Top Ten Video Game Franchises

It's been awhile since I created a post but I finally decided to sit down and write another one. For this one I decided to talk about the top ten video game franchises I've ever played. To qualify it has to at least have three games in the series.

Let's get started

HONORABLE MENTION---Final Fantasy


This one misses the cut because honestly, I only really like the first one. I can play that one over and over again. I've tried playing the later ones (VII and beyond) and just couldn't get into them. I do want to track down the "original" III and IV and try them though. The first one still remains my favorite RPG of all time.




#10---SUPER SMASH BROS.


What can be better than smacking your friends and family around with your favorite Nintendo characters? I still remember how much laughter ensued when my friends and I popped in the original on the Nintendo 64. Then with Melee on the Gamecube and Brawl on the Wii they kept adding more and more content. More fighters, trophies, secondary modes and even online play. It all has evolved into one of the funnest fighting games in existence.

#9---Kingdom Hearts

I remember being intrigued when this collaboration between Square Enix, makers of the Final Fantasy series and Disney was announced. The game is a very well put together story that blends the two worlds. It turns out to be a lot of fun to visit Disney-themed worlds and fight alongside well-known Disney heroes. The games are well put together, with easy-to-use controls finding inspiration from another entry on this list to be mentioned later.

#8---Castlevania

This is what people need to think about when they think Dracula and vampires. These games still hold up very well today, I find myself playing the first one and the third one from time to time. The second one, Dracula's Curse, was attempted but I gave up due to many reasons. If you'd like to know most of them, watch The Angry Video Game Nerd's review. This franchise was not happy just keeping to the same formula, later entries introduced new twists, from leveling up to changing characters and even sometimes using two characters in the game. I currenty am working on "Portrait of Ruin" for the DS and I am just in awe of how well it's put together graphically, gameplaywise, story, etc.

#7---Mega Man

I still remember my first experience with the Blue Bomber. A friend in school offered to trade Mega Man 2 for one of my games for a period of two weeks. I had heard about Mega Man, but not that they'd made a sequel. After just a few days I became hooked and eventually bought the game myself. The Mega Man series is often known for it's unforgiving difficulty but it still remains addictive. I currently own the Anniversary Edition and still love playing these games over and over. To my admission I have only beat 2 and 3, though I've come very close on 1 and 4. For nostalgic reasons, along with awesome music and bosses, I have to declare I think 2 is the best in the series. 3 is pretty good too, I know it has it's fans, but I hate that they chose to recycle the bosses from 2 and shoved them inside some hideous generic robots to extend the game.

#6---Animal Crossing

I admit I have tried the Sims but just could not get into it. It's too much responsibility to feed, bathe and rest your Sim to keep their spirits up and keep them alive. But Nintendo's kiddie version surprised me and sucked me in. The game plays in "real time", meaning it plays even when you aren't. Seasons change, in most versions they celebrate holidays and sometimes your neighbors want to come visit you! You're the only human living in an animal world. The mayor is a turtle, the shopkeeper is a raccoon and the museum curator is an owl amongst other animals you can meet. Your neighbors will move in and out at will, normally based on how well and often you interact with them. The DS and Wii versions allow you to travel to other people's towns, giving you a more interactive experience.

#5---Metroid

This is another series that, for me, has stood the test of time despite many different variations of gameplay. I love the side-scrolling versions, the first-person shooter versions and even the mixture version. (Other M) The game pretty much just starts you and allows you the freedom to figure out what to do next. True you can't access certain parts of levels until you get certain weapons or upgrades, but it adds to a puzzle aspect that I have grown to love. It surprises me that there are people out there who don't know Samus is a woman. I once read a letter to Game Informer by some girl who was offended they'd suggested Samus Aran marry Master Chief on the grounds that "Master Chief isn't gay." Boy did they have fun answering her, letting her know that Samus is a butt-kicking woman and that marriage would be a bad sign for bad scum of the universe. My only wish for the series is that they'd expanded on the multi-player version that they included in Metroid Prime:Hunters. I think it would have been a fun experience had they included it in Metroid Prime 3:Corruption.

#4---Mortal Kombat

Mortal Kombat.......the game that single-handedly gave us the ESRB rating system that we all know and love today. Don't get me wrong, I believe we need it in this day and age, but I just have to pay homage that it was this game that got the ball rolling. It does have over-the-top blood and gore incorporated but also the fighting and combinations you can pull off are amazing to watch if you can get the button combinations right. Also, you would think it was just a game thrown together as "let's just let people beat each other to death", but Ed Boon and John Tobias went to great lengths to actually create a storyline for their games. That translated into one of the best video game movie adaptations I've ever seen. The second one really got lost and was not nearly as good of quality as the first one but I still love watching the first one.

#3---Madden

Oh........Madden NFL football....the series that has eaten up so many hours of my time over the years. Writing this I still remember playing it on the Super Nintendo, it had some of the cheesiest lines. Plus I remember there was a cheat to play as a Tiburon team which you could not lose with. I still have Madden 08 on my Wii and I have yet to find a reason to update it. Roster updating isn't too much of an issue for me. I love strategizing on both sides of the ball. For me it's almost half as fun picking my plays and reading the offense/defense as it is actually running the plays. I will probably keep playing these games as long as they keep making them.

#2---Legend of Zelda

One of the most storied franchises in all video game-dom. I have played most of the games in the series and actually only have beaten one but one day I hope to add more to that list when I get the chance. I don't even know where to start on why I love this game. Each game has a great storyline that adds to the lore of the series. When Zelda moved to the 3d realm on the Nintendo 64, it created controls that were emulated in other series. (See Kingdom Hearts) For the life of me though, even with cheats I cannot beat Zelda II:The Adventure of Link. I neglected to think of that when I created my "Most Difficult Games" list.

