Dr. K

Back Issues [Crossover Crisis]: Crisis on Infinite Earths

08/04/202508/04/2025Dr. K15 Comments

Cover-dated April 1985, the first issue of this ground-breaking event precipitated the destruction of the “Multiverse” in favour of a unified DC canon. Though DC returned to this concept again and again, that doesn’t change how influential this massive crossover was and what better way to celebrate than with a “Crossover Crisis” of my own?

Published: 3 January 1985 (cover-dated: April 1985) to March 1986 (cover date)
Writer: Marv Wolfman
Artist: George Pérez

The Background:
In Showcase #4 (1956), writer Robert Kanigher and artist Carmine Infantino debuted Barry Allen/The Flash, the successor to Jay Garrick, who was established as an alternative version of the Fastest Man Alive. This concept was taken to the next level when Barry and Jay met face-to-face, revealing an infinite number of parallel worlds. Regular crossovers between the likes the Justice Society of America and the Justice League of America soon followed, allowing alternative heroes and various stories to exist simultaneously. Over time, writers like Mark Wolfman became frustrated with this concept, which made keeping track of continuity difficult and it was hard for both writers and readers to connect with the stories. Wolfman initially pitched a reader guide to simplify the DC universe, which then evolved into a sprawling tale of multiversal destruction seen as a risky proposition as it meant erasing all continuity and starting from scratch to attract new readers. Such an event was unprecedented and DC spent two years laying the foundation for this Crisis, hiring researchers to document every character and event in their library and bringing in George Pérez to illustrate, with the artist excited at the idea of illustrating every DC character. Crisis on Infinite Earths became a bestseller for DC Comics and was heralded as a turning point for both the publisher and the industry. The fallout saw every DC character rebooted, with Clark Kent/Superman notably being reimagined as a more grounded character and Wally West taking over as the Flash, though Carter Hall/Hawkman was irrevocably damaged for years as DC struggled to reconcile certain elements of his character. Praised as the greatest comic book crossover in history, the event popularised massive, cosmic crossovers and DC revisited this concept numerous times in subsequent years. The event was even adapted into an ambitious and well received television event and an impressive three-part animated feature.

The Review:
Confused by the concept of the multiverse? Well, Crisis on Infinite Earths has you covered, to a degree, as it opens with (and features throughout) narration and exposition from the tragic Kell Mossa/Pariah. In the beginning, before there was light and life, there was only darkness. Then, from nowhere, came a single light that grew and expanded and finally exploded in “pain [and] relief” as the multiverse was born. The idea is infinite parallel realities all co-exist at once, separated by vibrational planes, though this is noted to not have been the intention when the light burst into being. The story the shifts to one such Earth where the hooded, weeping Pariah witnesses the destruction of not only that world, but the entire reality, at the hands of an all-encompassing white light. As entropy erases everything it touches, Pariah begs to be taken with it, sparing him his grim fate, only to be teleported away as the universe meets its destructive end. We then jump to Earth-3, home of the Crime Syndicate, an evil alternative version of the Justice League. There, Harold Jordan/Power Ring and Clark Kent/Ultraman desperately try to stop the cataclysmic natural disasters springing up across their world as the anti-matter wave approaches. While Thomas Wayne Jr./Owlman and Jonathan Allen/Johnny Quick lament their helplessness against such awesome power, the world’s only superhero, Alexander Luthor, watches helplessly as lifelong enemies like Diana/Superwoman are devoured by the anti-matter wave. With no way to save his world, Alexander rushes to be with his wife, Lois, and baby son, Alexander Luthor, Jr. In a parallel to Superman’s iconic origin, the baby is loaded into a specially prepared rocket and spirited away to Earth-1 as his world dies.

*With all universes at risk of annihilation, the Monitor assembles a team of heroes and villains.*

The mysterious Mar Novu/The Monitor observes this from his orbiting, spherical space station alongside Lyla Michaels/Harbinger, whom he sends to recruit Earth’s greatest heroes and villains to stop the pending Crisis. Harbinger recruits King Solovar from Gorilla City, Dawnstar from the 30^th century Legion of Super-Heroes, Danette Reilly/Firebrand from Earth-2 1942, Ted Kord/The Blue Beetle from Earth-4, and Roger Hayden/Psycho-Pirate from present-day Earth-2. She returns Psycho-Pirate’s emotion manipulating Medusa Mask and coerces him into quelling Louise Lincoln/Killer Frost’s bloodlust and bringing both her and Ronnie Raymond and Professor Martin Stein/Firestorm to the cause. Though Harbinger is possessed by a Shadow Demon when recruiting Ahri’ahn/Arion the Sorcerer, he joins the other recruits, including Kal-L/Superman, John Stewart/Green Lantern, Neal Emerson/Doctor Polaris, Victor Stone/Cyborg, Simon Jones/Psimon, and Todd Rice/Obsidian. With tensions running high, the group are attacked by Shadow Demons, which seem impervious to physical, mental, and energy-based attacks. While the likes of the Blue Beetle can only run and Firestorm struggles with Killer Frost’s newfound affections, Obsidian and the arrogant Dr. Polaris put their shadow- and magnetism-based powers to good use. The Monitor halts the attack and introduces both himself and the threat to their universes. Weakened by the spread of anti-matter and facing suspicion from his assembled forces, the Monitor reveals that he’s judged them as the best hope of protecting five devices spread across the different eras that he hopes will halt the anti-matter wave. Meanwhile, reality is warped across the multiverse: in prehistoric times, Anthro the Cave-Boy is as astonished to spot a futuristic city amongst the wilds as Querl Dox/Brainiac-5 is to see mammoths stampeding through the 30^th century. Half a galaxy away on Oa, the Guardians of the Universe prepare to summon their entire Green Lantern Corps to meet the threat, only for a mysterious voice to corrupt the Central Battery and trap them in a stasis beam. On Earth-1, Bruce Wayne/Batman is busy confronting the Joker during his latest crime spree and is astonished when an emaciated, confused Flash suddenly appears babbling about the end of the world and begging for help before disintegrating before the Dark Knight’s eyes!

*As the Crisis worsens, the Monitors prepares Alexander and a new Dr. Light to face the threat.*

On the post-apocalyptic Earth-AD, Kal-L, King Solovar, and Dawnstar meet Kamandi, the last boy on Earth, and discover the Monitor’s device, a towering, golden Cosmic Tuning Fork that’s immediately (though only briefly) attacked by Shadow Demons. Arion, Obsidian and the Psycho-Pirate watch over another tower in Atlantis, only for the Psycho-Pirate to be transported to a dark realm and coerced into turning against the Monitor just as Harbinger secretly conspires with that same dark force. Oblivious, the Monitor experiments on the rapidly aging Alexander Luthor, Jr., an impossible merger of matter and anti-matter who potentially holds the key to defeating the anti-matter spread, whom Harbinger’s dark master wants destroyed before he can threaten his schemes. Meanwhile, in the far future of Earth-1, the Flash races to keep his world from being torn apart from natural disasters but is forced to vibrate at super-speed to escape death. This same anti-matter energy arrives on present-day Earth-1, much to the horror of the Teen Titans, who desperately try to both halt the destructive wave and save lives alongside Batman and Superman. As Linda Lee/Kara Zor-El/Supergirl does the same, Barbara Gordon/Batgirl gives in to self-doubt, and John Constantine arrogantly believes it’ll all work out, Vril Dox/Brainiac coldly observes the events concludes that, if he’s to survive, he must team up with Lex Luthor. While defending a Cosmic Tuning Fork from both Nazi forces and Shadow Demons in 1942 Markovia, the Blue Beetle discovers the mysterious Scarab fused to his suit is lethal to the shadowy entities but is wounded before he can put this to good use and returned to his world by the Monitor to spare him. Back on Earth-AD, the skies turn red and King Solovar succumbs to his wounds while Cyborg, Firebrand, John Stewart, and Psimon team up with some local heroes (including Jonah Hex) in 1879 to defend another tower, only to be as overwhelmed by anti-matter as the far-flung future of the Legion of Super-Heroes. Elsewhere, the terrified heroes of Earth-6 blame Pariah for the looming threat, to no avail (though Pariah does save Tashana/Lady Quark to ease his suffering). While the unseen villain forcibly recruits the Red Tornado, the Monitor activates an “ion-based energy ray” to empower Doctor Kimiyo Hoshi, transforming her into the new Doctor Light and sending her to defend his tower on Earth-1.

*Following the Monitor’s death, his champions are convinced to unite and save the remaining Earths.*

When the heroes attack her, believing she and the tower caused the entropy, Superman quells the fighting, though things take a turn when the Shadow Demons combine into one gigantic, terrifying entity in each era. Even Princess Diana Prince/Wonder Woman’s hopes of recruiting her Amazonian sisters fail. When Pariah berates the Monitor for not doing more to intervene, he reveals just how weak he’s become and then nobly faces his end at Harbinger’s hands. Distraught, Pariah weeps as Earth-1 and Earth-2 are finally consumed; confused to find his strength hasn’t increased as a result, the dark villain delights in having the Psycho-Pirate torture the Flash. Depowered, Lyla is distressed by her actions but a pre-recorded message from the Monitor reveals that his death allowed his essence to empower his Cosmic Tuning Forks and create a “netherverse”, a pocket dimension to keep Earth-1 and Earth-2 safe. After giving the Monitor an appropriate burial, Lyla, Pariah, and the now teenage Alexander Luthor, Jr. gather both world’s champions on the Monitor’s satellite to merge all existing realities into one lest all worlds and realities be lost. Since there are some doubters, Alexander has them witness the Red Tornado be forcibly transformed into a being of pure, primal force, one easily subdued by sorcerers like Kent Nelson/Doctor Fate and Zatanna Zatara (though Ted Grant/Wildcat’s legs are shattered during the fracas). Thus, even the most sceptical agree to defend their worlds, only for the satellite to disintegrate courtesy of the event’s big bad, the Anti-Monitor! Fleeing to the emptiness of limbo, Alexander moves to save Earth-4, -S, and -X, only for Harbinger to subdue him and take his place. While Yolanda Montez continues Wildcat’s legacy on Earth-2, the Freedom Fighters and the Monitor’s agents come to blows on Earth-X when the Psycho-Pirate, his powers augmented by the demonic Anti-Monitor, stirs fear and hatred amongst them. Similarly, on Earth-1, Billy Batson/Captain Marvel and his siblings mindlessly attack Supergirl and Wonder Woman, though the fighting ends when Harbinger forces Earth-4, -S, and -X into the netherverse alongside Earth-1 and Earth-2, exhausting her incredible powers but dooming them to be slowly merged together.

*After Lyla relates the Anti-Monitor’s origin, Supergirl sacrifices herself to try and destroy him.*

Thus, Lyla, Pariah, and Alexander assemble Earth-1’s Superman, Earth-2’s (Kal-L), Captain Marvel, the Blue Beetle, Lady Quark, and Uncle Sam and reveal that, ten billion years ago, the Oan scientist Krona dared to seek the beginning of the universe, witnessing a giant hand clutching a star cluster. This caused a cosmic fracture, creating not just the multiverse, but an anti-matter universe and a counterpart to Oa, Qward. After banishing Kronoa, the Oans created peacekeeping forces like the defective Manhunters and the Green Lantern Corps but were fractured by a civil war, birthing the Controllers. Amidst the fighting, the Monitor and his evil, anti-matter counterpart came into being. The Anti-Matter conquered Qward and created the Shadow Demons to spread his influence throughout the anti-matter universe before waging war against the Monitor upon sensing his presence. Evenly matched, they were rendered unconscious for nine billion years before being awoken by the misguided Pariah, once a celebrated healer and scientist who also investigated the origin of the universe. Pariah’s world paid the price, and he was damned to live forever and watch all worlds die, though the Monitor also saw him as instrumental in saving all reality. Alexander uses his unique matter/anti-matter powers to create a dimensional tear to the anti-matter universe, which Pariah leads the heroes to the Anti-Monitor’s vast stone fortress. Enraged that the Psycho-Pirate is too drained to corrupt them, the Anti-Monitor has his stronghold attack, injuring the usually invulnerable Kal-L. Dr. Light and Superman discover the Anti-Monitor’s solar collector but are attacked before they can destroy it and halt the merger of the Earths. Hearing her cousin’s agony, Supergirl flies to Superman’s aid, brutally beating the villain in a rage and chastising his disdain for life, tearing through his protective armour. Furious, the Anti-Monitor prepares to explode with all his energy and, in a last-ditch effort to destroy him, his machine, and save everyone, Supergirl tackles him, destroying his machine but being fatally blasted. As the Anti-Monitor’s deteriorating, incorporeal form slinks away, Superman mourns his cousin’s death and vows to kill the Anti-Monitor. Kal-L calms his counterpart and they escape, and a memorial service is held on Earth-2, where Superman pays homage to Supergirl, vowing to remember her and fight in her name. Despite the loss, the five worlds are saved; similarly, the Green Lantern Corps free their masters and almighty Darkseid wisely cloaks Apokalips from the Anti-Monitor’s gaze. However, the Anti-Monitor reconstitutes himself on his ship, where the Flash is imprisoned, and prepares a counterattack from Qward.

*Despite the Flash’s noble sacrifice, the Anti-Monitor gains God-like power from his anti-matter universe.*

Though saved, the five worlds are still overlapping, causing anomalies and damage to each while the Anti-Monitor oversees the creation of the anti-matter cannon, which he plans to use to obliterate the worlds. Just as the Psycho-Pirate feels his powers return, the Flash escapes and angrily attacks the sadistic villain, forcing him to turn the Anti-Monitor’s slaves against their master as a distraction. Though stunned to find the anti-matter cannon is powered by concentrated anti-matter and realising that destroying it would kill him, the Flash bravely circles the weapon’s core to turn its destructive energy back on it. Staving off the agony with memories of his loved ones, the Flash runs fast enough to move back in time (explaining his earlier, sudden appearances). Though Barry successfully destroys the weapon, it costs him his life. Enraged, the Anti-Matter absorbs the anti-matter universe, literally sucking the life out of over a million worlds to feed his lust for power and vengeance, an act so awesome that it’s detected by both the Challengers of the Unknown and the embodiment of the Lord’s wrath, Jim Corrigan/The Spectre. In the face of multiversal destruction, the Guardians of the Universe offer Guy Gardner the chance to become a Green Lantern once again and, when all but one of them are all slaughtered by a sudden explosion, Guy vows to avenge them as their champion. The Brainiac/Luthor team then recruit dozens of villains to strike while the remaining Earths are weak and in disarray. As time runs amok on Earth-1 and Alexander, Lyla, and Pariah address the United Nations, the villains make their move, having conquered Earth-4, -S, and -X, encasing them within impenetrable barriers, and threatening to destroy the remaining worlds. Lyla and Jay recruit a reluctant Wally West/Kid Flash to breach the barrier with the cosmic treadmill, though neither Luthor or Brainiac care much about their losses since they still possess the power to destroy everything. However, the Spectre ends the hostilities by revealing that the Anti-Monitor still lives and plans to corrupt the flow of time and formation of life by travelling to the dawn of time.

*The Spectre demands co-operation, resulting in a singular world being created.*

With the villains back on side, Kal-L bids an emotional farewell to his wife, Lois Lane, to join the counterattack, alongside a surprising newcomer: the Superboy from Earth-Prime (a fictional approximation of the real world where he’s the only superhero). After a rousing speech from Uncle Sam, heroes and villains alike pool their technology and powers to travel to the dawn of time and confront the anxious Anti-Monitor. The Anti-Monitor reveals that he, not Pariah, was responsible for the destruction of Pariah’s world after he took advantage of Pariah’s experiments to rebuild his power, absolving the tragic figure of his sins. Now grown to immense proportions, the Anti-Monitor withstands the assault of those assembled (with guys like Batman offering only support), absorbing their life energy to add to his power and allowing his hand to be the one that shapes all reality, as witnessed by Kronoa. His grasp is intercepted by the Spectre and the combined magic of the unified sorcerers, reducing the battle to a literal arm wrestle between the Anti-Monitor and the Spectre. Thanks to their bickering, Luthor’s underlings fail to kill Kronoa before he can cause the creation of the multiverse and the Anti-Monitor, and all seems lost. However, following a blinding light and the literal shattering of all time and space, Kal-L awakens on present-day Earth to find he’s on the same world as his Earth-1 counterpart. Sharing the same fragmented memories, Superman explains that time seems to be healing (albeit wonkily) and that elements of multiple Earths have been merged into one. For example, everyone knows Supergirl died but not how, the Flash is presumed vanished, and Earth-2’s Keystone City and Jay Garrick now live on this Earth. Jay, Wally, and the Supermen use the cosmic treadmill to discover Earth-2 is missing. Realising that the multiverse no longer exists, Superman has to force his older counterpart to return rather than throw himself into the endless void in despair. With the cosmic treadmill irreparably damaged, Wally assembles everyone at Titans Tower, discovering guys like Captain Marvel, Superbody-Prime, Uncle Sam, and the Earth-2 Dick Grayson/Robin also exist on this world, where they’re all shocked to see Harbinger alive and powered back up. The refugees are despondent and horrified to learn their worlds, pasts, and many loved ones are gone thanks to “cosmic irony” as Harbinger explains that there is now one Earth with one coherent timeline that folds their disparate lives into its flow, sending Kal-L into a crazed distress at having lost his wife and home.

*A final, all-out assault ends the Anti-Monitor and starts the universe anew, with some casualties.*

After questioning the imprisoned Lex Luthor, Batman, Jason Todd/Robin, and Alexander confirm that, while some duplicates remain and some lives were restored, others weren’t and only those who present at the dawn of time remember the multiverse. Just as they’re processing this, the skies turn red and the world suddenly shifts to the anti-matter universe, where the titanic, disembodied Anti-Monitor still lives! Though incensed by their efforts, the Anti-Monitor congratulates them for handing him his first defeat in ten billion years and then decrees that they must all die. Wally’s shock at his mentor’s death is mirrored by the abject panic that sweeps the civilians following the Anti-Monitor’s threat, which doubles when the Shadow Demons kill Don Hall/Dove, Helena Wayne/Huntress, and Tula Marius/Aquagirl. While the sorcerers remove the Shadow Demons, Harbinger assembles one last effort to stop the Anti-Monitor on Qward. Though the Anti-Monitor is too large and powerful to be damaged, Harbinger has Dr. Light absorb the star feeding him power, weakening him enough for Alexander to breach the villain’s armour. With the threat seemingly ended by a combined energy blast, Alexander struggles to return Earth home and the Anti-Monitor absorbs his exiled Shadow Demons to rise again and vaporise Wonder Woman. Rather than see anyone else die, Kal-L tackles the Anti-Monitor, believing he’s got nothing to lose, and Alexander and Superboy-Prime are trapped with him. Though Darkseid, watching from Apokalips, strikes a fatal blow through Alexander’s eyes, the Anti-Monitor refuses to die, so Kal-L delivers a final strike that obliterates the tyrant. Faced with the pending destruction of the anti-matter universe, Kal-L and Superboy-Prime prepare to meet their end only for Alexander to teleport them, alongside Kal-L’s Lois, to a pocket dimension. In the aftermath, Wonder Woman returns to the clay that forms Themyscira, her Earth-2 counterpart is welcomed among the Gods, the dead heroes are memorialised, and Wally assumes the Flash mangle. Confined to Arkham Asylum, the Psycho-Pirate is dubbed a raving lunatic since he’s the only one who remembers the multiverse and the catastrophic events of the Crisis.

The Summary:
Whew, there’s a lot happening in Crisis on Infinite Earths. There’s a reason I’ve put off reviewing it for so long, and why I rarely revisit it. It’s a very dense and complex story, full of exposition and cameos and faces both obscure and iconic. As a celebration of DC’s rich history and characters, it’s hard to find much better than Crisis on Infinite Earths, which stuffs just about every costumed character, hero or villain, into its dense twelve issues! My hat’s off to George Pérez; it must’ve been painstaking to sketch all these group shots, action sequences, montages, and dramatic events. Equal praise to Marv Wolfman as I can’t imagine how difficult it was to make sense of all these different worlds and come up with a cohesive way to explain, link, and destroy them all. In the end, the solution was simple: pure, destructive, unstoppable entropy. It’s fitting that the anti-matter wave is depicted as a blinding white light that erases everything it touches, for it symbolically represents a blank page or an artist’s eraser, indicating that these colourful and convoluted worlds are being literally wiped clean for a new status quo. Our guide through most of this is Pariah, a tragic figure doomed to watch each world die as penance for kick-starting the events that follow. Immortal but seemingly powerless to intervene, all he can do is shout desperate warnings and is powerless to rescue anyone and constantly met with aggression, suspicion, and accusations. He’s merely a pawn in a much larger game, however, much like Harbinger, who acts as an all-powerful emissary of the Monitor and deliver exposition in his stead. A conflicted individual burdened with the knowledge that she will betray and murder the man to whom she owes her life, Harbinger, nevertheless works to uphold the Monitor’s legacy and bring together heroes and villains alike to stand against his dark counterpart.

