Topic: The Chit-Chat Thread

Nice to see you didn't find Rocket Power a bad game, I rented it during the GameCube days.

I am, I use to really be into Jimmy Neutron back then to the point I wore shirts with Jimmy on it weekly (always loved wearing character shirts, wearing a shirt with my favorite Trolls character Poppy on it as I type this). Yes, I did play the games too. I still stand by Attack of the Twonkies being a faithful cartoon-to-game adaptation. Really captured the style and humor of the show, while still being fun to play.

Also, I was playing Jimmy Neutron Jet Fusion on GBA awhile back. The GBA version was kinda cool, considering a developer made a Metroidvania-style Jimmy Neutron game, it has its charm. Still play it from time to time.

I remember playing Rugrats on my brother's PlayStation a very long time ago too. My family still likes Rugrats, and I have some of the DVD sets.

@ogo79 - Heck yeah, that’s the one! Nice looking package. I think that’s a mid 90s line, but I’m not certain. He gets some cool blue ice patches if you put him in the freezer. He wasn’t very expensive, even otc. There’s a pretty cool guy who has a comics and action figures booth at a big junk shop around the corner. He usually knocks a few dollars off something if my son is buying.

@Tyranexx - Yeah, it stays pretty darn calm along the N pacific coast when compared to other coastlines. I slept on the beach one night there and got thousands of sand flea bites. The cloudiness is no joke, especially in the winter, but the rainfall is a bit overstated in my opinion. It’s kind of just a mist that hangs in the air, aside from big eruptions; it doesn’t pour giant raindrops like it does here. I meant to say congratulations a few posts ago in losing weight. It’s not easy, and you should feel good about feeling good, Well done.

@Anti-Matter - Nice game haul. Seeing those GC games makes me wonder if you’ve ever played Viewtiful Joe? Not sure if it’s acceptable. I started watching Nickelodeon more in the Double Dare/You Can’t Do That on Television days. Loooved Ren and Stimpy. I did watch some of the later shows with my youngest brother though. I remember Rugrats, Doug, Rocko, probably a bunch more that I’m forgetting. There were good live action shows as well like Hey Dude, Are You Afraid of the Dark, and my favorite; The Adventures of Pete and Pete. I haven’t played the games though aside from a Ren and Stimpy game on Game Gear and a creepy point and click Are You Afraid of the Dark game on PC.

@Tyranexx Saw your comment on the Skyward Sword HD review and I more or less agree with your thoughts. Although I post this here because I’m not interested in dealing with people who take a reply to one person and spin their own web. Silly Nintendo with their amiibo shenanigans, but this is the third best Zelda game for me, and a true gem that deserves new life on Switch.

I didn’t have issues with the controls. I never did back on Wii either, it was really good and immersive to see 1:1 swordplay. Didn’t expect a 9/10 though, so this is gonna be one hell of a week!

Funnily I wrote half of my reply to your large post today but went out for a few hours and then came home and watched an episode of ‘Blackadder’ starring Rowan Atkinson. The first show where I’ve laughed with every single laugh track without exception.

@bimmy-lee Well, to be honest, seeing as it's a music festival, I think it's safe to say that the gentleman in question wasn't entirely sober, so some level of inebriation or mind-altering substance intake was almost certainly a factor in this.

@WoomyNNYes Well, I would certainly hope not. I expect to see a lot of tricks from you, but that most certainly wouldn't be one of them...

@TheJGG Concerning the ambiguity: I kinda get it, in some ways, but as mentioned, I don't like victim blaming. If you appreciate the finer things in life, such as nice clothes, jewelry, and so on, and if you have the means to buy them, then why should you not be allowed to wear them? Only because we'd need to be afraid that some a-hole is going to mug you?

In that case, we might just as well stay home and go nowhere at all anymore: just think of all the horrible things that might happen to us otherwise...

All kidding aside, my point is that we should be able to live our lives like we want to and we should not be hesitant because of things that might happen or not. As a famous Dutch reporter's father once said: I'd rather die standing, than to live life kneeling down.

The Olympics are going to be pretty weird, I think. They put huge posters of people with face masks in the stadiums, and they have some rows with dancing robots, all designed to give off the impression that there's at least something of an audience to support all the athletes. But there's not going to be any ceremonies either, from what I've understood, so once you're done with your event, it's off to the airport you go, back to whatever country you came from. I'll be SO glad once this whole COVID thing is finally over, or at least dialed down to a level where we can live our lives in a relatively normal way again.

