Retro Game Friday: Shogun Empires

This week for Retro Game Friday I’m back with a really unheard of title. It’s Real Time Conflict: Shogun Empires!

Plot Synopsis:  Two brothers are locked in bloody combat in feudal Japan.

Plot: That was the best plot synopsis I could come up with, sorry. The plot is so thin that it’s pretty much not there to begin with. Not that the gameplay is much better…

Gameplay: This is an RTS, which is almost never done right on anything other than the PC. This game shows it, although not because it was difficult to win, but because it was so freaking boring. You could, and should, use only units of archers to absolutely dominate any battle. Everything else was pretty much blown away if you just overwhelmed them with a shit ton of archers.  Seriously though it’s such flimsy gameplay that they could as well have thrown in the entire works of Shakespeare and still no one would’ve cared enough about this game to give it more than an hour or two of play. Although that might just be insulting to the Bard.

Art: The art is terrible, and even the cover art is incredibly dated. I mean seriously, those CG models are freaking terrible.

Music: I don’t remember a whit of it, sorry.

Overall: Never play this game unless you have no other choice of any other activities. Which should never happen as even sleeping is a better use of time then playing this piece of garbage. Just stay far, far, away from this.

Anime Sunday: Youjo Senki Episode 01 Impressions

This week for Anime Sunday I’m covering one last series from the Winter 2017 Season. It’s my Youjo Senki Episode 01 Impressions!

Plot Synopsis: Youjo Senki takes place in an alternate world’s version of World War I, but there are mages who take the place of aerial support instead of biplanes. In the Rhine there is one very young lieutenant who despite her incredibly young age is quickly gaining her foothold in this world. But there is something a little odd about her and her speech that makes her seem much older than she is…

Plot: The plot of this first episode is really intense, it’s pretty much nonstop action the entire time, and while there are some more low key sections in the episode they are only low key in the term that there isn’t any physical combat occurring. I really enjoyed this first episode and while I have yet to watch the entire season’s worth of episodes it will be watched in the next few days. However based on this first episode I’ll be incredibly surprised if I don’t love the hell out of it.

Characters: Tanya Degurechaff is our heroine, and she’s a feisty little girl who somehow ended up on the front lines in the Rhine theater. She’s not the typical heroine, and that’s all I’ll say about her. The rest of the cast is interesting as well, although Vicky is probably going to end up being my favorite side character.

Art: The art is excellent, by a studio I’ve never heard of NUT before. It was quite well done. I hope the quality sticks throughout the entire run of episodes.

Music: The music was equally as good, although we really didn’t get to hear the opening and ending themes I’m going to guess they are just as good.

Overall: This is definitely a must watch for any Anime fan. Although the subject matter is probably not appropriate for children so don’t watch with them.

For those who like: Fantasy, Military, War Fiction, Excellent Plot, Fantastic Cast of Characters, Amazing Artwork, Great Musical Score.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above, but really you ought to give this a chance.

Sensate Saturday: Husk of Eden by Kisaragi Yoshinori

This week for Sensate Saturday I’ve got another Quick Review. It’s Husk of Eden by Kisaragi Yoshinori!

Plot Synopsis: Eripha is the only girl in the garrison of the World Government’s army that is protecting the city of Eldorado from terrorists. After being stationed there for three months she finally warms up to a boy in the same troop, Melka Dracea. But a sudden raid from the terrorists changes their situation, drastically.

Plot: This is a really messed up series, it’s not a happy one at all. It’s full of child soldiers, in fact that’s the main premise of the entire series. Frankly I probably won’t read the rest of the series for a long time, most likely until I get my depression under better control because of how depressing this series is. I won’t go into details, as it’ll be super spoilerific, but if you have depression this may be a series you want to skip.

Characters: Eripha is a pretty quiet girl, and I enjoy that about her character quite a bit. Melka on the other hand is a brash, outspoken boy. Between the two of them I prefer Eripha, but Melka isn’t a terrible character either. Their leader on the other hand is pretty mysterious, and I have the feeling there’s more to him than we get to see in this first chapter.

