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Monday, June 30, 2014

July 4th See Fireworks From The Tallest Building In LA

This July 4th why not see all the fireworks in the city from the tallest point downtown, the US Bank Tower. See fireworks shows all around the city from the 71st floor of the US Bank Tower with a 360-degree view of the city.

Light snacks and drinks will be served with more available for purchase.

-Limited to 500 attendees.







 4th of July Sky Party at Sky Space Hosted by OUE
Friday, July 4, 2014 from 7:00 PM to 11:00
US Bank Tower
633 W. 5th St.
Los Angeles, CA 90013
$10-$20

Anime Expo 2014 TTDILA's Top Picks

TTDILA is a veteran of more than at least three outings, probably more, to Anime Expo, the largest meet up of anime and manga fans in the country. Every AX we've been trying to spread the word of what to do and what not to do, how to prepare and even trying to get sponsorship from multiple deodorant companies to give out free samples to masses who may stay in their Final Fantasy clothes a little too long, a robe needs to be washed.This year we've gone through the guide outline the to find the best of the best of what to do. Shockingly, the first day seems quite busy and we of course could not afford to miss a huge gathering of Sailor Scouts for Sailor Moon Saturday.

Please come back to this list for updates or check here for more news of Anime Expo 2014 here or on the right side of the site before and during the event.

Anime Expo 2014 Cosplay Gathering List

Thursday, July 3

Mega64: Attack on Panel
1:00PM - 2:00PM
LP1
Petree Hall


The mad minds of Mega 64, the parody video game making-fon-of YouTube kings have their yearly panel the first day of the event this year. This event breaks down into total chaos within thirty minutes.

FUNimation Guide to AX 2014
3:45PM - 4:45PM
LP3
515A

FUNimation breaks down what's it doing for Anime Expo.

VIZ Media Panel
4:45PM - 5:45PM
LP2
502AB

Viz Media will showcase its latest acquisitions for anime and manga.

Studio TRIGGER Upcoming Projects
6:00PM - 7:00PM
LP2
502AB

The latest from the people who brought you Kill la Kill, Studio Trigger.

Super Art Fight:UNLEASHED!(18+)
10:30PM-12:00AM
LP2
502AB

A favorite of TTDILA's from last year. Artists draw whatever comes to mind and last year it was anything generated by Cards Against Humanity. The things seen can not be unseen and never photographed, seriously they'll boot you out.


Friday, July 4

Aniplex of America Industry Panel
10:00AM-11:30AM
LP1
Petree Hall

Aniplex of America will showcase its newest anime.

Sentai Filmworks Industry Panel
10:15AM-11:15AM
LP2
502AB

Sentai Filmworks shows off its latest acquisitions.

FUNimation Preview Panel
11:15AM-12:15PM
LP3
515A

Funimation will be previewing upcoming anime.

Drink Cart Meet from the Weekly Shonen Jump Team
12:00PM–7:30PM
Outside the Convention Center
Viz to reveal location later, check their twitter

Cool down with free drinks and balloons featuring Shonen Jump characters. Special free bottles with Naruto and Ichigo and more on the lable were handed out at Comic-Con last year. Looks like Viz and Weekly Shonen Jump are keeping up with that plan at AX.

Production IG Panel
1:30PM - 2:30PM
LP1
Petree Hall

Production IG's latest news.

Kill la Kill Special Event
3:00PM - 5:30PM
Main Events
Hall B

Time to invest in your dress or school uniform. The series from Trigger about a school girl with a living uniform she uses as a weapon finally gets its butt to the US. This special event not only will have the first episode of Kill la Kill dubbed it's also a mini-concert. Eir Aoi, singer of the opening theme for Kill la Kill will have a special concert and you the audience can participate with FreFlow Glowsticks that react and sync to the music. Attending the panel:
Kazuki Nakashima (Original Story and Script Writer)
SUSHIO (Character Designer and Chief Animation Director)
Ami Koshimizu (the voice of Ryuko Matoi)
Ryoka Yuzuki (the voice of Satsuki Kiryuin)
Yousuke Toba (Producer)

Sailor Moon English Voice Cast Panel
3:00PM - 4:00PM
LP1
Petree Hall

Hear the original voice cast of Sailor Moon, you meatball heads! They'll be answering your questions and hopefully reenacting your favorite scenes from the English dub of the show.

