Pokemon Masters

Pokemon Masters

Saturday, July 27, 2019 / No Comments

Hello again my little nuggets!!

Today I bring to you: Pokemon Masters~

It was released on 25th Jul for Singapore, and I immediately downloaded it the moment I could. So what is it? In a nutshell, instead of collecting Pokemon, you instead collect Pokemon Trainers. Each Trainer has a specific Sync Partner, and that is unchangeable. Yours would be Pikachu. 

On startup, you get both Brock and Misty, and both of them are only 3*. Brock has Onix, and Misty Starmie. Moving along story chapters gets you more well-known Trainers, such as Rosa, and Erika. You can also get more Trainers from their gacha system, though I think it would be possible to play entirely without purchases.

There is a new 'evil' group of masked strangers, stealing other Trainers' Pokemon and all that jazz. Kinda looks like P5's Joker, doesn't it. 

I've had it for a couple days now, and have also bought some in-game gems to check out the gacha system. Here's a mini review of sorts. 

Your character is somewhat customisable, but only for skin, eye, and hair color. You cannot change outfits or hairstyle, but at any point should you decide to change your gender or any above mentioned, you can simply go to your profile to do so. 

here, have a hastily spliced photo of the whole Pokemon Centre

The Pokemon Centre is the 'homepage', where you can switch your team as well as buy items from the shop. You can pan around the area, and talk to random Trainers in the Pokemon Centre, though I haven't figured out if there is a point to talking to them at all. I was hoping for some random items or something since the game seems to make it out as though you have to speak to them, but nothing.

The team page is pretty simple, that's where you go to change your team members, level them up, uncap their max level, etc. 

The shop page is also straightforward enough, where you go to exchange low tier items for mid tier items, and then for higher tier items so you can use those to unlock new skills and passives. The gacha section (Sync Pair Scout) is also under the shop, and while it isn't a new concept, there is this little thing called the Scout Points. This also isn't a new concept, but man, 400 points?? As you can see I've already spent 1600 gems, only to get 16 points. 

It's 1 point per 100 gems, and there is also a time limit for the point exchange. The current one ends in early Sept, and while there are daily gems for free I don't think you might be able to accumulate and spend that much to reach 400 points. I suppose that's why they also have a spending notification where they inform you that you've reached a preset spending limit. 

There are also paid and unpaid gems, and honestly I was hoping to paid gems might be worth more points, but I guess not. At this point, I'm giving up on the gacha and just seeing what else the game has to offer for now. 

So on to the Explore section. There's the Main Story, Events (currently WIP I believe), Sync Pair Stories, and Training Area.

Main Story is self explanatory, as with the Events tab. Sync Pair stories are a spend a day with a Trainer and their Partner kind of thing, and if I remember correctly you might be able to evolve some Pokemon through those stories. I clicked the dialogue a little too fast, so I'm not too clear on that. 

Training Area has different tabs you can pick from which will reap different sort of rewards. They have daily time limited courses as well.

Battles wise, there is an 'energy' bar right at the bottom of the screen, and you'll have to wait for it to replenish to a certain amount of bars before you can use certain moves. After using moves a specific number of times, you get to unleash a special Sync Move. It doesn't carry over to the next battle, so use it when you can. 

Different Trainers also have different skills. You and Pikachu, for example, have Potion instead of Sp Att Up or Speed Up for example. I suppose this is where you might want to switch up teams to get the best offense or defense? There is an auto battle function, but after trying that out I realised that auto battle tends to somehow only use one Pokemon's attack, and that can drag the battle out immensely. 

Battling and grinding for exp also gets repetitive really fast, and each Pokemon seems to only have one weakness? For example a Flying type might have an Electric weakness listed, but an Ice attack doesn't seem to damage it as much. Then again, I have my battles set at a faster speed, so I might have missed the damage number inflicted. 

Overall, while the graphics are really sharp and there might be potential for Pokemon Masters to go far, I feel pretty meh about the game. I was excited the first couple hours, and then I quickly got bored of it. Not to mention the gacha system seems to play a huge role in the game so far, and spending can quickly get out of hand if you're not careful.

Pokemon Masters has not been released globally yet, so we shall see if there will be more exciting features (perhaps events) once the world is up and playing. 

For now, nerd out!

