Showing posts with label Review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Review. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Review: Black ★ Rock Shooter The Game
And here's a random feedback
Warning: The said review contains major spoilers!
Well, basically the game overall isn't really that amazing both gameplay AND storywise. First I'll start with bits of the story and again, spoilers here.
Basically to summarize the game events here are the key plot points:
- Last humans on Earth awakens BRS.
- BRS sees a poster of Sing-Love, a famous idol on the time of the invasion.
- BRS beats Mi and Mazuma with the humans.
- The Aliens are shown to be consuming/"eating" one another as Mazuma gets eaten by Kali.
- Human race becomes extinct as the humans die by Apostle, Nafe,'s attacks.
- BRS beats Shizu and Kari.
- BRS blacks out in the snowstorm while grieving the loss of her companions.
- BRS meets Nana Gray.
- BRS's name is revealed to be Stella.
- Stella is referred to as White, a perfect clone.
- Nana gets jealous that Givson gave BRS a name and states that Nana was a name she came up with and that Givson didn't do so on the Grays, the not successful yet not failed clones.
- Stella and Nana travels to a forest.
- Stella beats Lilio, and Nana shoots Stella leaving her with the intent of leaving Stella out of her own goal.
- Stella follows Nana to Tokyo and Nana gets captured by Nafe; Stella does her best to rescue Nana while Nana also tries to shoo away Stella.
- Stella beats Nafe and goes to the Moon.
- Stella encounters Zaha, the strongest Apostle, just as she managed to reach Nana but Stella beats him anyway since Zaha interferes with her.
- Stella fails to convince Nana not to give up and Nana likely dies as well.
- Stella meets the one last alien at the terrace of the moon palace, the original of all clones, Sing-Love or WRS.
- Sing-Love considers it all to be just a game and have been waiting for the arrival of White to end her game.
- Stella managed to beat her and Sing-Love states that it was her desired game and later on dies while sitting on her chair.
- Bad Ending, BRS alone survives and is the last being on Earth. This lets you alter Stella's decision from stage 1.
- Time leap back to stage 1 and save the human that died from the robot and this will chain up to building events that eventually reveals that Nana was indeed a name given to Nana by Givson as well as names for the other 6 Grays.
- Reaching Nana at the moon will trigger a new cutscene that will change her decision and will have her shoot the bot carrying her and thus, decides to survive with Stella, where as Stella just needs to beat Sing-Love all over again and you get the ending that the two of them survives along with some polar bears running along in Moscow by the end.
So basically, the story focused more on Stella AND Nana's story but unfortunately I couldn't understand it fully to share it, so the enemies were pretty much wasted. And I was really disappointed that Sing-Love's identity wasn't revealed to us in anyway, all we knew about her is that she was an idol, she is the original of Stella AND the 7 Grays. Nothing more than that, sadly. So, pretty much it's another flat story and it's pretty familiar to the OVA actually in a sense especially the Jelly Nana (lol Yomi anyone? And they both were voiced by Sawashiro). So overall, it's not some story that you might really enjoy as it's not even worth calling a good story for me, and I personally want to know more about WRS and the other Grays.
Now, to the gameplay, the gameplay is pretty dull but I must admit that I enjoyed playing it though. XD Basically, BRS cannot move at all, just dash, and dashing is only used to avoid enemy attacks, the d-pad controls her crosshair for targeting and you basically shoot enemies while managing to avoid overheats. Once BRS overheats, you can't do anything until it's gone down to 0%, so you'll actually avoid getting overheats throughout the battle. The game starts very easy and later on gets harder BUT in case you're a record farmer like me, you'll find the hard parts to be a joke once you get the proper skills.
Game balancing is obviously one thing that BRS The Game needed, BRS had too many broken skills to start off especially if you get to the extra missions part. There are initial combos such as Stun Snipe + Blade kill (later on going to be upgraded to G1 Snipe + IXA Blade) and this is one of the most broken combo in the whole game, imagine fighting an Apostle and use it once, you instantly reduced your boss's hp to half with the help of using Skill Burst before Blade Kill/IXA Blade.
