Category Archives: Reviews

Reign of the Supermen Review

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It’s time to look at a pretty recent Superman film. This one is the follow up to the big battle with Doomsday that came out a while back. It’s a solid follow up that doesn’t quite match the action and intensity of the earlier film, but does give Superman’s supporting cast more of a role. If the last film was an end of the world type event then this film is the quick breather before things get back to end of the world stakes.

The film starts off by introducing us to the Supermen who have arrived to take over for Superman. One of these guys is Superboy who was created by Lex to show the world that the new Superman is under his leadership. He is fairly strong, but definitely has an ego and doesn’t seem ultra heroic. Then you’ve got Steel who doesn’t have any fancy super powers, but he does have his hammer which is pretty sturdy. You’ve got the Eradicator who is the most merciless of the Supermen and has made it his life
s goal to destroy all of the criminals. Even if the law doesn’t recognize someone as a criminal like Lex Luthor the Eradicator will try to take him down. Finally you’ve got the Cyborg Superman who claims to be the real one. He definitely seems the most compassionate of the 4 and the most powerful as well, but is it too good to be true? Lois must get to the bottom of this and get some closure on the status of Superman.

I’m less familiar with this follow up arc compared to the Doomsday one, but the film seems like a good take on it. Definitely more of a loose adaption since it’s putting this one in the New 52 continuity along with the Justice League. I miss the Blue and Red Supermen since I think they were in the original arc, but it is possible that they came in a little after. Either way, the important thing isn’t so much the adaption, but just how it stands up on its own.

First off the animation is still really good. I like the New 52 style animation, it’s actually decently close to how DC used to look at its peak. It may not be the DCAU, but it’s one of the next best things. It works well for the action scenes as well as the general landscape around the fights. Then the soundtrack is decent although not really memorable. The sounds and such work well during the film which is what counts.

From the 4 Supermen my favorite is still Cyborg Superman. He’s always been one of the better Superman characters so it’s nice to see him here. He may not be one of the most popular Superman villains, but he is still known well enough where people will probably be able to see through him pretty quick. His character arc goes down a pretty different path here as he actually works for someone which is a bit out of character. He does rectify this by the end which is good though. Then we have the Eradicator who is the next best member of the Supermen. It’s pretty interesting to see a Suprman who uses energy blasts instead of his fists. There’s a twist about his identity which works pretty well. It also makes him very versatile since he can really go anywhere.

Superboy is fun enough. He feels like the B grade version of Damian though. He is super confident, but tends to lose the fights he is in. It’s not his fault that he happens to be in a film with guys who are way stronger than him, but you would think that it would tone down his confidence a bit. He also has one critical moment where he just abandons someone to die as well. As I said, he’s just not very heroic. I think he’ll only get better from here on out though. Then you’ve got Steel who is the most out of his league here. He’s got a hammer, but what’s that gonna do against people who are as strong as Kryptonians? They can just shatter the hammer with ease. Steel means well though and he’s definitely a nice guy. He always gives me flashbacks of the old Steel film. I’m sure he’ll continue to be a useful ally as the films go on.

I do think that including the Justice League and the Darkseid plot was a bit of a mistake though. The main issue is that it brings in a lot of extra power level situations that aren’t actually needed here. One big question you’ll have is where are the League and what are they doing about the Superman situation. Well..not much of anything. Wonder Woman mentions that they’re stretched thin and then later on when they show up to help the President none of them actually want to go talk to Cyborg Superman. The way that they are written out of the film is also on the lazy side. You won’t actually be able to buy the scene for a second, not as long as someone like the Flash is there. This subplot does lead into the after credits scene which will likely be one of the best of the new line of DC titles. It still could have happened without the League actually appearing though. Just have the Cyborg Superman plot twist happen at the very end as he’s being defeated which leads to the cliffhanger. Darkseid and the gang are hype, but you know there’s no time for a proper round 2 anyway, that needs its own film.

The writing here is pretty solid. You’ve got an interesting plot that, while it may not have a whole lot of replay value thanks to the minimal amount of fights, makes for a good watch. It’s a fresh story so you’re ready to see where it leads you. The pacing here is good and it’s always interesting to see a world without Superman. The only scene that does drag on quite a bit is when Lois meets up with Wonder Woman. It seemed like a homage to one comic where they met up, but the dialogue was a lot stronger there. This scene mainly feels like it’s trying to buy time and it didn’t seem like it really set anything up either. Good to see that WW and Lois get along, but you could have probably guessed that anyway. I think if that had led up to a cool team up as they infiltrate LexCorp or something then that would be hype. Lois also has to use her charms to try and get some info at LexCorp so in general her plot was definitely one of the weak links here.

The best scenes are all when the Supermen are around and picking fights with each other. I haven’t mentioned Superman himself much yet, but he’s solid as always. He’s not really at full power here or even close to it so you don’t get to see him really taking it to anyone this time around. No worries, I’m sure he’ll get a lot of cool fight scenes in future movies as it is.

Overall, Reign of the Supermen is a fun concept and makes for a solid movie. It won’t go down as one of the more memorable DC titles, but there’s nothing really wrong with it either. It’s more of a low stakes film that focuses on the character development side of things. As Superman hasn’t gotten quite as much time in his Clark Kent form in this continuity I’m sure fans will like seeing how everyone reacts to him being gone. With this film done I’m pretty close to being caught up with the DC titles. Hopefully we get another Superman or Justice League film soon, but in the meanwhile the Wonder Woman one looks like it should be solid and Batman Hush always had an interesting plot.

Overall 7/10

Madden 18 G.O.A.T. Edition Review

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It’s time to look at the next Madden title. I’m really close to being caught up now, but I’ll likely wait a year before getting 19 so it drops down to the 5 dollar bin. The Madden games have historically been great. They’re consistently solid across the board and 18 is naturally no exception. This one even added a story mode of sorts although I didn’t try it this time. Basically you start out as a college kid who gets signed on to a team and during the game you rise up the ranks. It’s a pretty cool concept and while I would mainly be sticking with the tried and true quickplay battles, more options is never a bad thing.

Madden 18 has really got everything you can ask for. You can practice, play online, start a franchise, play the story, etc. They even added more options for the gameplay. You can now choose between arcade style, basic, or online for glory mode. I choose the last option of course because I want to be ready to take down an opponent at any time. It was definitely a lot of fun too and they finally brought speed back into the equation. Yes, you can run fast again and that is huge. I’m wondering if Madden 17 might have had some option in the back end where you could have switched the style. Either way, 18 definitely gets credit for showing you how to do it. It makes running the ball a lot more fun when you can just take off like this.

