It’s been a good while since I’ve had the time, inspiration, and motivation to write a new post. First off, I’ve not been watching anime lately, due to school and just general lack of interest. This season has in general been pretty unappealing, and if anything, seems to push me toward watching and re-watching older series that I have fond memories of. Luckily, with school over, and my bad semester completed, I now have less worries and more time to complete some of my goals and write up some new posts. I’m currently watching Hagure Yuusha no Estectica, and I’ll probably get an impressions post of it as I complete it. Some other series are coming to an end, so expect more posts to end this dry season.
In terms of life outside of anime and gaming, it’s been really tame, yet confusing. All of my classes save for one have been fantastic, and work has been the usual bullshit. But, there have been some silver linings, and I can say I’m pretty damn content right now. I may just be following the waves, but at this point, there isn’t much I can do. Even if I make a plan, one little nudge sets the path off-course and sends me spiraling off to nowhere. Maybe it’s because I’m just a naive twenty year old student, but it’s odd seeing the amount of change go around and I can safely say I could not have seen myself in this situation a year ago.
As for gaming, I bought a PSVita for Black Friday, as Amazon had an amazing bundle which pretty much led to the final price being around $100. Not bad. I bought Persona 4 and have been enjoying that, while I also have been having so much fun with Gravity Rush. That game is phenomenal, and the music is outstanding. On another note, Tales of Xillia will be releasing in English sometime next year, and I can’t wait to get my hands on that game. I love the Tales series way too much.
In all honesty, I really don’t have that much to say right now, other than school has pretty much ended, life has been going well, and this site’s going to be active once again. I can only take so much before I crack, and I’m happy to say that the time to watch and pour my emotions over anime have come again. Until next time,
Well, it’s time for another reflection on what has happened the week prior. While I’m happy that I’ve been able to keep up with both school and this blog, it’s actually been a bit of work. Now that midterms are coming together, it’s definitely time to step up my game and keep everything moving smoothly.
On the anime side, I haven’t really started this season as I don’t know many shows that have aired at this time. I’ve started Hayate and Little Busters!, but I’ve yet to start quite a few shows that I intend to watch. Although it’s a slow start, that’s how these seasons tend to start for me, so it’s no big deal.
I’ve been trying to get back into Xillia, and the game is just as beautiful as ever. While I intend of beating the game before its stateside release, there is just so much to do both in-game and outside of it. Between the planning of the panels I’m intending to run, and the schoolwork I have piling up, it’s going to be an uphill battle. Either way, I really enjoy doing this, and I want to do this for some time.
I don’t have much planned for today, but I have some progress made on Friday’s post, and who knows, perhaps a new Initial Impressions post will be made tomorrow. Just gotta wait and see!
Every time I remember this series, the first thing to come to mind is “Colorado Bulldog.”Heyos Everyones!!
Just another day here for me, and I can honestly say that this week has been amazing in both progress and surprises. First off, it’s the start of a new season of anime; this alone makes the week fantastic. In addition, I’ve been working on some new “Lasting Impressions” posts, one of which was released earlier this week and one that will be released later this week, so this week has been jam packed with goodies.
In terms of gaming, I haven’t done anything significant or amazing, but I’m sure that will all change once I start playing Tales of Xillia again. I’ve been staying away from those titles as they consume so much time, and I really needed to catch up on my anime backlog. On that note, I’ve still got so many series to sit down and watch, but I think I’ll still have time for that as this new season consumes much of my time.
I’ve also been in the planning stages of my panel coming up next month, which will be an amazing panel and everyone here should go. The panel is “Name that Anime Tune!” at Anime Kaigi, held in Flagstaff, AZ on November 9-11. It’s going to be great, and I’m taking measures to make sure it caters to all audiences.
