C80 Doujin Games Review

OH MAN I AM BACK! Or rather back from not being busy. I have completed my studies, and do a lot of stuff and now i am free. Also C80 is just a week past. So i might as well do the usual thing, review their games.


People know what is the main highlights of C80. So might as well start with that

C79 Doujin Games Review

Hello again, No activity on January just sucks for me, I'm reviewing C79 doujin games as i did every events. Oh, and i learned how to shorten this thing. Oh goody goody. I'm such a dolt


Among the highlights folks, one of them.

Anime Reviews 02 - Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha THE MOVIE 1st (NETABARE ALERT)

Yes. I have replace it. Cause i have no better words for it.

Hello again, folks. How do you like my new design? I made absolutely zero effort on making it (except for the new title bar. But even that is still easy) thanks to the amazing power of D.I.Y. Bravo Blogspot, Bravo.

Now today is a current review and also a favor from someone. I'm reviewing Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha THE MOVIE 1st


(Subtle. Wish many titles can be this english)

Anime Reviews 01 - Armored Trooper Votoms

Yeah. I feel that the best way to keep this running is to post some review for anime or something. Also I've started to watch new anime lately and planning to catch on what I've been missing. But first, Let's start with the one I've recently finished: Armored Trooper Votoms

Before i begin, Here's the OP for the Anime hoping it peaked your interest (Though i admit the OP is nothing special, but it has a cool song).


So what's the story about? (I try not to spoil to much)

It take place is a distant future (i think) in a fictional world of Astragius Galaxy where 2 sides, Gilgamesh and Balarant are waging war on each other for many centuries which the cause are long forgotten.

The main character is an Ex-Elite Soldier of the Gilgamesh's Special Forces "Red Shoulder" named Chirico Cuvie. On a secret mission which he's taking part, He was tasked to steal a chamber like thing which surprisingly belongs to the allies. Then he discovered something inside the chamber which reveals a woman. When their teammates discovered that Chirico knows what is inside the chamber, he is labeled as a traitor and their teammates starts shooting at him. Chirico runs away and is in hiding in the city of Woodo. From there, he has to discover the secret behind the mysterious woman in the chamber with some help (although not needed) from 3 locals: Gotho, Vanilla and Cocona who at first wanted to use his robot battling skills to make money.

The story then separates to 4 arcs. Which each one of them revealing more and more of the secret. Not just regarding what Chirico saw on his secret mission, but it goes beyond that.

Arc 1 - The Woodo Arc: This is the backbone of the show where Chirico struggles to know the secret behind the mysterious woman in the chamber where he later called her Fyana.

Arc 2 - The Kunmen Arc: Takes place in a jungle planet Kunmen, Chirico enlists on a mercenary group to topple down a government ruled by some pseudo-religion fanatics. There, Chirico also learns more about what Fyana is. Also it introduces Chirico's rival named Ypsilon which also has a relation to Fyana.

Arc 3 - The Sunsa Arc: The 3rd Arc is more on the relationship growth between Chirico and Fyana. It starts out very mysteriously where they were on some ship and the ship keeps on brainwashing Chirico of his old times when he was a Red Shoulder. Stuff happened and they landed on the Planet Sunsa. There Chirico has to survive together with Fyana while making frequent encounters with Ypsilon. At the end of the arc, He discovers something when fighting Ypsilon...

Arc 4 - The Quaint Arc: After the 3rd arc, Chirico was told to go to the planet Quaint. There he will discover who he really is. But not only that, He also discovered the secret behind the forgotten cause of the Balarant/Gilgamesh war. This arc is full of plot twists after plot twists where in the end, Chirico set things straight with the thing he discovered.

Review

This is the Real Robot series where the mechanics are actually believable. The mecha is like 3-4 meters tall and they are easily wrecked. Unlike many Real Robot show (Gundam and the likes), Chirico has no default mecha. Sure the OP and most of time he was riding a Scopedog (The green mecha with 3 eyes that flips). But he also likes to jack other robots (The show called them an AT or Armored Troopers) and sometimes disabled the AT by shooting at the head part with his gun, killing the pilot inside. It's a unique experience in a Mecha Anime where Chirico play Grand Theft Robots on his daily job.

