The AVGN Clone Apocalypse of Youtube

When the Angry Video Game Nerd was all the rage, there was of course many other people wanting to be just like them, and it includes these crazy individuals.
0:00 Intro
2:30 Tribute to Armake21
3:47 The Angry Video Game Nerd
9:50 The Angry Pissed Off Hardcore Gamer
17:27 Game Dude
24:50 You Know What Sucks?
30:23 Outro
Videos Used As Sources:
• The Internet's WORST V...
Mario 64 Rasputin
• Roarsputin (Rasputin |...

[@falchionlord8005]

He is the Game Dude, he is so rude He flees the country when his court date is due

[@marukuanfuni]

Oh GAWD! i wish i could take the music of the game dude song and write lyrics to it starting with and based off your exact two sentences, but i hate life too much to want to do anything (except exercising) creative anymore these days. NOT EVEN LYING!

[@geometricentric]

he called his GF, sixty times a day. then she called the cops and he ran away

[@ShaggyLad]

Shit man, that goes hard

[@NeoGames2]

God damn it someone beat me to it

[@anotheryoutubeaccount5259]

Worst comment here

[@BeatRiceIsHere]

I imagine that the Game Dude nowadays looks like Walter White at the end of Breaking Bad, disheveled and disgusting, and the "Game Dude" persona lives on in him like the Green Goblin

[@SonyaBladesBooty]

Keep imagining, f00l

[@DavidDumbedDown]

This comment was posted at 20:41 o clock

[@DavidDumbedDown]

21:37

[@kingofthegrill]

I'm assuming his bones have been bleached clean by the desert sun

[@thetreyceratops2242]

“I can’t do that again…” “But look how much longer it takes to select Wario!”

[@M3gaF1re]

"The Angry Pissed-Off Hardcore Gamer" sounds like a Borderlands 2 enemy

[@yourtimetraveleralara]

Yeah

[@burmecian123]

Looks like one, too.

[@kadenkingery]

LOL! 🤣

[@saturniidspectre]

Pretty sure Campaign of Carnage AND Assault on Dragon Keep get pretty close to that.

[@mr.meloetta1939]

words cannot describe the genuine horror i felt when the Ember phone wallpaper showed up

[@gangswagster]

words cannot describe how genuinely horny I got 😢😢

[@dantereyes4304]

All I could say was "Oh no...." because come on who else could it be. If you know you know....

[@grymmdoll]

My blood ran cold

[@TheKittenBreaker]

I think my heart skipped a beat once my brain put the pieces together when that part came up.

[@liammcnicholas918]

Sad that that character will forever be associated with that horrific dude

[@chazington1073]

Mush that fucking Randy Stair twist actually got me, you really translated your shock into finding that out really well

[@Quonoa]

I read this comment before seeing that part in the video, and I was expecting to see a comparison to Randy with some obscure AVGN ripoff spiraling into obsession with some fictional obscure character, not the actual guy himself. Completely insane.

[@aspec1821]

Jesus Christ I can agree. Im multitasking here and it was only until I saw the the character on the phone that I was in the same shock.

[@TheRoseBoy11]

Chaz x Mush Collab!?!?

[@DeviemTwen]

Yeah I thought he was joking around until I saw Ember. That’s when I knew…

[@wareforcoin5780]

I've heard the name, but I don't know who he is, or what he's done. Only that there's a negative aura around the guy. Edit: I googled him like I should have done before commenting. Oh. _That_ guy.

[@simonsimons1252]

Legend has it Game Dude shaved his head, put on a lot of weight, and adopted a Russian accent to continue reviewing games while hiding from the law.

[@autobotstarscream765]

That feels like an undue insult to the APOHG. 😂

[@leap123_]

and somehow managed to get a time machine to get back to 2007

[@FatMarioHeads]

That’s an insult to Eric

[@stevensamuels4041]

Why hide from the Low

[@user-vi4xy1jw7e]

​@JJ Just an ongoing joke making fun of Canadians. Don't think into it too much. Lol

[@jmo1link]

Fun fact: James actually started out as the Angry Nintendo Nerd(ANN), so Jakko might have actually been the original AVGN in theory.

[@liammcnicholas918]

He changed it to AVGN because he didn’t want Nintendo to sue him for putting “Angry Nintendo Nerd” on his merchandise

[@SecretSquaff]

@@liammcnicholas918 He's lucky Jakko was more lenient than Nintendo.

[@hoodkakarot3850]

fun fact: you will a sibling soon, last night with your mom was incredible.

[@thehussiteking]

@@hoodkakarot3850ok

[@notatrollll]

Found the 10th jakko fan club member

[@kenshin891]

"THIS....LOOKS LIKE..A FUCKING CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE!!" Brilliant, that's fucking "bong hit transplant" tier

[@KirisunaOnline]

Yeah, it's too funny! 😂 (I've never heard of the guy tho!)

[@Cybercrapper28]

So true also I’m gay

[@DrSpaceman69]

@@Cybercrapper28 congratulations

[@C.R.G.Official]

​@@Cybercrapper28 Me who didn't ask:😐 You who thought someone did:🤔

[@chiefhydropolis]

​@@Cybercrapper28congrats

[@rocketgreentea]

For me, the Pissed Off Gamer had to be the funniest of them. The angry eye filter he used gets me every time.

[@0uttaS1TE]

He looks like the "Just fuck my shit up" meme

[@comixproviderftw_02]

Dude with the ECW theme song over here

[@Hazgoblin]

i love how he compares the disc to a chocolate chip cookie, then stares longingly at it

[@Jupiter_Rsabbit]

hes genuinely a real cute guy

[@thebuddah1253]

Deh facking nintendo sheet Keeoob

[@LikaLaruku]

He's the quietest gamer you've never heard. He's the ASMR Video Game Nerd.

