Video Game Review- Rhythm Heaven

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Quick Grade for Impatient Readers: 9.0/10 (A highly entertaining game as addicting as it is challenging)

This one actually found this Nintendo DS game a few years ago for a younger sister. The younger sister was never too interested in video games, but this one noticed that she preferred games with cute graphics, simple play mechanisms, and something she didn’t have to invest much time in. Combined with decent reviews found online, this one bought “Rhythm Heaven” for cheap and gave it as a Christmas gift. The younger sister immediately fell in love with it (though still growled at it during the difficult parts), and ever after it became known as the ‘addiction game’ because she had a hard time staying off of it.

This year, the younger sister bought “Rhythm Heaven” as a Christmas present for this one- and the game was just as addicting as she claimed it to be.

As the name implies, “Rhythm Heaven” is of the rhythm genre. You tap, hold, and flick your way through various mini games, each with a different theme. The real challenge (and addiction) comes trying to get through those games. If you don’t follow the beat exactly, it is very easy to fail one of these mini games. The game does give you the option of skipping past games that are giving you difficultly, which can be very helpful. However, getting past a game with a “superb” grade gives you metals which can be used to unlock extra items as well as giving the player opportunity to unlock more content later on.

Pros: As mentioned many times before, the deceiving simplicity of the mini games makes the entire game  addicting. Plus, you are given 50+ games without having to unlock anything extra. You can also set this game aside and come back to it very easily, since almost each game gives you a short practice session if you need it. The younger sister once ignored “Rhythm Heaven” for half a year, and was able to get back into it without any trouble.

Music-wise, it is delightfully upbeat and catchy. You’ll probably find yourself singing some of the songs, especially if you’ve spent a long amount of time trying to get a high score. Humor is light, and may even pull out a few chuckles, but most of the focus is on the game mechanics.

Speaking of, game mechanics are flawless. If you find that tapping or flicking is not working, don’t blame the game. Instead check your DS screen’s sensitivity, or blame yourself. Breaks from the game can help if you find yourself having difficulty getting even the simplest moves done correctly.

Cons: Make no mistake, these games are challenging, even in the early stages of the game. Even a single mistake can mess up your timing, which can cause a domino effect for the rest of the mini game. For some of the sections, even passing with an “okay” can be difficult in and of itself. Luckily, the game offers you a chance to pass the game completely if a particular mini game is failed 3 times in a row.

Final Verdict: “Rhythm Heaven” is an under appreciated game, and one that this one would recommend to any video game player. It’s cheap (under $20 every time this one has seen the game), it’s accessible, and best of all the game is fun. There’s really no reason not to purchase this game unless you don’t have a Nintendo DS or you  hate rhythm games with a burning passion.

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Anime Review- Durarara!!

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Quick Grade for Impatient Readers: 9.5/10 (An excellent anime that has a bit of everything, but the story-telling is what makes it so great)

Originally starting out as a light novel by Ryohgo Narita, “Durarara” has spread out to various media formats, including a game on the Playstation Portable and even an internet radio show. The anime itself was done by Brain’s Base, who also did an anime called “Baccano!” It was because of  “Baccano” that this one became introduced to “Durarara.”

The story follows the lives of many characters within the Japanese city of Ikebukuro. The main characters are Mikado Ryūgamine, a teenage boy who moved to Ikebukuro to go to high school with his friend who he has not seen for years, and Celty Sturluson (aka the ‘Black Rider’) who is an Irish dullahan looking for her stolen head while doing various jobs around town. However, in this anime every character has a story to tell and serves to further the main plot (and when this one says “every character,” this one means every character). The main story is about Celty Sturluson trying to get her head back, but it also focuses on rising tensions between the local color gangs, the ‘colorless’ gang The Dollars, and mysterious attacks by the person only known as the Slasher.

