Let me get this out of the way. I think the term "meme" is only really useful as an analogy and simplification and falls far short of a true full explanation of culture and anthropology. Then again, the notion of "genes" is also an oversimplification that falls short of a full explanation of DNA and protein sequences. However, that doesn't mean they aren't useful.
This is a game that was in low numbers. Not THAT low compared to some, but it fetches ebay prices even more insane than Earthbound.
They finally put it on 3DS, so I picked it up myself as I just didn't bother when it first came out.
One fair warning. They didn't make sure to enable the "Advance mode" features. Nothing that actually used Gameboy Advance hardware, but if it detected it was on a GBA, it would unlock some extras like an extra transformation. Rather pathetic that Nintendo couldn't work out how to get something as simple as a small flag in their Gameboy Color emulator. That really seems like a simple task. All the same, the rest of the game is intact and runs very well. (I also wonder if the Zelda Oracle games don't have the "advance rings" in them on 3DS.)
Nintendo released it! It is exclusive to Wii U, unfortunately, and they have a bad habit of charging twice if you want the game on both your 3DS and Wii U, so even if they do release it on 3DS later on...
Anyway! The game should be mostly unaltered, except they applied a "softening" sort of filter to the battle effects out of concern for photosensitive people out there.
They even went the extra mile. That web site has an HTML version of the player's guide which has been custom fit for the Wii U gamepad, so you can peruse the guide using the same controller you're playing the game on.
I had forgotten that "blockbusters" could have well written characters. Are they deep? Not particularly, but neither are the characters in, say, Indiana Jones. More importantly, they are well written, understandable, and interesting. Remember that? Remember when characters were giant personalities in movies? Now everyone's trying to "tone it all down", well I have real life for that thank you.
Oh yes! There's no dogs humping! No random pot brownie nonsense with idiot parents! The humans matter, but every scene with the people is about developing the plot, every scene has a purpose. There IS comic relief, and it is funny, but it is meant to further the story, not just random stupidity inserted for no good reason.
Also, they don't spend an hour setting up the premise. There's no long crawl towards an EVENTUAL monster invasion that leads, eventually, to a single robot fighting that single monster at the VERY end, the rest of the movie just serving as a build up to actually SEEING the robot fighting. Nope, they spend all of 5 minutes telling you "the story so far" and then you're dumped into the world with the invasion in progress for several years now. Yes! That's how movies USED to do this stuff! Hey directors, it's a movie! You don't have time to slowly "build up" an ENTIRE UNIVERSE, you have to get us in there right from the start!
This movie is something I want to watch again and again. In fact, I plan to next weekend.
The only problem? Who the hell thought up "Pacific Rim" as a title? That's not very marketable, and it really says next to nothing about the movie. The movie does REFERENCE the pacific rim throughout the whole thing, because major plot points take place there, and that's good, but really, the "rift" between worlds could have been anywhere.
More to the point, I think this movie could spawn all sorts of toys and get all the kids excited, but that title! How the heck are kids supposed to be gung-ho about a name like that? Pan's Labyrinth, that's got intrigue! Hellboy, well hell boy that's a fun title right there! "Pacific Rim" is one of those "do nothing" titles that some marketing executive forced on this movie I'll wager. I really suspect had it been something cool like "Gypsy Danger" (the name of the mech the main characters pilot in this movie), or even "Giant Hunters", it'd have got more attention.
