Gotta Meme 'em All: 7.8/10 Too Much Water
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Last November, Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire launched worldwide and since then have sold well over 9 million copies, making them the third best-selling Nintendo 3DS title to date, with Pokémon X and Y holding first place. Being remakes of the Generation III core series titles, these games generated a lot of excitement in the Pokémon fandom prior to their release, especially in online communities. Because of this, many new memes had sprouted up, including the Creepy Marshtomp meme, which was discussed in an earlier article. Here is another meme on the subject of Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.
7.8/10 Too Much Water
7.8/10 Too Much Water is a meme about a rather ridiculous online review of Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire - or, rather, one specific line from the review.
In the week preceding ORAS's release, many high-profile gaming websites who had received early copies of the game from Nintendo posted reviews explaining their personal opinions of it, and whether or not it was worth buying. One review in particular had caught the attention of the online Pokémon community - and for the wrong reasons.
IGN, one of the more popular gaming sites on the internet, had published their review of the game on November 18, 2014. The reviewer who wrote it had generally positive things to say, praising the superior graphics among other qualities, but the the main problem she had was with the overabundance of water routes and Water-type Pokémon in the Hoenn region. She gave the game an overall rating of 7.8/10.
| “ As a 3D remake, Pokémon Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby do a fantastic job of reintroducing Hoenn. Little details, like characters turning their heads to look as you pass or flocks of Wingulls flying overhead, make the region really come to life, and small updates and tweaks help make the journey smoother. Still, a few of its flaws are even more glaring in 3D, especially the excess water Pokémon and often dull navigation of their habitats. ” | ||
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The main text of the review was not what caught readers' attention, but rather the breakdown at the end of the article that summarized the game's main strong and weak points. The specific line "Too much water," which was one of the game's' two weak points according to the reviewer (along with "Too many HMs"), became the subject of controversy.
Not long after the review was published, IGN users and Pokémon fans alike expressed their disdain and confusion towards the absurdity of this one quote not only in the majority of the 5,800 comments the review accumulated in the first 24 hours of its publication, but also in the Pokémon sections of other social media websites, such as Reddit, 4chan, and GameFAQs. Most thought "Too much water" to be a confusingly invalid complaint, and that it was not worth the game losing 2.2 points on its score.
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| “ I'm seriously laughing my *** off.... did they really critize that team aqua... the evil team that wants to expand the ocean... uses to many water-type pokemon? I mean ffs of course Team AQUA is going to use water type pokemon.
I have officially lost all faith in IGN as credible source for anything. ” | ||
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While many were irritated at IGN for publishing a review with such a ludicrous comment, others found it quite humorous and began posting pictures and quotes online satirizing the review. Some joked that IGN was writing for or in alliance with Team Magma, whose goal in the games is to increase the world's landmasses. The catchphrases Too Much Water and 7.8/10 too much X are commonly used in conversation to this day, although this meme is relatively recent at the time of this article's publication.
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IGN's blunder had gotten so popular that even they acknowledged it, and on two different occasions. On November 20, two days after the review's publication, IGN's official Twitter tweeted IGN Review of San Francisco + Really Pretty - Too Much Water 7.8/10, accompanied by a soundless Vine presenting a San Fransisco street littered with puddles, presumably after a rain shower. They also referenced the catchphrase in a different review for the the animated movie Penguins of Madagascar, which was published on November 25. In the breakdown at the end of the review, the phrase "The perfect amount of water" was listed as one of the movie's positive points.
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Closing
This was the fifth article of Gotta Meme 'em All, a column whose purpose is to provide in-depth explanations on the origins and spread of various Pokémon memes. If you have any suggestions as to what future articles should feature, as well as any general questions, comments, and criticism, the author can be contacted here.
References
- Too Much Water - Know Your Meme
- Pokémon Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby Review - IGN
- "Too much water" 7.8/10 -ign - Marriland Forums
- IGN - Twitter
- The Penguins of Madagascar Review - IGN