Line #39 WebVideo/ThirdRateGamer


1	[[quoteright:349:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/3rdrategamer_7264.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:349:SUPORT DA SHOW LOL]]
3	-> ''"Didn't they test this game before they released it?"''
4
5	[[https://www.youtube.com/user/FFL2and3rocks The Third Rate Gamer]] is a StylisticSuck satire of the infamous [[WebVideo/TheIrateGamer Irate Gamer]], by [=FFL2and3rocks=] (real name unknown).
6
7	Similarly to other ''Irate Gamer'' parodies such as the WebVideo/SaveStateGamer and WebVideo/TheIrritatedGamer, the Third Rate Gamer does intentionally poorly-written and acted reviews of various games, usually with deliberate references to some of Chris Bores' well-known memes and mistakes.
8
9	The first episode, a review of ''Final Fantasy 3'', was released in 2007, and has garnered enough positive feedback from fans to spawn 17 more in total. The last episode (and last video on the channel) was released in 2011, with the show seemingly cancelled due to "lack of motivation" by the creator. Longtime fans eagerly await an eventual comeback episode, if such a thing ever happens.
10
11	[[folder: Games "Reviewed"]]
12	* VideoGame/FinalFantasyIII on the Nintendo DS.
13	* Platform/NintendoDS.
14	* VideoGame/CastlevaniaI, [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaIISimonsQuest II]], and [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaIIIDraculasCurse III]] on the NES.
15	* [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI "The Legind of Zedla"]] on the NES.
16	* VideoGame/StreetFighterII "Street Fiter II" on the Sega Genesis.
17	* VideoGame/YoshisIsland "Yoshi's Iland" on the SNES and Game Boy Advance.
18	* VideoGame/{{Paperboy}} "Papperby" on the NES.
19	* The VideoGame/NinjaGaiden "Nenja Gadon" trilogy on the NES.
20	* [[VideoGame/LittleNemoTheDreamMaster Little Nemo...]] sorry, "''Fynding'' Nimo" on the NES.
21	* Series/HomeImprovement "Hoam Improvmint" on the SNES.
22	* VideoGame/{{Battletoads}} "Batltods" on the NES [[spoiler: and Sega Genesis.]]
23	* VideoGame/RocketKnightAdventures "Roket Nite Adventurs" on the Sega Genesis (or the Mega Drive for you Americans.)
24	* VideoGame/KirbysAdventure "Kubbe's Advintar" on the NES.
25	* VideoGame/TheLionKing "The Lian Keg" on the Sega Genesis.
26	* VideoGame/CoolSpot "Cold Spit" on the SNES.
27	* Daze Before Christmas on the SNES.
28	* Franchise/SuperMarioBros [[VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1 1]] and [[VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2 2]] on the NES.
29	* VideoGame/ChipNDaleRescueRangers "Shit and Fail: Risky's Revenge" on the NES.
30	[[/folder]]
31	----
32	!!This series contains examples of:
33	* AccentuateTheNegative: Parodied. He will very often nitpick minor details that have little to do with the game.
34	* ActingForTwo:[[invoked]] Lampshaded in the ''VideoGame/ChipNDaleRescueRangers'' review:
35	--> opens door ''"Oh hey, it's that guy who's never going to appear on screen at the same time as me."''
36	** Also his Cousin Timmy (a parody of Irate Gamer's Cousin Joey character), who is obviously just TRG in a hat while slightly bending over.
37	* AdaptationDisplacement: [[invoked]] Enforced, exaggerated and parodied, due to the Irate Gamer frequently getting the facts about a game's source material wrong. For example: In the Super Mario review, the Third Rate Gamer thinks that the ''Film/SuperMarioBros1993'' film is the original and [[VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1 the game]] is just a cheap licensed cash-in.
38	* AmbiguouslyGay: Ocasionally does things like referring to muscular guys as "sexy" and Evil Rate Gamer lured him out of the room with promise of nude photos of the Angry Video Game Nerd in the basement.
39	* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: "Syphilis, Hepatitis and Bores."
40	* BadBadActing: PlayedForLaughs. His idea of "looking irate" equals "[[AngryCheekPuff puffing your cheeks full of air]]".
41	--> "Well, fine! I don't need you, I'll just do this review by my... ''looks at script'' self!"
42	* BigLippedAlligatorMoment:[[invoked]] Quite intentional, to parody the Irate Gamer's tendency to shoehorn random characters in his reviews.
43	** Lampshaded in his ''Cool Spot'' review, parodying a quote from the Irate Gamer's review of the Kool-Aid games:
44	--> '''Third Rate Gamer:''' Why do I keep putting these interruptions into ''my'' show?!
45	** Again parodied in his ''VideoGame/ChipNDaleRescueRangers'' review:
46	---> '''Wilson:''' And here's a tip: when you make a joke in your review, make sure it actually makes sense somehow.
47	---> ''(a large pile of bananas suddenly lands on him)''
48	* BlatantLies:
49	** In his ''Kirby's Adventure'' review, he denies stealing from the AVGN by claiming that he doesn't watch him, and "proves" this to Billy by showing footage that he's not subscribed to the AVGN's channel (read: him showing footage of him ''already being subscribed'', and then scrolling the cursor to the "Unsubscribe" button on his channel and clicking it, which he apparently [[FailedASpotCheck forgot to edit out]]).
50	** He does a slight commercial break later in the review advertising a card game. We then cut to an actor who is not very enthusiastic about his opinion, and the bottom of the screen has a caption saying "NOT A PAID ACTOR".
51	** At the end of the ''Legend of Zelda'' review, he tells his fans to buy his DVD, which "is not rushed at all". The cover art is a terrible drawing in crayon, and the lines on the sheet of paper are clearly visible.
