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.

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

Top 10 Best Jrpg Openings EVER! (Part 1)

Hello everyone! Rpg Soul here back with another gaming list :D. It's no surprise that Jrpg shares alot in common with Anime. From character archetypes to plot twists and villains, Jrpg is essentially an Anime you can play. 



Along with all the similarities are the Openings, you know? Cool visuals accompanied by upbeat J-pop music or a full blown song with vocals! (essentially an animated music video meant to introduce you to the characters and setting). Unlike Anime openings that plays at the start of every episode, you tend to see Jrpg openings after you've booted up the system and before the main menu (with some exceptions) So let's get to it! 


Number 10: Suikoden 3

The opening for Suikoden 3 is by far the best in the series with beautiful music and visuals that make the game look a lot more exciting than it actually was. It does its job in introducing the characters and to a small extent their background, with some characters running through a dessert while others stand in a forest or city. 

Number 9: Valkyrie Profile

The very underrated Valkyrie Profile takes the 9th spot with ethereal music that quickly turns into a quick tempo electronic track, the start of it matches the Norse Mythology lore of the game. It shows bits and pieces of the game without giving too much away and introduces us to a few of the many many characters in Valkyrie Profile. 

Number 8: Tales of Destiny

I love the visual and the music in this opening for another underrated game from the Playstation 1. I would've placed it higher had the music fit with the rest of the themes of the game, but on it's own it looks and sound amazing.

Number 7: Final Fantasy 8

Unfortunately, the only Final Fantasy that makes the list. Final Fantasy 8's opening sets the tone for the rest of the game perfectly, with foreshadowing and a kick-ass fight with Seifer. Also the chanting is amazing! So much love.


Number 6: Tales of Vesperia

It's no surprise to find another Tales game in this list as the Tales games are known for their amazing animation. Vesperia also has the amazing advantage of having Bonnie Pink record an English version of 'Ring a Bell'. The visuals in this opening looks amazing! I still rewatch this from time to time.

More of the list in the next post!

Pokemon 20th Anniversary Soul (Leaf Green) Road to Brock!

Hello everyone! Rpg Soul here with a new series commemorating the 20th Anniversary of Pokemon by replaying Pokemon the first generation! I will be playing the remake for the Gameboy Advance so the pictures look a little more colorful. 

This NEW Series will be divided by gyms and a quick overview of what I went through before fighting the gym leaders. I will try and catch as many Pokemons as I can manage along the way but I will not be attempting the insane task of  'Gotta Catch em' All'. Also the format and how I write these posts might change as I do them. Let's GO!

So I named my character Soul (ik cute) and my Rival, Xillia after the worst game I've reviewed so far. After the intro, I'm introduced to prof. Oak who asks me to pick one of 3 pokemon.

I chose Squirtle as it's the most obvious choice because 1) it's a water squirrel! and 2) it leaves the rival with the worst pokemon of the 3, Bulbasaur! Now with our pokemon in tow, let's head towards the first gym leader, Brock~

Along the way, Pokemons were caught (+1 Weedle, I forgot to take a picture of it)

Pokemons evolved. (P.S: My soul is always free like a Butterfree)

Finally I arrived in Pewter City to challenge the sight impaired Gym Leader.

But not before sightseeing and visiting the Museum of extinct Pokemons.

Finally I was ready to face the Gym leader and my Pokemons we're pumped and ready.

The battle was short with both Mankey and Squirtle being strong against Rock type Pokemons.

Sorry Brock, but with you down it's time to make my way to the always wet Gym Leader, Misty!

Anime for the Soul (Charlotte)

Charlotte starts off with an interesting premise then gets confusing and ends the anime in an inconceivable plot hole. It steals heavily from the far superior Puella Magi Madoka Magica in terms of plot in the second half. Without further ado lets begin!

Plot: Yuu is a normal teenager with a twist, he's able to take command of someone's mind for a few seconds. He uses this power to cheat in school exams and try to look up girl's skirts (basically things any teenager would do if they had his power). His life gets turned upside down when he runs across a girl name Nao who blackmails him and his sister into joining a school for people with supernatural abilities. Together with Teen Idol, Yusa and comic relief Jojiro, they form an after school club to try and find other supernatural users abusing their powers in the city.

Opinion: The premise sounds interesting enough until you realize their superpowers are not very interesting. And what starts off as a lighthearted slice of life fantasy anime turns into something much more complicated and darker later on. I personally wasn't a huge fan of the storyline all the way through and found it hard to finish the anime. 2/5 Soul



Setting: The anime is set in modern day Japan and while the animation looks beautiful, a lot of the time the anime plays out in the dull looking high school. Not that an anime mostly set in a high school is bad it's just I would've liked to see the world they live in in more detail. There are scenes in the final episode that go far and beyond the high school. 3/5 Soul




Characters: Many consider the characters in Charlotte to be the weakest link in the show and I have to agree. I'll list them one by one and give my general thought on each.

Yuu: While I found certain problems with the character's writing, I do appreciate the writer trying to show character development with him. He starts as a generally unlikeable character and tries to go through a transformation towards the end.

Nao: The main heroine and the biggest flaw of the series. A weird mix between cheeky and a tsundere, outside of the first few episodes she contributes nothing. Her power is to be able to turn invisible to a single person and she's bullied for it because...(?) 