Also, BRS later on gets this passive skill that if you block at a right time, you'll recover a ridiculous amount of HP which also almost negates the use of healing items in the more powerful bosses of the game.
Lastly, WRS is the hardest boss on the game, basically she has an attack called Dead End in her scythe mode, and you can only block it. Receiving it full on will render you either dead or almost dead while at max level, blocking reduces about half of BRS's max hp, this skill is supposed to be scary but... unfortunately, there's this skill called Absolute 0 and later on gets upgraded to Absolute Zero, which for a short while nullifies all damage that BRS will take, so at right timing, you won't even need to be afraid of Dead End. Now, WRS fight is divided into two, while the 2nd battle where she's using her Rock Cannon is supposedly harder to fight, JRPG like intended to make it end easily by giving the ex mode a MUCH MUCH shorter HP which you can completely chip off as the fight begins. :/ The only real way to make a challenge out of it is that if you only bring support skills with you and just shoot bosses to death.
Now, to the gameplay, the gameplay is pretty dull but I must admit that I enjoyed playing it though. XD Basically, BRS cannot move at all, just dash, and dashing is only used to avoid enemy attacks, the d-pad controls her crosshair for targeting and you basically shoot enemies while managing to avoid overheats. Once BRS overheats, you can't do anything until it's gone down to 0%, so you'll actually avoid getting overheats throughout the battle. The game starts very easy and later on gets harder BUT in case you're a record farmer like me, you'll find the hard parts to be a joke once you get the proper skills.
Game balancing is obviously one thing that BRS The Game needed, BRS had too many broken skills to start off especially if you get to the extra missions part. There are initial combos such as Stun Snipe + Blade kill (later on going to be upgraded to G1 Snipe + IXA Blade) and this is one of the most broken combo in the whole game, imagine fighting an Apostle and use it once, you instantly reduced your boss's hp to half with the help of using Skill Burst before Blade Kill/IXA Blade.
Also, BRS later on gets this passive skill that if you block at a right time, you'll recover a ridiculous amount of HP which also almost negates the use of healing items in the more powerful bosses of the game.
Lastly, WRS is the hardest boss on the game, basically she has an attack called Dead End in her scythe mode, and you can only block it. Receiving it full on will render you either dead or almost dead while at max level, blocking reduces about half of BRS's max hp, this skill is supposed to be scary but... unfortunately, there's this skill called Absolute 0 and later on gets upgraded to Absolute Zero, which for a short while nullifies all damage that BRS will take, so at right timing, you won't even need to be afraid of Dead End. Now, WRS fight is divided into two, while the 2nd battle where she's using her Rock Cannon is supposedly harder to fight, JRPG like intended to make it end easily by giving the ex mode a MUCH MUCH shorter HP which you can completely chip off as the fight begins. :/ The only real way to make a challenge out of it is that if you only bring support skills with you and just shoot bosses to death.
The graphics is by no means great but I do love that Makise-based costume of Stella :> Anyway, that's about it, had JRPG improved the gameplay and fixed up the broken skills, then, BRS the Game could've been something that probably people would've enjoyed but then I honestly enjoyed it though :p So overall, the game isn't something that can be called a "must play" game. The whole story itself can be finished in 1 sitting and it's only the extra missions that take your time as it's only in the extra missions that have around 2 missions that's proved to be ridiculously hard for me in the entire game. The bike stages are fun though but again very simple in structure even in the said mini-game; though getting no damage in these bike stages might prove to be a fun challenge XD
Anyway, that's it for this review XD
Anyway, that's it for this review XD
Monday, July 26, 2010
Review: Black ★Rock Shooter
Basically the most eye pleasing scene for me in the OVA
So, after all the wait... Was Black Rock Shooter worth it?
