Sorry these Week in Gaming articles have been so sporadic the latter half of this year. Lately I’ve been doing a lot of review gaming and whenever I’m not review gaming, I’m never sure I have enough to say about other games to put out one of these articles. After the disaster that was Orange Season: which I thought was going to be a great fall game but ended up so bad I put it down early, I got a couple of recently released fall Nintendo titles to play which are very much appreciated. I’m currently mainly working my way through one of those, the first one they released, and sitting on the other one until afterwards. Hopefully I’ll have those reviews out before the year is over, or at least one of them. But on the side, I’ve finally jumped back into Stardew Valley, always a good farming game that never disappoints.

I’ve been getting the urge to go back to Stardew Valley all year but I’ve been holding back, waiting on that 1.6 update content to hit consoles and now it finally has. I quite enjoy playing Stardew on my Switch with an 8bitdo controller. I had a beach farm I started a while back, maybe last year, that I had planned on being my very first Joja route. However, I only ever got a little bit into the first year’s summer. So, since the new update is now out, I decided to start over on that route and deleted my old file. I know I read somewhere that there would be new postgame Joja content to make the route as substantial as the community center one is, thus this seemed like the best idea for me to enjoy the new content. I also ended up joining a friend online in a new multiplayer farm as well where we’re trying out the meadow farm map with blue grass.

So far I’m right about where I left off from my last attempt at this beach farm before the update. I’m in the middle of the very first summer. I always play Stardew pretty slowly, I’m not an efficient farmer whatsoever. My house doesn’t have a kitchen yet and I’m still trying to decide what tool to upgrade first, now that I have the money to go with the copper bars. My pickaxe being so weak in the mines since I’ve reached the icy area, has been an annoyance. Also, watering crops by hand on the beach has been quite slow. Yet on the other hand, I want to upgrade my regular axe a few times asap so I can clear out the regular dirt area the beach farm has that’s full of giant logs, then I can set-up my crops with sprinklers. At the same time though, I might already be about to unlock the greenhouse by the time I would be able to upgrade my axe enough, so maybe I should just focus on my watering can and pickaxe after all. I’ve mostly been collecting the stuff required for the community center because I wanted to try and do it myself as much as possible for the various rewards, and then I plan to buy a Joja membership near the end. I figure maybe I’ll leave the hardest community center requirements, like a lot of the fishing, left undone and buy my membership once I’ve at least donated all of the required farming and mining related items. – Jenae

I’ve been doing a lot of retro gaming lately, both on original hardware and through recent remakes, and it’s been a ton of fun. My sister and I recently finished Lufia, which wasn’t as good as Lufia II but had a ton of charm all its own, and getting to see the evolution between the original and the sequel reminded me of just how much innovation happened during the SNES years. Jumping from that to Mega Man Legends on the PS1 was a different kind of reminder that those early years of 3D were rough when it came to control schemes. We opted to use the directional buttons for turning and the shoulder buttons for strafing, but even then controlling Mega Man around the 3D world comes with a major learning curve. The world of MML is incredibly charming, with that 90s dub you either love or hate, and wacky hijinks abound. The cast is impeccable, honestly. I understand now why Tron is so beloved. The comedy isn’t always a hit, but I have been having a great time watching these characters interact. The animations are also beautiful, and I adore Mega Man’s expressions. That being said, we eventually caved and used a GameShark code for invincibility so we could see more of the story rather than fight with the controls, though the safety buffer it provides has given me a lot more practice with the control scheme, since I do engage with it to the best of my ability. It’s fun when you get the hang of it, but it hurts my hands after extended periods. If ever a game would benefit from a remaster with modern controls, it’s Mega Man Legends. Maybe then I’d finally get to read the dirty magazines, too.

