Rawr, Final Fantasy

So I recently went to an FF concert, and I'm completely mad over FF again right now. I'm going to go ahead and play all the old FF's lol. I've only played 8, 10, 10-2, 12, 13 so far and I'm missing out on a lot I know.

Anyways, after the very concert I had, I was obsessed with learning how to play the music too and the first song I learned was the most popular, overrated song To Zanarkand. I learned it fairly quickly, but it took a while to play it the way I wanted and here it is. Enjoy guys!

I also just finished Suteki Da Ne, but it's not perfect yet so when it is I'll post up a a vid.

Bayonetta

K guys, first off I want to note that I will compare this game to Devil May Cry 3 a lot. I don't know if you guys know this but the original director (I think it was director) of Devil May Cry 1 was the head of Bayonetta's development after he stopped working on the DMC series (which is the 1st one I believe). Anyways, both games do have striking similarities (I'll review DMC3 in the near future =] ).

Bayonetta is an Action/Adventure game that heavily focuses on combat. Since it's a current-gen game, that graphics are beautifully rendered and very slick at high FPSs.

STORY

You are Bayonetta, a witch that was re-awoken, but is now faced with amnesia. An informant Enzo tells her about a Jewel that she once possessed, and she sets off to find the person in hopes of finding the jewel and her lost memories. Along her journey to uncover the buried memories and truth, she faces countless demons and angels alike, trying to stop her from her goals. 

I'm really going to have to say, the story to me wasn't all that appealing. The cutscenes in the game did have their funny parts (a lot of humor, sexual innuendo and such, and cool kickass scenes) but other that that I wasn't entirely captivated by the story.

GAMEPLAY

Like I said before, this game focuses on combat a lot more. As a witch, you have a plethora of abilities and weapons at your disposal.

Abilities 

Shapeshifting

When you think of a witch, you often think of shapeshifting right? Well Bayonetta can! Throughout the game, you will be able to obtain the abilities to shapeshift into different animals with different abilities. The cat form endows you with speed and dodging. The crow enables you limited flight. And the bats are complete de-materialization.  Generally, the cat and crow are for those puzzle and platforming moments in the game (Which  is a lot of times, but they're fairly short and easy). The bat form is a combat one where it allows you to completely dodge an attack, BUT the timing has to be extremely precise, for DMC vets, think Royal Guarding.

Wicked Weave

Bayonetta is actually all nude. The latex stuff you see on her actually her hair in a clothing form. Pretty cool right? She can do a lot more with it too, including turning it into a giant pair of fists and beating the crap out of the boss or even make a giant foot kick your enemies. She can manipulate her hair into various shapes to attack. While she's weaving, you start to see less and less clothes on her. Such a tease hehe.

Witch Time

Think Bullet time in the matrix. You activate Witch Time every time you successfully dodge an opponent's attack, which is quite often. All your enemies will be slow-mo and you'll be able to run free and unleash combo hell on them. This ability is almost the core of the combat system.

Weapons/Accessories


Bayonetta literally has an arse..senal. You can have up to three Accessories and 4 weapons equipped at any given time. Her weapons range from small automatic revolvers to ice-skates and katanas. The weapons are restricted to two different sets, each containing 1 upper body and 1 lower body weapon. Some weapons are strictly upper, and some lower, but there are a few that can go both ways.

Combat


This is not like God of War or Dante's Inferno. The combat in this game is very combo orientated. Yes, you'll be mashing buttons the same, but mashing with skill will reward you with more things. During any combo, right in the middle of it, you can switch weapon sets and unleash a whole new combo. If, you've played DMC, try thinking about how people Helm Breaker and Killer Bee spam. Each weapon has a massive list of combos that you can link up and mix and match to your liking. The combat is also VERY fast-paced, and you'll find yourself at times swarmed with enemies of different sizes and abilities; it gets very intense at the harder difficulty levels.

That's where Witch Time comes in. You'll be masterful at dodging, be able to pick and focus on which enemy you want to take down first thanks to your heightened abilities. It certainly doesn't make the game a cakewalk though, just possible hehehe. Also, there are some enemies where Witch Time is a necessity to even deal damage (mainly bosses).

Enemies


The game features a wide variety of enemies to fight. They'll range from all sizes and shapes to different abilities and weaknesses. You'll have your tiny minions that'll be a commonplace to fight, but then you'll also have your large behemoth's that'll take a few blows to kill or even the agile ones that will require precise timing and counters to take down. It's all in the game.

