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@Brickman

Okay, so to start off, tell us what originally brought you to VGS and/or NA.

I joined NA around 2011 but I didn’t post much, I mainly lurked and bought and sold stuff. VGS is a lot more open and friendly than NA was imo. 

And what is the meaning behind your username?  Or usernames, in this case. 

Started with SHMUP because I really love the genre (especially bullet hells) even though I’m not very good at them. Then decided it’s time for a change and went with Brickman, this name relates to my second passion, LEGO.  

Is there a Mrs. (or Mr.) Brickman?  Kids?  Pet gerbils?

Married but no kids, unless you count our two cats 

What do you do for a living? 

Short answer IT. Longer answer, support and whatever projects my boss throws at me. We’re a two-man team so I basically do everything from “have you turned it off and on again?" to upgrading our phone system. 

IT Crowd or Office Space?

Hard to compare because one is a TV show and the other is a movie. Both are fantastic. IT Crowd for all the IT jokes and Office Space because I think it captures office life perfectly. 

American The Office or British The Office?  ...or maybe Australian The Office...(?) 

An Australian office would be pretty funny. I didn’t like the US Office when it first came out, just thought it was another one of those series that they remade because the US wouldn’t get UK humour. But it’s pretty good until Steve Carell leaves, then it just goes downhill. The US seem to over stay their welcome with comedy shows and drag them on pass their prime. The UK Office is better though. 

Gamer or collector? 

Both. This year I have been more a collector because I haven’t had as much time to devote to gaming but last year I did way more gaming than collecting. 

10 favorite games of all time, and the reasons why they're in your top ten.   Go.

1. Persona 4/Persona 4 Golden. My favourite JRPG and game. The story is superbly written, every character is fleshed out, the dungeons are varied and interesting, the demon fusing is fun and there’s lots of side things to do. I don’t really want to give anything away story wise so I’ll just say that if you like JRPG’s and haven’t played this, stop playing whatever you’re playing and play this instead. You won’t regret it. 
2. Dark Souls- While I did enjoy Demon Souls, it didn’t grab me like Dark Souls. I loved how everything was interconnected to the main hub and even after doing a slog through Blighttown you’d eventually come back to the main hub bonfire and see the characters you had interacted with along the way. The boss battles felt epic and varied, and even though I don’t think I know everything about the story, I loved it. This game isn’t as hard as people make it out to be, once you learn the combat it’s not very difficult.  
3. Ocarina of Time- This is still my favourite Zelda game (BotW is fantastic though). The transition to 3D works well and the story feels so epic. The time traveling was an awesome concept and I spent ages just riding Epona around the field. I didn’t have a guide for this game, so figuring out some of the puzzles took me forever, but felt like a huge accomplishment when I did.  
4. Mario 64- I think if there was only one Mario game I could play for the rest of my life this would be it. I think I could get the 120 stars in my sleep by this point. It never gets old. I think the transition to 3D was done very well, there’s a huge variety of levels and a killer soundtrack. It really was incredible at the time seeing Mario move from 2D to 3D. 
5. Silent Hill 2 – This is still my favourite horror game. They did a fantastic job making the PS2 limitations feel like part of the story, like the fog covering up for the draw distances. The enemies are some of the best in horror game history (even to this day) and I love the themes the story touches on, that was definitely pretty ground breaking at the time.
6. Metal Gear Solid- It's probably hard to explain how much of a big deal this game was when it came out. The cut scenes were mind blowing at the time, the story felt like a movie and the gameplay was ground breaking. Psycho Mantis is probably still one of my favourite villians and boss battles. I loved how it broke the 4th wall and mocked your gaming history on the memory card and having to switch your controller to port 2 was so crazy. 
7. Bloodborne- What's almost as good as Dark Souls? Bloodborne! It took the slower/careful combat approach of Dark Souls and flipped it around. It made for a nonstop brutal game where being offensive was rewarded. Loved the gothic vibe and the boss battles were made interesting by having two phases.
8. Final Fantasy VI- This is the game where I think FF really broke out from the RPG mould. FF 4 and 5 are fantastic games and rank as some of my favourites but this one just takes it to another level. The soundtrack is probably my favourite from the FF series and the story really did start taking JRPG’s in a new direction with the steam punk theme.  
9. Chrono Trigger- Similar to what I said about FF VI really.  
10. This was actually the hardest game to decide on because there are so many games that fit in the top 10 and I’d like to include them all. I’ll go with Super Metroid. I only finally got around to playing this for my backlog last year and loved it. I’ve always been a fan of Metroidvania’s but never played the one that started it all. Probably not much I can say that hasn’t already been said besides go play it if you haven’t yet.