In modern retro news, I’ve been having a blast with the Dragon Quest III HD-2D remake. What a stunning glowup that retains the charms of its NES roots. I’m too old and busy to deal with the grindy nature of the RPGs I grew up with, so having some nice QoL updates here have made playing it incredibly comfy while remaining nostalgic. It’s visually gorgeous, with colorful, vibrant locations, beautiful lighting, and fun voice acting that really gives the characters some pop. I went with the most basic setup of the hero, warrior, mage and healer, but I’ve only reached the second major hub so far, leaving me plenty of time to experiment with new party configurations. The Dragon Quest difficulty feels a tad on the easy side, but I know I don’t have the patience to move up to Draconian, so I’m pretty happy having this to sit back and relax with a couple hours a night. – Leah

What games have you been playing this week? Let us know in the comments!

You can read previous Week in Gaming entries here!

The post oprainfall Week in Gaming: Nov 10 – 16 appeared first on oprainfall.

Manga

Rebuild World

Rebuild World is a manga I had come across about two year ago after a recommendation, though I admittedly dropped it after having read the first few chapters. Dystopian settings usually don’t draw my attention, however, there are elements of bio-manipulation and AI that were hard for me to overlook. After shelving it for some time, I now decided to give this manga another look, mainly because the light novel came to my attention recently. Simply, I wanted to refresh my memory before deciding as to whether I would give the first volume of the LN a try.

This manga, and its parent LN story, follows the journey of Akira, an orphan from the slums located at the edge between one of the remaining bastions of civilization and the rest of the dilapidated world. Humanity had reached its pinnacle with technology and bioengineering, however, said bio enhancement led to the near extinction of humanity. The world is now roamed by bio-techno- enhanced animals that stand guard over the old world ruins, full of technology and items that can make one tremendously wealthy in current society. Brave individuals, called hunters, set out into the old world for these relics in the hopes of riches and power.

Akira is one such individual, however, as an orphan from the slums, he is no hunter, and terribly underprepared to face the wilds of the old world. Desperation forces him out into this dystopia with a mere pistol, and when faced against bandits and those enhanced beasts, Akira can only run. Fate would then intervene when Akira is approached by a beautiful woman, one only he can see. This woman, an AI augmented reality projection named Alpha, immediately becomes his companion by commanding Akira to move, lest he wishes to die. Surviving an onslaught of lethal proportions, Alpha later explains that Akira is quite special to be able to see her and promises to help him. Now accompanied by this AI AR projection, Akira has a fighting chance in the world, yet the reasons for why Alpha offers to teach, guide, and protect Akira remain a mystery.

I have to say, I’m feeling the same intrigue that I once felt previously and maybe this time I’ll read a few more chapters of the manga. The same con that dissuaded me though, Akira’s dull, uninspired character, is something which I’m again finding difficult to overlook. I guess I’ll try to tolerate it, as the action and mystery of the world are attractive enough for now. – Drew D.

Flying Witch

I’ve liked this manga right from the start, with its themes of magic, mythology, and the supernatural. Flying Witch follows the light-hearted story of Matoko Kowata, a 15 year old witch-in-training. She moves in with her relatives in the countryside to continue her studies while also attending regular school. She’s incredibly casual about being a witch, as are her relatives, and soon many new classmates and friends learn of her abilities.

I think what truly makes this manga stand out is how it pulls off the slice-of-life genre so well. This is a story about a witch, yet it takes a poignant down-to-earth approach. We readers are made aware quickly that this is a very sweet, playful story that never takes the supernatural elements too seriously. Combining magic and the supernatural with slice-of-life themes and the overall inviting feel of charm and casualness are what I find most impressive, especially considering how easily the mangaka pulls this off, too.

The artwork is only a bit on the minimal side, but given the length of each chapter, it’s understandable. I do wish chapters released sooner than three months apart, but that’s just me being greedy and wanting more.

For those looking for an easy read with plenty of charm, light-hearted humor, and approachable fantasy elements, then I can most definitely recommend Flying Witch. – Drew D.

What anime are you watching? What manga and light novels are you reading? Let us know in the comments!

