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Zero Wing Review

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Time for our next Genesis adventure with Zero Wing. This one definitely has a pretty iconic moment in the script and as a whole it’s pretty intense to see it. You really would not have expected the script to be this rough after the game was translated into English but I guess this squeaked through. In a way it makes the game funnier though so it works out and the game gets a full thumbs up either way thanks to the smooth gameplay.

The basic plot is about stopping the aliens who are trying to conquer or destroy the planet. You have to use your own ship to stop them and it must be a crazy high tier ship because it is destroying an entire army. I know that’s mainly gameplay mechanics of course but it’s still pretty fun to see. There sadly is not an ending cutscene here so after the opening you could say that the story completely dies. This is pretty odd because that just feels like it’s a given. Maybe there is some way to unlock an extra cutscene? Maybe not but that’s at least something that could make a little sense.

Ah well it may have ended on a weak note but the game was still fun. Think of this like a 2D Galaga where you are spamming your blasters at everything that moves. One unique thing about this adventure is that you can keep on switching your gun every time you get a power up but some in my opinion are better than others. Once I got the homing gun I would dodge all the other power ups because I didn’t want to lose it. It may be the weakest out of all the guns but at the same time the homing attack function just makes it something that you do not want to lose. This game is part bullet hell to an extent so you’re really focused on dodging. Not having to worry about where you are firing is a massive help.

Particularly since the attack power difference wasn’t massive. Yes, it’s enough to be noticeable but at the same time it’s still not a problem. The gameplay is very fast paced so you get to trust your reaction times while at the same time it’s not so fast that you have to make a lot of gambles. When you get hit, you know instinctively that you made a mistake. Often times you will immediately recognize your mistake as you get hit. With very few exceptions, it always feels reasonable that you can beat a level without getting hit but realistically everyone will slip up at some point.

Then for the graphics, the game is pretty good. The fact that we have actual illustrations with text is pretty good since most of this console’s games couldn’t seem to manage that. Meanwhile the soundtrack also gets a thumbs up without a doubt. The tunes are fun and really fit the gameplay. Definitely no issues on the technical side for this one. I do have to address the one weak point of the game though which is that it is very short. The game can be completed in under an hour and there is no real reason to play it again. The replay value here is absolutely zero and so you need to make sure that the single playthrough is enough for you to want to buy the game. If not, then that is a very valid reason on why you would want to skip it.

Zero Wing joins a bunch of other games that I’ve played where I feel there is a lot of potential to bring the series back. The story is already there so modernize it with more cutscenes and you can make a franchise out of it. Of course you can say that for many games but when you’ve already got the story and good gameplay at your disposal then it almost goes without saying. This is definitely not one that you want to miss.

Overall, Zero Wing is a pretty good game. I definitely had a good amount of fun with it. Of course it is a bit on the short side and there is technically no replay value. So this is a one and done type of game but hey that’s fine as long as that first playthrough is good. Naturally this isn’t really a game that I would spend money on but when you’re playing it as part of a full package deal then that’s really not a bad bet. I would definitely recommend checking it out, these sci-fi shooters are always so much fun!

Overall 7/10

Dynamite Headdy Review

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Now this is definitely one of the most difficult video games that I’ve played in a minute. Certainly one of the toughest platformers and without the power of access points and rewinding I don’t see how anyone was able to beat the final boss of this game. It’s incredibly difficult with randomized movements and a whole lot of health. I died so many times in this fight but of course in the end all I had to do was win once to turn the tables and that’s exactly what I did! You just have to keep on fighting until you have made it to the end.

The basic plot involves the main guy getting suckered by girl who keeps stealing stuff. Yeah okay that’s not technically the focus of the plot even though it’s what happens. Someone is putting the entire world at risk and has powerful robotic menaces under his disposal. Headdy had to destroy them all and save puppetkind but does he have what it takes to defeat everyone? He has the power needed to be sure but the guy isn’t the smartest and is easily suckered so you really have to take that into account. Trust me, the guy makes me roll my eyes sometimes to be honest because the same cutscene happens after every world. You’d think he would learn…

All that said, I’m glad that the game actually has a real story. There are lots of cutscenes even if there isn’t much dialogue and the characters are very expressive so you feel like you are always in the mix. This game would absolutely do well with a modern remake because even this one has aged well. The gameplay is also very unique with how you put on different heads to gain different abilities. You need to get used to jumping and then launching your head since that’s a bit different compared to the usual action of jumping and automatically grabbing onto something. Once your muscle memory gets used to it, you’re set though.

Also watch out because there are what I call trap heads. One in particular involves putting on a giant head that prevents you from moving for a little while and then you get destroyed. The game is very punishing with your mistakes so if you put that on…good luck. It’s over by that point and you’re not going to make it to the end. Other power ups like turning tiny are good for very specific circumstances but if you use it in the middle of a level it will often hold you back instead of helping you. So I’d say you should definitely keep that in mind. The best power up is probably the one that surrounds you with an energy barrier that damages any enemy who gets close. That one is super handy with no real drawbacks.

