Shin Megami Tensei : Nocturne Review

It’s like Pokemon, but every bit as Satanic as Christian fundamentalists make it out to be.

Well, I haven’t had much time on my hands to play video games with. Alas, a while ago, I managed to scrounge up enough spare time to play that one game I’ve been meaning to play, see title. Nocturne is another game in the Megaten series, that Persona spinned off of, hence meaning I HAD to play it. Overall, I actually found it to be the polar opposite of Persona, where every character is fully developed and you life in a mostly peaceful world. Not in this game though, haha.

This game takes place in a post apocalyptic Tokyo overrun by demons (further referred to as “mons.” Don’t ask me why most the angels from Judeo-Christianity are listed as demons >_>) where the main character must fight his way through hordes of demons to find a meaning to his existence in this bleak and barren world. Will he recreate a newer, better world? Will he bring back the old one? Will he let it remain the way it is? Will he team up with the forces of hell to slaughter the last pathetic remnants of creation? (why yes, this is an option) Who knows, it’s entirely up to you to decide! I absolutely love the setting of this game, as it gives you a huge world to explore, and you get to see wrecked landmarks from Tokyo in reality. The world itself is massive and beautiful, but….

It’s inhabitants are disgustingly one-dimensional. Really, they say a few lines, then vanish. You’re best bud from the old world? He comes up to you, says hi, tells you where he’s going, then ditches you. Never mind that he’s a normal human wandering out into a demon infested wasteland. Nope, he’s definitely not asking YOU for help, you half demon half human with a gang of big tough demons. Why would YOU be able to help him? The only people who decide to up and join you are already big tough demons, who don’t really need you for protection. Such as the cameo character, Dante (yes, the one from Devil May Cry) who’s sole purpose is to kick ass and take names. HE joins you, (based on circumstances) but you’re high school friends with no superpowers? Nope.

Plot is actually kinda dumb. Well, conceptually it is really neat. Also, it is very epic. Alas, the execution is really dumb. A few times during the plot, I’m asking myself why I’m fighting these guys. Heck, at one point I wanted to betray the person who sent me for the person he told me to attack. Alas, I was not given an option to do that. Despite having multiple endings, there isn’t much um… freedom in the plot. At some points I wanted to smack the main character silly for his apathy. Although you are given a lot of dialogue options in the game, a lot of them don’t seem to matter that much until the last minute.

Gameplay is pretty neat. Despite plot characters having the personality of a cardboard box, you’re allowed to negotiate with you’re enemies to have them join you’re party (gotta catch em’ all) and you can level them up, and some even evolve (like Pokemon) Alas, mons level up slowly, so the trick is to fuse you’re demons into bigger, tougher demons. You can have three demons fighting alongside the main character, from varios mythologies, leading to some… interesting combinations (Michael, Beelzebub, and Thor team up to conquer earth!) Of course, if you DON’T do this, you’ll be slaughtered by one of the games stupid hard bosses.

Ah yes, the difficulty. This game seems to enjoy kicking you’re ass. It even got its picture on this TV Tropes page. Bosses usually have some weird trick that if you don’t counter it immediately, you’re DEAD. I strangely enjoyed this, because unlike Final Fantasy, you REALLY get to learn a lot of tricks to fight enemies. It pushes you’re limits as a game. And the battle system…. Like the Persona series, it’s all or nothing. You get a critical on an enemy? You get to attack again. Hit their weakness? Go again. Get an attack reflected back at you? You’re whole party’s turn is over and you get you’re ass kicked. Fortunately this applies to the enemy too, so random fights are all or nothing. Then there’s death magic. Both light and darkness cause instant death. However, raising resistance to one often gives you a weakness to another. Hence, it is mandatory that you be cautious while applying you’re resistances.

So, if you want an epic plot with cardboard characters and a battle system that enjoys killing you, pick this game up. If you wanted Pokemon to be more mature and have an actual danger element, this might be the game for you. If you want a challenge, pick this game up. It’s pretty solid, despite its flaws

Summary
+fun
+challenging
+EPIC

-frustrating at points
-bland characters

Related Games:
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4

Recent rerelease of this game has driven the price WAY down. Great time to buy

Anime in Focus: K-ON episode 1

Alright, I’m starting a new section in this blog called Anime in Focus (as per the title).

