Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Fullmetal Alchemist (Fullmetal Edition) Vol. 1 + Manga Reviews Page!



Here's something a little different: a rerelease of a classic I never got into! What do I think of a series I waited fourteen years to dive into...?

In any case, I've finally got around to not only fixing up the The Archives, but have provided a Manga Reviews page. It's hardly as elaborate as my Reviews pages, but such a collection remained necessary, so please take a look. 

Next month will be a juicy month for manga fans, as I have four reviews planned (including another favorite ongoing series making its first appearance: Vinland Saga!); however, E3 season will likely push most, if not all, of those reviews towards the month's end, so keep that in mind.

Speaking of E3, there's some INCREDIBLY EXCITING NEWS I can't quite share at the moment, but certainly will when I'm given the all-clear. Stay tuned!

Wednesday, May 23, 2018

Dedede's Drum Dash Deluxe


While we're questioning the eleven-year absence of Kirby spin-offs, we must also ask: why did it take it so long for King Dedede to get his own game? I mean, really, who doesn't love the gluttonous, self-proclaimed king of Dream Land? His plush design, self-centered antics, not-quite-a-good-guy but not-quite-a-villain morality and penchant for bugged-out eyes have won over many a Kirby fan, myself included, and it is simply ridiculous HAL Laboratory has not granted his own Popstar-trotting adventure to the gaming populace. No matter how you look at it, a downloadable rhythm game ain't gonna cut it!

Still, you could do with a lot worse than Dedede's Drum Dash Deluxe. Like its brother Kirby Fighters Deluxe, this spin-off is also based on a Kirby: Triple Deluxe sub-game by the name of Dedede's Drum Dash, wherein the penguin king hopped along on giant drums to reach the goal all the while clapping and bouncing to the beat of classic Kirby tunes (or perhaps not so classic: not many may recognize the secret Extra song was from Kirby's Dream Collection: Special Edition) Requiring careful precision of jumping, clapping, and navigating obstacles, these four levels were not only among some of the most difficult of Triple Deluxe’s trials, but introduced a welcome dosage of variety hardly explored in the series hitherto (that’s to say, rhythm; only one of Mass Attack’s mini-games springs to mind)

Saturday, May 19, 2018

Silver Spoon Vol. 2



This series is really good. Like, really good. Go read it!

Anyway, the aforementioned Hyrule Warriors fixes should be up now.

Thursday, May 17, 2018

One Piece Vol. 86 Review (Hey Poor Player)


 
 
Wow, I way too long in posting this here, ahaha.
 
In any case, certain stuff going on behind the scenes has rendered thins a little slow here, but we'll be seeing some activity starting this weekend.

Hyrule Warriors




Koei-Tecmo’s brand of Warriors games – hack-and-slash spectacles wherein one character takes on entire armies – are, to my mind, excellent stress-relievers. They are not the most polished or ambitious on the market, but their elaborate power fantasies are instant addictions, the thrill of smashing through endless platoons and capturing bases instilling a bountiful catharsis. This isn’t to say the games are doormats – the various missions and down-to-the-wire missions engage us to the point of anxiety, but overcoming such odds is what makes them constantly satisfying to play.

I confess my experience with Warriors is limited – while I’ve played the entire One Piece: Pirate Warriors trilogy and extensively played both Nintendo-themed offerings (Hyrule Warriors, the game we’re reviewing today, and Fire Emblem Warriors), my experience with series progenitor Dynasty Warriors is limited only to the aged Dynasty Warriors 2. A mistake I aim to rectify in the future, but the point is, it is not uncommon at all for fans to claim Hyrule Warriors – a Nintendo and Koei-Tecmo collaboration based on The Legend of Zelda – is the best of them all. Even putting aside the celebrated mechanical improvements, the Wii U game is an insane labor of love and passion from developers clearly enamored with Nintendo’s famous fantasy series, with two years’ worth of DLC culminating with a boatload of content, a 3DS version with exclusive features (Hyrule Warriors Legends), and a Switch version collectively including all aforementioned content (Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition).


Saturday, May 5, 2018

The Nintendo Labo Beginner's Guide (Hey Poor Player)



My third guide dives into the basics of Nintendo Labo! I still need to figure out how to properly insert playtime with Nintendo's cardboard invention into my own schedule, but in the meantime, I painstakingly devised this guide. It's mainly for the use of parents, but anyone curious about Labo can learn something, too.

Friday, May 4, 2018

I'm Going to E3!!!



Today, a childhood dream comes true. For nearly 20 years, I've followed an annual gaming trade event from the pages of Nintendo Power, the webpages of Nintendojo and IGN, and real-time streams on YouTube and Nintendo's official site. Like every other gamer, I awaited it like a three-day Christmas, absorbing and obsessing over every announcement, every trailer, every interview, every screenshot, any scrap of information to satisfy my craving. Some years came up short, others wildly surpassed my expectations, but regardless of the highs and lows, it remains an uninterrupted ritual.

Next month, the process will be hands-on: I'm beyond thrilled to announce I'll be heading to E3 as a representative of Hey Poor Player! In June, I'll be heading down to LA with my editor Francis and a couple other folks to cover the show, and you better believe I'll be providing write-ups like mad! Currently, I'm planning an emphasis on Nintendo games (naturally!), but I'll be expanding playtime/analyses on PlayStation 4 games as well (Kingdom Hearts III being a top priority, and it seems like Wattam is on-track to arrive as well).

This has been processing behind the scenes for the past couple weeks -- certain circumstances brought up this opportunity, and I had to keep quiet until I got a confirmation (readers may also recall I almost went two years ago, which made this confidentiality even more vital) -- but needless to say, I'm on Cloud Nine. Just knowing I'll be in the same building with the likes of Shigeru Miyamoto and Masahiro Sakurai is...well, obviously, I'm not expecting to run into them or anything (much less stalk them, heh), but just that very privilege is a step closer to my dream.

And this is to say nothing of the blog! My amazement in what started out as an experimental platform leading me into gaming journalism has been well-documented, but it's particularly amazing when considering this particular subject: for five consecutive years, I produced in-depth thoughts, critiques and essays on my feelings regarding each show, and now I'll be providing impressions right from the show floor! Truly, I've come full-circle, but naturally you can expect links to my Hey Poor Player write-ups from here. Given the insane workload involved, I don't think you can expect anything unique for the blog, but said previews and whatnot should surely make up for the lack of E3 content around these parts, eh?

Although, it may be fun to showcase pictures/videos I'll be taking around the showfloor? Hmm...I'll think about it!

I may provide more details as E3 Week nears, but in the meantime, it shouldn't take too much effort to guess what my most anticipated game to play is...


Hehehe, how jealous are you:?!? Actually, this won't be the first time I played a Smash game pre-launch -- I did the same for Super Smash Bros. 3DS and Wii U during the Best Buy demo sessions -- but given I'll have exponentially more time, I highly suspect it'll suck up most of my first day. (Unless, of course, Nintendo finally gets off their lazy butts and reveals Pikmin 4; seriously, if that becomes a Pikmin 3-esque wait again, I'm calling shenanigans.)

Anyway, I'll see y'all real soon. So excited!!!