This Blue Lock spinoff is definitely top tier stuff. It absolutely holds its own against the average sport series and then some. Of course the original Blue Lock is still the best but I’m impressed with how in depth this is going so far. I’ll have a review up for this series as soon as it’s been completed.
Overall 9/10
Stats time!
PS4 Trophies 7/25
Best Arcade Time: Reptar: 3m 12s
That title is definitely a mouth full eh? Well it’s always nostalgic to see more Tsubasa content. This movie is super short and reminds me of the old school OVAs like Naruto’s hidden waterfall village where its all over in an instant. We still get some fun fights and visuals here though so all in all I was pretty satisfied. It’s probably a bit of an odd film if you watch this without having seen the show but the movie did go out of its way to include a full recap of what’s going on in the intro so maybe they were trying to get some new fans here.
The basic plot is Syaoran and Sakura land on another planet where a feather containing a key memory is being stored. This planet is ruled by an evil dictator who wants to plunge the world into endless darkness and to do this he intends to kidnap the princess and use her ring. Syaoran has to stop this but the guy is protected by legendary bird warriors who are pretty fast. He needs the help of Fai and Kurogane but they are busy being kidnapped somewhere and he doesn’t have the time to save them. What can he do?
Okay I should give those characters some credit. Kurogane and Fai do take out some enemies before they are captured but even so, they are the power hitters so it certainly doesn’t make Syaoran’s job any easier when they go down like that. They are captured off screen which is not the best move but I do get it since it’s hard to picture them losing otherwise. The writers probably had a hard time justifying it so that’s why this had to be cut out. We do get to see them dismantle the human guards early on though which was a lot of fun. The movie is more plot than action but the fights that we do get are well animated.
In terms of visuals the most impressive shots were probably when Syaoran was using the ring of blue flames at the end. The flames look really bright and the contrast works really well next to the other colors. Syaoran trying to fight off the bird people was also animated well even if it feels weird to see him being overwhelmed so easily. I guess he wasn’t always a super strong fighter but late stage Syaoran probably would have fared a whole lot better with his sword and other abilities.
The film’s original characters are okay but due in part to the length you never care about them all that much. You have the princess who seems like a good character and all but she’s a little outmatched since she can’t really fight. Her chief guard loses all of the fights he’s in which isn’t the best first impression. There’s also a kid here who tries his best to be helpful but tends to fail. I did like the main villain though. Yes he’s a bit on the generic side but it works well for this kind of “Take over the world!!” villain. There’s no time to make a complex villain so why even try right? A stock evil villain can actually work well under the right conditions and I would say that these were the right conditions.
The soundtrack is solid as always. It uses a lot of the tracks from the show but the instrumental versions with no opera music for some reason. Not sure why the change, but they sounded good anyway which is what counts. Throwing in a lyrical song for the climax would have been cool but it was epic enough anyway. The production values were pretty good here and I didn’t have any issues with the pacing.
In general I wouldn’t even say I had any issues with the film. At best you could say it just doesn’t feel like a movie. The stakes aren’t particularly high and there’s nothing really separating it from just being another episode. So this isn’t some grand experience and paying money to see it in theaters may have been rough (Although it was a double feature so you can cut it some slack) but watching it like this just helps to amp up the nostalgia. It doesn’t have to be super memorable, just enjoyable and it succeeds on that front.
Overall, Tsubasa churns out another solid product here. The special gives you a lot to have fun with and doesn’t make any kind of mistakes. It could probably have stretched the limits a bit and gone for higher stakes but rather than focusing on what it’s missing I’d say to focus on what is here. Tsubasa’s plot lends itself really well to random movies and specials because of how many planets they had to go to in order to find the feathers. So just treat this as a fun episode and you can’t go wrong. I’d definitely recommend it to anyone looking to see Syaoran and the gang again.
Overall 7/10
It’s time for another fantastic RPG and this one gets exciting right out of the gate with the top tier gameplay and soundtrack. There’s a lot to love here and the positives just keep on rolling the whole time. The story is very strong with an emotional message about slowing forming bonds of friendship with others. The game even sidesteps the potential romance angle to actually have a wholesome friendship plot with no strings attached. Definitely great stuff all around.