In this section, I’ll watch an episode from an anime and post my thoughts about it, giving readers an idea of what I think before I review an actual series as a whole. Also, it lets you feel like you’re watching an anime with me…. Kinda.

Today I’m discussing episode 1 of K-ON, an anime I thought seemed pretty cool, but the rest of my local anime club didn’t like it. Hence, I’m watching it without those guys.

Episode 1 introduces the main cast, a group of high school girls who are trying to organize a club, trying to join a club, and one that is just bored and aimless. Despite having very little musical talent between them, they decide to form a band, because of a promise one made to the other.

Overall, I’m more interested in it than the rest of the anime club at my school, on the simple principal that it combines Moe AND a Rock band. This is clearly a solid combination that needs to be explored, and I am quite interested in seeing what transpires between these characters.

Next Episode:
K-ON episode 2

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Is the First episode really that important?

I’m gonna go on out on a limb and say, yeah, first epidsode really is important. Sure, you can come and yell at me about shows that have a lame first episode, but get better as they go along….

And I don’t care, because if you come and give me some solid recommendations, I win anyway, don’t I? Alas, a first episode is the viewer’s first impression of a series. If the viewer gets a bad first impressions, they won’t be as enthusiastic as they go in. Really, why spend MORE time watching something you didn’t enjoy?

My favorite anime, for example, “The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzimiya” has a solid first episode, establishing how ridiculous and wacky this series is going to be. Also, it pretty much sums everything up in the whole series in an incredibly convoluted manner. Another solid first goes to Fruits basket, a Shoujo that while, it looks like generic coming in, gets a few giggles, while leading in to the series main hook. Ninja Nonsense, a fine comedy, starts making you ROFL from the get go. It doesn’t stop in the second episode either. Code Geass, although mostly a boring first, has a pretty awesome ending, setting up a hook. Overall, a lot of my favorite anime start out solid, and build from that foundation. Cowboy Bebop? Starts with a solid episode that tells you next to nothing about the character’s origin, and you like it anyway.

Can a series with a bad first episode be good? Absolutely, I’m usually just more hesitant to show that series to a friend. There’s always room for redemption, but really, when you show up for a job interview, do you wear the same thing you wore to bed or do you wear you’re best suit?

Why Anime Martial artists really grind my gears

As you can tell by the topic title, I am about to start discussing martial arts in fiction. HOWEVER, I am not here to discuss how martial arts allow people to shoot fireballs from their hands. I am perfectly fine with that, as while that is not going to happen in reality, the series USUALLY does not pretend to be realistic when this happens. No, what really grinds my gears is when anime that pretends to take place in reality tries to portray martial arts.

Why is that you say? This is because martial arts are always presented as making you INVINCIBLE. I’ve taken Karate classes, and it didn’t make me toughest guy on the block. Yet, if a character in an anime has taken martial arts, they can take down an army of minions. Take for example, a scene during Key: The Metal Idol when a guy knocks a mob enforcer on his face, and mentions he was able to do it because he took some Karate in college. What, do bodyguards not have to learn to fight these days?

But do you know who REALLY grinds my gears? Ai Tokiwa from Great Teacher Onizuka. Really, a high school student who can beat the crap out of several people just because she’s taken Tai Kwon do? How long has she been taking it? Of course, she gets beaten up by the local computer nerd, who also is apparently a karate master (yeah, sure, probably took the same weekend class as Ai), but that doesn’t explain why she can take down several people… but apparently nobody in that universe believes it either.

Now then, I’ve taken some martial arts classes, and I was highly disappointed that the three months of training that I took did not allow me to take down five henchmen at once. In fact, when I discuss it with people, I’ve found that a surprising amount of people know martial arts themselves. So if I were to try to take down a bunch of people, I’d get my ass kicked. And yet, in fiction, about a month of martial arts training makes you as tough as a real person gets with 10 years training.

