Dream Eater Merry
Studio: TBS Animation Publisher:Hanabee Format: DVD Release Date: Out Now Price: $47.99 (Buy Here)
Overview
What if your dreams were actually a gateway to another reality? What if, sometimes, the things from your dreams wanted to come out into the real world? Well, this is the concept of Dream Eater Merry.
Yumeji is just a normal guy with the unique ability to see the kinds of dreams other people are going to have, but his world is changed when he meets Merry Nightmare, a dream spirit from another world. This other world is the Dream World and she is looking for a way to return there.
Is this concept a well done one? Or is it a little stale? Find out in our review below.
Story
Dream Eater Merry follows the battles of a Spirit from the dream world named Merry. She has somehow ended up on Earth and is searching for a way back to her home in the dream world. Of course, as the story progresses, you do actually learn how it is that she got into the real world. It makes for a pretty interesting story.
What I really liked about the story was how right at the start of the series, you think that it’s pretty much going to be a one way kind of deal. What I mean is that it is initially presented as though its some kind of action show, but it very quickly becomes a little more complicated than just defeating the bad guys each week.
The character progression in Dream Eater Merry is pretty good. The characters at first appear to be quite one-dimensional, but as you advance through the series, you get to know them a little better as they progress through the story. This is always a good thing for a series to have as relatable characters make as remember a series more fondly.
Another thing that I liked was that the combat had an impact on the story. What I mean here is that you see early on that Merry believes that she’s doing a good thing by defeating all of these dream figures. However, this is proven not to be true and that all she is actually doing is murdering them.
Overall the story in Dream Eater Merry is quite interesting and it does a few things that really push it that way. I’d really recommend for anyone to give it a go based on story alone.
Visuals
When I first took a look at the cover of Dream Eater Merry, I really thought that this would be a really generic looking show. I’m glad that I was wrong.
You see there are a lot of elements to the show that are present within the visuals. For instance, each dream demon has their own dreamscape with their own distinctive looks and feels. This adds a real visual flavour to the series, as opposed to just having standard environments which would have only added a standard flavour.
I actually really liked the individuality of each dream represented within this series. I think that each dream realm spoke a lot about the character having them. This isn’t really a direct thing though, you’d have to kind of know what the character is about to be able to see why they have a particular dream. For example, there is one girl who seems pretty normal, but you can see that she’s actually really lonely because her dream has given her a romantic companion. The show shows this visually and it makes the whole situation more personable as a result.
Audio
Dream Eater Merry has an amazing audio component, if you’re watching it in Japanese. I mean, like, the background score and sound effects are all the same between both dubs, but the English really seemed lacking somehow.I’m not going to say the English dub was flat or that there was anything wrong with it, but it just felt like the Japanese dub was much more rich and vibrant, creating a better feeling show. If you’re someone that can’t stand Japanese audio or read subtitles all too quick, you’re not losing anything by sticking with the English dub, I just really preferred the Japanese dub over it.
The background score captures the scene really well in this series. In battles it is quite dramatic and something you’d associate with a fight, whereas in other softer scenes, the audio carries across that feel as well. It’s not perfect, but it’s not something you’d really complain about.
Like most series, Dream Eater Merry hosts a plethora of sound effects. Each sound effect fitted a scene quite well. Not really too much to say here, the sound effects worked.
Extras
Dream Eater Merry lists two extras available within the packaging. These extras are pretty standard in Anime packages, so you might be a little disappointed.
Included with the discs are the Clean Opening and Clean Closing sequences. Fortunately, both songs are quite enjoyable and the animations are really cool to watch. You should definitely watch them.
As for unlisted extras, there are some there. The most notable of which is the reversible cover. The standard packaging of Dream Eater Merry is this pink colour and might look out of place on some Otaku’s desks (not that I care, pink is one of my favourite colours). However, you can flip this onto the otherside to reveal a greener cover, comprised mainly of green. A reversible cover with two of my favourite colours? Heck yeah.
Overall
Overall Dream Eater Merry is an entertaining show that may change your perceptions of your dreams. The storyline is fairly entertaining and far more involved than I actually spoke about (I really don’t want to spoil this too much, which is why I was so tight lipped up there) and it’s strong visuals make this a series that you’ll definitely want to check out.
Today during a stage event in Japan, Nippon Ichi Software has revealed that they have a new Disgaea game set for release sometime next year. The game will be called Disgaea Dimension 2 and Japanese gamers won’t have to wait too long to play it as it has been slated for a PS3 release on March 20, 2013.
