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B’t X Review

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This is a show I sort of vaguely knew about since the Saint Seiya creator is very popular but other than the name I knew nothing about it. It turns out to be a fairly retro mecha adventure and one that I definitely had a really good time with. I love me some some mecha action after all and it all feels very nostalgic. I may not have seen the show before but the animation style and fight scenes definitely feel retro in a very good way. There are a ton of battles here that just keep coming one right after the other. The cast is very solid and the show manages to be really interesting and engaging from the jump.

The story picks up with the genius scientist Kotaro preparing to give a lecture. He’s attacked by a shapeshifting robot but his brother Teppei saves him. Teppei has always been the big fighter of the family while Kotaro has the intellect and together they make the world a better place. Unfortunately the Machine Empire attacks the delegation, murders tens of thousands and kidnaps Kotaro. They have taken him past a zone known as the Area and it’s said to be impossible to get there. The throne is protected by dozens and dozens of fighters each with powerful B’t creatures whcih are basically fancy robots.

Teppei has the Messiah Fist that he inherited from his mentor Karen and can destroy any machine but it’s not quite enough to tip the scales. Fortunately his blood is able to awaken one of the most legendary B’t creatures of all time, X. X only wants to work with Karen but he won’t just turn away from someone in need. After a lot of grumbling on both sides, Teppei and X agree to help each other out. Will they be able to stop the Machine Empire and save Teppei’s brother?

The show starts off real quick with the whole shapeshifting robot although that part gets ditched pretty fast. Ditched might be the wrong word but since pretty much the whole series takes place en route to the area, there isn’t much time to check out the real world and how humanity is faring. I liked the idea of shapeshifting robots being around every corner so the heroes always have to be careful. It almost would have been like a mystery thriller kind of title. The humans feel like they’re probably outgunned though. Put it this way, throughout the series when Teppei is trying to stop the empire, we never see the government stepping in or anything like that. The machines are in the driver’s seat all the way.

So there’s a lot left for the world building but I don’t think this is that kind of show. Most of it is really about taking on lots of enemies and continuing to push past your limits. Teppei definitely has a tough time here but he never gives up and keeps on getting stronger. Meanwhile it’s definitely a lot tougher for Kotaro trying to stay safe and out of danger.

Kotaro is a pretty good main character. Despite the constant danger that he’s in, he still keeps trying to stop the Empire in his own way by finding out the weakness to their trump card, Raffaello. After all if he can figure out how to destroy that thing then the world will really be in a much safer place. Hopefully he does get his own B’t though so he can fight a bit more because the support role is fun and all but he’ll end up staying very overshadowed if that’s the extent of his role. Make no mistake, the cutaways to his plot are always very engaging but you still want a little something more.

Then you have Teppei who is a very solid main character. He has that classic “Can Do” attitude about him. He doesn’t give up and continues to press forward. He definitely gets into a lot of disagreements with X so expect a lot of bickering but it all works out in the end. His battle skills are on point and he will jump into a battle even if he doesn’t expect to win. Teppei is good at thinking outside the box and doesn’t take thing too personal. If a character says he will help Teppei now then the hero will usually believe him and keep it moving. He just knows that the priority is saving his brother and will do whatever it takes to accomplish that mission.

X is a fun B’t and definitely one that has the most emotion out of all of them. They all do have personalities which is actually a big plus of the series but of course as a main character we get to see this guy way more than most of the others. He’s always around either in the middle of a fight or getting a power up. Now I will say that he isn’t quite as impressive as you would expect though. He’s a B’t of legend and everyone fears him but X spends most of the series getting beaten up over and over again.

There are a few reasons for this like his owner not being able to draw out his maximum abilities and his still being damaged but considering his big rep it’s still not always a consolation. You just expect a lot more from this guy and I’d say that X doesn’t really live up to the hype until the very end of the series. I like his personality though so X is still a lot of fun either way.

Karen mainly appears in flashbacks but she works as a good mentor to Teppei. She teaches him a lot and the guy would definitely be out of his league if not for the Messiah fist. Her history is mainly shrouded in mystery which you find out more of as the series goes on. Right now she has one of the stronger moral compasses in the series and she is always trying to make a difference. She can fight as well so I hope we get to see her go up against the villains in the continuation. It just feels like this would be a missed opportunity not to have her join in the fights soon. I want to see her side by side with the main characters.

One of the first villains to show up here was Metal Face and I have a soft spot for the guy. By no means is he one of the more powerful villains but I liked the guy’s confidence and he had a lot of good dialogue. He was someone who didn’t back down from a challenge and had to go up against some of the world’s strongest without anything special on his end. It might be a stretch to call this guy a main supporting character but I can say that he’s persistent and I really liked that about him.

Then you have Aramis who is more about giving orders but not actually doing much. I’m still waiting to see if she can actually fight. If she can then that will help her a whole lot but for now I can’t say that I’m really a fan. She talks really tough but then she folds when the boss shows up. If she can fight later on or defects from the villains then that would be huge and give her some momentum.

After that you have the 4 legendary generals. So part of X’s hype is that he is one of those 4 legendary B’t and that means he has a lot to live up to. The next member we meet is Fou and his B’t. Fou is someone who runs a bit of an orphanage and seems like a decent guy but since he’s working for the villains that doesn’t quite add up. He gets a lot of character development as the show goes on though and I thought his character was handled really well. Yeah he’s definitely not a true hero through and through but at the same time he does have his own standards and code of conduct. He won’t be doing just anything or follow orders blindly.

His abilities also seem extremely impressive. Whenever he shows up in an episode the villains fear him and the heroes know they have no chance. This is exactly how the big 4 should appear and it’s why I’m still waiting for Teppei and X to command that level of respect. Once they can do that then I will know that they have really made it. I hope Fou continues to get more fights as the series goes on because seeing him in action is always great. His B’t is also very solid and a machine that is also very confident in her abilities. They have a good bond going right there.

