RedRodriguez87

#339: The Fifth Emperor of the Sea Gotta say, that wasn't too bad. Pretty fun in most parts, as a matter of fact. It's a Musou game, so plenty of repetition involved, but nowhere near as bad as prior entries. Like DW9, every new addition I favored, and many of them address past problems I had with prior games. Battlefield stages now feel unique and like they come straight out of the OP world, and story events hardly if ever break up the action. All the characters still feel semi-unique, but at least now have basic combos that never go too over-the-top; they are solid and standard, which means its up to you to liven things up with your specials, which I appreciate more over basic preset moves that fling you all over the stage and ruin your combos. As you can tell by the rarity rate, the trophy list is the easiest I think in any Musou game; I daresay even TOO easy. And this made me realize, its not the large number of things to accomplish for trophies that I hate with these games; it's the tedious hoops you have to jump through to do it (specific characters, specific stages, specific loadouts, which is a pain because of the past games where randomized and luck of the draw in these areas). Here, everything is streamlined; Need to unlock characters? Just play the game any way you want! Need to level up your crew? Just have them as your allies. Need to grind a lot of money? Just get S ranks. Need to level up your character stats? Just get some money and easy-to-aquire perks that increase your rewards, AND you can use anybody to do so! So it sucks that none of what I mentioned have trophies attached to them; it would've been pretty fun to earn them. And you know, I just realized the appeal of One Piece's character designs; they look like Rankin-Bass inspired creations. Just look at Big Mom, Prometheus and Zeus and tell me they couldn't be related to the Miser Bros in some way.

#338: KINGDOM HEARTS II Master Kingdom hearts 2 follows Kingdom Hearts 1 in terms of doubled-up platinums, and like with CoM, I'm gonna go ahead and leave BBS alone. Its one of those instances where I tell myself "I'm just gonna play for fun, because I don't want to go through any headaches" and then BAM, there it is. Other than that, not much to say that I didn't say after my PS4 run.

Kinda wish I saw this on the big screen, but hey, can't argue against what I ended up paying (wink wink). Not a knock against it, just who can say no to that price? Visually speaking, it is a fun ride, and it fairs alot better from the prior Trigger production (BNA) I watched by virtue of having a movie budget. The character designs are again really great, the colors used are all very comforting and easy on the eyes, the overall tone and feel is that of just a fun ride, and I can't help but give it points for how cheekily it pokes fun at it's Gurren Lagann inspiration. And yeah, it pretty much is Trigger wanting a Gurren Lagann they could call their own; I could say you'd get a much more fulfilling experience watching that TV series, but I could ALSO say that Promare does it alot better than GL's own movies. If I had one negative, one moment that took me out of the experience, it would be the halfway point when our heroes meet exposition character who explains the backstory. I disliked this moment for 2 reasons; the 1st is how clunky it is in regards to narrative; this guy literally shows up, starts laying out the background, and our heroes barely even question it; it feels so much like a last minute addition. 2nd, the art style switches to that very rubbery spastic wacky look that you often in alot of the more comedic moments in Trigger's shows. It just did not gel well with the move had given up the point, and the characters were just so ugly to look at. Thankfully it doesn't take long to go back the more solid grounded look, but I'm serious when I say it was jarring when it happened.

