#I get they were probably hard to model and animate on the PSP

[isseichidai-paradise]

i have a lot of opinions about iDOLM@STER Shiny Festa (PSP)

it's fun i like it :)

Pros:

I like the gameplay loop of using the free play mode to build up "memories" and then spending them in the challenge course mode

the actual rhythm game feels REALLY nice, the note timing is a little loose but still strict enough to have the right level of "punch" to it and i am aware that this description will make no sense to anyone but me

the note charting is SUPER good, so even though there's only two buttons, there's a great rhythm flow and it doesn't feel too simplistic at all

I think the use of rails doing all sorts of crazy shapes, spawning on top of each other, intersecting and going back and forth, etc is actually sick, it's so much fun and I wish Project Mirai had been more like this

Cons:

music videos were pre-rendered using what I assume is the iDOLM@STER 2 engine on Xbox, which feels a little lame compared to in-engine renders like iDOLM@STER SP did but I get it. since it seems like the PSP doesn't have the horsepower to show more than 1-2 character models during a performance (see Project Diva), and Shiny Festa mostly focuses on larger group performances

branching off of that though, it would have been nice to have moving models during the visual novel segments! I know the story is Very simple but the jpegs feel lame to me, at least give them mouth flaps or something idk

over-use of anime clips in the music videos makes it really really obvious that this was meant to be an anime tie-in game and not entirely its own fully fleshed out experience. like it's got that "im playing over the hedge for nintendo ds" kind of feel if you know what i mean

I get that this is the "beach episode" but swimsuits always get a downvote from me idk I want cute stage outfits. they only do it in a couple of MVs so this is just me being nitpicky

the song list is short, each game only has like 20-25 songs in it which is pretty harsh for a rhythm game. having all of the games, unique songs from each one bump that list up to like 40-50 total which is more reasonable, but buying all 3 games at launch just for that would bite. imo each game should be a full experience in itself and it's a little bit lacking on that front as far as the number of songs goes

this is also a nitpick but the max note speed isn't high enough imo, it's hard for me to read triples or jackhammer type patterns

I think that like 70% of these complaints probably relate to the fact that each game came with a full anime episode, which probably took up a lot of storage space so they had less space for the... actual game...

Pros from the cons:

the pre-rendered music videos are cute!!! cute!!!!!!!

because the song list is so short, they really had to be choosy about what songs to put in so it's a very good little slice of the iM@S discography

the simplicity makes it easy to pick up and put down very quickly/play in short sessions

in conclusion, 7.5/10 too much water

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[masterxsquare-blog]

The real reason why Ventus, Terra, and Aqua’s keyblade armor don’t have capes in BBS.

[yeonchi]

Kisekae Insights #17: Angelina Ballerina

It’s about time I started the second run of Kisekae Insights after taking a break for the past few months. My objective is to hopefully cover Gokaiger, Decade and Soulbound this year, but there are some things that I need to cover before that because they are needed in order to understand certain aspects.

Like Fifi and Roary, Angelina Ballerina was implemented early on in my personal project and the characters continue to play big roles to this day. At the time, I was playing Warriors Orochi 2 on the PSP, which introduced me to the characters of the Samurai Warriors series. As a result, some of these guys got Japanese warrior names whereas the rest got Chinese warrior names.

In case you haven’t noticed, yes, I have (predominately) used the CGI-animated sequel, The Next Steps, in this project. Watching the sequel was how I got into this series a decade ago; while I have heard about the original 2D-animated series, it never really appealed to me, which is why I prefer this version over that. And look, I know there are people who don’t like the sequel for various reasons, but you are free to have your opinion as long as you respect the opinions of others. Don’t worry, characters from the original series have been implemented as well.

Setting the record straight (voice actors)

I’m putting this list before the break because this is really important. Here are the characters’ voice actors for the UK and US versions of The Next Steps:

Angelina Mouseling: Charlotte Spencer (UK/US)

Alice Nimbletoes: Rachael Louise Miller (UK)/Naomi McDonald (US)

Marco Quesillo: Louis Williams (UK)/Jules de Jongh (US)

Gracie: Charlie Cameron (UK)/Jo Wyatt (US)

Viki/Vici: Emily Dormer (UK)/Jules de Jongh (US)

AJ/AZ: Lizzie Waterworth (UK)/Larissa Murray (US)

Ms Mimi: Larissa Murray (US)

Maurice Mouseling: Simon Mattacks (UK/US)

Matilda Mouseling: Emma Tate (UK/US)

Polly Mouseling: Leah Zabari (UK/US)

Mrs Thimble: Beverly Klein (UK/US)

Alright, time to rant about the English dubs of this series. See, because the characters of this series are not credited under their voice actors, it can be hard to exactly determine who voiced who (a pain I know all too well in regards to Sea Princesses). On top of that, because there are different English voices for the US and the UK (because they don’t want American kids to end up speaking with British accents or vice versa), it can be easy to miss things or mess them up. Some US voice actors are based in the UK, which can throw things off as well.