Then there is Hokuto who seems less like a fighter. This guy is more about studying and using his own genius intellect to better the world….well more like just so he can learn more. I wouldn’t call this guy a hero either but at least he wants to find the truth and that prevents him from being just another yes man. I need to see him actually fight though so for now he is the weakest of the big 4 to me. You absolutely need brawn in addition to brain to come out on top. We do know that he can fight but I want to see just how well.

Finally there is Ron but the guy can definitely be a bit more on the annoying side. He’s very strong to be sure but acts more like a mindless yes man at times. Even when everyone is telling him that something is up he refuses to listen. The guy just jumps right into fights and while it’s good to be loyal to a cause, you always have to be reasonable about it. Otherwise you end up following someone rather than the cause and that can be a really big problem. His B’t has a cool design though and I can still appreciate his power. There aren’t many in the verse right now who can challenge him.

Right now the highest ranking member of the empire that we’ve seen is a kid named Misha. He apparently works as a direct contact to the leader. So the leader gives him orders and he executes them. That’s why even if the kid isn’t very strong everyone is completely afraid of him because if he says the wrong thing then they’re doomed. What this kid says goes even when it’s unreasonable and usually this guy is very unreasonable. Lets just say that a whole lot of empire soldiers are destroyed for no reason during Raffaello’s rampages.

So for Rafaello, he is an absolutely huge robot that continues to grow and get more powerful. As a result this guy is shaping up to be the final boss although unfortunately he is so far the only character not to have any personality. So I hope he gets some quick or that won’t be the most satisfying way to end this. I’m interested in how this plays out though. Right now while he is huge, I have a hard time picturing him giving the heroes all that much of a fight though. They would have him completely outnumbered and would also be a lot faster. That should make the fight seem rather one sided if anything.

Now while the show is great, the only issue I had with it is that they do squeeze in some animal violence. Naturally the empire has a lot of livestock around so when the monster goes crazy on the loose the animals don’t quite make it. The scene didn’t really serve any purpose so I’m not sure why that was included at all. Stick to showing the machine just murder a bunch of humans instead, that’s always a better outcome. In general the show isn’t particularly violent but you can definitely still expect a fairly high body count.

One of the series big strengths are its monster of the week characters. A lot of them are actually really memorable and just as importantly they’re also fairly strong. Now to an extent it can be rough seeing all of these random generals giving Teppei a hard time but it shows why nobody else has ever infiltrated the Machine Empire. They have way too many powerful fighters at their disposal. One impressive fighter was a guy with a hook for a hand. What made him stand out is how he’s punching way above his weight class. You figure this guy should be getting packed up rather easily but instead he just gets right back into the thick of the action and keeps on attacking Teppei. Even without his B’t the guy keeps hanging in there and that’s impressive.

Likewise the first of the demon lord fighters shows up and puts up a tremendous fight. He really almost had Teppei and this is after Teppei had grown way more powerful. This is the case for a bunch of these area fighters and while you may not remember their names at times, you will remember the impact. The series quite literally would not be the same without them. I also like the idea of the demon warriors and hopefully the other 6 look good. The show made the interesting choice of confirming that the first member was actually the strongest one. I can’t remember the last time that happened so it was a good twist. Usually it’s the opposite.

The animation here is pretty good. It may not be stunning but the fight scenes definitely go all out and the character models are on point. I also liked the soundtrack quite a bit. It is a little on the smaller side to be sure but at least the tunes that replay a lot are pretty good. If they weren’t then that would absolutely have been a problem. So on the technicals the series holds up and I already explained how the fights are good. The writing is on point too. There was one annoying kid that shows up for a little while but he was written out before long so that wasn’t too bad.

There is already a lot set up for the next season as well. This one has a cliffhanger as you can probably imagine and it works pretty well. I’d have probably even gone further with the cliffhanger but this works either way. I do wonder if they can really squeeze everything into the next season because it feels like there is a whole lot to do but at the same time I know you can pull a whole lot off when the time crunch is near. So we’ll see which villains get the most spotlight coming up and which ones get the shaft. This season introduced a powerful clown villain by the end so I’m super interested in seeing what happens next.

Overall, B’T X is a great show. If you’re looking for a title with nonstop fights and at least one battle in every episode then you’re in luck. It still seems a little unpopular to an extent as there aren’t a ton of screencaps to grab off of Google without doing more of a deep dive so every person who checked it out can help get the show to be even bigger.. Still, the sheer pacing and hype of all the battles will be enough to keep bringing you back. There just aren’t a ton of old school Shonens like this left so you really have to savor them. I look forward to seeing how the sequel plays out and definitely recommend this one.

Overall 8/10

Young Sherlock Holmes Review

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This film was interesting because I just don’t remember ever hearing about it, but clearly it must have been a fairly big deal back in the day. It’s Sherlock Holmes after all! If that isn’t enough to make this a really big household name then I don’t know what would be. The movie is part mystery to an extent but to be honest it’s more of a thriller all the way. It works out well though and while I could see some Holmes fans being a little disappointed, this was before he was a true detective so I’d say it works out fine. He gets to have one explosive adventure before things turn realistic again.

The movie introduces us to a younger Sherlock Holmes who is already widely known for his genius level intellect. The guy isn’t afraid to show it off either and is 100% confident in his abilities. Holmes has no need to be humble when he’s the best although he does tend to lose in fencing to professor Rathe. It’s the only thing in which he isn’t the best. Well, the quiet days are over when a mysterious group begins murdering people using powerful hallucinations. It’s as if the Scarecrow is around. Basically this dart that they hit people with makes them see their worst fears before dying. The body count is slowly starting to rise and when one of Holmes’ favorite teachers is bumped off it is time for him to act. Unfortunately he will have to do it while on the run since he has been kicked out of school. Can he pull this off or is it game over?