Now like I said with the difficulty level, the enemies hit hard! You will lose all of your health very quickly and the attacks can be hard to react to. Specifically I have to talk about the final boss here because he is the most noticeable by far. He has a ton of different attack options up his sleeve and there is barely a chance to see what he is going to do before he does it. The guy seems to have a different pose for each attack which is likely your entry way to being able to dodge in time but it’s still an incredibly tight window.

You also need to be able to grab the specific power up that you need in order to dodge his attack and that is way easier said than done. Trust me this is exactly the kind of enemy that you do not want to face because he is always in the perfect position to take you down. I died probably over 50 times against him and that was with the power of the Switch Online. He’s an awesome looking final boss though. Great design all the way and really someone who does strike fear into you. He’s an excellent final boss and definitely a villain who excels over 90% of other platforming villains. This game deserves to be a big series.

The graphics have aged really well due in large part to the fun artstyle. The soundtrack is really good too and I definitely have no complaints there. The length is not the longest as each world is fairly short but the levels all have a lot of originality to them. For example in one level you are flying around the whole time, then you’re underwater in one, etc. The gameplay itself changes to match the levels which is impressive. It’s not afraid to change things up a lot.

In fact one level even had a whole puzzle which really did stump me for a bit. You have to basically bounce off of a bunch of walls to get to the top and you have to do this really fast before you fall down or hit a spike. The timing was so specific that I overthought it which is part of why I didn’t think that was how to get past the puzzle. I was looking for a switch or an alternate exit but in the end the direct way was the right way.

Overall, This game was better than I was expecting. I’m not crazy about one aspect of the ending since the implications are rather dire but otherwise this was very satisfying all the way through. The game feels ahead of its time with how many different gameplay mechanics it used and the fact that it had a true story all the way through. Trust me, that’s really not an easy feat and it only gets more and more impressive as I play other Genesis games.

Overall 7/10

Columns Review

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All right it’s time for our next Genesis title but this one’s not one of the more impressive ones. In fact you could say that this is one of the weakest ones. I’m not totally sure what they were going for here except to say that it did not work. It’s a puzzle game that’s similar to Tetris and other matching games but the big difference here is that you can’t rotate the pieces sideways. They just go from up to down and that’s about it which to me makes the game not quite as fun. There’s still a lot of strategy so I won’t say in any way that this makes it more basic but it’s tougher to really land the combos that you want.

When you launch the game there is only one main mode here. You can play it on easy, normal, or hard. Beyond that the game is exactly he same on all 3 modes and the only difference is the speed at which the pieces fall down and also the points that you start with. On easy mode you start with 0, 20,000 on normal mode, and 50,000 on hard mode. What this means if you should always play hard mode because even if you lose almost immediately, you have so many points that it adds up. At least me personally it feels like the right way to go. Now if you can’t move the pieces on their sides, how do you get matches?

Well each tile has 3 colors so what you can do is change the orders of the colors on the block even though you can’t turn it. It’s definitely a tricky one and it’s hard to get the hang of it. You really have to forget everything you’ve learned about matching games previously and then get used to these rules. Otherwise you will really just end up playing yourself the whole time and putting yourself in a rough spot. Even by the end when playing this game I felt like I was making most of my matches by mistake. It was super hard to actually plan for them and more often than not I would just end up losing eventually without knowing what I was really doing.

The core problem is that as a result the game just isn’t super fun. It’s not awful or anything but there’s virtually nothing to do in the game. It’s as basic as possible and that doesn’t have to be a bad thing but then you really need an excellent gameplay style. Just being okay is not nearly good enough and that’s the real problem here. Give me some different backgrounds or something. Of course a story mode is the number one factor that would be super hype but these are other things that could have helped more. More songs, backgrounds, modes, etc.

As it stands this game is just too barebones and has not aged particularly well. There is really no particular reason to play this game as long as many others exist. I will just naturally find myself gravitating to those instead and I’m sure that the same is true for many gamers which is why you never hear about this title nowadays. The graphics are okay but it’s not like there is much on the screen for the game to show off either. So what you have is a game that is absolutely stuck without the ability to improve.

Also I’m pretty sure this is more of a Nintendo Switch Online thing than with the actual game or at least I hope that is the case but the game does not save your high score. Yes, you heard that right. It goes back to 0 each time so every time you play the game says that you now have the high score. A little suspect eh? That also takes away from wanting to play for too long because yeah you can write the high score down but how long will you actually remember it? It’s a real load off your mind to have the game store this kind of basic information instead of you.

Overall, There isn’t a lot of replay value here because you’ll basically just be playing the same level over and over and over again with nothing much beyond that. Nobody is going to be spending that amount of time on a single game for very long. It just wouldn’t make sense. You know it and I know it. I’d like to think that this would have potential with a modern day remake but I do think you would need a ton of bells and whistles to make it worth the purchase. Otherwise I would really just go with the classic Tetris style instead because I find it to be more fun. That’s what it really boils down to in the end.

Overall 3/10

Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls Review

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It’s time for the last Apple Arcade review as I have now canceled my subscription with the service. It had a good run but that’s how things have to be. This one’s more of a real title than Mane Merge although it does suffer from a few issues with how the original game was designed. It was going to be a gatcha title after all but had to remove the freemium elements for the Apple Arcade. So what you have is a game that is not very well balanced and yet…it is fun. You just have to use some special methods to get around.