Bosses...almost every single one of them in this game are MASSIVE. I can't really think of a comparison right now, except maybe Master Hand in SSB, but if you were fighting both hands and the bodies those hands were attached to. They're usually multi-stage...you have to take down body part by body part and then you'll kill them. That's just how big they are.

Yea, 'nuff said.

OVERVIEW
Well like always, this is a very small review of the game. I'm only trying to attempt to get you to play it, not know everything about it. That's for you to find out when you get it.

Cheers,
Happy gaming guys!

An Anime Review

I can't really think of any games right now so I decided to do some animes. BTW SPOILERS!!

Fullmetal Alchemist - 52 Episodes
5 years ago I saw the first FMA. It was good, but the story seemed so lackluster in the end, it was all a mish-mash to me. The finale wasn't satisfying either. I hated it so much T__T, but I still decided to download it and keep it.

Probably my favorite scene, which was in the end where Ed does his...sorrowed transmutation.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood - 64 Episodes
Now, Fullmetal Alchemist:Brotherhood was released in 2009 which followed the original manga storyline. This was way more badass. I saw the whole series on a binge while I was in Austin. The characters had more depth, the storyline was fantastic, and the end was extremely satisfying. It instantly captivated me and now I revere it as the best anime I've seen.

Favorite scene where Ed's arm is finally and inevitably returned and he proceeds to beat the shit out of the main antagonist.


Gundam Wing - 49 Episodes
Gundam Wing was awesome. Giant mechs beating the shits out of each other is every geek's wet dream. The story was fantastic with many twists and turns while the cast of characters were in-depth and varied enough to make compelling story. Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz was a nice finisher to tie up the series too, unlike the other anime-related movies.

Favorite scene from the movie, when Hiro uses Wing Zero Custom to blow the shit out of the impregnable fortress. 100% accuracy Twin Buster Cannon ftw?

Death Note -  37 Episodes
Easily one of the best animes. Mystery/Thriller. Everytime I watch this it makes me feel like a dumbass because the characters are so smart. Although you know who did what and such, there is no clear protagonist/antagonist. I believe it was more of a well-iterated social commentary, but nonetheless perfectly written with ingenious logic.

Eh, can't really say there are favorite scenes since I enjoyed the anime on a more platonic level rather than appearance.

Hellsing - 13 Episodes
Probably the worst piece of shits ever. It started off fine, as it followed the manga, but like the original FMA, it deviated towards its own storyline since it was ahead of the manga. The ending was dumb, and everything inbetween made the otaku nerd inside me cry. The best thing was probably the characters. I liked the idea of an all-powerful character. Although every fight he's in is completely one-sided it was ok to watch.

The man's man, Alucard (Dracula backwards if you didn't notice). He's a complete badass that'll never die and works for the Protestant church to hunt vampires (ironically).


Hellsing OVA - Ongoing
Now, like how FMA got a make-over, this shit did too, and I got to say I'm pleased. This anime is so gory that it makes me jizz blood. Every scene is bloodier than a girl on a her period, and the way they draw body parts being ripped, shot, eaten, and mutilated is done so well. The story is ok, but I watch it mainly for the gore factor.
As I said, this anime was very aesthetically pleasing, and so there are so many favorite scenes.

 How many anime's have badass chicks that wield AA cannons on their back x)?
WARNING: VERY GORY PICS. NOT FOR WEAK-HEARTED


 





All this was from 1 fight. Dyke pisses off vampire chick...and things got hairy, best fight evuur.

Alucard was here
 
 Right down the middle like a hot knife through butter.

Headshot.

This is a real vampire. Not that pussy Edward.
 
 His face fell off.
 
Impaled via Rifle
There's still more Hellsing to come and I hope it gets bloodier.
I don't know what anime I'll tackle next. There's just so many good ones and wahtever I watch I HAVE to download to have, so it does take a bit of effort to start watching. I'll probably start with Flame of Recca now since I have most of it downloaded. Tsubasa Chronicles, Chrono Crusade, Code Geass, Bleach, and the rest of that long ass Naruto are all on my list, so I guess I got the rest of summer planned out eh =D?

Ogre Battle 64: Person Of The Lordly Caliber

Sorry guys, promised to review newer games, but this one I just can't let go of. This game is my absolute FAVORITE game, I play a fresh new file every summer because there's so much you can do and that can happen. Sadly, it's like the Unsung Heroes of gaming. Uhh I'm not sure how to classify this game, but I guess like a tactical RPG?

