REVIEW - Clannad After Story (2007)

Sequel anime are normally either very good or very bad, and a lot of the time it depends on the ending of the first anime that determines the outcome of the entire second season. Sequel series are a big risk a lot of the time, and while some pay off greatly, others don't. It really depends on how good that first season was and how much weight the second season has going into it.

Clannad After Story by Key Visual Arts is nothing less than perfect.

Clannad After Story takes place right where the original Clannad ended. Tomoya and Nagisa are now living together with Nagisa's parents and it's coming to the end of their third and final year in High School. Everything is going well in the Theatre Club, and it seems as though nothing could stop our main characters living out the rest of their School Days in peace. Unfortunately for Tomoya, Nagisa falls sick near the end of her school year. Due to her low attendance, she yet again has to repeat her final year of School....without Tomoya. To try and occupy himself while Nagisa repeats school, Tomoya starts to work in the Furukawa's bakery to earn himself a small bit of money (even if Sanae's bread isn't that great...). He moves out and get's a job with Yoshino Yusuke and the electric company to help pay his rent at his new place. And it's here where the story begins to become something greater than it seems. Rather than just a story about a delinquent trying to make friends, After Story pushes the boundary's of Tomoya's character and we begin to see how he handles real life (in the sense that we see him cope with life after school) and how he handles being a family man, as he ends up marrying Nagisa. I won't go further into the plot details as, Episodes 15-22 (the Last Episodes) contain some of the absolute saddest, most emotionally heartbreaking moments and the absolute best ending to any anime series of all time. I though that it couldn't get better than the original's ending, but After Story blows the original - and everything else - out of the water. it's not just a tale of a boy trying to accept his new life, but about a boy becoming a man and having to accept the things that life throws at him. It's unparalleled in terms of storytelling, and has the best plotlines of any anime to date.

Characters are hard to talk about with this anime, since a lot of them have spoilers that could potentially ruin the whole damn thing. So be forewarned about this, I'm going hella deep into spoiler territory with this one. Don't come crying to me if I spoil anything.

Tomoya Okazaki

Tomoya has grown in character since we first saw him at the bottom of the hill at the start of the original Clannad. He's not the guy who regularly skips class or gets into fights (although he still does get himself into one or two fights due to uncontrollable circumstances) anymore, now he's a caring, loving character who wants to live out the rest of his School Days with Nagisa and the Theatre Club. He's still a bit of a wise ass, but he's also very intelligent and funny (especially in combination with Akio). He's also determined to do anything for his family and he also ties up loose ends with his father, making his character come full circle at the end. Watching Tomoya grow in all of this makes me realize how much effort and care was put into his character by the writers. He is without a doubt Key's best male lead character, and one of the best in all of anime.

Nagisa Furukawa/Okazaki

The fate if this character is one that has caused many an anime fan to pause the episode, think for a minute and break down in tears from the reaction that Tomoya gets. Without a doubt the star of the show is Nagisa, the ever popular crybaby of the unnamed city. Even though she is a crybaby and very weak, Nagisa is determined to become stronger, albeit not physically but willingly, not just for herself but for her family and for her boyfriend Tomoya. While her fate is tragic, she gives Tomoya something to live for, something to strive for and something to dream for. She is the source of a lot of the anime's more memorable moments, and is a well rounded character all in all. But her fate is inevitable....and my God if you do not cry at the stuff that happens to Tomoya because of this, you sir/madam do not have a heart.

Animation wise, Clannad After Story is tied with Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo as the best looking anime of all time. I honestly cannot find nothing wrong with it and it's a substantial upgrade from the original series, with breathtaking environments, stunning characters and at times an out of this world (somewhat literally given the context of the scenes) framerate. Lighting is fantastic and areas are beautifully drawn. I cannot say anything bad about it even if I were to be hyper-critical it's THAT GOOD.

Musically, a lot of the tracks come from the original series superb soundtrack, which is fine but what takes After Story over the edge is it's absolutely stunning and well done opening. The music is great, but in co-ordination with the animation it's just absolutely stupendously brilliant. There is not a single flaw with this soundtrack, and the Dango Daikazoku song is still as catchy as ever.

There's no other way of saying this so I'm just gonna say it now: Clannad After Story is simply Flawless. From the heartwarming story, the heart wrenching characters, the stunning animation and the absolutely amazing soundtrack to the pinnacle anime ending, Clannad After Story is the anime other animes should try to be. Everything Key has ever done after this such as Angel Beats! simply cannot compare to the brilliance that is Clannad After Story.

Story: 10

Characters: 10

Animation: 10

Sound: 10

Personal Enjoyment: 10

FINAL SCORE FOR CLANNAD AFTER STORY: 10/10

Flawless

REVIEW - Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (2001)

Hey guys, sorry for the long break. As I said I just wanted to take a little break off for the holidays just to catch up with my family and finish an anime which I want to review soon. Today however we'll be looking into the highly anticipated (at least, for the time) sequel to one of the best games ever released on the original PlayStation. A very controversial game in fact, one I'm sure you all know.

Konami's infamous Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty for the PlayStation 2.

