Monthly Purchase for March

Well I haven't done one of these in a long time. I just got in a huge amount of stuff from AmiAmi and I thought I would share it with you. Well it's not huge, but my box was pretty big. Inside contained a figure and some other things inside.


All the images have been taken with my iPhone, so hopefully the images look good. Also who doesn't love the cute Amico illustrations that Amiami sends people, because I know I love them.

So with my package I got a little bit of all sorts of things, and lets' just start out with the two things that kind of are different from all the rest; a CD and a game case.

I ended up getting the 24 card case for the 3DS from Hori and the Persora: The Golden Best 2 album. Oddly enough I actually found the first volume at Kinokuniya and bought it. I personally like volume 2 better because it has songs like Backside of the TV and Light the Fire Up in the Night from Persona Q. If you like P4 you should get volume one and volume two for P3. Though both have a good mix of songs, so honestly get both if you're into music collecting from video games.

 I also started to collect Gugure Kokkuri-san Bluray and poster collection. I haven't opened any of the posters yet but probably will pretty soon. If I have any duplicates I'll probably sell them online, because what am I going to do with all those posters. it's a pretty full box. The Bluray itself is pretty cool, I haven't watched any of my new Bluray's yet, but out of all of them, I think Gugure Kokkuri-san has a pretty interesting box style.

 I also bought an Otome game for the PC. It's called Taisho x Taisho Alice. This is volume one and I have ordered volume 2 as well. I haven't done anything besides looked at case itself and it seems like a genderbent version of fairytale characters. On the cover is Cinderella and Red Ridding Hood. But on the back is more fairytale characters. I'm sure this is going to be quite an interesting game, I hope to have either some sort of review or in progress shots as I go along. It should be a pretty good time as I really love Alice in Wonderland.

I also bought a few Hello Kitty x DRRR covers for my phone. I will be honest, I really only got an iPhone just for the cute covers along with the fact that I've been using the same phone for about 5 years without getting a new one. I did need one, so I bought an iPhone since the camera on it is pretty ok too. I was pleasantly surprised though, that the covers were all made in Japan. Right now I'm using the Heiwajima Shizuo one right now, but I probably will switch it to the white one or the other one in a couple of weeks. I actually have quite a few anime covers already, and will most likely be getting more in the future.

There is one thing I did get that made the majority of the box, but I just couldn't take a good picture and that's of my Sol Badguy figure. Hopefully once I open it, I can take pictures of it. But as of right now I cannot.

I do have more Blurays coming in but that's not really anything of a big deal. Hopefully during Sakuracon I should have images up of what I buy or things that I do, so look forward to that.

The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddess

On March 2nd, a few friends and I went to go see The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses at the Benaroya Hall in downtown Seattle. When we parked in the garage after going downtown we rode the elevator up and saw something pretty neat.

Promo Poster for the Third Season of Symphony of the Goddesses called Master Quest

The actual event itself was pretty darn amazing. There was a lot of people nicely dressed up and lots of people dressed up in cosplay. My friends and I were halfway in the concert hall towards the right, so we actually got a super good seats and the music was AMAZING when they started playing.

After a few songs there was some video feed commentary between Shigeru Miyamoto, Eiji Aonuma, and Koji Kondo. Each song was compossed amazingly and in such a way where it fit in and melded various themes together in a way where it wasn't rigid but very fluid.

The concert program was like this, taken from the website for the symphony:

Act One:
Overture
+*Interludes*+
-Gerudo Valley

-Boss Battle Medley

-Suite from Majora's Mast
-A Link Between Worlds

+*The Symphony*+

-Prelude:The Creation of Hyrule

-Movement I: The Ocarina of Time

-Movement II: The Wind Waker

Act Two:
-Intermezzo: The Great Fairy Fountain

-Movement III: Twilight Princess

-Movement IV: Time of the Falling Rain

Finale

Was the concert worth it? No doubt it was. The music was amazing, to the point of tears a few times. And it was well worth the money that I spent. I hopefully will be doing this again during the Distant Worlds concert.

