Top 5: Wii to WiiU Sequels

The Wiiu is bursting with potential for new IPs for games and new ways we can play games.  But why have new IPs when you have a library of Wii games just DYING for a sequel.   Whether it be the controller itself, or the fact that they just need an HD console remake, these are the top 5 Wii games that need-no, deserve  a Wiiu sequel.

5.  Fragile Dreams:  Farewell Ruins of the Moon 

A game that I will no doubt be doing an UR & UA on later, this game is extremely underrated and just about noone knows about it.  Which is a shame, because it's one of the most memorable, impactful, powerful games of true loneliness and emotion that you'll ever play.  The main mechanic was a flashlight to fight ghosts, which will fit perfectly with the Wiiu gamepad.  Whether it be using the sensor or the touchpad, they could easily make this work.  This game deserves some kind of sequel, and Nintendo needs to advertise it.  Good publishers need to  be rewarded for good game design.

4.  Naruto Shippuden:  Clash of Ninja Revolution 3

A mouthful of a title, and a mouthful of a game (I just had to).  A fighting game based on the anime Naruto Shippuden, which I have watched, this game features a fantastic fighting system, putting in combos, team attacks, Justus and items.  They made a sequel for the Wii in Japan, but this game is begging for an HD upgrade.  The graphics could become amazingly smooth, as it has a good foundation but needs that HD for detail work and textures.  Just imagining this game caught up with the Naruto storyline, filled with a humongous cast of characters, great graphics and smooth online makes me extremely excited.  make it happen Nintendo.

3.  Mario Super Sluggers 

An extremely addicting game for the Wii when it came out, this game needs a proper sequel on consoles.  The gameplay for this game was simply genius, combining casual and easy to learn controls, mixed with depth in items, special shots and special defense moves.  This game would benefit extremely from a gamepad using the controls they demoed back in E3 2012 for the Wii sports baseball game, as well as a fully fledged online system, detailed and exciting environments, and new gameplay elements and characters to shake things up.  I've logged over 100 hours into the original Wii game, and I'd be more than willing to do it again.

2.  Battalion Wars 2

Definitely going to review this game very soon, Battalion Wars 2 perfected the third person, shooter action strategy based gameplay the first game introduced.  Controls were fantastic, surprisingly smooth and excellent online mode, as well as an intriguing and sequel-available story.  WiiU gamepad controls, HD graphics for environments, online mode with voice chat and this game could be a masterpiece.  I'm not even exaggerating.  A CRIMINALLY underrated game that I'm sure the developer would be more than willing to do again.  C'mon, please!!!

1.  Go Vacation

You're not aware of this game, you don't know what this game is, by the title you're probably sceptical, but don't judge, as this game is one of my favourites of all time.  Oh yeah, I said it.  An absolutely humongous open world (technically 4 with different environments), 50 minigames each feeling fully fleshed out and filled with side objectives for every one, sooooooooooooo many collectibles to unlock, all ingeniously placed, a custom character creator, tours around the resorts, the list goes on and on.  But there can be more.  online coop instead of just local, gamepad controls, you can still have 4 areas, but make them bigger and with more collectibles, a deeper character customization, a house customization feature that could go even further, the possibilities are endless!  I'm absolutely gitty just thinking of all the stuff they can do with this.  And the best part is?  This may actually happen.  Go Vacation sold great, got a decent amount of attention, so it's completely possible.  Until that fateful day, I'll keep playing Go Vacation, travelling around the open world, and having a blast in multiplayer.  I shall wait.

Next post will be:  Review:  Nintendo Land (WiiU)

PTR: Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate (Preview)

I have the luxury to actually have a demo to share my thoughts on, so this is going to be a very special PTR!

Now, I am a huge fan of Monster Hunter 3 for the wii. I logged in sooooo many hours offline and online on that game.  The monsters were breathtaking, the gameplay was fun and varied, and the game was so deep with tons of different equipment, items, armour sets and weapons.  The game also had lag-free online, which was amazing, as well as being a very lengthy game overall.  This is a remake of that wii game, now with more monsters, weapons, items, online modes and other awesome stuff to warrant a $60 price tag.  I have been very excited for this game and it's releasing March 19th....THE DAY AFTER LEGO CITY UNDERCOVER.  Yeah, those two days will be VERY good days for me.  Anyways, onto the demo. 

