Rance 01: Quest for Hikari

 In order to prepare myself for Rance X, i tried to complete most of the Rance games before moving on the final Rance Title to make the Journey for this Epic Fantasy feel more worthwhile. As i reached the True Ending for Rance IX, i set my eyes upon the Remake of Rance 1 Quest of Hikari. Since Quest for Hikari is the earliest title of Rance series, it only took me two days to finish the game but for most readers it should take less than a day once the Translated version comes out. Overall Rance 01 is quite fun revisit of the Older Rance title as Alicesoft add new battle mechanics for this game, fixing the flaw that Rance 02 had. There is actually 4 Episode H-OVA for Rance 01 which essentially covers the game's main plots, nonetheless both Game and OVA had their own merits.

Cautious Hero Nendoroid 1353 Ristarte

 Took longer time than expected due to the Pandemic, but Useless Goddess from Isekai series Shinchou Yuusha, Ristarte is getting a release announcement at long last! I think Ristarte's Nendoroid was planned to be announced around March this year as the first season of Shinchou Yuusha had finished airing on December last year but with COVID Pandemic in the way, many things get delayed including this Nendoroid. Nendoroid Ristarte is scheduled for December release with 5000 Yen price tag.

 For 5000 Yen Nendoroid, Ristarte's accessories is rather disappointing as she only got Wing Parts and 3 Face Plates and even face expression is lacking. Ristarte joins the useless Goddess club because in the series, she is a thirsty goddess falling in love for Main Protagonist and her lust is the main source of the funny shenanigans as the protagonist always coldly reject her advances. Which is why the Nendoroid Ristarte doesn't completely capture her character as it lacks the crucial expression for her. In any case i will still get this Nendoroid to complete my useless Goddess set since i had Aqua and Ishtar already. It is likely that Ryuguin Seiya's Nendoroid will include additional expression for Ristarte. But for Ristarte's lustful expression, i will just look for face plates from other Nendoroid which Ayumi Otosaka seems to be a good substitute.

Rance IX Revolution of Helman Kentou Kanami route

 For the 7 Main Heroine routes story in Rance IX, I picked Kentou Kanami as the first of the main heroines to have her story covered. Out of the 4 Main Heroine routes in Rance IX that i have read so far, Kanami's route is one of the more amusing one as it had Lover's quarrel that ultimately decide the fate of a nation as the main plot.

Rance IX Main Story Complete!

 The journey toward another Rance game has ended and it was a good ride even if it could have been even better. As expected Rance IX: Revolution of Helman lasted me for two weeks and VNR proves to be a very handy tool. While i could have grasped around 60% of the story without translation machine, VNR raised it up to 90% and speed things up. Overall Rance IX is a good game but didn't fully live up to its potential as I feel the game is only around 70% complete. It feels that my expectation toward Rance series is too high due to Sengoku Rance but I suppose Alicesoft at the time just doesn't have sufficient resources to make Rance IX reached its fullest potential.

Rance IX Revolution of Helman first playthrough

 After Fall of Zeth it appears that Rance 2 and 5D are not sufficient to sate my hunger for the Alicesoft's Legendary RPG series. As the official translation for the next Rance game is not coming anytime soon, i braved myself to read the original japanese version directly something i haven't done for a while for a VN apart from Sakura Taisen. After some consideration, Rance IX Revolution of Helman become my first pick mainly because i want to finish one good Rance Game first before touching Rance X and i also would like to find out how one of the most beautiful princess in Ranceverse fall for the legendary hero.

 I used VNR to assist me reading Rance IX which makes the reading experience surprisingly a smooth ride. VNR is certainly way more convenient tool compared to ITH though you still need Translation Program like Atlas14 for best experience. At the moment i have reached Chapter 7 in Rance IX which is around halfway and as expected the storyline doesn't disappoint. But when it comes to gameplay, Rance IX unfortunately is not as polished as Sengoku Rance mainly due to subpar 3D Modelling which Alicesoft could mitigate by using some 2D cut-ins.

 In Revolution of Helman, Rance will face the final legacy of Holy Magic sect before settling scores with Dark Lords in the final game. Prior to Rance VI, i don't really care anything about Holy Magic Sect but it turns out they have significant contribution toward of Ranceverse when it comes to lore as the faction represents an era where Humanity able to put up the fiercest resistance against Demon Race until Rance came in and clear the playing field. I definitely look forward to Rance 4 remake someday because it is one of the Rance game that had most exposure to Holy Magic Sect. In any case i think Rance IX will last me for a week and at very least the Story will not disappoint.

Super Dimension Fortress Macross

 I have watched plenty of Mecha Anime including Macross series by this time but for some reason i only managed to watch the forerunner of Macross series now. As expected from the precursor of the most enduring series in Mecha Genre, with its trinity formula of  Mecha, Song and Love Triangle, SDF Macross was a revolutionary work and way ahead of its time by a decade at very least. 

Combat Mecha Xabungle

Finished yet another Tomino's series and this one is actually quite good! If Ryosuke Takahashi had Fang of the Sun Dougram then Tomino in turn had Combat Mecha Xabungle to match. Taking place in a Desert Planet of Zola, Xabungle is a misadventure of a youth named Jiron along with a group of misfits exploring the desolate land with a share of fighting and looting along the way, eventually leading to uncovering the truth of their planet.

Rance VI: Collapse of Zeth

 To fill the void that Sengoku Rance left as i settled all of past my scores, i have been marathoning other Rance Titles over past two weeks. Among three Rance games that i played, i spent most of my time with Rance VI and this one no doubt left the deepest impression to me. In Rance 6 , the brutal warrior Rance landed himself in the Magic Nation Zeth which is rife with discrimination toward non-magic user and such situation certainly calls for Heroic intervention from Rance.

QuesQ Fate/Grand Order 1/7 Scathach Heroic Spirit Formal Dress

 I have been seeing the Prototype of this figure floating around for two years and now Ques Q think they are ready to open pre-order for this Gorgeous figure of Shishou. I had quite an attachment with Scathach since she was my first SSR in FGO and thus keeping a lookout at her related merchandise worthy to be my part of collection. Being one of the more popular Heroines in the game, Scathach is not short of figures coming for her but the Formal Dress is no doubt an eyecatcher. Based on FGO 2nd Anniversary Craft Essence, Scathach's Dress enhance the Land of Shadow Queen's already plenty Feminine Charm even further easily seducing any Chaldea's Master that have her.

The Heroic Formal Spirit figure of Scathach is scheduled for May 2021 release with 18000 Yen price tag. While i am not too familiar with this QuesQ Brand, i am interested enough to chip in for this figure since i have seen their 3rd Ascension Scathach Figure which looks very good. I think Ques Q took a long time to announce Scathach's Formal Dress release since the paintjob for some part of the figure certainly look complicated. But i think this particular figure will complement quite well with Max Factory Jeanne Alter Dress due to some similarities in color scheme  

 If i had to pick between Skadi's first Ascension and Scathach's Formal Dress, i will pick the latter though i may consider to double dip if i get Skadi on her upcoming banner this July. Scathach's Character design is great but up until now The Lancer version of Shishou doesn't really have any significant part in FGO story which is one of my main gripe. One may wonder why FGO with almost five years flight time for some reason still unable to give their early SSR servant an opportunity to shine. But hopefully Typemoon could come up with something within this year for Lancer Shishou in FGO

Sengoku Rance 1/8 Yamamoto Isoroku Review

Go! Hayatemaru!