Cosplay Swimsuit Contest (18+)
8:45PM - 9:45PM
Fan Panels
402AB

You had me at swimsuit contest. Careful, it could just be a title, many of the 18+ shows are just names.


Saturday, July 5 otherwise Known as Sailor Moon Day or the biggest day of the convention

Sailor Moon Official Panel
10:00AM-11:30AM
 LP1
Petree Hall

The new cast of the re-mastered Sailor Moon will be in along with the screening of the first two  episodes. Could it be the original English cast, I hope so. After the premiere will be a Q and A with the voice cast and animation team with premium Sailor Moon posters, while supplies last.

Black Dynamite Q&A
10:00AM-11:30AM
Video1
403

The hit animation on Adult Swim on the toughest afro that ever lived, Black Dynatime has another season coming out. Hear what the cast and crew have to say and possible see clips from unseen episodes.Carl Jones (Creator, Executive Producer, Writer, Director) ("The Boondocks"), Michael Jai White (voice Black Dynamite, Creator, Producer, Writer) and Byron Minns (voice Bullhorn, Creator, Writer).








Sailor Moon Crystal Premiere
12:00PM-12:45PM
Video1
403

Watch the brand new version of Sailor Moon at Anime Expo with fellow sailor scouts and tuxedo mask enthusiasts. This brand new series starts Sailor Moon all over again, adapting much more from the manga in style and story.

Oh My Goddess! 20th Anniversary
12:30PM-1:30PM
LP4
411

Making little sense as the manga has been out more than 20 years, it's actually the 26 anniversary, maybe just for American publication? Remember Belldandy, Urd and Skuld as they made one college boy's life very strange and continue to as the series is still going. Did they ever leave Hell?

NIS America Anime Panel
2:45PM-3:45PM
LP2
502AB

They're such a new company, yet the scoop up some of the best anime out of Japan. What new animes do they have coming out this year and what special item can you get when you buy the collector's edition from their booth, dood!

Anime News Network Panel
3:00PM - 4:00PM
LP4
411

The latest news from Japan comes from them and they want to tell you all the latest they can.

Sailor Moon Cosplay Meetup
3:15PM - 4:00PM
Main Events
Hall B

The attempt at North America’s largest Sailor Moon gathering. How many Sailor Scouts does it take to put in a lightbulb? Just Jupiter, cuz she has all that electricity and she's tall.

FUNimation Industry Panel
5:30PM - 7:00PM
LP1
Petree Hall

All the latest from Funimation is going to be spilled. When will Evangelion 3.0 be coming out
when will we have DBZ Battle of the Gods on Blu-Ray?

BAYONETTA: Bloody Fate(18+)
8:15PM - 9:15PM
Video1
403

This is not the new Wii U video game, but the anime film that closely follows the first game in the series. With a special Q&A with Director Kizaki following the showing. Bayonetta has the magic skills of firing guns from each appendage and hair that literally kills. See how things get dirty when she takes down angels.

Keiji Inafune
7:30PM - 8:30PM
 LP1
Petree Hall

Known best for being a co-creator of Mega Man, Keiji Inafune, will be in to talk about his life and no doubt his epic repeat of Mega Man in Mighty No. 9 that Capcom is too afraid to sue about.

Dungeon Master:The Interactive Adventure
7:30PM - 9:00PM
LP4
411

Thrilling fans in LA watch a live performance of Dungeon Master: The Interactive Adventure taking you into fantasy folklore role-playing. In other LA shows the audience sometimes joins the cast as much of it is improvised.

Ninja Slayer
8:00PM - 9:00PM
LP3
515A

The premiere of Trigger animation's new anime taken from two American's over Twitter.

Comic Book Live: Black Spider-Man
9:30PM-10:30PM
LP4
411

Local comedians from IO West make fun of comics. This time they bring you Black Spider-Man

Super Epic FunTime Love Love Dating Game Show: Extreme Edition
10:00PM-2:00AM
LP2
502AB

This was solely chosen based on the name.

Voice Acting... With Hentai (18+)
10:30PM-11:30PM
 Fan Panels
402AB

This could be comedy gold with who gets picked and what goes up on screen.


