What brought you to VGS/NA?
My buddy, Kid Chris from NA, would hit up garage sales, swap meets looking for old school games, records, movies, or whatever funky stuff we could get a deal on. What was your best old school game haul? So we would usually hit up the flea market over by Cut and Shoot (Yes.) And on the way we would always see this antique store that was never opened. We pull up and it was pretty sketchy, looked like they modified a barn. We find like a shoebox of various games and ask the crazy old guy who worked or maybe lived there disappear and comes back with boxes and boxes of about 10 consoles and 50 games. We start asking how much for this or that and he is like "$100 for everything" and we don't think twice. We each toss in $50 with most stupid grins on our faces and we agree to divide it up later. This was easily $300-$400 worth of stuff back then, probally worth two or three times that nowadays. We load it up and it takes up my entire trunk.

Sounds like you got some great hauls, do you still collect?
Not as much nowadays, then again I have most of the games I would want to own.  So I'm more focused on keeping up with modern games, with some throwback indie titles and retro games in the mix for variety.

You seem pretty active playing games on the backlog challenge, how is that going?
Slow but steady.  I treat it more like a roadmap, plotting out the course of my gaming over the year and in that way it keeps me focused and motivated.

I didn't make it easy on myself putting a few big chonkers on there.  I mean I aim to finish Zelda but don't know how long that will take, even though I beat two temples, it feels like I am just scratching the surface.  

What's the story behind your username and avatar?
Finally someone asking about my fur-sona! J/K Foxes are my spirit animal.

My cousin and I were really close growing up, despite the fact we lived so far apart and only got together like twice a year, so we kept in touch with email/messenger. He used some form of wolf in his username, so I picked fox to keep in theme. It worked well because it was 3 letters, so perfect for high scores. So it has kind of stuck as an online handle, even if I try others, seems to be the one I always go back to.

You seem big into foxes, every thought of owning one as a pet?
No because they mark their territory on everything.  Big yikes! I do have a 12 year old fox faced black and tan Pomeranian, who everyone thinks is still a puppy even though she is an old lady.

 

What are your top 10 consoles and a fav game from each?
NES – Power Blade. When you feel like Mega Man don’t want to play Mega Man for the 100th time. Funny enough I always forget the name of this game.

SNES - Legend of the Mystical Ninja. One part Zelda, one part Castlevania, one anime weirdness. Toss in tons of mini games and a fun two player mode and this is one game I always come back to.

Genesis - Gunstar Heroes. Treasure manages to get one up on Contra.

PSX - Synphony of the Night. A massive big with beautiful sprites and tons of secrets to uncover. The soundtrack is my go to background music for Halloween.

Saturn - Saturn Bomberman. Nothing like trash talking your friends only to trap yourself with your own bombs soon as the match starts.

N64 - Ocarina of Time. An epic adventure. Exploring it’s big 3D world is pure joy.

Dreamcast - NFL Blitz. The sports game for those who don’t care about sports.

PS2 - Devil May Cry 3. Some of the most fun and stylish combat in any title.

360 - Gears of War 2. Army dudes shooting monsters. The horde mode is just endlessly replayable.

PS4 – Bloodborne. Such a cool gothic setting with sick monster design and even sicker trick weapons to fight them with.

PS5 - God of War Ragnarok. A great storytelling event, bringing together father and son.

Switch - Hollow Knight. The final evolution of the metroidvania sub genre.

But what is your overall favorite console?
SNES. While the NES brought out a lot of unique titles, it feels like SNES is where they were perfected.

 

What upcoming game are you looking forward to the most?
I played the demo for FF16 and  really enjoyed it.  Hope to knock out Zelda out of my backlog first.

You've retired a number of backlog games this year. Which one was the most disappointing?
Calisto Protocal.  I was a big fan of the Dead Space games and expected something special from the original creators but ended up being a total slog fighting conga lines of the same enemies with a melee system which is trying be punch out or something.

Favorite book?
The Dark Tower series – A trippy fantasy horror western.

 

Did you watch the Dark Tower movie?
Yes taken on it's own, it is ok, Elba and McConaughey are fine.  But as an adaptation it leaves a lot to be desired.  Trying mash up the entire series into a single movie and be a sequel as well was just the wrong approach.

I'll see if Mike Flanagan (who seems to be a fan, given all the shout out in Doctor Sleep) can do better.

Favorite musician?
Judas Priest. Listening to their discography and seen them live so many times. Still gets me pumped.  Even managed to catch a drum stick!

Rank the Priest albums.  Go.

S tier
Sad Wings of Destiny
Screaming for Vengence
Painkiller
Angel of Retribution

A tier
Sin After Sin
British Steel
Defenders of the Faith

B tier
Stained Class
Hell Bent For Leather
Turbo
Ram it Down

C tier
Rocka Rolla
Point of Entry
Redeemer of Souls
Firepower

D tier
Jugulator
Demolition
Nostradamus

Favorite movie?
The Thing/Escape From New York/Big Trouble in Little China. Depends on my mood, but any of the Carpenter and Russel joints really hits the spot.

Rank every Carpenter movie. Go.