The plot starts out by introducing us to a magic tool repairer. He’s a very serious kind of guy who is virtually emotionless and has no friends. He just does his duty and keeps it moving. Well, one day a bunch of monsters attack while he is working on repairs and he tries to stop it but nothing works. This ends up resulting in his blowing up a house which at best slows the creature down. What he didn’t realize is this was the home of a little girl who had been living by herself. To make it up to her he agrees to find a new place where she can live an uneventful life. It won’t be easy but now the two of them can be a team. Along the way they get wrapped up in a battle of utterly cosmic proportions with beings that transcend the very world itself. Aliens exist and there are a bunch of kingdoms fighting for global supremacy. All the hero wants to do is find a quiet place for this girl to live but he won’t let any of this stop him from making that a reality!
The gameplay here is your classic turn based adventure but with all of the extra bells and whistles that you always see in a Kemco game. You can speed up gameplay, turn off animation, etc. The new gimmick this time is you can summon little animals to help you out in combat. Personally I never really saw the point since they seemed weaker than the actual characters so I ended up putting them to the side. Still you could send them on missions to get items so that was cool. You don’t get the guaranteed currency for winning 3 battles in a row here the way you could in some older Kemco games but I can also see how that might make things a little too easy so I get why it wouldn’t be here now.
The level cap is very high since I managed to get all the way to level 500. I’m guessing 999 would be the max but it’s not like you really need to worry about that since you can get the Platinum a lot sooner. The trophies are all pretty reasonable and none of them should take you a whole lot of time. They are a great way to add a little replay value to the experience without feeling tedious or like you are wasting your time. So in that sense the game is once again landing a big W here because that’s how trophies should be. They should lengthen and enhance the experience but not make you regret going for 100%.
The story itself was also good with a lot of twists and turns. I already talked about how the game made some good decisions with the dynamics before. The character designs are on point and there are always a lot of moving pieces on the board which I appreciate. There is a good amount of world building here and the game stays epic the whole way through while having some emotional moments in there as well. So it’s super well balanced which again is not particularly surprising.
The soundtrack is pretty excellent. A lot of real fast paced tunes and intense boss fight themes. Unfortunately most of the tracks are not on Youtube yet but at least the main battle theme is which is the important part. I recommend giving it a good listen. The graphics look good with all of the illustrations really being on point. On the technical aspects the game is absolutely excellent and that’s why this is possibly the best company at making turn based RPGs. There really isn’t much more you can ask for. It hits every note on how to make the experience as fun as possible.
Surprisingly there is only one ending this time instead of having a bunch. Maybe they figured the ending was just that good so they didn’t need other versions this time. Who knows maybe it’ll get a sequel some day. Most of these RPGs don’t get sequels but sometimes they end up appearing and it’s hard to predict which title will continue. I’d still love some kind of big crossover game with all of their properties at some point but it would definitely be really ambitious and take a lot of time. Hopefully at some point in the future though!
Overall, This was a great game all around. You have a pretty solid main character cast with a lot of good character dynamics between them. The game is a decent length and it should take you some time to beat the game because of all the level ups you need. I ended up beating the game at around Level 500 which was absolutely overkill but it was also fun to just walk in and stomp the villains. It’s not every day you get to destroy the final boss like that after all. I’d definitely recommend this game if you’re looking for a solid RPG. It really doesn’t get much better than this after all.
Overall 8/10
I knew that this game was going to be a winner the instant it was announced. It still took me a little while to buy it but hey…better late than never right? It does feel a little barebones though which is why you wanted to wait for a discount because at full price this would really not be worth it at all. There is no story mode so you will just be playing arcade mode over and over again for the single player content. The multiplayer is the main hook of the game of course but I wouldn’t say that it is a very strong hook to be honest compared to the competitors. If you look at the game on its own though then it does well enough.
So you’ve got a decent amount of characters here. I’m pretty sure it’s over 20. All the classics like Spongebob and Danny Phantom. Admittedly I did not watch a lot of Nick as a kid so the character roster is definitely not as nostalgic as it would be to someone who grew up with the characters. That being said, I still know most of the characters through reputation so that’s something. I feel like the Ninja Turtles have the best movesets here. The weapons really help them have a solid range.
That said, I played way too casually to really be giving any serious tier list advice here. Try all of the characters and see what you think. There is definitely a lot to absorb here. The gameplay is the same as the Super Smash Bros experience. You have normal moves, specials, a third jump, and power attacks. Use these to knock the opponent off of the platform so they can lose a life. Repeat the process until time is up or all stocks have been removed. Then at that point you will have won the match.