Those of you with keen memories will remember that a “Project D” was announced earlier this year as NIS’ 20th anniversary title. Well, it just so happens that this Disgaea Dimension 2 is Project D. Currently details about the game are very scarce, minus a few teaser images of the iconic characters Etna, Laharl and Flonne. The game will be given a teaser website in 12 days, so we will likely know more in under two weeks.
If you turned on your PlayStation 3 today hoping to see how the new PlayStation Store will look then you may have been disappointed to find that the PlayStation Store looked the same as always. Well that is because Sony has chosen to postpone the launch of the new store in numerous regions, including the US, Mexico, Brazil and Canada, though it is available in a few PAL regions currently.
Sony Network Entertainment VP Eric Lempel said that the reason for this was the company attempting to provide “an exceptional experience with the new store” and that was not met with this version of the store. As such they are attempting to adjust a few things on the store.
It is always great to hear when a company is doing well, especially one that develops unique games such as Marvelous AQL. Today the company reported that they have made a 620 million yen ($7.8 million) net profit during the second quarter of the fiscal year. This is 106% more than the company previously estimated.
According to their report, the strong sales of Rune Factory 4, the best selling game in the franchise, and Senran Kagura: Burst were responsible for the unexpectedly high profits. Marvelous AQL has a number of games still in the works, such as Senran Kagura: Shinovi Versus, Muramasa the Demon Blade, and Fate/Extra CC on the Vita as well as Valhalla Nights 3 on the PS3.
Perhaps the impressive sales of the Senran Kagura series will sway Western publishers towards a localization and perhaps we will hear something similar from Natsume about Rune Factory 4 in the coming months.
Remember a few rumblings about Sleeping Dogs’ first piece of storyline DLC? Well today Square Enix fully revealed the Nightmare in Northpoint DLC which sees Wei Shen fighting against the undead on the streets of Hong Kong. Of course no Chinese zombie battle wouldn’t be complete without magic, so Wei will be able to use special power ups to take down enemies.
The company released a number of screenshots which can be seen below as well as a trailer for the DLC which can be found below those. As for the story of this content, Big Scar Wu, a brutal member of the Triad, was killed and grinded into cat food to send a message to the rest of the Triad. Unfortunately for Hong Kong, Big Scar Wu has risen from the dead with an army of zombies hell bent on destroying the Sun On Yee.
Today Namco Bandai released a number of screenshots for Dragon Ball Z Budokai HD Collection in an effort to provide a direct comparison between the PlayStation 2 versions of Dragon Ball Z: Budokai and Dragon Ball Z Budokai 3 and the new HD versions of these two games included in the collection.
In the gallery below you will see that the first image is from the PlayStation 2 version of the game while the following image is of the HD upgrade. It seems that only the combat sequences have been given a full wide-screen improvement while menus and loading screens are given small designs on the side or left blank.
Welcome back for this week’s iOS Game Suggestions. If you missed or are new to the suggestions, click on the link below and check what cool games you should be picking up for your iOS along with the introduction and disclaimer on how the suggestions work. (suggestions 1 has the disclaimer and how it all works)
A great week on iTunes, as always it started slow and but ended with a bang! As always there certainly is a few must buy games this week in the FREE, and over 99c. This week i’ve suggested a total of 18 great quality titles. Make sure you check them all especially SYMPHONICA, Sonic Jump, Wonder Zoo – Animal Rescue, Monster Quest, Hidden Runaway just to name a few.
Break down below :
7 – FREE Games
4 – $0.99c Games
7 – Over $0.99c Games
As always for this week’s suggestions are all new titles that you should take a look at and consider spending your hard earned iTunes cash / time on. Well the Free games just below certainly should all be given a shot as they won’t cost you anything!
For The Cheapskates – FREE GAMES
MASTERABBOTT’S FREE GAME PICK OF THE WEEK!
Monster Quest – Price : FREE – Publisher –GREE (CAPTURE THE BADDEST TEAM OF MONSTERS AND TAKE THEM TO BATTLE! Grow your settlement, capture, train and create hundreds of monsters to assemble the strongest army in the land! The land needs a legendary Monster Trainer to battle evil! Explore different worlds to collect and create an empire of monsters. For the first time ever, go head to head and battle other players to see who reigns as the ultimate Monster Trainer!) runs on iPad & iPhone. GET IT NOW FOR FREE
Wonder Zoo – Animal Rescue ! – Price : FREE – Publisher – Gameloft (An infamous poacher is threatening the animals of the wilderness! Head out on safari to rescue them from danger and welcome them into your wonderful zoo.) on iPad & iPhone. GET IT NOW FOR FREE
PyramidValley Adventure – Price : FREE – Publisher –BulkyPix (PyramidVille Adventure is now called PyramidValley Adventure, and a new version is currently available! The Valley of the Pharaohs is now open to you! Start your adventure and build the most pharaonic of Egyptian cities! With PyramidValley Adventure, you take on the role of the last Pharaoh of ancient Egypt!
