Unlocked Reminiscence, Part III: Parade of Perfected Permutations (Kingdom Hearts II) My memories of Kingdom Hearts II were never as fond as the ones I had for the original game or the GBA follow-up. Make no mistake, I remembered having a great deal of fun with the sequel, but at the time, it failed to … Continue reading
Let’s be clear upfront: Death Note is a terrible film, no qualifications necessary. While I’m going to compare it to the original manga a lot in this review, being a fan insulted by the changes and liberties this film takes with the source material is not required to see the flaws in this telling of … Continue reading
Unlocked Reminiscence, Part II: Origin of Obfuscated Thought (Chain of Memories) If you’ll recall, in the previous article I noted how relatively straightforward the narrative in Kingdom Hearts was. There was the occasional JRPG ludicrousness, but for the most part, it was an easy-to-understand story that anyone could follow. Well, enough of that nonsense, because … Continue reading
Unlocked Reminiscence, Part I: Beginnings in Retrospection (Kingdom Hearts) In my introductory article, I noted that the idea of smashing Disney and Final Fantasy together was a nutty proposition when Kingdom Hearts was first announced. These were two completely different worlds – western animation and Japanese role-playing games – being brought together seemingly on a … Continue reading
In 2002, I was 11, and like many kids my age, the films of the Disney Renaissance – The Lion King, Aladdin, and Beauty & the Beast, to name a few – were a major part of my childhood. Similarly, my gaming world was deeply influenced by Final Fantasy and other JRPGs being produced by … Continue reading
In my entire history of movie-going, I can’t remember ever coming as close to falling asleep in a theater as I did with Assassin’s Creed. And hey, maybe that’s enough right there to tell you what you need to know from this review. It’s certainly not the most professional way to start things off, but … Continue reading
Here we are at the end of Thanksgiving week, and as we hurtle forward toward the end of the year, film studios are offering up their biggest and most exciting movies, and the list of video games and TV shows I need to catch up on reaches its absolute breaking point. We’re truly spoiled for choice … Continue reading
Welcome to the first in what I’m planning as a weekly column – Rich’s Week in Geek. I toyed around with a couple different names before deciding on this one, and for the longest time it was going to be called something along the lines of “Commitment Issues” or “Short Attention Span” – because as … Continue reading
Originally published 8/18/14 So far in this column, I’ve talked about quite the range of failed sequels, from an Americanized version of a Japanese classic to a revered game that most would argue shouldn’t be called a failure at all. Today, though, I’m going to restart and finish a mini-series started on the previous version of the website, taking … Continue reading
Originally published on 4/28/14 Across all media here on the Joy of Geek, there may not be a character that resonates more with me than the Amazing Spider-Man. From the cartoons and movies as a kid to my huge collection of comics that continues to grow to this day, I’m an easy target when it … Continue reading