Knowing this, going back and reading the series would beg the question “Why?” At least for some. Between the character’s creation in August 1962 and the publishing of Ultimate Spider-Man in October 2000, we would see multiple comics, cartoons, and films focusing on a teenage Peter Parker coming into his powers and facing off against familiar villains.

In short, the concept was tired and ran down. That’s why Miles Morales was received so well. It was something new and half of the original team—Bendis—returned and deliver on the execution. That’s where the original Ultimate Spider-Man gets a chance. Execution.

Bendis could’ve given us the exact same tale but Marvel would’ve gone for it. Plus, the rest of the Ultimate Marvel universe was focused on a modern spin on classic heroes. So, is Ultimate Spider-Man worth a read? Let’s find out.

Ultimate Spider-Man (2000-2009)

This series was basically the flagship for the Ultimate Marvel lineup. Sure, there was a whole Ultimates comic there but this was Spidey’s show. Hell, Ultimates wasn’t even the longest running in the lineup since it was completed in under a year following thirteen issues. Sure, it came back in 2005 and once more in 2008, but again it was out after thirteen and six issues respectively.

Ultimate Spider-Man went 133 issues over eight years. That’s nothing to sneeze at. The only other series in that line to come close were Ultimate X-Men which got a hundred issues across eight years and Ultimate Fantastic Four, which was given sixty issues across five years. Of course, the Fantastic Four should’ve gotten that many since it was the Marvel Universe’s top team for decades and the X-Men are the X-Men. Everyone loves the X-Men because everyone has at least one favorite mutant and stories are often timeless.

That Sliding Timeline

First thing’s first, Ultimate Spider-Man as well as the entire Ultimate Marvel line still worked within Marvel’s janky “sliding timeline.” While the sliding timeline isn’t particularly confusing, it leaves a ton of things unanswered. Namely, the fact Captain America fought in World War II which is depicted in the Marvel Universe, referenced frequently but never establishes a concrete timeline.

There’s a good reason for this. Business-wise, Marvel wrote itself into a box where it has a number of popular, established characters that it doesn’t want to phase out entirely. As a result, most characters don’t age, they get numerous stories.

Marvel explains that these stories happened in just a few decades and don’t go by real time. Okay…I guess. To bolster this, the numerous incidents of time traveling and time tampering affected Marvel’s time to some odd degree. Alright, we’re getting to something that makes some canonical sense. As far as the Ultimate Marvel universe is concerned, it shouldn’t be impacted by anything of this until the Secret Wars storyline in 2015.

Honestly, its why I’m more of an Astro City/Valiant Comics reader. The timeline is what it is and the timeline goes straight forward—even with instances of time travel being an important part of Astro City.

Content

In regards to the artwork and writing, both were extremely good. The execution in a modern retelling of Peter Parker’s life as Spider-Man worked here. Some people didn’t care for it but that’s often the case with comics, right? But I felt they really hit it out the park. I got back into comics in 2007 because of Ultimate Spider-Man.

The main line of comics in both Marvel and DC can be hard to get into. This isn’t because the stories aren’t any good, its that so much happens across multiple series in the period of a year that it can be hard to jump in. And if you manage to jump in, you have to keep up. American comics often aren’t linear, they weave in with other series in a shared universe and a significant event of a larger story arc might be referenced.

This is also the case with Ultimate Marvel but since it started with a handful of series and didn’t run for decades and decades, its pretty easy to get into and read through all the series. Of the series, Ultimate Spider-Man and Ultimate X-Men were the most appealing. Bendis’ Spider-Man isn’t much different from the teenage Spidey we’re familiar with but the series entire eight year focus was just on teen Spidey.

This was something I loved because Spidey in college simply didn’t appeal to me too much and adult Spidey didn’t either. The stories were great, mind you but I just could be bothered with his adult drama. I wanted superpowered fights and Parker’s wittiness. Ultimate Spider-Man gave you both with the risk of being a teen and having to keep up his identity.

To a degree, it was something you probably missed out on if you got into Spider-Man at a certain time and didn’t go back read the early stuff.

Pull or Pass

I’ll say that Ultimate Spider-Man gets a pull. There’s great artwork, great writing, and I have to add—the covers are dope. They’ve been out for over a decade now—almost twenty years which is wild—so you’ll do better picking them up in graphic novel format. If you’re not up for buying all 27 books—although the first 22 is the main run—chances are your public library has them or can hold them. That’s how I went through them anyway. The Marvel Unlimited service is also a good way to read them.

RATING: 8.5 out of 10 (Recommended)

Staff Writer; M. Swift

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.

Judge Cal

Originally a Deputy Chief Judge, Judge Cal wasn’t in his position for long at just a year. Prior to that, he served as head of the Special Judicial Squad—basically the Internal Affairs of the Justice Department. Tasked with keeping the judges honest, Judge Cal aspired for more power and the coveted Chief Judge position.

