Heavenly Sword Review

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Heavenly Sword is a video game that was a lot of fun to play but you’d never have expected it to get a movie as well. They were really confident that this could be the next big franchise and unfortunately that was not in the cards. It makes for a solid action movie but there isn’t a lot to it beyond that. It has some ups and downs but all in all I would still say that this one gets a thumbs up.

The movie starts by explaining that there was supposed to be a chosen warrior who would save his humble village from an impending invasion. Unfortunately for the king, he gives birth to a daughter instead and is now completely distraught. He considers her to be a failure and doesn’t even bother to train her. Sure enough, King Bohan and his army show up to murder everybody and now there is nobody left to fight him. Nariko does her best but the sheer numbers are much too vast and so she is forced to flee with her friend Kai. They have to try and find Nariko’s long lost brother Loki who may be the chosen hero of legend. Finding him will not be easy.

Now right away you may be wondering how Nariko is able to fight at such a high level if she never trained. Well, it turns out that one of the king’s advisors trained her anyway and that was a smart move. She is one of the only people able to fight off the invaders. She probably beats over 50 of them as the film goes on and that’s probably undercounting the effort. Her skill with the blade is unmatched and she also has a strong personality. Nariko is easily one of the highlights of the film and always has a biting remark for the characters around her.

Her father deserved every one of those comments because he is just a lousy character from start to finish. The film even takes him down a darker route than I remember from the games but it probably just stands out more in a movie. He really kept trying to have a proper heir and abused his power in order to do it. There’s just no way to root for him by that point. Most of the folks in the village are also hard to root for. How do you have bullies running around in a village that must always be prepared for life or death fights? There just aren’t a lot of survival skills here.

The only good ally Nariko had was Kai. Kai looks excellent here as she takes out numerous fighters with her crossbow. It was really impressive to see and this may be the first title that gives proper respect to how important it is to have an archer. Particularly in the olden days where there were no guns, it makes sense that arrows would be overpowered. Kai is able to stay at a distance and pick off foes left and right. Her skill with the bow is also unreal. I was always glad to see her at the ready and it makes a difference having at least one ally. Nariko’s journey would have been a lonely one otherwise.

There is also her brother Loki but due to how the plot is set up, the guy doesn’t show up for very long. I immediately liked him though. The guy had a strong sense of self importance without being arrogant and was also quick on the uptake. He wasn’t the kind of guy who was going to just stay back and watch how things played out. He even hit the He Man pose briefly to show off his power. I would have liked to have seen more of him but he was definitely fun.

As for the main villain Bohan, he’s mainly here to serve as an antagonist to defeat. There’s not much to him beyond being the King. He’s a powerful fighter thanks in part to his contract with a demon but the movie doesn’t go into this very much. So if you haven’t played the game then it’s going to feel a bit random but still makes for a fun fight. His henchmen were also pretty tough even if the film had to go through them quickly. The guy with the shimmering wings was particularly powerful and was probably the strongest character in the film, at least not counting end level power ups.

The guy really dealt a lot of damage too. This is one of those films that doesn’t hold back with the body count and it’s not a happy adventure by any means. It felt like every character was doing their best to make Nariko’s life as miserable as possible. I would have liked for their to have at least been a happier ending. It’s the kind of ending that just hurts replay value for this film all the way.

As far as the graphics go, it looks a lot like the video game. I’ve always been cool with this kind of CG. It’s not going for a very life like approach and doesn’t have the top level production values but I always enjoy video games. So this style is just nostalgic and still works for all of the fights. Otherwise the film would be in trouble because the film is essentially a collection of nonstop fight scenes. They just keep on coming over and over.

The battles can be rather violent as the film isn’t holding back on the bloodshed. Every character is fighting to kill after all so there is no room for holding back or taking the enemies alive. This is a war after all. Unfortunately the characters also go after the horses but at least the film doesn’t focus on that too much. Those scenes never get particularly brutal which may be an animation limitation but I’ll accept that. No matter how it happened, the film avoided getting bogged down in animal violence which is really important.

The movie is also really quick so the pacing is on point. How much you enjoy the film will likely be based around how much you enjoy the fights. To be honest the plot often takes a backseat here. It’s fairly straight forward after all so the rest of the runtime is padded out by the battles. It’s always fun to see Nariko crushing her opponents and if anything you just wish she could jump in sooner to save others. The amount of people who die in this film is crazy but it definitely establishes why an invasion is so scary.