The basic plot is that Alucard becomes aware of another plot to revive Dracula. He has to make sure that this doesn’t happen and so he partners himself with an organization to stop this. Basically they have to go through the books of history and recruit all of the strongest vampire hunters. The villains are trying to change history at the same time to remove these heroes. Whoever moves fast will claim the edge but with Death itself trying to resurrect Dracula, is there any way to stop him? It definitely won’t be easy but Alucard is an old hand at this and ready to win.

The gameplay here is your classic 2D platformer. You use your sword, wand, or whip to mow through enemies and get to the end. Each level is fairly short so you can breeze through them but of course there are a lot of levels in each world. There are 10 worlds here and each one has 16 levels although you only need to complete 10 to move onto the next one. Beating the rest of the levels is often recommended to get progress towards new S class weapons and to get stronger. So you go through the levels and claim victory right? Well there is one thing stopping you from doing that and this is your power level.

So here’s where the gatcha type elements come in. Each of your characters has a level and then your account has a level. You raise character levels by beating enemies and getting EXP while your account level goes up by completing stages. Your weapon, sub weapon, weapon 2, weapon 3, and 5 armors all have individual levels as well. Those you level up with gems but every 5 levels it gets maxed out and then you have to limit break the equipment. You limit break it by getting memories of the weapons which you can try to find in a stage, search for through an auto complete, or summon. It will take a while to do each one so these are basically stopping points where you just have to wait until you get them.

Summoning is expensive and searches are limited to 60 times per day so the rest of the time you will need to actually go out there and just keep on completing the levels. That part is limitless at least but you can see how this would take a while right? The levels keep jumping up in terms of difficulty level so you have to try and stay close to compete. In the end I was able to complete the game with a power level of 88,000 and it took me 22 hours to accomplish this. The number is partially RNG based on what you summon so add or subtract from that amount if you aim to complete the game.

There is a trick that I mentioned earlier though so lets talk it through because without that I would not be anywhere close to beating the game. On the Arcade none of the shops work and it sounds like this is being worked on but I didn’t have time for that. So the trick is to turn off your mobile phone’s automatic date finder and manually put in an earlier date. I warped myself back to 2023 which activated all of the shops and I was able to grab what I needed. The one annoying thing about this is your phone’s other apps like your email will keep asking you what’s going on with the date so accomplish as much as you can in one shot before going back to normal.

I’m not sure if messing with the date could cause any problems with your phone but it’s best not to really take any chances with that right? Then you can keep warping days to collect the login bonuses and refresh the searches so you can progress through the game. So while I played the game for 22 hours, I lived through close to half a month by moving myself through time. Without that ability, it would take me about that long to complete which is pretty crazy. Apple Arcade really enjoys adding a grind to its games but since this one was left unfinished that worked in my favor since they didn’t bother setting an automatic date.

It’s still something worth considering in the review though which is what holds this game back from being higher. I enjoy the actual gameplay but you’re effectively locking all of the players out with the way the difficulty jumps up. You just wouldn’t be able to damage the boss until you got upgraded and that’s why gatcha elements can be a little annoying in gameplay. Particularly when getting stronger is such a time consuming project.

What helps compared to something like Mane Merge is that at least the story was a lot of fun all the way through. Again I do think we should have gotten more cutscenes and voice acting but the crossover effect was cool even as someone who doesn’t know a ton about Castlevania. I imagine there were probably a lot of easter eggs and such in the story. Everyone got their props and respect in the story which is what you always want to see and the ending was actually very satisfying.

The graphics in this game aren’t quite as impressive as the other Apple Arcade titles. This is the one aspect that the game really lacks in. It’s a bit surprising but maybe it’s just the art style that it was going for. Whatever it was, the game definitely doesn’t look very good. Meanwhile the soundtrack is fun though, there are actually a whole lot of tunes in the game so you don’t hear them repeat very often.

Overall, The length of the game is pretty impressive. As noted, it’s 20+ hours while playing through even with the enhancements Play it normally and you’re probably looking at 50+ hours. I didn’t even touch the special event stages which will add some replay value. I will note though that the replay value is limited in this case because after you play through those last levels, there is nothing else. No other mode to have fun with the gameplay or anything like that. You’ll just have ended the game and then it’s time to put it own. That’s actually a bit rare for a gacha title but I guess once a title is no longer supported it makes sense not to keep on adding stuff. If you enjoy Castlevania and have the Apple Arcade then I recommend checking it out but otherwise you can probably grab one of the classic Castlevania titles instead.

Overall 6/10

My Little Pony: Mane Merge Review

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It’s time to look at an Apple Arcade title that is definitely a very long one. I poured in tons of hours to complete this game and unfortunately the length is actually a weak point here. I tend to enjoy matching gameplay but there should be something with it as opposed to matching just for the sake of it. The game has a story yes, but it is really dragged out with whole chapters going by without much plot progression. The grind was a little too much for a little amount of content which is what doomed this title.