Pros: The story and characters are definitely the best part of this anime. Each character has a part to play, and has delightful personality quirks that make them loveable despite their often great flaws. The story itself often has huge twists that completely change how you look at certain characters and that are hard to guess at times (this one was completely shocked by a fair number of the twists, which does not happen often to this one). The story also manages to keep tensions rising while still revealing secrets along the way. The animation itself is overall fair with some very impressive moments, and the music perfectly matches situations and characters as needed. The humor is legitimately funny, though more likely than not it is the characters and their interactions that will make you laugh than the jokes the characters themselves try to make.

Cons: The only real issue this one has with this otherwise amazing anime is that it does not run very long and that it leaves one major point open. “Durarara” currently only has one season as far as this one knows ( or 24 episodes if this one is counting the seasons incorrectly), and while almost all of the questions and problems are solved by the end of this anime it does leave one major plot point unanswered (which this one will not reveal for fear of spoilers). This one hopes that by leaving the plot point unresolved, it means that there is another season planned, but so far there seems to be little to no hope for that.

Final Verdict: A great, great anime that this one would buy if ever given the opportunity. Even if you don’t normally watch action or supernatural series, this one would recommend it anyway. It has plenty of the real-life and romance genre to keep it balanced, and is not that long anyway so a large part of your life would not be required to watch and finish “Durarara.”

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Anime Review- Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan

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Quick Grade for Impatient Readers: 8/10 (Good overall, but being shonen means that some battles/arcs get drawn out)

This one first was introduced to “Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan” in its manga form, then later watched the anime. The story follows Rikuo Nura, who appears human but is actually a quarter yokai (think Japanese demon) and lives in a yakuza-like household with other yokai. He is the grandson of the head of this clan, Nurarihyon, who was known as once being one of the strongest leaders of his time. Though Rikuo is in position to be then next leader of the Nura Clan, many of the yokai believe that he is too human to do the job effectively. Luckily Rikuo’s quarter yokai blood gives him the ability to take a yokai form at night, and have all the powers that come with that form.

Pros: Animation is very smooth, and is shown off best during the many battle scenes that take place throughout the anime. Music, though repeating, matches the scenarios nicely and reflects the older Japanese culture that the anime is heavily based on. Character designs are nice as well, if a bit obvious based on the yokai and what sort of power they possess (which this one believes is appropriate, seeing as the yokai are based off of Japanese legendary creatures anyway).

Cons: The only issue that this one has is fact that some battles tend to drag on through the seasons, especially in season 2. However, this one believes that it is more the nature of the anime’s type that an issue made by the creators of “Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan.” You know how it goes; main character fights extremely strong character, loses but manages to escape before being killed, goes to train for newer and stronger power, then goes to fight before-mentioned strong character again in order to save friend/loved one.

Final Verdict: “Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan” is a good anime overall. In fact, this one is surprised that it has not gotten more popularity, though this one hypothesizes that this is due to the fact that Viz Media has only released this anime on their website, and only has subtitles available for the anime. However, this is probably not an anime this one would go out of the way to buy, and while this one would continue to watch the series if a third season was released, this one probably wouldn’t re-watch it unless watching with others who had not seen it and wanted to watch it with this one.

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Video Game Review- Harvest Moon: Tale of Two Towns (3DS)

Quick Grade for Impatient Readers: 7/10 (suffers due to odd in-game glitch and some repetition, good game otherwise)

This one wishes to start out her official nerdette review with something near and dear to her fluid cycler: video games. This particular subject is from a series called Harvest Moon.

Original a game about fighting monsters in order to save a girl and get married, the games are currently a farming stimulation where you work to create a prosperous farm, start a family, and become friends with the local villagers.

This particular installment is interesting in that it gives you two villages to work with instead of just one. You choose whether you want to be a part of the animal-loving Bluebell, or the crop-fanatic Konohana. As the reader may have already guessed, the village you choose to live in determines the focus of your farm (though you may have a small amount of the opposite). In between is a mountain where you can forage for wild materials, fish, and participate in certain festivals.

