BlayzBloo for DSiWare flips the traditional premise of BlazBlue on its head.

Instead of technical prowess and hi-res 2D sprites that the series prides itself on, along comes a game that is something you can play on the go without practicing for 20 hours a day.

BlayzBloo is a four-on-four 3D arena fighter in the vein of Power Stone. There are weapons, power-ups, and everything you’d come to expect from a standard fighter of this style.

Each round has a different setting. Some are fights to death, and some are to see who has the most points at the end of a match. While the game only offers a few diverse styles of gameplay and limited character selection, I’d say it’s worth the 500 Nintendo Points. The novelty of playing with cute BlazBlue characters and thwapping them on the head instead of learning combos simply feels right on the handheld.

Arc System Works has released portable iterations of their fighters on handhelds before, and they never really sat well with me. Guilty Gear Dust Strikers was god-awful, and all the Guilty Gear games on the PSP suffered from poor console design which is no fault of Arc System Works.

I can safely say that the developers finally got a four player handheld game right. Instead of trying too hard to be like its counterpart, it did something different. No, not something too different like in Guilty Gear Isuka or Dust Strikers. The game is not nearly as off-putting as those two.

Instead, one can find themselves picking up and playing this game with friends and just having fun. The game brings back the innocence of old arcade brawlers and mixes it with the atmosphere of games like Super Smash Bros. It’s not a serious game. There’s no story and there’s no gimmicks. For anyone looking for a guiltless novelty title with a few of your favorite deformed BlazBlue characters, I definitely recommend you pick this one up.

Only having seen Scott Pilgrim in the form of user’s avatars on certain forums, I had no idea what I was getting into.

Then I found out Paul Robertson was doing the sprite work. Then I found out Anamanaguchi was doing the soundtrack. If there really was such a thing as a “nerdgasm”, I believe I had one.

Upon hearing this, I proceeded to pre-order the game from Ubisoft’s website. I was also supposed to get a bonus Playstation Home Sex Bob-omb t-shirt. I liked all three of these things, so I decided I had to at least help support the artist and the musicians.

This is the part where I’m supposed to say “BIG MISTAKE” in big bold letters to signify how wrong I was for buying a game on such shallow premises.

The game isn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s pretty enjoyable. I haven’t read the comic book, so I can’t comment on how well it follows that.

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Every once in a while, a movie comes along that surprises you. This will be one of them.

Michael Cera plays Scott Pilgrim in the new movie “Scott Pilgrim VS. The World” based on the eponymous graphic novel of the same name.

At first, I was discouraged to see this film.  I knew nothing of Scott Pilgrim. I only played the game which came out the Tuesday prior to the movie release. All my nerd friends kept talking about it, but nobody I trust would say much about the movie itself. After watching it, I can understand why. A franchise such as this merits a loss for words.

I’ll admit, I’m hot and cold when it comes to Michael Cera. I don’t have a blind hatred for him like I with the Johnny Depp and Tim Burton duo of evil, but I usually wait until his movies are available to rent. This one was different, there was much peer pressure.

My main problem with Michael Cera is that he can’t act, at least not in many diverse roles. He seems to have typecasted himself. Of late, his films have been getting better. “Youth in Revolt” being an example of him branching out into different styles of acting.

This isn’t about Michael Cera. This is about Scott Pilgrim, which was the most enjoyable movie I’ve seen all summer.

At first, I was afraid it would be one of those too serious indie-hipster sorts of films. This film maintains a healthy dose of video game and TV references to keep people happy, but it also has a great deal of substance and style. It’s a happy movie about somewhat serious things.

The plot is relatively simple. Scott Pilgrim meets a girl named Ramona Flowers and starts to date her. As the movie progresses, it turns out that she has a league of evil ex-suitors that have an express desire to end Scott’s life. In the midst of all this is a nice blend of action, romantic comedy, genuine comedy, video game references, exotic hair colors, and larger than life  fight scenes. All this comes together to form a very enjoyable movie.