There aren’t many unlockables to be had here but you can alter the rules so that the matches are all different. You can also jump online and fight other players. As mentioned that is a pretty big draw since you can fully test just how good you are. It’s easy to style on the computers of course but the real test is going up against other people who have put in a lot of time. The online servers will probably be pretty dead once the sequel comes out so you should keep that in mind. Of course there is still local multiplayer mode as well and some trophies will require you to be on there for quite a while.
There is a lot of replay value here thanks to the multiplayer options. So while the single player is rather limited, that is really just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the total experience. So keep that in mind, particularly since the price for this game is relatively cheap right now. It’s really not bad value for your dollar and in general I just love fighting games. So getting to play one is always a real treat even if there isn’t much to it. A fighting game is a great genre in that you don’t need much. As long as the gameplay is smooth and implemented carefully then you should really be all set.
The graphics are pretty good here. Perhaps not top of the line or anything like that but they are modern with no obvious issues. The soundtrack is more on the really underwhelming side. There weren’t any tunes that really stood out to me. There also aren’t a lot of stages so you will really be hearing all of the tunes over and over again as you try to beat arcade mode with everyone. Yes for the review as well as to get some more trophies I went ahead and completed the game with every character. Let me tell you, that was not easy! Or maybe it’s more accurate to say that it was easy but a little tedious.
Overall, Nick has a solid fighting game on their hands. It isn’t ruined by any random mechanic like the PS All Stars game either. So this one gets to really stand the test of time. It’s just a shame that there couldn’t have been a few more modes, features, and other stuff to make it stand out. Would have been so much fun! Instead it just fades away compared to the competition. It stands up to the test of time on its own but will always be seen as the B product instead of the A one. As long as Super Smash Bros exists that will be true for pretty much 99% of platform fighters but I still like to think that some day someone will come up with a rival so high budget and stuffed with features that even Smash can’t scare it away.
Overall 7/10
It’s time for the next One Piece special on the docket. This one is about Skypiea but I guess they went for Sky Island to keep it a little more vague. Additionally Enel is now called Eneru….I prefer the old version but hey it’s a pretty minor thing. The special is good and does a decent job capturing the arc but it doesn’t work as well as the East Blue special because this one really goes out of its way to skip the fights. It doesn’t nail any of the really emotional moments as well as the show did and so what you get is an arc that is wayyyy watered down next to the show version. This is still nostalgic though.
The special starts with Luffy and gang heading to a small island where someone explains that there used to be a guy called Nolan the Liar. He would lie about everything including seeing an island floating in the sky but this guy is a direct descendent and believes that the stories are true. So now he continues to dive underwater in order to prove it, but this ain’t easy. Well Luffy and friends are going to pay a visit to the sky island but they find that it is being ruled by the god of lightning, Eneru. Can they defeat him and save the local islanders?
So there’s a lot to enjoy here since this is a big One Piece arc but at the same time it does lose a lot of the powerful moments and I will explain. For example, one of the biggest scenes in the show is when Enel made a huge lightning blast over one of the strawhats and it was one of the first times we saw him use such a big blast. The scene went in slow-mo and it was all very tense because we could see the damage it did. That scene straight up doesn’t happen here.
We also miss out on Zoro’s entire fight against one of the angels which was unfortunate because that was a really fun battle. Even their big battle with Eneru was very short. I guess it wasn’t a super long fight in the main show either but this felt like a blink and you’ll miss it kind of moment which is definitely not what the original was like. Even the Luffy vs Enel fight doesn’t feel quite as long or grand as it should be. It does at least get way more screentime than anything else though so you couldn’t ask for much more there.
Chopper only gets a quick instance for his win as well which doesn’t show you much. There was a lot going on with the whole island survival game but the whole thing is basically shown in quick stills as everyone is wiped out. That’s what should have been expanded and I feel like the runtime should have just been extended a little. The special goes by quickly and considering that it’s a whole arc we’re dealing with, making it around 2 hours would have been really nice. Especially since this arc gets more important each time.
Now a common topic to think about is if Enel would still be a threat in future arcs. I’d say at best he gets up to the CP9 saga but that’s it because his speed wasn’t enough to dodge Luffy’s attacks while in Gear 1. So as good as you think his lightning may be, his speed isn’t at a level where he could seriously be a fierce opponent to most. I’m sure he will get buffed a lot if he ever does reappear in the manga but I do have my doubts on that. Of course it would be awesome but the series is slowly getting to the very end of its saga so in that case it’s probably over.