Warning: This review contains spoilers
Warning: This review contains spoilers
So, the story starts with Black ★ Rock Shooter (BRS) fighting against another girl, Black ★ Gold Saw (BGS). Any viewer would be left clueless with this as to why they are fighting, and if you think this'll be revealed later on. Well, it's not! Making this scene the biggest wasted part of the OVA. The two fights each other intensely and soon enough BGS stabs BRS near the stomach, leaving her as the place begins to crumble and the title appears. So, as a piece of my mind, what was BGS's role in this? She was just there basically to mark those stitches found on BRS's body and poof, BGS is nowhere to be found in the rest of the show. Whatever this part is, it was clearly unexplained and will probably be shed light with if ever there is a sequel. Though as a piece of mind again, maybe this is just BRS's past.
And now the story begins. The main focus of the OVA was actually that of a girl named Mato Kuroi, as she wakes up and prepares for her first day in high school. While Mato's story is revealed in the 50 minute OVA, in between, the world shifts to BRS's world, and apparently these things happen simultaneously. As Mato arrives in school, she catches her eye on a certain girl who just got out of a car. The girl was later revealed to be Takanashi Yomi, a girl who lives in the same neighborhood as Mato's. Meanwhile, in BRS world, BRS is seen to be travelling accross places now with a gun on her arm, the Rock Cannon. Her black blade seemed to have been lost after losing to BGS in the beginning.
As Mato was really interested at Yomi, she starts to befriend her and this friendship was something that'll grow later on. Meanwhile, BRS finds this place which looks like a chapel and decides to head in. As the story moves on, Mato and Yomi really develops a sweet friendship making them the best of friends, doing things together most of the time even in their chosen club which is on the same room. Eventually while these things happen, BRS encounters Dead Master (DM), as she tries to reach out her hand on DM, DM begins to attack and the two begins to fight. Okay, so stop here for a while, so, just why the hell did they fight? Unknown! If BRS world was supposed to be a reflection of the human world, it's pretty much ridiculous as to why BRS and DM are fighting when Mato and Yomi are clearly becoming the best of friends. While those things above transpire, we get to see some shifts again, the important ones would be BRS finally showing her flame eye on DM while at the same time, Mato shows Yomi her favorite spot and gives her a cellphone strap and the appearance of another girl in BRS world, her name is to be Strength (coded STR from BRS Visual Works 2) and as she moved later on, a character appears in the human world when Mato gets an injury and this manager tends to her aid while Yomi was just watching jammed in her volleyball activity. Yomi later waits for Mato and she sees this manager accompanying her there. Though she appreciates Yomi doesn't look too happy based on her facial expression. And later on, the human story shifts to when they're in second year and this time, Mato and Yomi gets separated in class.
Things still turned out normally at the beginning but as they separated by room, Mato now is placed with the manager from before, Yuu, and as things developed in the human world, Mato and Yuu became really close; leaving Yomi behind with a growing jealousy over Yuu, she eventually wanted to talk to Mato but as she saw her having fun with Yuu, she standed at the door corner and decided to leave. Mato saw this as a dark shadow engulfs Yomi as she leaves. This shadow is actually Dead Master's, leaving me to believe that on this point on, Yomi and DM have become one, thus, a sudden shift to BRS world, seeing that Dead Master suddenly unleashes a powerful attack and the two continued to battle. As a piece of mind again, the sudden burst from the Dead Scythe suggests that Yomi have indeed fused with Dead Master by this point as the battle turns over to DM from this point on.
Going back to the human world, Yomi disappears, Mato started to look for her in school, mailing her from time to time with no response. Eventually, she discovers that Yomi has disappeared and starts worrying all over feeling heavily down thinking that it was her fault that she disappeared after doing nothing when she saw that Yomi was troubled earlier. Eventually, Mato receives a blank mail from Yomi, probably suggesting that she wants to see her. And so, Mato with a black jacket, rushed toward that place she showed Yomi earlier in the show. And things begins to piece up for the last moments of the show, as she arrived, she saw the charm she gave Yomi on that place. Mato grabs hold of the charm and as she was still in question of Yomi's whereabouts, the charm began to glow and a star appears in the sky, later on surrounding Mato in blue light. This obviously signifies that Mato and BRS are now about to fuse as well, making the biggest role of the BRS world in the story.
