Anime Review: Sword Art Online

Okay, my spring quarter is coming to an end. I just have to get through finals week and then I'm free... until the summer quarter... yeah. But I'm sure none of you are interested in that, mainly because I'm sure very few of you guys are actually reading my blog posts at all, or are even interested. Anyway, now it's time to talk about some anime and this week we have Sword Art Online, an anime about a fictional near future MMORPG that uses a virtual reality interface... I SWEAR this isn't .hack!

Crescent's Thoughts On: Anita Sarkeesian's Tropes vs Women in Video Games: Damsel in Distress Part 2

How long does it take to make your videos?

Okay, 3 weeks back I decided to tackle Anita Sarkeesian's "Tropes vs Women in Video Games" first video "Damsel in Distress: Part 1" as a replacement for having any actual content ready for Mother's day. Though I was late to the party, the fact that she hadn't released another video in the series in a little over 2 months since writing that article and the deafening silence from Sarkeesian gave me the impression that she had abandon the project and I might as well give my thoughts since that was what seemed like the last we would hear from her. But then about 5 days ago, Sarkeesian released her second part of her series, which is a continuation of her look at the "Damsels in Distress" trope. I seriously question why it would take Sarkeesian so long to produce videos when this project is the only thing she is doing at this time. I mean, I can sort of understand the year long gap between her Kickstarter and her first video as it was her gathering her research and getting the script planned out for the 13 video series. But seriously, I've seen people do higher quality content on shorter time frames.

Anyway, in this video Sarkeesian not only looked at modern day Damsels in contrast to her old school Damsels talk last time (Which is inaccurate given she talked about Mario, Zelda, and Double Dragon up to present day), but also a series of inverses and modifications of said cliche used now-a-days, modifications she calls the "Damsel in the Refrigerator" and "The Euthanized Damsel" and how this relates to domestic violence because....... Violent Video Games? And so, here are my thoughts.

3DS inside covers project

Tired of me using the FE Awakening box art? Well too bad.

Hello, Crescent here. If you are like me, then you love not only your 3DS, but also having the physical copy of a game in your hand rather than a digital one. There is something gratifying about having a massive collection taking up space on your shelf rather than having a single SD card that contains your entire hobby sitting in a small handheld device. There is just something about having the game sitting in it's case, reminding me not only of it's presence, but also of how awesome the game was. However, there was always one thing that kind of bothered me and it's those Eco-friendly cases. There is nothing wrong with the cases themselves, I think it is a good idea to try to reduce the amount of plastic used in manufacturing not only from an ecological standpoint but also an economic standpoint. No, what bothered me is these big holes to just a white background surrounding the game itself. It just seems like a waste to be able to see nothing. And thus I began what I personally called the "3DS inside covers project" an attempt to fill in those holes with something.

Happy Birthday... To ME!

Yes, yes. It is my birthday, and thus I am way too lazy to even attempt at writing a review. Furthermore, in addition to not having any new content for you to ignore, now that you know it is my birthday, you are contractually obligated to give me a present, a gift, or your worldly possessions. If you do not comply with this request your life is now forfeit under Article 4 of the "Crescent VS the World" agreement that you all have signed... *SOMEONE WHISPERING INTO MY EAR* What do you mean that was never released? *MORE WHISPERING* Wait, it's not signed by ANYONE!? I thought in order to view Crescent Reviews people had to sign that agreement.... Maybe that's why I still don't have any comments. Anyway, it's Happy Birthday to me and next time an actual review.

Anime Review: Croisee in a Foreign Labyrinth

Well, over this weekend we celebrated 3 birthdays, my dad's, my brother's, and my own. See, our birthdays are all one week apart (My brother: the 13th, my dad: the 20th, and mine: the 26th) and since my brother lives out of state it is impractical to have him visit once every week for three weeks, so we combined all of our respective birthday celebrations on one day. Which of course means I got my birthday gifts sooner! I received: Atelier Meruru, Dragon Quest VI, and Radiant Historia. Although, it is odd that I'm constantly not getting new 3DS games. Seriously, the three 3DS games I own, I bought with my own money or gift cards. Anyway, we also went to see Iron Man 3, which is pretty good. It has everything we come to expect from Iron Man, the lovable jerk in Tony Stark, amazing CGI effects, and more Iron Man suits than you can shake a robotic arm at. Anyway, I'm not here to talk about a drunk multimillionaire wasting his money on tools that can save the world. I'm here to talk about a tiny Japanese girl hanging out in 19th century Paris in the anime Croisee in a Foreign Labyrinth.

Crescent's Thoughts On: The Damsel in Distress

To all mothers out there: Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all maternal gamers, and I know there has to be at least one in the world: My own Mom. In celebration for the appreciation of the fairer sex's perpetual struggle to ensure our species survival for an additional generation, I've decided to take a look at all the great mothers in video game history....... Okay, maybe not. To be honest, outside of the majority of the female cast in Fire Emblem Awakening, I can't think of that many mothers taking an active role in video games. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure they are there, but it does highlight an issue with the greater representation of characters in video games. So, in light of this I will look at one of the most divisive issues that has cropped up in recent video gaming news: Anita Sarkeesian's Tropes Vs. Women in Video Games "Project."

Game Review: Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey

RPG/Dungeon Crawler; Nintendo DS; Atlus; 2010

Not much to say about goings on this week, other than it is finally feeling like something OTHER than winter here in the beautiful, perpetually overcasted Pacific Northwest. That, and my birthday is in 3 weeks. Anyway, with not much else to say, it is time to move on to this week's review: Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey. The first SMT game planned as an international release, and first entry in the core series since Nocturne. But is this a strange journey worth taking, or is it just plain out there?