Shiokara-Bushi/ Squid Sisters Melody: Lyrics and information

Squid Sisters: The iconic pop due of Splatoon

Splatoon, the one game I bought an entire system for, just recently came out with their CD soundtrack aptly named Splatune.

Within the 2 CD soundtrack you get various songs and SFX from the game. Mainly you get most of the multiplayer/lobby songs on the first disk. While the second disk is filled with the Splat-Fest, single player campaign, and special SFX and two special songs. But out of everything I was most excited for the Squid Sister battle song. The song's tittle is actually called Shikoara Bushi.

Shiokara-Bushi or Sea O' Colors Bushi is an interesting title itself. Shiokara deals with Sea O' Colors, or what the Squid Sisters are known as in Japanese and bushi is the suffex for folk songs in Japanese, but along the word simply stands for melody. Either way, bushi can be used in both context on this CD soundtrack, since we do get an alternative, or rather a more traditional version of the song.

Track 19: Shiokara-Bushi
Track 35: Shiokara-Bushi (Traditional)

The traditional version of Shiokara-Bushi is more what you would hear during a festival; taiko, shamisen, and the flute along with the singing of the song and bursts of traditional chanting show how varied the song actually is. Though on the tracklist it is just the one I typed above but when putting it in my player you get an interesting title, Ganso Seicho Shiokara-Bushi (which contains kanji I don't know the entire meaning) but people have translated it to Original Traditional Salted Fish Melody. I'll go look up the kanji later and see if the common translation is accurate.

But honestly, that isn't the thing that I was the most excited for. The lyrics are in the booklet. Here is a picture of the lyrics that I took, it may not be the best; but here it is.

Shiokara-Bushi lyrics: In hiragana only

From what I can gather, this is a bunch of gibberish, but I'm not exactly sure; there are no words I can actually pick up to translate and there is no actual sentences and verbs or anything. But I'm not exactly sure.

I initially bought the CD soundtrack just for this single track, but I haven't listened to everything yet. I will make an actual review once I listen to the entire 2 CD soundtrack. But I do actually like the music in Splatoon, so most likely this purchase wasn't bad for me.

Odin Sphere HD release for Playstation Family

Odin Sphere:Leifdrasir

Odin Sphere is getting a new HD remake called Odin Sphere: Leifdrasir, which is going to be amazing. The reason why it is going to be amazing is because it's a remake of a vastly beloved game from a small developer, but every game this company has pumped out has been amazing as a whole and when you look at each part. 

Vanillaware, founded by former Atlus employees and spearheaded by George Kamitani have created a very niche visual artscape and game design that isn't very much dealt with in Japanese games now a days. George Kamitani from the games he has produced takes a love of fantasy and a love of food; which only increases the visual punch the games have. Though eating in his games serve a purpose not many games will have you do the physical act of consuming or making food; which is odd since food is necessary to our survival.

But back to the remake at hand, an HD remake is going to be a good thing for this game as it lets more people play this game, or for people like me; have a physical copy with a modern console. Also Vanillaware is still including the standard PS2 version in the remake if you want to play the original game, which is a very stellar and stand up thing that they did regarding their own IP.

Main Characters and their voice actors

The game is being released in Japan and North America for sure. For Japan it's being released in January 14, 2016 and is going to be on the whole current Playstation family; PS3. PS4, and PS Vita. Japan also has an accessory pack for the game as well that includes a pouch. I'm not exactly sure what the images are going to be but it's a standard accessory pack that Japan releases.

I reserved the Japanese version for the PS Vita and the accessory pack as I really enjoy buying my games on the PS Vita and having physical copies. Once the English version gets released I will make sure to buy the English version for the PS3 and most likely the PS Vita again. My only hope is that Atlus doesn't force an English only dialogue on the game, as they have a nasty habit of not giving Japanese language dialogue on games.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake, the Hype is REAL

It's not a con, it's real guys, it's REAL. Final Fantasy 7 is going to be remade for the PS4, with the chances of it eventually being multi-platform as well.