52	** He claims that his ''Simon's Quest'' review is original, but he uses footage from AVGN's review ''with the original sound still running in the background''.
53	** In his ''The Lion King'' review, he tells the audience to see how slow Simba is running "in this unedited footage", said as he then abruptly slows down the footage.
54	* BleepDammit: Parodied in the ''VideoGame/YoshisIsland'' "review". Certain words like "shit" and "fuck" are partially bleeped out, usually in a way that makes it really obvious what the swear was. However, words like "dickwaffles" and "crap" are kept.
55	* BuffySpeak: "In the old commercials, he (Cool Spot) would walk around and stuff."
56	* ButtonMashing: Parodied. In the reaction shots, he's always mashing buttons, even when it makes no sense for the game he's playing. On top of that, he almost always uses a controller for a different system - or not a controller at all, such as a pair of headphones and the DS case.
57	* ByNoIMeanYes:
58	** In his ''Castlevania'' review:
59	---> "Don't get me wrong; this game... I don't ''hate'' ''Castlevania II'', but... don't send any hate mail, guys, just don't. Because... I really ''do'' hate ''Castlevania II'', but I'm just gonna say that I don't, because that'll make it seem like I don't hate it, so I won't get as much hate mail."
60	** In his ''Daze Before Christmas'' review:
61	--->"Ooh, I know what you're thinking: "How dare you make fun of Santa Claus!?" But I'm not! This game is awesome, but it's a piece of shit."
62	* TheCameo:
63	** He makes an appearance in the ''WebVideo/NoDateGamers'' episode "Cruise".
64	** The end of his ''Chip & Dale'' review features the heads of the ''WebVideo/SaveStateGamer'' and the ''[[WebVideo/TheIrritatedGamer Irritated Gamer]]'' mounted on the Evil Rate Gamer's wall.
65	* CaptainErsatz: Billy is an obvious parody of ''Irate Gamer's'' side character Tony, complete with a dumb nonsensical catchphrase and being represented by a sprite taken from a browser-based MMORPG (''VideoGame/{{Runescape}}'' rather than ''VideoGame/MapleStory'' here).
66	* CaptainObvious: PlayedForLaughs. He circles very easy to see things, and points out things the viewer can plainly see, like mentioning that each stage is harder than the last. In particular, the ''Cool Spot'' review has him drawing a circle and six arrows around the already quite visible player character, and explaining lots of stuff that should be obvious to anyone with even rudimentary knowledge of gaming, e.g. "you can attack enemies to defeat them" and "if the enemies hit you, you'll take damage, which is a bad thing because taking too much damage makes you lose a life and have to go back". Lampshaded, as he says he adds these explanations because "his viewers have never played a video game before".
67	* {{Catchphrase}}:
68	** "Didn't they test this game before they released it?", and many variations.
69	** "But after doing some research..." as well.
70	** "..which is only available for the (''Insert System Here'')"
71	** "Some game designer who's laughing his ass off. ."
72	** "Bang-a-lang!" is Billy's catch phrase, which is Tony's catchphrase from the ''Irate Gamer''.
73	** "(Insert character from game/show)?! What are YOU doing here?!"
74	** "Get the fuck off my property!"
75	* CausticCritic: Being a parody of the Irate Gamer, it's pretty obvious he is going to be one of these.
76	* ComicallyMissingThePoint: All the time. He always points out things completely irrelevant.
77	* ConspicuouslyLightPatch: He is oblivious to this during the claw machine minigame in VideoGame/KirbysAdventure by initially choosing to grab a random, faded yellow Kirby rather than the large, pink one.
78	* ContinuityCavalcade: Parodied. At the end of his ''Chip & Dale'' review, all of the minor characters from previous episodes appear to watch the ending of the game, including [[VideoGame/RocketKnightAdventures Flashter]], Offensive Stereotype, [[VideoGame/NinjaGaiden Ryu]], Cool Spot, [[Series/HomeImprovement Wilkins]], and others. This is a parody of the time Irate Gamer did the same thing in his ''Cool Spot'' review.
79	* CoversAlwaysLie: He points this out on the cover of ''Castlevania'', in regards to the sword Simon Belmont doesn't have in the game.
80	* CountingToPotato:
81	** Failing to recognize roman numerals, he interprets the "Act I" screen of ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden'' as this and says that it should be "Act ''1''" instead.
82	** In ''Little Nemo: The Dream Master'', he asks the viewer a question and gives three choices, which are respectively numbered "A", "2", and "III".
83	* CowboyBebopAtHisComputer[[invoked]]:
84	** Throughout his entire ''VideoGame/LittleNemoTheDreamMaster'' review, he refers to the game as "WesternAnimation/FindingNemo". Based on "Chris and Scottie Road Trip" where Bores is [[ChromaKey visiting Pixar]] and lists one of their movies as ''Little Nemo''.
85	** He refers to ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2'' as a "movie" in the E3 recap. Even after he explicitly refers to the first one as the "Galaxy game". And how it was supposedly one of his favorite movies.
86	* DeadpanSnarker: Some of the Third Rate Gamer's lines are subtly written this way to critique parts of the Irate Gamer's reviews. Just one instance is in his ''Paperboy'' review, mocking the Irate Gamer's criticism of having a point system in ''Ghosts 'n Goblins:''
87	--> '''Third Rate Gamer:''' Who ''cares'' about points? I mean, sure, people may have cared about that twenty years ago when this game came out, and I really should take that into consideration when making this review, but fuck that!
88	* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment:
89	--> "As you start playing you'll notice this horrendously horrendous music. It's driving me ''insane''! Listen to it too much and it'll drive you to brink of ''insanity''! This music is so bad that I'm about to go ''insane''!
90	** In "The Lion King":
91	---> "Well, it's about time to wrap up this E3 review, because E3 is wrapping up, so I gotta wrap up this review, and wrap it up!"
