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Lone Lancer

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  2. Lone Lancer
    The year was 1994. When it came to video games, no title existing at the time was a bigger lightning rod of controversy than "Mortal Kombat" and "DOOM" were. DOOM was ported to a wide range of different consoles but did you know that the 3DO port was originally supposed to feature FMV cutscenes to help develop and drive the plot? I'm not making this up, it was actually on the table for a time before they were cut from the final product. To this day, there are surviving screenshots from the ultimately DOOMed bonus content that was to be included in the game. One costume was ordered, and many sources have dubbed it the "Cyberdemon" costume. If that is what the creature in the screenshots is supposed to be, then it is obvious that the crew never encountered a Cyberdemon in-game; the Cyberdemon from the game was gigantic. You could have André the Giant wearing the costume and not do the monster's in-game counterpart justice. Although the words, "worst thing to walk on two legs since the Tyrannosaurus Rex" were being used to refer to the description of the Minotaur-like 'Barons of Hell' in the game manual, Cyberdemons were the enemy type that were actually as big as a T. Rex! Also note that the costume has no exposed wiring on its belly, no missile pod on one of its arms, or a hydraulic metal goat leg. The Cyberdemon was featured on the box art of "DOOM II: Hell On Earth".
     

     

     
    Unfortunately these were never released and there was no script, so we will never know what the motivations of the characters in these following screenshots were supposed to be. The failed 3DO console itself was used as a joke in the dialogue from the anime series, "Lucky Star" - Konata explained that the 3DO was one of the punishment prizes that her father would award her if she underachieved in school placement.
     

     
    ( monster eating protagonist's entrails?? )
     

     
    ( DOOM Slayer's love interest? )
     

     

     
    Could there be some kind of love triangle going on here between the demon, the DOOM Slayer and the girl? Or maybe it's something even more bizarre than that...like maybe a threesome? It seems pretty obvious who the "bull" in this 3-way relationship is going to be. I guess it's no worse than anything else that passes for 'entertainment' in the Western World today though.
     

    Sources:
    The True Story Behind Doom 3DO's 'Missing' FMV Scenes
    Photos from scrapped Doom FMV are terrifying, just not in a good way
     
     
    EDIT: Upon writing this initially, I had not yet seen this vlog of game programmer Rebecca Heineman who had worked on this port of the game, weighing in on the backstory of the ill-fated FMV sequences. In it, she confirms that the costume was actually intended to portray the Hell Barons ( not the Cyberdemon ), which makes more sense. She mentions something about a recent article pertaining to the FMVs but never posted a direct link in the video description. Heineman has a lot of insight on the expenses that go into film making, which is useful.
     
    Below is a link to the photos from the set on Github ( apparently uploaded by Heineman herself ) :
    https://github.com/Olde-Skuul/doom3do/tree/master/art/set-photos
     
    It is actually a pity that we never got a version of Classic DOOM with cool live action scenes like Resident Evil had...I have seen people draw a comparison to the lost cutscenes from the original "Twisted Metal" but the difference is that those were still eventually released.
     
     
  3. Lone Lancer
    This is actually a few months old now. The reason I posted this here is because only the most dedicated among us would be willing to listen to over two hours of talk about one particular graphic artist. I actually listened to this one twice to make sure I didn't miss anything.
    Topics Discussed include:
    *Hand-Drawn Animation
    *Pre-2000s Cinema
    *How Gun Culture Influenced Saturday Morning Cartoons During the 80s & 90s
    *Super Sentai vs. Power Rangers
    And More...
    I had never heard of this guy until just recently. He kept extraordinary company though. This guy was personal friends with the best that the synthwave scene has to offer. The guys that were interviewed are right up there with Mitch talentwise. Honestly, I can see a lot of myself in the backstory of this great savant. I highly doubt that I will ever be able to live up to Blood + Chrome but, I will do my part to help carry on his legacy! I will be seeking to make my own AMVs, custom graphics and logos in the future. His loss will not be in vain. Rest in power, great one.
     
