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One Piece: Adventure of Nebulandia Review

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It’s time for another big adventure from the Strawhats. This one brings back the Foxy pirates who actually got reasonably popular after their original story arc. That said, it is one of the weaker films in the series mainly because of how low key it is. Everyone gets to appear and have some fun but there isn’t a ton of action in this one. It’s an adventure first and foremost so you will see the characters have to use their smarts to win this time. Pure strength won’t get the job done, not against the master strategist who appears!

The film starts off with the Strawhats having fun as normal and then they land on a fun island. Sanji in particular is super excited because there are a lot of girls there who were stranded and need a ride back. What he didn’t realize is that this was actually Foxy and his gang of henchmen. Some of them were girls but the rest just had good disguises on. They are here to challenge Luffy and friends to a Davyback fight where the loser must have someone join the winner’s crew. Obviously the stakes are way too high to even think of accepting this but Luffy and friends do anyway. After all the worst thing can’t happen as long as they win right? What they don’t realize is that one of Foxy’s new teammates, Komei, is actually a government agent who is here to shut the Strawhats down once and for all. Can they get away from this trap?

The movie’s whole dilemma only stands a chance because the sleepy mushrooms actually affect Luffy. I think it’s debatable on if they would do anything thanks to his immunity though. Sure this isn’t a lethal poison but the sleepiness is still an adverse effect which Luffy’s body should have knocked out. At least if you ask me that would have been the most likely scenario. Still, that’s how they manage to take out the most powerful members of the crew since otherwise Zoro would have ended this in an instant.

It’s pretty in character for Luffy and friends to eat the mushrooms so I don’t have any issues there. It’s just a shame that the rest of the team aren’t really great fighters. It’s why a lot of people say that the Strawhats need to get stronger because only a select few really carry the team at this point. They desperately need to shed that reputation and this film doesn’t help with that. The power levels will also make you sneeze in this film. Like at one point Luffy goes to attack Komei and the guy just slaps some oil onto the boat so Luffy slips.

The whole thing is mega embarrassing and it’s why some people have a hard time thinking of Luffy as a mega powerhouse. I wouldn’t take the scene too seriously but either way it does show that Luffy got absolutely crushed in this fight. Once we get to the serious battle it’s all over fairly quick. Komei is good at planning things out but he’s no big fighter. Once you get past his defenses then it’s really all over for the guy. He’s just not going to be coming back from that.

I did like Komei as the villain though. He gives off the right vibes for a strategic villain like this. Yeah it may be hard to take him seriously at times but he does say all of the right things. I just have the sneaking suspicion that I won’t remember the guy very well after a while so that’s why I can’t call him amazing or anything like that. He’s still better than Dojaku though who just feels like an absolute henchman the whole time. Not the kind of guy who could ever end up being the powerful leader type.

As for Foxy’s group, they were being manipulated the whole time so I wouldn’t say they look good or anything like that. You’d think they would have realized that the new members weren’t what they seemed to be. That may be a little easy to say in hindsight though. Foxy’s slow power is still super broken and overpowered so he could become a real threat if he was ever to return. The rest of his crew are super weak though so he has to carry the team on his own.

The animation in the film is good but again it isn’t trying to do anything fancy here. The animation is going through the motions but this definitely feels like an ordinary episode. he soundtrack doesn’t really have any standout themes either. So it’s all rather ordinary. That’s not necessarily a bad thing but just something to keep in mind. You will not be finding a cinematic experience here. Although for some it probably feels more comfortable that way so this one ends up being easy to plug in at any point.

Overall, It’s nice to see the Strawhats getting to just relax and have fun once in a while. Even with the government threat and all, I imagine it probably feels like a vacation next to the other big battles that they’ve been in. If you enjoy One Piece then you will like this adventure as well. There is nothing to dislike here after all. If they ever bring the Foxy pirates back again, I’d like to see them do a proper competition of sorts without it being interrupted immediately. Maybe do it without the stakes of losing a member so that way you don’t actually know which team would win. It’s a nice way to building tension since of course in a proper fight the Strawhats would obviously win. In a competition it is less certain. Also we really need Zoro to be a main character next time around instead of missing most of the adventure. I get that you don’t want it to be too easy for the heroes but sidelining him like that is definitely not the right answer.

Overall 7/10

The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie Review

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Hey where’s Bugs Bunny??? That’s the first thing you’ll be asking yourself as you turn on the film and unfortunately he isn’t in this film. This one is really drilling down to a small character cast and it’s definitely a bold decision. I suppose you don’t have to always get the whole gang involved but it’s why this film doesn’t end up matching up against the bigger event films like Space Jam. I just don’t think the Looney Tunes are able to hold their film nearly as well as other comedy franchises and it’s because the banter isn’t quite on the same level. Then for visual humor Tom and Jerry tend to take the solid win. Still, this is a good film, it just doesn’t really have much in the way of replay value.

The film introduces us to Daffy and Porky who grew up together after being adopted by Farmer Jim. Daffy was always a really crazy kid who would get Porky into trouble while Porky was a lot more straight laced. They always got along though and helped each other out. In the present, Porky likes a girl named Petunia and so Daffy helps play wingman. He actually does a really good job of this and things are mainly looking good…except for the fact that they’re about to lose their house. It’s just too destructive and then a comet blew off the roof so there was no real hiding that. They only have a few days to fix this but that’s the least of their problems. The Earth itself is doomed with mysterious aliens showing up. Can Daffy and Porky save the day or are they just too green for the job?

Now if Bugs, Road Runner, and the others were around this would be easy but this is definitely a down to Earth squad. Maybe the plan would be to slowly introduce more and more of the Toons to build up to an Avengers moment of sorts. Although I would say in general this isn’t quite the tone that the film is going for. It’s definitely a comedy first and foremost even with all the danger around. The story is more about seeing if Daffy and Porky can keep their bond strong even amidst what is going on.

In that area, I would say Daffy ends up looking better. He doesn’t let anything shake him and stays the courageous figure that we all know. Yeah he does get into a lot of trouble and doesn’t think things through but he’s a genuine guy. It was disappointing when Porky tried to trick him into staying home and didn’t stay acting as a good friend. It was a bad look for Porky especially since Daffy had always been by his side. For that reason I can’t say that I liked Porky much at all here. It’s not like he’s ever been my favorite character or anything like that but surely he could have been better.

As for Petunia, she’s okay at best but can also be rather scatter brained. Not in a fun chaotic way like Daffy but more when it comes to science for her. When you see Looney Tunes you’re thinking of absolutely crazy characters so she could have stood to be more crazy the whole time. She’s still better than Farmer Jim though. I get the kind of gag they were going for here but all of his scenes did tend to drag a bit. The guy came off as more annoying than anything. Technically he’s a good guy just looking out for his kids but his scenes simply weren’t funny.

