thecreeper

15 years ago today, The minibosses forum moved to the shizz dot org, slash forum. While theshizz existed before that, and so did the minibosses booger board, all those subforums are dead, so I consider today to be theshizz's anniversary.

 

here are some of the scintillating topics from 15 years ago. it was a simpler time.

 

while i joined in August of that year, i had browsed since the booger board days, so the fact that it has been 15(+) years is still a little crazy to me. i was a bored college kid with too much time on his hands in 2003, and now i'm an old dad man with no time to spare. it's also just dawning on me that i have a minibosses show to go to this week. that's some good symmetry. 

 

the people on this forum have been responsible for some of the best experiences and weekends i've had over that time, and i just want to thank anyone who let me crash on their floor, welcomed me into their house, drove me to shows, took me to new places, and shared their games, food, and drink with me. this community persists because of the kindness and generosity and creativity and general radness of all involved.

 

thank you, shizz

hello friends,

this is the free stuff thread. i have stuff i no longer want and the shizz might want. it is all free.

common sense rules apply if you'd like to follow suit and offer things up for free:

1. giver: items are free, don't expect any money.
2. taker: if you want to send the giver a few bucks for shipping or just to say thanks, that's fine. If you are outside the US, please be considerate of escalated shipping.
3. try to handle things via PM for claiming items or if you need to arrange shipping.
4. generally, don't try to give away things that would be considered illegal or pirated.
5. first come, first serve.

without further ado......

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- first up on the block are leftover shizz shirts from yesteryear. they are all new with tags still on them, the last of limited suite fundraiser runs.

SHIZZ (SHAQ logo - second print), X-Large, purple, silver metallic lettering



SHIZZ (SHAQ logo - first print), Large, purple, gold metallic lettering - [claimed]


SHIZZ (SECTION Z logo), X-Large, Navy (lighter than it appears in photo) - [claimed]


-----------------------------

- next up is a series of download cards I received with records that I didn't need since I also got the tracks digitally from my initial purchase. feel free to take them at will, and let me know if you did, so i can mark them claimed.

Wolf Parade - Cry Cry Cry

Death From Above - Outage is Now!


Japandroids - Near The Wild Heart of Life


Diarrhea Planet - Turn To Gold


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- next item is a copy of CRACKDOWN for Xbox 360. It is disc only in a blockbuster video case, minor scratches, it ran the last time i touched it back in like 2010.

-----------------------------

- last item for tonight is:

Comic Book Mystery Box #1

Here's what I can tell you:

- It will include a semi-recent graphic novel
- It will contain at least 10 random comics
- I gave all my Al Bundy comics to Rocquero, so you won't get those

shizz,

 

perhaps you've seen some recent attempts to make a comprehensive list of games. all i can say is its certainly an undertaking and there are a lot of games. a lot of games! i'm feeling overwhelmed and i want to lie down. 

 

but! but i'm confident that the shizz dot org slash forums can make a list of games that definitely existed. a list of games that someone probably played! we need lists! the rules here are as follows:

 

- decrement the list

- the game probably should have been released

- maybe you should have played it once?

- first come first serve. respect rule of "first"

 

ok time to start. #500, i know you are excited

 

 

 

 

500. Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Iron & Blood - Warriors of Ravenloft

(1996, Playstation)

 

My brother rented this game back when it came out. It was a fighting game and he said "i want to play a fighting game for my Playstation, I just bought this." he rented it from the local A-Z Video Store in Kendig Square near us. It's not there anymore. It was a 3 day rental that we got on Friday, and returned Sunday night. The game wasn't very good but we played a lot of matches. I remember the controls being terrible and sluggish. I didn't know what Dungeons & Dragons was at that time. He returned it, and we never played it again.

 

 

looking forward to 499 and below.....................................................

 

THE LIST SO FAR:

 

Too often in life, the past narrative becomes lazy and reductionist as time goes on. This is especially true in video games, where mild inconveniences of the past become "unplayable" as time goes on, and one series just not being as good as another can eventually mean it was bad.

