Enchant Arm - the review

Enchant Arm is the 4th game I played since the start of my semester break and it took me roughly a week (or about 40 hours in total) to finish the game with full 1000G. Well, maybe I should say "virtual 1000G" because I'm playing the bugged Asian version hence no matter what I did I'd miss 3 achievements/300G as stated in this post. Sure it frustrate me because it won't let me to get the full complete on the game, but there's really nothing I can do to get that 300G. An okay game overall, but not great in my book.

Enchanted Arms (known as [eM] -eNCHANT arM- in Japan) is a science fiction/fantasy-based role-playing game for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Although the game was intended to be an Xbox 360 launch title for the Japanese market, its release date was pushed back to January 12, 2006 by the developer, From Software. Ubisoft published the game in August 2006 in North America, and in September 2006 in Europe. The game retitled as Enchant Arm for its Japanese PlayStation 3 release.

Since its release, it has been confirmed that the game uses only a single DVD, in contrast to earlier multi-disc reports. It also comes with an art book and mini-calendar in Japan. The supplementary content included with the initial American product shipment was a 48-page prequel manga.

Links:
Enchant Arm @ Wikipedia
Enchant Arm official website


Gameplay: 7/10

In short, Enchant Arm features simple, fast-paced turn-based combat system. Battle took place in 3x4 grid squares where players are allowed to move within their limited move square, before taking action (attack enemies, use items or simply standby to recover EP). Each action require EP (aka mana/mp) and each skills used in battle have a certain set of damage dealt. This damage is fix and cannot be reduced in any way (except by -x% DMG skills) but can be increased by improving the character's stats. Turn-based rpg hasn't been my preference as of late, but at least I find Enchant Arm's gameplay not as boring as many other turn-based rpg. And the fact that we can speed up the battle by pressing Y made things even easier, this made almost every battle ends within 20 seconds. The drawbacks to the combat, as far as I concern is the ridiculously high random encounter rate. It's nice if you want to level your characters and get some SPs to upgrade your stats, but it's getting annoying when you want to explore dungeons without too much interruption. Good thing there are skills that allow you to avoid random encounter entirely, obtained through the casino at 100,000 coins.

Another aspect of the combat system is the inclusion of extra entities known as Golem to help you whenever you are short in party members. Basically it's like an extra soldiers to help you in battle, each with their own set of limited skills and abilities. I find golem to be useful only in early game when your party isn't complete yet, but later on they serve little purpose as your human characters outpowered the golems by miles. This however changed late game when you have access to stronger golem, although there are still choice whether you want to ditch one or two human and switch them to golem. I personally use all humans in my party until the end of the game, until I got Infinity (Omega in US version), swapping him with Karin and beat the crap out of the Queen of Ice for the lulz.

Story: 7.5/10

Well, not much can I say about the story. The story take place in a world where golem (or what we call magic-powered robot, sorta) exist to help human with their lives. One day, a Devil Golem named Queen of Ice was awakened due to the main character, Atsuma's mysterious power possessed by his right arm, and thanks to that, the Devil Golem went rampant and froze the entire city. Atsuma survives and later meet Karin and Raiga, and from then on they travel together to solve the mystery behind Atsuma's hand, and to stop the Devil Golem from awakening other sealed Devil Golems in other city...

Although the main character Atsuma can be irritating with his nonsensical stubbornness, the remainder of the story is rather enjoyable, and some of the scenes are quite humorous. You still see the kind of jrpg textbook plot of "spiky hair hero with identity crisis, met some kind of princess and went on journey to save the world", but at least it's not as cliche as Magna Carta 2 as far as i can say. The value of friendship is emphasised much in Enchant Arm, to the point that sometimes they looked like they're homo to each other lol. Well, save for Makoto since he's transvestite.

ps: Atsuma's dense nature is unbelievable. For someone not to realize other's love for him even after she confess to her is..I'm at a loss of word = =


Graphic: 6.5/10

The graphic was okay, but not that spectacular if we look at what xbox 360 is capable of. The special effects used in battle is also average at best. The characters design is one of the worst I've seen, so bad that I thought even some of the female golem looks better than the humans (yes, I'm looking at you Yuki). Well, except Sayaka maybe, she's not that badly designed (except for her *coughchestcough*), plus she's voiced by Sakaya Ohara♥.


Other Features: 7/10
The game does not offer that much sidequests, but there are one big secret dungeon (Holy Beast Shrine) for players to explore, although it is more like a compulsory dungeon because the final boss is almost impossible to beat without getting some decent HP/levels from the dungeons. There's also casino for you to get some nice items, and collecting golems from all over the world. Unfortunately, NONE of these quests count for the achievements for Enchant Arm. Yes, you can easily get a full 1000G simply by playing through the story until the end, which is a pity because it doesn't really require much effort. Though as I stated before, those playing Asia version will stuck at 700G because of the bug. There's New Game+ too, but only playable through Xbox live.


TL;DR - Enchant Arms has a fairly simple gameplay where there are high encounter rate which is balanced by the quick-paced turn-based combat system. Friendship value is emphasised on the story, although overall the plot is typical of what you'd find in today's jrpg textbook. Graphic was decent, but the character design was terrible. Some nice sidequests, but none were achievement-related. Overall the game is fairly short, which can be completed well within 40 hours.