I can say that the animation is really good though. The characters look very vibrant and the movie is always moving at a quick pace. There is consistently a whole lot going on visually which is always good and the action scenes aren’t half bad. You do start to get tired of seeing the villains spitting out the gum constantly but that’s a side effect of the mind control. It’s not quite crude humor but getting into that feel. It takes the aura away from the scenes.

The writing’s not bad. We do have some good gags and I liked the scene after the credits. It’s not really the kind of script that is laugh out loud funny but it does depend on just how much you like the Looney Tunes. Longtime fans will likely have a blast even just off of the nostalgia. There’s a lot there to keep you going the whole time. The soundtrack doesn’t have any particularly remarkable tunes though so that’s too bad.

The movie does have a big plot twist involving the alien though. It may make you scratch your head a bit since it’s the kind of twist that makes some actions look sus in retrospect. That said, I applaud the film for adding that in. Ultimately the film covers a lot of ground in 90 minutes. It’s good harmless fun all the way through. I do think it was lacking a bit of a hook though as the plot is fairly simple and it just takes a while to get to the conclusion. I think you could have spent the film really trying to test the bond between Daffy and Porky more. Yeah that does end up happening but mainly it’s just because Porky is looking bad here. In a way it would probably have been easiest if they made Petunia evil and so she would have been tricking Porky the whole time. Of course at that point it is a very different movie so that’s definitely not a small change.

Overall, The Day The Earth Blew Up is a good film. It’s not one I’d really be tempted to watch and I’d say the average Looney Tunes episode is more fun though. This one just felt like it was taking itself too seriously at times. For a film like this you really need to go all out and not take small steps here and there. This should have been a lot crazier and more energetic. Maybe put in less of a real story and just more of the characters messing around. Eh…that could backfire though. Just saying “The film should have been funnier” isn’t particularly helpful either. Well I’d say to still check it out and see what you think. Since the movie is under 2 hours it’s not as if it’ll take too long to watch it anyway.

Overall 6/10

Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai Review

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Dragon Quest is one of those massive series where I haven’t really gotten to enter it all that deeply but it always looks super hype. Well it should come as no surprise that the anime is quite excellent. It feels like a DBZ adventure with all the big energy waves and attacks flying around. The series got quite a few episodes too which is nice to see since nowadays that gets rarer and rarer. If you haven’t seen this yet, I don’t blame you since the show didn’t get promoted a ton. That said, better late than never for you to get into it!

The story starts by introducing us to a humble kid named Dai. He grew up on an island inhabited by monsters. Fortunately they are all fairly nice but one day the demon king reawakens which causes a wave of evil to transmit around the globe. Monsters are being turned evil and the world is in danger. Dai’s master Avan sacrifices himself to buy some time while Dai and his best friend Pop now have the daunting task of ending the threat once and for all. Are they really equipped to take on an entire planet of evil fighters and monsters though? They will have some help but it will be the toughest fight imaginable.

I would say this anime even feels like an RPG with how it plays out. You’re not literally watching the characters save a cat out of a tree in episode 1 but they are fighting the weakest demons imaginable during the pre arc and by the end they’re taking on dark gods. This would be tough to pull off in 12 episodes but when you have 100? The sky’s the limit at that point and this series really didn’t hold anything back.

Right away I can tell you that the visuals for the show are really high tier. You can expect to get constant great looking fights throughout the adventure. Not just for Dai’s fighters either even if it’s fair to say that he tends to have the best one but there is a whole lot of shine to go around. Pop’s fights all look really good as well as Mam’s. The fights in the show have a good amount of strategy in addition to all the flash.

Then you have the soundtrack which is really solid. I may not be the biggest fan of the openings here but that’s fine since the music within the episodes is solid. You’ve got good battle themes and everything. There is also a good amount of variety here which is good so the show doesn’t have to rely on the same tunes over and over. No this one is going for the gold with an absolute master class of different tracks. You can feel the drama and cliffhanger hype with even the non action tunes.

I also like the character designs and outfits a lot. This is one of those series that isn’t afraid to switch up the costumes. Each of the main characters gets more than one design/outfit during the series and they really pop out. It may seem like a more minor point next to the others but a good design can really go a long way both in making the enemies look powerful as well as making the characters fun to root for. That’s really the balance you want to strive for.

Meanwhile there are definitely a lot of story arcs throughout the series as you can expect. I’ll definitely dive into a bunch of those as well as the characters. Strap yourself in for a long ride because there is a whole lot of detail to get into. I’ll also preface this by saying the ending is a bit open ended but not bad. You can probably choose how you interpret the ending to an extent but to me there was enough evidence going where it had a pretty bright spin on it. Certainly many ways you could go about doing a sequel some day if you wanted to go about it. Power levels could be tricky but hey in a fantasy world why not invent new even more powerful villains?

First up we have the main character Dai. In a sense you can say he starts out a lot like Goku. He grew up among monsters and definitely wasn’t the most knowledgeable about the outside world. Once he had to leave though, he quickly embraced his destiny as a hero of justice. Someone who would fight to defend the planet from all enemies but that could be humanoids or monsters. He’ll protect anyone who is on the side of justice. The guy has a lot of natural power as we get twists about his parents and why he is so strong. It all works out well and may even remind you of the Saiyan plot from DBZ.

Dai gets serious fairly early on. At times he does overthink things and gets himself into trouble but who doesn’t run into those issues from time to time right? He definitely works really well as the lead and he’s the kind of classic hot blooded Shonen character that you will find nostalgic. Definitely a character who has withstood the test of time.

Then there is his best friend Popp who gets a whole lot of character development. He starts out as the really scared, coward kind of character. He’s not particularly good at magic and has an inferiority complex but then he gradually gets more and more confidence as the series goes on. He really learns about what his strengths are and how to make the most of them. He eventually becomes one of the most consistent characters in the series and someone who can be counted on. He makes up for his lack of physical ability by being the greatest mage in the series. Popp has a lot of good strategic moments as well and while the guy has his share of setbacks, he is an easy character to like.

His romance plot can be a bit overly dramatic but it’s not like it ever really takes over the show. It’s what I would call a reoccurring background plot as opposed to ever being the central story plot. He could still handle himself a lot better in those scenes to be honest but it is what it is. The fact that the story has multiple serious romance plots definitely puts it a step ahead of the average Shonen where romance is usually relegated to whispers in the background and a big moment in the final episode.

Then we have Maam as the final member of the big 3. Initially she isn’t much of a fighter as she has a support item but it wasn’t particularly useful from the start. So she very wisely decided to learn martial arts and became extremely talented. In particular she learned a technique that bypasses defense and directly hits an opponent’s life aura. I thought that was really impressive and it stays relevant even to the end. For that reason every enemy finds a way to dodge it but the fact that she makes them aware of her is important. She is able to contribute to the fights and main dynamic the whole time. She also has a tough personality and is never afraid to jump right into the action so I really appreciate that. It’s another reason why the show is so good because when you have 3 solid main characters like this, you are starting the series off on the right foot.