#1---Mario

Who else would take the number one spot but the most recognizable face in all of video gaming? Every one of his outings has been fun and challenging at the same time. At least with this series I can say I've beaten numerous entries! Nintendo hasn't been afraid to try just about anything with the plumber in his many attempts to rescue Princess Peach and has very rarely failed at it. He even has a popular spin-off that failed to make the list. (Mario Kart) I'm fully looking forward to his next adventure.

My Top Ten TV Shows of All Time

For this top ten I decided to tackle my top ten tv shows. Now there are plenty of shows I still love and wish were still on tv, but after careful deliberation I was able to narrow them all down to ten that I could either watch over and over or that I feel had a major impact on television history and perhaps even both!


#10---The Simpsons




This show could have possibly placed higher on the list, but it loses ranks because they're extending the show way past it's prime. I don't feel the show has been fresh or funny over the past 8-10 seasons. I love to watch seasons 1-12 but after that I trail off. Still you can't argue the success and influence the Simpsons have had on America. It's also funny to see celebrities being "Simpson-ized", Mark McGwire, Richard Gere, Metallica, the list goes on for people who have made appearances over the course of the show.


#9---Law and Order:SVU

Amonst lineups that are over-saturated with shows based on chasing and catching criminals (Law and Order, CSI, NCIS, Criminal Minds, etc) this is the only one I've been able to really get into and follow. This show is very gripping and the characters play their parts so well. Christopher Meloni and Mariska Hargitay excel in their roles as Detective Elliott Stabler and Olivia Benson as they fight sexually based crimes in New York City. Some episodes are heart-breaking and seem to mirror reality.

#8---King of Queens

This show is hilarious. One of the ones I can quote over and over again. Kevin James really rocketed to fame as IPS Delvery Man and bumbling husband Doug Heffernan. He knows not only how to master timing of quotes but he's a gifted physcial comedian. If you're a fan of Kevin James' films (even including, ugh, "Paul Blart:Mall Cop") you owe it to yourself to get into "The King of Queens".

#7---Everybody Loves Raymond

Another hilarious comedy. This one gets the nod over King of Queens because of it's relatibility. No matter what walk of life you're in, it seems you can find yourself or someone you know in a character in this show. Perhaps you've always been in the shadow of your sibling so you're like poor Robert. Or perhaps an in-law drives you bananas so you laugh at the antics between Debra and Marie. Not to mention this show can teach you things. For example, taping a Super Bowl over your wedding video is frowned upon by most women out there! Ha ha ha!


#6---Saved By The Bell

This show brings back so many memories. My brothers and I had a daily routine. We'd come home from school and immediately tune in to TBS for a double dose of this show at 3:00. I don't even know how to fully describe the show. For kids going through school it was funny to watch the crazy stunts that Zach Morris and crew would pull. Not to mention laugh at things that would never happen in our schools. (Like Slater constantly running around in a tank top.) This is one of the few shows that really makes me wish I still had access to cable, cause it's still available via reruns!


#5---Little House on the Prairie

Now, had you asked me to create this list 8+ years ago I would never have pulled this show into the discussion at all. I remember my mom watching this show every now and then but my only take on it back then was, "How boring!". But then I married a woman who loved it and now we own nearly every season. I have now gotten converted over to it. There is a reason this show is still on tv. It can teach good life lessons and I have a deep respect for people who lived in those times. It's just such a simpler time and although things were hard, it seems life was a bit easier as well. People seemed to care more for each other and money was not really as much an object as it is nowadays.


#4---King of the Hill

I remember when this show was first being unveiled, I was mainly attracted to it because it was advertised as coming from the same guy who created "Beavis and Butthead" which I thought was hilarious at that time. I watched the first season and at the time I was a bit disappointed. It seemed so "serious" if it was trying to be funny. But about 4-5 years later I started watching it again and it grew on me, bad. Not only did I realize this show was hilarious, but it did try to instill good characteristics as Hank Hill is a very moral person who was always teaching everybody else how to treat people right. This gets ranked way higher than "The Simpsons" because they knew when to quit. Perhaps it's because Fox was pressuring them to, as they were trying to push more idiotic cartoons onto TV like, "Family Guy", "The Cleveland Show" and other cartoons I could care less for. King of the Hill is probably the most underrated show on this list and that has ever been on TV.


#3---Friends

Once again, ask me about this show about 11+ years ago and this show wouldn't be on this list. But I married a woman who thought it was hilarious so I started watching the reruns on TV with her and immediately converted over. We now have seasons 6-10 (We're going backwards on collecting the seasons!) and could watch them over and over again. Once again it's the relatibility and quotability of this show that endears it to me. I remember one time I posted a quote from this show on my Facebook status and it ended up being one of my most highly commented status ever, with friends posting quote after quote from the show. Without this show, I couldn't turn to someone who's having a cow and state, "Wow, you're pulling a Ross!"

#2---Lost

I often don't even know where to start with this show. I once again have to credit my wife with getting me into it. She watched seasons 1-4 on Netflix and season 5 on TV before finally convincing me to give it a try and we ended up watching 1-5 on Hulu before we watched season 6 together as it unfolded. This has to be my all-time favorite drama that's ever graced the TV screen. For these survivors, an adventure or mystery is always just around the corner. The producers did a very good job always ending the episode with a moment that made you look at the screen in horror and scream, "NO!!! Don't stop there!!!!" With each episode and each season you got more and more of the background of each character which only endeared you to them more or made you loathe them more. Then there are characters that are straight out enigmas, you can't tell what to think of them, do you hate them or love them? The creators were cryptic right up to the end. The ending only sparked either confusion or outrage from most die-hard fans. For me, I've been able to interpret it to make sense to me and it feels fitting for such a wonderfully written show. Even though I now know what happens I can still watch this series from start to finish over and over again.