Basically the game starts with a villain deciding to take down Equestria and she has some kind of magical abilities that allow her to summon vines which start to terrorize the populace. Nobody knows that she is doing this but in a way that might have been an issue for her because nobody takes the threat too seriously. Yeah the ponies are removing the vines but there isn’t a lot of urgency. Has she underestimated the resilience of the heroes?

Well she absolutely has, that’s a big guarantee here. The heroes keep on chopping down the vines and rescuing their friends. Rinse and repeat for all 11 chapters, the heroes just don’t stop. You get little cutscenes every now and again and then one main one at the beginning/ending of a chapter but there isn’t any real voice acting. Each character has one word that they will say as a sound effect and they will keep on saying it but that’s like the bare minimum of voice acting. An Apple Arcade title could absolutely afford to have real voice acting.

The graphics are really good though, I can give the game that much at least. The character models are on point and the backgrounds all look sharp. This does at least look like a very modern title. The soundtrack is very limited and while the main theme isn’t bad, there’s nothing very exciting here. You will very quickly forget all about the tunes. This game is aimed a bit younger so I’m not expecting heavy metal or anything but there are plenty of great Mario and Sonic tunes in each game and those are aimed at kids too.

As mentioned, the gameplay itself isn’t bad. Basically you match different items together in order to form new items. Form those new ones to get newer ones, etc. There are 6 kinds of objects and each one has up to 10 levels of items which means a lot of merging. You don’t have unlimited energy either. When you run out of spins you can either wait around 2 hours to replenish 100 merges or you can play a minigame to get up to 75 merges back. It’s nice that there is a way you can just wait it out, but it’s not very practical given the amount of merges that you need. You could go through well over 1000-2000 merges in a single chapter so that’s a lot of merges.

The game also forces you to switch sides every now and again. For example you might just figure you’ll do a ton of minigames to stockpile a few thousand spins and then go do the merging right? Well the cap is 200 so you have to go back and do some merging before you go to the minigames. So you’re constantly switching between the two areas. I don’t think there is really much of a point to making you limited like this. I’d have preferred to focus on one and then the other. There are a lot of minigames but the fastest one in my opinion is feeding the critters. I would just spam that one over and over again.

The game does have a ton of content though, I can tell you that much. The main story probably took me at least 50+ hours to complete and then there are two other story modes to contend with as well. Every 3 days there are mini events you can compete in for fun and of course there is a sticker book which holds your achievements. If you want to 100% that, you will need to play every minigame at least 50+ times and ace all of the story modes. It’s actually very achievable but of course very long.

As far as I know the main story mode is easily the longest out of all the stories but even then I bet this will take a good amount of time for you to beat the others. This is just an example of what I would call a fairly pointless grind. If you really enjoy the game then of course you will be glad for some extra content but if not then there is no incentive to go through the other stories. You will barely be able to muster up the courage to beat the first story mode.

It’s just a shame because a ton of effort was put into this one but the effort was focused on the wrong area. It should have been on making the story mode as compelling as possible and always having some kind of a reward for the merges. When you get enough hearts to unlock the next item, there should always be a cutscene. Maybe make less items but each one costs more merges to unlock and then you would have a better balance here. It’s just rough to play for an hour or more gathering hearts and no real progression to speak of.

Overall, Mane Merge is a game with a ton of content but it was just bloated without a lot of incentive to make it fun. It’s certainly not worth getting Apple Arcade for and I wouldn’t keep the service for this game either. At the end of the day you should give it a go if you’re a huge MLP fan but personally I would say to play one of the matching games like Fruits Mania or Lollipop instead of this title. Those didn’t even have a story and yet they were a lot more fun to go through. This one lacks that addicting edge to it so instead of being lost in the game, you’re wondering when it will end.

Overall 4/10

Monsters Review

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Lets take a look at Oda’s original oneshot! One Piece has become one of the most recognized franchises in the world and yet before that he had already written a quick story here. You can tell that his art style is a little rougher around the edges from back then but it still looks clear enough. It’s a fun story and you can bet that I was inspired to check this out since the new Netflix adaption just came out. It’s a rare case where I saw the adaption before the original special. It’s a very faithful adaption though so it’s just about the same.

We start off with the famous Shirano stopping by a local village and he is recognized by the waitress Flare who was saved by him as a child. She survived a very traumatic ordeal when a dragon murdered everyone and destroyed the village but thanks to his help she survived. Unfortunately a samurai known as Ryuma appears and picks a fight. Shirano defeats him and diffuses the situation but that same samurai picks a fight with a villainous figure known as D.R. who decides to summon a dragon as revenge. Now the village is doomed to be destroyed and Flare wishes that Ryuma had never stopped by. She will have to relive the same tragedy all over again and this time Shirano will likely die as he has decided to stay back and fight it which is a fool’s errand.

Ryuma definitely comes across as really irresponsible and not the kind of guy you want to have as your hero. Picking fights for minor things is a bit much no matter how he tries to justify it. Yeah I put no blame on him for the D.R. matter because villains will do what villains do but he shouldn’t have picked a fight at the restaurant. The guy does have a good rage mode in the story though. Seeing Flare break down and jumping into action was definitely the right move. The scene showing her trying to keep it together was really good.