[@HawkbitAlpha]

Markiplier's World's Quietest Let's Play series in a nutshell

[@SandwichGlitch]

​@@HawkbitAlpha ever seen a let's play from spoony... He doesn't say a darn word...

[@Journey_Awaits]

He’d rather have a buffalo slowly lick a popsicle near his ear

[@mojavefry2617]

Open doorrrrr~.

[@ClaytonOHara]

GOATED AHAHA

[@DenpaKei]

That Armake21 reveal hit me like a sack of bricks... I used to be xbox friends with him. Every few days he'd shoot out a voice message telling everyone to stop spamming him with memes lol. RIP Marcus

[@oscarsulaka4867]

Damn

[@langying]

Yeah, I played a D&D session with him and his (then) girlfriend. I never brought up that I saw his videos. But, still

[@lolwtnick4362]

lol lame

[@Killer_Kotomibro]

“Once AVGN hit the scene and made everyone laugh, everyone was like, ‘I could do that! Let me put up my own videos!” And yet they completely forget you have to be talented, charming, and funny.” - Arin Hansen, 2013

[@nqk_0662]

Where ?

[@Killer_Kotomibro]

@@nqk_0662 Game Grumps, Mickey Mousecapade

[@deusprogrammer_thekingofspace]

What's that chair in such a big hurry for...TO GET SIT ON?

[@Killer_Kotomibro]

@@deusprogrammer_thekingofspace The first boss, she's a fat ass witch who throws cotton balls. Who gets hurt by cotton balls? Apparently Mickey, and his... b i t c h.

[@ValensBellator]

@@nqk_0662it’s in the Mickey Mousecapades episode of Game Grumps. Before playing they game he looked up a video of it with Dan and came across a Game Dude review, and then Arin spent his entire video doing an impression of him while Dan just wheezed for ten minutes 😂

[@Nerdtendo6366]

Only made it 40 years dude, RIP Armake21. May he rest in peace

[@ab-gail]

God bless him. 🫡

[@derekmann8239]

Oh man I didn’t know he passed, that’s a bummer!

[@Sup_nw85]

Rest well Armake21 ❤

[@WeirdWonderful]

I didn't even know he died :/

[@wishbushwashbosh6443]

Is it ok to ask how he died?

[@Odinsday]

As soon as I saw the picture of Ember, my jaw hit the floor. To think that Randy Stair of all people started off as a James Rolfe clone is insane.

[@Randomidiotnumber68]

yeah, iirc he even admited that he copied a lot of james's content in a video prior to the shooting

[@elijahblechman8633]

I was literally about to comment the same thing. That was absolutely amazing twist. Magicmush literally a god tier KZbinr.

[@bunnyfreakz]

@@elijahblechman8633 The fuck amazing twist? That's tragic twist. Why glorified mass shooting?

[@kingofthegrill]

So back in the day I watched this edgy Fred clone called MakeMeBad35, he did like Mr Wooden Alligator and all those videos, he had the Jimmy persona who was like a little kid who did vulgar things. Anyways, Randy Stairs aped his shit for a while and did a few collabs with him, so I unknowingly watched Randy Stairs content years before he shot anyone.

[@QJ89]

One of his 'You Know What Sucks' vids was about staying up after midnight while still living with his parents and trying not to wake them up. It's kinda sad that Randy never got to move out.

[@vinegar4556]

Going into this, I thought Game Dude for sure was going to be the most insane person in this video. And then... Ember appeared on screen.

[@infamystudios5139]

The Randy Stair twist fucking got me good, but Jesus christ. Like your editing and storytelling progression is fucking killer. You're such a great youtuber.

[@Scallycowell]

I legit had my fight-or-flight instincts triggered when the video of Ember showed up and immediately knew who it was. Dear god.

[@JJAB91]

I was listening to this in the background as I grinded through DMC2 DMD and suddenly hearing the DMC music he put over that part through me through a loop.

[@zachflag6506]

It's so strange how unsettling some of these are. The Jaako and Fat Russian videos have the atmosphere of, like, a 2012 LiveLeak snuff video. Jaako especially feels like he's about to show us the secret compartment of his basement.

[@BLUE_OCTOBER-TRIX]

😂😂😂

[@davidoneill7554]

Ohpen dohrr

[@menschgebliebenergossenpar9213]

Jaakko is a harmless dude with probably a mental condition, and the main reason I used to watch him was his ASMR-ish way of speaking, not so much his video content.

[@AdamOwenBrowning]

@@menschgebliebenergossenpar9213 i dont like it, but the "this man has a mental condition" vibe makes some people quite scared and feel uneasy, even if the person is completely harmless. I don't understand it myself but hey

[@Nick-ue7iw]

Normal people don't commit violent crimes. You have to be mentally disturbed to take someone else's life intentionally. Not hard to figure out bud.

[@stainedclassv0114]

That Ember and Randy Stair reveal near the end was genuinely more disturbing and scary than most modern horror movies. Jesus Christ...

[@UnchainedPandoran]

Nice profile picture.

[@RisingRevengeance]

@@sonic-templeos Nah no peace for him

[@Nick-qf7vt]

Best judas priest album

[@br3akstuff]

​@Sister Supersonic (Game Title) I hope he remains restless

[@ShadowSora8491]

What makes him scary is the fact that he was a real-life monster. May those people he senselessly killed rest in peace.

[@Asalieri2]

Actually, Game Dude had his own version of You Know What's Bullshit which no joke, he dubbed "You Know what's goose poop".

[@magicmush1998]

You have no clue about this, but I was a judge in one of your old RAR contests

[@Asalieri2]

@@magicmush1998 that's so cool to hear, man! Happen to remember which year?

