Baccano! & Durarara!!

While watching Durarara!!, I can't help but compare it to Baccano! Having the same creator, the storytelling and the opening styles of both series are very similar. Both series have a huge cast and both employs non-linear story telling that are told from the different perspectives of the characters. Mysteries, exaggerated and quirky personalities also abound in both series.

I especially liked that part in first episode of Baccano where St. Germain and Carol discuss the starting point of the story and candidate main characters, their conversation hints that a story can begin at any point in time - that the beginning might not be the beginning, and that there is no single "main character" in a story. I think that is a common storytelling style seen both in Baccano and Durarara. Btw, I think the way St. Germain says Carol's name is kind of cool though as it sounds so villainous (seiyuu is the legendary Norio Wakamoto!). St. Germain is probably one of the most enigmatic characters in Baccano, even more so than the "devil" in the series.

I just like animes with lots of interesting characters, and I adore a lot of the character in Baccano! - Luck, St. Germain, and Claire. The main characters in Durarara!! were not so much my type, though still pretty much interesting. Shinra's dad and the crazy red-scarfed police are my favorites, they're so weird and funny! Too bad they only appear in about two episodes.

I like both series, but I like Baccano! a bit more because Durarara!! ending is not really an ending; there just isn't enough closure on what happens to the most of the characters. Moroever, immortals and gangsters are more interesting than internet and street gangs. However, I like Durarara!!'s soundtrack a lot better than Baccano!'s (the track Akogare No Hi Nichijou is especially good!). 

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Tales of..!

It has been a while since I've played Namco's Tales games. The last Tales games I played more than five years ago were Tales of Eternia and Tales of Destiny in Playstation. I didn't really like or dislike both games, I think they were pretty fun yet quite mediocre. Just recently, I finally played Tales of the Abyss, and it proved to be a lot better than the older Tales games I've played; in fact, it reignited my interest on the whole Tales of series.

Reminiscing the older Tales games I've played, I noticed two qualities of Tales games I liked best. First off, one of the prominent features of all Tales games is the heavily anime-esque characters and stories. It's also one of the reasons that I got into the Tales series. Another thing I really like about the series is its heavy character interactions. Tales of Destiny, as I remember, had interesting enough character interactions. I've recently replayed Tales of Eternia on PSP after playing Tales of the Abyss, but I thought the playable characters and their interactions with each other were a bit dull. Reid, Farah, and Keele are okay individually, but their interactions with each other were not particularly interesting. In terms of game play, I thought both games' battle system were so-so (not too much fan of 2D left/right running & attacking), and as far as I can recall, I thought that Tales of Eternia was quite difficult while Tales of Destiny was too easy.

The most noteworthy thing about Tales of the Abyss, like other Tales games, is its character interactions, but unlike Tales of Destiny or Eternia, I really really enjoyed Tales of the Abyss and mentally labeled the game as one of my top five PS2 games. I have to say though, Jade Cutriss is a huge factor that made me had tons of fun with this game. Jade Jade Jade Jade, the skits and dialogues in the game with Jade in them are all very funny and amusing, and his voice actor Kirk Thornton was so good at voicing Jade and making his sarcasm even funnier (his Japanese v.a. is quite good too!). I think Jade's up there among my favorite video game characters of ALL time. Anise is pretty funny and cute too. I like that she's realistically flawed and can be mature yet acts childish at the same time. Mieu is pretty fun to watch too when he's being mistreated :D.

The battle system in Tales of the Abyss is no longer the linear left-right path, instead, it has the free-run system where it functions like Star Ocean battles. Encounters in Tales of the Abyss never got boring because of the F.O.F., it basically allows skills to change base on which element was left on the field by the previous attacks. Finally, I love that Tales of the Abyss allows changes to the character sprite's appearance! I love the alternative costumes in this game. Anise's Cat Cat Kitty Cat, Jade's Doctor Mambo, and Luke's Vagabond Son are my personal favorites.

