Jaded Perspectives

Recently bought Streetfighter X Tekken as a digital download (that's CROSS not X according to Capcom) for the PS Vita. Here's a scrubby netplay match with me using Ryu x Guile. The game might not be one of the most well-balanced of fighters out there, but I enjoy the tag mechanics and it basically plays like Streetfighter IV with a few differences. It is noticeably easier to use combos as well as deal damage in this game through super arts, ex specials and tag-in combos, but that's not enough to ruin the experience for me as a mostly casual player. Pro-level matches look pretty funny with the turtling tactics and waiting for the time to run out though.

Just a little bit of gameplay with commentary for my latest acquisition, Hatsune Miku: Project Diva F for the Playstation Vita. Got the system specifically for this game and also because the system seems great for fighting games. Streetfighter x Tekken might be my next purchase. Hopefully, some good Jrpgs come for the system as well like they did late into the PSP's lifespan. Not much of an achievement, but I got my revenge on this song off-camera.

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you've probably noticed that I tend to write long, obnoxious essays and act like a know-it-all about stuff not worth knowing about. Anywayz, I thought I'd change it up a bit and ask you, the one who is reading this post right now, to tell me what's up with Sword Art Online? Why is it so popular nowadays? What is the appeal of this show to you? Why do you think so many people like it? Note that I am asking this as one who has never given the series a try, but dun worry, I don't mind spoilers, so spoil away if you think that will help you get your points across better. The one thing that struck me as soon as I saw the character designs for this show was: Kirito = Hiraga Saito from Zero no Tsukaima. What I do know from skimming some Wiki material, anime sites, image boards and some forums online is that it's based on a light novel series and that the premise is pretty similar to .hack - hah! Except people claim t

16 year-old Ohana Matsumae who lives with her single mother in Tokyo is forced to go to some inn way out in the provinces of Japan and live with her grandmother whom she’s never met when her mother suddenly decides to start living with her latest boyfriend. To make matters worse, Ohana just shrugged off a confession from her childfriend Ko without ever giving him a definite answer. But wait, it doesn’t end there. As soon as Ohana arrives at the inn, she immediately meets a pretty girl who tells her to “die” for some reason and her grandmother immediately puts her to work as a waitress at the inn as soon as she arrives. Does this sound like the premise for a typical soap opera filled with tales of betrayal, angst and delicious tears? It might seem that way at first, but watch Hanasaku Iroha in its entirety and you will be pleasantly surprised. To be honest, Hanasaku Iroha was a show that I started watching simply because I thought the main character, Ohana Matsumae w

Puella Magi Madoka Magica Sucks! … Well, Not Really, But It’s Not That Good Now that the title has captured your attention, I’m sure that you’re prepared to use your supreme powerz of logic and common sense to engage in a lengthy back and forth debate with me after you’ve read this article and prove to me and to the whooole world why Madoka Magica is so awesome… yeah, whatever. Go knock yourself out. As long as that gets you to read this entire article, I still win. Also, this article will contain spoilers, so if you haven’t watched the show yet and don’t like being spoiled, then proceed at your own risk. Honestly, I have been told (or at least it has been none too subtly implied before) that perhaps one of the reasons why I am not too fond of this anime (among other things) is because it has become quite popular to the point of being nearly mainstream as far as the anime fandom goes. Perhaps, perhaps… but if this is indeed one of the reasons why I am not a huge fan of this s

Liberation Army is the Gundam game for gamers on a budget. While, it's a bit dated, I don't think this game gets the attention that it deserves compared to other freeware titles like Warning Forever. It's a real-time-strategy/shooting game hybrid that plays like a 2D Dynasty Warriors clone. This game also reminds me of an old dos shareware game called Gladiator. You control a single unit while leading an entire army of humanoid mechs that look distinctly like mobile suits and engage an opposing army on a 2D battle map. The gameplay is divided into the preparation and combat phase. During the preparation phase, you are shown the map of the next battle showing your formation as opposed to the enemies. You can buy upgrades for your allies, technology, new units, ships and choose the mobile suit pilot who will participate in battle. You can also customize your pilot's mobile suit by changing/adding/upgrading his/her equipment. In the combat p

This is a repost of an old review from my previous blog which now redirects to this page. Presentation Magical Boutique looks and feels like a mini-game spin-off of the Mana series. (Legend of Mana, Secret of Mana, Seiken Densetsu 3, Sword of Mana, Dawn of Mana etc.) The colorful interface, Framboise' character design, the layout of the in-game interface, and the colorful backgrounds just remind me so much of Legend of Mana, especially. Is this a good thing? Definitely! It doesn't feel like the creator just blatantly ripped off Square/Squenix just to somehow ride-on to their success - it just feels very close to that cozy, children's story-like atmosphere of the mana titles. Of course, there are a few complaints I have. While the character art for Framboise is not very professional-looking, she's passable enough and I'd say it could have benefited quite a bit from dark outlines outside her body making her look more cartoony (Think simple cartoon network titl

Pete Robinson was pretty much your average Joe. He had a thin build, average height and he was neither particularly attractive nor unattractive. Pete was quite simply just another face in the crowd – particularly that skinny, nerdy looking kid hanging out in front of Wal Mart. At 25, Pete led a rather lackadaisical lifestyle – pretty much just getting by with his day job working a 6-hour shift five days a week as an employee at Games R' Go, which was a single-branch game shop whose name is a cheap rip-off of a nationwide chain of video game retail stores. That aside, Pete was quite content living off of his monthly wages as long as he could pay the rent on time for his modest but comfortable rent-to-own condo unit and have enough money left over to keep himself from starving as well as import questionable anime/manga paraphernalia from Japan including dakimakura, sexy anime figurines and the latest doujin games from Comiket among others. "Take care now, Dah-ling." Sai

Mystic Arts is a blend of 2D fighting and platformer by COMPILE. You control a female character who can punch, kick, execute combos and even has a short-range chi blast. The stages are on a fixed screen with multiple levels that you can jump onto, which is where the platformer part comes in. Each stage is littered with enemies which you have to finish off in order to proceed. The enemies also behave differently depending on their appearance. Some of them use a sword, knife, projectiles etc. while others will just bite or lunge at you. In the later stages, some enemies even use magic against you. Some of the more agressive enemies are just palette swapped versions of their weaker versions. That aside, there's a good assortment of enemy sprites to fight. There are bosses every few stages, which means that the background for the next stage will change once you defeat them. The controls are slightly unorthodox. There's a jump button, and two attack buttons w

Eternal Fighter Zero was a fairly popular all-female doujin fighter featuring characters from One, Kanon, AIR, and every other Japanese visual novel you've never heard of. In fact, I'd never have heard of this game if it wasn't for my obsession with the first Kanon anime which turned my attention to visual novels in general and somehow led me to this game. You can find more info on it from the wikipedia article . Now on to the review. For the average gamer, Eternal Fighter Zero is seriously the best 2D fighting game you've never heard of. It has an easy learning curve which conceals an incredible depth that you can only experience by actually playing the game. Anyone familiar with 2D fighters can easily pick up and play it right away. The specials and supers are simple and easy to pull off with only some variations for each unique character. The combo system is extremely flexible, but it takes a lot of skill to pull off more than 8 hits without using a super