He made his way up the ranks via blackmail and forcing some Judges to become his hitmen. Rivals and allies were either kept in line or found themselves with a bit of permanent misfortune. Eventually, Cal became Deputy Chief. He was within distance of his goal. All he needed was to get rid of Judge Goodman. Luckily, he had some support in the way of Judges who had since become corrupted.

When Judge Cal made his move, it was already a wrap for Judge Goodman. Prior to this, his mind had been taken over, the Robot Wars had seen the population of Mega-City One take a hit, and there was uncertainty of Judge Dredd’s return from the Cursed Earth. While Dredd did return, it all took a toll on the man. This made him easy pickings for Cal who enacted a plan to have Dredd arrested for the killing of a civilian.

Dredd was sent to jail on Titan but managed to get free and clear himself. Revealing it was a robot made to look like the lawman. Since the information the robot used came from within the Department, the hunt for the man who set Dredd up was on. The whole time that Dredd was away, Chief Judge Goodman fell apart allowing for Cal to go forward with taking over. He would go on to have the mayor of Mega-City One imprisoned, Dredd shot, and Goodman killed.

Caligula’s Reign

Even though Dredd would recover—because Dredd never loses and he’s never out for too long—Cal was able to go on with his plans for Mega-City One. While he was a corrupt official who wanted power for himself, he was also an authoritarian and put the city in a state of martial law. He was also able to brainwash the majority of the judges to not question him.

The power went to Cal’s head and he became insane to the point his goldfish was appointed to his old position and is now Deputy Chief Judge Fish. At his side were two judges, one of which Cal eventually betrayed when they questioned his sanity. There was a group of citizens who banded together to fight against Cal’s reign but they were crushed by the reptile alien Kleggs that the Chief Judge brought in. As punishment, Cal had citizens executed in alphabetical order.

As expected, some citizens decided to flee the city when it was gathered that Cal was totally gone. This meant they would’ve taken their chances in the Cursed Earth. Unfortunately, the Chief Judge forced them to stay and build the wall that would keep them in. When Dredd recovered, he set about taking the fight to Cal with the help of a few almost retired judges, protege Judge Giant and his own mentor Judge Griffin.

In heading underground, he enlisted the help of the criminal Fergee. Knowing that Dredd was coming for him, Cal enlisted the help of Kleggs. The final dance for Chief Judge Cal came when he was planning to destroy Mega-City One in attempt to freeze his reign at the height of perfection—at least he felt it was a perfect reign. Dredd’s forces managed to defeat the Kleggs but were captured by Cal’s forces.

As it often happens, whenever there seems to be no way out for Dredd, he always survives thanks to some improbable shot or an ally. In this case, Fergee came through and killed Chief Judge Cal by throwing him to his death and preventing the plot.

Pull or Pass

Dredd was once again given all the kudos and it was expected that he’d become Chief Judge. He instead nominated Chief Griffin in his place, wanting to remain where the action is. Which is great, because without Dredd Mega-City One would’ve continued to lose more of its population. I mean, we’re talking over 40 years of stories and this city just gets the rough end of disasters and the like.

So is this one pull-worthy or could you pass it and read it if you come across it? It’s definitely pull-worthy purely for the peak insanity and chaos wreaked by Judge Cal. You expect Judge Dredd to pull a victory out but you’re really wondering how long will it take and how much more will Cal amp up the chaos before he does.

Staff Writer; M. Swift

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.

Against the Gods in a Nutshell

AtG is a very entertaining but occasionally head scratch-inducing series. It comes from a period when murim literature could run for a long time and was often well-paced. However, that same period also saw a number of webnovels get the manhua treatment and was often faster-paced.

We also have a lot of similar-looking protagonists, similar-looking love interests, oppressive branch families, close friends (often nicknamed Fatty), oppressive elders and seniors, and a spirit mentor who knows everything about the martial world.

Actually, Bloodstained Jasmine wasn’t a spirit mentor so much as a wounded master who could only exist with one of our hero’s spatial hand -cauldron. There are many story arcs detailing Yun Che’s rise from a teenager with busted meridians who could practice mystical martial arts to the world’s greatest martial artist.

This path is paved with defeated enemies via Yun Che’s plot armor-heavy bulldozer-grade power. Yun is extremely powerful thanks to being a regressor. He experienced three lives and was sent back to his first life as Xiao Che after taking his own life at 27 during his second life.

In his second life, he had become a great doctor, a medical genius who could use herbs, profound strength, and acupuncture to heal. When his adoptive father and master is killed by others coveting his Sky Poison Pearl (a powerful healing treasure), he takes the Pearl and goes on a warpath killing millions with poison powers.

When the martial alliance of that time responded and eventually cornered him, he merged with the Sky Poison Pearl. As a result, he reincarnated in his first life with the foundation of his plot armor in this series.