I think Tales of the Abyss have the same team that worked on Tales of the Symphonia, so I'll probably check that out soon. I've started playing Tales of Legendia (same team as Eternia?), but I'm not very motivated to continue it so far (boxy 3d graphics, Senel and his sister complex is kind of off-putting). 

PSP titles Tales of Radiant Mythology and Tales of VS are pretty fun. I like the concept of brining together characters from different Tales games, especially since there are lots of Tales characters I like even from other Tales games I haven't played. So far my favorite Tales of characters are Jade (but of course), Anise, Yuri, Kohak, Reala, Richter, Garr, Mao, Luca, and maybe Zelos.

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Shin Megami Tensei (part 3)

And I thought Nocturne was the best SMT game.

Digital Devil Saga 1 & 2 were the last SMT/ SMT spin-off games I played in PS2. I only decided to play DDS mainly because they were the only remaining SMT PS2 games I haven't played yet, and I'm just curious how different they are from the rest of the SMT games I played. DDS doesn't seem to be as popular as the Persona series or Nocturne, so I was not really expecting anything big out of DDS. However, I was immediately impressed with DDS1 right after the first cut scene. It did not take long before I got to control the main character Serph, and the very first music that plays (Muladhara) is already one of the best game-scores I've heard. The story of DDS is pure excitement and mystery for 1 and philosophical for 2; either way, the story of DDS 1 & 2 combined is the best among the rest of SMT games I've played. Of course, it also goes that the characters are memorable and adequately developed. Game-play is similar to Nocturne in that they both utilize the remarkable press-turn system.


DDS is probably my favorite PS2 game now. I can't choose between DDS1 and DDS2; I think they are essentially the same game that was split as sequels. My only problem with DDS1&2 is the lack of customization, few side-quests and the relative shortness of each DDS game. It took me more than 60 to 70+ hours to finish each of P4, Nocturne, and Devil Summoner, but I finished DDS1&2 with 40+ hours each. Therefore, Nocturne may still be the best SMT game-play wise since it offers so much more customizations and side-quests than DDS, but I like DDS a bit more because of its memorable story, characters, and the music.

Story - the story is so good that it really should warrant an anime adaptation. Morality, karma, cycle, Hinduism, tragedy, mystery, betrayal, angst, twists, these are some of the main elements that make up the excellent plot of DDS. I like the story mainly because it's sad :P

Characters - although not every detail are revealed of the characters, one would get a fairly good idea of each characters conflicts, emotions, and beliefs (okay, maybe excluding the silent protagonist, but i think his facial expression is quite something). I like Serph, I adore Gale, I admire Argilla, I find Cielo funny, I exceedingly love Roland, and I sympathize with Heat. The only major character I dislike is Sera. 

Music - DDS 1&2's OST: Integral is the best Shoji Meguro OST in my humble opinion. Some of the best tracks in the album include Muladhara, Sahasrara, Manipura, Aurora, Spider's String Second Movement, Hunting, Lava Flow, Watercrown, The Rain Stopped, Underground City, Inherent Will, Karma, and Battle for Survival. I really could go on and on.

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Shin Megami Tensei (part 2)

 As I am about to ramble on about Nocturne, I realized that there is a great divide between Nocturne and all other SMT games I've played before Nocturne. Overall, Nocturne is superior to P4, P3P, and Devil Summoner2 because of (1) gameplay: press-turn system (2) better dungeon layout (3) darker atmosphere (4) more philosophical themes (5) lots of things to do aside from the main quest.