Just as there are UK-produced children’s shows that get redubbed for the US, there are US-produced children’s shows that get redubbed for the UK (particularly on Nick Jr). In Australia, we tend to get the “original” version of the dub depending on where the show (or its source materials) originated – if it originally came from the UK, then we get the UK dub, but if it originally came from the US, we get the US dub. In the case of Angelina Ballerina, we get the UK dub and as such, I implemented the series with the assumption that the characters would speak as they did in the UK dub. As such, Marco and Gracie don’t speak in Hispanic or French accents.

Due to my initial ignorance and lack of information, I ended up crediting the characters’ US voice actors for Marco, Gracie and Ms Mimi instead of their UK voice actors. Even worse, I thought Naomi Wilkinson voiced Angelina until a friend of mine tweeted her years ago and confirmed that she didn’t voice Angelina. Also, the really funny thing is that there are people who unironically believed that Hilary Duff and Justin Bieber voiced Viki and AZ in the series. If only we all knew this one simple rule: If an actor isn’t credited in the series/episode, then they didn’t have a role in the series/episode. I did manage to work out the UK voice actors for the other characters, but why Alice’s voice actor was different in both versions despite her voice sounding similar I’ll never understand.

For some reason, I have been unable to find out who Ms Mimi’s UK voice actor is because nobody in the credits has owned up to voicing her. However, if I really had to guess, I would say that Emma Tate voiced her because even though the Scottish accent threw me off, she sounds a bit like Matilda (Angelina’s mum). As for Marco and Gracie’s UK voice actors, Louis Williams and Charlie Cameron, trying to find resumes or records of their past work has been impossible so I wasn’t able to find any proof, but I eventually did. Louis William’s LinkedIn profile mentions that he voiced Marco (he’s an English teacher in Japan now, shock of all shocks) and while Charlie Cameron doesn’t have a site or official profile of her own (why), I managed to link her roles for Dark Souls and Poppy Cat on IMDb to BTVA.

In the Moushouden Series, I ended up “recasting” Marco and Ms Mimi while keeping Gracie’s voice actor the same. Marco and Ms Mimi played major roles in my stories and I needed credits for them. “Getting” Louis Williams to “reprise” his role would have been impossible because he’s not an actor anymore, though it wouldn’t have been a big problem if I had found out earlier that he voiced Marco. Likewise, if I had managed to guess Ms Mimi’s UK voice actor earlier, then maybe I wouldn’t have needed to keep scratching my head all these years.

What’s in a name?

There has been quite a bit of speculation regarding the characters’ middle and last names, and I say “speculation” because there don’t seem to be any official sources that confirm it or the only official sources available can’t be accessed from the Wayback Archive because Adobe Flash is dead. Though the names were on the Wikipedia page at some stage, the only place where they exist now is on a poorly-maintained wiki of the series on Fandom. It is possible that Angelina and Alice’s middle and last names can be backed up because they were in the original series, but even then, I’m unable to do that due to lack of information (seriously, even the official website redirects to Mattel’s website, the absolute sellouts). So please take these names with a grain of salt:

Angelina Jeanette Mouseling

Alice Bridgette Nimbletoes

Marco Fernando Quesillo

Grace Madeleine “Gracie” le Chateau

Viktoria Andrea “Viki” Whiskerson

Adrian Zander James “A.Z.” Smithers (even though an official PDF from PBS WNET13 states that A.Z. stands for “Adam Zachariah”)

Mimi Jane Squigglytail

Maurice Rupert Mouseling

Matilda Felicity Mouseling

Polly Anne Mouseling

Harriet Cecily Thimble

Other stuff before I begin

In late 2015, there was talk of Angelina Ballerina getting relaunched in 2017 by Mattel and 9 Story Media Group. By 2017, however, nothing really came of it, or at least nothing significant that we could see. 9 Story currently have the distribution rights to both the 2D and CGI series, clips and episodes have been uploaded on the official Angelina Ballerina YouTube channel (a mix of UK and US versions, with Brazilian Portuguese and Latin American Spanish dubs on other channels) and the original books created by Katharine Holabird have been republished in the past two years.