[@magicmush1998]

@@Asalieri2 i'm 6 months late on this because i never got the notification lol, but I believe it was around 2012-2013, and I think it was the one where you wanted a fake advertisement in the review for a bit.

[@RezaQin]

You know what's GOOOOOOOOOOSE pooOOOOOOOOP?!

[@rnrailproductions5049]

I find it very scary I know someone who worked with Randy at the same store, and what’s even more wild is that he went home an hour before Randy showed up and did what he did…

[@user-fb7xx6gx4w]

Thankfully he went before randy killed him

[@IronMadden]

God, the Game Dude is such a wild case of AVGN clones. There was also that one time where people discovered the Game Dude's account on a forum board for individuals who were circumcised and wanting to restore their skin down there. Additionally, he made an appearance in some short film called "DealBreaker," where he was shown wearing pink panties. The character Alex played was called "Leo Pink Panties."

[@magicmush1998]

I just wanna say, I knew about the circumcision stuff, but I did not wanna bring it up in this video because it is genuinely painful to read.

[@neonthunder3261]

Game Dude skill issue, circumcision boosts my aerodynamic speed (this is a joke post do not take this seriously, its 2023 i have to specify it)

[@LC-iw3ll]

@@magicmush1998 As a restorer myself I don't want the Game Dude to taint our community's image. He is an example of a person who instead of seeing the positives and light at the end of the tunnel chooses to doom and gloom instead. The real journey begins when you move past the sadness and become an optimist.

[@VonVikoGoat]

the gamer dude was definitely the man behind the silent hill wiki foreskin fiasco

[@mileidyclass]

Don't forget the Burger King ad parody thing with the wolf fursuit.

[@chazington1073]

So glad you did game dude his story is so fucking insane

[@ImTheGuy]

YOOO, is that the real chazington.

[@MrSpyCrab1]

​Chaz you've made it, there are now fanboys of you asking if you're real in the replies of random videos. Congratulations.

[@chazington1073]

@@MrSpyCrab1 I wanna go back

[@gremloid]

omg mr chazington

[@ImTheGuy]

@@chazington1073 You can't escape

[@gundamnduke0]

ironically, modern AVGN is an AVGN clone

[@MidoseitoAkage]

He became the Simpsons of YT at this point

[@frozencatcake]

Oh damn

[@Eliasdbr]

​@@MidoseitoAkage even avgn himself makes note of that on a recent Simpsons episode😂

[@JomasterTheSecond]

Reasons why the Nintendo Shitcube sucks: -The disc looks like a chocolate chip cookie. -Graphics by ATI (ATI my ass). -You can't even play DVDs on this. -The motem is sold separately. -Is $120.

[@GribbleGob]

literally leagues above modern AVGN ironically, though admittedly last time I watched avgn was the video where he parodied that one movie about las vegas or whatever

[@mostgar]

A lot of people seemingly don't really get AVGN. He isn't angry for the sake of being angry (unlike the copycats). Hes angry in channeled, concentrated way. About genuinely infuriating and frustrating stuff. He insults games that deserve that. It's not as mindless as seems at first glance. Its very hard to describe but i guess thats where his good script writing really shines. Thats where he differentiates himself from the masses of mindless angry shitheads. Well placed and thought out anger if you will.

[@borby4584]

It's not just that. It's the fact that the AVGN is just a character, and nothing more. James Rolfe isn't the AVGN. He's just the man who plays that character, and a man who has a wife, kids (I think), and interests outside of being some angry, videogame obsessed man for a camera.

[@tivvy2vs21]

An example being the top 10 hottest sonic chicks guy, I forget his name, he went on a rant about them

[@darienb1127]

What a lot of people don't realize is that James went to film school, so he had that knowledge with him from the start

[@VonVikoGoat]

avgn's anger feels like when you get scammed with a video game and he knows how to represent that. The copycats are angry just to be angry

[@sailorsloth8183]

@@tivvy2vs21 Guptill89. His rant about the “Doin Ya Mom” song is also great.

[@RebelTaxi]

I'm a proud Jaakko I had no idea Armake21 died damn

[@Riitje]

👀

[@Gatorade69]

Hey Pizza man.

[@ZelMeiren]

@@Riitje Pan watches Mush? Ayyyyyyyyyy

[@unknownsoldier6731]

First Andrew blaze, and then you of all people are here. This video is great😂

[@the_real_Kurt_Yarish]

A proud Jaakkoff, if you will.

[@weholdparties]

I audibly gasped when I saw the Ember photo. I guess I've been on the internet too long, but I put the pieces together instantly because the only association I have with the character and with him are in relation to his crimes. What an odd world we live in to say the least.

[@Ahnock]

right? i feel like the only time i ever see ember brought up in any kind of medium, it's always in relation to randy. i mean it makes sense that she's some random background villain in a kids show so its not exactly like people are actively talking about her, but still. seeing her and thinking "oh huh, isn't that the girl that one shooter was obsessed with?" and then IMMEDIATELY bringing him up blindsided me so hard.

[@romainpascaud3735]

We got a French KZbinr called Joueur du Grenier who started off as mostly a AVGN with croissants, and who grew to do his own thing, still reviewing bad games, but with his own flair and a lot of talent. He actually got a cameo from James Rolf in his two-parter 10th anniversary video, and cameo'd in an AVGN video much earlier (a video about games that never made it to the US, I think)

[@jeanivanjohnson]

there is also a russian youtuber maddyson (мэддисон) who was not really a clone but was inspired by AVGN and he is called the king of the runet because he was basically the first popular russian internet personality

[@cjthebusta3721]

Some info on the Game Dude: He, like AVGN, went to film school but was the butt of jokes and was given no respect because he was at the bottom of his class. Eventually flunked out. He was always awkward and had a non existent family life. The lady in question never really cared about him, she wasn't the best person but still, she didn't deserve stalking. She suffered from anxiety and supposed PTSD from it. He was to be convicted and perhaps sentenced to prison. He was never found, he went to Mexico and then China. Someone managed to find him and asked him about everything. Basically, he gave up on everything and is living a quiet secluded life. He acknowledged what he did was wrong, he acknowledged his issues. He stays away from people and prefers to put everything behind him. Even though he was at fault, it's a sad fate for a lonely socially awkward kid who wanted to be loved by everyone and find someone who loved him. At his age, he pretty much dropped out of life.

