble were bad because he couldn't figure out the super-easy controls on the two easiest wrestling games ever made. I know he's got other hobbies and responsibilities but being so bad at easy games kinda hurts his gimmick.

Then again, he apparently beat Majora's Mask with only half the hearts and a weak sword, so I'unno. It's like he's good at harder games and bad at easier ones, or something. :lol:

[The Deadman]

Probably because he's never played the wrestling games before and thats why it was more difficult for him.

[Leo656]

... There's four buttons, one of which is Punch and the other of which is Kick. :lol: Okay technically six because of the shoulder buttons but unless you really want to do a finisher you in theory don't even need them. It's cheap but it's possible to beat either game on the hardest difficulty by doing nothing but punching.

Like yeah, any game you haven't played takes a minute to figure out, but those two are by FAR the easiest wrestling games ever made and anyone who can't figure out the controls within five minutes probably also struggles with drinking through a straw. I really can't be any nicer about it than that. He's lucky he didn't pick up any of the newer ones; some of the controls are context-sensitive! :o If he couldn't figure out Royal Rumble for SNES then 2K-anything would give him a stroke.

Of course, there's the off-chance that, being a Nerd video, he just saw LJN on the label and was just doing shtick, and he was only pretending to have a hard time. One would hope so. But he genuinely seemed to be having trouble with the easier parts of Lion King and wasn't playing the Nerd in that one, so again, maybe he's just kind of not good. Who knows.

I like the guy but sometimes I wonder how much he really has on the ball.

[Voltron]

It depends on the video. A few of them are absolutely hysterical. Others he spends too much time doing the act.

I was hooked from the Simon's Quest video where he just blurts out "this game sucks" and then goes on a rant.

The one where Mike Mateo (or whatever his name is) shows up as Joker is just annoying as hell, though. And there's been a few that follow that format. I take a pass on those.

[Andrew NDB]

I love the guy but the Simon's Quest hate I could never abate. I loved that game dearly. It even enabled my elementary school crush and I to bond.

Plus it's like the basis for every 2D Castlevania game beginning with Symphony. It's the granddaddy.

[Voltron]

Granted. Most of the games he reviews don't strike me as bad as much as they are incredibly difficult. I had a great time with Simon's Quest, despite having NO idea what I was supposed to be doing and dying every other screen. Same with the original TMNT.

I remember, sometime in my early twenties, I had just crushed 3-4 PS2 games in a row. I figured I must've improved my gaming skills, and those old NES games weren't really that hard. . . I was just an inexperienced kid.

Nope. Tried original Castlevania and got my ass handed to me again and again and again.

Funny you should mention it being an influence on SOTN. I never made the connection. I'm friends with one of the guys who worked on SOTN. I'll have to ask him just how much influence was taken.

Also, kudos on the bonding. Pity that didn't last. I don't think I've ever had an SO with an interest in gaming beyond tetris.

[IMJ]

Plus it's like the basis for every 2D Castlevania game beginning with Symphony. It's the granddaddy.

Wow, I never made that connection before but now that you said that it makes so much sense. I remember when I beat Castlevania 2 - it was almost on accident - I think you had to have an eyeball or something equipped just to have access to Dracula's tomb. I stumbled through most of the game and later found out that there were multiple endings. I think my ending had a gravestone, but IIRC there was a better one with someone standing next to it. I never went back to try it again.

I still love Symphony of the Night. I've also noticed that Lament of Innocence doesn't get any love, which is crazy because the game is basically SOTN with Metal Gear Solid camera angles and pretty decent graphics. I also remember the LOI cut scenes were pretty great, although I'm sure I'd have different opinions if I loaded it up today. It was Curse of Darkness that I couldn't get into at all. Loved Lament of Innocence though.

And then Lords of Shadow came out for the PS3 and that was an absolute masterpiece from the very first level where the raindrops hit the interior of your T.V. screen. I bought the sequel, and played it one time for 20 minutes and never loaded it up again - I can't even explain why, but I had no interest in it even though I loved the first. It'd be great to have some play time with Lords of Shadow again, even if only to complete an easy mode speed run.

[Voltron]

I still love Symphony of the Night. I've also noticed that Lament of Innocence doesn't get any love, which is crazy because the game is basically SOTN with Metal Gear Solid camera angles and pretty decent graphics. I also remember the LOI cut scenes were pretty great, although I'm sure I'd have different opinions if I loaded it up today. It was Curse of Darkness that I couldn't get into at all. Loved Lament of Innocence though.


May I ask why you didn't like Curse of Darkness? I played Lament and it was great. For some reason, I never picked up Curse of Darkness. Maybe I was put off by lack of Belmont, I'm not sure.

With the Netflix series, I'm interested in playing it. What was it that put you off?

[Reinako666]

I just didn’t think it was needed. Algorithms and the “shocked face” on the thumbnail look so jarring with the older, obviously made for fun videos. It’s something I’ve always associated with clickbait, and especially Doug/NC videos.

The past couple episodes have been so terrible, with the exception of Chex Quest. I don’t care whether or not James plays the games anymore, but it doesn’t even feel like AVGN anymore (references to things like framerates or walk-cycles take me out of the video). To be clear, I like some of the screenwave stuff, and the first batch of episodes post Megaman were awesome. But Aladdin Deck Enhancer, Life of Black Tiger, and Jurassic Park were so bad that not even r/cinemassacre is defending them anymore. Either let AVGN die off or improve the writing. The elaborate skits were never funny in CA videos, and they aren’t funny here. There’s a clear difference in having a character show up in an AVGN episode (which is a staple of the show) and the Jurassic Park episode. Pepsiman is a recent episode that does the skit aspect right, Aladdin Deck Enhancer is not.

Sorry I don’t believe in defending everything a channel does because they used to be great. The Screenwave management change has done more harm than good.

Oh, and Rental Reviews is just Redlettermedia without anything that makes that channel exceptional.

Screenwave changed ALL of the AVGN thumbnails...

[Reinako666]

I never picked up Curse of Darkness.

I have Curse Of Darkness.

[Whatswiththeheadbands?]

His newest video on Dennis the Menace for SNES has made me realize that the last video I properly enjoyed was the Tiger Electronics video, but even then that paled in comparison to videos around the time of Action 52

[Coola Yagami]

I still pretty much enjoy AVGN's videos because he changes things up but remains 'the same' enough to still be enjoyable.

The other day I realized the reason I cant stand Doug anymore but can't click on the newest AVGN video fast enough is because his videos are more few and far between. There is no set schedule except 'whenever he can' so when a new ep appears it's like that special surprise.

Critic has been pumping out vids every Tuesday or every other Tuesday non-stop and I just don't like the new format with each review being a mini-episode or mini-movie and him having to shoe-horn his cast and extra characters. It was.... kinda alright at first but then you noticed "oh..... so it's gonna be like this from now on, eh?" and I tuned out.

I'm sure that no matter how devoted to the Nerd I am, even I would have gotten sick of him by now if he released a new episode every week for years. The fact that he's been too busy to have any sort of set schedule actually helped him more than hindered him.

[Reinako666]

Last Nerd episode I probably enjoyed a lot was probably "Gameboy Accessories", most episodes following that, I had a bit of a mixed reception.

If I had to sum up AVGN, I would sum it up like this.

2004 - 2007: The Beginning
2008 - 2012: The Golden Age
2013 - 2018: The Silver Age
2019 - Now: Downfall

[Galactus]

Angry Nintendo Nerd is one of the few youtube reviewers of his ilk I ever really bothered with but since I never religiously watched him I can't say I've noticed a huge discrepancy in quality between his old reviews and his current ones.

The last one I watched was the Majora's Mask one which wasn't really funny but he never is when he's reviewing 'good' games. That being said I did agree with a lot of his complaints about the game, even back in the day I wondered why people thought it was one of the best Zelda games.

Loved his Twilight Zone parody in the beginning.

[Leo656]

I kind of agree, his reviews of games that aren't even bad can be a bit frustrating to watch because he has to really struggle for material.

I do like Majora's Mask a lot, BUT, I honestly couldn't find a single thing in his review that was false or even exaggerated. It's a really great game, but you can just tell that due to the compressed development time - coming out less than two years after "Ocarina" - they simply padded the game's length considerably with all the back-tracking, re-setting the clock, etc. Which I guess makes sense; that originally wasn't even going to be a stand-alone Zelda game so much as an "expansion pack" of sorts, then suddenly it had to be its own 50-hour epic and they had to get it out the door quick.