Project Mirai Release Date & Vocaloid Talk

In case you aren't one of the many people who enjoy Vocaloid, or if you're like me and can't wait for the next Vocaloid based game to come out to the US. Well Sega has the answer depending on what country you are in. But for sure... Project Mirai is being released late May this year.

Project Mirai's Cover from Japan

From the article from Niche Gamer North America is getting it on May 26th while Europe is going to be having it on the 29th. While there is no date for preorders yet, this is good news and a rather promising outlook with Miku and the Vocaloids.

The reason why this is promising is because Sega of Japan and Crypton are realizing that Vocaloid is a world-wide phenomenon. While some people may not like it, the ones that do, will buy the merchandise and go out to see her, as shown with the Mikunopolis and the Miku Expo 2014. Otaku culture has spread out from Japan, and in the US we're known to be fans of something regardless if it's the thing that is in or not.

Hopefully in the future this will lead to even more US Vocaloid concerts or just even more events or screenings for anime movies and such.

I Love the PS Vita

So around the 24th of November I finally received my PS Vita and I have been messing around with it ever since.

For one thing the PS Vita is rather light since it's the newer version and not only that it feels a bit more natural in my hands than the 3DS does. Now that doesn't mean that I dislike my 3DS but the two are aimed at very different people and tastes.

As of right now I don't have many games for the Vita I have three which includes a cross platform game and two actual Vita games. But, as for the selection in titles in the USA, it does make it look more like if you enjoy playing import localized games (i.e. J-RPGs) you are going to have a lot more fun.

So the actual PS Vita games I got were Muramasa Rebirth from the wonderful company Vanillaware and published by Aksys games and Persona 4 Golden from Atlus. Right now I am playing Muramasa Rebirth because I do like side scrolling action a lot. And I do mean A LOT.

Though I do like the Shin Megami Tensei series, to be honest Persona is my least favorite; and I'll admit it's mainly because of what I saw of Persona 3 and Persona 4. I haven't played either, but you know I finally will suck up my cynicism and actually play it. And I will get to it eventually and give my personal views of both when I get to completing the games.

Hopefully I will get more games for the Vita soon, because I need more of it.

Professor Layton VS Ace Attorney:Review and my feelings about this crossover

Well it took the US and its territories long enough, but we got it. We finally got Professor Layton VS Ace Attorney.These are two very different franchises, but yet come together for one game, and I will say the game on its own is pretty good for what it is. There have been many complaints that the game is so easy but you have to realize that the game was meant to breathe new life into both series. So if you've played only one series or the other, it's meant to make you see the other side and make you want to play the other... And for me, it certainly did that.

 I've been playing Phoenix Wright games since the first one came out, it was the one game I wanted for my 3DS and I was happy to play it. The story was so fun. And the Japanese best version of the game; Gyakuten Saiban, well it came with not only the Japanese version but the English as well. So when a new game came out with my favorite defense attorney, I went to get it as soon as I could.

U.S. Cover of the game featuring the main four heroes

 I am trying to keep this review spoiler free so I'm sorry if there are things in here that you didn't want to read, since I tried to keep it to the content and want you to experience the game itself.

So as it comes to reviews, I will be reviewing it based on these criteria in order:
-Story and setting
-Characters
-Voices/Music
-Gameplay
-Cohesiveness

Story and Setting
The story itself starts off in London, England featuring Professor Layton and his assistant, Luke recieving a request from a previous student of the Professor. While at the same time Phoenix and Maya are going to a conference in England. In a weird twist of fate both groups of people then get thrown into Labyrinthia, the city of walls.

Concept Art for the game

In Labyrinthia everything is decided and foretold by the Storyteller, and what he writes is an absolute to the point where if he goes out into the street people create parades for him, and revere him; for his power is absolute.

