Lets Play Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance (PS4): Parts 24, 25 & 26

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You know sometimes the power of the heart can be quite powerful and mysterious. In that it can be quite the pile of BS Deus Ex Machina.

Kingdom Hearts is owned by Square Enix, Disney Interactive Studios, Tetsuya Nomura, and Shinji Hashimoto.

Movie Review: John Wick Chapter 2: We now have a Live Action Black Lagoon movie!!!

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 Ok, where do I start with his one? Oh wait I know STOP READING THIS AND GO SEE JOHN WICK CHAPTER 2 IMMEDIATELY! No, no no; I need to be a professional about this; I may be an amateur but I am above all else a professional (amateur professional, figure that one out) and believe me if one does not follow the rules then we are no better then the animals. First if you haven't seen the first John Wick; fix that before you go see this one since it sets up the rules of the John Wick assassin world and the consequences for breaking them as well as why John Wick is basically a live action Brock Samson. 

No seriously DeathBattle take this one John Wick VS Brock Samson and it will be glorious!

 But if you're too lazy don't worry the movie does give you the clip notes version of what happened in the first movie as Wick takes care of the last bit of business from those events. Afterwords an old associate of his shows up at his front door with a debt that he wants to collect. See this was the guy that helped Wick pull off the impossible job that got him his chance to retire from the assassination world in the first place and since Wick went on his rampage he's technically back in the game and thus its time to pay the piper. But of course since Wick just wants to be left the hell alone he tells the guy no, but being out of the game for so long; he must have forgotten what happens when you go and bust a deal!

 So after being reminded who runs Barter Town at the moment Wick holds up his end of the deal and kills the guys target, his sister who's inherited their fathers seat on this big organized crime council. But of course this stupid son of a bitch couldn't just leave it at that oh no, now he's put a 7 million dollar bounty on Wick and every other crazy hitman within a 10 mile radius is out to kill him. Why? "Loose ends" his mute bodyguard gestures, dude if that didn't work for Frank Fontaine in BioShock when he tried to kill Jack then why in the wide, wide world of sports would you think it would work for your crazy ass?! 

 So without giving anything away that's essentially the plot, everything else you have to just go and see for yourselves. Now I have a confession to make, I, like many didn't see the first John Wick when it first came out; I only watched it a week before I saw the sequel to get myself up to speed and I am so glad that I did. I honestly haven't been this excited and pumped by an action movie in a seriously long time, seeing both movies had me so energized and ready to do something I didn't know where to start. Every fight scene in these movies is simply top notch, they're tightly shot, close but not too close and you can hear every single punch and by proxy feel every bone crunch. Taking the fact that this is all live action and not in CG make this all the more impressive to me.

  One of my favorite elements of these movies is the 5 star safe-houses for these assassins called the Continentals. These movies also do a great job of establishing the rules of the Continental and the consequences for breaking them. All of which are shown and demonstrated for the audience instead of explained. John Wick remembers that movies are a visual medium and clearly demonstrates how these establishments work and only gives exposition when it's absolutely necessary. As opposed to works like Final Fantasy XIII where not only do the characters explain everything that's going on even though they should know what works where, but also don't explain what actually needs to be explained leaving that information to the Data-logs where even when they explain what's happening they don't explain what's happening.

 But I'm getting off track; to sum up John Wick is a top contender for #1 movie of 2017 so far. This a great action movie with intense fight scenes, intriguing setting and is just great action fun. Like the subtitle of this review suggested I pretty much consider John Wick to be the closest we can get to a live action adaptation of Black Lagoon. Only it takes place in New York City instead of Thailand, Revy's been replaced with Brock Samson and Rock, Dutch and Benny are replaced with a dog, BlackBeard from Pirates 4 and Cowboy Curtis respectively. Speaking of Black Lagoon I wouldn't be surprised if at some point John Wick fights against people as crazy as a former FARC guerrilla turned house-maid, a pair of deranged murderous children or even the entire Yakuza. Well only time will tell my friends but for right now, turn off the device your using to read this and go see both John Wick movies back to back, you'll thank me later.

Venture Brothers is owned by Adult Swim, Williams Street, AstroBase GO!, World Leaders Entertainment, Noodlesoup Productions and Titmouse inc.

