“If you are fond of quirky Japanese games, then “Chulip” is one of those games that you will probably enjoy for it’s Japanese-style of game play and humor and bare with the overall clunky gameplay.  An odd game but I tend to dig odd Japanese style of games.”

BUY THIS GAME |

TITLE: CHULIP

COMPANY: Natsume

DEVELOPER: Punchline

ESRB RATING: T for crude humor, suggestive themes, use of alcohol and tobacco

You Found the Girl of Your Dreams

Can you win her over before your heart breaks?

Pucker up, big guy.  You found your true love, but you need a strong heart and a stellar reputation to tell her just how you feel.  Become a better man by helping the quirky citizens above and below ground in this strange and wonderful place called Long Life Town.

• Improve your reputation by helping critters and earning extra smooches!
  
• Uncover the secret lives of mysterious underground residents!
  
• Use the enclosed mini strategy guide to discover quirky secrets involving aliens, ghosts and even an invisible man!
  

I’ve always been a person who has collected strange Japanese games for various consoles and a game that you can probably find under $10 new for the PlayStation 2 is this quirky Japanese-style of game known as CHULIP.  The game from Natsume is an exclusive for Gamestop stores.

The object of the game is that you play a teenager who comes from a very poor family.  In fact, walking around the neighborhood, your neighbors look at you as such and talk crap about you.  But as you walking around the neighborhood, you meet a girl from a rich family.  You fall in love but the problem is, you’re not ready.  You don’t have a strong heart because you don’t love…you don’t love because you don’t know how to kiss.

So, you literally have to go on several missions to learn how to kiss but along the way, you encounter some major obstacles.  For one, because you tried to save a group of people near the railroad tracks, the police has accused you of causing mischief and your picture is printed on the daily newspaper.  Your father tells you to clear your name and thus you try to do so.

While wandering around town and because you are so poor, you need to raise money.  So, you look through trashcans and other means to make money.  But sometimes when you grab things from the trash, it’s not always food.  Sometimes you grab dog crap (I’m assuming it belongs to an animal, not a human) and sometimes you encounter vicious animals.  Also, you need to choose who you kiss wisely or else they will kick your butt.  And all of these things can really take a beating on you…basically lowering your heart level.  Once that depletes, your character is done for and you have to restart.

Of course, when you succeed in kissing, you get money. But kissing involves stealth and quickness, so it’s easier said than done.

But the main gameplay is going on several missions, meeting people at designated times, making sure you get enough sleep and you eat and pretty much learning how to love and kiss.

GRAPHICS:

For me, I love games that depict Japanese neighborhoods.  I love the fact that you can go through different areas of town.  The game is linear but there are some parts of town you can venture and I enjoyed that.  Overall graphics are ok.  Granted, this is not a top end graphical game from one of the top-tier video game companies but all in all, for a game under $10, I surely didn’t mind the graphics all that much.

AUDIO:

Remember when you watched an episode of “Peanuts” (Charlie Brown) and the character on the other line of the telephone would have this weird language.  That’s how “Chulip” is.  No spoken dialogue.  A lot of text dialogue but when ever there is audio of dialogue, it’s language that you won’t understand.  Also, you get some music.

Overall, I’m actually stoked that Natsume brought this quirky game.  Of course, I know that a lot of American gamers hate Japanese, quirky style of games.

Afterall, may it be dating sims, quirky dancing games or weird RPG’s, I actually dig those style of games.

For “Chulip”, sure it’s not the most indepth, graphically awesome game available.  But it’s very quirky and I have to say that I found myself enjoying it because it’s so damn weird.

Who would imagine a game where you have to kiss people and in a perverted type of way, kiss nearly everyone in town and know that the whole town is literally against you because you’re a poor, kissing bandit.  Don’t you feel that underdog within you want to try and give this quirky game a try?

If you have an open mind, “Chulip” can be entertaining.  It can also be frustrating as well, especially as you progress more into the game.  But all in all, check out Chulip and again, with a coupon to a gaming store and with it being cheap as it is (especially used), you can get this game for next to nothing.  Check it out!

+ A very quirky Japanese style of game

+ You can find it under $10

- It can be a bit clunky in controls and overall gameplay.  This can lead to some frustration later in the game.

“Each time I play a ‘Metal Gear Solid’ game, I keep saying that this is the best with each new release. OK, I know MGS 4 is out for the PS3 but having only played up to MSG 3 so far, I definitely liked it better than two.”

TITLE: Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence

CREATED BY: Konami

PRODUCED BY: Kojima Hideo

CONSOLE: Playstation 2

ESRB RATING: M for Mature (Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language and Sexual Themes)

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

I know…this review is a bit late right? And how can you review a game that has been reviewed on a gajillion websites already.

So, I’m not going to do the typical review going into gameplay, graphics and such. I’ll just talk about what I liked and didn’t like about the game.

First and foremost, I know that Metal Gear Solid 4 for the PS3 has received rave reviews but since I have not purchased my PS3 yet, nor have I beaten the third game, until just recently, I have to say that this game rocks!

I never played “Snake Eater” and from what I’ve read, I save myself the hassle of playing with bad camera angles.

I know that there is all new online gameplay but having played online on XBOX 360, geez…three years later, I doubt anyone is online playing this game all that much, so I didn’t even bother testing it out.

And you all know about the extra content such as the inclusion of “Metal Gear” and “Metal Gear 2 Solid Snake” (which I owned the original when it first came out on the NES) and the addition of secret theater mode, duel mode and Snake vs the Monkey mini-game and even game connectivity with the Metal Gear Acid 2 on the PSP.

Ok, no need to rehash what other reviewers have done so brilliant in their reviews.

But I just want to say that I enjoyed the third game so much, mainly because the storyline was coherent. The storyline was interesting, the characters were interesting and the gameplay was just all out fun.

Now I don’t mind the very long cut scenes of “Metal Gear Solid” games. As long as they can balance out enjoyable gameplay and a well told story, you appreciate the game more.

Why it took me so long was the second boss (The one that keeps jumping from tree to tree). That frakkin’ pecker was a pain in the ass to beat and I said screw it… So, with MGS4 released, I said to myself…before I’m going to buy a PS3 and the fourth game, I better beat the third.

So, what better day than to do it on the week MGS4 came out.

I was having a lot of fun and just waiting to see if Snake and EVA were going to get it on! What a seductress, unzipping her suit to showoff her body and bikini and just to see Snake resist. How funny!

But there was a connection with the characters that interacted with Snake. From Para-Medic to the Big Boss (the final boss and Snake’s teacher and Mentor), Ocelot and of course, EVA…with very good voice acting and a cool storyline, I was hooked. It was very Bond-ish in a way of how the story played out and the triple crossing amongst the US, USSR and China governments was just fun to see how it played out, especially after the final credits.

And of course, you had the “Snake Eater” song which I thought it was so cheesy to have it included on the “Karaoke Revolution III” video game but now understanding the context of the game, I can actually listen to it and not think “cheesy” anymore.

As for my favorite moments? Well, one was going against Cobra’s “The End”. An old man who is still excellent as a sniper and of course, his power allows him to be as one with nature. It was fun to use the directional mic, hear him snore and take my sniper and shoot him down.

Another favorite moment was of course the end with Snake and EVA, I really enjoyed any cut scenes involving those two.

The chase scenes. There were many of them but one of the best chase scenes in a video game (I enjoyed the chase scene in “Call of Duty 4″ but “Metal Gear Solid 3″ had a cool chase scene as well.

And last, the final battle against the Big Boss. Switching to an arctic camouflage while hiding in dense foliage and white flowers and getting close and getting the shots out. I lost to her many times but when I won, I got lucky with a lucky close counterattack and a lucky shot with a shotgun as a follow-up.

So, I enjoyed this game immensely. Great combination of great storytelling and gameplay and even the graphics and audio are great for a PS2 game.

As for what I didn’t like about the game. Hmm… I really enjoyed the game but I did find myself getting annoyed by some of the maze like underwater segment of the game. What a time-wasting pain in the ass that was. It took me too way too long to complete and took me awhile to beat that boss that sends hornets after you. But all in all, there really wasn’t much I didn’t like the game.

With that said…I’m now ready to play “Metal Gear Solid 4″ and definitely looking forward to it!

P.S.

If you haven’t played any “Metal Gear Solid” game, if you have GameCube, get the “Twin Snakes” game for the first, the second game on the PS2 (and it’s like $4.99 used) and of course this third game which you can also find cheap (if you can find the three disc limited edition version… you are one lucky bastard!)

“For those who enjoyed the SNK arcade hits such as “Fatal Fury”, “King of the Monsters”, “Art of Fighting”, “World Heroes”, “Metal Slug” and “Samurai Showdown”, “SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1″ features 16 games of popular arcade hits that will definitely satisfy true SNK fans”

TITLE: SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1

CREATED BY: SNK Playmore

CONSOLE: Playstation 2

ESRB RATING: T - Teen (Alcohol Reference, Blood, Mild Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence)

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

This first collection of SNK’s all-time greatest hits brings you 16 arcade classics games on one disc!

Volume 1 features:

1. Art of Fighting
2. Baseball Stars 2
3. Burning Fight
4. Fatal Fury
5. Kings of the Monsters
6. Last Resort
7. Magician Lord
8. Metal Slug
9. Neo Turf Masters
10. Samurai Shodown
11. Sengoku
12. Shock Troopers
13. Super Sidekicks 3
14. The King of Fighters 94
15. Top Hunter
16. World Heroes

Once upon a time, way back in the early 1990’s, arcades were filled and packed with people wanting to be the best in “Street Fighter II” or “Mortal Kombat”. People would wait in line for almost an hour just to play and during that time, there were other games in the arcade to play while you wait.

For me, it was the SNK fighting video games and while everyone played and enjoyed the other fighting games, I focused a lot of my time on the SNK NEO-GEO related games and spent a lot of quarters in the arcade.

Well, here we are over 15 years later with “SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1″ which features a total of 16 video games based on the actual arcade games.

Within the past year, there have been a good number of SNK collections and I have heard or read reviews from reviewers saying “wait for SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1″. First of all, that is NOT true!

It’s one thing to play your favorite fighting game, especially those that had console releases. But it’s a whole different story with SNK because it is based on the arcade releases.

Also, for those who were buying the SNK fighting collections, I would expect that those purchasing them, are those who have had played and enjoyed those games and were probably nostalgic like I was in owning those collections.

I look at this collection also as a way for those not familiar with SNK games, to receive a good introduction to play “Samurai Showdown”, “World Heroes” and “Art of Fighting”.

But also a collection where you don’t have to spend on money for eBay for the imports or originals because SNK plans to release them in the US. For me, if anything, just the fact that “King of Fighters 94″ was included was more than enough reason for me to buy the collection.

The only thing though is that because these are arcade versions of the games, remember that arcade games were there to earn money and thus to keep people from plopping more quarters in the arcade game, that meant difficult challenges.

For SNK, difficulty and challenging is not just relegated to the bosses of the fighting games but for all of games released by the company.

And no, SNK Playmore did not dumb things down for this console release. SNK games have always never been easy in the arcade version and thus, I never expected it too be easy on console.

Fortunately, for gamers, no quarters are being spent to replay a game and the cost of this collection is quite cheap (I paid only $14.99).

One of the cool things about collections is that there are some incentives and SNK did include some interesting options. One benefit is that their is an inclusion of autosave for certain games, so you don’t have to start from the beginning.

At one point, I was getting frustrated with “Fatal Fury: King of Fighters”, that I played other games and when I came back to play, I was able to continue where I left off. So, that was a pretty cool addition. Although, that doesn’t happen on all games though.

And similar to other collections, by beating a game or accomplishing goals, you can unlock some goodies.

Earn ten medals and you unlock “World Heroes”. You can also earn medals to unlock videos, artwork, video and music. Also, movelists can be unlocked as well.

With that being said, my first game to take on was the 1991 arcade game “Fatal Fury: King of Fighters”. I’ve played this game so many times and played Terry and Andy Bogard for so many years, that I have my own strategy with them. But I was amazed of how challenging the opponents were that it was a bit frustrating. I put it on easy level after losing many times that I was surprised how hard it was. I was also upset that I was unable to pull of the moves as easily. Maybe it was a sign of the times for the type of game and its controls, not sure.

The next game is the 1992 space shooter “LAST RESORT”. What an insane game that is not too forgiving. I was a bit frustrated by how difficult the game was that I just turned off my PS2 machine.

I then played the 1992 game “Baseball Stars 2″ and similar to another SNK favorite titled “Little League Baseball”, you can do so well but the opponents always find a way to come back. I played the game several times to be ahead in points but later to lose the lead by control issues. But the game was very fun and I figured, once I put more time to learn the mechanics, I could probably do much better in fielding.

I then went to the next sports game “THE NEXT GLORY: SUPER SIDEKICK 3″ which is a soccer game featuring 64 Intl. teams. I would do so well the first round of the tournament and then losing to opponents the next round. I played this game over and over and as much fun as I had, I would rather be playing FIFA or Winning Eleven and have a better experience.

I then spent time playing the 1997 SNK game “Shock Troopers” and similar to “Metal Slug”, is definitely fun to play. Not easy and expect to go through many, many, many continues.

And I played several other fighting games that I enjoyed and after playing it for a day, all in all, I’m not disappointed.

I came into buying this game and knowing the difficult and challenges ahead. SNK games are like that and that is why it appeals to gamers who refuse defeat and learning the overall strategy to beat the game.

Graphic-wise, sure many people may have problems with playing an older game and its sprite graphics but for me, the graphics were what I remember from that time and I could imagine that the PSP version would look much better for a smaller screen.

As for audio, the games are old, so I was not expecting a lot. But playing “Fatal Fury: King of Fighters” and hearing the music based on the land of where the opponents are from, the music was pretty cool to listen to. I can’t comment if the music is the same as the exact arcade version.

As far as controls, I’m not sure if the experience would have been cooler if I used my joysticks but I just played them on a PS2 controller and I had some control issues for some games.

For example, “Baseball Stars 2″… I would try to catch a pop fly but then the ball would go elsewhere. I never had this problem before fielding or catching a pop fly. So, having this type of problem was a bit frustrating.

But so far, I’ve played a good number of the games and had a great time playing them, it’s just that the challenges were frustrating. But that was the point of learning the game, playing it over and over and finding ways to beat it.

So, no surprises on difficulty but for others, it might be too difficult.

As a collection, you can’t beat 16 games for $14.99. Granted, other collections on the consoles and portable devices have far more games included but for those who are familiar with SNK or NEO-GEO games at all, the games were expensive to begin with and to collect these games now, are still expensive. So, $14.99 for 16 games is cool with me!

For $14.99, you really can’t go wrong with a collection that features sixteen classic SNK arcade games. Although, I do question the $29.99 pricing for the PSP version (but still, the portability of playing these games would be fun, although exact precision on fighting with a nub stick, not sure how that would be).

For me, I love SNK games, especially the fighting games. So, I’m glad to know that SNK Playmore is releasing these collections. But the question is if most would enjoy those games because of the sheer difficulty of them.

Even with the difficult challenge, I could only imagine how many quarters were spent by gamers trying to beat the game on the arcades. Insane!

But I did have fun playing many of the games so far, it’s just beating them is the frustrating part.

All in all, it’s a pretty cool collection worth the $14.99 and I can’t wait for volume 2!

+ 16 Classic SNK arcade games in one collection

+ Only $14.99

+ Unlike the arcade, you can set difficulty levels. Also, some games you can save and also medals that you can win to unlock goodies

+ The thrill of beating a hard and challenging game

- The sense of impossibility of a frustratingly hard and challenging game

- Compared to other collections, there are less games on SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1

- Not for those who don’t like older fighting games, picky about graphics and those looking for easy challenges

“This is the definitive ‘Onimusha’ game in the series. Cool story, cool game play, cool characters, cool music and awesome CGI . Definitely action-packed, a lot of suspense and a little extra things thrown in to make ‘Dawn of Dreams’ the best in the Onimusha series”

TITLE: ONIMUSHA - DAWN OF DREAMS

CREATED BY: CAPCOM

CONSOLE: Playstation 2

ESRB RATING: M for Mature - Blood, Language, Violence

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

A new hero. A new era. A completely new Onimusha. Redesigned from the ground up, a brand new Onimusha opens a completely new chapter set 15 years after the original trilogy. Stunning graphics, special effects and even more relentless, action-packed gameplay all combine to redefine this action epic. Choose from five all new playable characters.

I have had a love/hate relationship with the “Onimusha” video games. Mainly because of the difficulty has led me to just give up and go onto the next game.

But I decided that in 2008, I’m going to beat every “Onimusha” game that I started and didn’t complete but first, I wanted to play the latest game from the series which I’ve had and hadn’t played yet and that was the fourth game in the series titled “ONIMUSHA - DAWN OF DREAMS” which is literally a new beginning for the series.

The storyline revolves around Soki (Hideyasu Yuki), a warrior who possesses the dark power of the Oni.  Soki travels with his miniature companion (creature) Minokichi, visits village after village taking on evil monsters known as Genma that have ravaged the land.

It appears that Nobunaga’s vassal Toyotomi Hideyoshi who was unifying Japan has suddenly gone dictator and may be the person responsible for the growing numbers of Genma in Japan.

And to make matters worse, Toyotomi has unleashed these sakura trees built with the screaming souls of dead that create the genma and planting them throughout Japan.

Along the journey, Soki teams up with several characters along the way as they plan to rid of the trees and get their revenge.

• Yagyu “Jubei” Akane - A young ninja from the land of Yagyu that has an eye of the oni.  On the mission to stop her uncle who has sided with the Genma.
• Nankobu Tenkai - A mysterious monk who resides at Mt. Heiei who is familiar with the Genma.
• Ohatsu - Sister of Lady Yodo, concubine of Toyotomi and childhood friend of Soki who is in love with him but yet honors her clan and tries to persuade Soki to come back home.
• Roberto Frois - A Christian missionary (Half Japanese and Spanish) that is incredibly strong and betrayed by his father Luis who used him as a genma experiment.  And also has a love interest towards Ohatsu.

And suffice to say, how things are tied together with past Onimusha games is a surprise for fans of the series as well.

GAMEPLAY:

Onimusha is an action game where you control the character and hack and slash enemies and also a game where you have to solve puzzles.

Unique to the Onimusha video games is that when you kill an enemy, a red or white ball of light (their soul) is released and by pressing on the X-button, you can capture their souls.

Capturing souls is important, as this is what is used (almost similar to a point system) of leveling up a weapon or armor or also boosting up the special attack meter.

And the more Genma you defeat, you accumulate the money needed to purchase more weapons, armor or health related items.

Soki can wield massive swords that can be destructive and have the potential to eliminate many enemies with a special move; Jubei is quick and fast with her double sword attacks; Tenkai uses monk poles to attack; Ohatsu is a marksman and uses a rifle and Roberto uses special gloves which he uses his brawn to do punching attacks.

Special move attacks with a weapon such as ice can put several enemies in ice and one hit will shatter them; wind can create a massive tornado like attack; fire attacks are large fire attacking enemies all at once and much more.

Unique to “DAWN OF DREAMS” is the ability to switch to a secondary character by hitting L2.  You can assign the secondary character to attack all out, follow and attack, rest and recuperate or just stay in place.

Similar to previous games, you will find an orb where you can save, increase the stats of a sword or item, shop or even change your secondary character.

On many of the levels, there are many puzzles that require each of the skills that a character possesses.   There are narrow passages or small holes that require Jubei; Dead people who may have important items or information to give and only Tenkai can hear them; Ohatsu can use her grappling hook to get to areas that may be obstructed or no floors that require that skill and also set off detonation devices; Roberto can get through metallic doors and big huge crate-like blocks that require his strength.

So, puzzles include finding items in one room that would open access to another room but utilizing a member of the team to obtain items depending on their skill.  So, yeah there is a bit of backtracking involved in this game.

Also, unique to “DAWN OF DREAMS” is the ability to change the cameras while walking.  Before there was just a fixed camera but now you can literally see all around you.  So, it’s good to see them have this option.

GRAPHICS:

The graphics for “ONIMUSHA: DAWN OF DREAMS: is just breathtaking.  The cut scenes were great to watch and also the environments are now 3D and not pre-rendered.  Definitely one of the better looking games graphically for the Playstation 2.

SOUND:

This is what I love… the option to choose English dub or Japanese voice acting with English subtitles.  I tried both and both are well-acted but the Japanese gets my nod of awesome voice acting, especially during the emotional scenes.

The sound is Dolby Digital Pro Logic II but the sound is clear for the vocals, music and special effects come alive and even during the final scene, I kept wondering if I heard a child talking but it was part of the background of an area.  Spooky!

CONTROLS:

The controls were not difficult.  Each person has a good number of special attack moves, some basic as hitting the square button to another type of attack that utilizes up/R1 and down/square quickly.  But all in all, I had no control problems.

The opening and ending themes were performed by avex trax pop diva Hamasaki Ayumi.  If you selected Japanese vocals, the opening theme would be “Startin’” and the ending theme is “Rainy Day”.

For anime fans, the voice of the main character Soki is by Kusuda Toshiyuki (Shishido Ryou of “Tennis no Oujisama”/”Prince of Tennis”).  Nogami Yukana voice of Akane is known for her a lot of her voice work for video games and anime such as Meilin Lee for “Card Captors Sakura” and Kotoko for “Chobits”.  Kobayashi Sanae, another veteran voice actor is known for a lot of video game and anime work notably Touya Akira of “Hikaru no Go” and recently as Sara Nome for “Macross Zero”.

