Ristar

This game relates to Toy Story for me. When I saw the first TS film, it blew my damn 7 year old mind, immediately after we left the cinema I asked my parents when we could see it again. Turns out that I next saw it on video at home. :(
But also :), as I had the chance to buy the game version for the Mega Drive! Well, either that or an obscure title that caught my eye, featuring a cute yellow star with cool Sonic shoes. Remember, this is when movie to videogame crossovers were actually good, especially disney games, so this was a tough decision. Buy the game I of the movie I had enjoyed so much, or impulse buy a relatively obscure title based on looks alone?
So I got Ristar instead, which I deeply regretted at first, but eventually, I grew to really, really like it. The punishing mistress that it was! I even made a Ristar T-Shirt for a primary school project. I was proud of it, and other people seemed to admire it too.

So in the game, you play as Ristar, a cute character awoken from his celestial slumber by the cries of a planet in dire need. Planet? I meant to say.... Galaxy! So you travel from world to world (stage to stage) each themed appropriately, as per the rules of gamedom - Ice, water, forest, lava and so on. What makes this game stand out is how Ristar attacks - he stretches his arms, grabs then headbutts enemies. He even makes use of this technique to climb walls, and swing on branches. In fact he pretty much solves everything with his trusty headbutt.

Another stand out feature is the excellent music. Now, I can only think of a few Mega Drive games which had good music - Sonic 1, 2, 3 and Knuckles, Ristar, Dynamite Headdy...then my mind goes blank. That's ok, good music is what the SNES is for. But this is among some of the best music on any system! Especially that lava world stage 1 music, so damn awesome. And when you complete a world, you're treated to a cool transition scene, complete with a kick ass space travel tune.

One thing I remember clearly, is that this game is hard. Especially that damn music level. It's boss is a bird whose singing is so bad, it hurts, which certainly didn't help my temperament. Just thinking about it...rargah! Broken screen mega drive controller thrust. Actually, I didn't break any controllers in frustration until Mario Kart Double Dash.
Mostly because controllers in the 16 bit days were so freaking robust!



Ristar TAS - more on TAS in the next post!

Toy Story 3

Yeah, I enjoyed this. There's no way it could have the same impact as the first - I was 7 when it first came out, and as soon as we stepped out the cinema after the credits I asked my mum when we could see it again. Turns out we didn't go back, but I did eventually get it on VHS. It's probably one of my most vivid memories of a cinema experience!

Now that I'm older, though, and really into animation, I can fully appreciate Pixar and therefore this movie. I thought it was funny, and satisfying, and Night and Day was also very good. I'd love to see what Pixar could do if they made a film that was rated a 12 or 12a. Just go a bit edgier. The cymbal monkey in the film made a poor little girl cry her eyes out, and I don't blame her! Me and Lynsey both found it reminiscent of Judge Doom from Roger Rabbit, and he was so scary they had to cut out his best scenes for television screenings.

I loved the inclusion of Totoro in this film. No noises, no exaggerated or token acting, just his trademark smile. He looked ridiculously cute in 3D (or CG as it's now called - thank you 3D glasses). I guess that's another point, Lynsey and I decided to see it in 2D. I still feel that 3D is a gimmick, the only form of it I am excited about is the upcoming 3DS. Separate post about that when the time comes.

Back to the point, the film was suitably grand for it's finality, and the death of the series was satisfying and as well written as any Pixar production. I was excited to see the first film, missed the second one in theaters totally (damn teenage years) so it was nice to feel that excitement about the third. I think my favourite part was the very beginning, with all the lines from the first movie. The worst part....probably Lotso, as he was almost exactly the same as Stinky Pete. Still - better than Toy Story 2, in my opinion.