I give her a lot of credit there because trying to put on a brave face is a really tough thing to do but she pulled it off. It may not have fooled Ryuma but she wasn’t trying to burden anyone with her problems. I deduct some points for her blaming Ryuma for everything right away though. D.R. is the one who looks shady and at the end of the day he summoned the dragon so shouldn’t you be blaming him the most? Same goes for all of the villagers who panic as always.

Shirano definitely has a really big role in the story as well. It’s a role you can probably see coming but he pulls it off well. There’s always something scary about a character like this when you feel like you know him but then find out the hard way that you never did. It’s why you have to be careful who you trust and how far you trust them. Trust is not something to be given lightly. D.R. is a very forgettable character though and there’s nothing to make him stand out.

As mentioned the art is a little on the rough side but I would still say it’s good enough. You can always tell what is going on. It really has changed a lot compared to the current One Piece days but hey time will do that to any artist. There is a decent page count to this oneshot but with the wide panels and lots of reaction type shots, it really goes by very quickly. You’ll easily be able to read this one in one sitting. The action scenes we get here are really short so at the end of the day this is more about the adventure. You won’t be bored at any point and it moves pretty quickly so I have no issues there.

I think this could have even worked as a full ongoing if the author was interested in that. It definitely would have been more of a Kenshin type story about a wandering samurai but with the dragon in chapter one, the author already opened the door for a lot of supernatural events which would be different. Dragons themselves aren’t super rare to find in a story like this but if the author went far enough with spellcasters and such this could have been pretty unique. Ultimately I am glad that we got One Piece instead though.

Overall, Monsters is a fun oneshot. It’s a nostalgic trip to the past and an interesting look at what could have been rather than One Piece. It’s a good title which is enough for a oneshot like this but naturally doesn’t have enough in it to pass the average ongoing title. It’s free on the viz site right now so I’d recommend giving it a read. Then if you enjoy the series, it’s time to quickly check out One Piece and begin one of the longest journeys of your life!

Overall 6/10

The Vanishing Review

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All right, it’s time for a rather brutal stretch of film reviews so get ready folk! First up we have a title that hits rock bottom. Films about a kidnapping need to be pretty careful as it is. You don’t want to get too grim and especially if you are going for a more realistic angle rather than stylistic. If you have a lot of thrilling fight scenes and a hype climax you can do some things with the genre but the ending is really a huge component. This film fails in all of that and especially with its decision to have the villain appear so often. You really don’t want to see that guy and yet he doesn’t want to get off of your screen.

The movie starts with Rex and his girlfriend Saskia driving towards their big vacation spot. Unfortunately they run out of gas in the middle of a dark tunnel so despite Saskia begging Rex to stay with her, he runs off to find some help/get some gas. He eventually returns and she’s upset but they agree to move on. Unfortunately she is kidnapped immediately afterwards and it happens so fast that nobody even noticed. Years later, people still don’t know what happened but Rex is determined to find her. The kidnapper has been taunting him with letters and Rex is ready to finally catch him.

However, the viewer knows who the murderer is right away. That’s because a massive part of the film is from the villain, Raymond’s perspective. This was a massive mistake if you ask me. Who wants to see this psychotic villain reveling in his victory? We see him go through the process of learning how to kidnap people and how this was all premeditated. The guy wanted to commit the ultimate evil to prove that he could and it’s all pretty twisted. So the movie spends a large chunk getting back to the present where we see the events play out from his point of view. Will Rex be able to catch him?

Well Rex is one of the biggest suckers I’ve seen so that’s going to be tricky. You have a guy who has been sending him notes and when he finally shows up, Rex doesn’t take him down? I’m not saying you murder him of course since you need answers but you definitely knock him out first of all. Then you either take him to the cops if you are confident that you have enough answers or you take him to a secluded area where nobody will bother you and get some answers out of him. Either way in no scenario should this guy be calling the shot anymore.

The usual hostage type defense doesn’t work in this case since it has been years and the odds of her being alive are basically 0. So at this point you’re avenging her. I dare say you don’t even need to find out exactly what happened, just end this guy but if you must know, find that out first. No, Rex decides to just get in the guy’s car and listen to him monologue for hours about how genius his plan was. Can you really imagine listening to the guy who murdered your girlfriend go on for hours and hours without doing anything?

I really didn’t like Rex the whole time but it started even earlier than that. Ditching Saskia in the tunnel was a really lousy way to start things. How could you ever dream of doing that? She easily could have been murdered right there and then. I also feel like that’s the kind of thing that you never really forget. Years could pass and you would still remember that. Of course you would, because that shows what will happen when the chips are down. In a stressful moment he did end up leaving her.’

It’s too bad because she seemed like a nice character. Saskia doesn’t actually get to appear much at all though. Rex ultimately gets a new girlfriend in Lieneke which is very questionable at best. I don’t see how you move on before you’ve got any kind of closure. Particularly with how tragic the ending was here. It just doesn’t make sense. The film seemed to be focusing on how Rex was also going rather insane like the odd scene of him staring at a computer screen and sort of playing something like Pong with Saskia’s names jumping all around the screen and bumping into each other.