I always had fun playing it, but it's the mainstream Zelda I've played the least AND a huge chunk of the game is just artificial padding to extend the playtime. Couldn't really find fault with any of what James said in that video.

[Reinako666]

New Nerd Episode everyone.

[Leo656]

I never got into the Crash Dummies franchise, but I did kinda like the Crash Test Dummies band just a little so that bit kinda popped me. :lol:

Haha, the song at the end of the video was actually the best part of the whole thing. :lol:

[Reinako666]

New Nerd episode: Bad Final Fight games.

[ssjup81]

Wow, hard to believe the last time I posted in this thread was when I was defending James over the unnecessary, imo, Ghostbusters 2016 silliness. It is nice being able to regularly frequent and post here again.

I still like the AVGN content. I like how for some videos it's more reflective than angry. For instance, his Majora's Mask review. I really did like that game back in the day, but the review he did on it felt like an actual game review. This is what I like about James. Regardless of the game, whether it's considered good by the majority or bad, he makes an effort to actually review the content. As for more recent views in this era, I guess you'd call it, Majora's Mask is one of my favorites. I liked the Earthbound one too, but I like the Majora's Mask one more. It's interesting the criticisms he brought up in regards to the game that I'd forgotten about. I did get a bit frustrated with it back then. heard the 3DS remake made things a bit easier.

I'm glad that James still takes time out to make his videos while also focusing on projects he enjoys. Seems we he does put out an AVGN video, you can see that he took some time to put it together so when he does, it's generally a treat to see. I don't rush to watch them when first released like I used to, but I still do in due time.

The only aspect of the channel I do still have an issue with is Mike...but without Mike, we wouldn't really even have the AVGN. I never liked him much and found him a bit too annoying even when playing the character MF Mike. I found both the character and the person equally annoying.

Oh other thing I do miss about Cinnemassacre is the fact that Bootsy was pretty much allegedly ousted because of Mike disliking the fact that he garnered more attention than him or was liked more by viewers. I always really liked him.

[Leo656]

Man, we agree on a lotta stuff! :lol:

I too don't find myself rushing to watch his newest videos, but not because I don't like them; it's more that I've seen all of his AVGN videos so many times now, that sometimes I wait until he has two or three new ones out so the experience lasts longer. New ones come out so infrequently that I'd rather not just blow through a new one and then have nothing to look forward to. If I can watch two or three in a row I feel more satisfied.

I too feel like the more "mature" style isn't so much of a detriment. I mean he's going on what, 15 years of this? Even though "The Nerd" is just a character I feel like by now a little bit of evolution can only help. Even if he's all about being satirical, people DO respect his opinions, so being a little less bombastic and a bit more genuine can only help him endure, by this point. You can tell he realizes it, too; when he does tell an "old style" joke, he delivers it begrudgingly and it feels almost forced. Like "Yeah, here's a joke about donkey diarrhea, because this is AVGN and I know you expect that. Now that THAT's out of the way, let's continue..." But I almost feel like he's thisclose to being a "regular" reviewer anymore, and I gotta say, I don't mind. He's still funny. Frankly, now that he's 40 and almost bald, I think it might come off as kind of pathetic if he was still doing things the exact same way as he did in the early days.

I also like it when he's less "in gimmick" and more genuine because his criticisms of a given game actually make sense if they come from a valid place and not just him doing his gimmick. The Majora's Mask one being a great example; that's a great game, but EVERY single thing he listed as a criticism is perfectly valid and I don't see how anyone could disagree with any of it. Versus his wrestling game review, where he said games like WWF Raw for SNES were crappy because he couldn't figure out the buttons... which takes about 30 seconds to figure out. That was bad. It was an entertaining video, but I can't really stay engaged like I want to when a person is putting forth objectively bad criticism, whether they're "in gimmick" or not. It just takes me out of things. He usually DOES give very valid criticism, which is why when his points are invalid it hits wrong, and to be fair that tends to happen more often when he's trying to cram more jokes in.

I'unno, I think sometimes he's got a good balance in his newer videos. I should re-watch some of his older ones; I played Roger Rabbit for the first time in 20+ years recently and I kinda think he might have been too nice about it. :lol:

[Galactus]

So did anyone watch his crossover with Irate Gamer? Now there is something I didn't think I'd ever see.

Never liked the Irate Gamer mainly because he isn't anywhere near as good as a performer as James Rolfe but I did think people were way too harsh on him back in the day. Pretty much everyone ripped off James Rolfe he may have been the most blatant but James never seemed to care. Imitation is the highest form of flattery and I have little doubt he viewed it as taking inspiration from as opposed to ripping off until everyone called him out on it and he got defensive.

Strange to live in a time that there's been a turnaround of opinion and Irate Gamer is liked whereas Doug Walker is on the outs.

[ssjup81]

I watched the crossover. It was interesting. It's hard to believe that the two after all this time actually managed to do something together and that any bad blood between them (if there actually was from James' side) is water under the bridge. It would be nice to see them maybe collaborate on something again.

The thing I found the most interesting about that video, was the Irate Gamer's shade thrown Doug Walkers' way. He took shots at him. I wonder how people feel about Nostalgia Critic these days anyway...I grew bored of him a few years ago. His "reviews" disguised as Demo Reel just became tiresome for me...

[Leo656]

I liked the recent Ecco video and felt that it was pretty fair. Most everyone I know who had it or played it was always like, "I really wanna like it, but man... the game kinda says 'F*ck you' a lot." Like most just sorta swim around the intro level until they get bored because anything else is just too frustrating to bother with, so once swimming around is out of their system they go play something else.

I will say, I get rather annoyed when he'll do a whole video about a game and then just end it without finishing it. I mean I barely got anywhere with it so I guess I get why, it definitely doesn't seem like a game that's worth beating or struggling with, cool as a concept as it is. It just always feels like a letdown when he gets deep into a game and then the video just abruptly ends. Rather disappointing. He didn't even touch on the lunacy of the plot itself with the aliens and all'a that sh*t.

I'unno, I was excited by the premise of him doing one about that game but I felt like in the end it wasn't all it should have been. :ohwell: Kinda like the game itself, I guess.

[Coola Yagami]

I can't wait til Nerd acknowledges his balding and is like "IM GOING BALD PLAYING THESE ****** GAMES!!!"

[CyberCubed]

One thing I like about him is he pre-dates youtube, so he was just a guy making videos before anyone knew what a "youtuber" would be or any modern videogame player. He's like the prototype version of everything that would come after him.

I'm pretty sure he never made much money in the early 2000's, so he was essentially doing all this stuff as a hobby before making money on youtube became a thing.

[Coola Yagami]

One thing I like about him is he pre-dates youtube, so he was just a guy making videos before anyone knew what a "youtuber" would be or any modern videogame player. He's like the prototype version of everything that would come after him.

I'm pretty sure he never made much money in the early 2000's, so he was essentially doing all this stuff as a hobby before making money on youtube became a thing.

His first 3 episodes were made just for fun as some college project or whatever, or just messing around. Someone told him 'hey, you should post those up on that there new thing called Youtube' and here we are

[sdp]

To me his videos have been hit or miss since the Game Trailer days, the gimmick has lasted for so long that it's not funny for someone to say "****" for a videogame, especially with so many copycats. I usually enjoy the more theatrical episodes which the majority tend to hate. I continue to watch it so I'd say he does a good job that I've not abandoned the show despite it being like 15 years now.

[CyberCubed]

Also he ran out of NES games eventually. He's really only interesting for 80's and 90's gaming, anything modern after that just doesn't fit with him. He's a retro gamer.

[Leo656]

I often wonder if he "ran out" - I doubt it, there's TONS of bad (or at least "questionable") NES games and it could be argued that he barely scratched the surface - or rather, if he gradually leaned more into public demand to cover games on other platforms. He did switch from "Angry Nintendo Nerd" to "Angry Video Game Nerd" rather quickly; I also wonder if that was partly to avoid any negative heat from Nintendo, aside from covering more platforms.

I'd heard him say a couple of times that lots of people have always asked him to cover games on more different systems, including more modern consoles, and that he simply didn't play games very much after the N64/PS1 era because he was busy with college and stuff. That said, I was very glad to see him gradually expand into at least more of the older systems, like Genesis, Saturn, Turbografx-16, etc. etc.

