Let’s get the first question out of the way. You’re thinking “J3 why are you calling an anthropomorphic Echidna black?” and my answer is simple… Being black transcends just skin color and race. It is a culture. Now one could argue that cultural appropriation is problematic and I don’t disagree but that is not the point I am trying to make here. Let’s look at music. I think Taylor Swift has made some great music with a lot of black influences lately for example,

“Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play
And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate
Baby, I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
I shake it off, I shake it off!
Heartbreakers gonna break, break, break, break, break
And the fakers gonna fake, fake, fake, fake, fake
Baby, I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
I shake it off, I shake it off!”

That’s black lingo. Players gonna play, Haters gonna hate, and shake it off…. those are our (black community) terms. I love this song. It can have black flavors without being written or produced by black people. Hannah Montana literally made a black album…it was a banger and she called that shit Bangerz. Justin Timberlake, Riff Raff, Iggy Azelea all make black music and seem to embody black culture without being black. I will state again, I am aware of issues of cultural appropriation but that’s not where this is focused. All of that said, I think Knuckles embodies blackness to me.

For some context, back in the 90’s the only black characters I had to choose from were fighting game characters, or the black kid on the skates in Streets of Rage. I think his name was Skate. So I was reaching for anything black for me to identify with. I think Knuckles seeming so cool at the time was a natural fit for this. Coolness and blackness have been inextricably tied together in America through out history. Bell Hooks looks at coolness and black masculinity in her book We Real Cool:Black men and Masculinity and for something a little more light hearted to read Rebecca Walker’s book Black Cool is a good place to start.

Who is Knuckles? Knuckles (video game not comic or show) was introduced during Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles add-on for the Sega Genesis. Knuckles is a teenage Echidna who is tasked with protecting Angel Island and the Master Emerald it holds. Knuckles starts out as a foe to Sonic because Dr. Eggman duped Knuckles into thinking Sonic was bad to get the emerald. Knuckles realized this error and then worked with Sonic to beat Eggman. While Knuckles does not have the speed of Sonic, he said to be as strong as Sonic is fast.

Personality wise Knuckles is said to be hard headed, gullible, and he has a very strong temper. These traits have shaped Knuckles adventures with Sonic. He gets angry with Sonic and attacks him, he gets duped by Egg man, and he takes a lot convincing for him to realize the error of his ways.

Stereotype: Black Man as Materialistic

Knuckles love some bling. I’m not talking about classy jewelry but this egg laying rat carries around literal diamonds. He has devoted his life to protecting an emerald. Jokes aside, the black community has been in a constant struggle in American culture. We are marketed to very specifically from McDonalds to Chrysler. Air Jordans have caused more death in our community than any pair of shoes should be able to. As a culture that was deprived for so long, material items took on a lot of importance as symbols of pride and freedom. The most freeing power an American citizen can have is the right to purchase. Black people have not had that right as long as everybody else.

Stereotype: White man keeps taking his wealth.

Egg man is white. He keeps taking Knuckles emerald. This isn’t really a stereotype as much as it is a fact. This happens in many ways in America but I will bring up Redlining.

1. Redlining is the practice of, in the United States, denying, or charging more for, services such as banking, insurance, access to health care, or even supermarkets, or denying jobs to residents in particular, often racially determined, areas.

Practices such as these have kept blacks from being able to create generational wealth. Literally keeping people unable to move into certain neighborhoods and get loans for business is crippling in many ways. It’s hard to keep your emeralds when they are systematically taken away from you.

Stereotypes: Black man with dreadlocks.

He has dreadlocks. His sprite is super detailed and all the detail goes into his hair.

Stereotypes: The Violent Black Man.

Black men have been characterized as violent since the earliest days of slavery. The violent portrayal of black men is a daily occurrence on the local news and in media everywhere.  Knuckles name is knuckles, and he has built in brass-knuckles. He also fights Sonic with zero provocation.

Stereotype: Black people love shoes. 

He wears nice kicks. Look at em. Seriously.

