I've been wanting to do this for a while. Just for fun, I reviewed all the character theme songs for the Senran Kagura series and ranked them. Here are the results:
I think the hardest character themes for me to rank was Yagyū, Hikage, and Haruka as their character themes have been consistently good throughout the series. I didn't like a majority of the songs from Bon Appétit, but added it in part of the ranking as there were a few songs I thought was okay and even fewer that I thought were better than some of the main series songs. Here are some of my favorite songs from the series:
Crimson Shadows Opening (Burst):
Yomi's Theme (Burst):
Homura's Theme (Shinovi Versus)
Murasaki's Theme (Shinovi Versus):
Mirai's Theme (Deep Crimson):
Homura's Theme (Deep Crimson):
Yomi's Theme (Estival Versus):
And as a bonus, here's the 2nd Ending from the animé;; it's the only good thing to come out of it.
I was able to finish my 3rd remix for the year yesterday and plan to work on some original work for a while before returning to my remix projects. I'm in particularly more pain today than I have been in the past week. I'm not sure what's causing it, but I'm doing my best to bear the pain right now. Right now my lower back hurts with the pain leading down behind my back right thigh, my upper back hurts from possibly doing the stretches I've been performing daily to ease the pain in my lower back, my stomach had an over active acid reaction from eating a little bit of sauce that had spicy stuff put into it which caused some air and discomfort, and I'm feeling fatigued possibly from not sleeping well the past few weeks because I keep waking up in the middle of the night multiple times. I can't tell if I'm getting better or worse, but I'll finally admit that I feel miserable now.
Anyways, I finished Senran Kagura Estival Versus' main campaign on PS Vita on Saturday night and wanted to talk about it a little. I was a little bit disappointed with the gameplay, but was impressed by the overall experience and presentation. I talked a little about Senran Kagura 2 Deep Crimson on 3DS about 2 posts ago and mentioned my thoughts on it being dark and serious when it ended up being sort of silly. I had a similar preconception about Estival Versus being happy, colorful and light-hearted. I've teared up quite a few times playing the series and even cried a little reading the story of Hikage's past in SK Burst, but never have I cried so much playing a videogame than I have playing Senran Kagura: Estival Versus.
A departure from the usual action-based openings, the girls of Senran Kagura are dressed in bikinis and dancing on the beach. So how is it that a game, judging from its opening, that's so happy, humor-driven, and sexy cause me to break down, not once or twice, but multiple times throughout the game? Behind the upbeat personality and colorful environments is a story that hit me at a personal level emotionally and empathetically. You'll know when I get around to them.
Story
The game revolves around the 4 groups of young female ninjas; from Hanzō Academy, Gessen Girls' Academy, Hebijo Clandestine Girls' Academy, and Homura's Crimson Squad; who are sucked into another world and are seemingly forced to participate in a contest called the "Shinobi Bon Dance in Kagura Millennium Festival" held by Asuka's grandmother, Sayuri. Sayuri explains that the team who wins the festival will "open the path to Kagura". "Kagura" is a title claimed only by the highest ranking ninjas that fight Yōma, dark evil creatures capable of destroying the world. The four teams and the Overseers of the Festival all compete in combat while smashing opposing team's platforms. None of the girls really wanted to participate in the contest and didn't understand it. It is revealed early on that ninjas who have died in the past appear during this festival and are given help in passing onto the next life. The girls quickly realize this situation as they "sense" someone they love that had passed away nearby. As the story progresses, the girls come to terms with those who have passed while revealing the true nature of the festival and its dire objective.
A large portion of Estival Versus' story talks about those who have lost loved ones as a shinobi and how each of those characters deal with grief, loss, and acceptance. It's an underlying theme in all the Senran Kagura games that death is an everyday encounter with their lives. There isn't a clear conflict or threat that's present in the game like in past iterations. But the game still covers a very serious story while still maintaining a fun and humorous theme. I'm a bit disappointed that it didn't escalate into a huge boss fight at the end of the story, but I was decently satisfied.
[Hanzō Academy]
So Hanzō Academy actually take a backseat in this game (more so than Shinovi Versus) as their involvement with the story has little impact with the rest of the cast.
[Gessen Girls' Academy]
It's obvious that they're going to talk about Kurokage as the majority of the story in Shinovi Versus revolves around him. It was a touching moment when the girls finally find him. When it was time for him to leave as he had no regrets seeing how his adoptive granddaughters have all grown to be strong and able, he spoke to each of them individually and each of them put on a brave, happy face to see him off. It was heart-breaking because you have to see each of them breakdown as they finally say their goodbyes.
[Hebijo Clandestine Girls' Academy]
The most important characters in the story for Estival Versus would have to be Ryōbi, Ryōna, and Miyabi as they have lost someone close to them sooner than they should have. I'll explain it more in detail in their individual character descriptions.
[Homura Crimson Squad]
Homura and gang are the comic relief in the story. As the crew lament on their daily struggles to survive through part-time jobs and scrapping for food, they found the island to be abundant in consumable seafood and free from hiding as they enjoy the hot, summer-like sand on the beach. They later on latch onto the dream of being Kagura so that they would no longer be hunted as renegade shinobi and free from poverty where they can eat all the meat they want and take an actual bath rather than washing in the river.
[Overseers of the Festival]
The three shrine maidens seemingly follow Sayuri's commands but is later revealed to have their own agenda to fulfill. As young shrine maidens, they possessed unnaturally strong combat abilities and are barred from speaking to anyone outside of their village. They met another young girl who seemed to possess similar abilities in speed, power, and perception. She described herself being like a shinobi but isn't one. She warns the three girls that everyone needs to evacuate the village as a Yōma would attack it the next day. But the girls were reluctant to tell the elders as it would have meant breaking the rule on not speaking to anyone outside the village. The girls didn't want to believe that a yōma was real. They couldn't help wondering and left the village at night to see for themselves only to find that the girl they met was fighting the Yōma by herself. When they tried to help, the Yōma had swallowed her whole and in the next moment the Yōma exploded. The girl was nowhere to be found and the three young shrine maidens have wanted to apologize and thank the girl ever since and looked for her during the festival. They couldn't find her which led to the conclusion that she never died. The girl's voice then spoke to them and said that if they ever want to meet her again, become a Kagura.
[Overall]
So a majority of the game talks about the individual stories of each character rather than the overall plot, but quickly reveals what was going on near the end. There exists parallel worlds and the beach that they're on belonged to one such world with nothing left except that little island. All life, including the parallel world's versions of the girls, were all wiped out and killed by a gigantic Yōma revealed by Sayuri who points at the sky with a writhing black monster hovering high above them. Sayuri wanted to teach them to let go of their emotions and to do what they need to as shinobi and become a Kagura to fight the Yōma to prevent it from destroying other worlds. Each and every one of the girls refused to let go of their emotions as they whole-heartedly believed that their love and trust with their friends and comrades enables them to follow their convictions and be strong enough to defeat anything in their path. There is no clear winner of the Festival, so they have to start the contest over again. And that was the ending. I felt a bit cheated with that sort of ending as I was expecting a grand boss fight with the huge Yōma in the sky with ALL the girls fighting it at the same time. Still, I was quite satisfied with the main story in what they provided.
