「決戦の地へ」 (Kessen no Chi e) “To the Final Battleground”
I’m not a manga reader. Not for this series, at any rate. So I can’t say for certain, but. Doesn’t this seem rather fast? Maybe that’s how it was in the source material. It’d be smart if so, to be honest; none of the intervening events probably needed to be elucidated, at least not until after the fact. But there was also some serious rush on in this episode. Or maybe that was the beers I had before getting home to watch it, who can say. Life is a mystery, and then we shokugeki.
My MVP for this episode is undoubtedly Alice. Others were good! Especially Isshiki! More on him soon. But Alice is the hero the other students needed right here. She threw the necessary tantrum, she marched everyone to the stadium, she is the one who made sure her friends and her cousin had their support crew on hand. Hisako wasn’t going to do it, no one else was going to do it, but Alice did. Good on her! We all need an Alice in our lives, sometimes.
Souma pulling Soba was great! A great laugh line, but also an opportunity to show his philosophy off in real time. To be honest, this entire first round seems like it’s all set up for the protagonists to win: The ousted Elite Ten members prove their mettle, and Yukihira surmounts impossible odds in a very Souma way. It’s the people who come next that will have troubles, I’d guess—strong competitors fail, current (named) Elite Ten members run amok, things get dire. I could be wrong! The show certainly seems to be setting Isshiki-sempai, at least, up for a victory. He’s always been silly in a super funny and awesome way, the kind of silly you can only be when you’re that damn good. I look forward to him showing further just how good he is. Crush this boring blondie, Isshiki-sempai. Do it for Polar Star!
As for Souma, him inflecting himself into the dish, and making one that really represents who he is, is the right tack to take. He doesn’t know how to make soba as well as Nene; if he fights her in her realm, he will lose. He knows how to be Souma better than anyway else, though. If he cooks soba like Souma, better than he ever has before… Maybe. Maybe he can pull that off. If anyone can, it’d be him, certainly!
My SECOND novel, Freelance Heroics, is available now! (Now in print!) (Also available: Firesign #1 Wage Slave Rebellion.) Sign up for my email list for updates. At stephenwgee.com, the latest post: Risk Tolerance in the Creative Life.
KOEI Tecmo Games revealed during Sony"s E3 2018 press conference on Mondayu that it is developing Nioh 2, a sequel to its Nioh action game. The trailer did not reveal the game"s release date or its supported platforms.
The first game launched for the PlayStation 4 in North America, Europe, and Japan in February 2017. KOEI Tecmo America released the game on the PC with its DLC expansions with the title Nioh: Complete Edition last November.
KOEI Tecmo Games Europe describes the game:
In the dark, fantasy action RPG Nioh, players will traverse war-torn Japan as William, a blonde-haired swordsman whose background as a fierce warrior and seasoned knowledge of the blade allows him to survive in the demon-plagued land of the samurai. Players will face off against other samurai in epic sword battles and intense, multi-target engagements offering a level of difficulty that will truly test even the most hardened samurai"s skills, patience, and strategy.
Team Ninja (Dead or Alive series, Dissidia Final Fantasy arcade) developed the game.
Kojima Productions revealed a new trailer for Hideo Kojima"s Death Stranding PlayStation 4 game during Sony"s E3 2018 press conference on Monday. The trailer unveiled the full name of Norman Reedus" character as Sam Bridges, and also revealed Léa Seydoux and Lindsay Wagner as part of the game"s cast.
Kojima revealed three new pieces of key art for the game, showing the character Sam Bridges, as well as the characters played by Seydoux and Wagner.
The video also contains a description for the game:
Besieged by death"s tide at every turn, Sam Bridges must brave a world utterly transformed by the Death Stranding. Carrying the stranded remnants of the future in his hands, Sam embarks on a journey to reunite the shattered world one step at a time. What is the mystery of the Death Stranding? What will Sam discover on the road ahead? A genre defining gameplay experience holds these answers and more.
Kojima Productions, Kojima"s own development studio, is developing Death Stranding, and it will star Norman Reedus. Kojima previously said the game will show "a different side of Reedus than fans of The Walking Dead might expect." Kojima Productions is developing the game using Guerilla Games" Decima Engine.
A trailer for the game debuted in December 2016, and it features character models based on director Guillermo del Toro and actor Mads Mikkelsen (Hannibal, Doctor Strange, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story). Kojima asked del Toro to be a character in the game.
The game will be an action game, and will have open-world elements with "some degree of freedom." Kojima stated the game"s name originates from the phenomenon of cetacean stranding, where dolphins and whales wash up on land and die. While other games offer elements analogous to "sticks" for gameplay, Death Stranding will also offer "ropes" to tie and link players together.
Kojima stated earlier that the game will have online gameplay, but it will also be fully playable in single player.
