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Star Wars: Demolition Review

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It’s time for another old school title. This one deals with the Star Wars verse before there were too many huge characters. The character roster is really interesting because the only character I actually recognized was Boba Fett. I assume the bigger characters are hidden somewhere in there behind unlockables but you would expect at least a handful of other big players right? Maybe the game was trying to be accurate to the lore but in my opinion that’s taking things a bit far.

So the general plot is that Jabba The Hut is flexing on the empire once again. He has decided to continue doing some underground races despite this being illegal and now it’s even more dangerous than it used to be. Everyone is to test their mettle in these life or death races. A single mistake will mean the end of everything. Who dares throw themselves into the ring for money, status, and power? Well, Boba Fett is certainly in the running and he’s absolutely got the skills to do well here. Do not underestimate him!

The gameplay is really where the game falls apart for me though. There are two main types of gameplay. One of them is where you hunt a bunch of droids and see how many you can blow up in 3 minutes. Fairly simple but without someone else to play with there’s not much to this mode. There’s no progression or unlockables to be found here. Then you have the main gameplay which is fighting other ships. You are thrown into a map with a bunch of other players and have to take them down. This one actually had a lot of potential, but alas it could not live up to this. Here’s why that is the case…the game is too easy to run away from. When you appear on the map you can just drive in circles and escape the opponent.

Sure, he will hit you a few times but it takes dozens and dozens of hits to actually bring the other player down so there is never a worry about losing. Unfortunately the same thing goes for when you are trying to win here. No matter how many times you hit the opponent, he continues to get up again and again. It just never ends and that’s what will make you shake your head here. A single match really takes forever and at one point I ran into a glitch where the enemy ran inside a wall and I had to wait until a time out occurred.

If the gameplay were better then the whole experience would be saved but there’s not much that you can do once the gameplay is busted. The only thing that I can say for it is that it would probably be fairly entertaining with another player. Sort of one of those games where you mock it as you are playing it. That’s all I can think of there. It’s a shame because the game put in a lot of work in every other area. The soundtrack is nice and the graphics look pretty good for its time.

Then you have the death animation which is really hype. This happens in tournament mode, so if you lose a battle there is a whole cutscene that plays before the game over screen. You are brought over to Jabba the Hut and executed. It turns out that the penalty for losing really is death. I thought this was a nice attention to detail and in theory they rendered a cutscene like this for every playable character. Well done I must say. The fact that the game has a full opening and everything is cool too. It may not be the same as having a story mode but it’s still an extra detail that shows the level of effort that went into this one. It feels like this game was not meant to be some cheap tie-in even if the gameplay makes it feel that way.

It’s not exactly AAA though since the game is very limited in content but at least what is there was well polished. So this feels like a game of missed opportunities because I could have easily seen this being really good. It just wasn’t meant to be which is unfortunate. Maybe next time right? I mean it’s been many years so this is likely not getting a sequel but nowadays you never know.

Overall, Star Wars: Demolition is a game that’s okay but I can’t really see myself going back to it. It doesn’t really have a hook to keep you and the gameplay should have been way better than it was. The fact that it could not surpass that was definitely unfortunate. On the PS2 I played a few Star Wars racing games which were fun although this one is really about the combat so it’s a bit different. I think racing games are easier to pull off but the fighting ones can be a blast. You just have to really nail the timing, weapons, and how you want the rules to operate. This one didn’t quite get that taken care of which is what hurt it in the end.

Overall 5/10

Tekken 2 Review

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It almost feels a bit strange to be playing Tekken when it looks so retro like this. I’m used to the big and bold plots and all of the electronic music hype. This one still does sound really great to be sure but it is rather basic. You’ll be playing arcade mode and that’s about it. I suppose you can’t ask for much more out of the PS1 era though. That’s just how things were back then. The game’s difficulty is impressively high as well.

When you boot up the game you are given the options to go with arcade mode or multiplayer mode. There might be a practice mode as well but I’m not sure if I saw that there. Either way your main time will be spent across these two modes. The Arcade mode is a classic of course. You go through 10 levels as you beat up on a bunch of opponents and get to see a little ending. It’s good fun but like I wrote earlier the difficulty level is really unforgiving. A few hits are enough to take you down for the count.

The opponent is also really good at creating distance. While I was fighting him, the a.i. would always maintain a perfect distance to dodge my attacks while immediately countering. It was definitely not something to be underestimated. So I actually went ahead and tried on easy mode as well and let me tell you that this was no picnic. The computer was still extremely difficult to defeat and had a lot of tricks up their sleeve. I was definitely taken off guard there. So it’s fair to say that the newer Tekken games are absolutely easier. They have not retained the incredible difficulty jump.

I played through Tekken 7 recently after all and it was nowhere near this tricky. The final boss was super tough, that part is true but it wasn’t the whole game the way that Tekken 2 is. That’s a whole other monster right there. The graphics are also good. Again they are dated, but in a fun way. The blocky style is fun and the game still went out of its way to have a full opening and everything. There are a lot of good attack animations all the way through. Then you have the soundtrack which is really good. It nails the electronic feel that the newer games have and that was probably a very rare thing for back in the day.

The replay value is really as long as you have someone to play with. This isn’t the kind of game that you stick around to just play single player for very long. I suppose you could do arcade mode with every character but there aren’t a ton of them so that won’t take you very long either. You’re here for the combat and the gameplay is on point as always so there is no problem there. You have your various moves plus the throw. What has always separated Tekken from the other fighting game titles is how much damage you deal. You can completely eliminate someone in just a few moves which is always insanely impressive. Just memorize a combo for any of the characters and you will be leaving your opponents dazed.

A big part of the combat is really about memorizing each character’s options. That is how you can dodge in time while landing counter blows of your own. Otherwise you will really just be guessing a lot. Reaction times are also very important to be sure because someone could just button mash and still do well if you aren’t able to react to their random moves. Tekken is definitely a game that really tests your skills and I wouldn’t have it any other way. There aren’t really any gimmicks here, it just comes down to you and your opponent’s skills. Do you have what it takes to bring them down?

Overall, Tekken 2 is a pretty good fighting game. It may be more on the basic side but back in the day that would be the case for all of these titles. It’s definitely a fun blast to the past to see all of the characters back in their earlier days so that’s enough of a reason to pop this one back in and play a few rounds. I don’t see you sticking with it for very long like one of the newer ones but it does age well as a novelty title. If you are able to get your hands on this one for free or for a good price then it’s worth the playthrough.

Overall 7/10

Acts of Vengeance Review

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This is a review of the TV-14 edited version of the film. All thoughts below should be addressed as such as a review of the unedited version would be more negative

All right it’s time for one of those classic thriller stories. This one goes through the motions and is a good film but I wouldn’t say it stands out a lot compared to the competition. It doesn’t have the same level of iconic lines as Taken for example although at the same time…there is a plot reason for this. The ending may not have left me completely satisfied but you will get some good action scenes here.

