Kirito from Sword Art Online. Watch out, we got a badass over here.
Heyos Everyones!
The end of the week is upon us, and what a week it’s been! While I stated earlier the Tales of Symphonia review would be up this week, it appears that it took a little longer than usual, and is scheduled to come up tomorrow. Sorry for the wait, but my thoughts were a bit conflicted on the game and amendments had to be made. However, with this turn of events, I do believe the review for the sequel, Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World, will be up sometime next week. I don’t have any lasting impressions at the moment, but once a good series gets me thinking again, I’ll probably write one up and share my thoughts.
Speaking of anime, I’ve just recently caught up on The Ambition of Oda Nobuna, which revolves around Oda Nobunaga’s conquest of Japan, albeit in a different light. The humor of that show really captures my attention, and it’s rather interesting to see how things will play out in the series. I’m also following So, I Can’t Play H!, which really shows my dark anime side. While I won’t watch Slice of Life shows, with the exception of K-On!, I find many Harem shows hilarious, as the main characters and their interactions tend to be funny and full of humor. Maybe it’s just the type on anime I enjoy, but many of the shows tend to be worth the watch, and a nice break from the serious story-orientated anime that I watch.
I haven’t been playing too many games, mainly because it’s been a nice lazy week for me. I tend to do one thing of the other, and I’ve been watching some hilarious youtube videos along with the anime I’ve been watching. Hopefully I’ll get back on track once this week passes, but I’ve actually gotten some more inspiration in my website and ideas to follow up on once I start getting less lazy. Once my time becomes precious again I’m sure I’ll find a way to start these amazing projects brewing in my head.
Anyways, I think that about wraps it up for today. Look out for those game reviews, and don’t worry too much about what happens later. The weekend up upon us, and regardless of how busy you may be this weekend, it’s still time to sit down and enjoy a nice cup of tea.
Back in 2007, an anime by the name of Doujin Work began to air. As this was near my first years of watching anime, I was quickly introduced to the show and began to watch it. Unfortunately, due to restrictions and other difficulties, I was forced to stop watching the series. Under normal circumstances, the story would have ended there. However, there was something intriguing about this anime; something that left me regretting my actions of not watching this anime. I don’t know why or how this occurred, but it followed me for a good five years of watching anime.
Skip to July 2012. As I surveyed the Exhibit Hall of Anime Expo, I came across a booth selling anime DVD sets. Sitting in the corner was an anime that caught my eye, as if it had been waiting there for me to find it. Doujin Work was sitting there, staring back at me, just reminding me of my past and my inability to finish the show. Just as quickly as I saw it, it was gone; I had purchased the copy to end this curse, finally able to end this chapter once and for all.
Work is hard for a newcomer to creating Doujinshi, even with a full cast supporting your efforts.
As I began watching this 12 episode series, I quickly became immersed in the humor and dialogue that I had enjoyed in the past. The story centers around Najimi Osana, a young girl who discovers there is profit to be made writing and illustrating doujinshi, a Japanese comic that potentially contains adult material. This realization leads her to begin creating doujinshi, and allows the viewer to follow her in the process of making a good work of art, regardless of how successful the process proves to be. In all honesty, I found the writing to be hilarious, and the scenes great and comical. While the show revolves around doujinshi, there is no adult material in the show, and fan service doesn’t play a large part in the humor. The jokes and humor are spot-on, and had me laughing moment after moment.
My sanity. It has all vanished.
An unfortunate circumstance with this anime would be the length of each episode; each episode follows the time span of fifteen minutes or so, and this include the opening and ending of the show. While I would have enjoyed longer episodes, the series didn’t need more time to cover story or anything, as there was little story to begin with, but could have added more laughs and humor to the show. I’m pretty content with what the show brought to the table, but it could have been more. In the place of those extra ten minutes or so was a segment of live action video, revolving around the two main seiyuu in their attempt to create doujinshi. I didn’t particularly enjoy this part, mainly because I feel the anime would have been more enjoyable to watch; the live action scenes felt more like DVD and BD extras than extras to the episode.
This dude is big ‘n reliable. While he may be emotional, he truly is a childhood friend at heart.
