Hajime No Ippo – Rising Episode 3 – A Woman’s Battle
Ippo’s fight against Shimabukuro is now over and the episode begins with his recovery after the fight in the last episode. For the first five minutes of the episode Ippo is asleep and the audience is introduced/reintroduced to three lovely ladies who all have “a thing” for Ippo and that’s where we get the title of the episode “A Woman’s Battle”. They fight amongst themselves for a little bit until Ippo’s mum intervenes and proves to the audience that, no matter what, SHE is the true woman in his life. Although she hates watching his fights because “why would I pay money to watch my son get hurt”, she continues to help him recover and to enjoy his time out of the ring. Ippo’s mum, somewhat, keeps him grounded and in a state of peacefully recovery when not fighting and you can really see it makes a big impact on his life considering he’s up and running within no time.
In true Hajime No Ippo-style this episode is both a post-match/pre-match episode. Ippo’s fight is over and Aoki’s fight is about to begin. Aoki is another boxer that trains in the same gym as Ippo and is one of Ippo’s close friends. His match is coming up soon so a majority of this episode is set-up and preparation for that. We see the more comedic side of Hajime No Ippo in this episode too, which I thought fit well. Aoki’s preparations are incredibly drastic which complements his personality quite well and we also get a nice look into his past as well as the reason why he MUST win this fight. I found it to be great how, even though Aoki is a comedic character, he feels like he is falling behind and that this fight is really the be all and end all for him, he jokes about that throughout the episode but by the end of it you get the feeling that this really is it for him.
His hero, Takamura, has hit the big leagues and his junior Ippo has done the same which, in turn, has broken a great deal of Aoki’s spirit. While, of course, he loves that his best friends are celebreties in the boxing world as well as actual great boxers his goal now is to reach their level, not for the fame but for the satisfaction of knowing that he has what it takes to fight at their level and, once again, be on an even playing field. The emotions portrayed in this episode were great because, essentially, they are real feelings that someone would feel about their friends; elated yet conflicted, he wants to feel overjoyed about his friend’s success yet he can’t help but feel left behind and, in some ways, jealous. We’re also introduced to his opponent, Imae, who is said to be a very straight forward fighter whereas Aoki is an extremely odd and unorthodox one.
Imae has been studying Aoki’s fighting techniques and believes he can, not only crush him, but humiliate him in the process. The use of higher-level conflict is so great in Hajime No Ippo. There’s obviously the physical conflict of two fighters in the ring but then there’s also conflicting ideals and goals: One wants to prove his worth while his opponent is doing everything to make sure that he is humiliated in front of a large audience. it gives the characters more of a reason to win, it’s not only satisfaction and pride in Hajime No Ippo, while they are the fundamental reasons why the characters fight, there’s always more layers and we as the audience have to notice ourselves. The episode finishes with Imae walking into the gym for the pre-fight conference but instead walks into Aoki’s naked body as he’s just coming off the scales, you can’t get a comparison thicker than that and I’m anticipating the start to a brutal fight in the next episode. As far as Anime impressions go, episode 3 did make a good one. Check out more Hajime No Ippo – Rising Impressions HERE.
Last week it was announced that we would all be seeing an Officially produced and officially sold 3D Maneuver Gear from this years Anime hit Attack On Titan. It was said to be filly unveiled at an Attack On Titan based exhibition in Tokyo next year but it seems like the Anime world has gotten a huge look at what the 3D Maneuver Gear will look like seeing as the prototype of the item was shown at a smaller exhibition over the weekend. This small exhibit is set up in the observatory on the 60th floor of Tokyo’s Ikebukuro Sunchine center and, while not as big as the upcoming exhibition, it still showed off what is to come of this amazing merchandise release.
Alongside Anime screenshots and other Attack On Titan-based items and merchandise, the Official 3DMG was shown in all it’s glory in an incredible glass case, set up in a way that almost every angle of the item could be seen and from that many people have determined that this one-for-one scale of the item is possibly the best we’ve seen in a very long time. The final product is set to go on sale sometime next year but, for now, we can just sit in awe at the prototype which, to me, is already looking fantastic! Along side the pictures above, here are some more images of the exhibition just for you all to see exactly what it’s like. Don’t forget to head down to our comments section and drop us a line.