The movie starts off by introducing us to Frank whose job is to talk a lot. He is the defense attorney for a lot of crazy criminals and he’s really good at his job so he tends to get them off the hook even when they’re guilty. Hey, you can’t blame him, blame the system right? Well that’s easier said than done. One day his wife and kid are murdered and the cops admit that there isn’t much that they can do. There aren’t enough leads and people are getting murdered all the time around there so what are you gonna do? Frank lets people beat him up for a while before finally deciding to take action. He will become a martial arts master and track down the killer. Until he pulls this off, he will never say another word.

The vow of silence is definitely a solid way to show your determination. It does mean that Frank will stop at nothing in order to finish his quest but it can also work as something that holds him back when you think about it. After all, this means that he can’t really question any of the villains or anything like that. He has to rely on their facial expressions and what they start saying. Frank’s physical senses do begin to improve a lot which does help him out here though. It’s also good that his fighting skills worked out well since there are a lot of villains to stop and Fran tends to let them all go.

He plays a very risky game and you could argue that he has to have a lot of plot armor to make it through the trials here. For example, he lets quite a few mafia members leave with their lives but none of them manage to track him down and get the jump on him in time. In real life it feels like crossing the mafia in such an open way would really be a death sentence. Even by the end Frank opts to let the justice system do its thing but there’s no reason to believe he will be alive after the next 48 hours. He’s made too many enemies and not finishing them off puts him in a dicey spot.

I get that the film wanted to go for a positive moral where you know that this guy hasn’t crossed the line but within the film’s context I don’t think that it works out so well. Sometimes when you spare someone like this, all you are doing is dooming other people. Not saying it has to be like that of course but it is definitely one of the big possible outcomes. Then we have the main heroine Alma who is nice enough. She’s perhaps a bit too trusting since she warms up to Frank right away even though the guy should appear to be incredibly suspicious. Their first meeting is him already being rather beat up and having a gun so my first guess wouldn’t necessarily be that he is an upstanding citizen.

There’s a dog in the movie that helps Frank out a lot so that was pretty fun. His skills are definitely really helpful in solving the case. As for the main villain, there’s not a whole lot to say about him. His attempt at sympathy doesn’t work at all. Yes the guy has a tragic backstory but it does nothing to support his actions in the present. If anything you’d think it makes the whole thing worse. This guy should definitely not be trying to go after a child the way that he did. So yeah the villain’s just one of those crazies and he doesn’t do anything to actively elevate the film to the next level. You could switch him out with just about anyone and it doesn’t matter.

Part of the film is effectively a mystery as to who got Frank’s family and it’s sort of a tricky one. On one hand, the cast is extremely small here. So if the killer is a named character then you basically only have 2 real options but if the killer is some random mobster then you may not be as invested. The good news of course is that you don’t know either way until it happens so in that sense it still works well as a mystery that keeps you guessing. The film’s definitely at its best when focusing on the action though. The fight scenes are really solid.

Overall, Acts of Vengeance is a good movie. I liked the way it would use chapters to break up the story and how the quotes would also describe the chapter. Having so much inner monologue may feel like a bit of a cheat to the fact that the main character doesn’t talk much but still I appreciated it since I tend to like dialogue. The more words that are spoken the better, that’s what I’d say here. If you enjoy a good revenge story then you should watch the movie. If it’s not your genre then there’s not much else for the movie to offer you. It’s very straight forward in that way so the ball is really in your court here.

Overall 6/10

Mashle: Magic and Muscles Review

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You know it’s actually a bit weird to think that Mashle only had 18 volumes. For some reason I figured it had around 30 or so. I guess it was shorter than I thought but it’s fine because the series was jam packed with tons of high quality moments. It hit way above its pay grade the whole time and you could even say it embraces the parody angle even more than One Punch Man did. Mash isn’t quite as invincible as Saitama was by any means but for the most part he still scaled above his opponents. This is definitely an excellent series that I absolutely recommend checking out. It’s a series where I recommend checking out the anime a lot as well since it did a great job of elevating the material even further. Yeah you’re definitely in a great position here.

The series starts off by introducing us to Mash who was born without magic for some reason. In this world it is seen as a curse to not have magic. Like you are not loved by the universe and it’s practically a crime to even exist. Fortunately he is adopted by a nice man who vows to keep him safe but the authorities find out about this. Mash must now enter a magic school and become one of the Divine Visionaries. Only by doing this can he keep his father safe and perhaps end this crazy discrimination against the magic-less users. Is he strong enough to pull this off though? Mash will be fighting the absolute cream of the crop, the strongest magic users to ever exist.

While the characters start coming around later on, most of them are unreasonable at first. It’s crazy how many people are basically jealous of Mash the whole time. They are rooting for his downfall and are no shy about it. They want to take him down for the count no matter what it takes. There are a lot of petty people here but I suppose that is almost to be expected at this point because most settings end up being filled with crazy people while the main character has to prove them wrong. Such is the fate of being the main character.

The artwork here is really good, in fact I would go as far as to say that it’s spectacular. The author absolutely nails both the comedic and action parts of the story. That’s what happens when you have a top tier artist like this at the ready. It holds its own with the upper echelon of Jump titles here. The fights are incredibly satisfying. It’s channeling the energy of the older Jump titles like Kenshin where you had everyone fighting the final boss one by one. They would all go down and then the next fighter would make a move. The fights are easy to follow while the abilities remain very creative and colorful the whole time.

I’d also say the pacing is good. Every chapter has something going for it. Again that could vary between a really hype action scene occurring or maybe it’s a really good gag. Either way the story never just pauses in the middle to leave you hanging. You can be reassured about that. Also while a lot of stories tend to have endings that aren’t all that great, I thought the ending here was pretty fun. It worked well with the themes of the series as being sort of serious if you zoom into the themes but comedic on its face. It’s definitely a fun way to do this.

There’s definitely quite a few arcs in this. The first main part of the story involves getting the stars needed to enter the big tournament coming up to set the stage for the visionaries. This pits Mash up against some steep competition like Dot and Lance at least they were tough back in the day as well as a whole cult group. He has to make sure not to lose himself during these battles either. If he lets his guard down too soon then it’ll all be over for him. Fortunately he’s not the kind of guy to stress about anything. He just eats some cream puffs and gets to work. Definitely one of the bravest fighters out there without a doubt and it helps to have the level of ability that he has. One punch is enough to usually win the day. Quite a few of the characters become main characters by this point and join the good side so a lot happens in the intro.

