Fire Emblem Soul! - Awakening

Hey guys! It's been a long time since I've written a game review. Mostly because my free time has mostly been spent on Animes and Online Games but I would like to talk about Fire Emblem : Awakening for the 3DS because I got it a while back and played it but recently got back into it.

Fire Emblem is a long running tactical rpg dating back to the 1990s with each game being very character driven and relies on character interactions. Another thing that made the game unique was the fact that pre-Awakening, anytime a character died in battle, they were gone permanently. So every move, every fight and every attack counts. For perfectionists, this was both a drug and a nightmare as I watched Angell Soul replay a battle over and over because one character or another died.

Plot: The plot in fire emblem starts with your customizable character losing his/her memory and being found by Prince Chrom and his sister. He/she decide to join Chrom's adventures as a tactician as he fights against evil neighboring empires.

Opinion: On the surface, the game starts off very reminiscent of past Rpgs. A main character with no recollection of who he or she is and a Kingdom fighting against an evil empire but soon it turns into an epic adventure with an over-arching plot and plenty of subplots. 4/5 Soul

Setting and Graphics: The setting is medieval fantasy, characters fight with swords, bows and magic. There are mythical monsters such as Dragons and Wyverns and theres not a lot to touch on that has not been seen or said already.

The Graphics look pretty good for a 3DS game. The characters are portrayed as tiny chibi sprites and have anime portraits for dialogues. When attacking however, the characters turn into full size 3D versions of their sprites and it looks really good. 3/5 Soul

Characters: Here is where the game really shines, the game boasts 44 playable characters not including downloadable characters. Each character has unique interactions with other characters the more they fight together. That's more than a hundred unique dialogue between all the characters. Later on when their interaction reaches rank S, they can get married and the couple determines the stats and minor appearances (hair colour) of their offsprings. And then their offsprings can also marry. The potential is endless and I found myself shipping characters together because they'd look like a cute couple or an odd couple. 5/5 Soul

Gameplay: The game has you running from area to area as Chrom in an overhead map, interacting with it to start battles or go to a shop. The battles are reminiscent of Vanguard bandits in that the characters move on grids and when you attack or heal, it goes into a fighting scene showing the attack or spell or heals picked by the player beforehand. After the battle, you go into a menu to initiate interactions between the characters resulting from the previous battle, if any. 4/5 Soul

Overall: I really enjoy Fire Emblem - Awakening, it is my first Fire Emblem game and what a way to start. I've heard of the series before but had never found the interest to start it, but with traditional Jrpgs becoming a dying art form, I could not pass up the opportunity to  buy and try a series that has stood the test of time. I hope to be able to get a copy of Fire Emblem Fates soon and continue my love affair with the series! 4/5 Soul

Inside look into Animes I love (Part 3 - Red Garden and Puella Magi Madoka Magica)

Hey Guys, sorry it took so long for me to write part 3. I've been sick and there have been some personal matters I had to attend to but I'm back and ready to write up a storm! kind of..

Red Garden and Magical Girl Madoka are the prime focus for part 3. The reason why I chose these two animes in particular is because they provide a completely unique experience compared to other animes in the same genre, if Red Garden even shares a genre with anything else.



The story follows four normal New York girls named Claire, Kate, Rose and Rachel. One day they wake up with no memory of what happened the night before and at night they're brought to a caged car park to fight a man who turns into a demon. The thing about the story that drew me to it was the fact that especially at the start, these normal girls are forced into a fight with an insanely strong demons with no fight experiences and no powers. You feel the fear, the adrenaline, the regrets and everything in between. Over time they adapt, grow stronger and you truly feel the growth.

My first exposure to this anime was when I was browsing tv and stumbled on it on Animax Asia. It was a horrific scene where the girl's keepers showed them the consequences of choosing not to fight or giving up hope. It scarred and intrigued me, it was amazing. After I finished the series, I tried to find an anime similar to this because I was thirsting for more but I could not find anything. It truly stands on its own in being absolutely unique. Also the art is amazingly stylized and is quite quirky.



Puella Magi Madoka Magica, if you know your anime, you've heard of this one. It took the magical girl genre which is pretty prominent on its own and turned it on its head. One wrong move by any of these cute protagonist and boom, they're gone, dead in pretty brutal ways. The characters are likeable enough with the twist ending being something I did not anticipate through the series. I'm not a huge fan of the super cute chibi character designs but the designs are highly exaggerated to prove the point that while it and the seemingly innocent op might look a certain way, not to judge a book by its cover.

The thing they both share in common is their uniqueness. Say if I craved a shonen anime or manga, I could find a few I like in the massive pool in the genre but I can't find another Red Garden or another Madoka. Please do leave a comment if you disagree or you'd like to recommend an anime for me to watch that you think I might like! :) til next time~

Inside look into Animes I love (Part 2 - World Trigger)

On the surface World Trigger looks like a pretty generic long running shonen title which goes on forever until you start reading or watching it. My biggest problem with most of the shonen animes out there, is the main male protagonist. You know the one, the loud, spiky haired, always hungry and super powerful entity with an unlimited amount of 'potential', Most of the time they're less a character and more a super power with quirks. World Trigger has the opposite, the main character, Osamu is described as pretty weak and as he meets more and more stronger characters, the difference in power really shows.

He is complimented by the team he built  around him as they work towards a common goal. With him are Kuga and Chika, two young and very strong characters in context to all the other characters. Instead of Osamu being the defining factor of each fight and arc, wins are determined by how well Osamu tactically maneuvers his stronger, more naive teammates. 



I'm not trying to diss other shonen mangas/animes too much because I loved mangas like Fairy Tail and Dragon Ball but my thing is they all seem to blend together after a while. Also my biggest grip with this genre is the obnoxious main character, I don't watch/read Fairy Tail for Natsu, I do it for my waifus Erza and Lluvia. (Extra note: I stopped reading it after the time skip arc...it just started getting old)



Another point of argument is the epic failure by the name of 'Bleach'. I was obsessed with this when it first came out, I love all the characters, the premise and it was my introduction to the modern shonen genre. It ended up becoming an Ichigo ego fest with his getting stronger and stronger while the others fell behind. Chad, Orihime and Rukia ended up becoming wall paper despite Tite Kuno stating at the start that Chad and Orihime's power mirror the potential of a Zanpakuto. Also the females in this anime take a backseat to the men, this is no longer the 90s, even if males are the main demographic, we can accept the fact that a woman can be badass too. 

In World Trigger, the main heroine Chika retains her feminine demur in that she has hesitation in killing with her sniper rifle despite the fact that killing someone just teleports them back to their home base. I was afraid initially about how the author would deal with this issue as it has destroyed better characters in the past in other mangas but he dealt with it amazingly and did not use it as an excuse to keep her as kidnap bait *Cough Orihime Cough*.

I would suggest picking up World Trigger just as a supplement to the shonen mangas you already read as a breath of fresh air, or just because it's a really good anime/manga.   

Inside look into Animes I love (Part 1 - Digimon Adventure , 02 , and Tri)

Hey guys!

I started writing this article to tell you guys the kinds of animes I like, give some examples and some points and thoughts I had on them and their competition in the genre. But it ended up becoming a little bigger than I thought it would be and decided to split it into 3 parts. The first being mostly about Digimon, the 2nd part being about World Trigger and the 3rd, Red Garden and Magical Girl Madoka. I might even add in a fourth, Sentai, about animes that comprises of a team of people (most of the time high school students) fighting monsters or aliens with unique powers.

Now, I'm not a huge fan of the 'cute girls doing cute things' genre or harem or ecchi because I don't find any of these genre's relatable. This statement is not to discredit the genre or people who like them, but most probably there won't be a 'High School of the Dead' review on this blog written by me. I like animes that defy stereotypes and provide me an experience I can't get from other more stereotypical animes in the same genre. Even better if it defies all the rules and provide an absolutely unique experience. 

Digimon pushed what a children's show made for selling toys could do. They were episodic but had an over-arching storyline that pays off in a big way at the end. The characters were never just paper cut out with quirks and goals/missions in place of personality. Each character had a defining trait that is pre-dominant, but they also have fears, anxieties, likes and dislikes.

What I mean by this is, sometimes characters (and this is not exclusive to the children's anime genre) 
are written only to serve the plot/episode, and I don't just mean side characters or characters that only come in for an episode, this also applied to main characters and major supporting characters. But in order to flesh these characters out a little, they give them quirks instead of a personality. In these cases, these characters are more quirks and traits rather than an actual person. Just because a character loves to eat, or loves to eat a certain food, it does not equal a personality. An example of this is Pokemon, I'll discuss Ash, Misty and Brock.



Outside of trying to be the very best (and failing) Ash has no defining trait outside of Pokemon, he has no other interest than failing to become a Pokemon Master. He does not age, he does not participate in anything not related to Pokemon. He is not a person rather he is Pokemon.The same goes for Misty and Brock. For multiple seasons Misty followed Ash around because he destroyed her bicycle, nothing else. Also she likes water pokemon I guess. Brock likes girls. Of course they have semblance of a personality, maybe Misty is motherly and Ash is passionate about Pokemon, but they never feel like real people. Can you imagine having a friend that only talks about one thing everytime you guys spoke and reacts the same way or everything?



(From the left: Tai, Matt, Sora, Izzy, Joe, Mimi, T.K, Kari)

Let's compare them to Digimon, I don't even need to talk about all 8 fleshed out characters in Digimon, I'll pinpoint three and talk about them, The three being Tai and Izzy and Kari.

Tai loves football, He's brave and a natural leader. He is headstrong. He's also very stubborn. He's a good big brother and loves his partner Agumon. He's brash and loud but grows more level headed as the anime progresses and even more so in the next two seasons. He has parents who love and support him and while not perfect, tries his best in every situation.

Izzy is a child prodigy. He's smart and kind. He's also aloof and sometimes gets so lost in learning something that he loses the plot. He was adopted from birth and has trouble expressing himself to the people he loves. As the series progresses, he finally comes to term with his situation and becomes more well rounded in later series.

Kari is my favourite character, introduced more than half way through the series. She joins the team much later but even then her character is given room to grow via her partner Gatomon. She starts off caring, soft spoken and sickly and turns into the voice of reason in 02. 

My point here is that I know the characters, I know how they react to things and I know them as people rather than quirks and traits. I've seen their growth and development and these are just 3 of the 8 characters in the series. 16 if you count in their Digimon partners whom on their own, aren't very strong personality wise but coupled with their partners add a whole lot of dimension to their characters and help enhance their partner's.

With that ends Part 1, Please do join me in Part 2 where I discuss World Trigger and the difference it has with its shonen counterparts.

Spring Anime 2016 Soul! ( Kiznaiver )

So rumor has it that it's spring in Japan and that means a whole new set of animes coming out. Well thats untrue, at this time most of them have done half their episode run but while I'm coming late I want to try and do a series where I watch the first episodes of a Spring 2016 anime and let you guys know my initial reactions and whether or not I would be willing to continue the series whether now or in the future when they finish their run. I'll watch anything from half an episode to a maximum of 3 (because the season is already half way in) depending on how long it takes me to get a feel of a certain anime.

The first anime that caught my eye was Kiznaiver, from the promotional poster, I'm immediately attracted to the art and character design. The synopsis at first read sounds promising.

(Taken from My Anime List)

" The fictional Japanese city named Sugomori City is built on reclaimed land. But as the years go by, the city's population is decreasing. One day, Sonosaki tells her classmate Katsuhira: "You have been selected to be a Kiznaiver." The Kizuna System, which allows Katsuhira to share his wounds, connects him to the classmates whose lives and personalities completely differ from his. The Kizuna System is an incomplete system for the implementation of world peace that connects people through wounds. All those who are connected to this system are called Kiznaivers. When one Kiznaiver is wounded, the system divides and transmits the wound among the other Kiznaivers.'

Initial Impression: I am obsessed with the art style, it's absolutely beautiful and is a great representation of modern anime art style more in the veins of Digimon Tri and Magical Girl Madoka. The characters seem likable enough, there are stereotypes but it's because each character represents a re-imagining of the seven deadly sins. Also the opening and ending themes are very nice to listen to and look at.

From the art, I expected a dark story with borderline morbid characters, and while this might change later on, the characters and tones are a little more lighthearted than I'd expect. It was actually a pleasant surprise. I found myself laughing at a few jokes and scenes.

The future: The story from the first episode left me intrigued. I will definitely continue this series past the first episode and maybe even write a full length review on it. For now, it's definitely a must check out.