92	** "''Super Mario Bros 2'' is a video game created by Nintendo for the Nintendo NES System System made by Nintendo.''
93	** In the same review, we apparently need six[[note]](not counting the initial shots of the bomb being lit in both timelines and the shot of it finally blowing up, which would make ''nine'')[[/note]] identical reminders that the bomb is going to blow up at any moment now.
94	** Even moreso in his ''Series/HomeImprovement'' review:
95	---> "More enemies?! More dinosaurs?! More redundancy?! More redundancy?!"
96	** In his ''Chip 'N Dale: Rescued Rangers'' review:
97	---> "Apparently, these people are part of a group that is known by via a name called by the 'Rescue Rangers'."
98	** In the ''Cool Spot'' review:
99	---> '''TRG''': An [=MP3=] player! Awesome! I wonder if they have any Music/VanHalen songs by Van Halen.\
100	'''[=YouTube=] Warning''': This joke has been removed due to a Van Halen copyright claim by Van Halen.
101	* DesignatedVillain: Invoked and parodied. If the Evil Rate Gamer didn't [[CardCarryingVillain point out that he's evil]] at every opportunity we wouldn't know.
102	* {{Dissimile}}: On two occasions (inverted in both examples, as it's less making a comparison with a lot of exceptions and more making a comparison with only one small element linking the two):
103	** About ''VideoGame/CoolSpot:''
104	---> '''Third Rate Gamer:''' This game really reminds me of ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}}'' because in both games, you control a character.
105	** And about ''VideoGame/ChipNDaleRescueRangers:''
106	---> '''Third Rate Gamer:''' This game is a throwback to the classic ''VideoGame/{{Castlevania\|I}}'' game because it has graphics.
107	* DistinctionWithoutADifference: In a parody of the Irate Gamer's use of the trope when expressing his thoughts about ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2'':
108	-->"I know what you're thinking -- that I'm going to sit here and bash ''Super Mario 2''. But before you start sending your hate mail, just hear me out. Now, I don't hate ''Mario 2'', but when compared to the other ''Mario'' games, this one just has "ass" written all over it!"
109	* TheDitz: One of TRG's primary traits is his blatant stupidity and inability to put two and two together. Exhibit A from the ''Home Improvement'' review:
110	--> '''TRG''': The main goal in the game is to go around the level and collect five crates, but the game doesn't even tell you what's in the crates. Speaking of which, the intro said you're looking for ''tools'', not crates, and now I'm looking for crates? I don't even know what's in them! What about the tools I'm supposed to be looking for? Where are they? They've been replaced with crates for no reason.
111	* DontExplainTheJoke: Even lampshaded at one point:
112	--> talking about Ring King "Holy shit! It looks like they're getting blowjobs! What do you mean explaining the joke ruins it? Fuck you!"
113	* DullSurprise: Comes with the StylisticSuck territory.
114	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The first two title cards aren't misspelled.
115	* EpisodeTitleCard: Following along with the StylisticSuck, all the title cards are hand-drawn in Microsoft Paint, with several bad photo edit-ins, as well as [[RougeAnglesOfSatin misspelled words.]]
116	* EthnicScrappy: [[invoked]] Parodied with "Offensive Stereotype," who's little more than a laughably racist "Chinaman" caricature. This is a parody of Irate Gamer's Ronnie the Skeleton, which many people accuse of being a stereotypical complaining jew.
117	* EvilTwin: The Evil Rate Gamer. You can tell he's evil because he's wearing a hat.
118	* ExactWords: On a meta level. In the Irate Gamer's ''Cool Spot'' review, his evil twin drops by his apartment and says that he's giving pizzas away in exchange for "anyone with an [[Platform/MagnavoxOdyssey Odyssey]]" [[note]]He obviously meant he was giving pizzas away in exchange for an Odyssey console, but the wording was...rather poor[[/note]]. TRG took a literal interpretation of this and made fun of it by making ''his'' evil twin say he was "giving them away in exchange for people" in his ''Chip n' Dale'' review.
119	* TheFaceless: The Third Rate Gamer's face is off-screen throughout the first episode.
120	* FailedASpotCheck: TRG fails to spot the 2-player option in ''VideoGame/ChipNDaleRescueRangers''... right next to the 1-player option. He then complains that it's "buried so damn deep in the menu", accompanied by the camera slowly panning from the 1-player option to the 2-player option.
121	* FreezeFrameBonus:
122	** If he's making a ShoutOut, chances are he'll show a picture of something entirely unrelated, but only for a brief second.
123	** When saying that his DVD is worth buying since it has over three minutes of bonus features, he shows what the features are and what the length of each is. [[spoiler: It only adds up to 2 minutes and 59 seconds.]]
124	* GISSyndrome: Lampshaded in the ''VideoGame/{{Battletoads}}'' review, where an image of a castle is labeled "Castle of Google Images".
125	* GodwinsLaw: At the beginning of one episode, Billy gives TRG some fanart. It's a picture of UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler with blonde hair and mustache.
126	* GoshDangItToHeck: PlayedForLaughs. In the ''VideoGame/ChipNDaleRescueRangers'' review, he starts awkwardly shoehorning in G-rated curse words alongside the typical fare, in response to how the ''Irate Gamer'' suddenly started to inconsistently tone down the cursing in his videos.
127	-->''"What a bunch of bullshi- uhm... BS."''
128	* GretzkyHasTheBall: Crosses over with RecognitionFailure in the ''Battletoads'' review: during a segment where the player must throw balls at a boss, he declares that the player character has worse aim than "Shaquille O'Neal shooting touchdowns"... accompanied by a picture of ''Tiger Woods''.
129	* HighlyVisibleNinja: Conversed in his ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden'' review.
