The Official Angry Video Game Nerd Discussion Thread

[Gameguy]

the only thing i have in common with him is that we both like old games and old shitty movies.
That's basically how it is with most people, just sharing a few hobbies doesn't mean you'll agree on much else with them. You might be expecting too much from other people.

Like I said, I'm not much of a fan of Mike or his work, but I don't actively hate him either. Unless something comes up like him being involved with the KKK or sending nude photos purposely to underage fans I'm not going to start hating him. I don't really follow his content specifically so it won't make much of a difference anyway.

Really with James and his content, as well as his friends, it all still comes across as amateurish. James has been making videos for about 15 years online, basically he was one of if not the actual first person to start reviewing games like this. Red Letter Media started years later and now seems much more professional, even though they still seem independent and have a general immature attitude in tone. There are plenty of other content makers now who are much more professional, including Lazy Game Reviews, Pushing Up Roses, and Ross's Game Dungeon. The amateurish quality of the AVGN still has it's appeal in a nostalgic sort of way as it reminds me of a time when people made videos for fun without expecting a career out of them, but I'm still surprised that the overall quality of his work hasn't drastically improved after all that time.

[gbpxl]

Whats funny is he pretty much did the equivalent of the 2 things you mentioned. Posting your private parts on Twitter is the equivalent to walking into McDonald's, standing up on the counter, and pulling your pants down. And again it wasnt just the comics, he made some egregious comments about James as well.

And yeah no, I dont just hang out or talk to people just because we share a common hobby.

oh well agree to disagree. There are way better content creators. I dont need to watch someone who is angry and who shits all over every game they mention.

Red Letter Media
Chris Stuckmann
Pushing up Roses
Game Sack
My Life in Gaming
Spawn Wave
Miss Click
Retro Tech
Review Tech USA

that covers my gaming/movie/TV commentary channels.

[Gameguy]

And yeah no, I dont just hang out or talk to people just because we share a common hobby.
What's the purpose of this forum then?

Also, for the youtube channels you watch, are they all personal friends of yours in real life? If it's not just because of shared hobbies or interests, what's the reason you watch the content they produce?

[Tron 2.0]

Out of the old crew, being James and Mike, Mike just left so there's just James left. I guess that's the whole crew gone, all one of them. Seriously, who else was there in any regular capacity?

Old crew beside,mike i meant bootsy who did allot of board james and kyle justin he originally singed the theme song for avgn.Both of them left years ago on not good terms from what i've heard.Also the subject of james network channel screenwave media there the ones coming up with most of the avgn episodes now and it shows.It's just not entertaining anymore.

[gbpxl]

What's the purpose of this forum then?

Also, for the youtube channels you watch, are they all personal friends of yours in real life? If it's not just because of shared hobbies or interests, what's the reason you watch the content they produce?

I tend to watch youtube videos, TV shows, movies, news programs, whatever if the person or character in front of my eyeballs is someone I like. there is a reason I do not watch Duck Dynasty, Honey Boo Boo, Fox News

[Greg2600]

This thread is for AVGN content discussion, and won't have further unproven Mike M chatter here. It's libelous.

[Edmond Dantes]

This thread is for AVGN content discussion, and won't have further unproven Mike M chatter here. It's libelous.

... Was anyone "chattering" about Mike? I kinda thought this thread had gone dormant and the only new post I see is... you talking about a weeks-dead discussion. Or was there more but it got deleted?

[Gameguy]

... Was anyone "chattering" about Mike? I kinda thought this thread had gone dormant and the only new post I see is... you talking about a weeks-dead discussion. Or was there more but it got deleted?
There was more but it got deleted, I won't mention specifics as to what was posted.

I did notice a new video posted yesterday on Cinemassacre's youtube channel but looking now it seems to be gone. It was Talking About Tapes which seems to be a new series exactly copying Rental Reviews, except James wasn't there. It was just the two least likable of his new crew talking about Wishmaster 2 for over an hour. Just searching now, it does seem to be up on a different channel so I'm not sure why it was posted on the Cinemassacre channel, I'm sure it was on that channel yesterday.

[gbpxl]

There was more but it got deleted, I won't mention specifics as to what was posted.

I did notice a new video posted yesterday on Cinemassacre's youtube channel but looking now it seems to be gone. It was Talking About Tapes which seems to be a new series exactly copying Rental Reviews, except James wasn't there. It was just the two least likable of his new crew talking about Wishmaster 2 for over an hour. Just searching now, it does seem to be up on a different channel so I'm not sure why it was posted on the Cinemassacre channel, I'm sure it was on that channel yesterday.
I just liked it more when there were 5 people all talking about the same obscure 30 year old movie, regardless of who the individuals were.

[Greg2600]

There has not been a Rental Review in more than 7 months, which is around when the 2nd COVID wave began. It's just really difficult to produce on screen content right now, even with these guys living within the same vicinity.

[Gameguy]

I just liked it more when there were 5 people all talking about the same obscure 30 year old movie, regardless of who the individuals were.
I think the best reply I can give is something you already said.


I tend to watch youtube videos, TV shows, movies, news programs, whatever if the person or character in front of my eyeballs is someone I like. there is a reason I do not watch Duck Dynasty, Honey Boo Boo, Fox News
I mostly need to somewhat like the people in a video for me to watch that content. An exception would be some type of factual/informational/instructional type of video where the narrator presents information but isn't actually a central focus. With these movie review shows they're mostly unscripted casual fanboy type discussions more focused on their opinions rather than facts about the film or the film's production. I would really have to like the people themselves to like that type of content, which I do with Red Letter Media.


There has not been a Rental Review in more than 7 months, which is around when the 2nd COVID wave began. It's just really difficult to produce on screen content right now, even with these guys living within the same vicinity.
They announced there would be no more Rental Reviews and discontinued the show at episode 100, it wasn't just postponed or put on hiatus until after the pandemic ends.

It's funny how it's difficult to prepare on screen content all together because of the pandemic, yet the guys still filming the Talking About Tapes without James are still filming everything in James' basement.

[gbpxl]

I think the best reply I can give is something you already said.


I mostly need to somewhat like the people in a video for me to watch that content. An exception would be some type of factual/informational/instructional type of video where the narrator presents information but isn't actually a central focus. With these movie review shows they're mostly unscripted casual fanboy type discussions more focused on their opinions rather than facts about the film or the film's production. I would really have to like the people themselves to like that type of content, which I do with Red Letter Media.


They announced there would be no more Rental Reviews and discontinued the show at episode 100, it wasn't just postponed or put on hiatus until after the pandemic ends.

It's funny how it's difficult to prepare on screen content all together because of the pandemic, yet the guys still filming the Talking About Tapes without James are still filming everything in James' basement.
For the record, I think 4/5 of the "entertainers" in said videos are pretty stand up guys. That's only 1 person there I am not a fan of and believe me, I don't go out of my way to watch videos if it's just them or him and 1 other person.

[Greg2600]

They announced there would be no more Rental Reviews and discontinued the show at episode 100, it wasn't just postponed or put on hiatus until after the pandemic ends.

It's funny how it's difficult to prepare on screen content all together because of the pandemic, yet the guys still filming the Talking About Tapes without James are still filming everything in James' basement.

Wow, ha ha, I had no idea there was another show. I think they setup another set somewhere. Plus FWIW, James' rental store were just sets he too setup at some studio space I guess he rents. Ppl say the basement is fake too now, but I don't think the couch area is.

[gbpxl]

I tried watching Talking About Tapes, it's just not the same without the other guys. I dont know all their names.

[Gameguy]

Wow, ha ha, I had no idea there was another show. I think they setup another set somewhere. Plus FWIW, James' rental store were just sets he too setup at some studio space I guess he rents. Ppl say the basement is fake too now, but I don't think the couch area is.
I just assumed it was all still in James' basement as he gave lots of tours of it over the years and it looks pretty much the same, I didn't think he duplicated the sets somewhere else though that's certainly possible.

People were saying the games area is fake since it got changed after he moved, I'm not completely sure as it could be either way. It really depends on how large his home is, he does have a family that would need plenty of space of their own.


For the record, I think 4/5 of the "entertainers" in said videos are pretty stand up guys. That's only 1 person there I am not a fan of and believe me, I don't go out of my way to watch videos if it's just them or him and 1 other person.
I don't hate them or think they're bad people, as best as I can tell at least. I just find them mostly annoying or boring for some reason. I still remember one or two of them from the Game Chasers thing from years ago and didn't like that. Mostly bragging about the "great" finds they had, to the people that just sold them the games. Like just buying a game for $5 and then telling the seller that it's worth $20, something like that. Or mostly bragging to the audience at the end of the episode about the great deals they found like finding a game for $12 that's worth $15, or finding one for $25 that's worth $30-$35.

They just seemed like the type to jump on whatever is popular, but do it less well or interesting compared to who else was already doing it. I don't really care if people are just doing it for fun, but these people are making videos as a full time job so it feels different.


I tried watching Talking About Tapes, it's just not the same without the other guys. I dont know all their names.
It's just not the same without those unique memorable individuals like What's-His-Face and So-And-So. LOL

I just found it funny how you're missing these individuals yet don't know their names. I don't know their names either but I never really got attached to them. It's actually a problem they caused by not clearly introducing themselves or clearly mentioning their names during the shows. I find they just talk over each other mostly. It's not a problem that Red Letter Media has, you can see the difference in professional ability between their work.

[gbpxl]

most people just call them the slobs. its not the same without the slobs.

[Greg2600]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbX7W0bO2bc

Pretty informative video BTS of how James continues to make videos, and all the technical gremlins. He's been getting a lot of support from Screenwave. Plus, yes, the basement is still his basement, it's not a film set!

[Tron 2.0]

To bad that screenwave has allot of input :p Few months ago i unsubscribe to the avgn i'm just not entertain anymore so it was time to leave finally.

[Edmond Dantes]

Can you guys answer a question?

In his Incredible Crash Dummies for NES review... well, put simply, he has some weird trapezoidal-looking NES console that I've never seen before. Sitting right next to it is a type of SNES I've never seen before either.

What are those things? Are those some sort of aftermarket consoles or did one of his buddies make them?

[AdamAnt316]

Can you guys answer a question?

In his Incredible Crash Dummies for NES review... well, put simply, he has some weird trapezoidal-looking NES console that I've never seen before. Sitting right next to it is a type of SNES I've never seen before either.

What are those things? Are those some sort of aftermarket consoles or did one of his buddies make them?

The trapezoidal NES clone appears to be a RetroUSB AVS (https://www.retrousb.com/product_info.php?cPath=36&products_id=78), complete with four controller ports. The SNES clone to the right of it, however, is the 'SF' variant of the Super Nt (https://www.analogue.co/super-nt) by Analogue (note the stylized 'A' logo on top).
-Adam

[Greg2600]

The trapezoidal NES clone appears to be a RetroUSB AVS (https://www.retrousb.com/product_info.php?cPath=36&products_id=78), complete with four controller ports. The SNES clone to the right of it, however, is the 'SF' variant of the Super Nt (https://www.analogue.co/super-nt) by Analogue (note the stylized 'A' logo on top).
-Adam

Correct on all accounts.


