There was actually somebody working on some Goosebumps books for the TL but they stopped and I dind't hear from them again. I might discuss them in a later bonus update. I know the original Goosebumps series goes on a bit longer than it did IOTL.
Massively Multiplayer: Gaming In The New Millennium
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There was actually somebody working on some Goosebumps books for the TL but they stopped and I dind't hear from them again. I might discuss them in a later bonus update. I know the original Goosebumps series goes on a bit longer than it did IOTL.
Two questions:
A) Does this mean Scholastic never ended it and started up Goosebumps 2000 as a replacement?
B) Related to the Goosebumps show: how much longer did that last? (I know for a fact that there was supposedly episode filmed concerning the original Night of the Living Dummy, but it never aired because "too spoopy for teh kids".)
As much as I agree with the sentiment (which is very much indeed), the entire point of Vintage Speed Series is 1920s-30s style racing; it may one day go as far as introducing '40s and maybe '50s models. Granted Ecto-1 was built on a '50s Cadillac ambulance, so that might show up as a fan-made mod if they stat to include '50s cars, but I wouldn't count on a '70-something Challenger or an '83 Trans-Am.
Great update, everything sounds cool; I just have to say:
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Michael Wins! Flawless Victory: Christality!
New contender for Best. Line. EVAR.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!Michael Wins! Flawless Victory: Christality!
Degrassi: The Next Generation, Season 2
The second season of Degrassi: The Next Generation premiered on August 23, 2002 on CTV in Canada, and premiered in the US on The N channel on September 5, 2002. It introduced new regulars to the show, and expanded the range of topics covered to alcohol abuse, drug abuse, self image, racial and sexual identity, rape, domestic abuse and violence, the aftermath of death, puberty, weight issues and bullying.
The main change of season 2 is the integration of a local nearby high school into Degrassi Community School, meaning DCS became a combined middle-high school from years 7 to 12 instead of a year 7 to 8 middle school as depicted in Season 1.
Cast
The cast of the second season of Degrassi: The Next Generation consisted of twenty one characters in lead and starring roles. The second season list of new characters includes the return of Joey Jeremiah, another former alumnus of Degrassi High in 1991, as a new music teacher at Degrassi, Craig Manning, a new student and aspiring photographer, and Victoria Coleman, an artsy, musically inclined Freshman who despite getting picked on by bullies, doesn't seem to really care (at first glance) and cracks a joke or two.
This season also introduces two reoccurring students. Ellie, a goth girl who befriends Ashley after losing everything last year, and Marco, Ellie's best friend and secretly a closeted LGBT kid who is fronting to be straight and having a girlfriend so to not cause any trouble.
8th Grade
Emma Nelson (Miriam McDonald) - Still the same feminist, animal rights avocator, enviromentalist and social activist as the previous year, she doesn't really use the internet to try to talk to strangers anymore and is now trying to focus on her school work while raising awareness on topics that she believes in dearly. However, things get complicated once her mother reveals she is dating Mr. Simpson, her Media Immersion teacher. She is also still very confused with her relationship with Sean, since she broke up with him after he accidentally pushed her during a fight with Jimmy.
Manuella 'Manny' Santos (Cassie Steele) - Emma's best friend, she is now wanting to get popular and hang out with the so-called popular crowd, like Paige, Jess and Hazel, despite Emma's overarching objections to cheerleading as a sport and the fact that Manny is not on board with Emma's granola girl and protesting type tendencies.
James Tiberius 'J.T' Yorke (Jake Goldsbie) - The notable class clown that has toned down his antics since the previous year, J.T's main goal is to get into the main in crowd that is popular and also score a date with the hottest and most popular girl in the school, Paige Michalchuk. Despite Toby's objections to the entire plan, J.T still plans to score a date with Paige, much to his best friends chagrin.
Tobias 'Toby' Isaacs (Ryan Cooley) - The computer nerd and J.T's best friend, he is very uncomfortable and unhappy with the fact that he is only seen as a outcast nerd that doesn't really interact with each other, and wants to break out of that mold and change what the student body perceives of his image. He wants to be the manly man that gets all the girls, so he decides to join the wrestling team to gain muscle and seen as a kid who does sports. However, the method he takes is very dangerous.....
Liberty Van Zandt (Sarah Barrable-Tishauer) - The over studious and academic overachiever that has driven everyone off due to her actions and behaviours, she isa very lonely kid that seeks attention by doing things that would drive people off her even more, like embarrassing herself and vandalising someone's locker because of a few words. She still harbours a deep crush for J.T since the year before, and J.T only catches on when she makes the moves on him.....
Sean Cameron (Robert Clark) - A kid from a very poor family in northern Ontario and a more troubling and sad familial background and story, he is now considered to be a rough and tough fighter within the student body, and has a hard time controlling his stress, anxiety and frustration at the same time. However, he is a good kid that has a really good moral compass, and helps Craig escape his domestic abusive father with Emma and Joey's help, and become good friends. Has a on going dispute with Jimmy.
Freshmen (9th Grade)
James 'Jimmy' Brooks (Aubrey Graham) - A wealthy basketball player, a known ladies man and a frequent face as part of the Degrassi Jocks, he dumped Ashley as his girlfriend after her incident last year, and he is still the so-called big man on the school grounds. He is best friends with Spinner (despite the economic differences) and is close with Adelaide in the regards to basketball, although he still has tension between Sean over the Rialtin incident and Jimmy believing that Sean faked his ankle injury
Zachary 'Zach' Friesen (Michael Seater) - Recently in a string of incidents involving his school life and study over the holidays, Zach is aiming to act a bit more social than some uptight nerd. Over the summer holidays, he had tried out some sports, mostly in the realm of school sports and academics while he was at it as well.
Gavin 'Spinner' Mason (Shane Kippel) - Still suffering from the academic scrapings past, Spinner was revealed to have ADHD when he gave one of his Ritalin tablets to Jimmy for a basketball tryout. Also the class clown during class, he comes a poor and often unstable financial home life, which is in contrast to Jimmy's wealthy and unspent upbringing.
Ashley Kerwin (Melissa McIntyre) - A newly admitted goth girl, Ashley turned to the goth lifestyle after losing nearly of her friends to Paige and her posse and losing Jimmy after taking a MDMA pill and acting out in front of everybody during a party the previous year. Although still school council president, her popularity is basically in the gutter and covered by sewage by the time 9th grade comes along, and is struggling with that mere fact alone.
Theresa 'Terri' MacGregor (Christina Schmidt) - The only friend of now fallen Student Council President Ashley Kerwin (now turned goth girl), she tries to support her best friend during the time that she nearly lost everything, but Paige's posse is looking mighty tempting. Although she is still insecure about her weight and having no luck with getting a boyfriend, going to Paige may help her alot....
Paige Michalchuk (Lauren Collins) - The actual new popular queen bee of Degrassi, she took nearly all the wind out of Ashley's sails when she had her MDMA tablet incident at the last year. She now leads the Spirit Squad and has gathered Ashley's former friends into a posse and formed a core group that included Jess and Hazel. She is now the top girl, and her motions are in full force..... until a fling with a Bardell Senior High soccer player at a teenage party turns into something more terrifying than she had realised.
Jessica 'Jess' O'Reilly (Ashley Leggat) - Following in Paige's footsteps along with Hazel, she is a girl that also left Ashley when she had her MDMA breakdown and is now one of Paige's sidekicks in her inner posse, and on the spirit squad. On the outside, she is confident, snide, mean and a somewhat of a stinger, but on the inside, she wants to connect with people and is truely nice and friendly. However, due to her already gaining a juvenile record at 14 when she got drunk, she is trying to keep out of the incidents, but being popular carries its limits.
Adelaide Corcoran (Marieve Herington) - Adelaide, since coming out of the social hide spot last year, is now a regular fixture in the popular crowd, and good friends with Jimmy, Spinner and the others. Her love for basketball, especially for the Toronto Raptors, is still going strong, and is attempting to try out for the Degrassi female basketball team. However, with her goings with the in-crowd comes pressures, and that includes some things that shouldn't be tried at all.
