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(02/10/20 6:17pm)
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by Makayla Hughes With all of the new video games released every month, some may feel nostalgic for a simpler time of gaming. One where you didn’t have to pay $60+ for an incomplete, unplayable game, and where all of the content came with the game when you bought it. This meant no downloadable content, no new updates, no online, no subscription playing, just an old, beat-up copy of a game that might not even have a case or work half the time. I’ve been finding myself in this nostalgic mindset of the way games were back when I was younger. Growing up with gaming, I feel as if games from my childhood are better and more simple than the games of today. Not to say that the games of today aren’t fun, but I feel as if there’s nothing like these games on today’s market, making me want to play these older games even more. In my mind, they seem like so much fun because I had such good memories playing them. I spent hours upon hours on these games, so maybe they’re not as amazing as I’ve built them up to be in my mind, but here are some of the top games from my childhood I’d love to see remastered. Metropolismania 2 Platform: Playstation 2 Publisher: Natsume; Developed by Indi Software Publish Date: August 27, 2007 Have you ever heard of this game? Metropolismania 2 was a building game unlike any other. You would start off in a town and build it from the ground up, piece by piece. You couldn’t lay everything at once — instead, you could start building more by talking to the residents of your town and gathering requests to fulfill. Sometimes these could be as easy as building a supermarket or school, which benefits everyone, but sometimes would entail something like a factory, which people did NOT like living next to. This game was about developing relationships with the people in your town because, unlike newer city-building games, you get to see and interact with the people instead of them being just numbers. It was so addicting to me as a child because it had somewhat of a story while making your way to more difficult towns to populate and it was also strategic because you had to make your citizens happy. I loved everything about it. Because of Metropolismania 2, I eagerly buy every new city-building game in hopes of finding something similar to it, but ultimately end up getting let down and selling them a few months later. Metropolismania 2 got such negative reviews, but I found it to be such a charming, interactive game. I spent hours building the most perfect towns, and I loved the amount of detail Metropolismania 2 gave to their city-building game. Give me a remaster! Radiata Stories Platform: PS2 Publisher: Square Enix; Developed by tri-Ace Publish Date: September 6, 2005 You might not have known my last game, but shame on you if you have never heard of Radiata Stories. Radiata Stories is an action role-playing game set in a fantasy world. The game begins when the main character joins the knights of Radiata but almost immediately gets kicked out because a level one character just kind of sucks The game really begins with you living in the City of Radiata taking on other quests to get money and just get better. This was probably the first game I’d ever played like this, and there was so much to it. It offered options, you could spend money, and you could kick everything. By kicking things like people, boxes, etc., items could randomly drop or you’d end up in a fight. It was also weird to be able to kick things because that seems to be uncommon in recent games I have played. I never got too far into this game because of many sidequests working with the characters. I liked how different quests allowed you to have a unique relationship with the characters. Also, I had an extremely unreliable copy of the game that, when loading, would just become the black screen of death. I’d love to see this remastered to actually play more of this story because from what I remember, it was beautiful and the plot was interesting. The Sims 2: Castaway https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRVzZnsWHSk Platform: PS2 Publisher: Electronic Arts; Developed by Maxis Publish date: October 22, 2007 This might be a basic choice, but it was a fun game. As a kid, I loved the idea of spending all this time making a bunch of characters that would disappear as soon as I was done. That was sarcasm— this actually really hurt me as a child. I feel as if this game is underrated; it gave me so much joy playing through it and trying to find everyone in your lost party. I really love building games if you can’t tell, and this one satisfied me greatly with the amount of building and crafting it offered. There was also an added element of creepiness to the building because you were alone on the island, and random creatures would pop up when you’d be sleeping so you wanted good shelters. It creeped me out when things would just pop up and I’d fast-forward through the night. It was like a little jumpscare of its own. There was also a weather element, which I thought to be way ahead of its time. Like I mentioned before, this game was creepy. Even when you’d find people, you’d be alone on this odd island trying to escape. The Sims has some weird elements in their games, and that can be seen in The Sims 2: Castaway. I also distinctly remember this soundtrack helped add to the creepy factor. It was just incredible, and the game had replay value. I think you could also build a radio and it would somehow play music. I really don’t know how, but I remember my sim out there jamming to some tunes in the midst of a rainstorm. I really liked this game because it included the actual Sim mechanics where you’d have to care for your person, but you also needed to progress further through the island in order to make it home. You could also mess around as much as you’d like, which could lead to a rather long playtime. Granted, for all of these games, I could just buy a PlayStation 2 again and hoped it worked. However, I want others to appreciate these games as much as I did as a child. They were incredibly fun, and I devoted hours of my childhood to these three games alone. Plus, it would be nice to have a copy of these games that would actually load. Sources: YouTube Images: IGN, Kotaku, Featured Image: Katherine Sinkovics
Disclaimer: This review is of the PlayStation 4 version of Kingdom Hearts III.