 

Tree of Savior (MMoSoul)

Heya guys! It's Rpg Soul again with another online game I'm currently obsessed with. I love MMORPGs, ever since the first time I played Ragnarok Online at the age of 12 til now. I love the sense of community, I've made friends in online games that have lasted 5 years. We're still keeping in touch and I'm her child's unofficial God-father. 

Tree of Savior was a game I've been excited for since I found out about it around the 2nd closed beta last year. I was not able to participate but I kept my finger on it, making sure I was there the moment it's released. Half a year later and I bought the founder's pack and started it with my brother and Angell Soul. 



There are over 80+ classes in this game where other games would typically have around 12-20. Trying to build your character whether through it's stats or skills is insanely diverse and honestly a little daunting at first. I spent hours 'researching' classes and skills before finally picking my priest build. 

I think I've heard rumors that the max level you can achieve is level 500, right off the bat there's a lot to do. I'm still in the process of learning and experiencing the game, so far it's been super fun ( and super cute) and I'd definitely recommend it.

Hearthstone (Card Soul Talk)

I have a huge love hate relationship with Hearthstone since my brother forced me to play it a year ago. He's currently a streamer for the Malaysian hearthstone association http://m8gaming.net. On one hand I love the game and the blizzard character cards, on the other, PvP tends to give me anxiety. 

In Hearthstone, you're given a set of basic cards and the option to buy rarer/better cards via in game currency or actual currency. With these cards you build a deck of 30 cards and use it to duel against other players. Some cards synergies with others to form a strong deck or you could build a deck using strong minions, the possibility is endless. Putting all the strongest cards in the game into one deck does not guarantee a win while using only the basic cards provided on the game before pack purchases does not guarantee a loss.




The next thing I would like to touch on is the concept of Heroes. These are character classes from Blizzard's own World of Warcraft. They are Mage, Warrior, Priest, Rogue, Warlock, Shaman, Druid and Paladins. Choosing a class determines the spells (and certain minion cards) that are available to you along with a class exclusive power. This power spends 2 mana (the amount of cards (minion or spell) you can play on that turn) for an action that benefits you, whether it's healing with a Priest or summoning a small minion on the board with Paladins.




Each card has a mana cost, you start the game with 1 mana and it goes up by 1 to a maximum of 10 mana. Minion cards have a mana cost, and a HP and Atk number while spells only have mana cost and it spends it to cast a certain spell either to you, a minion or any of your enemy's character. The goal of the game is to get your opponent's HP down to 0.

It's a fun game that dwells in the veins of Magic: The Gathering and Yu-gi-Oh to name a few. You're able to play it online with a massive community of players, so you won't run into the problems of traditional card games of having to go to a venue every other day to practice your skills or participate in competitions.

Long Break (Sad Soul Update)

Hey guys, I've been away for a few months, Initially the break started with a week long cold and then I just never got back into the groove of writing an article a day but I'm hoping to get back into it and really just get this up and running again.

In the time that I've been gone, I've played Diablo 3 for the first time in my life, I also started playing an MMoRpg called 'Tree of Savior' along with playing the occasional game of 'Hearthstone' by Blizzard.

I want to start this review blog with a review of both Hearthstone and Tree of Savior before moving back to both anime and Rpgs, also my Pokemon Soul series for the 20th anniversary of Pokemon.

I would also like to do a few top 10 series. Honestly I'm a little afraid of running out of games as I don't have all the new hip consoles, but I'm going to take it one step at a time and maybe set up a kickstarter in the far future. Please do let me know in the comment section what you would like me to review or just what you think of the blog in general. :) 

Til next time, this is Rpg Soul.

Angell Soul (Inside look into Turn Based Combat)

Hello dear readers, Angell Soul here again with an editorial in place of a review this time. With the new FFVII remake announcement and the upcoming FFXV it’s starting to look like turn-based combat is rapidly disappearing from RPGs. Are turn-based RPGs a thing of the past or do they still have a place in today’s gaming marketplace? Even the Final Fantasy series seems to be abandoning the genre.

I think we do have to face the truth of the matter. Turn-based combat has lost its place at the heart of the RPG world. It used to be that the top selling and best known RPGs involved meticulous strategic gameplay. Now the biggest titles are almost all exclusively action RPGs. Action like Dragon Age, Kingdom Hearts, Fallout 4, Oblivion and The Witcher games have been some of the most successful titles in the past half-decade of gaming.