Overall, I would recommend this film if you enjoy the Dynasty Warriors kind of title. This takes place in the pre electronics days and has nonstop action. As long as that sounds like it is up your alley then you will be having a good time here. If you’re looking for a very deep and nuanced story about trying to live up to expectations then this isn’t the right film for you. It’s not going for any deep themes but I don’t consider that to be a negative. Having a good main duo helps out a lot as well so Nariko and Kai really help the film to have a good dynamic going on.

Overall 7/10

Lego One Piece Review

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It’s actually been quite a while since my last Lego adventure. Netflix has really been trying to push the live action One Piece series so it makes sense that they would throw some legos into the mix though. It feels a little more standard than the average Lego adventure so I would have liked them to go a bit more crazy but on the whole it is still entertaining enough. This works as a fun recap for folks who want to jump right into season 3 when it comes out instead of going through the entire first two seasons.

The story begins with Usopp deciding to tell Chopper all about the adventures that they have all had. That’s the main framing device for these two lego adventures. Usopp is a chronic liar naturally so Chopper consistently has to correct him on everything. Usopp eventually stops messing around as much so we get the true story of how Luffy and his friends successfully defied the government and fought with big shots like Arlong and his pirates. They even got to go up against Crocodile’s organization and fought several of the numbers.

You’ll naturally get more out of this if you’re already a big fan of the series but I’d say that it is approachable for anyone. At its core this is an adventure about friendship and the characters deciding to help people while still keeping some of their selfish pirate tendencies. Zoro is still the best member of the main characters with how well he can fight. The guy keeps everyone in check and is someone that you can really rely on. He may lose to Mihawk at one point but anyone would have lost that fight as well.

The humor is generally on point. It’s not really laugh out loud funny but the characters are having a good time as they banter with each other. I enjoyed the lego graphics well enough as well and the pacing is good. This adventure is essentially getting through two seasons in two episodes which is not an easy feat. So there is a lot of credit to give there. They also grabbed the music from the Netflix show so you definitely feel the synergy all the way.

So in the end what’s the problem? Well the issue you may feel beneath the surface is just that it can feel a bit empty. I already mentioned this a bit before with how I wished they had done more with the Legos but this remake feels a bit to serious to me. It’s sort of like a corporate version of the Lego title if that makes sense. I think this is something where they should have gotten some huge fans of the series to come in and throw a bunch of inside jokes at the audience. Stuff that most people wouldn’t really get but would still help take this to the next level. At least I feel like that could have worked out really well.

Lego adventures are often remakes so it’s not like this is anything new but they always add something. I would even argue that the inside jokes and references are what make the Lego adventures stand out in the first place. If you’re going to do a tight 1-1 remake then that almost defeats the purpose. The adventure does change things for a few seconds when Usopp starts lying but he is always corrected too quickly. I would have made things feel like much more of an AU. We get one thing like that with Sanji being included in a scene where he shouldn’t be due to time constraints but that’s a little too minor. Still, you could end up nitpicking this all day so the point I’m making is they should have just had more fun with this. It’s not to say that this is an extremely serious special as there is a good amount of humor but it feels really confined. Almost like the writers were trapped in a room with a bunch of corporate suits the whole time.

This is still One Piece and the core story is still fun to watch. I enjoyed the fights with Arlong and Mihawk. I would definitely play a video game in this style. I’m sure the combat would be a blast and I really do need to pick up more Lego games in general. They are fun once I am going through them, I guess they just tend to lose out to most of the other genres. Lego games are more on the basic side but I have yet to play a bad one.

Seeing the live action characters briefly is also a good teaser for season 3. It sure feels like a long time since season 2 aired so it’ll be good to be getting more content there. I am also the king of saying that every series should be milked as much as possible so I certainly won’t turn down spinoffs like this. Keep them coming is what I say!

As I wind down this review it is fair to say that Buggy really outshone Luffy once again though. He was dominating him initially and then would have destroyed him in the rematch if not for other characters stepping in. His devil fruit really is a hard counter to Luffy’s and at this point Luffy doesn’t have the power to stop him. At least based on this lego adventure you probably can’t even imagine Luffy becoming King of the Pirates. He just isn’t ready for that but at least he has enthusiasm all the way.