Yun Che is a Frustrating Hero

Without giving away specific storylines beyond his origin, Yun Che’ is both cunning and brash. He has a high degree of comprehension and learning that sees his become powerful rapidly but there are several times when that ability could’ve gone to waste. This is often caused either by him talking himself into a situation where someone might just pack him up or he just can’t help his curiosity and greed.

Now, heroes in martial fantasy stories are adventurous and that’s part of the fun in reading the series. However, in early adventures Yun Che was often in over his head and had to rely on Bloodstained Jasmine to bail him out at times. Mind you, this is usually after she warns him against his actions.

Without being young and dumb, he wouldn’t have gained many treasures and abilities. Plus, he had to do those to gain power and get stronger so he could protect himself, loved ones, and keep his promise to Jasmine.

Promises and Ladies

Speaking of promises, Yun Che racks up a lot of promises to keep. It keeps the ball rolling with his story as these promises are the costs for him getting many of the abilities, skills, and treasures. Promises are also how we draws his many wives and concubines. There are several times when his interactions with his love interests are unrealistic with most of the women being just smitten with him for his cunning, power, bravery and daring-do.

The only love interests who show some common sense and resistance to his wiles are those from the Frozen Cloud Asgard (including his first wife), a martial arts sect made up of beautiful women but that’s because they’re trained to largely sever ties with emotions and previous connections. Even then, Yun Che is such a casanova, some of them fall to him.

There are other elements in Against the Gods that leave me excited for battles or Yun Che administering justice yet shaking my head at him heading into high danger but escaping death (rarely narrowly). The flaws aside, it’s one of those series synonymous with manhua and this genre of action-adventure.

Overall it’s a fun series worth reading with plenty of chapters and battles.

Staff Writer; M. Swift

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.

For those who never experienced it or played the game when it ended on storefronts, Kingdoms of Amalur was an open-world action RPG taking place in fantasy world brimming with magical and ancient dangers, well-crafted lore, and a good amount of quests and side quests to keep you busy.

Following a decent character creation process, the main character’s story begins after challenging Fate and reviving after certain death. There is a brutal conflict going on but the Gnomes are busy conducting research into resurrection and getting their Well of Souls working.

The MC proves to be a success and of great interest to one researcher who accompanies the MC in escaping hostile forces and puts them on the path to finding out more about their new existence. Along the way, the main character experiences many adventures while also lending their power to the difficult forces combating the Tuatha and more regional dangers and threats.

Kingdoms of Amalur Had a Lot Going for It

Honestly, that’s as brief an explanation of Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning (or Re-Reckoning, the remaster). There’s a lot of stuff going on here. It featured everything that would’ve been standard for an open-world game at this time.

You have your farming of materials, crafting, a decent-sized skill tree with flexibility for some flexible build crafting, rewarding side quests and encounters that allow you to test and stress your progress and build.

The developer, Big Huge Games had a boatload of ideas and managed to put the majority together and craft their mechanics around them. And it works! Whenever I installed this game, I ended up sinking hours into the quests, building up my Fateless One (the main character who exists beyond Fate which governs the world), and crafting gear and weapons to better utilize those skills.

It’s all stock open-world RPG fare but it’s all put together in a way that works and is actually fun. In addition, you had two creative powerhouses in fantasy and comics with novelist R.A Salvatore and writer/artist Todd McFarlane fleshing out the setting of the Faelands, its lore and inhabitants.

What I found interesting about all of this is that at the time of its release, visually Kingdoms of Amalur looked like nothing too special. There were definitely that looked better crafted graphically but Amalur was far from a horrible-looking game. In some ways it existed between slightly dated and of its time but didn’t come off as a game that would push the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, or gaming PCs of the early 2010s.

The World and Scale

Instead you had regions that were colorful, bold, and at times dark and gloomy. You actually felt that your Fateless One was engaged in this large, lengthy quest where you decided how it progressed. Adding to this was the scale of the world. You could look at the map and see what region your were in and which ones were close but traveling through these areas wasn’t exactly a quick jaunt.

You were going to clash with enemies and beasts, you would be distracted by loot and stories, and enticed by exploration. The size of different areas within a region encouraged exploration and after a few encounters, that curiosity in what else could be gained as far as gear and weapons.

I would say this is what really kept me in Amalur: the scale and crafting. Sure, the combat was fine but the possibilities and tiers of crafting material and what could be made had me trying to create the best possible gear for my adventures. The game encouraged that heavily but made it so that if you were into combat, there was plenty of that but you had to explore to be more effective.

Fate of the Kingdom

Ultimately, Kingdoms of Amalur managed to move a million copies but the developer closed due to financial factors as EA had to be repaid for investing a significant amount into the project. Also, the development itself had some issues that seemed to be am indication of how things would shake out for the end product.

