Author: Dr. K

Game Corner [Sonic Month]: Sonic 3D Blast / Flickies’ Island (Mega Drive)

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Sonic the Hedgehog was first introduced to gamers worldwide on June 23 1991 and, since then, has become not only SEGA’s most enduring and popular character but also a beloved videogame icon. Thus, in keeping with tradition, I’m dedicating some time to celebrate SEGA’s supersonic mascot.

Released: 8 November 1996
Developer: Traveller’s Tales / Sonic Team
MobyGames Score: 6.9

Also Available For: GameCube, PC, Nintendo Wii (Virtual Console), PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, SEGA Saturn, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X

Quick Facts:
After Sonic became a pop culture icon, SEGA quickly capitalised with spin-off titles. However, costly add-ons for the Mega Drive meant there were in a tough spot when their expensive, cult classic SEGA Saturn, launched in 1994/1995. SEGA struggled to translate Sonic to 3D, leading to the cancellation of the ambitious Sonic X-treme. To fill the void, SEGA ported Sonic 3D, a game intended to be Sonic’s 16-bit swansong, resulting in some much-needed improvements to the title. Impressed by their work with Disney videogames, SEGA approached Traveller’s Tales to develop the game, which was created in just eight months. Inspired by Donkey Kong Country (Rare, 1994), the developers used the tried-and-tested isometric perspective to simulate a 3D environment. Sonic 3D was surprisingly praised for its gameplay mechanics and ambitious visuals, though many criticised the game’s easy difficulty and clunky gameplay.

Gameplay and Power-Ups:
Sonic 3D: Flickies’ Island (as I’ve always known it) advertises itself as Sonic’s first 3D romp but is actually an isometric action game that’s basically a remake of the classic SEGA arcade game Flicky (SEGA, 1984). While many of the traditional Sonic mechanics and tropes remain, the new perspective and focus on rescuing Flickies significantly changes the usual gameplay, slowing the action and putting more emphasis on exploration. As ever, players collect Golden Rings to stay alive; 100 grant an extra life and players get a score bonus at the end of each level (or “Act”). There are no underwater sections in Sonic 3D so there’s no danger of drowning, and (thankfully!) no bottomless pits. Even insta-kill crushing hazards are few and far between, though players must avoid spikes, lava, and slippery ice. There are seven worlds (or “Zones”) to play through, each with three Acts (the third being a boss battle against Dr. Eggman), and no time limit (though, again, players get a time bonus upon competing an Act). From the main menu, players can tinker with the controls but they’re ridiculously simple: two buttons see you perform Sonic’s iconic spin jump to bop Badniks and hop to springs and platforms, while one sees you rev up and blast away with his Spin Dash. Both are quite irksome as Sonic 3D isn’t built for speed and Sonic slips and slides about even on stable ground, and the isometric perspective makes it tricky to judge the angle of your attack. Players can smash monitors to gain additional Rings, a near useless speed boost, an extra life, or a limited invincibility. There are also three shields to find that protect you from one hit: a regular blue shield, an extremely useful red shield that also makes you fireproof, and a gold shield that adds a super helpful homing attack to your jump to easily smash nearby Badniks. Players start with three lives and no continues, but can earn continues by collecting Sonic icons floating above springs; get ten and you get a continue.

Search all around for Flickies, using Zone gimmicks to rescue and safeguard the elusive birds.

Sonic uses boost pads, loops, springs, and special fans to twirl around like a tornado and smash pillars in Rusty Ruin Zone to reach other areas. You must also keep an eye out for cracked walls as these can be Spin Dashed into to access hidden areas. Sometimes, cannons blast you across stages; other times, pipes and teleports blast you across the surprisingly large maps. You’ll need all these gimmicks, and more, to hunt down the Badniks roaming the first and second Acts of each Zone. Unlike in other Sonic games, where bashing Badniks is somewhat optional, it’s mandatory in Sonic 3D as you must collect the Flickies each robot releases. Each Act has up to three areas in it, each with five Badniks (and therefore five Flickies) to find and bring to a Dimension Ring. Flickies trail behind you, giving you extra reach to snag Sonic icons, and are protected by your shields and invincibility, but you lose them if your trail is hit. You must then recollect the Flickies you’ve lost, which can be tricky as each has a different personality. The traditional blue Flickies actively fly towards Sonic or circle around; the pink ones are the same but fly in bigger circles; red Flickies don’t try to find Sonic and are hard to snag due to their large jumps; and green Flickies wander around at random, sometimes avoiding Sonic! Acts can be quite large and have many branching paths or sections, meaning you must often do multiple laps to find all the Badniks and Flickies, though the heads-up display helpfully keeps track of how many you’ve found. When you reach Panic Puppet Zone, the Badniks are empty so you must liberate Flickies from capsules, and every time you bring them to a Dimension Ring, you get a point bonus and activate a transport or path to another section. This mechanic is quite fun, on paper, and adds extra incentive to smash Badniks, but it can get frustrating running in circles looking for Badniks or if your Flickies get separated near dangerous sections. Sonic’s so slippery and sluggish that it makes precise movements difficult, to say nothing of jumps, attacks, and retrieving Flickies being compounded by the isometric angle.

The game’s simple difficulty is compounded by the awkward camera and clunky controls.

This is even more annoying in the many sections where players must jump, spring, or float to shifting or temporary platforms on angled slopes. It’s extremely difficult to angle Sonic correctly, causing you to constantly slip and have to retry, something even more aggravating when you must take a long route back around. Spikes jut from the floor or buzz along the walls, destructible stones reveal lava tiles surrounding shortcut tubes, the floor is often electrified or defending by land mines, and flames burst from the walls or up from lava. Sonic can hop to ballons (if you can angle him right) to avoid many hazards, or float about using floor fans, and high-speed tubes and teleports or hidden passageways will provide shortcuts. Often, areas are defended by turrets that fire laser bolts or rapid-fire projectiles. Some springs are buried beneath destructible snow drifts in Diamond Dust Zone, and you’ll bounce around like a pinball by Spring Stadium Zone’s bumpers and spring tiles. Diamond Dust Zone also features rushing water you must frantically jump across to avoid being pushed into icicles. Spear-like spikes jut from the floor, you’ll sometimes use wall springs or awkward jumps to cross gaps or hop to moving or temporary platforms (thankfully not that often, given the janky perspective), and you’ll be frantically seeking out a red shield in Volcano Valley Zone to safely cross lava and survive the many flaming hazards. Even when floor tiles open, you won’t fall to your death, at least, and the game is mostly pretty easy. It can be aggravating running around looking for Badniks and Flickies, especially in the more confusing Zones like Gene Gadget Zone, and hazards increase as you reach the endgame, but there are no cheap deaths in Sonic 3D. Still, the pacing can be very draining since the areas are so big, and the Badniks only pose a significant threat in Panic Puppet Zone, where you can largely ignore them.

Presentation:
I remember getting Sonic 3D for Christmas as a kid. Back then, I was super excited for it and really enjoyed the new graphical approach, especially as the game ambitiously sticks pre-rendered videos and imaging onto a Mega Drive cart. Unfortunately, Sonic 3D hasn’t aged very gracefully and Donkey Kong Country was never at risk of being surpassed by it. The game makes a bad impression right away, replacing the iconic “SE-GAA!” fanfare with a desperate scream, before treating players to one of the blurriest and most pixelated pre-rendered openings of the era. The pre-rendered stills used in cutscenes are much more effective, and Sonic 3D is one of the few classic Sonic titles to use story text and even dialogue for Sonic in its cutscenes. Players are then dropped into an isometric landscape that is a real mixed bag. On one hand, the environments are somewhat impressive and fun to look at, particularly the outer edges, but the checkerboard floor tiles are ridiculously basic and really distract from the pre-rendered environments. In this regard, the Saturn fares much better, bringing environments to life with much more detail. Sonic looks pretty good and still taps his foot impatiently when left idle, but his sprite is very blurred and indistinct, and he hobbles about like he’s on rollerskates most of the time. Miles “Tails” Prower and Knuckles the Echidna appear as cameos, performing their own idles, which is a nice touch (though Knuckles’s socks are the wrong colour…) and I liked that Dr. Eggman’s crafts show battle damage as you land hits and that the Flickies had distinct personalities. While Sonic 3D recycles some sound effects from Sonic & Knuckles (SEGA Technical Institute, 1994), which is a bit cheap, they’re some of the best, bombastic sound effects in the classic games and the excellent soundtrack, courtesy of Jun Senoue, more than makes up for it. The boss themes and the likes of Green Grove Zone and Panic Puppet Zone, especially, really stood out for me and I’m glad some of the game’s music was repurposed for Sonic Adventure (Sonic Team, 1998) as Sonic 3D has some of the best tunes in the classic games.

As colourful and ambitious as Sonic 3D is, the Saturn version is visually superior.

It’s thus a shame that the Zones are so painfully lacklustre. The action begins in Green Grove Zone, which is essentially just Green Hill Zone in a pseudo-3D style. There are loops, ponds, grassy verges, and hills and dips all around this simplistic sandbox that allows players to get to grips with Sonic 3D’s clunky controls and gameplay mechanics. Things improve with Rusty Ruins Zone, where you explore the ruins of an ancient civilisation, smashing pillars and spotting vases and suits of armour in the moss-encrusted brickwork. This Zone uses a unique mechanic where players must carefully manoeuvre Sonic as he spins like a top, trying not to bounce off walls and into the spinning maces, to break open new areas. Spring Stadium Zone is an isometric rendition of the classic pinball trope, with players being bounced around by bumpers and spring tiles. Balloons help get you to higher ground, spiral tubes blast you around, and there’s far more emphasis on vertical traversal. Diamond Dust Zone is a frozen landscape of snow, freezing cannons, slippery slopes, and rushing water. Sonic can be frozen into an ice cube, must avoid exploding snowmen, and will skid along uncontrollably on ice. Volcano Valley Zone is kind of an isometric interpretation of Lava Reef Zone, featuring painful lava all over, flame bursts, hidden tubes, and elevators you must activate with your Spin Dash. Gene Gadget Zone is one of Dr. Eggman’s mechanical facilities, featuring a mess of tubes and wires, propellers to float you across gaps, energy barriers to dispel with Flickies, and teleporters to disorientate you. Panic Puppet Zone is the heart of Dr. Eggman’s operation, as indicated by his gigantic statue which you must work your way into. Flickies are held in capsules here, conveyor belts must be reversed so you can progress, and there are many annoying slopes with moving platforms on them. Things end up very basic in the finale, which is largely a black void filled with sparkling tiles, and even the Special Stages are disappointingly simple as you just run along a blurring path, the Rings vanishing with no special effect, compared to the Saturn version’s polygon halfpipe challenges.

Enemies and Bosses:
Naturally, Dr. Eggman’s encased the local Flickies into robotic Badniks, the most useless and ineffectual to date! Their primary threat comes from the game’s isometric angle, which makes targeting enemies difficult unless you have the gold shield, as Badniks don’t even fire projectiles until late in the game! Anyway, we’ve got a pretty mediocre affair here, with some recognisable faces tossed in for good measure. The Snake, for example, resembles a Caterkiller; the Bug is not unlike a Motobug; and the Octopus turret is a bit like an Octus. While the likes of Hunter, Shell, and Scorpy have spiked appendages, these are little threat unless you’re at the wrong angle. Mouses are quite fast and tend to wander near hazardous floor tiles, Spiders spit projectiles (but also don’t contain Flickies), and the robotic puffer fish inflate themselves to skewer you, forcing you to properly time your spin attack. Some are less than useless, however, like a Charmy Bee lookalike, defenceless robotic penguins, crocodiles, and dragonflies, and pogo-riding rabbits. Honestly, it’s the various turrets, floor tiles, spikes, and wall defences that give you the hardest time as these cannot be defeated. Most Badniks just wander in a circle or stand still, making them easy targets, but it can be tricky retrieving their Flickies. Naturally, every third Act features a battle against Dr. Eggman. These take place in an enclosed arena with a handful of Rings, but can also contain environmental hazards, like spikes and lava, and the final fights also have multiple phases. Again, the biggest challenge here is getting the angle of your attack right as you can often only attack when Dr. Eggman descends in his craft. Jump too soon and you’re liable to take a hit; jump too late and you might just bounce off without dealing damage.

Angle your jumps just right to smash Dr. Eggman’s pre-rendered crafts.

In the first fight, Dr. Eggman circles the arena and drops a spiked ball that bounces around; you can ram him when he descends to retrieve it. In the second, he hides inside an armoured suit and tries to crush you with stone paws. You must hop to these to ram his cockpit while avoiding pellets from his belly cannon. Spring Stadium Zone sees Dr. Eggman frantically slap his craft’s spiked arms to the floor, making him very difficult to hit due to the deceptive angle. Although he drops exploding snowmen and his craft is protected by freezing appendages in Diamond Dust Zone, this boss is far easier as you’ll destroy his defences with each hit. Volcano Valley Zone’s boss is a bit trickier, despite Dr. Eggman being stationary, due to the travelling flames, the flames bursting from the pipes, and the lava. However, you can stand in one spot and spam your spin attack as long as you keep collecting a Ring. Gene Gadget Zone’s boss is a bit like Quartz Quadrant’s as you’re on a treadmill and must keep running to avoid the wall spikes, while also dodging projectiles, though you still ram his craft to win. Panic Puppet Zone concludes in a three-stage battle, with Dr. Eggman fleeing to lower levels and utilising different attacks each time. You must lure his arms to slam the floor in the first phase, dodge his flames in the second, and frantically avoid the ricocheting bullets in the third, targeting the shoulders of his craft each time and disabling each appendage in turn. If you collect all seven Chaos Emeralds, you’re taken to “The Final Fight”, where Dr. Eggman’s battlecraft uses five different attacks across a looping stage and can only be hit once per section, when it briefly moves forwards. First, you must avoid the lasers shot by his fingers; then, you must dodge dancing flames; then, avoid his slamming spiked hands; he rains missiles in the fourth section, and fires ricocheting projectiles in the fifth. As long as a you hit him each time, you can beat this in two loops, but don’t linger when moving to each section as you’ll lose a life!

Additional Features:
There are loads of Sonic icons to find in Sonic 3D, with many requiring all five Flickies to reach. Ten grant a continue, which aren’t really necessary, but it gives you something else to do as you’re playing. Many areas sport hidden paths, tunnels, islands, or sections containing goodies like extra lives or shields, and you’ll encounter Tails and Knuckles in almost every Act. If you give them 50 Rings, you’ll warp to a Special Stage to challenge for one of the seven Chaos Emeralds, and Sonic 3D offers perhaps the easiest Special Stage in the entire series! You must run across a winding bridge, avoiding mines and collect 50, 100, then 150 Rings to get a Chaos Emerald, which is ridiculously easy to do (though finding Tails and Knuckles can be difficult). Though you won’t unlock Super Sonic, the seven Chaos Emeralds allow you to play “The Final Fight” and see the game’s true ending. If you fiddle with the Mega Drive cartridge, you can legitimately to unlock a level select feature (though a traditional push button code also exists on both this and the Saturn version). When playing on the SEGA Mega Drive Classics (SEGA/D3T, 2018), you can use the Right and Left triggers to rewind and fast forward the game, create and load save states, apply filters and borders, and earn a couple of Achievements.

Official and unofficial re-releases offer additional features alongside the standard true final boss.

