Game Mechanics that bothers others but doesn't bother me/Game Mechanics that bothers me

Throughout the ages of gaming, we come across game mechanics that helps us out big time but there are other times when some game mechanics have caused difficulties and frustration that can get in the way of fun (known as Scrappy Mechanic). However, there are a few that I’ve find that they’re not as bad as most other people would say whenever I find them manageable, worth the ‘trouble’ or if they don’t bother me at all. Here are a few game mechanics that bothers most people but doesn’t bother me:

Game Mechanics that bother others but doesn't bother me: 

Snow routes in Pokemon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum (Route 216 and Route 217)

As a heads up, I’ll be mentioning a lot of gaming mechanics from Pokemon with me playing Pokemon over the years. Anyway, there has been a fair amount of people who disliked the snow routes in the Sinnoh games as you can get stuck in the deep snow, requiring you to move slowly until get out of it. I personally don’t find it a problem for me. I guess I have the patience to keep on moving in the snow slowly just like in real life. You just keep on moving until you’re out of the snow, marvelling at the beautiful pixel snow graphics  and onto the next route as Elsa would have said “The cold doesn’t bother me anyway”.

Fire Emblem Heroes Summoning

Fire Emblem Heroes has been my top mobile game, getting me into the franchise. One of its main features is to summon characters from the franchise at a cost of certain orbs. As it’s set in a gatcha game style (which is popular in Japan but disliked in the West), you won’t know who you’ll get. You could end up getting a character you already got multiple times or missed out getting the one you wanted. I understand the frustration but I try not to let it get to me. Since after all, there is still a chance for you to get the character you wanted in another summoning session or when you’re least suspect it. Even if I didn’t get the desired character, I try to use this as an advantage by using the ones I’ve got to inherit skills, use for features or merge. That way, you can still make use of them (especially if you need a certain skill for a certain character or grind for features to upgrade characters to a five star) as shown in this chart below:

Plus to an extent, this does add the thrill of getting your most wanted character and to keep you going. Even so, I have plenty of Five Star characters that I’ve obtained (and wanted) to make use of including Ike, Reinhardt, Sigurd, Julia, Hector, Kaden, Ryoma, Miciah and Sothe on the day when they're first released, Laegjarn and Laevatein on the last day of their debut banner, Ishtar with three orbs remaining during her debut banner, all three of the Winter 2018 Heroes and all of the first Brave Heroes.

 Tripping – Super Smash Bros Brawl

There’s this occasional mechanic in Super Smash Bros Brawl where a character randomly slips over and trips. A lot of people have given this a flax, getting in the way of their victory and strategy. I guess I understand where they’re coming from but it’s only a rare, occasional mishap that’s to me not too much of a big deal as you just get right back up afterwards and carry on the fight. Sakurai have probably added it for the humour and fun. Whilst I get that there are various competitive competitions, Super Smash Bros is a series that is meant to be for fun and not to be taken too seriously.

Kind and Laid Back Miis – Miitopia

Miitopia is a quirky RPG game where you use Miis as characters. There are several personalities to choose from that effects the battle in various ways. The Kind and Laid Back personalities are often considered the worst personalities due to a number of things. I’ll go over them both.

I do like the kind personality as it makes the Miis...well kind and I do like kind hearted characters. I do get that they have only a handful of quirks with two of them similar to Mii’s friendships level quirks but I say it’s not a half bad thing (as I would argue that it would spare the Miis from being at a certain friendship level with the Cover quirk has been useful for training lower level Miis that do not have a certain friendship level for the sacrifice). The other quirk that is, for some considered a hindrance is the Spare trait which allows the kind Mii to spare the monster for it to flee. The trade off is that you won’t gain any exp or food which is something that I didn’t actually noticed until I’ve looked it up. There’s also a chance for this to fail which can cause resentment. I can understand where this is coming from though there is one instance when my Mii used this on a Fiend which is an overpowered enemy so least it came in some use as seen below:

You can get around this by using it on a class that is reliant on special moves including Mages as shown above.

I do get that for some reason, there are no overworld quirks for the kind Mii. I would have come up with a couple including giving them priority to pick up a fallen Mii and to have instant apology if they were in a fight (after the tension event). Kind Mii also have traits that involves raising relationships so they do have some use.  

The other disliked personally is Laid Back with two of their quirks having a chance to causes resentment (by using another Mii to shield themselves or steal a food) and one of their quirk involved conserving their MPs in exchange for their effect and power. I understand that those quirks can be a pain for many but I find that those quirks are rare at best which can cause some comical moments at times and not to be taken seriously (like one time when one of my Laid Back Mii have stolen a HP Banana from this Mii soon after they have stolen it from an enemy). They do have some useful quirks including boosting their power or effects (which I find that it’s their most commonly activated quirk) or become immune to status moves.

So there maybe some personalities that are more useful than others, I choose the Mii’s personality based on what suits them best (depending on the Mii I’ve based them from), rather than just choose the best personality since after all, there wouldn’t be as much uniqueness. My Mii would personally be best suited for a kind (as I try to be kind to others since we do need more kindness in the world) or cool (I do agree that it’s the best) personality whereas a cautious (which I say that their best quirk ‘Warm up’  isn’t  useful for a frail Mii and can cause a momentum lost when you really need to use that Mii for tough battles as well as annoyingly being activated too often) or a stubborn personality (which only have a handful of traits at best) would not. Same goes for some class.

Whilst I say those two personalities doesn’t deserve the hate they get, they could have some buffs and improvements for a sequel. The kind personality could have more quirks including healing their allies and say a compliment to an enemy to cause them to miss a turn. For their spare trait, they could have gained twice as much experience and money and the food given for free upon sparing the enemy and should it fail, the kind Mii could become angry instead for some more use and amusement. As for the Laid Back Mii, I would remove one of their traits that cause resentment and add some new ones including using a turn to eat a snack while doubling its effects or randomly fall asleep to heal and gets angry when they are woken up by an enemy.