    Blood + Chrome's Stuff:
    Official Website
    youtube channel
    vimeo
    Bandcamp
  4. Lone Lancer
    I am going to preface this entry by stating that I am quite aware of the scripted, theatrical nature of pro-wrestling as a profession. Although people really do get hurt sometimes when doing a show, I am aware that it is not actual fighting in the sense that the premise of "Street Fighter" and "Virtua Fighter" would have you believe it is - if that were the case then Zangief probably would have been programmed to be able to whip every other character's arse very easily in the game as the final boss in place of Bison; instead he was the most vulnerable character in the game when he wasn't using his throw moves ( getting sidetracked here ). In any event, pro-wrestling does have the stigma attached to it of being seen as puerile or childish. Is it entirely justified? Probably. Even that being, there is no doubt that the flashy entrance music that was in use 35 years ago enhanced the overall presentation quite a bit. Back then, it was not like today where all the music is contracted out to a bunch of no-talent hacks whose unremarkable songs mostly sound the same - maybe that sounds harsh but, I am unimpressed with all the monotonous nu-metal stuff that wishes it were as cool as Ultimate Warrior's theme was. The new guys they have doing the music now cannot compare to the sublime work done mostly by just three people: Jim Johnston, Jimmy Hart ( "Mouth of the South"), and J.J. Maguire. I'll give an honorable mention to Rick Derringer, the guy who composed the Hulkster's theme from the days when he was at his peak as the babyface hero of the circuit, sporting his iconic red and yellow tights. There were also a few themes that the now defunct WCW had that were good too but, I don't remember any that could hold a candle to the WWE's "Federation Era" - I would say Ric Flair but his theme song was simply taken from the movie "2001: a Space Odyssey." Maybe classic Sting ( the wrestler, not the singer ) before he adopted his "Crow" persona during the Heel Hogan/NWO Era.
    So why am I writing about classic WWE Music on a site dedicated to anime/manga and gaming? Oddly enough, it could be argued that there is some overlap in the art direction, particularly back in the day. It is well known that pro-wrestling is at least as popular in Japan ( maybe more so ) than it is in the United States, and hence one of the reasons I write this. To be honest, it would actually be kinda cool to see more anime/manga about pro-wrestling done in a more down-to-earth way...preferably with less violence than Kinnikuman had.
    And which classic entrance themes do I personally find the most musically pleasing to the ear and why? I already know that probably everyone else would answer Bret " The Hitman" Hart or Ultimate Warrior - both have huge devoted followings and both are excellent theme songs to be sure. I actually rather liked those of Mr. Perfect and the Million Dollar Man quite a bit. Rather than certain theme songs which were intentionally made to sound menacing or threatening as in the cases of Sycho Sid ( <-- the correct spelling ) and Bam Bam Bigelow, I tend to gravitate more to the ones that sound more like actual songs. In particular, these following four would be my personal picks for the GOAT ( greatest of all time ). I will also be sharing my own thoughts about the songs themselves and the personalities who walked to the ring to them. All of these songs were from before the infamous "Attitude Era."
    First up, we have Razor Ramon ( aka Scott Hall ). Mr. Hall actually passed away earlier this year ( RIP ). The character he portrayed in the WWE was a reference to the movie "Scarface." I was first introduced to him from playing "Wrestlemania: The Arcade Game" and "Royal Rumble" on SNES at my cousin's house ( fond memories ). The first time I remember actually watching him wrestle on TV was after he had already jumped ship to the ill-fated WCW and founded the NWO with Nash and Hogan. As often the case with the heels ( per the unstated rule of "kayfabe" ), Scott was reportedly a very nice guy in real life ( at least to his fans ); in character, he always acted like a total jerk and a bully on camera ( rather convincingly ), which lets us know that he was very good at his job, one of the best. Whatever backstage politics or scheming he was supposedly up to with his buddies in the whole HBK "Kliq," it is hard not to admire this man's contributions to the profession in hindsight. Without Scott, the overall character of the sport would have been wanting. For many fans, he basically introduced them to the concept of the bada$$ anti-hero babyface. I never did care for his NWO gear...that spray paint logo looked really cheap and tacky; in my opinion, it was ill-befitting for his in-ring persona. Razor's WWE entrance had a very nice application of keyboard and synth drums.
     
     
    Next is the entrance theme for another of one of the most infamous heels in wrestling history. Jake the Snake is probably best remembered for the feud he had with the Macho Man, wherein he struck Ms. Elizabeth on camera and sicked his cobra on Savage while he was down. In the new TV series called "Heels" ( one of the few modern non-anime shows I can even stand to watch anymore ), the fictional character Wild Bill Hancock shows signs that he was intentionally designed after this very individual. Whatever one thinks of his in-ring gimmick, you can never say that he wasn't a good showman. Although he was already retired before I started watching during my childhood, I knew him by his reputation. He was a very colorful character in contrast to the vanilla cast we see today. Jake's entrance theme is basically straight up synthwave through and through. Jim Johnston's talent as a keyboardist really shines in his song titled, "Snake Bit." Truly an epic masterpiece that deserved play on the radio.
     