So we are now brought back to BRS world, where BRS is chained and DM is standing in front of her. So here now, we see, BRS have a change of facial expression, implying that she and Mato have become one and she sees DM, she sees Yomi and determined to bring her back, BRS breaks free form the chains and head towards DM. DM tried to attack BRS but to no avail forcing her to retreat while BRS reaches out her hand once more; carelessly stepping back DM was about to fall but BRS embraced her, giving a shock to the somewhat sleeping Yomi inside of Dead Master. Dead Master then tries to break free and eventually her shade was the one that disappeared, leaving Yomi safe in BRS's hands; that scene was lovely BTW, see the pic above :)). From here on, the place crumbles and BRS escapes with Yomi. And as the final moments of the show, we are thrown into a slight flashback to when Mato was transported.
In there she, meets BRS and BRS asks if she would like to save Yomi as they both care for each other. Mato answers it's not about saving Yomi, it's because she wants to be Yomi again and do the things that they normally do and that right at that moment, she wanted to see Yomi. As the blue light grew, BRS approached and Mato asked who she was, she never answered and when Mato closed her eyes, eventually she and BRS fused and said "I am Black Rock Shooter" which ended the OVA. I appreciated the ending actually, it didn't turn out as bad as Anomaro-P's story where DM died, it was a happy one to put at that.
So here are my full burst of thoughts; the somewhat empty BRS world is the hard part to understand, it's like totally weird until the final part of the show. So how did it really go? "Wish through the star that runs through the darkness", this was the line from the last seconds of the Pilot Edition trailer and also part of the lyrics of the song Black Rock Shooter. So, in my thoughts, the story goes that the entire song lyrics was thrown into Takanashi Yomi, I mean check the lyrics, it's basically the key to giving importance to BRS world IMO.
In a part, Yomi can be symbolized by that chapel while her heart is symbolized by Dead Master. As the song goes, someone in dark eventually finds hope because of something or someone (most likely what Black Rock Shooter in the lyrics was supposed to symbolize) This message of the lyrics, in turn, was passed on to Yomi being in the dark because of Jealousy and possibly other more things which weren't shown that well; as she was in darkness, it's like Yomi called out to BRS, leading her to DM, and wished for something that can give her the courage to break out (this part is also on the song lyrics) and thus, as a wish from the "star that runs through darkness", some twist of fate happened that Mato got the blank message and her finding the charm giving BRS the ability to bring her to Yomi, Yomi's source of courage that helped her break free from the darkness (which is Dead Master) and thus, leading to that ending.
So basically that's for my thoughts, maybe I'm just over analyzing the OVA but still those are the answers I have for some missing reasons on the story. If you'd look at the story carefully, it's pretty much a nice presentation of a slice of life genre, and even if they just inserted BRS and DM's battle only in the end, it would still work. It's pretty much a simple yet decent presentation of life as it is which present the beauty of the show. The great bgms also complimented the scenes to make one feel the mood of the scenes. Pretty much, the battles were inserted just for the sake of the "awesome" factor and in BRS world, the only things you really need to understand would be why BRS went to DM and what the heck was BGS's role in all this as well as STR, well, Yuu had a role in the human world but STR was just there for like 2 scenes and poof, gone as well.
So with that said, I rate the OVA a 4 out of 5 since I really liked how the story was, even though BRS looked cool and all that, a drama was an interesting way of portraying things. One more is that I see a part of myself on Yomi (jealousy), which added a plus on this slice of life anime. Anyway, before I end, after the credits roll, Mato and Yomi are seen together again while Yuu, at their back and her face doesn't show seems to be the one in darkness now and the focus turns on her and dyaran, cliffhanger. The question is was that related to STR? And would we be receiving a sequel? :D
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Hatsune Miku - Project Diva - x Miku Overload
Imouto's First Official Game By Sega
Hatsune Miku - Project Diva -
Hatsune Miku - Project Diva -
Today, I finally got to play Miku's game and here's a little overview on it. Well, if you're a seemingly normal human being who recently found an obsession to a green-haired virtual singing sensation known as Hatsune Miku, this game is totally for you. :D Aside from containing an almost uncountable number of times you get to see Miku in this game (loading screens, songs, everywhere!), this game is Miku moeness at its best.