Art: Pretty good, it’s fairly detailed for the most part, but it definitely isn’t Shueisha level in terms of quality.

Overall: If you can deal with depressing stories, this might be a great read for you, especially considering that the series is complete at four volumes. If you can’t however, this is a series better skipped than read.

For those who like: Drama, Slice of Life, Action, Military, Tragedy, Good Lead Character, Decent Artwork.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.

 

Anime Sunday: Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

This week for Anime Sunday I’m covering another film! It’s Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind.

Plot Synopsis: One thousand years have passed since the Seven Days of Fire, an apocalyptic war that destroyed civilization and created the vast Toxic Jungle, a poisonous forest swarming with giant mutant insects. In the kingdom of the Valley of the Wind, a prophecy predicts a saviour “clothed in blue robes, descending onto a golden field, to join bonds with the great Earth and guide the people to the pure lands at last”. Nausicaä, the princess of the Valley of the Wind, explores the jungle and communicates with its creatures, including the gigantic, armored trilobite-like creatures called Ohm. She hopes to understand the jungle and find a way for it and humans to co-exist.

Plot: This is a true classic film, and if you haven’t ever watched Nausicaa, you really need to. I won’t go further into details, but there is a reason why Nausicaa is regarded as one of the best Anime films of all time.

Characters: The entire cast is great, and while there are some times I was really creeped out by the insect like Ohm, I enjoyed the movie immensely. Nausicaa being a forceful and strong female lead was a huge boon to the film, and she was definitely my favorite character. Of the side characters my favorite was probably Yupa.

Art: The art is amazing, and if you get the chance to watch it you owe it to yourself to watch it. It’s not going to compare to something from ufotable, but given that this was released over 30 years ago it doesn’t need to.

Music: The music was great as well.

Overall: Like I said above, if you haven’t ever seen Nausicaa go watch it. You really owe it to yourself.

For those who like: Sci-Fi, Action, Adventure, Drama, Post-Apocalyptic, Excellent Plot, Fantastic Cast of Characters, Great Artwork, Awesome Music.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.

Anime Sunday: Izetta Episode 01 Impressions

This week for Anime Sunday I’m covering another Fall 2016 series. It’s my Izetta Episode 01 Impressions!

Plot Synopsis: Set in an alternate Earth on the eve of the 2nd World War, the story follows Finé a princess of the tiny Alpine country Eylstadt and her friend Izetta.

Plot: The plot of this first episode is pretty intense from start to finish, and while I really enjoyed it opening with a shot of Finé running in a forest with a Corgi that single scene is probably as peaceful as the entire episode gets. After that everything is incredibly tense.  I won’t spoil any more than that, but I’ll just say I’m hooked thus far. As long as the story keeps up this quality I’ll be watching this series avidly.

Characters: We really only get to meet Finé in this episode, but it’s enough to learn a lot about her as a character. I have to say I enjoy her quite a bit, but I’m looking forward to learning even more about her and Izetta’s relationship. The rest of the cast is good, although I’m expecting we have only touched the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the cast.

Art: The art is great, personally I thought I was watching something animated by A-1 Pictures, the studio who did Sword Art Online among many other series. However I was surprised to see that it was a studio I haven’t heard of before, Ajia-do Animation Works. They did great work in this first episode, and while it’s not close to ufotable quality work, it is leaps and bounds ahead of anything Studio Deen could make.

Music: The musical score fits this series perfectly and while we really didn’t get to enjoy the theme songs I’m looking forward to hearing them in future episodes. We’ll see if it can meet the standard that the score set with this first episode, because they did a great job with it.

Overall: If you want a new spin on World War II, or just want a great Politcal/Military series Izetta might just end up being the show to watch this Fall 2016 season.

For those who like: Politics, Military, World War II Stories, Alternate History, Fantasy, Action, Drama, Excellent Plot, Fantastic Cast of Characters, Great Artwork, Amazing Musical Score.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.