You can read previous Week in Anime & Manga entries here!

The post Oprainfall Week in Anime & Manga: Nov 3-10 appeared first on oprainfall.

We haven’t put one of these out in a little while.  To be honest, I usually have the most time to put out these articles myself, but I haven’t been doing a ton of for fun gaming in the last month or two. Most of my gaming was review stuff I couldn’t talk about in these Week in Gaming articles. However, I did play the Metaphor: ReFantazio demo the other week. I just didn’t get around to discussing it here, or in an impressions article of its own. Honestly, I’m now somewhat regretting playing that demo…because it was too fun and I don’t know when I’ll be able to play the full game. At the moment, it doesn’t seem like I’ll have a copy to play anytime soon. And thus, I was stuck playing an older Atlus RPG this past week, instead of the shiny new one that’s been all over social media. I’m jealous of all of you out there enjoying Metaphor right now.

Anyway, I recently found myself picking Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance back up instead. It seems like this year in general, I’ve barely made progress in quite a few games I’ve picked up and keep putting back down. When I last put down SMT5V, I had only gotten a bit past the beginning area of Shinagawa. Vengeance and it’s wonky, horrendous sound balancing, was what prompted me to buy wireless earbuds about 2 months ago now. Going back to it with my new earbuds has been really nice. There is still a bit of an issue with the wonky sound balancing, mostly I have to turn it up one or down one at certain parts, but overall I’m really enjoying it. It’s soooo much better having the sound right in my ears and not having to deal with it too much. Also, while my specific model of earbuds, the Soundcore P30i, didn’t come with a game mode option originally, they just recently received an update which added it. It turns itself off when I disconnect and turn off my Switch though so I have to reactivate it in the phone app each time, but I’m enjoying the fact that it’s there. I’ve opted to turn it on, default SMT5V‘s volume sliders which puts them all back at max and it is working out quite nicely for me. I just have to turn up the volume one for story stuff, and back down one for gameplay, so that isn’t too bad.

I managed to fully get through the rest of Shinagawa this week. I went from the main character being around level 31 or 32 and got him up to 36. I got to enjoy seeing the Fairy Village again and I’ve put a handful of new demons in my party. It doesn’t feel too old or repetitive revisiting the same areas again that I already went through in the original Shin Megami Tensei V, because everything is quite different with the new story. I mean I had read reviews saying it’s the same and doesn’t really change until about halfway through, but that doesn’t seem true at all to me. Things are already significantly different, one boss not seeming as big of a deal as they were the first time, your various friends from school following along with you a lot more and various other stuff. I haven’t been spending as much time exploring though and fully filling out maps. Vengeance doesn’t seem as crazy easy now as it did when I first started it, but I do believe it’s still significantly easier than the original and I haven’t found myself spending as much time on each map. Although, I’m sure I’ll revisit them all periodically to go locate more Miman and clear up quests and whatnot. – Jenae

It’s that time of year again, where I get to attend my favorite local con. This year, RetroGameCon extended to three days, and despite it being a relatively small affair, the extra time was a welcome addition. I love this con for its small size but variety of activities and vendors, and it never disappoints. It definitely got a bump in attendance this year, though, since almost the entire cast of Baldur’s Gate 3 were special guests, and the lines reflected that popularity. I haven’t played BG3 and so wasn’t personally interested in seeing the cast, but the enthusiasm from fans of the game was palpable. I was happy to see so many folks visiting my small con, but I have to admit it was also a bit overwhelming, and I’m not convinced the con staff were quite prepared for the attention having the BG3 cast would bring.