Princess Leona also gets a fairly big role in the series. Although for most of it she cannot really fight which does limit her ability to stay in the fray during the climax of every arc. She does learn a specific magic move near the end of the series that helps a lot though. She is a solid ruler and can always be counted upon to help out. I would have liked her to have done a bit more but you can’t just have everyone become a big fighter I suppose. At the end of the day she is still always there to help.

Then we have the rival Hyunckel. Initially he starts out more as a full blown villain and gradually becomes a trusty ally. His abilities were always very high and he manages to stay on Dai’s level for quite a while. He’s a fun character who got a really effective backstory to support his character development. Definitely not the kind of character who stays on the backburner for very long. Whenever he does lose, the guy gets a good power up. His armor can stop nearly any projectile which is super handy.

Additionally, he tends to be the most pragmatic of the main fighters. You can count on him to stop the others from walking into obvious traps or anything like that. He also keeps Avan at arm’s length near the end of the series and for good reason since the guy seems super shady. Yeah you definitely want Hyunckel around to watch out for any suspicious activity and shut it down at the source.

Avan is certainly a big character here. As the original mentor he served as a goal to aspire to. Although it feels like the characters surpass him rather early on. I was glad that the series even acknowledged this since often times the original mentor can get a little too much credit. The next generation will often have enough screentime to pass the old fighters after all. Avan makes up for his lack of overall magical ability with smarts and tons of backup plans. If anything it makes him look even more impressive because not just anybody could pull that off. He regularly goes up against fighters many times his strength and still winning.

Yes, some of these fights may make you shake your head a bit but it’s the thought that counts. It’s also nice to have a mentor that you can really respect for a change. So many times you have mentors like Roshi and Jiraiya that you forget mentors can be cool as well. Avan shines as a beacon of justice for the rest of the characters the whole time and it’s really impressive. It took me a little time to really warm up to the guy but by the end he was definitely one of the best.

Gomechan is essentially Dai’s little animal mascot that is around for most of the series. The whole time you are waiting to see what Gomechan will end up doing. It’s a bit of a classic trope but always a fun one. In the end Gomechan comes in clutch as needed. Ultimately I wouldn’t say the character ever really became one of my favorites or anything but wasn’t bad. I would just forget about this character for large portions of time.

Then we have Crocodine who is another ally who initially started out as a villain but quickly became a powerful fighter. I do feel bad for him a bit though as his gimmick was being the power hitter of the group but that goes away very quickly. He is surpassed by a whole bunch of characters early on and never really ends up catching up to them. If anything the gap only continues to grow as the series goes on. He is still a good character and I like his honor code but he could have had a bigger role in the second half. At the end of the day he always did his best though.

Matoriv is a senior magician who helps Popp a lot on his journey. This master is of more questionable character and you get the feeling that he should be helping more than he actually is. At least you can count on him for advice and such. I never got super invested into his backstory or anything but you could do a lot worse for a mentor. The guy just feels too old and doesn’t have the super speed of the other old timer. You never really get too old for magic so he can help out in a supportive role but you probably don’t want him on the front lines.

Then we get to one of the big villains in Baran. This guy is seriously powerful and easily one of the most powerful characters in the series. Without him the heroes and villains would both be in a very different spot. I really like the idea of this guy as a wild card although I would have introduced him that way instead of making him a part of the villain’s group. We understand why he joined up after going into the backstory but it would have made even more sense to me if he had decided to be a loner. It would still achieve his objectives.

He is absolutely crucial to the events that close out the series and things would be a whole lot different without him. We rarely get to see him go all out for very long and when we do, he definitely impresses. The way his powers work is also very appealing because it’s all power that he wields from within. He doesn’t have to rely on technology, magic, or any assistance. The power is all his own and it can continue to improve as he trains. Given enough time I would say Baran would easily be the most powerful character in the series. He could have ended all the other threats at the start of the series if he wanted to.

Baduck is a nice character who isn’t particularly powerful or resourceful but he always wants to help. You appreciate how genuine the guy is. You can always count on him to do something and he ends up doing well in repairing equipment. He actually ends up getting power creeped in that department by a legendary blacksmith but he helped out for a while. He’s a good example of a character who was useful without the story having to really stretch to come up with solutions on how he could help out.

Merle is probably one of the more tragic characters because she likes Popp but she’s not the main heroine. You already know how this is going to play out and the worst part is you’re probably rooting for her because she is able to clearly articulate her feelings while the other characters keep on faltering. She’s a very nice character who just gets the short end of the stick here. It’s pretty hard to see even when it is completely expected. She was never really able to help much in the fights either which didn’t make it easy to get close to Popp. She did her best to make up ground anyway but sometimes things just aren’t meant to be.

Then we have Soala whose role is fairly small but pivotal all the same. She ends up jump starting a whole lot of events and proving once again why you can’t trust humans. She was a really nice character who had to go through more than she should. It’s always impressive when you can really hold this level of power in a series without even getting a whole episode’s worth of screentime. At least even with flashbacks I don’t think she reaches that mark.

Lon Berk doesn’t get a huge role until the series starts to close but he was definitely helpful. The guy is strong but what really put him on the map was how he could create immensely powerful weapons. Weapons so powerful that just using them was a risk in itself. He has a really strong finish to his character arc as well so he definitely did good. I had no real complaints with this guy at all.

Another supporting character who got more to do by the end was Nova. He starts out as one of those guys you can’t take all that seriously but he does genuinely want to be a great hero and so that ends up taking him far. He never gets anywhere close to the level of the main characters but he still arrives to the big battles. He even uses his own life force to amp up his attacks and make them even stronger. Definitely not something a half hearted fighter could do.

Brokeena is the definition of half hearted though. He’s an old man and all but the guy is incredibly powerful. We see how he can keep up with the fastest fighters in the verse and he has enough power to injure them. The way I see it, he had no business staying on the sidelines for as long as he did. He should have been there fighting from early on. The fact that he didn’t means I don’t have a ton of respect for the guy. He needs to do better.

I also didn’t really care for Chiu. I guess you could say the guy meant well but eh he was just annoying most of the time. The guy was completely out of his depth and really just getting in the way most of the time. There comes a time where the strength gap is so massive that it isn’t really bravery anymore. At that point it’s just a bad move and you shouldn’t be putting everyone in danger like that.