Overall rating: 7/10. Worth playing? Maybe, but maybe not. Depend on your taste I guess. For me, it's only worth playing for the free 1000G :3

Yousei Teikoku - One [Queen's Blade Spiral Chaos Single]

Artist: Yousei Teikoku
Title: [PSP] Queen's Blade Spiral Chaos OP/ED Single - One
Release Date: Dec 25, 2009

tracklist:

01 one
02 Gekkakou
03 one (instrumental)
04 Gekkakou (instrumental)

direct download: [RS]/[HF]/[MF]

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

I didn't notice that Yousei Teikoku's new single has been released on Christmas until a few days ago, probably because of the first Toshokan's downtime. Nevertheless thumbs up for this single, both songs are quite nice. I never thought they'd do the single for Queen's Blade PSP game :3

Magna Carta 2 - finally the review

I wonder why it took so long for me to write this despite finishing the game more than a month ago. After solving the DLC problem and made them appear in the game, I found out that I was 2 Achievements short of completing a full 1240G for this game. Unfortunately there's no way for me to get these final 2 Achievements except by replaying the whole game again...which i'd rather not doing for the time being because of time constrains. Plus I have other game in my to-be-played list (eg: Blue Dragon and Eternal Sonata Encore), and Bayonetta is likely to arrive at my home within a few days : D

MagnaCarta II (マグナカルタ 2) is a video game developed by Softmax and published by Banpresto exclusively for Xbox 360. It is a follow-up to the role-playing games Magna Carta: The Phantom of Avalanche released on Windows and Magna Carta: Crimson Stigmata released on the PlayStation 2. It was released in Japan on August 6, 2009 and in North America on October 13, 2009. This marks the series' first entry onto a seventh generation console. The game was officially unveiled in the April 2009 edition of Famitsu magazine.

Links:
Magna Carta 2 on wikipedia
Magna Carta 2 official website (japanese)


Gameplay: 9/10

In my previous Early Impression, I've described the short bit of the gameplay and as a whole I pretty much enjoy the combat system adapted in Magna Carta 2. The use of real time combat with features like Stamina Gauge/Overdrive/Chain Link/Chain Break/Overheat system made the gameplay shine. What this basically implies is in Magna Carta 2, you have stamina gauge that limits your action and reckless usage will result in overheat state (stunned for a brief period), so you to time your attacks and skill usage properly so that you can Chain Combo with your allies (by switching character), transferring your overdrive gauge and if further chain link succeed, your character will avoid from entering Overheat state. Sounds complicated, but in actual it's quite easy to master once the concept is grasped.

Again, this video demonstrate how the battle system in Magna Carta 2 works:

Another interesting aspect of the combat system is the Kan usage, one which I didn't understand properly in my previous Early Impression post. Well, to made it simpler, Kan is what you'd call Mana/MP in many other rpgs, that's it. The difference is that Kan of certain class of character (the sorcerers/wizardry user like Crocell/Zephie) deplete over time, so they need to generate their own Kan in battle by attacking. Kan can also present on the field, sorta like providing free mana for the matching elemental characters.

The negative aspects of the gameplay that I've seen so far: Sometimes the normal mobs can be quite annoying because they LOVE to inflict status ailment to your characters, from poison, miss attacks, status down... and what made it worse is that sometimes the AI is so dumb that they never leave the status ailment AOE, causing them do nothing but heal themselves over and over again. Another bad aspect is the AI with can be stupid at times, because they didn't know how to walk pass a boulder or field obstruction and stuck there for awhile unless you went far enough, or you switch to the character and move them manually. The Bosses love to interrupt your Chain Link with their skill animation and you'd end up having 2 characters in Overheat state...not good. And finally the "ultimate" skills animation are very lengthy, sometimes took more than 30 seconds to finish. And there's no option to skip the animation either.

Story: 6.5/10

The story and overall plot was nice, but it introduce nothing new. The world fall in conflict after the queen of Lanzheim was murdered by one of her most trustful assistant with the throne seized, and the survived princess Zephie fled and form a resistance group to retake the throne. This is where the main hero, a seemingly ordinary boy Juto who lost memories of his past met the princess and due to certain incidents, end up joining the resistance in their bid to reclaim the throne and revenge in Juto's part. You've seen this kind of "angst spiky haired teenager,saving the world with a few friends which oddly some of them are kids who haven't even reach puberty,falls in love,Had some kind of personality dilemma on the way(pff teenager),save the world and all is good kindda storyline" (credit to chrono_05 for this line ;p) everywhere in today's jrpg. Main hero with spiky hair and personality dilemma: check. A princess who then fall in love with the main character: check. Saving the world with a few friends/ teenagers: check. Killing the final boss means disrupting the world balance: check. Cliche ending: check. Overused theme I'd say. It's like the idea for MC2 are taken bits by bits from other games: Kamonds from Vesperia's Blastia; the repeating cycle of Carta's sacrifice for the sake of the world is like...Grand Summoner and Sin in FFX.

*by the way, Rue ish mine ♥*

Graphic: 8.5/10

Well, not much can I say. You might argue that Star Ocean 4 and The Last Remnant has much better graphic, but MC2 isn't that far behind the two. The field and environment were well-textured, so does the special effects in battle. The use of cinematic cutscene rather than actual CGI for most of the cutscenes (similar to Enchant Arm) was nice too. The character design might not be everyone's favorite, but I'm pretty fine with the barbie-like character arts (it's designed by Hyung-Tae Kim after all).


Other features: 8/10
The game offers a wide variety of sidequests, from merely talking to others to relaying letters, saving soldiers in battle, planting bombs, collecting ingredients and killing monsters. Completing all of them gives an achievements too, which is a bonus. Each character has 2 sets of weapon style to be upgraded, and mastering all skills in each style gives certain bonus (and Achievements, again :D). The concept of Kamond Board to strengthen weapons is also nice albeit limited (sorta like customization in FFX but is reversible). And finally, the Achievements. MC2 is one of the game where a full 1000G is easily attainable in one playthrough, providing you didn't messed up with sidequests and weapon style upgrades. There are 240 additional achievements from the DLC contents, but you need to spend 400MS points to download them, so the choice is yours. I got my 1000G in my first playthrough, unfortunately missed Crocell and Argo's early weapon so I'm achievement short to complete the game. Oh, and the DLC extra scenes were quite hilarious, worth watching for a good laugh :D

TL; DR - Magna Carta 2 offers great real time combat system, much improved than the predecessor MC: Tears of Blood, although sometimes the AI can be quite stupid. Most of the bosses battle were quite easy too. The graphic were great although not the best, special effects in battle was spectacular. The character design and voice acting were nice (depend on your taste), but the story is a bit cliche with lots of predictable things. Lots of sidequests offered, and it's an easy 1000G if you're a completionist.

final rating: 8/10

related links:
Magna Carta 2 - the prologue
Magna Carta 2 DLC problem
Magna Carta 2 - DLC Problem Solved!

