Ape Escape Review

Posted on August 16, 2026 by dreager1

It’s time for another classic title from back in the days. While Ape Escape may not really be around nowadays, it had a good run. It’s a really unique game all the way. I guess it reminds me a bit of Billy Hatcher if I had to compare it to something but the game is ultimately still very different. It’s definitely not one of the longer titles but you’ll be having fun all the way through.

The title starts out with a monkey escaping from the zoo and gaining super intelligence thanks to some sci-fi tech. He decides to liberate all of the other monkeys and travels all the way back in time. The main character is tasked with bringing him back to justice. To this end he will need to master a number of different tools that all have different abilities. You have the classic net which is how you capture the monkeys. You will be using this more than any of your other tools. Each level will ask you to capture several of the monkeys and that will automatically trigger the completion of the level.

You may wonder, what about the monkeys that you don’t grab? Well, there is a level select that you unlock after you complete the first level and that lets you go back. I would recommend not backtracking until you have completed the game though because some monkeys will require tools that you don’t get until the end of the game. So going back may just end up wasting some of your time otherwise. There is also one final weapon that you obtain after the game has been fully completed, which is the super punch.

The levels are pretty generous in that you get to skip a whole lot of the monkeys. This way you can enjoy the levels without stressing out about having to find each one. You have a radar tool which points you in the right direction of where the monkeys can be. It can be a bit of a misleading tool to be honest but can still work at least a little bit. Then you have the wings which is easily the most useful tool in the game. It gives you an extra jump and lets you hover around for a long while. With that at the ready you can breeze through most obstacles. It’s almost hard to go back to your normal jump while you have that.

You can equip 4 items at a time though so that helps with the balancing. You will be required to use every item at some point or another so they all get their time to shine. While the game isn’t particularly difficult, I will say that the monkeys can be really hard to catch. They run quickly and will counter attack if you get too close. This means that you are constantly going to be on the back foot and have to time your moves carefully. Without the rewind I would have gotten hit a bunch of times and just catching them would take longer. So length is something that would go more in the game’s favor without the rewind.

I’d say the most impressive thing about the game may be the technical elements. The graphics are really good. The art style is bright and expressive the whole time which fits the game series well and then you also have a really fun soundtrack. The main themes are all super good and will stay with you. There is just something really nice and catchy about them. The game doesn’t have a large variety but what you do have there is really good.

There is a decent amount of replay value in the game since they actually added trophies to it. This means that you will be able to go back to each of the levels and get the extra monkeys. You can then grab a nice Platinum at the end. This platinum trophy is also super generous because you don’t need to get anywhere near all of the monkeys or coins. I know for some that will feel like a cheap Platinum since you should need 100% in order to obtain it but that’s just not how it went this time.

I’d also end things off by giving the game credit for a lot of quality of life features. I’m not even counting the PS5 ones but the features built into the game. You can enter and exit levels at any time, you can switch gadgets really quickly, and everything is explained very well. Even the fact that you can hold 4 gadgets at once is really nice because otherwise you’d have to pause the game too much. It’s something that would have really helped the Legend of Zelda Oracle of Ages game that I played recently. Mix that in with the fact that the main character moves pretty quickly and you have a winning formula. The levels are also just pretty fun to run around in. They’re large without overdoing it and each one is very distinct.

Overall, Ape Escape is definitely a game that I would recommend. It’s one of those titles that took advantage of the classic PS1 days. It has an absolutely bonkers plot but takes itself very seriously. The voice acting is definitely fun as well and feels really authentic. I suppose in a way the game feels like a passion project and not quite as corporate as you might see in a title that comes out nowadays. So long as you like good platforming then you will enjoy this game. It is well rounded all the way through.

Overall 7/10

Uncharted: The Lost Legacy Review

Posted on August 16, 2026 by dreager1

I have returned to the world of Uncharted with this spinoff adventure. Chloe and Nadine get to serve as the leads this time so Nathan is getting himself a break. It’s a fun adventure although you can definitely see how it is a lot shorter than the main titles. Typically Uncharted adventures have over 20 chapters while this one has 9. Still, the 9 that we do have are very good so I had a great time here. There is a whole lot to enjoy.

The adventure starts off with Chloe trying to get aboard a truck. She manages to slip through the enemy defenses and we find out that she is working with the mercenary, Nadine. Together they are going to try and grab another ancient relic but there appears to be more to this mission that Chloe is keeping secret. The two will try their best to work together while staying professional but this doesn’t do wonders for their very tenuous bond.

At first I actually thought the opening level was a flashback because it’s rare to see Chloe panicking or unsure of herself. I guess that’s what happens when you go from the big rival character to the main lead. She ends up needing a little help from a kid in order to get past the initial guards. I would have preferred Chloe to be her usual sarcastic self right from the start and just beat everyone up. Instead she acts a bit more like Nathan this time around and panics a whole lot.

Still, Chloe is a fun lead overall. Once she begins her team up with Nadine then she goes for more of the usual quips we know her for. Nadine ends up being less likable by the end as she tends to blow up at Chloe a whole lot. She also goes out of her way to mess up their plans on different occasions because she couldn’t contain her emotions. It was a very difficult situation at different points so I understand that, but Nadine is supposed to be a professional.

She does get hit with the main character nerf as well though. In the last game she was defeating Nathan and his brother Sam at the same time. Here she and Chloe are losing when going 2 v 1 against the new villain. Times have really changed. That villain end up looking pretty impressive as a result though. He’s certainly not my kind of villain but I do have to respect his abilities.

The story is fairly straight forward here though. The two heroines have to get to the treasure before the villains do. In the process of this we get a ton of action scenes and have to blast through the equivalent of a mini army. From a gameplay perspective you get a lot of the usual parkour and gun combat. They are both handled very well and in some ways the parkour can be a little more difficult than the main titles. This game assumes that you have played those so there is no kind of tutorial at all. I was a bit rusty at first but quickly got with it.

By contrast the gun combat was a lot easier than the main Uncharted games. One reason for this is the amount of checkpoints in them. Usually if you lose a gunfight then you have to restart it. In this game some of the enemies will stay dead when you die so it inevitably gets easier as you keep on fighting. As long as you use some good tactics and hide as necessary then you should be fine.

There is a decent amount of replay value to be had here. There are a whole lot of collectibles to grab after all and there is a proper level select here which allows you to nab them. Completing the game will only get you a few trophies as well so you will need to replay the game a lot to get the rest. Only the slow motion walk scenes may get a bit annoying but the rest is really easy to replay. Sony games are known for being cinematic and while some use that as an insult, I always find it to be very impressive.

You feel like you’re in a movie here. The graphics are really strong and there is a ton of attention to detail. The gameplay is very well polished as well. I suppose I would have liked to have had a map that was always active instead of having to constantly pause to see it. That’s a bit more of a nitpick though. I was starting to get lost when driving around in the car but was gradually able to figure it out.

It was cool to have a car in general. That’s something you don’t see every day. There isn’t much of a soundtrack here but they squeezed in a song for the end credits. Those credits were extremely long though, one of the longest ones I’ve seen in a long time. I looked it up and apparently they are close to 11 minutes in length. That’s pretty insane, they needed to speed that up or let you skip them. It’s extremely rare for a game in 2026 to not let you skip the credits.

Overall, I would definitely recommend checking out this Uncharted title. It is a full fledged game even if it is shorter than the others. I got this one for $10 so if you get a deal like that then I’d say you should really jump on it. As far as I’m concerned that is an absolute steal! Even if you have to shell out a little more for this one, you should do it. Hopefully one day we get another Uncharted game. This is the kind of series that could easily have many more adventures because there are an infinite amount of treasures out there. I feel like the recent James Bond game was essentially a kind of Uncharted title so they need to follow that blueprint.

Overall 8/10

Quit Laughing, Shijima Review

Posted on August 15, 2026 by dreager1

It’s time for a manga oneshot that came out recently. It’s got a pretty interesting premise and definitely succeeds at setting up a full length series down the road if the author ever wants to go there. The artwork is pretty solid and the characters are on point. The adventure also sticks the landing so this one makes all of the right choices throughout.

The title starts off by introducing us to a guy who hasn’t made up his mind on what he wants to do with his future. In a way you could say that he still has some time since he is in high school but everyone else have already decided on their plans. Azumi may fall behind if he doesn’t decide soon. The whole school also idolizes a girl named Shijima who has a nice laugh. People are constantly giving her things for free as a result of her positive energy but Azumi feels like something is wrong about this. Just 1 week ago everyone had been bullying her for the way that her teeth looked. What has changed?

The chapter goes through a whole conspiracy with the town basically deciding to be collectively evil. It’s the kind of experience that would be hard for anyone to accept. Azumi has to deal with the knowledge that he can’t trust anyone and that if he wants to save Shijima, it will pit him against everyone. That’s not an easy choice to make but Azumi is ready for this and has also been in love with her for a long time. Yes, at its core you could say that this story is part romance as well. There is a whole lot of horror along the way as well.