Hadlar is one of those villains that I did mock for most of the series. Look it wasn’t my fault, the guy was losing just about every fight in the saddest ways possible. He lost to Avann in the intro when the guy was far from his prime and then he lost to Dai and then he just kept on losing. Hadlar gets stronger with every defeat though and by the end of the series he was a legitimate threat. So I give him a lot of credit there. Usually determination is almost exclusively a heroic trait but this time he got a little bit of that action.

The series gave him way more credit than I would have expected so I can say he was actually a very good villain. He really gets the advantage of being in a long running series because this just wouldn’t have been possible if the series had ended sooner. So full props to this guy. Meanwhile Vearn has to wait until the end to really do much but he does make his screen time worth it. Certainly more than the dragon who talked tough but didn’t really get a role here. Vearn spends the whole series talking tough from the shadows so it was absolutely mandatory that he show up to take some names later on.

I would argue Hadlar was probably more powerful than Vearn near the end though. Yes, Vearn’s final form would scale higher but from their brief encounter before that, Hadlar had the edge. It was nice to have some in fighting among the villains and I was also glad that Hadlar didn’t just go down in an instant. It’s not every day that we have villain vs villain matchups after all so that was a real highlight.

Flazzard isn’t as big as the other villains but I have to bring him up because the guy was a lot of fun. He’s one of those villains you almost want to root for because he just has a fun personality aside from being brutally powerful. He ends up getting power creeped hard by the end but he left a good impression. Zaboera is the opposite as he lasts a long time but never gets even remotely likable. He’s the definition of a side villain as the guy has to try to keep on planning and planning to do anything interesting because he lacks the raw power to hang with the others.

I’m not saying that as a villain you have to be powerful but the hand wringing kind of minion like this is always hard for me to root for. I also think he got lucky with his chimera being as powerful as it was because that should have been no sold a lot easier. If I want a strategic villain then I’ll take someone like Mystvearn who can actually fight.

Mystvearn was incredibly impressive because he kept getting better with every appearance. The show treats him like a big deal but you wonder how strong he can really be. Well, he shatters all expectations and ends up easily being one of the strongest fighters in the series. I would even argue that on feats he is probably the strongest in the verse and the heroes got supremely lucky. His quiet rage is always something to give you pause and the guy has a super intimidating aura. Also a great design so yeah you can see how he was great in every way. He has a rival among the heroes but the power gap between them was colossal.

There’s a lot of Vearns in this series and so next up is Killvearn. This guy is a real enigma with his scythe and merciless way of attacking. He likes to mess around with his opponents and matching him up with Avann was a genius move since they are two of the smartest characters in the verse. I do think Avann probably should have gotten wrecked easily but hey I won’t let any power scaling get in the way of a fun fight. Killvearn introduces some interesting elements to the story but they weren’t able to fully be capitalized before the series ended. Something to definitely keep in mind for the future though. If the series ever got a sequel then I think his part of the lore would be really important. In the meanwhile he still made for a great villain.

Larhalt might be the most random character to suddenly get a big role near the end of the series. I only vaguely remembered him from his villainous days and then suddenly he showed up for the big teamup? Well I definitely wasn’t complaining. He ends up being pretty fun. He perhaps looks a bit more powerful than he should considering how he went down the last time though. It was a little hard to buy just how fast he had become in the present. He also showed up at an awkward time since he got power creeped anyway pretty quickly. I guess it can be hard to have the timing down perfectly though. He’s one of those characters who likes a good fight and doesn’t back down so he fit in right away with the other characters. Sometimes doing something random can really work out.

There is a whole villain group of chess pieces that show up in the series. They come a bit late into the game but are all rather fun. They can fight and each one has a moveset that makes sense based on the piece that they are. In particular, Hym gets the biggest role here. The guy really gets free will and is able to improve his abilities. He even learns how to use spirit energy which the characters initially did not think would be possible. Once he absorbs a certain energy, he really becomes a threat. I like the idea of a random minion really coming into his own and becoming a big threat so that was fun. Hym is also just a likable character in general so he is easy to root for. The show wrote him really well and this was a redemption arc I could get behind.

Yeah the cast here was really terrific all around. An elite show demands elite characters and so that was not surprising. Meanwhile there were also just a whole lot of great story arcs here throughout. The raid on the demon castle is naturally a contender for best arc. You get a ton of nonstop battles all around and everyone really got to show their stuff. Each character gets to show his/her worth here without any exceptions. All big series are expected to end with a mega climax after all and this one did not disappoint.

The series did a good job of gradually raising the stakes the whole time. The first few pre arcs have Dai and friends going around as rookie adventurers with everyone treating them like kids. We got the battles with Flazzard, opening meeting with Hyunckel, and of course the early battles with Hadlar when he was weak. Then we got more enemy generals and started expanding the side characters. The series even got to have multiple iterations of the villain groups as most of Hadlar’s generals died out early on so then he got a whole new set.

The 100 episodes go really fast because the pacing is super quick. There is still time for long character arcs for everyone but there is always a new threat around the corner. The older generation of heroes may not put in as much work as they should have but at least they do help during the climax and everything. This is really Dai’s story and he gets to shine. This title may perhaps set the bar too high for any other Dragon Quest titles but it does clearly show me why people really love the franchise.

Overall, Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai is definitely an elite series. Definitely an anime I could really recommend to anyone. It has such a retro feel to it in all of the best ways. It’ll remind you of the big anime you watched as a kid. The characters are really solid and it really succeeds on every technical element. Yes you’re not going to find very many shows like Dragon Quest, hopefully one day they animate the prequel is definitely quite good as well.

Overall 9/10

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny Review

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It’s time for the final Indiana Jones film. I remember this one got a lot of attention when the trailers were coming out. To me it looked like it would be a fun film but I can’t say I’ve ever been super into the franchise. So I sorta just forgot about it for a while there but now after watching the rest of the films I was ready to check this one out. It’s a fun nostalgia sequel and I would put it right in the middle from the previous films. So it definitely does a lot of things right and it’s a really good way to close out the series.

The movie starts out with the best sequence in the entire film as Jones infiltrates a Nazi train and takes down a bunch of agents. He even manages to secure the Dial of Destiny. Many years pass and in the present, the main Nazi scientist has returned. He wants to use the Dial of Destiny in order to go back in time and change history in some major ways. He will need both Dials for this though and that won’t be easy. Additionally he has to contend with a lady named Helena has taken the dial for her own purposes. Well, basically she wants to be rich and now her ex boyfriend and his army is involved. All of these forces are fighting for the dial so Jones is forced to come out of retirement for one last journey. Can he still fight?

Right off the bat I can say the make or break point for this film will be how much you can still enjoy Indiana Jones here. For starters the guy is definitely really old and the film doesn’t try to trick you about this. He feels old the whole time as he can no longer handle the big adventures as much. The guy can still throw a solid punch and gets some running here but you’re not going to see any extended fight scenes. It’s probably why we had the opening flashback sequence. Also like I said that was the best part of the movie so they go through the peak rather quickly.

