The-Mad-Collector

In keeping with the video game theme of taking far to much effort into naming virtual characters, I figured I would list here the shiny Pokémon I have named with a brief synopsis on what I chose what I did specifically. The Pokémon are in no particular order. I am not in the habit of naming Pokémon in general but I feel something as special as a shiny Pokémon should have a proper name befitting it's rarity. Luxray (male) - Maashes Named after the Egyptian Lion-headed war god. Fairly self explanatory, Luxray always gave off an Egyptian vibe to me. Hawlucha (male) - Tizoc Perhaps not as clever as others, he is named off the luchador from the Fatal Fury fighting game series. Tizoc is depicted with a bird mask, he is also known as the The Griffon. Crawdaunt (male) - Thermidor Again fairly straight forward, he looks like a boiled lobster. Incineroar (male) - Jericho Named after the professional wrestler Chris Jericho. Chris Jericho is a heel style wrestler, which Incineroar is based on. Vaporeon (male) - Ahuizotl This one is likely one of the more obscure of the names. It is taken from more colour of shiny Vaporeon which is a sort of purple, which several ghost type mons are colour. I have also given it the attack Shadow Ball. The ahuizotl, from the Aztec Nahuatl language means, "spiny aquatic thing", a.k.a. "water dog". It is a legendary creature from their mythology said to lure people to their deaths, typically in the water. Steelix (male) - Aurum This is also straight forward, Aurum is the Latin for gold. It is why gold on the periodic table is called AU. Snorlax (male) - Beauregarde Shiny Snorlax has a lovely deep blue colour, because of that my mind instantly made me think of the little girl from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Violet Beauregarde. Unfortunately it is male, but I feel the name can still stand. Alolan Raichu (male) - Kahanamoku The Alolan varient of Raichu rides it's tail like a surfer board using psychic energy. It's shiny darkens it's colours like it has a healthy tan. Given the region it's from, it's inspiration I choose to call it Kahanamoku, based on the man who helped popularize the ancient Hawaiian sport of surfing. Togekiss (male) - Mondrian This one is also a tad obscure perhaps. For the life of me I could not think of what to call this mon. Then the patterns on it's belly and colour schemed made me think of a famous panting. The painting in question is Composition with Red Blue and Yellow by Piet Mondrian, an abstract artist. Grimmsnarl (male) - Gossamer Now this one was hard for me. I had already called my regular one La Bête, French for the Beast from the story Beauty and the Beast. However I did not want to recycle the name so I had to think of something else. After much deliberation I settle for Gossamer, based on the large hairy monster from the Looney Tunes. Obstagoon (male) - Slade This was was also difficult. Clearly based on the band Kiss's Gene Simmons but I already called me regular one Gene. Looking through glam rock bands I settled on Slade, apparently a very influential band. I'd never heard of them, that style of music is not really my bag. Toxicroak - Ricin Simple, it's poison, and ricin is an extremely deadly poison. Plus it sounds cool. Inteleon - Philby I just thought of this while writing the list. I called my starter J.B based on James Bond for the theme that Inteleon is going for of as spy. So I couldn't call it that again so I settled on Philby. It is based on Kim Philby who was a British spy and double agent that leaking intel to the Soviets. He was part of a group known as The Cambridge Five, all double agents. Maractus - Parodia This is another one I came up with now. A parodia is a small ball-shaped cactus with large flowers. Toxtricity (low-key form, male) - Otts Named after a friend who gave it to me after winning it from a giveaway. I had gifted him a shiny Hatterene I had previous won. Clawitzer (female) - Vatapá Named after an Afro-Brazilian dish made from bread, shrimp, coconut milk, finely ground peanuts and palm oil mashed into a creamy paste. Grapploct (male) - Takosōsēji I was very pleased with this one. The name is Japanese, it literally translate into "octopus sausage". The reason for this is because Grapploct's unique shape and red colouration reminds me of the octopus shaped hotdogs you see in bento boxes. Sliggoo (female) - Ariolimax Now for this I had two different schools of thought which made deciding on what to name it difficult. Because of what the Goomy line is, a type of slug like dragon creature, it's shiny sprite I feel plays homage to that specific aspect. Shiny Goomy and it's line are yellow, and what's a predominantly yellow slug? That's right the banana slug. So my first thought as a sort of pun would be to name it Potassium as that's what banana's are known to contain. However it wasn't until I decided to look up banana slugs and I found out that the scientific name for them is Ariolimax. This left me with a tough choice. Do I go for the pun or the on the nose but still interesting Latin name? Ultimately I posed this conundrum to my mother because I trust her judgement and she told me to go with the Latin name, and so I did. Skorupi (male) - Gu This one was also a challenge but it was while reading an article about the religious significance of scorpions across various cultures was my mind reminded of a bit of Chinese ritual magic. It is called Gu or jincan. It involves sealing several venomous insects together and whomever survives they use that super toxin for various incantations. Tyrantrum (male) - Caligula Named after the tyrannical empower, it seemed appropriate. Scrafty (male) - Elgin Named after the founder of Friends Stand United, Elgin James, an American anti-fascist, anti-racist, and anti-drug group.

Klinklang - Breguet Named after a luxury watch brand Orbeetle (female) - Kerrigan Named after the I guess villain from the Starcraft franchise Kerrigan, the Queen of Blades. Blastoise (male) - Aeschylus I felt very clever with this one. Named after a Greek playwright whom was killed when an eagle dropped a tortoise on his head. Scizor (male) - Lau Soei Named after a the first person to teach Southern Praying Mantis kung fu in Hong Kong. Bronzong - Mugenyama Now people may not know but Bronzong and it's previous are based an a folk story called Of a Mirror and a Bell. The basic premise is some priest from Mugenyama wanted a nice great bronze bell for their temple. To do this, they asked the women to donate their bronze mirrors to be used to make it. One woman whom did instantly regretted because of the mirror's importance to her. Because of this it would not melt down in the furnace. Distraught she committed suicide and the mirror melted. Her ghost promised a fortune to anyone whom could shatter the bell by ringing it.

Galarian Slowking (male) - Mithridates They were a ruler of the Hellenistic Kingdom of Pontus, and due to his affinity for poison he has also been called "The Poison King".

Politoed (female) - Heqet Heqet is a frog fertility goddess from Egypt.

Delibird (female) - Sinterklaas A dutch figure based on Saint Nicholas, whom as we know is the inspiration of Sandy Claws, I mean Santa Claus. Ninjask (female) - Chiyome Named after Mochizuki Chiyome a 16th-century Japanese poet and noblewoman. She is known for creating a group of kunoichi(female ninja) in service of the Takeda clan. Dracozolt - Blunder I decided to name my Galarian fossil mon I would name them after synonyms for mistake. However to spice it up I have used the languages of the UK for each mon. Starting with this one I have used the classic English word blunder.

Arctozolt - Mearachd For this one I have used the Scottish Gaelic word for error.

Dracovish - Camgymeriad

This one was the Welsh word for mistake.