The most brilliant aspect of this movie is its scope. Even the premise is relatively simple, this movie goes all over the place. It reminds me of the Metal ethos. To be the biggest, baddest, and most brutal out of the whole gang. This movie is exactly like that.

Except it’s not metal, and it’s not angry. Scott Pilgrim is a happy movie, but it’s brutally epic in all sorts of ways.

Scott Pilgrim VS The World struck a nerve into the backbone of modern geek culture. It’s finally a movie about geeks that doesn’t use the tired out plot device of struggling in the face of adversity due to being a geek. It’s a movie that can hit home for a lot of people, but doesn’t necessarily need to be seen by a geek to be enjoyed.

This movie isn’t some sort of boring nerd fest. No, it’s something that nerds can appreciate. There’s much more to it that just references. If you’ve never played a video game in your life, this movie will still get your attention with the awesome music segments, and the awesome fight scenes. Sure, you might not get the Dance Dance Revolution jokes, the coins, the leveling up, or the 1-ups, but even without all that the movie stands on its feet.

The other day, I picked up some shooting games called Deathsmiles and Sin and Punishment 2: Star Successor.

I was under the impression that these were arcade shooters. I was prepared for it to not be like Modern Warfare 2, but I figured it would be like Ikaruga or something. The same people made that awesome arcade puzzle-shooter, so the chances should have been high right?

Nothing could prepare me for how wrong I was.

I turned on my Nintendo Wii Entertainment System and popped out the disc for Wii Sports (I am an ultimate tennis champion, and am practicing to be in the olympics one day). After I put Sin and Punishment 2 in the system, I felt a chill run down my spine.

So I start playing this so-called “arcade shooter” expecting it to be kind of like Area 51, and it was slightly similar. You start out and you can pick from a slightly masculine girl, or a more obvious girl. (Then again, most characters in Japanese games look like girls except in Fist of the North Star). I picked the one that looked more like a dude. According to the manual, Kachi had auto-aim. I think auto-aim makes you look less manly, so I picked the one where I got to actually play the game. I guess Nintendo forced that option into the game, since they know there are so many casuals playing silly games like Metroid and MadWorld who whine and complain if you don’t give them an easy way out.

Me on the other hand, I prefer to do things the 80s way. You know, kick ass and take names without the help of some poorly-written AI.

Proceeding my character selection, I had begun to play the game. It was kinda nice, I got to shoot and kill things. It was a little awkward at first because you had to juggle between flying around and walking around. Treasure (the developer) should make up its mind. There are two kinds of gamer. Those who want to fly around in sci-fi jetpacks, and those who want to walk around while killing hordes of enemies. Treasure should know that everyone who wants to walk around is playing Modern Warfare 2 or Bad Company 2. It’s just common sense. Perhaps there was something lost in translation. In case you couldn’t tell, this is a Japanese game. Japanese people aren’t always the most adept when it comes to making games American gamers want to play.

There were a few cool parts in the training level where I had to jump over different things and dodge lasers. I didn’t like it, but thankfully walking is optional for most of the game.

Sin and Punishment 2 isn’t a bad game. It’s just full of itself. I suppose this is what happens when arcades are a dying breed. No developer can seem to emulate that feeling at home. I also feel let down that the game said it utilized Nintendo’s Wi-fi connection, but only used it for leaderboards. I was hoping for some online co-op so I could totally frag some alien ass with my mates over in Melbourne. No dice.

The next game I got this summer that was supposed to be an ‘arcade shooter’ is called Deathsmiles. I saw some screenshots and it looked cool. It was like R-Type or Ikaruga (my favorite) sort of game with bullets and aliens and such.

I got the package in the mail, and I immediately regretted the purchase. The back of the box said “Deathsmiles at us all. Lolis smile back.” I thought that the lolis were going to be the ones getting death rained down upon them glorious fury in this Xbox 360 exclusive! Like usual, I was wrong. Dead wrong.

In this game you have to play as the lolis! You see, I have much disdain for Gothic Lolita culture. Nearly every lolita I’ve encountered is an ice queen. I figured I’d get to bloody them up or something.

