Maverick or Contrarian? Interview With Mark MSX of The Electric Underground.
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 10 янв 2025
- In this video I interview Mark from The Electric Underground during his visit in Brookfield Illinois, home of the Galloping Ghost Arcade, The nation's largest arcade venue. Mark isn't the largest youtuber, but is by no means the smallest. Despite this, he has a very dedicated following. His content consists of game analyses, such as new titles and the niche/ esoteric (such as Shoot'em Ups, Shmups). His fans claim it's due to his critical breakdowns, allowing viewers to see games the way they really are. This method can expose hidden depth, or vapid design. However, Some view his takes to be contrarian for the sake of contrarianism. Well which one is it? Let's find out! We discuss his origins, how people view media in today's current landscape, modern video game tropes, and Coke Zero. ;) So join me, as we attempt to understand Mark and visit the Galloping Ghost Arcade, where fans and friends have gathered to meet him...and break shmup high scores.
If you like my content and want to support me, feel free to subscribe to my Patreon here.
/ catpatispatcat
Big thanks to Mark for accepting this coverage about him. You can watch him here.
/ @theelectricunderground
He’s going full time on RUclips so you can donate to his Patreon here.
/ electricunderground
Shout out to Bog Hog for this sick thumbnail, you can watch his content here.
/ @boghogstg
Acid Jazz by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommon...
I think the interview turned out great and it s really flattering to have CatPat explain the vibe of my channel so well :-)
What's really important about Mark is that he IS one of the few people who talk about mechanics in games at a non-surface level, which is rarer and rarer these days as games become more "lifestyle" driven and people want to avoid discussing these things in-depth because it kills more mainstream viewer engagement. I avoid FG videos like the plague because the fgc yotubers started drifting into more "lifestyle" content over time, and all of the content is so uninteresting and shallow to someone like me who has been playing for more than 20 years. Mark's stuff is like taking STG Weekly and adding in some of that extra zest that you can't get from live commentary, especially with the power of having time to script a video to really clarify everything.
I love this. SHMUPS changed my life. I love video games again.
Funny thing, i actually found Mark's channel when i was looking for negative reviews of RE4 remake. Not that i was determined to hate the game or anything, but the cult like praise it was getting from everyone in my feed seemed inauthentic. So then i stumble into Mark's video and he's talking about gun sway, parries watering down the fundamentals, and the merits of limited camera movement. If he were just being a contrarian for views he wouldn't put so much effort into his arguments.
He's pretty thorough with his explanations for sure. Not generally a passive thing to do lol.
I also found him for that lol. I hated the remake since its inception and wanted someone to reflect that thought
I found it the same way, I was watching a video comparing RE4R to the original, and then in the description box there was a link to Mark's channel.
He can be a douche but he’s going to back up what he says with actual substance
Mark’s esotericism is one of my favorite things about his content. That’s one of the reasons I enjoy his Electric Underground After Dark Patroeon Podcast. He lets loose a bit more there and it’s always fun.
I agree with the guy you interviewed in galloping ghosts, the 'gameplay density' stuff that Mark talks about is eye-opening once you realise how much filler and time wasting there is in a lot of modern games. I'm definitely not a skilled/hardcore gamer, but I'm playing arcade style games (particularly shmups) because of the sheer quality of gameplay and experience you can have even just playing for 10 minutes. I am time-poor, so I really find it insulting when developers pad things out just to avoid steam refunds or low 'time to complete' metrics. Mark is the only commentator I've come across who actually talks about these things!
Great interview, funny edits, and overall really liking the direction you are taking this channel 👍
Oh yeah, filler content is essentially eating empty calories. It's a real drag.
And thank you! I'm doing my best!
The goated snow filter of ZSNES. That was my first emulator. Loved that interface for some reason.
Also like over half the music choice in this video is in my playlist already. Really good taste. lol
Mark is *legit* the only active reviewer I trust. I would have no idea if stellar blade was any good if Mark never reviewed it, I'd have no idea how good wanted dead is if he'd never reviewed it, I'd have no idea how RE4 was if mark hadn't covered it.
