Sunday, January 04, 2009
(NDS) The World Ends with You
I bought The World Ends with You in december. Yup I was playing Children of Mana back then but it seems to go endless with the missions.
The basic plot of the game revolves the location of Shibuya. If anyone watch Sh15uya (Shibuya Fifteen) and Kamen Rider Ryuki , that's about that kind of twist and turn. Unlike these two Tokusetsu series, TWEwY is more gripping and resolves fairly well. The game really lives to the notion of "Living to what you want, how you want" or something like that as quoted by Mr. H (an important NPC in the game). Generally, the game already allows you to play with you setting up the difficulty (affecting the drop items) and your level (affecting the drop rate) in the midst of the other player settings (like combat/item settings). While the scenarios are preset, the player is pretty much left to choose Encounters and several small tweaks to the subplot/quests. Dual Screen combat is crazy and difficult? Let the com handle your top screen! (althought it's just either hitting X or B).
Engaging and yet it's easy to put the game down (you earn level points for Pins, the primary combat items when the game is on shutdown), it makes a good game on the go (but don't miss your stop!) once you master it, of course. (there's complaints of Steep Learning Curve? I thought all the necessary literatures provided in-game and manual. Wouldn't kill to read, so just read?)
Friday, June 27, 2008
Final Fantasy III DS.
Ah it's pretty but what's with the costume change???
Yes, one of the few oddity about this game is that you cannot explain the Job System in ,say, REALITY or plotwise. Haha, indeed however, the Clothes does made the Man (or Woman). The job market is open to everyone, althought with the Gender ratio of 3 is to 1, there might be a.....well completely biased job allocation based on appearance. Lol.
These are the top 3 Job level for my characters at the end of game.
Luneth (that's the white hair guy)
1. Thief (Lv. 52) 2. Ninja (Lv. 42) 3. Freelance (Lv. 28)
Not just because I think Luneth makes a good looking Thief, but also a thief is a good character to have in the party for early game. For some odd reasons Luneth has a high Freelance level due to.....I couldn't remember but it attributes to that he is alone in the begining with no other jobs to choose from. I had him as a ninja in the end only because he is a Thief. Take it as a job advancement (not).
Arc (the weak boy. lol.)
1. Scholar (Lv. 48) 2. Bard (Lv. 35) 3. Summoner (Lv. 30)
I admit it's purely appearance for the choices I made. I mean look at him! He shouldn't be carrying a sword!!! Of course no one should be going on with the game without a Summoner/Evoker. Can't explain for the Scholar usage but a scholar is necessary for a certain boss and I need the BOOST for item use. Plus he looks good in a scholar garb.
Refia (the only girl)
1. White Mage (Lv. 81) 2. Devout (Lv. 35) 3. Freelancer (Lv. 10)
Yes. Gender Biaseness. I might make a controlling father if I ever had a daughter. That and I am the gamer who absolutely need someone to cast curative spells in my party. Usually that person will be a girl. Shoot me but I don't care.
Ingus (the blondie)
1. Warrior (Lv. 54) 2. Red Mage (Lv. 24) 3. Dragoon (Lv. 21)
Ah Ingus. Being the last guy in recruit, Ingus earns the role of having to fit in.
Really.
I need someone to hit hard. Who has to do it?
Ingus (since there's no heavy hitter in my party back then).
I need someone to cast Black Magic. Who has to do it?
Ingus (since no one can cast black magic back then).
I need a Dragoon. Who has to do it?
Ingus (even if I could just convert everyone to a Dragoon as I had enough equipment for that to happen).
Despite for all the sacrifices he made, Ingus hardly stays alive at the end of Boss Fights. I can't say I didn't try. It just happens.
See the part which I mention my reviews sucks? There's really no structure in it but fuck structure. Anyway. Let's talk about why FF III DS isn't really that appealing to said the gamers who might be shelling out around $49 or more (but in Play-Asia, it's $47.74). For useless information, I paid $35 for a shop resale copy. No. I don't really buy all my games 2nd hand. I got First hand Stuffs but I save that for another entry.
Reasons no one should be playing FF III DS:
01) You want epic storylines as convoluted as possible. FF III is strip down in that aspect and hauntingly reminding the players, that elements that impress you in narration and game play in the latter games had their roots over here.
02) Retro gaming just don't feel right in a remade.
03) The characters look chubby or tubby. Or Fat.
04) There's no 20 side quests to do each time you got a free roam period.
05) You get the real Side Quests if you exchange free codes and send a certain amount of messages via the Mognet through Wifi. I don't think it's fair to be locking up portion of the game so that you can say..... find friends to talk about the game? Really? I don't know. I don't get it.
06) There's nothing you can do after you complete the game. No New Game Plus. Just a save update on stats. Oh yes there's something you can do. Play the Side Quests. Fuck you Square Enix. Fuck you. Do you people know that every time someone use the Mognet, a Moggle lose it's wings?
07) You only play FF7 and related games. You think Sephiroth will start balding if you play anything that's Final Fantasy and unrelated to FF 7.
08) You only play one game in your life. Countstrike
09) You only play one game in your life. DoTA. Heck it wasn't even a real game.
10) You only play MMORPG.
11) You only play one RPG. The one in your pants, you quick firing imbecile.
12) You don't own a DS. (And you don't have to. Really)
13) You got Metal Gear Solid 4.
14) You are still playing Metal Gear Solid.
15) You are still playing Metal Gear Solid 2.
16) You are still playing Metal Gear Solid 3.
17) You got a Wii
18) You got a Pokemon GOD
19) You are a Guitar Hero.
20) You got Final Fantasy IV DS.
20 reasons why you shouldn't be playing FF III DS. So are there any reasons why you should?
It's FF3. Never had it been in English officially on any other consoles. If you are a traditional console RPG player, you know how difficult it is to find anything that's turn base and as engaging. It's pretty neat to grind as you go since you can go on lengthy train/bus without needing to pay extra attention. As oppose some of the other games that's really good on the DS but you had to really sitting down to enjoy.
And yes, Final Fantasy IV will be out this month.
P.S. The last boss for the game is called Cloud of Darkness. It's a green Meduse like creature with 2 tentacles. Not some spikey blondie with a Badass Big Sword.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Ace Attorney...or you have objection?
