Wizardry Variants Daphne - Beginning Abyss True Ending GET

 Supposedly I should have written this article before talking about making Wizardry Variants Daphne main article. But in this instance I would like to share my experience in clearing the Beginning Abyss Dungeon which is only achievable on Second run of the Dungeon. For the First tutorial dungeon, Wizardry Variants Daphne choice to put a very brutal challenge for new players is rather Peculiar. Because It took me like Three Weeks to reach the True ending with respectable amount of effort which is kinda unheard of for a Gacha Game. If you minmax and have time to Spare, probably you can reach Wizardry Daphne Beginning Abyss True Ending in One week but typical target demographic of this game unlikely have that kind of time with their Full Time job.

While the Difficulty level of the Beginner Dungeon is way too brutal for average casual gamer, It definitely sets the tone of a Epic Dark Fantasy that will come out from Wizardry Variants Daphne.

January 2025 Loot

 
 This month's hauls should have been posted Earlier this month but due to unforeseen circumstances, I ca only share it by this time. Overall a very solid haul which are dominated by Chinese Hobby Collectibles just like many previous batch. The most expensive of the hauls are no doubt the Gattai Seven Changer but the Chinese can deliver top tier product for 1/2 to 1/3rd of this Guy's value ranging from Chinese Gundams Metal Build, Joytoy Primarch to Cangtoys Loong. I would definitely love to crack open Jingwei or Tianfa in near future should I have time but Loong also got a good shot to be the first pick since I would like to see how it size up with Figma Chen. I would also love to crack open Joytoy Magnus the Red and have him doing some wrestling match with Leman Russ to settle their Grudges. In any case it is a solid batch of hayls again which align with this Blog's main interests.

Wizardry Variants Daphne

 
 Over past 1 month I have been playing this new Gacha game called Wizardry Variants Daphne. As expected from a Game that bears the same name with one of the Progenitor of JRPG, Wizardry Variants Daphne is a Solid classic Dungeon Crawling JRPG that comes with Brutal Difficulty yet fun Old School RPG experience. For a Gacha Game made by Japanese Dev in a time where Chinese Gaming Industry reigns supreme, Wizardry Variants Daphne is promising JRPG game that is quite well made and could have sold well even as a console game. But for some reason the Devs decide to make this new iteration of Wizardry as Gacha game that overall have solid production value and potential. Interestingly the Illustrator of this game is the same one with Fire Emblem Awakening series.

Bartender (Manga)

 Revisiting this particular manga called Bartender which I read halfway 15 years ago. Turns out I almost finished my reading run back then and as expected Bartender is one of those reason why Mid 2000s is the peak of Japanese Manga Genre. Taking place in Late 90s, Bartender is the story a Prodigy Bartender named Ryuu Sasakura whose skill is so renowned to be called Glass of God and used it in  Ginza Nightlife scene and eventually his own Bar of Eden Hall to soothe the souls of his Patrons with his cocktails.

Genshin Impact 1/7 Eula Lawrence Wavecrest Waltz Ver

 
 Mihoyo is still taking their time for Genshin Merchandise and Eula is the next one getting a Scale figure by Wonderful Works! Based on her SSR Illustration, Favonius Recon Squad captain comes in 1/7 Scale along with Song of Broken Pines Claymore. Scheduled for November 2025 release, 1/7 Wonderful Works Eula will be sold for 30580 Yen.

I am using this post to criticize Mihoyo yet again. While there is nothing wrong with Eula and her Scale figure, her release timing really indicate Mihoyo never really cares for their Genshin IP. For a top tier waifu character like Eula, she is very badly neglected since the beginning and even worse off than Keqing both in the game and Merchandise. To put it simply, Eula Scale Figure release timing is way past her hype already as it took 5 years for a First Year SSR waifu to make it as a Scale Figure based on default illustration, not even Figma or Nendoroid! While I would say Eula is still quite fortunate compared to other Monstadt characters, this is the sort of negligence attitude that led Genshin's playerbase goes Disillusioned with Mihoyo's management  on Genshin. While I personally felt it is kinda late, I hope that Eula's release indicate that Mihoyo do intend to get things done and release more of Genshin's collectibles in near future.