Sunday, July 6

Kind of a free day, nothing standing out here


Adventure Time Time: Anime Expo 2014 Adventure Time Gathering, Kidrobot and Bad Cover


Adventure Time Gathering @ Anime Expo 2014
Date and Time: Day 1 @ noon
Location : Site 3, Small Set of Stairs, North Side of Pico Blvd
 We have another Adventure Time gathering and it's the first day of the expo.
 

Adventure Time x Kidrobot just announced, what will the clothes and toys looks like and will TTDILA be covering the launch in LA?

 Chris McDonnell, author of Adventure Time: The Art of Ooo made it clear that this is the final cover, but lent some advice to those who hate it like TTDILA.

"It’s already being printed! But since the jacket is removable, you can make your own replacement jacket for a custom and crafty experience."

via a comment on Meahaus


It's still an an ugly cover like real ugly. I'll have to change it when I get a copy.

Moon Crisis: A Sailor Moon Tribute Art Show 3tArts Interview

Left to Right: Stephanie, Jane, Katie

Moon Crisis: A Sailor Moon Tribute Art Show will be first taking place July 5th at the Rothick Art Haus in Anaheim, California, coinciding with both the release of the new series Sailor Moon Crystal and Anime Expo. The exhibit will feature multiple pieces paying tribute to Sailor Moon in multiple mediums from various artists. The opening nights July 5th and August 9th will have Sailor Moon-themed dancers, a guest DJ and light refreshments.

Moon Crisis: A Sailor Moon Tribute Art Show 
Opening Nights
July 5th and August 9th
6pm-11pm
Rothick Art Haus
170 S.Harbor Blvd
Anaheim, CA 92805
Regular hours
Saturdays
noon-5pm

Sailor Moon and her scouts and lovable talking cat Luna wouldn't have this special tribute show without three talented women who made the show possible: Jane Estantino, Stephanie Han, and Katie McAtee. TTDILA interviewed these honorary Sailor Scouts about the show and how it came together and what we might see beforehand.
TTDILA:First off, please explain who you three are and your favorite Sailor Scout or "guardian", as they're being call now. Are you all artists in you day-to-day life?
We are 3tArts: Three Chicks who love pop culture, Jane Estantino, Stephanie Han, and Katie McAtee, came together with the re-release of the 20th anniversary of the Sailor Moon anime. With a shared love of Sailor Moon, this art show represents their desire to share that love and some fantastic inspired works with other fans.

J: For me, it’s always been Chibi-usa and Hotaru.  I love it when good girls can turn bad.  Am I an artist in my day-to-day life? I wish. I am a doodler and wanna-be artist.
K: When I was younger, Jupiter was my favorite because I too did (and still do) martial arts and loved to cook and bake. But now that I have gotten older and reread the manga, Chibi-Usa has grown on me and she's become my favorite.  I consider myself a hobby artist. I did go to art school for a few years in college and hated it so I switched majors. I enjoy art, I love sketching but I'm not very disciplined and rarely sketch on any sort of regular basis - which is my work is hit or miss a lot. I love being entrenched in the art world and I've found my niche by curating and running art groups like 3tArts and Splendor Device.
S: After I finally read Sailor V for the first time, Venus definitely became my favorite Sailor. I love how she balances her strong leadership skills with being a typical teenage girl. 
You all have pieces in the show; could you tell us about them?

J: Me, personally, no. But the other two do.

K: I will have little square canvases (2”x2”) in the show of obscure characters

S: I decided to do Sailor V, of course and I decided to imagine what being solo could have been like for her. I imagine that it must have gotten rough from time to time.  I’m just not sure if I’m going to hang it or not since having space for our main artists is priority.

What made you want to do a Sailor Moon tribute show, Q Pop of Little Tokyo beat you to it-you do have some of the same artist in your show-anything to do with Sailor Moon's comeback?
Q Pop’s curator and one our curators (Katie) are actually friends.  (They are both part of Splendor Device as artists and models.) The talk of the shows came up in conversation and it was actually coincidental that they were both involved in being curators for a Sailor Moon tribute art show.  Our dates just happened to be different but it all worked out for the best. We also went to Q Pop’s event to show our support and our decision to put on the show most definitely had to do something with the 20th anniversary; that’s for sure!