*The Anti-Monitor’s power sends shockwaves through the multiverse and those who’ve witnessed it.*

The dreaded inevitability of death is a focal point in Crisis on Infinite Earths. When the anti-matter wave hits, heroes and villains set aside their differences and use all their powers and resources to either stop it or save people from its destructive touch. Even the abhorrent Crime Syndicate find themselves fighting to save their world and Ultraman willingly enters the wave to die on his terms. Even before the wave arrives, the worlds are shaken to their core by natural disasters; volcanoes, tsunamis, and ominous, crackling red skies precipitate the disaster as much as Pariah. Perhaps no character is more synonymous with the coming destruction than the Flash; thanks to his super-speed, he ends up travelling through time, arriving before the likes of Batman and Wally as an omen of what’s to come and taking on an appearance that resembles Death itself. The Anti-Monitor echoes this in his design; though shrouded by his all-powerful armour, he sports a skull-like visage and dark, piercing eyes. Commanding demonic shadows, he’s very much the embodiment of Death and his lust for utter annihilation drives him to snuff out all life and light. Sadistic to the core, he employs the Psycho-Pirate to foster fear and hate, turning his would-be opponents against each other and causing countless more deaths. His ruthlessness seemingly knows no boundaries as he gleefully corrupts Harbinger, relishes the death of his counterpart, and nonchalantly obliterates his rebellious slaves without a second thought. His power and cruelty are so great that even the mighty Darkseid is driven to hide rather than confront him, striking when the villain is at his most vulnerable and largely avoiding the greater conflict. For all his God-like power, the Anti-Monitor still relies on technology; his merger and destruction of worlds can be halted or stopped by Cosmic Tuning Forks or destroying his solar collector. Indeed, it’s only after his massive, world-ending cannon is destroyed that the Anti-Monitor eschews all other methods and absorbs the entire lifeforce of the anti-matter universe into himself to literally take matters into his own hands.

*The Supermen anchor the story, leading the assembled champions in battle and saving all reality.*

There is no one central character in Crisis on Infinite Earths. Instead, it’s a team-up story through and through, meaning some of your favourites may be sidelined. In some respects, I don’t mind this; Batman outright admits how useless he is against the Anti-Monitor and it’s clear only beings of incredible power can stand against him. Yet, the Blue Beetle is said to be pivotal in opposing the villain, the Red Tornado is briefly said to be incredibly important, and Lex Luthor comes close to co-ruling five entire worlds and even leads the charge to assassinate Kronoa. The Earth-2 Superman, Kal-L, is often at the heart of the conflict, leading the others and inspiring confidence, as is his Earth-1 counterpart. It’s therefore more tragic seeing Superman’s grief-stricken reaction to his cousin’s death; holding Supergirl in his arms, the Man of Steel briefly forgets his morals and vows to kill the Anti-Monitor as recompense. This is but one of the unforgettable deaths featured in Crisis on Infinite Earths as the Flash sacrifices himself to deal a critical blow to the Anti-Monitor, making a martyr of himself for decades before DC made the bone-headed decision to revive him. There’s an odd dichotomy in Crisis on Infinite Earths; these alternative worlds and characters co-exist and are even folded into one by the end. Rather than wiping everything away and starting afresh by the conclusion, the story clunkily has the survivors forget key events and weaves characters like Captain Marvel and the Justice Society into a unified timeline. This works for me as I prefer a coherent narrative, but it essentially means Crisis on Infinite Earth takes place mid-way through the early years of the post-Crisis reboot and reimaginings like John Byrne’s Superman stories happen before and during this event, rather than after it.

*Worlds lived, worlds died, and the DC Universe was never the same…for about twenty years…*

These days, Crisis on Infinite Earths may be a lot for modern readers to take in. Many of its characters and concepts are either forgotten, wildly different, or have been done to death thanks to the multiple reality-altering events that followed (many specifically to address loose ends from this story). At the time, though, I’d wager many long-term DC readers appreciated the cameos and call-backs weaved into the story. I’m glad DC devoted twelve issues to the story and didn’t rush it, but it does get repetitive and convoluted as it drags on. The secondary threat of Brainiac and Luthor directing a team of villains to conquer the five worlds, for example, could probably be skipped or relegated to a tie-in comic. Similarly, the defending of the Cosmic Tuning Forks isn’t very interesting and doesn’t really add to the story since we barely see any action around this, the Shadow Demons are too powerful to be interesting, and it’s all negated by the Monitor’s death. In this respect, I think the event could’ve been cut down to eight or ten issues and still been just as effective, especially as many Earths and characters feature as quick cameos to be obliterated. The remaining five Earths are said to be the most important, which is a little disrespectful to those that perished by the Anti-Monitor’s hand and a bit of an insult to any fans of those worlds. I liked seeing new heroes rise during the chaos, like a new Dr. Light (who was an aggressive bitch throughout), Wildcat, and Guy being Green Lantern again, though it falls a little flat when you know the canon is going to be altered after this to return the status quo. I liked the Anti-Monitor’s design and his characterisation as a reprehensible being who craved only power and destruction, but it was hard to get a sense of his power and limitations. One minute he’s weakened by giant towers, then his armour is containing his energy, and then he’s being powered by a black sun despite having absorbed the lifeforce of his anti-matter universe. Still, the unification of heroes and villains to oppose him was fun to see, the sacrifices and determination were poignant, and the weaving together of a singular continuity, while flawed, was ambitious and visually engaging to behold.

My Rating:

Great Stuff

Have you ever read Crisis on Infinite Earths? What did you think of this unprecedented mash-up of DC’s various worlds and characters? Which parallel world was your favourite and were you upset to see destroyed? What did you think to the Anti-Monitor, his vast power and his stubborn refusal to die? Were you shocked to see Supergirl and the Flash die so dramatically? Do you agree that the story dragged on a bit by the end? Which of the subsequent Crisis events was your favourite and what are some of your favourite cosmic events? Drop a comment below to share your thoughts about Crisis on Infinite Earths and feel free to check out my reviews of other notable crossovers.

Back Issues [Dare-DAY-vil]: Daredevil #182-184

07/04/202516/01/2025Dr. KLeave a comment

Blind lawyer Matt Murdock debuted in Daredevil #1 in April 1964 and was co-created by writer/editor Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett, with input from the legendary Jack Kirby. While perhaps not as mainstream as characters like Peter Parker/Spider-Man, Daredevil has become one of Marvel Comics’ greatest creations and has starred in a questionably-received 2003 big-screen adaptation and a critically-successful Netflix series.

**Writers:** Frank Miller and Roger McKenzie – **Artist:** Frank Miller

Story Title: “She’s Alive”
Published: 26 January 1982 (cover-dated: May 1982)

Story Title: “Child’s Play”
Published: 23 February 1982 (cover-dated: June 1982)

Story Title: “Good Guys Wear Red!”
Published: 23 March 1982 (cover-dated: July 1982)

The Background:
The 1960s were a golden age for Marvel Comics, when Stan Lee teamed with the likes of Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby to create some of their most recognisable superheroes. On 1 April 1964, Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett introduced their most challenging hero yet, Matt Murdock/Daredevil, who became a popular and enduring character thank to the efforts of writer/artist Frank Miller, who spearheaded some of Daredevil’s most memorable stories. It was during Miller’s run that Daredevil first crossed paths with Frank Castle/The Punisher, a Vietnam veteran-turned-mercenary vigilante who first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15. Inspired by The Executioner (Pendleton, et al, 1969 to present), designed by Gerry Conway, and named by Stan Lee, the Punisher was a natural foil for the more righteous and law abiding Daredevil. The two have clashed, begrudgingly teamed up, and debated their different philosophies numerous times in the years since they first met. Their memorable rivalry even made it to the silver screen when the two clashed on the streets and in the courtroom during Daredevil’s second season (Various, 2016).

The Review:
Our story begins with Matt Murdock still reeling from the recent murder of his lover, Elektra Natchios, at the hands of the sadistic mercenary, Lester/Bullseye. Despite having cradled Elektra in his arms, felt her last heartbeat, heard her death rattle, and attended her funeral, Matt awakens from a nightmare convinced that she’s somehow still alive. Overwhelmed by guilt at having not done more to steer Elektra away from the ninja organisation, the Hand, and the dark path that led to her becoming an assassin, and sure that those same ninjas taught her a way to fake her death, Matt pulls on his costume and heads out into the snow swept night to get some answers. This takes him to a “grimy underworld saloon”, where Daredevil kicks the shit out of the patrons, easily dodging their blows and bullets, and accosts one of them into revealing that Wilson Fisk/The Kingpin is holding a summit of the city’s top mobsters at midnight. Sure that the Kingpin must be trying to sell Elektra’s services, Daredevil returns to his civilian identity and has his secretary, Rebecca “Becky” Blake, go through the coroner’s report on Elektra’s body. Despite the evidence stating quite clearly that Elektra suffered mortal wounds, Matt’s convinced that the body could’ve been swapped and is so blinded by his obsession with proving that his former lover is still alive that he gives his current love interest, Heather Glenn, the cold shoulder. Indeed, it’s only when his best friend and law partner, Franklin “Foggy” Nelson, chews him out that Matt begins to question his state of mind. Across the city, in Ryker’s Island penitentiary, Frank Castle is locked up alongside the city’s scumbags. When the Punisher puts Joe Carson/Injun Joe in the infirmary, a few of his boys accost him in the showers and, despite being outnumbered by the armed assailants, the Punisher easily overpowers and kills the three. Though indifferent to his actions, the Punisher is intrigued when an emissary of the “agency” offers to get him out of prison so he can covertly intercept a shipment of narcotics, and promptly escapes via helicopter.

*Matt’s obsession over Elektra’s death is compounded when the Punisher goes on a killing spree.*

Thus, the Punisher heads to Long Island and lays in wait for the shipment. Thanks to his trip wires, tear gas, and skill with a shotgun and assault rifle, the Punisher wipes out the goons, even gunning one down after he surrenders since “war [doesn’t] take prisoners”. However, the Punisher is distraught to learn his victim was merely a child; laying out the G-man, the Punisher vows to continue his war on crime, especially if evil is corrupting children. Daredevil easily dispatches the Kingpin’s goons and confronts the rotund crime boss regarding Elektra, confusing Fisk with his accusations and eventually leaving after the Kingpin calls his bluff, confirming that Matt hasn’t completely gone off the deep end just yet. Foggy’s concerns are only exacerbated when he’s awoken in the middle of the night to learn that Matt coerced a city judge into signing an exhumation order for Elektra’s body! By the time Foggy gets to the cemetery, Matt has already frantically, feverishly dug up Elektra’s grave, only to confirm with his very hands that his lover is, in fact, dead and causing him to break down in tears in his friend’s arms. Still reeling from this moment, Matt is horrified when a young schoolgirl suddenly freaks out in the middle of a Civics class he’s attending and, convinced that snakes are crawling over her skin, throws herself out the window! Switching to Daredevil, Matt races the girl’s broken body to the hospital, only for her to succumb to her injuries thanks to the “Angel Dust” in her system. Daredevil learns from the doctor that the girl is the latest in a long line of child victims of drugs, with phencyclidine being the most common and most dangerous as it causes many horrible side effects, including psychosis, and lingers in the system for years. Donning a simple disguise (over his costume, no less), Daredevil hits the streets to try and get a lead on Peter Grunter/Hogman, one of the lead pushers of the drug, only to be attacked by drugged-up kids. Although Daredevil pulls his punches, sympathetic to their plight, he’s stunned when the Punisher appears, murders one of them with a knife, and prepares to execute the others in cold blood.

*While working to prove a boy’s innocence, Daredevil clashes with the hard-nosed Punisher.*

Although Daredevil keeps the Punisher from carrying out the kill, and the Punisher expresses respect for ol’ hornhead, the two are stunned when another shooter guns down one of Daredevil’s attackers. While the Punisher is indifferent, Daredevil is aghast to discover the shooter is William “Billy” O’Koren, the brother of the girl who was driven to suicide. Matt pledges to represent Billy in court, sure that he’s innocent, a hunch he all-but confirms when he returns to the crime scene. The Punisher also suspects that a more competent sniper made the shot, despite a lack of tangible evidence. Daredevil gets some intel on the Punisher from Ben Urich (who’s aware of Matt’s dual identity), who warns him against going toe-to-toe with the Punisher since he’s a well-trained, cold-blooded killer. As luck (or fate) would have it, the Punisher just so happens to be beating up a junkie on a nearby rooftop, so Daredevil intervenes, disgusted by Castle’s brutal methods, which the Punisher defends as the only way to permanently deal with criminals. While Daredevil’s quick to fight, the Punisher suggests they team up to eliminate their common enemy and, when Daredevil adamantly refuses, he spares his foe a quick death by shooting Daredevil with a tranquilizer dart. Severely weakened from the shot, Daredevil’s powerless to stop the Punisher beating his victim so badly that he suffers a heart attack. Luckily, Daredevil’s quick bout of CPR sees the junkie cling to life and point him towards a restaurant, where Daredevil finds the elusive Hogman. When Hogman’s cohorts refuse to back him up, the drug peddler is apprehended by Daredevil and the Punisher’s victim recovers to testify in court, absolving Billy of any wrongdoing, though Matt’s stunned when his super senses reveal that Hogman is also innocent of murdering his partner.

*A mistake by Daredevil sees him and the Punisher battling for a boy’s soul.*

After winning Heather back with a marriage proposal, Matt volunteers to represent Hogman and prove his innocence. Sure that Matt can absolve him of the crime, the arrogant Hogman stuffs his face with pasta, unaware that the stoic Punisher has taken up a sniping position on a rooftop across the street. Luckily, Daredevil is on hand to keep his client safe but, when the Punisher’s shot buries him under a pile of bricks, Daredevil again fails to apprehend the murderous vigilante. Although Matt claims to have evidence to prove that Hogman is being used as a convenient patsy by the true culprit, Billy’s coach, Patrick Donahue, he doesn’t get solid confirmation until Donahue calls him to discuss the whole operation in private. The call costs Matt dearly as he ends up giving Heather the brush off and it leads to Matt being attacked by the rabid Donahue, who’s been driven to a crazed frenzy by his own drugs! Despite the coach’s augmented strength, Matt uses his agility to put him in a choke hold and subdue him, theorising that a third party juiced Donahue up. In court, Matt successfully absolves Hogman of his crime, only to learn afterwards that the scumbag is not only guilty, but gleefully causes his returning customers to overdose to amuse himself. When Daredevil confronts Hogman, threatening to beat him to a pulp, Matt realises he’s been played for a fool as Hogman’s pacemaker screwed up his radar sense. When Billy decides to take the law into his own hands, Daredevil races to intervene, only for the Punisher to show up and subdue Hogman with some well-placed shots. Daredevil stops him from delivering the killing shot and calls the Punisher’s bluff, fully aware that he’s purposely missing and would never knowing kill an innocent person. Although the Punisher again offers a truce, he’s stunned when Daredevil subdues him with a gunshot, leaving Matt free to appeal to Billy’s better nature. His pleas get through and Billy testifies against Hogman, leaving the drug baron facing serious jail time and Matt emphasising the importance of following the law to the impressionable pre-teen.

The Summary:
I’ve talked about this before, but I’m really not a big fan of Frank Miller’s art. He’s nowhere near as bad here as he is in his efforts for DC Comics and his independent publications, but he really does draw some of the ugliest faces I’ve ever seen. His use of shadows and lighting are extraordinary, however, and he draws a very dynamic and intimidating Daredevil, something bolstered by the start darkness of night. In Miller’s hands, New York City and Hell’s Kitchen are a dark, ominous place that feels very dangerous. Violence stalks the streets, but this is taken to the next level here as Hogman sells drugs to kids, using Coach Donahue as a gofer and selling to kids at a Catholic school. Happy to cause overdoses and kill anyone who tries to speak out against him, even if they’re his partners, Hogman thinks nothing of abusing the law system and little children to come out on top. He’s practically giddy when Matt clears him of murder, only to immediately reveal that he’s “guilty as sin”, and Matt’s left humiliated since he was convinced of the villain’s innocence thanks to Hogman’s pacemaker. Matt’s a bit all over the place in these issues, reeling from Elektra’s murder and as desperate to prove that she’s alive as he is to defend Billy and keep the neighbourhood kids free from drugs. Grief hits Matt like a brick wall, causing him to descend into denial and desperation, only to be mocked by the likes of the Kingpin, push away those closest to him, and ultimately go to extreme lengths to prove his theory…only to find that Elektra is well and truly dead. This revelation seemingly snaps Matt from his malady as he’s back to normal in the very next issue and doesn’t mention Elektra again, instead turning his focus towards Hogman, the kids he abuses, and the Punisher.

*Sadly, Daredevil and the Punisher don’t clash enough, physically or ideologically, for my tastes.*

The Punisher pretty much steals the show here. Still portrayed as a ruthless vigilante killer, he’s largely indifferent to the world around him, as though sleepwalking through life and unconcerned about the machinations of those who would seek to release him onto the streets. Castle couldn’t care less about the scumbags he kills and only shows a shred of remorse when he’s forced to gun down a kid. Even then, rather than dwell on how his actions have cost a misguided youth their life, the Punisher refocuses his energy on taking out those responsible for putting the boy in that position in the first place. Interestingly, the Punisher has no desire to fight Daredevil; indeed, he not only purposely misses his shots but shows a great deal of respect for ol’ hornhead. The Punisher repeatedly offers to form a partnership with Daredevil, believing they’re kindred spirits who fight for the same thing against a common enemy, only to be rebuffed each time. While the Punisher is respectful towards Daredevil, Matt attacks Castle without hesitation, disgusted by his disregard for the law and the lives of his victims. It’s an interesting dichotomy since Matt, as a vigilante, is breaking the laws he so diligently serves in his civilian guise so it’s a touch hypocritical for him to lecture the Punisher on his vigilante ways. Of course, the real difference between the two is that the Punisher kills his victims whereas daredevil just beats them up and has them arrested so they can stand trial, a system the Punisher openly mocks for being flawed and broken. While Daredevil valiantly fights to defend all lives and everyone’s rights, even those of scumbags like Hogman, the Punisher takes a more direct approach, putting the two at natural odds. Unfortunately, this isn’t explored that well here; their fights are very brief, their different ideologies barely touched upon, and much of the potential of their first meeting is secondary to the main plot concerning Hogman. Therefore, these issues are important for being the first meeting between these two characters but there are far better clashes between the two out there, such as Garth Ennis’s iconic story from the early 2000s.

My Rating:

Great Stuff

What did you think to the first meeting of Daredevil and the Punisher? Do you agree that the story didn’t quite live up to its potential? What did you think to the differences between Daredevil and the Punisher, particularly in their methods? How impactful did you find the main plot concerning kids and drugs? What are some of your favourite Daredevil and Punisher moments and how are you celebrating the Man Without Fear this month? I’d love to know your thoughts so feel free to share them in the comments below, support me on Ko-Fi, and be sure to check out my other Daredevil and Punisher content.

Game Corner: Final Fantasy: Pixel Remaster (Xbox Series X)

03/04/202502/11/2025Dr. K9 Comments

Released: 26 September 2024
Originally Released: 18 December 1987
Developer: Square Enix / TOSE
Original Developer: Square
Also Available For: Android, Mobile, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S (Pixel Remaster); EZweb, Game Boy Advance, i-mode, J2ME, MSX2, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), PlayStation, PlayStation Portable (PSP), WonderSwan Color (Original / Ports)

The Background:
Midway through the 1980s, videogame developer Square first branched into the Japanese videogame industry with simplistic role-playing games (RPGs), racing titles, and platformers for the Nintendo Famicom. Cautious to risk their sales, they initially refused to allow Hironobu Sakaguchi to develop a more complex RPG, however the success of Dragon Warrior (Chunsoft, 1986) saw Square reconsider this decision. Accordingly, Sakaguchi put together a small team to develop what he saw as his last chance to achieve success in the industry. Though Sakaguchi was known as a hard taskmaster, his team worked hard to conceive of the game’s turn-based battle system and lore, inspired by Dungeons & Dragons, and advocating for as much player choice as possible. Yoshitaka Amano joined the project as the character designer while Nobuo Uematsu came on board as the composer, while Nasir Ge b elli was brought in to code the game and design an additional sliding puzzle minigame. Against the odds, Final Fantasy proved a critical and commercial success and a game-changing entry in the RPG genre, despite its difficulty and laborious mechanics. This success launched a slew of sequels, spin-off titles, and multimedia ventures, turning Sakaguchi’s last-gasp at success into perhaps the most prolific RPG franchise in all of gaming. Over the years, Final Fantasy has been ported to multiple consoles, adding visual and gameplay upgrades to each new version, such as the quality of life tweaks, a “Bestiary”, and additional dungeons seen in the warmly received Game Boy Advance version that I first played. This rebuilt version of the game was originally exclusive to mobile platforms and Steam, before jumping to home consoles and, eventually, the Xbox series in late-2024. Although this Pixel Remaster removed some features from previous ports, it boasted a much-needed visual upgrade to the classic game and included some modern features to make the experience more accessible, resulting in a largely praised collection of RPG classics.

The Plot:
Upon arriving in the medieval fantasy land of Cornelia, four Warriors of Light are charged with rescuing Princess Sarah from the rogue Cornelian knight, Garland. However, their journey sees them embroiled in a paradoxical plot to upset the four elemental Crystals and spread chaos across the land using four mythical Fiends.