To bad that screenwave has allot of input :p Few months ago i unsubscribe to the avgn i'm just not entertain anymore so it was time to leave finally.

I really know nothing of them, and while AVGN has become somewhat drag, it's still (to me) a nice watch for a few minutes while I'm having lunch.

[Edmond Dantes]

To be honest I can't tell the difference between classic AVGN and Screenwave-era. For me he's more of a guy who was always kinda bad but back then, I watched him because there was nobody else. But now that there are better youtube gamers, his shtick kinda feels like a throwback.

But this is the problem with any celebrity: first they do it out of enthusiasm, then it becomes just a way to make a paycheck.

I haven't watched the behind the scenes vid but I saw another forum have a bad reaction to it, saying quote "it reveals that the problem isn't Screenwave, it's Rolfe." Apparently a lot of his explanations are dumb or illogical or reveal he's been doing things in an ass-backwards way. I'm not sure what I would think though. I'm not into questioning guys like Rolfe who have way more experience than I do.

[Greg2600]

To be honest I can't tell the difference between classic AVGN and Screenwave-era. For me he's more of a guy who was always kinda bad but back then, I watched him because there was nobody else. But now that there are better youtube gamers, his shtick kinda feels like a throwback.

But this is the problem with any celebrity: first they do it out of enthusiasm, then it becomes just a way to make a paycheck.

I haven't watched the behind the scenes vid but I saw another forum have a bad reaction to it, saying quote "it reveals that the problem isn't Screenwave, it's Rolfe." Apparently a lot of his explanations are dumb or illogical or reveal he's been doing things in an ass-backwards way. I'm not sure what I would think though. I'm not into questioning guys like Rolfe who have way more experience than I do.

Well the guy is not an IT maven. Screenwave eventually hooked him up with likely cat6 gigabit cabling, a new file server, a new PC for capture, etc.

[gbpxl]

There's only so many times a guy can watch someone shit all over every single retro game he can get his hands on. I will give him credit for "Mimal" though, that was some funny shit.

[Gameguy]

To be honest I can't tell the difference between classic AVGN and Screenwave-era.
His videos got much longer, basically that's it. Too long for most of them. Really his best ones were his early short videos when he was basically still experimental and learning, to me he peaked when he first made his longer videos like Halloween and Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Then it pretty much stagnated and while I still watched his videos they didn't feel improved beyond that point, the videos really peaked that long ago. Getting celebrities more recently certainly hasn't improved things as they just felt like they were there for the sake of a cameo. Honestly he seems too old now to be playing this 20's aged character.

As for his other videos, his early reviews or overviews of movies as himself were also good, and were mostly short for each film he discussed. I've actually started watching compilations of them recently as he's edited them together and they do hold up. The worst videos about films were when he tried copying Red Letter Media and had the Screenwave crew join him, these were just awful rambling unending videos with mostly unlikable people. You really don't notice the Screenwave people in his video game reviews, his movie reviews are where they became unbearable.

[Edmond Dantes]

I think also a part of it is that things have changed. I probably said this already (sorry to be a broken record if so) but one appeal to AVGN back then was just... he as a youtuber who talked about the kind of games I would've played (or at least heard of) as a kid. Similar to Nostalgia Critic where he talked about stuff like Pebble and the Penguin I was vaguely aware of but didn't watch.

Nostalgia is funny to me. I don't get tingly feels playing Super Mario Bros, mostly because that game is overdone to me... but talk about something obscure I played as a kid, that might get a jolt, likely just because its not something I hear about every effing day.

But nowadays you have reviewers who do more analytical reviews like Ancient DOS Games, or else reviewers who have a different kind of humor (SomeCallMeJohnny is a mix of informative and occasionally funny). Also even when AVGN was new I sometimes hated how he would play up flaws (the Friday the 13th map is not annoying or hard to use at all... then again, I'm a guy who never got lost playing Wizardry so maybe I just have uncanny mutant powers or something). Although what really made that annoying is people never realized he was playing a character and would always act like these were objective reviews.

It's almost kinda sad now that when I watch Irate Gamer, he's actually gotten kinda good and feels genuinely enthusiastic, while back in the day he was just a shallow ripoff (to be fair I never hated him like most did). Recently Irate did a video about "lost worlds" in Super Mario Bros and that was better than it had any right to be. I'm not gonna subscribe or anything, but for a youtube video about video games I coudl've done much worse.

That said, AVGN did inspire me to pick up Darkman next time I see the trilogy DVD in a bargain bin, and I do like his Taito Legends review.

[WelcomeToTheNextLevel]

AVGN is still pretty good, and I still enjoy it, but I get a little less enjoyment now than I got back in the late 2000s when I was about 15-17 years old watching him. There have been some more recent episodes that I still put among my favorites - Sonic 06 and Town With No Name come to mind.

[Greg2600]

Honestly the shorter videos he's done lately are a lot better than doing long, drawn out ones, as it's over in 8-10 minutes. Not too long to drag on.

[Gameguy]

I think also a part of it is that things have changed. I probably said this already (sorry to be a broken record if so) but one appeal to AVGN back then was just... he as a youtuber who talked about the kind of games I would've played (or at least heard of) as a kid.
When he started it was about 15 years ago, I just felt differently about things in general back then so these types of scripted sketches aren't as appealing in general to me. Really, how many years do actual TV shows tend to last before completing or ending? Most are cancelled or ended between 4-8 years, maybe 10-12 if it's really good and popular. It's amazing to me that so many internet shows have lasted as long as they have, especially something like the AVGN which really just focuses on diarrhea type jokes in general.


