All right, Miss Tron, we'll do our best!

The Misadventures of Tron Bonne
Playstation
Release Date: May 5, 2000

Graphics: 7.5/10
Gameplay: 8/10
Sound: 8/10
Control: 7/10
Replay Value: 7/10
Overall: 7.5/10

The Misadventures of Tron Bonne is the prequel to Mega Man Legends, which was released two years earlier. You get to play as the main antagonist of the Mega Man Legends series, Tron Bonne. Tron's brothers, Teisel and Bon, are captured and imprisoned by Mr. Loath for not paying back the one million zenny that Teisel borrowed, so Tron must find ways to earn a million zenny to pay back the loan and rescue her brothers. You get to control Tron's robots and order around all of the Servbots to help you on your missions robbing banks, digging for treasure, and stealing cargo.

I found this game in a store a few years back without even knowing that the game existed. When I saw the cover I thought, “A game starring Tron Bonne? I must have this!” I'm definitely glad that I discovered it. The game is loads of fun, although it's probably much more enjoyable if you've already played the Mega Man Legends games and are familiar with the characters.

The game's missions span a variety of gaming genres, including action, adventure, RPG and puzzle games. The missions gradually become more and more difficult as you beat them. Some of the later missions I actually found to be very difficult, in particular some of the Primiki Harbor puzzle missions which I was not able to complete. Each of the types of missions are entertaining in their own way, my favorite being the Gold City bank robbing missions. A lot of the fun of this game comes from being the bad guy for a change, stealing from people and destroying towns. It's a refreshing change of pace. You'll also spend a lot of time training Servbots and figuring out which ones are best for certain situations, whether it be developing weapons and armor, using explosives in battle, shooting a firearm, creating music or painting.


The most appealing thing about this game though is just how charming it is, despite centering around a villain. You get the see the more compassionate side of Tron which you don't see very often in Mega Man Legends. She clearly cares a lot for her brothers and her Servbots, but she's also rather strict and makes sure everyone is working hard. One minute she'll be encouraging a Servbot for a job well done, then the next minute she'll be threatening to send the Servbot to the torture room for being lazy. But the best part of the game is the Servbots themselves. They're just so gosh-darn adorable! It's so funny to watch them stealing from homes and throwing bombs while they're so bashful and innocent and cute, yet very dedicated to their work. They each have their own personality and skills, and they're very entertaining to talk to or just to watch as they bumble about. You can even pick a favorite Servbot, who will eventually help you out on the final mission (I chose #18, mostly just because I liked his personality).

The game's graphics are pretty good for a Playstation game. Most of the 3D graphics are very similar in style to the graphics from Mega Man Legends. They're pretty smooth and crisp but sometimes a little glitchy. The game also contains cartoon graphics for whenever a character is speaking or when Tron is in the Gesellschaft. These 2D graphics are new to the Mega Man Legends series, and I thought they worked quite well and helped give the game a little extra personality.


The game's sound was pretty good as well. I thought the voice acting was terrific. Most of the voice actors were carried over from the Mega Man Legends games; so Tron, Teisel, the Servbots and the Birdbots are all familiar voices, and they all did excellent voice work once again (especially Rob Smith, the voice of Teisel. His laughs are awesomely hilarious, and the way he growls and yells his lines is superb). Bon's voice was noticeably different, and I much preferred his previous voice actor, but he only really speaks a couple of times (“Babuuu!”) so it's not a big deal. The soundtrack was fairly melodic and never really became annoying even though you mostly heard the same songs over and over again. My biggest disappointment with the soundtrack is that they didn't include the Bonne family theme from Mega Man Legends, which was one of my favorite songs from that game and I was quite looking forward to hearing it again.

I only have a few disappointments with the game. Most of the maps are rather small, so there's not a lot of room for exploration. Also, the controls are kind of awkward sometimes, such as when trying to maneuver the Gustaff. It would have been a lot easier to use the Analog sticks to move around rather than the L and R buttons to turn and the D-pad to move, but I guess this is how a lot of Playstation games were made (including Mega Man Legends, so I guess they stayed consistent at least). The game is also relatively short, and can probably be completed very quickly if you don't spend time upgrading the Gustaff and training the Servbots. Still, these things weren't extremely disappointing.


Overall, I was very pleased with The Misadventures of Tron Bonne. It's a charming, humorous game with a wide variety of gameplay. It's not for everybody, but if you are a fan of Mega Man Legends then this is definitely something you should look into. After all, they're not planning on making any more games for the series, so fans should take advantage of everything they can get.

May the fresh scent of flowers protect you always!

