Squad Vs. Slayers: The Oneechanbara Story

Here we have two games, Oneechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad and Oneechanbara: Bikini Zombie Slayers. Similar in name, came out in the US at the same time, same game…WRONG!

First, a little history about Oneechanbara(Yes, I give it two E’s cause that’s how it was spelled).  Oneechanbara started on Playstation 2, as part of a little known set of games called The Simple 2000 Series. Now the Simple 2000 Series was a series of games made on a budget.  Only a handful of these games saw English translations, and only one saw it’s way to the US, but I digress.  The first of the games was Simple 2000 Series Vol. 61: The OneeChanbara(2004.08.26), released in Europe as Zombie Zone, which introduced you to Aya, the bikini clad zombie slayer, and her sister Saki, the school girl with kick ass skills.  And while the game only had six stages, there were quests and costumes to unlock.  Of course 19 games after Vol. 61, Vol. 80 was released, The OneeChanpurū ~ The Onechan Special Chapter ~(2005.06.23), later released in Europe as Zombie Hunters(2007.03.23)(tho, there are version of Zone that almost seem to be this version of the game).  In this version, you are given two more characters, D3 Publisher idol Riho Futaba and her younger sister Makoto. While everything seemed not that much different, Riho and Makoto were given their own little story, somewhat similar to Aya and Saki’s story.
Next came Simple 2000 Series Vo. 90: The Oneechanbara 2(2005.12.22). This game introduced you to Reiko, a leather clad babe with a sword to swing and a shotgun to blast the faces off zombies.  This game was pretty much the same as the first game, as it also received an update. Vol. 101: The OneeChampon ~ The Onechan 2 Special Chapter ~(2006.06.29), Released in Europe as Zombie Hunters 2(2007.09.28), this also featured the return of Riho and Makoto, along with the girls Kiku and Hana, stars of Vol. 87: The Senko, or Dragon Sisters as it is known in Europe. With more characters to pick, I always felt it gave the game more replay value. Also trying to basically beat everyone’s stories made my day.
Now, this is where everything gets tricky! 2006/12/14, Japan released Oneechanbara VorteX, the third game in the Oneechanbara series, on the 360.  In the previous games, you could unlock costumes by completing certain tasks or having saves on your memory card, full outfits for characters, in VorteX, doing these tasked unlocked costume parts.  Also, VorteX introduced us  to Anna(Or Annna if you prefer) the mainly gun using character, who has no blood lust meter. Also introduced are Misery, a recurring villain, and Himiko, the main big, bad boss of the game. Both characters later become unlockable.  While this game doesn’t have some of my favorite characters in it(I did so love Riho and her posing area attack), it still brought back Reiko, in a much more…sexy outfit.
Now, 2008/02/07, they release a new game, Oneechanbara Revolution, a game for the Wii. In this game, the main cast of Aya and Saki are here. You can tell that time has passed, Aya’s hair has gotten much longer and Saki looks a bit older. Reiko is there and so is Misery. In my opinion, this game, while having much better looking graphics then those that were before it, is probably my least favorite of ALL the OneeChanbara games. I mean, who thought a motion controlled hack and slash game was a good idea. I mean, if it’s just a flick of the wrist here and there I could understand, but shaking both the wiimote and the ‘chuck back and forth to pull of a move…your arms hurt half way through a stage. I still have yet to beat the game because I don’t want to put my arms through that pain and suffering.

Now, the American/Eurpoean releases of VorteX and Revolution were….pretty crummy.  In the US, both games released a year after Revolution came out(2009.02.10(US) 2009.02.27(EU)). That is three years after VorteX had been released in Japan. Because of the release of these two games at the same time, most people just assumed they were the same game, ultimately slamming the 360 version of the game as inferior because of it’s “poor” graphics, and the Wii version was claimed better for it’s prettier graphics. I have informed many people about how this is wrong, how the 360 and Wii games are different, they are two very different games.

And now there’s a fifth game(not counting Oneechanbara Special, a PSP game which I know nothing about), that we probably won’t get for another three years.  ;A;

Castle Crashers V-Day Contest

My entry, written in poem form, since it’s what I do best :3

In a small house,
somewhere in the U.S.A.,
there were two people,
Castle Crashers they play.

He’s playing as Orange,
she’s playing as Red,
“Co-op play is fun!”
happily she said.

So working together,
they beat the first stage,
now the fight for the kiss,
competitive rage!

She swings without target,
He uses magic with skill,
she runs away screaming,
with all of her will!

He wins the first kiss,
She puffs out her cheeks,
They soar through the game,
the other kisses she seeks!

Each fight for the kiss,
She’s desperate to win,
He beats her quite easily,
he continues to grin.

