Welcome to my review blog, here you can see all my trains of thoughts on certain subjects. If you wish to comment on what you have seen, please let me know so we may have a proper discussion. That being said, sit back and enjoy being bored by my thoughts. (BG art created by: geos59 from deviantart.com. Avatar edited by me.)
((Anyone who knows me well should remember that Iām not really that into games that have been hyped up.
Especially after playing them for myself and failing to understand what the hype is about. However, I did stumble upon a game that may actually change my mind about hyped games. Perhaps there is one game I can relate to other hyped up fans about and can actually agree that it really does deserve its recognition.
That game is...Undertale. I didnāt have the money to buy it on steam or anything and even if I did, I donāt wanna risk being burned like the previous hyped games I played, so instead I decided to watch Jackscepticeye play it on youtube. That being said, everything I say about this game right now is only a first impression by far and NOT a full review. Honestly, my reaction to the gameās story is basically the same reaction towards Kingdom Hearts.
At first, itās alright. Not a great story, but a pretty decent one. I like the characters, the tone, the comedy, and the pacing. I thought it was just going to be a good story that just does what any story should do in games, add in to the experience for the gamer. But as I continued to dig deeper and deeper, I became more and more intrigued by it, especially seeing how Jack reacts to certain points in the game. Without even playing it myself, I can tell that unlike some other games I know, the choices he made really does impact how the story flows. I can also get behind to moral of the game too. As much as I want to recommend this game for its story alone, I really canāt until I actually play it for myself and experience on my own accord. Plus doing that would make me hypocritical after Persona 2ā²s review. So for now, letās move on to the main topic at hand.
As I mentioned in myĀ āTop 5 Entertaining Villainsā review, I mentioned that I was busy trying to finish 2 somewhat recent games right now, Ni No Kuni and Disgaea 5.
However, after seeing the trailer for the upcoming Ni No Kuni 2, I decided to put Disgaea 5 on hold and focus on beating Ni No Kuni 1 before it comes out.
Sorry Killia, your vengeance will have to wait until I help a little boy save his mom.
When I first looked at the game, the first thing that came to mind was the famous designer Hayao Miyazaki,
you know, that guy responsible for certain movies likeĀ āPonyoā andĀ āSpirited Awayā. I mean, I did look up that he wasnāt actually involved himself with this game, but I just canāt help but fell like this was his take on Kingdom Hearts or something. Iām not saying itās a bad thing, the art design looks great, but it just canāt help make me think about it.
The story begins with a young boy namedĀ āOliverā in a town calledĀ āMotorvilleā. I would make an Adam Conover joke, but I think Iāll let you guys do the work for me. Go ahead and comment your best once this is over.Ā
Anyway, Oliver was one day helping his friend Phil make a new car and...Ā
Okay, the more I talk about it, the more I think about Adam showing up out of nowhere in Motorville telling everyone why cars are bad, so Iām gonna wrap it up.
Evil lady sees chosen one, tries to get chosen one killed via death car, mom sacrifices life in order to save son.
Mythical creature shows up to help chosen one save mom if chosen one saves world from evil jerk. There, thatās the story in the nutshell, now letās get on the gameplay.
As youād expect, itās an RPG. So, strategy, spells, equipment, donāt die. Actually, itās an action RPG likeĀ āTales ofā andĀ āKingdom Heartsā. By which I mean, it functions like and RPG, but you still move around and attack in battle like in an action game.
You can also train creatures known asĀ āfamiliarsā in order to fight in battle as well. Keep in mind though, you and your familiar share HP and SP, so if your familiar dies, you die. Fortunately, you can go around and collect energy spheres in battle to replenish energy.
And once you get Esther in your party, youāll be able to capture some by beating the crap out of them and have her play a tune. And no itās not like pokemon, cause in this game, the monsters you capture has to have a heart symbol above them symbolizing they actually like you know after you beat them up, rather than just shoving them in tiny metal balls whether they like you or not.
Itās important to keep your familiars strong because letās face it, you alone wonāt be able to do much damage without wasting a lot of SP casting spells in this game. So be sure to gather plenty of treats like ice cream and flans to feed to them in theĀ āCreature Cageā to boost their stats and affection. And when theyāre strong enough, you can give them aĀ āgemdropā so they can evolve to their next stage. Yes, doing that is like reincarnating a character in Disgaea but...no, thatās pretty much it. Itās like reincarnating a character in Disgaea.
As...pretty much every game recently made, youāre going to need some funds in order to keep your party strong, so I suggest that you go around and do some quests for people. The two main quests I do are restoring broken hearts by giving people missing pieces of their heart...thatās been obtained by other people...and bounty quests.
Yeah, a kid whoās probably even younger and more innocent than Sora from Kingdom Hearts is going around becoming a bounty hunter. I see nothing wrong with that. Hell, some of the bounties are even more difficult that some of the bosses in the game...no, seriously!
Overall, I really enjoyed this game. Iām glad my brother got this for me as a birthday gift last year. The storyās good (except for that one particular plot-hole), the gameplayās good. Itās a fun game for guys whoās looking for an RPG that has a least a little bit more to it. So, if youāre into those type of games, then this is a pretty neat game for you. Just try to finish it before the sequel comes out. Thank you for listening and Iāll see you guys later.))
((Hey guys! Kept you waiting didnāt I? Sorry about that. Iāve been busy thinking about what game to review along with taking care of some life issues, which Iām still working on right now. But anyway, I was thinking about reviewing a game that wasnāt bad, but pretty difficult and I actually completed to a good extent. The two games that came to mind are...
the Sly Cooper games,
and Rayman Origins. I got this game for my Vita when it was free for Playstation Plus. Too bad my bros didnāt do the same because man did I need help with this one. It may seem easy, but donāt let the first stages fool you!
I did honestly play the some of the original Rayman games before the newer ones, but it wasnāt that long ago when I played them. It was about between a few months to a year back before I played Origins that my little brother decided to get the game himself after hearing our older brother talk about it so much. I saw him play it and it looked like he was having fun, plus he managed to get pretty far in it. So, I figured why donāt I give it a shot? But weāre not here to talk about the classics. Weāre here to talk about one of the current ones.
The game starts out with Rayman, Glowbox, and two Teensies sleeping in the forest by themselves. When they wake up, they realize the world is in trouble, and itās up to them to save it. Thatās it. Hey it may be short and simple,
but at least itās better then how Mario Bros. Wii opened up.
However, if Crash Bandicoot somehow gets a game like this, the creators will have to come up with a new opening.
Anyway, you basically just go around and beat up enemies, collect lums, and clear the stage. You get rewards on how well you did after you beat each stage. Basically your average side-scroller beatĀ āem up.
There are also places with creatures known asĀ āelectoonsā trapped inside cages and you have to save them. You can find some along the path of the level, some in hidden areas, and thereās usually one at the end of every stage.
There are also times when you come across a fairy that needs rescuing. By rescuing fairies, youāll get a new power thatāll help you throughout the game.
Just try to keep them away from Crocker.
Rescuing everyone requires you to have a keen eye out for secrets and prevail through various challenges, whether it could be a puzzle, or a simple chase around the stage. And trust me, this is NOT EASY!!! The first few, sure. But later in the game, you really need to get your ass in gear! I lost count of how many times I died and had to restart a stage just to rescue one of these guys I mean, yeah itās fun, but you got to have a lot of endurance to get through all of this dood.
Oh, and it gets worse! There is a special stage you can unlock in the game as well. I think itās some sort of expert mode or something. I donāt know. I didnāt complete it, but I did at least unlock the stage. How? By breaking open chests. Trust me, itās not as easy as it sounds by a long shot. In order to break open these chests, you have to go through a chase stage like for rescuing fairies, only MORE difficult! There are gaps and traps everywhere and thereās no way to catch that chest until you reach the end of the stage, so you better have a lot of endurance on ya, especially if youāre doing what I did and play this game solo. Yes, they are that hard...the musicās entertaining, but it is hard as fuck! There were plenty of times where I decided to rage quit just because of one simple mistake and being sent all the way back to the beginning of the stage.
Other than the bosses, the cool music, and the color change skins, thereās not really else much to talk about the game. Iāll admit, it is a good game. Iām sure youāre gonna have fun with it, however I HIGHLY advise that you get a buddy to play with you. I mean, you can play alone and get pretty far, since I did, but I think playing Multiplayer on this game would make things a bit easier for ya and wonāt raise your blood-pressure as much. Let me know what you guys think about Iāve said here and if thereās anything else you want me to look at. Thank you guys for listening, and Iāll see you later.))
((I know I said that I was going on to normal reviews for now, but Iām having issues deciding on what to review next.
I was thinking about reviewing something shitty again, but that would require me to actually play the shitty game. I donāt really play that many bad games, because I normally just pick out anything that looks interesting to me personally instead of something thatās been hyped up by others.
Especially after what happened last time.
I was also thinking about playing something more recent, but the only 2 recent games Iāve played are Ni No Kuni and Disgaea 5, and Iām trying to make sure I beat them and unlock whatever secrets I didnāt find before talking about either of them.
And itās still too soon for another movie review or Sequilitis, so until I figure out what Iām going to review, hereās another of my personal top 5.
Today, weāre going to talk about villains. Even I canāt help but find myself some joy watching these guys being diabolical.
Keep in mind, this is a top 5 for the most entertaining villains
not the most bad-ass ones,
and ACTUAL villains, not anti-heroes, so guys like Fou-Lu, Sephiroth, and Vergil are not going to be on this list. That being said, letās get this show on the road, shall we?
5. Jack Spicer, Evil Boy Genius (Xiaolin Showdown)
I loved Xiaolin Showdown when I was a kid, I used to watch it everyday when I get home from school before doing my homework. If I can do a very short summary of it,
basically take Avatar: The Last Airbender,
and Jackie Chan Adventures,
and mix them together! Not exactly to perfection, but just well balanced enough to be both memorable and great.
and add legos if you want Ninjago...kinda...I think...maybe.
one of my favorite characters in the show is Jack Spicer, the whimpy nerd whoās main goal is, you guessed it! World Domination!))
This guy is somewhat of a coward, who tries to make sure he doesnāt end up getting himself really hurt while hunting for the sheng gong wu that are scattered around the world.
And I say somewhat, because clearly he doesnāt know when to give up. Heās always trying to find other ways to win the battle and further his conquest, whether it be another robot with a lot of punch,
or something thatās just plain silly.
and half the time, they actually work! Thereās even an episode that showed an alternate reality where he actually ruled the fucking world!
it just goes to show that even a whimpy coward can have what it takes to dominate us all, and thatās why he deserves to be #5 on todayās countdown.
Oh, and before anyone says anything, no. I am not counting Chase because again, this list is forĀ āentertaining villainsā, notĀ ābad-ass anti-heroesā.
4. Dr. Ivo Julian Robotnik (Sonic the Hedgehog)
Yeah, I bet you guys saw this one coming the moment youāve seen the title since Iām a SEGA Kid. But I just canāt help it, this guy is basically another Jack Spicer, only more maniacal and less whimpy.
a lot less whimpy.
This guy will stop at nothing to roboticize every living creature in the world resulting in his global takeover. To this day, I donāt know whatās his motivation for doing this, and I donāt care, because I usually get a kick out of seeing whatever he has planned and watch it backfire.
...most of the time...
Now, I wonāt go talking about how lame he is in Sonic Boom, because again, that would require me to actually play the game or watch the TV show. So for now, letās all enjoy the hilarity of the old mechanical tyrant of Mobius.
3. Charles Montgomery Burns (The Simpsons)
Yes I AM counting him as a villain. Heās a rich person that goes around doing anything he can to become more powerful and more wealthy.
Yes, he does do something nice for others every now and then, but most of the time itās either for his own benefit or just trying to get at least one person other than Smithers to like him.
Face it, this guy is evil. But, thatās what makes him so entertaining to me. There are plenty of times where he isnāt afraid to show off how evil he is despite his really...really old age that makes him even whimpier than Jack Spicer.
More whimpy, but arguably more durable. This guy is carrying various diseases, suffered various injuries, and has even been shot. Despite all that, heās still alive and kicking, all because of his sheer evil and hatred of others (yes, that was explained in one of the episodes).
Iām not going to lie, this guy is literally one of the main reasons why I keep watching the show, which is why he deserves to be on this list. How excellent of you Mr. Burns.
2. Thief King Bakura (Yu-Gi-Oh!)
I actually had a difficult time deciding this one. All I could think about were the really bad-ass ones and how entertaining they were because they were bad-ass. But then I thought, which has been around since the beginning and has been though a lot of shit in order to achieve something we might consider simple while the person himself would consider to be grand?
The King of the Bandits from Yu-Gi-Oh!, thatās who!
Ever since, well, technically before the last episodes of Season Zero of the original Yu-Gi-Oh!, this guyās been trying to get his hands on the Millennium artifacts, especially Yugiās Millennium Puzzle, from teaming up with other villains to trapping Yugiās friends inside a game, 3 times!
3 fucking times Yami had to save their asses by proving that he was in fact the fucking king of games! And last I checked, the 3rd time ended up becoming a whole freakinā season!
This guy really does stop at nothing to get what he wants, even if it means using his spirit to possess his descendant many years later. Which is why Iāve decided to put him as #2 as the most entertaining villains out there.
And my #1 most entertaining villain is....
Xehanort (Kingdom Hearts)
Oh...where to begin with this one? His diabolical ways just fills me with such delight. Like Bakura, heās only after one thing, a weapon. Not taking over the universe or anything like that, just a weapon...
the most powerful weapon in the Kingdom Hearts universe, but still a weapon.
The reason why heās up here is because he holds the strings to basically the entire plot of Kingdom Hearts.