by Makayla Hughes Disclaimer: This review is of the PlayStation 4 version of Kingdom Hearts III. Six years. For six years, I have been asking for this game for Christmas. And for six years, I have been disappointed. Kingdom Hearts III has probably been my most anticipated game ever. I was unsure if it would ever come out because those years were a little bleak. Even when the game shipped, I wasn’t expecting it to be real. I don’t think I even processed it actually existing until I held it in my hands. After waiting so long and just holding onto trailers and random snippets, I was eager to play through this game and continue on with a story that began so long ago in 2002. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DTM1XZcUfU[/embed] From Past to Present I have a love for the Kingdom Hearts series because I played this series as a kid, and it got me into gaming. I started off playing Kingdom Hearts 2, which is probably one of the best games I have ever played. A lot of my most memorable gaming moments come from playing KH2, like the time I was playing and my mom was sweeping and hit my Playstation 2, which corrupted my game file. I made it through a lot with this series. Kingdom Hearts is a long, confusing, expansive story, but it tells an incredibly beautiful and unique adventure dealing with friendship and right/wrong, if you understand it. My favorite games of this series are KH2 and 358/2, which made Axel my favorite character. I feel as if having a game so focused on friendship really shaped me as a person. Before you delve into Kingdom Hearts III, I would recommend searching up a universe video on YouTube that explains the entire story. Even if you’ve played all the games, they are so incredibly confusing and it’s good to have a refresher before you start. KH3 does a good job connecting all the previous stories and mentioning them in the new game, but I would still recommend a refresher. I love how the game sticks to the great elements of the previous games while also making it more modern and friendly for some younger/new players. KH3 holds onto its roots while creating a completely unique ending for the story. I felt giddy when I saw the loading screen and heard the same sound effects when you start the game. I was so happy they didn’t decide to change that kind of stuff. I will say this game is incredibly cutscene heavy. After all, Kingdom Hearts is notoriously confusing, and they wanted to have everything make sense. This is fine, but at points I just wanted to play, not watch. The cutscenes were beautiful to watch, which did make up for it. Fighting Styles The combat of KH3 is almost the same compared to previous games with elements of each added in. Flowmotion from Dream Drop Distance was added to the menu, but it's a little wonky and doesn’t work how I would want it to. I miss reaction commands from the previous games as well. In KH3, they changed to situation commands, and while they happen all the time, they get rid of the coolness factor and are mainly just attractions and keyblade powerups. An instance of reaction commands was fighting Ansem at the end of KH2. You could use your reaction commands to dodge his attacks (if you didn’t you’d die), you could get a reaction command that you didn’t control but was very powerful. You had to be quick with them because if you waited a fraction of a second too long, they’d be gone. Now, you have to control every move and don’t get to experience a super awesome attack with lots of flips and dodges. The attraction rides are a cool concept, but after playing through the game, I still don’t know how I feel about them. I feel as if the game would be perfectly fine if they weren’t included because they don’t add much. Also, some of them are hard to use. The instructions aren’t always clear with them, and it’s confusing because some of them move around but some of them don’t without saying anything really. Also, the graphics for these look amazing but sometimes they don’t fit the area. For instance, when I’m fighting in the forest, I can’t see what I’m doing around the trees because they block my view. I noticed this a few times with different animations and attractions and different surrounding areas that would block what you’re supposed to be able to see. This was especially disappointing when I was trying out a new keyblade powerup move, and I couldn’t see what it was doing. I talked to a few people about this, and we all thought the game was really easy no matter what mode we played it on with a few exceptions. It was like they didn’t make any of the previous enemies harder or even make new enemies harder. Instead, they just added a crap ton of health bars. Some of the easiest enemies would have large health bars, which I thought was weird. Some bosses in particular have a ridiculous amount of health bars. This didn’t make the combat difficult; it just made the fights take longer than necessary. Bringing in Pixar Alongside Disney KH3 is incredibly short. There are only nine worlds, and most of the time, they don’t last very long. The shortest one was 100 Acre Wood, which consisted of three minigames. My favorite world was Monstropolis because it was longer and had an interesting story. I’m a big Monster’s Inc. fan, so it was really cool being able to play in this world where they incorporated the door area and the factory. Also, the boss in this area was surprisingly hard compared to the rest of the enemies in the game. The Caribbean was a returning world, but you weren’t exploring the same areas because the developers expanded on each returning world. It was really cool to see more areas, especially since the Caribbean was always one of the longer worlds. The underwater traveling was interesting, and the new ship combat is probably one of my favorite aspects of the game. It was fun to fight other ships, and you could gain a lot of experience doing it. The music in this area was among the best, especially the combat music. Normally, it gets too repetitive, but this music sounded pleasant and I found myself turning it up when I was in this area. They took an already great world and made it so much better by adding different elements. I’d say my biggest disappoint was San Fransokyo. I LOVE Big Hero 6 and was so excited to play this world. The area ended up being incredibly confusing to navigate since almost everything looked the same. I guess that’s one of the flaws of doing a city because it’s harder to differentiate areas. I did love seeing Hiro, Baymax and the rest of the team, though. The most pointless world was Arendelle from Frozen. I hated it. It was like they took the movie and dropped Sora in. They even decided to add the songs for some reason. I’m not a Frozen fan, so I really didn’t like having to basically play through the movie with so few connections to Kingdom Hearts. Also, everything in this world was repetitive. You had to climb up to Elsa’s ice castle a few different times because you kept getting knocked down. There was also an incredibly frustrating part where you had to find Olaf’s pieces. It took a ridiculously long time because you had to find the wrong pieces for humor or whatever until the right ones showed up. Needless to say, I hated it. There was really no point having Sora, Donald and Goofy travel here. The boss battle happened randomly and had nothing to do with any of the Frozen characters. However, it ended up being one of the cooler boss battles of the game. The other worlds were Kingdom of Corona, Mount Olympus and Toy Box. It was fun seeing how they expanded onto Mount Olympus since it was a world from the first game. Also, with it being one of the shortest, I liked how they made it one of the larger areas to explore. Toy Box was neat to see given