The last of the fights,
“The kiss is mine!”
She’d been waiting,
this whole time!

They battle it out,
She’s using more magic,
He’s dodging really well,
and the ending is tragic.

He claims his victory,
She’s annoyed, you bet!
They hear the little ping,
“Achievement Get!”

He kisses her cheek,
“That worked out just fine.”
She smiles at him sweetly,
“Now help me get mine.”

Castlevania: Symphony of the Catface

I’m not much of a Castlevania fan. I enjoyed the DS games, and played a little bit of the GBA ones. But Symphony of the Night seems to be the fan favorite of the series.  So, I tried it.  I had remembered playing a bit of it a while back, thinking that I would try it to see what all the fuss was about.
At first I would say that I wasn’t all that into the game. After all, it took me a good while to start playing it from when I had first started my 360 version up. So while this is kind of an over all review of the game, I will not let the horrid control set up for the 360 version totally ruin my review of the game.
While the game is a basic platformer, the series itself is probably one of my favorite platformers. Even when compared to platformers such as Mario or sonic, I like Castlevania more because of the massive ammount of story and the game play is actually fun. I will say that earlier Castlevania games, I am not that much of a fan of, but the later games are more fun for everyone.
The use of items and equipment make the game kind of like an RPG while still being a platformer. Several weapon choices makes this game more fun and at sometimes almost cheesy, but with Richter mode I’m sure that makes it a little more difficult. And with Richter mode, it gives more replay value and difficulty.
so my basic view of the game is fairly good, somewhat worth the hype, but if you’re not a fan of the genre you may not enjoy it as much as other people.

It’s Super and Hyper!

I’m all about playing the strange and cracked out games that haven’t reached the states.  Even if it’s all Japanese, I will try my best to figure out what I’m doing.  Games that are nothing but mini games seem to be the easiest to figure out. And that is what Super Galdelic Hour is, a collection of mini games that fan service girls in animal costumes perform.

From what I’ve played of the game, you become one of the QTS contestants on the Space T.V. show “Super Galdelic Hour” hosted by Sista, your basic psychedelic colored host.

While the game is mostly a fap fest for those that may be into that, the amusing games that you do, while not many, are brightly colored with neon shades of pink, blue, and green. And your character choices, from the loli cat girl Neko, to the bouncy and bountiful bear babe Kuma, are amusing in their own ways.

With 11 different little games over a seven show “game” the game is relatively easy. With games like Whack-A-Mole, Rope Jumpers, and Hi! Ho! Woodsman! it’s a fairly amusing game. After each set of four games, a winner of that day’s show will be announced. If you are the winner, you get the shoot your opponent out of a cannon and at a target in order to gain more points.

At the end of each show, the points collected can be used to buy outfits, hair/helmets, and little accessories that can be amusing for the girl that you’ve chosen. Also, there is one extra item that can buy which is a swimsuit for Sista, in case you are bored with the normal outfit.

With any T.V. Show would come sponsors. At the end of each show, your ratings get added up and you get sponsors accordingly. And with sponsors comes more money, and more money is more stuff you can buy.

Overall, the game is at best one of those games that you will play once, for the novelty of it all, giggle at the jiggly girls, take out of your PS2, and never play it again, unless to show someone the bizarreness of it, so you can laugh and say “Good job Exrays.”

What happened? Um…Pokemon

Truth be told, I wanted to be able to update once a week at the very least.  To at least try to beat a game a week. Well, you see…Pokemon came out, and I’ve been playing that more then I had been trying to beat other games.  I had also started to stream the PS2 game, God Hand.

“But Cherry, what happened to not starting any new games until you beat those RPGs that are sitting there started and not finished?”  Yeeeeeah, about that…I was bored you see. And the lovely folks that watch me stream, after seeing errors from Popful Mail, freezing in Chaotix, failure in Mega Man 1, and repeated but fun failure in Adventure Island 3, had heard me say something about God Hand and told me I should play it.  Which, I really didn’t mind, since the game is massively fun and mindless.

Also, some already know about my 360(there was even a moment of silence on a stream for me and all those that have suffered this sad thing) but, yeah, it RRoDed.  I think that has also hindered any progress on any games. Mostly because I usually take a break and play a little Rock Band 2, but when I can’t, I take a break and never go back. ;_;

Anyway, that’s my little update, I’m currently sucked into Pokemon and God Hand and I haven’t beaten anything lately. Hopefully I’ll get out of this little “haven’t beaten any games lately” funk soon.

