I'm currently hard at work on a new videogame breakdown!!!

[Insert Mystery Game]  (don't look at the picture)

For all you Sega-philes and beat-em-up fanatics, coming soon is...MY GUARDIAN HEROES VIDEOGAME BREAKDOWN!!!

90's awesomeness, still cool today.  This is the cast of Guardian Heroes.  Going clockwise and starting from the badass skeleton you have the Undead Hero, Ginjirou, Nicole, Randy (w/Nando), Han, and Serena.  This is what a diverse cast should look like.

Oh yeah!  I know I aint the only one here excited.  Yes indeed, I will not be reviewing the game because really, who can review such perfection?  No I'll be deconstructing the game, piece by glorious piece, to bring you -- my glorious readers -- my painstakingly detailed observations of what exactly makes this game tic.  By the end of this I hope to find and share exactly what's so magical about this 90's flavored gem and maybe find out how we can recapture the timeless nature of this quality product.

Design Inspiration: Average Joe and the Extraordinaires

Each character in Average Joe and the Extraordinaires was created to be unique and add something truly extraordinary into Joe's world.  As I envisioned them, each character had a specific appearance, demeanor, and way of talking.  When I finished my initial conception I then thought of other characters in the media that may be similar and these gals and guys below popped into my head.

Beauty

Wonder Woman of DC Comics.

With Beauty, the template that I worked from was simple.  I envisioned her as a tall and athletic woman with this thick ocean of deep black hair upon head and shoulders.  From there I imagined her being very active and tanned from all the hustle and bustle of a busy life of exploration and adventure.  A few characters came to mind but the two below really stood out and helped me envision her more.  *This is a side note but I really have a thing for tall, athletic, girls with long black hair.  It's a curse I'm afraid :'(

Kanu Unchou of Battle Vixens aka Ikki Tousen

Borland

Dan Turpin from Superman the Animated Series

This guy inspired Borland pretty much from conception.  If you don't know, this is Dan Turpin from Superman the Animated Series which is honestly one of DC Animation's best works.  Dan Turpin's appearance for the cartoon is quite different from his comic book appearance.  Here his appearance is based off of famous comic book artist/creator Jack Kirby.   Just look up Mr. Kirby and you'll see the similarities.  Turpin is a pretty cool no-nonsense tough-as-nails detective and a pretty good foil to Superman's idyllic nature.  If you want to get a hint at Borland's personality then go watch some classic Superman TAS.  Actually you should start with the Batman/Superman Crossover, World's Finest, since the live action crossover is slated to come out soon.  Turpin has some decent lines in that.

Dan Turpin from Superman the Animated Series

Mod Malington

So now that I look at this list, it seems like most of my inspiration came from DC comics.  That's only slightly true.  This is Mad Mod from the DC Animated Show Teen Titans.  I believe he's also in the comics.  I mainly liked his name and red hair which both inspired my own character.  That's about all this character inspired but that was more than enough to get the ball rolling in envisioning Mod Malington.

Mad Mod from Teen Titans

Team Badd Azz

Team Badd Azz is somewhat of a parody of the Warriors.  I also like the Warriors quite a bit and I have also purchased manly vests because now, after seeing the movie, I think they look cool.  So TBA is more of a parody of my own sense of fashion.

Go watch this movie!

Character Profiles: Average Joe and the Extraordinaires: Dahlila

MIB Reports
"The Tough-Girl"

Real Name: Dahlila Hill
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 130 lbs
Hair Color: Blonde, short (below the ear)
Eye Color: Brown
Race: Asian/Caucasian
Birthplace: Orangetown, Florida
Birthdate: 10/25
Age: 18
Hobbies: Combat Training, Exercising, Investigating
Talents: High Deductive Reasoning, Knowledgeable of Investigative Protocol and Techniques, Proficient in Krav Maga, Knowledgeable of and Trained in the use of Combat Weapons Including Conventional Firearms, Non-Lethal Melee Weaponry and Knives.

A young woman with exceptional physical and deductive talents.  She is learning the investigative craft from the "detective," that man who has been a thorn in our side.  She has been with this detective since she was a little girl.  He adopted her himself after her mother, Karen, went missing on assignment.  Dahlila learned investigative protocol and techniques in order to help the detective track down her mother's whereabouts.  Over the years they have made a living together finding missing people, criminals in hiding, and breaking open cases for the FBI and local units.

Dahlila is highly trained and highly intelligent.  It's been observed that she is a quick learner and astute combatant.  Danger doesn't frighten her thanks to years of street level investigations.  That same experience has given her keen street smarts and made her highly resourceful.  Some of her methods are a bit 'questionable' however.  She is prone to bending the law if it interferes with her goals and sometimes she's shown herself to commit mistakes because of her fiery temper and sense of justice.

She was easy to capture once she glimpsed the child aka the "experiment" in our captivity.  Her anger made her sloppy and we got the jump on her.  She's been in our clutches ever since.  She is resilient to all our interrogation methods, surprisingly.  It really annoys the under-boss.  We've noticed that she's made friends with the experiment.  We may be able to use this to our advantage in order to extract information from her.  We can't go too far though no matter what the under-boss says because not even he can protect us from the real boss if his experiment is harmed.  Even if we can't get any info from her, we can still use her as leverage against that detective.

Average Joe and the Extraordinaires is out now!  Pick up your copy today!

***These reports are non canon to the original story.  I made them for the purposes of promotion to provide a little more insight into the characters.