Ahh, the mid-1990's. A time of grunge music, angsty anime protagonists and the dawn of the 3D Era of video games. With technology on the rise, gaming finally managed to make the full jump into the third dimension with consoles such as the SEGA Saturn, Nintendo 64 and Sony PlayStation. With the advent of CD Technology, game designers could have huuugggeee games stored onto CD's with high quality audio, voice acting and plenty of content. In 1996, all the Sony PlayStation needed was - apart from Final Fantasy VII - a decent horror game, and Capcom delivered....sort of
Ladies and Gentlemen,Resident Evil [Known in Japan as BIOHAZARD]
For it's own story, before the sequels would later come to rip this game up, the original Resident Evil has a fairly decent plot. In the American Midwest during the year 1998, grizzly murders have been occurring in the Arklay Mountains, close to Raccoon City. The Special Tactics And Rescue Squad (S.T.A.R.S) from the Raccoon Police Department have been sent out to investigate. After the Bravo Team's communications were cut for some unknown reason, S.T.A.R.S sends out it's Alpha Team to investigate. All of a sudden, dogs start to attack the team and kill one member of the squad. The rest all huddle up in a nearby abandoned mansion....but things start to go wrong as soon as they go into the foyer, where the game begins proper. What I love about the story is that it has plenty of twists and turns to keep you interested, and each character has several ending to achieve depending on how many items you got and how fast you were (like the Metroid series) however, the story has it's issues...mainly with how its presented but we'll get to that later. It works for what it is but, it's nothing too speical to be honest. The multiple playable characters really gives it some extra points though.
The gameplay is something that in 1996 would've been it's best aspect, now in 2015 it's become rather polarizing. This is due to several reasons, the most apparent of which is the fact that the controls are stiff. Characters can only move forward when you hold the up button, regardless of what direction you face, which means you have to turn manually if you wanna change direction from a standstill. Now, this control scheme was intentional to add to the games 'survival' element, and to be honest the survival part is excellent. Ammo and Health are limited and your inventory space is limited to 8 (6 if you're playing as Chris) item spaces, so you have to balance out your inventory with weapons, ammo, healing items and puzzle items. Yes, puzzles are a thing in this game and to be honest they're not too hard, just a bit frequent which breaks up the pace a bit too much (then again, the game is slow paced anyways). Avoiding fights is the best way to go due to how limited ammo is, and due to tight corridors, you're often faced with the dilemma of "fight or run" which adds so much tension. However, none of this makes up for the fact that the controls are stiff. Sometimes, intentionally does not always mean good, and this is a prime example.
Graphically, Resident Evil certainly shows its age. Textures look very muddy and character models look extremely blocky. The lighting is alright for a horror game but it's nothing special. Thankfully, Capcom would improve this aspect in the sequels but this original game doesn't look like anything special, even for the PS1's standards.
The audio depends on what version of the game you're playing, and it's safe to say the original 1996 version has the best OST out of the 3 original PS1 versions as it sets the atmosphere perfectly.....unlike the rather campy and infamous voice acting which I cannot even describe how bad it is. It's created so many damn memes that it's in a league of it's own, although this is probably due to the fucking horrendous writing which can make you facepalm in embarrassment.
Resident Evil is a victim of time. It's great atmosphere and survival elements are severely downplayed by the awful voice acting, dialogue and aged graphics. While it is definitely playable, the controls may turn off some, especially those who grew up on newer games in the series. It's a diving board for which the rest of the franchise could leap off from, but right now, Resident Evil is just...good. Not amazing, just good.
Manga is one of the biggest ways to earn money when it comes to making an anime. If there's a successful manga circulating in Japan, chances are it's more than likely going to be adapted into an anime in some way, shape or form. For some reason, this has always been a thing with Shounen manga, with things such as Naruto and One Piece and for a more recent example, Tokyo Ghoul being adapted into very popular anime. In 2003, a certain manga by Hiromu Arakawa was adapted into a 51 episode anime...with some varying degrees of success.
