Pokemon Sun and Moon: A Spoiler Free Review

I apologize for taking so long to write this post.  I finished Pokemon Moon 3 days after release, and it has been almost a week more since then, but I finally am getting around to writing this article.

Pokemon Moon had a lot to live up to.  There was a bunch of hype going into this game.  And with Pokemon Go still more active than media is giving it credit, Pokemon has been on my mind frequently as of late.

But anyway, how does this newest entry in the series measure up to the rest? Before I answer that question, I first must explain which Pokemon is my favorite in the series, and the one that I measure all the others up to.  Before you ask, I have been playing Pokemon for roughly 20 years of my life now, or for those of you who do not want to do the math, since Red and Blue, better known as generation one.  We are on generation seven now, so the game series has come a long way.

Anyway, like I said, I have a favorite, and no, it is not gen one.  Its actually generation five.  Especially the first game of the two part Black and White Series.  Ghetsis is my favorite Team Leader in the series and I especially like that this was the first main series Pokemon Game to deviate from the formula completely.

With that in mind, Sun and Moon also deviate from the plot in many ways, and although I will not be spoiling those plot points, if you enjoyed Pokemon Black and White, you will also enjoy Sun and Moon.

But the plot is only a very small part of the game, what really matters are the Pokemon of course!

Game Freak seems to have noticed the power creep that has been happening since Ruby and Sapphire also known as Generation three.  Fairy types were added to put a stop to all the popular attacks starting in Generation six, also known as X and Y,  but that did not seem to be enough.  This time around, things are different.

There are a couple of Pokemon that completely stop priority moves.  this is a tactic that has been used to great effect for many generations now.  In addition, many of the Pokemon introduced are either really fast with very poor defenses, or very hard to kill and slow as a glacier. This can seem very annoying in the main game, even up to making the entire story more difficult, but for competitive battles, this makes a whole lot more sense.

Breeding has changed slightly, but all in all, I feel that the last couple games made it easier, not harder to build pokemon teams.  And while the greatest complaint I am hearing about post game Sun and Moon is that it focuses on competitive over all else, the facets of battling other players has never been easier to enter.

This will go down as one of my favorite games in the series and I recommend it to all who love the series.

Warcraft Haiku Series: Paladin Followers

Lady Liadrin
Once a Priestess, then Blood Knight
Now, redeemed hero

Maxwell Tyrosus
A Paladin true and true
Leads the Silver Hand

Julia Celeste
Fought against the Scourge and now
Serves the Silver Hand

Paladin Boros
Triumvirate of the Hand
Help Priests find a Stave

Sunwalker Brightmane
The first Tauren Paladin
Saves Velen and Priests

Delas Moonfang, first
Night Elf Paladin to join
The new Silver Hand

Lothraxion, What?
A Nathrazim Paladin?
A Redeemed Demon

Arator, Half Breed
With Heroic Parents, and
High obligations

Tin Foil Hat: The Wealthy Establishment Hates Weed, When Peasants can Use it

You might wonder how much of a conspiracy post, you are reading.  It seems logical from the et go, after all, the law has been consistently against the herb (oops did I give away my bias on this topic? silly me.) But that's not the conspiracy, oh no!  Today we dive into why this is so.  Prepare your Tin Foil Hats as we dive into darkness.

As many people can attest to, weed is a miracle plant that helps with pain, stress, and even cancer.  These sound like fantastic things that benefit everyone right?  Well you see, that's the problem.  The people at the top, they don't want the people below them to be happy.

Imagine that you have worked hard and, suddenly others who have not worked so hard can feel just as great about their lives as yourself?  Who do they think they are to feel so entitled? So rather than rejoice in their newfound happiness, you decide to take it away instead.

Now, you begin to understand why the wealthy and powerful do not want the rest of us to have Marijuana.  But it goes even deeper.  Happy people do not work hard to change things, nor do they have the ability to be forced into a situation that might endanger themselves. This is problematic for those who control things.

What they want is a broken, beaten, and desperate populace.  Give a person just enough hope to move forward so that you can exploit them every inch of the way.  But, should they become happy in a way that the powerful cannot control, they will sake to change that.

Remember that in a world that is hard to find happiness, any route to easy will be dragged away by those who had it easy to get there.  More than one conspiracy theory has been born from this idea.

Sweet Dreams...

Warcraft Haiku Series: Demon Hunter Followers

Kayn Sunfury
Just, Loyal to Illidan
Cooperation

Asha Ravensong
And She will have her vengeance
Against the Dreadlords

Allari, Hunter
She reveals the unseen
Armed with a strong scythe

Jace the Darkweaver
Was once a Mage but the Fel
Blocks all the Arcane

And Belath Dawnblade
Illidari Champion
Fights with great Vengence

Fel Matron Mother
Bored of Legion Destruction
New Malevolence

Kor'Vas Bloodthorn who,
Watched family die, screaming
Demons will know pain

Shade of Akama
Once banished back to darkness
Now returns to fight

Warcraft Haiku Series: Warlock Followers

Ritssyn Flamescowl
Watched Ragnaros fall from grace
But got burned harshly

Demon Calydus
Betrayed the Burning Legion
But Demons have plans...

