The Ultimate Gex Analysis
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ก.ค. 2024
- Gex was one of my favourite platforming series growing up so I put together this long and in depth retrospective (or Gextrospective, if you will) exploring why that was the case. I give a character analysis of Gex himself and dive into the idea that his antics are in some way 'dated', as well looking into the regional differences with Gex's voice acting. The British PAL versions are what I grew up on, so that is one of the focuses, but just to make things more relevant to my channel I check out the Japanese releases too. I go through each game in the Gex trilogy and, by the end, speculate what a possible Gex 4 would (or rather, should) be like. It's tail time!
Special thank you to Lucid for providing the Gex 4 illustrations.
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CHAPTERS
00:00:00 - Intro
00:01:57 - Reading from the Gex 1 manual
00:11:30 - A Character Analysis
00:15:11 - Voices and Regional Differences
00:17:05 - Gex
00:21:01 - Gex: Enter the Gecko
00:39:49 - Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko
01:02:08 - Gex 4?
01:05:44 - Outro
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TAGS
An excessively detailed Gex retrospective talking about Gex, Gex: Enter the Gecko (Gex 3D: Enter the Gecko) and Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko (Gex 64).
Tags: #gex - เกม
"The World Economic Forum is lying to you, kids" is easily the best thing I've heard all month.
Gex's backstory is so surreal. I couldn't believe half of what I was hearing, but it sure was glorious.
Thank you for the retrospective.
And it just keeps going on 😂
After hearing the whole thing, I had to stop and check if I had dropped a fuck ton of acid.
It's sort of surprising Gex didn't take off that much in Japan considering he is basically a hikikomori. Maybe he was too ahead of his time.
I checked the game releases when Gex was released, and to be fair there were alot of strong competitors.
Maybe the localisation sucked?
@@sleepyguy4237This is the very likely reason for why he didn't make it
That doesn’t make any sense at all. That’s like saying Kirby should’ve been more popular in America cause he’s a fat guy.
@@thrillhouse4151 No? I don't see how you ended up with that comparison.
Hikikomoris tend to be interested in video games, and Gex is a video game about someone akin to a hikikomori. There's a lot more overlap there than with your comparison.
“This is a pretty hardcore origin story,”
-Spider Noir
Holy shit, man. Thank you so much for this, I almost died laughing at the Gex 1 manual. That's genuinely, uncommonly hilarious prose writing -- I had no idea. I'm a Gex defender now.
Not to mention he apparently became a gigolo for a while?
Gex had the darker aesthetics with some realism and very bright and colorful textures . Always loved the look of the game
"White picket fences and white supremacists"? I was not expecting that. I nearly spat out my food.
This video feels like it was made for me, didn’t know how much youtube needed this retrospective on gex
Gex was absolutely GOATed growing up, always loved the Sherlock Holmes mansion level
I've been kind of thinking for several years how they can make Gex 4, in terms of theming. I believe the TV theme can still be kept, just as streaming services instead of channels. Alternatively, I always imagined a dip into the internet would work well, even add a layer of social commentary with it. Have enemies like influencers/streamers touting things at you, like knock off sponsorship trash
Maybe even internet trolls having *literal* flame wars. Gex himself can still make references that are valid in current year without making it too cringe. Something like "This ass whooping is sponsored by TailTime, all Tail, All the Time", or "This is worse than an episode of Black Mirror" or "All game, no squid" (yeah i know these are pretty dated, but not like Gex's old lines weren't dated to begin with)
Like I'm just spit balling ideas here. The route i dont wanna see Gex go through is the "boomer" mentality where Gex now has to learn all the new lingo and new stuff over the last 20 years since hos dormancy, unless they pull something genius like a parody of Austin Powers, where Gex has been cryogenicallt frozen since then and now has to learn the world's changes. That would atleast be fitting with Gex's TV/Movie motif and work well considering the spy/agent themes of the last 2 games. Point is, theres a lot that can be done with Gex, but it needs to be done right, and done well.
57:04
"I really enjoy setting pigeons on fire." - SnicketySlice, 2023
Didn't expected to have Kimba referenced in the Gex manual.
[Cue up Gex listening to the "Wawa" song on a walkman]
I'm glad you're covering Gex, but absolutely devastated that you brought up a certain desk scene
Yes ..just yes ...thank you for the long video about GEX!
