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![Wonder Woman [Special Edition] [2 Discs] [Blu-ray] [2009]](https://pisces.bbystatic.com/image2/BestBuy_US/images/products/9214/9214165_sa.jpg)
Customer Rating
4
A good origin story, but held back from great
on April 16, 2016
Posted by: BasilioBoy777
from Provo, UT
I recently took another look at the DC Animated Film Wonder Woman. I wanted to experience a good DC film after the travesty that was the recent Batman v Superman. I recall that Gal Godot was Wonder Woman was one of the best aspects of that movie. While I disagree with that sentiment, I am very fond of the Amazon Princess, and wanted to be reminded of the great character I watched on Justice League when I was younger. While this entry is very good, it falls just short of great, or at least the great potential Wonder Woman has.
This film was made way back in the old days of 2009, and was one of the first entries into the DC Animated Films line. Something that occurred to me then, and seems to have more or less played out over the years, is that DC has a tendency to test out potential live-action big budget films with animated prototypes; an experiment to see how they could perform on the big screen, if you will. That certainly seems to be the case here for Wonder Woman, despite the great length of time it has taken Warner Bros. to get there (and they still haven’t 7 years later). This is a very good origin story for Wonder Woman, based on George Pérez’s reboot “Gods and Mortals” from 1987, just after the Crisis on Infinite Earths, which rebooted the entire DC Universe(s). Given Pérez’s great history as a comic writer, with titles like The Avengers and The New Teen Titans under his belt, this is a good staring point. Plus, this film was written by Gail Simone, arguably the greatest female comic writer of all-time, so there is no shortage of talent when it comes to this film’s story, and it certainly shows.
This movie puts Wonder Woman in a modern setting, seeing her reactions to man’s world as we know it. I think this is the best place to start with her, instead of a period piece, because she is as new to the world as the world is to her, providing a great parallel contrast to her development as a character, and the development of man’s world into a place that is better in some areas and just as bad as before in others. The plot hits all the points it needs to for an origin film. The pacing is good, and there are no heavy twists to overcomplicate anything. The action is fairly good for what it is, standard PG-13 fare. You don’t actually see any of the blood or most fatalities, so don’t go in expecting God of War or 300. Diana’s character is rounded and develops well and naturally, as does the male lead, Steve Trevor, Diana’s own “Lois,” if you will. The animation style is pretty close to the designs of the legendary Bruce Timm, who is also one of the producers, so you know you can’t go wrong there.
The cast is, for the most part, pretty good. Virginia Madsen does alright as Diana’s mother Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons, although perhaps she comes too close to coming off as too cold. Vicki Lewis also does okay as Persephone, as does Rosario Dawson as Artemis. Marg Helgenberger completely phones it in as Hera, but seeing as how she barely has any lines, it doesn’t really matter. Oliver Platt doesn’t quite pull it off as Hades. Voice acting giant and veteran Tara Strong gives an always great and versatile performance as Alexa. Nathan Fillion completely hits it out of the park as Steve Trevor, proving why he is one of the most charismatic people in the nerd circuit, bring wit and charm to the character, who also serves as a genre-savvy commentator. Alfred Molina is great as Ares, expected as he is one of my favorite villainous actors. Keri Russell does decently as Diana herself, but in my opinion, she doesn’t quite have the right needed balance of kindness and toughness to her voice that Susan Eisenberg had during her tenure on Justice League.
Despite all that, this film does have some pitfalls that begin to hinder it as they pile up. For example, it’s never explained exactly or where Ares’ army of men and monsters came from, let alone his modern-day “Cult of Ares” that somehow survived from antiquity. As with any new interpretation, the designs of the Greek gods can vary wildly, although only 2 are given any real screen time. Ares is just fine, but they really dropped the ball with Hades; I just cannot get behind that design. He’s way less James Woods and way too much Jabba the Hutt, and yes, that is as bad as it sounds. This film shows a subpar sense of space and time. We’re not really given much a frame for how much time has passed in the story, and characters just show up in locations with no explanation. How did Ares get an entire army of mythological creatures up to the steps of the Capitol in Washington, D.C. without anyone noticing or doing anything about it? Furthermore, the Amazon’s home of the island of Themyscira is never given a definitive geographical location. I would assume it’s somewhere in Mediterranean Sea near Greece, but then how could Steve Trevor pilot a fighter jet to there from D.C. and back in a matter of minutes? Or how could the Amazon sail from there to D.C. in wooden ships and not take 6 months? A lot falls apart in the climax, and with its location of Washington D.C. and an army of Amazons, it bares resemblance to the story “Amazons Attack,” and that is not a good association. Although there is some good zombie nightmare fuel in the final fight, with undead Amazon warriors that are uncharacteristically agile and mobile for rotting corpses, it overall feels too rushed. The resolution, both Wonder Woman’s final fight with Ares and the battle in general, is too quick and nonsensical. After the big bad is defeated, Ares’s remaining army doesn’t get finished off or even disappear; they just kind of shrug their shoulders and wander off into the landscape of the National Capitol, where I’m sure they’ll just fade back into the void from which they came.
Still, problems aside, this film holds up fairly well. There’s just enough baggage from the missteps to hold it back from being truly great. There is a good and fair discussion of gender roles and modern feminism, ideas that Wonder Woman was always meant to exemplify. There is great balancing act from 3rd-wave feminism, which in my opinion is largely poisonous and based in anger and vengeance, and feminism’s more noble roots of equality and fairness. Overall, Wonder Woman is a good origin story for this great character, and a good base from which to start for the live-action version that’s coming up. Now let’s just hope they don’t screw it up.
This film was made way back in the old days of 2009, and was one of the first entries into the DC Animated Films line. Something that occurred to me then, and seems to have more or less played out over the years, is that DC has a tendency to test out potential live-action big budget films with animated prototypes; an experiment to see how they could perform on the big screen, if you will. That certainly seems to be the case here for Wonder Woman, despite the great length of time it has taken Warner Bros. to get there (and they still haven’t 7 years later). This is a very good origin story for Wonder Woman, based on George Pérez’s reboot “Gods and Mortals” from 1987, just after the Crisis on Infinite Earths, which rebooted the entire DC Universe(s). Given Pérez’s great history as a comic writer, with titles like The Avengers and The New Teen Titans under his belt, this is a good staring point. Plus, this film was written by Gail Simone, arguably the greatest female comic writer of all-time, so there is no shortage of talent when it comes to this film’s story, and it certainly shows.
This movie puts Wonder Woman in a modern setting, seeing her reactions to man’s world as we know it. I think this is the best place to start with her, instead of a period piece, because she is as new to the world as the world is to her, providing a great parallel contrast to her development as a character, and the development of man’s world into a place that is better in some areas and just as bad as before in others. The plot hits all the points it needs to for an origin film. The pacing is good, and there are no heavy twists to overcomplicate anything. The action is fairly good for what it is, standard PG-13 fare. You don’t actually see any of the blood or most fatalities, so don’t go in expecting God of War or 300. Diana’s character is rounded and develops well and naturally, as does the male lead, Steve Trevor, Diana’s own “Lois,” if you will. The animation style is pretty close to the designs of the legendary Bruce Timm, who is also one of the producers, so you know you can’t go wrong there.
The cast is, for the most part, pretty good. Virginia Madsen does alright as Diana’s mother Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons, although perhaps she comes too close to coming off as too cold. Vicki Lewis also does okay as Persephone, as does Rosario Dawson as Artemis. Marg Helgenberger completely phones it in as Hera, but seeing as how she barely has any lines, it doesn’t really matter. Oliver Platt doesn’t quite pull it off as Hades. Voice acting giant and veteran Tara Strong gives an always great and versatile performance as Alexa. Nathan Fillion completely hits it out of the park as Steve Trevor, proving why he is one of the most charismatic people in the nerd circuit, bring wit and charm to the character, who also serves as a genre-savvy commentator. Alfred Molina is great as Ares, expected as he is one of my favorite villainous actors. Keri Russell does decently as Diana herself, but in my opinion, she doesn’t quite have the right needed balance of kindness and toughness to her voice that Susan Eisenberg had during her tenure on Justice League.
Despite all that, this film does have some pitfalls that begin to hinder it as they pile up. For example, it’s never explained exactly or where Ares’ army of men and monsters came from, let alone his modern-day “Cult of Ares” that somehow survived from antiquity. As with any new interpretation, the designs of the Greek gods can vary wildly, although only 2 are given any real screen time. Ares is just fine, but they really dropped the ball with Hades; I just cannot get behind that design. He’s way less James Woods and way too much Jabba the Hutt, and yes, that is as bad as it sounds. This film shows a subpar sense of space and time. We’re not really given much a frame for how much time has passed in the story, and characters just show up in locations with no explanation. How did Ares get an entire army of mythological creatures up to the steps of the Capitol in Washington, D.C. without anyone noticing or doing anything about it? Furthermore, the Amazon’s home of the island of Themyscira is never given a definitive geographical location. I would assume it’s somewhere in Mediterranean Sea near Greece, but then how could Steve Trevor pilot a fighter jet to there from D.C. and back in a matter of minutes? Or how could the Amazon sail from there to D.C. in wooden ships and not take 6 months? A lot falls apart in the climax, and with its location of Washington D.C. and an army of Amazons, it bares resemblance to the story “Amazons Attack,” and that is not a good association. Although there is some good zombie nightmare fuel in the final fight, with undead Amazon warriors that are uncharacteristically agile and mobile for rotting corpses, it overall feels too rushed. The resolution, both Wonder Woman’s final fight with Ares and the battle in general, is too quick and nonsensical. After the big bad is defeated, Ares’s remaining army doesn’t get finished off or even disappear; they just kind of shrug their shoulders and wander off into the landscape of the National Capitol, where I’m sure they’ll just fade back into the void from which they came.
Still, problems aside, this film holds up fairly well. There’s just enough baggage from the missteps to hold it back from being truly great. There is a good and fair discussion of gender roles and modern feminism, ideas that Wonder Woman was always meant to exemplify. There is great balancing act from 3rd-wave feminism, which in my opinion is largely poisonous and based in anger and vengeance, and feminism’s more noble roots of equality and fairness. Overall, Wonder Woman is a good origin story for this great character, and a good base from which to start for the live-action version that’s coming up. Now let’s just hope they don’t screw it up.
My Best Buy number: 0731615252
I would recommend this to a friend!
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![Batman: Year One [2 Discs] [Blu-ray/DVD] [2011]](https://pisces.bbystatic.com/image2/BestBuy_US/images/products/3521/3521364_sa.jpg)
Posted by: BasilioBoy777
from Provo, UT
I decided to take another look at Batman: Year One with a more objective eye to see how it holds up against other Batman works, including the other animated DC features. Sadly, it does not hold up as well as I would like it to. In fact, compared to a lot of other stories that feature Batman, this one is surprisingly dull.
