Before this month ends, I have one more manga for my Pride reading challenge. BACKGROUND:
To no one's surprise, I haven't heard of this one, either. However, reading the synopsis for this manga gave me the initial idea to take on my reading challenge for this month in the first place. SUMMARY: 10 Dance tells the story of two masters in competitive dance: Shinya Sugiki, an internationally renowned talent in ballroom dancing, and Shinya Suzuki, a national champion at Latin dance. Both of them are exceptional at their craft (with both hailed as kings or even emperors/gods of dance), but since they compete in different types of dance, their paths don't cross... until now. Sugiki approaches Suzuki and offers him to join the 10 Dance, a special competition where every dancer must master both ballroom dances and Latin dances. Sugiki proposes that they each learn the craft of the other in order to participate, but Suzuki (harboring a strong dislike for Sugiki) refuses. Suzuki is goaded into accepting anyway, and thus the story truly begins. The tension is at maximum off the bat, as both men struggle at learning the other's craft (which leads to a lot of bickering). Their preferred styles are pretty different as they are, and to add to that, they each have personality traits or quirks that the other finds annoying or strange. Plus, there appears to be a bit of a feud between their respective parents (who are in the field themselves), though that's not elaborated on. It's clear that there's quite the rivalry brewing here, but that's not the only thing that's heating up. As the two work themselves to the bone practicing (which naturally involves dancing with one another), inklings of deeper feelings slowly bubble towards the surface. The physical/sexual aspect of the budding attraction is quite on the nose (they're dancing so close to each other, after all), but the intimacy seems to extend beyond that. This becomes quite apparent in a couple of chapters where the two are separated, as it seems they can't get the other man quite out of their head. This volume is told from the perspective of Suzuki, so we get a bit more of his backstory and innermost thoughts on the present situation. His backstory isn't comprehensive, but the main thing about it that stood out to me is how it appears that he has more in common with Sugiki than he initially cares to admit (as the snippets of Sugiki's backstory that are shown have some pretty clear parallels). Since we get more of Suzuki's side of the story, most of the brewing tension is from his perspective. It's only in brief (yet significant) moments where we see what Sugiki feels, so I feel like there's a bit of imbalance on that front. A few other characters are introduced, like Suzuki and Sugiki's respective female dance partners (who are training for the same thing, but separately from the main characters), who seem to just be along for the ride for most of this volume. They do get bits of character here and there, and the dynamic does shift a bit as the two ladies start to feel something off about their current arrangement, so I'm interested to see how that plays into things. We also meet a couple of writers for a magazine called Dance With, who cover the dance competitions our protagonists participate in. I'm not sure how they factor into the overarching story, but the "audience" perspective they provide is interesting. The art goes for a somewhat realistic style with a solid level of detail, and that really shines in panels depicting the characters dancing. Their movements and poses are incredibly well-defined, so much so that I could imagine how my own body would stretch or contort if I tried performing those movements. And when things start heating up, the art goes all in, depicting sultry facial expressions in their full glory, showing off the impressive physiques of the dancers (mostly our main duo, but the ladies get to show off in a few panels, too), and adding all sorts of visual effects for the particularly tense dance panels. VERDICT: Rivals to lovers isn't a new trope to me when it comes to romance, but 10 Dance's unique premise of two master dancers begrudgingly agreeing to teach each other their craft adds an immediate tension thanks to how intimately physical the activity is. While I do not enjoy dancing myself (certainly not social dance), I could really appreciate the craft with how well the art depicts the dances, and I'm curious as to how Suzuki and Sugiki's relationship evolves as they get better at the other's dances and they eventually compete against each other. I don't know much about this subgenre to make any strong recommendations to anybody, but for what it's worth, I enjoyed reading it. Take away from that what you will. - end -
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There's a new update for Switch Online's emulators this June, which means I have new stuff to play. Let's start with the Game Boy titles this time. BACKGROUND:
This is one of those Kirby games I don't really know much about, likely because it's a spinoff. SUMMARY: Kirby wakes up one day to find that King Dedede and his subjects are up to something. He decides to follow them and finds that the stars in Dream Land are gone. Three guesses as to what happened there. Instead of the usual 2D platforming action, the goal of this Kirby game is to guide Kirby through the game's many levels by tilting the console and rolling our ball-shaped hero past obstacles and into the goal. In the original release of this game, these motion controls were achieved via sensors inside the game's cartridge. The rerelease for Switch Online replicates this core feature of the game by utilizing the motion controls that are built into the Switch's controllers. I don't know about anyone else, but the fact that Nintendo went out of their way to make this old game playable with modern controls is remarkable. For the most part, you simply have to tilt to move Kirby around, but sometimes, you'll need to flick your controller upwards to make Kirby jump onto platforms or past obstacles, or sometimes press the buttons to activate certain level elements. The jumping can be a tad finicky, so I tend to avoid using it unless absolutely necessary. The game has 32 levels split across 8 worlds, and they each have a variety of mechanics you'll either have to take advantage of or avoid as you make your way towards the goal. These include launchers, pinball-like bumpers, all sorts of platforms (from ones that move, to ones that disappear), an assortment of enemies both familiar and new, and level elements that react to the motion controls (like platforms or barriers that move depending on how you tilt the controller). You'll also encounter world-specific gimmicks like slippery ice, flowing water, sand that slows you down, and a power-up that lets you float and shoot puffs of air. As you may expect from a game like this, the main thing you want to avoid is falling to your death. Motion controls are finicky as they are, and many level elements are designed to send you to the abyss if you aren't precise enough. On top of that, you can't take too long on any level, as there's a timer that winds down. Kirby also has an HP bar that goes down every time an enemy or a hazard hits you, so that's one more thing to worry about. While I wouldn't call any of the levels in this game punishingly hard, there are plenty of instances where I found myself thankful that the Switch Online emulator has a rewind feature. Though levels are mostly linear, you can find secrets like bonus stars (collecting 100 of which gives you a 1-Up), and special warp stars. Blue warp stars make it such that completing a level lets you play one of five bonus minigames (which use the tilt controls in different ways), while red warp stars are required to complete the game 100%. Getting that completion percentage unlocks the Extra Stage, which is simply every level with ramped-up difficulty. Every fourth level of a world ends in a boss fight, although they're all pretty simple to deal with. Use whatever mechanics there are in the arena to hit the boss, avoid their few attacks, repeat. I wasn't expecting boss fights going into this game, so I was mildly surprised by their presence here. VERDICT: While games like this seem designed to infuriate with their finicky control scheme, I had a perfectly fine time playing Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble. There are a lot of neat level mechanics that work well with the ball-rolling gimmick, each level isn't terribly long (but there are still secrets to find), and despite the many ways you can lose lives, the game is somewhat lenient with 1-Ups and timer extensions. Of course, it does help that you can rewind the action in the Switch Online emulator, and that does a lot to ease any frustrations that may come from a game such as this. I suppose what pleases me about this game is the fact that it was even rereleased like this to begin with. A game like this with very specific hardware or gimmicks could have easily been lost to time, and yet here it is, readily available for any Switch Online subscribers. This gives me hope that Nintendo can bring back some of the more out-there games in their catalog with unique hardware requirements. People like to complain about motion controls a lot, and if you are one of those people, you're probably better off not playing this game. If you don't mind or you think you can get past any potential feelings of frustration, I think there's a pretty neat game waiting for you. - end - I was supposed to play this sooner, but Tears of the Kingdom came out. BACKGROUND:
I learned of this game via a good friend of mine, who streamed it to people in our Discord server. It looked interesting, so I made a note of it. Turns out the game has a Switch version, so I bought it with Gold Points when it went on sale. PLOT: The game doesn't really take time to explain what's going on, instead using its environment to tell its story. From what I can tell, the world of Far: Lone Sails is set in some sort of post-apocalypse, as there are numerous ruins of a seemingly advanced civilization everywhere you look. The most prominent piece of technology that shows how advanced the civilization was is the very vessel you pilot in the game. Speaking of your character, they're prompted on a journey aboard the aforementioned vessel after a sad opening scene, presumably to find what's left of civilization. I wish I understood more of the game's world and the player character, but the whole mystery of what's going on helps enhance the isolating feeling of traveling alone across an abandoned world. PRESENTATION: The game has a 2.5D perspective (used to great effect with various foreground and background elements to add an impressive level of depth to the side-scrolling perspective), boasts a painterly art style with a muted palette, has a solid amount of detail to the models, and has decent visual effects. Along with the lovely music (which tends toward the chill side, though there are large chunks of the game where nothing plays), everything comes together to deliver a unique atmosphere with a vibe that's both serene and bleak given the peace and quiet next to complete ruins. In certain moments, this atmosphere becomes more tense as the harsh conditions of the wasteland turn against you, and there's this feeling of adventure every time you're speeding past different biomes. I found the camera to be a double-edged sword in this game. On one hand, the zoomed-out perspective provides a solid sense of scale to the game's world. Not only this that allowed me to enjoy some pretty scenery, seeing such an empty expanse for most of the game added to the feeling of isolation. On the other hand, the perspective being as zoomed out as it is can make the puzzle platforming sections a bit tricky, as you may not notice where to go at first. There are zoom buttons to deal with this, but they don't allow for precise manipulation of the level of zoom. GAMEPLAY: Most of the gameplay in Far: Lone Sails is maintaining your vessel as you speed across the land. You move your character around the ship's interior to interact with various modules, like pressing the accelerate button and toggling the brakes. On top of that, you have to manage your fuel (by picking up barrels and boxes on the ground and feeding them to a specific module on the ship) and vent out steam built up from accelerating via a button. Releasing steam is extremely important, because if you don't, parts of the ship will burst into flames, and modules that are sufficiently damaged will not function as effectively. If you run out of fuel (which is unlikely unless you wastefully put in fuel while still having a full tank), you can pull the vessel along with a rope at the front (which is as tedious as it sounds). There's also a similar rope at the back if you need to adjust the ship's position for some other reason. For fires, there's a hose you can use to prevent any further damage from occurring. At many points during your journey, you'll come across a roadblock that will completely prevent your ship from moving forward. Here, you'll have to step out for a moment and explore nearby structures to solve simple puzzles that will remove the obstruction. None of the puzzles are complex (it's always obvious what to do as long as you take the time to look around), but I really enjoyed how these moments kept me engaged and prevented the game from devolving into just mindlessly piloting the ship (which, in fairness, is relaxing as hell to do). Some of the puzzles also have neat gimmicks, including using the tools available on your ship to interact with other objects. You'll also have to contend with various hazards that can damage your ship, as well as a few that can harm your character. There are no enemies in this game, but things like fire can kill you, and complete failure of all your ship's systems will result in a game over. Thankfully, this game is quite generous with checkpoints, so you won't have to worry about losing significant progress or getting stuck somewhere. Your ship does get a handful of upgrades as you travel, from a repair tool for damaged modules, a suction device to automatically pick up items on the ground, and a sail that lets you use the wind to move forward instead of expending fuel. The last upgrade in particular is incredibly satisfying to use, since you can just put it up when it's windy and take in the scenery while the ship zooms forth with zero effort on your part. VERDICT: Far: Lone Sails is a pretty short journey (I beat it in around 3-4 hours), but I found it a quite relaxing experience. Traveling through the desolate world on a machine felt therapeutic thanks to the game's atmosphere, which somehow complements the task of managing your vessel as it moves, and I enjoyed the breaks in between where you solve some neat puzzles. I love the sense of mystery the world provided, and for a game with very little explicit narrative, it manages to evoke emotions in key moments. I think this is a solid casual game that most players can get into regardless of genre inclinations or level of experience with games, so I recommend checking this game out (especially if it's on sale). If you're on the fence about it, there is a demo on Steam you can try. And here's the link where you can find it: FAR: Lone Sails on Steam (steampowered.com) Or, if you'd rather play the game on mobile... - end - The MCU's decided to dial it back on Disney+ series this year, but the wait is officially over with the Secret Invasion series premiering this week. I held off on reading this book for this exact occasion, and it's probably obvious why. BACKGROUND:
Secret Invasion is one of the biggest and well-known crossover events of the 2000s, so unsurprisingly, I know quite a bit about it. However, what I know is limited to the major events of the event and not the smaller stuff, so it'll be nice to read the whole thing from beginning to end. SUMMARY: After a long period of secretly infiltrating Earth by gradually replacing a number of superheroes (most of which is not covered in this main series), the Skrulls launch a full-scale invasion of Earth in order to take it over (their home world was destroyed prior to this event). The sleeper agents start popping up one after another, as familiar faces shapeshift and sabotage a significant portion of Earth's super defenses. SHIELD and SWORD are fully compromised, Tony Stark's tech (which is everywhere post-Civil War) has largely been disabled, and all the heroes (who are still divided because of the events of Civil War) now can't trust their own allies. As you may expect, chaos ensues, and as the heroes struggle to keep up, the main Skrull armada invades with an army of Super-Skrulls empowered with familiar super abilities. Most of the comic goes from spectacle to spectacle, as various super-groups like Norman Osborn's Thunderbolts, the Young Avengers, the 50-State Initiative, Nick Fury's Secret Warriors, and even The Hood's villain crew jump into the fray. Honestly, there's so much going on that it was hard to appreciate the actual premise of the book, which was the shock of seeing some of our beloved heroes turn out to be impostors. Those moments were cool, too (though I obviously can't describe them in too much detail), and I really wish the book delivered more of the paranoia they created. The Skrulls were definitely at their most threatening here, as for most of the comic, it really looked like they had the advantage. They knew their targets going in, they exploited the human tendency to be distrustful, and they had a bunch of wild contingencies in place. Somehow, our heroes find a way to persevere (thanks largely to a few oversights on the part of the Skrulls), though it did come at great cost. I don't know that I feel satisfied with the victory, however, as it felt like most of the heroes just punched their way through (with a tiny bit of help) until they won. I did like what they did with the ending, as it gives the "Tony Stark as Director of SHIELD" era ushered in after Civil War its logical conclusion, and it cleverly sets up the next status quo of Dark Reign (which saw Norman Osborn replace SHIELD with HAMMER and create the Dark Avengers). The art's pretty solid, with a style that favors realism with its level of detail/texturing and shading. Not every panel is intricately drawn, but in the big action sequences and the splash pages with all the heroes they can possibly cram, the art really shines. VERDICT: Even as a kid, I loved the concept of Secret Invasion. After all, how do the heroes (who can't trust each other) fight against a threat hiding among them? The actual series has moments that run with that premise, with cool (albeit not that shocking) twists, most of the heroes actually being rendered defenseless, and characters feeling genuinely paranoid around their supposed allies. Sadly, the book doesn't fully commit to the idea (and the unnerving feelings it can provide), and instead decides to pour in as many superheroes as they can in admittedly well-drawn set pieces. I really wish this comic focused less on the action and was more of a thriller, which is a shame because the one tie-in arc I've read (which was in Reginald Hudlin's Black Panther run; I talk about it here) felt like a better showcase of the event's concept than the core series. I think there's merit in reading this series given its significance in Marvel lore, though I'd recommend tempering your expectations if you're looking for a slow-burn thriller featuring shapeshifting aliens. This is also another one of those events that relies quite a bit on other tie-in comics, which may be too much for some readers. If you're looking to read this specifically because you're curious as to the Disney+ show's supposed source material, I'm going to tell you right now that the only thing they have in common is the premise. - end - Summer Games Fest was weeks ago, but apparently Nintendo's not about to be left out this month. What do they have for us this time?
To be completely honest, I wasn't really expecting anything big this time around since Zelda's only just come out, Pikmin 4's been shown off a bunch already, and I had no hope for a few of my pie-in-the-sky predictions (like Metroid Prime 4). The tempered expectations did a lot to make the actual surprises of this Direct hit hard, and there's a bunch of stuff here that I'm quite interested in. Not bad, Nintendo.
- end - I'm excited for the new DCU, but we're still a few years away from seeing the start of that. For now, my interest is in seeing how WB pivots the remainder of their projects to transition viewers into a new continuity. That begins in earnest with this movie I watched recently. After we get a bit of a day in the life of Barry Allen, the main story kicks off when he's compelled to use his speed to go back in time to save his mom from being murdered (which results in his dad being wrongfully imprisoned). This is the classic setup to the iconic Flashpoint storyline many people are familiar with (including non-readers whose only exposure to the character is the CW series), and the result is similar: Barry ends up in a different timeline where reality is significantly different from what he knows.
As you may expect from alternate universe shenanigans, some stuff feels similar, but many more things are radically different. In this timeline, General Zod (from Man of Steel) has only initiated his attack on Earth, most of the metahumans we recognize from the DCEU don't exist, and the Barry Allen here doesn't have his powers. The main Barry must now try to fix this hot mess, which will have him interact with the other Barry and a few heroes that don't exist in his time. I've always found Barry Allen's tragic origins compelling (the bizarre circumstances of his mother's murder pushing him to work in forensics, which leads to the accident that gave him his powers), and I'm glad the emotional weight of that is tackled throughout the movie. Whether that's through Barry's conversation with his dad (who's resigned himself to his undeserved fate), arguing with other Barry about the luxury he doesn't understand he has, or the big decision he makes at the end of the movie, I'm happy with how they made that a focus of the story. Playing the foil to Barry Allen is... Barry Allen. While the main Barry's got jokes to him, he's more serious than his variant, who is the goofy idiot that folks may recognize from the Justice League movie. Though I can't say all the silliness he's involved with lands for me, I was amused by most of his shenanigans and his earnest reactions to all the crazy shit that's happening around him. This movie doesn't quite go all in on having everything feel drastically different from the main timeline (which is a sensible approach since having familiar elements will make the deviations stand out more), but the main deviations the marketing used to sell this movie (the grand return of Michael Keaton as the '89 Batman and the introduction of a new Supergirl) are pretty exciting. It's also neat to see Zod back, though he doesn't really get anything to do, which is a shame. While having this small squad of heroes in this wild alternate timeline leads to some fun action sequences, the third act started to feel like it meant nothing to me quickly. It might be obvious what I mean by this, but I'll try to keep it as vague as I can. While I appreciate why the heroes take the fight to Zod motivation-wise, the conflict eventually morphs into fighting for the sake of having a fight in the movie (which, in fairness, is not a problem endemic to this movie). Granted, the futility of the conflict is a deliberate story choice that ties into the very thing that kickstarts the movie's events (Barry's tampering with the timeline), but I can't ignore how my investment in the conflict with Zod steadily decreased as time went on and its ultimate purpose in the overall story became apparent. I don't mind it being used in this way conceptually, but it does come at the expense of the characters they spend time introducing and building up. I liked the ending in terms of what they do for Barry's character, but if you were expecting this game-changing universe reset to build up to the new DCU, it didn't really feel like that to me. There's still an element of intrigue to how things end up, to be fair, but we won't see any of that until the actual beginning of the DCU. Since this is a multiverse story and they literally sell this movie with the nostalgia of the '89 Batman movie, it's unsurprising that this movie's got fan service. There are a number of cameos here (some expected ones, a few completely shocking appearances, and a couple that are arguably in bad taste upon further reflection), plus a good helping of loving references to Tim Burton's Batman (some really neat, like the music, and others that feel... forced). As with a lot of situations with fan service, they're mostly there to get a pop out of fans like me, and I can't say the cameos are used in a meaningful way like, say, No Way Home. Then again, I had the "whoa, neat!" expression on my face for some of the references, so who am I to judge? They take a rather interesting approach with the VFX in this movie, as many elements feel noticeably off next to the live action visuals. I'm told this is deliberate, perhaps to depict how The Flash perceives reality. It's a bold move, since I can see people deriding this stylistic choice as "terrible." Personally, I don't have strong feelings about it, but it's definitely jarring to look at. While there are some elements that left me with an odd feeling (like some of the story choices or the strange CGI), I left the theater feeling positive about The Flash. The humor was mostly fun, I liked how significant Barry's backstory was, and the fan service was amusing even if it's just for the sake of it. That said, I don't think it did enough to be a fitting end to the DCEU (which itself had a lot of weird story choices all throughout) or an exciting prelude to the DCU. - end - Today, I talk about one of my final purchases from the 3DS eShop before it closed earlier this year, and it's one I'm glad I picked up before it was too late. BACKGROUND:
If I hadn't tried Rhythm Heaven DS purely out of curiosity when I was younger, I probably would have never heard about this series at all. I'm really glad I did, as I had never been into rhythm games before playing it, and that game presented them to me in a way that didn't feel intimidating. Long story short, I ended up falling in love with a silly game that I otherwise would have skipped over had I not indulged my curiosity, and I came out of it more willing to try other rhythm games. Rhythm Heaven isn't one of Nintendo's biggest or most active franchises, so Megamix being announced for the 3DS was a huge deal to me. I really wanted to buy it for the longest time, but the timing of its release during the dawn of the Switch pushed it way down my priority list. I've largely moved on from the 3DS after the Switch came out, but when I heard the 3DS/Wii U eShops were closing down, I knew I had to get this game before it was lost to me forever. So, here we are. PLOT: A being named Tibby has fallen from Heaven World, and he enlists your help to find a way back up. Along the way, you must pass through various other worlds and help their inhabitants who have lost their Flow. What is the Flow, you ask? I'm not really sure, but I like to think of it as the groovy version of the Force that makes each world go round. Anyway, the way you restore Flow is by playing through and completing a bunch of largely unrelated rhythm games, because of course it is. It's a pretty basic (and quite silly) plot, and for the most part, I wasn't really thinking about it. For the most part, I was more focused on the gameplay, but I was amused by the various NPCs you and Tibby run into for all the weird things they say, and I was rather surprised to see that the story goes on a tad longer than I expected it to. Each rhythm minigame kind of has its own little story, and while you're not going to get any substantial narrative from them, many of the scenarios you're presented with are weird in a fun way. Plus, depending how well you do, you're shown different endings, and those can range from embarrassing for the characters involved to a nice, wholesome resolution for all the weirdness that transpires. PRESENTATION: Though each rhythm minigame can vary in art style, the dominant aesthetic is a simple cartoony look with thick lines, simple and bright colors, and cutesy character designs. You'll see deviations from this depending on the minigame, from ones that use simplistic 3D models, at least one instance that goes retro pixel art, to a few that dial it back on the color. Regardless, each minigame has a ton of personality, between fluid animations, all sorts of varied expressions for characters depending on the situation, and the overall goofiness of the premise of pretty much every minigame. Since this is a rhythm game, an awesome soundtrack is more or less mandatory. This entry knocks it out of the park with a smorgasbord of catchy tunes I can't help but nod my head to. There's plenty of diversity in terms of genre as well, from chill jazz, rocking tracks, songs with cheesy vocals, and so much more (a lot of which I don't know how to describe because I'm absolutely not musically inclined). And of course, everything from the movements of the visuals and the various cues the player uses to time their inputs flow seamlessly into each track. I think the best way for me to hammer home how I feel they nailed both these aspects is to point out how many times I've screwed up the actual game because of them. I'll get into this later, but a lot of the visuals for the minigames are entertaining to the point that I get quite distracted when something funny or weird happens, or I notice some subtle detail while playing. As for the soundtrack, many of the songs are so good that I've missed beats because I got way too into humming along. Making mistakes is entertaining in itself, as you get a bunch of unique (and funny) animations to go along with the error. GAMEPLAY: If you haven't already guessed, Rhythm Heaven Megamix is a rhythm game. The basic idea for pretty much any game in this genre is to time your inputs based on the music. However, the Rhythm Heaven series is an anomaly within its genre, as it eschews the conventions of notes sliding along tracks (think games like Guitar Hero or Rock Band) or a line that passes over notes (Cytus is a notable example of this). Instead, Rhythm Heaven is broken up into a series of rhythm minigames, each with their own scenarios as well as unique rules you have to follow in terms of the timing of your inputs (which you can set to either be mapped to buttons or to simple touch screen controls). To better describe this, I'll use a couple of examples. One of the minigames is Air Rally, which features two characters (Baxter and Forthington) playing badminton while flying on their own plane. In order to hit the shuttlecock back to your buddy Forthington, you have to hit the button to the beat of the music. For most of the song, you simply hit the button on the next beat (indicated by the audio cue of Forthington hitting the shuttlecock), but sometimes, Forthington gives you a cue where you have to delay your timing by one beat; this is reflected in the visuals as him lobbing the shuttlecock high instead of rallying it back straight to you. Another minigame is Glee Club, which could not be more different from Air Rally. Here, you're one of the Chorus Kids who can't shut your yap, and you have to hold down a button to close your mouth. The idea here is to follow your fellow Chorus Kids as they sing in a specific rhythm; release the button in the exact timing so your Chorus Kid sings the way they do. As you can see, everything from the scenario, the control scheme, and the cues that determine how you time your inputs is different from Air Rally. Megamix is a very special game in the series, as it's pretty much a Greatest Hits of the entire franchise up to that point. Songs from the original Japan-only GBA game, the DS game (which was the first international release), and Rhythm Heaven Fever for the Wii are collected in this game, and they add a bunch of brand-new songs to round out the bunch. There are so many rhythm minigames in this game, and they all have something going for them that makes them stand out (whether it's the quirky scenario, a unique control scheme, or a banger of a song). We'd be here all day if I took the time to describe even a few of them. It might be daunting to have to learn new rules every single time for each song, but each one (barring a few, very specific exceptions) has a tutorial that teaches you the controls and exactly what cues to listen for. The game doesn't proceed until you get the timing down a few times, and it'll even show you how to count the beats on the bottom screen if you're having trouble hearing it. That said, many minigames will introduce cues that aren't taught in the tutorial, so you really have to come out of the tutorial at least knowing how to count the beats so you can still respond to these curveballs. Some of the minigames aren't shy about fucking with you in various ways beyond those audio curveballs. Early on, you are taught to rely more on the music than on visual cues, and a few of them force you to do just that by employing blatant tactics that prevent you from using any visuals as a reliable cue. A few examples include obscuring elements, introducing weird shit in the background, or straight up messing with the camera. It's equal parts hilarious and infuriating when this happens in a minigame. The campaign divides these minigames across a dozen or so worlds, with each one having four or five minigames each. You have to beat a minigame with at least a rating of OK to unlock the next one in the world; beating every minigame in a world unlocks the next one. OK is a somewhat lenient rating, allowing you to make a bunch of mistakes, but you're more than free to go for a Superb rating (which only allows for a handful of mistakes), a Perfect rating (you hit every note at the exact timing), or collect the minigame's Skill Star (hit a specific note in the song with perfect timing). Don't worry if you fail multiple times at a song; the game will recognize that you're not progressing after three tries and unlock the next minigame/world for you. I think this is nice, since players aren't pressured to fully master a song just so they can play the rest of the game. Personally, I preferred getting a Superb rating before moving onto the next song; it's satisfying as hell to learn each song and eventually hit every note. Perfect is quite out of reach for me, as for lenient Rhythm Heaven is in terms of overall ratings, the actual note timing (which you can toggle to be displayed via the 3DS bottom screen) is rather strict. Completing each song rewards you with currency, and depending on how well you do, you get more. These can be spent at the shop to purchase bonus content, but more importantly, a few songs require a fee before you can play them. I'm not really a fan of this, since you can easily end up in a situation where you run out of coins before you can fail thrice at the song. On the flip side, you can rack up coins without even feeling the grind if you happen to enjoy replaying minigames with songs that you like. The bonus content is viewable in the museum, and it showcases mementos related to each and every minigame featured in the game. These include (but are not limited to): the ending screens for each rank rating, a Skill Star tracker, and where the minigame originated. These are fun to look at, but 100% is quite the ordeal, since Perfect ratings are one of the things the museum tracks. Later on in the campaign, you get harder versions of the songs you've already played. These souped-up minigames either add new rules to worry about, use a longer song, or increase the nonsense that happens on the screen to mess you up further. I enjoy all these revisits, though my main gripe is these minigames are introduced in the middle of the campaign instead of at the end. I would have preferred that they saved these new versions for the tail end of the story so I could experience every first version of each song first. Also introduced alongside these new versions are the Remix minigames, which is a mashup of all the minigames in the world you're currently in. You get a brand-new song, but as it plays, the rules switch between the minigames. These songs are quite challenging, since you have to remember the rules of four completely different minigames and be aware enough to change your inputs when the Remix transitions. This level of challenge is precisely what makes them so satisfying for me to play, as getting a Superb rating in each Remix affirms my mastery of each individual minigame. Plus, they always come with an amazing song that works seamlessly with the audio design of every minigame. If you want to play through the minigames in a slightly different manner, you can take on the Challenge train, which has you select one of an assortment of challenges. These challenges have you play a gauntlet of minigames, and you have to clear them all for the challenge to count. Clearing challenges net you special currency called Flow Balls, which you can spend at the shop to unlock brand-new minigames to play. It's unfortunate that about a dozen minigames are locked behind the shop (you'd have to grind these challenges quite a lot to get enough currency to buy everything), but these challenges are fun to do as is. There are also a few multiplayer-focused modes that I didn't get to mess around with, and I probably will never get a chance since you can't buy this game anymore. VERDICT: Like I said at the beginning, I am quite happy I was able to pick up Rhythm Heaven Megamix before the 3DS eShop closed down, because I would have regretted not being able to play this. This game is basically a massive collection of so many wonderfully creative and silly rhythm minigames that each have a super catchy song tied to them, and playing through each one is an absolute delight. Each minigame is simple to learn, yet challenging to master, and the game finds additional ways to ramp up the challenge if you manage to get the basics down. While I've since tried other, more traditional rhythm games, it's the more creative entries like this one that will always stick in my memory. It's a damn shame there isn't a Rhythm Heaven game for the Switch, because Rhythm Heaven is an underrated series that deserves a lot of love. Find a way to play any entry in the series whether or not you're into rhythm games; if you're already into the genre, you may be pleasantly surprised by the skill ceiling this game presents. If you're like younger me who was intimidated by rhythm games, Rhythm Heaven is accessible enough that you may end up seeing the appeal like I did. Regardless, I think many would find the many minigames charming or funny that even making mistakes doesn't feel as bad. - end - Last month, I read a mother-themed manga for Mother's Day that ended up being really fucking weird. I might be repeating history here with Father's Day coming up. BACKGROUND:
Again, I haven't heard of this one, but I did read the synopsis and thought it was hilarious. SUMMARY: Kakushi Goto is a single dad raising his only daughter Hime in Tokyo. Every morning, the two walk to opposite sides of town for work and school respectively. Seems normal enough, until it's quickly revealed that Kakushi's been keeping his career a secret from his daughter. As it turns out, he's the artist for various raunchy manga series, and he's determined to keep that a secret so Hime doesn't disown him or be judged by other people because of it. While his intentions are understandable, the lengths he goes to in order to maintain the lie (and the shenanigans that ensue) are hilariously absurd. A lot of the volume details some of these situations, which include (but are not limited to): putting on a suit in the morning to make himself look professional in front of his own daughter (then changing out of it once he's close to his workplace), having a whole emergency drill for his office in case Hime stumbles into their studio, buying out merch of his own manga so Hime doesn't see, and forcing coworkers to lie in Hime's presence. Kakushi's own work situation is weird in itself, as his coworkers (who are only slightly less weird than him) have to deal with his eccentricities on a regular basis. Most of these involve whatever strange thing he feels he needs to do in order to make Hime happy, but there are also chapters like the team dealing with crunch, the cops investigating their studio (and getting increasingly suspicious), or a short vacation where everyone goes stir-crazy in a cabin. Despite his utterly bizarre behavior, it is established that Kakushi is nonetheless a loving father who would do anything for Hime. He overthinks absolutely every aspect of Hime's life, from how she might get bullied by others for things he thinks might happen, to what he thinks she meant about certain things she says. He's prone to extremes when catering to Hime's needs as well, exerting excessive effort just to make sure she's happy. Say what you want about the guy, but it's clear that he cares about his kid dearly. There are interstitials between each chapter that's framed like a tell-all column of the manga industry from the lens of the actual writer, and it's quite funny. The casual narrative style, the writer's self-deprecating tone, and the parallels and differences between the writer's personal experiences and Kakushi's (who he points out is not him) all come together for an entertaining read. Hime's side of the story is interesting, since it's through her that it's revealed that most of the manga is a flashback. At the very beginning, it's shown that she's already discovered her father's secret years later. Now, there's a whole mystery surrounding how and when she found out, especially considering that she's completely oblivious in the flashbacks and is more or less a normal kid who doesn't suspect a thing. Nevertheless, she thinks the world of her dad, and she wants him to be happy, too. I think the part that gets me about Hime's story is how her dad and her teacher are incredibly conscious of the fact that her mother is absent in her life. Nothing about her mother's whereabouts is established in this volume (of if the fact that she isn't here is even going to be a major plot point), but there was something really bittersweet about the adults in Hime's life going out of their way to make sure Hime doesn't feel alienated by not having a mother and Hime herself seeming to be at peace with the fact. We also meet a few other characters in this volume (mostly Kakushi's coworkers), though you only really get to see their quirks and not much else. The most prominent of this subset of characters to me is Hime's teacher Ichiko Rokujo, who knows about Kakushi's line of work and appears to be set up as a potential love interest for Kakushi (though he makes no effort to find a new partner, a fact that is used to comedic effect in one of my favorite chapters). I'm no stranger to manga with relatively simple art styles, but this one took me aback with how it really keeps things simple. There's hardly any variation in shading or linework (a lot of the panels feel super flat and homogenous as a result), and I'd go as far as to say that most of the manga is devoid of any fine detail barring rare exceptions (even details you'd expect, like noses for characters' faces, are sometimes missing entirely). I don't dislike the style by any means, but there's something about it that makes me feel a bit odd every time I take a long look at it. VERDICT: The premise of Kakushigoto is obviously weird, and the book leans hard into that by putting the titular character in ridiculous situations just to keep his big secret. All that is entertaining, but what really hooked me was the genuine love and care Kakushi has for his Hime, and the mystery of how Hime's life turns out leading up to the big reveal. I was a little worried after the demon lord isekai book I read last month (this one) that this would be another uncomfortably weird manga, but I actually see myself reading more of this. Give this one a shot if you find the premise amusing, though I would consider some of the situations Kakushi finds himself in to be a bit cringeworthy at times. I feel like Kakushi and Hime's relationship is the true core of the story, so if that's the element that you're more interested in, you might also like this manga. - end - The final update for Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak was released last week, and so marks the end of the game's two-year life cycle. I've just finished beating the shit out of the final monster the update added, so it's finally time to talk about my thoughts on every monster I encountered here.
This will follow the format of my MHGU monster list, and it's here that I'll cover the monsters I also fought in that game that I ended up omitting. The Flash movie premieres this week, so today, I'll be reading something that... isn't a Flash-related comic. This will have to do. THE THEME: I'm doing another iteration of Leading Ladies featuring DC characters, which I thought would be fitting given that the upcoming Flash movie will be introducing a new Supergirl into the DCU. Is this theme for this occasion a bit of a stretch? Perhaps, but considering what I'm working with, I think this is good enough. THE COMICS: ![]() WONDER WOMAN (2006-2011) #600 PREVIEW Publisher: DC Comics Writer: J. Michael Straczynski Artists: Don Kramer, Michael Babinski This prologue shows Diana on the run from unknown parties hunting her down, as well as consulting the Oracle (not Barbara Gordon) on what exactly is happening. I'm not clear on what's going on, either, as this Diana appears to not have all her memories, Hippolyta is supposedly dead, and Paradise Island appears to be destroyed. ![]() GIRL TAKING OVER: A LOIS LANE STORY (FCBD 2023) Publisher: DC Comics Writer: Sarah Kuhn Artist: Arielle Jovellanos Here, we see a young, ambitious Lois Lane move out into the city to tackle a dream internship in her quest to be the greatest reporter ever. It seems like she's got everything meticulously planned out, but of course, things go sideways on day one. This take on Lois is quite different from how she's usually portrayed, but I'm already invested in her story. The art's lovely, too. ![]() BLACK CANARY (2007) #1 Publisher: DC Comics Writer: Tony Bedard Artists: Paulo Siqueira, Amilton Santos Our resident Bird of Prey is now taking the time to be the caretaker of Sin, a very young girl who was being groomed to be the next Lady Shiva of the League of Assassins. Just when it looks like Dinah's about to settle down and try to live a normal life raising a child, a villain makes a play for Sin in the shadows. ![]() MADAME XANADU (2008-2011) #1 Publisher: Vertigo Writer: Matt Wagner Artist: Amy Reeder Hadley Before she was known by the name Madame Xanadu, the Elder Folk known as Nimue lived peacefully in a forest within the realm of Camelot (the same kingdom known to most as the setting of Arthurian legend). The peace is not to last, sadly, as her sister Morgana (who is on track to become the Morgaine le Fey of legend) makes plans to take power, and her lover Merlin appears to be up to no good with his magic. Features an appearance by the Phantom Stranger, which is neat. ![]() WONDER WOMAN: TEMPEST TOSSED (WONDER WOMAN DAY 2021 SPECIAL EDITION) Publisher: DC Comics Writer: Laurie Halse Anderson Artist: Leila del Luca A young Diana is eager to prove herself as a worthy Amazon, but she's still seen as a child by most folks in Themyscira. When outsiders find themselves on the island in dire straits (and the Amazons refuse to help in accordance to their laws), Diana proves herself a hero by breaking their rules and saving them... but at what cost? I'm already invested in the story. With the whole DCU going into full reboot mode, I'm cautiously optimistic about how they're going to handle stories and characters moving forward. Hopefully, the Flash movie sets the stage for the monumental change, and that we have interesting projects on the horizon. To fit the theme I have here today, I want to single out the upcoming Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow movie they're making, because I'm curious if that'll involve the same Supergirl in The Flash. I'm also mentioning this movie here to remind myself to read that graphic novel. PANEL OF THE WEEK: - end -
I managed to snag DLC for Capcom Arcade Stadium for free, which means I have a new classic game to check out. BACKGROUND:
I'm a bit familiar with Final Fight given a number of its characters have since found their way into Marvel vs. Capcom and some of the later installments of Street Fighter. I also know of its development history as the original attempt at a Street Fighter sequel and the eventual change to the beat-'em-up we know of today, but I've never actually played it for myself. SUMMARY: Wrestler-turned-mayor Mike Haggar has dedicated his career to cleaning up crime in Metro City, but the Mad Gear Gang refuses to go down without a fight. In a last-ditch effort to get the mayor under their control, the gang kidnap Haggar's daughter Jessica. Haggar is obviously pissed, and he decides to take matters into his own hands. Joining him in the fight are Cody (accomplished fighter and Jessica's boyfriend) and Guy (Cody's friend and fellow martial artist). It's a more or less standard beat-'em-up plot: evil shitheads kidnap someone, and the heroes punch their way through the city to mount a rescue. The beat-'em-up gameplay is also nothing I haven't seen before. You have a normal attack button which auto-combos, the ability to grab enemies by walking up to them (and following up with a throw), and a jump attack. Some elements in the environment can be destroyed, revealing various pickups like weapons (from throwable knives, pipes or swords, healing items, and gems that give you points). There's also a small assortment of enemies with different attack patterns, palette swaps of said enemies, and a handful of bosses. Each of the three characters has a unique moveset, but while the moves look unique, they serve more or less the same purpose. To me, Haggar is easily the most fun, since he has more than one throw, and both those throws are wrestling moves (a German suplex and a leaping piledriver). The game's unique mechanic involves pressing jump and attack simultaneously. If you do this, your character will perform a spinning attack that'll knock down surrounding enemies, but at the cost of some health. It's an interesting mechanic where you can sacrifice a bit of HP to get a swarm of enemies away from you, but it's an option you can't rely on too much lest you drain your health quickly. As is usual for most beat-'em-ups, this game is pretty short, with six levels full of enemies to go through across Metro City. The difficulty largely comes from the overwhelming number of enemies you'll have to contend with at once, though some enemy types (like the knife-wielding bastards and the big dudes) can kick your ass by their lonesome if you're careless. The bosses are quite annoying, moving too quickly for you to catch up to or having bullshit ranged attacks you can't really deal with. I died a whole bunch, which I suppose checks out for old-school arcade game design, but in Capcom Arcade Stadium where you can put in credits for free, death is but a minor inconvenience. Hell, losing a life is an effective way to deal with troublesome enemies/bosses, as respawning also comes with a screen-clearing effect that knocks down and damages everybody. There are also a couple of bonus stages, including the iconic "beat the shit out of the car" one that we see again in Street Fighter II. The game looks solid and has decent music, though what delighted me the most is seeing the original incarnations of characters I've seen elsewhere. It's cool to see Haggar in his first ever appearance, and it was a little surreal to see the likes of Poison, Hugo (under a different name), and Abigail on here, as I associate them with Street Fighter more than I do this series. VERDICT: As far as beat-'em-ups go, Final Fight isn't all that different from what I've played before, but I still had fun with its simple combat (and by that, I mean I had fun hitting piledrivers as Haggar). I'm mostly just excited to have finally played a fairly important title in Capcom's storied library, given its own legacy and parts of it living on through other Capcom games. I would say that this game is one of a handful of beat-'em-ups that have some historical significance alongside the likes of Streets of Rage, Double Dragon, and River City Ransom, so it falls into what I'd call "essential" titles. I would recommend playing this with a friend, as two-player co-op almost always makes beat'-em-up games more fun. Final Fight is available via Capcom Arcade Stadium as DLC: Capcom Arcade Stadium:FINAL FIGHT on Steam (steampowered.com) - end - I continue my Pride reading challenge this month with this manga. BACKGROUND:
I don't know anything about this one (what a surprise), but I did some searching to verify that it's indeed a yuri manga. I just needed to be sure that it was in theme, you know? Apart from that, I was a little apprehensive going in because this seems like typical high school drama at first glance. SUMMARY: Sakiko Manaka is a huge fan of the idol group Spring Sunshine, but the idol she admires the most is Chihiro Yoshida. Imagine her luck when the newest student in her class... is Chihiro herself! And if that isn't enough, Chihiro's been assigned the seat right next to her. Off the bat, it's established that Sakiko's head over heels for Chihiro, as the mere fact that her idol's sitting beside her is driving her up the wall. She ends up overthinking every interaction (taking great care to be considerate of Chihiro's privacy and not coming across as a creepy fan with ulterior motives), and her brain goes haywire when Chihiro herself initiates a conversation. Just from this one interaction, Chihiro is shown to be a kind girl who's looking to be good friends, and we learn the exact reason why Sakiko admires her so much. It turns out that they have being shy in common, but Chihiro overcoming that by being a stage performer ended up really resonating with Sakiko. It's actually really sweet. Sakiko's still a nervous wreck around Chihiro, but she strives to give Chihiro a normal high school life (especially after she shares how classmates at her last school treated her when her idol status became public knowledge), and Chihiro's knack for starting conversations help the two bond. Things get complicated when a violently toxic fan of Chihiro starts harassing Sakiko online. The twist? That fan is a fellow classmate who's just as enamored with Chihiro as Sakiko: Maaya Tozawa. Maaya is pretty close to that creepy fan archetype many might be familiar with: she obsessively tails Chihiro, writes down seemingly insignificant details about her, is frighteningly possessive when she catches wind of Sakiko's mere existence, swipes Chihiro's belongings when she isn't looking, and even has a shrine in her house devoted to Chihiro. This is the exact kind of person you file a restraining order for. The tension begins when Maaya finally confronts Sakiko, and the two start interacting with one another at school. Maaya's duplicitous, manipulative behavior rears its ugly head, as she tries to find subtle ways to throw Sakiko under the bus or to mess with her in some other way. Sakiko immediately recognizes the danger that Maaya poses to Chihiro's peaceful school life, so her first instinct is to keep an eye on Maaya's antics. However, she quickly realizes that, when it comes to admiring Chihiro, Maaya's not that different from her. Wanting to respect Maaya's own feelings, Sakiko acts selflessly and includes Maaya into the friend group. Now that the love triangle is fully active, the rest of the volume keeps the tension up between Sakiko and Maaya by having the two interact all the time at school. These include looking for a club with Chihiro (where Maaya spends the entire day making the shy Sakiko participate front and center), and Maaya goading Sakiko into asking Chihiro about upcoming Spring Sunshine events. Maaya's definitely a little shit, but she does value Chihiro's welfare above all, and does act in her best interests at all times. Oblivious to what's really going on, Chihiro appears to be having a time of her life just being a regular girl with friends, and she certainly cherishes her newfound company. During the school club chapter, Sakiko discovers that she likes photography, and she confides in Chihiro that her dream is to be the photographer of Spring Sunshine. Wanting to be at her best, Sakiko asks for advice from Masato Takizawa, an upper classman from the photography club with a real talent for the art. I'm not sure how major a character he'll end up being, but they establish that he's skeptical about idol groups having the spontaneous beauty he seeks in his subjects. Sakiko takes exception to this and makes an effort to prove him wrong later on. The volume ends with Spring Sunshine holding a concert. This is Sakiko's big test as a budding photographer, and she does her best to prepare for the event. The ending at the actual concert sets the stage for Sakiko's feelings moving forward, as she's hopelessly captivated by Chihiro's performance. Her admiration does not escape Chihiro's notice, and when Chihiro takes a second to wave to Sakiko during the concert, Sakiko is completely overwhelmed. I was really concerned going into this book that the story wasn't actually about a romance or romantic feelings, but I feel confident after reading this chapter that the book was what I was looking for this month. I don't have much to say about the art style other than it's quite adorable. The character faces dial up the cute factor and feature a lot of cartoony expressions, and most of the shading is on the softer, lighter side. As far as detail goes, majority of the panels keep it simple, but there are a few shots with more intricate detail or distinct texturing. VERDICT: I wasn't really sure if I would like this manga, but after giving Vol. 1 of My Idol Sits the Next Desk Over a go, I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. Something about Sakiko constantly being self-conscious and nervous around Chihiro made me invested in seeing her get the girl (perhaps the feeling is more relatable to me than I care to admit), and I like that she genuinely cares for Chihiro and isn't just a superfan looking to get close to her. I also liked Chihiro as a character, and I felt for her as she strives to make real friends after the stuff she went through when people realized she was famous. Maaya is.... a disturbing individual, but I have to admit that her presence introduces a lot of spicy tension, and I'm interested to see if she grows past being a lunatic. I wouldn't mind reading more of this. I'm not sure how long it takes for the story to lean fully into the romance (or if the latest volume is even at that point already), so if you're a reader who wants to get to that part in the first volume, this may not satisfy your appetite. That said, I think Vol. 1 is decent between establishing the connections between the characters and their feelings towards one another. - end - The long-awaited sequel to what is perhaps my favorite Spider-Man movie is finally here, and there is plenty I want to say about it. Miles Morales and Gwen Stacy are back living their own lives in their respective universes after the events of the first film, but things are far from peachy. The double life is starting to catch up with Miles as he becomes more focused on being Spider-Man at the expense of his relationship with his parents. Meanwhile, the loneliness of having no one else understand her plight is causing Gwen to alienate her own friends and even push away her father.
The multiverse shenanigans start kicking off again when, in Gwen's universe (Earth-65), a villain from a completely different universe is transported, and a weird villain known as the Spot fights Miles in his universe (Earth-1610). Without going into too much detail, our two main Spider-pals cross paths once more, and they become involved with a task force of Spider-people from across the multiverse, led by Miguel O'Hara (AKA Spider-Man 2099 of the comics). Spidey 2099's mission is to keep the multiverse's fragile balance intact, but various events get in the way of that. It eventually becomes clear that his views on his mission is at odds with what Miles believes to be the right thing, and that ends up being a main conflict in the movie. I don't really want to give too much away about what actually happens (and how this conflict I mention comes about), but I really enjoyed what it brings to the table in terms of themes. What made Into the Spider-Verse resonate with me so much was how it tackled what it truly means to be Spider-Man, and this movie uses that as what puts Miles and Miguel at odds with one another. The most important aspects tackled here are how Spider-Man is defined by sacrifice and tragedy; having known this character (and variants of him) for pretty much my entire life, I adored how they explored these defining aspects of nearly every Spider-person story. Admittedly, the story's pacing takes a bit to get going, but those slow moments aren't a waste, because these are when we get so much of Miles and Gwen's excellent character moments. Gwen getting a chance to be a main focus made me very happy, not just because she's one of my favorite Spider-variants, but also because they nailed a lot of the specific tragedy she faces in the comics. Her story is heartbreaking, and I felt a strong connection to the sense of isolation she felt after everything she faced. Miles is still an excellent character, and his struggle with being forthcoming with his parents (who are becoming increasingly concerned) really hit home for me. I completely understand that feeling of wanting to do your own thing, but also not wanting to seem ungrateful towards your parents that give their all for you even if they don't fully understand you. His conversations with his mom and dad here hit me just as hard as the ones he had in the first movie. As Spider-Man, Miles is certainly more confident, and his resolve is tested when he faces a certain impossible choice in the movie. The fact that he doesn't waver in face of the odds is an interesting contrast to the seemingly more pragmatic Miguel O'Hara, whose opposing views you can understand once aspects of his backstory are revealed. We also meet a bunch of new Spider-people in this movie, though the screentime they get varies. All of them are memorable in some way (whether it's because of their humor, their art style, or certain emotional moments), and it's a treat for fans like me to see specific variants on the big screen. A few of the variants from the first movie come back, but I won't elaborate on who and to what extent for the sake of not spoiling anything. The Spot is an interesting character, as he's got a solid backstory and an entertaining personality, but he's not exactly the "main villain" in the traditional sense. He's a proper threat and his machinations move the plot forward, but stopping him isn't always the central focus of the main characters. It feels odd to me, but I don't mind the change of pace. Speaking of art style, this movie somehow surpasses the first by fully embracing the eclectic fusion of wildly different aesthetics and lovingly translating comic book visual tropes (like "Editor's Note" dialogue boxes) to animation. It's delightful as ever to watch Spider-Men drawn completely differently interact with one another in a visually distinct backdrop, and the action is incredibly dynamic and captures the acrobatic style I expect from any Spider-Man story in breathtaking fashion. Like I said, I've been a fan of Spider-Man for as long as I've had memories, and this movie does an unfathomably amazing job of honoring the character's 60+ year legacy. From blink-and-you'll-miss-it Easter eggs to mind-blowing cameos that I had no idea were coming, I was grinning ear to ear. I couldn't believe half the things they stuffed in here. Things get interesting at the very end, because the ending... is a cliffhanger. It's been quite a while since I've had that feeling of "oh god, how is it over, I want more, goddamn it!" I honestly don't know how to feel about it, because on one hand, it makes sense to stop where it did because the movie already covered a lot of ground. On the other.... the wait for the third movie is already killing me. Overall, I was blown away by Across the Spider-Verse. The mix of heart, humor, mesmerizing animation and style, incredible music, and sincere love and care shown for the comics it's based on come together to deliver an experience that somehow made me feel the exact fuzzy feeling I felt when I watched the first movie. I knew this movie would deliver on style and references no problem, but my concerns that it wouldn't hit me as hard emotionally as the first one were assuaged in the first ten minutes. I need the sequel right now. - end - Picked up another game on sale and finally set aside time to play it. BACKGROUND:
I've seen a little bit of this game and thought it looked interesting, but I never looked enough into it to feel compelled to buy it. Thanks to a generous sale and a surplus of points, I was able to pick this up digitally, so now I'll get to see what it's all about. PLOT: Blasphemous is set in the world of Cvstodia, a religious land whose design is heavily inspired by Spanish Catholic tradition (the developers of this game are based in Spain). Cvstodia is governed by a phenomenon known as the Miracle, which manifests itself by either blessing or cursing the land's inhabitants. You'll see more of the latter as you play, as numerous characters have been transformed into horrible monstrosities, apparently befitting some sort of penance they must undergo. You play as the Penitent One, a warrior who took a vow of silence, who must go on a pilgrimage to reach a certain location at the far side of Cvstodia. His quest takes him across the land where he meets various characters who have their own stories, fight against many enemies who oppose his mission, and complete trials that will permit him to reach his goal. Admittedly, this is about as much as I can glean from my playthrough, as a lot of the lore involves going out of your way to inspect the environment and decipher optional dialogue/item descriptions, many of which can be rather esoteric. While I personally found some enjoyment in trying to interpret certain elements (like the reason behind why the Miracle twisted certain characters the way it did) or trying to figure out why particular elements exists, it's undeniably a lot of effort to even understand a fraction of what's going on. I've said it many times before, but this kind of storytelling is obviously not for everybody given the effort involved. You'll get your fair share of world-building by interacting with NPCs and taking on their side quests. It's through these characters that you see how the Miracle punishes people, and there are some truly grotesque curses in here. Helping these people is a 50/50 on whether you feel good or bad, as you either help them pass on or something worse ends up happening. This game has three endings, with two of them requiring the player to accomplish optional tasks. Simply finishing the game without doing any of these is considered the "bad" ending, while the other endings feel like more of a triumph in comparison. The hints to getting the "good" endings are a tad vague, however, so it might be irksome for some players to find that they actually got the "bad" ending even after all the effort they put in. That said, I did like how this vague process involved interacting with a specific game element in an unexpected way. Frustratingly, it's entirely possible to miss out on some endings depending on how you play, so if you want to see all three in one playthrough, you'll have to follow particular steps. If this is not an issue for you, I recommend going for what's called Ending C (also referred to as the true ending), because it reveals a key truth about the Miracle. To my surprise, New Game Plus has an exclusive side story that adds another facet to the game's complex lore. In my experience, New Game Plus adding new story content is uncommon, so this was a pleasant surprise. PRESENTATION: The art of this game is achieved with some impressively intricate pixel art. This isn't some facsimile of the games of yesteryear, because the attention to detail is mind-blowing. The backgrounds feel almost painterly, even seemingly imperceptible elements are visible (like the Penitent One weeping tears of blood, which is only visible if you squint at his sprite), and the animations (of which there are plenty) are incredibly fluid. Even the cinematic cutscenes are done in this style, and those are a true showcase of meticulously crafted pixel art. More specifically, the game's style feels like a Romantic-era painting come to life, between the moody colors, plenty of shots set in large landscapes, settlements that look like 1800s Europe, and a level of detail that pushes the visuals a step closer to realism (in the parts where there's no freaky monsters, anyway). Perhaps unsurprisingly, there's a lot of religious imagery scattered about the game, between all the churches, characters in monk robes, and more. All this is contrasted by the wide variety of horrors you will witness as you play, from all the bloody, twisted enemies you face, their unique death animations, and the brutal acts of gore you commit as you execute these enemies. If you think a game with the pixel art style can't be graphic when it comes to its violence, think again; the Penitent One disembowels enemies on a regular basis, and you will see actual innards be removed in surprisingly disturbing detail. The Penitent One himself has quite the striking character design, with armor that reminds me vaguely of the Templars, as well as a distinctive pointed helmet that looks a lot like a capirote (a pointed hat worn by penitent Catholics who follow Spanish Holy Week traditions, fittingly). In terms of music, the soundtrack is as moody as the visuals, fitting the bleak setting of Cvstodia very well. I noticed the prominence of the guitar in many tracks, which I suppose is fitting given this is a Spanish-made game. There are other instruments as well, like a good helping of haunting piano, the occasional intense beat of drums, and what I think sounds like violin. GAMEPLAY: Blasphemous is primarily a Metroidvania, which means a big map to explore and lots of secrets to find. Its combat takes heavy inspiration from soulslike games, which I'll get into shortly. As the Penitent One, you explore Cvstodia by running, jumping, sliding, hanging onto ledges, and clinging to marked walls with your sword. Apart from slide jumping, you're not going to get fancy movement mechanics here, and apart from occasional, brief platforming gauntlets, most of the focus in this game is on the combat. You wield the sword known as Mea Culpa, and at the start, it can't do much. You can slash both on the ground and in the air, and you can perform an upwards slash by holding up. If you hit an enemy, you can keep hitting attack to perform a short combo. As you explore, you'll find Mea Culpa shrines that will both level up your sword's damage and allow you to spend Tears of Atonement (the game's currency) to unlock more abilities like a charged slash, a lunging strike, a downward thrust, and even a projectile attack. In terms of defense, you can use the slide as a dodge to get through most attacks, but the cooler option is the parry. When pressing the parry button, there's a small window where you'll deflect an attack, and in some cases, this activates an automatic counterattack that you can enhance by pressing a button during it. The parry makes fighting almost everything utterly satisfying, because you're handsomely rewarded for learning attack timings. Certain conditions can put an enemy into a dazed state. If you go up to them and press the designated button, you can perform an Execution. These are gruesome finishers that show the Penitent One absolutely eviscerate the unfortunate victim. Each enemy has a unique execution animation, so I had a morbid desire to see how the Penitent One slaughters specific enemies. In addition to the sword, you have access to spells known as Prayers, which use a resource known as Fervour (your equivalent to magic). You'll have to find these hidden around Cvstodia or complete some quests, but they're often worth the trouble since they can do serious damage or be helpful in some other way (like the various protection Prayers). Each Prayer has a different Fervour cost, which you can charge by hitting enemies (with bonuses granted for executions) or pressing a specific button that gives you Fervour at the cost of some of your health. Speaking of health, the only way to heal is to either visit the Prie Dieu (shrines that are equivalent to your Dark Souls bonfires and serve as checkpoints) or to use your Bile Flasks (which you can liken to the Estus Flasks of Dark Souls). Bile flasks only restore a portion of your health, and they're a limited resource you have to refill by visiting a shrine. Some of the upgrades you can find while exploring include adding to your max health and max Fervour, as well as extra Bile Flasks to increase your healing opportunities. Interestingly, you can trade some of those extra flasks with a certain NPC, who in exchange will increase the potency of your remaining Bile Flasks. This is an interesting tradeoff of quantity vs. quality in terms of your healing. In addition, you also have a rosary, which can be equipped with beads that give you a wide variety of passive buffs (e.g. slight buffs to movement, added damage resistance, bonuses like higher Fervour charge, and more). At the start, you can only equip two beads at a time, but you can find Knots of Rosary Rope to add more slots to your rosary. It's a neat system that reminds me of Hollow Knight's charms mechanic, though it'll take considerable effort to find a lot of the options available to you. Mea Culpa also has what are known as Sword Hearts, which can be equipped for bonuses. What makes the Sword Hearts notable is while their buffs are potent, they always come at a cost. For example, one of them increases your damage output, but at the cost of defense. Again, cool take on a time-tested mechanic. Lastly, you can equip Relics, which are special items that help with platforming. These include Relics that allow you to cross toxic gas safely, Relics that reveal hidden platforms, and even Relics that allow you to fall without dying (unlike most Metroidvanias, falling into an abyss doesn't send you to the zone below; you just die). Sadly, there are very few Relics to collect, but I suppose that makes sense since there aren't many areas that are locked off without them. Personally, I'd have loved more stuff like it, because one of the things I enjoy about Metroidvanias is finding items that open up more of the world to me. You'll also pick up various key items that you'll need to give to specific NPCs or place in certain locations to unlock more stuff. It's easy to discern where most items are meant to go, except for a certain item you get at the beginning. Without giving it away, the purpose of the item is explained (albeit in a cryptic manner), but the method in which to activate it isn't immediately obvious. Exploration is fun for the most part, since the map is decently large and there are ways to fast travel if you need to backtrack. There are a good number of secrets to find, including (but not limited to) fake walls, breakable floors, and seemingly out-of-reach places. There are plenty of collectibles outside of the ones I've mentioned as well, like the bones that you return to the Ossuary, and the Children of Moonlight that you have to free. Collecting these are worthwhile, too, since they unlock some neat rewards. Where the fun might end is running into the many enemies of the game, the variety of which is pretty solid. These enemies can be in some pretty annoying spots, but thankfully, enemies stay dead.... until you hit a checkpoint, at which point they respawn. That can make backtracking a pain, but personally, I enjoy this game's combat enough that, besides select enemies, I don't mind whooping their ass again. That said, I can't really say many of them are tricky to fight on their own, especially later in the game when you have stronger gear. When you think soulslike, you think challenging bosses, and this game has a good number of them. I don't know if this is simply my experience talking, but overall, I only found a handful of bosses particularly difficult. Nonetheless, most of the fights are fun, and figuring out their gimmicks/attack patterns (especially to the point that you can parry them) or figuring out the perfect Prayers to use is satisfying. My favorite fight is easily Crisanta, whose second phase in particular is so much fun to parry. In terms of overall satisfaction, going for a full Prayer build can lead to some comically trivial fights, because the lightning spell can shred through enemies even if they're out of range of your sword. Dying at any point leaves behind a Guilt Fragment in the place you just died. You'll want to pick this up, as if you carry on as you are without doing so, your Fervour meter will not be at its maximum, and you'll earn less Tears of Atonement. The more you die, the more Guilt Fragments you leave behind, and the penalties become more severe. Alternatively, there are confessor statues that you can talk to in order to restore yourself back to normal, but you'll have to spend Tears of Atonement for this. Speaking of Tears of Atonement, the only other use they have other than upgrading the sword and relieving yourself of Guilt are paying specific NPCs and donating them to a specific church. The latter is what's called a money sink, and it's the best place to throw your money once you've bought every important thing. It's not a complete waste, either, as the more you donate, the more helpful perks you'll receive. The "good" endings will require you to take on some optional dungeons, which are pretty much horde battles where you take on waves of enemies. These are fun, but they're almost trivial if you decide to do them in the late game when you're all jacked up with upgrades. Apparently, this game received free content updates post-launch, which added some bonus content. This includes the map expansion and a quest that leads to the true ending (I just assumed all this was part of the base game), a bonus minigame where you play a short Castlevania-style 8-bit game, a whole crossover with Bloodstained where you meet Miriam and take on a few challenge rooms, a boss rush mode called Sacred Sorrows, and the addition of New Game Plus (which also adds the bonus story content I mentioned). I'll discuss the latter three at length since they're pretty substantial. The Bloodstained crossover has you take on five time trial platforming challenges, and completing all five rewards you with a bonus Prayer you can use in your adventure. These platforming challenges highlight how Blasphemous is not primarily about platforming, as I felt how certain aspects of its movement are either weirdly inconsistent or require the use of specific Rosary Beads just to clear gaps. I like the idea, but these were just an exercise in frustration. Sacred Sorrows is split into different boss rushes (much like Godmaster in Hollow Knight), so each boss rush has a specific set of bosses. Your loadout is based on what you have in your selected save file, and you get a break room in between fights with a single-use refill of bile flasks and a single-use refill of Fervour. Each boss rush also has a normal mode and a True Torment mode, both of which are timed and graded based on performance. New Game Plus has you start the game over, but a lot of your stuff carries over (namely: your collected beads, Prayers, Sword Hearts, Relics, and Mea Culpa upgrades). What's bizarre to me, however, is not everything carries over. Your health and Fervour return to their base values (so you have to find the upgrade spots again), you have to redo quests, and you have to find and upgrade your Bile Flasks all over again. Sure, it's great that the stuff that they let you keep is still there (the Relics in particular make exploring and re-collecting everything a breeze), but you really feel the loss of your base stats because all the enemies have more health and do more damage. I suppose it makes sense in terms of setting up a greater challenge, but it's still a strange choice to me since you can't re-upgrade your sword to keep up with the enemies. At the beginning of New Game Plus, you can choose one of the three Penitence modes which add challenge modifiers to your run. This includes an overhaul of how health works (instead working on number of hits), making death more punishing by locking your money in Guilt Fragments, and forcing you to rely on spells by halving your sword damage. I like these modifiers as a way to really change the game, and it's really cool that finishing a run with one of these modifiers rewards you with items that you can then use in a future run. The aforementioned bonus story content in New Game Plus adds a few more boss fights to the game, so there's incentive to play again apart from simply challenging yourself. It doesn't add much to the exploration aspect, sadly. Certain achievements in this game also unlock skins for the Penitent One, which is fun. They don't really do anything other than change the color of the sprite and showcase that you've accomplished an in-game challenge, but it's neat that they're there. VERDICT: I quite enjoyed my time playing Blasphemous. While it takes considerable effort to understand what the hell is going on in Cvstodia, I thought the bleak, twisted setting (made all the more impressive with the visuals) was cool, the combat and progression had a lot of fun elements to it, and exploration felt rewarding. While I have my qualms with the platforming and the difficulty spike of New Game Plus, I liked this game a lot, and am looking forward to the sequel (which hopefully adds a whole lot more in addition to polishing what made this one a lot of fun). Many aspects of this game are not going to be for everyone, be it the game's method of storytelling, the emphasis on challenging combat, or the abundance of graphic violence and disturbing imagery. If none of these things bother you, I recommend this game if you're in the mood for a dark Metroidvania with solid combat and mysterious lore. Link to the game's Steam page here: Blasphemous on Steam (steampowered.com) Here's the soundtrack on Spotify: Spotify – Blasphemous (Original Game Soundtrack) - end - I strive to seek out LGBTQ+ stories to read for the month of June, so I checked if there were any in my manga catalog. I found a few, and I intend to read them in the coming weeks. BACKGROUND:
Since my knowledge of manga is significantly less developed than that of my knowledge on American comics, it took me individually checking the synopsis of each manga in my catalog to find LGBTQ+ stories like this one. As such, it will probably come as no surprise that I haven't heard of this one. SUMMARY: What Did You Eat Yesterday? follows the story of Shiro Kakei (a lawyer) and Kenji Yabuki (a hairstylist), a gay couple both in their 40s living together in an apartment somewhere in Tokyo. Throughout the volume, we get snippets of their daily life (either together or at work) or bits and pieces of their past, but the common thread is each chapter features Shiro and Kenji sharing a meal together. One of the first things the book establishes about Shiro is that he is a gifted cook. We get the whole process of him preparing each meal he shares with Kenji in mouth-watering detail, and he even describes each step so you could potentially follow at home (supplemented with some extra instructions at the end of each chapter). Cooking is not my strong suit, so I can't verify if anything Shiro makes is indeed tasty, but the characters definitely sell it with their reactions. What I found interesting about Shiro's culinary skill is how it's not explained how or why he's this good. Perhaps it's explained in later chapters, but in this volume, it's just a thing that he does (and enjoys doing) and nothing more. I couldn't place why this stood out to me until I thought about it and realized that for men (at least in terms of stupid gender norms), cooking is framed as a field where you strive to be the best and chase Michelin stars or whatever. Shiro cooks well simply because he enjoys good food, and that's a refreshing contrast. The cooking's not just for show, either, as the dish being prepared tends to be related in some way to the scenario of each chapter. Like I said, these scenarios cover various slice-of-life situations involving the main characters, and while I don't feel like some dishes connect as strongly to some of these stories compared to others, I enjoy the idea overall. Outside these meals, we learn quite a lot about Shiro and Kenji. We see that they're quite different from each other personality-wise; Shiro's quite stingy (there are panels dedicated to him trying to find the best deals on ingredients), while Kenji doesn't worry about money too much. The main difference that stands out to me is how Shiro keeps his sexual orientation a secret from most people, while Kenji is more comfortable being openly gay. This fundamental difference leads to a conflict in one of the chapters, and as understandable as it is for Shiro to keep that information to himself, Kenji's reasoning for being as open as he is underscores how society's got a long way to go when it comes to normalizing same-sex relationships. Despite their differences, it's quite clear the two care for each other very much. This really comes across when they eat together, as to me, few things indicate a deeper bond like sharing meals everyday. This is made even sweeter when Kenji always praises Shiro's cooking. Their conversations cover a lot of topics, from past relationships, musings about health, and even Shiro messing with Kenji. We also learn about Shiro and Kenji as individuals in many of the chapters. On Shiro's side, we get to see him take a very specific approach when it comes to his work, see him be silently judged by his coworkers just because he isn't married at his age, and deal with the hardships of never being fully accepted by his parents (especially his mother). Reading about these, I can understand why he'd keep the fact that he's gay a secret, and I find his work ethic inspiring and funny at the same time. Other aspects of Shiro's life are also shown, like his unlikely friendship with a middle-aged mom who's the same level of culinary wizard as him (and how that started in a bizarre way), his past relationship with a woman (who now runs a bakery he frequents, much to the chagrin of Kenji), his secret crush on a former colleague back in law school, and how he deftly handled a domestic abuse case involving a male victim (the fact that he was the only one who didn't mock that person's situation is a sad reflection of reality). Kenji gets some time in the spotlight, as we learn of his rather extended stay at his salon (and his uncanny skill at defusing problematic customers), hints of how his parents handled his coming out (and how that differs from Shiro's situation), as well as one of his past relationships with a dude from a host club (and the strange circumstances that led to it). I feel like this volume shows more of Shiro than Kenji in this regard, but he's always present in every chapter to talk about some of the stuff Shiro experiences. In terms of the art style, most things (especially characters) lean towards a simple style with rather thin lines, not much fine detail, and only occasional instances of shading or texturing (i.e. a lot of elements look flat). I enjoyed how characters often have cartoony expressions; I thought that went along well with the overall style. Where the book doesn't skip out on detail is depicting the cooking and the food. These portions have whole pages dedicated to showing these off, and the fact that some panels look almost photorealistic really stands out next to the simpler style of everything else. I read this manga before having supper, and boy, did looking at the food here make my stomach grumble. VERDICT: I thought What Did You Eat Yesterday? was a lovely read, and not just because the dishes shown look delicious. While I quite enjoyed Shiro's cooking being the centerpiece of each chapter, I appreciated the depiction of his relationship with Kenji; you get to see their daily life and their varied conversations (and how those are like any other relationship you might read about or watch), the reality of being gay is tackled seriously (I don't know much about LGBTQ+ perception in Japan, but I trust that is the context the book is working within), and there's still a fair share of fun or interesting slice-of-life scenarios the couple find themselves in throughout. If I were any good at cooking, I'd try making the dishes shown here, but for now, I'm content just reading, and I wouldn't mind reading more to see what Shiro cooks up and what other stories of his relationship there may be. If either the focus on cooking or Shiro and Kenji's relationship sound interesting to read about to you, I think you won't regret checking this one out. Both these elements get equal time in this volume alone, so I feel you'll be satisfied either way. I especially recommend this if you can cook; I need to know if the culinary sorcery they show in this is possible in the mortal world. - end - |
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