Despite the cash sunk into Amalur, there were unfavorable takes into different elements of the game. It was viewed favorably enough to warrant a remaster by Kaiko roughly eight years later. While there is a potential series or even a franchise there, Amalur hasn’t seen much interest or movement in future entries.

Share your thoughts on Kingdoms of Amalur. With the other RPGs of a similar vein out and thriving at that time, did you have expectations of a sequel? Or did you gather that “Too much was out into this game, it was going to get the axe and thrown in the vault”?

Let us know!

Staff Writer; M. Swift

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.

There are many directions some games could’ve taken, even the blockbusters and Greatest Hits. We’re going to look at five odd adventures (good and bad) from the Sega Genesis era. I’ve mainly lived in a PlayStation, Nintendo, and PC household but in the 1990s there were some memorable journeys on the Genesis.

Let’s dive in!

Sonic Spinball (Sega, 1993)

Pinball games on a console used to seem a little lazy to me and that’s mainly as a result of having played Sonic Spinball. It’s not that the game was bad, it was actually a lot of fun. It’s just pinball with a Sonic the Hedgehog theme that worked. I remember thinking that Sega should’ve dropped another Sonic game for the Genesis…only for them to drop them awesome Sonic 3 the following year.

This was the age of quick turnaround for non-sports games. What made this game more odd is that there was no sequel. Just “Here’s some Sonic in the meanwhile.” Alex Kidd Pinball would’ve probably bothered me less because Alex Kidd had long since been shafted and thrown in the vault. If there was no sequel, it would be expected. It’s Alex Kidd.

Unfortunately, Alex Kidd was all stiff (as were many video game characters from the Master System and NES period) and couldn’t ball up and spin like Sonic and Tails could. On that note, Sonic Spinball has mobile gaming potential.

Chuck Rock II: Son of Chuck (Core Design, 1993)

The character Chuck Rock had one game on multiple consoles including the Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, Game Boy, and Game Gear. It was also on some Atari consoles (not too unusual) but it was just that 1991 game. There wasn’t a ton of Chuck Rock games, he wasn’t a character who became a promoted star from a long-running franchise. He was just there, saving his girl in a Flintstones-meet-Super Mario sense.

Two years later, Chuck Rock Jr is off to save his father in a Flintstones-meets-Donkey Kong Jr sense. The game was fine as a platformer and had fun enemies and boss battles, it’s just an odd adventure when you hadn’t played the first Chuck Rock. Of course, after playing Chuck Rock II, you’ll find that it makes sense why there was no Chuck Rock III. Besides the studio closing down years later, there was nowhere else to go with the series.

Krusty’s Fun House (Acclaim, 1992)

It’s the 1990s, The Simpsons run the world and it makes sense that there would be games based on The Simpsons on multiple consoles. It’s just odd that we have a game based on Krusty the Clown who is built like Homer Simpson but doesn’t get into the overly involved situations that Homer gets into.

Sure, Homer has a gut and is at home on the couch any day of the week but he’s out and about doing something. Krusty? Not so much. This isn’t to say it was a bad title or that all Simpsons games should feature Bart. This game was fun and there was an Itchy & Scratchy platformer.

To a degree, it’s the idea of a Simpsons puzzle game. This could’ve been any game. It was actually another game that was given the Simpsons coat of paint because why develop something from scratch when you could just re-design the setting and main characters like Super Mario Bros. 2?

Revolution X (Midway, 1994)

Revolution X was an arcade shooter that was ported to the Sega Genesis. It is best known for being the game that features Aerosmith. They’re not playable characters but they are collectible. This is the only outright bad game on the list because it was often dicey when an arcade shooter or even a PC shooter was ported to the Genesis or Super NES.

But that’s to be expected. No, the odd thing here is we’ve got a band shooter. This isn’t a run-n-gun affair. It’s not a DOOM situation either. This is more like Area 51 or House of the Dead. The game is filled with odd design choices. You’ve got women in bikinis but few on the beach, you’re fighting with a hostile group, and Aerosmith has been kidnapped.

I mean at this time, Aerosmith was delivering the goods but I just don’t know about putting the band and a shooter (or any genre together). Then again, it could’ve been an early 1990s Kiss shooting game.

Chester Cheetah: Too Cool to Fool (System Vision, 1992)

Hmm. Both the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo were no stranger to bad mascot games. Every mascot game can’t be Cool Spot but they can aspire to be Global Gladiators. Chester Cheetah: Too Cool to Fool meets the standard set by Global Gladiators. That is to say it’s mediocre at best but no one would say it was a good or great game.

Mechanically, it worked like most mascot or cartoon platformers from this period with the stiff jumping and movement. I remember my dad bringing this game, Krusty’s Fun House, Tecmo Super Bowl, and Klax from a Friday jaunt to the video store.