Enchant Arm - glitch that never solved

After spending a good 3 weeks getting full 1000G playing The Last Remnant, I decided to pick an old 360 game I've bought long ago but never had the chance to play it until now - Enchant Arm, and finished it this morning (~40 hours play time in total).

The bad thing though, it seems like the Asia version of Enchant Arm has a glitch that remained unsolved even after 3 years. Enchant Arm is a game where you're supposed to get an easy 1000G because all the Achievements require you to simply beat bosses as you progress through the game, but for some reason, those who played the Asia version WILL NOT unlock these 3 achievements even if you complete the game with happy ending: Purgatory (beat the fire emperor), Close (beat Ice Queen at Ice palace) and Grand Finale (happy ending). At first I thought it didn't unlock for me because I "cheat" my way through the final battle (yes, I use the overpowered Infinity/Omega golem to beat her in seconds because I'm quite tired to do it the hard way), but after lurking more on X360A board, I found out that I'm not the only one. I do have some suspicion at first, because I remember my friend Rid had also finished the game, but his XBL profile never show a "complete" for Enchant Arm, and his also stucked at 700/1000G, just like me. I can only grieve in despair after knowing this glitch...


Not unlocking Achievements even after completing the game has left me in despair! Seriously Microsoft could easily do something to fix this bug, but for some reason this problem remained to this day (3 years dammit). Is it because the gamers who play Asia version is in minority that our complaint never reach their ear? This has occured before with Magna Carta 2 (or the other way around, since Enchant Arm was released before MC2), again only on Asia version... How to fix it? No idea, I've lurk even more to seach for some sort of solution, but I don't think this can be fixed by ourselves.

Topical Ten: seraph's top 2009 anime

After the categories I listed previously, the tradition continued, just like previous year of my 2008 list. So here's my personal choice for the best anime aired in 2009, ranging from Winter 80/09 to Fall 09.

10. Maria†Holic

MAL/official site
Airing date: Jan 4, 2009 to Mar 22, 2009 (Winter)
Number of episodes: 12

Comments: voted as my best winter series, there are reasons why I think Maria Holic worth the list. The comedies are out of this world, arguably one of the funniest show I've watched in 2009 (besides Minamike, as usual) with all the pseudo-yuri craziness involving Kanako and the trap Maria Shidou. Coming from SHAFT who never failed to overwhelm me with their unique animation art, I guess I should expect no less for Maria Holic's animation. Overall a truly entertaining show for its humor value.

9. Nyan Koi!

MAL/official site
Airing date: Oct 1, 2009 to Dec 17, 2009 (Fall)
Number of episodes: 12

Comments: I for one have a mixed opinion on the show. Nyan Koi is nice on its own way that it brings harem genre a new perspective. Though still full of some generic moe characters (which are rather obsolete to me), I still enjoy the show for its comedies, especially when it comes with Junpei's curse and how he had to deal with the cats. Great animation too, especially with the cameos of SnH-style jokes coming every now and then. Good thing the show still follow the manga for most part of the story, but then I don't have issue with any of the deviations.

8. Valkyria Chronicles

MAL/official site

Airing date: Apr 4, 2009 to Sep 26, 2009 (Spring)
Number of episodes: 26

Comments: This show might not be appealing to everyone, but at least for me, I think Valkyria Chronicle is one of the better show being aired this year. I've stated before that I'm quite fond with rpg-esque setting/plot, and VC, coming from a ps3 adaptation fit this description. The graphics were really nice and easy to the eyes (adapting similar style as the game). One of the series's strong point is the story and characters development, which were well-developed throughout (and the fact that it does not solely focus on Welkin and Alicia made it even better). Great ending too, although I would love to know more about the "other side" of the story, that is the Imperial and how much influence would they have to the main story. As I listed before, Valkyria Chronicle get my vote for the most "underrated" show in 2009.

7. Denpa Teki na Kanojo

MAL/official site
Airing date: Feb 4, 2009 to ?
Number of episodes: ?

Comments: an OVA that was good enough to make it into my top 10 list, beating many other TV series. I can't stress enough how much I love the show although so far only 2 episodes had been released; the story is brilliantly developed and conveyed to the viewer. The main character Juuzawa Juu might be a bit poorly designed, but imo the rest of the show cover this little flaw, especially the story which involves a lot of psychological thrillers. On one episode you saw a girl hitting the shit out of Juuzawa with her baseball bat, and on another you saw a sicko girl who lives in delusion with corpse in her house, and trying to "steal" other's happiness.

6. Tegami bachi -Letter Bee-

MAL/official site
Airing date: Oct 3, 2009 to ? (Fall)
Number of episodes: 26

Comments: Voted as my favorite Fall show. Letter Bee has arguably one of the best animation art in 2009 from the character design to the scenery and battle effects. Simply beautiful. The story is not something to be ignored either, combining emotional scenes well with entertaining humours, developed at a reasonable pace. Sometimes despite the touching and emotional scenes shown, I can't help but be amused on how there would at least one crying scene on every single episode. I agree with shin that Letter Bee could also be one of the most underrated 2009 series, along with Phantom (didn't put these in my previous list because I find VC to be even more underrated)

5. Spice & Wolf II

MAL/official site
Airing date: Jul 8, 2009 to Sep 23, 2009 (Summer)
Number of episodes: 13

Comments: Another great season of Spice and Wolf, too bad I could not make it as my favorite 2009 show as I did in 2008, because there are certainly others I find more fitted than S&WII. Animation and OP/ED concept didn't change much since the first season but still sweet nonetheless. Lawrence and Horo having their usual banter in every episode is joyful to watch, their relationship noticeably become much closer this season due to events occurring in all 3 arcs. Too bad this season have even more economic stuff cramped which were fairly hard for someone who has little experience in economy/commerce to understand their conversation at a glance. Great season, but as a whole I like season 1 more. Definitely need a season 3 to freshen things up.