that most of it took place in the toy store. I liked the combat of this area and the types of enemies included. I thought they made this place so different from the rest of the worlds. Corona was another of my favorite worlds because they added Sora and his friends into the storyline. The End of a Saga Getting to the end game was rather easy since there were so few worlds, but that didn’t mean the game was anywhere close to being over. The ending sequence actually takes a lot of time to make your way through. The end game was not what I expected. It surprised me a lot what happens when you get to the final world. Curveballs were continuing to be thrown at you up to the last few seconds of the game, keeping you on the edge of your seat because the end was finally here. I first started crying during some battles with other people. I loved how they spent time to focus on every enemy after you defeated them. This made me experience so many feelings, mostly sadness because everything was wrapping up and I wasn’t ready for the end. I loved some of the bits they added, especially the one with Axel. At that point, I had to take a breather to decide if I was ready. The final boss battles were a little difficult but mainly tested your abilities to be able to dodge and continually attack. I think this was the point when I appreciated the attractions the most because they were so useful when fighting multiple powerful enemies to get them away from you. I loved getting to fight some enemies that I found extremely hard in the earlier games. Throughout the game, the creators kept reminding the player of previous games, which made me love it so much more. I did tear up when heading to the big bad battle because Donald and Goofy started walking next to you. This is the moment I realized it’s going to end the same way the series started — with Sora, Donald and Goofy. My heart was pounding and hands sweating as I fought the final battle. It was difficult, but not too difficult. The weight of the moment sits on you while fighting. The transitions between each battle were interesting, and I loved how the game was still being unique to the very end. This fight felt like no other. Every moment in the series thus far was leading up to this moment, and it didn’t disappoint. I bawled like a baby watching the ending. I’m still wanting to cry just thinking about it. It sits with you and is one of the most memorable endings of a game I have ever played. The soundtrack was perfect. The ending was absolutely beautiful. I probably couldn’t have asked for anything more. If you’re a fan of the series, you need to play this game through to the very end. Feel it. It hits your heart and gives you all the feels. This ending just raises the brilliance of Kingdom Hearts III and the series overall. You will cry. You will love it. You will hate it. But it is beautiful and shocking. I’m not going to spoil anything, but I highly recommend playing this game to completion just because of the ending. It makes up for all of the faults of this game. Overall, I’m incredibly sad to see the end of this journey, but I’m so excited for what’s to come. I can’t believe they pulled it off. I’ll happily wait another 10+ years for another game if it means it is as great as Kingdom Hearts III. Every decision the creators made was designed to make you feel. Kingdom Hearts has always had one of the best soundtracks, but I don’t think I’ve ever cried as much from a song like ‘Don’t Think Twice’ by Utada. It was perfect for the moment. I absolutely love this series, and it’ll be one of my top games for a while. This game is so different from anything else. It's beautiful. Images: PlayStation Store Featured Image: GameRant
Disclaimer: This playthrough is based on the PS4 version of the game. This copy of the game was provided by the developer for review purposes.
by Makayla Hughes Disclaimer: This playthrough is based on the PS4 version of the game. This copy of the game was provided by the developer for review purposes. Starlink: Battle for Atlas is a fun, space-combat adventure with nice looking graphics and a captivating storyline. From the start, I liked the crew of characters in the game, but was sad that I only got to see them in cutscenes or the times they popped up on my screen to tell me about missions and places I may be close to on a planet. It’s a fun game, but can also be challenging and just plain infuriating at points. However, it’s mostly a stress-free, straightforward game and is nice to pick-up when you need a breather or are looking for something fun and unique. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7Pvkyadzz0[/embed] Always starship combat One aspect that was cool about this game is that you are always in a starship. This means you rarely get to see your character, but it’s really fun to fly around and interact with things while being inside of your little ship. One of my favorite parts was the customization. I don’t think you could ever be tired of the possibilities of how you can modify your ship. There are so many mods to collect, and I like that you can switch weapons at any time. That can be very useful, especially when coming up against a powerful enemy. What’s really nice is that the game tells you which weapons are most useful against an enemy and if you already have it equipped. If you don’t, you can easily go in and change things around, which really helps. Trust me. One downside to starship combat is the actual in-space combat. The in-space combat is probably what I like least about this game because of how unnecessarily difficult it is. I struggled a lot with defeating enemies while in orbit, and it never seemed to get easier, no matter how powerful my weapon and ship mods were. It was clunky and didn’t really work for me. I avoided it when possible and died a lot when I was forced to do it to progress the story. The enemy ships appeared to be fluid and still powerful, but that was not the case for me and mine. I really did not like this part of the game. On-planet spaceship combat was a lot of fun and easy for the most part. I don’t know what was happening, but I repeatedly had an issue during fighting where my camera would turn behind me. I couldn’t figure out what was happening, but it happened in almost every battle, so it did make things a little difficult. There were also times when combat got hard because a lot of enemies would spawn, making things harder especially for a single player. I died a lot, because of everyone and everything in the area shooting at only you, which is incredibly frustrating, but it didn’t take away from the game. I did like that when one ship is destroyed, you could choose to continue on with another ship. This basically gave you five chances to complete a combat mission, which I was thankful for because at times you need them. Confusing elements Starlink: Battle for Atlas did not do a good job of explaining the controls. They mentioned a few of the main controls, but it landed mostly on the player to figure them out on their own. I honestly discovered how to use my power move (which I had used by accident earlier in the game) about halfway through the story. I think it could have done a better job with just explaining what each button does because it does take a while to get used to them all. Another main issue was the leveling system, because it doesn’t make sense. You gain experience after every mission (at least) and the experience bar flashes briefly. If you’re like me, you’re not paying attention and miss it almost every time. There is no other place to see your progress toward reaching the next level. Also, the only way you can see your level is not in the menu but in a little box in the bottom left hand corner of the screen