I'd like it if he "taught" himself how to play more modern games and would cover those as well, but I can't force him to do nothin' he don't wanna do. I mean modern games on the whole are way easier to play than older ones, so I doubt he'd have a problem with it, and there's still plenty of crappy ones to cover. But ultimately that's up to him as far as what he wants to do.

[Reinako666]

New Nerd episode, it's a PS2 game.

[Reinako666]

Mike Matei is leaving Cinemassacre so that he can focus on Streaming.

[Coola Yagami]

Mike Matei is leaving Cinemassacre so that he can focus on Streaming.

From what I hear no one really likes him. Like they appreciate all he's done for the Nerd, including the title cards and stuff, they just don't like him and wish he'd stay behind the camera.

Some people even said it was weird for James to just matter-of-factly mention Mike was leaving instead of making a separate video announcement or something.

[Leo656]

Mike always seemed like that one guy you're good friends with because you sat next to each other in Kindergarten and have stuck with ever since, but never really "grew up" and has no social awareness and so you're constantly apologizing for him and can't really bring him around your other friends.

He might be a nice guy, I don't know. I just know that on-camera I always found him super-irritating.

[Prowler]

I've never been a huge Mike Matei fan, but I was really surprise by the news about him leaving the channel, considering he was the one who created it in the first place. Not to mention he drew the title cards for each episode.

So yeah, I've always thought he'd stick around forever. And now he's gone, just like Kyle Justin and Bootsy no longer show up either. Kind of a shame but this thing has been going on for over a decade at this point and fallouts or people moving on with their lives is bound to happen within such a long time period. Mike and Justin probably decided to work on their own projects instead of working on their friend's project forever.

[LeotheLateBloomer]

I've always wondered if Kyle and Bootsy left or not. Shame, I actually enjoyed those two.

[Coola Yagami]

I'm assuming Kyle is the guitar guy, but who is Bootsy?

[Prowler]

I'm assuming Kyle is the guitar guy, but who is Bootsy?
I guess you never watched Board James?

[ssjup81]

I've always wondered if Kyle and Bootsy left or not. Shame, I actually enjoyed those two.I'm not sure about Kyle, but to my knowledge, Mike is the reason Bootsy was kind of booted. I always really liked Bootsy since he was so laid back. I think Mike was bothered over the fact that people liked Bootsy more than him. Not sure if this is fully true, but that's what I've always heard...Mike's at fault for it.

[Coola Yagami]

I guess you never watched Board James?

Not to much. I seen an ep or two and know he had some other guys there other than Mike, but I forgot who they are.

There's apparently a thing also where Mike happens to be well endowed in the manhood department and has flashed it in old chats, I guess at some point they had some sort of public chats? But that seems to be another reason why people don't like him.

[GoldMutant]

But that seems to be another reason why people don't like him.

From what I can gather, the three mains reasons Mike is infamous besides his on-camera act are as follows:

The aforementioned pic leak (apparently, it's not even his Mateis)
Some of his older videos and inability to take criticism from them
This is an odd one, but he made some controversial comics way back when

The second one seems like Mike's main issue. It's reflected in his streams where he lashes out at some questions. Hell, he even suggests going to watch other streamers if you hate what he does. ("don't like, don't watch" cliche)

He has leaned into some jokes, but otherwise those three things will continue to affect him.

[Coola Yagami]

From what I can gather, the three mains reasons Mike is infamous besides his on-camera act are as follows:

The aforementioned pic leak (apparently, it's not even his Mateis)
Some of his older videos and inability to take criticism from them
This is an odd one, but he made some controversial comics way back when

The second one seems like Mike's main issue. It's reflected in his streams where he lashes out at some questions. Hell, he even suggests going to watch other streamers if you hate what he does. ("don't like, don't watch" cliche)

He has leaned into some jokes, but otherwise those three things will continue to affect him.

Contraversial comics you say?

[Prowler]

Contraversial comics you say?

Yes. I can't post them here because of some of the language used. So just Google "El Loco Bandito".

[Turo602]

Not to much. I seen an ep or two and know he had some other guys there other than Mike, but I forgot who they are.

There's apparently a thing also where Mike happens to be well endowed in the manhood department and has flashed it in old chats, I guess at some point they had some sort of public chats? But that seems to be another reason why people don't like him.

The whole big dick thing was a running joke based on some photos where people said you can see the outline of his penis and he seemed to embrace it but out of nowhere, he acted "bothered" by it and posted his dick on the cinemasscre subreddit and on his Twitter as a "there, you seen it so stop talking about it" kind of thing. But if that wasn't strange enough, he went through the trouble of measuring it to confirm it was 10 inches, which he did using a camera trick to make it appear larger than it was, which people called him out on.

The dude is just completely self destructive and attention seeking. He even made an alternate account to defend his actions with the most obvious username if you know anything about Mike Matei. He came in acting like a random fan telling people to go easy on him because he's already been dealt with and is going through some things, because that's something a random fan would know... The guy is just a total idiot and clearly has issues.

Personally, I think the guy was going through a break up and thought that if he posted his dick, that some fangirls would throw themselves at him. Don't ask me how I know, because that's an entirely different story. :lol:

[Prowler]

In case you guys don't know this, Screw Attack used to have its own forums and had a subforum for AVGN back in 2006-2007. Mike Matei was a user there and basically James spokesperson. James used to post on there for a while, but eventually became too busy to spend his time talking to the fans. Once he signed the deal with GameTrailers he had to start releasing a new AVGN episode every 2 weeks, remember.

Back to Mike, I remember him posting on the Screw attack forums and even though he didn't instigate any drama or anything he came across as opinionated and a bit temperamental at times. Especially when people asked him about the Irate Gamer ripping off AVGN lmao.

I didn't know much about Mike beyond his posts in SA and the fact he was the guy who drew the title cards for each AVGN episode and would occasionally dress up as Bugs Bunny or Joker in an AVGN episode. So I was rather neutral on Mike between 2006-2013 or so. I just knew him as the main behind the scenes guy.

Then the whole James and Mike Mondays series began and I quickly got to find Mike Matei rather annoying and immature due to his mannerisms and sense of humour. And eventually learned Mike was originally the bigger gamer of the duo and he was more of an Angry Gamer irl than James, with AVGN being sort of a caricature of Mike. Suddenly, a lot of it was starting to make sense.

Turo already talked about the whole dick drama. What else is there to say about it?

I'm sure Mike is a nice enough guy irl, but he comes across as the type of guy who peaked in high school as far his maturity level goes. I'm sure he'd be a cool guy to talk to for a bit but not someone I'd voluntarily hang out with in a frequent basis. He'd eventually say or do something that would embarrass me in public.

[ssjup81]

Contraversial comics you say?I've come across them. Racist and pointless...not even funny. I mean, you have junk like Family Guy that have racist jokes, but they're actually funny. Mike's was just...inappropriate...In case you guys don't know this, Screw Attack used to have its own forums and had a subforum for AVGN back in 2006-2007. Mike Matei was a user there and basically James spokesperson. James used to post on there for a while, but eventually became too busy to spend his time talking to the fans. Once he signed the deal with GameTrailers he had to start releasing a new AVGN episode every 2 weeks, remember.

Back to Mike, I remember him posting on the Screw attack forums and even though he didn't instigate any drama or anything he came across as opinionated and a bit temperamental at times. Especially when people asked him about the Irate Gamer ripping off AVGN lmao.

I didn't know much about Mike beyond his posts in SA and the fact he was the guy who drew the title cards for each AVGN episode and would occasionally dress up as Bugs Bunny or Joker in an AVGN episode. So I was rather neutral on Mike between 2006-2013 or so. I just knew him as the main behind the scenes guy.

Then the whole James and Mike Mondays series began and I quickly got to find Mike Matei rather annoying and immature due to his mannerisms and sense of humour. And eventually learned Mike was originally the bigger gamer of the duo and he was more of an Angry Gamer irl than James, with AVGN being sort of a caricature of Mike. Suddenly, a lot of it was starting to make sense.

Turo already talked about the whole dick drama. What else is there to say about it?