#1---I Love Lucy

When I first thought of this topic for a top ten and started listing the shows I'd put on the list, this is the only show I knew exactly where it would go. There is no arguing the impact that I Love Lucy had on the television world. Desi Arnaz introduced so many things that are now done in shows even still to this day. He introduced the practice of shooting with several cameras at once, helping with continuity in shots. He also introduced the rerun while Lucille Ball was recovering from childbirth to give her the chance to rest up and be ready for the next season. Though Desi and Lucille couldn't stay together in real life, they remained great friends until their deaths and maintained the greatest on-screen chemistry ever seen on television. Lucille Ball was a gifted comedian who played her part well, getting into crazy antics every episode, usually based upon trying to getting into Ricky's current show. The show also benefits from the two greatest co-stars ever, Vivian Vance and William Frawley as the Ricardo's landlords/friends Ethel and Fred Mertz. My wife and I still quote and laugh at, "I love you I love you I love you, Sincerely Fred........FRED?!" There are so many memorable moments from this show it could be it's own list.

Those are my top ten shows of all time! I'm sure yours may be different but hey, it's my list after all! ;)

Disneyland trip review, comparison and Top 6 Annoying things you encounter at Disneyland

Just having returned from a wonderful trip to Disneyland I thought I'd share a review of the experience and also touch on some annoying things that you run into while at the park. Disneyland is rightfully named "The Happiest Place on Earth". (Unless you're Ross Gellar, then of course there's another name for it! Luckily, we didn't have any tacos before entering the park! :-P) The atmosphere is absolutely amazing, the cast members are always kind and helpful (for those of you who might read this and haven't been there yet, "Cast Members" are what Disney calls their employees) and the ride experiences are unparalled.

For those of you here in the state of Utah, I will be comparing things to Lagoon. (For those who find this and don't know "Lagoon" it is an amusement park in Farmington, Utah, about 25 minutes north of Salt Lake City) Though in all honesty, a comparison isn't really fair to Lagoon. For starters, Lagoon is only about 1/8th of the size of Disneyland. (Not including California Adventures) Plus, Disneyland is worth every penny you spend at the park, while Lagoon is inflating their prices which makes their park decrease in value every year. Lagoon has emulated Disney in several ways. They have a log flume but it's very basic, nothing real added to it. Splash Mountain trumps the experience by a long shot. I was very sad that Splash Mountain was closed for refurbishment while we were there. They installed a water rapids ride called "Rattlesnake Rapids" which is like "Grizzly River Run" but without the drops, which gives Grizzly the win in comparison. They have the "Rocket" which is similar to the "Maliboomer" that California Adventures had before it made way for "Toy Story Mania". Now it can only compare to "Tower of Terror" and Tower of Terror wins that comparison easily for the darkness, spookiness and the fact it goes up and down. The Rocket makes you choose, go up fast or come down fast, you can't do both.

But that reminds me of another thing I love about Disneyland, they get so into character that it gives a great ambience to the experience that you just don't get anywhere else. On the Tower of Terror, cast members will treat you as "guests" who are staying at the hotel, they don't mention "ride" at all when they're giving the introductions.

Lagoon does have a few roller coaster rides, but California Screamin' can top them all easily. That first blast-off and first dip gives me such a dark feeling in my stomach, it makes me scream in delight everytime! Even Space Mountain can beat all of them, there's nothing like riding a coaster in the dark, not knowing what's coming next!

Another thing I love about Disneyland is that they're not content with leaving everything the same. Five years ago when we were there and we went on Indiana Jones you see Indy after the first turn you make. At that time Indy was pinned inside the door as it was half closed. His sayings are always different. When we went this year he was now on the outside of the door pushing on it like he was trying to shut it. Also noticeable was how Madame Leota inside of the "Haunted Mansion" is sometimes floating in the air, but other times she'll be merely on a pedestal.

Entertainment is also another way Disney goes above and beyond. Lagoon mostly has "Rock U 2 the Top" which is a quite cheesy cover performance of whatever songs are popular at the time. Disneyland has "Fantasmic", "The World of Color" and "Remember...Dreams Come True" fireworks show that are all great and worth the time spent watching them. Even while waiting in lines in Tomorrowland we noticed "Instant Replay" where bands will convene and play cover songs and possibly original songs as well. We didn't find the time to sit and watch it but it was an enjoyable addition to the experience of just being in the park.

Dining is exquisite as well. "Goofy's Kitchen" is a character dining experience. It's a buffet dining experience. The food is quite good for a buffet, normally I've found buffet style food to be quite bland. Overall we decided it was cool to see the characters, but this would be kind of a one-time thing. However, "The Blue Bayou" was a totally awesome experience that we will be making a tradition to go there every time we vacation there. The food was great and the ambience was nice, being inside "Pirates of the Caribbean". We were not treated to unruly shouts as had been reported by other people. We ended up getting seats right next to the water. Seems we did make it into some people's photos as we saw flashes go off in our direction a few times.

I honestly think that Disneyland is like the "Mecca" of America. Everyone owes it to themselves, married, single, kids, no kids, etc. to make a pilgrimage there at least once in their lifetime. We found for us that 3 days is a good amount of time to be at the park. Both parks are massive and you can't hit everything in one day and often 2 will be hard to get everything in as well. It can be considered "pricey" but it's worth every single cent spent on the trip. If you even remotely LIKE Lagoon you owe it to yourself to make it to Disneyland. The next part of this blog I'm going to talk about the 6 most annoying things we noticed about our experience at Disneyland. Normally I do "Top Tens" but I only found six things bothersome about our experience. None of them really took away from the trip, it was still 99% awesome, but I'm still going to touch on these 1% annoyances.