Mad Max Beyond Thunder Dome is owned by George Miller, Kennedy Miler Productions and Warner Bros

John Wick Chapter 2 is owned by Lionsgate, 87Eleven Productions, Thunder Road Productions and Summit Entertainment.

Lets Play Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance (PS4): Parts 21, 22 & 23

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 Now for Soraman's chance to Jack into the grid and teams up with Korra to stop Cyber Boba Fett and his master, Evil CGI Jeff Bridges.

Kingdom Hearts is owned by Square Enix, Disney Interactive Studios, Tetsuya Nomura, and Shinji Hashimoto.

Lets Play Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance (PS4): Parts 18, 19 & 20

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Sora and Riku make their way through the Grid and take on Virus', Bugsters and their most deadly enemies yet. Evil CGI Jeff Bridges and Boba Fett!

Kingdom Hearts is owned by Square Enix, Disney Interactive Studios, Tetsuya Nomura, and Shinji Hashimoto.

Video Game Review: Top 10 best Video Game Sequels Part 2

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For those who forgot what I thought were my 10th to 6th most favored sequels here's the link. Now sit back, relax and let me tell you what I think are the best sequels I've played so far.

#5 Bioshock 2

NOW, before anyones says anything let me get this off my chest.

 This is not the best game in the series. Of the three games my personal favorite is Bioshock. It introduced me to Art Deco art design and the ideas of Objectivism some of which I agree with, It also gave us Andrew Ryan one of the more empathetic villains I've encountered. Bioshock Infinite is my second favorite, despite having what I feel to be the best story in the series the combat is somewhat weak due to the two weapon system and the random and mostly useless Gear system. However Bioshock 2 is in my opinion the most fun to play. 

 For starters we get the chance to play as a Big Daddy which while it removes some of the horror felt in the first game we get to play as one of the most powerful creatures in Rapture. Now admit it at some point you wish you were on the giving end of that drill or rivet gun instead of the receiving end. The hacking is significantly improved and no longer takes you out of the setting and game by replacing the long pipe puzzles with a simple timing game which improves the gameplay flow and isn't distracting. When you purchase Plasmid upgrades there is a tangible difference in their capability as when you do they actually gain new effects and powers. The research camera is now a film camera instead of a photo camera which again improves the flow of gameplay by keeping the fight going while recording your enemies.

 There are more characters with original models, no longer needing to recycle Splicer models for characters like Tennembaum. We have a villain that we can genuinely hate in Sophia Lamb and her organization; the Rapture family from the sympathetic Grace Holloway to the disgusting weasel Stanley Poole to the tragic Gil Alexander. On top of that Minerva's den; its single player DLC is one of the best pieces of DLC I've ever played to the point where it's even better then the main game in certain respects. But there are some things that hold it back. In the original version it fell victim to the craze of tacked on Multiplayer which thankfully was removed in the Hd Collection. Unlike in the first game you can't go back to levels you've bested, once you get on that train that's it you you're required to search the level from tit to toe for Audio Diaries, tonics and Power to the people machines.

 The levels can also feel a bit too short, not really giving you a chance to explore and take in the surroundings and atmosphere. There's also no Survivor difficulty in this game which is annoying for me since I can only get a challenge from games like this when I go in hardcore. Also the final level is once again another easy breeze for competent players, even without the last Plasmid you can clean out all the Splicers and Alpha Series in Persephone just by sneezing on them. Also the spear gun is almost useless at least for me; I never upgraded that thing. Yet I can't hate this game, on a technical level Bioshock 2 is a good sequel. 

While Bioshock 2 is undoubtedly the weakest game in the franchise in terms of narrative I still consider it the most fun to play. I look at Bioshock and Bioshock 2 like how most people look at Alien and Aliens, the first is a ground breaking genre piece that has a wonderful, frightening atmosphere due to how little we know of what we're facing. While Bioshock 2 we know what it is, we know it can bleed and we know how we can kill it! To me Bioshock 2 is moving from horror to action with horror elements. Still fun for me, not the best but I don't care I'm too busy killing Splicers with my big ass drill and making too many Gurren Lagann references to care, especially when the Yuri Lowenthal Spider Splicers show up. "HEY SIMON FOUND YOUR DRILL!!!"