Lagombi

Plesioth

The game features two quests to embark on:  The Lagombi and the Plesioth.  The Lagombi is the easier quest in the snow tundra, while the plesioth is the harder quest set underwater.  They give you 20 minutes and pre-set armour and item sets for each of the 20 classes in the game, all of which are available in the demo.  Now, for the monsters themselves, they were pretty good.  While none felt really unique, they were a bunch of fun to fight against and their moves were pretty cool.  I do like the Plesioth more, because he reminds me of Titanosaurus, a monster from the Godzilla franchise.  His attacks are also a bit more unique, as the Lagombi just kinda spins around and hurls snowballs.  In order to accurately say my opinion of this game, Ill go through every weapon class briefly and say whether it is a good match for each of the monsters (either a + or a -) and how I liked or disliked some of the new ones.  

Sword and Shield:  I used this a lot in MH3 and it's stayed virtually the same.  It has good attack, high agility and even a shield for quick defends.  It has a short reach though, so its very monster specific.  Lagombi +, Plesioth -.  

Lance:  Another class I used a lot in MH3, it has also not changed in the slightest.  It has a very long reach, good attack and a very sturdy shield, but it is very slow.  Overall though this can be used for virtually any type of monster.  Lagombi +, Plesioth +. 

Hammer:  Im not the biggest fan of the hammer,  It was in tri (MH3), but i never used it at all.  Its extremely slow, no shield to speak of, and has the shortest reach of any weapon.  If you want power I guess go with this, but I don't see it.  Lagombi +, Plesioth -.  

Long Sword:  The staple weapon for the franchise, it has fantastic attack, long reach, and can even defend.  It is inherently slow, but not nearly as slow as the hammer.  A great weapon for all beginner monster hunters and veterans alike.  Lagombi +, Plesioth +.

Switch Axe:  A very versatile weapon, being able to switch between the main, axe, hammer type gameplay, and the long sword type gameplay.  It has good attack but the combos are a bit hard to pull off.  People who spend time with this though will be rewarded greatly.  Lagombi +, Plesioth +.

Gun lance:  This is the first new type of weapon for me, and it was actually pretty nice.  It has lance gameplay, minus the length of the lance combos, but you are able to press a at any time and fire a very short range bullet.  This essentially turns into a "jab then shoot" gameplay, which is pretty cool.  Because these are bullets, you can even have poison coatings and such, which is useful because non-gunners never get to use those.  Lagombi +, Plesioth +. 

Dual swords:  Aw yeah, this thing was awesome.  The number of attacks this thing was able to deal out was crazy, and you can fill up a meter then go extra damage mode for even more!  An absolute blast to play with, but with no real defense and a short reach.  But get the right monsters and this thing will DECIMATE your opponents.  Lagombi +, Plesioth -. 

Light bowgun:  Absolute crap.  The bullets they give you are waaay too weak, and the gun itself adds so little damage!  Its barely even an agility upgrade from the heavy bowgun, and that was the only thing going for it.  I COULDN'T EVEN KILL THE LAGOMBI!  Lagombi -, Plesioth -. 

Heavy bowgun:  A huge improvement over it's light counterpart.  The bullets are strong, the gun itself looks cool, and its the only option anyone should even consider when picking a gunner type (excluding bow).  Lagombi +, Plesioth +.  

War Horn:  I...just dont get it.  They have these music note, things(?) that chain your attacks, and let you poison and paralyze your monster.  I have no idea how this works, but the combos were dreadful and I hated every moment of this.  It has a super amount of power though.  Lagombi -, Plesioth -. 

Bow:  The class I personally was most excited for.  It took a while for me to figure it out, but once I did I rather enjoyed myself.  It's bullets are very satisfying and Ill have to see the damage in the full game to see if it stacks up.  Lagombi +, Plesioth -.  

Katana:  This one was in tri, and has actually changed.  They've somewhat nerfed it, making it so pulling off your ultra combos isn't as easy as in tri.  Regardless, its still a ton of fun to play with, and even lacking defense has the range, mobility and power to stand toe-to-toe with any monster.  Lagombi +, Plesioth +.  