When Final Fantasy 7 came out, that was the time I was already living in Japan. At first I found it really hard to make friends. I was in another country, so mom bought me a playstation and a few games, one of them being Final Fantasy 7. Through this game, through gaming I was able to meet lots of friends.

I remember one thing fondly, and it's going to be the oddest thing too. It was the weekend and I was playing up in my room during the summer, really hot day and the floor was super hot. But I was in Sector Six, specifically the Wall Market area trying to get all the stuff to crossdress. None of my friends could get Corneo to pick Cloud but I did it. I remembered running over to the phone and trying to dial in to get to their phone number on the naval base. I called so many Japanese people that day on accident.

Eventually that same day I told my mom that I was going out to the base to go over to my friends house for the day and made the hour long walk to go meet them. I bought a giant can of Coca-Cola for 120 yen and a can of CC Lemon as well.

This was during the time that the internet wasn't so great, you know when dial up was a thing.

I have such fond memories of this game, and most Final Fantasy games up til 10 actually. I cannot wait for this to come out. I'm still surprised that it is coming out to be honest.

Bloodstained-Igavania on Kickstarter

Growing up I played a lot of Castlevania games, and I mean A LOT. In fact I really like the concept of Igavania games; though more people will know and refer to them as Metriodvania. Well however way you want to say it, there hasn't been a good track with Konami this year and dealing with their IPs, so now Koji Igarashi the producer of Symphony of the Night has put out his own kickstarter campaign for his new title Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night.

Though we only have concept art it does look really promising so far.

Igarashi has already stated that he's using 2.5D for the game and is taking inspiration from Guilty Gear Xrd as inspiration for usage of the Unreal Engine and will be focusing on shading ASAP to get a more painted/anime feel. Which if you haven't seen Xrd's graphics go check them out because they look pretty sweet and I think they'd lend well to Bloodstained.

Another great thing, and this is just a personal like on my side; our main character.

Our main character is named Miriam. While games don't usually have female protagonists Igarashi stated in a small Q and A that the main reason of my the main character was chosen to be a girl dealt with his previous workings on Castlevania. Whatever the reason my be, I am enamored with her design and how well it fits with the gothic and stained glass theme they're giving overall. Also... Even though I know that's a part of the curse on her legs, they look like cute tights instead.

 The main villain of the game, Gebel looks pretty awesome as well and looks like a mix between Alucard and Soma which also fits well in this. We don't know much about the characters yet but again the concept art does look promising.

While they're are many tiers since this is a kickstarter, I decided to go for the $60 tier and secure myself both a physical copy and the artbook. The kickstarter edition does include a few things not included anywhere else:
-The SwordWhip: If you went to swordorwhip.com it was a voting for items that you wanted to see or something (I'm not sure as I just answered whip), and is a limited item that joins both clans together.
-One special boss which is how you get the SwordWhip
-Kickstarter edition slipcase

Now I will have to get a PS4, because there's no way I'm just buying a glorified steam key and I don't like the Xbox (I already have a computer).

Though just a final note on this kickstarter, Igarashi has come out and said he has most of the cost of production secured but will only happen if he can prove there are people who want this type of game which is why Igarashi went to crowdfunding. It wasn't that they weren't confident with Igarashi but said that these games have no fanbase, so that's where we come in. If you want to donate go ahead, but as I'm writing this the campaign has already surpassed  2 million dollars. With it having a slated release of 2017 as well may bring people off of it.

Please everyone remember that this is kickstarter and there are risks, if you're uncomfortable with donating; or in other peoples cases have been spurned by video game kickstarters I do not blame you for not helping even if you want it to succeed. This is my first video game kickstarter and I am really anxious about it, but I do know the inherit risks with these kinds of things.

Funding for the project ends on June 12 at 8pm PST so if you want to donate here is the link again.