Craig Manning (Jake Epstein) - A aspiring photographer and outside person, at first glance he is a care free, open minded kid that just wants to explore the world. However, his home life is anything but care free and happy, and Craig lives in fear of his angry father, Albert, who physically and emotionally abuses him and flies into a rage at the slightest provocation or mistake that Craig does. Craig wants out, but his father won't let him go.
Victoria Coleman* (Katie Crown) - A new Freshman, she is very into the arts of Degrassi Community School, and usually paints or sketches in her spare time and is also interested in music as a subject, getting the interest of Craig, who sometimes paints his photos in paintings. However, she also likes girls as well as boys and is currently hiding in the closet due to the homophobic nature of her bullies, who shout slurs at her despite not knowing she is bisexual.
Degrassi Staff
Archie 'Snake' Simpson (Stefan Brogren) - A former alumnus of the original Degrassi High School in 1991, he is the school's Media Immersion Teacher, and homeroom teacher for the Freshmen/Grade Niners.
Daniel Raditch (Dan Woods) - He is the current Principal of Degrassi Community School, known for being strict about the school rules and general hijinks the students get up to.
Darryl Armstrong (Michael Kinney) - The Math and Gym teacher at Degrassi Community School.
Lennox 'Lenny' Jacobs (Kris-Holden Ried) - The school's history and social studies teacher that had joined last year, but is now a decently good history and social studies teacher who is known for mixing his classes up with interesting new subjects.
Joseph 'Joey' Jeremiah (Pat Mastroianni) - A good friend of Snake and another former alumnus of Degrassi High School, he is the new music teacher at Degrassi Community School, and known for playing both acoustic and electric guitar in his class. He is also the guardian of Craig, after he takes Craig in after realising Albert was attacking Craig physically.
Other Students and Staff (Reoccurring)
Eleanor 'Ellie' Nash (Stacey Farber) - A goth girl in the same grade as Ashley, she befriends her after Ashley becomes a goth girl and is looking for someone to bond with after her fall from grace from the popular group and Student Council President.
Marco Del Rossi (Adamo Ruggiero) - A seemingly normal kid that hangs out with Craig, Jimmy, Spinner and Sean, and is also Ellie's best friend, he is secretly in the closet and he struggles to express that sentiment without invoking the wrath of his peers, who are either homophobic or just doesn't understand.
Daphne Hatzilakos (Melissa DiMarco) - Degrassi's new science teacher.
Caitlin Ryan (Stacie Mistysyn) - A epileptic, but strong reporter, human rights activist and environmentalist, she is also a graduate and alumna of the original Degrassi High in 1991 and a very close friend of Christine Nelson, another former graduate.
Christine Nelson (Amanda Stepto) - Snake's girlfriend (now wife), she is also another graduate and alumna of Degrassi High, and was a teen mother during that time too, giving birth to Emma in June of 1989, who is now at Degrassi Community School. Emma's real father, Shane, was committed to a psychiatric institution after falling off a bridge, and hasn't seen his daughter in a decade or more.
Hazel Aden (Andrea Lewis) - Paige's second sidekick alongside Jess, Hazel is also on the spirit squad and backs Paige up more than expand her scope of personality or friends.
* - Fictional Degrassi character
Intro
The show's title card introduction to each second season episode of Degrassi: The Next Generation is mostly the same from the previous season, but with the addition of three new characters. The second season intro for Degrassi ITTL, resembles the OTL second season intro in mostly the same ways, but with the ATL intro of Season one mended with the OTL intro of season 2 and the ATL additional characters of Season 1. As like OTL, the intro is a bit longer to accommodate the new characters.
The intro, like OTL and TTL, starts with Emma (Miriam) typing up a email on her computer and clicking the send button. Then the email is visualized passing through the school, first enters the gym, where Jimmy (Aubrey) is playing a basketball game, and Terri and Ashley (Christina and Melissa) are singing with the choir. Then the email goes through the door left open by Liberty (Sarah), passes by Zach (Michael S.) sitting on one of the blue chairs, then goes past Lenny (Kris) searching for some books, then jumps to Manny (Cassie) talking to some girls past Snake (Stefan) dropping his work papers and sheets, then jumps to the MI room where Toby (Ryan) is messing around on the computer.
The first half of the hallway intro remains the same, with Adelaide (Marieve) standing by her locker, Spinner and J.T (Shane and Jake G.) at the water fountains with the former splashing water on the latter, Paige and Jess (Lauren and Ashley) putting up the dance poster, then Darryl (Michael K.) helping a student with his locker. The second half diverges somewhat, where it jumps to Victoria (Katie) sketching something in her notebook, then it jumps to Joey (Pat) in the hallway with his music class playing music, then Craig (Jake E.) taking a picture of the class, before going back to Sean and Mr. Raditch (Robert and Dan) talking to each other before the email reaches the phone on someone's jeans and then the title pops up.
Episodes
The Season 2 episode list is mostly similar to the OTL Season 2, similar to the ATL version of Season 1 (all episodes that aired in OTL airs as usual ITTL), but with addition of 6 more episodes ITTL, bringing up the episode count to 28, instead of 22 IOTL.
When Doves Cry (S02E01-02) and Tears Are Not Enough (S02E27-28) remain the season premier and season finale, respectively. Episodes Shout (S02E07-08) and How Soon Is Now (S02E27) also remain the same due to Paige's rape storyline, but with the addition of Lenny and Jess. Lenny, Victoria, Jess, Zach and Adelaide will also make appearances in OTL aired episodes. Joey, unlike IOTL, will play a much more prominent role in the school, as the schools music teacher.
The six additional episodes that are ITTL's version of season 2 are listed here:
Don't Look Back in Anger (S02E06) - After Craig moved out of his abusive father's house and now lives in with Joey at his house, he goes to Degrassi as part of the so called self imposed loner crowd, staying away from most social events and interactions, despite becoming good friends with Victoria and Sean and having photography and music as his main interests and passions. Paige, seeing this type of behaviour from Craig as a easy target, starts to harass Craig alongside Jess and Hazel. However, things step out of line fast once she starts teasing him about coming from a family that gets punched, resulting in Craig lashing out and saying that he was domestically abused by his father. Paige, realising that what she said was way too far, tries to apologise but fails as Craig deems her a bully. Can Craig ever forgive Paige for what she had done?
Night Fever (S02E12) - As the dispute between Zach and Spinner gets heated up due to a spate of petty incidents in regards to Zach receiving a higher test score than Spinner, he challenges Zach to have an all out brawl fight in the carpark at lunch in a couple of days and Zach unwittingly accepts, despite having no fighting skills whatsoever and facing off against a known fighter who whacks a mean hook. Can he back out, or will Zach have to face him in the carpark and duke it out?
Driftwood (S02E15) - Victoria has been been on the receiving end of a string of bullies for the time that she had been at Degrassi, and learned to not really care and take it as a part of her school life. Once the bullies upping the ante and started shouting homophobic and sexist slurs at everywhere she goes, both in school and out of school as well, can she stand being in the clostet even though it may affect her school and home life directly?
White Noise (S02E19) - Jess has just received a invitation to a wild party hosted by James, and wants to buy some new clothes so that she could impress her friends. However, her parents had not allowed her to use her cash due to an upcoming family dinner, so she resorts to shoplifting to get the clothes that she wanted. At first, she doesn't get caught and manages to get to the party without any trouble, but the next day, when she tries again, she gets caught when she attempts to flee from two police officers and runs into a stand.
Semi Charmed Life (S02E21) - Adelaide, under intense peer pressure from her friends, takes an acid tab for the first time, and things seem to be going well. Shes having fun, the night was great, and nothing seemed to go wrong. That's until she wakes up in the middle of a park in central Toronto with no recollection of what she did. She goes to Degrassi the next day to discover a police officer, Mr. Radtich and her parents talking....
Everything You Do (S02E25) - The first Degrassi comedy hour festival is now on its feet, and Victoria is ready to roll over the competition with her jokes and skits, but upon further examination by Craig, he warns that going ahead with one of them would be risky at best. Victoria goes too far however when she jokes about kids from poor and broken households from the outside, getting her suspended for 2 days. Can she actually own up that what she said was wrong?
The main change of season 2 is the integration of a local nearby high school into Degrassi Community School, meaning DCS became a combined middle-high school from years 7 to 12 instead of a year 7 to 8 middle school as depicted in Season 1.