Yoji Shinkawa, the character and mechanical designer for the Metal Gear Solid game series, hinted that he wanted to see mechs in the game. Shinkawa is currently working on the game alongside Kojima.
Sources: Official PlayStation YouTube channel, Hideo Kojima"s Twitter account
A fast paced and visually impactful side-scrolling thrill ride.
Game Info
System: Nintendo Switch
Publisher: X.D. Network
Developer: FantaBlade Network
Release Date: May 31, 2018
Icey Switch launch trailer
Whether you like it or not, it’s very evident that indie titles are truly becoming part of the framework that makes up the illustrious game industry. For the last 10-15 years, indie games were few and far between when you compare them to the vast amount of celebrated titles that controlled the marketplace. Let alone indie games from China, a country that only, as of late, has really started to churn the wheels of influence to become a recognized name in the scene. The days of the colossal names being the center of attention are slowly starting to diminish, while the number of indie companies sprouting up from beneath the ground is growing exponentially as time passes. Take ICEY for example, the latest side-scrolling action game from FantaBlade Network, which demonstrates not only the technical prowess of the Chinese gaming scene but its ability to take an existing genre and create a game that’s totally fresh and invigorating in its visual and gameplay aesthetic. While the formula may remain in tact, ICEY is a game that takes various inspirations from games like Devil May Cry, Mega Man, and other iconic titles and creates a unique fusion of them all which brings out its charm. Role playing elements are also part of the package which create even more excitement as you traverse through the game.
Anyone who loves 2D side scrollers will certainly find ICEY to be an exciting title full of wicked combos, air dashing, and special finishers that all come together to generate a total package of action and entertainment. Despite its very short length in comparison to other side scrollers, ICEY still remains cool in its approach and delivers in a remarkable way, with a few little hiccups along the way. Those hiccups, however, are seldom seen and once you start to recognize just how awesome the game is, you start to forget about them eventually. For now, let’s look into what to expect before diving into the gameplay.
When we say that ICEY is a unique game, we’re not just talking about its visual and gameplay mechanics. We’re talking about all the things that are squeezed in between. For example, on the game over screen, you’ll notice that every time you die several times, the screen will say “You Die Again”, but another N will be added which becomes sort of like your death counter. If you keep dying, it eventually gives up trying and you gets a new message along the lines of. “You Can Never Remember.” This little subtle addition to the gameplay really just adds so much value because oftentimes we overlook the simplicities and merely focus on the bigger picture of the games we play.
Another example is how the game takes place within a programming software, and the developer (the developer in the game, not the actual developer) is the one guiding you through his creation as it all unfolds. So there are moments where you’ll run through the game and unexpectedly come across an unfinished level, with the developer comically stating that he had no time to finish it and so, he teleports you back into the actual game. It may sound a little confusing as you read it, but it’s essentially a game within a game and to execute that well within a title takes a lot of work, but also some deep creative thinking.
All levels are well detailed with enemies providing you with enough challenge to keep you coming back for more. As you unlock more flash, which is essentially your power meter, more abilities will be unveiled which also help to open up new areas in the game that you may not have been able to traverse to prior. Boss battles are engaging and require that you always come up with new ways to strike them down, avoiding falling into pattern and dying. ICEY is still linear in its overall approach but still allows you the freedom to tackle enemy obstacles in the way you see fit, and use your accumulated funds to purchase the powerups you desire most.
As we mentioned earlier, ICEY is still a 2D side scrolling action game on the surface, but once you dive into its sci-fi futuristic inspired world you’ll start to notice a lot of creative directions FantaBlade Network took with the game. Some of them we already explained briefly earlier, with regards to the ‘developer’ somewhat guiding you through his own game and providing you with a narrative with how ICEY is going to take down the evil enemy named Judas. We don’t know much about Judas other than that he’s a big jerk and ICEY wants him removed from existence so that the world can finally settle down and relax again. Of course ICEY is the protagonist, who wields a cool looking sword which sort of reminded us of Vergil’s Yamato, since much of your acrobatic moves look similar to his.
This, of course, is the inspiration we mentioned earlier and it really suits the playstyle of the main protagonist who’s very cold, calculated and ruthless in her approach, similar to the Devil May Cry counterpart. At the beginning of the game, you’re given a brief tutorial of how to play and execute moves based on simple yet quick button presses, which have a very hack and slash appeal to them. By pressing Y>Y>Y>Y, you’ll generate a 4 hit slash attack that puts enemies into stun, and over time, you’ll be able to upgrade that move to make it stronger and increase its stun. Other moves will require you to press both the Y and X buttons in quick succession to pull off other powerful moves not only on the ground, but also in the air which look incredible as it all unfolds on the Nintendo Switch screen.