Batman: Year One is the adaptation of the comic story of the same name, written by Frank Miller back in 1987. Yeah, THAT Frank Miller. This is one of is earlier Batman stories, and since he considers everything Batman he’s ever written to be in the same continuity, this is the first entry in the “Dark Knight” universe, and the only story in that continuity to remain canonical to the greater mainstream DC Universe. Don’t worry too much though; this was back when his Batman work was fairly good more often than it was bad. However, even his good Batman work has what I consider to be narrative problems.
This story, as you could guess from the title, tells of Bruce Wayne’s first year after returning from his worldwide training quest to become Gotham’s greatest crimefighter, and when he soon adopts the mantle of the Batman. Along with Bruce, we see Jim Gordon, the future Commissioner of Gotham City PD, in his first year on the force. This film does a good job of showing how bad the crime, and even worse, the corruption of Gotham City really is. We see the kind of filth that would create Batman, before Batman himself lent to the creation of supervillains. If anything, this is much more like what the TV show Gotham should be. It does tell its story rather competently. The problem is that the story itself is rather dull. Without the villains for Batman to fight, he’s just stuck with thugs and corrupt cops, which he handles easily. There isn’t even much resolution; it just sort of stops. The criminals are barely dealt with, showing the weakness of the system, and there really isn’t even much of a climax.
Also, there are some narrative choices that I don’t think mesh with the characters as we will come to know them later. Gordon cheats on his pregnant wife with someone who is fully aware of the situation. Gordon would not be that callous, or do something that despicable. He’s supposed to be the one good man on the force, who cleans up the GCPD and inspires the other cops to be better and more upstanding people. A person who makes that kind of deliberate and terrible mistake can’t be on the moral high ground like that. And Selina Kyle, Catwoman, starts in a less-than-legal-or-respectable profession in Gotham's red light district. Ignoring how Miller usually writes women as "women of the night", this sullies her later relationships and reluctant moral center. Yes, these plot points are taken from the comic, but that does not automatically make them good. Also, the noir-style inner monologuing does get grating after a little while.
Adding to the dullness of the film is the voice acting. Bryan Cranston does okay as Jim Gordon. He would do just as well in live action. Shame he probably won’t get the opportunity. Ben McKenzie, on the other hand, does a very disinterested and unemotional Bruce Wayne/Batman. I guess he does a better Jim Gordon, but not by much. Eliza Dushku does a similarly boring Selina Kyle/Catwoman. The problem is that nobody is really given any kind of emotional range, except maybe when Selina gets a little whiney about not getting credit as Catwoman. Other than that, neither Batman nor anybody for that matter can get animated enough to put real effort into their voice roles.
Overall, I would say that this Batman story does competently, but does not excite by any means. I am more excited to see how Batman evolves rather than how he came to be.
Batman: Year One is the adaptation of the comic story of the same name, written by Frank Miller back in 1987. Yeah, THAT Frank Miller. This is one of is earlier Batman stories, and since he considers everything Batman he’s ever written to be in the same continuity, this is the first entry in the “Dark Knight” universe, and the only story in that continuity to remain canonical to the greater mainstream DC Universe. Don’t worry too much though; this was back when his Batman work was fairly good more often than it was bad. However, even his good Batman work has what I consider to be narrative problems.
This story, as you could guess from the title, tells of Bruce Wayne’s first year after returning from his worldwide training quest to become Gotham’s greatest crimefighter, and when he soon adopts the mantle of the Batman. Along with Bruce, we see Jim Gordon, the future Commissioner of Gotham City PD, in his first year on the force. This film does a good job of showing how bad the crime, and even worse, the corruption of Gotham City really is. We see the kind of filth that would create Batman, before Batman himself lent to the creation of supervillains. If anything, this is much more like what the TV show Gotham should be. It does tell its story rather competently. The problem is that the story itself is rather dull. Without the villains for Batman to fight, he’s just stuck with thugs and corrupt cops, which he handles easily. There isn’t even much resolution; it just sort of stops. The criminals are barely dealt with, showing the weakness of the system, and there really isn’t even much of a climax.
Also, there are some narrative choices that I don’t think mesh with the characters as we will come to know them later. Gordon cheats on his pregnant wife with someone who is fully aware of the situation. Gordon would not be that callous, or do something that despicable. He’s supposed to be the one good man on the force, who cleans up the GCPD and inspires the other cops to be better and more upstanding people. A person who makes that kind of deliberate and terrible mistake can’t be on the moral high ground like that. And Selina Kyle, Catwoman, starts in a less-than-legal-or-respectable profession in Gotham's red light district. Ignoring how Miller usually writes women as "women of the night", this sullies her later relationships and reluctant moral center. Yes, these plot points are taken from the comic, but that does not automatically make them good. Also, the noir-style inner monologuing does get grating after a little while.
Adding to the dullness of the film is the voice acting. Bryan Cranston does okay as Jim Gordon. He would do just as well in live action. Shame he probably won’t get the opportunity. Ben McKenzie, on the other hand, does a very disinterested and unemotional Bruce Wayne/Batman. I guess he does a better Jim Gordon, but not by much. Eliza Dushku does a similarly boring Selina Kyle/Catwoman. The problem is that nobody is really given any kind of emotional range, except maybe when Selina gets a little whiney about not getting credit as Catwoman. Other than that, neither Batman nor anybody for that matter can get animated enough to put real effort into their voice roles.
Overall, I would say that this Batman story does competently, but does not excite by any means. I am more excited to see how Batman evolves rather than how he came to be.
My Best Buy number: 0731615252
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
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![Naruto: Shippuden - The Movie 2: Bonds [Blu-ray] [Eng/Jap] [2011]](https://bestbuy.ugc.bazaarvoice.com/profiles/3545w/static/noimage70.gif)
Posted by: BasilioBoy777
from Provo, UT
Well, I just watched the first Naruto Shippuden movie a little while ago. I found it to be heavily clichéd, even within the context of the series’ own universe, and pretty underwhelming. So I figured I’d go for a two-fer and check out the next Naruto movie to see if they learned some lessons and did any better. In sum, they did not. In many ways, Naruto Shippuden the Movie 2: Bonds is actually worse than its predecessor, with plot points that make no sense, are pitifully underused or unseen, or both, misleading character building, and again too many clichés. Like many of the other Naruto movies, they’re not flat-out terrible, and are still mostly watchable if you are a fan of the series and know what you’re going to get from it going in.
The film opens with Konoha, the Village Hidden in the Leaves, under attack. Again. This must be like the eighth time in the series. Konoha is more prone to blowing up than Tokyo, New York City, and Metropolis combined. I’d hate to see their homeowners’ insurance premiums. At any rate, they are under attack from the Sora ninjas from the Land of Sky. Kind of oxymoronic, isn’t it? It’s like the Light of Darkness or the Flame of Aqua. They’re out for revenge on the Leaf for being decimated decades before. Chalk it up to another passing allusion to a supposedly significant event in this world’s mythos that should have massive international and historical implications but is instead never mentioned before or since. It happens. These ninjas have chakra-powered jetpacks, kunai-firing machine guns, and are based on Battleships in the harbor. Nothing about them is consistent with this series’ world; they seem like they came from another franchise and just invaded this one. Naruto and friends are tasked with defeating them, meet some more expendable one-shot characters along the way, team-up with former ally Sasuke Uchiha, and stop the evil thing from doing the evil thing. In short, this film just seems phoned-in. Nothing seems original, the story (and even the show itself) have done this before, nothing of any significance or substance happens, and the film itself doesn’t deliver on its own advertising.
Naruto’s one-time friend of the day is Amaru, and apprentice to a doctor from another land. She’s another girl-mistaken-for-a-boy character that anime in general and even this series has seen way too many of. I will give the character design a little credit though. Her design does slightly change when her true gender is revealed, becoming more feminine and softer; it reminded me a little of Mulan’s design. The doctor she’s a companion for is not that much of an original character either. Needless to say, his arc will not surprise you, but the lack of logic and reason for his motivations definitely will.
There’s another mysterious dark entity called the Zero Tails. I’m still not sure what it is or where it came from. It doesn’t really fit into the mythos of the rest of the monsters of the series’ lore. I think it is supposed to be the manifestation of despairing thoughts of people, and apparently feeling bad enough can summon it and possess you. Why would something so easy to summon never have been mentioned before and never mentioned since? Bad writing. Believe it. The villain also has an evil Death Star ship (seriously, it even fires a giant laser beam) that the heroes must destroy. The climax is long and confusing, and doesn’t really pay off the build-up from the rest of the film.
The key selling point in this film is the reunion of Naruto and Sasuke, who have to team-up again to stop the bad guy. Problem is, Sasuke is barely in it. Except for a very brief expository scene (which doesn’t give much a good reason for his inclusion in the story to begin with), Sasuke doesn’t show up until the last twenty minutes or so. I do like the fact that Hinata, one of my personal favorite characters from the series, is included in the story. Unfortunately, she and Naruto don’t interact much, she doesn’t contribute anything important, and she even flat-out disappears during the third act.
The film does have a few good points. Some of the fight scenes are pretty impressive, particularly the old-fashioned melee ones. You do feel for Amaru’s predicament, and you do end up hating the villain characters more than the bad writing, which is usually a sign of something decent. Other than that very little silver lining, this is mostly a dark dreary cloud of a movie. Honestly, it can be skipped without missing anything. There are better Naruto movies down the road.
The film opens with Konoha, the Village Hidden in the Leaves, under attack. Again. This must be like the eighth time in the series. Konoha is more prone to blowing up than Tokyo, New York City, and Metropolis combined. I’d hate to see their homeowners’ insurance premiums. At any rate, they are under attack from the Sora ninjas from the Land of Sky. Kind of oxymoronic, isn’t it? It’s like the Light of Darkness or the Flame of Aqua. They’re out for revenge on the Leaf for being decimated decades before. Chalk it up to another passing allusion to a supposedly significant event in this world’s mythos that should have massive international and historical implications but is instead never mentioned before or since. It happens. These ninjas have chakra-powered jetpacks, kunai-firing machine guns, and are based on Battleships in the harbor. Nothing about them is consistent with this series’ world; they seem like they came from another franchise and just invaded this one. Naruto and friends are tasked with defeating them, meet some more expendable one-shot characters along the way, team-up with former ally Sasuke Uchiha, and stop the evil thing from doing the evil thing. In short, this film just seems phoned-in. Nothing seems original, the story (and even the show itself) have done this before, nothing of any significance or substance happens, and the film itself doesn’t deliver on its own advertising.