#4 Devil May Cry 3

 Now we move on to sequels that everyone can agree is a marked improvement from what came before. Now for how I can across Devil May Cry. I saw the HD collection for PS3 on PSN for 5 bucks which is a fantastic deal so I got it thanks to my brief encounters with Dante in SMT Nocturne, Project X Zone and Viewtiful Joe Red Hot Rumble ( yes I played it shut up). I played the first game thought it was ok, kind of a gothic Japanese God of War. Then came Devil May Cry 2, I hated it, the gameplay was dumbed down, the lock on was horrible, what little personality Dante had in the first game was sucked out and was replaced with a boring female lead whose name I can't even be bothered to look up on Wikipedia. Who also came with a dull clone backstory and a fake sounding accent that when combined came off to me as less of a demon hunter then someone who should be trying to catch Moose and Squirrel for Fearless Leader.

 I honestly was starting to have buyers remorse. I thought; "why is it that people like Dante again? What was it that I wasn't seeing?" Then along came from the heavens, Devil May Cry 3 and then IT FUCKING CLICKED!! This was the Dante I was expecting, the snarky; ass kicking; pizza eating demon hunter with a badass sword, beautiful twin pistols and seeing the origin of the famous transformation; the Devil Trigger. On top of that the badass boss fights and new weapons were fun, hard to master and so, so rewarding once you've conquered them. 

 Now in case you haven't guessed I'm a bit of a Power Rangers fan. So imagine my surprise when I found out that Dan Southworth AKA Eric AKA the Quantum Ranger from Power Rangers Time Force was Dante's brother Virgil? To me the relationships of the two sons of Sparta came across as Inuyasha and Sesshomaru only without all of the bullshit and they're both Half Demons. Now I want to see Sesshomaru and Virgil in a Deathbattle if anything to see that Bi-shi furry get his ass kicked by a real half-demon who's with me? WIZ, BOOMSTICK GET ON THAT SHIT!

 Though honestly every time Virgil talked I just couldn't separate Virgil from Eric, it was weird. Aside from that this game hooked me on Devil May Cry and I can't wait to get around to Devil May Cry 4 for PS4 and all of you will get to join me on my first ride. Maybe I'll also give DMC Devil May Cry a shot. I know everyone including Capcom hates that game but maybe I'll just rent it or something, it cannot honestly be worse then Devil May Cry 2. I mean we even have RJ from Jungle Fury as Virgil and you all know how much I liked him so what could go wrong?

#3 Banjo Tooie

This is the best game of my childhood. Ok either this or Donkey Kong 64

 Banjo Kazooie was one of my favorite games as a kid. The N64 was my jam and the games were so mind blowingly good I still can't believe it (ok not all of them I did play that Lightspeed Rescue and Rugrats board game thing, I got better.) Back on track Banjo-Tooie took one of my favorite games and cranked it up to 11! New moves, bigger locations, bigger challenges, great music and actual boss battles! We even get to play as Mumbo Jumbo and while he's not as maneuverable and versatile as the bear and bird he can do some freaky tiki room shit, like bringing a Giant Golden statue to life, make the ocean breathable and even bring dead Aliens back to life! Since Mumbo's taking a more active role we get to visit the Shaman Humba Wumba who shows up in every level with a brand new transformation, including a secret one for Kazooie which turns her into a dragon!

 Now to this day I still haven't gotten all of the Jiggies (cough Canary Mary cough cough) but I still love this game. It's only a shame what happened to this franchise due to Rare and Microsoft (which is one of the reasons I will never own a Xbox console). I'm just hoping that Yooka-Layle which is made by the people behind Banjo Kazooie which I backed during its original Kickstarter so you'd better believe there's going to be a Lets Play of that game as soon as I can get my claws on it! I mean they know that it has to be good or else everyone who's backed it will cry like an anime fan on prom night! Seriously whoever though that was a good idea for Mighty #9's marketing needs to be fired, out of a cannon, into a dumpster made of flaming racism!

 #2 Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door

Long Story short second verse same as the last.

 But for more effort Paper Mario TTYD was one of my most favorite games for the Gamecube, right up there with Luigi's Mansion, Legend of Zelda Wind Waker, Super Mario Sunshine, Viewtiful Joe and Pokemon XD Gale of Darkness. Paper Mario TTYD gave us distinct locations, fun memorable characters and a main Villain that wasn't Bowser for the 200th time. When I say distinct locations I mean it, from a monochrome forest to a WWE esq fighting arena in the sky to even an homage to Murder on the Orient Express. My personal favorite level is the aforementioned Glitz Pit and my favorite companion is Vivian the former shadow siren turned ally. Unfortunately much like Banjo-Kazooie the Paper Mario series has seen better days.