which easily gets lost. Also, I was mostly focusing on the story and eventually came across a really hard battle where I kept dying. After multiple casualties, I realized I was fighting a level fifteen boss at level six. I highly recommend doing side quests, because the story does not level you up as much as you need to be. There were also times when I’d be doing the main campaign, and it would want me to build or make something. It does not do a good job of telling you where those things can be found. My longest missions in the campaign were where I had to craft an item or build an observatory, because I had no clue how to do it and had to go through my menu multiple times to figure it out. I feel like some objectives could be explained a lot better because, as a beginner, I literally had no clue and got so frustrated trying to figure them out. I do kind of like the building aspect of this game because it adds another element and makes it more fun. I also really like the bots that help you, but you have to repair them a lot if they decide to assist in combat. A need to complete The story progresses rather quickly and can be challenging if the player doesn’t upgrade their gear. I liked that I was always getting new mods so my ship changed constantly. Though the linear story progresses quickly, I liked when the game gives you time to level up and protect the planets on your own. It made the game so much more fun. The story and cutscenes were beautiful. It will tug at your heartstrings, but it also motivates the player to finish the game. I really enjoyed how unique the characters were, and I loved seeing them put in different situations. They had to overcome a lot, but I think that made me grow attached to them, which is nice to see in a video game. Oh my goodness, the ending was beautiful and amazing. It had high stakes, and the final mission wasn’t easy. Starlink: Battle for Atlas makes it so easy to get into the story, which makes the overall experience better. I don’t know how I did it, but I managed to make it through the various levels of the ending sequence without dying, which is a feat for me. I loved how each level got harder and harder and it made you think to develop a strategy. You couldn’t just go in blind or shoot randomly, you have to have a method to your madness. I loved how it ended, and I loved the hook it threw in after the credits to keep the player playing. The story may be short, but there is definitely other content to keep you occupied once it is complete. Overall, there were some faults with this game, mainly just the game making things confusing for the player. Once you figure it all out, it is a blast to play. I don’t know about multiple playthroughs, but I’ll continue playing because this game makes me want to. There are quite a few planets to explore, so the game doesn’t just stop once it ends. I loved the graphics and how they added to the entire feel of the game. The characters were unique and it is interesting to play all of them since they all have their own quirks. The music added to the game and helped raise the stakes at points. I recommend playing this game, but you’ll have to stick to it when things get frustrating, but it’s worth it. Images: PlayStation Featured Image: PlayStation
My Hero Academia: Two Heroes is perfect for any fan of the anime series, while also still being welcome to newcomers. It delves more into All Might and the quirk, One for All, and talks more about his back story. It follows All Might and Izuku going to I-Island for an expo showcasing new support items for pro heroes. By chance, almost everyone from Class 1-A happens to be attending the expo on the same day, with the others being present on the island.
Disclaimer: This review contains spoilers for Venom
by Makayla Hughes Disclaimer: This review contains spoilers for Venom Venom is a fast-paced movie with plenty of humor and a great supporting cast. Tom Hardy, the lead role, holds this movie up with his fantastic portrayal of Eddie Brock. If you’re a fan of the comics, you might not be too big of a fan of Brock, but Hardy’s portrayal makes him memorable and likeable and has you feeling for him throughout the entire movie. Everything in this movie happens quickly, but I like how they included easter eggs from the comics to make the audience giddier about seeing a stand-alone Venom movie. The visuals make the film interesting. I love the characters, and just enjoyed the movie overall. A Riot of a Film The plot starts off strong with some background for Hardy’s character, and it gave a logical excuse for why this movie was set in San Francisco instead of New York. Brock is a journalist who wants to get the best story, which sometimes makes him a bit of an ass. He has his own show that he uses to bring people down and bring bad people to light. He’s a bold reporter and tends to go after people even when he shouldn’t. He has a strong ethical code, which is shown when despite his boss telling him not to go after the most powerful man, Carlton Drake, Brock still decides to do his job. Just because someone has money and power doesn’t mean they shouldn’t own up to their crimes. The relationship between Brock and Anne is an interesting one. They are together at the beginning of the movie, and then because of unfortunate circumstances, they end up breaking up. This created an interesting dynamic to watch because Brock’s life goes even more downhill, while Anne begins a new relationship not long after the initial breakup. This new relationship also helped with the plot development because Anne’s new doctor boyfriend was able to run tests on Brock and help him once he started acting strange. It was neat to see how they both cared for Brock, even though they really shouldn’t have. Venom is a semi-serious movie, but I like the humor the character of Venom added. He makes the film more amusing to watch, and the humor of his character mixes well with the seriousness and darkness of the movie. The voice acting for Venom also adds to the creepiness of his character. The only part that was a bit odd is when the head would come out to talk to Eddie, so it was just Venom’s head with tendrils leading to Eddie’s back. This is homage to the comics, but I think it looked weird on screen. It isn’t my favorite part, and I felt as if they could have done it better. The action in this movie is beautiful. There is so much of it, so it was nice not just seeing a few fight scenes in a movie. This movie uses the many fight sequences to show off the power and viciousness of Venom, which I enjoyed. We didn’t get to see him in just one instance, which helped up the wow factor. Venom shows off with his fighting, and it was cool to watch. A favorite scene of mine was towards the end, the final showdown between Venom and Riot. That scene, CGI and all, is done beautifully. Everything about it is amazing, and just elevates the movie in general. Two symbiotes fighting is so cool to see on the big screen, and I love that they took advantage of everything they could do with this scene. Sym-bi-oh-no The plot begins quickly and never lets up pace from start to finish. This is one of the few faults of this movie is that it was so fast-paced. I also think this is partly due to the film’s PG-13 rating because it felt like some of the scenes were cut abruptly, and that could be due to the film not being rated R. Apparently, there were 40 minutes of scenes cut-out to make Venom have a rating of PG-13. This lower rating holds the film back because Venom is a violent creature, and sometimes that violence couldn’t be shown. One instance in particular is when Venom bit off a dude’s head, but the film couldn’t show that sort of violence and graphicness. That took away from who Venom really is because watching it, there’s a disconnect between Venom’s actions and what is shown on screen I also must mention the film’s pronunciation of the word symbiote. In the trailers for the movie leading up to the release, they pronounced it like sym-bye-ote instead of sym-bee-ote. This led to a lot of flak because people knew that wasn’t the general consensus of fans for how it should be pronounced. In the film, they changed it to where everyone said sym-bee-ote instead, so I liked how the producers listened to the audience and changed it. We are Venom Overall, this movie is dark, funny, and beautiful. It still managed to hold its own and create a unique plot when it wasn’t allowed to have any traces to Spider-Man. The movie is a little too fast-paced at points, but the viewer is left feeling satisfied and wanting more of the fan-favorite anti-hero by the end of the movie. It is refreshing and just cool to see something different, and that makes Venom stand out. Also, the end credits scene introducing a certain character drives excitement for potential sequels of Venom. Images: IMDb Featured image: Venom Site