You may expect that the series gets more and more intense with stronger villains that it would get a lot more serious but that isn’t really the case. Right up through the end the series is still managing a really good balance between comedy and action which is definitely impressive. Most titles would not stand a chance at that or it would feel very weird with the tone but that’s never a problem here. That just shows how good Mash is. The Divine Visionary exams take up a very large part of the series so hopefully you like them but I don’t have many doubts about that.

Mashle does a great job of keeping every challenge fresh and it’s always a lot of fun. Then we jump into the big climax against Innocent Zero and his forces. Like I said before the climax is really great. We’re talking nonstop fights here with a lot of great appearances from everyone involved. Everyone has a part to play and they complete their roles flawlessly. Whether it’s a supporting character who has been around since chapter 1 or a very recent villain, everyone does something here. The whole montage of fighters is really impressive to be sure. One of the best climaxes I’ve read in a while. It makes full use of how many characters have been introduced and fleshed out over the years as well as the increasing power levels here.

At most you could say that it does highlight some power level issues in general though. For example, it feels like there should be no way that half of these characters can survive a single hit from Innocent Zero. At this point the amount of power we’re talking about it crazy after all. You’d expect that Mash himself would murder say Dot or Lance with a single hit if he’s serious and this guy is leagues stronger than Mash. So there may be a little plot armor occurring at different points here that you will have to try and ignore. This is something that happens to any series once the power levels are high enough though so it’s not like it’s a shock. It’s just the way that the ball bounces.

Now lets talk about the characters a bit. First up is Mash who is a very solid main character. He may not take things seriously all the time but he can fight well and ultimately wants to do his pops proud. He has his deep moments when avenging a friend where we see that he notices more than he lets on. So all in all he is definitely the guy you want to have on your side. I would say he balances out the serious and comedic parts of his personality really well. He ends up being funny without being annoying so there really aren’t any big downsides to his character.

Then you have Finn who is one of those really scared characters. For the most part he is not ready to deal with the big threats but eventually gets his man up moment. So naturally you know that I don’t really care for the character too much. I always appreciate it when he steps up as needed but that’s too little and too late to really bump him up the ranks for me. I would need to see that done on a consistent basis.

A better example of a flawed character who is still rather solid is Dot. Dot falls for all the traps and his weakness to girls is a really big one. At the same time he can still fight rather well and always talks tough. So he can actually back himself up and continues to get stronger as the series goes on. He may not be one of the strongest fighters out there but he is a consistent ally who always does his best and he is entertaining. So I give him a thumbs up there.

Lance is an even better fighter. This guy is the genius of the main characters and so he was able to master his craft at an early age. There are very few other fighters who could have managed that. His fighting style is also very direct. He plunges you into the ground with his gravity which is an ability that is really hard to block or dodge. You just have to be even stronger so that the gravity doesn’t affect you. The guy’s main quirk is a bit much so that can hold him back but otherwise he’s solid.

Lemon is the main heroine in a way but she gets a really small role next to her competitors. You can go through just about the whole series and only find a rare handful of moments where she really got something to do. She’s a super minor character all the way around and wasn’t that interesting. Wahlberg may not do much for a large chunk of the series but he is at least rather cool. I don’t think that he’s a great headmaster since he tends to take his time making the right choices. He will ask the other students for their input a little too much and tends to be rather passive. However, I can forgive just about all of this for one big reason, he is strong. At the end of the day, that helps a character overcome many obstacles. So by the end I would say that he was rather solid.

Rayne is one of the first divine visionaries to appear and get to fight. The one catch with that is he doesn’t get as much time to be mysterious and get a lot of hype. Still, his abilities are the real deal and I like him. He’s not quite as much of a stickler about the rules as some of the other characters which I can appreciate. He doesn’t lose sight of the forest for the trees while other characters lose sight of that immediately! My favorite visionary is easily Ryoh though. He’s the light visionary who is really cool and confident in his own abilities. He may brag a lot but that is rather deserved when you consider how strong he is. Why wouldn’t he brag right?

He gets some really good fights in the series as well an left a big impact. His screen time relative to some of the other characters may have been small but he was still a lot of fun. Tom is another fun character who doesn’t appear much. He wants Mash to join in the sports events and it’s easy to see why since Mash is a super athletic star. At the same time, this guy can’t fight so he is written out real quick. Definitely don’t expect much out of him.

Margarette is one of the big antagonists early on and is definitely powerful. I actually forget how close the fight with Mash was. The ability to use sound waves and then shape them into various objects is really impressive. Margarette leaves quite the impression even if I am not a big fan of the character. Carpaccio is someone who has even less of an impression. Cool character and definitely a lot of fun abilities but a very small role. One of those characters who really existed for Mash to beat up but otherwise didn’t have much to do.

Innocent Zero is easily one of the biggest villains in the series. It’s not surprising as he is introduced as the big bad fairly early into the series. His abilities are the real deal and they get more impressive as the climax hits. He’s a really solid villain. Although I feel like I tend to remember him more for his super powerful abilities than as a character. That’s the kind of figure that he is. You’re not thinking about a grand origin story and super ambitious goals but more of a classic final boss kind of figure. It works well enough with him though and he leaves more of an impact than most of the others.

An exception to this is Doom though. He’s the best villain in the series by far. The guy’s another crazy strong fighter but he has a good honor code and is also just a lot more interesting. His fight with Mash felt more personal and his impact on the story was bigger. He was the true benchmark for Mash to compare himself with and serves as the last main opponent before the final boss. Doom got to fight quite a few opponents during the series and always dominated in his matches. Yeah that guy was awesome.

By the end of the series we even get to see the god of the world show up which was certainly interesting. It was another chance for Mashle to showcase its unique form of humor and it felt like something out of One Punch Man. I wouldn’t be shocked if that series pulls off something similar at some point but in the meantime this is really a Mashle exclusive. The god here is fairly powerful to be sure, probably one of the strongest but he’s no Mash. Okay now lets circle back and look at some more of the characters.

Abel is one of the first big villains and he was a whole lot of fun. The guy’s role has aged well and he just makes for a very imposing figure. The series goes into the redemption arcs without too much thought into them which is fitting for a light hearted title. So you may be a bit dubious on everyone being cool with Abel but it is what it is. He’s a solid villain through and through. I also liked his right hand man Abyss a whole lot. That guy is super loyal and he was also a terrific fighter. He really gave Mash a tough run for his money during their initial encounter. I always value loyalty in a character.

They had a number of other fighters on their squad who showed up but for the most part they were all written out after they were dispatched. Back to the visionaries, Orter is another strong member but definitely the most fixated on the rules to becoming a borderline villain. The fact that he is always so eager to execute Mash reflects real poorly on him. Here’s the problem, Mash at the end of the day is someone who is actively working to fight the villains. So taking him down doesn’t help at all except to restore the status quo. It’s my big problem with a character like this who completely loses perspective. So he’s okay as a villain but I wouldn’t acknowledge him as a hero.

