Megaman Xtreme 1&2

  

 Megaman X is arguably one of the most popular megaman franchise for 90s Millenial Kids like myself, most have their gateway from one of the main titles though my route was rather different one. Back then I never home consoles like PSX and only portable one like Gameboy Color and my gateway to Megaman X happen to be Megaman Xtreme series on GBC.

Megaman Xtreme is a spin off Megaman X title series featuring Megaman X adventure in Gameboy color format. Spawning 2 titles, Xtreme and Xtreme 2, this series offer Megaman X experience on portable console recycling the contents from Megaman X to X3. The experience is surprisingly still fun and I did able to jump to PSX Megaman X series through this one. 

Despite it is a Gameboy Color game, each Megaman Xtreme offers 8 Mavericks from X-X3 for X to fight and in Xtreme 2, you can even play as Zero whom got some interaction time with Iris. Compared to main X series, the experience of Megaman Xtreme are not as straight forward. As the full experience need to be unlocked first through clearing playthrough, which does offer some replay value which are not exactly common in Gameboy Color. 

I still keep Megaman Xtreme in good regard since I had fond memory of X performing Hadouken and Shoryuken on Sigma and even have a digital copy for Xtreme 2 on my 3DS. While Xtreme might not have much too offer for those who have played X-X3, these series still worth a visit for those who seek complete journey in Megaman X series 

3DS XL Monster Hunter Generations PAL Review

 

Today’s post isn’t exactly a proper review — it’s more of a nostalgic reflection. But considering how long this little gaming device of mine has lasted — even surviving a recent flood — I figured it deserves a dedicated entry.

Back in 2016, I took a trip to Sydney and picked up a Monster Hunter Generations Edition Nintendo 3DS XL, along with a copy of Monster Hunter Generations. Long story short, this 3DS XL has stuck with me ever since, faithfully enduring years of use. It’s still in relatively great condition, which really speaks to the build quality of Nintendo’s hardware.
 

Eventually, I did sell my original copy of MH Generations and later upgraded to Generations Ultimate. But the MH Generations 3DS XL itself? It's been with me through thick and thin.

Interestingly, the NTSC version of this limited edition comes in blue, while the PAL version is red. Personally, I think the PAL version won out this time, the red design feels more in line with the bold, hunting aesthetic of the Monster Hunter series. This limited edition model could probably fetch a decent price nowadays, but after surviving the recent flooding disaster, I think it’s earned the right to stay with me — at least until it finally gives out.

I have many fond memories with this 3DS. I’ve clocked in thousands of hours on it across various titles. While I wasn’t thrilled about Nintendo pulling Monster Hunter away from the PlayStation Vita back then (though, let’s be honest, that was mostly Sony’s fault), I’ve since moved on from the series itself.

Still, this 3DS means more to me than just gaming. It was my companion through early adulthood, and its survival is a reminder of those formative years and precious memento for me.

Adventure Bar Story

  One of my recently cleared backlog from 3DS and this one surprisingly a good time sink. Ages ago, I have tried Adventure Bar Story back on mobile phone but only fully committed with the game on my 3DS. Adventure Bar Story is basically a Classic JRPG with simple simulation mechanics thrown into the mix where you play as a restaurant owner climbing up to the top, gathering your own ingredients from Dungeon and Monsters. For a game that appear to come out from RPG Maker, Adventure Bar Story surprisingly able to offer vast amount of content despite its limitations and you will spend hours trying to complete your Recipe without using walkthrough.

 Adventure Bar Story may not be flashy, but it is decent enough to make me clock over 30 Hours of playing time. The old school vibe of this game really reminds me of  Summon Night game on GBA which had crafting as part of its mechanics. The progression in Adventure Bar Story is directly tied to the Restaurant Fame in which daily sales and contest ranks are essential. For the party members, Lidia and Elias are the best ones when it comes for resource farming due to their abilities. Lastly always bring a party member that can steal in Boss fight as some of the unique equipments including the endgame stuffs are only available through such means. For its intention, I think the 3DS copy is the definitive version of Adventure Bar Story since the developer probably refined the game a lot to make it a proper console JRPG. Personally i could see the game could have some sequel but at very least i can still settle with the spinoff roguelike Adventure Labyrinth story.