Gameplay/Combat
So the gameplay has changed again, keeping the franchise fresh as every iteration plays a little differently from one another. I'm a little disappointed with the gameplay, but still enjoyed it. Here are critical changes and additions to the game:
-Animation canceling isn't as prominent in combat
-Characters can wall run up and sideways on walls
-You can launch yourself at an enemy while wall running
-Perfect guard: blocking right when you're about to be hit stuns enemies for a second
-Tag-team aerials allows you to attack enemies in the air with a partner
-Creative finishers: defeating enemies in certain areas can trigger special events
I'm not sure if that's everything. So one of the things I was disappointed with was not having boss battles or anything that felt like a boss battle other than the very last fight, which still doesn't compare to the final battle in Shinovi Versus. Perhaps I was spoiled with SK2: Deep Crimson since that had tons of boss battles and I had just played it just months ago. I'm glad they got rid of the QTE button mashing sequences, I didn't like those. So it was very difficult getting used to the new combat system as attacks can't be easily dash canceled, jumped out of, and barely shortened with blocks. This meant that it feels clunkier and stiffer than all previous Senran Kagura games. It isn't too bad, but it definitely slows the pacing of combat down a bit. I believe this change was made for the sake of multiplayer, which doesn't exist for the PS Vita version (only for PS4). Perfect guard seemed like a great idea, but it's a bit difficult to utilize effectively as it can't be brought out immediately from an attack combo. Tag-team aerials are useful in combat, but a bit boring gameplay wise as you execute one command to make it happen. Again, I'm possibly spoiled from the tag-team mechanic from Deep Crimson where team-aerial combos were a lot more interactive. I'm a bit sad at the low options on combos and attacks. Again, it's possibly me being spoiled by Deep Crimson's combo system where it was longer, more diverse, and really distinguished the play styles of each character. Creative finishers are interesting and funny and I always tried to execute them when I can. It was a bit surprising the first time I knocked the clothes off my opponent and they fell into a tree and laid there naked on a branch. Overall, I still found the gameplay to be just as addicting and satisfying, though a tad more frustrating.
Characters/Character Themes
Note: I haven't played the individual stories, which are generally humorous but can also reveal important facts about the character. These insights are all based on the main campaign. Hanzō Academy [Asuka]
Wow, I couldn't believe this was Asuka's theme the first time I heard it. This might be my favorite Asuka theme in the series, that's how quickly I fell in love with the song. It has a sort of serious and dangerous tone in the beginning. And then it plays this sort of melody that's filled with hope and conviction. I'm really impressed with this song. Asuka plays more of a support role in the story as her perseverance and caring nature helps those around her find the answers they're looking for.
[Ikaruga]
This is, sadly, my least favorite theme I've heard for Ikaruga. It doesn't sound bad, but something about it just doesn't really click for me as "Ikaruga's theme". I'm judging it a bit more harshly as Ikaruga's been my favorite character throughout the series and she's definitely still my favorite with fast and long reaching attacks, refined demeanor, and righteous belief in justice. She doesn't do much to push the story forward other than being the voice of reason and responsibility in the team.
[Katsuragi]
Katsuragi's theme is okay. I find her to be progressively more difficult to play in each iteration as they continually slow her attacks down. A lot of her attacks are slow and deliberate and a lot of animation lag between each attack. Not to mention she has short range. Katsuragi's around mostly for comedic moments this time around.
[Yagyū]
Again, Yagyū has another great theme song. There hasn't been a single-theme for Yagyū that I didn't like or felt weak. Every single one of her theme songs in every game is full of energy and it really pumps you up for the fight. It's just a shame that she's such an underdeveloped character with such a shallow personality. Her backstory doesn't really make sense as a shinobi. She lost her younger sister in a car accident. She meets Hibari, who reminds her of her little sister. She aims to be a strong shinobi to protect Hibari. But then they went one step further after the first game and imply that she's in fact in love with Hibari and perhaps lusts for her. And that's her character now: the strong and silent unless it involves Hibari; then she turns into a drooling pervert. I wish she had a better backstory and better character development, because her theme songs are simply riveting. So she doesn't play much of a role in this game either. There's this tiny arc story where she's fighting with Haruka on who Hibari belongs to and Yagyū insists that Hibari is all her's.
[Hibari]
Ugh, who cares about Hibari! I get angry every time I get around to talking about Hibari. So her theme is very appropriate to her character. It definitely screams Hibari and no one else. As much as I hate her and think of her as "the idiot", she was also the voice of reason in this game. OF ALL PEOPLE, SHE'S THE VOICE OF REASON! When the girls of Hanzō Academy had a decision to make on attacking the platforms of Hebijo, Hibari insisted on holding off on it as they're not mentally prepared to do so. Miyabi was looking for her mother while Ryōbi and Ryōna were having their own difficulties with their elder sister Ryōki back. Yagyū felt that it was the perfect opportunity to attack because of that reason. Hibari points out to Yagyū asking what would she do if she had the chance to see her younger sister again. She also states that if they destroy Hebijo's platforms when they're not at their best, then they can't truly call themselves the strongest and most capable to become Kagura. She made a lot of sense. But then I had to play her and I was so annoyed by her attacks. They're short-ranged and so weak! Then they made me play her a second time shortly after! I think Hibari was most deadly in Deep Crimson. She's kind of a joke in all the other iterations.
Gessen Girls' Academy [Yumi]
The ice-princess returns with an arrangement of Mozart's Requiem Mass in D minor/Lacrimosa as her theme song. Mozart's Requiem Mass in D minor is one of my favorite works that Mozart had worked on and it was the last thing he did before he passed away at an early age. Some say that he was writing the dirge for himself. Lacrimosa is one of my favorite parts and it's an interesting arrangement. The Gessen Girls all share a very similar story and thus they all kind of fall under the same purpose in Estival Versus. They all reunite with Kurokage and then they each say their goodbyes with a goal in mind in their lives. I'm actually a bit blurry on remembering what she promised, but it was probably to be a strong and responsible leader/shinobi. I don't remember if her elements played a big role in Shinovi Versus, but you can freeze enemies with her attacks in Estival Versus.
[Murakumo]
Her theme is a little better, I think. But I still don't really like it all that much. I like her as a character a lot though. I can't wait to play her individual story. Playing her individual story in Shinovi Versus is what made me like this character. She wears an intimidating mask which acts as a shield for her mental stability. She feels scared and embarrassed when people see her face, thus the mask is on all the time. With her mask donned on her face, she speaks in a low tone with domineering force. But when the mask is snatched from her, she becomes a blubbering, cute mess. She has an adorable face and she has a cute, feminine voice of which she speaks in a fast and clumsy manner. When she speaks to Kurokage one last time, she said she needed her mask. Kurokage says that she doesn't. She gets her mask back and says her farewell as she exclaims that the mask is the representation of the face that is strong and can take care of herself. But then she removes the mask and says that this face was important too and wants Kurokage to remember it. Kurokage says that both faces/sides of Murakumo are of a remarkable woman and is proud to have her as a granddaughter.
[Yozakura]
I actually don't know what this song is an arrangement of, but it sounds familiar. Yozakura is seen as child-like and energetic in Estival Versus. As the caretaker of all her younger siblings before she was adopted by Kurokage, she never had the time to enjoy being a kid. So when she saw the beach, she wanted to play and have fun. It was very cute of her. She had prepared all of Kurokage's favorite dishes when Kurokage spoke to her only in voice claiming that he regretfully can't eat it without a body anymore. So as to help Kurokage pass on without regrets, she shoves the food down the Hebijo girls' throats. It was a bit silly.
[Shiki]
I don't know the arrangement of these piece either, but I like it. The translation for Shiki's part is kind of strange. I can understand a bit of Japanese and French, so it made a bit more sense to me. But as a translation, it was just so weird. In the Japanese dialogue, Kurokage wanted Shiki to be able to speak English so that she can spread his Shinobi teachings throughout the world. But in the English text, it said Kurokage wanted Shiki to learn French. So the voice is speaking broken English while the text is in French. I couldn't understand the English that was being said, but thankfully the dialogue was simple enough where I understood what it said in French. This just made it so confusing. So Shiki's goodbye was also a bit silly.
