WTFriday: Christian Bale Wants You To Eat Pac-Man Cereal
I’m sure Christian Bale is thrilled that his screamy Terminator Salvation video has fallen out of vogue in favour of a new video: footage from a Pac-Man cereal jingle, one of his earliest commercials.
The user who uploaded the video wrote, “You can obviously tell which kid is Bale.” Hint: there are also two girls and a black boy. Try to pick out Bale. It’s tricky!
I have to admit something to the world. I loved the Pac-Man cereal. In the ’80s, breakfast cereals made no attempt whatsoever to be healthy, but instead concentrated all of their powers into deliciousness. Everything was corn, sugar, and marshmallows. The second milk touched our morning bowl of golden crispiness, everything melted down into a corn syrupy sludge. The Soggies that plagued Captain Crunch weren’t just an over-exaggerated cartoon goonie drawn up by some imaginative artist: every ’80s child had made their goopy acquaintance every morning.
And then we got fat.
Except for Christian Bale, obviously. He’s waiting to tell you all about new Ms Pac-Man marshmallows after the jump.
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Tags: breakfast, cereal, christian bale, commercial, nadia oxford, pac-man, retro, video, WTFriday
Luigi Dabbles in Final Fantasy
Last weekend was quite anime-heavy, thanks to the Anime North convention in Toronto and Anime Boston in, well, Boston. With anime comes gaming: the two are often paired, like the male and female entities who spawn the world in ancient myths.
I believe cosplay related to anime and gaming is one of those hobbies that people mock even as they secretly admire the work that goes into some ensembles. Conventions are best inhaled in small doses, but they provide a few hours of sheer fun. People let their inhibitions go, and it’s hard to resist the orgy of colour, sound and spiky hairdos.
Sometimes, fandoms combine and produce rare and wonderful things. My friend Jack attended Anime Boston and recorded evidence of a strange hybrid: a Luigi cosplayer strumming a harp. When asked to perform, Luigi rose to the occasion and produced the famous Prelude from the Final Fantasy series.
Would the real Luigi have the guts to sit in a crowded hallway and strum like Apollo? Doubtful.
Video after the jump.
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Tags: cosplay, fan stuff, Final Fantasy, game music, luigi, nadia oxford, prelude, video
Drunk Japanese Man Plays Super Mario Land, Millions Entertained
I have to thank my friends over at the GameSpite forums for pointing me in the direction of the following video. Until a few minutes ago, my day has been boring, errand-filled, and–like every minute of my life–clouded with hatred of Super Mario Land. Then, I watched an exuberant and possibly drunk Japanese man narrate his attempts at the game in delightfully broken English, and I can say my life is now a little brighter. I’m not sure what kind of substances have to be ingested or inhaled to bust out a “Woo!” or “Oh yeah!” every ten seconds while playing this primitive platformer, but I’m thinking about scouring my local dark alleys tonight for a supplier.
Video after the cut.
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Tags: bob mackey, comedy, game boy, humor, super mario land, video, youtube
Watch the Evolution of Little Mac’s Foes
Now that Punch-Out’s been available for a few days, most of you have already spent hours upon hours [Please add your own joke about beating up ethnic stereotypes here. I think all of them have been made.]. And if you’re old enough, it’s likely you’re currently suffering from pangs of late 80’s nostalgia and the desire to put on a day-glo t-shirt and acid wash jeans; after all, Punch-Out’s main goal is to uppercut you right in the childhood (which is far less dirty than it sounds).
But how accurate are your crusty, old memories? Could this new installment in Nintendo’s boxing game possibly be less faithful as everyone claims? If you have such questions, I recommend you turn to the following video, created by 1UP user doublespy, which features side-by-side video comparisons of Little Mac’s pug-ugly opponents. Super Macho Man is holding up pretty good for someone who must be in his late 90s.
Video after the cut.
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Tags: 1up, bob mackey, mike tyson's punch-out, punch out, retro, super punch out, video
The Mega Man 2 Drumline
When I was in school, I was one of those super-popular non-losers who played in the band. My instrument was the clarinet, so I wasn’t a write-off like the kids who puffed shrill notes out of communal recorders. Still, I wasn’t as valued as the one or two kids who actually showed talent on the drums.
Eventually, I got the big idea that I was too cool for band, and I dropped it. I suppose it was all for the best, anyway. The teacher in charge was obsessed with re-creating the Phantom of the Opera soundtrack through squealing saxophones and flatulent tubas. We never even got to attempt anything as cool as a Mega Man 2 drumline, like Kansas University. I’ll die with that regret in my heart.
Video after the jump.
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Tags: drums, fan stuff, media, mega man 2, nadia oxford, video
A Day As Mega Man
What would it be like to live a day as Mega Man, the gaming world’s most favouritest hero? The best way to find out would be to emulate the actions of a certain enthusiastic Japanese gentleman. Dress in blue, drink Energy Cans, rely on your brother to pick up your spirits, and for God’s sake, don’t touch those spikes. Go, Mega Man! For best day!
Video after the jump.
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Tags: fan stuff, japan, mega man, nadia oxford, rockman, video
John Constantine, our superhero, was raised by birds and then attended Penn State University. He is currently working on a novel about a fictional city that exists only in his mind. John has an astonishingly extensive knowledge of Scientology. Ultimately he would like to learn how to effectively use his brain. He continues to keep Wu-Tang's secret to himself. 
Derrick Sanskrit is a self-professed geek in a variety of fields including typography, graphic design, comic books, music and cartoons. As a professional hipster graphic designer, his recent clients have included Nerve, Pitchfork and MoCCA, among others.
Amber Ahlborn - artist, writer, gamer and DigiPen survivor, she maintains a day job as a graphic artist. By night Amber moonlights as a professional Metroid Fanatic and keeps a metal suit in the closet just in case. Has lived in the state of Washington and insists that it really doesn't rain as much as everyone says it does.
Nadia Oxford is a housekeeping robot who was refurbished into a warrior when the world's need for justice was great. Now that the galaxy is at peace (give or take a conflict here or there), she works as a freelance writer for various sites and magazines.
Based in Toronto, Nadia prizes the certificate from the Ministry of Health declaring her tick and rabies-free.
Bob Mackey is a grad student, writer, and cyborg, who uses the powerful girl-repelling nanomachines mad science grafted onto his body to allocate time towards interests of the nerd persuasion. He believes that complaining about things on the Internet is akin to the fine art of wine tasting, but with more spitting into buckets.
Joe Keiser has a programming degree from Johns Hopkins University, a tiny apartment in Brooklyn, and a fake toy guitar built in the hollowed-out shell of a real guitar. He writes about games and technology for a variety of outlets. One day he will stop doing this. The day after that, police will find his body under a collapsed pile of (formerly neatly alphabetized) collector's edition tchotchkes.