[@umairashraf5167]

Huh,well I hope he finds happiness in his new life

[@Slickmin115]

Where did you find this info?

[@Journey_Awaits]

Gd, huh wonder what that stands for

[@cjthebusta3721]

@@Slickmin115 there was a run down by Mr. Metokur (don't know if he's still alive) back then, someone also did a two hour video about it and someone finally found and contacted him. He was brief but he stated that he just wants to move on with his life and that he apologizes for the hurt that he's caused.

[@hastur-thekinginyellow8115]

@@cjthebusta3721 Holy shit Metokur (or Internet Aristocrat as he was known back then) brings back a ton of memories from the 2014-ish era. Never considered myself a "radicalized" person but I will say he was a huge influence on me moving away from left field politics - which encouraged me to do my own research on left leaning ideologies (fourth wave feminism, Communism, AnCom, etc) instead of just taking what I heard in stride from other folks that leaned left and thus choosing to be willfully ignorant. But yeh, I was a huge part of the GamerGate debate back then, right up until the movement crumbled after a bunch of grifters and influencers moved into the community to "squat" and try to turn the outrage around GamerGate into a cashcow that they could poke for revenue (on both sides of the argument). It's a shame he gave up trying to actually standing for a cause and instead resigned himself to just building a career off trolling and "internet bloodsports". I've seen Jim play himself down multiple times over the years by claiming he was "just some guy on the internet laughing at idiots", but one cannot deny that he was extremely charismatic... I would even go as far as to say without his "Quinnspiracy" video GG never would have happened, because for pretty much ANYONE I've ever talked to who was around and a part of the GamerGate argument (that wasn't on the side of gaming journalism) has told me that, much like myself, it was his reporting on the topic that blew the situation out of the water for them. Last I heard he had cancer. Not to sure if he's still alive or not, last time I saw a video of his it was when he was doing the "weather reports" after KZbin effectively shadowbanned him off the platform and refused to relinquish the funds he made from superchats during his last few livestreams.

[@SunnyHomeVideos]

Major difference was James Rolfe was an actual film maker who studied film making and AVGN was something he started for fun not just a KZbinr looking for quick views.

[@fredrikthorvaldsen9692]

He was never a film maker, his "films" are shitty home videos he made as a kid

[@johntiter2825]

He's also a mowden climber

[@IDHLEB]

"Actual film maker" He never really liked film industry. He just wanted to shoot his little digital home videos.

[@user-ct8dm7ez4r]

@@IDHLEB he still had skills and some understanding of how cinematography works. That's leagues better than absolute most of KZbin back then and still a very decent level now.

[@lasarousi]

​@@IDHLEBfella you don't need to be in the industry to be considered an enthusiast and a type of professional. That's just something unions, guilds, academia and mafias tell you to pay tribute. All you need to do to be a film maker is enjoy making films.

[@AidenRKrone]

Eric Abramov saying "You can bow on your hands and knees and kiss God's ass all you want" had me rolling on the floor laughing. That's easily the funniest thing I've heard all month.

[@henrymockingbird9645]

The angry pissed off hardcore gamer is like Tommy Wiseau of KZbin

[@jeremycarnes1656]

Oh hi henry

[@henrymockingbird9645]

@@jeremycarnes1656😂😂😂😂😂

[@youtube-kit9450]

Every time I see him mentioned in a video and see his antics I start laughing uncontrollably because holy shit.

[@muggeddood]

The Randy Stair reveal actually made my jaw dropped, it’s the first KZbin video where I was actually shocked. It was like a twist villain in a movie

[@earlyej3008]

Yeah. It's like, most horror movies could only dream of pulling off a reveal that filled me with that much dread. The instant I saw Ember on the phone, I felt a deep chill. Like, it was unironically one of the most terrifying moments I've ever had while watching a KZbin video.

[@dante_0962]

@@earlyej3008 it feels like a horror villain you haven’t seen for years then suddenly coming back to haunt you. Like we’re in a horror movie and he’s our villain.

[@AlexDown1]

The Shutter Island of KZbin twists

[@keeeeeeerin]

i actually screamed “no. NO!!” at my computer

[@TheNightmareAngelYT]

I would've been shocked if I didn't look at the comments. I screwed myself over.

[@earlyej3008]

As soon as I saw a picture of Ember on his phone, I almost had a heart attack as the horrific realization set in as to who it was.

[@PrinzPassionsfrucht]

Same here, I knew that I Heard His voice before but could'nt Put my finger on to someone. But as soon as I saw the Ember-pic I thought: "Oh Shit, its him."

[@ZeoHidra]

Same, at first I thought the cynical nasaly voice sounded like Possum Reviews, then the shot of Ember on his phone "no it couldn't be...*him* could it?"

[@scottpeltier3977]

It was like a car crash. Soon as I heard the voice, I just felt oncoming dread

[@nahomgirma5095]

I had the same feeling. As soon as Ember showed up and voice started to become more familiar, I paused the video. And it took me nearly a minute start it up because I felt a sense of dread and horror when I knew who he meant.

[@ImmSpiderman2428]

13:22 This jump-scare was genuinely scarier than the entire FNAF Security Breach game

[@nahomgirma5095]

When I saw Ember on his phone, I kept thinking to myself: "Not him. Not him. Anyone but him..."