I’m all for a character being persistent in something like this. He should never quit and should keep on obsessing until he has answers. It’s just the fact that he makes all of the wrong decisions and lets himself be manipulated. There’s a scene of him essentially offing himself with how ridiculous it is. I dare say that it’s the single dumbest decision I’ve ever seen a main character make. It’s a pretty bold claim but I would absolutely defend it. Lets play this out for a minute.

A guy who self identifies as the murderer and who is clearly insane says he is going to drug you so that you can find out exactly how your girlfriend died. Are you actually going to drink the drugs that he gave you? This guy could not have been any more clear in exactly what was going to happen here. I won’t spoil the ending in case you ever want to watch it but I would advise against that. This is a bottom tier, z grade film and the ending is pretty awful. It makes perfect sense given the scene that just played out but that’s the problem. It’s hard to picture anybody possibly making this decision. It’s flat out nutty!

There’s just nothing to enjoy about this film. It’s a really dreary, dark film with a very small cast and most of the screen time is about the main villain. All of his scenes are just nauseating. I’m glad the film didn’t try to make him sympathetic or anything because that would have really been insane but the ending is completely unsatisfying. It could have done more to condemn the character rather than just doing nothing. We just don’t need to see this guy. Psychotic villains like this don’t deserve to be getting that level of screen time. We know he’s crazy so there’s no other context needed. If you have to show off his ideas then cut all of his screen time for the flashbacks and have him explain things in the car. It would still be a royal chore to listen to but it’s better than seeing that guy.

Overall, This film will have you shaking your head all the way. At no point in the film’s run was it ever enjoyable. Even before the kidnapping the whole scene in the tunnel left things off on the wrong foot. I can’t say that I really had much hopes for the film but even with that, this manages to go under them. A film needs to be enjoyable at the end of the day. That’s the whole point of entertainment and this one was not fun. So stay as far away from this one as you can. There are no benefits to checking it out. Try something a bit more intense like Justice League or something like that.

Overall 0/10

The Girl from the Other Side Review

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Usually there’s a bit more to the title but it seems like most sites cut that intro part out so I’ll keep it direct too. At this point it’s been a while since I finished the manga but it still feels pretty recent. The movie does a good job of capturing the spirit of the series and the key parts from early on. The only thing I was expecting them to include that they didn’t was an old lady that shows up early on but I don’t think it was a bad idea to keep her out. This way you focus more on the two main characters.

The film starts with a bunch of shady soldiers seemingly on the lookout for some kind of monster. After they leave, one of these monsters arrives and finds a little girl named Shiva. She seems to have been completely abandoned and he decides to raise her, at least until he can find a safe way to get her back to humanity. We never find out his name here so I will refer to him as Teacher which is what Shiva calls him. Teacher’s situation is unique in that he cannot make any kind of contact with a human or else he will spread a plague that will destroy them.

The state of the world is such where once you make contact with a monster, you contract a disease and become a monster as well before you die. So the villages are very strictly quarantined and any monsters are hunted on sight. Monsters like Teacher no longer feel anything and they also can’t sleep anymore so they are constantly awake and alert. Fortunately for Teacher he seems to be able to exist indefinitely with his mind intact instead of eventually going insane and dying. So that’s very fortunate but he has complete memory loss of his human life. The film is mainly about his dynamic with Shiva as he has to decide what the best thing is for her. Continuing to live with him or being with the humans.

On one hand the humans seem like a good pick since they will really know how to take care of her, but on the other hand almost all of the humans we see are corrupt, sinister, or panic at the drop of a hat. Teacher may not be the best at the domestic life but he has given Shiva a roof over her head and can actually cook. Me personally? I’d stick with the monster who was looking out for me as opposed to taking my chances with a bunch of stranger. I know that the humans could maybe find out if I have family or not but considering that Shiva was ditched in the middle of nowhere…I wouldn’t like my odds banking on that.

I give Shiva a lot of credit overall because she doesn’t panic or act the way most kids in these things tend to be. She’s not immature or anything like that and doesn’t hold Teacher back. While the situation isn’t the most comfortable, Shiva never complains or makes things harder on him. She’s very supportive at all times and looks out for his emotional wellbeing as well. Shiva does her best at all times and is the kind of character who sees the bright side of things. It’s exactly what makes her such a great character. You know that she would be easy to get along with.

Meanwhile I’ve already talked a lot about Teacher so if it’s not obvious, I thought he was a great character as well. He’s also trying his best. It’s why the dynamic works here because he clearly has no experience raising a kid and so he is learning as he goes. Meanwhile Shiva does her best to be useful as well like we see her doing the chores and helping him out so it’s a real team effort. It’s a really wholesome vibe in what is otherwise a pretty dreary world. At all times you are well aware of how messed up the world is but the movie focuses on these characters which is why the whole thing is so wholesome.