Metal Gear Solid 2 starts off two years after the Shadow Moses Incident from the original game. Solid Snake has left his mercenary life and joined up with an official UN Anti-Metal Gear group known as Philanthropy. Snake is sent to New York Harbour to infiltrate a Tanker which is going along the New York Harbour under US Marine Jurisdiction. The reason for this is that Philanthropy can get pictures of the Marines new Anti-Metal Gear Metal Gear (Yep, a Metal Gear to destroy Metal Gears AIN'T THAT A TWIST) so that they can blow the whole thing open on the internet. Unfortunately for Snake, Russians seize control of the ship and kill most of the Marines on board. After taking out the leader's daughter (with a M9 Tranq. gun so she didn't actually die), Snake heads to the lower holds where he finds Metal Gear RAY. After snapping a few pics for Otacon (who by the way comes up with some really bad puns), the Russians take control of the Metal Gear, thanks to the not dead and two armed Revolver Ocelot (for those who never played Metal Gear Solid, Ocelot lost his arm thanks to Grey Fox chopping it the hell off). Ocelot kills his allies and then Snake proceeds to confront him while the ship explodes around them. Under some very strange shit which isn't explained until Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Ocelot's mind is temporarily hijacked by Liquid Snake. Through Liquid's arm which was grafted onto Ocelot.

You Heard me.

After this the ship blows up and Snake is presumed KIA along with all the marines and Russians.

Fast Forward to 2009 and we take control of FOXHOUND's newest recruit Jack, codenamed Raiden. Raiden is sent into the Big Shell clean up facility off the coast of New York, which was set up after the oil from the tanker leaked into the sea. The Big Shell was taken under control by a terrorist group known as both Dead Cell and The Sons of Liberty (TITLE DROP.). Their demand is Thirty Billion US Dollars in exchange for the life of the US president James Johnson who was on a a government sponsored tour of the Shell that day. Raiden ends up encountering Dead Cell and a strange, familiar looking man by the name of Iroquois Pliskin (WHAT KIND OF A NAME IS THAT). What lies ahead for Raiden has to be the most bat shit insane, confusing yet brilliantly written story in any game in the MGS Saga. I understand why people hate this games plot, I do. It can be really hard to follow and the fact that they swapped the series main character out for a whiny, very unmanly man kind pissed people off. But I for one didn't see them as an issue. Why?

The gameplay was too damn fun.

The gameplay in Sons of Liberty is essentially the same as it was in Metal Gear Solid except with a few new features added in. The game is still all about Stealth and remaining undetected ad you navigate your way around the Tanker as Solid Snake and the Big Shell as Raiden. There aren't many gameplay differences between Snake and Raiden minus the fact that Snake starts off with a gun whereas Raiden has to procure his weapons on site. Many new ways to approach enemies were added in this game. For one, you can now aim your weapon in First Person, allowing for precise and accurate aiming. Body effects were added, such as Sneezing after being in a cold/rainy area for too long. A Sneeze could attract the attention of nearby enemies, so the player would have to take medicine to stop sneezing. Enemies were also a lot smarter now, as they would Radio in for backup (which, you could destroy their radio before they got the chance to) to cut off any and all escape routes you had. Enemies also didn't disappear when you killed them, so hiding their bodies inside lockers or in dark areas was a must to avoid detection. I found the overall control to be much better than the original game aswell, with a new dodge feature added which is really cool and useful in some situations. 

The graphical finesse of Metal Gear Solid 2 is quite a feat for one of the earliest PS2 games released. The attention to detail is so acute and so refined that it can make you think that at points this was a game released on the PS3. For example, in the Tanker Chapter you can enter a diner area near where you fight Olga. Behind the bar there's a few pans hanging up on a rack, each one getting smaller and smaller as you go up. As a result, shooting each one makes a higher pitched noise as you shoot them. It's attention to detail like this that I like in game developers. MGS 2 is one of the best looking games on the PS2 without a doubt thanks to that.

The soundtrack was composed by an American man by the name Harry Gregson Williams, who was set with the dangerous task of remixing the original games main theme. Thankfully, the theme song was remixed in such a way that it was actually improved, and in fact, the soundtrack and voice acting in Sons of Liberty are top class. Some of the best songs ever composed are in this game, and you should totally buy the soundtrack with it's techno-orchestra tracks.

To simply put it....this game was for the longest time my favourite ever made. The storyline, gameplay and graphics all amazed me back when I first played it in 2003. I was just in love with this game. now it's 2013 and to be fair to it, it's aged amazingly well, even if I think Tales of Xillia is a slightly better game. But personal feelings aside....get Metal Gear Solid 2, whether you buy it on PS2, Xbox, PC, Xbox 360 or PS3, it's an amazing game and one of the finest Hideo Kojima has ever made.

Story: 7.5

Gameplay: 10

Graphics: 10

Sound: 9

Personal Enjoyment: 9.5

FINAL SCORE FOR METAL GEAR SOLID 2: SONS OF LIBERTY: 9.2/10

REVIEW - Yandere: I Love You, So I'm Going to Kill You (2007)

Just a little heads up: This will be my last review until after Christmas, since y'know Christmas is the time for being with your family and whatnot. So, as a little treat, I'm going to re-review a game that I reviewed on my YouTube channel. A game so Goddamn terrifyingly weird that should you ever play it your sanity would be gone within your first of many, many possible playthroughs. You guy's all know the game I'm talking about, don't you?

