What made the old Castlevania marathon work, at least from what I remember, is that while he was covering games he loved and considered good, he still approached them as the Nerd and pointed out the frustrations with his usual energy, like the fucking stairs in Castlevania 3. He loves Castlevania and it shows, but he's still gonna tell you what sucks ass about it. The complaints are relatable and possibly even nostalgic to people who grew up playing them.
I think after 20 years, some people are just burned out. James IMO has been pretty consistent. After that much time anyone is going to have ups and downs and failed experiments.
@@SuperAnthony3 It's his style, and although you can argue it hasn't evolved much, it's his pocket and any deviations he has made be it the movie or Screenwave has proven to him to be the wrong move, so do what works and got you there. I like the rough edges, reminds me of old punk albums or singles that looked photocopied too much. Rough, sometimes nonsensical, but an intangable charm. New Sub, Happy holidays.
idk man, feels like after the movie there was a massive dip in quality and it got worse and worse. At least first 2 seasons of Board James were good, probably the last good vids on the channel.
@@odinetsthepale6581 I agree with Bored James and J&M Mondays. But like any creator, you run out of ways to cook the same food. It's like eating too much pizza. It doesn't mean it's not good, just too much of the same. I feel like there's been a return to his roots as it were the last 2 seasons. It's like Showa era Godzilla. He's finally past his Godzilla's Revenge phase with screenwave
I loved the show-off with Frankie about the Vampire's Kiss reference. I didn't know the movie either, but the main reason it caught me off guard is because he did that Nick Cage impression, which sounded so much different from both his Nerd and his "curator" voice.
Yea, it was pretty ridiculous. It was an edited version of a discord convo we had and I used his "bespoke" video for the audio sample. I think that's why he sounded so annoyed. 😄
Y'know what, you've got a point. I've been saying I'm okay with his content this year because it's not as embarrassing as recent years. But is it even AVGN anymore, or is it James Rolfe reviews games in costume?
Jesus, I didn't even catch that he greenscreened himself into his own room in the Sim City episode. That's depressing. It's like he put extra effort into making it more joyless.
the best thing about his uploads is that it makes for great content like yourself ! 😁 seriously, you have great writing, bim city, congratuations, prooved, etc. they all made me literally laugh ! also always love the bimmy impressions, "sHiTtY Games !!" 🤣
Thanks, I really appreciate the kind words. I wasn't sure if people would drop off when I did my parody but people seemed to enjoy it. Wish I would have kept more of it in. It was the first video I ever wanted to do like 15 years ago, and I think I should actually make that full episode someday.
He is pretty much doing the bare minimum so the series doesn't "die" (3 or 4 regular episodes, the Halloween special and the Christmas special) which is understandable because he has been doing this for two decades but at the same time, yeah, I think it would be better for him to do some solid finale and leave it on a good note
@@metalcoola Yeah, he literally said multiple times that the 100th episode was going to be the end originally (the nerd would have just died and that would have been the end of the series)
he will never end it. Best moment to do it is already lost anyway, so now James will just milk it till he's 50 and literally can't do it anymore. He is scared of office job after all and his wife seems to be a bitch type so the moment Bimmy stops making money his family life will be ruined too.
@SuperAnthony3 just bizarre for someone who doesn't have time to make a video about a chest of draws and how he spent ages measuring and cutting wood to put it together again
What I think is the worst is that these aren't even bad videos he makes now. In comparison to the things I come across on youtube, I far prefer a mid modern AVGN episode. It's just that classic AVGN was so unique and fun that it's sad that the same man lost the magic to create it. I imagine it's due to youtube guidelines, but I doubt it, as I doubt it's their only revenue.
Great video, man. I still disagree on Horse Prince and some of the modern episodes, but this was a good watch. Really excellent editing and pacing - I love how it's got the vibe of "AVGN-ing the AVGN". If I may make one post-production suggestion for scenes like 5:55 where audio is meant to be playing off the laptop, a highpass filter over the audio would help communicate that it's playing out of smaller speakers.
I disagree on you about the "the good games episodes are bad". My favorite episodes are the Castlevania ones.Why? He has a genuine feeling and memory towards those games.Those scrips were written by James fully.While a some bad games are just...lame and have no real feelings towards them.
Then he can make a video where he, James, reviews the game instead of 5 AVGNs about the same franchise. It's not Angry Video Game Nerd if it's not pointing out the frustrations with the game then it's just "James Memories" trojan horsed into in an AVGN as disguise
I mean, I understand the desire for authenticity which is really the heart of the problem with the show. He can't fulfill the promise of the show while being authentic.
@SuperAnthony3 these videos are pretty fun to watch but homie is complaining about stuff that's always been a part of AVGN, doubling down, and acting like he's the armchair director of the series. Chill.
@@SuperAnthony3 I could agree... But.Good old games haver frustrating parts that did not age well.Castlevania episodes showed how hard the games are.So there was reason why the Nerd did the video and not James.