So that's all the weapons in the game.  Overall I was pleased with most of the newcomers, and am excited to pick out my favourites from the bunch in the full game.  Do I have any major concerns with this game?  Well for one the graphics have basically stayed the same.  They added shadows and small details, but the environments feel exactly the same and it's a shame considering the jump in power between the Wii and Wiiu.  Also they didn't tell you ANYTHING in this demo.  Nothing on the specifics for each weapon and how to use them, which is mind blowingly stupid, considering how many newcomers there will be to this series.  in the full game they most likely will explain things, but for now Capcom dun goofed in that department.  

But even still, the moment I first saw the Plesioth gave me that awe and wonder I felt in the original.  I simply cannot wait for this new game to rekindle my love for Monster Hunter, and I'm sure it'll do just that.  

Nest post:  Top 5: Wii to WiiU Sequels

Review: Shiki (Anime)

*WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD!  SKIP TO FINAL PARAGRAPH TO AVOID RUINING THIS GREAT SHOW FOR YOURSELF!  YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!*
Starting off with my first regular review and first anime review both in one, here is my review of Shiki!

Shiki is a vampire, creepy, horror anime set in a small town in the farmlands of Japan.  The first episode deals with new folk moving into the big castle on the outskirts of town.  Megumi Shimizu is a spoiled brat who wants nothing more to get out of the boring town and move to the big city.  Unfortunately, at the end of the episode, she is found dead after entering the castle of the new folk, hoping to meet people who understand her ambition.  The plot then develops into more and more people dying mysteriously, and noone can figure out why.  Now, I already said this is a vampire show, so why don't I come out and explain this right away?  Let me finish.

And the slaughter begins...

The main protagonist is shared between two people- Natsuno Yuuki, the stoic highschooler who wants nothing more than to be left alone, and Dr. Toshio Ozaki, the hard-hitting doctor who will do anything to save a patients life.  After the first episode and for about 10 episodes after, Dr.Ozaki is trying to find out what is causing so many mysterious deaths, as the signs of death are unlike anything he's ever seen.  Oh wait, whats that?  Something odd in that sentence?  That's right, it takes 10 EPISODES to figure out it's vampires.  Oh yeah, this is a show requiring huge amounts of patience.  Anyways soon Natsuno starts seeing Megumi at night, as she had a crush on him before she died.  Her obsession of him gets to the point where she even kills Natsuno's best friend whil he's sleeping.  This causes Natsuno to get paranoid and actually start thinking that Megumi has turned into what they call The Risen.  People who come back from the dead and feast on the blood of humans, can only be out in the night, can't go isnide without being invited and can't even touch or be near garlic.  Yeah, other than the name change it's not trying to be different; they're vampires through and through.  For the ten episodes where the Dr doesn't realize this, it can get pretty creepy.  The Shiki (which is what they are named later on in the series, ill just call them that now) have huge, black eyes and are seen capturing and slaughtering their victims.  Jumping from trees, coming from under the bed, you name it, they've done it.  But in an amazing scene of the first interaction between Natsuno and Ozaki, Natsuno finally tips off the Dr and now it all makes sense.  Ozaki baits one into coming for a sick patient he has at the hospital, and one comes hook-line and sinker.  This is where the good stuff starts.

The Dr in all his glory (I love this guy)

With the Dr now fully aware of the threat, he tries to kill them using crosses and abusing their weakness of not being allowed to enter unless invited.  Unfortunately there is a breed of Shiki that are like werewolves and can go inside without being invited, and even invite his own kind in.  Now before this entrie review turns into a plot summary, let me wrap it up in point form:  Natsuno gets killed, a TON and I mean a TON of humans get turned into Shiki, the guys who moved are responsible for it all, the Doctor can't convince anybody, Natsunos back as a werewolf working with the doctor still (woot!), the Dr uses his Shiki wife as an experiment in the most gruesome anime scene you will probably ever encounter (he literally cuts into her veins and they show EVERYTHING), finds weaknesses, wife of new folk bites Dr, Dr tricks wife, townsfolk shown the Shiki who have been killing their families, mass battle takes place between humans and shikis, this part is the best part of the show by far, just about every shiki is killed, entire village gets burned down, couple Shiki survive (dammit!) but most humans live.  And that my friends, is the plot of Shiki.