If anyone reads this blog and knows what I enjoy, you should know I absolutely love the “Tales of” series. Well, if you happen to live in the U.S., you will also be happy to know that there will be the first U.S. Tales of convention held in Texas sometime next year. While I can’t do much to help organize the event, I will be doing my part to improve its successfulness, so go check out Aselia-con and support in any way you can! It’s going to be a great time, and I’m looking forward to how amazing this next year will be.
Welp, I’ve rambled on long enough. While I think this month is going to be amazing, it all comes down to how much I work to improve my current projects. This season of anime will be amazing, and I assure you, what’s remaining of this year is going to be a blast!
I don’t understand the appeal of these type of series… Yet I enjoy them as well….
Heyos Everyones!
I should be doing work right now, but I’ll tell ya, Calculus is no cakewalk. It’s amazing how much work goes into these problems, and one small mistake can cause an hour or more of repair if you don’t know what you’re doing. It’s not fun, and honestly, I really need a break. Today’s been pretty intense, with projects due all around. Regardless, it’s been a great week, and I’m not going to let a few bad moments get the best of me.
I had intended for another Lasting Impressions post to go here, but due to the complexities of this week, it had to be pushed back. Luckily, it’ll be complete this weekend, which should mean a Monday release. In addition, I’ve completed quite a few series at this point, and I have strong opinions toward some of them. I won’t say whether it’s good or bad at this point, but I am working to get those out next week.
I haven’t been playing many jRPG’s recently, mainly because I’m so far behind in terms of anime. One of the side-effects of going to an anime convention is the feeling of how far behind you are in terms of what to watch. There are so many series that people consider “good,” and it feels like there isn’t enough time to watch them all. I’ve been fighting through series everyday to catch up, and it feels like my backlog only grows, no matter how much I watch.
I’ll be attending Anime Kaigi (Anime Kaigi Home) this year, which resides in Flagstaff, AZ on November 10~12 If anyone plans on attending, feel free to drop by my panel (Name that Anime Tune!) and say Hi. It’ll be lots of fun, and I assure you there will be lots of goodies given out. If you follow my blog, I’m sure you’ll already know of some series that’ll be on the quiz, as there’s no way I won’t be playing some of my favorite openings and endings.
Anyways, look forward to some of that awesome content coming later. Have a great weekend, and enjoy the rest of the day!
It’s been a hell of a week, and I feel like it has only just begun. Last weekend I spent my time at Saboten-Con, living in Arizona and all. It was a wonderful experience and I can’t wait to go to another fun convention with everyone again. I love going to conventions if only for the fact that they renew my energy to watch more and more anime and catch up with my backlog, even if only a little. More often than not I find myself adding more anime to the backlog, but there’s no possible way to avoid that nowadays it seems. Regardless, it’s time to begin moving again, and there’s no better time than the present.
As stated before, I have a huge backlog of anime that I need to catch up on. On that note, I hope to review a majority of these series as I complete them, to add more content to this site as time progresses. I know I stated the Dawn of the New World review would be up by now, but that game is terrible. I’ll find time to review it sometime, but now is not that time.
Saboten-Con was a pretty unique and desirable experience. I really enjoyed my time at this con, as it was my first time attending a local con. In the previous years, I had attended Anime Expo, but I had yet to attend any convention in the Arizona area. That has changed now, and I feel like I have a reason to attend future conventions. I have some projects and ideas for panels if I am graced with the ability to do so, and I have already begun production on how those would go if they were to happen. Only time can tell, and I look forward to seeing what lies ahead.
In other words, stay safe and enjoy this month. It’s hard believing the month is now September, but time waits for no one, so all you can do is grab on and hold on tight. Until next time,
-Ace
Some may say best girl, but I must respectfully disagree.
Heyos Everyone!