Bloodborne is out...I need a PS4

The endless cycle continues

Usually I am not the type of person who buys a console or anything during its early stages, but Bloodborne just recently came out on the PS4 and I just cannot stop watching let's plays of it to satiate my desire to play it. Right now I'm watching theRadBrad playing as a lady through Bloodborne. And I got to say it really not only is my cup of metaphorical tea, but the female model looks damn well nice and makes me want to actually play as a girl.

While Hidetaka Miyazaki said it has the DNA of Demon Souls, it's its own thing, and not a successor to the game which a lot of people thought it would be. But you know what I am ok with that. Honestly though, I would have never thought I would have loved the games that From Software put out as they don't seem like the things I would play; but I fell in love with the Soul series. I think I'm just a glutton for punishment, though things like dying constantly don't bug me.

Anyway back to Bloodborne, the gothic style of the game just really makes me happy as it's an aesthetic I really love. As those are the types of fantasy situations I would write about when I was a kid and would pretend I was a hero in fighting against all sorts of spiritual and fairytale apparitions and monsters. I remember when I was young back in elementary school, a girl who liked anime back then let me borrow her VHS copy of Vampire Hunter D and my mom and I watched it together. I think it was that and the combination of the Adams Family that lead me down the gothic aesthetic.

Which means that Bloodborne feels like nostalgic to me without honestly playing it yet. But it feels like a thing I need to play. So I'll just have to get one soon after saving up for a bit. Hopefully by then there will be even more games I want for the system instead of a few choice ones.

My Personal Persona 4 Experience

It's Persona 4 Time

 One of the first games I got for the PS Vita was Persona 4 Golden. I haven't played either Persona 3 or Persona 4 before, because I heard it was so different than the first two, and like a person stuck in the past refused to play either of them. But for $20 I did end up getting Persona 4 and played it.

Honestly I was surprised at the game and rather enjoyed it. I first started out by naming my character...Something I always name male characters if I can name them.

This is actually suppose to be a play on words, though it works out better if written in Kanji

Even though I know that this game has been out for forever this new version does add more to the game including a new dungeon but just in case you've never played this game or are new to the Shin Megami Tensei Series and you're thinking about playing Persona 4 first, this review is for you.

And just because it's nice to let people know... There may be spoilers.

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
This story sets you up as moving with your Uncle as your parents are going overseas to work for a year and leaving you there instead of taking you with them. So this leads you to go into the province of Inaba.

Through a string of odd circumstances you learn about a phenomenon called the Midnight Channel that shows you your soul mate, or at least that is how the rumor started. And then through another string of events you learn that you can go through the TV.

But the CRT TV in your room can't fit your whole body in so well... You go tell your aquantances at school and they quickly laugh at you and bring you to Junes to ironically enough show you that you're insane and take more jabs at you. Jokes on them, because you can actually stick your arm into the TV at Junes as well, and you'll eventually get curious again and just jump in.

 This small set of sequences start your quest to finding the murderer of Inaba and the purpose of the Midnight Channel. The TV world itself is set up into different locations that you can travel to, and explore the labyrinth area/dungeon.

When you are in the TV world or outside of it, the characters remind you of your duty in case you need to help people in the TV world, or keep the story and social links along in the real world as you progress in the game. While the story isn't that unique, the journey to get to the end of the game was rather fun.

Characters
 This is where Persona 4 shines bright; the characters, especially the main cast. It's not every game where I can honestly say I liked every character wanted to learn more about them.Though your character is pretty much non-voiced there are many choices that you can give to make your main character unique in your own way. I actually made my version of the main character act honest and humorous, while others may make him serious or whatnot. But what shines the most is the supporting cast of characters.

Honestly I thought that your friends were going to be one dimensional and just be bland and boring, but it was quite refreshing to know the opposite was true. They're teenagers but they react to things as normal people would, which is really great. And through social links with characters you get to see them develop in ways where you wouldn't. Some feel insecure, lying to themselves, stuck in a daily routine that they hate... A whole slew of emotions.