Phoenix Wright. Ace Attorney.
I would say it's more a "cult" game rather than say VERY POPULAR. At least anyone who is into ACG probably has heard of it. Playing it, however is another matter all together (at least legally) since paying $40 for an interactive novel (or rather Story Adventure game)is quite a high price for casual gamers. So when it's being offered for 2nd hand, I had to take all 3 despite a slightly higher price with no bulk discount. (At least someone is selling to me. Approached 3 sellers before that. Buying 2nd Hand for NDS is still ok since the ROM carts are sturdy.)
Phoenix Wright sets in a Anime world setting where "Slightly Odd" is fairly normal.
Leave your worldly logics behind.
A rookie (just like the player), Phoenix would fight his case with his mentor Mia Fey by his side, teaching us how to play the game. The game drop hints alongside so solving this case (which is a Disguised Tutorial afterall) is a breeze. You just got to do a bit more thinking. The first game introduce the Fey Sisters and revolve the DL-6 incident, setting the basis for the 2nd and 3rd game. Missing the first and playing the subsequent games might be ok but there's slight more than enough references back to it. So yup. I suggest Inova to pick it up from me if he had time.
The interesting aspect is that the DS remake includes a 5th scenario that would tie back to the 4th (Apollo Justice). Rise from the Ashes will include gameplay that's utilising more features rather than simply....shouting to the microphone.
but unlike the lady below who is playing Justice For All....I don't shout to my microphone. I play my NDS like it's a GBA instead. I must be some kind of Techno Caveman.
Justice For All is fairly good sequel althought there's no Overview Storyline that ties all the loose episodes together. Having 4 scenarios (with the first serving as a tutorial), Justice For All seems to be less jam packed and the shortest game of the Wright Trilogy. This installment however introduce Pearl Fey, a delightfully funny sidekick that might overtook Maya Fey who became absent due to yet another case of her being the defendant (and another as hostage). New elements like the Psyche-Lock and Vital Bar will migrate into the next game. Some characters introduced in the 2nd game will return in the 3rd.
Interesting portion of this game? The tutorial forces Phoenix to become a rookie due to a....Plot Device.
Trials and Tribulation is the final arc of the Phoenix Wright games by tying up some loose ends. No. Phoenix is not going to end up with Miles that WAY.
This game starts with the player playing as Mia in her Most controvesial case (as well as Miles' which was briefly mentioned in the First Game). It's terrible to see that Mia used to be....like that when she's younger (and worse...when her senior Lana Skye looks much that other way). It's not that I am against woman of womanly features but.....let's just say the years aren't kind to Mia (or not...depending on which part of her you are looking at). Another surprise is the one on the defendant chair. Chuckles (making it a Truth that anyone can be sitting on the defendant chair).
As usual if you are paying attention, you are always ahead of the storyline, so leading to the conclusion as you go is the tougher part.
And like some Street Fighter game.....you get to meet your Evil Twin (Miles is rival character...which akin to as Ken to Ryu).
And yes, you get to play as Ken....I mean Miles in this one too. Miles and Frankziska returns as somewhat guest starring in this title (when will we get to play Prosecutor???Lol).
Phoenix Wright is a fairly engaging title. Despite not making much logic at times (still SMARTER than Birdbrain Birdman....lol), it's one of the preferred titles for lazy gamers who are into ACG like me who also would most likely read than play a game while on the go.
The above contains the Japanese Promo Videos to the Gyakuten Saiban games. Do not view if you do not watch spoilers. Then again if you are afraid of spoilers....reading this entry is not a wise choice.
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
[NDS] Luminous Arc
Luminous Arc
Once infamous for a lack of explaination...."The Game Characters look like this" (insert a Tenchi Muyo pic). An actual published review from ST's Computer Times. Amazing.
Luminous Arc is a 2D, Isometric view Fantasy Strategy game.
Yes much like FF Tactics which is some what a Good example but not really a close one.
For instance, Luminous Arc is.....Entry Level. Everything is pretty to understand.
There's nothing easier to understand than "Move, Hit and Wait". Ok. Maybe the part on Synergy is abit hard to get (since there's little use for that.....even in Late Game) but other things are pretty much sat in after playing through the initial stages. The Turn Base Battle is determined by character order not by faction so the strategy part is mostly decided by consulting the Sequence of Things (which I often ignored).
The game got an odd leveling system which goes by a level per every 100 experiences points gained. Any spill over will be forfeited during level up. Maybe it adds up to the strategy if I didn't point out that randomly casting a support or healing on other characters will earn you a maximum of 30 exp. Irregardless of Level Differences. Thus there's the alternative route of gaining experience by just casting spells, leaving the combat to only characters who CAN'T cheat the system (which is close to....NONE...or just 1 but he is the basher, the one that finish the boss and most opposition).
Control via stylus can be a pain, since there's time you had to change the controls to buttons when certain points are unaccessible (I thought there's a problem with the DS but clearly that's not the point).
In fact I start wondering why I am seriously writing a review for a game that's ....
entry level. Little surprises, very normal and cliche plot line, character designs. The only good part is probably it's a pretty smooth running SRPG which cast a very strong advantage over SRPG titles over at PSP. God I hate it when a game load for 10 seconds over a 2 second sound effect.
Luminous Arc is a forgettable game.....so I guess I know the pain of the writer of that article.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Played: GrimGrimoire
Likewise with Odin Sphere, the interaction of the game is through books except it's a bookshelf and individual chapters are books. Upon completion of story mode, you can access to another row of books, bonus stages of added fun to make up for the lack of diversity in appearane and gameplay of the story mode.
Lillet Blan is the latest student to the Tower of Silver Star (think Hogwarts). The Tower of Silver Star is not without woes and danger as Lillet Blan finds out. Eventually something really bad happens and Lillet (like Harry) meet the Main Event Villian, the Archmage Calvaros (think Lord Noseless). When Lillet is about to meet her maker, she was mysteriously returned to five days earlier, the day which she just arrived. Thus began her journey of running in circles, resolving the problems of Silver Star and eventually defeating the Archmage. Kind of like how the game stages of Odin Sphere is set, much to my amusement.