If you’re lucky enough to own a SEGA Saturn, Sonic 3D has some additional features. Obviously, this version benefits from improved visuals, particularly in the appearance of the Zones, including textured floors and weather effects. The Special Stages are also completely different, featuring new cutscenes and a polygonal recreation of the iconic halfpipe stages. This version also features an improved and remixed soundtrack, clearer and longer pre-rendered cutscenes, and limits you to collecting one Chaos Emerald per act. However, the most definitive way to play Sonic 3D must be the Director’s Cut ROM hack by Jon Burton. This unofficially official re-release adds a world map so you can replay any Zone or Act, a time attack mode, a level editor, and a password feature to save your progress. Collecting the seven Chaos Emeralds also unlocks Super Sonic when you collect 50 Rings, giving you the benefits of all the game’s power-ups, as well as a score attack mode after attaining 100% completion. Sonic is made faster, the camera is vastly improved, and Sonic only loses one Flicky at a time when hit. As in the Saturn version, you can only get one Chaos Emerald per Zone, Sonic icons are now simply collectibles rather than gifting continues, scrapped Badniks have been programmed back in, and the HUD now flashes to alert you when you’ve lost Flickies. While the game still has its flaws, this is easily the best and most enjoyable way to play Sonic 3D due to the many gameplay and graphical improvements and it really goes to show the potential the game had, and how little effort SEGA often puts into its ports and remasters of the classic titles.

Final Thoughts:
I have a lot of nostalgia for Sonic 3D: Flickies’ Island. My Sonic fandom was at its peak when I first got it and I was consuming Sonic any way I could, so naturally I had to enjoy his newest and most ambitious release yet. And, yet, I remember being disappointed by it even back then. Sure, it uses “3D graphics”, but it limits you to playing as Sonic, the usual fast-paced, action-packed gameplay is gone, and the new mechanics can be laborious at times. The visuals are a mixed bag for me, with some aspects of the Zones being quite impressive and others being very bland. The size of the areas is impressive, until you realise how much backtracking and exploring you have to do, which just drags the game out as you’re shunted about the different areas. Sonic looks okay as a pre-rendered sprite but is so slippery and ungainly that he loses his trademark speed and it’s far too easy to take damage or miss your target due to the annoying angle. I’ve always disliked isometric games for this very reason and, while Sonic 3D isn’t too aggravating with this perspective, some platforming challenges are infuriating because you can’t properly see what you’re doing or where you’re going. I didn’t mind the scavenger hunt for the Flickies, and it was a fun, unique way to reinterpret Flicky (SEGA, 1984) and change up the gameplay, but it gets quite tedious after a while and Sonic 3D doesn’t offer anything to break up the monotony. I like that the game, and its Special Stages, are easy, but you can’t save your progress, so you have to do it all over every time, and it’s barely worth it to get 100% completion. Just about the only think worth mentioning about this disappointing title is the amazingly catchy soundtrack and the incredible work Jon Burton did improving its many flaws years after its release. It’s not a Sonic title I often revisit, and I wish SEGA would port the Saturn version, but Sonic 3D is okay if you haven’t played it before or in a while, just perhaps trying a little too hard to do something different and therefore losing what makes Sonic special in the process.

My Rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Pretty Good

Are you a fan of Sonic 3D: Flickies’ Island? Which version did you grew up with, which do you think is superior, and have you ever played the Director’s Cut ROM hack? What did you think to the Flicky rescuing gimmick and isometric perspective? Were you also a fan of the soundtrack? Did you ever collect the seven Chaos Emeralds and see the true ending? Which Sonic spin-off is your favourite and how are you celebrating SEGA’s mascot this month? Let me know your thoughts on Sonic 3D in the comments, support me on Ko-Fi, and go check out my other Sonic content.

Back Issues [Sonic Month]: Doomsday / The Final Victory

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Sonic the Hedgehog was first introduced to gamers worldwide on June 23 1991 and, since then, has become not only SEGA’s most enduring and popular character but also a beloved videogame icon. Thus, in keeping with tradition, I’m dedicating some time to celebrate SEGA’s supersonic mascot.

Story Title: “Doomsday” (Part 1 to 3)
Published: 5 February 1997 (cover dated: 18 February 1997) to 5 March 1997 (18 March 1997)
Writer: Nigel Kitching
Artist: Richard Elson

Story Title: “The Final Victory” (Part 1 to 4)
Published: 18 March 1997 (cover-dated: 1 April 1997)
Writers: Nigel Kitching and Lew Stringer,
Artists: Richard Elson, Nigel Dobbyn, Roberto Corona, and Nigel Kitching

Quick Facts:
Thanks to an aggressive marketing campaign, Sonic briefly usurped Super Mario and his mainstream popularity saw him expand into comics. Sonic the Comic (StC) was published fortnightly in the United Kingdom, based its lore from the now defunct Mobius storyline, and boldly portrayed Sonic as an egotistical narcissist. Though eventually cancelled and survived by an online continuation, these four issues spelled the end of both an ongoing story arc and Doctor Ivo Robotnik’s dictatorship over planet Mobius.

The Review:
“Doomsday” and “The Final Victory” marked not just the historic 100th issue of StC, but also the culmination of a months-long story arc that saw pig-headed freedom fighter Sonic the Hedgehog trapped in the Special Zone. This happened after he went on a rampage as Super Sonic, his demonic, Chaos-powered alter ego. Using a Star Post, Sonic’s allies – namely Miles “Tails” Prower and Amy Rose – separated Sonic and Super Sonic into separate beings. Sonic then ventured into the Special Zone (a chaotic alternate dimension guarded by the Chaotix Crew) to keep his destructive alter ego from hurting anyone, eventually being stranded when Super Sonic was time locked within the Omni-Viewer, a benevolent, sentient television screen that was Sonic’s only way home. This meant Tails, Amy, and the other Freedom Fighters faced an uphill battle against Doctor Ivo Robotnik, who had conquered Mobius some years prior, without their point man and Sonic embarked on many strange adventures in the Special Zone trying to find a way home. This brought him into conflict with devious crime boss Lord Sidewinder and his gang, who seek to harness Super Sonic’s power for their own nefarious ends in part one of “Doomsday”. This story also sees Sonic and the Chaotix Crew (fresh off being framed as criminals) stopping Doctor Plague from unleashing a deadly virus upon New Tek City. Even when Dr. Plague launches a bunch of vials into the air, Sonic quickly retrieves them with a flourish. His gloating is interrupted by a desperate call from Porker Lewis, his neurotic childhood friend, and the sudden appearance of two suns in the sky. Super strong Mighty the Armadillo states such an occurrence is said to herald the end of the world, an event more likely than ever as the damaged and panicked Omni-Viewer soon appears.

Sonic is torn between battling his demonic double in the Special Zone or helping his friends on Mobius.

The Omni-Viewer reveals that he was unable to trap Super Sonic within his interdimensional vortex since the demon was far too powerful. Instead, he slowed time to a crawl, meaning it should’ve taken years for Super Sonic to escape. Instead, he somehow retained his consciousness and slowly built his power, turning the Black Asteroid he was imprisoned in into an electron bomb, hence the “second sun”. Although Sonic demands that the Omni-Viewer transport him back to Mobius to help Porker, team leader Vector the Crocodile begs him to stay to combat Super Sonic. It’s all moot anyway, though, as the Omni-Viewer is too weak to help and Lord Sidewinder’s mage, Lightmare, suddenly appears. Naturally, Sonic and the Chaotix Crew attack Lightmare before she can explain, forcing her to trap them in living nightmares using her Pandora’s box. After being surprised by Espio the Chameleon’s invisibility, Lightmare reveals she’s Lord Sidewinder’s daughter and begs them to stop to her father’s plot before it kills him and their gang. While Sonic and the others go to stop Lord Sidewinder, who loads himself and his gang into a rocket to head to the Black Asteroid, Vector stays behind to help the Omni-Viewer think up a plan to deal with Super Sonic. Vector restores the Omni-Viewer at the Equinox laboratory, where a scientist also reveals that an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) will be generated when the Black Asteroid explodes, causing chaos as every computerised system will immediately fail. Apparently driven mad by his ambition, Lord Sidewinder scoffs at any danger posed by the Black Asteroid, causing the oafish Bio-Hazard and Mister Fry to question his sanity and logic. This, as much as the pressing threat, allows Sonic and Mighty to easily rough up Lord Sidewinder’s goons, though Sonic remains conflicted between his duty to protect Mobius and the imminent destruction of the Black Asteroid.

An EMP knocks out Dr. Robotnik’s machines, finally ending his rule over Mobius.

However, upon learning of the EMP, Sonic has a genius brainwave and demands that the Omni-Viewer transport the Black Asteroid into the skies above Mobius, where it promptly explodes. As Dr. Robotnik’s entire army and operation consists of or is run by machines, this effectively disables all his Badniks and systems, releasing all the woodland critters from their mechanical prisons, shutting down the biological computer Dr. Robontik hooked the Emerald Hill residents up to on the Floating Island, and disabling Vermin the Cybernik, thus saving Sonic’s allies and allowing Knuckles the Echidna to rescue the Emerald Hill folk. Naturally, the demonic Super Sonic immediately goes on a warpath, desperate to destroy Metropolis City and attacking Sonic right as he reunites with Tails, Amy, and Johnny Lightfoot. Initially toying with his prey, Super Sonic unleashes a barrage of energy beams, cackling maniacally and overwhelming his more benevolent doppelgänger. However, right as Super Sonic is poised to deliver the killing blow, his energy suddenly drains and he’s forced to flee, with the Omni-Viewer revealing that the explosion somehow changed Super Sonic’s biology. With no time to ponder this or celebrate, Sonic has the Omni-Viewer transport him to the Floating Island, where a confused and troubled Dr. Robotnik orders his ally, turncoat, semi-cybernetic echidna Doctor Zachary, to destroy Knuckles. Although Dr. Zachary can’t use the ancient Guardian robots due to the EMP, he’s somehow still able to use his cybernetic weapons, though he’s quickly blasted by Sonic right as Knuckles was playing possum and summarily trapped in a gorge courtesy of the super strong echidna. Despite the two realising they’ve been so distracted with their rivalry and battling Dr. Zachary that they’ve forgotten about Dr. Robotnik, they’re amazed to find Porker has apprehended the tyrant.

Sonic stops Dr. Robotnik’s attempts to get back online and finally liberates the planet from his rule.

While a confused, powerless, and amnesiac Super Sonic wanders Metropolis City and is taken in by a kindly resident, Sonic wastes no time in parading the fallen despot through the city, gleefully proclaiming the end of his rule to the cheering masses and delivering him to the city courthouse so he can be locked up and eventually tried for his crimes. Though humiliated, Dr. Robotnik remains defiant, even more so when his long-abused assistant, Grimer, suddenly shows up riding an antique, steam-powered robot and promptly rescues his master. Although Sonic easily smashes the machine, the confusion allows Grimer to get Dr. Robotnik to safety. As they know every inch of the city, the two promptly vanish, frustrating Sonic so much that he chastises Tails for distracting himself with Vermin. Prompted by Johnny, Sonic realises that Dr. Robotnik and Grimer must’ve fled back to their ominous citadel using the city’s sewer system and promptly gives chase, crashing in right as Dr. Robotnik is ordering Grimer to start up the clunky emergency generator. Desperate to keep Dr. Robotnik from getting his machines back online, Sonic knocks Grimer aside and speeds around the generator, which overloads the power core and causes the ostentatious citadel to dramatically explode. With the immediate threat ended and the symbol of Dr. Robotnik’s rule in flames, Sonic finally celebrates their victory alongside his friends and the liberated inhabitants of Metropolis City. However, Dr. Robotnik and Grimer escaped the explosion using the sewers and retreat to the outskirts of the city. Although Grimer wallows in despair, Dr. Robotnik is practically frothing at the mouth at the indignity and vows to take a terrible revenge upon his enemies for ousting him from power.

Final Thoughts: 
As an avid collector of Sonic the Comic back in the day, I was beyond hyped for these four issues and StC’s big 100th issue release. The months leading up to “Doomsday” had seen all the Sonic-related back-up stories deal with his exile to the Special Zone and Dr. Robotnik’s plot to use the Emerald Hill folk to power his giant supercomputer, meaning “The Final Victory” was the culmination of not just years of the dictator’s stranglehold over Mobius but months of semi-connected storytelling. It’s therefore fitting that “The Final Victory” takes up the entirety of issue 100 and showcases many of StC’s artists, though Richard Elson remains the gold standard and I do wish he’d illustrated the entire story as it’s very jarring to go from his beautiful, epic artwork to the comparatively basic and cartoonish illustrations of Nigel Kitching. Although you could argue that using an EMP was a contrived and convenient way to defeat Dr. Robotnik in one fell swoop, it was also the best and most efficient way. For years, Sonic and his friends settled for scoring minor victories, liberating the odd Zone or taking out garrisons, battleships, or Dr. Robotnik’s commanders, but were unable to strike a decisive blow against the tyrant. As Dr. Robotnik is all about machines and robots, an EMP is the perfect way to knock out his army and end his rule, ushering in a new age of StC as Sonic struggles to define his role in a world without war and conflict and Dr. Robotnik schemes to return to power. This story also saw the Emerald Hill folk return home after being given sanctuary on the Floating Island, Super Sonic have a few side adventures as a distinct character, and marked the beginning of Amy’s journey into an independent character.

A cathartic end and start of a new era that would’ve been made even better by Richard Elson.

The timeline of events are a bit strange, however. Super Sonic apparently frees himself, or the Omni-Viewer decides to abandon him to get help for the impending explosion, and is seemingly unable or unwilling to stop charging his power for his dramatic escape. Given how powerful Super Sonic is, it’s strange that he wouldn’t just burst free of the Black Asteroid as soon as possible. This threat is also subdued very quickly, which is a shame as it might’ve been fun to somehow involve him in Dr. Robotnik’s scheme to restart his systems (perhaps he could’ve taken Super Sonic’s unconscious body and used it as a battery?) Knuckles also gets a bit side-lined, though it’s clear his focus is on helping the Emerald Hill folk since Dr. Zachary’s been taken care of and Dr. Robotnik’s in custody. I liked that Sonic never broke character here: he still gives Tails shit, mocks Knuckles, and acts like a jackass even though he’s won the day. I also liked how conflicted he was between helping the Special Zone and getting back to Mobius. StC-Sonic might be an insufferable prick most of the time, but he’s dedication to defeating Dr. Robotnik and saving lives is never in question, even if he does alienate those closest to him. I also enjoyed seeing Dr. Robotnik humiliated and aggravated by Sonic’s taunting and the cheers of the Mobians, and that he still had a few tricks up his sleeve despite his machines being knocked out. I’m not sure why Dr. Zachary’s weapons were unaffected by the EMP, but the steam powered robot was a nice touch, so much so that I kind of wish Dr. Robotnik had hopped in a steam-powered mech for one more brutal fight with Sonic. Still, this as a satisfying conclusion to years and months of storylines. It was great to finally have Sonic back home and to see Dr. Robotnik so utterly defeated so quickly, and to finally give the good guys a decisive victory after years of simply chipping away at Dr. Robotnik’s rule.

My Rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Pretty Good

Were you impressed by Sonic’s final victory over Dr. Robotnik? Were you a little confused about how Super Sonic escaped from the Omni-Viewer? Would you have liked to see Super Sonic play a greater role as a villain in the end? Do you agree that Richard Elson should’ve illustrated the entire final story? What are some of your favourite StC stories and how are you celebrating Sonic the Hedgehog this year? Whatever your thoughts on Sonic the Comic, or Sonic in general, drop a comment below and donate to my Ko-Fi to suggest other Sonic comic stories for me to review.

