Review #103: Tales of VS

 Just a speck away from recommendable.

 It worked for Square-Enix and Final Fantasy, so Namco just had to try their hand at a fighting game spin-off from their own venerable, if somewhat  underrated on the west, franchise. While Dissidia went for a rather unorthodox approach, Tales of VS is much easier to grasp, but it has its fair share of shortcomings.

 For starters, this is a Japanese exclusive game, and I don't know a lick of Japanese, which means that I don't have the slightest idea of what the hell is going on, but there are 9 different story modes, each one lasts about 2 hours, presumably more if you don't skip every fully-voiced scene. Buyer beware, while you can be almost fine as long as you get some menu translations, and a translation for what each stat is, you'll be missing out on a lot of customization options that could, possibly, make the game much more entertaining.

 Battles take place over arenas filled with many platforms and, sometimes, hazards, such as rolling barrels or laser beams from the sides, and they support up to four players. Stages are rather dull, and despite the hazards, lifeless, but the 2D backgrounds behind the platforms are taken from various dungeons or landmarks from Tales games. Good news? Characters play almost just like they did on their original games, albeit limited to a 2D plane if they came from a 3D Tales of game. Besides jumping up and down, you get normal attacks and Artes. You can assign up to 4 artes on each character, they earn more as they level up(More on this later), and these consume TP(A secondary gauge below your HP bar). Then you also get guard, that protects against normal attacks, but you receive full damage from spells, and a magic guard(Guard plus down on the pad) that blocks magic but leaves you open to physical attacks. Lastly, items may pop up on the stage, and these range from healing items to damaging spells, and every time you pick one up, it's stored until you press triangle or lose it when you die.

 Characters are divided into two major classes, Warriors and Mages. Warriors are, by far, the best type of characters, as their artes are executed as soon as you press circle plus a direction on the pad. Mages, on the other hand, must take their sweet time casting the spells before they go off(But they deal major damage). First issue with this? Mages are completely useless in single player games, the CPU will gang up on you, and your ally won't even try to cover you as you chant your spell, so if you want a mage, have your ally CPU use it while you protect him. Then there's the fact that the camera doesn't cover the whole arena, while you get markers showing you were, offscreen, an enemy, is you will be running against the border of the screen, not knowing what awaits you. Very annoying. Even worse, the CPU loves grabbing items, you will find yourself chasing your running enemy every single time, and it behaves like this on every difficulty level. The cherry on top is that you won't even know where your enemy is running to, as the camera doesn't cover the whole arena, many times the item is offscreen, which also means that the CPU has the advantage of knowing where everything is.

 While I think most people would enjoy customizing each character, I would've preferred something more defined. Customizing means that you have to grind for experience points, to unlock the full moveset and raise individual stats, and for gold, to get weapons, armors, rings and skills for your character. Playing Arcade Mode with an underleveled character and a stronger partner means that you'll fight against two CPUs that match the level of your highest level character, making grinding for characters that don't have an story mode a bit of a chore. Speaking of Story Mode, these play out on a map, and while your main objective is to head towards the banners, there are crossed sword icons, touching these means engaging in a fight... These battles, at the beginning of the mode with your level 0 characters, are very challenging, so you are better off clearing a couple of main objectives in order to unlock the first items on the store for your characters, only then do these become fair. Stan's Story Mode is particularly annoying, as he gets no partner, but has to fight against two CPUs at all times, they will gang up on you and they will wreck you, specially early in the game when you have no equipment.

 As for content, you get 35 characters, the roster is pretty diverse, even if Legendia and Eternia only get one representative each. Even though this is a Japanese exclusive game, if you've been following the games that reached stateside, you will be familiar with 24 out of these 35 characters. Besides Story Mode, you get Arcade Mode, Survival Mode, Free Battle Mode and Special Battle. Special Battle has 20 challenges for you to complete, making you play as a set character with special conditions. Then there's the unlockable Tales of Wallbreaker, a 2D minigame, with its own roster of unlockable fighters, in which you try to break any of the two walls surrounding you and your opponent by throwing him or her against the walls. Fairly entertaining for such a small treat.

 Graphically, characters look very neat, with an stylized cell-shaded look that actually works pretty well. It's a very colorful game, and most animations are pretty cool looking, with a couple of odd looking ones sadly, bonus points for each character getting the Artes that he or she used in his or her game. As for the music, it's all taken from the games the characters represent, and the Story Mode scenes are fully voice-acted.

 Overall, it's a good game, but unless you are planning on playing it with real people, expect to be annoyed frequently. Sadly, the only way to unlock characters is to dredge through Story Modes, and then you have to grind battles in order to earn Experience(for that one character that you want to use) and gold to buy them their own equipment and skills... This game could've been so much better.
 6.0 out of 10

Review #102: Kirby - Return to Dreamland

 Suck your way to the top as you spit or swallow your enemies!