The gameplay is the same as it has been for the last 18 years so there isn’t much to say about it. The goal is to get across the opponent’s end zone to score some points. Score enough and you’re home free. On Offense I really like passing the ball, but it is always a lot riskier. Thanks in part to the whole “aggressive ball” mechanics you never really know if your guy is going to make the pass. There’s an equal chance that the other team’s player is just going to rocket from across the sidelines and knock the wind out of you. If that happens then you’re gonna fumble or you’ll end up throwing a pick 6. You want to only throw bullet passes and you want to do it when your guy is wide open. As a result I have to be really careful about where I throw it. You just can’t toss the ball in the air and make a play anymore.

Fortunately as I mentioned they brought the running game back. My favorite thing to do is pick a Hail Mary play and then run it with my quarterback. Most of the time you can gain an easy 10 yards. I average 10-11 yards per run with the quarterback. He almost always gets 100 yards by the time the game is over. It may feel a little broken at times, but I think a quarterback should be really mobile like that. It really opens up the offense. I get how it makes the defense a lot trickier to control, but I think it’s a fair trade considering how much better the ball covering is now. Running the ball traditionally is also good. You tend to pick up 2-3 yards. Madden continues to feel more and more like the real deal. I even get final scores that are like real games like 10-7.

On defense I’m mostly still at the mercy of the computer. I always pick a guy to try and sack the quarterback, but I only get 1-2 sacks a game. Otherwise I just hope I’m in the right place at the right time to make the stop. Otherwise I just get to watch and weep as the guy shakes a bunch of tackles and breaks an 80 yard run for a touchdown. In my defense, I usually shut the run down pretty well but when it comes time to pass then it’s all up to the luck of the draw. The computer either runs right through me or they throw some terrible passes and punt.

Special Teams is always fun even if it’s very brief. You get to do some free style running and that never gets old. Kicking the field goal and punting are still not my favorite with the new system though. It’s a lot harder since you have to press the X button at just the right time multiple times to launch a kick. It definitely does make kicking a little riskier so if that was the goal then the game succeeded. I just don’t think it was necessary. Ah well, it’s not like that really hurts the game all that much at all. A large part of the Madden experience still comes down to how quickly you can react. On any given play there is always an avenue for success when you’re on the offense. The defense’s job is to give you as little time as possible to make the right call. It’s just really hard to keep track of so many guys running on the field at the same time, but it’s exactly what you’ve got to do if you want to secure the win.

The graphics here definitely look quite amazing as expected. The players are all so lifelike and the presentation is still quite amazing. I enjoy the sound effects and the music doesn’t seem bad. You won’t really notice it aside from the main menu though so unless you stick around there for a while you really won’t notice it. The game has limitless replay value with the online mode and all the other content it has got. It’s always hard to see how you’d be ready to switch up to the next game in the following year. I suppose if you’re playing this full time then maybe you can get through it, but otherwise it probably feels like the next title is right around the corner.

Overall, Madden 18 is definitely an excellent title. Sadly the G.O.A.T. version doesn’t really change anything for me since I don’t have the online and it’s all expired by now, but the vanilla version will do quite fine. For 5 bucks you also can’t go wrong here. It’s a big upgrade over the last Madden I played and this one will rank up there with some of the classics that I’ve played. If you even remotely like Football then you’ll love this game. EA may not have the best rep, but I can say that they’ve never phoned in a Madden title. They give it their all year after year.

Overall 9/10

My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Sunset’s Backstage Pass Review

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It’s time to look at the next big Equestria Girls special. This time Sunset takes center stage once more as she tries to enjoy a show despite Pinkie Pie’s best attempts to sabotage the whole thing. Sunset’s a very crafty character though so she definitely has some plans on how to stay ahead this time around. It’s a pretty nice homage to Groundhog Day which makes for a fun plot.

So the special starts off with Sunset and the gang waiting for the event to start. Sunset is hyped and the others are glad to be here even if they aren’t really planning on checking out the show. Only Pinkie Pie also wants to go, but she chooses Churros over everything else and a series of wacky circumstances causes Sunset to miss out. She wishes that she could try again and her wish comes true. Now she has a chance to go to the event. The problem is that the day continues to reset every night so now Sunset has to try and get out of the time loop, but is that even possible?

You definitely feel pretty bad for Sunset here since she is trying her best to accomplish her goals, but Pinkie Pie is here to stop her best attempts at every turn. That’s not the kind of friend that you want to have at your corner. You can maybe make the argument that Pinkie Pie doesn’t know better at first, but in some of the attempts Sunset really tries to explain to Pinkie Pie why she doesn’t want anything to go wrong and Pinkie doesn’t care. She even leaves Sunset alone to fight the villains while she grabs her Churros later on. It’s clear that Pinkie has got her priorities in a pretty iffy order here. She’s really a bad character in this special. Pinkie Pie has always been one of my least favorites as the series went on and she became more annoying than quirky, but this special probably takes the cake.

The rest of the Mane 6 don’t get to do a whole lot. When push comes to shove they do take Pinkie’s side over Sunset’s which is understandable since they are closer friends, but they aren’t particularly useful in this adventure. Twilight in particular may be disappointing for fans because she just restates the obvious and barely even tries to help Sunset. Sunset is truly on her own in this one, but she does a good job all things considered. She continues to learn more each time the day is started over and tries many different ways to get out. Her idea of being nice to Pinkie Pie in one timeline was good even if that surprisingly wasn’t the way out. Then she tracked down the villains who were red herrings.

Make no mistake, there are some villains in this special, but the old ones aren’t actually behind this latest series of events. They are really just around to sing songs and try to make a career. That doesn’t leave too many suspects, but I suppose I still won’t say who the villains are just in case. I didn’t mind the actual villains. They were pretty reasonable even if they didn’t get a lot of screen time. Their goals are a little weaker than the previous antagonists, but I still wouldn’t say they were terrible or anything. At the end of the day the still did manage to go pretty far.

As always the animation isn’t bad. It’s definitely not really my style, but it’s all pretty clear so you always know what is going on. That’s a good thing. There aren’t any real action scenes to test the animators this time, but you can’t win em all. Surprisingly we didn’t get a lot of songs this time. In fact, the mane 6 didn’t get to sing so it was up to the supporting characters this time. The song was actually fairly catchy though. I don’t think you’ll really remember it for very long, but just having a song can definitely go a long way.

As always there is a moral here, but how effective it is will depend on how you tolerate Pinkie Pie. The message is that even if you have to miss an event, being able to hang out with your friends is more important. That’s certainly true, but there’s also a reason why they say you never take a close friend to your favorite cafe. You want to keep your spot separate in case things don’t go well. So since Sunset was really looking forward to the play it may have been safer to go by herself, but these guys usually do everything together so it makes sense to go with Pinkie and the others. I just think that Pinkie should have been a lot more considerate all things considered.