Not seeing anything in 2017 has allowed Angelina Ballerina’s involvement in my personal project to flourish, but only time will tell whether anything else will come of this so-called relaunch. This series would probably have gone down the path of Fabio Yabu and Sea Princesses if it wasn’t so well-known all around the world.

The 9 Story pages show that there are some specials for the series. While the 2D series does have three specials, I could only find two movies in the CGI series that are fully original stories and not just episode compilations, namely The Shining Star Trophy and Dreams Do Come True. They don’t seem to be available on YouTube and the only online versions I could find use the US voices, meaning that a UK dub of these movies is unknown.

If you follow Gail Chord Schuler/Gabrielle Chana/The Church of Gail online, you might know that there is a Satanic Jesuit villain named Angelina Ballerina, depicted as a woman modelling a ballerina costume with wings. Rest assured that she is NOT the Angelina we all know and love, as Gail confirms in the comments of one of her videos (though there is a chance that trolls could have fed her that information).

All About Angelina

As I stated in #12, Maurice and the Takeda Army of Mouseland were in conflict with the Salacians before the Dimensional Merge. Because the time in their world, AB-561, was running faster compared to other worlds, they ended up on our Earth in 2009. In both timelines, Angelina and her family and friends became Hiroki and Parker’s comrades. In the first timeline, Angelina had an adventure with the Third Doctor. The second timeline is where things get detailed.

Before the Archangel Tunnel System was activated, there was no other way to get to Chipping Cheddar from Hong Kong, so when the Takeda Army were brought to this world, they had to do what they could to survive. Eventually, they ended up being controlled by another local army and used as their mascots. When Parker went to them to seek an alliance, he discovered this and helped the Takeda Army escape, which led them to pledge their allegiance to Parker.

Over the next two years, Parker and Hiroki became great friends with the Takeda Army’s officers. In 2010, Ms Mimi became disillusioned with Parker when she realised that he only seemed to care about fighting and enjoying himself on the battlefield. When the JIMPS were formed, Ms Mimi began to side with them as she saw Minnie and the others as the better strategists, but she had a newfound respect for Parker when he made peace with Minnie following their battle against each other.

When Squid Girl turns Minnie against Parker, however, Ms Mimi sides with the former again and a split occurs within the Takeda. Ms Mimi became one of the Sanada Army’s commanders while Gracie, AJ and Viki surrendered to the Sanada. Angelina was the first officer Parker found after being separated from Hiroki. Her family was being guarded by Alice and Marco before Parker arrives with reinforcements from the Date Army.

Months after Parker’s death and resurrection, the Sanada Army finally fell. Ms Mimi and the Takeda defectors rejoin their former comrades; Ms Mimi finally admits that she was a fool who never really understood Parker because she believed in loyalty and discipline.

With Parker’s army disbanded and the Flowertots returning home, the Takeda became the only close friends Hiroki had left. They supported him in his fight against Girl Power and the Teiro Army, so much so that they were willing to accept him in their ranks if he decided to leave his secondary school army. Ultimately, Hiroki declined their offer and became a ronin.

The Next Step

The Takeda Army eventually managed to resettle in Mouseland which was transported to Shizuoka Prefecture between the Archangel Tunnels to the Shikoku region and Cardiff. The Takeda Army had no significant relevance in 2013, but Angelina and her family attended Hiroki and Akari’s wedding, which was held in Chipping Cheddar (Kikugawa).

In 2014, the Takeda Army rose back to significance again as a result of events in real life (see #16). Following the Battle of Mikatagahara and Akari’s betrayal of Hiroki, Angelina joined the Doctor (again) as his companion. Later that year, Maurice would attempt another expedition to Kyōto when Girl Power forces stationed around Nagashino Castle in Nagoya would block his army’s path. When the Doctor arrives with Hiroki and Angelina, Hiroki gathers up some reinforcements before the Takeda Army splits up into three groups; one group defending the main camp, one group laying siege to the castle and one group attacking Girl Power forces stationed in nearby Shitaragahara. Despite the Takeda suffering severe casualties at the hands of the superior Girl Power army, Hiroki charges into Nagashino Castle alone and fights the enemy commanders before leaving his drones to crash into the castle keep.

Soon after, Angelina would participate in prototype testing for the Superhero Project, becoming the Pink Samurai Ranger alongside the Doctor and his other companions as they fought Girl Power in a parallel world. Following that adventure, Angelina would be summoned back by her father upon hearing word that Girl Power were preparing for an all-out siege on Yokohama. The Takeda Army allied with their old enemies, the Salacian (Uesugi) Army as they fought at Sekigahara and Ōsaka Castle. After the world was destroyed and restored, the Takeda were one of the armies that helped UNIT defend Yokohama from Girl Power.

Though Angelina stopped being the Doctor’s companion after 2014, she would regain that role again in 2017 when she and Alice officially joined the Superhero Project. Angelina and Marco make a cameo appearance in the Series 10 premiere as a couple and that’s the only time their relationship is brought up (I think that ship was hinted at in the series but not explicitly shown).

Having been selected, Angelina and Alice joined the Gokaigers as GokaiPink and GokaiGreen respectively. Their fighting styles were adapted to fit with their characters and the original Gokaiger footage; on top of predominately wielding guns, GokaiPink incorporates ballet into her fighting while GokaiGreen clumsily incorporates gymnastics which she makes up for with stealth and trickery.

As for the rest of the mouselings, they were hired by BOARD to become Kamen Riders as follows:

Kamen Rider Blade – Marco

Kamen Rider Garren – AJ

Kamen Rider Leangle – Viki

Kamen Rider Glaive – Ms Mimi

Kamen Rider Larc – Gracie

Kamen Rider Lance – Polly

Although not as significant compared to Fifi and Roary, the mouselings do play a significant role in the project. As with many obscure series I’ve encountered, finding accurate information is a daunting task. Though I have managed to find information that I haven’t been able to find in the past, there are times where I am still unable to do so, which results in me having to speculate missing information (usually by observation) that may or may not be correct. This is not so much a problem in Angelina Ballerina compared to Sea Princesses, but regardless, it’s better to have every piece of information confirmed than have even one piece of speculated information.

[metalgearkong]

MediEvil 2019 - Review (PS4)

10/28/19

Developed by Other Ocean Emeryville / Sony Computer Entertainment, released October 2019

It has risen again! The original MediEvil from 1998 is one of my favorite games of all time, and one of the games I have completed the most. Like other games from the PS1 era, I discovered MediEvil on a demo disc and replayed it constantly. I loved the Nightmare Before Christmas aesthetics and music, and liked that it stared a cowardly bumbling skeleton. The late 90′s was a time of experimentation for 3D action/adventure games, and while some people hold Ocarina of Time or Super Mario 64 as their favorites of the genre, MediEvil has always been my personal favorite. MediEvil II released two years later, but lost a lot of its appeal for me because it took place in Victorian London instead of the graveyards and spooky locations of the original. MediEvil: Resurrection was made in 2005 for the PSP, but was more of a re-imagining of the original game, and not a true remake.

I had heard about MediEvil being remade yet again a couple years ago, but tried to have tempered expectations, and not buy into what could amount to be rumors. I imagined it would be akin to a big screen version of MediEvil: Resurrection, or at least the developers would butcher the original game. Last year was when I saw the trailer for this MediEvil remake, and I felt more confident in it. While most people were anticipating big triple-A or franchise games for 2019, my sights and hopes were dead set on this. Finally, after all this time of waiting, MediEvil 2019 has released exclusively for the PS4, and I couldn’t be happier with the final product. Other Ocean Emeryville has created a deeply loyal and extremely faithful remake of the original game I cherish so much, but I feel like only true fans will be able to truly appreciate it for the accomplishment it is.

Before I talk about the game proper, I have to elaborate on the unexpected odyssey it took to actually get the game going. Not only do I have to make a three hour round trip to the nearest Gamestop to get a copy, the game had to immediately download a day one patch: version 1.01. This update was a massive 16GB, and with my super slow mountainous wi-fi speed, my PS4 predicted it would take at least 50 hours. There was no option to begin the game without this update. I was floored. It put me in a state of blue-balled depression and denial. So I took my TV, PS4, and all the necessary cords, and physically hooked in my PS4 to my work’s ethernet cable in a public building, hoping no one would disturb it. The estimated time dropped to a meager four hours, and it made me feel a lot better. Ironically, my PS4 only realized I didn’t have enough storage space to download the update, and somewhere along the line it quit. Thankfully, it let me play after giving up.