Insteads of playing via races/factions, GrimGrimoire employs a Magic System scheme. You can pick and mix what you learned in your Grimoire to fend of oppositions. Power balance is quite fair, so it's a matter of preference on how to play that game (althought certain things are quite clear....Dragons are bitching....)
Sure, playing without mouse is pretty hectic but luckily the controls are pretty easy to learn and there's a pause when you are making selections in runes so you are chill out abit to make the right decisions (making it a fact that this wouldn't be a multiplayer game).
http://www.nisamerica.com/games/grimgrimoire/
Friday, July 20, 2007
Played: Odin Sphere
But that's when the real fun begin. In fact, most of the time, games that are launched during that moment are giving the quality you been waiting for, pushing the hardware to the MAX.
It's strange that during the last leg of PS years back, I played a Norse Mythology based Valkyrie Profile that stars a daughter of Odin.
Once again.....if you are thinking I was going to write about Valkyrie Profile 2, you ought to be looking at the Title.
Odin Sphere is another kind of interactivity. You do not play as a party of 4 with a main protagonist. Rather you unveil events of the Last Days of Erion with 5 different characters.
Gwendolyn
Protagonist of Valkyrie
Daughter of the Demonlord, Odin.
Gwendolyn returned to Ragnanival, after her sister Griselda fell in battle in the wasteland of Valentine. Witnessing her father's indifference to news of Griselda, Gwendolyn concluded that dying in the battle field will probably be the only way to win her father's approval. Little did she knows...
Cornelius
Protagonist of The Pooka Prince
Prince of Titania.
Cornelius is in love with Velvet, a mysterious Princess of a Lost Kingdom.
Their relationship was forbidden by his father and little did he know that the odds will be against him as a dark conspiracy descends upon him.
Changed into a Pooka, a rabbit like creature and left in Endelphia, the Land of the Dead, he will have to find a remedy and stop the conspiracy in time....
Mercedes
Protagonist of Fairyland
Princess of Ringford
Ringford is constantly at war with Ragnanival over the Cauldron. One battle concludes with Odin mortally wounded the Fairy Queen, Elfaria. Mercedes is to be Queen but she's not ready for it.......Someone, however, IS READY to descend upon the throne....
Oswald
Protagonist of The Black Sword
The Shadow Knight of Ringford
Found abandoned as an infant, Oswald was raised by Melvin, newphew of Elfaria.
As the Shadow Knight, Oswald fought valiantly for Melvin. Little did he know the power he is having is actually a result of an arrangement between Melvin and Odette, Queen of the Underworld....
Velvet
Protagonist of Fate
Princess of The Lost Kingdom of Valentine
Velvet and Ingway are twins born to the Princess of Valentine and Odin.
Velvet was set to deactivate the Cauldron, in which was a part of a prophercy of it bringing Armageddon to Erion.
Ingway, meanwhile, had other plans.....
Armageddon
The Last Book that will bind all 5 books together, it allows you to choose your 5 playable characters to pit against 5 bosses which puts up the Armageddon and the End of Erion. It's easier if you played it to Order of True Ending but nevertheless there are certain nice BAD ENDINGs for some characters if you choose to use them against a certain boss. However using the WRONG PERSON has consequence of different magnitude such as a harder fight or a really mundane ending.
It's not a hard game but even on an Easy Setting, things are still hectic to throw any inexperienced player into a frenzy. The game also didn't give an easier way to train your character or gather items as replaying the same book does results in carrying out the character in Armaggedon but you still have to go through the storyline and take whatever that's being offered via the storyline rather than the usual UNLOCK ALL situation which players are being spoilt by these days.
A unique part of the game is that the game starts with you controlling Alice, a girl in an Attic with her cat Socrates. On the floor, you will find a book which you can promptly pick up to start reading (hence starting the game). Alternatively you can pick up Socrates (a bizarre logic to the function) to allow Alice to "recall" (view the cutscenes) what she read. A new book will appear when you finish a story until the Last Book Armaggedon appears. A Good Ending will ultimately give you an idea to how "You" are involved in the game itself.
In short, if you own a PS2 and enjoyed Action RPG, this is one game you cannot afford to miss.
http://www.atlus.com/odinsphere/
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Sakura Taisen 4 (PC)
Ah. Sakura Taisen.
Finally bought the final installment to the Ogami Kagekidan (part 4).
I felt kind of being ripoff because it feels like an translated DC emulation rather than a real PC conversion. (And the game inherent contend is really thin)
Then again it's the only option so I probably had to stick to it.
At first I was thinking where's the chapter break/next chapter preview until I released that this whole game itself is AN EPISODE.
There are quite few events and there's pretty much less challenge to the battle sequences as compared to previous games. You can run through the game is about 8 hours. Interaction of characters are pretty much sufficient to tell the overall story although I wished I kept my Sakura Taisen 3's save file which might be able to port over so I get Glycine rather than Erica to pester me. (So as to be consistent). Not that I didn't like Erica just that romancing a nun is......kind of strange. In fact part 3's cast are kind of strange). Glycine was a choice more of due to Battle Strategy than preference.
My natural preferred partner for the Teikoku side is of course Sakura. Be it combat or peacetime narrative. So when it comes to making choices to pilot a 2 sitter, there isn't a need to hesitate.
Sakura is the choice for me.
Our journey ended as Nagayasu disappears knowing that city of Ginza is well taken care. With that, Yoneda retires, entrusting his duties to Ogami and the Kazegumi and the Baragumi moving out.
With this,
we bid farewell to the Ogami arc of Sakura Taisen, a journey that began for me 10 years ago.
However, I will be looking into the chinese edition of Sakura Taisen ~Atsuki Chishio ni~ for the PS2.
P.S. My desktop is having problems loading the typing interface of blogspot which is why I didn't update for almost a month. (an excuse)
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Ar Tonelico (PS2)
http://www.nisamerica.com/games/artonelico/
Oddly this game should be for the PSP. Really. If it isn't memory constraints or such, this is a pretty good game for those on the go. The dungeons are painfully straight forward, the 100% fleeing ability (I think. Since I never got a backlash for fleeing). You are not forced to do everything and you don't get penalised for a slight mistake. This is a very forgiving game (at least for me). The setup is so forgiving, leveling up is like some what non existant since you level so often, you don't pay attention to it some what like FF VIII.