Your list of artists is quite large now, could you go over some the pieces you're most looking forward shining in the moonlight?

We are most definitely looking forward to:
Glenn Arthur’s piece of Sailor Mercury; Kelly Eden, the popular alt model, make-up artist and an artist herself, has also done a huge Sailor Moon piece with Ophelia Overdose as her model/muse for the piece;
We also have Babs Tarr and her infamous Sailor Bosozoku piece in our show;
Ann Marcellino’s piece that was made for our show but also featured in Kotaku;
and Bara-chan, whose bold lines and colors would just simply blow you away!
How did these other artists get involved?

For some of the artists, we actively pursued them.  For a majority of our artists, we had an open call for artists to submit their portfolios for the show to be considered.  For the open call, all 3 curators had to agree to have the artist in the show!  We had to be strict with this because the response to the open call was extremely overwhelming!

Diane Nguyen of The Quarter House
There's going to be a Moon Crisis arcade machine from Diane Nguyen, what games will be on it? Anything as outlandish going to be at the show? Will there be a Sailor Moon Mech finally?

The arcade- The game is Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon S; it’s a fighting game.  Outlandish?- I don’t know about that but we have a few non-traditional pieces in such as a lovely dress inspired by Princess Serenity on display made by Vanessa Walton of Creature of Habit, a custom ball-joint-doll by Irene Garcia!  But if someone showed up in a Sailor Moon Mech- that’d be really awesome! (Someone, please make it happen!)

You're having the show all the way in Anaheim during Anime Expo, why not try and get the show at AX or a closer location?

We decided to go with Rothick Art Haus for 2 main reasons; the owner of the gallery is good friends with one of the curators and the parking situation near the gallery is a lot more manageable than Los Angeles, as you can imagine!

You went to IndieGoGo for funding of the project and raised $520. Why IndieGoGo and what did the funds go towards?

We chose IndieGoGo because it was recommended by several friends.  We only put a goal of $500 to help us and pay for several things and getting us off the ground.  We used the funds to help us print flyers, go around promoting the show and it will also go towards events at opening nights as well as thank you gifts to our volunteers.
Did Sailor Moon touch your imagination as kids? Do you have any fond memories of meatball head and the other
Yue Li
scouts?

J: Though I have been drawing since I was a little kid, Sailor Moon sparked my love for anime and manga.  I would say that it most definitely influenced a lot of my drawings when growing up.  My favorite memory of Sailor Moon was watching it at 7AM on weekday mornings before running off to school.  I used to also search for manga art images of Sailor Moon on my 56k dial-up modem, waiting to download and print the manga art and collect it in my school binder.

K: I have very little imagination for being an artist. I just loved that there was a strong female super hero character. Up until I discovered Sailor Moon in 1992 on the old network channel UPN, all I had was Mutant Ninja Turtles and I always wished that they had a girl in the group because I believed that girls could kick just as much ass as guys can AND look better doing it too. If any special memories came from Sailor Moon it is two things: 1) I met my 3 best friends for life when we discovered we all LOVE Sailor Moon way back when in Jr. High circa 1999. 2) Cindy Yoshizaki, one half of DJ team at both of our opening nights, is a long time childhood friend of 22 years, back in grade school we somehow came up that I loved Sailor Moon, the next day at school she brought me original Sailor Moon merch and stickers and patches straight from Japan (Cindy is Japanese and visits there often). I still have all those little Sailor Moon swag she gave me...albeit they're super faded and I still can't read Japanese.

S: Sailor Moon definitely fueled my interest in the whole anime/manga scene. At first (being a huge Power Ranger fan), I scoffed at the idea. Being only 8-years-old when it released, I definitely thought it was ripping off Power Rangers (which of course, I had no idea about the origins of that show). I decided to watch it anyway, and I've loved it ever since then, doing whatever I had to get my hands on more merchandise! My fondest memory is getting the first soundtrack for the English Dub, then my father telling me the week after it flew out the window. I spent many months afterwards trying to track it down!