Expand your ancient city and trade with other cities around the world.) runs on iPad & iPhone. GET IT NOW FOR FREE
Monster Burner – Price : FREE – Publisher –UBISOFT (Test your skills and spells on new different challenges every 24 hours; compare your scores with your friends and the rest of the world! Try to master every level, to collect “Perfects” 3 Orbs rating every day. Can you keep up with the challenge and keep on the top every day?) runs on iPad & iPhone. GET IT NOW FOR FREE
Hotel Transylvania Dash – Price : FREE – Publisher –Playfirst (PlayFirst and Sony Pictures Animation team up to bring you Hotel Transylvania Dash, a frightfully fun game based on the upcoming movie, Hotel Transylvania! Help Dracula run a lavish 5-stake resort for lovable, quirky monsters, including Murray the Mummy, Frankenstein and his wife, a family of werewolves, and more! As Dracula, you’ll book rooms, deliver room service and luggage, and attend to your guests’ needs. Use your hard-earned blood bills to buy new decorations and deck out your VIP suites with help from Dracula’s daughter, Mavis. Mayhem ensues when human Jonathan stumbles into the hotel – the first human ever to discover the monsters-only retreat!) runs on iPad & iPhone. GET IT NOW FOR FREE
Monster Mansion – Price : FREE – Publisher – Meridian 4(Even monsters need a place to call home! Build up your haunted mansion into a world-class monster hotel with special rooms which will unlock monsters inspired by classic books, movies and television. Your monsters will find a place to call home in your hotel while they scare the unsuspecting human visitors!) on iPad & iPhone. GET IT NOW FOR FREE
Square Planet – Price : FREE – Publisher –Majaka (Roll & jump across the Square Planet to rescue your friends from the Evil Squares ! Play the fearless Round Ball on his action-packed journey in a Square World. Edge your way around challenging hazards to complete the colorful levels. Collect shiny Rings, use amazing power-ups and discover the marvelous hidden areas.) runs on iPad & iPhone. GET IT NOW FOR FREE
For The Bargain Hunters – 99c Games
Save Them All – Price : $0.99 – Publisher – Chillingo (Only 24 hours remain between now and the apocalypse! You have one mission: save as many innocents as possible before the clock ticks down to the zero hour. Battle missiles, mutants, aliens and a world that is literally falling apart around you. This, apocalyptic, endless runner takes that countdown beyond the in-game narrative and, every 24 hours, leaderboards reset in the real world!) runs on iPad & iPhone. BUY NOW
Twist Pilot – Price : $0.99 – Publisher – Zynga (Twist Pilot is a fiendishly addictive puzzle action game. You guide the constantly rotating Phil through 72 action-packed levels, making sure not to touch the sides while avoiding the mischievous Spiders and their troublesome tricks and traps. The control system is intuitive and precise. By dragging the screen and timing the rotation correctly, Phil can be squeezed through the narrowest of gaps.) runs on iPhone & iPad. BUY NOW
A Wonderland Story – Price : $0.99 – Publisher – Josh Presseisen (The white rabbit has come back to Wonderland! Now he needs to be on time for his date with the Queen! To make the matters worse, Alice is fond of the rabbit and she has jumped into the rabbit hole to chase him! Help him to escape from Alice’s hugs to allow him to arrive on time to his date! Take control of Wonderland and make a way for the rabbit escape Alice. Help him to avoid various dangers that he will encounter on his trip. Use great power-ups to make your life easier in these hard times! Endless mode will be different on each play, so you may find difficult situations that will require all your skill to survive.) runs on iPhone & iPad. BUY NOW
Zombie Rollers – Price : $0.99 – Publisher – Chillingo (The world has been infested by Killer Zombies and you have to think fast and survive! One Zombie touch, and you are dead meat, but jump into a Zombieball and you can mow Zombies down and are invincible! But Zombieballs don’t last forever so act fast and don’t die young!) runs on iPhone & iPad. BUY NOW
For The Millionaires – All games over $0.99
MasterAbbott’s over 99c Pick Of The Week!