Yeah, the creators blew it. They had something to work with, set up ALOT of interesting ideas, but somehow didn't know how to fully follow through on a single one. But first, what I liked. Character designs. Yep, put me in the group that loves these designs. Simplistic, but memorable. The colors are pretty nice, and as I said before, the show introduces some ideas I don't see alot of in metaphorical stories. Now, for everything else. These interesting and complex rules and ideas in regards to its world clash with the simplistic tone and narrative the series often falls back on. This segregated city that is presented as paradise to our heroine soon reveals itself to have a shady underbelly; a great time to show that marginalized people aren't perfect and are complex, but hard to appreciate when we open up the first episode with cartoonishly exaggerated depictions of human prejudice. We're introduced to characters who act against their own peoples' interest, perhaps setting up the a story of how sometimes you have to do questionable things to make it in this world, but by episodes end the results are handwaved away with simplistic "I just do it cuz I like money" or "being a woman is hard" or "I'm pure god lol", and that's even if the show chooses not to ignore it. What's weird is that it happens in reverse too. Plot related drama that IMO could be set up and/or solved with a simple straightforward explanation (ie why are these animals masquerading as humans in a completely animal city, why are they discriminated against, why do they rampage under stress) are given these very vague or needlessly complicated explanations that fail to go in any satisfying direction, and even completely screw over the story itself. For me, it's that last point regarding this creatures' rampaging, resulting them in a giant hulk out and causing havoc and destruction, that completely fucks up ANY chance of the story redeeming itself. In one fell swoop, the story inadvertently justifies the prejudice, discrimination AND segregation against it's downtrodden group, and all for the sake of a completely unneeded wet fart of a plot twist. Now about the animation and visuals. Yeah, they are nice and fun; the action scenes don't blow my socks off, but they keep my attention while they are happening. I end up forgetting them as soon as they finish tho; I'm gonna speak some sacrilege and admit that Triggers brand of action and humor just comes across as very samey and by-the-numbers to me nowadays. Not helping is 90% of western action toons trying their damndest to mimic Trigger's style, which results in me getting even more tired of it. What I'm saying is, the visuals aren't bad, but it's a not a plus I would list because they on their own isn't enough to distract me from the other flaws anymore. I'm not gonna say I hated it though; like I said, it does have alot of interesting ideas, the character designs are really cool, plus I knew not to set my expectations too high thanks to the number of reviews and opinion pieces warning about the ball drop in the latter half of the series. I've also learned to take the glowing praises Trigger seem to constantly get from fans with a grain of salt. Some have described it as something to put on in the background while you focus on something else, and yeah, that is probably the best way to view this series in the end. And if you need something else to do, maybe craft a fix-fic, fan sequel or spiritual successor; it may only be for fun, but chances are high it'll probably be better than BNA's end result.

#337: You are Just as Special as we are This honestly felt like the shortest time I've spent with a lego game. It's also one of the easiest, as it takes little effort to breeze through the main game, and while the grind is still the most involved part, even that becomes easy with a checklist you can make yourself. And of course Red Bricks, now called Super Items, break the game once again. It was a pretty ok experience, overall. A lot of people feel the same way, and weren't too happy about it. Apparently, this game was rushed as hell, and while it wasn't really broken or unplayable, there did seem something... well, beta about it. It's missing things like full voice acting in favor of straight narration, there are no clips or music played from the movie, and overall content seems very limited compared to other games in the series. Someone described it as extended DLC for Lego World, and I can sorta see that. Shame too, as for the moment, this seems to be the end for the Lego Movieverse. Platinum looks cool though (which yes, is why I played it).

#336: The Bard And here we have another pleasant surprise. It really feels like movie based games don't deserve their bad rap. For everyone that's bad, there is one that is at least decent and fun for a playthrough. You know all those cash-in games (mostly Nickelodeon based) that have those generic platformer beat-em-up shooter elements? This game would be like those but not lazy. It's the little touches they add to the combat that really make it stand out, like building up chains which result in more points to buy upgrades, melee moves that can lead into the air-juggling gunplay, 3rd AND first person aiming. The platforming isn't mind-blowing, but it never overstays its welcome and manages to offer quit a bit of variety from moment to moment; even the oddly out-of-nowhere golf minigame is a lot of fun. This another game where I don't have many bad things to say about it. But I did have a couple. Again, it would've been nice to skip the in-game cut-scenes and not HAVE to see them every time you replay a level, there is a tiny bit of a grind near the end for the platinum, not helped by the fact it's too easy to lose your combo streak due to the enemies throwing mobs of enemies at you off-camera. I liked that the game stayed true to the wonderful uglier-than-sin character designs of the movie, but their realistic designs too often blend into the realistic old west aesthetic, which means more often than not you will take a cheap shot and lose your streak. Oh, and the platinum sucks. It's the same as a story-based trophy; nothing unique about it at all. Like, they could have made it shinier or bluer. But still, this game is awesome and you should play it.