Now there is some danger here like when one of the soldiers pops up and also with the other monsters getting closer. There is definitely tension here and you aren’t really sure how things will play out the whole time. You’re fairly confident in Teacher being able to handle himself but if he’s attacked by a lot of monsters then it’s game over. Not being able to sleep is a massive plus since he can always keep watch but at the same time it is rough having to live while basically looking over your shoulder the whole time. Nobody wants to live like that but it seems like there are enemies at all sides.

The ending taps into the anime-ness of this adventure as we start talking about souls and things get trippy. Anime-ness might not be a real word but you’ll get what I mean when you see the climax. I will say that Teacher almost made a big mistake since the ending involves taking a ton of risks but it all works out which is the important thing. You get the feeling that there is a lot of world building left to be explored when the film ends and that makes sense since this is really an intro to the series.

It’s an effective one because it tells you exactly how the series would play out. It does get a bit more dialogue heavy with more characters in the manga but the overall tone and themes are pretty similar. I would just say it ends up getting darker and darker as the series approaches the ending. For the most part this title adapts most of the best parts either way. The animation techniques for this one is also interesting. Characters are constantly flickering like a 30s animation.

It intentionally is going for a very old look. Maybe like an Aesop’s Fables or something like that. It does work for the tone and mood that the movie is going for but if I’m being 100% here…I would still take some shinier looking animation. It succeeds in looking old but of course that means it’s not looking quite as sharp as it should. Intentional or not, I do think you should always try to look as good as possible. The soundtrack is also more subdued to keep with the tone. Again, understandable but a solid rock theme would have been nice.

Overall, This is a pretty strong story. On the technical side it’s really not all that impressive but the actual story is good and I enjoyed the characters. It’s one of those stories that is very simple but very emotional and executes at a high level the whole time. I can safely recommend it to anyone as a result. It’s easy to understand and I found it to be engaging. It’s fairly short after all so no time to drag on or anything like that. It’ll be nice if they ever adapt the rest of the series.

Overall 7/10

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: Visions of Coleus Review

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The Slime series always has a fairly tough balancing act to follow. On one hand it needs to provide you with a lot of action and hype but on the other hand Rimuru has already surpassed almost every character in the verse so it can be tough to have a satisfying opponent. Ultimately this spinoff adventure just rolls with it. Nobody is ever actually a threat to Rimuru and at no point are you really worried about the side characters so it just ends up being a fun side adventure that is pretty much stress free. I’d say it ends up working out pretty well though. The series really excels in this niche.

The adventure starts off with Rimuru being sent on a mission to go and resolve a dispute between two princes that is threatening to tear the country asunder. He doesn’t really care about this mission all that much but is ultimately talked into it. Basically each prince thinks that the other is acting unreasonably and Princess Zenobia has ended up being poisoned. There are suspects on both sides and the King seems to have lost all reason so he won’t be any help here. The whole situation is more than a little fishy so Rimuru will need to play detective. Curing Zenobia is the easy part but finding out who is the true culprit could be slightly more difficult. Can he find this out in time to keep the country from fighting?

Well if he was only a detective then it might be a little tough but he’s so powerful that he basically cheats. At one point he has his minions just fight off one of the prince’s advancing forces to buy a little time. For a split second it seems like his fighters are having a bit of trouble so I was glad that it turned out that they were holding back. I’m cool with humans matching them in terms of pure swordplay but in overall ability? Nah that would have been a stretch.

Not to say that there are no powerful villains here though. We do have some vampires/demons running around whose abilities are the real deal. While Rimuru would still deal with them quickly enough, it makes sense that the minions could have a tough time. In the end Rimuru looks pretty good here. He can be a bit hit or miss for me as I liked him a lot in season 2 but not as much in season 1. It’s safe to say that he has come a long way as the series went on and by this point he’s a consistently likable character.

The film couldn’t resist the urge to throw in some more original characters though so one of his allies here is a guy named Paolo. Paolo is super weak but means well. The guy is genuine in wanting to use his skills and I guess comparing him to Rimuru isn’t fair but it would be nice if the guy thought about things more before jumping into action. The series does spare some time to have Rimuru give him advice which helps out in the end. It was a pretty nice little bit of character development and it’s always nice when a film/miniseries can squeeze in a stand alone character arc like this.

The highlight of the special is definitely the quick fight between two demon lords who still haven’t done much in the present. As soon as the issue of vampires came up you could bet that this fight was going to be coming sooner than later. At least with one of them, the other demon lord strikes me as more of a troll who just likes to cause a scene. It does add even more connections to the big budget movie though. They share so many plot elements that it feels like they just wanted to do the same adventure twice. Hey that’s cool with me of course but then Diablo should have gotten a fight here again too. The guy earned it.

Rimuru’s disguise is also one of the best that I’ve seen for a lead in terms of being able to trick everyone so it’s ironic that it basically doesn’t work from the start. The one time a disguise can be perfect because the main character is a shape shifter is ruined because one of the characters can see souls. Ah well, I guess that kind of thing just happens.

Zenobia was a pretty good princess all things considered. She had plans of her own and did a good job of not cracking under pressure. She took some fairly massive risks like letting the villains drug her as she pretended to be asleep but the fact that she had actual abilities was cool. The two princes also weren’t bad. I don’t think you will remember them a whole lot after a while though because they’re a bit generic. One was tempted by the dark side and the other is your classic tough guy.