Kaldo is a lot more interesting. He doesn’t necessarily approve of Mash in any way but he gives him some advice. Kaldo recognizes the benefit in having another strong fighter on board which immediately makes him a whole lot more interesting. I also like the sword that he uses. I wish he could have appeared a little earlier on so that he could get more fights but he still made the most of his screen time.

Brad is one of those bullies who quickly turned over a new leaf and it’s a good thing that he did or Mash would have really gave him some trouble. He ends up being a reasonably entertaining character in the background but he definitely never gets much of a serious role. Same goes for Regro who did a good job of raising Mash but after that he is really written out. There just isn’t anything for him to really do at that point.

Not all of the visionaries get a ton to do though so I’ll go through a few of these quickly. Renatus is one of those guys who is rather tough with a psychotic streak. He’s definitely interesting but I would have liked to have seen more of him. I can’t say that I liked Agito at all. The guy definitely doesn’t stack up with the others and his being quirky doesn’t end up really being a positive.

I can’t say I remember Sophina or Tsuara much at all to be honest even after refreshing myself on the wiki. So I’m going to list that as a demerit. If I don’t remember you very well then that means there is clearly a big problem here. It’s a shame but that’s just how it goes sometimes.

Meliadoul is an interesting character. She shows up really late to the whole thing but gets a solid role near the end. She’s actually rather tough and I admire her fiery resolve. She is the opposite of Ochoa who is one of the worst characters in the series. Right up through the end he proves himself to not be trustworthy at all and someone who will seek his own safety first. There’s definitely no room for a character like that in these ranks and I wish he could have been more likable. He was good for some of the gags but gets a thumbs down.

Cell War is a fairly cool villain and I definitely like the name. His spikes are hard to dodge and so he is a very powerful fighter all the way through. He’s rather twisted and evil but without overplaying that card. Everything about him is really memorable so you aren’t likely to forget about him anytime soon. Domina was another one of the more impressive villains. His water skills were really good and even by the end of the series he is one of the most powerful members. He is one of those guys where you might not buy into the redemption arc all that much though. You have to suspend a little disbelief there but it was definitely satisfying seeing him show up in the climax so that was cool.

Charles doesn’t quite have the same energy behind him. He’s also rather strong but not as impressive as the last few. I did like Levis a lot though. He’s another villain who is more on the crazy side and fights hard. His ending may not make him look super impressive but for the most part you can count on a tough fight from this guy. Famin is super strong and one of the more twisted villains. It seems like the clown/jester villains always have a bit of an edge to them right? Don’t let this guy’s quirkiness fool you, he’s as deadly as they come and really leaves an impact.

Epidem has one of the most memorable scenes later on because how much of a sucker he proves the heroes to be. The main thing to remember is that if a villain offers you food, you probably shouldn’t take it. That’s like the first lesson everyone learns right? Well, you would think that was the case at least. So his entire fight was really fun. Delisaster is another villain I’m drawing more of a blank on but the design is really solid. It’ll be fun to see all of these villains animated at some point. There are just so many great fights to be had.

Mashle is a series that has tremendous amounts of replay value though. There are so many great fights to be found throughout all of the arcs and like I said the humor is also really good. It takes you back to a nostalgic time in Shonen Jump and it really always keeps a good balance between action and humor. I’d have been cool for the series to have kept on going for a long time. This could have been the next Naruto in terms of impact.

Overall, Mashle is an absolutely elite title. One of the all time greats and definitely a story that you need to read. It’s not every day that we get another big action Shonen like this so you need to check it out right away. The character cast is fun and there are so many fun little references and easter eggs here. The world is really well fleshed out and so you are absolutely engaged in everything that is going on from start to finish. Also if you like cream puffs, this series will likely help you take that to the next level!

Overall 9/10

Spider-Man 2 Review

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It’s time to continue the Spider-Man run. This time we’re at the full on sequel that takes place after Miles. If you skipped the middle game then you definitely don’t have much context on some of the Miles’ sub plots but for the most part you should be able to follow along from the main game either way. It’s definitely another excellent title that slightly switches up the gameplay in a few ways. Some of them positive and some of them negative which is how things always go but in the end I would definitely give it a thumbs up either way.

The story starts off with Harry finally feeling better thanks to the experimental symbiote that was put on him. He no longer has to be confined to his bed or a stasis tube so that’s great and he’s even ready to help Spider-Man on his journey. The tricky part here is that a new villain is in town though. His name is Kraven and he is slowly hunting all of Spider-Man’s most dangerous opponents. Once he is done with them then it may be time to go after Spider-Man himself. This guy has to be stopped but can Peter really juggle being Spider-Man and Peter Parker?

So lets start off with all of the positives first. The hub world is still huge with a whole lot to do. You can swing through the buildings really quickly so it never feels like a burden though. Instead it’s just a lot of fun and so you will likely find yourself very quickly going through the bonus content even as you complete the story. It’s the kind of game that really rewards this by increasing your stats and abilities accordingly. You actually do feel a lot stronger as you level up and that’s a good thing. The side quests also have a good amount of variety so if you’re bored of beating up on the enemies then this will help to reset your gameplay. Some missions involve controlling a robot, zipping around, and even playing as Peter Parker and using your bike.

The gameplay is also really smooth as you would expect. You have a lot of great hand to hand combat skills up your arsenal along with the web abilities. You get much stronger special abilities here than in either of the first two games so that definitely helps you to really pack up the enemies. If anything you may start to get sloppy as you rely on them so be careful about that. They do take a long time to load so when you’re up against big bosses then things can be tricky. You also have 4 different web abilities that you will want to throw into the mix as well. Everything can be leveled up and of course there are different customizations possible.

One change to the gameplay that I didn’t care for is the new parry system. Basically this is a mechanic so that you can’t dodge some attacks. Your spider sense simply isn’t good enough and in these moments you have to just block as best you can. So what’s the problem with this? The symbol for parrying is the same as the symbol for command grabs and if you try to block one of those then you take a lot of damage. These grabs can’t be dodged either, you have to jump out of the way. It definitely adds some complexity to the gameplay but it was in more of an annoying way. I didn’t think that it ended up helping the experience.

This is still a top tier gameplay style of course but it makes the system a bit weaker than the last two games. I bet if I hadn’t played them back to back it would feel more natural since I would be used to parrying already but that just wasn’t the case here. You can still choose to heal or use a special attack but in this game it’s almost always worth healing instead since the super attacks don’t do enough damage to justify their use. Keep the heal ready instead and just use a special move as soon as you are able to do so. Also once you have symbiote powers, you will be hard pressed to ever want to use anything else. They’re just way too good.