Expectations mean a lot, and leading up to this MediEvil releasing, I intentionally did not do a lot of research on the game in order to discover it in person as I was playing. I didn’t realize this was a fully committed remake of the original. MediEvil: Resurrection disappointed me because it changed a bunch about the game and left out a lot of my favorite levels. 2019′s MediEvil recreates every inch of the original game with modern graphics. I was so thrilled I can’t even describe how cool it was to see one of my favorite games of all time with a new coat of skin, especially because I never thought THIS game would be chosen to be remade. Not only that, but the game uses the same exact audio for most of the dialog; each and every gargoyle head and character Dan meets plays the same audio as I’ve had engraved in my skull for over twenty years, only with new character models and more elaborate animations.

The developers even used the same music for each level, only re-recorded it with only small differences or flourishes. Even insignificant things like textures on a doorway or on the ground were recreated in 3D to look just like they did. I would have been perfectly okay with the developers simply using modern graphics and textures to remake certain pieces of architecture or focal points in this game, but no, every corner of Gallowmere represented the original locations, and I constantly had to pick my jaw off the floor (no offense Dan). Cinematics also play out exactly the same, with the same camera angles and movements. Part of me thinks about how maybe Other Ocean Emeryville could have taken these short cinematics sprinkled throughout the game and elaborated slightly on lore, but that would veer dangerously close to a “re-imagining” territory, and I’m just thankful everything is kept so faithful in the end.

The banished necromancer Zarok has raised an army of the dead to conquer the realm of Gallowmere. Unwittingly, Zarok also brought back to life Sir Daniel Fortesque, King Peregrine's captain of the militia, who perished embarrassingly years prior in an earlier battle against Zarok and his armies. After Fortesque’s death, fables, songs, and legends told of his false bravery and battlefield accomplishments, but now he has the opportunity to live up to his own mythical status as the hero of Gallowmere. I’ve always loved this story, wherein the bad guy accidentally raises the very hero who would thwart him. I’ve always loved Dan because he’s so unlike most knights and heroes. He has to live up to his own reputation, and prove those wrong who know what truly happened. We play as Dan and travel from the hum drum graveyards of Gallowmere all the way through more exotic levels such as a pumpkin gorge filled with demonic pumpkins, crystal caverns filled with Minotaur-like monsters, an enchanted forest containing a demonic prison, and much more.

The first advantage to the modernization of this game was being able to see the Hilltop Mausoleum (the 2nd level) from The Cemetery (the 1st level). It would make sense if you had an expansive cemetery, and the very next level, adjacent to that level, had a massive building on top of a hill, and you could see it from far away. As a PS1 game I’d never expect to see something like that, but with this remake, they had the care to include things such as this, which only helps the world feel that much more real and connected. The controls and mechanics are nearly the same as the original as well, only made slightly more convenient. Dan can still equip a one-handed weapon and a shield, and switch between weapons in a menu. He can block attacks, but only as long as the shield’s HP holds out, until you need to find a new one. Dan has all the same moves as the original, but the more free-form camera makes the game a bit more convenient to play by making platforming and seeing things easier.

As you slay enemies in each level, you fill a chalice, and bringing back a full chalice to the end of each respective level grants you a visit to the Hall of Heores before the next level begins; this world’s version of Valhalla, where the most accomplished heroes of history drink, feast, and arm wrestle for eternity. A side goal of this game is to collect the chalice from every level so Dan can also become a member of this ethereal warrior’s afterlife (twenty in all). This is something I struggled with as a kid, but in the past many years I’ve always gone out of my way to make sure Sir Fortesque gets into the Hall of Heroes where he rightfully deserves to be. Sometimes items can be found in a level which are to be used in entirely different levels, something the game only hints at. Case in point are the Ant Caves, which is a maze-like level hidden within a level that is completely optional to complete (but not if you want all twenty chalices). 

Some of the original game’s drawbacks could be regarded as similar drawbacks for this remake. Criticisms like haphazard combat and imprecise platforming are somewhat the same case here, but I would argue that’s half the point playing as a gangling hero who hasn’t yet earned his stripes. I honestly can’t take an unbiased position on some of the game’s more objective problems, not only because I’m such a fanatic and have played the original so many times, but also because it’s impossible for me to have a fresh perspective on the game. I can’t tell you how hard the puzzles are or how tough the game is simply because I’ve played the original so many times, I’ve gotten used to any perceived problems and solved all the puzzles so long ago. Reviews for this game seem to be lukewarm, and it’s an opinion I can’t share because I’m so impressed by how faithful one of my all time obscure favorites has been recreated.