Cave, the developer, doesn’t understand what Americans want. At least Treasure understood the object of our desire, just not the proper location.

Not only does it force you to play as the bane of American society, the game is also pretty short. This should’ve been  1200 points on Xbox Live Arcade. I mean, if a game like Ikaruga can be up there, I don’t see why Deathsmiles can’t be. It’s not like Microsoft charges per bullet. Granted, the limited edition of the game was pretty nice. Soundtracks and a faceplate are always appreciated.

I suppose that was Aksys’ (the publisher) way of trying to calm you down after realizing how short the game is. RPG fans will also be pleased to know that there is a decent amount of choice-making. It’s surprising to see more choice-making in this game than in other popular jRPGs such as Final Fantasy XIII.

The one cool part about Deathsmiles is that you get to defeat a final boss called Tyrannosatan. As a devout Christian and a purveyor of justice, I find the concept of destroying a Satanic dinosaur to be very gratifying. It’s like I’m the one telling Satan not to tempt me while I’m trying to fast in the desert!

I’m not going to tell you to avoid either of these games. Different strokes for different folks, I suppose. I wanted to have a summer filled with arcade-style shooting action and was left unsatisfied.

A few months ago, my friend posted a video from this band on his facebook and I was mesmerized by the unique sound of Transistor Kirac ever since.

Transistor Kirac is a Japanese duo making self-branded techno music.

But it’s not techno music, it’s much more than that. As the title says, it’s spacey, chiptune, and noise pop. Add a little bit of operatic singing in the mix and you have Transistor Kirac.

I had a very hard time finding a place to purchase their music, so I asked the band themselves where I could purchase some. They ended up sending me a copy of Kukeihae KISS which was the album they sent to all press.

I was familiar with a few of their live songs from youtube such as Rainy Comet and a few of their Yapoos covers. Nothing prepared me for what was on that CD.

From discordance to perfectly balanced sounds, this album is just kinda weird. I generally adore weird music, but there was something about the way the synthesizers sounded along the vocals that lit up my brain. To be frank, it sounded somewhat amateur at first.

Each song is based around a certain melody, and there’s discordant riffs coming from a synthesizer. The singing doesn’t exactly match the way the song goes, but it somehow works.

Nothing matches! But then you listen more, and then it all matches!

It almost has that improvisational feel that jazz does, but adapted to a metallic chiptune noisepop setting.

You can buy this album from amazon.co.jp

Transistor Kirac OHP

Traditionally, when one thinks of Japanese rock music, they think of a bunch of dudes singing as low as they can a la Gackt or Luna Sea. In this entry, we’ll explore four different albums from artists with female singers.

It’s getting warmer, and there’s nothing you want to do more than geek out inside with some amazing rock music that will get you in the mood for school to be over. This week, we have  new (in the states) releases from Inugami Circus-dan, wistaria, Taia, and 101a. Each artist’s album has a diverse offering of sound and texture. As long as you’re into rock music and don’t mind it being in a language you can’t understand, I’m sure you’ll find something you can enjoy!

Buy Inugami Circus Dan MP3s
@ JapanFiles.com!

Inugami Circus Dan has been around for quite a while, and I can remember enjoying their sounds since the early 2000s. They’ve come a long way, and they’ve changed a lot.

I suppose the easiest way to describe them is through comparison. I’m sure most people are familiar with the Insane Clown Posse. Well, Inugami Circus Dan is not at all similar to them save a few superficial attributes like obsession with the morbid, clown paint, and dark lyrical content. The biggest difference is that Inugami Circus Dan is amazing, and they take themselves seriously. You won’t hear deep lyrical ponderings about magnets in this album.

Their new album is called “Setakamui,” and it’s a departure from the familiar.

In this album, they seem to be taking more cues from metal ballads. There’s the solos, the power chords, and all of the things that are meant to make something sound heavy. It really rocks. It’s miles away from the older songs, which were far more traditional in their layout. To that end, none of the tracks sound like they could be a ‘single’.