For a clearer picture of what Iām talking about, replace the Akatsuki with Organization XIII with Xehanort as Tobi.
Even if he ends up being defeated, it turns out to be just a step forward into his actual plan. Literally, this guy always has a fucking back-up plan every time something goes unexpected.))
āOh youāve defeated me and thwarted my plans? No worries. All that does is set my OTHER plan into motion too-da-loo!ā
((And to top it all off, this guy was voiced this whole time by the late Leonard Nimoy. Thatās right, Evil Spock was the main villain of Kingdom Hearts this whole time.
I wonder how Doctor Cooper would react to this.
I donāt think I need to say anymore. Xehanort is by far the most entertaining villain Iāve ever seen. Hell, he might even be one of the most bad-ass villains Iāve ever seen, but letās save that top 5 for another day. Let me know whoās your top 5 entertaining villains ever in my inbox or finding some other way to comment here. Thank you guys for listening and Iāll see you guys later.
((Yes, itās that time again. Time to take a look at some anime. Like I said, after this part, itāll be back to normal reviews and Iāll just make more of these every now and then. And Iām only going to talk about anime that Iāve dug in a good portion of
and didnāt stop watching after less than a season...
or two episodes for that matter. I only have 3 classic shows left so the next time I do this, expect something at least a bit more recent. Now without further ado,
I first got introduced to Yu-Yu-Hakusho with the old PS2 game, Dark Tournament.
Which to this day remains as one of the cheapest fighting games Iāve ever played in my life.
But it wasnāt until Yu-Yu-Hakusho Abridged that got me interested in the story behind it.
Thanks Lanipator for getting me interested in one of my favorite anime of all time. Now go back to showing everyone the power of the prince of all sayains.
Our protagonist here is Yusuke Urameshi, a high school student who constantly gets himself into fights and acting like a total bad-ass. To be fair though, he mainly fights bullies so I guess you can call him a PKK.
One day, Yusuke got himself killed in a car accident trying to save a kid from losing his soccerball in the street...twice. WTF kid, didnāt you learn from the last time he saved you?
Upon death, heās been introduced to Botan, whoās probably the most attractive grim reaper youāll ever see in an anime. She tells him that he can have a second task at life if he undergo some tests first, which are basically about seeing his morality (in other words to see if he really does give a shit about things. What is not killing himself to save a random kidās life not good enough for Spirit World?)
After passing the tests, he wins his second life and has obtained a new power called theĀ āSpirit Gunā, a power that allows you to literally shoot bullets from your fingers
and become the cheapest character in J-Stars Victory Vs....
okay, one of them.
In return, he has to become the new spirit detective for Koenma, the child of the ruler of Spirit World, King Yama.
Wait, this guy had a kid?
Anyway, to help him with the cases, he gets the aid of his school-mate Kazuma Kuwabara, and two demons that he encounter in one of his cases, Kurama, and Hiei, whoās basically the Sasuke of the group, except cooler.
Even Botan becomes his assistant for the cases. Yeah, hot-ass grim fucking reaper becomes your assistant on the job. How bad-ass is that?
Just as long as she doesnāt poke fun at you all the time.
Overall, I really enjoyed this show. I didnāt finish it yet technically, but I do plan on going back to it soon just as long as Iām not distracted by Disgaea. So in the meantime, check it out for yourself and see how you guys like it.
Or at least the abridged version. Letās see whatās next on the list.
OH YEAH!!! FUCK YEAH!!! NOW WEāRE FUCKING TALKING!!!
Sorcerous Stabber Orphen, one of my favorite franchises of all time. I could literally talk about this for days if I wanted to but I canāt because that would annoy the ever lasting shit out of you and I think Iām already doing that enough on a regular basis.
Our protagonist here is none other than the bad-ass sorcerous assassin himself, Krylancelo Finradi (A.K.A, Orphen) who used to be a student at a school for sorcerers.
SORCERERS, NOT FUCKING WIZARDS!!!
The Tower of Fang is a well known school to train sorcerers (usually orphans) who are born with the power of magic in order to fully harness their powers along with gaining knowledge about various things that exist in the world like dangerous beasts and powerful artifacts. Itās TOTALLY different from Hogwarts.
As I was saying, Orphen used to be a student there under the teachings of a powerful sorcerer known asĀ āChildmanā (Iām actually surprised no one made any pedophilic jokes involving that name yet, so I actually have to give humanity some credit right now.), whoās personality is on par with Seraph Lamington from Disgaea.
Calm, cool, collective and wise, despite whatever the fuckās going on right now.
In school, Orphenās actually a top-notch student, placing only 2nd in his class next to his adoptive older sister, Azalie, whoās probably going to be one of the most attractive sorceresses youāve ever seen in an anime.
However things went to shit one day when Azalie experimented on a blade called theĀ āSword of Baltandersā, which has the power to turn anyone into anything the wielder wants.Ā
Not realizing that you need certain artifacts in order to control its power, she turned herself into a being known as theĀ āBloody Augustā and took off in fear.
In response, the Tower officially declared her dead (funeral and all) and decided to go hunt the dangerous beast, including Orphenās closest friend, Hartia. This enraged Orphen, causing him to leave the tower on his own in search for his long-lost sister and save her from her fate.
Cut to 5 years (yes, 5 fucking years of searching), later and we get introduced to the guys Orphen has to tag along with on his search, Magnus (orĀ āMajikā if youāre not fond of the game), Orphenās apprentice with personality is on par with Almaz from Disgaea, Cleo, Magnusās rich friend(?) from childhood whoās personality is on par with Etna from Disgaea, Volcan, a bratty kid who lost to Orphen in a bet and is trying to get him back for it, who I would say that his personality is on par with Laharl from Disgaea, but that would be an insult to Laharlās maturity, and finally Dortin, Volcanās wimpy younger brother who gets all the dirty work.
Overall, (if itās not obvious yet), I really enjoyed the show. Itās dark, itās funny, and itās memorable...to me. Iād personally recommend it to...anyone. No seriously, go watch this show right fucking now, then come back here to hear me talk about the 3rd show on todayās list. Iāll wait.
Good, now that youāre back, we can talk about the last show for today, Bo-bobo-bobobobo (My gosh, thatās a lot ofĀ āboās. If the wordĀ ālivinableā was actuallyĀ ālivinaboā weād have a lot more with Yahtzee Crowshaw trying to tun it into some fucking tune.)
Anyway, our protagonist here isĀ āBo-boboā, whoās basically Deadpool if he had an afro, nose-hairs as weapons, and more muscles on his body. His job is to save everyone from a league of dangerous thugs calledĀ āhair huntersā. And before you ask,Ā āyesā theyāre main purpose is to turn the world bald.
In a show like this, I wouldnāt even be surprised if the main villain turned out to be One-Punch Man.
Along his journey he teams up with a bunch of random characters like Beauty, Gaser, Don-Patch, and Jelly-Jiggler. And get used to them splitting up, because that happens quite a bit in this show. Thereās not really not much to say here, except that itās random in every since of the word. I donāt mean that in a bad way though, Iām fond of random humor and this show is downright hilarious in that particular way. If youāre into random humor, like I am, than this showās for you. If not, then you probably want to turn on some reality TV show, because letās face it, what anime doesnāt have at least SOME randomness in it?))
((Look guys, I know this is sudden, but this is something that I just wanted to get off my chest alright. Donāt worry, Part 3 of my anime collection will come soon and after that, Iāll get back to normal reviews and turn the other parts into random episodes to appear every now and then. That being said, Iām sure that you guys are fully aware of whatās going on right now. Hideo Kojima got sick of Konamiās bullshit and decided to leave. Like a lot of people, I for one personally supports his decision to leave. But my reason for supporting him may not be the same as everyone elseās.
Iāll admit the dood is talented, but Iām only judging that because Iām a fan of the Metal Gear franchise. Thatās basically the only franchise of his Iāve played. (Unless it turns out that he was also responsible for Castlevania). I never really bothered to get invested in any of his other games. Which is why I didnāt give a fuck that Silent Hill was canceled.))
((Oh shut up! You have your own likes, I have mine! Anyway, Iām not saying that I have no issues with Konami.
No seriously, fuck those assholes. All Iām saying is that I donāt like how theyāve been picking on Kojima lately.
Iāll admit, Iām not THAT big of a fan of him, but my bros and I do admire his work and dedication to whatever he comes up with. Especially towards the MGS series. (Damn Metal Gear Rising was kick-ass, and Revolver Ocelot is by far one of the most entertaining villains in fictional history). So yeah, you can bet your ass that we got upset when we found out Konami was treating him like shit.
Hell, I wouldnāt be surprised if he went over to Sega like Atlus did when they got bankrupt. I mean for fuckās sake, they demoted him into a contract worker, canceled highly anticipated games that he was involved in,
they wouldnāt even let him see his fans in last yearās video game awards. Who the fuck does that?! All because they want to stick to mobile gaming and pachinko machines since gamblingās now legal in Japan? Uh, 2 things:
1. Just because somethingās legal there, doesnāt mean itās legal everywhere.
2. Just because itās legal there doesnāt mean that everyoneās going to get in on it.
What Iām trying to say is that it looks like theyāre just narrowing their target gamers. Which I believe will end up making them less money than more money. Especially since that thereās a chance very few people will play games you make due to what shit you pulled off with.
I said thereās a CHANCE. I wonāt garuntee that will happen. Itās just a theory based on the current situation. Okay?
Bottom line is, Kojima, you talented bastard, you have my respect. And I wish you the best of luck with your new production team (he did leave and create his own production team right?). Keep doing yo thang and Iām sure fans everywhere will be more than happy to support you however they can.))
((Hello everyone and welcome to Part 2 of my anime list. This is where I talk about all the anime Iāve watched over the years and give my personal opinions on them. If you havenāt seen Part 1 first, I suggest that you check it out first before continuing on. With that said, letās move on to some other anime that have influenced me to this day.
Yeah, I bet you guys saw this coming the moment I talked about Pokemon didnāt you? Hey, I didnāt care about the fact that the name is similar, I love this franchise.
Also keep in mind that not only did it start out as a counterpart for Tamogachi
Which got so popular that even Season 0 of Yugioh advertised it in one of their official episodes, but the original animators of both DBZ and Sailor Moon were involved in the making of the anime.
So yeah, everyone who shipped Goku and Usagi together can rejoice seeing how they ended up spawning this. Yeah, if you think about it, they ended up giving birth to Tai.Ā
No wonder he was able to beat the shit out of Red in Death Battle. Anyway, letās dive into Digimon Adventure 1 for a bit shall we?
Like I said, our main character is the Sailor Sayain himself, Tai, who is at summer camp with his friends,Ā
Matt, T.K., Mimi, Izzy, Joe, and Sora.
WRONG SORA!!!
Tai also has a little sister named Kari, but we donāt see her until later in the show.
KARI!!! NOT KAIRI!!! THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH KINGDOM HEARTS!!!
Anyway, on day during camp, an unexpected blizzard occurred which got everyone except our heroes to head back. What, were they left behind or something? Who the fuckās counseling these guys Icky Vicky? So after they went outside, they come across some strange objects that fell from the sky, which we later find out are digivices. Then, they get attacked by a giant wave and get somehow sucked into the digital world. Here, they come across their partner digimon, a being made of digital data specially created to become your partner and keep you from harm.
Of course, when they first come across them, they freak out, but when they realize that theyāre trapped in the digital world and the only way to get them out is to cooperate with the digimon they decided to work together. And to be fair, I think their camaraderie is pretty legit, seeing how they work together to solve each otherās issues whether if the kid has a problem or the digimon.
They take time to know each other and become actual friends and their bond increases more and more as the show progresses.
Especially since itās that very bond that allows digimon to digi-volve to begin with. Itās one of the things that the show does exceptionally well.
I personally love the show. Iāve only watched up to Digimon Tamers, so Iām not sure if what theyāre currently showing is still good, but I do recommend giving this a watch. Itās definitely worth it. Now, letās see whatās next on our list.
Ah yes, Yu-Gi-Oh! The show that was originally believed to made to promote a popular card game until the discovery of Season 0.
No seriously, have you seen this show from the REAL beginning? Itās kinda fucked up dood. So fucked up, that Iām not even going to talk about it that much and let you see the surprises for yourself.
So, our main here is a high-schooler named Yugi Moto. He grew up with his grandfather, Solomon Moto, in a trading card shop in Domino City.
Yeah, probably shouldāve seen THAT joke coming...
Anyway, one day, Yugi came home with his friends, Joey Wheeler, a blonde kid thatās probably from Brookland with a good amount of family issues and used to pick on Yugi, Tristan Taylor, possibly the comic relief character in the show that ALSO used to pick on Yugi, and Tea Gardner, the strong, supportive female thatās the only one from the group thatās actually been friends with Yugi since childhood.
And trust me, it really shows when you watch Season 0. But I canāt help but feel like weāre forgetting someone. Wasnāt there someone else in that group of misfits?
No, not Bakura, but you are close.
Okay, no I KNOW you havenāt seen the previous season.
I was actually talking about Miho Nosaka. She was in the group during Season 0. I mean, I wonāt consider a great character, but she was funny and pretty entertaining. And to those who disagree, at least she never picked on Yugi before. What happened to her? I wouldāve excuse this if they actually SHOWED her leaving like if she had to move away somewhere due to her parentās job or something, but no. She just suddenly disappeared from the show completely. They donāt even mention her in any of the flashbacks. Fucking strange donāt you think?
Maybe Namine somehow made a mistake on her doodling and decided to just roll with it instead of fixing it up.