 Super Paper Mario was ok though going back to the older platforming was a bit odd for me. Sticker Star was the straw that broke my back for me what with you having to go all the way back to get the thing stickers over and over again and I haven't even touched Color Splash since from what I've seen it's much of the same as Sticker Star. So here's hoping we get back to it's true RPG routes with EXP, companions and the whole nine yards.

 Now before I tell you what I consider to be the best video game sequel I've played so far here's some honorable mentions.

 Persona 2 Eternal Punishment

 Now I seriously wanted to put a Persona game on the list but since one of my criteria is that it has to be a direct sequel that isn't part of an anthology so the only direct sequel to a Persona game Eternal Punishment gets the mention.

Sonic Adventure 2 Battle

 One of the first Gamecube games I got along with Luigi's Mansion; Sonic Adventure 2 gave me my first look at Sonic the Hedgehog and Shadow and their high speed gameplay. Along with Tales and Eggman's shooter mech levels and Knuckles and Rouge's treasure hunting segments gave the game great variety.

Assassins Creed 4 Black Flag

 After enduring the dullness of Conner Kenway in Assassins Creed 3 we were rewarded with the swashbuckling tale of his Grandfather Edward in Black Flag. They wisely expanded the sailing mechanic that was stared in 3 and also did us all the favor of confirming the death Desmond in the modern day segments.

Megaman X8

 X7 was my first Megaman X game (I know I'm surprised I became a Megaman X fan after that too) SO yes the improvements between 7 and 8 are undeniable. From the voice acting actually being good to the improved controls and well holy crap AXL can shoot rapid fire copy bullets instead of one at a time which would take 3 minutes to kill an enemy. This along with the great rock music that the X series is known for makes for a decent game in the X series. (Though we're still waiting for X9 Capcom!)

Batman Arkham Knight

Honestly I would have put this on the list proper for the creative way of including the Joker and finally giving us the Batmobile. But the horrible way the PC version was shat out by Warner Bros cannot be forgiven or forgotten. Though if you want to see this game on a proper list well, next time kiddies.

Legend of Zelda The Wind Waker

 My personal favorite Zelda game of all even when it first came out and everybody hated it because it looked "too cartoony" and other such crap. I loved the sailing and breadth of atmosphere granted to me by sailing on the King of Red Lions. The designs of the characters were colorful, vibrant and they all popped. Though this did eventually introduce the Zelda Multiverse due to the different results of Ocarina of Time since this takes place in the universe that Adult Link left behind after sealing Gannondorf. So since it's technically not a direct sequel it doesn't make the list.

BioShock Infinite

 Infinite does have a superior story to BioShock 2 and a completely different and intriguing setting in the city of Columbia. We also have one of the best dynamics between Booker and Elizabeth and get a pretty brilliant way of explaining the concept of the Multiverse to people (at least better then Mr Nobody but pretty much on par with Rick and Morty) However the two gun system is stupid and limiting and when we first saw Songbird most of us thought "OH god I can't WAIT to fight that thing" but we don't.

 But despite that the ending is still one of the best part of this game and nobody can deny that.

Sly 2 Band of Thieves

 This was the game that set the Sly Cooper formula in stone. We got to play as Bentley and Murray as they demonstrated that they're on par with their best pal Sly as the three set out to steal back Clockwerk's body parts. (EW) Though it did tend to overstay its welcome at points such as the multiple levels with Rajan, The Contessa and Jean Bison. What Sly 2 introduced Sly 3 perfected.

God of War 3

 YOU LIKE EPIC BOSS BATTLES? You're not getting out of that chair/couch/whatever until you deal with ALL of these boss battles, you slimy little Carbuncle! But before you do check out what I consider to be the best video game sequel ever.

#1 Assassins Creed 2

 The first Assassins Creed was fine, the tasks you had to do were repetitive, the assassinations were nothing to write home about but it was perfectly serviceable. The ending did entice me to be hopeful for a sequel. But what I got was not what I expected, its in a word, beautiful. The wonderful setting of Renaissance Italy, the actually recognizable historical figures such as our main man Leonardo and the big bad Rodrigo Borgia. But the best of all is the properly Iconic protagonist Ezio Auditore Da Firenze. Going from the prideful snobbish dickhead Altaïr to the likable charismatic ladies man Ezio helps make this game for me.

