Featuring Arthur , Digimon, Christmas Toys ,TMNT + MORE
Blast from the Past: Digimon World
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During the wake of Nintendo’s Pokémon franchise, Digimon reared its head as what many saw as a shameless rip off. While it didn’t necessarily slam Nintendo into the ground. Digimon had and continues to remain fairly popular.
The original Digimon World released on the PlayStation 1 was the first game to spawn from the tamagotchi-like devices released in 1997 as Digimon’s premiering toy. Digimon World centred around the original keychain devices acting a portal to the Digimon world. The protagonist was sucked into one of the toys and tasked with returning peace to the Digimon World after the inhabitants of the city lose their memories and run away.
Digimon World enticed players in just the same Pokemon Stadium would two months later. Seeing your raised creatures turn from flat black & white sprites into fully 3D monsters was a sight to behold and cherish but BanDai’s attempt brought the adventuring aspect with it unlike Nintendo’s efforts with Pokémon Stadium. Something Digimon wasn’t capable of showing in the keychain devices.
Even the CD case of Digimon World was exciting. On the reverse side of the cover was a map more akin to a diagram naming the areas players would eventually reach. Without the proper detail it was hard to imagine just how big the in-game world was.
Taking the monsters to the big screen was a big deal. During the start of the game players would be asked a series of questions and given a “rookie” stage digimon based on their answers. Taking their new friend with them, players had to raise them with food, training and a discipline system which would all add up to play a role in the eventual evolution of their creature. Raising them in specific stats would result in a wide variety of different resulting creatures all bigger and badder than the last with bad raising being punished by evolving into the weak poop shaped creatures of Numemon and Sukemon – Classy Bandai and their animal cruelty lessons!
The battle system in place for Digimon World wasn’t revolutionary, but it was different. Rather than randomly running into another monster, bearing a transition screen and taking turns to smack each other in the face, Digimon World rendered all the enemies on screen within the environment. Running into one would begin a fight right there and then with you commanding your “mon” to attack specifically or just do whatever the hell it pleased. Often times it seemed broken with your monster and the opponent just running around and pausing before finally deciding to attack after what could be between 2-12 seconds. The fights were a little confusing but were admittedly a lot of fun with a lot of close calls and frantic, probably pointless button mashing – attack! attack! attack!.
Digimon World was as close to world as we could hope for on a console back then. Coming from an environment-less keychain game to a 3D utopia, players had a lot to look forward to. Wondering around the branch-pathed forest, you’d soon find yourself wandering through mines, climbing mountains, exploring a vampire filled mansion and even crossing the sea, each time being treated to more 3D representations of monsters previously unseen. There was no clear way to distinguish whether a certain enemy would wipe the floor with you or offer an easy victory, and while that may sound like a downfall, it probably resulted in the better caring of your creature through the sheer will to not get smashed into the floor.
It was disappointing to see the Digimon World series transform from such a promising game into a simple turn based dungeon crawler in the second release. It seemed like Bandai had abused the “digital” setting of the franchise to pump out an incredibly basic and boring design for its sequel. Bandai’s original 3D outing for their franchise was a gem ignored by most and defiantly something retro games should go back and play.
The TMNT's 'We Wish You a Turtle Christmas' Musical Raises So Many Questions
Should you ever need a reminder that the 1990s were a strange, strange time, look no further than We Wish You a Turtle Christmas. Released in 1994 at the height of that hazy, pre-Pokemon era when when the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise reigned as the most popular thing in the entire world, Turtle Christmas was a 25-minute video in which the Turtles sang Christmas songs about themselves.
If that sounds weird, believe me that it's actually even weirder. So today, deck the sewer walls and wash that pizza down with eggnog as we take a look back at this holiday classic, and the great many questions it raises just by its very existence.
Dear Santa: Remembering the toys that topped our holiday wish lists
Since the dawn of time, children have had the attention span of a walnut and the energy of a Jack Russell terrier. But a brilliant soul (probably a fed-up parent) came up with the idea to occupy their spawn with toys -- rocks shaped into the original wheel for cave children, voodoo dolls made by the infamous Tituba for Puritan kids, and copious amounts of experimental drugs and the sexual revolution for children of the '70s -- so inventors and creators are constantly adapting to changing tastes and interests.
Never is our society more focused on toys than during this most wonderful time of the year, when you can no longer walk down a Boston street without hearing a blend of Christmas music and the comforting jingle of a Salvation Army bell. Stores are advertising their “you better buy this awesome [insert thing here] now, or your loved ones will look at you on Christmas morning with unmatched scorn and irreversible disappointment” sales, and before you know it, you find yourself buying your roommate a cashmere beer koozie and the Magic Bullet College Edition, which whips up Ramen and Rubinoff smoothies in less than eight seconds!
Our tastes may have grown up -- we're no longer wishing for a trip to Space Camp and a piece of the Aggro Crag -- but that desire for the latest and greatest goes way back to childhood. While most of us probably have no clue what a FIJIT friend is, we still remember that must-have toy that was at the top of our wish lists so many years ago (me, I’m still waiting for my Easy Bake Oven).
Babies of the '80s listened to NKOTB, watched The Smurfs and Fraggle Rock, and wanted toys that had "the right stuff" -- a unique equilibrium between technology and imagination. Toys were cool enough to be interesting and fun, but playtime wasn't entirely pre-scripted.