Personally I started to relate the most to both Kanji and Teddie throughout the game because of their crisis of finding yourself and being ok with who you really are. I know some people feel that they cannot relate to characters who do not look like them, but I feel as if the emotions of the characters are easy to understand; rather that is why they feel the way they do, and how it eventually turns them for the better in their search for the truth of themselves.

Voices/Music

My major gripe with this has to be the fact that I don't have the option to chose Japanese as the language setting. Mind you, this will always be a gripe of mine if it's not available if a game is translated from Japanese. If anything this is a peeve of mine as I would like to still hear the Japanese voices. That being said, the dubbing in the game is good. So Atlus does make up for the lack of Japanese dialogue with a good dubbing. Though to be honest, even though you just heard me clamor about the want for the Japanese version, I actually do prefer the English dub when it comes to the voices.

The music on the other hand, well for me it was interesting. I honestly wasn't expecting singing when the battle theme played; let alone a Japanese person singing in English. It was seriously a what the moment for me. Keep in mind at the time I hadn't played Persona 3 either (I'm in the middle of the PSP version of P3 so now I expect it) but the first thing that honestly popped in my mind was really just why. I honestly have no idea why there had to be lyrics and singing in the battle music, but it was there. And after about two fights I was enjoying hearing it. Honestly though with the music it may have been more interesting to hear a native speaker of English sing, but at the same time; you hear this music in the dungeons when you are in the TV, so if we take it as an insert song in an anime or a TV show it kind of makes sense. Either way, the lyrics itself do fit in with the Persona game and it grows on you.

Gameplay

The gameplay is broken down into two main parts in the town of Inaba and inside the TV world. 

When you're in Inaba, you can increase your social links, take side jobs for money, level up your stats and... Do some shopping. It's pretty much like everyday, except most of us don't live in Japan and can't eat delicious Japanese styled Chinese food from a place called Aiya (seriously though, Japanese styled Chinese food is amazing, eat ebi-chili if you get the chance). 

Along with those, you will be going to school Monday-Saturday learning things and usually not knowing the answer to some of the questions because they're so random, or you weren't paying attention like I was. Also when you take tests you will take them everyday over a couple of days and that's the only thing you'll do which feels like a giant waste to me, but that's how they decided to do things.

Overall the daily happenings in Inaba are just there to strengthen your bonds and keep the story moving forward. All the actual fighting takes place in the TV world.

Within the TV world you'll be brought to the entrance of the TV world which is used as a hub for your dealings within the TV. You can talk to your friends, go places, enter the Velvet Room for persona fusions, save your game, or be healed by the fox. 

When you do decide to go places you will have to talk to one of your friends to actually go to that place, which though it seems a bit weird, makes sense because the places are tied to people.

Combat is standard for turn based RPGs which means that depending on your character stats you may go first or later in the turn. I tend to like turn based games since you can think out your moves and there tends to be more impact on what you do, and you are rewarded for playing smart instead of just going all guns a blazing. What I did enjoy though was the perks for leveling up your social links allowed your characters to do more for you, including follow-up attacks, enduring hits and taking deadly hits for you.

When you exploit your enemies weaknesses, you do have a chance if you've knocked down enemies to do an all out attack. I really enjoy the images that pop up, because it gives you a small glimpse into their confidence in fighting or even their own confidence within themselves after getting their persona. Also your follow-ups can happen afterward if you have compatible characters on your team. Personally I really like Kanji and Naoto's "Beauty and Beast" combo, it's very pretty and yet very macabre.

Everything else is kind of self explanatory though, the turn based RPG is like everything you have played before and you just have to learn about the elements which the game teaches you so you don't need to worry about anything like that. You just get to enjoy and play.