Monster Hunter Double Cross Announced!

 From the recent Nintendo Direct, Capcom announced a new monster hunter title named Monster Hunter Double Cross serving as the Grank version of MHX/Monster Hunter Generations. The game will be scheduled to be released on March 2017 and so far here are the main things that have been revealed:

• 2 New Hunting Styles, one has been revealed as Brave Style which seems to be capable of dishing tons of damage once you build up your power bar. The other style has not been revealed yet but it appear to involve lots of bombing.
• New Hunting Arts, but nothing much revealed at this point
• Prowler mode will have some boost for melee option including adept style dodge and aerial jump
• New Map, one is revealed as mountainous type, reminding me of part of Great Forest map from Unite
• The G-Rank Quest Hub will be revealed as Airship
• 2 New Monsters revealed so far, One is Devil Blos which will likely join the Deviant Group and other one is Silver colored wyvern which seems to be the agile type

I think more information for MH Double Cross will be revealed later on considering the current stuff is lackluster for an expansion game. I think with the recent popularity of MH in the west it is possible we will get the English version of Double Cross on late 2017 probably around 6 months after the Japanese release. I am still crossing my hands on this one since the current new features does not convince me enough to get a copy and to be honest i am rather burned out with MH on Nintendo Platform.

MH Generations N3DS XL GET!

 Never intended to play MH Generations but after some goading by my friends, in the end i gave in. As my old 3DS got worn out from thousands of hours from Monster Hunting, i decided to get a new 3DS and thought might as well buy a new 3DS. There were 2 candidates for my new 3DS which were the Animal Crossing Home designer version N3DS and MH Generations N3DS XL which in the end i picked the latter. While i think the Limited edition for MH4U N3DS XL was cooler, the MH Gens limited edition doesn't look too bad with Glossy exterior and Matte interior. Surprisingly the data transfer between the 3DS is much less complicated than what i would have thought.

Since i have clocked few hours in MHGens prior to the Data Transfer, i might as well share my first impression about the game. I was on the fence with MHGens due to some mess that Capcom did with 4U and it appears that Generations did fix some of them. The most apparent one is in the Palico system such as acquiring Equipment for Palico doesn't rely on annoying minigame anymore and Weapon variations doesn't get too redundant with the new forging mechanics. I hate to admit it but Capcom did a good job on hooking older players into this game with the nostalgia factor and certainly the solo experience on this game felt better than 4U. While Generations lack of G-Rank, the game will bombard you with high number of quests so it will take a while to complete all of the quests. As of now, i managed to reach 6* Village and the new Flagship monster is not half bad. As always i am still a Lancer and i use Guild style since i like the versatilty that this style provide even though i know that most people are probably using Striker style. I will share my overall thoughts about this game again once i reached the endgame with my First char.

Monster Hunter Generations

  Kinda see this is going to happen as 4U was a great success for Capcom in the west, slated for mid of this year we are getting MHX renamed as Monster Hunter Generations to be released in the west. Personally i won't be getting this one as 4 Ultimate is my last MH Games on 3DS, as long as the series stuck on 3DS.

I have nothing against Nintendo but i personally think won't get to its fullest potential if it is stuck on 3DS for many reasons. I was really hyped for 4 Ultimate back then but was really disappointed with the game which contributes to the reason why i think 3DS doesn't suit for MH. Firstly 4U was such a rushed out product that you will find lack of Quest variety in Grank Guild, then 4th Gen was the worst when it comes to level design. As for the community i was really sad with the 3DS Community for this game which majority are either Munchkins or Noobs and i think next MH should have some measures to make railroading harder. Lastly the Apex mechanics are terrible as it deviates from its original purposes making the monsters annoying instead of challenging.While i won't be getting the game i will support the series by buying the merchandises.

Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate Thoughts

It has been like 3 months since MH4U released and thanks to that this already quiet blog got even less post. By this time i think i am ready to share my thoughts about the game. It took almost 2 years after 3U to get this game released and certainly 4U is highly anticipated especially with the online for 3DS.

The game mechanics got even better than 3rd Generation and more vertical terrains to replace the underwater fights. As usual i started with Lance as my main weapon and i have to say Lance is one of the older weapon that got better benefits with the 4th Gen mechanics since you don't need to rely on slopes to do the mounting attacks which is very useful against monsters on flat terrains and Lance is one of the two weapons that can pull this off. As for my opinion for Lancing, i will always stick to Guard Lancing since there is not much point for me to use Evade Lancing after MHFU. I find evade lancing is rather inefficient to stick close to the monsters as long as possible and with Guard+2 not much monsters that will give you trouble since almost none will be able to sap your stamina to zero from blocking their attacks. As for armor sets i always prefer looks over armor skills since i am good enough to compensate lack of armor skill and if you are online and find somebody with Kaiser X or Rajang set named Lancelot, that will be me.

Online experience is always a mixed bag for every game and Monster Hunter doesn't escape this fact, 4U is the first online capable MH on portable platform and it also got fair share of problem hunters. From my experience about the ratio of the noobs are like about 40% which either dies alot or hunt with mismatched set and you will plenty of them on Urgent Quest which is why i soloed mine which is very doable even though the overall difficulty is increased. However you will find that the average quality of the Hunters for Guild Quest will be better.

In terms of difficulty you can say 4U is the hardest one yet as the game offers harder quests and some of the Online Quests are quite brutal too solo and one of the new quests in 4th generation called "Guild Quest" is one of the hardest possible difficulty that the game can offer in level 140 where monsters can pretty much one shot you even with the best armors.

My overall thoughts about MH4U is that the game mechanics is one of the best yet however when it comes to content i can't say the same as they got plenty of problems both old and new. In terms of monsters, the 4th Gen one are not that memorable save for Gore Magala which rather edgy and i find only the older monsters able to redeem the game. Out of all monsters i find Seltas Queen to be the worst one as it is the most obnoxious monster considering all it does is trying to steamroll you which is very annoying for Blademasters. By far 4th Gen maps are the worst varieties, while each gens always been mixed bag, i find that i really hate most of the maps in this game save for Primal Forest due to it is hard to traverse some of them and Volcano is easily the laziest attempt ever.

In 4th Gen the moga forest is replaced by new exploration called expeditions which you gain Caravan points and Guild Quests from beating monsters. The problem is that the map is too linear which is just annoying sometimes when you chase a monster when you need to backtrack previous 2 maps. Lastly my main gripe with 4U is the Apex monsters, while Frenzy is fine, Apex just made the fight really annoying for solo. While it is not much problem when online, the Apex monster is just too much for solo since the item required to make them vulnerable got short time usage duration and the cooldown is bad too and you need the item to revert the monsters back to normal in order to damage them properly. In conclusion i find 4 Ultimate is not the definitive game to conclude the 4th Generation and i find the "4G" part is done rather lazily by capcom since the content is not as good as the MH4 as the G rank Quest is not too creative and rather lacks of lower mid monster varieties which 3U did even better than this. Overall i am still hopeful that Vita could get a 4th Gen MH which would be possible if Nintendo does not wrap the series under its leg  all the time.

MH4U Demo thoughts

When some Some European hunters got their MH4U demo i was kinda jelly and want to get one too but finally got mine yesterday from nintendo newsletter and downloaded it straight away. For a demo MH4U is really good much better than MH3U one from what i know. The demo got 3 monsters to fight with different difficulties and so far i have tried SnS, Gunlance, LS and Lance. I would say i am glad that the main weapons i use still remain mostly the same with addition of new moves or two and jumping attacks. Riding mechanics is quite easy to learn but i find this one works best for multiplayer as it gives opportunity to render the monster helpless for brief time while giving other hunters some breathing space while someone ride the monster, don't hit the riding hunter though.