As always, my favorite part of RetroGameCon is walking around the various vendors and seeing what they had in store. There’s always a nice mix of video game and handmade items. I usually buy at least one item, though this time around I only grabbed myself a Suikoden II gacha in honor of that remaster finally coming out next year. I got Mikolotov, the handsome knight from Matilda! (I would have preferred Camus of the two, but one can never turn down a hunky boy.) We did find a couple sealed games for pickup and spotted several titles that I’d love to have some day but wasn’t prepared to pay for (sorry, Ys V), but even if we hadn’t, I just enjoy the window shopping. For my son, his favorite part of the weekend was the extensive free play area. Every year, there’s an assortment of old consoles, PCs, pinball and others for congoers to play. My son has recently taken a shining to pinball cabinets and spent a lot of time playing those, as well as hitting up the older PCs available. He had a ball with SimCity, played some Monopoly on Windows 3.1, and even took a turn at the Oregon Trail. His pioneers died tragic and avoidable deaths, and he learned a valuable lesson in actually paying attention to the amount of food and water he had available.

There were also a ton of board games available in a separate room, along with live concerts and panels. I sat in on an informative panel by industry veteran and Diablo IV writer David Rodriguez, and we all had a great time watching performances by Mega Ran, Danimal Cannon and Lame Genie on the main stage. There were also a ton of fantastic cosplays on display every day. Honestly, it was just a great weekend where we could hang out and immerse ourselves in all things video games, and I look forward to it every year.

In actual video game news, I finally started playing the Silent Hill 2 Remake. I am so far enjoying it, though I don’t feel I’ve played enough to give it a proper evaluation. I love the music and atmosphere, and the environments are gorgeous, with little blink-and-you-miss-it details I appreciate. The fact you can explore more of the city gives Silent Hill a lived-in feel that the original game lacked, though this is a double-edged sword. The fact Silent Hill is a real place means it should have a sense of actual people existing here, but I do feel like it detracts somewhat from the main premise of the game and the dream-like quality that permeated the OG. The voice acting so far is fine, just different than what came before, and the character models are well-detailed if oddly proportioned. I’ll have much more robust thoughts on this remake as I play more, but for now I’m impressed. – Leah

What games have you been playing this week? Let us know in the comments!

You can read previous Week in Gaming entries here!

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Manga:

Solo Leveling

Since I had recently watched the first half of the first season of Solo Leveling, I thought I’d re-read (binge) some of the manhwa to compare. I think I’m leaning toward writing a review once the entirety of season 1 debuts, which, as far as I’ve heard, should continue this fall. When I talked about the anime a few weeks ago, I had mentioned how the adaptation more closely follows the manhwa rather than the light novel regarding its story details and character depth, or lack thereof. Having re-read the first thirty some odd chapters, I only reconfirmed what I already knew. Still a fun, quick read, yet it reaffirms my desire to see more from the anime. I can hope, right…?

Also, as I had said previously, the art of the manhwa definitely outshines the anime’s visuals. A sharper, deep style really makes the manhwa pop, whereas the anime looks too similar to other anime productions. Yes, the anime captures Sung Jinwoo and his exploits fairly well, but I can’t help but think it also has a common, general feel to its production, versus the manhwa which just has more vividness and a raw or feral edge to its visuals.

I’ll go into more detail comparing the aesthetics of the manhwa and the anime when the time to write that review comes. I’m also hoping the second half of season 1 sees a visual improvement, for as of now, my re-read of this manhwa is only demonstrating to me what could have been. – Drew D.

What anime are you watching? What manga and light novels are you reading? Let us know in the comments!

You can read previous Week in Anime & Manga entries here!

The post oprainfall Week in Anime & Manga: Sep 8 – 14 appeared first on oprainfall.

Light Novels:

Spirit Chronicles Volume 5 – The Silver Bride

In preparation of my next review, I spent this week wrapping up my read of Spirit Chronicles Volume 5. I had expected a long-awaited return to previous storylines, a bit of development with the major isekai event that happened in Volume 4, and I had hoped we would have more time with some of my favorite characters. Unfortunately, my high hopes were not quite met, with only brief moments with my favorites, more setup than substance, and an unexpected storyline in the second half of the novel.