by Makayla Hughes My Hero Academia: Two Heroes is perfect for any fan of the anime series, while also still being welcome to newcomers. It delves more into All Might and the quirk, One for All, and talks more about his back story. It follows All Might and Izuku going to I-Island for an expo showcasing new support items for pro heroes. By chance, almost everyone from Class 1-A happens to be attending the expo on the same day, with the others being present on the island. A history for the Symbol of Peace At the beginning of the film, All Might is shown making his hero debut in America with his friend, Dave. There’s not much time shown for these American heroes and villains, but it shows briefly what some of the interesting quirks are from America. It also showed a young All Might, still powerful but not yet a master of his power. It’s cool to see a young, fresh-faced All Might talking about his goals of being a symbol of peace, and as an audience member, it warms your heart to know he accomplishes his dream. Dave and his daughter, Melissa, help showcase some of the top scientists in the world. This showed a different view of the world we have seen in the anime already. Melissa ended up being one of my favorite characters because she was such a strong female character. Although she was quirk-less, she wasn’t helpless. That made her memorable. She was able to help when the attack happened, and she also helped Izuku help control his power. This movie takes place in a point before the training camp arc in season three, so Izuku could use his full power when fighting with his arms but he hadn’t learned shoot style yet. Melissa was able to help him use his arms more during fights, which ended up being incredibly useful for the duration of the film. Beautiful quirks Since the anime isn’t focused on All Might, it was awesome seeing more about him. Although we get to see more of All Might, the movie still revolves around the students of Class 1-A. My biggest complaint about anime is that episodes are so short, some episodes don’t get to cover everything and go on a for a long period of episodes. What was great about seeing MHA on the big screen is that it didn’t have that problem. Fight scenes were beautiful because they lasted longer than they might have in a typical episode. The animators could focus more on the choreography of the fights and take more time making it look appealing. Being in a packed theatre with people who love this show made the experience so much better. People familiar with the series loved to cheer when each character just happened to be in the same place. The characters were the ones you fell in love with originally and didn’t stray from the source material. Bakugo was his usual angry self. Kaminari and Mineta were their usual perverted selves. Personally, I loved how Tenya Iida still held onto his class president role even when they were across the world from UA. He was the leader and still made sure the classmates held up appearances to the rest of the world. The female characters present, Momo, Ochaco, and Kyoka, did seem a little flat at first, but that changed when the action started happening. These characters were the ones the audience loved, and it was amazing seeing how they acted in a different environment and just being themselves. It also added to the film that not too many new characters were added, so it revolved around the people we love. The animation style of MHA is beautiful, but what the movie does differently is focusing more on the beautiful animation of the quirks. This movie allows you to get your fill of everyone’s quirks and focuses at least a little bit of time on each individual cast member’s quirks. My favorite part was a villain fight with only Shoto and Bakugo. They are incredibly powerful people, and I loved seeing how their quirks stacked up against villains who didn’t know them. They did not hold back, and I loved how long the animators allowed that fight sequence to be. A beloved show, super-sized The foreshadowing throughout the movie is consistent and helps advance the plot. When All Might and Izuku made it to the island, the audience knew something was askew because of the foreshadowing sequences. Of course, something had to go wrong to create a plot for the movie, but it was interesting and helped with character development. When the villains took over the island, All Might was compromised, so it was just up to the students of Class 1-A and Melissa to save everyone. I loved that not everyone was together, so you got to see different quirks be in the spotlight at different times. Everyone contributed at points and got to show off how strong they are. One of my favorite quirk spotlights was Mineta using his quirk to go up a wall because his motivation was girls, of course. The classmates got the chance to use their quirks to their advantage and think logically in a real-world situation. This attack was real-life, and no one was coming to save them. It was up to the students to accomplish the mission. Because of this, we are able to see how truly powerful these developing quirks are. This series is always humorous, and that is true for the movie. Humor mixes with the seriousness and creates a beautiful movie to watch. It shows more of the characters we love in a different environment, and has a plot full of meaningful plot twists. You don’t know what’s going to happen until the very end, so you’re on the edge of your seat throughout the entire end of the film. People aren’t exactly who you think they are, but friendship is the main theme of the movie. Overall, this movie is perfect for any fans of MHA. It’s long enough to get your fill, and it wraps up nicely at the end. It is filled with action, which I loved. It’s not an easy mission for Class 1-A and the stakes are high, but you are cheering for them throughout the film. The final fight scene was absolutely gorgeous, and the connection they throw in will make your jaw drop when you find out the true reason why this is happening. It’s so cool seeing All Might and Izuku fight side by side using all of their power. This movie is one to be remembered. Images: IMDb, DenOfGeek, YouTube Featured Image: IMDb
Warning: This review may contain spoilers for this episode and previous episodes of My Hero Academia
Following a movie as funny and outlandish as Deadpool, Deadpool 2 had high expectations to meet. The R-rated not quite superhero movie Deadpool 2, like the first, breaks the fourth wall and makes references as often as possible. The humor does not let up from start to finish, but the movie does contain some unexpected twists and turns.