Arctovish - Locht

Lastly I used the Irish word for flaw which I feel is appropriate because it is very similar to the word loch which is both the Irish and the Scots use for a type of sea inlet. Now the most important shines to me are all my gravebabies (ghost Pokémon). So because of their importance each of the has names to reflect that. They are in their own private box next to my normal gravebabies. The regulars are in Crypt and the shiny are in Mausoleum. Spiritomb (male) - ̶L̶e̶g̶i̶o̶n̶ It could be cleverer perhaps but considering Spiritomb is formed from a collection of spirits he is called Legion after a group of demons from the New Testament. So ya I read Spiritomb's trivia on Bulbapedia and I quite like Deildegast more. It's a Norwegian folklore spirit that is forced to haul around a boundary stone as punishment for moving one while it was alive. Cofagrigus (male) - Psusennes I I was very happy with this one, cause Cofagrigus is one of my favorite pokemon of all time. Shiny Cofagrigus are silver instead of gold, and because of the Egyptian theme I decided to call him Psusennes I after the rare pharaoh who was buried in a silver coffin not gold. Runerigus (female) - Creswellian When I saw that Yamask was getting a Galarian form and new evolution I was ecstatic. Runerigus doesn't have my intense obsession as Cofagrigus but he is still pretty damn cool. Galarian Yamask was the first shiny Pokémon I caught in Sword in fact. Anyways, with the region centered around the British isles, I picked Creswellian as a name based on a British Upper Palaeolithic culture named after the type site of Creswell Crags in Derbyshire. Trevenant (male) - Meán Fómhair You are racking your brain trying to figure it out aren't you? It's based on an Irish calendar, it's what they call September. It basically translate to "middle of harvest" Aegislash (female) - Clarent Now most people are fairly familiar with the stories of King Arthur an his fabled sword Excalibur. There is in fact another mythical sword in those stories. The sword Clarent, supposed to be a holy sword of peace used for knighting. However it was stolen by Mordred, Arthur's illegitimate child by the sister of Morgan la Fey. The sword in question was used to slay Arthur and Mordred became the usurper of the throne. Chandelure (male) - Alighieri This one is sort of lore/pun I guess based? There was something I think I read in one of Chandelure's descriptions being a light or guide to the underworld. Which made me think of part of Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy. Plus I taught it Inferno and I think it's kinda funny with his name being this and having that attack. Palossand (male) - ̶P̶o̶n̶t̶e̶f̶r̶a̶c̶t̶ I am actually not sure why I settled on this name. My regular one I called Versailles based on the palace there. I do remember struggling for quite awhile to think of a perfect name for my shiny one. It's completely black instead of it's typically sandy colour. I tried looking up black stone palaces but I couldn't find anything. Actually scratch this, I just googled and found this, Palacio de Lecumberri, in Mexico City. It was a prison now the General National Archives. It is also known as The Black Palace so it's name is now Lecumberri. Drifblim (male) - Phileas I have a friend to thank for giving me this. It's taken from Phileas Fogg, a character from Jules Verne novel Around the World in Eighty Days. The book features a hot air balloon as an integral part of the narrative, which Drifblim is loosely based on. Decidueye (male) - Locksley A bit obvious to, Decideuye's theme is based on an archer so I used Robin of Locksley aka Robin Hood for the name's inspiration. Dhelmise - Lusitania My regular one I called Bismark after the great German battleship. For the shiny I decided to go with Lusitana, one of the Titanic's sister ships which was also sunk. Hmm ironically by a German U-boat. Gourgeist (female) - Lughnasadh Yes we are dipping into the realm of the obscure again with this one. As this Pokémon is based on gourds and jack-o-lanterns it has a very autumn themed aesthetic. Lughnasadh is a Gaelic festival marking the beginning of the harvest season. Alolan Marowak (male) - Milu Alola is deeply seeped in Haiwan culture, as such their Marowak is symbolic of the style of tribal dancing twirling a bone aflame. Because of this I figured Milu, the Haiwan god of the dead, was a befitting name. Sableye (male) - ̶C̶i̶t̶r̶i̶n̶e̶ Now this one was also difficult. I feel as if I can come up with a better name but sadly I cannot. Shiny Sableye are yellow with yellow gemstones for eyes. There are very few nicely named yellow gems so I had to settle for Citrine. Oh bugger me again? Cut, forget that, I just found another one Heliodor, also known as Golden Beryl. Sigh...I am glad I am doing this it's very helpful to correct some of these Golurk - Otamatan Now some people may not realize but Golurk is loosely based on a Hebrew creature known as the Golem. No not that other mon, golem were typical large clay humanoids brought to life by a Rabbi for protection. As such I went with the Yiddish word for Automaton, which is Otamatan. Which essentially is what a golem is an automaton.

Dusclops (male) - Chinchorro Another one I struggled with until I looked up red mummy and found something. Chinchorro mummies were mummified remains of individuals from the South American Chinchorro culture, found in what is now northern Chile. Now that in and of itself would have been enough until I dug deeper. I came upon "The red mummy technique". Basically it's a different way to prepare the body. I suggest looking it up, it was fascinating. Dragapult (male) - Zhaitan My regular spectral dragon is named after Durnehviir, an undead dragon from Skyrim. In keeping with the theme I decided to use another undead dragon from another video game, this time Zhaitan, the elder dragon from Guild Wars 2 Jellicent (male and female), Johann & Milli My regular ones are called Duke and Duchess and I found something online, about one Archduke Johann Salvator of Austria. He renounced his royal titles to become a sailor. He took his bride Ludmilla Stubel also known as Milli, an opera dancer from London, out for a voyage on a ship he'd bought recently after their marriage. He sailed for South America, but sadly it is believed that his ship was lost during a storm off the coast of Cape Horn. Some even theorized he simply ran off with the missus and assumed new identities. Shednija - Maahu This is another slightly complicated one. It's named after two cicadas from the Hopi language, a people's from northern Arizona.

Just a list of all the characters and peoples I have added to the game.

1 Pop Culture

• (Actors 12) Peter Sellers, Lucille Ball, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Wahlberg, Marilyn Monroe, Taylor Lautner, Channing Tatum, Humphrey Bogart, Vincent Price, Tom Welling, Mae West, Audrey Hepburn

• Alfred Hitchcock

• (Singers/Musicians 10) Marshall Mathers (Eminem), Kurt Cobain, (The Beatles, Stg. Pepper’s version) John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, Anthony Keidis (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Adele Adkins, Dominic Harrison (YUNGBLUD), Brendon Urie

• (Comedians 4) Mel Brooks, George Carlin, Andy Samberg, Joan Rivers

• (Social Media personalities 11) Seán McLoughlin (Jacksepticeye), Antisepticeye (Jacksepticete’s evil alter ego), Markus Fischbach(Markiplier), Felix Kjellberg(Pewdiepie), Jon Jafari(Jontron), Austin Hargrave(PeanutButterGamer), Dan Avidan (GameGrumps), Arin Hanson(GameGrumps), Vinny Pizzapasta (Vinesauce), Rhett James McLaughlin and Charles Lincoln "Link" Neal III (Rhett & Link)

• (Amélie) Amélie Poulain, Nino Quincampoix

• (Beetlejuice 7) Betalgeuse, Otho Fenlock, Adam Maitland, Barbara Maitland, Lydia Deetz, Charles Deetz, Delia Deetz

• (Rocky Horror Picture Show 8) Frank N. Furter, Janet Weiss, Brad Majors, Riff Raff Magenta, Columbia, Rocky Horror, Eddie

• (Tv Characters 2) Jessica Fletcher (Murder She Wrote) Garth Algar (Wayne’s World)