Character animations are fluid and don’t cause any sort of interference, with enemies moving in their own unique way to cause you trouble. One unique aspect of ICEY that we should mention is how you actually go about choosing the difficulty before diving in. The game starts off by throwing you a curveball and makes you think the game is broken in some way, by repeating parts several times and then going into an error screen. Once you get past all that, you enter a room where you’re required to use the ZL or ZR buttons to answer questions that pop up on screen. Depending on what you answer, the game’s difficulty will be set and from then on it’s up to you to tackle what’s ahead. We ended going with the hard difficulty which actually gave the game more life because the enemies came in waves, which forced us to really be on our toes and create openings to unleash big damage. Regarding big damage, dashing through enemies in a well timed manner will initiate a button sequence where, by pressing let’s say the A button would result in performing a high level finishing blow and you collect special orbs. You’ll be able to unlock more options as you progress but your finishing blow stays with you the entire time. The orbs we mentioned can also be used is a powerful launcher attack by holding down the Y button to absorb them, and then dishing out the pain to enemies who get caught in the whirlwind.
The cool aspect of it all is how attacks can be chained and cancelled at any time, with very little lag in between giving you a ton of freedom to really create your own combo loops. You could easily start off with a ground combo then uppercut the enemy into the air, and keep them in the air for good chunk of time, before knocking them back down and starting over again. 40-50 hit combos or more can easily be executed if you’re well timed in your attacks and make good use of the air dash technique. Enemies will gradually get harder and so, learning how to execute custom combos can become an integral part in finishing them off to move forward.
In the end, ICEY is totally well worth the $9.99/7.99£ and despite its short length, it’s a totally sweet experience that’s worth every penny. We ran into some framerate issues where too much was happening on screen and the game slowed down tremendously, but once all the special effects wore off, the game went right back to its normal ways. There were some sections in the game where you could take part in a sort of survival mode where you’d take on waves of enemies and your score would be logged into the games memory. Sadly, it doesn’t log into an online directory, but nevertheless, it’s a good way to actually get a better feel for how the combo system works, but also how to better predict enemy patterns. On an audio level, ICEY is actually quite stimulating and you can really hear all of the effects in the game, which only add more appeal to the already enticing experience. Playing with headphones is actually recommended within the game and we totally can understand why after playing through. FantaBlade Network is a newcomer to the scene, but created a title that would certainly place them in the category of notable names due to the uniquely crafted gameplay, and stylistic appeal that you’ll only find in ICEY. Hats off to them!
So will you be picking up ICEY? Let us know in the comments below and share your thoughts on what you feel about the game. With E3 currently underway and so many more games coming down the pipeline, we’re excited to see more content and ready to tackle whatever comes our way. Big shoutouts to FantaBlade Network as well as X.D. Network for providing us with a copy of ICEY, and letting us experience their unique take on the 2D side-scrolling genre. Be sure to follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest gaming news, and of course, follow us on Twitch to catch us playing your favorite games live!
As always, for all things sweet, with news straight from Japan, be sure to keep it locked here on Honey’s Anime.
Editor/Writer
Author: Rob "NualphaJPN" B.
A passionate fan of gaming, writing, journalism, anime, and philosophy. I"ve lived in Japan for many years and consider this place to be my permanent home. I love to travel around Japan and learn about the history and culture! Leave a comment if you enjoy my articles and watch me play on twitch.tv/honeysgaming ! Take care!
The Tower Defense genre over the years has seen its fair share of hits and misses when it comes to not only presentation, but gameplay aesthetic as well. Notable classics like Plants vs. Zombies really helped to accentuate just how much fun tower building can be, once all the pieces are sewn together and you see your hard work pay off beautifully. Other very popular titles are Orcs Must Die! 2 and, of course, Clash of Clans, both of which helped to take the genre to an entirely new level of depth and strategy in order to keep gameplay compelling and rewarding. So this brings us to PixelJunk Monsters 2, the follow up to the original which comes with various visual and gameplay improvements that make this game a treat for any Tower Defense fan. PixelJunk Monsters 2 takes place in a unique world where you star as the Tiki Man, who must protect the village and chibi from incoming monsters that try to bring devastation to the area. It’s up to you to become the eyes and ears of Tiki Man, as you strategically build and place defense towers in order to defeat the waves of enemies that continuously try to bombard you.
PixelJunk Monsters 2 takes a unique spin on the genre by allowing players to choose between a third person view, or the classic top down view, with both perspectives adding their own unique gameplay twists throughout your time playing. The approach is simple but having the right execution is imperative in order to survive and accumulate enough points to gather better tools, but also greater rewards as the levels get gradually harder.
