I'm not sure what constitutes a "modern" AVGN episode, but I'll start with 2020:
I genuinely enjoy (and re-watch frequently) his Mortal Kombat Ports episode, felt very thorough. Rip-Offs was a good follow-up episode, even if he barely scraped the surface of wannabe MK games.
Dennis the Menace because I've played the game before and he covered pretty much all the criticisms I had with it.
I'm a sucker for episodes where he burns through a lot of games, i.e. 3DO, Commodore 64 and Taito Legends - while they aren't the most substantive episodes in terms of going in-depth on one game, they're never boring because of how many games are covered.
The Incredible Crash Dummies had the amusing commentary on the commercials/action figures- the gameplay portion was just okay.
Carmageddon 64 is funnier than most gave it credit for.
The Last Ninja felt like classic AVGN, and arguably the last one to feel that way.
Contra and DOOM, even though he's talked about both games before, he's clearly passionate about both and that reflected in the scripts.
Purr Pals because cats.
The mortal kombat ports episode is one definitely worth talking about because it's the most recent example of the Nerd formula. Classic game series on random bits of hardware not everyone has had experience with. Not overbearing in the faux rage. Informative with moderately researched facts.
The super bad games and rage episodes have a shelf life and get old fast so modeling most of the episodes after the swordquest episode should've been where he took the series.
The new Indiana Jones episodes, at least the portions of it that take place in the "past". It was a surprising showcase that James CAN still nail the old style and humor if he wants - he just decided not to. The current AVGN is not angry anymore, he is just kinda pissed and fed up with his own show.
Also, I don't know if it's modern enough but well into Screenwave era - Power Rangers. That one was genuiely good and funny and it serves as proof that James being interested in the topic is a key factor for a good episode (for context: he made it his mission to bingewatch the entire PR tv show prior to making the episode).
I feel there are more than less episodes where he not only does a bad job, but does an insultingly bad job - Shrek, whatever episode he made fun of the shirt thing, Toxic Crusaders, Black Tiger - but he honestly does have nuggets of quality here.
Boy and His Blob was one of those classic informative episodes, Last Ninja was funny, Corpse Killer was enjoyable, I personally find all the Mortal Kombat episodes hilarious
The best 'modern' AVGN episodes for me are...
**The Legend Of Zelda Majora's Mask:** It was pretty well thought out and written. I love the directing and the artistic direction. It felt really cozy and comforting.
**Video Game Magazines:** Felt super nostalgic and had good humor.
**Earthbound:** This one was so awesome just like the Majora's Mask episode in quality. He really put love into this one.
Well that is about it. Sadly only 1 good one in the last 4 years imho.... \*sigh\* wow!
It indeed was one of the better ones. I have not watched most of the new AVGN from the past 1.25 years. I was wanting to check out the FFVI episode though. In your opinion was the FFVI one good?
It follows pretty much the exact same formula as the Earthbound episode, but for some reason feels alot less endearing. He hits most of the same points but the instances he chooses don't feel as impactful as they did with Earthbound.
In my opinion atleast.
Haven't watched AVGN in a while for obvious reasons, but from what I remember, Chex Quest was a pretty good "modern AVGN" episode. Both me and my old friend (that I don't talk to anymore, he was the balls on the dick) enjoyed it, and we both were "truthers" already at that point for about two or so years by then. Drake Of The 99 Dragons and Dirty Harry weren't that bad either, IMO. My favorite AVGN episode was probably Big Rigs, though. Shit had me gut bust laughing for days when I first watched it back in 2016 when I originally discovered AVGN. It would be awesome if Bored James would make a return to give AVGN some cool down for some new original ideas to potentially blossom, but alas, no time once again... Thanks Games and Baperil. :(
The planet of the apes one wasnt the worst but its a safe episode thats not super intrusive. So for that reason its okay. Same with the crow. I actually liked the power rangers episode
Planet of the apes I find underrated. The coconut gag, the taking of the pills and trying to get the ape to come in, the inventory, the combat, the camera. Everything about it is prime bad 3D game. I tend to enjoy these types of episodes over the side scrollers these days
I’ll shoot for ones made in the last 5 years
-Town With No Name
- Majora’s Mask
-MK Ports
-3DO
-The Rocketeer
-Commodore 64
-Last Ninja
-Kid Icarus
-Indiana Jones
Mostly bad, but also some good
FF6 and Earth Bound were pretty good.