 

Sonic The Hedgehog debuted in 1991 and even in his earliest form, it was clear he was introduced as a direct competitor to Mario, but challenging the speed of game play and with highly appealing badass attitude to kids, in an era where Taz and Tweety were wearing backwards baseball caps and taking no shit. The game and its sequels were a huge success and propelled the Genesis into a very real competitor for Nintendo. In the 26 years since his introduction, Sonic games have endured a rollercoaster of ups, downs, and detours, and while Mario has mostly remained untouchable in his 30+ years, Sonic's rep has slowly fallen victim to the court of internet opinion.

 

Is Sonic really just a series that saw its peak at Sonic CD and never recovered?

 

Does the series continually need a course correction of nostalgia-infused side scrollers like Sonic 4, Generations, and Sonic Mania?

 

Is it a series that simply can't make the jump to 3D without losing part of its charm? A series that has been victim of losing the vision of its original creator?

 

Well, friends, I'm here to posit that Sonic, for nearly 30 years, through many fits and starts, has been Good Video Games.

 

- Unique twist on a standard formula: perhaps the reason Sonic is so often the subject of debates is that it is often hard to pinpoint what the appeal of the games is. "Gotta Go Fast" is most often cited as the key feature in those early games, and perhaps that is one of the most striking and defining features of the time. At times, you are moving so fast that the camera struggles to keep up with you, and I can't recall a game at that time that had such a visceral sense of speed. However, I think that one of the key overlooked features of those early years was the flow of the gameplay and how effortless and smooth it could feel. It was something that you could never quite put a finger on and define but there's a definite sense of speed and smoothness that other games clearly lacked.

 

- Portable Powerhouse: it's also easy to forget that for a time, the Game Gear was a big deal. And Sonic games were a huge part of that. If you owned a GG at its peak, you had Sonic games, possible many of them, and you played the hell out of them. These SMS/GG games were completely separate from their Genesis counterparts, and quality games in of themselves. Later, once Sega had left the portable market, we saw the emergence of the continually underrated Dimps developed Advance/Rush series on GBA and DS, as well as SNK developed Sonic Pocket Adventure on NGPC. While many people want to say that Sonic had a dark ages in 2000's, these games quietly continued to be released and be given positive reviews. In addition to that, Sonic has entertained a new generation of mobile gamers with competent and fun autorunners on phone platforms.

 

- Experimentation: Sonic has rarely been afraid to switch up the formula, and has been successful more often than not. From early attempts with pinball (Sonic Spinball), to experiments with different perspectives and playstyles (Sonic 3D Blast), role playing (Chronicles), puzzle (Mean Bean Machine), and a bevy of racing games.

 

- Those moments where it got 3D gaming right: it is perhaps impossible to have a conversation about Sonic's legacy without mentioning his console outings from the Dreamcast era through the 360/PS3 era. And perhaps this is where any argument for Sonic still being relevant falls apart for you. I'll admit that beyond the Sonic Adventure games, the list of titles fall pretty short for me. At best you have an array of uneven titles until the excellent Sonic Generations. However, the moments in Adventure where it all clicks were some special gaming moments when the Dreamcast was released. The sense of speed, of barreling through a 3D world, and the cinematic touches felt like a new generation of gaming in 1999. Since 1999, it has felt like a series of tests on what works and what doesn't, but by the time Generations had come around, it felt like they had figured out a lot of what works and what does not.

 

The issues with Sonic games where they were less well received is pretty clear:

 

- When the focus is on the unappealing story and extended universe of characters, the games suffer. No one wants to play 5 other furry characters other than Sonic, Tails, Knuckles.

 

- When they focus on precision platforming with their trademark slippery controls, the fun comes to a halt. it's never been a series strength, and attempts to force in these sort of elements never seem to work very well.

 

- Adding too many layers of complication gets away from the simplicity of the original design. This is a lesson the series has learned over time, but ultimately, there is such a thing as too many new powers and gimmicks. Sonic doesn't need swords, guns, brawling segments, or rail grinding.

 

Sega still has issues with quality control and just the dearth of titles they release under the Sonic banner, but let's not forget that there's been good Sonic games for years.

 

Please let me know your thoughts, and as always, please like, subscribe and donate.

 

Signed,

 

A guy who is a moderate fan of some Sonic games