My top 100 Nintendo characters video on YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQ1Kxy7ce4w

Yesterday, I posted a countdown slideshow on YouTube about my top 100 favorite Nintendo characters. That was a very interesting project. The numbers countdown from no. 100 to no. 1, from the oldest Nintendo character to an obscure Fire Emblem sword demon. What my no. 100 and no. 1 Nintendo characters have in common is that they were both from games produced by the late Gunpei Yokoi. My no. 100 Nintendo character is from the first Yokoi produced game, and my no. 1 Nintendo character is the last Yokoi produced game.

Counting down from 100 to 1

No. 100: Mr. Game & Watch: He is Nintendo's oldest character. He is a two-dimensional character. He was created by Gunpei Yokoi.

No. 99: Kirby: He is the name of the first franchise created by Masahiro Sakurai who would later become the creator of the Super Smash Bros. series. He is voiced by a female seiyuu named Makiko Ohmoto. He is one of Nintendo's well known characters.

No. 98: MetaKnight: He is my favorite Kirby character, also created by Masahiro Sakurai. He is enigmatic, follows a code of honor, and lends Kirby a sword before they fight to be fair. His sword can create tornadoes, fire waves, and electric force fields. He wears a navy blue cloak that he can use as a set of wings and wears a silver mask. Beneath his mask, he looks like Kirby. He first appeared in Kirby's Adventure. He has appeared in many games and shows since then.

No. 97: Super Macho Man: He is a stereotypical body builder. He appears in Punch-Out! and Super Punch-Out!. He is known for his spin punch. He taunts Little Mac by flexing his pectoral muscles and incorporates his exercise routines into his powerful attacks.

No. 96: Little Mac: The protagonist of the Punch-Out! series. He hails from Bronx, New York. He appears as an Assist Trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. He is voiced by Hisao Egawa.

No. 95: Ice Cimbers: They consist of Popo and Nana. They are voiced by a female seiyuu named Sanae Kobayashi. They would later appear in Super Smash Bros. Melee and return for Super Smash Bros. Brawl. In those games, the player only controls Popo while Nana mimics the moves.

TZ doctrine tenet #18: Color is preferred

Before my college years (late 1990s and early 2000s), I was all about black and white. In late 1998, I learned to appreciate color. Color is the most versatile method of conveying messages and definitions. Color photography provides realism and creativity unmatched by sepia and black and white photography. Vibrant colors are better than shades of gray. Black and white and sepia just cannot hold a candle to full color. The human eye is drawn to color, while the bovine eye is drawn to black and white. Color carries more information than black and white. Color photography attracts readers, for color expands the audience by 80% over black and white. Color activates the right brain; black and white does not. I encourage school yearbooks and newspapers. All-color school yearbooks are on the rise, and because of that more yearbooks are sold. Switching to all-color has been a huge success for high school yearbooks. When I was attending school, yearbooks were in black and white. Full-color publications make places come alive. Most people love to see things in color. Black-and-white photography may be all right much of the time, but full color photography really captures the essence of the moments that will be fondly remembered for years to come. The analogy is: Black and white is to color as standard definition is to high definition.

TZ doctrine tenet #17: Graphics do not break a game

In the wake of Mega Man 9, I am concerned about these retro fanboys complaining that video games were better before shiny graphics and stereo sound came along. Nostalgia factor is just pure politics and purely abstract. Retro fanboys are one of the most annoying fanboys in my opinion. One thing is that I hate chip music. As I love the video game Heavenly Sword and Lair, I had enough of those retro fanboys saying stuff like "gameplay is more important than graphics/sound" and "video games were better before flashy graphics came along." I have had enough of those 8-bit fanboys overrunning the gaming forums. They are just the mindless vocal minority who like to complain about what they think does not matter. Golden Axe: Beast Rider is a prime example of this case. Technological retroism is not the way. It is like being the wife of Lot, and it limits creativity. I do not consider myself what you call a "graphics whore." However, I do not like the idea of Mega Man 9, because of the message its fans are sending. I do not like 8-bit, but 16-bit is fine with me. 8-bit is overrated but 16-bit is tried and true with RPGs. The 16-bit Final Fantasy games were far more successful than their 8-bit counterparts. However, I do not want high-definition gaming to die.

