Christian Williams
@merelyafan.bsky.social
Just a guy on his own little weird journey now devouring the vastness of the internet.
One of my favorite things is showing non-wrestling fans pictures of Monday Night Wars era DDP & explaining he's the guy who made the yoga & self-care program that ended up improving people's health & saving lives.
It's doubly better if it's a pic of Page with a cigar in his mouth.
It's doubly better if it's a pic of Page with a cigar in his mouth.
November 24, 2025 at 12:05 AM
One of my favorite things is showing non-wrestling fans pictures of Monday Night Wars era DDP & explaining he's the guy who made the yoga & self-care program that ended up improving people's health & saving lives.
It's doubly better if it's a pic of Page with a cigar in his mouth.
It's doubly better if it's a pic of Page with a cigar in his mouth.
If one enjoys TGA & is excited by their favorite games winning more power to them. Especially for indie titles I'm glad they get exposure to a big audience. But I find the actual event to be dragged out & highlighting games that (while I'm sure are fine) aren't really my cup of tea in a lot of ways.
November 23, 2025 at 1:20 PM
If one enjoys TGA & is excited by their favorite games winning more power to them. Especially for indie titles I'm glad they get exposure to a big audience. But I find the actual event to be dragged out & highlighting games that (while I'm sure are fine) aren't really my cup of tea in a lot of ways.
Likely a coincidence but I am amused that you picked four games that Sega Genesis all won in the head to heads on the Console Wars web show:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdlo...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdlo...
Console Wars - Cool Spot - Super Nintendo vs Sega Genesis
YouTube video by Console Wars
www.youtube.com
November 22, 2025 at 1:47 AM
Likely a coincidence but I am amused that you picked four games that Sega Genesis all won in the head to heads on the Console Wars web show:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdlo...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdlo...
I'd love to see them used in a variety of ways in an RPG besides boss fights. Have Larry as a temporary parter, Ludwig as a shopkeep, Wendy as mini-game competition, Lemmy delivering mail, Roy as a guest at the inn, Morton running a battle dojo, Iggy as a magical blacksmith. Just go nuts with it.
November 18, 2025 at 11:01 PM
I'd love to see them used in a variety of ways in an RPG besides boss fights. Have Larry as a temporary parter, Ludwig as a shopkeep, Wendy as mini-game competition, Lemmy delivering mail, Roy as a guest at the inn, Morton running a battle dojo, Iggy as a magical blacksmith. Just go nuts with it.
Sorry, I only trust Qualcomm to know how the young people talk to each other:
youtu.be/VKlTx6o5Gt0?...
youtu.be/VKlTx6o5Gt0?...
Qualcomm Keynote - Future Shop @ CES 2013 - Part 1
YouTube video by Future Shop
youtu.be
November 16, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Sorry, I only trust Qualcomm to know how the young people talk to each other:
youtu.be/VKlTx6o5Gt0?...
youtu.be/VKlTx6o5Gt0?...
I feel similar about the Dreamcast & Bush 43's presidency. The latter feels so tied to Xbox & Gamecube as well as the 7th gen that the fact that Sega technically produced consoles during two different Bush administrations 10 years apart just feels weird.
November 15, 2025 at 4:47 PM
I feel similar about the Dreamcast & Bush 43's presidency. The latter feels so tied to Xbox & Gamecube as well as the 7th gen that the fact that Sega technically produced consoles during two different Bush administrations 10 years apart just feels weird.
I'd say Air Riders test just to get your initial thoughts & comparisons to MK World & Crossworlds.
November 9, 2025 at 4:38 PM
I'd say Air Riders test just to get your initial thoughts & comparisons to MK World & Crossworlds.
Hey, if it was really like 2003, Soul Calibur II & F-Zero GX would be selling Nintendo systems or we'd have people regarding the newest Mario Kart as controversial & negatively comparing it to the last home console entry.
Clearly, we're far away from those days.
Clearly, we're far away from those days.
November 9, 2025 at 3:45 PM
Hey, if it was really like 2003, Soul Calibur II & F-Zero GX would be selling Nintendo systems or we'd have people regarding the newest Mario Kart as controversial & negatively comparing it to the last home console entry.
Clearly, we're far away from those days.
Clearly, we're far away from those days.
