[2011 Rewind]
Traditions kept, we have always talked about past years in gaming. This one is no different. From when we first started the site to now, we've always kept the same structure and idea of rewinding. We always disagreed with how magazines did their top ten games of the year, and this article has been our protest to that since 1999. I chose`the new Rush 'N Attack game as the descriptor to serve as a testament to this. That we've always supported classic IPs and we always will.
[Lost Planet 2]
Doing an article about Lost Planet 2 wasn't a priority until its connections with Alien VS Predator came to form each time I played it. A standalone article about just the game's mechanics and all that wouldn't have been so urgent, but a side-by-side comparison article would. The reason why is to show how so many of the games now were influenced by games of yesterday that were "just another beat-'em up" or "just another button-masher." For that reason, I continue my tribute to Alien VS Predator long after I made its own tribute article.
[Game Cases]
With the push toward one-world government, economy, and currency, nothing is really worth what we pay for it these days. Even worse is how there are companies who have apparently "gotten smart" by decreasing quality and/or portion sizes while still charging the same prices. This practice disgusts not just me, but you, your family, and anyone else who knows how things once were. This doesn't just apply to videogames, but food, drink, and everything else we use on a day-to-day basis. However, it has even infiltrated video games, and that's a sad realization of how they're still considered to be "child's play" by many, yet big business to suits in marketing.
[Ghosts 'N Goblins - Gold Knights Series]
This was probably one of the most difficult articles to make because there were so many different parts to it. Before any of the content really even came to form, the design was already decided. We knew we wanted to do an article on these games, and since we started with the screenshots first, there were a ton of screenshots, but little to no content. Though essentially a Gold Knights/Gold Knights II comparison article, Maximo and other recent entries needed to also be in this article to bring it all full-circle. Those games really show how Capcom arrived at their iOS efforts for the series. This was probably one of the most difficult articles we've ever made.
[N.A.R.C.]
This article was written on Thanksgiving Day to relive the memories. You see, N.A.R.C. is a window into a not-so-distant time in American history when illegal drugs weren't legal. From a time where you couldn't just claim you were "in pain" to get a "weed card" for the "green dispensary" down the street. This article is the fourth and final in a series that looks at video games from the "War On Drugs" era. The government has folded and failed in the "War On Drugs," so the series looks at how selected game heroes might fare in its place. Always thought N.A.R.C. coverage was essential to my Straight-Edge roots, and the article came naturally. This is one of the best, hardest articles we've made...
[Final Fight]
The home revision of Final Fight is perhaps one of the most misunderstood titles from the 16-Bit era. Single-player, enemy variation, and multiple-cartridge medium are the main reasons why, and I always wanted to show the other side of the coin. There are always two sides, but I've never seen any review show that other side. Not even "fan" sites. The Final Fight 2 article we did was a tribute in defense, while this one was purely in defense. The design was inspired by our Final Fight 2 article, and just like with that article, we still have the best screenshots. We know this because we see bullshit sites out there that call themselves devoted, yet their coverage and tribute come nowhere close.
[Soul Calibur Legends]
This article too a long time to do. I knew this game deserved an article to do it justice, and that we were probably the only ones capable of it. The only question was how to do it, and getting it all together wasn't easy. A few of the things that made it tough were the screenshots and motion control descriptions. Describing motion control isn't easy for sword strikes and/or combos, and describing the game as a whole isn't even easy. What is it? A side-scrolling fighting game? A side-scrolling action game? The game has so many attributes of both. We really needed to start recognizing some of the quality Wii games out there, since apparently nobody knows they exist...
[Street Fighter II - Turbo: Hyper Fighting]
This article was a long time coming. The words came naturally, and there was even a chance to talk about EGM magazine before they were ran by frat boys. We haven't did an article on artwork for a while, so this was one that needed to make the final cut. We always thought artwork was important because it shows what's behind the games we love, and why we love them. To me, this is the best artwork to ever come from Capcom's artists, so I felt it was my duty to pay tribute.