#6---Underdressed Women

I understand that it's southern California and it is quite warm. (On Thursday it got close to, if not above 90 degrees) But you don't have to bare it ALL! I think a classic rule of thumb is: "If you can't bend over without fear of flashing or mooning anybody, then it's probably a good idea NOT to wear it!" (I even saw some who were in danger of flashing/mooning me without even bending over!) Also, I think women who dress like that lose the right to complain about that 46 year-old unshaven man who hasn't blinked while looking in their direction for the past five minutes. You chose to flaunt it, it's attracting attention and you should accept it. Don't like it? Cover yourself up more!

#5---Loud Talking without Thinking

This was kind of annoying on a few fronts. First case was while we were in line to get into the park on Thursday we were ahead of a couple of women. One of them was a teenager and suddenly we hear her state out loud, "I hate men who shave their heads." I didn't turn around but really? I'm sorry, but I have really dark black hair and highly active sweat glands. When I'm in spring-summer weather long hair can absolutely kill me. So obviously I'm going to shave my head so my hair isn't a huge problem to me when I'm in warmer weather. I just had issue with the fact that she probably knew I'd hear it and she'd probably been staring at my head for the past 10 minutes so it's not like she suddenly said it and noticed me.

The next two actually happened in the same experience. We had fastpasses (for people who haven't been to Disneyland, fastpasses can be picked up for certain popular rides to enable you to come back at a later time and go through a shortened line. It's limited to one ride per park at a time so you can't go around collecting them) for Indiana Jones and we were heading there about the same time that Fantasmic had let out so it was a real mad house getting through the crowd. People were heading to the stand-by (aka normal) line and we were on our way to the fastpass line, when about 10 feet away from the cast member checking the fastpasses I hear this guy behind me say loudly, "It sure is nice for people to butt in line!" There was absolutely no real "line" anywhere near us but I'm so non-confrontational that I just stopped and let his party pass us by and go first. We ended up getting some satisfaction that halfway through the line a kid in his party chickened out so they ended up leaving. Then we also ended up having two guys and a girl behind us.

This really wasn't annoying TOWARDS us, but just having to listen to this drabble...... :-P The girl was obviously going with this one guy. He started going off on how "an engagement is a contract and if you break it off you can get your wages garnished because you can get sued for breach of contract." Other things mentioned were that you can get sued for not returning a ring after a broken engagement. She eventually mentioned for him "not to give her a ring." Really? Sounds like you're on the right track to win this girl over dude!!! He also started going on a rant that the "Grizzly Man" was killed because he got high and went out to fight a bear. I can't refute that cause I don't know the exact facts but it just sounded funny.

#4---Quoting Along With The Narration

This only really happened on "The Haunted Mansion" but it still was annoying. Yes, I've ridden it enough and listened to the narration plenty of times on CD and "Visions Fantastic". But that doesn't mean I'm going to quote along with the narrator as he starts his "You'll find that this chamber has no windows and no doors...." segment. If it were my first time ever riding I think it would have taken away from the experience. I really didn't think these teenage kids were that much COOLER for showing off that they had it memorized.

#3---Inattentive Parents

This is high because it's also a pet peeve of mine outside the park as well. The biggest example of this happened in line for "Toy Story Mania". Shortly after entering the line the mother pulled out her iPhone and began pouring over the pictures that had been taken on it, posting to Facebook and text messaging. Her daughter at one point tried to get her attention to which she just got a hurried, "Yes, dear" before the mom returned to her phone. Halfway through the line the father followed suit and got on to his iPhone. Then he got perturbed when his son wanted interaction and whacked him with his foam sword. He took it away and went back to his phone...... I'm sorry, but these types of things are half the problem nowadays. I admit, even I can get carried away by technology, I work with it.

I don't necessarily have children but when I'm with my nieces and nephews I can create experiences and interact with them without the distraction of a cell phone or other technological distractions. I know if we'd been there even with our nieces and nephews we could have just had conversations and joked around with the children in line. It's what my wife and I did in every ride. Not to mention how dangerous being in public with children can be, parenting can be like playing football, it's called "head on a swivel". Whenever I'm in public with my nieces and nephews I keep very close eyes on them and their movements. If I notice they're even in danger of leaving my sight I move to position myself where I can still track them. I think that there could have been times with these parents that their children could have left the line/been yanked out of line and they wouldn't have noticed until it was too late.

Also, am I the only one thinking it's amazing that on EVERY ride and attraction at the park you're reminded to "Please supervise your children." We honestly are constantly reminded of something people should just innately know? Something you accept responsibility to do as soon as that child enters the world? I also have to rant that I find it sad that people find it the right thing to do to allow their children to do whatever they want and then try to claim someone else is responsible if their children get hurt/lost. One example I've heard of is a story that came from the "Alice in Wonderland" ride, where a child squirted out of his seat and jumped out of the ride. The parent held Disneyland responsible and so they put up an extra barrier after the accompanying lawsuit. It was obviously NOT the parent's fault for not watching their own child and allowing them to get out of the ride. (Note the heavy sarcasm)

#2---Inconsiderate People

This is also high on the list because of hating these people in everyday life. I hate that feeling knowing I've intruded or possibly hurt anybody with my actions. But this happens more often than you'd think at Disneyland. Fortunately, we avoided any experiences with the strollers as our fellow Mouse Waiters have mentioned. (Mouse Wait is an app we use on our phone that has a lounge for people to communicate with each other) Apparently people there have been smacked by strollers and treated as the offenders. We never got "hit" but we did have one lady brush past us pushing a stroller at such a high speed. The park can be crowded and it's inevitable that you'll hit people in your comings and goings. Everytime I felt a bump, whether it was my fault or not I made sure I turned and excused myself or apologized. But I was amazed when sometimes if I was standing still and got hit and I'd turn and get the most rotten look. I wasn't the one who initiated the contact, I was just standing there!