[Minori]
Ah, Minori. The character that Hibari should have been but wasn't. Minori's child-like personality is lovable, but her maturity always seem to pop up at one point in the game or another. She had the most heart-breaking line in Shinovi Versus where she asks "Why can't we all just play games together? If we always played games and had fun, we would be too tired to fight. And if we didn't have to fight, my parents wouldn't have had to die." I would have expected Minori to be the one character out of the Gessen girls to rebel against leaving the beach and be with Kurokage instead. But when Kurokage was saying his goodbyes, Minori stopped him and said "don't leave yet, I need to show you how strong I've become." She then proceeds to smash Hanzō Academy's platforms by herself and win. Before Kurokage leaves, she asks to play one last game of Hide-n-Seek. Minori repeatedly asks if he's ready while Kurokage continually repeats "not yet" until his voice is no longer heard. Minori understands that he had left, breaks down and cries. It was a simple method for the player to feel empathy for Minori, and it worked.
Hebijo Clandestine Girls' Academy [Miyabi]
Oh god, here it comes. This is the character that had the story that made me break down twice. First, I want to say how great her theme is in this game. I complained a lot about how much I disliked her theme in Shinovi Versus, but this is good! So some backstory: In Shinovi Versus, it reveals that Miyabi and Imu were playing in an area that their parents told them not to go because it was dangerous. Miyabi's mother goes out looking for and right when she saw them, a Yōma lunged at Miyabi with the utmost malice. Miyabi's mother dives right in front of her and the Yōma snapped her head off as the lifeless body drenched in blood dropped to the floor right in front of her. Miyabi's father quickly subdued the Yōma and covered up the body of his wife and explained to Miyabi that the true purpose of an evil shinobi was to fight Yōma and rid of them from this world. It was one of the most descriptive and graphic deaths told in the game and one that really stuck with me. So in Estival Versus, when Miyabi finally found her mother and broke down to tears in her arms, I broke down too. I often wondered what it would be like if I ever saw those who were important to me who have passed: my grandma, my grandpa, my grandfather, my great-grandfather, my friend Jessica. At that moment, even though it was a video game with a fictional character, I was so happy for Miyabi and couldn't control myself. That single moment felt so real and so human that I believed it whole-heartedly. Miyabi's mother said she's make Miyabi's favorite egg-rice dish, but needed two ingredients. As Miyabi went to gather these ingredients, her best friend Imu reasoned with her and asked her "do you really want to stay here with your mother and drop everything you believed in to rid the world of Yōma?" Miyabi knew staying with her mother wouldn't be right and that she needed to return as the leader of Hebijo and that her team needed her (metaphorically, it's saying that she can't cling to the past if she want to move forward in life). She returns to her mother giving her the ingredients. But much to her surprise, her mother wanted her to make it. She knew nothing about cooking and didn't feel confident. Her mother assured her that it was easy and helped her make it. When she was finally done, Miyabi claimed that it was actually really easy and scarfed it down. Right when Miyabi was about to say she can't stay, her mom starts fading. She panicked and asked why this was happening, and her mother said something along the lines of "now that you know how to make your favorite dish I used to make you, I can pass on with no regrets." (Essentially saying you will always have a piece of memory of me with you). I broke down again as Miyabi broke down. She finally had closure with her mother and went back to her team asking for her support as she trusted each and everyone of them. Miyabi's part of the story was my favorite out of Estival Versus.
[Murasaki]
I think her theme in Shinovi Versus was better, but I still really like this song. Murasaki continues to be the hikikomori (shut-in) she's always been. When they arrive on the strange beach, she complains and wants to go back to her room to read web novels and play MMOs. At one point, she pesters Mirai on why she hasn't updated her web novel yet and that she broke her F5 key (refresh page) because of it. Mirai had writers block and wanted to introduce a new character but didn't know what kind of character she wanted. Murasaki helped find Mirai's inspiration after fighting her. After a while, she didn't want to leave the world they were in since it had internet and was secluded off from all other people already. I forgot to mention the little details they put into Shinobi Transformations now. Everyone has a different animation for transforming such as where they keep their ninja scrolls and how they pose, etc. With Murasaki's backstory and intense music, I had hoped she was a borderline psychopathic fighter. But that just isn't the case. She screams things like "just let me die already!" when she uses her hidden ninpo specials, but her animation has her give the most adorable smile towards the screen before her move ends. It's such a strange and conflicting concept. She's portrayed as creepy and depressing, yet cute at the same time. She could've been more.
[Imu]
Her theme seems rather Chinese influenced. A lot of the theme songs have influences of Chinese music and instruments. But I'm wondering if it was a decision to do so since she uses a staff much like Son Wukong does from Journey to the West. Imu plays the support character to Miyabi yet again as the best friend who stands by her through thick and thin. It was hinted that Imu liked Miyabi more than just a friend in Shinovi Versus, but now it's extremely apparent. Imu's the one that snaps Miyabi back into reality and reminded her what her ambitions were and how her team were waiting to follow her lead.
[Ryōbi]
I'd say Ryōbi and Ryōna are the main characters to Estival Versus, at least seemingly so. The two sisters were in the woods when they heard the ritual for helping the deceased move onto the next life. They saw their older sister Ryōki, who was mentioned being killed by a Yōma in Shinovi Versus, in the crowd and ran towards her. When they reached her, a bright light brought them to the parallel world. When they finally reunited with their lost sister, Ryōna was beyond happy to see her elder sister again. Ryōbi did not have the same ecstatic reaction as Ryōna and that was the driving force behind the overall story for Estival Versus. Later in the game, it is revealed that right before Ryōki took the mission to fight the Yōma, Ryōbi had yelled at her "you should just die!" And it devastated Ryōbi when Ryōki's corpse was brought back. The reasoning behind Ryōbi's outburst was because she had a inferiority complex (the game said sister complex. That's not what a sister complex is...). The three sisters had lost their parents at a young age and thus Ryōki took over as guardian for her two younger sisters. In Ryōbi's eyes, Ryōki was perfect. She was beautiful, kind, independent, strong, and intelligent. "How could I compete with that?" At a certain point, Ryōbi had become rebellious and aggressive. Ryōbi eventually reminded her older sister what she had said the last time they saw her before she died. Ryōki claims she doesn't remember the incident and that she isn't angry at her for saying that. Ryōbi ran off even more angry than before knowing that'd be the response she gave. She was such a good person that she'd forgive her for saying such a heinous statement to her beloved elder sister. When the Gessen girls and Miyabi had made peace with the ones they lost, Ryōna urged Ryōbi to tell Ryōki whatever she needed to as it might be their one and only chance. Ryōbi wasn't sure she could tell Ryōki how she really felt after what she said. Ryōna had thought she meant apologizing to her. Ryōbi said "no, I want to thank her. Thank her for taking care of us, for making us strong, and for being there went our parents couldn't." After Ryōna helped Ryōbi find the courage to confront her sister, the two fought Ryōki. Ryōki reveals that she did remember what Ryōbi had said and that it did affect her. She said that she was happy Ryōbi said what she said. Her rebellious remark eased Ryōki's heart as she saw that Ryōbi was finally standing up for herself and becoming an independent woman. She had been worried at that time as Ryōbi clinged onto her for so long that she wasn't sure she was doing the right thing for her. Ryōbi wanted to prove that she is indeed stronger and can take care of herself. The final battle is against Ryōki in her ultimate hidden ninpo state indefinitely. This was the closest boss battle I could think of in the game. And then it got to the ending sequence where they finally said goodbye. Ryōna, who had kept a tight lip and a strong face the entire game finally broke down spilling everything that was in her heart. "Thank you, Ryōki. Thank you for everything. Thank you." I broke down again as it hit a bit close to my own personal life.