[Super Castlevania IV]
Digging through the classics of yesteryear, this one really stood out. Partially because I had profound memories of playing it, and partially because it reminded me of the holy war news headlines we see everyday. I started to draw parallels, and it all came together quickly. The Belmonts and their constant struggle against Dracula, and the looming expectation of his return every time he is defeated. It's all very intriguing and the this game is one of my favorites in the series. Aside from Castlevania 64, I don't remember any other game in the series being as mind-blowing as Super Castlevania IV. Though I appreciate the emphasis on style in the newer ones, this is where it's at!
[Fighting Game Frame Analysis]
When SolSadGuy came up with this one, it was both funny and sad. Funny because he approaches it with a light heart, but sad because people put so much time into frames just to win more. True, frame recognition is something that comes naturally with playing fighting games, but some players take it too far. And that's what this article is about. Just an anti-type of article on something that's been annoying us for a long time. The ultimate question here is if games are even still games after slicing and dicing them into mere numbers...
[Dino Crisis 3 = Forgotten Worlds?]
When we talked about the "Devil May Cry 2 = Strider 2?" article on our "Gaming Between The Lines" site, SolSadGuy was pleased with the outcome. He's a hard-core fan of the Devil May Cry series, so it was good to see that he noticed the different approach of discovery. I was proud of that article and the unique points it made. Always wanted to make something like it, but didn't have fitting content. A Dino Crisis 3 article was pretty much written and done, but it just didn't seem like it was enough to do the game justice. Enter Forgotten Worlds. The more I played it, the more it all came together as it reminded me more and more of Dino Crisis 3. It was definitely one of the harder articles to write.
Freedom
[Wii
Control]
I always thought the Wii didn't get enough credit for its various control
hardware options. It's sad how uneducated people are about the Wii, damning
it only to motion controls while elevating the PS3 and XB360 for having
orthodox controls. Did anyone even know about the Classic Controller or
the Classic Controller Pro? Both of these feel a lot more
comfortable than either stock controller on the PS3 or XB360. There
was a need for clarity on this, though, since it seems most sources on
it don't know shit. BADCP brought that clarity. My
favorite controller of this generation is the Wii Classic Controller;
it's comfortable and plays like a dream. There hasn't been a controller
this comfortable since the licensed ASCII Pad FT for DreamCast!
[2012 Buyer's Guide]
This article really speaks for itself. Buyer's Guides have been replaced by "GOTY" sections on big media sites. Partially because of the saddening reality that hardly anything is really on paper anymore, and because "gamers" didn't support quality publications when they actually did exist. Uninspired "Game of the Year" lists will never really replace the old Buyer's Guides, though. Why? Even though they are somewhat one in the same when you consider the sources, Buyer's Guides weren't so narrow and shortsighted. It doesn't take long to see that nearly every site out there has a "GOTY" list that is identical to every other site out there. True, payoffs may have even been present back in the days of Buyer's Guide publication, but it's really obvious with "GOTY" stuff on the biggest sites you see everyday.
[GameFly Marketing]
The whole concept of GameFly had to happen sooner or later with the onslaught of technology and somebody would have thought of it sooner or later. If they can do it with movies, then why not with games? The foundation was already there. The only problem is how GameFly aims commercials at "hard-core" audiences they have little (if anything at all) to provide to. How can you aim at the the "hard-core" without providing rentals for machines that came out before the modern ones? I didn't see any older titles or import titles when I saw their dumb commercials; none of the games they showed were close to even what's "hard-core" by trendy standards! Change the channel when the commercials come on. Don't support them.
[God Of War - HD Collection]
Sony put a new coat of paint on some of their most iconic titles with the coming of the HD era, and it was good to see. Especially with the God Of War series. Even an HD re-release couldn't change design flaws that kept the second game from perfection, though. And this article talks about that second game. It was originally written way back in about 2008, but it was never completed and the article really didn't fit with any of the sites we did before now. It was structurally-inspired by the song "Stupid?" by a band called Dead To Fall. It's the only article we ever did that theoretically detailed development staff dialogue.