It took me about sixteen hours to beat “ONIMUSHA: DAWN OF DREAMS” and I have to say that the experience of playing this game was just exciting and fun.

The chapters are long enough that a second DVD was needed.  So, there is indeed a lot of content in this game.

The storyline drew me in because although it’s an action-based story, there is a lot of emotional situations that happen throughout the storyline that you may find yourself shedding a tear or two.

So, suffice to say, the overall storyline combined with the awesome cut scenes and wonderful music throughout, made this game so much fun.

But there are some weaknesses.  There are many puzzles to solve but some chapters I felt they thrown in to give the game a more lengthier experience.  Personally, I didn’t mind the puzzles but at times it just felt repetitive.  Not that bad though.

Another is some glitchiness where you set your second character to either go all out fighitng or wait and cure itself.  It’s very upfront and if you want them to wait and cure themselves, they will. But you would hope that when an enemy is going to attack them, they would at least fight back.  So, you have to keep an eye on your partner especially their health level and that is why, you find yourself fighting and fighting, so you get more money to build up money to buy items at the shop.  And believe me, near the end of the game, you will want to make sure you have a lot of recovery items.

But with that being said, do not let those weaknesses prevent you from trying this game out.  The storyline, graphics, characters and overall game is just too good to pass.  It’s easily the best Onimusha experience on the PS2.  Especially when you get to the final hours of the game.

The ending scenes of “ONIMUSHA: DAWN OF DREAMS” is like watching the “Terminator” movies.  You think you are done and you beat the game, get a lengthy cut-scene and then something else happens and you get a new boss, beat that boss and then something else happens and another boss.   I never knew what to expect and when I thought I was done I wasn’t.

The final battle alone took me a long time to figure out a strategy but the reward of the storyline especially after the ending credits was a plus for all that hard work.  Excellent Capcom!  Please do a sequel!

So, with that being said, the final battle(s) were just incredibly fun, stressful at times, as you had to play over and over to come up with a strategy, long but all in all, left me filling satisfied and enthusiastic for hopefully a sequel.

And by saying that, there are some cool extras thrown in after you beat the game.  After beating the game, you open up a co-op mode and for “Street Fighter” fighting video game fans, there is a special optional clothing code where Soki can dress up as “Ryu”, Tenkai as “Ken”, Ohatsu as “Chun-Li”, Akane as “Cammy” and Roberto as “Guile”.

All in all, an awesome game and has renewed by interest in the series.  I will probably go backwards and try to beat the third Onimusha game next.  But after playing this game, I’ve become a renewed fan with renewed interest in the Onimusha series.  I hope there is a sequel in the works.

Highly recommended!

+  Awesome storyline, cut scenes, gameplay and interesting characters

+  The ability to play with a variety of characters, especially control two

+  New camera and new engine

+ A lot of weapons and items and really cool fighting moves and special attacks

+  Well acted and the choice to choose English dub or Japanese is just awesome!

+  Awesome instrumental music and also great to hear Hamasaki Ayumi singing the opening and ending themes

- A little repetitiveness

- Janky AI at times

- May be a bit frustrating for some

GAME: WORLD HEROES ANTHOLOGY

CREATED BY: SNK PLAYMORE

PUBLISHED BY: SNK PLAYMORE

CONSOLE: PlayStation 2

RATED: TEEN - Alcohol Influence, Animarted Blood, Violence

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

FROM SNK PLAYMORE:

WORLD HEROES ANTHOLOGY is the complete collection (on one disc) of one of SNK’s most popular 2D fighting game series World Heroes. The titles included are: WORLD HEROES, WORLD HEROES 2, WORLD HEROES JET, and WORLD HEROES PERFECT. The collection contains 56 characters using hand-to-hand and weapons based fighting mixed with special super-human abilities enabling each character to perform special attacks.

World Heroes Anthology follows the storyline of Dr. Brown, a scientist, who having perfected a time machine has organized a fighting tournament throughout all of history to see who is the best fighter of all time. True to this plot, many of the fighters are based on actual historical figures.

Features:

• A total of 56 characters across 4 titles.
• Test your strength in a one fall Death Match battle in WORLD HEROES
• Adjust the speed settings in WORLD HEROES 2 and execute the all-new counter throw and repelling moves.
• Enter the WORLD HEROES Tournament of Titans in WORLD HEROES JET
• Activate the “3 button” Special Move only in WORLD HEROES PERFECT.
• Polish your skills in the exclusive Training Mode Added to the PlayStation®2 version.
• Create your own original character with the Color Edit function.

————————————————————————————-

What may possibly the most difficult SNK game that I had to track down, finally I am able to obtain the “WORLD HEROES ANTHOLOGY” for the PlayStation 2.

For some unknown reason both WHA and “FATAL FURY BATTLE ARCHIVES 2″ have come out in April and barely any stores have received them. This includes the Gamestop/EB stores. I don’t know why and it’s rather unfortunate because SNK fans have been awaiting for these games and now, not only are these games not in these stores computer, you either pay high prices for them on eBay or get lucky to find them at a Game Crazy store (connected to Hollywood video).

Nevertheless, I am stoked to have this anthology which contains a total of four complete games: WORLD HEROES, WORLD HEROES 2, WORLD HEROES 2 JET and WORLD HEROES PERFECT

I think for me, one of the reasons why the “WORLD HEROES” has a nostalgic feeling for me is because during the time of the “Street Fighter 2″ craze in the arcades, my local arcade had a Neo Geo arcade system and I would play “WORLD HEROES” because the SF2 lines were just too long.

So, then I started playing the game on the SNES and SEGA GENESIS and pretty much, just enjoying the game and playing it for hours and hours.

A month ago, I took out my SNES and SEGA GENESIS and started playing a game of “WORLD HEROES” and here I am playing it on my PS2.

The first game “WORLD HEROES” featured a total of 8 heroes and you had the three buttons - Guard, Punch and Kick. The game was straight forward and I would use the blue ninja, Hanzo Hattori mainly and would always dread going against Bruce Lee wannabe Kim Dragon. Playing it again, I never realized how cheap throwing was and how much power it took off. I never threw because back then it was standard practice in fighting games that throwing was cheap and it was frowned upon back then. But I realized that in the first game, throwing was really necessary to go against the computer.

The second game “WORLD HEROES 2″ featured the three buttons but depending how your press on the punch or kick button, would determine light punch or strong punch, light kick and strong kick. The game would also feature 6 more heroes for a total of 14.

The third game “WORLD HEROES 2 JET” was rather interesting because unlike the previous two games, it was literally one against three handicap matches. Win two out of three or all three and you move on to the next round. And you gained two more new characters. When playing with this game, they added more moves but I felt that some of the movesets for someone like Hattori were too different than what I was accustomed to and I kept teleporting. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the overall game because it was different in presentation and gameplay.

The fourth game is where the Anthology truly shines, “WORLD HEROES PERFECT”. Now you get more buttons similar to “Street Fighter 2″ with three buttons for punching and three buttons for kicking. Air blocking, cancellations and better animation compared to past games. You get special attacks, ultimate attacks and even more. I swear the boss Zeus is so cheap in this game but the overall challenge was great when you find the strategies to beat him.

The menu features a simple screen with the game logos on top to select from and on the bottom, this is where you can set your video and audio settings and more.

