Yakuza Kiwami 2 (PS4) Review

Just as Yakuza Kiwami was a fresh remake of the original, the second Yakuza also gets its due.  Yakuza Kiwami 2 continues Kiryu's tale, and even uses the same engine as Yakuza 6.  It also boasts new mini-games, and some returning or refined ones.

The story continues one year after the previous game, and deals with the fallout of those events.  I like this aspect of the Yakuza story.  It might not always go the places I think it should, but it always moves forward, and lets time pass in a fairly realistic manner.  There are points where it feels like things happen just to make the story longer.  Personally, it can be a bit hard for me to keep a lot of the lore straight.  Having played 5, then Kiwami, then 6, and now Kiwami 2, there are a lot of story developments that I can't always remember the order of.  If I had the time, I'd re-play them in order to better sort out the time line.  This isn't necessarily a problem that others will face, but with the re-releases coming between the ending ones, I'm sure there are others in the same boat.  Thankfully the start of Kiwami 2 does have a memory sequence near the beginning, so you can hit the major points.

If you have played any of the other Yakuza games, the combat will feel familiar, as it is largely unchanged from the core experience.  You attack thugs, build up your heat gauge, which then allows you to unleash really powerful attacks.  It does seem like the developers are continuously refining the combat engine, making minor changes along the way.  This time, it feels like there are far fewer heat moves.  I still get them, but they feel much more situational, and I guess I'm just not in the situation for them.  Extreme Heat returns from chronologically later game Yakuza 6, but you have to buy it after a certain point in the game.  That's a bit of a pain, but I still like and use the mode.  I just wish buying a longer heat bar didn't make it harder to activate Extreme Heat.  Weapons are still very useful, but you have to store them after picking them up in order to actually keep them after a fight.  It's a bit cumbersome.  For better or worse, they give you tons of them in the enemy hideouts, so use them and throw the empty ones away.

While I will miss the plethora of heat moves, my biggest problem in combat is the dodge.  Blocking still only works from the front, ensuring I can't and won't use it.  So, I have to rely on dodging.  Trouble is, by default, it is terrible.  It's more of a timing thing, since Kiryu barely moves anywhere when dodging, which seems to go against the concept.  Trying to dodge for me usually did nothing.  In the skill menu, there is a way to increase the dodge distance.  Buying one level had such a minor effect, I checked to make sure I actually bought it.  That doesn't make me want to invest more points into it.  However, there is also a skill that gives you the ability to string multiple dodges together.  This was a much more effective way to dodge, and I could actually use it.  Too bad I had to go through half the game before finding and being able to buy it.

Kiwami 2 has a few more chapters than other Yakuza games I've played, but the chapters themselves feel shorter.  The only have a few story and battles scenes.  I think you are supposed to use the time between to wander around and do the side stories, which is pretty much what I did.  Of course there are many side stories, quests, and mini-games to fill your time.  Like the other games in the series, expect many hours of beating punks, finding locker keys, and helping out random strangers.

One cool and fun addition is the Majima story line.  No longer content to stay in the background (or attack you at random times), the cyclops now has his own mini-story and game mode.  It's really fun to use him, as he has a knife and lacks Kiryu's aversion to killing people while totally killing them.  Goro Majima just straight up stabs fools, and loves every second of it.  He doesn't gain experience sadly, but you can use items to heal.  He even has his own heat moves.  I like this mode, but unfortunately you are limited in how far you can progress in it until you complete more of Kiryu's story.  Since it takes place between Kiwami and Kiwami 2, this doesn't make sense to me.  Just let me run wild as the Mad Dog of Shimano when I want to!

Yakuza knows you like your mini-games, and Kiwami 2 brings them to you.  The Sega arcade not only packs in Virtua Fighter 2 again, but also adds Virutal On!  You can also help run a club, which is a lot more hectic than I would have thought, or play a crane game.  Yes, the virtual one is rigged too, but I've won it a few times.  The crowing achievement in mini-games has to be Toylets.  It's a mini-game that you play while Kiryu is taking a piss.