[@BerzerkerTank]

28:16 God I wish there was a warning for the Ember jumpscare, I felt my heart plummet when she showed up.

[@earlyej3008]

I was just like "who is this? Is this another KZbinr I watch? Is it someone I'm familiar with?" Then I saw that image of Ember and the realization hit me like a truck.

[@walcodebruyn2135]

@@earlyej3008 i had no idea who that girl was until well he told the story..🤦‍♂️ definitely a bad way to end the video. R.i.p to his victims

[@lvl5Vaporeon]

James really brought all of us together. I cant believe AVGN is almost 20 years old!

[@raijuko]

James is a great person. My nephew emailed him once , asking for a free autograph because he was a big fan but, was young and didn't have a job or money quite yet. James REPLIED, chatted a bit, and sent a avgn card with his autograph.

[@CassandraPantaristi]

​@@raijuko That's awesome! 😁

[@kiramead4133]

That twist at the end, I thought it was going to be Gamer Dude. “You know what sucks? Stalking laws.”

[@LoverofChildren]

the moment i heard jaaako speak, i knew he was finnish. that is THE thickest finnish accent ive heard

[@Riitje]

This has inspired me to become a MagicMush clone. Time to bust out the mic I got in 2005 and use no script whatsoever.

[@deadlyninja112]

Slight roast?

[@Riitje]

@@deadlyninja112 No, only love for MagicMush.

[@JaxTheEpic]

I WILL ONE DAY BE MAGICMUSH AND BECOME MORE POPULAR - Guythathatesmagicmush1999 2022

[@BigmanDogs]

Peanut butter gamer and Jon tron were the first people I can think of who took inspiration from AVGN without flat out copying. People like the completionist too. And now we have the likes Scottthewoz who likely grew up watching those second gen video game review youtubers.

[@sladikk]

If you look back at Jon's first, like, 3 or so videos, they're pretty similar in formula, but he soon came into his own style

[@niclaswa5408]

As well as Somecallmejohnny

[@BigmanDogs]

@@niclaswa5408 he doesn't really integrate comedy skits in his videos does he?

[@niclaswa5408]

@@BigmanDogs Oh, he did, if you you way way way back. Just look at his “SGB Review - Sonic Genesis” for an example of him using skits, and his “Johnny vs Mario 2 the Lost Levels” to see him using anger for comedy.

[@BigmanDogs]

@@niclaswa5408 Oh ok, I'm only extremely vaguely familiar with him.

[@ryokiritani28]

I'm not joking here, i'm 100% serious while I type this. I was eating as I watched that video, and the moment Jakko started doing that weird droning sound in the metroid review I lost all strength and was unable to open a fucking coca cola bottle. I am convinced I have been cursed.

[@Ahnock]

return the slab

[@johnnywakeup5515]

@@Ahnock or suffer the curse

[@DrSpaceman69]

Open dohr..

[@ringtail99]

@@DrSpaceman69 i have been cursed

[@HalfEatenMedia]

Avgn’s videos were great because they were basically low budget indy films. There was thought and care put into every shot. It was charming. Every video was more than a review, they were each short films.

[@0uttaS1TE]

28:16 That shit genuinely sent shivers down my spine. It was like the twist at the end of a Saw film

[@comixproviderftw_02]

For real. When I saw Ember’s picture, my jaw dropped. I was like “oh no…”

[@Mariofanatic22]

​@comixproviderftw_02 like I didn't recognize the voice but then I saw Ember and immediately said oh god no

[@earlyej3008]

I genuinely had goosebumps when I saw Ember's picture. Like, a genuine feeling of dread because in that moment, I knew exactly what was coming next.

[@olivius8891]

Seeing Ember on that phone was one of the most surreal moments I have ever had on KZbin holy shit.

[@DeluxeDietCoke]

It was like a jumpscare

[@olivius8891]

@@DeluxeDietCoke For real

[@jimmycarburator2012]

what a slow-burn, spine-tingling, unexpected plot twist. Actually creeped me out

[@Duskets]

God, hearing that Armake21 passed away is a gut punch. Such a formative critic from the early YT days. Going to go watch his FEAR video in remembrance.

[@PelemusMcSoy]

24:52 "You know what sucks?" _Me before watching the segment:_ Vacuums? =D _Me after watching the segment:_ The fact that three people needlessly died at the hands of an unhinged lunatic.

[@jxbermudez]

Man I love how the first quarter of this video is kinda wholesome, you got an intro to avgn, a tribute to a passed away man, the first two people were very light and basically were just "they have their quirks but you can tell their heart was in the right place" and then theres just game dude to make the tone take a total holy crap what happned plunge...And then the final person takes that plunge and then prooceds to bungie jump off a bigger plunge

[@Solitaire__]

I knew Marcus back in the early 2010s, we spent many nights hanging out on Skype and watching random movies and videos and playing games online together; this video was the way I found out he passed. I hadn't spoken with him in several years and I'm heartbroken that he passed. He was a hell of a guy, and he will be missed.

[@benchristoit1299]

He was cringe, nothing of value lost

[@4zy1]

@@benchristoit1299You're a loser.

[@chadlondon8428]

@@benchristoit1299 dude. its not about his content. hes a human... you however, are an arse.

[@zeebooboo9663]

​@@benchristoit1299okay tough guy

[@lordwolffurry582]

@@benchristoit1299 ill be waiting to say that when your father passes.

[@NingenSlayerZamasu]

The phrase “cold sweat” best describes the Ember wall paper and recognizing the dudes voice. God it feels weird knowing the loser spent the better part of his life attempting to be famous online and failing miserably.