PixelJunk Monsters 2 continues where the original left off, providing a much cleaner framerate, more tools to your disposal and more challenges that will have you desperately trying to aim for a perfect score. While it certainly will not be an easy feat, the gameplay is what truly sets PixelJunk Monsters 2 apart from any other Tower Defense game on the market, simply due to its visual aesthetic that takes inspiration from stop motion animation and combines it with the more modern technology. You can tackle the game on your own and test your tower defense prowess, or you can venture online and play the game with others for more fun. Whatever direction you choose is entirely your prerogative, but in the end, PixelJunk Monsters 2 serves up a dish that’s flavorful and provides just enough to keep you feeling satisfied.
There’s no over the top features or wild special effects, it’s simply tower defense at its finest and if you’re able to overcome the many obstacles in front of you, this game can truly bring happiness to your heart. Of course, there will be moments of sheer frustration, as the game tests your limits, but what’s a tower defense game without some heart wrenching moments to keep you coming back for more. Expect a lot of thinking and trial and error as you play through, which could be seen as a good thing or bad thing depending on your perspective. You are essentially thrown into a world where you need to improvise on the fly and by doing so, annoying instances will confront you along the way. So keep that in mind if you’re new to the genre and are looking to test the waters to see whether it’s the right fit for you. Now, grab those Tiki Masks and kick some monster arse!
Most tower defense titles don’t really come with a compelling story or riveting narrative to keep you engaged, and that can be said with PixelJunk Monsters 2. Tiki Man is the primary focus as he’s the character you’ll be in control of, racing around each level trying to build as many weapons as possible to prevent catastrophe from happening. Your main objective is to protect the Chibi, 20 of them to be exact, and by doing so, you’ll be able to achieve rewards the more you save. The waves start off fairly straightforward which really act as an in game tutorial or “warm-up” for players, before really engaging in the more laborious tasks that lie ahead. Using the top down view, you’ll be able to traverse around the world, looking for spots with trees in order to start building.
This view is incredibly useful since it provides a much better perspective on what’s currently happening around you, but more importantly, it helps you to better understand enemy routes so you can strategically keep them out for as long as possible. Easier said than done, of course, but it certainly helps to know where enemies spawn from, so that as you gradually level up your items and waves become even larger, having a base ideas of where they come from will be of great welfare for you. Speaking of rewards, if you’re able to successfully keep every single Chibi alive at the end of the waves, you’ll earn special rainbow blocks which provide you with a surprise that we’ll let you experience.
That is, if you’re able to actually keep all 20 Chibi alive during crunch time, which admittedly, we tried and failed, but that’s the beauty of playing. While the game can be a taxing ordeal, on the contrary, it’s that very taxing feeling that starts to feel euphoric once you actually pull off your objective in flying colors. This will come with repeating stages again to really get a feel for things, buying and upgrading along with memorizing areas which give you the most results in terms of your tower building.
Going briefly into the third person perspective that we mentioned earlier, it’s actually a unique feature to PixelJunk Monsters 2 that adds a new element of gameplay in a tower defense universe. Traversing the world in this perspective turns the game into an entirely new experience which almost feels like you’re playing an adventure game. You race around the world with Tiki Man and witness as enemies take hits from the towers you’ve built, and seeing bits and pieces flying around you in 3D fashion. It’s a glorious addition to the game that allows you to play through it in such a way that’s not only joyous in its own right, but gives players a chance to see things from Tiki Man’s perspective.
PixelJunk Monsters 2 is a wonderful title for anyone looking for an entry point into the genre, and is very challenging title for anyone familiar with tower defense mechanics. In spite of that though, the game can at times be so overtly difficult especially in the higher difficulties, where keeping those Chibi alive can really generate a lot of stress. Now, of course, games aren’t meant to create that sort of feeling and obviously it wasn’t the intention of the development team, but it certainly can have you feeling overwhelmed when you aren’t ready for what’s ahead. Perhaps the best advice we can give is practice, practice, practice. Continue to create new strategies every time and try not to exert too much of your focus on one particular area of the map, but spread your tactics out enough to maintain a strong defense. Use all of your rewards and various buffs to your advantage, and dress up your Tiki Man just for the hell of it because it’s fun to do so!
PixelJunk Monsters 2 is definitely worth the purchase if tower defense titles are of interest to you, but also newcomers to the genre will find its challenge to be worthwhile once you dabble more with its features. For its affordable price point on the PlayStation 4 ($14.99), it’s certainly not going to strangle your wallet in any way, so pick it up and give it a shot! Be sure to follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest gaming news, and of course follow us on Twitch to know when we go live with your favorite titles!
As always, for all things sweet, with news straight from Japan, be sure to keep it locked here on Honey’s Anime.
Editor/Writer
Author: Rob "NualphaJPN" B.
A passionate fan of gaming, writing, journalism, anime, and philosophy. I"ve lived in Japan for many years and consider this place to be my permanent home. I love to travel around Japan and learn about the history and culture! Leave a comment if you enjoy my articles and watch me play on twitch.tv/honeysgaming ! Take care!
The video also contains a description for the game:
