[PC] Dead Or School

Though I hardly play them, I have nothing against indie games. A lot of indie developers bring out some innovative titles and reintroduces tried-and-true mechanics with a twist to the platform. Many established creators go indie because the big-name companies that once backed them lost their vision due to corner-cutting and corporate greed.

However, I'm oftentimes reluctant to offer my support to such entities in one form or another. Crowdfunding campaigns are often a gamble since there have been a sizable number of cases where the pitched game never comes to be, or ends up being total garbage.

The only indie game that I ended up totally liking is this one: Dead Or School. Created by a studio called Nanafushi which is staffed by only three people, it combines hack-and-slash plus labyrinth exploration under a sub-genre dubbed "Metroidvania", combining mechanics of the two classics used in the portmanteau. The PC version was released last year, and there will be a PS4 and Switch port a month or so from now.

[VITA] Bullet Girls

To the Western world, the Vita was deemed a failure, being unable to generate enough sales compared to its predecessor. In my eyes though, it's the best portable system I've ever had. Got it since day one and it has served me well for years. Plus many of the (Japan-made) games are just my type.

Bullet Girls happens to be one of them. In a nutshell, it's kind of like a mix of Senran Kagura and the anime Sabagebu! The concept of Japanese high school girls playing with guns is nothing new, but bullets from the weapons here hurt about as much as a flick to the forehead. The only real casualties are the clothes they are wearing.

[VITA] Miracle Girls Festival

To be perfectly honest, I was growing totally weary of the Project Diva series. The earlier games up until F were fun even with those troll songs that were nigh-impossible to clear without using assist items, and they helped me a lot with getting over motion sickness. However, F 2nd took the trolling to a new level, requiring all songs to be cleared to plat, including the deadly ones on Extreme. That was the last straw that broke the alpaca's back. Dropped it and never played X.

Even so, I still wanted something to play that had elements that are completely similar or even just reminiscent of that system. Miracle Girls Festival was just what the doctor ordered: 100% Project Diva style, No troll songs, and has almost all of my favorite characters in one moelicious little package.

[VITA] ぎゃる☆がん だぶるぴーす

Gal*Gun Double Peace is the sequel to a rather groundbreaking rail shooter game initially released on the Xbox 360 in 2011 by Alchemist & Inti Creates. Instead of shoot-to-kill with firearms, the main character in Gal*Gun uses his "lady-killer pheromone-infused gaze" to incapacitate lovestruck girls who chase after him, an aftereffect of a cupid(in-training)'s epic failure.

The 360 version later drew flak from fans because of a mandatory update that incorporated what's called "PPP" or Panties Protection Patch, where pantyshots were covered by fixed camera angles, dark filters and starch-infused skirts. Bad move considering that the essence of this game is softcore fanservice. The game was ported to the PS3 sans that dastardly patch a year later, and was well-received.

Now we come to this sequel, released for both the PS4 & Vita by the same outfits plus Experience, Inc. For clarity's sake, my review will be for the Vita version only.

[PS3] けいじの挑戦：バイオ４の最高難易度をクリアする！

While I'm mostly into niche games, I'm not beyond trying out what the typical folks hail as "the best there is". Of course, after playing them, I often end up totally disagreeing with the pedestal sentiments.

Case in point is Biohazard 4. It drew praise for being a pioneer of several innovative gaming concepts that inevitably spawned countless imitators. While I agree that the atmosphere works, a lot of the gameplay elements were whacked.

Got the game via PSN download about two years ago during a price-down promo to commemorate the launch of Biohazard 6.

Having no experience with the earlier titles (since I'm not too fond of the clunky reverse and camera-dependent control scheme), this was nonetheless my first official foray into the Biohazard world. Note that this is also the first Biohazard game to not feature any zombies, as the enemies here are European villagers possessed by a bio-engineered parasite and are working under a cult. Again, the pioneering effort was strong with this one, and it showed a lot of promise.

Needless to say, things didn't go as well as I'd hoped.

[PS3] アースディフェンスフォース インセクトアルマゲドン

Back in the PS2 era I fell in love with a fun little TPS developed by the then-fledgeling outfit Sandlot and brought out by D3 Publisher as a part of their "Simple Series" line: The Chikyuu Boeigun or Earth Defense Force. My copy eventually wore out from overuse (and my first PS2 soon followed), and I promised myself that should there ever be a next-gen incarnation of the game, I'd try it out first thing... but with the PS3 being what it is, there's always the possibility of only being able to earn certain things by playing online; a trend that I'm slowly losing patience over, being more a solo player by nature.

I later found a copy of Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon in a used game shop for steal-grade cheap. Though it's still a D3 Publisher title, the development was not done by Sandlot, but by a western outfit called Vicious Cycle. I had my misgivings, but since it doesn't seem to be an online-dependent title, I gave it a shot.

[その他] 彼女達が泣いている！

One uncommon random post to cap off the month, since Blogger is finally becoming (somewhat) useable again.

