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Reviews
Mighty Magiswords (2015)
A return to grace for Cartoon Network even better than we expected.
Mighty Magiswords is a show that completely surprised me. Birthed as a online short series, I began watching expecting very little. While Cartoon Networks continued online presence is certainly commendable, very few shows from their online line up really stuck with me. Infinity Train offered a great art style and an intriguing story, Back to Backspace had great music and a lot of charm, but what makes me perfectly okay that this series was picked up before those two? Simple! Mighty Magiswords has all that those shows had and more. It combines great characters, an interesting setting, and a pace that somehow manages to be incredibly fast while communicating everything it should to make one of the best shows I've seen on CN and a while. It remains easily to pick up and watch any episode while still having continuity and a story that inspires perseverance and looking on the bright side of life. Prohyas and Vambre have such creative designs and personalities it's impossible not to love watch them go on adventures.
The show follows the two of them and their "Warriors for Hire" business, a cosidence being that the two siblings last name is literally warriors! The show is primarily comedy, but the main and side characters have so much going on that there's a lot more to appreciate then just the humor.
Speaking of the humor, it's the most approachable aspect, and what detractors would definitely simplify it to. It's hard to explain why the show's humor works so well, but perhaps the best reason behind it is the pace. The show rockets along in a way I can only really compare to the likes of Django Unchained. It presents cheesy yet lovable badasses who flail around the screen with such cartoonish reverency they steal the show of any scene they're in. The town relies on the brother sister pair to be the best they can, and every member of the shows universe has a different connection with them. It does what Adventure Time tried to do (tell a grand adventure story while also having tons of comedy), and arguably outdoes it by planning a world with so much character and charm (I mean, even the titular Magiswords are their own characters for heaven's sake).
My only complaints would be that some characters are stronger than others. The show's creator Kyle Carrozza, voices the main character, Prohyas, and does a great job of it (in fact that's one of the most respectable and creative things I've ever heard.) but the strain starts to show when he voices other minor characters. Grup is a downright awesome comic relief character. He's introduced as a big threat only to be a big softie with some of the best moments in the show. There's just one problem: Kyle clearly let the stress of voicing multiple characters get to him, because his voice for him is widly inconsistent, and occasionally causes great jokes to miss or him to come of as annoying. Kyle still deserves huge props for the voice work, but I'm not afraid to point it out.
I don't know how to end this. just watch this show. It's great!
VVVVVV (2010)
One of the best plat formers ever made.
VVVVVV is one of the best games I've played in a long time. It's a testament to how great indie developers can be, and sets an example for how Metroidvania style games should be.
Story 4/5 VVVVVV follows the crew mates of the DSS Souleye, a spaceship used to travel throughout dimensions. A freak accident caused the ship to crash in an unknown dimension named VVVVVV, and now it's up to Captain Viridian to save the 5 other crew mates. I really love this story. There's not too much of it, but the cut scenes are nice and there are different paths depending on what order you save each crew mate.
Music 5/5 The music is legendary. The Internet is filled with remixes of it, and for good reason. There are tons and memorable tracks and it fits the game perfectly.
Gameplay 5/5 This is where the game truly shines. VVVVVV uses a Gravity Guy style games play, meaning you can switch the direction of gravity at will. It's really fun and opens up lots of puzzle opportunities.
Graphics 4/5 The graphics are minimal but nice. They're heavily inspired by old PC games.
Conclusion VVVVVV is well worth your time and I couldn't recommend it enough.