Nekumaradow's Yandere: I Love You, So I'm Going to Kill You.

With a title such as that, you wouldn't know what to expect. I didn't. I found out about this game by a sheer accident after messing about with another Yandere Visual Novel, and also I recently finished watching Mirai Nikki which has one of the most famous Yandere's in it. So Ladies and Gentlemen, without further ado...welcome to the world, of Yandere.

Yandere is rumoured to take place in 2005 in an unnamed Japanese city (speculated to be Kyoto due to the female school uniform). One evening, we see our main protagonist, Oda Subaru (who by the way looks a lot like Yazuru from Angel Beats! but Yandere came first so I dunno) having a strange conversation with his next door neighbour and life long (annoying) friend Saki Miyauchi, who - as we'll see later - has a real problem trying to think about anything. We can actually sort of see this in this first scene, as Subaru - out of boredom - asks Saki to have sex with him.

My My, aren't we very forward?

So Saki blindly agrees and the two have sex and everything's all fine until Saki utters the words: "With this, now you're finally mine...". Subaru kinda just shrugs this off (as he does with a lot of things) and proceeds to ask himself who he's gonna have sex with tomorrow.

Saki is still in the room mind you. She hears this.

While she doesn't do anything, we see the very first creepy image of the game (well, if you discount the sex earlier). Saki's Yandere sprite is truly fucking creepy as shit. Her eye's lose their detail and become this two-toned void of horror. *shudders* Anyways, the next day while Saki and Suba-dude head to school, they see Maika Saito, a sheltered young girl who has always been bullied throughout her life. She's a year younger than Scuba-ru and Saki and is an aspiring cook. The three head to school together (much against Saki's will mind you) and we meet our third and FINAL female character in the form of Yuumi Kikushitea, Subaru and Saki's Japanese teacher who is definetely over sexulaized.. From here, your decisions impact the story and ending you get since Yandere is a Visual Novel. I'll give the plot some points for having multiple paths and a large replay factor, but the plot really kinda well....sucks. By that I mean the characters all suck except for Saki and maybe Maika. Subaru is literally the world's biggest dumbass, who can sleep through a Chainsaw ripping open his front door while he's only 7-8ft away from it. He shrugs every dangerous situation off (like locking the front door at night) and just doesn't think at all. Yuumi is there just for the sake of having someone there to fulfill the busty brunette teacher fetish, and there's not a lot more I can say about her without ruining her story. It's really a fucking mess at times, but I will admit it is VERY VERY Scary at times. Oh and gory. Very Gory.

Gameplay in Yandere consists of one thing and one thing only: trying not to fuck up when you make a choice. Choosing the wrong choices can lead to some really fucked up paths, ranging from this lovely scene that I had to censor:

"EWWWW SEMEN AND HER BUTT" Grow a pair of balls and act mature.

To this scene which I will never ever not vomit at and I would hate to put this on my blog but god damn it I have to show you the horrors:

(Note: Dillon Sheil doesn't find gore entertaining, despite his love for Higurashi)

God fucking damn it don't fuck up. Just don't fuck up or else you'll regret it for a very long time.

I. MEAN. THAT.

Anyways, I love games where your decisions impact the story (Heavy Rain immediately comes to mind) so Yandere's gameplay is good for what it is since there are a lot of paths and a nifty blackjack mini game which is hard as balls but fulfilling when you win.

Om Nom salty intest- WAIT WHAT

Graphically, as Visual Novels go Yandere is decent enoug. Character sprites - especially the Yandere ones - are very well drawn and the backgrounds are okay to say the least. Some CG's though aren't impressive and make some people look very oddly shaped.

Sound-wise, it's limited but again very good. The songs are catchy as hell and the opening and many many ending themes really got stuck in my head. Credit where credit is due, the soundtrack to Yandere is catchy as fuck bu limited as hell.

Overall, Yandere is a mixed bag. It's shit plot and somewhat inconsistent graphics marr what could be a very good game potentially. The horror element is definitely there though and a lot of the time you're on the edge of your seat wondering what's going to happen next. It's scary, very catchy and most of all gives you an insight to why you should never date obsessive women.

Story: 5

Gameplay: 7.5

Graphics: 7.5

Sound: 8.5

Personal Enjoyment: (God Help me) 10

FINAL SCORE FOR YANDERE: I LOVE YOU SO I'M GOING TO KILL YOU: 7.7/10

REVIEW - The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011)

Hmm, Western Role-Playing Games. Some are good, some not so good. While some people prefer them over their Japanese counterparts I personally cannot see the appeal in most of them. The only WRPG series I've ever had any enjoyment out of was The Elder Scrolls, after having a summer dedicated solely to playing TES IV: Oblvion.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim isn't as good as Morrowind or Oblivion, but it's still a very good game.