As I was saying, while at Yugiās place, they got a strange package from a guy known as Maximillium Pegasus, which included a VCR tape. They played it which was an invitation to a duel monsters competition known asĀ āDuelist Kingdomā. Pegasus wanted to make sure Yugi entered the competition, so he somehow used his millennium eye to imprison Solomonās soul. As an attempt to get him back, Yugi used his own powers of the millennium puzzle, to have the ancient spirit, Yami Yugi, make a quick duel with Pegasus. Unfortunately, Yami was defeated and has no choice but to win the competition if he ever wants to see his grandfather again.
Iāll admit, itās not as dark or as interesting as it was in Season 0, but itās still pretty damn good overall. I even liked season 4, where they had to go against duelists riding on motorcycles in order to prevent a great best from destroying the world.
Which probably inspired an ok future series. Iād recommend giving this show a watch but I highly recommend that you watch it from the very beginning.
Season 0 was never released in America, but Iām sure you can find it on some site with English subtitles. Iād say, find it, watch it, enjoy and compare. Now then, letās move on to the last show on todayās list.
Oh yeah, Shaman King! NOW weāre fucking talking! Dragon Ball Z and Yu-Gi-Oh! were good shows, but I mainly watched them because they were just entertaining cartoons. I had no idea what company was responsible for them, nor did I care. THIS show however is what introduced me to Shonen Jump. So my interest for future shows like One Piece, Naruto, and Bo-bobo-bobobobo all started out right here.
Which is why Iām still pissed off to this day about none of the characters from Shaman King ended up in J-Stars Victory Vs.
Anyway, the show starts off with Morty, a wimpy high-school student whoās not very good at making friends.
Yeah, I know, he sounds an awful lot like Yugi, but trust me, this guy is different. How? Heās NOT the showās protagonist.
Our REAL protagonist is Yoh Asakura, a laid back transfer student whoās been training to become Shaman King since childhood...
Against his own will.
Anywho, the two of them met one day when Morty walking in the dark on his own and saw Yoh by himself at the cemetery. He then saw Yoh talking to ghosts, freaks out, runs away, tries to tell everybody about it, but no one believes him, ends up getting saved by a gang who tried to beat him up the next day, you get the idea.
The two of them became friends as Yoh continues his training for the Shaman Tournament, a contest designed many years ago to determine who will be the Shaman King.Ā
Along the way, the also make friends with other Shaman entering the tournament an form their own group of misfits such as Tray Racer, Rio, Tao Len, and one of the most intimidating, bad-ass females youāll see in your life, Anna.
You can basically consider her the groupās trainer...ok, not trainer, more like drill instructor. Sheāll do whatever it takes to keep the group strong and ready for anything. And if something goes wrong...well...
Letās say she somehow got a hand of Elizabethās book of her various ways of torturing people. Trust me, this is one girl you DO NOT want to fuck around with. If you thought Mitsuru Kirijro was dangerous, then youāve clearly never watched this show. In my opinion, Mitsuruās like your average baby-sitter compared to her.
This especially comes to Yoh since the two of them are dating. Once Yoh becomes Shaman King, heāll make her his Queen. And before you say thatās one lazy way of achieving her goal,
I highly suggest that you check out the show first.
Overall, this is another show I Iād highly recommend. Even if you donāt really like the story, Iām sure youāll get a good laugh of it, because thereās a lot of comedy to go around here.
Although I do suggest that you beat Breath of Fire 4 first before watching it (or at least before you come across Zeke in the show) for a chance of understanding it a bit better. And thatās about it for today. Thanks for listening in and stay tuned for the next part in my Anime Collection...when itās done.))
((Hey guys. I bet youāre wondering, what the fuck is this for? Well, I figured that itās about time I talk about someone that I can relate to with almost everyone with. You know, just to prove that Iām not a total outcast here seeing howĀ
I never grew up on Mario,Ā
donāt watch Pewdiepie,Ā
donāt give a fuck about Street Fighter
(Speaking of which, expect a Darkstalkers review sometime soon).
and prefer playing slashing games rather than any shooters. I think itās about time I find something we can agree to. That being said, letās talk about the world of anime.
I donāt honestly watch as much anime as I used to, even though there are some shows that have caught my attention that I intend on checking out soon like Soul Eater and Kill La Kill.
For now I want to talk about shows that I have watched and still have a place in my heart to this day. And seeing how there are quite a few, I decided to make this a multi-part episode thatāll probably continue on until around the end of the month. So, letās start things off with the shows that introduced me to the world of anime to begin with, and like most people I know, one of those shows happen to be none other than Dragon Ball Z.
Seeing how pretty much everyone in the world knows what the fuck DBZ is, I wonāt talk about it for too long. When I was a kid, I used to watch it all the time with my brothers, whether it be on Toonami...
CLASSIC TOONAMI!
or just a few episodes we recorded on our blank VCR tapes. And believe me, we had plenty of those.
Iām sure everyone knows how it goes right? Taking place a few years after the original Dragon Ball, our main character Son Goku takes his son Gohan (named after Gokuās foster grandfather), to meet his friends in Kame House including Krillen, Bulma, and Master Roshi. Then a guy named Raditz shows up and tells Goku that heās not a human, but actually an alien known asĀ āsaiyansā from a destroyed planet calledĀ āVegetaā. Raditz also reveals that he is also Gokuās older brother and intends on killing everyone on the planet and sell it to his boss. Goku refuses to help him and in response, Raditz kidnaps Gohan. Piccolo sees what happened and offers to help despite the fact that theyāre enemies. Goku agrees and they take on Raditz together.
By which I mean, they get their asses kicked. Raditz was too tough for them and the only way to defeat him was for Goku to sacrifice himself for Piccolo to kill them both with the Special Beam Canon.
Yeah, first couple of episodes in and the main character dies. Not only that but it turns out that there are other intergalactic evils like Nappa and Vegeta ready to attack Earth,Ā
so Goku decides to train in the afterlife so when he gets revived via Dragonballs, he can be ready to defend the planet again. So basically, he lost his life to protect a kid and gets revived with new found powers. Sounds a bit ridiculous if you ask me.
Oh shut up! Weāll get to that soon!
Anyway, itās been a very long time since Iāve seen the original show. I recall there being a lot of action in comedy in it, so I really enjoyed it. The one I recall the most was the DBZ movie, Broly: The Legendary Super Saiyan, but seeing how thatās a movie and not a regular episode, I wonāt go into detail. At least, not yet. I would say I recommend watching the show, but I have a feeling youāve already done so to begin with.
or at least some Team Four Star. So letās just move on to the next anime on todayās list.
Normally, I would be afraid to admit that I used to watch this show years back, but seeing how even guys my age are watching shit like My Little Pony, I guess I have nothing to fear. Keep in mind, I was a child the last time I saw this show so I donāt recall that much from it, so like Pokemon 3 the Movie, Iāll do my best to sum it up as much as I can.
Basically our protagonist, Usagi Tsukino, a middle school student in Minato,))
āHmm?ā
((Tokyo,))
āOh.ā
Is actually a reincarnation of Queen Serenity.
She discovers this via talking cat named Luna and is informed that, unless she can awaken her powers and locate other Sailor Soldiers, the world will be in control of the forces of evil.
So, whenever terror arrives, Usagi turns to Sailor Moon, one of the most famous lunar-based heroines of all time.
Key phrase beingĀ āone ofā.
I wonāt go as far as calling the showĀ āfantasticā but there are some things I like about it like the characters themselves are cool
especially Tuxedo Mask here. And the animation fits in well with the story. But there is one thing that really got me into the show and thatās...
comedy. Okay, it may not be as funny as I remembered, but as a kid, I used to laugh my ass off every time this show was on. The reactions the characters show in certain situations was a bit new to me at the time and I always thought it was kinda funny to see it.
Who knows? Maybe with the remake I heard about, it might be even funnier than before. But ah well. Enough about that. Letās move on to-
...what? ...You thought I watched it for another reason? ...What the hell did you think I watched the show for?
What?! No! What the hell made you think I watched it solely for that?! Remember, I was a kid when I watched the show. My mind wasnāt focused on shit like this back then.
Although I will admit one thing. It did introduce me to same-sex couples...in terms of lesbians. See, as a kid, I always thought that Haruka and Michiru (Sailors Uranus and Neptune) were in some sort of relationship together. They spent a lot of their time together in the show and they get along pretty well together, so I thought they were dating even though they were cousins.
As it turns out, I was right. In the original Japanese show, these two are actual lesbians in love with each other. I guess the U.S. wasnāt fond of having lesbians in kid shows back then. Well, if a kid like me was able to tell that they were actually dating instead of being just cousins who spend a lot of time with each other, they clearly didnāt do that good of a job censoring it.
Along with a few OTHER things might I add. So, letās go ahead and move down the list shall we?
Ah yes, the original Pokemon anime, from the all popular franchise that is still popular to this day despite the fact that it ripped off Dragon Quest. No, seriously, look it up. When it comes to getting monsters to join your party and fight for you, Dragon Quest did it first. Why did I mention it? Because fuck fanboys that say that thereās nothing wrong with this franchise. But enough about people who make me cringe with their bullshit, letās talk about the anime.
Our main character here is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town. He plans on becoming a Pokemon Master one day.
Seeing how Nintendo tends to make new regions for him to travel to in order to milk the franchise, you can bet thatās not going to happen anytime soon.
Anyway, on the day he becomes a full fledged trainer, he accidentally oversleeps and comes in late to meet Professor Oak. Because of this, Ash missed the chance to choose between the original starter pokemon (Charmander, Squrtile, and Bulbasaur) and is instead stuck with Pikachu, the most iconic Pokemon of them all. At first, Pikachu refuses to listen to anything Ash says
and I mean...at all!
but after a fateful encounter with Spearow, the little dood began to open up. Heās now Ashās most loyal companion of all.
Just donāt let him near bikes or be hugged by strangers. They will regret it.
Anyway, he sets out with his two new friends, Brock and Misty after fighting them in gym battles. (Well, actually he never really beat Brock and Misty tagged along because of her bike, but theyāre friends nonetheless right?) Anyway, this show isnāt really that spectacular seeing how each episode, they either fight a gym leader or come across an obstacle on their way to seeing a Gym, but at least the adventures they have together are entertaining
...for the first couple of seasons. Yeah, I pretty much stopped watching around the time Advance came out, but my grandmother and little bro still watches it from time to time and keeps me a bit up to speed on the show...even if I donāt care that much. I will admit, the first season had some pretty hilarious moments in it.
One of my favorite scenes was in Season 1 where Ash and Misty were resting up in the Pokemon Center. As they were waiting for their Pokemon to rest up, they decided to grab a bite at the dining area. Yes, the Pokemon Center has a dining area where you can just sit down and eat. To those wondering how the flying fuck they make their own money due to their healthcare being free, your question has already been answered years ago!
Anyway, while they were eating, Misty proposes to help Ash to help him defeat Brock in the upcoming Gym Battle. Ash declines the offer saying that he can do this all on his own and he didnāt need help. What a dick. And anyone who grew up on this show knows for a fact that itās a bad idea to piss off Misty. Oh no, she doesnāt punch him or anything like that. Trust me, this is way more funny. So, what does she do?
gets upset, storm out of the center and leaves Ash with the bill! Now THATāS how you deal with rude assholes.
Anyway, I think Iāll leave it right here for now. Expect Part 2...when itās done. Until then, I will see you guys later.))
((Yes! Itās here! Itās finally time! Time to talk about my #1 favorite franchise! DISGAEA!!!
I am SO excited right now, because thereās so much to talk about here (I think), the characters, the gameplay, the music! I loveĀ āem all and today...I am going to show it to you.
Inspired by one of the most hilariously creepiest guys in the internet, this is...THE DISGAEA SEQUELITIS SPECIAL!!! So sit back and enjoy.
Now before we begin I want you to guess how I got introduced to this franchise. Seriously, guess which game made me take a lot at what this had to offer. The classic original? One of the sequels that may have been talked about a bit more than the original? The latest one that just came out for PS4 not too long ago? Well, if you guessed anyone of those, youāre...
Believe it or not. None of the Disgaea games introduced me to the franchise.
Technically, I was actually introduced to it by the original Persona 3. How? Well, let me explain. My brother saw a trailer for Persona 3 which showed the protagonist awakening to his power.
He thought it was bad-ass and got the game. I played it and to be honest...I wasnāt actually THAT fond of it at first, but that was back when I was still learning about the game. When I got used to it, I really enjoyed it and so did my brothers. It became one of our favorites to this day.
Then one day, my brother was out browsing around at the game store again and took a look at Disgaea: Hour of Darkness. He thought it looked alright, until he noticed the wordĀ āAtlusā on the bottom of the cover. Seeing that Atlus was the one responsible for the awesomeness of Persona 3, he figured that this game would be pretty cool too. Little did we know that Atlus was only responsible for publishing the game seeing how the REAL developers, Nippon Ichi Software didnāt have their own American branch at the time. Hey, donāt blame us for not knowing this, we didnāt see that much about NIS.
Hell, the last page of the little manual that came with the game had Jack Frost in on it, who is the mascot for Atlus! Along with a survey for Atlus.com. We had no idea that they werenāt REALLY responsible for it.
So yeah, you can all thank the original Persona 3 for introducing me to Disgaea.
Not that thatās a bad thing. Disgaea is awesome! Again, to be honest, I wasnāt fond of it either when I was still learning. But now, Iām all over that shit. So letās start things off by talking about where it all began. Disgaea: Hour of Darkness. And be forewarned, I may make some comparisons from these games to Persona here and there. That being said, one can argue that the original Disgaea is like NISās own Persona 4, that is in terms of popularity.
Iām serious, they got their own anime, 2 direct sequels (one being some sort of spin-off I guess), and 2 remakes.
3 if you count the PC version coming soon! But like last time, letās just stick to the main games okay?
