Power up with a Power Pony review! · 8:40pm Dec 21st, 2013
There was a new Nintendo Direct this week and it was crammed full of stuff so I figured I'd talk about it (instead of how awesome Aquaman is which you should all know in this day and age). There were many exciting things about this Nintendo Direct. Temco Koei are making a Legend of Zelda spin-off game called Hyrule Warriors. It looks awesome and I'm really hoping for playable Tingle. They also showed off more news about the upcoming Kirby game including what is in affect a Kirby smash bros mode where you fight other people's Kirby's but with one permanent ability. Some other neat things popped up such as the NES Remastered game and a Yoshi Island DLC for Sonic Lost World but then at the end of the direct I was horribly disappointed.
We got a character reveal for SSB. Yay! It was Rosalina... because we just don't have enough Mario reps apparently! Sure, we got all the main ones in but nope, let's shove in extra's instead of the leads of other Nintendo series or even giving Metroid or F-Zero a 2nd rep at long last. What this SSB needs apparently is more Mario. The worst part of all this is that I now to have write a chapter based on this reveal for my Smashing Reactions fanfic.
Fanfiction Progress
Along with that Rosalina reveal resulting in a need to update my story, Smashing Reactions, I will also regrettably tell you that things aren't progressing quickly with the latest chapter of The Shy Knight and the Rainbow Princess. Its quality is turning out well though; the opening is something I hope will wow you my readers, it's just not being made quickly. Hopefully I can pick up the pace now that work is out of the way however it is the Christmas period I have gifts, family and more gifts to attend to. That said, perhaps you'll get a little something soon, maybe a little treat is in store for you all.
Other Episode Reviews for Flight to the Finish
James Corck
Thejboy88
NintendoGal55
Episode Review of Power Ponies
Let me first begin by apologising for the lateness of this review. The weather over here in Britain is… well it is actually pretty typical British weather but that’s the problem. My internet died only a few minutes into the time stream. Then, when I was ready, I clicked onto my profile to find my whole world turned upside down. Seriously, this new profile page is atrocious. Enough of that though, I did finally watch the episode and I now present to you my review.
Where should I begin with the positives? I guess with the very beginning of the episode. A wonderful opening that was beautifully animated, seriously season 4 looks so pretty now, and presented fantastic interactions between Twilight and Spike. In fact the whole episode does this; whenever Twilight and Spike interact it is fantastic. The opening though was just what stands out the most, perhaps for the humorous situation, the play on Twilight not being the one up late reading to which she most likely does often.
As you may know from trailers this episode involves the Mane 6 and Spike being warped into a comic book but the fun doesn’t start there. Great things like the opening, having the mane 6 restoring Celestia and Luna’s old castle as well as Rarity being as British as can be are (Tea and biscuits is my favourite thing for breakfast) all lovely moments.
Within the comic world we get introduced to the Mane 6 as superheroes while Spike gets relegated to the sidekick, the theme of this episode and one that gets well presented. The Mane 6 super powers include Pinkie having super speed, Rainbow Dash controlling the weather, Applejack being telepathically linked to her lasso, Twilight having ice powers, Fluttershy being the Hulk and Rarity being Green Lantern. The presentation of these powers and how the Mane 6 adapt to them are in of themselves a mixed bag. The most amount of amusement in my amusement comes from Rarity, whose ability to make light constructs results in hilarious and character appropriate moments. Of course Dash’s reactions to having super powers are great, as is Pinkie’s instantaneous use of hers. The trigger to Fluttershy turning into the Hulk though is also one of amusement and perfectly in character. The use of super powers results in some amazing looking scenes, any one of them involving Pinkie being hilarious and generally cool action moments.
The moral of the episode revolves around not always being needed to help doesn’t count as not being helpful. In some ways this moral is presented in more way than one through the course of the episode’s events and actions, leaving room for further interpretation. The moral is also presented well. When Spike saves the day they don’t make him do anything grand per say but things he could do, acts that are well within his capabilities.
