Revenge Of The 80’s presents Coin-Op Laserdisc Arcade Games

Back in 1983 the videogame market was thriving and home videogame systems were selling like hot cakes. Arcades all over the country were filled with kids and young adults alike. A few software companies and videogame developers had the idea to implement Laserdic technology and apply it to the field of videogames, the result was an influx of laserdisc based cabinets invading arcades all over the US and Japan. In some cases, the graphics were insanely better than the average arcade game and you could see actual actors incorporated in the game or control cartoon characters as they did whatever you made them do with the controller. This was a revolutionary idea back in the days...imagine coming to the arcade to play Gyruss and you see the Bega's Battle or Dragon's Lair cabinet off in the distance. Which direction would you walk in?


Later on another game called M.A.C.H 3 (cabinet pictured above) developed by Mylstar dropped. You could play as a fighter or a bomber and you flew over real landscapes shooting shit up. That blew the door off of the other videogames you saw in the arcade. Other games like Astron Belt and Cube Quest also created lines and drew gawkers at arcades even though they went for 50¢ a play. Remember that back then comic book went for between 30-35¢ and paying double to play an arcade game was a bold move. The problem was that these games were often tough to beat and you couldn’t beat them on one play. A lot of times they got abandoned due to those factors.


In the case of Dragon’s Lair, if you watched the game played enough or played it yourself you ended up memorizing the sequence of moves well enough to be able to make it fairly far in the game. It would cost you hella tokens to get just halfway through in most occasions. Don Bluth’s completely original animation drew in the gamers and the casual viewers and attracted people to the arcade that weren’t even gaming fans. The game was also pretty quick and responsive which made it that much more popular. Software developers and videogame companies began to think that laserdisc games were the wave of the future and began trying to break into the market themselves. The three biggest developers of laserdisc based games were Mylstar, Stern Electronics and Cinematronics.


All of these games were powered by the original clunky ass Pioneer LD-V1000 or PR-7820 players (pictured above) and they also had different ROM’s and prompts programmed in for death scenes and the like. These machines were prone to overheating and sometimes they began to lag or skip with overuse. When this happened it was a problem in the aerly days because these machines were a big ass draw and maintenance on them was a huge pain in the ass...after all, who the hell could fix a laserdisc player back in 1983? You had to call someone that charged an arm and a leg. Due to the fact that they were so expensive just buying a new cabinet or replacing it was a no go in most situations.



Games like Cliff Hanger required you to use quick movement and a LOT of memorization in order to get anywhere in the game. While it was highly addictive after someone spent between $5-$10 to beat it once, they rarely came back and played it again. This meant that the game just stood there losing the arcade money. While these games were somewhat fun they just didn’t have the playability of a game like Pac-Man or Donkey Kong that you could play all day for the same price it cost to die after 1 minute playing a laserdisc coin-op one.

In 1984, companies thought that they could make money off of the laserdisc game craze and Mylstar retooled their game M.A.C.H. 3 and turned it into an alien dogfighting/flight sim called Us Vs. Them. It featured live action scenes interweaved into arcade game play. In the end it was just another shooter that started out hot but once the hype wore off it just became a novelty.





Cinematronics called on Don Bluth (who would later animate "An American Tail") to make a sequel to Dragon’s Lair as well as animate another game that was similar to it in hopes of having lightning strike in the same place twice. The result was Cinematronics new laserdisc title Space Ace.


RDI Video Systems had the idea to create a laserdisc game comprised of three parts and five diiferent quests called Thayer’s Quest. The cabinet featured a keyboard instead of a joystick and it said your name back to you through a synthesized voice. The game was weird as hell in comparison to other ones because you were asked to press buttons and then watch what unfolded afterwards.