Disgaea 1 starts off with a demon prince, Laharl awakening from a 2 year slumber. Eh, thatās nothing compared to lots of other supernatural beings I know. Hell, I think Yami Yugi slept longer than he did. Anyway, he wakes up to his vassal Etna informing him that his father, King Krichevskoy, has passed away. Since everyone in the Netherworld somehow forgot about Laharlās existence, everyone in the Netherworld began fighting each other to claim the title of Overlord for their own. Realizing this, Laharl decides to step in and take charge of the situation...by which I mean beating the shit out of anyone in the competition for the throne.
Meanwhile, Seraph Lamington, leader of the angels in Celestia, began to get worried about the current relationship with Celestia and the netherworld. He secretly devised a plan along with a mysterious ally in order to set things straight. The plan was...to play matchmaker with an angel trainee and the son of the former overlord. Okay...sounds odd, but whatever. Iām not going to spoil whether or not it works out, so youāre gonna have to find out for yourself. There are other characters you come across later as well, but I think Iāll leave them a nice surprise.
The gameplay of the game is pretty much like other RPGs. Strategy over the battle, equipments, HP, SP, special attacks, defeat everyone to win, everyone dies and you lose, all that good stuff. I wouldnāt really call it veryĀ āuniqueā, but it is very addicting. Like other games I know, you can only set out a limited about of characters in your party to battle. AndĀ ānoā, having equipment doesnāt decrease the amount. It always remain at 10. āYesā you can return characters to the base-panel if you donāt want to use them. and āYesā, you can control all of your characters in one turn instead of waiting to control one at a time. Anyway, in order to attack, you need to get to an opponent within your attack range thatās shown on your stat screen of your character, or use a special. Then hit the triangle button (or āYā if you have the DS version) then select either āexecuteā or āend turnā. Yeah, you canāt attack right away because the game prefers you to think about what possible way you can make as much damage as possible in one turn. In order to obtain specials, your character must have a weapon. Depending on what weapon you give him/her, determines what skills he/she will get. Except for certain characters who can learn specials by just simply leveling up. In order to learn weapon specials, you have to keep using the weapon and increase the level of your proficiency. The higher the rank of your proficiency, the easier it is to level it up. For example, if you have a character with an āSā rank for wielding an axe, then that is the most recommended weapon for that character.
You can also create more characters viaĀ āDark Assemblyā, but you need enough mana to do so. And how much mana you use to make the character can determine how useful the character is. It is recommended to save enough mana to make at least aĀ ādistinguishedā character, however making a strong character like that requires approval from the assembly itself. And trust me, itās not easy getting ANY bill passed in that game. I mean, you can do bribes, but itās still a pain in the ass. Basically, if you donāt have at least half of the assembly to agree with you, your bill will be denied. When that happens, you can either persuade them by force or quit. BTW, any mana used will NOT be returned to you if you go back to the castle, so I suggest you save before even thinking about trying to pass a bill. And good luck persuading by force because the guys from the assembly are tough, so I suggest you grind. Which, like in other RPGs, takes FOREVER!!! I mean there are training spots you can exploit like the Cave of Ordeals or the Item World, but it still takes a lot out of ya dood.
At least thatāll give you time to work on your team attacks. Yeah, if you hitĀ āattackā when youāre infront of an enemy and nearby one other party member, thereās a chance you can do a team attack. Depending on how strong your teammates are can determine how strong or weak your team attack is. And theyāre pretty fun to watch so go ahead and see what you can come up with. You can also do a few other things like steal items,Ā ālift & throwā people, and solve geo puzzles!
Geo Puzzles are created from multi-colored geo panels which can be found in almost every battlefield, especially the Item World. Along with the panels are geo symbols, which can affect any colored panel itās on. For example, if you see a geo symbol with the effect ofĀ āAlly Boost +50%ā on a red geo panel, that means that every single red geo panel on the field gives an ally boost of 50%. The only way to stop it is to either lift and throw the symbol somewhere else or destroy it.
Destroying Geo Symbols will start a chain reaction and change the color of all the panels affected by the symbol into whatever color the symbol was. Meaning if that ally boost symbol was a blue symbol, then all of the red panels will turn to blue. Not only that, but anyone standing on the changing panel will receive damage, so be careful when solving these puzzles. Also, if you destroy a symbol that has the same color of the panel was affecting, then no chain reaction will appear. If you manage to solve the puzzle, you can get a sweet bonus after beating the stage. Seeing how theyāre mainly found in the item world, it is suggested to go there for training, seeing how you can improve your equipment there. Basically, how the item world works is that every time you beat a stage, (or reach the level gate) the item youāre in gains a level. Every time you get pass 10 stages, you have the option to return to the caste. If you want to leave early, then you have to use a Mr. Gencyās Exit. Trust me, I would NOT recommend going to the Item World without one. Overall, it is a pretty neat game to start the franchise off with. I know a lot of fans consider it the best, but I donāt think so. I like the gameplay and characters, but I wonāt go so far as to consider it the best in the series. Though if you do want to get this game, I suggest getting the DS version. That way, you can get some hidden characters in your party. But enough about that, letās move on to the next game.
Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories is personally my favorite in the franchise...in terms of story. Anyone who sawĀ āMy Personal thoughts About D2ā³ should know why. But for the sake of the special, letās talk about it anyway. The story of this game takes place in Veldime, a backwoods, country planet inhabited by mainly humans.
...What? ...Another Netherworld? No. Thatās a common mistake the fans made. Veldime only became a Netherworld due to Zenonās curse which plagued the land for 15 years. However, there are in fact, actual demons that live in Veldime, but that doesnāt automatically make it a Netherworld. Thatās like saying that Earth is actually Planet Vegeta because a bunch of sayains live there.
Anyway, our main character in this game is a demon-hunter named Adell, who is also the remaining human on the planet that isnāt affected by Zenonās curse and my personal favorite character in the franchise. He vows to one day free his family from his curse so they wonāt turn into monsters. To do this, he spent his childhood fighting demons and searching for the overlord. Until one day, his mother finally decided that it might be better to try to summon the overlord. She gathered up everything that was needed (including some life force, in which she used her own husband and children for), and performed the ritual. Unfortunately, she ended up in summoning the overlordās daughter, Rozalin, instead. Since Rozalin is now bound to Adell by the ritual, Adell decided to return Rozalin to her father...and then defeat him.
Now I know what some of you are thinking. Wow, hereās another highly favored shipping that all the fans like that Prinnyfrost is going to shit on. Right? Well, you guys couldnāt be more wrong.
Iām actually quite fond of these two being together. Yeah, they do argue at times, but they do talk about their issues like a couple would and you can see their bond together getting stronger and stronger as the story goes by. And donāt give the excuse about the wholeĀ āStockholm syndromeā, because Adell didnāt like the fact that he had to travel around with Rozy either. And unlike some male characters I know, at least they gave Adell a legit reason why he wasnāt fond of girls. Would you be fond of them if the first girl you encountered tried to steal your soul after denying her a deal she proposed?
But even if you donāt like them, there are other characters you come across in the game like Adellās younger siblings, Taro and Hanako, Yukimaru, a demon kunoichi and one of my personal favorite females in this franchise, Etna from Disgaea 1, Tink, who Iād like to say is this gameās version of Teddie from Persona 4 if it wasnāt for the fact that this game came out first, and Axel, the Dark Hero, whoās personality is on par from Eikichi from Persona 2.
Now that I think about it, Adell and Rozalin kinda makes me think of Tatsuya and Maya from Persona 2. You know, red-head with fire powers that may not seem friendly but are actually nice when you get to know them and a girl with ice powers that has a lot more influence to the story than you would think. And before you say anything, Rozyās specials become ice-types in future games, so shut it!
Fortunately for us, this game is not like Persona 2 in terms of gameplay. I mean, it basically have the same mechanics as the previous game, but the upgrades made on it helps the game more fun rather than boring. In this game, itās actually easier to level up your characters since you can now gain experience just by doing skills. It still does take quite some time, but itās not as tiresome as the previous game. There are still geo puzzles, the character classes are different, you still need mana to pass bills at the dark assembly, you can train in the item world, all that good stuff. There are some new stuff added like having Adell become a senator. Yeah, now you can either pass or reject other peopleās bills like a complete asshole too!
Some of the team attacks are a bit different too. Go ahead and check out how many you can pull off. I will be honest though...one of them kinda reminded me of Persona 3. Youāll see what I mean.
Another new thing they upgraded is the item world. Yeah, not only do you not have to worry often about some enemies being out of reach because theyāre on platforms too far away to throw anyone even near them, there are also pirates in the game. You come across them randomly in the item world and if you beat them, youāll get a treasure map. Get all the maps and unlock the Land of Carnage (which is basicallyĀ āHard Modeā). There are also mystery gates too which can take you to random areas such as a healing area, a special shop, or a demon hangout. See what you can find. There are 2 things that really won me over to this game however.
The first is the felony system. To get felonies, you go to the red skull in town, talk to him, and heāll give you a list of crimes you party committed (most of them is having your character being OP as fuck). Then you have to go to the item world and make your way through it until you find the dark gate. Anyone who goes through it, not matter who committed the crime, gets the felony. Getting felonies will not only unlock certain bills to pass and receive recognition from the Dark Assembly, but the prices at the shop will decrease depending how many felonies you have. I know a lot of people arenāt really fond of this, but I personally like it. And if you want, you can always get rid of them by going to the Dark Assembly and hitĀ āReincarnate to atone my sinsā. Itās pretty much like normal reincarnation, but if the person being reincarnated isnāt a storyline character, then theyāre gonna turn into a prinny.
The second thing that wins me over is the Dark World and my GOSH is it difficult! Not only are there geo puzzles that can put you at a huge disadvantage and the enemies are stronger than before, there is this giant sphere in the sky known as theĀ āDark Sunā.
The Dark Sun may be your worst nightmare. Every turn the Dark Sun makes a different affect on the battlefield. Often times, itāll be something thatāll piss you off like poisoning your allies or healing enemies. It can even give a fucking instantĀ āGame Overā! Iām dead serious! The only way to stop it is to get rid of it by sacrificing one of your allies to the Dark Sun in hopes to kill it. The higher the level of your character, the more damage itāll do. Unless if your character has a felony. Anyone with felonies will only heal the Dark Sun so keep that in mind. Overall, I think itās a pretty good game. Itās not really THAT awesome when compared to the other games in terms of gameplay, but itās still pretty addicting and really holds up in music and story. In any case, I think itās time to move on to our next game.
Which is Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice. This game takes in an actual alternate Netherworld. What kind of Netherworld? How about a GIGANTIC FUCKING SCHOOL?! Welcome to the Nether Institute: Evil Academy. The point of this game is like Persona 3.Ā
It gives you a feel of what school life could be like (in Japan I think). But this time, the morals of everyone in the school are reversed. Those who do good deeds and study are Delinquents while those who are bad to the bone are Honor Students. This is setting of the story revolved around Mao, son of the Dean/Overlord of the school. Mao plans on becoming the greatest honor student the world has ever known...and defeat his father for what he did to his game system. To do this, he has to survive various perils inside the school and somehow obtain a heroās power. During his adventure, he comes across Almaz, a cowardly guardsman from the human world, Sapphire, a robust princess from the human world, Raspberyl, Maoās childhood rival, Mr. Champloo, the Home Ec. teacher, and a few others.
The gameplay of the game is basically the same as the other games, with a few changes with skills and what-not. Oh but trust me. There ARE some differences worth mentioning. Weapon skills has to be bought by a skill shop with mana, which you can only obtain from defeating enemies or certain items. And even then, only certain skill will be available depending on what level you character is on. Personally, Iām not very fond of this and Iām glad that this isnāt included in Disgaea 5 (from what Iāve been told).
What I DO like is how easy it is to pass bills in this game. No seriously, you can pass like any bill without much difficulty.
Thereās also this neat little thing calledĀ āMagichangeā where you can turn your monsters into weapons. I think this is a good thing because I always had a hard time training my monsters.
Except for the succubus.........donāt judge. Anyway, with this mode, both characters involved get mana and experience from whatever foe they defeat. Plus you can use some new special skills only accessible via magichange. However it only lasts for a limited time. And once itās over, the monster cannot be called back to battle. Plus it counts as a character used from your summon limit. And if one character dies during magichange, the monster used dies too. But hey, at least you get to use their evilitities.
Evilitities have technically been around since Disgaea 2, but in this game you can hold up to 2 per character (unless if youāre a monster type), One is automatically given and you can buy another one the same way you by weapon skills. This is something I donāt mind having. Overall, I think this game is okay. I know a lot of people like this game especially one of my buddies, but I personally donāt find it that addicting. The story and game are balanced like the others, but Iām not really that into this one. And no, Iām not going to talk about DLC.
Next up is Disgaea 4: A promise unforgotten. This time, weāre in Hades, the prison for rotten souls to dwell in fear and think about what theyāve done. For this story, we take control of Valvatorez, a former tyrant who became a prinny instructor in Hades thanks to a certain incident 400 years prior. During his job, he discovered that the quality of demons is decreasing more and more overtime. So, he decided to look into the matter for himself and set things straight. With him are Fenrich, his loyal werewolf steward, Fuka Kazamatsuri, a 9th grader who refuses to accept the fact that she died and became a prinny, Desco, Fukaās younger sister whoās training to become a final boss, Death Emizel, son of the President of Hades with as much bad luck as Yosuke from Persona 4, and Art- I mean Volcanus, a tax collector angel from Celestia. Oh, and Axel from Disgaea 2ā²s here too. Thatās neat.
The gameplay of this game is pretty much the same with updated graphics, and what-not. That being said, thereās not really much to talk about. You still have to buy skills and evilitities using mana, there are pirates in the item world, the musicās great, team attacks are cool.