The writing is strong and the pacing is good. I do think this special threw more twists and turns at you than some of the previous ones. At around 25 minutes in Sunset realized that her whole theory was wrong and the characters had to do some backtracking. The kept evolving with their theories and wasn’t very linear which is good. You’ll definitely be engaged with what’s going on and while it’s played for humor, you can also feel Sunset getting more and more desperate since literally re-living an entire day is definitely rough. She was here for weeks which would drive anyone crazy. Sunset managed to keep it together, but I’m sure she’ll be a lot more careful about what she wishes for going forward.

Overall, Sunset’s Backstage Pass is a fun special. It definitely delivers on the usual MLP qualities you would expect here. The characters are nice enough and it’s just a pleasant plot that you could really show anyone. It may not be ground breaking or one of the all time greats for MLP, but it was solid and a pretty good way to end the Equestria Girl movies. Of course I do hope they keep the brand going though. You never want to see something just end like that. If you haven’t checked this one out yet then I’d recommend changing that.

Overall 7/10

Dr. Mario World Review

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It’s time to look at another mobile game that I’ve been going through. This is definitely more of a Fire Emblem than a Madoka in terms of how long I’ve been playing it. Dr. Mario World is a simple yet addictive mobile title which will keep you coming back for more. With over 200 levels available at launch Nintendo really did a good job of making sure there was a lot of content here.

The basic plot of the game is that viruses have launched an invasion on the mushroom kingdom and even on surrounding lands like Bowser’s kingdom. The only way to stop these viruses is to have them take some medicine. Dr. Mario and Dr. Bowser form a reluctant alliance to end the threat, but will they really be able to stop these guys?

So far we’ve only had the one cutscene after the opening which is where Bowser stepped in. I honestly think more cutscenes could have easily been added considering that they are basically just still images with the characters. It wouldn’t be too crazy to have added them after every world right? In the game’s defense, it did freeze after I beat world 3 so I had to restart and enter world 4 so there is a slight chance that there was a cutscene there I suppose. I haven’t looked on YouTube or anything but at least in my experience I’ve only seen the one cutscene.

The gameplay is basically an upside down Dr. Mario which is pretty interesting. I’m thinking they switched the gameplay style so it would be easier on the mobile but that is just speculation. Regardless you’ll quickly come to love the style. I dare say that I much prefer it to the classic gameplay. It’s a lot easier for me to dive into and I’ve been tearing through the levels. You have to match 3 of a color to eliminate the locks and viruses. Most levels are won by eliminating the viruses but some are about collecting coins or other such goals. The game is very clear about the goal from the start so there is no guess work. As you go through the levels the game continues to add new versions of enemies and obstacles. New things continue to be added after level 100 and I wouldn’t be surprised if the game isn’t done yet.

Graphically, Dr. Mario World doesn’t pull its punches. All of the screens are quite clear and the visual effects when eliminating the viruses are pretty satisfying. All of the visuals can hold themselves over as if they were from a big console game. The soundtrack is very small as is usually the case for mobile titles but the main theme just fits the game so well that you probably won’t notice.

As for replay value, the game definitely has a lot of that. As mentioned the main game has 200 levels plus speed levels in each world. These levels get progressively harder so even if you beat a lot of the early ones in one shot you definitely won’t be doing so in the later ones. You also do have an energy meter so if you lose a level 5 times straight then you will need to take a break for a few hours. That hasn’t been much of a problem because of all the maintenance though. They give you an extra 10 hearts for that each time. While going through the levels you will also be earning coins which you can use to buy more doctors and assistants from the shop. These guys have effects that are pretty subtle but they add up during a match. You can equip 2 assistants to help you. As for the doctor, you get to pick one at the beginning of the game and get a random one later on. I decided to go with Dr. Bowser and have not regretted that decision at all. His ability to destroy 2 rows is very handy and makes up for the fact that he is pretty slow.

Then we can’t forget about versus mode either. The gameplay is similar but more like the speed version. You get the matches as quickly as possible in order to launch an attack at your opponent and cause more lines to appear. The actual levels are a lot simpler than the story ones but that goes both ways. I really found my stride in this mode and got up to 1200+ points which brought me all the way up to tier 4. Now I’m starting to have a win ratio close to 50% so this seems to be the right area for me. It’s definitely a lot of fun going through the matches and after every 7 wins you get a box filled randomly with coins or other collectibles. I do think that throwing viruses in there was unnecessary though as getting nothing as a prize after 7 wins is pretty harsh. After your 7 wins in a day the rest does not help you get another box. Only 1 box per day.

There isn’t much negative to say about the game except that it’s maybe a little too stingy with how you get new doctors and collectibles. If you’re playing to get everyone that will probably never happen or at least not for a very long time. I do like how once you’ve maxed out a character they take him out f the pool so you won’t get duplicates. More gatcha games need to do this, but since even maxing out one character is incredibly difficult it won’t really come into play. The game also has a habit of freezing at times when you’ve won a level and then it only counts the win sometimes. That one is a bug that should be pretty easy to fix though. It’s definitely an annoying one but it hasn’t personally affected me much yet and I’ve played a lot of versus battles.

Overall, Dr Mario World is definitely an excellent game. It’s a very simple title with straight forward controls so you never have to worry about getting lost or being unsure what to do. It may look like there isn’t a lot to do here but the amount of content is definitely satisfactory. I recommend checking it out and since the game is free it’s not like you will be risking much in doing so. Just give it a whirl and if it’s not your thing then you can delete it just as quickly.

Overall 8/10

One Piece Strong World Review

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This has definitely been a movie that’s been on the backburner for quite a while. Strong World is known as one of the better One Piece films or at least when it came out it was known as such. After that we got some heavy hitters like Z and Gold which have also forged a name for themselves. Strong World is definitely a fun film but definitely a step under Gold and I get the feeling that Z will win. It’s a good all around adventure, but does have some issues.

The film starts off with the Strawhats scattered once again amidst a bunch of flying islands. We then see that Nami has been captured by the pirate known as Shiki, the strongest man in the world. Luffy and friends will have to hurry if they want to save her and after this we also learn how she was captured in the first place. Shiki has amassed a large pirate army and many other crews have also gathered to help him wipe out the East Blue. The stakes are high and continue to escalate as the terror approaches the home of the Strawhats.

Shiki is definitely established as a powerful villain here since he is untouchable for most of the heroes and even Luffy has to play defense for most of their encounters. The film makes it very clear that Shiki is stronger than Luffy. In a straight fight the hero just has no shot to win here. While not unheard of, it is still rare to see Luffy losing like this. He takes quite a lot of hits throughout the film. Shiki’s ability is to manipulate gravity and that helps him enhance his speed and power as well. Shiki is definitely a powerful enemy, but I can’t say that I cared for him.

He’s super quirky to the point where it is hard to keep thinking of him as a threat. He panics with his subordinates quite a bit after all and has a very short memory span. Nami manages to escape from him several times as well so you do have to doubt his security measures. Being good in a fight is not enough to make you a great enemy. His two lieutenants also aren’t all that good. One is basically King Kong and the other one is decent with a sword, but too busy trying to keep up charades to actually remain as a threat.