By Makayla Hughes Warning: This review may contain spoilers for this episode and previous episodes of My Hero Academia This episode of My Hero Academia ended the training camp arc and the fight between the Vanguard Action Squad and the classes from UA. It also helped the story progress a lot further. The suspense from the last episode didn’t end, but that suspense was one element that helped progress the story. A lot of this episode dealt with the aftermath and included an interesting animation style. This episode begins with some of the other members of the class who haven’t been shown in a fight yet. These are people who really have no clue what is going on, but are safe with Vlad King. This makes these people feel almost worthless because they cannot do anything to help their friends, which plays a part later on in the episode. Dabi attacks the classroom again as a distraction for the pro-hero teachers, but is quickly dealt with by the teachers. He later dissolves to show that it was another clone of him. Although the end of this arc was unexpected, given the surprising end to the last episode, it does wrap up the arc nicely while furthering the plot. This episode gives you something different from what you’d expect, showing that the writers still have some tricks up their sleeves. Given the situation, I was fully prepared to watch an epic fight pitting Shoto, Shoji, and Deku against the majority of the villains, but what we got was so much better. After the squad leaves the area with a member of Class 1-A, the mood of the episode looks dismal. This scene probably included one of my favorites of MHA, with the animation style shifting to a freeze frame to show how upset Deku is because he feels as if he failed. It looked absolutely beautiful on the screen and conveyed so much emotion. The viewer can’t help but feel for Deku. It also reminds the viewer that these are just kids and not actual heroes yet, but they don’t feel that way. In this business, one cannot make mistakes. The episode then shifts to monologuing while showing some scenes of the cleanup. This adds to the mood of loss, while easily moving forward with some not-too-important items. The aftermath of this attack is not good for the school UA, and a small group of faculty discuss the best way to move forward. The villains were successful in their attack, but they also managed to harm the reputation of the top hero school. The pros also bring up the point that there’s a spy in their ranks. Not much time is wasted before more information is brought to light on the League of Villains. The detectives on the case tell All Might that they might know where the League is hiding, which begins the next arc. They want to get their missing student back while getting rid of the villains who have continuously attacked their school. The middle of this episode is almost boring compared to the chaos of the last few, but it has to be there to continue the episode. The ending starts to bring hope as a plan is formed. The students who didn’t do much in the fight in the woods feel the need to rescue their friend. They begin to form a plan, which helps build excitement for what is next in the season. This episode was major to plot development, but also felt like a bore at times. It mostly helped establish grounds for what is yet to come in the season. It’s also exciting to see All Might gear up for a fight against the villains, which really hasn’t been seen so far in MHA. Featured Image from OtakuKart
By Makayla Hughes Following a movie as funny and outlandish as Deadpool, Deadpool 2 had high expectations to meet. The R-rated not quite superhero movie Deadpool 2, like the first, breaks the fourth wall and makes references as often as possible. The humor does not let up from start to finish, but the movie does contain some unexpected twists and turns. Scout Master Kevin??? One of the things people loved about the first Deadpool movie was the inappropriate humor, and that does not disappoint in this movie. It seemed a little lighter than the first, but by no means did it skimp. The best parts of the movie made you laugh out loud. Some jokes were easy to catch, but most of them were references made by Ryan Reynolds’ character, Deadpool. He managed to reference quite a few Marvel characters as well, calling Domino a “black Black Widow” at one point. Although most of the movie was made to be humorous, there were a few lower intensity moments in the film. These moments helped progress the plot, but they didn’t have as much of an impact as they were meant to. A lot of jaw-dropping scenes didn’t make me feel anything really, even though I felt I should’ve. A major scene at the beginning of the film, which should have been shocking and almost heartbreaking, didn’t really feel like much. It was almost disappointing. Gender neutral X-Men This movie introduces the X-Force, a group of mutants (and one random guy named Peter) that Deadpool puts together to save a kid by the named Russell (aka Firefist). This was seen in the trailer for the film, but an unexpected turn took place with these characters. In the midst of these people, even though they didn’t have much screen time, was an unexpected cameo by Brad Pitt. These characters brought some more humor to the film. The plot started off at a low point before gaining speed and became so much more. The majority of the film was spent with Deadpool trying to get his heart in the right place to reunite with his love, so he decides he needs to protect this kid, Russell. To do that, Deadpool must fight Cable, who wants to kill Russell because of what he does in the future. There is a lot of action in the film that flows nicely. For some of the action sequences, they like to slow the scene down, an editing technique they did in the first. This adds more emotion and just makes some fight scenes look cooler. Luck Isn’t a Superpower This is a movie where a lot of powers are shown off and given screen time. Domino’s luck looked really awesome on the big screen because things always worked out in her favor, no matter how impossible it may seen. Russell’s fire power, when he gets to use it, is another of my favorites. As a kid, he is a lot more powerful than most. This movie also showed Colossus fighting dirty, a change for his character. A lot of this movie focused on how certain characters developed over time. Deadpool may not be the best