 Friend Safari – Pokemon X and Y

The Friend Safari is a facility that is unlocked after beating the Elite Four where you can find rare Pokemon depending on the type of your friend’s safari. I understand that getting the safari you want can involve a lot of hassle including the type set randomly and requiring you and your friend to be online at the same time for the third Pokemon to appear. But what it does have to offer is Pokemon with Hidden Abilities and some perfect IVs, many of which have been useful for breeding competitive Pokemon including Protein Frogadier, Speed Boost Whirlipede and Gale Wings Flecthinder as well as those that weren’t really obtainable from Black and White (for Westerns at least) including the Kanto starters and Lightingrod Pikachu. There’s also this Pokemon Reddit where you can offer and request Friend Safari which is a way to get the Friend Safari you want, making it one of the rare occasions where I go on Reddit. So Friend Safaris can be troublesome yes but it’s worth it.

Friend Codes

Friend Codes are often loathed by many with it having to add your friends to play with on your Nintendo consoles by adding their codes each time. But to be fair, I don’t have a problem with Friend Codes. I guess it’s something to do with being brought up with them from the start and most of the games I’ve played that have online features are Nintendo games including Pokemon Diamond, Super Smash Bros Brawl, Mario Kart Wii and Animal Crossing Let’s go to the City which are among the first online Nintendo games. So I guess I’m used to adding and sharing Friend Codes. At least as of the 3DS days, you now only have one Friend Code for every game which makes it more manageable.

On contrast, there are some game mechanics that bothered me so I’ll be listing them here; some 

which are either based on my own personal experience or are shared by the majority of other players.

Game Mechanics that bothers me

No save – Spelunky

Spelunky is an indie explorer game where you have to explore underground tunnels, collecting as many treasure as possible while avoiding traps. Unfortunately, I find the game frustrating to play as once you get killed; you have to start all over again without going back to the level where you’re left off. I was put off with the fact that you can’t save to where you were up to and having to start all over again. If that wasn’t bad enough, then there are many traps and enemies that are difficult to face including some that can instantly kill you. You can also save a dame or a damsel but with all the difficult traps and enemies, I find rescuing them more annoying. I do respect the fact that the difficulties is part of the appeal though I would like the game to have a beginner friendly option (just like on how Fire Emblem have Casual mode) with the ability to get back to the dungeon you were up to.

World 4 Time and Place Movement  - Braid

It’s more of the case of ‘that one level’ but the mechanics in World 4 for Braid involves time flowing at the opposite direction of Tim’s movements (the character you play as) so as a result, objects and enemies will either move towards you or reversed. I remembered that I’ve find the mechanic for those levels one of the most frustrating and not fun as the objects keeps on getting in the way when trying to solve a puzzle, causing you to ‘die’ multiple times. The mechanics are also too fiddly to navigate the levels for their own good. Least the ending for World 4 was the one good thing that came out of it as the Greeter tries to talk to you but due to the time flowing is still taking affect, it looks like as if Tim is moving away from him.

Energy Prices – Spiral Knights

I remembered playing Spiral Knights back in the days, alone or with my friends. I had some fun exploring worlds and fighting enemies though it had a couple of mechanics that prevented me from fully enjoying the game. Whilst my memory is now slightly rusted at best, one of which I remembered was the amount of energy that is needed to advance to the next level. Whilst I understand that it would help the developers to get by, it limits the amount of progress I would do for my play through without having the amount of crown prices I needed or by using real money. I’ve heard that Spiral Knights have undergo many changes since I’ve last played it including the removal of Mist Energy which would help to solve one of the problems I had while playing Spiral Knights if I ever get back playing it.

Safari Zone – Pokemon Red/Blue – Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver

Back in the day, I did like the Safari Zone with the amount of rare Pokemon you can find.  That said, I can see the frustrations that many people have including from my experience. What you have to do is to capture the Pokemon without battling them but to just use Safari Balls and pick either a rock/mud or food based items which would help you to capture the Pokemon. The trouble is, it’s entirely based on luck so you won’t know if they are actually working or if the Pokemon will run away which is again very frustrating especially if it’s a rare Pokemon you want to capture (and if it’s a  shiny). If that wasn’t bad enough, then it has a step limit which adds more frustration. I probably wouldn’t have the patience at this day and age to find and catch Pokemon I needed to breed for competitive battling.   In addition, I’ve heard in Pokemon Heart Gold and Soul Silver that you have the ability to customize the environment to alter what Pokemon can appear. Some of which including Riolu and Gible takes as long as 200 days to appear! It seems that Game Freak have caught on with the Safari Zone hate, removing them or replacing them in later games. As much as the Safari Zone does sound fun, I can live without it.

Roaming Pokemon – Pokemon Gold/Silver – Heart Gold/Soul Silver

"You know something is dreadfully wrong with this mechanic when it takes this long JUST TO CATCH ONE OF THEM!"-  Chuggaaconroy

Roaming Pokemon is probably one of the most, if not the most frustrating mechanics in Pokemon. What it is that you’ll randomly find legendary Pokemon in the wild and will flee as you as you start to battle them. Then you have to go through all the pain to track them down from area to area just to capture them. The only way to stop them from fleeing is to use trapping moves which only a few Pokemon can do at best and have to remain in battle. The real kicker is when you do capture them, you can only get their set natures and IVs as soon as they start running so you can’t soft reset to get the one you wanted so you could end up with a useless one after all that. Not to mention various other trouble including some of them having roar which force you to flee (and preventing you from encountering them again for good in Fire Red and Leaf Green) and a glitch in the third generation games barring Emerald where they have bad IVs. So I’m glad that Game Freak has removed this for good or has butchered it, making it the game mechanic not to be missed.