As expected the animation is quite good. Surprisingly the film doesn’t lead off with the big high budget scene. Typically the films love to show the environment and the animation in the first shots like in all of the Pokemon films. For the One Piece film it starts off with a Shiki scene first and then cuts away to Luffy which is where the animation goes way up. The visuals for the jungles are definitely quite solid and the whole thing is very smooth. This is one area where it can definitely hold its own against the newer titles.

I also really liked the soundtrack. The tunes are a lot more fun than what is in the actual show. It’s going for a very “nature-esque” array of themes which makes sense since Luffy is in the jungle the whole time. It’s all very fast paced and high energy. The film definitely went all in on a technical level.

So where does the film falter? Well, it does have a fanservice issue. To an extent we can always expect that with One Piece with Nami around, but Gold for example did a good job of restraining itself. Maybe a tiny moment here and there, but Strong World just keeps it coming for quite a bit. It’s enough where it is noticeable. As mentioned, the villains are also a little on the weak side. The ones in Gold had a lot more character. Brook also still exists and so naturally most of his dialogue is terrible.

It is also a bit iffy to see Luffy and the others get wrecked so badly, but that I can roll with since you can’t ask for the strongest villain to fight and then be upset when he clobbers the heroes. At least Luffy and the others put up a fight although Luffy should have gone into Gear 2 as soon as Shiki went after Nami. There’s no real reason to hold back when lives are at stake right? Zoro and Sanji are definitely shown to be out of their league this time, but they do get to contribute a little at least. The scene of the whole team trying to fight Shiki was cool because they almost never get to fight an enemy like that. The only time I can think of off the top of my head is when they all fought Aokji. I love group fights like that and for One Piece I feel like that may never happen again, but the series has a ways to go so hopefully they do get to do that. In the meanwhile the movies help with this since it’s a lot easier to have the whole group assemble here.

A standout character was actually a thunder bird named Billy. At first you expect he’ll just be a fun animal mascot to aid Nami, but the guy can fight. He takes out a ton of giant monsters and without him Luffy wouldn’t have stood a chance against Shiki. Billy’s the kind of movie character you want to have. He doesn’t steal moments from the main cast, but does assist a lot so he doesn’t feel like a filler character either. The guy just wants to help his friends out and you can’t go wrong there.

One key part that the film does right is keeping the adventure very fast paced like all good fantasy films should. There’s rarely a time where the film really slows down so there is a lot of replay value. I may not call this film great, but I did have a fun time and there’s a lot to like here. It’s just a good popcorn fun adventure where you get to see all of the characters unleash their signature abilities and take down some villains. It’s a little contrived that both Sanji and Zoro’s opponents escaped only to have to fight them again though. I’m thinking they wanted to include their second intros, but you do have to wonder how the villains would have escaped in the first place.

Overall, Strong World is definitely a fun film that I’d recommend. Whether you’re a fan of the series or not you’ll definitely enjoy it. There are enough recap nods and such to ensure that even people unfamiliar with the series can get into it. I thought the opening showing off all the members of the crew was handled really well. They all get the name bumpers and a quick scene so you can see what they can do. Nami is the last to be shown, but I think you’ll still be able to tell that Luffy is the main character since his segment is the longest and he just feels like your classic Shonen lead. I’ve always loved character intros like this so One Piece really nailed it here. I look forward to seeing what the next film is like.

Overall 7/10

Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story: Magia Record Review

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It’s time to look at an app game I downloaded a while back. I remember seeing this one as a twitter ad and figured that I may as well check it out. The posters looked nice and the Madoka series has always been excellent so I was down with seeing what the side story would be like. It’s a fun game that I would probably stick with if there was less to do, but from what I played it is a very complete title.

The game’s story follows a girl named Iroha on her own magical girl adventure. There are a lot of parallels to the show as she meets up with a very aloof magical girl who’s like Homura, a happy one dressed in yellow like Mami, a tough red colored one like Kyoka, etc. So…the story isn’t very original I’ll admit. Iroha’s memories are all in disarray as she doesn’t remember her childhood friends and this seems to directly be related to whatever wish she made with Kyubey to become a magical girl. Iroha wants to find out the secrets of her past, but she doesn’t have any idea how to do that. It may be related to a mystical law of forsaken friendships. As Iroha tries to find out about her past she also helps other magical girls learn to get along and beats up witches in the process.

With these gatcha games you never want to get too invested in the plot because it’s just never going to finish. These games are made to basically never end or if they do end it won’t be for many years. America actually got this game real late so in Japan there are a bunch of sagas out but even there the story isn’t over yet. You just gotta roll with the premise and then get ready for a bunch of inevitable filler. Still, if the adventures are fun then that’s not a problem. I thought the story was pretty reasonable. By default it’s the weakest RPG plot I’ve experienced in the mobile, but the filler isn’t quite as tedious as in Integral Factor. At the very least you always feel like things are happening.

We also do get a true opening that is fully animated which was really cool. The visuals are definitely on point and the soundtrack is awesome even if a little limited. You’ll be hearing the witch theme endlessly but it’s just so catchy and epic that it’ll rope you in. It makes every fight feel epic even if you’re just fighting the same old guys over and over again. The chapters follow a classic formula of fighting 3-5 waves of minions before you get the next round of cutscenes. On a technical level this game definitely shines through.

The gameplay is also very easy to use. You pick one of 3 attack types for each of your 3 characters and then take down the opposing forces. Using the same kind of attack more than once can give you a bonus and naturally there are also elements to keep in mind. You won’t really have to worry about tactics in story mode as at least where I was up to it was very easy. I imagine in PVP or other online modes that it would be a lot more important. The gameplay is very intricate if you are trying to master it though. There are a ton of mechanics which I barely even scratched the surface on. I recommend a lot of studying when you’re first starting up the game.

That’s the only tough part about the mobile RPGs. There are so many things to remember and keep track of. I managed to learn it all for Dragon Ball Legends and Fire Emblem, but I’m sure if I went back I probably wouldn’t remember it as well. The main menu screens are downright confusing here as there are over a dozen different kinds of things to collect and they all have different purposes. You can get lost trying to find things here and since the game barely explains anything you’ll want to run to Reddit right away. Reddit’s always a great database for these mobile games if there is something that you need to know. My main advice is if you do plan on playing this for the long haul, don’t spend or buy anything for the first month or 2. That’ll give you time to really understand the game rather than spending collectibles on things you’ll never actually use. Make sense? It’s definitely something I do with all my mobile games now even though I don’t tend to keep any of them for the long haul except for Pokemon Go.