• (The Good Place 6) Tahani Al-Jamil. Eleanor Shellstrop. Chidi Anagonye. Jason Mendoza. Janet. Michael

• (Bewitched 4) Samantha Stephens, Darrin Stephens, Tabitha Stephens, Endora

• (Sabrina the Teenage Witch) Sabrina Spellman, Hilda Spellman, Zelda Spellman, Salem Saberhagen(cat)

• (Will and Grace 4) Grace Adler, Will Truman, Karen Walker, Jack McFarland

• (American Horror Story 10) Zoe Benson(Coven), Queenie(Coven), Myrtle Snow(Coven), Misty Day(Coven), Madison Montgomery(Coven), Fiona Goode (Coven), Cordelia Foxx(Coven), The Countess(Hotal), James Patrick March(Hotal), Liz Taylor(Hotal)

• (Disney 11) Mulan Fa, Shang Li, Shen Yu, , Mother Gothel, Rapunzel, Aladdin, Princess Jazmine, Jafar, Aurora “Sleeping Beauty” Belle, Queen of Hearts, Moana Waialiki, Maui the Demigod, Evil Queen

• (Cinderella 5 )Lady Eleanor Tremaine, Anastasia Tremaine, Drizella Tremaine, Cinderella, Lucifer(cat)

• (Lilo and Stitch) Lilo Pelekai, Nani Pelekai, David Kawena, Stitch

• (Little Mermaid)Ursula the Sea Witch, Ariel, Prince Eric

• (How to Train Your Dragon) Astrid Hofferson, Hiccup Haddock

• (Who Framed Roger Rabbit?) Jessica Rabbit

• (Real Ghostbusters cartoon 6) Dr. Peter Venkman, Dr. Egon Spengler, Dr. Ray Stantz, Winston Zeddemore, Janine Melnitz, Slimer (human, looks fucking disgusting, trying to make him a ghost

• (Scooby Gang 5) Scooby Doo, Velma Dinkley, Daphne Blake, Fred Jones, Scaggy Rogers

• (Courage the Cowardly Dog) Muriel Bagge, Eustace Bagge, Courage(dog)

• (Gravity Falls 5) Dipper Pines, Mable Pines, Stan Pines, Ford Pines, Bill Cipher

• Johnny Bravo

• (Futurama 3), Philip J. Fry, Turanga Leela, Nibbler (some weird dog thing)

• (The Simpsons 2) Montgomery Burns, Waylon J. Smithers Jr.

• (Fables/The Wolf Among Us 9) Flycatcher, Snow White, Bigby Wolf, Bluebeard, Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Dumb, Gorgie Porgie, The Beast, Beauty

• (RWBY 9) Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, Zwei (dog), Yang Xiao Long, Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren

• (The Adam's Family) Gomez Addams, Morticia Addams

• Carman Sandiago

• Waldo Walker (Where’s Waldo)

• Dora Márquez (Dora the Explorer)

• (Comics 2) Stephen Strange/Dr. Strange, Peter Parker (Spiderman duh)

• (Batman 4) Oswald Cobblepot/Penguin, Pamela Isley/Poison Ivy, Dr. Harleen Quinzel, Detective Harvey Bollock

• (Literary characters) Peter Pan, Hercule Poirot, Nancy Drew, Hannibal Lector, Sherlock Holmes, Dr. John Watson, Mycroft Holmes, Harry Potter, Miss Marple, Peter Pan, Ron Weasley

• (Wizard of Oz) Dorothy Gale

• (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) Willy Wonka, Charlie Bucket, Mike Teavee, Veruca Salt, Violet Beauregarde, Augustus Gloop

• (Percy Jackson 9) Percy Jackson, Anabeth Chase, Grover Underwood, Jason Grace, Piper McLean, Leo Valdez, Hazel Levesque, Nico de Angelo, Frank Zhang

• (Mortal Instruments 4) Jace Wayland, Clary Fray, Isabelle Lightwood, Alec Lightwood, Magnus Bane

• (Twilight, The Cullen’s 8) Bella Swan, Edward Cullen, Carlisle Cullen, Esme Cullen, Alice Cullen, Emmett Cullen, Rosalie Hale, Jasper Hale

• (Twilight, Wolf Pack 9) Quil Ateara, Sam Uley, Paul Lahote, Jared Cameron, Embry Call, Seth Clearwater, Brady Fuller, Collin Littlesea

• (Anime/Manga 10) Sebastian Michaelis(Black Butler), Rin Matsuoka(Free!), Son Goku, Chi-Chi (Dragonball Z), Asami Sato(Legend of Korra)

• (Pokemon) Team Rocket Jessie, Team Rocket James, Meowth

• (Ghibli 5) Yubaba(Spirited Away), Howl Pendragon, Sophie Hatter, Markl Fisher, Hin (dog) (Howl's Moving Castle)

• (Ouran High School Host Club 6) Tamaki Suoh, Kyoya Ootori, Mitsukuni Haninozuka, Takashi Morinozuka, Hikaru & Kaoru Hitachiin

(Created by Me) 1.2

• (The Birdcage 7) Armand "Coleman", Alberta "Coleman", Val "Coleman", Sen. Kevin Keeley, Lousie Keeley, Barbara Keeley, Agador Spartacus

• Capt. Ashe Needle(Capt. Hook inspired character influenced by the story in which Peter Pan becomes Capt. Hook)

• (Picture of Dorian Gray 4) Dorian Gray, Basil Hallward, Lord Henry Wotton, Sibyl Vane

2 History 58

• (Ancient History 9) Marcus Antonius, Cleopatra Philopator, Rodrigo Borgia, Cesare Borgia, Lucrezia Borgia, Marie Antoinette, Louis XVI of France, Julius Caesar, Anne Boleyn, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle

• (Modern History) Mahatma Ghandi, Virgil, Morgan and Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday, Vladimir Lenin, Karl Marx, Ernesto "Che" Guevara, Dalai Lama

• (History’s Monsters 9) Jack the Ripper, Genghis Khan, Joseph Stalin, Kim Jong Un, Bonnie Parker, Clyde Barrows, Edward Thatch(Blackbeard), Calico Jack, Mao Zedong

• (Occultists) Aleister Crowley(I created), Anton LaVey, Grigori Rasputin(I created)

• (Scientists 4) Albert Einstein, Nikola Tesla, Marie Curie, Neil DeGrass Tyson

• (Drag politician version) Vanna Putinova (Valdimar Putin), Brandy Omama (Barack Obama), Donella Trumple (Donald Trump)

• (The Kennedy's 7) John F. Kennedy, Jackie Kennedy, Caroline Kennedy, John Fitzgerald Kennedy Jr., Pushinka(dog), Shannon(dog), Charlie(dog)

• (Composers 8) Johann Bach, Wolfgang Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Robert Schumann, Hector Berlioz, Franz Liszt, Igor Stravinsky, Peter Tchaikovsky (ghost)

• (Writers) Jules Vern, Edgar Allan Poe, H.P. Lovecraft, Oscar Wilde, Dante Alighieri

• (Artists)Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí, Leonardo Da Vinci, Andy Warhol

2.1 (Created by me)

• (modernized version of Robin Hood and his Merry Men 6), Robby Hood, Johnny Little, Fry Tucker, Al Anadale, Willy Scarlock, Miller Muchen

