Hey this one is ready relatively quick. And guess what guys it’s mostly good news, everything here is flawed but none of this stuff was a major disappointment like last time. However almost everything here is freaking weird, and I can’t promise this weirdness is for everyone. On with the remixes.
Megaman X2 (Wii U VC):
Megaman X easily became my second favourite Megaman game when I played it a couple of years ago. I loved the slightly more forgiving game-play the increased mobility and the introduction of wall jumping. I also loved the kick ass soundtrack and the minor metroidvania elements added to the game. Originally on the SNES, X2 pretty much ticks all of these boxes but doesn’t shine as brightly as the first X game. The visuals are the same for the most part although X gets a new suit design and the introduction of the C4 chip means that you’ll see the occasional wire-frame. The level designs don’t really stand out much visually except for perhaps the snail and moth levels (the names escape me) speaking of which the maverick designs are rather quirky or at least quirkier than the last game. In short it looks as good as X1, however in terms of soundtrack it doesn’t quite ever reach the same level of greatness. The tracks in X2 are still amazing though and I had to think a little about which I wanted to include in this blogg. In each stage there’s 2 collectible items that increase your health, give you a suit upgrade or a reserve tank. The suit upgrades are fairly decent as they give you extra firepower, allow you to locate other secrets and dash in mid-air. In fact for the most part 100% this game is rather easy, as long as you can find the secrets and have enough dexterity to use your arsenal to collect them. I really felt like I was using all of my weapons in this game rather than just relying on the mega buster, for example flame stags weapon can be used to dash in mid air when fully charged, combine this with the mid air and and you can pull off some tricky stuff. This nets you a final secret weapon which is pretty neat since it can instant KO some of the final bosses. Hell this game even has an ice beam which can turn enemies into platforms. In that regard I really like the gameplay here, but at the same time it felt a little bit on the easy side. The challenge of the game comes from trying to beat the X Hunters hidden throughout the game that unlock the true ending and let you skip a boss towards the end. It’s an interesting mix-up but because of their random nature you could end up fighting them when you’re not prepared to deal with thus getting your ass kicked. As you can see I’ve gone way too much into the details, the game is good but lacks the flair of the first and that’s a simple summary. If you want to check it out I can highly recommend it but I would suggest checking out X1 first if you haven’t already.
Jazzpunk (PC):
Jazzpunk was introduced to me through the videos of two people, Jim Sterling (who voice acted in this game) and MyIGN’s own Ghandi who also goes by the username Celsium and runs a stream on Twitch called The streaming mug. Jazzpunk is an experience, one that I would say is just as fun to watch as it is to play, which isn’t something I normally say about story driven games but Jazzpunk thrives on humour over substantial story and characters. Jazzpunk is weird and is a little difficult to describe, the visual style is simple but does a good job and feels like some sort of cartoon. The visuals aren’t the best graphically though but the style is enough compensation. The soundtrack is there but it’s all based on where in the environment you are rather than following you and your actions, it’s a weird effect and it makes it tough to appreciate the soundtrack (which is decent at best). The gameplay is kind of clumsy and most of your 4 hours will be spent on clicking on NPCs and random objects. However there is some variety here with various minigames referencing many popular/infamous titles like space invaders, quake, street fighter, wave race and even tennis for the virtual boy. In short the gameplay is fun but can get boring quickly. This game really does depend on it’s humour to pull it through and since humour is so very subjective I can’t recommend it to everyone. The game is random, off the wall and the jokes will probably only work once, or at least they did with me. Of course if you see it on sale during the summer sale then I say it may just be worth it for the experience alone, otherwise you may just want to watch it. I mean there are some pretty neat jokes and humorous moments.
Kill la Kill (Anime):
After some mediocre anime I finally decided to watch something good. Let me start with the soundtrack, this is one of the few animes that had me seriously thinking about which songs I wanted to include in this blogg. Almost every character has a unique theme filled with personality and it still fits the show very well. It was apparently the same composer as Attack on Titan which had a few excellent tracks, however for Kill la Kill he freaking pulls out some amazing stuff and the whole thing sounds amazing. This show lets the composer shine. The visuals are done by the same people who made Gurren Laggan a show which I recommended a couple of years ago I think. It has an awesome style that allows for crazy stuff to happen and I find it difficult to describe. I guess it allows for more humour and is far less realistic than other styles you might be used to. Also to note is that this show has almost every character without clothes at some point which ties into the plot however it may come across as too fanservice-y for some. The sheer amount of skin exposure though pretty much makes it feel like a non-issue, not many times did I feel like the show was trying to arouse me, unlike other shows such as high school of the dead or numerous short comedy animes. It just feels like a part of the visual style and at times a part of the humour and the plot. As for story and character well it feels like a mixed bag. The show has an extremely fast pace which is a double edged sword. The pacing works very well for the first half where the story is mostly action comedy and while the fights are meant to be somewhat serious the show feels balanced between light heartedness and seriousness. The pacing doesn’t work as well in the second half however as a whole bunch of plot twists cause the show to change the status quo dramatically several episodes in a row. The fights also became less spectacular after a certain point (i.e. the huge plot twist) but overall the show doesn’t really suffer greatly. Kill la Kill is a fun time, and it’s a show I can highly recommend to people who enjoy anime. I would just caution those who don’t like seeing too much ‘skin’ although there’s no graphic details. I forgot to mention that some of the style choices reminded me of Tarantino for some reason. Please listen to the music.
