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Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Taking Down Sarkeesian's Victim Culture Once And For All!

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - Countering the twisted usage of statistics by the feminists.

Everyone's favourite (...) feminist videogame culture and industry critic Anita Sarkeesian is... at it again! Well, actually, she takes a backseat this time and has her male minions do her bidding.


I actually do recommend watching this. And I do mean watching. My first observation (which will immediately destroy any credibility that people reading this may give me because of how shallow this is) is that Anita Sarkeesian pulls the most ridiculous-looking dudes she could find.

My favourite is the guy at 2:02. You can share your favourite in the comments section.

That mustache is actually worse than any mustache you'd find in the Mushroom Kingdom.
Feminist Frequency was kind enough to provide a full transcript of the video, which is very nice for replying to it. Thank you for the accessibility! (This is why KoopaTV usually provides transcripts for our own videos too when the words are important.)

One very important thing to address before the page break: Feminists love to cite the "half (50%) of all gamers are females" statistic as much as they like to cite the 78% gender-based wage gap statistic. It comes from an Entertainment Software Association (ESA) study. The ESA study includes gamers of all stripes — console gamers like us, but also PC gamers and mobile/smartphone gamers.

So when Anita Sarkeesian tries to manipulate the statistic by saying things like,
"This blindness allows many men, even well meaning men, to remain blissfully unaware of what roughly half of all gamers experience on a fairly regular basis."
You need to realise that she is engaging in the typical (that 78% figure is useless and bogus) liberal twisting of facts. She either does not have a basic understanding of statistics or she is trying to purposefully mislead you to achieve her agenda. Take your pick.

All of the "invisible benefits of gaming" mentioned by the Feminist Frequency production are all based off of gaming culture, not based off of, you know, the act of actually playing videogames. Now, tell me this: Do all of those females who play videogames of any kind (and we know that the majority of children of both genders nowadays do play videogames) engage in videogame culture as we know it? Do they discuss their playing with other people? Anecdotal evidence highly suggests no. On any given location for general videogame discussion (except KoopaTV, for some reason), the majority of participants will be male. What is the story of those females who play games and don't talk about them? Maybe they're the office worker who plays Candy Crush Saga on the train to and from work. Not much to talk about there. Maybe they don't identify as gamers and just see games as a way to pass the time, not as a dedicated hobby!

GameFAQs poll on gender
The overwhelming majority. And it's been almost consistent for over a decade.

Still, it is definitely not okay even for a minority of the videogame culture population to be harassed or anything, especially on a basis like gender.

GameFAQs poll on treating female gamers differently
...And the majority of gamers do not treat females differently, according to themselves.
Well, you might say that you might not be honest when you are filling out a poll like this. After all, the noble answer is the one that won, so maybe you are just fooling yourself into not caring when you really are a jerk to them! But this is still a much better measure than the Feminist Frequency version of the facts, which is:
  1. (Rounding up) Females make up half of the videogame-playing population.
  2. Every female in the videogame-playing population engages in videogame cultural dialogue.
  3. Some females have been public about gender-based harassment they have experienced.
  4. Extrapolate this to every single female who plays videogames (because they're just oppressed into being silent), which is half of the videogame-playing population.
  5. Simultaneously have the situation where videogames drive females away while having them represent half of the videogame-playing population.
It's really unfortunate that Anita Sarkeesian, Feminist Frequency, and other feminist activists are manipulating statistics, because in the end, the message of "gamers should not be judged by their gender, but by content of their character" is correct. But having to try to mislead people to reach that conclusion undermines their own moral argument.

Now, as to these benefits. The majority of those "benefits" are a lack of things happening to you, rather than any positively-based things. The positively-based benefits that are mentioned are absolutely irrelevant. Things like,
"I can walk into any gaming store and see images of my gender widely represented as powerful heroes, dastardly villains and non-playable characters alike"
are of no consequence to me or anyone else. It is a problem with you if you only see things in terms of gender, just like how it is a problem with you if you only see things in terms of race. If any woman goes into a game store and sees (only) games with male characters being advertised in the store front and somehow feels "oppressed" as a result, she is LOOKING to find REASONS to be a victim. THAT is the definition of only seeing things in terms of gender and not, "Hey, that game looks really cool!" or "Those guys on the cover all have the same design!" if you see a row of dudebro games.

...Personally, I've been on forums and gaming communities for a long time now. Have I seen females being harassed? Of course. Have I seen males being harassed? Yes. However, there is a "privilege" that females have that males do not, and that is that they are significantly more likely to be defended or treated kindly than treated poorly. (See the above poll: 17% will treat females better in some way because they are female, and only 2.5% will treat them worse for whatever reason.) For every one jerk, there will be seven people who will stand up against that jerk or be quite nice with you. If you do not want that sort of special treatment (I wouldn't complain about people being nice to me, though that 2.36% who sandbags might be annoying), you can play with the 80% of the gaming population instead who don't care.

Even so, we don't want even that 2.5% treating you poorly. Since females are NOT 50% of the people you will play games with, 2.5% of a larger population can do a lot of damage to the minority of females, especially since they can be repeat offenders: Play multiple games against several females, and be the harasser of all of them. That's wrong. However, is it really accurate to say that those people are jerks only to women and they aren't just jerks in general? You can always test this, by the way, by just not telling people your personal information (which is always a bad idea, and Feminist Frequency is literally advocating you give your contact information to strangers over the Internet) and see how they treat you.

Behold this pair of polls:

GameFAQs poll on the rate of trash talk by videogamers
2007. A plurality of gamers are jerks if you're a jerk first.
GameFAQs poll on the rate of trash talk by videogamers
2014. 60% of gamers are polite or don't talk.

We are making progress as a culture to be more civil. However, the effort from the feminists is increasing over the years as they try to accumulate more power. And that's what it's always about: Power, not change for the better. The change is already happening without Feminist Frequency's help! What is the purpose of pointing out these "Invisible Benefits"? Is it to increase awareness of an increasingly smaller problem... or is it to create division, falsify sympathy (to go along with their falsification of facts), and become an even greater lobbying force?

Still, the very small minority of jerks who admit to being mean to everyone is pretty much the same group who admit to being mean to females. What does this mean?

It's not an institutional sexism problem. There are individual sexist jerks, but there are individual malevolent people in any group of people. We can work to influence them otherwise, but we should always be very weary of those out to profit from our problems.

Update: For more statistics, see the Pew Research Center survey on online harassment. These include that the majority of people feel that online gaming is equally nice to men and women, men have been harassed more in online gaming than women lately, and that women have a tendency to be more sensitive to harassment than men.


The majority of KoopaTV's reader base happens to be female, and Ludwig would like to know your thoughts on these invisible benefits and if you are harassed because of your gender on a regular basis. Perhaps it's correlated to the majority of Ludwig's Miiverse friends list being female. Check it out at NNID PrinceOfKoopas!


To play out the lesson of being weary of profiteers off of societal issues, play Trayvon Tyson's Punch-Out!!.
Ludwig actually discussed some of these themes earlier when he wrote about Aisha Tyler.
Ludwig addresses some of Sarkeesian's points during his trip to a game store.
While Anita Sarkeesian's points may be bogus, she still deserves the right to self-defense like anyone else. Why not play Defend Anita Sarkeesian right here on KoopaTV?
Sarkeesian's message isn't positive at all for men, unlike this one.

89 comments :

  1. Well, if you'd like my thoughts on these invisible benefits, I suppose I might as well respond on a point-by-point basis to all 25. XD
    1. I could also choose to remain oblivious. In fact, if I hadn't started following video game news more closely because of my freelance writing, I might still be.
    2. I have also never been told video games are not for me, except perhaps by older people who see video games as a waste of time for anyone.
    3. ....Posting contact information online is a dangerous idea for anyone.
    4. I've never been asked to prove my "gaming cred," either.
    5. Nor has anyone ever accused me of faking my enthusiasm, though they may question my sanity if they've triggered a survival horror rant.
    6. ....Well, I'm really not sure about this one, since when I visit gaming websites, I'm more concerned with the content of the articles than the gender of the writers.
    7. I've only been to one gaming convention, but I only encountered nice, fun-loving people. Of course, I didn't stay up late in the game rooms, either.
    8. Since I hold some controversial views, probably no one will assume I speak for all female gamers. But... wait... doesn't the very nature of this video imply these guys speak for all male gamers, and that the overall message speaks for all female gamers?
    9. Eh, this one is a fair point. I do worry some people assume my gaming failures are due to me being female.
    10. Isn't this pretty much the same as #9?
    11. What? I see guys criticized or disbelieved for being too angry/flippant/whatever.
    12. I think there's actually more of a stereotype that casual gamers aren't real gamers, regardless of their gender.
    13. Game store cashiers usually either seem like they don't want to be there or want me to pre-order games. If they question me, it's about my age. In fact, I remember one time before I had ID, I put my parents in line with my M-rated game. The cashier looked at my parents, looked over at me, and asked them if they knew it was rated M. No doubt at all about who the game was for. XD
    14. Okay, I can't deny that many games are probably created with a male audience in mind. I don't have any problem finding games I'll love, though. I don't view games in terms of "my demographic." In fact, I don't see a huge difference between this argument and with jerks claiming some games are "for girls" while others are "for boys," which IS sexist.
    15. I walk into gaming stores looking for games. That's it. Your examples ("Hey, that game looks really cool!" or "Those guys on the cover all have the same design!" if you see a row of dudebro games.) are how I'm likely to think.
    16. You know what? I consider it more sexist that people would assume I feel a pressing need to play as a female character. Ironically, though there was a recent period where I had 6 games in-progress at the same time, and played a female character in all of them. 2 were by choice, 4 were because the main characters of those games are female.
    On a similar note, I'm interested in how this will play out in regards to Final Fantasy XV, especially since there are very credible theories that the all-male party is meant to cater to the sudden surge in female Final Fantasy fans in Japan... which is further supported since most of the complaints so far seem to come from guys.

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    1. Well first off, thank you! I'll selectively respond to your responses.

      2. But Anita was told as a young girl that the Game Boy was for boys and she was frowned at for wanting one! NINTENDO SUPPORTS THE PATRIARCHY. EVIL.
      3. Yes, yes it is. We're in full agreement. For a woman concerned about being "doxed", it's really weird that she supports posting contact information.
      4. Yeah, your "gaming cred" exudes out of you involuntarily. Curiously, this "gaming cred" thing was also touched on by Ubisoft spokeswoman Aisha Tyler, who trashed gamers for thinking she isn't one. Maybe it's easier to be credible when you're seen playing games rather than being a PR figurehead who talks about them? On that note, people accused REGGIE FILS-AIME early on of not having "gaming cred". (People still think this and it's probably true.) And he's REALLY manly.
      6. KoopaTV does not have affirmative action in our hiring processes. (...Not completely true. If a lesbian black woman ever wants to write for us, we'd accept her instantly. We've talked about that several times in our AIM Blast.)
      7. I've actually heard a story from a girl who went to Dragon Con about how she got groped. ...She also refused to slap the guy.
      8. No, they only speak for "enlightened" male gamers.
      9. Personally, I'm never worried that people chalk up my failures due to being male. (I also don't fail. ...Or at least don't let people know that.)
      11. People don't believe me all the time! :o SEXISTS.
      12. If people say you're not a real gamer for not liking "cute" or "odd" games (like... Kirby Air Ride?) then they aren't sexist. They're just stupid.
      15. I think what the feminists want is a row of dudettesises on game covers.