Gameplay and Power-Ups:
Final Fantasy: Pixel Remaster is a spruced-up overhaul of previous 16-bit remakes of the original Final Fantasy. Accordingly, the game is a traditional turn-based RPG title in which players explore a vast overworld and various dungeons from a top-down perspective and engage in regular, random battles while exploring outside towns. As soon as you start the game, you must form a team (or “party”) of four characters, picking from six different character classes (also commonly referred to as “Jobs”). Each has different strengths and weaknesses and can be equipped with different gear, and each class is later upgraded after you acquire a specific key item and talk to the legendary king of dragons, Bahamut, which allows even a Warrior to cast magic. Due to sticking closely to the original NES version, Final Fantasy: Pixel Remaster’s actions are relatively simple, with you using A to talk to non-playable characters (NPCs), open treasure chests, enter your Airship, and to select commands from the various menus. B backs out of these menus and cancels your last order, while “Start” pauses the game. Y brings up a full screen map, which clearly shows towns and things of interest and is a godsend since this was missing in previous versions. A mini map also appears onscreen, which you can toggle with the Right Trigger. X opens the main menu, where you can tinker with either the party or the in-game settings. You can rearrange the order of your party (which changes the overworld sprite), though you won’t be placing characters in front or behind to increase or reduce damage. You can also use various items both in and out of battle, equip various gear (weapons, shields, and clothing, for example), and review or use any spells you’ve acquired from the various magic shops found in each town. When in battle, you can choose to attack, cast magic (which can only be done so many times), use items, or flee. You can still be attacked when fleeing, and you’ll forfeit any experience points (EXP) and Gil (the currency of Final Fantasy) you would’ve earned from a victory. Finally, you can enable the “Auto-Battle” option to have the CPU repeat your last inputs and speed up encounters.

*Gear up your party of chosen warriors and prepare for an arduous, fantastical quest.*

Battles were frequent in the original Final Fantasy, with anywhere from one to nine enemies randomly attacking after one step or more. These are a bit less annoying in the Pixel Remaster, however, and you can even toggle them off from the “Boost” menu. I’d recommend battling every enemy you encounter, not just to stock up on Gil and randomly dropped items, but also to gain EXP and level-up your party up to stand a better chance against later battles and bosses. The “Boost” menu also allows you to increase the Gil and EXP you receive, meaning you can level-up your characters and increase their stats even faster. This ups their attack power, evasion, and maximum health points (HP), enabling them to take more hits before being knocked out or more easily flee. Each class utilises different weapons and gear and has pros and cons. The Warrior, for example, can wield powerful swords and block damage with shields, but their magic is limited. The Thief attacks with high accuracy, but their gear selection is poor; the Monk can easily flee but cannot use shields and fights best bare-handed. The White and Black Mages specialise in healing and offensive magic, respectively, with the Red Mage being the jack of all trades and probably your best bet for overall coverage. Although you cannot summon powerful monsters to aid you in battle or utilise class-specific moves like stealing items or learning enemy attacks, you can use certain gear in battle to cast magic without cost. You can cast elemental magic against enemies, such as Fire, Blizzard, and Thunder, or restorative spells on your party to cure status effects like Poison or Stone and even return them to life. Magic is a bit weird in this game, with you having to buy it for extortionate prices and characters only able to learn select spells according to different “magic levels”. Better, more useful spells like Flare, Holy, and Warp can all be learned as you progress, allowing you to deal or heal additional damage, escape from dungeons, and up your attack or evasiveness, among other buffs. While some status ailments (like Darkness and Paralysis) disappear after battle, others (Poison and Stone, for example) can only by cured using magic or items; even resting at an inn won’t remove these effects, which can be aggravating.

*Some dungeons have hazards to watch out for and you’ll soar through the sky in an Airship.*

On the plus side, the Pixel Remaster utilises both autosaves, quick saves, and a manual save anywhere outside of a battle screen, you can find loads of treasure in each area, and you can always backtrack to cheaper inns if you’re low on Gil. Still, Final Fantasy: Pixel Remaster certainly doesn’t hold your hand. While things are pretty linear at the start, you’ll soon be left wandering the overworld with little direction on where to go and what to do. NPCs offer hints and inform you of their current troubles, but it’s mostly up to you to figure out where to go next. It’s not uncommon to stumble upon caves and blocked paths, or NPCs who require items but won’t tell you where to find them. It’s equally easy to miss crucial pick-ups or interactable elements in some dungeons, such as the Cavern of Earth, where you must return with the Earth Staff to proceed further. Most dungeons are simply mazes of tight corridors and stairs, though teleports pop up in the Flying Fortress. Some dungeons contain cracked floor tiles that drop you to lower areas, lava or spiked floors that sap your health, a maze of doors that turn you around, and even areas where random encounters are increased! Unless you battle one of the main bosses, you can’t exit a dungeon until you purchase the Warp spell, so it pays to have a good stock of healing items and to watch your resources so you can stay alive long enough to leave the more labyrinthine areas. You’ll need key items like the nitro powder, oxyale, and the magic key to unlock new areas or progress further and it’s recommended that you spend time grinding as the difficulty can spike at times, especially in the endgame. While you wander about on foot most of the time (and should therefore enable the “run” option in the settings), you soon acquire a pirate ship to cross the sea, a rowboat to travel through shallow streams, and eventually an Airship to fly over the map with no fear of random encounters (though limited places to land).

Presentation:
Final Fantasy has been completely overhauled here, ditching the indistinct and outdated 8-bit graphics and adding an additional graphical flair to the 16-bit paint job seen in the Dawn of Souls (Square Enix/TOSE, 2004) version I first played. This not only brings Final Fantasy more in line with the standard set by Final Fantasy VI (Square, 1994) but also adds some visual effects to compliment the sprite work, such as fog, rushing water, twinkling snow, and more theatrical spells in battle. This also means that sprites are far more detailed and lively, towns and dungeons pop with colour and little details, and a touch of Mode 7 brings an additional gravitas to your flights around the overworld. The graphical overhaul extends to the game’s cutscenes, which introduce the basic story and show new areas unlocking or being altered by your actions. This is all bolstered by a remix of Nobuo Uematsu’s timeless score, which gives each area a distinct identity and makes boss battles more dramatic. However, as slick and detailed as the game looks, there are still some holdovers from the 8-bit days. Sprites constantly run in place, for example, and, though each character in your party can be named, they’ll never speak during the game. Still, your party exudes a decent amount of character at times, splitting out from your lead character during key events, celebrating victories, slumping in defeat, and even keeling over when afflicting with status ailments. Character sprites change when you upgrade their classes (or press the shoulder triggers) to keep things visually interesting and they’ll even whip out different gear when you equip new weapons, which was a nice touch. Battle animations are limited, with basic attacks never connecting with either party, but magic effects are very impressive, with flames bursting from the ground, tidal waves sweeping your party away, and bolts of lightning raining down. There are some nice visual effects are times, too, such as clouds passing by beneath the Flying Fortress, bosses disintegrating upon defeat, harmless bats flittering about in caves, and the Airship and Mirage Tower making their grand entrances.

*The graphical overhaul brings a whole new lease of life to this classic RPG title.*

Final Fantasy: Pixel Remaster has both feet firmly planted in a medieval fantasy setting. Accordingly, you’ll visit numerous towns in the shadow of large, stone castles and populated by colourful NPCs, from dwarves, to dragons, to mermaids. Some even speak with regional accents not unlike Scottish or Irish, which was a welcome detail, and others change their dialogue after you’ve liberated their towns or defeated whatever evil threatens them. Each town is very distinct, though they share common elements such as stone paths, rural brick buildings, wells, churches, and churchyards. Castle Corneria is an ornate abode of marble statues and beautiful carpets, Pravotia is a town criss-crossed by moats and under siege by Bikke’s pirates, Mount Duergar is a dwarf mine where blacksmiths toil, and Melmond is a town in ruins thanks to a local vampire. While caves and dungeons are primarily differentiated by colour palettes and different layouts, some stood out, such as the volcanic Mount Gulg, the trepidatious Cavern of Ice, and the pyramid-like Mirage Tower. Depending on where you are, the battle backgrounds also change, ranging from a swamp-like marsh to a dark cavern to a cosmic barrage of colours by the end. In-game cutscenes shine with their use of sprite-based assets, such as the king’s men hastily constructing a bridge to speed you on your quest and Bahamut majestically spreading his wings before upgrading your classes, with the game’s ending providing a sneak peek at the peace your actions have brought each location. The game performs exceptionally well, with battles loading and progressing with a slickness the NES could only dream of, though the game can still be tedious due to the constant grinding to survive its progressively more powerful enemies. The methodical nature of its genre means you may get frustrated by the barrage of battles, even with the boosts and Auto-Battle enabled, though things are far less aggravating than in previous versions thanks to the autosaving allowing for quick reloads.

Enemies and Bosses:
There are loads of fantastical, monstrous, and aggravating enemies to contend with in Final Fantasy, with many being recycled as palette swaps but augmented by greater attack power, magic, or coming in larger groups. Various goblins, snakes, tarantulas, and sharks are commonplace enemies, for example, alongside more recognisable enemies such as the Sahagin lizardmen, who naturally make their debut here. Golems, crocodiles, hydras, various dragons, and undead enemies like mummies, vampires, and ghouls all crop up alongside giant worms, bizarre cycloptic creatures, wolves, tigers, and ogres. For the most part, these enemies are relatively unspectacular, lashing out with simple melee attacks and going down in just a few hits. Others, like zombies, Chimera, and the techno-organic Soldiers, both resist and are immune to certain elemental magic. Undead enemies, for example, are particularly weak to Dia spells, the different Elemental enemies will be weak to their corresponding element, and many drop items or gear upon defeat. While enemies can flee from battle, which is to your benefit, some will automatically regenerate health as the battle goes on and many eventually cast magic of their own. While this means they can blast you with Fire or strike you with Icestorm, it’s the status ailments that’ll give you the most trouble. Enemies can “slow” you, paralyse you to keep you from attacking, whittle away your health in and out of battle with poison, and halve your accuracy by inflicting Darkness. Your party can also be subdued by being put to sleep or turned to stone, or even knocked out with one hit if Death is evoked. Luckily, you can equip gear that’ll nullify many of these status effects, and use items and magic to cure them, but they can significantly impact battles even when you’re at a high level, especially when confronted by a swarm of enemies.

*While things start simple with an errant knight, you’re soon battling mythological beasts!*

While many treasure chests are guarded by specific encounters with the likes of Evil Eyes, Dragon Zombies, and Piscodemons, these are merely tougher enemy variants and don’t really classify as bosses. Your first test comes at the Chaos Shrine when you confront Garland, an armour-clad knight who certainly looks and talks tough and has no elemental weaknesses but is easily put down if you grind to about level twenty since he relies solely on melee attacks. After wiping the floor with Bikke’s pirates and securing a boat, you’ll cross the sea to Elfheim and investigate the Western Keep, tangling with Piscodemons and rescuing the elf-king…who turns out to be the Dark Elf monarch Astos. Like Garland, Astos has no elemental weaknesses but boasts a greater health pool and debilitating spells like Slowra, Dark, and the ever-aggravating Death. You’ll fight many variants of the Vampire boss as regular enemies after encountering him in the Cavern of Earth. Luckily, he’s weak to Fire magic and, naturally, Dia, which can make short work of him and nullify his paralysing Gaze attack. Your primary goal in Final Fantasy is slaying the Four Fiends and restoring the four elemental Crystals, and these mythical creatures represent some of the game’s most impressive and detailed sprites (even if they are mostly static). The Grim Reaper-like Lich is up first, attacking with Fira, Blizzara, and Thundara as well as paralysing you with Hold and putting your entire party to sleep. Weak to Fire, Ice, and Dia magic, Lich is the toughest enemy of the early game but is easily overcome within a few turns if you’ve optimised your equipment, levelled-up, and have the appropriate magic. Marilith is tougher still, resisting or having no discernible elemental weaknesses, roasting you with Fira and handicapping you with Darkness. This was the first real challenge I faced, but a fun one as I was at a high level and could withstand Marilith’s high attack power.

*As tough as Chaos is, the game’s optional superbosses will absolutely decimate the unprepared!*

Minotaurs, armoured turtles, and oriental-style monsters pepper the convoluted path to Kraken, a Cthulu-like monarch who inflicts Darkness with Ink and decimates your party with Thundara, though it’s naturally weak to Thunder attacks. The final Fiend, Tiamat, is the most horrific; a multi-headed dragon who can poison and chill the entire party with Poison Gas and Blizzard. With a high health pool and no elemental weaknesses, Tiamat can be quite the hurdle for an unprepared or under levelled party. The Four Fiends are fought again, attacking in specific spots as you explore the Chaos Shrine 2,000 years in the past. The battles are mostly the same, bar some new moves to their arsenals, though you should be a lot tougher by this point. They serve as the perfect appetiser to the game’s final boss, who turns out to be Garland, having ensured his survival with a time loop and transformed himself into the demonic Chaos! Chaos is, without a doubt, the toughest of the regular bosses, boasting a whopping 20,000 HP and no discernible weaknesses. Chaos sports some devastating attacks that can wipe out your party with ease, such as a unique version of Flare, a powerful tsunami and cyclone, and the one-hit KO Earthquake, alongside incredibly powerful elemental magic. Your best bet is to get your levels high, equip Ribbons (since Protect Rings won’t help against Earthquake), and cast Haste, Invisira, and Curaga as soon as possible. Holy and Flare are your best bet here, but it’s a gruelling battle, one only surpassed by the death machine, Warmech, a superboss that may surprise you when you approach Tiamat. Unfortunately, this version of the game removes the additional dungeons and optional superbosses from the Dawn of Souls version, meaning you’ll need to shell out a fair bit of money if you want to tackle returning faces like Gilgamesh, Deathgaze, and Shinryu, as well as an even tougher variant of Warmech, Omega, and even the ever-ridiculous Phantom Train!

Additional Features:
There are twenty-three Achievements to earn in this version of Final Fantasy, with six earned from completing story-based objectives like rescuing Princess Sarah and restoring the Crystals, and three more for defeating 100, 300, and 500 enemies. You’ll get additional Achievements for getting your whole party to level 50, obtaining up to 100,000 Gil, playing the hidden slide puzzle game, and finding some and then all of the game’s treasure. There’s loads of treasure to be found in Final Fantasy: Pixel Remaster (more than you can ever carry!), and most of it is guarded by tougher enemies or hidden away in optional rooms and alternative routes in dungeons. If you’re frugal or activate the Gil multiplier boost, like me, you can easily amass enough Gil to buy new gear and spells, but you’ll eventually amass more Gil than you can carry and won’t have to worry about keeping your items fully stocked. You must search around, pay attention, or use a guide to get the best rewards, such as Excalibur and Masamune, the two most powerful swords, though getting the best spells is simply a question of cash and properly thinking about what your characters are capable of learning. Like previous re-releases of Final Fantasy, the Pixel Remaster includes a “Bestiary”, which fills as you encounter new enemies and bosses, cluing you in on their strengths, weaknesses, and the rewards they drop. Unfortunately, defeating the Four Fiends no longer unlocks the four additional areas from the Dawn of Souls remake, so you won’t get to test your mettle against those optional superbosses, though you can still go seek out the elusive Warmech if you want an extra challenge.

The Summary:
I’ve only played a few Final Fantasy titles, so I’ll be the first to admit that I was wary about tackling Final Fantasy: Pixel Remaster, primarily because of the time and energy required to play it. However, I enjoyed my time with the Dawn of Souls version and this version of the game has some benefits over even that version, such the boost features that increase the Gil and EXP you earn and the Auto-Battle mode, which really benefitted my playthrough. It also helped to be able to save at any time and to be frugal with my Gil and spending, and to spend some time between dungeons levelling-up so I was prepared for future challenges. It helps that the game looks awesome; the constantly walking sprites were distracting but, otherwise, Final Fantasy greatly benefits from the graphical tweaks and improvements. This includes adding a visual flair to enhance the redrawn sprites and making battles even more spectacular with some truly impressive sprite art. The story is paper thin for the most part and the main characters largely lifeless, but the world is brought to life through the varied locations and lively NPCs, who are all different races and offer something different to the player. I enjoyed the twist at the end that Garland was creating a self-sustaining paradox and the challenge offered by the Four Fiends, though the difficulty curve was very much like a rollercoaster at times, with some debilitating attacks making even regular enemies an uphill battle if you get unlucky. It would’ve been nice to see a bit more direction about where I needed to go and what I needed to do at times, perhaps by having the priest at the various churches pointing you in the right direction, but it was fun exploring and figuring things out (and online guides are always available). In the end, while it’s obviously dated and lacks many of the more enjoyable features of its previous ports, this much-needed overhaul of Final Fantasy was a lot of fun to play through and I was glad to revisit the game it and see how many of the franchise’s recurring elements got their start, even if it’s obviously been far surpassed.

My Rating:

Pretty Good

Have you ever played the Pixel Remaster of Final Fantasy? What did you think to the new additions and were you able to figure out the Magic Level system? Which character classes made up your party? What did you think to the difficulty curve and the final battle against Chaos? Did you ever defeat Warmech and complete the Bestiary? Which Final Fantasy game is your favourite? Whatever your thoughts and memories of Final Fantasy, drop a comment below, support me on Ko-Fi, and check out my other Final Fantasy content.

Game Corner: Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion (Xbox Series X)

02/04/202502/11/2025Dr. K2 Comments

Released: 13 December 2022
Originally Released: 13 September 2007
Developer: Tose
Original Developer: Square Enix
Also Available For: Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S (Reunion); PlayStation Portable (Original)

The Background:
You’ve heard of Final Fantasy VII (Square, 1997), right? Of course you have! The game won numerous awards and sold over ten million copies on the PlayStation alone! But the story of Final Fantasy VII doesn’t end there. Seeking to expand their scope beyond just the gaming world, Square Enix announced Compilation of Final Fantasy VII in 2003, a multimedia venture that included the fantastic computer-generated movie Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (Nomura, 2005) and numerous spin-off titles that expanded the lore and world of Final Fantasy VII. Crisis Core, a prequel story initially exclusive to the divisive PlayStation Portable, was one such title. Director Hajime Tabata wished to exceed fan expectations with the game, which focused on the younger days of popular characters Zack Fair and Sephiroth and built upon story elements that had been laid out for both by Tetsuya Nomura. Envisioned as an action game first and foremost, the team incorporated role-playing elements to craft something of a hybrid and emphasised an element of luck to the combat through the Digital Mind Wave (DMW) system. Upon release, Crisis Core was met with generally positive reviews; while the combat was praised, critics were divided on the DMW system but praised the game’s narrative and graphics. About fifteen years later, to commemorate Final Fantasy VII’s 25^th anniversary, Square Enix developed a remake for then-modern consoles alongside Tose, one that completely overhauled the graphics, soundtrack, and voice acting. Although the story remained the same, the game was tweaked to closely align with the much-anticipated Final Fantasy VII remake project. Producer Mariko Sato advocated for numerous improvements to the original game, such as reducing combat interruptions, adjusting the magic speed, and including a “Hard” mode for returning players. Like the original game, Crisis Core Reunion was largely praised; while critics were divided regarding the characterisations and the DMW system, the improved gameplay was praised and it was one of eleven recipients of an “Award for Excellence” at the 2023 Japan Game Awards.

The Plot:
Before Final Fantasy VII, Zack Fair of the paramilitary organisation SOLDIER is assigned to find his mentor, Angeal Hewley, and fellow SOLDIER Genesis Rhapsodos and discovers a revelation that sets him against the malevolent schemes of his former masters.

Gameplay and Power-Ups:
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion is a HD reimagining of the original action/role-playing PSP title. Unlike the original Final Fantasy VII (and most of the Final Fantasy games I’ve played to this point), it’s less of a turn-based RPG and more of a mission-based, action-orientated title in which players control one character (Zack) rather than a party of diverse fighters. Zack is free to roam around various 3D locations (with many being recreations of environments seen in Final Fantasy VII) and automatically engages in random battles when exploring. When in a conflict situation, Zack can attack with X; successive presses of X unleash combination attacks (with some dealing additional damage from “critical hits”), and you can target enemies by pressing in the right stick and switch to different targets by pressing the Left Bumper and the right stick. A lets you dodge incoming attacks, the Right Bumper puts up a guard to reduce damage, and you can flee from most battles by running against the edge of the barrier that pops up in each combat scenario. You use the Left and Right Triggers to cycle through your available items and use them with B, restoring health points (HP), magic points (MP), and providing certain buffs to Zack or debuffs to enemies. The Left Bumper brings up the Materia command window; eventually, you equip different Materia to the four face buttons and RB and RT, allowing you to perform elemental magic attacks, healing spells, reduce damage, apply buffs, eliminate status effects, and more if you have enough MP. Outside of battle, you can dash with RT and hold it to run (a toggle option would’ve been nice), talk to non-playable characters (NPCs), and bring up the map with X. While there’s no mini map (which also would’ve helped), you can toggle on destination markers to help guide you to your objectives from the settings menu, and set the in-game language and toggle the camera tracking.

*Equip Materia to boost your attacks and use the DMW to unleash Limit Breaks and Summons.*

The game’s big unique feature is the DMW system, a slot-based game of chance that automatically plays in every battle and seems to spin faster and build up the more you attack. Each spin consumes Soldier Points (SP), which are gained from winning battles and fusing Materia, and the strength of each DMW image increases as the game progresses. The game says they’re made stronger by Zack’s emotional tie to the characters represented, but your DMW avatars actually level-up in battle just like him. When three of the same images appear in the slots, press Y to perform a Limit Break or press in both analogue sticks to unleash a powerful Summon. These super powerful attacks, often accompanied by an annoying cutscene that’s thankfully skippable, can lay waste to entire foes, completely heal you and bestow buffs, level-up your Materia, and more. Additionally, during combat, you are often granted limited buffs, such as temporary invincibility or infinite MP or Ability Points (AP, consumed when you dodge, block or use Command Materia like Assault Twister or the elemental blade attacks), which is super useful in a tight pinch. Like other Final Fantasy games, you must be mindful of status effects and elemental attacks; enemies can cast Silence to negate your MP or stun you, and some are weak to certain elemental attacks and resist to others so it’s worth exploiting these weaknesses. Although the game autosaves at various points and gives you the option of retrying a battle upon defeat, there are numerous manual save points in each location. These refill your HP, MP, and AP and offer a selection of Missions to play through alongside the main story. Indeed, while you can level-up and get stronger playing the story, the best way to grind, gain new items and Materia, and improve your combat prowess is through these missions. They all have a level grade so you can judge how difficult they are and are usually quite short, consisting of a handful of battles, though others throw you against seemingly endless waves of enemies, or have you rematching bosses or defeating Summons to add them to the DMW.