I appreciate that Jones still has a strong moral compass and is trying to help out even in his old age though. It’s certainly not an easy mission but he’s not complaining and is doing his best here. He’s been through a lot as we find out what happened to his son and his marriage. It does mean that a certain scene at the very end of the film doesn’t really work for me though. It’s just a bit too late and the whole song and dance has happened one too many times. At least that’s the way I see it. I would have ended the film a bit differently although it is still a satisfying journey all the way through.

The new heroine Helena is okay but she really does get them into a whole lot of trouble. She beats the heroine from the second film but definitely loses to any others. As a supporting character she just never really warmed up to me. Likewise I didn’t care for the thief kid here either. So Jones himself really has to carry the team which is hard since he’s not in his prime. We do have an extended car chase scene in the middle of the film and it was fun to see Jones pull out his skills there. If there’s one thing he’s always been really good at, it’s making snap decisions and outwitting everyone else.

The main villain is also a bit on the weak side although I think this is a bit intentional on the film’s part. He’s always very whiny and not particularly strong. He starts to get humiliated from his very first appearance and can’t even hold his own with Jones. The guy has to rely on his thugs the whole time and even then he panics near the end. He’s a very insecure genius and while he has his fun moments like when he’s confidently giving interviews, he never appears as a threat from a villain’s perspective.

The only main part where the film was disappointing is that we don’t get much time travel. With the premise I figured we’d be going to the past fairly early on but as the film ticks on you start to realize that this won’t be possible. At one point I thought we might not even see the past at all. That would have been a lot of fun though since time travel always has a lot of potential. I think the movie should have given lots of scenes for that and this is where they went wrong. The climax involves some really fun imagery and I could have used more of that.

One thing you can’t call the film is boring though. The adventure is pretty fast paced with a whole lot going on. You’ve got villains around every corner and having them infiltrate Jones’ school and start shooting people was intense. You do feel bad for his poor colleagues who got roped into this though. It’s why heroes hide their secret identities because then stuff like this happens. I do think they could have had security/the cops look a bit better during the initial chases though. You’d think a cop getting shot during a huge parade would warrant a much bigger call to arms across the city and get at least some more officers around. The villains never really have to answer for this and while the heroes left the country rather fast, it felt like something that wouldn’t just die out. I’d have liked to have seen the U.S. do a little more later on.

Overall, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is a pretty fun film. I give the writers serious kudos for having this film feel a whole lot like the older ones. It has the proper fun, action tone that you’d expect from these films. They did a great job on making the film feel very authentic the whole time. While Jones himself is definitely the most different since you’re used to seeing him on the front lines, everything else is as you’d expect it. It’s also fun to see how the cinematography and everything has changed over the years. When the film starts it immediately looks way clearer and more detailed than the previous films. Almost as if the graphics of real life itself have improved. Of course it could also just be a case of streaming making it look more grand or just the cameras that were used. Either way it made this feel like a true cinematic experience that stood above the other titles in the franchise in terms of scale. Although the original film continues to live on as the best one in the series.

Overall 7/10

Black Hawk Down

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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 write-up of the unedited version would be more negative

Black Hawk Down is definitely a really intense film. Certainly one that isn’t trying to hold back on your account. The war and its events are not ones that I’m particularly familiar with. This was definitely back before I was really even slightly keeping track of such things. Of course you can still get what is happening really quickly because a lot of wars have very similar motivations and reasons for starting. There will always be serious disagreements across countries and reasons for war, as unfortunate as that might be.

The film mainly takes place in Somalia where a great civil war has started. There is a huge famine so right now you have hundreds of thousands of people dying on both sides which has only increased the bitterness across the board. The United Nations attempted to quiet things down but as soon as the U.S. Marines left then things went crazy again. So now the U.S. is returning to shut everything down but what should have been a 2 week mission has turned into something far greater. With Washington losing patience, the elite soldiers will have to take more drastic measures to assassinate the head of the most violent gang. Can they pull this off?

During the course of the movie, some of the soldiers begin to have some doubts about the mission. Are they really on the right side of this battle and should they be playing the role of the world’s police here? Often times you are not going to get a whole lot of gratitude from people after having served the country which is definitely disheartening. You also have to trust that the intel you are getting is accurate and that you are not fighting on the wrong side here. If you are, then you’re really in trouble.

The film mainly takes the stance that somebody has to put an end to the violence and since America has the means to do so, it’s up to them. I generally do agree with that. It’s hard to just overlook what is going on around the world if you can help it but obviously real life’s not like a video game. When you step in to interfere in any foreign land then you are opening a huge can of worms. It’s a can you should open but it all comes down to execution and being careful not to overextend yourself. In this film the U.S. forces are really put in a very difficult position.

As the title suggests, everything goes wrong once one of the Black Hawks goes down. It triggers a whole lot of events and more lost lives in trying to reclaim the situation. The troops are in heavy enemy territory after all and these guys are not afraid to fight dirty. After a certain point you have to basically assume that everyone walking towards you is an enemy and must be taken down. There are no real exceptions here and you also have to be on the lookout for traps. If you are about to lose, you cannot let yourself be captured alive because that will end up leading you to a much worse fate. For one character I expected the worst but surprisingly he pulled though.

The movie definitely is very dark though so you can expect a whole lot of violence. You really see some very deep wounds across the characters here and one character in particular is beaten really badly. With large scale destruction like this there aren’t really any winners either. You see just how many buildings are blown up and there is a very large death count by the end. Even for the survivors you have to assume there will be some very strong cases of PTSD coming out of this. War always has significant casualties.

Since a great chunk of the movie is the large operation to take down the powerful leaders, there isn’t a lot of time for character development or anything like that. You’ll generally know who each of the characters are but that’s about it. The film tries to add a bit of levity amidst the nonstop doom and gloom with a subplot of two soldiers who were seemingly left behind. They’re trying to catch up to the rest of the group and it’s definitely not an easy adventure for them. One of them is basically deaf by the end. I appreciated the film trying to lighten the mood but to an extent that’s basically an impossible job with this kind of movie due to just how serious the subject matter is.

It’s just crazy dark and even when something violent isn’t happening for a change, you can feel the tension in the air and know that something is about to happen. The film does have a fairly large beginning to set things up so you can stay relaxed for that part. I wouldn’t have minded if the whole film was basically setup since that tends to be the best part. Once they are on the field then things get crazy. The soldiers are also at a disadvantage from the start since they have to follow the proper rules of engagement and fight fair. The enemies have homefield here and tons of people who are eager to fight. Their sheer numbers advantage is crazy high, particularly since the U.S. is completely alone out here except for some backup which only helps out super reluctantly at the very end. Even then they left the soldiers behind to get picked off one by one.

