For those of you who are concerned: Yes, I do intend to continue this "Year of the Dragon" series. I will definitely have it done before the year is out. The more pics and info I have supporting the next two parts, the better. One of these Fridays, the second part will fly up here.
In the meantime, I thought I would comment on a few things.
First off, Pokemon Black and White 2. No, I have not gotten White 2 yet. I'm taking my time and finishing up other games. There will be a full-blown, awesome critique of it once I get done, though. The fused Kyurems are enough to make me flinch, although I will admit that Kyurem needed the redesign. I winced a little harder upon learning that each version got a different shiny dragon egg, plus a Blaxorus.
Oh, but it doesn't stop there. Noooo. Pokemon has unleashed a set called "Dragons Exalted," complete with Dragon as a new type. While I agree that Dragon has probably needed a new typing for a while, I'm still calling "dragonhumper" shenanigans. They just got a whole type to themselves in one of the most popular TCG's in the world, and are shilling it with a tin promo, Lati@s, and two Dragon-type decks.With this and the cover dragon(s) for B/W2, Game Freak has made sure that Year of the Dragon is in full swing.
Now, I could rant about YGO again. Thing is, YGO's been off the draconic deep end since at least 5D's and shows no signs of stopping. Vanguard, which I really hope encourages Konami to treat the game more soberly, is a whole different can of worms; although it started out advertising "knights and dragons," given BT09's confirmation of upgrades (I hesitate to call "cross-rides") to Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion and Maelstrom Dragon, I'm starting to wonder if they're starting to push the envelope a little. People were already worried that Limit Break was killing the game; were upgrades really necessary? If these two upgrades actually wind up helping the game, I'll retract my uneasy feelings.
Pokemon, YGO, and, yes, even Vanguard have assured me that the Year of the Dragon is loaded with dragons. After this year, I would love if people started shilling wolves. Please? At least wolves are something besides a symbol. We can donate the money to keeping Yellowstone pretty. The only place dragon money goes is to corporations, who then produce more dragons because your money means that there's demand. It's not that I hate dragons, it's that they don't seem to mean anything anymore.
Read: I do like dragons, I just won't buy something because "OMG IT'S A DRAGON!" Seriously, guys, dragons (particularly the "Western" dragon- you'll see why I have issues with that term later) have become so dirt common that they aren't remotely fantastic in the modern world. The fantastic has become mundane. The dragon's last sanction is that it does not exist. Do you see why that is a problem, yet?
But wait! It gets better:
The Greatest Show On Earth apparently features dragons, now. Admittedly, the advert I saw for this show piqued my curiosity enough to look it up. The actual dragon, above, looks much nicer than the dragon in the trailer. The trailer also advertises dragon tribes that value the virtues "Heart, Courage, Wisdom, and Strength." Considering the "Western" dragon was usually symbolic of Satan, I'm amazed that they would approach people with virtues. Also, what kind of power is "heart," anyways?
You know what's sad? I know people who would buy tickets. I'm not just talking about little kids begging to see the dragon. I'm talking about adults who collect anything with 'dragon' in the name. I would expect these people to not only pay to see 'live' dragons, but also preserve the ticket stub.
On the bright side: PETA can't complain about this one. I just don't know how much crazier things can get this year. Again, I don't hate dragons, but how much are people willing to pay just for "dragon?" I mean it- people are paying for the word "dragon" regardless of whether whatever that word is attached to actually resembles a dragon or not.
In the meantime, I thought I would comment on a few things.
First off, Pokemon Black and White 2. No, I have not gotten White 2 yet. I'm taking my time and finishing up other games. There will be a full-blown, awesome critique of it once I get done, though. The fused Kyurems are enough to make me flinch, although I will admit that Kyurem needed the redesign. I winced a little harder upon learning that each version got a different shiny dragon egg, plus a Blaxorus.
 |
| From Serebii.net. 1337 Bl4x0rz. |
Oh, but it doesn't stop there. Noooo. Pokemon has unleashed a set called "Dragons Exalted," complete with Dragon as a new type. While I agree that Dragon has probably needed a new typing for a while, I'm still calling "dragonhumper" shenanigans. They just got a whole type to themselves in one of the most popular TCG's in the world, and are shilling it with a tin promo, Lati@s, and two Dragon-type decks.With this and the cover dragon(s) for B/W2, Game Freak has made sure that Year of the Dragon is in full swing.
Now, I could rant about YGO again. Thing is, YGO's been off the draconic deep end since at least 5D's and shows no signs of stopping. Vanguard, which I really hope encourages Konami to treat the game more soberly, is a whole different can of worms; although it started out advertising "knights and dragons," given BT09's confirmation of upgrades (I hesitate to call "cross-rides") to Dragonic Kaiser Vermillion and Maelstrom Dragon, I'm starting to wonder if they're starting to push the envelope a little. People were already worried that Limit Break was killing the game; were upgrades really necessary? If these two upgrades actually wind up helping the game, I'll retract my uneasy feelings.
Pokemon, YGO, and, yes, even Vanguard have assured me that the Year of the Dragon is loaded with dragons. After this year, I would love if people started shilling wolves. Please? At least wolves are something besides a symbol. We can donate the money to keeping Yellowstone pretty. The only place dragon money goes is to corporations, who then produce more dragons because your money means that there's demand. It's not that I hate dragons, it's that they don't seem to mean anything anymore.
Read: I do like dragons, I just won't buy something because "OMG IT'S A DRAGON!" Seriously, guys, dragons (particularly the "Western" dragon- you'll see why I have issues with that term later) have become so dirt common that they aren't remotely fantastic in the modern world. The fantastic has become mundane. The dragon's last sanction is that it does not exist. Do you see why that is a problem, yet?
But wait! It gets better:
The Greatest Show On Earth apparently features dragons, now. Admittedly, the advert I saw for this show piqued my curiosity enough to look it up. The actual dragon, above, looks much nicer than the dragon in the trailer. The trailer also advertises dragon tribes that value the virtues "Heart, Courage, Wisdom, and Strength." Considering the "Western" dragon was usually symbolic of Satan, I'm amazed that they would approach people with virtues. Also, what kind of power is "heart," anyways?
 |
| HEEAAAART! |
You know what's sad? I know people who would buy tickets. I'm not just talking about little kids begging to see the dragon. I'm talking about adults who collect anything with 'dragon' in the name. I would expect these people to not only pay to see 'live' dragons, but also preserve the ticket stub.
On the bright side: PETA can't complain about this one. I just don't know how much crazier things can get this year. Again, I don't hate dragons, but how much are people willing to pay just for "dragon?" I mean it- people are paying for the word "dragon" regardless of whether whatever that word is attached to actually resembles a dragon or not.