One thing you’ll notice right away is that the film is having a blast showing off all of its special effects. You have CGI dragons running around and lots of moving objects as part of the hallucinations. There is even a giant throne room like something out of Harry Potter for the villains’ hideout. It’s all very fantastical and so again it doesn’t feel like Sherlock Holmes but the visuals are still really fun to look at. I do feel like some of the deaths from the hallucinations were a bit convenient though like one guy stabbing himself and another jumping out the window. To an extent you have to know that the hallucinations aren’t real so you want to break through them but you have to know that certain actions will still hurt you in the real world.

The most tragic part of the film is definitely that the heroes are rather late to make a difference. For example, the villains have this whole human sacrifice thing going on and so they’ve been murdering people for a while. The heroes make it in time to see a woman get burned alive and they don’t end up saving her which was unfortunate. They only manage to save the main heroine and it’s just a rough way to go. It makes the police detective Lestrade look even worse because Holmes keeps trying to get the guy to help but he couldn’t care less. Usually he isn’t very helpful in these things but he may as well have been a complete villain in this case. He actively did his best to prevent Holmes and the others from helping out. If he wasn’t an established character in the mythos I would have assumed he was in on the take the whole time. That’s how absolutely corrupt the guy was.

At least you can always count on Holmes to be a really solid character. He did well analytically and this was also before he would get more emotionless so you actually get to see him get mad and put up a real fight. This version of Sherlock Holmes may lag behind the experienced one but the film does a good job of making him stand out and showing how he has changed over the years. Watson also gets to help out a bit here. Ultimately not a ton but his contributions are never forgotten and so he’s always an easy character to root for.

I wasn’t as impressed with the quirky Rupert. I felt like he was only here to help out with one particular invention for near the end but otherwise he just felt a bit out of place. At least professor Rathe was an expert fighter and had a lot of lore behind him. I rather enjoyed Rathe, now here was a character who contributed a lot to the plot and was also very interesting. He could actually hold his own against Holmes which is something that almost no other character could pull off.

Then there is Elizabeth who gets a decent sized role as the main heroine. She helps Holmes out when he’s in a pinch and can always be counted on to support him. Ultimately she does about as much as she possibly can during the course of the film. Holmes had a lot of enemies here so it was always good to have some allies. Watson was helpful too in his own way. Just like in the other films he always comes through when it counts even if he can’t follow Holmes on an intellectual level. He can pull off the physical feats that help make a big difference here.

I enjoyed the action a lot here and so this worked well as a prequel. In a lot of ways this felt like a Harry Potter film too but going at a lightning fast pace. I would have enjoyed staying at the school a little longer and you could have turned this into a whole movie series. The instant Holmes left the school though, it felt like the only logical step would be to pick up with him being an experienced expert. After all, that would be his big reunion with Watson and that would tie into the main novels. Feels like they left a lot of potential stories on the chopping block here by switching things up like that.

Overall, Young Sherlock Holmes is a pretty good movie. It’s an action film which pretty much plays things by the book so I wouldn’t expect anything crazy to happen here. The special effects go all in though and your attention will be captured the whole way through. There is a mystery here but for the most part that never really seems to be the focus. The answers just sort of appear as Holmes is fighting his way through all of the villains and that works out well enough as this is more of a thriller but it’s why I’d say you shouldn’t go into this one expecting a full blown mystery. It’s just not that kind of film so enjoy the action scenes and quality dialogue instead.

Overall 7/10

Megaman Dash Review

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Megaman Legends is probably the only part of the Mega Man series that I’m not much of an expert on. So it’s always interesting seeing more adventures in that verse but at the same time titles like this don’t really do it any favors. Megaman Dash is more of a comedy manga than a serious adaption and so it’s not going to reach the heights of NT Warrior of Gigamix. I’m glad that the series finally finished getting translated of course, that was definitely great. Because that means now I get to dive into this one and tell you why it didn’t quite work. I will give it this, the series does avoid throwing in a lot of crude humor or anything like that which I appreciate since so many comedic titles run right to those jokes.

The series is rather short with only 5 chapters so it’s really more of a one shot than a series. Basically Megaman Volnutt is a treasure hunter of sorts. He goes to different caves and mines minerals and resources. Despite his antics he seems to be reasonably good at this, enough so where he, Roll, and doctor Barrel can live a comfortable life at least. Well, he isn’t the only one after the treasure and also has to contend with the likes of Tron Bonne and her crew. They may not be all that formidable but the same can be said for Volnutt so he can’t let his guard down. Eventually he even meets a man named Megaman Juno who has plans for world domination. Can Volnutt really stop this guy?

It’s a fairly basic plot that we’ve got here. Volnutt is your classic explorer who likes having a lot of fun but also really enjoys goofing off the whole time as well. He’s definitely not the kind of guy who takes things all that seriously but he can be tough when needed. I’d like to see more bravery out of him though. I get that it’s a comedic title so that may not be in the cards but it would just do a world of good to see him talking tough and getting serious when the situation calls for it. It’s why he severely lags behind the other Megamen on all sides. It was fun recognizing some of his signature attacks from the Tatsunoko vs Capcom game though.

I can also give the manga this, the artwork is actually pretty good. You can see how the fights would actually be really solid if that was the intent of the manga. The choreography is on point and the character designs are good. Clearly this artist is really being misused having to work on a more gag manga type adventure like this one. It certainly makes for an easy read nonetheless. Particularly now that it’s all scanned you can blast through the whole thing really quick. Perhaps it will read better as a marathon although I have my doubts.

As the heroine Roll doesn’t actually do a whole lot here. She yells at Volnutt constantly since he’s always messing up but that’s really her only role here and he doesn’t really take her all that seriously. Doctor Barrell has even less to do here. You may forget that the guy exists at times. Then there’s Tron Bonne who is a comic relief villain but at least she is doing a lot of things. She builds robots to take Megaman out and is also instrumental in helping him out later on. If you were a fellow villain then you would probably be annoyed at how she changes sides and all but for the heroes it works out quite nicely.

