It's that time yet again. Welcome to the next episode of Joe's Monologues in the New Year. I have a couple of things to talk about, so let's dive right in.
SMITE World Championship Season X:
Eight teams, the Styx Ferrymen, Atlantis Leviathans, Oni Warriors, Jade Dragons, Solar Scarabs, Highland Ravens, Hex Mambo and the reigning champs, Camelot Kings have all qualified for Worlds. At the end during the quarterfinals, the Ferrymen, Dragons, Leviathans and Warriors have made it into the semi finals and one cycle has been broken, that we got a game three between the Atlantis Leviathans and Hex Mambo.
Rolling back to the first semifinals match, the Ferrymen won the first two games and the Dragons follow up to win the next two set of games. And in the end, the Jade Dragons did a reverse sweep against the Styx Ferrymen. That's probably history at Arlington, Texas right there. And finally, there is the match between the Atlantis Leviathans and the Oni Warriors. The Warriors were keeping their undefeated run going. It is Genetics' Warriors-era and he remained undefeated as they moved to fight the Dragons in Grand Finals. So there was Grand Finals between the Jade Dragons and the Oni Warriors and this paves the way for new World Champions.
This is the only iconic matchup we've seen often throughout the course of Season X and they have gone up against each other in each Grand Finals of the Kickoff Tournament. It is like a picnic, though and that's a Maggie and the Ferocious Beast story we experienced. The Grand Finals of Season X World became longer than the one in Season 9 Worlds. It's because the Dragons won the first two games. Then the Warriors won the next two games. So in the end, the curse has finally broken as the Jade Dragons finally kicked the Oni Warriors' butts and won Season X Worlds as a cherry on top. This makes it true that 2024 is the Year of the Dragon. This is the Year of the Jade Dragons, folks!
This could be the final SMITE World Championship before SMITE 2, a sequel to the successive third-person action MOBA that uses UE5. It was announced during their Keynote. Alpha releases in March. The Year 11 patch just dropped today and it now uses Cross-Gen Passes. SMITE 2 may be a sequel, but SMITE 1 isn't going anywhere and it will continue to receive updates for the forseeable future and skins you get in SMITE 1 will also be available to equip in SMITE 2.
Crash and Spyro History and Beyond:
Alright, so you know how Mario and Sonic had a history? Well, this is not the only rivalry the video game industry experienced. There is another rivalry between Crash and Spyro. Their first three regular games were released on the PS1 and were PlayStation exclusives, until they went third-party for their games to release on the multiple platforms beyond PlayStation. They were released by Universal Interactive Studios on that time, and that's one of the defunct game companies.
There were the Wrath of Cortex and Enter the Dragonfly. I heard they turned out to be a fail despite their charming environment their games have beared. They are both on my wish list of classics I want for PS Plus Premium. And I expect it to count as a charming thing. And then, their games that don't involve lives release next.. On that time, they were released by Sierra Entertainment, another defunct video game company. All of their games on the 6th generation-era have a lot of charm. Especially the ones that switch universes.
Then there were three Spyro games that is a reboot. The third and final one was released by Activision, along with Crash: Mind Over Mutant. It's a step forward to the modern-era when the first Crash and Spyro games originally released on the PS1 get a remaster on the 8th generation-era of gaming. Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time was announced to be a sequel to Crash Bandicoot: Warped, but they still haven't announced a Spyro 4 yet and it is supposed to be a sequel to Spyro: Year of the Dragon. Then there is a 4v4 game called Crash Team Rumble. There are Spyro characters on it and Elora is officially released recently and I am on the source of earning assist badges to unlock Ripto. I hope this convinces Activison to make Spyro 4, but Elora has to be playable too on it because she is a savage faun that can shoot tornadoes with her kicks. It needs to happen. Perhaps I should call it Elora: Renegade Faun.
I have been grinding my Battle Pass to get more rewards on Party Mode and I was about to play some Competitive rounds off stream, but I wasn't ready yet, until I realized that I can switch sides. If I lose with the team that sucks balls, I can switch over to another one that doesn't suck. I think I'm ready to do some Competitive soon, but the Summer Forest event is gonna expire and I know I may not have enough time to get all of the rewards and I'm still on the verge of unlocking Heroes. I was pulling a 1smash18 when I get on the verge of unlocking things. I was able to unlock Spyro and Elora by collecting Dragon Eggs and Avalarian Leaves. They are the Sonic and Sally of Spyro, though. So for Mightykeef's sake, kicking butt is the way.
Now, when I do Competitive on Crash Team Rumble, I don't play just to win or lose. I also play to have fun. And having fun also means earning the corresponding badges to unlock Heroes and Powers. And since I am five Booster badges away from unlocking Dr. Neo Cortex, who is a Booster, I'll play the first few rounds with Coco because she is a Booster who excels at capturing Gems and activating Relic Stations and pairs of Relics are only on the Boosters' perspective. Then I can shift my focus to earning Blocker badges to unlock Dr. N. Tropy and Ripper Roo. Once I do, my next focus is earning Saboteur badges to unlock N-Gin and earning KO and Relic Assist badges to unlock Ripto. After that is having fun.
This is the fact that Crash and Spyro games have a lot of charm during the 6th generation era of gaming. I got them on my wish list, but after some thought, I learned that after they put remasters in the PS Plus Premium catalog, like Secret of Mana, I don't think it's possible for the PS1 releases of Crash and Spyro to be added to the catalog. Instead, their remasters can be added and they lack a lot of charm the original releases have. Mightykeef's video about how remasters killed the charm says it all. Don't get me wrong. I do like remasters, but I prefer to play the original releases since they have more charm.
That pretty much stops the history of Crash and Spyro here as I monologued what they had to offer. That's not all. There is a thin line between the rivalries. Mario and Sonic recently have their games came out. Super Mario Bros. Wonder and Sonic Superstars are the recent games rivals have. SEGA has released their open zone game that is Spyro, but with Sonic. But minus Sally Acorn because SEGA doesn't want to make any more Sonic games that take place in the SatAM universe. It's the best universe I loved so much. The third season of the show is in the works too as they are nearing the finish line of the animation phase.
But then, I realized something. Sally is not the only character who didn't get enough love because I also found that Elora too didn't get enough love as well and that's why she doesn't appear in many Spyro games. I can see a thin line between Sally and Elora, whose destiny is unknown and we know how the gaming ecosystem works. But no, Sally only appeared in one Sonic game, which is Sonic Spinball. It took place at the SatAM universe. They probably didn't know it exists.
Conclusion:
This wraps up this episode of Joe's Monologues, so in conclusion, 2024 is the Year of the Dragon for the Jade Dragons to win Worlds as a cherry on top. You have a wonderful day.
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