So what did I like?  Well you could probably tell- a LOT.  First off the art is fantastic.  It has a great gothic setting to it and the characters designs are cool as hell.  Each charcter has distinctively crazy and impossible hair styles, and the clothing can be very interesting and unique as well.  The Shiki themselves are rightfully frightening and really give off that menacing factor that is missing from today's vampires.  The sound is also top notch.  Has some great fear-inducing melodies, but also some great songs to get you pumped up for the human's attacking.  And I can't forget the openings;  they are wonderful.  The first one is more scary and mysterious, while the second one is more intense and catchy.  Each one serves it's purpose, dispalying the current theme of the show at the given moment.  While the pace is slow, it makes it all the more satisfying when the thing you've been wanting to happen since the beginning of the series, finally happens.  The over-arching story is really great and ties the entire plot all together nicely.  Also the gore is amazingly satisfying.  You'll not only see Shiki rip into humans, but humans absolutely dessimate Shiki, and the experiment scene I talked earlier about.  It's just a friggin awesome show.

Bout time!

But did I have any complaints?  Of course I do, I always do.  The main issue is how sluggish the show is with it's pace.  The first 19 episodes follow the exact same format and get EXTREMELY frustrating as it's just watching more humans you love getting killed by Shiki

Overall, this show was absolutely amazing.  Great plot, great characters, fantastic art and sound, and tons and tons of satisfying gore and killing.  But this anime is not for everyone.  I believe most will get bored about 5 episodes in, as not much really happens.  You have to invest the time to get to what makes Shiki shine so brightly.  If you do, this will be a very eye-opening experience for you.  Also, this show can be very tragic.  Like, REALLY tragic.  If the slow and painful deaths of people makes you uncomfortable, stay clear of this show.  For those who don't, you probably love this show.  This definitely won't be the last horror anime I ever watch!

Shiki gets a 9/10 BUT a recommendation of Look Into It, as this may not be for all anime watchers.

Next Post:  PTR: Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate

WOM: COD: The Bane Of My Existence

Now, given my current interests in anime and the more colourful games I enjoy, Call of Duty, on the surface, seems like something I wouldn't touch with a 4-foot pole.  That is incorrect.  Ive been playing COD on the Wii, and now WiiU, since Modern Warfare and have had a decent ride since than. The one thing that hold this series back for me is the obsession the game developers have for frustrating the heck out of the player.  Let me explain.

Using COD: Black Ops 2 as the prime example, certain features in this game only serve the purpose of frustrating the player.  The main example of this is the death mic.  Every time you kill a player, the killer hears the mic of the person they killed for about 2 seconds.  Why?  For two reasons.  1. To give more satisfaction for the killer.  Hearing the person you killed get mad, call you a hacker or complain about his or her death is extremely satisfying.  Almost too satisfying.  I've caught myself getting into moods where I get a little too into hearing other players complain about me.  The principle of it alone is also a little scary.  They want you to not only kill the person, but hear them die and feed off their frustration.  2. To humiliate the person dieing.  Everybody knows this feature is in place, so if you have a mic and you die, you know the other person heard it.  This makes the player realize the enjoyment they are giving their killer for the reasons I stated above.  there is nothing more frustrating in COD than giving another player enjoyment at your expense, whether it be giving them a high kill streak, making them go flawless or gain satisfaction from your death cries.  But why would a game WANT to frustrate you?

Well because that's the name of COD's game.  I'm saying it right now they WANT to frustrate you.  It's all about the highs and the lows.  In order to reach the highest level of enjoyment, they want you to hit the lowest level of frustration. So they'll add things like a death mic, gun camos that require a function of the gun not practical,  and overpowered kill streaks to get you to that low.  But every player has their day, and when you eventually do something great like get a high kill streak, get the fanciest camo, or do fantastic on a certain game, it feels all the more sweet.  Coming up from the ashes you are victorious, finally able to be on the other end of the killing.  And really, isn't that okay in the end?

NO!  It's not okay!  this a horrible practice and the franchise should be ASHAMED of themselves for doing so!  You cannot frustrate a player like they do, just for a higher level of enjoyment later!  That's not ethical!  The problem with the way they do things is that the moments of frustration far out way the moments of satisfaction.  You spend way more time getting killed one kill away from a kill streak, than actually getting the kill streak itself!  COD, by a long shot, is the most frustrating game series, I have EVER played.  COD player will tell you, when you rage, you RAGE.  And the thing is, it's so damn addicting.  Those moments of enjoyment, while outnumbered, make you keep playing.  Keep striving for higher kill streaks and better camos, when of course its barely ever going to happen!  It's sad how many hours I've spent on this series, and other than the original Black Ops, I've regretted much of it.