Similar to Nostalgia Critic where he talked about stuff like Pebble and the Penguin I was vaguely aware of but didn't watch.
I never really watched Nostalgia Critic much, maybe a few early episodes years ago but not that many. His earlier reviews tended to focus on actual bad/mediocre movies or obscure ones, like the various animated Titanic movies as an example. Today he basically reviews recent popular movies as they'll get more searches and therefore more views compared to anything obscure. But those popular films are actually good, so there's really less to make fun of. He's started reviewing well loved movies like Disney's Hercules, what exactly can you make fun of with that? So his overall quality went down, especially since he added sketch comedy to his reviews awhile ago. He really wanted to be done with the character but just couldn't be successful with anything else so he had to keep going with it.


But nowadays you have reviewers who do more analytical reviews like Ancient DOS Games, or else reviewers who have a different kind of humor (SomeCallMeJohnny is a mix of informative and occasionally funny). Also even when AVGN was new I sometimes hated how he would play up flaws (the Friday the 13th map is not annoying or hard to use at all... then again, I'm a guy who never got lost playing Wizardry so maybe I just have uncanny mutant powers or something). Although what really made that annoying is people never realized he was playing a character and would always act like these were objective reviews.
There are definitely much better reviews for games by other reviewers, even back 10+ years ago I found much better reviews for old games. I found the Friday the 13th map confusing when I played the game years ago, but that was mostly because the controls were backwards and going left ended up moving right, etc. I'm sure I could have got used to it if I needed to but I just moved onto better games instead.


It's almost kinda sad now that when I watch Irate Gamer, he's actually gotten kinda good and feels genuinely enthusiastic, while back in the day he was just a shallow ripoff (to be fair I never hated him like most did). Recently Irate did a video about "lost worlds" in Super Mario Bros and that was better than it had any right to be. I'm not gonna subscribe or anything, but for a youtube video about video games I coudl've done much worse.
I never hated him but I never found him that great either, he was still better than a lot of other copy cat reviewers. Basically he just jumped on popular trends with his videos and only made game reviews because they were popular at the time, he also made ghost hunting videos at one point if you remember those. I still don't hate his videos and they're decently made.

While we're mentioning other reviewers, if you remember the Game Dude, he disappeared awhile ago and actually used to post here on the forums to promote his videos years back. All those threads are now locked because of spamming. I actually wanted to post an update to them as apparently recent documentaries came out following up on what happened to him. Long story short, he started stalking his ex girlfriend who cheated on him, started confronting law enforcement at the same time, and fled the country to avoid prosecution.


That said, AVGN did inspire me to pick up Darkman next time I see the trilogy DVD in a bargain bin, and I do like his Taito Legends review.
I actually have the Darkman trilogy on DVD and have been meaning to watch them, I have a pile of DVDs I'm meaning to watch first so it might be awhile. Never watched them before but they seemed interesting. I forget what reviews got me interested in the films, it could have been the AVGN but I think someone else also reviewed the series. I'm still looking for the first Taito Legends as well, eventually I'll find a cheap copy locally.


Honestly the shorter videos he's done lately are a lot better than doing long, drawn out ones, as it's over in 8-10 minutes. Not too long to drag on.
Very true, those recent ones are much better, though I would say basically on par with his earlier reviews rather than better. With age he's mellowed out a bit too so his fake rage just isn't as extreme as it used to be, which is partly why I say he's too old now for the part. It was also funnier when old games were less of a real collectible and most people just thought of the cheap/crappy games as disposable, like you wouldn't feel bad using a crap NES game as a drink coaster back then. Now every game is a part of history and needs to be saved and respected.

[Greg2600]

Very true, those recent ones are much better, though I would say basically on par with his earlier reviews rather than better. With age he's mellowed out a bit too so his fake rage just isn't as extreme as it used to be, which is partly why I say he's too old now for the part. It was also funnier when old games were less of a real collectible and most people just thought of the cheap/crappy games as disposable, like you wouldn't feel bad using a crap NES game as a drink coaster back then. Now every game is a part of history and needs to be saved and respected.

I enjoy the fact that he truly reviews, if briefly, the games in the shorter videos. In his earlier work, he would spend like 3 minutes on a game, sometimes less.

[Edmond Dantes]

I never really watched Nostalgia Critic much, maybe a few early episodes years ago but not that many. His earlier reviews tended to focus on actual bad/mediocre movies or obscure ones, like the various animated Titanic movies as an example. Today he basically reviews recent popular movies as they'll get more searches and therefore more views compared to anything obscure. But those popular films are actually good, so there's really less to make fun of. He's started reviewing well loved movies like Disney's Hercules, what exactly can you make fun of with that? So his overall quality went down, especially since he added sketch comedy to his reviews awhile ago. He really wanted to be done with the character but just couldn't be successful with anything else so he had to keep going with it.

Admittedly at first I wasn't a huge NC fan either, because like AVGN he tended to be unfair to movies, often doing the cinemasins thing of acting like something isn't explained when it actually is, among other things... and also because I found that NC was only occasionally funny. Like for every one "made me laugh out loud" video, five or ten would be just "mildly amusing."

Comedy in general is a weird thing. If I've been away from it for awhile and then I go watch certain funny reviews or whatever, it'll be the most hilarious thing ever... but as soon as I look for more it just starts to feel tired. I have this experience with Phelous a lot... I'll watch enough of him to get bored, but then months later will come back and be reminded just how insane Dingo Pictures movies are.