Overall, Magia Record is definitely a fun RPG for fans of Madoka or people who just like this style. As with most mobile games like this one there is almost endless replay value. New events happen every week and the story is extremely long as well. There’s a lot to like here and the game was developed with a lot of care so there are no areas that feel slapped together. It would take a lot to keep me in a mobile game for very long though and while I love the franchise, I am overall still a bigger fan of FE and Dragon Ball. If you’re a big fan of Madoka though this is really a solid one for you to stick with for a while. One big thing here is that it’s a free to play with an energy meter that is almost nonexistent. Unless you are playing this for many hours at a time you won’t have a problem with being told by the game to take a break for a while. This is the kind of Free to Play game that does the industry proud.

Overall 7/10

Mega Man 11 Review

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It’s time to take a look at the blue bomber’s last hurrah! After the first 8 Mega Man games there was such a long gap until the 9th game that I’m sure a lot of people had begun to lose hope in it ever coming out. Well, Mega Man 9 and 10 did eventually come to grace us with their presence, but they were digital only and really fell under the radar. That all changed once 11 came out. This time it got a lot of mainstream attention and a physical release. It’s not an amazing title or anything like that, but it does bring you right back into the nostalgic world of Mega Man and succeeds in what it was aiming to do.

The plot is pretty basic as Wily remembers a time where Light rejected his idea and decides to make it come true in the present. It’s a double gear system that makes a robot both stronger and faster. Light realizes that this invention actually is brilliant and quickly gives it to Mega Man as well. Mega must now take down these corrupted robots and stop Wily once and for all. Can he pull it off or has Wily finally surpassed all of them?

It’s a very bare bones plot and there aren’t any fully animated cutscenes. Mega Man 11 is definitely going for a basic approach so that you can just think of it as another installment, but with pretty graphics. The actual campaign is also very short as a result. It’s about 3 hours give or take which isn’t bad considering what kind of game it is. It’s just like the older ones in that regard as you fight all of the bosses once and then you head on to the final level. Each level can range from a few minutes to around an hour depending on how long it takes for you to beat it. So while 3 hours is reasonable if you’re a Mega Man veteran it may take you considerably longer if you are new to the series.

As mentioned earlier the graphics are definitely very nice though. The character designs are very bold and colorful. The stages really pop out at you and the soundtrack is also pretty solid. I wouldn’t say that it is particularly memorable, but there’s definitely nothing to complain about in that respect. You’ll be too engrossed in the levels to worry about it. The levels do have some really tricky sections though. I dare say that the levels are a little less forgiving than in previous games. It’ll take everything you’ve got to complete these with the 3 lives that you are given. Torchman’s level took me many lives and game overs before I finally beat it. However, the game was a cake walk from there.

The reason for that is Dr. Light’s Lab. After losing the first stage so much I had enough screws to buy all of the upgrades in the store. That includes double speed, longer lasting power ups, and much more. I also bought a bunch of beets which save you from falls and maxed out on energy tanks and lives. Hey, if it’s in the game then using it is fair game right? No boss can beat you when you essentially have 10 life meters. It’s also not like I actually needed it for a bunch of the bosses. Some of them you can still just beat up without those extras anyway. They all have patterns although they are admittedly harder to react to than in previous games because of the double gear system. These guys are playing for keeps.

I also think it’s a good thing that the lab was here because the levels definitely could have gotten frustrating otherwise. The actual levels are a little too long so when you get a game over and have to start from scratch it feels a bit tedious. I’d actually say that it would be more tedious than in Mighty No 9 which never got to that level. That said, I would still take this game over Mighty No 9. That one may have had the more expansive story but this one still has the better gameplay. Capcom did a good job of designing the game and making sure that the lab covered any of the suspect parts during gameplay. Once you’re fully powered up then you can really jump into the action.

There isn’t a whole lot of replay value in the levels except for gathering trophies. In fairness, that should take you a reasonable amount of time because there are over 50 trophies to obtain in this game. I’m sure that some of them will be very difficult as well because the Mega Man games are perfect for that kind of challenge. It’s always nice to have an incentive to keep on playing and Mega Man 11 definitely delivers on that front. There’s not much more to say about the game except that it’s a peaceful/nostalgic trip down memory lane. I definitely hope we do get more Mega Man games in the future although I definitely admit that I’d like to see more of a plot or at least a longer game in general for 12. This was like the test run so next time we need the AAA experience.

Overall, Mega Man 11 is definitely a game that I recommend checking out. If you start to lose a lot of lives in the beginning don’t worry about it. You keep all of the screws that you obtain even when you die so that means you’ll eventually have enough to buy whatever you need. The game is quite generous with the screws so you could potentially buy everything (Not counting items which aren’t unlocked yet) by the end of the first level. I recommend buying the upgrade that gives extra screws first. It’s a rule of thumb for me that I always buy the upgrade that gives extra coins/exp first since it’ll help you for the remainder of the game. Mega Man 11 may not be very ambitious but it does remind you that just having solid gameplay can always take you far.

Overall 7/10

Mega Man Fully Charged Review

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It’s time to look at the recent Mega Man show. This one was definitely a different take on the legendary character, but one that worked pretty well nonetheless. It’s nice to have the blue bomber back in any form. Season 2 has not been announced yet and as the days stretch by it looks less and less likely. Still, hopefully the show will be back because the show definitely had some potential. In the meanwhile at least it did last for a full season.

The show starts by introducing us to the world of Mega Man. It takes place in the future where humans and robots co-exist in peace. A big war between the humans and robots happened a while back with the humans winning which is likely why they have the upper hand. Robots now live to serve them and can’t hurt humans. Lord Obsidian does not like that though and starts convincing various robots to turn evil. The Good Guild exists to quell such rebellions, but their skills may not be enough to stop these guys.

Fortunately, there exists a kid named Aki. He’s Dr. Light’s robot and while everyone just thinks that he is an ordinary kid, he actually has the ability to turn into Mega Man thanks to some help from a little robot who lives in his head called Mega Mini. The only person who knows about his secret identity is his sister Suna. Keeping the balance between his human and robot self is tough, but it is definitely something that Aki believes he can handle. No matter how many robots go against him Mega Man will be ready to save the day.

The whole thing about Mega Man having to keep his secret identity is definitely an interesting choice. It’s not something that Mega Man typically has to deal with, but within the setting it does make sense. The main problem though is that you never feel like the show thought this one through. There are various aspects here that the show never delves into, but you can’t help but feel are super relevant. Here’s your first question. Aki is a robot that Dr Light built to be an ordinary kid. So, how did Mega Mini come into existence? If Dr Light invented him then surely he already knows Aki is Mega Man right? If Light didn’t build him, who did? Mega Mini clearly has a whole terminal set up in Mega Man so someone designed such an area.

The second issue is that AKi’s ability to turn into Mega Man is something that had to be programmed. There’s also no way that Light wouldn’t have noticed this whenever he did Mega Man’s diagnostics to make sure he was okay. I think the avoid tripping itself up like this the show should have just had Light and Suna know from the start. It really wouldn’t change a whole lot in the show anyway and it would have simply made more sense.