I'm sure Mike is a nice enough guy irl, but he comes across as the type of guy who peaked in high school as far his maturity level goes. I'm sure he'd be a cool guy to talk to for a bit but not someone I'd voluntarily hang out with in a frequent basis. He'd eventually say or do something that would embarrass me in public.Ironically, I started to find Mike annoying when used in Board James, but I gave him the benefit of the doubt since the character was supposed to be annoying. He was MF Mike, afterall. lol His videos, though, outside of that made me not like him much, when compared to those like Bootsy who was pretty cool. I did check out the James and Mike play videos occasionally, but I just cannot stand Mike enough to sit through them. I must agree, though, he probably did peak in high school and never matured beyond that.

[Prowler]

I've come across them. Racist and pointless...not even funny. I mean, you have junk like Family Guy that have racist jokes, but they're actually funny. Mike's was just...inappropriate...Ironically, I started to find Mike annoying when used in Board James, but I gave him the benefit of the doubt since the character was supposed to be annoying. He was MF Mike, afterall. lol His videos, though, outside of that made me not like him much, when compared to those like Bootsy who was pretty cool. I did check out the James and Mike play videos occasionally, but I just cannot stand Mike enough to sit through them. I must agree, though, he probably did peak in high school and never matured beyond that.
James and Mike Mondays were pretty hit and miss. And even the best ones weren't must watch imo.

They were just trying to attract more viewers with those videos, since streaming is such a popular thing nowadays.

[Leo656]

Watching other people play video games is like, the worst thing ever, for me.

It's like listening to someone else try and describe a dream that they had. From Over Here, I just ain't invested.

[Prowler]

Watching other people play video games is like, the worst thing ever, for me.

It's like listening to someone else try and describe a dream that they had. From Over Here, I just ain't invested.

I agree. And this is coming from someone who has very find memories of watching their older brother play the N64 when they were a kid. Thing is, I was a little kid. My tastes have changed. I'm not gonna sit down and watch someone play a game for 2 hours and a half on twitch.

[Turo602]

I think the appeal of James and Mike Monday's wasn't just watching 2 guys play games. It was watching James and Mike interact. People love personalities because they relate more to the people than the content. I personally didn't mind James and Mike Monday's because they were playing games not many people can even get their hands on or even want to. So in a way, it's like watching your older brother play video games as a kid because you yourself weren't going to anyway. But they were definitely most entertaining when they would just talk about the most random sh*t that had nothing to do with the game they're playing. I think that was one of Mike's best qualities actually. You can tell James is just playing a game with his friend, but Mike would try to instigate conversation with James and get him talking about things for the audience.

Watching other people play video games is like, the worst thing ever, for me.

It's like listening to someone else try and describe a dream that they had. From Over Here, I just ain't invested.

Think about playing video games or describing dreams as porn though. I mean, you're not exactly having sex yourself, but the company is nice. :lol:

[Leo656]

:lol: Yeah, but at least with porn I'm still gonna end up having an orgasm.

With video games, unless it's DOA: Beach Volleyball or Rumble Roses, the orgasm part is highly unlikely. :lol::lol::lol:

[Prowler]

My favourite James and Mike video is probably that one of Sonic the Hedgehog hack Roms. That one was interesting.

As for games that actually exist and one can obtain rather easily, eeh I wouldn't call it being similar to watching my older brother playing games when I was a little kid, because I could easily go buy a copy of an older NES game online or just... play it by unconventional means. It's not like I'm staring at a forbidden fruit or pot of gold that my older siblings or parents don't allow me to touch/play with.

And I can appreciate James acting like himself instead of AVGN, but Mike more often than not grates on my nerves. That video where both play Pilotwings 64 and Mike starts screaming during the cannonball missions, HOLY HELL, how cringe and annoying can one sound?! :tconfuse:

[Turo602]

My favourite James and Mike video is probably that one of Sonic the Hedgehog hack Roms. That one was interesting.

As for games that actually exist and one can obtain rather easily, eeh I wouldn't call it being similar to watching my older brother playing games when I was a little kid, because I could easily go buy a copy of an older NES game online or just... play it by unconventional means. It's not like I'm staring at a forbidden fruit or pot of gold that my older siblings or parents don't allow me to touch/play with.

And I can appreciate James acting like himself instead of AVGN, but Mike more often than not grates on my nerves. That video where both play Pilotwings 64 and Mike starts screaming during the cannonball missions, HOLY HELL, how cringe and annoying can one sound?! :tconfuse:

What I mean is that the average joe doesn't care enough about retro games to go seek them or play them, that watching someone they "know" play them is more of a novelty than watching them play something like Call of Duty or just watching gameplay videos of retro games.

Mike's voice is just so naturally annoying, and his personality doesn't help with that either. But I do respect him for how he's treated James and you see it most in the James and Mike videos.

There was a video a while back where James revealed he had autism and looking back, the signs are there and it's evident in his interactions with Mike. There's just something kind of off about him, socially. He's very particular about certain things and vastly knowledgeable on old movies and a very creative person. But when he's sat down with Mike and Mike is trying to make content for the channel, James is just kind of there fixated on the game and often doesn't understand that Mike is trying to make him talk for the camera. You sometimes even see it in Mike's face when James doesn't understand something or flat out ignores him that he's a little frustrated but then he just humors him anyway. It's also very telling that he's the one who got James started on YouTube and the reason anyone knows about AVGN.

He's clearly helped him a lot and guided him throughout their entire YouTube career. It's just unfortunate that Mike is so childish and self-destructive. He's very unlikable and has so many sh*tty takes on gaming because he's still stuck in the past. I did enjoy a lot of his drawing content though and he's surprisingly tolerable when he appies himself to making a well thought out video that isn't just him shooting the sh*t and being himself.

[Prowler]

What I mean is that the average joe doesn't care enough about retro games to go seek them or play them, that watching someone they "know" play them is more of a novelty than watching them play something like Call of Duty or just watching gameplay videos of retro games.

Mike's voice is just so naturally annoying, and his personality doesn't help with that either. But I do respect him for how he's treated James and you see it most in the James and Mike videos.

There was a video a while back where James revealed he had autism and looking back, the signs are there and it's evident in his interactions with Mike. There's just something kind of off about him, socially. He's very particular about certain things and vastly knowledgeable on old movies and a very creative person. But when he's sat down with Mike and Mike is trying to make content for the channel, James is just kind of there fixated on the game and often doesn't understand that Mike is trying to make him talk for the camera. You sometimes even see it in Mike's face when James doesn't understand something or flat out ignores him that he's a little frustrated but then he just humors him anyway. It's also very telling that he's the one who got James started on YouTube and the reason anyone knows about AVGN.

He's clearly helped him a lot and guided him throughout their entire YouTube career. It's just unfortunate that Mike is so childish and self-destructive. He's very unlikable and has so many sh*tty takes on gaming because he's still stuck in the past. I did enjoy a lot of his drawing content though and he's surprisingly tolerable when he appies himself to making a well thought out video that isn't just him shooting the sh*t and being himself.
Sure, I agree with that. Basically, those videos were made in order to attract more people to the channel. In particular younger generations who grew up watching someone like pewdiepie and twitch streamers instead of the Nerd.

I didn't know about James having autism. What video was that? Cinemassacre has so many of them that it's hard to keep track at this point.

It's "funny" because James, despite his autism, still seems like a much more well-functional adult than Mike. Unless Mike also has some sort of undiagnosed disorder or something.

I'm sure Mike is a good friend to James. I've never doubted that myself.

[Leo656]

Yeah, I didn't know that about James. It's gotta be mild, though, whatever it is. He seems extremely "high-functioning". Maybe a bit socially "odd" but again, "back in my day" we just assumed people like that were "awkward", not that they were on any kind of spectrum. I guess it makes sense, though, maybe.

I agree that if I had to guess that either of them was, though, I too would have said Mike. If I had to pick anything for him, though, I'd say he almost certainly has ADHD, if nothing else. I'm one of those people who's pretty sure that most people who get "diagnosed" with ADHD don't actually have it, but I know a few who definitely do. And if he doesn't, I'd be shocked.

[Prowler]

There's definitely a case of overdiagnosed conditions like ADHD, autism and such nowadays. No idea what psychiatrists would diagnose a young Mike Matei nowadays with. Is there a disorder for being a cringey loud obnoxious man in his late 30s who seems to have peaked in HS?

[Turo602]

Just saw it back. He didn't specifically mention he had autism, but he says he spent 7 years in a special ed school as a child when talking about the movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in this video.