And the community, oh don't get me started on the community. If you enjoy the likes of 12 year olds yelling profanities at you while they consistently suck on your team, mixed in with super defensive teenagers who want to crucify you the minute you stop running around and just wanna stay in one area for a bit, than this community is for you.

So with all this frustration, horrible game design, and terrible community, why do I still play this game?  Why am I going for the fanciest camos?  Why do I still keep playing matches of pure frustration, just to get that 1 excellent match?  Because it's a guilty pleasure.  I can't stand myself for playing it, but I can't bring myself to stop.  It's my worst habit in all of gaming, and that's why COD is the bane of my existence.

Next post will be:  Review: Shiki (Anime)

PTR: Lego City Undercover (WiiU) Preview

So if anybody forgot, this is the segment where I will preview an upcoming game I am excited for, then review the game after it's come out and compare that to the preview.  The first for this segment is Lego City Undercover!

Now, the title may be a bit misleading.  A lego game?  What are you, 5?  Hear me out.  This game is looking incredible so far.  The main theme of the game is that you're a legendary cop who comes back after a long break, and goes undercover to eliminate Rex Fury, a wanted fugitive, from the inside.  The game boasts a humongous open world, free to explore, with little details and plenty of things to do.  This is by far the biggest attractive quality about this game.  Open world games these days take themselves REALLY seriously, and it's hard to find one that doesn't revolve around gang wars, grittyness and shooting innocent civilians.  Simply put, Lego City looks like GTA IV for kids.  Or, in a way, Saints Row 2 for kids, but maybe not that ridiculous.

Now THIS is an open world

Hopefully I've somewhat caught your attention, as this is no typical lego game.  Levels are anything but linear and the world seems to be chalk full of side missions, collectibles and other replayable factors that the mainstream lego games are known for.  Combine that into a thriving city and it sounds like a recipe made in heaven.  The game also features a large variety of vehicles; from car, to boat, to helicopter, to rocket powered snow plow.  These all look like a blast to control and the game features building points where if you see a bunch of lego blocks on the ground, you can rebuild it into a vehicle pad and spawn any vehicle you want.  It also features a subway that acts as quick transportation around the world.  Add in parkour using context-sensitive button presses (the same button doing different things depending on the object near it), and you've got a developer that knows what they're doing and are not just making some cheap open world.  Every kid has wanted to make a lego city at one point, so of course they aren't going to screw this up.

Wow factor mentioned

The hilarious writing and charm of the lego games also shines in the trailers I've seen.  Movie references, cheesy but great one liners, and witty comebacks make each dialogue fresh and funny, keeping a nice theme of fun present throughout the entire game.  Even just from trailers I can already pick out characters I like and ones I know Im gunna enjoy meeting and interacting with.  The combat also looks smooth and the chase scenes looks like a ton of fun.  The graphics are also looking top-notch, showing vision glare for far away buildings giving the game huge depth (literally), character models, while simplistic legos, are animated beautifully and fit what they're saying perfectly.  A lot of things are made from legos in the game so it really feels like a living, breathing lego set.  Seeing Chase Mccain (the main hero and the one you play as) tightrope from skyscraper to skyscraper really gave me a bit of that wow factor.

Puzzles using the gamepad look very interesting

Am I worried about anything with this game?  Well, just a little.  From some of the E3 footage from last year I saw a lot of pop-ins from buildings and such, so I hope the world runs smoothly and loads quickly.  Granted this footage is from last year when they first announced the game, so I bet they'd have changed it by now.  My only other real concerns is that the open world either: 1.Wont be as big as I hope 2.Won't have many small details to keep you exploring.  But still, this game looks pretty much fail-proof to me.

Travelers Tales in developing this game, and they have been in charge of every lego game prior to this one.  While this may sound discouraging, the game has been getting very positive acclaims from all journalists who've gotten to play the demos, and they were also saying that Travelers Tales has been able to bust out of their shell with this game, and finally get the freedom they've been wanting to do in a lego game.  This gets me very excited.  So overall the game seems to feature a huge open world packed with details and fun stuff to do and fun vehicles to drive, a great story with likable characters and dialogue, great graphics with a nice aesthetic and overall presentation, as well as a developer treating this as their final breakthrough to make something they're really excited to make.  Will it be as good as I say it is?  Check back for the review in about a month or two to find out!