Oh hey, cool seeing you here at 6K views. I've been a big fan of your videos for about 5 years. Glad to see you chilling enjoying some Gex.
I liked the 2D Gex a lot better than the 3D ones, felt more unique mechnically compared to its competition. Would like a 2D sequel.
Absolutely loved every second of this vid!
Ever since I played through the series a few years back, I've always been a big unironic fan of it (the 3D games at least, Gex 1 sucks lol) so to see someone cover this series with so much love and enthusiasm was really great to see!
Love how you went about covering Gex's character and how the games went about their levels and stories, was all around a great time, even if the Subahibi reference was kinda uncalled for lmao
Easily the best coverage the Gex series has ever gotten on TH-cam! Keep up the fantastic work champ'
I thought I didn't care about Gex, but reading Gex's backstory changed my life for good. I am now a believer.
It's also interesting to note that the engine used on the 3D Gex games was also used on a lot of other games after, including Legacy of Kain Soul Reaver, which is basically all the way on the other end of the spectrum compared to Gex. Comparing the gameplay though, they honestly look so similar I can't unsee the comparison.
This is such an awesome video! I’m wildly grateful to have been on video game TH-cam long enough to finally see a Gex Retrospective. Holiday TV’s music and the weird elf mumbling, riding that camel in Tut TV and the donkey in the cowboy level, and being terrified but intrigued of Scream TV whenever my aunt rented Into the Gecko from her video store job will be forever seared into my brain
The things that made me love the Gex series was the level concepts being based on movie/tv genres like in the first one you had horror, cartoons, adventure, and Asian based Cinema.
This video is a genuine blast, kudos
It’s Gex night
Your videos peaked here 🔥🔥
Gex was my childhood as well, and this retrospective really took me back. Never played much of 3, I'll remedy that with the upcoming collection, but Enter the Gecko had always had a special place in my heart. He really is a character that deserves more. Who knows, maybe some executives might like Snick's ideas and put him at the helm of a new project! Top notch work, man! Leslie Phillips would be proud.
Me too.
You made the video I didn’t know I needed.
If they were to make a Gex 4. It should be something modern shows now put up. And there's a lot of new genres and some not used. Or it can be something like Rez taking over the Streaming platforms as it's been getting popular.
That sounds interesting. The worlds should be based off different games and you could somehow interact with the "streamer"
Your right, The best way to reboot Gex would be to satirize the Streaming Market in general
That and I think they should make fun of how esoteric Gex's references are and be somewhat self-aware of that humor that'll go over people's heads. It would be a funny flaw from the original games to really jazz up the humor and have the game make fun of that fact.
That and you know how Gex wears a costume to each of these levels. I think they should incorporate an idea of having the graphics reflect the art style of each world. That would be unique. Like imagine if you got an Anime level and Gex resembles that form. Or a Horror level and you see him in a semi-realistic style. I think there are cool potentials with Gex's return to do such crazy ideas.
@@rightinthedome9973I think Gex 4 should be a parody and satirical of the internet, the levels is not Tv Channels but it is internet services and media, I imagining the levels like this:
- Memes Over Matter
- Creepypasta Recipe
- Into the Dark Web-Verse
- Cringe Carnival(parody of Tik-Tok)
- The Independent Animation Faculty.
- The Wacky World of Weeaboos
- N.S.F.W Network
- G.E.X.U(Parody of MCU and DECU)
- Toxicity(parody of Toxic fans services)
- Online Orbit(parody of online games)
Oh god. Stranger Gex.
3:00 This is why I don't buy Rez's lie that he is Gex's father in the end of Gex 2 Enter The Gecko, because I know Gex's backstory. 19:52 And for the record, Gex CAN get that power-up without dying, he can use his tongue or tail while sticking to the walls.
One of my favourite games of all times, i spend countless hours into it! This is an amazing analysis. And knowing that a remaster of the triology is on the way this is gold.
Love the "the... level is the best level in the game." running gag. Nicely done!
Great video snickety like how you brought up all the va's and version differences i seriously need to play this series sometime
I'm glad this popped up in my feed. I love the original games, even the first, and had no clue we were getting a re-release.
Great video, enjoyed it
THANK YOU, IVE BEEN WAITING FOR SOMEONE ON TH-cam TO DO THIS FOR YEARS. I love Gex, my Text tone is a Whip Crack followed up by Gex saying “Now that’s what I call gettin’ some tail!”