All in all, “WORLD HEROES ANTHOLOGY” and all SNK games are my favorite fighting games.  As much as I play the heck out of the Street Fighter and Street Fighter Alpha-related games, because the sign of the times meant having to wait an hour or two to get to play the game in the arcade, all I had were the SNK games to play with in the arcade.

So, yes, there is a nostalgic factor and why I’m so interested in this fighting game.

The characters are so over the top since the main premise of the story is Professor Brown rounding up all fighters from different eras together to see who is the stronges.  So, you get ninjas, sorcerers, posessed football players, wrestlers and more.

I know that many people have not played “WORLD HEROES” but the game was fun, definitely enjoyable and now people have the opportunity to play four games collected on one disc for $14.99.  You can’t beat that price (especially for those of us who collected the game for older consoles).

Personally, I feel that any SNK owner purchasing all collections to not miss “WORLD HEROES ANTHOLOGY”.  Without it, it’s like a big hole in your SNK fighting game library.

For those who are more in tune with next generation fighters and could care less about old school 2D fighters, then this game is probably not for you.

But for those of you who are nostalgic about this series, definitely worth the purchase.  That is, if you can find it.

GAME: Arcana Heart

CREATED BY: EXAMU/AQI

PUBLISHED BY: ATLUS

CONSOLE: PlayStation 2

RATED: TEEN - Partial Nudity, Sexual Themes, Violence

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

When the announcement of “ARCANA HEART” coming out in Japan last fall, we did a lot of coverage on J!-ENT to promote the game.

The moe-style all-female fighting game that has spawned fighting tournaments in Japan was coming out on the PS2 with both the original arcade version and the patched, fighting balance corrected ARCANA HEART FULL version (FULL also allows for more color schemes for combatants and also the version used in fighting game tournaments in Japan).

As a fighting game junkie, when it came to female fighting games from the import “Sailor Moon S” on the 3DO to my favorite all female fighting game in the 90’s -”Asuka 120%” on the original PlayStation. But here we are more than a decade later with games like “Melty Blood” and “ARCANA HEART” being released in Japan, I never expected this game to come out in the US.

And ATLUS, being the coolest company to publish niche games and distribute in the US, they did it with “ARCANA HEART”. Awesome!

Before, I start let me repeat the ATLUS video game fanboy/fangirl message that many repeat over and over when it comes to ATLUS games: If you see it in the store and have a major interest in the title, buy it because chances are, you’re not going to see it again and if you want it later, you will be paying higher prices on eBay for it.

With that being said, let’s start with the my first glance review.

“ARCANA HEART” is an all-female “moe” (think of the word as a fetish or hard core passion to a certain character or genre/style for characters in a video game, anime or manga - typically I hear it used mostly towards female characters) fighting game.

There are a total of 11 maidens that you start out with such as:

• Heart Aino - Heart believes love can solve problems and a well-rounded, versatile fighter. Good at close combat attacks.
• Tsuzura Aiko - Best friend of Heart and always caring for her safety after she and a friend (Fiona) were swallowed by a dimensional portal. Aiko managed to escape and feels guilty for her friend’s disappearance. Another balanced character and good in close combat attacks.
• Kamui Tokinomiya - The Thousand Year Protector. A girl in a dark school girls outfit with dark boots with her long hair in a ponytail and carries her blad “Tamayorihime”. A character that can be very powerful if you learn her correctly.
• Konoha - Part human and canine. Ninja fighting style, short and fast.
• Lilica Felchenerow - Half human/half demon - All about speed and adaptability.
• Yoriko Yasuzumi - The witch and summoned the demon king ike which she has as a staff. She has a wide variety of attacks but they are not strong.
• Maori Kasuga - Practices rituals and assisting matters in the Elemental World. Great at fighting in a distance and uses her sisters to attack and set up combos.
• Lieselotte Achenbach - Crimson-Eyed Criminal who is cold hearted and wants to eliminate Heart for some reason. Fights with her sister (which is a wooden-marionette type of character missing her legs) Probably the most complicated character to use but once discovered, she can be devastating.
• Mei-Fang - Chinese-made humanoid robot. She is a close-range attack martial arts fighter.
• Kira Daidohji - Arrogant and condescending and rides some elemental blue bubble that can do a lot of damage and attacks.
• Sub-boss: Fiona Mayfield - A friend of Saki who was kidnapped into the Elemental World. Now serves Mildred. Powerful and wields a very strong sword.
• Boss - Mildred Avalon - Head of the Ministry of Elemental Affairs. Has two forms that you must go against. An elemental monster form which you need to use distance attacks. And her archangel/human form which takes a lot of strategy and planning (and losing) to figure out how to beat.

Now what makes this game so different from other fighters is that similar to a fighting game like “Jojo’s Bizarre Adventures” which uses their own “STAND” (let’s say an enhanced secondary character you can employ to help you fight), with “ARCANA HEART” you get to select Arcana’s (think of it as a god or goddess that enable special powers for a character) before you fight.

This is what makes the game unique and also where you plot your strategy because you can have 121 fighter combinations and this adds to the replay value of the game because you can play with one character and play through the storymode and arcade mode using an arcana.

The Arcanas are as follows (please note that I have only used two Arcanas so far in this first glance review):

• Arcana of Love: PARTINIAS - Heart’s Arcana - But allows characters to have long range attacks and close range attacks. But great to use for mid-long range attacks. No depletion on the Super Meter.
• Arcana of Lightning: BHANRI - Saki’s Arcana and gives the power of lightning attacks and clash attacks in the air.
• Arcana of Time: ANUTPADA - Kamui’s Arcana, has power over time to stop clock from counting down
• Arcana of Nature: MORIOMOTO - Konoha’s Arcana, health regeneration
• Arcana of Wind: TEMPESTAS - Lilica’s Arcana and allows quad jumps and three air dashes
• Arcana of Death: DIEU MORT - Yoriko’s Arcana and physical attacks poison opponent and defense is increased.
• Arcana of Earth: OHTSUCHI - Maori’s Arcana. You can’t block attacks but defense is greatly increased.
• Arcana of Shadow: GIER - Lieselotte’s Arcana. Special attacks inflict more damage.
• Arcana of Fire: LANG-GONG - Mei-Fang’s Arcana. Homing in the air gives offensive fire shield.
• Arcana of Water: NIPTRA - Kira’s Arcana - No damage while blocking
• Arcana of Metal: ORICHALKOS - Fiona’s Arcana - Strength and defense increased

So, choosing an Arcana will definitely give you a variety of abilities and thus, each time you play that single character with a different arcana, it’s always something new. Definitely gives this game a lot of replay value.

GAME MODES:

This game has a story mode, arcade mode, versus mode, training mode, gallery mode and options

GRAPHICS:

The game is a 2D fighter and similar to 2D games by SNK like “King of Fighters” (recent KOF games), you will see beautifully painted backgrounds and character designs more like anime-style characters. And before anyone asks, no this game does not have fan service. There are no animated video scenes, story is told via text and drawn still shots.

SOUND:

The game has rock music, to tell you the truth, didn’t pay attention to it. Similar to most fighting Japanese fighting video games, the characters talk in Japan before, during and after the game. But story mode is told via text but I do recall some parts with audio when a character you use meets up with a certain character (noticed audio with Kamui talking to Mike after the battle with Yoriko). You can access the music on the special options screen.