Well, I’m happy about the long awaited return of Celia, a mentor and the first friend of our hero, Rio. She plays a strong role in Volume 1, but is then sidelined until now. Four years have past since Celia and Rio had last interacted in the story, which actually seems a bit ridiculous given the vast abilities and resources Rio has had for some time now. Anyway, they have their reunion, Celia is upset with life, and Rio essentially brute-forces a solution, because he can now. Crude, yes, yet somewhat entertaining, though this volume features more conversations rather than action. Also, these convos are rife with classism, arrogance, entitlement, and plenty more that can make for a stressful impact on readers. Lastly, since the story is back to where the series started, plot points and characters introduced in Volume 1 are now being dredged up again, though I doubt they’ll linger for long, assuming the next volume plays out in similar fashion. – Drew D.

What anime are you watching? What manga and light novels are you reading? Let us know in the comments!

You can read previous Week in Anime & Manga entries here!

The post oprainfall Week in Anime & Manga: Sep 1 – 7 appeared first on oprainfall.

Manga:

Otaku ni Yasashii Gal wa Inai!?

I can’t quite remember how I first encountered this title, but I’m glad I did. Otaku ni Yasashii Gal wa Inai!?, or Gal Can’t Be Kind to Otaku!? is a high school slice-of-life manga depicting the relationship between an introverted, yet kind otaku, named Seo, and two gyaru. While Ijichi is your typical outgoing, energetic gal, Amane is cool, stoic and secretly an otaku herself.

One of the main themes of this manga is how differences in character or interests don’t need to be a wall or hurdle for a friendship to form and blossom. Another, more subtle, theme is how assumptions based on looks, style, or interests can be ignorant and shortsighted. Each character has their own personality and background, and although common interests and circumstances do help to initially form the friendship, the story allows these three to maintain their distinctions while growing, both individually and in their relationship. And sure, some of the common high school tropes come into play, like popularity, attraction, social hierarchy, as do the typical situations of festivals, exams, and summer vacation. Yet, this manga does a nice job of using these tropes merely as a step before moving forward to genuine character development and charming relationship building.

I will say, Seo, our male lead and titular otaku, is a bit trope-like and typical, especially when compared to the two female leads, so hopefully more background or more diversity in his character is introduced soon. As for the girls, they really make this manga. I love how Ijichi is so much more than the stereotypical gal, frequently breaking away from the expected. Amane’s stressing with fitting in, being social, and hiding her interests out of fear is relatable, and her coming out of her shell, similarly to Seo, is a pleasure to see.

No news of an official English release yet, though the fan-translations over on mangadex are satisfactory. Fun, funny, yet gentle and good-natured, Gal Can’t Be Kind to Otaku!? is an easy recommendation. – Drew D.

Hajimete no Ojou-sama

Hajimete no Ojou-sama, The First Times’ Lady, is a lighthearted rom-com centered around sheltered princess Ojou Kotone. Ojou, in order to experience life beyond her affluent, yet limited upbringing, is eager to learn more about the world and is ready to experience many new “firsts” for herself. Determined to be more self-sufficient as well, the story begins with her first hurdle of using a train ticket machine.

Suguru Sewa, a typical high schooler, sees Ojou having trouble and bluntly guides her through the process. Then, he witnesses Ojou’s next struggle of getting though the ticket gate. Seeing how helpless she is, Sewa can’t help but keep an eye on Ojou for the time being.

When they part ways, Sewa doesn’t think he’ll meet Ojou again, only to be shocked that Ojou has transferred to his high school and same class, all in order to continue her efforts of independence and learning about the world outside her affluence.

Hajimete no Ojou-sama is pretty obvious with what it delivers, yet it’s done notably well. This short publication has plenty of humor, from slapstick to innuendo, and lots of charm, too. Ojou is cute and a bit air-headed, but hides deep thoughts and feelings. Seeing hers and Sewa’s character development is a highlight of the manga. As is the ability for this duo to make the mundane and everyday into something much more. As I said, this one’s short, only 21 chapters, and I wouldn’t have minded more. Cute, funny, even uplifting too, I very much enjoyed Hajimete no Ojou-sama for its bursts of humor and lighthearted fun. – Drew D.