That’s where the art gets to show off. The visuals get really crazy and you almost wonder why Azumi hasn’t gone crazy yet. He’s one of the only ones who is able to see the weird demons running around. There are others who can see them as well but they refuse to talk about it. There is a very eerie atmosphere throughout the story and so I can say that the writer really understands the horror genre well. This is still part Shonen so I wouldn’t expect anything too crazy but to me that was a really fair mix.

Azumi also just works as a great main character. He knows that what the town is doing isn’t right and so he sets off to stop it. He is heavily outnumbered and is making powerful enemies but doesn’t care. He will save Shijima no matter what price he has to pay. The ending even doubles down on this as he will continue trying to save as many people as possible. If this ever did get a full length series I bet it would really be a lot of fun. The world building is already set up really well.

As for Shijima, I get the feeling that she wouldn’t really return. This oneshot was revolving around her but I took it as an example of the kinds of people that Azumi would be helping. She was a solid enough character. While I disagreed with her actions, she was grown up and raised in a way where she wouldn’t have known enough to fight back. From Shijima’s point of view she was doing the right thing so it is hard to fault her for that. She was essentially brainwashed from the start. Shijima still never complained about her lot in life and just went forward as best she could.

A side effect of this is that all of the adults look terrible of course. They are all on board with the corrupt system plaguing the series and don’t bother to ask any questions. They have even created a whole system of money and power around this. Now with a full series I imagine we would get introduced to people who are against the system and those who would rise against it. That’s a good thing but still won’t let these guys out of the woods. No matter what twists and turns come up, we know they were all willing to sacrifice Shijima for what they considered to be the greater good.

The kid also look equally bad. They’re in high school so that’s old enough to know better. I was glad that Azumi didn’t remain friends with the rest of the crew after he found out the truth. Some things are just way too far to ever come back from. As for what this thing is? Well you’ll have to read the oneshot to find out. I’m mainly avoiding mentioning what it is that the whole town/city is complicit in but I’m confident you’ll agree that they are all crazy.

The story isn’t defending it in any way either. It’s really just showing how nobody was ready to stand up to this situation before Azumi showed up. I also wonder if a series is already being planned because you have more characters introduced at the very end of the story who are poised to play a role later on. Definitely an interesting thing to do if this was truly a oneshot adventure right? I’ll be rooting for it to continue at the very least. We can always use more classic hero stories like this one about one guy having to fight to destroy the system.

Overall, This was a pretty good story. There were no weaknesses to it. The story, artwork, and characters were all very good. I can definitely understand why it is getting a lot of praise. The ultimate goal of a oneshot is to get you excited for a full series around this concept and the story absolutely succeeded with that. Every part of it was super interesting and the groundwork is already there. I think Shonen Jump could have a really fun title for the next generation here. In the meantime, read this one so you can get that view count up.

Overall 8/10

Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 Review

Posted on August 15, 2026 by dreager1

It’s time to jump into a classic Wario game. The style tends to be fairly similar to Mario while still being different enough to stand out. This one definitely follows that formula and makes for a fun game. I would say that the Mario style is ultimately better though. Wario puts a bit more emphasis on puzzles and slow gameplay which keeps it from having Mario’s energy. That’s not completely crippling to the series or anything but does mean that you can’t just turn your brain off and have fun like some of the other titles.

The story follows Wario trying to do what he does best, get rich! Most of the plot is really in the booklet here so you mainly just know that you need lots and lots of money. It won’t be easy as a lot of enemies continue to get in your way but they are not ready for this level of power. In order to complete levels you have to donate 10 gold coins to a mysterious tower. I know that has to hurt Wario quite a lot since giving away money is definitely not his main thing. Wario is all about keeping money after all.

This is also a pretty unique gimmick since usually just making it to the end of a level is how you complete a platformer. The whole money thing took me by surprise at first as I wandered for a little bit before realizing what I had to do. The levels are extremely plentiful when it comes to coins though so you aren’t going to run into a scenario where you have none. You can also spend 10 coins to unlock checkpoint throughout the level. I recommend doing so of course. It is worth the price since not having checkpoints is always going to be super rough.

Even with that you will still have a lot of coins. That’s because this isn’t a Sonic game so you don’t drop the coins when you are damaged. You have to actively try to avoid the coins in order to not get them so the game is really working with you here. I would say the toughest part just tends to be about navigating through the levels. Even the enemies aren’t very difficult because bumping into them hurts the enemy instead of you. I thought that was a really nice twist because it’s the opposite in virtually every other video game. It was a subtle, but effective way of showing how powerful Wario is.

All of his power ups also feel like brand new forms which was impressive for the game. For example he has one form where he can shoot out fire breath. It’s an incredible ability and makes every boss go by quickly. I highly recommend hanging onto that one. Another one lets you temporarily fly which is good for cheesing levels. Then of course there is normal Wario which can body slam into opponents. The forms each have their uses to be sure and none of them are weak by any means.

That’s why the game feels like it got a lot of effort by Nintendo. You’re not seeing recycled abilities here or anything like that. It is a fresh Wario experience right from the start which is definitely impressive. The levels are also fresh. They can be a little mazy but nothing crazy. The bosses are also fun and actually have some rather sinister designs by Nintendo standards. Yes, Nintendo has had scary designs over the years but I wouldn’t say that it was routine even back in their more intense days.

The graphics are also on point. The colors are all gone since that’s how all of the Game Boy games look here but the designs are good. I will admit that I miss the color though, it can be hard to play a game when it’s so washed out for large periods of time. I guess I wouldn’t have lasted in the really old days. As a medium I just think movies and books work much better in black and white. Although this is more of a green and white which might be why it is tough.

The soundtrack is okay but definitely does not approach Mario levels. That is par for the course though as the only big Wario theme that I tend to remember is Mona’s pizza. Now that was a really fun song back in the day. This game is fairly long with over 30 levels and has solid replay value with another 20 bonus levels after that. You have enough bang for your buck to be satisfied here and again I would expect nothing less from Nintendo.

I’d say my biggest problem with the game is how slow Wario moves. There is no way to run in this game so you have to slowly walk everywhere. This makes the levels feel a bit more dragged out than they would be afterwards. I know that Wario isn’t the fastest guy on the block but I would have made him just a touch faster. There could be all kinds of game reasons used to explain why he is faster. It’s a relatively small nitpick but at the same time I would say that it is the difference between a 6 star game and a 7 star one.

Overall, I would recommend playing through this Wario title. Naturally as part of the Switch Online you can play it for free but even aside from that it is just a well rounded title. I still find it impressive how Nintendo succeeded in making the Wario series actually be a mirror to the Mario series in the same way that the characters are reflections of each other. They really got creative there and showed off their imagination. The Wario series may never become my favorite titles but they are still fun to play through.

Overall 6/10

Dr. Mario & Puzzle League Review

Posted on August 15, 2026 by dreager1

It’s time for a double pack of puzzle adventures! I played Dr. Mario a while back so that was a little nostalgic but Puzzle League was brand new. They are both similar you could say and are fairly decent. I personally think Tetris is still more fun but they are operating on a similar wavelength. Dr. Mario is probably the most different since you need to connect 4 pieces in a row instead of 3. They also don’t give you the connections mixed between vertically and horizontally. It has to really be 4 in a row.

Both games have a lot of variety when it comes to the modes. You can play the endless battles, the vs mode, puzzles, etc. I decided to do a little bit of everything to try and get my money’s worth. Well, this was free through Nintendo Switch Online but you get what I’m talking about. I spent the most time in Puzzle League’s puzzle mode. Essentially you are given around 70 levels where you have to try and solve a situation in a certain amount of moves. The first 10-20 levels are about solving puzzles in one move. I was able to ace all of those but once you got to the 30s then it started getting really tricky. I ultimately switched to other modes at that point but definitely see how this would be really difficult to get through.

The main mode is set up to be ultra easy as you learn how to play. You could basically win that one without any knowledge of the game because of how slow the speed is. If anything you’ll probably get bored so then it’s time to speed things up. At the highest setting you will have the blocks fill up the screen before you can really do anything. I suppose it’s all about balance and not immediately falling on one of the extremes. Either way I would say it works out pretty well if you like this style.

If you enjoy the classic puzzles then this game delivers completely. While the gameplay essentially stays the same throughout, the game is giving you a ton of options on what to do here. You can play the game in the way that most suits your playstyle. You can’t really ask for much more than that. The graphics are okay. Nothing out of the ordinary but these puzzle types tend to look the same after a while. Dr. Mario definitely has more personality to it thanks to the ole Nintendo shine. It just works better compared to the more generic look of the Puzzle League.

There have just been so many other versions of these puzzle games over the years. I would probably enjoy it more if this was the first version that I had played. Of course that isn’t very fair to this game but that’s just how it goes sometimes. It’s still not a bad game by any means but without a story mode you’ll just get bored pretty fast. Some games can operate without a story mode. Just look at basically any sports game after all. Others absolutely need one though and this is one of those cases. Throw in a story and I would be having a blast. It’s no exaggeration to say that this would probably jump up 2 stars. That’s how much a story can help a game like this.