The only character that I can say was solid all the way around was Megaman Juno, the final boss of the adventure. An evil Megaman is always a very intriguing prospect. Whether it’s Copy X from the Zero games or Dark Megaman from EXE, they tend to be standout characters. This one is certainly ambitious as well and he does put the heroes through the wringer. I think he’s probably a really cool character in the games as well, I just got that vibe from him.

I appreciated the series ending with a serious climax against this guy. While it may not keep that tone for long, I’ll take what I can get. Ultimately I don’t think Megaman always has to be super serious but you can do humor in a fun way where it’s less of a gag type approach. Megaman EXE and classic certainly have a lot of humor to them and it works well, I’d say the only thing holding this one back is that the jokes often aren’t funny. It just goes too far overboard with the characters yelling and making all kinds of faces. That kind of thing just isn’t funny when you spam it.

The kind of humor you’d like to see is with the script. Some kind of really great line that you remember or a particularly solid burn that leaves you with a big grin on your face. Things like that are what would leave more of an impact. Or if you have to do this, have it be a lot of gags during the normal scenes but when the fights happen you go all in. That would have worked a lot better as well. If you haven’t played the game you will probably be wondering just a bit what the actual game’s plot is like since you figure it’s probably way different than what we got here.


Overall, Megaman Dash makes for an interesting read. It’s certainly unique and I do think a good amount of effort was put into it, the style and direction it went in just wasn’t the right one. If the idea of a sillier Megaman adventure sounds right up your alley then you should enjoy this one. If you want something more intense then I would redirect you to just about any of the other Megaman adventures. Whether it’s X, classic, or exe you will have a better time straight up. One positive for this one is that it is very short though so it’s not like it’s a big time investment. You can finish this one within 20 minutes easy so what’s the harm right? I’d also say while I had my share of negatives with it, I still wouldn’t call this one bad per say. It’s right in the middle for me where it’s not particularly good but it’s not like I had a tough time reading it either. There’s a certain gag manga I’m reading right now that is actually painful. Just wait until that series ends!

Overall 5/10

The Super Mario Bros. Movie Review

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It’s finally time to review the Mario movie. Right when the trailers came out I had a feeling that this one would be a winner because it just looked like a lot of fun. Now granted, I am one of the few supporters of the 90s film from the start and I don’t intend to reverse course now but even I have to say that it was surpassed by this one. The new Mario movie really does justice to the franchise and has a ton of great easter egg and character moments for all to enjoy. It’s definitely one of the top gaming movies out there really just after the first two Mortal Kombat films and the second Sonic movie. If we start to get technical like with the animated Tekken and Final Fantasy VII films then things get a little dicey so lets not count those for now.

The movie starts off with Mario and Luigi finally getting their commercial to appear over the news. They’re excited since now they can expand their plumbing business. Unfortunately their family members aren’t very supportive and it’s really been tough. When they end up messing up on their first job, all seems lost but they won’t give up! When trying to stop a big disaster in the city they end up getting transported to the Mushroom Kingdom and Luigi is kidnapped by Bowser’s forces. Mario will now have to team up with Princess Peach in order to save his bro, but will he be able to do this? Bowser is known far and wide as being immensely powerful.

Of course in the games you always beat Bowser but in the 2D ones that is only because of his fatal weakness to fire and in 3D you typically use bombs to beat him or throw in a black hole. This time Mario has to try going mano and mano and it’s tough since he can’t even beat the local work bully back home. Still, where there’s a will there’s a way and Mario puts in a lot of work to improve his skills and get ready for the challenges that are to come. He makes for a solid main character who never gives up and always stays true to himself. It was always great seeing him defend Luigi from the bullies both in the past and then in the present at the café.

If I have one little complaint about Mario it’s that he is a bit too weak physically at the beginning though. He should absolutely be able to handle Spike and just about any normal human he comes across. I mean Mario is a human too I suppose and I guess it’s actually a legit plot point that he’s smaller than most but you figure he makes up for that with agility and power. Later on in the mushroom kingdom he is pulling off some good jumps and acrobatics so I assume that any human is capable of this unless there is a twist that Mario is not human. I wouldn’t even mind that twist to be honest since it could be interesting but having him lose to a random guy was a bit much. I’m guessing they were going with a parallel to the first Sonic movie where he lost to a random punk but it just didn’t work out.

Back to the positives, the animation here is definitely top notch. It really looks just like the games. The colors are vibrant the whole time and everything has a fast paced energy to it. Things are always happening and that’s part of what makes the movie so exciting. You aren’t given a lot of time to rest or anything like that, it’s just all full speed ahead! As a result the movie seems to really end in a snap but the benefit of this is that there is no wasted time. Something is always happening here and all of the story beats work.

One of the most significant changes here is Peach who has turned from being a damsel in distress to a real fighter. It’s about time that they updated her character to be honest and this is easily the best version of her yet. I love the confidence and she does a whole lot of damage to Bowser’s kingdom. I dare say the film could have even gone just a little bit further here and had her get into a one on one battle with Bowser. The way she wielded her axe/trident type weapon I think she could have done a good job. Would have gone something like Yamato vs Kaido where Mario then steps in to finish the fight. Still, I was more than satisfied with what we got here.

Now the movie seems to be setting up a bit of a romance with Mario and Peach here which I’m not really buying into. They barely know each other at all here and DK teasing them about it doesn’t make much sense because they were having a completely normal conversation. Much like the games I expect this romance to not go anywhere and they stay in the permanent friend zone but we’ll see how it goes. Right now I’d much rather we keep the friendship dynamic with a lot of good banter to go along with it. Now that Mario has saved the world I see him having a lot more confidence and really keeping up with the banter on his side. So that’ll just make the dynamic even better than it was here.

Toad was also way better than I expected. For starters he wasn’t annoying and he wasn’t all talk either. This was a Toad who could actually defend himself and fight back. Needless to say I was not expecting that since it’s super rare for a Toad to do anything except get bullied and crushed all the time. This Toad knew what he was doing and ended up helping out when it counted. I look forward to seeing more of him in the sequel. Luigi doesn’t do a lot here and he’s mostly scared the whole time so I wouldn’t say he was great. I look forward to him getting some more development and really helping out in the future. Now that will be a real credit to his character and then he can team up with Mario on an even playing field.