Is Knuckles Problematic? No, not in my eyes. He has pride in his community and where he comes from. He also seems to be hearkening back to a diaspora, living his days as a creature removed from his original homeland that is nothing more than a floating island on it’s last leg. The black community in America has been described as diasporic due to our lack of true to connection to Africa even though we are clearly of African descent. Africa is such a large and diverse land that saying you are of African descent as a blanket statement does a disservice to the diversity of African cultures as a whole. Due to the nature of the slave trade, all we as a community have are remnants of a connection. Much like Knuckles and his past, he clings on to this Emerald and this island because it is all he has to connect to his people.

Knuckles is loyal and lives his life to serve and protect the master emerald. Also, in the 90’s he was the most positive black role model I had in gaming (compared to Balrog and…. Skate or was it Blades……that kid from Streets of Rage…the black one..). 

Thank you for reading check out my podcast I record with the G Man on the High Voltage Radio Network! We are on the Ebony and Ivory Cast!

People have asked me why I purchased a Neo Geo Pocket Color. The reason is simple. It has a classic and supposedly great Sonic game on it that I am dying to try my self. I know you’re probably thinking “why would buy an entire system for one game?” and my response is “because im a grown ass man and I can do what I want.” Also, in reality the system plus the game cost the same as a new XBOX One game so it really wasn’t super cost prohibitive.

Was this game worth buying an entire system for? Read below and I’ll tell you!

What is Sonic Pocket Adventure?

This game is a greatest hits compilation of everything you liked about the first 4 Sonic games (1,2,3, Knuckles add on)(Not Sonic 4, that shit was mediocre). In the spirit of love, this game is a love letter to Sonic fans everywhere on a non-Sega system. Lets just go through the things we do in this game….we fight mecha-sonic, fight and rekindle with knuckles, we go through a casino zone, an air ship, fight a robot egg man, visit a chemical plant, fight on a plane while tails flies it, and all the while music from every game is present.

That said, the game runs fabulously.

How does it play?

I was truly worried about how this game would run. The Pocket Color is an 8-bit + system. Meaning, it does not pack the heat that a Sega Genesis would. I wasn’t sure if I would be getting a crappy Master System Port of Sonic or a true smooth experience. Watching this game on Youtube scared me. It seemed choppy and did not run well. It was probably a result of capture hardware. The game runs incredibly well. The music is great and doesn’t clip out when rings are grabbed. The control feels very precise. I love using a joystick to move sonic around. Collision detection is spot on, and there are multiple game modes like time trials and more.

This game has the spin dash in it. and Sonic moves at a good pace. The only issue I have in this game are that some of platforms are difficult to jump onto due to Sonic feeling a little sluggish in the air. It’s a small issue that only affects a few levels.

How is the level design?

This is a mixed bag. The level design is great…..minus the fact that literally every level is recycled from a previous game. Green HIll zone cloned is wonderful in execution but it still feels like Green Hill Zone. Even the special stage is copied straight from Sonic 2. Aerobase Zone in Sonic Pocket Adventure is a clone of Wing Fortress zone. I also hate these levels so much. Aerobase is a confusing mess of a level with very few indicators on where to go and lots of ways to die. That said, the Cosmic Casino Zone is great as is the Sky Chase Zone. I just wish there was more originality in the level design but the levels chosen showcase the best of what Sonic can do. He has areas to go fast and other areas that focus more on precision platforming.

How is the Story?

There is none. I literally have no idea. I thought it was a classic tale of Sonic vs. Egg Man but then Knuckles showed up and everything went to hell. I am convinced it is a greatest hits album for Sonic. That’s a good thing.

How is the music?

The music suffers from the same issue as the levels. It’s fantastic music but it’s all recycled from other games. Sonic music is great, and it sounds good even on the poor sound system the Neo Geo offers.

Does this break the Sonic Cycle?

Well it predates the Sonic cycle really. I like this game because highlights a lot people refuse to acknowledge and that is the fact that there a lot of amazing Sonic games on hand-held platforms. Sonic Advance series was great, this and the Game Gear Sonics are solid games. The PSP Sonic racing platformers Sonic Rivals were a lot of fun. People wonder why Sonic fans hang around and it’s because there are more than 3 Genesis games propping up the character.