130	--> ''"And what the hell kind of ninja wears bright blue? I thought ninjas wore black so they can hide in the shadows!"''
131	* HomoeroticSubtext: The Third Rate Gamer gets really excited upon hearing that there are nude photos of James Rolfe in the basement and immediately runs to check it out (giving Evil Rate Gamer a chance to hijack the show). He's also rather excited at the prospect of getting a "Leisuresuitgaming Valentine's Day Special DVD."
132	* HostileShowTakeover: Done in the ''VideoGame/RocketKnightAdventures'' review, complete with a SpecialEditionTitle (which just consists of his old intro played in reverse with a negative filter and "Evil" sloppily edited over "Third").
133	--> '''Evil Rate Gamer:''' ''"Now I'm going to review a game just like he does but with a few corny evil-jokes thrown in!"''
134	* HypocriticalHumor: Happens all the time.
135	** In his ''Series/HomeImprovement'' review:
136	---> '''Third Rate Gamer:''' Why the fuck would something start with an intro? This intro is just horrible! ''(cut to his intro)''
137	** In his ''VideoGame/{{Battletoads}}'' review:
138	---> '''Third Rate Gamer:''' If there's one thing I can't stand, it's stupid one-liners. What a bunch of ass burgers with a side of fries!
139	** In his VideoGame/TheLionKing review, he criticizes ''WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd'', saying all he talks about is shitting on things. Directly after that:
140	--->'''Third Rate Gamer:''' Anyway, Mufasa ''(actually a grown-up Simba)'' has three forms of attack. He can claw at the enemies, jump on the enemies, and shit on the enemies. ''(feces land on in-game enemies)''
141	** And in his ''VideoGame/ChipNDaleRescueRangers'' review, upon encountering his "evil" self:
142	-->'''Third Rate Gamer:''' And what's up with that fake mustache? It looks ridiculous!
143	** In the ''Cool Spot'' review:
144	--> '''On-screen text''': FIND CAGE!\
145	'''TRG''': "Find cage"? Shouldn't this say, "find ''the'' cage"? This is some of the most worstest, most stupidest piece of not-good grammars I ever saw!
146	* IAmNotShazam:[[invoked]] Upon seeing the title screen of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI'':
147	--> '''Third Rate Gamer:''' Wait, "Zelda"? I thought his name was Link! And now it's Zelda? What's this bullshit? So much for consistency...
148	* ImpossibleItemDrop: Conversed in his ''VideoGame/{{Battletoads}}'' review:
149	--> ''"And when you kill this bird, it drops a sword. [[LampshadeHanging Why would a bird be carrying around a sword?]] [[HammerSpace And where was it keeping it anyway?]] [...] [[AssShove Are they shoving these things up their asses?]]"''
150	* ImmediateSelfContradiction: In his ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1''/''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2'' review, when introducing ''VideoGame/DokiDokiPanic'', he says that he '''found''' rare footage of the game "that you won't ''find'' anywhere else".
151	--> '''Third Rate Gamer:''' So don't steal it from me! ''(places a watermark on the video)''
152	* InUniverseFactoidFailure: Whenever he does the standard reviewer retrospective introduction, you can count on him to get at least two or three things comically wrong about whatever he's talking about.
153	** In ''Kirby's Adventure'', he complains about Kirby having a sword on the introduction movie for the "Vegetable Valley" level, leading to him complaining about them not testing the game. Later on, he is also annoyed at how the game supposedly doesn't have a power-up feature in general. Guess which two aspects of the game he then discusses a few minutes later?
154	** The same thing happens in his ''Yoshi's Island'' review, where he criticizes the game's lack of power-ups before mentioning the helicopter power-up a couple minutes later:
155	---> '''Third Rate Gamer:''' What pisses me off more is the lack of power-ups. There are ''no'' power-ups in this game! No mushrooms, no fire flowers, no stars, no [[ArtisticLicenseBiology baboon]] tails. Just Yoshi walking around.\
156	''(later in the review)''\
157	'''Third Rate Gamer:''' And yeah, I know I said there are no power-ups in this game, so to make myself look good, I'll just delete any comments that point out that mistake.
158	** He believes that ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994'' is a Creator/{{Pixar}} film from the 1970's. In the same review, he claims that the game was never ported to any other system, complains about the use of "I Just Can't Wait to be King" as the background music for level 2 ("Do you remember this music anywhere from the movie?!"), and complains that you don't get any continues (said as he is ''showing footage'' of the continue screen).
159	* ItsHardSoItSucks:[[invoked]] Parodied in-universe. TRG will often hate a game because of its perceived difficulty, even when it isn't even that hard and the problem clearly is his own incompetence and stupidity.
160	** Lampshaded by Billy in the ''Cool Spot'' review:
161	---> '''Billy:''' I don't like this game. It sucks because I keep dying on purpose.
162	** In the ''Lion King'' review:
163	---> '''Third Rate Gamer:''' I'm playing on the easy setting, and it's still too hard! Couldn't they've made the easy setting a little bit more easier-ish?
164	** In the ''Chip and Dale: Rescue Rangers'' review:
165	---> [[invoked]]'''Third Rate Gamer:''' It's way too hard! Wasn't this supposed to be a children's game? They should've made it easier, so I could [[ItsEasySoItSucks complain about the game being too easy]].
166	** When he reviews ''Simon's Quest'', he says "this game is hard, and therefore it sucks".
167	* JumpScare: During his review of ''VideoGame/TheLionKing'', while in the cave level and commenting that anything can appear during that time, [[spoiler: a [[SpecialEffectsFailure crudely-photoshopped image]] of the Game Dude makes a "cameo".]]