CzUYPt0OAGY

I think many people have speculated he has autism since then, and I honestly wouldn't be surprised. I used to write off his awkwardness with just being a little odd, but seeing how patient and nice Mike is with him along with his life long obsession for movies and the way he can just keep going on about facts. I don't mean this in a negative way either, it just kind of fits though. It definitely hasn't impaired him in any way because he's definitely high functioning and talented.

[Leo656]

Yeah, but I do all of that stuff too, though. Granted, I graduated in 2000, before The Spectrum was "a thing", but I'm *pretty* sure I don't have any sort of autism. If you've ever heard me on one of Coola's podcasts, I can very often jump in to say "One quick thing" and then turn it into an entire rant about a hundred other things, but is that really an "autism trait"? I don't know, I must've missed that memo.

I mean, I get what you mean, but by your rather loose standards a person who watched one of my toy review videos might look at me going on a tangent about meaningless trivia while occasionally losing my train of thought and think "Man, that guy's possibly 'autistic'," when in fact the truth is I'm just doing bong hits off-camera every single time we cut. :lol: I'm 99.9999% sure I'm nowhere on any spectrum, but I AM definitely fried more often than not when doing any kind of public speaking. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar!

I don't know. I kinda think that otherwise-innocuous "quirks" of personality get labelled as "Autism Traits" a little too easily, these days. Some people don't say much. Some people ramble. Some people don't like looking people in the eye. CAN it mean something? Sure. But it can also mean absolutely nothing.

[Storm Eagle]

Sure, I agree with that. Basically, those videos were made in order to attract more people to the channel. In particular younger generations who grew up watching someone like pewdiepie and twitch streamers instead of the Nerd.

I didn't know about James having autism. What video was that? Cinemassacre has so many of them that it's hard to keep track at this point.

It's "funny" because James, despite his autism, still seems like a much more well-functional adult than Mike. Unless Mike also has some sort of undiagnosed disorder or something.



It happens. I have a mild case myself, and there have been a lot of times where I'd be around people who make me wonder if I'm the only sane person alive, if not in that room.

Yeah, I didn't know that about James. It's gotta be mild, though, whatever it is. He seems extremely "high-functioning". Maybe a bit socially "odd" but again, "back in my day" we just assumed people like that were "awkward", not that they were on any kind of spectrum. I guess it makes sense, though, maybe.



Or even worse, "retarded".

[Leo656]

"Back in my day, we'd stick guys like that in the Army; make 'em play the bugle." :lol::lol::lol:

[Turo602]

Yeah, but I do all of that stuff too, though. Granted, I graduated in 2000, before The Spectrum was "a thing", but I'm *pretty* sure I don't have any sort of autism. If you've ever heard me on one of Coola's podcasts, I can very often jump in to say "One quick thing" and then turn it into an entire rant about a hundred other things, but is that really an "autism trait"? I don't know, I must've missed that memo.

I mean, I get what you mean, but by your rather loose standards a person who watched one of my toy review videos might look at me going on a tangent about meaningless trivia while occasionally losing my train of thought and think "Man, that guy's possibly 'autistic'," when in fact the truth is I'm just doing bong hits off-camera every single time we cut. :lol: I'm 99.9999% sure I'm nowhere on any spectrum, but I AM definitely fried more often than not when doing any kind of public speaking. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar!

I don't know. I kinda think that otherwise-innocuous "quirks" of personality get labelled as "Autism Traits" a little too easily, these days. Some people don't say much. Some people ramble. Some people don't like looking people in the eye. CAN it mean something? Sure. But it can also mean absolutely nothing.

Going on tangents and getting high are hardly the same thing as to what I'm referencing with James though. He has enough traits and a history of learning disability and was incredibly artistic at age 11. Some serious Bob Ross sh*t. I was fairly artistic for my age growing up. My drawings were always better detailed and distinguishable from everyone else's and even I can't manage what he did at 11 years old today.

Plenty of people can show symptoms and it have other underlying reasons for it or just have that kind of personality, like Mike who just seems like a complete ass by choice. But James legitimately strikes me as autistic based on everything I know and seen of him, particularly during their James and Mike videos where they're just being themselves and James is just, off, and Mike acts really patient with him because James sometimes struggles to grasp what Mike is asking him and sometimes just flat out ignores him with such a blank stare on his face. Unless he's just completely f*cking fried out of his mind all the time, then I have no idea what's up with that guy, but he's definitely not "normal." It hasn't stopped him from becoming successful so it's not like it really matters anyway.

[frank_one]

Decades ago everyone on this forum would've been considered affected with some mental disorder. I mean, we are in our 30s and 40s, sitting here talking about toys and videogames instead of taking care of our wife, our children or our productive life.

[Leo656]

Going on tangents and getting high are hardly the same thing as to what I'm referencing with James though. He has enough traits and a history of learning disability and was incredibly artistic at age 11. Some serious Bob Ross sh*t. I was fairly artistic for my age growing up. My drawings were always better detailed and distinguishable from everyone else's and even I can't manage what he did at 11 years old today.

Plenty of people can show symptoms and it have other underlying reasons for it or just have that kind of personality, like Mike who just seems like a complete ass by choice. But James legitimately strikes me as autistic based on everything I know and seen of him, particularly during their James and Mike videos where they're just being themselves and James is just, off, and Mike acts really patient with him because James sometimes struggles to grasp what Mike is asking him and sometimes just flat out ignores him with such a blank stare on his face. Unless he's just completely f*cking fried out of his mind all the time, then I have no idea what's up with that guy, but he's definitely not "normal." It hasn't stopped him from becoming successful so it's not like it really matters anyway.

I guess, but I personally wouldn't have even guessed at anything like that until you mentioned it. All the evidence seems pretty circumstantial. BUT, again, that's me, I'm hardly an expert.

I mean, I was also very artistic at an early age. Never any learning disabilities, but I was briefly in a Talented and Gifted Program. It just seems like a lot of the "criteria" for labeling someone as "possibly autistic" could easily apply to myself or a ton of people who most others would classify as "normal" (or whatever the current PC term for it is). Even with my emotional problems, as a kid nobody even suggested there was anything unusual about that; it was just "Yeah, his parents are drug addicts and they get arrested a lot and there's a lot of violence in the house, obviously he's gonna act out."

Like you said, though, in the end it really isn't any big deal. I just can't help but notice that a lot of people get slapped with a label like Asperger's or Autism nowadays but the criteria seems very broad. Like to the point where "anybody" could be, but they also might just be "odd", y'know? I have a really good friend for over 20 years who I'd bet most people here would assume was "autistic", but if you ask him he's just introverted and doesn't like to say much. And if someone tried to label him as something, he probably wouldn't like it much; he doesn't like how you can't be just a quiet guy who doesn't hang around with people much, anymore, without someone trying to put a sticker on your personality.

I don't know. For me it's like Seasonal Depression. "Do YOU have these symptoms?" and then the list is so broad that pretty much every single person would fit on it.

I'unno. Maybe James is but I personally won't assume until I'm told. But like you said, it's not like it's a handicap, so it isn't any bug huge deal. It's just that 1. I know people who some might assume were on the spectrum and they'd resent such assumptions, and 2. I always just thought he was quirky. But if he is, then hey, no big deal, just wouldn't have guessed.

[Powder]

Decades ago everyone on this forum would've been considered affected with some mental disorder.

As they would now. Fittingly.

[Leo656]

:lol::lol::lol:

My diagnosis was low-level Bipolar Disorder with a touch of occasional clinical depression. SO HUH. :trazz:

[Coola Yagami]

eh I honestly feel a lot of the ADHD and autism and whatever else is just more ways to fit people into neat little boxes and we just don't work that way.

I'm probably on the spectrum too, who knows. I know I have trouble concentrating on stuff I just really don't give a crap about, even if it's something important. I'm sure I have manchild syndrome of some sort too. But again, we don't all fit into boxes. I can be an overgrown kid one moment, but people come to me for grown-up advice and for me to be the voice of reason they next.

[Prowler]

Anyway,

You thought it was bad that Screenwave changed the AVGN videos thumbnails? Well, I think now hearing James saying "You Know What's BS" Instead of "You Know what's bullsh*t" is bullsh*t. And now that series of videos is called YKWBS.