 I mean which story would you be invested in? A guy fucked up too much and now we have to do Grandpa's dirty-work to get back in his good graces. Or a boy sees his father and brothers killed by a supposed family friend and becomes a man dedicated to not only avenge his family but also save the world from a power mad despot from getting his hands on an ancient artifact by attaining the highest power in the land? Yeah I thought so too. Not only that but we also get much more variety in gameplay, different and better weapons, costume customization, different and exciting missions, meaningful collectables and best of all, TWO HIDDEN BLADES! Do I need to tell you all why that's so cool?

 But it's not just Ezio who's likable and memorable in this game. There's the aforementioned Leonardo but we also get the modern day assassins Shawn (who can be a bit of a prick) and Rebecca the tech guru who whips up a much cooler looking and more comfortable looking Animus. Back in the Renaissance we have the mysterious La Volpe, the brazen Bartolomeo, the badass Valkyrie bitch Caterina Sforza and Ezio's mentor Uncle Mario. On that note yes I did laugh at the "IT'S A ME MARIO!" line. Though probably not because I thought it was funny but maybe because it was so stupid I couldn't help but laugh.

 Now I know this game isn't flawless. The climbing could be a bit wonky when it came to grabbing on to buildings. Two of the games sequences were held to DLC which I waited until I purchased both of before I finished the game the first time I played it. The money I got ultimately became worthless when I purchased everything in the game. But the biggest flaw was that to get every single weapon in the game you had to slog through Assassins Creed Bloodlines. But despite all of that Assassins Creed 2 to me personifies exactly what a good sequel should be. And if you want to find out for yourself The Ezio Trilogy is remastered for PS4 and Xbox 1 with all their long, pointless micro transaction laden Multiplayer parts all gone.

 So those are what I consider to be the best Video Game Sequels. Do you agree, disagree want to kill me for putting BioShock 2 over Infinite or Assassins Creed 2 over Black Flag? Then be sure to leave a comment down below. But next time however, a list I think that nobody will disagree with me. The top 10 worst Video Game sequels ever!

Bioshock 2 is owned by Take2 interactive, 2K Marin, and 2K Australia.
Devil May Cry is owned by Capcom and Hideki Kamiya.
Banjo-Tooie is owned by Rareware, Nintendo and Microsoft.
Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door is owned by Nintendo and Intelligence Systems.
Assassins Creed 2 is owned by Ubisoft, Patrice Désilets, Jade Raymond and Corey May.

Lets Play Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance (PS4): Parts 15, 16, & 17 (Happy 26th Birthday to me)

Please be sure to read, comment, spread the links, re-tweet and follow me on Twitter @OnDavidsBrain! and support me on Patreon.

 We've been spending most our time living in a Prankster's Paradise. No grown-up and school guides living in a Pranksters Paradise. And still no Roberto thankfully!

Kingdom Hearts is owned by Square Enix, Disney Interactive Studios, Tetsuya Nomura, and Shinji Hashimoto.

Video Game Review: Top 10 best Video Game Sequels Part 1

Please be sure to read, comment, spread the links, re-tweet and follow me on Twitter @OnDavidsBrain! and support me on Patreon.

 Now before you say anything yes this is in response to the Nostalgia Critics second sequels month and yes there will be a followup of what I consider the worst sequels. Now there will be some rules for this list. First it has to be a direct sequel so games belonging to anthologies like Final Fantasy and Shin Megami Tensei don't count unless the events are directly continued afterwords. Second it has to do something better then the game that preceded it, because sequels are supposed to improve in someway over their originals so cut, copy and past sequels don't count. Third only one sequel per franchise if not then every Ratchet and Clank sequel will be clogging up the list. Last and most importantly it has to be a sequel that I've personally played so if you don't see your favorite on here then simply put I haven't played it so there. So with that out of the way let's get started.

#10 Batman Arkham City

 Before you say anything the reason this is so low is because I preferred Arkham Asylum over Arkham City. I preferred the tight close terrifying atmosphere of the old Asylum over the open space of Arkham City. The first game felt like if Batman were trapped in Rapture from Bioshock, Arkham City still captures the feel of being Batman but I guess the first game just made a better impression on me. Though I can't deny the open world gameplay and the new freedoms that it grants me in Arkham City as well as the other improvements in the story and boss battles. 