168	* TheKenBurnsEffect: He has a tendency to do exaggerated zoom-ins of still frames, usually zooming in so far that the content is no longer recognizable. Lampshaded in the ''Lion King'' review description: "I hope you like looking at pictures that zoom in slowly!"
169	* KnowNothingKnowItAll: His general character. He'll happily launch into tirades about a game's history while getting every single fact wrong, and whenever he shows footage of himself playing a game, he's doing horribly.
170	* LameComeback: TRG's comeback to his haters is "Well, yeah, but these haters are...dumb". Then he slaps on a photoshopped graphic saying "PWNED!"
171	* LeftItIn:
172	** In his review of ''Legend of Zelda'', Billy tries to convince Third Rate Gamer that he is supposed to go through the cave at the beginning. When the latter eventually finds out that that is the case, he decides to create an "edited version of this review with that part taken out so no one will notice."
173	** At the beginning of his review of {{VideoGame/Paperboy}}.
174	--->'''TRG:''' Oh...I didn't realize the camera was on during my [[BadBadActing bad acting.]]
175	* MadLibsCatchphrase: Parodied when TRG literally says, "what a cussword load of another cussword".
176	* MajorInjuryUnderreaction: As he's being viciously attacked by the [[WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994 Scar]] sprite at the end of his ''Lion King'' review, all he says in a slightly annoyed voice is, "Hey, stop it! That's my spleen, buddy!"
177	* {{Malaproper}}: TRG says ''Chip n' Dale: Rescue Rangers'' doesn't have a 2-player mode, so if you want to play with a friend, you're "up paddle creek without shit."
178	* ManipulativeEditing:
179	** At the beginning of his ''Chip n' Dale'' review, he complains there is no two-player mode, but he really just painted over the option and claimed that they buried it too deep into the menu. This was to parody IG's ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}} 6'' review.
180	** He draws a cross over the Koopas in VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1 while complaining there was more than one enemy in Yoshi's Island, which had [[BlatantLies not happened in a Mario game before]].
181	** In his ''The Lion King'' review, he tells the audience to see how slow Simba is running "in this unedited footage", said as he then abruptly slows down the footage.
182	** In his ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2'' review, he slows down the footage and complains about how slow the star is. Unlike when the Irate Gamer did the same, the Third Rate Gamer didn't even bother to mute the slowed-down music.
183	** His ''Daze Before Christmas'' short review has a death montage to show how hard the game is, and it's the exact same death scene repeated several times.
184	* MerchandiseDriven: Parodied endlessly, as he tries to order fans to buy his poorly-made products, such as in his ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden'' review, where he begs everyone again to buy his [=DVD=].
185	** In his ''VideoGame/KirbysAdventure'' review, during a "commercial break", he tries to sell something called a [[RougeAnglesOfSatin Crad Game]].
186	** Also, midway through the ''VideoGame/{{Paperboy}}'' review, a random shameless plug is thrown in for fans to "buy my t-shirt", which is nothing more than his show's logo sloppily MS Painted onto the back of the shirt he's currently wearing.
187	* NarrowParody:[[invoked]] Averted, as many jokes are based on ''really'' obscure aspects of both the Irate Gamer and Chris Bores himself, such as old comments by him and leaked private messages. One joke is even directed at an archived Geocities page made by Chris Bores long before the Irate Gamer days about his (supposedly) upcoming novel. Also, how many people did he expect to get the "Leisuresuitgaming Valentine's Day Special DVD"-joke?
188	* NegativeContinuity: Played for laughs and lampshaded in the ''VideoGame/ChipNDaleRescueRangers'' review:
189	-->'''Third Rate Gamer:''' ''"Cool Spot!? What are you doing here?"''
190	-->'''Billy:''' ''"Hey, I thought you killed him in your VideoGame/CoolSpot review."''
191	-->'''Third Rate Gamer:''' ''"[[ViewersAreGoldfish Who's gonna notice?]]"''
192	** PlayedForLaughs again in the same review with [[Series/HomeImprovement Wilson]], parodying a name change WebVideo/TheIrateGamer did to an already existing character (that he had appear on his show, no less).
193	--->'''Third Rate Gamer:''' Wilson?! What are you doing here?!
194	--->'''"Wilkins":''' It's "Wilkins", dipshit. Haven't you ever seen my show?
195	** Lampshaded in the ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' review. Third Rate Gamer tells Offensive Stereotype to go away in the second timeline, while inviting him in in the first timeline. The latter then eventually appears in the ''second'' timeline to save him from the bomb, causing Billy to call out the Third Rate Gamer on it.
196	---> '''Billy:''' He left in this timeline! It's the ''other'' timeline where he stays so he can save your life before your house explodes!
197	---> '''Third Rate Gamer:''' This video's confusing! I should have been paying more attention.
198	* NoEnding: In his ''Yoshi's Island'' review, he parodies ''Series/TheSopranos''' use of the trope [[spoiler: in its final episode]].
199	--> '''Third Rate Gamer:''' This game is dumber than that [[spoiler: last]] episode of ''The Sopranos'' where they-- ''([[SmashToBlack cuts to black]])'' %%Note: If any of you tropers have a better way to handle the spoilers here (or if you find that they're just unnecessary altogether and decide to remove the spoiler tags), then that'd be great.
200	* SugarWiki/NoProblemWithLicensedGames:[[invoked]] Apparently his opinion on them, according to his ''The Lion King'' review:
201	--> '''Third Rate Gamer:''' As a film director myself, I know that it's really easy to turn a movie into a video game.
202	* NotSoStoic: A variation. Although his attempts to act angry fall straight into BadBadActing, the RunningGag in the ''Lion King'' video of his hesitance to say the word "girlfriend" in reference to Nala has him sound genuinely stressed.