In terms of the opening and ending themes for the show, I loved the opening song from the first moment I heard in back in 2007. It’s always been a song that puts me in a good mood when I’m feeling a little down, and it’s a good way to start watching a lighthearted series such as this. The ending song also seeks enjoyment, although doesn’t stand to be as memorable as the opening. Either way, I enjoyed both the music and the animation to both, and definitely set the mood for the show.
I didn’t have as much to say about Doujin Work as my other impressions page, mainly because that was a collection of thoughts for over sixty episodes of a single series. While Doujin Work doesn’t last as long as other series, I think that may be one of its strong points. Packing a lot of humor and hilarity into each episode, I can gladly say I recommend this series to anyone who wants a good laugh. I will end this on a good note, and hope this video will cheer you up, as it did me for the past five years.
As another Friday begins, I wonder how life has changed from the point I first began this project. Although some might say I have started multiple projects, many that have yet to be completed. Regardless, it’s been a long journey, and I’m shocked that I’ve kept this blog up for so long. I believe I started in right before I began Glendale Community College, and as it does now, consisted of minor rants, details from my day(s), and other miscellaneous information. As I may have mentioned before, time feels as though it has only recently started turning again, and I can definitely feel the repercussions of my time away from reality.
Having recently finished Tales of Symphonia, my review will be up in the coming days. I’m aiming for a Monday release, but it may be delayed to Tuesday depending on circumstances. In addition, I plan on writing my impressions on Doujin Work, a humorous anime that I enjoyed quite well. I can’t say when that will be complete, but I anticipate a release around the end of the week, preferably Friday. Regardless, that’s really all I have planned for the blog for this week, but I’ve yet more to talk about.
I haven’t caught up on the anime series that I’ve been watching. While I’ve been anticipating series like Sword Art Online and Koichoco, I haven’t been up to date on other series airing this season. However, I did catch the K-On! Movie the other day, and damn, that was a really enjoyable movie. As some may know, I really don’t enjoy Slice of Life anime as much as other genres. Of course, this really only applies to those like Lucky Star, Nichijou, and A-Channel. I like plot progression, and usually those I watch involve some sort of story within. However, K-On! proves to be the exception, as I enjoyed every minute of this show. I don’t know why it holds the charm it does, but I really enjoyed it.
I’ve still been spending my time playing Ys Origin, which I highly recommend to anyone who enjoys Action games. I love the battle mechanics, and although I feel some parts are ridiculous, the game provides an enjoyable experience. The boss battles are big and fun, and they definitely test your skills when playing in higher difficulties. I’m rather curious to other games in the series, as this one caught my interest in a very good way. As for the Tales of games, I’ve been taking a little break after beating Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World. A terrible game to stop at, but I really needed a break from those games for a bit.
Well, I think everything on my mind has been said. Thanks for reading, and have a great day!
(This post contains spoilers for the anime Shakugan no Shana, Shakugan no Shana II (Second), and Shakugan no Shana III (Final). If you have not seen these series and do not wish to spoil the ending(s), then please do not click the link.)
As I sit here, I realize I’ve not much time before events begin to kick in and I have to actually focus on school and getting into an actual university. I’ve spent quite some time going to GCC, and it’s time I started getting serious about furthering my education. But, before that, I must enjoy this wonderful Steam Sale that’s going on right now. Between that, watching anime, and playing more Tales games, I can say I’ve got quite the schedule ahead of me. Either way, I’ve been enjoying life these past few weeks. I’m about to go see my friend in the coming days, and it’ll be a nice breath of fresh air.
I just purchased Ys Origin for Steam, and holy hell, the game is amazing. I love the battle mechanics and just the overall feel of the game. I’ve never played a Ys game before, although I got the free Japanese copy of Ys 4 on my computer, just never installed. I think I may need to grab the PSP copies and play through those, because this game is FUN! It’ll keep my attention for a good span of time, and I hope I’ll get some rest between this game and Tales of Xillia. Either way, I’m having fun with these games.
As for anime, Sword Art Online is amazing, and it makes VR seem like such a great idea, yet on the other hand, such a terrible one. Having one device prevent you from doing anything else with one minor bug really doesn’t sound appealing, but the possibilities…
Anyways, this was just a quick update post. I have a few things coming this week and the next, so look forward to those!