Lack of abilities/held items/removal of some moves – Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu/Let’s go Eevee

I was overall lukewarm with Pokemon Let’s go Pikachu and Eevee. Sure, your companion Pokemon is nice and all while some of the mechanics based on Pokemon Go are clever, others not so much. But asides that it’s only limited to Kanto Pokemon, I was mostly turned off with the fact that they have removed abilities and held items in the games, butchering strategy.  Lack of abilities several Pokemon not as special or powerful including Alakazam and Clefable without Magic Guard, Cloyster without Skill Link, Dragonite without Multi Scale, Gyarados or Arcanine without Intimidate and Mega Kangaskhan without Parental Bond. Without held items, offensive Pokemon would miss the power boost from Life Orb, Choice Specs and Choice Band, defensive Pokemon would have a lesser longevity without Leftovers (especially if they lack a recovery move) and some Pokemon wouldn’t be able to revenge kill without a Choice Scarf. I was also not happy with several good moves being removed including Close Combat, Focus Blast, Stone Edge, Brave Bird and Hurricane (Fighting and Flying types have especially got the short end of the stick when it comes to high based power moves). They’re the reasons why I would rather stick with Pokemon Ultra Moon or wait for Pokemon Sword and Shield for the true Pokemon experience.

Sick Miis – Miitopia

The most annoying mechanic in Miitopia is when a Mii randomly gets sick (up to three at a time), making them unable to take part in any battles or relationship events until they get better. The only way to cure the Mii is to gain a large amount of EXP (for the next level) which is a pain, especially since the only way to quickly grind for EXP is to go to this area before the final boss for the rare snurps which is unreliable at best (with it being random and they have a chance to flee). The only other way is for a Mii to check up on them which is random at best. I wonder how the developers have thought of the idea as it really gets in the way of my adventure. For the sequel, I would either remove it entirely or make it an optional side quest where you have to find a cure and the sick Mii would gain a level with boosted stat growths upon being cured.

Miis asking for taken Miis – TomoDachi Life

The Mii on the left has already been taken yet three guys have the same
feelings for her! 

I’ve enjoyed TomoDachi Life but it does have a couple of flawed game mechanics. Here’s one of them. You sometimes find Miis developing feelings for other Miis and you have the choice of helping them out or denying the relationship. Whilst it’s good when it’s successful, there’s a chance that there’s another Mii who can develop feelings for the same Mii that has been taken. I find it annoying that the game makes them do this out of ignorance. If you do happen to make them go for it and the taken Mii accepted them, then this would be cheating like in real life which is not right. This can only be put to a stop when the couples are married but there is no quicker way to get them to marry so I have to go through all the annoyance to prevent the Mii from asking out the taken Mii and to spend time cheering them up just for this. Hopefully, the sequel will remove this mechanic and give us the choice to speed up their relationship (as well as giving us a choice to pair up Miis while we’re at it).

No same-sex marriage – TomoDachi Life

The other game mechanic that bothered me for TomoDachi Life is the lack of same sex marriage option, meaning that LGBTQ+ based Miis would have to be in a straight relationship or to miss out being in a relationship and I happen to have several Miis that are LGBTQ+ based characters, people or friends including myself. The only way to get around this is to set the Mii to the opposite gender for the Mii at their ‘same gender’ to fall for them which may work for some but it’s not the same as it’s only really seeing that Mii as another gender. Even so, we LGBTQ+ community deserve better as we fight to have the same recognition and the same rights as straight people over the years. For me to be denied with that option would deny my sexuality (especially if I would like my Mii to be married with a Mii based on my boyfriend or husband).  Also by allowing same sex relationships, this would help to teach younger audience that same sex relationship is ok (potentially recognising themselves as LGBTQ+). In the light of this, Nintendo have made an apology and strive to include it for future instalments and I can only hope that they’ll be true to their word for games like TomoDachi Life to be enjoyed by everyone.

To round off this article, I just wanted to bring up this honourable mention; The Battle Points for Pokemon games.

You either loved the Battle Frontier (and similar facilities for the Battle Tower) for an extra challenge or loathed it for the annoyance. For me, there were some great facilities including Battle Hall and Battle Dome and not so great facilities including Battle Factory (as I dislike the rental Pokemon comparing to my own) and Battle Palace. The main problem is the Battle Points you get after winning a seven streak of battles which is slow to grind for and very frustrating if you lost one battle. Heart Gold and Soul Silver were the most atrocious with so many items, TMs and Move Tutor moves to grind for which are expensive and time consuming.

Thankfully, later games have made this more manageable since X and Y as you can now earn Battle Points after beating each trainer and the option to take a break as well as making Move Tutor Moves more cheaper as of Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, not to mention providing other ways to get Battle Points including the Mantine Jump in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon or saving them up from Pokemon Bank (which now becomes my main source of Battle Points).

I would however improve this further by having the ability to continue after you lose (by using the perfect point system from Pokemon Stadium, Colosseum, XD and Battle Revolution) which would be especially useful if you're aiming for the boss trainer as losing one battle would force you to start over, making it frustrating. 

As for the removal of the Battle Frontier (barring the Battle Tower based ones), it depends on how feel about the Battle Frontier yourself. I do appreciate and enjoy the wide variety of (mostly) interesting challenges but I can live without them providing that I can still earn Battle Points easily as mentioned above (and have other things to focus on in Pokemon). Whatever the 8^th gen games will have to offer regarding to this is remained to be seen, least for this time of writing.