Overall, There just wasn’t a whole lot to talk about on this one. It’s a great alternative for kids to check out if they don’t have time for the main show and it naturally does work well as a recap if you don’t remember what happened in the first two seasons. I see this as an aid in that sense and it feels more like that than as a complete product this time around. As long as you enjoy One Piece then I can recommend this one. I’m guessing they’ll do another one for season 3 at some point so I’ll definitely return. Of course I think it would be even more fun if they decide to do a stand alone adventure instead. There are unlimited situations you can do with these characters after all.

Overall 6/10

The Entertainer Review

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The Entertainer is one of those films that goes a little too far in trying to show just how corrupt folks can become in show business. Ultimately the characters still need to take accountability for their own actions so I wouldn’t purely blame the job space. It’s definitely not a happy film by any means and after a while the constant sadness just overwhelms the rest of the movie. There isn’t a whole lot to enjoy here.

The film starts off by introducing us to Jean who has just had a big fight with her boyfriend. He doesn’t take her work seriously and is always taking shots at it. Now he has a big job opportunity which would force him to move far away. He wants her to come but Jean isn’t thrilled at the prospect. Instead she returns to her old home to visit her family but finds that they are not doing well at all. Her father Archie has really been bombing out at his latest comedy performances and the family is really poor right now. All they can count on is each other but is even that true?

The first problem with the film is that there are no good characters. The worst one right away is Archie for obvious reasons. The guy is cheating on his wife and makes bad decision after bad decision. He doubles down on basically everything with absolutely 0 remorse. You would think that with the stakes this high he would find some way to make ends meet but he does the opposite. Phoebe’s family is ready to offer him a job at any point but his pride forces him to refuse. Archie will live or die by his show business.

That may be a find attitude to have if you’re single but it is beyond selfish when you have a family that is depending on you. It’s not really a surprise that people wouldn’t enjoy his act because it seemed rather dreadful to me. There’s just nothing to it and you’ll be left shaking your head the whole time. Even the quick portions we see in the movie are more head scratching than anything else. Archie still makes promises that he can’t keep and loses even more money.

Usually you put a character in a tough bind so that the audience can feel sympathy for him but again, the guy’s a cheater. There is no sympathy to be had and if anything you’re rooting for his ruination. Then you have his son Frank who is essentially closing his eyes to the whole thing. He is content to just get drunk every day and support his parents. He doesn’t want to think about anything else and just stays out of the way so he is a classic case of being an enabler. When Jean tries to talk to Archie, Frank even runs interference.

Meanwhile Phoebe is another character who is essentially closing her eyes to what is happened. She puts up with a whole lot of grief from Archie who is constantly picking on her. Throw in the fact that she is really worried about her kid who is off in the war and it has not been a happy journey for her either. There are no real winners here. Now why doesn’t Jean rank so highly?

Well, she became complicit the moment that she found out Archie was cheating and didn’t say anything. Obviously it’s a hard topic to broach but she needed to come down hard on him or get out of there. Then when her boyfriend shows up, she basically tells him to leave because she needs to handle this on her own. With both of them always on different sides, I’m not sure how long their relationship is going to last. Jean got herself in the middle of a whole lot of family drama and that was definitely not a good thing. She needed to stay out or get in there and do something. Instead she’s just another passive observer.

The only one who really did something was Billy and the characters really get on his case for it. He’s archie’s father and finds out about the affair/false promises and decides to spill the beans. This causes a whole lot of drama and tough circumstances for Archie but that’s sort of the idea. Billy acts surprised at just how drastic it all gets but it shouldn’t have been a surprise. At the same time, he should have been happy about this because it really put a pin in that sub plot.

Things don’t go very well for him in the end. Billy tried his best but was just too old by this point. I understand that he wanted to help his son here but still should have let Archie dig himself out. It’s hard when you see a family member slipping to the dark side but if you try to help, the most likely outcome is that you’ll end up falling as well. That’s really the obvious ending to this kind of problem.