 The first Arkham game had very few and far between bosses with the best being Poison Ivy and the worst being of course Titan Joker. So you may be wondering if I've had nothing but praise for the first game why is the sequel on the list? Well I honestly can't deny the improvements in gameplay and freedom that Arkham City grants the player. They've improved the combat system with new gadgets, tightened the counters and improved the flow. Even the stealth sections have improved significantly by adding enemies that can jam and detect your detective vision and even set mines on ledges so you couldn't just camp out and pick your enemies off one by one. This also carries over to the boss battles with the highlights being the battle of brawn with Ra's Al Ghul to the mental struggle of Mr Freeze. 

 Though another reason why Arkham City is so low is due to the Riddler challenges. Not just in the main game those you can beat with a youtube guide and patience but the challenge content is long, tedious and requires expert precision and perfection. I may be an amateur completionist but that is just too much for me. Also the game tried to hold the Catwoman content to pre orders and later 5 dollar DLC and that can't slide by me. So Arkham City may be on the list but for every two steps it took over Asylum it took a step back.

#9 No more Heroes 2 Desperate Struggle

  The frist No More Heroes was my very first encounter with Suda 51 and WOW was it an experience. The crazy boss battles, the story that never took itself too seriously and was delightfully tongue and check, the combat that actually made the Wii's motion control tolerable for me. But best of all is the badass Otaku assassin who doesn't give the slightest amount of a fuck unless you're in between him and getting some tail or cash, Travis Touchdown. The sequel which I honestly never thought was going to happen improves the combat with the alternate Beam Katanas actually feeling and performing differently. It also does us the favor of removing the tedious mini games and replacing them with awesome throwbacks to the 8-bit era as well as chucking out the empty pointless open world. On top of that we get more crazy boss battles, three of which we can take out with different characters including Travis' "apprentice" Shinobu Jacobs and his estranged Irish brother Henry each with their own skills and fighting style.

 The story does actually give Travis a better motivation then just grabbing some ass with his best friend Bishop getting killed by the #1 UAA ranked Assassin Jasper Bat Jr. as revenge for Travis killing his brothers and father in the side missions last game. Even though the game does retcon a few things such as making the UAA a real organization the game itself doesn't really care and quite frankly we appreciate it. But it's still tied down by the Wii controls and while the game promises us 50 assassins we only get around 15 and only 13 of them are fought by Travis. That and not adding anything to replace the removed open world does bring it down a notch in my books. Travis you made the list, but barely. Now if we can finally see you fight against Henchman 21 in Deathbattle we would be especially grateful.

#8 Ratchet and Clank Up your Arsenal.

 Now you could argue that Ratchet and Clank 2 should be here instead, and to a degree you'd be right. The change in gameplay between the first and Second game is undeniable. It got rid of the 4-8 hit health bar and replaced with 100-200 HP, introduced upgradable weapons and weapon mods. But why I'm putting the end of the original trilogy instead is for a few reasons.

 1. we get to customize your fighter ship giving you your own flavor to how you fight in space. 2. you actually got rewarded for playing the last two games with store discounts if the previous game's save data was on your Memory Card, this was the second time I've ever seen that in a game (The first being R&C 2 of course). 3 We actually got some character development for Quark, where he finally started to act like the hero he always thought he was. 4, the last reason why I put this game over Going Commando, this game introduced Dr Nefarious one of the funniest villains in gaming. I mean this guy is such a hilariously over the top cartoon super villain you can't help but love him. 

 What makes him even better is that he shares the same voice actor with Andrew Ryan from Bioshock Armin Shimerman  Learning that fact just makes me want to replay Bioshock but pretend that it's Dr Nefarious instead of Ryan. Which just makes all his scenes go from chilling and menacing to hilarious. Also Lawrence is the perfect straight man to Nefarious' Nicolas Cage esq scene chewing. So kind of a shallow reason but hey this is my list so there; take it up with me personally squishies!!!

#7 Sly 3 Honor Among Thieves.

