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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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NCG Review – Mercenary Kings Reloaded Edition (PS4, PSVita, Switch, PC, Xbox One)

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Title: Mercenary Kings: Reloaded Edition
Platform: PS4, PSVita, Switch, PC, Xbox One

Mercenary Kings: Reloaded Edition is an enhanced port of its original title Mercenary Kings, which was release back in 2014. This enhanced port is available free to anyone who has purchased the original title, and is also available for purchase for Switch owners and newcomers. This time around the Reloaded Edition comes with some new content such as new balances, weapons and characters. Is it worth a revisit, or does it lack in bringing players back to the mayhem?

 

Visuals

Mercenary Kings Reloaded Edition gameplay visuals take inspiration from classic titles such as the Metal Slug series. With the gorgeous and smooth animated retro style character sprites and the 16-bit backgrounds, Mercenary Kings Reloaded Edition fits perfect on one of its new home, the Nintendo Switch, along with the platforms it has made a return to. It never got old seeing the different variations of enemies and bosses even after the 4 years that have passed by since the first title.MercenaryKings_Screenshot_01MercenaryKings_Screenshot_03

Audio

The soundtrack of Mercenary Kings Reloaded Edition is still the same tracks from the original, and is still engaging as ever bring back that old school shooter genre attitude and feel. The tracks never felt like they were too repetitive and used too much throughout the game and the sound FX is what to expect as wellMercenaryKings_Screenshot_06

Gameplay

The core gameplay is back, as players will take on many missions such as rescue, item collecting, eliminate and many more different style missions. Co-op is back as well, with four player split screen and online play, so players can take on the missions with some friends at anytime.

When entering a missions players will be thrown into one of many maps to take on their, loaded with re-spawning enemies and items to find, but this isn’t your typical side-scrolling shooter. Players will be placed at a random point on the stage, and be able to freely explore the map. This is what keeps the game feeling fresh, as players will never feel like one map is ever the same.FriggCombatShort.gif

Like I mentioned, enemies will be everywhere, and if you backtrack to an area, the enemies will have re-spawned. This helps the game feel like maps are not so empty, and is very satisfying and frustrating at the same time. The frustrating part is that sometimes during collecting missions some big enemies feel like they just get in the way and shouldn’t have the abilities to re-spawn, as they take some time to defeat. Other than that, the core gameplay is addicting.

Weapon crafting is back and with some new knives and gun parts to discover. If you are a player that likes to collect items and craft items, Mercenary Kings Reloaded Edition has a lot of crafting options for you. Players will collect items and craft new weapons and parts which will change how you gun works, or how far your knife will reach. This mechanic gave the game a huge amount of replay value.

Verdict

Mercenary Kings Reloaded Edition is a perfect revisit to the title, and holds its guns up high. The title is also a perfect fit for its first appearance on the Nintendo Switch. I really recommend players who haven’t played the previous title to give Mercenary Kings Reloaded Edition a try, and veterans to revisit the title. This title is certainly a game to check out, and I give Mercenary Kings Reloaded Edition a 7/10.Score

 

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NCG Review – Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[st] (PS4, PS3, and PSVITA)

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Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[st]

Platform: Playstation 4, Playstation 3, PSVita

Release date: February 9, 2018

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Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[st] is the an updated version of the previous title that came out back in 2015. Although the title has a very long name that really needs to be abbreviated (UNIST can be the short way of saying it), it has just that much content loaded into the game this time around! Developed by Arc System Works, who is known for their top of the line fighting game titles such as, the Guilty Gear Series, BlazBlue, and the newly released Dragonball FighterZ, this title is what you would expect.

Story

Being an updated version, the game introduces 4 new characters as well as a new story mode in which players can unfold the story of the world in a Visual Novel gameplay style. When I say Visual Novel, I mean Visual Novel! There is no gameplay in this mode, but that does not mean the story is horrible. Players of the anime community will really enjoy the twists and turns in the story.Under_Night_6

Visuals

The visuals are somewhat the same from the original, and that is not a problem at all of because the game has its own distinct look and manages to keep everything pretty simple. With a 2D drawn art style that still draws me in when turning this title on, I can say a lot of gamers will like how it looks. It reminds me of Anime mixed with a dark theme such as Darkstalkers.UNIST_25

During fights the visuals of each special attack work well and look great. The menu has more of an arcade look and is simple enough where new players can navigate with ease. Even the story mode looks awesome with the visual novel art style.

Audio

The soundtrack to UNIST brings back some of the previous titles tracks as well as a few new tracks, and the new tracks still holds up to the magnificent scores for combat and story telling.UNIST_EU_Announcement_2

Gameplay

I always felt Under Night never had any spotlight in North America, and is very under rated, but with the new update I hope that changes as this title is a must have for fighting game enthusiast. The core gameplay is the same as most anime fighters, without the air dash. So, it’s sort of like The King of Fighters meets Anime! Combos are limited to one button press for standing and crouching per button, and in the air so players need to strategize what they will do in each combo. It also has an  auto combo for players that bash buttons, but this limits button mashing to execute really short combos -the game wants you to learn passing and how to get in without button mashing, and this is perfect for new players wanting to join the fighting game community.UNIST_EU_Announcement_5

As I mentioned, this is a great game for new players because there is a new tutorial mode where everything is explained for fighting games in general. From executing and getting in, to how to finish combos and set up for another; this is a way to learn UNIST as wells as any other fighting essentials.UNIST_EU_Announcement_6

Of course, there is also online Ranked and Unranked play, which hold itself together pretty well but not to a perfect degree. The netcode isn’t perfect, as some matches lag even with two solid connections, but for the most part it is playable more than half of the time. And as for Ranked matches, the lobby’s will be full of veterans of the title, so I would recommend new players to not approach Ranked until you are ready to take on the best.