It would also just add more weight to the replay value. There is technically an infinite amount of replay value here as you can keep challenging your high scores on the puzzles. It just isn’t super fulfilling on its own. I need a true reason to keep playing on this one and that’s because the puzzle style just isn’t enough for me. A potential hot take is I would say that the Candy Crush gameplay style absolutely crushes both of these. It’s a lot more fun. Dr. Mario’s is a step down in that area because the viruses are super annoying and do not enhance the gameplay at all. They just come across as super annoying the whole time.

Overall, I would say to check this double pack out if you have the Switch Online. It does give you double the value of a normal game after all. Pairing these two titles together also makes a whole lot of sense since they are both puzzle games. That said, neither one is really going to be landing a home run here. They are very basic puzzle games. There are no frills or special features to be found here. That is fine if you are just looking for a fun time for 30 minutes but I would have never purchased this game back in the day. I just need way more value than all of that while I’m going through the puzzles. If I saw this game at Gamestop back in the day I probably would have just kept on walking without a second thought. Still, I can find solace in the fact that Dr. Mario got an incredible mobile game later on. It may have gotten shut down but it proved the fact that the series could really be amazing in the modern day.

Overall 5/10

Fortified Zone Review

Posted on August 15, 2026 by dreager1

It’s time to play one of those games that I had never really heard of before. It’s really old school and holds up pretty well next to some of the other titles on the console. That said, it is incredibly short so you’re not going to be playing it for much more than an hour. There is a real chance that it won’t even last the hour either. Still, the core gameplay is good and doesn’t really fall into any big issues except for a little padding with how the layout works.

The plot is mainly in the booklet so just get out there and take down the enemy! The gameplay is similar to Legend of Zelda in that it is top down and you walk from room to room. Instead of a sword you have a gun though. Your job is to blast away at all of the enemies who oppose you and get to the boss of the sector. This will often involve getting keys that allow you to proceed through locked doors. You can find them after defeating enemies or in different rooms.

Where the layout gets tricky is that some rooms are behind invisible doors. You have to blast away at the walls in order to reach these rooms. Additionally you also have to consider that different areas have multiple paths. You can end up travelling in a circle and the enemies all immediately respawn. That’s definitely a tricky thing to get around because your health isn’t massive. Without rewind you would probably lose in some annoying ways as you play through the game.

There also isn’t any real replay value. That is true of most games for this era though. So once you beat the game then there isn’t really much to do. It’s just time to put it down and play something else. For that reason I wouldn’t give it a higher sore but a 6 still feels fair as an entertaining game. It still passes the time by and I do enjoy the gameplay. It’s fun to use strategy to hit an opponent while he is just out of range and then retreat. This is not one of those games where you run up and just start blasting. At the very least if you try that, it’s not going to end very well for you.

The graphics are pretty solid here. I wouldn’t say that any of them are something to write home about but they work well enough within the context of the title. It’s an old game after all but even then you can still differentiate between games that put in an effort and the ones that really didn’t. The soundtrack is more on the forgettable side though. I wouldn’t say that any of the tunes will stick with you at all. They will be lost from your memories before very long.

The various boss designs are pretty solid. You have some interesting looks here with a lot of variety. There are also no recycled bosses which is good. I wouldn’t have expected any in a game that was this short but it was still nice to see that this was the case. There isn’t much of an ending/final boss but again I would just attribute that to age. Nowadays they try to make sure that the final boss/ending really sticks out.

I guess the main tip I would give for this game is to just make sure that you take your time. The spike traps are set up to perfectly hit you if you walk at full speed. You are meant to pause in between each one so that you don’t get damaged. It may not feel right to be pausing each time but it is really the only way to do this. Once you get around that issue then you will be off to the races. Combat is a bit different since I would say that striking right away is key.

You can usually take one of the minions out before he can fire back. Then all you have to do is dodge the other 3 while landing your counter attacks. If you do this right then you won’t be taking much damage at all. There are recovery boxes that will show up every now and again but they are fairly rare. The boss fights aren’t super difficult as long as you keep your distance. Often times the only way they will hit you is by ramming into your character. The energy blasts are much easier to dodge so you need to stay back.

Overall, Fortified Zone is a fun game. It has some interesting ideas and I think it would make for a killer remake in the present day. It could stand out from other shooters by keeping the top down style. It’s not quite a puzzle game but adds a unique spin to what you would usually expect here. They just need to make the game longer or else it would really just be worth a clean $10 instead of $70. I would recommend checking it out if you have the Nintendo Switch Online. After all it’s free at that point so there is no real downside to checking it out.

Overall 6/10

Black Clover Review

Posted on August 9, 2026 by dreager1

It’s finally time to take a look at one of the greatest manga titles of all time. Black Clover is one of those titles that you just wanted to keep on going and going for as long as possible. It definitely lasted though so at the end of the day I was pretty satisfied. It has earned its place among the premier Shonen Jump titles like Bleach and Naruto. You’ll want to get on this series as soon as possible.

The story starts by introducing a boy named Asta who was born without any kind of magical abilities. This puts him in a really tough position because in this world magic is everything. People learn to treat people like dirt from a young age based on how much magical energy they have. It’s essentially unheard of to have no magic power. What makes this even worse is that Asta’s childhood friend and rival Yuno is a prodigy with incredible amounts of magic. Asta chooses to fight on though and gets recruited by the Black Bulls. They are a magic guild for misfits and all have some kind of quirk. Now Asta will finally be able to make some friends and can also learn to master his special skill, anti magic.

Now I know what you’re thinking, isn’t anti magic a bit of a cop out? The short answer is yes but it’s worth it because otherwise it would be difficult to show exactly how Asta can hold his own against all of these powerful foes. Anti magic works just like normal magic and can effectively do anything but the biggest draw is that it can cut straight through magical attacks. It essentially nullifies all of them with a direct hit. You can see how valuable this ability is now right?

Of course it wouldn’t be a great ability if the user couldn’t keep up. Fortunately Asta spent his entire life working on his physical abilities to make up for the lack of magic. As a result he can move faster than most and his physical strength continues to impress people throughout the series. Asta tends to win most of his encounters and absolutely crushes those who are obsessed with their magical abilities. If you use them as a crutch then you will definitely be in trouble.

The series has a classic Shonen Jump tone to it so you can expect to have a lot of fun here. There are consistent themes of improving yourself and never giving up. That’s a big part of Asta’s character after all. He never gives up no matter how rough things get for him. Even when he is painfully rejected and has his friends turn against him, Asta continues to fight. “I’m not done yet” becomes one of his catchphrases and it works well. A lot of Shonen leads tend to have unbreakable wills but I would say that even among them Asta tends to stand out. He just takes this to the extreme and it works incredibly well. He’s a big part of why Black Clover is so good.

A top tier series will come down to having an amazing main character after all. You need to have someone you can root for and that is Asta in a nutshell. He is a super well rounded character and is always inspiring to follow. Asta also hopes to be the Wizard King someday so you can expect to see him yelling about that quite a lot. It’s always good to have a central goal and Asta never wavers in it.

There is a pretty big cast of supporting characters and we’ll definitely be getting onto those shortly. Before that I also have to talk about the amazing artwork here. This is one of the absolute best ones that Shonen Jump has to offer. The artwork is strong and has a lot of detail throughout. Each fight scene really works perfectly and this is the kind of story where the chapters absolutely fly by as a result. There is no title that can easily crush this one in the art department.

Clover also does a great job of mainly avoiding fanservice. That is the cast for a lot of the modern Jump titles but is still always worth mentioning. For a title this long it’s not going to be at 0 of course but it’s pretty close to that in the grand scheme of things. The series also isn’t afraid to have some romance but I wouldn’t say it’s one of the strongest titles in that respect. They were actually building up a pretty decent plot with Noelle and Asta but didn’t really close the deal there. In a way that’s a good thing since Asta always had she’s for Sister Lily instead. You probably don’t want to go down the rebound route there so I suppose it makes sense.

As with any long running series there will be some plot threads that don’t feel resolved by the end. This feeling gets magnified when you are reading weekly and then chapter by chapter once it stopped being weekly because you’ll see people commenting about the plots they couldn’t wait to see. This includes some demons that don’t really get closure or backstories that aren’t delved into. It’s going to always be rare to complete every plot in a long series like this though and I was satisfied overall. The series ends with a big battle that I had been waiting for throughout the series after all. If I had any regrets, it is just that we never got to see the big 3 all team up for a fight. Asta, Yuno, and Noelle are consistently shown as a power trio but never actually team up against an opponent in the end. I did think that was a missed opportunity.

Okay now let’s get into the characters. Yuno is the big rival in the series and works as a very subversive kind of character. At first you expect he will turn evil at some point or grow jealous of Asta as the lead goes higher in the ranks. Instead Yuno is supportive throughout the series and it’s why I consider this to be one of the healthiest rivalries in all of Jump. Yuno is the kind of rival you would want to have in real life because he will help build you up instead of knocking you down.