Skyrim takes place exactly where it says it does: The Northern most continent of Tamriel, Skyrim. You begin the game off as a nameless, raceless and genderless prisoner (as with every Elder Scrolls game) heading to the town of Helgen to be executed for an unknown crime (although fans speculate that your crime was murder). As you are about to be decapitated, a dragon - beings thought to be extinct for ages - down and wreaks havoc on the small town. You can escape with either an Imperial Guard or a member of the Stormcloak rebels. Once you've escaped the town, you're actually free to do what you please. The main plot involves your character realizing their destiny of being the Dovakhinn, or Dragonborn as we say it. Your goal is to simply gather enough power to find out why Dragons are coming back and to annihilate the majestic creatures. The plot certainly isn't as epic as Bethesda made it out to be, but it works in favour of the games limited main cast (since your character may as well be a brick wall when it comes to personality). While not at all memorable, Skyrim does have a serviceable plot, even if it does lack character. It's not really a good sign though when your game's opening is its best part.....kinda shows a lack of effort when it comes to making real emotional moments in the games middle and climax.

Something Skyrim has that a lot of the RPG genre has is an unprecedented amount of freedom. once you leave Helgen, you're free to do what you want, how you want and when you want. It's a simple yet well thought out concept, and you'll be wandering for hours trying to find everything in the world. On the actual gameplay side of things, Skyrim is the first Elder Scrolls game to actually re-use an engine from a previous game, although it does heavily change a few things that either were or weren't in Oblivion. First of all, the realisim factor when it comes to weaponry is gone. In Oblivion, weapons degraded with repeated use, y'know, just like they do in real life. It made for some tense situations and added strategy. In Skyrim, you can hack away at your hearts content without any regard to weapon durability at all. Skyrim follows the Elder Scrolls trope of  "The more you do something, the better you become at it" and I've never seen it done so well as I have in Skyrim. It encourages you to get better at things and also forces you to decide on what "class" you want to be, whether you become a Warrior, Mage or Rouge (each with sub-classes such as Fighter, Alchemist and Thief). You also can now fight with two weapons at once, a feature that wasn't in Oblivion. This actually can make combat too easy at times, since you can spam a full heal spell while attacking the shit out of a dragon. The gameplay in Skyrim is fun, but I think it could be done just a bit better. My biggest problem is that Skyrim holds your hand too much. One of the great joys of Morrowind was the sense of adventure you had from exploring and trying to find your way around the world. You had no compass, only a block of text telling you where to go next. In Skyrim, you're being guided by arrows and compasses and it really ruins the immersion of exploring a fantasy world.

Graphically, Skyrim sure is pretty as fuck. While it does have some texture issues, it's a very vast, open and most importantly believable fantasy world. It's very detailed, even down to the weather effects. You can tell that an awful lot of care went into making the continent of Skyrim look the way it does. Like I said, there are some texture and framerate issues on consoles, especially during the more intense parts (NO THE PS3 VERSION DOESN'T SUCK BALLS ANYMORE THANKS DLC) so it's not perfect, but it's great nonetheless.

Musically, it's pretty good but again kinda lacking. I like a lot of the very large soundtrack, but some tracks are just too dull or uninteresting for me. I will say though, the games main theme is just...I can't even describe. It's not perfect but Goddamnit it makes you wanna kill dragons so fucking badly. It's definitely the highlight of the soundtrack.

Overall, I feel the same way about Skyrim as I did with The Last of Us. It's a really good game, don't get me wrong, but I think it's HEAVILY over rated, especially when compared to previous games in the series. I recommend Skyrim to fans of any RPG, but it's NOT the game everyone makes it out to be.

Story: 6.5
Gameplay: 9.5
Graphics: 9.5
Sound: 7.5
Personal Enjoyment: 8.5

FINAL SCORE FOR THE ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM: 8.3/10

REVIEW - Toradora! (2011)

I have a very long and arguous history with Tsundere's. Ever since I saw Sword Art Online, Tsundere's have been the bane of my existence. Like, why pretend to hide your love for a guy behind a tough tomboy act? Well, today's anime also has a Tsundere, but thankfully, she's a fucking hilarious one.

Toradora! by ASCII Media Works is flawed, but still a blast.

Toradora! takes place in a modern day Japanese High School. Our main protagonist, Ryuuji Takasu is struggling in his life. He's been known to his school as a delinquent, due to his menacing appearance and he is desperately trying to get a girlfriend. He only has two friends, that being Kitamura and Kikushidea Minorin, whom he has a crush on. One day, he bumps into what has to be the most untidy, unorganized and most feared "woman" in existence: Aisaka Taiga. Taiga is feared throughout the school for being extremely short tempered and very, VERY volotile. She is also so untidy and has a tendency to get caught in trouble the whole time. Taiga however, has a crush on Kitamura, and is also the best friend of Minorin. This leads Ryuuji and Taiga to strike a deal with each other: hooking each other up. While not entirely original, Toradora!'s plot is serviceable, although it's ending may lead some to confusion. There are some really good twists, but not a lo of moments really stuck out to me as "WOW" or "OMG" moments, they're just there either for the sake of comedy or confusion, and that's where the plot falls short. Don't get me wrong, it's very entertaining, but I wish it had more structure to it. Another problem I have is the fact that the whole thing with Ryuuji's eye's get forgotten around a third of the way through. By then, everyone acts normally around him and it's just lazy direction from the writers.

