Game Review: Donkey Kong Country Returns

2D Action/Platformer; Wii; Nintendo/Retro Studios; 2010

This will be my final post for the year. At the time of writing this review "Crescent Reviews" have garnered 196 views since I started in mid-July, but for some reason not a single comment. Okay, I know that 196 views isn't a whole lot for a website but come on, at least let me know that some of you are actually paying attention to my random ramblings and semi-coherent reviews. I like to know if I'm doing well and I much prefer to know what I need to work on in my writing style. Anyway, enough of my complaining, and on to a review of retro revival game, this time we are back to the Jungle and going bonkers for Bananas because we are seeing the Return of everyone's favorite Primate infested nation: Donkey Kong Country!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Characters within are property of their respective companies.

Merry Christmas from I Crescent, the lord and master of Crescent Reviews. And if you are wasting your time this holiday looking at my blog, then you must be a really lonely individual. Let us both drown ourselves silly in eggnog. For the rest of you, have a happy holiday and spend time with your friends and family, even if you don't want to.

Anime Review: GaoGaiGar

From the first few seconds of the opening theme, you pretty much know what kind of anime this is. Giant robots, alien invaders, and a theme song that details every major piece of information that the audience needs to know as well as some of the phrases you will hear characters shout out every single episode. Yep, it's one of those anime, and it is complete with a utterly ridiculous name that no matter how many times the opening song repeats it, it still sounds silly and incomprehensible. This is GaoGaiGar.

Crescent's Thoughts On: Are Video Games Art?

Sorry for the delay on this post. Computer problems and a task I had to do yesterday delayed the composition of this post. Anyway, I'm sure you have heard this question before: Are Video Games Art? This is a question that I think every form of entertainment has to come across as it grows into a more accepted medium. Video Games is just the most recent medium to try to cross the threshold of "Mindless Entertainment" into the posh realm of what we commonly refer to as "The Arts." People from within and outside of the Video Game industry have given their thoughts on the qualifications that Video Games have to meet in order to be considered an "Art;" however, my own opinion of this topic differs mainly because there is a question I think we need to answer FIRST before we talk about whether or not Video Games are Art. That question is: What IS Art?

Anime Review: Great Teacher Onizuka

Hi there. I really have nothing much to say to start out this review. Only that my computer is craptastic, crashing every few hours or even every few minutes, even when there is nothing going on that would cause it to crash. Yeah, fun times. Anyway, this time I have something of a classic to review. Nearly everyone who has ever had any interest in anime probably have heard of Great Teacher Onizuka (or GTO) at some point in their hobby, but does this series hold up when one doesn't look at it with nostalgic eyes? Let's find out.

Game Review: Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked

Strategy RPG; Nintendo 3DS; Atlus; 2011

Sorry about this review coming in later than usual. Over the course of Thanksgiving weekend I spent several nights else where, away from my computer. I only arrived back home today, and with that long time away from my computer means there is a lot I need to catch upon. I also need to catch up on my sleep because I don't do that so well when I'm in other people's beds. Anyway, with all those pleasantries out of the way, it's high time I talk about today's review: Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked. A enhance port of Altus's original Devil Survivor for the DS, but is this game half-baked attempt at extorting more money from the Altus faithful, or is there enough here to survive one more day.

Anime Review: Black Lagoon

I'm a little out of it today. I have a slight cold, and my neck is a little tweaked after doing a very bad backwards roll yesterday. Anyway, it's been a while since I've done an anime and there are a few that I've seen recently. Largely this was a choice between a pulp action series and a dumb overly lengthy giant robot series with designs that seem to be a complete rip off of Transformers... Guess which one I chose to do.

Crescent's Thoughts On: DmC (Part 2)

Last week I started talking about why I thought of the new Devil May Cry, abbreviated as DmC for some strange reason. Before, I talked about the thematic and stylistic differences between the original series (Here after referred to as DMC) and the new reboot (Here after referred to as DmC), now I will dive into what is probably going to be the most controversial of DmC talk: Gameplay and most importantly Characters. Now, please note this isn't me saying that the new DmC sucks or is inferior in any way to the original DMC, only that it is different, it is not DMC as we know it. We clear? Okay, now let's continue.