*Different equipment, Materia, and battling will bestow buffs and additional items.*

Although you don’t acquire new weapons or equip armour, Zack does eventually inherit the iconic Buster Sword. Once you have this, you can hit X and A to enter a “Battle Stance”, increasing your attack power and chances for critical hits, and your proficiency increases as you defeat enemies in this stance. Additionally, after Zack is promoted to SOLDIER 1^st Class, you gain extra items and buffs (including refilling your gauges) if you win battles in certain ways (with magic attacks, Summons, or without taking damage, for example). You can customise Zack from the main menu, setting up five equipment presets for your convenience, fusing and selling Materia, and eventually purchasing items from various shops. You’ll do this with the Gil you obtain from battle, though I honestly never bought anything as the game is extremely generous with items (which I also rarely used) and restoring your gauges. Materia is fused together to become stronger, and is also be “mastered” over time, increasing its MP cost and its power. This menu also allows you to review the mail and tutorials characters send you, review your DMW progress, and equip various accessories to Zack. These provide passive buffs, such as increasing his stats, providing resistance to elemental attacks and status effects, and more. Items and Materia are also acquired from various treasure chests lying around, completing missions for NPCs, and as required by the story. There’s a part, for example, where Zack searches for various junk to build a flower cart (and impress) Aerith Gainsborough. Other times, you’re climbing ladders, searching for keys to open doors, defeating enemies for different keys, searching for clues to find a pickpocket, activating consoles and turning wheels to open pathways, and searching for additional lore or helpful pickups.

*Aggravating mini games and gimmicks compound the strange difficulty curve.*

There are numerous mini games and gameplay gimmicks to break up the action, though they’re a bit hit and miss in their execution (despite awarding additional Achievements). Hidden pathways in Wutai lead to enemy troops that must be defeated to impress SOLDIER Director Lazard Deusericus and you can also choose to charge at enemies or take a stealthier approach in this section. Professor Hojo tests your skills in battle and a frustrating squatting challenge, Banora village hides numerous glowing spots that must be interacted with under a time limit, and then the village must be defended from a missile attack using carefully timed strikes. NPCs need rescuing from Shinra headquarters, spies are in Midgar, a Slums vendor challenges you to quickly grab his Materia, perfume can be blended to impress Aerith, and Junon’s perimeter must be defended from incoming enemies. Many side missions are contested under a time limit, which can be a bit stressful, but easily the most aggravating mission with Zack’s infiltration of the Modeoheim Mako Reactor. While you can simply storm in, you get an Achievement for staying out of sight, which is tricky as the guards spot you the moment you pop out from cover and you must rapidly tap Y to keep your body temperature up. There are seven wonders to find in Nibelheim, a mother trapped in a burning building, and keyholes to look through in the Shinra Manor to discover a random safe code. There’s number guessing game to play, fan clubs to join, and an annoying sniper mission where you pick off Shinra forces with an upgradable rifle. While it’s easy to retry the Modeoheim mission thanks to a nearby save point, this sniper mission doesn’t have that so you need to be fast and accurate to get that Achievement. Finally, in the end game, you’ll be battling monstrous monsters from the Lifestream to collect the Goddess Materia and running around a prison, unlocking cages and taking secret tunnels. The game has two difficulty settings, “Normal” and “Hard”. I played on “Normal” and found the difficulty oddly unbalanced. Some bosses were a complete joke, and then other times I’d be one-shotted by a damn Pachyornis! Most enemies are cut down in no time at all, making combat even more tedious and creating a bit of an uphill battle when you randomly face troublesome enemies who’ll decimate you if you don’t break their Boss Ability Gauge.

Presentation:
I briefly played Crisis Core on the PSP many years ago and was mildly impressed with its PlayStation 2-quality graphics on the handheld. Things were a bit clunky and restrictive, particularly Zack’s movement and the mission-based structure of the game, but it seemed decent enough, especially the high quality FMVs. All these visuals have been upgraded here to match the presentation of Final Fantasy VII Remake (Square Enix Business Division 1, 2020). This includes an all-new soundtrack, which features remixes of classic Final Fantasy VII themes to match each location and an awesome new rendition of “One-Winged Angel”, “Vengeance on the World”, and similar rocking riffs like “Black Wing Unfurled”. Zack is given so much more personality here than in his brief, skewed appearances in Final Fantasy VII; we track his entire journey from an enthusiastic protégé to a hero in his own right and watch as he forms relationships with Aerith, Tseng, Cissnei, and his perceptions of Angeal and Sephiroth change as the narrative progresses. There’s little distinction between the FMVs and in-game graphics, though there are few opportunities for Zack’s personality to stand out in battle beyond his quips and voice clips since battles don’t end with a victory pose. Still, battle animations and explosive and varied; the Limit Breaks and Summons, especially, impress, though it can be annoying when the DMW memories interrupt the combat flow. Zack’s character model also changes as the game progresses; he gets a new uniform, takes up Angeal’s Buster Sword, and gains his trademark scar throughout the story, though it’s a shame you can’t alter his appearance further with armour or accessories. The game also includes fun cameos from familiar faces like Yuffie Kisaragi, Vincent Valentine, Cait Sith, Reno, and Rude alongside allusions to Cid Highwind and Red XIII/Nanaki and fully exploring Zack’s friendship with Cloud Strife.

*Key* Final Fantasy VII locations, characters, and moments are lovingly recreated in impressive detail.

The game’s locations will be immediately familiar to anyone who’s played Final Fantasy VII. Memorable towns like Midgar, Sector 7, and Junon all appear in their steampunk glory, with Zack even naming Seventh Heaven, battling on the highway outside Midgar, and taking the fight to the Wutai. You’ll spend a lot of time exploring Shinra headquarters (home to Hojo’s laboratory, a Materia processing room, and a museum to the company’s achievements) and the bustling town of Midgar, with its iconic train station and desolate Slums, complete with market, playground, and Aerith’s church. You’ll travel to Nibelheim and explore the small town and its peaceful inhabitants, the spooky Shinra Manor and the hideous secrets hidden within, and the looming Mako Reactor that houses Jenova, and then bask in the horror when Sephiroth discovers his true origins and burns the town to the ground! In the endgame, you’ll return to Banora, once Angeal’s peaceful hometown now corrupted by the emerging Lifestream, and descend into the ethereal caverns beneath it where slumbering giants and monstrous enemies await. When tackling missions, you’ll battle in the desert, at the Chocobo Farm, and in steampunk locales that bring the ambitious pre-rendered backgrounds of Final Fantasy VII to life. Things are, however, a bit restricted; you’ll revisit the same caves and enclosed areas again and again, there are few houses to enter, and locations can be surprisingly barren. Handfuls of enemies are encountered at once, with battles against bigger waves restricted to loading each group, and the mission-based structure of the combat betrays the game’s handheld routes. Having said that, though, there’s an emotionally poignant finale where players can control Zack’s last stand against Shinra’s inexhaustible forces, even battling while severely injured and near death.

Enemies and Bosses:
Numerous enemies will dog your progress in Crisis Core Reunion, many of which are returning monsters from Final Fantasy VII. Zack battles various human soldiers, such as Wutai’s forces and even Shinra solders by the end game, each armed with lances, assault rifles, and grenades. More formidable variants also exist, wielding dual blades, casting elemental or restorative spells, and carrying larger weapons, like Wutai’s Crescent Unit. Perhaps the most notable humanoid enemies are the various “G” foes, imperfect and often monstrous copies of main antagonist Genesis who sport their own wings, more powerful magic, and even wield scythes or gunblades. Most of these can be put down without much issue, or by exploiting elemental weaknesses, but the numbers can be overwhelming if you don’t have the right Materia setup or are under-leveled. Naturally, various wild animals and creatures also roam the streets and wilderness of this world. Many have different names and appearances and abilities depending on the region and how far into the game you are. Bat-like Evil Eyes, demonic winged Evilgoyle, and ludicrous Hedgehog Pie are commonplace, as are elemental Bombs, spooky Jack o’ Lanterns, and insectile enemies like the annoying Killer Bees, various worms and beetles, and the lizard-like Sahagin. More bizarre foes like the egg-like Grangalan and spear-beaked Raijincho co-exist with more grotesque creatures, like the demonic Foulanders, strangely deformed Killer Stingers, and hefty Iron Claws. These are joined by mechs and robotic enemies, from disposable pawns like the Bee Saucers and Metal Saucers to more formidable, heavily armed constructs like the various Machines (which come in flying, drill, “death”, and missile variants, among others). While most enemies have an elemental weakness and some cast offensive and healing spells, many are simply there to be cut down by your attacks, meaning it’s easy to underestimate the Machines and G-variant enemies, which can almost act as mini bosses at times and, in some cases, can even be tougher than the likes of Sephiroth!

*There’s a strange imbalance in the difficulty of some bosses.*

Each of the game’s ten chapters but one (Chapter 7) culminates in a boss fight against at least one enemy, though some are variations of others or have multiple phases. Zack’s first test is against the monstrous Behemoth, a dog-like demon that attacks with a tail and claw swipes and serves as a tutorial for the game’s DMW system. Other variations of this creature appear later in the game, with the Behemoth King proving a steep penultimate challenge that I found more troublesome than the final boss thanks to it casting Regen on itself, having no specific weaknesses, and tanking my hits. Your mission in Wutai culminates in a battle against the duo of Vajradhara Wu and Vajradhara Tai, variants of which also crop up in subsequent missions and who are more deadly when teamed up thanks to their Limit Break, large health pool, and devastating physical attacks. After besting them, you’ll test your skills against the fire demon Ifrit, the first of many Summons who must be defeated to add them to your DMW. Ifrit sports formidable fire-based magic and attacks and you’ll need projectile magic to attack him from afar, but he’s weak to ice attacks like Blizzard. Chapter 2 sees you battling the mechanical Guard Spider, while Chapter 6 sees this improved to the more familiar Guard Scorpion. Both attack with cannons, stomps, and a hail of bullets but the latter mech also sports an EM Field attack that must be avoided. Chapter 2 ends with a battle against the dragon king, Bahamut, who can be annoying with his slam attack and Thunder Strike. In Chapter 4, you’ll battle the larger and more impressive Bahamut Fury, though I found this fight far easier as Bahamut Fury spent a lot of time just standing (or floating) around doing nothing and I easily kept it from attacking with Exaflare despite it having no elemental weaknesses.

*Despite their emotional and historical significance, Angeal and Sephiroth are a bit of a let down.*

Things continued to be largely manageable in Chapter 3. Here, you fight the G Eraser copy of Genesis, which is noticeably nimbler and more versatile than the three Machines that guard the chapter’s end, which are bested by bringing along thunder, fire, and ice-based Materia. The same is true for the Support Machines and the General’s Tank in Chapter 6. The drama ramps up when Angeal undergoes a horrific transformation, merging with his monstrous copies to form a centaur-like abomination not unlike Ultima Weapon. Angeal Penance is best attacked from behind since its lance has good reach. It can also magically boost its defence, charge, and unleash a bunch of physical and elemental attacks. However, despite its imposing size, this fight was pretty easy; Zack’s very emotional during it so the DMW is often in your favour, meaning this boss is all bark and no bite. Shinra scientist Hollander undergoes a similar transformation after being corrupted by Genesis’s cells. Constantly healing himself, Hollander distracts you with Land Worms and takes away chunks of HP with his Dimension Missile attack or poisons you with his breath. Being a Final Fantasy VII game, you naturally battle Sephiroth as well, most notably after he goes insane in Nibelheim. This is a two-phase battle, with the first seeing Sephiroth attacking with his impossible long sword, teleporting, and unlashing Heartless Angel and his trademark Octaslash. Sephiroth almost always has his guard up, negating many of your attacks, so just dodge, heal, and wait for an opening. Sephiroth spawns four elemental crystals that restore his health and bolster his attacks with fire, thunder, and blizzard spells. These must be destroyed using the opposing element (Fire against Blizzard, for example), and you might want to cast Dispel to remove his buffs. Though challenging, he’s actually easier than some other, less notable bosses and enemies. Once you’ve depleted his health, you then attack him on a narrow walkway. It’s game over if he pushes you back, so focus on staying alive and pummelling him with everything you have until he takes his dramatic drop into the Lifestream.

*Although a formidable combatant, Genesis is sadly lacking compared to other, lesser bosses.*

Edgelord antagonist Genesis, a fan of poetry and the flamboyant, is encountered and fought multiple times throughout the story. You first battle him in Chapter 5, prior to the fight with Angeal Penance, and many of the G-variant battles are tests for your one-on-one encounters with Genesis. In the first encounter, Genesis casts Regen on himself and magically increases his defence; he’s fast and tricky, attacking and Cursing you with Black Flurry and draining your MP with Osmose. Yet, I found this battle surprisingly easy; you can negate Genesis’ status effects with magics and items and simply batter him until he flees. In the finale, Genesis summons a gigantic, grotesque creature to fight on his behalf; Genesis Avatar cannot be harmed by physical attacks as it’s out of reach, so you’ll need projectile Materia like Thundaga or Ultima to chip away at it. You also need to keep your distance from his giant sword; it’ll create a shockwave when it hits and spawn G Shadow variants to distract you from attacking the Materia in the hilt. Similar to Bahamut Fury, though, this battle was a joke, especially compared to the Behemoth King and even the G Regicide that preceded it. Simply cast Wall, keep your distance when it unleashes Purgatorial Wave, keep your HP up, and attack the Materia until its defeated. After that, you’ll go toe-to-toe with Genesis once more. Again, he’s fast and can land combos on you. He can cast Apocalypse for big damage and stun-lock you with the Black Feather barrage, but he’s a ridiculously anti-climatic final boss and easily put down despite his agility, making for a dissatisfying final bout.

Additional Features:
Crisis Core Reunion boasts fifty-one Achievements to earn, with one popping after completing every chapter. You’ll also get Achievements for completing some, and all, of the Missions, winning your first battle, dealing 99,999 damage, obtaining and levelling-up all DMW images, unlocking every shop, and receiving mail from everyone possible. As mentioned, every chapter features a mini game or gameplay gimmick that is tied to the Achievements; it’s worthwhile creating a backup save file as you won’t be able to retry if you miss them, fail them, or progress past that chapter. Other Achievements come from collecting equipment, fusing Materia, clearing the “Hard” difficulty, and defeating the powerful superboss Minerva, something you can only do after unlocking and clearing every previous Mission. Missions are unlocked through story progression and talking with NPCs, so be sure to talk to everyone you see. Their difficulty ranges and some are extremely tedious, forcing you to defeat up to 1000 enemies in a row or battle previous bosses and Summons, but you’re rewarded with better Materia and items and such. After you beat the game, you’ll create a clear save file and can start “New Game+”. This carries over your current level, SP, Gil, play time, items, Materia, equipment, DMW progress, Buster Sword proficiency, and mail but not the Missions you’ve completed. You also still need to unlock a lot of this stuff again, such as the additional Materia slots, shops, and Buster Sword, but I imagine it makes a second playthrough – even on “Hard” mode – much easier. Other than that, there’s not much else here; no new costumes or skins, no chapter select, and no gallery or movie theatre, which is a bit of a shame.

The Summary:
As I mentioned, I played Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII years ago when I first got a PSP. I didn’t get very far, though, mainly because I had a bunch of PSP games to play at the time and was a little put off by the strict mission-based structure of the game. Having finally played through this Reunion version, I can say that this structure is somewhat hampered at times and a little too quaint for a main console release, but it’s not as bad as I first thought. It is tedious having to go into the Mission menu and tackle each one in turn, but it was a fun way to level-up between the main story and combat was usually simple enough that they only took a few minutes to beat. The DMW system was certainly unique; the randomness wasn’t to my liking, but I enjoyed the variety in the attacks and benefits it gave you. This, along with battles constantly rewarding you, means the game can be pretty easy most of the time. Combat thus becomes quite dull very quickly as you just mash away and win, heal at a save point, and repeat until the chapter ends. There is a strange difficulty curve in Crisis Core Reunion, though; it’s really weird that Sephiroth and Genesis were so simple to defeat compared to the Behemoth King, and that enemies like the Pachyornis line could one-shot me yet I could survive Bahamut Fury with barely a scratch. This made combat a little unpredictable and annoying at times, almost as much as some of the mini games and the requirements to earn the Achievements associated with them. I enjoyed the dramatic dive into Zack’s backstory, his relationships with his mentor and peers, and his interactions with Final Fantasy VII icons like Cloud and Aerith. It was very impactful seeing Sephiroth’s downfall first-hand and playing an active role in the sacking of Nibelheim and Zack’s final stand, and the score and 3D recreations of Final Fantasy VII locations were a joy. In the end, it was an enjoyable enough action-orientated RPG but it a little clunky in its execution, with odd difficulty spikes and strange mechanics that make it fall short of its true potential.

My Rating:

Pretty Good

Have you played Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion? If so, did you enjoy it? How do you think it compares to the original PSP release and did you like the new additions made to the game? What did you think to the DMW system and the mission-based structure? Did you enjoy Zack’s narrative and witnessing Sephiroth’s downfall? Did you ever complete all the side missions and defeat Minerva? Which other Final Fantasy VII side character would you like to see take the spotlight and which game in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII was your favourite? Whatever your thoughts on Crisis Core, or Final Fantasy VII in general, leave a comment below and be sure to check out my other Final Fantasy content across the site.

Back Issues [Deadpool Day]: Deadpool #1-4

01/04/202501/04/2025Dr. KLeave a comment

In February 1991, readers of The New Mutants were introduced to Wade W. Wilson, the wise-cracking, fourth-wall-breaking Merc With a Mouth, Deadpool. Rob Liefeld and Fabian Nicieza’s sword-swinging immortal went on to become one of Marvel’s most popular anti-heroes thanks to his metatextual humour, violent nature, and massively successful live-action films. It’s perhaps no surprise that Sideshow rechristened April 1^st as “Deadpool Day” to give fans of the chimichanga-chomping mercenary an excuse to celebrate all things Deadpool.

**Writer:** Mark Waid – **Artists:** Ian Churchill and Ken Lashley

Story Title: “If Looks Could Kill”
Published: 14 June 1994 (cover-dated: August 1994)

Story Title: “Luck of the Irish”
Published: 12 July 1994 (cover-dated: September 1994)

Story Title: “Deadpool Sandwich”
Published: 9 August 1994 (cover-dated: October 1994)

Story Title: “Mano @ Mano”
Published: 6 September 1994 (cover-dated: November 1994)

The Background:
By the 1980s, the X-Men had been established as one of Marvel Comics’ most successful publications and then-chief editor Jim Shooter was encouraged enough by their success to commission a few spin-off titles, birthing Chris Claremont and Bob McLeod’s New Mutants. These Mutant youngsters soon fell under the tutelage of the time travelling Mutant Nathan Summers/Cable, formed X-Force, and famously clashed with Fabian Nicieza and Rob Liefeld’s Deadpool in The New Mutants #98 (ibid, 1991). Heavily inspired by James Howlett/Logan/Wolverine, Peter Parker/Spider-Man, and (most infamously) to DC Comics’ Slade Wilson/Deathstroke the Terminator, the self-styled “Merc With a Mouth” proved popular enough to receive this own four-issue miniseries in 1993. The series was a relative success, prompting Marvel to sign off on a second miniseries the following year, though writer Mark Waid later distanced himself from the character’s more violent nature. This was all a prelude to Deadpool graduating to an ongoing solo title and his greater popularity as a self-aware anti-hero, and his eventual appearances in Marvel/X-Men-related videogames, a cameo appearance in the beloved X-Men animated series (1992 to 1997), and the incredible success of his live-action feature films decades later.

The Review:
Deadpool’s second miniseries begins in a secret, heavily guarded facility where two thousand imprisoned inmates are forced to endure the agonised screaming of Thomas Cassidy/Black Tom as he sustains horrendous torture at the hands of Doctor Emrys Killebrew. Dr. Killebrew’s there to cure Black Tom of the “viral wooden growth” currently infecting his cellular structure, a procedure quickly interrupted by the explosive arrival of Cain Marko/The Juggernaut, Black Tom’s loyal (if thick-headed), brutish best friend. Though weak and in pain, Black Tom ensures the Juggernaut also grabs Dr. Killebrew and his files on cellular regeneration cases, namely one belonging to Wade Wilson. Weeks later, everyone’s favourite Merc with a Mouth is regaling patrons in a bar with stories of his recent tangle with Wolverine, removing his bandages and scarring off a girl with his tumour-riddled, scarified visage. As he downs beers, Wade shares a truncated version of his origin with the bartender, too busy dwelling on his situation and running his mouth to notice when a group of heavily armoured and well-armed mercenaries enter the bar. Though blasted by a bazooka, Wade easily recovers thanks to his advanced healing factor and opens fire, antagonising the mercs with his inane banter, though briefly slowed by a particularly gruesome close range shot to the gut. Too stubborn to go down, Deadpool continues to fight back; even being literally frozen doesn’t keep him down thanks to the unexpected arrival of Sean Cassidy/Banshee and his daughter, Theresa/Siryn, who catches Deadpool’s eye as much as their mention of Black Tom catches his attention. Since Black Tom is Banshee’s cousin, he has a vested interest in tracking him down and has been on his trail since his escape, though neither of the Irish Mutants know why their cousin targeted Deadpool. For Wade, it’s as simple as revenge since he’s tangled with Black Tom before, though all three are confused as to why Black Tom would order for Deadpool to be captured alive rather than simply ordering his assassination. On Siryn’s suggestion, Banshee reluctantly leaves to get some answers from Interpol and she chooses to stick close to Deadpool, sure that Black Tom’s goons will strike again, and immediately shuts down his lewd attempts to woo her.