203	* OffWithHisHead: [[spoiler: This happened to him at the end of his ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden'' review, where the Ryu sprite comes across the screen, "chops" TRG's head off--[[SpecialEffectsFailure really poorly, BTW]]--and the screen displays technicolor strobe lights with the ''Ninja Gaiden'' failure music and its "Game Over" screen.]]
204	* OnceAnEpisode: Starting in season 2, every episode begins with the intro of TRG'S sprite running across "epic" video games (and a Website/YouTube page featuring an AVGN video) as well as including background music for infamous video games, including ''[[Manga/{{Kinnikuman}} M.U.S.C.L.E.]]'', ''VideoGame/McKids'' and ''[[Franchise/BillAndTed Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure]]''.
205	* OnlySaneMan: Billy is quick to point out the Third Rate Gamer's idiocy.
206	* OrphanedSeries: There most likely won't be more episodes now that the Irate Gamer's popularity and infamy have fallen, and the creator doesn't have the motivation to make more.
207	* OverlyLongGag: After whining about the graphics in ''Yoshi's Island'', he spends more than a minute in real time trying to draw something better in crayon. He fails.
208	* PacManFever: Parodied. In every reaction shot, he's constantly ButtonMashing, regardless if this makes any kind of sense for the game sequence in question. He's almost always using a controller from a completely different system, and sometimes not even a controller at all, like a pair of headphones and the DS case for ''Final Fantasy III''.
209	* PlotHole: Poked fun at in his ''Chip n' Dale'' review; Cool Spot shows up the way he usually did in TRG's review of said game, but Billy quickly calls him out on this since Cool Spot was supposed to be dead. TRG responds with "Who's going to notice?" This is a stab at the same plot hole with Kool-Aid Man in [[WebVideo/TheIrateGamer IG's]] review of ''Cool Spot''.
210	* PoesLaw: There is a worrying amount of people who fail to realize he's a parody, if the [=YouTube=] comments are anything to go by.
211	* PorkyPigPronunciation:
212	** In the ''Cool Spot'' review, he complains about the number of enemies and tries to say that he thought he was playing ''Cool Spot'', not ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros Melee''. After three failed attempts to say "Melee", he gives up and uses ''Brawl'' instead. This is a TakeThat to IG's ''Brawl'' review in which he mispronounces "Melee" - he says "mee-lay", while it should be "may-lay" - the American pronunciation and the one used by the announcer in the game.
213	** In the ''Legend of Zelda'' review, he tries to say "[[{{Franchise/Pokemon}} Lucario]]". It doesn't go well:
214	---> ''L... Luo... Lu-sa-sari-ka-kar... Luh-cheerio''
215	** Downplayed in the ''Yoshi's Island'' review. He can't figure out how to say "adaptation", so he settles for "adaption". Although the former is the recommended form, the latter isn't wrong.
216	* RecognitionFailure: ''All the time.'' In the review of ''VideoGame/LittleNemoTheDreamMaster'', he comments about the title character wearing pajamas and ponders if he's "sleeping over at Music/MichaelJackson's house", he shows a picture of Jesse Jackson instead. Similar jokes include in the ''VideoGame/{{Battletoads}}'' review where his character crashes into a wall and asks, "who do they think I am, Sonny Bono?" and shows a picture of [[Creator/CheechAndChong Cheech Marin]] and the ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII'' review where he comments on the design of the level and asks if Music/RayCharles did it and shows a picture of Creator/BillCosby...''[[EpicFail just because he was wearing sunglasses in the picture.]]''
217	* RunningGag:
218	** He tends to confuse ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1'' with other games, such as ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG'', ''VideoGame/LuigisMansion'', ''VideoGame/MarioKart64'', and ''[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBros Smash Bros.]]: [[VideoGame/MarioKartDoubleDash Double Dash]]''.
219	** Usually when showing just a small part of a game, he'll die at the end of the clip before cutting to something else.
220	** The footage sometimes shows him picking the lowest difficulty setting before starting. If there isn't a difficulty selection, he will grumble about how he can't pick the easiest difficulty.
221	** In almost every episode, he'll get attacked by a character from the game he's reviewing.
222	** In quite a few reviews, it's obvious he's using a cheating device as he will get hit, but receive no damage. PlayedForLaughs, of course.
223	---> '''Third Rate Gamer:''' And don't ask why I'm not losing any lives when I die.
224	** When words or an image are placed on top of something, [[ToiletHumor a fart sound]] is often used.
225	** When he shows an image, he almost always zooms in on it for no reason. As the description for his ''The Lion King'' review puts it, "I hope you like looking at pictures that zoom in slowly!"
226	** He calls minor details that coincidentally happen to be in other games "direct rip-offs".
227	** "...which is only available on the [console]", usually with him showing a version of the game released on a different console than what he says.
228	** The Irate Gamer considered it a con in his ''Aladdin'' review that the game didn't unlock extra characters after you beat it. Naturally, the Third Rate Gamer turns it into a gag where he demands to know why he can't play as Jafar, regardless of game.
229	* SayingSoundEffectsOutLoud: He imitates radar circles with a "woo-woo-woo" in his ''Chip n' Dale'' review.
230	* SelfDeprecation:
231	** After the "Evil" Rate Gamer "takes over" the show in the ''VideoGame/RocketKnightAdventures'' review:
232	--->'''Evil Rate Gamer''': "At last! The crappy review show is finally mine!"
233	** At the end of the ''Home Improvement'' review, he says, "I can't take it any more! This review sucks!"
234	** In the dual ''Super Mario Bros. / Super Mario Bros. 2'' review, he mentions that the review will suck no matter which game he picks.
235	* SequelDisplacement: Invoked, exaggerated, and parodied in his ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII'' review, where he claims that [[BlatantLies there is no]] ''VideoGame/StreetFighterI''.
236	* SeriousBusiness: He'll criticize the smallest of details, no matter how trivial.