The story here is definitely a lot of fun as well. It’s nice to see all of the villains showing up although you have a hard time believing that Kraven would do nearly as well as he did. That’s a stretch. The beginning can be a little slow as we get flashbacks to Peter’s old days but once the story really starts you are all set. Even though I am not a Black Cat fan I will say that her role was really underwhelming here. The game seemed to be setting up a big role for her only to stop that short. Maybe it’s a subversion but not one that helped the story out. Ah well, at least we have a bonus story of sorts involving the Flame cult which is real interesting.

There are a bunch of different side quests but for the most part they’re a bit on the dull side otherwise. You have to find an old man who is lost in the park, you share memories with someone else, take photos, etc. There is just one mission that I would say was really downright bad though where you have to help someone set up a prom date. The problem is that the game goes rather PC on this one and the whole thing feels rigged because not only is it easily one of the longer missions but you can’t look away at any part of it or the mission stops. So that’s really the game forcing you to watch the terrible dialogue and saying that you cannot escape. It’s the only mission like this at least from the ones I’ve completed and I’ve done most. It’s just way too forced so the whole time you know exactly what they are doing which is rather iffy at best. The other elements of this present in the game tend to be more subtle and at least aren’t stuffed in your face.

The graphics are naturally top tier. Some of the character models may not be as good as older ones but there’s nothing that will take you out of the experience. It is still as if you are watching a movie and even if the game isn’t quite 20 hours, it feels like you’re playing this for a really long time because of just how much dedication they put into the project. This is clearly not just your average title. The soundtrack is also really good, I have to give the Kraven some credit here. The ominous music that plays whenever he is on screen is really great.

So naturally there is a ton of replay value here due to the content I mentioned before. After the story mode itself which is already reasonably long, you have a lot of different bonus missions to complete and collectibles to accomplish. The Platinum trophy itself should be rather easy to get from what I’ve heard but it will still take time. So you definitely shouldn’t underestimate it. There’s a lot of bang for your buck here and this still sets the standard of what a AAA game should play like. They pull out all the stops for this one.

Overall, Spider-Man 2 is definitely another great game. It’s really cinematic and has a ton of content within it. This is not a game that you will just knock out in a day or two. You will definitely be here for the long haul and there are a lot of fun memories to create. It’s a game you won’t forget anytime soon. While the ending may not be the best, I am interested in the Flame plot for the next game. I’m also interested in what Osborn will do next. The guy writing the final chapter? I really don’t care about that. As for Peter, I still hope he has a big role in the next game. We have to see how that goes but it wouldn’t feel in character for him to not be doing much, no matter what the ending implies. Hey, we’ll just have to see how it goes I suppose.

Overall 9/10

Heartbreak Ridge Review

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This review is of the TV-14 edited version of the film. All thoughts below should be addressed as such as a review of the unedited version would be more negative

It’s time for a classic war film that’s pretty fun. You always like to see the gruff commander show up to get the younger men into shape. He really turns the Z squad into the A squad in a fairly short time. We still get the serious war scenes to be sure but a lot of the film is really spent on the build up to the war so we see how the training goes.

The movie starts off by introducing us to Tom who has served a lot of time in the army and now life is rather boring for him. He gets himself placed into prison a lot for rather mundane reasons. Well, now he has been transferred to what is easily considered the worst division as a punishment. Well, nobody is going to mess with Tom. His toughness does get the team to respect him fairly quick though. Do they finally have a chance at greatness?

You see a lot of war films where the army platoon leaders are super cruel or just corrupt which can be annoying so it’s nice to see a leader who is tough but knows how to balance things out. He’s always in charge and can take care of himself without actually being mean about it. For example he gets his revenge on Stitch who stole his money early on but then from there on it’s all even. He’s not going to be vindictive about it or anything like that. Then when the squad calls in their big hitter Swede, Tom just shows him what’s up and keeps on moving. There’s no time for grudges in the army, he’s just trying to have a winning squad.

He set the tone immediately in the first scene when he beat someone up in prison and never goes back from there. Tom is easily the standout character in the film and all of his scenes are great. I also liked the main villain Malcolm. He could perhaps be a bit over the top but he works well as the foil. He’s corrupt and everything that Tom is not. This is the guy that you absolutely do not want to be your squad leader because he’s going to lead you into every kind of disaster possible. The guy absolutely puts his petty rivalries above the actual mission and he will do that every time. It’s certainly not very becoming for an officer, especially such a high ranking one. He had a bone to pick with Tom right from the start.

It gets worse when you find out that he actively sabotages the main squad so they can always lose to his squad. He sees his group as being the best and so the others don’t matter which is not effective in the slightest. The character who really steps up when it counts is Lt. Ring. At first he is way too inexperienced and reads everything out of textbooks. The guy doesn’t know what to do in a real fight at all. So this is his chance to really step out of his shell. I’d say that he makes the most out of the opportunity. He was annoying at first but was a good character by the end.

As for Stitch and the other soldiers, I wouldn’t say that I ever ended up liking any of them much. Yes, they assembled under Tom’s leadership but it feels like they are all easily swayed. If someone other than Tom had shown up then they would all still be delinquents. Of course their character redemption arc is the whole point of the movie but I just wasn’t as convinced as I could have been. Their scenes still tend to bring a lot of humor though so it’s not like that’s something that would bring the film down. I particularly liked it when Tom would troll them with the different shirts the whole time.

The only plot that wasn’t particularly good involved Tom’s ex wife Aggie. This is the romance subplot where they are trying to get back together but there’s just way too much baggage here. It feels completely unrealistic and at no point do you really believe that they even like each other. It comes across more like they’re both just lonely and desperate which isn’t a great reason to get back together. The romance isn’t a big focus in the movie but it’s still big enough to be mentioned. It’s easily the weakest part of the film.

Of course when you just have one general weak point then you are in a good position. The movie as a whole has really good pacing the whole time. There’s a good amount of action in the climax as well. I would say that the film is at its best in the first half with Tom showing everyone up with a lot of clever dialogue. He’s not exactly a big talker but always knows how to pick the perfect moments to deliver some killer lines. He really keeps the characters on notice there. The writing is really solid here and granted this is the edited version so the script might be a little more intense otherwise but in this version it was good.

Overall, Heartbreak Ridge is a pretty good movie. It is a war movie but most of the film is about the training so it almost feels like as slightly different genre. Maybe army training if that’s a real sub genre. Either way it’s a satisfying watch that feels like there was a lot of effort put into creating this one. It’s a well crafted experience. If you like a solid army film that has a good sense of humor then you should check this one out for sure. Whether you view it as an inspirational title or just a funny one, there are lot of lessons and morals to take away from this. Always bring your best and it’s never too late to improve yourself.