I think an argument can be made that DKR never being re-released did help 64's reputation long term. There's much greater ease going back to the latter than the former (with unofficial N64 emulation still being a pain) that it rendered CTR as 64's only real 5th gen competition legacy wise.
November 6, 2025 at 8:50 PM
I think an argument can be made that DKR never being re-released did help 64's reputation long term. There's much greater ease going back to the latter than the former (with unofficial N64 emulation still being a pain) that it rendered CTR as 64's only real 5th gen competition legacy wise.
The problem was that there was a 20-year buildup of fans dreaming of a home console Pokémon game & when strictly portable gaming was done & we finally got one, it failed to live up to expectations. Many want a BotW scale Pokémon title which won't happen give the nature of what the IP is.
November 1, 2025 at 3:29 PM
The problem was that there was a 20-year buildup of fans dreaming of a home console Pokémon game & when strictly portable gaming was done & we finally got one, it failed to live up to expectations. Many want a BotW scale Pokémon title which won't happen give the nature of what the IP is.
That pre-2000 era is the one hardest to really explain to those that weren't there because the very nature of how the net was approached was so different & so much of that period is lost. Contemporary message boards are the closest to it that only captures so much: www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYlc...
The Internet Used to Be a Place
YouTube video by Sarah Davis Baker
www.youtube.com
October 27, 2025 at 9:20 PM
That pre-2000 era is the one hardest to really explain to those that weren't there because the very nature of how the net was approached was so different & so much of that period is lost. Contemporary message boards are the closest to it that only captures so much: www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYlc...
It's funny, the Wii kind of ended up being the SNES to the N64's NES more than the GC did. Grander 3D Mario, darker Zelda, DK as Country again, bigger Mario Kart, Sonic with less gimmicks, mainline Kirby release, etc. It was like Nintendo lost a kid's wish list in 2001 & didn't find it until 2007.
October 25, 2025 at 11:24 AM
It's funny, the Wii kind of ended up being the SNES to the N64's NES more than the GC did. Grander 3D Mario, darker Zelda, DK as Country again, bigger Mario Kart, Sonic with less gimmicks, mainline Kirby release, etc. It was like Nintendo lost a kid's wish list in 2001 & didn't find it until 2007.
Sonic's characterization in the 00s is the elephant in the room for me. I get that the inspirational force of nature depiction is meaningful to fans; I never really found it interesting. A Sonic with flaws having nuanced relationships with characters with both sides affecting each other? Gimme that.
October 22, 2025 at 7:43 PM
Sonic's characterization in the 00s is the elephant in the room for me. I get that the inspirational force of nature depiction is meaningful to fans; I never really found it interesting. A Sonic with flaws having nuanced relationships with characters with both sides affecting each other? Gimme that.
Colors is the game that best sells the actual brotherly dynamic between Sonic & Tails. The latter's character growth is what so many care about & it is important, but just having a title with two best friends stopping Eggman while occasionally snarking at each other still feels refreshing even now.
October 20, 2025 at 9:59 PM
Colors is the game that best sells the actual brotherly dynamic between Sonic & Tails. The latter's character growth is what so many care about & it is important, but just having a title with two best friends stopping Eggman while occasionally snarking at each other still feels refreshing even now.
A desire for Classic Sonic to not exist by a few seems partially rooted in refusal to acknowledge that the series felt different to older fans in the 2000s. There's an emotional investment by some that Sonic was always the same until 2010, & Classic being a valid pillar deflates that claim a bit.
October 17, 2025 at 9:23 AM
A desire for Classic Sonic to not exist by a few seems partially rooted in refusal to acknowledge that the series felt different to older fans in the 2000s. There's an emotional investment by some that Sonic was always the same until 2010, & Classic being a valid pillar deflates that claim a bit.
I'm reminded of TurtleMania when the 87 series came out. TMNT's renaissance with the 4Kids show was huge & has been reasonably popular since. But that original show casts such a long shadow because the 1988-1991 period of merch, toys, & media was so big that any era after feels muted by comparison.
October 16, 2025 at 7:52 PM
I'm reminded of TurtleMania when the 87 series came out. TMNT's renaissance with the 4Kids show was huge & has been reasonably popular since. But that original show casts such a long shadow because the 1988-1991 period of merch, toys, & media was so big that any era after feels muted by comparison.