*Deadpool’s busted powers don’t stop him from making uncomfortable advances towards Siryn.*

Still, as capable as Siryn is, it’s only thanks to Deadpool’s timely intervention and quick reflexes that she’s spared a sword in the back. Although Deadpool proves a master swordsman and eventually runs Black Tom’s merc through with his katana, it costs him a hand and he’s surprised to find the limb failing to instantly regenerate and himself blacking out from the pain. Siryn drags his unconscious ass to a safe spot and, when he comes to, Deadpool finally regenerates the hand but only after concentrating with all his might and enduring incredible pain. Deadpool’s concern about his slow healing factor is swept aside for further uncomfortable advances towards Siryn, who bluntly tells him that they’re partnership is simply one of convenience, and temporary. While waiting to meet with his old partner, Daniel “Danny” Peyer, Banshee recalls his time working for Interpol when Deadpool saved his ass at the cost of his career. Banshee asks Danny to help track down Black Tom and unwittingly gives Peyer the information he needs to settle his own score with Deadpool. Meanwhile, the severely suffering Black Tom is angered to see Theresa wrapped up in his business and orders his men not to engage without safely removing her from the line of fire first, causing himself incredible pain from getting so worked up. Black Tom’s affliction spreads further the more his adrenaline spikes, but Dr. Killebrew is sure that he can cure him if they capture Deadpool, a task the Juggernaut gladly takes up even though he hates to leave his sick friend undefended. Though Deadpool and Siryn take out another group of Black Tom’s men, Wade ends up being riddled with bullets when shielding Siryn and taking a nasty fall from a window. When the Juggernaut shows up, Siryn insists they make a stand in a knife factory and, though hesitant to tangle with Cain even if his healing factor was working, Deadpool showers the Juggernaut with blades in an unsuccessful attempt to stop him.

*Complex relations see Deadpool reluctantly rally against Black Tom, who increases his powers!*

Naturally, these simply bounce off the Juggernaut’s impenetrable hide and Deadpool ends up skewered by several blades before being saved by Siryn’s high-pitched sonic blast. Unfortunately, even molten metal doesn’t slow the Juggernaut and Deadpool’s issues are only compounded when he runs into Peyer and his men. Thinking fast, Deadpool lures the flaming-hot Juggernaut to the Interpol agents and causes them to flee, solving one problem but leaving Wade powerless to stop Cain. Though Deadpool shows no fear and keeps fighting and throwing barbs at his foe, he’s helpless against the Juggernaut’s strength. Thankfully, after a brief hesitation, Siryn saves Deadpool by bombarding the Juggernaut with her scream. Although they flee to safety, Deadpool chastises Siryn for hesitating and she reluctantly reveals that part of her still cares for Black Tom despite all the bad he’s done and that she considered letting the Juggernaut take Wade so Black Tom could be cured. This leads to a tender moment between the two where Siryn asks his real name and tries to see under his mask, only for Deadpool to scold her and Peyer to interrupt with a hail of gunfire. Although Wade gets Peyer bang to rights, he’s stopped from killing him by a convenient lack of ammo, getting himself shot a bunch of times as Peyer extracts a measure of revenge. Too stubborn to go down, Deadpool simply tanks each shot and sends Peyer plummeting off a rooftop with a punch, only for Banshee to swoop in and make the save. After chastising his former partner for acting so recklessly, Banshee offers Deadpool the chance to join him and Siryn in heading to Black Tom’s location (which he learned from Peyer’s files). Although Wade initially refuses to join them, he begrudgingly changes his mind seemingly to impress Siryn. Though enraged at the slow progress of his men, Black Tom is ecstatic when one of them returns with Deadpool’s severed hand, which Black Toom maniacally attaches to his own wrist after lopping off his hand!

*Deadpool shows a surprising vulnerability and ultimately spares Black Tom for Siryn’s sake.*

Deadpool, Banshee, and Siryn head to Bannerman Castle on the Hudson River and blast their way inside. Against Siryn’s advice, the three split up. While Banshee advises her to not get too attached to a ruthless mercenary like Deadpool, Wade stumbles upon Dr. Killebrew, the same man who turned Deadpool into an unkillable monster. Realising that Dr. Killebrew can fix his dodgy healing powers, Deadpool ignores the sounds of his friends battling Black Tom and the doctor’s snivelling begging and threatens Dr. Killebrew, only to be drawn back into the fight when Siryn crashes through the wall. Deadpool leaps into action and finds Banshee unconscious and Black Tom’s powers raging out of control. Incensed to see his hand grafted to the villain’s wrist, Deadpool desperately dodges Black Tom’s flaming energy blasts and the villain is driven mad from the pain caused from Deadpool’s cells regenerating his own. While taking cover, Deadpool is again accosted by Peyer but fools the vindictive agent into taking a blast to the face by tricking him into earning a promotion by apprehending Black Tom. Deadpool’s elation is cut short when he’s blindsided by the Juggernaut, whose massive fists accidentally tear off Wade’s mask, driving Deadpool into an insane frenzy as he desperately tries to recover his “face”. Siryn blasts the Juggernaut from the castle and retrieves the mask, finally getting a good look at Wade’s gruesome visage, though he’s stunned when she shows him kindness rather than fear. With Black Tom’s life equally threatened by the hand’s infestation, Deadpool renews his attack, breaking Tom’s arm and ready to end his foe… only to relent at the last minute and spare Black Tom for Siryn’s benefit. Deadpool then finally subdues the Juggernaut by holding Dr. Killebrew hostage and the doctor stabilises Black Tom’s condition, though Cain vows to break his friend out of whatever cell he ends up in. Wade parts ways with Siryn, with her inviting him to team up again some time, and then flees into the night with the terrified Dr. Killebrew, unaware that Peyer is still lurking in the background with a thirst for vengeance.

The Summary:
Eh… this was a bit of a slog. Let’s talk positives first, though. I enjoyed the artwork. Ian Churchill and Ken Lashley seem to be of the same school as the likes of Mark Bagley, Rob Liefeld, Todd McFarlane, emphasizing big, bold, ridiculously proportioned characters who are twisted into various physics-defying poses. It’s all very dramatic and bombastic, making for some very kinetic action sequences and memorable “hero shots” of Deadpool leaping, slashing his swords, or whipping out his pistols. Siryn is, of course, heavily sexualized; her costume is suggestively torn by the end to expose her bra and breasts and she’s no doubt suffering a great deal of back ache from her unnatural poses. Luckily, she’s written really well and isn’t some airhead or an emotional wreck. I never knew Banshee even had a daughter until reading this, though, and the two are depicted very strangely. They come across more like siblings or even lovers than father and daughter, something not helped by the fact that they look around the same age. They could’ve avoided this by making Banshee appear older, with more lines on his face or greys in his hair, or depicted Siryn as more of a teenager, smaller and slender rather than fully developed woman. This would’ve had the knock-on effect of sparing her (and the reader) from Deadpool’s lewd advances. He’s not too full on, to be fair, but it’s enough to make her uncomfortable and shut his shit down. Though she’s supposedly a fairly stoic character, Siryn does grow to respect Wade. He risks his life (literally, considering his janky healing factor) to protect her and she admires both his fighting spirit and is sympathetic towards his gruesome appearance. By the end, she’s more than happy to team up with him again and a potential romance is even hinted at, showing that Deadpool should rely more on his actions than his words to impress those around him.

*Deadpool’s weaker than usual, but no less tenacious, lewd, and dangerous.*

This ties into a recurring theme in this miniseries concerning Deadpool’s self confidence and his monstrous lifestyle. When we first see him, he scares off patrons with his scarified visage and he reacts with hostility whenever Siryn tries to remove his mask, before descending into Walter Kovacs/Rorschach levels of madness when it’s finally removed. He expects Siryn to react with fear and disgust, but is amazed when she shows him pity. In recounting his origin, Deadpool talks bitterly about how his terminal cancer was cured at the cost of his humanity, and he turns that bitterness and anger towards the world (or, at least, his enemies), masking his pain with a mile-a-minute banter that regularly antagonizes friend and foe alike. I’m not sure why, but Deadpool’s healing factor is on the fritz in this miniseries. It leads to some dramatic tension as Deadpool’s strategy is to throw himself head-first into a fight, shrugging off mortal wounds and coming out on top, something that costs him his hand and leaves him struggling to heal from wounds. As far as I can tell, it’s not said why this is happening to him and it is a bit inconsistent: Deadpool’s momentarily stunned from a gunshot wound but shrugs off a plummet from a window. His reflexes and skills are also unaffected by this handicap, though it does place him in a more vulnerable position and allow him to open up to Siryn and, perhaps, rediscover aspects of his humanity. Deadpool’s reputation precedes him, to the point where Banshee is reluctant to team up with him and warns Siryn against getting too attached to him since Wade is known as a cold-blooded mercenary who’s just as likely to stab them in the back as help them. However, Deadpool is clearly taken by Siryn, either legitimately or from simple lust, and not only accompanies them to Bannerman Castle despite being wounded but even temporarily forgets his own selfish desire to be cured to help Siryn when she’s manhandled by Black Tom. Deadpool’s really off his rocker here, ranting about nonsense during pitched battles and mocking his foes to throw them off-balance, overwhelming even groups of armed soldiers with his katana and guns. Though he’s no match for the Juggernaut, that doesn’t stop him trying and standing up to the brute, though this miniseries emphasises quite explicitly that much of his inane banter is to mask the pain and anger he feels at being turned into a ghastly, inhuman freak.

*Juggernaut may be powerful but the story’s main antagonists aren’t believable threats.*

I think what lets this miniseries down is the main villain. I’m vaguely aware of Black Tom but he’s a bit of a nobody, with weak-ass powers that can’t compare to Deadpool’s skills. Luckily for him, he’s got the Juggernaut in his pocket but, even then, Cain is just a rampaging brute and fights against him aren’t that interesting. Nothing Deadpool and Siryn throw at the Juggernaut can stop him and they’d been ridiculously outmatched even if Deadpool’s healing factor was working. Without it, we’re denied even the simple pleasure of seeing the Juggernaut tear Deadpool limb from limb and instead rely on a cat-and-mouse game. This is fun enough and shows Wade’s adaptability and certainly paints Siryn as formidable since she holds her own against the Juggernaut, but I feel more could’ve been done with these bouts. Instead, the story spends more time focusing on Danny Peyer and his childish vendetta against Deadpool for costing him his career some years ago. Peyer is just a regular guy with a gun and some soldiers; he’s way out of his league and just grinds the story to a halt. I would’ve rather seen Banshee simply pulling Interpol’s file on Black Tom and then devoted the panels wasted on Peyer to showcasing more of the Deadpool/Juggernaut fight and exploring Wade’s condition, especially as a mirror of Black Tom’s. Like Deadpool, Black Tom suffers from an affliction that’s slowly and painfully killing him (or transforming him into a tree-man? I’m not sure). His agony and desperation see him lash out and devolve into near madness after grafting Wade’s severed hand to his own, increasing his powers and finally making him a true threat but, in the end, he’s subdued with ridiculous ease because, as I said, Black Tom is a nobody. In the end, this was an okay miniseries for the Merc with a Mouth; it showcased a few more layers to his character and developed him further into the near parody of a character we know today, but it’s really just nonsensical fights. Every conversation is interrupted by some goon or another, it’s not always clear what’s happening or why, and the threat is just so low level that it feels like Deadpool could’ve ended things in one or two issues if his healing factor wasn’t mysteriously broken.

My Rating:

Pretty Good

Have you ever read Deadpool’s second solo foray? Did you enjoy the exaggerated artwork and the violent action? What did you think to Deadpool’s characterisation, the vulnerability he displayed and his busted healing factor? Were you a fan of Black Tom or do you agree that he’s a weak villain? What are some of your favourite Deadpool stories and moments and how are you celebrating Deadpool Day today? Whatever your thoughts on Deadpool, feel free to share them below and go check out my other Deadpool content.

Game Corner [Mario Month]: Super Mario Bros. Wonder (Nintendo Switch)

31/03/202531/03/2025Dr. KLeave a comment

So, for no better reason than “Mar.10” resembling Mario’s name, March 10^th is widely regarded as being “Mario Day”, a day to celebrate Nintendo’s portly plumber, an overalls-wearing mascot who literally changed the videogame industry forever and shaped the home console market of the nineties.

Released: 20 October 2023
Developer: Nintendo EPD

The Background:
Following the collapse of the videogame industry from a slew of overpriced consoles and mediocre titles, Nintendo revitalised the landscape with Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo EAD, 1985). Once the “Console Wars” of the mid-nineties ended, Nintendo and their famous mascot became an innovative and reliable staple of the videogame industry. After successfully transitioning into 3D gaming, Nintendo continued to pay homage to Mario’s 2D roots with hit 2.5D titles. Shiro Mouri, director of New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe (Nintendo EAD, 2012), returned to develop Super Mario Bros. Wonder and he and his team worked without a deadline, allowing them far more freedom to develop new ideas. Producer Takashi Tezuka suggested implementing a gimmick that would alter the game’s locations in fun and wacky ways, birthing the “Wonder Flower” mechanic, and features and accessibility options were implemented to make the game appealing to players of all ages. A live commentary feature was scrapped early on, long-time Mario voice actor Charles Martinet was replaced for the first time following his retirement, and Mouri also personally lobbied for Princess Daisy to be included so girls (specifically his daughters) would have more playable options. Super Mario Bros. Wonder was met with widespread acclaim; critics adored the gameplay innovations and responsive controls, and it sold 4.3 million units in its first two weeks alone.

The Plot:
While visiting the Flower Kingdom, Mario and his friends are stunned when Bowser, King of the Koopas, steals the Wonder Flower, turns himself into a giant flying fortress, and wreaks havoc throughout the kingdom. Our heroes thus travel across this new land to gather the Royal Seeds and stop their nemesis.

Gameplay and Power-Ups:
Like its 2- and 2.5D predecessors, Super Mario Bros. Wonder is a 2.5D action platformer, albeit one that gives players twelve characters to pick from and offers four player co-op, both on- and offline. Players journey across the Flower Kingdom collecting golden Coins (100 of which will grant a 1-Up), stomping on Goombas, and leaping to flagpoles to clear the six main stages (known as “Worlds”) alongside Prince Florian, a caterpillar-like character who pops out when you’re idle and chimes in during cutscenes. Regardless of which character you select, they all control the same with the exception of Yoshi, who can flutter jump by holding A (giving you a bit more airtime to clear gaps) and eats enemies and spits them back out with B. Otherwise, you can pick from two control schemes and choose to play with or without motion controls. The setup I chose saw me jumping or swimming with A (holding it to jump higher), running and picking up certain objects (like Koopa shells) by holding B (releasing it to launch my item upwards or straight ahead), and ground pounding by pressing ZL in mid-air to squash enemies and break blocks. Y brought up an emoji wheel to communicate to other players and X either placed a standee (used to revive players in co-op) or spawned an item balloon when I had one saved up. Pressing R performed a spin jump and jumping against walls and vertical surfaces performed a wall jump. You can also hold down when on slopes to slide into enemies, and pressing the L and R triggers together in co-op sees you become a ghost to float around stages. Also, you can jump atop and ride Yoshi players in multiplayer and press B to perform your special attacks when you have a power-up item.

*Mario and friends utilise new power-ups and the Wonder Flowers to explore this new kingdom.*

As you might expect, grabbing a Super Mushroom allows your character to grow and take an extra hit and break certain blocks. Get hit when in your small form and you’ll lose a life, respawning either at the beginning of the stage or from the last checkpoint you touched. Touching a checkpoint automatically causes you to grow if you’re small, rare green mushrooms grant extra lives and Fire Flowers let you toss fireballs to defeat enemies and melt ice blocks. Blue Coins appear when you hit P Switches, POW blocks defeat all onscreen enemies and break all visible blocks, and Super Stars make you invincible for a short time and add a somersault to your jump. This is all very familiar but Super Mario Bros. Wonder does add in three new power-ups. The Bubble Flower sees you throw bubbles to trap and defeat enemies and make temporary platforms, the Drill Mushroom lets you dig into floors and ceilings to reach new areas, and the Elephant Fruit transforms you into a rotund elephant that smacks enemies with its trunk and sprays water to cause various effects whenever you enter a fountain. If you have one power-up active, you’ll store the next one as a bubble, which is very useful as an extra chance to bypass tricky areas, and you can even commandeer Lakitu’s cloud or ride Missile Megs and Ancient Dragons to clear gaps. Wonder Flowers are the game’s biggest new feature and temporarily alter the game’s environments or your character’s appearance to mix things up. You’ll see Warp Pipes come to life, adopt a top-down perspective, float around in zero gravity, race to collect Wonder Tokens, ride along stampeding enemies, get chased by King Boo, and even explore in near darkness when the Wonder Flower is collected. These also transform you into new forms, such as a Goomba (stunting your jump but allowing you to safely cross spikes), a Biyon (stretching your character considerably), a Hoppycat (increasing your jump height), a floating balloon, granting you the Metal Cap power-up, and allowing you to stick to walls and ceilings as a Wubba, amongst other effects. These effects are sometimes timed but will last until you find a Wonder Seed or clear the stage and really add to the visual variety and mix up the gameplay as you never know what effect the Wonder Flower will have.

*You’ll need all your skills and the game’s Badges to find all the collectibles and stop Bowser.*

Sadly, this variety doesn’t extend to the playable characters as much as I’d like. Luigi jumps higher and has less traction than the others, Toad seems to have floatier jumps, and the Yoshis and Nabbit are invulnerable to damage (but can still lose lives), but Princess “Peach” Toadstool doesn’t have her glide ability and I question the logic behind having three Toads and four Yoshis rather than putting in Wario and Waluigi. Still, the game does allow for some character customisation in the form of “Badges”, which are either bought using the new purple Flower Coins (with three 10-Flower Coins hidden in most stages) and by conquering bite-sized Badge Challenge levels. You can equip one Badge at a time and each one grants different buffs or abilities, such as allowing you to glide by holding R, adding to your wall jump, increasing your running or swimming speed, and allowing you to snag platforms with a vine. Other abilities are more passive, such as allowing you to sense nearby collectibles, giving you a one-time save from instant-death traps like pits and lava, or turning every power-up into a specific item. You can also earn “Expert” Badges that further increase your running speed and add a limited double jump, turn you invisible (actually more trouble than it’s worth), add a spring to your step for added jump height, or allow you to hear strange voices. While it’s fun challenging for and collecting the Badges, I stuck with the Parachute Cap for my entire playthrough bar one or two exceptions as it was far more useful to add a short glide to my arsenal than anything else. You can also spend your Flower Coins on new standees (which are randomised), 1-Ups, Wonder Seeds, and paying off the local Poplins to repair bridges or smash rocks to create shortcuts and open new areas on the overworld. Furthermore, if you search hard enough, you’ll not only uncover new stages to challenge but also meet Captain Toad, who’ll gift you some Flower Coins, alongside visiting the locals to get Wonder Seeds or be told of regional issues caused by Bowser’s influence.

*There’s a lot of challenge and variety on offer thanks to the Wonder Flowers.*

While Super Mario Bros. Wonder contains many of the same gimmicks and mechanics you’d expect from a Super Mario title (platforming, taking Warp Pipes, smashing blocks, climbing vines, sliding on ice, and dodging fireballs are all common tropes recreated here), the game is structured more like an obstacle course than ever before. You’ll be taking Warp Pipes to the foreground and background, pushing pipes and blocks to clear paths, entering doors and taking leaps of faith, hopping to moving, spinning, and temporary platforms, and dashing across zip lines to reach new areas. Like many Super Mario games, there are often hidden exits to find (generally by collecting or avoiding Wonder Flowers), you’ll need to face Boos to stop them in their tracks or lure them into the light to destroy them, and bottomless pits, boiling lava, and toxic gunk will instantly end your run if you’re not careful. You must also avoid giant spiked balls, lure Bulrushes and Konks into smashing through blocks, outrun shadowy enemies who relentlessly chase you, time your jumps to avoid being hit by Hoppycats, stay out of reach of Maw-Maws so they eat enemies instead of you, and hold B to unzip the background, unwrap Mumsys, and send Revvers dashing. Sometimes, you’ll grab keys to open doors; others, you’ll be climbing or shimmying across striped poles. Often, you’ll touch Wow Buds to spawn Coins or cause platforms to appear, move, or sway. Balloons must be popped, balloon-like enemies need to be carefully bounced across to clear gaps, and rhythm platforms and mushroom trampolines will have you timing your jumps to progress higher. You’ll also cross hazards in rolling wheels or on rafts made from dinosaur fossils, and transport to the clouds using Propeller Flowers. Timer Switches activate block platforms for a short time, Bowser’s ship fires from the background, you’ll ride an out-of-control avalanche, race against Wiggler, and battle through autoscrolling sections on Bower’s battleships, dodging Bullet Bills and flame bursts that’ll test your reaction times. The difficulty spike is pretty fair, and each stage has a star difficulty to alert you to the challenge on offer. Things never get too tricky and you can always purchase additional lives from the shop, though the game does ramp up as you progress and offer incredibly tough missions up in the Special World.