I respect your love for this series. I can definitely relate with you. I loved the Ape Escape and Ganbare Goemon franchises more than any other platformer.
as a Kid growing up in the 90's, gex was my childhood hero.
The setting pigeons on fire quote made me laugh and wake up my roommates at night
“It’s the Gex night!”
"Maybe he wants the TV world to encroach on our world, like some Persona villain?"
Damn Persona 4 Analysis is here already and we haven't even finished 3!
Amazing video, Gex needs more love. Honestly, we could all use a little more Gex in our lives.
I knew this was going to be a good video from the Geck-O.
Jeebus, the backstory from the manual is uh...a tad excessive, but I respect it.
At the risk of inciting an angry mob, I don't find Mario 64 to be the immaculate, paragon exemplar of how 3D platforming should be. Perhaps I just need to git gud at the game, but it feels clunky and Mario rarely does exactly what I want him to do. Gex 2, on the other hand, I've always found quite comfortable to play. I think you're right in that, when people give it flack, they're actually probably remembering Bubsy 3D.
Making an hour long video about gex should immediately send you to mental asylum. Seek god son. Stay strong
To note, Gex was an unlockable character in Hot Shots Golf 2 for PS1, alongside Sweet Tooth from Twisted Metal and Sir Daniel Fortesque from Medevil!
Now THAT should be reference Gex 4 should have
Waiting for Scott the Woz to suddenly show up. "This place is weirder than 4th of July at Rick James' place."
Gonna say, that manual intro was wild. So American.
As a longtime Gex fan I am simply in love with your interpretation of the themes and overall character of Gex, in that its a cautionary tale about escapism. It really makes me wish the upcoming remakes actually explored these themes. Ever since watching your video, i thought about how the idea of the first game could be an exploration on the Stages of Grief;
Like the first stage of the game, he could choose between levels from Cartoons and Fantasy, representing Denial. The next stage could be worlds based on high octane Action and Kung Fu movies, with a final boss based off news reporters from a certain news network (mostly thinking of a certain boss from the failed DMC reboot, Bob Barbas. Personal highlight of that game), Representing Anger. From there, the next stage could offer levels based on Sci fi worlds, perhaps giving Gex the false hope he can restore his dad to what he once was (oh yeah, he finds out Rez is his dad earlier in this go-around.). There could even be commentary on fanboy consumer culture here, playing into the overall theme of this stage. At the end, when Gex realizes the solutions he thinks would work are in fact just distractions, he traverses levels based on Game Shows, and fights a boss themed after the Home Shopping Network, tying together the theme of this stage: Bargaining. After, he finds himself forced to start in a Horror stage. Here his defense mechanisms are dismantled. First he wanders an abandoned theme park, or other horror themed places, and is "jump scared" by what turns out to be the real memories of his life with his family when his dad was still around. This stage could end with a chase sequence where he barely escapes, but not without losing his tail (dont worry, it grows back. He's a gecko, after all). After, he's forced to traverse a silent movie level, where his jokes can no longer be heard. This low point of course represents the penultimate stage: Depression. I'm not sure what tv genres could represent the Final Stage though... Perhaps Circuit Central and Rezopolis could be the Facades of the Media Dimension peeled back, and were shown a horrible world of flesh and metal, perhaps the very inner workings of what makes the Media Dimension itself work. I do know however, that the act of defeating Rez , the ghost of his father, ultimately would free him of the TV world. Defeating Rez would be the act of putting his father to rest, representing Acceptance. And of course, references. Namely i was thinking of a credits sequence that is merely a camera going through the messy mansion he lives in, calling back to the infamous ending of the (first iteration of the) Rosanne show, only this time, the mess slowly gets cleaned up. Gex moves on and picks up the pieces of his life, and perhaps we see the photos of his family, and new ones showing Gex finally leaving the house and living his life.
It's fun to dream.
Love the video, thanks for sharing the origin for I didnt know. I grew up owning gex and enter the gecko, never finished them. I do remember favoriting the first one though, it was a mix of the soundtrack and just liking the art style more in general. Thought it was a unique platformer, earthworm jim 2 is also a worthy side scroller and also really hard.
57:25 It confuses you right from the…gecko.
Keep Gexing on, brother
I’m glad he’s getting a remaster because I want to play the games
I remember having a gex 3 demo as a kid on another game (idk if it was tomb raider or fighting force) and it had the Christmas level I always wanted to play the full series and in highschool eventually emulated the first game and absolutely hating it that I never went back. Glad to know the series gets significantly better
Wow a new video im really happy even though it's not a japanese game
It's gex!