I have my doubts that there's hatred. That was a discussion from discord that I ran through AI. It may have ended up sounding worse. I think my performance at the end sounded harsher than I intended though. I love Frankie, I might not have a channel without him, he's the man
This is incredibly petty and small, but what I dislike about the new AVGN video on Castlevania 4 is how he misses the point of Castlevania. Classic Castlevania is *designed around subweapons.* Removing, replacing, or in Castlevania 4's case, obsoleting them is OK if the design is changed, but CV4 doesn't do that. It gives you a tool that completely circumnavigates the game design and wasn't necessary before or after CV4. The only challenging parts of Castlevania 4 were sections in the last few stages that would've been *just as hard without the whip* since they're predicated on disabling the whip entirely or essentially being a puzzle in the case of the floating platform section in stage B. It's entirely different game design. I know it's my mistake to base my expectations for a game on someone else's opinions, but it still doesn't change the fact that Super Castlevania 4 isn't designed like a Castlevania game, regardless of whether it's the best or not.
@@SuperAnthony3 ... That was always the point. He never actually hated TMNT or F13. He has even gone on record saying that they were both enjoyable games. The whole point of the AVGN character has always been to be like, I hate to say this as this is the first video I've seen of yours so I don't know if this is how you do things normally and maybe it isn't but from first impressions... but the point was to always be like people like you. Who cry at everything a game doesn't do perfectly and blow it way out of proportion. In this case, something he does in episodes doesn't meet your standard and because of that you're shitting all over his recent stuff.
I mean, if James can shit on games he likes, it's not fair game for me to shit on a show I like? I'm ranking over 220 videos, some are going to naturally fall to the bottom.
Personally I'm okay with good game videos as long as he's clearly showing passion making them, which I think stuff like Sim City, Deja Vu, and Blaster Master showed. Castlevania video was ass though I can't defend that.
I mean if you look at those examples, Blaster Master comes to mind as really disingenuous of him. My chief complaint is that he hints at the game being awesome then rails on it the whole video. I always thought of AVGN as mostly a comedy, where's the comedy in a year's worth of good games?
@SuperAnthony3 To be fair, take a look at Batman part 2. He gets really mad at Return of the Joker but at the end states that it's not that bad of a game. I don't think this is completely unheard of.
Well that's the other part of the equation. The performance and the comedy. TMNT wasn't a particularly bad game, but it was a game that resonated so it provided good material to work with. There were genuinely frustrating parts and James was able to pick those out and perform authentic (albeit over the top) reactions. Sim City's rant feels forced to the point where it's humorless and it's something where, if I'm going to watch a Sim City vid, at that point it's better coming from LGR. I think if James wants to cover "good games" he doesn't need to try to Nerd them up just to do it. Earthbound wasn't supposed to be a Nerd episode, but they turned it into one because it gets better viewership.
"Written and directed by James Rolfe". Yeah, right. I still have a suspicion that Screenwave's still running the show after James Rolfe's movie bombed at the box office.
And I also agree on you that I felt VERY dissapointed when I watched the 20th anniversary video, I was expecting a huge video with a lot of special stuff, I get he has other stuff to do over avgn but he wouldn't have died if he put a bit of effort into that video
Yea, one of the parts I cut in my video was how he uses the original Simon's Quest vid as an excuse to not be on camera and make it real low effort. I think it was just a real bad choice - I get why he'd be compelled to do Castlevania but he just went to that well too often to go back to it.
@@SuperAnthony3 Yeah, I honestly felt very betrayed on how this "Very special video" was such low effort. Like he went from doing a whole movie (I know the movie is not great, but it's still cool he did it) to a cheap video that literally any person with a voice and a microphone can make
I find AVGN pretty comparable to Family Guy. The shows were quite successful in their early days, in part due to how "edgy" they could be considered (which was somewhat of a trend in the 2000's), and therefore left more of an impact in younger and impressionable minds. But in the latter days, they started to display the overuse of unnecessarily long skits, "self-aware of the not-so-good current state of the show" meta jokes, uninspired writing, and obscure movie references. Also, there is a "modern Simpsons effect", where the show displays excessive "Flanderization" of the character(s). Plus, the fanbase seems to be continuously saying to themselves: "eventually the show is going to return to form!" only to be disappointed with the release of every new episode. Anyways, despite the safe and dull AVGN episodes, i still kinda enjoyed this year, regarding Cinemassacre's content. There's no doubt that it's not what it used to be, but i'm just glad that, at least, he is putting the effort to actually write the reviews himself (or at least he claims to).
I totally agree about James and his overly-emotional crap. Final Fantasy and Earthbound were overlong and boring. He always adopts this "heartfelt" tone of voice that is so obviously manipulative that it's sickening. Also, there are so many games out there, and I've gotten really tired of him revisiting the same games again and again, Castlevania and Jekyll and Hyde, specifically. And yes, I trash-talk James a lot, but I've been watching him since 2006, and I know he's better than what he's been producing--that's what bothers me the most. If I could give him advice, it would be to evolve his character, and stop the toilet humor. It's flat-out embarrassing to hear an adult make poop jokes, in my opinion at least. But it seems when he deviates from this, he produces long, boring monologues that he pulled from Wikipedia.
he return to Castlevania and Jekyll because those are the only two games he genuinely cared about in the past. Mike was the real video game nerd, James barely played any.