He did grow up together with Asta so it was nice to see that this didn’t suddenly get thrown down the drain just because they became rivals. Yuno continued to be friends with Asta at the same time and it was just a great dynamic. Every time Asta would get a power up, Yuno would answer with one of his own. In general I always felt Asta was a bit stronger thanks to anti magic being a full counter to magic but they were both super powerful. Yuno has that cool air about him that always guaranteed him a high spot in the ranks.

Then we have Noelle as the main heroine of the series. Initially she was unable to control her magic powers which is part of why she was in the Black Bulls. She technically always had a great amount of magic power but without control it would just make her a danger to everyone. As the series goes on she has different people help her out with this and she makes a bunch of friends. It’s a very classic kind of character arc that works really well. I was especially glad to see her keep pace with the other characters all the way through to the end of the series instead of getting left behind.

Her fighting style was a lot of fun with all of the super speed. Speedblitzing tends to be one of the most enjoyable fighting styles to watch and this was no exception. Noelle’s backstory was also handled extremely well from start to finish. It was just the right amount of emotional without being over the top and had great closure by the end as her mom even got brought into the picture.

Acier is mostly a flashback character until the final arc when a bunch of the old characters get brought into the present. It’s not exactly her usual personality but the spell does a good job of keeping their humanity with a new set of moral guidelines. As a result it feels like we still really got to see Acier and her brilliant abilities. That was a lot of fun and Clover is one of those titles where the previous generations could actually hold their own against the modern ones.

Just look at the original Wizard King who continues to be one of the most powerful characters even in the present. He was able to handle one of the original devils and briefly returns to fight another one. He was a lot of fun and I wish we could have seen more of him. It’s hard to juggle every character though so I need to be satisfied with what we got. His assistant Secre also ended p getting a pretty good role in the present. Her locking abilities were really good and could work in more combat situations than you may have expected. She was a fun addition to the team even if she came in a bit later on as well.

Black Clover also had a fully operational legal system at the ready with Damnatio judging criminals. He shows up more than once and is not a fan of Asta. He feels like the anti magic stuff is too far outside of the norm and has to keep the lead in check. It leads to one of the best moments for the Black Bulls as they roll in to save him. I liked Damnatio as an antagonist even if I can never see him as a hero. His sense of justice is far too rigid and ends up being a detriment all of the tie. If he had been at least a little reasonable that could have been different but he never ends up helping. With allies like that, who needs enemies?

Now lets go through the magic knight squads. Nozel is the head of his group and is also involved with Noelle’s backstory. He’s her older brother and does not treat her very well at all. The series tries to walk this back a whole lot later on but it was too late for this guy. I’ll say that the series did a pretty good job of making each character very layered. In many other titles he would have been a one note bully but that wasn’t the case here. Outside of the Noelle context he was a well respected captain and consistently portrayed as a hero. This fault was just big enough where I certainly was not going to be rooting for him anytime soon.

It doesn’t take away from his strength, the guy is definitely a beast in combat. You want him on your side in a fight without a doubt but it would be hard to call someone like that your comrade. This is a criticism you can have for a great deal of the characters. To an extent they all buy into this corrupt system or at least don’t try to overturn it. Even Julius who by and large appears to be a kind wizard king doesn’t upset the status quo. It’s not like this would be an easy challenge but Asta and many others had to put up with a lot of grief that shouldn’t be there. Whether Asta or Yuno became the wizard king, you could count on them changing the status quo completely.

I suppose leaving the kingdom is one way to avoid the issue. Mereoleona is one of the most powerful characters in the series and ultimately she chose to just live in the wilderness. She prefers to be around the beasts and this also helped her to become one with energy. Once she shows up, all of the other fire characters quickly became inferior by comparison. She really stole the show in each fight and was definitely a fantastic character. Mereoleona may have entered the game later than a lot of the other characters but left an immediate impact. I also just tend to really like aggressive characters like her.

Fuegoleon is the actual captain of the fire crew and while he is strong, he doesn’t tend to appear a whole lot. He is written out of the series for a large chunk after losing an arm and even by the end never catches up to Mereoleona. He still looks good though and has more honor than most of the other characters. I also really enjoyed his speech about how there is no shame in being weak, only in remaining so. As with most things in life, there are ways to improve if you put in the effort and he only judges those who never try to improve.

He had a protege named Leopold who was initially set up as another rival to Asta but then ended up vanishing for most of the series. I feel like he was originally meant to have a bigger role and then something happened. I still enjoyed his character and he’s a solid fighter to have around but never quite lived up to his full potential. Partially because of how quickly he was written out, I would not say that he ended up being one of the stronger fighers in the series. He got a last second power up but I didn’t really buy into it.

Then we have Mimosa who likes Asta but she has a lot of competition in this series. I’d say the only issue she runs into is also a lack of screentime. We just don’t get to see her very much and most of her scenes are about Asta. We needed to see more of her motivations and character moments to really get her up the rankings. I ended up preferring Lily and Noelle but at least Mimosa did her best to improve her battle abilities so that she could help Ast out. She ultimately means well.

Now lets talk about some of the Black Bulls. We’ve got Gauche who has a gag about being really close to his sister. I’d say that gag tends to get overplayed right away. The anime would actually try to liven things up and get him to be a bit funnier but in the manga he tends to be one note. Gauche is very strong but from the Black Bulls he tends to be on the weaker side in terms of personality. He actually tried to murder Asta early on for very petty reasons which was really hard to come back from. Certainly not impossible but it was a rough first impression.

Then there is Charmy who has a big backstory based on the lore but we never fully get to see it. I think there were bigger plans for her as well. Her power set is pretty fun though. On one hand she is a berserker and on the other she can bake a lot of tasty food which can completely restore a person’s magical power. In short, she is an incredible ally to have in a support role. She’s someone you can really count on and is just a lot of fun.

Finral is a character who started out a little rough but got a lot better. He starts off with a bit of a doomed romance and tries to ignore these feelings by being a huge flirt all the time. He has a tragic backstory with his brother as well and so there was a lot on his mind. As the series goes on he gets to have more serious moments. His teleportation abilities always had a lot of potential and he got to fully realize them by the end of the series. Finral is a character with no shortage of character development and it was nice to see him improve. It’s not like he’s one of my top characters by the end but without a doubt I can say that he improved in a major way.

Then we have Gordon who unfortunately gets the short end of the stick when it comes to screentime. We never see much of his backstory and he never gets a definitive solo fight. His poison abilities seem to be pretty handy but we just don’t get a lot of exposure to it. Maybe the author had trouble thinking of how to have the poison users fight. He mumbles a bit too much for me and lacks confidence but he’s not the only one in that boat. Grey is another member of the Black Bulls who is super shy.

I was expecting Grey to get more to do as will but that never ended up happening. I suppose even for a series as long as Black Clover there would be some characters who just don’t get to have a ton of screentime. Nothing to do about that I suppose. Grey was a nice enough character but I did want her to show some more confidence by the end. In a series like this about determination and teamwork you really want to see each character go out of their shells by the end.

Nacht is a Black Bull who showed up near the very end but had no confidence issues at all. He is quick to talk smack to the other characters in fact and never wavers there. I liked his shadow powers and he made for a nice wild card. He wasn’t afraid to smack talk the captain and stir up arguments among the group. As one of the original members that just comes with the territory so nobody could really stop him on that front. That’s always a fun way to have a character get into the dynamic. He really brought something fresh to the group.

Then we have Luck who was one of my favorite members of the group. He started to get power creeped a little by the end but for the most part was always ready to fight with everybody. He uses lightning based powers which come with a lot of speed and savagery. Always an incredible combo to have in a fight and he always spurs the other characters into training even harder. He’s a really cheery guy and was also one of the first ones to treat Asta equally. Luck never cared about ranks and such, he’s just not that kind of guy.

His bantering buddy Magna was also a fun character. Now I admit that I always found Magna to be rather weak so I don’t take him too seriously in a fight but he actually gets some pretty big wins in the series. Again I kind of shake my head at those a bit but a win’s a win. Magna’s an old school kind of guy who believes in respect and duking things out fairly. He’s a fun character to have around and tends to get rage baited by Luck a whole lot. He’s one of the central pillars of the group so the team wouldn’t be the same without him.

There is also Vanessa who has powerful abilities as a witch. She can effectively rewrite reality but it does take up some energy. So she isn’t completely invincible but ends up being one of the more powerful characters as a result. I was not expecting to see this kind of ability in one of the heroes so that was pretty cool. She got her own mini arc which is more than some of the other characters can say and ends up being a main supporting character throughout the series.

There’s also Henry but he gets a really small role due in part to how late he joined the crew. Even once he is around, the guy doesn’t appear much since he can’t really be outside. The only way for him to survive is by staying within the Black Bull hideout which limits the amount of screentime potential that he has. I wasn’t a big fan anyway but he definitely has a tragic story. It’s hard to imagine how difficult it would be to have to always be indoors.