Naruto’s one-time friend of the day is Amaru, and apprentice to a doctor from another land. She’s another girl-mistaken-for-a-boy character that anime in general and even this series has seen way too many of. I will give the character design a little credit though. Her design does slightly change when her true gender is revealed, becoming more feminine and softer; it reminded me a little of Mulan’s design. The doctor she’s a companion for is not that much of an original character either. Needless to say, his arc will not surprise you, but the lack of logic and reason for his motivations definitely will.
There’s another mysterious dark entity called the Zero Tails. I’m still not sure what it is or where it came from. It doesn’t really fit into the mythos of the rest of the monsters of the series’ lore. I think it is supposed to be the manifestation of despairing thoughts of people, and apparently feeling bad enough can summon it and possess you. Why would something so easy to summon never have been mentioned before and never mentioned since? Bad writing. Believe it. The villain also has an evil Death Star ship (seriously, it even fires a giant laser beam) that the heroes must destroy. The climax is long and confusing, and doesn’t really pay off the build-up from the rest of the film.
The key selling point in this film is the reunion of Naruto and Sasuke, who have to team-up again to stop the bad guy. Problem is, Sasuke is barely in it. Except for a very brief expository scene (which doesn’t give much a good reason for his inclusion in the story to begin with), Sasuke doesn’t show up until the last twenty minutes or so. I do like the fact that Hinata, one of my personal favorite characters from the series, is included in the story. Unfortunately, she and Naruto don’t interact much, she doesn’t contribute anything important, and she even flat-out disappears during the third act.
The film does have a few good points. Some of the fight scenes are pretty impressive, particularly the old-fashioned melee ones. You do feel for Amaru’s predicament, and you do end up hating the villain characters more than the bad writing, which is usually a sign of something decent. Other than that very little silver lining, this is mostly a dark dreary cloud of a movie. Honestly, it can be skipped without missing anything. There are better Naruto movies down the road.
My Best Buy number: 0731615252
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
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![Naruto: Shippuden - The Movie [2007]](https://pisces.bbystatic.com/prescaled/500/500/image2/BestBuy_US/images/products/7f995203-0c77-48d4-9210-dc80e27a4224.jpg)
Posted by: BasilioBoy777
from Provo, UT
I know it’s been out for a while, but lo and behold, I have done at least some catching up with the Naruto anime lately (and the end of the manga, or at least the end for now). And now that the newer set of movies from the latter half of the series, Naruto Shippuden, are available for streaming, I was finally able to take a look at the first movie of the new series, simply titled Naruto Shippuden: The Movie. After seeing this movie, I don’t think I missed much. In fact, this movie was so full of its own tropes, I may as well have already watched it before.
This is, of course, not to say that the movie is terrible or even bad. It’s quite adequate, actually. The animation, as with all of the movies with their much higher production budget, is absolutely beautiful and fluid, far more so than the typical episode of the anime. The voice acting (I watched the dub because that’s what I prefer) is just fine, and no better or worse than the show. Each of the voices fit the characters well and the actors do just as well. So there are no real problems with the acting, animation, or overall production of this anime film; they’re all just fine. The problems with this film all stem from its clichéd narrative. The plot and new characters take absolutely no risks or deviation from standard action anime films in this genre. In fact, in many respects, these Naruto films have formed tropes unique unto themselves.
The film starts off with a false shocker ending, in-media-res. I could instantly tell it’s a red herring because of the title, so I wasn’t really fazed by it. We are then quickly introduced to our tragic, tsundere, damsel-in-distress heroine for the evening, the priestess Shion. Immediately noticeable is that her character design, if not characterization, is strikingly similar to Hinata Hyuga’s in Shippuden. It’s so obvious and jarring, it’s actually kind of odd that none of the other characters mention it, not even Neji. She’s voiced in the dub by veteran Laura Bailey, who does quite well as portraying her snobbishness as well as her sadness and compassion. She’s not too terribly complex however, as her backstory of fate and sacrifice and all that jazz has not only been done a million times in anime and fiction in the past, but also in just this series. In fact, much of her attitude and eventual character arc strongly echoes that of the heroine from the first Naruto movie, Yukie Fujikaze from Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow. She just seems to be a conglomeration of previous characters and arcs, with not much else to her as a character. Unfortunately, much of the rest of this film plays out in the same fashion.
The plot is so standard, it practically can be called note by note. Shion is the only daughter of the former priestess, and is the only person who can seal the ancient evil known as Sauron Moryo, whom was defeated by her mother at the cost of her own life. A group of evil ninja whose names are inconsequential as they’re just there as cannon fodder for the heroes to curb stomp in the third act revive the spirit of Moryo and his unstoppable army of mindless Orcs Terracotta Warriors. They plan to use Moryo’s power to take over the world. Naruto and his team are assigned to escort Shion to the Land of Mordor Swamps where she can seal Moryo’s body forever. Yukie Shion is at first a spoiled brat and a firm believer in predetermined fate like Neji, and is content to be sacrificed for the good of her people. Naruto eventually wins her over with his ninja way and unflinching determination, and she falls for him. He eventually destroys the evil Moryo, who it turns out is some kind of eternal Cthulu demon without a clear origin, with his Rasengan combined with the special flavor of the day chakra from Shion, and the movie just kind of stops as the credits roll. An after credits scene once again showcases Naruto’s stupidity and naiveté, and we’re done.
As you can see, this film hits not only tons of action and anime clichés, but also tons of tropes from just the Naruto anime and the other theatrical films. The plot flows in such a familiar and predictable fashion, that your predictions for what will happen next will be better than Shion’s. Yes, the story and characters are overused to the point of tiredness, except when it ups the weirdness factor to eleven and comes right the heck out of nowhere. Shion’s ability to predict the future isn’t really explained very well, nor do we come to fully understand its rules or origins. Moryo himself is an enigma, as we don’t where he/it came from or why it wants to destroy the world; he’s just evil I guess. His minions that awaken him are similarly given no backstory or reason for their actions, so they’re just evil bad guys too. Heck, I can’t even remotely remember their names, if they even had any. At some point, there is what I surmise is some sort of Transformation Jutsu that’s permanent, used by one of Shion’s male vassals to impersonate her, which makes it kind of a magic gender-change-no-jutsu. You explain that one. It’s just odd that that’s a thing in this world. The climax with Moryo is ridiculously confusing. Something about Shion sacrificing herself, possibly going back in time to undo Naruto’s death, or something. It all goes by so fast and without enough explanation to make sense of it; in the end, I’m not really sure what happened. Also, Naruto himself seems a touch more annoying that usual, and not in a well-done manner. And one of the voice actors is Wil Wheaton. Yes, THAT Wil Wheaton. He’s not bad, but that’s downright bizarre.
In the end, it’s not outright terrible, but it is overly predictable. The new characters are reused cutouts, and the established characters are underutilized and fail to compensate. Shion is interesting enough of a character that I wish I could see more of her in future projects in the series, which of course won’t happen because she’s one-note filler fodder. Honestly, I wouldn’t say this film is a necessary watch for this series; nothing is lost to the mythos by skipping it. Of course, if you are a fan of the show/manga and know what to expect, it’s a decent way to kill and hour and a half.
This is, of course, not to say that the movie is terrible or even bad. It’s quite adequate, actually. The animation, as with all of the movies with their much higher production budget, is absolutely beautiful and fluid, far more so than the typical episode of the anime. The voice acting (I watched the dub because that’s what I prefer) is just fine, and no better or worse than the show. Each of the voices fit the characters well and the actors do just as well. So there are no real problems with the acting, animation, or overall production of this anime film; they’re all just fine. The problems with this film all stem from its clichéd narrative. The plot and new characters take absolutely no risks or deviation from standard action anime films in this genre. In fact, in many respects, these Naruto films have formed tropes unique unto themselves.
The film starts off with a false shocker ending, in-media-res. I could instantly tell it’s a red herring because of the title, so I wasn’t really fazed by it. We are then quickly introduced to our tragic, tsundere, damsel-in-distress heroine for the evening, the priestess Shion. Immediately noticeable is that her character design, if not characterization, is strikingly similar to Hinata Hyuga’s in Shippuden. It’s so obvious and jarring, it’s actually kind of odd that none of the other characters mention it, not even Neji. She’s voiced in the dub by veteran Laura Bailey, who does quite well as portraying her snobbishness as well as her sadness and compassion. She’s not too terribly complex however, as her backstory of fate and sacrifice and all that jazz has not only been done a million times in anime and fiction in the past, but also in just this series. In fact, much of her attitude and eventual character arc strongly echoes that of the heroine from the first Naruto movie, Yukie Fujikaze from Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow. She just seems to be a conglomeration of previous characters and arcs, with not much else to her as a character. Unfortunately, much of the rest of this film plays out in the same fashion.
The plot is so standard, it practically can be called note by note. Shion is the only daughter of the former priestess, and is the only person who can seal the ancient evil known as Sauron Moryo, whom was defeated by her mother at the cost of her own life. A group of evil ninja whose names are inconsequential as they’re just there as cannon fodder for the heroes to curb stomp in the third act revive the spirit of Moryo and his unstoppable army of mindless Orcs Terracotta Warriors. They plan to use Moryo’s power to take over the world. Naruto and his team are assigned to escort Shion to the Land of Mordor Swamps where she can seal Moryo’s body forever. Yukie Shion is at first a spoiled brat and a firm believer in predetermined fate like Neji, and is content to be sacrificed for the good of her people. Naruto eventually wins her over with his ninja way and unflinching determination, and she falls for him. He eventually destroys the evil Moryo, who it turns out is some kind of eternal Cthulu demon without a clear origin, with his Rasengan combined with the special flavor of the day chakra from Shion, and the movie just kind of stops as the credits roll. An after credits scene once again showcases Naruto’s stupidity and naiveté, and we’re done.
As you can see, this film hits not only tons of action and anime clichés, but also tons of tropes from just the Naruto anime and the other theatrical films. The plot flows in such a familiar and predictable fashion, that your predictions for what will happen next will be better than Shion’s. Yes, the story and characters are overused to the point of tiredness, except when it ups the weirdness factor to eleven and comes right the heck out of nowhere. Shion’s ability to predict the future isn’t really explained very well, nor do we come to fully understand its rules or origins. Moryo himself is an enigma, as we don’t where he/it came from or why it wants to destroy the world; he’s just evil I guess. His minions that awaken him are similarly given no backstory or reason for their actions, so they’re just evil bad guys too. Heck, I can’t even remotely remember their names, if they even had any. At some point, there is what I surmise is some sort of Transformation Jutsu that’s permanent, used by one of Shion’s male vassals to impersonate her, which makes it kind of a magic gender-change-no-jutsu. You explain that one. It’s just odd that that’s a thing in this world. The climax with Moryo is ridiculously confusing. Something about Shion sacrificing herself, possibly going back in time to undo Naruto’s death, or something. It all goes by so fast and without enough explanation to make sense of it; in the end, I’m not really sure what happened. Also, Naruto himself seems a touch more annoying that usual, and not in a well-done manner. And one of the voice actors is Wil Wheaton. Yes, THAT Wil Wheaton. He’s not bad, but that’s downright bizarre.