Cast
The cast of the second season of Degrassi: The Next Generation consisted of twenty one characters in lead and starring roles. The second season list of new characters includes the return of Joey Jeremiah, another former alumnus of Degrassi High in 1991, as a new music teacher at Degrassi, Craig Manning, a new student and aspiring photographer, and Victoria Coleman, an artsy, musically inclined Freshman who despite getting picked on by bullies, doesn't seem to really care (at first glance) and cracks a joke or two.
This season also introduces two reoccurring students. Ellie, a goth girl who befriends Ashley after losing everything last year, and Marco, Ellie's best friend and secretly a closeted LGBT kid who is fronting to be straight and having a girlfriend so to not cause any trouble.
8th Grade
Emma Nelson (Miriam McDonald) - Still the same feminist, animal rights avocator, enviromentalist and social activist as the previous year, she doesn't really use the internet to try to talk to strangers anymore and is now trying to focus on her school work while raising awareness on topics that she believes in dearly. However, things get complicated once her mother reveals she is dating Mr. Simpson, her Media Immersion teacher. She is also still very confused with her relationship with Sean, since she broke up with him after he accidentally pushed her during a fight with Jimmy.
Manuella 'Manny' Santos (Cassie Steele) - Emma's best friend, she is now wanting to get popular and hang out with the so-called popular crowd, like Paige, Jess and Hazel, despite Emma's overarching objections to cheerleading as a sport and the fact that Manny is not on board with Emma's granola girl and protesting type tendencies.
James Tiberius 'J.T' Yorke (Jake Goldsbie) - The notable class clown that has toned down his antics since the previous year, J.T's main goal is to get into the main in crowd that is popular and also score a date with the hottest and most popular girl in the school, Paige Michalchuk. Despite Toby's objections to the entire plan, J.T still plans to score a date with Paige, much to his best friends chagrin.
Tobias 'Toby' Isaacs (Ryan Cooley) - The computer nerd and J.T's best friend, he is very uncomfortable and unhappy with the fact that he is only seen as a outcast nerd that doesn't really interact with each other, and wants to break out of that mold and change what the student body perceives of his image. He wants to be the manly man that gets all the girls, so he decides to join the wrestling team to gain muscle and seen as a kid who does sports. However, the method he takes is very dangerous.....
Liberty Van Zandt (Sarah Barrable-Tishauer) - The over studious and academic overachiever that has driven everyone off due to her actions and behaviours, she isa very lonely kid that seeks attention by doing things that would drive people off her even more, like embarrassing herself and vandalising someone's locker because of a few words. She still harbours a deep crush for J.T since the year before, and J.T only catches on when she makes the moves on him.....
Sean Cameron (Robert Clark) - A kid from a very poor family in northern Ontario and a more troubling and sad familial background and story, he is now considered to be a rough and tough fighter within the student body, and has a hard time controlling his stress, anxiety and frustration at the same time. However, he is a good kid that has a really good moral compass, and helps Craig escape his domestic abusive father with Emma and Joey's help, and become good friends. Has a on going dispute with Jimmy.
Freshmen (9th Grade)
James 'Jimmy' Brooks (Aubrey Graham) - A wealthy basketball player, a known ladies man and a frequent face as part of the Degrassi Jocks, he dumped Ashley as his girlfriend after her incident last year, and he is still the so-called big man on the school grounds. He is best friends with Spinner (despite the economic differences) and is close with Adelaide in the regards to basketball, although he still has tension between Sean over the Rialtin incident and Jimmy believing that Sean faked his ankle injury
Zachary 'Zach' Friesen (Michael Seater) - Recently in a string of incidents involving his school life and study over the holidays, Zach is aiming to act a bit more social than some uptight nerd. Over the summer holidays, he had tried out some sports, mostly in the realm of school sports and academics while he was at it as well.
Gavin 'Spinner' Mason (Shane Kippel) - Still suffering from the academic scrapings past, Spinner was revealed to have ADHD when he gave one of his Ritalin tablets to Jimmy for a basketball tryout. Also the class clown during class, he comes a poor and often unstable financial home life, which is in contrast to Jimmy's wealthy and unspent upbringing.
Ashley Kerwin (Melissa McIntyre) - A newly admitted goth girl, Ashley turned to the goth lifestyle after losing nearly of her friends to Paige and her posse and losing Jimmy after taking a MDMA pill and acting out in front of everybody during a party the previous year. Although still school council president, her popularity is basically in the gutter and covered by sewage by the time 9th grade comes along, and is struggling with that mere fact alone.
Theresa 'Terri' MacGregor (Christina Schmidt) - The only friend of now fallen Student Council President Ashley Kerwin (now turned goth girl), she tries to support her best friend during the time that she nearly lost everything, but Paige's posse is looking mighty tempting. Although she is still insecure about her weight and having no luck with getting a boyfriend, going to Paige may help her alot....
Paige Michalchuk (Lauren Collins) - The actual new popular queen bee of Degrassi, she took nearly all the wind out of Ashley's sails when she had her MDMA tablet incident at the last year. She now leads the Spirit Squad and has gathered Ashley's former friends into a posse and formed a core group that included Jess and Hazel. She is now the top girl, and her motions are in full force..... until a fling with a Bardell Senior High soccer player at a teenage party turns into something more terrifying than she had realised.
Jessica 'Jess' O'Reilly (Ashley Leggat) - Following in Paige's footsteps along with Hazel, she is a girl that also left Ashley when she had her MDMA breakdown and is now one of Paige's sidekicks in her inner posse, and on the spirit squad. On the outside, she is confident, snide, mean and a somewhat of a stinger, but on the inside, she wants to connect with people and is truely nice and friendly. However, due to her already gaining a juvenile record at 14 when she got drunk, she is trying to keep out of the incidents, but being popular carries its limits.
Adelaide Corcoran (Marieve Herington) - Adelaide, since coming out of the social hide spot last year, is now a regular fixture in the popular crowd, and good friends with Jimmy, Spinner and the others. Her love for basketball, especially for the Toronto Raptors, is still going strong, and is attempting to try out for the Degrassi female basketball team. However, with her goings with the in-crowd comes pressures, and that includes some things that shouldn't be tried at all.
Craig Manning (Jake Epstein) - A aspiring photographer and outside person, at first glance he is a care free, open minded kid that just wants to explore the world. However, his home life is anything but care free and happy, and Craig lives in fear of his angry father, Albert, who physically and emotionally abuses him and flies into a rage at the slightest provocation or mistake that Craig does. Craig wants out, but his father won't let him go.
Victoria Coleman* (Katie Crown) - A new Freshman, she is very into the arts of Degrassi Community School, and usually paints or sketches in her spare time and is also interested in music as a subject, getting the interest of Craig, who sometimes paints his photos in paintings. However, she also likes girls as well as boys and is currently hiding in the closet due to the homophobic nature of her bullies, who shout slurs at her despite not knowing she is bisexual.
Degrassi Staff
Archie 'Snake' Simpson (Stefan Brogren) - A former alumnus of the original Degrassi High School in 1991, he is the school's Media Immersion Teacher, and homeroom teacher for the Freshmen/Grade Niners.
Daniel Raditch (Dan Woods) - He is the current Principal of Degrassi Community School, known for being strict about the school rules and general hijinks the students get up to.
Darryl Armstrong (Michael Kinney) - The Math and Gym teacher at Degrassi Community School.
Lennox 'Lenny' Jacobs (Kris-Holden Ried) - The school's history and social studies teacher that had joined last year, but is now a decently good history and social studies teacher who is known for mixing his classes up with interesting new subjects.
Joseph 'Joey' Jeremiah (Pat Mastroianni) - A good friend of Snake and another former alumnus of Degrassi High School, he is the new music teacher at Degrassi Community School, and known for playing both acoustic and electric guitar in his class. He is also the guardian of Craig, after he takes Craig in after realising Albert was attacking Craig physically.
Other Students and Staff (Reoccurring)
Eleanor 'Ellie' Nash (Stacey Farber) - A goth girl in the same grade as Ashley, she befriends her after Ashley becomes a goth girl and is looking for someone to bond with after her fall from grace from the popular group and Student Council President.