YOU GOT KNOCKED THE FUCK OUT!

The characters are certainly....interesting to say the least. For once, I will break my rule on talking about characters, and instead I will talk about the main character and Taiga, since she really does steal the show a lot of the time. For the sake of it, My favourite character is either Kawashima Ami or Minorin, since I find their personalities to be very well done and Minorin is just so fucking awesome.

Ryuuji Takasu

One of the better male leads in anime, Ryuuji is a delinquent who is sort of distant from his family....seems familiar, doesn't it? Well, unlike Tomoya, Ryuuji is in a constant struggle trying to keep his house "free from scum and mold"....basically, a more wacked out version of Levi when he starts to clean shit up. He loves cleaning and puts it as his favourite hobby. And he wonder's why women are not attracted to him....anyways, Ryuuji is actually a very caring man. He looks out for others very well and takes care of people in such a way that he's almost the most caring anime character (for those of you who bothered to click the link above, you know who the best is) around. He's pretty smart and is willing to go pretty far for his closest friends. He's not too complex, but not too shallow either.

Aisaka Taiga

Hmmm, a Tsundere.....that's actually (gasp shock horror) TOLERABLE? Well, to quote Bill Murray in Ghostbusters "CATS AND DOGS LIVING TOGETHER MASS HYSTERIA". Taiga is not only a very good Tsundere, but a good character in general. She has a somewhat murky past with her family and is also the complete opposite of Ryuuji when it comes to home hygiene. When they strike their deal with each other, Taiga practically lives on Ryuuji's skills as a cleaner to keep her home clean and make all of his meals for her (since she makes too much of a mess). She's overly violent, and it's in these situations when she can be absolutely hilarious (kinda like another character from Clannad. ) I really like Taiga's cuteness, violence and her development over the 24 episodes. Can't say much more really, apart from the fact that her flat chest is a plot point.....WHO THE HELL COMES UP WITH THIS STUFF?

Animation wise, I'm actually not sure on this one. Toradora! looks stunning some times and really bad at others, making the show very inconsistent, which can be a downfall for some. The framerate is solid, however, and the backgrounds are normally on the mark...but there's just something wrong with the way characters move sometimes that really get on my nerves, especially in intense action scenes. The bits that look good do look great, but the same can also be said about the bad parts: they look pretty bad.

Musically, Toradora! is probably the only anime where I like all the openings and endings. The first opening, Pre-Parade is really damn catchy, same with the first ending Vanilla. The second opening, My Silky Love goes well with the shows second half, and the second ending is okay in it's own right. The background music is pretty catchy and I like a lot of the tracks, so no complaints here.

Overall, I recommend Toradora! to those who aren't picky about animation and to those who don't mind a shallow plot. It's flawed sure but I laughed my ass off most of the time through it. It's something that you should check out if you're a fan of high school comedies.

Story: 5.5

Characters: 9

Animation: 7

Music: 9.5

Personal Enjoyment: 8

FINAL SCORE FOR TORADORA!: 7.8/10

REVIEW - Kingdom Hearts (2002/2006/2013)

Crossovers are the stuff of dreams. Two or more brands coming together in a mash-up, what more could you want? Whether it's a planned crossover or a complete accidental one, they mostly go well. Today's crossover is composed of two things you would never think would actually go together, but they surprisingly mix somewhat well.

Square Enix's strange tale, only known as Kingdom Hearts. A crossover of Disney and Final Fantasy.

(Reviewers note: The following review is of the 2013 HD Remaster: Kingdom Hearts Final Mix HD)

Kingdom Hearts is the tale of Sora, a young 14 year old boy who dreams of seeing the world with his friends. After a very trippy opening (complete with badly translated but catchy as fuck J-Pop), we see that he lives on Destiny Islands, a collection of isolated islands somewhere in the world that Sora, Riku and Kairi - his friends - live in. Sora, Riku and Kairi decide to build a raft hat will take them to new places and new worlds, places beyond their wildest dreams....until something goes wrong during the middle of the night.

Meanwhile, at a castle somewhere in the universe, the king - Mickey Mouse - has gone missing, leaving only a letter in his stead. Pluto brings this letter to Goofy the Knight and Donald the Mage. Donald makes it his mission to try and find the king, so he decides to go to Traverse Town, a place between worlds. It's here where he meets with Sora (who was exiled from his world) and Squall Leonheart...y'know, that totally emo protagonist from Final Fantasy VIII. Initially, Sora doesn't trust either Donald or Squall, since he's still in shock over not knowing where he is or where his friends are. All he knows is that the key that he holds in his possession - The Kingdom Key - holds some sort of significance to the balance of all worlds. Soras journey to rid the universe of the Heartless takes him across many famous Disney worlds, such as Agrabah from Aladdin and Wonderland. The plot by itself is pretty good I must say. It's lighthearted and entertaining for kids and complex and intricate for the adults. If I could criticize one thing, it's the sometimes unbearable writing. The game constantly goes on about hearts and darkness and the light and sometimes it just get's annoying. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the plot, but it needs a bit more work to be perfect. Some people call it bad Final Fantasy fan fiction, and I can see why, but I can't see why people think the plot is the worst thing ever.....