That's what you get when you set someone with Californian roots free in the city of Amsterdam: these people are some of the most outspoken individuals that I've ever met, and I always was brutally honest to begin with already, that's my dad's genes, so that combined made the semi-grumpy Mad Titan that you witness on here every day...

Yeah... Google Translate sure is getting better and better all the time, isn't it?

All kidding aside, though. Seeing as there wasn't any written text to translate, or subtitles, I just decided to pick up my old hobby of translating/subtitling movies.

@bimmy-lee
I have never played any Gamecube games before. I started to play Gamecube games by using my Wii on February 2017 once i got Gamecube memory card 2043 blocks.

@Sunsy
When i looked at Rocket Power Beach Bandit graphic, i was thinking it looks bad in term of detail, looks like PS1 games in better resolution and framerate but the idea of gameplay was quite interesting for me (3D games, some extreme sports mini games, robot enemies to smack)
I was thinking whether the developer still struggle to maximize the graphic potential until at least looks like Ratchet & Clank PS2 games in solid 60fps 480p (Remember, Gamecube is more powerful than PS2) or the media storage limitation that force the developer to make the game with lower quality graphic to fit with Mini Disc Gamecube (Under 4.7 GB).

@Anti-Matter Understandable, I think the 2002 line of Nickelodeon games were like that. IIRC, Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius on GameCube, those graphics. The characters talked without moving their lips at all, and Carl had his voice actor replaced for the game.

Could be the disc, I remember the same Jimmy Neutron game I just mentioned had one of the bonus videos removed in the GameCube version, but not the PS2 version.

Will say, the later Jimmy Neutron games, Jet Fusion and Attack of the Twonkies were much better IMHO. Still had fun with the first game despite not being the best.

Little note about Rocket Power Beach Bandits, it's actually the debut of Nick character Tak from Tak and the Power of Juju, he makes cameo appearances throughout the game. A fun piece of trivia, Tak was made into a Nicktoon in 2007, did you know that Tak was originally planned to be Nickelodeon's own video game character, with the game debuting in 2003, years before the Nicktoon was ever made.

@Sunsy
Yeah, I saw Tak and Juju posters from Rocket Power Beach Bandit while I was playing the game.
Recently I got some interest with modern Nickelodeon 3D animated series for kids such as PAW Patrol and Blaze & The Monster Machines as they have pretty cute character design and they have their games on consoles.

@Anti-Matter Yup, that was a little easter egg they put into the game to tease Tak. I have the second Tak game on GameCube.

Nice, I only know PAW Patrol because my nephew was into it when he was little. Haven't watched Nickelodeon in years, I don't have cable. I do have a soft spot for a more recent Nickelodeon show, Butterbean's Cafe. I enjoy it when I want something lighthearted to watch on some days.

The last ep of loki is mad, and that is all i'm going to say about it.

I think the people who really want the feature but not the amiibo can figure that out by themselves

@Eel Fair point.

@ThanosReXXX
yer from cali? im terribly sorry for that!
im from houston texas

@Tyranexx It’s great. Depends on what kind of meat you like of course, how you like it cooked and how much salt you like. I had to order a lot of water to make up for how much salt we were eating! I’ve only been to two Brazilian places but both were steakhouses, and had a massive repertoire of food. It’s a combination of “waiters come to you” and a buffet, with the meat and drinks being served, and appetisers like bread rolls and small salads being self served.

While it was very hot, and movement was nigh-on impossible moving through dry sand (as Breath of the Wild accurately depicts) it felt good to clean up the beach, probably because of how poor the waste situation is here. I’m more used to using just one rubbish bin though, it was a rather big shock when we returned to England and we had to use different bins for plastic, glass, waste and such. I’d be more grossed out by rubbish ending up on my lawn than in my own bin but that’s a shame. We were accompanied by one of the greatest things to happen to me in recent memory, because before we got our dog I didn’t like animals at all. I still don’t but I’ve learned to love one. Dogs wear their heart on their sleeves, hence why I prefer them. Ours is so gentle, has never bitten a single time, and while is a bit dumb, is lovable all the same. This image isn't embedded for dramatic effect!

