James reviews another unlicensed game for the Nintendo Entertainment System, “Master Chu and the Drunkard Hu.” I’m certain this was another game from James’s childhood, as it seems like one of the most random games possible for him to pick and review this early in the series.
The opening with James introducing “Shit Pickle” strikes well on comedy, and while the character may seem completely random, it actually has its origins in a “Wizard of Oz” story that James animated prior to the making of this episode – yes, it contains a character that is a sentient pickle with feces on it. Just let that sink in for a moment…
Yep. That’s a pickle with feces on it. Amazingly this character actually has a back story.
Anyway, the game itself is rather odd. More of a classic arcade game, it doesn’t look too bad, but it also doesn’t look good, and considering its unlicensed nature, I’m certain it is rather terrible (amazingly I’ve never thought to try it out). James gives a pretty straightforward review, with Shit Pickle providing random quips, calling the game “shit” when he gets a chance to play.
This episode marks an early occurrence of a trend of James to refer back to Castlevania 2, something that will happen through the rest of the series.
All in all, another short, somewhat rushed feeling episode – that is, until you consider adding in Shit Pickle takes quite a bit of time and editing skill, which James of course has (the skill, anyway – back in this time he still was quite busy).
Another terrible unlicensed game.
Final Rating: 2.5/5
Sadly, this is another average, almost sub par episode. Shit Pickle brings it barely to 2.5 out of 5, but if he wasn’t there this would be maybe a 2.0 at most; a simple, quick review that wouldn’t have much comedy to it. I think James knew this as he wrote it, and decided adding in this random character from another video of his would be his best bet in making the episode stand out. The jokes are good, sure, but they are few and far between.
Again though, this is in regards to nerd episodes – as a game review, it’s fine, sure, but with AVGN you expect a certain finesse.