Almost every other reviewer is either just a marketer or someone who just doesn't get games, let alone actually analyze and understand the mechanics, and the general discourse around big games tends to be useless. Take SB, good luck getting an honest discussion about that with all the politics surrounding it. And RE4, just a battleground between fanboys, look how that clean cut crowbcat comparison was attacked. And of course smaller games just fly under the radar.
So it's useful to have a resource like The Electric Underground keeping a eye on these things that I'm level with. It's so refreshing to have a review that just doesn't touch the story. Not that I think a good story can't be extremely complementary, but I ain't buying a game for one. TEG is a godsend for me, and I categorically don't even like shmups.
One thing I will say is that his editing/thumbnail game probably isn't doing him any favors when attracting new viewers. They're not important in regards to the quality of the content but more so the immediate appeal.
Really hope Mark's gameplay and art sensibilities have a ripple effect into better game design
I agree
Fantastic edits and great vid. That Matrix Mark edit had me rolling on the floor.
"You can't parry the internet."
That's deep, man.
The reason i like mark is simply because he talks about the aspect of videogames that is overlooked by alot of people...nowdays the idea of video games are art is become more acceptable...and it is art...however this come at price that less people talking about the beauty of gamedesign
I thought i was going crazy with how bad 99% of RUclips video game reviwers were. Like how they would spend half the review about the story or just speak cliches that didn't make sense like "it's bad because it's linear".
Finally, Mark came along having some similar thoughts to mine and opening my mind to a lot of new things. Easily the best gameplay analysis RUclipsr by far.
I really respect Mark and his opinions, he's one of my favorite persons on RUclips.
I imagine that he must get a lot of hate because of his takes but he is really good at what he does, and people don't understand that he sees games in a much deeper way and that is why he might not like what other people love.
It's so ridiculous how people actually gets upset when someone has a differing opinion. If it's something you are passionate about, it's mostly fun in itself to argue with others about it.
It's nice to see this interview not shivering and drenched from a torrential downpour. But seriously, great editing and great video. It was a pleasure to meet you.
And thanks for leaving out the excessive mad ramblings of Dostoevsky!
Yeah, I was unhindged about that, haha. I felt bad about my word vomit. Next time when I'm not so rushed I'm sure that conversation won't be such a mess (my bad).
Nice meeting you dude!
Great video and great interview. Loving your channel so far. Keep it up! 😀
Thanks! Appreciate it! 🙏
Great video, Mark is awesome - love his shmup coverage.
Mark is a real chill dude.
Props for doing this in person. Could have Joe Rogan’d it and gone for hours mining those deep cut topics. Maybe a part 2 some time?
Of course, I'm here because of mark but dude what an awesomely well put together video and you asked the perfect questions too. well deserved sub to see the rest of your stuff!
Thanks! Appreciate the kind words! 🙏
crossover of the millennia
Awesome video! Pretty much agree with everything you got into. Really appreciate what you guys do contextualizing my experience with these kinds of games. Hope to see you and Mark again in the future!
I was hoping you'd watch this! Thanks for participating in the vid pal!
Hey great vid and interview! Love the visual edits that compliment the subjects being discussed by you n Mark.
Matrix with Mark's mug was too good!
Thanks! If it was just 2 dudes talking without the visuals, it would have become a podcast haha. I like to make it fun! Thanks for watching!
that arcade has high gameplay density
Great interview and video man.
Thank you for watching!
What a great interview
Thanks! First one I've done. I said "yes" to many times, but I'll do better next time!
Now this is that good shit, can’t wait to see what you do next!
Thanks Bop!
Mark's super refreshing. I don't always agree with him but he's also rarely wrong in his critiques. Gaming has a severe lack of voices like that.
20:30 Front Mission 3 outside-of-battle music making an audible appearance
Front mission has a killer ost.