Wizardry (OVA)

 Wizardry is a Legendary RPG series that cannot be understated for its immense influence in Japan. This series is essentially one of the main pillar of JRPG genre that was well known for its brutal and unforgiving Fantasy Dungeon Crawling experience. Due to my recent encounter with Wizardry Variants Daphne, I end up came across the OVA anime of this 40 Years Old Classic simply dubbed as Wizardry.

Based on Wizardry 1: Proving Grounds of Mad Overlord, Wizardry OVA is a short and intense Fantasy adventure. The OVA is a hack and slash fantasy rollercoaster with a basic premise where a Group of experienced adventurers for various reasons decide to challenge the Mad Wizard Werdna who tried to unleash Evil Power from an Amulet stolen from his former friend in the deepest part of the dungeon he created.

As a Fantasy Anime, Wizardry OVA is very fast paced and goes straight to the meat of Fantasy Adventure and did it well, which is quite a rarity for Japanese anime as they usually tend to prefer their weakling protagonist went through some character development first. Even a DnD fan will enjoy this Wizardry OVA because it is a good depiction of Level 5-8 DnD Campaign where the Adventurers are somewhat experienced but still very vulnerable against the threat that a Dungeon had and will have to rely on their wits to survive the challenge presented to them. 

If you like Fantasy Anime, you won't have nothing to lose to give this Wizardry OVA a watch just to show a glimpse what Japanese were capable of back in the Golden Age of their economy. I will definitely discuss Wizardry Variants Daphne in near future which make me got into this old yet venerable Classic RPG series.

Age of Sigmar Joytoy 1/18 Stormcast Eternal Blacktalons

 One week before Joytoy took their well deserved break on CNY and they still managed to deliver surprises after surprises! This time we got something not from the usual Warhammer 40k but Age of Sigmar with the first honor goes to the Blacktalons Stormcast Eternal team. Scheduled for April 2025 release,these Blacktalons are sold for 284 USD as set of 5 or 50-65 USD each.

Joytoy release of this Age of Sigmar Blacktalons is a big deal because it is a potential gateway for Fans to get Quality Action Figures by Joytoy for Warhammer Fantasy Battle series just like 40k. I am not too well versed with Age of Sigmar myself apart from these Stormcast Eternal clad in Gold armor are roughly Fantasy counterpart for 40k Space Marines. But WHFB is one of those yet another massive power fantasy series that got its share of very cool Fantasy Medieval Armies. With this Blacktalon release, I am looking forward to Grail Knight and Demigryph Knights someday and might even assemble a Pike and Shot army from Empire faction. Heck, I wouldnt be surprised if we are getting Karl Franz with Deathwing in the future should this venture goes well for Joytoy and Games Workshop.

Out of the Blacktalons squad, the one that caught my attention the most is easily Hendrik Silverwolf which served as the veteran in Elite Monster Hunter team even though Neave Blacktalon is the actual leader which the latter remind me of Sister Vindicta from Warhammer Tacticus. In any case we will probably start to see more of these new Warhammer Lineup on Mid February once the CNY holiday has passed.

Farewell Super Mecha Champions

 Well, the inevitable has arrived and Super Mecha Champions today officially down its server and end its service. Another mecha game bite the dust without any sendoff which is really a sad thing. But like many fans who loved this game, at very least I did my part of sending off SMC by playing a last game on the final day.

Once again I would like to say that Super Mecha Champions met its demise due to Netease negligence whom never put the proper amount of effort for this game in the right direction. I have to admit that Mainland Chinese company's extreme pragmatic approach for their product do bear good results. But personally at times companies Netease take this methodology way too far. Comparing to growing a crop, sometimes you really need more than Top Grade Soil, Fertilizer and Insecticide to let the Crop bears the greatest amount of Yields and Netease doesn't put enough care for SMC and simply consider this game outright as a failure when it is unable to deliver the result they desired. Seriously there are things that cannot be seen if you don't have any love for it.

