Pizza Pixel Podcast Episode 19: Top Five Favorite Video Game Movies
On this episode of the podcast, we’re doing something a little bit different. Usually one of my brothers hosts the show with me, but this time we’re having a special guest. A good friend and co-worker of mine named Noah is here this time. And we’ll be talking about our favorite video game based movies, as well as a bunch of not so favorites! Please click on the link and give it a listen, and let me know your favorite video game based movies as well!
Pizza Pixel Podcast Episode 18: Favorite Transformers
When I was a kid back in the 80s, there were a couple of years when I was really into the Transformers toy line and cartoon. Many years later when my brother Ben was a kid, he got into Transformers as well. So I thought it would be fun for us to talk about them in this episode of the Pizza Pixel Podcast! Please click on the link and give it a listen if you can!
Shaun the Sheep: Farmageddon: Party Edition (Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, X/S, PC)
I’m a big fan of stop motion and clay animation. I even took a class on it once back in my college years so I have a lot of respect for the folks who do that stuff for a living. One of my favorite stop motion animation studios is Aardman. They’ve done stuff like Creature Comforts and the Chevron car commercials, but probably their most famous work is the Wallace and Gromit series. One of the side characters in Wallace and Gromit was a sheep named Shaun. He was so popular that he got his own spinoff TV show and movies about his adventures on the farm with his barnyard friends. Heck, even the youngest sheep on that show got his own preschool spinoff show called Timmy Time! So yeah, a spinoff of a spinoff. Anyway, now Shaun the Sheep and his fleecy friends are in their own video game: a 2-D action puzzle platformer on all current consoles and PC, but reviewed on Switch here.
Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons (PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, X/S, PC)
In the 80s and 90s, Double Dragon was HUGE! It wasn’t the first side scrolling beat ‘em up, but it was the first one to really dictate what these types of games would be like in the future. It was definitely one of the first two player co-op beat ‘em ups, though, and that’s what made it so popular in arcades back then. The arcade game got countless ports, sequels, and even cameos in other games. There was even a Double Dragon cartoon and cheesy live action movie! And they keep coming back, even to this day! The newest entry is Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons, and it’s available on all current consoles and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.
Pizza Pixel Podcast Episode 17: Do the Mario!
In case you haven’t noticed, Mario is pretty big right now. Well, he’s always been big, but this year his new movie hit the billion dollar mark, and a Mario theme park just opened up at Universal Studios Hollywood. So in this podcast, brother Jeff and I review the movie and I talk about my trip to Super Nintendo World!
emoji Kart Racer (PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, X/S)
Because of the widespread use of mobile phones and texting, we see and use those little yellow happy face emoji icons all the time. They even made a movie about them, and when I saw it on Netflix I watched the first five minutes of it and then stopped! And now there’s a kart racing game with those icons (available on all current consoles but reviewed on PS4 here). Does it fare better than the movie? Well, you’ll just have to read on to find out.
Super Mario Bros. Movie Toys in McDonald’s Happy Meals!
The Classics of the Cowabunga Collection
Konami recently came out with a collection of their licensed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games they released back in the late 80s and early 90s, during the first round of the Turtles’ heyday. Since a lot of people grew up with and enjoyed these titles, this collection is a pretty big deal. Especially since for a long time, it would’ve been hard to get the rights to all these games again! But I guess since Nickelodeon has all the rights to TMNT stuff now, maybe that part was easier to do? Anyway, of course I got this collection so grab a slice of pizza and let’s take a look at the games on here as well as my personal history with each title.
Smurfs Kart (Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, X/S)
In the distant past, long before streaming services and 24-hour cartoon channels, there was a thing called Saturday Morning Cartoons. Kids back then, me included, looked forward to this time because it was one of the only times TV was made just for kids. And as a child of the 80s, one of the most popular of these cartoons I remember was The Smurfs. Originally a European comic strip, The Smurfs gained popularity in the US from the Hanna-Barbera cartoon. I was never a super big fan of it, but I watched it anyway because, one, kids will watch pretty much anything. And two, it came on right before the Pac-Man cartoon. In recent years, The Smurfs have had a bit of a resurgence with a handful of computer animated movies and specials, and a new series on Nickelodeon. Last year we even got a Smurfs 3-D platformer which I reviewed. And this year we get a kart racer. I actually remember playing a Smurfs kart racer on the original PlayStation and it was one of the worst games I ever played. Let’s hope this one is better. Smurfs Kart is available for all current consoles but reviewed on Switch here.
Garfield Lasagna Party (PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, X/S, PC)
Many of you regular readers may know I was a child of the 80s and enjoyed many things as a kid from that time. You probably know I was really into Pac-Man (still am), as well as other franchises like Star Wars, Transformers, Ghostbusters, etc. One other thing I was really into back then was Garfield. Back then, most people read newspapers and the comics strips therein were very popular with kids and adults. I think those comic strips are one of the things I miss most about print newspapers (that and me getting paid to write for them). I read the comics, bought all the books, watched the Garfield TV specials and Saturday morning cartoons, and even ate the fruit snacks and Garfield ravioli. Yes, Garfield was very popular back then. So I was really excited to review Garfield Lasagna Party, a board game title with mini-games similar to Mario Party. It’s available on all current systems and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.