It looks like Penny Arcade hasn’t wasted anytime in prepping for the next convention set for Down Under seeing as it wrapped back in July. However, those expecting a repeat of this year’s set up will be quite surprised and also several months off. That’s right, PAX Aus 2014 wont be in July next year, but will be taking place a few months later.
Scheduled for October 31st-November 2nd, PAX Aus 2014 will also not be taking place in the same location. It will still be in Melbourne, but will be moving to a larger convention center with the reservation of the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre. This means that fans can expect more room and hopefully more attendance with the higher capacity, which should prove very useful as this year’s PAX Aus sold out months beforehand.
Those excited for PAX Aus 2014 should be pretty glad for the news and it will be interesting to see what more news will come out as the months go on. More information can also of course be found from the PAX Aus website.
In the wake of the recent Grand Theft Auto V frenzy that swept the world, and made Rockstar a hefty little profit, people may recall the little game that started it all. Yep, the original top down massacre of the original GTA is receiving some newfound attention.
The original creator of Grand Theft Auto, Michael Dailly, has decided to rebuild the first game in a 3D form. The game apparently already contained three dimensional maps, that were simply viewed from a top down perspective. This allowed players to utilise bridges and tunnels and provide some sense of depth. So in a way, the original GTa was ready built for 3D driving without us even knowing. Clever.
Those damn potholes…
The remake will render the game using a new engine and is said to run at 60 frames per second. It is being rebuilt in GameMaker: Studio package, produced by YoYo Games, the company where Dailly currently works as head of development. He isn’t planning on releasing the build to the public yet, as there is still more work to do. There are currently no plans to implement gameplay into the map, though Dailly has said that, once its done, he’ll decide what to do with it.
Studio Trigger’s newest Anime masterpiece Kill La Kill is only three episodes in, Anime fans everywhere are loving it and it seems like we’re already getting prepared for some awesome merchandise that is set to head our way. Even the juggernaut of this year’s Anime releases, Attack on Titan, let the series run at least half it’s series before companies began designing merchandise for it.
Possibly because of it’s predecessor Gurren Lagann, Kill La Kill is getting a little bit of the special treatment, that’s not to say it is undeserved though. Merchandising company “Movic” has announced to lines of merchandise for the series so far; the first as a nice little letter opener that is made as a replica of main character Ryuko’s signature weapon the scissor sword and the second line of merch are a line of charms for each of the main characters that are in the shape of the first letter of their names and features their faces.
– Kill la Kill Character Charms –
As Movic are producing those pieces of merch, Coapa has already begun designing and producing a line of Kill La Kill shirts starting with a white T-Shirt that sports the 3 Stars that you would see on the stronger character’s “Goku Uniforms”. I guess now you can show other Anime fans just how tough you really are by flaunting your “3-Star Goku Shirt” as you strut around your local area.
The 15cm Scissor Sword letter openers will set you back 2,415yen each, the charms will cost you the same individidually and the shirt will go for a little bit more at 2,900yen. Not too expensive, not too cheap, I’d almost say it’s just right at this point in time. I can’t wait for the release of these items yet right now there has been no official release date, they producers of these items have just stated that they will be up for sale in December so it looks like this Christmas is going to be a good one!
Over the weekend on the Super Smash Bros. Official Website as one of their “Daily Pics” was an image of a very happy Pikachu which seems to feature what looks to be the back of Pokemon X’s own legendary stag; Xerneas. The high-resolution image is very basic and only has those two Pokemon present so it’s not a case of having mistook the picture for something else, it’s very clearly a picture of Xerneas…or a picture of Ditto as Xerneas, anything can happen in the Pokemon world.
What this is telling us that the legendary Pokemon will appear in the game but what it’s not telling us is what exactly it is going to appear as. It could be part of a stage hazard where in which Xerneas will appear for some fairy-type destruction or it could be used as part of the “Pokeball” item for all players to use if they’re lucky enough to bust him out of there.