As for the characters, Chirico is your ordinary silent and serious guy. He is surrounded by people that want him dead. Gladly he is often surrounded with 3 people from the Woodo city, Gotho, Vanilla and Cocona. And to be honest, I liked the trio on the show. Yes they're not a funny bunch and can be annoying at times (especially Cocona), But they are the one that lightened up the show that filled with DURR SIRIOUS BUSSINESS people. As for Chirico, His meeting and relationship to Fyana really changes him to become a bit light-hearted. Until at the beginning of the 3rd Arc. It seems that Chirico's character development can go up and down depending whatever he faced. That makes him more human-like where coolness can always overwrites by their surroundings and feelings. As for the other characters, Fyana was the same thing from the first till the end, Ypsilon's growth is from a proud soldier to a brainwashed experiment subject, And there's a dozen of characters that Chirico met which they are all come and go and some even met him again.

The story is divided by 4 archs. But it linked together really well. There are some fillers, but most of the time, we learned a bit about Chirico and the world he's in. The world where there's no such thing as Good guys or Bad guys, Both Gilgamesh and Balarant are just 2 sides with different perspective on each other, the character they met, some are good/bad for a reason or some are not necessarily good or bad. It's a world filled with Grey Ideals. Though the only downside of the show is that the world is not that interesting enough to pull you in and experience it. Maybe that's why there's sequel or prequel of the show that comes afterward in the form of TV series or (mostly) OVAs. I should give the prequel/sequel/spinoffs a watch sometime.

Overall

This show for me is awesome in the sense of realism of the mecha and the compelling storyline. I recommend it for those who likes show with story development. If you're in for the robots, it's fine too but sometimes there's less or none. Plus being the 80's, the action is not brilliantly animated, but in some sense it was good. You can still see minor damages that the robot had and they didn't forgot to animate all realism of the mecha. Also there's less recycled scene. So for the 80's this is a well budgeted show. Give it a try if you're interested.

My Anime List Ratings: 9/10

Now, I am off to watch all the anime i've missed during the year 2009/2010 and also many things. If you have suggestion what anime i should review, do tell me. Also anything that i've watched is also OK.

Stop-being-monthly Review: Super Hero Time 2010 - Tensou Sentai Goseiger (So far) and Kamen Rider OOO (First Look)

So far on Tensou Sentai Goseiger



Im going to talk less about this, cause even till the 20's episode, It's still so bland to me. But im going to talk about some good things

First is Alata/GoseiRed

I think out of all the blandness of the members, He's the one that i think was decent. He is so optimistic, Even when dealing with danger. He knows how to make his team together and a kind-hearted guy. Rarely i found this traits in Red rangers where it filled with annoying voiced lead character (With the exception of Takeru/ShinkenRed and Akashi/BoukenRed. They were adult enough to make decisions and are a true leader). His character may resembles Ryouga/AbaRed from Bakuryuu Sentai Abaranger, where he also an optimistic and never hates his enemy, But Alata is more kid-innocent whereas Ryouga is technically a dad role model. Heck even his face look like a kid.

Second is GoseiKnight

Finally, another decent character. He's that 6 member that kicks ass. His character is a lighter version of Ultraman Agul where he fight for the safety of Earth and don't really care about humans. But when the Goseigers always says that they must protect the people too, he seems cool about it but still stick to his principles. He can turn into a head that attached into a vehicle and combine with other vehicle to becoming a giant robot of his own. He's also voiced by Katsuyuki Konishi, Where most of you familiar as the guy that voiced Kamina in TTGL. But his voice tone ended up like Volfogg from GaoGaiGar, which is cool for me.

Third is the villain concept.

Nothing much, The villain is also bland for me, But what i like is that it runs away from the usual Sentai formula. Usually one sentai has one villain organization/group to confront, and very often they have Power change or when one leader dies, it replaces with other. But this one is tat till the 17-18 episode of the show, Warstar faction is destroyed and a new faction replaced them which is the Yuumajuu. This usually a normal trait in Super Robot shows like Combattler V or Koutetsu Jeeg. But it never happened in Sentai as far as i know. But the villain is still plain. Well, less plain than Warstar, but still up for growth.

And that's all to say about Goseigers. I'll watch to the end hoping something good came out of it.

First Look: Kamen Rider OOO



Kamen Rider OOO (spell as Oozu/O's) But also spelled by me as Kamen Rider Orz/OTL.