One of the best things about Nocturne is the "press-turn system". Having played Persona 4 before Nocturne, I was initially overwhelmed by how my turns can easily be wasted when my attacks have missed the opponents or have been nulled/drained, and it was especially annoying when enemies kept using some multi-target and high-critical attacks, causing them to gain more and more press turns! I noticed that knowing your opponents moves and their weaknesses are essential in defeating enemies. It becomes very inefficient and sometimes impossible to beat enemies if one does not know how to exploit enemies' weaknesses. Furthermore, knowing when to pass turns to other party members are sometimes key to efficiently eliminating enemies. As I played along, it gives me great satisfaction to have defeated enemies with the least number of press turns or casualties. The press-turn system is so much fun because it's likely to be more advantageous to the player than to the enemies as long as the player knows what he or she should be doing. That said, I still died in five boss battles (Matador, Mizuchi, Fiend in Asakusa, Trumpeter, Beelzebub) and also in random encounters! It's so easy to die in this game especially during the first half of the game, and I'm not even playing in hard mode. Random encounters are a joke after having Trumpeter learn Evil Melody though :). I can't say enough of how much I like Trumpeter in this game. Fiends are the best "demon race" in this game because a lot of them null several ailments and expel/death spells (and i love skeletons!).

Some of my favorite demons in this game include: Matador, Daisoujou, Red Rider, The Harlot, Trumpeter, Beelzebub, Lilith, and Vishnu. No Metatron this time, because he only has around three open skill slots with a lot of default hama-related skills which sucks big time compared to Trumpeter's Evil Melody... Fires of Sinai is not particularly special either especially considering it costs lots of MP to cast. Metatron's best skills are support skills, but other mid-game demons have them too; considering that Metatron is expensive and is a pain to fuse, he's not that worthy. Can't deny that I'll always love his metallic face and wings though.

In terms of Nocturne's setting, the dungeon layout is definitely better than P3P and P4's, the towns of Devil Summoner 2 are superior to Nocturne's though. On another note, I like the darker atmosphere and story of Nocturne; the graphics is so well suited for the apocalyptic world it portrays. Nocturne's story telling is not particularly special or better than P3P, P4, and Devil Summoner2 but Nocturne's story itself is quite interesting and philosophical. Basically the world is ending and there are three main ideals that aim to shape the new world and the player can choose which of the three to align with, and from which, the game's ending is subsequently dependent upon the player's alignment (alignment choices have always been a SMT tradition). Personally, among the three, I'd go with Hikawa and Nihilo's Buddhist ideology. There is also a very long optional quest associated with the fiends and the Amala dungeon, which can totally alter the ending of the game if completed before the final dungeon. Missing this optional quest/s would almost mean cutting hours played by 50% or so.. but i think this optional quest is another factor that makes Nocturne so good since there is so much that the player can do and discover outside of the main storyline.

Even though this game is older (and probably less well known) compared to Persona 3 and 4, I thoroughly enjoyed Nocturne more than any Megaten games I've played before I played Nocturne.

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Shin Megami Tensei (part 1)

Shin Megami Tensei (SMT) is probably my fav RPG series right now. I simply love the pokemonesque collecting of demons, variety of customizations, and especially the dark and apocalyptic themes of SMT games. In chronological order -from eartliest to latest- these are the SMT games I've played so far:

- Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon
- Devil Survivor
- Persona 4
- Persona 3 Portable
- SMT: Nocturne
- Digital Devil Saga I
- Digital Devil Saga II (currently at the last dungeon)

Looking at the screenshots prior to playing SMT and SMT spin-off games, I was most excited to play Devil Summoner 2. I like the Taisho/Showa (?)-era atmosphere of Devil Summoner, plus Raidou looks rather cool :P. Its battle gameplay is quite similar to Star Ocean, but the player gets to recruit/dismiss demons (ala pokemon) instead of having regular party members. Some of my favorite "demons" in this game include Metatron, Vishnu, White Rider, Astaroth, and Alice. Whereas I enjoyed the collecting and the customization of skill sets, I can't say I enjoyed the story much. The characters are not very interesting too.., except for the enigmatic blond haired foreigner :).

As for Devil Survivor, the DS game, I hated the graphics so I got bored yet I wanted to find out its story, so I cheated my way out of it and stopped playing near the final battle. Strange Journey, on the other hand, is a better SMT DS game.  The good thing about Strange Journey is that it has lots of interesting demons that are not in the compendium of SMT PS2 games; it also helps that the story gets more interesting later in the game. The music of Strange Journey is creepy but it fits the atmosphere and the dungeons of the game; the battle theme is good too. Nevertheless, the graphics of both games are discouraging especially considering that grinding and spending lots of time in the game is essential to any SMT game.