At least with games like Cliff Hanger, Dragon’s Lair and Space Ace you felt like you were actually controlling the character’s movements. In this game you just made decisions and watched. This game alienated the average gamer and only attracted diehard roleplaying game fans. It never generated a lot of money and often sat in the corner of an arcade gathering dust or needing replacement because the keyboard was worn down so badly. The company that created the game folded before even releasing a finished sequel to the original game.

Space Ace turned out to be nowhere near as popular as Dragon’s Lair as the constant changing back between being a kid and an adult grated on players’ nerves. The game was also somewhat harder than Dragon’s Lair and it didn’t keep audiences attentions very well. Laserdisc games received a boost from a syndicated game show called Starcade in which people came on the show and played as contestants going head to head on popular arcade games as well as some new laserdisc games such as the ones I mentioned above.

In addition to that show, television networks decided to cash in on the popularity of arcade games by producing a bunch of cartoons for each game and airing them on Saturday mornings. Between 1982 and 1984 cartoons were produced for Pac Man, Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr,, Frogger, Q-Bert, Pitfall, Pole Position, Kangaroo, Dragon’s Lair and Space Ace. Ironically enough, by the time Dragon’s Lair and Space Ace got cartoon series' the Video Game Crash Of 1984 happened and videogame developers and companies were mired in deep shit bankrupting Mylstar, Stern and Cinematronics . It wasn't until late 1985 that Nintendo singlehandedly saved the entire video game industry.


In between the high price point of cabinets, limited playability of the games themselves, and high cost of maintenance of the cabinets coupled with 90% of videogame companies hemorragging money, the laserdisc format died in 1984 with the last LD titles failing miserably in arcades in North America (they fared slightly better in Japan). Nowadays, these same games that were ultra advanced almost 25 years ago can be played through the use of emulators on your own PC or even with your remote control on your own DVD player thanks to the folks at Digital Leisure . Nowadays it takes a LOT for gamers to make their eyes pop out of their heads the way they did when we saw these laserdisc joints at the arcade back in the days.


For excellent footage of these laserdisc games in action on Supercade check here:
http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=291712406&channel=288075

The Rise And Fall Of Laserdisc Arcade Games
http://www.atarihq.com/coinops/laser/
One.

What's New In Dart's iPod #6 AKA Dreams, Kush And An R&B Chick

What’s the deal, fam? I‘m back to review three more new joints droppin’ soon. First off, 9th Wonder’s “”The Dream Merchant 2”, Havoc’s solo offering “The Kush” and the new Keyshia Cole project “Just Like You”. Before I give you my opinions on these album let me take the time to explain to you all my patented three point “Cop It Or Not” system:



Oh No! This CD is a drink coaster/table balancer/doorstop/gerbil/hamster room divider/frisbee/discus/makeshift shield/last ditch choice for a visor/alternate shuriken choice. Sell this shit to whoever is dumb enough to buy it from you.

Maebe (Maybe)! Depending on your own set of personal preferences you might like this joint. Give it a listen first to see if it's your lane or not.

Mos Def! Cop the album when it drops...'Nuff said.

I fear no man but God, mattafact dude I am the God! © P Body AKA Sean P



I will begin this journey into rhythm by first reviewing the long awaited 9th Wonder album “The Dream Merchant 2”. I offered the first Dream Merchant album as a download on this blog a long ass time ago and 9th Wonder is famous/infamous for his production aesthetic. He also helped to sell a shitload of FL Studio units indirectly (you know why). He was once a member of the celebrated (and hated) crew Little Brother but now he’s off on his own. Play the damn CD already, man!