I dare say one improvement to the film would have been having Jean trying to fix things the whole time. Perhaps trying to redeem Archie, trying to get Phoebe to be more proactive, etc. Then as the film goes on she realizes that none of these attempts are working. So when her boyfriend shows up, Jean just leaves with him. That would have made for a more interesting plot and would have made her more likable as the lead. It’s really the best balance you could hope for. After all when the topics got serious here, the characters were quick to treat her coldly. Phoebe talking about how Jean isn’t her direct daughter, Archie just waving her off, etc. While we didn’t have much time for the boyfriend to reflect on his actions from the opening, we can assume that they are still okay. Jean’s side job will just be something that the two of them will continue to argue about probably even after they get married. It’s a bit of a red flag but could be worse.

Overall, I would say that this was just not a good film. It’s incredibly hard to make a good film with bad characters. I’m not saying that it is absolutely impossible but it is certainly difficult enough where I’m surprised whenever it works out. You’re just waiting for the cops to catch up and take this guy away. Archie shouldn’t have tried forcing his way through a business where he had lost the talent many years ago. Perhaps he could have trained himself into learning new skills and being a success again but then his ego was the other problem. Archie seemed to think that he was doing a fine job and so he didn’t need to learn any new tricks. Rookie mistake to be honest. The most tragic thing is that almost any of the other characters would have been more interesting as the lead.

Overall 3/10

Enchanted April Review

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It’s time for one of those films that doesn’t sound very interesting at first glance but maybe it could surpass that? Unfortunately that was not in the cards this time. The character cast is on the weaker side and there just isn’t a lot going on here. The film moves at a fairly slow pace and so the characters would have been its only chance at success.

The movie starts off with Lotty suggesting to one of her fellow club members (Rose) that they should rent a castle. It’s a rather impulsive thought but she saw an ad for this in the newspaper. Lotty has not been very consistent with her life at the moment as it’s rather boring and her husband is always running around to parties and trying to meet all of the bigwigs. Rose isn’t having a great time either as her husband is always writing nsfw books and doesn’t put her as his #1 priority. After some convincing, Rose agrees but a castle will be too expensive. SO they enlist an older lady named Mrs. Fisher and the rich Lady Dester to accompany them. The 4 of them will enjoy a month away from men and the outside world in general. Will they have fun or will they begin to miss their old lives?

It’s an interesting idea although I would argue that if you need a month away from your husband than the marriage was already very weak. You don’t need time away when you are having a good time after all. The husbands do not look good at all so this does track. That is why Lotty seems very annoying to me. If I were the other characters I’d be super upset because she suddenly decides to invite her husband over after just a few days.

Yes, the characters had previously agreed that they could each invite someone over but the fact that the one who suggested the idea was the first to cave is terrible. Lotty isn’t really up for discussing the matter either and just launches forward. The film shows that she is rather crazy the whole time but it turns this from being a quirk into a totally negative trait. You’re rooting against Lotty by this point. It’s just incredibly insensitive and I was not able to get past this even to the end of the film.

Sure enough, her husband shows up and immediately makes it clear that he is here to make connections. He gives some back handed complements like he’s surprised at how Lotty has such influential friends. The guy ends up not being too much of a nuisance but it still changes the vibe. You can’t be quite as free and one with nature if there’s another guy around. It’s just a matter of decorum.

Lotty then also pressures Rose to do the same thing and that so her husband shows up as well. This guy is basically showing up to see Dester and of course has been living a double life. This is a rather huge issue but the film basically shoves it to the side and he never has to pay for these issues. It would be one thing if the husband was keeping a second identity to not be connected to the book but the film makes it clear that he is really doing this to get with the ladies. The guy is not loyal and shouldn’t have been invited to this event.

Rose wasn’t the best character either but at least she wasn’t out there betraying her husband. Her main failing is that she is too easy to pressure. She is basically forced into the castle plan and from there on she rarely has enough strength to make her own decisions. She always ends up listening to Lotty and the others. Even by the end of the film I don’t think she ever really came into her own.

Lester has a tough time of it as she came to the castle for a peaceful adventure and yet everyone is always bothering her. She really doesn’t get a whole lot of peace and quiet to herself at all. I also thought she had the best plan of action for the castle which was just to relax by herself. That was the whole point of the trip and it wasn’t supposed to be about having lots of mandatory activities and bonding. This is a vacation, not work. The others worry about every little thing while Lester sees the bigger picture. She was easily the best character here.