The special has a pretty emotional ending with Luffy and the gang proving that Nolan wasn’t a liar. I’m also glad that the people in Skypiea had realized this too because otherwise the whole flashback would have been pretty tragic. I mean it definitely was still tragic either way, One Piece doesn’t hold back on the feels. There was some hope though and it could have all been a lot darker. So like this I was pretty satisfied. I’m naturally a lot more interested in the present stuff though and the flashback gets a ton of screentime which is also part of why it doesn’t stand up to the East Blue saga where the vast majority was about the Strawhats.
In terms of animation the special looks good enough. I don’t think it looks nearly as good as the East Blue saga though and it’s clear this one wasn’t super high budget the way the other special felt like it was. The soundtrack brings in the classic One Piece tunes which is nice enough. One of these days the specials should bring a whole new soundtrack even if it takes away from the nostalgia feel a little. Just switch things up to really make everything pop out. It’s One Piece so to an extent it will always be very good no matter what happens but this would help to really take it to the next level.
Overall, This was a really fun adventure. It just feels like they left a whole lot of meat on the bone. While nothing will beat the original source material I’d say the idea behind these specials is to give you something more or less comparable so you can just enjoy that instead of redoing the whole saga again. That doesn’t work in this case because you’re just missing out on too much action. So now you have to watch the show again which unfortunately does destroy the point of this. It’s unfortunate but that’s just the way that it is. Still good though so I’d recommend checking it out if you’re an experienced One Piece fan but I’d probably deflect people unfamiliar with the series to the TV show instead.
Overall 7/10
The Sonic comics have been consistently great and this one is no exception. As someone who was sad when Archie stopped their Sonic comics, the new line has been so good that they’ve really caught the ball and kept on running with it. I hope to see this one continue to go on for a very long time and become a Sonic ongoing with hundreds of issues. However long it may take, seeing Sonic get all of these stories will be a blast!
This one takes place right where the last volume left off with Sonic dealing with the mecha virus that is poisoning everyone. Sonic can resist this with his speed but for how long? He has to protect his friends while trying to find some kind of cure to this but it won’t be easy. His friends are all slowly weakening and if the virus takes on any of his more powerful friends then it can be all over. Even Eggman isn’t able to control the robots at this point so his right hand man is starting to look into some backup options.
In prior volumes there were different plots going on with Sonic helping someone else in each issue but this time it’s a true ongoing plot. You could say we’re in the end in terms of there not being a whole lot of heroes left. Team Chaotix takes some hits as well as Team Dark. It’s definitely a pretty high stakes arc and so I’m up for it being as long as it needs to be. I’m guessing we’re approaching the end but I’d be cool with another volume or two.
This one’s starting to bring in more of the wider cast like Gmerl and Omega which were fun to see. Naturally a virus will not be able to take them over since they are machines which is helpful for letting them stay in the fight. Omega can be a little unreasonable the whole time with how he keeps firing on the civilians but this leads to the most embarrassing part for him where he is actually unable to damage them anyway. His firepower just isn’t up to snuff compared to the metal virus and I was pretty surprised about that.
Gmerl starts off by fighting Sonic but at least he is able to see reason. Once Sonic explains that he can turn back to normal with his speed and Cream also tells Gmerl to stand down, he does. The guy wants to protect her at any moment but he doesn’t close the channels for debate. So that’s what makes him a good protector here. Each character has their own idea of what to do in this situation and some have better idea than other. I think Charmy for example looked pretty bad here because he really had no plan. The guy let his emotions get to the best of him.
Sometimes I am on board with a character defying everyone to save one person. In fact most of the time this is the right option but the problem is there was no way to actually save her without dooming a lot of other people and then of course that isn’t worth it. If you have a plan to actually save someone then you gotta do it of course but if your plan is really just trying to make some kind of move with no thought behind it then that’s not good. So these are the kinds of things that you want to think about.
There is an infamous Shadow moment here though and so lets talk about that. The main problem with the moment is that Shadow is nerfed pretty hard and also acts out of character here. He would rather get completely absorbed by the enemy than run away to prove a point. They also swarm him rather quickly. The big problem with this of course is reaction times. Even if he thought that he couldn’t be turned, he was seeing this happen in real time. So he had many opportunities to start running rather than just letting himself be taken like that. There’s no way to have him lose here and you get the feeling the writer just needed to find a way to write him out.