The intro is smooth and it brings into the opening banger “Shots”. Big Dho has no doubt earned a spot on the album for shopping 9th’s beats for the last 4 or 5 years, but why did he have to open for Sean P who just shut shit down? Banger. “Mercant Of Dreams” is so dope and each emcee spits so ill that I wanna take a blowtorch to Kia Shine and make him “Krispy” for real. “Brooklyn On My Mind” AKA “Crooklyn Dodgers 3” is another banger thanks to the fact that Bleek kept his verse short. “Sunday” features the vocal talents of Keisha Shontelle and it reminds me of those old school Leschea tracks when Ase would do the guest verse. Dope! The boy Big Treal made a certified classic with “Baking Soda”...think he knows? “Reminisce (Take Time)” is yet another fly joint. I just relized that I haven’t heard of mad folks on this album...I’m an underground sublevel to the Devil cat so that’s surprising to me. 9th’s joints are so dope that it really doesn’t matter who’s on it as long as they hold their own.

“No Time To Chill” is a regular Little Brother track, nothing groundbreaking. “It Ain’t Over” is nice, too. “The Last Time” features three of the Midwest’s lyrical giants, Royce The 5’9”, Naledge and Vandalyzm (the nicest emcee I ‘ve heard come out of the Lou since Ebony Eyez). This joint makes me wanna track down Young Joc and stab his in the jugular with a freshly sharpened #2 pencil. To quote the God Rakim “this is how it should be done”. “Saved” features Saigon and Joe Scudda. I know when Saigon recorded this track and it’s a damn shame this album will drop before a proper single for Saigon’s album will.

“Milky Lowa” is a quasi remake of LL Cool J’s “Milky Cereal” but the question is who the girl rhyming at the end of the track over the last 45 seconds? “Backlash” is a dope collabo between Sean Boog and the Boot Camp general Buckshot. “Thank You” and “Let It Bang” both knock hella hard through your headphones! Who knew that Ness was still alive (and signed to Bad Boy)? ‘What Makes A Man” is typical 9th Wondra funk.

The album closes with the “Special Remix” featuring Strange Fruit Project and Median (cop that mixtape!) and the banger starring Cambridge, MA’s own Natural Born Spittas (download the Evoultion mixtape now!) “You Wanna”. In conclusion, this album is chock full of the soul music, boom bap Hip Hop sound that we’ve come to expect from 9th Wonder. No matter who’s on the track the outcome is a dope song. I give this joint a mos def. Cop that disk!



The next album I’m reviewing will be the long awaited Havoc solo project. I’ve been a Mobb Deep fan since they were the Poetical Prophets back in 1991 and I have all of their albums (“Blood Money “ made Black Baby Jesus cry). That being said I hope that this album lives up to my expectations. The album only comes in at 12 tracks which might be a blessing in disguise because I don’t expect the subject matter on this album or the wordplay to stray from the normal gutter Queens thug shit. Let’s begin.

“NY 4 Life” is a nice opener. Ill beat and alright lyrics. “I’m The Boss” is the dope lead single featuring the “Luck Of Lucien” beat from the first Tribe album. “By My Side” features 40 Glocc who I never really got into because he’s generic as hell. The beat is dope as is the chorus. After “One Less Nigga” I’m already feeling like “Uh Oh!”. This album is getting boring already. Somebody needs to step it up lyrically quickly. Pus, this song rhymes “nigga” with “nigga” in the chorus and it about killing snitches or whatever. Another dope beat but I may need to listen to some Jay Electronica after this. “Ride Out” is yet another nice beat with NYCE featuring on the track not saying anything impressive at all. If you’re gonna be a thug rapper at least spit some fly shit. I heard all this shit before. “Balling Out” features Un Pachino and is the one song on this album I straight up hate so far. Un’s boring and ths beat is straight trash. C'mon Hav! You're killin' me right now...

“What’s Poppin’ Tonite” gets it right back on track. This is the type of joint I was expecting to hear. “Class By Myself” sounds like an Alchemist track and it features Nitti of Infamous Mobb. It’s back on now! “Set Me Free” has Prodigy come through as spit a hot verse, then NYCE comes through and pisses on the fire. Raw beat, though. “Be There” is far and away the standout track of this album. The problem with that is that I heard this song damn near 3 months ago anticipating more shit like THIS. No dice, Lord. “Hit Me Up” features Un Pachino again. The beats okay but Un Pachino damn near put me to sleep. The album closes with another banger, “Get Off My Dick”. In conclusion, this album was a dissapointment. I didn’t expect Hav to turm into Lupe or Elzhi but the guest appearances didn’t enhance the album at all. Instead they brought it down. The shit sounded too repetitive while the Mobb seems to vary their joints up more. This album gets a maybe from me because I just expected more.