Sunday, June 29, 2014

4DX Now At Regal Cinemas L.A. Live You're Movie Experince Just Got Stranger

What probably should have come out during the LA Film Festival, when countless people from around the world and new filmmakers were at the location-that would have been some smart marketing, but wasn't,-just opened yesterday with a screening of Captain America: Winter Soldier to select VIPs and certain press. The new 4DX experience launched at its new home at the Regal Cinemas at L.A. LIVE to not particular fanfare as it wasn't for the public. The new experience is now open to the public.

The brand new and 1st in the US 4DX auditorium has a number of features coming from its special effects. These effects include motion, wind, fog, mist/rain, lights and scents. These all blend together to make it feel like your more part of the movie.

Tickets will be higher with $8 added to regular movie fees for seeing a film in 4DX.

The technology comes way of South Korea and CJ Group, who you might know from their subsidiaries including the CGV Cinemas in Koreatown and CJ Entertainment. TTDILA has featured reviews and reminders about CJ Entertainment films and their heavy use of CGI. Odd that CJ Group wouldn't test the waters with the tech in one of their own theaters.

You can now see Transformers 4 in an even louder and crazier way if you want to spend between $23 and $27 per person.

via

LA Weekly Misleading On Spying

"We also know that LAPD Chief Charlie Beck purchased two spy drones from Seattle after residents there shouted down the Seattle City Council and got rid of them."

 L.A. Fights Back Against Cops and NSA Spying on the Innocent (VIDEO)

As far as I've read, even through LA Weekly's own account, the two drones were gifted to LA, not purchased.

Secondly, the article forgets to mention that the two drones are now locked away in the basement of Homeland security after the public outcry and fear from Charlie Beck of officer abuse was too much.

Still the car database mentioned in the article, that tracks everyone, should be more of a worry to everyone and is a real problem that the LAPD crossed the line over.

Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie Premieres July 21 In LA Sold Out

The Egyptian Theater gets the honor of the premiere screening of Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie on July 21st to a sold-out showing. The film featuring the always miffed nerd, played by James Rolfe, will then make it's way to Comic-Con and the rest of the country to completely sold-out showings. The film was funded by his fans, showing how much a fan base and connecting with it can create more content. The film has been delayed by years, first thought to be coming out in 2012.


Following the film, a Q&A with Writer/Director/Star - James Rolfe, Writer/Director - Kevin Finn, and Producer - Sean Keegan, as well as the Cast and Crew!




Friday, June 27, 2014

TTDILA COMICS #32 - Anime Expo - What To Do And Not Do


by ARG



click comic to expand.

Have fun and enjoy yourself.
Don't do anything get arrested.

Enjoy The Comic.

2014 Free Summer Concert Series

Two venues in the Valley letting you chill to music for free on these hot Summer nights. Free if you don't include parking, that's how they get you.

Concerts on the Green
Sunday afternoons, June 1st through August 24th. All concerts start at 6 PM and end at 8 PM
Lou Bredlow Pavilion in Warner Park at
5800 Topanga Canyon Blvd., in Woodland Hills
Parking for Concerts on the Green is available in the parking structure directly behind the stage on Califa Street for $10

Music Spotlight Series CityWalk Hollywood
Every Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, beginning Thursday, July 10 and continuing through Sunday, August 31, 2014
5 Towers stage CityWalk Hollywood 
General Parking $16 before 3pm after 3pm $10

Anime Expo 2014 Update: Cosplay Gatherings

Here's the guide to the cosplay gatherings at AX.

Check here for any last minute changes or any specific details

Some highlights

Adventure Time Gathering @ Anime Expo 2014
Date and Time: Day 1 @ noon
Location : Site 3


Kill la Kill
Day 3
Time: 4 PM
Place: Site 2

Other KLK related things happening on Day 3:
11:00am-12:00pm @ Aniplex Booth (901) KLK Cosplay Gathering
12:00-1:00pm @ Crunchyroll Booth KLK Cosplay Contest
5:00-6:00pm @ Autograph Room KLK Group Autograph w/ Nakashima, SUSHIO, Toba (Ticketed Event)
 


Nintendo & Smash Bros.
Day 2
Date: Friday
Time: 3:00 PM
Location: South Hall
 


Sailor Moon Meetup
Saturday Day 3
West Hall Lobby at 5pm

-Aksys Games booth (#911) will have Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-, Arcana Heart 3: Love Max!!!!!, and BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma

 -MYTH: Legends of Burlesque & Magic
 Friday July 4, 2014 9pm
 Los Angeles Convention Center: Live Programming 1
 Price: 25$


"Beautiful dancers titillate in various forms of undress while Hollywood and Vegas magicians amaze hundreds of anime fans!"