There are definitely much better reviews for games by other reviewers, even back 10+ years ago I found much better reviews for old games. I found the Friday the 13th map confusing when I played the game years ago, but that was mostly because the controls were backwards and going left ended up moving right, etc. I'm sure I could have got used to it if I needed to but I just moved onto better games instead.

For some reason the whole right-and-left thing just never confused me, I don't know why.


While we're mentioning other reviewers, if you remember the Game Dude, he disappeared awhile ago and actually used to post here on the forums to promote his videos years back. All those threads are now locked because of spamming. I actually wanted to post an update to them as apparently recent documentaries came out following up on what happened to him. Long story short, he started stalking his ex girlfriend who cheated on him, started confronting law enforcement at the same time, and fled the country to avoid prosecution.

It sounds like he was the Game Dude, he was so rude, he played the worst games with a bad attitude...

Yeah I heard of him. I actually first ran across him because of this series of Youtube videos called "I Can't Believe Its Not AVGN!" who mostly just plastered text over game reviews to criticize them, sometimes with some actual video editing. I Can't Believe... tho was a big fan of Channel Awesome and like them, just loved running gags--in particular I remember this recurring clip of a kid who said "I didn't know!" whenever someone would state the obvious.

Anyway, my first encounter with Game Dude is he actually did a response to one of I Can't Believe...'s videos, and there was a sort of feud between them for awhile. I also do recall at some point seeing Game Dude's posts here and how he spammed. He struck me as a guy with problems back then, so when I later learned of his legal troubles, I was like "figures."

Sort of similar to all these e-celebs who are now involved in controversies... in a lot of cases, the signs were there.


I'm still looking for the first Taito Legends as well, eventually I'll find a cheap copy locally.

I used to own both of them on PS2, wound up selling them some time back. I've heard that Japan's version, "Taito Memories" (of which there are four discs, not just two, and they include a lot of games Legends does not) are way better... but I don't have a modded/import PS2 to play those on.

These days, since I've had money troubles, I'm more keen on emulation for this type of thing, and I tend to find that in most of these compilations there's only like four games I like. One thing that bothered me right off the bat is that the Legends version of Space Gun has no option to use an actual light-gun... you have to play with a controller. Granted, ever since my CRT died, that could be construed as a plus...


Very true, those recent ones are much better, though I would say basically on par with his earlier reviews rather than better. With age he's mellowed out a bit too so his fake rage just isn't as extreme as it used to be, which is partly why I say he's too old now for the part. It was also funnier when old games were less of a real collectible and most people just thought of the cheap/crappy games as disposable, like you wouldn't feel bad using a crap NES game as a drink coaster back then. Now every game is a part of history and needs to be saved and respected.

Honestly this brings me to something that annoys me.... Rolfe is AFAIK not even really a gamer, yet he has all this gaming swag I would love and cherish. Sometimes even redundancies (he has TWO copies of Phantasy Star II on Genesis, both with case!)

Like, he could put that on ebay and make lots of money if he needs it, and it could wind up in the hands of someone who would actually want to use it.

And then I see reviews like Crash Dummies where he seems to have destroyed an actual cartridge, or worse, episodes where he destroys consoles... I can only hope that those are some sort of camera trickery or that he's only breaking things already proven to not work. Seeing someone break these just for a damn youtube video these days is kind of grating.

That and you could argue the AVGN is a huge part of why retro game prices went through the roof.

[Gameguy]

Admittedly at first I wasn't a huge NC fan either, because like AVGN he tended to be unfair to movies, often doing the cinemasins thing of acting like something isn't explained when it actually is, among other things... and also because I found that NC was only occasionally funny. Like for every one "made me laugh out loud" video, five or ten would be just "mildly amusing."
As a person the NC seems decent in real life, he seems laid back and can take jokes aimed at him pretty well. I wasn't really bothered by his reviews being unfair, they're not really balanced reviews but general complaints why he personally doesn't like a movie, just as I can ask anyone here about a movie they didn't like and ask them why. It's more about just not finding him or his jokes all that funny, at least to the point where I would want to devote hours of my time to watch his content.


Comedy in general is a weird thing. If I've been away from it for awhile and then I go watch certain funny reviews or whatever, it'll be the most hilarious thing ever... but as soon as I look for more it just starts to feel tired. I have this experience with Phelous a lot... I'll watch enough of him to get bored, but then months later will come back and be reminded just how insane Dingo Pictures movies are.
It's the same way with Phelous for me, I occasionally watched his stuff but it's pretty rare. Also the same with Obscurus Lupa as well, and most of the Channel Awesome people if I really think about it. Don't know why but I never really found most of them that funny to the point of regularly watching their content.


For some reason the whole right-and-left thing just never confused me, I don't know why.
It's mainly when I want to go in one direction, I travel along and then look at the map to find I've been moving in the wrong direction. It's just a bit frustrating when everything is timed and it takes more time to backtrack. Really I know I could get used to how the game works but I never bothered to devote too much time to it.


I used to own both of them on PS2, wound up selling them some time back. I've heard that Japan's version, "Taito Memories" (of which there are four discs, not just two, and they include a lot of games Legends does not) are way better... but I don't have a modded/import PS2 to play those on.