Ah well, the school scenes are still reasonable. The best part of the show is naturally the action, but for the most part the classmates aren’t bad. The only one who is terrible would be Peter. While the show is mostly tame with the crude humor, there is one episode where Peter has a runny nose the whole time which was definitely gross to look at. He doesn’t really have a purpose in the story either so if you cut him out then nothing would really change. He definitely wasn’t needed here. Meanwhile Ashley is good although the small romance that the show tries to throw with her and Mega Man is unnecessary. You really don’t need any romance like that in a Mega Man show. It’s the classic story-line where Ashley likes Mega Man but not Aki so he is effectively competing with himself.

Then you’ve got Wily, but he’s very different from how he is in the games. Here Wily is a kid so they may be going for more of a Harry Osborn and Peter Parker type dynamic than Wily vs Light. I definitely expect Wily would have turned evil in the next season if we ever get that far. Wily’s not bad, but I can’t say that he is all that interesting either. Meanwhile Suna is a dependable ally. She always does her best to support Megaman and does cheer him on whenever the blue bomber falls under another spell or isn’t acting very rationally. Suna also has her drones so she can contribute a little during the fight scenes. I’m not sure why they switched out Roll for Suna, but it doesn’t really make much of a difference in the story. I also would say that Suna is a more likable character than Roll.

We can’t forget Mega Mini, he’s Mega Man’s main sidekick during the series. He is one of the comic relief characters of the series and most of his dialogue is about making the quick one liners to help boost Mega Man’s confidence. I definitely don’t think he was needed in the story and his sort of romance with Hypno Woman was definitely not a keeper. Then you’ve got Rush who doesn’t have a huge role in the story, but is still pretty fun. Dr. Light comes across as a little shady here. He wants to make the world a better place for humans, but I wouldn’t totally trust him if I were a robot. He has the Mega Key which is dangerous for everyone and tends to keep a lot of secrets. The fact that Light can actually fight it out with the robots physically is definitely very cool though.

It’s time to look at the main character of this adventure. Mega Man is your classic hero who is just trying to live life as a normal robot. For the most part he has already adjusted to living alongside humans but occasionally at school his robot self will show its inexperience to an extent as he can be a bit oblivious about things. The show showed a lot of restraint in not making him exaggerated. He can be a bit cocky at times, but at the end of the day Mega Man’s character is pretty much what you’d expect. He’s a hero that you can count on.

One thing that does hurt a bit is how much the show loves to mess with his personality by having him absorb other robot master powers. It’s a huge weakness to be honest. In the old games he could just absorb them but in the show they changed it so that he gets part of their personality inserted into himself. This naturally leads him into a lot of wacky situations where he becomes super nervous, super grouchy, hungry, etc. These scenarios are never quite as funny as the show seems to think it is. The humor in the series really isn’t that bad, but it’s at its best when it isn’t about Mega Man being corrupted. Alas, it happens to him in almost every episode yet he never seems to learn. Every episode he seems to be surprised that it worked. There’s also the fact that it rarely seems to be necessary to save the day.

Then you’ve got Obsidian who is the main villain of this show. He has a secret identity but the show lets you know who he is almost immediately. It’s the kind of secret that the characters in the show don’t know but the audience does right away. He’s definitely a fun villain although his motives are really all over the place. He thinks that humans and robots shouldn’t get along so in his human form he tries to get them to rise up while as a robot he leads all of the robots to destroy the humans. Ultimately by getting the secret weapon in Light’s house he would be able to start the war, but it would be so much easier to just show up and start blasting everyone. His power level is quite high so there is almost nobody who could stop him in a straight fight.

His design is really cool so the show did a good job with that. He’s actually a better version of the usual Wily that you would expect. Then you’ve got his right hand man Namagem. I admit that I thought he would end up being Wily the whole time so the show did dodge my expectations this time. I do think there’s a bit of a missed opportunity with his real identity or maybe I should say that it’s more that I didn’t care for the design so much. I’m sure he will be changing a lot if the show ever comes back though. He’s a fun villain to have around although his power level definitely fluctuated quite drastically. Sometimes he would be almost as strong as Obsidian and other times he would have a hard time with normal robot masters. I don’t think even the show knew exactly how strong he would be.

His fights with Mega Man are some of the best in the show though. I’m not sure exactly which fight I’d put as the best in the series but it would either be between these two or a fight with Obsidian. I definitely look forward to him showing up more. Then you’ve got one of the iconic villains, Fire Man. He’s the classic not very smart but fairly tough character. Fire Man may have been one of the first villains to lose, but he is still treated as a fairly big threat once in a while which is definitely nice for his fans. Of course you can also just argue that Namagem simply couldn’t be taken seriously by the end so Fire Man went up by default.

Then you’ve got one of the show’s original characters, Chaotique. Now she is a scene-stealer. Her ability is super speed to the extent that she is even faster than Elec Man which is impressive. She seems to be able to keep the speed up for longer while Elec Man is more about quick splashes of speed. The only problem with this naturally is that she is way too powerful to actually be stopped by anyone. The show surprisingly writes pretty well around this so it never gets to be an issue. Her character development also goes in a different way than what I expected so that was pretty neat. We don’t really know what’s going on right now since we only have the villain’s word to take on her status. She would definitely be the person to watch out for in season 2.

The rest of the robot masters are a little less remarkable. Drill Man has a pretty emotional origin story about how he had to give up his dreams when his robot design was changed for drilling. It’s played for laughs to an extent, but if you really think about it his story is really tragic. Hypno Woman and Blasto Woman are some of those villains who may be evil, but seems redeemable right away. Hypno Woman’s not particularly ruthless and in a way her illusions allow everyone to lead a peaceful life. Then you’ve got Blasto Woman whose character is hurt by her plot with Mega Mini and in general I don’t think she was one of the better show exclusive characters. I actually mixed both of these characters up while writing this review and had to go back to fix the names.

Wave Man is decent, but pretty generic and never really came into his own. I dare you to even say what his character personality was by the end. Then you’ve got Ice Man who is supposed to be fairly misunderstood and as a result is not very impressive as a villain. He’s simply too gullible. Cut Man at least has his perfection thing going. He’s also super easy to manipulate but at least the guy had a more tangible goal and did a better job of actually getting in there and getting the job done. I would not trust him to cut my hair for a second though so I don’t really get how he got his own store. I mean, people are more used to the robots in this world but still……I dunno.

Air Man got some of the lowest amounts of screen time among all of the characters. He does have a really cool scene showing how high he can fly though. I’d say that he’s low key one of the tougher robots here. Then you’ve got Chemistry Man whose whole character becomes a lot better thanks to his voice. His voice is amazing and right away gets across that he is a jaded professor who is upset at the world. It’s all the city’s fault and not his. You have to respect the guy’s one track mind. Guts Man is a little disappointing here because all he can do is eat a lot. It’s an interesting gimmick I guess, but it means that he spends most of his time eating instead of fighting. Even with that it’s not like he’s easily the worst version of the character. I’m not a big fan in general, but he could have still been improved here.

Then you’ve got Elec Man who definitely makes his presence felt with his incredible speed. He’s another fairly broken character who would absolutely dominate the main cast if not for plot convenience and the like. You just can’t hope to beat overwhelming speed like that without some really cool abilities of your own. He was one of the better villains.

Wood Man’s interpretation was also pretty interesting. He’s basically a paranoid ninja from the war who never quite returned home in one peace. It’s further foreshadowing at a war that we’ll probably never get to actually see, but had a really cool premise otherwise. It’d be nice to see some more stories of how the war was back in the day. Then we’ve got Man Man who is a big fan of the blue bomber. He’s a nice tribute to the original box art for the games. You know what kind of character he will be from the start, but he’s handled well. He’s a very genuine character who does his best to help save the day.

Fully Charged definitely has a soundtrack that does the series proud. It gives us several remixes of the classic Mega Man theme and we get other 8 bit tunes during the little cartoons that pop up during the episodes. I also liked the “Meganize Me” theme that played during the transformation. These songs aren’t fancy or anything, but they’re catchy which I think is the point in this context. They’re tunes that just help the overall atmosphere and considering that you’ll be hearing the Meganize theme over and over you definitely want a nice jingle.

The animation is less impressive although I wouldn’t say that it’s too bad. There are really 2 kinds of CGI style, blocky and realistic. Typically blocky is more colorful and makes for nostalgic viewing like the Transformers machinima style while the more realistic style would be something like Beware the Batman or Final Fantasy Advent Children. Those are able to hit higher heights with the action scenes and can give you smoother action scenes. They both have their uses even if neither is very likely to be able to handle hand drawn animation. (Final Fantasy pulled it off though)

I like the character designs and we do get some real action scenes here. Fully Charged definitely delivers more than most similar shows like Pac Man and the Ghostly Adventures. Still, you can tell that the CGI isn’t quite there yet as the background doesn’t actually change. There is rarely any collateral damage even when attacks hit buildings. This may be a budget thing but it does mean that you can’t take most of the characters seriously as real fighters. They also can’t be that strong if someone like Dr. Light can take them down. Still, the show looks good overall and while hand drawn would have been nice to see, the graphics won’t make you avert your eyes or anything like that.

Overall, Mega Man Fully Charged is a very standard show. It makes for a fun watch, but there isn’t much to it beyond that. I don’t really think this is a show people will be talking about once a few years have passed. Honestly the show just ended and people are already barely talking about it. It was a fun take on the series though so I’m still glad that we got it. The 15 minute size definitely hurt it though. There’s only so much that you can do in 15 minutes and I’ll always stick to that. 30 minutes is just a much better way to present a good story and you can build up to the climax much more efficiently as well. Considering this, the show did a good job of making the final 2 episodes pretty climactic. I’d recommend checking out Fully Charged. It’ll take you for a fun ride and hopefully it does eventually return for a season 2.

Overall 7/10

Madden 17 Deluxe Edition Review

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All right guys, it’s finally time to take a look at one of the newer Madden titles. Madden is easily still my favorite sports title out of all the big EA games and 17 continues to impress. While this installment isn’t quite as impressive as some of the older ones, it still had all of the positive fundamentals that we have come to expect from the series. It’s certainly a steal considering it was only 3-4 bucks.

The gameplay is the same Football mechanics as the older ones at least in a grand scope kind of view. The goal is to score more points than the other team by getting a player with the football into the opponent’s end zone. Alternatively you can just kick the ball in. You’re really going to need to be able to survey different parts of the screen at once especially when throwing passes. It’s a very intricate game and you do need great reactions to pull this off. Part of why the game is so satisfying is because it needs all of those skills. You can’t pick up the game and suddenly become good, you’re going to need to work on it. There’s definitely a lot to learn too since you’ve also got other sides of the ball like defense, kicking, and running.

While not much has changed since the last Madden they did retool the kicking gameplay once again. Now you’ve got a meter that goes up and down which you have to stop twice. I definitely preferred the old system where you would just flick a lever up and down. I suppose this one is a lot trickier though, but I don’t think you need to over complicate field goals. It also makes the meter pretty crazy when you increase the difficulty. That’s not new, but I still disagree with it since I want a challenge on the field when upping the stakes, not a challenge to fight myself!

Accelerating is a little less obvious here so the game is a little more like a simulation than arcade style. I miss zooming around the field, but I do get the logic and it works well enough. The tackling is still on point and you can see how the game is really well polished in all areas. The gameplay is just a lot of fun provided that you like the sport of Football. It accurately portrays how the game goes down. When you’re playing you feel like you’re in total control so the game succeeds here.

It goes without saying that the graphics are pretty incredible as always. Everything is just so lifelike and while EA may not have the best reputation they do always deliver on this front. As for the soundtrack, it’s less obvious than usual. You’re really not going to be paying it much attention anyway since you’ll be in the game by that point. Now the presentation is where its at and the game is stunning there. It really feels like a real game with how the announcers introduce the teams and we get a nice pre game set up. Likewise you get a good set up for the playoffs and super bowl.

There are a lot of modes beyond the quick games of course. You can practice or jump into the online modes. There are a lot of ranks to go through so if you play online then you’ll probably be around for quite a while. Learning all of the playbooks will take a while and naturally obtaining the Platinum is quite difficult. These games may come out every year, but one title is enough to hold you for several years to be honest since there is just so much to do. There’s also the fact that every game is different so like a fighting game there is basically unlimited replay value here.

Due to the nature of the game there isn’t a whole lot to say but I’ll end off with my tips on how to take the computers down a few pegs. I was able to take them down until All Madden difficulty after all although at that point they cheesed me out. One thing I don’t like about All Madden is that your players start to choke. They begin dropping passes and fumbling all over the place which doesn’t feel like a real difficulty spike. It’s more like your players start breaking down as if they’re 1st year rookies going into their first playoff game. So ignoring that, my strategy for winning was a bland but effective ground game. I’d run it on 1st and 2nd down and then pick up the final 3 yards over the place. Then I’d mix it up with a first yard pass sometimes. I would win in very low scoring games like 17-10 or something like that. The computer has a hard time fully shutting down the run so you’re almost guaranteed to get 2-3 yards up the middle each time.

On the other hand, if you go around then you’re more likely to lose yardage but you have a decent shot of getting a big gain. I prefer consistency so I go up the middle and you’ve also got the shot of making a big gain so the way I see it there isn’t much of a downside to this. Just keep plugging away and eventually you’ll get some kind of win. Defense is also important, but I don’t really have any tips for that. What’ll happen will happen with that one.