No, you didn't misread that, and yes, it's true.  There are two Toylet games, and they seem kind of simple.  Admittedly, I lost the first one I tried, but was unable to try again until I ate and drank to fill my bladder.  It's really weird to think about, weird to write about, and weird to play.  However, it does feel appropriate to the Yakuza universe.  Don't forget that probably every iteration has a sub-story to help some guy in a bathroom stall.

Like me, if you enjoyed the Clan Creator in Yakuza 6, you will be glad to know that it has...sort of returned.  Instead of Kiryu's clan, it is the clan for Majima Construction.  He truly is everywhere.  After the destruction and desertion of Purgatory, Majima moved in and is building his own paradise.  Unfortunately, some real estate big wigs know how "money" it will be, and are moving in to steal the plans.  Instead of being on the offense, you are defending your equipment from the endless thugs these construction moguls throw at you.  No longer will you buy generic units, but instead direct a small group of individuals where to go to either save your equipment, or prevent the enemies from reaching them.  So far it's pretty fun, but I do prefer the original.  Just as before, the enemies are Japanese professional wrestlers.  This time it's some legends instead of the newer guys.  It's still an awesome idea to include that kind of thing, and I'm curious who they will get next time.

Yakuza Kiwami 2 is an easy recommendation if you are following the Yakuza tale.  It looks great and plays pretty well.  Combat is again similar to all the others, but slightly tweaked to ensure it is not the exact same.  One day they will get it perfect.  Like all the others, there is a focus on the story, but includes a lot of side stuff to distract you.


The Good:
More of Kiryu being a badass, lots of things to do and punks to beat up.

The Bad:
Story drags on at times, combat is again tweaked from previous releases.

The SaHD:
My favorite part in any side story is when some dumb punk talks down to Kiryu.  You just smile as he runs his mouth, because you know you are about to whoop his ass.

(Review code for Yakuza Kiwami 2 was provided by the publisher)

Yakuza 6: The Song of Life (PS4) Review

I first dove into the Yakuza franchise at the fifth game.  It quickly proved that it was far from what I assumed it to be, and that it was very good.  The brutal combat and engrossing story won me over as a fan.  Now, it is time to look at Yakuza 6.

If you haven't seen the story trailer that Sega released, basically Kiryu goes to jail following the events of Yakuza 5.  Released three years later, he returns to his orphanage, only to find Haruka missing.  While trying to find her, he discovers she was in a car accident while protecting a baby boy named Haruto.  Seeking answers, Kiryu, with Haruto in his arms, heads to Hiroshima.

I mostly enjoyed the story, as there were many good parts.  One that I'll highlight is Nagumo.  When the game starts out, he is very annoying.  After a bit, you are presented with a development that makes him actually likeable.  The change doesn't feel forced, either.  The situations and dialogue are written in a way that genuinely makes him a better character.  That's rare nowadays, and other writers should take note on how it was done.

On the flip side, there's also some parts that felt drawn out.  Like the movie trope of "this would be over in 5 minutes if these people would talk to each other", there's a similar sense of that in Yakuza 6.  There are several parts where we wouldn't even have this story if people had just talked to each other, or made much smarter decisions.  Towards the end of the game, the story also feels a bit drawn out.  It's a bit of a mixed bag, but the story is still enjoyable.

The game flows much like the other two entries I've played.  The story is broken up into chapters, each with several main quests.  You walk around the various places, talk to people, and get into fights.  There are side quests and mini-games to distract people like me that wander around and do all of the side stuff.  Most are pretty fun or simple.  There's of course the Sega arcade, and even a full, 2 player version of Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown!  However, one mini-game that I didn't like was having to calm baby Haruto.  I wasn't really sure which of the three options he wanted, and I think it changed each time you got it right or wrong.  So I was stuck guessing what would make the baby stop crying...just like real life.  Also, the few times you have to run around the town while holding him limits what activities you can do...just like real life.  Ugh, I'm getting flashbacks from a few years ago.