Lately, I’ve heard people argue that turn-based combat is stale and boring. One person argued that turn-based combat was simply a result of technological limitations and bound to be abandoned. I would counter that turn-based combat is one of the most amazingly diverse genres of gameplay out there. Tactical RPGs that require detailed unit placement and consideration of space, classic Final Fantasy Games that require juggling different character skills, and the Mario and Luigi series that mix turn based elements with active input: these examples just go to show that turn-based combat is actually very diverse.

Does the expulsion of turn-based combat from mainstream games mean that those of us who love that kind of combat will no longer be able to experience it in our games? Well, no, but maybe it won’t have a place in the blockbusters of the gaming industry anymore. Turn-based combat is actually doing quite well when we consider the broader picture. PC rpgs are making a comeback and many of them, like the recently released X-COM 2, are showing us that turn-based combat isn’t stale.

In the grand picture of things the niche status of turn-based combat these days provides it the opportunity to grow in new and diverse directions. Developers making turn-based games won’t have to dumb down systems to appeal to casual fans, but can rather work on tailoring their games to be punishing and rewarding for experienced genre-fans. So, while FF XV won’t be revolutionizing turn-based combat maybe a smaller developer than Square-Enix might just do so.

Angell Soul Review (Jean d'Arc PSP)

Hello everyone, Angell Soul here again to review another tactical RPG. This time we’re going to take a look at the charming and somewhat bizarre Jeanne D’Arc for the PSP. A title that takes the historical story of Joan of Arc as inspiration for a high-fantasy story of magic, betrayal and the power of love.

Plot: Everyone knows the basics of Saint Joan’s life. She was a peasant girl who came out of nowhere to lead the French army in a short but brilliant string of victories during the 100 year war. Joan was eventually captured, betrayed by the French king she helped crown, and burned at the stake for heresy by Church officials loyal to the English side. This charming rpg takes the basic facts of Joan’s story to spin a tale of magic as the setting of the 100 year war is re-imagined in a fantastic France where demons and beastmen fight alongside and against the French and English armies. The first sections of the game follow the events of Joan’s campaign relatively faithfully but by the halfway mark the story takes a rapid turn and comes to a satisfying but somewhat predictable ending.

The story is told largely through in game cut scenes and a few key animated ones. The voice acting is at times awkward but quite unique due to the use of real French actors (and some Americans doing French accents).

Opinion: The plot takes a familiar story and reinvents it in a fun way. The story is not the most original tale ever told; it is basically a story of fated heroes battling against a seemingly undefeatable evil but eventually overcoming through their perseverance. You will see many of the twists coming but it is inventive enough to keep you interested and wanting to know how it will all turn out.
4/5 Soul



Character(s): The characters in Jeanne D’Arc include some historical characters and some invented ones. There are too many to cover all of the eventual party but I will cover the key memorable ones.

Jeanne: The eponymous heroine of the story is a headstrong character who sometimes lets her dedication to saving France from evil blind her judgment. However, she goes through significant growth as she moves from innocent peasant girl to overzealous avenger and finally ends up as a heroine who you can route for. She’s a strong female lead and I appreciated that she didn’t rely on men to save her, ultimately she’s the one who has to save the male lead.

Roger: Is a mysterious swordsman who showed up in Jeanne’s village a few years before the events of the game. Most players will instantly recognize him as the main love interest as the local friend. His dark past adds another element to the character that makes him stand out a bit as we wonder whether how his story will play out in the end.

Liane: The childhood friend of Jeanne and your go to mage for the early stages of the game. She’s dumb as a post and constantly needs saving. The game attempts to put her through some growth but the cost she pays to learn from her mistakes makes her turn around a bit less satisfying than it could have been.

Gilles: The historically savvy amongst you might recognize Gilles De Rais as the famous former comrade of Joan of Arc who eventually was executed for the mass murder and rape of possibly hundreds of children. Now he’s notorious as a serial killer, but the game oddly casts him as a just and loyal companion to Jeanne with a good head on his shoulders. He’s the reliable companion who helps guide Jeanne to her destiny. The character design actually makes Gilles seem a bit creepy and the conclusion of the game, which I won’t spoil here, goes some way to answer to why such a seemingly great guide might one day have become a horrible murderer.

