Thursday, August 30, 2012

Zanma Taisei Deus Machina Demonbane


Another VN that i managed to clear from my Backlog and at the same time adds to my list of Nitroplus title that i have finished(that makes the 4th one!). I have watched the anime before and now just like other VN that got Anime adaptation, i see how the former medium of the story proves itself to be superior. By far Demonbane probably is the longest Nitroplus VN that i have played as it takes roughly about 30 hours to finish all the route in Demonbane.

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Bokko


Another good Chinese history manga that i read recently which you can't judge by its cover! I stumble upon this manga when i was lurking at /a/ manga recommendation thread and it turns out Bokko is quite interesting read. Unlike most Chinese History manga which usually based on San Guo/3 Kingdoms Era, Bokko takes place in Ancient China era roughly before the rise of Qin Dynastywhen China was still divided into 7 states. The manga tells about the adventure of a man called Kakuri of Bokk clan which are renowned for their superior defense strategy in Siege. Throughout the story Kakuri offers cities help to defend against attackers while slowly uncovering conspiracies revolving around his clan which would change the future of China. What makes the manga particularly special is its richness of tactics and strategies which you will probably like if you are a fan of Sun Tzu's Art of War. Bokko shows some pretty sophisticated siege tactics which i didn't expect from China in that era. While the manga feels abit dragged on later half of the manga, i would recommend to read until the first siege ends since it is probably the best part that Bokko offers. Anyway if you read Sangokushi you will be also interested with Bokko

Friday, August 24, 2012

Katawa Shoujo thoughts


One of the Visual Novel i played recently and yesterday i finally managed to complete all routes for Katawa Shoujo.  At first i have rather low expectation with Katawa Shoujo as i thought the production value of the game is rather low as it is a freeware VN. However this game able to prove otherwise and show that the Devs put really good effort for it. While Katawa Shoujo is still not comparable with best Selling Eroge, i can say KS story is better than some of the VNs that i have played before. In all aspects Katawa Shoujo meets all standard that any decent VN have but i would say KS does really good job with the story and music.  You won't find any particular deep stuff from Katawa Shoujo but it offers really heartwarming story which it did a splendid job with it. While it is probably subjective, i really liked the music of the game which i am indifferent with it at first though slowly but sure i feel some attachment with the music especially the main menu theme.

Out of all 5 heroines of Katawa Shoujo, i would say all of them are equally good as they have distinct and interesting personality. I think it is just a matter of personal choice to determine which Heroines in KS are better than other. I don't really have any particular favorite but i think Rin is the most interesting heroine in KS(though her route's conclusion is kinda lacking) as her character can be described like a wind, "free and unattached with anything" and her personal disability doesn't prevent her to be one. Probably the main protagonist has the hardest time to make Rin open up her heart compared to others. Nevertheless i would recommend to play all of heroine routes in Katawa Shoujo as they complement to each other in some way. Lilly's or Hanako's route is probably the easiest one to get into which makes them the best choice for the first route. I started with Lilly's route then Shizune then Emi(Moe overdose) then Rin and finally Hanako though there are no particular order you need to play the VN. If you never played a Visual Novel before Katawa Shoujo is one of the better gateway to get into VN. Lastly I always find that if Katawa Shoujo gets some more refinement to match the ones like standard commercial VN, i think it probably managed to be one of the High Tier VN.

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Frame Arms YSX-24 Baselard


Remember the new design of Frame Arms introduced early this year? finally Kotobukiya just announced the release of the model with official name "Baselard" which its name derived from a certain type of dagger. The kit will be released at the end of this year with the price around 3500 yen. From what it looks Baselard is a light armored type mech which gives heroic-looking impression. While the mecha frame is similar to Exbrau/Valhawk, in terms of armaments it appears Takayuki Yanase intend to mirror Baselard with Cherudim Gundam to some extent as its weapon are stored at the back waist like Cherudim Shield Bits. Probably one of the best looking Frame Arms so far and there is a chance we may see some variants of the mecha for future lineup released by Kotobukiya

Friday, August 10, 2012

Gihren's Greed Char's Counterattack playthrough


After i finished Gihren's Campaign, i am farming plenty of Intervention points for secret units until i got enough to unlock Gundam Unicorn. During the points farming, i managed to complete Amuro's and Char's CCA campaign which means i have played all available main campaigns in Shin Gihren. Overall the campaign is pretty interesting and i see some paralels of CCA Event. in Amuro's campaign it turns out that Londo Bell have to face Neo Zeon for another Decisive battle in Sweet Water Colony even after they managed to stop Axis descent to earth. Whereas for Char have to drop Luna 2 to Earth to land decisive blow to EFSF as Axis drop is not sufficient to force earthlings migrating to space.


The campaign's difficulty is not that bad considering the length of the campaign is practically half of Gihren's or Revil's size.  In CCA Campaign, both Amuro and Char lacked of Ace pilots in disposal which some good units like Hi Nu are wasted if you don't spend some points for extra pilots. Newtypes in this campaign are even more broken compared to OYW time as no Jegans or Geara Doga will able to touch Amuro or Char once they pilot their Final unit. Moreover any MS with Funnel capability are pretty much make any grunt mincemeat as they are capable of post-movement MAP weapon which can ruin your day easily which i prefer to see them nerfed. The CCA campaign also feature some UC Gundam units though i think there will be more in the next installment which i would love to see more units for CCA Campaign (though last time i recalled EFSF doesn't got much units for CCA MSV). Lastly i finally managed to unlock Unicorn Gundam as playable unit which is pretty good though it can't last really long in NT-D mode.


Friday, August 3, 2012

Yokohama Shopping Trip


I tend to avoid Slice of Life genre as much as possible as i am not that fond of Moe Pandering which are the usual content of the Genre. But recently i read Yokohama Shopping Trip or Yokohama Kaidashi Kiko and i pretty enjoyed the read. The story of this series revolves around a Female Robot called Alpha running a Coffee shop in rural area and her interaction with her customers and friends. This manga basically a definition of Slice of Life Genre and really Lighthearted. The drawing style of the Manga is pretty unique but what makes YKK interesting read is that it explores the theme of Humanity's Twillight in tranquil way as Nature gradually takes over Human's Civilization. I would say YKK is the ideal model for Slice of Life and whether you are a fan of the genre or not, you won't regret giving the manga a read.