I never really got to say goodbye to a lot of the ones I lost. My grandma just disappeared one day and I was told she was at the hospital. I waited patiently everyday for 3 or however many months expecting her to come home. I still remember that day very clearly when I went into the living room and my grandpa was crying. I never seen my grandpa cry before. I ran into my room where my dad was asked what was going on and he said that "we had to let her go." My life had never been the same ever since as it affect my way of thinking, my extended family, and my own family. My grandfather was the only one I really got to say goodbye to. I had visited him at the hospital and told him I'll come see him again soon. He smiled and waved at me and passed away that night. My grandpa passed away a year after my grandfather, and I didn't see him for months and didn't talk to him even longer before he passed. I've only met my great-grandfather three times in my life: once when he visited us in America, and twice when I went to China two times. The very last time I saw him, he shared his wish of wanting for me to get married and show him his great-great-grandchildren. I knew for a fact that it wouldn't happen as I didn't even have a girl friend at that time (and still don't). I also knew that it might have been the last time I'd ever get to see him as we didn't have any plans of visiting China again in the near future (it's been 10 years now). I remember waving bye to him inside the taxi as he left and I already wanted to cry then because I wanted to get to know him better but knew I might not get that chance. He passed away a couple of years ago. And finally, there's my friend Jessica. I have mentioned this in the past, but I wasn't particularly close to Jessica. Yet, she was still my friend and I was deeply saddened when I heard she had cancer and didn't have much longer to live. I wanted to see her, but felt unworthy to since I never hung out with her ever before. When she said she was at a critical state, I couldn't help it anymore and had my parents ask her mom if I could see her. Her mom said it wasn't a really good idea (I imagine she probably looked thin and sickly). I had typed messages to her before not expecting a reply because I wasn't exactly sure what to talk about. I hadn't seen her in person in years before she passed, and I'm not sure if my messages really count as a goodbye. I realized I cared about her, but I didn't now if it was something that mattered to her and I really didn't want to intrude on her when she was already going through so much. I didn't cry when she finally had passed as I cried enough before hand. I didn't go to her memorial service as I didn't think I could handle it. The game had brought all this back for me as I recently revisited these memories with my parents. 2 posts ago, I mentioned having some stressful family issues, and what was going on was that my dad's favorite chicken, Honey, was severely sick and was dying. For three weeks, we saw her go from blind, to a little better and eating, to unmoving and in pain. It deeply affected my dad because we had lost Hattie last year, and his former favorite chicken, Waffle two years ago. It was also because sitting by Honey and watching her life whittle away brought back bad memories of sitting at the hospital room with his mother (my grandma) for those 3 months (or however long it was, I don't remember anymore) and helplessly watch her life whittle away. I knew that it would bring back memories of that time because that's how I felt too: I saw how upset and in emotional pain my dad was and I didn't have anything I could say or do to make him feel better. Back when I was 10 yo and my grandma was in the hospital, I kept telling my dad that she'd be okay; however, I didn't know the circumstances and I still don't. Having grown to be such a pessimist I am today, I'm not keen on giving false hope or words of encouragement to others anymore unless I have reason to believe otherwise. I was sad when Waffle and Hattie passed away, but I did my best not to cry in front of my dad because he was blaming himself for their deaths and I didn't want him to see me sad about their passing. I wasn't as deeply affected by their passing as it did for my dad though. So it was the same with Honey. I was sad, but I didn't want to show him. More than anything, I'm afraid of losing my dad as each passing hen affects him more than the last.
So playing this game and being reminded of all these memories have been...sobering, I suppose. With my 9 week illness in the winter and my now 3 week string of ailments, I fear for my own mortality and well-being. Death is a constant reminder ever since my grandma passed away (thus changing my "way of thinking") and I've always strived forward to do great things with big ambitions. I keep trying to remind myself that it is nowhere near my time yet and that there are still much I need to take care of before the time comes. For the girls of Senran Kagura, death is a constant threat as it is the life a Shinobi must take. But I believe it to be applicable to our own lives as life is unexpected and fickle. We need to make the most of what we have.
[Ryōna]
I didn't mean to carry on for so long. So Ryōna is sort of like a main character in the story, but I guess she's more accurately a supporting role for Ryōbi. Did you know that Ryōna is the older of the two? I didn't. Ryōbi breaks down at one point and thanks Ryōna for being so loyal and so supportive of her. She expresses how grateful she is to have an older sister like Ryōna. Ryōna may be a freak in the game (super masochistic), but she often becomes the voice of reason and kindness for Ryōbi when she's lost her way.
Homura Crimson Squad [Homura]
I was shocked to find that this song was Homura's as the intro totally sounded like a Daidōji theme song. Homura has become quite the meat-head in the story as she's always looking for a fight and thinking of eating meat. It is also implied that she loves Asuka more than a friend but denies it every time.
[Yomi]
Yomi is back! What I mean is she finally has an amazing theme song. Yomi's pre-transformation theme song in Burst was one of the best songs in the entire series. So I was disappointed when I listened to her theme in Shinovi Versus and didn't really like it. Her theme in Deep Crimson was okay, but nothing like in Burst. But when I first heard this song in Estival Versus, it instantly became one of my favorites. It's fun, catchy, and addicting to listen to. It still amazes me that Yomi is such a sweetheart in the series now when she was the psycho in Burst who hated rich people. She finds a lot of edible food sources on the beach for the crew to eat.
[Hikage]
Oh my goodness, Hikage is fun! Her ultimate hidden ninpo grants her this super powered state where it expands her reach of attack by a large amount while doing tons of damage. Fighting a group of enemies quickly refills her scrolls so she can go back into that state again. Her theme song is pretty fun to listen to. Something I really wanted to see in past Senran Kagura games was interactions between the characters that weren't already paired up. There were definitely a few times where that happened in Estival Versus. Despite it all, I really like the exchanges she has with Imu where she's still trying to figure out emotions. It all becomes sort of a comedy routine where Imu gets ticked off by Hikage while Hikage is trying to figure out what's going on in the conversation.
[Mirai]
Her theme song is...okay. I have high expectations out of her theme songs since the ones in Burst and Deep Crimson is so good and among my favorites from the series. Mirai sort of continues to be a joke or silly character in the series which makes me sad sense she was such a strong character that progressive matured in Burst. She continues writing web novels with no readers other than Murasaki, who is an avid fan of her writing. But it was shown in Shinovi Versus that Shiki took interest in her work and in Estival Versus, Ryōbi also took interest when seeing how intently Murasaki was reading. Her combat style almost seems kind of boring after playing her in Deep Crimson. I still really like Mirai, though.
[Haruka]
Much like Yagyū, Haruka has never had a theme song I didn't like. Her theme songs are easily distinguishable and are often unique and easy to listen to. She doesn't seem to be as OP as she was in Deep Crimson which is necessary if they were balancing the game for multiplayer. Haruka holds a special silly content to provoke Sayuri into telling them what the Bon Dance Festival is really for.
Overseers of the Festival [Sayuri/Jasmine]
Sayuri is an interesting character. While Asuka's grandpa is a pervert who likes to screw around, Asuka's grandma was/is apparently stronger than her Hanzō and is portrayed as a "tough as nails" sort of gal. She's an ex-Kagura and threw away her title when she wasn't able to fulfill her obligations as a Kagura to fight the Yōma effectively. She lost her friends in the fight and had the creature get away, which is why she's training all the girls to prepare for the inevitable fight. The intro to her theme caught me off guard and I thought I was listening to Dynasty Warriors for a second. The intro really does resonate with the sound, personality, and style of Dynasty Warriors, but that quickly changes as it leads into main portion of the song. Jasmine is pretty song.