I confess I wasn't happy how he revisited the Castlevania series. At the time I recalled being upset over something else. As soon as I saw the thumb nail for that episode. The one thing I hoped not to see ended up happening, Super Castlevania IV still Best Castlevania to him. The entire episode felt like a huge waste of my time. This is also the most negative I ever gotten over an AVGN episode too. I'm actually fine with most of Season 18 myself. Although I do also wanna say I nearly forgot to mention this too. If you exclude Castlevania episodes. He actually done three vampire episodes for Halloween. I will publicly say I felt he could've done a little more with Nosferatu. Truthfully even if he had the other two vampire episodes were way better. Then again I could've just said go watch his Dracula episode instead you're good. Maybe after Mike left, things started to go down hill for a lot of people.
I half agree with you on the 'good game reviews'. While I think they have been happening way too much recently I'll still say the original Castlevania marathon, Super Mario Bros 3, Contra (honestly one of my favorite post-movie episodes) are great. I even enjoy parts of Doom. But they have been happening WAY too much recently.
Yea, part of it is matter of taste. Like Super Mario 3 is one of my least favorite classic episodes - especially since I love Mario 3 and didn't feel like he even bothered to capture what was so great about it. Castlevania was fine for what it was, I liked Majora's Mask and Ghost and Goblins (I consider it a good game) the rest I could personally do without.
Earthbound is an interesting case because my understanding is that it wasn't originally supposed to be an AVGN but they turned it into one. That for me is the core of my frustration with these, labeling them as something they are clearly not because it makes the more marketable. To me, these are more like "James talks about games he likes" than a proper Nerd episode.
I highly disagree with this whole rant, and mostly on the Deja Vu and My Horse Prince episodes, which have turned out to be some of my favourites. But I do want to say something about the Nerd somewhat coming back to form: For me, The Nerd episodes started to feel somewhat off after Polybius (which was an amazing episode). There was something about the way he narrated everything that felt soulless at times, even though at that time some amazing episodes came out, like Earthbound and Dark Man. But of course, when episode 200 came out (later turned a 3 parter), I felt disappointed. The little plot about trying to make a game was alright and, y'know, finishinf his business with LJN, but... Just why putting the game you've already reviewed? That was baaad. However, after that, when The Last Ninja came out, and later episodes, it felt like the actual Nerd was back. The writing was a lot better and these are much more memorable. It just feels like he's having more fun with these episodes and while experimenting aswell. The reason why I really liked Horse Prince whas actually because of that, and how he recorded himself on the phone while reacting to the surreal things that happen. And the goddamn joke about "it's not the only thing he's gonna be hitting hard", it caught me OFF GUARD and laughed my ass off. So yeah, that's kind of what I think of the Nerd content currently. Back to being fun to watch.
Well , god dam that was one hell of a video . Not sucking up by any means but boy that was so spot on , well worth the wait and I'm so glad to see that castlevania video gets the nerdy turd it deserves. Merry Christmas
Ah yeah, the "Let's play a game for once." videos. I kinda got tired of those once he talked about how awesome Contra was and shared his nice and wholesome childhood memories about it. That was such a weak episode. I didn't watch any of these newer episodes but they seem to have a similar vibes. Is this the Angry Video Game Nerd or the Happy Video Game Nerd?
Yea, back in 2010 I actually wanted to do a parody of the nerd reviewing Mario 1 as though it was a "shitty game!" maybe I'll make the complete video someday
I’d rather James just make good game reviews since it’s more entertaining hearing him doing a regular review instead of doing unfunny jokes and forcing being mad at a game The AVGN formula has either burned out or the lack of Mike has really affected the series over the last 5-10 years now, I just want to see what James thinks of any random game instead of what AVGN thinks of that makes sense
Yea, at this point it would probably be better if he just covered things, whatever it is that he's into. Though I've heard others point out that maybe he's just run out, has covered so much content at this point.
They do that. Game Store Reviews. Where they talk about the game as people instead of as characters. Do you guys not actually look at his content? AVGN is for specific people, just like Board James was for specific people... You Know What's Bullshit.. So on and so on.
but there are countless other channels reviewing good games out there and they are (almost) all better than Jame's pathetic attempts. He was never a gamer. He's a film guy. His only real video games experience was with Castlevania 4 and Jekyll and Hyde (which is why he keeps coming back to these two all the time).
Yea why are we defending his bad content? It's almost an insult to his great content. There was a time Cinemassacre was fantastic, for many years. It's remarkable what he did. But these are not those times. I think people new to my channel think I'm really HATING on James so much and sometimes it seems strange to me that people don't get that what I'm doing is not that dissimilar at all to what James does with AVGN
@@SuperAnthony3 it's just cope from Bimmy fans, don't bother explaining. Obviously those who critisize James today are the guys who loved his videos back then.
The Blaster Master episode was weird. the concept with the AI man is just out of place. I honestly bet on the concept for the commentary about AI abuse but I don't think they should've covered a game to use the concept for it. Honestly I would like the video with an AI man to be a long video entitled for a comeback of the Glitch Gremlin than using Blaster Master subtitle for a part one as an excuse to the concept
I don't think that a good AVGN episode can be made anymore. It was tied to a certain time, in terms of the audience, culture, and James himself. We've discussed the exact time when he should've quit many times on the assholish sub, and while that varies due to people's ages, almost nobody thinks he should've been doing it in the last ~8 years, at least. Same thing with a thousand other things. Like, every single video game franchise I used to praise to the heavens has become ridiculous due to forced sequels and remakes. Metal Gear, Final Fantasy - I haven't cared about either since FFX and MGS3 Snake Eater, and seeing material of the newer stuff online makes me cringe. Even if there's a technically good joke in a new AVGN, it doesn't amount to much because the show itself has fundamentally changed, and that's just what happens with everything that gets milked way beyond their time.