Kyouko’s singing hasn’t changed much. She still sings as if she were a cameo in a 70s Japanese horror film. It’s much more advanced than the enka style, but still has tinges of traditional Japanese vibrato.

Buy wistaria MP3s
@ JapanFiles.com!

The new album from Wistaria “deep” is a peculiar case. It reminds me quite a bit of other Visual Kei acts that have a female singer.

If you’re wanting something more aggressive, I would check this out. Her voice is a bit higher pitched, like in most female-fronted Visual Kei acts that I listen to, and is supported by growling backup singers to give it that ‘darker’ sort of edge. Definitely recommended for fans of Exist+Trace.

Granted, this mini-album doesn’t do anything I’ve never seen before it’s probably the safest bet for anyone who’s already a fan of Japanese rock. It doesn’t step outside the box, but sometimes that can hit the spot.

Buy Taia MP3s
@ JapanFiles.com!

This band is definitely not the Japanese version of Nightwish, but their the next best thing. It might seem like I’m trying to take the easy way out, but Taia reminds me of a mix between Evanescence and Nightwish.

Their most recent release, “Through Your Tears” will most likely appeal to those fans. The group meets somewhere in between. Taia is not as heavy, but also not nearly as soft as the aforementioned groups. Some of the songs such as “Another Aspect” have much more shredding than either group.

I enjoy Taia for several reasons. I can’t understand the words, so it makes Seika’s lyrics sound all the more beautiful. Gothic metal has a special place in my heart. I need something that can set up a dark atmosphere, but that is also heavy and epic. This album meets all those requirements.

Buy 101A MP3s
@ JapanFiles.com!

I never thought I’d be putting 101a in the ‘rock’ category. Traditionally, 101a have been very downtempo and very relaxing. The new album from 101a is called “LETHE” and it’s anything BUT downtempo. While the vocalist still maintains the ethereal persona for the majority of the singing, their new stuff definitely has an edge.

This is something like a cross between shoegaze, post-rock, and your standard J-rock affair. In one track you’ll be getting sleepy, and then in the next you’ll be rocking out. Most albums that try to do this end up confusing the listener, but this bi-polar attitude 101a carries actually seems to work.

This year, the Middle Tennessee Anime Convention had their first overseas band in the form of Quaff.

Quaff makes “Samurai rock.” Their style blends modern rock music with tinges of old style Japanese music. Quaff mixes and matches the old with the new. For anyone familiar with Psycho le Cemu, you’ll notice that the similarities are uncanny. However, Quaff goes the extra mile to include traditional Japanese sounds in their performance. Japanese flutes, and ancient Japanese dialects really show the effort that Quaff puts into having a unique experience.

The concert at MTAC 2010 was fairly segmented. They had an amazing opening that really showcased the talented tour-de-force of their dual-vocalist style. The middle portion was mostly ballads and slower songs. Quaff wrapped up the concert going back to what made the first part of the concert so amazing. I felt like the middle of the concert should’ve been cut down to size. I was excited by the energy portrayed in the beginning and end, but the middle part left a damper on the overall experience.

The concert was a blast; however, I feel the energy could’ve been spread a bit more evenly. The best parts of the show were the back-and-forths between the lead singer crooning in traditional Japanese style and the MC ‘rapping’ in the most antiphonic way possible. The call and response between the two individuals was definitely worth the price of admission. Then again, I’m a more inclined to like that sort of thing anyways.

Here’s the first part of the interview with Quaff where they introduce themselves, and answer a few other questions. They seem like a really nice and positive group.

I got to ask them one question of my own, and I chose to ask them about what made them decide to change their style over the years. I had scoured over most of their discography, and they seemed to veer towards a newer sound in the last couple of years.

Since I had literally been silent for about 45 minutes straight, I had to clear my throat. My apologies for such unsightly sorts of audio!

That’s what this game is quite guilty of.

Too bad there’s already a game called Mother, because it also would have been fitting for Final Fantasy XIII! It holds your hand, like a little child whose eyes are blinded by the bright lights of the shiny new world.