Zinnin Smythe who,
Stopped talking after Deathwing
but changes his tune

Warlock Jubeka
a very tough decision
saved a friend by death

Shinfel Blightsworn, spikes
Corrupted by Cho Gal's blood
Hunts Twilight Cultists

Kira Iresoul
Has a different idea
Warlocks work as one

Another Fizzlebang
but Hopefully she is not
a TRIFLING GNOME

The Eredar Twins
Once a raid boss Sunwell
Enslaved by Warlocks

Political Commentary from a Close Friend

Normally on the weekend, I would write my opinion about a political issue, but as the election is pending a few days (I already voted) I was looking for something a else to write about.  However, a close friend of mine wrote something very insightful, and with their permission, I have been granted the ability to share their thoughts.  They wish to remain anonymous so no name will be given.

As I have already stated a few times, the following does not represent my own writing, but that of a friend that I respect the opinion of highly.  So, I ask that you read and consider their words.

"Today I'm going to do what people tend to use social media for, and post whatever random thoughts pop in my head for the sake of self-gratification and to start a discussion.  So why are our country's priorities so out of whack? We're spending our taxpayer dollar on a police and prison system that simply don't work the way they are. I mean, we've got cops who set up prostitution busts actively looking for people to entice into making a decision that would lead to their arrest, whereas simply legalizing prostitution would decrease sex trafficking by allowing sex workers to more easily report abuse without feeling intimidated by police. There are statistics in New Zealand that I could pull up to prove that. We're wasting boatloads of money keeping people in prison for drug offenses, while addicts would be better off being left alone to get treatment or let them do their die off and stop using up the earth's resources. Putting someone behind bars for just having a substance on them or just trying something recreational seems silly to me. That money could be spent on more traffic cops. People in car accidents harm themselves unintentionally, not on purpose. What makes people want to do either of these things? It all boils down to the economy. People sell their bodies because they don't have enough to pay the bills. People do drugs to escape the stress of the daily grind. When the top 1/10 of the top 1% of the economy has about as much wealth as the bottom 90%, you know there's a problem. Capitalism is better than the alternatives, but this is what happens when it's left unchecked. And now we're concerned about wasting money on building a wall to keep from immigrants crossing the border. and bringing drugs? Get your priorities in check, people! They aren't the problem. People like you are.  I think if people just let go of their preconceived notions of morality from a different era, people would actually see who's causing most of our country's problems. The moneybags at the very top. I feel bad sitting idly just doing nothing about how things are. I want to help change the world, but I don't know the best avenue for attack."

I hope that this can provide some insight on some key issues.  I am certain this individual is far from the only person who feels this way on these issues.

Warcraft Haiku Series: Rogue Followers

Garona Half Orc
Born from rape, brainwashed to kill
Now, free from Gul'Dan

Vanessa VanCleef
Watched her father die while young
master of poison

Master Mathias
Leader of SI: 7 and
master of stealth moves

Taoshi the rogue
Shado-Pan Assassin and
wits to match her skill

What? Noggenfogger?
Mixing Elixirs for days
Slaying in the night

Valeera the rogue
She always watches her back
Creates miracles

Tethys the Pirate
Leads the Bloodsail Buccaneers
sports a nice hat too

Jorach Ravenholdt
Quite a legendary rogue
passes his skills on.

Metroid Prime: Thoughts

Today I want to discuss on my review day, a favorite game of mine that I don't give enough attention to:  Metroid Prime.

Hailed as one of the greatest games on the Nintendo GameCube is a massive understatement.  Saying that Prime is one of the greatest games of all time is much more accurate.  In an era where it had been a long time since Samus Aran the bounty hunter had been featured in a game outside of Super Smash Brothers, Retro Studios sought to bring the series into the 3D world and repeat the success of Ocarina of Time and Super Mario 64.

They did far more.  Prime is my favorite game in the series.  And that's considering that Super Metroid is also on my list of games that everyone should play.  But Prime is better because the extra elements of exploration are what makes the game such a masterpiece.

Scanning the environment to create a story is a plot device that is sadly underutilized in video games.  Metroid Prime makes this its primary means of storytelling.  And alongside the type of exploration that the entire Metroid Vania genre.

I won't go too much more in detail, as I would prefer for readers to play the game rather than take my word for it, but know that this is a game for the ages.  Despite what I might focus on, it is certainly one of my favorite games.