Another update in the same month? The Vesperia review actually went up? I’d have to say, I’m more active now that I actually thought I would be. But, what can I say? It feels like the wheels of fate have begun turning again, after a 6 month hiatus. Things have finally perked up for me again, and I’m super excited to see what the rest of the year will bring on. I plan on going to Saboten Con, a convention located in Arizona that is actually pretty close to me, and school will begin next month, resulting in a busy schedule that I am actually looking forward to.
Now, I named this based on what I have to say next. I’ve been hearing talk about what people think of newer consoles and what the future holds for gaming. As an owner of a PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii, I feel like I’ve spent quite some time in this current generation. However, with the changes that have been happening recently, regarding internet censorship, excessive DRM, and other poor selfish measures taken by companies to protect copyright, I can’t say I want newer systems to come out just yet. Don’t get me wrong, when it comes to my consoles, they’re all connected to the internet and I’m generally logged in while I play. However, that doesn’t mean I’ll always be online while playing games. I’m hoping that Microsoft and Sony will actually avoid using measures to prevent people from playing games they have purchased. It’s hard to tell where the line is nowadays, with so many laws changing and people getting screwed out of games they paid money for. For example, on-disc DLC pisses me off to no end, and I can’t advocate paying for content on a disc that I already paid for. I’m fine with adding content to a game via online stores, whether or not that may encourage companies to put less effort toward post game and fun content that players may unlock in game, but don’t charge for content that should have come with the game in the first place, proven by the fact it’s on the disc!
In addition to that, if newer consoles are released, backwards compatibility must be added to the system, along with the transfer of content purchased on the previous system. I don’t want to buy a PlayStation 4 just to find out my previous games won’t work for the system, and my digital content is going to be lost once the PS3 is no longer supported by Sony. This is really a fear due to the lack of physical property in today’s gaming world. Sure, there are still disc-based games, but everything is moving toward digital releases. What’s going to happen when that digital software is no longer supported by the publisher? I fear it may be lost forever.
Of course, that’s not to say physical copies are forever. There’s always downsides to physical copies. However, physical copies give consumers the feeling of owning something. It’s a successful feeling that will probably be lost someday in the digital transition. But, I know I’m not alone in this regard; premium copies of games released nowadays contain physical “gifts” that push consumers to purchase said product, and with the success of many collectors and premium editions, I know there is a calling for physical property.
Well, most of what I said above is probably gibberish, and hard to understand. However, what I wrote above has been formulating in my head for some time, and I really needed to find some way to stop thinking about it. Anyways, I’m working on some other stuff for the site, so look for it in the near future!
-Ace
How does one start talking about a game such as Tales of Vesperia? The game, released in 2008 for the Xbox 360, proved to be a significant addition to the Tales series, and a giant leap for the series into high definition. This real-time combat driven role playing game gives players two difference gameplay experiences in one game; players may experience the strategy and statistics of a role-playing game, while experiencing battles in a similar fashion to battle action games. This mix, while not for everyone, gives players a unique experience that can only be expected of the established Tales series.
-Story-
Tales of Vesperia follows a young man named Yuri Lowell, who tends to follow his own rules and contains no respect for anyone who breaks the law. The story begins with a mysterious character stealing a valuable core from the lower quarter, a section of the main city which government officials neglect and ostracize. These cores are vital to controlling “Blastia,” which can be viewed as magical and technological devices that aid mankind in the world. Yuri, being the “good man” he is, decides to hunt down the thief and recover the core, ignoring any laws and officials that may get in his way. This hunt soon develops into a quest to save the world, by unraveling the mysteries and secret intentions of the government and its alliances.
Along the way, Yuri meets Estelle, a princess who knows little about the world, Karol, a young boy who can’t make up his mind about what to do in life, Rita, a talented mage who knows more about Blastia than anyone in the world, Raven, an old man who appears to help the party for reasons unknown, and Judith, a skilled spears-women who hides many secrets of her own. In addition to this quirky cast of characters, there’s also Repede, Yuri’s faithful dog companion who joins in battle with his amazing dagger skills, and Flynn, Yuri’s childhood friend who contrasts Yuri’s personality completely. These characters complete each other, and allow themselves to grow and develop, giving character development a prime factor in this story.