Cohesiveness
This is kind definitely a JRPG that should be played if you haven't played it before. If you're a fan of the Megetan series, it's a really good game and story. It's not as challenging as other games within the Megaten series, but there is a reason why it's popular. The characters are endearing, while the overall feel and background ties well within the Japanese lore that Persona 4 builds upon. If you like JRGs it is always a good thing to pick up.

Afterthoughts
I did enjoy playing Persona 4, more than I thought I ever was going to. I'm glad that I did because I majorly enjoy how they established the Japanese lore within the game, and all of the monsters in Persona just give me a warm feeling of familiarity. Also I enjoy making Loki and the other max social link special monsters.

As it's own game I enjoyed it a lot, but I still miss the old Persona games feel and miss negotiation with monsters to join my side. But Persona is treated more like its own thing than a part of the main Megaten storyline. Either way though, it's a good game, but I wish I had played it years ago instead of just recently.

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.

What I want out of 2015-Resolutions and the like

While of course I have a whole bunch of resolutions (go back to school, find a better job-both which I am currently working on). I always write a resolution for things that I like to do for the year. Goals in my fandom that I can work on. So here are my 2015 Otaku resolutions.

Stop buying so much on Amiami
This one is the hardest for me since Amiami makes it so easy to just load up your cart with preorders. To the point where it was getting pretty bad for me. Honestly even without another hobby major money sink hobby, I was spending on the average 40,000 yen a month (with shipping) on orders since after Sakuracon, and that honestly needs to stop, since I'm back in school and saving so I don't have to take out loans

I started to limit myself and look over my priorities already. I put a cap on myself that limits to no more than 20,000 yen a month which means only a few things each month can be purchased, and I have to choose wisely. So far I am doing great though, I have a few preorders for a few months, but a lot of the months are actually empty since I'm just not willy-nilly just shoving stuff into the cart.

Buy a fightstick
This is something I've been wanting for a long time but have never actually gotten around to purchasing for whatever reason.

Eightarc Ivory Fightstick

I love fighting games, but arcades aren't really a thing in the US anymore due to online play and everything. I've been playing fighters steadily since Street Fighter 2 and long for play with a balltop joystick. But man... These things are expensive. Even cheap ones will put you back a bit, but you still want something good though, or at least with parts that are good.

I'm honestly thinking about a prebuilt Qanba with Sanwa parts in them, since I like the feel of those buttons more than Seimitsu. Whenever I went to an arcade with Seimitsu parts it always felt like I had to beat down on the button in comparison to rather light taps with Sanwa.

Make sure to update with more Otaku and game content more
Though I actually did much better than I thought I would with blogging last year, I surely could do better and I will hopefully this year. I plan to update at least once a week with a substantial blog post that includes;game review, analysis or even coverage from conventions/events that I go to.

Overall I feel like I just need to blog more and make more content related to it that I and others will enjoy. I have a lot of fun blogging and telling people about stuff that goes on, and I hope it does come out in my writing.

Hope that 2015 goes great for everyone~

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.

The Binding of Isaac-Vanilla Version

Well, since The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth came out a little while ago. I decided to finally play the original version that I bought on a Steam sale for $1.99. I can't remember if I got it at the summer sale or the Halloween sale, but it was on sale for cheap and I bought it.

The good thing about this game is that it has going for it is that it's a rouge-like game. If you haven't played any games like it before it just means that it tends to be random generating on each playthrough so that no two playthroughs are exactly alike. Which makes each play session great. But the bad thing is that they're hard to play. But at the same time the toughness is something that you just want to keep playing over and over again, watching yourself getting a little bit better with every play.

Though this isn't my first time with a rouge-like (my first was Rogue Legacy) I've got to admit this is the first time that I've kept playing on a constant basis. Just because it's very easy to pick up and play, and everything that you can unlock and get achievements for are just a hoot.