In the end, it’s not outright terrible, but it is overly predictable. The new characters are reused cutouts, and the established characters are underutilized and fail to compensate. Shion is interesting enough of a character that I wish I could see more of her in future projects in the series, which of course won’t happen because she’s one-note filler fodder. Honestly, I wouldn’t say this film is a necessary watch for this series; nothing is lost to the mythos by skipping it. Of course, if you are a fan of the show/manga and know what to expect, it’s a decent way to kill and hour and a half.
My Best Buy number: 0731615252
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
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Customer Rating
5
Anime in a Nutshell, and it is wonderfully stupid
on April 19, 2015
Posted by: BasilioBoy777
from Provo, UT
I’ve seen the first couple of episode of the anime Kill la Kill, which recently started airing on Saturday nights/Sunday mornings, and I’ve got to say, it is just plain ridiculous. But it’s a good kind of ridiculous. In fact, I think that this series is a microcosm for everything that is wonderfully ridiculous about anime as a medium.
I first encountered Kill la Kill in person at the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con International. One of the rituals I have every time I am lucky enough to attend this celebration of pop culture is to wind down, rest, and process the long day by watching some anime I hadn’t seen before in the viewing rooms late at night. Honestly, it’s one of the things I look forward to the most every year when I go to this con. The staff appears to favor the sub side of the anime viewing debate. This was a slight difference for me, as I am a dub person, but that’s another argument. At any rate, my first viewing of this anime was the Japanese audio with subtitles. It was not something I usually do, but here it did not bother me in the slightest, as the awesome stupidity was even more obvious. Only one episode each of every anime is shown in these rooms, and for Kill la Kill, the episode was 3, where Ryoko fights Satsuki. This was the perfect episode to get across the series’ over-the-top tone, fight mechanics, and character relationships. So much later when the series came to Adult Swim, I was able to see all these things fleshed out further. As of this writing, the series is still airing, and with only one episode per week, will be for a while yet. But I’ve still seen enough already to say that it seems to me that this anime is like a parody of all the most common stereotypes and tropes found in modern anime. But this isn’t a shaming parody, more like a playful acknowledgement of clichés and a celebration of what makes anime so good. In a sense, I would say that the intention of Kill la Kill is very much like what Enchanted is for Disney Princess films, if that makes sense.
Kill la Kill is a cornucopia of anime tropes. The main character Ryuko Matoi, has the standard dead parent and revenge story, straight from the Princess Bride. I was practically waiting for her to say it throughout the series thus far. Everything you could imagine from anime tropes from the last few decades is present here, and completely played up with a mix of seriousness and poking fun. The series is set in a school, complete with sailor uniforms. These uniforms can give special powers to the wearers, after a transformation sequence of course. Ryoko’s is even sentient, as the talking inanimate object that is the heroine’s partner in combat. She has the distinctive weapon shaped like a common household object, in this case a pair of scissors. The transformation sequence of the outfit makes it much skimpier, almost like a risqué stripper’s outfit, and the characters often point this out. There’s an impossible-to-pronounce finishing move that’s used at the end of every fight, which absorbs the loser’s power, while stripping them of course. The villain is spoken of as having absolute power, both in authority and fighting skill, and the heroine has to fight her way through a veritable army of steadily stronger followers in order to get to her. This is of course after challenging the villain to an early fight to get humiliated, so now the heroin must train to get stronger for the rematch. Of course, the villain is the head of the student council, and the other members are her lieutenants. The character roster includes the bishonen teacher, the ditz sidekick who is way too hyper, the family that eats way too fast, the pervert father, and annoying younger sibling who has adult vocabulary. Character’s sympathetic backstories are shown in flashbacks during their fights. The fights themselves are ridiculous, with over-the-top attack and armor names, and insane amounts of destructive force. Lectures of the nature of mankind and society abound, with the villain representing supreme order and denial of freedom. Pretty much everything I can think of from poplar anime from the last few decades is present here.
Despite all of these clichés, the anime remains very interesting and tons of fun to watch. It is completely ludicrous and nonsensical, but because it’s aware of it, it comes across more tongue-in-cheek. As far as I’m concerned, it’s simply delightful. It’s just the right balance of complete seriousness and not an ounce of seriousness. It knows exactly when to be sincere and when to pour on the ham and cheese. I haven’t seen the whole series yet, and with 24 episodes, there’s quite a bit left in the series to date, but I am very eager to see the rest of this seriously ridiculous story. Make no mistake, there is plenty of raunchiness and tons of fanservice, and if you can handle that (and are old enough), then I definitely recommend this series. Catch up and see what you’ve been missing. Then get the rest of this wonderfully stupid anime.
I first encountered Kill la Kill in person at the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con International. One of the rituals I have every time I am lucky enough to attend this celebration of pop culture is to wind down, rest, and process the long day by watching some anime I hadn’t seen before in the viewing rooms late at night. Honestly, it’s one of the things I look forward to the most every year when I go to this con. The staff appears to favor the sub side of the anime viewing debate. This was a slight difference for me, as I am a dub person, but that’s another argument. At any rate, my first viewing of this anime was the Japanese audio with subtitles. It was not something I usually do, but here it did not bother me in the slightest, as the awesome stupidity was even more obvious. Only one episode each of every anime is shown in these rooms, and for Kill la Kill, the episode was 3, where Ryoko fights Satsuki. This was the perfect episode to get across the series’ over-the-top tone, fight mechanics, and character relationships. So much later when the series came to Adult Swim, I was able to see all these things fleshed out further. As of this writing, the series is still airing, and with only one episode per week, will be for a while yet. But I’ve still seen enough already to say that it seems to me that this anime is like a parody of all the most common stereotypes and tropes found in modern anime. But this isn’t a shaming parody, more like a playful acknowledgement of clichés and a celebration of what makes anime so good. In a sense, I would say that the intention of Kill la Kill is very much like what Enchanted is for Disney Princess films, if that makes sense.
Kill la Kill is a cornucopia of anime tropes. The main character Ryuko Matoi, has the standard dead parent and revenge story, straight from the Princess Bride. I was practically waiting for her to say it throughout the series thus far. Everything you could imagine from anime tropes from the last few decades is present here, and completely played up with a mix of seriousness and poking fun. The series is set in a school, complete with sailor uniforms. These uniforms can give special powers to the wearers, after a transformation sequence of course. Ryoko’s is even sentient, as the talking inanimate object that is the heroine’s partner in combat. She has the distinctive weapon shaped like a common household object, in this case a pair of scissors. The transformation sequence of the outfit makes it much skimpier, almost like a risqué stripper’s outfit, and the characters often point this out. There’s an impossible-to-pronounce finishing move that’s used at the end of every fight, which absorbs the loser’s power, while stripping them of course. The villain is spoken of as having absolute power, both in authority and fighting skill, and the heroine has to fight her way through a veritable army of steadily stronger followers in order to get to her. This is of course after challenging the villain to an early fight to get humiliated, so now the heroin must train to get stronger for the rematch. Of course, the villain is the head of the student council, and the other members are her lieutenants. The character roster includes the bishonen teacher, the ditz sidekick who is way too hyper, the family that eats way too fast, the pervert father, and annoying younger sibling who has adult vocabulary. Character’s sympathetic backstories are shown in flashbacks during their fights. The fights themselves are ridiculous, with over-the-top attack and armor names, and insane amounts of destructive force. Lectures of the nature of mankind and society abound, with the villain representing supreme order and denial of freedom. Pretty much everything I can think of from poplar anime from the last few decades is present here.
Despite all of these clichés, the anime remains very interesting and tons of fun to watch. It is completely ludicrous and nonsensical, but because it’s aware of it, it comes across more tongue-in-cheek. As far as I’m concerned, it’s simply delightful. It’s just the right balance of complete seriousness and not an ounce of seriousness. It knows exactly when to be sincere and when to pour on the ham and cheese. I haven’t seen the whole series yet, and with 24 episodes, there’s quite a bit left in the series to date, but I am very eager to see the rest of this seriously ridiculous story. Make no mistake, there is plenty of raunchiness and tons of fanservice, and if you can handle that (and are old enough), then I definitely recommend this series. Catch up and see what you’ve been missing. Then get the rest of this wonderfully stupid anime.
My Best Buy number: 0731615252
I would recommend this to a friend!
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![Attack on Titan: Part 2 [4 Discs] [Blu-ray/DVD]](https://pisces.bbystatic.com/image2/BestBuy_US/images/products/7595/7595108_sa.jpg)
This terrifying release from the fantastical anime series Attack on Titan includes episodes 14-25 of the show, following the story of an Earth devastated by man-eating giants, and the girl who vows vengeance against them after they devour her mother in front of her very eyes.
Customer Rating
3
Still on Wall Maria About Attack on Titan
on March 31, 2015
Posted by: BasilioBoy777
from Provo, UT
The anime Attack on Titan is clearly a huge phenomenon, and has been from some time now. Arguably one of the biggest animes of recent memory, everybody seems to be talking about it. There is a live-action movie about to come out in Japan, it was featured in a car commercial, there’s an exhibit of it at Universal Studios Japan, and you can’t go to any comic/anime/nerd convention without seeing whole squads of fans in cosplay of the series’ characters. There was even a recent crossover with Marvel Comics. This series, the anime and the manga, and its fandom are as massive as the Colossal Titan. I myself have seen the dubbed version of every episode of the anime thus far, and have even read a great deal of translated scans of the manga. I’ve also frequently browsed the Wiki for the series and taken a look at several articles about the series on various anime websites, blogs, and videos on review channels. However, even after all of that, in spite of it, or perhaps because of it, I’m still not sure whether or not I even like Attack on Titan.
I would think this rather odd. Usually a person can decide whether or not they like a particular show after a few or so episodes, or a book after a couple of chapters. But I’ve seen or read most everything official about Attack on Titan and I still don’t know if I like it, or even if it’s a good series. There is a lot about this series that I find frustrating and sometimes even repugnant, but I still find myself watching new episodes or reading new chapters when I find them. Perhaps it’s that macabre sense of interest like staring at a freeway accident or something, but this series keeps drawing me back in.