4. Darker than Black: Ryuusei no Gemini

MAL/official site
Airing date: Oct 8, 2009 to Dec 24, 2009 (Fall)
Number of episodes: 12

Comments: One of the best sequel aired this year. New female protagonist, awsm animation and music composition, new story (no more arc-based), but sorta fcuked up ending. The story was really well developed until "that" final half of episode 12, which I don't think is a good way to end the show. Too many questions left for us viewers to interpret, how I wish it was a 24-episode series. As a whole, I see a great deal of similarities between DtB and Phantom:Requiem, especially this Ryuusei no Gemini. Hei reminds me to a certain "Reiji/Zwei", although he is much colder this season. Suou looks pretty badass with her anti-tank rifle longer than twice her body height, and to me she looks a stronger version of loli Cal Devens, physically and mentally. One thing that still bothers me is how they spent like 20 secs for Suou's rifle summoning every friggin single time she used her power =.=

ps: By the way, am I the only one who would like to see the series to sway more toward Hei and Misaki's story?


3. Bakemonogatari

MAL/official site
Airing date: Jul 3, 2009 to ? (Summer)
Number of episodes: 15

Comments: Again, coming from SHAFT, you'd expect at least one thing from Bakemonogatari - unique presentation of the show with artistic techniques (Ef, Zetsubou Sensei, Maria Holic), and Bakemonogatari didn't disappoint me in this aspect. The OP and ED were nice, but not playlist material, at least not for me. That being said, the story itself was awesome and entertaining, depicting how the main character Araragi deal with his colleague's problems (all female, so you might as well see it as a pseudo-harem show) concerning monsters, and at the same time try to keep up with the main heroine Senjogahara. Though, I feel that some of the supporting character's background weren't being elaborated in depth (especially Sengoku's). Nevertheless it's a nice treat to see the unique romance between Araragi and tsundere Senjogahara. Definitely one of the best show in 2009. I wonder how long do we need to wait for subs of final 2 episodes..

2. Phantom~Requiem for the Phantom~

MAL/official site
Airing date: Apr 2, 2009 to Sep 24, 2009 (Spring)
Number of episodes: 26

Comments: 2nd best show I watched in 2009. Dark theme surrounding the involvement of mafia and assassination, with two trained, "heartless" assassins code named Ein and Zwei as the perpetrators. In a way the premise is similar with Darker than Black but with no special powers involved, and as this list suggest, I rank this show higher than DtB. The story were developed nicely, full of dramas and somewhat touching moments focusing much on Eren (Ein) and Reiji (Zwei) and their job as assassins (at the same time face their own personality conflict) before the third one Cal (Drei) joined the fun. I also commend the anime on how it was adapted from the game, because as far as i concern, there are various possible routes to be taken and the anime managed to integrate many of these paths into a single main story without sacrificing the quality of the plot. Maybe the ending is not what everyone wanted (especially the WTF moment in the final 2 minutes, which I thought could have been left altogether), but overall I'm pretty satisfied with the show as a whole.
ps: although the story has long ended, I still can't believe how the loli Cal Devens has grown up so much that she "stands out" even more than Eren o.0

1. Fullmetal Alchemist: The Brotherhood

MAL/official site
Airing date: Apr 5, 2009 to ? (Spring)
Number of episodes: ?

Comments: And the winner, my pick for the best anime of 2009 is Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. Although the story took forever to end (just look at the snail rate in which the manga chapter is released), I didn't group FMA together with the likes of the neverending shonen show like Naruto, Bleach and One Piece. Added to that is the fact that how FMA story is finely crafted without involving too much mindless fights. FMA: Brotherhood differs greatly than season 1 where this time it was properly adapted from the manga. The animation quality are still great, and the plot development never stray much of the manga (saves the little missout parts which barely affect the main story). Which made me wonder how would BONES studio end the series, should they decide to finish it before the manga concludes. One thing about FMA: Brotherhood that I think is inferior to the previous anime original is the theme songs. So far I have yet to find any song that worth my playlist (unlike season 1 which had the likes of Kesenai Tsumi and Rewrite which forever remained in my anime playlist), but then it's just a matter of preference.



that's it. Although many of the shows aired on 2009 are crap, there are still great shows worth watching. I wonder how will 2010 be in my anime calendar. Too bad I probably won't be able to watch many because of my Honours.

Topical Ten: seraph's finest jrpg of decade

There's no doubt that there are many big changes happening in video games industry, as much as the technology evolve over the last 10 years. I started to get involve in gaming around 2001, taking interest heavily in jrpgs (but at the same time still enjoy other genres). Over the decade, there are many jrpgs I've played, and among those, I decided to pick 10 which I personally love the most. Despite this list, there are still a few games that I thought deserve a mention, such as Front Mission 4, Tales of the Abyss, Grandia 3 and Suikoden 5.

edit: the reason I listed out my top 10 of the decade rather than to 10 of 2009 is because, well, I didn't play enough games on 2009 that I could barely make a top 10 list based on games I played last year alone. School, dota and anime pwnt me D :

10. Final Fantasy X (PS2)

Info: Final Fantasy X
Release Date: December 2001 (NA)

I'm sure there are many other better jrpg than this, but I'd put this on the list simply because it is the very first game I bought for my ps2. And one of FF that I enjoy the most, everything from the voice acting, graphic, turn-based gameplay and especially the music composition. Mind you, I would personally rate FFX higher than the overhyped FF7, or FF12. The only downside I could think of this game is the lack of sidequests and bonus dungeon. And the Sphere Grid system is kinda broken, because when fully unlocked (clear useless spheres and fill all with +4 stats/luck/hp etc), your character became ridiculously powerful.

