Godzilla 1962 the "most reptilian" Godzilla pre-2016.

 Great info here:

https://becominggodzilla.com/designs-by-year__trashed/kingoji-1962/

And yeah, the three quarters view absolutely looks great. He's more lizard-like, which I love. I mean I love all versions of G, but this one often looks the best (except for a straight on view, not to be seen, and I don't think they used it in the movie). 

Menacing?

Here he's basically giving a "I'm rolling my eyes b/c that is ridiculous" face. Fist too, for emoting annoyance. :P

And here we have the one from the old orange monster book. Perfect. And yes, he's frying King Kong's gonads... that's what Kong gets for being so ugly. :)

D&D magic user minis look like Pendragon in 1960s movie, Godzilla Ears

Jack the Giant Killer, 1960. Ray Harryhausen-style stop motion animation (but it wasn't him). 

Beginning w/ the drawn book illustrations, looks like the typical black thin beard n 'stache, evil. Looks so similar to some (magic user, evil mostly) minis for Dnd in the 2000s. Torin Thatcher again. 

D&D Archmage from Angelfire. 

D&D Renegade Warlock from Deathknell, 2005. 

This movie also has the invis cloak… like DnD and Harry Potter. Was it the first??

A copy from the cyclops from the Sinbad movie, the early giant has two fingers plus a thumb on each hand, reminiscent of the Rancor beast in Jedi. 

Apparently this movie was a straight copy in look and feel from Sinbad, see great write up:  
http://manapop.com/film/jack-the-giant-killer-1962-review/

Ghosts n hobgoblins at time 38:00 are pretty damn good. Love 'em. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNq_5JQvr14&t=15s

The doglike wyvern(?) was cool from this angle. Definitely going for the younger audience with this film. 

The French poster had monsters that never appeared. 

Everybody's favorite reptilian headed, Godzilla white breath attacking monster lady. She shoots her breath attack for like 60 seconds straight probably, it was insane. But the look really is cool from the right angles. 

I really liked all the undead guys, they looked very cool. 

The concentration on this fellow is great with his ultra 1950s hairdo. 

But the monster in the film was not nearly as detailed or cool as the one in this test film:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNq_5JQvr14&t=15s

...

Star Wars - Return of the Jedi's Rancor had an earring!?! I never knew this. And Godzilla often has tiny little ears, too, come to think of it. 

...

BTW, great Ray Harryhausen stuff:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXMubwXwXHA 

Yt Guy's 10 Best Fantasy Authors

Geekin w/ james hancock on yt. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSsmA0AcLy4&list=LL&index=14

Ill Met at Lankhmar,  The gray mouser guy, says is best Sword n Sor plus Lovecraftian horror.

Prince of nothing trilogy.. .. by R. Scott Bakker, a Canadian. 

and

Aspect Emperor quartet. by R. Scott Bakker.  Maybe best magic. Semi scifi, living "spaceship" comes from other dimension carrying extreme monsters. Then it turns into fantasy. 

The False Sun, shortstory free on his website, Bakker again. 

Various books by Steven Erikson. But gotta research his terminology, gods, chars. Tons of work to read. But very hi fantasy, the magic users are super powerful in war. 

The Name of the Wind, also known as The Kingkiller Chronicle: Day One by Patrick Rothfuss.

 Forbidden knowledge… alchemist, etc.  Brain power. 

**** (Elric), The Stealer of Souls. Raistlin was inspired by Elric. Arhtor is Michael Moorcock. **** Raistlin of Dragonlance fame is inspired by Elric no doubt... white hair, frail, health issues traded for magical power. 

El famoso artista del fantástico Michael Whelan llevó a cabo esta ilustración que captó la fuerza de la obra de Moorcock. via https://carlosjeguren.com/critica-de-elric-de-melnibone/

Excalibur 1981 armor influenced Warcraft (1?,2?,3), World of Warcraft

 Take a look at this

Arthur’s armor with the bulky shoulders and super high “collars”.  Now look at the Footman-

SF6 - Driver Reversal is maybe like a Dark Stalkers block into DP reversal.

https://www.33rdsquare.com/guide-street-fighter-6-drive-reversal/

He says:
A Comprehensive Introduction to Drive Reversal

Drive Reversal allows you to interrupt an opponent‘s pressure by bursting out of block stun with a counterattack. To perform it:

Classic Controls: Forward + HP + HK
Modern Controls: Forward + LB/L1

Key Traits:Bursts out of opponent‘s block strings
Counters direct attacks only
Ground and air versions
Pushes opponent away
Minor white damage dealt
Uses 2 Drive Gauge bars

Startup: 13 Frames
Active: 24 Frames
Recovery: 33 Frames

Total: 70 Frames



Another way to say it: https://www.destructoid.com/street-fighter-6-drive-reversal-guide-how-to-use-it/

What is Drive Reversal?