Written by: ninetylives

An Amateur Guide to Bungou Stray Dogs: Tales of the Lost

An Amateur Guide to Bungou Stray Dogs: Tales of the Lost

Thursday, June 20, 2019 / No Comments

Hey my fellow intellectuals! If you didn’t know, the anime series by Studio Bones, Bungou Stray Dogs, is also available as a mobile game for both iOS and Android devices. Whether you’re a new fan of the series or an old one that has yet to discover the joys of this game, here’s an amateur guide to what it’s about.

The mechanics are fairly simple, shoot a marble around, kill enemies and clear levels. 

Yet, despite the game’s simplicity, it is 100% addictive because of its main attraction – scouting (which basically means it’s a gacha game). The main currency of the game is ability stones, or as most people call them, “moons”, and they can be spent to obtain characters from the series.

Characters come in different rarities: R, SR, SSR, UR -- in increasing order of rarity (you can refer below for a Dazai in each rarity). Most of the time, scouting gives R or SR characters, though our main aim is to get as many SSRs as we can. The maximum levels for each of the rarities are level 40, 60, 80 and 100 respectively. If you get duplicate cards, you can combine them to power up the skills of that character. Of course, you can also choose to sell duplicates which gains you “bungou points”, another currency in the game, albeit less precious, which you can exchange for other items. 

 

             

Besides that, there is also what we call “evolving” and “awakening”. Evolving basically means that you can add a “+” sign to the character’s rarity once they reach their max level. For instance, a level 50 SR character evolves to SR+, where it can they hit its max potential of level 60.

Awakening refers to a character completely graduating to its next rarity, usually for SSRs to URs. This happens when your SSR+ is at level 80, and it awakens to a UR. However, URs are an exception because the character does not continue on from level 80, but returns to level 1, and the character picture also changes. As a result, awakening characters are rare and can only be awakened when their respective events are released, such as the Akutagawa event below.

There will always be a permanent scout in which you can try to get your hands on the standard SSR characters from the ADA and PM. However, special timed events with deadlines are released frequently in which you can obtain exclusively-themed SSRs, for instance Halloween-themed characters or New Year’s characters where the characters are dressed for the respective occasions.

Another appeal of the game is that some SSR characters come with voice acting from the series’ VAs themselves, and some content is even exclusive to the game itself, the most notable example being the permanent Gakuen AU (basically, an alternate universe in which the characters are all students).

Of course, obtaining our coveted characters isn’t as easy as it sounds because they are "expensive" and it becomes increasingly hard to grind for moons when you level up. So how do we get moons? Basically: 

-   Completing main story levels
-   Reading through main story scenarios, which are basically condensed versions of the anime episodes (don’t worry though, a quick life hack is to just view one frame of the story and then click “skip”, and you still get your 1 moon)
-   Login bonuses every day, more if there are special events going on (essentially FREE moons)
-   Complete daily and weekly tasks on your roster
-   Since season 3 is still ongoing, you get a free 25 moons every Friday when a new episode is released!

If you’re super desperate, you can spend some moolah on moons (which I have regrettably done on 2 instances), but it’s not very cheap at all.

For myself, I normally save my stones for events and avoid spending them on the permanent scouts. It’s up to you to smartly ration your moons, because not every event released might have characters you fancy, so you can skip those and save up your moons for the next one! That being said, many people still participate in these events for the sake of completion.

But! If you’re as stingy as me, here’s a list of the kinds of abilities that exist for you to choose which characters are worth saving up for:

-    Nukes (deal a chunk of damage essentially, on either 1 or all enemies) – usually people’s favourites
-    Status effect cancellers or ability to inflict damaging venom on enemies for a certain number of turns
-    Attack boosters (think “bulk up” or “calm mind” from Pokemon)
-    Health recovery (useful for very hard battles)
-    Increasing the size and force of the marble, or allowing it to explode to clear more orbs
-    Increasing enemy turns (might be useful if you do not want to be attacked by strong enemies every turn)
-    Filling beatdown gauge (useful for prolonging the marble’s volley time)

Speaking of events, there are a few main types – points exchange system and drop events. For the points exchange system, you aim to gather as many event points as you can (from completing battles) to exchange for items and characters. Drop events are much more straightforward; when you defeat enemies, they have a chance of dropping suitcases which contain items or characters (see below). This does depend on luck though, because the drop rate for beginning players isn’t exceptionally high.

 

If you have a Twitter account, it might be useful to follow this account for daily updates:

Twitter: @bungotales

I don’t usually play mobile games because I’m a console kind of person, but I’m an absolute goner for this game because I’m head over heels for the anime. If you would like another way to destroy your life, download the game for free and watch yourself become an even more unproductive human being!

Side note: the picture used to be Dazai, but it's Shin Soukoku now after a recent update (the fangirl in me is quaking)

Written by Gin

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Game Review: Yakuza Kiwami 2

Game Review: Yakuza Kiwami 2

Wednesday, June 19, 2019 / No Comments

Yet another remake of the successful Yakuza series by Sega and Ryu ga Gotoku Studio, Yakuza Kiwami 2 is sure to blow away all fans, new and old alike.

Genre: Action-adventure game
Developer: Sega, Ryu ga Gotoku Studio
Initial release date: 7 December 2017
Platform: Playstation 4, Microsoft Windows

Storyline

The story takes place a year after the events of Yakuza Kiwami with a shot of Kiryu's lean and muscular body in the bedroom. Woken up by the sweet and adorable Haruka, they both decide to make a trip to pay respects to their own family. Things took a turn for the worst when they witness the fifth chairman of the Tojo Clan, Terada, assassinated in cold blood. The group of hitmen revealed that they are from the Omi Alliance of Sotenbori, Tojo Clan's equivalent of Kamurocho. With an anxious grip on the letter Terada gave him, Kiryu makes his way to the Omi Alliance, in hopes of making an alliance between the two overlords of the Japanese Yakuza world.

However, his trip gets interrupted when he meets the son of the current chairman of the Omi Alliance, Ryuji Goda. Also, known as the Dragon of Kansai, Ryuji Goda is a headstrong man with strong ideals. Naturally, their ideals and interests did not align with one another, resulting in Ryuji saying a few words that established a tension between the two dragons.

"There is only room for one dragon in this world."

Gameplay

In Yakuza Kiwami 2, the team over at the studio brought extensive changes to the gameplay. Firstly, brawls felt more natural and lifelike. Not only that, fights can even make its way into several buildings and stores, giving the game its realistic effect. One change that made fans across the world rejoice was the fact that you could now enter buildings without having to wait an eternity for it to load, which ruined the immersive gameplay Yakuza had to offer.

More importantly, the graphics in Yakuza Kiwami 2 underwent a significant upgrade, without having a major performance impact. The streets are crowded with detailed bystanders that have their own stories. They even cheer you on in a fight from time to time. This made me feel as if the Non-Playable Characters (NPCs) were actual humans behind a screen as they even had topics to talk about. The two towns of the Yakuza series look even better than before with the latest engine and graphics update. Kamurocho, like always, is a hustling and bustling city that offers a wide range of services; bars, eateries, arcades, and even a batting centre to satisfy your baseball needs. It brings out the liveliness of the town with every NPC chatting amongst themselves while walking towards their own destinations. Sotenbori, on the other hand, is packed with massive billboards, signs, and advertisements. It's the perfect place to have a great time with your friends and family. They even give you the freedom to travel between Kamurocho and Sotenbori to sightsee freely, something which you could never do in preceding Yakuza games.

Substories

Similar to all Yakuza games in the series, substories are incorporated in the game to spice up the interactions Kiryu has with the civilians of Kamurocho and Sotenbori. They are basically side-quests that you can do in your free time or whenever you want a pause from the usual punch and kick scenarios in the game. They add a certain level of enjoyment in which players get to see Kiryu interacting with NPCs and his amusing reactions to their ridiculous requests. From preventing a scam to even buying a pair of briefs for an unfortunate gentleman, substories cover all aspects of entertainment, sometimes even adding in a touch of modern-day issues for the player to relate to.

Majima Saga



Unfortunately, in Yakuza Kiwami 2, you can't play as Majima in the main story. However, don't fret just yet. Once you have advanced to a certain part in the main story, you'll unlock Majima Saga. What's that? Well, instead of incorporating Majima into the playable main story, the folks over at Ryu ga Gotoku studio instead made a separate story for Majima. You can play as Majima and have his own fighting styles, which I personally was a huge fan of ever since Yakuza 0. However, since it's a side story, it isn't as long as the main story. Despite that, by the end of Majima Saga, I'll guarantee that you would have gone through a box of tissues.

Cabaret Grand and Bouncer Missions

If you were an aficionado of the cabaret club mini-game that existed in Yakuza 0, rejoice! The mini-game is back in Yakuza Kiwami 2 with more beautiful hostesses. Tackle your way through the Cabaret Grand Prix, a league formed to find and advertise the most popular cabaret club in the business. As you progress in the Prix, you will unlock platinum hostesses, which are your best ones. Moving forward, you can trigger special events with said hostesses that will reward you, or rather, them with plenty of experience. All in all, the end goal of the cabaret club is to make sure that each patron leaves with a massive grin.

Bouncer Missions, on the other hand, are bounties with varying difficulties that you can take up in a certain club in Kamurocho. Most missions end with you having to take out a mini-boss, while certain ones have a time limit. They reward you with items that may help you progress easier into the main story, so be sure to keep an eye out for them!

Overall Impression

Whether you're a fan or not of the Yakuza series, picking up this game is definitely worth its inexpensive price. You get tons of content that can easily stretch up to over a hundred hours if you decide to complete the game to its entirety. If you enjoy a game with a simplistic goal of beating up every bad guy into a pulp while having its serious and emotional moments sometimes, this is the game for you. From the main story to the ridiculousness of some side-quests, you will be on the edge of your seat seeking more.

Overall rating: 4/5

Written by Yeon Hee



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BanG Dream! Girls Band Party x Hatsune Miku Collaboration

BanG Dream! Girls Band Party x Hatsune Miku Collaboration

Wednesday, June 12, 2019 / No Comments

It is not uncommon to see collaborations between vocaloids and anime music franchises. The EN version of the mobile rhythm game BanG Dream! Girls Band Party has released their update regarding their collaboration with Hatsune Miku from June 10th to 12th.

The update also sees a change in the game app icon, featuring Kasumi from Poppin’Party and Hatsune Miku. 

Additionally, three song covers have been added to the game as part of the collaboration and they were each released over the course of three days. The songs will be available for purchase in the music shop at CiRCLE in the game. 

“Lost One’s Weeping” by Afterglow (originally by Neru feat. Kagamine Rin) 

This is one of my favourite covers to play on the expert mode, despite the infuriating amount of slide notes in the beatmap. I’m still trying to FC this! Gameplay aside, it’s always refreshing to hear Ran’s (CV: Sakura Ayane) insane vocal range, especially during the chorus. 

“Alien Alien” by Hello, Happy World! (originally by Nayutalien feat. Hatsune Miku)

This cover only further highlights Kokoron’s (CV: Miku Itou) cute voice. Not so cute on the fingers, though. It’s fine on the hard mode mode, but it can be rather challenging on expert, with the occasional flicks surprising you here and there. It's definitely a fitting cover for Hello, Happy World.

“Romeo and Cinderella” by Poppin’Party (originally by Doriko feat. Hatsune Miku)

I'm not going to lie, I didn't actually expect Poppin’Party to cover this song as I thought that it would be a more mature-sounding sound for them. I wasn’t disappointed though, because I actually liked it a lot, and I definitely dig the deeper-sounding Kasumi (CV: Aimi) here. Edgy Poppin’Party is good. Really good. 

A login campaign following the collaboration has also been added, allowing players to receive shards, stars and exclusive live costumes to promote the song covers that were added. For players who have purchased paid stars, they will be able to roll for a *4 guaranteed gacha. 

As mentioned, all members of Afterglow, Hello Happy World and Poppin’Party were given exclusive live costumes. 

Adorable Kokoron with her twin buns and alien headgear.

 Himari with her hair down. Alternate hairstyles are always nice to see.

 And Kasumi with her hair up. (And gasp, her cat-like hairstyle is gone)  

On a side note, do check out the ongoing "Beatin in the Rain" event as well! The event story is pretty wholesome and fun, with eccentric personalities like Tomoe, Kasumi and Kokoro getting together for some Taiko fun. They even drag along Misaki and Sayo into their shenanigans, which makes way for some interesting conversations. Gather up event points with the VS Live in order to unlock prizes, event stories as well as the featured Kasumi and Michelle cards.

The BanG Dream! Girls Band Party x Hatsune Miku Collaboration Campaign ends on June 24th, so get tappin’ if you’re interested! Bang Dream! Girls Band Party is available on the iOS and Android for free.  

Written by kimizomi