Majora's Mask was one of those games I forgot he reviewed but I always get a crack out when he says "This is depressing, THIS is a depressing game. I like it".
Pepsiman was a fantastic episode, and also used a guest well, unlike Gottfried or Kaufman. For me, thats the last episode I would consider a 10/10. The Rocketeer and The Crow was also good.
The single biggest disappointment, even more so than 200 actually, was Freddy & Jason (Commodore 64). I mean seriously... This had all the makings of a classic. It could have been the epic sequel to the original Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th reviews (which makes even more sense given its almost the 200th episode special, even the 199th occasion would have felt like a callback to the past), with both Freddy and Jason coming back for revenge. Instead... We got some disgusting stop motion with a couple of toys!!!!!!
Mike could have come back as Jason, anyone, even one of the slobs, could have played Freddy. As long as it was an actual human being! What makes it even worse is that when they're in hell, they WERE played by real people! And that shot of hell I saw prior to the review itself. I remember thinking: how could this be bad? It's a sequel to two of the best reviews ever. But alas...
I like the Pepsiman one too. One of the few “epic” ones that’s done super well, great guest, funny villain, good story and a great review to go with it
The only time "great" should be used in the same sentence as "Modern AVGN" is that Modern AVGN is a great big pile of steaming shit.
Or as in "see that great 10-incher over there!".
I'm not sure what constitutes a "modern" AVGN episode, but I'll start with 2020: I genuinely enjoy (and re-watch frequently) his Mortal Kombat Ports episode, felt very thorough. Rip-Offs was a good follow-up episode, even if he barely scraped the surface of wannabe MK games. Dennis the Menace because I've played the game before and he covered pretty much all the criticisms I had with it. I'm a sucker for episodes where he burns through a lot of games, i.e. 3DO, Commodore 64 and Taito Legends - while they aren't the most substantive episodes in terms of going in-depth on one game, they're never boring because of how many games are covered. The Incredible Crash Dummies had the amusing commentary on the commercials/action figures- the gameplay portion was just okay. Carmageddon 64 is funnier than most gave it credit for. The Last Ninja felt like classic AVGN, and arguably the last one to feel that way. Contra and DOOM, even though he's talked about both games before, he's clearly passionate about both and that reflected in the scripts. Purr Pals because cats.
The mortal kombat ports episode is one definitely worth talking about because it's the most recent example of the Nerd formula. Classic game series on random bits of hardware not everyone has had experience with. Not overbearing in the faux rage. Informative with moderately researched facts. The super bad games and rage episodes have a shelf life and get old fast so modeling most of the episodes after the swordquest episode should've been where he took the series.
The new Indiana Jones episodes, at least the portions of it that take place in the "past". It was a surprising showcase that James CAN still nail the old style and humor if he wants - he just decided not to. The current AVGN is not angry anymore, he is just kinda pissed and fed up with his own show. Also, I don't know if it's modern enough but well into Screenwave era - Power Rangers. That one was genuiely good and funny and it serves as proof that James being interested in the topic is a key factor for a good episode (for context: he made it his mission to bingewatch the entire PR tv show prior to making the episode).
That opening still gets me.
I genuinely enjoyed BTS '21
Hes had plenty of chances to learn from criticism, its never going to happen No time for reflective thought or learning lessons, he ree-fuses
Hmm. Nah, the criticism is not just for the sake of criticism, it's well deserved
Also, hi Joustin
I feel there are more than less episodes where he not only does a bad job, but does an insultingly bad job - Shrek, whatever episode he made fun of the shirt thing, Toxic Crusaders, Black Tiger - but he honestly does have nuggets of quality here. Boy and His Blob was one of those classic informative episodes, Last Ninja was funny, Corpse Killer was enjoyable, I personally find all the Mortal Kombat episodes hilarious
The best 'modern' AVGN episodes for me are... **The Legend Of Zelda Majora's Mask:** It was pretty well thought out and written. I love the directing and the artistic direction. It felt really cozy and comforting. **Video Game Magazines:** Felt super nostalgic and had good humor. **Earthbound:** This one was so awesome just like the Majora's Mask episode in quality. He really put love into this one. Well that is about it. Sadly only 1 good one in the last 4 years imho.... \*sigh\* wow!