Apparently, Youtube's algorithm isn't fond of curse words in the titles of videos and neither of cursing in the first 30 seconds of a video...

[Reinako666]

Anyway,

You thought it was bad that Screenwave changed the AVGN videos thumbnails? Well, I think now hearing James saying "You Know What's BS" Instead of "You Know what's bullsh*t" is bullsh*t. And now that series of videos is called YKWBS.

Apparently, Youtube's algorithm isn't fond of curse words in the titles of videos and neither of cursing in the first 30 seconds of a video...

Ah YouTube Algorithm, ruining YouTube since 2016/2017.

[frank_one]

There's nothing wrong about google/youtube not putting curse words in the top results. I... guess?

[Prowler]

James band, Rex Viper, released a new song recently. After the Ken theme from Street Fighter remix now we have a Back to the Future theme and NES Ost remix song. Pretty cool song!

[Prowler]

The latex AVGN episode was a review of the 3DO. Solid episode. Reminded me of 2007-2009 era episodes like Sega CD and Plumbers Don't Wear Ties.

Also, holy ****, the Sega CD episode came out FOURTEEN years ago already?! And 14 years later, we're getting a Corpse Killer review? I definitely did not expect that. I didn't even know it had a 3DO version. I hope it's a good one. AVGN did say back in the day he had a lot to say about that game.

[Coola Yagami]

I loved this episode, it felt like a classic Nerd ep. I kinda like how his episodes can range from being 'classic' to over-the-top. It keeps it fresh and for those that complain for the over-the-topness, you can wait for the next episode or two that goes back to basics.


Y'see, now that's something Nostalgia Critic should do. Keep those drawn-out skits if he wants, which he obviously does despite everybody hating them, but once in a while do a 'classic' style episode where it's just him reviewing the movie without all the guest stars, without the drawn out skits and without the 'in-show' storylines. Just review the ****ing movie.

[FrederikWolferson]

James is an okay guy,that kinda wore out his gimmick over the years. Everyone around him on the other hand...

[Coola Yagami]

James is an okay guy,that kinda wore out his gimmick over the years. Everyone around him on the other hand...

IDK, other than over-exaggerated scat references, his schtick will never get old because he does play the kinda games that you yourself will be yelling out '****!' and '****!!!!' while playing.

Y'know, maybe that's why the Nerd is still relevant over the Critic. OK, people do complain about bad movies, and they have their little rants or they write articles or bitch on message boards, but they don't actually... yell, scream and swear at the actual movie theater (well.... maybe Leo666 does....). With ****** games on the other hand... people do scream, swear, throw the controller around, kick **** around and whatnot. It's more relatable.

I mean I've seen videos of kids legit throwing their console on the ground in anger and smashing it over a game.... only to realize that now they can't play ANY game... I swear it's that slight moment of realization that gets me every time.

[Leo656]

Dude, ONE time I did that and it was "The Last Jedi". If Jesus can let that one slide then I think I'm forgiven, a'ight?

[Coola Yagami]

Dude, ONE time I did that and it was "The Last Jedi". If Jesus can let that one slide then I think I'm forgiven, a'ight?

You are forgiven by the power of Teela's thicc phat phallus.

[Prowler]

And the Corpse Killer episode is here. 14 years later, we finally get to see the game.

"Because we are... THE NEW ORDEEEEEEEEEEEEEER" :lol:

[TigerClaw]

And the Corpse Killer episode is here. 14 years later, we finally get to see the game.

"Because we are... THE NEW ORDEEEEEEEEEEEEEER" :lol:
I remember playing the Sega CD version.

[Prowler]

Sega Game Gear VHS tapes was a fun episode. Always interesting to discover the existence of such things from James.

Carmaggedon was alright, I guess.

Apparently James has been working in Monster Madness again. I know it's one of his most popular side content, but since I'm not as big of a movie fan as James is, I never had much of an interest in those. That being said, it's good to see James working on something so many people loved again.

The latest Rex Viper song didn't do anything for me. The other two were pretty good covers, but this one meh.

James announced a few hours ago that a Cinemassacre podcast is coming in August. I'm not a fan of podcasts in general, but they're very popular nowadays, so it seems like a good idea.

[CyberCubed]

There's a sense of irony that his videos started around 2004, and back THEN we basically saw NES games as "retro" at the time, when in reality they were only about 15 years old at the time.

Now we're in 2021, and 15 years ago PS2/Gamecube/Xbox games were the current gen, and now *those* games are retro. It really is weird knowing entire generation of kids grew up after the PS2/Gamecube/Xbox gen even. We've even gotten to the point where the Wii/PS3/360 gen is retro.

[IMJ]

There's a sense of irony that his videos started around 2004, and back THEN we basically saw NES games as "retro" at the time, when in reality they were only about 15 years old at the time.

Now we're in 2021, and 15 years ago PS2/Gamecube/Xbox games were the current gen, and now *those* games are retro. It really is weird knowing entire generation of kids grew up after the PS2/Gamecube/Xbox gen even. We've even gotten to the point where the Wii/PS3/360 gen is retro.

I hadn't really thought about this before. yeesh.

God, what do teens/early 20's kids today think about Atari and the 2600? That's got to be beyond "retro" to their perspective - more like antique.

A whole generation where the PS2 was their current generation of gaming. Yikes.

[Sumac]

God, what do teens/early 20's kids today think about Atari and the 2600? That's got to be beyond "retro" to their perspective - more like antique.
Same feelings I have towards stuff like Magnavox Odyssey and the like: some ancient mysterious stuff from the age far far away.

[sdp]

The atari felt like some ancient artifact to me and I grew up in the 90s. Nowadays because of youtube they see retro as cool and they join retro communities and ask retarded questions that anyone who grew up in that era and they get outted for being zoomers but they don't care since it's cool to like retro games. That's why prices are insane instead of getting 10 games for 99 cents.

It's not PS2, there are adults today whose first console was the Xbox 360 and PS3. You already see a bunch of Wii/360 nostalgia starting to be posted on forums. Which makes sense those are really old systems, I thin the 360 came out my last year of HS.

Let's not forget that the PS3/Wii/360 era lasted almost 10 years, in the 90s we would get a new console every 3 years so you associate an era with two consoles or so like NES/SNES in elementary, N64 in Elementary and Jr High, Gamecube and Wii in HS etc. A whole generation grew up with only one console for most of their years.

[Leo656]

I get why they have to do it, but including paid ads in the first minute or two of every video now is pretty annoying. It bothers me more when the overall video is already pretty short, as the latest AVGN video was.

Like I get that there's not much to say about Pac-Man 2, but he could've stretched it out to like 15 minutes or so by talking about some of the lesser-known sequels from back in the arcade days. He's done that for a lot of other properties. I've liked most of his recent videos but this one felt like a total throwaway, to be honest.

It's like "Here's a minute of me trying to sell you a VPN... here's 5 minutes of me talking about a Pac-Man game nobody's ever played... aaaaand we're out." One of the laziest videos he's ever done, I hate to say.

[Prowler]

Yeah. The last time he released an episode as short as his latest one must have been around 2006 when he was still Angry Nintendo Nerd. And yet, his episodes at the time had more substance than his Pac-man 2 episode.

A rather disappointing episode.

[Coola Yagami]

Yeah, there so much he coulda done with this one but at the same time, not too much. Idk. It seemed like another game that only has 3-4 levels, they're just crazy long and crazy hard. I guess he shoulda gone more into the history of it, or also review Pac-Attack as a palette cleanser.

[sdp]

So pretty much every video now is defending criticisms from the cinemassacre truth subreddit. AVGN is a tired idea it's been going on for two decades now and copied to the ground, he's never really evolved. I still enjoy watching it but it's obviously a shadow of its former self. It's not entirely his fault, there's not much else he can do with the character, more elaborate videos do help but it's not even enough at this point.

When is he going to start reviewing Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360 games? They're already retro.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E9ayp_ZXEAIFv-J?format=jpg&name=small

[Coola Yagami]

So pretty much every video now is defending criticisms from the cinemassacre truth subreddit. AVGN is a tired idea it's been going on for two decades now and copied to the ground, he's never really evolved. I still enjoy watching it but it's obviously a shadow of its former self. It's not entirely his fault, there's not much else he can do with the character, more elaborate videos do help but it's not even enough at this point.