On to Persona 4 (P4) and Persona 3 Portable (P3P) now.., I prefer the characters, the social links, and the story of P3P than that of P4. The story of P4 is more exciting, but I find that it goes downhill after the big revelation to the suspense, and for me, there isn't really much to think about, philosophically and story wise, after I finished the game. The underlying theme of P4 seems to be friendship and acceptance of ones' self.. which I think is kind of lame..; moreover, I'm not particularly fond of any characters or social links in P4 (the best are probably heirophant, justice, and hanged man for me). P3P's story on the other hand is emotionally and thought provoking, especially towards the end, because it has heavy themes of death and life.

Honestly, a lot of the social links in P3P are horrible too (devil, hermit, strength, etc), but I especially liked the sun social link and the female main character's version of moon and fortune social link. Not to mention party members Shinjiro and Junpei's side stories are awesome as well. In terms of battle system, P4 and P3P are the same, I simply prefer the overall look of the party member's default persona in P3P than P4's (P3P also has the exclusive uber cool persona Thanatos). Oh, on a final note, the soudtrack of P4 and P3P are equally excellent! Favorite personas for P4 include Metatron, Helel, Trumpeter, and Samael. For P3P, Metatron again of course, Satan, Helel, Thanatos.

I haven't played Persona 2: Innocent Sin and Eternal Punishment, but judging from the lparchive.org entry of Eternal Punishment, the story seems darker than Persona 3 and 4, which is a plus points in my book; moreover, I think Katsuya is cute :P.

Nocturne and DDS I & II are more special to me, so I'll leave them for another post. Sleep time! ZzZzz..

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Gremio Stew Maestro

I've just begun the game and I instantly liked Gremio. He's so cute when he fusses about "young master" Tir's well being. He's so kind and his profile picture looks so gentle yet sad. The atmosphere in Tir's home when he returns at the beginning of the game is so heart warming.
 (1) Gremio rushing out to meet "young master" and going back to making his STEW
 (2) Teo being excited about Tir's experience in the castle
 (3) Cleo reprimanding of Tir not to come into a girl's room without knocking, and
 (4) Pahn sleeping like a log and going back to sleep again after being woken up by Tir.

All these while the "Main Theme" music is being played is just epic! It's so touching and it reminds me of a lot of 2D old school RPG games with mellow moments (eg. FF6, Chrono Trigger, etc). I'm feeling good about Suikoden I, I think I'm going to like this game a lot. I'm really pissed I came upon a big big spoiler simply after entering "Suikoden Gremio" on the google search bar though... (Hmmm, after the spoiler, I'm beginning to see a common trend among all the Suikoden games I've played.. and I think I'm liking that trend..)

I've got to say though, the Gremio spoiler made me even like him more. I think he may be up there among one of my fav Suikoden characters of all time. Something about the sad expression in his eyes made me really like this character. Moreover, he's so funny when he worries (w/c is all the time) and he has a gentle personality :).

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Suikoden III

Finally got to play Suikoden III and finished the game in about two weeks. I like it; it really exceeded my initial expectation of the game. Several months ago, I tried playing the game but immediately lost my appetite to play the game when I saw the first cut scene where Chris parades around with her knights. Because of the boxy figures, and because I have Persona 4 and haven't played it yet at that time, I opted to forgo Suikoden III. Recently, having nothing else to play after Sengoku Basara 2 Heroes, I finally tried Suikoden III again and I'm so glad now that I decided to really try playing the game.

This time around I started with Hugo's chapter instead of Chris'. For the first chapter, I think Hugo's is the most exciting and I think starting with Hugo's first chapter would build up more suspense before playing Chris and Geddoe's chapter 1. Ironically, Hugo's my least favorite among the three main characters, and I think his 2nd and 3rd chapters are the most boring compared to Chris and Geddoe's. My favorite among the three is Geddoe; although he probably speaks the least among the three, his chapters are really good because of the interaction among his crew (esp Ace-Joker banters and Jacques' quirks) and Geddoe's mysterious aura.