[Ryōki]
I really like the Celtic influenced song for Ryōki. I don't know why it feel appropriate, but it just seems like the right kind of theme song for her. Ryōki has very good reach and attack power, but it takes some getting used to the long animation frames to finish up.
[Renka]
Listening to the soundtrack, I knew she was going to be one of my favorite characters. Her theme song is so addicting and upbeat. It reminds me of DDR. She's got a sort of "girl next door" personality and is the smart one in the group. Her fighting style is a lot of fun and I really like her specials where she's banging away on a taiko drum.
[Hanabi]
The idiot of the group. When she thinks too hard, her fireworks jutsu goes off and explosions erupt all around her. Her fighting style is too slow and doesn't compensate in damage enough for my liking.
[Kafuru]
Oh my goodness, she's so cute! I was a bit worried when I read that she had a snobbish personality that likes to look down on others. But getting through the game, I thought she was a sensible character. I like her combos and specials.
I'm not gonna write about the other characters since they weren't part of the story and I haven't played them yet.
This ends my very long rant on Senran Kagura Estival Versus. I'm a bit disappointed with some things, but very satisfied with the overall experience.
It's almost been a week since my last post. My lower back still hurts when I sit for too long, but I can't tell if it's a muscle pain or nerve pain. The pain would often lead down to the back of my right thigh. I still feel random pains around my upper back, chest, abdomen, legs and arms, but they're often sharp nerve pains that last a second or two and then disappear. My stomach acid problems still persists and so I think I'm going to try to go to the gym today as getting a good work out at the gym has solved my stomach problems in the past. I'm still getting a mild, numbing headache everyday and I'm starting to wonder if it has anything to do with my teeth. I actually need to get my wisdom teeth pulled out as they're bunching up my other teeth, which can lead to frequent headaches. The coincidence here is that I've been having headaches starting after my back started hurting really bad. Whatever the case may be, these ailments are wearing down on me and I feel really exhausted each day. Also, I've been waking up a lot throughout the night the past 3 weeks. Sometimes it's because it gets too hot or cold, a few times it's been nightmares, and other times it's just waking up all of a sudden. I'm conscious and can bare the pain throughout the day enough to work again, but it's been tough. I might work a bit more on my current remix today, but I just finished watching the Smash Bros. Documentary that I've had on hold for 2.5 years and really wanted to talk about Smash Bros for a bit.
I watched the first two or three parts back 2.5 years ago, but then held off on it for so long and not knowing when I'd have the time to watch it. Because I wasn't feeling well during Nov-Jan this past Winter, I've been watching a lot more videos. I eventually took the time this past week to watch the rest of the documentary that I missed. It's a really interesting insight on how competitive Smash Bros. came to be and the progression it had in the competitive scene. I really enjoyed it and feel like I understand the pros that I watch on stream a little better now that I've seen their history with the game. But the reason why I'm writing today isn't to talk about the documentary, but rather my own experience with the game and its franchise.
I remember when Super Smash Bros. was first announced for the N64.
It was shocking and exciting to hear about a game which pits all our favorite Nintendo characters against each other in a 4-player fighter. I didn't have an N64, so I couldn't get the game. But I had a friend that told me he got the game and that I should come over to play. I went over with my sister and he and his sister and I got together and played in the living room and played Smash Bros. The very first character I played was Samus because Metroid was one of my favorite games from the NES and I fancied the idea of shooting missiles, bombs and beams. I remember falling to my death a lot the first few times I played. I was very confused but so delighted to see so many iconic Nintendo characters in one game. There was Mario from Super Mario Bros, Link from the Legend of Zelda, Donkey Kong, Samus from Metroid, Kirby, Fox McCloud from Star Fox, and Pikachu from Pokémon which was getting extremely popular at the time. As my friend unlocked more characters, it revealed Captain Falcon which I was very confused with. "Who was Captain Falcon?" Then I found out he was from F-Zero which I thought was very strange because I didn't know they had actual characters in the game (I didn't play it, just knew about it). Then my friend mentioned he unlocked "NESS" and I thought he meant "NES", perhaps an original character. Then he mentioned there were the blues brothers when he unlocked him. I immediately realized it was a reference to Earthbound of which I only knew of from the Nintendo Power magazines (still a game I haven't played yet). I never knew the main character's name was Ness, but there he was. Super Smash Bros. became one of the most played games whenever we saw each other every other weekends at my grandmother's house or their house. We would occasionally play Mario Kart 64, Star Fox 64, Pokémon Stadium, and some various games he'd rent, but we definitely played 007 Goldeneye and Super Smash Bros. the most. We played enough where I felt like I was really good at the game. The first time I realized I wasn't that good was when my friend and I teamed up to go 2v2 against my distant cousin's cousins and lost miserably. My friend played Captain Falcon while I played Luigi. We had no strategy, no understanding of the mechanics at a deeper level, and no synergy while playing. I only thought of using Up+B while my friend old thought of using B. "How could we have lost so badly?" That was my first taste of someone that bested me in smash, and perhaps the only time for the N64 Smash.
The year is 2001, and Nintendo had announced their new console: The Nintendo Gamecube (formerly known as the Nintendo Dolphin) with the launch title being Super Smash Bros. Melee and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3. I played THPS3 a LOT, but still felt like THPS2 was a bit better. But what I couldn't have imagined was that I'd be still playing Super Smash Bros. Melee even now every once in a while. I had begged my parents that year for a Nintendo Gamecube since I missed out on the N64 entirely and really wanted the new Smash Bros. I remember turning it on and watching the opening for the first time. Every level we went to, I would pause the game to pinpoint what specific game the song was from. And one of my favorite early memories of the game that's still very vivid in my mind was challenging Marth for the first time. "Who is this guy? I've never seen him before!" But I paused the game and listened to the music and instantly fell in love with it. The arrangement of "Together we Ride" and the "Main Theme" of Fire Emblem is possibly still one of my favorite arrangements in the Smash Bros. franchise they've created.
My sister would get impatient with my consistent pausing and listening to the music, but I'm shocked that it's left such an impression in my memory of that day playing it for the first time with her. I think my first character for Melee was Pikachu. They had changed them a little and I had no idea what I was doing. The game was faster, smoother, and bots were harder. I felt like everyone was weaker as it took more hits to smash someone out. It was difficult adjusting to Melee, but Smash N64 felt slow after I got used to Melee. I would continue on playing classic mode, events, adventure mode, and unlocking all the characters. With Melee, I felt like I didn't play it with my friends as much as I did with the N64 one. We were all growing up and had more homework and responsibilities during High School. I eventually stopped playing it as much and only played when friends were over. I was still able to best most of my friends in 1v1, but those were friends that didn't have the game and/or didn't play videogames very much. When a few of my sister's friends started coming over often, I'd play smash bros. with them. That's when I lost a lot of matches and realized how much further in experience they were compared to me. I still had fun and still thought of the game as being pretty casual for all to play.