• Marie Laveau

• Nicolas Flamel

3 Mythology 29

• (Asian 4) Izanami, Sunsano-o, Amaterasu, Buddha

• (Greek 14) Zues, Hera, Hecate, Pan, Hades(Disney version), Pain (dog), Panic (cat), Ares, Poseidon, Athena, Apollo, Aphrodite, Artemis, Persephone, Pandora

• (Egyptian Gods 8) Thoth, Set, Osiris, Isis, Anubis (dog), Horus, Bastet (cat), Neith

• Jesus Chris

• (Arthurian 3) Arthur Pendragon, Merlin Ambrosius, Lancelot du Lac

• La Calavera Catrina

3.1 (Created by me)

• Loki

• Baba Yaga

• Witch of Endor

• (American Gods) Mr. Ibis/Thoth, Mr. Jacquel/Anubis (American Gods)

• (7 Princes of Hell) Lucifer Superbia, Beelzebub Gula, Satan Ira, Leviathan Invidia, Mammon Avaritia, Belphegor Tristitia, Asmodeus Luxuria

4 Video Games 62

• (Stardew Valley) Sam , Alex

• (Undertale 7) Frisk, Chara, Asgore Dreemur, Asriel Dreemur, Toriel Dreemur

• (Bioshock Infinite) Elizabeth DeWitt

• (Okami) Amaterasu

• (DMC/Devil May Cry) Dante Sparda, Vergil Sparda

• (Final Fantasy 7) Cloud Strife

• (Final Fantasy 8) Squall Leonhart

• (Street Fighter) Ryu

• (Alice: Madness Returns) Alice Liddell, Lizzie Liddell(Red Queen) Cheshire Cat

• (Sonic) Dr. Ivo Robotnik

• (Dream Daddy 10) Damien Bloodmarch & Lucien Bloodmarch(son), Craig Cahn, Brian Harding & Daisy Harding(daughter), Mat Sella & Carmensita Sella(Daughter), Hugo Vega & Ernest Vega(Son)

• (Legend of Zelda) Zant, Ghirahim, Ganondorf

• (Mario 3) Princess Rosalina, Princess Peach, Princess Daisy

• (Assassin’s Creed 5) Jacob and Evie Frye, Edward Kenway, Desmond Miles, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, Arno Dorian, Ezio Auditore

4.1 (Created By Me)

• (Bioshock) Sander Cohen, Kyle Fitzpatrick

• (Fatal Fury 3) Terry Bogard, Rock Howard, Joe Higashi

• (Dream Daddy 11) Joseph Christiansen, Mary Christiansen(wife), Christian Christiansen(son), Christie Christiansen(daughter), Chris Christiansen(son) Crish(son), Robert Small & Val Small(daughter), Briar Cahn (Craig’s daughter), Hazel Cahn (Craig’s daughter), River Cahn (Craig’s daughter)

• (The Sims Franchise 5) Oliver Specter (Sims 2, "Nervous Subject"), Olive Specter (Sims 2), Grim Reaper(my version, just a generic sim), Vaughn Braun (Sims Bustin' Out), Makino Nada (Sims Bustin' Out)

• (Evil Genius)Alexis, Maximilian, Shen Yu

5. Generic Hot Guys

3 I think

6 Created by me

17

7 Random

11

1. The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde.

What can I say about this ink and paper treasure. It is a classic, tried and true. It changed my life duckies, I kid you not. Of course everyone should know, hopefully, the basic premise. It has to do with a young beautiful man, whose portrait is being painted by an enamored artist. Of course, the painting is beyond gorgeous and then the youth has his mind corrupted by the artist's friend, an unscrupulous lord. The youth becomes vain, paranoid, he shall age and wither, but his picture will remain young and beautiful. It drives him mad, and he curses the painting to age instead of himself. The piece really deals with vanity and sin and how easily one of utter perfection can be altered and given to evil...to be beautiful on the outside but hideous on the inside. But make sure you read the 1880 version not the 1881. People caught on quick to the little hints and homosexual "slights" in this tome. So they butchered the hell outta it and removed all the juicy bits. So make damn sure you get the right edition, otherwise what's the flaming point?

2. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, by John Berendt

This one might be a hard read to swallow, but its mostly based on true events. It's of a crime that took place in the distance lands of...Savannah, Georgia of the United States of blah blah blah. I don't want to give away to much, I feel that would take away from the surprise. The book has many interlocking parts, lots of characters, lots of side stuff going on, but it's all important, trust me. Also I am sure you will find at least one if not 3 characters you enjoy the most.

3. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury

Again another classic, what a horrible dystopian world but sadly a world I think we are coming to, soon, very soon. It is hard to say anything about this that hasn't already be said so just read the damn book and enjoy it huh?

4. Camp Half-Blood chronicles/Kane Chronicles/Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard by Rick Riordan

Now ooh boy this one is gunna be a long one... We'll start in order I guess, in total there are...let's see..13 then 3 then so far it's at 3 working on a 4 at least 19 or more books here. So ok it all starts off with the Percy Jackson series that's what kicks this whole massive franchise/series off. Percy Jackson is a young boy, who finds out he has a Greek god as a father. Turns out as well that all the Greek myths and legends are real and if I had to aliken it to anything it would be like...American version Harry Potter but with Demi-gods instead of wizards. So it's young adult fiction but here's the kicker, the way this series is written, well they are written like a Greek tragedy or play. There is love, action, humour, it plays out like a fantastical Greek epic poem, fanciful places and enthralling characters. Ya it's told from the perspective of a young teenager but it doesn't make it bad in fact it kind of makes it more...what's the word, not relatable but more accessible. These are just kids, dealing with monsters and death, lose, it's just amazing. The Kane Chronicles was Riordan's leap into similar ideas as Percy Jackson but instead of Egyptian gods taking center stage and as you may have guess, Magnus deals with Norse gods. Also Riordan's worlds...well they are all connected. All these characters can, or have interacted with each other. The universe is massive with lots of interlocking parts. If someone told me I could only ever read one author or book series again I would likely pick this. With so many books I don't think it would ever get old. Not to mention there is countless short side stories he's written, company books as well as a few of his books now have graphic novel forms and he even wrote about the classical Greek heroes from the perspective of Percy Jackson, so semi-modernized versions of ancient Greek heroes an it was very well done.

5. Alice's Adventure's in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carrol

Shocked as you might be to find the inspiration to my whole mad persona so far from top billing but there is a reason. Despite the beauty and chaotic wonder of the books by the good Reverend Dodgeson at there heart they are just really good children's books. They opened the door for me to read other things and expand my horizons.

6. Death: A Life, by George Pendle

I have to say this is by far one of the most humorous books I have ever read. It is basically a memoir of the grim reaper's "life". It is not for the faint of heart though. As it is a very satirical book, well pretty much nothing is sacred, from religion, history, pretty much everything is a joke but it is done I feel in a very, I dunno it's hard to describe. All I know is it one the few books that actually made me laugh out loud for real.

7. Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon

This next one is a bit of a curiosity in and of itself. It is supposed to be narrated, hence written by a 15 year old boy with severe psychological disorders. It again is difficult to put into words the intricacies of this book. It opens to the murder of a neighborhood dog with a pitchfork. The boy seeks to find out who did it. It well I can tell you this much, out of all the books on my list, I honestly think this one might be the most beautiful. In a tragic way, but tragedy is almost always beautiful...