Then we have the older lady Mrs. Fisher. She was a fun character. At first she tried to really dominate the rest but once that didn’t work, she calmed down quickly. She is big on traditions and so it takes a while to really learn how to relax. Still, Fisher pulls it off and gets along with the other characters. She doesn’t have as much of a trial to get over so her role felt a bit smaller even if I feel like the screentime was probably roughly on point with the other characters.

Ultimately the film’s biggest problem is just that it’s rather boring. Nothing is really happening and so that’s why you have to be on board with the characters. Since the characters are on the weaker side then there wasn’t much that could really be done to save the adventure. From that point on, the film was doomed.

I can respect the intention of the film which is that this grand castle was able to save both marriages and show the other characters how to be happy but the way it played out wasn’t very believable. It just felt like the characters needed more time to develop these subplots and the film was already pretty long. It would have been better for the film to have just been about the 4 ladies and how they are completely different but still manage to come together in the end. The castle could have been about how they all forgot their outside selves and just had fun.

If you really wanted to include the husbands on this trip, then they should have been introduced as better characters. You could have easily still had the wives feeling dissatisfied with their lives without making the husbands quite as bad. For example maybe both of them were spending so much time at work that they felt neglected. Instead by introducing them as antagonists, it meant that the redemption arc was not going to be very satisfactory or paced well in comparison. I feel like the film tried to have some funny moments with both of them so they wouldn’t feel quite as much like villains but it did not work at all.

Overall, This is the kind of film that doesn’t even really work as background noise. It’s not making a significant amount of problems during the run but isn’t really keeping your attention either. I can’t say that I would enjoy spending a month at the castle very much. I would definitely find ways to make the days pass by quickly but give me my own bed any time. Now spending that time with 3 people that I really don’t know very well? Yeah that would be even rougher. This does not feel like a very calming experience at all. The whole film is hard to relate to and isn’t executed well. There are just so many better ways you could have handled the story to make the film more interesting because I could definitely handle a film about the characters bonding. They really needed to make Lotty a more likable character though, she was chaotic in all the worst ways. Well, if you’ve ever really wanted to be in a castle then maybe you should check it out.

Overall 4/10

Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse Review

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It’s time for a new Castlevania adventure. It’s sure been a while since we got the last one so I had to pre order this right away. I haven’t been a fan of the series since it started though, I really just got into it recently thanks to all of the collections that came out. I was curious how this one would handle quality of life features and things like that. Well, I can happily say that this title really stuck the landing in every way possible. The graphics and gameplay are extremely smooth and the Metroidvania or should I say Castlevania elements are as good as ever. You feel stronger as you traverse the castle with your level ups and power ups. Additionally you have the roguelite elements here where you can die anywhere and it warps you to your last respawn point. You never lose any progress.

That’s right, you don’t lose any currency, exp, items, etc. That takes a load off of you because now you can just enjoy the adventure. You can take more risks and fight really aggressively with the knowledge that you will return. I absolutely understand how some wouldn’t like that but personally I think this was a great way to approach the game. As you play, you will continue learning the enemy movements and will be dying less and less.

The general plot sees Rose and her father summoned to Paris. Dracula is about to return and as the last Belmonts it is their job to destroy him. Unfortunately it won’t be easy as Dracula’s minions are all assembled to stop any invaders. Rose has always had the potential to be the next most powerful Belmont but she will have to realize that potential right now. There is no further time for training or preparation. Along the way she can capture any boss that she defeats which forces them to be her allies and use their abilities in her service.

This also makes for some pretty nice banter. Like Medusa intentionally giving the wrong advice all the time. She may be forced to help Rose physically but verbally there is no such requirement. That was a nice change of pace. The story is definitely solid with a lot of great voice acting all the way. Dracula and Death make for really solid villains as always. They really have the personality and aura farming down as a fine art.

The visuals are also really good. The backgrounds really pop out at you and the main art style is fairly similar to Hades. It may not match that legendary title but rather than be a knock against the game, I would say that it is a pretty good copy. The game also has a few cinematics which are solid and multiple endings which is always a lot of fun. Even after you beat the game, there are plenty of routes for replay value as you try to get to the true ending. Don’t expect this to be a quick journey.