237	--> ''"And I'm serious. [[PunctuatedForEmphasis Dead. Fucking. Serious."]]''
238	* ShapedLikeItself: All the time.
239	--> ''"When you think of one of the most bestest Creator/{{Pixar}} films of the 1970s, chances are WesternAnimation/{{The Lion King\|1994}} is probably on your top 5 list."''
240	* SideView: Lampshaded in his review of ''Chip and Dale: Rescue Rangers'', where he says that every game should be a side-scroller. Keep in mind that in his earlier ''Kirby's Adventure'' review, he complains about the latter game being a side-scroller and said that it should be a puzzle game instead.
241	* SkewedPriorities:
242	** TRG will sometimes spend a disproportionate amount of time complaining about a game's graphics, even when they were good for their time and his standards were ''impossible'' to meet back then. On the flip side, he's also willing to give good grades solely based on the graphics. Case in point: ''Franchise/AceAttorney'', which got a 10/10 even though "the graphics are nice" was the ''only'' nice thing he had to say about it.
243	** TRG will often nitpick tiny flaws that are unlikely to interfere with anyone's enjoyment of a game, while he ignores the big picture.
244	* SmallNameBigEgo: PlayedForLaughs.
245	** He parodies how little credit IG gives to other people in his work, and often writes very self-centered things about himself in the credits.
246	** He also thinks the "Coolness Meter" in ''VideoGame/CoolSpot'' should start at 100% for him, because he's "The fucking Third Rate Gamer!" PlayedForLaughs, of course.
247	* SoundtrackDissonance: The show's theme song for the first season is the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1nDafqdH9o Dog Ending Theme]] from ''VideoGame/SilentHill2''.
248	** Then there is the beginning of the ''VideoGame/CoolSpot'' review, which features the first couple of chords from the ''Series/FamilyMatters'' theme song!
249	* SoUnfunnyItsFunny: Constantly invoked.
250	* SpecialEffectFailure: Invoked. He never tries to make the special effects look real.
251	** In the ''Yoshi's Island'' review, the AVGN's shirt (taken from a shot which itself is badly lit) is poorly superimposed onto him throughout the entire video.
252	** When TRG dies in an explosion that leaves his house unharmed, the newspaper says, "Third Rate Gamer killed by lame special effect".
253	** In the ''Little Nemo'' review, he shows obvious clip art of a kid on a bike (with his face plastered over it) that still has a white background moving in an obviously-fake manner over another picture of a house.
254	** At the end of the ''Home Improvement'' review, a dinosaur spits fire on TRG's computer. A stock explosion appears when it hits, and then some obvious fire [=GIFs=] are placed on the TV, which is still playing the computer just fine. You can even tell that the "game" playing on his TV is really just footage copied from the Irate Gamer's review of the game, as evident when the footage on the computer cuts to his room.
255	* SpecialGuest:
256	** WebVideo/TheIrritatedGamer guest stars in the ''Rocket Knight Adventures'' review, voicing Flashter.
257	** [[WebVideo/GuruLarryAndWez Guru Larry]] appears during the {{Incredibly Lame Pun}} part of his ''Chip n' Dale'' review.
258	* SplitTimelinesPlot: The ''Super Mario Bros.''/''Super Mario Bros. 2'' review parodies the Irate Gamer's ''VideoGame/MarioIsMissing''/''Mario's Time Machine'' review by copying its structure. After choosing one of the games to play, the Third Rate Gamer lights the other on fire and throws it across the room, lighting a CartoonBomb that is inexplicably in his room. The only other divergence is whether Offensive Stereotype stays or leaves; however, the video manages to mix up the timelines, leading to him suddenly appearing in the timeline where the Third Rate Gamer sent him away to get rid of the bomb.
259	--> '''Billy:''' [[LampshadeHanging What the hell is wrong with you?]]
260	--> '''TRG:''' What are you talking about?
261	--> '''Billy:''' He left in ''this'' timeline! It's the ''other'' timeline where he stays so he can save your life before your house explodes!
262	--> '''TRG:''' ''[directly to camera]'' This video is confusing... I should have been paying more attention.
263	* SpoiledByTheFormat:[[invoked]]
264	** At one point in his Nintendo DS review, he is conspicuously a lot farther away from the camera, parodying the Irate Gamer's misuse of the camera position to spoil the running gag of things falling from the sky in his ''VideoGame/{{Tetris}}'' review:
265	---> '''Third Rate Gamer:''' These games suck so much, it makes me wish that a Thwomp from ''Super Mario Bros.'' would fall out of the sky in this room and crush me! Of course, you've probably already noticed that I'm further back away from the camera and there's a lot of empty space above me so the joke is pretty much dead, but I'm gonna do it anyway. ''(gets flattened by a Thwomp)''
266	** Similarly in his ''Chip n' Dale: Rescue Rangers'' review, this time parodying the end of the Irate Gamer's ''VideoGame/KirbysEpicYarn'' review:
267	---> '''Third Rate Gamer:''' And why am I on one edge of the screen? ''(Chip magically appears to his left)''
268	* SpoofedWithTheirOwnWords: Quite a few of his gags are just directly quoting the Irate Gamer, sometimes with some added context. A good example is his ''Lion King'' review, where he directly borrows the line "you touch the lava, you die!", with the only change being his demand to know why the game would kill you if you touch lava.
269	* StalkerWithACrush: The Third Rate Gamer acts like this towards both the Angry Video Game Nerd and the Irate Gamer, talking about how much he hates them yet still being completely obsessed with them, casually mentioning that he sends them nude photos.
270	* StylisticSuck:
271	** Something visible from the very start: the horrible, horrible camera. It is probably the worst camera that's been used for the entirety of Irate Gamer parodies.
272	** The special effects, video editing and acting. Occasionally lampshaded.