 Go out and buy this game now, not because of it's quality, but because it's a bit of a rarity, produced at the end of the Wii's life cycle, few copies were produced, and it's quickly becoming a very sought after item. But is the game any good? Long story short, it's your typical Kirby game.
 The story involved Magolor crashing his Lor Starcutter into dreamland, losing five key components in the process, and Kirby being the good fellow that he is, decides to help him gather all five pieces, alongside a Waddle Dee, King Dedede and Metaknight. Story was never, and never will be, Kirby's selling point, it's just there to give you a little bit of motivation, and it does hold a twist that most Kirby games pull, so you'll probably be expecting it. As simple as the story is, the cutscenes peppered throughout the game are incredibly charming, as silly and dull and the story is, I just couldn't stop myself from smiling at times.

 At its core, the game plays just like any other Kirby game, on a 2-D plane, with a multiplayer component. At any moment, a second player can hop in as either MetaKnight, King Dedede, Waddle Dee or a different colored Kirby, the former three behave like the Sword, Hammer and Javelin powers respectively. And now is when I get to call foul, player 1 cannot choose any other character. I understand how accessing hidden areas would be impossible if you couldn't pick other Powers, but I just want to play as MetaKnight, but the game won't let me because I'm player one. Not fun, let ME choose if I want to screw myself out of hidden areas. Besides that, the rest of the game is the usual Kirby fare, suck in enemies and swallow them to steal their Powers(If they have one) or shoot them out as a powerful projectile. You'll also have to do some jumping and avoid some obstacles as you search for hidden items.
 If you are expecting a hard as nails platformer, you are in the wrong place, but then again, people that say that Kirby is a "easy" game haven't really played Kirby. Kirby is not about getting through the levels, heck, Kirby can fly indefinitely and avoid most obstacles. The fun in Kirby comes in the form of collecting stuff, there's 120 hidden cogs to find, and many times, one single mistake means redoing the entire level, the developers were nice enough to make it impossible for you to kill yourself after said mistake, so there's no choice but redoing the stage. 'sides, beat the game and you unlock Arena and Extra Mode. Extra Mode cuts your life bar in half, places more enemies on each stage and gives them different sizes, the bigger ones can take more punishment. Doesn't end there, bosses get new palette swaps and new moves, there's also a new boss at the end of the game. Beat Extra Mode and you unlock the True Arena, which houses a second hidden boss.

 Besides multiplayer, there's a second new gimmick in the form of Super Powers. Every now and then you'll come across shiny enemies, eat one of these and you'll earn a Powered up version of Sword, Ice, Fire, Beam or Hammer. These are poorly implemented, as whenever you use it, it brings the game to a halt so that Kirby can strike a pose before unleashing the power. Some of them are more involved, like the Beam that you can move around or the Snowball that you can move about, but the others just have you, and other players if present, sitting as it goes off. Not fun. They are a poor addition to the series, even if cutting a rope with the Giant Sword is amusing the first time. Thankfully they are not the focus and they are only featured in a few levels.
 As for how it looks, the game is very colorful, filled with bright, solid colors. Enemies and objects in the game are very simple, with few details, the levels themselves fare much better, lots of tiny details everywhere, with different planes and objects, regardless, it hardly pushes the Wii's hardware, but as a whole, it's gorgeous. Music is very varied, from upbeat beats to more relaxing tunes, and they do tend to fit the levels they are in. Overall, it's all very cute, but nothing noteworthy.

 As one of the last Wii games produced by Nintendo, if not the last, it could've been a lot better, at the end of the day, what you've got is just another Kirby game that doesn't stand above or below its predecessors, nor does it try to stand out from them.
 7.0 out of 10.

Gundam Extreme VS Full Boost Impressions part 9

Delta Plus

 The successor or predecessor, depending on how you wanna see it, to the Hyaku Shiki, this unit plays nothing alike and is half as cool. It received minor tweaks here and there, but it's basically the same unit, it has a very slow melee and few tools to deal at long range, but at mid-range? It's a beast.

NEW Gundam Banshee

 This unit is so much fun, and a great alternative to the Unicorn Gundam. Unlike the Unicorn, Banshee is not much of a all-around unit, but rather a great mid-close range bruiser. It's got plenty of projectile tools for anything that's close and some rather fun tools for close encounters, to top it off, it has a Destroy Mode that buffs it and grants it new, stronger moves(Both close and long range). By default, it's a timed Mode, like the unicorn, but once it reaches about 25% health, it becomes permanent. To be honest, I think the 2500 cost is a bit too little for this beast.

Sinanju

 Now it has more HP and is bigger in size! Sinanju is Mobile Suit with two different modes, a really strong mid-range player and a form that sucks at everything but melee, plus, it way more mobile, it's faster and can propel itself by kicking asteroids(Which double as projectiles!). Looks really cool, but it takes some work to make the most of it.

Kshatriya

 Bumped down to 2000, which also means nerfs everywhere. It got some new ways to shoot its funnels. It's a decent all-around unit, particularly good at mid-range.

NEW Rozen Zulu

 A long range specialist, Rozen Zulu has some very awkward and unique looking attacks, so it may take some time getting used to it. I think it might be a good unit, but it's just not my style.