Then we have Zora who joins up a bit later in the series but is also a lot of fun. He really likes sticking it to the nobles which is a good way to get revenge. They certainly put his family through a lot after all. While Asta’s form of revenge may be to just live his best life and prove everyone wrong, Zora likes to take more direct revenge. He’s a fun character without a doubt and always a lot of fun to root for. He’s far from being one of the more powerful fighters but makes up for it with his trickery. Zora is also a very loyal ally that you can count on and fits in really well with the group.

Finally we have the captain Yami. People often joke about how he feels like the main character of another series. He gets a lot of power ups as well as a whole lot of lore. He knows all of the big players and remains relevant in all of the arcs right through to the end. It’s easy to root for Yami and he just makes for a really good character. Asta manages to surpass him by the end but until then Yami gets his share of end arc bosses. We also have a super awesome team up with him and Asta against one of the demon triad. It’s always important to have a good mentor figure and Yami absolutely fits the bill there.

He may have set the standard a bit too high for the captains as none of the others can really catch up to him. Dorothy is one of the captains who doesn’t get a lot to do. She has dream type powers which are certainly handy but not quite as formidable or invincible as the other captains. Dorothy never gets a really big fight where she can show her stuff so that was disappointing. Pretty much all of the other captains got more to do.

Take Jack for example. As Yami’s rival this guy gets several fights to himself. I personally never thought he was powerful enough to be Yami’s rival but his swords are sharp. That’s essentially his whole gimmick, he has the sharpest swords possible. It’s hard for any of the other fighters to really keep up with him in a straight fight but since Jack has no other abilities there are a lot of ways to hit him from a distance. By the end Jack started learning how to cut intangible things so that would help a lot but it was almost at the literal end of the series that he got this power.

Charlotte is a strong captain as well and she has a bit of a romance plot going on with Yami. He tends to act oblivious the whole time but you can tell that it’s an act for most of it and he just likes to give her a hard time. She is relatively powerful but is another character who we didn’t get to see fight as much as you’d like. In a way her most impressive abilities showed up while she was evil or losing control. In theory she is way more powerful now but there just weren’t enough big villains to go around. She still got enough fights to show her overall strength as a captain though.

Rill is one of the lucky captains since he gets a full blown fight with Yuno midway through the series. That was a super good battle and showed the kind of abilities that you would expect from a captain. I’d say that Yuno still had the slight advantage overall but it was an extremely close fight. Rill’s ability to draw whatever he wants is a super versatile ability. Drawing tends to be broken in most titles after all so this one was no exception. Personality wise he can be a bit too much like a kid but is not bad overall.

Then we have Vangeance who gets a whole lot to do. He has powers over the trees within nature and is fairly strong. I was never super impressed with him but he is portrayed as being incredibly powerful. Perhaps I ought to put a little more respect on the trees. I was never a big fan of the guy but his role within the series is a good one as it spurs on a whole lot of other plot developments. I also thought he had a pretty cool mask.

Finally you have the Wizard King himself. Julius has powers over time which is absolutely impressive. Definitely the kind of abilities that make him more powerful than almost anyone in the verse. There is really no weakness to this ability and the only way to overpower him involved hostages. One thing I really appreciated about Julius was how ruthless he could be. He had absolutely no mercy towards the villains and would obliterate them without a second thought. His first priority was always to protect his kingdom no matter what.

It was to the point where there were many theories about how he was actually evil. I get it, Julius has that kind of aura about him but sometimes you need that in a hero. He keeps the villains on guard and makes sure that the title of wizard king is one that is feared by all villains. That’s exactly the guy that you want at the helm of your kingdom. For that reason the author had to use different tricks to keep him out of the front lines most of the time.

Then we had some other magic knights who weren’t captains but still had a pretty big role. First up is Langris who really goes crazy during the tournament arc. The whole Black Bulls team had to go in to shut this guy down. There were extenuating circumstances as he usually isn’t that crazy but it definitely made for a really intense moment. Langris also has an incredibly cool ability where he can destroy anything in his line of vision. It’s a rather broken ability to be honest. I can’t say that I ever became a fan of his as the guy is too petty but he made for a good villain.

Alecdora is one of those magic knights with a pretty good design but his role in the series is as small as can be. I suppose you can’t win them all. It was still nice to see the guy though and it helped as a way to flesh out the other guilds. Klaus is another guy who didn’t have a huge role but this way Yuno had more real teammates at his side. Asta quickly gained his respect over time which was also good. Klaus isn’t a particularly strong fighter otherwise.

Sekke is one of the main comic relief characters of the series and to be honest he never really gets past that point. His abilities don’t have much potential in the first place and it’s not like he trains all that much. For that reason it’s actually a good thing that he didn’t improve much because it wouldn’t have really made any sense. He was funny at least and so he does serve his purpose. If he wasn’t funny then that would have been a problem.

Sister Lily is a fun character from the introduction arc. She gets more of a role in the climax than you would expect. I was super satisfied with how her character arc went. She never betrayed her own values while still getting to show off her amped up abilities. There wasn’t a lot to do with her character but that makes sense. She never overstayed her welcome in this way while still helping Asta to move forward.

Other early characters like Kahono and Kiato didn’t get much to do later on but were still instrumental in the opening. Without them around as encouragement the heroes wouldn’t have done so well. They also ended up being fairly memorable despite pretty much being one shot characters so that’s impressive. Keep in mind that there are plenty of other characters throughout the series but it’s hard to cover everyone who shows up. I mainly stick to the really big characters.

There is a clan related to Yami’s backstory near the end for example that has a bunch of members. Most of them don’t really stand out though because they really showed up during the end game. Ryuya was the leader and definitely has one of the bigger roles. He was really good at staying 4 steps ahead even if he didn’t get to fight much. The one with the big combat role was Ichika instead and she was fun to have around. Definitely a bit of an emotional fighter but always keeping pace with the others. I would have liked for her to have debuted a bit earlier so we could have had more banter with her and Asta.

Then we had the bigshot members of the other territories like the Witch Queen and Lolopechka. The Witch Queen felt like a character who would have a bigger role later on but that never really happened. It’s too bad because there was a whole lot of potential right there. Her curses were the real deal after all but it’s hard to say how well she could fight hand to hand. Lolopechka was definitely less of a fighter but had powerful retainers like Gadjah to fight in her stead. I was never a big fan of Lolo but Gadjah was fairly solid. He also came a bit late but was a very stoic character who served his purpose.

Finally there was Liebe who served as Asta’s partner demon. This guy showed up really late considering that most demon partners tend to be around from arc 1 in these kinds of titles. He still ended up being very likable right away. He had a very emotional backstory and just works well with the banter. The only weak point here is his lack of screentime since he really could have stood to have had more screentime.

Now lets go into the villains. First up we have Revchi and Rades who showed up really early on. They were honestly pretty decent as far as intro villains go. Revchi helped Asta really find his fighting spirit while Rades worked as the classic insane kind of villain. It would have been nice if he could fight more instead of hiding behind his zombies the whole time though. Summoner villains usually don’t have a whole lot of long term impact because they fold once you get lose to them.

Then we have Mars who showed up as another strong villain. He actually gets a decent amount of backstory and appears a bit more than you’d expect. I wasn’t as big a fan of his as I expected though. I think he just returned a little too late and should have gotten way more to do throughout the story. It would have worked way better for his character. At least he wasn’t a total oneshot like Ladros. That guy did not end up making any kind of an impact by the end because of how briefly he was around.

The villains from the midnight group were all pretty fun. Vetto probably left the biggest impact because of his spectacular fights. I also just really like it when characters are fighting head on like that. He just moves faster and faster as he adapts to his foes and never relents. Even by the end of the series I would say that he was one of the more fun villains. Simple brute types can really wok well like this.

Sally has less of a combat role since she prefers to do her experiments. I felt like this series didn’t have a whole lot of room for the mad scientist type though so her role was not nearly as big as you would expect. Fana also had a lot of potential with her flame abilities but didn’t get to fight for too long. To make up for that she does have a full backstory though. I thought it was handled pretty well. She still left more of an impact than Valtos. I mainly just remember the guy for getting punched out by Asta. Definitely not someone who is really ready for close quarters combat like that.

Then we have “Licht” who makes for a really good end boss. The guy gets a lot of twists and developments but really was portrayed as a great threat. His abilities are light based which means that they move incredibly fast and are hard to react to. Ultimately this is a character who probably should have died in his arc because the elves never get much to do after this. I felt like there was no point to bringing them back. Same for Rhya who was a really good villain initially and then ends up just being around.

It’s a cautionary tale of why you shouldn’t keep villains around unless you really intend to keep on using them. If you don’t, then letting them end off in a bang is really the way to go. You can make that case for someone like Adramelech who showed up later as well. His character never gets a real conclusion so he could have just been defeated in an earlier fight. It might be that his role was always meant to be very subversive but as a reader I can’t say that it was very satisfying. Letting him be taken out of the picture earlier would have been a good idea.