If you were expecting a Final Fantasy game from Kingdom Hearts as far as gameplay goes, you'd be quite mistaken. Kingdom Hearts envokes a more Legend of Zelda styled Action oriented gameplay style, rather than the traditional JRPG Menu-Based system that Final Fantasy had been using since 1987. Part Platformer, Part Action game and Part Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts is officially classified as an Action RPG. Battles are not random and take place in real time. There is a menu to switch between four commands, all of which are executed via the X button. Sora can jump with Circle, interact with things with Triangle and when equipped with correct attributes, can perform certain actions with Square. Kingdom Hearts is a very customizable game, since you can customize everything minus your appearance. Partner AI, abilities, Keyblade's and Items (in the sense that you can assign specific items to specific Party Members) are all customizable and I love this about the game. What I do NOT like is the platforming. Sora's jump is almost uncontrollable. It's like one of the NES Castlevania games, you better jump exactly right or you're not going to make the jump. It's a real hindrance on what could've been something truly amazing.

Graphically well, I'm sure back in 2002, this game was stunning. For an early enough PlayStation 2 title, Kingdom Hearts is passable. i love it's art style and character models, but the environments that are made specifically for the game (places such as Traverse Town and Hollow Bastion) don't really look all that good to me. The HD ReMIX adds a HD filter and redoes some of the models, but even then those environments don't really impress me that much.

The Soundtrack sorta surprised me when I first saw the name of the composer: Yoko Shimomioura. When I first saw that name over the Final Fantasy veteran Nobou Uematsu's, I was slightly concerned. Thankfully,  Kingdom Hearts has an exemplary soundtrack. Something that fits everyone's tastes, from the serene yet slightly sad Dearly Beloved, to the intense and mysterious Night of Fate, the soundtrack to Kingdom Hearts is truly amazing.

Overall, this is not one to be missed. Even though it has some patchy writing and slightly outdated graphics, Kingdom Hearts is a game that someone - fans of Disney and Final Fantasy alike - should never miss out on. It's got a few quirky moments sure, but it's not a bad game, but a great game. You can get it on PS2, either in it's original state or the Japanese only Final Mix, which add's a few new plot elements to the mix, or on the PS3 as part of the Kingdom Hearts I.5 HD ReMIX collection, based off the Japanese Final Mix.

Story: 7.5

Gameplay: 9

Graphics: 6.5

Sound: 10

Personal Enjoyment: 8.5

FINAL SCORE FOR KINGDOM HEARTS: 8.3/10

REVIEW - Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo (2012)

You know, it's been a long time since I saw an anime that made me laugh and cry so hard that a good comedy I think is hard to come by (although maybe that has to do with my love for Horror anime. 2012 only had 2 very good anime in my eyes. One being the often overlooked and very good Another, and the other about a dysfunctional school dorm in Kanto, Japan (I SPOT POKÉMON JOKES COMING).

J.C Staff's absolutely hilarious Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo.

Sakurasou takes place in Kanto, Japan in the late end of the year 2011. The story focuses on the titular Sakurasou dormitory for Sui High School. Sakurasou is where the "special" students of Sui High go to. Enter Kanda Sorata, a boy with no standout features, a typical male student personality and a tendency to get caught in some really awkward situations. He is in Sakurasou as he in possession of -get this- a CAT. This causes the school principal to exile him from the regular dorms to Sakurasou, where he is determined to escape from. Unfortunately for Sorata, a really dumb blonde, a few cats and a whole bunch of weird people stand between him and his desire to escape. While not very interesting, I will say that the plot itself is definitely unique. If there was ANYTHING I could compare it to, it would be the lighter parts of Higurashi but even that doesn't even do Sakurasou's plot any justice. It's not amazing by any means, but it's well thought out, albeit a bit formulaic. 

Your reaction to me not talking about Mashiro

As with any anime, Sakurasou has it's characters to bring it along on it's way to the plot climax, and here are certainly a few very good characters to talk about....and unfortunately, Shiina Mashiro won't be one of them. Sorry, I only talk about the main and my personal favourite in this section! Although, Shiina is the source of a lo of the comedy in this so please, don't just take my word for it when I say she's one of the funniest characters J.C have ever produced.

Kanda Sorata

So, we have a 16 year old male with an addiction to the internet who like to collect retro games and also has Splash Wave as his ringtone. I am a 16 year old male with an addiction to the internet who likes to collect retro games and has Splash Wave as his ringtone.

Ooooohhh Boy.

Kanda is our main protagonist and as mentioned above, he doesn't really have any standout traits when the anime starts. He's just a typical teenage boy with a soft spot for cats, hence why he's in Sakurasou. He can be a bit daring at times, and often finds himself in tandem with Shiina as she has no clue how to handle anything and he's been dumped with the task of handling her. My only big gripe with Kanda is that he is very oblivious to others feelings for him, which is a perfect way for me to segway into my next character...