As mentioned before, the gameplay is super good. It feels very satisfying to be crushing all of the enemies that get in your way. Additionally the various movement options like air dashing means that the rooms never feel too large. There are quite a lot of platforming traps along the way too. More so than in any other Castlevania game so I hope you are good at jumping around. If you’ve played Mario Maker then that will definitely help. The game doesn’t hold your hands as all here.

Now at one point there started to be a few puzzles and I was getting worried but then they vanish as quickly as they show up. They are mainly present in the astrology chapter and I gotta say those puzzles were a little too complicated. I just had to spend a grinding session trying all star alignments until I got to the answer. I still don’t get what they were talking about with the picture hints. Yeah this game should stick to the combat.

My favorite weapon to use was the cross that you throw forward but gradually I had to start using the fire blast because of how many aerial foes there were. My favorite item to have equipped on hand was the quick sword but then I stuck to the whip as soon as I unlocked that. The game goes out of its way to make this the strongest weapon in the game and that makes sense. The whole franchise is built upon that assumption after all. If the Belmonts didn’t have the whip then the world would be in a much more dangerous spot.

The music is definitely great as well. You’ve got several remixes here in addition to the original tunes. I would say the original tunes are where the game really shined. I enjoyed the Paris backdrop quite a lot. It’s very mysterious which makes sense with how it has been taken over by the villains. This could easily be leveraged into a whole new saga of games depending on how the true ending wraps things up. I would be eager to play another installment and hope I don’t have to wait 5-10 years for that.

I will say, this might be the only game I can think of where the intangibility item is basically pointless. Usually that is one of the strongest abilities since you can walk through everyone but instead it has way too many limitations. Certain objects can hurt you anyway and some bosses can bypass it as well. What is the point in that case? It feels like the kind of item that may have been broken initially and then there was an overcorrection so it ended up being pointless. Ah well, there are plenty of other ways to get really powerful in this game but that just stood out.

You probably just need to try out all the abilities to see which ones are your favorite. In that way the early abilities will always have an advantage because you get them so early that you become used to them. Later on in the game you get a blood ability which is pretty handy. I used it to beat one boss but otherwise I stuck to the older ones. I dunno, they just felt more natural to me by that point.

Overall, Castlevania really returned with a vengeance here. The game is absolutely terrific and I am definitely glad that I got to be here day 1. It’s the kind of title that is just really fun to play and I give credit to the devs for making everything so intuitive. The menus have a great UI, the consistent save points are also well spaced, and the game is a lot of fun to play. There are no real slow points where you want to put the game down for a while. The pacing is always high and there is a lot of bonus content to keep you around. This one has a good bang for your buck and is a terrific title. I highly recommend picking it up.

Overall 8/10

Tales of Bersaria Review

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Tales Of is one of those franchises that is always amazing. I have yet to play a bad title in the series and it has been fun slowly catching up with all of the titles that have come out. They don’t release as often as in the past but I suppose that’s true for pretty much all of the big video game series. I have yet to play all of the Final Fantasy titles either but in this franchise I was even more behind so it was time to change that. I have another title that I’m in the middle of so you can expect another review in the future. For now though, I think it will be an uphill battle for any title to beat Bersaria. This was such an intense title.

The game begins with Velvet taking care of her brother with the help of her mentor Artorius. Unfortunately he betrays her one day when he sacrifices her brother and imprisons her in a monster tower. She is stunned by this betrayal and now lives only for revenge. No matter who or what she has to sacrifice, Velvet will avenge her brother. This begins her tale of woe and tragedy.

With a 30+ hour title like this, you can bet that the story will be taking a lot of twists and turns as it goes on. The main cast gets fairly large and Velvet really learns how to interact with each other. Any series with revenge as a core theme is going to have to deal with forgiveness, sadness, and the cycle of violence. The game deals with all of that very well and I agreed with a lot of Velvet’s decisions. Characters kept trying to get her off this path of revenge but she was fighting at every corner.

Mix that in with the incredible cinematics and ost and you have a very intense game. I always appreciate it when a game goes the extra mile to have fully animated cinematics in addition to the main cutscenes. The songs are all really good as well and so you will be on the edge of your seat the whole time. An RPG must have a great story to justify the long play time and this one certainly does.