#335: Platinum Hero This was an aggravating experience, but anyone who sees my status updates might have guessed that already. Granted, the ride got a lot smoother when I broke down and started following this amazing guide https://www.neoseeker.com/monster-boy-and-the-cursed-kingdom/walkthrough and it became easy to see how this is an uncommon platinum and not rare, but still I did NOT like it. But first, what I DID like. The graphics look real clean and polished, and I liked the idle animations for each monster, which gives them some personailty. The music is pretty catchy. The puzzles are easily the highlights, so much so that I wouldn't have minded if the game was just these moments. The game is also very generous with its saving; no matter where you die or how far back you go, what you do remains done with no repeats. The backstory of this game is also pretty cool; it was conceived as a spiritual fan successor to a preexisting series, but was found by said series' creator, who then elevated to alternate universe canon. I'd imagine that was pretty awesome for the devs. Now what I hated; the shoddy clunky Metroidvania gameplay. Levels look nice, but still are bland and unmemorable because they all follow the generic tropes of fire, grass, water, ice and haunted and dark. And then we have the difficulty. The game started out fine, easing you into controls and the mechanics you have to deal with as well as the towns and the fact that everything is so damned expensive, which HEY, no big deal as long as you play skillfully. But then you reach the grassy plains and are ambushed by a fireball spewing cloud foe whose attacks also cause explosions that you can get caught up in and take off huge chunks of health, so you make a mad dash to escape, all while having to deal with OTHER projectile enemies launching their own fireballs, and once you think you are in the clear, you run into another cloud foe whose attacks have super fast shockwaves that invert your controls. The games goes downhill from here, and any enjoyment I was having dissipated into the ether, never to return. And let me clarify; it's not because you have to figure out what to do next; again, the puzzles where my favorite part. Heck, it isn't even the fact that enemies are peppered all over the place, and are very inconsistent with how much damage they deal to you, though that certainly doesn't help. No, it's the fact that game never preps you for the challenges ahead, be they hints, tips, gear or attacks. A youtube comment summed it up; this game is comprised of so many trial and error "how tf was I supposed to know to do that" moments. Adding insult to injury, you hero is a little bitch of a fighter. Here's what he has; a standard short range attack that only hits what's in front of you, a slowass magic form that runs out of spells quickly, a bigass lion that can at least attack below himself, but has such a big hitbox that any shield is worthless - and shields are borderline worthless already, seeing as to you can only block whats directly in front of or above you, leaving plenty of room for projectiles to sneak in and hit that bigass hitbox of yours, assuming that was even a projectile the game decided you could block anyways- a snake that sucks ass because hes small and has shit defenses and attacks, and a dragon that can fly and breath fire, but A-fucking-GAIN only what's right in front of him and has an energy limit on both of these things, making them frustrating to use. Now throw in dungeons that go on waaay too long, enemies around every corner and in only the most inopportune places; each topped off with a boss battle that boils down to a damage race where you hope you have enough hearts to tank the attacks. It just all encapsulates a frustrating experience that I do not want to experience again. Also, the ending. It's there, it conclusively ends things, but it also feels like an invisible force fast-forwarded through it during programming, because it literally comes and goes.

#334: Know-All Alright, another PS PLUS game finished! It more smoother ride that Frantics, though still pretty annoying. LSS, it's a fun wacky quirky quiz game, mostly straightforward, plus a gimmick here and there. It does get tedious at times, with the lack of customization options like turning items off and skipping cutscenes, but hey, no trophy based on luck, so that's plus. I thought about maybe getting all the Playlink platinums, but I'm not too sure now. I will probably finish up the ones I have and leave it at that.

For me, it kinda fell on the boring side. I do like the idea of exploring a small town areas, even ones that's been wiped of all life and empty; I remember there was this very creepy feel to it, like I was expecting something scary to happen when exploring these abandoned places. But still, moving so damn slow really killed the pace. I think the biggest thing I got out of this game was it's title, which I use to replace the lyrics of those old Movie Lobby jingles. Everybody's Gone To The RAP-ture Everybody's Gone To The rap-ture Everybody's Gone To The Rap-TURE To Get Themselves Some Snacks! or making silly edits like this.

I never played the PS3 version, but I do remember the 360 version having a bunch of tricks in game that made even the hardest sounding achievements a breeze. Heck, it was one of the few Arcade games I 100% on my original account, because said tricks where so helpful. I dunno of they took those out of this version, or if it wasn't even possible on the PS3, so we'll see......

#333: The Party Never Ends Such a shame, this game. It started out so great, too. A fun art style, wacky character designs, fun and unique spins on party games, different ways to pull ahead and win in the end. I was prepared to state that the only negative thing about this game game was that it was attached to a gimmicky phone app. But then I got to one of the gold trophies Be There AND Be Square and all fun I was having just disappeared. Yep, it's one those trophies that has the power to completely ruin an experience. This trophy tasks with with a obtaining a certain 2-item setup for its minigame. This doesn't seem like an issue at all, but the problem is, this steup is randomly generated, meaning obtaining even ONE of these items could take literal hours, plus you have only a limited number of tries to do as such, the entire time the last item you need could end up going to another character meaning you have try all over again. Then add in the fact that you cannot simply restart the minigame; no, have to back out to the main menu, sign in AGAIN, partake in an annoying and completely unnecessary phone shake gimmick, go through multiple load screens, confirm each character, and THEN try get lucky again. Sorry Frantics, I wanted to love you you, but then you had go and blindside me. If this gold trophy just required a certain number of playthroughs, I would understand that because you want people to play you more, but making me rely entirely on luck? I can't gel with that.