Henry VI: The main villain for most of the game is the demon possessed boy king of England. His character is rather weak and since he’s pure evil there’s not much growth to speak about. The character design is also rather bland and unoriginal.

Bedford: The other main villain is Henry’s uncle Bedford who is more interesting as a misguided man who turned to demons because he thought it was the only way to save his nephew and England. However, the game doesn’t do enough to make us feel for him until the very end and at that point it feels a bit too forced and late.

In conclusion, the characters of Jeanne D’Arc put a refreshing spin on historical and original characters and they provide enough interest and originality to keep you interested until the conclusion. The villain design could have been somewhat better since pure evil is never really as interesting as a nuanced villain who has a bit of good to them.

4/5 Soul

Gameplay: The gameplay is nothing to write home about. It’s a pretty standard tactical rpg with grid based combat. There’s no class changing or customization in the game like you find in FFT and most strategic choices in the game are pretty obvious. By the later stages once you have the right abilities and equipment the last 20% of the game provides little difficulty and actually becomes just a chore as you try to get the next bit of the story. The lack of customization and the fact that stats are pretty much fixed for the characters means that the viable character selection for each stage is pretty much obvious. A little more challenge and tactical variety would have pushed this game into the top tier of trpgs, as it stands it’s only just competent.

2/5 Soul


Overall: Jeanne D’Arc is a game overflowing with charm. The plot, world design, art style and characters provide enough to keep you playing through what is under the surface a rather subpar tactical rpg. There’s a great deal of replay value provided by postgame stages, but this will appeal mostly to those who enjoy grinding; other games like Disgaea do this better though because of the wider variety of characters and abilities available. If not for its unique story this game would be instantly forgettable, but still I can’t help but say this is one worth checking out for its charm and story alone. 4/5 Soul

Blue Soul Review (Blue Dragon)

Blue Dragon is a really good game that goes back to the root of Jrpg while dragging it kicking and screaming into the next generation of consoles at the time. 


Plot: The game starts with 3 childhood friends, (Shu, Kluke and Jiro) dealing with the infamous purple cloud that has come to plague their village. They gain the power to summon blue familiars to help them fight and save the world from the evil Sorcerer Nene. On their journey they meet Zola and Marumaro and together they find the strength to destroy the evil entity.

Opinion: The plot is pretty standard, calling inspiration from Jrpgs of old while also managing to keep it somewhat fresh. 3/5 Soul

 

Setting and Graphics: The game has a fantasy setting mixed with steampunk technology (e.g the landshark etc) 

The game itself was beautiful for its time but it's not perfect, it has the early xbox 360 and ps3 problem which was play-dough looking graphics. It does not lack in heart though as it's done to the best of its ability. 3/5 Soul



Character(s): The characters in Blue Dragon are...there I guess. They're likeable enough but 4/5 of them are children and there's a lot of limitation to the narrative. It is however supposed to be a coming of age story and thus the characters come together well in the end. 2/5 Soul




Gameplay: The battle system is the ever glorious turn based battle. I love this battle style, and despite turn based battles dying out, the battle in blue dragon never gets stale.

There are a ton of customization depending on each character's familiar, also a very interesting job system more in the veins of FinalFantasy 9. 4/5 Soul


Overall: I really enjoyed Blue Dragon, it's was really nice to play a traditional Jrpg on the Xbox360 and though the game has it's hits and misses, it was still an enjoyable playing experience. 3/5 Soul

Angell Soul Reviews: Fire Emblem

Hello dear readers, I’m a friend of Rpg Soul and you can call me Angell Soul (it’s a pun on my actual name, trust me it’s funny). RPGs can be time consuming endeavors for even the most dedicated gamers. With some titles taking as much as 60+ hours to complete the main story alone, not many have the time to play every game that’s out there. I’ll be contributing reviews to the blog as much as I can to help make Rpg Soul’s job a little easier and making it possible for this blog to cover a wider range of topics.

Today’s review will focus on one of the most successful and well known series of tactical role playing games, Fire Emblem. Previously, Nintendo had shied away from translating the games into English because they were afraid the series’ notorious difficulty would turn off Western gamers. However, the inclusion of two characters from the series, Marth and Roy, in Super Smash Bros. Melee generated enough interest in the property to justify a localization of their next title in 2004. So, let’s take a good look at Fire Emblem for the Game Boy Advance, the game that made Fire Emblem a staple of tactical rpgs the world over.