Overall 7/10

The 6th Day Review

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It’s time for a sci-fi film about everyone’s worst fear. Imagine you go home one day and a clone has taken over your life? Definitely not a fun feeling. The movie balances out the sci-fi and action really well and makes for a solid watch from start to finish. A quality film that I would recommend checking out without a doubt.

The movie starts by introducing us to the 6th Day laws which prohibit anyone from making clones of humans. It’s just not the right thing to do and the tech isn’t ready for it. This will prevent anyone from trying to perfect the technology and causing accidents in the meantime. Our main character here is Adam who flies helicopters and one day his partner has to go on a mission without him since Adam needs to buy a doll for his daughter’s birthday. The crew is destroyed but Adam doesn’t know this. He heads back to the house back in time for the party only to find that “Adam” is already there. Now there are a bunch of people trying to murder the lead so he has to get to the bottom of this conspiracy and reclaim his family before it’s too late.

This may be a 2000 film but it’s got a classic 90s vibe to me. There’s a lot of fast paced action here while also still making time for a good amount of quips and humor. It’s balanced well so the film’s what I would call a light hearted thriller. Adam is a great fighter who knows how to use a gun and take care of himself. No matter how many enemies you throw at him, you know he’s basically got this.

There’s time for a good amount of lore into how the future works with cloning at the ready and the character cast is good. I actually thought the main villains were rather fun. One of them dies quite a few times before he has to be cloned each time which sounds rather painful to have to keep going through that but at least you never die right? Dr. Weir is the only villain I wasn’t big on though. He’s one of those guys who started off with rather reasonable goals and everything but then he went too far.

So in the end he turns back on this and tries to see the light but he waited too long. He really just ensured that the rich Mr. Drucker would have to take him down. It’s always rough when you see the scientist making a dumb mistake like this. If you’re going to betray the villains then you should really cover your bases before doing it. Have some kind of a plan right?

Drucker is a much more interesting villain because of how he just goes all in on the plan. His opening speech is basically him admitting that he’s evil and doing human cloning despite the rules being against it. He’s rich and nobody can stop him so why not right? He’s a very smug kind of villain which works really well here. He can’t fight but he has a lot of goons on his side.

I also appreciated that the film handled the topic of clones very well. After all once a clone does exist, he is sentient so now you can’t exactly end him right? So lets say with Adam and his clone, you need Adam to get his life back but the clone also thinks that he is real and has the same love for his family. In a way there is no real way to win in this situation. Someone is going to have a sad ending here and that’s the case in practically every film of this kind.

The Sonic 90s show and God of Highschool easily have the saddest endings when it comes to clones but this film’s ending can be rather sad as well. Yes, it’s not played off as a sad ending and I appreciate that but it is still sad when you think about it. One of them can’t be with the family unless they alternate days or something which would be weird as well.

So the film handles it as best as possible. It’s a satisfactory ending and the rare sad ending that I can be fine with. You definitely hope that cloning never becomes a thing in the real world because it would really just be scary. The whole film has a bit of a scary undertone despite how it’s fairly light hearted the whole time. I’d say it’s because you could easily picture a future like this.

It’s all handled rather realistically I would say. Definitely a lot to think about when it comes to the story and I do dig themes like this. It’s why Sci-Fi’s so good. Like I said earlier, the fight scenes are really good and the effects are solid. The soundtrack is even pretty good. The violence isn’t over the top either, a few intense moments but mainly your classic action type of content. Fairly minimal fanservice although one character has a weird VR maid that shows up. That’s one of those spooky elements that’s already shown up in the real world but it does seem like you’d have to be really desperate to go that route. The main romance is actually rather decent since the main character is already married at the start so they don’t have to run into the usual drama.

I also wouldn’t expect her to realize that Adam’s clone is around since the clones in this film are effectively perfect. They have all of the memories and think that they are real so I wouldn’t expect any key differences there. The film’s pacing is good so really as you can see the positives really outweigh the negatives.

Overall, The 6th Day is a pretty good movie. It takes the subject of clones a lot farther than I would have expected since you’re just thinking about a classic action thriller here. The comedy is also handled well and helps to kick this to the next level. This movie isn’t brought up very often so if you happen to see it online then I would definitely recommend checking it out.

Overall 7/10

The Last: Naruto The Movie Update

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Update, I now own this movie on Blu Ray! Was fun rewatching it and the movie definitely still holds up as one of the best Naruto movies. Top tier action and Sasuke has a really hype role in here. Would have worked well as the true final movie as well although of course I’m glad that the series kept on rolling. If you haven’t seen this movie yet then you ought to change that!

Fever Pitch Review

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All right it’s time for one of those classic rom-com films. It’s definitely got a retro feel to it because at this point the early 200s are actually rather old. It feels rough saying that but it is what it is. The film has some fun moments, there’s always a lot going on here and I do like that it keeps up the energy well. As always with these films, it’s at its best when the film is focusing on the humor rather than the romance. Still the film does keep the main characters more in check than other titles so it’s not like they ever hate each other which is good. That’s usually what makes the romance more on the unrealistic side.

The film starts off by introducing Ben as a super big Red Sox fan. He has really built his entire life around them. Well, one day when he is leading a school tour as the teacher, he meets a lady named Lindsey who is really smart and good with numbers. The kids tease Ben about her and so he decides to actually make a move and asks her out. This basically flies in the face of most titles like this so I have to give him some serious props here. The guy actually has a lot of guts. The two of them start going out but there is one big problem here. They both have very different priorities. Ben still wants to follow the Red Sox across the country and never miss a game while Lindsey is trying hard for a promotion so the two don’t have much time for each other. Can this really work?

Lets start off with the film’s stronger aspects here which are the characters. Both Ben and Lindsey have fairly successful lives going on right now. Neither one of them are creeps or just hopeless in life. They actually feel like real people who have made choices and everything. Lindsey has more corporate success but can be rather lonely. She does have some friends but it’s clear that Ben has the better support network. He may not be doing as well but he still has enough money to go to training camp with his friends and they’re always having a blast. So the romance is adding something extra for both of them but it’s not like their lives revolve around this.

It also makes the drama a bit more realistic since neither person wants to sacrifice parts of their life too easily. So Lindsey brings her laptop to the games and Ben picks the games over dates. Now I would put more of the burden on Ben here though. Lindsey is fighting for an active promotion right now so of course she has to give it her best effort. I absolutely get why she needs to be putting in overtime and everything. For Ben, hey I get that he likes Baseball a lot but he does need to make some concessions here. Baseball has over 100 games, if he’s going to watch them all then he’s not going to be available for her much at all.