BONUS

Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket

Gundam Alex

 Only got a couple of tweaks, it's the same Alex it used to be. For a 1000 unit, its damage output is quite high, at close range. Yes, Alex is a close-range 1000 unit, it has some tools for mid-range combat, but its melee is so good, and its armor lets him get in quite safely. To make the most out of the Alex, you probably need to master getting in and out of the armor.

Now Playing: Kirby's Return to Dream Land

 So, a mate came home and now I'm kinda stuck playing this one for March.

 Ever played Kirby? Well, more of the same. To be fair, movesets feel a bit more fleshed out, but it's the same old movesets you've used since the SNES!... Although, to be fair, I did come across a couple of new ones(Grass and Water, one is incredibly overpowered in an already easy game and the other is pretty fun to use).

 There's a new feature actually, Super versions of Powers, but they are to be used in specific places during certain stages, and I feel that they bring the game to a halt, as the screen darkens as Kirby strikes a little pose before using the power, quite underwhelming and dull.

 Multiplayer is fun 'n all, but why oh why does Player 1 get stuck as Kirby? I want to play as MetaKnight! So what if I get screwed out of collectibles, it should be my choice, and if there are other players involved, let them be Kirby and let me be Metaknight. Actually, players 1-3 can be either a different colored Kirby, Waddle Dee, Metaknight or Dedede, so unfair!

 Overall? It's alright, as most Kirby games are, nothing special. Wish they'd bring Kirby 64's power fusion back, now that was a fun gimmick!

Progress Report: Classes have started Edition

 I just wanna lay on my bed, drink some Pepsi and watch The Princess Bride, but alas, I cannot.

 Mobile Suit Gundam Extreme VS Full Boost: I've been posting updates with my progress, so I guess this isn't really needed? But I could mention how I'm enjoying most of the new units and the tweaks to the old suits. I love this one, and I'm done with 60+ of the 98 units, Mission Mode next!

  Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy: What's the actual name of this friggin' game? I went with what the spine said, heh. I just reached the Epilogue, so I'll see what comes next. I have mixed feelings on this one, care was evidently put into the package, fan service is everywhere, and tons to unlock... but I would've preferred something a bit more straightforward, no equipment and no customization on the movesets, but that's just me. Oh, and the story is terrible!

 Tales of VS: Now that I got the hang of it, I'm having fun with it! Got through Lloyd's story mode just fine. My main complaints are the same I have with Dissidia, I wanted a more straightforward fighting game, no equipment/moveset bullsh!t, but hey, that's just me.

 Tales of Eternia: I might've hyped myself a bit too much with this one. It definitely picked up after the scene with the King of Inferia, I wasn't expecting him to be such an a$$hole! Oh, and I love just how different this cast is from other Tales of games. Reid is a lazy bum who wants nothing to do with saving the world, unlike every other Tales of Hero. Farrah is the real hero, the one that loves helping people and what have you, and she is not the main character! Keele seems to be like Chester, in that he lags behind the rest of the party, but the reasons for their situations are quite different; Chester and Cless started at the same "level", so to speak, but while Cless spent time training when he went to the past, by the time he returned to the present, Chester was completely outclassed(And then you could trigger some scenes in which he trains as Arche watches, I JUST LOVE PHANTASIA), Keele on the other hand was always a weakling; and Keele is, probably, one of the most irritating allies in the Tales of series, makes Hubert look like a Teddy bear!. Meredy is cute as a button, love how she says "You bet!" whenever she responds positively.
 Yes, the cast is pretty dang unique for a Tales game, as much as I love the series, you just gotta admit that they love reusing archetypes.

Now Playing: Tales of VS

 Oh boy, what have I gotten into?

 I have played tons of Japanese games, games that didn't require you to actually know Japanese, mostly fighters. But Tales of VS is a whole different beast, try to play Dissidia in English. JUST TRY TO. What makes it so hard? The fact that it's not just a fighter, it tried to add RPG mechanics, namely stats, customizable equipment and moveset. I tried doing Arcade Battle and I got wrecked so hard, I could barely dent Farah and she'd just heal back up every wound I'd make. I wanna blame my equipment, but I can't buy any, yet. Oh well, I'm going to try my hardest with this one. I will.

Archile's Grab bag: Tales of Thursday edition

 It's here! 

  Open up!

 Tales of VS: I've been a fan of the Tales of series ever since I played the translated ROM of Tales of Phantasia for the SNES. I love SNES RPGs almost as much as Playstation 1's, and Phantasia mixed the real-time battles from Seiken Densetsu 3, my favorite SNES RPGS, with the time travelling aspect of Chrono Trigger. Unlike Chrono Trigger, there were only two time periods, and you couldn't switch at will until the very end. Tales of Phantasia was a fantastic game and I fell in love with it, playing as many games as I could in the series. I've finished most of the games that made it state-side(Destiny(Which I need to buy!), Phantasia(GBA), Abyss(PS2), Graces F, Xillia, Symphonia and Symphonia Dawn of the New World), plus, I'm now playing Destiny 2(Eternia for Japanese players), only missing are Vesperia(Don't have a 360), the PSP one(Which I am gonna get ASAP!) and Legendia.
 I love the Tales of Series, and them making a fighter out of it was a dream come true. Kinda...