Retro Moment: Key: The Metal Idol (1994)

Hello all, it's time to review an older anime I’ve watched known as "Key: the Metal Idol." That had to be about the weirdest, most messed up series I've seen in a while. I loved every minute of it. Really, now, it's a brutal depiction of people vying for fame and power, looking for an edge, starring a robot that has a mission to earn the trust of 30000 people.

Really now, what makes this show different form every other show depicting a robot wanting to be human? Well, as can be observed, this one much darker, by a severe degree. Also, it's not about a guy who fumbles upon/creates the perfect woman. Oh no, this is about a naive person going out and experiencing the seedy underbelly of Tokyo. Not to mention, the twisted people who are interested in her. What could make it better? That would be the fact that there's no tacked-on romance subplot. Oh yes, you don't have to worry about them poking their nose where they don't belong. Unfortunately, this show does suffer from boring first-episode syndrome. So without spoiling it, I can say this is one twisted, gut wrenching, and awesome experience.

Is it worth it? Well, when it comes to DVD content, they were kind enough to follow the Fruits Basket train of thought. They crammed at least 3 hours on each DVD, keeping it down to a tidy 3 DVDs. In total, this series has 13 normal sized episodes, and 2 triple length episodes, so it will take a bit of time to watch. However, there is no filler, which is great for a series of this length. Not that I have a problem with filler or anything, but this isn't the series it belongs in. Unfortunately, since this series is quite old, it is aa eal bugger to find and get a good price on. Even Ebay managed to fail me on getting a price under 30$. However, I can say that it was worth it, and you can get it easily with the Blockbuster movie pass or Netflix, as nobody's renting it due to obscurity. But then again, after viewing the first disk, I decided it was worthy of joining the various DVDs I have on display. Anyway, I found Key: The Metal Idol to be a very disturbing, and worthwhile experience.

Yaoi Fangirls are evil

To start my triumphant return, I’m going to start by responding to a fan letter about a problem he’s been having

Dear BryAnime,

Hello, I was wondering if you could help me with a problem I’ve been having lately. My girlfriend hasn’t been paying attention to me lately, and all she wants to do is look at “boys love” doujinshi. It seemed harmless when she first starting reading it, since it was just a comic. Later though, she started asking me if I would consider kissing my best friend. I told her it was the most ridiculous idea I had ever heard, and she seemed to be legitimately disappointed by it. Later, I tried holding her hand and she wouldn’t let me. Later that night, when I proposed we have, ahem, intercourse, she denied me and instead told me all about what was going on in a manga she was reading. All she did was go on and on about semes, ukes, which of my favorite anime characters (male) look good together, and all kinds of horrible things. Then she showed me a scene from this book she was reading. I was shocked and appalled by how hardcore the material was.

Needless to say, I didn’t have intercourse that night, and instead got to hear about “boys love”…. Gross. In fact, whenever I hear her talking to her friends, she no longer mentions me as a person, and instead talks about how cute I would be with my best bud. To make matters worse, when I had my best bud over, she asked me to kiss HIM. It’s really making me uncomfortable. BryAnime, is there any hope of me getting my girlfriend back?

Sincerely,
A Neglected Boyfriend

Dear Neglected Boyfriend,
I’m sorry to say she’s probably a lost cause. Did you try talking to her about this? How bout’ suggesting she kiss one of her female friends? How about discussing Yuri with her?

If all else fails, you can rest assured knowing people like her will never breed.

Sincerely, BryAnime

Next Letter: My Boyfriend is a Furry

Related Posts:
Why won't my boyfriend stop looking at Hentai?
Why does my girlfriend want me to be a bishounen?
Why does my girlfriend enjoy crossdressing so much?
Why Weeaboos really grind my gears

I'm coming back

Well, I haven't' posted here in a while due to life and stuff...

alas, my job has been cutting hours like crazy, and I'm gonna try to make it back here. So, happy to be back, and may my page views be plenty