Aside from KanColle (which I played for a bit but left in the dust due to my little 360 renaissance trip), another fun little game making waves in Japan is a social smartphone app called ガールフレンド(仮) (Girlfriend Beta). Since I'm a grizzled garakei user, I haven't tried it personally, but it's just hard not to hear about it... this little whack is all over Nico, 2ch, and just about every other place in the net where my fellow ota brethren often convene.

It all started with a promo commercial for the game which left people all "Zu-kyuun" over a baby-faced foreign exchange student from France: Chloe Lemaire, voiced by the inimitable Sakura Tange.

(^q^)くおえうえーーーるえうおおおですよ！

She proved to be quite popular in the game. So popular that the other girls seemed to have little to no users pursuing them, and the official site later posted this appeal image:

"Don't just dote on Chloe-chan, listen to our voices too! *bawl*"

I loled. If I ever do decide to get a smartphone and this is still available, might just give it a whirl for more lulz.

[Xbox 360] オトメディウスG+X=W実績百パ~!

2013 was a bleak year for the 360 when it came to interesting Japanese-made exclusives. With MAGES/5pb jumping ship by making PS3/Vita ports of their newer games and Cave going a bit mellow (the last few releases were merely compilations and remakes of their established shooter hits), times like these called for the proverbial barrel-bottom scraping.

Contrary to the context however, what you find at the bottom isn't necessarily bad.

I was able to single out a couple of shoot-em-up franchises that seemed worth my while: Cave's Deathsmiles and Konami's Otomedius series. While I'm no stranger to the genre (My childhood was spent trying in vain to clear Gradius, Star Soldier and Summer Carnival '92 Recca), I'm not too spectacular at it either. These titles were chosen for the appealing character designs, and of course, for being the most accommodating towards non-shooter fanatics like myself.

The main focus at the moment though is Otomedius G (Gorgeous) and X (Excellent), both of which hit the big 100% in this month alone.

[Xbox 360] ストパン白銀の翼秘密実績リスト

After completing Neptune ReBirth1, I was at a loss as to what I should play next.  It's back to the usual cycle of limbo where I sort my backlogs and half-tried stuff to find the next game I'll be losing time (and sleep) over.

Since the ol' box (360) has been gathering a bit of dust (both from minimal use and the stuff I stir up moving things around), I decided to give it a bit of love. Strike Witches: Hakugin No Tsubasa became my main focus on account of having watched the movie again only recently.

During one round of gameplay I popped a secret achievement from a randomly assembled team in arcade mode, I then took it upon myself to find the rest. There were 8 in all, requiring specific character combinations that were only possible there.

[Xbox360] ファントムブレイカー:BG 全キャラカンスト、そして実績 100%!!!

Though I'm not too hung up on Trophies and Achievements anymore, there was one game that I at least wanted to fully complete for the 360, none other than Phantom Breaker Battlegrounds.

Thanks to a rare free Gold Weekend, I was able to get the ones for Online Co-op and Vs early on. Since then a solitary Achievement has totally eluded me for the longest time.

[SS] 伝説の糞ゲー紹介01：デスクリムゾン

Before getting quite a number of Rail Shooters for the PS3, I mainly just do it in the arcades and some older systems (until the age of LCD TV came around which essentially made the old light guns useless). My aim isn't really good enough to pass for those FPS games (who have a ton of exploit-users in online matches), so these will have to do.

Among those I've played, the most memorable one that comes to mind (though not in the positive sense) was Death Crimson. Created for the Sega Saturn in 1996 by a company called Ecole Software, this rail shooter had the distinction of being the best of the worst;. so much so that it earned a place among 2chan users as one of those considered "Kusoge of Lore" 

 Seeing that there aren't that many people outside of Japan who know it (let alone understand it) well enough to make a detailed analysis, I'm taking upon myself to do just that.

Beware, this is gonna be quite long. People who aren't really interested in Japanese Kusoge history need not apply.

[VITA] ルミネス エレクトロニック シンフォニー

Aside from galges and RPGs, I also fancy diving into puzzle games from time to time. Tetris was an enduring companion from my elementary school days and later in life I fell in love with another block-dropper going by the name of Lumines.

After getting a Vita, Lumines Electronic Symphony became a part of my initial to-buy list... or at least it was until I saw that Ubisoft handled the publishing (went through quite a few poorly-made games by said outfit). The critics sang praises for it being impressive from a gameplay and graphical standpoint, but few of them even noted that the key part of the game is also the music.

The first Lumines for the PSP had a unique sonic vibe to it that made every screen a joy to play despite it's simple presentation. I eventually abstained from getting Electronic Symphony upon finding out that the Daft Punk project didn't go through and that it did not feature even a single track by Takayuki Nakamura.

Got to try the download version for free later on via PS Plus. In my opinion, it's a mixed bag. I appreciated it as a fan of the franchise but there were a lot of things in the game that left much to be desired.

[その他] ういす！ また生きとるやで！ （その２だったっけ？）

Here we are again with another sign of life post.

