Image: Original background #1

here's a wallpaper i made a while back (also the background of this blog :P)
http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg104/RocketZX/wallppr-1.jpg

Anime review: Letter Bee

English Title: Letter Bee
Japanese Title: テガミバチ,(Tegami Bachi)

Basic Summary:
        Letter Bee is the name given to those who make deliveries around the world of AmberGround. That may seem like an easy task but in a world that is in constant night and only lit up by an artificial sun, and large creatures called Gaichuu who inhabit the dark spots of the world it can be a dangerous task. Luckily the Letter Bees are armed with a Shindanjuu (english: Heart Bullet Gun) that uses a fragment of a person's heart to fire a magical bullet, and their "Dingo" that acts as their protection (not an actual dingo, that's just the terminology -.-;;).

Plot:
      The series follows a young boy, Lag Seeing, who a few years ago was left alone after his entire town was burned down and the people taken away to the Capital city. Gauche Suede, a Letter Bee from Yusari, was given the job of delivering him to his aunt. after being delivered, Lag had set his heart on becoming a Letter Bee to find his mother and to thank Gauche for saving him. At the age of 12 he is finally able to register as one. On his way to Yusari he meets a young girl who has the ability to use "Golden Swords" which allows her to use her hair as blade weapons. since she didn't have a name Lag gives her the name "Niche" and she decides to become Lag's "Dingo" and help him to become a Letter Bee. Arriving in Yusari he is one step closer to reaching his dream, but wait, it seems Gauche Suede is missing...

Personal Opinion:
     I found to be quite interesting, the character design is quite unique and well done. this series talks a lot about hearts. to a letter bee delivering a letter is like they're delivering a fragment of someone's heart to the receiver. the Shindanjuu weapons fire using the energy from their heart as well. the series does tend to be overemotional at times (so much that it's funny :P) and the main character seems to cry easily  (what do you expect he's 12! >_>;;). if you like good story plot with a lot of emotion then it's a good series, but if you're looking for something more adventurous then you may not like this series that much.

Game review: Castlevania Dracula X Chronicles (PSP)

Title: Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles
Produced by: Konami
ESRB Rating: Teen

Basic summary:
        Another addition to the Castlevania game series. However a few might be disappointed to find out it isn't a sequel to the series but rather a remake of the PC-Engine game Chi no Rondo (english: Rondo of Blood).

Gameplay:
       This game follows the general gameplay of castlevania series games. sidescrolling, sub weapons, climbing stairs and clearing stages.  there are a few notable differences however, such as having not only a male playable character but also a female character. You can choose to play as the classic whip-wielding Richter Belmont, or the animal-summoning Maria Renard. the game also featured multiple stage routes that change depending on what boss you defeat at the end of the stage. The gameplay is exactly the same as the original, just rendered in 3D. that includes stages, characters/enemies and even the previously anime-style cutscenes are now in 3D. The only other minor difference is that you can obtain BGM CDs that allow you to listen to the game music outside of gameplay, and you are able to unlock classic castlevania games.

Classic games?:
     besides the main game mode "Dracula X Chronicles", you are able to unlock (not available at start just to clear that up!) two other games: the PC-Engine version of Rondo of Blood, and the PSX game Symphony of the Night, which takes place 4 years after Rondo of Blood. SoTN is the first game in the Castlevania series to implent a RPG-like game system (leveling up, equip items etc.) and unlike its predecessors, you were able to explore the areas freely. you play as Dracula's only(?) son Alucard (his name backwards LOLZ) who gave up his life of sin and decides to fight against his father. he is accompanied by Richter and Maria (who are playable in this game as well, just by entering their name on the name entry screen).

Graphics and Sound:
the the music and sound effects remain more-or-less the same as they were previously, the music of RoB was redone just to sound "better" and the voice acting (in all three games) have been redone (no What Is A Man dialog, google it :P)  and you are able to choose between English and Japanese language. the graphics of the original games remain the same however there is no widescreen setup for the classic games resulting in a "box" screen. this shouldn't make too much of a difference though, at least not to me :P

Difficulty: Hard
     Rondo of Blood is not an easy game by any means, but it is easy to get used to. since the design is based on the old style of castlevania, there are a lot of things that can be hard to get used to. you'll find that just "a few hits" can take just about half your life down, most of the time you'll only get 1 or 2 health refills! sometimes you'll find that it is EASY to get knocked into a hole on the floor, instantly killing you. Bosses are pretty hard when you first get to them, the key is memorizing what the boss will do.

personal opinion:
     I consider this game (RoB) to be the peak of castlevania gameplay. it introduced new mechanics such as backflips and slides, and proved to be the 2nd most challenging Castlevania game (1st being Castlevania 2: belmonts revenge). It also implemented a LOT of dialogue and storyline compared to previous games (before the GBA series of games). this game is quite challenging even to me. however i'm sure only "classic gamers" will appreciate this kind of gameplay, less and less sidescrolling games are being made, and the challenge of games has been going downhill quick. even the Castlevania series was not able to avoid this fate, with Dawn of Sorrow (DS) being the easiest castlevania game (in my opinion -.-;;) however i have not ventured further than DoS in the series, i hope i won't be disappointed...

welcome to my blog...

hello there welcome to my blog, i'm currently in the process of setting things up, but I should be good to go in the next couple of days. i will be using this blog mainly to post about games I am currently playing or Anime I am currently watching. i might have more content in the future such as music and novels that i have produced.

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