The only thing you need to pay attention are:
- Weapons and Equipments. The best weapons are through Grathmelding which is the "usual mix the inventory" routine. Believe me, you can roughly ignore the rest of the other stuffs. A good equipment setup (enhancement..yes..insert so-so crystal effects) and you get thru any fights using just Blue Magic alone.
- Diving. Yes. It's going into your Reyvateil's cosmosphere (mind) and then create Song Magic (song bo brother!). AkA the Main Minigame which is the AVG. 3 Reyvateil to choose from and craft between 7 game endings. No SUPERHAREM ending however.
The rest are tibits. I complete it on 31 hours which is less than what I expected (45hrs is my ETA). I do think I lose out on alot of things.
Oh ya if you wish to complete your hymn collection, you do have to play about 2 times depending where you last saved. There's 2 variation of certain 2 hymns which is up to you to choose when you are at near end of phase 1 and start of phase 2 (misha or aurica mission).
Overall due to the AVG elements, everyone else other than the Reyvateils are cookie cutter stock characters. The storyline is fair. Standard without too cheesy (despite a good amount of sexual innuendo can either be viewed as yucky or sexy. LOL). Kind of Lyner, like how his name was pronounced in the game (LINER), straight forward. Good music with the Japanese vocals retained (but I played it with the English voiceovers. No. My ears didn't bleed althought there are the few mishaps going on). Highly recommend for gamers who are lazy and got 2 hrs a day to play games. Strongly recommend for gamers who got enough with epic titles that takes you 99 hours just to see a generic happy ending.
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Played Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs The Soulless Army (PS2)
I can't tell since when that I skipped acclaimed stuffs for niche titles like the SMT titles.
Devil Summoner: RKvSA is a chip of the old block with some spins threw in.
Is it really an actioner?
Yes. Hit a few buttons and just chop chop chop (and shoot) in hmmm...4~5 moves??? in a quite small arena with a demon partner. Considering the heritage of the SMT series, quite a hefty of familiar faces returns.
Then there's the issue of difficulty. SMT: Noctune was so overly sadistic that anything seems wussy. Except this gets somewhere between brain numbing easy and slap in your face hard. The lenght of the game lies between 30+ hours (I attempted the game skipping some minor sides and 1 MAJOR SIDE in 35hrs with only like 5~6 game overs.) and is short if you compare to RPG titles of these days.
However I don't really considered this as a normal RPG taking that the storyline progression gives you a linear progress. If the encounter rate is anything like Ar Tonelico (review later), man, the game might be even shorter. It's more a digital novel concept. Each chapter's lenght varies according to what's the objective and there's even a chapter which is short like 0.5~1hr. The enjoyable part is that while the map is pretty small, the amount of unrewarding sides do take away the dullness of slashing and shooting.
Here's the skinny (or the fatty. Depending on how you look at it) on the storyline.
It's the year Taisho 20 and the capital of Japan has a new champion, Raidou Kuzunoha the 14th. Having proven of this title after his training, he was assigned to work with a PI called Narumi who will assist Raidou in keeping the Capital safe from the Supernatural along with a guardian that took form of a cat called Gatou. However the latest assignment brought in by Kaya,a strange girl which might just be their last.
It's almost one track, solving the kidnap of Kaya and the mystery surrounding it. Script is almost like a real novel except for sequences that simply says go there, bring this to another place and then bring it back and then talk to that guy and it goes on.
The inventory system sucks since they keep a cap on the items (healing item? Max: 9pcs) however the reward comes in pretty easy as the progress and of course the drawback is there so that you need to exploit the fusion system regularly (which led me to believe this game...is a part of the plan to drew new players in the whole SMT franchise). However up till a certain amount of progress, somehow it's possible to skip the most fun (yet tedious) part if you just want to complete. If you want to complete your demon collection, you might be spending like up to 45hrs or more I guess.
Replayability is a low since the expansion isn't up by a notch to motivate and it hardly impress anyone to play it continous for the second time. However the game is fresh because it moves fast and if you love games that moves with a simple storyline that isn't some epic RPG, this is the title. Then again. Random encounter is a pain and let's say the encounter rate can be annoying.
Monday, February 26, 2007
QCF + P!!!
It's a quarter circle motion of a joystick from down to front.
P denotes the Punch Command Button. It's a MUST KNOW motion for Fighting Games since Street Fighter II (SF is painful to play unlike SF II).
Here's a short game review on the last 3 Fighting Titles I played since Dec '06.
K.O.F 2006 (A.k.A KOF: Maximum Impact 2)
Fans of the franchise already knew that the Arcade game is no longer ordered as in Years but rather by numbering (starting from XI after 2003). Nevertheless, the latest console incarnation picks up from where the Garou Densetsu (Fatal Fury) spinoff left it, is awkwardly fun for it's button mashing easiness and of course brightly designed characters that is good enough for any Costume event (I will try to refrain using the word Cosplay since Cosplaying involves in mimicking the character you costumed. Hmmm. How to QCF + P???)
Storymode (I am a 1p mode player) is pretty good considering pre-fight quotes changes depending on the in-game relations so it does motivates the player to slightly attempt to got through the whole roster. It's set in the "FUTURE" KOF/Garou:MOTW setting where you get a Rock Howard (son of the Geese). Rock however is not the main protagonist. Alba, the new boss of South Town took centre stage. The usual Baddie Sponsor the KOF continues, revealing a new kind of direction.
Garou Densetsu is a simple plotline of Kung Fu & Revenge (Geese killed Terry and Andy's foster father.) while KOF is about the world being threatened by ancient evil presence follow by ancient megolomania, Alba's story eventually will GO TO SPACE AND BEYOND.
Yes.
Rather tackling mythology up front, this storyline will warp us to space and reincarnation of aliens.
Far-fetch?
Yes but seeing what kind of storyline Tekken is giving us, this is still pretty ok considering we aren't going to see a live action version of it.
Other game modes includes a Bonus Stage mode consist of 3 different skill testing mini-games (similar to what we got from SF II and World Heroes.....not A.O.F) and Mission Mode where a new player like me is given a chance to train for a better fighting personality other than spamming the same moves all over.
Character wardrobe is BIG with each character having 2 basic look models (Orignal, Alternate) and 8 variation per model (require unlocking for the last 4 variation).