Crescent's Thoughts On: DmC

As you may have gleamed from my review of the Devil May Cry anime, I am a fan of the DMC series. In fact, the original Devil May Cry was the first game I owned for the PS2, and I largely chalk up my current skill with action games (both old school and new) with my growth playing many of the DMC games. Hell, I even liked Devil May Cry 4 even though Nero really wasn't that much different in terms of character than Dante, and the entire second half of the game seemed rushed with Dante running through the entirety of the game backwards. But then came that infamous piece of Concept Art that marks the reboot of the Devil May Cry series with some bruised up, uncaring, badly dressed, BLACK HAIRED dweeb that is claiming to be Dante. Yeah, I, like many other fans, are displeased with what Ninja Theory and Capcom are doing to the series. So much so that I pretty much stopped following "DmC" almost immediately after seeing that picture. Now that DmC is coming around the corner, I've decided to check out what the current game looks like and curve my expectations. So this post is my thoughts on the new DmC, if you don't want to hear it, don't read it.

Game Review: Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse

Action/Platformer; NES; Komani;1990

Evening my evil entities from the eternal ether. Okay, I will stop with the alliterations for this is the third and final Halloween review and this one is a masterpiece. Today we are reviewing the last of the Castlevania trilogy for the Nintendo Entertainment System: Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse. After the "meh" reaction of Castlevania II, will a return to the original formula that made the original game so popular work for this installment. Well, since I just called it a masterpiece I'm guessing the answer is yes. It is time to return once again to Transylvania and stop Dracula at the very beginning.

Game Review: Castlevania II: Simon's Quest

Action/Adventure; NES; Konami; 1988

Welcome back my Fiendish Friends from.... France? If you where wondering what happened to my Walkthrough of Castlevania I, well I've run into a problem trying to format the damn thing since I want it to look presentable and so far Blogger hasn't really given me much to do so. So it is on hold for an indeterminate period of time. But the show must go on, next up is the most controversial game in the original Castlevania Trilogy: Castlevania II: Simon's Quest.

Game Review: Castlevania

Action/Platformer; NES; Konami; 1987

Good Evening ghoulish guests! All Hollow's Eve is just around the corner in a few weeks and so I decided to celebrate the occasion with a series of classic reviews with a slightly horrific twist. I am reviewing all three Castlevania games for the NES: Castlevania this week, Castlevania II: Simon's Queset next, and on the week of Halloween, Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse. And, if I'm feeling so inclined, I might even provide walkthroughs of each game since I am so awesome at beating these games, that I might as well aid my fellow gamers. However, first up is the review for the original Castlevania. Que the Vampire Killer Music.

Anime Review: Haibane Renmei

Some people think that when you see one anime you've pretty much seen them all. It's all about either Giant Robots, Samurai, or Magical Girls (and maybe a Giant Robot Samurai Magical Girl), and while those can be, many people seem to forget that anime isn't really a genre, but rather just a style of animation. Thus, when a person thinks that anime has nothing new or unique to offer, they are probably ignorant of series like the one we are talking about today: Haibane Renmei. What is the series about? Well, that's actually kind of hard to say.

Anime Review: Lost Universe

Well, here is a doozy. Lost Universe, made in the early 90s, I believe, where finding anime was a task for the truly dedicated, and localization companies had no idea that hiring people with talent usually yields a better product. To make matters worse Lost Universe is a series written by the same guy behind Slayers and he seems to take the same approach to Sci-fi as he does to fantasy. This might be painful.

Anime Review: Tokyo Majin

Oh, this is going to be painful. You guys are lucky this time. This time I'm not reviewing an awesome series with a ridiculous name, this time I'm reviewing a frustrating series with a boring name. Seriously, how many anime have the title "Tokyo something"? Tokyo Babylon, Tokyo Godfathers, Tokyo Revelation (okay that was a subtitle... used for two different OVAs), and now Tokyo Majin. I waiting for the day where we exhausted all other possibilities and have Tokyo Tokyo. But how is this generically named series?

Anime Review: Bodacious Space Pirates

If you look at my entry logs you might notice that I have vanished for the past two weeks... Well I have... So, that's it. Anyway, this week we are going to take a look at a recent series called Bodacious Space Pirates..... Yes, the series is called Bodacious Space Pirates.... Just let that sink in for a few seconds. I'm reviewing an anime, called Bodacious Space Pirates. Formulate your own ideas while I get started with the review.

