A Snazzy New Bundle, Player's Poll & Don't Anger the Ox! #39

I would like to know if there any plans for issues 17, 23, 25 and 27 to be back in stock in print? It would be nice if someone could get back to me. I’ve sent messages via twitter but no one has responded.

So I can answer these 3 questions: 1. Favorite video game movie to this point has to be Resident Evil: Apocalypse. Out of the 6 films it features the most characters from the video game franchise, is acted reasonably well and tells a good story. 2. I might see Detective Pikachu down the road but not right away. There is a little bit of me that does want to catch it while it's still in theaters. We'll see. 3. I think if I were calling the shot of making the Mario animated movie I'd look at the franchise and determine which games have the best story to tell that would fit a movie screen and screen time. I'd go with Mario 64, Mario Sunshine or Mario Odyssey.

2. I *cannot wait* for Detective Pikachu to come out. It looks genuinely endearing, and the Pokemon designs have managed to keep the majority of their original looks with a few teaks of realism (Thanks Arvalis!). My girlfriend, in utter contrast, is so incredibly off-put by the "uncanny valley" aspect. Bonus to the release date: my friends are getting married that weekend and there's a plan for the wedding party to see it together! Congrats Reylinda!

1. I haven't really seen very many video game movies, so I can't really answer this accurately... but if I did answer, I would answer Wreck-It Ralph. 2. I definitely want to see Detective Pikachu. Preferably in theaters, but I'm willing to wait for home video if I have to. 3. My dream for a Mario movie is that we'd get to see all sorts of locales and characters from the games, like a wild romp through Wonderland on the quest to rescue the princess... but if I'm honest, that has the potential to be too broken up into segments and not really have much of a cohesive whole to it. This is a problem that liscenced movies can be prone to (I'm looking at you, My Little Pony the Movie), and I hope the Illumination Mario movie either avoids it, or makes the movie so fun that nobody cares how disjointed it is.

1. If we're counting movies that have to do with video games without being directly based on games, then the greatest video game movie of all time would have to be Wreck-It Ralph for sure. Due to it being about original characters with an original setting and plot, it's tailored towards working smoothly as an actual film, and doesn't suffer the pitfalls of a movie that's trying to incorporate characters and locations that were solely meant for a gaming medium. It has an interesting ensemble cast of four main protagonists who are unique rather than being collections of basic archetypes, it doesn't pander or rely on the cameos, and it tells a genuinely good, memorable story. You can tell that the people who made the film actually did their research and cared about the medium of gaming enough to make an original movie with love. There's actual effort and attention to detail put into it instead of relying on fanservice, the characters all get development arcs and have genuine three-dimensional personalities and motivations, and the plot has so much depth that all comes together in a surprising way. 2. I have mixed feelings about the Detective Pikachu movie. It looks like an interesting new direction for a Pokémon movie and the realistic designs mostly look good (other than a few creepy ones like Jigglypuff), but the whole premise strikes me as a little weird. I'm curious about it, but I'll probably only see it when it comes out on home media rather than theaters. 3. I'd go with a plot inspired by one of the first two Paper Mario games or SMRPG, since they're the most plot-oriented. Otherwise, a cool idea would be an origin story that ties in the pre-SMB games and characters that often get forgotten (Pauline, Stanley from DK3, Foreman Spike, etc.). For art style, I'd use either a 2D cel-shaded art style or a detailed 3D style like in Odyssey and recent Smash games (rather than the sorta plastic-looking style used for games like 3D World).

1. I'd have to say the greatest video game movie of all time has to be...jeez...none of them really are that spectacular...I guess the newer Tomb Raider because it fixed a lot of what the original did wrong...definitely looking forward to the possibilities of Mario/LoZ movies as well as the recently announced Minecraft movie! 2. Absolutely looking forward to this new movie. Ryan Reynolds is a fantastic actor and voice actor - perfect for this role. I also really have enjoyed seeing all these Pokemon come to life in the real world using very interesting textures to express them! 3. I would definitely use Mario Galaxy as a basis to my story. The visuals and the storyline is so amazing - especially the mysterious backstory of Rosalina. I'd definitely want to maybe expand on that or even do some sort of prequel.

Dear Ox, how do you feel about Bowser being in charge of Nintento's castle?