But where you play a part in it; well it depends on who you are currently playing as. If you're playing as Layton and Luke, your main point is to figure out the secrets of Labyrinthia and what lies beyond the veil that control the regular people whose days go by in relative peace.

As for Wright, he does what he does best, and that is pull miracles in the courtroom. Since the trails that happen in Labyrinthia are witch trials, Wright has to learn the new ins and outs of the courtroom including a new mob mechanic.

The story that happens within Labyrinthia itself is brimmed with an intriguing storyline, but the problem with it is its pacing, especially towards the end of the game itself.

Characters
Layton, Luke, Phoenix and Maya are all developed quite nicely and interact great. Personally I love how Luke and Maya interact together the most, mainly because both characters have somewhat child-like whimsy around both of them. Though all four main characters act like how you think they would be. But it isn't just about them but the characters that surround them.

The citizens of Labyrinthia all have unique personalities and likes. Labrythinthia's citizens are all about puzzles though, so a lot of your interactions will contain puzzles with them. But when you're in court, this is when character development shines the most. Most characters seem one dimensional, but during the witch trials, these seemingly one dimension characters aren't so one dimensional anymore.

Though I felt the greatest love for your opponent, who for the most part in the trials is Inquisitor Barnham.

Inquisitor Barnham's first appearance in court

Inquisitor Barnham's a knight, but at the same time, he is beloved by the citizens for his personality though he may seem like a bad guy at first glance, you realize through court cases that, well that isn't the case with him. As he only desires one thing; truth. At first Phoenix was able to trip him up, as a knight he is quick on his feet and can adapt fast in court. He is a good counter to Phoenix in the courtroom and can keep him on his toes, which made court battles between the two very fun to watch and read. Really good character dynamics between the two.

But though the regular citizens and Barnham are great; a lot of the other main characters are rather insufferable, Espella in particular just really irritates me. Her personality is just so infuriating at times, she tries to keep self sacrificing herself but it seems so half-assed that I can't believe it to be true sometimes. I simply cannot empathize with her and that's a huge problem seeing as she is one of the main characters that interacts constantly with Wright and Layton. It's just lazy writing and development, which held the game back since this game is extremely story driven.

Voices/Music
I've got to admit the voices for this game are top notch, even though there's no Japanese track the English voices were such a delight to listen to. All the British characters all had accents and Maya and Phoenix sounded great. Though it was weird hearing Phoenix's inner thoughts in the same exact pitch that he was speaking normally. That just didn't translate well when voiced parts happened. If there was some sort of indicator that he's talking to himself in his head it would have made everything better.

The music though, I simply loved it. Music greatly added to the charm of the game and was appropriate for what ever happened. The music that plays during most puzzles was extremely soft yet the constant beat was just enough that I didn't mind whenever I failed a puzzle or had to take some time to think about what I was doing. Though the song I enjoyed most was Layton's theme. It's just soothing for the ears, a great arrangement that suits the Professor.

Gameplay
Gameplay is divided into two main parts based on whichever character you're playing. Layton's puzzles are rather straightforward along with the investigation. It just is a whole bunch of different types of puzzles based on either the place or the current person you are interacting with.

Layton explains to Phoenix and Maya about puzzles

The puzzles themselves I've heard from other people are quite easy for a Layton game, but as my first time playing this sort of thing, a lot of puzzles kind of kicked my butt. Though later on I realized that using the memo function and trying to figure it out. Then everything became a little bit easier, but sometimes I thought puzzles worked one way, when the exact opposite was true. But the puzzles were fun for a person who had never played anything Layton before.

As for Phoenix's side it at first seems like a standard court case in Labyrinthia, but you have to remember that these are witch trials. The witch trials have introduced a new mechanic called the mob trial. Now to explain the mob trial I need to show a picture of it first.

Mob Trial-exclusive to this game

The mob trial has you interviewing and questioning all these characters, all at once. Bits and pieces come from each character in the cross examination. The main gripe of this type of trial is the way that the game mechanic works.