Also one time we were in line to ride "Pirates of the Caribbean" and when we got up to wait to board the people before us were boarding. It was obvious that there was a group together, but they weren't going to fit in one row, so one woman was placed on the row ahead of her group. There were only two people in that row, a woman and a man. The woman scooted down and sat down, the guy sat next to her and then put their bags ON THE SEAT next to him, preventing this woman from taking a seat to be on the same ride as her group. She scooted back behind the gates and stammered to her friends who were helpless watching this. The guy knew what he'd done and just looked up at this woman with such a look of indifference. I just could not believe that I saw that.

#1---Line Jumping!!!!

I can't say enough about this one, probably because it happens SO often. I know this isn't just a Disneyland problem, it's a problem in probably every park you go to. This happens in many ways. One time on California Screamin' we got behind some teenage kids who after getting in line wanted to get fastpasses. One of their friends jumped out of line, got all the fastpasses, then used the outside foliage to skip ahead to meet back up with his friends. You can't go get them and THEN get in line? Or then what happened almost everytime on "Toy Story Mania" is that people would just wait near the building and then when they saw their friends they'd jump the chain and join in. Then there are still the "classic" line jumpers who will simply push past you, giving everybody the "excuse me" treatment. One tactic I've heard of happening is the children will meander through the line, crying "Mama? Mama?" making everybody think they're looking for their mother, then they'll abruptly stop. Five or so minutes later their mother will actually appear asking to be allowed up with her children. The two people who reported on this said this happened several times when they were at the park. They said finally when it happened on "Splash Mountain" when the mother came back through they (being of pretty big stature) stood firm and wouldn't let her through. When she became fussy they flatly explained that she was just line jumping. She finally accepted it and called her kids back and they actually left the line.

We even nearly got line jumped in a fastpass line! This teenage kid started bolting ahead of everybody in line at Space Mountain until his buddies called him back.

My main thoughts on line jumpers is: What makes YOU that much more important than anyone else in the park? We all paid good money to be here and most of us are being honest and standing in line. Just because you hate the line means you have to try to get ahead of everybody else? It's just a very selfish thing to do. It's also an inconsiderate thing to do, you're not thinking of anybody else but yourself. It can also combine other things that are found on this list.

It's also mega frustrating when it happens in line for a character. I understand that it can be a rush cause the characters don't stay in place forever. When we saw Donald I was so scared that we might not make it to him in time. Luckily we did but I was not thinking of trying to jump in line just to make sure I got a picture with him. But when we saw Stitch in California Adventures we noticed this happen. He didn't have a cast member with him, which always makes things much harder. When we were about 2 people behind in line there was a family passing by. They all took pictures of him from where we stood but then two of the kids ran back and jumped in line behind us. Now the line to see him wasn't even THAT long, there were probably only about 7 people in line. The mother did not even utter a peep about this to her children although she saw what her kids had done. So not only are they cutting in line, they are being taught this is normal behavior they can get away with.

This is not saying all parents are like I've described. We did see parents who were quick to teach their kids about behaviors. One kid at Goofy's Kitchen placed himself in a picture with Pluto that another parent was trying to get with their child. The parent came up and took him away and apologized and while going away we did hear her telling her son that he couldn't do stuff like that. So please don't think I'm saying everyone I saw at Disneyland was a HORRIBLE parent, there were just some that we had to shake our heads at.......

I think this has possibly been my longest post! If you've been to Disneyland (or any park) and have had similar experiences or anything to add feel free to comment! Also if you have your own experiences from the park itself to share, let us all know!

Top Ten Video Game Theme Songs

After a long hiatus between my first and my second entries, I'm making the third right after the second. I have to give credit to my brother, who gave me the idea for this one. This time I'm listing the top ten video game theme songs. Ground rules for this one are one per franchise and it has to be a theme from an actual game, not music from a music-based game. (IE, Rock Band, Guitar Hero, etc)

#10---Kirby's Dreamland--Level 1

I remember this tune even though I haven't played this game in over a decade. One of the first games I had on the Game Boy and it was very addicting. The first level tune was so catchy I hated passing it half the time. Sadly the rest of the game was fairly forgettable as far as the soundtrack went.

#9---Battletoads--Main Title Theme

I loved the title theme to Battletoads. Even though I'm not really a surfer, this theme made me imagine riding the waves on some sunny beach. I only wish the feeling you got after listening to the title theme for a few minutes wasn't crushed 15 minutes later trying to pass the hover craft part of Level 3!!!

#8---Contra--Energy Zone

This is about where the "one per franchise" rule started becoming VERY hard. Contra is a very fond memory from my childhood. I remember playing this game over and over with my brothers and enjoying all the aspects. The music, the game play, the stealing lives from each other... (It got to the point where we had to lay out a rule you could only steal so many lives) Only my brothers would get it if I said, "me first me first". After much deliberation I decided to go with the Energy Zone level. This one is just so "energetic" (couldn't think of any other word, sorry if it seems redundant.) It also sounds very frantic, if you allow yourself to be controlled by the tempo of the music it can lead to premature and unnecessary deaths!

#7---Donkey Kong Country--Jungle Japes

Another classic game from my childhood. Only bummer that we had to endure was that for some reason our second SNES controller wouldn't operate on this and a couple other games. That meant that we couldn't play as a team, which would have made this game funner. But the soundtrack is still awesome, it was hard to choose a favorite but I have to choose the original jungle tune. I love the beats of the drum and the soft flutes that accompany them. There's also an inside joke if I were to mention also in the running from this game was the theme, "The Burger King Kid's Club, just for kids!" I'm sure everyone aside from my brothers are scratching their heads on that one! ;)

#6---Double Dragon--Mission 1

This one was a toughie as well. I love most of the music from this game, from the title screen all the way to the caves in Mission 3. But I have to choose the Mission 1 music. This is where your journey to rescue your kidnapped girlfriend begins and the music sets the tone perfectly. Heck, this song is so perfect, they re-use it at the end of Mission 3. This is one of those songs that I feel if I ever got up the motivation to learn the guitar, I'd learn how to play this song on it.

