The Legend of the Mystical Ninja

 

Finally finished the Legend of the Mystical Ninja for the Snes and I gotta say, it felt a bit on the hard side if I hadn't abused the save scumming feature on the Wii U to get the most equipment... or even get the most money by cheating on the dice game. I don't think I would have succeeded otherwise. Maybe I just suck at playing those kind of game, but still, it seemed a bit unfair when the unpredictable townspeople started jumping around and throwing coins at me knocking away my newly bought piece of armor and my weapon level goes from this awesome Rygar yo-yo to a small pipe. All in all I prefer the Nintendo 64 game since there I could avoid everything pretty much without problem and my weapon stayed upgraded when I upgraded them. I even played that game a couple of times even before realizing I actually could buy armor to stop bullets and hits to damage me, but I wonder why have it when you could acquire 20 hearts or dots or whatever the life bar was.

The story then. It starts out with talk of a ghost attacking the villager and Goemon and Ebisumaru... Sorry, I mean Kid Ying and Dr Yang sets out to stop it. Then suddenly it's about saving a princess that takes you across Japan... I would guess, I don't think they ever pointed out where we were except by name and I ain't that good on the geography of Japan. Maybe I didn't like it due to playing by myself since it supports two-player and I only played it once with one of my sisters and since I suck on my own and she being worse on video games than me that wasn't the best combo. I don't think we passed the first level and since my only level was on the fourth level we couldn't cheat for more money and then armors and lives. Or I might just find someone else to play with. At least the music good and the cut scenes can be entertaining. Maybe the 64 game clouds my appreciation of this game or it might just be that you need a nostalgic connection to be willing to grind your way through the game legit.

Wonderful 101

 

I got Mario Kart 8 when it got out and as a bonus you could get a free game so I went with this one, the Wonderful 101, by some considered the best non-Nintendo game on Wii U, which truth be told isn't saying much with the abysmal 3rd party support. Still, they are probably right since this game is freaking awesome. It's a superhero game where you control one of the Wonderful 100 as you fight back the space invaders GEATHJERK Federation in the Earth Defence war III. The gimmick is that you can gather 100 people (either drafted citizens or the actual W-100) and with them perform unite morphs to attack or interact with the environment.

Its story is parts serious, but more often a parody or homage to superheroes, mecha-series, transformers, sentai or power ranger shows or just other video games. It's freaking awesome. For example and SPOILERS!!! the final boss is both part Mother Brain from Metroid and Unicron from the 1986 Transformers movie. The design of the characters also reminds me of Thunderbird, the classic puppet sci-fi series from Britain and the story itself references the Terminator as the aliens come from the future, back in time to destroy humanity. One mission references this sci-fi trope to enter a body to destroy a virus or something. Also you have the Pokemon syndrome to gather all W-100 from all over the world... and for some reason Japan seems to have the highest per capita ratio of wonderfuls. Maybe it's Godzilla or something. The thing about the different W100 is that they come from all over the world, I even found one from Sweden... the Grim Reaper himself. Apparently he's from Umeå. My guess would be an homage to Ingmar Bergmans Seventh Seal or whatever it's called in English.

The most awesome thing, except feeling as a superhero team a la Justice League, is the music. They even have a theme song and I freakin love it... if you crank up the vocals a bit since the music drowns out the cheesy lyrics.

Nitpick is that changing weapons isn't 100% as you either use the gamepad touchscreen or the right analogue stick (stick is preferred) and the camera can be tricky in certain sections when you enter a building and the gamepad shows the view and you must solve a puzzle and the only way I found to look around was using gyro-controls. A bit irritating at times when you want to look 180. Other than that it might be on the shorter side, the story that is since the replay ability is huge in finding all 100, all data files, get the best score on more than 3 different difficulties and the characters are likable and the main character Wonder-red is perfect as total serious superhero which crashes with all others. Then on the other hand of the 7 main Wonders only 4 are given enough screen time to fully flesh out their quirks. Really, maybe a couple more story missions, but as tightly knitted the story is, it might make it worse. Really recommended so power up and save the day.

