The ExtroInverse

Well, this past Saturday was the series finale of Sword Art Online, and without a doubt this has been one of the greatest emotional roller coasters I've had the immense joy to follow from start to finish in years.  With episode 24 came an amazing turnabout in the story's overall age limitation, for starters.  Spoilers may be dropped as it is an episode review so bare with me while I try not to gush all over the page.  

Episode 24 brings us to the beginning of the end, as Kirito's journey of lost love reaches its end.  With the aid of his surrogate daughter and vagrant AI, Yui, he manages to make his way into the Administrator's area of the World Tree.  Formerly thought to be simply a difficult trial, it is made quite apparent that no one was ever meant to  clear the difficult trials of Alfheim's story quest.  Instead, it suddenly becomes abundantly clear that the entirety of the MMO's purpose was purely to facilitate Sugou's twisted ambitions of playing God with the lives of those interlocked in the system.  

Further fueled on by this realization, Kirito finally breaches through all of the obstacles thus far in his path, finally to be brought to a tearful reunion with the objective of his tireless journey.  This scene alone was enough to break me of my crying streak, I've been forcing myself to stay dry-eyed through a lot of this arc of the series, but goodness I could not hold it any longer the minute Yui uttered that sorrowfully joyous 'Mama'.  You try not feeling something for that little girl, she's like Clementine from The Walking Dead Game!  Yet, as with all things in SAO, this happy feeling is annexed by unprecedented rage as Sugou, donning his Faery King Oberon avatar swipes the opportunity away using unreleased gravity magic to pin them before they can get too mushy.

It is about at this time that most people physically watching the anime will begin to have this apprehensive sense of 'edge of your seat' tension and anxiety.  Given, to this point in the series, Sugou has teased and taunted us with his threats upon Asuna's avatar, but only until this point has my own personal rage been put on the back-burner with the forced realization he won't touch her; yet.  Oberon has become the ultimate psychological villain, at this point, epitomizing his ever-apparent God Complex with the unprecedented controls he has over both characters, he strings Asuna up by her wrists.  Kirito, on the other hand, isn't granted such a kindness; but instead, is run through by his own sword and pinned to the ground even more emphatically.

With an increasing sense of self-satisfaction in his own devious actions, he becomes emboldened to increase the overall suffering of both characters.  Utilizing the admin controls, he begins to tamper with the pain simulators of the game's interface, making it possible to feel every agonizing inch of the blade driven through Kirito's gut.  As if to add insult to injury, Sugou then begins to turn his gaze towards Asuna's dangling form and begins to maliciously molest her.  Okay, at this point I have to make an author's note that I had to pause the episode and stomp around in a world-class hissy fit the world had nary seen before.  The audacity and cowardice displayed by Oberon/Sugou's character is hardly rivaled at this point, as I have hardly ever felt this level of seething hatred for an anime character.  IN.  MY.  LIFE.

Unprecedented amounts of adrenaline coursed through my veins as I watched this brazen display before Kirito's shocked and dismayed eyes.  His desire to rectify Sugou's actions with the utmost brutality were hindered by his in-game limitations and the 5-foot long broadsword stuck in his back.  At the brink of utter despair, Kirito is forced to shut his eyes away and begins to admit defeat in the face of the ultimate adversary: the very system he once thought he could overcome with sheer force of will, just as he had in the final days of SAO.  But, of course, a certain someone could not have the hero of SAO become the plaything of an infantile pervert with a God Complex; thus, Kayaba Akihiko makes his final appearance as a major plot device.

Giving him the empowering speech of +4 to badass, he equips Kirito with the final piece of equipment he would need in order to make things right and become the Gilded Hero in which the episode was entitled: Kayaba's Administrator Account.  With admin power and a grudge encompassing an entire arc's worth of regret, anticipation, and the contribution of the enmity of viewers like me; he makes his final stand against Sugou in what was, to me, the single most gratifying moment of my otaku life.  Reducing the pain restrictions to zero, Kirito stripped Sugou of pride, power, and precious urine as he turned the coward's body into a pincushion for all his aggression.  Thus, bringing the great arc to a splendid conclusion; or so it seemed.

When Pokémon came about, it inspired everyone to want to be the best trainer (that no one ever was~ *DA NA NANA*) ever. Even now, Microsoft Word will still correct the spelling and fix the 'e', because it's become that much of a household term. As it's popularity grew, many types of products soon followed: a TV show, comic books,stickers, trading cards, action figures, and even Burger King jumped in the craze for gold colored plates. What also came about were many spin-off games that do not follow the standard Pokémon game plot.  While usually these types of spin-offs are a gamble, as with any spin-off based on either a TV show, movie or game, the Pokémon franchise did a good job of keeping originality, and kept the games from being absolutely terrible.

In order of when they came out in the United States, here are five of the spin-off games that are good examples of such:

5. Pokémon Snap!

Created in 1999 for Nintendo 64, Pokémon Snap is one of the first spin-off games of the franchise. You play as Todd Snap the photographer....and let's just go ahead and stop to say: yes, his name is a pun within itself. This name is one of the punniest used in the Pokémon franchise (and they use a awful lot of name puns), only second to Tracey Sketchit, the Pokémon watcher/sketch artist that appears later in the TV series.
Instead of catching Pokémon for Professor Oak, your job is to travel to Pokémon Island and take pictures of as many types as possible. It is a island undisturbed by humans, so you are taking pictures of as many Pokémon as you can instead of capturing them. You are armed with unlimited apples, unlimited pesterballs (which as the name implies, you use them to annoy the fuck out of Pokémon when you throw them), a Pokéflute, and a yellow all-terrian buggy that can fly.