#5---Goldeneye--Dam

Yet again, SO hard to decide on just a single theme. I have nearly the complete soundtrack and I had to review it all over again just to single it down to one. The one I think I wanted to put on this list actually came from the multi-player mode, but I wanted to choose a level theme and I chose the dam level. I love the percussion/drum part of it that runs in the background of the level. It's kind of interesting that if you're walking the percussion kind of keeps beat with your walking. When Activision re-made this for the Wii, I was half hoping they'd input the old soundtrack on top of it, but sadly no.

#4---Ducktales--The Moon

It's safe to say that the top 5 became the toughest as far as the "one per franchise" rule mattered. Ducktales was an amazingly awesome game for one based off of a cartoon. I also remember that I beat this game the very first time I played it. But now I try to play it and I need cheats to beat it!!! Nearly every level on this game are soundtrack gold. I have this soundtrack as well. But I have to follow almost everybody else's selection from this game and go with the Moon level. 

#3---Super Mario Bros--Overworld Theme (Multiple games)

Mario games have always had awesome music in my opinion, even oddball games like Mario 2 had memorable music.....choosing just one from the whole series would really be a tough task. But you just can't choose anything other than the original theme song that has become completely hand-in-hand with Mario. You can't really mention Mario to me without this theme song popping into my head, even if you aren't mentioning Nintendo's Mario!

#2---Legend of Zelda--Overworld Theme (Multiple Games)

Like Mario, the Zelda series has been prime with awesome, unforgettable music. From the very first one all the way through the series it hasn't disappointed. Ocarina of Time had a very memorable soundtrack to go with an awesome game. But you have to give the ultimate nod to the tune that started the whole series off. As soon as you turn the game on, it starts playing while telling you the story. (If you give it enough time before hitting start) If I had to choose a VERSION of this song, I'd have to say the Link to the Past version. I think the SNES really brought out a great version of this theme song. The percussion they added in gives it a little bit more "umph".

#1---Mega Man 2--Dr Wily Castle Levels 1 and 2

It was EXTREMELY hard actually putting this at number 1, because I often feel Mario or Zelda deserve the top spot, but this is a song I can just NEVER forget or get out of my head. Mega Man 2 is full of very awesome and moving music. (Except for perhaps Heat Man, that was a pretty blah song.) Bubble Man, Air Man, Flash Man.....this game was just the epitome of cool for me on the NES. But the first two levels of Wily's castle just has a very awesome theme song. So awesome Brentalfloss even created lyrics for it that pretty much sums up what you're up to:

Gotta run gotta run now, gotta run now, run slyly

Gonna get you, Dr Wily

Gotta climb gotta climb now, gotta climb up highly,

I am Mega Man, here's my mega plan: YOU DIE! (Copyright Brentalfloss)

And there are my top ten video game theme songs!!! I may take a bit of a breather now before my next entry. I've just had a bit of time on my hands lately to do these last two.

Top Ten Toughest Games I've Played

After a bit of time I decided to write another entry. This top ten is based off the top ten toughest games I've played. Ground rules I set for myself were one per franchise and the game has to be linear/have a story, so no sports (Madden) or fighting games (Mortal Kombat). I'm sure the first few entries will be a bit of a laugher for some of you, but try arguing at least the top two ones with me if you dare! :P

#10---Super Mario Bros.

Like I said before, I'm sure some people will laugh at this entry, but to this day this remains the hardest Mario game I've ever played. I have been able to beat every other Mario game I've played thoroughly without too many problems. (Still have not yet played Sunshine) This one gets hard for me once I get to level 8. I managed to get to the castle very few times and just could not survive through Bowser's last castle. I did eventually beat it, but it was the Deluxe version on the Game Boy Color. Now that I have the new All-Stars version on the Wii, I'm going to sit down and try it in more detail once again.

#9---The Legend of Zelda:Ocarina of Time

Ok, I absolutely love this game to death and I'm sure more people are laughing that I put this on the list. My brother gets through this game so easily I swear he can beat it with his eyes closed. However, I've yet to beat it. I made it to the Water Temple on the 64 before I left for my LDS mission and never touched the copy after I got home. I'm now playing it again on the Anniversary Edition I picked up at a Game Crazy some years ago and I'm still in a stupor remembering everything I need to do. This may not be "hard", more or less sometimes tedious with plenty to do!!!

#8---Adventures in the Magic Kingdom

I remember playing this game on the original NES. I've grown to be such a Disney nut I turned it on my emulator and tried it again. The funnest part of the whole game is the easiest key to get, chasing Pluto around and answering Disney trivia. The other keys, however, are difficult and tedious to get. In pirates you have to rescue the kidnapped damsels while also setting a signal fire. Doesn't help you don't have any way of fighting back against the pirates. The Haunted Mansion allows you a way of fighting back against the ghosts, but it's still hard and the main ghost comes through the mansion at random and it's an instant kill. Space Mountain requires you to have a hairline response system, turning within a few seconds and also shooting meteors. I only managed to beat the game by using cheats that gave me infinite lives and unlimited energy.......

#7---Metroid

Ok, have another laugh. One of the reasons this isn't higher on the list is that I did manage to beat this game on the original NES without the assistance of any cheats. But re-visiting the game all these years later really points out how tough of a game it is. This game is so expansive. The toughness doesn't keep it from being a fun and addictive game. I still enjoy playing this game even today.

