50 Most Influential Fictional Characters #40-36

From November 28th to December 25th 2013, we collected top ten lists from both members of the Facebook group and visitors to the site to compile the list of CBNAH Top 50 Most Influential Fictional Characters of All Time. Today we bring counting down from #40-36

40. Ebenezer Scrooge

Created By: Charles Dickens
From: A Christmas Carol
First Appearance: A Christmas Carol (1843)

In the beginning of A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge is a greedy and cranky business man who hates Christmas. But after his fateful meeting with the three Ghosts of Christmas, he turns a new leaf and learns how to live again. A tale that is both moving and inspirational.

39. Thor

From: Mythology

Whether in Norse Mythology or in the Marvel universe, Thor is a pop culture icon. From poems to comics, Thor has been a subject of many writers and artists doing various projects on him. Influencing many to study and learn about Norse Mythology.

38. Dracula

Created By: Bram Stoker
From: Dracula
First Appearance: Dracula (1897)

There were vampire stories before Bram Stoker's Dracula. But none of them has reached the impact that Dracula has left on the world of Fiction. Dracula is apart of the Universal Monsters family thanks to the 1931 film of the same name starring Bela Lugosi.

37. Ellen Ripley

Created By: Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett
From: Alien series
First Appearance: Alien

Considered to be one of the greatest female lead characters of all time, Ellen Ripley was the first female character in cinema to take matters in her own hands. She didn't act like the helpless female characters portrayal in countless sci-fi and horror films. A strong character that broke all of the rules and kicked a lot of ass in the process.

36. Mario

Created By: Shigeru Miyamoto

From: Mario series
First Appearance: Donkey Kong (1981)

Mario is Nintendo's mascot and helped built the company to be the world's largest video game company. Mario is one of the most famous video game characters of all time and influence many people to get into the world of gaming.

Console Slayer for 12/10/2013

Favorite Consoles

Everyone has their favorite consoles. The ones I had growing up are: NES, Sega Genesis, PS1, Xbox and PS3. Since then I've become a collector and in addition to those I have many more consoles now including: Emerson Arcadia 2001, Magnavox Odyssey 2, SNES, N64, Gamecube, Wii, Sega Saturn, Sega Dreamcast, and PS2. Not to mention handhelds.

The question I'd like to pose today is, what is your favorite console to play and/or collect for and why?

For me, I probably have the most fond memories of my NES and SG. They're probably my favorite systems to play. What do I need to say about these two legendary systems? Both of these systems had great and memorable libraries.

On the other hand, my favorite system to collect for is actually the PS1. I have a lot of fond memories with the PS1 as well. I currently have an original PS1 as well as the PSOne revision. I also currently have approximately 100 complete games in my PS1 library.

The reason this is my favorite console to collect for is two-fold. First, PS1 games are not typically hard to find. There are a lot of them out there so it's easy to get in to collecting for. Secondly, it may be the system that is most affordable to collect for. I've gotten 98% of my PS1 collection on the cheap. The lack of scarcity, affordability and fond memories are reasons that make the PS1 my favorite system to collect for.

So how about it people? What are your favorites?

Today's chiptune is an oldie made new. I didn't grow up playing the Zelda franchise much and only got into it in the last few years. I played the original a bit as a kid and have now played through half of Link to the Past. Few songs in video games conjure up so many memories as well as this song does so in honor of the new Zelda game, a spiritual successor to LttP, A Link Between Worlds, I leave you with the classic 'Overworld theme'.

The Console Slayer for 11/26/13

First Console Memories

   I've been in a nostalgic mood lately when it comes to games so I thought we'd talk about our first console memories.

   Are you old enough to remember your first console memories? I would have been about 4 years old when I got my first console. Like a lot of people, my first home console was a Nintendo Entertainment System. It was the Action Set with the orange/red Zapper. Some of my earliest memories are playing, surprise surprise, Super Mario Bros. I still remember the big screen TV I played it on. I could list the memories with SMB but those are a dime a dozen since practically everyone that's played games has those same memories too. I remember having fun with the Zapper and Duck Hunt too. I always hated that asshole dog. I knew I hit those ducks...

   I also remember getting other games too, unfortunately some of them absolutely terrible. Back to the Future was horrible. I remember never being able to get past the malt shop level. Tapper did it right, not BttF. I also remember having the terrible NES port of the GREAT arcade game Strider. That game was hard and confusing to me as a small kid, although I did make it pretty far. I didn't like it then and I still don't like it. Haha.

   The original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game. Where do I start with this one? Cool cover art, not so great of a game. It's not a terrible game, but it's not that great either. Pretty damn hard. How about the infamous dam stage? The game is perhaps most well-known for this perceived “atrocity” of a stage. I'll admit it was pretty frustrating at times and made me angry but as time went on, I could speedrun that bitch and take little damage. I never did beat that game as a kid but I could make it close to the last stage. I still haven't beat it as an adult. Then there's the Game Genie. I just recently re-added the Game Genie for the NES to my game collection. I remember trading codes with friends before the time of the internet. When games were ass hard, like “NES hard” as the term has come to be, if you weren't cheating, you weren't trying.

   What are some of your first console memories?

   
   For the tune of the day, I share my favorite arrangement of my favorite track from F-Zero, called “Big Blue”. This arrangement is from Super Smash Bros. Melee however: