Tag Archives: Action

Blazblue: Calamity Trigger Review

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After all these years it feels good to finally be playing the Blazblue series. I always knew it as a super cool anime fighting game with nice cutscenes and great gameplay. It definitely lives up to the hype and the story is even more convoluted than you may expect. It makes for a great time all around and I’m definitely looking forward to seeing how the sequels go.

The general plot is that Ragna is trying to destroy all of the Library installations for some reason. This group is corrupt to downright evil, but what if that’s not the case? Their best operatives will be doing their best to stop Ragna, but commander Jin seems rather crazy himself. Meanwhile a bunch of other characters are running around trying to fulfill their own destinies and they’re all in the same area so they keep on meeting up. The game has a unique gimmick where the only way to get each character’s story to 100% is to win and lose each fight. This would mean a lot of restarts so I didn’t bother with that. Fortunately you still unlock the true ending by playing everyone’s stories which is cool.

It does feel like a bit of a forced way to add replay value though since you have to play so many stories. Additionally the true story is mainly a mix of Ragna and Noel’s stories except this time we’re seeing what really happened so in some ways you were playing some fake stories before. I suppose to an extent this is usually true for games with a lot of stories as most of them end up being fake but I think the game could have handled this in a bit of a more straight forward manner. The convoluted part was really intentional but granted, it was still very engaging the whole time.

This is a game where you either love the crazy aspect of it or you just think it’s trying a bit too hard. The series is always famous for its top tier soundtracks and this game definitely had that all the way. Each of the themes sounded fantastic and the game never lost any of its steam. It just kept on going with no end in sight. That’s absolutely what I like to see. I enjoyed almost all of the themes. Then the graphics look really good. Obviously it’s super impressive that we had fully hand drawn cutscenes right from the jump but in game the graphics were also really good. Lots of vibrant colors for the special attacks and all of the costumes were good. The stages had great backgrounds as well.

This is one of those games that was really ahead of its time. The sci-fi type menus and visuals were really excellent all the way through. Blazblue definitely did not disappoint me in any way. Then the gameplay is very fast paced. It can be difficult to really get the hang of though. I never figured out how to use any of the special moves but granted, I didn’t exactly check out any of the training/tutorial modes. For the most part the game isn’t very difficult but there is one boss fight near the end that really ramps up the difficulty all of a sudden. Now that is an absolutely insane boss fight that took me a whole lot of tries to complete. Don’t expect to defeat it too easily.

As a small quality of life update, it would be nice if you could directly replay a fight. When you lose you have to go back to the main menu and then manually load your previous save file. It’s a bit much if you ask me. It’s not like this takes a very long time but it’s an odd approach since most games would just let you directly retry the match. It makes more sense to retry directly because why would you just give up after one try right? That’s really my only slight issue. Beyond that the gameplay is really a lot of fun and the game really has enough content to keep you busy the whole time.

Overall, Blazblue: Calamity Trigger is a really fun game. I definitely had a blast with it. The character roster may be a tad small for a PS3 game but I may be a little spoiled by Super Smash Bros. Regardless, all of the characters have very distinct gameplay styles which work well with the game. You will have a lot of fun choosing who your main is going to be. There is a ton of replay value here in terms of getting trophies and of course endless replay value with the multiplayer mode. This is the kind of game that just keeps on giving. I highly recommend checking it out as soon as possible.

Overall 8/10

Escape Room: Tournament of Champions Review

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Escape Room 2 immediately makes me think of the second Maze Runner film. Sure the heroes may have survived the room the first time but can they do it a second time? The film does a pretty good job of bringing back the fun elements from the first film and I dare say that it even surpasses the original. There are a lot of great fakeouts here and the stakes definitely go even higher. My only complaint is that some of the characters don’t actually feel like champions.

The basic plot is that Zoey wants to crush the evil organization in charge of the escape rooms once and for all. Ben doesn’t think that this is a good idea but there’s no way he can say no to her so they head on over to NYC. Unfortunately they are mugged almost immediately which leads them to a train. Now if anyone knows the MTA, they know this was a lethal mistake. It’s not sick passengers or train delays that will get the best of them though, the whole car is instead being overloaded with electricity. The other passengers seem upset but not as panicked as they should be. Why? This isn’t their first rodeo! Each character here has won the Escape Room challenge in the past so this time the battle is between champions. Who will win the right to their continued existence this time?

I love the concept of this of course. This time you’re fighting with the cream of the crop and no scrubs allowed. Most of the puzzles are team based challenges so it’s not so much about being left behind but making any mistakes will cost you everything. So everyone should be very strategic since it’s unlikely that someone who was carried the whole time would win. The problem is…in this movie at least two of the characters don’t seem all that smart. So lets talk about the cast real quick.

Of course we know Zoey and Ben from the first film so there’s not much to say about them. They have both proven themselves a lot in the first movie and continue to look good here. I would say Zoey is absolutely smarter than Ben but he can still hold his own and they make for a good team. I wouldn’t say I love their characters or anything but they hold the film rather well. The pressure is more on the newcomers.

First up is Theo who panics a lot right from the jump. He doesn’t want to die here and talks about how unfair the whole thing is but he dies real fast. Now the way he died was a bit unavoidable so I don’t blame him there but he was just way too reckless the whole time. It’s hard to see how he survived the first time when he’s this emotional. You have to keep a cool head at least for a while. Like Zoey has a moment where she panics and grabs a door which activates a trap. That was a huge L but she has the rest of the film as evidence for how she is usually rather smart. (Although the scene did have me convinced that Zoey was a traitor for the rest of the film.)

Theo just didn’t add much. Then we have Brianna who also doesn’t seem ready for this. She doesn’t come up with almost any ideas during the adventure and seems to not have a real plan. She mainly follows the others and does her best there. Brianna’s not bad but again she doesn’t really feel like a champion which is the problem there. She’s not going to be saving anyone.

Nathan is someone who actually does feel like a champion though. He’s confident in his own plans and makes moves as needed. He has his big main character moment where he plunges ahead to solve the puzzle instead of listening to anyone. I actually appreciated that move a lot because it is definitely something that the main character would do if this was his film. He may have been wrong on the conclusion but most of his plan was really solid. He was also ready to jump in and save Rachel when she was in trouble and did so without hesitation. He’s probably the best character in the film I have to say.

Finally there’s Rachel who also has a commanding presence and did well. She has the ability to not feel pain which is pretty cool although in a lot of ways it’s very scary. Not being able to feel what’s happening to you can be a real nightmare depending on the circumstance and she seems to have had a dark past with the first set of Escape Room challenges. She does well in all of the challenges and proves herself as a strong competitor.

So out of the full cast only half of the new fighters live up to the hype. I put that on the film since they just needed to make the challenges a bit harder to show off everyone’s intellect before bumping them off. Kudos for not making anyone too unlikable though. In these films I think it’s important to have the main characters be teaming up instead of fighting with themselves. The puzzles are hard enough without having everyone be duking it out.

Now where the film really shines is the ending. It’s really brilliant all the way with how it ties into the beginning. I didn’t really pick up on any of the clues the first time around which is where I was really impressed. I didn’t read in between the lines and this is probably one of the first times where I didn’t suspect something right away. As the ending starts to play out you do connect the dots but even then, I didn’t to that extent. It’s all really cool and perfectly executed. Sort of like an ending out of Halloween or something but 100X cooler. I’d almost recommend watching the film just for the ending.

In general the whole movie is pretty well balanced though. There are a lot of fun challenges and different backdrops for each of the activities. This makes for a lot of variety and really keeps you on your toes the whole time. Some of the puzzles I do think are a bit much in terms of finding the solution. Like even while the characters are figuring it out you are super skeptical because it doesn’t really make sense. Some of it makes sense to be sure but most of it? Ehhhhhhhh I dunno. It’s Batman’66 levels of logic where he comes to the right answer and in a way it makes sense but it’s such a leap in logic that you’re not really sure how to feel about that.

I still liked all of the concepts and of course there was a NYC level in the game with some acid rain that was really intense. That had to be one of the more painful levels to be sure. Even if you played it perfectly you could expect to be hit by some acid drops. The film mainly avoids things getting too violent though. Some characters get burns and such but it’s actually rather tame. Nothing like the cube movie from a while back where everyone was really getting destroyed. This one lets you just enjoy all of the battles even with the life and death stakes.

Overall, I definitely enjoyed this one. I would recommend checking it out for any fans of thrillers out there. It did a great job of following up on the first one and I liked how strong the continuity was. We got actual flashbacks to the first film and everything. Every scene ends up being important by the end so it really wraps everything up well. I definitely recommend watching this film when you have a chance. It’s definitely a unique title that you won’t be forgetting!

Overall 7/10

My Hero Academia – U.A. Heroes Battle Review

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It’s time for the latest My Hero OVA. This could be one of the last chances for us to just see the gang hanging out before the big fights start up so the OVA was well timed. Basically the heroes are gearing up for New Year’s when Mirio shows up and starts flexing over all of them. He has a cool video game where you can have heroes fight it out and prove who the strongest really is. Deku and friends figure they will have a tournament but who can come out on top? It’s anyone’s guess.

Right away I will say that Mirio did really well here. I thought his pun was really good and he also managed to cheer everyone up rather effortlessly. That’s the sign of not just a good fighter but someone who is always in the moment. Now as for the fights themselves, they look pretty good. I think the animators had fun messing around here and making good action pieces since they could really do whatever they wanted. The game would absolutely be a hit if it ever came out. There are a few kinks that it needs to work out though.

Near the end of the special we get a very cheesy moment where All Might is shown to have a gameplay mechanic where he will ring himself out when fighting a dog. So you potentially auto lose because of a big weakness like that? It seems a bit weird and of course it was to set up the comedic ending for Bakugo but I wanted to see that guy dominate. I thought he had a pretty good strategy all the way through even with the game not being super balanced.

The Teacher cards get intense too since they can naturally one shot most of the student cards. The only catch is that they automatically die right after the match so you can only use that for stalemates or if you both have only 1 card left. There’s a lot of stuff you’d want to test out and workshop but for the most part the moral here is that the game’s not very balanced. So you better hope you get the strongest characters or you’ll be in a lot of trouble.

As always Mineta is pretty annoying here so you are hoping for him to get crushed the whole time. There’s no room for his shenanigans in this hero course. All of the characters are allegedly working to help save the planet after all and so if your teammate doesn’t have your back then it’s all over. It felt pretty good seeing his character get melted. Also probably nice for Ashiro to actually go all out since she usually has to hold back a whole lot.

The animation here is definitely solid. I thought the studio did a good job with the Bakugo vs Deku fight. This may be the final fight they ever get so we have to make it count. It’s also an older version of each character so it’s pretty nostalgic to see although of course that also leaves room for some excuses during the fight. That’s naturally the highlight of the OVA and what the whole tournament was building up to but I also liked the early rounds.

The game itself is just a lot of fun so naturally seeing someone play it is a good time. I appreciated the tactics used here and everything. The special has a lot of fun vibes and is an easy watch for around the holidays. This is what you think of for a special like this after all. It’s a chance for the cast to just hang out and have a good time. It’s also a realistic modern option because who isn’t playing video games around the holidays right? That’s absolutely the way to go if you want to pass a lot of time by. We’ll have to see what the next OVA is but for sure there are a lot of other ideas you can go with. The possibilities are really endless as long as you have Bakugo around to rile everyone up.

Overall, My Hero is definitely doing a good job with the OVAs. This is another very solid one and they had time to really give us a lot of different action scenes. Whenever the length is like a whole episode as opposed to just being 10 minutes then that is a very good thing. I mean if 10 minutes is all you’ve got then we’ll take it of course but with a whole episode’s worth of time you can just expand whatever concept you’re doing. The game here couldn’t have been done quite as much justice if it was only 10 minutes after all. So if you’re up for seeing the characters have some fun you should definitely check this one out.

Overall 7/10

Snowpiercer Review

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

Snowpiercer is a film that started out rather solid but got weaker as the film went on. It just wasn’t really able to handle the amount of pressure on its shoulders. The film started to go more into shock value and the whole ending starts to get annoyed. I’ll give the film props for the surprise ending since I didn’t expect it to go so dark with the bear but it works pretty well. Sometimes humanity just isn’t ready for the comeback.

The film introduces us to a world that has entered a new ice age. Humanity has been wiped out with the exception of all the people aboard one long train. This train never stops and continues to circle the planet constantly. The train cars divide the rich from the poor so the rich get an amazing life with everything that they could ever want while the poor struggle to just barely survive. They only get the scraps at best and so Curtis has been waiting a while to launch a full scale rebellion. It’s a risky plan because no rebellion has ever succeeded before. Still, he can’t just continue to live life the way he has been because there is no future to it. So he gathers everyone up and preparers to move forward. Time to see if they can pull this off.

The deck is stacked against the heroes in a lot of ways of course. They have the sheer numbers advantage by a great deal which is their only advantage. The enemies have better equipment and homefield advantage though. Curtis and the others have to learn as they go while the villains have cameras and already know the layout. So that makes things tricky and it turns out that the villains also have some of the best fighters on the ship. As the film goes on we also see just how different life on the rich side is.

The whole film really focuses on the parallels here as the poor don’t have enough food to even survive but the rich are rather wasteful. The poor are unlikely to see any fresh water while the rich have whole pools to have fun with. In general this is the poor vs the rich in a very literal way and it’s fun to watch the main characters try to get to the end of the train. So you may be thinking, what’s the problem?

Well so first up we have the backstory for Curtis that shows up later on. The film wants to show us to a really intense degree how much the main characters had to go through. This involves murder and cannibalism and it felt like a very unnecessary addition to the film. We didn’t need these extra details because their lives sucked enough as it is. Adding these details is just to make the whole movie very grim dark.

Then by the end of the film we find out what happens to the kids. Yeah here we go, the whole film you know it’s going to be something rather sinister and of course that is the case. It’s another messed up subplot and the whole thing is so traumatic that the kid gets brainwashed into this rather quickly. There wasn’t exactly anyone to help the kids out after all. Other characters get limbs chopped off, murdered, etc. The body count in the film is rather high and it’s not afraid to get rather violent at times. The movie is rather brutal and the message is basically that you can’t beat the system. At most you can try for mutually assured destruction which isn’t all that satisfying.

We see that what the main characters are forced to eat is rather gross but that’s the film’s style so you aren’t all that surprised. Basically what it boils down to is that the film overplays its hand tremendously. After a point you get it, it sucks to be poor in this setup. Every revelation after that is just to make the whole situation more and more messed up. The heroes also tend to lower their guard a whole lot during the battles which results in their getting shot. The stakes are a their absolute highest here so you really just have to keep on shooting and fighting back.

One of the most intense fights is definitely when the heroes broke into a gang car and had to start fighting each other. That was definitely real crazy and I have to say I don’t know how they survived for long once the room went dark. It felt like they should all have been immediately slaughtered at that point. It’s good that they weren’t of course but when you can’t even see the opponents that is hard to get around.

As for the villains, well they’re basically ultra evil so there isn’t much to say about them. The main villain is rather psychotic and the fact that Curtis listens to his whole speech for so long and freezes up by the end was crazy. This is the guy at the top, you have to take him down immediately. The whole climax was a bit surreal with the villain not reading the room and Curtis not really doing anything. It is easy to see how this setup worked for so long though since they have so much power. In a way the whole film shouldn’t have been as long as it was.

The only real excuse would be that the villains wanted to have some fun because they were super bored. That could work but otherwise they could have ended this at any point. I haven’t seen a situation so rigged in a while. The film definitely works best when everything was a mystery. I do think the train setting worked well and it’s a very interesting film. Ultimately it just got way too mean spirited by the end and you also start to wonder what the whole point of it all was. I don’t think that the second half really stuck the landing the way that it could have.

Overall, Snowpiercer is definitely a film that’s not for the faint of heart. You’re going to see just how intense an uprising can be and how a lot of casualties really start forming in order for the main characters to even stand a chance. A prequel could be interesting to see more about how the setup was first implemented and the original rebellions. We do know that things won’t end well which takes out some of the fun but I am curious how this started. Of course once the villains have been winning for hundreds of years it is easy to see how they have all of the power but how was this accumulated in the first place? That’s what I would really like to know.

Overall 3/10

Shakma Review

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

All right it’s time for a pretty spooooky film. I mean it is basically a horror and the enemy is like a creature so I’d say it fits the bill. The movie is definitely an intense one but suffers from all of the usual issues like animal violence and over the top violence in general. This film will have you wincing almost constantly which as you can imagine, can make it hard for the film itself to succeed.

The film starts off with a bunch of doctors/assistants gearing up for their next big game. They run a sort of dungeons and dragons type game in the hospital. After hours they set up all of the rooms and lock down each of the floors. The professor has a virtual system to keep track of everything and coordinates the efforts as the Gamemaster. The first person to get enough clues and free the princess wins. They’ve been doing this for a long time with no problems but one of the girls accidentally mentions the game in front of one of the new hires. Now he wants to play too but the guy’s not very serious and could hold them back. So the characters decide to give him the role of monster to scare people and afterwards he finds out that he’s missing out on a date by being here. So he intends to sabotage the game so that it goes very quickly but what none of them realize is that a dangerous monster is already on the loose, Shakma! Shakma is aiming to destroy all of them as soon as possible so he must not be underestimated.

So Shakma is a baboon and not the most intimidating one on sight. He is fierce and aggressive but you’re jus wondering what would make him scary. Do you really fear such an opponent as this guy? He tends to murder everyone with a quick bite as the first blow and then once the opponent is on the ground it’s over. It’s technically a pretty impressive combo starter because if he bites the right place then it’s all over. There’s really nothing for the opponent to do. So I sort of get that and acknowledge that he fights smart but I still wouldn’t call him very scary. The concept of the Shakma is scarier like when you see him from a distance or on the poster. You absolutely get it but in practice…eh I don’t think he is ready for the big leagues.

Unfortunately most of the characters are super annoying. These are the kinds of people who will just sit back and watch as someone is being torn apart in front of them. I get panicking and everything like when the chips are down but this is just too much. You need to have some characters to root for and this makes them very unlikable. Take the guy who was trying to sabotage the whole game over a date. It’s an awful look because he asked to be a part of the game early on. Yes, he started to have second thoughts about this but he didn’t voice them soooo…I can’t feel all that bad for him. He just needed to do his best and actually participate.

The professor was the most likable character by far. He had a lot of patience and was doing his best to make the game a success. I imagine that it takes a lot of work to set up the whole program each time. So he gets a whole lot of credit there. You were rooting for him to be the one to defeat Shakma. Meanwhile the rest of the students would just keep on splitting up over and over again. Even right up to the end the final 2 survivors decide to split up again. Are you serious?

I dare say that they make the average horror movie characters look smart in comparison. These guys are making so many mistakes that you start to have trouble keeping track of them all. They just keep on coming one after the other. A lot of times the excuse is that they want to look for one of the other teens who got bumped off since they don’t know that he was bumped off yet. The problem with this is after a point you at least need to let the cops know first. The worst part of the film’s logic here is the phones.

Each time they think about calling the cops, they decide to do something first. No, call the cops first and then keep looking around if you want. Every room should have a phone in the hospital or at least most of them. Where were all of the phones when they were needed?? It doesn’t make any sense at all. I felt like I was just watching madness here after a while. The setting of this film taking place in a hospital makes it so that none of this makes sense.

In fact, what about security in general? Sure this is after hours so the staff aren’t around but you mean to tell me that none of the guards were patrolling these floors during the game? Yeah I have more and more doubts as the film goes on. This just doesn’t mesh with logic. The film was doomed already with all the shock value though. I don’t really see the point of the surgery scene from the intro either. We know they work in a hospital so stuff like that happens, why do we gotta see it? Feels like it was just there as a cheap thrill which is no good.

Overall, Shakma is a classic creature feature film to an extent but all the violence is dialed up to 11. It definitely feels like one of the more violent titles that I’ve seen in a minute. In a way it’s probably because of how drawn out each of the murders are. They just keep on going and going. Then of course you have the live surgeries and everything. Nah this film was definitely not for me and loses out to most of the other creature films. This one did surprise me with how the story ends but that’s more of a thumbs up for me and not something I’d raise the score over. It just showed that the film wasn’t afraid to be rather bold and take things in a different direction.

Overall 1/10

Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 Review

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It’s time for Xenoverse 2, one of the most well known games in all of Dragon Ball. That alone is a very impressive feat because there have been so many huge games over the years. Basically what happened is that the game has a ton of DLC updates and they have been going on and on for years with no end in sight. So at this point some people have basically grown up alongside the game which is super impressive. With the game being ported over to the PS5, I knew it was time to dive right in!

The basic plot here is that villains have returned to cause a bunch of trouble with the timestream. I’m not talking basic troubles either but end of the world type stuff. Mira and Towa are going to make it so that evil wins the day. Trunks and Terry from the first game are possibly in over their heads so that’s where Terry Jr comes in. He is ready to help save the day and show off the true powers of a Saiyan elite! You have the option to pick from a bunch of different races but of course I was going to go with the Saiyans. They’re always the best after all! There’s a lot of special dialogue you get from the characters too for being a Saiyan although I imagine that’s probably true for the rest of the types as well.

My only issue with the story is that it goes a bit too linearly. This was my slight problem with the first game too. Naturally the villains decide to mess with the Saiyan Saga first, then Namek, then Androids, then Buu, etc. We follow DBZ through the 2 DBZ-Super movies in a row without going out of order once. Considering that the game is about messing with the timeline and everything, it feels like the game jus plays it way too safe. I’m always glad to see Mira show up with the other villains to break things up but it’s really like reliving DBZ with some new elements as opposed to it being a completely new story.

I love all the classic DBZ content as much as the next guy so I still have a blast the whole time but it just feels like a wasted opportunity considering how many expanded villains and scenarios you could pull off with the timeline going crazy. Without a doubt this could have been as crazy as Dragon Ball Heroes. Ah well, I did really appreciate that you get to see the avatar from the first game return. That was a cool attention to detail and a reminder on the strong continuity between the two games.

Naturally the gameplay is a real blast here. It’s a full 3D fighter with a ton of characters and you get to really test out all of their moves. For your avatar you can naturally change the moveset up a ton. So feel free to try out all of the special abilities until you find one that you like. It takes a while to unlock the transformation into a Super Saiyan but in the meantime you still have plenty to work with. There is also a level system so make sure you get those level ups promptly.

The hub world is so huge that you might even find it to be rather intimidating the whole time. There are so many side missions and bonus content to tackle there that you barely know where to start. There’s over 100 Parallel Quests, different instructors, etc. They just keep on coming over and over and over. The trickiest part is when the game randomly makes this part of the story like getting 15 badges. That took a while because I never bothered with that at all. So I would recommend doing some side content early on to start building up your stash and getting that ready. Likewise with the instructor trainings to get Super Saiyan 2 or you will have to do a whole lot at once.

You can tell that the devs really wanted you to go ahead and play through a bunch of the content that they set up. I definitely get it, they worked hard on that. At the same time, it does feel rather forced which I do have to admit here. Just let me continue the battles! The gameplay has dramatically improved from the first title though. The hits link up way better and now there’s an actual reason to use special techniques as opposed to just punching everyone into oblivion. I really appreciated that since in the first game I did find it weird how weak the energy blasts were.

A sequel should always improve upon the original and that’s exactly what Xenoverse 2 did. Naturally the same is true for the graphics which are a bit sharper and look great as you would expect. Then you have the soundtrack which was a big jump up. The ost is incredible with a whole lot of big rock themes around every corner. A good soundtrack can also help to make the story events themselves more impressive as well so that’s a nice ripple effect. I had to Youtube a bunch of the themes right away after hearing them. They were too good to pass up.

Overall, Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 is really the complete package. There’s just so much content to play around with here. It’s extremely impressive and the gameplay is top tier. While the story could have been bolder, I definitely still enjoyed it a lot. Whenever the game would switch from a cutscene to a fully hand drawn scene I also felt the extra hype there. You can bet that I would be lining up to buy Xenoverse 3 immediately on day 1 as soon as it comes out. You just can’t miss out on content like this.

Overall 9/10

Mobile Suit Gundam Extreme Vs. Maxiboost On Review

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Gundam is one of those series that has so many games and shows and movies that it’s hard to know where to start. I’ve played a few of the games back in my day though and they were always fun. So I figured I could expect a similar level of entertainment from this game. I do wish it had a real story mode but the gameplay is fun and overall it’s extremely impressive how many characters are present here. It’s truly an ultimate collection for Gundam fans.

The main gameplay style here is that of a 2 vs 2 brawler. It’s in 3D and you use your blasters and occasional energy sword to take your opponents down. The first team to lose all of their lives will suffer defeat in the match. You have around 6 lives split between you and your teammate and depending on how strong your machine is will determine how many lives you lose when your robot is destroyed. At the end of the day though your strategy will remain the same. Just don’t get hit and you will be fine. Of course when the levels are this chaotic that can be a little difficult.

So there are well over 100 robot suits to choose from here. The game breaks up the roster based on series which is pretty cool. It does mean you have a lot of scrolling to do but it’s a clear way to identify each Gundam. Then when you choose the Gundam you can choose out of 3 different modes you want to fight as. By the end I usually went for balanced since it seems like the best bet but long range and short range can be fun too. You just need to master the gameplay a lot more before you can pull that off. Otherwise you’re just going to get absolutely obliterated the instant you head into the fray.

This game doesn’t have a tutorial or training mode at the ready though which is too bad. This is one of the few games where I would have appreciated that. There’s just a whole lot that you have to sift through here from various weapons and special abilities. So if you’re not constantly on your A game then you’re gonna be in some real trouble here. I was mostly just button mashing and I can tell you that this doesn’t fly in the Gundam games. Unless you know what you are doing you will ultimately be crushed. That’s just the way that it is. So I couldn’t really get to enjoy the gameplay mechanics to their fullest extent but I still had fun.

The graphics are naturally very solid here. The robots all look on point and the level designs have a lot of detail to them Everything is very vibrant at all times and each level stands out. The soundtrack is a bit more forgettable but there were a lot of tracks in the music menu so I’m guessing there are some really solid ones in there that I just didn’t come across yet. Once you factor those in then I’m sure the soundtrack is probably good overall.

In the end this game is definitely going to have the most value for true Gundam fans. The online scene already seems dead from when I was trying to find a match so you better have someone that you can play it offline with. Technically you have unlimited replay value with the vs mode but that is all assuming that you really love the gameplay. It needs to be a top tier fighting game for you or the whole thing will just not be worth your while. For me, it’s a fun game but not one I’d be clamoring to pick up again in the future.

Overall, Gundam makes for a good robot combat title. It’s always been solid in the past and I don’t see that changing in the future either. It’s really quite impressive. That being said, not having a story mode will always be a blow against it. Some fighting game titles like Super Smash Bros can get away with this but most cannot. Even if it’s a really basic arcade mode type setup, I want a character ending and some interactions. It helps to make the whole thing more real. This one is satisfied to be a super basic fighting game. Albeit, one with an absolutely huge roster which I give them full credit for. It’s extremely impressive and I’ll probably look at the game more fondly once I know more of the Gundam fighters.

Overall 7/10

Ranking all of the Naruto Openings

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Naruto is a pretty big series. One of those titles that everyone thinks of as soon as they discover anime. It’s like DBZ, it’s an absolute pioneer to the genre. So it’s time to rank all of the openings to the original Naruto. Wait that opening picture isn’t from Naruto?? Eh lets keep it moving, we’ve got a decent amount of ground to cover although less than the complete openings from Shippuden. I’m not always the big fan of openings from the longer running titles for some reason so it’s time to see how Naruto fares here.


9. Opening 5 has a fairly somber intro although it kicks up after that. The singer isn’t quite able to handle the vocals for the most part which puts this one on the lower end. He doesn’t have quite as much music to back him up as in the other intros which puts him in a dicey position. I don’t think the opening really captures the show as well as the others so this one is rounding out the end of the pack.


8. Opening 6 definitely has a bit of a crazy vibe to it. A lot of yelling for sure although not much in the way of rhythm. We don’t get a ton of energy in terms of the animation either so that hurts this one. It doesn’t quite nail the action vibe without the fights and it’s a bit too loud for a slice of life opening so it ends up being caught in the middle there. It’s a step up from opening 5 but still isn’t in the higher tiers.


7. Opening 3’s definitely got a very different vibe to it than the first two openings that came out for the show. A lot more on the happier side than the first two. Not that they were dark or anything but this one’s more like a party. Less hype than the second intro but smoother as a listen. Maybe a tad too high pitched so you’d almost slow it down a bit but fun enough. It was the weakest of the first intros though.


6. Opening 2 has a lot of solid animation and looks good with the fights everywhere so I appreciated the foreshadowing. It was really introducing fans to what was going to be in store. My main issue is I don’t care for the music as much. While all the yelling and everything is getting the rock tone across, it doesn’t help the theme’s replay value. It doesn’t end up being quite as catchy as opening 1. The beat itself is really good, the singing just not as much. So it gets closer to the halfway point but doesn’t quite reach there.


5. Opening 4 is probably the one that I’ve heard the most often through the years. It’s definitely a fairly loud opening to go in with Naruto’s high energy spirit the whole time. The animation doesn’t get to show off all that much here with the cast just having fun. It’s okay but doesn’t leave a real big impact on you. The catchiness is what helps to get it higher up though, I can listen to this one pretty easily.


4. Opening 9 is one of those emotional openings but it’s catchy and works well. The animation is stylistic but in a bit of a low budget way. The silhouettes just don’t really work for me. Still, the song itself is very pleasant which helps a whole lot. I would definitely have this one on in the background from time to time and just enjoy the vibes.


3. Opening 8 is definitely a high tier opening. Good blend of fast paced music and solid animation. It is a very solid all around song that hits each of the areas fairly well. It’s impressive to have such a high end song near the end since this was likely for some of the filler sagas. Just goes to show that the series was not about to phone it in near the end.


2. Opening 1 definitely has a very retro vibe to it. It sounds a lot older than the show itself although at this point the anime could be considered retro which is kinda crazy. I like the animation and it’s nice to see the whole squad fighting together as a team. Not really much foreshadowing or anything but works as the first opening rather well. I’d say it’s pretty catchy and something you could show anyone to get the vibe of the show.


1. Opening 7 is a real surprise hit. I don’t remember the opening very well from back in the day but after listening to it again it hits the right balance on being emotional and fun. I felt a lot more energy on this one and the animation was also very stylistic. It works really well and is just a lot of fun overall. I would say it is ultimately the best out of all the openings so definitely give it a listen when you are able to. You won’t forget it.

Asura’s Wrath Review

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It’s time to check out the classic known as Asura’s Wrath. I remember that this game always looked super hype when I would see the cover around or even any bits of the gameplay. The feats and characters were all very over the top which worked really well. Ultimately the game may not have done as well as it should have but I would definitely say that for me it did live up to the hype.

The game starts off by introducing us to the various gods who fight corrupted monsters that plague humanity. It appears to be a just cause and Asura does his best to make the world a safer place. Unfortunately he is framed for murdering the emperor one day and his wife is murdered while his daughter is kidnapped. The gods intend to use Asura’s daughter to power their army for eternity until the monsters have been vanquished and this is not an acceptable proposition for Asura. So he decides to take matters into his own hands and destroy all of them. Does he have the power to pull this off though?

While Asura is super powerful, the same is true for the rest of the fighters. In fact, Asura is put at a real disadvantage here because he is destroyed and doesn’t return for 12,000 years. So his skills have not improved while everyone else has ascended to a higher level. The game definitely has bigger time skips than you would expect for any title so it really uses their immortality to the story’s advantage. The gods also appear to be robotic in nature which you could make a lot of fun theories about to be sure. This doesn’t stop them from gaining new power through the energy system known as mantra though. The reason they need Asura’s daughter is that her prayers allow them to focus their powers. She basically improves their abilities on a continuous basis although obviously this isn’t a great setup for her which is why Asura wants to step in.

Some of these fighters try to at least act noble like they’re doing this for a good cause while other members just embrace that they’re being evil and do their best to be massive jerks. You are absolutely rooting for Asura the whole time because all of the other characters just seem crazy. They’re taking the concept of murdering a few to save many to a very huge extreme. For example we learn that they ended up murdering trillions to absorb their life forces to create a robot that can destroy the evil monsters once and for all. The idea is that if they do this then they can create a perfect utopia for eternity.

Fast forward long enough and even trillions of deaths will seem like a small number. Of course you can see how this is still rather insane and a few of the enemies show their true colors when they laugh about how humans exist to serve them anyway so this isn’t a big deal. Yeah Asura really needed to wipe the system clean. In a way he feels like the Hulk or Doomsday here. He is constantly unlocking new abilities and getting stronger as he gets angrier. When he is defeated he just regroups and comes on back. His anger is so high that even death cannot hold him for very long. It’s a really cool premise.

The game goes all in on the aesthetic here too which is what makes the whole game possible. You’re seeing the characters shatter ships the size of planets and moving at incredible speeds. The feats are all crazy here and the characters act like this is completely normal. That’s because it is normal in this context which is what’s so impressive. Then you’ve got the soundtrack which is really good. I liked just about all of the themes here. They’re all really epic and definitely get you hyped for the fights that come up.

It should come as no surprise that the graphics are also really good. The character models are really on point and the energy effects are all really good. This is a game that you can seamlessly play on the PS5 and admire just how solid it looks. Everything about the game was very carefully crafted with no issues at all. Now that’s not to say that the game is literally perfect. It is true that the game could definitely stand to be longer. There are 18 chapters in the game and each one is fairly short. More than a few only have around 5-7 minutes of gameplay while the rest are cutscenes. So you breeze through the game very quickly.

I enjoyed the gameplay a lot so it would have been fun to have gotten to play some more. I was really enjoying how the fights let you play around with the counter attack/quick time action features and of course there was a lot of fun to be had in just bashing the enemies with your standard attacks. The battles ending when you unlocked your rage mode was also a pretty cool approach. The game had a fun gimmick there that was original without being annoying or anything like that.

In the end a lot of the hype around this game is also thanks to the story being so good. It’s a really compelling story that just drags you in and you’re always at the edge of your seat. It’s a shame that some of the chapters are hidden behind DLC since that would help with the length issue but the ending is really intense. Definitely one of those cliffhangers that you are unlikely to forget. Having to replay the whole last level to see the extra cutscene you unlock is a bit much but like I said, the levels are short so it wasn’t all that bad.

Overall, Asura’s Wrath is an elite game to be sure. The gameplay is really out of this world and the quick time events are so much fun. They definitely take up most of the game so it ends up being like an interactive movie at times but when the story is this good you don’t need anything else. I highly recommend checking this game out. It really is a very unique experience and you aren’t likely to forget it anytime soon. Hopefully one day it is old enough to be nostalgic and we get a full blown sequel.

Overall 9/10

The Last Blade 2 Review

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This is a fighting game that I had definitely never heard of before but it sure is fun. You feel like they put some extra effort into this title relative to the average fighting game. For starters there are some fun illustrations here for the story aspect. There is a real ending when you beat the arcade mode. Not just a quick picture or something but a true story. The opening is good as well and I really liked the vibes here. The characters all have great designs and movesets.

I never played the original Last Blade but the fact that this one continues after the first title is a good thing. You can feel the continuity here all the way through. The lines and twists would hit harder if you had any kind of context for them but I’m still glad to see them around. The game has vs mode aside from arcade of course but there isn’t a ton of content here. So the story that we do get really goes a long way to making the game be more memorable. The genre has a lot of competition and even back in those days there were always a ton of games being churned out left and right. So what that means is that you needed to try hard in order to stay ahead of the curve and that’s not easy.

I’m surprised you don’t see this game series around more nowadays since I feel like the game would do well. It had that anime feel to it and the actual gameplay is fairly fast paced. It’s your classic 2D fighter all the way through and the characters deal a whole lot of damage. So if you take the wrong combo you will be knocked out almost instantly. Of course by the same token that means you just need to land a good hit and you will be the one claiming victory. So definitely don’t give up, if you strike hard and fast then you will always have the ticket for victory. The game is really about proper spacing so you definitely need to be careful when you throw a strike.

I approached the title with my usual button mashing style which I have to admit worked rather well here. Most opponents are just unable to stop my combos but some matches did take me a while. I will always stand by the fact that games were simply way more difficult back in the day than they are now. Games in the present could mostly be blasted through at any point but for the older ones you really had to work at it. Easy mode itself could be a little difficult at times.

The graphics are pretty good like I mentioned earlier with the illustrations. The soundtrack isn’t very memorable but you win some and you lose some. The writing is also where the game really stands out, there are a lot of great lines here. The characters really have no chill and will deliver some of the biggest verbal smackdowns that you have ever seen. Seriously I was impressed but also a bit nervous at just how hard these guy went. It’s the kind of dialogue you won’t see as often nowadays because it can tow the line but I think it works out since these guys are villains. It also gives you an incentive not to lose. If you lose then you’re just going to have to put up with that.

Overall, The Last Blade 2 is a pretty fun game. It’s always cool to find a hidden gem inside the PSN+ like this. It may not be a title that changes everything that I ever knew or anything like that but it’s fun which is the important part. I always enjoy fighting games quite a lot so this is another one that I can then add to the list. If there was to be a new game for the series on PS5 or something I would definitely check it out. This setting with full blown cutscenes and everything would be absolutely intense! I know that’s probably a longshot though but either way I would recommend checking this game out at least. It’s a real blast.

Overall 7/10