Are there Black People in it?

Sigh….I am going to do a full post on Knuckle’s soon. I will say that I appreciate that the villain in Sonic is not black. Lack of negative representation is a positive. I would also argue that a lot of Sonic’s 90’s baditude comes from 90’s hip hop culture.…but that’s a conversation for another day.

Was it worth buying a Neo Geo Pocket for?

At the price I paid, yes. I think any Sonic aficionado should check it out. There is something really pure and satisfying about going back to an older system and experiencing a game on its original medium. The beauty of gaming right now is that we have a short history to sort through and original systems are not super expensive. Take advantage of it. Playing an emulator is a stop gap way to experience a lot and I don’t condemn that but holding this console from 1998 and playing Sonic is special.

Thanks for reading! Please check out my Podcast that I record with the G Man the Ebony and Ivory Cast. Peace!

I’ll open with a story. Peter Griffin from family guy had a stroke. He went into a stem cell research facility and they cured him. He walked out and yelled “Why are we no funding this!?”

That is how I feel after experiencing the Neo Geo Pocket Color for the first time. The system is a small, light, ergonomically sound masterpiece.

The hardware feels amazing. Imagine if I told you that I knew of a system with a great joystick, a litany of awesome fighting games and one of the best sonic games ever, that this system was in color and only used 2 AA batteries? Im sure you’d say “what!?! But my Game Gear takes 6!!!”.

Having owned a Game Gear and every game boy ever made I can truly say the Neo Geo Pocket Color is better. Even in low light, the screen is usable. The music is very chippy, and the quality is mediocre but the songs are still varied and robust.

I have been putting time into Samurai Shodown 2 and it’s so amazing to play a fighting game where the controls don’t feel neutered to make it work on a hand held.

I grabbed this beast for 50 bucks on amazon and games are cheap. I love trying out old gaming hardware. If you have a chance, check out the Neo Geo Pocket Color.

Thanks for the read, peace!

I went from a 3d open world adventure to a 2D brawler (think Double Dragon) into a mech fighting game…. and it all controlled well and felt fully fleshed out. That folks is the experience you have playing Saints Row 4: Re-Elected.

Here are my biases; I love Saints Row. This series became the pinnacle of open world games for me. I will never forget when I was in a friends room at Denison University (the Harvard of the Midwest)(BELIEVE DAT) and my friend was playing this gorgeous 3D game that looked like GTA but the game had a GPS for driving and finding missions. This was all it took for me. Saints Row from the first game on was GTA refined. They added GPS, they made missions ridiculous and fun while balancing story.This series of games is a masterpiece in my eyes and Saints Row 4 is no exception.

What is Saints Row 4: Re-Elected?

Saints Row 4: Re-Elected is a current gen remaster of the 360 title Saints Row 4. Saints Row is an open world sandbox game that plays from a 3rd person perspective. There are main story missions you can partake in and many side missions you can jump into at your leisure. The world is yours and you control the pace at which you complete missions. Saints Row 4 RE is violent, off the wall, and ridiculous.

How does it Play?

For all the different genres Saints Row 4 RE delves into everything controls well. I kept hearing myself say, “why is the best 2D brawler I’ve played in Saints Row? Why is the best mech game i’ve played in Saints Row? why is the best driving game….”. You get the idea, I think all aspects of this game handle well. You have the opportunity to run on foot, drive cars, fly planes, drive tanks, play in a 2D brawler, control an overhead style shooter, shoot from the 3rd person, control mechs and all of it handles well. Handling well does not mean realistic by any stretch but everything is easy and accessible to do. I almost always wish some of the odd gameplay changes lasted longer.