With every various layer of DK Bananza getting a Kongversation episode, I kept telling myself Hyle had to have you on for episode 1500 given the events.
It's a hell of a relief that turned out to the case.
It's a hell of a relief that turned out to the case.
October 16, 2025 at 9:01 AM
With every various layer of DK Bananza getting a Kongversation episode, I kept telling myself Hyle had to have you on for episode 1500 given the events.
It's a hell of a relief that turned out to the case.
It's a hell of a relief that turned out to the case.
That's the funny thing; even the two as potential targets of derision as "Sonic with a gimmick" never really caught on especially given that Unleashed did gain some infamy for Werehog. I almost wonder if gaming culture saw them as waggle fests & concluded they weren't worth praising or criticizing.
September 29, 2025 at 10:13 PM
That's the funny thing; even the two as potential targets of derision as "Sonic with a gimmick" never really caught on especially given that Unleashed did gain some infamy for Werehog. I almost wonder if gaming culture saw them as waggle fests & concluded they weren't worth praising or criticizing.
Both are fascinating because they're the most prominent Sonic titles with a long-term presence only in fandom. So many of the other 3D games have a reputation (often at odds with the hardcores) in broader gaming culture to a degree but SR & BK came & went without the outside world really noticing.
September 29, 2025 at 8:37 PM
Both are fascinating because they're the most prominent Sonic titles with a long-term presence only in fandom. So many of the other 3D games have a reputation (often at odds with the hardcores) in broader gaming culture to a degree but SR & BK came & went without the outside world really noticing.
Do not cite the Deep Magic to me witch!
YouTube video by ainsley harriot
www.youtube.com
September 25, 2025 at 9:43 AM
I'm now getting the image of Mike Check calling into the Kongversation, annoying you while baffling Hyle & still somehow getting a song on the air.
"But a course there is one man who knows how to handle any kind of monkey & that's Peter Gabriel on KVSN!"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnVf...
"But a course there is one man who knows how to handle any kind of monkey & that's Peter Gabriel on KVSN!"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnVf...
Peter Gabriel - Shock The Monkey
YouTube video by Peter Gabriel
www.youtube.com
September 17, 2025 at 9:24 PM
I'm now getting the image of Mike Check calling into the Kongversation, annoying you while baffling Hyle & still somehow getting a song on the air.
"But a course there is one man who knows how to handle any kind of monkey & that's Peter Gabriel on KVSN!"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnVf...
"But a course there is one man who knows how to handle any kind of monkey & that's Peter Gabriel on KVSN!"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnVf...
Also, Disney platformers: Quackshot, Castle of Illusion, World of Illusion, Mickey Mania, & a few of the movie games are really solid.
Fantasia's awful, but most of the others are entirely worth trying.
Fantasia's awful, but most of the others are entirely worth trying.
September 16, 2025 at 12:44 AM
Also, Disney platformers: Quackshot, Castle of Illusion, World of Illusion, Mickey Mania, & a few of the movie games are really solid.
Fantasia's awful, but most of the others are entirely worth trying.
Fantasia's awful, but most of the others are entirely worth trying.
If we get an explosion of "Metal Sabrina Carpenter" fan art, I'm blaming you.
September 3, 2025 at 12:04 AM
If we get an explosion of "Metal Sabrina Carpenter" fan art, I'm blaming you.
Sonic is in a good place because it's doing a pillar approach that doesn't rely on one particular interpretation of the series across the board. Superstars, Shadow Generations, & even the movies all differ, but they're earnestly doing their own thing & are all the better for it.
August 23, 2025 at 10:59 AM
Sonic is in a good place because it's doing a pillar approach that doesn't rely on one particular interpretation of the series across the board. Superstars, Shadow Generations, & even the movies all differ, but they're earnestly doing their own thing & are all the better for it.
While I like Blue Spheres, I'm somewhat convinced the positive reception with it was Sonic fans recalling at the first couple of variations of Special Stages (1, 2, CD) & just being grateful for one that felt somewhat fair in playing or even accessing them.
August 15, 2025 at 9:19 PM
While I like Blue Spheres, I'm somewhat convinced the positive reception with it was Sonic fans recalling at the first couple of variations of Special Stages (1, 2, CD) & just being grateful for one that felt somewhat fair in playing or even accessing them.