Did you get a chance to try out P.T./Silent Hills? 

Yep really loved it. Still have it installed on my PS4. 

Give us a sneak peak of your 2023 backlog list. 

I’m doing badly with my backlog this year so probably some of those games. If I don’t get a chance to play it this year, Elden Ring will be at the top, along with some GC games. 

Game you're looking forward to the most? 

Breath of the Wild 2, I think they’ll take everything that was great about the first and add even more amazing features. 

Favorite item in your collection? 

I have the Metal Gear Solid The Twin Snakes Japanese Gamecube. That’s probably my favourite item I own right now.  

First game you ever played? 

Pac-Man on the Atari. My parents bought an Atari when they came out and I played that before they got me a NES and SMS. 

Favorite franchise(s) of all time? 

Persona- Love this series. I’m a big JRPG fan and this series has amazing story telling, great characters, some of the best game music in a series and I love the turn-based combat. I could probably spend all day trying to create OP demon fusions while Aria of the Soul plays over and over in the background. 

Dark Souls- I fell in love with this series from the first day I played it. While 2 and 3 aren’t quite as good as the first, I love them all in different ways. 

Final Fantasy- It's had its ups and downs but it is the first JRPG I ever played and I have to credit it for introducing me to the genre. 

 Favorite console of all time? 

It would be between NES and PS2 but I’ll go with the PS2. Both are great systems but the NES is probably biased a little more towards nostalgia. The PS2 I do believe has the best library in gaming so far. It has pretty much anything you could ask of it. The horror games and JRPG’s alone make it worth playing. Explore the PS2 if you haven’t done so, you won’t regret it. 

Favorite movie of all time? 

Mulholland Drive. I’m a Lynch fan and this is my favourite of his and my favourite movie.  

Explain the plot of Mulholland Drive in 25 words or less.

Is this even possible? . Here is a very simplified version: An aspiring actress comes to LA and meets a woman who lost her memory in car accident. They set out to discover who she is.  

Favorite book of all time? 

This is a tough question. I’ll say that I have two equally favourite books. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, seriously read this book if you haven’t, it’s the ultimate revenge novel. Second is The Road by Cormack McCarthy. 

Favorite television series of all time? 

Six Feet Under. Amazing show about a family that owns a funeral home starring Michael C Hall (and other fantastic actors) before he was Dexter. The ending is probably my favourite ending to a TV series. 

Favorite song/album/artist of all time? 

Song- Strawberry Fields Forever 

Album- The White Album. Dark Side of the Moon would probably come in a close second though. 

Artist- The Beatles. No matter how many times I listen to them I never get tired of them. 

Paul, John, or George?   ...or Ringo, I guess.

John Lennon and George Harrison were the best songwriters imo and I really love their solo work too. Paul’s a good musician but most of his songs weren’t my style. And Ringo, well I don’t think anything needs to be said about him. A drum machine could have done what he did 

Best song on Dark Side of the Moon?

Us and Them but Time is a close second. 

You're a metal guy.  Best metal album of each decade, go. 

Geez this is going to be tough. I’ll just start from the 70’s because that’s generally the accepted decade metal begun. 

70’s- I consider Queen’s early work to be pretty close to metal of that era so I’m going with Queen ‘A Night at the Opera’ but if I can’t say Queen I’d say Black Sabbath ‘Paranoid’. 

80’s- Now this is a tough era. This was a great era for metal. These are the three albums I had to debate over. Metallica- Ride the Lightning, Judas Priest- Screaming for Vengenance and Helloween- Keeper of the Seven Keys Part 1. I went with Helloween, I just really love that album and could listen to it and never get tired of it.  