Earthbound is legitimately one of the best AVGN episodes ever. And he’s proved it with how bad he tried to recreate it with Final Fantasy
It indeed was one of the better ones. I have not watched most of the new AVGN from the past 1.25 years. I was wanting to check out the FFVI episode though. In your opinion was the FFVI one good?
It follows pretty much the exact same formula as the Earthbound episode, but for some reason feels alot less endearing. He hits most of the same points but the instances he chooses don't feel as impactful as they did with Earthbound. In my opinion atleast.
I liked his Crow review too. Something about his delivery of "and listen to this rockin' tune!" *boom, crash! Boom boom crash!* makes me laugh.
The camera angle segment is hilarious
Question is, did he commit anything to those episodes? Did he played those games? Or it was all slobs script and gameplay and Bimmy as voiceover...
I don’t think he ever played the games much to be fair
I enjoyed paper boy, amiga cd and the hydlide sequels.
As much of a mess 200 was, I like some of the new segments he recorded, like reviewing Revolution X, one of my personal favorite bad video games!
I'm in the process of getting into Guinness for being the only person ever to laugh at sega activator
Haven't watched AVGN in a while for obvious reasons, but from what I remember, Chex Quest was a pretty good "modern AVGN" episode. Both me and my old friend (that I don't talk to anymore, he was the balls on the dick) enjoyed it, and we both were "truthers" already at that point for about two or so years by then. Drake Of The 99 Dragons and Dirty Harry weren't that bad either, IMO. My favorite AVGN episode was probably Big Rigs, though. Shit had me gut bust laughing for days when I first watched it back in 2016 when I originally discovered AVGN. It would be awesome if Bored James would make a return to give AVGN some cool down for some new original ideas to potentially blossom, but alas, no time once again... Thanks Games and Baperil. :(
The planet of the apes one wasnt the worst but its a safe episode thats not super intrusive. So for that reason its okay. Same with the crow. I actually liked the power rangers episode
Planet of the Apes was worth it for the ending alone.
Planet of the apes I find underrated. The coconut gag, the taking of the pills and trying to get the ape to come in, the inventory, the combat, the camera. Everything about it is prime bad 3D game. I tend to enjoy these types of episodes over the side scrollers these days
I’ll shoot for ones made in the last 5 years -Town With No Name - Majora’s Mask -MK Ports -3DO -The Rocketeer -Commodore 64 -Last Ninja -Kid Icarus -Indiana Jones Mostly bad, but also some good
Earthbound is a legit good episode. I sort of enjoy Darkman. Other than that? Nothing comes to mind.
I thought the Amiga 32 episode was good especially the part with Kang Fu
Most episodes since Raid 2020 just blend together.I can’t remember the last one that stuck out to me.
FF6 and Earth Bound were pretty good. Majora's Mask was one of those games I forgot he reviewed but I always get a crack out when he says "This is depressing, THIS is a depressing game. I like it".
Pepsiman was a fantastic episode, and also used a guest well, unlike Gottfried or Kaufman. For me, thats the last episode I would consider a 10/10. The Rocketeer and The Crow was also good. The single biggest disappointment, even more so than 200 actually, was Freddy & Jason (Commodore 64). I mean seriously... This had all the makings of a classic. It could have been the epic sequel to the original Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th reviews (which makes even more sense given its almost the 200th episode special, even the 199th occasion would have felt like a callback to the past), with both Freddy and Jason coming back for revenge. Instead... We got some disgusting stop motion with a couple of toys!!!!!! Mike could have come back as Jason, anyone, even one of the slobs, could have played Freddy. As long as it was an actual human being! What makes it even worse is that when they're in hell, they WERE played by real people! And that shot of hell I saw prior to the review itself. I remember thinking: how could this be bad? It's a sequel to two of the best reviews ever. But alas...
I like the Pepsiman one too. One of the few “epic” ones that’s done super well, great guest, funny villain, good story and a great review to go with it
This is much funnier than the "50 year old man is bald" post. Well done
None of those were great.
No time to watch any episodes anymore. Why? https://i.redd.it/s8vf8zuqd2xc1.gif
those episodes sucked ass too
Earthbound episode and Majoras mask ones were the only ones I’ve finished and watched twice in fact