     
    The next entrance theme is one of the few great masterpieces that Jim Johnston and crew had nothing to do with. It would be impossible for me to pick an absolute favorite among these four but, I would certainly say that this one is my favorite entrance theme to rock out to. It was performed by Robbie Dupree and became the entrance theme to the now largely forgotten babyface tag team known as "Strike Force." Of the two of them, I only remember Ricky Martel ever being somewhat successful after their split. Under his new moniker, the "Model", Ricky would be featured on wrestling board games and card games - and probably video games too...hey, I haven't played all of them. The sound of the song is very bright and optimistic in the most quintessentially 80s way, though I think it was being used during the early 90s. People have remarked that it sounds like a song from an 80s Saturday Morning Cartoon. Others point to the similarity of the song's rhythm to Elecman's stage theme from Mega Man I - this actually isn't the only song from that era that sounds like that ( maybe in pro-wrestling ). A bizarre little known fact about this song, is that it was actually given to Ted Dibiase ( Million Dollar Man ) on Wrestlemania for the NES ( in 8-Bit chiptune form ) due to the fact that Ted did not yet have his famous Money Inc. song at that time. I actually posted the official video for this song in another entry but, the audio quality is noticeably better on this upload.
     
     
    It feels fitting that the theme I should close this out with is Lex Luger's original entrance theme from his introduction as the Narcissist. Unbeknownst to many people, Lex was originally intended as a bad guy. Vince, desperate to find someone else to fill the big shoes of the Hulkster after he had left the company, decided to turn Luger into a face which would lead to him adopting his better known All-American persona where he became the tag team partner of the British Bulldog. This change never did take with the fans, who mostly favored Hart, HBK, and Razor as the principle good guys following the departure of Ultimate Warrior, Hulkster and Savage. Regarding my thoughts about this musical composition, I absolutely love this song but, it just seems entirely unsuited for being used as the entrance music of a heel character. It has a happy, yet poignant sound about it. The airy ethereal notes of this number make it feel as though you are hearing the sounds of Heaven or the Elysian Fields as you walk on the clouds...this is going to sound corny ( I know it does ) but honestly, it is hard for me to listen to this without feeling like I am going to choke up in tears of joy. It's almost like having a spiritual experience. It induces a tremendous emotional state which Generation Y has eloquently termed as "the feels." It really is that good. Some people have stated that it sounds like a song from a "Final Fantasy" title; I'm not big into RPGs, as they seemingly make obvious choices needlessly complicated - legendary video game journalist Adam Sessler actually made fun of this aspect of RPGs in a skit he did years ago on one of the many iterations of his long running video game review show he used to have. The only video game Lex appears in as a selectable character that I know of to feature a chiptune version of this song was Royal Rumble for the SNES ( Super Famicom ). Like Razor, it was through video games that I first became familiar with Lex.
     
     
    UPDATE:
     
    I forgot that this other character ever existed, awesome theme song though...even if the voice-overs in it are just sound samples repeating the same thing. I had to include this one. That makes five if anyone here has the superstition that the number 4 is unlucky. I will also give an honorable mention to the themes of Big John Studd and Owen Hart's first theme before he changed it. RIP Owen and John.
    Jimmy Hart & J.J. Maguire - Repossessor Blues
    [ YET ANOTHER EDIT ]
    I went back and listened to Greg "The Hammer" Valentine's theme again. I've changed my mind, Greg's theme is legit and it belongs here. To be honest, I have always preferred the more outrageous gimmick of his old tag partner Brutus Beefcake when watching old footage. That entrance theme of Greg's is something else though...
    Jimmy Hart & J.J. Maguire - Hammer Man
     