Lastly, I got my hands on the new Keyshia Cole album “Just Like You”. Last album slowly went Gold and then Platinum. She had a reality show on BET (which has been renewed) and mad guest appearances. Now comes her highly anticipated reup. How will it compare with her 1st album? Let’s find out.

The album opens up with the lead single “Let It Go” featuring Missy and Lil’ Kim. That’s joint’s okay but I’m looking forward to the album tracks. “Didn’t I Tell You” features Too Short and begs the question “Is Shorty The Pimp the dude you wanna take relationship advice from?”. This is made strictly for the clubs in the Bay. “Fallin’ Out” is the joint! This reminds me of when R&B was about lyrics and singing. “Give Me More” is fly but it sounds like a mix of “Why Don’t We Fall In Love” and “Need You Tonight” from Amerie’s 1st album (you’ll find out what I mean). “I Remember” has me cursing Young Jeezy’s name because he gets to smash that and scream out “Ayyyyyy!” while doing it. Lucky, lucky bastard.

“Shoulda Let You Go” is a cool joint featuring Keyshia’s own artist Amina who first appeared spittin’ on an episode of her reality show. She does alright on the track but she’s nicer than she came off. “Heaven Sent” is another fly track to chill to. The ‘Same Thing (Interlude)” leads into “Got To Get My Heart Back”, this joint needs to be a single in my opinion. I’m sure that the next song “Is It Worth It?” will end up one instead even though you can’t go wrong either way. “Just Like You” is the solo track that lets her listeners know that she is just like them and she’s been through many hardships (that she is still dealing with today). She’s almost like a slightly better adjusted Mary J. Blige for this generation.

“Losing You” features Anthony Hamilton and has an old 70’s soul feel to it vocally. I likes. “Last Night” found it’s way onto this album as well. I liked this song (Diddy was smart for staying in his lane and letting Keyshia do the work). “Work It Out” is another fly joint where Keisha sings without using that damn Vocoder/Auto Tune effect on her voice (damn you T-Pain!). It all finishes with the “Let It Go Remix” feturing Missy, T.I. & Young Dro...it’s basically the Atlanta club version of the lead single. It’s a’ight.

In conclusion, if you want R&B sang by a real singer without effects and your sick of seeing Rihanna’s ass all over the place (I can tolerate Rihanna provided I muted the TV) then please cop this album when it drops on September 25th. This gets a mos def from me. I’ll be back with three more this week.


Dart's Late Pass: Clean Guns "Living In Harmony Mixtape"

How the hell did I sleep on these cats for this long? My boy Zilla Rocca who you probably know from his guest blogging stints on my boy Flood’s spot Floodwatch Music and from his recent posts about Will I. Am sucking (I disagree) and Jay-Z being better than Nas (I wholeheartedly disagree again) on Passion Of The Weiss and his co-d Knowledge form the crew Clean Guns. They put heir heads together and made the dope mixtape “Living In Harmony” over some bangers that the average Hip Hop head will be familiar with. This is a nice listen from beginning to end (I even got stickers and a poster with mine).

They use clever wordplay and nice flows over 26 tracks (Many styles! Many styles!) with their fellow 215 affiliates Rowdy Black Giants, So-S@y, Prof. Anarcy, ASK, S.U.P., Black Russian, DAME & M.O.G. Preview it on iTunes and visit the Beat Garden Entertainment MySpace to download their new 7 song EP. Treat yourself to some real Hip Hop for a change dammit!