Import hype for this game dictated preemptive poor impressions for this title. It was called “hallway simulator” and “too linear” by many netizens. Many of these qualms were crushed under its domestic release here in the states. Whereupon playing the game in English, many understood why it was so linear for a good chunk of the game.

Without spoiling it, let’s just say that the party is “on the run” from an enemy. To me, it made sense to have a very narrow scope of travel between destinations. There are exceptions for older games in which a party is on the run only for a brief while, where you get to ride in airships etc.

Oddly enough, its linearity wasn’t what bugged me about Final Fantasy XIII, it was the fact it held your hand like an all-knowing matriarch trying to convince you that it’s for your own good. Why does this bug me so much, though? Why can’t I just shut up and act like the good fanboy that I am (truly)?

Because this game takes its audience for granted, and that is a bit upsetting coming from this particular series. Remember in that one book where the guy says, “Stay gold, ponyboy. Stay gold?” I don’t mind change, there are some ridiculous changes in series that I actually appreciate.

This game didn’t stay gold. When Final Fantasy X got rid of the world map, that took me a while to get used to; however, it was still gold. The player can’t level up, change party positions, can’t upgrade, and is severly limited on a few other fronts for a majority of the game.

Many games these days are guilty of this sort of behavior. They are programmed to hold our hand, I feel, because of the mainstream acceptance of gaming. Making an awesome game like Ys where it just drops you on a world map and says “Go!” just wouldn’t fly in this modern era.

This is an age where JRPGs are being accused of being stagnant and not changing up the formula enough. FF13 changed up the formula, and is nowhere near stagnant. But at what cost?

The game doesn’t give you certain features until it “logically” makes sense in the game. After playing through most of it, it makes sense to leave some things until later. For some stuff though, it’s MUCH later.

I rather enjoyed my play time with Final Fantasy XIII, but it’s guilty of holding my hand just like many other AAA games are guilty of. Some do it via QTEs or cutscenes instead of letting you fight (RE5, MGS4, UC2). FF13 does it by simply not introducing certain game elements until much later, and it’s somewhat insulting.

I suppose they have realized that their audience has changed, and that’s OK too. This sort of thing is a staple of modern gaming. I just hope that the series at least makes attempts of sticking to its roots. Do something to remind me that it’s a Final Fantasy game, and not just some random Square-Enix quota-meeter.

The game is still pretty fun, once you can get over the fact that it’s so drastically different. Once you realize that it’s just adapted for what the series has truly become, I think you can start to enjoy it. It’s not exactly a shining star at first, but then it really grows on you.

She’s a pop star with a song on the billboard top 100 that claims be a rebel, oh boy!

I first heard her song Tik Tok back in early January on the radio. At first, I thought it was a new Millionaires song. Then I realized it wasn’t nearly as raunchy or as dance-oriented. Unlike that group, this song was actually kinda good. I found myself nodding to it in the car more than I would an Avenue D song or Millionaires.

Like usual, the radio didn’t tell me who it was. I was left wanting to hear more, and I can never remember enough lyrics to do a sufficient Google search. Incidentally, I am a fan of Conan O’brien and she was on his show later that day. What luck I had!

Shortly thereafter I procured her album from Itunes, and checked out the whole thing. Big mistake. I guess this is why they invented things like itunes, so you can only download the songs you like.

Animal is a mess.

Most of the songs are fairly forgettable and tend to blend in with each other. It starts on a high note, but then seems to lull until you get to D.I.N.O.S.A.U.R which sounds like what most hipster pop anthems aspire to be like. It’s a catchy song, but it goes down all the same roads I’ve been down before.

Her hit single, Tik Tok, might be a pretty catchy song, but try not to actually listen to the lyrics. Sometimes I wonder if Ke$ha even knows what Mick Jagger even looks like. The Rolling Stones are probably before her generation anyways. The fact she’s from Brentwood, Tennessee doesn’t really help her case either.