It was a dreadful haul but this was the one I played the most since the Cheetos Paws was my favorite snack at the time. You don’t have to reserve judgement and no grace is warranted, I also bought the Combo Man comics because I liked the Combo pretzel snacks.

The odd nature of this game comes from the game obviously not being good but Frito-Lay being invested in it because it was part of an advertising run that was supposed to include a Chester Cheetah cartoon. The toon was canceled but we got two Chester Cheetah games.

Again, this one wasn’t good at all. It was a little under mid, didn’t feature anything new or unique, looked like an early Genesis title (which it was) but someone said “Make another. The streets want another.”

I mean, I wanted another Cool Spot and more Taz-Mania games but never mind that. Much like the Geico cavemen only working for commercials and not warranting a whole television show, Chester Cheetah didn’t need ongoing adventures in video game form.

What are some odd games you’ve played that you feel probably shouldn’t exist. Let us know in the comments!

Staff Writer; M. Swift

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.

The Saturday Morning  Cartoon Landscape

Depending on the network, the Saturday morning block was must-see TV at a time when you could’ve just stayed asleep or actually went outside to do something. Well, in the 80s and 90s, being outside at 7 AM as an elementary schooler was good way to potentially end up a milk carton but Saturday morning was often slow but not Sunday morning slow.

Your heavy hitters were ABC and the WB (in my market originally our Fox affiliate and now the CW). Perpetually third place was UPN (now MyNetwork TV in this market). Those three had regular Saturday morning blocks with CBS and NBC getting away from Saturday morning toons in the morning.

Looking at TV logs from the 1980s, every major network had a Saturday morning block then CBS and NBC went to blocks that started with toons and finished with different kinds of content for kids. Some were educational and others were live action shows like Saved by the Bell.

The Weekday Cartoon Blocks

While Saturday always got the shine—and for good reason—the afternoon blocks were no slouches. It was more of a mix as to what you’d get because the primo toons were typically on Saturdays.

Meanwhile, the school day or weekday line-up featured a few bangers surrounded by either scrub toons or shows that would be viewed favorably but not as bangers.

For instance, you could see Batman: The Animated Series around 4 PM before The Simpsons on Fox/the WB which was outside of the Fox Kids/WB Kids slot. Before you got to Batman, you had to go through Tiny Toons Adventures, Pinky and the Brain, Animaniacs, Taz-Mania, and Freakazoid—a trio of banger series. You also had Eek the Cat and Bobby’s World. Both were fine cartoons but they weren’t the WB’s flagship stuff.

Worse was the mixed bag over on UPN where Mighty Max, Street Sharks, Mummies Alive, Mutant League, and The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog existed alongside Stone Protectors, Stunt Dawgs, Double Dragon, and The Adventures of T-Rex. It was a very scrub-heavy mix on the network and things didn’t truly pick up for the network until 1995 when Samurai Pizza Cats, Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball, and Ronin Warriors aired.

Even with those shows on the network holding down the before school/weekday morning block, the afternoon cartoon block was largely a pass until Dragon Ball and Ronin Warriors were moved to the afternoon block and Eagle Riders (Gatchaman) debuted on the Saturday block.

Mind you, Cartoon Network had been alive and kicking since 1994 but if you didn’t have cable, the broadcast networks were your stop for toons.

Cable’s Cartoon Blocks

I was going to focus on the Sunday morning cartoons but that was probably the weakest block of cartoons you’d ever see. UPN had a block on Sundays where the only show of note was Technoman (Tekkaman Blade) and eventually Eagle Riders being sandwiched between early morning and late morning church programming.

No, we’re going to take a quick look at TBS which had a strong block game throughout the weekend. Even on TNT viewers were blessed with “MonsterVision” and TBS had the action/martial arts block “Movies for Guys Who Like Movies”.

TBS had the “Cartoon Planet” block starting in 1995 that was based around a kids’ version of Space Ghost Coast to Coast. Think, SGC2C as a daytime talk show without guests. Surrounding it was a couple of classic Hanna-Barbera shorts that were worth the watch in the late 60s and 70s, Looney Toons, and Tex Avery bangers mixed in with some new faces such as SWAT Kats and The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest.

Of the cable cartoon blocks that weren’t “Toonami” and “Super Chunk”, this was a fun two-to-three hours of animation in the pre-Adult Swim era.

An underrated block was the “USA Cartoon Express”. Yes, there was a period when USA Network ran cartoons and many of those featured were fun and memorable ones even if the majority were mid. Savage Dragon and WildCATS were the standouts to me but Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat were fun to watch on weekdays and Saturdays.

USA always had an odd line-up of toons because the four aforementioned series were all adaptations of series known for violence, fighting, and more mature themes than the likes of G.I Joe or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (which was also in the “USA Cartoon Express”).

Do you remember the cartoon blocks from back then or did you come in during the Cartoon Network all day blocks, “Adult Swim” and “Miguzi” period? Let us know in the comments and share some of your memories and favorite toons from your favorite cartoon blocks.