https://i.ibb.co/XsTPYN1/Screenshot-2021-07-14-at-14-54-40.png

Even my own mainstream music tastes are off the beaten track. I prefer music without lyrics, because… I’m of the subconscious belief that singers get way too much credit. I believe this more after spending two years covering music on my computer. It is very hard and thankfully I can say this from experience instead of as an armchair expert. Plus, sadly I feel like modern music has become quite unimaginative. Most days it’s just a person singing with a simple beat in the back. The artists I’ve listed to me feel like they oppose this trend. That’s partly why I like Thievery Corporation, the Chemical Brothers, and last but by no means least, Daft Punk. Though unfortunately Daft Punk decided to retire (not split up, end their careers mutually) in February, after not releasing a new album for eight years. I’d like to recommend their last album; Random Access Memories; namely this song, which is my favourite simply due to the instrumentation and lyrics. Really hits a different tune now they’re done…

If the fact that I adore Xenoblade Chronicles X’s soundtrack is not an indicator that I really like electronic music, that song, a fusion of studio instruments and Daft Punk’s classic synths and vocals, is. Xenoblade 1’s is probably the most representative out of the most representative soundtracks. Has electronic songs, naturally instrumented songs, full metal, and absolutely godly fusions of all of them, sometimes at the same time. If I knew any better I’d write a whole other post dedicated to that, but I’ve thankfully gotten busier. DQXI’s soundtrack is fully orchestrated, without any… unorthodox choices. Just strings, horn, brass, drums… that’s it. Hopefully for the next one they add some choir.

I’ve seen Daily Express articles while in England and found them out very quickly for what it truly is; clickbait. NL’s a news site AND a business but they seem to hide the latter with precision. The users that use both the comments and forums consistently seem to have a good understanding of how to pick battles. My logic with not talking at all if I just want to confirm what something or someone says, is the same, and even applies in real life. I said today as well but may as well repeat, I can easily see Nintendo eking out the Switch for another five years at least. My guess would be that the Switch will last seven more years. The hardware will become very obsolete, but cheaper. I imagine Nintendo’ll continue with the hybrid console model for a very long time to come because it’s a great market that is able to reach people who like handhelds AND people who like consoles. Nintendo’s motto has always been “Lateral Thinking with Withered Technology” so it’s nice to see that Gumpei Yokoi’s philosophy has held up all this time.

I’ve been really struggling to take my pick of games this year too! I don’t have anything on my “backlog” per se right now, but within a few days I’ll get Skyward Sword. I decided not to buy a copy here, but rather order it from the UK over Amazon, like I did a few weeks ago. Why? Because on Amazon you can pay the same amount and get a steelbook. This is the best way for me to show my love and appreciation for the series, plus I’m always up for another steelbook. I can easily see myself getting a new game every month for the next year. And I do account for possible Directs, I imagine there’ll be one coming up in early September. Can you believe it, we’re already halfway between E3 and September…

Awesome to hear your initial remarks on Ys VIII. I saw a physical copy at a local shop so perhaps I’ll chance upon that next month, or later on. That you are reminded of Xenoblade is very encouraging indeed, hopefully the game is designed to stretch out the enjoyment through a single playthrough. And for the Master Cycle, off-roading’s what it does best. I do recommend attacking that on the side, it has a number of new shrines, some of which are very good.

When choosing a branded shirt I look for creativity, not just a logo slapped on the front. It applies to clothes in general too, I’ve had my fair pick of F1 shirts in the last five years and I’ve deliberately avoided getting multiple shirts from any one team, to build a range of colours and good designs. Mercedes excepted of course, that’s my favourite team. Hats as well, I have one from my trip to the French GP in 2019, and I doubt anyone will be able to find a more good looking cap anywhere. Of course I’m quite happy to be proven wrong.