There are some things about this series that I do objectively like. I absolutely love the art design of the human characters in the anime. It is far and away some of the most aesthetically pleasing art of people that I have seen in an anime in a long time. It’s realistic in the sense that there’s little to no exaggerated appearances, and none of that stereotypical anime colored hair. The shadows and shading highlight the features beautifully and expressions are believable without being too cartoony. I also really like some of the main characters. Mikasa is good strong female character for a new generation, and her steadfastness and loyalty are admirable. I also like Eren’s determination and resolve. Sasha is a good comedic foil for a lot of the dark and harsh things going on in this world. I also like how the characters are actively trying to fight back against the monsters hunting them, rather than simply always flee in terror.
But there are a lot more things about this series that I don’t like, and that’s not just for the sake of loving to hate something. Aside from what I just said, the art design of the manga is just ugly to my eyes. Too many streaks and it takes shadows to the extreme to the point that human expressions are hideous. Furthermore, I really can’t stand the designs of the titular Titans. They just look too bizarre. Giant naked people with no junk seems like a lazy design blueprint to me, with only exaggerated proportions to differentiate them, although the Titan Shifter designs seem much more varied but still grotesque. They cross over the uncanny valley in my opinion, but I relent that was probably the intent of the creator, to make them close to humans but still monstrous and ugly enough to be very disturbing.
Another thing about this series is its very dark themes and gory content. I have heard this series referred to as “Japan’s own Walking Dead,” and I can certainly see why. Death, betrayal, cowardice, selfishness, and basically all the negative aspects of the human condition are out in full force. Most of the time, it’s a very hopeless and dreary-toned story, with hardly any light moments to help balance out that magnitude of despair the characters face. I prefer fiction to be a vehicle for good, showcasing and promoting the better aspects of the human condition and condemning evil rather than have it as a main focus. As with the comparison to the Walking Dead, don’t get too attached to most characters, as the death toll is high and the death knoll rings often. Some were predictable and some were surprising, but just about every person you see practically has a countdown clock above their heads until they’re Titan chow. It’s almost as if the story is more intent on snuffing out every pleasant aspect of the story even more so than the Titans themselves. I believe that character deaths shouldn’t happen so frivolously, unless it would mean something to the story or another character’s growth. That is not the case here, as one of the central themes of the story is that human suffering and these characters’ sacrifices are ultimately meaningless.
However, far and away this series’ greatest weakness is the mystery, but it’s probably also its greatest draw. Right from the get-go, this series asks a ton of questions, as most successful fiction would. What are the Titans? Where did they come from? How do they function? Why do they do what they do? What exactly are the Walls? Who built them and when? What is in Dr. Yeager cellar? What happened to humanity before the appearance of the Titans? Further down the road, the story asks more questions. What happened to Eren and how? What exactly is the Beast Titan? Where do the Titan Shifters come from? What are they after and why? How do they function differently from other Titans? What is the secret of the Royal Family? What does it have to do with Eren? A lot of questions. And 60-something large manga chapters, 26 anime episodes, and few short OVAs later, we as readers/viewers still know the answers to hardly any of those questions. We have been told little to nothing about what the devil is going on. If anything, we know even less as more scenarios and characters are introduced without clarifying what and who we’ve already seen. Even basic concepts like exactly when and where this story takes place go unaddressed. This story has been around for nearly six years, and is nearly ¾ of the way done according to the creator, and I am just as confused as I first was when I saw the first episode. Other stories do not treat their mysteries this way. For example, in Harry Potter, we knew more or less what was going on and how the world worked by the end of Book 1; the characters and setting were established and the immediate conflict resolved with the foundation of the overall plot laid down. Other questions would prop up and be answered with respective time and the plot progressed at a speed to keep readers informed but still interested. If Harry Potter were like Attack on Titan in its structure, then we still wouldn’t have known how magic works or who and what the villains were even after Book 5. Attack on Titan plays out, in my opinion, more like Lost. Big questions are asked right at the start, still aren’t answered well into the series’ run, and the plot just gets more and more confusing and convoluted as time goes on, with even more unanswered questions being presented.
Still, perhaps that is the point. I realize that this is the reason I still read/watch the series even though I am not a fan of a lot of its elements. I am very frustrated with this series’ structure, and it’s the desire to alleviate that very frustration that keeps me coming back to it. I hate that I don’t know what’s going on, but darn it all, I want to know what the heck is going on! I suppose that also makes it like Lost. So, despite my dislike for much of the tone, themes, and structure of Attack on Titan, I am still enthralled enough to keep buying into it. I guess it’s sort of a macabre cautious interest that I have with it. It can be a very interesting puzzle to solve, but it certainly not for everyone, especially the queasy or faint- or sensitive-of-heart, as the darkness and gore are pushed to the nth degree here. If you’re a fan of enigmas, secrets, or intrigue, then check it out. If you prefer stories of heroism, clear morality, or those that champion the goodness of the human spirit, or if you wouldn’t like seeing more blood than every entry in the Friday the 13th and Saw series combined, then avoid this series like a Titan. In the end, these are not the kind of Titans I would want to Remember, but they do make for a good Clash though.
I would think this rather odd. Usually a person can decide whether or not they like a particular show after a few or so episodes, or a book after a couple of chapters. But I’ve seen or read most everything official about Attack on Titan and I still don’t know if I like it, or even if it’s a good series. There is a lot about this series that I find frustrating and sometimes even repugnant, but I still find myself watching new episodes or reading new chapters when I find them. Perhaps it’s that macabre sense of interest like staring at a freeway accident or something, but this series keeps drawing me back in.
There are some things about this series that I do objectively like. I absolutely love the art design of the human characters in the anime. It is far and away some of the most aesthetically pleasing art of people that I have seen in an anime in a long time. It’s realistic in the sense that there’s little to no exaggerated appearances, and none of that stereotypical anime colored hair. The shadows and shading highlight the features beautifully and expressions are believable without being too cartoony. I also really like some of the main characters. Mikasa is good strong female character for a new generation, and her steadfastness and loyalty are admirable. I also like Eren’s determination and resolve. Sasha is a good comedic foil for a lot of the dark and harsh things going on in this world. I also like how the characters are actively trying to fight back against the monsters hunting them, rather than simply always flee in terror.
But there are a lot more things about this series that I don’t like, and that’s not just for the sake of loving to hate something. Aside from what I just said, the art design of the manga is just ugly to my eyes. Too many streaks and it takes shadows to the extreme to the point that human expressions are hideous. Furthermore, I really can’t stand the designs of the titular Titans. They just look too bizarre. Giant naked people with no junk seems like a lazy design blueprint to me, with only exaggerated proportions to differentiate them, although the Titan Shifter designs seem much more varied but still grotesque. They cross over the uncanny valley in my opinion, but I relent that was probably the intent of the creator, to make them close to humans but still monstrous and ugly enough to be very disturbing.
Another thing about this series is its very dark themes and gory content. I have heard this series referred to as “Japan’s own Walking Dead,” and I can certainly see why. Death, betrayal, cowardice, selfishness, and basically all the negative aspects of the human condition are out in full force. Most of the time, it’s a very hopeless and dreary-toned story, with hardly any light moments to help balance out that magnitude of despair the characters face. I prefer fiction to be a vehicle for good, showcasing and promoting the better aspects of the human condition and condemning evil rather than have it as a main focus. As with the comparison to the Walking Dead, don’t get too attached to most characters, as the death toll is high and the death knoll rings often. Some were predictable and some were surprising, but just about every person you see practically has a countdown clock above their heads until they’re Titan chow. It’s almost as if the story is more intent on snuffing out every pleasant aspect of the story even more so than the Titans themselves. I believe that character deaths shouldn’t happen so frivolously, unless it would mean something to the story or another character’s growth. That is not the case here, as one of the central themes of the story is that human suffering and these characters’ sacrifices are ultimately meaningless.
However, far and away this series’ greatest weakness is the mystery, but it’s probably also its greatest draw. Right from the get-go, this series asks a ton of questions, as most successful fiction would. What are the Titans? Where did they come from? How do they function? Why do they do what they do? What exactly are the Walls? Who built them and when? What is in Dr. Yeager cellar? What happened to humanity before the appearance of the Titans? Further down the road, the story asks more questions. What happened to Eren and how? What exactly is the Beast Titan? Where do the Titan Shifters come from? What are they after and why? How do they function differently from other Titans? What is the secret of the Royal Family? What does it have to do with Eren? A lot of questions. And 60-something large manga chapters, 26 anime episodes, and few short OVAs later, we as readers/viewers still know the answers to hardly any of those questions. We have been told little to nothing about what the devil is going on. If anything, we know even less as more scenarios and characters are introduced without clarifying what and who we’ve already seen. Even basic concepts like exactly when and where this story takes place go unaddressed. This story has been around for nearly six years, and is nearly ¾ of the way done according to the creator, and I am just as confused as I first was when I saw the first episode. Other stories do not treat their mysteries this way. For example, in Harry Potter, we knew more or less what was going on and how the world worked by the end of Book 1; the characters and setting were established and the immediate conflict resolved with the foundation of the overall plot laid down. Other questions would prop up and be answered with respective time and the plot progressed at a speed to keep readers informed but still interested. If Harry Potter were like Attack on Titan in its structure, then we still wouldn’t have known how magic works or who and what the villains were even after Book 5. Attack on Titan plays out, in my opinion, more like Lost. Big questions are asked right at the start, still aren’t answered well into the series’ run, and the plot just gets more and more confusing and convoluted as time goes on, with even more unanswered questions being presented.
Still, perhaps that is the point. I realize that this is the reason I still read/watch the series even though I am not a fan of a lot of its elements. I am very frustrated with this series’ structure, and it’s the desire to alleviate that very frustration that keeps me coming back to it. I hate that I don’t know what’s going on, but darn it all, I want to know what the heck is going on! I suppose that also makes it like Lost. So, despite my dislike for much of the tone, themes, and structure of Attack on Titan, I am still enthralled enough to keep buying into it. I guess it’s sort of a macabre cautious interest that I have with it. It can be a very interesting puzzle to solve, but it certainly not for everyone, especially the queasy or faint- or sensitive-of-heart, as the darkness and gore are pushed to the nth degree here. If you’re a fan of enigmas, secrets, or intrigue, then check it out. If you prefer stories of heroism, clear morality, or those that champion the goodness of the human spirit, or if you wouldn’t like seeing more blood than every entry in the Friday the 13th and Saw series combined, then avoid this series like a Titan. In the end, these are not the kind of Titans I would want to Remember, but they do make for a good Clash though.