The demons all tend to leave solid impacts though. Lucius is the final villain of the series and he has a great design. His motivations are pretty fun and there is just a lot that you can do with time based abilities. Towards the end of the series he probably monologues a little too much which buys the heroes time to defeat him. He should have taken them all more seriously but alas that is how a lot of villains end up being defeated. They just believe in their abilities way too much while discounting the powers of the heroes.

Dante is a villain with a cool design but he does fall down somewhat over his goals. Being girl crazy is a trait that will really never help a villain out. Far as I’m concerned it just makes him look really petty the whole time. He was really powerful so I enjoyed his fights but the guy has the weakest personality out of the triad. Vanica is vastly superior with how much set up we got for her vs Noelle. She was also one of those villains who just wouldn’t stand down. Long after the human part was gone, her devil continued to fight more and more.

She was also crazy in all of the right ways that just made her a lot of fun to watch. You’re guaranteed to remember her by the time you’re done with the series. She left an impression and had enough power to back it up. Same with Zenon who continued to fight hard for a long time. His bone powers are really cool and his victory over Yuno was one of the pivotal moments in the series. Yuno is someone who is mainly untouchable for a large chunk of the series so seeing him get beat like that was crazy. Zenon is probably the quietest member of the trio but perhaps the most powerful. I’d say that’s pretty debatable though.

The devils like Lucifero and Megicula were also really solid. Lucifero did become a bit of a meme within the community with how much the heroes were talking down to him though. I think that’s almost unavoidable when you are around for too long though. If you haven’t taken care of business in a few chapters then people are going to clown on you. That’s just a natural effect but his fight was still super cool. The devils all had a lot of aura to them and kept the heroes on the back foot. The same goes for Beelzebub and Zagred.

There were other devils around who were really powerful as well including some that never got to appear in the end. The series just had to wrap up before it had time for them. We still got a ton of content out of this including a whole time skip for the final arcs. Black Clover is ultimately a series that had an incredible run and I was glad to be there for it. There’s naturally a lot more to be said for the series but I’d say that hits all of the main beats.

Black Clover has a tournament arc, the devils arc, and an invasion arc. As long as you like these classic Shonen setups then you will love the series. It handles them all extremely well and the build up is completely unmatched. There is really nothing to dislike about the series and everything to love. It really embodies all of the best traits of Shonen Jump titles and dials them up to 11. I’ve written several editorials about how amazing the series was as a result of this and I could picture myself writing more in the future. Maybe one day we’ll even get a sequel series.

Overall, Black Clover is an exceptional series and one that I would absolutely recommend. You’ll be able to have even more fun now since you can binge the whole series without having to wait week to week. The final chapters in particular were rough since you had to wait months for the next installment. I’ll always remember this one fondly and it’ll be hard to any future title to match this one. This was a top 10 manga of all time after all and I don’t see it getting knocked out of there anytime soon. The anime is coming back in the near future too and I’m expecting another high tier production like last time.

Overall 9/10

A Minecraft Movie Review

Posted on August 8, 2026 by dreager1

This film really ended blew up in theaters and did better than anyone would have dreamed of. It was really impressive and showed just how powerful the world of gaming could be. It took me a while to see it but after watching the film I can confirm that it was pretty solid. The story was on point and the gags were solid. Throw in the fact that it was really not ashamed to be a video game adaption and you have a confident movie on your hands. I would definitely recommend it.

The movie starts off with Steve arriving in the world of Minecraft and quickly mastering the world’s mechanics. Unfortunately he bumps into the dark side of this realm where he is captured by the villains. His dog is able to escape with the gem connecting the two worlds though. Now there is no chance of harm coming to Earth. Unfortunately the gem is found many years later by a guy who is down on his luck. He ends up arriving into the world of Minecraft with two kids and a local real estate agent. Can they find a way to stop the evildoers from getting to the surface world?

I thought that the opening sequence really set the right tone from the start. It was all very fast paced. Instead of waiting 30 minutes for the heroes to make it to this new world, Steve does it in 5 minutes. I liked how quickly he was able to master the different mechanics and wasn’t acting like a tourist. Steve just got to business and it was even pretty heroic how he was able to escape prison long enough to get his dog out of there. Naturally the scenes are played with a slight grin from the movie’s part as this is still a comedy first and foremost but it is actually funny.

That’s something that the film really gets right. The jokes tend to land well with a lot of tried and true gags. The film isn’t exactly going into uncharted territory but it doesn’t need to do that. When you execute an old joke well then it hits as hard as it did the first time. Of course if you don’t tend to like the sillier type of films then this one’s probably not going to change your mind either. It’s all about those old school fundamentals and this is the kind of film you could picture watching on VHS back in the day. If you play Minecraft then you’ll probably recognize more of the gags right away and if not, you’ll still understand all of the important ones.

Steve was definitely the best character throughout the film. He was always in charge of the situation and managed to keep his cool even when things didn’t go as planned. He may not have been a huge success back on Earth but once he was in Minecraft world he was quick to dominate over there. He didn’t whine or complain about his lot in life. He found a creative solution and that’s the way to go.

Garrett becomes one of the main characters early on as another version of Steve to an extent. He was hugely popular at one point but is now poor in the real world. He just can’t find any way to get successful again and is forced to pretend to be someone’s uncle in order to make some pocket change. When Henry finds the magic orb, this becomes Garrett’s chance to make some money. In Minecraft world he is able to finally be the tough guy that he has always portrayed himself to be. It’s not easy but Garrett just makes it work.

He does break down at one point as the pressure becomes too much but for the most part keeps it together. He has a big rivalry with Steve throughout the movie and then eventually earn each other’s respect. Garrett is far from perfect but still makes for a really likable character. It also made sense that he would want some diamonds because he was about to be evicted in the real world. I thought the whole plot line was very reasonable and it’s not like he was doing anything super drastic to get it.

Henry and Natalie can be more on the annoying side. Natalie actually doesn’t get as big a role as you would think. As the older sibling she does her best to look after Henry and make sure that he’s okay. She makes him a pie to bring to school and does her best to be supportive. So I wouldn’t say that she’s a bad character but does randomly try to make Garrett look bad at times by trying to debunk what he’s saying. I never got why some characters want to just be spoilsports like that.

As for Henry, he doesn’t look very good here. After Garrett helps him throughout the movie, Henry is quick to be upset at him later on. I would have preferred for Henry to keep his cool there. Yeah Garrett wasn’t fully honest with him which isn’t cool but I would argue that he still didn’t do anything that was super drastic. It would have been a different story if he ended up being a full traitor or something. Henry’s just a kid so you have to cut him some slack but honestly the film could have worked better without him.

Finally you have Dawn and she ends up being a bit of a downer as well. She just doesn’t know how to have fun as much as Garrett and Steve. They do their best to keep the adventure light while she either starts complaining or trying to get them back on task. What’s the point of exploring a whole new world if you have to be stressed out the whole time? I guess what it all boils down to is that Steve and Garrett didn’t really need any side characters here.

I suppose that would have hurt the banter though. It’s not like every joke landed but on the whole there were more wins than not. If anything this just didn’t leave much room for the villain to be memorable. She does have a really good final scene as she tries to land a hit on Steve when he drops his guard though. That was pretty good, especially when she tried more than once. It was one of the better gags in the film. If you can’t be a serious threat then the next best thing is to be funny and she pulled that off.

The effects throughout the movie are pretty good. I appreciated how much it was copying the game as well like the villains turning into meat. This was a movie that really paid attention to the details of the game. Now if you don’t like slapstick then that would be the only reason to avoid this film. A lot of the humor is physical so you’re going to have characters getting thrown around and beat up but these scenes just work. I’d even say that about the movie in general…it just works.

There is only one weak plot in the film and that’s the subplot of the divorced vice principal dating a random Minecraft character. That said, it’s still 100X better than the similar plot in Pixels. This one doesn’t overstay its welcome nearly as much and the scenes tend to be short. I’d say they should have been cut out as they had nothing to do with anything but at least they aren’t really in your face the whole time. So I won’t be too harsh on that front.

Overall, A Minecraft Movie was better than I expected it to be. I figured it would be a fun time and all but more like a 6. In the end it surpassed that to be a pretty good experience that I could recommend to anyone. I’m definitely eager to see how the sequel plays out. There are a lot of fun things they can do with a sequel like introducing the Ender Dragon. Of course this is the kind of title where a sequel can mess up easily by not being funny. That’s hard to predict though so we just have to hope for the best for now.

Overall 7/10

Yona of the Dawn Review

Posted on August 8, 2026 by dreager1

Yona of the Dawn is a romance drama that went on for quite a long while. It was fun reading that along with Snow White with the Red Hair since both titles had similar vibes and were around the same time period. There’s a lot to enjoy about Yona but I do feel like the series took a turn later on and went down a less interesting path than it could have been on. Mainly everything involving the main villain is quite unsatisfying and some things are not so easily waved aside.