#6---Mega Man 4

Ok, with the "one per franchise" rule, it came down to choosing between Mega Man 3 and Mega Man 4. Both were merciless because they had extra levels that make the game longer and harder than they probably could have been. Those Doc Robot levels in 3 are an extra challenge and still give me fits. But I give 4 the nod because not only do you have to go through a castle and "defeat" Dr. Cossack, but then you have to go through Dr. Wily's castle and beat him. The kicker for 4 is that they messed up the Rush Jet. In 3 when it's introduced you can jump on him and control him to get a good shot in. When they re-did it for 4 they made it so Rush started going in a straight line once you jumped on and you couldn't stop him. That made fighting Wily so much more frustrating for me, having the original Rush Jet would have been way easier.

#5---Monster Party
This one brings back memories from my childhood. We had this game and my brothers and I would constantly play it and watch each other as we tried to beat it. Like Metroid, we did manage to beat this game without any cheats at one point. This also has to be on the "weirdest game plots ever created list" (Maybe I'll do that one later) You're a kid coming home from a baseball practice when a monster comes and says your bat is the key to defeating "evil" monsters that have taken over his planet. He says that you and him have the ability to fuse each other. This makes the game easier, as he can fly and shoot a laser shot. This is way better than when you play as the kid, who only as a bat that has a very short attack span. The game makes the monster's claim become a reality as the final boss cannot be hurt by the monster's attacks, you can only hurt him by hitting his nose with your bat or by batting his eyeball shots back at his nose..... Go figure....

#4---Final Fight

I didn't really play this one in it's heyday in the arcades and on the SNES very much. But when it came out on the Virtual Console I thought it would be worth a download to play a good "beat em up" game. But now I'm stuck. I'm at the end of the second level where you fight some crazed, samurai-WWE wrestler guy. He has two katana swords which do massive damage. You can hit him to knock them out of his hands, but as soon as you hit them away, he'll shoulder charge you which also takes a lot of life out of you. Losing to him sends you back to the beginning of the level so you get to start the whole thing again.....sigh........

#3---Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Yet another one that I look back and wonder how my brothers and I made it so far without cheats when we were younger. Anyone who's played the game probably is cringing by looking at this picture. The second level sends you into a dam to defuse 8 bombs. They only give you 2 minutes and the whole dam is rigged with electric seaweed, instant death plants, rotating discs and electricity. (How does that work under water?) Not to mention Leonardo and Donatello are your MVP's cause their weapons have a long reach. If (and most likely when) you lose those two it's almost worth just resetting the game cause Raphael and Michaelangelo just don't have the reach for attacking, they more often than not get hit when they're trying to attack. I played this one with an invincibility cheat recently and couldn't get past level 3. Yet my brothers and I made it to the Technodrome once, that amazes me now.

#2---Battletoads
I have a love-hate relationship with this game...... On one hand it's a lot of fun to play. Beating up baddies and finishing them off with over-the-top moves like creating a big hand or big foot. But then there's the level of difficulty. This screenshot should create memories of those who have played this game. I think I've managed to beat this level ONCE and also managed to catch the warp in this level once. I turned on some cheats on my emulator and was invincible on the final level, STILL can't beat it!

This leads us to.......

#1---Ghosts N' Goblins

Oh my, where to start with this one? I can't even cheat properly on this one cause there's not really an invincible code out there. But essentially, take a hit, your armor is knocked off and you're running around in your underwear. Next hit, you're a pile of bones! Next, some enemies, like the zombies, respawn infinitely so you're never getting away from them. Plus the enemies like to dogpile their attacks, so while you're fending off/avoiding one enemy, another is coming from your backside so you'll take a hit nearly every minute or so. I think I've only been able to make it past the first level once. I think this one gets the top spot because I've seen footage of the later levels and THEN the knowledge that you get through the whole game, beat the demon and get the message that it was all "an illusion created by Satan" and you have to go through the WHOLE GAME OVER AGAIN! If I had worked hard to get to that point and got that message I may have done something that I up to this point have not done.....throw the controller at the screen!

Well, that's it for the top ten toughest games I've played! Thanks for checking it out!

The Top Ten WORST Games I've ever played

I have decided to open up a blog to share my opinions on top ten subjects that I can think of, but I may share ideas about other things as well. If I get followers and readers, great, but I think I'm just starting this kind of for fun!

The first top ten I chose was the ten WORST video games I have ever played. Most of them I owned at one point but a couple I just rented and left it at that. These games, either by design, gameplay, story or even all three, were just crap-tastic in my mind!

#10: Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz

After having experienced two very fun games in the Super Monkey Ball series, I was pretty darn excited when they announced that they were coming out with a new version on the Nintendo Wii. With the innovations that the Wii brought to the table I felt that Sega could take advantage and give us a really fun game, right? Wrong! The new mini-games were uninspired and required you to calibrate your Wii remote before EVERY match and the single player mode was either too challenging or so easy a 2 year old could beat it. The controls also weren't as smooth as promised which didn't bode well for Nintendo trying to prove that the motion controls were the next step.

#9: Waialae Country Club:True Golf Classics

This one I really liked the first time I rented it, so much that after Mario Golf came out I was critical of it cause I felt it didn't match up. However, I went back and tried this game again a couple of months later and turned it off after about five minutes. The graphics were pretty poor, even by Nintendo 64 standards, the controls were merciless, forcing you to be perfect and the commentating is brain-numbing!

#8: Geist

This one I bought because A)It was a bargain at $15 and B)Hey, it's the German word for "Ghost", so that's kinda cool. I also thought that it had an interesting plot to it. You were investigating a company that was suspected of unusual testing, however, you get caught and subjected to one of the experiments yourself. This separates your spirit from your body. However, you live on, trapped inside the compound and you find a guide in some creepy 9 year-old girl. She teaches you how to possess things, light switches, garbage cans, animals and people. It is now your goal to use these powers to escape the compound and save your buddy, who is scheduled for the same procedure. Overall, I found the game to be very tedious and confusing. I traded it in very quickly.