SPECIAL OMAKE:

Going to options, you will notice you can access unlockable content such as gallery, music and other things which I still have yet to unlock. There is animation for special move attacks and arcana attacks which are opened during story mode and arcade mode and if you use them during battle.

CONTROLS:

OK, this is where it depends on the person. Many people like the arcade mode style which is A, B, C and Special buttons. I know people who have imported this game and people who bought this game who are hardcore into fighting games and want to be in that tournament mode and use joysticks. I have two joysticks but so far as of my first glance review, only used the PS2 controller.

Buttons go like this:

SQUARE (A BUTTON) - WEAK

TRIANGLE (B BUTTON) - MEDIUM

CIRCLE (C BUTTON) - STRONG

X BUTTON (S BUTTON) - SPECIAL

L1 - Arcana Force - A, B, C together

R1 - A & B Button

R2 - Throw - A & X Button

A lot of people go through fighting button configurations for this game and thus, you may want to change to suit your fighting style.

Part of the strategy of “ARCANA HEART” is utilizing your arcanas and their special moves. Using Homing, this is very important because you can hit a character straight up into the air and if that happens, hitting the X button (Special) will make your character home into that character and you can use your combo or special attacks for major devastation (unless the opponent is great at countering) and then there is Homing Cancel and Guard Cancel.

THE METER:

Similar to most fighting games that use a meter, you have your health meter on the top. But on the bottom, you have a homing meter which is three oblong shaped markers on the bottom. Using a homing ability, guard cancel or homing cancel will eliminate the three bars. But it automatically refills over time.

The second meter is the Super Meter which is indicated by a number. When the homing meter keeps recharging it builds your super meter which allows you to use a maiden or Arcana super attack. Once it’s used, you subtract from the total.

So far, for my first glance review, I will say right now that I love this game.

But what will kill it for many non-hardcore fighting game fans is the character of Mildred. The boss character. She is as cheap as an SNK boss. Lowering the fighting mode level is not going to really make things easier during the boss battles. So, this is a game that you will be playing a lot to figure out which arcana suits your character and strategies to overcome the enemy.

I play a lot of fighting games and so far I have beaten the game once with Heart and using her own Arcana. (using her long distance attacks for Mildred 1 and then sweep kicks and repeating the long-distance attacks but this time at short distance - using the three light ball attack and laser followup of her Arcana, no Arcana special move). And that was after losing 15 or so times.

I then started playing with Kamui and using her Arcana and then using Heart’s Arcana but after a dozen times, still have not found a way to beat Mildred. I did try to use Lieselotte but wow, she is difficult.

But I really do love fighting games that are not too easy and games where you have to work at it. Each character is not the same and button mashing really gets you nowhere (some may get lucky). This game is all about planning your attacks well. Coming up with strategies and knowing their strength and weakness.

Let alone learning how one of the eleven Arcana that you can choose, can benefit your attack and strategy.

All in all, awesome game and if you are a fighting game fanatic, especially hardcore and own several joysticks, then definitely give “ARCANA HEART” a try and hope to see this game considered for fighting game tournaments in the US.

GAME: THE KING OF FIGHTERS XI

CONSOLE: PS2

DEVELOPER: SNK PLAYMORE

RELEASE DATE: November 13, 2007

ESRB RATING: T for TEEN - Alcohol Reference, Animated Blood, Mild Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, Violence

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

A new KING OF FIGHTERS tournament has been announced. But, not all is what it seems. Fight through the toughest fighters in the world to unlock the mystery behind the stolen Orochi Seal and Yata mirror.

• Total of 11 Teams; 47 characters, include 3 all new characters to the franchise.
• 3 new abilities added: Quick Shift, Saving Shift & Dream Cancel, as well as the new Judgement System and Skill Stocks
• Exclusive Characters: Mai Shiranui, Tung Fu Rue and EX Kyo Kusanagi
• Various Modes of Play: Arcade Play, Team Play, Endless Challenge and Practice
• 14 New Enings and 4 New Stages, exclusive to the console version

The latest KOF game in the series came during the Holidays and for many of us who have enjoyed the fighting game series for years, not only had it slipped under the radar for many fans but it also was difficult to find at a store, making online purchasing the most viable way to obtain it.

As a big fan of the series, my love of the “Fatal Fury”, “Art of Fighting”, “World Heroes” and “Samurai Showdown” began when I was younger. While long lines of people waited to play “Street Fighter 2″ and “Mortal Kombat”, I used my quarters on the Neo Geo machine.

There was something about SNK fighting games that I loved about them. And for “KING OF FIGHTERS”, mainly how it incorporated characters from each game and you had the ultimate fighting game. To make it even more entertaining was how SNK would tweak the games to incorporate skill sets, strikers and most of all, a cheap ass final boss that would take so long to beat and force you to figure out how to beat it.

“THE KING OF FIGHTERS XI” marks the tenth game (the first game was “THE KINGS OF FIGHTERS `94″) and features the second game in the “Tales of Ash” storyline continued from “THE KING OF FIGHTERS 2003″ (note: KOF2002/KOF 2003 were released together on the PS2).

In 2003, the game introduced the “multi-shit” and introduced the characters of Ash Crimson, Shen Woo, Duo on and Malin. And a new cult is now trying to reawaken the Orochi. In this game, Mukai from the 2003 game has stolen the Orochi seal and Ash Crimson, well…you get to learn a bit about his true intentions and makes you wonder if he is either a good character or a villain. Also, “THE KING OF FIGHTERS XI” brings back a few old faces as well as a few new characters.

One of the things you will notice when starting up the game is the look and feel. Visual presentation has this anime-like look that is pretty cool to see. The overall animation, seems to look updated in terms of the sprites but doesn’t stray from the 2D fighting look that we have been used to for so long. In fact, as much as I enjoy the 3D KOF “Maximum Impact” games, it’s hard to stray away from an SNK fighter without that 2D sprite feel and overall look.

The backgrounds use 3D and really nice painted artwork and XI definitely looks pretty cool (I know…graphic whores will scoff at this game looking too old school) compared to previous games and how they look now.

As for game mechanics, now there are abilities such as “Quick Shift”, “Saving Shift” and the “Judgement System” and “Skill Stocks”.

For each battle, you select a team leader and which person would then come into the battle (you set who is first, second and third). Quick Shift allows the player to change to another character during battle. This uses up one skill point.

The next one is called “Saving Shift” which makes the character invulnerable while he/she is being hit and changes to a waiting character (uses two skill points).

As for “Dream Cancel”, this is a combo that can be used by the leader of the team. It’s actually a very damaging combo.

Exclusive to the PS2 version are the following characters: Mai Shiranui, Geese Howard, Tung Fu Rue (Fatal Fury), Robert Garcia and Mr. Big (Art of Fighting), Hotaru Futaba (Garou: Mark of the Wolves) and EX Kyo Kusanagi (KOF: NESTS Saga).

I have read that the PAL version of the game is littered with bugs. For the US (NTSC) version, I have not had any problems with this game at all.

The sub boss Shion and final boss battle with Magaki has been beatable and not too frustrating.

The endings have been pretty cool so far using K Team’s K’ and Fatal Fury Team Terry Bogard and Kim Kaphwan for team but mainly K for single play. The ending for the K’ Team (K’, Maxima and Kula Diamond) have been fun to watch.