8. Inkheart Trilogy, by Cornelia Funke

This one would be classified as young adult fiction. But it is such a unique and lovely premise. For those of you who may have seen the movie. Ignore it, it was crap. The book has to do with a man who, whenever he reads out load from a book, parts of the book will come out, but something will go into the book. I mean books like this are often back shelved when it comes to more popular young fiction, Harry Potter, Narnia etc. But these books that are lesser known have tremendous merit. It is wonderfully written and the characters are engrossing and the plot is easy to follow. The pace is a bit to quick at times, its like BOOM something happens. Still, a great read, something good to get young kids into the joys of reading.

9. Good Omens, by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

For those of you who recognize the name, Neil Gaiman is the author of many serious and books, from Caroline, to the Sandman graphic novels. I have always been a fan of his work and Good Omens did not disappoint. It is a parody of sorts, of the horror movie, The Omen. It is witty and funny. A true gem for any library.

10. Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

It has been many years since I read this book but it still remains a great book. Tragic story of a girl who was killed and her journey through her own personal heaven as well as following the lives of her family and killer as time goes on. It truly is an amazing story. So palpable, the pain the family feels, the fear the killer fears and all the emotions this poor girl is going through. So touching. The movie wasn't half bad but lacked the magic and passion of the book.

11. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, by Patrick Suskind

Quite the well written book. It has to do with a man who has a superhuman sense of smell and what he will do to capture a perfect scent...even if it means doing the unspeakable. The ending was a bit shit, the movie was surprisingly good I must admit. Pity about the shitty ending but I shall let you judge for yourself. The words woven up to and just before the ending are indelible but the ending left like the author just gave and was like, "well fuck it I dunno what to write" then downed a bottle of absinthe and hastily scrawled the conclusion on a soiled cocktail napkin...

12. Geisha: The Secret History of a Vanishing World Paperback by Lesley Downer

Now I was all for memoirs of a Geisha, the movie looked great, and I liked the whole world and genre of Geisha. Problem was I read this book first...and this book takes Memories and beats it bloody within an each of it's life, like a disobedient concubine. I tried to read Memoirs I really did but everything about it bored the fuck outta me. Geisha: The Secret History of a Vanishing World is a comprehensive analyze of the art, style and story of Geisha. What it was, how it started, how it progressed through Japanese history, even little bits about general Japanese history. All told from the perspective of Lesley Downer who went around learning all these things, gathering all the histories and stories behind it. You learn so much about them, that it opens your mind to the realities they faced and how despite best efforts its an art that is slowly but surely dying...It's tragic really, once you start reading, you're invested in it. You become apart of they're journey, all the while learning how it's not long for this world. It's like going on a walk with a friend who has a terminal disease. You're with them, enjoying the breeze, taking in the sights, partaking in jovial conversation...all the while knowing soon they won't walk this path with you again. If you are even remotely interested in Japanese culture, it's a great book to pick up. Even if you're not interested, pick it up anyways, I guarantee you will be by the end of it.

13. The Mind Parasites by Colin Wilson

Wiki classifies it as "a science fiction horror novel" ya I guess I can see how they'd come to that conclusion but I think it's far to vague and narrow to simply call it that. There is something quite remarkable about this book. My aunt gave me a copy, tattered, beat up, falling apart and worn out. I loved it. It's hard to really go to much into the plot without giving away to much of the story but basically it has to do with aliens...to a degree. It's a good book, made me think a lot. My only real gripe about it would be the ending. Again seemed tacked on and was like...ok I was more then willing to go on this crazy adventure with you but honestly you're really asking me to suspend my disbelief to a level I don't think is possible. Another downside in my mind was Wilson's excessive use of metaphor and similes. I mean like fuck, it got to the point after every line of him describing something, he was describing something else similar. It almost got insulting after awhile, it was like fuck do I get it, this like that, I made the fucking connection myself without you having to spell it out to my like a brain dead child CHRIST! But besides that it was an overwhelming good book, a little like if H.P. Lovecraft and H.G. Wells had a baby. This book would be their baby.

14. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua

Now before I get started, I am not gunna criticizes anyone’s idea on how to raise your children. Everyone is different and in truth nobody will agree. Granted I personally wouldn’t raise my children this way(if I had any) but if it works it works...and sometimes it does. This book is all about the story of Amy Chua, starting a family, raising her daughters, and all the perils of being a mother, and being Chinese. It's an interesting look into a realm most people don't know about. Tiger Mothers. Most have heard of helicopter parents well, tiger mother's beat those bitches senseless. Strict is putting it mildly. It's interesting because things change, and sometimes, shit doesn't work out how you want it too. This is something Amy Chua realizes. Overall the book has a semi-humorous tone, but it can be very serious at times. It's a very intimate look into a woman's family, all the wrongs and rights. It was very eye opening, and happily was never dull. I highly suggest you pick up a copy.

15. The Year of Living Biblically by AJ Jacobs This book is by far a comedic one. But it does however go into a lot of interesting areas of Christianity. The book is about a Jewish man (AJ Jacobs) living his life strictly to the code of the bible, or as strict as he can. It's written humorously because of some of the things that happen when you try and do what the Author is doing, you soon learn though how in depth and crazy parts of religion can be. Even if you don't like Christianity, it is interesting to read this from a fairly unbias perspective.

16. I Wear the Black Hat: Grappling With Villains by Chuck Klosterman

This book was interesting on a number of levels, it's description and view of what makes a villain an villain. As well as the idea that people who are villains might not be all bad. I found it interesting because I have always been obsessed with the idea of villainy.

17. Worst. Person. Ever. by Douglas Coupland

I know what you're thinking, "Alex? Someone wrote a book about you?" Ha ha ha fuck you and no. Again it another comedy but a much darker one then Death: A Life. Not by a much greater degree though. But something about this book was just so charming and ya it made me laugh. It literally is about a man who is a walking pile of garbage. Well not literally, metaphorically...basically the guy is a bastard and lots of crazy shit happens to him and he continues to be a piece of shit. As I've said, I found it charming and hilarious, the style of humour is distinctly British.

18. Diary of a Mad Diva by Joan Rivers

This book more then ever is the most important. It helps you understand the life of Joan Rivers, the things she has to do, her family life, her career. A little disclaimer. You have to have a strong stomach, and impressive will to read this. Joan never pulled punches and this book doesn't either. If you are easily offended or even offended at all, please do not read this book. However if you can manage to make light out of the most atrocious of jokes, please feel free to read. I know this one might not be for everyone, but most people who like her, will love this book.

19. Curtains: Adventures of an Undertaker-In-Training Book by Tom Jokinen

A rare find, largely because it relates to Canada and our...well our anything media, from books, to tv, to movie all of it is awful. Anyways we all die, we all have questions. What happens to my body, where do I go after death, as well as other metaphysical questions. This book answers the more physical questions as well gives a glimpse into the relatively hidden world of the funereal parlor, it's struggle with new-age burials, how the family run mom-an-pop homes are being taken over by big business. It's overwhelmingly good.

20. Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family by H.P. Lovecraft

I know I know, "Alex", you are likely saying, "As a ardent fan of Lovecraft, surely you suggesting you read the Call Of Cthulhu, are you not?". No in fact I am not. The Call of Cthulhu I feel is a story only a set number of people can truly appreciate and absorb. Lovecraft isn't for everyone and nor he should be. Pandering to your basis fears, pedantic and predictable. No No, Lovecraft terrifies on a more ephemeral, lurking into the deepest recesses of your mind. But talking about the book at hand or short story, this one within the first few paragraphs it hooks you, gives you a reason to dig deeper, find out, why and how or what. It gives you questions, so many questions but withholds the answers for you. I won't spoil the story, it's one of those things you should experience first hand. Just remember though, madness and insanity can something beheld in a small wooden box.

I am something of a virtual train spotter. Any appearance of a train in video game instantly enthralls me. It could be in any capacity as well. It could be a destroyed, ruined train used as a set piece, or an actually functional locomotive that appears in a section of the map or part of the game, appearing at fixed intervals maybe providing some kind of hazard. It could even be something of a focal point in that particular part of the game as an enemy, boss, mission or actual feature like for transportation. Whatever it’s role or reason I fucking love it. As such I am going to list my known instances of this within the context of the games I know myself or have played. So if the game features a train but I have not played it it won’t be listed. Like I know they feature in Red Dead Redemption 2 and there is even a ghost train which moistens my panties to no end but it is excluded from the proper list as I have yet to play that game. And legitimately the only reason I would want to play it is for just that part alone. The list is in no particular order by any means. Again it’s primary for me. Things to look forward to in a game or reason to replay it or whatever. Also I am not including games where the whole thing is nothing but trains, so that’s all of those simulators out. The reason this is like trainspotting sometimes you have to wait for awhile before you see one. You don’t train spot at a train yard as it’s kind of redundant they are going to be plentiful. It’s more exciting to either not expect it or have it happen for an instance. Anyways onto the list. Oh and they are in not particular order. I will likely as well continue to add to the list when new virtual trains have been spotted. I think 20 to start off with is good.

#1, Borderlands 2. https://youtu.be/6t-rNDADwGQ

There are quite a few places that trains feature in the game. The opening cutscene of the game has a gun fight inside a moving train. The map Tundra Express contains a fast moving train that appears on a section of track. But it moves too fast to really appreciate it unfortunately. On I believe on the same map there are 2 missions that take place which revolve around a train. A Train to Catch and The Pretty Good Train Robbery both of which involve hijacking and or derailing a train, first one is hijack/derail and the second is just hijack/rob. And there is a map Lynchwood in which you start off at a train station and a train will periodically come through the station/town. It moves much slower so you can better appreciate it. That train from Lynchwood is what’s featured in the video I have linked.

#2, Assassin’s Creed Unity. https://youtu.be/Y7UITNeE9vE

I know I know, the featuring of trains is much more heavy in Syndicate but that’s because it makes sense given the age and location the game is set but for me the inclusion of a train in Unity really threw me for a loop. The part in question is set in a different time period then the game, you know Animus fuckery. It’s centered around escaping to the Paris Underground. I should say what mission it is so people know what to look for. It’s the Fin De Siecle mission. It was a story mission but it’s repayable. I would replay it whenever I was jonesing for some virtual train spotting. There is a section of this in particular where you are up in the rafters above the tracks and I swear every like 30 seconds a train rumbles by beneath you. I would literally sit for ages and just watch the old trains thunder below in both directions. Sure you don’t get to see their full majesty but with the amount of times you get to see the trains it’s worth it. You can also hang down and get a better view. You of course have to be mindful of where to hang as to not be splattered upon the train’s windscreen.

#3, Assassin’s Creed Syndicate https://youtu.be/4vOFw-1X860

Well obviously I was going to be including this one. Trains feature so heavily in the game it would be foolish not to include it. Where to even begin. You can loot enemy trains, your main base itself is a train, several sections of the city you can hop on random NPC trains and hang out in the cars, most of which you can go into. I mean largely the reason I loved it was obviously the trains. And of course there is a mission where you get to derail a train which yes I love them but I find train derailments wholly exciting and spectacular. Virtual ones of course, real ones are a tragic loss of human life...and the train dies too. Featured in the video provided is the mission where you derail the train, while fighting off dudes astride it. Oh I forget you can also detach train cars from the NPC trains which is hilarious, especially if it was a passenger train because then the poor bastards are just left there as the train drives off.

#4, DMC https://youtu.be/qSQRx1gveFE

During one of the missions to get to and kill a Bill O'Reilly style demon you travel though a demonic upside-down version of the city. At one point the world tries to stop you by causing a train to derail and fly at you. It’s very cool but I digress, you then have a mission to retrieve an eye for another demon from some harpies, so he can help you get your quarry. You follow them to their lair and you go “underground” to get there. You are then meet by demonic trains that are trying to run you over, and you fight in an area where a demonic trains rumble back and forth creating a hazard for both you and the enemies. I know I am describing all this but you could just what the video. Anyways this section with the demonic trains invokes in me a memory of an old Real Ghostbusters episode I used to watch as a kid called Knock Knock, basic premise is subway construction works piss off an evil talking door which should not be opened until doomsday, the end of the world. Which of course the door opens and starts spreading a kind of corruption through the subway system, turning subway trains into monstrous worms and releasing hundreds of ghosts. It was an episode I watched hundreds of times as well. This part of the game reminds me of that. However I digress again. I have provided a video to see the location I am referring to. In the arena where you fight I would try and extend the fight for as long as I could just to see the trains thunder past. If there is one thing I love more then trains...it’s demon trains.

#5 Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime https://youtu.be/XhmR7VCWHBI

Very similar to the previous entry it features a ghostly/demonic train. This one however is more actively an enemy or boss instead of environmental hazard. It’s the Subway Smasher. The comparison to the previous Real Ghostbuster episode is even more pronounced as this is the same franchise now. The Subway Smasher moves like a cobra, breathes fire, smashes its head and spits out ghosts. It’s so fucking cool. The game would be otherwise very forgettable to me if it wasn’t in fact for this boss. The game’s not terrible so much as it’s not memorable. And I dunno why but even on my big TV the text in the little cut-scene comics was horribly small.

#6 Ghostbusters (2016) https://youtu.be/hvIEQgZPsZs (If you watch the video I would suggest muting it. The guy doing the let’s play is fucking atrocious.) An ongoing theme it seems but unlike Sanctum of Slime that was fairly entertaining at times but did suffer a few faults, the Ghostbusters 2016 game suffered from numerous faults and was even less memorable. The design was kinda ok I guess, maybe a 6 maybe a 5 and the gameplay was kinda plain, story was meh. Anyways we’re not here to slander a mostly poor game. We are here to talk about why it gets an inclusion on this list. This falls into more of a set piece or scenery then anything. One of the levels of the game or hub levels is the 13th Street Station. Set underground in the sewers and connecting subway tunnels, which now that that I am thinking about it I don’t believe sewers or subways connect at all but I maybe wrong. It features lots of tracks and subway cars but not ones I’m familiar with. I think they are suppose to be like industrial construction worker trains maybe? It enthralls me because some of them are on their side or crashed, so it feeds my ruination addiction. Anyways it’s only here for that reason. Again piss poor game but that part did excite me a bit.