 Yet another PS2 trilogy ending entry on the list. Now don't worry from here on out we do start to diversify but I just have to say that Sly 3 is my favorite of the Sly Cooper games. First and foremost we actually see the consequences of Sly 2 carry over and isn't just swept under the rug. Murray after failing to keep Clock-La's beak from crippling Bentley goes on a vision quest to find himself and comes out a much more calm and focused man with made up Dream Time powers. The van comes back after drifting away during Jean Bison's Lumberjack games (not important but had to mention). 

 But best of all Bentley becomes 1000 more awesome after ending up in his wheelchair. No really he outfits his chair with various weapons and gadgets and can seriously handle himself in a fight despite what you may think. He even gets a girlfriend who's a match for him intellectually, can hold her own in a fight if need be and the two just click. (which makes what happens in Sly 4 all the more exasperating, I'll get to that on the next list trust me.)

 We also get new playable characters for some missions, both old and new faces including The Guru AKA Koala Yoda. The old faces were the real treat, Dimitri who becomes an informant for several cases and eventually an official member of the Cooper team, Muggshot who you can finally beat down like a real man with the awesome Inspector Fox. But the last member was the biggest shock for me as a kid, The Panda King, the man who helped kill Sly's dad and buried mountain villages in hundreds of pounds of snow was recruited to the team. And believe me Sly was not happy about it initially but the once member of the Fiendish 5 would go to any lengths even working with the son of the man he killed to save his daughter from one of the most hateful villains in the franchise. 

 Another refreshing change of pace is that the villains weren't all part of the same group, just random crime bosses that the team had to deal with to recruit the people needed for the Cooper Vault heist. The negatives however seem small but make up for quantity with quality. This game got rid of the clue bottles, recon photos and the treasures. The clue bottles were just a personal favorite of mine, a little bit of a collectathon that wasn't too long, not too short but just long and challenging enough that it didn't overstay its welcome. The recon photo mission may have been repetitive but did help the framework of the team and show their competence as a gang of master thieves.

 Now granted some of their jobs might have seemed straight forward but as Sly 2 showed these jobs never go exactly as planed and recon photos could be the difference between 10 figures in your bank account or 10 to life in jail. On the note of immersion wouldn't a thief like Sly want to steal everything valuable belonging to these guys that isn't nailed down? Besides now that the easy cash source was gone we had to rely even more on pickpocketing for new upgrades, which means more time and less fun in some peoples' cases. But the biggest gripe I had was the 3D, I absolutely hate 3D and when the only way is with those old stupid red and blue glasses it only served as the icing on the annoyance cake. In the immortal words of everybody's favorite fuck mothering vampire "It's a stupid fucking gimmick and everyone knows it!" So with those Sly manages to take the #7 spot

#6 Kingdom Hearts 2.5

Now I'm going with 2.5 because it is the complete definitive version of Kingdom Hearts 2 (At least until it re releases for PS4. Square Enix, seriously either give those who bought the collections for PS3 a major discount or don't even bother because knowing that I dropped cash for a last gen collection only to find out a few years later they're getting re-released for PS4 is nothing short of piss boiling. Now don't get me wrong I will get that collection eventually but not Day 1 and not with my money. Because, just like how I got the Bioshock collection these collections do make for good Christmas list filler as well as the price going down pretty far in the intervening months between release and Christmas so HO HO HO Square! )

 Ok rant over on to the good parts of Kingdom Hearts 2. We don't just get new worlds to explore we get world exclusive forms as well. My favorite levels are of course The Pride Lands, Space Paranoids and The World that never was, with Sora being a lion for the first, getting a Tron esq outfit for the second and the general creepy, intimidating and impressive atmosphere for the third. Outside of the world exclusive outfits Sora can also channel his inner Shouichi Tsugami and has access to a red power form, a blue long-range mode (I know Agito's blue form was mid-range but you get the geist), a midrange power form, a white shinning final form and in 2.5 a form borrowing the powers of his old set. The combat system get action commands added which adds unique flair to defeating enemies and the Gummy Ship segments are much shorter and streamlined. (Though I do prefer the Gummi Ship in the first game but the removal of the need to travel between worlds until you get the wrap upgrade is a nice touch, once you beat the course once you technically don't have to do it again unless you really want too.)