Fast-forward to around 2007-2008, the local game store is holding a Smash Bros. Melee tournament with the grand prize being an Xbox 360 or Wii. I didn't know there were tournaments for Smash Bros. I wanted to participate and see how it was like, even though I knew I wouldn't get far. It was a doubles tournament with team attack on, something I never tried before. I told a friend that I made that worked at another game store about the tournament and played him and realized how good he was. I asked him to be my partner for the tournament and he agreed. Eventually, he messaged me and said that he wouldn't be able to make it due to some family issues. I asked my friend that lived down the street from me if he wanted to try it out. He was a bit hesitant as he was much younger and felt he wasn't very good at the game. I just told him it was for fun because I didn't think I was very good either. So we both signed up for it and practiced. I wanted to make an extra effort to try to get better within the week that I had, so I looked up guides and videos. That's when Smash Bros. had changed for me. "I've been playing this game wrong for nearly a decade!" When I looked up stuff on Smash Bros., I realized that Smash Bros. has been played professionally for years now in a underground sort of way. When I watched videos of those tournaments, I noticed that everyone were using the attacks from the "A" button. Up until then, I have always used the "B" button skills to whittle down an opponent by raising their percentage and THEN using the "A" button to smash someone out. I was in such disbelief on how ineffectively I had been playing the game for nearly 10 years. I was also shocked at how incredibly fast everyone was moving around on the screen. They were also playing 4-stock matches when I've been used to playing 10-20 stocks (which last really long in retrospect). I wanted to know how and why they were moving so fast because it didn't even look like the same game I've been playing all those years. Then I was hit with a bunch of terminology I've never heard or seen before: SHFFL, Wave-Dashing, Fair, Nair, Bair, edge-guarding, gimping, shining, etc. All this new information about the game was mind-blowing. I couldn't believe the things you could do in the game:
"You can use Fox's reflector as an attack? You can chain grab? You can perform combos?" I was just so fascinated by the intricate executions of high level players that it changed the game for me. I had been mostly a Marth/Roy and Pikachu player at that time, but learning so much from what I researched I picked up Fox and gave him a try. I spent hours practicing wave-dashing, shines, edge-hogging, off-stage follow-ups, and just trying to adjust to using normal attacks rather than using specials. I then practiced with my friend who was a Samus player. We were awful and can hardly beat the bots with team-attack on as my friend's missiles often killed me or I accidentally smash him out. We arrived at the store and went up against our first duo of young boys who looked half my age. The first thing that happens is one of the boys walks off the stage. Needless to say, we won decisively. Our second match, we went against boys around my friend's age who was about 5-6 years younger than me. I just remember one of them being Dr. Mario and constantly juggling me with dash attacks while I tried to avoid my friend's missiles. I eventually got shot out by my friend's missiles and I remember getting caught underneath the stage of Final Destination (making it difficult to grab the ledge accurately, they fixed this problem in Smash 4). We lost and I shook their hands, congratulating them. I wasn't upset or salty, but rather really excited. There was still a lot of room for improvement and a lot I can still learn from the game. In short, that one tournament and research I did on professional smash bros. opened up a whole new spectrum for me on how to play the game. The game was nearly a decade old and it was suddenly fresh, new and exciting again for me. My sister had partnered up with one of our friend's boyfriend and got up to 2nd place in the tournament losing to two of our other friends that participated. It was a fun and lasted the whole day. It was already dark and night out by the time we got back to my house, but all I could think about was playing more Smash Bros. My sister was sad and apologized to me saying "I wanted to get the Nintendo Wii for you". I told her it was okay, I had fun, and that she did great climbing all the way up to 2nd place. Ever since that day, I've had this drive and interest in Smash Bros.
The trailer for Super Smash Bros. Brawl is probably one of my favorite trailers for videogames.
So many years have already gone by without another Smash Bros. I was already in college and didn't think much of a new Smash Bros. But when one was announced, it caused quite a stir. There was finally a Smash Bros. to replace Melee! I loved that trailer so much I watched it over and over. The very first thing I noticed was how grandiose the music was compared to the past 2 iterations. "This sounds like something Nobuo Uematsu would compose for a Final Fantasy game!" I looked at the credits at the bottom of the page and sure enough, his name was there. How could we not get excited about another Smash Bros. game? It revealed Meta Knight, Pit, Zero Suit Samus, Wario, and then when it already got your excitement level up, you hear a very familiar *beep* *beep* sound from the Metal Gear Solid series. By that point, I was wondering "what's going on?" When Snake popped out of the box, I was in such disbelief I didn't know what to do at that point. It made sense to me since Snake was on the original NES with Metal Gear 1 & 2. The one character that made me excited above all else was Sonic the Hedgehog. The old classic rivalry between Nintendo and Sega was about to be represented through the form of their mascot characters duking it out in Smash Bros. It's too bad Sonic sucked. I played him for a very long time and still didn't like how he turned out. He was fast, yes. But he had very few kill options which made it really difficult to end a match. I think the first character I played on Brawl was actually Pit, though. I was excited for Pit's inclusion as Kid Icarus was a game I played quite a few times on the NES when I was younger; however, I wasn't exactly ecstatic (maybe I was, I don't remember). All I knew was that I wanted to play the game, and it took 2 years before it was released from the announcement trailer. In short, it was a really fun casual game but a really awful competitive game. Everything was slower, random slipping was part of the game (and can't be turned off), everyone felt even weaker and required more hits before smashing someone out (unless you were Ike), and the cast of characters were torn vastly in the tier list with Meta Knight being god tier (never left that spot). I had a lot of fun playing the game in free-for-all and team matches with a bunch of friend or playing all-stars, boss rush and subspace emissary (adventure mode) with my sister. Subspace Emissary was the greatest thing about Brawl. It was great how they took the ideas of Adventure mode from Melee and really expanded it by a large amount. But when it came down to play more seriously with friends, it wasn't really that enjoyable. The slow-fall and random slipping was the worst part of it. I ended up not playing Brawl nearly as much as the previous Smash Bros. games because it released right before I moved out for University. I participated in a local tournament for Brawl just for fun (I just wanted to play Smash Bros.) when I was still in University and lost in the first round. The TV had an input delay, I didn't get to practice, and I didn't know much about competitive Brawl. Despite all that, even if the TV didn't have an input delay and I knew a bit more about brawl, I wouldn't have won anyways as my opponent had a solid understanding of the game compared to me (maybe practice might have improved my chances). It was in that little tournament that I realized why everyone was complaining about Meta Knight. The top 3-4 players in the tournament all played Meta Knight. I still didn't understand WHY he was good, only that everyone that wanted to play at the highest competitive level for Brawl played Meta Knight. When I finally graduated and came back home, I played Smash Bros. Brawl every once in a while. But I also would go back to Melee every once in a while whenever I had the urge to play it. But I kind of lost the drive to play Smash Bros. unless someone asked me to play with them. Brawl was supposed to have online play, but it was so awful that it was unplayable with even my friend that lived down the street from me.
Around the time I graduated from University, online streaming started to get really big in the videogame community. People would be playing games while talking to their viewers live. I never cared too much for watching competitive matches in videogames. I watched a StarCraft match on TV when I was in China and didn't have anything better to do and found it to be really boring. Why was it fun to watch competitive matches? I didn't get it. In my first year of University, one of my friends brought me to BlizzCon and we watched the tournaments for Warcraft 3 and StarCraft. It was there that I understood what it was all about. On TV, you watched the game from the commentator's view which doesn't show the individual actions of each player. At BlizzCon, there are 3 screens: The two opponents and the commentator's spectator view. Much like my reaction to how fast players moved in Smash Bros. Melee, I was awestruck by how quickly the players were playing these RTS games. They were setting buildings, ordering units, executing abilities, ambushing, countering, and body blocking all so quickly. They were playing anywhere from 20-100x faster than I would normally play. I'm really slow at RTS games where I would have to read all the descriptions and requirements. So it was then that I started to become a bit more interested in watching professional gaming competitions. After College, streaming started to become common. A lot more tournaments and special events were being streamed on sites like Twitch. Conventions like E3 were being streamed. But one of the best ones was EVO, the grand stage where players from all over the world gather together to play Fighting Games of all kinds. I don't remember if I watched EVO in 2010, but I think 2011 onwards I watched a bit of it while working or playing games. In 2013, Smash Bros. Melee made it to the EVO floor show and it was an important event to get people excited for the game again. I remember watching Grand Finals for it and watched Mango climb all the way up to the top to win it, it was exciting. It was also in that tournament that I learned about wobbling where you can infinitely pummel an opponent in a grab state with Ice Climbers. The community for Smash Bros. Melee was stronger than ever and it really created an awareness for its community since then. I really got into watching EVO more and more every year and last year was the first year where I watched all the matches intently and really enjoyed the matches for all the games that were played there.
