I'm Back Bitches!

I'm back. For those of you who have read my blog before, I apologize for the extended absence from blogging and writing reviews. Long story short, after the horrendous treatment that Fire Emblem Fates received at the hands of Nintendo Treehouse, I began to become disillusioned by Video Game Journalism as a whole. I became active in the #TorrentialDownpour twitter hashtag, and then later moved to #GamerGate (a movement that I remained neutral on due to the controversy surrounding it's early days). The thing was I had a lot of opinions about things like "Censorship" and the disingenuous coverage about #TD and #GG by both the gaming media and "professional" Journalists. But at that time, I really questioned "Is this what I want my site to become." I wanted to review Games and Anime, and I want THAT to be my site's focus, but there was so much controversy surrounding the games I like, or at least WANTED to like, that if I covered those I would have no time to talk about reviews. YET, it was the controversy topics that got more hits, meaning that writing reviews was just not rewarding enough in that context. And so, I just left my blog to wither.

And then in May I got laid-off at my job. Suddenly, I had a lot more free time to write about games, but no money. I had thought about returning to my blog, but I was unsure about what direction to take it in. Should I continue writing reviews or should I start making GamerGate posts? Should I continue in the written word or should I start making videos on Youtube for a greater impact? My indecisiveness continued until I finally got a new job, unfortunately it is at the hive of scum and villainy known as "Walmart." I don't like working at Walmart, and I don't want to continue working at Walmart. So I thought back and decided to go do something that I liked doing. Something that I enjoyed even when it was hard or I had no motivation to do it. I wanted to get back to Writing.

And so here we are. I'm going to go back to writing reviews of video games and anime. I'll probably change up the format a little to make these reviews easier to make. I'm also thinking of doing short video reviews (maybe 5 minute long). I don't know if I'll do any major "controversy" posts or anything like that because of the time commitment required, and these reviews are going to be a little inconsistent as my work schedule is likewise inconsistent, but I'll try my best and hopefully if enough people check me out, I can finally do my dream job and make money doing what I love to do. Play and Talk about Video Games and Anime.

Expect my review of MegaDimension Neptunia VII shortly.

CRES's Thoughts On: Fire Emblem Fates Controversy or Don't Read if You Want to Enjoy Fire Emblem Fates

I'm sorry I haven't been around lately. Right now I'm a little caught up in some internet drama that, just like a trainwreck, I just can't look away. As you can probably guess, it involves one of my favorite video game franchises of all time: Fire Emblem. Namely, the newly released Fire Emblem Fates. Now, I'm sure you have all heard about the controversy surrounding this game, and I have been silence on it because I didn't want my expectations to be skewed. However, after looking into the controversy a little bit more (after playing a bit of Fates) I have lost all desire to play Fates at the moment. That's right, what I have learned from looking into the issues surrounding Fire Emblem Fates' localization has made me, a diehard Classic Mode Fire Emblem fan, not want to play the game.

I'm warning you right now, if you want to or are planning to play and enjoy Fire Emblem Fates, take the blue pill and just leave right now. If you want to take the red pill, I'll show you just how bad it can get.

Anime Review: K-on!

I'm back. You know I should really beat Xenoblade Chronicles X. Every time the TV is available, I just have to play it for as long as I can, which is why I'm not as productive on the weekends as I would hope. Fortunately, I seem to have just beaten the game's main story, and rather unexpectedly I might add. I thought that with a game that splits its story up into Chapters that the last chapter in the game would be called "The Final Chapter," but it isn't. Anyway, I'll have a full review up when I have fully collected my thoughts on the game, until then here is an anime about a bunch of high school girls hanging out with each other that ISN'T Lucky Star. This is K-on!

DEMO-lition: Project X Zone 2

Sorry for the late post. I thought I would be able to finish the small indie game I was playing on Sunday, BUT that game turned out to be a bit longer and more ball-busting than my initial assessment. Simply put, I am not yet finished with the game. In light of that I have been playing something that I can at least talk a little bit about and that is the demo for Project X Zone 2 (the "X" in this title is suppose to be pronounced as "Cross").

So what, if you don't know already, is Project X Zone and why does it have a sequel? Well, Project X Zone is the successor to Namco X Capcom, a SRPG released only in Japan for the PS2 where protagonists from the two companies join forces to defeat their respective adversaries as well as a force that threatens the entire Cross-over multiverse. Project X Zone added a third company to the mix, SEGA, and moved the series onto the 3DS because the developer is Monolith Soft, who is now owned by Nintendo. I have a full review of the game here. Strangely enough, PXZ was successful enough (especially in the West) to warrant a sequel and thus Project X Zone 2, which maintains the current line up of participating companies, but also adds a few Nintendo characters to the ultimate roster. The game releases later this month, but for those of you who want a taste of what's to come a Demo is available on the eShop which is want I'm about to look into today.

CRES's Thoughts On: Anita Sarkeesian's Strategic Butt Coverings or Is Anita REALLY Going to Spend 5 Minutes Talking About Character's Asses!?

Are you F*&^ING KIDDING ME!?

Well it's that time again, It's been 4 months since Anita released her previous video in her "Tropes VS Women in Video Games" series and it's high time she released another video before she disappears into the aether of public awareness. So what is it this time Anita? Half an hour about the Sexy Sidekick like what was promised during your Positive Female Characters video? A multi-part series about how "Unattractive Equals Evil" or about the likewise contradictory "Sexy Villainess"? Or will you finally bit the bullet and give us what we are REALLY after and do "The Fighting F*&K Toy"? What is this new video?... STRATEGIC BUTT COVERINGS!? ARE YOU F*&KING KIDDING ME ANITA!!??!? This wasn't even on your original video list, and now you are going to talk about "Butt Coverings"? And this is only 5 minutes long.

Okay, it seems that Anita realized that taking over THREE Years to finish a project that was suppose to be done in six months is just a LITTLE slow, and so she "promised" to complete the series this year. However, this means that her videos are going to be completely different from what she had promised and each will only be a few minutes long. Anita said that it's taking so long because of the amount of "Research" she has to do, but I highly doubt that any amount of research that can be dismantled in only a few minutes after listening to the argument can't have taken that long. But anyway, since this is another short video I'm going to have Anita talk and then I will try to destroy her points as she spends the next 5 minutes talking about a bunch of asses.

Game Review: Stella Glow

SRPG; Nintendo 3DS; Image Epoch; 2015

Just so all of you know, I'm feeling rather sick at the moment. Why why WHY did I have to get sick over the weekend!? Why couldn't it be during the week so I wouldn't have to work? Anyway, I have just beaten Image Epoch's final SRPG; Stella Glow. In case you didn't know, Image Epoch, the creators of Luminous Arc and Arc Rise Fantasia, filed for bankruptcy early last year after a string of disappointing sales and the disappearance of the company's president. However, before going belly up, Stella Glow (which was to be the celebration of the company's 10th Anniversary) was completed leaving the in the hands of it's publisher SEGA and ultimately handed off to Atlus for US release. So how is Image Epoch's Swan Song RPG? Read on to find out.

CRES Special: Star Wars: The Force Awakens Review

Sorry for disappearing last week. I have a lot on my plate right now, namely with my Testing for my next Black Belt rank coming up, which includes writing several multi-page essays about various topics. However, this week I'm going to give you guys something different. See, I've just returned from watching Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens, and I figure I might as well put my thoughts out on the internet like everyone else. I know I'm late to this party, and I really don't care. But here is my impromptu review of Star Wars: The Force Awakens split into a Non-spoiler section and then a Spoiler section.