Before I got exposed to Busou Shinki, I was hard-pressed to see what some people find moe about mecha musume. The concept of humanoid female robots with equipment that some armies only dream of using was lost to me. Now I'm pretty much all about it. Given, I'm no total authority in MMS, but I know more than enough to carry on a decent conversation with a like-minded individual.
As the name implies, Busou Shinki Battle Masters Mk2 serves as a revamp of the first game as well as a sequel. If you have existing BSBM data, you can choose to start from the very beginning or continue from the point where you become the F1 Champion. For the latter, another major event that tops even the Applet Crisis Arc will occur, and the Busou Shinki battling world will be forever changed.
Christmas came rather early. The originally covered-up Tsugaru got a nice body overhaul, an appearance in the game, and pipes courtesy of the famous tsundere queen, Rie Kugimiya.
...then Takahisa Ookuni appears. As CEO of Prometheus Electronics, he takes it upon himself to repair the tarnished image of Shinki battling, and enlists your help as F1 champion in making his efforts bear fruit. As part of the agenda, he proposes that a new battling level be added to reinvigorate the platform: The F0 class. With it, more tournaments and qualifiers are established. Everything seems to be going well, but another bomb goes off during the reopening of the Game Center. Amidst the confusion, you come across a mysterious Shinki that isn't among the recognized models...
Youko Hikasa lends her voice to the unbelieveably stubborn bike shinki Jillrivers. Sadly, due to some weird crap with the kanji memory, you can't give her the name of a certain left-handed, scaredy-cat bassist...
BSBM2 sees the addition of 5 shinki to compliment the original 10 from the first game: Eukrante, Ianeira, Tsugaru, Estreel and Jillrivers. New equipment levels and events have also been implemented to add more challenge an spice to the game. Though Shinki events and stat boosts stop at Love Level 30, the level cap can go all the way up to 255. Now you can show once and for all which Shinki you actually use and love the most.
Getting to 255 was no picnic, but the satisfaction of getting Harumi to that point was priceless... the date watermark was the actual point in which it was accomplished.
The battle system sees the biggest overhaul, with the movement and weapon mechanics being fine-tuned for more dynamic gameplay. For one, multi-directional dashing is no longer a thumb-busting affair. Once you initiate it, you can turn without losing stride until your BST meter is empty. Charge-based weapons now have a hold limit, forcing you to time your attacks wisely. A down strike move has also been added, allowing players to inflict (minuscule) extra damage on a felled opponent. As much as I'd like to elaborate on the rest, going ito further detail will practically turn this review into a full-blown walkthrough, so that's about it for now...
Many players I know avoid doing VS matches in this area like the plague. It's cramped and easy to get lost/stuck in.
Your character's identity is pretty much fixed in the story scenes, but you can establish a different persona for Ad-Hoc matches by creating a Friend Card. Edit options range from a master silhouette, any titles that you unlocked in game, and then the fun part: A little dialogue where you and your shinki can either formally introduce yourselves, taunt opponents, or do a quick manzai-style comedy act. Friend Cards you've obtained from Ad-Hoc battles can be fought standalone as "AI ghost" opponents in the Game Center, and these often give better EXP than the average in-game NPC. As an added bonus, this also gives you the opportunity to unlock certain pieces of equipment or Rail Actions that you haven't already gained.
If you're like me and there's no one in your immediate area who plays this game, A PS3 (Only the 2nd and 3rd models have Wi-Fi, so the first release model PS3 is a no-go) , a Japanese PSN account and a halfway decent internet connection can fix that. The free "Ad-Hoc Party" application is a great go-between for such activities. Of course, there's the small matter of looking for rooms that cater to the game, and you can only find a few people playing it at certain hours...
Though eternally stuck at "hopless best friend slash comic relief" status, Jinpei shows a lot of spirit in certain Shinki Love events... I used to think of him as a pest in the first game, but not anymore...
Though it doesn't reinvent the wheel, BSBM2 successfully fixed the inconsistencies of the first game while adding new features that actually work. Of course, Konami being it's usual self, this game has a crapload of DLC which can and will make your wallet (not to mention your 4GB Memory stick) cry. Given, they're still optional, but you'll miss out on Friend Card AI matches if your opponent was using DLC shinki/equipment.
Overall, a must-try for any self-respecting fan of mecha musume, or if applicable, the anime that just recently aired.
No comments:
Post a Comment