The worst character by far was the Luma though. The gimmick of always being depressed about everything and thinking they were all going to die stopped being funny after about 1 second. Eh, definitely a swing and a miss from the film in terms of having a gimmick character. I much preferred the work bully because at least that guy had confidence and wouldn’t just give up like that. Meanwhile DK was also a really solid character here. They did a good job of showing off his strength but maybe too much in a way because nobody’s going to buy into Mario taking him on. DK was landing combo after combo on him so a comeback would just be impossible. The difference in their abilities was just too much and I would have had Mario take a hard loss but DK decide to help anyway.

The fight was fun though as we get a lot of back and forth there with some good Super Smash moves. As a slight missed opportunity I think we should have had a proper DK vs Bowser fight though. It could have been like Hulk vs Thanos in showing just how strong Bowser is. He’s always a decent amount ahead of DK after all and this would establish him as even more of a threat. The climax still works due to the circumstances there so that would be good.

Now, I do have to say Bowser wasn’t quite as solid as he could have been though. They focus a bit too much on how he’s in love with Peach and it comes at the expense of him being a true threat. His song wasn’t very good either so that was unfortunate. I know it’s getting a lot of buzz but it wasn’t really my thing. I like Bowser as the antagonist who looks out for his troops and is generally a wholesome guy. His not even knowing the name of some of his minions felt a bit out of character there. This is probably one of Bowser’s weakest incarnations as a result and I hope he improves in the sequel since I would like to see him be a threat again. Surely this isn’t the end of the road for him so lets get him back into the swing of things right away!

While I didn’t really care for the Bowser song, I did enjoy the soundtrack a lot overall. When the hero song started to play I knew that things were getting real. That song is always excellent and really gets you feeling the hype. It worked out well during Mario’s trial attempts and I dare say it would have worked really well in the climax as well. Then you also have the actual Mario game tunes which are solid as always. The movie definitely paid attention to the details here.

At the end of the day the most important thing here is that the movie is a lot of fun. That’s absolutely what you are hoping for with a title like this because if the movie was even slightly boring then something went dreadfully wrong. This is not the kind of movie that should ever be boring. That just wouldn’t make any sense. It’s also always nice to see all of the little cameos like King Bob Omb and King Boo running around. Definitely big villains from the classic days and acknowledging their existence was a great move. One of the best things you can say about the movie is that it really had no glaring weaknesses. It’s just a lot of fun all around.

Overall, The Super Mario Bros movie is a great title. There is a whole lot to love here and it has a ton of replay value. The adventure is great and the movie has an excellent cast of characters. We’ve already set up a whole lot of world building. I’m hoping the sequel adapts Super Mario Sunshine since I think that’s a very organic adventure to deal with next. Of course there are a lot of options so we’ll have to see how it goes. The final after credits scene is a lot weaker than expected though so don’t expect anything too hype there. It was definitely a questionable decision ending with that scene but hey I’m still glad it did have an after credits scene overall. Hopefully they don’t wait too long before releasing that film because I don’t want to wait.

Overall 8/10

Ruinverse Review

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Kemco always delivers on the top tier RPG gameplay mechanics. They have so many solid quality of life features that other titles would do well to adopt. This one is no exception and the gameplay is definitely at a high level. The only thing holding it back is that the story is definitely the weakest one yet. Mainly this is due to the script as the banter between the main characters can be rather painful. It’s the first time you will be enjoying the game in spite of the main cast.

The game starts with Kit and Allie investigating a cave. They come across a rather odd plaque and making contact with it knocks Allie out. When she wakes up she now has two souls. A mysterious guy is now trapped in her body as well and both souls can only switch when making physical contact with Kit. Naturally this is a bit of a weird scenario for the heroes but Kit figures they can find a way to split the two souls away again. In the meantime they will just have to live with this odd situation. Along the way they come into contact with a rather crazy scientist named Lexor, a talking cat/dog (Not sure exactly which animal he is. Maybe a fox?) named Toto, and a girl named Nana. Together this crew has to find the answers and save the world from demons along the way but do they have what it takes? It won’t be easy that’s for sure.

So why are the characters not all that good? Well first off you have Lexor who is absolutely obsessed with Kit’s body for medical research. One of the main problems here is that you never get to see the guy doing any actual research and there is no tangible goal in sight so he just comes off as insane the whole time. Since he is making no progress after poking and prodding Kit for so long then there just isn’t much point to the whole plot at large. It’s played off in more of a creepy way the whole time too and never gets funny particularly as Kit is begging the guy to let him go. That doesn’t make for a very humorous subplot now does it?

Then you’ve got the same thing going on with Toto and Nana. Nana is obsessed with Toto’s fur and constantly tackles him to hub the creature and pet his fur the wrong way. Toto constantly asks her to stop this but she never listens. Again it’s not funny since Toto clearly isn’t enjoying this at all. You could potentially try to make this work in an anime as we can see body language and facial expressions to maybe try and make this lighter but in a game it just doesn’t work.

The other issue with this is the repetition. It feels like over 70% of the dialogue are these two gags happening over and over and over again. There is never a break or a chance to rest after that goes on and it’s always distracting away from the story. It doesn’t matter how serious the moment is, Lexor and Nana will just keep harassing the other characters anyway and it takes you out of the moment. It definitely would have been nice if the characters had just been cut out to be honest.

There’s a decent story buried beneath all of that with Kit and Allie but it’s always brushed to the side. I did get to play through all of the endings here though so it was fun to see the various paths. Some definitely end on a rather sad note for the characters to be sure and no matter which ending you unlock, there is room for a sequel. Hopefully the characters just matured a lot since the ending so that the dynamic could be a bit better. The villains were solid enough though, they do a lot of planning and get some big moments.