      Delete
    2. Speaking of some games being for girls...
      http://play.nintendo.com/parents/games-characters/games/think-pink-best-nintendo-3ds-games-girls/

      Delete
    3. And I'll selectively respond to your selective responses. :)

      3. Other guys reading this, don't start experimenting by posting your contact information. There are a lot of crazies on the Internet. XD
      4. I'm not very familiar with Aisha Tyler because I'm not a big Ubisoft fan, but I know whenever I watch something like E3 and see company leaders talking about games, a part of me is always suspicious that they're just pretending. It's probably unjustified, but it has nothing to do with gender. It has to do with the person being dressed up, on a stage, giving a speech intended to sell something. XD
      7. I... see...
      12. Yeah. XD

      Is that the same place that had all those "little known facts" about characters that everyone should know?

      Delete
    4. 3. KoopaTV is not responsible for anything that might happen to you for posting your contact information here! (We will also store said contact information and may do nefarious things with it.)
      4. I'm not actually familiar with her anyway, I just know a lot of people got pissed off because I spoke ill of her speaking ill of gamers. But yeah, figure heads on stage are probably too busy leading the business than to be actually playing games. I guess it makes sense that Reggie only actually talks about playing on the 3DS in his spare time, with all of the trips he must go on.

      Yes, that is that very same place.

      Delete
  2. Part 2 (I hit the character limit):

    17. If I'm ever harassed online, it's usually because of my views on politics, religion, or survival horror.
    18. Sometimes my gender is mistaken online, but see the point above: I'm more likely to avoid discussing politics or religion out of such fears.
    19. Isn't this basically the same as #17 and #18?
    20. I don't play online enough to comment.
    21. See above point.
    22. You know what I DO get? Creepy spam messages from either women or people pretending to be women who think *I'm* male and are trying to scam me.
    23. Again, I don't play online enough to say.
    24. I usually argue about other things, like survival horror. But if I do venture into the chaos and say something like "I don't believe Bayonetta is sexist because......" I tend to get a lot of support, and I sometimes suspect it's because I'm female. Does that support this point or go against it? I'm not sure. XD
    25. I don't know, are people taking it seriously?

    Wait, that's it? I was waiting for the "I can turn on just about any game and see attractive characters of the opposite gender designed to appeal to my tastes" benefit so I could talk about Blackquill and Gaius!

    I agree with the end of the video. People of all genders should be treated with respect, and people shouldn't be harassed/dismissed/whatever because of their gender.

    Now, let me make this already-long comment even longer. There are sexist guys out there who treat women differently just because of their gender. I even know some people whose comments toward me border on harassment. One apologized and stopped the moment I mentioned it. Months later, he read about the online harassment of women and sent me a page-long apology. The other... is just a jerk in general sometimes.

    What baffles me about this video is that it seemed more focused on quantity (TWENTY-FIVE reasons!!) than on quality. It overshadowed *actual* issues by repeating similar points and stretching for any possible "benefit," which will only serve to make people discredit the entire thing.

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    Replies
    1. 17. I personally get harassed because I'm white. https://twitter.com/kthorjensen/status/414920210051657729 (Oh shit I didn't realize this tweet got revived activity.) I'm told my opinions don't matter because I'm a straight white male! It's no fair!
      18. Yeah, a "Feriku" could be anything.
      21. People make penis-size jokes all the time. I have no idea what the hell they're talking about.
      22. ...I don't get those.
      25. Are they taking it seriously? .................. I don't think it convinced anyone.

      What is also concerning to me, on that point, is that feminists are offended that females in games are attractive.
      WHAT'S WRONG WITH THAT?
      They don't feel "represented" or whatever because I guess they're jealous of female character designs. I'm not kidding, I've seen feminists complain about female characters being attractive. They want a world where everyone is ugly.

      They could've easily cut this to 20. Maybe they like 5 more than 0. I didn't count how many unique weird-looking dudes there were (still waiting on your comment telling me your favourite dude in the video) but maybe they needed a line for each one.

      Delete
    2. 18. And "Sam" could be either, too.
      22. You don't? I think all the ones I've gotten have been through Capcom-Unity, and I know some of my other friends on there have gotten them as well.
      25. And that actually ties back to my "quantity vs. quality" argument. Stuff like this can make the problem worse. It's like the old fable, The Boy Who Cried Wolf--when it comes to real problems, people tired of this sort of thing can just say, "Oh, there they go again" and ignore it.

      Oh yes. I understand to a degree that some people want characters (of both genders) more representative of real people and less power fantasies, but sometimes it gets silly. It has nothing to do with gender, since most video game protagonists are attractive.
      And I know, then the argument goes that both attractive male characters and attractive female characters cater to male fantasies, because they want to *be* the male characters. (An argument which seems to ignore the possibility that women might enjoy looking at the male characters and want to be the female characters....... or however it works out, I mean, I wish I was as cool as Blackquill... XD)
      I won't deny that female characters are more sexualized than male characters, but I've made my opinion clear--the solution lies in more shirtless male characters. XD TALES OF XILLIA HAS THE RIGHT IDEA!