Today I was actually able to unlock Cain, by getting a $1 bill from the slot machine when it blew up, and then I proceeded to buy everything that I could. This was actually the first time I was able to defeat Mom, with the power of money. Since every time I was low on health I was just able to buy some more from the shop, or attempt to win some at the arcade.

Though oddly enough, I kept on finding money wherever I went and of course I kept taking it, because who wouldn't want that free money. I felt really accomplished after defeating mom the first time. But sadly enough, I can't seem to get to her again. Which is a bit sad, I mean the game does increase in length, but I just cannot seem to get to her and it's so odd. But I will play and play the game till I get Rebirth (hopefully on the Black Friday Steam sale).

Mainly when I play The Binding of Isaac, I don't have the sound on, instead I listen to music or watch some let's plays while playing. Oddly enough most of the stuff I tend to watch are Rebirth playthroughs (odd I know). If you have the chance to pick up The Binding of Isaac, any version; it's a good game to pick up and play which never gets boring due to its constant change.

Pit Obvserves and Says things-Smash Bros. for the Wii-U

Well, as Smash Bros. fever is still taking over the internet, the Wii-U version does have something really fun in it. Remember how you could have little codec conversations with Snake in Smash Bros Brawl? Well the spiritual successor to that comes in the form of Pit and Palutena.

The only problem I have with these interactions is... Well sometimes Pit, well he says things so ridiculous that it's pretty much facepalm worthy. And I mean seriously, he can get bad.

 A lot of the conversations of course are fourth wall breaking, but Pit, he seems so ignorant at times to where it is really sad. But at the same time though, even if they're facepalm worthy... It's kind of funny at the same time, because you feel that no one could be that ridiculous.

 Pit does tend to make first observations based on appearance, which does mean things get silly. Though the observations does show that he still has his child-like demeanor. Even sometimes it's jealousy.

I thought this was the best one out of all of these, just because it does show how Pit feels towards more famous characters when they came out in the same generation of consoles. Link is more well known and has more fame than Pit. Even Toon Link is more recognizable. But more than anything, you'll see Pit remarking with silly quips, and here are just a few examples:

If you're going to play Smash Bros. I suggest you do all of these with each character, because they're so funny. But if you don't have the time...Youtube has got you covered.

BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger- Taokaka:Innocent Heart

During the summer sale I bought quite a few games on Steam, and one of the ones that I did buy was BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger. I don't exactly know why since I already had the game but it was probably for the reason of me wanting to support Aksys and wanting more Japanese based games on Steam.

So I got bored of playing Skullgirls at the moment, so I finally downloaded Blazblue. The first thing I did was started to play in arcade mode. And I got to say that I don't quite like the feel of the game on the computer as much as I do on console. I can't exactly explain why, but it feels it's lagging at parts but not because of my computer, but because of the game port itself.

Anyway I started eventually playing the story and I forgot how much I like Taokaka. Her story and her character herself is so innocent.

Taokaka is honestly very sweet and takes things to heart. Also she may be quick to action but she is the type to remember the people who do good things for her and the other Kaka clan. Oddly enough equating Lychee to "Boobie Lady" (she does call her this in Japanese she refers to her as "chichi no hito") due to her huge boobs, though Lychee feeds and teaches the children of the Kaka clan when she can. But in her story, the main one she goes out to find Ragna the Bloodedge but ends up getting so hungry and eating/trying to eat his food in Orient town, that he ends up feeding you because he feels bad.

After that she calls him a good guy and will never forget the kindness shown to her. Which I find adorable, even though it is a basic cat/animal instinct to favor those whom feed you. And in another divergence she ends up living with Bang because he says that he'll feed her (and ends on adopting her in some way as he dotes on her) and then takes Taokaka as his apprentice, which is really cute.

Besides Taokaka's actual cute storyline, I do greatly enjoy all the Kaka clan. The children and even the elder are adorable. In the Japanese version (I can't play with the English voices) I enjoy the little children's voices and the way they have them positioned in scenes.