It’s got to be tough working with a character like Shadow who is basically as fast as Sonic but a lot more powerful. So maybe this was all they could think of but all I’m saying is that it’s still very, very noticeable. They could have done better here without a doubt. At least it does lead to our next Sonic vs Shadow battle which is always fun. Since Shadow is being controlled Sonic does get to dominate a little more this time around.
As always Sonic is an excellent main character and that hasn’t changed. He does his best to save everyone and always has a plan at the ready. He feels like a true leader and is so much more than just his speed. I definitely love the portrayal and he continues to really shine with all of the screen time. Eggman’s going to need to come up with something big to really keep up. Losing control as always isn’t a perfect look for him and he needs to watch out since it looks like he may get betrayed again. It’s definitely not easy being an evil genius.
The artwork here is really solid as you would expect. The comics have always been great in this area just like they’re great in all of the others. The characters really pop out and the colors are sharp. Everything is always on model and that makes for a winning formula. The battles are also really sharp as a result even if there aren’t any super long ones in this volume. It’s more about moving around and trying to survive rather than a big 1 on 1. The series always still manages to sprinkle in some nice comedic moments while keeping the stakes high so the writing is also on point.
Overall, Sonic is continuing to blast through this comics run with a ton of great moments and a really solid story. There just haven’t been any down sides to the comics at all yet and each arc delivers just as well as the last. I dare say this arc may even beat the Metal Sonic one at this point but it does depend on the climax of course and how this all shakes out. Hopefully I get to check out the next volume soon and we’ll see how that goes. The amount of Sonic stories that you can tell is really endless.
Overall 8/10
It’s time for a fairly somber wild west film. There isn’t a whole lot of action here but the film definitely delivers with a pretty solid climax. The build up for that was definitely a lot of fun and ultimately ties everything in well. It’s a pretty good film that takes itself seriously and has a lot of solid writing. It’s not perfect but I had a consistently good time all the way through.
The movie starts by introducing us to Books. He is a very notorious killer. The guy has never lost a fight and is one of the only survivors of the true wild west. What people don’t realize is that he’s dying. The guy is old but it’s not that, he has developed cancer and his doctor confirmed the diagnosis. There is no way out for him now and so he has only a few weeks to live. He decides to rent out a room in a quiet town and just wait for his death. That was the plan at least but he isn’t ready to just die like this and so he prepares to see the world a bit and get into one last fight. The stakes are pretty high for him but what’s the worst that can happen in the fight right? He’ll be dead soon anyway.
It’s got to be tough knowing that the end of your life is approaching but at the same time I always rather liked the idea of having a rough time table. If I know I’m going to die in 4 weeks for example then I would go crazy enjoying every kind of food and activity I wanted in the meantime. Of course the reason you wouldn’t want to do that is because no diagnosis is 100% accurate. If they made a mistake and you just spent your life savings…that won’t go over very well. So it’s always important that no matter what you don’t do anything that would be irreversible. Trust me it’s not a good idea. Of course back in the wild west days there were far less resources so the diagnosis could be said with more confidence since it’s not like he could have an operation.
A big portion of the film is Brooks getting to know Bond, the owner of the house, and her son. The weakest part of the film is definitely the mild romance with Bond and Books though. It doesn’t really make sense, he’ll be dead soon anyway and they got off to a really rocky start as it is. Granted the film doesn’t really go anywhere with this but that’s part of why it’s just filler and could have been removed. Having this connection didn’t actually add anything to the film and you could have replaced it with something a whole lot more useful. At least if you ask me that definitely could have been changed quite a bit. At most have her see him with some respect for leading a tough life but you don’t need anything more than that.
I’d also say it’s selfish of Books to be driving around with her and asking her to accompany him. There’s not much use in building bonds when you’re about to die because you’re just going to leave the other person in a rather rough spot. Of course it provides him some comfort but hey you don’t always get to win out. I’d have preferred he just hang out with everyone a little like his scenes with Doc, Gillom, and the others. Books is still a solid character and the film goes out of its way to show that he was no common criminal. He didn’t start fights, he just ended them.
I do think it was pretty unreasonable when Bond was giving him a hard time over murdering the home intruders. Clearly they were going to finish him off so he had to defend himself. For the most part Bond is reasonable in the film though and I definitely didn’t blame her at all for wanting Books out after he lied to her about his identity. I think most people would feel the same way because right out of the gate you can’t trust your tenant. That’s not a good way to start things off.