I think the shooting in Saints Row RE is solid enough for a sand box game. I just wish there was a real cover system like gears of war or GTA 4. You cannot latch onto cover, you literally just awkwardly stand behind obstacles to absorb gun fire. It works. I think this game is most rewarding when played on Hardcore difficulty because is too easy. This game gives you super powers (the plot section will explain why) and they make your character very overpowered. You have super jump, super speed, and get the ability to shoot fire/ice/”the force”. It is all a blast to use. The enemy AI is not great except in the boss battles. The thing I think this game got most right is adding a lot of boss fights. They are challenging and force the player to use all of their skills to win. I love it.

How is the Plot?

My biggest gripe with coverage of Saints Row as a series is that all of the journalist dismiss the plot and characters and I think that is an egregious mistake. Journalist say it’s a dumb game with dumb fun and it’s only value is being so crazy and different. I would argue that they crafted one of the more touching bromances in gaming in Saints Row 4 RE between Johnny Gat and the Boss.

The characters all experience great loss and at moments they truly reflect on that especially in this game. Saints Row 4 RE is a parity of Mass Effect 2. It apes the Normandy, the romances, and even the loyalty missions. The plot of Saints Row 4 RE is the Earth has been invaded by Aliens while you (the protagonist) are the President of the USA! These aliens capture you and your friends then proceed to put you in a computer simulation to mess with your mind. You are trying to escape the simulation to save the Earth. Because you are in a computer sim, you have the ability to hack in super powers. The game becomes the Crackdown 2 we always wanted. (Spoiler alert, Crackdown 2 sucked)

How is the Soundtrack? 

It’s so good. At one point you dance at a strip club to some classic rock. The game is constantly using environmental music to create tension and mood. Certain weapons have songs that play with them. The soundtrack is licensed and you can choose different radio stations. One station plays classical music, you have a rock station, a rap station, and so on. It’s all very well done and gives the game a lot of personality.

How are the Graphics?

Meh, they are decent. Honestly, the game doesn’t look a whole lot better than the 360/PC/PS3 version but the game is very smooth. I feel like a lot of the open world jank you get in games this large has been lessened. The player models look great, my only complaint is that the world itself is very dark and makes me miss the vibrant colors or Saints Row past.

Are there Black people in this game?

Hell yea! Keith David is this bitch! Seriously, he has a large role in the game. I created the Boss to be a black man as well…he looks like me. A lot. Pierce, Aisha, and many of the cast is ethnic. The game does not focus much on race but the series was founded on gangs and violence and that has not changed much. Your character is a sociopath and everyone acknowledges that. How can I hate a game where the President, Vice President, and Secretary of State are all black! There are women high up in the govt. as well.

The same issues exist, this game portrays black men as thugs and criminals BUT they are also saving the world……yeah, let’s just enjoy that.

In conclusion, I love this game. I actually picked up this game because it was in a bundle with the new expansion Gat out of Hell. I have been sucked in so deep by this game that I haven’t even played the new expansion yet. Play it. Thank me later. Thanks for reading. Peace.

LISTEN TO MY PODCAST! Ebony and Ivory cast where I wax poetic with my main man G-man. You can find on Highvoltageradio.com, itunes, stitcher, podcastgarden, and I think that’s it. Thanks!

I personally believe that Thanksgiving is the lowest common denominator of holidays- Food, consumerism, and a gross misrepresentation of history at least and a celebration of genocide at most. I love it. That said, I am providing you with the lowest common denominator of internet content….A TOP TEN LIST!!!! These next ten games are the game I am most thankful in no meaningful order. Some games I am thankful for because they give me joy, some games just keep coming back to me like a plague and I want to thank them. Enjoy the list and enjoy the holiday!!!

1) Armored Core Series (PS1, PS2 era)- The Armored Core series was the first series I bought sight unseen and the first series I ever really “collected”. I played a demo disc on PS1 that had a small taste of this slow plodding robot mech simulator.

I was obsessed. I love robots, I love wacky controls that barely work until you master them and I love customization of said robots. This game had it in spades. I absolutely loved Masters of Arena. The story is about private military factions fighting and other stuff but I love this series and am thankful to have played it.