Yusa: Yusa is a teen Idol and unfortunately her personality doesn't stray too far from what you would expect. Instead character growth is given to her sister who resides in her. I'll explain, she has the ability to play host for the dead, but the dead has to be her sister. When her sister takes over, she has the ability to wield fire. She along with the next character contributes nothing to the story outside of comic relief and a little character drama.

Jojiro: Contributes absolutely nothing to the show outside of a few failed jokes. 

Character wise this anime lacks a lot. You don't care what happens to these characters at all because while there is a semblance of character development, they're not interesting characters to begin with. 1/5 Soul



Overall: It's hard to talk about why I disliked this series as a whole without talking about (and spoiling) the second half of the anime. I decided I would not spoil animes that came out recently (2015,1016) so I just need you to take my word for it, the second half of this anime (especially the final episode) kinda sucked. That does not mean this anime is without merits, the music and the animation is beautiful. 2/5 Soul

Top 10 Soulful Final Fantasy Games (Based on my PERSONAL OPINION) Part 1

Final Fantasy has grown and evolved over the years with the recent games being near unrecognizable to fans of the old installment of the series. With Final Fantasy 15 coming out this year, I've decided to make a top 10 list of my favorite games in the main flagship titles. I will start with...


Number 10

Despite being a sequel, many fans consider this game part of the main series. With bizarre Jpop music and a job changing system involving dresses, the game comes off more like a love letter to the fans of Final Fantasy 10 and boy did we enjoy the journey. Amust play if you're a fan of FF 10 

Number 9

The first FF game to come out for the Playstation 2 and the return to turn based battle for the series since FF3. A jumble of plots and twist, some make sense while some created plot holes. It was a beautiful game for its time but was marred with bad voice acting and strange creative choices. I still enjoyed it.

Number 8

One of two Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game to carry the flagship title. An online game second only to World of Warcraft and boasting upwards of 5 million account subscribed. It helped recoup the loss Final Fantasy 13 had on Square Enix and a good game in it's own right. If you're into MMORPGs, this is a must-try!

Number 7

Notice how I used Ashe's picture instead of one with Vaan for Final Fantasy 12? Had she been the main character I would have placed this game much higher. Vaan had no interesting story or character arc and instead followed Ashe around as the story revolved around her. And yes FF10 had the same concept but Yuna was no main character material, Ashe was. The battle system was hot off the heels of their first MMORPG FF11 and it showed. The game and world felt huge and had a sense of grand adventure.

Number 6

In the number 6 slot is Final Fantasy 4. I know a lot of people, my brother included would place this game a lot higher on their list and honestly I would have too but I was not a fan of switching out the party members constantly to fit the storyline. It's still a very good game and was the first in the series to have a proper narrative and paved the way for the rest of the series.

Number 5

With graphics that leave the games that came before it in tears, Final Fantasy 6 is the title you'll find in the top spot for a lot of Final Fantasy lists. The story took risks and it boasts one of the biggest cast of playable characters in the series. Featuring the first female main character in the flagship titles, Terra had paved the way for stronger and bigger females for the games after it. Kudos FF6.

End of part 1.

Sad Soul Strikes Back (Dragon Quest IX Review)

Let me start this review by saying I liked this game, I played it and finished it but I felt like certain parts of the game failed while the good parts were expected from a flasgship DQ title. There will be no character section for this game and immediately gets a 0/5 Soul from me because of reasons I will state in the gameplay section. Ready? Let's tango!

Plot: The plot for DQ9 is centered around angels and the world tree Yggdrasil. The angels are trying to get into a higher plane via a fruit called Fygg. They earned it but right before take off, the train is shot down by a mysterious force causing the main character to lose his/her wings and ending up in the human realm. It's up to him/her to help the humans, as a human him/herself.

Opinion: I like the story, I love the lore surrounding angels and I think it's done tastefully in this game. Also I like the idea of angels losing their wings and learning to adapt and fight their way back to the top. 5/5 Soul



Setting and graphics: The setting for Dragon Quest 9 does not stray far from it's predecessor. It's a fantasy medieval world that is full of life and cute quirky feeling to them. It's done very well and the graphics looked so well done for a massive game on the Nintendo DS. 5/5 Soul



Gameplay: The game retains most of its charm and adventure from the previous installments. The game feels massive and grand and the areas are beautiful. The towns feel lively with npcs bustling around and has an interesting cast of supporting characters.

The biggest flaw in my OPINION is the main characters. The playable characters in your party are created by you and have 0 impact outside of battles. I know a lot of people like this feature but I'm sadly in the minority. It felt lonely travelling with hired puppets. This feature was added to encourage multiplayer, but this required having friends with their own Nintendo DS and I never had gamer friends. The only one I had was my brother and we shared the same DS. Big sad face!

As I've already given the character section 0/5 Soul , I will be judging the gameplay separately and give it a 4/5 Soul


Overall: Dragon Quest IX was a fun play and I enjoyed being able to re-enter the world of Dragon Quest. This is not my favorite in the series as that honor belongs to Dragon Quest VII, but it's a solid addition. I wanted to be able to rip into this game (as its supposed to be my bad game review) but I cant. Despite giving the character section 0/5 Soul, I will have to give the overall game 4/5 Soul just for being everything I know and remember from Dragon Quest.

Join me soon as I review Beyond the Beyond (1995) for the Nostalgia Soul Series!