The most famous gameplay element that most people probably know about Fire Emblem (until the introduction of casual modes in the most recent games) even if they haven’t played it before is the fact that characters stay dead once they die in battle. If any of the three main characters die the game ends and you have to restart the level, if any of the supporting characters die they are gone from your party for the remainder of the game. For anyone with even the slightest OCD tendencies this element of the game can be infuriating: especially, when a lucky critical strike from an enemy takes out one of your favourite characters with a single hit. We’ll go into more detail about the gameplay later on. For now let’s go on to discussing the story elements.

Plot: Most people would probably tell you that the plot of a tactical rpg really isn’t that important, what really matters is the tactical depth and difficulty the game provides. The story of Fire Emblem is pretty much a straightforward jrpg plot that doesn’t provide many surprises. A small group of heroes and their band of followers are drawn into a conflict that quickly evolves into a fight to save the whole world from a shadowy sorcerer and his evil army. The group eventually rescues a pair of siblings who the big bad wants to sacrifice for nefarious purposes. Eventually, the secret of the brother and sister is revealed and evil is defeated. The setting is typical of a medieval sword and sorcery style fantasy world and includes mystical creatures like pegasuses and wyverns.

Opinion: The plot provides very little that is particularly memorable. It checks all the usual boxes: brave heroes, fight against evil, grand consequences. It’s truly the rewarding gameplay and the memorable characters that make people continue to sing the praise of this game. The story is nothing terrible, but nothing notable either.
2/5 Soul

Character(s): The characters in Fire Emblem are probably as equally forgettable as the plot is. However, the aforementioned permadeath feature of the game does keep you strangely attached to them. The key way you learn about the individual stories of your faithful companions is through character conversations that can be triggered in combat. That means if you want to learn more about your favourite characters you have to use them in combat, which then means that they might die before you get to see their relationships flourish! 

There’s an element of dating sim to the matching of characters. If you successful get their relationships up to the max level and keep them alive to the end, then certain characters will have special paired endings. Most of those endings usually involve some sort of romantic outcome like marriage.

Despite most of the supporting characters being basic anime stereotypes the way we learn about them does have a tendency to make us get invested in the characters. However, this doesn’t apply so much to the three main characters who are fairly bland.

Lyn, the lead heroine, is a brave and honest warrior who believes in what is right and fights for the greater good. Elliwood and Hector are basically the same but they have penises instead. The player character is a nameless and faceless tactician who the main characters consult with before battles. Your character has no personality whatsoever.

3/5 Soul


Gameplay: Gameplay is of course where Fire Emblem shines at its best. The battles are challenging and the game provides you with a variety of different kinds of settings and win conditions which keep the game feeling fresh all the way to the end. Combat is based around a simple to master rock-paper-scissors system for weapons and magic. There are a limited number of stages available so you also have to be careful how you use your characters to make sure they level up appropriately. You also have limited weapons stock and money that you have to keep an eye on to make sure you are equipped properly for battle. The battles in Fire Emblem provide a fun mix of storytelling and character building with challenging high stakes combat because of the permanent death feature. This is the winning formula that made Fire Emblem the enduring hit it has become today.

5/5 Soul

Overall: Fire Emblem has definitely become a classic as the first English language version of the game to be released. The battles are still challenging and fun to play even to this day. However, the story doesn’t quite hold my interest as much as other tactical rpgs. The Final Fantasy Tactics series have shown that tactical rpgs don’t have to sacrifice story for gameplay, you can have the best of both worlds. Despite its sometimes generic packaging, Fire Emblem remains a great game well worth your time, I cannot wait for the new Fire Emblem Fates. 4/5 Soul

Sci-fi Soul Review (Star Ocean 4: The Last Hope)

Where do I start with this one. My reaction while playing it on my xbox 360 was very mixed, I enjoyed and lauded aspects of the game while loathing others. The Star Ocean was a series that mirrored the Tales series in its fast paced battles and anime designs. Let's dive into this one shall we?