The core gameplay is much more complicated than the average title in the franchise. You have to balance your 3 characters as normal but you can only attack based on the amount of gems you have on hand. You must steal them from your opponents while also saving some for defense and character switching. All the way to the end of the game I can tell you that I never fully understood this system. There are over 50 tutorials at the beginning of the game and they ended up just overloading my brain.

I had to rely on my old button mashing skills to find some good combos and then I stuck to those. I will say that items are incredibly useful in this game. You absolutely need them in order to keep on healing and to keep your status up. You can spam items like crazy in this game and you just have to watch out for the lag when using one. It is less useful in one on one combat. There are very few of those boss fights but they tend to be the most difficult ones when they appear.

There are also a lot of collectibles in the game. You can grab vegetables which permanently increase your stats. Yes, these are as helpful as they sound. You should always make a detour to grab those when possible. The treasure chests confused me a bit because they seem to actually respawn. I may have been imagining things though. I still recommend opening them all and using the pink chests when you have enough orbs set up. I was mainly doing this to get some trophies but ultimately I beat the game before I had opened enough of them.

In addition to the main story you naturally have a lot of side quests as well so the game is not lacking in content by any means. There is always a whole lot to do here and there are always ways to get stronger. The EXP gains dramatically slow down as you get to the end of the game but you should still be fine. Grinding is just a part of these RPGs after all and I have to admit that I always have fun with this part. It just feels good to watch yourself gradually getting stronger. It’s why I never like when an RPG has enemies auto scale to your level and fortunately this one doesn’t do that.

There are over 500 optional cutscenes as well which is a crazy amount. This game is just super detailed and I appreciate that. You really get to know all of the characters and I can say that this was a really strong main cast. I dare say that they are in one of the higher tiers as far as that is concerned. Artorius also makes for a great villain with how the game sets up his character early on. So you know the guy and he does think of himself as the villain. Break an egg to cook 100 omelets kind of thing. His plan has a logic to it without a doubt but it makes sense that Velvet would oppose this.

The production values are through the roof and I really have no negative things to say about this game. It is just utterly fantastic even if it has a really depressing ending. Perhaps one day it will get a sequel but I suppose I just have to recognize that these grand adventures often have a pretty sad ending. You’re not usually going to get to see everyone reach their happy ever after even if I wish that were the case.

Overall, Tales of Bersaria is a game that I absolutely recommend all the way. It is a terrific experience. Some RPGs can take time to get going but this one starts off amazing within the first 20 minutes. I also had fun with the game’s built in customization which is a little cherry on top. Either way if you like action and adventure then you have to buy this game. It can hold its own with any RPG and gives you that somber feeling when it’s all over. You just want games like this to go on forever. The game is difficult but you can always grind your way through it, such is the art of the RPG.

Overall 9/10

Fairy Tail Re:Fantasia Review

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It’s time to take a look at the recent mini series that launched for Fairy Tail. This one didn’t last very long and definitely came as a surprise since there was already a fairy tail sequel that was out. It definitely feels very authentic to the original series so as long as you enjoyed that one then you’ll like this one. At the same time, it does fall into all of the same issues as the original as well so that didn’t go very well. This title is entertaining but that’s about all that I can really say for it. It still has too much fanservice to make for a real recommendation and stays in the middle.

The main plot centers around a big contest that is coming up. Fairy Tail competes in a beauty contest every year and so everyone is super stoked about this. Laxus doesn’t feel like he should attend though because he attacked Fairy Tail a while back. Time may have passed but he doesn’t feel like he has earned the right to attend. Unfortunately the contest is thrown into disarray when the characters are all attacked by a mysterious villain who is leading a group against Fairy Tail. He aims to erase them all and Natsu may be in for the toughest fight of his life. Can he put out this threat and ensure that the contest runs smoothly?

This is a true miniseries all the way as it has less than 10 chapters in total. That means there isn’t a whole lot of time for story beats or fights in general. It’s really just an excuse to see all of your favorite characters again and that would have been fine, if not for the fanservice. The beauty contest is really just an excuse for this and the series isn’t very subtle about that. It’s not quite as bad as the original series but of course at the same time that is partially due to how short the title is. It also stands out a lot because in general a lot of mainstream manga have really distanced themselves from fanservice and that’s a net positive all around.