When is he going to start reviewing Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360 games? They're already retro.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E9ayp_ZXEAIFv-J?format=jpg&name=small

To be honest as long as game companies keep making ****** games, it'll never get old. There's a lil bit of AVGN in all of us every time we buy a game we think is gonna be great and ends up sucking.

If anything I'd like to see him address that it's 2021 and they're still making ****** games. "wtf, Atari and Nintendo are one thing due to the limitations of the 80s tech at the time, BUT HOW THE **** ARE THEY STILL MAKING ****** GAMES FOR THE PS5 AND XBOX SERIES X. WHAT KINDA NAME IS SERIES X TO BEGIN WITH??? WHAT WERE THEY THINKING????"

[Prowler]

The Cinemassacre Truth subreddit is mostly lunatic conspiracy theorists who are obsessed with James Rolfe's personal life.

I understand the criticisms about the quality of AVGN episodes declining ever since Screenwave partnered with James, but those people take it too far and just end up being hard to take seriously.

[Prowler]

Two new episodes recently. Rocketeer and Greendog.

Rocketeer was a good episode. Greendog was just OK at best. They clearly overhyped the way they destroyed the game at the end of the episode.

[ssjup81]

Two new episodes recently. Rocketeer and Greendog.

Rocketeer was a good episode. Greendog was just OK at best. They clearly overhyped the way they destroyed the game at the end of the episode.I only know about Greendog because of Gamesack. I didn't see the Rocketeer one. I didn't finish Greendog as I had to go to bed. I actually had forgotten that I didn't finish watching it until coming to this thread.

[Coola Yagami]

New ep recently dealing with all sorts of horror games on the Commedore 64, ending with Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street on it. I have to admit, that was one hell of a blood curdling scream for the C64.... it just made me shudder cause the Nerd kept replaying it over and over and over cause he was really having a blast with it.

I'm really hoping some day he points out his bald spot as part of a rant. Like he'll go on and on and then somewhere during the rant he can be like "I MEAN LOOK AT THIS... LOOK AT THIS, I'M LITERALLY GOING BALD PLAYING ALL THESE ****** GAMES!!!!'

[Leo656]

I can hardly believe he's been around so long. Like I got into him "late" but he still had most of his hair at that point. :lol:

New ep was pretty good. I still get the feeling from the last batch that he's kind of burned out on it, though. Like I don't want him to stop but he's definitely doing it more out of obligation than anything, at this point, and it's coming through in the product. I don't feel the same passion.

And sometimes, when he looks at the camera with one of those Fourth Wall-breaking looks, he just looks... tired. Like, "I'm doing this for you guys, man. Not for me. All of you. Not me, not even a little bit. All of you. ALL of YOU PEOPLE what the f*ck what the F*CK I really am gonna be doing this sh*t when I'm 70, aren't I?! YOU F*CKING JACKALS! GIVE ME PEACE!!!"

...That's the vibe I get from him sometimes, lately.

Kinda sad. Like I said, I don't want him to stop, but at the same time it's pretty clear he sort of ran out of gas and only keeps going because he gets paid well and so many people love him.

It's gotta be tough too since he's mostly pumped the well of the most well-known "sh*tty games" from the 8-bit era, and a few from the 16-bit and PS1 eras, but he wasn't as immersed in gaming through the PS1 years and beyond because he was in college and stuff so emotionally, he's disconnected from almost anything after the year 2000. There's lots of lousy games since then that he COULD, in theory, do good videos on... but he personally might not be the best guy to do those particular videos, since he didn't have the same emotional connection with them as the other stuff.

All the "best" stuff he did was covering stuff he played when he was a little kid. It hits different when he covers a game he only played for the first time a few weeks or months ago as a middle-aged man. Some of the intangible magic that made the early videos so great simply doesn't carry over. I can't lie, I watch whatever new Game Nerd video he does, regardless of what game he's covering, but there's a noticeable difference in his level of engagement when it's a true "old school" game and not something from 1996 or later.

I don't think it can be helped, really.

[Prowler]

Thing is, he's kinda trapped in the AVGN character forever. That's what he'll always be known for and what has given him most of his income, I assume. If he stopes doing AVGN, what will he do for a living? Seems obvious to me hell never be a favous director. He has only worked on low budget videos and short films. And his AVGN movie wasn't so good and also clearly had balow budget. I don't see him even having a good career as an indie film maker.

He has a wife and two kids. He can't afford to lose the AVGN job and end up doing something that makes him much less money.

[Coola Yagami]

Nerd's final part of the 200th episode hit. I didn't expect the ending to get all emotional though. If I didn't know he needs to keep pumping these out to feed his family, I'd say this is the last one.

Whenever the last one does come, he's gonna have a hard time topping this one.

[Leo656]

Yeah, it was pretty good. I liked how he admitted his earlier "actual" reviews of the LJN WWF games were nonsense and that they were actually good games (mostly).

And yeah, it definitely felt like a "grand finale" even though we all know it won't be. Poor guy Peter Laird-ed himself; he took on a fun little side project for laughs, just to kill time and make some pocket money until he finally got his "real" career started... and then that never happened, so he got locked into this "fun little side project" forever.

One can only hope he's not as embittered as Laird ended up being, and still enjoys his creation(s). Anyways, not a bad way to round out the year.

[Andrew NDB]

Yeah, it was pretty good. I liked how he admitted his earlier "actual" reviews of the LJN WWF games were nonsense and that they were actually good games (mostly).

And yeah, it definitely felt like a "grand finale" even though we all know it won't be. Poor guy Peter Laird-ed himself; he took on a fun little side project for laughs, just to kill time and make some pocket money until he finally got his "real" career started... and then that never happened, so he got locked into this "fun little side project" forever.

One can only hope he's not as embittered as Laird ended up being, and still enjoys his creation(s). Anyways, not a bad way to round out the year.

That's probably the best way you could look at him. And yeah. Hopefully.

[Prowler]

So, I finally watched the LJN games 3-parter.

The 1st part was basically covering games he had already reviewed, which makes sense since most of LJN games were movie adaptations.

The 2nd part focused on sports titles. Didn't care much for it.

The 3rd and final part where he covered wrestling and unsorted games was the best one. That ****ing Aerosmith game was crazy, man. That's something I did not expect LMAO :lol:

As for the ending and the credits... it also surprised me. It gave a real series finale vibe. It was heartfelt and nice, but at the same time seems a bit off since we know AVGN isn't over. If anything, I take it as a token of gratitude for people who have been watching and helping James all these years with AVGN. And episode number 200 was probably the best episode to pay such a tribute.

Still, it would have been a fine ending for the series.

Anyway, now that he's finally done with LJN and that he's reviewed all of the notoriously bad NES games, what's there left for him to review as far as infamous games go? He's already reviewed the likes of Action 52, Ghostbusters, Superman 64, Big Rigs, Hong Kong 97, Desert Bus, Crazy Bus, The Town With no Name, E. T., etc.

Lousy games are made every year, but I feel like James has reviewed all of the infamous retro games by now. At least the ones from the 80s and early 90s. So does that mean he now has to mostly review PS1, Xbox PS2 and GameCube games? That doesn't work as well as actual retro games for AVGN, though. Like when he reviewed Sonic 06, for example. Making a review about how bad that game is over a decade after it came out felt rather pointless, since everyone knew already it was bad. It came out at a time where everyone had Internet at home already and Youtube was a thing already. Unlike in the 80s or early 90s where it was a lot harder to know if a game was gonna be good or bad.

[Prowler]

New AVGN episode. The Last Ninja.

An NES game. James originally had reviewed this one after the NES TMNT episode, but for some reason never released the episode. So now he did so and also made it longer with current day footage. So it's basically an episode with 20% of 2006 footage and 80% of 2022 footage. Interesting idea.

It was a fun episode imo

[Leo656]

Watched it this morning, that was a pretty fun episode. I was cracking up at the end with Ernie. "F*CK Bert, I already took care'a him!" or whatever. :lol: That was awesome.

[Prowler]

Watched it this morning, that was a pretty fun episode. I was cracking up at the end with Ernie. "F*CK Bert, I already took care'a him!" or whatever. :lol: That was awesome.

When I was a kid I was a big fan of the monthly Seasame Street magazine.

My favourite was the Cookie Monster. I liked Ernie and Bert at first but then the jokes at school of them being gay kinda ended that :lol:

[Leo656]

New episode, this one about Contra:
-XtToNPFU1E

Good stuff, makes me wanna give these games another try, I was awful at them as a kid.