Art in Video Games Los Angeles 3 and 4 Up



Adventure Time Time: Lumpy Space Prince was Char from Gundam


Lumpy Space Prince was Char from Gundam. In a very un-subtle way the Adventure Time crew had Lump Space Prince in "The Prince Who Wanted Everything" dress like the main bad guy from the original Gundam series Char.

They look quite similar don't they?

Guardians of the Galaxy An IMAX 3D First Look

See only the first 17 minutes of Guardians of the Galaxy for free
July 7 at 7PM
Check for theaters near you

Fans who attend this sneak peek will also receive a limited-edition collectible Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” IMAX poster.

There's A Pool In The Desert Go There and Be Cool


Social Pool by artist Alfredo Barsuglia is located somewhere in between Joshua Tree and Apple Valley in the Mojave Desert. To access this art installation you have to first grab a key from the MAK Center of LA then find the place using GPS coordinates. This sounds like a modern day, real world video game quest and more art projects need to be like this.

 The artist recommends hiking 20 minutes from whatever road is nearby to get to the pool; an oasis in the desert. The point, other than just having the pool in the middle of nowhere, is how far people go for a luxury good.

Reasons why it's harder than you think to get there:

1. Though the web-site says you can make a reservation for the key to unlock the pool, you can't. It's a gamble to go to the MAK center and see if they key is there.

2. Finding it isn't easy, this piece is somewhere in the desert. You are on actual quest like a video game to find it.

3. 24 hours to return the key.

4. Only four people may go at a time, though how the artist could stop you on that is not explained.

5. Real nature, with deadly animals like rattlesnakes.

via

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Cowabunga!: A Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Art Show San Diego

TTDILA's favorite piece from April's TMNT features April, by artist RBST

Dimension X : The Search for Casey Jones
The hockey-masked vigilante can usually be found on urban patrol. But, it’s been weeks since anyone’s seen or heard from Casey Jones. April O’Neil, utilizing her newly blossomed psionic abilities, traces his whereabouts to Dimension X…!

Not part of the upcoming Nucleus show, other galleries are showing off their Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle love. Cowabunga!: a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle art show is taking place July 15, 7:00pm - 12:00am up in San Diego. The previous show from the Thumbprint Gallery held at Bar Basic is shown here through some of the pieces we liked the most, it was called Heroes In A Half Shell: A Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Art Show and took place on April 30th. Bar Basic served some good looking pizzas.



Shovel Knight Review I Dig Him

I Dig Shovel Knight!

Shovel Knight
PC, Wii U, 3DS

Who will save the day against the Enchantress and the villainous nights of The Order of No Quarter? Shovel Knight, that's who. The blue knight with the Shovel Blade, a weapon so powerful it can not only dispatch a flying rat foe or enemy knight it can also be used as a real shovel. That comes in handy on your quest to rid the land of evil and rescue Shield Knight, your fellow knight and damsel in distress.

Shovel Knight-who should be in Super Smash Bros, he's so darn likable- is the name of the game and the hero you play. The game is reminiscent of older titles, from the obvious copying of Duck Tales' Scrooge McDuck cane jump; level design and boss fights from Mega Man and some level design from Super Mario. One level was like playing Super Mario World so much I nearly laughed. This is not a carbon copy of those game, oh no, this is a game that took in those games and their best attributes and Yacht Club Games, the developer, made their own, sometimes hard to master, platformer action adventure game.

In the style of 8-bit aesthetic, you'll master Shovel Knight's Shovel Blade and his attacks battling the eight evil knights of the The Order of No Quarter, each in their own themed levels. In the end you'll go off to the Tower of Fate to battle their leader the Enchantress. While on your quest you'll find secrets in every level, gain new items, abilities and powers. You'll meet strange new friends and enemies and be reminded of classic games-if you've played them- while beating each of the bad knights.