Anyway, one mini-game that I really enjoyed was the Kiryu Clan.  It's like a very bare bones version of a real-time strategy game.  In the fights, you have a meter that builds up over time, and the points accumulated on it are used to summon your forces to fight the enemy.  Normal troops cost a lot less than the leaders, as their stats are lower and they don't have special skills.  Instead, they have types, like the fast strikers, or the gunman who attack from a distance.  Which of these normal troops you can use, and the point cost of each, is determined by the leaders that you take into battle.  It's a really fun diversion from the main game, and I also appreciated the New Japan Pro Wrestling cameos in it, even if I only knew two of them.

For the most part, combat is still really fun.  There is one big change with combat that I haven't decided if I like.  Before, the Triangle Button was used for a stronger attack, but also was used for Heat moves when your meter was full.  While it still is used that way, Heat moves are now contextual, meaning you can only do them when certain criteria are met.  There are several different criteria, like grabbing them near a wall, at the end of a combo, or holding an object, but there aren't really any that you can just do.  This makes them a lot more uncommon than they used to be.  On one hand, I like this, so I can use the stronger attack while saving my Heat for stronger opponents.  On the other, combat is much less brutal-looking than before.  Sure, the Heat moves still look painful, but it is much harder to get the ones that make you say "Oooooh!"  There is also an extreme Heat mode, where you use your Heat orbs to enter a more powerful state for a bit.  This I really like, since it makes you feel like more of a badass while it's up.  It also makes tough fights much more manageable.

Experience has been reworked again, and I really like this system.  Fighting, eating, and finishing quests gives experience in one or more of five different types.  These points are then used to purchase skills and stat upgrades.  There are a lot of them to buy, so  unless you are very diligent, you will still have some left to purchase at the end of the game.  I really like this system, since even little bits of stat experience can be helpful.  My only gripe is that you need the green technique experience for just about everything, but it isn't the most plentiful.  A little more balance would make it near perfect.

While there are some hits and misses in the latest Yakuza, it is a game that I enjoyed playing, and should definitely be played by fans of the franchise.  It's a fun game in its own right, so new players can jump in here if they want to.  Still, I'd recommend starting with Yakuza 0 or Kiwami to get more out of Yakuza 6: The Song of Life.


The Good:
Nicely reworked experience system, combat is still fun.

The Bad:
Combat lost a bit of its "oomph" factor, and the story can feel drawn out at parts.

The SaHD:
The physics engine does try to help with the less brutal combat.  One of my highlights is throwing a guy that hit the side of a moving car.

(Review code for Yakuza 6 was received from the publisher)

Valkyria Revolution (Xbox One) Review

When first shown, Valkyria Revolution irked some people.  They thought it was supposed to be a sequel to Valkyria Chronicles, despite not having a number after it, or even having the same name.  It's a spin-off, and as such, does play pretty different from Chronicles.

That said, there are several similarities in Revolution.  The graphics have that hatched water color look to them, and the story menu is similarly contained in a book.  Starting out in the game is pretty rough, though.  There are several long cut scenes setting up the story, and a multi-part battle to go through, all before you can save.  It took me an hour to get to that point.  While I'm okay with the long scenes, spending so much time before you can first save is not my cup of tea.  The story is good, though.

Combat is action-oriented.  You can run, jump, block, and dodge on the battlefield.  While it does kind of play like a hack and slash, you don't just run around mashing attack.  You can attack or use your menu when your action gauge has filled, and it does so pretty fast.  If you open the menu, time freezes, so you have time to select what you want and aim it properly.  From this menu, you can cast your ragnite magic abilities, use your secondary weapon (gun), or grenade.  Grenades and magic attacks are very useful...and fun.  Blowing up a small group of enemies and making the rest afraid is way too satisfying.

There are sometimes a few bases you can/will take over, sometimes a boss fight, and others you will defend your base from foes.  Small enemy groups have commanders that make their squad tougher.  Killing them first can make the rest afraid.  To keep it fair, your squad members can also receive that status ailment, especially when taking heavy fire from an enemy tank.  Well, they are called tanks, but they are combat walkers, which are pretty cool.  The battles were pretty fun, save for the occasional crazy tough boss fight.