I liked most of the new Glitch Gremlin episode, but yeah, it was more of a skit than a showcase of actual glitches. I loved the Vice City stuff, partially because I used to own a glitchy Vice City disc.
@SuperAnthony3 I couldnt watch it all the way through lol I went through it so fast as I knew it was a bad year but wanted to see what James ranked himself and the fact master blaster and castlevania where in there woof , funny how he can say about the lighting and not I got so much positive feed back about x,y,z
That could be a possibility. I think the challenge for James is he's not that into games. He's into movies but he's also covered a lot of those. The new offering he was into was Rex Viper. So, it would be cool if someday he found something creative he was passionate about that also resonated with an audience.
You can think wtf you want but he cant just spend 16 hours a day working on a episode anymore he has kids he has more responsibility plus he cant just get mad in every video now think of it like channel awesome they cant just scream all the time nowdays i hate the avgn hate i think nowadays a episode when it does come out is nice
@@SuperAnthony3 it is weird that he was doing a mobile game however the point of the show is to point out these bad games and make sure people don't play them so eventually he will have to reach that kind of content
He's just too old for raging and fart jokes I guess. Young fellas have some kind of I don't know... Energy aura around them. Often the dumbest thing they do look fun\cute just because they're young. Like the Indiana Jones - he's not fun when he's old. I've watched the series from the very begining and it is part of my adolescence\youth now and it's kinda painful to watch it just walk away. Hope James will find a way to freshen the show up somehow. I also loved TGWTG those days. Some time later Nostalgia Critic's reviews where he was sitting in a room\cellar changed to Channel Awesome's 'dramatics' in every episode. Not that I liked it, but it was at least some change to show's format...
Honestly, it wasn't the "fart jokes" that I cared about or even "raging" necessarily, it's more that the material works when the reactions are authentic and fitting. When the content is not that interesting or the writing is cookie cutter, it just can't be the same as the classics.
![I Rank Every AVGN : Worst 7 Ever! [Every F- Grade Ep]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/g6s3VLPeSkU/mqdefault.jpg)
![The Story of the Playstation (Complete Series) [feat. Drunk Metroid]](/img/n.gif)
if i were to ever do an AVGN Parody animation I now know who to call for the AVGN voice
I hope you're referring to someone more talented than me!
Great take as always
Thanks! You're the man!
What made the old Castlevania marathon work, at least from what I remember, is that while he was covering games he loved and considered good, he still approached them as the Nerd and pointed out the frustrations with his usual energy, like the fucking stairs in Castlevania 3. He loves Castlevania and it shows, but he's still gonna tell you what sucks ass about it. The complaints are relatable and possibly even nostalgic to people who grew up playing them.
Right, all valid. But even if he didn't do that, at least it was the first time he did it.
I think after 20 years, some people are just burned out. James IMO has been pretty consistent. After that much time anyone is going to have ups and downs and failed experiments.
I totally agree. Despite my videos I think it's remarkable what he's done with this character for so long.
@@SuperAnthony3 It's his style, and although you can argue it hasn't evolved much, it's his pocket and any deviations he has made be it the movie or Screenwave has proven to him to be the wrong move, so do what works and got you there. I like the rough edges, reminds me of old punk albums or singles that looked photocopied too much. Rough, sometimes nonsensical, but an intangable charm. New Sub, Happy holidays.
Much appreciated, Happy Holidays!
idk man, feels like after the movie there was a massive dip in quality and it got worse and worse. At least first 2 seasons of Board James were good, probably the last good vids on the channel.
@@odinetsthepale6581 I agree with Bored James and J&M Mondays. But like any creator, you run out of ways to cook the same food. It's like eating too much pizza. It doesn't mean it's not good, just too much of the same. I feel like there's been a return to his roots as it were the last 2 seasons. It's like Showa era Godzilla. He's finally past his Godzilla's Revenge phase with screenwave
I loved the show-off with Frankie about the Vampire's Kiss reference. I didn't know the movie either, but the main reason it caught me off guard is because he did that Nick Cage impression, which sounded so much different from both his Nerd and his "curator" voice.
Yea, to me it should fit the character and episode and such. That one just came out of left field.
I love your argument with Frankie, BTW 😄
Thanks, it was AI generated if it isn't obvious. So, he was kind of unwittingly involved 😄
@SuperAnthony3 that's scary, it sounded a little off but was overall so close to Frankie's inflections
Yea, it was pretty ridiculous. It was an edited version of a discord convo we had and I used his "bespoke" video for the audio sample. I think that's why he sounded so annoyed. 😄
I forgot completely about Deja Vu.
Nosferatu is the review I keep forgetting
Y'know what, you've got a point.
I've been saying I'm okay with his content this year because it's not as embarrassing as recent years. But is it even AVGN anymore, or is it James Rolfe reviews games in costume?
Hah, that's a way to put it. It's James cosplaying as AVGN.