 The extra bosses in this game are mean, nasty and will cause you to snap your controller in half. I only need to mention two names, Data Luxord and The Lingering Will; anyone who's played this game especially on the hardest setting will be sent into a world of pure anger, madness and evil the likes of which nobody has seen before. But for everything good in this game the bad parts are just criminal. I personally would have liked to play in the Timeless River for longer then we did, but nope one level and boom done. But that was just a small gripe compared to the two parts of this game that really smashed a Keyblade against my skull.

 First (literally) being THE FIRST 6 HOURS OF THE GAME WITH ROXAS!!! Oh my god that was the longest, most boring and most tedious tutorial level I have ever had the displeasure of ever playing! I almost gave up the first time I played it if I'm remembering it right due to the sheer tedium of those first hours. Now, Pop Quiz kiddies what is the purpose of the tutorial and first level of games? Introducing the mechanics in a quick, entertaining and immersive way that doesn't overstay its welcome in a way that once the player knows which buttons do what they can just go on their merry little way. So Kingdom Hearts 2, 1 out of 5 questions right, F please see me after class!

 Then the cherry on top of the sundae, they made Atlantica into a musical rhythm level with some of the most annoying music around. Though thankfully you can just press the mute button and follow the button prompts so it's not as bad as it could have been. But holding out on the extra content for the Japanese audience while leaving the rest of the world with the bare basics until this rerelease? Smooth Square-Enix, smooth, one small constellation in this new digital age is that updates and new features for games is but a click away. But regardless Kingdom Hearts does stumble in a few places but improves over the first game and Chain of Memories enough to make the 6th spot of this list. But do keep an ear out because next time I'll give my honorable mentions as well as my personal Top 5 Video Game Sequels.

Ratchet and Clank is owned by Insomniac Games and Sony Computer Entertainment.

Batman Arkham City is owned by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Rocksteady Studios and DC Comics

Sly Cooper 3: Honor Among Thieves is owned by Sucker Punch Productions and Sony Computer Entertainment of America

No More Heroes 2 Desperate Struggle is owned by Suda51 (Goichi Suda), Grasshopper Manufacture, Ubisoft and Rising Star Games.

Kingdom Hearts is owned by Square Enix, Disney Interactive Studios, Tetsuya Nomura, and Shinji Hashimoto.

Lets Play Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance (PS4): Parts 12, 13 & 14

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As long as this Pinocchio isn't Roberto Benigni I think I can get through Pranksters Paradise just fine.

Kingdom Hearts is owned by Square Enix, Disney Interactive Studios, Tetsuya Nomura, and Shinji Hashimoto.

Lets Play Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance (PS4): Parts 10 & 11

Please be sure to read, comment, spread the links, re-tweet and follow me on Twitter @OnDavidsBrain! and support me on Patreon.

 We make our trek though the Court of Miracles, Frollo has his Beastmaster 2 moment and Riku and Sora seal the City of Bells' Keyhole.

Kingdom Hearts is owned by Square Enix, Disney Interactive Studios, Tetsuya Nomura, and Shinji Hashimoto.

Lets Play Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance (PS4): Parts 8 and 9

Please be sure to read, comment, spread the links, re-tweet and follow me on Twitter @OnDavidsBrain! and support me on Patreon.

Sora finally begins his long long trek through Paris to reach the ironically named Court of Miracles.

Kingdom Hearts is owned by Square Enix, Disney Interactive Studios, Tetsuya Nomura, and Shinji Hashimoto.

Lets Play Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance (PS4): Parts 5,6 and 7

Please be sure to read, comment, spread the links, re-tweet and follow me on Twitter @OnDavidsBrain! and support me on Patreon.

Next on our DDD journey we visit the City of Bells and while we don't see Colonel Pimpers or talking musical instruments we do see Quasimodo riding a demon elephant and Frollo summoning a giant Gargoyle with fully functional stain-glass window wings.

Kingdom Hearts is owned by Square Enix, Disney Interactive Studios, Tetsuya Nomura, and Shinji Hashimoto.

Lets Play Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance (PS4): Parts 1,2,3 and 4

Please be sure to read, comment, spread the links, re-tweet and follow me on Twitter @OnDavidsBrain! and support me on Patreon.

 In order to prepare for the fight against Xehanort Sora and Riku must undergo the Mark of Mastery exam to acquire to the power to wake sleeping hearts. Couldn't they just use an alarm clock?

Kingdom Hearts is owned by Square Enix, Disney Interactive Studios, Tetsuya Nomura, and Shinji Hashimoto.