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King of Fighters 14
When the first trailer for KOF14 was released, there was a strong reaction in the gaming community as most people said it looked like a Playstation 2 game. SNK assured fans that it was still early on and that it would be much better looking in the final build. Trailer after trailer, the ugliness gradually faded, but it still isn’t the most gorgeous game. By switching to polygonal models, SNK left behind the absolutely gorgeous 2D graphics of the previous game. Many fans, myself included, were not expecting much from this game. We’ve seen what happened that last time they attempted to use polygonal models. KoF Maximum Impact, and it’s…
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Odin Sphere Leifthrasir
Originally released on the PS2 half a year after the PS3 came out, Odin Sphere launched with much fanfare. It’s music, art direction, and gameplay was just what everyone needed at the time. 2D beat-em-ups had all but gone the way of the dodo, but Vanillaware showed us that we needed them in our lives. With all of it’s beautiful environments and colorful characters, the game was a success with the niche market, and even got some positive mainstream press. Much of that praise came from lead designer George Kamitani’s animation decisions. I’ve always enjoyed his art style as well as his animation techniques. Using multi-sprite bosses where each body…
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Mighty No. 9
After numerous delays, and 3 years of development, Mighty No. 9 has finally released to the public. As you may know, I was extremely excited for this game, and even backed it. It’s been a long time since a new Mega Man game was released, and that’s why the Kickstarter fared so well. Perhaps this very reason is why I enjoyed Mighty No. 9 so much. Truth be told, MN9 hasn’t done so well in reviews. I’d like to talk about why that might be. MN9 is not a bad game, but it is a budget game. One with a very high budget for a an “indy” title. I think…
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Monster Hunter Generations
Anyone who knows me probably knows how much I adore Monster Hunter. I’ve played well over three thousand hours between the different games. I skipped Monster Hunter Tri and only played a little bit of Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate. I was not fan of the decision to bring the games exclusively to Nintendo platforms, but eventually I accepted it and bought in. I doubled down with Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate by buying the *New* 3DS XL and I haven’t regretted doing so one bit. The right analog nipple is a godsend for these games. Here we are just over a year after that game and Capcom has graced us with…
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LOST SEA
Do you remember the days from your childhood playing with those oversized (so you don’t break or choke on them) action figures meant for children who weren’t ready for REAL action figures yet? Do you remember going on long, drawn out adventures with them that weren’t too complex, but still, in your mind they were extremely poignant? Slaying mountains of villain action figures until you inevitably triumphed and obtained whatever mcguffin your quest was focused on? Well, that sorta kinda describes the experience of playing Lost Sea. If I had to give you my absolute first impression of the game, it would be that Lost Sea seems so painfully, completely,…
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Senran Kagura: Estival Versus
Gigantic breasted ninja running around trying to tear one another’s clothes off? Must be time for another installment of Senran Kagura. This time, they’re in their bathing suits most of the time. So how does one attack someone until they’re down to just their bra and panties? Oddly enough, probably a series first, when you transform into your ninja gear, you actually have MORE clothes on than before. Try not to focus on that too much; it may induce nose bleeds. Where do I begin with this one? Obviously, this is going to be sensitive material to some people out there. This game is not for them. It’s for a…
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Langrisser Re:Incarnation -TENSEI-
FW:All Animators -You’re Fired- Langrisser Re:Incarnation -TENSEI-! What a mouthful that is. What is a langrisser? Why is it being Re:Incarnated? What is the deal with this title? Well, as the name implies, Langrisser Re:Incarnation -Tensei- is an attempt to resurrect a dormant tactics series in order to capitalize on Fire Emblem’s new found resurgence of popularity. Langrisser may not have been the most popular RPG series on the planet, but it did/does have its own set of devoted followers. So can this reincarnated series stand up to the aforementioned Fire Emblem “behemoth” and deliver these loyal fans the shot of life they deserve? No, not really…Not even close to…
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Risk of Rain
A while back, I picked up Risk of Rain on Steam. I knew it was coming out for Vita and PS4, so I didn’t play too much of it on my PC as I really felt it would fit the Vita quite well. Turns out that, while it does work one the Vita, it’s much better on PC or the PS4. This is mostly because the game has a lot of buttons to assign considering how relatively simple it is. I managed to find a layout that suits my style and is interchangeable on the Vita and PS4. I like being able to use both the d-pad and analog stick…
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Trillion: God of Destruction
A while back I came to the realization that I really don’t like rogue-likes or dungeon crawlers. Then a few days ago, Idea Factory sent me a review copy of Trillion. Trillion is a game where you must kill a boss with a trillion hit points. There is a lot of Disgaea-like story within, but that last statement pretty much sums up the game’s premise. You are the Great Overlord of some netherworld who rules over the other overlords. Some giant creature comes through a gate and kills everyone by the thousands, devouring everything in sight. Your brother asks if he can go destroy this threat once and for all,…
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Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel
On the surface, LOH:TOCS may seem like a traditional JRPG, but it’s really a sweet love story of an unworthy noble and his love affair with a delusional, undignified, working class poor boy. On a serious note, the game is easily summed up as one part Persona 3/4, one part Suikoden, and three parts Trails in the Sky. You play as Rean Schwarzer in his first year at Thors Military Academy. He and his 8 classmates belong to a special trial program called Class VII. In Thors, The other five classes (that’s right, there’s no class VI) are split into nobles and peasants. As you’d expect, the nobles are real…
Handheld Gaming Reviews