14:57 EA's Star Wars Battlefront 2 is the prime example of this. Quite literally gacha mechanics to gain abilities and mechanics in game. They just tried it too early and got backlash, but i guaruntee if it dropped today, the masses wouldn't care.
I love your edits man, really makes it into a funny video.
It would just be 2 dudes talking into the void without the editing haha. I appreciate the kind words!
Mark MSX and Cat Pat, best crossover since Capcom versus SNK
@TWKIC That is giving us way to much credit, But thank you lol
Masterful video!
Appreciate it!
Bit of both and he is great at finding the sweet spot imo and i like it. I just recently started watching his channel tho as i dove head first into my Shmup adventures so obviously i came to his channel pretty much instantaneously and of all the channels i went through he was definitely the most charismatic voice of the lot of em, maybe even because of his contrarian side! Anyway, thanks for the interview.
Thanks for watching!
16:17 pilotwings 64. your music taste is excelleny
Love the video. Also, I see you have Batrider going in the back. You been playing it recently?
The Electric "Mark "MSX"" Undergroud my beloved
He has standards and holds games up to them, people on social media are just really sensitive. He's even a pretty nice guy about it, rarely (never?) have I seen him argue in bad faith, no weird passive-aggressive digs like some redditor or something, etc., but just goes to show how easily butthurt internet nerds are lol.
That's exactly it. The lack of elitism is a breath of fresh air.
13:22 is that konami fighitng game GASP with the akuma like dude theme.
@@thousandstar this guy gets it.
Mark is freakin’ AWESOME! Not political. Just honest.
We need more of that.
gamers are rising up
We are the most oppressed class
All the cool arcades in Japan are stuffed like that as well.
Rocking the Chamonix hat too? Yeah, I’m thinkin he’s based.
😏
@@cat-pat8310 Nick's a fan of my music.
@futureskeletons66669 Aw shit. That's awesome! I'll have to check it out!
did not expect the men i trust jumpscare
What do you mean? It's PEAK album cover design ;)
Excellent video dude.
Great video!
The music that starts at the conclusion segment is really familiar, where is it from?
Einhander - Earthlight
@@cat-pat8310 appreciate it my man, loved the interview
@@Ocelot93 🙏
Word of advice from someone who does a lot of interviews: tone down the amount of ‘yes’s and stuff you throw out while the guest is speaking. Kind of distracting. Otherwise awesome stuff.
I found that out as soon as I started edting the footage, hahah. I said to myself, "Why did I even have my mike up while he was talking?" I treated it as I was just talking to a person, forgetting that this was an interview. So yes! That has been taken into account! I actually cut out other times I said "yes", so it was way worse prior to the edit lol. Appreciate the feedback! Lesson learned!
yeah bro needed to switch to introvert mode
I'm marking out rn
Leaving a comment to support the channel, don't have much to say.
Appreciated none the less!
Great interview and thanks for the showcase of the Galloping Ghost Arcade (I love SFEX as well), but two things from the interview to nitpick.
Firstly for Mark, teching (AKA Impact Control at 13:45 ) isn't an unlockable mechanic in Stellar Blade. It is actually something that is in by default and costs nothing, though I won't say that it feels good in the game or defend other unlockables since I think it implements what DMC and other "character action" games do for progression but far worse.
Second for CatPat, fair if think that Senran Kagura goes too far in the aesthetics either to feature it as part of an edit (not sure if you edit the video, sorry), but at least the ones I played as well as some other titles at least cleared my bar on level design, storytelling and characters which would put them far ahead of Stellar Blade if you had to know. They do use some of the elements to elevate characterisation as well.
Great interview
I really wanna find a jrpg youtuber that is as close to Mark. Sadly, it doesnt exists
Huh, interesting... because I have played a lot of them. For a while, I was thinking about making a video about Chained Echoes and how it's not inspired at all, despite what everyone else thinks.
@@cat-pat8310 I am looking forward to that. I once did rate all the games I played last year and people think that me rating Sea of Star and NieR Automata very low to be a blasphemy. I hope no one will attack you(well I still do wanna see the cringiest comments for lolz) if you ever do Chained Echoes review.