“Back then, most toys you had to make yourself,” said Michael Conte, 28, who remembers putting together his first G.I. Joe accessory, the Rolling Thunder missile launcher, with his dad. “The pieces came in a bag, which was part of the fun actually,” although today's kids, who even have virtual Legos, may not think so.
G.I. Joes first appeared in the '60s as 12-inch dolls, but they were too big and too expensive, said Conte, a vintage toy collector; when high oil prices drove up the price of plastic in the '70s, toy makers experimented with other options. But G.I. Joes experienced a resurgence in the '80s, following in the footsteps of the decade's popular Star Wars figures, which were small enough and cheap enough for buyers to purchase whole play sets.
“Parents who had G. I. Joes in the '60s could now buy the smaller versions for their kids,” Conte said, adding that the toy's popularity grew tremendously with its cartoon series and 1987 movie.
“Parents who had G. I. Joes in the '60s could now buy the smaller versions for their kids,” Conte said, adding that the toy's popularity grew tremendously with its cartoon series and 1987 movie.
cabbage patch kid.jpgLittle girls, meanwhile, coveted Cabbage Patch Kids -- adorable collectible dolls, each with their own birth certificate and name to make them unique. “Every girl had to have their Cabbage Patch doll,” said Conte. “They were definitely the Tickle Me Elmo of the '80s.” But the love began to fade when "generations of girls that grew up with [Cabbage Patch dolls], grew up,” he said. “There was no timeless aspect to it.”
By that time, the '90s -- a decade of overalls, overfed Tamagotchis, and the height of Nickelodeon -- were in full swing, and wish lists were full of awesome toys, including Socker Boppers, Pokemon cards, Power Rangers action figures, and Beanie Babies. The most-wanted and most unique toy, however, had to be the Furby (I Double Dare you to prove me wrong). These odd little mutants were unimaginably irritating, yet incredibly addicting (sort of like most shows on TLC). A new Furby would blink and make strange noises, which I’m certain were cries of love, but once it got to know you, a Furby began to actually speak your language! Although this was exciting, I lost interest after a few sleepless nights (thankfully, I'm still far away from motherhood).
I loved it as a kid, but looking back it was super weird,” said Sarah Sullivan, 19, who remembers wanting a Furby for Christmas. “I brought it to school for a while, and our Furbies were all friends with each other, and we created Furby drama between them.”
Another '90s toy that became a matter of life or death was almost as weird as the Furby: Crazy Bones, head-shaped figurines about the size of a quarter that came in various colors and expressions. Although I had (and still have) a respectable collection, I’m not sure if I ever actually used them the right way: I kept them tightly sealed in a Tupperware container and growled at anyone that came near me, except my best friend Mike, who sported a fashionable rattail (before I found out he had an incurable case of cooties).
By that time, the '90s -- a decade of overalls, overfed Tamagotchis, and the height of Nickelodeon -- were in full swing, and wish lists were full of awesome toys, including Socker Boppers, Pokemon cards, Power Rangers action figures, and Beanie Babies. The most-wanted and most unique toy, however, had to be the Furby (I Double Dare you to prove me wrong). These odd little mutants were unimaginably irritating, yet incredibly addicting (sort of like most shows on TLC). A new Furby would blink and make strange noises, which I’m certain were cries of love, but once it got to know you, a Furby began to actually speak your language! Although this was exciting, I lost interest after a few sleepless nights (thankfully, I'm still far away from motherhood).
I loved it as a kid, but looking back it was super weird,” said Sarah Sullivan, 19, who remembers wanting a Furby for Christmas. “I brought it to school for a while, and our Furbies were all friends with each other, and we created Furby drama between them.”
Another '90s toy that became a matter of life or death was almost as weird as the Furby: Crazy Bones, head-shaped figurines about the size of a quarter that came in various colors and expressions. Although I had (and still have) a respectable collection, I’m not sure if I ever actually used them the right way: I kept them tightly sealed in a Tupperware container and growled at anyone that came near me, except my best friend Mike, who sported a fashionable rattail (before I found out he had an incurable case of cooties).
“I was captivated by the magic that was Crazy Bones,” said Michael Finch, 21, who remembers thinking his brother's collection was some sort of candy. “But the magic faded pretty quickly, so I moved on to things like Pogs and Fistful of Aliens.”
As we ushered in the new millennium with an appropriately named Backstreet Boys CD and Y2K paranoia, technology boomed, but toy creativity dwindled. Now, kids are asking for the latest Leapfrog learning system or game console. Don’t get me wrong: I loved my N64, and the XBox Kinect is so cool, it’s almost scary -- but as someone who's older than the Internet, I think it's crazy that all the top toys are electronic. Some kids will even find their new friend Siri under the tree on Christmas morning -- and they don’t even have to walk 15 miles uphill in the snow each way to get to the app store.
As we ushered in the new millennium with an appropriately named Backstreet Boys CD and Y2K paranoia, technology boomed, but toy creativity dwindled. Now, kids are asking for the latest Leapfrog learning system or game console. Don’t get me wrong: I loved my N64, and the XBox Kinect is so cool, it’s almost scary -- but as someone who's older than the Internet, I think it's crazy that all the top toys are electronic. Some kids will even find their new friend Siri under the tree on Christmas morning -- and they don’t even have to walk 15 miles uphill in the snow each way to get to the app store.
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It's Christmas Eve ONTD :D :D Merry Chrismahanakwanza to all <3 <3
What toys did you want as a child? What are your favorite holiday tv episodes?
BTW thanks guys for making these posts alot of fun this year :3
appropriate gif is appropriate :)