Okami
Playstation 2 (also available for Wii)
Release Date: September 19, 2006

Graphics: 10/10
Gameplay: 9/10
Sound: 8/10
Control: 9/10
Replay Value: 9/10
Overall: 9/10

Okami is an instant classic! Brimming with Japanese folklore, Okami follows the story of the wolf Amaterasu, the Sun God and descendant of Shiranui. 100 years ago, Shiranui aided the warrior Nagi in the defeat of the dreaded eight-headed beast, Orochi. The defeated Orochi was sealed away with Nagi's sword and enshrined with a statue of Shiranui. 100 years after Orochi's defeat, a shadowy figure steals Nagi's sword from the shrine, releasing Orochi's spirit to once again wreak havoc upon the land of Nippon. Amaterasu is then summoned from the statue of Shiranui to defeat Orochi's spirit and once again rid the land of evil.

The graphics are what makes this game unforgettable. Okami uses a beautiful cel-shading technique to give this game it's very own unique style. The colorful landscapes are breathtaking, and the characters are cute and rather distinctive. Flowers bloom all over the screen, and the sky looks like a canvas to be painted upon (and in fact, you can paint upon it!). It's like a work of art in video game form. The graphics alone make this game well worth playing.


But more than being a work of art, the game is also very fun and challenging. It plays sort of like a Zelda game, a series which Okami took a lot of influence from. You travel across the land to rescue beautiful women, collect weapons, and battle fierce opponents, only instead of playing as a young man, you play as a wolf with the powers of the gods (and I must say, I very much enjoyed playing as a wolf). Amaterasu is the Sun God, and she has the power to control the Celestial Brush. Throughout the game, you'll learn different Celestial Brush techniques which you use by drawing on the screen with a brush to summon different abilities, such as creating gusts of wind or causing trees to bloom. This technique was somewhat simple to use with the Playstation 2 controller, but I imagine it would be a lot more fun to do with a Wiimote. There is quite a lot to do in Okami, such as returning the land to its natural beauty, feeding animals, collecting beads and other items, defeating enemies and ridding the land of evil, saving people and helping them with favors. If you're trying to complete the game 100%, you'll have plenty of things to keep you busy, not to mention some tasks which are borderline impossible (I tried so many different methods to defeat Blockhead Grande... dry erase markers, post-it notes, video cameras... it was quite stressful). There are also loads of minigames to play if you feel you haven't had enough, including a Whack-a-Mole type game, fishing, racing through the forest, a digging game and more. Regardless of how you decide to play the game, whether you collect all of the items, explore all of the maps, or just play straight through to the end, you're guaranteed to have fun.

The sound here was pretty solid, although nothing too memorable. The soundtrack consisted mainly of peaceful, relaxing music that seemed to fit well with the game's overall style. The characters' voices were rather interesting and kind of reminded me of Animal Crossing voices, where they're more making sounds than saying words. Nothing really spectacular or overly annoying here.

The controls were pretty smooth, and Amaterasu was very easy to maneuver. I liked that she had a great jumping distance and was able to run very quickly if you held down the controls long enough. Battles were fairly easy to get a hang of, but usually required little skill (you mostly just hit the attack button as much as you can) until you have to start using Celestial Brush techniques to defeat enemies, then it gets much more interesting. I also found that the menus were a little difficult to navigate at first, but once you figure out what you're looking at and where to find certain information it becomes much easier.


Okami is overall a very unique, entertaining and perfectly executed game. The graphics are beautiful and the game is often very relaxing, creating a rather Zen gaming experience. The game is full of beauty, humor, drama and awesomeness. I dare to say that it has surpassed its main influence, The Legend of Zelda, a feat which seemed unimaginable. Okami is not a game you will soon be forgetting.

Now, please sit back and enjoy the game.

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4
Playstation 2
Release Date: December 9, 2008

Graphics: 10/10
Gameplay: 8/10
Sound: 9.5/10
Control: 9/10
Replay Value: 8.5/10
Overall: 9/10

This was my first experience with a game from the Shin Megami Tensei series and man, was I in for a surprise! I haven't been so immersed in an RPG since my Final Fantasy days (I spent a total of 75 hours on this game), but this game takes RPGs to a whole new level. There is just so much that I would like to say about this game... where to begin?

Persona 4 follows a year in the life of the silent protagonist, who has just moved from the city to the quiet town of Inaba to live with his uncle Dojima. He begins making friends at his new school, when suddenly the friends stumble upon news of a gruesome murder that took place right in their very own peaceful town. Soon, there is another murder of someone close to them, followed by a mysterious disappearance of one of the friends. The group decides to take action and try to figure out who the murderer is to stop them. These events lead to the discovery of the Midnight Channel, which broadcasts an image of the next victim, and the protagonist soon discovers his strange ability to enter the TV. The group of detectives must navigate this TV world to find clues to the identity of the culprit. While inside the TV, they encounter shadows which attack them, causing the characters' true selves to emerge from them in the form of a Persona, which aids them in battle. It sounds a little strange at first, but then again, this is a video game. The story becomes very enthralling and entertaining, with plenty of humor, plot twists, and emotionally driven scenes.