The story is also a bit of a stretch because it feels out of character for Laxus to be having doubts now. The guy has been teaming up with Fairy Tail for ages at this point and was welcomed back into the family shortly after he had temporarily been a villain. This series could work if it took place very early in the series, not being put near the end like this. It feels like a very forced story option and one that doesn’t even feel necessary because it doesn’t really change anything. I guess at best you could say it makes for an easier reason to have Laxus be by himself for a shipping moment. I don’t really think that’s a good enough excuse though.

Whatever my thoughts on it, I do feel like that was the main driving force behind this miniseries in general. Laxus and Mira have the longest conversation in the title and it’s certainly the most serious one. She basically ends up asking him out since Laxus was never going to move forward on his own and they get a little team up. It’s hard to set up a romance with so few chapters but you could argue that the main series was building up to it. I wouldn’t say it was ever pushed as hard as the Natsu/Lucy and Gray/Juvi ships though.

So it’s not a bad plot but I still just feel like Laxus was dramatically out of character here. No matter how many times the series tried to convince me why he would still be feeling down, it doesn’t work in the timeline. If you ignore the ooc elements, then the story itself is still great. Laxus has to confront his past and even attempts to take on the entire villain group by himself. He is willing to be a martyr for his friends and Fairy Tail has always been very passionate about the friendship themes. That’s never changed before and I don’t see it changing in the future either. It’s a good thing, no other title pulls this off quite as well as Fairy Tail.

As for Eraser, he makes for a pretty good villain. The guy has a solid intro and gets to beat up on Jellal like all of the good Fairy Tail villains. You always need someone to style on after all and Jellal is perfect for this. The guy manages to lose almost every fight but there’s a part of you that always feels like he may still be a threat in the end. When Eraser revealed that he had an entire villain group behind him, I did smirk a bit because there’s no time for that. They don’t get to fight until chapter 4 and this is a 9 chapter series. I should also note that the chapters are only slightly longer than weekly sized so in total this is basically a single manga volume. I guess I can give the author props for being ambitious.

Also to continue the focus on Laxus, his father Ivan returns. The guy was a fairly minor villain from the old days so it was interesting to see him return. The guy never really ranked for me but it makes sense to include him if you’re trying to make Laxus the main character here. The rest of the characters get to still have their own fights which was nice. They may be short but the series had all of the proper ingredients that make Fairy Tail stand out. If anything it’s another impressive thing about the series, which is that it is easy to get you hooked.

I think this is partially due to the stunning art, but the writing style is also good. Fairy Tail is genuinely funny and balances this well with the action scenes. The fanservice is the only thing holding it back and it reminds me of a lot of conversations I had on the original series. It has so many extremely hype moments that I would check out here and there. The series is the ultimate “Potential” title for me because it is always so close to being the next big thing. It just needed an extra boost.


The artwork is pretty solid as always. Fairy Tail has always been really terrific in this area and that’s why it has some of the best fights in the business. Take everything else away and Fairy Tail would absolutely thrive as a serious action title. It’s just nostalgic to see Natsu beating someone up with his flame powers. You may be hoping for a longer fight but again, this is a miniseries.

The author even has a little fun with this by making one of the antagonists a character from Eden’s Zero, another manga that he created. Now this is most likely just an alternate version of the character who looks like him but that’s close enough. Still captures some of that crossover energy. I really think he should do a full crossover ongoing series someday. That would be amazing and at the very least I do think it would be super engaging the whole time. Hopefully Mashima could just rein himself in a bit though. Fairy Tail’s probably the closest thing you can have to being a true guilty pleasure title. I know the series is always going to end up messing up but I’ll still be there for all of the adventures. It’s just such a charming title. Laxus and Mira is far from one of my favorite ships but I can still say that the author went all out here with both characters talking like real adults.

Overall, This is classic Fairy Tail through and through. If you felt like the 100 years quest title was way too grand and missing the local charm of the original, this one will definitely be a pleasant surprise for you. That being said, it doesn’t bring a whole lot to the table beyond being a nostalgia trip. That part isn’t even done correctly because the fanservice just holds it back in a big way. I’m still a fan of bringing all these titles back for short sequels but ultimately it would still be nice to be telling a complete story. Maybe next time we can get a series that lasts at least 3 volumes or so. The more I was writing this review, the more positively I started thinking about this series. That’s how infectious it can be.

Overall 5/10