Overall, Madden 17 is definitely a game that you’re going to want to jump into. It’s only 2-3 dollars so there is really no downside to making the purchase. By the same token you can also just skip to 18 which is basically the same price and have close to the same experience. It’s really up to you to see what you want to do, but there’s no bad option. While I do think they should speed up the gameplay a bit like in the old days it is still very balanced. I think the problem of the low acceleration is that the running back feels like just an ordinary player as opposed to the speedster. It also gets rid of the quarterback advantage which is too bad because I loved scrambling for every play and getting a bunch of yards. I guess it was pretty broken to be honest though. The quarterback was unbeatable in some of the older games.

Overall 9/10

Aladdin Review

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It’s time to take a look at the remake that came out recently. The original film was one of the weaker Disney classics for me so I was ready to see if the remake could fix that. Fortunately it was up for the challenge. I’d actually put Aladdin as one of the best remakes and holds its own/even beats other heavyweights like the recent Maleficent film which I was impressed with. Aladdin’s a very high energy film and it paid off.

The film starts with a guy telling his kids a story about the olden days. We cut to what is a normal day for Aladdin as he slips through the streets grabbing whatever he can. He’s a thief who needs such things to scare by as his country isn’t exactly one of the more luxurious ones. One day he notices a lady having some trouble so he helps her get out of the jam. Unfortunately due to a misunderstanding with his monkey stealing her pendent she dashes off. Aladdin tried to repair the damage but he is soon captured by the Jafar and forced to enter a dangerous cave. He secures the lamp and will now get 3 wishes, of course Jafar won’t forget about his wishes for power anytime soon. Can Aladdin impress Jasmine and stop the kingdom from being plunged into chaos?

Right away the film got off to a really strong start here. The chase scenes with Aladdin right from the beginning are great. The scenes have a lot of energy and with the song it all flows together nicely. It’s always risky to have the best scene show up this early on in the film, but I think it’s good because first impressions are important. It’s just nice how casually Aladdin is basically taking on a full platoon of troops and singing about it. He also does a good job of directing Jasmine as well and showing how well he has mastered the city and all its alleyways. He’s basically a genius.

Aladdin definitely makes for a really solid lead even if he does weaken a bit towards the end of the film. He gets corrupted awfully quick when he becomes a prince and I feel like there were a lot of ways he could have gotten himself out of the situation earlier. If he was going to lie anyway, why not just admit that he was pretending to be a prince to impress Jasmine later on? I think she probably would have been impressed as to how he could pull that off since he had such a large troop of fighters behind him. I’d also argue that Jafar even deciding to mess with Aladdin is super risky because if those troops were real than Agrabah would have been doomed from the start.

Jasmine’s a fun heroine and definitely a character who has also been very improved from the original. She’s very determined to become the next sultan and also stands up to Jafar and the others. Jasmine gets a fun song towards the end about how she won’t be quiet anymore and gets to quickly exhibit her time stop powers until the song ends and you realize it never really happened. The thought is what counts though. She may not have grown up in the streets like Aladdin, but she’s definitely got that toughness about her.

Then you have Genie who steals the show as expected. It was a tall order to try and top Robin Williams from the original so I think adding in Will Smith was the perfect option. His style of humor is very different, but ultimately very charismatic and fast which works really well. His powers are still impressive although the way that his powers work is still awfully loose. At the end of the day he can still do whatever he wants and is just pretending to have to work on the rules. It seems to me like he just can’t go against his owner, but otherwise he can do what he wants. If I were Aladdin I’d be tempted to ask for a wish back, but at the same time he is still alive so being grateful is more important in this scenario. Genie is definitely here to look out for Aladdin and does a great job of looking after him. Without Genie Aladdin would have been doomed.

The film does a good job of mixing in a lot of good humor to supplement the action and adventure. The jokes land and the film is just written really well. They certainly didn’t phone it in here which is key. It would have been easy for the movie to just try and borrow all the original jokes and such but coming up with a completely new script is always good. The film’s still a direct remake and all, but it brings its own unique flavor to the mix.

Then you’ve got Jafar who is a much better villain than he was in the original. In that film he felt more focused on the marriage to Jasmine than his actual aspirations. Here it is flipped and he really just wants power to capture everyone else. He’s the kind of villain who while not relateable is just very interesting. It makes sense why he would have a bit of a power complex here since he started at the bottom of the social totem pole and now wants to go to the very top. I also thought his character had more layers here since he actually kept his thief skills and is a legitimate threat to the other characters. The scene of him pick pocketing Aladdin was handled very well.

There’s the Sultan but there’s not much to say about him. He gets mind controlled the whole time as expected. Abu doesn’t get to do a whole lot and mainly just gets Aladdin into trouble. He does save the lad from making a critical mistake in the cave of wonders though so I’ll give him some props, but he basically nullifies this after that by actually falling for the trap.

Iago doesn’t get the witty dialogue that you’ll remember from the original which is unfortunate. I think the film could have gone all the way with him if it really wanted to. At least he did get the super form though so that was neat. Then you’ve got the character made for the film called Dalia. She’s basically Jasmine’s best friend and just like how Genie supports Aladdin she helps Jasmine in this journey. I’m not sure about the random plot with her and Genie though. That romance was a bit weak, but for the character Dalia was definitely a standout. She’s definitely the kind of character that you want to have by your side. Dalia is very loyal and supportive.

Then you’ve got Hakim who also gets a bit of a big role here. He is quick to change sides though and while the characters gets his redemption arc it doesn’t work all that well. It just seems a little too late in the game for him by this point. He’s not really my kind of character but I’ll still give him some credit for making the right call even if it was late.

The first half of the film is definitely more dynamic than the second half, but I wouldn’t say there is any part of the film where it totally loses steam or anything like that. The dance scene with Aladdin being manipulated was also pretty fun. I don’t think that the back flip was overdoing it to be honest, but he definitely did show everyone up. All of the songs are also a blast. It seems like the film is using some kind of auto tune or audio adjustment to give everyone a certain kind of voice though so I wonder if the characters actually sound like that. It’s a sound that works well though so no complaints here.

Aladdin doesn’t hold back on the special effects either. I think part of what makes the film work so well is that it just looks great. The musical numbers feel grand as a result and especially the “You’ve never had a friend like me” song is awesome as a result. The special effects are really akin to that of a big blockbuster movie (Which this film basically is) and I dare say that this may be the best musical out there. I don’t really know how you would go about topping this one.

Overall, Aladdin was definitely a success. It’s a very fun film that has a lot of replay value. I think a good bit of credit here goes to the great script/writing. There are a lot of clever moments and even some callbacks to the songs. One good scene is when Genie points out that Aladdin’s never had a friend like him as opposed to vice versa. The only annoying part here is really how quick Aladdin was to betray Genie. It’s definitely something that will be annoying on a re-watch and all since Genie was so helpful the whole time. Still, if you’re looking for a great film to watch then this is the one to check out.

Overall 8/10