Characters that are hated by everyone but I like/Characters that are liked by everyone but I'm not a huge fan on them/Hated characters that I agree with

In every form of fiction, there are a lot of characters we love or hate and I myself have a lot of characters that I’m a fan of, some of which are well liked by others too. However, I’ve noticed that there are a few characters that are disliked by many others (referring them as The Scrappy, one of the few TV Tropes that I’m against with very few exceptions) or at best, divisive (otherwise known as Base Breaking characters with some people like them while others don’t). So I thought it would be interesting for me to discuss the characters that a lot of people seems to hate yet I like or at least find them ok. Please note that there maybe some spoilers.

Characters that everyone hates but I like (or at least find them ok)

Jar Jar Binks – Star Wars

Jar Jar Binks is the text book example of this with him being my favourite Star Wars character ever since I’ve watched The Phantom Meance since my childhood, finding him an amusing character with his clumsiness, making him the sole reason why I like Star Wars. Yet much to my dismay, I’m aware of the hate he gets with many others referring him as an annoying comic relief character and accusing him as a racist (which I’m sure it would not be the intention). 

Worst still, I’ve found out that his portrayal Ahmed Best have received so much hate that he have once considered committed suicide. Whilst it’s a good thing that he is still alive, it upsets and angers me to hear it, reminding me on how vile some fanbase/vocal minority can be. You can dislike the character but their portrayal should not receive hate because of it. The fact that his dislike is also shown in other Star Wars related media including The Clones Wars with other characters also hating him (which is why I’m against watching that show even if they did help to improve his character but it doesn’t change the fact that they were ok with the fandom hating Jar Jar even if Ahmed wasn’t directly involved) really puts more salt in the wound.

In the light of this, there were some comments regarding to Ahmed’s suicide attempts about how sorry they heard about this, saying that they have always liked Jar Jar (and a few who did hated him have apologised to him), showing that he does have fans along with showing Ahmed their support. No matter what anyone says, I will always like Jar Jar.

Patroklos – Soul Calibur V

The Soul Calibur series have introduced wide variety of characters and Patroklos is one of the most diversive, if not hated due to his jerkass attitude and his actions in his story line. I can understand that he is not the kind of character who is likeable but to me, having an actual story in a Soul Calibur game was an interesting direction for the series to take at the time and being the main focus, Patroklos have contributed to this (even at the cost of other characters).

I’m aware that he has been rude, arrogant and ungrateful to most of the characters for the first half of the story but all he wanted is to be reunited with his sister Pyrrha who he cares about which is his redeeming quality (and maybe I didn’t take him rudeness to Z.W.E.L or Viola seriously). Not to mention the fact that before reuniting with Pyrrha, he have killed innocents who thought to be Malfested but least he did realised this as revealed by Duma who’s been manipulating him.

I’m also aware that he later on abandoned Pyrrha in grief when she revealed her Malfested side while trying to protect her and later but I would put the blame to Tira who was the one who kidnapped Pyrrha, making her a Malfested and have probably set this up to tear them apart. What have probably made him even more hated is when he killed her but that was when he realised the errors of his ways and resolve to set it right. Likewise, I would pin the blame on Elysium who manipulated him into this.

I am not saying that I’m letting him off the hook that easily. Maybe he could have been written better but I say that he doesn’t deserve all the hate he gets plus his character development as Alpha Patroklos during the second half of the story was enough to redeem him in my eyes (as late it have taken place), especially during the last parts of the story from his resolve to make amends with Pyrrha to his confrontation with Elysium, showing how far he have become. I hope that he does make a return in a future Soul Calibur instalment with his jerkass behaviour toned down and focusing on making amends to give him another chance (maybe in a similar way as Haseo from .Hack Gu who is similar to Patroklos in a couple of ways and happened to share the same voice actor).

“We've made so many mistakes, and we must make amends for the rest of our lives.”

On a similar subject, the other Soul Calibur character I liked but is apparently unpopular is Yun-Seong due to his idiocy and replacing Hwang but he is one of the characters who I’ve started off with on Soul Calibur 2 (which was my first Soul Calibur game). He does have some good intentions involving protecting his home land and often involved in comical situations.

Korekiyo Shinguji – Danganronpa V3

As a heads up that there’s going to be other Danganronpa characters mentioned for each parts of this article. Anyway, Korekiyo has always been an interesting Danganronpa character to me even if he has become hated by others. Of course, I do not condone his actions including killing two other characters and his incestuous relationship with his sister but even so, I can’t find myself disliking the character with his calm yet twisted personality that makes him an entertaining character in a dark twisted way. His campy voice provided by Todd Haberkorn has helped with that. Even with his actions, I still find him an interesting character in a love to hate kind of way.

Clippit

For those who have used Microsoft Office Windows from version 97 to 2003 will remember the Office Assistant Clippit (and others). A lot of people have found him annoying, pestering them for random tips. I actually don't really mind having Clippit to keep me company while I use Word. He makes the tips interesting to read as if he's saying them and I liked his animation as he moves, making Microsoft Word alive. Guess I've taken him for granted as it wasn't until later on when I've found out that he's been removed for later versions and disliked by many including for needless to say his creators. Whilst I can manage without him, I can't help but to miss him every now and then and to feel sorry for the flax he gets.