Nah. It's nothing that dissapointing. I actually love the creativeness of the things they offer so far. Coin as a main device, Vending machine turn into bikes, Soda Animals (Soda can turned into animals. same way as Discs turn into animals in KR Hibiki), And enemy that bleed coins when stroked by blades.

I guess the story is about some old relics that hold a group of enemy called 'Greeed' (Yes, 3 d's for that is what spelled on the cake. I know it's Greed. but hey.). Our hero, the boxer loving guy is trapped in the middle of it and has to fight them etc. The usual stuff. Im too early to judge the story. Maybe if they give some backstroy on Greed will be fine.

And i kinda like Ankh... but so far only on his hand form.

He would be a good partner/hijinks ensured etc. Until...

This. Now he started to look like Gackt wannabee. I dunno, he should stick on becoming a hand.

Well that's all to say about the 1st episode. Going to see more and knowing how well does it stand.

Stop-being-monthly Review: Super Hero Time 2010 - Kamen Rider W

I guess i can't keep my promise for having a monthly review. But anyways, Here is my thought for the 2nd half of the Super Hero Time 2010.

Kamen Rider W - Aftermath



Holy crap, What a ride. I just love the show from start till end. Now here I'm discussing about this show

First of all, Kamen Rider W really is a breathe of fresh air from previous Kamen Rider show (Mainly Kiva and Decade that suffers from lousy writings). The hero wears a scarf, Go around fighting bad guys that threatens others and that is what a Hero supposed to be. I like they try to hide their identity as a Rider, but sadly they drop that idea mid-way and Henshin in front of others.

The characters. Again, I love them. As i mentioned before in previous review, i like Shoutaro and Phillip acts like many 80's vigilante's TV show. But not only that, I also like them as characters.

Hidari Shoutaro

Shoutaro is a man with great confidence despite he's far from better compared to his old boss. And later he shows some growth when he learns more about his late boss, About who Phillip is and whatever happened to him. The final episode when Phillip disappear, He still going out protecting the smiles of others while he keep his pathetic-ness of not having Phillip as his partner. That actually shows him something other than stranded being sad all the time like a pussy (Even after a year passed)

Phillip (Sonozaki Raito)

This character is interesting for me for a few reasons. First, He's the brain of the group and can use his unlimited source of knowledge in the Planet of Books. You would wish you have a friend who is a walking Wikipedia/Google search engine.

Second, Despite he only believe in logic and not emotions, He turned out not as annoying as other character with similar traits in other shows. Usually when there's a character like that, They favor logic over emotion and despise any emotional answers for the sake of being illogical. But Phillip turned out to be very considerate about emotional matters. An example is on one episode where a Dopant attacks a Yakuza gang leader as an act of revenge. Phillip questions Shoutaro that is it better for that Dopant to carry his vengeance because that Yakuza leader is only a problem in the city. But Shoutaro answers that he will save that Yakuza guy because Revenge won't solve anything and he's still going to save him despite he's a trash of the community. Both that question and answer are questioned by logic and answered by moral emotion. And Phillip just take his word despite how Unlogic that sounds.

And lastly, His growth. All the thing he went through from being dead to being revived as a data entity, to his discovery that he's part of Sonozaki's family really makes his character grow. He started to have emotional dilemma and with the help of his buddy, Shoutaro, He manage to break away from that problem and fight as W.

Terui Ryu

Another character with a good character growth. He started as a detective that hold a grudge against 'a man with the W memory' for that man killed his family. But as the story progressed and even when he met the man who killed his family, Isaka Shinkuro (Weather Dopant), He show some growth where he discover that fighting for the sake of vengeance won't bring him anywhere. He has to overcome Weather Dopant with his own strength and good will.

His growth was proved when he discovered that Shroud, the person who gave him the Accel Driver put him into such fate where she was the person behind Isaka's lunacy that leads him to kill his family and also how she's been using Ryu all this time. But in the end, Ryu accept her apology and reminded that Revenge won't do any good, for hatred will bring another hatred. As a character. He's the silent and serious character. But it's always a delight when sometimes he had to be trapped in some silly moments.

