User blog:Alemon97/DEATH BATTLE! Season 4 Review

Well folks, Death Battle's 4th Season has come and gone, so you know what that means - it's time to take a look at Death Battle Season 4. If you've read my Season 3 Review and my Season 1 & 2 Retrospectives, then you know that I don't give episodes numerical scores - instead, I will rate an episode as either "Good", "Meh", or "Bad" after I look at its pros and cons. And if you disagree with me on some episodes, that's fine, but I'll stress that this is all MY opinion, what you are reading is all purely subjective. So without further ado, this is my review of DEATH BATTLE! Season 4.

​PROS

 * Funny deets in the backgrounds for both characters
 * Boomstick confusing the literal Stairway to Heaven for the Led Zeppelin song
 * Boomstick thinking about getting Lara to be her next ex-wife
 * Pretty decent pre-fight analysis
 * Decently choreographed action
 * Voice acting is alright
 * "Hmmm...Not a scratch."
 * Reasonably solid outcome...

​CONS

 * ​​Meh-ish jokes
 * Character models are a little rough around the edges, especially Drake's
 * The lighting in the temple looks awful
 * Okay, I know I'm not supposed to take this show too seriously, but how the hell did Lara climb out of that hole in the temple so quickly?
 * The fact that Nate actively runs away near the end
 * Nate's death
 * ...Though I'm not entirely sure how to feel about what they said regarding the combatants' durability

Overall
Oooh, we're off to a rather rough start. Where do I begin with this episode? While it does have some pretty decent pre-fight analysis, the action was decently choreographed, and the outcome is reasonably solid - minus what they said regarding Lara and Nate's durability, the fight itself just has far too many blemishes for me to really turn a blind eye.The character models are rough around the edges, the lighting in the temple just looks awful, and Nate's death was just lame AF. Not to mention, how Nate dies pretty much goes against his trademark luck. If I were the writer for this episode, I would have the helicopter blades just barely missing Drake and then he'd stand up with what little strength he has left, then he'd go into a brief fistfight with Lara until she pins Drake down and then caps him in the head with her pistol. Still, there are some funny deets in the backgrounds for both characters, that one Led Zeppelin joke was pretty funny, and again, the outcome is pretty solid (for the most part, anyway). But again, none of that really matters when the fight just doesn't deliver, so overall, a disappointing start for Season 4. And how the fuck did Lara escape that hole so quickly?

Rating

 * Meh...

PROS

 * Scrooge invented concrete & the Super Bowl?
 * "Dude's got some serious huevos!"
 * "Now where have I seen that before?"
 * Some funny moments from Boomstick
 * Good enough pre-fight analysis...
 * How the fight starts
 * Great fight animation, bonus points for the fact that it's done entirely in 8-bit
 * Scrooge & Shovel Knights facial reactions in some points of the fight
 * The killing blow
 * Shovel Knight's head on a stick with the sign that says "Thieves Beware!" next to it

CONS

 * What're the connections between these two? Odds are it's the pogo-like weapons and that's about it.
 * ...Though I kinda feel the need to question the fact that they took Shovel Knight's fights with the Battletoads and Kratos into consideration. That and I feel like I didn't get any real grasp on Shovel Knight's speed and durability
 * It's very odd how they portray Shovel Knight as a greedy character, as funny as it is
 * Rather short fight
 * Seeing how I've never played Shovel Knight, I'm not entirely sure about the verdict.

Overall
This was a pretty damn good episode. While the connection between the characters are pretty damn weak and I'm not entirely sure about the verdict, as well as having somewhat mixed feelings on Shovel Knight's analysis, the episode had some decent jokes and the fight itself was a fun watch. It's also worth mentioning how the fight itself was animated entirely in 8-bit, Luis and Jerky sure did a damn impressive job with the fight animation. I honestly wouldn't mind seeing another attempt at an 8-bit animated fight sometime in the future. Overall, for this was pretty damn neat.

Rating

 * Good

PROS

 * Interesting to know that Deadpool was host to the symbiote before Spidey
 * Boomstick not being impressed by the origins of Venom and Bane's names
 * Funny details in Bane's background
 * Good pre-fight analysis
 * Bane's voice actor does a good job
 * Somewhat decent fight animation...
 * Nice callback to Bane's line from The Dark Knight Rises
 * Batman's cameo after the fight
 * Correct outcome and good reasoning...

​CONS

 * The extreme close-up on Bane's Venom tubes kinda throws me off
 * Venom's voice sounds more like Carnage than...well, Venom
 * ...though the action can look pretty blurry at points
 * Feels like there are some frames of animation missing
 * How the hell did Bane see Venom coming from behind?
 * The transition from when the rocket seemingly hits Venom just looks bad
 * Some weird angles
 * ...But man, this matchup was such a stomp

Overall
For a fight between Batman and Spider-Man's most intimidating foes, this was kind of a letdown. When Venom was initially announced to be in the next Death Battle, I was hyped. But then, it was announced that Bane was his opponent, and I started to have mixed feelings about this matchup, but I was still holding out some hope that it would be good. After the episode was released though, all I have to say is "meh." The analysis was good and the fight itself was somewhat decently animated, but there were also too many things in the fight itself that prevented me from really enjoying it. Not to mention, this is probably one of the stompiest Marvel VS DC ​matchups the show has done so far. I'd say it's almost as stompy as Flash VS Quicksilver, and if you've read my Season 3 Review, then you know what I think of that fight. Overall, this episode was just dull.

Rating

 * Meh...

PROS

 * "Too much pink energy is dangerous!" ~Zordon, 1880
 * Going over some of Power Rangers' more infamous villains
 * "So long, gay Bowser!" when going over the Megazord's feat of tossing the Dragonzord into a mountain
 * Boomstick briefly going over the original pilot of the Blue Lion, Sven, before immediately going over Allura
 * Good pre-fight analysis
 * Voice acting is good, for the most part...
 * "Stronger Together" by Brandon Yates
 * Great fight animation
 * The moment when Voltron gets struck by the Power Sword from behind
 * "Isn't this usually the part where we win?"
 * "Give him covering fire!" "With what?!" "EVERYTHING!!!"
 * Correct outcome and solid reasoning

CONS

 * The models for the Voltron Lion Force
 * The Rangers' models look pretty damn blocky
 * ...The only exception being Matthew Patrick as Keith
 * From what I've heard, it was said in an episode of Death Battle Cast that this was originally gonna be the Season 3 Finale. If that's true, then I'm even more disappointed that Deadpool VS Pinkie Pie was the Season 3 Finale we got.

​Overall
​Ho-ly shit! For a battle between two giant robots piloted by world saving teams, this episode was fucking amazing! With great analysis, some good comedy, fight music that really brings the house down, and an awesome fight animation, Power Rangers VS Voltron is an incredible episode. Most of the complaints I have with this are minor, but there is one thing that bugs me. From what I've heard, it was mentioned in a Death Battle Cast that this was originally the Season 3 Finale, but had to be pushed back due to production issues, so it was replaced with Deadpool VS Pinkie Pie. If that's true, it makes Deadpool VS Pinkie Pie as the Season 3 Finale all the more disappointing. If you were to ask me, I would've kept Season 3 going in 2017 and have this and the three episodes before premiere after Deadpool VS Pinkie Pie, and it would've made the end to Season 3 all the more awesome. Still for what we got, Power Rangers VS Voltron is one helluva ride and one of my favorite episodes of the entire series.

Rating

 * Good