As mentioned, UNIST has 4 new cast members, Phonon with her whip, Mika a child with gigantic robotic hands, Wagner holding her sword and shield, and Enkidu who is pure martial arts. None of these characters feel like a rehash of previous characters or each other, and new players will be happy to see each have a different play style.

Verdict

With Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[st] coming out after one of the biggest fighting games this year a lot of players might miss this title. With an awesome Story mode for single player, fantastic visuals, and many more new additions, Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[st] is a must have in my opinion. Although it lacks in online play at the moment, this is a great title for any one who is a fighting game fan our even a competitive fighting game player. I rate Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[st] an 8 out of 10.Score

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NCG Review – Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Overdrive (Switch)

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A spin-off of the fighting game self titled Phantom Breaker, Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Overdrive was originally released back in 2013 on the Xbox 360, and on PlayStation Vita in 2014 as Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds. As well as seeing a later upgraded port on PlayStation 4 with the title Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Overdrive, the beat’em up title sheds new light on Nintendo’s newest system, the Nintendo Switch.PBBGOD_ss_SW_0073

Visuals and Audio

Like I mentioned, Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Overdrive is a spin-off of the fighting game title, so this title (PBBGO) has a different look. Characters are now in chibi form, and the title now takes on the older SNES inspired look and delivers that nostalgia to a new generation audience. The soundtrack is another aspect with the old-school Retro feel. With the crisp pixels artwork, the fantastic backgrounds, and the amazing 8-bit soundtrack, Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Overdrive will have players enjoying all aspects of the presentation as a whole.PBBGOD_ss_SW_0092

Story

The story is plain and simple, Mikoto, Waka, Itsuki and Yuzuha has to fight through hordes of enemies to save their friend Nagi, who has been captured by Phantoms. There is some dialogue throughout the story, but it never seemed really important as you make your way through the game. I would say the story is lacking in that part, but this is a beat’em up title so I can’t justify it at the moment. That being said, players that are looking for a story still have one.PBBGOD_ss_SW_0137

Gameplay

Button mashing to fight your way through hordes of enemies, learning new skills while leveling your characters up, and pure anime flashy goodness. That is the best way to explain this title. Though this time around, the previous DLC is included in the Switch version. Players can now play as guest characters Makise Kurisu and Frau from the popular visual novels Steins;Gate and Robotics;Notes.

When jumping in Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Overdrive, players will noticed 4 game modes, Story, Arcade, Co-op, and Battleground. Story Mode takes players on a stage to stage adventure to save Nagi from the Phantoms, as they level up and kick ass throughout each of 8 levels.

As I played story mode, I found myself enjoying the game play, but not so much of the story, as I mentioned before. Most of the dialog only came out when fighting the end stage bosses, and didn’t really seem like it had a whole lot to do with anything. Game play is just like any beat’em up title, button mash your may through enemies, but you can learn new skills that can extend combos which rewards players with a higher score, and more EXP points to gain better skills. Arcade and Co-op, is more or less of the same, but you can now compete in having a high score in the leader board and play up to 4 players.phantom-breaker-battle-grounds

Battleground Mode is different take on the title, and another good way to enjoy multiplayer. Battleground mode is more of a 4 player free for all brawl, as each player can take their leveled up character and fight for the bragging rights. I really did enjoy this mode, mostly because it gave me a reason to come back to the title with friends.

Verdict

Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Overdrive is a title that is a must have for anyone who is a fan of the beat’em up genre, and is even enjoyable to new players. With the multiplayer modes, the flat-out button mashing brawls, and the leveling up system, players will have something to come back to from days on end. I can give this title an 8 out of 10.

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NCG Review – Superbeat XONIC (Nintendo Switch)

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Rhythm games are always a huge addiction for me and after hearing Superbeat XONIC was heading to the Console Handheld hybrid Nintendo Switch, I was stoked. Originally released on the Playstation Vita and later being released on the Playstation 4, Superbeat XONIC was a title I wanted to get my hands on.lrg_2

Visuals

When jumping into the title players will feel like they will be in a light show from a concert, and that is amazing. It isn’t distracting, and will keep players engaged in the beat of each track. With all of the flashy colorsand the fast pace notes to conquer, players will feel like they are back in the 90’s with the DDR look of the game.

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Gameplay

Gameplay is where any rhythm game is at, and Superbeat XONIC is not any different. Challenging, fast pace, and really engaging, players will be addicted.

I enjoyed the soundtrack since it had a little bit from each genre.  However, the downside on playing on the Switch was the joystick placement.  If you’re a button player, the layout will feel off and will take a while to get used to. Touch screen doesn’t have this issue, but the Switch slides around if you place it on a surface.  You get used to it after a while, and once you do, you’ll be back in the world of Superbeat XONIC.

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This time around the title includes all DLC for free from the recent releases which saves you a bit of money.  Since it is an older title, it really gives you more bang for your bucks. The game has over 60 songs to play though and having player ready to take on the challenge. Especially on the new console, playing on the TV and and go as enjoyable as ever.

Verdict

Superbeat XONIC is a must have for this new console, and a title players will lose alot of time to. Very addicting gameplay, and spectacular visuals, this title will have players coming to for days to come. For an older re-release, this is always a genre and game to jump on and off as time goes on. I recommend this for everyone and will give it a 9 out of 10 as it keeps the rhythm games alive and addicting.

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