I have beaten all the monster and my thoughts about them is Jaggi is still a punching bag while Tetsucabura is pushover and roughly as tough as early bird wyverns or other pelagus. Then fought Gore Magara which is interesting fight and it is kinda like mini Kushala though the feral form is very tough and the way it fight is like somewhere in between Tigrex and Zinogre. I will definitely get MH4U and probably going to use 3 characters just like MH3U and Lance will be still my main character's weapon.

Crimson Shroud

A very short RPG yet somehow enticing, that is the impression that i get from Crimson Shroud. Bought this game along with other Level 5 Guild project few months ago when they were on discount though never bothered to touch the game until i took a short break from Monster Hunter. Crimson Shroud sets itself apart from other JRPGs for having a Tabletop RPG feel like D&D or WH40K which is rather uncommon for its kind. While Crimson Shroud has the Tabletop game feels of it by no means it is a real TRPG. However the game got its mechanics implemented well to have an interesting experience. When i goes through the story, it really give me a certain unique vibe which turns out that Yatsumi Matsuno is behind this game. This guy is known for being creator of FF Tactics, Vagrant Stories and Tactics Ogre which all of these have something in common; very good RPG story. The size of the story is roughly as big as a mini campaign of RPG games which takes place in one dungeon. The story of a Crimson Shroud is about an adventure of 3 Seekers in search of a "Gift", relics that grant its wielder magical power and the one that they look for is the "Crimson Shroud" a legendary gifts that was said to grant great magical power. The adventure leads the adventurer's  to a place called Rahab Palace that used to be a magnificent palace that become a center of civilization but now forgotten by time. As the story continues to unfold the Adventurers will find more sinister forces hiding in this Palace and it is up to their ability to survive this ordeal.

At first for me, it is rather hard to grasp the gameplay mechanics since there are lots of mechanics crammed at the same time. You will need to loot your enemies spoils to get better weapons and keep augmenting it. Once you understand the mechanics you will this game enjoyable otherwise you will only deal one damage to the enemy. Crimson Shroud is divided into 4 Acts which will roughly last about 4 hours and most of the time you will spend is to get the key from random encounter which can be very frustrating sometimes. There are 2 endings available in this game which you can only access the second one after you finish the first playthrough as more areas become available in new game+. My suggestion for this game is once you get Falchion try to find more Falchion to upgrade it as high as possibly since the weapon will simply wreck the enemy once upgraded with the special move. Overall i find this game is one of the better Guild project titles and wished there would be some kind of continuation by Matsuno with the same game mechanics. So whenever the game in discount again, just grab it without hesitation!

A Year has passed and still...

Playing Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate! Never expected myself to have such dedication for this series but i guess i can keep myself committed with it as long as i have things to do. It has been more than a year since i bought my 3DS along with MH3U copy and i still play this game from time to time. This screenshot is my Female Hunter character Hilde, which i used  myself to solo all the way through Grank with Sword and Shield and i got her a full Alatreon X set! I had Escadora X set with Ikaruga as well which was painstakingly farmed with Gunlance though i cheesed Ala with Kelbi Bow with Hilde since i can't be bothered to farm that guy too long. Compared to Lucent Narga or Abyssal Lagi set, Escadora X is very lame endgame armor but it serves as a good trophy at least. I have to say my hunter progress as Hilde is rather smooth with SnS which i went through Grank rather easily though i still need Lance for underwater as SnS is way too unreliable on those kind of battle. 

Throughout my journey as SnS user i mainly used these armor set Alloy>Lagombi S>Lagiacrus U>Lambent and i am rather surprised that Ivory Lagi Armor is very good and served me well even on HR7 which i used this set to solo the Dual Brachy without too much struggle. Lambent Set though is very reliable set as well the only downside is its lacking of armor slot and it is probably the best armor in the game if you could add Evade+2 and Challenger+2 on that one. 