Xenoblade Chronicles

 

The other must have JRPG for the Wii and compared to the Last Story's 30-40 hours game this one clocked in on 120 hours when finished. Really, I dreaded the playtime when I checked on it before starting cause how can a story keep you interested for so long, playing roughly 10 per day? Somehow it did. It start out with a prologue at the last line of defence for the humans... I mean homs as the Mechonis is advancing. The only one standing in their way is Dunban, the warrior who wields the Monado. In a final attempt he and his friends Dickson and Mumkhar push the Mechonis back so the other homs can retreat, sadly Mumkhar betrays them and gets himself killed. As a final act Dunban unleashes the Monados full power ending the war, but leaves himself crippled. One year later and we are introduced to Shulk, scientist studying the Monado and Reyn and Fiora in their home Colony 9. Fiora is the obvious love interest and Dunbans younger sister who nurse him back from the burns he received by the Monado. Well, we can't have a story without conflict so the Mechonis appears which forces Shulk to wield the Monado and this grants him the power to see the future, but at the same time a new type of Mechonis appears, those with faces. They slaughter and captures several homs, one being Fiora and this starts the quest for revenge. Later on we end up with a sniper/healer chick Sharla, magician High Entian (angelic elfs) Melia, Nopon heropon Ricki and Dunban.

And now for the spoilers, of course Fiora survives, as one of the faced mechon, but with the coinciouse of the Mechonis (the titan home world of all mechanical life, compared to the Bionis biological life) as she tries to stop the machina leader for destroying the Bionis. The twist is that he seek revenge for what the Bionis did all those millennia ago and prevent further conflict as the concioise of the Bionis, Zanza, will destroy all life to regain his form. Pretty standard stuff. Gods fighting  and it's not the obvious enemy that are the long term threat. The rather fresh twist was the walkway toward the final boss and we are in space near Saturn, then Jupiter, then Mars and finally near our moon. Beat the boss and the twist is revealed, the world is a post-apocalyptic universe where a human experiment by the scientist taking the form as gods, eradicating our world. Not new, but rather fresh.

Other than that this game is a huge and epic sci-fi story that aren't like any other JRPG. You can level up by killing anything you see, but that isn't recommended. Rather go out and explore as every new location grants you exp or do loads of quest, it even pays enough so I never had trouble with money, accumulating 6-7 million without problem. It actually felt more like a DnD session than just kill to level up. The bad things on the other hand is the micromanagement of equipment and collectibles and the like. First of you are limited to how many different things you can take with you meaning I have to sell or throw away certain thing that I might need in quests or to rebuild Colony 6 with, but I threw that away 10 hours ago since I didn't know I needed it. They try to fix this by giving you vision of the future of certain things and that is a small nudge in the right direction, but somehow when I threw an ingredient I have 10 of, as soon the quest is given I can't even find 1 after 2 hours searching. Cheating computer bastard. Also switching equipment is a hazzle since you can on certain armors equip crystals to enhance different thing, but if you want to keep those crystals you must equip them one by one again. Did I mention you must do this for 7 characters? Apparently they are doing a spiritual successor for the Wii U so I hope they fix that.

Update 2014-08-30: Nintendo also announced a port for the New 3DS so hopefully they fixed that. I'm also interested in seeing the game in 3D since I will probably look amazing. Hopefully I have a job so I can afford it by that time.

The Last Story

 

After playing Final Fantasy X (with a quick detour into Tales of Symphonia) I got this craving for another Hironobu Sakaguchi game (the main creator of Final Fantasy up until X or XII) and thankfully I picked this game up when I revisited Karlstad earlier this spring and together with the compositions of Nobuo Uematsu (the main composer of the Final Fantasy-series) I knew it would at least be enjoyable. So I started playing expecting a turn-based JRPG (since that's what I know them for)... boy was I surprised. It's more akin to an Action-RPG, but with strategy elements as you control your main character directly and then you issues certain commands to the rest of the squad if you need something special done, otherwise they just do what they feel like, which is slaughtering enemies so it works pretty well, although why the healer magician can't put it in to attack when a green barrier is up and then revert back to healing without me giving order is kinda annoying. Since it's clearly impossible not to, let's compare it to Final Fantasy XIII (since even the name alludes toward it, I mean Final Fantasy - The Last Story, they really asked for it) which also focused on a lot more auto-battle, changing up tactics in the middle of the battle. The difference being that Final Fantasy got boring and repetitive due to button pushing while the Last Story you hardly need input more than running into the enemy (like Ys book 1 & 2). Why doesn't it affect me the same? FF XIII is a 60+ game where the battle interrupt my progression while TLS is just under 30 hours (including most side-quest) and there is no random-battles so the story moves along with character building banter during the fights. More enjoyable for someone like me that focus more on story.