The series introduces us to Yona who is the princess of a peaceful land. Her father rules it well but one day he is brutally assassinated by her childhood friend Su-Won. Her bodyguard Hak helps her escape the palace to regroup and hopefully reclaim the kingdom someday in the future. Along the way Yona realizes that perhaps her father wasn’t the perfect ruler that she had envisioned him to be. Also…..she is the descendent/reincarnation of the original crimson king who has 4 powerful eternal dragon warriors at her beck and call who will help her achieve greatness.

Yes that last part may seem like a bit of a stretch but it’s never too late to add a supernatural touch to the story. Right away I can tell you that the most interesting aspect of the story here is about how Yona can possibly win her kingdom back. There are several stories about needing to get back in power, the Heroic Legend of Arslan is a recent one. In most of those there are a lot of supporters along the way who can help though. That’s not really the case here as Yona mainly has to rely on Hak and her dragon warriors.

Now you can rightfully point out that an uprising would be possible with dragons. Hak also has superhuman strength to a nearly supernatural level. There’s nothing stopping Yona from breaking into the kingdom and slaughtering the oppressors but the problem is that there is no way to do that without murdering a bunch of innocent people. Unfortunately for Yona, Su-Won is quickly shown to be ruling the land rather well and being the only thing keeping other kingdoms from invading it. If Yona does something to weaken the country then everyone will be in danger. Her best bet may be trying to take Su-Won down quietly but he is a master strategist and so that will not be easy.

It’s all very personal as well since Yona had nearly married the guy. So you’ve got some great pieces in place here for the inevitable showdown. There’s a lot of setup and the series ran for nearly 50 volumes. I personally forgot just how long it was, that is incredibly impressive. The story twists and turns as it goes on but one thing I can say is I would never picture Yona being able to be friends with the guy again after that. If you ask me, that should be absolutely impossible.

A big theme in the series is about growing up though. Yona can’t just do whatever she wants as the weight of the crown begins to become more and more pronounced. Yona constantly has to think about the country when making her decisions and that can be annoying. I don’t fault Yona too hard for this though. She is trying to do the right thing but you are waiting to see her land some good blows on Su-Won and take him down for the count. To do anything less would be to accept his decisions as being something that actually was necessary.

Before we go more into the characters, I’d like to say the artwork is pretty strong here. It may even be one of the better Shojo titles out there. It’s always very clear and all of the character designs really stand out. There really aren’t any recycled ones or anything like that. The fights also look really intense. The series would only get better and better at this as it went on.

Now for the characters, first we have Yona who does well in really transforming from being a princess who was shielded from everything into becoming a powerful warrior. She learns how to use a bow & arrow as well as a sword. Yona also improves as a ruler as she gradually gets used to the idea of giving out orders She had to get through a lot of trauma in order to get to this point as well. So I give her a lot of credit throughout the series even if I didn’t think that she handled the Su-Won situation very well.

It was tricky and she had a lot of people to look out for but sometimes forgoing vengeance isn’t the right path. That probably sounds a bit off but sometimes you can’t just let bygones be bygones. Su-Won’s actions weren’t something minor like being a pickpocket or something. He actively assassinated a king and I just wasn’t able to get over that even by the time the series finished. Of course you’ve probably realized that by how much I’ve already brought it up.

The series also managed to do something successfully that is very rare. It actually established a main romance that was pretty decent. Dare I say even pretty good at times? Yona and Hak is a very slow burn romance but it’s one where neither character wavered once they found each other. Yes, Yona was going to initially marry Su-Won but that shattered when he turned evil. Yona didn’t go back and forth on this which would have been bad for her character. You can make the case that Hak may be a bit of a rebound but that’s where the long duration of the series comes in.

We get enough time with the two of them to the point where the romance was developed well. I really had no issues with the pacing or anything like that. This is exactly how a romance should be moving forward and both characters should be proud of themselves. If anything the ending of the series may be a bit annoying with the weak excuse used to split both characters up for a while. I didn’t think that was necessary.

Meanwhile Hak is a great character as you’d expect. He tends to steal most of the scenes in the series. He is technically a normal person and yet he fights with enough strength that he is considered to be on par with the 5 dragons. That is a big feat since those characters are superhuman and cursed with amazing abilities. Hak tends to be untouchable even against great odds. His loyalty to Yona is also very admirable and he makes for the perfect right hand man. Definitely the kind of guy that you want to have on your side.

He also takes Su-Won’s betrayal very hard and was ready to murder him on several occasions. Ultimately he would be stopped by the other characters who were around. When it comes to Yona, Hak is willing to take anyone out of the picture. He even leaves his clan in order to protect Yona and that is the kind of one track mind that always makes for a superb character.

Then we come to the main villain, Su-Won. Like I said earlier, the guy doesn’t go mega evil for most of the series. He basically believes himself to be doing everything for the betterment of the kingdom. It doesn’t excuse his actions and he doesn’t want any forgiveness. Su-Won is always 5 steps ahead and plans everything out so the kingdom will be fine even once he is bumped off. As the series goes on we also see how he is dealing with different health issues. A long life was never really in the cards for him.

To be clear this does not exonerate him at all but he does make for a pretty fun villain. He can even fight a tiny bit but I would stress that he is unable to physically defeat any meaningful character in the series. He would be absolutely crushed if he were to even attempt that. It’s why he stays in the strategist role which works well for him anyway. I do feel like we got cheated out of a big confrontation with him and Yona though. Just due to how the plot goes, we don’t get that singular moment that would have been really cathartic.

Riri is a fun character who shows up later on. She is royalty from another kingdom and gets along with both Yona and Su-Won. It puts her in a rather interesting position. If forced to choose, I would say that she would be on Yona’s team though. The two of them became good friends and she is always looking out for her friends. Riri may not be particularly powerful but she has bodyguards for that. She is strong in spirit though and refuses to live in denial. When her kingdom has big problems she sets out personally to stop them. I would say that she ends up being one of the stronger supporting characters.

Yoon is someone who was a main character but gradually appears less and less as the series went on. His role as a healer just naturally made him less and less plot important. While the others were on the front lines he would be in the background trying to mix some herbs together. He was never bad but I would admit that Yoon wasn’t super interesting. I wasn’t exactly broken up about him not appearing anymore. Yoon had the unfortunate role of having to be the guy trying to keep everyone in line. That’s never a particularly fun role to have and so he naturally could not keep up with the others.

Then we get to the dragon warriors. First is Kija who has a strong dragon arm. That is his super power and it can slice through people and stone with ease. He was a lot of fun and definitely the best member of the dragons. I just enjoyed seeing him around and he is really selfless. Initially he seemed to like Yona but made sure to never let his feelings blossom since he was aware of her feelings for Hak. You could say this was just part of the dragon’s devotion that makes him bond to Yona but it seemed a bit different than the others. Either way, Kija was a great ally and someone that Yona could always depend on.

He would have some fun banter with Hak and Jae-ha the whole time which was also nice. Kija would constantly improve the dynamic with every scene that he was in and just makes for a very memorable character. That said, all of the dragons were fun as well. Next up is Shin-ha and he probably had the saddest backstory. He was alienated because of his super eyes which can paralyze anyone that he looks at. He also has super senses even compared to the other dragons. His abilities are super handy so the way this series balanced that out was by not letting him master them. Shin-ha was constantly afraid that his abilities would go out of control and so he was careful not to use them much.

I would have liked for him to have grown bolder with these powers but that never really happened. He would still dive in to protect Yona whenever she was in danger so that’ll have to be good enough. He got a pretty satisfying conclusion in the end so there were o open threads left for him. He may have had the most complete journey in that sense as it tied all the way around to his backstory.

Then there is Jae-ha who is the flirt of the group. I appreciated the fact that he never tried to cause drama between Yona and Hak though. In fact he would constantly be trying to get them together with his line of questioning. The guy was sort of playing 4D chess by basically rage baiting them the whole time. He’s pretty good about that and was another heroic soul in the group. His abilities were based around his legs so he could jump really high and kick with a lot of power.

Jae-ha was a pretty well balanced fighter and he grew up with the most combat experience since he was a pirate. I would say by the end of the series that he may have been the strongest of the dragons but the series would consistently show that he and Kija were extremely well matched. Finally we have Zeno who is cursed with immortality. He had a really rough road since the other dragons could at least die and reincarnate. For Zeno he had to keep on living and he has one of the more painful types of immortality.

He has to take damage in order for his physical abilities to go up. So if he wants to protect Yona then he has to let himself get thoroughly beaten up first. Not a really fair deal if you ask me and it is also easy for villains to exploit this. They can just tie him up if needed. Self inflicted injuries do work so Zeno can harm himself but that’s definitely not fun. It’s easy to see how this all really messed Zeno up by the end to the point where he couldn’t really lead a normal life.