At this point in time we’re all very unsure but I think that, in the near future, we’ll be finding out more about this game and hopefully more about the role of Xerneas within it. The next generation of Super Smash Bros. is set for release on the 3DS and the Wii U in 2014 so, until then, keep your eyes on the site for any and all news that will be released.
S&M Volume 1 Author:Mio Murao Publisher:eManga/DMG Release Date: September 24th, 2013 Price: $9.95 – Available Here
Overview
Just the letters S & M put together carry a very specific connotation, but there is a lot of range than can exist within the term. While S & M does match the nicknames of two of the characters back in school, it can also mean slave and master, which seems to fit well. Slave and master can go from a pair of completely willing participants all the way to one holding the control over the other leaving no choice. So, where within this range does the manga S&M fit and does the series hold enough drama to be able to carry the plot through this first volume.
Story S&M is the story of one of the absolute most safe minded individuals ever, Makoto Toda. Living by a simple principle of never having any regrets, Makoto has played it safe in ever aspect doing small and mundane tasks at work, being excessively conscientious of crossing streets, and marrying a reasonable woman. This of course does not make for a very exciting story, which is why Makoto does in fact have one decision that he has regretted relating to his school crush that will come back to haunt him in ways he could never imagine.
His troubles begin with his 20 year school reunion, where meeting with his old friends Makoto dreads coming face to face with his school crush for fear that she will somehow end up ruining his happy marriage and family. What he doesn’t know is that what is coming is much much worse, as instead of his school crush coming to the reunion her 20 year old daughter Saya arrives instead and spends much of the time speaking and getting to know Makoto. Saya appears to just be curious at first, wanting to know the man her mother liked so much in school, but becomes more and more unsettling as more is revealed. Saya doesn’t just want to get to know Makoto, she wants to have him like her mother never got a chance to.
Makoto problems of course only get worse, as Saya joins the company he works at as his subordinate and aims to have him any way that she can. From using other employees to get close to him, to blackmailing him with pictures of the two of the together, S&M is filled with drama as Makoto tries desperately to get a handle back on his life. Slave and master in the case of this series is Saya controlling Makoto to get whatever she wants, regardless of the fact that he wants nothing to do with it. Saya escalates more and more until she can get him to a point where he can do nothing, but whatever she says. There may not be the whips and leather readers may come in expecting, but Saya is the master and Makoto is now her slave.
Artwork
S&M does a good job with keeping the artwork for the most part realistic. There are a good number of characters throughout Volume 1 and there is a great job in ensuring that they are all varied enough to easily tell them apart. Makoto himself is given a distinguishing mark in the form of a mole between his eyebrows, to aid the reader even more in identifying him in the present and flashbacks despite all the characters he meets. Likewise the different clothing throughout is realistic from what is actually worn and how the characters are wearing them, especially with how Saya and her mother are both about teasing glances of their panties.
Nudity itself does come up a couple scenes per chapter, but the way that it is shown gives additional insight of the characters. Early on there is no shying away from characters being full nude, but as the story goes on and Makoto is forced to try and keep what is happening as secret as possible, the acts are often more covered up themselves although these acting are taking place in public as well.
Extra Content
This release has little in the way of bonus content to go with the 8 chapters that encompass S&M Volume 1. The book kicks off right away with the start of the first chapter and goes straight through until the end of the eighth, with not much else besides. However, this release has been made available in a multitude of digital formats for those wanting to be able to read the story however they would wish.