The vocal minority of gamers believe that gameplay value is everything and graphics and sound do not matter. Gameplay is no more important than graphics and sound, nor is vice versa. Gameplay judgement depends on how you experience the video game. Retroism is a threat to the evolution of video games as an art form. The Mega Man 9 approach is not very productive. Capcom is not good at making great games with great graphics, but Konami, Namco, and Square Enix are. We should have new direction in gaming, not the same old thing from the 1980s. Graphics complement gameplay. It is unwise to focus on thing and neglect the other. A game that is all about gameplay value and nothing about graphics or audio only appeals to retro fanboys. The user feedback also depends on how a video game developer hires its people and how to user plays the games. Gameplay value is in the eye of the beholder.

E-on Software, Inc., the maker of Vue, should step in and make graphics development easier for video games, thus making Vue Game. That would reduce the cost of development. E-on Software, Inc. could be involved in the development of the eighth, ninth, and tenth generation consoles.

I am all for remaking video games into today's graphical standards, but I would not say that the original version is no good. Remakes are a great thing. A remake as I define it is any re-released game that makes a jump from low definition or standard definition to high definition, a jump from 2D to 2.5D or 3D, goes from lackluster 3D to photorealistic 3D, or a direct port that contains significant gameplay changes. Gamers have been begging and pleading for a high-definition console remake of Final Fantasy VII. That is because a remake done right takes everything we love about a video game and expands upon them, while keeping what is so enjoyable about the original gameplay intact. Full-fledged remakes enhance the gaming experience.

The most noticeable change in a remake is updated, more realistic graphics. As far as remakes go, there is no downside to redoing a game with more realistic graphics. The core game mechanics are basically the same, but everything gets more realistic presentation. There may be nostalgia factor involved in playing games the way you originally played them for the first time when you were a child, but in entirety, being able to play your favorite game with more realistic presentation style, such as photorealistic backgrounds, detailed character models, and enhanced color and atmosphere only adds to the gaming experience. Graphical enhancements also lead to other non-graphical enhancements and widen the variety, and open the door to things that are impossible to achieve in the original because of the graphical technology of the original's platform does not support them.

The Nintendo DS remake of the Famicom/NES classic Final Fantasy III. One great feature of the remake is the way each character gained a unique appearance. Fans of the original version of the game will remember that all four characters are basically palette swaps of each other, and their appearance was depends on their job class. The graphics technology of the NES days were too primitive to create four unique characters in a game with over 20 job classes. However, the Nintendo DS remake's graphical enhancement enabled the idea of four unique characters which consequently led to backstories and character personality development for them, which the original version lacked.

Raytracing will one day replace rasterization. It enables graphics and special effects that are too time consuming to implement in a rasterization environment. The video game industry has not yet gone into raytracing. When real-time raytracing becomes mainstream, rasterization will go the way of the dodo, and the focus will be balanced between graphics and gameplay. Final Fantasy should go the 1080p 3D Crystal Tools route. The mainline Final Fantasy games should be in 1080p 3D Advent Children quality graphics and symphonic soundtracks when real-time raytracing becomes a reality on the consoles. Therefore, when real-time raytracing becomes a reality, Final Fantasy I and II would be remade in 1080p 2D as downloadable games, and the rest of the mainline Final Fantasy games would be remade with 1080p Advent Children quality graphics. The 1080p 2D remakes of Final Fantasy I and II would be available for download forever on PC, on the next generation Nintendo console, and on the PS3 and PS4, and on the Xbox 360 and 720, and so on. Mario, Zelda, and Fire Emblem should also go the clear cut HD route. Castlevania should go the HD 2.5D route. Mega Man may go whatever route it wants to, but not overdo the same route.

A Historic American Event

January 20, 2008, has been a historic American day. Barack Hussein Obama II has been sworn in as the 44th President of the United States, and as the first African American President of the United States. Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr., has been sworn in as the 47th Vice President of the United States and the first Catholic Vice President of the United States. The inauguration was packed with about 2 million people. I saw only part of the inauguration coverage. I originally intended to miss work for the inauguration, but I was talked out of that decision. I watched 20 minutes of the NBC coverage, which includes the Presidential swear-in, on the job. However, I did watch the last hour of the inauguration coverage. Meanwhile, my father recorded the NBC coverage of the inauguration. Obama's parents did not live to see this historic event, but his mother-in-law did.