influence, but Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead learned from how he went about things. Sometimes you need to fight dirty. The character development for Deadpool was also impressive. By the end of the movie, he allowed himself to care for others. Cable was an interesting character, especially since he was from the future. He wasn’t like your normal villain and had good reasons for why he wanted to kill Russell. The twist with him at the end was unexpected, but it added to the vibe of the movie. What’s great about Deadpool is how much he likes to break the fourth wall and talk to the audience. He also likes to give some spoilers for what’s to come. This is a movie you have to pay attention to in order to understand all of the references. The end credits scene was probably one of the best scenes of the entire movie and elevated the level of humor. My personal favorite was the very last one. Overall, Deadpool 2 was a great movie. It didn’t hold up to some emotions at times, but made up for it with the humor. The first one was better, but this one can hold its own compared to it. It still contains the same Deadpool character everyone had fallen in love with in the first movie. The soundtrack fit the movie perfectly, and helped add to what was shown on the screen. Featured image from Superhero News
Warning: This review may contain spoilers for this episode and previous episodes of My Hero Academia
By Makayla Hughes Warning: This review may contain spoilers for this episode and previous episodes of My Hero Academia Once again, this episode furthers the fight between the Vanguard Action Squad and the students of UA. The only thing about My Hero Academia is that I wished the episodes were longer, so the fights didn’t have to be so split up and seem to go on forever. It feels like the show gets to a good part, only for the end credits to roll. This episode begins right where last episodes left off with Dark Shadow powerful and out-of-control. With a quirk like his, it cannot be controlled well in the dark, especially not at night in the middle of the woods. Shoji tells Izuku about what he and Tokoyami have been up to. It is also revealed it was Shoji’s cut-off hand shown in one of the earlier episodes, but it didn’t harm him too much because of his multi-arm quirk. This episode starts off dismal and different given that instead of fighting a villain, it deals with them having to deal with a rogue classmate. Izuku and Shoji panic because they do not wish to harm Tokoyami, but Dark Shadow will not hold back from harming them. The duo aim to devise a plan to somehow bring Dark Shadow towards light. I liked how refreshing this episode was from the other fights in this arc. It’s different because Tokoyami cannot control his quirk, which reminds the viewer that these are indeed still kids. More characters meet up with each other and make it their goal to protect Bakugo. This is funny to watch because Bakugo believes he can handle all the villains by himself and doesn’t need protecting. Then, we get to see the blood crazy villain Himiko Toga for the first time in battle. Her fight with Tsuyu and Ochaco is interesting because Toga is psychotic and keeps going on about them being friends while she is trying to get their blood. Not a great friend. By the time the two groups meet up, another villain, Mr. Compress, is introduced. His look is truly terrifying with the mask he has on. His quirk allowed him to easily take both Tokoyami and Bakugo. The last villain, Nomu, looks as terrifying as ever. The visuals make each and every villain unique and creepy. They also did well at highlighting each person’s quirk and making them memorable. Once their goal is reached, the villains start to regroup at a new location. The end of the episode is once again left in a suspenseful place with Shoto, Izuku, and Shoji landing in the midst of the villains regrouping. This sets up well for the next episode but leaves the viewer worried, especially since Izuku is so injured. Overall, this episode was full of action and unexpected twists and turns. The action is nonstop and somehow the stakes keep getting higher. The viewer is shown a few more characters, but we are still left in the dark of what happened to most of Izuku’s classmates. The animation and fighting sequences are beautiful and do not disappoint. The storyline progresses more with an end in sight: what appears to be an epic battle. Featured Image from OtakuKart
Warning: This review may contain spoilers for this episode and previous episodes of My Hero Academia
By Makayla Hughes Warning: This review may contain spoilers for this episode and previous episodes of My Hero Academia Being five episodes into the season, one would think there wouldn’t be as many recaps, but they seem to be inescapable. “Drive It Home, Iron Fist!!!” begins with another recap highlighting an emotional fight, which happened just last episode. This episode continues with the training camp arc and takes place in the heat of battle between the Classes 1-A and 1-B and the Vanguard Action Squad. Although it doesn’t finish the action that started in episode three, it propels the characters forward and gives the students a chance to fight back. After the recap beginning the episode, we hear a little more from Tomura Shigaraki, leader of the League of Villains. He reflects on why his last plan failed and how he hopes to fix it with the squad he sent. This gives more explanation as to why the villains showed up to the camp, and later in the episode, tells what they are there for. The mood of the episode starts off hopeful but the panic soon sets in as Deku realizes how split up his peers are. He meets up with his teacher Erasure first, who adds some well-needed energy by allowing the kids to fight and ignore the law of having to be registered to use their quirks. Deku, running on only adrenaline, races to relay his message to Mandalay so the entire class can get the memo. He also has her tell one of the students to protect themselves more because he is a specific target of the group. With this episode, the viewer gets to see more about the villains of the attack group and what their powers are. Shoto and Bakugo are fighting Moonfish, the creepy-looking cannibal with teeth that can become blades. From Class 1-B, Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu and Itsuka Kendo fight the source of the poisonous