Watching James go bald is f*cking depressing, though.

Great ending sequence too. Really heartfelt, and spot-on.

[Prowler]

I beat the original Contra a few years ago. Yes, I used the 30 life code. I can't beat it with 3 lives only.

[Leo656]

I wouldn't even attempt it without the 30 lives. I don't claim to be "hardcore", especially now that I'm older and have less patience than ever. I just wanna play stuff.

[Prowler]

Yes. I agree. You're bound to get hit several times. And since you die with one hit only, you have to be practically perfect to beat Contra without the 30 life code. I don't even count the Konami code as cheating in a game like Contra.

Anyway, I just watched the episode and it was good. To think James beat the original Contra on a school morning before breakfast when he was in 3rd grade or something... that's crazy. I didn't manage to beat a NES game until I was a teenager when I beat Mega Man 2.

The ending of the episode with the reminiscing was pretty nice. When he told that story of selling Contra for 7 bucks to buy a sandwich... man, I'm glad I never sold my games. I'd regret that so much to this day if I were James.

As for games with friends from our childhood... well, I never really played video games against other kids. So I can't really relate to that. Closest I can think of is making CAWs of HS classmates on DOR 2 and Smackdown vs. Raw 2006 when I was in 10th grade. CAWs of people I haven't seen since 2007 or so. And looking back, those guys were never really my friends. So when I booted up those games again a few years ago I deleted their CAWs to make CAWs of actual wrestlers and fictional characters I wanted to add to the roster.

[Sumac]

Contra 1 and 2 are relatively easy, if you have the right weapon (shotgun).
Starting with Contra 3 series becomes incredibly tough.

[Prowler]

Contra 1 and 2 are relatively easy, if you have the right weapon (shotgun).
Starting with Contra 3 series becomes incredibly tough.

It didn't take me that many attempts to beat the original with the 30 life code tbh. But it's still a bit challenging nonetheless. You're always going to lose several lives.

I haven't played other Contra games except for Contra 4 on the DS. Haven't beaten that one though. I gotta fix that sometime.

[Leo656]

Oddly enough, I've had Super C since I was a kid but not the original Contra. I don't think I own it, even still.

((Checks)) Nope, somehow don't have it. I somehow missed picking that one up so far. I'll have to correct that when I have money again.

[Prowler]

Oddly enough, I've had Super C since I was a kid but not the original Contra. I don't think I own it, even still.

((Checks)) Nope, somehow don't have it. I somehow missed picking that one up so far. I'll have to correct that when I have money again.

I own Top Gun 2 on the NES. But never owned or played the first one.

I wish I don't have Top Gun 2 either tbh. That game sucks. Always die a minute into the game.

[Leo656]

Haha, that's funny as I actually do own Top Gun but never cared for it. Like most people I can't beat the first level.

A ton of the NES games I had as a kid were stuff people just gave me when they were sick of them. So I didn't have a ton of "gems" but I had a lot of mediocre-to-bad stuff, like Heavy Shreddin' and Bad Dudes.

I did have a lot of fun with Bad Dudes as a kid but it's a very bad port of a game that wasn't incredible to begin with. When I finally played the original arcade version on the Data East Arcade Collection for Wii it was pretty stunning how much better it was than the NES version I'd beaten a hundred times.

You made the best of what you had, as a poor kid. "Can't even scrounge up a buck to go rent something? Well, guess I'll beat Bad Dudes again."

[Prowler]

My older brother hasn't always been wise at choosing games. I didn't have it too bad as far as bad games go.

...but we own Top Gun 2, Bart vs. the Space Mutants and Bart vs. the World. And tbh, a lot of people who grew up with the NES own at least one of the games mentioned above.

I'm guessing the Top Gun NES games sold pretty well because the Top Gun movie was very popular and a big box office success. And this was at a time where we still didn't catch on how games based on movies were usually ****.

The Simpsons? Like anyone who grew up in the 90s, my brother loved the series. It's honestly kind of sad how The Simpsons are pretty much irrelevant nowadays and how there's probably more bad Simpsons episodes than good ones nowadays.

[Leo656]

Yeah, The Simpsons is another show my wife insists on watching every day, and I don't mind it SO much, but it's gotten REALLY awful. I've said many times - and stand by it - that people complaining about The Simpsons having gone to sh*t annoys me more than the show itself does, but that's more about the fact that people never shut up about it and we all KNOW already it's a bad show.

But that doesn't mean they're wrong. It's f*cking terrible now. There's a daily marathon on FX and sadly they insist on running far more newer episodes than old ones. I've seen the ones about Lady Gaga and Moe's stupid dish rag and the one where Homer starts a '90s grunge band more than I ever wanted to, and it amazes me that once upon a time we thought that the episode where Skinner turned out to be an imposter was surely as bad as it could ever get. Pretty much every single episode they make nowadays makes that old chestnut seem like a classic. And that's just terrible.

I get that it's "comfort food" and just a show people watch because it's always on, and seemingly always has been on, but there's just no point to it anymore.

The only thing worse than new Simpsons episodes... are those awful NES Simpsons games. :lol: But yeah, obviously I played the hell out of them as a kid like everyone did, although I only ever rented them. As a kid, you don't understand that some games are bad, and when you're not having fun you kinda think it's just you. But those were some of the first where I started to realize that some things are just poorly-made. "This CAN'T be me, I kinda think these games are bullsh*t."

And just like new Simpsons episodes, we just put up with those terrible games because "Hey, it says 'Simpsons' on it." I wish people could overlook brand loyalty more than they do. But I guess people aren't wired that way.

As for Top Gun, I kinda think I thought it was the opposite as a kid, I had the game before I had even heard of the movie. :lol: Movies about ambiguously gay Air Force pilots were not at all on my radar as a little kid. I'm pretty sure Little Kid Me assumed the movie was somehow based on the game, and not the other way around.

I never even knew they made a Top Gun 2 game. Although I certainly wouldn't have been looking for it.

[Prowler]

Yeah, The Simpsons is another show my wife insists on watching every day, and I don't mind it SO much, but it's gotten REALLY awful. I've said many times - and stand by it - that people complaining about The Simpsons having gone to sh*t annoys me more than the show itself does, but that's more about the fact that people never shut up about it and we all KNOW already it's a bad show.

But that doesn't mean they're wrong. It's f*cking terrible now. There's a daily marathon on FX and sadly they insist on running far more newer episodes than old ones. I've seen the ones about Lady Gaga and Moe's stupid dish rag and the one where Homer starts a '90s grunge band more than I ever wanted to, and it amazes me that once upon a time we thought that the episode where Skinner turned out to be an imposter was surely as bad as it could ever get. Pretty much every single episode they make nowadays makes that old chestnut seem like a classic. And that's just terrible.

I get that it's "comfort food" and just a show people watch because it's always on, and seemingly always has been on, but there's just no point to it anymore.

The only thing worse than new Simpsons episodes... are those awful NES Simpsons games. :lol: But yeah, obviously I played the hell out of them as a kid like everyone did, although I only ever rented them. As a kid, you don't understand that some games are bad, and when you're not having fun you kinda think it's just you. But those were some of the first where I started to realize that some things are just poorly-made. "This CAN'T be me, I kinda think these games are bullsh*t."

And just like new Simpsons episodes, we just put up with those terrible games because "Hey, it says 'Simpsons' on it." I wish people could overlook brand loyalty more than they do. But I guess people aren't wired that way.

As for Top Gun, I kinda think I thought it was the opposite as a kid, I had the game before I had even heard of the movie. :lol: Movies about ambiguously gay Air Force pilots were not at all on my radar as a little kid. I'm pretty sure Little Kid Me assumed the movie was somehow based on the game, and not the other way around.

I never even knew they made a Top Gun 2 game. Although I certainly wouldn't have been looking for it.

When I was a little kid in the 90s, I had no idea Top Gun was a movie either. I just assumed it was an original NES game. In fact, after all these years, I'm yet to watch Top Gun.

I could never get too far in Bart vs. The Space Mutants. Bart vs. The World I believe I made it to the last stage. But I doubt I've beaten it.

My brother didn't learn his lesson at the time and bought one more Simpsons game. Barts Nightmare for the SNES. It's a little better but still not a particularly good game.