On the base breaking side:

Anakin Skywalker – Star Wars

Anakin Skywalker is the other Star Wars I liked who also received a lot of flak. Actually, it’s the Hayden Christensen portrayal that I liked, admittedly due to finding him hot and attractive. That aside, a lot of fans have said that they disliked his portrayal that made Anakin a Wangst (though it has been suggested that it's to do with the script). In all fairness, whilst I’m the kind of the guy who normally dislikes characters who complains a lot, it’s the kind of characterisation I would expect or at least more used to for Anakin with him struggling against the Dark Side (and I would blame Palpatine for his actions involving Revenge of the Sith as he was the one who lured him into the dark side). Plus to me, it makes sense for this characteration as Anakin have gone through a lot of hardships that would have taken a toll on his mentality including being raised as a slave, being separated from his Mother and trying to protect his wife (while often hiding his emotions a lot, something that a lot of men tends to do which is rather unhealthy) and Hayden was the right kind of actor to play this version of Anakin as explained in this video I’ve found below:

I suppose I would have to give credit for the aforementioned The Clone Wars for making him more likeable and heroic to many with Matt Lenter’s portrayal (even to admittedly my jealously for that reason). On the flipside, at least Hayden does have fans with fans cheering for him during the 2017 StarWars Celebration and still a huge fan of Star Wars even after all the hate, something of which I'm glad that he's able to handle it himself as shown when given advice to KellyMarie Tran who also have to deal with the vocal minority.

Lisa Simpson – The Simpsons

You either loved Lisa Simpson or consider her as a base breaking character which would vary depending on which season of The Simpsons you are watching or which country you are from (including Japan and Europe as she is apparently more popular there than in America). For me, I have always liked Lisa for her intelligence that sets her apart as the only sane character comparing to mostly other idiotic characters. As someone who cares about the environment, I do find that she does make a lot of valid points that you can’t take a blind eye to. I guess I am aware that she can be preachy and self- centered in some episodes but you would have to understand that she is often an outcast with only a few who are supportive to her in regards to her beliefs and interests. Maybe it could be the reason for her to fight for her causes to a fault. She does have some good intentions and I often find myself rooting for her or sympathies for her whenever she’s going through a lot of hardships and trauma, making her among my top Simpson character any day.

Perfect Peter - Horrid Henry

Whenever you feel sorry for Peter or find him annoying would vary from person to person. I'm often in the former group. Whilst he maybe bratty at times, I do admire on how he tries to be good and finds his tattle-telling on Horrid Henry justified for the abuse he have to put up with. It's sometimes satisfying to see how he's able to stand up for him at times, especially for when he gets the main focus during his stories.

Brian Griffin - Family Guy

A lot of Family Guy characters tends to be divisive (as with the show itself though I'm more of a casual Family Guy fan, only watching the show on the occasion for some guilty pleasure) and Brian tends to be one the most notable one as you either love him or hate him. I tend to like Brian as the only sane character in the series and one of the most developed one as well as his interactions and bromance with Stewie. I'm aware that has been more dislikeable in some seasons with his jerkass and preachy behaviour though I say he's no different or worse than other Family Guy characters. And of course, I was one of the many who is shocked by his death but thankfully, it's only for a fairy brief amount of time as Stewie went back in time to save him (though looking back, I wondered if the creators have purposely written his death-reborn arc for the reactions as suggested by the responses). Regardless, it's good that Brian is here to stay and whenever I watch Family Guy often or not, he would be the character that I would often root for. 

Pokemon Anime Characters

The Pokemon Anime has introduced a lot of characters that are either well liked, not so well liked or somewhere in between. I personally liked a couple of them and there isn’t one who I outright dislike. Here are some who happens to stand out:

I’ve always admired Ash Ketchem as a trainer who strives to be the very best like no one ever was even if a lot of fans find his characterisation inconsistent at times. He may act foolish at times but I find that those times are meant to be for fun and amusement and not to be taken seriously. What I admire about Ash is not the amount of battles he wins but for his compassion towards his Pokemon and friends and how he often comes up with amazing strategies that he comes up with to turn the tide of the battle. Whenever he wins the league or not, I’ll always be rooting for him.

Team Rocket have always been entertaining to me as comic relief villains yet have at times sympatric moments (especially ones involving James) that makes them third dimensional. I however disliked their portrayal during the Unova season as they become generic serious villains which ruined their characterization (and there weren’t any episodes that focus on their redeeming moments or backstory). Actually looking back, I can understand what the writers were trying to aim for by taking a different direction. But I guess they were the wrong kind of characters to do so (and maybe it would be better left to original villains). At least they became balanced out as of the Kalos seasons.  

Some may consider Max as the annoying younger brother to May but I find him alright plus when he does have episodes focused on him, I’ve been rooting for him including ‘Do I hear a Ralts?’ which was one of the best episodes in the Hoenn season, ‘Maxed out’ which was on the funniest in the series and the movie Jirachi Wishmaker.

Likewise, some find Iris’ habit of referring Ash as a kid annoying but I find it amusing or at least tolerable. She does have some redeeming traits and a decent backstory to balance her.

Some weren’t keen on how Lillie was different from her gaming counterpart but I say that it’s good that she differs from the games with her well written backstory as the darker aspects of the Aloha seasons that makes her one of the most tragic companions. She have also given a flak for her treatment to her mother Lusamine who is nicer though some of these moments are meant to played for laughs plus I would understand her resentment for Lusamine not being there for her when she was attacked by Nihilego plus her being cruel to be kind was able to rescue her from Nihilego’s control. Some also find her English Dub voice acting odd for her but I say it suits her as someone who is mature and elegant with a mysterious past.

There were a lot of blacklash with Alain winning the Kalos league against Ash but I say that it actually fits in with the story with Alain realising that he has been used by Lysandre which makes it harder for him to deal with whereas Ash’s victory would have been taken away by the entire incident. Even so, I liked on how the writers took a different direction for Alain involving the Mega Evolution arc (even if he wasn’t as likable from the start but I did felt sorry for him later on) along with his interaction with Ash (with the battle awesome in its own right).