So about the story, it's enjoyable as it's cliched. Which I enjoy. This group of mercenaries work for the Count of an island. One mission takes them into some kind of ruins where one of them (Zael... is it alluding to Zeal, the Chrono Trigger flying kingdom? At least in the translation), when they are beset by the undead receives the power of the Outsider to protect those he cares for. Back in the city everyone prepares for the marriage between the Counts niece (who is the real heir to the throne, but her uncle stepped in as she was to young when the old count died... lets say of mysterious circumstances) and Lord Jirall, a relative to the Emperor. So our hero Zael happens to walk the city when he stumbles upon someone hiding in a wagon while two guards search for a girl... as they mention roughly the same age as Zael... gee I wonder if it's the niece and we have the set up of a love story. Of course it is. Anyway, the rest of the story is Zael and the mercenary climbing the social ladder in order to become knights, but as the veil falls on the stories they've seen and heard of they begin to question the goal. At the same time a war between the humans and their century old enemy the Gurack blossoms once again. You have magic cannons, moving island, floating fortresses and meteors bringing doom to the world as the land itself is dying. Really, most things are pretty standard for Sakaguchi stories.

Music is magical at times, the main theme being really beautiful while certain boss themes is really pumping it up. Graphically on the other hand... it shows it was made for the Wii. Not ugly, but the FMV's are nothing more than areal views of the island, I think maybe one FMV in the beginning introducing the mercenaries and that's it. You also get the expressions of the character, but comparably to FF X, I really think FF X will still look good in 10 more years. Doesn't help that the colors are more in the shades of grey area. Also, it lags if too many people are on screen and twice I had the city disappear into the blue sky before it loaded correctly. Or it could be the Wii U's emulation not working correctly, I don't know. No harm done as the game didn't crash at least. Although twice I got stuck in a corner as my comrades blocked the way out and wouldn't move an inch to let me through, the towns people I can just shove aside, but not my friends it seems. So I had to hug the wall and slide past them.

Really sad thing is that it is unlikely a The Last Story 2 would be produced, especially when you haven't seen anything of this world... you just sat at that island, of course it moved around in the end, but all you saw altogether was the main island and three others. You have at least two continents to explore, the political intrigues of the empire itself, an uneasy peace between the Gurack and humans  and more knights to lecture on the true merits of a knight. On the Wii U preferably... or Mistwalker can just port their other games to that console so I don't have to buy an Xbox if I want Ian Gillan to sing while I beat up bosses.

Castlevania Trilogy

 

Lets talk about the original Castlevania trilogy on the Nes, which I happens to own on Wii, 3ds and Wii U and the first time I got my hands on the games, missing out when we had the Nes. Of course, thanks to the save state function I was able to brute force my way through the games. I wouldn't stand a chance otherwise. Beginning with the first game, which I also got for the game boy advance. Best intro music on the first stage. Hard as hell, although I usually passed at least the third stage without save states, then either the mummy or Frankensteins monster did me in. Really, the save states are a godsend for someone like me that lack the fine motorskills required as well don't have the same time or patience to grind the whole stages until I learned all the tricks, especially the cheap deaths being pushed back into a hole for example.

The second game went away a bit from the action route for a more rpg feeling which I prefer since it's not all skill based, but you can grind for hearts and get better equipment to help you out. The reason why it didn't take of like Symphony of the Night I would blame on the lack of an internal map. Had the same problem on the original Metroid. Maybe to easy in that regard with only two bosses besides Dracula.

 

The third then, The Curse of Dracula. Also fantastic music, more playable characters, although I only used Trevor due the whiping, you gets kinda used to it. Hard bosses everywhere, instant death traps and a final encounter with a 3 (or was it 4) form of Dracule where I reset so many times in order to get all damn weapon patterns down. To be a kid again and spend a lot more hours in this would have been fun. Sadly, these action packed Castlevania games with awesome fist pumping music seems to be at an end with the recent Lords of Shadow incarnation. Really need to finish that first game... if I knew where the game is.

Final Fantasy X HD Remastered

 

I couldn't resist so I got the Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD collection for PS3 and played through the first game. Now, this was my very first final fantasy game back in 2001 and me and my sister pursued our parents to get a Playstation 2 for the DVD capabilities and we preferred this console over Xbox due to the games like Final Fantasy and Castlevania (I would also say Metal Gear, but I got those games for PS3 and Gamecube). I was hyped for this game. The magazines talked about it, I had a 15 minute preview dvd with a short look on the games from 6-9 and then clips from X together with the music. The sending and the kilika forest themes made my ears scream in joy while the visuals where making my eyes cry. Of course, the only story I got was reading the magazines and with the video I mistook Wakka's blitzball player for the Al Bedh rebells. Yeah, they mentioned them being attacked by Sin and that was what I saw.