Also I think the main problems of most indie I have encountered is that they are "too inspired". Too inspired to be their own thing.
Simplydad feels close to Mark. I got into SMT and he roasts the majority of them, and kind of led me into ones that would match my taste.
The issue with JRPG enthusiasts are that they generally love time being wasted, which is why I just can’t play the majority of them.
@@Phisherman10 Never play any of the Xenoblade games. Holy hell.
@@Phisherman10 I like Kbash. He may not be exactly like Mark but he does care about gameplay density.
Mark says anything.
“Yes”
Yes
In all seriousness, I noticed that after going over the footage. Lesson learned for next time.
@@cat-pat8310 no serious hate. Just poking a little fun.
I look forward to more of your videos.
I’m honestly glad I found your channel.🤙
@2FrogShiny nah, didn't take it that way, what you said was true lol.
It's true lol
contrarian is the worst insult of all time
That got to input lag and zebras pretty quickly.
Beautiful
Maverick or Contrarian? Im waiting for someone to interview clp, now that goy was a hoot.
Good job CatPat ;)
20:19 what ost is in play? It sounded like a dodonpachi or smt music
Japan - Front Mission 3
He’s a little bit of both tbh granted half the comments of his videos are just his usual fan base circlejerking each other but there’s so few channels actually discussing arcade games so I’ll take what i can get
Me!! I am guilty of this!
@@soratheorangejuicemascot5809It's because you are a flaming fairy
The comments are disgusting lmao
Thank you. Sometimes I become the contrarian in his comments to tune out the echoes radiating through my head.
It’s almost like a lot of the people in his comments don’t like video games at all. Lol
I think a lot of the political points reviewers bring to light are important to talk about and there's a lot to be said about how certain groups are portrayed in our entertainment, but that can't be the only thing we talk about. This is where Mark really shines for me, not as an "anti-political" reviewer, but in that he never approach games from an already decided angle. It makes my review-consuming more diverse!
Mark tanta Coca te va a hacer mal!!!
I play shmups when I want to play something hard. I’m not looking for a huge challenge in other genres. I’m sure Mark probably hates a lot of my favorite games, which is fine, because we’re looking for something completely different. We mostly agree on shmups though. Except R-Type.
ZSnes and no$gmb nevar forget ;__;
AI mark the electric underground
Yeah... milk Mark for content....... muahahahaha!
I really like Mark and his channel but I tend to disagree a lot with some of his reviews, specially when he starts comparing anything to dmc3 and ninja gaiden 2. At this point I just think to myself "What a story, Mark!"
There's gaming takes I disagree with him too, but like he says in this video, since he views things things artistically, and not socially, we can disagree on most things and still walk away as friends.
Which in my opinion, is an ability that's sorely lacking in others when it comes to discourse.
Stellar Blade not worth the full price money? Game has literally 30+ costumes for Eve, not every game has to try to revolutionize anything but some can work on their own terms for people with current market conditions. The actual game is just the icing on the cake, talking about Eves cake here. The problem people even have with your review isnt your final evaluation Mark but the style you chose with the constant barrage of insults to the game, its not a good style.
Why is the game the icing? That really sounds sketchy to me as someone who really want a game more than a novelty
You're one of those people who loves shite games like Killzone and Resistance or Infamous. Have a great life enjoying mediocre things.
@@soratheorangejuicemascot5809 Because plenty of good games exist already but barley any with fan service who look as good as Stellar Blade, that was the mission of Shift Up and they succeed at it. The game is beyond survivable even in the gameplay department. Mark doesnt even understand how Stellar Blade is played, all he did was whining that moves have to be unlocked, like the double jump wasnt an unlockable in DMC series?
@@keioly7978 and he also whines about that unlockable double jump in DMC. He never praise that feature.
Maybe you agree with him then? You see it’s value in having 30+ costumes and, uh, cake…
Great video!