  5. Lone Lancer
    This long forgotten gem was never adapted into an anime but, it probably should have been. Myself and maybe one or two other people are probably the only ones here that even remember playing this now obscure 2-D fighter on the 16-Bit Megadrive. According to what I read, there were more sequels planned after "Challenge From the Dark Side" was released for the Mega-CD console, but Sega of Japan in their infinite wisdom decided to force an early end to the project in favor of its "Virtua Fighter" franchise - go and figure that out.🙄
    Although I have never played the sequel, I have many fond memories of the first one. More than being simply an enjoyable electronic game, it was a work of art in many more ways than just one. The fact that the box art was done by legendary artists Boris Vallejo & Julie Bell certainly did not hurt.
    The premise of the story was very unconventional. Basically it goes, an omniscient alien being from the future with super cosmic powers known simply as "The Eternal Champion" grants a second chance at life to nine different fighters from different time periods who met an early death before they could change history for the better and save the world by averting the extinction level cataclysm that the Champion himself seeks to prevent. The Eternal Champion has the fighters compete against each other for the right to face him in combat and determine whether they are worthy of being allowed to return to their original time and be allowed to live out a full life to offset the negative changes which culminate in disaster. Unlike most fighting games of that era, nobody in the first title was actually evil; there were no equivalent counterparts to Shao Kahn or M. Bison storywise.
    The Eternal Champion himself is legitimately my least favorite final boss to fight against in any of the fighters that I have played. Not only must the player defeat the Eternal Champion in his several different forms during the same round but, the player's health points are only partially replenished between each part of the fight. If the player lost two rounds against the Eternal Champion, there would be no continues and it would be game over -- followed by the Eternal Champion lamenting in despair of how his expectations were not met while informing the player that the world is doomed and that it was their own failure to pass his test that caused it. I never became good enough where I could beat the Eternal Champion.
    The time travel theme is something that few other fighting game franchises used. "Time Killers" and ADK's "World Heroes" ( later acquired by SNK/Neo Geo ) were the only other two from the 16-Bit Era ( that I can name ) that used this motif. To a lesser extent, the development team from "Killer Instinct" experimented with the concept when the sequel "Killer Instinct 2" ( aka "Killer Instinct Gold" ) was released for the Nintendo 64 in the late '90s.
    ( EDIT: Eternal Champions was actually adapted into a comic in the issues of the official Sega publication, "Sonic the Comic", which was exclusive to the UK. The story loosely followed the lore of the game. Details here. )
    I still remember my first time playing this, it would show some random character from the cast appear and smash the Sega logo before the title screen started - I always thought that was so cool.🤩
     
    Aside from the story concept and art direction, I also really enjoyed the background music. It was some of the best ever used for a chiptune. I was delighted to learn that someone actually made remixes of them in just the past few months of my writing this. As good as some of these remixes are, I still don't feel that they necessarily replace the originals - they are an addition to them. I never much cared for Larcen's stage theme, so that might be one exception for me. Some of the songs which were great in their original chiptune form did not translate as well in the new style, so I will be omitting those. You can listen to the original chiptunes here.
     
    The artist, Hyde209, not only does covers of video game music, he is also an accomplished graphic artist as well. If you enjoy this, be sure and check him out.
    The first remix video is the theme from the database of the game's character bios. Hyde provides abridged versions of each of the characters' backstories.
     
    The second is of the game's main menu theme.
     
     
    This one is a remix of the Battle Room theme.
     
     
    Undoubtedly, I would have to say Jonathan Blade's stage theme was my favorite one in chiptune. This remix actually captures the spirit of the original the best out of all the iterations of it that Hyde has done, though it is still missing that whirring noise that drones in the background for most of the song on the Megadrive. Hyde did a much older metal version of this song that is also really good -- link here. He also did a couple of others that were more ambitious but, didn't strike my fancy as much - one of them a collab with a friend of his.
     
     
    Larcen's stage theme was my least favorite out of all the chiptunes...somehow Hyde turned this otherwise unremarkable ( and unoriginal ) song into something that's awesome.
     
     
    To be honest, every remix Hyde has done of Shadow's theme is great but, I think this one actually sounds the most like the original; thus, it is my favorite remixed version of it.
     
     
    The scantily clad blonde vixen from the cover art! Jetta Maxx is easily my waifu when it comes to anything EC. Her theme song was also one of my favorites from the original game. Out of all of Hyde's remixes of her theme, this one is my personal favorite and the only one I will feature here.
     
     
    Growing up, I was a Xavier main. Xavier Pendragon was my favorite character from the game and the one that I most empathized with -- he realized all too late that he had cast his pearls before swine when they burned him at the stake. Historically, I believe those accused of witchcraft were actually hanged instead of burned; the accused were still just as dead though. Each of Hyde's Eternal Champions Tribute albums has a cover of Xavier's stage theme. Although the version from his latest album "Resynthesized" sounds much more like the original, this older metal version is just so cool that I actually prefer it over the other ones. It's that kind of awesome...
     