Back Issues [Sonic Month]: Sonic the Hedgehog: Genesis

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Sonic the Hedgehog was first introduced to gamers worldwide on June 23 1991 and, since then, has become not only SEGA’s most enduring and popular character but also a beloved videogame icon. Thus, in keeping with tradition, I’m dedicating some time to celebrate SEGA’s supersonic mascot.

Writer: Ian Flynn – Artists: Patrick “Spaz” Spaziante and Tracy Yardley

Story Title: “Part One: In the Beginning…”
Published: 29 June 2011 (cover-dated: August 2011)

Story Title: “Part Two: Fate and Friends”
Published: 3 August 2011 (cover-dated: September 2011)

Story Title: “Part Three: Divide and Conquer”
Published: 31 August 2011 (cover-dated: October 2011)

Story Title: “Part Four: Reset”
Published: 5 October 2011 (cover-dated: November 2011)

Quick Facts:
SEGA quickly capitalised on Sonic’s mainstream popularity by commissioning two concurrent cartoons for their famous mascot. Sonic the Hedgehog (1993 to 1994), or “SatAM”, was the clear favourite compared to ita slapstick counterpart, though Archie Comics awkwardly mashed both together for a four-part miniseries. Unfortunately, the longest-running videogame comic book hit a road block when a former writer filed a ridiculous lawsuit that eventually saw the license acquired by IDW. Before then, Archie Comics scrambled to retool their continuity to bring it closer to the source material for Sonic’s 20th anniversary.

The Review:
This back-to-basics celebration of Sonic’s history arguably echoes the videogames closer than Archie’s previous efforts, which were always an odd amalgamation of the cartoons, videogames, and convoluted original lore. Accordingly, the event is kick-started by the startling revelation that Doctor Ivo Robotnik (initially a semi-cybernetic dictator but now a flesh-and-blood “Overlander” referred to as and physically resembling Doctor Eggman) has rebuilt his horrifying space station, the Death Egg. This leads to a temporary truce between the Knothole Freedom Fighters and bizarre mage Ixis Naugus and a desperate assault against the heavily fortified space station, which saw Sonic and fearless leader Princess Sally infiltrate the Death Egg. Unfortunately, Sonic gets distracted fighting a bigger, fiercer version of Silver Sonic and is both unable to save Sally from being gunned down or stop Dr. Eggman activating the “Genesis Wave”, a Chaos Emerald-powered, reality altering shockwave that creates a new timeline. Thus, Sonic finds himself racing through Green Hill Zone with no memory of his friends or previous complicated dramas and simply investigating recent disappearances. Accordingly, Sonic is surprised to find Green Hill Zone populated by Motobugs, bug-themed Badniks powered by the missing woodland critters. Sonic commandeers a nearby Newtron and orders it to take him to its leader, meeting not Dr. Eggman but his nephew, Snively, who’s fiercely loyal to his uncle’s dream of conquering the planet with machinery and technology. Snively attacks in the Egg Wrecker, succeeding only in damaging the natural environment with his giant wrecking ball as Sonic is too fast to hit. A couple of hits to Snively’s craft sends the little weasel packing and Sonic rescues a bunch of animals from the capsule Snively was defending, three of whom are well known to Archie’s readers but are just meeting Sonic for the first time.

Though Dr. Eggman resets reality, Sonic’s fated to fall in with his old friends and oppose his schemes.

Sally Acorn, Boomer Walrus, and Antoine Depardieu reveal they’ve been actively investigating both the mysterious earthquakes ravaging the land and Dr. Eggman, and have even pinpointed a direct route to his stronghold, convincing Sonic to join their efforts. Their first stop is the ruins of the Marble Zone, where Sonic is surprised when the name “Caterkiller” mysteriously comes to mind upon seeing the Badnik. Although Boomer trashes it, Antoine is so terrified that he disturbs a flock of Batbrains, leading Sonic to scoff when Sally praises Antoine for alerting them to an ambush. Boomer reprograms a smashed Buzz Bomber and Sally convinces a passing Flicky to power it, giving them some additional firepower as they traverse the hazardous ruins, which are wracked by an earthquake. Thanks to Sonic’s speed and the friendly Buzz Bomber, the group avoids falling into boiling hot magma, only to be confronted by Dr. Eggman (in his classic attire, no less). Eager to test his speed against this new foe, Sonic races off, deftly dodging fireballs from the Egg Scorcher and giving Sally the strangest sense of déjà vu. Distracted by breaking his turncoat Badnik, Dr. Eggman gets wrecked by Sonic and flees to prepare his master plan, though even he is unsure of what that is due to memory lapses. Victorious, Sonic leads the group into the flooded, cavernous Labyrinth Zone, where Sonic’s concerns about Sally’s relationship with Antoine are quickly superseded by his fear of water. Encouraged by Sally, Sonic dives in and even blasts them clear of an Orbinaut swarm, though an earthquake seemingly spells doom for Antoine. As they emerge in the Starlight Zone, Sonic’s amazed at how nonplussed his new friends are about Antoine’s death but agrees that something’s definitely not right as they keep sharing the same thoughts and feeling the same things. Determined to avenge Antoine, they quickly push past the Zone’s Badniks and hazards to reach the Scrap Brain Zone, though Sonic thinks “Robotropolis” sounds far better.

Although they all suffer from amnesia, the characters are naturally drawn into conflict with each other.

Zapped by electricity, Sonic is almost too slow to save Boomer from also plummeting to his death and the three stumble into another confrontation with Dr. Eggman, who states his hatred of that nickname and traps Sonic in a forcefield. Dr. Eggman then tries to fry and crush Sonic with the piston-like Egg Crusher, only to be surprised when Antoine comes flushing down his pipe and frantically swats Dr. Eggman, giving Sonic the opening to trash his machine. Sonic then busts Dr. Eggman’s craft and sends him packing, sure to return. Sonic then introduces his new friends to his little buddy, Miles “Tails” Prower, who immediately hits it off with the equally scientific and mechanically minded Boomer. Although Sally’s sceptical about Tails due to his age, Sonic vouches for him and the three set off to tackle Dr. Eggman’s Westside Island facilities, unaware that Dr. Eggman has already launched his Death Egg. Although neither Dr. Eggman or Snively remember firing the Genesis Wave, they console themselves with the knowledge that the seven Chaos Emeralds will soon recharge the Death Egg to robotize Mobius in one shot. While Snively thinks his uncle should focus more on the interdimensional disturbances ravaging Mobius, Dr. Eggman is obsessed with destroying his newfound foe, whose unpredictability represents a significant risk. Disgusted by the pollution pumped out by the maze-like Chemical Plant Zone, Sonic and Tails still find time to have fun racing around and through the pipes, though the threat of drowning in toxic mega muck sees them air lift their friends to safety. After flirting with Sally, Sonic’s hit by a distorted memory of her death while debating their next move and opts to split from the group with Tails to tackle the source of the problem while they shut down the facility.

Super Sonic’s climatic showdown with Dr. Eggman sees him resetting reality…for better or worse.

Sonic and Tails take the Tornado biplane to Metropolis Zone, where Sonic immediately regrets his decision when he sees how heavily guarded the mechanical hellhole is. Sally expresses similar regrets over not trying harder to convince Sonic to stick around as they’re attacked in the hazardous Oil Ocean Zone, where a near-death experience suddenly triggers brief memories of the old world, where her and Sonic were an item, before the trio successfully shut down the facility. After besting Dr. Eggman’s traps, Sonic faces the rotund madman in his Egg Bouncer craft. Sonic also experiences déjà vu when Dr. Eggman calls him “rodent”, though he easily bounces past the villain and hitches a ride on the Tornado, bypassing the Wing Fortress Zone to leap to Dr. Eggman’s shuttle and reach the Death Egg. There, Sonic sees the devastating extent of the earthquakes and learns they’re caused by reality trying to force itself back together. When Dr. Eggman boasts that his roboticizer will cement the dimensional shift and ensure his victory, Sonic’s again bombarded by vague memories of their past conflicts and rushes to stop him, only to be attacked by the gigantic Death Egg Robot. As Sonic desperately dodges the mech’s detachable, spiked arms and stomps, Dr. Eggman reveals that he’s remembered enough to know that he reshaped reality to try and keep Sonic from interfering with his plans and lets slip that the Chaos Emeralds power the battle station. This allows Sonic to power-up into Super Sonic, much to Dr. Eggman’s disbelief, and he easily overpowers the mech. After overhearing from Snively that their battle is making the situation worse for Mobius, Sonic desperately initiates Chaos Control, another reality-altering shockwave that restores the world and everyone’s memories. However, while this allows Sonic to rescue Sally and bring down the Death Egg, it does result in Sally being roboticized.

Final Thoughts: 
Despite part three this arc featuring a beautiful recreation of the North American box art of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (SEGA, 1994), no elements from this videogame or its add-on are featured here and Knuckles the Echidna is entirely absent. Instead, “Genesis” is more of a homage to and recreation of the first two games and does what I’ve longed hoped for from Archie Comics, which is to stick closer to the action-packed adventure of the source material rather than short-changing recognisable locations and elements. “Genesis” also impresses by featuring gorgeous artwork from Spaz and Tracy Yardley, Archie’s best artists by a country mile, whose work shines in this much more focused, back-to-basics story. While I admit sticking closely to the plot of the videogames isn’t sustainable for hundreds of issues, there’s something to be said about the simplicity of avoiding all the interpersonal drama, slapstick, and dark and gritty atmosphere for a fun, action-packed story. “Genesis” still includes humorous moments, mainly involving Antoine or Sonic and Tails having fun, and has reasonably high stakes as Dr. Eggman is polluting the world, enslaving its inhabitants, and threatens to cement his rule once more with the Death Egg. There’s also the greater concern of the earthquakes rocking Mobius, which split apart the Marble Zone and almost kill Antoine. These are the direct result of Dr. Eggman’s Genesis Wave, which alters reality to create an all-new world much closer to the videogames but one that’s unstable and desperately trying to return to normal. This also alters everyone’s memories and even returns Rotor to his original name, causing even Dr. Eggman to have no idea what he did to the world, just that he must fire the Death Egg again to be victorious.

The soft reboot gives us a chance to refamiliarise ourselves with these characters and their relationships.

I really enjoyed seeing Sonic bashing Badniks, rescuing critters, and racing through recognisable Zones from the first two games. In many ways, “Genesis” reminds me of the Sonic the Hedgehog Story Comic (Unknown, 1991) in how it quickly blasts through the hazards, Badniks, and bosses of the first game, uniquely replacing Dr. Eggman with Snively for the Egg Wrecker encounter and having Sally and the others accompany Sonic to Marble Zone and Labyrinth Zone, where various pitfalls await. Boomer’s side plot where he reprograms a Buzz Bomber was a fun way to show his mechanical prowess, though it didn’t really lead to much beyond this and showing that Sally can speak “Flicky”. Antoine doesn’t get much to do either and is reduced back to being a snivelling little coward and French stereotype, but I did like him having a much closer relationship with Sally, to the point where Sonic’s jealous of their connection and she must clarify that they’re just “close friends”. More of a nuisance than anything, Antoine is the butt of Sonic’s pranks and ridicule but his apparent death hits Sonic so hard that he’s baffled that his newfound friends aren’t more upset. This was an odd moment. I think the implication was supposed to be that Sally and Boomer sensed the death wasn’t real or permanent, implying that Antoine would come back if the world returned to normal, or perhaps it was a metacommentary on how characters never (or rarely) die. Either way, it was a strange moment rendered completely moot as Antoine shows up alive anyway. It was fun seeing the characters be confused by their déjà vu and remembering events from past issues, though it might’ve been nice to see these solidified across the story to more explicitly change their interactions. Sure, Boomer and Tails immediately click and Sonic and Sally naturally flirt and Dr. Eggman is immediately incensed by Sonic, but they’re all largely acting on blind instinct rather than piecing their true personalities together across the four issues.

The back-to-basics approach does wonders for the action and is a fitting homage to the videogames.

Still, the artwork is impeccable here and it was fun seeing this alternative first meeting between Sonic and the Freedom Fighters. I liked that Sonic just goes where he pleases and rescues the critters because it’s the right thing to do, but was convinced to team with Sally and the others since they’ve already made headway in tracking Dr. Eggman and because he feels he knows them. The relationship between Sonic and Tails was also super adorable, with Tails being closer to how he appears in the videogames while still being a capable pilot and avid mechanic. I loved seeing Dr. Eggman in his classic outfit and the classic Egg-O-Matics being put to use, and watching Sonic and the others deal with familiar hazards like spikes, pits, and crumbling platforms in locations lifted directly from the games to fit this world rather than being magically created, temporary Zones that make little narrative sense. I really enjoyed seeing how the Zones fitted together in a coherent way and that they group split up to tackle Oil Ocean Zone and Metropolis Zone separately, with each lamenting the decision since it feels right for them to be together. It’s a shame that Wing Fortress Zone got shafted but it was a neat touch bookending the arc with battles against Silver Sonic and finally seeing Sonic battle the Death Egg Robot (which I don’t think had appeared in Archie’s comics). I also liked the twist that the battle between Super Sonic and the Death Egg Robot was exacerbating the threat to Mobius and that Sonic took a gamble on Chaos Control to set things right, though it might’ve been nice to spread this arc out over a few more issues just to help usher in the new era. Overall, though, “Genesis” was a perfect soft reset to attract new readers and a fun way to reset Archie’s convoluted lore into a narrative that is closer to the videogames, recontextualising characters and elements to make them accessible while also being a fitting homage to the Blue Blur’s storied career.

My Rating:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Great Stuff

Did you enjoy the “Genesis” arc? Were you happy to see a more back-to-basics approach for a change or did you enjoy all the drama of Archie’s comics? Do you think Archie should’ve gone all-in and just rebooted the comics here? Which of Archie’s original characters was your favourite and what did you think to their award-winning run? How are you celebrating Sonic the Hedgehog this year? Share your memories of Archie’s Sonic comics below and donate to my Ko-Fi and suggest more Archie Sonic stories for me to review.

Back Issues: Aliens vs. Predator: Duel

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Story Titles: “Duel: Book One” and “Duel: Book One”
Published: March 1995 to April 1995

Writer: Randy Stradley
Artist: Javier Saltares

Quick Facts:
As Dark Horse Comics achieved mainstream success with licensed adaptations of horror and science-fiction films, it made sense to pit the Alien (Various, 1977 to present) and Predator (Various, 1987 to present) franchises against each other. The initial mini series spawned numerous follow-ups and eventually debuted the Xenomorph/Alien “Predalien” hybrid in this two-part story.

The Review:
“Duel” is a follow-up to the five-issue “Aliens vs. Predator” story arc that followed the first three-issue clash between the two species and set the foundation for the sub-franchise that followed. Like in that story, “Duel” is set on the planet Ryushi, a desolate wasteland where Xenomorphs roam freely amongst the remains of Prosperity Wells and other outposts. The story begins thirty-odd hours after a squad of United States Marine Corps (USMC) respond to a distress beacon, only to be caught between the Aliens and Predators, who slaughter anyone who either crosses their path or interferes with the sanctity of the “hunt”. There’s some uncertainty when the only human inhabitant of the planet, Colony Administrator Machiko Noguchi, doesn’t respond to their communication attempts and the planet, formally controlled by the Chigusa Corporation, is a known dead zone (though the USMC aren’t privy to the slaughter that occurred there). Led by Captain Glass, the Marines explore the abandoned settlement and conclude that Noguchi is a “write-off”. It’s revealed that Weyland-Yutani were forced to share information about the Aliens for their own protection, meaning the Marines are far more knowledgeable than their Aliens (Cameron, 1986) counterparts and they’re understandably stunned when the alien craft they stumble upon is nothing like the Engineer’s crescent ship they expected. Unaware they’re being watched and sweltering in the intense heat, they instinctively open fire upon a monstrous Briar Wolf, a native of Ryushi, when it attacks.