Super Smash Bros. Wii U / 3DS was announced and I was both excited and scared at the same time. I was extremely excited to see Mega Man as one of the characters and I still play the heck out of that character even now. But my concerns were with the result of Brawl being so casual. Smash Bros. Melee was almost banned from being Stream at EVO 2013 because Nintendo didn't want any of it but quickly changed their mind following community backlash. How were they going to make this next Smash Bros.? I got more and more excited for the new Smash Bros. as new information on the game trickled out every month. Shortly before the launch of Super Smash Bros. 3DS, I found out about a mod called "Project M" where it turned Brawl into a game that was closer to Melee. I tried it out and loved what they did with it. I especially loved the changes to Sonic and played him a whole bunch. I was very disappointed with Sonic in Brawl and really wanted Sonic to shine in Smash Bros. Sonic felt a lot more viable and well-rounded in Project M than he was in Brawl. So despite it being a mod, Project M was essentially its own game. There are tournaments held for it and players can play online if they wanted. I play it once in a while, but not often since there isn't anyone to play with. So Super Smash Bros. for 3DS finally released and I went crazy over that game. I spent hours unlocking characters, creating Mii Fighters, and playing online with friends. Ever since the very first Smash Bros. on N64, I've always dreamed about having a Smash Bros. on handheld to play on the go. I honestly didn't think Smash Bros. on 3DS was going to be any good because I didn't think the hardware could handle it. The game went far beyond my expectations in what it was capable of. Online play works pretty well and I can play with my friends who live in different cities from me. What also surprised me was how they embraced competitive play. Sakurai was pretty adamant about creating a party game for smash so that everyone can enjoy it and not only the most hardcore players. They really thought long and hard on how to appease both the casual audience and the competitive audience for this iteration of Smash. Out of all the praises I could give Smash 4, it would be how satisfying the game felt. Landing a smash attack, recovering back onto the stage, performing a combo; everything felt really good when playing the game. When they announced having DLC in the game, I was a little disappointed with Nintendo and their stance on "delivering the complete package" be broken. They came out with Mewtwo, Lucas and Roy; they're all returning characters from previous iterations of Smash Bros. Then they released Ryu, which was unfortunately leaked and didn't have the impact that Nintendo wanted out of the announcement. I was super happy to have Ryu part of the character roster. Then the unthinkable happened: Cloud from Final Fantasy VII was announced to be part of the character roster in Smash Bros. Maybe I've become more emotional in the past few years, or perhaps it was just the greatest thing I've ever seen; the announcement trailer for Cloud was one of the most exciting news I've ever seen for a videogame to have moved me to tears. And then it happened again a month later when they revealed Bayonetta as the last DLC character. I hate DLCs. I hate how a lot of publishers get greedy with cutting out content to sell them separately or to release half-baked content for money. That in turn often makes me avoid DLCs if I can help it. So I've never been more happy to purchase a DLC for a game than I was when buying the DLC characters for Smash Bros. I considered the circumstances and decided that Smash Bros. is a game I'm going to be playing for years like I have with all the previous games, so I think the DLCs would be a worthwhile investment. Out of all the games I own, I often get the urge to play Super Smash Bros. the most.
Right now, there is a lot of talk about the Nintendo NX. Within that discussion of a possible new console by Nintendo is a rumor about a new Smash Bros. game coming out with that console. Some speculate that it'll be a port of the newest Smash Bros. with all the DLCs included. If it really is a new smash bros. it'd be the perfect launch title for the new console. So to sum it all up, I loved the Super Smash Bros. series. Even coming from a more casual perspective of the game growing up, I think the competitive aspect is what kept the interest for the game alive for so long. I don't ever plan on entering tournaments or becoming pro, but it's an uplifting experience to practice at a game you love so much and find yourself improving. I don't know if we'll get anymore Smash Bros. as Sakurai has wanted to stop making them a few times, but I'll always treasure the memories I've had playing the game with friends. I imagine I'll still be playing Smash Bros. for many years to come.
It hasn’t even been 2 months since I’ve recovered from my 9
weeks of ailments throughout November, December, and the beginning of January
and I’ve already fallen into another string of problems. It started around 3 weeks ago when I started
feeling like my lower back was tightening up. It’s not too surprising since I still sit a
lot throughout the day to: work, eat, and play. I had been working out harder in the gym in
previous weeks since I got better and was able to move forward with my physical
growth. But starting 3 weeks ago, I
haven’t been working out as much and have been under stress with things at
home. 2 weeks ago, Black Desert Online
came out and I decided I wanted to dedicate some time on an MMO since I haven’t
since Guild Wars 2, which was 4 years ago. I’ve been keeping a close eye on both Blade
& Soul and Black Desert Online for years now. With Blade & Soul, I haven’t had much time
for it. But with Black Desert Online, I
wanted to take the time to play it intently since I spent money on it (B&S
is free-to-play, BDO is a one time purchase).
I had a lot of fun playing it while simultaneously playing Final Fantasy
Explorers whenever my character had to run to a far destination. But throughout the week, my back got
progressively more irritable and it became difficult to stay seated without
feeling pain. I had been doing stretches
and taking breaks to ensure that it didn’t get worse, but it didn’t help. So last Monday, I spent the day vacuuming the
house and then worked on my ab carver. The
Ab Carver is that rolling mechanism device that’s supposed to tighten your
abdominals and strengthen your arms and back. I’ve been using it for two months now and
worked my way up to doing 15 repetitions forward and 7 repetitions on each side
(left and right) 3 sets each. That’s 87
repetitions total. So last Monday, I
moved up to doing 20 reps forward and 10 reps on each side 3 sets each. I didn’t feel anything initially. But throughout the week, my lower back got
worse to the point it was difficult to stay seated. Adding along with stress and sudden weather
change to a cold and wet environment, I was starting to feel the effects of everything
adding together. I also stayed up quite
late a few nights two weeks ago talking to friends. With the pain on my back, I started going to
sleep earlier than usual which my body is probably not used to so it’s been
difficult to fall asleep. So throughout
the past week, I’ve been having all sorts of body aches, headaches, nerve
pains, light-headed drowsiness, and a back pain that won’t go away. Some things will go away while new things will
occur. I had one day where I woke up
feeling like my arms and legs were numb and felt cold but wasn’t cold. I have other days where my arms feel like in
constant pain as if I had just gone to the gym and did some weights. Since the rain cleared up and it’s bright and
sunny the past few days, I’ve been walking a lot more. I think it might be helping certain things
like blood circulation, but I still have aches and pains occurring randomly
throughout my body each day. Worst of
all, my stomach problem is back where I feel hungry throughout the day,
generate air, and sometimes have a burning feeling. There isn’t anything particularly severe that
would put me in agony, but the little problems here and there make me feel exhausted
each day. I’m just hoping whatever is
wrong with me right now will be gone by the end of this weekend so I can go
back to working again. I’ve been making
good progress so far with two completed remixes with the 3rd one
started right before I started feeling all these ailments.