My Best Buy number: 0731615252
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
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Your old pal Yoshi is back for more adventure — and he's more prepared than ever for whatever obstacles he encounters. The beloved franchise is making its way to your Nintendo 3DS in this third installment of the fun series, and is sure to bring hours of jumping, pounding, egg-throwing excitement.He may be cute, but he's also powerful. Fun gameplay mechanics from the earlier installments in the franchise are back — Yoshi can still Flutter Jump, Ground Pound and Egg Throw — but there are more abilities under his belt this time around. For example, Yoshi can use the giant-size Mega Eggs to mow down obstacles, reveal hidden doors and destroy pipes and blocks. With your Nintendo 3DS's gyro sensor and binocular ability, it's easy to uncover hidden areas and aim Mega Egg throws just by moving your device around. Get ready to experience a variety of different worlds, each in a unique art style. You'll see worlds in oils, watercolors, crayon and more. A fan favorite for decades, this spunky character is back, and it's your turn to experience the fun.
Posted by: BasilioBoy777
from Provo, UT
I was a huge fan of the original Yoshi’s Island from the late 1990s, itself a sequel to the phenomenal Super Mario World. Still, Yoshi’s Island was different and unique enough to feel like it’s own game, using only Super Mario World’s name as a stepping stone to its own greatness. It was one of those nostalgic games from childhood that captured excitement and imagination and always holds a special place in your heart. I still take it out every so often and play it again because it was just that good. So I was beyond ecstatic when I got a hold of the latest installment, Yoshi’s New Island for the Nintendo 3DS. I unfortunately skipped the previous entry in the series, Yoshi’s Island DS, as I didn’t have a DS when it came out and by the time I got one, it was hard to find and expensive. So then I was even more excited to play a new game in this series that I hadn’t visited in nearly 20 years. As I started the game, I was joyful. As I sat through the opening cinematic, I was confused. As I played the first few levels, I was annoyed. By the time I was quite a ways into the game, I was disappointed. When I finished it, I was downright angry.
The set-up for this game is downright embarrassing. I honestly could not believe the level of laziness as it unfolded before me. Remember the Stork story from the first game? It was cute, good for kids to understand, and served the game well enough to get what little story was needed going. It ended with the baby Mario twins being safely delivered, which was just fine for such a game. In this one, turns out the Stork went to the wrong house. So he gets the babies, again; flies them off to their parents, again; only for Kamek to try and kidnap them, again; but he only get Luigi, again; so Mario falls down to an island, again; lands on Yoshi’s back, again; and the Yoshis use a relay system to pass him off as they explore the island to reunite him with his brother that he can psychically locate, A-FRIGGIN’-GAIN. The setup is EXACTLY the same, no innovation. Except this isn’t exactly the same island, even though it has exactly the same topography as the first one. It’s one the Yoshis visit occasionally, although Bowser also has a summer home on this one too because that’s somehow a thing. It is note-for-note identical, and that just reeks of a lazy shortcut. I know that in Mario games, story is practically nonexistent, and Princess Peach has been kidnapped in virtually the same way like 100 times by now, but this just felt different, in a bad way, in that it was too similar. Not off to a good start.
Aside from the identical setup, two more things immediately add more checks to this game’s doom list: the graphics and the sound. The art style of the original game was unique and charming, resembling a child’s crayon drawing, lending to the theme of younger versions of familiar characters. The only deviation was the opening cinematic, that was oddly in a 3D rendered style. It was really strange and at odds with the charm of the rest of the game. Yoshi’s New Island is instead entirely in that 3D style, and it looks vastly inferior to the original. It looks faded and not nearly as smooth as another Mario game from this generation, like New Super Mario Bros. 2. The perspective changes, revolutionary in the first game, are choppy in this new style. It just looks worse visually this way. The audio fares no better. The fun, upbeat, and light music of the original is gone, replaced with dull drones. As subpar as the music is, the sound effects are far worse. Imagine the whole thing sounding like Baby Mario’s crying. None of the original sound effects are present, but what was added makes it ear-grating. Yoshi makes sounds in this game, but they are the sounds taken from the Super Smash Bros. series, and made me want to go all Van Gogh on myself but even more hardcore. It was like if Charles Martinet was in a horrific helium balloon accident and was stuck that way permanently. The high-pitched wailing from Yoshi was unbearable to the point where I played most of this game in blissful silence. Marathoning the Nanny in the background was a better alternative.
The gameplay is where the game begins to redeem itself, a little. The mechanics of the first game are mostly intact, with egg throwing being a central component of getting through the levels. Added are giant eggs, which are practically wrecking balls that obliterate anything in their path, with heavier metal variants. Those are admittedly fun to toss around. The animation of consuming a giant Shy Guy enemy and getting is very awkward though. Poor Yoshi’s . . . you know. However, despite that, there are also many elements of gameplay that further detract from the game. There seem to be a lot more hidden things that appear when Yoshi stands in a certain spot, which can make backtracking a chore. Or at least I think there are, even though I’m certain that I didn’t find most of them. A lot of the collectibles, red coins and flowers, are much harder to find, and I didn’t even catch a glimpse of many of them. Many of the secret rooms, somewhat concealed in the first game, are difficult to find in the new one, unless the 3D is utilized, and that strains the eyes after about two minutes, so I mostly went without. The control for the vehicle transformations is completely redone, relying solely on the tilting of the 3DS itself for steering. It makes these sequences, welcome and awaited for in the first game, tedious, frustrating, and dreaded here. It also doesn’t help that unlike the first game, where most of these parts of the level were secret or optional, here they are mostly required to progress. The new invincibility star transforms Yoshi here as well, instead of Baby Mario, and these also don’t play out as well as they did in the first either, even with the new rocket section at the end of each one. The layout of the worlds seems exactly the same as the first, and many levels look and feel like expies of levels from the first game. The third world is a jungle, the fifth world is an icy tundra that eventually extends into the sky, and so on. Again, this feels lazy. Namek does take a more active role, being the boss fight in each of the fort levels, but these are too easy; I was able to figure out the mechanic of beating him each time in about 2 seconds, there was no challenge to it. The final level is also too familiar for comfort, and the boss fight against Baby Bowser is also way too similar, being nearly note-for-note the same, right down to the dialogue. The only different thing is that after that, the final FINAL boss fight is against adult Bowser, who tears his way through the fabric of space and time to fight you, because . . . I do not know. Honestly, that fight was way too out of place to be enjoyable.
In sum, Yoshi’s New Island did not feel at all new. The setup, layout, and much of the content were practically identical to the first game. While this might have been an attempt at nostalgic appeal, it mostly backfired, costing the game much more innovative approaches it could have taken. It doesn’t feel like a real sequel or even just another entry in the series, but a harsh rehash. What little was added mostly subtracted from the game instead of improving on it. This game is passable at best, good enough only for those who never played the original on the Super Nintendo or any of the ports of it released since. Riding on the old game’s mechanics is the only thing that mildly saves it, ironically also the thing that dooms it with its overreliance of that same thing. It was very disappointing, to say the least. Now, if you will excuse me, I’m going to go play the original Yoshi’s Island on the Super Nintendo to wash this bitter recycled dinosaur dropping taste out of my mouth.
The set-up for this game is downright embarrassing. I honestly could not believe the level of laziness as it unfolded before me. Remember the Stork story from the first game? It was cute, good for kids to understand, and served the game well enough to get what little story was needed going. It ended with the baby Mario twins being safely delivered, which was just fine for such a game. In this one, turns out the Stork went to the wrong house. So he gets the babies, again; flies them off to their parents, again; only for Kamek to try and kidnap them, again; but he only get Luigi, again; so Mario falls down to an island, again; lands on Yoshi’s back, again; and the Yoshis use a relay system to pass him off as they explore the island to reunite him with his brother that he can psychically locate, A-FRIGGIN’-GAIN. The setup is EXACTLY the same, no innovation. Except this isn’t exactly the same island, even though it has exactly the same topography as the first one. It’s one the Yoshis visit occasionally, although Bowser also has a summer home on this one too because that’s somehow a thing. It is note-for-note identical, and that just reeks of a lazy shortcut. I know that in Mario games, story is practically nonexistent, and Princess Peach has been kidnapped in virtually the same way like 100 times by now, but this just felt different, in a bad way, in that it was too similar. Not off to a good start.
Aside from the identical setup, two more things immediately add more checks to this game’s doom list: the graphics and the sound. The art style of the original game was unique and charming, resembling a child’s crayon drawing, lending to the theme of younger versions of familiar characters. The only deviation was the opening cinematic, that was oddly in a 3D rendered style. It was really strange and at odds with the charm of the rest of the game. Yoshi’s New Island is instead entirely in that 3D style, and it looks vastly inferior to the original. It looks faded and not nearly as smooth as another Mario game from this generation, like New Super Mario Bros. 2. The perspective changes, revolutionary in the first game, are choppy in this new style. It just looks worse visually this way. The audio fares no better. The fun, upbeat, and light music of the original is gone, replaced with dull drones. As subpar as the music is, the sound effects are far worse. Imagine the whole thing sounding like Baby Mario’s crying. None of the original sound effects are present, but what was added makes it ear-grating. Yoshi makes sounds in this game, but they are the sounds taken from the Super Smash Bros. series, and made me want to go all Van Gogh on myself but even more hardcore. It was like if Charles Martinet was in a horrific helium balloon accident and was stuck that way permanently. The high-pitched wailing from Yoshi was unbearable to the point where I played most of this game in blissful silence. Marathoning the Nanny in the background was a better alternative.
The gameplay is where the game begins to redeem itself, a little. The mechanics of the first game are mostly intact, with egg throwing being a central component of getting through the levels. Added are giant eggs, which are practically wrecking balls that obliterate anything in their path, with heavier metal variants. Those are admittedly fun to toss around. The animation of consuming a giant Shy Guy enemy and getting is very awkward though. Poor Yoshi’s . . . you know. However, despite that, there are also many elements of gameplay that further detract from the game. There seem to be a lot more hidden things that appear when Yoshi stands in a certain spot, which can make backtracking a chore. Or at least I think there are, even though I’m certain that I didn’t find most of them. A lot of the collectibles, red coins and flowers, are much harder to find, and I didn’t even catch a glimpse of many of them. Many of the secret rooms, somewhat concealed in the first game, are difficult to find in the new one, unless the 3D is utilized, and that strains the eyes after about two minutes, so I mostly went without. The control for the vehicle transformations is completely redone, relying solely on the tilting of the 3DS itself for steering. It makes these sequences, welcome and awaited for in the first game, tedious, frustrating, and dreaded here. It also doesn’t help that unlike the first game, where most of these parts of the level were secret or optional, here they are mostly required to progress. The new invincibility star transforms Yoshi here as well, instead of Baby Mario, and these also don’t play out as well as they did in the first either, even with the new rocket section at the end of each one. The layout of the worlds seems exactly the same as the first, and many levels look and feel like expies of levels from the first game. The third world is a jungle, the fifth world is an icy tundra that eventually extends into the sky, and so on. Again, this feels lazy. Namek does take a more active role, being the boss fight in each of the fort levels, but these are too easy; I was able to figure out the mechanic of beating him each time in about 2 seconds, there was no challenge to it. The final level is also too familiar for comfort, and the boss fight against Baby Bowser is also way too similar, being nearly note-for-note the same, right down to the dialogue. The only different thing is that after that, the final FINAL boss fight is against adult Bowser, who tears his way through the fabric of space and time to fight you, because . . . I do not know. Honestly, that fight was way too out of place to be enjoyable.