Marco Del Rossi (Adamo Ruggiero) - A seemingly normal kid that hangs out with Craig, Jimmy, Spinner and Sean, and is also Ellie's best friend, he is secretly in the closet and he struggles to express that sentiment without invoking the wrath of his peers, who are either homophobic or just doesn't understand.
Daphne Hatzilakos (Melissa DiMarco) - Degrassi's new science teacher.
Caitlin Ryan (Stacie Mistysyn) - A epileptic, but strong reporter, human rights activist and environmentalist, she is also a graduate and alumna of the original Degrassi High in 1991 and a very close friend of Christine Nelson, another former graduate.
Christine Nelson (Amanda Stepto) - Snake's girlfriend (now wife), she is also another graduate and alumna of Degrassi High, and was a teen mother during that time too, giving birth to Emma in June of 1989, who is now at Degrassi Community School. Emma's real father, Shane, was committed to a psychiatric institution after falling off a bridge, and hasn't seen his daughter in a decade or more.
Hazel Aden (Andrea Lewis) - Paige's second sidekick alongside Jess, Hazel is also on the spirit squad and backs Paige up more than expand her scope of personality or friends.
* - Fictional Degrassi character
Intro
The show's title card introduction to each second season episode of Degrassi: The Next Generation is mostly the same from the previous season, but with the addition of three new characters. The second season intro for Degrassi ITTL, resembles the OTL second season intro in mostly the same ways, but with the ATL intro of Season one mended with the OTL intro of season 2 and the ATL additional characters of Season 1. As like OTL, the intro is a bit longer to accommodate the new characters.
The intro, like OTL and TTL, starts with Emma (Miriam) typing up a email on her computer and clicking the send button. Then the email is visualized passing through the school, first enters the gym, where Jimmy (Aubrey) is playing a basketball game, and Terri and Ashley (Christina and Melissa) are singing with the choir. Then the email goes through the door left open by Liberty (Sarah), passes by Zach (Michael S.) sitting on one of the blue chairs, then goes past Lenny (Kris) searching for some books, then jumps to Manny (Cassie) talking to some girls past Snake (Stefan) dropping his work papers and sheets, then jumps to the MI room where Toby (Ryan) is messing around on the computer.
The first half of the hallway intro remains the same, with Adelaide (Marieve) standing by her locker, Spinner and J.T (Shane and Jake G.) at the water fountains with the former splashing water on the latter, Paige and Jess (Lauren and Ashley) putting up the dance poster, then Darryl (Michael K.) helping a student with his locker. The second half diverges somewhat, where it jumps to Victoria (Katie) sketching something in her notebook, then it jumps to Joey (Pat) in the hallway with his music class playing music, then Craig (Jake E.) taking a picture of the class, before going back to Sean and Mr. Raditch (Robert and Dan) talking to each other before the email reaches the phone on someone's jeans and then the title pops up.
Episodes
The Season 2 episode list is mostly similar to the OTL Season 2, similar to the ATL version of Season 1 (all episodes that aired in OTL airs as usual ITTL), but with addition of 6 more episodes ITTL, bringing up the episode count to 28, instead of 22 IOTL.
When Doves Cry (S02E01-02) and Tears Are Not Enough (S02E27-28) remain the season premier and season finale, respectively. Episodes Shout (S02E07-08) and How Soon Is Now (S02E27) also remain the same due to Paige's rape storyline, but with the addition of Lenny and Jess. Lenny, Victoria, Jess, Zach and Adelaide will also make appearances in OTL aired episodes. Joey, unlike IOTL, will play a much more prominent role in the school, as the schools music teacher.
The six additional episodes that are ITTL's version of season 2 are listed here:
Don't Look Back in Anger (S02E06) - After Craig moved out of his abusive father's house and now lives in with Joey at his house, he goes to Degrassi as part of the so called self imposed loner crowd, staying away from most social events and interactions, despite becoming good friends with Victoria and Sean and having photography and music as his main interests and passions. Paige, seeing this type of behaviour from Craig as a easy target, starts to harass Craig alongside Jess and Hazel. However, things step out of line fast once she starts teasing him about coming from a family that gets punched, resulting in Craig lashing out and saying that he was domestically abused by his father. Paige, realising that what she said was way too far, tries to apologise but fails as Craig deems her a bully. Can Craig ever forgive Paige for what she had done?
Night Fever (S02E12) - As the dispute between Zach and Spinner gets heated up due to a spate of petty incidents in regards to Zach receiving a higher test score than Spinner, he challenges Zach to have an all out brawl fight in the carpark at lunch in a couple of days and Zach unwittingly accepts, despite having no fighting skills whatsoever and facing off against a known fighter who whacks a mean hook. Can he back out, or will Zach have to face him in the carpark and duke it out?
Driftwood (S02E15) - Victoria has been been on the receiving end of a string of bullies for the time that she had been at Degrassi, and learned to not really care and take it as a part of her school life. Once the bullies upping the ante and started shouting homophobic and sexist slurs at everywhere she goes, both in school and out of school as well, can she stand being in the clostet even though it may affect her school and home life directly?
White Noise (S02E19) - Jess has just received a invitation to a wild party hosted by James, and wants to buy some new clothes so that she could impress her friends. However, her parents had not allowed her to use her cash due to an upcoming family dinner, so she resorts to shoplifting to get the clothes that she wanted. At first, she doesn't get caught and manages to get to the party without any trouble, but the next day, when she tries again, she gets caught when she attempts to flee from two police officers and runs into a stand.
Semi Charmed Life (S02E21) - Adelaide, under intense peer pressure from her friends, takes an acid tab for the first time, and things seem to be going well. Shes having fun, the night was great, and nothing seemed to go wrong. That's until she wakes up in the middle of a park in central Toronto with no recollection of what she did. She goes to Degrassi the next day to discover a police officer, Mr. Radtich and her parents talking....
Everything You Do (S02E25) - The first Degrassi comedy hour festival is now on its feet, and Victoria is ready to roll over the competition with her jokes and skits, but upon further examination by Craig, he warns that going ahead with one of them would be risky at best. Victoria goes too far however when she jokes about kids from poor and broken households from the outside, getting her suspended for 2 days. Can she actually own up that what she said was wrong?
Fall 2002 (Part 1) - The War On Terrorism Heats Up
As summer turned into fall, American special forces troops in Afghanistan and Pakistan were making little progress on rounding up the most significant Al-Queda terrorists. While numerous terrorist camps and training facilities had been taken out, and hundreds of low-ranking operatives had been killed or captured, numerous high ranking terrorists, including Osama Bin Laden, the leader of Al-Queda and mastermind of the September 11th attacks, remained at large. The United States maintained a close relationship with Pakistan, its most important ally in the region, in the fight against terrorism, and Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf was continuing to juggle his desire to help the United States fight terrorism and growing unrest in his nation. There had been two more minor terrorist attacks in Pakistan over the summer: one in June and another in July, that together had claimed a total of 13 lives. Musharraf was facing increased criticism from hardliners over the American presence in Pakistan, and ordered a harsh crackdown on the opposition, which targeted both terrorist sympathizers and benign critics, increasing his unpopularity in the country.
Knowing that Pakistan's cooperation in the fight against Al-Queda might not hold out as pressure on Musharraf increased, United States president Al Gore asked for an anti-terrorism summit between leaders of the two nations that would take place in Washington D.C. in October. Musharraf agreed to the summit, hoping that the problem of Al-Queda could be ended once and for all. Musharraf traveled to the United States in early October, where he hoped to hash out an anti-terrorism deal that would ensure continued American-Pakistani cooperation in the fight against terror.
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Wolf Blitzer: Today, an important anti-terrorism summit will take place at the White House, as President Gore meets with Pakistan's president Pervez Musharraf to discuss the continued fight against Al-Queda terrorists in the region. Gore is hoping to gain Musharraf's cooperation on a deal that could bring more than 2,500 special forces troops into the western regions of the country, where Al-Queda's top lieutenants and possibly Osama Bin Laden are thought to be in hiding. We've got CNN correspondent David Ensor here to discuss the potential implications of this meeting. David, Pakistan is considered an ally in the fight against terrorism, but many prominent figures within that country have denounced Musharraf's handling of the current situation.