You also know where the design of the game is going, judging the spilling cleavages especially from Lien, the new fatale femme of this game. Her presence is probably a need by SNK to retire tired Famous poster girl, Mai Shiranui who incidentally might be the most identified character from the KOF/Garou Densetsu.
Anyway after unlocking and completing the whole Storymode and half way through the Costumes, it's best to play something that's more into my liking....2D Arcade Fighting.........
Fighting system is simpler tag alikened to X-men vs Street Fighter with the tagged out player regaining health. The uniqueness of the game lies with the arcade mode whereby player is given 300 seconds of game play which after follows by a boss fight (whereby proven unpopular on the arcade level, I guess, judging the non-existence of the machines). Performance determines the boss you be fighting.
There's not much of a storyline more of a reference to one of the reasons for the decline of Neo Geo. Original characters are Yuki and Ai whose moves are company product inspired are to defend the Neo Geo World from Goodman the sponsor of the tournament and owner of the WAREZ (got it?).
Boss Fight is considered perverted by SNK standards since NOT ONLY you got penalised by how the power gauge charges and the choices of evasive moves , AT THE SAME TIME avoiding awful spams of damaging moves by the boss WHO is given priviledges of REGAINING HEALTH (base health not included) which makes most of the number combo useless because by the time you finish with the last blow, he is regained most of what you took.
Solution? Simple. Hit and take out the base health (red ) with a Team Up special. Provided you get close enough, That is. Other modes are standard fare however.
The Real Last Boss Goodman....oddly resembles Unknown from Tekken Tag with a Beast on set aflames as a "companion".
Capcom vs. SNK 2
One of the last few great titles before Capcom put a lid on new games from their SF heritage and the last crossover offered by Capcom.
- Eagle from the Original Street Fighter
- Maki Genryusai from Final Fight 2
- Kyosuke Kagami from Rival Schools
SNK roster includes Last Blade's Hibiki and Samurai Shodown's Haohmaru (Nakoruru appeared in the 1st game). Strangely we got a pair of Choi and Choy rather than a single entry for each individual character.
For arcade mode, Capcom did away the previous Point Ratio Assignment to Fighters and introduced a free selection of characters first before you set ratio points to them.
Obviously this game is meant to be for competitive play given the amount of pre-game set up option available, making it almost no 2 players can play almost the same game.
Other than character selection, ratio assignment, the first option is Groove Selection. Unlike what's on the first Capcom Vs SNK, which you are given only 2 option, you got 6 options now, each with a distinct advantage. Skill level is strongly tested as different groove can greatly influence the game plan. The controls are however still had a distinct Capcom to it hence players very familiar to the SNK controls might be punished to relearn in order to play their SNK characters. This game requires some patience in order to play hence I admit the number of machines in the arcade is dwindling and rare.
Bosses fight are pretty the table turned for the Capcom fans.
Hencefore it's easier to have M.Bision as a sub-boss than Geese Howard.
Regular End of Game boss are Akuma and Rugal.
Getting good scores will enable you to fight True Bosses, Shin Akuma (double Air Fire Ball Bastard) and Ultimate Rugal (Bastard. Nuff say).
Ultimate Rugal is ridiculously the harder boss to fight. Beating both S.Akuma and U.Rugal gives you access to them and a Boss Mode in the Arcade Mode.
However unlocking the True Bosses does nothing to aid the game since they balanced out the health for that extra broken boost. Trying spam double aerial and you can see the difference on the punishment dished out by your opponent.
With these 3 games out of the way for the moment, I will be resuming with Raido's adventure in the Capital in Atlus's Devil Summoner: Kuzunoha Raido vs The Soulless Army.
Monday, November 13, 2006
Playing : Mai-Otome: Otome Butou Shi
A fighting game that consist of Mai-Otome goodness???
Definately not. The Fight Engine is wose than Psychic Force and the gameplay can stretch but the bonus is coming in fast enough to hold my attention down. Will I spent another 1 hour on it???
Probably not.
But there are some really neat extra waiting to be unlocked so if you are a real fan , you shouldn't be complaining (I do since I am a fighting game fan too. Press Circle x4 and once guage is full, get into position and press Triangle. Oh damn. )
Here a tip for 3 seconds of cheesiness. Just play with the vibration option in the option menu. LOL.
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Eureka Seven Vol.1 New Wave
http://eureka-game.net/newwave/index.html <---- Japanese The American Edition is out but regretfully like all other anime titles, the OP sequence is a musical rather than a vocal track. Mecha combat in New Wave plays like Gundam Tactics except you get to change mode from vehicle to humaniod. There's also the Lifting game (airborne surfing in E7) and a personal mode where you had to fight outside the LFO (harsh but not surprising since MSG: OYW features a stage where you play a security officer on the White Base fighting off Zeon invaders). The game plays like an anime with you spending more time watching than actually playing. Ep 1 (stage 1) takes a long time but luckily save sessions comes often so you can go throw your Ben&Jerry once you finished it. Ep 1 is basically an extended tutorial with storyline. The LFO fights are easy since opponents are basically on the same class with you and the Map is roomy small and comfortable to fight in. Currently finished Ep 2. The game gets a straight away boost in difficulty as you had to handle more than 4 or 5 opponents all at once with lock on missles and coming at you at all angles. You also get to team up with Cpt. Holland of SOF (yes. Holland of Gekko State). The game is nothing special or really new apart that TR1: New Wave (that's wat they called it in Japan) is designed by the original crew who made the Anime which is a plus. While being a prequel, it didn't make a different from playing any other Mecha Sims/Shooter except it's 80% narration and the rest...game. The only part is that if there's a Situation mode where you can have a bit more action but it wouldn't do much other than unlocking more situation scenarios. Get this game if you like Eureka 7 very much and would like to fully enjoy the next game, Tr2: New Vision which is a direct sequel. Here's the trailer (with Realise by Flow) for the Japanese edition. Game looks more fun on trailer than playing it myself. Strange.
Saturday, September 09, 2006
SD G-Gen Portable (PSP...duH)
I been watching my brother playing for like quite some time (since the 1st PS G-Gen. He is currently playing G-Gen F. Which is why the PS is still plugged in). Since I am still the PSP hogger I might as well test trial his latest purchase (but damn! GUndam Battle Royale is slated for next month's release!!! Seems my whole life is run by Gundam).
