Rurouni Kenshin Side Story: The Ex-Con Ashitaro Review

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It’s time to take a look at the 2 chapter oneshot sequel to Kenshin that came out. This serves as a set up to the ongoing sequel coming out so you definitely want to check it out to stay current. It’s a pretty fun series and the two chapters really go by quickly. It starts off with two prisoners being released. One guy is named Ashitaro and he was arrested for dining and dashing. The other guy is Aran and I forgot exactly why he was arrested but they got him for years. A mysterious girl shows up when they are released and claims that Ashitaro has her treasure. They used to both work for the same villain organization but Ashitaro ran off. He claims not to know anything, but it could be the sword that he buried a while back. Aran decides to help Ashitaro out in retrieving the sword and living a normal life after prison, but are these two fighters strong enough to take on a villain organization?

Since Ashitaro is the lead here and will likely have a big role in the actual series, it is imperative that he is a likable character. I think he’s pretty good at any rate. He reminds me of Tyson’s counter protagonist in the Beyblade manga. Ashitaro is a pretty good fighter but he’s also rather basic and doesn’t really think about anything. He just likes having a good fight and can dish it out with the rest of uis. Second to none is food for him though. He’ll eat anything and isn’t picky. He’s certainly no Kenshin, but he is the real deal when it comes to using a sword. I’ll definitely be glad to see him return.

His partner Aran is a lot less impressive. For starters, Aran can’t even fight. That brings up a lot of red flags right from the start. I also can’t say I care too much about his half American heritage and hopefully it’s not a big plot line. I guess it could lead to something cool if it turns out that his American relatives want to take him back by force or he’s related to the villains but we don’t really need the human sidekick right now. He could certainly be much more annoying than he actually is though so I’ll stay content with that for now. The writing is sharp as always which really makes a difference for characters like this.

There aren’t really any other big characters at the moment. I suspect that the girl may become a big character at some point, but we’ll see. The one shot villains here are fairly generic, but serve their roles well. I have to give some props to the first villain for still being able to talk even with a sword through his head. That guy definitely has nerves of steel. The other villain with the oil weapon was pretty strong as well, at least when put up against the main characters. I’m looking forward to seeing how much fun the real big villains are.

If you were worried about not seeing Kenshin or the rest of the old cast, don’t worry about it. They show up briefly and Kenshin definitely has a great role. It’s nice to know how much time has passed since the end of the main series and it is mentioned here. It hasn’t been too long of a gap so fortunately everyone should still be able to fight at a high level. The ending shows us that the whole cast is getting ready to go to Hokkaido so that’s sure to be a pretty epic arc. I’m expecting a lot of big things there.

The art is exceptional, but that almost goes without saying. I’ve really missed the Kenshin style. The action has a lot of depth and the speed lines really make it look extra impressive. The action scenes were great and as I mentioned the writing is pretty sharp. I can easily see the sequel being a top tier threat to all of the other manga titles once it actually comes out or is scanned.

While Ashitaro’s sword is cool, I think he’s going to need another one almost immediately. In the story it is bent out of shape and badly burned so unless he makes this some really unique combo starter where the shape actually helps him, I can’t see the big villains being very threatened by the kid. I could also see him getting it repaired and if so, Kenshin’s master needs to appear. He never got much closure so this could definitely help. I wouldn’t mind if the sequel also has a brief timeskip so that we can gloss over that part and also have Aran learn some fighting off screen. Then the series will be set.

Overall, I’d definitely recommend checking this one out. After all these years, we finally have Kenshin back in business. Hopefully the series really lasts for a long while and that it doesn’t jump the shark. Sequels don’t always have the best of reps, but I think this one is going to be one of the best sequels on the block. Hopefully these chapters come out with volume one once the series is licensed so fans don’t have to try and track these chapters down. How I see it, the set up/prequel to the sequel should always be included.

Overall 8/10

Wing Island Review

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It’s time for yet another Wii game. This one is a classic plane game but instead of being your average flight simulator you get to help out around the farm. It’s a pretty unique style of gameplay and it’s one that I can get behind. It does have some issues and the game is a little too short if you ask me. Fortunately the going price is only around 2-3 dollars so that’s really not too shabby.

The basic plot is that these two birds own a plane repair shop. You can bring yours in for repairs or you can hire the pilot out to help you out on the farm. The latter is typically the option that they go with. The main character is never eager to help, but he knows that it is ultimately the only correct choice. Can he transport the logs and help the farmers or is this rural life too much for the kid?

The plot certainly isn’t the most engaging and there isn’t really a sense of danger in this game. The only time we get anything close to an action scene is the final level as pirates attack one of our clients. We never actually see these pirates of course, but their ships are around. We don’t believe in violence so to take them down you just have to cut the ropes that they attached to your friend’s ship to drive them off. Those pirates won’t want to mess with you again after that am I right?

The two main characters aren’t bad, but I wouldn’t say that they’re very good either. The main character is very timid and constantly forced into these situations by the main heroine. He just doesn’t come across as heroic aside from the very last mission where it is brought up. The main heroine is all right as I’m glad she’s tough but why doesn’t she go help out as well? She is likely a big shot pilot just like the main lead so there is no excuse. I guess she just likes calling the shots.

As for the gameplay, the plane part should be easy to picture as you fly straight, up, down, and all around as you fulfill the mission. You have no weapons of course but pressing B will let go of whatever cargo you have or activate the steam to get rid of the small fires all around. You can also press up or down on the Wii Remote dpad to speed up or slow down. I actually didn’t know about this until I was pretty deep into the game, but I wish I had known sooner. It’s pretty hard to win without it since you’re just coasting along at a slow speed otherwise. It can be pretty hard to get used too, but you’ll get the hang of it. Just don’t connect the Nunchuk, the controls get a whole lot more complicated if you do.

The various missions that you undertake are things like “Drop the Logs” “Put out the Fire” “Pop the Balloons” etc. Most of the missions end up repeating themselves. There are 15 missions in Story Mode and then you unlock a few extra ones. I think it ends up being 20 total give or take a little. I just focused on the Story Mode levels and completed the game in around 2 hours. As I mentioned earlier that’s pretty short, but given the low price it’s not a deal breaker. You should still enjoy it just fine.

What hampers the gameplay a little are the controls. I don’t need to say much about the Wii Remote as its limitations speak for themselves. Turning is more of a hassle than it should be and especially if there are strong winds. The winds aren’t really the Wii Remote’s fault as it’s a game feature, but it’s one that definitely should not have been in the game. If you crash too much you’ll die and there is a tough level where you have to blow up a bunch of rocks. The game can be deceptively difficult in some levels but you’ll definitely conquer them if you just keep at it. Some levels took me more lives than I care to remember but if you’re getting stuck, make sure to buy some upgrades from the shop. It’s incredible how much difference a new engine or a lighter plane can make. The winds won’t be able to stop you. Or if you accelerate, I didn’t know how to do that at the time and I’m sure it would have helped quite a lot.

Graphically the game holds up pretty well. We do get a few fully animated cutscenes and the level designs are all very bright and thought out well. You’ll never get lost as the map is quite good and the screen isn’t cluttered. The developer made the most of what I can only imagine was a very limited budget for this game. The soundtrack is less memorable. I would guess that there were only about 5 different tunes or less in the game as it seemed like they kept repeating. Nothing bad, but you’ll forget the music almost instantly. I suppose the soothing music will help you stay focused though.

For replay value, the game does have a few other modes like Free Play and Advanced. The multiplayer will keep you busy and the game is just pretty fun. It’s easy to pick up and play even if it doesn’t have a lot of depth. Even with the replay value I guess the game is pretty short but it helps a little bit. I wish the medals were easier to see as well in the stages but the way they calculate the score felt pretty busted so I’m sure I didn’t miss a whole lot.

Sadly this is one of those games that doesn’t really have an ending. The game just very abruptly stops and the credits roll. I guess I didn’t want a big sappy ending anyway, but a little closure would be nice. Even something brief like the island finally acknowledging the main character would have been cool. At least the credits said “Thanks for playing” so that was always cool. I did feel like this game had more heart than most of its rivals.

Overall, Wing Island is a fun game. It may not have been exactly what I had expected, but I always like a good plane game. It feels like a cross between something like Top Gun and the Toy helicopter game I got a while back. It should entertain anyone for a little while and even a kid could play it since the controls are pretty easy. It’s worth checking out, but just make sure you pay a fair price for it. It’s definitely not worth anything too expensive.

Overall 6/10

Why I Paid 5.99 in Super Smash Bros

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I consider myself to be a freemium player most of the time. Whether I’m playing Pokemon Go, Super Smash, or Mario Kart, I just don’t buy DLC. It doesn’t feel right that big companies are selling us 60 dollar beta titles instead of wholesome games. That being said, the first time I really compromised on this was with Super Smash Bros. There are multiple 5.99 characters that came out like Ryu, but I mainly just got him to stay cool. It’s when Cloud and Bayonetta showed up that I realized they were necessary for me to keep on playing. I’m not a casual Smash player after all, I’m a pro. I need to stay at the top of my game so when a better character shows up I have to ditch my main instantly. Here are 5 reasons why I paid the 5.99 and why you should as well.

1. Free Wins

My original main was Sheik. I’d work long and hard to perfect really advanced 10+ hit combos where I’d finally tack on 50% or so and feel good about it. With Cloud, I can rack up that % with a mindless up air string. I can get it even easier with Bayonetta as I just hold Side B then do Up B and keep repeating until my opponent is dead. There is no skill necessary as you just need to learn one easy combo and you’re set. You’ll instantly see your results go up and you’ll become a legitimate tournament threat. That sounds pretty good doesn’t it? You’ll probably feel bad at first as this all just seems too easy, but you’ll eventually be able to justify your decision. Just look at the picture above. If you’re playing Cloud, your opponent will never go over 100%.

2. The Value

What else would you spend 5.99 on? You can probably get half of a Subway’s sandwich and a drink with that or a 2 slices and soda deal from Little Italy but those things will be gone in minutes. Your DLC in Smash will stay forever. These characters will become memories that you can keep with you through the years as you look back on what a great investment it was. It’s not just any DLC…it’s the right DLC! Domino’s Pizza is amazing, but not even that can beat out a new character.

3. Forget the character loyalty

I mained Fox in the first three Smash games. I was determined to main him here as well but he just didn’t click for some reason. That’s why I moved to Cap and then to Sheik. Finally I found Cloud/Bayonetta and I knew that it was time for a change. Why wouldn’t I play these characters when they are just better than the others. I know it’s tough to let go of the character loyalty at first, but once you do you’ll be glad that you did. It’s particularly sad for popular characters like Pac-Man who have a lot of fans but aren’t exactly destined for greatness in this game. By all means, keep him in the pocket, but play Cloud for all of his bad matchups…and then play him for the good ones as well. Not saying tiers are real…but we are paying to win.

4. You can be one of the cool kids

Everyone plays Cloud now. He’s won almost every big doubles tournament in Super Smash after all. It’s basically necessary to play this guy because of how overwhelmingly overpowered he is. If you don’t pay the 5.99 you won’t be able to wear your snapback with pride. You will get dirty looks from the rest of the players if you choose the free version of Cloud, aka Shulk. You just have to pay the money if you want to stay with the popular crowd and I don’t know about you, but staying in that crowd is necessary for the memes. You don’t want to fall behind the curve.

5. I’ve prepared myself for the future

Finally, I’m now ready for the future. DLC isn’t going away, in fact it gets stronger and stronger every year. Before you know it, most of the characters in a game are going to be DLC. Just look at Street Fighter V or SF X Tekken. SF V is almost going to literally be half free and half dlc characters if it keeps going at this rate. You’ll be missing half of the game if you don’t do something. By paying the 5.99 now, you’ll be able to justify the 59.99 once you’re buying a 60 dollar beta and have to repurchase it. You’ll be paying hundreds of dollars in nickels and dimes by the end so you may as well get used to it.

In short, Pay to Win is a very successful way to run a business. You want to have the money on deck and these are the reasons why I paid the 5.99. Ever since I did, things have looked up. I use the extra time that I get from not needing to practice combos to smack talk on Reddit and Gamefaqs. I use all of my extra wins and glory to reaffirm that this was the right call. It all just works out and so now you too should pay the 5.99 and show the corporations that you support this business with your dollars. If not, I accept any challenges to show why my Cloud takes on your free characters.

SPRay Review

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It’s time for another Wii cash in. I’m afraid that you can’t really expect too much from this game. It has a pretty interesting premise with regard to the gameplay but it isn’t very polished so there are quite a few bugs and issues with the gameplay. It gets off to a decently good start and has a nice end, but the middle of the game can be tricky with some levels that don’t always feel very fair. It’s a decently good game but one that could have certainly been a whole lot better.

The plot revolves around a Prince. His kingdom has been taken over by sludge monsters led by a giant monster. His father may have been murdered in the process as now he is a ghost with no form. He tells the hero to call and slay all of the monsters while grabbing all of the jewels so he can save the kingdom. He is given two guides to help with that. One of them is a mean guy who fights with vomit and the other is a nice girl who attacks with water. With these dependable allies at his side, the Prince is ready to make some waves.

You don’t gain any new members during the game, but you do get more powers. Soon you are able to shoot out sticky material, ice, and even the powers of Darkness which can open up portals. It’s important that you understand what each power does since they will all be necessary to complete the game. Each world has 6 levels and there are 5 worlds in total. The levels start out pretty basic and gradually get harder by the end. At one point, the levels were taking me close to an hour to beat each one. Once I got the hang of the abilities and missions though, I greatly reduced the time and could even beat some missions in around 15 minutes. It just really depends on if you know what you’re doing. There is a compass, but it tends to be pointing in the wrong direction half the time so you really can’t get used to trusting it. Fortunately you’ll notice that the levels basically start to repeat themselves or are at least very similar by the end.

The graphics are okay. The colors all look different so you can always tell what is happening and the game is able to keep the colors that you’ve already shot on the board so that’s good. It’ll remember your colors even if you go to a different world and come back. There isn’t really a soundtrack to speak of so that area of the game is significantly less impressive. It can’t quite match up to the graphics at any rate. Throw in the glitches and this game isn’t ready for the big time. You’ll fall through walls quite a lot and you’ll randomly slam to the ground in other moments. See, the main character has a ground pound technique which you can use by double tapping the jump button but it often happens on its own which is kind of rigged.

Naturally the gameplay is hampered by the Wii remote. The game would be a lot smoother with a proper controller. It’s like Mario Sunshine or De Blob in a way with you shooting paint everywhere but the other two games just handled the concept a lot better. I like 3D platformers in general so I still had a good time. There aren’t many bosses here, maybe only 3-4. You really have to figure out to handle them on your own since the game naturally won’t even give you much of a hint. Once you figure it out though, the bosses become child’s play to defeat. You’ll have them down in no time.

The story’s pretty forgettable but make sure you pay attention to the ending. It hints at a sequel and even hints that the main character’s mother may have been the main villain. It’ll give you some doubts about your supposed father since it’s not as if we ever see the guy right? It raises a bunch of questions so it’s really a shame that a sequel is likely never going to happen. I’m sure that the gameplay would have been a lot more polished as well so it would have been nice. I guess we’ll just have to rely on fan theories for this one.

The game is pretty long to be honest. It lasted me over 10 hours and that’s always a reasonable time. There really isn’t much to do in the way of post game content though since you had to get all of the jewels to challenge the final boss. There’s no real multiplayer either so this is definitely one of those games where you beat the main campaign and then call it a day. At 10 hours that is reasonable and the going price is really cheap last time I checked.

One thing the game did pretty well was its use of the dynamic levels. As mentioned earlier, it’s sort of like Mario 64 where you have one level and then multiple objectives within it. This game goes into even greater depth as the level grows for each level as you unlock new paths and it keeps track of what you’ve done in it. This means that the level will be a mystery at first, but by the 3rd and 4th levels you’ll really have the place’s layout down and can progress a lot faster. The levels aren’t being reused in a lazy way, but a progressive style where you really feel like you’re accomplishing. This is probably one of the main reasons why the game got a positive score in the end.

The other is that at the end of the day it is pretty fun to shoot the elements all around. In particular I liked the ice ability as moving around at top speeds was just really great. Once you got a new power, it became hard to think about how you used to go on without it. The abilities are just necessary. Fighting enemies could be annoying as they kept respawning over and over again and some were too durable, but the annoyance wasn’t too bad. The controls are tougher than the enemies after all.

Overall, SPray is another game that fell well below the radar. I can understand why as it clearly didn’t get the same amount of effort a AAA title has, but it isn’t bad either. It has some good ideas and while the execution isn’t on point all the time, the game really grows on you. By the end you’ll almost wish it could have had a few more levels. For a sequel the game mainly just needs to fix the compass or make the levels a little more straight forward. In particular, tracking down the invisible enemies was always a real hassle. It’s just hard to keep track of them in the giant levels. I’d recommend checking the game out for a unique experience.

Overall 6/10

Pirate’s Quest: Hunt for Blackbeard’s Booty Review

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It’s time for another Wii party game. It’s actually been quite a while since I got to play one so this was nostalgic. The actual games are better than most in this genre although that is fought back by the limited content in this game. Seriously, the game only has 5-6 minigames which is significantly less than pretty much any other party game. Name a title that has less minigames, I’ll wait. I give the game some kudos for actually getting a story together with actual cutscenes though. It’s not much but it shows that this game has more of a budget than the rest.

So the main mode is story mode of course. You can also just play the minigames freely in multiplayer mode as well which is where you’ll likely spend most of your time after beating the game. After all, there is nothing else to do. The main story mode has 3 worlds which each have the 5-6 minigames. It’s just the same ones that get recycled so this is an obvious ploy to extend the game without actually coming up with new content. It’s a little sloppy and forced if I’m being honest, but at least it’s only 3 worlds so it could have been much worse. The cutscenes explain how Blackbeard found his treasure. They’re fairly low budget, but not half bad. The story should last you for a full 2 hours. Multiplayer can be infinite but considering that you’ll likely switch to Mario Party before long, I doubt you’ll be sticking around. There’s really almost nothing to do in this game so buying it at full price would have been crazy. For only around 2 dollars though, it’s really not a terrible bargain.

The graphics are pretty underwhelming but what else is new right? It’s what I’d expect from a Wii game of this caliber. There isn’t much of a soundtrack either so just focus on the minigames. On a technical level the game does not surpass expectations and merely meets them half heartedly. So far this review has been pretty tough on the game eh? It’s time for the actual games then to see if they can save the title. First off is Poloball which is actually my favorite. It’s like Golf, but actually exciting and with more stakes. Essentially you have to hit a ball through about 10-16 checkpoints. Once you cross them all, then you get a poison ball and want to hit all of the other balls. Whoever gets the poison ball first naturally has a huge advantage over the others. The game can theoretically take a long time if everyone is good though. This is because the gates are narrow and if you bump another ball then you can shoot it far away. As a result, everyone could keep shooting each other’s balls away for a while which would make for a big stalemate. Hopefully that doesn’t happen.

The swordfighting game is probably the weakest one. It’s about swinging your Wii remote as the sword so you can see why this didn’t work out too well. The remote just won’t listen to you half of the time and it feels like the computer always has the edge. You’ll just want to keep swinging and hope for the best, but it doesn’t make for a very balanced minigame. It was generic at best. We had the tag team boat racing where one character controls the cannons while the other steers. This one is pretty fun although I don’t like the fact that if you get too far ahead of the opponent he is brought up to where you are. Kind of defeats the whole purpose of the minigame don’t you think? That felt like a big flaw.

Another minigame is treasure hunting. It’s also 2 on 2 which the game seemed to love. You have to dig for chests while the other team tries to whack you on the head. Then you switch placed after a certain amount of time or it happens instantly if they get both of you at the same time. This game has a lot of strategy behind it and I definitely enjoyed the game. You really have to try and stay one step ahead of your opponent throughout the game. Teamwork is also important because if both players go after one person then the other one has free reign. It’s pretty well done for the game. As you can see, in general the minigames are actually pretty good. They’re just really limited and you can only play a minigame for so long before you grow tired of it. I doubt I’d want to play too many games of poloball back to back after all.

Technically there are a bunch of a costumes, weapons, and characters to unlock. You’ll just notice very quickly that they don’t make for much of an incentive to grab them all. I was happy to grab some along the way with the in game currency but they’re way too pricey. I would have to play the game for a very long time to get them all and I’m not willing to make such an investment in time. Not on this game anyway and especially without any trophies for my efforts.

Overall, This game ranks up there with Casper as one of the shorter games. Perhaps the campaign is longer than the others since it is 2 hours, but in terms of actual content this one is way shorter than that. The lack of minigames just can’t be ignored. While there are unlockables they seem purely cosmetic so it’s not as if they really add a dimension to the game. If you find this title for 2 dollars then you should probably snag it but otherwise I’d advise getting a better party game instead. There is no shortage of other options to be honest as even the newest Mario Parties are better games than this one. Sorry Blackbeard, but my treasure is in another title.

Overall 5/10

Kawasaki Quad Bikes Review

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It’s time for a racing game that has really fallen to the side of the road. Nobody really knows about this game and that includes me. I just happened to run across it at Gamestop one day and thought that I should pick it up. It was only two dollars after all so that sounded like a steal to me. It plays out as you’d expect with really choppy Wii sensor controls but I can live with that. It’s pretty basic but you’ll quickly find that it has some replay value.

There as really two main modes, Tournament, and Free Play. Fortunately the game is multiplayer enabled so you can ride the tracks with a friend. It’s not 4 player so you can already feel the budget limitations. There are also a very limited amount of stages. There are 3 Cups with 8 races each but instead of 24 levels, a bunch of them are reused. I didn’t count them all since the screencaps are deceptively similar to each other to prevent you from even trying to undertake this task. Once you complete all of the tournament cups, you can try to do so again under a different difficulty setting. I didn’t bother with that since you can easily earn enough money to unlock the extra characters from the first three, but if you really like the game then that’s a good option.

You won’t be playing this game for very long, but the content is fairly reasonable. Multiplayer already adds replay value and the different difficulties should last you a while. The computers are fairly good even on default, but they tend to crash into the obstacles. Assuming that they don’t in the other levels, it’ll be extremely hard to beat them. This is partially due to their skill and partially due to the level designs and controls.

As I mentioned, the controls are rough. In the game you are constantly shaking since the ground is riddled with holes and bumps. You will barely be able to keep going straight during this time and turns are really tough without slowing down. If you go too fast or too slow during a hill then you’re probably going to lose valuable seconds from crashing. If the game doesn’t want you to crash just yet, you’ll simply get stuck. That happened to me a few times and it certainly gets pretty intense. I didn’t ask for this….but it’s how it goes. I like the concept of the game and bikes always make for a very dynamic gameplay style. This title just didn’t really make use of that.

However, while the gameplay is pretty bad, it’s bad in a fun way. I never had a problem replaying the levels because they are all pretty short. You can also restart a level as many times as it takes to win it so if you’re worried about having to restart a tournament from the beginning if you lose the last level, don’t be worried. Just replay the level (Before you cross the goal line though or the trick won’t work) and you’re all set. It’s a nice little trick that makes the game a whole lot better. Without this trick the game could have certainly gotten very dicey.

The graphics are all right. They’re certainly nothing special of course, but they’re not as bad as you may have expected. The soundtrack is also pretty bland but what else is new right? You’ll definitely need to be playing this game for the gameplay or just to laugh at it. Regardless of what your plan is, the game should be reasonably enjoyable for a weekend. You won’t be playing it long-term but what could you get that will last you for hours on a 2 dollar budget? It’s a pretty good deal for the price.

One addition that would have been fun for the game would be more bikes. There are only 6 bikes if I can recall them correctly and you unlock the extra ones almost instantly. That leaves nothing else to use your stars on so they quickly become pointless. Even if they were just color swaps, I would have liked to have gotten a bunch of other bikes to spice up the gameplay.

Overall, The name of this game is hard to recall and people may not really remember it, but I think the game’s about as good as you could expect. It’s certainly not going to worry the Need for Speed developers anytime soon, but I like to think that this game will inspire other companies to give the bike genre a shot. The main thing to learn from this is to have an even ground. The game would probably get a 7 if the path was smooth since that is really the main obstacle that hurts the game. So many things would be fixed if they just did this. I’d recommend picking the game up if you see it although odds are that you’ll be in the same room as a better racing game.

Overall 6/10