That’s mighty impressive! German’s a tough language, but to the untrained English speaker it’s easy to notice various words and phrases that turn up in English too, since it’s the language English originates from. I’ve known a number of Dutch people over the years and they all tell of how intensive Dutch lessons are. That people need to take dedicated lessons shows just how hard it is to speak, read and understand. Not one I’d want to take for sure. I do French, and while native conversations are far from easy, considering just how fast they speak, I’m not completely useless in that field. My favourite accents to imitate are Australian, Russian (fluffy bunnies and teddy bears, give it a try!), Irish, a Glasgow-type Scottish, and a typical Southern accent. All in English of course, but ironically I haven’t lived in a single origin point for these accents. Maybe later…

Well I’ve had a good number of gastric attacks over the last three days, so I’m getting rather concerned that the bread I’m eating is not healthy. Or the peanut butter. Who knows, but while I adore this spread to pieces I also love salted butter and strawberry jam too. We did go out and buy some sourdough bread so hopefully that negates the attacks, I’m getting quite “tired” of being forced out of bed at 4:30am… But ah well, that’s just part of living.

I would share an image of the American pancakes I made but I didn’t take any good ones. So hopefully I’ll make them tomorrow and share them here. While that may encourage midnight snacking on your part my advice at this point is to eat healthy, at that time of day. Usually apart from desserts that come directly after dinner I refrain from eating anything at night. Though recently I’ve cheated because I was regularly up past 11pm for the Euro 2020 matches, but that’s thankfully over!

@TheJGG Great choice of cap, unlucky choice of race.

P.S. I'm learning Mandarin Chinese, which is obviously very difficult, but in some ways easier than Spanish which I also do (e.g. no alterations of words based on gender or tense).

@chapu2006 You’re absolutely right, it was the first Grand Prix I had seen as a fan, and the first in four years and this is still something I joke about with my family to date.

I live in Bahrain and I couldn’t go to the race this year thanks to some contrived vaccine rules, so it’s actually a blessing Australia got cancelled. Because the last two races are in the Middle East, so why not make it a triple header with a Bahrain Outer Circuit race? At least I’d get my revenge.

Anyhow what’re your thoughts on the different weekend format? Excited for the Sprint race?

@TheJGG
It sounds intriguing, so it's definitely worth a try. However, my main fear is a lack of overtaking due to tyre wear as you can't pit and fears of accidents relegating drivers to the bottom of the starting grid. If I could, I'd make a few small changes, such as slightly more points for grabs (e.g. 6 points for 1st) for incentive. However, teams can pick the tyres they start on, so wear shouldn't be much of an issue.
In short, cautiously optimistic.

@chapu2006 Well simulations say that after fifteen laps (the sprint race is 17 at Silverstone) all three tyres have the same level of performance.. so I’d expect teams to go for mediums, but I’d also guess that slower teams would put on softs to try and move up the grid. If anything I’d imagine Perez and Hamilton trying soft tyres since they’re the resident tyre whisperers.

I agree on points. I’d give points to the top eight, since it’s a 17-lap race. If F1 like it and choose to expand the idea I’d think they’d want to give drivers more points. But because of all the aero nonsense using sprint races isn’t a good idea… yet. I’m very confident the 2022 cars will make better racing, so we’ll see.

Also cautiously optimistic, in that. I’m willing to give it a go but I’d like it to be an event for all the historic races. Spa, Monza, Brazil, like that.

@ThanosReXXX - Okay, I wasn’t exactly sure what event was taking place, but it seemed like a concert or sporting event. Foreign substances would also help explain his curious decision to retreat back into the port a potty with pee hands. What’s he gonna do about it in there??? Stick them in the sit down toilet to rinse them off? Haha, what an amazing video.

@Anti-Matter - Check out Viewtiful Joe on YT. You can probably get it much easier and cheaper as a PS2 game. It’s great, and I think maybe there’s not a lot there to offend you.

@ogo79 Well, we left Cali when I was only 9, and I'm 51 now, and for most of those years, I've been living in Amsterdam, so I honestly don't remember too much of those days, other than Christmas underneath the palm trees instead of in the snow.

Never had any problem with it, though, so I always wonder about the "sorry's". @NEStalgia also used to have a tendency for these kinds of shenanigans. And that while (thanks to the Beach Boys and David Lee Roth) everybody knows that California girls are the best, so had I still been living there, I'd be pretty sure that I still wouldn't have minded...

@bimmy-lee I kinda figured that he just wanted to hide from the camera, after having done something so insanely stupid, and the port-a-potty was the closest hideaway that he could find, so that's my take on that. Would have been twice as funny to see him walking out of there with blue hands instead, though...