09. Xenosaga episode 3: Also Sparch Zarathustra (PS2)

Info: Xenosaga episode 3
Release date: August 2006 (NA)
Talk about Xenosaga, talk about Friedrich Nietzsche's phylosophy. Xenosaga franchise was one of the earliest jrpg that I ever played. As the trilogy title implies, the story were influenced greatly by Nietzsche's work. Released in 2006, Xenosaga 3 is the final release of the series, which is quite a disappointment because the story is nowhere near complete by the end of the trilogy. Decent graphic and character/mecha concept (KOS-MOS is one of my favorite video game character :3), and I love the gameplay which improved greatly since it's predecessor, Jenseits von Gut und Böse.

8. Persona 4 (PS2)

Info: Persona 4
Release date: December 2008

I personally don't enjoy other Shin Megami metaseries that much (Digital Devil Saga, Devil Summoner etc), but I really enjoy Persona and especially the latest PS2 release P4. Unique graphic, great school-life theme and the Japanese voice actress are simply delicious (Ami Koshimizu+Yui Horie+Rie Kugimiya = win). The gameplay and persona system hadn't improved much since P3 and the Inside TV exploration is slightly stricter than P3's Tantalus, but that doesn't matter much for me. The downside of the game that I could think is the tedious dungeon exploration, because as mentioned, it conflict with the character's daily routine and hence best did all at once, which means I'd spent something like 6+ hours straight inside once I went into the dungeon.

7. The Last Remnant (xbox 360)

Info: The Last Remnant
Release Date: November 2008

The Last Remnant is sorta a hit and miss - you either love it a lot or you hate it a lot. That's what I feel when I first try the game, I really feel that the battle system is retarded. But give this game another try a few weeks ago, and end up completing the game at 1000/1000G. Massive sidequests, massive bonus dungons, great story (one where we are not bound by the typical jrpg romance), stunning graphic (it's from Square Enix, what would you expect). As stated, the gameplay is probably what makes you either love or hate The Last Remnant because it's not a regular turn-based, neither is it a real time combat and sometimes you don't get the command that you want although your union have plenty of AP, which can be frustrating. There's also PC version of this game, and I've observed some quite distinct differences between the two versions, which are listed here.

6. Infinite Undiscovery (xbox 360)

Info: Infinite Undiscovery
Release date: September 2008

One of the first 2 games I bought for my xbox 360, alongside tales of vesperia, which coincidentally is one of the reason I'm so keen to buy a 360. As a Tri-Ace fan, this game is a must for me. Great real time combat system combined with spectacular graphic made the game so enjoyable for me. Cons: The story is too short, and map exploration is a pain in the ass because there is no way to go from one end of the world to another except by foot :( But hey, at least there are still Seraphic Gate and the lovely Ethereal Queen waiting inside :)

5. Star Ocean 4: The Last Hope (xbox 360)

Info: Star Ocean 4: TLH
Release date: February 2009

Again, another Tri-Ace's game made into my list. I remember the game being released (or to be precise, arrived at my home) right on my first day of new semester. Tough luck finding time to play the game. As in other Tri-Ace's game, I definitely enjoy the real time combat system, the spectacular special effect used in combat and the abundance of sidequest. Some of the characters are lovable (I really like Reimi and Arumat) while others are rather detestable, although their capabilities in battle cannot be argued (Meracle and Sarah for example). That being said, I have never play a game with voice acting as worse as Lym's in Star Ocean 4. Seriously her EnglishVA is so terrible that everytime she opens her mouth, my ear feel like bleeding.


4. Shadow Hearts: Covenant (PS2)

Info: Shadow heart Covenant
Release date: September 2004

Another classic turn based rpg, and one that I like a lot. The graphic might not be the best that Shadow heart series can offer, but the first time I play Shadow Heart 1, I got attached to the innovative Judgement Ring system, and this was greatly improved in Shadow Hearts II: Covenant. Although the overall gameplay was further improved in the 3rd game Shadow Hearts: From the New World, I personally like SH2 among the 3 because of the unique, touching story and character personalities and development (Karin Koenig is love :3). Not to mention the ending song Getsurenka is awsm, fits really well with the mood.


3. Star Ocean 3: Till The End of Time (PS2)

Info: Star Ocean 3: Till the End of time
Release date: August 2004
One of the first real time jrpg that I play and instantly become one of my all time favorite jrpg. In term of battle system, quests and world exploration, I believe Star Ocean 4 did a better job than SO3:TTEoT but if I'd pick one, SO3 get my vote because for some reason I feel more attached to SO3. Maybe because I like the character more than in SO4, and some of the musics/bgm outclassed SO4's by miles (Cutting Edge of Notion and Divine Spirit of Language are simply the best :D). If there's one thing I don't really like about SO3, it's the mess in 2nd disc and vague ending.


2. Valkyrie Profile: Silmeria (PS2)

Info: Valkyrie profile Silmeria
Release date: September 2006
Yet another Tri-Ace game, and the best so far in my book, not even Star Ocean or Infinite Undiscovery can surpass it. The graphic is simply beautiful, the gameplay is exciting and enjoyable (albeit it's hard for newcomer and those who don't understand how it works) with mouth-watering special effects, and the fact that it is based on Norse's mythology made it even more awsm. Lacks of sidequest might hurt this game a little, but there are still Seraphic Gate to cover this deficiency. Simply one of the best jrpg I've ever play, and I'd say one of the most underrated games out there. Ever wonder why it received "Best Game No One Played" award in 2006 by IGN?


1. Tales of vesperia (xbox 360)

Info: Tales of Vesperia
Release date: August 2008
My pick for the finest jrpg I ever played. This game is phenomenal, I love just about everything it offered - anime-esque graphic and character design, best ever voice acting, enjoyable real time combat system, side questing, story, humours. The characters (the female one, I mean) really are adorable, and I really love their english voice actress. Although the gameplay is indeed enjoyable, at the same time it is also overpowered, or maybe I should say that the gameplay/overdrive system is broken. Yuri with Tension skill = endless combo; Rita with Tidal Wave = endless spell, Estelle with Eternal Support = endless invincibility. Another downside of the game is that as there are many sidequests in the game, many of them are easily missable and hence without proper guide, player can easily lost track on what they're supposed to do.
ps: Yuri Llowel is probably one of the best main hero I've ever played. Very cool and calm, never let emotion get the better of him and always judge situation wisely, unlike so many stubborn, idiotic hero we found these days.


That's it. I know there are still a lot of jrpgs I have yet to play/finish especially on the console I don't own (DS/Wii/PS3), but in the end of the day I can only rate what's in front of me, and even then I still have a lot of games I 'd like to include. Who knows what kind of jrpg will we see next year, let alone next decade..

HAAAAAPPY NEW YEAR 2010!!

HAAAAAPPY NEW YEAR 2010!!

New year and new resolution (as usual), I guess. Looking back at 2009, it was my final year of degree but for some reason I don't feel that busy as I thought it would be, prolly because I'm taking only 2 subjects for every semester, and the fact that in semester 2, one of the subject had all lectures/ pracs/ tutorial cramped in a single day, leaving the rest of my week pretty free, except for some minor projects. Still have time for anime, time for dota, and time for games. How much has I changed since last year? Not much I guess.

Yet again, I didn't go back to Malaysia this summer break, making this my 2nd consecutive years staying in Australia, trying my best to endure the extreme summer heatwave. Well I was supposed to go back, but after MARA mentioned that it is possible to apply for Honours (when they previously said they won't continue sponsorship for all current students), I decided to give it a try. I've already got my honours offer, so hopefully my application would be successful. Although, if I got my Honours sponsorship extension approved, I'll be very busy in 2010. Life's wonderful, eh.

seraph's personal 2009 anime categories

The year of 2009 close its curtain with a lot of anime being aired, some which are great, while others are average or might be terrible, depending one's view. Before listing out my best and worst 2009 anime, I would like to list out what I find the best in my book for each categories;

Best Winter 2009 anime: Maria†Holic
others: Minamike -Okaeri-

Best Spring 2009 anime: Fullmetal Alchemist:Brotherhood
others: Phantom -Requiem of Phantom-, Valkyria Chronicles

Best Summer 2009 anime: Spice&Wolf II
others: Bakemonogatari

Best Fall 2009 anime: Tegami Bachi -Letter Bee-
others: Kimi ni Todoke, Nyankoi!

Best Mecha Anime: -

Best Comedy Anime: Minamike: Okaeri
others: Maria†Holic, Taisho Yakyuu Musume

Best OVA series: Denpateki na Kanojo
others: Shakugan no Shana S, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei

Best Movie (based on DVD release and fansubs): -

Best Sequels: Spice & Wolf II
others: Darker than Black: Ryuusei no Gemini

Best Male characters of 2009: Ushiromiya Battler (Umineko no Naku Koro ni)
others: Zwei/Reiji (Phantom Requiem)

Best Female Characters of 2009: Horo (Spice and Wolf)
others: Senjogahara Hitagi (Bakemonogatari)

Most Overrated 2008 anime: K-ON!, Hayate no Gotoku!!, Saki

Most Underrated 2008 anime: Valkyria Chronicle, Sengoku Basara

Best OST: 11eyes, Umineko no Naku Koro ni, Guin Saga, Kurokami

Best OP song: Katayoku no Tori by Shikata Akiko (Umineko no Naku Koro ni)
others: Kanashimi Rensa (Valkyria Chronicles), Only my Railgun (To Aru kagaku no Railgun), Arrrival of Tears (11eyes)

Best ED song: Sequentia by Asriel (11eyes)
others: Don't Say Lazy (K-ON!), Maze (Pandora Hearts)

Best insert song: Destrudo by Yousei Teikoku (Kurokami)

to be honest I find it hard to list some of the categories, because in my opinion, many of the show aired this year are simply too average, emphasizing too much on generic moe/harem character design with uninspiring story and fanservices, compared to series aired in 2008 and 2007.

Episode 5: End of Golden Witch

Umineko no Naku Koro ni Chiru (うみねこのなく頃に散, When Seagulls Cry Dispersal) tell the second half of the story and start to delve into the core of the mystery. These games are not simply solutions to the first four arcs, but also continue the story, shifting it into new terrain. However, as the core of the series is approached, several clues to the first four arcs are revealed along the way. Each arc in this series contains all of the previous Chiru arcs.

The first of Chiru series, Episode 5: End of Golden Witch was released in the last C76 and it was not until Boxing Day that translation by the Witch Hunt was finally completed. I'll treat this as my Umineko Christmas present :) It took me roughly 3 days to finish this episode, and in short, I would say that I'm pretty satisfied with End of Golden Witch although at some point I thought the plot is fcuked up.

Umineko no Naku Koro ni Chiru: End of Golden Witch

Furudo Erika...heh see this name coming miles away. I feel disgusted for having to use the picture of this self-proclaimed intellectual rapist

*may contain spoiler*

As a result of her showdown with Battler in episode 4, Beato lost her heart and turned into a motionless living doll, unable to do anything. Lambdadelta and Bern, full of their own agenda and troll face as seen in previus episode took over Beato's position as the Game Master and started their own 5th game. This put Battler is at a crossroad because as promised last time, he need to end Beato's suffering but at the same time he also need to return to Ange. He can only return by winning this game, and by prolonging the game, he would only more cause pain to Beato as her status as witch would be denied gradually. Sweet but touching scene of Battler trying to comfort the motionless Beato, giving her a hand to sip tea, questioning times and times again over beato's real motives of dragging him into her game...

Lambdadelta and Bern's interception to this game explains why there are many irregularities in episode 5 compared to the Question Arcs:

• The rule of character limit on Rokkenjima as claimed by Beatrice (that is, no more 17 people can exist on the island at the start of the game) is bypassed with the introduction of new character Furudo Erika (what an obvious name), claimed to be Bern's new piece for this game.
• The murders were not carried out fully according to the twilight of the epitaph, and only the first and partially second twilight are carried out. Or it might be best not to call it followed the twilight, because only 5 corpse was discovered while 1 was missing, and only one death occured in second twilight.
• The involvement of something from outside the game board "directly" with the game, as shown with the mysterious phone call to Natsuhi. But I interpret this as part of Braun's tube because nobody knows about the call apart from Natsuhi and a servant who was killed later.
• The golden witch epitaph was revisited again, and was solved before the first twilight even begin. Guess who's the victor? Much of hints was given for reader to solve the puzzles, like the description of the epitaph as a form of wordplay/anagram. Almost impossible to solve for someone with no japanese kanji knowledge like me I guess.
  

Outside the game board, it was all about Bern and Lambdadelta enjoying Beato's hijacked game for their lulz while Battler watched from afar, staying by Beato's side. On the game board, it was a one-on-two situation where piece Beato and her underlings need to fight Lambdadelta and Bern's force, consisting of piece Erika, piece Dlanor&her assistants Gertrude/Cornelia (all 3 are new characters) and piece Siesta Sisters. Basically from my understanding, the 3 worlds in episode 5 are similar to the previous arcs - the Purgatorio where (former) player Beato, Battler, Virgilia, Bern and Lambdadelta reside and play their game; a real time rokkenjima where human lives and murders take place; and a mystical setting of Rokkenjima where piece Kinzo, piece healthy Beato and other magical element exist.

There are slight and interesting alterations to this world however, where mystic and reality Rokkenjima do not mixed directly but what's happening on reality is described into mystic world. That is, whatever argument was thrown in real world turned into something magical in the mystic world. One example is Eva's receipt paper slip at the door which become the magic that try to disprove Kinzo's existence in reality world, and hence destroy piece Kinzo/Beato's existence in the magic world. Should Erika manage to prove that Kinzo never existed in the room in the first place, with those paper seal, the Kinzo in magic world will be destroyed and in the real world, Natsuhi would not be able to hide Kinzo's death anymore.

This episode is probably the game where you would want to side with the witches rather than the human side, merely because of that whore Furudo Erika, who definitely give me a false impression. At first I thought she was kinda cute and weird girl who claimed herself to be interested only in solving riddles, but as the story progress, she became a totally annoying bitch who cares only about her role as "assigned detectives" and finding the culprit based on sheer observation without considering any alternatives or whether the her claim is true or false. Her losing and embarrassed face when Battler proves the flaw in her theory is really priceless, she was so desperate to win and trying hard to impress her master Bern.

Knox's rule was used extensively in Episode 5 to prevent the interference of element of uncertainty in the mysteries. And rightly so, because we as the reader would be aggravated should we, for example, found that the culprit is actually a new character which only appear late in the game (Knox's rule #1), or if Erika is the culprit (Knox rule #7). In a sense, this was such a cruel game where Beato+Battler have to face many, and i mean many enemies at once. Bern. Lambda. Erika. Dlanor. Siesta Sisters. All at once, and at the same time unable to use red to prove their argument due to Knox's rule. Poor natsuhi for being accused have no way to fight back. As usual, extensive red and blue truth was repeatedly used to deny each others claim, and best one thus far is Battler's bravery of denying Erika's theory in Kinzo's room, although those are just farce by Lambdadelta and Bern to play their script, because player Battler has yet to join the game at that point of time. Nevertheless it's still a wonderful scenery, making Battler looked like some kind of knight coming to save Beato.

Maybe it's just me, but looking back at the murder case, I found a flaw in which the murder was presented, or especially on how the death timeframe is justified. 5 persons were murdered in the guesthouse, all which could only happens from 12.00 to 1.00am as "claimed" by Erika, and later confirmed by Red. But one of the victim (name shall not be revealed here) returned to the guesthouse at 1AM from the mansion! See the flaw here?

Overall the main story of Umineko no Naku Koro ni: End of Golden Witch is nothing short of pain and despair for me because of Lambdadelta and Bern's ruthlessness in forcing a false truth to Natsuhi, with the help of Erika. Seeing how one sided the Trial went, I can't help but getting rage over the main story. The Tea party is screwed up too and just as I'm about to fall into despair, the Extra saves the day. And probably the reason what made episode 5 worth even more than Episode 4's Tea Party. Battler finally learned what "truth" really is, and with the help of Beato, he inherits her power and become the new "Endless Witch". That's not all. With this, he was also granted the power of "Gold Truth" with a golden sword, an absolute power that far superior than Erika, Dlanor, Bern or whoever's Red Truth. With his new power, he took over Beato's position as the game master, protecting Beato's illusion from being tainted by Erika's delusional and arrogant truth and use his authority to present a new truth that enable Natsuhi escape from being suspected as culprit. From Erika's truth, she has all the evidence she need to accuse Natsuhi as culprit, while in Battler's truth, he can present equally creditable evidence that prove natsuhi's innocence (and make a certain someone as the real culprit). A truly spectacular Extras show, umineko never failed to surprise me. One thing for sure, Beato x Battler is closer than ever <3

As the game ends, we now know what's awaiting us in future episodes. Battler took over as the Game master, and future episode will be the fight between him and Erika to prove who is the real culprit in Rokkenjima's murder case. So I guess this means we won't see any case which one would claim it was done by the witches or magic, but rather who's the actual culprit. Erika with her own truth and interpretation, while Battler with his. In the end of the day, no absolute truth can be proven in Braun's tube. More questions remained as this episode folded, like Battler's real identity and the correlation with Natsuhi's case 19 years ago, as well as Beato's claim about 6 years ago and something that Rudolf never manage to tell Battler. Definitely looking forward to Episode 6: Dawn of Golden Witch!

Thank you...
liar...
goodbye
and...
...I'm sorry

Denkare music collection

Denkishiki Karen Ongaku Shuudan (or Denkare) is a band (I think) created on the year 2001, which is formed by the next members:

- Denki (Lyricist, Composer)
- Karen (Vocalist, Lyricist)
- Shiki (Guitarrist)
- Dang (Chorus, I think)

They aren't very known in the musical world, except by some performance made for H-games, for example, MinD DeaD BlooD, GUN-KATANA, and others.

Their musical style is a blend of Heavy Metal (a la X Japan, HIZAKI, and others) and Electronic, with some gothic elements. I think that is the best form to describe their musical style.

Simply. Karen, the vocalist of Denkare sounds like Fairy Yui because she's Fairy Yui (or Yui Itsuki, their real name) from Yousei Teikoku, or this seems to be, because in the Yui's official site doesn't appear the information about their musical performances on both bands, but there are other additional date, and is the birth date of Yui Itsuki. The birth date of her is October 25 (the year is unknown), which is the same birth date of Yui from Yousei Teikoku and Karen from Denkare. With this date, I can conclude that Fairy Yui and Karen are the Yui Itsuki's alias on their musical projects.

Songs included:

Gun Katana Sound Archives [Download: MU/RS/HF]
info: vgmdb
1. Raison D'etre
2. Chain
3. Nemuri no mayu
4. Mugen no Nemuri

MinDeaDBlood～支配者の為の狂詩曲～ [Download: MU/RS/HF]
info: -
1. Vampire
2. Sakuramai
3. Sakura Child
4. Yuketsu
5. Vampire -Head Backing Version-
6. Sakuramai (karaoke)
7. Sakura Child -Unplugged Version-
8. Vampire (game version)
9. Yuketsu (game version)


ゴアスクリーミングショウ/Gore Screaming Show [Download: MU/RS]
info: vgmdb
1. Distorted Pain
2. Toki Hate Tsuru Yume

doko he iku no ano hi themes.denkare remixes [Download: MU/RS]
1. きっと微笑むから (Remix)
2. 光の地図 (Remix)
3. 追憶の破片 (Remix)

full metal box special maxi single [Download: MU/RS]
info: vgmdb
1. Sudden Death R99
2. Sudden Death R99 -Short Ver.-

Crystal Circus Vocal collection [Download: MU/RS]
1. Memini [Orchestronica mix version]
2. 一片の雫
3. 月夜の旋律

other songs: [Download - MU part 1/RS part 1 ||||| MU part 2/RS part 2]
Click me to view

-01 (Denkare) erase
-02 (Denkare) Yozora ni Sakuhana
-03 (Denkare) Absolute Blue
-Getover_short
-Hikari no Chizu
-hiziri
-Kikai Ningyou
-Kitto Hohoemu Kara
-Komorebi
-Konomama de Ii to Tsutaetai
-Last Message
-Mirage Lullaby - Denki's Psycho Frame Mix -
-Never Ending White
-Osanpo
-Sweet Trap
-Tsuioku no Kakera
-もも
-小聖女の歌
-斬撃よ 唸れ 咆哮の如く
-縺ｾ縺励ｙ縺代ｙ縺｣縺｡繧
-縺翫＆繧薙⊇繧
-縺薙・縺ｾ縺ｾ縺ｦ繧吶＞縺・→莨昴∴縺溘＞
-繝ｯ繧ｿ繧ｷ繧ｳ繧吶さ繝ｭ
-繝槭・繧吶Ο繧ｷ繝九ヤ繝・・繝ｬ繝
-繧ｹ繝ｭ繝ｼ繝倥ｚ繝ｼ繧ｹ縺ｪ蟷ｸ縺
-遨ｺ縺ｫ蜥ｲ縺剰庄
-閨・・槭・縺励ｙ繧奇ｽ
-『Endless Corridor』
-『瞑想に堕ちる闇』Full･Ver.
-Endless ripples【夢幻廻廊2】

*Sorry for using RS, as mediafire and megaupload hate me for some reason.*
Do tell if you want a mirror.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Remember the very old post I made about Karen aka Denshiki Karen Ongaku Shuudan and their Gun Katana Sound Archives? I've been a huge fan of her since the first time I heard the song Raison D'etre and had uploaded their songs in this post. Recently I went through their collections again and found even more delicious songs in my archives, some of which I don't even remember where I got those from. I used to tag all their song with "Karen" as their artist name, but I thought this could cause some misunderstanding with another Karen, as shown in Last.Fm page. Hence I started retagging all my Denkare songs in my archives with proper artist name (Denkare rather than Karen). Unfortunately there's too many song which their kanji are too hard for me to romanize, so I leave some as they are. And some of the album information might have been messed up too :/

Aside from my long favorite song Raison D'etre, Sakuramai and Sakura Child, discovered songs that I loves includes Erase, Absolute Blue and Yuketsu, and Sudden Death R99 and a few Mugen Kairou songs :3

Fairy Yui's songs back then as Denkare is pretty dark-themed, but I guess it fits with the eroge it affiliated with (anyone played Gun Katana, Mugen Kairou and Mindead Blood would probably understand). Yousei Teikoku ftw \o/