Nanami Aoyama

Talk about soul crushing....y'know, if Clannad and it's amazingly tortured cast didn't exist, I would put Nanami up as my all time favourite female protagonist in a non-horror anime. She has a very, very big crush on Kanda and is determined to become a voice actor no matter what, and while she never does make it big, it's her determination that makes her one of the best. She is strong enough to try her best even if she's ill and is the source of all of my fan-fiction heartbreaks (WHY CAN'T NANAMI X SORATA BE REEEAAAL). Even though she's not the main female lead, her love for Kanda is way more genuine than Shiina's apparent love for him (God knows what Shiina knows about love). She is not one to be overlooked.

Remember in my review of Angel Beats! when I said it was "one of the all time best" in terms of animation? Sakurasou is the best looking anime I have ever seen in my life. There are no flaws with this colourful and vibrant anime. It's got a nice saturated feel to it, colours blend well and characters move around at a solid framerate, It's simply perfect.

Sound is the anime's only large flaw. Only one track stood out to me and it wasn't any of the opening or ending themes. I dunno what happened here but something obviously went wrong in the composition department. It's extremely underwhelming.

Overall, weak soundtrack aside, Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo is one of the best pure high school comedies around. It's unique plot, great characters and SUPERB animation all make it one of the best anime's you will ever see. Trust me, it's one for the ages.

Story: 7

Characters: 10

Animation: 10

Sound: 2

Personal Enjoyment: 8

FINAL SCORE FOR SAKURASOU NO PET NA KANOJO: 7.9/10

REVIEW - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (2006)

Ahh the Nintendo GameCube, the home of my youth, well, sort of (I also had a PS1, N64 and PS2 at the time, so I was in a diverse family). Without a doubt the best third place console ever made, with it's amazing controller and third-party support. What about those first party games tough? Well, while a tonne of them are amazing (Like the ever so popular Super Smash Bros. Melee and the absolutely stunning Metroid Prime), none of them have the scope, grandeur or satisfaction of today's game.

Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (also on Wii)

Twilight Princess takes place on the "Young Era" of the ever so lovely and confusing Zelda Timeline, taking place after Majora's Mask and before Four Swords Adventures. In the land of Hyrule, darkness is on the rise. Being's known as the Twili are converging on the land, and the Princess is being held captive in her own castle. Pretty dark stuff.

Meanwhile in Ordon, a Village nation which is technically independent from Hyrule, a young boy get's told that he has been chosen to deliver a package to the royal castle in Hyrule. This boy is the ever omnipresent and silent Link, the hero of the series (albeit a different version of Link). On the day he is due to leave, Twili attack the Faron province and they kidnap Link's friends Colin and Ilia. Link, out of stupidity really, follows them into the Twilight. As soon as he enters, he undergoes a transformation into a wolf (that's TWO games I know that have Wolf powers....huh), which is different from other humans who simply disappear into a flame. As he is the descendant of the legendary Hero of Time from Ocarina of Time, Link is the holder of the Triforce of Courage, which is what allowed him to just transform into a wolf. Link is brought to a dungeon underneath Hyrule Castle, where he meets Midna, an imp girl. Midna tells Link that she knows about his friends and how to change Hyrule back to the way it was. The journey Link and Midna undertake is one of strength, hardship and conquering the beast inside. It's one of the better plots in the Zelda series, and that's no easy feat to accomplish.

In the gameplay department, Twilight Princess runs off of Wind Waker's gameplay engine, so a lot of elements are similar between both games. What set's the two game apart are the wolf sections and the fact that Twilight Princess takes place on dry land rather than the open ocean. As Human Link, you go through the traditional Legend of Zelda experience. You traverse a huge overworld full of monsters and colourful locations, tackle dungeons, gain new items and abilities and make huge bosses fall (seriously, the scale of the bosses in this game are only topped by those in Skyward Sword). Sword combat is fast paced and satisfying as hell, using items to solve puzzles can be unique and the dungeons are well laid out.

On the flip side of things, there are the Wolf Link sections. Wolf Link cannot use a sword, or any items for that matter. He has 3 abilities: Biting, Sensing and Digging. Biting is the default way of attacking enemies. Sensing is used to gather a scent of a person or object and Digging is just that, digging. Later, you gain an abilities to attack multiple enemies at once, and it's satisfying as hell. However this comes at a price: The sections you play as Wolf Link in are nothing more than a scavenger hunt (well, at least until you get the Master Sword). Your objective is to simply go around a province and collect tears of light to fill a vessel so that you can become human and defeat the dungeon. It's just very slow and tedious and ruins what is a perfectly sound formula.

Graphically, for a Nintendo GameCube game, this is stunning. The environments are massive and expansive, creating a huge living, breathing world unmatched by any Zelda game to date. The character models are quite nicely detailed, and the areas in the Twilight sections all have this distinct glow that make it stand out. In the Wii version, the game runs in a native 16:9 aspect ratio (WideScreen for those who don't know their TV Ratios) whereas the GameCube version runs at 4:3, and the map is flipped between the two versions.

The music is very hit and miss. On one hand, you have the absolutely stunning homage to the original Legend of Zelda which is one of the all time best songs in the franchise, but then you got boring MIDI crap ike the main battle theme which is really jarring coming off of Wind Waker's amazing battle theme. It's more positive than negative, but still, i'm left wanting more.