Cameron is considered idiotic (least in America apparently) but that what makes him amusing to watch plus it was a refreshing take to introduce another rival after Trip’s development even if he appeared late in the series. Even with his antics, you got to admit that he can be a competent trainer as shown for his gym battle and his league battle with Ash (yes I know it have costed Ash but it was an enjoyable battle for both sides).

Virgil is the ensemble dark horse in Japan while he’s unpopular in America. For me, I like Virgil as an Eeveelution trainer and liked the episode he was introduced in. I do agree that I would like more episodes involving him including his league battle against Ash or Cameron.

Dawn’s Piplup is often considered a brat but I find his antics amusing or tolerable. Either way, you got to admit that he have made some contributions in regards to Dawn’s contest performance including the Wallace Cup where he single handily won.

The Mewtwo in the Genesect movie had a mostly lukewarm reaction for not being the same Mewtwo as the first movie and having a feminine voice but I don’t mind this change. I did liked Miriam Pultro’s portrayal, especially near the end when it reasoned with the Red Genesect on how the world is beautiful even for them. Other movie based Pokemon that I was fine with but were disliked by Western fans includes Shaymin and Manaphy.

Misty’s Togepi is so cute.

And Ash’s Pikachu needs no explanation as he is, well Pokemon’s mascot afterall.

Sonic Characters

Likewise, Sonic The Hedgehog have introduced a lot of characters with fans accusing them for contributing to problem with the series. For me, I’ve always find them an interesting bunch with none of them I find myself disliking and find it empty with some recent games giving them less focus, making it refreshing for some of their involvement in Sonic Forces after being on the sidelines for a while.

I’ve always liked Sonic for his cool, brash personality with a heart of gold, making him my kind of hero. There are some who gives him a flak for seemingly handling his captive in Sonic Forces well. But this is the Sonic we’re talking about. Maybe he could be masking his feelings but I would give him praise for having a nerve of steel.

Shadow has been an interesting character with a tragic backstory. I understand that his self titled game was flawed but it was an interesting way to expand his character arc and backstory (along with the multiple paths that affected his story).

Silver is a personal favourite of mine who have an interesting plot and characterisation. He may act hostile to others at times but maybe it’s something to do with his insecurity regarding to saving his future. Regardless, he’s still my personal favourite Sonic character along with Team Chaotix with his unique traits.

Some may find Amy’s crush on Sonic annoying but least she is capable of fighting back.

I like Big for his gentle, good hearted personality though he has apparently gained more popularity over the years.

On contrast for the next part of this article, I’ve also noticed that there are a fair number of characters that everyone seems to like yet I find myself not being a huge fan of them so I’ll talk about the ones that stand out. Note that it is not my intention to bash them or those who like them as I don’t outright dislike them, for most part.

Characters that everyone likes but I’m not a huge fan of them

Ivy – Soul Calibur

A lot fans love Ivy for her design giving them sex appeal. For me, I don’t mind her as a character with her sympatric back story yet I’m one of those who’s not into revealing female designs. I find that her revealing outfit rather off, out staying its welcome and would rather focus on her character though with her sex appeal, I guess I have to respect that fact that it’ll be here to stay.

The other Soul Calibur who's popular for the fan service is Taki. I can't say that I find her personality as memorable or interesting comparing to most other characters.  

Another character who is well liked with a similar concept is Poison from Final Fight/Street Fighter series yet I find her more obnoxious and annoying.

Gary Oak – Pokemon

Now I have mentioned about characters from the Pokemon Anime before on how I generally liked most of them including those that are unpopular or divisive. But here’s a character who is well liked by most of the fandom but I’m not as keen on; Gary Oak. He is Ash’s original rival who gets the appeal with his trolling. But I prefer most other rival based characters including Gladion, Alain, Stephan, Virgil, Cameron and Sawyer with most of them having more screen time or for some cases, more character development. As for Gary, we didn’t even get to see his full Pokemon battle until Ash’s eighth badge and had very few appearances during the early season. So all he did was brag about his accomplishments without doing as much during his few appearances and developed late in the series. Still, least he had more appearances during the Johto Sega where he was more nicer to Ash (and helps him for some of the Sinnoh Sega) along with his backstory involving how they meet have explained which made their final showdown worthwhile. But I still say that he’s overrated at best with me again preferring most other rivals.

On a slightly similar subject, I’m surprised to hear on how other jerkass rivals including Harley, Burgundy, Georgia, Ursula and even Paul are popular by the fandom.

Waluigi – Super Mario

I actually used to hate Waluigi a lot as I’ve find him obnoxious and annoying but over time,  my hate for him have been toned down a bit, just finding him ok. It might have something to do with the Scrappy Trope that I’m usually against. But even so, you don’t find me demanding Waluigi to be added to Super Smash Bros Ultimate having already accepted him as an assist trophy character (as I remembered from the first Smash Ultimate conference if I remembered right). I’m willing to bet that he would be included for the next Smash Bros game with all of these demands but until then, I prefer to request for other characters or stick with the ones we have.

Frank Grimes – The Simpsons

I’ve his episode appearance ‘Homer’s Enemy’ a handful of times and actually didn’t think too much of it. Over the times however, I’ve read that the episode was a lot darker to many people than I originally remembered. This is mainly due to Frank Grimes being portrayed as being the only sane man with a rough life who was driven to killing himself due to his resentment of Homer’s stupidity. All of this is what made him an Ensemble Dark Horse and sympathetic to some. Now don’t get me wrong here, I am a nice guy who do have sympathy for those going through difficult times. However, having a difficult life doesn’t always justify having a bad attitude and taking it out on others and I’m at the point of my life when I’m done dealing with people who have a poor attitude to life.  For Frank’s case, I wouldn’t consider him as a sympathetic character with his jerkass behaviour. At one scene when Homer invited him to his home for dinner, he compared his life to Homer's and I happen to be allergic to toxic people comparing their lives to others. There are some who blame Homer for Frank’s death yet Homer wasn’t even malicious to him and was trying to be nice to him. So it was really Frank himself who have led to his own demise.