Besides the story battles, there are free maps you can undertake for more experience, items and money.  The game also introduces special defend and attack missions, which you can keep and expand your area of influence/territory.  For the defense missions, if you ignore them for too long, you will lose that area.  I'm not really a fan of that, since it kind of forces you to stall your forward momentum to take care of it.  Overall, the battles aren't usually very hard, but some can become quite tense.

When not in a fight, you can run around the town, talk to people, view events, shop, and upgrade.  Upgrading the sub-weapons and grenades just costs money.  Upgrading the weapon's grid requires you to sacrifice ragnite.  Trouble is, ragnite is also equipped to give your character their magical skills.  You will have to upgrade their weapon's grid to be able to equip stronger ragnite, so figuring out the balance is an evolving process.  Even after playing for many hours, I was still probably too cautious with giving up my ragnite.

When not in battle or running around town, you are probably viewing cut scenes.  As mentioned earlier, they can be numerous and lengthy.  You can skip them if you are so inclined.  There are also other scenes that are unlocked while you play, but they aren't required to view.  On one hand, it's nice there's so much story, as it helps to further flesh out the world and characters, but at some point it feels like overkill.  A lot of the game's length feels like its from the story cut scenes, as the balance between story and combat isn't the best.

The last gripe I have about the game is the menu.  Moving the cursor in the menu requires the d-pad.  As an option, sure, but as the only way, I don't like it.  There are menus that can be better served by using the d-pad, but some (like confirming a save) really don't need it.  I'm already on the stick, why should I have to switch to hit one direction?  Also, the d-pad sensitivity seems wonky at times.  It could be my controller, but I haven't had the issue in other games I've played recently.

Valkyria Revolution is a fun action RPG that is sometimes bogged down by lengthy cut scenes.  As long as you have realistic expectations, it's worth actually trying out.


The Good:
The story is good.

The Bad:
But, it can take awhile to get through the cut scenes.

The SaHD:
It's weird that people can get so up in arms about a spin-off that's not trying to be a sequel, then they are to a main character completely changing while supposedly being the same person.

(Review code for Valkyria Revolution was provided by the publisher)

Valkyria Chronicles Remastered (PS4) Review

Valkyria Chronicles was an early PS3 game that is held in high regard.  It was so early it doesn't even have trophies!  While I do own the original game, I have not had not played it for more than a few hours, so I was looking forward to reviewing the Remastered edition of the game.

I remember the game looking good years ago, and that hasn't changed.  Honestly, I can't really tell if it looks better.  There's a sketch/artsy/watercolor look to the game, so I can't really tell how much the graphics have been upgraded.  I'm betting if I saw them side by side, or if I had played the PS3 release in the last few years, I would notice something.  It also supports dual audio and a few other nice things.

Since the game is a story about a ragtag group of people becoming heroes, it is fittingly shown in a book format.  The story scenes are arrayed on each page, along with each story battle.  It's a great and unique way to show it all, and it allows you to re-watch any cutscenes easily.  There are different chapters for the story, and different tabs for various extras and other functions, like the extra battles and to go to the camp menu.  While it looks pretty, it is admittedly a little cumbersome to get to certain things.

Battles have two different modes.  First you start in Command mode, which will show the position of all known units and give you a basic lay of the land.  Enemies are shown if one of your characters has a line of sight on them, or had one during your turn.  If you had seen one and it is the enemy's turn, their icon becomes a question mark.  While in a way it is funny, since maybe your character forgot that unit was a tank, it more is that they are aware the enemy is somewhere there, but don't have an exact location.

When you actually choose a unit to move, the view zooms down to that person.  There is no grid or move range displayed.  Instead, you have an AP meter that dictates how much you can move.  Unfortunately, it goes down as you move, not as you move away from your initial position.  Basically, if you run in circles you will waste it all.  You also can't cancel any movement or even selecting the character from Command view, so make sure you plan accordingly.

While a unit is moving, it can be shot at by any opposing forces that it is within range of.  This is great when it is the enemy (although they are great at skirting this system to sometimes minimize damage), and less fun when it is your guys.  You can duck behind some sandbag walls that help you dodge enemy fire.  If you press the R1 button, you will then aim your attack.  Thankfully, this stop the auto-fire from enemies, so you have time to line up your shots.  Attacks will hit somewhere within the aiming reticle, so you don't have a whole lot of control over the accuracy, other than to try and fill of much of the reticle with the enemy as possible.

Snipers can zoom in, which helps a lot, but they only get one shot per attack.  Rifles get about 5 and machine guns get about 20.  After an attack, some units can counter attack if they are within range.  When you are done with your turn, you have to manually cancel it.  Why?  So the enemy can get a few more cheap shots at you if you aren't quick enough.  Personally, I like to survey a bit to plan my next move, but that is a luxury I am not given in Valkyria Chronicles.

Damage can vary a lot depending on multiple factors.  Criticals, enemy troop types, cover, range and even the personality quirks of the units affect it.  Each solider is an individual, which is not only represented by their unique graphics, but their own quirks, called potential.  Potential skills will activate when the conditions are met, be they positive or negative.  Some are helpful, but some are not.  I mean, why be a soldier if you are allergic to metal?  Honestly, they seem more of a pain to deal with then the small bonuses they can provide, so I don't like them.

Troop types matter too.  Scouts can move really far, but have average attack power and armor.  They get shredded by the Shocktrooper's machine guns if they wander to close.  Shocktroopers are solid all around, with no real weakness...other than having a tank shoot them in the face.  Lancers can do chunks of damage to a tank, and survive explosions with the greatest of ease, but can be put down by other units without much of a struggle (they can't counter attack).  Engineers are not powerful, but can heal a tank and disarm mines, making them valuable.  Having one hide behind your tank is a great way to tip the scales back in your favor.  Snipers have no real armor or counter attack, but have good accuracy over long range.  I like snipers, but they aren't as good as I think they should be, unless in the enemy's hands.

Each turn you get some Command Points (CP) to pick and move a unit.  Special units (mostly named characters for your side) will give a CP if they are on the field, and their defeat will make you lose that CP for the rest of the battle.  Tanks require 2 CP instead of 1 because they are so good, and it wouldn't be balanced otherwise.  A unit can move more than once in a turn, but with reduced AP each time.  This makes sense, as they would tire out the more they are used.  It is actually still useful in some instances, so I'm glad its there.

Battlefields also have bases for you and your enemy.  If you eliminate every enemy in a base, you can take it over for yourself.  If you turn starts in the vicinity of a base, you will recover more HP and ammo.  Units can also retreat from a base, which can free up the slot for another unit to take.  Thankfully you can also call in reinforcement for any fallen units, but it takes a turn for them to show up.  As the game even tells you, it is a valid strategy to use the less mobile units near a base, then retreat and re-summon them at a further base.  Once I realized how easy it was to use (and that you could replace fallen units), I started using and enjoying this system in the game.

The Base page of the book will give access to equipping and upgrading various parts of your team.  Experience from a battle is gained at the end, and it is just for a shared pool that is used for training for a class type.  This works really well, so you aren't tied down by who gets the killing blow so long as it happens.  Leveling up a class is also advantageous so you can swap in different people (or replace those that died) with no repercussions.  Experience can also be used to buy command skills from the veteran if you want some different things you can do with CP in battle.  There are upgrades to weapons and armor you can buy, which again affect all appropriate units.  You can also upgrade the tank, and develop pieces of equipment that you can put on it.

Valkyria Chronicles' length is what you might expect from RPGs nowadays.  It takes around 30 hours to complete the game, more so if you like to grind the skirmishes, like I do.  Besides the main campaign, the DLC for the original PS3 version is included, although the harder ones have to be unlocked.  I was always interested in the DLC where you play as Selvaria, and now I can (it's pretty hard though).

The game does have its share of difficulty, even though I liked to do the skirmishes for extra experience and money.  Enemies seem to have great accuracy when it is least convenient, and they love to tear through your Scouts.  That made me ditch the whole character class early on in the game in favor of the much better Shocktroopers.  Being a strategy game, most maps are skewed against you, but maybe that is to reinforce the feeling of your group being the "little man" in the conflict.  If one of your units falls in battle, you can run over to them and a medic will be called to pick them up.  This prevents them from dying permanently.  The game says you have three turns to do this, but if the enemy comes into contact with a fallen ally, they are just gone.  That's some cold stuff, coyote.

Overall, Valkyria Chronicles is a good strategy game/SRPG.  It has a great presentation with the water-color looking graphics and the book motif for menu and story selections.  The battles are a bit harder and more lop-sided than I would have liked, but at least there is the ability to grind.  Having all the previous DLC included should be standard, but always appreciated.  However, while playing the game, I realized why I don't play many games like this and Fire Emblem.  No matter how strict or loose the perma-death is, its inclusion in the game makes me nervous.  I'm a worrywort by nature, so it just makes me feel uneasy playing a game that has it, to the point where I might avoid playing it altogether.  Even so, people less anxious than myself should try it out if they like strategy games or strategy RPGs, and it is worth picking up the remastered edition for fans of the game.

The Good:
A lengthy and pretty strategy game/SRPG that is finally available digitally in North America.  Plus it includes all the previous DLC.

The Bad:
Many battles feel skewed in favor of the enemies, and the perma-death, while not super strict, makes me edgy while playing

The SaHD:
I was happy to see Vyse and Aika still present as soldier in the army.  I'm still hoping for a Skies of Arcadia remaster in the near future.


(Review code for Valkyria Chronicles Remastered supplied by the publisher)

Hell Yeah: Wrath of the Dead Rabbit (360) Review

A character with a red scarf who rules over hell?  No, this isn't Disgaea, it's Hell Yeah: Wrath of the Dead Rabbit.  It stars a skeleton bunny named Ash who has the noble task of...retrieving some lewd pictures of himself and kill those that have them.  He'll also kill lots of other creatures on the way, just to be safe.

This is a very colorful game.  The bright colors are in a stark contrast to the dark nature of the game, and it works really well.  This makes it seem so lively and different than most games.  It's just oozing with character and looks unique, and the visuals just might be the best part of the game.  Even the over the top violence is so cheery looking that it almost seems wrong...almost.

I really like the music is Hell Yeah.  The vocal tracks are really nice and catchy, especially the shop music.  I also really like the music for the cute world, and it is also used as the ending credits theme.  A lot of the music in this game is catchy and perfectly fits the level they are used in.  There is no spoken dialogue, save the title screen, but I like that.  It feels like a throwback to older games.

Most of the time, Ash rides around in his death wheel, which can saw creatures to death and is equipped with a gun to shoot the out of reach monsters.  You get three basic types of guns.  Machine gun types that have rapid fire, rocket types that are strong but take longer to shoot and grenades.  I never actually needed or used the grenades, since they are limited.  The other two weapons refill quickly, and did the job fine.  The wheel jumps, as the game says, like a rocket pack, so you hold down the button longer to jump higher.  This works fine for the most part, but there are times when I would forget this and end up undershooting my platform.  I always prefer a double jump, but this works fine when you get used to it.

The Right Trigger (RT) will spin the wheel or shoot the gun if used in conjunction with the right stick.  Considering how few buttons are actually used in the game, you think they could be separate buttons.  I had some trouble jumping and shooting, since hitting the stick and RT at the same time would not shoot, but use the saw.  You can also grind your way through rocks, but sometimes it was hard to stick to them while grinding up.  There were also several times I felt the hitboxes were borked.  I ended up killing more monsters because I would get hit while trying to jump over them, whether or not you were that close to it.  It ended up being easier to just kill everything and not try to be fancy.  You get a fair amount of health, but stumbling upon a random spike would result in instant death.  Very old school, but also annoying since sometimes you can't always see the spikes until it's too late.  Ash also seems to get slippery on the edge of ledges, which would either screw up your platforming or drop you to your death.