While investigating Ryushi, a group of Marines are attacked by Aliens, Predator, and a monstrous hybrid!

As the Marines explore, they find an unconscious Yautja warrior. After making preparations to transport the bizarre creature back to their ship, the Marines find a chained-up Xenomorph Queen. Though they arrogantly believe she’s dead, Lieutenant Sali is splattered by the bitch’s extendable mouth when she suddenly revives and attacks, leading the Marines to blast her to corrosive chunks. As the Marines carry the Predator outside, they’re suddenly ambushed by Alien drones, who leap from the sands and quickly surround them. When a group of semi-cloaked Yautja appear to join the fray, Captain Glass orders his men to stand down, identifying the creatures as “survivors” from the wreckage, though he later notes that this was a mistake, despite the Predators seemingly helping them by dicing the Xenomorphs with axe-like spears. While the aliens renew their rivalry, the Marines race to their All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV), where they’re confronted by one-armed Predator veteran “Light-Stepper”, who appeared in previous Dark Horse publications. Though apprehensive, the Marines attempt to make contact, only for Private Cogeletti to get speared through the chest! Naturally, the Marines open fire and, though Light-Stepper easily evades them, one of his cohorts isn’t so lucky and the Marines learn that, despite the Predator’s technology, they are as vulnerable as any other creature. The Marines quickly prepare to evacuate, with Captain Glass insisting they keep their survivor alive so the species can be further studied, a decision that also backfires when the Yautja violently spasms and births a particularly gruesome Chestburster! Although the Marines try to blast the scurrying little hybrid, it’s too quick and Sergeant Lesser is picked off by a Predator’s plasma cannon during the fracas. Spooked and sure that the Yautja have them surrounded, the Marines lay down crossfire against their invisible foes, though their hopes are quickly raised when they see their pilot, Murphy, flying in to pick them up in a “Cheyenne” class Utility Dropship.

With his squad dead, Captain Glass is forced to help Light-Stepper defeat the Predalien.

However, just as they’re scrambling to reach the rendezvous point, the Marines are stunned when Light-Stepper hefts a massive shoulder cannon and blows the dropship to smithereens! With no choice but to flee and try to think of an alternative escape plan, the Marines frantically race off in the ATV, shredding another Yautja with the vehicle’s blaster cannons and desperately trying to keep from being overwhelmed by their need for revenge. Spotting the remains of Prosperity Wells, Captain Glass heads to the ruins and has the Marines set up defenses to fend off their assailants. As night falls and his men take turns resting, Captain Glass remains vigilant, determined to make the creatures pay for murdering his troops, though they’re caught completely off-guard when the fully grown Predalien sneaks in and massacres two of his men! Bigger, more aggressive and uglier than either species, easily capable of crushing heads with one malformed claw, Captain Glass theorises that the Predators are pursuing them for allowing such an abomination to be born. After the Predalien gives them the slip and another plasma cannon shot offs one of his squad, Captain Glass detonates the mines they placed around the perimeter and kills two Predators, eventually leaving himself and Light-Stepper the only survivors. Thus, an unlikely alliance is forged when the Predalien reappears, with Captain Glass distracting the abomination long enough for his one-armed ally to cut the creature’s throat and stab it to death. With both warriors exhausted, neither has the strength or will to fight, with Captain Glass hypothesising that they’ve developed a mutual respect. Thus, the two simply sit and wait and are left to wonder which of their allies will arrive first, and what will happen when they do.

Final Thoughts:
“Aliens vs. Predator: Duel” was a decent enough continuation of the dual narrative first thought up by Dark Horse Comics in 1990, and certainly influenced both franchises, but I was left a bit disappointed by the overall presentation. While some lauded the artwork, I found things were overly simplistic, with the environment barely standing out and the Marines being largely interchangeable. I had a hard time telling who was who or even caring about them since none of them receive any characterisation beyond being “Oorah!” meatheads except for Captain Glass, a man so bland and forgettable that he pales in comparison to even the most one-dimensional Marines from Cameron’s sci-fi classic. Ryushi has never made for a compelling location, being mostly a barren wasteland, and it’s even more difficult to connect with it now that the few bastions of civilisation have been abandoned or destroyed. Thus, I’m glad “Duel” was only a two-part tale as it could jump into the action a lot faster, but it does feel oddly paced despite its short length. There is barely any conventional Alien action here and, when the Xenomorphs do appear, they’re slaughtered like “bugs” and don’t even factor into the finale. Captain Glass theorises that the Predalien is some kind of affront to the Yautja, but we never see how the Aliens react to it. Would they obey it as a superior creature or turn against it? Either scenario would’ve added to the gore, action, and intrigue but, instead, the Aliens disappear from the narrative, despite the presence of a prisoner Queen indicating that Ryushi should probably be overrun by them. Returning to the artwork, Javier Saltares seems to be going for a stylised, minimalist approach but it comes across as amateurish to me. Aliens, Predators, and Marines alike lack detail, most of the gore is obscured in shadows, and it’s difficult to make out what’s happening in some panels.

A disappointing debut for the Predalien that doesn’t live up to its full potential.

Captain Glass is defined as the quintessential Marine. A tough, no-nonsense leader who’s simply following orders but is very protective of his troops, meaning he takes it very personally when they’re killed and actively organises them to dig in and fight back against their aggressive alien enemies. He admittedly makes numerous mistakes throughout, ultimately hedging his bets on aiding Light-Stepper simply to try and survive. Light-Stepper (who should be familiar to long-time Dark Horse Comics readers) is depicted as a wily and hostile Yautja, one far more experienced, durable, and capable than his peers despite only having one arm. He seems to have a personal, perhaps even religious obsession with slaughtering the Marines after they take the infected body of one of his kin, leading to him systematically picking off Captain Glass’s troops to recover the body and contain the situation. That being, of course, the Predalien, which is honestly the only saving grace of this story and, even then, it’s so poorly brought to life that, at first, I mistook it for a regular Xenomorph! The Predalien is a bastardised hybrid of the two species, sporting the iconic Yautja dreadlocks and greater bulk, and showcases augmented strength and speed, but is otherwise indistinguishable from a drone. The battle between it and Light-Stepper is short and violent and the creature is killed with relative ease, with Captain Glass barely contributing. This is a shame as it would’ve been cool to see a long, violent battle between the three, with man and Yautja setting aside their differences against a common enemy to showcase what makes the Predalien truly unique. Instead, it’s a few indistinct panels and then that’s it, with Light-Stepper not even injured by the abomination’s acidic blood. So, yeah, “Duel” may be important to the Aliens vs. Predator canon, but it left a lot to be desired in terms of its visuals, narrative, and action. I would’ve preferred to see the Predalien already fully grown, perhaps having slaughtered a hive and battling a Queen for dominance, and to see the Predators actively hunting it, with the Marines caught in the crossfire. Instead, I was left with a bit of a mess that didn’t quite live up to its potential.

My Rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Pretty Good

Have you ever read “Aliens vs. Predator: Duel”? If so, what did you think to it and how it continued this spin-off canon? Were you also disappointed by the artwork and the narrative or were you impressed by the fidelity to the source material? What did you think the this batch of Marines, specifically Captain Glass, and their lack of characterisation? Were you impressed by the Predalien or do you agree that it should’ve had a bigger role in the story? Which of the Aliens vs. Predator stories or adaptations was your favourite and how are you celebrating the Predator franchise this month? Whatever your thoughts on Aliens vs. Predator, drop a comment down below, send me some love on Ko-Fi, and go check out my other Predator (and Aliens) content.

Screen Time [Captain Picard Day]: Star Trek: The Next Generation: “The Best of Both Worlds” (S3: E26/S4:E1)

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As seen in the Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987 to 1994) episode “The Pegasus” (Burton, 1994), the U.S.S. Enterprise-D celebrates “Captain Picard Day” on Stardate 47457.1, which roughly translates to June 16th, and I am no different.

Season Three, Episode 26 and Season Four, Episode 1:
“The Best of Both Worlds (Part I and Part II)”

Director: Cliff Bole
Air Date: 18 June 1990 and 24 September 1990
UK Network: Sky One

Original Network: Various (syndication)
IMDb Rating: 9.3/10

Quick Facts:
Amazed by the continued popularity of Star Trek: The Original Series (1966 to 1969) and the success of their feature films, Paramount Pictures finally approved a new series with an all-new cast. After The Next Generation’s early success and some retooling, the producers ended season three on a daring cliff-hanger focused on breakout villains the Borg, who were redesigned by make-up supervisor Michael Westmore. This consistently popular two-parter laid the foundation for future Borg appearances and forever shaped the character of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart).

The Review:
Although the Borg are well established as a significant threat across all Star Trek media, at this point there were still a mystery and a source of great fear for both viewers and the Next Generation characters. First introduced in “Q Who” (Bowman, 1989), the Borg were an aggressive semi-cybernetic race who posed a threat to all living creatures but were far away in the Delta Quadrant, meaning the likes of Admiral J.P. Hanson (George Murdock) and Captain Picard had hoped the United Federation of Planets would have more time to prepare for an invasion from the all-conquering species. Since being alerted to the Borg, Admiral Hanson and other Federation officials scrambled to come up with defensive measures against their terrifying ability to “adapt” to weapons, technology, and strategy, which renders consistent attacks minimal, at best. Admiral Hanson’s efforts at designing new weapons and tactics were greatly aided by the ambitious Lieutenant Commander Elizabeth Shelby (Elizabeth Dennehy), a Borg expert who joins the Enterprise-D for this two-parter. Initially, the Enterprise-D is unaware of the Borg threat when they respond to a distress signal from Jouret IV, though an initial investigation by Commander William T. Riker (Jonathan Frakes), Lieutenant Worf (Michael Dorn), and Lieutenant Commander Data (Brent Spiner) suggests the Borg wiped out the colony. Shelby confirms the threat with a smug confidence and an eagerness to impress that ruffles Riker’s feathers and puts the Enterprise-D and the Federation in a state of war as they prepare to engage and counter the pending Borg treat, represented by a single Borg cube heading for Earth.

Shelby’s ambitious nature clashes with Riker and forces them to find common ground against the Borg,

Although a plot thread throughout both parts, part one is especially focused on Riker and his rivalry with Shelby. Shelby arrives with a fire in her belly, in awe of Picard and the Enterprise-D and desperate to impress him and be assigned as First Officer. Ambitious, driven, and determined, she tirelessly prepares the Enterprise-D for battle with the Borg, exploring all options to stand a chance against the Borg cube and their drones (Adrian Tafoya, Christopher Doyle, Keith Rayve, Lynn Salvatori). This includes randomly fluctuating the frequencies and power of their phasers and shields to deal damage before the Borg can adapt and working with Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) to reconfigure the ship’s deflector dish into a destructive energy discharge. Shelby’s ambition impresses Admiral Hanson and Picard but clashes with Riker, who’s not ready to stand aside despite being offered another captaincy and who finds Shelby’s reckless and insubordinate as she takes too many risks and lacks his “seasoned” experience. This creates something of a crisis for Riker, who questions why he keeps refusing the captain’s chair and his place aboard the Enterprise-D and is dismayed to think he’s lost the hot-headed qualities that Shelby possesses. Riker discusses this with Counsellor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) and Picard, who’s eager for him to take the next step in his career, and routinely puts Shelby in his place, maintaining his composure around the crew but chewing her out for going over his head and defying his orders. Shelby sees Riker as an obstacle. She respects him as her senior officer but she’s happy to step over him if it means advancing her career, especially as she sees him as being too comfortable in his role as Picard’s second, leading them to clash on multiple occasions and be begrudgingly forced to find a middle ground to combat the Borg.

Assimilated by the Borg, Picard’s knowledge and experience are used against his crew and comrades.

Though focused on conquering and assimilating Earth, the Borg exhibit an uncharacteristic interest in Picard here, deviating from their course to order him to submit to them and act as their representative for their attack. Although Picard naturally refuses, he quickly uses this to his advantage and lures the Borg cube into a nearby nebula to repair the damage caused by the Borg and strategise for their next attack. Picard receives counsel from mysterious bartender Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg), whose race were driven to near extinction by the Borg, and is fully prepared to give his life, and sacrifice the Enterprise-D, to stop the Borg’s advance. Picard remains steadfast in his defiance of the Borg and resolute in leading the charge against them, utilising every option available to score even the smallest of wins and fully confident that the deflector dish plan will work. Even when he’s abducted by the Borg, Picard remains insolent, despite their claims that “resistance is futile”, which makes it even more impactful when he’s transformed into “Locutus of Borg” and his knowledge and experience are twisted to serve the Borg. Locutus is cold and unemotional, using Picard’s knowledge and familiarity with the Enterprise-D crew to to mock them and shrug off even their energy beam. Using Picard’s intel, the Borg easily wipe out Admiral Hanson’s armada at Wolf 359 and counteract every strategy the Enterprise-D comes up with since Picard was fully briefed on their plans and knows the crew, especially Riker, intimately. Although extremely lucky to not have any of his appendages or organs replaced by Borg technology, Picard is nonetheless riddled with Borg implants and transformed into their malicious representative. However, it’s made clear that Picard is fully aware of his actions and conscious of the torture he’s enduring, which allows him to reaffirm his personality thanks to Data circumventing the Borg neural network.

The crew struggles to adapt to losing their beloved commander and come up with new strategies.

Picard’s assimilation rocks the crew. Worf is especially shaken to see his captain transformed, Doctor Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) is heartbroken and desperate to try and recover him so they can try and save him, and Riker struggles to acclimate to his field promotion in the wake of the tragedy, especially as Picard “wrote the book” on the Enterprise-D and was such a commanding and inspirational force. Riker adapts to his command very well, taking charge and even publicly burying the hatchet with Shelby to promote her to First Officer, but it’s clear Picard’s “ghost” haunts him. Riker’s mannerisms and command style emulate Picard, to the point where Guinan encourages him to “let Picard go” as it’s damaging to his authority and their mission. I loved how threatening the Borg are here. While their drones and even the cube is partially damaged by modulating phaser fire and forced to slow when the away team damage critical power nodes to “make them scratch”, they’re presented as an unconquerable force who immediately adapt to every situation. Their cutting beam devastates the Enterprise-D, their technology drains their shields, and they’re seen as so superior that they don’t even care when the crew transport aboard the cube as they don’t consider them a threat! As the Borg rip through Earth’s defences, Riker desperately tries to keep pace and slow them down but is forced to make repairs and re-strategise. Knowing that Locutus will be fully aware of their plans, Riker uses this against their corrupted captain and pretends to employ a diversionary tactic they discussed, distracting Locutus with talk of surrender while the separated saucer section unleashes anti-matter that allows Data and Worf to penetrate the Borg’s defences and reacquire their former captain. Beverly is practically giddy at the prospect of studying a captive Borg, as fascinated by their technology as Data is, and is confident she can remove all the relatively non-invasive implants but not while Locutus is still “plugged in” to the Borg neural network.

The crew manage to reach Picard and halt Locutus’s rampage, though he’s left shaken by the experience.

