Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Before you get your hopes up, no, this is has absolutely nothing to do with the Twilight series. If you are into that sort of thing, please go away. This isn't your type of blog anyway :)
Okay, now that the twihards have been directed elsewhere, who here has ever played a Legend of Zelda (which will be abbreviated to LoZ from now on)? I hope at least a few of you, cus then at least SOMEONE will understand my excitement.
Though I love the series as a whole, my absolutely favorite game is Twilight Princess. It is the 13th game of the series, and was the first LoZ game to come out for Wii. There are a few key elements to this game that make it special to the LoZ series (or at least for me).

Story:
It does follow the normal guidelines. Something happens to Zelda, and Link has to go out and save her by solving puzzles in 9 different temples.
In this version of the story, Hyrule has been invaded by the creatures of the Twilight Realm. Zant, the King of Twilight, steals the light from the guardians of Hyrule, plunging the land into darkness.
There is more to it than that of course, but I don't want to give any spoilers for those of you who haven't played. The plot is so complex and interesting that it makes you want to invest 20+ hours of your life into a game.

Characters:
I love the characters in this game so much. You have the necessary characters, such as Link, Zelda, and Gannondorf. but then there's the characters that are exclusive to this story.
This is Midna, your companion in the game. Normally, your companion is a little fairy who has absolutely no depth, and is very annoying. Midna isn't like that at all. She's a very snarky imp from the Twilight Realm that decides to help Link take down Zant. As the game progresses, you learn more and more about her which I can't tell you about now because spoilers but GOSH DARN IT SHE'S AWESOME!

Then theres these kids, Beth, Colin, Malo, and Talo. They go through the entire game with you. Well, not really, but they're there since the very beginning. At the begining, they're all really bratty (except for Collin, who's just a weakling), and you sort of hate them for bugging you about a slingshot. At first, they're simply characters to teach you how to do moves. They come back later, and are scared out of their minds because they've been kidnapped by monsters and are hiding with a shaman. You save them, they're safe, so what? But they come back a third time, and they're very brave and have become heros. I know I'm not describing it well, but the development is incredible.

I'm not going to go into the other characters for brevity's sake, but geeze it's great.

Enemies:
Again, the classic enemies are still there. There are still poes and Zelda's version of piranha plants, but there are still some great ones in Twilight Princess. This is a shadow beast, one of Zant's soldiers. I didn't know it's name the first time I played the game, so I went around calling them freaky-zombie-reggae-guys. I cringe at the thought, but in my defense, I was 12. This is just one of the awesome new enemies that debut in Twilight Princess.
Since they're the ones that you're running around and fighting the entire game, it's essential for them to be interesting. Trust me, the
dozens of different enemies you encounter in the game keep everything interesting.



Graphics:
I know that a bunch of people hate the more 'gothic' look, but I really enjoy the darker feel. I mean, I've played the games with toon Link, and I think that the more realistic look is great after so much chibi.

I just like the realistic feel better *shrug*

Music:

Music has always been heavily incorperated in this series. In Ocarina of Time, you play different songs on the Ocarina to transport, control time, and manipulate stuff. In Skyward Sword, you have the harp to unlock tests. In Twilight Princess, YOU are the instrument. While Link is in wolf form (I know I haven't addressed it, just roll with it), you howl the obligatory songs until very late in the game (when the harp comes in). 

Besides the gameplay aspect, the backround music is beautiful. It always perfectly fits the setting and theme of the moment. The music ranges from perky and fun (mostly for mini-games), to dark and ominous. 

In conclusion, I freaking love this game. I recommend it whole heartedly to anyone who enjoys video games, fantasy, or a good story. If you want to find out more about the game, here's the wikipedia page.

Photo credit: 

http://oyster.ignimgs.com/wordpress/write.ign.com/4065/2012/09/223543-midna.jpg

but-when-i-grow-up.deviantart.com -

www.gengame.net 

caminorojo.activoforo.com

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d7/The_Legend_of_Zelda_Twilight_Princess_wii_wallpaper3.jpg

P.S: I'm sorry for any confusion that this has caused people that haven't played the game. I know some of it doesn't make sense out of context. If you have questions, you can leave a comment, do some research on your own, or play the game!

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2: Sometimes, Leftovers Can Still Be Good

Wooph, that's a long title, but I like stuff like that. Anyway, my friends and I went to go see Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs 2 over the weekend. Actually they sort of forced me into the theater since I thought it would be a crummy movie. You can understand my apprehension. Kids movies can get a little tedious at my age. Also it has the dreaded curse of being a SEQUEL! DUN DUN DUUUN!! I finally agreed to get a ticket when my friends pointed out that the first movie was sort of awesome.

So we go into the theater, talk as all the families are coming in and taking their seats. We watch the previews (when of course I accidentally kick my popcorn and it spills all over the floor ((it was very upsetting))), and then the movie starts. Let me just say, this movie was not at ALL what I expected it to be.

A quick spoiler free teaser: Flint and the gang have been relocated from Swallow Falls since the food machine (the FLDSMDFR) went insane in the first movie and covered the island in giant food. Flint's childhood hero, Chester V, volunteers to do the cleanup since he has a big science corporation  (Live Corp) to clean it up. However, the teams that he sends into the jungle of food encounter a serious problem, which Live Corp cannot figure out how to fix. THE FOOD HAS COME ALIVE!!! As a result, Flint and his friends have to go back to the island and shut down the  FLDSMDFR to get rid of the living food.

The biggest thing about this movie is it's adorableness. Seriously, I nearly died from the cute that radiates from these living foods. For example, there is a family of pickle people that follow Flint's dad around, and theres one  girl with little fishhooks for earrings who has a pet onion. It doesn't sound very cute when I put it like that, but it's amazing. There are also these little marshmallow dudes that swim around in a pool, and they are FREAKING AWESOME.

LOOK AT THESE GUYS


AREN'T THEY AMAZING!?


LOOK AT HOW HAPPY THEY MAKE PEOPLE :D

Another thing is the puns. There are things like flaMANGOSs and WATERMELOphants and hipPOTATOmuses. There's BANANostritches and cantalope and wild scallions (I don't really get the pun there, but they look like giant dinosaurs which is just great in itself). The puns are incredibly amusing. However, besides the puns, the humor is a little bit dry. Don't look for sophisticated humor there.

Even though this is a little kids movie, it's pretty great. It'll keep everyone entertained (at least if you like the whole talking food thing), and you leave with a smile on your face and that fun 'aww' feeling. If you want to find out more, click here to go to the movie site. All in all, this was an excellent movie. 5 stars!

Picture credit: http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/cloudy-with-a-chance-of-meatballs-2