[@BigK13372]

Its odd how the first two knock offs seem like unhinged individuals but rather actually moved on from KZbin and have a healthy life. While the last two are some of the most unassuming people who end up committing psychopathic shit. All I can take away from this is that MAYBE emulating James Rolfe is a bad idea (even though its fun to swear like a sailor)

[@DeadManTalking.]

That revelation at the end made me drop my jaw ever so slowly to be reintroduced to Randy Stair. It was like being a detective in a horror movie learning that a closed case was in relation to another case involved with a disturbed killer.

[@nuclearneo577]

The fact that The Irate Gamer and The Nerd actually collaborated twice and Chris Bores is still making videos is honest kind of nice. Out of everyone else who tried this, Chris Bores was the most successful and James Rolfe even acknowledged him a couple times.

[@BH-98]

I know of AVGN appearing in one of Irate Gamer’s videos but what’s the other collaboration?

[@nuclearneo577]

@@BH-98 On Chris Bores' toy review channel, James Rolfe had a voice cameo once. I think it was for something Street Fighter related.

[@Gatorade69]

And now Chris Bore's videos have more heart put into them than James'

[@tetsuoakira8294]

​@@Gatorade69My man. So true

[@justinarzola4584]

I never watched irate gamer but I watched all the parody videos making fun of his content.

[@NeptuneNoire]

When he was bringing up why the voice sounded familiar to him, i thought it was going to lead into a joke. But the second I saw the Ember picture, i just went "no fcking way."

[@the_real_Kurt_Yarish]

I coincidentally just learned about The Angry Pissed-Off Hardcore Gamer from an Oneyplays compilation, where they nearly exclusively referred to him as the "Nintendo Shitcube guy". Turns out, he lives up to the hype, lol.

[@theonlybilge]

If you want to feel a bit better about Randy Stair, it might be comforting to know that he missed most of his shots, so he was incompetent at aiming as well.

[@SneedBass]

His accuracy sucked, but also I think he was trying to also cause as much property damage he could before the police got there and he had to turn the gun on himself.

[@VonVikoGoat]

he was also obsessed with the columbine killers, so that says a lot about how much grass he touched

[@NeoGraena]

​​@@VonVikoGoat Obsessed with both Columbiners & believed that he was Ember from Danny Phantom lmfaoooo

[@surftacoman80]

@@VonVikoGoat absolutely none at all

[@TheLakabanzaichrg]

If you've seen his practice footage you can tell he didn't miss on purpose

[@OrgaNik_Music]

Jaakko is an absolute genius. A lot of us Finns speak English with that exact accent, but his version is extremely exaggerated.

[@imarock.7662]

28:09 At first I couldn't place the voice. But then I saw that Danny Phantom character....and it all clicked as the DMC music kicked in... Why?? Why did I have to be reminded of that sicko again???

[@SwaggyG_2102]

The late 2000s to early 2010s were a wild time for the "media reviewing" scene. You either had to be outrageously angry like AVGN, hilariously wacky like Nostalgia Critic, or a sarcastic smartass like Cinema Snob. There were no in-betweens.

[@simonsimons1252]

And no one could do their own truly unique thing and make it big. You were either an AVGN clone, a Nostalgia Critic clone, or a Pewdiepliernova Happy Wheels Slender clone.

[@norrecvizharan1177]

Basically, the best way to be noticed in an ocean of content creators was to be memorable enough to not be easily forgotten.

[@fuarregen7648]

@@simonsimons1252 Never have I heard a better way to describe early days youtube than Pewdiepliernova Happy Wheels Slender

[@funkytime69]

​@@simonsimons1252 who's the nova in pewdipliernova

[@Sonicfoxtrot]

now it's 3 hour plus goober videos of people wanting to sound smart.

[@Sazandora123]

Regarding Isvaffel/Jaakko, he speaks in what we Finns call "rallienglanti", or "rally english" -- mostly grammatically correct english but just pronounced poorly. And yes, we make fun of it here too! 😄Jaakko is a fairly common given name in Finland and I'm pretty sure Isvaffel is a Swedish word but I have no idea what it means.

[@simonkorica9467]

Isvaffel just means Ice Cone (Ice cream cone) in Danish. Never heard any Swedish person use it tough, but all would understand what it meant in written form.

[@onthefaultline]

Rally English, like "up into asshole of Timo?"

[@DantesGrill]

Deep love for the rally English. I used to have a thick one too, but the Swedish version. It slowly disappeared. Isvaffel is not Swedish, probably Danish like Simon said.

[@vinesauceobscurities]

I've actually first heard of "Open Dohr" in an early My Summer Car dev vlog. Rally English really is something magical.

[@sethbryant7894]

It's crazy to me that just seeing Ember sends shivers down my spine because I'm chronically online. Some things are better left unknown... As soon as you see her, you just know what kind of fucked up story is about to follow...

[@user-un5vd5qr1g]

that randy stair thing genuinely sent me into shock wtf

[@arseniyarsenicum7518]

My favourite bit of Irate Gamer trivia, is that now he is behind the toy-review channel "Puppet Steve"... Devoting himself to the Funko FNaF Figurines and using a minecraft character as his avatar...

[@comixproviderftw_02]

I see you watched uhyeah’s video

[@arseniyarsenicum7518]

@@comixproviderftw_02 Of course... And I think it's a perfect companion-piece for this one...

[@Markeplier23]

This was the biggest twist I have ever experienced in my life

[@AlexDown1]

Kinda crazy that this guy is apart of two different generations of childhoods, in very different ways.

[@umairashraf5167]

Good for him,maybe he finally discovered his niche and hopefully become successful entertaining kids

[@matthewbanzai129]

I didn't recognize the voice but the way my jaw immediately dropped when I saw Ember... chills down my spine, man

[@Killermoth1951]

6:04 he's more of the calm video game nerd

[@rawanalahmed8086]

18:33 This smile will hunt me.