Though slowed by the abduction of their figurehead, the Borg continue on regardless and Locutus promises not to harm the shellshocked crew (though he does amusingly threaten and mock Data and Worf). Collaborating with Beverly and Troi, Data desperately works to bypass the Borg neural network to slow or stop the Borg by planting commands into their systems. The effort allows Picard’s consciousness to break through and make basic contact as Data struggles to access vital systems and the Enterprise-D faces imminent destruction. Picard’s simple statement, “sleep”, inspires Data to trick the Borg into entering their regeneration cycle, causing their weapons and systems to shut down. Somehow, this also causes a feedback loop throughout the Borg cube that sees it self-destruct, which Riker decides to risk not preventing in favour of getting to safety. Luckily, this pays off as Picard is restored following the cube’s destruction and Beverly easily removes his implants. However, Picard is left rattled by his experiences with the Borg, clearly disturbed by the ordeal, despite the Federation making plans to strengthen their defences against the Borg. It’s actually crazy that Picard returns to duty so quickly considering everything. This also might’ve been a great opportunity to spend at least half of the fourth season with Riker in command of the Enterprise-D while Picard recovers in various sub-plots. Of course, Picard’s experiences with the Borg and his time as Locutus would come back to haunt him throughout his life, and beyond, and these episodes represented something of a turning point for Picard and the show as it explored the fallout from this arc and ensured that the Borg would be a terrifying threat throughout the entire franchise.

Final Thoughts:
I’m extremely biased when it comes to “The Best of Both Worlds”, which are two of my favourite episodes of The Next Generation (and in all of Star Trek). The Next Generation was my main source of Star Trek as a kid beyond the movies with the old crew and I’ve always enjoyed their adventures. Additionally, the Borg are one of my favourite antagonists from the franchise for how disturbing they are. Piloting simple, unassuming cube-shaped ships, the Borg are a horrifying threat as they don’t just conquer and destroy, they transform and supplant entire cultures with their own. Assimilating the technology and knowledge of entire civilisations, the Borg are extremely formidable in their ability to adapt. Their hive mind culture means they are in perfect harmony and unison, lacking empathy and emotion and focused only on expanding their empire and getting closer to “perfection”. Their assimilation of others, especially Picard, is seen as a physical violation akin to torture or even rape. Picard is forced from his loved ones, his personality erased, his body transformed, and becomes little more than a soulless puppet for the Borg as Locutus, who wields Picard’s knowledge like a weapon and uses it to effectively decimate the Federation and the Enterprise-D, forcing the crew to fight against their enigmatic and inspirational captain. The visual imagery of Picard transformed by the Borg is striking, even if the Borg look quite cheap and tacky at this point, and seeing him slowly lose more of his humanity, even weeping a single tear for his fate, is incredibly impactful for both audiences and the crew, who must adapt to the new threat,

A fantastic, emotional showcase for Picard, Riker, and the Borg, who’s threat was cemented here.

If you’re a fan of Riker, then this is the story for you as Will is forced to take centre stage and assume command of the Enterprise-D. Obviously, it would upset the status quo of the show if Riker did the natural thing and graduated to his own command, but “The Best of Both Worlds” explores why he chooses to stay where he is and gives a glimpse of his capability as captain. He does a decent job, but he struggles to shake off Picard’s influence in his mannerisms and decisions. It’s a hell of a test for him to go head-to-head with his former captain, who anticipates and derails his every move, forcing Riker and the crew to come up with new solutions to outwit Locutus. Shelby makes for a perfect rival for Riker as she’s everything he once was (ambitious, headstrong, and a risk taker) and forces him to confront the fact that he’s not that person anymore and has matured. She is a royal pain in the ass and I’m always a little sad she didn’t get some comeuppance but she was invaluable to besting Locutus and I enjoyed seeing Riker chastise her insubordination. This two-parter gives most of the bridge crew something to do, with even Beverly aiding Picard’s restoration and Troi helping Riker to acclimatise to his new role. I would’ve liked to see a bit more from Worf, perhaps a more interesting fight between him and the Borg and focus more on his anger at Picard’s transformation, but I enjoyed Data’s solution to defeating the Borg and it went a long way to showing that innovation and adaptability are key to overcoming the Borg. Though I would have loved to see the status quo mixed up for a few episodes after this, I really loved the long-term implications this two-parter had for Picard and how it established the Borg’s threat. It’s one of the quintessential Next Generation stories and led to bigger and better things, so it’s always a blast to put this one on and see Locutus act so cold and cruel towards his beloved former crew.

My Rating:

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Fantastic

Is “The Best of Both Worlds” one of your favourite Next Generation stories? Were you shocked to see Picard transformed into Locutus? Did you enjoy seeing Riker take command or do you think he’s better as the First Officer? Were you a fan of the rivalry between Riker and Shelby? Did you like how fearsome the Borg were presented, even with the dodgy costumes? What are some of your favourite Borg episodes and how are you celebrating Captain Picard Day this year? Whatever your thoughts on “The Best of Both Worlds”, support me on Ko-Fi and leave a like and a comment.

Movie Night: Predator: Badlands

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Released: 7 November 2025
Director: Dan Trachtenberg
Distributor: 20th Century Studios

Budget: $105 million
Box Office: $184.6 million
Rotten Tomatoes Scores: 87% / 95%

Quick Facts:
After 20th Century Fox was purchased by the Walt Disney Company in 2017, director Dan Trachtenberg revitalised the Predator franchise (Various, 1987 to present) with Prey (2022) and a successful anthology film. Trachtenberg followed these efforts with this Western-inspired, Yautja-centric film that aimed to further expanded the species’ culture. Wētā Workshop contributed to the redesigned hunter and intricate effects work, and the movie even revisited combining the Alien (1979 to present) and Predator franchises for a celebrated entry more than worthy of discussing on “Predator Day”.

The Review:
I’ve said for years that the Predator franchise is severely misused in cinema. There is so much potential with where you can place the Yautja, how you can change up their technology and settings, from dropping them in the Old West to exploring other alien worlds. Thankfully, Dan Trachtenberg seems to fully understand this as his efforts have done a masterful job of expanding upon Yautja society and showcasing the alien hunters in new locations. Predator: Badlands finally gives a better look at their home world, Yautja Prime, which is noticeably different from the glimpse we got in AVPR: Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (The Brothers Strause, 2007). In a barren, rocky, but no less dangerous sector of the planet, “unblooded” Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) matches himself against his bigger, older brother, Kwei (Mike Homik/Stefan Grube), in hopes of earning his cloak. Fuelled by rage and with a chip on his shoulder, Dek fights furiously with a plasma sword and shoulder-mounted grapnel, having not yet earned his plasma cannon or blades, but fails to best his brother, who’s not only bigger and stronger but also far more experienced at using the environment to his advantage. Considered the “runt” of their clan and the embarrassment of their decorated father, Njohrr (Reuben De Jong/Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi), Dek is desperate to prove himself as worthy as his brother and thus eagerly demands to head to Genna, a hostile world home to the dreaded Kalisk, an unkillable apex predator even Njohrr fears. Enraged that Kwei protected his brother rather than cull him, Njohrr summarily executes Kwei as a helpless Dek watches on, furious at the loss and remotely transported to Genna with his brother’s last breath.

Ruby hunter Drek must team with a damaged android to find his prey.

Though he hasn’t earned the iconic Yautja gear, Dek still crash lands with an assortment of weapons that he promptly loses when Genna’s forest attacks him. Left with only his plasma sword and a glaive, Dek continues through the hazardous world on the trail of the Kalisk, only to stumble into a field of explosive plants that threaten to leave him helpless against a gigantic, winged lizard. Luckily for Dek, Thia (Elle Fanning), a dismembered Weyland-Yutani Corporation synthetic who speaks Yautja, is nearby to convince the stubborn, prideful Dek to accept her help. After being torn in two by the Kalisk, her entire synthetic crew destroyed by the beast, and separated from her “sister”, Tessa (Elle Fanning), Thia offers to guide Dek to the Kalisk to reunite with her sister (and her legs) and get Dek his trophy. Though reluctant to accept help, and annoyed by Thia’s chatty nature, Dek agrees, viewing her as a “tool” to assist him, and lugs her around, encountering more of Genna’s dangers such as razor-sharp grass, acid-spitting worms, and exploding slugs. Dek’s forced to take on another straggler when the armour-plated, goblin-like “Bud” (Rohinal Nayaran) helps him bring down a Bone Bison amidst the razor grass, being branded by the creature but hesitant to accept her, or Thia, as he’s been rejected by his people and determined to claim his prize alone, as per Yautja creed. Still, Dek reluctantly shares some of his past and motivations with the inquisitive Thia, betraying his grief for his brother and inspiring him to be a protector rather than an apex predator. The relationship between Dek and Thia is a highlight, with the Predator showcasing a sarcastic sense of humour. Still, he’s blinded by his determination, learning the hard way that the Kalisk has an uncanny healing factor that makes it virtually unbeatable. Dek also abandons Bud since he has no use for him, yet rages when Thia alerts the Company to their location so she can reunite with Tessa.

The hostile environment is made worse by Tessa and the Company’s synthetics.

After being critically damaged by the Kalisk, Tessa is repaired and reprimanded by MU/TH/UR (Alison Wright), learning that her compassion for her sister led to their failure to capture the Kalisk and exploit its incredibly regenerative powers. Driven by this prime directive, Tessa has a far less empathy than her sister and is noticeably more cold-hearted, stealing Dek’s weapons to combat the environment and using Yautja freeze grenades to capture the Kalisk and the Predator. Thia’s joy at being reunited with her sibling quickly dissipates when she witnesses Tessa’s callous treatment of Dek and her, with Thia ordered to be deactivated and Tessa having the other synthetics (Cameron Brown) transport their quarry off-world. Thanks to Thia’s intervention, Dek is freed and re-evaluates his priorities, cobbling together makeshift “weaponry” and armour from the planet’s ecosystem and inhabitants. He feeds some of the acid worms to use them as substitute plasma blasters, uses the slugs as explosives, protects himself in Bone Bison hide, and even uses Thia’s dismembered legs to distract the synths. Finally recognising Thia and Bud as allies, Dek storms the Weyland-Yutani base, gloriously slaughtering the synthetics without a drop of red blood. He also showcases his growth into a protector as he becomes determined to rescue to Kalisk after realising it’s Bud’s mother and spared his life thanks to Bud marking him with her scent. He might be a runt and lack the regular Yautja weaponry, but Dek is still a capable and impressive hunter. He’s stubborn and determined to prove himself, but far from naïve and has clearly tested himself in the past. As the lead, he showcases more emotion and personality than previous Predators, revealing more about their culture and their code of honour and initially reluctant to work with others. He’s highly adaptable and refuses to quit, utilising the environment that’s tried so hard to kill him to rescue his makeshift clan and tearing through the synthetics despite being outnumbered and outgunned.

Dek forms an unlikely clan to claim his honour.


I was surprised by how big a role Weyland-Yutani played in Predator: Badlands. I assumed Thia would be the only link to the Company, but Weyland-Yutani are all over Genna, their synthetics act as cannon fodder for Dek, and Tessa is positioned as a heartless antagonist. It’s difficult to place where the film fits in the combined Alien and Predator timeline but I liked that the Company is aware of the Yautja, to the point where Thia can speak their language, and that the film finally brought both franchises together again. Despite the size, ferocity, and reputation of the Kalisk, Dek faces it without fear, ready to die with honour but eager to succeed where others (and his father) failed. Unfortunately, he fails to heed Thia’s warnings and underestimates the voracious beast, just as he underestimates Tessa’s capabilities as she attacks him in a massive power loader equipped with buzzsaws, mechanical fists, and Dek’s plasma cannon. Thanks to Thia and Bud, Dek holds Tessa off long enough to disable the power loader with one of his freeze grenades, leaving her as food for the Kalisk, which Dek affectionately bonds with moments before Thia freezes and explodes it from the inside out! Disgusted by Thia’s emotions, Tessa moves to execute her with the plasma cannon, rejecting their familial bond, only to be skewered by Dek, her head claimed as a trophy that Dek and his newfound clan return to Yautja Prime sometime later. Dek demands that Njohrr gift his cloak as a reward and clashes with his father when he continues to dismiss him for his smaller stature, leading Dek to attack. Though still outmatched by Njohrr, Dek’s experiences allow him to disarm his father and restrain him with a plasma trap, just as he did Kwei, driving the humbled Njohrr to finally acknowledge Dek’s strengths and offer him a place with the clan. Dek refuses, however, having already found his people, leaving the grown-up Bud to devour his father’s head and claiming his cloak, only for Dek and his allies to face the looming threat of his mother (though it would’ve been fun to have the three hunted by the Grendel King (Britton Watkins)).

The Summary:
After years of uncertainty or questionable absences from cinema screens, it’s wonderful to see the Predator franchise going through this newfound resurgence. I find it amazing that we’ve reached a point where a Yautja can be cast as the lead in one of these movies and for it to still be an enjoyable and surprisingly complex experience. While I still find Dex’s ponytail look a bit unflattering for a Predator, I really enjoyed the further insight into Yautja culture and language. It was a nice change of pace to focus on a young, inexperienced, and outcast hunter who is compelled to prove himself, especially as this gave Dek an engaging narrative arc where he learns there’s more to life than the strict Yautja code. Dek faces an uphill battle no matter where he is as even his own people turn against him, to say nothing of Genna’s hostile inhabitants and flora, which Dek wisely utilises to his advantage in the finale. Dek’s relationship with Thia was a highlight of the film, with her constantly needling him and in many ways mirroring him, especially in her relationship with Tessa, who becomes almost a mirror of Dek as the film goes on. Predator: Badlands looks incredible and smartly splashes only alien and synthetic blood, allowing for some gruesome kills that don’t detract from the film’s mainstream appeal, and I was super excited to officially get back on the road towards a more faithful Aliens vs. Predator film. I always enjoy seeing new sides to the Predator and fleshing out their species, and seeing different variations of the hunters in actions, and Predator: Badlands easily stands as one of the best and most engaging entries in the series.

My Rating:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Great Stuff

Did you enjoy Predator: Badlands? What did you think to the relationship between Dek and Thia? Did you like the idea of following a Yautja runt or did the subtitles bother you? Were you surprised by how big a role Weyland-Yutani played? Where do you see Dek and his clan going next? What time periods or settings would you like to see the Predator placed in? How are you celebrating the franchise today? Whatever you thought about Predator: Badlands, comment below and then donate to my Ko-Fi if you liked this review.

Screen Time [Ghostbusters Day]: The Real Ghostbusters: “Citizen Ghost” (S1: E11)

Dr. K3 Comments

June 8th is “Ghostbusters Day”! Ghostbusters (Reitman, 1984) was first released on this day back in 1984 and, since then, has become a major pop culture franchise.

Season One, Episode Eleven: “Citizen Ghost”

Director: Richard Raynis
Air Date: 22 November 1986

Original Network: ABC
Rotten Tomatoes Scores: 100%/ 88%

Quick Facts:
Produced following the universal success of Ghostbusters and retitled to avoid a potential lawsuit, the beloved Real Ghostbusters was a cultural phenomenon for a time. After initially mirroring their film counterparts, the characters were redesigned, with Ernie Hudson famously failing to reprise his role. Though later irrevocably damaged by studio interference, The Real Ghostbusters spawned a wave of merchandise and remains one of the defining cartoons of its era.