In fact the very few changes the developers did make I could count on one hand. Mostly these changes have been made to a few of the game’s boss fights. Most of the bosses have always been very easy, especially compared to today’s obsession where bosses are meant to be extremely punishing. I can honestly say the changes are for the better and improve on these boss fights. For example the fight with the captain of the ghost ship has been improved, allowing you to manual aim a canon before firing it at him, rather than running back and forth between two fixed canons, hoping one of your shots hit the captain as he paces back and forth. Another addition are the “Lost Souls” which are hidden collectibles, one in each level that can be found by Sir Dan. This basically makes you replay every level to find the Lost Souls, as they only appear once you’re already near the end of the game. I can’t say I was motivated to find them, at least not right now, since it appears to be a shallow fetch-quest.

Besides getting the game booted in the first place, I did a have a few technical problems while playing the game. These are probably because the version 1.01 patch never actually downloaded and installed, and I may have been experiencing what the developers were trying to fix. One example was a door not opening once I had defeated all the enemies in the room, effectively trapping me there forever, forcing me to restart the level. The problems were mainly things such as this, and I bet I’m the only person in the world who had to complete the game from beginning to end raw without the day one patch. Otherwise the game ran great, and looks good as Hell.

I’m so glad Other Ocean Emeryville didn’t try to subvert expectations or put a clever twist on certain things, leaving it as is. MediEvil 2019 constantly impressed me, and I don’t think I’ve felt this much fan service and satisfaction since the Shadow Moses chapter of Metal Gear Solid 4 from 2008. The music, dialog, weapons, level design, aesthetics, enemies and controls have been painstakingly remade, giving this cult classic an impressive new look. Its the restrictive nature of the developer’s design philosophy I appreciate the most; this is simply a game for the fans, and very obviously by the fans. MediEvil was my most anticipated game of 2019 and I am deeply satisfied and surprised about how well it turned out. Annoying day one patch download aside, I had an incredible time experiencing this remake. While some gameplay flaws might still exist, and those who don’t already love the original may not see it in the same level of reverence, this was a big payoff for me and I’m sure other dedicated fans feel the same. Thank you Other Ocean Emeryville, this has been a wonderful gift.

9/10

[psychicdragoncoffee]

Handheld Systems

I’m going to be a bit lazy and put all the handheld history under one post. Even though there are quite a few.

1. Gameboy Color

This would be my first handheld. I was interested in getting one because of the Pokemon games. As a gift console this is probably the only one I was given as an Easter Gift instead of Birthday or Christmas.

I only had a couple of game for it. Pokemon Yellow, and Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone. There might have been others but I don’t remember them.

I don’t think I’ve had this one for too long. I don’t know for sure what happened to it. At the time me and my mom were living with her boyfriend. So I have a feeling his son might have stolen it as he did with my Sega games.

Note: Though I knew he took my Sega games I didn’t really care as it was my least favorite system. But I wasn’t so sure about the Gameboy as it just disappeared. It’s very likely he took it. But I can’t be sure.

2. Gameboy Advanced / SP

The funny thing is that the Gameboy Advanced I’d get later was once the son’s. Mom paid him a bit of money for it so I could have it. Since I still did want to have a Gameboy and the Gameboy Color did disappear.

The reason he was willing to sell it was because he thought he’d get something better. Probably the GBA SP. But if I remember correctly he didn’t get it. When that happened he was asking for his old GBA back. Well, he didn’t get it back.

At some point I was really getting into Final Fantasy IV. But because the screen wasn’t backlit I was having a hard time. The apartment me and mom lived in didn’t have the best lighting. [We moved out from the boyfriend by then]

So I asked for a GBA SP, though I wasn’t expecting one until a holiday she did get me one. A rose colored one. I love playing Final Fantasy IV and V on that thing. As well as Chain of Memories.

3. Nintendo DS

This is the first system I bought myself. Kinda... I got it when I exchanged loads of DVDs and some games I didn’t want anymore into GameStop when they still sold used DVDs. I managed to get enough credit to get a used DS with one game. The game I picked was Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney.

For the model it was the original design, blue.

4. Nintendo 3DS / New 2DS

When Dream Drop Distance was released I was eager to get a 3DS. Up until then I don’t think I’ve had too much interest in buying one. That being said, Dream Drop Distance was the first game I got for it.

Later I was looking for an upgrade so I got a New 2DS later on. For the 3DS it was an initial model in blue / teal. The 2DS was black and blue. Sadly the 2DS broke. But I do still have the 3DS. Not sure where it is. But it still works. I’ll probably get another 2DS later.

The reason why I got a 2DS instead of another 3DS later on was because the 3D feature doesn’t work with me. Because my sight is pretty bad. My right eye is okay but my left is so bad that nothing can help it.

5. Nintendo Switch Lite

I got this one when lockdown started. I did have some difficulty finding where to buy one. Most stores were sold out and the ones sold on Amazon were crazy expensive. But I was able to buy a blue one from Best Buy.

Though I do have a decent collection of games I still mostly play Animal Crossing. Sometimes Miitopia.

I would like to have one that I can hook into the TV though.

Now for the PlayStation ones.

1. PlayStation Portable

I got this one as a Christmas gift. I think one of the main games I wanted for it was Crisis Core. But another was Birth By Sleep. Another favorite is Persona 3 Portable.

I did have an issue at some point. A coworker said they could fix it up for me. Since it was taking a while I ended up buying another one. A used one that was pretty cheap. But the next time I went to work I was given back my first PSP which was working again.

I ended up giving the spare to a cousin who had his system stolen.

When the PSP stopped working yet again that same coworker wasn’t able to fix it again. So I bought a Vita.

2. PlayStation Vita

I remember that I bought the Vita in a whim because a coworker really pissed me off. I only had a couple of games for it. Just two in fact. Persona 4 Golden, and Final Fantasy X.

Sadly I had lost the first one. I still have no idea where it went off to. Since I wasn’t able to find it I ended up buying another one. The replacement was a Japan import. It was also blue. It was also really expensive compared to the first one. $200 for the first one and near $500 for the replacement.

Well, I suppose that shouldn’t be surprising. I did buy the replacement a few months ago and even getting a Vita is either hard or expensive. At the time the blue one was the least expensive ones of the ones I’ve found. Luckily I wanted the blue one.

[archonreviews]

The Archon’s Review of Fate/Grand Order

Fate/Grand Order is a turn-based, party-based(?), card-battling(?), free-to-play role-playing game-type thing for Android and iOS from Delightworks, based on the Fate/ series, which began with the visual novel, Fate/ stay night. In this world, every so often, the Holy Grail appears out of thin air. This triggers a “Holy Grail War”, in which a number of magicians and magic-users summon various figures from myth and legend to do battle. The last one standing gets the Holy Grail. The present year is 2017 (2015 if you’re Japanese or an extreme weeaboo), and the Chaldea Organization, a group of magicians and scientists have been keeping humanity alive with their various pretentiously-named projects. However, their model of 100-years-from-now Earth suddenly goes dark, implying total devastation, and the head of the organization organizes an expedition to a previous time period to figure out what the deal is. Suddenly, everything goes dark and many major functions shut down. You (generic protagonist de jure), a shieldmaiden named Mash, and a scientist named Romani are the only humans left in Chaldea’s base, so you must go back in time alone to figure out why humanity is in peril.

Jegus fuck, that was the longest intro paragraph.

So the Archon is reviewing a not-PC game for once. Will the wonders never cease? Well, I wanted to review this because I think it’s interesting for two reasons. First, there are a couple of elements of this game that stand out strongly to me that I want to address; and second, I’ve actually been playing this for quite some time, when usually I only give a game the standard two weeks.

The gameplay is entirely combat-based. There are dialogue choices in the story, but they mean absolutely nothing, bugger all, squat, zilch. But the combat is fun! You take a squad of Heroic Spirits to do battle against undead, dragons, shadows, and other magical enemies, and sometimes other Heroic Spirits. When it’s your turn, you pick three cards from a set of five, your selection choices being dependent on your squad. Each card has a squadmate and a color; red, green, or blue. Red cards deal more damage, green cards increase your critical hit rate on the next turn, and blue cards increase the squadmate’s special attack gauge. Your squad then makes the selected attacks in the selected order, and then the enemies retaliate. You always go first, which makes combat significantly easier. Furthermore, I find that because each mission is broken up into two to four combat encounters, the optimal strategy is to build up your squadmates’ special gauges, then wait to unleash them on the final battle in the mission. So, the combat is fun, if a bit on the easy side as long as you pick the right missions to complete relative to the power level of your squad.