That said, while I felt bad for Zeno, I still have to say that he fell down the ranks by the end. He just made the wrong move one too many times. The other characters are very patient with him but he was really pushing it at different points. It wouldn’t have only been him going down if his plans had succeeded. The heroes probably forgave him a bit too quickly but after years of hanging out, it’s easy to see why the bonds of friendship were so strong. The series really takes place over a very long period of time after all.

There were a number of other villains running around although maybe I should just say antagonist. All of the tribes were working with Su-Won for the most part but it’s hard to call them evil. They just continued to follow the kingdom no matter who the ruler was. They tended to still be kind to Yona’s group and weren’t going out of their way to cause trouble. The wind clan in particular was always friendly since Hak used to be one of them even if he ended up having to part ways.

One of Su-Won’s big allies was Han Joo-Doh who was pretty powerful like Hak. (Man it would be tough to get all of these names without the Yona wiki) His role wasn’t as big as I would have guessed but he has a lot of history with Yona from the past and continues to be a strong fighter in the present. Definitely not someone to be taken lightly. I thought he was a pretty fun character and definitely works well in the series.

Kye-Sook is another one of Su-Won’s men. This guy is the top strategist and so he has a massive role throughout. Initially he disagrees with Su-Won’s decision to let Yona alone. He feels like she will be a threat and honestly isn’t wrong there but that’s just not how Su-Won operates. A strategist can offer his opinions of course but at the end of the day does need to fall in line and obey Su-Won’s directives. While I can appreciate his loyalty as an antagonist, I did want the heroes to beat him up at some point. He caused way too much trouble.

There was one arc where Yona and friends had to work with Su-Won due to some political prisoners and Kye-Sook nearly saw to it that Hak died there. That was really the point where he should have been taken out instead of the heroes just being really chill about it. There is a time and a place for that. Ogi for example is someone who would help Su-Won out with information gathering. It was fairly neutral and he would help out the other side for a fair price. He mostly stayed neutral in the war. While that may not be super satisfying to both sides, it does make me less upset at the guy.

I will admit that the series started to get a little lost in the sauce by the end though. We get a whole lot of exposition about the crimson dragon king from back in the day and how that relates to Yona in the present. We meet these dragon spirits who have incredible abilities that transcend time and space as well. It was just a bit much by the end. Not the supernatural element of it because that can be fun but it just felt late for all of that exposition. Again, I’d have preferred a big battle with Su-Won’s forces over that.

It also would have been interesting to see which characters helped or not. For better or worse, a lot of the clans had already accepted Su-Won by this point. We probably would have seen some real hero vs hero battles throughout the kingdom. Perhaps it would be too sad to see all of the characters fighting like this but it would have been really compelling at the same time.

Then you had other villains show up like the ruler of a third country who wanted to cause chaos and his executive agents who successfully put the main kingdom on fire. It was a nice reminder that the whole series isn’t about a civil war. There are quite a few other factions who show up as the series goes on and it really helped to keep things exciting. These villains would typically be completely evil so it was easy to root for Su-Won and Yona to take them down. The two would even have to team up at times.

There is a whole lot of content to be found here in nearly 50 volumes so that will come as no surprise. At the end of the day this is a good story and one that is really a blast to marathon through. As long as you enjoy the time period and like to see some classic action then you will have a good time here. This series is well written and has a colorful cast of characters. Due to the time period it won’t be perfect about avoiding animal violence or some more unfortunate plots like arranged marriages and captives of corrupt rulers.

At times the series can get a little dark as well with some of the backstories. Still, the series doesn’t dwell on this for too long and I would say that on the whole it is fairly light hearted. So I’d throw in a little warning if you are expecting a really gushy series. This isn’t that kind of title and I think you’ll realize that right away during the opening chapters. Before Yona gets the dragons and more forces, the opening chapters are really more of a survival story. Yona learns exactly what it’s like to live in the trenches as opposed to the castle and adapts really well.

Overall, If you like a classic adventure story told during the era of royalty then you should enjoy this one. It’s also a story where I can actually say that the romance was well written which is still something that can be really rare. The artwork also really outdoes itself in terms of how clear it is. The length of the series may feel daunting but that’s really just a good thing because you get to see more adventures before the title is over. I always want a good series to be as long as possible after all.

Overall 7/10

The Misadventures of Tron Bonne Review

Posted on August 8, 2026 by dreager1

My Mega Man Legends marathon continues with the spinoff. Tron Bonne is a pretty unique game as it’s essentially a collection of minigames that you play until you unlock the final showdown. It definitely makes for a good adventure though even if the game can be a bit more complex than needed. You should expect the difficulty to really ramp up by the end.

The game starts with Tron’s brother being kidnapped by some debt collectors. They explain that he owes them 1 million Zenny and so Tron will have to gather that amount in order to free him. It won’t be easy to earn that much money the right way and so Tron begins to rob banks and steal livestock from various farms. She will have to contend with the interest on the money as well but Tron is ready for this. She has been trying to prove herself for a while now and this is really perfect timing for that.

Right away I can tell you that these minigames actually have some decent levels of challenge to them. Fortunately you don’t need to beat every minigame in order to complete the game. You need to earn 3 million Zenny to unlock the final boss. How you do that is up to you. Clearing the minigames is advised because they can get you bonuses from 150,000 all the way to 800,000. Of course the higher the prize, the more difficult the minigame. I was never able to clear the 800K one.

So what do you do if you get stuck at the minigames? Well there is a free roam dungeon that you can challenge an infinite amount of times. You make 80,000 per run and each run only takes 3-4 minutes. So it’s a bit on the tedious side but in theory you can beat the whole game that way. I’d recommend trying to complete as many minigames as you can though because that variety will make the game more fun. Each minigame has 3 levels to it before they shut down.

The first one is about moving boxes around so that you can get the right ones onto a boat. It’s almost like navigating a Tetris run or something like that. I was able to handle the 3 puzzles for manual running but got stuck on the first puzzle with the tractor. Definitely not a minigame that is for the faint of heart.

Then you have the RPG levels which replicate the gameplay of Legends 1. You basically run through a bunch of caves and have to open chests and hit switches. It’s a bit more detailed than you may expect. These levels weren’t super hard but do take up more time than all of the other games to the point where you just aren’t sure if they are super worth it or not. I’d still say to go ahead and do it though, they add more story to the game.

You also have the robbing the bank levels. Those are the most fun because these levels are fully action packed. You have to destroy all of the robots in your way and break into the buildings. It definitely reminds you that you are playing as a villain which is something that you may end up forgetting after a while. There is a recurring character who is a cop that you have to stop. Trust me, you’ll feel bad for her after a while.

Then there are the farm levels. These got really tough and I got stuck on the third one that was worth the 800K. You have to corral animals which is easy enough but the final part has to trying to defeat a robot before it destroys your car. No matter how many times I tried that level, I just couldn’t do it. It seems like you need a better gun for that but I was stuck with my starter buster for the whole game.

To get power ups you need to play with your Servbots and that part of the game is pretty complicated. Basically there are 40 Servbots and each one has something that they like. You have to give them their favorite object to unlock other objects to give to other bots. You also need to improve their stats through missions and the gym. Finally there is a torture room where you have to take them whenever their sloth ranking gets too high.

It feels like the game really wanted you to spend a lot of time on this but that wasn’t really my gameplan. I would have done more of this if it was more intuitive but it’s all a bit too vague for me. Particularly when I was already close to the end of the game, I didn’t see the point in devoting too much time to this. If I had lost to the final boss then I would have had to consider it though.

The final boss was stressful because I had to defeat several segments with just my basic gun. It meant that the final boss was pretty long and a few hits would take me down for the count. Fortunately dodging actually wasn’t that difficult in this one. I was expecting the attack patterns to really change as the game went on but that wasn’t really the case. So just keep running in circles and the boss will not be able to keep up with you.

You should also buy a bunch of potions. This is one of those games where potions are absolutely broken because they are dirt cheap and yet you can stock up on a ton of them. I had only bought 2 potions but if I had bought more then the final boss would have been child’s play. In short, the game gives you a lot of decent options and that is the hallmark of a solid title. If you were required to complete all of the minigames and train up the Servbots then the game could have become annoying.

The graphics are definitely solid here. The artstyle has aged pretty well and definitely reminds me of the PS1 glory days. The soundtrack is also pretty good so you have a very well balanced title right here. At most you can just say that the game may be a little too short. It felt shorter than the first Legends even though they are technically about the same length. There is more replay value here because of the Servbots though. I imagine it would take a really long time to 100% this game.

Overall, The Misadventures of Tron Bonne is definitely a fun story. The characters are charismatic and the gameplay is solid. While action may be less of a focus than in the Legends series, the gameplay holds true when you do get the occasional boss fight. I also like the idea of minigames being the way you progress the story. It’s pretty original and just works well as long as you have enough variety. This one probably could have used a few more minigames so you didn’t have to rely on the free roam grind but had enough. If you don’t have this game yet then I definitely recommend picking it up asap!

Overall 7/10

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