2) Flat Out: Ultimate Carnage- This is my favorite racing game ever. The physics engine and the mini games are great. This was one of the first 360 racing games I played, This was also the first game i reviewed for the Denisonian when I was in college at Denison University (the Harvard of the midwest, BOOM). This is one of the few game I ever finished. It hit all the check points I like- crazy cars, driving through malls, and great heavy- arcade but not unrealistic driving physics. The progression system is very rewarding. Moving through the career from dirt tracks to racing circuits is a lot of fun. Thank you Flat Out UC.

3) Pokemon- I can’t stop playing this beast. Every year I start one and play it….and tell myself i’m done. It’s the only RPG that I know i can play with no guides and no help and make progress. I get emotionally attached to my Pokemon (Shinx) and love watching the series progress. Pokemon has also helped me create bonds with a lot of people like Andi, Adam, and many others.

4) NBA Jam- NBA Jam taught me how to play basketball and made me the man I am today. Cool as fuck.

5) Lollipop Chainsaw- This is one of 2 zombie games I love (Dead Rising 3). The protagonist is really funny and gorgeous. The story is dark but the sense of humor is fantastic. Graphically, the game has a fantastic comic like art style. I love the combo system and the music is awesome. Every time i hear the song “Mickey” I think about this game. This game is like Bayonetta but slower and makes more sense. You carry around your boyfriend’s head in this game. Thank you.

6) Rogue Galaxy- This is most beautiful PS2 game ever. Ever. It’s kind of cel shaded, and the colors are vibrant. This is an open world-ish, action RPG from Level-5. The story is heart wrenching. The weapon system is fantastic. This game rewards both reflexes and planning. It’s a really cool universe.  When I was in college my roommate Andrew, and my man Phil both played this game too. We all marathoned it because the game is so engrossing.

7) Sonic Colors- I have already reviewed this game, but I will say that this title renewed my hope and love for Sonic the Hedgehog. It also laid the foundation for Sonic Generations. Who can’t be thankful for that? Then Sonic Boom happened….

8) Sonic 1 & 2- Classics. Instant classics. I have rebought these games so many times. Every time I hear the music from these games, my heart swells. I think about my childhood. My time plying Road Rash with the Dotterwiechs and Alex Cohen. All of us renting games and being amazed at what gaming could be. Sonic opened those doors for me, and I always be thankful for that.

9) Super Street Fighter 2 HD Remix- The. Perfect. Fighting. Game. For me. This game is the definitive fighting game in my world. This game is colorful, Balrog is OP, and its fast. I love fast fighting games. my biggest issue with SF4 is that I feel like it’s plodding. This game is so fast its mind numbing. The net code was great. I played so many online it was scary. I probably played 1000 ranked matches in a month (and I was pretty damn good). Thank you.

10) Super Mario 3D Land- When I was applying for jobs during the end of my days in Wisconsin I had to fly a lot. Flying scares the dickens out of me. I don’t care if it’s safer than driving, I don’t drive at a million miles above sea level. That said, Mario 3D land helped calm my nerves at the airport and on the plane. I played this game nonstop on all of those flights. I’d like to think it helped me get hired. The colors are great and the game uses the 3D of the system masterfully. The controls were spot on, and the music was great.

I am also thankful for anyone who actually reads this list. Thank you! Have a happy thanksgiving!

Also if you enjoy this blog check out this podcast!   (THE EBONY AND IVORY CAST)

My main man Greg “G-man” Johnson and myself “The Juggernaut” (im sure that will catch on) are recording a videogame podcast by the people for the people. Well it’s by 2 people and for about 38 people right now, but hey! it’s a start!

That said, please give us a listen! I am young black gamer with a love of Sonic, Sports Games, and Social Justice while Greg is a white family man with a love for the first person shooter, current events and Destiny.

We talk about the news, what we are playing, and whatever tangents we delve into. I also tell a lot of bad jokes. Ebony and Ivory….he’s white and i’m black….ok. I laughed. BE THERE!

You can find us on Itunes and Podcast Garden!

Listen HERE.