David Ensor: That's right, Wolf, and of course Pakistan is a country with a lot of very hardline people who don't appreciate American troops in the country. We've had that same problem with Saudi Arabia, where...where you had a lot of American troops stationed there during the Gulf War, and that was used as a recruiting point by many terrorist groups who then went on to attack American interests later on. Indeed, one of Osama Bin Laden's primary motivations for attacking the United States is because of the presence of American troops in Saudi Arabia.
Blitzer: And so over the past few months, Al-Queda has been operating heavily in Pakistan.
Ensor: Correct, there have been more than a dozen attacks, and that's put a lot of pressure on Musharraf to deal with the terrorist situation in his own country. There are of course moderates who want terrorists to be defeated, but they want Pakistani troops and police to be the ones to do it, not the Americans, and so there's this tightrope between-
Blitzer: Hold on, David, I'm sorry but I'm gonna have to cut you off, we've got breaking news right now as there's been some kind of commotion outside the hotel where President Musharraf has been staying.
*A live shot of the hotel with dozens of ambulances and police vehicles outside is shown, along with some cars from the motorcade that was supposed to take Musharraf to the White House.*
Blitzer: We're getting reports that there may have been some gunfire outside the hotel.
*The live shot remains on screen while Blitzer continues to speak, they're showing police running past while medical personnel seem to be attending to someone outside the hotel, but we can't see who.*
Blitzer: All right, I'm now hearing that....that Pervez Musharraf may have been the target of a possible assassination attempt and that he may have indeed been shot. That is what I'm hearing right now from DC police radio and... is that confirmed? ...yes, we're hearing that Pervez Musharraf has been shot by an unknown assailant, but we do not have any status on his health at this time.
(...)
Blitzer: The report, just coming in is that Pervez Musharraf, president of Pakistan, is listed in critical condition right now. He was rushed to the nearest hospital and immediately taken into surgery. Again, just 45 minutes ago as Musharraf was leaving his hotel to go to the White House, an unknown sniper fired a single round that hit Musharraf in the chest. Musharraf was immediately tended to by his security staff and by paramedics, and there is currently a massive manhunt throughout Washington D.C. and the surrounding areas for the person or persons responsible. The White House and Capitol are both on lockdown, and police have been mobilized to search for the person responsible who is considered to be armed and dangerous.
-from a CNN news broadcast on the morning of October 2, 2002
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The attempted assassination of a foreign head of state on American soil presented one of the biggest possible foreign policy crises a country can face. Matters were even more complicated by the fact that the crime was perpetrated by Americans: John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo, who were captured a few hours after the shooting in a massive manhunt. The trigger that fired the bullet that critically wounded Musharraf was pulled by Malvo, a boy of just 17. The two had previous committed a string of murders in other states that at the time were believed to be unrelated. When asked about his motivation for his actions, Malvo cited the attacks as an "act of jihad", but later recanted this statement and claimed that Muhammad had brainwashed him, while Muhammad himself was thought by some psychiatric analysts to have been unstable and possibly seeking revenge because his ex-wife had taken his kids from him. Though some did cite these mental instabilities for the crimes Muhammad and Malvo committed (with a few "experts" pointing to autism, which was also thought to be the motivation for the actions of school shooter Christian Weston Chandler), most believed Malvo's first statement, that the assassination attempt was indeed an act of terror intended to destabilize relations between the United States and Pakistan, two of the most crucial allies in the fight against Al-Queda.
Thanks to the prompt response from paramedics and the skilled surgeons at the trauma center Musharraf was taken to after being wounded, the Pakistani president survived his wounds and made a full recovery. He was up and out of bed in just two weeks, a recovery comparable to that made by Ronald Reagan after the attempt on his life in 1981. Though the attempt on Musharraf's life led to the cancellation of the anti-terrorism summit between the two world leaders, President Gore stayed in touch with Musharraf throughout his time in the hospital, and promised that the two would discuss anti-terrorism strategies at a later date. The attack led to increased support in Pakistan for anti-terrorism measures, and fears that hardliners would use Musharraf's stay in the hospital as an opportunity to overthrow the Pakistani government ultimately went unfounded, as security forces in the country cracked down on dissidents and kept the country's power structure intact.
Domestically, Al Gore responded to the attempt on Musharraf's life by re-asserting Pakistan's role as a valuable American ally, and emphasizing that the fight against terrorism wasn't over. Republicans in Congress criticized Gore during this time, claiming that he needed to take a more assertive role to fight terrorism at home and abroad. The midterms were coming up, and Republicans tried to paint Gore as being "soft" on terrorism, with a few Republicans even saying that America needed to do more to combat terror in other countries in the region, particularly Iraq, where Saddam Hussein continued to criticize America daily. Some Republicans claimed that if Pakistan was harboring terrorists, Iraq must be harboring them too, and that special forces needed to be sent into the country to combat them. Despite the harsh attacks from Republicans, Gore's approval rating did tick up slightly, though it was still hovering just over 50 percent going into the 2002 midterm elections.
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"The attempt on President Musharraf's life represents an attack on one of America's allies, and as I have repeatedly said, an attack on an ally of America is considered an attack on America itself. The individuals responsible for this attack have been apprehended thanks to the brave efforts of the Washington D.C. police force, and they will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. To anyone who would commit such atrocious acts, I say to you this: cowardly attacks will not defeat the spirit of America and of all freedom loving people around the world. The fight against terrorism continues, and freedom will prevail. As soon as President Musharraf recovers, he and I will resume our important discussions aimed at finding and apprehending the remaining terrorists responsible for the tragic attacks of 9/11. America is deeply appreciative of the cooperation of its allies in the continuing fight to bring the remaining members of Al-Queda to justice. We stand tonight with the people of Pakistan, just as the people of Pakistan have stood with us throughout this fight. I ask for all of you to keep President Musharraf in your thoughts and prayers."
-from Al Gore's address to the nation on the night of October 2, 2002
Knowing that Pakistan's cooperation in the fight against Al-Queda might not hold out as pressure on Musharraf increased, United States president Al Gore asked for an anti-terrorism summit between leaders of the two nations that would take place in Washington D.C. in October. Musharraf agreed to the summit, hoping that the problem of Al-Queda could be ended once and for all. Musharraf traveled to the United States in early October, where he hoped to hash out an anti-terrorism deal that would ensure continued American-Pakistani cooperation in the fight against terror.
-
Wolf Blitzer: Today, an important anti-terrorism summit will take place at the White House, as President Gore meets with Pakistan's president Pervez Musharraf to discuss the continued fight against Al-Queda terrorists in the region. Gore is hoping to gain Musharraf's cooperation on a deal that could bring more than 2,500 special forces troops into the western regions of the country, where Al-Queda's top lieutenants and possibly Osama Bin Laden are thought to be in hiding. We've got CNN correspondent David Ensor here to discuss the potential implications of this meeting. David, Pakistan is considered an ally in the fight against terrorism, but many prominent figures within that country have denounced Musharraf's handling of the current situation.
David Ensor: That's right, Wolf, and of course Pakistan is a country with a lot of very hardline people who don't appreciate American troops in the country. We've had that same problem with Saudi Arabia, where...where you had a lot of American troops stationed there during the Gulf War, and that was used as a recruiting point by many terrorist groups who then went on to attack American interests later on. Indeed, one of Osama Bin Laden's primary motivations for attacking the United States is because of the presence of American troops in Saudi Arabia.
Blitzer: And so over the past few months, Al-Queda has been operating heavily in Pakistan.
Ensor: Correct, there have been more than a dozen attacks, and that's put a lot of pressure on Musharraf to deal with the terrorist situation in his own country. There are of course moderates who want terrorists to be defeated, but they want Pakistani troops and police to be the ones to do it, not the Americans, and so there's this tightrope between-
Blitzer: Hold on, David, I'm sorry but I'm gonna have to cut you off, we've got breaking news right now as there's been some kind of commotion outside the hotel where President Musharraf has been staying.
*A live shot of the hotel with dozens of ambulances and police vehicles outside is shown, along with some cars from the motorcade that was supposed to take Musharraf to the White House.*
Blitzer: We're getting reports that there may have been some gunfire outside the hotel.