Overall
The title S&M may certainly catch a few eyes with the ideas that come to mind with the juxtaposition of the letters, but the story presented here is in fact much more dramatic than erotic in nature. Not that the situations the characters get into aren’t appealing to the eye or imagination, but the focus being much more on the emotions of both Makoto and Saya. Makoto as he slowly feels everything he has worked so hard to protect through his careful nature falling apart and Saya as she maliciously takes apart Makoto’s life to attain some sort of vengeance for her mother. A fairly deep emotional story with a decent amount of titillation that creates a stark introduction to the end of Makoto’s life as he knows it.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
After the news that spread around late last week regarding the saving issues in Pokemon X and Y’s Lumiose City, Nintendo has officially recognised the problem and has followed up the recognition with an official map of Lumiose City labelling where you should NOT save as well as stating that them, alongside Game Freak, are working on an patch/update that will fix that issue as well as a few other issues within the game, luckily these other issues are minor and, well, pretty cool actually. I recently posted, within another article, the map of Lumiose City and where NOT to save, that image was in Japanese so I’ve placed the English image just below for you to reference while in-game.
– Lumios City Map –
Problems like the “Wondertrade Glitch” where in which a Pokemon that evolves and/or learns a new move from the Wondertrade option then looses it’s evolution and newly-learned move is another of the problems that is to be fixed in the update. Other glitches/bugs, like I just mentioned, do NOT break the game in any way so don’t stress too much about them if you’re not aware of them. These glitches, though, are actually very reminiscent of the original Red/Blue/Yellow games because, while they may be nuisance to some, a lot of people actually like them. I’m talking about the “Albino Pokemon” glitch which, in some cases, Pokemon are seen in the wild without any colour rendering them completely black and white as if they just came out of an old-school copying machine.
– Some examples of “Albino” Pokemon –
Fans seems to think this kind of thing is fairly cool and it definitely reminds me of the glitches in the original games. Even smaller ones like the “Glitchleo” stories where players have seen the Pokemon Litleo in the wild that just so happens to have it’s brown fur coat replaced with what looks like a similar, if not updated, pattern that we’ve previously seen on “Missingo”. They’re all very interesting and seeing as only one of these glitches is game-breaking, the others being overridden once the game is reset, they’re not too big of a deal to stress over. Nintendo has said to be releasing a patch into the eShop but they haven’t gotten specific about a time frame or what not so we’ll just have to be careful and hope for the best until it is releases. When it is released I guarantee you can see it here on the site as soon as we catch wind of it so keep an eye out.
ARMED SEVEN Developer:ASTRO PORT Publisher:Nyu Media Platforms:PC (Reviewed) Release Date: October 4, 2013 Price: $4.99 / £3.99 / €4.99 – Available Here
Overview
The indie game scene has been burgeoning in western culture for quite some time now. Virtually everyone, in the west at least, is familiar with titles like Fez, Limbo, Bastion, Minecraft, and Braid. The eastern indie scene, however, has felt conspicuously absent as western developers have made a name for themselves. With a renewed focus on bringing Japanese indie developers to the western audience, Nyu Media is hoping to help change that. Enter ASTRO PORT’s 2D side-scrolling shoot ’em up ARMED SEVEN. Does it have the chops to stand on its own or should it be disarmed? Let’s find out.
Story
Earth has seen its share of conflict. In 1989, 12 years after an alien army invaded earth, we’ve adapted the otherworldly tech to propel ourselves into an era of prosperity. An underground militant organization has stolen weapons from the Earth Federation whose future is now hanging in the balance. You must end the attack and save the Earth Federation!
Gameplay
Games like ARMED SEVEN have been around for decades. Fans of quarter-munchers like 1941 and the R-Type franchise just couldn’t get enough of all those bright colored projectiles flying all over the screen. ARMED SEVEN is aiming to scratch that same itch, and it does so quite handily.
The concept of ARMED SEVEN is quite simple: avoid incoming enemy fire while laying waste to everything in your path. To do that, you need responsive controls. ARMED SEVEN‘s controls can feel a little jarring at first, if for nothing more than menu navigation. Z is the primary key for maneuvering menus, and the Escape key totally shuts out the program. That confusion apart, the default movement keys are ‘WASD’ or the arrow keys with ‘Z’ and ‘X’ being used to fire your primary and special weapons, respectively. Once you’re in-game they’re quick to pick up on and feel fine, but that initial confusion feels unnecessary.