Staff Writer; M. Swift

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.

The collecting, battling, and evolving monster games pool was a bit crowded and roughly half of those titles made into the 2010s and 2020s. What set Monster Rancher apart from other games in its early entries was the ability to pull monsters physical CDs. Some CDs in your CD binder or shelf could feature a powerful monster that you couldn’t train yet.

That leads us to what really makes this my favorite of the Pokeclones: the life-sim aspect.

Monster Rancher Went Further with Monster Training

There was a lot going on with Monster Rancher mechanics-wise that I love. Most of it would be pretty applicable to Pokémon if the in-game time was treated differently from real time or “Earth time” as Final Fantasy XIV calls it. See, Pokémon always felt like the longest summer ever because you could catch monsters, train them, collect gym badges, and spank the Elite 4 in pretty short order.

You’re not going to spend months going through a Pokémon title doing the core game even if you have other things to do. That isn’t the case in a Rancher game, either. Depending on the game, you could go through the ranks quickly. The main difference is that the monster you’re raising and the way you’re raising it might not get you to the top.

Time Was Everything

That’s because of the life simulation gameplay in the series. Players have to feed their monster, let them get rest, give them treats, encourage them for great results, choose their training regime throughout the month, breed them other monsters, watch their weight, and enroll them in battles and tournaments (some which determine the monster’s ranking).

All of this is managed by a very simple in-game calendar. Matches and tournaments are scheduled and if the monster’s rank is high enough, they’re able to enter that competition. In the games on GameBoy Advance, the calendar featured Official tournaments hosted by the organization in the game that allow for rank promotion to the winner.

Tying all of this together is that each monster has a lifespan. The crushing part in a Monster Rancher title is that sometimes when a player thinks their monster can advance in rank, it can kick the bucket. So, the game gets some longevity and replayability by requiring the player to summon and raise another monster.

Then again, if a player wants to avoid dealing with a dying monster they can retire the monster, get them registered as a trainer, and have them on the ranch training the next potential champion.

What Happened with Monster Rancher?

The franchise is still around and as of 2022, Koei Tecmo has released a game for Nintendo Switch in a crossover with the Ultraman franchise. The method of summoning or generating monsters has even been modernized since CDs aren’t used much now.

On that note, the game’s success is pretty easy to determine since it didn’t get much buzz after being released and the franchise’s peak in the West was between 1999-2000 when the animated series was on broadcast television.

Monster Rancher is the pokeclone that has simply always been around. The games maintained a consistent level of quality but never garnered buzz with the newer releases like Dragon Quest Monsters would with the Joker series and Devil Summoner games on Nintendo DS.

If you played the Monster Rancher games, which were your favorites and monsters? I was never a fan of Suezo and always preferred Tiger of the Wind or Zan. Also, what were your thoughts on the short-lived animated series?

Share your thoughts below!

Staff Writer; M. Swift

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.

It’s a slower burn but Little King’s Story even eased that to where it was manageable for players not familiar with RTS. The Wii was meant to reel in all kinds of gamers despite experience, genre preference, or free time. Little King’s Story was somewhat different in that RTS aren’t exactly “I’ll play a bit and come back to it later.”

No, like RPGs, simulation games, and strategy games; once you start it up, you’ve pretty much accepted that you’re going lose time in that day. Again, this game dropped in 2009 and was well-received, so where are the sequels?

Where’s Little King’s Story?

LKS was developed by Cing, a defunct indie developer that went under in 2010, just under a year after releasing this title. Most their titles were on the Nintendo DS with a run of roughly seven years. You could say they got a lot done before shuttering.

Their work included games in the Another Code and Hotel Dusk series as well as the DS debut of Monster Rancher. Of their games Little King’s Story and Monster Rancher DS were the two I played the most.

It was an interesting time in gaming with the Nintendo printing money despite having a home console that was underpowered and lacked the expected features of that period, an approach that has continued into the Switch 2. If anything, Cing should’ve made money as well due to its close working relationship with Nintendo starting in 2005.

An issue could’ve been the pace at which Nintendo released games (which is still on the sluggish side) but that’s mainly with its first party games. The company takes its time for Mario and Zelda for quality reasons. Think how long it was between Metroid Prime 3 and the fourth entry release in 2025. In that 19-year period, we saw a number of remasters, spinoffs. Mind you, Prime 4 came out roughly four years after the previous main installment Metroid Dread, which is a solid amount of time between main games in a franchise if there are no other major titles being developed.

Again, all of that is for a first-party game being developed by Nintendo’s own development teams. Cing was an indie developer who happened to have a regular working relationship with Ninty. The fate of Little King’s Story was up in the air.

