The Nintendo Switch has officially become the longest-lasting Nintendo Console, nearing 2,700 days as the company’s primary home console. With very clear signaling from the Big N that a Switch successor is on the way, why not add more speculation to the vast collection already assembled online and talk about the five things I want to see out of a Nintendo Switch 2 (Super Nintendo Switch? Switch U?).
Continue reading
By: Andrew Lister; January 9, 2024
Welcome to my brand new article series, Casual VGC. I’ll begin with a few caveats. I am not a full-time Pokémon player. I have never won any major VGC tournaments. Heck, I’ve only officially competed in two in-person tournaments–Milwaukee and Peoria in 2023. However, I have been playing Pokémon since Red and Blue came to North America while I was in high school, and I started dipping my toes into competitive Pokémon starting in Sword and Shield. One of my favorite ways to pass the time when not grading my students’ essays or podcasting is following official Pokémon events.
The most recent Pokémon VGC Regional took place in Portland, Oregon from January 5th-7th. Being the first official tournament under the new Regulation F ruleset, fans were curious which Mons would make a bigger splash than Magikarp. Some of the same strategies held over from the previous season, but the inclusion of the new Pokémon from the Indigo Disk shook up the meta like a Ground Terastalized Earthquake.
Here are some of the major takeaways and meta developments coming out of Portland.
Continue readingOriginal Publication Date: 11/29/2016
By: Andrew Lister
Welcome to the next installment of a new articles series,Tuesday Top Five! From time to time I’ll be coming up with a Top 5 spanning a number of geeky topics. This week we celebrate the release of Final Fantasy XV with an article chronicling my favorite Final Fantasy protagonists.
Greetings, fans! It’s been a while since I’ve posted a Top 5 article, but I’m back with a promise of several Final Fantasy themed articles. Final Fantasy XV dropped today, and a lot of people have been eager to get their hands on the game. I may try it myself, but for the first time ever I’m not rushing out to get it on Day 1. Perhaps I was burned by every game after Final Fantasy X-2.
The first of several weekly articles will be my personal top 5 playable characters from the history of the series. I can tell you right now that my list is probably going to be VERY different from your own. As always, let us know what your own list is in the comments section below!
Continue readingOriginal Publication Date: 8/30/2016
By: Andrew Lister
Welcome to another installment of Tuesday Top Five! Each week I’ll be coming up with a Top 5 spanning a number of geeky topics. This week, I’m going to rank my favorite video games from the Final Fantasy series.
Out of all my NES games, the one I treasured the most was my copy of Final Fantasy. This JRPG from Square was published in 1987 and was supposed to be the very last video game for the failing company.
I am a child of the Nintendo era. Growing up, I owned the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES for short), and I would lose myself in its many worlds, such as The Mushroom Kingdom and Hyrule. The games had simple graphics, but many of them were insanely difficult to play and master.
That being said, it turned out to be a massive hit, and as most people know, it spawned a number of other games in the series. Most of these games are not sequels, but many of them had similar themes and mechanics that evolved alongside the hardware of new consoles.
Trying to rank my Top 5 this week was extremely difficult, and I’m sure those of you out there may disagree with my list. If you do, leave your own list in the comments below. We may read your comments on a future episode of the Tooning Japanese Podcast!
Continue readingOriginal Publication Date: 8/22/2016
By: Andrew Lister
Welcome to the next installment of a new articles series, Tuesday Top Five! From time to time I’ll be coming up with a Top 5 spanning a number of geeky topics. This week, we tackle the world of professional wrestling.
What’s a good story without an even better antagonist? To me, a good villain needs to not only be a difficult challenge for the hero, but they must also be motivated by more than simply wanting to do evil. Sauron was pretty badass, but we never see much depth in his character beyond his wanting to rule over all of Middle Earth. Scary and powerful? Yes. An interesting, developed character? No.
The same criteria goes for anime as well. There have been so many great shows and memorable villains that making a list of the best baddies may seem like a tough task. That being said, I’ve assembled my Top 5 Most Interesting Anime Villains, and I want to hear what you think by leaving a comment below. We may even read your comments on a future episode of Tooning Japanese!
Please keep in mind that there may be spoilers below. You have been warned!
Continue reading
Tooning Japanese 