[@The_K1tten_Earter]

Dude... That Randy appearance was a legit jumpscare

[@boblayadlay]

That Randy Stair intro was the perfect plot twist to such an innocent video LMFAO

[@moserfugger6363]

This classic AVGN intro still brings a huge smile to my face. Thank you. :) Greetings from Germany

[@BinglesP]

12:48 I want that slideshow of APOHG laser-eye blasting consoles as a multi-emulator launcher's selection screen. Like, he highlights the controller of the console you want to emulate, and then it boots up the emulator selected that you linked it to. That would be funny

[@Fregward]

Honestly so happy for Eric that he made something of his life. I hope he's doing well these days.

[@KyotoCommentates]

Seeing Ember on the phone screen at 28:16 hit like a brick, the way you portrayed that moment was really well thought out. I would argue that its one of the best things you have done in any of your videos, especially with how it shocks and captivates the viewer in the same way it did to you upon finding it. Bravo MagicMush, hoping to see you hit 100k soon!

[@earlyej3008]

Yeah. It was an excellent execution of the reveal. Like, for anyone who knows about the tragedy, seeing that was genuinely horrifying.

[@AlexDown1]

Y'all describing this like a Shutter Island level twist and here I am going "Who tf?"

[@REALPEDROGAMEPLAYS]

@@AlexDown1 watch the video, randy was a failed KZbinr turned obsessive shooter that killed 3 people then himself to be with his ghost girlfriend as one of them

[@anth636]

29:52 even his nostrils look deranged.

[@immahere]

I am a simple woman, I see Angry Pissed Off Hardcore Gamer, I click

[@allfodas]

Conclusion: NEVER imitate AVGN. You'll get a ??% chance of dying, getting crazy and/or being arrested by doing so.

[@plebisMaximus]

There's always the minute almost invisibly small chance you end up doing pretty well. Jontron started out an AVGN clone and he has yet to die/go nuts/get arrested.

[@DokturProfesur]

Jury's out on the "go nuts" part

[@EmilyKimMartin]

​@@plebisMaximusYeah, he just turned out to be a racist cuckservative unironically believing in 1950s braindead Red Scare propaganda

[@dougrattmann3554]

​@@plebisMaximuswell, he did become a nazi

[@wearecoterminous]

​@@plebisMaximusdid you miss the like nine hour Nazi propaganda podcast he was on where he quoted fbi crime statistics?

[@Obsessor23]

8:35 the idea of someone doing something so violent and threatening, but with such a sleepy and disinterested voice is honestly kind of hilarious

[@chargeman_ken]

14:20-14:30 THIS freaking moment. I LOVE how he takes like 5 seconds to think of a joke to say, but just yells "What the fuck!?". His delivery and the music, it sends my sides to the orbit.

[@drewbakka5265]

I let out an audible "Oh no" when I saw ember

[@wednesdaygeckok.7899]

Just wanna use this opportunity to say: James is one of the most important people in internet history. He always wanted to be a filmmaker, theres a video of him from when he was REALLY young back still in film school. A classmate made a documentary about him and captured a real and raw look at James and his love for the art form. He always wanted to make something that would impact others in the way films impacted him. Well he absolutely did. It wasnt in the way he thought it would be, but he absolutely changed media forever. James' content was incredibly important in my life and its no exaggeration to say millions of others too. The amount of clones should tell you that even if you've never seen a single episode. His sense of humor was hugely significant in my formative years and watching him helped me understand exactly what it was about films i always adored so much. I owe a lot of my artistic appreciation to him and im so happy he's doing well for himself and he found his happiness, even if it wasnt exactly what he expected. I guess thats the beauty of life. Sorry to any poor soul who read all of this but im feeling nostalgic and thinking about it got me in my feels.

[@j.2512]

he didn't have the talent for filmaking sadly . Most youtubers and internet "content creators" are frustated artists, they can only review stuff other people made

[@OmegaShadeslayer]

roachdogg jr spittin the hard facts.

[@xxProjectJxx]

The thing about AVGN is that it was clear that it was a show. He was obviously doing skits and bits. But he also had moments of surprising insight and level headed commentary. So, it worked beyond just being some angry dude. The thing about the AVGN clones is that all they took from the show was "angry=funny." None of the wit, none of the insight and none of the self-awareness that made AVGN work.

[@pepperonidrizzle2401]

I audibly said "Uh Oh!!" When I saw Ember

[@mugen7973]

Eric is one that people mock when they find out about him, but then move on and feel bad. It's like laughing at a friend who tripped. You find it funny they did, but ultimately you help them up. Eric is someone we laugh at, but everyone's in agreement there's nothing to be resentful about what he did, and just let it go.

[@magicmush1998]

Small update: I did find out Jaako has another KZbin channel still going shortly after I was done editing this. www.youtube.com/@Isvaffel7/ open dohr

[@TheMacCheechMan]

uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

[@toyotatacoma1616]

I was laughing so hard at that Jaako Metroid clip just waiting for the shoe to drop and for it to turn out something horrible was happening and I would feel bad for giggling at it.

[@ghostface5559]

giggling? ha gaaaay

[@Shadowstar1311]

The reason season 1 AVGN is so classic and why it still holds up is because the Nerd wasn't yet firmly established in a fictional story. It was James' alter ego. He would have a few beers and share his actual thoughts about shitty game design, playing it up a little for the camera. It was more genuine. Don't get me wrong, I love his new stuff too. Season 16 is one of my all time favouite seasons actually. But seasons 1 and 2 had less acting. He was just acting as an exaggerated version of himself. But as he grew up and started to mature, he also had to start putting on more of a performance. Nowadays, he's mastered the character, so it's back to feeling more genuine. But at first, there was an awkward period where the acting was cheesy and over the top. But even those seasons have their own charm, their own absurdist style of comedy. Mike also had some epic moments. Mike as the cowardly lion still makes me laugh to this day. Wicked witch of the north, wicked witch of the west, wicked witch of my ass!

