Devil May Cry 5 Review

After Capcom released Ninja Theory’s Devil May Cry reboot, I don’t think anyone was expecting a sequel to Devil May Cry 4.  I think Ninja Theory’s game gets way too much flak because of its title, but regardless of the merits of the game itself, fans wanted a Devil May Cry 5.  However, in the intervening years Capcom came out with Sengoku Basara: Samurai Heroes, which became a monster hit despite no advertising or promotion whatsoever, and then later followed it up with Sengoku Basara 4 in Japan.  Over the years Sengoku Basara 4 built itself up as the most hyped English version of a game in the history of the human race to the point that everyone forgot about wanting a Devil May Cry game.  Something very strange happened though.  Instead of releasing Sengoku Basara 4 in English and bringing about world peace and a panacea for all diseases, Capcom not only made Devil May Cry 5, but fully dubbed it and released it in English.

I am at least a moderate fan of the Devil May Cry franchise.  Devil May Cry 3 is one of my favorite action games of all time and of course you know Devil May Cry 4 is good because it has the same producer as Sengoku Basara: Samurai Heroes.

That said, it’s curious that instead of translating and dubbing a fully released, content-rich game being exalted as one of the masterpieces of the gaming world that everyone and their dog wants, just like they had already done for the previous game in its franchise, Capcom instead made a new game from scratch with an English version.  That would have to mean that Devil May Cry 5 is practically godlike and I had to take a look to see for myself if it truly lives up to that hype.

Sengoku Basara Retrospective: Sengoku Basara: Sanada Yukimura Den

I originally ended my Sengoku Basara retrospective at Sengoku Basara 4 because the main series and all the English media was already covered and the last game, Sanada Yukimura Den, is story-focused when fan translations are already incomplete and sparse for Sengoku Basara 4, which is still more than Sanada Yukimura Den got.  Since then I discovered a miracle.  An app for the iphone that, in a way, breaks through Capcom’s attempt to stop American players from enjoying Sengoku Basara 4: the translate app.

With the translate app, players can take pictures of the screen as the dialogue appears and form halfway comprehensible translation of all the text.  It doesn’t make the Japanese voice acting any better, but with the help of the translation app I can finally understand and somewhat enjoy the stories of Sengoku Basara 4, which, it turns out, are wonderful.  Sengoku Basara 4’s stories have something for everyone.  It has stories that are funny, sad, cute, awesome and everything in between.  It’s a pain to have to take constant pictures of the screen as the dialogue goes along and it doesn’t alleviate the depression of Capcom’s vicious betrayal, but it does make it partially possible to play the game to the potential it was made to be played.

It also means that Sengoku Basara: Sanada Yukimura Den is on the table.  Now that I can understand this more story-centric game, I can give my thoughts on it proper.

Sengoku Basara Retrospective: Sengoku Basara 4 (Sumeragi)

I remember where I was when the first trailer for Sengoku Basara 4 was released.  I’ve never been so hyped for a game in my entire life.  No other game can come close to the excitement and anticipation for a sequel to one of the greatest games of all time and everything else in the meantime was just something to occupy me until I could finally play it.

Years passed.  The game came out in Japan, where it was promptly exalted as one of the all-time master works of gaming.  People outside of Japan kept importing it and sang the same praises.  Then the updated version, Sengoku Basara 4: Sumeragi, came out and importers further cemented it as the greatest game of its genre ever made.

I told those people to stop.  I told them to buy the English version when it comes out.  Just like Sengoku Basara: Samurai Heroes, Samurai Kings, Samurai Legends and End of Judgement, Sengoku Basara 4 was going to have an amazing English release and those people importing it were both buying a worse version and putting time into game progress that would not carry over.  That’s what I believed.  Why wouldn’t I?  This was Capcom, the greatest game company there was.  They were on fire in the early 2010s, with hit after hit after hit after hit and the occasional Bionic Commando-shaped fumble, but nobody’s perfect.  I believed in Capcom.

Year after year after year after year after year after year I kept thinking that it would finally be the year we got the English version of Sengoku Basara 4 and that with all that time being spent on it, the English version was going to be as perfect as possible.  They must’ve been doing 100 takes on every single line of English dialogue so that the sound of it touches the pleasure sensations of the brain.  There was going to be more extra content in the English version than the English release of Kingdom Hearts.  I kept buying Capcom’s games, feeding them money, comfortable in knowing it was going into the English version of the greatest game ever created, maybe even the greatest thing ever created in the universe as a whole.