By performing the Shovel Drop on most of your foes or swatting them away with your Dig Slash you'll counter the threat of sleeping dragons, wizards firing spells at you and tiny rats with propellers stuck to their bodies. Propeller rats might become your favorite enemy like the Mets from Megaman. These rats vary from the not-as-funny-a-concept exploding green rats in the Explodatorium level ruled over by Plague Knight. Enemies aren't just a way to swat away steam, you"ll need them to make certain jumps and reach certain platforms. Shovel Drop gives you a jump boost to reach higher points, this requires you to master where your heading while you take out enemies. If you get good you might take out multiple foes and never touch the ground. Bringing up the rats without rings, the propeller rats in the Flying Machine level of the gentleman jerk Propeller Knight, are good jumping off points. At parts of the level you make your way to far off hard to reach spots by making multiple jumps on their craniums. Oh, do they fall and their tiny propellers fall off. Better than be electrocuted by the flying Jellyfish you can also bounce off of.

Propeller Rat plushie, when will you come out?

Style and substance, the game offers both with levels centered around the bosses you will engage at the end of each of their levels.

Propeller Knight, the mean, slightly green, Inspector Gadget like, fencing machine was my favorite boss, not due to his attack pattern. He summons a flying aircraft to fire on you with bombs and tries to suck you into his propeller helmet. Propeller Knight gains my approval because he's a sophisticated charmer. In the small amount of dialogue we share, merely scrawled out on the screen, he acted like a playboy unaware what he was doing was wrong; trying to show off his flying ship and how nice it. In the end, his defeat is signified with a rose falling with him as the game slows down as he ends his flight.

Bosses and their levels and the changes to gameplay make every level standout with it's own distinct style. Going through them you have Mole Knight with his digging attack and throwing large chunks of the earth at you that you'll have to smash and jump on to dodge his attacks. His Lost City Level changes gameplay with massive amounts of lava and a strange green goo that lets you bounce on it. You'll have to Dig Slash some of this goo into the lava creating another place for you to bounce off. Time it wrong and that green goo turns back to lava and your fried.

Getting on a giant beetle with same green goo on his back and jumping through a section of the level is just bouncing fun.

There's a little line about being a spelunker Mole Knight says that grabbed me as he's level reminded me both of Spelunky and the classic Spelunker.

Polar Knight level differs greatly with the problem of, you guessed it, ice. This ice baby, is just too hot, really it's hard to maintain balance and you could streak off into an enemy or into spikes in the Stranded Ship level. Polar Knight has a much bigger shovel than yours and with it he uses it for evil. If the creepy red-eyed wolves don't get you, he will. His boss fight has you dodging and jumping on huge snowballs he throws at you. Not to make it any easier his boss fight has sections of the snow floor disappear to reveal spikes that can end your life.

Treasure Knight has you in his Iron Whale level, with water changing how fast you jump. You'll learn how to slowly drift in this underwater level to dodge spikes and other hazards. Jump to fast in water and you could hurt yourself. Flat out, Treasure Knight looks like a Big Daddy from Bioshock, and plays like one, dodge his drill attack when he shoots it out at you. He can pull it back and try again and again in multiple directions.

Tinker Knight reminds me of the saying along the lines from small things come big things and his fully automated knight suit armor that fires missiles makes that true. You think you may have defeated him in his first clumsy attack, no you did not. His level, the Clockwork Tower, takes time to get past with all the mechanized gears and rapid moving floors.

You'll have to learn the attack patterns of each boss before you can perform swift justice on each and every one of them by bouncing on their faces

How about shopping? You could select a lovely new hat from Mr. Hat the store owner of fine clothes in the second village you go to. Wait, know he's attacking you for your helmet? What's with this game? After helping some wardrobe missing clients-not what you think-in Mr. Hat's shop you'll be fighting him too? Shovel Knight has extras in it beyond the main path store. You can complete  them and the sudden sick behavior of Mr. Hat is one of them.

Mr. Hat is of the many side pursuits in this game. There's a Hall of Champions you can visit with darker details inside. A mini-game, not so hidden in the first village, where you have to bounce bottles into targets for points for a goth girl. Collect songs for the bard to get paid and have a soundtrack. You'll meet a Troupple Acolyte you can talk to in the starting village too.