Gillom manages to be really annoying throughout the film though. The guy ends up being a thief by the end and while he apologized, I didn’t buy it. It also wasn’t the best of apologies either. He gets a good moment at the end of the film at least so I’ll give him that but for the most part he was definitely really weak. I much preferred the guy at the stables who was good at bartering. He had a decent sense of humor too and was able to hold his own without being insecure or over the top like Gillom.
Finally I liked the doctor, he was a good friend to Books throughout the adventure. He also didn’t sugar coat how things would end up if Books died naturally which I appreciated. At the end of the day that’s probably the worst thing you can do. You need to give your patient the right tools and knowledge to make the best informed decision possible. That’s just not going to work if you don’t explain the situation 100% accurately and clearly.
The highlight of the film is definitely the big climax. I liked how each of the 3 big gunmen just walked into the saloon waiting for Books to show up. Each one was super smug and confident in their abilities. You were wondering if they would turn on each other, team up, or just watch in the end. It made for a good setting and I liked how Books just walked in with a ton of confidence. He was maybe too confident as he was wide open during the first shot and is just lucky that the guy missed.
It’s a full action climax that you may not have expected for this film and it ended up working out really well. While most of the film is more dialogue heavy and just about life in general, you always want to have some kind of explosive climax and this film definitely delivered on that. The fight scene was handled really well and you got to clearly see Books’ accuracy all the way through. An ending is supremely important for any film so it was really good that this one stuck the landing.
Overall, This is a film that I could easily recommend whether you enjoy wild west type films or not. It’s really more about deciding how you die and making a final stand. The classic hero having to enter one last fight is certainly a popular kind of plot and it makes sense because there’s a lot to enjoy with that. The writing is really solid which is naturally important and I also really liked the cast of characters. These films can sometimes make the lead a little too unlikable so you’re rooting for him to lose or at least to go for a draw but in this case Books was actually likable so that worked out well. He had a lot of fun banter with the local Marshall which made for a little injection of humor into the film. That guy was definitely as mean as he could be but that never broke Books.
Overall 7/10
Justice Chronicles is one of those great games that really has everything you could want. A top tier soundtrack, a solid plot, good characters, great gameplay, etc. It’s really the whole package and you love to see it. The game can be difficult and will absolutely require some grinding but that’s how you know that it’s legit. It never feels annoying to grind either because the game is well developed. Yes sir this is the way to go without a doubt.
The plot starts off with the main character being a part of a legendary group of hunters who have to travel to the human world to check on things. There is a war brewing between both sides or at least that’s what the rumors say and so they have to check into this. Ultimately the group gets split up and the hero finds himself stranded in the human world. He ends up saving a girl who nearly died by making a pact with a demon in exchange for his soul. A nearby witch is able to halt the pact for a while but now the hero has to make sure to get back to his people and stop this war or a lot of good people are going to die.
There’s a ton more to this story as this is a proper RPG through and through. You have betrayals and conspiracy going on. There’s a fairly large cast here as well and you have time to get used to all of the characters. The game even has a bit of a double ending going for it so the experience lasts even longer than you would expect. I wouldn’t say the cast is quite ready to take down the Asdivine Hearts folks but it’s a pretty strong cast either way. They’re easy to root for and we get a lot of good banter the whole time.
For the gameplay, you have your classic attacks, special moves, and such. It’s turn based combat so you want to plan your attacks carefully. There are so many different things to level up with limited resources so choose carefully or you’ll end up regretting it later on. Of course at that point you could always do more grinding if necessary. One thing I didn’t focus on until the end was ranking up my weapons because the whole harvesting system looked a bit complicated. It probably is a little more complicated than it needs to be but in the end I wouldn’t say that it’s bad.
Basically you have to complete side quests in order to unlock different materials for purchase at the shop. For that reason I would say not to use any materials until you have unlocked them because you will need those eventually. The money will come naturally the more that you defeat the enemies so you really don’t have to worry about that. It does mean that like Harvestella you will often have to choose between focusing on your level or focusing on getting materials. For the most part I would say focus on levels first until you can easily one shot any minion from a weaker zone and then get the materials. Ranking up your weapon increases your attack power by about as much as 10 normal level ups which is why you want great weapons and armor. That said, you don’t want to forego either one of those for too long or you’ll really be in trouble.