What anime are you watching? What manga and light novels are you reading? Let us know in the comments!

You can read previous Week in Anime & Manga entries here!

The post oprainfall Week in Anime & Manga: Aug 25 – 31 appeared first on oprainfall.

Currently Airing:

My Deer Friend Nokotan

The series definitely has kept it random type of humor and smallest amount of plot as possible. For a show like this though it is route they probably should go with. One of the recent episodes stayed very much this route with it being made up of a bunch of different short random stories. Though it kind of doesn’t really make it too much from a regular episode other than being able to put more random gags in. The series is very fourth wall breaking with it more or less admitting it is brain rot which is not much of an exaggeration. They have added a few more characters in and I do like it when they bring in their home room teacher. It is keeping up with its image as being a dumb comedy and I am fine with that. – Walter

You can watch My Deer Friend Nokotan on Crunchyroll.

Anime of the Past:

Solo Leveling

Having enjoyed the manwha and having read (most) of the Light Novel series thereafter, I though I would explore the anime adaptation of Solo Leveling. Twelve episodes released earlier this year, and with a supposed second half of season 1 due to release before year’s end, I thought now was as good a time as any to give this a watch.

For those unfamiliar, Solo Leveling depicts a world under constant siege by monsters originating from dungeons; parallel dimensions that connect to the real world via gates. Ever since the first gate appeared, individuals around the world awakened to superhuman abilities. Appropriately dubbed hunters, these awakened individuals are the only ones capable of fending off the monsters and protecting earth from annihilation.

One such hunter, Sung Jin-woo, is labeled the weakest hunter, as he struggles against even the lowest grade of monsters. With an ill mother and college-bound sister to care for, Jin-woo endures his harsh life. On one particular dungeon raid, he encounters a second dungeon within the first, and after a disastrously deadly series of events, Jin-woo experiences a change in himself and his perceptions regarding gates and dungeons. For it seems Jin-woo has been granted the impossible ability to increase his power through training and combat, and has been granted a guiding interactive system similar to those seen in RPGs. With newfound power and advantages, he has unknowingly been placed into a fated story full of strife and against unimaginable adversaries.

As an anime, I expected a mix between the visual strength of the manhwa and the light novels’ greater depth and detail of its story and characters. What I experienced instead was a familiar effort, one too similar to other shounen anime productions, and one lacking a bit in depth. It more closely resembles the manhwa regarding story and character development, as in there isn’t a whole lot beyond the basics and the necessary. There are a few forced scenes full of lore dumping, too. The quality of its visuals also leaves me wanting, as the efforts of late manhwa artist Jang Sung-rak, nicknamed Dubu, ranged from excellent to downright spectacular. Perhaps my expectations were too high, as the anime’s style, while serviceable, is average at best. Add to that a handful of action scenes overly reminiscent of Naruto or Bleach and you have, again, an average effort overall. I do hope the latter half of season 1 sees more of what originally makes Solo Leveling so distinguished.

A final thought, I find it odd, and a touch excluding, that the Korean dub seems to be only available to Korean residents. As it’s based on a Korean manhwa, I think I would have liked to have heard Korean voice actors. Well, not that I know any Korean anyway. – Drew D.

You can watch Solo Leveling on Crunchyroll.

Manga:

Yasashii Hikari

When I came across Yasashii Hikari, I never expected I would discover such a hidden gem. This is a story of how an overworked salary-man, Miyake, finds solace and renewed purpose within a laid back community on an isolated island. Upon his first day, Miyake meets high schooler Hiyoko, who guides him around and introduces him to the charms of his new home. From there, we are treated to innocent interactions, inclusivity by his new community, and a wonderfully calm aesthetic, though moments of stress or excitement do pop up now and then. Its relaxed country setting, the appreciative attitudes and outlooks of its supporting cast, and the subtle blossoming of a sweet relationship were all a pleasure to experience.

I couldn’t have expected just how much this story resonated with me. It goes to show how you just never know when a feature, mention, or suggestion will lead you to something truly outstanding. From a quick click in order to read a synopsis, I was soon completely drawn in and immersed. I can easily recommend Yasashii Hikari looking for a bit of charming solace. – Drew D.

What anime are you watching? What manga and light novels are you reading? Let us know in the comments!

You can read previous Week in Anime & Manga entries here!

The post oprainfall Week in Anime & Manga: Aug 11 – 17 appeared first on oprainfall.

Once again, it’s been a few weeks since I’ve added to Week in Gaming. A few weeks ago I wasn’t doing any major gaming and was making barely any progress playing Persona 3 Reload on and off. This past week I’ve been playing Natsu-Mon: 20th Century Summer Kid which I’ll be writing a review for in the future, so I won’t be discussing that yet obviously. And other than that, I’ve hardly done any other gaming this week. However, just yesterday my wireless earbuds I finally bought arrived. The sound balancing in Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance was so wonky and out of whack, I finally took the plunge and bought my first ever pair of wireless earbuds. I’m no audiophile but, wonky bad sound balancing is my main, potentially only, gaming pet peeve and I play my Switch a lot now days, mostly docked. After looking through the budget options available, I started watching a few different pairs of Anker Soundcore earbuds on Amazon. Most of them have great reviews, they’re relatively budget friendly depending on the pair and there’s a Soundcore app that works with each pair and includes various settings.

Originally I found very little if anything about people’s experience using wireless earbuds on their Switch without an adapter, since the feature’s been added to it by Nintendo. I got input from some people who said it worked great undocked with their wireless earbuds, even cheap pairs. But considering I mostly play docked, and for undocked gameplay the Switch has a headphone jack, that info wasn’t the most helpful. Although, getting confirmation they could work without lag and reading all the good reviews about the earbuds, I finally took the plunge and spent $30 on Anker’s Soundcore P30i model. Unfortunately, I did end up with a pair without a low-latency game mode option in the Soundcore app, I believe I thought all of the sets I was watching had it. Regardless, I’m now quite glad I bought them anyways.

I’ve never had wireless earbuds before and after testing them out a bit yesterday, I found out that there isn’t this horrible game ruining lag like people seemed to think, or have stated there would be in what little I was able to find on the subject online. People claim Switch has bare minimum bluetooth support which won’t pick-up settings and that without a game mode or adapter they’re terrible and lag horrendously. After testing it for myself, I think they’re quite good honestly. Feeling like they have to lag and expecting it, I think I’ve noticed or feel like there may potentially be a minuscule eighth or quarter second lag possibly, something around that at least. But I’m not having any major issues. The place where I believe I can tell for sure there is some slight delay, is just when going back to the menu, or back to a game from the menu, and then once the sound starts up after that quite minute delay, it seems to be fine. I’ve messed around switching between game thumbnails quickly in the main Switch menu, I’ve selected stuff quickly in menus and did some fishing in Animal Crossing: New Horizons when I got on last night for the fireworks event, and they seem pretty good still. I did start to wonder in ACNH if there was more lag than I thought. I thought I was starting to notice that very minor delay ever so slightly. But again, the fact that after researching it, it sounds like there has to be this horrible lag no matter what, I may simply be expecting it and that’s making me believe I’m truly noticing it. I should also probably mention, my Switch is connected to a small standard HDTV, not a smart TV. That may help lessen any potential lag as well.