Overall the animation loads faster than the good old PS version (PS2's edition aren't that FAST too!!!) and if you select the option, you still can switch it off by pressing the START button. FMV is loaded quickly and pretty nice but if you had been playing G-Gen all these years...you get wat I mean.
I just started on the MSG scenario so it pretty much not pushed to the limits yet. All the commands are there. However for the Team Formation in Battle Options (pre battle preps), the production and assignment of MS comes across as pretty much "hidden". It took me 3 days to figure out how to call out and assign a pilot to a MS in the Captured Storage. Gone is the days where you need to move your captured units to your MS Storage before you can assign a pilot. Steps were skipped to make the game flow faster.
In addition, you no longer need to train scenario units to unlock them for the factory. Once you clear the scenario, you will get the units ready for manufacturing.
However the game will cap your progress thru capital issues but that can solved thru multiple replays of a stage and of course planning to get a Higher Haro Score (score is indicated and translated into $. Haro is to indicate Score Rank: Normal, Bronze, Silver and Gold).
It's a good thing to see that GGP is taken account of it being portable especially when it's a packed with multi-media contents. However I believe in terms of challenging the player...maybe it's not there. Simply a good ride entertainment.
That's all for the moment. Maybe I will continue coverage GGP as I progress.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
The Generation of Chaos (PSP) review without screenshots or real tips...
I dunno how long since I got it but playing 1hr or 2 per day will never get you anywhere. Anyway since G-Gen is coming, I don't think I had any choice but to return the PSP to my brother. So I had been losing some sleep since the begining of last month just to clear the default scenario.
The Gena (Dravania/Main Story) campainge is actually easy (as compare to Zodia's) since the map slowly opens up thru the chapters. As Gena, you are offered to stay or join Valz of the Liberation Army in mid game. It's of course silly and futile that you actually tried building up and then destroying Dravania Empire should you join Valz. However the catch of it is there, making the difficulty up by a bit if you managed to strenghtened the Dravania Army by a considerable amount. Of course you can be an asshole, selling off all the equipments of the army, sacking (if it's possible?I never tried) off all the best generals.
Quick start tips:
- You don't need the weakness and strenght chart of the elements. Really.
- Fortified? For what? You be playing away matches 90% of the time. Just keep rushing and stay at the mid points (stars)
- Marketing is a pain. You can actually obtain better stuff by searching. However do spent your money whenever you can since there's a limit on the money you can hold.
- Your soldiers are worth 1.5 bar of the Super Gauge. If you can't beat the enemy, march them to DEATH and hope for a miracle.
- Morale is the key to all battles. Up yours and down their's.
- Alliance is to useful if you didn't want to fight 9 enemies at once. However don't make alliance with your neighbour. The com will just break alliance the moment they ran out of land to expand.
- Archers and Magic Hunters are your best defence only Pirates and Infantry can beat them.
- Captive Voice (RESTRICT EFFECT) and Lost Cause (Morale Down) are useful against bosses. You can save your 1.5 Super Gauge for mobbing the bosses.
Overall Generation of Chaos is a pretty nice ride by game althought in midst of enemies' turn you cannot save so when it is your station or stop, you cannot just exit the game and switch to music mode (MP3 playing). It does look complex because of lack of information on everything but if you rush by the game (which I believe the previous owner did) maybe it isn't so hard at all. Not a game that make Gaming Widows.
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
KoF XI PS2
Considering the amout spent at the arcades, a small investment is necessary I guess to curb the up-going expenses ( I spent a dollar or two everyday on KoF XI. I remember I start playing around November...thats....8x30x2 = 480. WTF. No wonder I hate doing the sums for my hobbies. $480 and I am still the noob bot guy at the arcade T-T)
Anyway I lack of a KOF title in my collection. I already had the Orochi Collection (95-97) for the Saturn and the rest on RoMs. Honestly speaking Maximum Impact looks crappy, I rather Tekken or Soul Calibur if I want a 3D game.
The arcade mode is like the same but the ps2 actually loads faster so I was pretty happy with the game. To top that Magaki can be lowered to more a retarded stage (but the rest of them are very much retarded too if you lower to difficulty lvl 1). BGM had re-arranged tracks and you get a few more match platforms mostly out doing the regular platforms.
Extra modes of play includes a Challenge Mode to challenge and hone your skills (good for people like me) and Endless Mode (kind of survival but Health Regaining is based on finishing move.)
Go search the youtube for videos...there is trailers that will bound to make you go out and get this title if you are a Fighting Fan.
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
~What if you lived but no one remembers?
Shakugan no Shana
This is the 2nd anime I watched that had the female protagnist having a thing for melon buns and I don't get it!
I must get one!
Overall anime quality is pretty ok althought initially shana looks like she got a belly. Storyline is based on an interesting premise without having to gradual to kind of just shonen manga style of story telling where the storyline is revolve mustly upon Fight of the Day.
Throw in Campus Style Romance Triangles and you pretty much get an interesting anime. Anime Quality can be improved of course.
Shakugan no Shana is the type of anime that had quite a bit of everything to be hook about. However the pacing is awkward making the general viewer bored if the fan-boyism (girlism) isn't strong.
Melanchony of Suzumiya Haruhi
A must watch.
A DIE MUST watch if you are a fan of Shakugan no Shana.
I refuse to write anything! There's just too much writings out there about this anime.
If you really want to read, there's some done on Vanilla's (Bernie).
Genji: Drown the Samurai
SCEI's inhouse game makers always had something good to offer.
Genji is beautiful and exquisite when put aside to the Onimusha (Yes! Even the Later released Onimusha:.DoD)
Gameplay however is pretty shallow. Either beat the enemies to death or score more points (and finish them fast) with ���kamui���.
My boss strategy is X + Triangle till can do no more. Haha.
I thought to play till 3am in the morning but apparently I saved at a point that gave me less than 2hrs of gameplay.
I was shock. LoL.
Decisions
I realised that life's decision had to do with pride alot.
Sometimes you know if you got the lift, you get to reach the place faster. Yet you rather take your own sweet time and walk towards it. Will you reach it?Will there be another ride? I don't know. I just know that Regrets is for people who wants to live in the past. Who wants to live in "What Ifs" rather than "right now".