As this special is part mystery you can expect quite a few plot twists though and those work out well. It should go without saying that the animation is pretty good here. There isn’t as much time for the animators to flex here but the brief fights that we do get are good. The characters are always on model and the special effects are on point. The soundtrack is pretty good but mainly just stuff from the TV show. I guess they wouldn’t want to make a whole new ost for something short like this.

Overall, Basically you will definitely enjoy this title if you already like the Slime series. If you are new to the franchise this would definitely be quite the way to start it. It’s stand alone enough where you’ll understand all the main story beats and the rest you can pick up from context clues. Like I said it’s fairly low stakes and just a good chance to see the characters solving a problem and having fun. It works as more background as we see Rimuru develop into a solid king that everyone respects. So that’s fun and it’s always cool to see everyone’s reaction when they find out what a big shot the guy is. Rimuru is certainly unassuming all the time. I’m definitely ready for season 3 to come out already with more adventures for the gang. Whether they are serious action adventures or just a quick breather like this one, they’re always fun.

Overall 7/10

Ecco the Dolphin Review

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It’s time to take a look at a game that is pretty well known for the Genesis, but is it actually good? That’s always the key question in these kinds of things and unfortunately I can confirm that it’s not one of the top titles. It is missing a lot of quality of life features that could have helped it out a whole lot like more of a full map, more of a tutorial on the controls, and just more signage in general. I should know where I have to go at all times. Instead of being a fun fast paced adventure, it ends up getting lost in the weeds.

The general plot is definitely pretty crazy especially if you haven’t read the booklet or anything. Some Dolphins are splashing around when there’s a giant tremor and a bunch of trippy lights appear. The whole crew is scattered and there may be something very sci-fi going on around the place. Ecco (Why isn’t he called Echo tho?) has to stop these invaders and creatures that are certainly not from Earth while also making sure that the rest of the Dolphins are okay. You meet up with one of them again in level 1 but he doesn’t really do anything. So really you are on your own here, Ecco is the last chance for all of Dolphin kind.

I think you’ve got a solid intro right there but the real problem is once you get onto the gameplay part. You only have 3 real controls here, acceleration, attack, and sonar. You’ll be using them all quite a lot as you go through the game but there are definitely some issues here. First off, it’s often hard to know exactly where you are even going. You might want to go right but then that’s not the right way and you’ll be blocked by a crystal. You try to go left and then you get stumped that way as well. You can try to pull off a lap and go the other way but then you’re still busted.

After a lot of trial and error you’ll see that this is really a puzzle game. You have to activate different crystals with your sonar which gives you the ability to move another crystal out of your way. Eventually you will have them all out of the way and then you can really move forward. So that’s pretty good but then there’s another problem, you have an air supply. You have to routinely find an area where you can go above water to replenish that or you instantly lose and go back to the very beginning of the level. Yes, the very beginning so you have to re-complete all of the puzzles again.

Ecco is a really fast creature but that works to your detriment most of the time as it means that you will be crashing into monsters constantly. Looking for a safe area? Crash! Looking for the next puzzle? Crash! It just keeps on happening and while you do have a few health points, you will quickly lose them every time. There is just no real safe zone here. Part of the problem is that the game isn’t ready for Ecco’s level of speed which means that crashing into everyone and everything is basically inevitable. If you go too slow then you’ll run out of oxygen after all. At least the game does remember the enemies that you’ve defeated so you can really take the slow and methodical approach but it also means that every level will probably take forever.

I can’t imagine trying to complete this without access points. It feels like it would be absolutely crazy. Once in a while I do get the feeling that I wouldn’t have been quite as big a gamer as I am nowadays if this was the era I started off on. Of course there were still a lot of solid games back then but it feels like tons of them were really unforgiving. Making constant save points a regular thing in the modern era was definitely a great move.

I can at least say that the graphics are pretty good here. The game looks nice all the way through and I didn’t have any issue there. The soundtrack is a bit more on the forgettable side but I’ve definitely heard worse. Also, I probably didn’t hear most of the soundtrack because of how early I died here. My understanding is that the length of the game is fairly short but at the same time I think you have to account for the difficulty level. So because of that this would be one of the longer Genesis titles. It’s not enough to win me over to their side or anything like that but it’s definitely worth noting. You do at least get a lot of bang for your buck.

Overall, Ecco the Dolphin is a game that had some potential but ultimately the gameplay just wasn’t all that fun. That is a massive problem because without fun gameplay you don’t really have anything. You need that in order to take the win. So we need to redo this game from the ground up. I would argue even the core gameplay should change because while there can be good quality of life features that come in, they won’t be enough on their own to turn this around. Maybe they can prove me wrong, I’ll probably play more Ecco games at some point and I have to imagine that they will beat this one. This is one of the rare titles where I would tell you to skip it for now. There just isn’t much reason to check this one out. When you boil a game down to the basics, it is all about having fun and so if you aren’t having fun then you are out of luck.

Overall 3/10