Miu Iruma – Danganronpa V3

Miu is among my least favourite Danganronpa character who I find slutty and annoying, often saying mean things to just about every other student. There are times when she is meant to be sympathetic but I’ve found them to be shallow at best and take more noticed on her selfishness on prioritising her own life over others. I actually thought that she would be the kind of character who would murder someone which would give me another reason to hate her.

Before moving on the next part of this article, I just wanted to bring up this honourable Mention: Bandana Waddle Dee. A lot of people are really hyped for this character and wanted his inclusion for Smash Bros. Maybe it’s because I have little experience with Kirby games but I’m one of the few who don’t dislike him but don’t really get his popularity. To me, he’s a generic Waddle Dee with a Bandana. Guess I’m the kind of person who never have been a fan of ‘minor enemies as playable characters’ as shown in Mario Kart until the inclusion of Piranha Plant for Smash Ultimate. I’m not outright against the idea of Bandana Waddle Dee as a potential playable character for Smash but I would need a lot more convincing (and maybe more exposure with Kirby games in general) until then.

Another honerable mention in mind is Squidward Tentacles. I've only watched a handful of Spongebob Squarepants though I am aware of Squidward's character. From what I've heard, a lot of fans have found him relatable with him being funny, snarky, cynical and a jerkass with sympathetic moments. For me, I can be funny yes, snarky maybe with some good intentions but definitely not cynical and a jerk. Whilst I get that he can be sympathetic which makes him third dimensional at times, I don't take a blind eye on that he have caused some questionable, selfish actions with a snobbish attitude, making it questionable for me if he should be considered a good role model or an accurate realistic portrayal of humans.  

Now, here are a few characters that are often hated that I also hate and among the few exceptions that I’m fine with them being label as The Scrappy.  

Characters that are hated that I agree with:

Hiyoko Saionji – Danganronpa 2 (for American fans at least)

Hiyoko is an obnoxious bully who often gets away with it, making her my worst Danganronpa character. Apparently, she is popular in Japan for which I don’t understand with her being a self-centered bully (especially since I find most people in Japan polite during my holiday there). Hiyoko is also hated because of her character development in regards to redeeming herself was cut short due to her being murdered at chapter three but by that point, I didn’t care for her. She was, to an extent an asshole victim for bullying Mikan so she did had it coming (even if that wasn’t the reason why Mikan killed her). There is one point however when she made a shrine to honour her friend Mahiru’s death which was admittedly nice but even so, that’s not enough for me to like Hiyoko, nor that I would sugarcoat it.

Tina Mclntyre – Coronation Street

According to TV Tropes’ Your Mileage May Vary for Coronation Street page, Tina have became a Scrappy after her jerkass actions including cheating with Peter and reporting Rob and Tracy’s illegal merchandise out of malice as well as over exposure. I have my own reasons for hating Tina. I felt that her relationship for David Platt (who’s my favourite Coronation Street) was a Jump the Shark, espcically since their relationship have gone downhill. Then there was the time when she was unfair to David’s Mother Gail, accusing her for murdering her father, getting her convicted and banning her from his funeral. She may have been hurt with the lost of her father but we saw that it was an accident with Gail being innocent, making this out of proportion. There was also one time when she refused to believe that David has passed out during his court session, making me hate her even more. Sure she has got into a fight with David but this has made her no better (and David was suffering from epilepsy, causing him to accidentally run over Graeme).

Due to this, I wasn’t too keen about her portrayal Michelle Keegan’s guest appearance on the Mcfly show (as much that I wish no ill will to her), finding her insult to Danny Jones offensive and not funny (which adds more salt to the wound for Danny’s lost for Danny Jones is not a loser).

Jud – Kes/A Kestrel for a Knave

I remembered studying A Kestrel for a Knave for my English lessons at school and boy; Jud is a huge jerk who is mean to his younger brother Billy. If that wasn’t bad enough, then near the end, he killed Billy’s pet Kestrel Kes just because Billy didn’t get him the betting tickets. As an animal lover, killing animals is a low in my books. The film adaption was even worse with it just ended soon after Jud killed Kes. I remembered I left the class quickly to avoid myself crying. This makes Jud among the worst offering among hated characters and one of the few characters that deserved the hate. 

On the flipside, there are plenty of characters that a lot of people like that I like too. Of course, there are too many to mention.

So this goes to show you that some may have different tastes when it comes to liking or disliking different characters. Not every hated character are necessary hated by everyone while others may not be into the same character that most people really like. Of course, there maybe some characters where there’s a split opinion among the fandom as long as they are kept healthy or when just about everyone comes to an agreement for really dislikable characters.  

Jealously on Valentines' Day

Hi, if you are reading this, then I hope you are having a great Valentines' Day, celebrating the day with your loved one.

But if you happen to not to have any partners to celebrate the day with or have broken up, then you have my sympathies. However, I ask you to do one thing; don't get jealous at couples.

I understand that it's human nature to be jealous at seemingly lovely dosy couples but I find jealously petty, it's my least favourite quality. Remember that you are valid and worthy of being loved. I know that it's not easy to find a partner but you are not alone, a lot of people are single too including myself (though I have been in a relationship myself which wasn't meant to be but it was good while it lasted).

You have friends, family or pets that are part of your life so you are never alone. So even if you don't have a partner, you can spend the day with them or by yourself; doing the simple things you love doing best. And ultimately, love yourself. You are the best person you can possibly be so celebrate the day by loving yourself.

