What’s that? Wizard Dojo is doing interviews now? Evidently so! Allow me to introduce the first-ever Wizard Dojo interview, with none other than Arlo from the YouTube! Everyone’s favorite fuzzy, blue monster video game reviewer was kind enough to take the time to sit down with the Dojo for this interview (I totally didn’t just send him direct messages on Twitter and wait for a response), and shared with the Dojo answers to some lingering questions about his gaming tastes, preferences, and history. Be sure to check out Arlo’s YouTube channel for more of the much-needed quality content and insight he brings to the gaming community.
But here I am rambling. You’re here for Arlo. Okay, okay, here’s the interview.
WD. What made you want to start making YouTube videos?
Arlo: I’ve been interested in video production since I was a kid–playing around with my dad’s camera, making silly little bits and animation pieces, that sort of thing. When Youtube started to become popular it seemed like the natural way to make videos that could finally be seen by people. So I suppose the answer is is that Youtube existing made me want to start making Youtube videos, ha.
WD. How long have you been a gamer?
Arlo: My first console was the Sega Genesis and my first two games were Sonic 2 and Sonic & Knuckles, so I must have been seven or eight. I turn thirty this year, making me something like twenty-two years a gamer.
WD. What are your three favorite video game franchises?
Arlo: If I’ve got to boil it down I’ll say Pikmin, Zelda, and Metroid. Either Mass Effect or Paper Mario would have bumped down Metroid if certain things hadn’t, eh…let’s say “happened to them.”
WD. What series would you say you have the biggest love/hate relationship with?
Arlo: Hey, I think I smell a loaded question! Yeah, it’s probably Paper Mario. There are plenty of series that have caused me both great joy and great sorrow, but Paper Mario might be the biggest one. Thousand Year Door set the bar so high that anything other than pure greatness would forever let me down.
WD. Has any gaming console particularly influenced your taste in gaming?
Arlo: All my favorite consoles are Nintendo ones, and I’ve consistently loved Nintendo games, so technically I don’t think I can say any of them specifically had a big impact on my tastes per se. The Xbox 360 was probably the biggest influencer, because it was what introduced me to all sorts of new genres. I thought I was a Nintendo guy through and through and stayed away from shooters and stuff like that, but after getting a 360 for Rock Band and Guitar Hero I started to try out stuff like Mass Effect and Bioshock. Over time that kind of led into other non-Nintendo series as well, and now I feel that I enjoy more types of games than ever. The 360 opened a door away from Nintendo, in a sense.
WD. Is there any game most people dislike that you secretly (or not so secretly) enjoy?
Arlo: Probably Star Fox Adventures. It’s a terrible Star Fox game, and it’s packed with quirks that drag the whole experience down, but there’s just something endearing about it. I have a natural love of adventure games, and there’s a little nostalgia factor in there, plus all the weird voice acting and dinosaur language… Something about it just sits right with me, even if on something of a shallow level. I’ll never tell you it’s a great game, but it’s fun to sit down with every once in a while.
WD. You are obviously very excited about the announcement of Metroid Prime 4, what’s another dream game you’d like to see become a reality?
Arlo: The obvious answer is a true “Paper Mario 3,” but according to Nintendo there’s no way that will happen. Then my mind jumps to Pikmin 4, but that’s basically confirmed already. So let’s see, Resident Evil already went back to being good, Super Mario Odyssey is just about everything I could want in a Mario game, Mass Effect is dead… This is hard! I think I’ll just go with “Metroid 5.” A new, original 2D Metroid with some of the grand, cinematic elements introduced in Other M but with the truly open format of Super. And if we’re really talking dream material here, a 3D Mario where you go on a straight-up adventure like in Paper Mario and Mario and Luigi, with hammers and towns and a story and all that.
WD. The big question (if you don’t mind revealing this here)… Top 5 favorite games of all time?
Arlo: It’s like impossible to nail down the five best ones, but I’m going to start listing my favorite games until I run out of spaces:
Metroid Prime
Twilight Princess
Pikmin 2
Mass Effect
Resident Evil 4
WD. Any closing words you’d like to say to your fans?
Arlo: As always, the most important thing to say is thanks! I can’t even believe that there are so many awesome, supportive people out there that like to watch videos featuring my ugly mug, and I can’t possibly thank you all enough!
Many, many thanks to Monsieur Arlo for taking the time for this interview. Once again, you can find all of Arlo’s fantastic content at his YouTube channel. It’s well worth it.
Wizard Dojo 
Twilight Princess is his favorite Zelda game? I like the way he thinks.
I also agree with his assessment of the Paper Mario series; Thousand-Year Door is the best game in that series, and it’s too bad that subsequent efforts failed to meet that standard – especially given Nintendo’s propensity to keep impressing even after setting the bar high.
It’s cool that you conducted an interview! It must’ve been a lot of fun.
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