When you are blocking attacks, perhaps in a corner as your opponent relentlessly mashes attacks, then from Back (block), hit Forward and both HP + HK all together. Your character will then break their block stance and perform a single, hard-hitting strike. Should this connect with your opponent while they are in the middle of a move, it will force through their attack and shove them backward. Giving you a breath of air and some space to play with.


It's all the yellow and blue goop:

SF6 - does Burnout kill offense? But wait, blocking too much also leads to burnout.

The burnout mechanic sounds bad at first. You are going to limit offense? Or wait, it's just limiting EX and supers... that might be fine. Let's see. https://www.33rdsquare.com/street-fighter-6-burnout-the-definitive-guide/

My Summary: offense without using meter is good in this game. Blocking in the corner will get you nuked though. 

Mostly quotes below. 

Playing Too Aggressively Can Lead to Premature Burnout

Based on aggregate gameplay data analysis, optimal offense spends drive gauge at a rate of 20% every 10 seconds. However, over 50% of bronze players exhaust their gauges too quickly through reckless attacking.

Too bad if they make offense suck, b/c Bison looks cool:

As YouTube legend Maximilian Dood warns: "Getting too drunk on the power of Overdrives and EX specials might feel great in the moment, but you’re just borrowing strength from your future self, who then wakes up the next morning with a killer hangover called burnout."



Pacing drive mechanic usage requires a mindfulness shared by Babycakes99x, the Maryland state champ: "I visualize my drive gauge like a health bar I need to manage. No throwing out EX projectiles without purpose. No Super attempts without guaranteed confirm into a dizzy. Patience pays off with better comeback potential late game."

Eventhubs' defense monkeys seem to not like the mixups, so maybe the game is fine.

Playing Too Defensively Also Leads to Burnout Over Time

While aggressive expenditure is risky, defensive fighters burnout in a slower boil by blocking too much damage. Based on studying over 500 online replays across ranked and casual matches, the average player takes 15-20% potential gauge drain per round. However, turtling players suffered over 30% gauge drain from repeated blocking.

As world famous grappler player Its_Muscles notes: "Newbies think they’re playing it safe by blocking everything. But eat too many minus frame jab strings and sacrifice too much corner control, next thing you know, you’re in burnout-flavored soup with no good options left."


Optimal defense requires proactive neutral control more than reactively holding guard all game. Ultimately, balance is key in all fighting game aspects, meter management included.



The Consequences of Burnout Are Severe

When burnt out, banning access to core drive mechanics is just the beginning. Based on analyzing frame data and conducting mechanics lab tests, additional penalties stack the odds firmly against you:4 added block stun frames – A 25% slowdown reacting out of guarding attacks
Increasing chip damage – Specials chip for 2-3% initially, scaling to 6% during extended burnout
Greater dizzy combo potential – Wall splat drives lead to 5s of helplessness. 65% longer than normal stun

So in raw numbers, burnout both slashes your offensive options significantly while simultaneously allowing opponents to pressure you far more intensely.

Let's talk art in the 1980s vs. now

Dnd type art, how diff it was in the early 1980s... nowadays they'd be 5 feet wide and arms the size of elephant legs.  

Retro-Gaming : Vectrex

 Didn't know about this one. Vector based. Man, old vector games just look so smooth and nice. Berzerk, asteroids, defender type stuff. Another page from the crazy Sears Christmas Wishbook catalogs. 1983.

Check out some youtube vids, it looks so smooth and cool. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3enTGyDHl5g&list=LL&index=5

1979 Sears Wish Book - old toys, yep. Hornetroid (hornetDroid), etc.

 Mom definitely ordered a lot from Sears's Wish Book, ... but she must have been at the store for big G. 