These days, since I've had money troubles, I'm more keen on emulation for this type of thing, and I tend to find that in most of these compilations there's only like four games I like. One thing that bothered me right off the bat is that the Legends version of Space Gun has no option to use an actual light-gun... you have to play with a controller. Granted, ever since my CRT died, that could be construed as a plus...
I've heard that the Japanese versions are better in some way, I'm forgetting now in what way though. I do agree with you about the lack of light gun support as it really seems like an oversight. I basically just buy games I come across in person so I'll consider the import versions if I actually come across them locally, I do have a modded system that should be able to handle imports just fine. I still buy them cheap so if there's just a handful I like it's still well worth owning. I would say that the Taito collections are better than most other compilations I know of, as an example there's very little on Rare Replay that would interest me. And I would always want a CRT, I would keep an eye out for another one if I needed to, though they are starting to get hard to find compared to previous years.


Honestly this brings me to something that annoys me.... Rolfe is AFAIK not even really a gamer, yet he has all this gaming swag I would love and cherish. Sometimes even redundancies (he has TWO copies of Phantasy Star II on Genesis, both with case!)
I'm pretty sure he received various games as donations at some point, and some reviewers basically refuse to sell or give away gifts they receive, even if they have doubles. I know Bennett the Sage does this with anime he receives as a donation, he keeps the copies he gets as a gift but is ok with selling off DVDs he originally bought himself.

Rolfe is more into games now than when he first started, but he does play games quite a bit. He did that streaming show with Mike for years, which I never actually watched as it's all a giant time sink. I don't play games as much as that, so who's to really say who else is a gamer or not.


And then I see reviews like Crash Dummies where he seems to have destroyed an actual cartridge, or worse, episodes where he destroys consoles... I can only hope that those are some sort of camera trickery or that he's only breaking things already proven to not work. Seeing someone break these just for a damn youtube video these days is kind of grating.
It used to bother me a lot more when any old game item was damaged or destroyed, it still does but it just doesn't get to me as much as it used to. During film production there's a normal cost to props or items that can be broken or destroyed during filming, like breaking a flower vase or a table. Really the cost of most games were really cheap so it does make sense that real cartridges were destroyed at one point, I'm not sure if it's the case now as various games got much more expensive since then and I think he borrows rare games for reviews more often instead of owning them.


That and you could argue the AVGN is a huge part of why retro game prices went through the roof.
Maybe only partially, he mostly just talked about the crappy games nobody liked to play. It was other youtube people talking about "hidden gems" that started driving up prices, talking about overlooked games that are worth playing. Maybe the AVGN got more people back into older games but I don't think he focused much on the pricing or value of items.

[WelcomeToTheNextLevel]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghAbmH7To-w

[Greg2600]

Now I thought his Rocketeer episode was pretty good. Short, simple, hit all the points of why the games stunk.

[gbpxl]

Does AVGN ever review any games he likes or does he just shit all over every single game he makes a video about

[Greg2600]

Does AVGN ever review any games he likes or does he just shit all over every single game he makes a video about

:rolleyes:

[Gentlegamer]

Does AVGN ever review any games he likes or does he just shit all over every single game he makes a video about


James Rolfe actually likes many of the games on AVGN.

[Gameguy]

I'm surprised nobody posted this here.




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CixRRG64HM

[Greg2600]

He hasn't done much AVGN lately, just C64 and LJN games. Not a bad one to return with.

[Edmond Dantes]

These days I'm mixed on the Nerd.

I don't completely hate his new vids like most do (in fact I like that the gross-out humor has been toned down--that was always my least favorite aspect of the character) but it feels like a lot of the games he picks on have either already been ripped apart (Town With No Name was already covered by Retsupurae) or aren't bad enough to deserve a ripping (Pac-Man 2 The New Adventures is genuinely good, I don't care what anyone says).

There's also the problem that more information exists now. It was one thing back in the day for him to not know about the glitch that lets you completely skip the ring segments in Superman 64 or not know some game was actually a C64 port (and better on the C64 usually), but then his revisit to Superman 64 happened literally a year after the Games Done Quick run which exposed a lot of the glitches, including the one that lets you skip the rings... but he continues acting as if he lives in a bubble.

[leatherrebel5150]

Theres glitches to get around the rings? I didn’t know that

[Tron 2.0]

These days I'm mixed on the Nerd.

I don't completely hate his new vids like most do (in fact I like that the gross-out humor has been toned down--that was always my least favorite aspect of the character) but it feels like a lot of the games he picks on have either already been ripped apart (Town With No Name was already covered by Retsupurae) or aren't bad enough to deserve a ripping (Pac-Man 2 The New Adventures is genuinely good, I don't care what anyone says).

There's also the problem that more information exists now. It was one thing back in the day for him to not know about the glitch that lets you completely skip the ring segments in Superman 64 or not know some game was actually a C64 port (and better on the C64 usually), but then his revisit to Superman 64 happened literally a year after the Games Done Quick run which exposed a lot of the glitches, including the one that lets you skip the rings... but he continues acting as if he lives in a bubble.
Watch any of his most recent video's and you can tell he doesn't have that enthusiasm anymore.Current avgn is pretty much on autopilot now,given his channel network does most of the heavy lifting.James should really retire the avgn character but the problem is he's lock into it with a family to take care of now.

[Gameguy]

I was mostly surprised that it had a title card by Mike Matei, I thought he was done with this stuff and moved on.

[Greg2600]

I was mostly surprised that it had a title card by Mike Matei, I thought he was done with this stuff and moved on.

Well he reviewed the game years ago, when Mike did that art, so he reused it.

[Gameguy]

Well he reviewed the game years ago, when Mike did that art, so he reused it.
He said that but I thought that was staged, like he recorded that recently and tried to make it look old.

[Greg2600]

He said that but I thought that was staged, like he recorded that recently and tried to make it look old.

LOL, yes, there was a transition segment that was obviously new footage but the beginning was old.

[Zap!]