Zachary

(1) The Kirby: Right Back at Ya! movie was pretty cool. The best part was the reveal that the N.M.E. salesguy was actually much smaller and less impending than the camera made him appear in previous episodes. (2) The Detective Pikachu movie creeps me out on many layers. Pikachu's voice is unfitting for a rodent, and the Pokémon look like nightmare fuel. (3) Hand-drawn animation is always under threat, especially now in the video game world with Pokémon remaking the first movie with computer graphics. I would make sure the new Super Mario Bros. was hand-drawn, and stayed true to the plot of the original game (Bowser uses sorcery to turn people into blocks, Mario smashes said blocks, and they quarrel over girl troubles).

What do you think about the Great Shovel Knight DLC Delay of 2019? Do you think it's for polish or is it just to get all the content on the physical release? How long is TOO LONG?

glovetheglove

1. The Japanese Ace Attorney movie was of surprising quality considering its a series where the actors will inevitably look like cosplayers and the changes it made to condense the story. It surprisingly carried the heart of the game. 3. I think the way to go on the Mario movie would be to make it a classic 2D animated Disney style, but to keep Mario and Luigi's gibberish, and let other characters bounce off of that for comedy. Additionally, I think a short involving Wario and Waluigi in the style of the Gamecube Sports openings would amplify the quality alone!

Alex James

1. My all time favorite video game movie is still Super Mario Bros. I love that movie so much in an un ironic way. It's even in my top ten movies of all time. You can never take away that childhood experience of the SMB movie amazement factor in the early 90s with my friends and I. I love the Blade Runner/Mad Max take on the world, it has the cool characters designs, filled with great lines, classic moments and so much fun. I owned a Sega Genesis at that time and the SMB movie was my Mario then. Also I was able to watch the film again in cinemas at Oakland California for the 25th Anniversary screening from the SMB Archive's film tour and we all had a blast there! Nothing but good times with other SMB Movie fans and I know I'll continue enjoying the film with each new screening. - Spencer Scott Holmes

Spencer Scott Holmes Old Man Orange

2. Detective Pikachu is one of those movies that I am getting very sold on. I think it will be a great stepping stone up in video game movies with hopefully a full tilt Pokémon world movie in the future. Plus the Pokémon characters look spot on. I hope the Sonic movie starts to take a cue from Pikachu's look before it's release. - Spencer Scott Holmes

Spencer Scott Holmes Old Man Orange

1. The Warcraft movie was underrated. It had a great cast, great effects, and actually made you care about both sides of the war. While it's definitely not a perfect movie, it's the only video game movie so far that actually made me want to see a sequel, since the storylines it set up for one would have been even better than the first.

Hordaki

With the recent reveal that both Xbox Live and Cuphead will be ported onto the Switch, what do you feel it means for Nintendo-Microsoft relations? More ports of old Xbox games? Or a Microsoft character in Smash? ("cough"BanjoKazooie"cough")

Michael Cicerelli

2. I am very excited to see Detective Pikachu in theaters! I'm a big fan of Pokémon and have been playing the video games for years, mostly Pokémon Go. I even have been collecting Pokémon with the CP of my birthday (510). It's exciting that the movie is being released on my birthday, too!

1. This one is hard because I have not seen that many. However, I do feel that the Assassin's Creed movie was one of the best video game adapted movies because it felt as if the creators knew the source material, yeah they changed some things but that is to be expected some things just don't translate very well. It won't be winning any oscars but is still a fun movie and if you are a fan of the game series I feel that you would like this movie. P.S Michael Fassbender makes this movie. 2. I am looking forward to this movie it has captivated me from the first trailer. Another reason is that is looks like the people who created it know what they are doing, I feel comfortable saying that. I will try to see it in theaters if I can get someone to go with me I just don't like seeing movies alone, kind of boring imo. 3. Oh boy this one I am the least bit creative but I feel the story can be somewhat like the Mario RPG series because they have the most humor and get around the fact that Mario himself doesn't talk too much (Luigi could take control of that). The art style is difficult because I honestly don't want it to be the NSMB style I am kind of over it and feel we need a fresh coat of paint. I would be ok with a style similar to "into the Spider-verse" or something that looks hand drawn 2D but is 3D. Maybe in the same style as the icons form 3D World. Take it as you will art is not my strong suit :)

Dear OX, with a guy named Doug Bowser as President of Nintendo of America, do you reckon he'll nickname any of his employees as Mario enemies?