13:57 - That part was funnier than anything Nerd did past few years 😂
Hah, the first video I ever wanted to do many years ago was a longer version of this parody
Jesus, I didn't even catch that he greenscreened himself into his own room in the Sim City episode. That's depressing. It's like he put extra effort into making it more joyless.
the best thing about his uploads is that it makes for great content like yourself ! 😁
seriously, you have great writing, bim city, congratuations, prooved, etc. they all made me literally laugh !
also always love the bimmy impressions, "sHiTtY Games !!" 🤣
Thanks, I really appreciate the kind words. I wasn't sure if people would drop off when I did my parody but people seemed to enjoy it. Wish I would have kept more of it in. It was the first video I ever wanted to do like 15 years ago, and I think I should actually make that full episode someday.
Also, I sourced the BimCity video from @scaseTCT th-cam.com/video/GQmbQpDktwo/w-d-xo.html
Can't wait for the "legecy sequel" review
He is pretty much doing the bare minimum so the series doesn't "die" (3 or 4 regular episodes, the Halloween special and the Christmas special) which is understandable because he has been doing this for two decades but at the same time, yeah, I think it would be better for him to do some solid finale and leave it on a good note
Episode 100 or Movie is when AVGN should end, but...after Movie destroyed him mentally, he have to keep doing Nerd for probably rest of his life.
@@metalcoola Yeah, he literally said multiple times that the 100th episode was going to be the end originally (the nerd would have just died and that would have been the end of the series)
he will never end it. Best moment to do it is already lost anyway, so now James will just milk it till he's 50 and literally can't do it anymore. He is scared of office job after all and his wife seems to be a bitch type so the moment Bimmy stops making money his family life will be ruined too.
James : i have no time , mean while heres a video of me fixing a draw filled with crap !! What was he thinking
Yea, the drawer always gets me, especially when you put it in the context of BTS. It's hilarious.
@SuperAnthony3 just bizarre for someone who doesn't have time to make a video about a chest of draws and how he spent ages measuring and cutting wood to put it together again
The nerd needs to get a successor. Someone who grew up playing the early 2000s games.
I think the successors are the new content creators who put their own authentic spin on things.
What I think is the worst is that these aren't even bad videos he makes now. In comparison to the things I come across on youtube, I far prefer a mid modern AVGN episode. It's just that classic AVGN was so unique and fun that it's sad that the same man lost the magic to create it. I imagine it's due to youtube guidelines, but I doubt it, as I doubt it's their only revenue.
Nice mockery of AVGN on SMB. Very nice work!
You've never played Blaster Master before? You're missing out.
But "the controls are ass"
Great video man!
Thanks, I appreciate it!
Great video, man. I still disagree on Horse Prince and some of the modern episodes, but this was a good watch. Really excellent editing and pacing - I love how it's got the vibe of "AVGN-ing the AVGN".
If I may make one post-production suggestion for scenes like 5:55 where audio is meant to be playing off the laptop, a highpass filter over the audio would help communicate that it's playing out of smaller speakers.
Thanks I appreciate the feedback. I'll try that suggestion out next time!
I disagree on you about the "the good games episodes are bad".
My favorite episodes are the Castlevania ones.Why?
He has a genuine feeling and memory towards those games.Those scrips were written by James fully.While a some bad games are just...lame and have no real feelings towards them.
Then he can make a video where he, James, reviews the game instead of 5 AVGNs about the same franchise. It's not Angry Video Game Nerd if it's not pointing out the frustrations with the game then it's just "James Memories" trojan horsed into in an AVGN as disguise
I mean, I understand the desire for authenticity which is really the heart of the problem with the show. He can't fulfill the promise of the show while being authentic.
@SuperAnthony3 these videos are pretty fun to watch but homie is complaining about stuff that's always been a part of AVGN, doubling down, and acting like he's the armchair director of the series. Chill.
@@SuperAnthony3 I could agree... But.Good old games haver frustrating parts that did not age well.Castlevania episodes showed how hard the games are.So there was reason why the Nerd did the video and not James.
There was no reason for The Nerd to do Earthbound or Final Fantasy 6 other than it was a better financial decision
Your best work in my opinion. Your AVGN videos are more AVGN than AVGN..
SuperAnthony found the time to make a new episode. I hope you didn't suffer.
Clever
That part with the Red Cow guy kinda got uncomfortable. Feels less of a disagreement between two collaborators and feels like theres genunie hatred
I have my doubts that there's hatred. That was a discussion from discord that I ran through AI. It may have ended up sounding worse. I think my performance at the end sounded harsher than I intended though. I love Frankie, I might not have a channel without him, he's the man
This is incredibly petty and small, but what I dislike about the new AVGN video on Castlevania 4 is how he misses the point of Castlevania.
Classic Castlevania is *designed around subweapons.* Removing, replacing, or in Castlevania 4's case, obsoleting them is OK if the design is changed, but CV4 doesn't do that. It gives you a tool that completely circumnavigates the game design and wasn't necessary before or after CV4. The only challenging parts of Castlevania 4 were sections in the last few stages that would've been *just as hard without the whip* since they're predicated on disabling the whip entirely or essentially being a puzzle in the case of the floating platform section in stage B. It's entirely different game design.
I know it's my mistake to base my expectations for a game on someone else's opinions, but it still doesn't change the fact that Super Castlevania 4 isn't designed like a Castlevania game, regardless of whether it's the best or not.