The Game Ended on a Cliffhanger

With Cing shut down, the rights to LKS fell to Marvelous, which published the game in Japan on the Wii. On paper, that looks fine since Marvelous is still putting out games regularly and working on titles in known properties. They’re active but they have a lot on their plate with their own titles and others.

While LKS is one of their titles and proved to be a popular title, that was in 2009-2010. Gaming has changed a lot since then and a title like Little King’s Story might appear dated or unpredictable in performance compared to its tried and true titles Rune Factory, Story of Seasons, and Senran Kagura as well as handling Monster Hunter Stories, No More Heroes, and Valhalla Knights.

Now, I regularly bring up titles that I’d like to see revived and believe that developers technically have a new franchise in an older one if we haven’t seen anything from that franchise in decades. I’m still waiting on Capcom to drop another Beat Down: Fists of Vengeance. However, LKS like Beat Down has gone too long without anything new or fresh to get a franchise going.

It’s unlikely that a Little King’s Story 2 that continues from the game’s ending is developed and we likely won’t see a reboot. It would take Marvelous having a “what’s old is new again” approach similar to TV and film studios with these sitcom revivals and continuations.

Staff Writer; M. Swift

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.

I still have the physical copy and enjoyed it when I played it. Mind you, it was the kind of enjoyment you got from having only a few games and that game being one of the better ones of the bunch. When I played it over ten years later, I had experienced better beat ‘em ups since then and revisited better ones that came out before and during 2002. Beat Down: Fists of Vengeance being a good example.

E.O.E and Its Flaws

One of the issues E.O.E had was the camera which I’d say contributed to the difficulty. Mind you, the game had a manageable difficulty that wouldn’t have you putting the game down and revisiting hours later. You could chunk through this game in a week at the longest and only get mildly frustrated. The cause of that frustration: the camera which had you taking hits that should’ve easily been dodged or blocked.

I say “easily” because the foes in this game weren’t exactly programmed to be proto-Dead Souls or anything. Of course, slash ‘em ups tend to require more patience and timed evasion and blocking. Beat ‘em ups have developed to require that level know-how while playing.

However, in the early 2000s they were still pretty straightforward with the main change being the setting of a 3D arena. If early the PSX  and Nintendo 64 showed us anything: 3D needs a camera that isn’t cheeks. It really helps to be able to see around your character fluidly. This was an issue with Eve of Extinction.

Another issue that was more tolerable was a basic, mostly uninteresting storyline. The main character Josh has a weapon containing his girlfriend Eliel that can change during gameplay. Basically, it can be whatever you might need for the combat situation you’re in. That would be great if E.O.E wasn’t in that weird space of fun combat but having bricks for enemies.

Again, it was 2002, so no one was really expecting Ghosts of Tsushima or Metal Gear enemies. Instead, it was more like Spider-Man: Maximum Carnage or early Dynasty Warriors scrub soldiers just marching in to get spanked. The enemies were so uninteresting, that it’d be hard to go into the bosses in the game outside of their AI being better than the rank and file scrubs.

That’s expected but nowadays you have situations where field bosses, sub bosses, and even a few scrubs that prove to be more of a problem than the bosses. The Borderlands series tend to have a number of them across multiple games.

Was There Any Hope for a Sequel?

With any older game or series, I like to dive into sequel or reboot potential. Often you hear from gamers that there are few original concepts or games being put out by the larger studios or that franchises are getting run into the ground. The magic solution to fixing that is to come up with something new that isn’t a sequel to something we’ve played for the past decade.

I’ve always felt that an easier solution would be to revive or reboot a title that is collecting dust in a developer’s vault. If we haven’t seen the game in a long while, see what can be changed or built upon. There are more mechanics and storytelling is better now than 20 years ago in games.

E.O.E: Eve of Extinction is one of those games that would need to be rebooted before moving it into a sequel. The original wasn’t that good or memorable from start to finish. I remember more about R.A.D: Robot Alchemic Drive than E.O.E and that was another mid-at-best title from the PS2 era.

At the time, there was no hope for a sequel in part because the solo game ended in a way that one game was enough. It was a standalone story and as it was, no one was really clamoring for another trip into Josh’s world to deal with a revived Wisdom Company.

Staff Writer; M. Swift

This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.

Let’s look at the common trope of bullying and what you’ll encounter whether you’ve read for years or just started minutes ago.

The Bullying Tropes in Manga

The effects of bullying tend not to be explored heavily in manga. When it is, it’s often fuel for the protagonist(s) to improve themselves and go beyond what they were before. You know, the bully target who was either quiet or a good soul and now they’re powerful and social or powerful with an even greater heart.

Manga’s approach will see the protagonist just endure and power through either to improve themselves or prove their bullies wrong. Who knows, the bully might even become a friend now that they have respect for the former weakling protagonist.

Never mind actually addressing the bullying or finding out what the f**k is the bully’s malfunction. Actually, even with writing being deeper and more layered in many popular and cult series than say in the 80s and 90s, it’s not unusual to see the bully have a smidgen of deep backstory.