As bad as everything sounds, this month hasn’t been
completely awful. Quite a few games came
out this month with Black Desert Online being the first one. I’ve played around 42 hours or so and wanted
to at least get to 50 hours to make those $50 worth it, but my true goal was to
at least get one character to level 45 (where afterwards you’re flagged for
open PvP and players can kill you) and then start a new character and play
several characters in that manner to enjoy the game. It’s a fun sand-box MMO that has a lot of
content for players to enjoy, but I mainly focus on combat and ignore the
economy side of the game. Earlier this
week, Senran Kagura Estival Versus released and I got it a day earlier from
Amazon from its release. So far, I am
extremely impressed by the game. This is
the 4th game in the series to release in the West and each game has
been pretty different. The goal is still
the same: beat everyone up. But the
mechanics change with each game. Estival
Versus slows the game down by quite a bit by eliminating animation cancels. So you can exploit animation cancels to chain
huge combos with little consequences. I
believe this change was made to create a balanced cast of characters for Online,
competitive play. It’s a bit difficult
to get used to the delay between attacks and there are a few animation cancels
you can somewhat do to better position yourself, but I’ve been enjoying the
game immensely. Then Pokken Tournament
came in the mail today when it should release tomorrow. I haven’t had the chance to play it yet, but I
will tonight. Hyrule Warriors: Legends
on 3DS and Trillion: God of Destruction on PS Vita both release near the end of
the month. So there are quite a few
games to enjoy this month.
What I’ve wanted to do for a while is talk about a few
particular games in-depth. But I don’t
think I have time to talk about them in great detail, so I’d like to just rant
about each one for a bit.
[SPOILERS COMING UP]
[Bravely Default: Where the Fairy Flies – Nintendo 3DS]
I mentioned this game a bit in last months post. Bravely Default is a JRPG that harkens back to
the days of classic Final Fantasy with modern innovations to make the game feel
relevant, fresh, yet familiar. I wasn’t
sure if I wanted to get through the entire game and it was kind of driving me
half crazy with on particular design choice it made. The game has 9 chapters total. Between chapters 1-4, the heroes sets off on
a journey to awaken the 4 crystals around the world to (supposedly) stop the darkness
from swallowing up everything like it did to Tiz’s (one of the characters)
village. At the end of chapter 4, it
makes it seem like you finished the game, but that’s not the case. In the beginning of chapter 5, the party
realizes that everything they’ve done to help the world was undone or perhaps
they traveled back in time (In actuality, they traveled to a parallel world to
their own). Then it happens again in
chapter 6, 7, and 8. Each chapter
changes ever so slightly, but the objectives stay the same. Story wise, I loved it. I really enjoy stories that involve
time-travel and parallel universes. But
gameplay wise, I questioned what I was doing with my time. What should have been a 30 hour game turned
into 60+ hours of grinding, rematches with the same bosses, and doing the same
thing 5 times before you get to the last chapter which leads to the final boss.
There are 3 pre-bosses before the true
final boss of which the last boss has 5 phases. It was certainly drawn out and it was really
cool as a narrative, but I was tired and stressed from the gameplay as I didn’t
want to start all over if I had failed. I really enjoyed the game and liked the
plethora of classes you can choose from. Two of the greatest mechanics that they
introduced is being able to fast-forward through battle animations and being
able to control the spawn rate of random battles. You can even turn it off. From what I understand, they’re adding these
two mechanics to the re-release of Final Fantasy 9 on Steam PC, of which I’m
looking forward to as it’s one of the few Final Fantasy games I don’t have. In the beginning of the game, I really like
Agnes and Ringabel. But I had grown quite
attached to Edea throughout the game for her sassy personality and her constant
belief in justice. I loved the music and
am really surprised that it was composed and produced by musicians that
normally didn’t write for videogames before (they made the opening theme song
for Attack on Titan animé). Despite the
4 extra loops the game put me through, I thought it was a magnificent game. Bravely Second releases this year and I’ll be
borrowing that from my sister once she’s done.
[Senran Kagura 2: Deep Crimson – Nintendo 3DS]
I can’t remember if I talked about this game or not last
year. More of a sequel to Burst than
Shinovi Versus, Deep Crimson talks about the rise of Dōgen. He’s mentioned in every SK game (not sure on
Estival Versus, but I doubt he’s in it) so far and he dies every game, so he’s as
tenacious as Dracula if this continues. This
game was a lot more different than I thought it’d be. A sort of slanted, downwards camera angle, a
partner mechanic to switch between characters, various changes to character
playstyles (I particularly liked how Mirai could switch between 3 different
weapons), and going more for humor than before. I was expecting the game to be a lot darker
and serious considering how every screenshot and video I saw for the game was
filled with red and black levels and how grungy and heavy the music was. But the game was a lot sillier with the
resurrection of Orochi with boobs (which was really weird), and Dōgen looking
sort of like a clown (he didn’t have an image in the first two games and he
looks vastly different from the animé version). Another reason I believed Deep Crimson would
have a heavier tone is that the game right after is set on the beach and is the
complete opposite. Estival Versus is
bright and colorful with happy sounding music.
But nope, Deep Crimson has the setting for a darker story, but is mostly
humorous. It tries to be touching at one
point, but it didn’t get much of a reaction from me. Estival Versus, on the other hand, has already
made me cry like 3 times and I’m only half way done with the main story. Does this mean Deep Crimson was a bad
game? No, I don’t think it was. But I do believe that it’s the weakest one in
terms of story out of the series (not counting the animé; that was just bad
rendition of the first game). I still
really enjoyed the game and even bought the $15 DLCs ($5 each) for it of which
I only regretted getting 1 out of 3 of the DLCs. I didn’t play it as much as I wanted to (I
think I played 30 hours and wanted to play at least 50) but I got distracted
with other games at the time. I still
plan on revisiting it and leveling the characters up while playing the harder
difficulties.
[Tokyo
Twilight Ghost Hunters – PS Vita]
I can’t believe I actually got through this accursed game. The first time I played the game, I failed on
the tutorial mission. The game is half
Visual Novel and half Strategy. In the
Visual Novel parts, you read dialogues and make decisions based on choices or
senses/emotion (Love, Friendly, Sadness, Anger, Wondering – Touch, Sight,
Smell, Hear, Taste). In the Strategy
side of the game, you place traps at the start of a mission and then take out
ghosts on a grid board using up to 4 characters. You set where your characters want to go and
do (attack, use items, heal, etc.) and then execute them. Everything will move at once: your characters
and the enemies. So you need a bit of
foresight in order to strike a ghost. It’s
a bit like Frozen Synapse for PC. The
Strategy part of the game was so frustrating and random that I wasn’t enjoying
the game, but the stories of each chapter is so interesting and entertaining
that I couldn’t stop playing. The game
is set up like a standard 13 episode animé with each chapter starting and
ending with the opening and ending credits. Each chapter, the characters take up a client’s
request on exorcising a ghost. Some are
lost loves. Others are those of
desire. Each chapter had an interesting
story that continually introduces new characters that gradually adds to the
kooky cast of ghost hunters in your party.
I muscled through the game just to know what happens next and then I got
to the end and got the most boring ending out of the bunch. There are a ton of endings you can get, but
none of them are on the internet for me to see and I have no patience to play
the game over again. I really enjoyed
the Visual Novel parts and how unexpected some of the parts are. I tried kissing one of the characters using
the conversation wheel and I ended up tasting the cement in an old apartment
building. It was a really interesting
game, but the strategy side of the game really ruined my experience playing it.
That’s it for now.
Hopefully I get better soon and get back to working on projects.