Now with the gameplay we’re back to operating on a high level. The turn based combat is very smooth with minimal loading times and you can also speed the game up to triple speed at all times. Additionally you can also turn off surprise encounters in areas once you have completed them so after beating the game you can feel free to look for treasure chests and such at your leisure which is a nice feature to have. As a result the platinum trophy for this game feels like it is a very attainable one. It should only take a few hours after beating the game to unlock that one. Note that the planting trophy is the only one that will likely take you a while. You really have to wait a long while in order to grow enough plants to bloom. I had less than half of the amount I needed by the time I beat the game.

I would say the campaign is around 16-18 hours so it’s a pretty good length. There are plenty of areas here and additionally the game is also fairly difficult. I had to go up to around level 300 before I was able to complete it. Part of the reason for this is that your characters die really quickly even with some of the best armor so the only way around that is to continue bumping up your stats. I recommend opening every chest you find so that you can hopefully get some rare weapons and armor that can possibly bump up your odd a bit. Ultimately with enough time you can defeat every challenge though and that’s part of the fun of the turn based system.

For example you unlock leaves to upgrade your character’s special abilities every few levels and by growing a tree. I recommend putting all of your money into upgrading the tree since long term that will be just as handy as any upgrade that you can buy. It’s how you get a lot of passive abilities and your ultimate moves. Each character has at least one big attack that can deal several thousand points of damage in a single hit. That is what you really need for the end game. Since the characters are permanently stuck as being glass cannons here then you need to maximize the amount of attack power that you can use in a single swing. So follow that and you should be fine.

Each character has a whole lot of special attacks so it may take a while to find your favorite one but that’s a good problem to have. You can certainly approach the game in a whole lot of different ways. Meanwhile the graphics are definitely solid here. The game is clear and you can always tell what is going on at all times. The soundtrack is also pretty good with all the usual fast paced Asdivine tunes playing throughout. You have solid boss themes and so that always helps to enhance the experience. You can really tell when things are getting grand based on the music tracks.

Overall, Ruinverse may not have a particularly good set of characters this time but the gameplay is really the most pivotal aspect and the title nails that out of the park as expected. The gameplay is incredibly smooth and highly customizable so you should be able to find your favorite settings right away. From there it’s off to the races and you will probably be tempted to go for the Platinum as well at that point because you’re so close. Why not right? Then you will have done everything the game has to offer. You should absolutely pick this one up whenever you come across it.

Overall 7/10

The Mark of Zorro Review

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Zorro is one of those characters who was really huge back in the day. His popularity has waned since then but it’s fair to say that most people probably still know who he is. The reputation of this masked vigilante still precedes itself after all. This is probably the best cinematic portrayal of the character because it really nails the dual identity of the hero. It has a lot of action and a good amount of fun with it as well. It’s a well balanced movie that I could recommend to anyone at any time which is definitely the sign of being a quality picture.

The movie starts off with Diego wowing the world again with his impressive fencing abilities. The guy is second to none but one day he is called home only to find out that his father is no longer the ruler of the country. Instead a guy named Luis has taken control and the place has fallen into ruins. His family’s name has also been tarnished. Diego decides to don a mask and call himself “Zorro” as he goes through the city helping the impoverished. It’s not an easy task but somebody has to do it! To keep anyone from guessing his true identity Diego acts incredibly incompetent in battle and as someone with a very pure soul who doesn’t know much about fighting. Still, Esteban the top commander of Luis’ forces is determined to take down Zorro so Diego has to keep his wits about him. Can he pull off this ultimate deception?

It’s very much a Clark Kent/Superman kind of dynamic here. I like how over the top Diego is in not being able to do much of anything. The guy has a great time acting super spoiled and I’d say he does a great job of it. You can’t help but be impressed at how he handles his appearance and mannerisms. It’s a lot of little tings that all combine to make the ultimate disguise. Diego is certainly not someone to be trifled with when he can become a different person so easily.

At first I did think he was a bit quick to anger when he first arrived though. Everyone was terrified of even hearing his father’s name so then Diego starts threatening them and you figure he is sort of proving their point there. Maybe they were right to be afraid of the family right? Diego changes once he sees the true culprit here so perhaps he just thought these guys were being rude but I was a little surprised at his first impression. From this point on there are no setbacks though and he goes on to become the legendary hero everyone loves.

He’s very much like Batman here with how he strikes fear into all of the villains and leaves behind marks of his trademark Z so that people know he was around. He’s also quite the excellent fighter which makes him a true threat. I did appreciate that the villain Esteban was an actual fighter as well though. It made for a really good back and forth fight which was exactly what I was looking for here. Not for Zorro to just steamroll everyone but for him to get a legitimate battle where he would have to pull out all the stops in order to win. The climax is fairly long with both fighters giving it their all.

Esteban in general was a great villain because he was crafty aside from being skilled. It was no fluke that the guy made it as far up the ranks as he did. His dedication and greed got him far and that’s exactly what you would expect from such a guy. He helps to be a good foil for Luis who is the comic relief kind of villain who can’t really fight or hold his own at all. That guy lags behind and has to be protected at all times. Any true villain would just roll their eyes at such a figure but of course that also means he is very easy to manipulate. So that’s basically his role there.

Meanwhile you did have the romance here with both Lolita and her aunt both liking Diego. Diego likes Lolita but as part of his plan pretends to like the aunt to sow more discord. That was probably hitting a little below the belt to be honest. You don’t feel all that bad for her since trying to start an affair while already married is already a huge taboo but Diego encouraging it isn’t great either. Definitely made for a rather odd romance and it’s good Lolita was quick to overlook this and realize it was fake by the end because otherwise that romance definitely wouldn’t have worked very well. Honestly I’d say that romance is still rather rushed either way. I think they could have bypassed that and since it wouldn’t really change the film at all, it’s best left on the shelf.

