Category Archives: Games

Bakacast Bonus – Don’t Take It Personally

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“Woah!” I can hear you thinking. Don’t ask how I can hear thoughts. That’s not important. “Another Bakacast already? Is Dustin suddenly getting productive?”

The answer is no, sadly. This is not a normal episode of Bakacast. Megan and I have talked about how much we like Christine Love’s games multiple times, so we finally decided to just dedicate an entire bonus podcast to talking about one of them.

Don’t Take It Personally, Babe, It Just Ain’t Your Story is, I think, Love’s best-written game so far. Since this podcast contains spoilers for pretty much the whole game, I highly suggest playing through it at least once if you’re at all interested in it. It’s free, takes only a few hours to read through and doesn’t have any puzzles like Digital and Analogue do, so it’s arguably her most accessible game, too.

Bakacast – Teddie is a Boss

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Hey, good news! This podcast is finally under two hours, despite starting our reviews a little later than usual! Also, this is one of the most positive episodes we’ve had so far this season, with only one stinker (you can probably guess which show produced it). Plus, Scamp confesses his undying love for Drossel von Flügel, Glen attempts to explain the nonsensical insanity of the Utena movie, and I analyze Limbo as if I’m writing an English paper about it.

Please email listener questions to bakacast[at]projectharuhi.net or leave them in the comments below.

Time Index

  • 00:06 – OP: Boys Come Back to Me (Mawaru Penguindrum)

What We’ve Been Doing

  • 2:42 – Fireball
  • 8:17 – The Adolescence of Utena
  • 12:00 – Skyward Sword
  • 15:02 – Limbo

Reviews et al.

  • 20:43 – Penguindrum 22
  • 32:55 – Fate/Zero 10
  • 38:25 – Chihayafuru 10
  • 46:22 – Persona 4 10
  • 57:17 – Ben-To 9
  • 1:04:25 – Future Diary 9
  • 1:15:26 – Last Exile 8
  • 1:28:11 – Listener Questions
  • 1:44:58 – ED: Buddy (Last Exile: Fam)

Bakacast – Daddy;Issues

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Karen got hit by a nasty cold and wasn’t feeling well enough to come on the podcast (how dare she prioritize her health over talking to some jerks about anime), so we asked frequent-guest Thomas to be our fourth host so we wouldn’t feel so lonely.

As usual, I use our “Whatcha Been Doin'” segment to talk about videogames, specifically Duke Nukem Forever and how terrible it is. Spoiler: it’s pretty terrible. We also bring back the news segment to discuss Zac Bertschy’s High School of the Dead review. Turns out it’s one of those rare gems that can actually be improved by the Manga Entertainment method of dubbing.

Speaking of things that are hilariously stupid, Glen, Thomas and I give our impressions on the episodes of Soft Tennis we managed to watch, pick apart X-Men, wonder how much more dumb Ohana of Hanasaku Iroha can possibly get, and console ourselves with the fact that AnoHana is almost over.

Also, we tackle the (not-so-anymore-)controversial question of what is anime, really?

We cover:

  • 2:53 – Whatcha Been Doin’
  • 11:21 – News stories
  • 16:33 – Soft Tennis general impressions
  • 23:56 – Gosick #21
  • 30:46 – X-Men #10
  • 35:44 – Hanasaku Iroha #11
  • 44:01 – Steins;Gate #11
  • 52:48 – AnoHana #9
  • 59:14 – [C] #9
  • 1:06:05 – Listener questions

If you would like to submit listener questions for a future episode, you can email them to bakacast[at]projectharuhi.net, @reply them to Project Haruhi’s Twitter account using the hashtag #bakacast, or leave them in the comments below.

Bakacast – K-ON! with Credit Cards

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Karen of the Otakusphere joins us once again as we struggle through another frustrating week.

This time, though, she and Larry surprise us with their positive impressions of Soft Tennis. Expect Glen and I to at least try and catch up, if only to witness the bear fight. In other news, the final episode of OreImo leaves a sour taste in our mouths, Gosick goes back to its regularly scheduled incompetence, Tiger & Bunny fails us for the last time, X-Men is decent for a change, Steins;Gate has its first misstep, and Glen makes a startling realization about [C].

All this and more embarrassing stories prompted by listener questions!

We cover:

  • 2:20 – What we’ve been doing
  • 12:46 – Soft Tennis
  • 22:30 – OreImo #15
  • 33:07 – Gosick #19
  • 41:17 – Tiger & Bunny #9 (dropped)
  • 47:39 – X-Men #8
  • 54:33 – Hanasaku Iroha #9
  • 1:02:03 – Steins;Gate #9
  • 1:15:58 – AnoHana #7
  • 1:22:07 – [C] #7
  • 1:31:13 – Listener questions

If you would like to submit listener questions for a future episode, you can email them to bakacast[at]projectharuhi.net, @reply them to Project Haruhi’s Twitter account using the hashtag #bakacast, or leave them in the comments below.

Bakacast – Worst Birthday Present Ever

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On our very special 50th episode of Bakacast, we bring on The Otakusphere’s Karen–formerly of Japanator–to talk about Amazon taking some yaoi titles off their Kindle store, how terrible the recent Parasite Eve game, The 3rd Birthday, is (pretty terrible), and if she’s watched My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Besides checking out her blog, which I highly recommend, you can also follow her on Twitter. And if you’d like a little history lesson, you can check out the last podcast Karen and I were on right here [WARNING: Unlike this podcast, Japanator AM lets F-bombs run free].