[@justonethrowaway]

this video, the part about the nerd, armake21 tribute (rip to a legend), and the mention of why no irate gamer or spoony discussion is done so well. i can tell you really respect this time of the internet and were around for it like i was. love it, and thanks for covering some of the smaller guys i never saw lol. the ember reveal was insane. great job on the video

[@12isaac00]

I almost had an aneurysm thinking that the Danny phantom guy came back from the grave. Yes, it took me way too long to realise those videos were old, no, I don't know why.

[@richardlionerheart1945]

So he reincarnated after all

[@-error-7936]

He is burning

[@REALPEDROGAMEPLAYS]

@@-error-7936 💀

[@NorthBoiX]

funny because his corpse got cremated, he's dust now.

[@DasKame]

23:10 "This Video is 2 Hours Long" is somewhat a frightening Statement

[@josedorsaith5261]

Randy Stair will forever be remembered by his "training" video. Despite shooting at close range he misses every shot. It's accidental comedy

[@jabmaster1000]

James and Doug are the people I think of when I hear the term “internet icon” they’ve both made amazing stuff and they both pioneered this style of reviews on the internet. James for games and Doug for movies

[@themanbehindthebruhmoment502]

That twist near the end of the video where the identity of the "You Know What Sucks?" guy was revealed genuinely made me shit bricks

[@Rampy470]

Holy crap I heard that "open door" thing in a TF2 surf map in like... 2012. It was so weird and felt so out of place that i was convinced that someone on the mic kept saying it to tell someone to open a door to the surf jail or whatever. But no, it was built in to the map and played whenever someone reached the end or whatever. I've spent near a decade wondering what the hell that was and now I finally know.

[@lemoonlemon]

13:06 Oh look, my inner sleep paralysis demon made a cameo. Btw, this video surely does take me back to the past alright. Also, that Game Dude intro slaps so hard.

[@MCastleberry1980]

As much as I like the classic AVGN stuff, I'm so glad we've moved on from the "angry reviewer" era of KZbin just recycling nerd rage ad nauseum. It's kinda nice that a lot of more current gaming KZbinrs are more positive and mostly talk about stuff they like.

[@anotheryoutubeaccount5259]

...such as? These kinds of videos only helped raise "angry nerds"

[@jimmywhite6863]

​@@anotheryoutubeaccount5259there are a lot of channels out there now that will make video essays about why a game is their favorite or why it's the best game ever made, there are channels that are just informative with no bias, and there are channels that delve into the lore of their favorite franchises. It's easy to find them and it's surprising to me that you haven't encountered any.

[@Outside998]

Randy Stair/Andrew Blaze is a very tragic and disturbing case. I watched the entire video gallery Randy uploaded minutes before the shooting. Old videos, the "suicide tapes", the planning, the targets... Very disturbed and tragic individual. Little correction: Randy never believed that after death he would be reincarnated as Ember. Randy saw Ember as a goddess, someone to look up to, and thought he was a girl's soul trapped in a man's body, and he was given a soul contract. He had to serve the purpose of his contract, and then he would return to Ember's Ghost Squad, EGS, as the soul he always felt he was. He thought his soul mate was a character he himself created, named McKenzie. And, according to his videos, she talked to him in his head. His parents were (by his own account, so make of that what you will) blind and ignorant to the struggles he went through, which sounded like depression, schizophrenia and gender disphoria all in one package. Also, Randy originally planned to kill himself in his room, and was planning for it to happen in an early September week. Why September? I reckon that was because the song "Remember" from the show Danny Phantom, sung in an episode by Ember and which he listened to daily and for hours, started with the line: "It was, it was September."

[@rankrodent2772]

I genuinely feel bad for people like this..

[@charleshultgren7804]

@@rankrodent2772you shouldnt. He was basically a fucking terrorist

[@GoodfellasX21]

Yeah trans people are extremely confused. That's why it's ridiculous when people legitimately try to argue a man wearing a dress and wig is a woman because he says so. It's getting really weird with certain people. Most don't play to it, but companies are forcing their employees to pretend someone is the opposite gender if they say so at threat of termination.

[@ghouldishanimal]

@@GoodfellasX21 This is literally someone who potentially was driven to insanity because of the lack of gender affirming care and trans acceptance in society. If they had been able to transition without stigma they might have been able to be happy.

[@jh047o]

​​@@ghouldishanimal doubt transitioning would have done anything because either he'll off himself or still do the shooting, guy had mental issues that transitioning would have done nothing for, also fuck off literally 72 percent of americans support you you don't need more

[@KatoCoyoteCombatWorkshop]

Moment I saw Ember on that phone a pit in my stomach dropped out and I reflexively shouted "no". That got me. That got me really good.

[@matheusfigueiredo7]

In Brazil we have “colônia contra ataca” almost as old as AVGN. Few years ago the host “Mr. Wilson” made an interview with James

[@MegCazalet]

The “You know what sucks” jokes sound more like Seinfeld imitation.

[@r3n3gad33]

Good God, this trend was a defining hallmark of the mid-late 2000s, I remember wanting to a KZbin series called 'The Mad Player' because I was a fan of AVGN and Irate Gamer as a kid. Part of me still wants to do so.

[@Sarahm2261]

Do it JUST DO IT

[@Goldsrc17]

Do it

[@crushedcan5378]

Do i

[@coryjohnson2486]

Don’t waste your time. It will never catch on, and I’m positive you don’t have any talent. I would just give up if I was you.