Anime Review: Devil May Cry

Now it is time for me to review Devil May Cry... The anime series not the game. Now before I begin, I will make one thing perfectly clear, I am a fan of the game series. Devil May Cry was one of my first PS2 and I have played all the games with the exception of DMC2, and the new reboot of Devil May Cry makes me want to kill small puppies (Who's bright idea was it that Dante needed to be an emo git?). Anyway, that's neither here nor there, I will now talk about Devil May Cry.... The anime.

Anime Review: Redline

You know, it is really hard to come up with an opening paragraph to a review when you have an image like that to start with. I mean, really. What can I say that would be able to match that in terms of "What the Fuck am I looking at." And honestly, after watching the movie this is the least of the "What the Fuck am I looking at" you will experience.

Video Game Review: The 7th Saga

RPG; Super Nintendo; Enix/Produce; 1993

Given the amount of things I had to do on Friday, and the fact that it was too damn hot, I've decided to move my updates from Friday to Sunday, since it is far more likely that I would have far less to do on any given Sunday than any given Friday. And you guys are in for a treat as I review... The 7th Saga!? Oh, crap.

Anime Review: Princess Jellyfish

There are some series that really, really defy conventions. Something that you really can't "explain" what it is without sounding like a complete gibbering moron repeating the phrase "No, it's good, I swear!" Case in point is Princess Jellyfish, a series about a bunch of unattractive otaku and their beautiful cross-dressing friend as they deal with the circumstances that surround the real world. No, it's good, I swear!

Anime Review: The Irresponsible Captain Tylor

It's time for my inaugural review for this new blog, and it is... The Irresponsible Captain Tylor? Huh, I thought I was going to start off with something more grand or interesting, something unique that would change who people would think about anime... Apparently that's next week.

Verdict Explanations

Crescent here. Before I post my first review here on my new blog, I feel it is necessary to explain my review criteria and scoring system. But, before I being to explain my scoring system, let me first rant about what I think about the conventional scoring system used by professional critics all over the world... It SUCKS!

Introduction

Hello I am Crescent. If you know who I am, then congratulations you probably have way too much time on your hands. If you don't know me, then that is the reason why I am making this my first entry on this new blog.

I am a gamer and I also watch a lot of anime, and considering I often times use those things to define myself I have decided to add myself to the over abundance of nerds, geeks, otaku, and fat lazy bums who have never left their parent's house in 15 years and are more likely to marry cardboard cutouts of the cast of Sailor Moon than to actually approach a member of the opposite sex who plague the internet bitching about things they like and bitching about things that other people like that are "ridiculous overrated, and those who like it should be burn alive in a vat of boiling acid." In other words, I am a Reviewer.

"What do you review?" you might ask if this was in any way a form of two way conversation. Well, I review Video Games and Anime, and out of those categories pretty much anything I can get my grubby little hands on. As a gamer, I am drawn mostly towards RPGs, namely those made by slightly obscure Japanese companies, like NIS, Atlus, or Gust; however, I am a old school gamer through and through, and have enjoyed any Action or Platformer that has come my way including, Megaman, Devil May Cry, Kirby, and of course the classic Mario series.

Under Anime, pretty much anything that doesn't involve 150 episodes of filler that just serves to "develop" the far more interesting supporting cast who will probably die after having an episode dedicated to their back story. Unfortunately, quality control regarding the Anime I watch is flaky at best, and down right non-existent at worse. So while I will try to focus on the good stuff, just remember that, like everything else, 90% of Anime is complete and total crap.

In addition to reviews, I will likely talk about trends and goings on that I feel are important... at least to me. Have my very own subjective highly controversial lists of items that are only superficially linked together through a common, vaguely defined theme (AKA Top ten lists). And probably some other things that I might find relevant towards gaming or anime, or even just geek culture in general.

Aside from that, I'm not sure what direction this blog will take, given I have very fleeting whims. All I will say is that I plan on making an update every Friday with either a new review for a Video Game or Anime review, or a Top 7 list (because too many people do Top 10s), or just some ranting or something like that. And at least for the first few weeks, things will be in constant flux as I figure out how to operate blogger, and to give this site my own personal touch. If you like what you see, tell your friends, if you don't, tell your enemies.

Until next time

-Crescent, signing off.