If you grew up in the 1990s, you might remember this show:
It was a way of life back then.
Dragonball Z - the sequel to Dragonball where our hero Goku continues to save the world as an adult, husband, and father - was certainly more than a simple cartoon. DBZ taught us about true strength, pride, perseverance, and the power of friendship.
Unlike American television shows that can last a lifetime, many anime shows are finite stories. As such, the Dragonball franchise ended after Dragonball GT, leaving today's youth with only Dragonball Z Kai (an edited version which is a post for another day itself).
Not a fan, but it'll do if it's all you've got...
Feeling nostalgic? Cheer up! Episodes of the show are on Hulu, but there's something even better on YouTube...
A group calling themselves Team Four Star has put together a very well done parody of the popular epic called Dragonball Z Abridged. It hilariously brings to light a lot of subtle things we might have missed watching the show as children, and it makes the experience more adult. There are also pop culture references that further the hilarity.
Any fan of the original Dragonball Z mustwatch the Dragonball Z Abridged parodies! They're thoroughly entertaining and make you fall in love with the original series all over again.
If you ever need an escape from reality, video games are always an excellent get-away! They transport you into a virtual world where (a) you can escape whatever problems are going on in your real life & (b) do things you'll probably never do in the aforementioned real life.
I wouldn't quite call myself a gamer, but I've certainly done my fair share of playing. So, I'm familiar with the gratification of achieving a challenging goal and thought-provoking plot twists. But what about everyday game play? Is any of that memorable?
My boyfriend recently brought to mind a hilarious moment that happened while playing a game together, and it compelled me to come up with a list of my Top 5 Favorite Video Game Memories!
#5 Resident Evil 5: She's A Keeper
I sometimes refer to Resident Evil 5 as "Our Trip to Africa". It was one of the first games my boyfriend and I played together, and we spent several days advancing through the story.
Of course, there were plenty of memorable moments in that game. But one stands out...
Toward the beginning, we were shooting sick, zombified Africans - you know, the usual - when we came across a pretty Caucasian woman calling for help. My boyfriend, the gentleman, walked up to help her when BAM! She grabbed him.
He called me for help. I ran over, pressed circle, and did this cool roundhouse kick before pumping her full of lead.
It wasn't the most difficult of actions, but I've never felt so cool.
Of course, it was no big win to him, especially since we were still being surrounded by other zombies. But I felt like Xena, Warrior Princess with a gun, and nothing beats that.
#4 Dead Nation: The Hail Mary
If there is ever a zombie apocalypse, my boyfriend will likely survive. He's incredible with video games in general, but for some reason he's a beast when it comes to zombies! According to him, I'm a decent partner, but I still feel like I'm slowing him down sometimes.
In Dead Nation, if you're partner dies, you can still play on and - if you get far enough in the level - revive them. Sometimes we were an unstoppable force that blew through the hoards of zombies together; sometimes he was suddenly solo because his partner was dead.
At one point, though, I noticed I die a lot with flares, grenades, land mines, etc. still on me unused! So, I decided to try something...
The next time I was swarmed with zombies - and I knew death was imminent - I unloaded all my grenades, flares, mines, and dynamite. It was Chernobyl. If I was going down, all those zombies were coming with me!
(Except I somehow lived, and found myself without any of those valuable weapons...)
My boyfriend laughed at me.
#3 The Ship: Collegiate Darwinism
I had actually bought this game years ago, but couldn't get it working on my family's crappy computer. So, I'd nearly forgotten it, when my Video Games class (yes, I took a Video Games class my senior year of college) took a trip to video game center. There, they had this cool video game cube thing that myself and 7 of my classmates could all play together.
In The Ship, you are a passenger on a large cruise ship where everyone is given the name of another passenger to kill.
Cool: You have the name of the person you need to kill, their last known location, and there are weapons everywhere. Problem: You have no idea who is trying to kill you, and it is incredibly difficult to watch your back.
Side Note: I once beat someone to death with a manikin arm in this game.
While you gain points for killing your target, you lose points for killing random people in cold blood (and you go to the ship's jail for a bit, while you're target moves around freely). You'd think University of Michigan students would think logically about how to kill only your target while avoiding assassination.
But nope. Total chaos.
Everybody killed everybody regardless of consequence. It was a fight to stay alive. No one was safe.
#2 Splashdown : The Tentacle
They say "curiosity killed the cat". I learned that firsthand playing Splashdown, a water craft racing game for PlayStation 2.
In the game, you raced with several other competitors on many different tracks around the world. Some where closed off, while others had openings. And in the Free Play mode, you could leave the track and explore the world a little.
However, game designers aren't going to create an entire world outside the game path. In most games where you can venture into uncharted territory, there's eventually an invisible wall the player cannot pass. Not Splashdown...
Instead, a giant squid tentacle comes up from the water, pulls you under, and the squid spits you across the ocean. I had to pause the game because I thought I was going to have a heart attack.
#1 Grand Theft Auto: Vice City : "Hi!"
If you've never played a Grand Theft Auto game, here's a brief synopsis: You are a bad guy in an open world with an objective that you are not required to follow. So, if you'd like, you could just spend a day on the beach running people down in a stolen car.
It was one of those days.
I stole a parked car from the street and headed to the beach - running over anyone in (or out) of my way. For a while, I didn't even have a Wanted Level because there were very few cops on the beach. So, I just ran people over without remorse until...
I was headed full speed toward some fat guy when he turned, smiled, waved, and said: "Hi!"
As you might know, the citizens of these games aren't the most polite people. They'll insult you for bumping into them; I've even had my stolen car stolen in this game! This simple gesture of civility touched my heart.
Right before impact, I slammed on the brakes, but inertia is not so compassionate. I ran him over. I felt so bad, I got out the car and watched his dead body disappear as a way of paying respect.
These are some of my favorite video game memories.