STORY

Alright so you are Magnus Gallant, in the process of joining the army to follow in your father's footsteps. A revolutionary war is brewing, and you, as an army minion, is dispatched all around to quell the uprising. However...there are many dark things happening in the midst.

That is like...a VERY general outline of the game. It'd take me too long to go in-depth about it so it's up to you to play and find out the rest.

GAMEPLAY

There are 4 different basic screens: Unit Overview, World Map, Mission Map, Battle Screen.

In the world map, you can choose which missions to undertake, or choose a previous map that you've cleared to explore. Exploring can find you wild creatures to recruit or undertake secret missions that are scattered throughout the game. There is also a calendar system. Each dot/map is a days worth of traveling. Every year on your birthday (which you designate), you get an item. Every 10 years is a special item. 99 is the max age.

The Unit Overview screen lets you see all your battle groups and individual units as well as their equipment. Battle groups are formed with up to 4 units (Some units like dragons count as 2 units though), and 1 leader, the leader has to be an "intelligent human" by their standards I guess. EVERY unit has their own equipment, so got (in-game currency) is necessary, although not very hard to come by. There are a variety of unique units that can be acquired too, but under a lot of specific circumstances. It is also impossible to acquire ALL the unique characters without cheating.

Units all have a class, and those class have specific evolutions. Fighters become Knights, Amazons become Archers, etc. Some classes have more evolutions than others. Even beast units like dragons have evolutions.
There are a TON of classes so I don't really want to list them out.

You can view each individual unit's stats as well. Units have your basic stats such as STR, VIT, etc., but then there is also Alignment, Element, Movement type, etc. Almost everything dictates gameplay. Chaotic or Lawful alignment may be needed to evolve into a class or elements may dictate the type of high-level dragon you get, movement type specifies how fast you move on different territories on a mission map.

There are literally hundreds of pieces of equipment in the game. Some you'll run across, some you'll have to find, some you have to go through a specific chain of events to, seriously...hundreds.

This is the Mission Map. You are allowed to dispatch a certain number of units per map and then dictate their movement. Your group leader's avatar will the be group's marker while moving on the Mission Map. There are also a variety of different towns within the map that you can visit to get more story of the current mission, run events, shop, or revive dead characters.

When there is a mission in progress, you have a certain set conditions that you have to achieve to complete the mission. This is generally defeating the leader that is occupying a far off base, but there are some missions where it varies. Enemies are dispatched against you, and they'll either be actively moving towards your base or guarding their own bases. You'll have to guard your HQ by leaving at least one group in it for if an enemy were to occupy it, you'd instantly lose.

There is also a free-roam option that you can initiate one the map is mission-less. As I said before you can find beasts to recruit, but you can also look for items that are hidden on the ground, or initiate events that are only activate at certain days or time of days.

This is the battle screen. When two unit markers are engaged on the Mission Map, this screen will appear. Battle is completely autonomous, which can only be vaguely controlled via battle objectives (Attack Leader, Attack Strongest, Attack Weakest). You can "block" some attacks by pressing B at the right moment, but it's not too reliable anyways. Your group will play out all of the attacks that it has (Which can be seen in the Unit Overview map) and then the battle will end. I think winner or loser is determined by amount of damage done, but I'm not too sure.

When it ends though, you'll be sent back to the Mission Map, and the loser will be pushed farther back. If you managed to kill the leader of the group, then the group will become "panicked" and move around randomly on the map. If you did not kill the leader, then they generally try to come back at you.

FINAL WORDS
That's all I really have to tell you about this game. I probably missed a lot, but then again, this game is so MASSIVE that it's extremely hard to tell you everything. I highly encourage you to check it out on your own.

Comments, criticisms, follows appreciated guys!

Cheers, and happy gaming!


 

SUP!

Hey guys! I'm gonna use this blog and try to review some games. I doubt it'll hit up a lot of people, but its kinda nice to run into some reviews that aren't rushed just to get them out there.

For you guys to take my reviews a bit more seriously, I'd like to introduce myself and talk about myself a bit more. I'm 18 and college-bound, which kinda means my allotted gaming time is quite decreased but I still try to play what I can. I like to play all kinds of games, not just FPSs and whatever is FotM. And since I'm 18, it goes back kinda far. Not VERY far, but pretty far. I love a great deal of games, and even some unconventional ones and I hope I can bring light to those games.

So, with that said, I'll try to focus on more recent games, however, there'll be an occasional old-school I feel that is necessary to bring up.

Cheers, and happy gaming!