#7 Cuphead https://youtu.be/Ja3Vjqhhs4Q

If you’ve noticed there is a bit of a common theme starting and that’s ghosts and trains. They are my fucking bread and butter man. The only way to make a train perfect is to make it a ghost as well. This brings me to the ghost train is a boss from Cuphead, the Phantom Express. You start off on a handcart fighting spooks in the caboose of the train. It's a big blue ghost monster that shoots eyeballs out of the palms of it’s hand. Next you move up the back middle part which a giant skeleton pops up. His head popping out through the roof of the train carriages and his hands smash through the tops of the carriage on either side of the head. Moving up next you fight to twin lollipop looking ghosts that vomit lightning at you. After defeating that you move up and see the spectral engine itself. You ride past it on your handcart. Oh the noise it makes when you first see it is titillating. So far you’ve battle the “passengers” the train but now you have to fight the locomotive itself. After you’ve ride past it, it chases you on spindly legs shooting flaming bone hoops out of it’s nose. You know, it’s awful familiar...it almost reminds me of...

#7, Final Fantasy VI https://youtu.be/4Z3c1PSgvJ4

You really think I wouldn’t add one of the greatest Final Fantasy boss fights to have ever graced a screen? DUDES, you’re fighting against a the gawd damn train itself! The train you were just riding. That’s spectacular! According to my research the Phantom Train has made several appearances across multiple games. And of course the obvious meme’s about Sabin suplexing the train

#8 Alice: Madness Returns

https://youtu.be/EQStQ2Gb-84 (Skip to 15:00 to see the train, it also appears several times during the course of the game.)

This is the Infernal Train, a horrendous mass of what appear to be Gothic cathedrals strung together. This is the train that Alice finds upon returning to her Wonderland. As it charges through the world, twisting and warping the landscapes, creating hellfire, destruction and caustic black tar wherever it goes. But what caused this train to appear? Who is it’s driver? What is it’s purpose other then to bring ruination. Seeing as the game has been out for I think a decade now I feel no qualms about spoiling it. The driver is none other then Alice...in a manner of speaking. This trains true controller, however is none other then Dr. Angus Bumby, Alice’s own therapist. Turns out Dr. Bumby had a side business as a pimp for child prostitutes. He wiped their memories, made them obedient, all so he could turn a sick and malign profit. In Alice’s own mind Bumby is transformed into a hideous monster known as The Dollmaker. Alice in turn fights him in her Wonderland while simultaneously confronting Bumby in the London Underground. Because not only is Bumby a wanton pimp of children, he raped Alice’s sister Lizzie and tried to cover up his crimes he set fire to Alice’s house which killed her parents and sister. That set off the events that drove Alice mad in the first place which we see in the first game American Mcgee's Alice. Dr. Bumby has much to pay for and in turn justice is served for Alice regained her lost memories, defeated the Dollmaker and pushes Dr. Bumby in front of a passing train. Victorious with all her enemies defeated, the Infernal Train stopped in it’s tracks and now Alice and her Wonderland can now heal. As a side not throughout the game you hear mention of and seem remnants of the old Looking Glass Line from Wonderland’s past. At one point near the beginning of the game you come across and old station with the dilapidated ruins of train from the old railroad. When you finally meet Mock Turtle, he laments about being made obsolete from his old job as conductor on the Looking Glass Line. He further bemoans the new train and how horrible it its. Gratefully now the Admiral Mock Turtle has he has a spiffy new ship, which sadly to is wrecked.

#9 Grand Theft Auto 5 https://youtu.be/jCfTFVqaKQo

Just a meager entry. There are trains in GTA 5, you can board them, ride them, there are subway trains as well you can watch. There is a mod I know of in which you can actually hijack the train and drive it yourself. Also a mod for derailing it but the game doesn’t do these things naturally.

#10 Command & Conquer: Generals https://youtu.be/llqR9kFlBgc (Skip to 25:00 in to see the train)

Again not a major focal point be any means but in at least one mission it revolves around stopping a train route from continually supplying terrorists. It involves destroying a bridge. So wanton destruction I am all about. You play as the Chinese in the mission(it’s in their campaign) fighting against the GLA, Global Liberation Army...It’s the Taliban, or Al-Qaeda or whatever non-specific (likely Muslim) generic middle eastern terrorist organization. I always played as them because I have an affinity for playing as “The Bad Guys”. The mission itself is Dead in Their Tracks. The is another mission in the Chinese campaign that has a train periodically drop off infantry for you. Anyways trains for the most part, are a set piece in some maps and in some missions. Mostly they are environmental hazards, any units in the way will be instantly destroyed. You an destroy the train cars rather easily but the train engine is significantly harder to destroy for whatever reason.

#11 Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door https://youtu.be/DnspqhQ99G8 (Skip to 4:30 to see train)

A sidebar if I may. Paper Mario:TTYD was a magnificent game. It shook up the formula of the first Paper Mario, which was a classic and completely revolutionized the genre of a Mario RPGs. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars can suck my left nut. Anyways that aside from that lets get on with it. I am focusing primarily on Chapter 6 which is called 3 Days of Excess. This chapter involves taking a train trip to a posh place called uh Poshley Heights...to pick up one of the Crystal stars. The majority of the chapter happens aboard the train until a brief interlude at a station to refuel but you get stuck at. Again I am not going to go into to much detail. What stands out and sets it apart from other chapters is that the overarching theme of an Agatha Christie style mystery novel revolving around several mysteries that happen aboard the train during it's journey. Items go missing, there is a thief aboard, a ghost, a famous actor and a detective(he’s a penguin). Many interesting characters and things happen aboard on this luxury train which is called the Excess Express. Mario has to see things set right, find the missing or stolen items, locate the culprit and solve the mystery. Little does he know he picked up an unlikely stowaway while at the station along the route and it only makes itself known at the end of train sequence when a giant smog like monster tries to hijack the train and kidnaps all the passengers. Mario himself(and partner) fight the monster, Smorg, astride the trains locomotive. It’s all fantastically wonderful.

#12 Star Fox 64 https://youtu.be/l6SPcSLKcTg

In the good old days of the Nintendo 64 we had several great games. One of the best was Star Fox 64. You could take different routes to different planets for missions. Mission 5 was The Forever Train. In the mission you follow a long train carrying military supplies headed for a base. Your objective is to destroy the train by blowing up it’s cars in your Landmaster vehicle. At the end if you have destroyed enough you are faced with fighting off Macbeth in a flying attack ship that is tethered to the train’s engine. You can shoot it but your real way to win is to flip a rail switch and have the train speed headlong into a base destroying both it and Macbeth. I loved this mission as a kid because the train was gigantic.

#13 Metal Slug 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOficp3p19c

This time the train itself is the level on which you travel, fighting off soldiers and other military vehicles. I loved the Metal Slug games but this mission was my favorite. It’s Mission 3. At the end of the level you fight a large spider-like machine that straddles the train. Oh and you also fight it in a plane, so that’s neat.

#14 GoldenEye 007 N64 https://youtu.be/uFSS6cRf3V0

Another timeless classic with title. The 6th mission is set on board a train which 007 has to fight his way through. So this is more about the train as the level. Sadly you don’t get to see much of it being onboard but still it bares inclusion. It also blows up at the end. The remake, GoldenEye 007 Reloaded took a slightly different approach to the whole train mission, having it take place mostly in construction sight but near the end inside a derailed train. It was s’ok.