I don’t really have any issues with the film which is always a good sign. It’s just a great experience and has the right amount of tension, action, and solid characters. Each character feels well developed here which enhances the overall adventure. For example the local father/bishop was a nice supporting character who was really helpful and was quick on the uptake. Now I would have liked some kind of a big cliffhanger as the film ended in order to get the sequel lined up but it’s not like you need that one. In a way the only missed opportunity was in not having Zorro keep his secret identity from everyone but that’s probably something you’d only do if you were intending on making this a big franchise with lots of sequels. Since that wasn’t the goal here then there wasn’t really a reason to do that.

Overall, The Mark of Zorro is a really fun film. At its core it feels like a classic superhero movie and that’s a large part of why it’s so good. It really executes on each of the genres as well as the tone and feel of what this adventure should be like. It’s a very self contained story as well so you can jump in and just watch this as a oneshot while fully understanding the world around Zorro. They cover a lot of ground here and the pacing is good at each turn. The writing is on point and it’s all very believable. Yes this is definitely a title that you don’t want to miss out on.

Overall 8/10

Shangri-La Frontier

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This one’s a pretty interesting title with how it handles the video game worlds. Unlike Sword Art Online or .Hack where death means complete obliteration, this one is actually playing it out normally for now. You log in and have fun. It’s already got good action though and a less intense story could work out here. I’ll be interested in where it goes and it’s off to a fun start. I will have a review up as soon as I finish the series.

Overall 7/10

Sonic the Hedgehog, Vol. 2: The Fate of Dr. Eggman Review

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It’s time to continue the Sonic adventures and this time the hedgehog is up against one of the most intense threats yet! Well we’re not quite at saving the world stuff but the series has been building up the mystery of what exactly happened to Eggman. The robots are still running around and attacking cities in a coordinated way but Eggman himself has yet to appear before Sonic which is strange. We finally get the answers here as well as a new character who shows up.

As always with a standard comic volume this brings 4 issues with it. It’s a pretty well balanced amount of issues to bring in for a quick read. The first two issues are a two part adventure with Team Chaotix letting Sonic know that they’ve found Eggman but something isn’t right. See, Eggman appears to be a good guy with full amnesia and doesn’t know what was going on earlier. As a result he has done a lot of good for the town. Either this is all an elaborate act or he really is a changed man. The moral question is if they should throw him in jail or not because he doesn’t remember his crimes. Meanwhile Sonic has to think quickly because Shadow and Rouge have been dispatched to take Eggman down for the count. Can Sonic really take on the world’s ultimate life form?

Shadow The Hedgehog is a being of nearly unmatched power and so it’s great to see him taking center stage again. It feels like it’s been a little while since he appeared in the comics although of course in this run we’re only at volume 2 so it’s more that I feel like I haven’t seen him in a while. He adds a lot of energy to the comic and of course we have a really good fight with Sonic here. I would argue that in a straight fight Shadow should always win because their speed levels are just about equal but Shadow has his chaos abilities. Sonic’s only real edge here is that his speed is completely natural while Shadow relies on the skates so maybe Sonic will have better maneuverability on quick turns. Additionally Sonic can be said to be a bit faster and I’d accept that but it’s still very close.

Sonic and Shadow do end up having a talk on this though and you understand the positions here. If anything Sonic was sort of on Shadow’s side before the rival showed up, but more in a “I don’t trust Eggman” as opposed to just taking him out. That’s not exactly Sonic’s style after all, he will always take things in a very easy going way and so until he was sure of what he wanted to do he was going to make sure and protect Eggman. It was a solid clash of ideologies and Rouge did what she does best which is gathering information and manipulating the others from the shadows. Without her giving the cast a heads up things probably would have gotten very dicey.

In terms of the Eggman situation well I’d have to say that they got it right. At the end of the day taking revenge on him now when he doesn’t remember anything wouldn’t really accomplish anything. I think you could probably still lock him up and wouldn’t resist that order but the idea of having him effectively do community service while being watched by other heroes makes a lot of sense to me. That way they’ll see if he does anything crazy and in theory they can stop him right away. No harm no foul and all. I look forward to seeing Shadow return again in the future though.

In the third issue we get the big return of Metal Sonic which was cool. He’s always a really interesting character and can have some of the best storylines. He’s still in his neo Metal Sonic form similar to Heroes and I like the spiky nature of that design. He is still really powerful as well to the point where Sonic wasn’t sure about finishing the fight there. I look forward to having a more extended fight with the two of them soon but this definitely worked as a solid intro for Metal Sonic to this series and he has big plans. It’s safe to say that he’s going to have a big role for a while now and the heroes are absolutely on the back foot at this point.

The final issue continues the saga but more as a subplot as we focus on Sonic and Silver teaming up with a new character named Whisper. She’s sort of like a next generation freedom fighter. She works alone but has been taking down quite a lot of enemy bases and helping people out. She’s as quiet as a whisper but already has a lot of fans including Silver. She seems like a talented fighter but I admit that the whispering gimmick got old really fast so I’m hoping she will get over that as part of a character arc or something. No reason you’d have to keep that angle up for all of her character appearances right? I mean you could…but I’m ready to break away from that and just have her stand out by saving the day all the time.

Admittedly Silver could stand to look a bit cooler as well. I miss the days of Sonic 2006 when he was basically Future Trunks. An unstoppable fighter trying to avenge his forsaken future and doing what needs to be done. He’s lost so much edge since then that he may as well be a completely different character. You would just never guess that he is the same guy if not for the design being the same. I need Silver to have his big comeback and quickly because I always liked that guy a lot back in the day.

Still, Sonic is on point as always and that’s the most important thing in the end. The art is really good as expected and it makes for an easy read. You never have to pause on a page to wonder what’s going on because it’s all really clear. If you’re pausing it is only to appreciate how good and streamlined the art is. A lot of work was absolutely put into this one and the Sonic series continues to operate at a high level. I would even say that it beats volume 1 since this time we got Shadow and Metal Sonic into the mix which always elevates things.