So when you're cross examining a person and you press for more information and you'll hear a sort of ping sound and then if you go over there are ellipses that are over the characters head who you can question for even more information on. It makes the game more straightforward, which for most peoples main gripe is that it makes the game easier. But most people don't understand that Ace Attorney is a type of visual novel (adventure game in Japan) so I can see how if need be it can have mechanics to make things more straightforward, especially to make it more accessible to a bigger group of people. But I will admit the main gripe does still stand, it doesn't require as much thought as the original Ace Attorney series, which is a bit sad, because court cases in the Ace Attorney series is so fun, and is usually a huge climax in each case; a nonstop fun climax.

Cohesiveness
Overall the game plays great. The story is really engaging and the characters overall are fun and delightful... But the pacing is rather the worst part of this game and just breaks things up into chunks instead of seamless play.

As you progress through the story, you'll notice that at times it's as if the characters are playing tag with one another. As soon as you get to a really good part; bam, switches you to another point of view and what they're doing, practically just killing the hype that the game has just built up for you. This is especially true when you're playing as Layton and it switches to Phoenix. And the only reason why it feels like that is the most crucial development when it comes to the whole overarching story has you playing as Layton. But then even in game, you're kept from information for the sake of breaking up the current story to have it go somewhere else. Which is dumb.

Afterthoughts 
Would I recommend this game to people? Of course I would! The reason being both the Professor Layton and Ace Attorney series are introduced in such a way that makes it so interesting for anyone to get interested in. And not only that, puzzle games and visual novels/adventure games aren't what I would call the mainstream and these series show how fun and intuitive these genres are.

While there are pacing issues with the story it doesn't detract so much overall when you play the game. Honestly with the way that the game has it, you feel like you're doing a lot of stuff within the game. You feel like you're making great progress. If you like either of the series, I suggest that you pick it up but even if you don't look up some images or the preview if it looks interesting, you may find yourself liking a new genre. I know I did. I am obsessed with Layton right now and want all the games.

*+New+* Nintendo 3DS Ad- Featuring Kyary Pamyu Pamyu

If there's one thing Japan has the corner market on, it's creating fun and crazy commercials to promote all sorts of things. And this time they have Kyary Pamyu Pamyu helping with the advertisement.

KPP and the various covers that are coming out in Japan in October

Basically the ad has KPP do what she does best, turn regular things into crazy, colorful and cute. Which the function of the New Nintendo 3DS has you being able to switch face plates along with the slight changes in its schematic. The price for the plates themselves start at 940 yen to almost 3,000 yen (wooden looking one that is shown next to toad costs 2,750) but the average design plate costing 1,400 yen which is about the same range as most covers for the current 3DS and 3DSXL.

Though the commercial is about the New 3DS the Nintendo characters just shined throughout the whole thing. Here are a few images taken from the commercial.

Everyone is so bright and colorful transformed

I have to hand it to Nintendo they made everyone look so fun and stylish, I really personally like Toad, Zelda, Villager, Isabelle, and Bowser the most. Though Yoshi looks like he's about to sell you some ice cream though; seriously he looks like a 1950's soda jerk and Luigi looks like a weirdish looking hipster with that beanie, but yet oddly enough it still works because of his mustache. But the image I liked the most has to deal with Toon Link.

A very cheerful and happy Toon Link

Personally I really love Toon Link and how expressive he is in his faces. So even though he looks like he could be the new poster boy for Willy Wonka, that huge bow and top hat with the triforce on the side; topped with holding KPP's hand. It was just adorable.

Also there was Kirby who absorbed KPP's likeness but I couldn't cap a good enough image to use for it, but it's really adorable.

This marketing strategy of using a famous idol in Japan will reach more viewers and hopefully encourage more sales of the New 3DS. I will probably get one myself once it hits US shores, but first I'll have to see the difference of screens and everything else before I decide. But those switchable face plates for the 3DS version, I've gotta say, if there's an ample enough screen for me to see (I wear glasses and like to play without them on) then it will seal the deal with me.