Once you’re through the basic menu, you can get down to brass tacks. When you begin the game, you’re given the ability to choose your own loadout. Unlike some other shmups where your weaponry can change change on the fly, the only power-ups you’ll get here are increased firepower and shields. Here you’ll choose one of four main weapons, sub weapons, and charge weapons, for a total of 12 weapons. This gives you a great deal of flexibility in how you build out the upcoming campaign. It’s fun to see how everything behaves and handles in the different situations.
As you play through ARMED SEVEN, you’ll experience a total of 7 levels and a total playthrough (provided you can survive long enough) will take you perhaps a half hour to complete. Each of the seven levels have their own unique set of enemies and obstacles, providing a fantastic sense of diversity as you work through the game. You’ll never get bored dealing with the same old enemies over and over again.
On top of working through the levels themselves, each level has a giant boss you’ll have to defeat to progress. These all have their own individual designs, weapons, and attack patterns, ensuring nothing feels like something you’ve already seen. They’re a ton of fun to fight, and the sheer scale of the battles feels like something straight out of an old-school boss fight.
Visuals ARMED SEVEN takes its inspiration straight from the shmups of old. Anyone who played arcade shoot ’em ups or was a fan of the Super Nintendo will get a great sense of nostalgia here. The character sprites look fantastic and all of the special effects feel like they were rendered straight off the Mode 7 graphics engine. Nothing looks shoddy or out of place – it’s clear a great deal of care and love went into crafting the look and feel of this game, right down to the few cutscenes you’ll get to see. That said, don’t expect the ability to tweak any visuals in ARMED SEVEN. You only get one resolution: 640×480.
Audio
The music in ARMED SEVEN is so good! Once again, the audio is totally built to sound like it came straight off the Super Nintendo or Sega Genesis, and it does a great job with it. Each level has its own track, and they all sound great. They help drive the gameplay while maintaining that classic feel, and since they change it up enough you’ll never get tired of the same old song.
Overall
Overall, I think it’s fair to say ASTRO PORT has done a fantastic job capturing that old-school arcade look and feel and putting their own spin on it. The game looks and sounds marvelous while maintaining a sense of 16-bit nostalgia, there’s a great sense of diversity in level and enemy design, and the customizable loadout system is a great touch. Anyone who sunk fistfuls of quarters into shmup arcade cabinets back in the day will really enjoy ARMED SEVEN.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Overview Ever since the first Disgaea game was released on the PlayStation 2 back in 2003 the game helped expand upon what, at the time, was a thriving strategy RPG genre. Over the past decade strategy RPGs have become rather uncommon but Nippon Ichi Software has always stayed true to form and over the years the Disgaea series has received not only a number of numbered titles but even a few spin-offs here and there.
Despite these games being numbered however, none of them directly followed a previously told story and while Laharl, Etna and Flonne have appeared in almost every game since, they have yet to star as the protagonists once again. That is until the company’s first sequel Disgaea D2: A Brighter Darkness was created and released in the West. Does the return of these signature characters make for an unbelievable game?
Story Disgaea D2: A Brighter Darkness takes place a number of years after the events of the first game with Laharl taking over for his father as the Overlord of the Netherworld. However thanks to his nature, there are many demons in the Netherworld who simply don’t care about him, don’t even know they have a leader or are actively planning on trying to dethrone him and replace him.
One such organization called the Krichevskoy Faction has been gaining quite a following and as such Laharl must finally start paying attention to what is happening around him. Unfortunately for him, things are more complicated as it seems as a new threat to the Netherworld begins to appear and change the world around him and to make matters worse, an angel named Sicily has appeared claiming to be his little sister. With everything happening at once only the classic crew of Laharl, Etna and Flonne can take and set everything right, or at least back to how they like it.
Now while the first Disgaea, Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, had a fair bit of drama and emotional moments here and there, this isn’t that game. This is probably for the best in all cases however thanks to the fact that Disgaea D2 plays as an almost direct sequel and gamers have already grown rather fond of the cast of characters and what better way to put together a game with these favorites than put them in a mostly comedic storyline with so many fourth wall breaking references, comedic violence and random twists and events that players will constantly be guessing as to what will happen next.