Well, yea, that's why I think of AVGN as more like Mystery Science Theatre when it comes to critique than official analysis
@@SuperAnthony3 ... That was always the point. He never actually hated TMNT or F13. He has even gone on record saying that they were both enjoyable games. The whole point of the AVGN character has always been to be like, I hate to say this as this is the first video I've seen of yours so I don't know if this is how you do things normally and maybe it isn't but from first impressions... but the point was to always be like people like you. Who cry at everything a game doesn't do perfectly and blow it way out of proportion. In this case, something he does in episodes doesn't meet your standard and because of that you're shitting all over his recent stuff.
I mean, if James can shit on games he likes, it's not fair game for me to shit on a show I like? I'm ranking over 220 videos, some are going to naturally fall to the bottom.
Personally I'm okay with good game videos as long as he's clearly showing passion making them, which I think stuff like Sim City, Deja Vu, and Blaster Master showed.
Castlevania video was ass though I can't defend that.
I mean if you look at those examples, Blaster Master comes to mind as really disingenuous of him. My chief complaint is that he hints at the game being awesome then rails on it the whole video. I always thought of AVGN as mostly a comedy, where's the comedy in a year's worth of good games?
@SuperAnthony3 To be fair, take a look at Batman part 2. He gets really mad at Return of the Joker but at the end states that it's not that bad of a game. I don't think this is completely unheard of.
Well that's the other part of the equation. The performance and the comedy. TMNT wasn't a particularly bad game, but it was a game that resonated so it provided good material to work with. There were genuinely frustrating parts and James was able to pick those out and perform authentic (albeit over the top) reactions. Sim City's rant feels forced to the point where it's humorless and it's something where, if I'm going to watch a Sim City vid, at that point it's better coming from LGR. I think if James wants to cover "good games" he doesn't need to try to Nerd them up just to do it. Earthbound wasn't supposed to be a Nerd episode, but they turned it into one because it gets better viewership.
"Written and directed by James Rolfe". Yeah, right. I still have a suspicion that Screenwave's still running the show after James Rolfe's movie bombed at the box office.
Maybe? I mean, the movie wasn't exactly great writing so I can believe he can write some stinkers.
@@SuperAnthony3 True.
deja vu and nosferatu reviews are pretty good
That castlevania episode would have been better if James decided what is the worst castlevania not the best
That does sound like much better idea. A lot would be dependent on execution but that does seem like a much better starting point.
And I also agree on you that I felt VERY dissapointed when I watched the 20th anniversary video, I was expecting a huge video with a lot of special stuff, I get he has other stuff to do over avgn but he wouldn't have died if he put a bit of effort into that video
Yea, one of the parts I cut in my video was how he uses the original Simon's Quest vid as an excuse to not be on camera and make it real low effort. I think it was just a real bad choice - I get why he'd be compelled to do Castlevania but he just went to that well too often to go back to it.
@@SuperAnthony3 Yeah, I honestly felt very betrayed on how this "Very special video" was such low effort. Like he went from doing a whole movie (I know the movie is not great, but it's still cool he did it) to a cheap video that literally any person with a voice and a microphone can make
Heh. So it's another Jimmy vs Bimmy video then, I assume?
Not quite
I find AVGN pretty comparable to Family Guy. The shows were quite successful in their early days, in part due to how "edgy" they could be considered (which was somewhat of a trend in the 2000's), and therefore left more of an impact in younger and impressionable minds. But in the latter days, they started to display the overuse of unnecessarily long skits, "self-aware of the not-so-good current state of the show" meta jokes, uninspired writing, and obscure movie references.
Also, there is a "modern Simpsons effect", where the show displays excessive "Flanderization" of the character(s). Plus, the fanbase seems to be continuously saying to themselves: "eventually the show is going to return to form!" only to be disappointed with the release of every new episode.
Anyways, despite the safe and dull AVGN episodes, i still kinda enjoyed this year, regarding Cinemassacre's content. There's no doubt that it's not what it used to be, but i'm just glad that, at least, he is putting the effort to actually write the reviews himself (or at least he claims to).
I do agree that he seems to be more into the content he's creating this year than previous ones.
if avgn is the simpsons of youtube, board james is the futurama of youtube
I can see that
I totally agree about James and his overly-emotional crap. Final Fantasy and Earthbound were overlong and boring. He always adopts this "heartfelt" tone of voice that is so obviously manipulative that it's sickening.
Also, there are so many games out there, and I've gotten really tired of him revisiting the same games again and again, Castlevania and Jekyll and Hyde, specifically.
And yes, I trash-talk James a lot, but I've been watching him since 2006, and I know he's better than what he's been producing--that's what bothers me the most. If I could give him advice, it would be to evolve his character, and stop the toilet humor. It's flat-out embarrassing to hear an adult make poop jokes, in my opinion at least. But it seems when he deviates from this, he produces long, boring monologues that he pulled from Wikipedia.
he return to Castlevania and Jekyll because those are the only two games he genuinely cared about in the past. Mike was the real video game nerd, James barely played any.
I confess I wasn't happy how he revisited the Castlevania series. At the time I recalled being upset over something else. As soon as I saw the thumb nail for that episode. The one thing I hoped not to see ended up happening, Super Castlevania IV still Best Castlevania to him. The entire episode felt like a huge waste of my time. This is also the most negative I ever gotten over an AVGN episode too. I'm actually fine with most of Season 18 myself. Although I do also wanna say I nearly forgot to mention this too. If you exclude Castlevania episodes. He actually done three vampire episodes for Halloween.