But all in all, I really like the overall look, roster update and feel of the latest KOF game.

The game goes for $14.99, so if you are a fighting game fan, especially a KOF/SNK fan, definitely purchase this game. It’s a great update to the series so far and for those who haven’t played a KOF since the 90’s, definitely a good time to jump in.

There are few games that I’ve seen where players have been so passionate about a storyline (which is left to a players interpretation) and people are very hardcore to the point that they will go to the extremes on their own theories and yes, unfortunately you will find the ocassional flame wars and that game is from Atlus titled “Rule of Rose”, a PlayStation 2 game released in 2006.

The game has received attention because of its mature rating and rumors ran rampant that the UK had banned the game fueling video game collectors to hunt down this game and in most cases for Atlus games, possibly very limited print runs.

For me, I have to admit that I knew nothing of this game. Being an Atlus fan, or more or less a “Shin Megami Tensei” fan, I decided to pick up many of the games published by Atlus.

A game that caught my eye was “Rule of Rose” from Japanese company PUNCHLINE and CG house SHIROGUMI INC. PUNCHLINE is known for making the kissing PS2 very Japanese game Chulip but what caught my attention was the survival horror title put on the game and that it was so unlike “Silent Hill”, “Fatal Frame”, “Siren” and “Biohazard”. So, that in itself was good enough for me to make the purchase…. if I could find it.

Fortunately, found a place (out of a dozen places that I checked) that had two used copies…but one was so severely scratched up that I was luck the other was not bad.

WHAT IS THIS GAME ABOUT?:

The game takes place in the 1930’s in England and focuses on a girl named Jennifer whose parents were killed in an accident and had to live in a creepy orphanage with pardon my language, really f’ed up children who seem to hate her.

All she has is a friend, a dog named Brown who helps her as she uncovers clues about the orphanage and the orphans who have their own secret society/club.

The game is like stepping into a time paradox whisked into playing in a orphanage or a zeppelin but once you advance through the game, you realize that there are some cruel things that have gone on in that orphanage or within the vicinity near that orphanage.

GAMEPLAY:

The game has you controlling the character of Jennifer, finding items with the use of your dog Brown. Jennifer can attack with weapons, while the primary uses of the buttons outside of attacking is to give commands to your dog to find, stay or to come back.

Because Jennifer is a weak person, controlling her is not easy. She’s always scared and even swinging a weapon, she can’t look and sometimes its very clumsy.

But you come to accept that this fits Jennifer’s character. You’re dealing with a terrified girl not Lara Croft.

Camera angles sometimes get janky at times but fortunately you can switch the camera with the L1 button.

WHY IS THIS GAME SO CONTROVERSIAL?:

Before I answer this, I know there is another Japanese game in the US out that involves a girl in a janky, haunted area with a dog called “Haunting Ground” but this is totally different.

By saying that, I’m going to talk about a few things that are spoilers, so you may not want to read further.

The game is about a girl named Jennifer but what you are playing is Jennifer, possibly seeing things through her eyes as she was younger and possibly the trauma she has faced as a child.

Now why is this game so controversial? Afterall controversy is “hot coffee” in GTA: San Andreas or the violence in “Manhunt 2″ and similar situations but for “Rule of Rose”, the things that you will see if you did a search on “Rule of Rose” is that this game was controversial because the game possibly dealt with lesbian relationships, abuse, cruelty to animals, child kidnappings, murder, abortion and child molestation.

Topics you pretty much thought you would not see in a video game. In fact, these situations are not shown in the most part but certain things can be implied that these things possibly and I stress “possibly” could have happened. Each of these topics are up to debate and if you read online, these debates are what fuels the interest of this game.

It’s probably one of the reasons why Sony, who published the game in Japan, did not want to publish it in the US. Atlus, who has a record for taking on things not so politically correct, released the game in the US.

I really don’t think you will find a game that is dark in this manner and because the creators of this series want you to make your interpretation of seeing the world through the eyes of a child. The character Jennifer has some twisted and imaginary of things that may or may not have taken place with what may have happened in reality. Thus depending on your perspective, the game could mean different things to different people.

After playing this game, I read many of the theories and there are some people who really did some in-depth investigative work on the years and dates shown through letters and newspaper clippings in the game and really made their case on what may have transpired.

IS THIS GAME A TRUE HORROR GAME?:

In a sense of killer imps, pigs, goats and rats trying to kill you and having to wack an axe, steel pipe or knife on them and see blood everywhere, yeah I guess that can be seen as horror. But will it scare you? Probably not.

But if there is anything I found disturbing aside from the topics discussed above, it’s the character of the young girl, Amanda.

Her smile alone is utterly twisted.

REPLAY VALUE:

The game takes about 8-10 hours to play and once you beat the game, you can try to access a variety of clothes including dressing Jennifer in a gothic lolita outfit (definitely targeting the j-rock visual kei or rococo fans out there) sans the J-rock music of course.

JUDGEMENT:

My oh my… I enjoyed this game because of its thought provoking storyline. It makes you wonder why there was no marketing on this game and how it flew under the radar, possibly because of the dark undertones or traumatic nature of the character may be too real for some.

There was an HK film that I once watched that shows the different kinds of love outside of passionate and intimate love. The creators wanted to show that within the cruel world of these young orphans, there is beauty.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and this is quite evident in “Rule of Rose”. There is a character in “Rule of Rose” who tries to show her love but once you ponder what she does to make her love known, you being to realize how disturbing her love is. Possessive and cruel love.

After beating the game, I was left with… “Oh my… Did this things happen? No way!” and online you will find those who say…”oh, hell yeah that happened” to those who feel “I don’t think that happened”. Hours after beating the game, I’m still surprised by it all (btw, there are two endings to this game).

As for the gameplay, at first I found playing Jennifer and such a scared character, I was put off by what I felt was janky controls but as the game continued, I realized… the controls work, especially for the character of Jennifer. This girl has gone through too much shit in her young life and you are mean to see what this girl has been through and how she felt.

If there was one thing I didn’t like, I found “Rule of Rose” a game that featured quite a bit of backtracking. I hate backtracking but fortunately, if you use Brown correctly, that shouldn’t be a problem. Fortunately, you can find areas where you can save and there are more than enough ways to rebuild health for your character and for the dog after being injured.

All in all, I will say right now that this game is not for everyone. I actually thought I was going to play something close to “Silent Hill 1″ or something similar to survival horror games that I’ve played but in the end, you get a little bit of what those other games offer but something incredibly different is when the enemy are not zombies (although they are on here) but the enemies are the people who are meant to take care of kids and the children themselves.

I felt that the way the storyline was made to leave it to the player’s interpretation is its major strength because its evident, people have an opinion of the situations that happen in this game.

Definitely check this game out if you are up to it and most of all, if you can find it.

“A combination of what you enjoy from Japanese RPG’s, GUST’s alchemy for weapon and armor building and Japanese dating simulation and to add the Japanese drama of three girls liking one guy. Definitely a Japanese RPG that impressed me from beginning to end. Highly recommended!”

GAME TITLE: Ar Tonelico - Melody of Elemia (aka Ar tonelico Sekai no Owari de Utai Tsuzukeru Shōjo)

DEVELOPED BY GUST / DISTRIBUTED BY NIS AMERICA

CONSOLE: PS2

ESRB RATING: T for Teen

It has been a long while since I felt captivated by an RPG (Role Playing Game). With so much focused on next gen graphics and who will make what on which console, I could care less. For me, it’s all about game play and I have been looking towards whatever was coming out from NIS America and Atlus because I’ve been able to find and play quite a few gems from these companies.