2008 in review

2008 has been a historic year. For me, it has been a mediocre year. In January, I bought my first high-definition television set, then I was blocked from Wikipedia.org on feminist grounds. Super Smash Bros. Brawl, a popular game I have boycotted, was released in March 2008. Then I successfully contested my account block at Wikipedia.org. I bought a Sony PlayStation 3 console and Microsoft Office 2007 on the third Sunday of April, then found out that I was banned from FinalFantasyForums.net, the worst message board I was banned from, on feminist grounds. I was shocked about the Mega Man 9 scheme, which may cause a disturbing trend, putting my passion for video games at stake. On the last Saturday in July, my brother got remarried in Martinsville, Virginia. Then I watched the 2008 Beijing Olympic games on my HDTV set, witnessing Michael Phelps' phenomenal performance, and the U.S. basketball teams' victories over the Chinese teams and their gold medal victories over Spain and Australia. I supported President-elect Barack Obama in the 2008 Presidential Election, because of John McCain's Vice Presidential running mate Sarah Palin, and because of McCain's television ads being proven false, and because McCain has the same doctrine and policies as incumbent President George W. Bush. McCain voted Bush 95% of the time in 2008. I bought an Xbox 360 for Christmas, with Square Enix RPGs Infinite Undiscovery and The Last Remnant.

My favorite video game franchises

My top 10 video game franchises are:

10. Star Fox - favorite game: Star Fox Adventures

9. Castlevania - favorite game: Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles

8. Front Mission - favorite game: (the jury is still out on that)

7. Seiken Densetsu (Mana) - favorite game: Seiken Densetsu 3

6. Dragon Quest - favorite game: Dragon Quest III

5. SaGa - favorite game: (the jury is still out on that)

4. Fire Emblem - favorite game: Fire Emblem: Seisen no Keifu

3. Star Wars - favorite game: Star Wars: Empire at War

2. SimCity / Cities XL - favorite game: SimCity 4

1. Final Fantasy - favorite game: Final Fantasy X

TZ doctrine tenet #16: You must not feed the dragon

The "dragon" is the nickname for the People's Republic of China, the country I hate the most. The People's Republic of China is the most oppressive and pollutive country in the world. The country is the worst human rights abuser in the world. The Chinese police act and have always acted against their own people as well as the Tibetans. They have committed crimes against humanity, including false legislation, illegal incarcerations, and executions.

The 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic games is 100% propaganda and is similar to the 1936 Berlin Summer Olympic games. The Chinese Communist Party is analogous to the National Socialist Workers (Nazi) Party of Germany.

The People's Republic of China is known for its absolute intolerance for political dissent, just like Nazi Germany. Political dissidents and Falun Gong practitioners are treated like criminals. The Chinese Communist party routinely arrests and incarcerates them, usually for long periods of time and without trial. Among them, there are wide reports of brutal torture, forced confessions, and forced labor. Freedom of assembly and association is severely limited.

I detest the Chinese Communist Party for the following reasons:

• Legislation based on false claims and allegations
• Cracking down on political dissent
• Cracking down on beneficial or therapeutic lifestyles (such as Falun Gong)
• Censoring access to information needed for political dissent
• Imposing capital punishment for minor offenses
• Imposing capital punishment on children
• False executions
• Exporting dangerous goods to Western countries
• Willfulling orphaning children
• Willfulling taking adult children away from parents

More people are executed in the People's Republic of China than the rest of the world combined. The People's Republic of China imposes the death penalty for the most crimes of any country on planet Earth, including several crimes that would be punished as misdemeanors if they were committed in the United States or Great Britain. Official statistics claim that 470 people are executed in 2007, but the real figure is as high as 10,000.

Children of the executed are cursed and ignored by the communities, and they are abused or enslaved in child labor. They often lose both of their parents in execution. Children who are orphaned by execution never get good jobs or attend college. The government has executed their parents behind children's backs.