Presentation:
Super Mario Bros. Wonder is, in a word, gorgeous. 2.5D Mario has never looked or played better than here, with the game performing incredibly well throughout and the action never slowing down. It helps that most stages are bite-sized obstacle courses and that there’s a lot happening in every stage. Talking Flowers are everywhere, offering encouragement, calling for help, or commenting on the effects of Wonder Flowers. These, as mentioned, alter the stages so drastically that it’s almost like having two versions of most stages at times. They’ll be plunged into darkness, surreal colours bombard the player, and a kaleidoscope of bizarre and amusing effects spawn once you touch them, making for an enjoyable twist on the tried-and-tested formula. Mario and his friends might not play as differently as I’d like but they’re full of life and personality. Chattering through gibberish and pantomime movements, they hop and explore like never before, with caps flying off as you jump or fall or being swiped when you enter pipes. Your Elephant form squeezes through narrow passageways and Prince Florian pops out whenever you’re left idle or finish a stage. The game takes into account which character you’re playing as, too, with character-specific hidden blocks appearing in stages, personalised flags appearing at checkpoints and end goals, and the in-game text referring to whomever you’re controlling at that time. The music is as catchy and whimsical as ever; classic Super Mario tunes return, as you’d expect, as end of stage and power-up jingles but also for bonus stages and boss battles. The story is light-hearted and secondary to the action, for the most part, but just different enough to be unique. Peach isn’t a damsel in distress, for example, Bowser’s ominous ship form looms in the centre of the overworld, and you’re even actively searching for lost Poppins when you explore the Fungi Mines.

*Mario has never looked better in this colourful, quirky adventure.*

While Super Mario Bros. Wonder doesn’t break the mould that much when it comes to its stage designs, everything looks great and there are a lot of stages on offer in each World, with each sporting a unique and interconnected overworld. Things start relatively familiar in Pipe-Rock Plateau, where Warp Pipes are prevalent and you’ll be bouncing from Hoppos, before taking a turn for the surreal in Fluff-Puff Peaks. With the action mostly up in the clouds, you’ll be adding to your temporary platform in “Cruising with Linking Lifts” and slipping on icy platforms as you make way for Pokipedes on their set paths. Shining Falls adds an isometric aesthetic to its overworld and offers unique platforming challenges as the Hoppycats copy your jumps, the Anglefish fly from different directions, and you race along at high speeds on Zip Tracks. The Sunbaked Desert sees new stages appear from the arid sands as you explore or open by performing tasks on the overworld, and its stages have a tangible Arabian theme. You’ll be exploring a door maze in the Shova Mansion, gatecrashing the Ninji’s jump party, and exploring pyramid-like tombs for goodies. Things take an ominous turn in the Fungi Mines, where toxic clouds and goop lurk amongst haunted mansions and destructive rifts in the fabric of reality. The Deep Magma Bog overworld is not only the most menacing yet but also a maze of tunnels and paths. Its stages are volcano themed and feature dinosaur bones, fireballs, and flaming enemies who rush from the walls. As you explore the overworld, Kamek occasionally spawns huge Bowser-themed battleships not unlike those seen in Super Mario Bros. 3 (Nintendo EAD, 1988). Here, the game becomes an autoscrollers and you’re forced to avoid numerous hazards and destroy the central core, which doubles as a baddy maker. Finally, simple cutscenes and interactions with the locals pepper the action, with the game concluding with an all-out frenzy to get the highest score during the credits as recycled (now non-lethal) hazards fly past.

Enemies and Bosses:
Many of Mario’s most recognisable enemies make a return in Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Goombas will snooze in stages and wander or float about, Piranha Plants of various sizes pop up from pipes to bite you or spit fireballs, green and red Koopas trot about or flutter in the air, Bullet Bills blast across the screen, Boos shy away from your gaze, and Hammer Bros toss hammers in an annoying arc, as ever. Mechakoopas patrol Bowser’s battleships and castles, Pokeys wander the desert, Lakitus drop Spinys, Thwomps try to crush you, and Cheep Cheeps swim about underwater to get in your way. These are joined by some new enemies, with some offering different mechanics. The Babooms, for example, shoot fireworks that can be used to defeat enemies above you. Blewbirds fire their beaks, which then become platforms, Bloomps can be bounced on to clear gaps, Bulrushes can be ridden, and Wonder Hoppins can be tricked into smashing through the stage to make new paths. Mumsys must be unwrapped by grabbing their handle, Noknoks masquerade as doors, Renketsu Search Killers offer themselves as temporary, explosive platforms, and Skedaddlers spit seeds and run off with collectibles. Shovas push pipes and blocks about, Smogrins lurk near tricky jumps, you can swing across gaps by grabbing Tailys, and Wubbas will cut through sticky goo that slows you down. Spikes, flame bursts, electrical sparks, giant balls, toxic gunk, and crushing pistons are persistent hazards, with you often bouncing from enemies to avoid them or luring nearby foes into unwittingly aiding you.

*The game’s disappointingly light on bosses but goes all-out for the finale.*

Sadly, Super Mario. Bros Wonder is disappointingly light on unique boss battles, a trend I’ve noticed in a lot of 2- and 2.5D Mario adventures. While larger variants of certain enemies do exist (King Boo being the most memorable), they’re more like chase sections rather than boss battles. The Mecha Makers are close to a boss in that you have to avoid hazards on the conveyer belt and smash the big red button to down Bowser’s battleships, but that’s being generous. Since Bowser’s busy being a giant, living ship, you’ll instead battle Bowser Jr. to clear four of the six main Worlds and retrieve the Royal Seeds and remove Bowser’s defences. Each battle against Bowser Jr. is a two-stage affair, with the first simply having you avoid his shell spin, jumps, and occasional fireball. After one hit, he transforms into Wonder Bowser Jr. and alters the terrain and your abilities somewhat. In the first fight, either you or he will change size; in the second, the rising and falling platforms alternate between being ice or jelly; in the third, water floods the arena (either above or below); and, in the fourth, Wonder Bowser Jr. distracts you with clones and by having you fight in the dark. While these fights can be tricky without any power-ups on hand, it only takes a couple of hits to defeat Bowser’s kid and his attack pattern doesn’t change much. You never battle Kamek, which is a shame, and Bowser Jr. is ultimately done in for good in a cutscene, which is also disappointing. After braving Bowser’s Rage Stage, you’ll face off against Castle Bowser in a somewhat harrowing, multi-stage final fight. In each phase, Castle Bowser spawns more hands to rain flaming Piranha Plants or to try and slam you. You must time your jumps to gain a boost from the rhythm blocks to either dispose of the hands or smack the weak spot under his chin, which he shields with his extra hands. As the battle progresses, Castle Bowser retreats to the background and fires larger Piranha Plants that can be tricky to dodge, alternates the floor to screw up your jumps, and tosses big, spiked balls that bounce around the arena. Power-ups are occasionally deposited as well and, after enough hits, a big button appears on Castle Bowser’s head that you must propel up to to end to his latest mad scheme.

Additional Features:
As mentioned, there are three 10-Flower Coins to find the game’s main stages and you’re encouraged to snag the top of every flagpole. Like the collection of Wonder Seeds, these statistics are recorded on your save file, though they appear to have no other function other than bragging rights (and, in the case of Flower Coins, allowing you to buy items). You must search high and low for every Badge Challenge and hidden sage if you want to earn every Badge in the game and enough Wonder Seeds to progress through the story. You can easily review each stage from the main map and jump to any stage where it shows you’ve missed anything, though you’ll need a guide or to pay attention to the overworld to spot when stages have secret exits. Bonus levels appear that bombard you with Coins, you can take a break by searching for Flower Tokens or taking out enemies across various arenas, and you can hunt across each map in search of Captain Toad. Eventually, you’ll unlock the Special World, where ten additional, super tough stages await, each one themed after the main Worlds and remixing hazards and enemies in new, challenging ways. Clear them all and you’ll gain access to a new Poplin House and earn yourself a congratulatory message and the Sound Off? Badge, though personally I couldn’t even clear one of the Special World’s stage…so good luck to you! Finally, of course, you can tackle any of the game’s stages in multiplayer, vying for Coins, power-ups, and a high score at the end, though I wasn’t able to play this so I can’t say how good or bad it is.

The Summary:
While I usually prefer Mario’s 3D adventures due to his 2D outings being slippery and unfamiliar to my SEGA-hardened gaming skills, I’ve really enjoyed his 2.5D titles and was blown away by Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Visually, the game is such a treat to behold; I loved all the little, goofy details and the whimsical (yet familiar) nature of the Flower Kingdom. I loved the callbacks to Mario’s previous adventures, with some returning gimmicks and mechanics, and the new abilities were a real treat. While the Bubble and Elephant forms weren’t that special, the Wonder Flower mechanics really helped to inject new life into the tried-and-tested Mario formula. I loved how unpredictable it was, how it reimagined stages and decades old fixtures like Goombas and Warp Pipes in fun new ways, and how it bombarded you with such an array of visually interesting mechanics. The new Worlds were also very enjoyable; I liked how the stages were short obstacle courses that never outstayed their welcome. The level of challenge was just right, with the game being upfront about when things get trickier and the onus being on the player to have the right skills accumulated or Badges equipped. The Badge mechanic was a little wasted on me but may have more appeal in multiplayer, and I was disappointed by the poor variety of the boss battles. There really was no excuse not to have Kamek be a boss fight at least once and I do think the developers sell the franchise short by not doing more with the likes of King Boo. Similarly, the character selection could’ve been better; I don’t get why Wario and Waluigi are always shafted or why Peach and Princess Daisy don’t have unique attributes. These negatives are mere nit-picks, however, to the overall enjoyment and fun on offer in Super Mario Bros. Wonder. It really does feel like a brand-new addition to the classic games and I liked how it provided just enough of a spin on the usual formula to be a wholly unique and accessible experience.

My Rating:

Fantastic

Did you enjoy Super Mario Bros. Wonder? How do you feel it compares to other Mario titles, specifically the previous 2.5D Super Mario games? Which of the playable characters was your go-to and were you disappointed that they didn’t have more unique playstyles? What did you think to the new power-ups and the Wonder Flower mechanic? Were you disappointed by the lack of variety in the boss battles? Did you ever conquer the Special World? How did you celebrate Mario’s birthday this year? Whatever your thoughts on Super Mario Bros. Wonder, feel free to share them below and be sure to check out my other Mario content!

Wrestling Recap: Hogan vs. Warrior (WrestleMania VI)

27/03/202525/10/2025Dr. KLeave a comment

The Date: 1 April 1990
The Venue: SkyDome; Toronto, Ontario, Canada
The Commentary: Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse “The Body” Ventura
The Referee: Earl Hebner
The Stakes: “The Ultimate Challenge” singles match for the WWF Championship and the Intercontinental Championship

The Build-Up:
On 31 March 1985, Vince McMahon took a massive gamble on WrestleMania, a wrestling extravaganza watched by over one million viewers that forever changed the wrestling landscape. Today, WrestleMania is a peerless premier wrestling event known for career-defining matches and iconic “WrestleMania Moments”, with easily one of the most memorable of these being this unprecedented contest between Intercontinental Champion the Ultimate Warrior and WWF Champion “The Immortal” Hulk Hogan. After years of Hogan being the undisputed face of the WWF and easily the most mainstream star in professional wrestling, McMahon wanted a passing of the torch to a new hero for the ages and so cooked up “The Ultimate Challenge” for the Hulkster. Born James Hellwig, the man who became known as the Ultimate Warrior (and, later, simply “Warrior”) started out as an amateur bodybuilder. After being spotted while training, Hellwig agreed to join a group of other bodybuilders (including Steve Borden) as a professional wrestling team. After touring the independent scene and teaming with Borden as the Blade Runners, the Ultimate Warrior initially made his name in the WWF by destroying competitors in quick matches. This culminated in a last-minute decision to have him crush reigning Intercontinental Champion the Honky Tonk Man in around thirty seconds, cementing his status as one of the WWF’s most popular competitors as much as his wild energy, chiselled physique, and colourful ring attire. With fans cheering the Ultimate Warrior just as loudly, if not more so, than Hulk Hogan, the stage was set for a showdown between the two after a confrontation at the 1990 Royal Rumble. Not only would this pit the WWF’s two top stars against each other, not only did both men stay as virtuous characters in the build-up, but this would also be the first time both the WWF and Intercontinental Championships would be on the line in a single match. The end result has gone down in history as one of the quintessential WrestleMania Moments as, despite the Ultimate Warrior failing to replace Hogan as the WWF’s top star, it represented a changing of the guard that would, eventually, change the landscape of the WWF’s main event picture.

The Match:
It’s funny to think about how fans gravitated to the Ultimate Warrior, favouring him almost as much if not more than Hulk Hogan, considering how similar their gimmicks and mannerisms were. Both men were larger-than-super superheroes decked out in colourful attire, both ploughed through opponents, and both had a never-miss finisher sequence with a ridiculous final move that never should’ve worked but, somehow, always did! Still, the Ultimate Warrior does stand out a lot more with his face paint and jacked-up physique; the guy was like a living action figure! Unfortunately, one aspect where they differed (as expertly observed by Ventura) was that the Ultimate Warrior would sprint to the ring, run the ropes, shake the ropes, and get all fired up and gassed before the match could even start! This was true here, on what would end up being the biggest night of Jim Hellwig’s entire career, though the crowd simply ate it up as they loved this guy…and it’s hard to blame them as he exudes superhero appeal. Of course, the crowd was at least 50/50 for both men as Hulk Hogan continued to get the same response as you’d expect, still every bit the living legend kids and adults gravitated towards, and the atmosphere of seeing both men in the ring was simply electric. Since both men were popular babyfaces, a rarity even nowadays, there wasn’t the same vitriol between the competitors as in a traditional face/heel dynamic, though the two still engaged in a tense stare down to start since they both wanted to be the undisputed top dog in the company. As the young up-and-comer, the Ultimate Warrior made the first move, shoving Hogan, initiating the first tie-up, and giving Hogan a taste of his own medicine by throwing him into the corner. Naturally, Hogan returned the favour during the second tie-up, with both men posing and playing to the crowd before going for the tired old “test of strength” spot. Again, the crowd loved seeing the two titans testing each other’s limits, which eventually saw the Ultimate Warrior overpower the Hulkster and drive him to his knees.

*Despite the thrill of seeing these two titans clash, the gassed wrestlers spent more time in rest holds.*

Of course, Hogan rallied and turned the tide, presenting both men as essentially evenly matched in terms of power and popularity. Though surprised to see the Ultimate Warrior power back to his feet, Hogan tripped his foe to the mat for a quick one-count and then the two titans ran the ropes looking for shoulder tackles and traded scoop slams, gassing themselves even more! The Ultimate Warrior then hit a stiff, clunky clothesline and sent Hogan tumbling to the outside, where he began favouring his left knee. Limping, clearly in pain, Hogan struggled to stay on his feet so the Ultimate Warrior immediately targeted the limb with sharp kicks, before the two traded eye rakes back in the ring. Referee Earl Hebner admonished both men as tensions rose, before Hogan forgot about his knee pain and unloaded on the Ultimate Warrior with big shots and the ten-punches and another scoop slam. Two elbow drops, a two-count, and a small package later and Hogan unloaded on the Ultimate Warrior with chops, a clothesline, and the odd rest hold just to catch his breath. Still, the Intercontinental Champion kept kicking out, even after a backbreaker, resulting in a frustrated Hulkster arguing with the referee and wearing his opponent down with a chin lock that just went on and on and on. Hogan then hit a few spiteful knee shots to the spine and a backdrop before returning to the hold, showing he’s not afraid to fight dirty, before the Ultimate Warrior caught a second wind. After the Ultimate warrior fought free, both men a double knock down gave them even more time to catch their breath, and both men struggled up at the same time. However, the Ultimate Warrior was in a frenzied state, shrugging off Hogan’s blows and sending him reeling with a headbutt and repeated clotheslines. His face paint all but gone and his adrenaline spiking, the Ultimate Warrior tossed Hogan into the corners and laid in some chops, driving Hogan to his knees once more before hitting a suplex and getting his first near fall. The Ultimate Warrior then continued to dominate the WWF Champion by grabbing him in a pretty weak-looking bearhug that was more of a cuddle than the devastating hold Ventura and Monsoon sold it as.

*A missed Leg Drop and a Splash saw the Ultimate Warrior share the victory with Hogan.*

Still, this allowed Hogan to do the time-tested “three arm” spot but, as you’d expect, Hogan’s arm refused to fall the third time and the Hulkster mounted a comeback with some rabbit-like punches. However, as the Ultimate Warrior ran the ropes, he collided with the referee, meaning there was no one there to make the count when Hogan tried to pin his rival after reversing a diving shoulder block. This allowed the Ultimate Warrior to hit a back suplex, but both he and Hogan had to settle for the visual pinfall and a slow two count as Earl Hebner was too out of it to make the final count. A back elbow saw the action spill to the outside for a slugfest, which ended when Hogan got rammed into the ring post. Once back in the ring, the Ultimate Warrior hit the Gorilla Press Slam (an impressive, if ungainly, achievement) and then hit his patented Running Splash! However, the Ultimate Warrior was too slow going for the pin, resulting in a rare finisher kickout and the Hulkster “Hulking Up” However, Hogan missed the Atomic Leg Drop (!) and the Ultimate Warrior splashed him again for the biggest win of his career! Hogan just had to power out at 3.1, though, and keep the spotlight equally trained on him by presenting the Ultimate Warrior with both belts and raising his arm in a passing of the torch. This was an okay match but, as ever, one bogged down by rest holds and plodding offense. Both men were so gassed at the start of the match that their blows and holds just came off as so weak and obvious stalling. The energy was there, however, and the crowd loved seeing the two share the ring and shrug off each other’s moves. I think this might’ve worked better with a big stare down, test of strength, unflinching clotheslines and trading scoop slams, and then a finisher-fest (with the Ultimate Warrior also kicking out of the Atomic Leg Drop), but it was okay for what it was: a spectacle between two titans of the company.

The Aftermath:
Despite the Ultimate Warrior’s win and the very specific requirement that the winner would become a dual champion, the Ultimate Warrior was forced to vacant the Intercontinental Championship, resulting in Mr. Perfect becoming the champion after a lengthy tournament. Surprisingly, Hogan didn’t immediately vie for a rematch and instead left to film the under-rated sci-fi comedy Suburban Commando (Kennedy, 1991). Though the Ultimate Warrior rekindled his rivalry with “Ravishing” Rick Rude and helped the Legion of Doom at the 1990 Survivor Series, none of these storylines benefitted him. His mega push fizzled out and saw him dropping the belt to turncoat Sergeant Slaughter at the 1991 Royal Rumble after interference by Sensational Sherri and the “Macho King” Randy Savage. This led to Hogan recapturing the belt and returning to the top of the mountain at WrestleMania VII, where the Ultimate Warrior “retired” Savage. Although the Ultimate Warrior fought with the Undertaker and was prepped to face Jake “The Snake” Roberts, Hellwig walked out of the WWF after demanding financial compensation. The Ultimate Warrior made brief (and infamous) comebacks in 1992 and 1996, but disagreements about money saw him follow Hogan to World Championship Wrestling (WCW). After a ludicrous tease regarding his presence, the Ultimate Warrior, more unhinged than ever, opposed “Hollywood” Hogan’s New World Order (nWo), leading to Davey Boy Smith being critically injured by a gimmicked trapdoor, a hilariously botched fireball incident, and one of the worst matches in WCW history as Hogan got his win back at the 1998 Halloween Havoc. After years of being estranged from and vilified by what’s now known as World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), the Ultimate Warrior was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, buried the hatchet with Hogan, and gave a stirring speech to his fans that became disturbingly prophetic after he was found dead the very next day.

My Rating:

Pretty Good

What did you think to the “The Ultimate Challenge” at WrestleMania VI? Were you a fan of the Ultimate Warrior back in the day and excited to see his big win? Do you think the match should’ve been altered to play into Hellwig’s strengths? Were you surprised when Hogan kicked out of the Ultimate Warrior’s finisher? What did you think to the Ultimate Warrior’s title reign and how should it have been done differently? Were you happy to see the Ultimate Warrior honoured by the WWE after so many years of animosity? How are you celebrating WrestleMania’s anniversary this year and what’s your favourite WrestleMania moment? Let me know your thoughts and memories of this iconic clash, support me on Ko-Fi, and be sure to check out my other wrestling content across the site.

Game Corner [Mario Month]: Super Mario RPG (Nintendo Switch)

24/03/202524/03/2026Dr. K1 Comment

Released: 17 November 2023
Originally Released: 9 March 1996
Developer: ArtePiazza
Original Developer: Square
Original Version Also Available For: Nintendo Wii, Nintendo Wii U, Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) Classic Edition, SNES

The Background:
Shigeru Miyamoto’s portly plumber, Super Mario, took the gaming world by storm with Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo R&D4, 1985). All of a sudden, videogames were back in vogue following the infamous industry crash and all-out war was on the horizon as SEGA and Nintendo pitted their colourful characters against each other. If there’s one avenue where Mario always won out, though, it was his versatility. Mario has seen considerable success with even his spin-off games, so it was perhaps only a matter of time before he ventured into the role-playing game (RPG) arena. It was Miyamoto who wished to make a Mario-based RPG and, luckily, his desire coincided with RPG developer Square longing to make a bigger impact outside Japan. Initial meetings saw the developers decide upon an isometric, action-oriented RPG that incorporated 3D models and married Mario’s platforming gameplay with the turn-based gameplay mechanics made famous in Square’s Final Fantasy games (Various, 1987 to present). The result was Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, which became the third highest-selling game in Japan in 1996 and was met with rave reviews that praised the graphics and soundtrack, though the battle system was criticised for being simplistic. Still, the game gained a reputation as one of Mario’s finest adventures and its popularity led not just to spiritual successors and ports, but also to this modern remake. Developers ArtePlaza expanded upon the original game with new battle mechanics and updated visuals, and it was met by equally positive reviews for its faithful, but modernised, reimagining of the SNES classic.