Next post will be:  WOM: COD-The Bane Of My Existence

NAG: WiiU Staying Relevant

Well, unfortunately we have to go from a happy game review, to a frustrating news round up.  See, Nintendo has a lot against it, as it seems every major website in gaming wants to see Nintendo fail.  Constant comments are coming up about how the WiiU is not the next generation of consoles, and some saying the thing is going to fade into obscurity.  These people are what I like to call, uninformed.  These comments all started coming up because Rayman Legends, a prior WiiU exclusive, is now going to be multi-platform and instead of coming out at the end of February, now coming out in SEPTEMBER.  Seriously Ubisoft?  Never mind my opinion, WiiU owners were and are furious, refusing to buy Ubisoft games and losing an overall respect for the company.  This also called  major game "analysts" (and i put that term very lightly) to say that all WiiU exclusives will eventually go multiplatform and the WiiU won't have any games to keep it relevant.  So is this all true?  Should we pack up now?  Is the WiiU a lost cause?

 Rayman developer sign in French

NO!!!!! This is classic bias towards Nintendo and these people don't know what the hell they're talking about!  This was one case where Ubisoft screwed up, and is not a sign of things to come.  The developer team who MADE the game are pissed about this move, so it's not like the developers hated making it for the WiiU.  They didn't.  They believed in the WiiUs capabilities for this game and are posting pictures of themselves holding posters saying "We Believe in Rayman"  with the word "WiiU" all over it.  This is clearly a decision by Ubisoft higher-ups who were concerned about the low sales, considering Rayman Origins, the prequel to this game, didn't sell as expected.  But Rayman Origins was ALSO multiplatform!  And that game sold the most on the Wii!  What the heck!?

But is this a start of things to come for all WiiU exclusives?  Uhm...geez...i don't know.......NO!  All other exclusives Nintendo has lined up for the WiiU are guaranteed to stay.  Bayonetta 2 wouldn't happen without Nintendo, Wondeful 101 was stated by Platnium Games, the guys working on Bayonetta 2, that it will stay WiiU exclusive, Lego City was stated by developers to "lose something on other consoles", Monster Hunter Ultimate is just Monster Hunter G for WiiU, which has been a Wii exclusive for 2 years now, all first party Nintendo games are gunna stay, obviously, Monolith Soft literally moved next to Nintendo in Japan (their new game, that doesn't have title yet, is locked in) and  not to mention 3rd party close support, like Shin Megami Tensei vs Fire Emblem, that will build bridges to 3rd party support, and the list goes on and on.  Why doesn't anybody think of this?  Do they honestly think these games could even go multiplatform?  I-I just don't understand...

Don't know why they look so happy....

And given the argument 'Well low sales will discourage developers from making WiiU exclusives in the future', while I don't have a definitive answer, given the fact these exclusives haven't come out yet so I honestly don't know how they will sell, I can say its very unlikely.  With the right advertising, any game could sell.  ZombiU is a prime example.  A first person shooter selling on Nintendo?  Impossible!  But Nintendo had great advertising for the game and Ubisoft presented unique ideas that hooked gamers, and the game sold great.  Nintendo has been featuring all their exclusives heavily in Nintendo Directs, facebook posts and videos, really pushing these games.  Positive feedback has been given for all their exclusives by players at E3, so I think with everything Nintendo is doing now, this should ensure happy customers and sales.  Hopefully Wonderful 101 sells because that game looks amazing but hasn't gotten as much press.

So overall, people are kinda stupid sometimes.  Apparently the WiiU is going to die because they have great exclusives lined up, business drive, constant updates and features, as well as an edge over the uninspired competition.  I mean, the only things revealed about the ps4 and xbox 720 are that they're gunna try and get rid of used games.  Smart move gentlemen.  Smart move indeed.