In sum, Yoshi’s New Island did not feel at all new. The setup, layout, and much of the content were practically identical to the first game. While this might have been an attempt at nostalgic appeal, it mostly backfired, costing the game much more innovative approaches it could have taken. It doesn’t feel like a real sequel or even just another entry in the series, but a harsh rehash. What little was added mostly subtracted from the game instead of improving on it. This game is passable at best, good enough only for those who never played the original on the Super Nintendo or any of the ports of it released since. Riding on the old game’s mechanics is the only thing that mildly saves it, ironically also the thing that dooms it with its overreliance of that same thing. It was very disappointing, to say the least. Now, if you will excuse me, I’m going to go play the original Yoshi’s Island on the Super Nintendo to wash this bitter recycled dinosaur dropping taste out of my mouth.
My Best Buy number: 0731615252
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
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The world of Termina is facing a terrible fate thanks to an ancient evil. The moon is falling from the sky, and it's up to Link to save the day. After being dragged into the realm by a masked Skull Kid, Link embarks on a shadowy adventure to reverse time, solve puzzles, assist citizens and more. By slipping on various masks, Link will be granted new powers that will help him on his quest. He has three days to save Termina — will Link have enough time?Revamped, remastered and enhanced, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D allows you to re-experience the classic Nintendo game in an all-new way. Become Link after he's been dragged into Termina, where the moon is threatening the realm. Reverse time and relive your last 72 hours in endless ways, as you help different citizens, battle different bosses and save the day. Slip on any of more than 20 masks to access new powers and solve puzzles. Turn back time to save Termina from an awful fate.
Customer Rating
5
The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask – Reflections
on March 28, 2015
Posted by: BasilioBoy777
from Provo, UT
There has been a lot of talk about The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask lately, not the least reason for which is the recent release of a remastered 3D version for the Nintendo 3DS. Honestly, there doesn’t seem that much to the new release to be, save for the graphical upgrade. I honestly doubt I will ever buy this new release, because I already own 2 other versions of this game (the original N64 gold cartridge and a bundled version with the Legend of Zelda Collector’s Edition for the GameCube), and I don’t really see a need to buy it again if there isn’t anything fundamentally new about it. At least the Ocarina of Time 3D remake had the Master Quest with it.
At any rate, I would rather talk about the game itself. Majora’s Mask has been discussed thoroughly across the Internet for years. Dozens of theories about timelines, symbols, and minor details have circulated the Internet to the extent that all have been read and talked about at length. So I’m not here to talk about how each part of Termina represents one of the Five Stages of Grief, or argue whether or not Navi is dead or Link is dead or anything like that. Rather, I would like to reminisce about my memory of the game when I first played, before the hype, before the analysis of deeper meanings, before the cynicism of adult life, just the eyes of a child.
I picked up the original game shortly after its October 2000 release, which would make me freshly 13 years old. I still remember buying the previous game Ocarina of Time when I was 11 and it quickly became my favorite game of all time, a recognition it still holds for me to this day. Needless to say, I had high expectations and standards for the next installment. Even then, I would say that I was not disappointed.
Even before the Internet boom and the rise of forums, Tumblr, and the like, Majora’s Mask was clearly and oddity amongst the other games in the franchise, and I could tell that right away. Right off the bat, Majora’s Mask set itself apart as a much darker-toned game. While some other Zelda games start off lighter and ease into the dark stuff, Majora’s Mask threw players right in, with a shadow-filled forest, isolation, and body transformation, and quickly followed it up with an impeding apocalypse, all within the first ten minutes. This game felt like it was intended to make you feel uneasy right from the get-go.
That uneasiness continued to permeate throughout. That angry-faced moon constantly staring you down, reminding you of the doom it foretells, certainly adds to the tension. Granted, it looked pretty silly on the N64, but on the 3DS, it looks downright terrifying. The tone for this game just seemed sad. Helping people with problems or in peril is par for the course in adventure and quest games, but the citizens of Termina seemed downright depressed, and it only got worse for them as the cycle ran down. The music played into it, with a lot of bass and hollow melodies. Even the iconic Main Theme that played in Termina Field sounded almost out-of-place and present only because it was considered mandatory.
This is of course not to say the game is bad. Far from it. This was and is just as outstanding as any other main Zelda entry before or since. It had all of the elements to a great Zelda game. Dungeons, swordplay, archery, horseback riding, bottles, fairies, sidequests, familiar enemies, and all that other good stuff make their welcomed and expected presences here. What this game was, was different, and in good ways. Majora’s Mask knew what to change up and add to make the game memorable and distinct, and the tone was merely a single part of a larger whole.
Much of this game was different from other entries. The level design for the dungeons was expansive, yet compact. It had to be, because this game only had four proper dungeons, the fewest ever in the series. The masks were central to the game, both in theme and function. They added unique abilities, and the transformation masks mixed up combat. The three-day cycle created a sense of urgency and time limitation that was largely absent before. The increase in Pieces of Heart to compensate for decrease in dungeon bosses gave way to more and creative opportunities for sidequests, which themselves were quite extensive. The schedule mechanic for NPCs added a new dimension to character interaction, and gave a greater sense of involvement and attention to detail. I really felt like I was interacting with people, and that by solving these quests, I could lift them out of their own depression. That may be a personal note, but it was one that was very important to me back then, and still is in many ways.
Majora’s Mask was and still is one of the odd ducks out in the Zelda franchise. But because it was so different in so many creative and innovative ways is what sets it apart as the best of these oddballs. It certainly is a must-play for not just Zelda fans, but games in general. While the new remake may not add to much to the original aside from better visuals, the fact that it is making the game accessible to people who have not heard or talked about it before is definitely a good thing.
At any rate, I would rather talk about the game itself. Majora’s Mask has been discussed thoroughly across the Internet for years. Dozens of theories about timelines, symbols, and minor details have circulated the Internet to the extent that all have been read and talked about at length. So I’m not here to talk about how each part of Termina represents one of the Five Stages of Grief, or argue whether or not Navi is dead or Link is dead or anything like that. Rather, I would like to reminisce about my memory of the game when I first played, before the hype, before the analysis of deeper meanings, before the cynicism of adult life, just the eyes of a child.
I picked up the original game shortly after its October 2000 release, which would make me freshly 13 years old. I still remember buying the previous game Ocarina of Time when I was 11 and it quickly became my favorite game of all time, a recognition it still holds for me to this day. Needless to say, I had high expectations and standards for the next installment. Even then, I would say that I was not disappointed.
Even before the Internet boom and the rise of forums, Tumblr, and the like, Majora’s Mask was clearly and oddity amongst the other games in the franchise, and I could tell that right away. Right off the bat, Majora’s Mask set itself apart as a much darker-toned game. While some other Zelda games start off lighter and ease into the dark stuff, Majora’s Mask threw players right in, with a shadow-filled forest, isolation, and body transformation, and quickly followed it up with an impeding apocalypse, all within the first ten minutes. This game felt like it was intended to make you feel uneasy right from the get-go.
That uneasiness continued to permeate throughout. That angry-faced moon constantly staring you down, reminding you of the doom it foretells, certainly adds to the tension. Granted, it looked pretty silly on the N64, but on the 3DS, it looks downright terrifying. The tone for this game just seemed sad. Helping people with problems or in peril is par for the course in adventure and quest games, but the citizens of Termina seemed downright depressed, and it only got worse for them as the cycle ran down. The music played into it, with a lot of bass and hollow melodies. Even the iconic Main Theme that played in Termina Field sounded almost out-of-place and present only because it was considered mandatory.
This is of course not to say the game is bad. Far from it. This was and is just as outstanding as any other main Zelda entry before or since. It had all of the elements to a great Zelda game. Dungeons, swordplay, archery, horseback riding, bottles, fairies, sidequests, familiar enemies, and all that other good stuff make their welcomed and expected presences here. What this game was, was different, and in good ways. Majora’s Mask knew what to change up and add to make the game memorable and distinct, and the tone was merely a single part of a larger whole.
Much of this game was different from other entries. The level design for the dungeons was expansive, yet compact. It had to be, because this game only had four proper dungeons, the fewest ever in the series. The masks were central to the game, both in theme and function. They added unique abilities, and the transformation masks mixed up combat. The three-day cycle created a sense of urgency and time limitation that was largely absent before. The increase in Pieces of Heart to compensate for decrease in dungeon bosses gave way to more and creative opportunities for sidequests, which themselves were quite extensive. The schedule mechanic for NPCs added a new dimension to character interaction, and gave a greater sense of involvement and attention to detail. I really felt like I was interacting with people, and that by solving these quests, I could lift them out of their own depression. That may be a personal note, but it was one that was very important to me back then, and still is in many ways.
Majora’s Mask was and still is one of the odd ducks out in the Zelda franchise. But because it was so different in so many creative and innovative ways is what sets it apart as the best of these oddballs. It certainly is a must-play for not just Zelda fans, but games in general. While the new remake may not add to much to the original aside from better visuals, the fact that it is making the game accessible to people who have not heard or talked about it before is definitely a good thing.
My Best Buy number: 0731615252
I would recommend this to a friend!
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For years you've joined your favorite Final Fantasy and Disney characters on thrilling adventures in the Kingdom Hearts franchise. However, some games never reached the Americas — until now. Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX delivers a fully remastered, high-definition compilation of two popular Kingdom Hearts titles and brings them to life on your PlayStation 3. Do you have what it takes to join Sora, Donald Duck and Goofy on another action-packed journey?Dive into the epic, adrenaline-pumping quests of the Kingdom Hearts saga that you've been missing with Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX. Featuring Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix originally released on the PlayStation 2 and Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep Final Mix for the PSP, this fully remastered, high-definition compilation brings two popular titles to the Americas for the first time ever. With the addition of theatrical cutscenes from Kingdom Hearts Re:coded for the Nintendo DS, this ReMIX delivers a stunning, engaging and action-packed adventure for Kingdom Hearts fans. Picking up after Kingdom Hearts HD I.5 ReMIX, you'll be able to continue your journey with Sora, Donald Duck and Goofy, while also exploring the origins of the series with Terra, Aqua and Ventus. Take your gaming experience to the next level with new cutscenes, mini games, enemies and more. Are you ready to meet up with your favorite characters again?