Watch any of his most recent video's and you can tell he doesn't have that enthusiasm anymore.Current avgn is pretty much on autopilot now,given his channel network does most of the heavy lifting.James should really retire the avgn character but the problem is he's lock into it with a family to take care of now.

I think he's just really depressed about his hair. If you pay close attention (not saying you haven't) to his videos in the last 5 years he has gone through dramatic efforts to cover it up. I can tell that hair loss is seriously bothering him.

[Greg2600]

I think he's just really depressed about his hair. If you pay close attention (not saying you haven't) to his videos in the last 5 years he has gone through dramatic efforts to cover it up. I can tell that hair loss is seriously bothering him.

Ha ha ha! I'm not sure about that, but when he has to do these "flashbacks" obviously he has to make it "appear" like himself from a decade ago when he had more.

[Edmond Dantes]

Theres glitches to get around the rings? I didn’t know that

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiAYP6P_lJo&t=1855s

Should be timecoded to skip straight to the game (GDQ videos usually have lots of fluff before the actual run starts), but if that doesn't work, skip to 30:55.

Although the actual glitch they use happens near the end of the game.

Basically its supposed to be one of those games where you have to play it on harder difficulties to get the true ending and it cuts you off early on easier difficulties (And the easiest one has no rings, you just fly to the endpoint).... but this speedrunner found a way to beat it on easy, then turn it up to normal, and then hard, and each time just pick up where they left off.

[ncman071]

avgn is def toned down these days

[Edmond Dantes]

Gotta be honest, first the LJN marathon actually kind of felt profound. Like I felt like an era was ending or something.

Made better, the Last Ninja video almost kinda follows it up, with AVGN trying to be more forgiving of the game's flaws (although really, Last Ninja does look like sh--).

Why is it called "Last Ninja" anyway? It makes me wonder if its related to the Amiga "First Samurai" games.

And then the Contra video kinda brought a tear to my eye.

Having binged some recent seasons, I can certainly see why people thought he went downhill, but hopefully he's rising back up.

Here's a flaw I don't think many people have brought up.... as Rolfe himself said in that VHS memories video, the theme of his channel is nostalgia. But then for awhile he was reviewing recent crap nobody cares about, and I think there was also an emphasis on celebrity guest stars and such. I don't watch AVGN to hear about Life of Black Tiger, and to be honest... when an old game is bad, its sometimes bad in an interesting way (Last Ninja is a good example here). When a modern game is bad, it tends to be all the same sh--..... asset flips or incomplete games flooded onto app stores.

There's a reason there's a fan project to remake Action 52. It was bad but it could've been interesting. Life of Black Tiger is just some poor man's attempt at a Lion King/Kimba the White Lion game but with a tiger instead.

[Slate]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fg1oKKz7NOw

It's been ages (if ever) since I replied here. I saw the C64 video, I thought that one was good.

And here's one I liked a bit more than others, and I never had a cat, and I can't really have a cat. If nothing else, it seems like James might have enjoyed the making of this episode more than others lately.

- Austin

[Tron 2.0]

I hate mondays ~_^

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYlAed4EaPc

[Greg2600]

Garfield one was pretty good. He begins with a nice recap of Garfield history, followed by being incredibly annoyed with the lousy FamiCom game. Having him try the end boss over and over was funny. Then goes off the rails with Bugs Bunny. How does he completely forget that Lorenzo Music voiced both Garfield AND Peter Venkman in the 1980s cartoons?

[Gameguy]

This thread hasn't been updated in awhile, I'll post the most recent videos below.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPG4s1jT01U


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoMckPTBUeo

[Greg2600]

Actually a decent review of the Earthworm Jim games.

[Greg2600]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPsN_rcEpu4

In honor of the new Indiana Jones film....James de-ages himself?

[Osirus]

At least Bald James finally stopped attempting that awful combover.

[Tron 2.0]

Once in awhile i'll watch the latest avgn but this recent one did amused me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_y7iz7jzmmY

[Gameguy]

I saw his latest video on Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, I liked it. It felt like his older videos.

[Greg2600]

I saw his latest video on Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, I liked it. It felt like his older videos.

Yeah it was good production value.

[Gameguy]

There's a new video out.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8txDyH9ug0

[Greg2600]

I saw that one, it's obviously not a "hater" video since you cannot hate on a classic. He battles through an extremely long and tedious game, and frankly it's pretty entertaining.

[YoshiM]

Ugh, I felt his pain with a lost save not with FF III/VI but with the original NES Final Fantasy. I slogged through it and got to a particular point kinda far and saved it. Next time I played, all the data was gone. I tested the cart and it did save and it kept the save, so it might have been something funky when I turned it off or something. This was close to maybe 25 years ago or so when I got the game for a good price new (I think $20?). I didn't touch the game since.

[Greg2600]

Ugh, I felt his pain with a lost save not with FF III/VI but with the original NES Final Fantasy. I slogged through it and got to a particular point kinda far and saved it. Next time I played, all the data was gone. I tested the cart and it did save and it kept the save, so it might have been something funky when I turned it off or something. This was close to maybe 25 years ago or so when I got the game for a good price new (I think $20?). I didn't touch the game since.

I let out a good LOL when they tripped on the plug and yanked the AC Adapter out of the wall! This was a frequent occurrence back then, and usually it was a devious friend or relative looking to prank you. Once my friend @Rob2600 was having a birthday party, and a neighbor was playing Zelda II, and he was great at this game. He was intending to beat it and we're all watching. But the power brick was plugged in at a precarious location on the wall and the kid's stupid brother leaned over and accidentally knocked it out when we were very, very close to the end of the game, after he'd played all night! A brawl ensued.