I will publicly say I felt he could've done a little more with Nosferatu. Truthfully even if he had the other two vampire episodes were way better. Then again I could've just said go watch his Dracula episode instead you're good. Maybe after Mike left, things started to go down hill for a lot of people.
Yea, that was pretty much my sentiment "waste of time". Shame, the 20th anniversary episode kind of felt like the lowest effort of the season.
I half agree with you on the 'good game reviews'. While I think they have been happening way too much recently I'll still say the original Castlevania marathon, Super Mario Bros 3, Contra (honestly one of my favorite post-movie episodes) are great. I even enjoy parts of Doom. But they have been happening WAY too much recently.
Oh, and Earthbound is also great and feels like the conclusion to the series even if it continued past it
Yea, part of it is matter of taste. Like Super Mario 3 is one of my least favorite classic episodes - especially since I love Mario 3 and didn't feel like he even bothered to capture what was so great about it. Castlevania was fine for what it was, I liked Majora's Mask and Ghost and Goblins (I consider it a good game) the rest I could personally do without.
Earthbound is an interesting case because my understanding is that it wasn't originally supposed to be an AVGN but they turned it into one. That for me is the core of my frustration with these, labeling them as something they are clearly not because it makes the more marketable. To me, these are more like "James talks about games he likes" than a proper Nerd episode.
Great video. Worth the wait.
I appreciate it!
I thought I was the only one sick of him doing good games
I wonder what the general feeling is on that. I feel like whenever he does one these days there's a potion of the fans that get real excited.
😂😂 Your impression of the nerd complaining about video game logic and applying it to the real world.
I mean, I'm sure my impression sucked ASSSSS! 😂
@@SuperAnthony3"That was a terrible impression."
"But not inaccurate."
I highly disagree with this whole rant, and mostly on the Deja Vu and My Horse Prince episodes, which have turned out to be some of my favourites. But I do want to say something about the Nerd somewhat coming back to form:
For me, The Nerd episodes started to feel somewhat off after Polybius (which was an amazing episode). There was something about the way he narrated everything that felt soulless at times, even though at that time some amazing episodes came out, like Earthbound and Dark Man. But of course, when episode 200 came out (later turned a 3 parter), I felt disappointed. The little plot about trying to make a game was alright and, y'know, finishinf his business with LJN, but... Just why putting the game you've already reviewed? That was baaad.
However, after that, when The Last Ninja came out, and later episodes, it felt like the actual Nerd was back. The writing was a lot better and these are much more memorable. It just feels like he's having more fun with these episodes and while experimenting aswell. The reason why I really liked Horse Prince whas actually because of that, and how he recorded himself on the phone while reacting to the surreal things that happen. And the goddamn joke about "it's not the only thing he's gonna be hitting hard", it caught me OFF GUARD and laughed my ass off.
So yeah, that's kind of what I think of the Nerd content currently. Back to being fun to watch.
I liked My Horse Prince, I did a whole video on it
@SuperAnthony3 Oh fuck, wait a minute, I actually saw that video. Idk what happened to me there, sorry about that 🙏
Nothing to be sorry about! It's fun when people engage
Well , god dam that was one hell of a video . Not sucking up by any means but boy that was so spot on , well worth the wait and I'm so glad to see that castlevania video gets the nerdy turd it deserves. Merry Christmas
Thanks, I appreciate it!
Ah yeah, the "Let's play a game for once." videos. I kinda got tired of those once he talked about how awesome Contra was and shared his nice and wholesome childhood memories about it. That was such a weak episode. I didn't watch any of these newer episodes but they seem to have a similar vibes.
Is this the Angry Video Game Nerd or the Happy Video Game Nerd?
Nice AVGN Mario review. Never liked Nerd's "it's not realistic" criticism, even back in the Golden Age.
Yea, back in 2010 I actually wanted to do a parody of the nerd reviewing Mario 1 as though it was a "shitty game!" maybe I'll make the complete video someday
@@SuperAnthony3 I see. That bit was enough to get the idea. Not sure if it would work as a whole 10+ min episode.
I'm sure I'll try it out someday. I wrote a lot for that hypothetical episode. If people like it they like it, if they don't they don't. All good.
Reviewing the games, good or bad. That's my motto. I like to mix it up while bringing my own opinions out.
That’s not really a motto so much as it’s like the normal mission statement for a video game critic. Yes, I know I’m being a jerk.
I’d rather James just make good game reviews since it’s more entertaining hearing him doing a regular review instead of doing unfunny jokes and forcing being mad at a game
The AVGN formula has either burned out or the lack of Mike has really affected the series over the last 5-10 years now, I just want to see what James thinks of any random game instead of what AVGN thinks of that makes sense
Yea, at this point it would probably be better if he just covered things, whatever it is that he's into. Though I've heard others point out that maybe he's just run out, has covered so much content at this point.
They do that. Game Store Reviews. Where they talk about the game as people instead of as characters. Do you guys not actually look at his content? AVGN is for specific people, just like Board James was for specific people... You Know What's Bullshit.. So on and so on.
but there are countless other channels reviewing good games out there and they are (almost) all better than Jame's pathetic attempts. He was never a gamer. He's a film guy. His only real video games experience was with Castlevania 4 and Jekyll and Hyde (which is why he keeps coming back to these two all the time).