     
    I have always loved shows and films where both the prehistoric and futuristic would come together. I honestly wasn't sure whether to feature Slash's stage theme remix. It's really more like music to set the mood than something made for musical enjoyment. In any case, this one is most faithful to the original and largely succeeds in capturing that feeling.
     
     
    The game's final boss had a pretty wicked tune even in its original 16-Bit form. I honestly think that I might like this one better than the original version. I really like the way this one turned out.
     
     
    The different remixes Hyde has done of Trident's theme are all so good that he is the only character whom all different theme song iterations thereof will be included here. All three have uniquely different sound qualities that set them apart as their own thing. Hyde's album "The Second Chance" included radio drama style voice acting bits relating to the deaths of each character. Out of the three, the remix from "Resynthesized" ( the first one down below ) sounds the most like the original version. I decided not to even bother with the themes of R.A.X. or Midknight because neither were as good as they should have been with modern hardware - especially Midknight's; it's a shame because Midknight's stage was one of my favorites in the game.
     
     
     
     
     
    The remix of the bad ending.
     
     
    And finally...the remix of the good ending.
     
     
     
  6. Lone Lancer

    The Music

    By Lone Lancer,

    Depending on genre, the choices used for an anime's music and score should fit the setting and theme. I know I'm a huge synth guy but, it doesn't always necessarily have to be synth or ambient. The Irish Celtic Music used for the introductory title bumpers for episodes of "Fairy Tail" actually suit the quasi-Medieval fantasy world setting quite well. In other cases where the story in question is in a modern setting ( less rustic ) with a more sentimental tone and fewer comic elements to it, I think this obscure little gem pretty much typifies the sound that I would be looking to implement into the soundtrack of the hypothetical anime series/film. By some people's questionable tastes, this would actually be considered rather "kitschy." Yeah...whatever. 🙄
     
    "Girls In Cars" by Robbie Dupree
     
     
  7. Lone Lancer
    The classic anime film "Akira" is often hailed as the gold standard that all anime art is judged by. From a purely visual angle, it would be hard to disagree with that. My whole problem is that I personally just didn't much care for the story...great visuals though.
    If I were ever fortunate enough to have the pleasure of being the Chairman/Editor-in-Chief of my very own anime studio, one of the very first things I would want is a return to form using the classic hand-drawn art style that was in use during the '80s and '90s. See the gallery of Deviant Art user bluethebone to get an idea of what I mean -- you will notice many popular anime characters from the new generation being re-imagined there in this style.
    In the hair and wardrobe department, it would be nice to see some new shows that feature throwback fashions which serve as an anachronism to the present day. Give the chicks nice big luscious manes of hair like the styles that Farrah Fawcett and June Chadwick used to wear in the shows and movies they were in during their prime. Have the characters wearing brightly coloured casual shirts featuring all-over prints with geometric shapes that would look right at home on the set of Saved By the Bell. That one scene from My Dress-Up Darling where Wakana Gojo is shown trying on one of these while out shopping with Marin was great - that shirt was so me. I wish I could have taken it right off of his back to claim it as my own.
     

     

    One of my other big things is the music. Okay, admittedly most of the good anime being made to this day typically has a good opening theme song which would please even a tough customer like yours truly...but, have we also not heard better before? I feel that there is often too little synth being used in the themes and scores of many modern animes, though this isn't to say that the keyboard is entirely absent in all of them; however, the warm fuzzy vibes of the low resolution synth of the past is largely phased out because..."progress." In the genre of comedy, it feels most appropriate to go for theme music done in the style of a smooth jazz fusion which blends the synthy goodness of the keyboard with an accompaniment of lots of sweet saxophone. The music should provide a pleasant feel-good atmosphere; and yes, all the cues and jingles too.
    Also, each episode should end with the traditional freeze-frame right before the credit roll starts. I know that none of the anime comedies do this but, I always thought it would be better if they did.
    As my musical example, I will cite "Nothing's Gonna Stop Me Now" by David Pomeranz - better known as the theme from Perfect Strangers. I also included the closing theme arrangement. To my sensibilities, this is how a sitcom theme is supposed to sound.
     
     
     

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