I've heard the saying "Don't compare yourself to others as you don't know their full story". So in this case, focus on what makes you unique, happy and loved. And remember that being in a relationships is not always sunshine and rainbows as they may show (including on social media from which I've heard that it's how a lot of people compare their own lives to others). It may take hard work and commitment to maintain a relationship which is not always easy plus couples as individuals may have gone through a lot themselves so they have the right to be happy too. Being jealous at couples that may be your close friends or family would be no better.

So in other words, don't judge them and focus on your own qualities. Let them be happy and don't give up on finding someone who will love you.

For those who happened to be couples celebrating the day, then I wish you all the best with many more hopes and dreams along with the happy memories yet to come.

Whenever you are single or are in a relationship, have a great Valentines Day and you are always worthy of love.

Gushing about Mcfly, Busted and McBusted

As you may already know, I'm a huge fan of UK's boy bands Mcfly and Busted as well as their super group McBusted and to celebrate the release of the 4th Busted album Half way there, I'm going to be gushing about them in TV Tropes's Gushing about shows you like style (as there's, as of this time of writing no mention of them), based on my own thoughts and experience.

Mcfly have many fun, enjoyable songs that I can't stop listening to. They're such a good looking young pop band who have beaten the Beatles' record of having the fastest number one album which makes them this awesome! They have dominated my teen years to this day.

The guys themselves are always up to a lot of fun. It's always amusing to watch their antics.

The super group McBusted is just as awesome with both bands (excluding Charlie Simpson) forming together. Who cares about the fan dumb about McBusted delaying the sixth Mcfly album? As long as they had a great time together as a super group, then I have no regrets rooting for them all the way while it lasted.

It have helped me to rediscover Busted (who I've first took noticed when they sang Thunderbirds are go - which was also part of my childhood) as they sang their songs from both Mcfly and Busted. I still remembered their potential as a super group when I first saw them on TV. And the Mcfly guys seemed happier then they were before considering what they have been through which is again all it matters.

And even if McBusted have ended, it have lead to Busted's reunion with Charlie Simpson coming back, here to stay. With my love for Busted rediscovered, I'm willing to rejoin their journey and enjoy their songs, continuing to support the boys too. I can only hope that their reunion have made them closer than ever.

Even if Mcfly are on a hiatus at this time of writing, that doesn't stop me from enjoying their songs and supporting their solo projects as long as they're happy with what they're doing.

Danny Jones is my personal favourite member of Mcfly with his sense of humour, talent, handsome looks, kindness and his positive attitude. He may not have won Popstar to Operastar but he have done his very best which won my heart. My love for him have helped me to come out as a gay fanboy so I can thank him for that. He have also made me aware of anxiety as explained in his London Real interview reguarding to his parent's divorce. I hope he have become stronger from that experience. He's also proven to be smart as he wishes to help musically gifted children, telling them not to give up which makes him inspiring. It's great that he's a judge for The Voice Kids and I'm team Danny all the way. I can't wait to hear his solo album. As of last year, I had the most interaction with him out of the Mcfly guys with him liking four of my Tweets to him and answering my live Facebook interview question about joining Busted as McBusted again (for which he would like to)!

Just about anything that Dougie Poynter says is often amusing that you can't help but to smile yet lately, he's been using social media to voice environmental concerns including plastics which is good for him as someone who is concerned with the environment myself. I hope to learn more from him. It breaks my heart hearing what he have been through reguarding to his break up but I hope it have made him a stronger person since then. It's good that he have joined other bands including Ink which could widen his experience.

In addition, Danny and Dougie Pones is my favourite Mcfly/McBusted pairing and bromance who have funny and cute moments who needs more recognition (and are so much better than the spot light stealing Pludd - as much as I do respect that they have helped each other back then). 

James Bourne is my personal favourite Busted member who helped Mcfly rise to fame (it's still great to see the bands' interactions to each other every now and then). His Tweets are entertaining with his witty humour and interactions (who happened to be following me too). He's the reason why I look forward going on Twitter. He doesn't deserve the unnecessary hate from the Mcfly fans during the McBusted days, I'm rooting for James and Matt! I still remember my first Busted concert when I was very close to him! The closest I've ever got to my idols! He's a nice guy who sometimes help out with his fans.

Tom Fletcher is a cool, talented and adorkable guy with his love for Disney, Christmas, Dinosaurs and Science Fiction movies including Star Wars and Back to the Future. He is also shown to be just as talented with writing books including The Christmasaurus and The Creakers which are well written with their idealism. No matter what anyone suggest, I'm just as happy for him to write books. Who would have thought that his wedding speech on Youtube would go viral? It's amazing on how he uses his songs for his speech. He also made me aware of bi-polar, for which I hope he's able to manage. He's the first Mcfly member who I had interaction with including my question to him about Christmasaurus (if the other Mcfly or Busted guys will read it).

Matt Willis is pretty cool with his many hairstyles during the McBusted days. Amazing that he have many other talents too including acting. I hope he have become a stronger, better person in regards to his drinking problems as he becomes closer to his family while still maintaining his sense of humour as he described in his London Real interview.

I can still remember the day when Charlie Simpson have returned to Busted after years of separating from Busted, following his own path but now he's here to stay as rejoin the Busted hype train. I hope this have helped to become closer to James and Matt then ever before as I get to know him more.

And Harry Judd is proven to be good at everything as shown with his victory on Strictly Comes Dancing. Good hearted and witty (with his pranks), it's good that he strives to help people with his Get Fit, Get Happy book, having exercise to help with your mind as he experienced himself with his OCD which could help me to understand OCD more.

As for the songs themselves, there are too many to mention so I'll link my videos that features my top Mcfly, Busted and McBusted songs here (which were made as of 2017)