What I spit and I write is real, cuz my life is real © Mos Def

One.

Sports Weekend (Boston Style) AKA Blue Monday

Pardon me dear readers but I’m still recovering from the Red Sox/Yankees weekend series and the Patriots/Chargers game last night. Whatever asshole thought it would be a good idea to air both of those games simultaneously really needs to have their ass kicked. I am currently in the middle of three different blogs that I’m writing and I’ll be doing a couple of review posts this week as I’ve received hella promos from people (people actually READ this shit?) that would like me to review their material.

Congrats to my boy Travis @ Wake Your Daughter Up for being mentioned in Vibe Magazine. He and Eric @ When They Reminisce have been killing shit with their new review blog lately. I also would like to big up my peoples Dallas Penn @ Dallas Penn.com, Dan Love @ From Da Bricks, A One @ Know Good Music, Matt Mason @ The Pirate’s Dilemma, Jeff Weiss @ Passion Of The Weiss, Brandon Soderberg @ No Trivia, Max @ Hip Hop Isn’t Dead, Swiftus @ Nisun Day, Jaz @ Cold Rock Da Spot and every other blogger or writer out there doing their thing. I’ll be back with actual content tomorrow. I’m still reeling from seeing Big Papi fly out last night with the bases loaded while the Patriots were pissing on the collective corpse of the San Diego Chargers.

The Patriots rallied around their coach the way Hip Hoppers need to rally around Hip Hop Culture (including the Jena 6!) in these trying times. In the immortal words of my cousin Kevin who in the 3rd grade knocked a 5th grader out who was fuckin’ with him (and about 4 inches taller) unconscious with one punch.

“Talk shit now!” © Kevin Lovings

To be fair, I don’t think he heard Kev. Kev got sent to the office (shout out to the Blackstone School) but he told me it was was worth it. “I’ll do it again tomorrow!” He told me. I made the 5th grader pay me off in X-Men and Iron Man’s to keep my cousin from bustin’ his ass at the bus stop. I still have them to this very day. Anyways, I’m out ‘til Tuesday.

Boston Red Sox 90-60 ---
New York Yankees 85-64 4.5 GB

The Hunt For Red October Continues...

Alert to all members of Red Sox Nation, the magic number is (as of 3:30 PM EST 9.17.07) with 12 games left on the season (13 for the Yankees for 25 games total):

9

Any combination of Red Sox wins and/or Yankee losses result in one being subtracted from the magic number's total. When the number reaches 1, after the next Red Sox win or Yankee loss the AL East division championship will be clinched and the Red Sox will be assured of a place in the postseason and their first division championship since 1995.

One.

Once Again It’s On! AKA Boston Sports Report Part Six

Well, it’s finally football season and the Patriots kicked it off in style by dusting off Eric Mangina and the Jets (Just End The Season), knocking off their starting quarterbacks and beating them like they tried to R. Kelly their daughters (Ouch!). It was a complete drubbing and Randy Moss who didn’t even play in the preseason and barely practiced with a hamstring injury caught 9 balls and went for 183 yards and a TD.

All of the questions about whether or not Moss had lost a step or if he and Tom Brady would be on the same page to start the season went out of the window. If Tom put the ball anywhere near Moss, he came down with it and made the play. Next week comes the real test as the Patriots go head to head with the still salty from the playoffs San Diego Chargers.

Oh yeah, the Pats got caught doing a lil’ industrial espionage as well. Coach made a brief statement at his weekly press conference but when no one wanted to ask questions about the game and wanted him to elaborate on his statement about being found guilty of by the NFL brass he simply cut the press conference short. SIgn stealing allegations aside, the Patriots are the best coached and most prepared team in the league...I also think they got a reasonable punishment by having to forfeit multiple high draft picks.