Narumi Akiko

Her character is not as good as the other 3, But she does have her moment. Usually character like her always being the background decoration of the show, But she does show some good characteristics. She may start off as a very annoying little girl, But she somehow shines just like Shoutaro's late boss. And being the goofball and the sense maker of the team does paid. It seems that she might have a crush towards Ryu. But it wasn't exploited that much

The Villains and Others

The villains are quite good, but had ups and downs when it comes to impact. The main family, Sonozaki Ryuube, Saeko and Wakana are OK as villains, Ryuube is a man with ideals of being the family chosen by the earth and are confident with it, Wakana is kind of strange being the spoiled child of the family, then having doubts, then the Priestess of the Earth thing. She's the character with weird twists for me. And Saeko is one screwed up woman. First she's using Kirihiko, Then madly in love with Isaka, then was used by Kazu, the Foundation X guy. In the end, she only did one good thing which is reviving Phillip.

Then also the 3 characters Saeko's hooked up to. Many people were saddened by the death of Kirihiko Sudo (Nazca Dopant), Being that he also loved the city. But i kind of finding his characteristics as a rushed one. Started as a proud villain role then to a home loving guy. It was too sudden to me. Given that i was also feel kinda sad when he died, but lack of growth really minus the sadness to me. Then there's Isaka Shinkuro (Weather Dopant). My God, he is one creepy dude. He experience so many torment using many Gaia Memories. He killed Ryu's parent just as an experiment for his power and He is heartless but stay cool at the same time. Also the time when he played his piano. You pissed him off, he just smash the piano notes and stare/talk at you in a creepy way. But sadly his death have less impact compared to Kirihiko. He just dead and has no final moment. Kinda disappointing cause he might be my favorite villain in Kamen Rider for some times. And lastly there's Kazu Jun (Utopia Dopant). He is boring as hell. He talks while sipping tea. Dissapoint him and he drop his cup. That's all to say about him. For now, He's boring.

And lastly, Shroud (Sonozaki Fumine). Now this character, at the beginning i thought it's going to be the Deus-ex machina of the show. Giving them powers for no reason. But she does have her share of backstory. She was the wife of Sonozaki Ryuube and the mother of Raito, Saeko and Wakana. But because Ryuube's obsession with power, She left him and plotted a revenge against his husband by stealing the W-Driver and give it to Phillip and Give the Accel-Driver to Ryu. They used them for the sake of her vengeance. But later, she learned that- Okay, it was mentioned in Ryu's backstory that Revenge is bad etc. She's an OK character and was mysterious enough to reveal who she was at the end of the story.

The story:

Since Den-O, many of the episodes goes like this. One episodes is the introduction to the current problem and on halfway solving it. and the next episodes is the conclusion. So technically out of 49 episodes, it's all 2 parters from beginning to end. But the story does go along well. Maybe the 30's episode are stable and progressing in slow rate, But it helps build the characters. But like many shows, they do have flaws. Like the CG was bad compared to the previous series, And many awkward thing about consistency. But the insert song of this show explains it better than i am. NOBODY'S PERFECT.

And I'm very satisfied with the endings. The endings might continued to the new "Kamen Rider W movie - A to Z, Gaia Memory of Fate". But it wraps up the TV series by ending it in a proper way. There's no 'Go watch the movie for the conclusion' bullcrap like KR Decade.

Anyways, I haven't felt much delight watching Kamen Rider for some time. Den-O was the last series i enjoyed (before they just never ended). And Kiva/Decade is a huge disappointment to me. Let's hoping Kamen Rider OOO followed the same thing

Speaking of which, Up next is a First look on Kamen Rider OOO and also So far on Tensou Sentai Goseiger.

C78 Doujin Games Review

Got to get up and update my blog or something. So it's been 2 weeks after c78. And I have tried many doujin games that is been released. So here's my review of C78's Doujin Games

01: Touhou Sangetsushou ~ Youkai Daisensou (TH12.8 - Fairy Wars)


Another 12 point something touhou games. This is the 3rd time. Not that i complain, but yeah. ZUN's been trying on new things. And to me it comes out as mixed opinions.

I kinda like the concept of freezing bullets. Not that original compare to Shoot the Bullet or Double Spoiler, but certainly one of a kind. Another thing that i really love about Fairy Wars is the Music. They got some unique music for ZUN such as Year-Round Dreamy curiosity (Stage 2 BGM), Midnight Fairy Dance (Stage 3 BGM) and Magus Night (Extra stage Boss).