Customer Rating
4
Good additions, but can suffer from high difficult
on March 22, 2015
Posted by: BasilioBoy777
from Provo, UT
These last few years have seen the re-release of the fan-favorite Kingdom Hearts series. Possibly as small recompense that the series proper hasn’t been given another true installment in over a decade and thus skipped over this entire last generation of major home console, these games are bundled Remastered versions of PS2/PSP classics. The graphical enhancements are notable, but are they worth the full purchase? Are these not the same games we’ve already played? For us Americans, yes and no. You see, these are the Final Mix versions of these games, which until these releases, have never seen the light of day on Western shores, having previously been Japan exclusives. So then, there are some elements of these games that are certain to have never been experienced by most American games. So what do these changes add? What do they take away? Do they warrant the new purchase price and time investment? Since most of us have already played the original version of this game, I’ll focus on the new version for this review.
Kingdom Hearts 2 Final Fix does a lot of what Kingdom Hearts Final Mix did. Nearly all basic Heartless get a palate swap, some more visually appealing or sensible than others, but still essentially the same. There are additional cutscenes, fully voiced in English, which explore more of the goings-on with the game’s antagonists, Organization XIII, and fill-in a few more gaps between this sequel and the first installment. They fill time mostly well, although some drag out longer than they are welcome.
Another minor addition is a new puzzle sidequest. Simple in its execution, there are several crown-shaped piece scattered around the worlds. They are not hard to find, but somewhat difficult to acquire, with most requiring Sora to max out his Drive Abilities. It’s a nice distractive additional quest for the collector types.
Sora also gets an additional Drive Form, Limit Form. His clothes resemble the color scheme he had in the last game, and he can preform the special Limit abilities he could last game. Because they take the place of Magic Commands and can be difficult to time right and be blocked, they are not very useful outside of being the experience needed to level up this Form. Still, the sheer power of this Form’s combo finishing moves make this Form very valuable in combat, especially since Sora can trigger it alone without any allies.
There are new synthesis materials that are quite powerful, but difficult to obtain. Most come from a new section of the game, the Cavern of Remembrance, in Hollow Bastion/Radiant Garden. In it, there are new Heartless, palate swaps of other Heartless that are much stronger than their counterparts. They drop the new synthesis type materials, Remembrance, and some strong weapons for Donald and Goofy. They are not earned lightly, but they do provide a good challenge and excellent means of grinding high levels.
There is also another group of additional special Heartless, called Mushroom XIII. As you could guess, they resemble the members of Organization XIII. They are scattered throughout the Worlds, and their powers faintly resemble their Organization counterparts. They are the only source for another synthesis material needed for unique items, Tranquility, and they drop extra staves and shields for Donald and Goofy, but they are mostly too weak to be effective. And sadly, these new enemies are where the game loses some of its traction: the difficulty. Each of these encounters plays like a mini-game, and the challenges you are expected to complete range from doable if you know how to downright nigh-impossible. Trying over and over again, with no apparent progress can suck some of the fun out of the game and replace it with frustration.
This trend continues to an even greater extent with the final addition the Final Mix makes: extra boss fights. And there’s a LOT of them. There are fights against Absent Silhouettes, rematches against the Organization XIII members defeated during the mid-quel Chain of Memories, with reworked mechanics to include KH2’s battle system. These can be very challenging, particularly at lower levels. There is also an additional fight with Roxas toward the end of game, replacing what was just a cutscene before. At the end of the Cavern of Remembrance is the Garden of Remembrance, where Sora can fight Data Rematches against the greatly power-up members of Organization XIII. These fights are mostly identical to their previous encounters, but their stats are maxed out and some condition mechanics are made much harder. And to top it all off, there is after-game fight with a foe called Lingering Will, to set the stage for Birth By Sleep. His combos are unbreakable, his Strength, Defense, and HP enormous, and he can lock Commands. These fights can be downright insane, impossible to beat at lower levels, and possibly even difficulties. They are extremely trying on even the lowest game difficulty setting, to say nothing of Normal or Proud Mode. This kind of difficultly greatly harms the game in my opinion, require ridiculous amounts of practice, grinding, and farming to be able to complete for 100% game completion. Victory seems to come more from luck than perseverance, and that’s not a good point in my book.
In sum, Kingdom Hearts 2 Final Mix is still a phenomenally good game, in terms of story, gameplay, battle mechanics, and character. While the new edition adds much to this release, it can suffer a bit from much higher difficulty. Sure, it’s all optional in theory, but not for us completionists. A new purchase is easily warranted for the die-hard fans of the series, but for those who might want to try it out, it may be better to wait for a price drop. Final score: 8.5/10.
Kingdom Hearts 2 Final Fix does a lot of what Kingdom Hearts Final Mix did. Nearly all basic Heartless get a palate swap, some more visually appealing or sensible than others, but still essentially the same. There are additional cutscenes, fully voiced in English, which explore more of the goings-on with the game’s antagonists, Organization XIII, and fill-in a few more gaps between this sequel and the first installment. They fill time mostly well, although some drag out longer than they are welcome.
Another minor addition is a new puzzle sidequest. Simple in its execution, there are several crown-shaped piece scattered around the worlds. They are not hard to find, but somewhat difficult to acquire, with most requiring Sora to max out his Drive Abilities. It’s a nice distractive additional quest for the collector types.
Sora also gets an additional Drive Form, Limit Form. His clothes resemble the color scheme he had in the last game, and he can preform the special Limit abilities he could last game. Because they take the place of Magic Commands and can be difficult to time right and be blocked, they are not very useful outside of being the experience needed to level up this Form. Still, the sheer power of this Form’s combo finishing moves make this Form very valuable in combat, especially since Sora can trigger it alone without any allies.
There are new synthesis materials that are quite powerful, but difficult to obtain. Most come from a new section of the game, the Cavern of Remembrance, in Hollow Bastion/Radiant Garden. In it, there are new Heartless, palate swaps of other Heartless that are much stronger than their counterparts. They drop the new synthesis type materials, Remembrance, and some strong weapons for Donald and Goofy. They are not earned lightly, but they do provide a good challenge and excellent means of grinding high levels.
There is also another group of additional special Heartless, called Mushroom XIII. As you could guess, they resemble the members of Organization XIII. They are scattered throughout the Worlds, and their powers faintly resemble their Organization counterparts. They are the only source for another synthesis material needed for unique items, Tranquility, and they drop extra staves and shields for Donald and Goofy, but they are mostly too weak to be effective. And sadly, these new enemies are where the game loses some of its traction: the difficulty. Each of these encounters plays like a mini-game, and the challenges you are expected to complete range from doable if you know how to downright nigh-impossible. Trying over and over again, with no apparent progress can suck some of the fun out of the game and replace it with frustration.
This trend continues to an even greater extent with the final addition the Final Mix makes: extra boss fights. And there’s a LOT of them. There are fights against Absent Silhouettes, rematches against the Organization XIII members defeated during the mid-quel Chain of Memories, with reworked mechanics to include KH2’s battle system. These can be very challenging, particularly at lower levels. There is also an additional fight with Roxas toward the end of game, replacing what was just a cutscene before. At the end of the Cavern of Remembrance is the Garden of Remembrance, where Sora can fight Data Rematches against the greatly power-up members of Organization XIII. These fights are mostly identical to their previous encounters, but their stats are maxed out and some condition mechanics are made much harder. And to top it all off, there is after-game fight with a foe called Lingering Will, to set the stage for Birth By Sleep. His combos are unbreakable, his Strength, Defense, and HP enormous, and he can lock Commands. These fights can be downright insane, impossible to beat at lower levels, and possibly even difficulties. They are extremely trying on even the lowest game difficulty setting, to say nothing of Normal or Proud Mode. This kind of difficultly greatly harms the game in my opinion, require ridiculous amounts of practice, grinding, and farming to be able to complete for 100% game completion. Victory seems to come more from luck than perseverance, and that’s not a good point in my book.
In sum, Kingdom Hearts 2 Final Mix is still a phenomenally good game, in terms of story, gameplay, battle mechanics, and character. While the new edition adds much to this release, it can suffer a bit from much higher difficulty. Sure, it’s all optional in theory, but not for us completionists. A new purchase is easily warranted for the die-hard fans of the series, but for those who might want to try it out, it may be better to wait for a price drop. Final score: 8.5/10.
My Best Buy number: 0731615252
I would recommend this to a friend!
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![How to Train Your Dragon/Legend of the Boneknapper Dragon [2 Discs] [Blu-ray/DVD]](https://pisces.bbystatic.com/image2/BestBuy_US/images/products/1216/1216934_sa.jpg)
This release contains a two-pack of the animated fantasy adventure film How to Train Your Dragon and the direct to video sequel Legend of the BoneKnapper Dragon.
Posted by: BasilioBoy777
from Provo, UT
DreamWorks’ How to Train Your Dragon may suffer from an odd title, but it certainly grabs your attention. Thankfully, the brilliant animation, characters, and a pleasant variation on the traditional “a boy and his dog” plot keep that attention.
HTTYD quickly brings you in with its main character, Hiccup, voiced by Jay Baruchel. He is a nerd/outcast archetype, something Baruchel seems to have found himself typecast as, but there is something of a sincerity to his voice and identifiability to his problem of not living up his father’s expectations. These are things that we’ve all seem before, but they are still welcome here because there is a genuineness to the performances in this film. Hiccup has a great sarcastic sense of humor, and the other teen characters help give the film authenticity, in spite of all the flying fire-breathing reptiles. There’s Astrid (America Ferrera), Snoutlout (Jonah Hill), Fishlegs (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), twins Ruffnut (Kristin Wiig) and Tuffnut (T.J. Miller). The bit of the Appatow gang that’s present here lend their improv skills to some the humorous conversations, and it works to the film’s benefit. Gerard Butler and Craig Ferguson also work great as the village chief and Hiccup’s dad Stoick and blacksmith Gobber respectively.
Where this film really shines, other than the characters, are the visuals. The seas and skies are painted wonderfully. This is especially evident in the scenes where the characters are riding the dragons as mounts. The filmmakers knew that this would be the highpoint in the film, and special care was taken to beautifully and artfully depict the sensation of flight, as well as the creatures’ agility and speed.
The plot can follow some predictable turns, as the archetype here is “a boy and his dog” but the twist that keeps this film going the fact this is a pretty cool dog. A dragon. And yes, the little boy in me screams “awesome!” at riding a dragon. It really is something that simple that drives this film, how awesome it would be to have a dragon as a pet. What propels this film to being great is the seriousness of the conflicts and the identifiable characters. A great one from DreamWorks, whose reputation is slowly approaching Pixar-like proportions. A
My Best Buy number: 0731615252
What's great about it: Relatable and enjoyable characters, breathtaking flight visuals
What's not so great: Plot can be predictable in some aspects
I would recommend this to a friend!
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