gas, Mustard. This shows real combat between different people, and allows the viewer to see some different powers. Speaking of the fight with Mustard, it was the first time a villain had used a gun, and this was pointed at a student. Although Tetsutetsu can turn his skin into steel, taking multiple bullets in gas without being able to breathe takes its toll on him. Even though he was beginning to crack, he didn’t hesitate to take a bullet for his classmate, Kendo. This suspenseful fight had the viewer worried if these students actually stood a chance against a top-notch villain. The end of the episode doesn’t let up, with Deku meeting up with an injured Mezo Shoji. Shoji sees how weak and broken Deku is and cages him with Shoji’s many arms. The episode ends with them facing against a classmate who is not able to control his own quirk. The episode does not let up from start to finish, and somehow manages to raise the stakes higher and higher with each fight. The animation is once again beautiful and shows off each quirk nicely. It’s refreshing to see each quirk raised to the limits with seemingly impossible odds, and it is interesting to watch how each person works to overcome the odds stacked against their favor. For such a jam-packed episode, the fight is nowhere close to being over and the viewer is left once again wondering who will come out on top. Featured Image from OtakuKart
Warning: This review may contain spoilers for this episode and previous episodes of My Hero Academia
By Makayla Hughes Warning: This review may contain spoilers for this episode and previous episodes of My Hero Academia This episode continues on with the training camp arc, and shows the class pushing to their limits of their quirks. This episode progresses the plot and leads into some suspenseful action by the end of the episode. Throughout the episode, characters connected with one another and shared some personal goals that will be exciting to see on the screen. Both class 1-A and 1-B of UA are put into intense training at the start of the episode to push their quirks to their limits. They are trying to max out their quirks in order for them to grow strong, making for an interesting experience for the viewer. It gives the viewer a chance to see beautiful animations of each person's’ ability without them actually being in battle. It also shows how much stronger each classmate has become with his/her own quirk. Bakugo’s especially looks powerful with him boiling his hands in water before creating giant blasts up in the air. This adds some humor to the episode as well because of him getting mad at himself for not thinking he is doing well. More spotlight is put on the Wild, Wild Pussycats, a group of four professional heroes meant to help out with training. They are a tad bit excessive, but do appear to be helping the heroes with their training. The male pussycat, Tiger, intimidates the kids right off the bat with one commenting how he’s not what they expected. After a long day of training, the heroes have to cook for themselves, allowing for some more friendly bonding. It also allows the viewer to see Deku’s caring towards the hero-hating child, Kota. His kindness is shown by bringing Kota some curry after he missed supper. The entire interaction between the two makes the viewer feel for the kid and how much he must be hurting, even though he comes off as spiteful. This episode helped with connecting the viewer with the characters and seeing where they may be coming from. It focuses on others outside of the Class 1-A, and gives the viewer a chance to see other quirks in action. It was interesting to find out more about the Wild, Wild Pussycats and Kota. I also really liked seeing the children interact while cooking and see Bakugo’s hidden talent of chopping up food rather quickly. It was interesting to see Deku caring for a child and helps give insight on how he will be once he is a professional hero: one who will truly care. It is refreshing to see him interact with a civilian without expecting anyone to notice his good deeds and helps showcase his selflessness. Deku will truly make a good-hearted hero. That’s when the action of the episode starts. A small group of villains from the League of Villains are about to attack the students at camp. All of the villains look creepy, with the weirdest being a creature covered in black with just his mouth free and oddly swaying as he walks. There is also a lizard guy that appears to be a Stain-wannabe, the hero killer from last season. Since we do not know what their quirks are, it creates excitement to see new attack moves but also fear for the heroes. The viewer is put on edge because the villains don’t attack immediately, leaving the viewer to question when they actually will. This suspense in the episode makes it so much more entertaining to watch. Every moment, you are just waiting for it to start and wondering when it will happen. I found myself holding my breath because of not knowing what was about to happen and who these people are. In this episode, the flashbacks have more of a purpose and makes the viewer feel reminiscent and sad, especially when it shows Deku as a kid wishing and trying for a quirk that didn’t happen. It also has beautiful scenes, like flashing between Deku, Bakugo and Shoto after Erasure said to never forget why there were here and to remember how far they had come. When Deku looks at the scars on his hands, it packs a powerful punch. He has more control of his quirk now and has a handle on it. Although Deku is one of the most powerful members of class 1-A, he still worries about offending some of the others. His conversation with Shoto shows this, but it gives a more caring look into how Shoto sees things. The attack by the villains starts and almost immediately, the viewer is on the edge of their seat worried about their favorite characters. No one knows where they are to make it less likely the villains would find them, which is bad. The hero he is, Deku, tries to go help Pixie-Bob, but is stopped by the teachers in a face off with two villains. The episode ends in a suspenseful place with the viewer wanting more as soon as the end credits start. It ends in the worst possible place with everything about to go south. Overall, this episode makes the viewer feel a lot of emotions, with the greatest being fear of what is coming next. Featured Image from OtakuArt