      My favorite was Tim Schafer, of course, because he made one of the best video games of all time: Psychonauts!

      Delete
    3. 22. Maybe I just don't know it's a scam and fall for it effortlessly every time?


      Shirtless male characters...
      ...Dammit Shulk.
      "I'm really feeling it!"
      Most videogame protagonists aren't attractive! I don't consider all those dudebros attractive.
      And I certainly don't consider that fatass plumber attractive.

      Gamefreak is going out of their way to make the male protagonists in Pokémon games not attractive or even good-looking. You can keep calling me shallow all you want...
      http://pokemondungeon.net/gallery/albums/Sugimori/trainers/Ruby_Sapphire_Brendan.png
      ...But what the hell? And that was BEFORE he got redesigned for ORAS. I'd say that, because I play Pokémon for character designs, that ugly protagonists like Brendan hamper my experience.
      (By comparison, May is pretty average.)
      I don't WANT representation of real people! If I wanted to see real people, I wouldn't spend time playing games set in fantasy worlds. ...Same argument goes for why I don't play realistic sports simulators. (That, and they're usually made by EA.)

      The feminists want representation like this:
      https://twitter.com/RawkHawk2010/status/471469661372940288

      Delete
    4. XD

      Pfft, Shulk.
      KING GAIUS! (Technically Xillia spoilers, but I don't think you're going to play a PS3 exclusive...) http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9cqBYBFolIA/VGki4n5QbTI/AAAAAAAAA9E/63QwnI8Rwp4/s1600/Xillia-shirtless-Gaius.png <-- I took the shot myself, that's why the quality is lousy. XDDD

      To be fair, antagonists make up the bulk of my "attractive video game characters" list. Villains and rivals. (You know, like prosecutors.)

      XDDDDD Yeah, the Pokémon protagonist designs are a little... uh... yeah. Some of the female protagonists end up just looking silly, like the White 2 trainer and her weird hair buns.

      XD

      Now, now, let me say something. I am *technically* a feminist. I believe in equality, and since that's what feminism is supposed to be about. I say "technically" because a lot of times it seems like that isn't what it's about at all.

      Delete
    5. ...Yo, his shirtless body itself looks like a shirt.

      The best protagonist from Pokémon is obviously [Platinum] Dawn. <33333333333 ♥♥♥♥

      ...Is that a factor in why I think DPPt is the best Pokémon RPG? ...PROBABLY.

      Feminism used to be about that. And apologists try to claim it's still just about that.
      You can't take the apologists seriously either because that's just numbing your mind to reality.

      Delete
  3. It...looks like a shirt? XDDD

    Am I the only person who never remembers the default names of Pokémon protagonists except the obvious ones, like "Red"? XD

    Well, Pokémon White/Black had the best antagonists, which is a major factor in why I think they're the best ones.

    Hence my technicalities.

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    1. ...I've stopped knowing them lately.

      Team Galactic had admin Mars. She's the hawtest antagonist in the series.

      Delete
    2. *scratches head* If you say so.
      Either way, Ghetsis had the best music.

      Delete
    3. They even had Jupiter (for some reason [you can probably figure out how] I kept thinking she was named "Juniper") for the feminists who want ugly females.

      www.youtube.com/watch?v=nX2hOoaLb4Y

      Well, the most prominent comments there are relating to Arceus's drums.

      I'll go all-in fanboy and say I like the Team Galactic admin music and grunt music (it even got into Brawl, so...) more.

      As for Cyrus's music himself? ...Sure, I'll take it over drums.

      Delete
    4. Mars is better-looking than Jupiter?

      It's the chanting. I love songs with chanting.

      Delete
    5. Sorry to butt in,but I love GenIV. The music,characters,and just about everything was amazing. Cynthia has the most fitting rival theme in the series. HGSS was my favorite pokemon game of all time( call me mainstream,I don't care). Having a mini pokemon with you wherever you went was amazing.

      I don't know what to think of ghetsis. DENNIS.DENNIS. In all honesty,though,gen V wasn't really my cup of tea. The rivals were a bit annoying and it was a step down from gen V. That one girl from XY,though. She kinda freaks me out. 0.0

      Delete
    6. Um, of course Mars is better-looking. In every possible way. (Mars has got dat better clothing too.)

      No, it's okay to butt-in. :P
      Cynthia does have the most-fitting and best... CHAMPION theme. Barry's rival theme ain't too shabby either, though I wouldn't put it at #1 in the series.

      Pokéwalker was the best peripheral ever in the history of videogames.

      Is it a trend where you get more and more friends with every new game? Gen 3 just had the other gender character, Gen 4 had the other gender and a rival, Gen 5 had other gender, rival, and basically N, and Gen 6 had 4 friends total!

      Delete
    7. ...At last I have proof to back up my statement that I'm not a very good judge of female attractiveness, then. XD

      Hey, someone else joined the conversation! I agree that HGSS is the best. Part of it's nostalgia--Silver was always my favorite Pokémon game, and after I quit the series for years, the one that convinced me to give it another try was Soul Silver. But yeah, I loved the Pokewalker!

      I'll defend Gen 5 to the end, though. I LOVED the story. N, Ghetsis, all the twists near the end... It was amazing. I also think Team Plasma (in White and Black, not the sequels) has the best costume design of all the evil teams. It's the knight motif, I loved it! When a battle with one and that shield appeared on the screen? Thrilled me every time.