There is dual magichange, but thatās something you have to unlock. But thereās fusion! Yeah, you can fuse your monsters to make them bigger! During fusion, your monster have a wider attack range, but they can get hit easier and they lose SP every turn. I normally only do it to fuse them into weapons too.
Thereās also the X-Dimension, but itās basically the Dark World minus the Dark Sun.
The only thing else left to talk about is the fact that you can become pirates. Yup, create you own ship, go around and plunder the Item World or go against other pirates online and rank up. I donāt do it very often since Iām not really into online gaming, but I think you guys might get a kick out of it. Other than that, thereās not much else to say. However, this is actually my favorite of Disgaea games by far. Itās very addicting and I love the story. I highly recommend checking it out.
And now weāre on the last one on our list, Disgaea D2: A Brighter Darkness. This is the direct sequel I mentioned earlier. It takes place I think about 3 months after the original story. Laharl became the overlord, but it turns out he hasnāt been recognized by the public yet. So, he has to do whatever it takes to make sure heās well known. Helping him again are Flonne and Etna from the original game and newcomer Sicily, who claims to be Laharlās little sister. I talk more about the game, but I think itās more fun to let you find out for yourself.
As for the gameplay, itās pretty much the same as before with some noticable differences. For starters, they brought back the original weapon system so you donāt have to waste mana buying skills, but if you want another evilitity, youāre gonna need a lot of time on your hands. Trust me.
Also in this game, they replaced Magichange with Mounting. You get to mount on your monsters like a horse. While mounting, you can only use spells and you both share experience and mana, but you can use a special combo skill between the two of you and while mounting, the monster takes damage for the humanoid. Itās not as cool as magichange, but I think it would be pretty sweet to have both in the same game. Hey, this franchise is about being as OP as possible, right?
Speaking of which, thereās also a cheat shop in the game, where you can set up the rules of the game. You can determine how much experience everyone gets, decide of thereās gonna be any pirates in the item world, all that good stuff. But you have to unlock it as you progress through the game. Finally, a game that promotes cheating that isnāt Grand Theft Auto.
Finally, we have likeability. To sum up this in a phase itās basically...
That...Well, not entirely. You do get to interact with others when youāre in the castle, but you likeability increases the more the characters work together like doing team attacks or healing each other. Increasing this will increase you chance for team attacks and increase your power for mounted skills. In fact, mounting is probably one of the easiest ways to increase likeability.
I think thatās pretty much it. Thereās not rally that much of a difference between the games, but there is something about them that separates each other. I love all of these games, and I recommend playing every single one of them at least once. If you liked or disliked whatever has been said here, be sure to let me know in my inbox. Iāll be happy to come up with a rebuttal. That you for your cooperation and Iāll see you guys later.))
((Yes guys, it is finally that time. Time to fulfill my promise and review something Pokemon related!))
āSure took you long enough.ā
((Not now Val! Anyway, I was actually hoping to review this sucker AFTER I do either another Top 5 or my Disgaea special, but I decided to get this over and done with now instead. Why?
Because of that! Yeah, Screwattack actually decided to have their Season Finale of Death Battle be Pokemon vs Digimon. This is the one battle that I wished would never happen.
I prayed to all the Deities above in hopes that this would never happen. This is the one thing I feared would happen the very moment I began watching the show.
Donāt get me wrong, I have nothing against Screwattack. They made some pretty interesting shows like One Minute Melee, Desk of Death Battle, Reasons We Hate with Evil Craig,
and theyāre associated with the Angry Video Game Nerd, who is like a Deity to gamers everywhere, including myself.
What annoys me though are those salty, immature fans. I think Screwattack has one of the worst fanbases on the internet. And that especially comes to their Death Battle videos. They can get more downvotes for a video within a week more than GameCareNetwork gets within a month. And thatās saying something. They kept making accusations like Death Battle being biased towards a franchise because their favorite character(s) didnāt win the fight. I mean, I donāt like seeing my favorite characters die either, but my question is, why the hell should we really care?
These fights are nothing more but simulations. They made that very clear in their Q&A videos. They only pick the winner based on whoever has the highest advantage in the fight based on the data they received. Meaning that the fight itself is not one-sided, thereās always a chance that the other opponent could win the battle. And even so, these fights are fan-based. Meaning, non-canon. None of this shit actually happened, so why the hell should anyone be upset about the outcome. It doesnāt make sense to me. Itās these salty assholes that make me fear that the flame of the MON-Wars would rekindle when the next Death Battleās been released. So hopefully reviewing this movie would at least keep the flame to a minimum. Keep in mind that itās been a long time since Iāve seen the movie and I havenāt been able to watch it since I canāt find it on youtube and I donāt have a VCR to play the movie where I live. I would wait until I get to my maās in order to watch it, but that would require me to possibly lose whatever internet I still have left and by the time I get back home, chances are that the Death Battle video would be released, so I am going to do my best to summarize the movie as much as I can.
And no, I am not going to talk about the Pikachu special that plays before the movie, so shut up! With that being said, letās dive right in.
The actual movie starts off with Molly playing with her father, Spencer Hale an archaeologist. He would tell her stories about his travels, her favorite being about the legendary pokemon Entei. One day, Spencer went out to continue his research of the legendary pokemon, unknown.Ā
During the research, Spencer somehow unlocked the realm which led to the home of the unknown, and got sucked right into it, leaving poor, innocent Molly all by her lonesome.
During her time alone, Molly stumbled upon a book filled with symbols which resembled unknown. She decided to scatter them around and somehow awoken the unknown. The unknown used their powers in order to grant Molly any wish she wanted.
Thus they created Entei, which was the pokemon her father pretended to be the last time the two played together. Also, the unknown sealed her from the outside world by crystallizing the mansion sheās in, which brings us to...
Pallet town! Where we see our classic pokemon heroes from the anime, Ash, Misty and Brock. It seems that theyāre here because they just wanted to give a visit to Ashās mother, Delia, but I canāt help but think that itās all to avoid the fans complaining about Ash not saving the world closer to home like he promised Delia to at the end of Pokemon the Movie 2000.
What? Did you really think Iād forget about that scene? Come on, thatās one of my favorite movies from my childhood. And the scene alone is kinda hilarious. I mean, Pfft!
Anyway, while in Pallet Town, the gang befriended another trainer named Lisa, who is on a rescue mission to save Molly from the mansion in Greenfield.
Ash decided to tag along with the rescue because he and Molly actually played together as kids. I think the two of them are actually cousins, but Iām not entirely sure. So, the group set off to save Molly together.
Oh, after Entei kidnaps Delia. Yeah, Molly wished to have a mother since her own mom is...well...I dunno, itās a kidās movie so make up your own assumption. I think they did explain what happened to her, but for the life of me, I canāt remember, so Entei kidnaps Delia, Ash gets pissed, let the plot begin. Oh, and Team Rocket gets blown up when they were sneaking around too. Boy, that gag isnāt dying anytime soon is it?
Ash and friends infiltrate the castle by any means possible. How they actually got in...I forgot, but they did get in. Only to find stairs that they have to run up. Meanwhile, Molly noticed them in action via TV and falls asleep dreaming about being a pokemon trainer.
Wow, a trainer living with a single father instead of a mother huh? How rare.
Anywho, Entei decides to intercept them by creating a dream version of Molly as a trainer. Now, before I go any further, I just wanna say, no joke, straight flat out, 100% honesty, that in my opinion, Molly...is the best fucking thing in this movie.
She is an incredible trainer. She managed to hold her own against both Misty and Brock (2 Gym Leaders mind you) on her own when they told Ash to go on ahead to find his mother. I know that the dream pokemon sheās been using have an added boost to them, but that doesnāt change the fact that she had very little experience when it comes to battle, like determining strengths and weaknesses between her pokemon. Yet she still managed to defeat Brock and hold her own against Misty, two Gym Leaders who have a lot more experience due to their adventures together with Ash.Ā
I donāt care what anyone says, this franchise needs more of her. Have Molly go on an adventure of her own. This kid has potential. Hell, she might be able to kick Redās ass in a battle with the right training. Make it happen Nintendo, Iām calling you out!
Back to the story, Ash managed to find Delia and the sleeping Molly, but Entei refuses to let them leave. Having no choice, Ash battle Entei by using Totodile, Cyndaquil, and Pikachu...only to get his ass kicked and sent off a cliff.
Luckily for him, Charizard showed up in the nick of time to save him and battle Entei...until Entei knocks Charizard out of the sky and almost kills him.
No, Iām not joking. Entei literally tried to kill Charizard. If it wasnāt for Molly stopping him, Ashās Charizard wouldāve been dead. Kidās movie my ass.
This got Ash and Delia to help Molly to come to her senses and realize that Entei is just an illusion created by the unknown from her own imagination to become her father. After realizing this, Molly decides to leave with everyone.
But, this caused the unknown to lose control of their power, and began to seal the mansion. Everyone noticed that when a blast almost sent Ash off a cliff again and get saved by Pikachu, Brock, Misty and Team Rocket (yeah, theyāre here too).
In order to escape, everyone has to work together to stop the unknown, including Entei. They made it to where the Unknown were located and had to use their pokemon in order to break the unknownās force field. However, they werenāt strong enough until Entei stepped in.Ā
With the strength of Mollyās belief in him, Entei sacrificed himself to save everyone. With the unknown gone, Greenfield returned to its normal state.
The group met back up with Professor Oak and Spencerās partner to give a report on what happened. Molly looked back up to the sky and sees a cloud that resembles Entei. I believe that means that Entei will always remain in Mollyās heart, but Iām not entirely sure. Team Rocket remained in the mansion after seeing the number of cops outside,
and not only did Spencer come back after that ordeal, but Molly also has a pokemon of her own, and is reunited with her long lost mother. Wow, a trainer with their parents getting back together? Now thatās rare.
And that was Pokemon 3 the Movie. All I have to say is...itās...okay. I donāt really see any actual flaws with the movie, but then again, Itās not really that great of a movie either. I did enjoy watching it, and I wouldnāt mind seeing it again, but I wonāt go so far as to saying that itās one of the best. So, Iāll just put it in theĀ āmehā pile. Not as good as the second movie, but not as bad as the first one. I recommend checking it out at least once. You probably wonāt be disappointed. So, I know what youāre thinking, how does this prevent the MON-Wars from starting up?
Because I want to try to remind everyone that both franchises are great in their own way. Just because they have similar traits to each other, doesnāt mean that thereās nothing different about them. Sure Digimon may be lacking when it comes to their games, but the same could be said about Pokemon with their stories. Donāt get me wrong, Digimon World 3 is one of the best games made for PS1 and Pokemon the Movie 2000 is one of my favorite childhood movies to this day. What Iām trying to say is that no matter how you look at it, neither franchise is perfect. Theyāre both great series that impacted us in some way. Some may have Digimon impact them more than Pokemon,
like famous youruber, jacksepticeye, and for others it may be vice-virsa.
Iām not saying you have to like both, if you prefer one over the other, then thatās fine. I just want you to be more considerate to those who think differently and not be biased towards them because of it. Iāve seen people actually doing it more and more over the years now which is a good thing, but I donāt want things to suddenly change due to the upcoming Death Battle, no matter what the outcome is. If you liked or disliked whatever was said here, be sure to let me know. If you have something to add on or argue about whatever what is said here, please send it to me in my inbox. Iāll be happy to form a rebuttal. That you guys so much for your cooperation and I will see you guys later.))
((Ah yes, I think itās finally time to talk about a NIS game.Ā
Now I want to go on record on saying that I fucking love Nippon Ichi Software. Their games have a nice balance of both story and gameplay.
Well...most of them...
I know for a fact that there are better games out there, but these game have a unique charm about them. Itās just something about them that makes you wanna come back to them, whether itās the fondness of the characters, addictive gameplay, sweet music, or all of the above.
Especially when it comes to Disgaea, which is so addicting that it keeps me from continuing other games Iāve been meaning to play, and some of them are other NIS games. Thatās not what weāre here to talk about now, but donāt worry, I have something special planned for them in the future.
No, no...weāre here to talk about the game that, as some of you may recall, made me no longer give a shit about the MinatoxAigis shipping.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know Iām gonna explain myself anyway during this review, so letās just dive in already.
The plot of the game is...pretty much like that of Persona 3 (So SPOILER ALERT!!!) And incident from years ago caused the world to go to shit and lots of people are dying. In order to save it, or at least prevent further destruction, the incarnation of Death itself is sealed inside the protagonist, and it is up to you to put all the pieces together and fix everything. Hell, even some of the characters are similar.
You got the girl who would risk her life for the protagonist and keep an eye on Death ( a mix between Yukari and Aigis),
The brawler who has too much stamina, and doesnāt know how to talk to women (Akihiko),
The cheerful old man who helps support the team, even though he canāt fight (Ikutsuki) (at least he doesnāt make horrible puns),
Even death himself lost his memories due to the incident and took up a different personality because of it (Ryoji) and on top of that, they have the same voice actor (Yuri Lowenthal)!
The only major difference in the plot is that the female protagonist is mainly considered canon to the story instead of the male.))
āFUCK YEAH!!!ā
((But enough about that, letās move on to the gameplay. It has the basics of an RPG, HP, Energy, ect., so letās skip all that and talk about whatās unique about this one. Before going to battle, you have the option to decorate aĀ āRoomā Each room has a certain amount of space where you can leave characters in (which becomes randomized every time you change rooms), and youāll be able to hold more rooms as you progress through the game. You can get characters by progressing through the game andĀ ādominatingā other characters, which you can only dominate by having their conse-))
((...Shut up. Or, creating your own characters viaĀ āRestockā. You can choose what character you want to create and level them up to the current level of the protagonist (just as long as you have money).