Yea why are we defending his bad content? It's almost an insult to his great content. There was a time Cinemassacre was fantastic, for many years. It's remarkable what he did. But these are not those times. I think people new to my channel think I'm really HATING on James so much and sometimes it seems strange to me that people don't get that what I'm doing is not that dissimilar at all to what James does with AVGN
@@SuperAnthony3 it's just cope from Bimmy fans, don't bother explaining. Obviously those who critisize James today are the guys who loved his videos back then.
The Blaster Master episode was weird. the concept with the AI man is just out of place. I honestly bet on the concept for the commentary about AI abuse but I don't think they should've covered a game to use the concept for it.
Honestly I would like the video with an AI man to be a long video entitled for a comeback of the Glitch Gremlin than using Blaster Master subtitle for a part one as an excuse to the concept
Yea the Blaster Master video just seemed like it could have been any game
I don't think that a good AVGN episode can be made anymore. It was tied to a certain time, in terms of the audience, culture, and James himself. We've discussed the exact time when he should've quit many times on the assholish sub, and while that varies due to people's ages, almost nobody thinks he should've been doing it in the last ~8 years, at least. Same thing with a thousand other things. Like, every single video game franchise I used to praise to the heavens has become ridiculous due to forced sequels and remakes. Metal Gear, Final Fantasy - I haven't cared about either since FFX and MGS3 Snake Eater, and seeing material of the newer stuff online makes me cringe. Even if there's a technically good joke in a new AVGN, it doesn't amount to much because the show itself has fundamentally changed, and that's just what happens with everything that gets milked way beyond their time.
Yea, I've always maintained that it's amazing he's done as much as he has with it. I mean if he wants to keep making 'em sure.
The most recent episode with the glirch gremlin is so offensively bad it might have killed all interest i've had in all game reviewing.
Interesting - I actually liked parts but also hated parts so it was hard for me to know where to place it.
I liked most of the new Glitch Gremlin episode, but yeah, it was more of a skit than a showcase of actual glitches. I loved the Vice City stuff, partially because I used to own a glitchy Vice City disc.
I disagree with Frankie
Don't we all! Jk. I think he made some good points and he's encouraged me to have to go back and finally watch American Movie.
this is top tier hating i love it
Hah thanks. It's a rant. I can't help but love the guy too!
Well the nerd rated castlevania revisit as number 8 moment of 2024 , but then again out of everything whats he really gonna pick
That was another video with a lot of funny James moments. Like, "I have to give myself credit, I'm really good with lighting".
@SuperAnthony3 I couldnt watch it all the way through lol I went through it so fast as I knew it was a bad year but wanted to see what James ranked himself and the fact master blaster and castlevania where in there woof , funny how he can say about the lighting and not I got so much positive feed back about x,y,z
Honestly James should do a side series for good games
That could be a possibility. I think the challenge for James is he's not that into games. He's into movies but he's also covered a lot of those. The new offering he was into was Rex Viper. So, it would be cool if someday he found something creative he was passionate about that also resonated with an audience.
He is just grifting off of his own nostalgia now.. geez
You can think wtf you want but he cant just spend 16 hours a day working on a episode anymore he has kids he has more responsibility plus he cant just get mad in every video now think of it like channel awesome they cant just scream all the time nowdays i hate the avgn hate i think nowadays a episode when it does come out is nice
I mean, the content just isn't good that's all. Whatever the reasons. Quite frankly, I wouldn't expect episode 220 of anything to be good.
I think I'm pretty fair, I enjoyed My Horse Prince despite it getting so much ate
@@SuperAnthony3 i mean the new episodes are really creative
@@SuperAnthony3 it is weird that he was doing a mobile game however the point of the show is to point out these bad games and make sure people don't play them so eventually he will have to reach that kind of content
The point of the show is to be entertaining, he's not ACTUALLY on a mission to warn us from playing shitty games - it's a joke
Man, you got burnt by james, i cnat believe you didnt get an autograph, that is literally messed up! :(
Hah, well, it was probably just an honest mistake, poorly distributed or whatever
He's just too old for raging and fart jokes I guess. Young fellas have some kind of I don't know... Energy aura around them. Often the dumbest thing they do look fun\cute just because they're young. Like the Indiana Jones - he's not fun when he's old. I've watched the series from the very begining and it is part of my adolescence\youth now and it's kinda painful to watch it just walk away. Hope James will find a way to freshen the show up somehow.
I also loved TGWTG those days. Some time later Nostalgia Critic's reviews where he was sitting in a room\cellar changed to Channel Awesome's 'dramatics' in every episode. Not that I liked it, but it was at least some change to show's format...
Honestly, it wasn't the "fart jokes" that I cared about or even "raging" necessarily, it's more that the material works when the reactions are authentic and fitting. When the content is not that interesting or the writing is cookie cutter, it just can't be the same as the classics.
Year in review, kinda like what James does, huh?
Interesting.
Most interesting.
I shall watch this video with great interest.
Majora's Mask isn't a good game.. He completely trashed that game.
Well, since it's a top 5-10 game for me of all time I'll call it a good game despite the trashing
@@SuperAnthony3 I'm suggesting since the nerd believes it is a bad game then it isn't a good game episode.
I'm out.
I hope you enjoyed your stay!