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NCG Review – Penny Punching Princess (Switch, and PSVITA)

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NIS is well-known for their corky, over the top RPG titles, that have weird stories and addictive gameplay. Penny Punching Princess is no different. Players will be hooked on grabbing some money and bribing their enemies to just get something new.

Story

The story takes place in an era after “Might meant everything…” and now Money runs everything! That’s right, Penny Punching Princess revolves around money ruling all, and does a fantastic job in portraying it in the story, as well as gameplay. The dialog is enjoyable, as it never takes itself seriously and will keep your attention from beginning to end.20180313104029

Visuals

Penny Punching Princess takes inspiration from the retro sprite based dungeon crawler look of the Cladun series for the characters and enemies, and mixes it with digitally painted scenery that look along the line of Disgaea titles. The character design of each monster looked amazing, as well as the themes for each stage. The blend of the two styles mix well and gave the title its own identity, not to mention, made Penny Punching Princess feel right at home on the Switch. Honestly, the retro look brought this game to life for me, and I can see other players loving it as well.20180313104336

Gameplay

This is where the game felt unique, as it felt like a dungeon crawler mixed with a brawler, and with some RPG elements to give players a challenge. And when I say challenge, I mean challenge! As players will notice, they can not just run through each level just bashing buttons, players will need to use a bribing mechanic to help build armor, take overpowered enemies off the map, activate traps and even gain temporary abilities to heal or gain an attack.20180313105303

Players will find this mechanic very enjoyable, as its one of the only ways you can progress through how difficult the game jumps up to in early levels, but you can not just bribe at any moment. Players will have to collect money as well as let the gauge fill up to do so. Once players have a good amount of gold they will be able to bribe monsters, depending on their cost.20180313111009

As mentioned, once you bribe a monster you can use them to build armor, which will also give the Princess abilities for the dungeons, but it isn’t as simple as just bribing any monster for armor. Once a monster is bribed and recorded in your management list, you will be introduced to armor that can be created with them, as long as you have bribed the right amount. Which give players a goal to reach for strengthening up for some of the upcoming boss battles as players make their way through each chapter.

Verdict

Penny Punching Princess is a fantastic title for the Nintendo Switch and PSVITA. With its witty story, fantastic visuals and addictive gameplay players will have a reason to comeback to this title. I really enjoyed the bribing mechanic, and overall feel of the game as a whole, and recommend this title for all players who own a Switch. I give Penny Punching Princess a 7 out of 10.

Score

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“Dragon Ball Tour” revealed for 7 Cities in North America

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Bandai has announced that they will host a “Dragon Ball Tour” event that will take place in 7 Cities in the U.S. and Canada this year.

The event will feature exclusive items, and the first stop of the event will be San Diego in July. The official website will reveal the other locations at a later date.dragon-ball-tour-map

You can check out the official website at this LINK, and be sure to check out the announcement video below.

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NCG Review – Assault Gunner HD Edition (PS4, PC)

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Assault Gunner was first released in Japan back in 2012 on the Playstation Vita and didn’t make its way west, until now. Marvelous USA has now brought the title over seas and in HD for Playstation 4, and PC.Assault Gunners - 7 - PS4.png

Visuals and Audio

So first off, let me put this out there. Visuals and Audio (soundtrack) are one of some keys to grasp a feel of a game, and that is very important for players. Assault Gunner HD is a 3rd person mech shooter that does look like it has aged over the past 6 years.

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Texture’s of the mech are blan, environments are empty, and enemies are reused models through out the game. The music on the other hand, will have fans of the mech shooter genre ecstatic. I felt like I enjoyed the soundtrack more than the visuals, so it ended up balancing the feel of the games look.

Gameplay

Like I mentioned, Assault Gunner HD is a Mech Shooter, and it stays true to that, but feels more like it should have stood on a portable console. The game is fun and short, with all of the same controls as the Vita version which lack two of the shoulder buttons, and doesn’t carry too much content to come back to it, but it is fun!

Assault Gunner HD starts out with a few training missions to give a feel of the controls and the mission that are to come through out the game, as well  as an introduction of the few enemy units that you will face. Some of the mission will be, eliminate the enemies or capture area, but most of the time it is literally a run and gun though out the missions. This is where the game takes a hit in the replay value, as the missions become very repetitive as well as too easy for most players.

Verdict

Assault Gunner HD is a re-release of an older game, and for a cheap price. It has its moments, but also isn’t for everyone. I would only recommend this for anyone who really needs a new mech game to play, and enjoyed mech titles form the late 90’s, but my score for Assault Gunner is a 5 out of 10 mainly because mech titles have its die-hard fans that will enjoy this as a pick up.Score

 

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NCG Review: Hakuoki: Edo Blossoms (PSVITA)

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The second chapter of Hakuoki is finally here!  A continuation of Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds, Edo Blossoms concludes Chizuru Yukimura’s journey. What will become of the Shinsengumi? Will Chizuru live happily ever after with your favorite samurai?

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Story:

If you haven’t played Kyoto Winds, you definitely want to since Edo Blossoms is a continuation of the first story.  This is particularly important since the continuing story will unfold based on the character you choose.  If you want to go my route, you’ll pick the character who you successfully romanced in Kyoto Winds to see what happens in Edo Blossoms.   However, the core plot of the story still unfolds around the Shinsengumi struggling to uphold their status with the tide of social and economic change in Japan. SPOILER: In addition to the historical drama, characters have consumed the Water of Life and are now super-powered with a craving for blood (aka: Furies).

Gameplay:

Unlike the previous title where you needed to really think about your answers to get a good ending, Edo Blossoms lets you pick your bachelor from the beginning. After selecting your man of choice the story continues with the relationship and ending from the Kyoto Winds.

The game still plays out like a visual novel.  When prompted you can pick from 2 to 3 answers to try to win over your Samurai.  If you make a good choice, you’re rewarded with a juicy screen shot or shown an icon to indicate your response was favorable.Hijikata (9)

It is much easier to get a good ending Edo Blossoms.  However, because of the SPOILER listed above you are prompted on multiple occasions with three options: Offer blood, offer medicine, or let him endure the pain.  This is where it gets tricky, because you can still make good choices, however, providing blood or not providing blood, can prevent a good ending.   The best way around this is to save constantly, and go back and re-load your data.  Or, you can see if you know how well you know your man.  Up to you. I had a lot of luck with Saito since I never found myself going back to previous saved data.  Okita, on the other hand, was a bit trickier.

Audio/Visual

What makes the Hakuoki series so fun is how you it draws the player in using minimal audio and visual.  The background music never feels overwhelming and changes to match the tone of the story (light hearted during humorous scenes, melancholic during reflective scenes) and the simplistic sound effects put you into the story (clashing swords, the rustling of a bush).  The subtle motion of characters, such as a change in facial expression or body posture, is enough to bring the story to life and prevent the visual novel from feeling stagnant.

Verdict

Pros: It was fun to be able to pick up this title and continue the story from the first game.  Endings that I thought were dismal (Okita’s, for example) actually came together.Sanan (4)

There are so many endings to the game and it makes you want to see what would happen if you fell in love with every character.  I hated living in a where *bleep* died, but in another arc, he was alive!

Because there are so many endings, the story is not the same story over again with a new face.  In one path, (SPOILER) Chizuru’s father is a good guy, and on another path, Chizuru’s father is pure evil!  In one story, Yamazaki dies on the way to Edo, in another, he is still a faithful character.  There is no single variation.

Cons: Since there are so many different endings and paths, I feel like some elements from Kyoto Winds are watered down or absent. For example, (more spoilers) you don’t see Sen or Kaoru ever again on certain story paths.

Even though I liked being able to choose my character, I liked the idea of mixing choices and coming up on an unexpected ending.  Following a character path almost made it too easy to have the happy sappy romance ending.

Verdict

I give Edo Blossoms an 8 out of 10.  The various continuations made the game a lot of fun.  The major downside is I feel like I can’t pick it up without playing Kyoto Winds first.  There’s lots of romance to be had, and so many scenes that will make your heart flutter! Definitely worth a couple play throughs.Score

Who was your favorite character in the series? Did you have a favorite story line? Let me know in the comments!

 

 

 

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Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition is getting Darkstalker Costumes

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Capcom has announced that they will be releasing set of three Darkstalkers-themed costumes for Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition characters Menat, Juri, and Urien on April 3 for $3.99 each.

Here is an overview and screenshots of each costume.

 

  • Khaibit Costume (Menat) – Darkstalkers fans may be wondering what a Khaibit is as it’s not the name of any playable character. If you guessed it draws inspiration from the mummy Anakaris, you’d be correct! The Khaibit first appeared in Darkstalkers 3 as Anakaris’ partner who can be seen in certain animations, especially during Pharaoh Decoration. Later, Khaibit became a secret character in Capcom Fighting Jam Midnight Bliss.
  • Lilith Costume (Juri) – A portion of energy that was split from Morrigan by Belial and sealed. After 300 years, the separated energy formed another consciousness called Lilith. Being a cheerful succubus, Lilith’s goal was to reunite with Morrigan in order to continue her existence.
  • Donovan Costume (Urien) – Donovan Baine is half-vampire and half-human. Following a horrific event, which caused his vampire side to take control and drink the blood of everyone in his village, he devoted himself to Buddhism. In the Darkstalkers series, he travels with a little girl called Anita, who wields mysterious supernatural powers.