The Review:
While it may seem odd to review the eleventh episode of the first series of this classic cartoon, there are a few good reasons for it. Firstly, “Citizen Ghost” acts as a direct follow-up to Ghostbusters, with the main plot a flashback narrated by Doctor Peter Venkman (Lorenzo Music) to reporter Cynthia Crawford (Julie Bennett). Secondly, the episode explains how and why the Ghostbusters adopted the ravenous, mischievous ghost Slimer (Frank Welker). Thirdly, it explains why the Ghostbusters wear distinctly “toyetic” uniforms. And, finally, it explains why they refer to themselves as the “real” Ghostbusters, so there’s a lot of important stuff here. “Citizen Ghost” sees Cynthia navigating the bizarre day-to-day operations of the Ghostbusters’ firehouse to interview Peter regarding the team, who are still quite a mystery to New York City. Eager to understand more about them, and why they keep a ghost as a pet despite dedicating their lives to bustin’ spirits and trapping them within their ecto containment unit, Cynthia presses the besotted Peter and he happily tells her about what happened right after they defeated Gozer the Gozerian and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. The exhausted Ghostbusters returned to find their firehouse a shambles from the containment unit breach and their uniforms splattered in psychokinetic energy from the destroyed Mister Stay Puft. While Doctor Egon Spengler (Maurice La Marche), Doctor Raymond “Ray” Stantz (Frank Welker), and Winston Zeddemore (Arsenio Hall) rebuild the fire station and the ecto containment unit, Peter is given the simple task of disposing of the contaminated uniforms. However, he’s too tired and lazy to do so and leaves them by the ecto containment unit, unaware that they’re dosed in spirit energy leaking from the storage facility.

When spirits possess the Ghostbusters’ uniforms, Slimer helps the team to win them over.

Once the firehouse is fixed up, the team celebrates with Janine Melnitz (Laura Summer), only for the ravenous Slimer to burst in and steal their meal. Recognising the “little spud” as the one who slimed him in the Sedgewick Hotel, Peter leads the Ghostbusters in pursuing the ghost, only to be frustrated by failure. Over the next few days, Slimer reappeared again and again and each of the team reacted differently to him: Egon attempted to study Slimer, Winston was friendly to him, and Ray tried to teach him tricks. Peter, however, attacked Slimer on sight, leading the others to shelter the ghost and unofficially adopt him to annoy Peter. Peter’s issues with Slimer take a backseat, however, when the excess spirit energy brings the Ghostbusters’ old uniforms to life, birthing “spectral” doppelgängers made of ectoplasm who immediately try to replace their originals. The spectral Ghostbusters vanish for several days, then attack as the Ghostbusters are working in the city, firing blasts of ectoplasm from their warped proton packs and forcing the Ghostbusters to race back to base. Theorising that the spectres will be weakened if they can be tricked into firing more than necessary, the Ghostbusters attempt to defeat their doppelgängers, only to have their equipment stolen when their ghostly counterparts boost Ecto-1. With only one spare proton pack, Ray prepares to potentially sacrifice himself to distract the spectres but Slimer, having grown fond of Ray, eagerly swoops in to take his place. Cheered on by the Ghostbusters, Slimer flies rings around the spectres, goading them into literally blowing their loads, weakening them so the Ghostbusters can reclaim their proton packs, entrap the spectres, and assert themselves as the “real” Ghostbusters. Impressed by Slimer’s bravery, Peter begrudgingly accepted him onto the team, though he was left mildly annoyed when Cynthia turned her news report into an exposé on Slimer rather than him.

Final Thoughts:
Despite being a big fan of the films, I was only a fair-weather fan of The Real Ghostbusters. I had a lot of the comics, a handful of toys, and maybe one VHS tape but that was about it. I don’t really remember watching it on television at the time, but I’ve always enjoyed what I have seen. I find “Citizen Ghost” fascinating as it’s one of the few episodes to explicitly reference the movie, thereby establishing the cartoon as a direct spin-off from the films (or, at least, an animated alternative). There’s something really enjoyable about seeing the Real Ghostbusters wearing the film uniforms, covered in residual goo from Mr. Stay Puft, and repairing the damage caused by Walter Peck (William Atherton). Considering the cartoon didn’t follow a serial format, meaning it was perfect for syndication, it makes sense that “Citizen Ghost” (or a version of it) wasn’t used as the pilot or first episode of the cartoon and the flashback framing narrative means you can watch it at any point and it makes perfect sense. While the animation can be a bit wonky and cheap, The Real Ghostbusters has always been a colourful and visually engaging show. We don’t see many wacky ghosts in this episode but the spectral Ghostbusters were impressive enough and fittingly spooky, with their wispy heads and distorted voices and violent desire to displace their organic counterparts.

An important episode that ties directly into the first movie and establishes the style for the cartoon.

“Citizen Ghost” is a great episode at showing just how arrogant, self-absorbed, and lazy Peter is. The spectral Ghostbusters only appear because he’s too lazy to burn the uniforms and he routinely avoids taking responsibility for his mistakes. He also spins the entire narrative into a heroic moment for him, so it’s fun seeing him be denied the spotlight by the end. As would become increasingly evident, this is a Slimer-centric episode that shows how Slimer was adopted by the Ghostbusters. Clearly lonely and eager for company, Slimer is a mischievous and troublesome spirit, but one who’s good-natured and just wants to help and be accepted. He gladly goes along with Egon’s experiments (even if his breath is too much for the curious scientist) and happily helps Ray fix Ecto-1 but is relentlessly hounded by Peter despite showing great affection for him (and the others). It’s this appreciation for the Ghostbusters that drives Slimer to risk his existence against their ghostly doubles and sees him hurt by their ectoplasmic blasts. Surprisingly, even Peter rallies behind Slimer in this moment, showing that he does begrudgingly care for the little spud, which becomes a running joke throughout the cartoon. Ultimately, while you can’t really go wrong with most episodes of The Real Ghostbusters, especially in the first series, “Citizen Ghost” is a great one for those (like me) who were curious to see how the film versions transitioned to their animated counterparts.

My Rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Pretty Good

Is “Citizen Ghost” one of your favourite episodes of The Real Ghostbusters? Were you an avid fan of the show as a kid? Did you like seeing how Slimer was adopted by the team? What did you think to the spectral Ghostbusters and the way the episode follows on from the movie? Which Ghostbuster was your favourite and how are you celebrating Ghostbusters Day today? Whatever your thoughts and memories of Ghostbusters, share them below and donate to my Ko-Fi to fund other Ghostbusters reviews on the site.

Movie Night: A Million Ways to Die in the West

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Released: 30 May 2014
Director: Seth MacFarlane
Distributor: Universal Pictures

Budget: $40 million
Box Office: $87.2 million
Rotten Tomatoes Scores: 33% / 41%

Quick Facts:
Seth MacFarlane and co-writers Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild conceived of this Western comedy while watching Hang ’Em High (Post, 1968) and musing about how dangerous the Wild West was. McFarlane’s second foray into live-action directing saw Charlize Theron jump at the chance to be in a comedy and gave Liam Neeson (who was born on this day in 1952) a rare opportunity to use his natural Irish accent, though the film’s critical response was largely mixed.

The Review:
It’s only fair to begin by saying I’ve never been a huge fan of Westerns. I don’t like to say it because it applies to so many genres, but they really are one of the most predictable types of movies. There’s always a dusty town in the middle of nowhere with little to no law, a bar, probably a square dance, and a shoot out or two, and usually a gruff loner or gunslinger to boot. In A Million Ways to Die in the West, our dusty town is Old Stump, Arizona, an unremarkable location in the grand scheme of things and yet no less dangerous. As pointed out by timid sheep farmer Albert Stark (Seth MacFarlane), 1882 is a bad time to be alive. There are literally a million ways to meet your end in the Old West, from diseases like cholera and dysentery, to wild animals like wolves, coyotes, and rattlesnakes, to bandits, enraged “Indians”, bar fights, and even visiting the doctor. As related by our unseen narrator (Rex Linn), Albert was born in the wrong era. While everyone else in town barely blinks an eye at the sight of the mayor laying dead in the street or a worker being smushed into red paste while unloading a block of ice, or Pastor Wilson (John Aylward) gunning down a man and his son, Albert is mortified by the constant threat of danger. A distinctly twentieth century soul who makes anachronistic allusions, Albert desperately tries to make people see how disgusting, hazardous, and awful life is in the Old West and is generally laughed off, even by his good friend Edward (Giovanni Ribisi), who simply shrugs off their ludicrous situation. Armed with this metatextual awareness, Albert does everything he can to stay safe and out of trouble, talking his way out of gunfights by promising to pay off those he’s inadvertently wronged and meekly burying his head in the sand and despair at his lot in life.

Heartbroken, aggrieved sheep farmer Albert finds a kindred soul in Anna, who boosts his confidence.

As Albert would rather avoid confrontation and danger whenever possible, his meek character is met with apathy and dismissal by his long-term girlfriend, Louise (Amanda Seyfried), who callously dumps him for being “yellow” and leaves him distraught as she was the only good thing in his life. Faced with a lifetime of misery as a near useless sheep farmer cursed with a flock of unruly and incompetent sheep, Albert drowns his sorrows with Edward and frequently rages at the state of the world, even contemplating suicide since he hates the Old West so much. While Edward tries to lift his friend’s spirits, he’s faced with his own dilemma as he tries to stay a devout Christian while clumsily desiring his prostitute girlfriend, Ruth (Sarah Silverman), who is amusingly happy to perform unspeakable sex acts with her patrons but hesitates to have pre-marital sex as she’s very beholden to her religious beliefs. Though stuck in a quagmire of self-loathing, Albert can’t help but help newcomer Anna Barnes-Leatherwood (Charlize Theron) during a bar fight started by her “brother”, Lewis (Evan Jones). Out of gratitude, Anna offers Albert a sympathetic ear and they quickly become friends, with her questioning his heartache over Louise, a flaky and shallow beauty who hooks up with well-to-do moustache connoisseur Foy (Neil Patrick Harris) since he’s so conceited, arrogant, and rich that she can have everything she wanted. Initially, Anna happily poses as Albert’s new girlfriend, helping him to make Louise jealous and get one up on Foy, a wealthy businessman with great social stature who constantly mocks Albert out of smug superiority. Emboldened by Anna’s support, Albert surprises himself by challenging Foy to a duel and, after seeing how awful his marksmanship skills are, Anna offers to help him since she’s a crack shot with a six-shooter. In the process, Albert finds a kindred spirit as Anna also recognises the absurdity of the Old West, where even something as simple as the county fair is fraught with death and danger.

Abused by her outlaw husband, Anna is smitten by Albert’s kindness and down-to-earth attitude.

While Albert is understandably smitten by Anna thanks to her kindness and companionship, eventually kissing her after a barn dance and in her debt after she slips Foy a laxative that humiliates him with a bout of public diarrhoea, he’s sadly unaware of her true background. Arriving in town with Lewis and standing out for her beauty and rationality, Anna is actually the abused wife of infamous outlaw Clinch Leatherwood (Liam Neeson), a quietly psychotic gunslinger who orders Anna to wait in Old Stump while he and his men pull off another job. After a lifetime of Clinch’s abuse and violence, Anna is relieved to be amongst normal people and appreciates Albert in a way Louise never could, seeing him as a kind-hearted soul beaten into self-loathing by a dangerous world and the people around him. Somewhat unaccustomed to social norms, Anna struggles to acclimatise to formal functions and is much happier knocking back shots or blasting bottles with her keen eye. Sharing many of Albert’s observations on the Old West, Anna gets swept up in what he sees as his boring, humdrum, everyday life but to her is a welcome reprieve from Clinch’s brutality. Albert is devastated when Clinch arrives, having been alerted to his wife’s infidelity by Lewis, and is ready to pack up and leave after the betrayal. Although Anna tries to explain and protect him, she’s forced to reveal Albert’s name to Clinch to protect her adopted dog, Plugger (Unknown). However, realising she loves Albert, Anna fends Clinch off when he tries to rape her and Albert, returning her feelings, cannot help but shield her when Clinch comes looking for her, leading Albert to race into the desert where he’s aided by Apaches led by Chief Cochise (Wes Studi), who subject Albert to a drug-induced mind fuck that sees him gather his resolve to meet Clinch’s challenge to a duel.

While Clinch is sadly absent, Foy makes for an amusing and snarky rival for Albert.

A notorious and widely feared outlaw, Clinch isn’t a man to be trifled with. While he routinely snaps at and belittles his wife, exerting his physical dominance and barking orders, he’s also extremely possessive of Anna and thinks nothing of gunning down a random bystander (Ryan Reynolds) when he hears she’s been unfaithful or an elderly prospector (Matt Clark) just to prove a point. Though she hates her husband, Anna is terrified of his wrath and desperately tries to shield Albert from him, to the point where she’s reduced to being a hostage to force Albert into a duel. Although Anna helps improve Albert’s shooting skills, he knows he’s no match for Clinch and instead choose to fight smarter, using the knowledge that Clinch will fire on “two” to wound the outlaw with a grazing shot laced with snake venom. Thus, Albert uses his dislike of the hazardous Old West to his advantage and, while Clinch dies without hearing Albert’s plan, it’s enough to impress the town, and Louise, who Albert happily snubs in favour of Anna. While Liam Neeson oozes quiet menace as Clinch, he’s sadly absent for most of the film and even Lewis is a minor antagonist, at best. Thus, Albert largely clashes with Foy, played with expert comedic charisma by Neil Patrick Harris. An egotistical blowhard who is especially proud of his beautiful moustache, Foy sees Albert as inferior in every way and relishes the chance to rub his wealth and social stature in his rival’s face, happy to shoot Albert to cement his claim to Louise. Since he can’t hope to afford the products required for a moustache and is awful at dancing, Albert’s overwhelmed and pushed to his limit after Foy leads a scathing dance number in the film’s most amusing moment. Sadly, Albert and Foy’s rivalry ends in little more than toilet humour when Anna induces explosive diarrhoea in him, which was a bit disappointing considering their bickering had been so amusing prior to that.

The film’s comedy is at its best when it’s criticising the genre and focusing on Albert and Foy’s rivalry.

I always find reviewing comedies tough as it’s difficult to relate what makes something funny and how the jokes work. A Million Ways to Die in the West bases much of its humour around the absurdity of the Old West, a time when just going to the outhouse could be fatal, when doctors prescribe potential lethal remedies, and when stampeding bulls can gore through the annual fair. Albert comments upon all of this, and more, with an alarmed and disgusted manner, raging at how violent and dangerous the Old West is and begging those around him to admit that life is unreasonably hard, only to be met with apathy. Seth MacFarlane delivers this comedy with his trademark deadpan, metatextual delivery as Albert casually talks about horrendous diseases and events as being part of everyday life. Albert is an awkward and timid soul who’s initially unsure of himself and desperate to avoid conflict, so he rambles to get out of gunfights and stages a playfight during a barroom brawl to avoid injury. While Clinch doesn’t give Neeson much of a chance to flex his comedic chops, his growling delivery and surly nature make him the perfect comedic foil when Anna blasts him with a rock and sticks a flower into his ass crack. The film excels when focusing on the rivalry between Albert and Foy, however, with the two trading insults at a rapid and witty pace, or when demonstrating how hazardous the Old West can be as a single gunshot is enough to incite a brawl and you never know when some stranger (Jamie Foxx) is going to show up to gun you down for your racist shooting gallery. While the comedy lands most of the time, the film wasn’t as funny as McFarlane’s animated efforts, lacking his signature cut-away gags and over the top violence. There are still some amusing bits, though, like the running gag about Albert’s sheep being on his roof and Ruth’s questionable sexual activity, the hilarious moustache song, and Albert’s bizarre mind trip courtesy of Chief Cochise.