Ā As for the rooms, you can organize which character you want to be in which room. And given how the battles are played, you can bet that youāre gonna have to take time to think about which ones to use and where. Not to mention that you have to assign a leader to each of the groups. The protagonist is always the leader of whatever group sheās in.
Speaking of which, letās talk about the battle systems shall we? It is a turn based game like Chaos Wars where you wait to control your character instead of doing everything in one whole turn. You start each battle controlling the protagonist and each battle have certain conditions that you must complete in order to win, which is normally defeat all the foes. You get to move your character depending on their ACT and what type of movement the leader is. If the leader is a flatland type, then itās best to move by plain land. If aquatic, then they move better by sea. And if by air, they can access areas that normally others canāt.
Also, the fights go by some mini-battles which have characters from each group attack each other once and deal damage depending on how strong they are. -.- ........
Donāt...say...a word....
In order to call out characters to the battle, you need to spend money and have enough space available to call them out. I know that it sounds like a chore to keep track of money in this game, but itās surprisingly not that hard, especially if you do extremely well in battles. And yes, like this game also has fixed battles in them, by which I mean, you canāt go back to do previous fights in order to get stronger. However, unlike that certain shitty game from a franchise that I refuse to go back to, this game actually has their own way to train. You can just go toĀ āinspectionā and you can go inside your room. Consider it this gamesĀ āItem Worldā. Not only can you train your characters to become stronger, but it costs nothing to summon your characters onto the field. And even if you donāt like training there, you can just delete whatever weak character you have (thatās not part of the plot) and create a much stronger one.
And of course, there are special skills the leaders can use to turn the battle in their favor. Thereās skills you can use on the map and during fights, however the one for the fights require your stamina to be at a certain point first. Thereās skills the characters can do solo and there are some that requires certain characters to be in the same room. I think some in-battle skill attacks the protagonist does can help determine the epilogue of the game. Yeah, the epilogue of the main story depends on who you spend the most time with.
For my first time around, I went with the Danette ending. Why? Well, because I like the relationship they have. Heck, this is why I donāt care about the MinatoxAigis shipping. Like I said before, I donāt think itās a bad shipping, I just donāt think itās that great. It seems kinda forced to me personally. I get that Aigis is trying to protect Minato because she sealed death inside him, but 1. she doesnāt remember that happened until AFTER it was released (I blame Ikutsuki for that), 2. she keeps constantly checking up on the protagonist by doing stuff like sneaking into his room at night (seriously dood, a little space would be nice), and 3. I donāt think she really knows the protagonist until like a good portion in the story. If Aigis actually looked after him while he was growing up after sealing death inside him, I can accept that, but she was shut down until she was mysteriously activated during the groupās vacation to Yakushima. Now you can give the excuse that she can just scan him in order to get to know him, but why didnāt she? If she did, then she probably wouldāve detected something that might be odd about him which could lead to finding out about what happened all those years ago, but no. This is, again, something I blame Ikutsuki for.
Revya (the protagonist of this game) and Danette, however are different. These two have grown up with each other. Theyāve been together ever since they were kids that were discovered by the Village Leader after them being orphaned. Theyāre practically sisters, and you can tell more and more if you continue going through the scenes they have together, such as when Danette asked Revya to sing her the lullaby they sang from years ago in order to fall asleep. Or when Danette risked her life to go to Drazil in order to continue looking after Revya. Hell, in the final battle, she was willing to risk her own life to make sure that Revya would escape. Yes, Danette is checking up on Revya to make sure that Death doesnāt affect her, yes her memories are sealed too, and yes she is sort of a block-head, but 1. Only the memories of the death of her parents were sealed, not the time she spent with Revya and 2. it would make sense for her to look after Revya because they know each other. If something odd was happening to her due to the fusion, chances are that she would be one of the first ones to notice. I personally cannot deny the strong bond that the two of them share, and Iām sure some other fans of this game would agree with me.
That being said, I personally like this game. Itās not great, but itās not bad. It has a good balance, like other NIS games. I personally recommend playing it at least once. Try it out and see how you like it. If you have anything else you want me to look at, be sure to let me know in my inbox. If you liked or disliked whatever Iāve said here, donāt be afraid to tell me. Iām up for a rebuttal. Thank you for your cooperation, and I will see you guys later.
((There, as promised, I am now doing a review of a video game that ISNāT an RPG.))
((Oh, calm down. Itās not that big of a deal. Letās just talk about the game okay?
Vexx is a puzzle-platformer game released by Acclaim in 2003. I donāt really know much about Acclaim, especially since this is the only game of theirs Iāve played. The only thing Iāve heard about them is that these guys brought an end to LJN.
Yeah, Iām pretty sure the fucking nerd himself is crying in tears of joy right now. Anywho, like some other games Iāve reviewed, this game wasnāt really popular. In fact, I first got the game as a birthday gift as a kid, but just because a game isnāt popular, doesnāt mean itās not a good one. So is it? Letās take a look.
The story of this game is...kinda dark. In fact, some of the guys that played this actually had nightmares from it. Basically, the world of Astara has been invaded by an evil being called Dark Yabu along with his army of shadow-
raiths.))
āOh...ā
((Actually Minato, youāre not too far off here. Shadowraiths are dark creatures that has the power to turn into almost anyone, from fish, to dinosaurs, to even residents of the planet. So, I guess they are kinda like shadows, or at least heartless.
Back to the story, Dark Yabu enslaved all of the residents of Astara and forced them into doing their bidding. Enraged, our main character, Vexx, attacked Dark Yabu, only to get caught in his spell. He wouldāve been dead if it wasnāt for his grandfather, Vargas, attacking him as well. In turn, Dark Yabu killed Vargas right in front of Vexx. During one night, Vexx sneaked off to find a way to escape. During his wandering, he came across a pair of powerful weapons called theĀ āWar Talonsā. When Vexx approached them, the talons immediately attached them onto Vexxās body, as if he was some chosen warrior like an Omnitrix or Excalibur. This somehow caused them to explode and kill almost everything, including nearby shadowraiths.
The next day, Vexx woke up in some hidden cave with an old man calledĀ āDarbyā. Darby informs Vexx that he found him passed out and brought him here to hide him from shadowraiths wanting to attack him. He also informs that the War Talons are the key to putting an end to Dark Yabuās rule over the world. Realizing this, Vexx decides to set out on a journey to find Dark Yabu and avenge the death of his grandfather. Thatās right guys, this game isnāt about saving some damsel in distress who you might have the hots for. Itās about VENGENCE!!!
Sweet...
sweet...
glorious...
vengence!
Dood, even the back of the PS2 case said,Ā āTo hell with a princess - Save the world!ā See, this one of those games that knows that you donāt need to have a hot piece of ass waiting for you when you go on an adventure.
especially if you, yourself is the hottest character in the game. Iām not saying that saving a princess is a bad thing,
Iām just saying it shouldnāt be the ONLY reason to go out and fight evil.
Now, letās talk about the gameplay. Like I said earlier, itās a puzzle-platformer, where you go around in open worlds and explore the place. During exploration, you get to go around and gather stuff like soul jars Reiaās scrolls.Ā
In order to move on to other areas, you need to collect shadowraith hearts to power up the portal system. Itās pretty much like Banjo-Kazooie ratedĀ āTā forĀ āTeenā. In order to collect the hearts, you need to either collect enough soul jars or shards in the world, or solve puzzles and complete mini-games.
Some of which probably wouldāve made the game a LOT more fun if it was multiplayer.
Thereās also a combat system in the game. You can do ground attacks and aerial attacks (which will come in handy for getting rid of those annoying Skinxes). Thereās not really that much of attacks to go through, but each hit leaves a very satisfying impact, especially if you manage to pull off that ground combo where Vexx literally beats the shit out of a shadowraith. That was bad-ass.
And it becomes even more bad-ass if you activate theĀ āTalon Chargeā. See that orange gauge at the top of the screen? Once thatās full, press theĀ āR2ā³ button (if you have the PS2 version that is). You can fill it up by attacking shadowraiths. You donāt have to kill them, just pull off as many hits as you can on them.
So get to making those Ultra Combos bitches! Once activated, Vexxās attack and speed increases, that way you can do even more damage to shadowraiths. Plus, I think there are some hidden attacks you can do while in that mode too. Theyāll be sorry theyāve ever tried to take over your world.
There are also some power-ups in the game that are necessary for some of the puzzles in the game. Iāve never gotten very far in it, so Iām only aware of two of them. And to get each suit, you need to find an elemental rune for that suit and then stand on a special pad to activate it. The first one youāll get is the magma suit. It gives Vexx an increase of speed and it makes in strong enough to break through certain strong materials. Not to mention, it makes Vexx invincible. However, it doesnāt last for very long and while in this from, it decreases your jump ability, and makes you unable to swim underwater.
Thereās also the air suit that allows Vexx to glide through the air. You can reach areas that you canāt normally get to on foot, but like the air suit, this has a timer on it, so make sure youāre nearby land before it runs out.
Thereās also some other stuff to find in the world too like sundials, which can be used to not tell the current time in the area, but literally shift time however you want, from daytime, to night, to dawn, to dusk! Keep in mind that during night time in a world, Shadowratihs are stronger than before. Sometimes, there are sundial portals in a world, which are activated during a certain time in a world. Inside it is some strange area to go through, which is usually something music related. And at the end is a shadowraith. Speaking of music, I really do like the soundtrack in the game. I mean, itās not great, but it does help set the tone of the area youāre in...okay scratch that. It is great.
And thatās pretty much it. Despite of how difficult it is, I had a lot of fun with this game. Unfortunately, Acclaim was shut down, so we canāt expect a sequel (at least, not anytime soon), but if it did get a sequel, I would definitely check it out. This game is awesome! I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a good challenge in either puzzles of platforming. If you have anything that you want me to look at, be sure to let me know in my inbox. If you like or donāt like anything that I said here, be sure to let me know. Iāll be happy to partake in a rebuttal. Thank you for your cooperation and I will see you guys later.))
((Now before you guys, say anything, yes it IS a crossover game and yes, it is another RPG.))
((Yeah, I know Iāve been reviewing a lot of RPGs here, but thatās my favorite genre of gaming. I enjoy setting up my own characters in my own way and plan on whatever tactics that suits my needs in order to achieve a victory in battle. What can I say, Iām just fond of strategy. But that doesnāt mean thatās the only genre of games I play, and to prove it to ya, I promise that the next game I review will be a game that Iāve played that WONāT be an RPG...just as long as itās not Call of Duty.))
((Look, I donāt care how much you beg, Iām not really fond of First-Person shooters...or any shooters in that matter. Some games like 007 and Halo does hold my interest, but other shooters I could not care for, or at least not be excited about them as anyone else. Why? Because A.) I prefer close quarters combat rather that aiming and shooting. If I go on an adventure, I donāt care how much more stronger the gun is,
give me a sword any day. If thereās one thing that literally almost every game has taught me is that itās better to go with a weapon youāre more comfortable with rather than an all powerful one. Because if you have little experience with said weapon and you go against someone with a weapon theyāve been highly trained with, things may not end well in your end. And B.) and I want to make this perfectly clear...)) -Pulls out megaphone- ((I DO NOT WATCH PEWDIEPIE!!!
Donāt get me wrong, I have nothing against him. Iām sure heās a nice guy who made some entertaining videos or at least do something to earn that shit ton of subscribers on Youtube. Itās one of those things I just really care that much about, along with a lot of other things you guys seem to love like Street Fighter or Shin Megami Tensei x Fire Emblem. I might some day decide to take a look at what heās got to see why everyone loves him, but right now, you guys can just go watch his vids without me.
Iāll be just fine watching the Game Grumps...
or at least Jacksepticeye.
But enough about that, letās get back to the main topic, shall we? Heroes Phantasia is a crossover game developed by Witch Craft and Banpresto and published by Namco Bandi. It was released in Japan for PSP in late January of 2012, but never made it overseas. But that didnāt stop guys like me from downloading it from the internet and play it that way (despite the fact that thereās no English patch yet).
From what Iāve been informed, it consisted of characters from popular anime and manga the were released around the 90s. Like Chaos Wars, it basically consisted of characters that I know very little about. However, unlike Chaos Wars, these guys are from franchises that Iāve actually heard of, like Slayers and Darker Than Black. With all of that being said, why exactly did I play this game?
...Thatās why. When I first found out that Orphen was in this game, I was shocked. I almost ended up either crying in joy or shitting my pants in excitement. To think that Orphen is finally getting another shot in at being in a game, a crossover no less, published my NamcoBandi. The same guys that brought us Pac-Man, Tekken, Digimon and the Tales of series! Can you imagine how furious I was when I found out that this game never made it to America? I was ready to go Super Saiyan on my old laptop. But, like I said before, thanks to the internet, I was able to play it anyway.
So, letās get down to the story...or at least try to. Since everythingās in Japanese, I couldnāt understand a word anyoneās saying, and thereās no English patch either. Trust me I checked. If only my schools would start teaching Japanese classes. Well, from what Iāve looked up, your main character in the game is an agent from S.I.R. (Sawada International Research), who has been assigned to investigate some strange info nearby along with your assistant, Michie Sawada. During your investigation, you come across characters from the franchise and manga I mentioned, get caught up in trouble and stuff happened. You end up meeting a princess from another world who wants you to save this world from evil for her (Yeah, itās one of those stories). To do this, youāve been granted a powerful weapon (which is a pretty cool spear that can shoot energy beams) in order to fight. Since itās in Japanese, youād think that no one that doesnāt understand the language would instantly get lost right? Well fortunately, thereās an indicator on your map that tells you where you need to go in order to advance the plot.
Iām sure this is one of those times you can actually sayĀ āhooray for hand holdingā. Now letās see how the gameplay holds up.