The Modern Classic that is Fullmetal Alchemist by Studio Bones
Fullmetal Alchemist is an adaptation of the Manga of the same name (which in Japanese actually means "Alchemist of Steel"). The story follows the manga for its first 25 episodes and then deviates from it to form its own story in the second half. The story centers around two brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric, who are young and budding alchemists in an alternate universe to our own, where alchemy overtook physics as the main science to use. Behind their cheery exteriors however, lies a dark and grim past. When they were young, their mother died and father abandoned them ( Oh boy It's time to spout "I Mustn't Run Away") leaving them to fend for themselves. However, they couldn't accept their mothers fate and so they decided to commit the ultimate sin to Alchemists: Human Transmutation. Of course, it goes horribly wrong as Edward loses one of his limbs and Alphonse loses his entire body. Edward, out of both anger, stupidity and love for his brother gives up another one of his limbs to attach Alphonse's soul to a suit of armour. With this in place, a man from the State Military comes to see the brothers and offers Edward a position as a State Alchemist. What follows is a story filled with action, drama, comedy, deceit and a bit of a messed up order to be honest. You see, the story is good, there's nothing wrong with the story itself but its the way the story is told is where I have a problem. The first two episodes take place a little bit into the story, then we see ALL the story upto that and them skip again to just after those first two episodes. It would've made more sense to have the viewing order be in chronological order (kinda like the Haruhi Suzumiya or Kara no Kyoukai series, but this does it to a lesser extent than those two shows). The narrative itself though is engaging and fun to watch, even if it is slow at some points (particularly at the start of the second half)
The characters are the main reason why most people love Fullmetal Alchemist and I can certainly see why. Edward Elric is an extremely likable main character who has a lot of drive and determination with plenty of great moments. His drama is balanced out by his great comedy and sarcasm which really makes him shine. Alphonse Elric is a serviceable second-to-lead, as he does a great job at motivating Edward and is sort of a conscience to Edward, telling him valuable advice for life. His chemistry with Edward is fantastic and makes for some hilarious moments. However, neither of these characters are a match for the man that is Lt. Colonel Roy Mustang, AKA The fucking boss. Mustang is the best character in anime for so many goddamn reasons. He's snarky, cocky, funny as hell and can back up all his shit talking with his amazing use of Fire Alchemy. His attitude and design make him extremely likable in my opinion, and Travis Willingham does a FANTASTIC job on him in the English dub. The rest of the cast are serviceable, particularly Winry Rockbell, Alex Louis Armstrong & Lust. Although, I couldn't care less about the shows main villain. Kinda felt thrown in there at the last second to me and it was completely random as to who it actually was.
*Sighs*
I Have to talk about the animation now don't I?
Look, I'll be honest....it's dull and depressing. Despite a few glorious moments in the earlier episodes, the colouration of the animation in this show is bloody boring. The main reasoning for this is because the majority of the show takes place in one of two areas: Inside a Grey Building, or out in the desert/canyon regions. Like, the movement and actual animation of characters is fine and is done well, as are the fight scenes but, the colour scheme is really, REALLY boring and ruins the immersion sometimes. Also, there are occasional animation hiccups where characters faces can look well....idiotic to be frank.
The soundtrack isn't mind blowing like say, Evangelion or Attack on Titan but it definitely fits the show well, especially the pieces that feel like they're from a Legend of Zelda game. The standout track is of course, Brothers but that's not really the standout track across the whole OST.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Melissa:
That opening was stuck in my head for the longest time and is my favourite out of the four openings. However, as regards openings I only like one other opening, that being the Second one, Ready, Steady, Go! and the Ending themes, minus the first one didn't really catch my eye to be honest.
Overall, Fullmetal Alchemist is a brilliant but flawed anime. Its characters are extremely likable and the story is pretty damn good to say the least. The animation, poor villain and mostly forgettable OP/ED selection mar the show, but it's definitely enjoyable to watch. As fr dub or sub, either way to be honest although i personally prefer the dub because Vic Mignogna and Travis Willingham are just wow.