Sung in the key of Ar

My brain is mush after finally beating this game. Ar Tonelico, while an interesting play by a company I kind of like, was far from perfect. Even tho it took me forever to beat(Yeeaah, I beat it the other day after a LOOOOOONG break. Who would have thought I would have been RIGHT at the end of the game?!). The story, while interesting, was not all that amazing, and the character designs, while cute in some aspects, seems overly complex. I can say for certain that the game’s story was far less sugar coated then it’s sequel, which I will be reviewing shortly, after I beat it that is.

Ar Tonelico, while being far less “winky” then it’s sequel, had an interesting battle set up, as seen in most of Gust’s games. A basic turn based battle system with in their faces attacks and spells. And while the game play was simple, it had a few interesting features, such as the harmony system and the songs. While and interesting game play mechanic, not one I enjoyed all that much. Even in the second game, I didn’t enjoy it much, but I won’t get into that in this post.

The game’s biggest selling point is the music. Tho, maybe if your interests are more towards a classic sound, which I do enjoy sometimes, then you would probably like the music. I find myself humming along with the music randomly while I play, which makes the game just a little more enjoyable.

In short, cute graphics with a somewhat interesting story, and fairly enjoyable music. Over all an okay game, but not the greatest.

What’s in a favorite?

When I get asked “What is your favorite video game” I get so conflicted.  Do they mean of all time, of the 90’s,  RPG, FPS, time killer.  Should I say an RPG, or maybe pick a retro game, a game with a good story, or one with pretty graphics. Do they want to turn this into an argument and it doesn’t matter what my favorite is because theirs is supposedly better.  I know there is no wrong answer, but there is no right answer either.

Truth be told, I can never really give a favorite video game because there are many games that I enjoy fully.  The idea of one over shadowing another seems odd to me.  Even if it’s picking one of a certain genre, I can’t do it.  There’s a few reasons to this, with RPGs, there’s many out there and they all have their little perks. One has cool graphics, but this one is retro, this one’s story is awesome, this one’s battle system is the best, this one has sweet character design. Even picking a favorite of a series is hard for me.

When asked about my favorite game, my answers always seem to be replied with a “What’s that game?”  There’s many times where this just bugs me, but after a while I get over it and just explain the game.  I think it’s because I try to stay away from most mainstream games.  When a game gets hyped up, I can’t seem to get excited about it. While there are a fair number of games that everyone likes that I also like, sometimes I just can’t think of them as favorites.  While they are good games, I like to think apart form everyone and give a game that not many people have heard. That way more people can play said game and enjoy it.

So, what’s my favorite game you may ask? Well, my favorite RPG is Skies of Arcadia. FPS,  Unreal Tounement 2k4. Platformer, I’d have to say Popful Mail. RTS, Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds. The list can go on and on. But really, I just can’t pick ONE.

Heaven sent and Earthbound

So, I finally got around to playing Earthbound for the first time at the beginning of the year.  I’d seen it played and beaten many times, as my cousin and brother would play it all the time.  I think the reason I finally picked it up and played it was because…Well, I hadn’t and everyone had.  It was a good game over all.  Game play was your overall RPG styled fighting set up.  Story and characters were well thought out, and there were fairly interesting villains.

While I admit I should have played the game sooner, I also think that I should have played Mother before starting Earthbound.  I’m not totally sure if there was anything that connected them much, but I still would have liked to have play Mother first. And someday I will play Mother 3,  so maybe someday I will play Mother.

Even with the ending as crazy as it was, and no matter how many times I’ve seen it, it still is one of the best boss battles ever.  I would suggest the game to anyone who hasn’t played it(Like there’s anyone that hasn’t played it).

Illusion of something…

When I think of it, it really takes me back. Playing Illusion of Gaia again was always a treat for me.  When I think back to went I first played the game, it wasn’t because I saw the game and thought it would be fun.  It was because my brother and my cousin(both four years older then me) could not beat the vampires.  They set the controller down, raging in the way that they did which involved grabbing sodas and sitting at the table, and planning their next strategy of attack.  Me, being the stupid little child that I was, after watching them try and try, again and again to beat this pair of vampires, picked up the controller.  I had learned the pattern after watching them try, and fail, many times.  A slash here, move away, dodge here, it hadn’t taken long. I’d beaten the vampires, a feat my brother and cousin couldn’t. I felt like I could do anything, that is until they came back, ready to try again, only to see me sitting there with the controller in my hands, looking at them and saying, “I beat those pesky vampires and saved Erik! You haven’t missed much.”

I do remember enjoying the game play.  Comparing it to a game like Zelda: LttP was probably the best I could do.  Picking it up now was just as fun as I remembered.  It’s always been one of those games that I tell others to play because, even if the vampires get you down, it’s still a really fun game.  I urge every gamer I know to play it, because it is great fun.