Now, I only finished the game once, not even 100 %, but as per usual with Final Fantasy the end game gets boring. Grinding to beat the Dark Aeons, grinding to win blitzball, luck based celestial weapon missions (damn suicidal birds). The ap grinding wouldn't be so bad if you didn't need to at least do one action with a character to get rewarded. Why can't everyone share or if that isn't enough at least half the ap would be fine, but no. You need to switch in and out each and everyone of the characters to avoid the mistakes of my very first playthrough, Khimari and Yuna just falling behind everyone else forcing me to grind for every Seymore fight. That was at least good with FF XIII since you could choose character without consequence since when the party split up, you were around the same strength.

Now, a question for the more keen eyed individuals... is there a difference in the visual department in the remaster or is my nostalgia glasses so old I can't even compare them? Also, have they changed some of the scripted fight? I think I remember fighting Dark Ixion outside of Guadosalam, conjured by the same guado guys at Macalania temple, but in this version there is a soldier on the thunder plains (which makes more sense I guess). Was that in the original?

I know some people dislike this game (imitating Spoony or being Spoony) and I will admit I'm colored by nostalgia, but I still find the game enjoyable. The story makes sense to me as well as the character development. The designs might be goofy at times, but at least they are memorable, although that might not always be a good thing. At least it feels like a living world I'm traveling through with people in it compared to XIII where I'm walking back and forth empty plains and all the world building is in the files you collect. I still haven't finished that game.

Nadia: Secret of Blue Water

A while back I watched this show that I've seen been mentioned looking at Mysterious Cities of Gold and other animes with a coherent story or even western shows like Avatar: The Last Airbender. Pretty decent, nice animation, interesting story and I really like the steam punk setting and the Jules Verne inspirations. It's about this kid Jean who is an inventor creating flying machines and show them of the Paris world fair in the 1880's I believe. There he meet Nadia who he helps escape the Grandis gang that are after her Blue Water (some jewel). After escaping out on the sea they are picked up by the American navy who are searching for a sea monster that sinks vessels all over the oceans. The ship is attacked and the children fall into the water where they are picked up by the Nautilus (a twist to the Verne story is that Captain Nemo is hunting the one doing the actual sinking). Nemo lets them of the closest inhabited island which turns out to be overrun by the Neoatlantians (yes, you are supposed to think Neonazis). Here the kids find Maria, a little girl who was left under her killed parents... what is it with the Japanese and dead parents... and now flashbacks of it, my god. Anyway, they get captured since the leader Gargoyle wants the Blue Water and uses the other kids as pressure points on Nadia. Somehow the Nautilus appears and save the day and picks up the kids and the Grandis gang (who now reforms)  and set out once more to stop the Neoatlantians and Gargoyle from achieving their goal of world domination.

Really, well worth watching although it can be pretty dark for kids. One episode introduces this mechanic that helps Jean with his interactions with Nadia, but the Nautilus is cornered by the American fleet, lured there by the Neoatlantians and hit it so hard a radiation leak occurs trapping three mechanics in the machine room (you guessed it, one was introduced earlier in the episode). Since they can't submerge the captain orders lock down, sealing their fate. Jean runs toward the engine room and uses the com-system to beg of them to rethink. The mechanic says it's the only way and he has no regrets. Silence... and then his screams of agony as the radiation is killing him and how he wished he could do so much more and then... silence. That is pretty gut wrenching.

In the end the Japanese go all out. Nemo is a former king of the last Atlantean kingdom in existence and Atlantis originated from space coming on three ships where one is THE Arc and Nautilus is is of course a space ship that can travel everywhere. The goal of Gargoyle is to take control of a satellite controlled by the so called Tower of Babel and deliver the judgment of God since humans are inferior to the Atlantian race. Of course it turns out that Gargoyle himself is human, accepted to become prime minister by Nemo in his kingdom, a truth he didn't know until he died. Like all genocidal dictator, you are what you hate and such.

Some complaints occurs around episode 30 where there is 10 episodes with the kids stranded on a deserted island after the first Nautilus is badly damaged. The tone shift to some Warner Brothers cartoon and the animation clearly has a lower standard. I liked it enough, but many apparently didn't like the tone shift. so many argues to skip those. It's up to taste really since those episodes didn't impact the story more than take them from point A to point B.

Somehow I feel I already wrote about this show, but I can't find it