For “Ar Tonelico”, I know that many have felt that GUST Incorporated and Banpresto have made a very cool game and to tell you the truth, I’ve never watched the anime, read the graphic novels. I knew nothing but the fact that there was an expensive boxed game sitting on the shelf at my local Gamestop that was evoking the “buy me” subliminal message with that cool, artistic cover and that it comes with a 52-page hardcover artbook and more.

But I wanted to play this PS2 game and quench the RPG doldrum I have had of late. Wanting a story that I can enjoy and gameplay I can love, it’s safe to say that I agree with those who have had found something special with “Ar Tonelico”. 42 hours put into the game and completing it, I can safely say that I enjoyed it a lot!

What is this game about?

The game centers around a headstrong Knight of Elemia named Lyner Barsett. Viruses are attacking his home of Platina and to rid of them, he is sent on a mission to search for the hymn crystal.

Similar to other Japanese RPG’s, you go to other villages/places and meet other people who join you on your mission. You have Jack, the wanderer with an artificial arm with a machine gun in place. Krusche, a grathmeld engineer who utilizes a chain saw as a weapon and Radolf, the warrior priest and many others you will meet throughout the game.

But the characters you will be communicating with the most are the three Reyvateils.

Along the way you meet several female Reyvateil’s (human or androids that have the power of “song magic” - think white mage and black mage in one. The power to heal and the power to be destructive) who start to develop a crush towards Lyner.

You meet Aurica, a human Reyvateil who is shy, a loner and always sad. Can Lyner find out why she is that way and help her become a brave and happy Reyvateil?

Then there is Misha, a pure blood Reyvateil who for some reason is as old as Lyner but has the body of a young girl. Why is that and why does she seem to know Lyner really well?

And then there is Shurelia. A Reyvateil who is the true warrior of Platina. What happens when the warrior who knows only of duty, wants to become like Misha and Aurica and starts to develop emotions?

Can Lyner help these three? And what Japanese RPG (that is like an anime) is complete, without the love triangle… or in this case love square?

It’s obvious that “Ar Tonelico” has an interesting storyline but what separates this game from other RPG’s is that it mixes so many types of video game genres popular in Japan to this RPG.

Grathmelding - Grathmelding is like alchemy. Throughout the game you find recipe cards which allow you to obtain the things needed to make a weapon, equipment or accessory through battles and searching a whole area thoroughly. Also, depending on what grade the items are in, depends on how powerful your weapon, armor, accessory will be. Don’t be surprised if you start spending hours trying to make all your items S-Grade.

The Dating Simulator (DIVING) - The female Reyvateils (Misha, Aurica and Shurelia) have a cosmophere which you can learn about their emotions which are their own persona. Each Reyvateil has different levels of emotions which you can see different versions of Aurica, Misha and Shurelia in forms such as “Demon Misha” (negative emotions), “Shinobi Misha” (overprotective Misha), “Aurica in bathrobe” (seductive Aurica who doesn’t want to be left alone), etc.

To visit the cosmophere, you will need to dive but to dive, you will need to collect topics by finding them in different areas or shops, grathmelding. In other words, finding ways to develop conversation and communication for the person to open up to you emotionally.

The more topics you collect, the more discussions and by that, it allows you further progress in learning more about the person and diving into their cosmophere. By completing a cosmophere, you obtain more powerful star magic and new costumes for your Reyvateil.

What is wonderful about the cosmophere is that more storylines are introduced outside of the RPG main story and it works very well. It actually enhances the enjoyability of “Ar Tonelico”.

Sexual Innuendo - As you get to know each Reyvateil, you can install on them. Installing is equipping their star magic with more destructive components. The way it’s presented in dialogue is like two virgins going at it for the first time. Example: “I only want to do it with you”, “I heard it hurts for the first time”, “Install right above my breasts”… You get the picture.

The storyline of “Ar Tonelico” is awesome and is broken into three phases. What’s surprising is after you beat the second stage, you can end it as is and feel you have beaten the game. But depending on your answer, answer right and you get the third phase (quite long too).

This is where things get a bit interesting is because you meet so many interesting characters, by entering Misha and Aurica’s cosmophere and installing them, you start wanting to have your character be with one of the girls. That is until the third phase and Shurelia is now added to the mix.

Without spoiling the main story and the relationship storyline, I will say that in the end, Lyner will need to choose which girl to be with and depending on what you select, you get a different ending. What makes it difficult is that for each phase, you invest so much time developing that bond with each Reyvateil. But you can tell that as each woman takes a liking to you, like any anime storyline like this, you know there has to be a conclusion.

TOO EASY?: This is where the game may take a hit from RPG fans. The battles are too easy. Because the Reyvateil’s are so destructive and powerful in healing, the game is not very challenging (until the final boss). Most RPG gamers build on their money to purchase potions (medicine) and the medicine alone gives you a lot of health back. Battles are necessary to build DP (points needed in cosmophere mode), obtaining items or money. I literally spent hours just getting enough DP and maxing out revive potions and medicine.

IS IT GOOD FOR BUSY PEOPLE? This game is for the fact that it’s easy, save areas are common and you are literally spending more time grathmelding or fighting battles to obtain more money for the cosmophere or stocking up on accesories.

REPLAY VALUE? If you are a completist, there are recipes and magic that you may want to obtain to get 100%. There is also card collecting which give you special items. And with those cards costing over a million in money. You could be fighting for a long time or grathmelding and selling items to obtain those.

If you enjoy anime, you will enjoy “Ar Tonelico”. Despite being 2D and not 3D, I could care less. It’s a very charming game that incorporates cool cut scenes and it may not be technologically spiffy but I enjoyed the execution. The storyline is the strongest point of this game and the music is really different compared to other Japanese RPG’s. It had that “Macross Plus” music vibe and speaking of Macross, I dig the music being used as weapon theme.

As for voice acting, it’s OK on both ends. The women sound great but the men… sometimes you can’t tell who’s who talking. But nevertheless, I’m stoked they gave gamers the chance to select English or Japanese voice acting. There is quite a bit of dialogue in the game but most are done during cut scenes and cosmophere scenes.

NEGATIVE FACTOR: Graphic hounds will diss the graphics of being old school. Those wanting difficult battles will hate how easy the game is.

Because I enjoy Japanese video gaming, the combination of the RPG experience, enjoyable storyline with multiple enjoyable storylines because of the cosmophere for Aurica, Misha and Shuleria is just an added bonus. Because the storyline was so exciting, I didn’t mind that the game was easy. I also found the grathmelding to be fun and just trying to create powerful weapons and armor was actually very fun.

But going back to the storyline, you become emotionally invested somewhat. Mainly because you would like to see Lyner get with one of the girls. It’s so unique to have these different storylines but the game manages to blend them well.

My judgement is to highly recommend this game. Because the game is now delisted, I think like some Atlus and NIS America games, this is one special Japanese RPG that may be one of the rare ones to find and wouldn’t be surprised if the price goes up. So, if you see it on your store shelf… Buy it!

NOTE: “Ar Tonelico 2″ was announced and a Website is up. Can’t wait for the next game!