Sonic Jump – Price : $1.99 – Publisher – SEGA (Play as Sonic or his friends leaping through familiar and new Sonic worlds to battle Dr. Eggman, as you tilt and tap your way through fixed Story levels and Arcade infinite modes. Available for iPhone®, iPod® touch and iPad® – take to the sky!) runs on iPhone & iPad. BUY NOW
SYMPHONICA – Price : $3.99 – Publisher – Square Enix (Einsatz, the city of music, founded by the legendary conductor Carlos and his companions and brought to where it is today by its citizens, the Audience. Talented musicians from around the world flock here with dreams of performing in King Hall at the top of Concerto Tower, which stands tall over the city.) runs on iPhone & iPad. BUY NOW
True Skate– Price : $1.99 – Publisher – TrueAxis (50 50 grind, 5 0 grind, boardslide, rail slide, tail slide, nose slide, darkslide, dark 50 50, suski grind, smith grind, feeble grind, salad grind, nose grind, crooked grind, lazy grind, overcrook, losi grind, bluntslide, noseblunt, kickflip, heelflip, pop shove-it, 360 pop shove-it, backside 180, frontside 180, ollie, nollie, impossible, hard flip, 360 hard flip, inward heelflip,360 inward heelflip, varial kickflip, nightmare flip, 360 flip, varial heelflip, laser flip, late tricks and more, or what ever else you can make the board do.) runs on iPad. BUY NOW
Reiner Knizia’s Qin– Price : $5.49 – Publisher – Elately (Conquer territories and villages by laying colored tiles on the board. Place your pagodas on top of the layered tiles. The player who builds his last pagoda first wins. Play against your Game Center friends on the Internet,
face-to-face with a friend, gathered around an iPad, or
solo with the game’s built-in AI.) runs iPad & iPhone. BUY NOW
Hidden Runaway – Price : $2.99 – Publisher – BulkyPix (Our two heroes no longer live together — in fact, they hate each other… but they have to tell the story of their first adventure, from the very first time they met, to a producer who wants to make a Hollywood blockbuster out of it. Will Gina and Brian realize they still have feelings for each other while reliving their first encounter? Find out in this original hidden object game that mixes hidden object searches, casual puzzles adapted and simplified from their point n’ click predecessor with special mini-games and narrative cut-scenes! Fans of the PC series and newcomers alike will love discovering this adventure, full of endearing characters, funny movie references and delectable dialogue.) runs on iPhone & iPad. BUY NOW
Blueprint 3D – Price : $2.99 – Publisher – FDG Entertainment. (Each level begins with a mysterious clutter of seemingly chaotic dots and lines. Underneath all the chaos, however, lies a beautiful blueprint image waiting to be uncovered. It’s right there in front of you: Just drag your finger across the screen to rotate the figure, and all of a sudden you’ll notice that the lines start to make sense! Solve the puzzle by rotating the figure in all directions and on all planes until you hit the sweet spot. Once you’re there, the secret picture will reveal itself. Wait till you see this in action!) runs on iPhone & iPad. BUY NOW
Take It Easy – Price : $1.99 – Publisher – RavensBurger Digital. (It’s a puzzle, it’s a brain teaser and it’s a game! It’s all three and much more! It is bingo with strategy! Place your pieces one at a time on the board. To score points, try to form continuous rows of the same color from edge to edge. But one wrong tile and the whole row is worthless. It gets harder as the number of empty spaces on your board, and your possible choices, diminish. Because once a tile is placed, it can’t be moved!) runs on iPhone & iPad. BUY NOW
There you have it folks, these games should keep you busy for quite some time, well till next week at least. I’ll be back next week for another dose of iOS goodness, in the meantime if anyone would also like to suggest their own suggestions, please feel free to share them in the comments section below or in the iOS forum section on the site here.
With Aksys’ Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward set to be released next week on the PlayStation Vita and Nintendo 3DS, the company has actually went and provided an English dub for a 13 minute OVA which was released in Japan last year when the Japanese version of the game was released.
The OVA was produced by the well known Studio Gonzo and goes over some of the events that occur in the beginning of the game as well as each of the characters in the game, not only effectively promoting the game but leaving viewers with a need to see more. The video can be seen below and gamers can pick up the title on October 23rd in North America while European fans will need to wait until sometime in November.
Anyone who is well versed in the Hitman franchise will know that Agent 47 just loves playing dress up while he is on an assassination mission. While we’ve already known that disguises will be returning in Hitman Absolution Square Enix has released a trailer today showing off some of the disguises in the game as well as how they will work.
As you can see in the video below, these disguises range from your mundane police officer outfit to a chicken suit, scarecrow outfit and even a chipmunk. Still, it certainly is strange that no one seems to think it strange that a noticeably bald man with a band-aid barely covering a tattoo on his head suddenly is a member of the police or staff.
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