I died several times during the game and had to spend hours grinding. So this isn’t a walk in the park but the grinding is always enjoyable. The EXP you get per battle is fair so you don’t feel like things are going too slowly. Throw in the resource grinding and that keeps you especially busy the whole time. I’d say what helps also keep things from getting stale is the soundtrack’s really good the whole time. Don’t underestimate the power of a great soundtrack to keep anything from being too tedious. The fast paced nature of the themes really work well.
Of course the visuals are also great here and I would expect no less. It’s all very streamlined and full of color. Yes the game succeeds on a technical level very well. Then there is a good amount of replay value here to get the trophies. The platinum will definitely take some time but I also wouldn’t say that it’s super difficult. It’s a pretty fair one where if you put in the effort then you will get it. By the time you beat the game you will be well on your way so I would definitely recommend going for it. I’ll probably work on this soon once I’ve worked on some other titles.
Overall, Justice Chronicles is definitely a great game and one that I highly recommend checking out. The story is really good and as always there are a ton of great quality of life features here. It may be lacking some of the functionality that Asdivine Hearts had and other gimmicks don’t play quite as strongly as the classic games yet I still had a lot of fun here. It’s still heads and shoulders above some of the other RPGs of the past. Additionally I really like how they went the extra mile for the opening cinematic. This is a game that was clearly giving its all right from the start and I can definitely respect that. I highly recommend checking this game out whenever possible.
Overall 8/10
Wait a minute, Blade Runner content that’s actually good?? Yes, Black Out actually pulled it off! It’s pretty fun overall despite the short length and delivers some solid action scenes. Definitely surpassing anything you would have seen in the live action movies. It does a good job of showing just how twisted things are without dwelling on it too much. You can see why the replicants are making their big stand here. They are tired of being kicked around and yeah this is probably the most direct way to stop things.
The short starts with a replicant named Trixie being attacked by a bunch of guys but she’s saved by Iggy. Iggy has decided that the corporation behind the replicants needs to be stopped. Basically the older models are going to all be wiped out by the newer ones so one by one they are all being targeted. The only way to stop this and stay alive is to destroy the primary database but like most things in the world it’s already in the cloud by now. So the move is to destroy the satellite and every database installation at the same time. Fortunately the replicants have a fairly solid information network across the globe and are all in on this. If they can harness the powers of teamwork and friendship then they can pull this off and he wants Trixie’s help. She agrees to go in on this.
Keep in mind that the short’s only around 15 minutes and I think that’s counting credits and such so more like 13. That’s really just enough time for that intro, a quick origin for Iggy and then the fight. As a result there isn’t the usual fluff associated with Blade Runner and I was glad about that. It meant we could get right to the good stuff and that was most excellent. Blade Runner is a series that is usually a bit afraid to get right to the action and wants to stick to either high concepts or people talking in a room the whole time. Sometimes a bit of both to be honest here. Well that wasn’t the case this time.
It was also good to see the robots actually be able to look good here. They were able to run around at high speeds and take out tons of opponents. In the main movies they may be reasonably tough but for the most part nothing too superhuman which is a bit boring. What’s the point of being some kind of super robot when you can’t do the big feats like that right? Ultimately it doesn’t mean that the two steamroll everyone. The short is fairly realistic about how athletics can only take you so far when you jump into a whole stream of bullets. Still, it made for a good action scene.
The animation is pretty solid here. The combat is on point and the visuals work well. There are a lot of fun things done with the lighting that help to make the short very memorable all the way through. The soundtrack is more on the forgettable side but again this is a very short special so there’s not a lot of time for a bunch of themes or anything. You take what you can get and ultimately it works well enough.
The ending of the film is basically there to remind you that corporate can be delayed but they can never be stopped. It may not be the happiest ending out there but it was still enough of a win for the main characters that I’d say you can at least count it as part of a happy moment. The alternative would have meant that they’d all be hunted down immediately while this way there is time to hide and try to make a new identity. As we see in the newest film that doesn’t work for most but you like to think some have completely managed to stay off the grid.
Overall, They should focus on more Blade Runner spinoffs like this and just ditch the mainline movies. Trust me this is way better and I can only imagine that a full length anime would be really solid. I don’t trust the franchise enough yet to say that it would be amazing or anything like that but the potential would be there. The humans will probably be the most annoying characters based on how they looked here. After all almost all of the humans are evil in these films since they were bought out by the main company or just don’t want to make them mad. Either way it means that there aren’t a lot of humans that you can trust. Even if you haven’t seen the Blade Runner films you should be able to appreciate this special.
Overall 7/10
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