The game starts with your character (a choice between a boy and a girl, with 6 spaces to put a name) getting settled in to a selected village and having the history of the two villages explained by the Harvest Goddess. According to the HG, the two villages were friendly and connected by a tunnel through the mountain- that is, until the previous mayors of the village got into an argument over which village created the best food based on their main exports. The two mayors bickered until the HG- being the benevolent entity she is- got annoyed by the arguing and collapsed the tunnel with the people in it! Luckily (or not, depending on the reader’s personal opinion) all the people escaped, but neither village ever bother to clear the tunnel and had been bitter cooking rivals ever since.

Your character comes in by working to make the two villages friends again. In order to do so, the character must clear out the tunnel with the help of Bluebell’s carpenter and participate in the many cooking competitions that are held on the summit of the mountain. Many other tasks are required to finish these two objectives, but how fast and by what methods are ultimately up to the player.

Pros: This one believes that this game offers a fairly fresh addition to the series by offering two villages to interact with rather than just one. Each area offers something different. Characters are also still delightfully varied, and friendship/love is easy to keep track of thanks to a flower meter that appears when your character talks with them. Crop selections have not changed much (personal observation actually makes this one think not at all), but the animals get the new addition with alpacas, though those are not available until the second year of game play. Wild animals can also be befriended, but it is not a requirement.

Controls are simple to learn and use, the graphics are colorful and somewhat detailed (if fairly standard for the series), and the music can be catchy depending on the song. Though the tasks are repetitive, you are never left with nothing to do, especially as you progress into the game. Upgrades are also set out so that you cannot obtain them as soon as you save up enough money and material- frustrating at times, but it allows the player to pace themselves and gives them something to look forward to each month.

Cons: Being a farming stimulation, observation has shown that games of this series can become repetitive. While some tasks are offered that helps to get your character out of a rut, the player will find themselves repeating the same movements over and over (especially when it comes to raising animals).

While the 3DS version offers the choice of the 3D view, this one’s personal observation is that the 3D effect is not anything to get excited about. Even up all the way, objects will only look layered on the screen. The best bet would simply to turn it off- the player is not missing anything exciting without it, and can save themselves some eye strain as well.

Finally, and most crippling for the game, is the sudden error that freezes the game and forces the system to restart. Observation has shown that this frustrating event often occurs while riding horseback up the mountain. This event does not happen too often and so long as the player remembers to save before the character goes to sleep, nothing major is ever lost. However, errors are an almost unacceptable feature in game (with the exception of certain useful glitches) and in a game where repetitive tasks are already a norm, having to repeat those tasks just to get back to where you were before can cause aggravation of the highest level.

Final Verdict: Much as this one enjoys this game and the series overall, errors that force a restart simply hurt a game’s enjoyment value, no matter how much one may enjoy it otherwise. However, this error does not cause any major damage besides some personal frustration of varying degrees. Repetitive tasks may also bore some gamers, making this a game for those willing to put time and patience into a game or wish for a game that is easy to pick up and drop as needed. Therefore this game is recommended for people who either enjoy the series enough to deal with the error, people who want a game lacking violence but still has great playability, or for people wanting a good game that’s easy to get back to after long periods away from it.

Welcome, Observers

This one’s designation is Nova-D. Special skills include knitting, computer coding, and vast amounts of patience. Common activities including craft making, reading any available material, video game playing, and the observation of different animation series. This one is also working on a webcomic entitled “Twilight on Cybertron,” a spoof featuring Transformer figures. Should the reader be interested, this one would would glady post a link to the comic’s current area.

This one is a part of the assembly known as Nerdettes Unite. As a part of the assemby http://nerdettesunite.wordpress.com/, this one’s current mission is to study a variety of objects and entertainment labeled as “nerdy” for mainly female audiences. On occasion this one may blog about items in this one’s personal collection, though it is hoped that videos will soon be offered for to those with similar interests from all current members of Nerdettes Unite.

Should the reader be curious this one plans on sharing observations on video games, various cartoons and graphic novels, and action figures among other things.