1. It's an OVA movie, but Ys: Castle of the Heavens is EASILY the best and most faithful adaptation of a game i've seen. It was made when the original Ys game didn't really have the capability of putting the manual's story elements into the game itself, so the anime refined them and some bits even made it into future versions of the game like Ys Book I and II, and Ys Eternal. I don't think you hear of any anime or movie influencing future games much and being made canon. Same for music tracks made for the movie that got into the remakes later on and even became part of the official OSTs for the game. 2. I'm gonna go see it since I don't mind Pokemon movies and even though I dropped the game halfway through due to a backlog building up, I wanna see it since I'm hoping the success will lead to cooler movies like a Pokemon Mystery Dungeon one. It would be a legal nightmare with Chunsoft but if PMD gets the big screen hollywood treatment I can go to heaven with no regrets. 3. I would tell a story about the battle between Mario and Donkey Kong, and how the two made up years later. But then, DK Junior returns after being forgotten, and works with Bowser Junior to take over the kingdom, and the Mario gang has to fight back. Art style could be something out of Mario 3D World or the pretty 2D animated art on the back of the NSMBU Deluxe box. And Ox, surely you encountered the god of all Pokemon Spewpa in your Smash Bros battles by now. As a pokemon that can be hit nonstop and never die, even when hit with things such as Bayonetta's Final Smash, Deoxys' laser, or any stage hazard, do you think Spewpa is hiding something that makes it able to take infinite damage? Could it be Sandbag's long lost brother?

Seafoam Gaming

Picture this: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse but it’s Super Mario Bros.

Lisa Mazza

In your last issue, you wrote a pretty spon on review for the SNK Classics Collection. However, there was one omission I feel needs to be mentioned: Crystalis. I heckin' loved this game as a kid. SNK's only adventure game, with a pretty decent plot for a Nintendo game, a great soundtrack, and remarkably acceptable combat (not to mention an RPGish level up/equipment system). Honestly, I grabbed this collection for that game alone, everything else was just a cool bonus.

1. I think I'm going to have to go with DOOM (2005). It was bad, like pretty much all video game based movies (until soon I hope!), but it was a joyful kind of bad. The first person segment was truly wonderful to see in the theater. 2. I'm am VERY MUCH looking forward to Detective Pikachu, as are my children. It looks hilarious and the Pokemon look amazing. I will be there the day after opening night at the matinee! 3. This is a hard one - I don't really think there should be an animated movie of the Super Mario Bros. It's just not a game that has a strong storyline to go to. Even the paper mario and super mario RPG games were kind of light on story compared to their peers. If I HAD to make it though, I would go with hand drawn sketchy style animation like we saw in "The Tale of Princess Kaguya". I think it would be fun to do a movie from the perspective of a game designer and her sketches of what should be in the new game, but with the characters having a mind of their own.

Ben Mason

1. The best Video Game-Related movie of all time, is, without a doubt, Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva. Most video games fail at trying to restructure a game as a movie, translating the medium very poorly, but with the style of the Layton games, this works well as a fun story and really fits with the style of the games. Add to that that it's officially canon in the games and is important to the final game, The Azran Legacy, and you've got a movie that's both great and important if you want to get the full scope of the series! 2. I am extremely excited for Detective Pikachu. I have dreamed of a live-action Pokemon since I was a kid. As a long-time fan of the series, I can see how much care the team behind the film is putting into every detail. Many Video Game movies are just a cash grab, this team seems to really know what they're talking about and be putting a lot of love into the story and the setting. Alongside that, it spans all of Pokemon with references and creatures, not just Gen 1, which is a huge plus. 3. I would want the new Super Mario Bros movie to be animated in a style just like that of the games - maybe something like Mario & Rabbids where the characters showcase a ton of personality. As someone who loves Sonic Boom, I would love to see a story where Luigi, Peach and Bowser Jr are captured and it's up to Bowser and Mario to team up and save them. Have a side plot going with the prisoners trying to escape, and some interesting conversation and epic moments between Bowser and Mario (playing off their hero/villain dynamic like Sonic Boom did with Eggman and Sonic, and getting humor style from the Paper Mario or Mario & Luigi games) and you've got yourself a very good movie right there! OH - and no Toads. Please, no Toad voice.

Noah Goodman

Dear Ox, what do you think is the best warioland? I personally think wario land 4 is the peak.

Justin7885

Growing up, I had always wished Pokemon were real, and honestly I think the Detective Pikachu movie is as close as we'll get. To see realistic Pokemon and actors together on screen is really cool, and I'll definitely be catching the movie on the big screen!