#15 The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks Demon Train

It’s pretty hard to talk about trains in video games without mentioning this. While it’s obviously a very central theme to the game itself and it’s your primary source of transportation. I did love parts...of Spirit Tracks. I must confess I never completed the game, because a ridiculous game mechanic that halted my progress and I just gave up. But anyways. For some reason in this incarnation of Zelda, Hyrule is all train happy and I mean the reason for the trains was extremely weak sauce. It was just Zelda with trains, deal with it. It’s kinda hard to describe the plot overall is kind of all over the place. It was all rather incomprehensible to me even by Zelda game standards. Still it was cathartic to drive your little train around the map, collecting passengers or cargo. Unlocking or finding new train cars was also fun but something of a unnecessary grind. You were limited to I think 5 cars I believe and only one of each but still it was enjoyable...partially. There was also a big scary fuck-off Demon Train that was the principle main villain, so yeah that was neat.

#16, Mario Kart 64 https://youtu.be/tfnkZIseGsM

Again more classics with this. I remember playing it for hours by myself trying to get better to beat my brothers. There is one course called Kalimari Desert which features a old steam engine that goes around the map providing a hazard. I used to play this map just to see the train. A brief entry, just a simple map hazard in the form of a circling train.

#16 Final Fantasy VII https://youtu.be/B3JZ20t_OiE

It has a train graveyard in one part, honestly it’s been so many years since I played I forget. I suppose it does need a spot on the list. The music is very eerie in this place which is also another bonus. But I played this, it features trains IT’S GOING ON THE LIST.

#17 A Hat In Time https://youtu.be/u_yRmVBgDSw (VIDEO SPOILERS in case you are planning on playing the game)

Despite not having finished it I did play it so it goes on my list. A Hat In Time is a very curious game. It plays like one of those early mascot platformers, like your Spyros or you Banjos. It was a fun game but my depression keeps me from truly falling in love with all games it seems now. Well there some DLC called Nyakuza Metro which opens a new hub world inhabited by cats. It’s got a modern Japanese feel to the whole city, several tall buildings and a fucking assload of neon signs. It’s also teeming with crime and literally everyone is a “cat burglar”. It’s suppose to be somewhat subversive I guess. Anyways, you end up having to work for the head boss cat lady and you know do missions and shit around the city. It was pretty good actually I really should make an effort to finish it. I’d say I spent most of my time there after I got it, it was just such a interesting place. It can be a bit of an ass to get around, lots of verticality to the map. One of the primary features of this city is it’s massive subway network. But here’s the kicker, the trains are pulled by elephantine cats. Oh it’s fucking amazing is what it is. You can ride on top of the trains, traverse the city and get to other locations used them. It’s brilliant I tell you, BRILLIANT.

#18 Borderlands 3 https://youtu.be/E6poiuiKERs

And we have the Borderlands franchise appearing again, this time with the newest installment. As this game is still very new so I won’t give any plot details. There is a map section on the planet Promethea called Neon Arterial and part of that map there is the Green Diamond Platform where a train will rocket through very often but I think it comes more often when there are baddies around because it acts as an environmental hazard. I do believe it will appear just not as frequently as it does when there are enemies. Trying to rack my brain if there is any other instances of trains in that game but I can’t think of one other then that part. (UPDATE 6/15/21) A train features as part of the Bounty of Blood DLC but I will say no more then that about it as the DLC maybe a year old but who knows there maybe some people who haven't played it. Lord knows I didn't play the last 3 DLC's until this year.

#19 Stardew Valley https://youtu.be/uHr5KyrlA_g

I completely forgot there are trains in this game. Every so often, a train will pass through the Valley. If you get to the part of the map it passes through fast enough you can see it. Some of the cars drop items, like stone or wood. There is even a special train that will appear in the winter, as seen in the video. Sadly it’s not the best for trainspotting because it happens rarely and randomly. However it deserves a spot for at least completion sake.

#20 Lego DC Super-Villains https://youtu.be/mvD_WHtgHr4 (CONTAINS SPOILERS also skip to 12:25 for the train)

So I know the game is a few years ago so it’s not new but still I shall try and minimize the spoilers. So there is a monorail that runs between Gotham and Metropolis I think you can ride on it, or at least get on top of it, I haven’t played around with it much. There is also a chase and fight on top of a moving train. So that’s about it. To see it watch the video, maybe mute it if you don’t want it spoiled for you. #21 Sonic Heroes https://youtu.be/emBGzL4eRJw I also forgot about this until just now (7/14/21) at time of writing but there is a level in the this game called Rail Canyon which features a strong presence of trains. Each team in the game has to go through this stage with varying changes I believe. The video attached is Team Sonic's run through it. It doesn't make for the best train-spotting however because of the intended fast pace of the game you don't get to fully appreciate them. #22 Sonic Adventure 2 https://youtu.be/VDh4UmTxS7A

(go to about 4:00 for a clear close up look at the trains) I was reminded of this when doing the previous entry. There is a minor presence of a train in on of the levels in the game. The level is Pumpkin Hill which I think is a strictly Knuckles level but maybe Rouge to. Your objective is to collect pieces of the master emerald. The whole aesthetic of the level is a kind of halloween/horror theme, with large stone jack-o-lantern topped mountains off in the distance, lots of ghosts and other creepy things. It was one of my favorite levels. In various areas of the level small ghostly trains are found, that function as level hazards if you are hit by them.

Just for cataloging purposes. A list of Ghost Pokémon or Gravebabies I have, need, ordered, or don't exist...yet. That is all.

Have (62)

1. Gastly,

2. Haunter,

3. Gengar,

4. G-max Gengar,

5. Duskull,

6. Dusclops,

7. Dusknoir,

8. Sandygast,

9/10 Golett x 2

11/12 Golurk x 2

13. Litwick,

14. Lampant,

15. Chandelure,

16. Decidueye,

17. Mimikyu,

18. Yamask x2,

19/21 Cofagrigus x3,

22. Drifloon,

23. Drifblim,

24 Shuppet,

25. Banette,

26. Froslass,

27/32 Rotom, (Heat, Wash, Mow, Frost, Fan form),

33. Pumpkaboo,

34. Dragapult,

35/36 Spiritomb x2(1 official and one Old Keystone custom plush), 37/40 Frillish x4 (both genders)

41/44 Jellicent x3 (2 males one female),

45. Marowak (Alola Form),

46. Misdreavus,

47. Mismagius,

48. Dreepy,

49 Shedinja,

50. Corsola(Galar form),

51. Zorua(Hisua Form),

52. Zoroark (Hisui Form),

53 Oricorio (Sensu Style),

54. Basculegion (Male),

55. Polteageist,

56. Marshadow,

57. Hoopa(Bound),

58. Hoopa (Unbound),

59. Lunala,

60/61 Giratina x2 (Altered Form/Origin Form),

62 Spectrier

Ordered (2)

Need (7)

Rotom (Dex form), Gourgeist, Blacephalon, Mega Gengar, Mega Banette, Necrozma (Dawn Wings)

PKMN With No Plush (14)

Phantump, Trevanant, Mega Sableye, Palossand, Sinistea, Cursola, Dhelmise, Yamask (Galar Form), Runerigus, Honedge, Doublade, Aegislash, Drakloak, Calyrex (Shadow Rider),