Recognize some of these? Yeah. Thanks to arhcive.org, you crazy pop-culture keeping dudes: https://archive.org/details/1979-sears-christmas-wishbook/page/616/mode/1up?view=theater

More years: https://archive.org/details/1979-sears-christmas-wishbook/page/668/mode/2up

https://archive.org/details/1977-sears-christmas-wishbook

https://archive.org/details/1985-sears-christmas-wishbook-catalog

https://archive.org/details/1983-sears-christmas-wishbook-catalog

https://archive.org/details/1982-sears-christmas-wishbook-catalog

Discussions about the rebranded Atari 2600, Sears called it the "Video Arcade" or something: https://www.reddit.com/r/retrogaming/comments/5w4wne/can_someone_explain_exactly_what_a_sears_video/

and

https://wearethemutants.com/2017/09/19/the-sears-tele-games-video-arcade-1977-and-the-coleco-gemini-1982/

Terron (not Gargon) The green six-legged monster toy from the 1970s

Gargon (correction, Terron was the American name) was the name I guess. Green, six legs... had a light sensor under his neck I think. Commercial had something about the good guy shining a light on him there to stop his advance. Battery powered, walked pretty well. Red eyes and mouth would light up at certain times. I want to say it was close to something from Clash of the Titans or Captain Nemo or some other black haired, bearded good guy in the commercial. He had some sort of vehicle. 

Toy was big... 50cm this one guy says. Hasbro 1978. 

Now that I've finally found this dude, after searching a ton again... let's see what the actual commercial looks like. 

UPDATE: Yes, the name we had in the US was  Terron, not Gargon. Thanks George from https://www.universalmonsterarmy.com/forum/index.php?topic=11063.0   

And this shows Super Joe vs. him:

OMG, the command laser (flashlight). I remember. 

We also had the stretch monster, was super cool, till he started to leak pink goo. 

Wow, more on Terron here... http://www.3dsuperjoes.com/terron-the-beast-from-beyond.html

Terron: the Beast from Beyond (7580) was a 1978 only release.  The Terron is described as “the crawling, cosmic monster that stops dead in the midst of an attack when stunned by the light of the command laser, or any light beam.”  As noted on his box that “from galaxies that extend far beyond our solar system comes an incredible beast…with eyes and mouth of fiery light he stalks the land, prepared for attack.  He must be stopped. ”  This set comes with the Terron, a large six legged pre-historic dinosaur looking creature that operates on 3 D batteries and the aforementioned Command Laser, basically a small kid sized flashlight with a Super Joe logo on it.  The Terron features multi-legged crawling motion, eyes and mouth that glow red when “stunned” by a light beam, and he emits an eerie, cosmic shriek.  The Terrons are notoriously known for failing to work as designed.  Interestingly, the Terron was released as part of the twelve inch line for Action Man overseas as Gargon. The box for Gargon has a drawing showing an Intruder riding the Terron while attacking the Action Man Team.

Nintendo Ganon -> Ganondorf, I say keep the monster

 Often times (all the time actually) I just wish they'd keep the monster. Why change Ganon into a human. So he was a pig monster, that's fine. It's boring to always change something into a human to get more human story out of it. Look, cats and dogs have plenty of emotion... and people like them. You can make it work, I promise. Same thing for Kerrigan and the Zerg... didn't have to be a human representing them. I mean, look at Smaug in the live action Hobbit movies... they gave him some expressions and a good voice actor and bam, he was one of the best things in the movies. How weak would it have been if they had just had him magically change into a human for half his scenes? No thank you.

This guy agrees I think: https://smashboards.com/threads/classic-ganon-the-original-king-of-evil.326965/

Elden Ring, 7th Voyage of Sinbad, and Cyclops, Cylopses, Cyclopes

 See m-w.com’s explanations.  I am sticking with traditional English and Cyclopes (sī - klops - sez). Definitely not a fan of the very non-English version of Cyclopes (sī - KLō - Pēz). 

Why make English even more confusing and inconsistent... Be kind to other humans. Know anybody learning English? They don’t appreciate having to learn rules from every European language and then memorizing when to use those rules once or twice per 5000 words in English. 

https://www.merriam-webster.com/grammar/how-to-pluralize-cyclops-cyclopes

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958), is a fun one. The fairly evil Sokurah, performed by Tori Thatcher, is fun to watch.  He isn’t straight evil exactly, and I just like the take on a dark magic user that he uses/is.  Unplaceable accent, potentially physically strong and intimidating but relies on magic, often more direct than conniving, … the “good” guys who just have to do things their way are always forcing his hand. 

The monsters are cool, too. Especially the dragon… it’s head and face are perfect. Notice there are two Cylopses, and the second has two horns to differentiate. 

——

Golden voyage below…

Inspired the weird magic user Int helms in Elden Ring, eh?

Music - Castle Rat, Die Spitz, Amyl and the Sniffers

 Castle Rat-

1980s lookin', sassy lady, black sabbath plus Mazzy Star soundin'… guitar shredding abilities, 1970s  medieval fantasy n' Frazetta inspired… good stuff. Videos are very fun. 

Die,Spitz-

Wild Punk minded young chicks.  Hard n heavy.  Good. 

Amyl and the Sniffers of course.