I kinda pair Gex together with the likes of Rayman or Croc. A character that only had a small number of games in their franchise, but still had enough appeal to warrant a cult following
4:17 "... Surrounded by white picket fences and white supremacists."
The lore of this game, man. 💀
This is the best Gex review in the game. I never owned a Gex game but I did play it back in the day on a PlayStation magazine demo. Even after all these years I can remember playing it and watching Gex use his tongue to grab platforms and save me from my terrible platforming skills. Clearly Gex left an indelible mark on my soul and touched me deeply as I'm sure he touched many children who had the luck of playing his games. Thank you Gex.
19:53 You can get the item here by pressing down on the d pad and pressing the button to use your tongue to eat the pickup.
Amazing video, I have a suggestion.
Have you covered dai sentryaku exceed 7? I'd love a video about it!
Snickety said he was gonna cook so im gonna let him cook
I can't wait to try my hand at Gex 1 in the remake now that I am older and have played and beaten Dark Souls 1 and 2. But, like the Pac-Man World Repac game, they'll probably tone down the difficulty and have an actual save system. This just showed up in my feed and I had fun watching it. Good job.
Gex 2&3 were my favourites as a kid, favourites as an teenager, and as an adult, I still have my original ps1 copies, digitals in vita and when the remakes come out I'll get them too
i didnt know there was such a long video just on saying gex
Only commenting to say that was my favorite scene in Subahibi
I cannot believe that Gex canonically prostituted himself to married women in his backstory.
I think I have a new favorite character.
Played both of the 3D Gex games on N64 back in the day but for some reason I remember liking the first one a bit more, maybe it's only because it felt more fresh. It really hits you with its zeitgeist due to how it had a whole world dedicated to Titanic specifically, all the other worlds were just TV and movie genres but not this one, it was straight up Titanic. Really reminds you how huge the Titanic craze was when it came out, it was short lived but this movie made one hell of a splash (pun unintended).
I'm expecting this to be just as deep as the persona analysis.
As a former Gex lover who had been gaslit into liking them ironically thank you for showing me the light again, and making me afraid for the fact that if we got a Gex 4 it will probably be purely ironic and self hating
To me, as someone who grew up watching TV during the time the Gex developers were, the Circuit TV levels kinda resemble the future-looking technology shows; these might best be illustrated by a particular show I remember called "Beyond 2000", which featured all kinds of technology in its infancy, expected to take off by the time the new millennium rolled around. Computers were often a topic of these shows, even going back into the '70s.
...Didn't expect that, lol.
Thought we would get the Persona 3 FES/Portable video first, but sure thing, lol.
Kinda waiting on the Gex Trilogy collection myself, even if those games are juvenile and corny, they're so 90's, it's kinda charming.
19:50 you can get that power up by holding down ans pressing tongue. It's one of the simplest mechanics. Your tongue lash follows your directional input.
That shinji ikari comment almost killed me
I stuck my tongue to a pole at a ski mountain as a kid because of the snow level where you could stick your tongue to a pole. I will never forget Gex for inspiring me.
Gexcellent Video 👍 Reminds me of Goldeneye 64 night at Ryan Gosling's house.
Gex is one of those games that I didn't get to play much. Yet here we are in 2023 and the game still lives rent free in my memory. The re release is a day 1 purchase for me
It's nice to see somebody else of the opinion that Gex's humour and references are a positive part of the whole, rather than something holding it back! I also very much agree on the best level in Gex 3, and fear for the zoomer meme game the remakes could potentially become...
so fun fact: Gex actually did appear in 1 OTHER Game. it was a Launch title for the Xbox called mad Dash, made by the same Devs, if you beat the Game 100%, you unlock him.
Oh yeah
Gex & Croc were the 2 platformers that Ioved but no one else played so they just said I eont like them 😂 you know how people form opinions. But i love them on PS1.
Cabt wait to see the whole video 👍
Thanks for uploading ❤
By the way, have ya seen the Gex Animation someone on youtube made, looks like alternative universe disney channel stuff.
I like the combination of a small reptile and a television
Mecharez is real reason i replayed gex2 a lot.