[Game Stores In Japan]
This was another one from 2008 or so that got put-off for longer than expected. I got sick of hearing about how overrated Japanese stores are. On the web, everywhere. There are some that have gems behind the glass, yes. But, there are some non-Japanese stores that sell rare games, too. This article was intended to educate those who think they absolutely must take a trip to Japan just to get rare game stuff. You don't. Take it from us; we've been there.
[Retailer Magazines]
The title of this one describes just how much money stores like GameStop make from you, the consumer, with their magazines.
[Koei And The Manic Side-Scrolling Adventure Genre]
This one came about when I realized how Koei single-handedly pioneered the manic side-scrolling adventure game genre. I never saw it mentioned anywhere by anyone how similar it was to Cave and the manic shooting genre. Koei? Tons of enemies, swords, and arrows. Cave? Tons of enemies, bullets, and fire. Koei already merged with Tecmo, but if they had somehow merged with Cave, they would have had both of the manic genres covered...
[Downloadable Content]
Downloadable content has been controversial aspect of the HD video game generation. PurpGuy wrote what a lot of people have been thinking since this generation began. Extra content? Or essential content? Downloadable content seems to beg more questions than it answers...
[2012 Buyers Guide]
I have tons of old, tattered magazines in boxes. I still use most of them for reference and research (while exposing lies buried within). One thing I never addressed, though, was the EGM's Buyers Guide. Every so often, it came bagged with issues of EGM before they became fraternity-owned. It was flimsy and probably ten-times smaller, but it did a better job of covering games than the actual (EGM) magazine that came with it. There were bits of commentary about some of the games, but it wasn't the brainwashing, profit-machine juggernaut EGM would later become.
[Cave Mobile Shooting]
Shooting games have always been a staple of BADCP. After the article list was decided, it seemed like there just wasn't enough shooting game content. We needed to rep shooting games like we always have. Cave has always been one of the best, and even after all these years they're still strong. Strong-enough to venture outside of the arcade domain they made a name for themselves with. Cave's growth was something I felt couldn't be ignored. It needed to be acknowledged; especially in a world where bigger, more known game companies have either went under, merged, or been too afraid of growth...
Forward
[At
The End Of The Day...]
With "Loyal To A Fault," the goal was to refine what we have
refined in the past, but to keep the complexity and stay simple. Parts
of "Hyper-Solid Straight-Edge Gaming," combined with "Gaming
Between The Lines," and "DIY Gaming With A Vengeance" can
all be seen in this site. We took inspiration from the older sites we
made to make the new site based on simplicity. Like the first Capcom
VS SNK game, or any Cave-branded shooting game, there is beauty in
simplicity.
In traditional BADCP fashion, what was originally supposed to be a ten-article project turned-out to be twelve articles, then fourteen, then eighteen, and then twenty, until finally stopping at twenty-one. It was really a lot like our older stuff; strength in sheer numbers! The number of articles had doubled, and the site itself had actually tripled in weight. Some of the content was done pretty early on, so we technically could have released it around ten or so articles, but there were some pending works that just couldn't be left out. We wanted to get some of the articles out as soon as possible (especially "Breakdown/Beatdown"), but then there were time-sensitive works we couldn't afford to put on a later site ("Freedom"). We chose delays over a future design/content clash.
Some wonder why we still make everything in HTML web page format, and the reason we do so is for the fans. Screenshot frequency is was higher overall than in previous site versions, but the great thing is that anyone can view them because of the simple design techniques we use. Making an elaborate, flashy website with loading screens and tiny article spaces would alienate anyone without a new, top-of-the-line computer or connection to run it all. We don't have money, and there's probably a lot of viewers all over the world who may not either, so we still keep our site structure simple (like it's always been). Our sites even come up on 10-year old computers that can't even run Google Chrome!
At the end of the day, an elaborate, complicated design wouldn't fit the site content, either. The main purpose of BADCP has always been to correct all the wrongs magazines did before the onslaught of the Internet made them nearly nonexistent. Though our sites have always resembled music albums more than typical sites, we've always used magazine-style structuring to pay tribute and speak the truth.