The characters of Tales of Vesperia plus one, who doesn’t appear in the Xbox version of the game.
-Gameplay-
The main attraction to the Tales of series usually lies in the gameplay, particularly the battle system. The game utilizes the “Evolved Flex-Range Linear Motion Battle System,” which allows real-time battles as opposed to turn-based gameplay. This feature, an improved version of the “Flex Range Linear Motion Battle System,” which belonged to Abyss, proves to give players a great experience playing every battle, and allows complex strategy to those who wish to build combos and challenge themselves. The battle system allows players to change weapons, skills, and strategies all while in combat, to build the best method of winning the particular fight. In addition, the game introduces linked battles, which allows multiple enemies to join into the fray, resulting in battles that can potentially hold tens of enemies. This game also utilizes the overlimit system, which gives players the ability to attack enemies without being stunned, link Artes (Skills that use Tech Points which can be gained by using normal attacks), and use Burst and Mystic Artes (Special skills that deal more damage and tend to be flashier than basic Artes). With all the options given to the player via the improved battle system, the opportunities are limitless.
Outside of battle, the gameplay generally revolves around traveling from town to town via a world map, purchasing new armor, weapons, and items, completing tasks by talking to various NPCs(Non-Playable Characters), and the various puzzles that lie in every dungeon. Cooking returns as a minor part of the gameplay, allowing players to heal and buff the party by cooking certain dishes after every battle. There are also various mini-games such as poker, warehouse cleaning, and number games. All in all, there are a variety of tasks to complete in the world, all to give players a refreshing experience and avoid dulling the gameplay.
Look at that beautiful Title Screen.
-Sound-
Tales of Vesperia graced players with an exceptional soundtrack, with some memorable battle themes and melodies. With a few exceptions, the music tends to fit the mood and add to the story, rather than detract. The battle themes, while repetitive at times, give the player a feeling of battle and action, while changing every arc of the game, limiting the repetitiveness of the battle theme. The only songs that really fell below the bar would be most of the dungeon themes, but I feel that happens in most games, as the music isn’t made out to be a big part of the dungeon, which gives it more leeway in that regard. However, the music definitely gave the game the mood and setting it was aiming for.
The English voice cast proved to be phenomenal. Troy Baker and Sam Riegel are great as Yuri Lowell and Flynn Scifo, respectively, and the rest of the cast definitely plays their part well. I don’t think there were any scenes where the voice cast seemed out of place or out of character. In particular, I feel Joe J. Thomas played Raven amazingly, but it’s hard to pick these few characters out because everyone did a wonderful job on the dub. If the lack of Japanese voices was ever a reason to not pick up Tales of Vesperia, then priorities should be re-evaluated because the English voice cast doesn’t get much better than this.
A glimpse of the simple, yet complex, battle system.
-Graphics-
Tales of Vesperia was built for high definition consoles in 2008. Released for the Xbox 360 (PlayStation 3 re-release in 2009), the game became the first Tales game to be released for high definition consoles, and it shows. While the game is beautiful and a step up from its predecessors, the game doesn’t fully utilize the capabilities of the console, which later shows in the newer games by Namco Bandai. However, one can’t let this fact defer them from playing this game, as it is beautiful in its own right, and the graphical style allows for detail and wonderful scenery one would expect from a Tales game. The game follows the traditional style of a fixed camera above the character, and doesn’t detract from the gameplay whatsoever.
As for the animation and CG cut scenes, they work for the scenes they represent. The opening animation is beautiful, and Production I.G created some amazing animations to play during the cut scenes. However, the CG in the game looks terribly out of place, and honestly doesn’t belong in a game like Tales of Vesperia. Bandai Namco continued the addition of CG in another game released in 2008, Tales of Hearts, leading me to believe that CG was merely an experiment to see how well it would fit in a game such as Tales of Vesperia.
Don’t mess with Yuri.
-Final Curtain-
Tales of Vesperia proves to be a great RPG that belongs in any jRPG fan’s collection. The game’s age may turn off some people considering this game, but it’s easy to tell that this game hasn’t aged much at all, due to it running on current day consoles. The sheer amount of content packed into one game disk is astounding, and although the game may have some downsides, such as time-limited side quests, the game’s battle system and plot more than make up for the negatives.