^(Also, much like Uno, you’ve gotta match either character or color to get chains for additional bonuses.)^

The aesthetics are another great part of the game. See, most mobile games tend not to have graphics. Oh certainly, they have pictures, and sometimes those pictures move slightly, but most mobile games don’t really have their elements move in any significant way. F/GO, however, has it’s models fully mobile, with fluid motion and beautiful backgrounds. It really looks more like a DS or a PSP game rather than a mobile game. This was an unexpected surprise, to say the least.

^(I mean, look at these. The character models look like they belong in a real anime, and those backgrounds... For a mobile game, the graphics are friggin’ stellar.)^

Of course, good graphics and fun gameplay come at cost. First off, those graphics? Probably why the game eats up phone battery like nothing else. Thirty minutes of this game brought my phone battery from 100% to 28%. So, I suppose if you want to play this game in a truly mobile fashion, bring a portable charger.

Also, like most mobile free-to-play games, the interface is pretty cluttered. It’s not as bad as most such games, but it’s still more cluttered than is perhaps wise for a game to be.

^(The main battle screen. Note the array of various buttons and graphics obscuring the characters. I don’t think the devs needed to make the character portraits quite so large.)^

Lastly (and perhaps this’ll be a deal breaker), the game is grind-tastic. It’s not as noticeable in the beginning, when your squad is fairly weak, and you have less need for the items used to boost your dudes. But later on, when you have a stronger team, you’ll be grinding like a fucking fiend for those statues or feathers or XP boosters or what have you. The drop rates for higher-tier items are maddeningly low.

Now, this game being F2P, you don’t just get your dudes for free or from story events. You gain most of your dudes from what, in mobile gaming jargon, is called a “gacha machine”. Essentially, you spend in-game currencies on a randomized selection of dudes, and only once in a very blue moon will you get a truly exceptional one. We’re talking like, a 4% chance of getting any dudes who are above average. That white-haired lady on the left in my screenies? She’s considered a five star dude, out of five, and getting her felt like Christmas in June. In a way, it sort of works in the game’s favor, as getting a four-star or five-star dude to drop feels nothing short of miraculous. You know what they say: “Don’t do drugs.” Also, “You won’t appreciate it unless you have to work hard for it.”

The game has a plot, but it’s a bit understated. All that stuff in the first paragraph? Well, it leads to you going to alternate versions of different time periods where things have gone tits-up as the result of the Holy Grail existing. Your goal is always to restore the time period to its normal state, but in between, you get fairly repetitive dialogue, and for a game that uses figures from all across history and legend, you’d think they could have done more with them.

^(Prepare to see scenes like this one a lot.)^

Of course, there’s the everpresent microtransactions, but here, they’re remarkably unobtrusive. You actually have to go looking for them, and the only thing you can buy is currency for the gacha machine. However, I don’t think the rates are very good, but I don’t have much to compare it to, given my propensity for not buying into microtransactions very much.

I would definitely recommend F/GO, especially if you’re in the market for a new free-to-play, or if you’re a fan of the Fate/ series. In fact, I’m going to continue playing long after this review goes up. Even with the game’s problems, the combat is fun enough, the goodies rare enough, and the graphics pretty enough to keep me going. What social statements this game makes are hard to judge, even harder than usual, this being a Japanese game. Looking through that cultural lens, there probably isn’t anything much to say. Of course, when thinking about American sensibilities, a few things may pop up. Fanservice, while infrequent, can get pretty egregious in this work (looking at you, Mata Hari). That’s really the only social commentary I can make on the game in that vein, but I suppose I should mention one more thing in case anyone gets confused. The Fate/ series as a whole has a peculiar habit of taking male historical figures, making them female, and changing the name slightly. Arthur Pendragon becomes Altria Pendragon, Attila the Hun becomes Altera the Hun, etc. It would be an interesting posit: what if many of history’s big names were actually women? How would that change our view on gender politics and gender roles today? Sadly, the game and the series as a whole only nods to those questions, and it is entirely likely that the decision to make these figures women was born from a desire to give absolute cretins (myself included) “waifu-material”.

Really, this game is pretty rad, and if you’re a fan of F2P games, and mobile games, you should check it out.

^(Eat your heart out, Skyrim; F/GO’s dragons are too massive for the screen!)^