They're just as adorable in their giant coats and their kaomoji faces. But I enjoy even though that the Kaka clan lives in the lower levels and aren't suppose to really be seen by society. Well they're still happy and don't mind living their lives. Even in the bad times, the Kaka clan does persevere. Which is a great thing.

If you haven't gotten BlazBlue on Steam, wait for a sale and pick it up. Yeah it's not Guilty Gear (which a lot of people prefer) I still believe that BlazBlue's story is great and intertwines with each character greatly. Also as a fighting game, it's not bad just kind of Guilty Gear like but that's ok. It's made by the same company. But it is a good game if you just want to add more to your fighting game library. 

Skullgirls: Eliza DLC Overview

Eliza is a singer in New Meridian

This is an overview of Skullgirls Eliza DLC that came out recently. Just going to say it, there will be spoilers in this overview of the character, so be warned; and spoilers will also be image wise as well, but not only that, this will be very image heavy.

This will be divided into three parts:

-Eliza the character

-Eliza in her storyline in Skullgirls

-Eliza's play style and my opinions personally about her play style 

Eliza the Character

 As character designs go, Eliza is Egyptian themed, who has a striking semblance to Elizabeth Taylor in the classic movie Cleopatra. She is a lovely woman whose image not only shows sensuality but flare and striking beauty.

Eliza is a singer at the Canopy Kingdom. While there are other singers at the club, it's Eliza who is much more known than anyone else. Eliza does a lot of donations for the people, most commonly blood drives. She's a really nice chick, right? But I digress, she is a rather selfish and self important person, and gets chauffeured around and waiting on hand and foot by her two servants (I'm not really sure about what to call them); Albus and Horace.

Albus and Horace still keep in theme with Eliza and the Egypt theme. And I really do find them funny, in an extremely comical way...  In how buff these two guys are and then their silly heads. I mean just look at Albus, it looks as if he's wearing a fake wig and then Horace, look at his little cheep-cheep beak with that body.

I will say though, these two guys serve as a great add to Eliza's character not only in the story but also in the way that she plays. Even though I think they may look a bit silly, don't get me wrong. I really love these two, especially Horace... Because I like birds. (cheep-cheep).

Eliza's Story

Going back to the whole thing about Eliza and her charity funding, specifically the blood drives. Well the Medici family head Lorenzo wants Eliza to go find the Skullheart. Eliza of course doesn't want to do it for them, but the ace up their sleeve is that they'll expose her secret; the fact that she has been stealing from her own charity drives. Yes, stealing blood. 

Of course in the interest of the Medici's Vitale, Lorenzo's son, decides to send out Cerebella with Eliza and her gang. The three do not get along all that well, Cerebella does not trust any of the three and is extremely vocal about it, much to both Horace and Albus' anger. The first group they do notice though is the recently revived Squigly and Leviathan. Eliza is more interested in Leviathan since she has known him in the past.

Eliza exposes her true self as a Theon (the proper name for the parasites in Skullgirls) and asks if he would join up with her. The offer was quickly denied and it seemed as if there was bad blood between the two of them. 

Eventually Eliza gets sidetracked because she smells something delicious (blood delicious) and it ends up being Ms. Fortune and the life gem inside her. Defeating the cat, she literally has Albus load her into the trunk of the car. No joke, even then Ms. Fortune is still cracking jokes about her situation.

Though we all knew that Eliza wouldn't keep her word about finding the Skullheart for the Medici's and instead goes back to her place to just do her thing. In fact the entire drive to her place she was warning Cerebella that her trust in the Medici family will be her downfall, as no one is supposed to know about the life gem and that she may be killed. But Cerebella is an optimist when it comes to the Medici's and especially Vitale.

I do feel bad though, since this blind trust that Cerebella has ends up being her downfall. She does try to confront Eliza, even challenging her to a fight, which of course ended up not going in her favor. In fact, the whole death scene of Cerebella did make me feel a bit sad, not exactly because she died, but more the fact that it was entirely avoidable.