The Red Sox won their last two games in dramatic comeback fashion. One in which they were down 8-1 and the next when Big Papi hit his first walkoff HR of the season and gave the Sox a 5-4 win that was much needed. The Yankees are on an 8 game winning streak and would’ve close the lead to 4 games again with one to play while the Sox were idle leading into the rubber match weekend series in Fenway Park.

If the Sox take two here, they’ll all butsew up the division and cement their place as the best team in MLB. They are currently 89-58 with just 15 games left in the season and the Yankees are 83-62 with 17 games left (including one tonight) and 5 games behind. They Yankees have been blazing hot but the Red Sox have managed to win nine of the last 15 games without Manny Ramirez. With the day off today, we all hope he can work his way back into the lineup for the Yankees series.

Either way, two of the games are going to be aired nationally and both teams can send a message to the rest of the league that they are serious contenders for the World Series title. With the recent pitching struggles of Daisuke Matsuzaka and Tim Wakefield, we hope that all of the side sessions and film viewing helped correct Daisuke’s errors with location and vary up his pitches so he doesn’t go the ultra predictable cutter/fastball route against the Yankees hot bats tomorrow night.

The Celtics failed to get Reggie Miller out of retirement but they did sign former Miami Heat F James Posey. I hear that the Celtics are still pursuing the possibility of bring in Dikembe Mutombo. God knows that Scot Pollard isn’t going to get the job done in the middle backing up Perk. I also am thanking God that the Celtics didn’t draft Greg Oden...since he’s been drafted he’s had the swollen tonsils that kept him winded and looking lethargic at the Las Vegas Summer League at the US National Team Tryouts. Now he’s having knee surgery before the season. In Portland they can afford to be patient..it ain’t like that here in Boston. Folks would be heated. I was told that I might be able to get some preseason tickets from one of my connects. I’ll most def write about it when/if I go.

The Hunt For Red October Continues On...

Alert to all members of Red Sox Nation, the magic number is (as of 8:00 AM EST 9.14.07):

11

Any combination of Red Sox wins and/or Yankee losses result in one being subtracted from the magic number's total. When the number reaches 1, after the next Red Sox win or Yankee loss the AL East division championship will be clinched and the Red Sox will be assured of a place in the postseason and their first division championship since 1995.

One.

Dart’s Guide To Essential Anime (The Movie Edition) AKA Mo’ Manga Mo’ Murda Mo’ Homocide

It's time I hit y'all off with a list of some joints I consider to be essential anime films. The list could've been much longer but even I have shit to do and I really should leave the house some before the weather turns completely. Here ya go:

Fist Of The North Star
In a post apocalyptic future where food and water are scarce, crops won’t grow and everyone is just looking to survive, one martial artist named Kenshiro protects the weak while pursuing the man who kidnapped his girlfriend, his best friend Shin and master of a martial art that is the polar opposite of the one he practices. Some of the best animated fight sequences ever..and the bloodiest.


Dagger Of Kamui AKA Revenge Of The Ninja Warrior
This is one of the most slept on anime films in North America even though it heavily influenced the creation of Ninja Scroll. An orphan named Jiro is accused of killing his mother and is forced to flee his hometown. He is saved by a monk who takes him in and makes him a ninja. He is then given the mission to discover his own past and find a long lost treasure...then a whole bunch of crazy shit jumps off.


Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind AKA Warriors Of The Wind
The world as we know it was destroyed by huge monsters made of living flame. They eventually died off and life started again but in some parts of the world jungles full of toxic plant life and huge insects spring up making it hard to find a place to live. One group of people are blessed to live in a valley with clean air and fresh water. Eventually, a huge army comes to take over the Valley Of The Wind and it’s left to the princess Nausicaa to save the lives of her people.


Princess Mononoke
This movie is pretty well known in North America due to the fast in was put into theatres in wide release and redubbed. It also was heavily influenced by Nausicaa as the story is about a princess who must save her people from a marauding army while dealing with the dangers eminating from a magic forest near her homeland.