90’s- There were some good albums in this era too. Metal was pretty diverse in the 90’s but I think I’ll go with Dream Theatre’s ‘Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory’. This album was my first intro to Dream Theatre and John Petrucci is what inspired me to play the guitar.  

2000’s- No contest for me. Opeth – Blackwater Park. Absolute masterpiece. 

2010’s- Another no contest. Devin Townsend Project – Z2. I reckon I’ve listened to this album at least 200 times by now and I’m still not sick of it. Devin is a Canadian god! 

2020’s - we’ve just started but I think Ghost’s Impera is going to be hard to beat, unless they put something even better out by the end of the decade. 

You mentioned you are a melodic death metal guy: In Flames or Dark Tranquillity? 

Dark Tranquility. I feel In Flames have continued to put very mediocre albums after Clayman. Reroute to remain started their downfall for me. They had a great run before that. Dark Tranquility have mixed things up through the years but I always enjoy what they put out.  

Wine, beer, or liquor? 

I don’t drink so none of those. I do like cherry coke and Dr Pepper though. 

Coffee or tea? 

I don’t really drink either of them but I like a good cappuccino over tea. 

Crowded House or Split Enz? 

Crowded House. Both are great but I love pretty much everything Crowded House put out, Split Enz I need to be in the mood for. 

The Road Warrior or Fury Road? 

I really loved the story in Fury Road so I’m going to go with that.  

Russell Crowe or Hugh Jackman? 

Russell Crowe is technically New Zealand but is essentially Australian. I still like Hugh Jackman, just seems really down to earth. 

Yahoo Serious or Paul Hogan? 

Haha should this even be a question? Paul Hogan. He really sums up 70’s/80’s Australia.  

Hugo Weaving or Ben Mendohlson? 

Hugo Weaving. He is another who is technically not Australian but essentially is. He’s done so much for Australia and the arts. I love pretty much everything he’s done that I’ve seen him in.  

Star Wars or Star Trek? 

Star Wars. I don’t like Star Trek at all. Although, now Disney is absolutely milking Star Wars and I’m getting a bit over that series too. 

Which member of the Breakfast Club are you? 

I haven’t watched the Breakfast Club in like 15 years so I don’t really remember the characters that well. *goes to do an internet search*. Not really any of them, I guess Allison in some ways because I can be a bit of a hermit haha. 

Cricket?  Football?  American football?  Some sort of crazy Australian sport involving sharks, spiders, or snakes? 

Haha. I don’t mind Cricket, I like T20 a bit more than test cricket though. A sport involving sharks? That would probably be surfing haha. I like to watch it if it’s on but don’t follow it. I find Australian football boring. 

I enjoy American Football and try to watch a game each week when the season is on. 

First thing that comes to mind: New Zealand 

Brother from another mother. They’re our little bro 

First thing that that comes to mind: the US 

Absolute mess. 

First thing that comes to mind: the UK 

OptOut? Haha. Probably the Queen. 

First thing that comes to mind: Japan 

Rich culture and amazing food. 

Does South Park make sense to you, or is most of it lost on non-American sensibilities? 

Yeah South Park is probably one of my favourite cartoons. They manage to consistently mock pop culture, trends and society in general.  

FMK: Margot Robbie, Nicole Kidman, Rose Byrne 

F- Nicole Kidman, she still looks so good! 

M- Margot Robbie, because you get the M and the F and that’s a double win in my book! 

K- Rose Byrne, she's alright but we can kill her. 

FMK: Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Chris Hemsworth as James Hunt, Chris Hemsworth as 'Kevin'

Hahaha. I didn’t know who this Kevin person was meant to be and saw it was that Ghostbuster 2016 reboot so that can definitely be K. James Hunt F because it would be handy being married to Thor. 

Was that 'Dingos got my baby" movie accurate?

I haven’t watched it since I was a teenager but that story is pretty crazy. Dingos really did take and kill her baby and it was one of the stupidest blunders of the courts and police.  I’m glad she was eventually released and sued the courts.