The Plot:
After rescuing Princess “Peach” Toadstool from Bowser, King of the Koopas, Mario reluctantly joins forces with his enemy (and some new allies) when the Smithy Gang makes a play for the legendary Star Pieces.

Gameplay and Power-Ups:
As the title suggests, Super Mario RPG is an RPG in which you control, battle, and interact with various characters from the colourful Super Mario franchise. Primarily, you control Mario and navigate a cutesy isometric reimagining of the Mushroom Kingdom, chatting to various non-playable characters (NPCs) such as the many Toads that make up the kingdom’s citizenship, to sentient frogs, moles, and anthropomorphic weaponry. However, Mario is joined by up to four additional companions who can be freely swapped in and out of your party from either the battle screen or the main menu, accessed with +. Oddly, there are only five characters to pick from; six would’ve made more sense to me, then you’d have two physical specialists, two magic specialists, and two durable tanks. Mario must always be in your party and your party is limited to a maximum of three. Luckily, everyone receives experience points (EXP) from battles whether they’re active or not, and they’ll even be revived with a single health point (HP) upon victory if they’re defeated. The game’s controls are somewhat situational, as you’d expect from an RPG: you press A to interact with NPCs or confirm menu selections, whether in battle or a shop, while B lets Mario jump, either to (amusingly) prove his identity or hop to various platforms, or lets you defend in battle. Y opens the “Special” menu in battle, where you select a Special move to unleash, while X opens the “Item” menu and lets you select an item to use. Similarly, you can press Y or X in the overworld to select from restorative items. You can use the Left or Right triggers to toggle the dash, or set this from the main menu using +. From here, you can shuffle your party, review their Special moves, equip weapons, armour, and accessories, review story progress from the in-game journal, and check out the Monster List (essentially a bestiary). You can also adjust the battle mechanics and the game’s difficulty, an option immediately made available upon starting the game, though I found the game’s “Normal” mode to be pretty easy to plough through.

*Use each character’s special moves, or pull off a team attack, to decimate enemies.*

Though triggered by touching onscreen enemies (most of which respawn indefinitely or when you leave the screen), combat is turn-based like in traditional Final Fantasy RPGs. I thought I would gain a turn advantage by preemptively touching enemies but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Your level and “speed” stat seem to determine who strikes first, though I found you usually always get the first hit unless facing a “Special Enemy” or a boss. In battle, you pick a physical attack with A; an onscreen indicator prompts you to hit A again to deal additional damage and the timing is crucial to sweeping enemies as the extra hit can damage every foe. It’s equally important to tap A at the right time when being attacked as this will either reduce the damage dealt or negate it entirely. As mentioned, you can adopt a defensive stance with B; B also gives you the option of running from a battle, something also assisted by certain items (while others allow you to restart the fight if it’s going south). You can also use Special attacks with Y, however these consume Flower Points (FP). Each attack costs a different amount of FP (at least 2 FP and sometimes as much as 16 FP) and FP is shared amongst your entire Party. This means you really have to think about using the more powerful, costly Special attacks as you might run out of FP when you need to be healed or revived. Some enemies are weak to elemental attacks like fire and lightning, which is something to consider when picking Special attacks, and you can restore and even increase your FP with Honey Syrup and various flower-based items. As you deal damage, you’ll build both a combo meter and an “Action Gauge”. When this gauge is full, you can press – to pull off a team-based attack for big damage or call in Toad for helpful buffs. Additionally, as you attack and defeat enemies, you’ll earn similar buffs that up your attack, defence, or “luck” for that battle or restore your HP. However, simultaneously, you must be wary of status effects; enemies can put you to sleep, poison you, weaken your attack or defence while upping theirs, and turn you into mushrooms or scarecrows. While all these ailments are undone upon victory and some are only temporary, you can cure them using items or magic spells, and other items (such as the various bombs and even items that summon Yoshi) will aid you in attacking or neutralising enemies. However, defeat isn’t always a massive issue; checkpoints and manual save points are plentiful and the game’s very generous with its restorative buffs. Your HP and FP is occasionally fully restored after certain battles, too, and you can of course pay to stay at various inns to refill both.

*Level-up to gain new Special attacks, search for secrets, and chat to NPCs for guidance.*

Each character falls into a certain class: Mario is an all-rounder, for example, while Peach favours restorative magic and Bowser is a heavy-hitter. While you’ll mostly be hitting A at the right time to increase your attack power and radius, you’ll sometimes rotate the left stick or rapidly tap or even hold down A to charge a meter. Additionally, different character combinations result in different team-based attacks and it’s important to think about each character’s strengths and weaknesses, especially when levelling-up. After accumulating enough EXP, you’ll gain a level and can pick to buff either physical power and defence, your overall HP, or magic attack and defence. You can also equip weapons, armour, and accessories to boost these stats, and others; Mario gains hammers and Koopa shells, for example, while Mallow uses sticks and cymbals, and the timing of your button presses changes with each. Accessories can also negate status effects, too, protecting you from sleep or poison, or alerting you to hidden blocks in the overworld. While your inventory isn’t unlimited, any additional items you get but cannot carry are automatically transferred to Mario’s house to use later and winning battles also earns you Coins to spend in shops, though you can also get Coins from hitting blocks and items from treasure chests. Sometimes, after winning a fight, you’ll play a game where you must find Yoshi, which doubles (or costs you) the Coins or EXP you earn. Defeating Special Enemies and opening chests also awards Frog Coins to be spent elsewhere, and you can trade Coins for points or rarer items. It pays to chat to every NPC you encounter, too, as some will gift you items, flesh out the lore, offer aid, or point you in the right direction if you somehow get lost. This isn’t easy to do as not only do you have the journal, but the overworld map includes helpful flags to point you in the right direction. Sometimes, you must talk to specific NPCs to get key items, hit switches, or even use whirlpools to walk underwater to progress and you’ll occasionally find hidden paths or doors that lead to goodies, sometimes by entering a pipe like in a traditional Mario game.

*Tricky platforming, some basic puzzles, and a few fun mini games help to offer some variety.*

Yes, there are some simple puzzles to solve, such as pressing switches, navigating mazes, crossing invisible platforms, remembering codes, and rearranging paintings. In the platforming sections, you’ll use springs or flowers to jump higher and regularly hop up walls or across gaps or lava pits using moving, collapsing, or temporary platforms (and even Parakoopas). Thanks to the isometric angle and Mario’s slippery feet, this can be a bit tricky but, luckily, you’ll usually land on or in water and simply loop back to try again, and even hitting lava doesn’t doesn’t drain your HP. It can be difficult to judge the distance between gaps, though, and you’re often dodging Thwomps, fireballs, and other enemies while hopping to small square platforms, which can make these sections needlessly annoying. Easily the worst instance of this, for me, was when scaling the vines to reach Nimbus Land. You must angle yourself just right (and know to jump to spawn a hidden platform) to hop to the vines and it was very easy to slip off and have to start over. Similarly, in the end game, you must tackle four out of six obstacle courses to reach Exor, two are simple battle gauntlets, two are tricky platforming sections, and two are timed quizzes! The gameplay loop is further broken up by mini games: you’ll be careening around a minecart track like Indiana Jones, tumbling down a waterfall, racing against Yoshis in the Yoshi Derby, hopping on Goombas, playing tunes on tadpoles, jumping from rolling barrels amidst a raging river, and collecting beetles. Most of these mini games can be repaid (for a price) and will net you extra rewards (as well as the Coins you can grab along the way), and you’ll eventually access a casino and even a secret super boss! Additionally, certain story events and having specific characters in your party rotation will change the overworld and battle system. For example, when in Bowser’s Keep, having Bowser in your Party causes his minions to flee and Mallow’s royal heritage gains access to the hot springs in Nimbus Land.

Presentation:
I’ve only briefly played Super Mario RPG before, but I remember being a little put off by the original’s 3D-to-2D aesthetic, which made everything look a little unsightly and pixelated. That’s definitely not the case here, though! This slick remake has given everything a plasticine, diorama-like makeover that gives the impression of playing with chibi-style toys, not unlike the same aesthetic adopted by The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (Grezzo, 2019). The pre-rendered cutscenes are gorgeous; every character has a fun victory pose and does a little dance when they level-up and, while you can skip the team attack cutscenes, they look so good that I just let them play. While all the characters are lively, adorable, and animated, Mario naturally stands out from the bunch. Unlike the others, he can’t talk (not even gibberish), so he pantomimes every action, recapping the plot (sometimes too much) with an excitable enthusiasm, vehemently shaking his head at the suggestion that he’s one of Bowser’s minions, and consoling his friends (even Bowser) when they experience hardship. Bowser gets a lot of nuance here, too; he throws himself at obstacles and proudly boasts of his superiority but is humiliated at being kicked out of his keep. Our two original characters, Mallow and Geno, fare pretty well, too. Mallow starts out as clumsy and unsure of himself, but gains confidence thanks to Mario and discovering his true heritage while Geno (a puppet brought to life by a star) fights to repair Star Road with a passion, resulting in a bittersweet ending when the puppet returns to being just a toy. Equally, the game is bolstered by a jovial and familiar soundtrack. This version lets you pick from the classic soundtrack and the modern remix, with both being enjoyable, and I loved hearing familiar Final Fantasy sound effects and seeing fun Easter Eggs like a curtain that turns Mario 8-bit and references to other Nintendo properties.

*While the game looks and sounds amazing, some environments were a little visually bland.*

As great as the game looks and sounds, however, I was a bit let down by the environments. While the overworld map is large and varied, the actual locations you explore are a far cry from the fantastical whimsy of other Mario games. You spend a lot of time in grassy areas or underground caves, which is very familiar, or at cliffsides and near lakes, before exploring such exotic locations as…a mountain, a mine, and a haunted pirate ship (actually, that one’s not bad!) You’ll venture into the pyramid-like Belome Temple, the autumnal maze in Bean Valley, and the rocky innards of an active volcano, but it’s not all that memorable and seems incredibly safe. Things get visually interesting in Nimbus Land, Star Hill, and the Weapon’s World, but these are juxtaposed by Bowser’s uninspired keep, the relatively barren Booster Tower, and the dense Forest Maze. Many areas, such as the Kero Sewers, sea, and Pipe Vault are restrictive and linear thanks to the isometric aesthetic, looping or forcing you to solve a maze to progress, while others (Land’s End and Nimbus Castle, for example) are robbed of the scope that makes the various towns so much fun to explore. While Bowser’s Keep is simply the same lava and stone-filled castle you’d expect from the Koopa King, I liked that battles took place on the chandeliers and that there were more branching paths. The Weapon’s World and Factory stood out at the end just for offering some visual variety, with their cogs, conveyor belts, and ominous atmosphere, but I do think Super Mario RPG missed a trick in not making areas more distinct. Sure, some towns have been affected by the Smithy gang and will be restored to life and order by your actions, but why not make Mole Mountains an ice mountain with snow and such? Or do more with the water gimmick at the Seaside, perhaps have parts of Seaside Town underwater or flooded?

Enemies and Bosses:
A slew of Mario’s most recognisable enemies crop up all throughout Super Mario RPG, generally acting as disposable pawns to rack up for EXP: Goombas, Spikeys, Gobys, Shy Guys (and their many variants), Bob-ombs, Piranha Plants, Bloopers, Wigglers, Chain Chomps, Boos, Lakitus and various Koopas (from Sky Troopas to bulbous Heavy Troopas and Dry Bones) and even variants of Donkey Kong show up in some form or another and, generally, aren’t much of a threat. There are exceptions, though: you can encounter numerous enemies in one battle, and mixtures of them, and some (like Dry Bones) can only be defeated by Special attacks or are susceptible to elemental attacks. Other enemies include rats, various insects like stinger-firing Buzzers, tricky Crooks and Ninjas (who can teleport, often flee from battle, and (in the latter case) launch an attack upon defeat), Pandorite (sentient treasure chests that spit up enemies), anthropomorphic vegetables, puppets and jesters, and even giant crustaceans and reanimated mastodon bones. While some enemies (like the Orbisons) can recover their health and that of their allies and others (like Stumpets and Reachers) look intimidating, some (like Geckits) are just as likely to attack themselves and their allies as they are you. Sure, some enemies are larger or inflict status effects, but they’re mostly all a joke; you easily dispatch entire groups with well-timed presses of A and without even using Special attacks. Even larger, more formidable enemies are easily trounced if you keep your level and stats high and time your button presses. Hippopos, Doppels, and Corkpedites can easily have their elemental weaknesses exploited, though you will have to be wary of Special Enemies, variants of almost every enemy who hit harder and can take more damage and should be targeted first. Also, you’ll need to watch for certain powerful or unblockable attacks; kamikaze attacks, unavoidable boulders, large explosions, and gigantic lasers can decimate your party if you’re not careful. Thus, it pays to have plenty of restorative items or keep Peach or Mallow around to restore your life or get rid of annoying status effects.

*While there are many bosses to fight, few pose a significant challenge.*

Battles are frequent in Super Mario RPG but ridiculously simple; I trounced most enemies simply by tapping A, meaning combat gets quite tedious at times. Unfortunately, the combat loop isn’t changed much by the game’s bosses, despite how many you’ll encounter. Your first boss battle is, fittingly, against Bowser; taking place up on the chandeliers and with Peach held hostage, you simply target the chain holding Bowser aloft and you’ll come out victorious. Next, you’ll battle the Hammer Bros, who toss hammers and up their valour but aren’t much of a threat, and have your first encounter with Croco. Croco’s a little trickier as you must chase him through a looping maze, battling waves of disposable enemies before getting to him, where he’ll bite and toss explosives and enemies. When on the Sunken Ship, you’ll battle King Calamari, a giant Blooper whose tentacles burst through the floorboards and who spits ink at you. Birdo also makes an appearance, encountered at Nimbus Castle after shattering her egg; as is her nature, Birdo spits eggs but these can be attacked to deal damage to her. Bowser’s magical minion, Wizakoopa, also appears, brainwashed to oppose his master and summoning the powerful fire-breathing dragon Bahamutt, as well as boasting elemental spells. Other bizarre bosses include the multi-headed Pihana Plant Megasmilax, the dog-like Belome (who eats party members and spits up clones), the ambitious Punchinello (who tosses various Bob-ombs), and the deluded Booster, whose circus-themed minions kidnap Peach and force her into a wedding, leading you to defeat them and attack an elaborate wedding cake! You’ll also battle the trident-wielding pirate leader Johnny and the sultry Valentina, who relies on her bird-like minion Dodo in battle, with him pecking at and whisking away party members, while she relies on numerous magical spells.

*The Smithy Gang is mostly a joke until the end game, when things get tougher.*

Mario and their friends quest to recover the seven Star Pieces, with most being guarded by the Smithy Gang. This gaggle of anthropomorphic weapons thus represent the primary bosses of the game, with the pogo-sword-riding Mack being the first you encounter (once you dispatch his Bodyguards, of course). Bowyer represents one of the more unique boss battles as he’ll fire arrows that disable A, X, and Y inputs for a few turns, forcing you to utilise different attack strategies or even spend a few turns defending before you can attack again. Speardovich creates a double to aid him in battle while the ridiculous (but strangely familiar) Axem Rangers force you to battle them all at once, eventually bolstered by their airship, The Blade, and its super-powerful Breaker Beam. The opening chandelier battle is revisited in the end game where you battle the katana-wielding Boomer, who switches between blue and red forms, being weak to physical and magical attacks, respectively. In the Weapon’s World, you encounter the giant alarm clock Count Down; you can knock off its Ring-a-Dings and target its sand timer to neutralise it, but it’ll unleash different magical attacks depending what time its hands land on. You’ll also battle Cloaker and Domino, with one favouring physical attacks and the other magical, and both hopping into snake-lime mechs when their partner is defeated. Finally, the Smithy Gang’s factory is home to three armour-clad, axe-swinging administrators and the diminutive Factory Chief and the devastating Gunyolk, a tank-like cannon that also uses the Breaker Beam attack alongside powerful abilities like Electroshock and Fire Saber. The Smithy Gang are usually always accompanied by minions. In the Weapon’s World and Factory, Machine Made duplicates of some bosses appear as regular enemies alongside metallic variants of regular baddies, though it’s usually better to simply focus on the boss as this ends the bout.

*The final slew of bosses caught me off-guard with their difficulty spike.*

While most bosses don’t pose a problem, four stand out as surprisingly formidable. First is the Czar Dragon, a gigantic (if comical) dragon comprised of Lava Bubbles. The Czar Dragon bites, casts Flame Wall and Water Blast, and fires flaming projectiles, as well as protecting itself with Lava Bubbles. Defeating it sees it rise again as Zombone, which isn’t one-shotted by Pure Water like other undead enemies (though this item does cause it to attack itself) and has even more powerful attacks at the cost of being more vulnerable to Mario’s jump attacks and Mallow’s thunderbolts. Fittingly, given his high rank and him invading Bowser’s Keep, Exor was also a tough encounter. Fought on the keep roof, Exor cannot be harmed until you take out at least one of its eyes and even then it causes trouble with Venom Drool, Aurora Flash, and Lulla-Bye. Defeating him transports you to the Weapon’s World and a final showdown with Smithy, the Smithy Gang leader and the toughest fight yet. Smithy is fought in two phases: in the first phase, Smithy fires bullets, smacks you with his large sledgehammer, and crushes the party with a giant…well, crusher. A smelter also spawns Shypers to whittle your HP down, so it’s a good idea to have Peach on hand as many of Smithy’s attacks damage the entire party. With no weaknesses, Smithy is a tough fight if you’re ill-prepared and it only gets tougher when you drop to the basement and he transforms his head into various forms (a tank, a magician, a treasure chest, and a mask). Each has their own HP and is capable of dishing out status effects, instant-KO blasts, and healing him. You can target his body to help take the pressure off, but I say just go to town on his big stupid head, keep healing and reviving as needed, and use elemental attacks on the right heads to win. But, after all that, there’s an even more powerful optional boss you can take on!

Additional Features:
Considering this is an RPG, there isn’t really much to do in Super Mario RPG beyond the main story. The game is surprisingly linear, guiding you to each location with very few instances of backtracking, side quests, or fetch quests. When you are given a fetch quest, it’s generally something you do naturally. You’re given the item in one town and deliver in the next, rather than going back and forth like in other adventure games. Thus, when you beat the game and start a “Clear Data File”, you’re returned to Mario’s house before the final battle and can revisit every area but there are only a few final tasks to do. First, the Monster List needs to be completed (though this should be mostly full by this point) and you can freely listen to the game’s soundtrack. Next, you can challenge Bowser’s Keep again to acquire any additional weapons you missed when taking on the six obstacle courses. There are also 39 hidden treasure chests to find (greatly aided by equipping the Signal Ring) to snag every item in the game (though, again, this is somewhat pointless once you’ve cleared the main story). You can view the “Play Report” to see how well you did at the mini games and pay to take them on again to improve your score, stay at the luxurious Marrymore Hotel, complete a tedious guessing game to access the casino, and taken on tougher versions of the game’s bosses. Easily the most prominent additional challenge is the secret super boss, Culex. By purchasing expensive fireworks in Moleville and trading them for a special stone in the same town, you open a locked door in Monstro Town and take on the game’s toughest challenge, a 16-bit, cross-dimensional Final Fantasy being that boasts a new 3D form in this version and represents the greatest challenge on offer in the game.

The Summary:
I’ve long wanted to play through Super Mario RPG. Being a SEGA kid, my only avenues for this were emulation but, even when I got the SNES Classic and Nintendo Switch Online, I hesitated to start a game because of the time needed to complete an RPG. When this remake was announced, I knew the time had finally come to change that and I have to say that it was well worth the wait. Super Mario RPG is a gorgeous, fun, surprisingly engaging romp that brings Mario and his friends (and enemies) to life in a unique way. The new battle mechanics and accessibility on offer are fantastic, meaning you’re constantly rewarded during and after battles and there’s always something to see, either in the background or the character animations and interactions. The gameplay was simplicity itself, even by classic Final Fantasy standards. Turn-based RPGs are always my preferred style for the genre, and Super Mario RPG adopts these mechanics beautifully. Unfortunately, the game is extremely easy; I didn’t mind this as I wasn’t looking for an uphill battle, but things did get a bit tedious after a while. The incorporation of “traditional” platforming mechanics was also a bit clunky, as were some of the mini games. The isometric perspective and restrictions of the genre didn’t really lend themselves to these aspects, though I appreciated the attempt to mix up the gameplay loop. While I was disappointed by some of the environment, and that Luigi didn’t appear as a playable character and that more post-game content and side missions weren’t included in this version, I enjoyed my time with Super Mario RPG. Mallow and Geno quickly grew on me, I liked seeing Bowser teaming up with Mario and Peach given more agency, and I was a big fan of the boss designs (despite how easy they were), the graphics, and Mario’s jovial animations. In the end, if you have a kid who you want to introduce to the RPG genre, you could do a lot worse than Super Mario RPG. And, if you played the original as a kid, I’d wager this is just the right hit of nostalgia for you.

