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Atelier Shallie Plus
Atelier Shallie Plus is a handheld version of Atlelier Shallie with all of the DLC packed in, much like all the previous “Plus” versions of the Atelier games have done. I have not played the console version of Shallie or any other Atelier games, so my review is based entirely on the Vita version. Let me start with some less flavorful notes. The frame rate is appalling most of the time. While not entirely gamebreaking, there are a few moments when the game seems to really chug along. The characters are all highly detailed and look great. Even the backgrounds are pretty nice considering other games on the Vita in…
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BlazBlue: Central Fiction
As the fourth entry in the Blazblue series, Central Fiction grants access to over thirty playable characters, several modes with upgraded features, and a story section that brings a grand conclusion to its very intricate plot. This iteration of Blazblue is unlike the rest, in perhaps, a good way for most, and represents a fantastic arcade fighting game experience. Blazblue Calamity Trigger was released in 2010, by Arc System Works, as a Japanese arcade game under the fighting game genre. It featured 12 characters in a brand new system. With the console release, several various modes were barebones at best, with the story mode being the most fleshed out, featuring…
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Yakuza 0
We asked for it and now we finally have it. Yakuza 0 has been fully localized for the US and I couldn’t be happier. I’ve played the Yakuza series religiously since the original release on the PS2, and after putting over 50 hours of gameplay into Yakuza 0 I think I may have a new favorite. One of the greatest things about Yakuza 0 is its status as a prequel. If you are new to the series, there is no better place for you to start. In this review I’d like to share my thoughts on the game and why you should give it a try. At first glance Yakuza…
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Exist Archive: The Other Side of the Sky
Exist Archive: The Other Side of the Sky, published by Aksys games is an interesting take on the traditional JRPG gameplay formula, being a hybrid platformer and RPG, attempting to mix elements of both. The background of the setting is that an alternate world exists, mirroring the real world. Killed by a mysterious force, the main cast awakens in this alternate world, unaware of their surroundings or the reason for their presence. The narrative here has potential in the premise, but is ultimately lackluster in the delivery. With reveals coming too far in-between, allowing the player time to forget the small threads being woven. The story additionally suffers from the…
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Final Fantasy XV
Final Fantasy XV (FFXV) is the latest entry in the seminal RPG series that is a mainstay of Square-Enix (SE). In it you play the role of Noctis; a prince on his way to his royal wedding accompanied by his retainers. This is the first game in the main series to truly cross into being an action RPG, and SE bills it as “A Final Fantasy for Fans and First Timers”. This distinction may be great for first timers, but is a bit of a mixed bag for fans. There’s a bit of something for everyone, and a lot of small details they get right, but the gameplay itself is…
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Chase: Cold Case Investigations ~Distant Memories~
I wasn’t a fan of the original DS in the least. I felt that the second screen would rarely be utilized and only serve as lost potential and extra battery drain. Turns out I was only mostly right. One group of developers got it right on two different occasions. The first was Trace Memory and the second, Hotel Dusk: Room 215. Both of these games were a delight to play and really tried to capture the heart of what the DS was about. I remember a puzzle in Trace Memories where your character picked up a rubber stamp pad and you had to close the DS’s lid to press the…
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Superdimension Neptune VS Sega Hard Girls
Superdimension Neptune vs. Sega Hard Girls(SNvSHG) is is a RPG for the Vita where you play as the anthropomorphized representations of console systems & hardware. Combined from two different series (Hyperdimension Neptunia & Sega Hard Girls) that follow the same basic premise of hardware themed characters, we finally see a cross-over game as the two series go head to head, vying the girls representing modern consoles against classic Sega machines. What could go wrong? Unfortunately everything. SNvSHG suffers from a bewildering series of problems in its design, but let’s get one of the worst offenders out of the way; the frame-rate. Well the game plays at a fairly normal 30FPS,…
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Ninja Usagimaru: The Mysterious Karakuri Castle
I would like to preface this review with a statement, and the statement is thus: I am not the intended audience for this game. I have nothing against puzzle games, in fact I enjoy many of them. However, this particular genre of puzzlers is not my cup of tea…At all. If I was dying of thirst in a desert and all I had to drink was this cup of tea, I would just roll over and let death take me. That being said, on to the review! Ninja Usagimaru: The Mysterious Karakuri Castle is an action puzzler game. You move the aforementioned ninja rabbit around levels constructed with different types…
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Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse
As a fan of the SMT games and a die-hard fan of their spin-off Persona games, I wanted to like SMTIV:Apocalypse, but I just can’t get into it. I played a bit of the first SMTIV and really didn’t care for it. This game is more of the same, but with less likable characters. I love the post-apocalyptic setting and the imagery, however the NPCs that you share living space with are completely devoid of character other than their names/descriptions like as “irrational woman” or “grizzly man”. No joke, these are the game’s style of naming unimportant NPCs. I guess it gives the idea that there are more people living…
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Now Playing 9/18/2016
Between going back to work as a bus driver and the rather large number of games I’ve received to review, I’ve been pretty swamped. Were it just simple games, this wouldn’t be too difficult of a task to bear, but I’ve been handed quite a few, very long RPGs, including Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse, Trails of Cold Steel II, God Eater 2, and Attack on Titan. I have all of these great RPGs to play, but I just want to play Monster Hunter Generations with my friends. Still, I have been making my way through these games. I’d really like to know who decides when to release games like…
Handheld Gaming Reviews