The Actual Bullies in Manga

That’s even if they’re the a notable antagonist or eventual ally. Sometimes you just need a henchman or villain with enough to justify their actions in that moment. Perhaps the thought process is “We’ll make it up in character development going forward.”

There are some exceptions in popular series. The antagonists in Naruto generally have a reason for their actions and we tend to get a deep look at why they are the way they are. For the younger ninja of Naruto’s generation, it’s mainly a case of that Offspring classic “The Kids Aren’t Alright.”

Yet none of them became bullies. There are underlings or elite under an arc’s big bad who will bully opponents but their identity isn’t “bully”.

No, for that you’ll have to look at high school action dramas or delinquent series like Crows. There you have the honorable or cool gangs that you cheer for. They’re friends and their seniors or juniors who have a mind for organization. They have something resembling goals for the future.

Some members decide to get legit work, a couple are considering moving up to the yakuza, and smattering are looking to go to college. Hell, you might have a few who are athletes or artists and there’s a future there. Then you have the legit bullies: the gangs that are just violent psychopaths led by a sociopath.

These guys would be the knife-licking thieves in any other series. They’re the guys Kenshiro explode-punch in Fist of the North Star. Their only goals for the future are yakuza, drug trafficking or holding down the block as a violent bouncer at a club (all overlapping career fields).

Why they do what they do isn’t explored as deeply, they’re foils for the main gang the series is about. They came in aggressive and they want more turf.

Bullying in Manhwa and Manhua

Keeping along that line, the gangs in a series like Weak Hero have members who are definitely your knife-licking thief underlings but your leaders all have a reason for why they’re cold and vicious. We get at how they got here and how their actions saw them take to bullying as a tool for domination and intimidation.

Mind you, these are delinquent gangs that emulate the organized crime groups of their countries. You have some members who are reserved to entering that world after high school because they have that killer instinct and can fight.

But about your bullies who aren’t gang affiliated in manhua and manhwa? Why do they bully? Here’s where we finally get into what makes bullying in these form of comics different from their Japanese cousin. Bullying is tied to status in the sense that an antagonist’s family background and influence gives them the juice to bully.

Whether it’s modern day China or South Korea, ancient China and or a mythical version of the Joseon period; an antagonist can bully and justify their actions simply because they’re above the protagonist and the hoi polli.

In modern day manhua and manhwa, such as Rooftop Sword Master, bullying comes from children of influence and is extreme to the point of making Tak Se’Young who he is. That’s something else you see in manhua and manhwa with bullying: the act of bullying being reverse engineered.

As a young, reclusive adult recovering from the trauma of what happened at school because of bullying, Tak becomes resentful and wants vengeance. This drives him to embrace a mystical sword and self-train in wielding it. The young man becomes a hulking, sword-swinging behemoth bulldozer.

Considering his actions, he’s move of a chaotic killdozer but this is him harnessing revenge because of bullying. When he actually reverse engineer it is by becoming the bully to his former bullies. He targets them begins taking them out when he deems their repentance to be a bit on the weak side. They’ve moved on in life and have families and careers. Meanwhile, Tak was left in that moment. To make them feel the helplessness be experienced, he became the bully.

In Weak Hero, Grey becomes the bully to delinquents who bully as well as those who target his friends. He fights to survive his situations among more devoted delinquents but also gets a rush from fights. Bullying for him is a means to send a message and intimidate.

Also worth noting is that with manhwa and manhua these bullies tend to take from difficult people in South Korean and Chinese society and media. People of influence getting away with crimes because of their status, nepotism, and/or networking.

The form of bullying in Rooftop Sword Master and Weak Hero is a very common trope in martial arts or murim series like Star Martial God Technique and The Fist Demon of Mount Hua. Here you will have your new generation martial arts prodigy from a influential clan or prestigious martial sect who looks down on others because they wield great power and skill. Or some really nice gear.

Then along comes our murim protagonist who might have history with this bully or has seen their deeds. They come to the conclusion that this jerk needs to be clapped to sleep and proceed to beat them in combat. Then while beating them mercilessly (to teach them lesson), the bully will accuse the protagonist of bullying them.

The cherry on top of that is can be the pummeled prodigy kicking rocks back to the clan head or their lineal predecessor in a sect to beg for vengeance. However, I’ve always liked a good, old putting your op in the dirt and putting all their gear and treasures in the good, old spatial storage.

Call it ethical bullying, I suppose.

What series have you noticed feature bullying as a major character or story element? Let us know in the comments!

Staff Writer; James “Metal” Swift Jr.

Gaming since 1989 and headbanging since 1999, James is a talented writer, podcast host, and lifelong comic book fan who loves all things old-school and retro. His passions include RPGs, wrestling, and classic gaming culture. You can also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.