Here's the commercial directly from Nintendo if you wanna take a look at it yourself.

Hakuoki: Stories of the Shinsengumi, A story, and a review

Now I am not a person new to the whole doujin soft/VN scene. I have been playing these games since about when Melty Blood came out in fact I just recently found my copy of it in my room. But that is not what this is all about.

Toshizo Hijikata and his fury form on the front cover

When Hakuoki:Stories of the Shinsengumi came out my friends were ecstatic for it, since not many Otome games get published for probably one of two reasons 1.Otome games are an even bigger niche in a niche market or 2. Too damn cliche for anyone's taste (seriously why is every man an extreme tsundere or yandere in womens works?)

Well for whatever reason Aksys released it for the PS3 even though the game has been released on the 3DS and the PSP before, each game with slightly more material or options which means for a VN collector, you're going to get all of them for the material not found in the other games.

Well going back to my friends, one has sort of experience playing these before but she's an odd typical fujoshi as every VN she's ever played has been a BL/yaoi game and the other has never had played these games before. This second friend, talks to me and asks how to get Souji Okita's ending because she keeps having trouble as she only gets either the bad ending with Okita or the regular ending where you just follow around Kazama. The first question I asked her was she saving or quick saving at every flag and she just looks at me blank...

My reaction to her expression

...I then realized how much my love of VNs are that what seemed like common sense to me just didn't make sense to her. After explaining what flags were in a VN context, I then began to ask her if she tried different combinations of options, even though I knew it was the last flag that pretty much determined if you were going to get a good ending or not. I just didn't want to straight out tell her.

Eventually I just gave up and gave her a guide on what to do to get Okita's ending. Oddly or rather typical friend that she is...She hasn't looked at the guide or finished it yet, instead just complains about the endings she did get.

As for the review...

It's a Otome game so you have a lot of men that you can fall in love with, and as with everything you should find the guy that makes you heart bump and try to please him. For me that was Hijikata.

Commander of the Shinsengumi

Yeah he does look like that typical tsun-pretty boy that all the girls clamour for but I actually enjoy his depth a lot and how you see that cold side melt or rather gradually fall apart. Also Hijikata's route is the longest out of all the routes since he's actually our "main male" as far as Otomate is concerned.

There isn't much to the gameplay as it's just a VN and it's a little bit interesting playing them on the PS3 but I can see why this is a good way to market the game to a bigger audience than just a computer, where even less of a female market is there.

Story wise, Hakuoki is expanded on again in this version with the Stories of the Shinsengumi added in with also the fandisk SSL stuff (Sweet School Life). For me these little bit of extras were the main reason for me to purchase the PS3 version of the game even though I have the PSP version (which was the first one to come out in the US).

I can honestly say this isn't for everyone, but if you like VNs Hakuoki's story isn't a bad one on its own, without the romance, and the actual romance itself paces at a realistic rate (as far as anime things go) and more supplemental information is added with the Stories of the Shinsengumi extras which leads to even more realistic feelings of the male characters and the lead female as well.

It's an interesting story that is vastly superior in VN form than its anime counterpart. If you're going to chose one or the other, I suggest the VN if anything.

Evangelion x Sanrio 3DSLL Covers

The Eva Micro Macro series is just simply adorable, and I am thinking about getting a cover from it. I have the special Animal Crossing 3DSLL and I am tired of its poptart looking cover. So I thought I might get one of these.

The first one is just a mash-up of the main characters and then Misato in the back. It's a very simple but yet very eye catching design.

The second one deals with Kaworu and Shinji and them listening to music together looks super adorable.

To be honest I do like the big images compared to the small ones, and I wonder if the back and front is seperate. If it is I would so buy both of them and combine them together.
I am going to buy some stuff from the Eva Store by the end of summer, since it does have some quite interesting stuff.