My Rating:

Great Stuff

What did you think to the Switch remake of Super Mario RPG? Have you ever played the original and, if so, how does this compare to it? Which characters made it into your team and what did you think to the original characters created for this game? How did you get on with the simplistic battle mechanics and bosses and were you also annoyed by the awkward isometric platforming? Did you ever defeat Culex and complete the Monster List? Would you have liked to see other new features added to the game? Which Super Mario spin-off is your favourite and how are you celebrating Nintendo’s mascot this month? Feel free to share your memories and opinions of Super Mario RPG in the comments and please check out my other Mario content across the site!

Back Issues [Stark Sunday]: Tales of Suspense #50

23/03/202526/12/2024Dr. KLeave a comment

Anthony “Tony” Stark/Iron Man first lived, walked, and conquered in Tales of Suspense #39, published in March 1963 and brought to life by Marvel mastermind Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, and Don Heck. Since then, ol’ shellhead has gone through numerous different armours and shot into mainstream superstardom thanks to an iconic, career-defining portrayal by Robert Downey Jr.

Story Title: “The Hands of the Mandarin!”
Published: 12 November 1963 (cover-dated: February 1964)
Writers: Stan Lee
Artist: Don Heck

The Background:
Back in 1963, Stan Lee decided to think up a character his readers would hate (a billionaire military industrialist), throw in some Howard Hughes and personal tragedy, and make him someone they could root for. Mounting deadlines kept Lee from writing Iron Man’s debut, so he turned to younger brother Larry Lieber, artist Don Heck, and the legendary Jack Kirby to bring the character to life. These days, Iron Man is a mainstream superhero, one who’s squared off with many colourful villains but perhaps none are more intrinsically linked to the character than the Mandarin. Created by Stan Lee and Don Heck, the supervillain was specifically designed to evoke the Doctor Fu Manchu stereotype of a mysterious and powerful Oriental menace with a maniacal list for world conquest. The Mandarin has dogged Iron Man ever since, pitting his magical ten rings against Stark’s technology time and again and even forming his own version of Marvel’s premier superhero team, the Avengers. I best know the Mandarin from his depiction in the 1990’s Iron Man cartoon (1994 to 1996), where he was brought to life with relish by Ed Gilbert and Robert Ito, but he’s consistently appeared as a boss in various Marvel videogames. However, the Mandarin’s culturally insensitive appearance and racially problematic depiction have caused some controversy. These issues saw him excised from Iron Man (Favreau, 2008) during the scriptwriting stage and his subsequent appearances have been divisive at times. Still, the Mandarin is largely regarded as Iron Man’s archenemy and one of his most complex and persistent foes.

The Review:
The debut of Iron Man’s greatest foe takes place in the “remote vastness of Red China”, where the legend of the mysterious sorcerer known only as “The Mandarin” has plagued the lands for years. Some say he’s immortal, others say he’s far more than human, but all fear this elusive and powerful figure. While the Mandarin is merely a legend in the Western World, the “most feared Oriental of all” is very real in his native land and lords over his underlings from his vast and technologically superior castle. The story opens with the Mandarin outraged by the arrival of military officers, “emissaries of the red Government”, stopping by unannounced. Though tempted to simply smite them on the spot for their insolence, the Mandarin decides to hear them out first and, with a mere gesture of his finger, makes his “all-seeing crystal globe” vanish and lowers the castle drawbridge so they can enter. The trio, led by General Ho Lee, are terrified of the Mandarin’s power and fear death for disturbing his hallowed grounds but have no choice but to seek an audience with him lest they be slain by their “communist overloads”. Awestruck by the Mandarin’s unbelievable power, which brings parts of the castle to life, they’re brought before the sorcerer and implore him to share his atomic knowledge with the government so that China can “menace the world with nuclear destruction”. Luckily for us, such a request angers and insults the Mandarin. He categorically refuses to share his secrets with the government since he has his own sights set on world domination. And, luckily for the military men, they’re given sixty seconds to flee and somehow escape with their lives.

*Iron Man ventures into Red China to confront the feared and mysterious Mandarin.*

Across the ocean, the United States military is also concerned about the Mandarin’s threat and, to that end, they enlist Iron Man to gain further intel on the mysterious dictator, who’s said to be the single greatest power in China. Iron Man’s only too willing to help, but first he must sort a few things out in his civilian identity as Tony Stark. So, he heads over to one of his weapons factories and slips out his armour and begs off an employee’s dinner he was scheduled to attend as the guest of honour. When he names his chauffeur, Harold “Happy” Hogan, as his replacement, Stark unwittingly insults one of his employees, Bill, who’s disgusted that his boss doesn’t have time for “poor stooges” like him. When his irritation gets the better of him, Bill is laid out with a left hook from Happy, who steps in to defend Stark’s honour, only to be chastised by Tony for acting so recklessly. None of that is as important as their bullish attitude leaving Stark’s secretary, Virginia “Pepper” Potts, feeling disregarded and she scolds both men for being do wrapped up in their antics that they fail to notice her new hairdo…because God forbid Marvel’s women should be written as anything but shallow and selfish characters! Anyway, a few hours later, Iron Man is dropped off on the border of Red China for what his Army cohorts believe amounts to a suicide mission. Correctly assuming that he’d be spotted by the Chinese, Iron Man ensures he slips into their nation by waiting until the last second to power up his transistor jets, fooling the painfully stereotypical soldiers into thinking the bungling democrats “cannot even make chutes [work] correctly”. Though Iron Man’s subterfuge doesn’t last long, the Mandarin’s guards are no match for his “transistor-powered muscles and jet-swift speed”. However, his reserve power levels drop dramatically due to a short circuit, meaning he must finish up quickly before he’s completely drained. Unfortunately for ol’ shellhead, he’s spotted by the Mandarin and forcibly dragged into his castle via a magnetic ray beam.

*Iron Man’s forced to use his wits to counter the Mandarin’s rings and take out the madman.*

Inside, Iron Man acts swiftly to avoid being crushed by the Mandarin’s wall trap and confronts the main man himself, easily shrugging off the Mandarin’s paralysis ray with his “ultra-beam chest light”. Though tricked by the Mandarin’s illusionary effects, Iron Man pits his technology against his foe’s ten mysterious rings, with the two blasting each other with high-frequency waves and proving evenly matched. Iron Man has no way to counter the near-deafening blast of sound the Mandarin hits him with, however, or the paralyzer ray the Mandarin shoots from one of his other rings, leaving the armour-clad Avenger little more than a statue. Iron Man impresses his foe by recovering faster than he’s ever seen, but the Mandarin’s resources seem limitless. With a gesture, he electrifies the walls to trap his prey and demonstrates his superhuman strength by splintering an iron bar with his incredible karate skills. The Mandarin then puts these skills to the test by throwing hands at his foe, who desperately dodges each strike and feels his power fading by the second, realising that the Mandarin tampered with his armour. To avoid being beaten to death, Iron Man frantically consults his “built-in slide-rule calculator” to calculate the trajectory of the Mandarin’s blow, which is actually a clever ruse to buy the Avenger the time to block the attack so effectively that the pain causes the Mandarin to black out. With no time or power to dismantle the Mandarin’s operation, Iron Man flees to his escape plane and makes the employee function after all, unknowingly scuppering Happy’s hopes to get in with Pepper and Pepper’s hopes to get closer to her boss. And what of the Mandarin? Well, he’s left seething in his castle with a bandaged hand plotting his next scheme.

The Summary:
So, the first thing I’m going to say is: man, do I hate this characterisation of Pepper. She isn’t just pining for Tony; she’s positively obsessed with him! She stands there, prancing around with her new hairdo and dress trying to catch his eye and, when he dares to focus on business and employee welfare, she yells at him for ignoring her! Then, she calls Happy and practically orders him to take her to the employee dinner just to make Stark jealous, relishing the compliments and adulation she receives from others and completely oblivious that Happy is in love with her. When Tony shows up at the end, she’s left fuming when a throwaway comment by Happy implies she and him are together. Of all the poorly aged characterisations of females from this era, I think Pepper comes off the worst. She’s only in the story for a few panels and comes across as an obsessive, manipulative, selfish bitch who badly needs some comeuppance. Thankfully, this is merely a small part of the story and shows just how hectic Stark’s social and business life is, especially compared to his superhero peers since he has so many more responsibilities as a businessman and employer. Indeed, when faced with his impending death at the Mandarin’s hands, Stark’s first thoughts (beyond his own end) are that Happy and Pepper won’t receive their Christmas bonuses if he’s killed! Iron Man is also a proud patriot; he eagerly accepts the assignment to enter Red China and investigate the Mandarin, even though his presence there is technically an act of war. Iron Man seems excited about confronting the dreaded Mandarin and boasts of his adaptability and technology during their fight, matching the Mandarin’s mysterious power and escaping his deadly traps while still being forced to think on his feet since his armour is low on power. In this regard, “The Hands of the Mandarin!” is a pretty good story for showcasing Stark’s tenacity. He has fancy armour and near-magical gadgets, yes, but he’s still human and must rely on his wits and cunning at times, which comes to the forefront when faced with the Mandarin’s awesome power.

*Culturally insensitive and lumbered with a bad outfit, the Mandarin is surprisingly lacklustre here.*

The Mandarin possesses ten mysterious rings, each said to contain a different power. We don’t see the full extent of this here, or learn of their origin, but they’re enough to keep Iron Man at bay if not out-right subdue him. The Mandarin can emit high-frequency waves, control his castle’s mechanisms, and paralyse his foe with a gesture, but we don’t see him commanding elements or anything truly impressive. As if his ten rings weren’t powerful enough, the Mandarin’s castle is one giant trap; he can electrify walls, control stone slabs, and has death traps aplenty scattered throughout. This is cool and all, but I feel like anyone can have a castle fortress; I would’ve liked to see these traps supplanted with more focus on the Mandarin’s rings. Like, instead of having Iron Man faced with crushing walls, have the Mandarin control the stones of his castle with his ring. Instead of electrifying the walls with a lever, have his ring send out lightning bolts or something. The rings are the Mandarin’s gimmick and tie into the whole technology vs. magic aspect that’s at the core of their conflict, but that’s not really emphasised here. We never learn the origins of the rings, so for all we know they’re technological in some way, and the Mandarin isn’t depicted as a sorcerer, despite his appearance. Speaking of which, the Mandarin is a…controversial figure, for sure. Exuding Fu Manchu vibes, he’s a stereotypical “Red Menace” type with his little goatee and painfully slanted eyes and clawed hands. His appearance is close to that of a demon at times but hampered by his bland outfit. Consisting of heavy green robes sporting a big, stupid violet “M” and a gaudy matching mask, the Mandarin’s appearance completely negates the very real threat he poses, which is a shame as the story goes to great lengths to build him up as this fearsome foe and then lumbers him with a truly awful outfit. We learn nothing of the Mandarin except that he’s greatly feared, quick to anger, proud, and boasts incredible, unknowable power. He has desires for world domination, sure, but doesn’t appear to have done anything towards that except amass power, yet Iron Man immediately recognises that he’s this formidable enemy to the free world. I dunno, I guess I just expected a bit more from this since the Mandarin is the quintessential Iron Man villain in my eyes, but he just came across as another madman in a castle and a “villain of the month” figure here, which was disappointing.

My Rating:

Could Be Better

What did you think to the Mandarin’s first appearance? Would you have liked to see more of his rings and their various powers? Do you consider the Mandarin to be culturally and racially offensive? What did you think to Pepper’s characterisation and he manipulation of Happy? What are some of your favourite Iron Man vs. Mandarin stories? Where does Iron Man rank in your hierarchy of comic book characters? Are you doing anything to commemorate Iron Man’s debut appearance and, if so, what is it? Either way, I’d love to hear your thoughts on Iron Man so leave a comment below.

Wrestling Recap: Savage vs. Hogan (WrestleMania V)

20/03/202527/03/2025Dr. KLeave a comment

The Date: 2 April 1989
The Venue: Boardwalk Hall/Trump Plaza; Atlantic City, New Jersey
The Commentary: Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse “The Body” Ventura
The Referee: Dave Hebner
The Stakes: Singles match for the WWF Championship

The Build-Up:
Vince McMahon gambled it all with WrestleMania. The event aired on 31 March 1985 and was seen by an unprecedented one million+ viewers and ultimately altered the wrestling landscape by bringing in some of the biggest names in wrestling, music, sports, and television. Now regarded as the biggest wrestling event in the industry, WrestleMania has become synonymous with career-defining matches and iconic “WrestleMania Moments”, with easily one of the most dramatic of these being the implosion of the “Mega Powers”, a super-team comprised of “The Immortal” Hulk Hogan and the WWF Champion, “Macho Man” Randy Savage. After previously being fierce rivals, Hogan and Savage first joined forces in 1987 at Saturday Night’s Main Event XII after Savage’s wife, Miss Elizabeth, recruited Hogan to help Savage fend off the Honky Tonk Man and the Hart Foundation. Sealing their partnership with a dramatic handshake, the Mega Powers teamed from 1987 to 1989, clashing with Hogan’s long-time rival, the “Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase, and Hogan even helping his friend capture the WWF Championship at WrestleMania IV. However, cracks began to form in their partnership after Savage grew increasingly jealous and justifiably concerned about Hogan’s intentions towards Miss Elizabeth. After Hogan accidentally tossed Savage from the 1989 Royal Rumble match and then abandoned Savage during a tag team match at The Main Event II to get Miss Elizabeth to safety, Savage confronted his partner backstage. Despite Hogan and Miss Elizabeth’s best efforts, the furious Savage physically and verbally assaulted Hogan and Miss Elizabeth, dissolving the Mega Powers and leading to Hogan challenging Savage to this championship match to settle the score in what’s often touted as one of the best examples of long-term storytelling in wrestling.

The Match:
Even to this day, I find it baffling that the WWF decided to make Randy Savage the bad guy in this feud. Sure, the idea of Hulk Hogan turning heel was preposterous at the time, but Savage had every right to be suspicious of Hogan. Still, Savage’s turn into a neurotic, paranoid, jealous and obsessive character certainly fed into his already unhinged persona, though I think it was equally ridiculous not to change up his colourful ring attire and entrance music. Despite Savage being fully justified in attacking Hogan, the crowd were firmly against the champion, who notably came out alone since Miss Elizabeth chose to stand in a neutral corner during the match as she was loyal to both men. Ventura wasted no time in joining Savage in chastising Miss Elizabeth, branding her a “gold digger” who’ll favour whoever wins, a “smart” strategy according to Gorilla Monsoon considering the awkward position she’s found herself in. Hogan (labelled “Lust Hogan” by Ventura, who doesn’t hold back in criticising the Hulkster), still as popular as ever, marched to the ring and immediately riled Savage up with his posing and pageantry, to the point where Savage was ready to whack his friend-turned-foe with the championship belt! After handing the belt over to referee Dave Hebner, Savage whipped Hogan into a frenzy by slipping out of the ring and posing on the turnbuckles before the Mega Powers finally got into it. Overwhelmed by Hogan’s power, the champion retreated to the ring apron to keep some distance, again slipping to the outside after being floored by a shoulder block. When they tied up again, Savage gained an advantage with an eye rake and continued to psych Hogan out, leading to the challenger to chase the champion around the ring and Savage to use Miss Elizabeth as a human shield!

*Savage riled Hogan up at every turn and and kept him grounded with dull rest holds.*

With Ventura awkwardly advocating for spousal abuse and Savage inviting Hogan back into the ring, the challenger surprisingly kept Savage at bay with some wrestling fundamentals, favouring takedowns and headlocks, only to be planted with a back body drop. After avoiding a running elbow drop, Hogan resorted to throwing “illegal […] closed fists”, leading to another eye rake from Savage and a top-rope double axe handle for the first near fall of the match. Savage employed his own ground game with an arm bar, planting a knee into Hogan’s face and grabbing his hair to add insult to injury, only for Hogan to rally and send Savage flying through the ropes. After quickly tossing the champion back into the ring, Hogan rammed his face into the top turnbuckles and planted him with a clothesline, two elbow drops, and an eye rake of his own. However, Savage countered with a boot and brought Hogan down for another two count before slapping on a chin lock to the now-bloodied Hogan. Both men seemed extremely gassed and were sweating profusely despite the slow pace of the match as Savage maintained the hold, before the “Pukesters” encouraged Hogan back to his feet. This time, Hogan caught Savage’s kick, hit an atomic drop, but missed another running elbow. Savage quickly capitalised by shoving Hogan chest-first into a corner and trying to score a cheap victory off a roll up and a handful of tights, but the Hulkster still kicked out at two. Frustrated, the Macho Man redoubled his attack, throwing Hogan from corner to corner and targeting the cut above Hogan’s eye. Stomping on Hogan’s hand and delivering a disrespectful slap to his face, Savage basked in his glory and paid for it when Hogan rallied with a beatdown in the corner, only to suffer some kind of arm injury when clotheslining the champion. Regardless, Hogan easily lifted Savage and dumped him to the outside in an impressive show of strength. After aggressively waving off Miss Elizabeth’s help, Savage hit an eye poke and eventually shoved Hogan off a ring post after Miss Elizabeth caused Hogan to hesitate from hurting her man. After Savage couldn’t help but get in Miss Elizabeth’s face and chastise her, the referee sent her to the back to keep her from distracting from the match and Savage continued his methodical attack against his former partner.

*Savage’s ground game and Diving Elbow naturally led to Hulk rallying and scoring the victory.*

After landing a beautiful axe handle off the top rope and to the outside, Savage tossed Hogan back in the ring and began targeting his throat, using the ropes to his advantage and landing stiff elbow shots to his opponent. A quick scoop slam led to a standing splash and another two count before Savage took a page out of Ventura’s playbook to choke Hogan with his wrist tape. After choking Hogan to the canvas, the Macho Man went to the top rope and hit his gorgeous Diving Elbow…only for Hogan to power out and start “Hulking Up!” Despite Savage’s best shots, Hogan wouldn’t be deterred; he shrugged off every blow and dropped the champion with a big boot. The Atomic Leg Drop followed soon after and signalled the end of the match after Hogan pinned the champion for the three count. Naturally, the crowd erupted in cheers and applause as Hogan clumsily strapped the belt to his waist, Ventura just about had a coronary, and the Macho Man stormed from the ring in humiliation and rage, leaving Hogan to pose and play to his very vocal fans. This one was pretty decent, but still the same, tired Hogan formula. Hogan took quite a beating here and Savage looked pretty strong as he targeted Hogan’s wound and wore down the Hulkster with chin locks, takedowns, and repeatedly fleeing from the ring. Unfortunately, these elements dragged the match out way too much for me. I was expecting a bit more aggression and agility from the Macho Man, only to be frustrated by rest holds as the two obviously gassed competitors fought for breath. I was also disappointed that Miss Elizabeth didn’t factor into the match, or the ending, more, and that Hogan was dominated the entire time but won without any real issue in the end. I would’ve liked to see a bit more energy, some more moves being thrown, and to see Savage dodge the Atomic Leg Drop, miss a second Elbow Drop, and then take the fall…but I guess that didn’t work for Hogan, brother.

The Aftermath:
Despite his emphatic win, this wouldn’t be the end of the issues between the former Mega Powers. After Hulk Hogan starred in the much-maligned No Holds Barred (Wright, 1989), the Macho Man brought in Hogan’s co-star, Tom “Tiny” Lister, Jr., as his film character, Zeus, to battle Hogan and his friend, Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake at the 1989 SummerSlam and in a tag team steel cage match at the 19989 No Holds Barred: The Match/The Movie event. The Mega Powers collided for the WWF Championship once more at The Main Event III and, though Savage lost the match, he eventually aligned with Sensational Sherri, won the 1989 King of the Ring (transforming into the unhinged “Macho King” in the process) and eventually had an emotional reunion with Miss Elizabeth at WrestleMania VII, despite being forced to retire after losing to the Ultimate Warrior. However, disagreeing that his in-ring career was over, Savage followed Hogan’s example and jumped ship to World Championship Wrestling (WCW), eventually becoming WCW Champion and not only reforming the Mega Powers with Hogan but also fighting alongside him in the New World Order (nWo). However, the two eventually butted heads when “Hollywood” Hogan’s ego wouldn’t allow him to see anyone but him become WCW Champion, leading to Savage dropping the belt to his old rival and splintering off from the nWo with first the Wolfpac and then “Team Madness”. Their fates seemingly entwined, Hogan and Savage eventually found themselves on the same side with Vince Russo and Eric Bischoff rallied WCW’s young up-and-comers into a power-hungry group, though the company dissolved before he could really get involved. Although Randy Savage had a brief (and disastrous) appearance during Total Non Stop Action’s (TNA) early run under the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), he wasn’t there when Hogan was present, though he and Hogan continued to be on-again, off-again friends and rivals over the years, with the Macho Man even recording an infamous rap track chastising the Hulkster! After tragically passing away from a heart attack in 2011, Savage was posthumously inducted into the WWF Hall of Fame (after a lengthy absence due to a strained relationship with Vince McMahon) and fondly remembered by many, including Hogan, as one of wrestling’s all-time greats.

My Rating:

Pretty Good

What did you think to the dramatic showdown between the Mega Powers? Do you agree that Savage was justified in suspecting and attacking Hogan? Were you disappointed that the match was more mind games and rest holds? Would you have liked to see Miss Elizabeth play a bigger role in the finish? Which of Hogan and Savage’s many matches was your favourite? Can you name a match between former tag team partners that you enjoyed? How are you celebrating WrestleMania’s anniversary this year? Leave your comments about this classic WrestleMania match below, support me on Ko-Fi, and be sure to check out my other wrestling content across the site.

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