Just that,
What's is "Living" right now?
I ponder.
Saturday, May 13, 2006
The usual mix pack^%$#
Shin Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams Completed!
Managed to beat this game finally!
Storyline isn't too deep. It's just one hero moving on to prevent a massive takeover (or rather the Reborn of the Genma God...but why is he a Westerner???) from the Genma but he is not alone.
Basically you get to use a traditional swordman (Soki looks like He-Man in some angles), a quick draw swordgal (Akane Jubei Yayju...she is cute...the usual cheer gal.), gunner gal(Ohatsu is a niece to Nobunaga...but she got Genma blood??Heritage aside, she plays the 'meat' gal factor in the game.), Warrior Monk (Tenkai is actually the Red Oni,Samanosuke Akechi.He is the one with the staff. Not really the one I will like to use.) and finally the Brute (Roberto is quick and strong. However his controls are slightly different from others especially evade). Gameplay is quite strong on variety althought the tendacy to launch into O,O,O,O,O is very high.
Boss Fights packed a variety, from having Large Enemies to quick and fast ones. Compulsary Fights for characters also make sure you at least distribute your points and items and experiences among them. Puzzles are pretty straight forward and doesn't really require FAQs and plus side is that you don't have to go to one side of a huge map just to get a key to the other.
Cut scenes and stages are pretty well done. Althought some of the narration scenes had the dolls moves in repeated fashion especially Akane,Arin and Ohatsu.
Replaying factor is pretty ok with enhance difficulty unlocked, New Game+ features, a duel mode and unlocking costumes (yet to be done).
I will recommend this to a gamer who is into visuals and quick rush but have little time (but you need some time for the last chapter and Dark Realm).
ICT
Funny. It's the 1st time I eat crabs in the Base. Most likely the last time too.
Overall still ok. Left only 1 week. Or 5 days to be precise.
Sianz. Had to go back to work already.
If you had 6 hours left
Someone asked me this question. Oddly I think I will just go home before I decide anything even if I had 6 hours left.
Saturday, April 22, 2006
~**&&**Long time no update..anyway who reads?Haha@@=)(
//Ultraviolet \
~Cool but dumb. Gun Katana my Samurai Apple Pie~
Q:What's Violet's Superpowers???
A:It is her ability to make hordes of man surrounding in circles. So that she can slaughter them.
This a concept strongly enforced and drilled into my head so by the time arch bishop says "750 men" , I turned to Yuki and said
"Ya and they all stand in a circle right?"
Ultraviolet is action diaherrea. No it's not crap. Just how to describe how much action is in account for in propotion to how much storyline there is.
Someone told me that the movie theme is about survival.
I begged to differ. It's about trying to get what was lost. Hope keeps one alive.
//random\Really uneventful days. In fact I didn't do anything.
Oh ya. The thing is I was going for a round of present delivery since I got 2 friends and a relative who happened to
had their birthday in the same week.
Happy Birthday shuuichi,yuki and joce!
//KoF XI\\
I finally cleared kof Xi but actually start from st.4 after
defeated some noobie that can do cancels including dream cancels.
Weird. Somehow he got overwhelm by my initial attacks.
Anyway I won Magakai using clark. I tot is over until I got enuff for a LS. but i lack of an argentina backbreaker. After that. Oh Magakai! I shuffle around and Taiko finish him. Haha.
No more Kof XI for me! Haha. Or at least for the moment.
//Easter Day\\
Unfortunate day for Joyce bah because she want me to get my ass off to meet at her place.
Wake up from the wrong side of the bed and an awful grouch.
Haha.
Somemore she ditzy, confirm kana my scolding.
Dark Sky, I asked her if need umbrella.
She say no.
I ask her bus stop there got shelter (walkway)
She say yes.
Later big rain, I ask her about the stop.
She say sommerset now.
My mind thinking already maybe alight her.
So I confirm abt the walkway with her.
Yes. Trust gets the better of the deal.
Strand in a bus stop with shelter and no sheltered walkway.
Serious I know nuts about Orchard.
We spent $7.50 and 1/2 hour on a taxi. WTH.
Great.
I am hungry and even more grouchy.
Lucky got lunch, somemore treat by Inova (next time it's on me bro).
Haha.
Bought Yakitate vol.21 . Realised that the Reaction transformations are for real and permenant. LOL.
6 plus go Party World.
$25 per head. Ah never. Also should had paid for joce. Ah too bad lack of cash.
I felt pretty rotten and I vent on other people. Oh well.
//Onimusha : Dawn of Dreams\\
Never got a chance to really play the Onimusha series, so during my 15min reviews of games (akan datang) , this is one where I decided to keep on playing.
More details later. (And since my internet is perm down. Likely I be playing it more).
//210406\\
My Broadband kana problem. Anything urgent pls sms me or drop me an email. Rotten.
Oh well.
Right now they say sent ppl down on thur. So only internet access is McDonalds or during work.
Haiz.
Saturday, March 25, 2006
Trapt (PS2)
Another boring day so I try to get myself preoccupied lest I want to just sit around thinking about unnecessary stuffs.
Trapt looks pretty ok to me. I mean whats kills time better then slaughtering dozens and dozens of bad people who wants to harm a girl.Haha.
I wasn't too comfy with this title from the start actually. Otherwise known as Kagero 2: Dark Illusion, it's a direct sequel of Kagero (which is the 2nd in Tecmo's Deception series), the lack of system in traps (as in compare to Deception 3, the other Deception I played) and the rather ridiculous costumes of the characters (which somehow follows..FF X2??Honestly they got the same tailor who made clothes for Tidus.)?
And it was quite short. Althought I took the easy way out and had a lousy ending...haha. But putting those AI jokers into combos of traps is nevertheless entertaining. And to top that the replayability is actually good because you can never complete your inventory in one single play (but if it is so bad....do you think you want to continue?That's the only flaw in this game). Also the sub-title of the game is actually the draw of the whole game. Dark Illusion is the ultimate trap of all (but only limited to certain stages) that wasn't really mentioned in-game (but there's always the FAQs).
Story wise....the story is bad. Deception 3 is way better. At you felt something for Reina. Allura? Damn. She just some princess that kills with a tap of a button (or buttons.LOL).