With SMC's Demise, I will not be touching any Netease products anymore at least until they tried to make any amends for SMC by making a revival of some sort. As for myself, I will still commit to complete the sendoff for SMC with full fledged Mechatalk which will also include the Pilots database. This is the least can do for Fans to have something to reminisce with the series just like Final Gear last year.

B'T X

 Going back to revisit this classic 90s series which I watched as a kid since as my preparation part for Degenerator Industry 1/12 Action figure for Teppei and X. Just like many other kids back in this era, I was exposed to this BTX series which did give me quite an impression and even at some point I had a copy of Takara Tomy Seiryu Ron & Raido. In this article I will cover the anime version which spanned over 39 Episodes and split into B'T X and B'T X Neo. I will cover manga in another future post as it deserve its own considering the anime did diverge from the original source material due to the circumstances at the time.

Platinumhugen Ordian

 Late 90s to Early 2000s gotta be the era where some really bad Mecha Anime were made. This particular era was quite different compared to 80s as Mecha anime in this time had transitioned from Overstretched Toy commercials. But lacking Solid financial backing from a Sponsor still doesn't prevent some anime studio to come up with really Bad mecha and Platinumhugen Ordian is another Prime example which happened to be directed by Masami Obari. Nowhere as bad as Cybuster which still held the title of the worst Mecha Anime, but this one is quite bad.

The Premise of Platinumhugen Ordian is pretty much about a teenage Male Protagonist with murky past who somehow related to an officer from an Elite Military Organizaion that got robots. In a turns of event, He got roped into piloting a Mecha then experience some PTSDs and then somehow find himself piloting One of the Two Super Robots which is an Ancient Weapon and the only thing that can confront the Black Super Robot counterpart which is piloted by Main Antagonist and bent on mass destruction, deciding the fate of the world with their showdown.

To put it simply, Platinumhugen Ordian is Obari's attempt at emulating and making his own Evangelion series. but given his limitation as Anime Director and lack of Good writer in the project, the series obviously failed spectacularly despite the overall concept is quite interesting. Also don't be fooled with the bulk of the Mecha design in this series which are real Robot, Platinumhugen Ordian is Obari's super robot show through and through.

While Platinumhugen Ordian is pretty much a failure destined to fate into obscurity, the series still got some merits. As expected by Masami Obari, The mecha designs are actually A+ and offer a glimpse of Mecha version of Tekkaman which Obari did contributed back then. But poorly executed storyline definitely make it difficult for average anime fan to get into unless they are Mecha enthusiasist. Also I find another missing piece of Muvluv series from Platinumhugen Ordian. Because Muvluv's pilot suits with distinct Chin Guard and TSF Shiranui is most likely derived from Platinumhugen Ordian.

As much as Platinumhugen Ordian is a failure as Mecha anime, the mecha itself are quite good and I won't mind getting a finished Product for Ordian which is Dangaioh with mini Dragonar Tekkaman.

Highserk Senki: What do you of with those Murky Eyes?

 With Kadokawa have been teetering recently, perhaps we will see less Isekais in the future, but I still come across to a promising one on a random encounter of manga called Nigoru Hitomi de Nani wo Negau: Highserk Senki. Dark Fantasy rarely blends with Isekai but Highserk Senki is one of those few specimens. Just like typical Isekai series, the main protagonist died once and transported into a Fantasy Medieval settings that just happened to be bleak one where War is a common occurence. The main Protagonist is an Anti Hero who served a warlike medieval Kingdom called Highserk and slowly rise from the rank of Common Soldier with his special ability and Magical talent of Blue Flame which had a peculiar significance in the setting and spread terror upon his foes.

Highserk Senki is quite a fresh Isekai reading experience since the amount of the Grimdarkness of the setting hit the right amount o balance without being too edgy. The main Protagonist also is not really a wuss either like typical Japanese Isekai protagonist who tried his best to stay in a Neutral alignment despite going through a hellish experience while keeping himself grounded and do whatever necessary to stay alive. So far the Manga only had 19 Chapters but the Light Novel translation had been going quite far which the Manga only reached about 1/5th of the Novel translation. I probably will binge the Novel and keep track of this series if It can wrap up with Satifsying ending which many of Isekais failed to do.