Occasionally, there are parts where you must go sans wheel.  You are just a rabbit on foot.  You can't attack but you get the double jump that I wanted in the wheel.  Another use for Ash's jump is if you hold the button, he can bounce off of walls.  I did this numerous times on accident, and it irked me.  I tended to hold the jump button down when jumping, simply because using the wheel trained me to do that.  To me, using the wall jump where you had to use it was a crap shoot, since it never seemed to go how I wanted it to.  I would either end on the wrong side of the shaft you can bounce up, or I landed on the edge and slid back down before I could get my bearings.  Needless to say, it added some frustrations.

As mentioned earlier, Ash is tracking down monster that may or may not have anything to do with his missing pictures, and kill them.  There are 101 to kill, to be exact.  After each is damaged enough, there is a mini-game that is used to kill them in some overblown way.  There's maybe 10 or so unique animations, but most are enjoyable multiple times.  They are definitely over the top, and pretty gory.  Well, cutesy-gory, if that even makes sense.  Most of the mini games to actually get the kill are fine, but several can be over before you figure out what to do.  If you have played any of the Wario Ware games, they are like that.  Most have generous time limits, but there are a few that can get pretty aggravating (steal the honey, I'm looking at you).  Overall, they aren't that bad, but you may die a few times while trying to figure them out.

Luckily, death carries no real penalty other than losing whatever money you gathered since the last check point.  It saves fairly frequently, too.  It can be annoying when you have to travel back a fair distance to where you were when you died, but it could have been much worse.  Boss fights will have to be repeated fully, though this wasn't a problem after the first boss.  There were a few times where the difficulty spiked, which lead to more deaths and more aggravation.  These stood out to me, since most of the game is fairly relaxed.

In addition to being in the wheel and on foot, there are a couple of sections where Ash pilots a vehicle, like a submarine or a space ship, or even jumps into a turret to gun down his monstrous victims.  These are nice, since they break up the normal gameplay with something a little different.  They weren't the best sections, but they weren't very long, either.  A nice distraction from the main game, and a welcome addition.

Another thing thrown in are missions given by the future version of yourself.  While that part is cool, the missions themselves were not very fun.  Most are self-explanatory, like collect all the red "coins" or kill x amount of monster in y time.  There isn't a lot of leeway in them, so you better practice them to have a chance.  The worst ones involve doing tricks.  They list the button combination, sure, but they don't tell you that you need lots of height to pull them off.  That coupled with the fact you start falling faster after a bit makes it annoying to figure out.  They also have you do them where there are lots of obstacles in the way.  I really hated most of the missions I tried, so I just did the first ten I could for the achievement and ignored the rest.

Overall, Hell Yeah: Wrath of the Dead Rabbit is very unique game in several ways.  It was enjoyable, even if some parts were really frustrating and the missions were terrible.  It has a gory charm all its own, and while not a short game, doesn't take as long to finish as it would initially seem.  If you like achievements, it was a fairly painless 400 and can be done easily in a week.   I got it for half off on sale, and it was worth the $7.50 to me.  Although, I don't see myself buying the DLC at all.  If you like quirky games, gory games or platformers, give the demo a shot to see you like it too.

Project X Zone Crosses Over?!

I was very excited when my friend told me that really cool looking SRPG Project X Zone was coming to North America.  And it wasn't his usual trick of it being a mobile game!

I read the official press release and sure enough, it's coming in the summer.  I'm ridiculously excited to play it, since it's one of three games that came out in Japan that I was sure wouldn't come here.  Since the 3DS is region locked (grrr...), I would have to buy a Japanese 3DS, and I certainly don't have money for that.  I figured it would be a pipe dream to play it, but no more!

It is very reminiscent of a PS2 game called Namco X Capcom, which was really fun.  I watched my friend play it, and eventually bought an import copy so my wife and I could play it.  The battle system was my favorite part of that game, and was excited to see a similar one in domestic release Super Robot Taisen: OG Saga.  Sure, it barely has robots, but the game is awesome.

The cast in Project X Zone is cool too.  Since I'm currently going through Gods Eater Burst, I'm pumped to see two characters from that game in here.  If the battle system of Namco X Capcom was my favorite part, the cast was a close second.  Project X Zone continues the tradition and has added characters from Sega and others to the mix.  Summer can't come quick enough now!  At some point, I'll have to have a review of it on the site, so look forward to that!