If there's one thing i hated about the game is the controls. The usual traits for Touhou is Hold shift and Z during fights and X for bombs. But here, holding Z will charge the shot to freeze projectiles. So at first, i have to tap z all the time and it crams the hand quick. Then i discover autofire button which is C and Ctrl, but that also end up being awkward where you hold Ctrl (the closest i can do) and hold Z to charge. It pains on the hands easy and i have to change position of the finger to play it right.

02: New Super Marisa Land - Marisa and the 6 Mushrooms


The sequel to MarisaLa by Tasogare Frontier. And the title might based on Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins.

Now this game is just so fun to play. The game is the usual Mario games. Jump on baddies, collect powerups and coins (stars) and finding secret exits. The graphic is cute and the music is just brilliant. The usual Tasofro feats. One thing i like is the powerups where Marisa cosplayed as other Touhous. Although the controls for Marisa is somewhat slippery compared to Mario and can be a little hard than the usual Mario games, It's still a fun game from start till end.

03: Gensou Shoujo Taisen -Kou-


My most anticipated game on C78. And it doesn't fail on making my time... sorta.

The game consists of 4 difficulties based on SRW@1(Easy), SRW@Gaiden(Normal), SRWF-Final(Hard) and SRW3(Lunatic). Other than that, It's very similar to Super Robot Wars where Each mission you clear all enemies or follow objectives. There are some new things they tried on it such as Spellcard system on enemies, Focus movement (like holding shift in Touhou games) and boost ability using the "Wife System".

The music is also great and sounds almost like their SRW counterparts. The only thing disappoint me is that the game is only 15 chapters long. But the game is set to be a 4 Episode series. and Kou (Scarlet) is the 1st series, which it was based on EoSD. I can't wait for more.

04: Touhou Soujinengi - The Genius of Sappheiros


It's an RPG games which borrows JRPG classic gameplay such as the SaGa series. One of the unique function in the game is the 1up/Bomb. If your character dies, it only loses a life and in the next battle, they can still fight. And bombs are use to unleash stronger attacks.

And the rest is the usual JRPG deal, Find items and weapons, Combine items to create a weapon, armor or accessories, Fight enemy and grind levelups and stuff. It's a great doujin RPG.

05: TENG SOLDIER (Trial Ver.)


It's your average sidescroling platformers. Nothing much other than the screen keeps moving forward. There's 3 characters to choose from: Aya, Momiji and Hatate, but Hatate is broken. She got the longest range and when equip with the right shot combination, You can basically clear all enemy without breaking a sweat. This game is only 3 stage due to it's a Trial version.

06: Tendou Blade


It's another RPG. The gameplay is decent where every battle only depletes your Ethanol meter, which means that the character that died, damaged or used all their MPs are back to normal on their next encounter. The only problem is the game map. It seems that the camera angle is only semi top and are prone to blind spots. Also the 3D is just dull to look at (but again, what am i to complain about graphics in a doujin game).

07: Ojousama no Doki-Doki Daikessen


A maze platformer featuring Remilia as playable character. Some says the platforming resembles Metroidvania but i can't really see the similarity. There's many thing to do and many places to explore. The platforming is not bad too.

08: Motto, Fushigi no Gensokyo - A threat from the Surface!?


The 2nd game to "Fushigi no Gensokyo" or "Touhou Rougelike" that was released last comiket. The scale is larger with more items, enemies, levels etc. One thing cool about the game is that you can grind for items and experience at the well stage near Hakurei Shrine before you're up for the real game which located on a crash site near the shrine. As usual, it's punishing for those who are not prepared and are rewarding if you know what to do.

09: Touhou Dodgeball


It's Dodgeball in Gensokyo. The usual stuff, pass to players and try to hit your other opponent with the ball until their lifebar is depleted. You can charge the running and jumping to create a destructive throw to the opponent. And i think this is so far the only Touhou game that the characters actually spew out blood when hit.

10: Touhou Skyfight


A 3D sidescroling flying game. Playable Characters is Reimu, Marisa, Cirno, Sakuya, Remilia and Flandre as unlockable. It's hard for me to play this game for it easily hangs my graphic card. But after a few careful attempt, i manage to play it. The arcade mode is pretty boring. But the real kicker is the VS mode where you collect points while beating the crap of other players. There's also a network game, but i never get the chance to try it.

Another one to point is that the game has a voice actor. I almost thought Reimu has Hirano Aya voice, but it's not. Strange...