Oh, and one last positive. There is a moment where Rainbow Dash saves Fluttershy. Dash is a little bothered that Fluttershy isn’t using her superpowers but never takes it out on her. She just asks, Fluttershy says she can’t and leaves it at that. That could have gone badly but it was handled well (may my ship continue to strengthen).
Negatives are within this episode yet for the most part they are rather hard to pinpoint. The easier ones to point out though are the ones concerning the super powers, namely with Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy. In the case of Fluttershy, the lesser problem, when Fluttershy goes Hulk mode it all seems rather pointless. The others were handling themselves just fine and while the villain, Mane-iac, did have a super weapon we hadn’t actually seen it perform to know it’s threatening capabilities. It ruins the sense of urgency or fear and as Fluttershy going Hulk only exisited to destroy that machine it just feels… weak. What was weaker though was Twilight’s powers. The fact the she is a master mage unicorn and can probably use ice spells or learn them makes having ice powers seem a little redundant. Even more so when it appears Twilight struggles with said powers and only towards the end gets anywhere close to a grasp on them. Really, Twilight needed a non-magical based super power to properly present it as her having a super power.
The other problem I have with this episode is how it feels. I felt it passed by too quickly. The whole thing feels too condensed, with very little time outside the comic book towards the end and perhaps too much time spent getting the group sucked into the comic book. They also adapt to their powers awfully quick when the first moments in the comic book showed everypony but Pinkie as useless with their powers to begin with. I guess the ultimate problem with this episode is it lacks ‘oomph’. Despite being a super hero based episode, a fact to which I love, it doesn’t excite me as much as it should. It was great quality but wasn’t getting my blood pumping.
Overall the term ‘good’ fits Power Ponies quite well. It does very little wrong and has a lot of good elements to it, with its handling of its moral being almost as phenomenal as the previous episode, Flight to the Finish. There is humour, action, character interactions, but I just don’t feel it amazing me. It is an episode I would gladly watch again and again but it never blew me away. I feel Power Ponies to be either a 6.5 out of 10 or a 7 out of 10, though either way I rate it as a Good ranked episode.
Twilight didn't just have Ice powers, she had the power to shoot ANY beam. She chose the Ice beam because Ice stops foes, but she was forcing the power too much, but once she relaxed and tried it, she was able to cast the beam. Remember, we always see Twilight put all she's got into spells so they are bound to work no matter what. This time she had to learn to just let the magic flow. Now for the FlutterHulk moment, was not useless, as going hulk, made her indestructible and thus the laser backfired on Mane-ic.
~Hearn
I think Fluttershy hulking out would have had much more purpose if it was a result of something having been done to Spike. It may not have been as humorous, maybe, but certainly could have been that oomph moment with some strong feeling behind it. Also, they were all heroes with powers they have mastery over normally anyway, so it's not like Twilight can be targeted for sticking out. I thought it was a nice touch to show that just because you're gifted doesn't mean you can't be the opposite of helpful when you force it.
But most importantly, RD saving Fluttershy is becoming a continuity thing at this point. It's happened at least four times off the top of my head, and possibly more. ^_^
Argh indeed captain, may the Flutterdash sail the seas with it's band of scurvy shippers and- Okay I'll stop talking like a pirate now :3
I only watched it this afternoon since I had the same problem you did. This was an enjoyable episode and much better love letter to comic books than The Mysterious Mare Do Well episode. I know those two are very different episodes, but the MMDW episode was the only comic book related episode we got before Power Ponies. So I'm glad we got this one despite it lacking the oomph that other episodes seem to have.
I can see how Spike can have an episode about him and serve as a reminder that he's a useful character. All of his shining moments have been subtle and sometimes shown in short scenes. I guess I could complain about how the Mane Six treat Spike during the first half, but then again, I think they knew Spike was a valueable friend and would only show his strength when the Mane Six really needed him. It worked in the Crystal empire episode where he was used as a last resort to get the crystal heart and stop Sombra.
As a comic book episode I loved it. As a Spike episode not my favourites but still good. As an average episode, I enjoyed it and will probably watch it again.