Plot: The game starts with exposition explaining and showing the effect World War 3 had on Earth. The amazingly named Edge Maverick (...) is chosen along with his (sigh...) childhood friend Reimi Saionji to find an appropriate environment for humans to move to. They meet and join up with aliens from other planets as they make their from planet to planet with varying technological states.

Opinion: When I went into the previous installment of Star Ocean (3), I went into it with promise of being able to explore various different worlds with different states of technology and politics, instead I was horrified to find out 3/4 of the game was spent in the medieval world. This one actually delivers but falls into a very formulaic style plot with each world being like an episode of a series. It's not exactly a bad thing though, just not for everyone.
4/5 Soul



Setting and Graphics: Oh my god the graphics looks amazing even with 2016 standards. Tri-ace did an amazing job as always. The settings varies according to which world you're currently in and it really works for the game as each world feels really fleshed out and gives the feeling of being in a different time on Earth. 5/5 Soul





Character(s): Okay, here's where the game hits a wall for me. The character designs look very very very very weird! Look at them, they look like a horrible Frankenstein monster of western and anime influences. The little Loli, Lymle scared the hell out of me and they all have dead eyes.

The characters all unfortunately give nothing outside their anime/jrpg archetypes, like the brave but headstrong leader, the childhood friend, the deadpan loli. I was thoroughly unimpressed. Also I only played the Xbox 360 version of the game so I was not given the ability to change to the Japanese audio and let me just say, the English voice acting is atrocious. 

2/5 Soul



Gameplay: The battles is where this game shines. It has a very fast-paced ala Tales series 
battle. Introduced in this series is the Bonus Board and the ability to avoid an attack and move behind an enemy to blindside it. The battle is fluid and action packed, and does not get old even during character grinds.

The pacing of the gameplay is very odd, one minute you have a 3 hour dungeon only to finish it with a 45 minute cutscene. At least it's done beautifully as long as you glaze over Lymle's dead soulless eyes.

5/5 Soul

Overall: I liked Star Ocean 4: The last Hope despite it's very questionable character designs. I played it all the way to the end and enjoyed a lot of it. All in all a very solid Jrpg and I can't wait for Star Ocean 5! 4/5 Soul

Pokemon 20th Anniversary Soul (Road to Misty)

Previously on Pokemon Soul...

And now on Episode 2: The road to Misty!


The road to Misty was a long one filled with Trainer battes and Zubat filled caves.

Top 10 Best Jrpg Openings EVER! (Part 2)

Number 5: Wild Arms 3 The 3rd Advanced

Back in the heyday of the PS1 and PS2 Era of Jrpgs, not many could match the Tales series' openings, that is, with the exception of Wild Arms. An Rpg set in the fictional world of Filgaia, each game has a heavy Wild West theme, with cowboys and guns being intricate to the plot and gameplay. Wild Arms 3's opening captures it very well with the song having a very western sound. This was also the 1st and only game in the series to have the song re-recorded with English vocals.


Number 4: Tales of the Abyss

Tales of the Abyss is no where close to my favorite in the series but damn it if it doesn't have a close to perfect opening. If it was shown to most anime fans, it would be mistaken for a really good anime opening. The song is KARMA by Bump of Chicken and it's amazing! It showcases the characters and setting perfectly with the visual and movement matching the tempo of the song. Thumbs up!


Number 3: Chrono Trigger

The Playstation 1 port of Chrono Trigger added little outside of the amazing opening! Which was fine because the game was near perfect to begin with. The opening has the feeling of a massive adventure and shows off the fighting style and to a lesser point, the personality of the characters. 


Number 2: Tales of Graces f

In my opinion, the best Opening for a Tales game, by the best game in the Tales series. Sung by the amazing BoA, they managed to get her to re-record her smash hit 'White Wishes' (used in the Japanese vers.) in English and it sounds amazing. The visuals are mostly a mix of fighting scenes and scenes from the game. They start the opening with quick glimpse into each character's personality. It is an amazing opening.


Honorable Mention : Thousand Arms

Number 1: Wild Arms 2 The 2nd Ignition

Arguably the best game in the Wild Arms series, it also plays host to the best Opening in Jrpg EVER! It is perfect in the context of showing off the setting and characters via compelling visuals and  theme appropriate music. There's not much I can say that playing the youtube video I've hotlinked doesn't. It is perfect.