*The live shot remains on screen while Blitzer continues to speak, they're showing police running past while medical personnel seem to be attending to someone outside the hotel, but we can't see who.*
Blitzer: All right, I'm now hearing that....that Pervez Musharraf may have been the target of a possible assassination attempt and that he may have indeed been shot. That is what I'm hearing right now from DC police radio and... is that confirmed? ...yes, we're hearing that Pervez Musharraf has been shot by an unknown assailant, but we do not have any status on his health at this time.
(...)
Blitzer: The report, just coming in is that Pervez Musharraf, president of Pakistan, is listed in critical condition right now. He was rushed to the nearest hospital and immediately taken into surgery. Again, just 45 minutes ago as Musharraf was leaving his hotel to go to the White House, an unknown sniper fired a single round that hit Musharraf in the chest. Musharraf was immediately tended to by his security staff and by paramedics, and there is currently a massive manhunt throughout Washington D.C. and the surrounding areas for the person or persons responsible. The White House and Capitol are both on lockdown, and police have been mobilized to search for the person responsible who is considered to be armed and dangerous.
-from a CNN news broadcast on the morning of October 2, 2002
-
The attempted assassination of a foreign head of state on American soil presented one of the biggest possible foreign policy crises a country can face. Matters were even more complicated by the fact that the crime was perpetrated by Americans: John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo, who were captured a few hours after the shooting in a massive manhunt. The trigger that fired the bullet that critically wounded Musharraf was pulled by Malvo, a boy of just 17. The two had previous committed a string of murders in other states that at the time were believed to be unrelated. When asked about his motivation for his actions, Malvo cited the attacks as an "act of jihad", but later recanted this statement and claimed that Muhammad had brainwashed him, while Muhammad himself was thought by some psychiatric analysts to have been unstable and possibly seeking revenge because his ex-wife had taken his kids from him. Though some did cite these mental instabilities for the crimes Muhammad and Malvo committed (with a few "experts" pointing to autism, which was also thought to be the motivation for the actions of school shooter Christian Weston Chandler), most believed Malvo's first statement, that the assassination attempt was indeed an act of terror intended to destabilize relations between the United States and Pakistan, two of the most crucial allies in the fight against Al-Queda.
Thanks to the prompt response from paramedics and the skilled surgeons at the trauma center Musharraf was taken to after being wounded, the Pakistani president survived his wounds and made a full recovery. He was up and out of bed in just two weeks, a recovery comparable to that made by Ronald Reagan after the attempt on his life in 1981. Though the attempt on Musharraf's life led to the cancellation of the anti-terrorism summit between the two world leaders, President Gore stayed in touch with Musharraf throughout his time in the hospital, and promised that the two would discuss anti-terrorism strategies at a later date. The attack led to increased support in Pakistan for anti-terrorism measures, and fears that hardliners would use Musharraf's stay in the hospital as an opportunity to overthrow the Pakistani government ultimately went unfounded, as security forces in the country cracked down on dissidents and kept the country's power structure intact.
Domestically, Al Gore responded to the attempt on Musharraf's life by re-asserting Pakistan's role as a valuable American ally, and emphasizing that the fight against terrorism wasn't over. Republicans in Congress criticized Gore during this time, claiming that he needed to take a more assertive role to fight terrorism at home and abroad. The midterms were coming up, and Republicans tried to paint Gore as being "soft" on terrorism, with a few Republicans even saying that America needed to do more to combat terror in other countries in the region, particularly Iraq, where Saddam Hussein continued to criticize America daily. Some Republicans claimed that if Pakistan was harboring terrorists, Iraq must be harboring them too, and that special forces needed to be sent into the country to combat them. Despite the harsh attacks from Republicans, Gore's approval rating did tick up slightly, though it was still hovering just over 50 percent going into the 2002 midterm elections.
-
"The attempt on President Musharraf's life represents an attack on one of America's allies, and as I have repeatedly said, an attack on an ally of America is considered an attack on America itself. The individuals responsible for this attack have been apprehended thanks to the brave efforts of the Washington D.C. police force, and they will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. To anyone who would commit such atrocious acts, I say to you this: cowardly attacks will not defeat the spirit of America and of all freedom loving people around the world. The fight against terrorism continues, and freedom will prevail. As soon as President Musharraf recovers, he and I will resume our important discussions aimed at finding and apprehending the remaining terrorists responsible for the tragic attacks of 9/11. America is deeply appreciative of the cooperation of its allies in the continuing fight to bring the remaining members of Al-Queda to justice. We stand tonight with the people of Pakistan, just as the people of Pakistan have stood with us throughout this fight. I ask for all of you to keep President Musharraf in your thoughts and prayers."
-from Al Gore's address to the nation on the night of October 2, 2002
Sadly is a dark butterfly...and those two where beltway snipers...god i forgot those guys, time past fly....
Fall 2002 (Part 2) - TGS 2002
The 2002 Tokyo Game Show was the only TGS this year, and companies brought out all their upcoming hits for the festivities. Nintendo, normally a no-show or a very small participant in TGS, had one of the year's biggest booths, and they were pushing their upcoming Wave system massively. The biggest game being shown at Nintendo's booth was the upcoming Squad Four: Upheaval, which had its first playable demo at the show. The demo only featured a small part of the world of Agaria, the planet that the squad is fighting to liberate in the game. Players could choose either Shad or Rebecca, and explore a small section of the planet, fighting several mercenary guards and trying out the game's control scheme. For those who played Rebellion, the controls are a bit similar, though each character now has context-sensitive fighting moves that can link to combos in battle. The graphics looked absolutely amazing, demonstrating the Wave's technical power. Each blade of grass waves independently, the sun glistens off the morning dew, and the character models are more detailed than most Xbox games. Squad Four: Upheaval is looking to be the Wave's marquee game next year, and there were long lines to play the game while we were over at Nintendo's booth. Other Wave games featured at the booth included Killer Instinct 3, Mario Kart: Double Dash, and a new Wave Race title: Wave Race: Blue Crest. Wave Race is expected to be a launch window game and got its first playable demo here as well, with most of the racers and tracks available to play. It's appropriate that Nintendo picked their new Wave Race game to help show off their new Wave console, and it too is graphically gorgeous, while the animation is far smoother and races move at a very rapid pace. Nintendo also had their new Zelda game at the show, but they were mostly demoing the same videos and screenshots that we've already seen. Alongside Nintendo at the show was Sony, showing off more of Gran Turismo 3. There wasn't much more of the game than we'd already seen, but the playable demo booth was still extremely crowded, and the visuals really wowed attendees.
The other big Nintendo game exhibited at TGS 2002 was the new Pokemon. Called Pokemon Alpha and Omega, the game takes place in a water-centric region, and will center around the concepts of life and death, framed in the games as growth and decay. The game was unveiled in CoroCoro Magazine last month, and five of the game's Pokemon were revealed, including the three starters (a grass-based gecko, a fire based chick, and a water based mudskipper) and the two version mascots (a massive tree-like Pokemon representing Yggdrasil, the world tree, and a black cloaked reaper Pokemon meant to represent decay and death). Nintendo showed off some footage of the game's graphics, which are a slight step up from Sun and Moon, though the game doesn't appear to be a wholesale rehaul like generation 2 was. Nintendo is using the game to introduce a few new concepts and a bunch of new Pokemon, and obviously to sell millions and millions of units to creature-starved Pokemaniacs. Nintendo has announced a release date for early next year, at least here in Japan.