Overall, If you really like war films then I imagine you will enjoy this one as well. It’s definitely very long so the film is able to include all of the details that it wants to. At the same time, it is rather unrelenting and you’re not going to be having a lot of fun with this film. It’s just not that kind of film and for me personally, I like happy movies. They add a little pep to your step which I really appreciate. Of course this film can also work as an informative watch although I would argue in that case it’ll always be easier to just read the Wikipedia article or something like that.

Castlevania Dominus Collection Review

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It’s time to look at the next Castlevania title. This collection brings 3 more main games as well as a revisited version of one of the classics. So you’ve got quite a lot of content in here, especially considering that the main games all allow you to play through them a second time with another character. Effectively a whole second story mode so that’s pretty crazy. It’s definitely one of the fun things about collections because you really get your money’s worth with them.

First up lets talk about the Order of Ecclesia. In this game you don’t play as one of the Belmonts and instead you are a spellcaster who is charged with absorbing 3 legendary spells inside her. If she can do this then she will prevent Dracula from coming back to murder everyone but she is betrayed by her good friend and gets amnesia. Now she has to regain all of her skills and get the spells but can she really stand a chance? It’s a very different kind of Castlevania game when it comes to the gameplay. You have to use a ton of spells and continually switch between them.

It’s a pretty interesting idea but one immediate drawback here is that because of how you actively need to switch abilities to use the new ones, you probably won’t even touch about half of them. Once you get the good abilities that you want then there is really no need to try out any of the others. They can be fun to switch around with but for the most part you just don’t need them. Still it does mean everyone’s playthrough will probably be a little different as you pick the play style that suits your needs the best.

The layout of the map is pretty smooth as you would expect and I also like the fact that they have little sub quests in the hub world. The missions are never anything that really puts you out of your way so it’s easy to complete a lot of them while exploring. It gives you extra incentive to look around thoroughly and the quests give you little rewards. I ended up completing a whole lot of them on my way to beating the game. As always I got the bad ending first but that also helps you appreciate the level of detail they put into the game. Putting in more than one ending definitely has to be difficult considering most titles don’t do that.

This is a very fun game and the story is engaging. Castlevania has really come a long way from the 2D platformer titles into the very iconic vania styled ones. As always I can also give the games a whole lot of credit for making this part fun as well. You really feel stronger as you absorb more abilities and level up. There are a few rooms that don’t appear on the map which feels like cheating to me but most of it makes a lot of sense as you just play through the game normally. The layouts are food and there are enough quick travel rooms to keep anything from being tedious.

Then we have Portrait of Ruin which is a little more traditional. You play as a guy who is distantly related to the Belmonts but has never been able to use the iconic whip. He’s still been able to defeat every vampire that he needed to though. Now he faces one of the most powerful vampires alive and may need some help. Will he be able to face up to his destiny and use the whip or will he fall? I also hadn’t been using the whip very often so this game definitely encourages you to do so. By the end of the game it ends up being one of the most powerful weapons even if you will probably be using the sword for most of the early game.

The game’s main difference from the last one is that there are a lot of little worlds instead of one big one. You jump into paintings which become their own worlds like Super Mario 64. It’s a fun idea and if anything it probably makes the game easier since all of the individual worlds are a lot smaller. The game also becomes a lot more linear this way since you very rarely have to go back to an old world. It is technically still a vania as there are optional power ups and such but don’t expect to get lost or anything.

It definitely makes things really calm the whole time. The bosses are all fun and getting good enough to beat them all is a real feat. This time you actually fight Dracula and Death as a combined tag team which made for a cool boss fight. I thought that was a really nice way to spice things up since that had never happened before. It’s a really smooth experience and it can hold its own as one of the stronger titles in the franchise. At this point it’s safe to say that the modern games all hold their own on a high level.

After that is Dawn of Sorrow which is a direct sequel to one of the prior games. Dracula is surprisingly still gone but a lady named Cecil has decided to work on destroying Soma so one of her proteges can become the new Dracula. Soma decides to stop her before she can hurt anyone but will he be able to resist the powers of darkness? The Belmont of this generation thinks this is definitely a bad idea and Alucard agrees but nobody is going to stop Soma. He figures this threat is too big to be ignored and must be dealt with effective immediately.

In this game you absorb the souls of enemies when you defeat them although it is part RNG. You have to defeat some enemies numerous times in order to absorb their soul while other ones will drop it on the first try. I didn’t really care about the souls initially but for the rue ending you have to absorb a specific three and this led to me having to enter and exit a room over and over and over as I farmed the same enemy until he dropped the soul. It actually took quite a bit longer than I expected so that surprised me. The actual final boss for the true ending is also quite difficult. I believe I went in rather under leveed which did not help. Still, those attacks were completely crazy. Dodging them is hard.

See, the final boss spams an infinite amount of minions at you while walking around the place. You have to destroy him in two different areas to win while not getting hit by anything else. Your best bet is to beat the minions as they come while also landing his on the weak points. Of course that’s way easier said than done. I recommend using Death’s scythe as your ongoing support attack since all of the weapons that it summons are enough to keep all of the foes busy at times. It doesn’t always work though, it’s a bit of give and take.

Finally you also have the arcade style remake. It’s a fairly short game with only 5-6 levels but this time you can’t rewind or use access points. The game does save what level you are on at least until you exit the game. So basically you gotta make sure you have a lot of time to invest and then do everything at once. If you can’t do that then it’s basically about time for you to throw in the towel. This is the one game I could not conquer.

The Castlevania games are really no walk in the park and beating it all without true save points would just be asking for a tad too much. With no way to grind EXP or anything, it forces you to try and just get really good. An admirable goal to be sure but one that would probably take too much time without much reward. For example there are no PS5 trophies for beating this one. I do aim to get the Platinum though as there are only 3 trophies left and apparently none of them are particularly long.

Of course the soundtrack is really good across the whole collection. All of the games sound really good and the graphics are also solid for all of the titles. These are all clearly well made games with solid fundamentals, stories, and gameplay. Now all we need is a big budget modern day PS5 title for the series and we would really be off to the races. There is just a lot of potential here and you have to assume that all of these collections are to build up hype for a new game. Hopefully that is the case at least.

Overall, This is a collection that was really fun to play through. I think that’s probably even the best word I would use for the collection. You really have a blast going through each title and exploring the maze. If every vania styled game was like this then I would be a huge fan of the genre. The level up system was handled very well and there is a whole lot of replay value to be found here. Whether you are a fan of the franchise or not you will definitely enjoy your stay here.