[Gameguy]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrlJKhutYvI

[Gametrek]

Thanks for sharing about this guys feed, and all. My response is to the
FF6 review. Goonies was a nice movie but honestly for the actors and not
for the watchers becuase "Frightnight" was a lot better, even as a family
film ( which is what Goonies was about ). I hate to be that kid on a NES
playing Goonies right now, because as with all of those "Movie-games" it
drives me insane to think about the lack of quality. When they do make an
ideal quality movie-game, as with Batman or Genesis Gargoyles ( which got a
remake ?? ). You miss it completely because you know it will be terrible or
boring. Which made me a Nintendo nutjob at the time.

The deal with FF and me was back when "Super Mario RPG" and "FF7 took-over
the market and invited people like me ( A nutjob Mario fan ) into the world
of RPG games. I would collect and buy all the SNES games from then ( I sold
some....sigh to recover when my computer was stolen from me ). However
honestly that died down when I realize I could not keep up with the consoles,
and emulation made it possible to load a disc and play on the computer.
I still play those games and could get lost in them for weeks or even years
at a time, without rushing. However as with all games they must be easy for
people to progress. The reviewer fails to mention this fact. As with one-hit
Kefka Pheonix-down. Which is a big joke within itself.

The review itself was meh. I will admit the whole save thing has occur to
me a couple of times. Another reason why I give up on physical videogames
all together. Because of the save battery issue. This forces me to open
the cart and test the battery and then replace it, however I have games
with batteries with saves from so long ago.

However honestly FF6 ( 3 ) intro was allways touching especially with
biggs and wedges ( from Starwars ). Those two reoccuring character literally
are like Number 21 and 24 from "Venture Brothers". If you look at all of their
obvious appearances, they are best part of the game. Like Gilgamesh from
FFV.

Then of course there was all of the lines and gags during the entire game.
The sad part is that as a kid or young-adult you do not really appreciate
or get these things until later in life. However the translation was never
a good translation. In fact the horror of the GBA translation, outside of removing
the scene where Celes was tortured, makes you wonder if FFV port would have
removed the "she is a girl scene" and pixel boobies "Dragon Ball" moment.
Just the fact they removed the scene, and they swapped the Kefka art to all
of the pop-culture references they installed. It is like how in "Lupin the 3rd"
on Cartoon Network they wrote in "Halle Berrie" in a Cartoon that took place
during the 1960-1970's. Same as with the mistranslations of "Super Milk Chan".
GBA FF6 = rubbish translation outside of the many extras, forcing us to play
the PSP or fan-restoration, translation, which is a big failure for something
so simple.

He also failed to mention the art censorship within the game itself on the SNES.
I understand that but honestly it just makes things more difficult. Still playable,
but again why.

See FF. After you start to realize the real life references and realize the
people making the game could care little or so less. You just do not want to checkout
FF. FF12 on the PS2 is probably as good as the game will ever be. Since FF14 they have
been "rehashing the past" with secret Boss-battles ( like the incomplete Ex-Death )
which is missing fighting the quadropel Ex-deaths. Even using Ultros in a battle.
It just proves how lack of creativity the series have gotten far.

VGNerd also fails to mentions Kefka's hate-speech or even the censoring of that in itself.
You think about it, Kefka has to be more insane then how Europe delt with Jews ( which they
sadly failed ).

When I look to RPGs now it has to be like "Fear and Hunger 1 and 2" or even
something like "Rockman Dash" oreinted.

I do not give a JJ about VNerd because while doing this in his basement.
He had a wife that would pay the bills, and second he has a brother who
is prolific in Hollywood films. It is like how "Press Start" creator
literally ports Turkish films and others to the West, and one of those
people ( like Smithers cop-off ) is a Theater teacher right now. About
the "Comb-Over" science has already taken care of that so there is no reason
why he does not grow some new hair ( JFHairclubmen ) or even transplant hair
from another location on his body. You literally could transplant hair from
other areas of the head to any where you want. I remember when I was in college
( still am ) and ran into this Big VNerd-fan. This guy would not STFU about
Zelda and was a super Anime Weaboo. Eyes poping out, but what is funny we
had a Japanese student in our class and he literally hit it off with that person.
If fact I barely watched Youtube during that time at all, and relied on DLC and
forums for my info.

[Tron 2.0]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrlJKhutYvI
Both goonies video games are still my favorites though part II was definitely to cryptic for it's own good.

[guitargary75]

This is my first reply in like 12 years here! I can’t believe the nerd is still relevant? Glad to hear it. I still watch his stuff from time to time.

[Slate]

This is my first reply in like 12 years here! I can’t believe the nerd is still relevant? Glad to hear it. I still watch his stuff from time to time.

Welcome back.

Yeah, James is still making the videos after about 20 years, counting the first 2 episodes that weren't published to Youtube until early 2006. And he's also one of the first guys to post video game reviews on Youtube, or anywhere on the internet, and then gain a following.

Youtube was tiny in the early years...

- Austin

[Tron 2.0]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TM_OsuJduwI

[Nz17]

"The Angry Video Game Nerd 8-bit" video game cartridges for NES have been announced by him and Mega Cat Studios.

[JSoup]

Tangentially related, and I'm not linking videos for this garbage, but people are saying AVGN is a nazi now or something. He did a cameo on that anti-woke game awards show StutteringCraig put on recently. That's literally it.

Edit: In case this needs to be said, it's a nothingburger people are deciding to be mad about.

[JSoup]

It's Gex time.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nH325JnIMZs

[JSoup]

Dragon's Lair Re-Revisited

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLeVXzgZ3so