I would also like to note that I will be adding two new segments to this blog, to keep things varied:

WOM-What's On my Mind, dealing with general topics and ideas I think about from time to time
Top 5- Top 5 reasons for something, top 5 best of something, top 5 favourites; just general lists

Next post will be: PTR: Lego City Undercover

UR & UA: Sakura Wars, So Long My Love (Wii)

Sakura Wars So Long My Love is the first Sakura Wars game to come to NA.  The series deals with divisions of mecha robot fighters stationed all across the world, from Paris, to New York and Japan.  The series has had success in Japan, but unfortunately while I am unable to determine exact sales figure, VGChartz, to be quite frank, SUCKS, it is seen as overlooked and when researching JRPGs for the Wii, for some reason this didn't come up right away.  Well, enough banter, Ill tell you why this game is Underrated an Underappreciated!

Sakura Wars takes place in 1928 New York, with Japanese student and military pilot Shinjiro Taiga being sent to New York unexpectantly, and is sent to join the Star Division, New York's mecha combat robot team of awesomeness.  You play as Shinjiro as he adjusts to his new life in the big apple, getting used to customs, trying to fit in with the members and avoiding getting killed in the process.  The overarching story here is very well done.  Characters at first despise Shinjiro and feel he doesn't belong, but soon realize the hidden power Shinjiro (who i will be calling Shiny for the rest of the review) has inside him.  You get a good feel of what it must be like for Shiny and even though you may hate all the characters for being so mean to him at first, they quickly give the characters most cruel their own arcs and they redeem themselves rather quickly.  The story is handled through episodes, each one dealing with a specific character and their individual storylines.  Which brings me to the characters themselves.  

She's quite the feisty one

There are 6 members of the Star Division, all female.  These are not only your squadmates, but also your love interests.  Dialogue options are VERY frequent in this game and allow for a better or worse relationship with each character, depending on your answer.  This is the main part of the game and is by far the most fun. Choosing the correct dialogue and getting to know what each girl would want to hear allows you to foster an understanding for each girl.  This also makes you feel very much in control of each dialogue and give a sense of immersion into the player.  Usually there are 3 options of text to choose from, each one having either a positive, negative or neutral effect on the characters relationship with you.  But there is also a timer for each choice, meaning you can choose to select nothing and stay silent.  This is not explained and can be frustrating as you wouldn't expect to let the timer actually run out unless the game informed you.  Another thing this game does is minigames with the analog sticks, having you do certain rotations or directions in order to do a certain action like mop the floors or run away.  This is fun, but some of these are BRUTAL and some actually require you not to get perfect, but just good, which is also cryptic and mostly unfair to the player.  But nevertheless, each chapter brings each girl full circle, showing them at their low then bringing them back up to their prime.  Because of this each character has redeemable qualities to them and at the very end you may have a hard time choosing which one is your favourite.  

The blocks on the bottom are AP

The second, and smaller, part of the game is the RPG turn based battle system with your mechs and the Star Division.  These use action points as currency for either walking movements, attacks or special command.  The battle system here is simple to learn but hard to master.  Maximizing your AP usage becomes a required skill and while it may not seem deep and can be won by doing the basics, special commands hugely increase the depth to the battles and add for a deeper playing experience.  They even managed to throw in some of the dating aspects through dialogue choices when two mechs are close to one another.  Boss battles are a mixed bag.  While the regular missions are never too challenging, boss battles can be absolutely CRUEL at some portions and will definitely push even veterans to their limits.  They even include air battles with your mechs changing into jets with missiles; if that's not awesome, i don't know what is.  Whilst the battle system plays second fiddle to the dating and dialogue portions of the game, it is still very fun and satisfying and will no doubt fill and want of another great RPG battle system on wii.  

The design of the game is one of it's best qualities.  When talking to a character, their eyes and mouths actually move and blink, and even change expression without switching to another picture entirely!  Wow!  Rune Factory take notes!  This adds a smooth layer to each conversation and seeing their expression change from happy to sad or scared to happy makes the dialogue choices that much more satisfying.  The character designs themselves are also well done, featuring a wide range of cultures; from Spanish bandito, to Texan Ranger and African lawyer, it certainly shows it's diversity.  The game also bosts CG and animated cutscenes.  The animated cutscenes steal the show as they are incredibly smooth and gorgeous.  The CG cutscenes appear before every battle, introducing the characters and their mechs. This is also a welcome addition and gets the player pumped for each battle.  There are some segments of walking around New York which to be honest look pretty ugly, but overall this game is a living and breathing anime and it certainly shows in it's design. 