Anyway after a year has passed and get to play other MH clones i still wondering the other similar games doesn't have what Monster Hunter have. Surely MH had came a long way before they reach their current fame but for me it is about how the character reflects to the player especially when you play solo. In Monster Hunter series your hunter reflects your skill as a player, if it takes you a long time to kill a monster even with a good set it means that your skill needs to be improved and the monsters that you fought serve as the obstacle for you to master the required skill to defeat them. While 3U has been alot more forgiving compared to previous game, having Endgame set doesn't mean anything if you can't use them properly which is still very true in this 3U Grank. I may not the best hunter when it comes to speedkills but i think i am very good at surviving as a Blademaster and my advice is that use MOI(moments of invisibility) to the fullest and mastering the Evade+ skill is a sign of a good hunter. Probably i will be still playing MH3U until 4 Ultimate comes out and for now i think i am going to try reaching HR100 with my LS guy.

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate thoughts

I admit that i have been quite inactive in blogging from last year but last month is the record for me for being least productive on my blog. I blame it to monster hunter 3U which i spend quite alot of time to play from March until now and within this time i have reached HR8 as well as clearing all village quests. I also managed to make Gold Moon set from Gold Rathian which is awesome though i can't get the skills that i had on the same set back in Freedom Unite. With this mileage, i believe i can reviewing about this game.

Firstly about the rants, while MH3U probably has the most refined gameplay but content-wise it is still loses with Unite which at least bother to add more maps for the game. Underwater battle is the new feature from Tri series which is quite hit or miss but for me it is a miss. While i don't really have problem killing monsters underwater, i am never able to bring myself to like fighting underwater mainly because i cant fight freely compared to fighting on land and arguably Ceadeus is one of the main reasons i hate fighting underwater(can kill it under 15 minutes though). Aside from lacking of maps and underwater battle, my greatest disappointment for the game would be the weapon trees. Despite getting the same treatment of MHFU, MH3U is rather lacking in weapon branches. For instance if you want certain elemental weapon like Fire or Thunder you only practically have 2 or fewer choices to make and it is guaranteed one of the weapon branches require you to farm Rubies or Mantles in order to upgrade it. For Lance i am rather unhappy that there is only one decent Ice elemental Lance which barely did the job while the other usable option requires Awaken&Sharpness+1 to be used and even Gunlance doesn't have any usable Ice Gunlance at all(Lagombi's is terrible).

Aside from the rants i suppose the games plays just fine and it is still the best MH that has been out so far(until Vita got one at least). The Grank is still challenging but more balanced at the same time since not many OHKOs compared to FU. Poison and Slime Weapons are quite powerful in this game so you might consider to use them. While MH3U is great game i don't really think MH really fits on 3DS in the end.

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate get!

Talk about impulse buy, but i decided to get a 3DS when Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate come out. At first i thought to skip this MH installment but since my friends are getting them, i changed my mind. So far i have spent 1 week playing this game but due to work, i barely have time to play the game compared to Portable 3rd. So far things are quite a breeze as i managed to go through 5th rank Village Quest with Jaggi Armor set and again i am using Lance. MH3 Ultimate by far is very solid like other MH titles though i find underwater battle is abit annoying due to camera control which make cutting some monster's tail rather difficult. The free roaming system is quite interesting as well as the farm which is entirely different compared to the PSP MHs. I find the control of the MH in 3ds is abit awkward because i am used to "Clawing" gamestyle but don't really have significant issues. While i still feel MH3 U is still more suitable on Vita i suppose the release of the game on 3DS offer the game better chances to attract wider audience despite there are too many noobs playing the game.

SRW UX for 3DS

Well SRW never ceased to surprise me every time, just today i got to know Bamco announced another new title for SRW series to be released on 3DS. The new SRW is called UX scheduled for March next year for 6800 yen. Some series from SRW K and L will be returning to UX along with couple of new mecha series. Some of the debut titles are Demonbane(Midorikawa's wish come through it seems), Mazinkaiser SKL, Heroman and another Virtual On title. Being a fan of the series after i finished reading 2 of the VNs, My body is ready for some Demonbane goodness in SRW but i didn't expect it become like this. It is hard to justify for me to get the Japanese 3DS solely for this game and i don't really have other Japanese 3DS title that appealed me. I will just be bystander this time and hope that Demonbane will see another light in SRW for other platform.