I guess we review some anime too. Gosick gives us a plot dump, Hanasaku Iroha continues to confound us, Steins;Gate continues to entertain us, Deadman Wonderland can’t figure out what tone it wants, and Blue Exorcist is just sorta there. Meanwhile, Glen starts exercising his psychic powers to properly use the new mind-reading cat ears.

We cover:

  • 04:28 – Amazon removes some yaoi titles from Kindle
  • 08:19 – The 3rd Birthday
  • 22:51 – Gosick #15
  • 29:59 – Tiger & Bunny #5
  • 33:52 – Hanasaku Iroha #5
  • 42:57 – Battle Girls #5
  • 51:16 – Steins;Gate #5
  • 59:11 – Blue Exorcist #3 (dropped)
  • 1:05:21 – AnoHana #3
  • 1:13:24 – Deadman Wonderland #3
  • 1:17:49 – [C] #3
  • 1:25:02 – Listener questions

If you would like to submit listener questions for a future episode, you can email them to bakacast[at]projectharuhi.net, @reply them to Project Haruhi’s Twitter account using the hashtag #bakacast, or leave them in the comments below.

12 Days of Anime #9: Weird Japanese Games

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I may not be the biggest fan of the recent crop of games from Japan, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t any awesome ones that came out this year. In fact, I can think of at least three off the top of my head: Bayonetta, Vanquish and Nier. Now, there are two things I realized when I came up with those three games. First, thank God for Platinum Games. And second, all three of them are unashamedly bizarre.

Seriously, they are. Bayonetta brainstorms the craziest action scenes ever, and then finds ways to make them crazier. Vanquish gives you a gun that transforms into all your guns and lets you press one button that makes your character do a rocket-leg power slide. And Nier? Nier is a secret sequel to Drakengard—one of the most insane games ever made–that manages to be almost as crazy as its predecessor. That is the level of weird we’re dealing with here, and I love all three of them for it. I’ll break down exactly why after the jump.

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East Meets West Part 2: What Mario Can Learn From America

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In the first part of my East Meets West series, I talked about the advantages and disadvantages of the current trends in comic books and manga. I tried to make it fairly balanced, since I honestly believe America and Japan are putting out very different but entertaining products. It would be nice to see more melding from both sides, but they’re doing quite well so far. This second part, however, will be about video games, and you’ll see that I won’t be so kind this time around.

Why?

Because I believe that, on some level, BioWare is right when they say the JRPG market is stagnant, even if they couch their argument in marketing for their own game. I’ll explain in detail after the jump.

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Roundtable: Remembering Golden Sun

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In 2001, Nintendo released Golden Sun, an RPG made by Camelot Software Planning for the Gameboy Advance. It took both critics and gamers by storm, quickly earning a devoted fanbase. Its 2003 sequel, Golden Sun: The Lost Age, met with similar praise and solidified the series as one of the best on the GBA and a must-have for RPG fans. However, it’s cliffhanger ending also left fans clamoring for a third game. Their hopes were met with little more than teases.

Finally, at E3 2009, Golden Sun DS–now titled Golden Sun: Dark Dawn–was revealed. As the resident Golden Sun fanatics, SilentAki and I can’t wait for its North American release, which is just a little over a month away. Since both of us recently replayed the first two games, we decided to meet on Skype to discuss what made Golden Sun such a great series. So if you want to join us on our trip through nostalgia lane or simply learn what all the fuss is about, follow us after the break.

But be warned: there are SPOILERS ahead!

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Bakacast Briefs – Pokemon Fatigue

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Yes, I know, this episode is really late. If it’s any consolation, I realize I’ve brought dishonor upon my family’s name and have already pretended to commit seppuku. It was quite dramatic and believable, I can assure you.

Anyway, we start this week’s podcast lamenting the lack of any significant innovation in the Pokemon franchise (the fan-made Pokemon chart we talk about can be found here) and getting very excited about Madhouse’s Redline. After that, we review the last episode of Highschool of the Dead (there was much rejoicing) and the second-to-last episode Occult Academy. Then, because it’s so much fun, we answer your Twitter questions. So, if you want to hear Glen and I create surrealist narratives and find out why Larry is secretly an anime philanthropist, this is the episode for you!

This week’s podcast covers:

  • Highschool of the Dead #12
  • Occult Academy #12

[Music used in this episode is “A Charming Spell” by Splashdown.]

Trailer for K-ON! PSP game revealed

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The rumors are true! Sega, the makers of the wildy popular PSP rhythm game Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA, are turning their musical talents towards making a K-ON! game. Check out the trailer below!

Like its Vocaloid-themed predecessor, K-ON! After School Live!! is basically a rhythm game set to the music of the hit anime. You can play as any of the five Houkago Tea Time band members, either solo or with up to four other friends. (Dibs on Ritsu!) The game is slated for a September 30th release in Japan, and priced at ¥6090 or approximately $68 USD. Sadly, there’s little chance of it being licensed in the English-speaking world, so us stateside K-ON! fans will have to import it.

This news is certainly exciting, but I’m still holding out hope for a DS K-ON! game. In my opinion, Nintendo’s handheld system is more suited to rhythm-based musical gameplay. Plus, just think of the possibilities with the touchscreen…

Ew, not like that. Perverts. >_<