For starters, you can choose between a male and female protagonist (Male being Eiji Watari and the female being Shinobu Fudou). I know lots of other games have done this, but this is the first crossover game Iāve ever heard of to come up with that, and like I said, itās an RPG...kinda. You set up characters on which spot you want them. Where they are determines what button you use for them to attack, X, O, Triangle, or Square. You can also use those buttons to defend better from attacks, but that requires energy, which automatically fills up every turn. See the number 1100 on the top-right of the pic here? That determines how much energy you have for an attack. Each attack requires 100 points and it refills every turn. Once you go under 100, your turn ends. Like in every RPG, if your characterās HP reaches 0, they die, and if your party dies, Game Over. You can also customize your characters by increasing or decreasing their stats, to see which better suits your needs in battle and you obtain points to add more to their stats by leveling up. And yes, there are optional battles in this game, so you can train your characters in case youāre not ready to proceed on. How come a not very popular crossover RPG get this right, while another one thatās so popular that it went oversees and is getting a sequel fucked it up? However there are some differences in this game than other RPGs. For example, you canāt use items in this game. Normally that would be a pet-peeve of mine, but Iāll let it slide because here, not only does your energy recharges after every round (slightly but still), if your character dies, you can just wait a few turns and they can regain their strength overtime, when they become high enough, you can just press their assigned button and revive them. But, if you wait until theyāre fully recovered, not only will they revive, but theyāll enter some sort of overcharge mode.
While in this mode, not only are they invincible to all attacks for a turn, but if you hold down one of the shoulder buttons, (I canāt remember which one it was), and press their assigned button theyāll use their ultimate attack. This could lead to doing a lot of damage to the enemy and can help make fights a bit easier. They still require 100 points, so keep that in mind. As long as something like that is in the game, I donāt mind not being able to rely on items. Maybe those guys behind Phantom Brave should take some notes. Also, you canāt equip weapons and armor to boost attack or defense. You can equip accessories though, but only 1 per character if I recall correctly. Also, each character doesnāt have their own individual level. Itās just one whole level on how strong the whole team is. Seeing how youāre gonna be constantly switching characters throughout the game, this I donāt really mind very much. It kinda makes level grinding easy. But that doesnāt mean this game is easy. Nope, it is kinda difficult. I mean, I havenāt beaten it yet (because my laptop crashed and I had to get a new one), but itās not quite...that hard. Iām sure you can beat it with some grinding, and patience with trial and error.
And thatās about it. Thereās not really that much to talk about the game, especially since I donāt understand the Japanese language (which I do plan on learning someday). Did I like it? Would I recommend it? Um...I guess? Iāll admit, itās not really that great of a game. Itās okay at best, but to its credit it, itās rather unique when compared to other RPGs Iāve played, and it does have its charm that keeps me coming back to it, even when Iām stuck at a boss that I canāt get pass. So, if you wanna check it out for yourself, go ahead, but I understand if youād rather play some other game that youāre interested in. For this game, Iād put it in theĀ āmehā pile. It could use some improvement and I wouldnāt be surprised if it got a sequel, or at least have the characters here end up in the next Project X Zone since this game WAS published by NamcoBandi. Then again, itās fine the way it is. Iām actually kinda glad that I played it. If you guys have something you want me to look at, be sure to let me know in my inbox. If you either agree or disagree about anything I said here (hopefully minus the whole Pewdiepie thing), be sure let me know to. Iāll be happy to partake in a rebuttal. Thank you for your cooperation and Iāll see you guys later.))
((I for one love fan animation. I love to see how creative people can get in order to spread their visions into the world. I wish I could animate myself, but I canāt draw...So, instead Iāve decided itās about time to create my own Top (blank) list. And this list is dedicated to all those wonderful animators out there. So sit back and enjoy my personal Top 5 Animators!
5.
Somecallmejohnny. From what Iāve heard, this guyās a recent (well, not THAT recent) video game critic. Iāve seen some of his stuff and honestly, heās not bad. Heās quite entertaining and honest. But what really won me over are the animations he used to get his point across.
Have you guys seen this shit? This stuff is hilarious! And the drawings are downright awesome, they look like something straight out of an official cartoon. Iām sure Johnnyās okay with being a critic, but this kind of animation can make him go places. Iām sure of it! Keep up the good work dood, youāre awesome!
4.Ā
Fiori Party. Holy shit do I love her work! Her animations were one of the first videos Iāve ever watched on Youtube back when I was in Middle School and Iām still a fan of her to this very day. Her parodies are hilarious, especially the Naruto Parodies.
Iām still laughing my ass off every time I see one of these. Mainly the opening to Naruto Randomness 7. Thatās one of the most awesome fan openings Iāve ever seen in my life! Iāve never played Silent Hill, nor do I care whether or not I play it, but after seeing this, I may change my mind. Unfortunately, she stopped making these after 7 came out because around the time this was made, she didnāt like how the manga was going, with Itachi dying, yaoi implements, and whatnot. She still does drawings for her Deviantart page though, I suggest you go check them out. Iām sure theyāre worth your time, even if youāre not a Naruto fan.
3.Ā
Nami-Tsuki (A.K.A., Sardine Queen). Lady Sardine Queen is like, the Pleinair to us Disgaea fans. Sheās adorable and we all love her for her being herself, and if you mess with her, youāre probably going to regret it. Iāve actually talked with her myself online and sheās a genuinely nice person. Not to mention, she does some sweet animations when she has the time to do some. Yeah, theyāre mainly about Valvatorez and Fenrich, but theyāre pretty damn funny, especially if youāre a fan of the games.
In fact, at some point, she was on her way to make her own fan-game. A Disgaea dating sim where you can date one of your favorite characters. Iāve played the demo myself and I liked where it was going. Unfortunately, it was cut because the team she was working with in order to make it wanted to get paid for it. I thought this stuff was gonna be non-profit. Ah well, at least we still have her other drawings and animations to enjoy. I highly recommend you check them out at least once, especially if youāre a Disgaea fan. Iām sure youāll love them and her as much as we do.
2.Ā
Egoraptor. Yeah, I bet you guys saw this one coming knowing my Sequilitis Special. I know not many people are as fond of him as they used to be, but I donāt care. I still think heās a great animator. My brother introduced me to hisĀ āAwesomeā Series years back. I think it was around the same time I was watching Fiori Party. He hasnāt made one recently, but that doesnāt mean he stopped making animations altogether.
Heās a part of a band calledĀ āStarbombā that makes parody songs about video games. And boy can this guy sing. He also helps out making animations for some of the songs like the Zelda Rap or Luigiās Ballad. I think he does some animations for Game Grumps too, but Iām not sure. Egoraptor, donāt let these guys get to ya. You keep doing your thing the way you and your buddies want to, and Iāll keep on watching.
And the #1 Animator on this list is...........
Edd Gould. Okay, where to begin? Edd is a brilliant cartoonist. I think heās the only one on this list that doesnāt mainly focus on parodies. Just his life with his buddies, and they are fantastic. Together with his friends, he createdĀ āEddsworldā, which is an online show about...well...life with his friends. It could be them going on some adventure, or something just plain silly. Either way, it was awesome. I highly recommend you checking them out as soon as possible. Like, right now! Go! Stop reading what Iām typing and watch this shit, itās fucking hilarious!
Unfortunately however, Edd had to be hospitalized because he was diagnosed with Leukemia Cancer. Despite the risks, he was still willing to put his all into what he loves most, drawing and making animations for all of his fans everywhere. And in late March of 2012, Edd passed away. Iāve never met Edd in person, but I was very depressed about his passing when I first heard the news. It was like, saying Good-Bye to a friend, because it felt like you actually got to know about him with his animations, along with his friends, like Tom and Matt. I was actually hoping that some day when I make enough money, that Iād go to a convention or something in order to meet him in person. I really wanted to congratulate him for everything him and his friends have accomplished. But now, I may never get that chance.
As of right now, his buddy Tomska has taken over for Eddsworld, which makes sense since the two worked together on a lot of their projects, like Tomās Tales of (Blank). Iāve seen the newer episodes and they are pretty decent. Tom also started collecting money for donations for charity to help other people with cancer. He mentions this after almost each episode, and I think itās a great cause. If you have the time and money, I hope you donate whatever you can. Iām sure itāll make a difference. I canāt help but get the feeling that Tom is telling us all a message by him doing all of this; Eddās spirit will live on. Edd, may you rest in piece. You shall indeed be missed. -Drinks a bottle of Coke-))
((Ah Mario, arguably the most iconic video game hero of all time. Iād start giving some background about him, but letās face it, almost everyone knows about this Italian plumber, his fights with both Bowser AND Donkey Kong, his helpful brother, him saving the princess, ect. I know some of you might be expecting me to talk about how far has Mario gotten over the years, the various games, adventures, overcoming rise to stardom, but I canāt, you know, like all the other critics out there. But, I honestly canāt. Why? Well, Iām just gonna say it....I...did NOT...grow up on Mario!
Itās true! I didnāt grow up on Mario!
My brothers and I mainly grew up as Sega kids! Genesis, Saturn, those sort of things! The only Nintendo console we had as kids were gameboys,
And even then, most of our attention were spent on either Pokemon or Legend of Zelda! We had like two Mario games back then, but we never really got that into them. And when the original disk consoles came out, we STILL didnāt move on to Nintendo. We went on to Sony.
You know, like Spyro, Crash, Tomba, Breath of Fire 4, Final Fantasy 7, those games! I just got into Mario like a couple years back. To me, heās more like a recent event rather than a childhood icon. Not to mention, this is the very FIRST Mario game Iāve ever beaten. The VERY FIRST ONE!!! (Smash Bros. doesnāt count, I donāt care what Screwattack says on this). So, for anyone looking for a review of a Mario game just for the sense of Nostalgia, Iām sorry, but youāre barking up the wrong tree man.
Go ask the Angry Video Game Nerd, Iām sure you can relate more to him! But for those who understand that Iām not that much of a Mario fan and stuck around anyway, letās continue the review. The story of the game is, wait let me guys, Bowser kidnaps Peach and Mario has to rescue her?
Yup. Only this time, he obtain an item called theĀ āStar Rodā, an artifact thatās said to make anyoneās wishes come true. If thatās the case then why doesnāt he just wish for Mario and everyone else that he sees as a threat killed off, or at least wish Princess Peach to actually like him-
Yeah, yeah, whatever. So, itās up to Mario to, once again, defeat Bowser and save Peach...along with 7 star figures whoāve been captured as well. Now that weĀ āfinallyā got the plot out of the way, letās talk about the game mechanics shall we?
Now, I have played other Mario games before just so you know, so I know for a fact that this is different from other games. For instance, this gameās an RPG!
And you know what that means, hit points, energy points, strategy over all else, the works! In this game, Mario only has 2 ways to attack, jumping on enemies, or hammer. Both can be upgraded overtime. Speaking of upgrades, you can also earn badge points and equip badges to make certain battles easier, like increasing defense or gaining new skills for Mario. But what youāre probably going to rely on the most is your partner. During your travels, you will come across characters who will help you on your adventure. And no, itās not Luigi and Toad.
Each character has something unique about them that separates them from everyone else.Theyāre all useful in certain situations both inside and outside battles, so itās likely youāre gonna rely on them quite a bit. Who you prefer the most is, of course, up to the player in question.
For me personally, I stick with Lady Bow, Princess of the Boos. Sheās very useful when it comes to stealth, since her powers involve making Mario invisible. That way, I can sneak past foes with no problem. And doing this inside battle will make Mario invincible for a turn, so if you see a foe preparing to do some powerful attack, just use her and youāll be fine. Not to mention, her main attack is slapping the shit out of your enemies! I really got a kick at how many times I bitch-slapped Bowser in the final battle. (Yeah, normally Iād hide who the final boss is for the sake of spoilers, but come on, we all know itās gonna be Bowser, right?) Plus, I have to admit, Iām kinda fond of her personality. She may seem like an elegant, stuck-up lady who, like the other boos, enjoys playing tricks on others, but she is willing to give her all for the sake of her people.
Just pretty much imagine Rozalin from Disgaea 2 as a ghost, and thatās pretty much who youāll end up with. Theyāre both downright adorable for who they are and how they act.
Another feature in this game is the command actions. If you do a certain action, like holdingĀ āleftā on the analog stick and letting go at the right time, you can increase the attackās power or boost your defense if youāre defending from foes.
Finally, there are the Star Spirits. It is your mission to rescue these guys so you can defeat Bowser. There are 7 in total and each one you rescue will grant you power.
Shut up! You can call upon these guys in battle by going to theĀ āStar Spiritsā option on Marioās turn. Each one has a unique ability that, again, can make things a bit easier for you in battle. However, these guys requireĀ āStar Energyā. Itās a separate gauge compared to your the one you use for specials and such. You can recharge it by using theĀ āfocusā option and every time you rescue a spirit, your gauge increases. Theyāre basically the āsummonsā for us long-time RPG fans.
And thatās pretty much it I guess. Thereās not really much more to talk about. Itās basically a Mario RPG game. (And no, I never played Super Mario RPG). There are some entertaining moments, frustrating moments, pretty much like some other RPGs do. The important thing is that it makes you think about your actions in battle, like what an RPG SHOULD do. Itās an alright game in my book, if you wanna check it out, go on ahead. I have no objections. If you have anything that you liked or disliked about what I said, be sure to let me know in my inbox, Iāll be happy to respond. Also, let me know what else you want me to take a look at. Thanks for your cooperation and I will see you guys later.))
((I know that you guys may have been expecting a Pokemon review since Iāved reviewed Digimon twice to make things fair, but Iām having issues on deciding what exactly should I review. Itās too early for another sequelitis, and the only other games Iāve played besides the handheld ones were Puzzle Challenge and Staduim, and thereās not really much to talk about those. I would review Pokemon the First Movie, but I think itās safe to say that the Nostalgia Critic beat me to the punch there.