Let's talk about the Troupple King. He's not quite a trout and he's not quite and apple. He can save your butt though. The Troupple King, who has his own musical number grants you three types of ichor one of which being full health and magic restore, the other two make you invincible for ten seconds or has all treasure flow to you  when near it in a level. You can buy up to two cups for these extra powers and it works wonders in a boss battle when you're almost defeated.

 The game has a sense of humor with gameplay or there wouldn't be a giant talking fish fruit spitting out magical drinks to heal you.The mere concept of the Troupple King and his servants you can pick up in every level, you can buy a fishing rod that can be used at special places in levels, is that of adding hilarity to the game.

Troupple King is a friend, the wandering enemies are not. During your game four wandering travelers will fight you and block your path, very much in the style of  the Hammer Koopas from Super Mario for the NES. Each wanderer is as strong as a boss. Riez, a ninja with metal boomerangs was a challenge, so was the beefy brute Baz who swung and stomped his way over Shovel Knight in his first attempt to get past him. He cried like a baby after his defeat. Each wanderer has their own story and fight style, don't think you'll take them down without a good shovel to the face.

All these levels were crafted with care. They are not only so hard to beat and master, they also don't drag you so far down as save points are found throughout each of them. If you want to play hardcore you can destroy these save points for extra gems. Don't do this if you want to beat the game in a timely manner, those saves can help a lot.

Gems are numerous  as are the extras in each level. You may really dig up treasure with your blade, how could you not in a game called Shovel Knight? Hidden rooms and hard to reach places can be found in every level for extra gems and musical sheets for that bard. Some of these might require the use of relics.

Relics in this game are power-ups that can help you reach certain areas. Two levels need certain relics to be finished. I found myself using Phase Locket often. A device that phases you out of touching anything that might kill you for a few seconds. Some relics are used to fight enemies, some are for reaching harder to reach places. One is to go fishing in levels.

Any time there's a tower in a game you have my attention. For Halloween a few years back a friend and I dressed up his illegal backyard tower with smog machines and scary items. The tower was taken down years ago, in my heart it remains. The Tower of Fate comprises the end levels of the game and within it is the Enchantress.

The Enchantress, is your enemy who took Shield Knight from you. You must defeat her to get her back. We're getting ahead of ourselves. You first have to foil Black Knight, the first villain you fought in the game. You'll then have to make it through the levels of the Tower of Fate. You'll be crashing a feast of Knight you defeated, they are not to happy about you crashing in and you'll have to fight them all over again.

One tower level uses the wonderful shadow style seen in so many games with a twist. Some platforms can be jumped on some can not, I'll only reveal that you''ll have to deduce which ones are there are and which are not, that's a nice green background.

Soon Shield Knight and you will be re-united... in battle. You work well as a team. You'll fight the Enchantress' new form with Shield Knight. You can propel yourself on her shield to attack the mean witch and use her as a human shield, the correct way as she is Shield Knight.

These final boss fights are the hardest the game gets, as you could fall to your death in them. The first form of the The Enchantress controls the very blocks you're standing on and you'll have to dodge her attacks as she takes the ground from right under you.

Being flung by a catapult as a shortcut the game is only part of the wild ride. Shovel Knight us a reminder of why platformers were fun in 8-bit graphics. Yacht Club Games is one of the only Kickstarted games I can think of that really made a game worthy to buy. The game has tight controls for each of it's levels that a small team tirelessly worked on and perfected. Each level brings to life a different style of gameplay to master and enemy to defeat, while the game has a story and sense of humor to get caught up in. The art only 8-bit makes a very distinct etch in your brain. Each world a different color palette with its own rules.

Replay value for when you want to try and go after every secret or master your attack is there. There's an option of New Game Plus, where it's a bit harder and you have all your items from previous playthrough.

Dig Dug better watch out as Shovel Knight will be remembered more for his digging skills.

Check out TTDILA'S interview with the developers of the Shovel Knight, Yacht Club Games here.

Shovel Knight, the fantastic retro-now classic comes out today on PC, Wii U and 3DS from newcomer Yacht Club Games. In short though, the game is well worth the $15 it's going for. Pick it up and have something to play this Summer with everything else on sale from Steam.

This game is like picking up a classic, with non-glitch controls and secrets to unlock in every level.

Shovel Knight ya' done dug up my heart!
  
Copy code given by developer for review purposes played on Steam