He can barely go a day without the games. At one point he decides to skip one to make her feel better so they have a good date and everything but despite saying what a great day it was, he completely flips on this when his friends let him know that he missed the best game ever. He pretty much guilt trips Lindsey at this point when it’s not like it was her fault or anything like that. In this film naturally both characters will be at fault a lot of the time but I would say it was usually Ben’s fault in the end.

Ben’s friends are also solid in general. They actually do give good advice from time to time and their scenes can be funny. At one point for example Ben has them all dancing as a way to compete for who gets to see which game now that he has the season tickets. It gets rather competitive and it’s nice for a change to see the guys hanging out without the topic quickly being about which girl they like or things like that. They’re actually good friends that just have a good time hanging out so that was fun.

Unfortunately the film’s climax doesn’t feel very satisfying on Lindsey’s end. She ends up having to make way more sacrifices and I would have liked a more positive ending there. A lot of times the films like this act as if only one side can win but we could have had a scenario where she gets the promotion, Ben still has the tickets, and they just put in some boundaries/guard rails to keep things from being crazy. That would have been way more reasonable and a better ending. The ending itself could have definitely been worse but it’s just not nearly as good as it could or should have been.

As with any comedy film, I’m not saying that all of the jokes will land but on average you will like more of them than you don’t. The writing is good as well and at least tries to give you some reasons why the two characters would go out. For starters Ben asking her out at the start was a big move since he was more proactive than the average guy. He can still be rather immature at times but since Lindsey is always super serious, you could see her going with him to get back in touch with her inner child. There is actually a lot of time that passes by in the movie as we follow the whole Red Sox season so it also avoids my usual complaints about the romance being really rushed and unrealistic. A lot more care and detail went into this film compared to the usual experience and of course having the sports element in there was also a nice way to add a little boost for me since that’s always fun.

Overall, Fever Pitch is a good movie. It manages to avoid making the drama be too forced and doesn’t go as extreme as other comedy films go. You get the usual formula of the main two getting together, falling apart, and then getting back together but it’s done in a way that actually feels realistic. So by avoiding the usual pitfalls the movie ended up being more effective. The pacing is good and the humor tends to land so I had a good time here. It’s not exactly the kind of movie I would be clamoring to see again or anything like that but if you’re looking for a fairly wholesome romance movie then this is a good one to watch.

Overall 6/10

Delicious in Dungeon Review

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It’s time for a big food based manga that has gotten especially big lately with the show ongoing. Well, it’s definitely got a unique premise but given that it’s all about eating every monster possible, you can probably guess that this is not going to end well for the show. Even fans of cooking will probably have a hard time with this one since it’s not like you can actually copy most of these recipes but the series gets some props for sticking with the concept. Even to the end, cooking is always a primary focus of the series. Still ends up being a miss for me though.

The series starts with Laios and his party going through a dungeon when they are attacked by the legendary Red Dragon. Unfortunately it ends up eating Laios’ sister Falin and escapes. Half of Laios’ party disbands the remaining members are basically bankrupt. Laios doesn’t want to wait and go all the way out of the dungeon so he decides that they will just have to eat every monster they come across. Fortunately they meet up with a guy named Senshi who is an expert at cooking up monsters and he agrees to help. Is this really something Laios is doing out of desperation though or is using Falin as an excuse to eat monsters?

The series is fairly long with 14 volumes so you may wonder how all of that can be about finding Falin. Well, that’s not the whole plot. Things keep on going and you really have 2 main story arcs here. The second half takes a while for sure we the heroes have to learn more about what to do next and then work on their plans. The cast further expands here so there are a good number of characters to keep track of. The series also has a lot of world building which works well for including a bunch of characters into the mix.

As a little background here, the world connects to a massive dungeon that appears to get bigger and bigger every day. There is no upper limit to the dungeon and so people continue to go in and grab some money. You can use remains of animals to sell, different treasure chests, artifacts, etc. If you die in the dungeon then you have to hope that someone goes up to you and casts revive. Your soul is trapped when you are in the dungeon which is why you don’t die right away. On one hand that may sound good but on the other hand that also means it could very well be possible that you are stuck for all eternity. Jut think about that for a minute there, it’s not exactly a spot that you want to be in. It also means that several characters will die multiple times. Just because you can revive doesn’t mean that the pain goes away which is another thing to consider.

Basically what I am getting at is that living in this world feels really dangerous. You can just decide not to go into the dungeon and have a normal job but the series doesn’t go into that too much so it’s hard to say just how feasible that is. For all we know there are barely any jobs available so you would have to venture into the unknown anyway. Then you have the Elves who tend to be rather selfish and dangerous. They do not have your best interests at heart so you need to keep that in mind all the way and of course if you run into the mad mage then you may be put to sleep forever. Fighting between adventurers is completely forbidden but since when has that ever stopped anybody right? So you better keep your guard up at all times.

The art is pretty solid here. That doesn’t always work in the game’s favor but there is a lot of detail here at all times. The characters are easy to spot and while the series doesn’t have a ton of fight scenes, the action scenes that we get look pretty good. At most, some of the climax moments can be a little too cluttered with everyone running around but on the whole I would still say that things look good. The art is not a problem I have with the title.

So lets talk about the big issue right out of the gate which is naturally the animal violence. Yes a lot of these are fantasy creatures but we’re still watching the heroes slice and dice them to add onto a meal. This tends to be rather gross a lot of the time. A lot of these creatures also end up looking like real animals. It gets more and more twisted as some of the creatures get close to being humanoid. I thought that Marcille had a good point about at least drawing the line at humanoids but why would Laios listen to that? These are desperate times so it makes sense to do what you have to do but by the end everyone are eating various monsters.

So all of this eating is a big blow and that’s a main focus of the entire series so you’re not really going to be coming back from that. I usually like a lot of good food titles like Superman Meshi but this is one that I just couldn’t get behind. You would need to change the entire premise of the series to make this work or put them in a virtual world where these are just programs or something. By the end of the series it gets even more and more twisted about what’s being eaten. The whole climax is easily one of the most disturbing ones that I’ve read in a manga.

It’s not just about being eaten alive but how graphic and painful the whole thing is. The series is never afraid to be on the higher end of the violence side since characters can be brought to life. This is shown early on by the manor in which people die. They get stabbed or shot through the head and while they are revived later on, you feel like it’s a bit much. So just keep that in mind, this is a series that tends to be on the more extreme side in each aspect of the title.