As always, Squaresoft had one of the biggest booths at the show, and they were showing off Final Fantasy, including the upcoming Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy Online, both for the Nintendo Wave. Final Fantasy X looks to be one of the biggest changes for the series to date. The game is scrapping the longtime ATB combat system in favor of a slower, more strategic combat system in which players can see their characters' and enemies' upcoming turns at a glance. Two of the game's main characters have been revealed: a pirate captain named Lancet and a scientist named Aki. The game takes place on an archipelago inspired by the cultures of South Asia, and the plot revolves around strange entities called "Phantoms" and their connection to people and objects. Hiranobu Sakaguchi described the game's plot as a kind of "spiritual warfare" in which these Phantoms battle with one another for the souls of humankind. Aki specializes in studying these Phantoms, while Lancet is more of a fatalist who doesn't believe they can be controlled or influenced. In the game's playable demo, the player guides Lancet and Aki through a few battles and is introduced to the Spiritual System, in which benevolent spirits can be powered up in order to enhance the characters' stats. Square says that the game will be released in 2003, while Final Fantasy Online is expected to debut in 2004. Squaresoft also showed off more of their upcoming 2003 RPG Datacore, a cyberpunk action RPG in which a band of renegade hackers battle it out as the world around them comes apart via conflict and war. The game's combat combines elements of Parasite Eve and Secret Of Mana, and in the demo, three characters battled a large robotic boss. Squaresoft says that up to four people can play together at once. Another announcement was that Squaresoft's long awaited collaboration with Disney, titled Kingdom Hearts, will be coming to the Wave in 2004. Little else was shown except for a few screenshots showing a spiky-haired boy fighting alongside Donald Duck and Goofy. We're definitely excited to learn more about Kingdom Hearts in the months ahead. Squaresoft is still making games for the Ultra Nintendo, as Front Mission: Endgame was announced for an early 2003 release. And, of course, there are a number of high profile remakes coming to the Game Boy Nova, including Final Fantasy VI and Secret Of Mana. Secret Of Mana in particular is one of the most anticipated Nova ports to date. It's coming to Japan in April, and Squaresoft also has plans to bring the port to North America down the road. Final Fantasy VI and Secret Of Mana join Tale Phantasia and an upcoming Mother 1+2 compilation that look to make 2003 the year of RPG nostalgia on the Nova. We also got to check out Mystic Creature Cobalt, a Nova spin-off of the hit monster capturing game. In addition to returning old monsters and many new ones, we'll also be seeing classic Final Fantasy creatures such as the Moogle and Chocobo making their series debut.
Konami was another company with a big presence at TGS. The company's been riding high off the successful release of Metal Gear War in Japan, and has already announced two more Metal Gear games: Metal Gear Solid II for the Nintendo Wave, and a spinoff game for the Nova featuring one of the new characters revealed in Metal Gear War. We saw absolutely nothing of Metal Gear Solid II other than the announcement, but the new Nova game looked excellent, with VR Missions-style gameplay but at a less stealthy pace. Revealing the actual name of the game and the main character would be a big spoiler for War, but those of you who wish to be spoiled can read our sub-article about our experience with the game. Konami also revealed a new Contra title exclusive to the Microsoft Xbox. Called Shattered Soldier, the game features classic Contra gameplay but with fully 3-D graphics. When asked why the game would only appear on the Xbox, which few Japanese gamers own, director Nobuya Nakazato cited the Xbox's unique capabilities as inspiration for the game's design. We suspect that money was possibly involved. However, Konami's next installment in the Castlevania series will be exclusive to the Nintendo Wave. Castlevania: Belmont's Lament, which we saw at E3, takes the series into 3D for the first time, and looked absolutely gorgeous, with haunting environments and unique foes. Konami also showed off more of an upcoming Katana exclusive: Broken Hands, a 2-D fighter with 3-D graphics. Broken Hands, as the name would imply, features brutal hand to hand combat between highly detailed characters. These characters have not only been fleshed out graphically, but thematically as well: Konami is providing each character with a lengthy story mode and a complex backstory, making the player much more involved in their fights. We're thinking this might be to set the game apart from other upcoming fighting titles next year.
Speaking of upcoming fighting titles, Namco was all too eager to show off Soul Calibur II and Tekken 4. Players crowded around Namco's booth for the opportunity to play both games, which are set to appear on all three next-gen consoles and are coming along very nicely. Tekken 4 was announced as a launch game for the Wave, at least here in Japan, and it will be appearing on the Katana at the same time, while the Xbox version won't be coming until later on. Soul Calibur II, which features 24 fighters plus one console-exclusive fighter per system, looked incredible and might have been the game of the show. The fighting is improved from the original, which has already been considered by some to be the best fighting game of all time. We couldn't be more excited for Soul Calibur II, which is set to be a massive multiplatform hit. Tecmo showed off a few new games as well, including a pair of Xbox exclusives: a brand new Ninja Gaiden and a Dead or Alive spinoff featuring beach volleyball. While the babes of Dead or Alive are cute, we would've preferred the announcement of a new Tecmo Bowl game. Capcom was there too, showing off Devil May Cry 2, which looks as fast paced and pretty as the original, and will be coming to the three next gen consoles in 2003. They also teased an intriguing new title for 2004: a sci-fi beat 'em up in which human assassins are fired into enemy positions like bullets. Called XR: Human Weapon, the game was shown off only with a brief teaser video, but the crowd liked what it saw, and flocked to watch the teaser over and over again.
Enix was showing off several games, including the Revolution Alpha port to the Wave, but the game we liked best was the new Wave ActRaiser game. City building is as fun as ever, and players can view their cities from both a top-down, godlike perspective and a third person perspective as they walk through their creations (or occasionally fight in them). As for the game itself, combat retains its familiar ActRaiser feel, though it's now in a fully 3-D environment resembling a modern action RPG. Players control The Master as he roams environments, finds treasures, rescues humans and other creatures, and liberates territory from the forces of evil. It was a ton of a fun to play and brought back a lot of nostalgic memories. The Japanese release is coming in March 2003, and we hope we won't have to wait too long to play the game in North America. Telenet Japan announced their new Tale series title, Tale Valentia. The game takes place in a medieval realm of knights and swords, and will be released for the Wave in late 2003. Gameplay looks to be somewhat more complex than previous series titles, though we only got a brief video snippet of some of the combat action.
And then there was Sega. The Katana's sales in Japan have been steadily picking up, with Sonic Neon proving to be a major worldwide hit. Sega had nearly a dozen games on display at the show, including a new Virtua Quest and a new Vectorman, but the main three were Shenmue III, Knuckles and Bit, and a new Ecco the Dolphin title that features Ecco exploring a vast 3-D ocean. The Ecco title, which came as a surprise announcement and looked positively incredible, was maybe the biggest sleeper hit of the show, but we loved what we saw from Knuckles and Bit, which played like a combat-focused Sonic Neon. And Shenmue III, which was only teased but still drew an enormous crowd reaction, is likely to be one of the biggest hits of the year, at least here in Japan when it's released sometime late next year.
This year's Tokyo Game Show was easily the biggest in the event's history, and the companies gathered here brought out all of their best games for the occasion, holding very little back. The atmosphere was thick with excitement, and fans were clamoring at every big announcement that came from the many companies in attendance. We got a fantastic glimpse at the future of gaming, and players of all the major consoles should be extremely excited for the next two years.
-from an article posted on Gamepro.com on September 24, 2002
The other big Nintendo game exhibited at TGS 2002 was the new Pokemon. Called Pokemon Alpha and Omega, the game takes place in a water-centric region, and will center around the concepts of life and death, framed in the games as growth and decay. The game was unveiled in CoroCoro Magazine last month, and five of the game's Pokemon were revealed, including the three starters (a grass-based gecko, a fire based chick, and a water based mudskipper) and the two version mascots (a massive tree-like Pokemon representing Yggdrasil, the world tree, and a black cloaked reaper Pokemon meant to represent decay and death). Nintendo showed off some footage of the game's graphics, which are a slight step up from Sun and Moon, though the game doesn't appear to be a wholesale rehaul like generation 2 was. Nintendo is using the game to introduce a few new concepts and a bunch of new Pokemon, and obviously to sell millions and millions of units to creature-starved Pokemaniacs. Nintendo has announced a release date for early next year, at least here in Japan.