He basically pointed out almost every issue I had with that movie, which is impressive seeing how heās not a fan of the franchise. So, if you wanna know how I feel about the first movie, just watch his review. Simple as that. So, until I figure out what I should review for Pokemon to keep balance, Iāll just keep doing what I do most...daydream about awesome possible crossovers. Speaking of which, Iāve been hearing quite a bit of bashing towards one particular crossover Iāve played called Chaos Wars. Why? Because it has horrible voice acting.........
Thatās it?! The voice acting?! Thatās why people hate it so much? Guys, you do know you can just...mute the game right? I mean I can understand if it was an anime or movie, but itās a fucking game. Itās not really THAT important compared to the other stuff required to make it good like, oh I donāt know, functional gameplay? Ah well, letās just dive right in to see what this gameās REALLY all about.
The story begins with our protagonist, Hyoma Kusaka, a freshman at Tsukioka High School whoās normally sulky towards everyone he meets (Think Laharl from Disgaea only more compassionate rather than self-centered), telling us about a dream he had based on a story he heard from his grandfather. A story about how the founder of the Kusaka family traveled to a whole other world. This really intrigued Hyoma seeing how bored he is with his normal life and he decided to look into it the next morning.
Now that I think about it, isnāt this how Kindgom Hearts 1 started off? You gotta admit, it sounds slightly familiar. So, Hyoma would skip class in order the look into the dream along with his two friends, Hayatemaru Mudoin, a goofball classmate of Hyoma whoās into fashion and comedy, and Shizuku Mizuki, a senior at their school whoās into paper fans and board games, at a cave nearby their school. Inside the cave, they found a mysterious statue which beamed at light in front of them and transported them to the world of Endia. This world is where people from various other worlds are mysteriously summoned together and communicate. And those who do come here are consideredĀ āknightsā. Why? I donāt know. It sounds cool?
Once there, theyāre greeted by Rin Sunroad, the shy and polite gatemaster of Endia. She explains where they are and itās common for people from other worlds to come here, however it normally happens only once a year. Recently, somethingās causing the numbers to expand. Not only that but it appears that those who come here canāt go back to their home world. So Hyoma and his friends decided to get to the bottom of things in order to find their way back home. Now this is a crossover game, so there are characters from other games included but a majority of them are from games Iāve never even heard of before (Minus Shadow Hearts and Gungrave). And seeing how Iāve never played any of their games, Iām not sure whether or not if I should really comment on them. I mean, in the game, I do like them, but that doesnāt normally mean how theyāre represented here is how they really are in their original games. Mistakes can happen guys, keep that in mind. I will however make comments on the characters that are originally from this game like our four main heroes. You can basically call Hyoma a baby-sitter more than a leader because heās usually the one who gets other people out of trouble. Mainly Hayatemaru and Shizuku. Thereās even a few scenes that shows how responsible he can really be like how he talked Shizuku from keeping a chick bug for a pet, or when he asked Souji about his disease. You know for a guy who acts like he doesnāt give a shit, he really does care a lot. Heās like if Shinjiro Aragaki became the leader of SEES, itās downright incredible.
Speaking of characters that remind me of Persona 3, Wruzelās another original character from the game that really stands out to me. Why? Because sheās obsessed with Hyoma. Yeah, sheās one of those girls who would do anything for the guy she likes. What was the name for those types of girls again? Ah well, to sum her up, sheās basically like Aigis if instead of an android, she became an amazon. Which makes me wonder why no one made any fan-art of her and Hyoma together. And before anyone starts bashing her, keep in mind that Atlus was involved with this project.
But I think my favorite of these original characters as to be Zard, an old-fashioned detective who lost his childhood memories. He runs his own agency in order to take requests from clients to solve crimes and also in hopes of finding theĀ āmemory keyā which he can use to unlock his hidden memories, which we find out later were basically just him being experimented on by someone. I mean damn, I think his childhood might be on par with Ventus from Kindgom Hearts. Speaking of which, the main reason why I like this guy isnāt just because of his personality. Itās because his main weapon is a fucking keyblade! Iām serious, when he uses hisĀ āRealizeā state, his weapon changes into a fucking keyblade! Donāt believe me? Well how about the fact that he can use his weapon in order to search for OTHER KEYS that are around, and for his ultimate special, he uses the weapon to shoot a beam of light into the air to create a hole in the sky that can swallow up his enemies?! FUCKING...KEYBLADE!!! You know what, letās have Zard in the next Kingdom Hearts game. Zard, the Keyblade Detective. I like the sound of that! Square Enix, make it happen!
But enough about that, letās get to the gameplay shall we? Yeah yeah, what about the voice acting? Look, Iāll admit that itās bad, but not only do I barely care about it, Iāve heard worse voice acting than this, so shut up! As I was saying, the gameplay is basically another turn based game where you wait to use different characters rather than control all of them in one whole turn. You move your characters around and have them attack by using a set of skills they have equipped on them. Each attack has a different range so you need to think about where you want to put your character in order to hit your enemies.
Basically, itās like Phantom Brave, okay? The only differences are that you get to use items in this game and the amount of characters you can summon doesnāt decrease when you give them weapons. Okay, those arenāt the only ones, but theyāre the ones I want to point out the most. Speaking of which, Iām actually pretty disappointed that NIS didnāt get involved with this game. It wouldāve been cool to have Laharl and Hyoma bicker at each other, or at least include Pram from Makai Kingdom. Ah well, in Chaos Wars, you also get to equip skills onto your character. The only skills they keep on their own are their ultimates. Everything else can be removed and attached from character to character. And certain characters can only used certain moves based on what kind of weapon they can equip, so take that into consideration. The skills can also be changed in battle by just using them and theyāll change randomly. Some may be good, others are just plain downgrades. If you donāt want that to happen, you can just lock that skill. Once locked, it canāt be changed no matter what until itās unlocked. You can also buy skills and other equipment at the shop via terminal (which wonāt be unlocked until you get further in the game). Each character also have their own abilities that can help determine the play of battle like attack boosts fro doing team attacks or being resistant to certain attributes.
But I think the coolest part of the gameplay are the Realize states that everyone has. Itās allows a character to access their inner powers based on oneās heart.
NO! Not like that! While in this state, the personās weapon and possible appearance can change as well, and they get an extra ability while in that form. The graphics in the games doesnāt make their ultimates all that impressive (minus Hyomaās Guilty Break), but theyāre still pretty cool. The only main issue I had about this game is the same issue I had about pretty much ever other RPG I played. It takes almost forever to grind my characters. There is a level system, but thereās no indicator on how much experience my characters get. It makes things a bit confusing, but I digress.Ā
I actually got a lot of fun out of this game and I donāt really think it deserves the crap everyone gives it just because of the voice acting. Hell, I had more fun playing this game than Project X Zone. Yeah, thatās right, I said it, and Iāll say it again. This gameās more fun than Project X Zone. Donāt like it, well come at me bro! It is for this reason that Iām putting this game in theĀ āunderratedā pile along with Persona 1. If this game somehow gets a sequel, I wouldnāt mind checking it out, especially if NIS decides to throw their hat in the ring. That would be amazing. Until then, Iāll just stick with what we got now. If you agree or disagree with me, be sure to let me know why in the my message box. Iāll be more than happy to talk about it. Also, let me know what else you might want me to take a look at in the future. Until then, thank you for your cooperation, and I will see you guys later.))
((Yeah, I know that I just made a Digimon review already like...yesterday, but ever since then, I couldnāt stop thinking about it. I watch gamplays of Digimon games on Youtube, and when I try to think, the only thing that came to my mind was the Digimon theme, and last night I had a dream where I was replaying all the Digimon games Iāve ever played. One of those games happened to be Digimon World Dusk. I got this game a few years back during my trip to Tennessee while my brother got Digimon World Dawn. It was a pretty fun time. The trip I mean. As for the games...letās talk about that shall we? These games are actually sequels to another game, Digimon World DS, and from what Iāve looked up, they basically have the same game mechanics. Our experience with the game was pretty much like how we used to play Pokemon. Mainly because the gameplay is basically like Pokemon. You thought Digimon World 3 was going to be the only game with similar mechanics, but then years later these came along. But before we get too into the gameplay, letās talk a little bit about the story.
This Digimon World has been divided into two groups, the Light Fang and Night Crow (Or Night Claw if youāre in Japan). This is due to a mysterious earthquake thatās caused by a virus in the world and it basically split the world apart, causing the tamers to be limited on areas they can go. Rumors spread around claiming who was responsible and got the groups to go in a feud. The Night Crow believed that the Light Fang were responsible for the earthquake, while the Light Fang believed that the Night Crow were responsible. Itās up to you, your friends, and your digimon in order to find out the truth. Depending on version of the game you get determines which parallel path you will take for the story, so basically both games are considered canon. Also, even though in both games you can select between a male and female protagonist, in Dawn, the male is the canon character, while in Dusk, the female is canon.
Not to mention that these two are rivals to each other, if you get Dusk, your rival is Dawnās protagonist, Koh, and if you get Dawn, your rival is Duskās protagonist, Sayo. These are pretty much the only games Iāve ever played where the protagonist of the game canonically depends on what version you get, rather than just guess if itās going to male and female and have them be the main rivals in the story. This is actually pretty cool in my opinion, and I hope other games do this, especially Pokemon.
No, not Persona 2, that doesnāt count. Yeah the games are parallel to each other thanks to the ending, but if you think about it, itās more like Parts 1 and 2. Itās kinda confusing. Now, letās talk about the gameplay.
As I said before, itās another game thatās similar to pokemon, but only in certain areas. You start the game off by choosing your own starters, you go around certain areas to fight wild digimon, you can challenge other tamers to fight you, you can train your digimon to increase stats, the works but thereās no fishing. However there are some things that these games cover that Digimon World 3 did NOT cover. For example, when you need to restore your digimon, you can just do it for free at your home base instead of paying of an inn. Plus, this game has multiplayer, so you can challenge your friends (or in my case, brother), to Digimon battles. Also, and this is the biggest thing, you can obtain other digimon in your party. And I donāt mean just the starter types, I mean like the digimon you find in the wild!
WOAH, WOAH WOAH!!! HOLD IT!!! I didnāt say you can catch the wild digimon! Yeah, instead of weakening them and throwing something like blank digivices or something at the digimon in order to hope to catch it, you have to fight them in order to get their data. The minute you see a wild digimon, you get a percent of their data, so whether or not you fight them is optional either way. Once you get at least 100% of their data, you can go back to your home base and create the wild digimon. So you donāt have to worry about seeing a rare digimon and try to do your best to weaken it in hopes of catching it, kick its ass!
Go all out on that little fucker! Donāt hold back dood! Not only that, but you can also hold up to 6 Digimon in your party. And you can hatch Digi-eggs in order to get new digimon. And like the pokemon games, there are certain digimon only you can obtain depending on which version of the game you got. And you can nick-name whatever digimon you obtained. Also, unlike in Digimon World 3, this game has no regular attack and the only way to hit your opponent is using specials that cost MP. The game also has itās own data keeper of the digimon youāve seen and obtained. A āDigi-Dexā if you will. It shows its description, where to find one, ect.
This is kind of a big deal for me because I was still playing Pokemon SoulSilver at the time I had this, so everyday Iād pretend that I was a trainer/tamer with my own gear for both pokemon and digimon (equipped with pokeballs, digivice, Pokedex, Digi-dex, backpack, running shoes, gloves, cap, and goggles.) and along side me were my two starters ready for action. Alright Totodile and Guilmon, letās go on an adventure! Now that we got the similarities out of the way, letās look at the differences in the games. First off, how the game is played is different. Instead of having one-on-one battles against each other, itās 3-on-3. You get to call up to 3 digimon out and have them fight against up to 3 others. Well, for the trainer battles. I think in the wild, more than 3 will come out to attack you. And the turn-base system works differently. Instead of picking an action and see which digimon goes first, your turns are based on your digimonās speed. The faster your digimon is, the less it has to wait to make another action. Also, you have to take formation into consideration. Certain attacks can only reach certain areas, so you need to decide which digimon would be best suited in which area. Now for outside of battle, you can digivolve your digimon, which DOES include DNA Digivolution, however there are certain requirements that must be met before digivolving, and not just leveling up your digimon or making it happy. Also, (as far as Iām aware of), there is no guy that rates how far youāve gotten in yourĀ āDigi-Dexā.Ā
I mean, I know the games arenāt exactly based off the TV show, but it always bugged me that they never at least had Gennai in them as your guide. I mean, isnāt he supposed to be like the Professor Oak of this franchise? But I digress. Among the list of stuff that arenāt included in this game is gym battles. Yeah, you donāt fight gym leaders like in Digimon World 3 and collect badges, instead you rank up by doing missions and competing in tournaments. And digimon you fight for the quests, you wonāt be able to obtain data from. You can only get data from wild digimon. And like I said before, thereās no fishing in this game...or card battles...
I think you can collect cards in the game, Iām not sure, but even if you can thereās no point if you canāt battle people with them. Seeing how this was another Digimon game similar to pokemon thatās multiplayer this time, I was kinda looking forward to it. Ah well, despite the flaws, I still say itās a good game. It was pretty addicting like a pokemon game, however it doesnāt have that charm that Digimon World 3 has. So, I canāt really declare this the perfect Digimon game.
But that doesnāt mean itās not a good game. It really is. Iād personally recommend playing it at least once and having some fun with your friends like I did with my brother. Now if youāll excuse me, (puts on hat and goggles) I have an adventure to embark on. Let me know what you think of my review and tell me what else you think I should look at. Feel free to send me some feedback doods! Thanks for your cooperation and I will see you guys later.))
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