273	** If there is ever anything written on-screen, it is ''guaranteed'' to be misspelled: "GO SHOV A CAKTAS UP UR ASS", "Double Dragons Princible" etc.
274	* TakeThat:
275	** The entire series is one big Take That to the ''Irate Gamer''. Also occasional jabs at Leisuresuitgaming and Game Dude, two other infamous [=YouTube=] reviewers.
276	** This even goes as far to have a Take That to one of ''WebVideo/TheIrateGamer'''s Take Thats, when he says, "Well, yeah, but these haters are...dumb." (Photoshopped graphic saying "PWNED!")
277	** And occasionally, he goes for targets other than video game reviewers.
278	---> ''"This ninja is the worst ninja in the history of ninjas! I'd rather watch an episode of fuckin' Manga/{{Naruto}} than play a level of this shitty fake ninja game!"''
279	* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: Parodied in-universe in the ''VideoGame/YoshisIsland'' "review", where TRG complains a lot about everything in the game that's different from other Mario games, even minor things like the fact that you can jump on Shy Guys to kill them, but you can't pick them up.
280	--> '''Third Rate Gamer:''' ''(whiningly)'' It's ''different'' than every other Mario game! How do they expect me to play something like this? Why couldn't it just be exactly the same as every other game in the series?
281	* ThatMakesMeFeelAngry: Comes along with the StylisticSuck territory, PlayedForLaughs.
282	* ThisIsForEmphasisBitch: What the announcer for his commercial for the Crad Game yells at fans to do:
283	-->"Order now! Right now, bitch!"
284	** "Your wish is granted, bitch!"
285	* ThrowItIn: In-universe, it appears that the Third Rate Gamer appears to still be learning the game as he plays it, and leaves in his mistakes. For instance, in his ''Battletoads'' review, he complains about not being able to refill your armor in ''Ghosts 'n Goblins'' before immediately realizing otherwise. Also, he is originally unaware of the power-ups in ''Yoshi's Island'' until minutes later in the review.
286	* ToiletHumour: Parodied. These jokes (as well as his other jokes) usually fall under SoUnfunnyItsFunny. Example from the ''VideoGame/YoshisIsland'' "review":
287	-->'''TRG''': Shy Guy? More like Crap Guy! ''(fart noise) (a picture of a turd appears on the Shy Guy)''
288	* TooDumbToLive: He has a bomb just lying around in his house for no reason.
289	* TookALevelInDumbass: The already incompetent Third Rate Gamer forgets that the controller has to be plugged in for ''VideoGame/TheLionKing'' -- and it's not hinted that he merely didn't ''see'' that the controller wasn't plugged in.
290	--> '''Third Rate Gamer:''' Why couldn't they have told me that from the beginning?
291	* TriviallyObvious: At the beginning of the E3 2009 recap: "If I had a dime for everyone who's been asking me my thoughts on E3, I'd have some dimes."
292	* TyopOnTheCover: His title cards are basically a parody of those Mike Matei does for the Angry Video Game Nerd show. They appear simple MS Paint pictures, and are usually riddled with typos.
293	* UnfortunateImplications: Invoked with the side character "Offensive Stereotype", basically a [[AllAsiansWearConicalStrawHats conical-straw-hat-wearing]], walking collection of every [[InterchangeableAsianCultures Asian]] stereotype in existence. A parody of ''Irate Gamer's'' AmbiguouslyJewish Ronnie the Skeleton.
294	--> '''Offensive Stereotype:''' I have better things to do! Like eat rice, and [[AsianAndNerdy do math]], and [[AsianDrivers drive on wrong side of road]].
295	* UnreadablyFastText: Done at times. For instance, in "Cool Spot", he does an AsideGlance and the text "this is the part where you're supposed to laugh" flashes very briefly.
296	* VerbalBackspace: Immediately after "reviewing" ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaIIIDraculasCurse'':
297	--> "There you go, folks. I reviewed not just one, but ''(holds up two fingers)'' two game--''(hastily corrects himself)'' three games!"
298	* ViewersAreMorons:
299	** PlayedForLaughs, and almost always lampshaded. It is meant to parody how commonly the ''Irate Gamer'' would circle every little detail on the screen in a green circle.
300	--> "Hopefully if I circle these words as I read them, it will enhance the video because my fans don't know how to read."
301	** His review of ''Super Mario Bros. 1'' and ''2'', which features [[SplitTimelinesPlot two different stories in parallel timelines]], has the message "Pay attention now because my fans are morons" at the beginning. (This parodies the warning at the beginning of the Irate Gamer's review of ''Mario is Missing'' and ''Mario's Time Machine'', which also featured the same type of parallel timelines storytelling.)
302	* VisualPun: In his review of ''Super Mario Bros. 1'' and ''2'', TRG says that he'd like to see a video game based on ''Literature/TheCatcherInTheRye'', and shows a baseball player in a loaf of rye bread.
303	-->'''Third Rate Gamer:''' Hey, catcher! Get out of that rye! ''({{Rimshot}})''
304	* WantonCrueltyToTheCommonComma: Parodied. He mispronounces words that the Irate Gamer frequently mispronounces, such as "fustrating" and "emenies", makes grammar mistakes, or uses the wrong word ("predecessor" for "successor"). He's also prone to nitpicking the grammar in a game while [[HypocriticalHumor making tons of mistakes himself]].
305	* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids:[[invoked]] {{Parodied\|Trope}} in his ''VideoGame/KirbysAdventure'' review, after a "commercial" for his very own [[RougeAnglesOfSatin Crad Game]]:
306	-->'''Third Rate Gamer:''' We now return to ''The Third Rate Gamer Show'', only on [[Creator/NickJr Nick Jr.]]!

Context WebVideo / ThirdRateGamer