Really though, my most fav character in this game has got to be Yuber. Actually, in this game, Geddoe's totally cooler than Yuber, but the real initial motivator of me playing this game was the prospect of recruiting Yuber. At first I thought he was recruitable because he's listed in a lot of sites as one of the 108 stars. Tough luck though, he's not recruitable in the "main" game (he'll be available in Luc's chapter which only takes an hour or so to finish...).  Errr.., I like Yuber because he is EVIL :), but mostly because he looks mysterious yet charming with his black outfit, black hat, and long blonde braided hair. I love how he gets mad all the time when you beat him and he always refer to the good guys as "worms" or "maggots" and the like. I love his mismatched colored eyes as well, his crimson red and cerulean blue eyes definitely go well with his evil smirk!

Annnnyway..., I think the best thing about Suikoden III is the trinity sight system, the roaster of likable characters, the suspense and mysteries in the game's plot, the runes and skill leveling up system, the "sympathizable" main villain, and Yuber :). Ah, and the music's good too (fav is the Iksay village theme)! I'm currently playing Suikoden V and I think the music sucks so bad I had to adjust the BGM to the lowest level. I'm currently playing Suikoden I along with V, and so far I can say that V is the least exciting and least captivating, and therefore is my least fav among the Suiko that I've played (II, III, Tierkreis) and am playing (I and V), while Suiko III is definitely among my top three fav Suikoden game.

Final Suiko III team: Geddoe, Queen, Roland, Sasarai, Nash, Salome

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NHK Taiga "Tenchijin" 天地人

天地人 (Tenchijin).. My initial thought was, "what a strange title.." Well, so far I'm not as drawn to this series as I was with 2004 NHK's Shinsengumi. I didn't care for most of the main characters in Tenchijin (Naoe Kagetsugu and Uesugi Kagekatsu). I watched this series mainly because I really like Uesugi Kenshin, but I'm kind of disappointed with how the series portrays him to be; I don't know if that is how Kenshin really was, but I felt that he was less grand in Tenchijin than how I imagine/ idolize him to be. In contrast to the main characters, I thought Oda Nobunaga is the most interesting character in the show. He has a commanding presence every time he appears in the show, and I found his determination and confidence in unifying Japan very admirable. One of the most memorable scenes of the series so far was how Nobunaga explained to Hideyoshi (Nobunaga calls him "saru" aka. monkey) the phrase Ten-chi-jin. Where he explains that "'ten' stands for heaven's time, 'chi' stands for profit, and 'jin' stands for harmony of the people" and that "only the general who has these three is able to conquer the country". My favorite scene though, so far in the series, is the part where Kagetsugu was finally able to speak with Nobunaga for the first time and they talk of their differing philosophy in view of attacking Hongan-ji and justice.

thanks to Koala Fansubs for the ENG translations

Nobunaga: "Justice is merely an excuse to engage in battle."
Nobunaga: "Hoisting the flag of justice and being obsessed with it won't bring peace to the lands."
Kagetsugu: "Without justice, human beings would be mere beasts in the wilderness."
Nobunaga: "Then let us be beasts."
Nobunaga: "I'll put an end to this warring era."
Nobunaga: "If it is for the sake of creating a new world,"
Nobunaga: "I will give my soul to the demon"

I never especially liked Oda Nobunaga before, but I'm starting to grow on him because of this series' portrayal of Nobunaga. Hmmm, can't wait to see Akechi Mitsuhide's appearance in the series! Mitsuhide's always been interesting to me, and I've always wondered about why Mitsuhide did what he did to Nobunaga. Aww, I wan't to watch 明智光秀 - 神に愛されなかった男!!!!!! I've read on boards that it's a tear jerker!!!

[turns out 天地人合is a Chinese (and Japanese?) proverb that means the right ingredient/mixture of coincidences that makes someone or something so great, and things would not have been as great if it weren't for those mixture being present at the right place and time.]

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