Just a posting to make sure everything is still alive and kicking. This past week has been pretty dull, consisting of some anime and video games. I haven’t been doing as much this week as I would have liked, but this should change next week as I have a bit written down on what to do. As for anime, just have to keep watching Sword Art Online, Hyouka, Dog Days, and other series I can’t be bothered to think about right now. I’ve actually only begun to catch up with these series, let alone make sense of them. In addition, when it comes to video games I’ve been slacking as well; I’ve yet to play a game that would actually contribute to my backlog this past week, and it’s something that I would like to change, but with school beginning in a couple of week, I can’t say it will.
School starting will be a nice change from the normal lifestyle I’ve been living. Other than a few events, it’s been dull around here and change is always welcome. Perhaps that little boost will get me to finish some more projects, although I’m happy with the pace I had set before with around 3 posts a week.
On another note, it’s already August, which means this year is over halfway over. Amazingly, this year has gone by too fast, and it only continues to pass by. Hopefully I’ll be able to find big events to mark this year as a great year, and although I think I already found some fantastic events, I only hope to add to that list.
That’s all for today. Some reviews and impressions posts will be up in the coming days, hopefully for your enjoyment. Thanks,
For those who are well acquainted with the Tales of series, it may be stated that their beginnings lied in this game, Tales of Symphonia, released in 2003 for the Gamecube. Tales of Symphonia introduced many to the series, and proved to be a defining moment in this game series. Unfortunately, this game shines much brighter than it should, mainly due to the nostalgia many hold for this game. This happened to be my case as well, which pushed me to replay the game to see if it really stood the test of time and a possible candidate for best game in the series.
-Story-
The story begins with Lloyd Irving, a young boy who holds a strong flame of justice in his heart. While he may not be the brightest star in the night sky, his courageousness and will to fight for his ideals really shines as a trait for the main character. Accompanying him are his best friend Genis, the Chosen Collete, great teacher Raine, and mysterious mercenary Kratos. These aren’t the only party members in the game, but to say the rest may spoil some surprises the story may hold for the player. While Lloyd and his classmates learn about the Quest of Regeneration from their teacher Raine, a light shines in the distance, signaling the start of the journey. As luck would have it, his friend Collete just happens to be this legendary Chosen, and must travel the world in order to save the world from the evil Desians that capture humans and create human ranches. While Kratos appears to guide Collete on this journey, Lloyd’s attempt to aid gets rejected, leaving him behind to wait until the journey is over. Of course, the game doesn’t end there. Due to unfortunate circumstances and dumb decisions, the two (Lloyd and Genis) are banished from the town they live in, and seek refuge with the party. This quest later turns into a twisted mess of a plot that will leave many players filled with questions; luckily, the questions are eventually answered, even if it’s near the end of the game.
As always, the battle system is amazing.
The story definitely holds many plot points, and they are rather intriguing in a way. In addition, I feel Tales of Symphonia contains one of the greatest stories and character development of the entire series. However, there are many points of the story which may seem lacking, and not fully fleshed out. Some of the special twists lack that shock element that would normally be apparent, and some of the characters actions can be annoying at times. However, one factor I love about this game would be the affection system, which allows various events to vary from playthrough to playthrough, and in addition to this, there are special branches (Mainly in the beginning of the game) that allow the player to take a different path and play just a little bit different than before. These choices in variety definitely make up for the minor nuances the story may otherwise hold, and should have been carried over for future titles.
-Gameplay-
If one wanted to see where the game falls short, it would definitely be the gameplay portion of the game. While the game plays great, and adds that great battle system the series is known for, it severely lacks to newer titles. If one has played the more recent titles before playing this game, their experience will be dulled due to the lack of enhances that flourish the newer games and provide that user friendly experience. For example, the game lacks a newer ability by the title of Free Run, which allows the player to run in any direction, avoiding enemies and prioritizing strategies. I can’t tell how many times the L-Button was pressed to no avail, just because it wasn’t available in this game. Another problem would the uselessness of Magic Lens in this game. While in other games, when one uses the item to find out an enemies HP, it stays in memory for every encounter with that enemy that occurs. Such is not the case in this game, and hinders it slightly in that manor.