How most dialogue options look

So did I have any major gripes with the game?  Well, a little.  The most notable is it's setting of 1928.  Rarely does it ever actually FEEL like 1928 and the designs of each mech don't showcase any steampunk design to them.  I literally forgot it was 1928, until it reminded me at the beginning of each battle.  This is, for me, a huge wasted oppurtunity and could have resulted in some nice theming, while what we get is a New York that feels just as big as it is now, which is incorrect.  Another thing is the saving issue.  Now, you can save at any time from the pause menu, even in dialogue, so that if you screw up you can always reset.  The problem is saving from the pause menu takes you back to the main menu and you have to reload your save once again.  This becomes VERY annoying as you have to save, go back to the menu, reload the save, have the dialogue, and oh, you screwed up.   Reset, wait for the menu, reload, and NOW choose.  And if you screw up and didn't happen to psychically know an important choice is coming up, you either have to reset the entire chapter or just deal with it.  No restart from checkpoints to be found.  The only other things are the fact that the wii version doesn't include the Japanese voice track, some dialogue options feel really out of character and the correct option is something that noone would guess to pick.  Some missions can literally be beaten in one turn, if the abuse of special commands is used correctly, and the main ending to the game needed more closure.  I chose Gemini Sunrise, the red-headed Texan, and while they give you a unique animated cutscene for each character at the end, which is awesome, the game puts huge emphasis on preserving the future and growing old, and we don't see any of that!  I would have liked if the game didn't restart itself once finished, but instead went the infinite epilogue route, simply letting you explore the overworld and talk to characters after the final battle until the end of time.  I felt a bit cut off when my relationship hit it's peak then suddenly ended. 

In conclusion, Sakura Wars, So Long My Love is a fantastic game.  It mixes dating and dialogue choices with a unique and deep battle system, providing an experience unlike any other.  The emphasis on character is fantastic, and the amount of replayability is quite simply, staggering.  Playing the game over lets you unlock different dialogues, different cutscenes, and exclusive pictures and music from the in-game shop.  The game's campaign is about a 10-15 hour experience, which is awesomely long and satisfying.  This game lets you know this wonderful band of characters, each possessing something that makes each one different from the other, and it's immersion is simply brilliant.  Anyone who is a fan of anime or RPGs in general needs to pick up this game.  Don't let the semi-bad voice acting drive you away- this game is one for the ages. 

Sakura Wars, So Long My Love gets an amazing 9/10 and a recommendation of Buy it! 

Well hope you enjoyed the review.  Next post will be: NAAG- WiiU Staying Relevant

First Entry- About Me

Well seeing as this is my first blog post I think it's appropriate I tell a little about myself and how it'll affect the content of this blog.

First off, as you can plainly see, I am very much into anime and videogames of all kinds, specifically Nintendo for videogames.  I have, and counting, 50 Wii games, 3 WiiU games, 50 gamecube games, 15 DS games, 15 Nintendo 64 games and 6 3DS games.  That's a lot of games.  I've been a loyal fan of Nintendo since the ripe age of 9 and will always defend my company, as it seems to get hate a little too easily.

While I categorize myself as a casual anime fan, I can watch just about any genre.  From long action series like One Piece, to short slice of life comedies like Lucky Star.  I even hope to learn Japanese in University so I can finally vacation in Japan and get all the anime and videogames merchandise I can that I can't get here in NA.  I've only watched around 10 animes, but I'm VERY selective on what I watch so you can be sure that if I watch something fully its either: a) The best thing ever or b) A guilty pleasure

I plan to split these posts into segments, each containing different content and names.  Here what I have planned so far:

UR & UA.  The UnderRated and the UnderAppreciated.  This is where I'll review games or animes that don't get enough attention and are often considered "hidden gems".

PTR.  Preview Then Review.  This is where I'll post a preview of an upcoming game I am excited for and wish to buy, then when the game comes out I'll review the game and compare what it actually is to my initial preview.

Review.  This is where I'll review any anime or games, good or bad.

NAG.  News At a Glance.  This is where I'll give my impressions of upcoming news and announcements pertaining to my interests.

Reviews will get a score from 1-10, and a recommendation of either: Buy it!, Look Into It, or Skip it! 

First official post will be: UR & UA: Sakura Wars, So Long My Love.