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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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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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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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Geometry Ninja…I mean, Slice It!
Can you cut it? No, seriously…Can you? This game aims to find out. Cutting a shape into pieces. When I was first told the concept of this game, my initial reaction was “Is that it?” Don’t be deceived, while the premise is simple, this game is not a total walk in the park and it will eat away at you gradually if you let it. Puzzle games usually come in two varieties, the fast and frantic “ACT NOW” variety and the “take your time and think” variety. This game is the latter (though there is a mode with a bit of the former too). You are given a shape, told…
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The Legend of Legacy
I just want to preface this review by saying that I haven’t officially finished the game. After 60+ hours, I’ve got a good chunk of time invested in The Legend of Legacy, so I can give you a pretty good idea of what to expect. The Legend of Legacy is a spiritual sequel to the Romancing SaGa series, developed by FuRyu, and published by Atlus. For those of you who may not be familiar, SaGa games don’t play out like traditional JRPGs, and are quite the niche titles. Characters randomly learn skills during battles, stat growth is random, depending on your actions in battle, and said battles can go very…
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Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai DX
I didn’t want to like this game, going into it. ‘It’s too cutesy,’ I grumbled. ‘I have no prior knowledge of this series, save for a few random screenshots I’ve seen on Twitter and Facebook. How am I supposed to review this?’ Well, after spending a week or so with this game, I can admit that it has grown on me. Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai DX is basically an enhanced version of Project Mirai 2. I am a total virgin where this series is concerned, but not to rhythm games in general. Elite Beat Agents is a personal favorite of mine, as is PaRappa the Rapper, and to a lesser…
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Now Playing 7/12/2015
I just got back from an all night LAN at GameOn LAN. I’m a PC gamer, but not really a LAN gamer. The owner, Josh, let’s our fighting game crew piggy back on the PC LAN parties for a much cheaper fee since we bring our own setups and gear and it’s just money he wouldn’t be making if we weren’t there. Anyway, always a blast going to these things, and I just wanted to send a shout out to Josh and the crew at GameOn for supporting us the way he has. If you find yourself in the Buffalo, NY area, I highly recommend hitting this place up. Here’s…
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Now Playing 6/28/2015
Last week was the final week of school before summer vacation. It feels great to be free. Last week, I also got a review copy of Lost Dimension. My first impressions were…mixed. I can’t stand the character design for any of the characters. They have a seriously “budget” vibe going on, but once I got past that initial reaction, I was introduced to a very good strategy RPG. It’s as though they combined Danganronpa’s “catch the killer” vibe with Natural Doctrine’s combat system and a sterile white dystopian future aesthetic similar to Freedom Wars. When I say that it’s like Natural Doctrine, I mean that in the best possible way.…
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Now Playing: 2/20/2015
I’m a horrible blogger. I really am. I’ve been slacking so much lately, but it’s not my fault. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate and the New 3DS came out on the same day. Up until now, I have pretty much hated my 3DS. There were a few reasons, but the main ones were my particular 3DS hurt my hands, and that the 3DSXL made the games look even worse than they did on their native 3DS screen size. When I say it hurt my hands, I mean that my special edition Pikachu 3DS has a sharp “lip” where the bottom plastic literally carves into my fingers the way I hold it.…
Handheld Gaming Reviews