As always, Squaresoft had one of the biggest booths at the show, and they were showing off Final Fantasy, including the upcoming Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy Online, both for the Nintendo Wave. Final Fantasy X looks to be one of the biggest changes for the series to date. The game is scrapping the longtime ATB combat system in favor of a slower, more strategic combat system in which players can see their characters' and enemies' upcoming turns at a glance. Two of the game's main characters have been revealed: a pirate captain named Lancet and a scientist named Aki. The game takes place on an archipelago inspired by the cultures of South Asia, and the plot revolves around strange entities called "Phantoms" and their connection to people and objects. Hiranobu Sakaguchi described the game's plot as a kind of "spiritual warfare" in which these Phantoms battle with one another for the souls of humankind. Aki specializes in studying these Phantoms, while Lancet is more of a fatalist who doesn't believe they can be controlled or influenced. In the game's playable demo, the player guides Lancet and Aki through a few battles and is introduced to the Spiritual System, in which benevolent spirits can be powered up in order to enhance the characters' stats. Square says that the game will be released in 2003, while Final Fantasy Online is expected to debut in 2004. Squaresoft also showed off more of their upcoming 2003 RPG Datacore, a cyberpunk action RPG in which a band of renegade hackers battle it out as the world around them comes apart via conflict and war. The game's combat combines elements of Parasite Eve and Secret Of Mana, and in the demo, three characters battled a large robotic boss. Squaresoft says that up to four people can play together at once. Another announcement was that Squaresoft's long awaited collaboration with Disney, titled Kingdom Hearts, will be coming to the Wave in 2004. Little else was shown except for a few screenshots showing a spiky-haired boy fighting alongside Donald Duck and Goofy. We're definitely excited to learn more about Kingdom Hearts in the months ahead. Squaresoft is still making games for the Ultra Nintendo, as Front Mission: Endgame was announced for an early 2003 release. And, of course, there are a number of high profile remakes coming to the Game Boy Nova, including Final Fantasy VI and Secret Of Mana. Secret Of Mana in particular is one of the most anticipated Nova ports to date. It's coming to Japan in April, and Squaresoft also has plans to bring the port to North America down the road. Final Fantasy VI and Secret Of Mana join Tale Phantasia and an upcoming Mother 1+2 compilation that look to make 2003 the year of RPG nostalgia on the Nova. We also got to check out Mystic Creature Cobalt, a Nova spin-off of the hit monster capturing game. In addition to returning old monsters and many new ones, we'll also be seeing classic Final Fantasy creatures such as the Moogle and Chocobo making their series debut.
Konami was another company with a big presence at TGS. The company's been riding high off the successful release of Metal Gear War in Japan, and has already announced two more Metal Gear games: Metal Gear Solid II for the Nintendo Wave, and a spinoff game for the Nova featuring one of the new characters revealed in Metal Gear War. We saw absolutely nothing of Metal Gear Solid II other than the announcement, but the new Nova game looked excellent, with VR Missions-style gameplay but at a less stealthy pace. Revealing the actual name of the game and the main character would be a big spoiler for War, but those of you who wish to be spoiled can read our sub-article about our experience with the game. Konami also revealed a new Contra title exclusive to the Microsoft Xbox. Called Shattered Soldier, the game features classic Contra gameplay but with fully 3-D graphics. When asked why the game would only appear on the Xbox, which few Japanese gamers own, director Nobuya Nakazato cited the Xbox's unique capabilities as inspiration for the game's design. We suspect that money was possibly involved. However, Konami's next installment in the Castlevania series will be exclusive to the Nintendo Wave. Castlevania: Belmont's Lament, which we saw at E3, takes the series into 3D for the first time, and looked absolutely gorgeous, with haunting environments and unique foes. Konami also showed off more of an upcoming Katana exclusive: Broken Hands, a 2-D fighter with 3-D graphics. Broken Hands, as the name would imply, features brutal hand to hand combat between highly detailed characters. These characters have not only been fleshed out graphically, but thematically as well: Konami is providing each character with a lengthy story mode and a complex backstory, making the player much more involved in their fights. We're thinking this might be to set the game apart from other upcoming fighting titles next year.
Speaking of upcoming fighting titles, Namco was all too eager to show off Soul Calibur II and Tekken 4. Players crowded around Namco's booth for the opportunity to play both games, which are set to appear on all three next-gen consoles and are coming along very nicely. Tekken 4 was announced as a launch game for the Wave, at least here in Japan, and it will be appearing on the Katana at the same time, while the Xbox version won't be coming until later on. Soul Calibur II, which features 24 fighters plus one console-exclusive fighter per system, looked incredible and might have been the game of the show. The fighting is improved from the original, which has already been considered by some to be the best fighting game of all time. We couldn't be more excited for Soul Calibur II, which is set to be a massive multiplatform hit. Tecmo showed off a few new games as well, including a pair of Xbox exclusives: a brand new Ninja Gaiden and a Dead or Alive spinoff featuring beach volleyball. While the babes of Dead or Alive are cute, we would've preferred the announcement of a new Tecmo Bowl game. Capcom was there too, showing off Devil May Cry 2, which looks as fast paced and pretty as the original, and will be coming to the three next gen consoles in 2003. They also teased an intriguing new title for 2004: a sci-fi beat 'em up in which human assassins are fired into enemy positions like bullets. Called XR: Human Weapon, the game was shown off only with a brief teaser video, but the crowd liked what it saw, and flocked to watch the teaser over and over again.
Enix was showing off several games, including the Revolution Alpha port to the Wave, but the game we liked best was the new Wave ActRaiser game. City building is as fun as ever, and players can view their cities from both a top-down, godlike perspective and a third person perspective as they walk through their creations (or occasionally fight in them). As for the game itself, combat retains its familiar ActRaiser feel, though it's now in a fully 3-D environment resembling a modern action RPG. Players control The Master as he roams environments, finds treasures, rescues humans and other creatures, and liberates territory from the forces of evil. It was a ton of a fun to play and brought back a lot of nostalgic memories. The Japanese release is coming in March 2003, and we hope we won't have to wait too long to play the game in North America. Telenet Japan announced their new Tale series title, Tale Valentia. The game takes place in a medieval realm of knights and swords, and will be released for the Wave in late 2003. Gameplay looks to be somewhat more complex than previous series titles, though we only got a brief video snippet of some of the combat action.
And then there was Sega. The Katana's sales in Japan have been steadily picking up, with Sonic Neon proving to be a major worldwide hit. Sega had nearly a dozen games on display at the show, including a new Virtua Quest and a new Vectorman, but the main three were Shenmue III, Knuckles and Bit, and a new Ecco the Dolphin title that features Ecco exploring a vast 3-D ocean. The Ecco title, which came as a surprise announcement and looked positively incredible, was maybe the biggest sleeper hit of the show, but we loved what we saw from Knuckles and Bit, which played like a combat-focused Sonic Neon. And Shenmue III, which was only teased but still drew an enormous crowd reaction, is likely to be one of the biggest hits of the year, at least here in Japan when it's released sometime late next year.
This year's Tokyo Game Show was easily the biggest in the event's history, and the companies gathered here brought out all of their best games for the occasion, holding very little back. The atmosphere was thick with excitement, and fans were clamoring at every big announcement that came from the many companies in attendance. We got a fantastic glimpse at the future of gaming, and players of all the major consoles should be extremely excited for the next two years.
-from an article posted on Gamepro.com on September 24, 2002
So gen 3 Pokemon is a mix of R&S and X&Y, that's interesting.
Also Sega's line-up is looking much better.
Also Sega's line-up is looking much better.
[ Telenet Japan announced their new Tale series title, Tale Valentia. The game takes place in a medieval realm of knights and swords, and will be released for the Wave in late 2003. Gameplay looks to be somewhat more complex than previous series titles, though we only got a brief video snippet of some of the combat action.
So Tales of Symphoia was butterflied. I feelt that symphia was the only tales post phasia that had had a chane to surrive because it a pregule to phastima. It may be a good idea to have valentia bomb that way there is one more thing that went better in Game Over/Otl then the atl
So Tales of Symphoia was butterflied. I feelt that symphia was the only tales post phasia that had had a chane to surrive because it a pregule to phastima. It may be a good idea to have valentia bomb that way there is one more thing that went better in Game Over/Otl then the atl
Can you make a great favour and rewrote that sentence? The grammar and spelling is so awful i can not understand very well the idea. Did you think Tales of Symphonia might survived butterflies? the 'prequel' was pretty loosely and most like cameos that true prequel material and they goes more with the Anthology material as have worked so far.
Umm the idea a game bombed and how would affect is something but not for now, who knows? is the market who decides...
Yes Miyamoto Direct Idea like pikmin, a nice spoof of horror games and a tech demo for Advance Light and Shadows, Transparencies, Fire, Water and other effect and a long etc. They might be working in something else, the same with pikmin team.
TTL Phantasia was a lot more successful in the West than OTL Symphonia, it sold a million copies here and competed for Game of the Year 1996. So yeah, Tale is doing just fine without Symphonia and Symphonia probably would be butterflied regardless.
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