Take away all of the animals and I would still have some problems there but yeah that’s got to be the biggest one here. I was rooting for Marcille and the various characters who didn’t want to eat these monsters to stay strong but ultimately they couldn’t. To an extent you may feel it’s no different from cooking actual animal so what’s the harm right? Well the first part is that cooking those after being hunted would destroy any series for me anyway, the monsters only dampens the blow to an extent but it all just feels wrong.

Part of the problem is how crazy Laios is. The more the series goes on, the crazier we see him become. The guy can barely contain just how twisted he is at different points and that’s really the main issue with him. I don’t like Laios as a character. He really does seem to be using Falin as an excuse half of the time. He’s super interested in trying out every monster, he basically wants to become one. This is mainly played off as a gag of course but he is still like this in the serious moments as well. So he’s not exactly the hero type and his twisted set of morals should have you concerned.

Marcille is easily the most likable member of the main crew. She has a rather intense backstory and really good reasons for wanting to save Falin. She’s the first friend that Marcille had after all. Yes, Falin also has her weird moments to be sure but on the whole she is a lot more normal than Laios. Marcille is always ready to do whatever she has to in order to save the day even if it means putting herself in danger so I can definitely applaud that. You want her on your side without a doubt. She makes a whole lot of sacrifices in order to get to the end and even her overall goal makes a lot of sense. Yes, she comes close to accepting a shortcut which wouldn’t work out so well in order to support her goals and dreams but you get why she would do this. So she’s an interesting character all the way.

Then you have Chillchuck who is a bit more jaded than the other characters and gets jaded a lot. He doesn’t have some grand master plan for the world and talks tough but at the end of the day he is here in the front lines fighting with everyone else to save Falin. So you can definitely give him a lot of credit too all the way through. He is good at avoiding traps and helping the heroes get through the dungeon so he is definitely really handy. Meanwhile Senshi may be the MVP for the group since without him they would have a hard time staying alive at all. While cutting up all of the monsters may not help the series as a whole, it definitely helped the main party conisderably.

Senshi has a ton of experience not just in cooking but surviving in general. He knows a lot of the different players in the dungeon and has formed strategic alliances that allow him to do what he does. Without him the heroes would have been murdered by the trolls, orcs, or other random creatures. Then you have Izutsumi who joins up later and is a solid addition. She has quick speed and can fight rather well thanks to her claws. She is cursed to be part cat which is tough in terms of having to live that way but it really comes in handy for fights which is what the main cast really needs in this situation. So that is definitely impressive and in general I liked her. She’s not going to fall for the usual illusions and traps that the others jump into.

As for Falin herself, I wouldn’t say that I was a big fan. She’s okay and seems like a nice enough person but she does suffer from a lot of the same issues as the main guy. It wasn’t great for Laios and she doesn’t fare any better either. If anything I would say the more she appears, the less normal she acts. I suppose because at that point everyone is a lot more familiar with her but she tends to be at her best when Laios is not around. Her abilities are certainly impressive though.

Then we have Namari and Shuro who I didn’t like because I consider them to be traitors. After Falin was taken out they both ditch the party. Yes, Shuro shows up to help later on but he makes a big fuss about the dark magic used to help Falin and is generally a pain in the neck. He doesn’t make things easier for the main characters at all and by making things tougher that just means that he’s in the way. Not a good look when you need everyone on deck right?? That’s what I thought! Namari is at least more sociable but it doesn’t change the fact that she ran off either. I still can’t forget that and it’s a really big deal. You can’t just run off, there is no coming back from that.

Kabru is easily one of the most interesting characters though. I’m not big on a certain plot twist he got in the end but for the most part he was a strategic figure who helped to add a little intensity to the plot. You never really knew hat he was thinking and he was a really good wild card. He kept all of the characters on their toes which is exactly what you would be expecting from a character like this. Kabru was always one step ahead of the other characters. He may not have had a great ending but I still enjoyed his character a lot and if anything he should have been the real main character.

Meanwhile the mad mage Sissel was a reasonably solid villain. I thought he had some reasonably solid goals and ambitions the whole time. He did start to get more and more unreasonable as the series went on though. I suppose you could say it was maybe because of the influences around him but that’s probably more of an excuse in the long run. This guy just couldn’t handle the power and didn’t think things through in the long run. That’s what really got him in the end. Still, this was a threat that made all of the heroes get up and pay attention which was nice to see. If anything they’re lucky that he didn’t press the attack more.

Then you have the main canary Mithrun who was a fun character. He’s seriously skilled and always goes for the lethal attacks in a fight. He desperately wants to stop Sissel but that’s hard since the whole dungeon obeys the mage. It’s really a one sided revenge tour since he doesn’t have much of a chance of really doing anything here. Still, he goes through a whole lot and is a likable character. The whole thing feels like he got the short end of the stick so you can feel bad for him there.

Finally there is the Winged Lion who is a very interesting character. His goals may not be as intense as Sissel’s but in a way that’s due to his nature. For the mot part he’s doing everything because he can, rather than having more of a specific ambition. He is absolutely able to play the long game though and has been strategizing for a very long time. He does a good job of manipulating characters so I give him a ton of credit there. Not just any character could manage to pull that off. He can also fight well so that’s another plus.

So the character cast here is pretty solid. While I had a lot of issues with the execution, I think the world building is pretty solid. For starters it is interesting to see a world where a dungeon is the primary source of income because of all the rare stuff in there. Death being suspended is definitely pretty cool since otherwise the body count would be massive. You’ve got the Elves and a bunch of kings running around as well to stir up some trouble. I would have liked some more fights between the factions but again this isn’t really an action series first and foremost. It’s more about the platforming and eating. We do get fights but they just aren’t the primary focus.

I still can’t help but think of how much better it would be if not for all of the animal stuff. Just have them eating off the land, lots of berries and things like that. That would have been so much better and would have made me proud. Seriously it would have been a really good idea al the way. Ah well, at the end of the day it is what it is. I can say that I will never forget the series, it really is quite memorable. Also while the humor around Laios doesn’t tend to land, the series does actually have some rather solid gags. I really enjoyed seeing the characters come to terms with how they’re seen by the rest of the party for example when they fight a bunch of shapeshifters. That was funny while also being very interesting. The characters tend to be very expressive and the series is rather light toned so there are lots of opportunities for fun scenes apart from everything being eaten.

Overall, This series definitely lives up to the name. There is a lot of food everywhere and the whole series does involve a dungeon so there is no clickbait here. Everything is as you’d expect it to be from the title except for the fact that none of the food actually looks delicious. The characters do say that it all tastes delicious though which I suppose is the important part even if I am super skeptical. So really if you can get behind all of the monster eating then this should be the story for you. If not, then consider this an experimental series that just can’t hold its own and give it a skip. There are enough good manga out there where you don’t have to force yourself to check this one out. Check out Superman vs Meshi as a good replacement.

Overall 3/10