S tier
The Thing
Escape From New York
Big Trouble in Little China
Halloween
They Live

A tier
Christine
In The Mouth of Madness
Assault on Precinct 13
Prince of Darkness
Escape From LA

B tier
The Fog
Starman
Village of the Damned
Cigerette Burns

C tier
Vampires
Body Bags
Dark Star

D tier
The Ward
Pro Life
Ghosts of Mars

N/A
Eyes of Laura Mars
Memoirs of an Invisible Man
Somebody's Watching Me
Elvis

How did you meet FireHazard and Spoonman and company?
I was admin of the Screwattack website (home of the Angry Video Game Nerd.)  Unlike most of the internet, the g1s were actually cool to each other.  We did a lot to promote community interaction and engagement.  People were writing blogs, making art, hosting forum games, it always felt like something cool was going and people put a lot into making it a great place. 

Things started to fall off when the site was sold, focus was shifted, old staff and members left.  Kept up with some of them but everyone is fractured and spread out.  A few of  the g1s joined up on VGS, kind of the closest thing we have to the old site.

How were you introduced to Werewolf?
We had a pretty healthy Werewolf group going on Screwattack.  The first round I was a wolf and the second round I was third party, so I had to really learn the game fast.  By the fourth round I was hosting, and really tried to make the game a big event for the community.

Favorite round of werewolf?
Batman round where I subbed into the werewolf team that was already on the ropes.  My kill only had a 50/50 chance of working so I was a bit gimped.  Lasted long enough and outed myself in order to convince the third party to side with us and get a joint win.

Has werewolf ever made you want to strangle someone?
"Goys, we don't need to even vote.  Cop will find all of the wolves on his own and win the game for us.  EZPZ"

Was it AVGN that initially drew you to ScrewAttack?
Yeah.  That was pretty groundbreaking stuff as far as new media and showing old school games some hate but also love.

Favorite AVGN episode?
The history of Castlevania 4 parter.  That is like a yearly rewatch around Halloween.

Prize piece in your collection?
Panzer Dragoon Saga is prob the most expensive game I own.  It came out in the dying days of the Saturn, so it was slim pickings (only 5 games or so came out that year.)  It was a limited run of 50,000 copies in the first run (there was a second run as well.)  I enjoyed the first two so I knew this was going to be one to snag.  It is so unique in both the visuals, story, and combat, that there isn't really anything like it.

I also have a new in box SNES from when Kee Bee had them on clearance.  How much are those going for nowadays?

Collect anything other than video games?
More like what didn't I collect? heh

Have a bunch of cds and vinyl records (because they were cheap, not because it was the hipster thing to do.)  Big movie fan so tons of dvds, blu rays, and now 4k discs.  So much of that stuff is just easily available streaming, I have most of it packed away in storage.

Like 60% of my bookshelf is graphic novels.  I liked having a full story in a single easy to handle collection.  I could never keep up with monthly books, I'd always miss one and not be able to complete the story arc.

Top 10 graphic novels?
All Star Superman
Batman (new 52 run)
Fables
Forth World (New Gods, Forever People, Mr Miracle)
Planetary
Sandman
Secret Six
Y The Last Man
House of X/Powers of X
Watchmen

I'm definitely not much of a comic nerd because I don't even recognize most of those.  Which one of those should a neophyte check out?  Aside from Watchmen.  I've read that.
It really depends what you are into.  If you enjoyed Watchmen, then check out some of Moore's other stuff like V for Vendetta or his run on Swamp Thing.

I'd say "Y The Last Man" is a pretty safe recommend.  I lent that to a couple different friends and they all got into easy, and aren't big comic fans even.

Did you watch The Flash?
Not yet, but I heard good things despite all the drama.  I'll prob catch it on HBO Max

What's the worst game you've ever played?
Circus Caper.  Mostly cause I never knew how to get past the first area.  Now that I do, the game doesn't really get better after.

Worst movie you've ever seen?
The Brotherhood III...Young Demons.  A very cheap slasher that was good to rip off after a couple drinks.

Where do you hail from?
Texas, it is 104.    Send popsicles

Were you born and raised. In Texas?
Yes

Tell us 5 things about Texas
-Texas had six flags fly over it: Spain, France, Mexico, Republic of Texas, Confederate States, and the United States
-Texas comes from the word tejas which means friends
-The state flower is the Blue Bonnet, often seen off the highway, and you are not allowed to pick them
-If you sing "The Stars at Night are Big and Bright" people will clap and say the next verse
- Y'all is the proper way to say you in the plural form

Favorite restaurant
I like Indian food, I can cook butter chicken myself, but it is always better getting it out

Wine, liquor, or beer
Cider

Best cider?  Is there a local cider house?
Ace.  I heard good things about Cidercade, need to check that out sometime.

Coffee or tea
Coffee

Which member of the Breakfast Club are you?
Basketcase

Star Wars or Star Trek?
Dune

SNES or Genesis?
SNES is all time goat but Genny is very close.  16 bit era really perfected 2d gaming.

PS1 or Saturn or N64?
PS1 had the best games hands down.  N64 had the multiplayer and Saturn had some hidden gems

Cube or PS2 or Xbox?
PS2 but I wasn't playing games as much this gen

Wii or PS3 or 360?
First half was all about 360.  Xbox Live was a revelation.  PS3 was slow to start and kind of a mess.  But weirdly it flipped halfway thru the generation, when 360 became all about Kinect and PS3 was really putting out all their killer apps.

DS or PSP?
PSP.  Never cared about the second screen gimmick.

Vita or 3DS?
Vita.  Big console games on the go.  Tons of indies.  Sexy OLED screen.  Really seems like the prototype for the Switch.

Predictions for your 2024 backlog?

Who should I interview next?
@FireHazard51