However, while the game doesn’t hold the enhancements given to the newer games, the battle system still gives the player a fun-filled experience full of action gameplay expected from the series. The battles are fun, traveling the world proves to be exhilarating, and the minigames give a nice breath of fresh air to the game. Just don’t expect to play the game with successful multiplayer, as the game focuses the screen on Player 1.
These dinosaurs are intense!
Outside of battle, world travel proves to be about the same as other games. There are plenty of paths to take to the next town, and battle are aplenty. Dungeons aren’t very long in this game, and to compensate for lack of space, there are many puzzles that need to be solved. Most dungeons have at least one main puzzle that results in the player running back and forth attempting to solve said puzzle, which takes up a good chuck of time.
-Sound-
The soundtrack for Tales ofSymphonia is pronominal. All of the music seems to flow and fit the story in a unique and interesting way. However, most of the themes don’t appear to be as memorable as other games. While the music is good, it does tend to be a bit repetitive and doesn’t always stay at the same level of consistency. For example, I love the character themes in this game, as they fit their character design and tell the story behind said character. However, some of the more stock music doesn’t prove to be as memorable, and is easily forgettable. The battle music in this game, while good, falls to the curse of repetitive battle themes. However, this actually works in the game’s favor, as the theme gives the game more character. As for the actual theme music, which would take place in the opening cutscene before the game begins, was replaced with stock music in the American release. The original song, Starry Heavens, by the band Day after Tomorrow, fit the opening video well, and it’s a shame that it was removed in the international release.
More battle, showcasing some party members.
As for character voices, I think it’s a safe bet to say that all the characters pretty much hit the mark pretty well. However, the popularity of some of the voices picked shows during the game. For example, Lloyd is played by Scott Menville; every time I hear his voice I play back Robin from the animated cartoon, Teen Titans. It is believed that this has to do with Nintendo helping with the localization project, as “union” voice actors don’t appear in future Tales series games. Either way, they do the job well, and for a long game, it’s definitely positive to have good voice actors to play the part. Unfortunately, the amount of voiced dialogue is small, as only major plot markers are voiced. Skits and small events only have text dialogue, and voices are missing from the scene. A damn shame too, as it’s hard getting used to hearing a voice then going to dead silence.
-Graphics-
One would believe that a game released in 2003 would have severely aged graphics. However, that can not be said of Tales of Symphonia. The cel-shaded look helps the games age and prevents the game from looking too blocky and outdated. Around this time, many games went for the cel-shaded look, and although it was present for many of the games at the time, it’s easy to see why that route was chosen. Most cel-shaded games don’t look that old, even by today’s standards. Of course, it doesn’t look realistic, but that’s not what the studio was aiming for, and only helps the game’s case. Unfortunately, detail is lost when this route is chosen, and some environments may look washed out or similar to another, but this situation doesn’t occur too often. Even with all the areas that this game has to offer, only some appear to be bland and boring, while others appear bright, vibrant, and beautiful.
Look at those cel-shaded graphics.
The anime cutscenes are few and far between. While the PS2 re-release (Japanese Only) saw an addition of two cutscenes, the international version only saw four cutscenes. However, the game was released in 2003, which did hold limits on data. In addition, the cutscenes themselves were appropriately placed, with two taking place in the beginning, and two taking place at the very end. The cutscenes were beautifully animated by Production I.G, and only add to the story told by the game.
-Final Curtain-
While the game was released in 2003 and thus lacks a few prominent features, this game doesn’t fall below par and shows that it’s a game to be reckoned with. The game may be over-glorified and worshiped, there is no reason to skip out on this game. Just don’t expect a perfect game, as it’s far from it, but the game does provide a good lengthy RPG that will leave the player feeling satisfied. For that reason, I can honestly say that this game should be played by any RPG lover, regardless of the age of the game.
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.
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!