      I hope Gen 7 brings back more antagonistic rivals. Going on a wonderful journey with your friends is fine, but the Silver/Gold rival was my favorite... second to N if you count him as a rival.

      Delete
    8. Hm, we can do more tests on that part. :D

      ...Now, now, hold on. I'll admit I like HGSS too, and I also liked GSC. But HGSS doesn't actually fix some of GSC's crippling flaws (level balance because it's non-linear), so I'm not gonna sit here and say it's the best game. Even if it has the best peripheral to go with it ever.

      BW's story was... something else, by Pokémon RPG standards. (Still doesn't hold a candle to the PMD series, of course.) Gotta say those Plasma hoods look really uncomfortable. Compare to the original Team Magma hoods.

      Team Rocket has the best outfits. (Gruntess's boots <33 )

      It feels weird talking about what we want out of Gen 7 already.

      Delete
    9. Oh dear.

      It was unbalanced? I never noticed.

      I wish they'd make another one with a good story like that! And yes, I still need to play PMD. Uncomfortable, perhaps, but armor! :D

      ...Yeah. I kinda forget about X/Y sometimes, though....

      Delete
    10. Yes, it was horrendously unbalanced. Because you could non-linearly go to either the left of Ecruteak (Cianwood and co.) or the right of Ecruteak (Mahogany) they had to make the levels of enemies in both those places the same. The problem is, is that those paths are like... the rest of Johto until the Elite 4, so you'll be very overleveled for the path you did not take. Then the Elite 4 are in the level 40s because Johto is actually really small ('cause they had to fit Kanto in).

      And then all of a sudden Red is at Mt. Silver with level 80s and the only things you can train off of in the whole game are level (barely) 40 stuff.

      Delete
    11. It's pokemon,though. I understand the main game isn't supposed to be ridiculously hard,but it adds challenge. I was 10 levels underleved when I fought the champion in champion in X,and she wasn't that bad. I've noticed that with each generation in pokemon, you need less and less grinding to get through them.
      The thing that was annoying was that the pokemon in kanto are way underleveled.

      I'm not sure if I like galactic or rocket more. I'd probably be considered a Sinnoh fangirl,but Rocket is pretty cool. I have a rocket cosplay sitting in my closet somewhere.. :P

      Delete
    12. I actually really liked N when I played Black.. 0//0
      PMD was amazing. My first pokemon game was red rescue team,but Explorers of time..that was brilliant. It's a shame GTI wasn't nearly as good.

      Delete
    13. N is fantastic. One of my favorite Pokemon characters.
      (When I played White 2, I cheered when he returned.)

      Delete
    14. So I never actually bought PMD3 because people kept saying it was bad. Well, people said PMD1 and 2 were bad, but actual fans of PMD didn't like PMD3 either so I didn't get it.

      Although with the SEVERAL eShop sales Nintendo has had with PMD3, I've, uh, CONSIDERED IT.

      Team Rocket cosplay sounds great. :o
      (I'd like to see it~)

      Yeah so I was never an N fanboy 'cause... y'know, not my type.

      Red being overleveled isn't adding challenge, it's just annoying. Don't confuse grinding with difficulty.

      Delete
    15. Me too,actually. :B
      I really liked his playroom,especially the music!
      I got it because I love the pmd series,and eh. I don't want to say it was terrible,but it was easilly the worst. your partner is annoying and for some reason they removed the genders and the majority of the pokemon that exist.
      Ah,really? I usually try to avoid digital copies if I can. It's a weird personal preference.
      My friend and I were grunts...I have no clue where some of the stuff it.... :/
      It's been awhile,but I don't remember being that annoyed. actually getting up to the darn place is what was annoying.Actually,compared to other teams, he had some pretty good pokemon. he wasn't an idiot,either. if red was in a bad matchup, he'd switch in and used blizzard in the snow. He also made it so you HAD to rely on type advantage,and not sheer power,so all those kids with their hm lv100 feraligatr had to use strategy.

      Delete
    16. And for the most important part of the PMD series...?
      Story and music for PMD3?

      I avoid digital copies for my Wii U and regret buying Tropical Freeze digitally, but for the 3DS it's... slightly more okay.
      That said, I still got Smash 3DS and Layton vs. Wright physically, and got... Pokémon X and New Leaf digitally.
      If I had the choice, I would've gotten Dual Destinies and Ace Attorney Trilogy physically.

      Sounds hawt. Find your stuff! :p

      Getting to the place was annoying, but no more problematic than going through, say, RBY's Seafoam Islands. That place was hell. >.<
      (Yeah, like any kid would have the patience to level up anything to 100 in GSC!)
      Yeah, team make-up is a challenge. Grinding is not. ^_^;

      Delete
    17. I prefer physical games.

      My Pigeot was level 100. I was heartbroken I couldn't level him any further. XD ...and heartbroken I couldn't brute force my way through the fight. I don't think I ever beat Red. XDDDD

      Delete
    18. The story felt a bit kiddish to me;you don't even die! the ending made me a *little* sad,but eh. The music wasn't horribly memorable,at least to me.

      Well, having high level pokemon on a team prevents you from grinding. :P You have to grind THEN win with strategy!
      I'm worried of all the stuff that could happen...like malfunction. if something were to happen to the system..it'd all be gone,compared to just a game or two.

      Delete
  4. Well, that explains why my main memories of GSC are of sweeping the Elite Four with my beloved Pidgeot.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. How did you get past Bruno's Onix?
      KOGA'S FORRETRESS?!