Being a Tennessee resident myself, you start to notice patterns of behavior of certain individuals from different neighboring towns. It might be a little hard to see where I’m coming from unless you’re familiar with these areas. On a similar note, Taylor Swift grew up in my home town of Hendersonville, and Miley Cyrus grew up in Franklin. I’ve met tons of people from these areas, and some of the things these pop divas say can’t surprise me much.

While she probably does know what he looks like, she’s just playing ignorant. What kind of message does that send? It’s pop music, so I suppose it doesn’t really matter much. As a listener, you’re not supposed to care about these things. You’re just supposed to have fun and dance.

Shortly after her appearance on Conan, Ke$ha also appeared on Jimmy Fallon wearing an Indian headdress. Seriously.

I thought her performance on Conan was pretty cool. She dressed up like a normal modern pop star might. Her appearance on Fallon was vomit-inducing. Perhaps this is just personal taste, but white kids wearing Indian headdresses is plain insulting.

I hate to toss around the word hipster too terribly often. A lot of people are just expressing themselves, and some people just don’t “get it.” Sometimes it just seems like people are trying too hard. She calls herself a rebel, but she does the headdress thing and wears American Apparel.  There’s nothing inherently wrong with either of those things, but how often do you see rap artists have “Chicken & Watermelon” being part of their image?

The point: I don’t care about your fashion, just don’t call yourself a rebel when you are so damn cliché.

Like I’ve stated before, this is pop music. It’s meant to be fake, so taking I don’t take it personally. Though I do find it humorous how that culture has crossed over into the pop realm. It’s not bad, but it does raise curiosities about what the future will bring.

I don’t hate Ke$ha, and I don’t hate her album. Though she does make it quite hard not to roll my eyes at the things she does. The album seems like a great way to start 2010. Though, I’m hoping we’ll see much stronger releases in the months to follow.

Ever go to a Japanese restaurant and see those fancy oil paintings on the wall? In Muramasa, the traditional art of Edo era Japan comes to life in the form of a 2D side-scrolling action game with a tinge of RPG elements.

If you’re familiar with Vanillaware’s past endeavors such as Princess Crown or Odin Sphere, then the concept of Muramasa should come as no surprise. You pick between Monohime and Kisuke and travel around Japan killing things and forging new weapons.

The game is relatively simple. Each character has a unique storyline and unique bosses. All you do in Muramasa is go from screen to screen fighting varying amounts of enemies and collecting points to aid in creating new weapons.

Swords are the name of the game. While previous games took more of a fantasy action-RPG approach, Muramasa in turn puts the action before the roleplaying elements. You can hack and slash your way through each mission, instead of worrying about spells and the like.

Muramasa isn’t just some cheap attempt to capture an American audience’s infatuation with Japanese culture. It’s deeper than that. It’s not just an art style, the whole game is homage to the ancient Japanese Edo period. While I’m not wholly familiar with Japanese folklore, I have noticed there is plenty of it to be seen. And not in the fish-out-of-water style that Shin Megami Tensei does it. This is the real deal.

The cooking system isn’t complicated, it’s there more for show. You can buy ingredients, and it will show the food being made. No, there’s no “potions” in this game. For the most part, it’s all authentic Japanese food. You can even go to in-game restuarants, and the screen shows the dishes prepared.

Previous efforts such as Odin Sphere held a very similar torch to the likes of Muramasa. While the games are similar, this isn’t simply a case of mindlessly approving a sequel based on the original. Neither is this a case of preferring Norse mythology to that of Japanese.

Muramasa feels more spot-on than any other game in this genre I’ve played. It feels complete. Everything about it comes together to make a great package.

One of the only problems with Muramasa seems to be its leveling up system. In a manner of speaking, the enemies will level up with you as you progress through the story. If you go back to old cities, however, the battles will be easier. In essence, it seems like power-leveling only does much good in regards to boss battles and bonus fights. I suppose I can live with that, but the old-school gamer in me was expecting leveling up to mean a bit more than it does in Muramasa.