With all the funky stuff that life just throws everyday, it's always a problem of motivation. When I'm done with all the necessary evils, I usually just hit up Nico to watch some game commentary vids, drown myself in gaming and occasionally hassle a certain someone else's blog.

I started reviewing for the sake of my self-satisfaction, though nowadays the satisfaction doesn't come up. Even so, I'm not abandoning my solitary spot on the web just because of that pathetic excuse. This may be far from be my usual fare, but for the sake of finally getting another update in, I'm gonna post a little "gaming progress report" of my own.

[Xbox360/XBLA] ファントムブレイカー：バトルグラウンド

 As I mentioned before, halfway decent Japanese games unique to the 360 are few and verrrrry far between. Aside from Love Tore, Otomedius and Onechanbara Z (the third of which will soon have a PS3 port this coming June), I'm at a loss as to what game to get that isn't a Cave Shooter or a galge.

MAGES/5pb recently released Phantom Breaker Battlegrounds for the XBLA, and being a fan of side-scrolling beat-em-ups, I jumped into it right away.The 16-bit vibe (though MAGES insists that it's supposed to be a homage to 8-bit for some reason), cute characters and funky combat system (which mirrors it's 2D fighting game predecessor) made it particularly appealing.

[PSP] 武装神姫 Battle Masters Mk.2

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.

[Xbox 360] 黒歴史の始まり？

So I've finally managed to put down Neptune V for the time being...

My first agenda is getting the now hopelessly outdated "My Precious" section up to speed. After all, it won't be exclusively about handhelds anymore...

Anyway, one of the systems I never thought I'd get to own is the Xbox 360, known amongst the paltry Japanese folks who have them as "hako" (whether the context is affecionate or sarcastic is anyone's guess). It's king in the good ol' US of A despite being backwards in so many different aspects, but it's reception is mixed elsewhere.

Naturally, in keeping with my usual theme, this system is NTSC-J, pure Japan region. It wasn't hard to obtain given the dismal sales numbers in said area and most importantly, The price I got it for was a practical steal.

So if you care enough to read about the history, hit the break link. Otherwise, just feel free to drool over Kobato.

楽園よ！ 私は帰てきたーーっ！！

I've neglected this place for more than a year.

Life has just been life as usual, plus I usually don't find the time nor motivation to compose something good.

First off, there's the possibility of the entries being significantly altered, since I have more systems now than I can shake a pair of chopsticks at. Full scale reviews are no longer feasible given my current circumstances, but I'll do my best to put something out.

Anyway, just for personal convienice, a list of the games I've either finished, spent a good chunk of time on, or still currently playing. Depending on how I can pull myself away from one, I might do a spotlight thing on any of these.

[PS3] 超次元ゲイムネプテューヌMk2

 Though it seems like a fruitless pursuit (and mainly for my own personal satisfaction anyway), the main reason I started doing reviews of the games I've played (and totally got smitten with) is because I read those done by the gaming media on a regular basis, and needless to say, I'm not impressed. They'd give low scores to a game just because they couldn't understand what it's really all about.

Case in point is Chou Jigen Game Neptune. It got mainly lackluster reviews from the so-called "pros" who have little to no experience with otaku culture, merely dismissing it as "a sexist hack from the land of the rising sun". That statement totally reeks of not being able to appreciate moe, and that irks me to no end. Take your BS degree and shove it if you don't have a clue on what you're dealing with, please.

After going through the game twice (both the Japanese and NA versions) , I impatiently awaited the release of the sequel, Chou Jigen Game Neptune Mk2. The original game featured personifications of home consoles (with several developers in tow) and was ridden with gaming history references, fanservice and dungeon crawling. Mk2 doesn't necessarily pick up from where it's predecessor left off (blame the inflexible ending for that one), but features a whole new universe based on the prior theme, an improved combat system, and best of all, the introduction of the original casts' "younger sisters" all of whom are personifications of contemporary handheld consoles. This also answers the need for otaku fans who get off on siscon moe (and I happen to be one of them, by the way).

[PS3] 超次元ゲイムネプテューヌ/ハイパーディメンション・ネプチュニア

Uh huh.

Once again I need to show a periodical sign of life, and figured that the best way to do that is to tie it in to the main reason for the long lull: I've been playing Chou Jigen Game Neptune to death for quite a while now, since I wanted to get it out of the way before Mk2 gets released on the 18th.

After finishing it to 100% perfection, a crazy thought coursed through my head: What if I also play through the NA version (known as Hyperdimension Neptunia) to get two sets of full trophies for the same game? I bought it mainly for the artbook and haven't touched it until recently.

[PS3] PS3 Getだぜ!!

 I haven't really let on, but I got myself a PS3 a few months ago. After covering for 3 AWOL guys in my part-time job, I earned a pretty fat payoff, so figured that I might as well splurge it on something that I'd actually love. Initially, I planned to hold off on getting one until A.) Zettai Zetsumei Toshi 4 gets pulled out of cancellation, or B.) My birthday comes.

The two reasons got overruled because I already have a handful of games for it that I'm very much raring to play.