      Delete
    2. Hey, I think we should be talking about Whitney's miltank;that thing's a beast,especially so early in the game. Even with machop,it's difficult.

      Delete
    3. I don't quite remember. All I know is that back then I didn't care at all about having a nice, balanced team. I had my Pidgeot who I used for everything, Fly seemed like the most amazingly powerful attack ever, and I eventually just used him for everything.

      I was devastated when I learned that wouldn't work against human opponents.

      Delete
    4. Miltank <3 <3 <3

      You battled other people with your GBC link cables and stuff? :p

      Delete
    5. I remember how bad the balance on my team was. I'd have my overpowered starter,and a bunch of really weak pokemon. Now my teams have all the pokemon underleveled,since I don't usually grind in playthroughs; I try to get those short playtimes up to the E4. I used to use all my hms on my starter too.
      I can't believe it took me all the way up to X to figure out how to breed for IV's and natures. I feel like my shinies always end up with terrible natures. :l

      Delete
    6. I was always a good trainer and trained my Pokémon relatively evenly. ^.^

      ...At least that's how I remember it.

      I don't grind either, but I never run from wild Pokémon.

      Delete
    7. I always run from them. :B I've been grinding a bit with audino in AS,but I didn't start until after I beat the delta series.
      The new exp share makes balance really easy,which is great for pokemon like ralts who are terrible at first. I'LL KO YOU WITH GROWL!

      Delete
    8. The idea of experience all disgusted me immediately so I turned it off immediately when going through X.
      That's all. :p

      (If you're really interested, I logged me going through X for reference purposes. One other rule was that I have my switching put to Set, not Switch.
      http://planetkoopa.proboards.com/thread/577/ludwigs-pok-mon-adventure?page=1
      )

      Delete
    9. No, I brought my team into Pokémon Stadium... and... *embarrassed* ...my dad defeated me. XD

      I don't care about IVs or any of that stuff. I looked into it once and decided it wasn't worth the effort. I'm a main-story, some-post-game-content Pokémon player. No collect-em-all, no competitive fighting, none of that.

      I have mixed feelings about the new exp share... At first I had it on, then things got too easy so I turned it off... then I realized I was kinda getting tired of X and just wanted to finish it, so I turned it back on.

      Delete
    10. Well, you can finish X while being underleveled.

      ...If you don't use the experience all, you actually are normally leveled, really.

      Your dad beat you? Hahahahaha. With wot team?

      I don't do competitive type stuff in-game, that's nonsense. I have tried relatively hard to catch-em-all in the Pokémon games that aren't named X, though. :p

      Especially PMD(2).
      I DID 100% complete Pokémon Conquest, and I'm proud of that.

      Delete
    11. X just... underwhelmed me.
      ...Plus I keep forgetting the name of the game I actually played. I had Y. Not X.

      I don't even remember what team he used. XD But we both remember the day he beat my beloved Pidgeot and I never played Pokémon Stadium with him again. XDDD

      White is the only one I made a decent effort toward completing the Pokedex in. I didn't even come close to 100% completion in Pokémon Conquest, just the main story.

      Delete
    12. I bred my 'mon, though I wouldn't consider myself all that competitive. I just like to be able to beat those noobs who have all legends without using a single one myself. I HATE it when people only have ubers like arceus and black kyrem on their team. They don't even have to train the thing.
      I tried to complete the dex,but I only got about half way. It was mainly to get the shiny charm,but I have 30ish shinies in my game. Stadium was so much fun. :0 I really liked 2. that evee game. X3
      X was a bit disappointing. I do admit that I like the champ's theme,though. not sure if it suits a champion,but I still like it. I remember doing a tagteam battle with a friend having no level restrictions. My partner and I were like 30-40 levels underleveled and one of our opponents had a few legends,like b kyrem. We lost,but my lucario stayed in a long time from using copycat(she even flew).

      Delete
    13. I'm probably the dude who liked Pokémon Conquest the most out of anyone. It has the highest # of hours of any game on my 3DS.

      That's why you kindly ask those noobs not to use ubers as a precondition to battling you. ^.^

      Pokémon Stadium and Pokémon Stadium 2 (primarily 2) were my favourite answers to the question "what is your favourite Pokémon game?" back in the days before the DS came out. Then, y'know, they ruined Pokémon on home consoles forever.

      Flying Lucario is great! Dude already flies in Smash 4... basically.

      OH.
      TO CONNECT THIS TO WHAT THIS ARTICLE IS ABOUT.... UM...

      ...(hold on I have to actually look up X's champion's name)

      DIANTHA. IS SHE... UH... GIVING HOPE TO WOMEN EVERYWHERE THAT THERE CAN BE A FEMALE CHAMPION?

      ...Well there is Cynthia BUT SHE DOESN'T COUNT SINCE ALL OF HER ACCOMPLISHMENTS DON'T MATTER BECAUSE SHE'S A MALE FANTASY or something. We can't have our women look up to an actually SEXY female role model!

      (I don't find Diantha sexy. I also keep confusing her for Diancie.)

      Delete
    14. Let's see, how many hours did I put into Pokemon Conquest..... 31:31. XD
      That's not terrible, 13th overall. Actually more time than I put into my beloved Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright.

      Ruined Pokemon on home consoles? You didn't like Pokemon Colosseum??

      Boo, Cynthia is better... I actually remember her, for one thing. XDDD
      Besides, that argument is invalid--*technically* the Champion can be anyone who defeats the old Champion, so female Champions have been possible since Crystal allowed female protagonists!