#7: Jam Sessions

Hey, I can play guitar on my DS? I took this on cause I thought it was the poor man's Guitar Hero. But in reality it was supposed to be an actual guitar simulator with songs programmed in for you to try to play as well. The songs that are in it though, let you get through it no matter what, it just waited for you to hit the right note before proceeding. Let's just say I wasn't rocking out very long on this game!

#6: Jurassic Park (Game Boy Version)

This is just because of the sheer toughness factor that just made me give up on ever trying on it. I think I only passed the first level once. It was a top down roving level where you're armed with a gun to shoot random dinosaurs who pop out at you. Just don't run out of bullets! And what's your reward for passing the first level upon finding all the items by walking ALL OVER? A mad triceratops who charges at you and you have to try to duck in a ditch til you can pop up and shoot him, repeat til he dies! Upon seeing the second level has the same premise as the first, I just turned the game off......

#5: Sprung

I honestly don't know what possessed me to buy this game other than the fact that it was either this or Hannah Banana or some other kiddie game as this was fairly new into the DS's life. Apparently text based games are popular in Japan, there's a reason they're not here in the United States! It becomes a game of just guessing the right response in the right situation. This is all trying to lead you to "Mrs. Right". I got rid of it fairly fast and saw that it was selling new for $9.99 shortly after that, for good reason as well.

#4 Mortal Kombat Mythologies:Sub-Zero

I was SO excited when I heard that Mortal Kombat was breaching out into a platformer AND they were using one of my all-time favorite characters from the series. However, playing this game nearly ruined it all for me. First off, the game had a way to instant kill you almost every step you took. This made everything very tedious and upsetting after you get nearly to the end only to have a sliding axe take you out and make you start all over again! Then after going through, beating all of the elemental guardians to take possession of an amulet that you were told was to protect the world. But shocker! When you're about to take the amulet Quan Chi takes it and points out the truth: YOU'RE THE BAD GUY! You stole the amulet for the evil sorcerer so he could give it to Shinnok to enable him to start conquering dimensions. So now the second half of the game you have to go into the Netherrealm to get the darned amulet back! I did end up beating it, but only after using cheats to skip levels and make me nearly invincible.

#3: Burgertime

This one is high merely on weird factor alone......you're a chef who has to run across buns, meat, lettuce and tomatoes to make them fall and build sandwiches while running from angry pickles, hot dogs and eggs. Your only defense is salt but you only have 3 shots. Your enemies have a good way of trapping you in a dead end. This led to very frustrating games, I don't even believe I ever made it past level 2 and I can't even remember what level 2 even looks like.

#2: King's Knight

It had a very good premise, the princess has been captured and it's up to you to get together to save her. A brave knight, a wise wizard, a "noble" thief (really?) and a......monster?? So, first you have to play through each player's level INDIVIDUALLY, shooting enemies and picking up power-ups to level up your character. However, the enemies were all over and their shots were even worse, so it took plenty of skill to avoid. It also hurts that the level auto scrolls on you. The next aggravation was that you NEEDED all four players in order to reach the final level, so if your wizard died in level 2, you may as well hit "Reset" because after the monster and thief's levels you'd get the message that you failed. Well, you got all four to survive, huh? Now you get to go through a very tough final level where shots are coming from all over and are hard to avoid with four people on the screen. Halfway through the final stage you reach a barrier that will not budge unless you have the thief at the head of your party and he uses a spell that I have yet to figure out how to launch! This was a valiant effort but falls WAY short for Square Enix, the company that found fame with another franchise, Final Fantasy. I still look back on this 20 years later and ask, "Why didn't I tell mom Castlevania II:Simon's Quest instead?!"

#1: Back to the Future

Oh, where to begin on this one? I love the movie and was so excited when I saw that image of Marty McFly on that NES cartridge. But everything changed as soon as I put it in and hit "Power". The game has two essential phases, the walking part and then a "boss level" as you'd call it. The walking phase is very boring and grating, due to the music that is just three notes that repeat over and over and over, with a little twang in the middle to change things up. While you walk you have obstacles that will attempt to slow you down: Bullies, (makes sense) girls dancing and throwing lips at you, (ok, maybe an alliteration to Marty's mom falling in love with him, a bit far out there but I'll accept that) glass bearing workers, (I'd be fine if they moved across the screen but they just go back and forth, GO SOMEWHERE!) and finally, bees the size of watermelons! Of course, Marty isn't totally unarmed, you can eventually pick up bowling balls to defend yourself, cause you know Marty totally was chilling at bowling alleys in Hill Valley! After the bowling ball you can pick up a skateboard. (That makes the most sense if you've seen the movie!) Yet I would always avoid the skateboard cause it made you go SO fast that you would usually run into an obstacle about 2 seconds after stepping onto it. Not to mention that you have to collect clocks to ensure your picture doesn't fade out. Unfortunately, while I was chucking my endless supply of bowling balls (where does he keep them?) at enemies I'd usually hit a few clocks, thus proving fatal to my chances of making it to my goal without dying. So, after you reach your goal, you get to try your luck at what can be considered "boss battles". The first was throwing malts at oncoming bullies from behind the counter at the cafe. (Where is your future mayor Goldie Wilson when you need him?) All it takes is one bully to reach the counter and you get thrown against the door. I think only once did I make it to the school where you were trying to deflect your mom's "kisses" (aka flying lips) by moving up and down and making them hit your book. Eventually the game only had entertainment value by turning it on and purposely jumping over the fence to "pick apples". (Whenever Marty gets hit he starts waving his hands above his head)