Things that you do can change how the photos come out; the moods of the Pokémon and what areas you can get to depend on what you do each level, so the replay value is pretty good. To add to the excitement, Blockbuster used to team up with Nintendo and had "Pokémon Stations", where you could literally print out some of your best pictures as stickers. Your works of art came to life as STICKERS (and what person is soulless enough to hate stickers?!), which was a very rewarding feeling for many aspiring Pokémon Masters everywhere.

4. Pokémon Puzzle League

For those who enjoy puzzle games, this Nintendo 64 game is for you. The idea is to line up as many 'type' blocks in a row (horizontal or vertical), and getting four or more in a row sends a large 'block' to your opponent. The first one to be crushed under too many of these blocks and are unable to break them with their own rows in time wins.

One of the amusing aspects (in my personal opinion) is the victory trumpet sound that plays when you send a block to your opponent. Getting many combos in a row changed how epic the 'victory trumpet' sounds (as well as how big the block is), until it gets so hyped up that the music of victory adds insult to injury, as your opponent sees their hopes and dreams crush before their very eyes.

Although a puzzle game, the Pokémon-feeling is still there in full force; it is actually the only one to base a lot of things off the anime adaption. In the Story mode, you play as Ash and face gym leaders, as well as a couple matches from Gary and Team Rocket's notorious trio. In Verses mode, you and a friend can chose your character and test your skills.

It got enough popularity to get a sequel for the Game Boy Color: Pokémon Puzzle Challenge. Based off the Gold/Silver universe, it uses Johto characters and Pokémon.

3. Pokémon Stadium

The game closest to the original franchise, Pokémon Stadium took Pokémon turn-by-turn battles and put them in 3D (and in color) for the first time in America in early 2000. Trainers could battle the computer, or play with a friend, and use any of the Pokémon from the first generation. To add to the wow-factor, this was around the time the Nintendo had the Transfer Pack, so trainers could put their Red, Blue or Yellow packs in, and the game would allow you to battle with your Gameboy Pokémon.

There are also mini games for when  you need a break from all the battles. They are lots of fun, but be warned; much like Mario Party, they can test friendships and family bonds. The game was good enough to receive a sequel as well: Pokémon Stadium 2 goes up to the Johto region (Pokémon Gold/Silver locations), and you can use said games with the Transfer Pack.

2. Hey You Pikachu!

Man, Nintendo 64 console is on a roll! Taking advantage of what Nintendo 64 had to offer, this game used a new piece of hardware called the Voice Recognition Unit (VRU), which allowed it to recognize and comprehend your voice. Basically, you can talk to Pikachu and it can understand what you're saying, which is pretty awesome. It includes a microphone, along with hardware that hooks up via the controller port.
Fun fact from Wikipedia: this is the ONLY game released in the United States to use the N64's VRU, and only one of two games total to have it as an option to use. Also, as an Easter egg: if you say "PlayStation" to Pikachu, it will get angry. Isn't gaming rivalry fun?

In the game, Professor Oak has you try out a new to talk to the Pikachu, and you become friends with it. Pikachu eventually starts living at your house, and you help Pikachu perform tasks: getting the right vegetables to help Bulbasaur cook, going fishing, finding lost Poliwag, etc.. It's a cute mini-game oriented game.

Games on later consoles inspired  by this type of Pokémon game play include: Pokémon Channel (for Gamecube), PokéPark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure, and PokéPark 2: Wonders Beyond.

1. Pokémon Colosseum

The only one on this list that isn't on Nintendo 64, but instead on the GameCube  This one goes more in the RPG direction; you play as Wes, a member of Team Snagem who betrays the group and takes their equipment  a Snag Machine. It creates a Snag ball, which allows you to catch Pokémon already belonging by a trainer (hence the term 'snag', because the puns never stop!). You also start out with both an Umbreon and an Espeon, because apparently Wes is too cool for one starter (And it's good for double battles you come across).

You gain a traveling partner early in the story; Rui, a girl who has the ability to recognize Shadow Pokémon. Shadow Pokémon are ones whose hearts have been artificially shut, which creates a black aura around them that only Rui can see. Wes uses the Snag Machine to capture Shadow Pokémon, although you get to keep the Pokémon afterwards and works towards what the game refers to as "Purification".

This game also has one of the most bad ass openings when  you start a new game. Wes busts in the headquarters, steals the Snag Machine, rides off with his duo on a motorcycle, and then BLOWS UP THE BUILDING as he leaves. Seriously, this is the guy you get to play as! The sequel to this game is Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness.

In conclusion, Nintendo has a EXTREMELY good track record of making spin-offs for Pokémon games, and it's fun to see the franchise from different points of view. So if you come across any of these games, they are definitely are worth a play through.

Kirito is flying up to try to get Asuna, and runs into a barrier that the GMs had erected to stop players from trying to fly up the tree. He and Yui are both frantically trying to break past the barrier, and while Leafa tries to calm Kirito, Yui sends her a ‘Warning mode’ to try to tell her that she is down there. Asuna sees the alert, and somehow hears Yuis voice as well, and somehow knowing that Yui is below her, drops the GM console access card, which Kirito sees falling and grabs, and Yui identifies. However, Yui states they can’t do anything with it without the actual console. Kirito goes on to attempt to clear the World Tree, but while it looks like he is doing well at first, he gets his butt thoroughly kicked and dies. Leafa rushes in to save him, and manages to get his little dead flame spirit out of the World Tree, and resurrects him outside the gate. Kirito is about to rush in again, but Leafa tries to stop him. At this point, Kirito FINALLY actually states Asunas name, and Leafa is horrified to realize that Kirito is Kazuto, her cousin/brother. They both stand there, all like ‘wut?’ and awkward, and Leafa abruptly logs out, and Kirito follows.