Overall if you had some spare time, try this out. Cannot say if it's really good but it ought to be good if you didn't want to start on another time consuming rpg.
Saturday, January 21, 2006
Month End report...lol...as usual
Karaoke on 2nd and 7th
On 31st I got a sorethroat so bad I lost my voice. Big deal. I believed it's something that some people wanted so I cannot disturb them and probably being make light of. Or maybe as what the song "When you say nothing all" reminded me of a thing someone told me (something that is close to a reject). I don't need to open my mouth since nothing nice comes out.
Anyway I planned a karaoke with the lads (and lasses) from sgcafe on the 2nd, so it was indeed an unfortunate change of events.
At any rate I did went.
As usual Yuki got early. She is always early and very early.
And I got late. Always late and not so late.
What do you get from a superhero??He is always late but not too late. LOL.
This time round, we be rejoining with the lads from last year karaoke session (lol. minus the lasses. Xy&Ny and joyce). So Seiya and Tanaku Yuki is there too. It's funny but we ate at the very same foodcourt the last time.
Then the late party comes with everblue. violet, yukino, sk and charsaur. Stee-van came along because I asked him to. I realised maybe we bored him because karaoke might not be his thing.
So we went to partyworld. We lads sang some songs. With the lasses not wanting to sing. Well talk about shyness.LoL. Yuki got something to say about my singing and she wrote it on her blog so just I wouldn't be writing. I just thought I can sing and most likely I presume it's because I am drunk. Oh well. That's karaoke anyway. Keon (everblue's friend) can sing but we jerky boys decided we can sing without mike and covered him up (LOL.)
After song it rained so we just zig zag around to the MRT to PS.
Met up with Hajime & Shuuichi for dinner. They were like some engross with their own shopping, they delayed Violet from reaching home on time. Eh. Gals.
Haven't seen Shuuichi for a while and she looks kinda different and reliable sources hints she got some rather positive changes lately (of course I didn't know back then but my instincts for certain things never changes.LOL.Serene say I am a red nose reindeer but I am a red nose sniffer dog. Always sniffing for scoops). In any case, whatever happiness, must share so don't let me see submarine. Just declare your boat and I will let him sail in free without worries. Keep it submerged and I will start shooting. LOL.
Ate Pasta Mania. No idea what to eat so Crap and walk around. Crap and walk around.
Which reminds me to buy the Hentai Enterprise coconut because the photo I took was bad.
Finally we ended up on the kopitiam. As usual the cinderallas had to meet a certain timing so once Inova reached, the rest all go (because there's school the next day for the lads too) save Yuki. Lol. So we just sit and talk till it's about time.
7th Jan karaoke is a make-up session for Inova. Despite his quiet appearance online (or at sgcafe that is), he is quite rowdy and.....showwy. Lol. He is good singer of course (better than me). Charsaur (he is quite enthu) is asked only because he enjoys singing as much and only because he is available in short time notice. The rest, we might missed out because we didn't spoke about until late night the day before. Yuki as usual is paying to be punished. She is kinda tired and after some torment...curled into a ball (Look at the picture at the previous previous entry).
My throat got better but I still sing like a cow on blue cheese.
Wallace & Gromit : Curse of the Were-rabbit
It's a wonderful piece of clay animation. There's some usual English humour. Strangely due to the late release, the King Kong reference in the movie seems to be on cue (funnier than it should be). No. It's not one of those movies which can change your life but definately it's worth of it's ticket price to watch. Great stuff.
Anchorman: Legend of Ron Burgundy
If you love The 40 Year Old Virgin and Starksy and Hitch, you will love Anchorman. Steve Carell is in this before 40 Year Old as someone they describes on the cover "Eye in the Sky, Head in the Clouds". He was hilarious whenever he was to be involved.
Anyway the star is Will Ferrell as Ron Burgundy. Top rated anchorman and beloved by the whole of San Diego. The meat of the story comes with a new girl in the team. Back in the 70's, female news reporter are unheard of and being sexist pigs they are, the channel 4 news team, they tried to prevent her from staying.
It's a laugh a riot but the humour might get across as either crass or weird (there's a love scene...that wasn't quite a love scene. See to believe. LoL.) or primary school (name calling games...lol).
And the best part?I got it from the bargain bin! Damnit I am such a cheapskate.
DQ VII: The Journey of The Cursed King
Sorry to Violet. I got to apologise for the other day I just sign off that sounds angry and rude. Not that I am mad with you over the whole group chat thing but I am just eager to play this game. And sorry to others who felt neglected. I am like that when I got a bit caught up with things.
This is a very old school turn based rpg that didn't cut corners with being old school. Sure there are things that doesn't look old school (alchemy pot, tension system) but the graphics and the sound effect sure adds to it. Toriyama is doing the character designs and it was great althought some of the characters resembles from previous works. Storyline is almost linear just this game is tough. Levelling is slow. For FF series, a good 25hrs is already a gauge that you are about level 30 or more but over here, it's little more than level 25. Is it me?The random battles are tough, there's always too many and too many surprise the enemies can offer. Each character can utitlise more than one type of weapon but there's only enough skill points to distribute. It all boils down to choices and more choices. Earning money is slow too. While you doesn't need to buy herds after a while, weapons are expensive and not always the type you trained for. Ahhh....more money = more battle = more time.
And it was say it can took 100hrs just to complete. I think I gonna take longer then.
...........................
I got some free time so I went to Aunt Peggy's place for a haircut...I prefer this one over the past few she did for me. Perhaps solving the problem from a previous barber is easier for her.LOL.
And 3 days later
the shop she rented for her business kana caught fire.
I felt sad but there's nothing much I can do except to express my sympathy to mum. I don't think I am good with helping her coping with her loss. In fact she spent so much time running between the shop and household, I kinda felt upset too. For something to happen before CNY was really bad especially when all her goods were gone and some of the CNY goodies she suppose to deliver are all gone. She happily told me the other day the extra cash she got for selling the Pineapple tarts while I carried them for her. Now I cannot imagine how she felt because not only she had to refund but because of how disappointed the other party might be. And I know she was the responsible type so it's not going to be easy to face them.
I just hope everything got better for Auntie Peggy here after.