You are given a few songs like World is Mine, The Secret Garden and Koisuru Voc@loid and you'd have to clear them to unlock new songs of usually from the same artist, i.e. finishing The Secret Garden unlocks dear cocoa girls. You are given 2 difficulties at first, easy and normal. Depending on the difficulty and the song, sometimes it only lets you press only one button type for the entire play. The game also gives you only Miku's original costume at the beginning, you'll have to unlock costumes by achieving requirements like Finishing a certain song on normal or great level and finishing the song like 5 times. Anyway, that's basically it along with a lot of Miku dancing while you play and nonstop Miku songs.
Anyway, going to the gameplay now. Basically, the gameplay is simple, wait for the right moment and then press the corresponding button. Anyway, to clearly explain, watch this video of The Secret Garden gameplay first.
Well, if you looked closely at the buttons, there's like a clock hand in them, it's actually a timer that signals you if you need to press it already to get a cool, the combo breaks easily in this, a safe move destroys your chain immediately. And it's a good mix from different games of the same genre, sometimes, headache if the buttons intersect each other like from one song in normal mode which I can't seem to get right even with some tries already. You'll get an idea if the song is about to be finished, a special chance appears that greatly boosts your points, keeping a chain in this session will surely give you tons of points enough to clear the song. :D
Once you survived the song, you'll see the result based from Miku's actions, if she's acting shy, it means you get rank "cheap" which doesn't count the song as cleared, only standard, great and perfect allows you to receive a clear record. Achieving great unlocks extras as well. Perfect is obtained by not having any chain break, meaning no safe, sad or worst. Hard mode of each song is unlocked by clearing it in normal difficulty with a great or perfect rank.
Though Kaito, Meiko, Neru, Haku, Rin, Len and Luka are in, don't expect much, they're just skins for Miku, much like how Star Wars The Force Unleashed lets you take the skin of characters like Obiwan but still reprises powers, movements and actions of Starkiller. The same applies here, switching to Kaito doesn't let him have his own dance and doesn't switch the singing voice to his, everything, his actions, voice are still Miku, so don't get your hopes up too much. Although the game features a song in Rin and Len versions but seriously, Len scared the crap out of me seeing him dance exactly the same as Miku even if it was his singing voice.
Anyway, this is a really casual game not to mention a lot of Miku moeness for me and Mikutards alike. Well, I can't wait to play another round. Hehehe.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Kamen Rider The Next
Well, I haven't really watched Kamen Rider the First, but I guess this was good enough to stand alone as long as you know of Ichigou and Nigou's origins.
Really, the most impressive thing I liked about this is the somewhat renewed costumes, I was actually stunned by it, it's like Ichigou, Nigou and V3 like I've never seen them before. Well, how would I put it, this was an adaptation of the original Kamen Rider V3 series, but the enemy org is still the Shocker, Shiro Kazami had a different story on how he became a cyborg here since it is just an adaptation. But a really awesome one too. Haha, despite the seriousness of this film, I actually had a bif laugh when I saw a Filipino who appears as an extra for the scenario, he talks to Takeshi Hongo in tagalog! Duh, stupid bitch, as if Hongo will understand what she was saying trying to tell Hongo never to return to that place. Well, the henshin was pretty much a failure though, showing the belt animation and then you see them in rider outfit and puts on a grasshoper helmet and then attaches a mouth piece. In here, V3 was an antagonist at first, another cyborg created by Shocker through a new method. But around the half of the film, he becomes neutral and later on becomes an ally to help the double riders in fighting the shocker riders, Chainsaw Lizard and Scissors Jaguar. Nigou had the bitter end here but the adaptation was good enough I guess.
Anyway here's a comparison of the old costumes to the new costumes, I seriously like the movie rendition of V3, he's friggin' awesome. Haha, how I wish these were the costumes used in the upcoming All Rider vs. Dai Shocker moview, but they'll be using the old one. Meh.