The Amazing Spiderman 2 (movie):
Spiderman is a device topic when it comes to the movies. Many like and grew up with the Rami movies and many also like the more humour filled spiderman played by Andrew Garfield. Each set side of the argument has it’s merits and each spiderman movie has been a mixed bag. Personally I adore Spider man 1 and 2, while also thoroughly enjoying the amazing spiderman. One movie I do despise though is Spiderman 3 which had a poorly thought out plot and flipped flopped all over the place without making anything feel connected. It also had emo peter which has gained the same kind of ‘praise’ as The Room did i.e. so bad it’s good. When I saw the reviews for the amazing spiderman 2 I was surprised by the level of hate it had received. Worse than Spiderman 3? How? How could they fuck up that badly? So out of curiosity I went to see it with my own eyes and this may be one of the few times I enjoyed a movie with such negative press. Is this the best spidey movie? No it’s not. Is it better than the amazing spiderman? In some areas I’d say yes, in other areas no. Is it worse than Spiderman 3? No way in hell. Now it does attempt some of the things Spiderman 3 did like having multiple villains and too many plot threads, it could have been 2 movies to be honest. But it executes these things far better. The plot threads actually feel tied together as if the actions of each character are effecting the overall story rather than just randomly fighting each other at random points. I also really enjoyed Electro as his character was interesting not necessarily another scientist, he was also visually more impressive than both the lizard and the green goblin. The ost for this movie stands out a lot more than the previous one although it’s still not as iconic as the main theme of the rami trilogy. Another compliment I have is just how humorous this movie is, especially with Spiderman himself which is an aspect I’m glad to see return from its predecessor and given even more focus. Spiderman himself is a far more endearing character this time if it wasn’t for some awkward peter parker performances. Speaking of awkward performances this movie has plenty of them, and it can be kind of distracting maybe it’s truer to the characters (I’m not the guy to ask about that) but some lines just made me cringe and think “did we really need to say that” not all performances were awkward but enough were for me to notice. Overall I’d say the movie was overly ambitious yet still wasn’t quite the train wreck it’s a far prettier web of plot threads than Spiderman 3, and I can recommend renting this at the very least once. For myself I enjoyed it enough to contemplate purchasing it on sale. Perhaps they might even improve on some scenes with a directors cut as the ending was meant to be a lot darker than what was delivered. I think they would have been better off making it either longer or two separate movies. Now I’ll brace myself for impact from the people who detest this movie.
Another World/Out of this world (PC):
Another World is an obscure retro multiplatform game that was bought to my attention by game grumps. It’s been on the Amiga, the Mega Drive, the SNES, the 3DO and now PC as it was remade in HD. The artstyle is simple but somewhat unique and the HD visuals give the game a much smoother look. The game is charming and has a decent soundtrack even if there isn’t much of it. From what I’ve played and seen the PC version has less music than the older counterparts which I found strange, overall though I had a hard time finding and noticing the music in this game so it’s not the strongest feature. This game reminds me of Heart of Darkness a PS1 game from my childhood that was punishing and relied on try and error. The same very much applies to this game, if you can’t think like the creator you’ll have a hard time. The length of this game is really short so it does depend on you failing for longevity. Given that it’s a strange platform/adventure hybrid you often find yourself screwing despite knowing what to do as well, especially when it comes to the combat involving your ray gun. By no means would I say this is a bad game, but I really can’t recommend it unless you’re curious and see it on sale. The trial and error gets a bit frustrating and the game can be rather clunky at times, although there’s a weird sense of satisfaction in completing it. I did have fun though just in case you thought otherwise.
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure (anime):
I was going to say Kill la Kill was the weirdest thing I had seen in a while but then I watched this show. This show is based off source material from a different era in time to ours and that shows itself in the artstyle. The artstyle is excessively manly in a way that has a weird sense of charm. It’s also a little off putting considering how different the medium looks in this day and age. If you do take the plunge though you’re in for one hell of a an experience.., a bizarre adventure if you (I said the line). An action comedy JoJo centres around the adventures of the Joestar family, things get rather serious yet it all still feels rather campy and comedic. The music is nice and the ending theme is a British rock piece (at least I think it is). The dialogue is excellent and the sound effects are also something that stands out, the setting is rather unique by anime standards and the time period caught me off guard. Now I’m only talking about Part 1 and 2 when I say all these things since this is an ongoing show with Part 3 currently airing. However the way the story is set I can easily recommend this anime. Of course this is very much something you should experience yourself before you decide if you want to watch it or not. I had an absolute blast and laughed quite a bit and to my surprise I was even invested in the story somewhat. To be honest I don’t have much else to say since I enjoyed this so much.
Okay so this blogg is over. I really hope you found something here that got your curiosity in particular I found the anime included here to be top shelf stuff but I understand if it’s not your cup of tea. Expect the next blogg to be larger in size as it’s the big 50 next time. Anyway here’s a picture.
see you next time.
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