The hype grew with each passing year.  Sengoku Basara 4’s English version is so hyped up that playing it might put someone into cardiac arrest just from starting the game!  I took that built-up hype to every Capcom showcase.  “Maybe we’ll get a release date for the English version of Sengoku Basara 4!”
People kept telling me there wouldn’t be one, but there was no reason to believe that.  Capcom made Sengoku Basara: Samurai Heroes, one of the hallmark titles of gaming.  They gave us that game because they knew the world needed it and not Devil Kings.  There’s no reason why they wouldn’t just do what they already did for one more game.  That would be a complete and utter betrayal to every single Capcom fan.  I made the foolish decision to believe in something.  Never believe.

It took many years for me to realize that Capcom is no longer the good company that gave us Sengoku Basara: Samurai Heroes.  They have no intention of delivering nirvana to their fans.  Sengoku Basara 4 will never come out in English and they have made it their mission to make their fans as miserable as possible, keeping the English version of Sengoku Basara 4 from them just to watch them squirm.  They are, simply put, evil.

When I came to grips with that, I finally just imported the Japanese version after all those years of hype and it is the single most depressing, soul-crushing game I’ve ever played in my life.  Not because it’s bad, but for the polar opposite reason.

The King of Fighters 15 Review

When a new fighting game comes out, and especially a King of Fighters game, it’s inevitable that comparisons will be drawn to The King of Fighters 13.  I used to give the title of “Best Fighting Game of All Time” to a tie between KOF 11 and 13, but after years of thinking I’ve tipped the scales onto 13’s side, even if it’s not as good without 11 and 2003 to establish its story.  No fighting game since it came out has come close to its presentation, music, story and flowing, perfected gameplay.  Not Guilty Gear Xrd, not Street Fighter 5 and not The King of Fighters 14.

The King of Fighters 15, however, comes close.

I would post the game’s opening here, but there isn’t one for some reason.  The closest thing is a short animated music video from the guy who directed those crappy Fatal Fury anime specials in the 90s.  It's pretty good.

Iconoclasts Review

On very rare occasions, every half-decade or so, when the planets and stars align, there comes a game that is so excellently done in its every aspect that it’s near-impossible to criticize.  These games are usually ones with fancy current-generation graphics by huge companies with the best voice actors and motion capture money can buy, such as the case with the recently-released Psychonauts 2, Bayonetta 2 and Xenoblade Chronicles.  Imagine how bizarre it is that this new game in the pantheon is a $20 2D indie game made by one man.  Call me an elitist, but I generally look over indie games because they run out of game too fast and don’t have the big expansive worlds or the Crispin Freeman like the big boys, yet here we are with Iconoclasts, a game that manages to reach the heights of its strongest peers.

Senran Kagura Burst Re: Newal Review

A remake of Senran Kagura: Burst using the mechanics of the later games seems like an easy recommendation. The original game’s story is my favorite second only to its direct sequel and Estival Versus has the best fighting mechanics among the spin-off games. Logically something good combined with something also good should create something good, but that can be hampered if the combined elements don’t come together right and Senran Kagura Burst Re: Newal is a good example.

I don’t understand why the decision was made to remake Burst in the first place. The game was barely 5 years old when it came out and I’m generally of the mind that a game should have a remake if the first one is archaic shite that badly needed the resources and technological advancements of the modern age or is simply a particularly old game that could use a makeover. Games like the first Resident Evil, first Persona and first KOF needed their remakes because, with the debatable exception of Resident Evil, they’re unbearable torture to play. The original Senran Kagura: Burst has some shortcomings, but is tightly designed, looks nice and its old-school fast-paced gameplay is still fun. Xseed’s historical screw-up was the worst thing about it and that didn’t even apply to its release in Japan.  All I really wanted was to have it on a cartridge.

The remake could have been a nice little distraction for Vita owners, but the developers couldn’t even get that right. Senran Kagura Burst’s remake is only available on the PC and PS4. With Senran Kagura: Peach Beach Splash there was a justified reason for this: as strong as the Vita is, it couldn’t handle a game that was half detailed water physics and matches typically had several different characters on the field at once. That’s fair enough.

Neither of those factors apply to  Burst Re: Newal, which can only mean that the reason the game isn’t on the Vita is because it uses the PS4 to its fullest potential by making games of the highest graphical fidelity on par with Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4, Devil May Cry 5 and the PS4 Spider Man game. It’s a bit strange that it would go that route considering the original game was best suited for quick bursts of handheld play, but surely they wouldn’t completely ignore their one of their go-to handhelds for no reason.

Prepare for disappointment.

I guess it’s nice they made a new song, but rather than play the same videos in both stories, why not just use the originals?