Sure there is something to be said for the lack of major drama in Disgaea D2 but despite that the game manages to offer a great and often humorous time where players will see everything from Laharl turning into a busty girl and Etna suddenly changing colors to battles that put the fate of the Netherworld in these strange characters’ hands. This makes the game highly enjoyable but it is worth noting that, while not entirely necessary, players will be able to get the biggest kick out of the game’s story if they have played the first game or at least know about the various events from Hour of Darkness before jumping into this one.
Gameplay Those familiar with what Disgaea has to offer will already know what they are getting into here, but for everyone else Disgaea D2 is a strategy RPG where combat takes place in a grid-based arena. While combat is a turn-based affair it is not your standard system where speed plays a factor in turn order. Instead each side takes a turn at one time, allowing the player to move or attack with all of their fighters while the enemy will also retaliate in the same manner. This makes placement and planning of battles a necessity as it is very easy to be wiped out thanks to poorly placed characters being swarmed by enemies.
Like more recent games in the series it is possible to have characters partner up with one another for team attacks if they are close together or use Geo Panels to take advantage of buffs or de-buffs and dish out extra damage and while actions can be taken one at a time, it is possible to plan an entire turn out and watch it occur in one session. Like I mentioned earlier, it is worth noting that the game does have a pretty significant difficulty level but compared to more recent titles, it feels a bit easier this time around as everything is explained early on and players are given free reign of how to fight from then on.
Disgaea D2’s battles usually always see the main cast of characters in the party but the player has the option to flesh out and expand their fighters by bringing in custom fighters of different classes and skills, giving players a chance to set their party up to fit their play style or change things around if a battle turns out to be giving them a rough time.
Put all of that together with the fact that players have the ability to use monsters as mounts in this game, though the system is a bit useful as it allows the character riding the monster to take less damage it ends up giving the player less to work with on the field. There is also the item world to explore which gives players a chance to dive into an item and venture through numerous levels of battles as they upgrade the item by going as far into it as possible.
It is interesting to note that the Dark Assembly has also returned and there are a number of new options available inside of it, including a “cheat shop” which allows players to change various elements of the game such as raising experience rates by sacrificing money drops among other things. This gives players an deep level of customization and the ability to reach even the coveted level 9999 faster and more fun than before.
Visuals In many ways Disgaea D2 has received the same visual upgrades that were part of Disgaea 4, including the way a number of enemy characters look. Following that trend the in-game sprites are rather impressive looking despite many of them being with the series for years at this point. The newly introduced enemies and characters look great in the game and the in-game combat is as stylish as ever with numerous over-the-top moves at the player’s disposal.
That being said, the battlefields the player will fight on loo rather poorly designed with numerous out-dated looking textures but this problem is alleviated by the variety of areas players will visit and just how colorful the world is. As for the in-game dialogue sequences, the character portraits are nicely detailed and as impressive as ever and work well with this style of game.
Audio Fans of the original three will be happy to hear that the English voices of Laharl and Flonne have been retained for Disgaea D2. It is worth noting that although Etna’s voice actress isn’t quite the same, it is the voice actress that has handled the character since the original game and she does a wondrous job voicing the character. As for the rest of the cast and voice work, the game has a nicely done English dub which works well with the tone of the story.
As for the game’s soundtrack, Disgaea D2 sports a varied set of background music that works well more often than not. While some pieces of music can be a bit grating after a while, especially during a long battle, it is an impressive offering that works well both when walking around the hub or fighting it out.
Overall Disgaea D2: A Brighter Darkness adds a few new features to what has already become one of the most refined strategy RPG in the industry. The game’s story brings back three favorite characters from the first game and provides an entertaining storyline. Of course it does require knowledge from the first game in the series to truly enjoy as there are a number of leaps that will be missed by those unfamiliar with the original Disgaea. That being said, Disgaea D2 offers a slightly more accessible but still incredibly deep and complicated experience.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