      (Though with my defense of Bayonetta and opinions on fanservice, I'm pretty sure you already know what I think about the male-fantasy-whatever argument. XD)

      Delete
    15. I'm guessing my longest played title is new leaf,but it's been a while since I've checked. I got the 500hr badge quite some time ago.

      The thing is, I DID ask him,but he thought it was hilarious. Then again,he also had quite a few hacks too,I think.
      Lullamoon the lucario:flying berfore it was cool. I thought it was a lot funnier when CATHY,the purugly used assist and ended up flying. I kind of wish you could rename pokemon that don't belong to you since my friend didn't know he was a he.
      I've never liked Diantha. She seemed kinda slapped into the game. I haven't heard of a single person that liked her. What will always confuse me is whether Kris and Lyra are the same person or not.
      Cynthia is one of the best champions,which is why it's great she keeps returning.

      I feel kinda bad that I never got conquest,since I'm like a crazy pokemon fangirl.

      Delete
    16. ...Well, first off, I'm PRETTY SURE I haven't gotten 500 hours in any game except Smash Bros. Brawl and Smash Bros. Melee. :o
      (Oh, and the over 1,000 hours in Miiverse if you count that as a game.)
      Conquest and Uprising are at over 200 hours according to 3DS Daily Log, though. ...If I remember correctly. ^_^;

      Colosseum was... um... okay. It had Miror B. and Lady Venus, but...
      ......I would really really really prefer Pokémon Stadium 3.

      I don't remember like... any of the Gen 6 gym leaders or Elite 4 besides Korina. ...That's her name, right? Lucario girl?
      I still prefer Maylene as the Lucario gym leader girl though.

      Conquest has amazing in-game artwork of the Pokémon that appear, and good music. If you're okay with grinding and repetitive tasks, and if you breed in-game you certainly are, then you'll be able to appreciate it.
      You don't need to grind or anything to actually win, but you certainly do to 100% the whole game (complete your Gallery and beat every single Warlord's story). I do not recommend trying to do it all in one place. :p

      Delete
    17. My favorite part of Colosseum was getting Umbreon as a starter, and that it was more story-driven.

      I... don't remember anyone from Gen 6. XD Except Professor Sycamore, of course, because he had a great theme and the same name as a Layton character. And one of the rivals reminded me of Hugh O'Conner.
      ....Wait, is the Team Flare leader the only evil team leader whose name I can't remember? XD

      Delete
    18. Lysandre?

      The Hugh O'Conner-like guy is from BW2, not XY.

      Delete
    19. Mirror b's theme is pretty awesome. :0 I liked collessium/XD more than battle revolution,though stadium is great. Actually, I'd be happy with ANY game that connects to gen VI.
      The only name I can remember off the top of my head is Clemont,and that's partially because he's in the anime( I don't watch it anymore,but serebii posts on it a lot).

      I usually only breed for 5IV's,but I'll have to check conquest out. :0 The sad thing is, I'm actually pretty impatient.

      For some reason, I always forget about Lysandre and his gang.

      Delete
    20. Do you like Miror B.'s Colosseum theme more, or his XD theme?
      www.youtube.com/watch?v=X67YWv5C6qQ
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuhqoZvyntA

      Or... Mirakle B.?
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlhYgVyOBWg

      I'm going to admit that perhaps part of the reason I remember Gen 4 people and like Sinnoh the best is because the Sinnoh saga of the anime was the best. And the gym leaders actually showed up outside their gym battles!

      There are ways to basically speed-hack the grinding in Conquest, and I can tell you how if you ever get it.

      Lysandre's "admins" (the scientists) are completely forgettable.

      Delete
    21. I liked his battle theme from XD. It suited him. Also seeing "XD" constantly typed tricks my eyes into seeing a bunch of emotes.
      I liked the beginning of the sinnoh anime. Sinnoh league victors really dragged.GenIV just had a ton of improvements.

      Maybe. I still wanna play through other things,so it's not high on my priorities as of now.

      They are,unfortunately. It's kinda cool that their lipstick matches their hair,though.

      Delete
    22. XD > Colo > Mirakle

      XD is actually easy listening to. :o

      Well, people were like, "it was a whole year [real time] between Gym 7 and Gym 8 of Sinnoh's anime!"

      Except that year was NOT filled with filler stuff! Sinnoh anime did all sorts of things right, like actual rivals and contests and Pokémon that evolved and that was the time period Galactic had their arc.

      Understood, I wouldn't say Conquest should be a priority thing. It's a good, underrated game, but it's not a critical thing.
      (Unlike, say, Ace Attorney.)

      Not gonna try to claim that lipstick-hair coordination redeems them.

      Delete
  5. XD is pretty good. :0
    That's true, though I never seemed to notice how long it took. Weren't there a ton of events in the game between those two gyms as well? I don't quite remember because it's been a while.

    Since it's on the ds, I'll probably wait until you can get it really cheap( I don't usually buy from gamestop,but pokemon ranger for $10?). It's crazy that some games are so unwanted that they're under a dollar!

    I wasn't implying that. It hardly matters,but I was *trying* to find something at least partially redeeming?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Actually, these games are getting *more expensive* as time goes on, according to Ms. Samantha's searching. (Unless you're a-okay with getting used.)

      As in, PMD is going for like $80 or something new.

      ...Even some games are ridiculously expensive used, though.

      http://www.amazon.com/Fire-Emblem-Path-Radiance-Gamecube/dp/B000AOEU2K

      $90 used, $155 new.
      SOME games go crazy cheap, but Nintendo games do not. They retain their value.