I remember trying both Gex 1 and Rayman from PC Gamer demo discs. Rayman I would have been willing to pick up from the demo (and did pick up later, but only for memories of the first level. I'd since seen the bullet dodged by waiting until I could pick it up for for five bucks loose,) but the first Gex I wasn't about to.
I should try the other Gex games again at some point. I wasn't so much into 3D platformers at the time (the vast majority of my library from the time are fighting games, and I've got the discs to prove it)
Edit: Oh, gods, they didn't even try a Robotech reference? Like, I'm not asking for "Hey, do you go gerwalk too?" but a "Hey, is Minmei playing a concert any time soon" or "Rick Hunter wishes he was this good" But then, I guess that's what happens when the writer doesn't have the same interests as the games makers.
"57:00 I've always loved setting pigeons on fire... so it's always good that the game allows me to do this here AS WELL"
uh... bro?
you good? 😐
Oh, my God, I.
Love the first game in the series. The 2d one, such a darn good platformer
There's so much stuff in these games that you couldn't get away with today.
I never played the 3rd Gex game, just the second on N64, but I want key art/Concept art of the Gex mech suit to make a homage in Armored Core 6.
3:30 Hello, My Name Is Your T.V. by Ludo
the back story was reallllly a thing 😂jesus. That back story is crazy for a kid in the 90s
"... that's straight up a dead guy" 😂
Pretty crazy how the Greek Mythology level is completely different in the N64 version
Was not expecting a World Economic Forum joke when I sat through this video. Bravo.
I appreciate your Gexpertise
There were 5 games on the ps1 that i was always playing: Megaman X4, Final Fantasy 9, Marvel vs Capcom, Castlevania: SotN and Gex 2 Enter the Gecko. Its a shame that many ppl put Gex alongside Bubsy, our lizard bro deserves better!
Gex: Deep Cover Gecko is one of my top 10 of top 100 videogames.
What do you mean reception got worse over time? I thought everybody loved Gex.
As an old millennial. This video is great. Finally somone understands Gex as well. Also. The comparison of Gex sounds like Dana, but thinks hw sounds like Leslie was always something i said too! Ha!
If I remember right, you can actually use your tongue to get the items while walking on walls. So in 19:54 thats is not a troll. I think Im the only super fan of Gex 1game style
It always irks me that GEX gets the short end of the stick despite having actually good games. Yes, even the first one. But I was delighted to see AN ACTUAL GEX REFERENCE in the game Clive N Wrench. I feel this game is what a fourth game would have felt like in a way.
Alot of modern twists to the pop culture references if they were to actually do gex 4
I've heard the general argument a lot over the years that "Actually, this character's undesirable character trait is interesting and not obnoxious because of this in-universe explanation." And people dont seem to realize that... this argument only works if the media in question makes an attempt to acknowledge and grow the character passed those traits?
It doesn't really matter if the instruction manual tells you "oh, he has a reason to act like this." The end result is still that he is a wise-cracking, dated, TV reference machine. If you outright don't like that, it doesn't matter if he has a backstory that actually makes it "deeper." None of the game's core concepts or themes make much of an attempt to incorporate any element of trauma/trauma-specific pain. the backstory could be entirely omitted with almost no changes to the actual games. If you want to take the backstory at all seriously, its actually even worse. The fact the mother immediately stops caring about her son's clear mal-adaptive tendencies as soon as she has money (which she could use to help her son btw) and the fact Gex is basically implied to just be an unfixable crazy person is a dated, 90's interpretation of mental health that was never helpful to anyone.
Another kid's game about losing a parent in a space accident is megaman starforce, but unlike gex its never used to excuse any of the main character's clearly unhealthy coping mechanisms. Instead, he is forced to confront the unhealthiness of his lifestyle through seeing parts of himself and his own grief reflected in the game's antagonists. You don't have to make an excuse and say "well actually he has a traumatic backstory" because if you don't like his unhealthy isolationism...the game agrees. and you see him grow passed that way of life.
Of course, I'm being glib when I imply I take the Gex backstory this seriously, but if you want me to see it as a reason to accept Gex's key (obnoxious) character trait as something more, then I'm going to analyze it as such.
They completely changed the Mythology Network in the N64 version to be more akin to the Greek underworld.
01:02:47 Wow, take it easy pal. Must be pretty cold and lonely out there in the void of space, huh?
I can be your blanket 😊🔥
Hugs from Brazil,
- Another Gex Enjoyer-