Overall, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is a fitting swansong to one of the best video game consoles in history. it's plot is great, characters memorable, gameplay is tight and has a decent enough soundtrack. You can get this game for dirt cheap on the Nintendo Wii which is the same game but with a flipped world map, widescreen support and motion controls. One of the all time greatest games, and one of the best Nintendo has ever produced.

Story: 8

Gameplay: 8
Graphics: 10

Sound: 8
Personal Enjoyment: 10

FINAL SCORE FOR THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: TWILIGHT PRINCESS: 9/10

REVIEW - Angel Beats! (2010)

Ahhh yes, Key Visual Arts. Otherwise known as the torturer of emotions and destroyer of feelings. Why? Simply because everything they do wrenches the heart so much that if you're not crying by the end, there has to be something wrong with you. It's kinda like the ending of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots except without manly men.

While certainly flawed, Angel Beats! is no exception.

Angel Beats! takes place in a sort of wacked out limbo, focused on a High School of the Mostly Dead. When somebody dies, but has not fulfilled their purpose in life, they are sent to a school to do one of two things:

1.) Learn how to get into heaven by attending class

2.) Rebel against God himself by joining the Shinda Sekai Sensen (Afterlife War Front)

Students are passed on to the afterlife when they have fulfilled their purpose or have continually attended class for a period of time, becoming a "NPC", or - according to the SSS - a nobody. Angel Beats! is focused on the SSS and it's war on the school council president, who has some really unnatural abilities. The plot's setup is fairly unique and distinct from pretty much every other anime I've seen, but there's not a lot of motivation involved in the whole "rebelling against the God" business, as it's really only one character who wants that. The other characters are in the SSS because they have nowhere else to go, don't see the point in classes or have amnesia and a cute purple haired girl told him to join them. It's lacking to say the least, although I could contribute this to the shows piss poor length. It's only 13 episodes long, plus an OVA which doesn't do ANYTHING to add to the plot. Nobody get's really developed outside of five characters, which is a real shame. Compared to other Key works like Air, Kanon 2006 and ESPECIALLY Clannad, Angel Beats!  is severely lacking.

The characters are not very well thought out, aside from the main four or five. Again, this is due to the show's low episode count, and it just leaves a feeling of dissatisfaction in your mouth after watching all 13 episodes and seeing nothing happening to your favourite character. I'm going to go over the show's main character and my personal favourite (who fortunately does get development)

Yazuru Otanashi 

Fun Fact: Yazuru has the same voice actor as Captain Levi from Shingeki no Kyojin. Now isn't that swell? Anyways, Yazuru is our main protagonist suffering from amnesia. Great. One day, due to an unfortunate train accident, Yazuru is killed and sent to the High School of the Mostly Dead (I will never stop using that pun). It's here where he meets the members of the SSS and realizes that even if you get killed in this world, you'll come back to life in a matter of hours, minutes even. Yazuru makes it his mission - even hough he doesn't really want to - to help the SSS defeat the "Angel" and rebel against God. He is smart and, while not a great tactician, is a formidable marksman and an asset to the Shinda Sekai Sensen (Which sounds way cooler than the Not Yet Dead Battlefront, just saying.). His backstory is - like most Key main characters - very tragic and all depressing and stuff. He's a decent main character, but compared to let's say, Tomoya Okazaki, he isn't that great. He's very entertaining though, and isn't that what you want from a main character?

Yurippe Nakamura

Fun Fact: THERE IS NO FUN FACT.

The definition of a character that can send your emotions on a rollercoaster, Yurippe is only topped by Nagisa Furakawaas Key's saddest female character. Her backstory left me gobsmacked and I had a lump in my throat after watching that episode. Yuri(short for Yurippe) is the unanymous leader of the Shinda Sekai Sensen which is in a constant debate as to what it's name is. She's funny, a bit arrogant and in all fairness the best damn character this show has to offer and since there's only like five real good ones you can't expect me to pick very easily *cough* KANADE FANS *cough*. I love her design and her ability to command.

I can safely say that hands down, Angel Beats! is one of the all time best when it comes to it's animation. It is stunning to say the least. Environments are stunning, the framerate is rock solid and characters are very distinct. The lighting is tip top, and the action scenes are just breathtaking, especially the one at the end of the first episode. It leaves you wanting more...but there isn't more.

Unfortunately, minus three very good songs, the soundtrack of Angel Beats! is completely forgettable. My Soul, Your Beats! by Lia is one of the best anime openings out there, aswell as the cover by LiSA (Known for her work on Crossing Field, Sword Art Online's first opening) and My Song sung by the character Iwasawa are all the show's standouts. I hear that a lot of people like the ending theme, Brave Song, but I really can't see why. It's not memorable or catchy to me.

Overall, Angel Beats! is very VERY hit or miss. It's tragic sometimes and complete shit the next, and this is down to a poor soundtrack, lacklustre minor characters and it's extremely short length. It suffers heavily as a result, and therefore I'd be weary before going in to watch it.

Story: 5
Characters: 6
Animation: 9.5
Sound: 4
Personal Enjoyment: 4.5

FINAL SCORE FOR ANGEL BEATS!: 5.8/10