Old design
New deisgn
Thursday, June 4, 2009
@Homemate x Tsundere Goodness
Illusion's newest eroge, @Homemate
Well, been playing this for two days now, hahaha. So what can I say about this game? Totally great. I mean aside from the same rendering system that I love in Illusion's Schoolmate, this game is probably a mixture of almost all of Illusion's hit games like Sexy Beach, Artificial Girl, etc.
Basically, the game doesn't stall you in anything, even the H-scenes, you can initiate them immediately if that's what you're really after. Hehe, first major thing I liked about this is you can customize a lot, including the guy and the girls' hair, skin color, and even the eye color. Really magnificent, though, I've still got a lot to explore with the game, the game starts already with a good variety of costumes you can choose from with 3 different color/patterns for each type of clothing. Really nice...
Now going to the characters, you have three characters to choose from: Nanoha, the one on the right in the game cover above, who's the most matured and the eldest of the three sisters you could choose from. Next is Noa, a tsundere and is the 2nd as well as the one who's got the same age as the guy you use, she's the one in the middle and will be the one I'll feature in this blog. Lastly is Yakumo, the youngest but has the "eyes" but I don't like her, I'd prefer Noa over any of the two anyday. Another good thing about this is, your character is acceptable enough unlike in SB3, if you see your character you look like a ragged old pervert, damn!
Now, probably my first majorly loved Tsundere would be Noa, so I'm still sticking on dating her all through out the game, actually, you can call up any of the girls and ask them on a date, and on dates, you can hold their hand, after that, other objects will start showing up with new icons which allows you to initiate very kawaii scenes here are samples with Noa:
There's a lot you can do actually, and there's one event I unlocked last night, where you go on a picnic with the girl, in my case, it's none other than Noa, it's really kawaii, the way she feeds you with her sweet sweet side. I guess that's one goody factor on Tsunderes since they're so kawaii when they're on the mood. Sample picnic event with Noa again.
Well, the thing is the game's really great, and it's really enjoyable compared to previous illusion games. This is probably the first Illusion game I've encountered where I loved something more than the H-scenes, and it's none other than the cute dates with Noa. Hahaha. Anyway, I have to rate this game as 8/10, well, although, it's fun and all, lines are too repetitive to the point that you can repeat a certain something until the girl gets excited, another thing is there are only a few places where you can venture. Even lesser than the ones at SB3. But still, this is really recommended to those who play eroges.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Tears To Tiara = Tears to Failure?
Arawn and his party of women, except for Arthur
The PC RPG eroge-turned decent PS3 game, Tears to Tiara had been recently turned into an anime, as the anime shows superb illustration, far superior to the original Tears to Tiara and better than the PS3 remake, it certainly looked promising while watching the several commercials before it was first aired on simulcast with Animax. Well, first episode like another eroge turned anime, Fate/Stay Night was kinda boring, but that was acceptable since it was the first episode. Anyway, with regards to the blog title, wonder why Tears to Failure?
Well, it's been running for weeks now, every early morning Monday, my sis and I would wait for the release of the new episode since Animax is kind enough to have subs already. Well, for 8 friggin' weeks, the story's like going NOWHERE!!! As in NOWHERE!!! The major failure of this show is that the story sequence is too friggin' SLOW! Every episode it's like "Hi Arawn, I'm *insert name here*, pleased to meet you and if it is possible, can i be your wife?", indeed a magnet he is for a lot of women, what can you expect from an anime which was an eroge originally. Well, anyway, even Tales of the Abyss which took me like more than 60 hrs. to play in the PS2 wasn't that slow in advancing in the plot. Heck, just earlier morning, when episode 8 was aired and came to an end, I was like "wtf, a total waste of 30 mins." Almost nothing happened in the 8th episode, just wish they'd make a little more progress like Sengoku Basara another game recently turned anime is really great in plot progression, no dull episodes. Well, only plus for the recent episodes of Tears to Tiara was the appearance of the kawaii Llyr and the beautiful Octavia.
Llyr as she appears in her first episode.
Octavia enters the colliseum
If there's any bonus I want from the series, it would be a batch of anime-based figure sculpsts since the Koto Tears to Tiara was patterned on the PS3 remake so, the girls doesn't look that great yet unlike in the anime rendition.
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