Overall, I definitely recommend checking this comic out. The Sonic comics have not disappointed and we are setting up the seeds for a lot of fun events in the future. At this rate Sonic is going to need some back-up and maybe even his Super Sonic form won’t cut it this time. Might it be time to bring in Infinite? Well, it’s not like Sonic even knows where that guy is or if he even still exists but it’s something to dream about at least. Sometimes you need overwhelming power to stop another powerful fighter.

Overall 8/10

Fire Emblem Engage

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Probably thought this was for the game for a minute there right? I’ll have a review up for that one soon too but in the meantime the manga has started and it’s off to a good beginning. I’ll have a review up once it finishes but the art is good and the story is on point so I see this being a smooth journey.

Overall 7/10

The 39 Steps Review

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The 39 Steps is definitely an interesting movie but it is one that is held back by the main character. He’s annoying to watch the whole time and will just grate on your nerves. The guy isn’t the nicest fellow that’s for sure and leaves the worst possible first impression with the main heroine so while you expect that the romance is still coming, you are just hoping that it won’t. Just skip it….so I enjoy the story in the film and how everything is really mysterious but the film also has a lot of unnecessary moments and a weak lead that distracts from this.

The movie opens with Richard enjoying a show where a guy called Mr. Memory confirms that he knows everything. Ask him any serious question and he can get you the answer on the spot. It’s really quite impressive to be honest. Well suddenly a lady runs into Richard and asks him to take her home. He agrees but the whole thing is rather odd. She says that she is being chased by a bunch of ruffians who want to murder her and while Richard doubts this at first, she is promptly murdered. The only clue he has left is a paper she was holding with a map. He is now the primary suspect in her murder so he has to find the real villains and solve this case quickly.

So far so good. It’s a pretty interesting plot. One unique thing about the movie is also that this guy is completely out of his depth for the entirety of the movie. Yes, not just the beginning of the movie or for part of it but the whole thing. This guy really has no clue what he is up against and even we as the viewer don’t know a whole lot. This is done effectively since we’re seeing the world through the lead’s eyes. There is no time for info dumps or twists about what is going on. Yes, we get some answers by the end but not a whole lot of them. The majority of the film is Richard running around and getting himself into trouble.

For example one of the best parts there is when Richard finally makes it to his destination and meet up with a Mr. Jordan who he thinks can help him. Unfortunately this guy turns out to be one of the main villains so not only is he not going to get any help from this guy but it’s actually the reverse and he might be in trouble now. I like how Jordan plays along for a bit before just dropping the act. The film also has that retro style of talking where everyone is being super polite even when talking about how someone is going to get murdered. Jordan says Richard has to die but gives him some options and tries to be nice about the whole thing.

Then while they’re in the middle of talking he just shoots Richard out of the blue. I just like how nonchalant the whole thing was. He just shot him in the middle of the living room and walked away. Now granted, this also leads to the cheesiest part of the film which is that he didn’t check to make sure that Richard was actually dead. Cmon now that’s the first thing you have to check. It turns out that the bible he stole from a domestic abuser saved his life. Richard’s luck gets no better as he runs off to the sheriff who doesn’t believe his story at all and things continue to escalate.

So yeah Richard is doing a lot of running here which is why we don’t have time to learn much about the two factions of secret agents going at it with each other. You just need to know the key facts here which is that one side has some intel that they shouldn’t and they will get away unless the cops get involved. By the time the film is over Richard may be safe for a bit but I feel like nobody’s actually going to stop the 39 Steps because where do you even begin with that? We don’t even know how big the organization is or how many members they have. The possibilities are really endless.

If this was the extent of the film then it would all be swell but one of the weakest aspects of the film is the whole subplot with Pamela. So they first meet on a train where Richard tries to use her as a disguise when being chased by the cops. His bright idea here was to go all the way for a kiss instead of a hug or something. I was glad when she ratted him out because if a random person shows up and does that this should absolutely be your first reaction. He holds that against her though and the whole scene is just wild because it also doesn’t feel like something the hero would do. I thought that was a really weak scene.

She tries to get him into trouble for a long while after that but eventually they get handcuffed together and now she really has no escape. He forces her to pretend to be married to him and whenever she tries to yell for help he’ll just grab her by the neck so she can’t talk or threaten to shoot her. This is the hero? Now it’s not like the film is portraying him to be demented or anything and the scenes aren’t meant to be crazy but they’re not exactly played for laughs either. I think he just goes way too far in trying to scare her. He fears for his life but making her fear for hers really isn’t helping matters in the slightest. He still takes time to flirt and start a relationship as well so he needs to get his priorities straight.

The guy is all over the place and so by the end you have no sympathy for him. It’s a shame that people think he is a murderer but he’s starting to act like one anyway so that’s maybe just how this will end up going anyway. The film also has a very random pitstop near the middle where he bumps into a rather shady guy who prays a lot but seems like a phony and his poor wife who doesn’t really know what to do. Things get dicey for her after Richard leaves and it’s like…did we need to see this? Yeah it’s generally understood that this guy seems like he may get abusive and has a chip on his shoulder but it’s a bit of a dark element that has absolutely nothing to do with anything.

This film feels really unfocused which is fine for the story but it also just means that any bad elements which show up also feel like they have no real point in being here. The film would just be better off without these moments being included at all and there is no real incentive to watch this over another thriller. I’d recommend most of the other retro titles I’ve seen higher than this one. The ending is pretty clever and ties in well to the intro but ultimately this film barely breaks even. That’s quite the feat considering that with the solid writing and tone this would usually be guaranteed to be a 7 at least so you know the title definitely did something wrong.

Overall, That main character just needed to be arrested after a while and you feel worse for the heroine who gets swept up into all of this. If this ever gets a remake I think we just need to have a bigger focus on The 39 Steps and what they really do. They certainly have a lot of plans going on and operatives around the world but what is their end game really? I just want to see more of how they operate in this world while living double lives as millionaires having fun in society. Those questions are the most interesting parts of the film.

Overall 5/10