Hey, hold up. There’s another version of Vesperia, isn’t there? Tales of Vesperia was released for the PlayStation 3 in 2009. However, this port has not left Japan, and signs point to the re-release never being localized. This port included an additional character, Patty (Seen in the second picture above), as well as allowing Flynn to become fully playable. These are only a few of the changes, but with the chance of localization slim, there’s little reason to skip out on the Xbox 360 version.
Colors everywhere. Never ends, never begins.Heyos Everyones!
I’m back from Anime Expo, and although I can safely say I’m happy to be back, I’ll miss that exciting and lively atmosphere of con. In other news, I’m actually on-track to watch this new season of anime, which will result in some slow updates in regards to the Tales series. On that note, I’m very excited to hear that Tales of Xillia has been announced for release in the western hemisphere, and I’m happy to see Namco Bandai acknowledge the success of Tales of Graces and Tales of the Abyss.
I’ve recently started the new season of anime, and I don’t know if this season just has better anime, or if I’ve just been uninterested in previous seasons, but I actually have quite a bit of new anime on my list. Sword Art Online is among my favorites, and Koichoco is hilarious. I also recently started Hyouka, which actually interests using mystery elements, something not often seen in most anime.
I know I said the Tales of Vesperia review would be up shortly, but I’ve recently been packing and making sure last weekend went smoothly. Now that I’m finally getting back on track with work and rest. The review will be up before next weekend, whether or not that means anyone will actually read it. I also would like to make video reviews, but it’s really all about how much :effort: I want to put towards anything. I guess time will tell how things develop, and if the past is any indication, then nothing will be done other than the basics.
Dat Lloyd, always doing something troublesome.Heyos Everyones!
It’s already time for Anime Expo 2012. I can’t believe how fast time has gone this past year, and I’m looking forward to enjoying a week doing nothing but enjoying anime, manga, and other things that you can only experience at an Anime Convention. Honestly, I’m still trying to prepare for the trip, as I don’t leave very often, but I’m really trying to make sure it all comes together before I leave.
I’ve been working on the official website, as some may already know by looking at the link to the right. It’s a simple design that flows with the blog, but it works well enough for my tastes. Of course, I really don’t have too much to add to the site at the moment, but that’ll change soon.
In regards to the content of this blog, I have a rough copy of my Vesperia review (Xbox 360, as I haven’t completed the PS3 Version yet), and I’m currently playing through Symphonia to get my recent opinions on it. Symphonia was the first “Tales of” game I had played, so I hold fond memories of the game, and I now see that some of the features I held in high regard are missing from the older Tales games. Of course, that doesn’t make Symphonia a bad game, but it does feel lacking in certain departments.
As usual, I’m about 1~2 seasons behind on my backlog of anime. The only series I am up to date with at this moment is Nyaruko, but I will certainly finish the other series before I leave for the expo. I can’t let myself get behind again, especially knowing I’m going to an expo full of anime goodness.
That’s about it for what I have to say, so look out for my final copy of the Vesperia review, that should be coming soon.
Raven had a pretty depressing past...Heyos Everyones!
Not much has been going on, but it has been awhile since I’ve last posted here, and I figure I should make up for it. I’ve been playing way too much Tales of Vesperia, and I’ve been watching less anime as a result, which means I have a ton of anime on my to-watch list now. Of course, it’s not terrible, as some of the anime these past two seasons have been quite tasteless at first glance, and I can’t say I’m all that interested to watch them. But, the time will come when I find myself catching up on those series.
I’ve been watching Namco Bandai’s livestream, and I can’t say I’ve been impressed. This E3 hasn’t been all that exciting, and I’m rather peeved that Namco hinted that something was going to be announced related to Tales, but will *most likely* not deliver on those promises. Ni no Kuni looks splendid though, and I actually might find myself spending money on that along with Persona 4 Golden.
Other than that, I’ve been preparing for AX2012, and getting ready for another year of school. Hopefully I’ve find more to talk about in the near future, with the convention behind me, and perhaps find the time to complete another review on Tales of Vesperia. Until then, seeya!