The aspect of this game that impressed me the most was the character development. I was so intrigued by (almost) every character of the game, and began to feel a deep connection and sense of understanding for many of the characters and their situations. The cast of characters was so interesting, from the hard-kicking Chie who trains hard to protect her friends, the beautiful Yukiko who is at first very shy but opens up and becomes ridiculously silly, the tough-guy Kanji who reveals a much softer side of himself, the sweet and innocent Nanako who is trying to cope with her mother's death, the stressed Dojima who can't figure out how to connect with his daughter Nanako, the bumbling detective Adachi who doesn't know when to shut his mouth, and the silent protagonist who interacts with them all and gets to know them on a deeply personal level. One of the best features of the game is the player's ability to spend time with his friends and family and develop “Social Links” with them, which results in a sort of side-story during which you learn more about that character's troubles and thoughts about life as you try to help them through their problems and connect with them on a personal level. You find yourself becoming immersed in certain characters' lives and wanting to find out more. The stories I found to be the most intriguing during my first playthrough were those of Kanji Tatsumi, a tough-acting punk who has an unexpected affinity for sewing and is struggling to cope with other's opinions of him and his hobby, and Naoki Konishi, a depressed boy who is trying to cope with his sister's recent death and the townspeoples' expectations of how he should be acting. You could also end up in a relationship with one (or more) of the female characters by leveling up their Social Links to the max (I'll admit that I squealed like a girl when Chie finally agreed to go out with me, and when she gave me a very heartfelt “I love you!”) The other intriguing aspect of character development came when you had to battle certain characters' shadow selves. During these cutscenes and battles, the character's shadow self would spew forth the character's deepest held secrets and thoughts, which were often rather shocking and embarrassing. Once the character refused to accept the shadow as their own, the shadow would transform into a hideous manifestation of their inner feelings which you must defeat in order for the character to come to terms with their true self. Many of these battles will turn out to be the strangest, and sometimes the most uncomfortable, boss battles you'll ever encounter in a video game, while simultaneously resulting in a very emotional experience as you get to know the characters true feelings.

The other area where this game scored major points with me was the graphics. The game contains many beautifully drawn cutscenes that look like they were taken right out of an anime. The characters are drawn in a similar manner when they are speaking to you. I was extremely impressed with this anime art style, which worked wonderfully for the game and was so different from most of the other games I've played. The rest of the game is designed in excellent 3D graphics; everything looks very crisp and smooth and very detailed. The game menus are also beautifully executed, as they appear and disappear from the screen in a fluid manner and are colored in a rich yellow hue which is pleasing to the eye.

The sound was another high point of the game. The voice acting for this game was top-notch! The English actors delivered all of their lines very naturally and put some real emotion into them, and the dialogue was very entertaining. The voice acting was also very entertaining during battles, when characters would shout things like “I'm pissed now!” or “Whee! We won!” My favorite line during a battle was whenever Chie would dodge an enemy attack and go “Yoink!” and trip them up. Admittedly, however, some lines become rather annoying when characters keep saying them multiple times every battle (“Someone finish this one off!”) The only voice which might be annoying to some would be Teddie's, although after awhile I did start to find Teddie to be rather charming, with his odd voice and his awful puns. The game's soundtrack was also excellent, featuring J-Pop tracks and heavy beats and tunes which become stuck in your head for days. My copy of the game came with a bonus CD containing some of the game's music, which I promptly added to my iTunes. My only disappointment with the game's music comes from the battle theme, which becomes slightly obnoxious after battling hundreds of enemies and hearing it every time. I wish they would have chosen a few more tracks for different battles so that the battle music didn't become quite so annoying. The boss battle music, however, never failed to pump me up for an awesome battle!


The gameplay here wasn't the game's highest point, in my opinion. I did enjoy running around town interacting with people, building social links, battling, and creating different personae. However, I found navigating the different dungeons of the shadow world to be very tedious and monotonous. These areas, such as Yukiko's castle, were mazelike areas consisting of up to 11 floors which were all essentially the same. The paths would change occasionally, causing you to have to re-navigate the same floor again. Some areas were different, such as a floor in the Void Quest which would warp you to various areas, and a floor in Magatsu Inaba on which your goal was to avoid all of the enemies, but these exceptions were very few. Although this aspect of the game was somewhat disappointing, it didn't really affect my overall appreciation for the game. After all, the game for me was more about watching the enthralling story unfold before my eyes. As for replay value, the game is particularly long so you may not want to jump into it again immediately after finishing it, but with the multiple endings and all of the content of the game which you may not have completed the first time around (mostly Social Links), you'll surely come back to the game eventually for an equally great and possibly different experience.

Overall, Persona 4 is a superb game, which has gotten me very interested in the rest of the Shin Megami Tensei series (I just went out and bought Persona 3 a few days ago). It's definitely an experience which cannot be passed up by the avid gamer. It's a work of art on many levels, as well as a commentary on psychology which causes you to look deeper at your own life and the lives of the people around you. I look forward to the day when I pick up Persona 4 again for my second playthrough!