Overall 8/10

Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition Review

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It’s time for the next big Xenoblade adventure and I can definitely tell you that this is a real big one. Xenoblade X is a title with an even bigger hub world than Breath of the Wild and you can really feel the scale while you are running through the world. It would take ages and ages to run across the whole place. The story may take a little while to get going next to the other titles but it definitely gets really hype by the end. This is a game that you do not want to miss out on.

The general plot is that Earth was caught in the middle of a civil war between two alien factions which forces us to abandon the planet. After a long journey through space, we found a planet that could support us but the catch is that most people are still stuck in life pods across the world. Over 99% of humanity was wiped out but the survivors will be doing their best to hang in there. Will they be able to do this and find the remaining pods or will they be wiped out by the existing wildlife on the planet?

This new planet is home to many giant monsters. You’ll even see monsters level 80 and beyond right next to home base. So it’s safe to say that this is not the most hospitable place around. There are also other alien races running around. As the game goes on you gradually get some rather major twists. For the most part this tends to be an adventure game first and foremost though. The real plot doesn’t tend to start until the last chapter or two. It’s also why this definitive version comes in clutch because the new 3 part chapter they added has more story than the rest of the game combined.

We’re talking 20+ minute cutscenes over and over. The game reaches a whole cosmic level and we even get a ton of world building and exposition . We finally see how the game ties in with the first two and it’s just really interesting to see. I dare say if the plot was like this from the jump then it might be better able to hang with the first two. For the record this is an elite game either way but I would have to put it under the first two titles for now. Those are just a little too hard to defeat but it doesn’t take anything away from this one.

The graphics are really good here. The game definitely holds up well there, both with the actual action scenes and with the special effects within the gameplay. There are definitely no weaknesses there and of course the soundtrack is also really good. You have a number of lyrical tracks which are also a blast. Each one really makes you feel the gravity of the situation and it is also super rare to be having them play so often. You can expect a lyrical track for basically every boss fight and there is also an emotional one that plays for a whole lot of cutscenes. All in all it is really a great balance.

The gameplay is similar to your classic turn based system but has an active component to it. This will be familiar to Xenoblade fans but also plays like the original .Hack. Basically your character is always attacking with basic attacks but then you can use your energy meter to launch special moves as soon as they are ready. They will keep on replenishing as the battle goes on and of course you also have items and such. It’s a pretty well thought out game and you have the Overdrive mechanic which lets you use a ton of moves in quick succession for as long as it is active. That makes for a pretty good ace up your sleeve.

Near the end of the game you also get your mech suit which you can use to fly around and also fight in. It’s a pretty great change of pace because in this form you are absolutely broken. You can launch attacks that are many times stronger than in your human mode. You can also zoom around the hub world a lot faster. It was a good idea to keep it so late in the game of course because now there is no longer any ordinary exploration. If you want to go anywhere then you’ll just be flying which makes it all really easy.

It really helps you appreciate how grand the world is since you had to first run through all of the areas on foot before getting the mech and flying everywhere. If you had gotten the mech suit too early then it would have really defeated the adventurous spirit of the title. Additionally there are also so many collectibles and side quests to complete across the planet. I knocked out well over a hundred and there were still a ton of them left. The Xenoblade games are never a stranger to having a lot of content and this one was no exception. It really feels like the game does not have an end to it.

By the time you have completed the game there is still so much to do in terms of side quests. The characters all get a lot of personality here and the side missions still have voice acting for the affinity missions. The world gets so much screentime. If you’re ever going to make a lore game, Xenoblade X should definitely be your template. It’s also one of those games that is very intuitive so grinding and completing side missions is just a lot of fun. You are always making some kind of progress in the game so your time never feels wasted. It takes skilled developers to pull something like that off.

Overall, Xenoblade X is definitely a must play game. It’s also a very long one so expect to be spending around 50 hours or more here. You’re getting a whole lot of bang for your buck and there is a ton of replay value. It absolutely gets you hyped to go ahead and play the next games in the series since they’re all so phenomenal. If you don’t own this one yet then you definitely will want to change that as soon as possible.

Overall 9/10

ESWAT: City Under Siege Review

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The Genesis adventures continue here as we get a more traditional 2D shooter. This is one of those games I had definitely not heard of before so it was pretty interesting to see what it is like. The graphics are good and the soundtrack is nice. I would say my only issue is how huge the main character is. That may sound like an odd issue but the problem is that it makes dodging any attack rather difficult. You are constantly on the defensive and a single hit will deal a whole lot of damage.

You start out as a basic guy with a gun but then in the middle levels you play as a guy in a mecha suit that can fly around with limited fuel. It’s a pretty fun way of adding onto the gameplay and not letting things get stale. You also have a whole lot of attack options while you are in the mech suit like rockets, a mega buster, fire blast, etc. I ended up going with the buster because to me it seems like easily the best weapon of the bunch. You can charge it up to fire really powerful blasts or just spam it like a normal gun.

The toughest boss in the game is a large drill that keeps on hopping around and you can only injure it at very precise moments. So being able to use the buster with its wide range was incredibly helpful. Without that it would have taken a lot longer to defeat. Each of the bosses were quite difficult though and I would say this is probably one of the harder Genesis games. You are constantly outnumbered by a large amount of opponents and if you let your guard down at all then you are in trouble. The game forces you to constantly be aware of what’s going on.

Additionally while the game is mainly a 2D platformer, it is not always linear. Sometimes you have to hit switches and go in doors to open new pathways. If you miss the right exit and go to an old area then you will have to do a lot more fighting because this is the kind of game where all enemies respawn immediately once they are off screen. Yes, it’s one of those so you do have to be extremely careful. The enemies can drop little potions that heal your health but they seem to be rare drops so fighting more enemies is often a net negative.

I like the sci-fi setting though. It makes for great level designs and I also like the music. It’s all got a proper sci-fi feel to it that just works really well. The graphics are solid as everything looks nice and this feels like a game that took advantage of the Genesis processing power. The game also has a proper ending cutscene with a lot going on. I think a modern remake of this game could be a lot more fun.

Ultimately the biggest thing to fix here is just the scaling of the main character. In this game he’s so tall that you tend to get hit even when you are crouching and there isn’t enough room to jump over a shot. You should never be in a position where your only hope it to shoot immediately because a counter is guaranteed to hit you. The game needs to work on that and that is really the only thing that held this one back. Of course a modern remake would also presumably have more of a story which can go a long way too. There’s probably no reason in particular why a remake would be made of this game but I’d definitely be in favor of it.

Overall, ESWAT is a good game. It’s the kind of title that always has a lot going on and so each level has your full attention. If you let your guard down for a moment then you end up paying dearly for it. That said, this nonstop measure of no room for error does mean that this isn’t exactly a relaxing game. It’s one of those full trials that is fun but you wouldn’t want to be playing it forever. So that’s what keeps it from being a bit higher on the scale. If you have the Switch Online then there is definitely no reason not to play it though.

Overall 6/10

Super Thunder Blade Review

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Super Thunder Blade is a game that I expected to be a whole lot better than it actually was. I was actually quite surprised at how wonky the controls were. You had a really hard time dodging the enemy fire and making a move because timing it was near impossible due to all the lag and how slow the frame rate was. The whole game felt so buggy you’d think it came out in the 2020s. I like the concept of the game but I’m afraid that I have to review the actual title and not the concept. A true shame but that’s how it goes.

The game is short with only 4-5 levels in it. It’s a 3D title where you can move from side to side as you dodge enemy fire. The goal is to survive until the end of the level where you then have to take down a boss that appears. Typically the boss will have some obvious weak points to target but I should warn you that this isn’t always the case. So you just have to keep on blasting and you’ll win eventually. Your opponent will of course be shooting a lot of blasts at you during this fight as well so you can think of this like a classic bullet hell game.

I guess part of what hurts the experience here is just how limited the game is. You only have one kind of blaster, which is your default gun. There are no power ups or alternate guns of any kind. Then all of the enemies shoot the same kind of attacks at you. So the character model may change but not the attack itself which feels a bit limited. Or dare I say cheap? This plays more like an NES title than a Genesis one. So you’ve got a short game length and almost nothing to do within it. Just moving from side to side isn’t exactly the most thrilling gameplay after all. You just need a whole lot more than that here and the game doesn’t really end up satisfying you there.

The graphics aren’t all that good either. You can always tell what is going on which is nice but the colors and backgrounds are nothing particularly inspiring. I won’t say they’re terrible or anything but this game definitely needed a win somewhere and I can tell you that it is not coming from the graphics department. No sir, that’s definitely not going to be the case. The soundtrack is okay I guess. Not a whole lot of tunes to be found here but they do fit in with the gameplay which is the important part.

My only real gameplay tip is to be constantly moving from side to side. Odds are that you won’t be hit but you will be moving too fast to actively be dodging on your own. So you just have to hope that the game doesn’t catch on and often times this will work for a very long time. Likewise when it comes to dodging and going into caverns, try the same approach. The only time you may have to pause this technique is during boss fights where you have to target specific areas.

There is one boss where you can only damage him once his eye is open and the guy blinks like crazy. So you have to be moving while blasting and the whole fight tends to be pretty tedious. It’s just a nonstop game of momentum after all and you have to try and stay ahead of it at all times. If you stop to focus then you will make the fight a lot quicker but you also run a much higher chance of getting hit. So you have to decide to take the safe and guaranteed route that takes forever or the short bursts of glory with high risk. Either way it is not super fun since the gameplay itself can be rather dull.

With a name like Super Thunder Blade you are just counting on something with a whole lot more pop. I think that’s what had me confused the whole time. Shouldn’t I be able to shoot out electricity or maybe pop out some kind of an elemental blade? Now that would have absolutely been fitting and would have made the game more exciting. The first step of game design is to make something memorable that everyone wants to play. Unfortunately this is definitely not it. Super Thunder Blade will not last for very long in your memory as you complete it in under a day and place the game back on the shelf, never to be played again.

Overall, Super Thunder Blade is an okay game but it just feels like they put in the bare minimum level of effort. For a lot of games I can at least talk about how I think they are hanging in there and doing their best but not this time. The controls are just too slippery and half the time when you get shot you don’t feel like that is what should have happened. It’s a game I would have been unable to complete without the Switch Online and I don’t think it would have been close. I also wouldn’t really have much of an incentive to keep on playing either.

Overall 5/10

Streets of Rage Review

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Streets of Rage is a series that has gotten quite a few games. It’s actually pretty impressive when you think about it. The series had very humble beginnings and yet it has gone very far into the modern day. The game feels its age but the fundamentals aren’t bad. It’s a quick title but it is fun to play through with some decent level designs. Probably not a title you will be talking about 10 years from now but when it’s free on the Switch Online there is no real downside right?

The controls are simple as you move up, down, left, and right as you try to land attacks on your opponents. You can also grab and pummel them which can be good for the more powerful opponents. The main key is to make sure you never let the enemies get too close to you. Once they are within range then you are really going to be in trouble. At that point you’re basically doomed since they can get you into near infinite combos. Usually I would opt for some aerial attacks but in this case that’s not always a great idea. The range is pretty small and the damage is super negligible.

Now granted, there are 3 characters here and I only tried playing as one of them. It’s completely possible that playing as a different one will yield different results since they all have different movesets and abilities. I do appreciate that as well as it adds another dimension to the game. It may be simple but the average title would have made 3 identical characters. The bosses all have different movesets and abilities as well.

I would also say that the game doesn’t feel “cheap”. If you played this at the arcade with a friend you feel like you would be able to go pretty far and wouldn’t have to spend much money to get all the way to the end of the game. It is very difficult, don’t get me wrong on that. But it is difficult in a way where you can continue to get better and defeat the game as opposed to feeling like it is all rigged against you. When a game is impossibly difficult then it’s time to shake your head.

The graphics have aged reasonably well. I won’t say the game looks amazing or anything but the colors are striking and I like the backgrounds. You feel the weight of each of the attacks as you play through the game and it just has processing power that you wouldn’t expect from this era. It is a game that had a lot of effort behind it. The soundtrack is also fun and very lively the whole time. I really appreciated that as well.

The main campaign is pretty short, you can probably complete it in a little under 2 hours. Probably way shorter than that if you are particularly good at the game but honestly you should expect to die a whole lot as you get used to the game. All it takes is one mistake on your part and you could end up eating a nasty combo and losing a whole lot of health. It’s the kind of game where you have to continually win neutral over and over without letting the opponent win once. That kind of strain can definitely be rather tough to overcome.

Of course the Switch Online has access points and rewinding to make that part easier. Without that? Yeah you may be here for hours and hours and hours with no real way to continue. The final boss in particular is unforgiving and I feel like the game glitched at one point because I kept hitting him over and over and his health bar never changed. It’s quite possible that I just wasn’t doing something right but after switching to grabs it didn’t seem to matter. The next day when I went back to the game I was dealing damage so I don’t know. It was all just pretty weird. If that happened to me live back in the day I’d definitely be shaking my head.

Overall, Streets of Rage is a good game. It’s admittedly not one that I would break out the wallet for or anything like that but it will pass the time by relatively well. If you like beat em up titles like this then you will definitely enjoy the title. If you don’t like the genre then you won’t like the game. The reason for this is because the game completely embodies what that kind of gameplay is like. There are no ribbons or special features around this. It’s about beating up your opponents completely and thoroughly with a tiny smidge of plot thrown in. If there was more story then the game would be more appealing but back in the day it was rare to have big stories like that.

Overall 6/10