      ...Then there is this from Gamestop where used is more expensive than new:
      http://koopatv.blogspot.com/2013/05/gamestop-and-xenoblade.html

      Delete
    2. I don't really mind getting used games. That's why I like having physical copies,though. you can lend them or trade with friends. :)
      Ugh, Amazon can have so crazy prices. Going to used game stores is usually one's best bet. Gamestop charges like 50 bucks JUST for a cartridge or soulsilver. When they had gba games,they would be pretty expensive too. I was able to get a copy of leafgreen online for about 20 bucks and it had all the original stuff,from the box to the manuel.

      Delete
    3. Yeah, too bad we don't get manuals anymore.

      Hey, I'm obligated to think Amazon is great. >.>;
      Got dat Smash 4 copy early. :)

      When GameStop has that row of "please help us get rid of these" GBA/DS cartridges (I think they got rid of the GBA ones by now) behind the glass desk, they're totally not $50!

      Delete
    4. For amazon, it depends. It's like ebay. You can get good stuff for good prices,but you can also get scammed. I've seen LOTS of bootleg pokemon plush on both sites.

      They got rid of GBA quite a while ago. They'd give you like a quarter in credit for another game and then charge 30 bucks for it. I understand they need to make money,but why get a used game if it's no more than 2 dollars cheaper?

      Delete
    5. Perhaps GameStop managers have imperfect information.

      Delete
    6. maybe. you're better off selling them yourself either way.

      Delete
    7. Definitely.
      I very much regret selling my N64 games to GameStop for like less than a dollar each.

      Delete
    8. That's terrible. D:
      I used to reserve pokemon games there because they gave out cool stuff,but now they don't even do that anymore.
      That reminds me of how hard it was to find the original smash. It ended up costing 40bucks,but it was so worth it.

      Delete
    9. And now you can get it for $10 any time on the Wii Shop Channel. :p

      We had a Madden game for some reason on the N64 and that was the only game that got sold for over a dollar.

      Delete
    10. Eh,but can your great great grandchildren sell it in the future for a ton of dough?
      It's also bragging rights,though. ;)
      When I go to stores with n64 games, they're always the same few with a TON of copies.
      Someday I want to either get a japanese 64 or mod a cartridge so I can play dobutsu no mori. I know it's nearly identical to the gamecube version,but still.

      Delete
    11. ...I dunno, can they? That's too forward-looking!

      I don't know of stores with N64 games, so meh.
      Japanese Animal Crossing without being fluent in Japanese?

      Delete
    12. Maybe. I mean,think about it. If it's old, unavailable,a and everyone wants it...low supply high demand.

      Delete
    13. ...that "everyone wants it" bit is... presumptuous.

      Delete
    14. Okay, I didn't literally mean everyone; it was an exaggeration. It's just pretty sought after and influential(I gotta stop responding at 6am).

      Delete
    15. Yeah, the game.

      Not the physical cartridge. That's for niche collectors.

      Delete
    16. What if they discontinue distributions/don't make it available on future consoles? you can't sell a digital game,and it's unlikely you'll be able to. Not everyone is going to homebrew.

      Delete
    17. Well, they made the Wii's VC backwards-compatible with the Wii U, and it doesn't make sense at all for Nintendo to sit on a giant catalog of previous games and not monetise that constantly.

      Delete
  6. Yes, Lysandre, thank you!

    I was thinking of the X/Y rival, Calem. ...who apparently is also the male protagonist, so you probably didn't get him as a rival in your game, thank you wiki.

    I still need to play XD. I have it, but I haven't played it yet.

    Team Flare was one of the biggest disappointments for me in Pokemon X/Y. To me, the one redeeming thing about them is their name's double-meaning of flare and flair, but everything else... meh. I couldn't take them seriously in those ridiculous outfits, and as far as their plans are concerned, I couldn't help but see them as rehashes of Cyrus/Team Galactic.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ...The dude's name is Calem? >_>;

      Flare might've been the worst villainous team eveeer.

      Delete
    2. Yes, and his hair & clothes reminded me of Hugh.

      Yes! Flare was terrible!
      Especially after Team Plasma.... XD

      Delete
    3. But the BW2 rival is literally NAMED Hugh.

      Delete
    4. I always forget that. I named my rival Huggy as a joke,but now I think that's his actual name. >.<
      Calem was alright. He kinda reminded me of Brendan,but less memorable.

      Delete
    5. Huh, I forgot all about that... probably because if they let you rename him, I renamed him. Mine was Wesker or Saren. XDDDD

      Delete
    6. www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsCHULTqsOI

      Seems like Hugh to me.

      Delete
    7. It was Hugh. I wish you could rename them,though. I used to name them off my friends at one point as well. XD

      Delete
    8. Wait, you can or can't rename them?

      Y'all givin' contradictory info.

      Delete
    9. I'm pretty sure that once you name them, you can't change it. You get the option early in the game,but it's a lot like naming your trainer.

      Delete
    10. Oh, yeah, you can't just rename other human beings.
      Who gave you the right to do that? Why stop at changing their name? Why not just take their Pokémon too?

      Delete
    11. Because...that would be like pokemon Colessium/XD.
      We aren't team snagem,ya know(though that would be cool).

      Delete
    12. IF YOU CAN CHANGE THEIR NAME YOU OWN THEM.

      Delete
    13. Owning pixel men......SEEMS LEGIT TO ME!

      Delete
    14. In Wild Arms 3, there's an item that lets you change the name of any NPC if you feel like it.

      Delete
    15. That's a bit concerning... ._.;

      Delete

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