Final Thoughts:
I feel like A Million Ways to Die in the West is largely overlooked, especially compared to Seth McFarlane’s other works, and that is a bit of a shame as there’s a lot to like here. Albert Stark was an amusing character and a fun underdog to get behind. Since I’m not a fan of Westerns, I really enjoyed him commentating on and criticising the Old West and the ludicrous depiction of how dangerous life on the frontier could be. I felt he and Anna had great chemistry as kindred spirits, with her bolstering his self-esteem and him showing her the affection and respect she so lacked in her marriage. While Liam Neeson commanded the screen every time he appeared, Clinch was sadly far too absent for my liking. It worked to paint him up as a near-mythical, feared figure but I can’t help but wonder if the film might’ve been better if Clinch had set himself up as the town mayor or something. Thankfully, Foy is on hand to make a great rival for Albert, being a slimy, arrogant snob who delights in belittling Albert and gets off on his wealth and social status. The bickering between Albert and Foy was a highlight of the movie and again something that might’ve been better to focus on as the film loses some momentum after Foy shits himself in the street. I can see why many would dismiss and forget this film as it’s not as memorable as McFarlane’s animated shows or other filmic ventures and a lot of the comedy doesn’t land unless, perhaps, you’re a fan of seeing the genre be picked apart. Even some fun cameos by the likes of Christopher Lloyd don’t help bolster A Million Ways to Die in the West, which remains a somewhat amusing venture that sadly isn’t as gut-burstingly hilarious as it might like to be.

My Rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Pretty Good

Are you a fan of A Million Ways to Die in the West? Are you a fan of Westerns and, if so, did you like seeing the genre mocked? Did you enjoy Albert’s outbursts about how dangerous and ridiculous the Old West was? Do you agree that Clinch should’ve featured more prominently? Did you also enjoy the rivalry between Foy and Albert? Do you have a moustache? How are you celebrating Liam Neeson’s birthday today? Leave a like and comment below with your feedback and donate to my Ko-Fi to support the site.

Back Issues [RoboCop Day]: RoboCop Versus The Terminator

Dr. K2 Comments

To celebrate the release of RoboCop (Padilha, 2014) on home media, June 3rd was declared “RoboCop Day” in the city of Detroit, providing the perfect excuse to celebrate RoboCop each year.

Published: 1 May 1992 to 1 August 1992

Writer: Frank Miller

Artist: Walter Simonson

Quick Facts:
Having achieved mainstream success with licensed adaptations of horror and science-fiction films, Dark Horse Comics sought to replicate their success with mashing together the Alien (Various, 1977 to present) and Predator (Various, 1987 to present) franchises. Having already published spin-offs of the Terminator films (Cameron, 1984; 1991), Dark Horse started a run of RoboCop (Verhoeven, 1987) comics with this four-issue crossover, which led to a popular videogame, Frank Miller’s complicated relationship with the cyborg, and a somewhat divisive second encounter almost twenty years later.

The Review:
In true Terminator fashion, RoboCop Versus The Terminator begins in the nuclear wastelands of the war-torn 2029, where malicious rogue artificial intelligence Skynet sweeps across the remains of human civilisation, enslaving or vaporising any human resistance. With Skynet on the verge of absolute victory, Florence “Flo” Langer infiltrates Skynet’s “regional mind” looking to gain insight into Skynet’s creation and verifying resistance leader John Connor’s theory that a human mind merged with software (specifically cyborg police officer Alex Murphy/RoboCop) birthed Skynet in the past. Blaming RoboCop, Flo fights her way to the Time Displacement Equipment and takes a jaunt to the past to kill Murphy and change the future. Dumped in a busy Detroit street, the naked Flo immediately attracts attention and acquires a pistol, hoping to murder Murphy before he becomes RoboCop, only to find she’s too late for that. Though overwhelmed by the lively, flourishing world, Flo cobbles together a rudimentary plasma rifle, only to find it malfunctions when she’s accosted by an Enforcement Droid-209 (ED-209) for “[violating] street cleaning city ordinance 66B”. Luckily, the ED-209 is as dumb as ever and is easily tricked into tripping over itself, allowing her to get her weapon working to turn it into scrap metal. Thanks to the “frivolous” magazines of the time, Flo heads to the police station where RoboCop is based and easily reaches RoboCop’s lab, where Doctor Marie Lazarus worries that Murphy has been driving himself to exhaustion with his duties and that self-imposed isolation may be making him suicidal. Flo knocks Dr. Lazarus out and steals the tracking device they use to keep tabs on RoboCop, who’s out knocking off kidnappers and would-be bombers with a dispassionate efficiency.

RoboCop’s horrified to learn he unwittingly creates the machines that will destroy humanity!

While brooding over his lost humanity and family, RoboCop is caught completely off-guard when Flo attacks and she coldly blasts him to pieces with her plasma rifle. This sends shockwaves through time that slowly erase the hellish future Skynet fought so hard to create. With only moments to spare, Skynet sends three Terminators back to stop Flo from destroying their “creator”. Quickly acquiring clothes and weapons from the well-armed Detroit locals, the Terminators gun Flo down Though she’s disgusted by RoboCop’s assistance, the critically injured Flo is brought to a hospital, and he queries her about her clearly non-human attackers and her massive cannon. Although his scans reveal Flo’s telling the truth, RoboCop has Lazarus hook him into the Pentagon so he can investigate through cyberspace, verifying (to his horror) the threat Skynet (and, by association, he) poses to mankind. Although RoboCop tries to get the ED-209s on side to even the odds against the Terminators, the dumb things attack each other when ordered to “scan for cybernetic activity”. Luckily, one’s left to reduce the attacking Terminators to their exoskeletons and the Terminators, puzzled by their “creator” defending the humans they so deeply despise, seek only to subdue rather than destroy RoboCop. While the damaged and defective ED-209s destroy one Terminator and RoboCop grapples with another, the third enters the hospital and guns down everyone in its hunt for Flo. Luckily, Lazarus saves Flo and re-arms her, allowing her to blast it to smithereens and take some comfort in the familiarity of combat. Although badly damaged and missing his left arm, RoboCop eventually pummels the remaining Terminator to pieces after a brutal fist fight. However, as RoboCop still lives, the future sees the Terminators spread out into the universe to free other worlds of the “infection” of organic life.

Ready to die to save the world, RoboCop is forced to usher in the machine apocalypse.

Accordingly, RoboCop offers no resistance when Flo prepares to execute him, despite Lazarus’s protests, even encouraging her to step closer so her unreliable weapon doesn’t miss. However, Flo refuses, now seeing RoboCop as a noble soul and remembering her vow to never take a human life. However, haunted by visions of the future and driven by his Prime Directives, RoboCop resolves to mince himself at a nearby scrapyard. Accordingly, evidence of the Future War disappears from the past and the future again begins to be erased, forcing Skynet to again scramble two Terminators and send them back to preserve its existence. This time, they send back a child and a dog infiltration unit, who approach RoboCop directly as he’s contemplating suicide by his gravestone. The “boy” accuses “the flesh” of tricking RoboCop into thinking he’s human and is aghast when RoboCop opens fire. The “dog” attacks with writhing tentacles, easily overpowering the damaged RoboCop and severing his head, dragging him back to the police station and hooking him up to the mainframe. Flo frees herself from a jail cell and rushes to the commotion to witness the Terminator break Dr. Lazarus’s neck and Murphy’s screaming head begging her to kill him. This time, Flo doesn’t hesitate, but the Terminator catches the bullet, shrugs off her gunfire, and brutalises her to the helpless RoboCop’s horror. The Terminator then forcibly connects RoboCop to the mainframe and kick-starts Skynet’s evolution, leaving the disembodied and helpless RoboCop to watch as Skynet unleashes nuclear Armageddon and an army of relentless machines to wipe out humanity. Though horrified, RoboCop duplicates his humanity and wanders through cyberspace as a computer virus, evading Skynet for decades before finally using Skynet’s robotics technology against them to construct a fully armed and war-ready replica body for himself in 2029.

RoboCop saves the future by destroying Skynet at both ends of the timeline.

Thus, the story comes full circle, with Skynet on the brink of absolute victory. This time, RoboCop saves Flo as she’s infiltrating the regional mind, easily blasting the Hunter-Killers with his rockets and heavy-duty ordinance. Stunned by the sight of a machine helping her kind, Flo confronts him as the others recuperate at a makeshift encampment. Seeing that the dogs aren’t afraid of him and that he has a human face and name, Flo chooses to trust Murphy, who warns that Terminators will arrive soon. RoboCop’s actions cause subtle changes to the future, but he remains as an anomaly, helping the Resistance prepare for Skynet’s counterattack. However, when Skynet surprises them with a nuke, RoboCop jets off to intercept, detaching his legs to redirect the missile towards Skynet’s regional mind! Heavily damaged by re-entry, RoboCop has Flo take him to the Terminator factory for repairs, where she marvels at his ability to control the “junk”, unaware that RoboCop feels his humanity slipping away the more he emulates his enemy. Still, inspired by Flo, Murphy constructs an army of RoboCop clones to battle Skynet’s forces in a spectacular display of metal-on-metal action. While they fight alongside Flo and the Resistance, RoboCop heads to Skynet’s now-vulnerable central complex where, in desperation, Skynet offers to make him a “God” and bring his deepest fantasies to life. However, when Flo is killed, RoboCop vehemently turns down the offer and destroys the Skynet system core (a gigantic duplicate of his head!) and all its machines. Although Flo dies hopeful for a better future, RoboCop literally makes it happen by encasing himself in living tissue and travelling back in time to destroy the orbiting defence system that would become Skynet. In doing so, this cold, mechanical version of RoboCop is erased and Flo wakes up in a utopian future, barely remembering a bad dream of the world that once was, and the present-day RoboCop decides to heed Dr. Lazarus’s advice and get some rest. As before, Skynet scrambles to preserve its victory by sending a Terminator back through time. However, amusingly, they miscalculate the time jump in their panic and the machine is simply crushed by a Tyrannosaurus rex.

Final Thoughts: 
I’ve had my issues with Frank Miller over the years, but this was one of his better efforts. Sure, some “Miller-isms” are still present, mainly in the blunt, repetitious dialogue, but it served the purpose of the story very well. I really liked seeing Skynet panic when it realises the timeline is changing, erasing its influence and replacing it with natural life, which it hates for their destructive tendencies and disorder. RoboCop Versus The Terminator suggests the future is one malleable timeline. So, changes in the past directly affect the future rather than producing alternative timelines as in the films. This means that destroying RoboCop in the past doesn’t immediately prevent the Future War; it just alters the timeline. This gives Skynet the chance to quickly send Terminators back to undo the damage, which perfectly captures the desperation the machines felt when the Resistance destroying their defence grid in the films. Indeed, Miller characterises Skynet and the machines as surprisingly emotional beings. They hate “the flesh” and have no qualms about hunting down and killing even children to purge the “cancer” of humanity. They even take to the stars upon achieving absolute victory, seeking to conquer other worlds and spread their doctrine further, and are amazed when RoboCop refuses to embrace their cold, clinical logic. The Terminators’ relationship with RoboCop is complex. They see him as their “creator” and seek to preserve him but will rip him to pieces and subdue him to ensure their survival and think nothing of turning their full force against him in 2029.

RoboCop’s determined to save mankind, even if it costs him his life and his humanity.

RoboCop is in a bad place in RoboCop Versus The Terminator. The trauma of his condition and the pain of being separated from his humanity and family ser him throw himself into his work, rendering him a cold, emotionless machine at the story’s start. Dr. Lazarus is even concerned that he’s suicidal and, indeed, RoboCop is more than willing to sacrifice his life to save humanity once he learns of his awful destiny. Determined to save the world, follow his Prime Directives, and end his suffering, RoboCop resolves to destroy himself once he verifies Skynet’s threat. Indeed, RoboCop practically jumps at the chance to die and begs Flo to kill him, especially when he’s forcibly hooked into Skynet. Rather than giving up, RoboCop creates a digital doppelgänger and endures the horrific machine takeover just so he can rebuild himself and turn the tide. Interestingly, RoboCop takes the time to rescue Flo and lead the fight against Skynet in the future before going back to erase them from existence. I assume this is to ensure that there’s no chance Skynet can mount another counterattack and to avenge all those killed, but it would’ve been far more efficient if RoboCop had simply built a body and travelled to the past to destroy Skynet then. However, that would’ve robbed us of some of the story’s best visuals. I particularly liked seeing RoboCop all decked out in missiles and Terminator technology, blasting through the sky and raining missiles and commanding an army of Robo clones on the battlefield! Similarly, I enjoyed the one-on-one fight between RoboCop and a Terminator in the past, which delivered a knock-down, brutal melee far beyond what the movies would’ve been capable of, I’m sure.

An exciting and intriguing marriage of both franchise that results in a fun and engaging story.

Unusually, RoboCop Versus The Terminator doesn’t feature John or Sarah Connor; John is only referred to by Flo. Flo is a decent enough main character, being hyper focused on destroying RoboCop and vehemently hating all machines due to her traumatic experiences in the Future War. Flo’s capable enough to build a plasma rifle, easily outwits the ED-209s, and holds her own against the Terminators. She destroys RoboCop without hesitation in one timeline and then ends up fighting to defend him in others, touched by his humanity and ultimately trusting him despite her repeatedly dying because of the cyborg cop. We get some fun Terminator variants here, including a little person, child, and dogs, showing that Skynet’s infiltration strategy was incredibly layered. Unfortunately, we don’t see RoboCop fighting with or alongside a reprogrammed T-800 (beyond his fist-fight with an endoskeleton) but I liked that there was a lot of action in the past and that RoboCop was forced to witness Skynet’s destructive plot in real time to fight against them in the future, giving us the best of both worlds and putting both characters in each other’s home turf. Miller even found an interesting way to merge the two franchises by having RoboCop be the spark that gives Skynet sentience, which makes perfect sense as he’s “part man, part machine”. I also enjoyed seeing elements of Miller’s RoboCop sequels weaved into the story, like Dr. Lazarus and a reference to Nikko Halloran, and seeing ED-209s as bumbling robot enforcers. Overall, RoboCop Versus The Terminator is a super fun story full of explosive action, time travel shenanigans, and thrilling interactions and battles between the titular cyborgs. It’s a shame we never got to see it in live-action (though I live in hope for an animated feature…) but we did pretty well between this, the videogame, and the action figures.

My Rating:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Great Stuff

Did you enjoy RoboCop Versus The Terminator? What did you think to RoboCop being in such a bad head space and him being painted as Skynet’s creator? Did you enjoy the time travel shenanigans and the fights between the two cyborgs? What did you think of Flo and RoboCop’s new look in the future? Would you have liked to see more clashes between the two and a movie of the premise? How are you celebrating RoboCop Day today? Drop your thoughts on RoboCop Versus The Terminator in the comments, and donate to my Ko-Fi to suggest other RoboCop content for the site.

Game Corner: [Dinosaur Day]: Turok: Dinosaur Hunter (Xbox Series X)

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Sixty-five million years ago, dinosaurs ruled the Earth. These massive beasts existed for about 180 million years before a cataclysmic event left them mere fossils. Fittingly, “Dinosaur Day” gives dino fans an ample opportunity to pay homage to these near-mythical titans.

Released: 28 February 2021
Originally Released: 4 March 1997
Developer: Nightdive Studios
Original Developer: Iguana Entertainment

Metacritic Scores: 85 / 8.0
Also Available For: Nintendo 64, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PC (Original Release); Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S (Remaster)


Quick Facts:
Based on the Valiant Comics revival of Dell Comics’ Turok, Son of Stone, Turok: Dinosaur Hunter came about after Acclaim Entertainment purchased Valiant in 1994. The fifteen-person team developed Turok as a first-person shooter (FPS) to showcase the power of the Nintendo 64. A critical and commercial success, Turok impressed at the time and spawned sequels and spin-offs of varying quality before being remastered for modern consoles to largely positive reviews.