Riding Bean
This short movie singlehandedly started the Gunsmith Cats series. Bean Bandit is a seemingly invincible expert driver/courier/transporter for underworld types in Chicago. One day, a man shows up at his door with the daughter of one of the richest men in Chicago and asks him to deliver her to his home...then all hell breaks loose. Im surprised no one’s tried to adapt this into a movie yet (The Transporter series is the closest to it).


Golgo 13: The Professional

This is one of the best anime films ever made, hands down. It was the first to use computer animation sequences and it told the story of the world’s greatest hitman/secret agent, Duke Togo AKA Golgo 13. This flick has everything in it...James Bond ain’t got shit on this cat.


Ninja Scroll AKA Wind Ninja Chronicles
If you haven’t heard of this one then I don’t know what to tell you. Wandering ronin Jubei Kibugami stumbles onto a team of rogue ninjas and a mysterious plague that wiped out an entire village. Jubei teams with Kagero, a female ninja whose touch is toxic to humans but she is immune to poison herself to get to the bottom of the mystery. This is a must see for anyone trying to get into anime.


Vampire Hunter D
In the distant future, a half human/half vampire assassin named D goes to war with the world’s most powerful vampire determined to eliminate him. It's made in a dark noir style and is easily one of the best full length anime films ever made.


Big Wars
In the future, humans terraform and colonize Mars just to become subjected to alien terrorists known only as “The Gods”. They seek to exterminate their Mars settlement to prevent the human race from expanding to other planets. They have a formidable army spearheaded by a huge stealth carrier called “Hell” and they use mind control to subvert human subjects. The Earth military plans a preemptive strike to try to stop “The Gods”. The Hollywood movie “Independence Day” was partly inspired by this anime.


Ghost In A Shell
In a future flooded with technological advances and the widespread application of the internet, a terrorist/hacker run rampant. A special tactical team formed of a secret divison of the police are called in to stop this cyber terrorist and bring him to justice. If you haven’t seen this yet you’re sleeping.


Wicked City AKA Demon Beast City
The Earth and an alternate dimension controlled by demons known as The Black World (yeah, I know...why it gotta be Black?) have a treaty that keeps the demons from trying to invade the our realm of reality. Every thousand years, the treaty needs to be renewed and it’s up for renewal. One man stands inbetween a rogue faction of demons that are trying to prevent the signing of the treaty and take over the Earth. This joint is bugged out for real, not for the squeamish.


Cowboy Bebop: The Movie
This movie supposedly occurs between episodes 22 and 23 of the anime series. The crew of bounty hunters head back to Earth to capture a huge bounty but end up embrolied in a terror plot cooked up by a war veteran looking to infect the Earth with the same virus he was infected with by the US Government during his tour of duty. This joint is ill.


Cyber City Oedo 808
One of the most slept on pieces of anime is broken up into three parts and tells the stories of three of the worlds most dangerous criminals with no chance of parole working with the police in the year 2808. If you’ve never seen it, do so as soon as possible.

Space Adventure Cobra
Die hard fans of the series have mixed feelings about the full length due to some character and plot changes but it’s still a landmark anime film. Space pirate Cobra falls for a girl named Jane (Jane? What a nice name, that’s reminds of my high school flame) and ends up trying to save her and her twin sister from his nemesis, the evil Crystal Boy. It’s pretty hard to find but after about 5 minutes of searching you should be able locate a copy for a reasonable price. (Clue: don’t use the obvious retail sites...try overseas).


Macross The Movie AKA Clash Of The Bionoids
This is Tatsunuko Studios’ full length film based on the Macross anime series. The animation is crazy and as a joke during one of the battle sequences the artists snuck in a cell with a Budweiser logo in it. If you’ve never seen it then you already know what I’m gon’ tell ya.


Akira

Duh! I really don’t even have to say anything here.

I’ll post an essential anime series list later on this month. One