Arcanadea Ermeda Plastic Model

 
 Amongst Intensive barrage of Mecha Musume model kits from Chinese Manufacturer, Kotobukiya still managed to put up a good resistance even if overwhelmed by quantity. So after the Firebird themed Charmed, Kotobukiya's Fantasy Mecha Musume lineup comes with a new one called Ermeda and this one does not disappoint! Scheduled for June 2025 Release, Arcanadea Ermeda will be sold for 8965 Yen.

Arcanadea Ermeda goes back to the Angelic Theme like Lumitea, the first of this particular Mecha Musume lineup. In terms of overall vibes, Ermeda gives off a Cleric Onee-san vibe who use a Bow as a weapon of Choice. Or she could pass of as Senior Angel who came down to assist the Hero Adventurers. While I am not too well versed with the Mecha Musume, the Sculpt of Arcanadea Ermeda is impressive as usual when it comes to expresiveness and the Wing parts is a sight to behold to. I think the next Arcanadea will come with more serious vibe after Ermeda.

N-Gage Warhammer 40K: Glory in Death Space Marines Campaign Complete

 Warhammer 40k is no doubt one of the biggest Sci-Fi Series in the west because it is still one of the best Male Power Fantasy out there. There were plenty of gateways to get into 40k series and I found mine 18 Years ago. I used to be quite a devoute Nokia N-Gage Fanboy when I was in Highschool and through this Gaming Mobile Phone, I stumble upon this particular Warhammer 40k Game called W40K: Glory in Death. Just like Rifts and Pocket Kingdom, this game influenced me deeply in my gaming journey but I never actually managed to finish the game at the time. Now when I am in my 30s, I somehow find my way to get back into N-Gage through EKAL21 and go straight into this Hidden Gem of Warhammer 40k Game.

Arknights 1/7 Amiya Solo Around the World ver

 
 Arknights is very quick on this one! Just right around before Christmas last month, Arknights released  a special L2D Skin for Amiya in her Medic Class called Solo Around the world concurrently on every Arknights server. This Elaborate L2D skin give this Doktah's beloved Bunny Daughter a cute Witch costume reclining with a Violin on her side. Then 2-3 Weeks after the Skin release on Arknights game, Goodsmile Shanghai announced this version of Amiya PVC figure to be sold as 1/7 Scale Figure. Scheduled for February 2026 release, 1/7 Amiya Solo around the World ver will be sold for 27000 Yen.

 While I never really utilize Amiya in my Arknights Squad, after seeing her struggle with Doctor in the main storyline for over 5 years. I do admit that this Donki Cautus daughter deserves her Main heroine position in Arknights. Being the best skin so far for Amiya, this Solo Around the World skin gives a rather melancholy vibe for Amiya. Given Amiya's fate in the future will appear to be a very tragic one especially if Doctor is not by her side, as shown in the latest Integrated Strategies mode where Amiya become the Super Secret boss.

This PVC Figure release also served as a slap in the face for Mihoyo who don't put their act together with Genshin IP. Because even Hypergryph who make less profit with Arknights can coordinate properly and use the momentum well to release a Product shortly after an In-game content. Personally I am highly interested with this Amiya's PVC Figure despite she is nowhere in my Arknights top waifu list. But the dealbreaker for this product would be how elaborate the Violin Case stand that the manufacturer's effort to put in. Once again shame on Mihoyo who can't get their internal politics sorted out to deliver a good experience for their fans.

Super Mecha Champions Mechatalk: Part 2

 10 More days before Super Mecha Champions officially closes down. Apologies that it took more than a month for the SMC Mechatalk to continue but I will assure that the Mecha part for SMC Mechatalk will be completed before the Server closedown. After covering the Starter mechs in SMC Mechatalk part 1, this time I will cover the Non-Starter Mechs that I managed to unlock before the server closedown. In my opinion, this is probably the best on for the Mecha Parts of SMC Mechatalk series since I unlocked some of the Mechas that struck my Fancy and some of them are given generous amount of skins by Netease. Without further ado, here is the Part 2 of SMC Mechatalk!