Gameplay and Power-Ups:
Turok: Dinosaur Hunter is an early FPS title for the generation-defining Nintendo 64, actually the first FPS game developed for the system and, as such, set the bar for future FPS games released for the console (to the point where Turok’s control scheme was often a default or alternative for other shooters). Naturally, Turok takes a lot of inspiration from Doom (id Software, 1993) for its gameplay and controls, with  players assuming control of Tal’Set, the titular Turok (despite the original Nintendo 64 version depicting his successor, Joshua Fireseed), and journeying across eight levels (nine, if you include the hub world) to oppose the mysterious Campaigner’s plot to tear apart reality with his techno-organic army of dinosaurs and other minions. The game’s controls are entirely customisable, and I’d recommend tweaking them to your liking. For example, I set the “bindings” to have the Right Trigger attack with Turok’s current weapon, A to jump, and the Left and Right Bumpers switch weapons. I had X toggle between ammo types (where available), Y bring up the surprisingly useful wireframe map, and set the run toggle to the right directional pad. There’s no reloading in Turok, though you can tweak the settings to set whether or not you automatically switch weapons upon acquiring new ones, change the colour of the blood, toggle Turok’s head bob, and toggle various sound and graphic effects (such as draw distance and fog). Turok offers a “Training” mode for you to get accustomed to the gameplay, which mainly sees you exploring levels cutting down respawning enemies, collecting various keys, and tackling one of the worst affronts to FPS gameplay ever conceived: first-person platforming! Although this is a remaster of the classic Nintendo 64 game, Nightdive Studios haven’t implemented modern quality of life features like save states or rewinds, so you’ll still be relying on extra lives (acquired by collecting 100 Life Force points) and rare checkpoints and manual save points scattered across each level.

Shoot, jump, and explore to track down elusive keys in the classic but clunky FPS title.

Turok’s reasonably durable and can partially or fully recover his health with various pickups and can even permanently extend it by collecting “Mortal Wounds” that randomly drop when you kill enemies with your knife or basic arrows. “Spiritual Invincibility” temporarily makes you invincible and slows enemies, “Tek Armour” grant additional armour points, and backpacks increase how much ammo you can carry. Turok can (awkwardly) swim and climb vine walls and ladders; while he doesn’t take fall damage, he will be hurt by lava or boiling tar pits, and you lose a life if you plummet down a pit. This respawns you from your last checkpoint, though any collectibles and non-respawning enemies helpfully stay gone. Turok utilises a wide array of weapons, starting with a simple knife and a bow that fires regular and “Tek Arrows” that explode on contact. You quickly grab a pistol, a shotgun, and a fairly useless assault rifle. The automatic shotgun later became my default weapon, especially when you acquire explosive shells, while the minigun is great for shredding larger enemies. The rapid-fire pulse rifle is a far better alternative to the assault rifle, the grenade launcher is decent for blowing up enemies from a distance, and you even get a heavy-duty quad rocket launcher that’s best saved for bosses. Search around enough and you’ll find an alien weapon that fires explosive energy bursts, a shockwave cannon, and the ridiculously powerful particle cannon, though these all have very limited ammunition. Every level also hides part of the legendary “Chronoscepter”, the ultimate weapon that you’ll only complete right before the final boss and which decimates anything caught in its blast radius. Although ammo is plentiful, it’s usually best not to kill most enemies as they quickly respawn and most can just be avoided. However, there are times when you’re forced to defeat all enemies in a given area to lower barriers or raise platforms. It’s also worth noting that hazards like falls, falling boulders, and even some enemy attacks hurt your enemies, and also that some areas are rigged with flame bursts, spike pits and traps, wall lasers, and heavy cannons.

As if hazards and tough enemies weren’t bad enough, platforming becomes challenging as you progress.

Although things start fairly linear, later levels become much larger or more maze-like, which can leave you running in circles frantically searching for the right path. The map helps but it can be difficult following it when dealing with the respawning enemies. Each level contains several keys that must be found to unlock levels from the hub and these can be easily missed, meaning you must replay previous levels to hunt them down. The pause menu tracks which ones you’re missing and they’re fairly easy to spot, either being out in the open, across short jumps, or accessed via obvious alternative paths. Teleporters transport you across levels, pressure switches lower gates, raise paths, or open doors, and you must occasionally race from a switch to a door before it closes. Turok is littered with aggravating platforming challenges that start relatively safe (you’ll drop to water or a lower level if you fall and must climb back up to try again) but quickly become very tricky as you’re jumping to moving or extremely narrow platforms over lava or bottomless pits. The longer you hold the jump button, the further Turok jumps, and it can help to look down before you jump, but these platforms and columns eventually become so small that it’s very anxiety-inducing jumping to them. When on the Ruins level, you must jump to ledges so narrow they’re barely distinguishable from the rest of the environment or you must take running jumps from tiny platforms and will be frustrated by failure. The Lost Land sees you hopping to stone columns that rise and fall, making jumps difficult to judge while the Ancient City are more labyrinthine, offering higher paths and tunnels to goodies or shortcuts, and containing various doors and narrow corridors where enemies skulk around every corner. Blue portals also spawn all over, transporting you to relatively safe bonus areas where you must hop to or cross various platforms to stock up on ammo or Life Force points, though these are entirely optional.

Presentation:
I remember the original Turok. I think everyone had a copy on Nintendo 64 back in the day. It was a foggy mess whose environments popped in from the murk and your vision was largely obscured when underwater. Thankfully, this remaster fixes most of that but there’s still a lot of fog. The Treetop Village employs it as a gameplay mechanic, however, as you’re high up in villages built around giant trees, watching as gigantic Brontosauruses stomp around you. Fog also obscures much of the Ruins level to make jumps to narrow ledges or wooden platforms even more troublesome and there’s a murky haze in the Lost Land that’s explained by the volcanic activity. Surprisingly, and disappointingly, there’s no story in Turok, not even some text setting the stage. You get no in-game context behind anything, no ending beyond watching Tal’Set escape the Campaigner’s exploding citadel, and no introductory sequence beyond Tal’Set dramatically shooting an arrow at the title screen. Even the old instruction manual was light on context, which is a shame as even Doom had some text to set the scene. You rarely see Tal’Set during gameplay unless you mess up, then you’re treated to various fun death animations (if enabled), but you do hear him grunt and scream when attacked and loudly proclaim “I am Turok!” when you earn an extra life. Turok’s music is a largely forgettable mixture of tribal sounds, ambient noises, and thumping bass. I did like the growls and screeches of unseen animals lurking in the jungle and appreciated the sounds of enemies teleporting in, which kept me moving at a steady (if often frantic) pace. You’ll often see wild boar, deer, and monkeys wandering levels that can be attacked for extra health, fish in the water, and blood will splatter with each attack. Enemies have some fun death animations, like slowly choking to death as arterial spray juts from the necks or blowing to pieces when you fire grenades at their bodies.

Sadly, the lack of story and visual variety drags the game down and the visuals remain as murky as ever.

Sadly, there’s not much visual variety to Turok. You start in the hub, which is a dense, linear jungle area consisting of various crumbling ruins, water pools, narrow canyons, and bottomless spits. This leads directly into the first level, the Jungle, which is mostly the same and establishes that you must find keys, press switches, and defeat waves of respawning enemies. The Jungle introduces log bridges, abandoned settlements, and that the Tek Arrows can blow up certain areas. You’ll venture into narrow, twisting caverns, wade or dive into water, and hop across some simple gaps as a taste for things to come. The Ancient City takes the jungle assets and muddies them up, placing more emphasis on vaguely Aztec ruins, temples, and structures made from dilapidated stone. The Ruins up the emphasis on platform as the level is based almost entirely around a cliffside area, with twisting log platforms winding around stone columns, narrow rope bridges threaten to drop you to your death, a maze of pillars, and various waterfalls and flooded areas. When in the Catacombs, things become more restrictive and maze-like as you avoid boiling tar and press switches to open various doors, dodging blade gears, raiding tombs, and being surprised when the brutish Pur-Lins burst through the stone walls. This ancient tomb also sees stone panels breathe fire at you, has you climbing blocky walls, and sees you pressing a specific switch to drain water and open a new area. The Treetop Village was surprisingly impressive, despite the fog, as you’re suspended high above, fighting past wooden huts, making numerous jumps to narrow cliff ledges, and battling waves of enemies against a thunderstorm backdrop. The Lost Land is a largely barren hellscape full of volcanos, lava pits, and the Campaigner’s heavily guarded, futuristic citadel. This level features some of the trickiest platforming as you hop to floating platforms and to extremely narrow columns, and narrow corridors within the highly advanced citadel that represents the game’s busiest location. It all gets a bit samey, however, as the same jungle environments, caverns, cliffsides, and ruins and recycled across each area, meaning many levels lack a strong visual identity.

Enemies and Bosses:
The Campaigner’s forces are many and varied, ranging from humanoid to dinosaur to alien warriors. You’ll encounter aggressive natives who wield knifes, pistols, spears, and shotguns, with some tossing grenades or unloading with assault rifles. These are upgraded to cyborgs in the Final Confrontation, with their shotgun-wielding commanders being notably durable. Demonic humanoids also appear, with their priests being particularly annoying as they launch fireballs and lightning and can take a lot of shots to put down, while their skeleton-painted minions spit darts. Acid-spitting, man-eating plants later appear, extremely annoying beetles and gremlin-like Lurkers hop around the various caverns, and giant prehistoric dragonflies flitter about in the skies of the Lost Land. You’ll also encounter giant grabs in the fetid sewers of the Campaigner’s citadel, giant burrowing sandworms, and heavily armoured battle robots who boast minigun arms and quad rocket launchers. The hulking Pur-Lins are smartly positioned like mini bosses, dropping in to guard keys, switches, or gates. They also produce a shockwave, launch fireballs, and tumble into you when downed so it’s best to keep your distance, especially if you’re near a pit. Various cybernetically enhanced, frog-like aliens also appear, firing plasma shots, flying with a jetpack, and occasionally initiating a self-destruct. You’ll also encounter voracious Utahraptors who bite, swipe, and jump kick you, slower Dimetrodons wander about snapping at your heels, and enemies will ride Triceratopses in the Lost Land. Like later Dimetrodons and Utahraptors, these are cybernetically enhanced, boasting miniguns and grenade launchers, which can make these usually simple (if annoying) enemies much more formidable as they’re packing serious heat!

The gigantic and powerful bosses are impressive but sadly in short number.

Although Turok boasts eight levels, there are only five bosses to contend with so the battle robots, Pur-Lins, and Triceratopses often act as mid- or end guardians. When you do fight bosses, they boast a health bar and you respawn in the boss arena if you die, which is super helpful. You may encounter some bosses out of order depending on what keys you have, but you’ll most likely fight the Longhunter first. This is a two-stage battle that first sees you attacked by two Humvees that race around firing machine guns and rockets and ram into you if you get too close. Once they’re gone, the Longhunter rolls about firing plasma shots and tossing a boomerang-like razor blade that’s tricky to avoid. Oddly, the gigantic Mantis was a far easier fight despite it being much larger and having better attacks. The Mantis leaps about, destroying walls and spitting corrosive acid that lingers for a short time. It also swipes with its bladed arms and eventually flies about dropping gunk or scrambling about on the ceiling and firing explosive shots, though I did pretty good with the minigun and pulse rifle. After clearing out the aliens, cyborgs, and hulking robots littered throughout the Campaigner’s futuristic citadel, players area teleported to a circular arena and fight a titanic, cybernetically enhanced Tyrannosaurs rex named “Thunder”. A fast, huge enemy, Thunder quickly stomps towards you and will decimate your health if it bites you. If you stay back, Thunder produces a shockwave off a leap and breathes fire, eventually sweeping the arena with is laser eye as your attacks destroy its mechanical parts. Thankfully, you’re given a save point and loads of gear prior to battling the Campaigner, who frantically teleports about, hides behind an energy shield, and unleashes a barrage of enemy projectiles. He also attacks with an axe-like club and can restrict your more powerful weapons if they’re used, though the Chronoscepter drains huge chunk of his help if you have it and if you can get a clear shot.

Additional Features:
There are a paltry ten Achievements up for grabs in this remaster of Turok, with one being awarded each time you defeat a boss and when you complete the game on any difficulty. You’ll get another if you collect enough Mortal Wounds, another for killing three enemies at once with the knife (I recommended doing this against the beetles), and another for clearing the “Training” mode and assembling the Chronoscepter. Although the game has four difficulty modes, you’re better off sticking to “Easy” unless you really need a greater challenge, and there’s little point in jumping into the blue bonus portals unless you’re really low on resources. There are a bunch of secret areas to discover, which generally yield additional health or weapons, and finding them all grants you another Achievement. Though there’s no multiplayer option, there is a time trial mode that gifts another Achievement if you beat it fast enough. You can input a bunch of cheat codes to gain infinite lives, all weapons and keys, big head mode, invincibility, and more, however they disable the Achievements.

Final Thoughts:
Like I said, it seemed as though everyone owned Turok: Dinosaur Hunter back in the day, and that includes me. However, this is the first time I’ve ever legitimately beaten the game much less played through it from start to finish. I used to just mess around with cheats, blowing enemies up with the Chronoscepter and skipping to the bosses, so it was nice to finally sit down and play it. Sadly, Turok hasn’t aged well, despite the graphical and performance enhancements made to this remaster. It’s a very barebones FPS, even with the emphasis on exploration to find all the keys and Chronoscepter pieces. You’ll mostly see the same enemies in every level, the same assets recycled into tougher challenges, and repeat the same gameplay loop of shooting, pressing switches, and teleporting about until you reach the end. The game is disappointingly light on story, even for an FPS title or an early Nintendo 64 release, and I found myself holding back from using most of the heavier weapons as I wanted to save them for the bosses, only for bosses to be extremely rare and such bullet sponges that you quickly exhaust your best ammo. I really liked the cybernetic dinosaurs and wish these had been more prominent, with less humanoid enemies and more prehistoric or alien enemies to lean into the game’s unique setting. The environments also really needed more visual variety. The jungle setting and Aztec ruins are fine for the first two levels, and I loved the atmosphere of the Treetop Village, but the futuristic, alien aesthetic should’ve been incorporated more prominently, perhaps with crashed alien craft or outposts set up by the Campaigner in each area. The lack of multiplayer is a surprising omission given how popular “Deathmatches” were back then and the focus on FPS platforming really drags Turok down. It’s a fairly unique gimmick, for sure, but FPS platforming is never fun and some of the jumps are ridiculously finnicky and frustrating. Therefore, while Turok: Dinosaur Hunter may be a Nintendo 64 classic and have a place in the history books, it’s largely inferior to other FPS titles from yesteryear even with its bizarre enemies and setting.

My Rating:

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Could Be Better

Did you own Turok: Dinosaur Hunter on the Nintendo 64 back in the day or was this your first time discovering it? Did you ever read the Valiant comics? Were you also annoyed by the finnicky, first-person platforming? Did you also find the levels lacking in visual variety? Did you ever construct the Chronoscepter and defeat the Campaigner? Which Turok videogame is your favourite and how are you celebrating Dinosaur Day this year? Whatever your thoughts on Turok: Dinosaur Hunter, and dinosaurs in general, leave them below and donate to my Ko-Fi if you want to see more Turok content.