We do see that Eliza does keep around people, Horace and Albus are still alive. And I don't think she would have killed Cerebella if she had left the Medici family and joined her faction instead.

Eventually the blood gang does end up getting to the cathedral and we meet up with Samson and Fillia, and it does get very heated with the two. And I don't know if it's love or hate with Eliza and Samson (and I mean this from Eliza's point of view). It seems a long time ago that she had killed Samson's human host, her name was Delilah. Which made Samson very mad, but not only that. It seems that Eliza (or rather the Theon Sekhmet) is responsible for the hatred of parasites and their current dislike from humans.

Fighting Marie was rather bland with all the story that had came up before but, it was everything after that was amazing. As when she was about to claim the Skullheart for her own something happened.

Yeah, I really wasn't expecting Double to do that, nor was I expecting the story to include Double in such a way (just because I don't like playing characters like her, so I really didn't pay attention to her story). And we know got that basis on why Samson said that she screwed things over big time.

Eventually Eliza gets lots of power from the site that her and Double fight in, destroys the Skullheart and then heads back to her place for some well do rest and relaxation.Which eventually turns into Samson and Leviathan attacking her in her own place to end Eliza now and bring the world to peace.

I will admit though, I wasn't expecting the story to follow up on this and indulge on it more. And we all know how this fight is going to end, since this is Eliza's storyline. But as I love Squigly and Fillia the end made me sad, their fates are quite a bit depressing.

The story ends with Eliza turning into what looks like a giant Egyptian blood god and starts terrorizing the town; of course starting off with the Medici's because why not torment the people who tried to blackmail you into doing their dirty work. The last scene we see is Marie fighting Eliza again, telling her that it's not over.

Overall Eliza's storyline is beyond developed. Probably the most developed that I have seen from all of the character. There are tons of dialogue but even more, tons of images which is great. It really feels like good character DLC that fulfills what you were expecting from a fighting game.

Eliza's Gameplay and Syle
As with all the other characters in Skullgirls, Eliza's theme is the main basis of gameplay that being Egypt and blood. Her entrance is quite fun as she is being chauffered around in an Egyptian litter by Horace and Albus.

While she doesn't talk much in her entrance (depending on who she is fighting), Horace and Albus do talk and interact with each other. Also within combat the two also act as special moves. Albus primarily acts as a grab, Horace is a drop down divekick, and the final one is them rushing with a daybed (it changes between the two).

Eliza's main play deals with blood, to the point where she turned the blood into a boat and lounges while she attacks. Also at times you can see Sekhmet when using blood attacks. But you can also enable Sekhmet which depletes the special bar, but also her blockbuster special called "The Lady of Slaughter" which lets Sekhmet let loose and just destroy you if it hits and you get to hear her voice say "she who mauls" which makes you know that Sekhmet is very different from Eliza.

Personal Opinion on Eliza-Overall Preference
(I do play this game on my computer with Steam, just to let you know.)

Hands down, I will (and have been) practicing with Eliza. I really enjoy her play style very much because of how ridiculous her human form plays and how much of a parallel that Sekhmet is to her, in both speed and ferocity.

With the type of player I am I like speed and quick hits, so the fact that you can enable Sekhmet and plays fast makes me like this character even more. I enjoyed playing through Eliza's story, but added onto how she plays I enjoy playing her anytime I can. Currently I enjoy playing her alone, but I also put her in a group with Fillia when using two characters (which is ironic with the story) since I like how both girls play.

If you haven't downloaded the Eliza DLC yet, Eliza is still free right now since she released in September 30th. As with all Skullgirls DLC you have three months to get the character for free before it becomes a purchase of $4.99. Even if I had to purchase her I wouldn't mind paying the money since I love the fighting engine and even more I love the story and characters even more.