I still need to do some additional testing, try them in Theatrhythm Final Bar Line perhaps, the only rhythm game I have on Switch, or in a shooter such as Splatoon 3 and/or Perfect Dark. I did try them with online multiplayer last night in ACNH, I joined a friend for that weekly August fireworks event. That might be my favorite seasonal event in the game. And yeah, like I already said, I’m not noticing any major lag. I do think and hope they’ll work for now, for the reason I bought them. In the future though, when I have more cash to spare for wireless earbuds, I’m hoping to maybe upgrade to the P3 model, or just any other well reviewed Soundcore wireless earbuds that actually have the low-latency game mode my current pair is missing. Oh that’s another thing, despite reading that my Switch wouldn’t pick-up any special modes set on my earbuds, the Soundcore app lets me connect them to both my phone and Switch at the same time. When I’ve messed with what settings they do have, the surround sound, various equalizer options, etc., my Switch picks it up and it works just fine.

Anyway, the reason I’ve decided to discuss my wireless earbuds experience this week, with a docked Switch, is because I had such a hard time finding any info about it myself, when attempting to research it beforehand. I figured I should put this out there for anyone else who wanted to know I suppose. Maybe one of you will find this info useful. And if not, well it’s the only gaming I can talk about this week. I’ll keep making Natsu-Mon progress and hopefully I’ll be able to write my review soon. – Jenae

What games have you been playing this week? Let us know in the comments!

You can read previous Week in Gaming entries here!

The post oprainfall Week in Gaming: Aug 4 – 10 appeared first on oprainfall.

Currently Airing:

No Longer Allowed in Another World

I decided to dip my toes back into the world of Isekai because I’ve been feeling the need to watch some enjoyable trash, and No Longer Allowed in Another World hit all my buttons. Big busty elf priestesses, cat girls getting groped by trees, truck-kun finally receiving the adulation he deserves, a protagonist who absolutely Does Not want to be here – it’s got it all. The idea of there being another world that summons dying humans to give them a second chance at life, but the most recent person they choose is Osamu Dazai, who notoriously does not want to live, is such a fantastically incredulous setup I had to see it for myself. And it honestly worked pretty well. Interrupted right before committing double suicide with his lover Sacchan, Dazai finds himself in a Western-styled fantasy realm where he’s the hero destined to save everyone. He’s greeted by a blonde elf named Annette, who has ushered in countless other heroes over the years and grown disillusioned with her role; however, not only does Dazai want nothing to do with saving the world, he has abysmal stats to the point he’s actively dying of poison. His blase attitude intrigues her, though she’s unable to stop him from leaving on his own. While wandering, he finds a cat girl being attacked by a Death Tree, and his pitiful non-attempt to save her finds him trapped in hits clutches. Hilarity ensues. His interactions with both women are honestly pretty funny, and his actor delivers deadpan lines with fantastic comedic timing. This was a super breezy first episode with enough hooks I’m willing to give the show a real chance. If you like your Isekai with a dash of irreverence, you could choose worse than this. – Leah

You can watch No Longer Allowed in Another World on Crunchyroll.

Days With My Stepsister

I went into Days With My Stepsister expecting some horny trash, only to get swept up into a contemplative, melancholic, and slow burning examination of loneliness and the distance that exists between people. Yuta Asamura and Saki Ayase are classmates who suddenly find themselves siblings when their divorced parents marry. Despite being in the same class, the two have barely interacted before, and are as close to strangers as possible – only now these strangers need to navigate living together and the changes that come with inviting someone new to live under your roof. Both Asamura and Ayase are content to remain distant from each other, two people who simply share a home, but despite their best efforts they slowly connect, learning more about each other while breaking down the barriers they’ve each put up following their parents’ divorces earlier in life. The show captures their sense of uncertainty and awkwardness beautifully through the deft use of the camera, often lingering on empty hallways and dark spaces, the characters just out of frame or passing like ghosts across the screen. Reflections are used liberally. The scenery here is as much a character as Asamura and Ayase, setting the mood and conveying more through silence than most shows do their dialogue. Stepsister has been an absolute treat to watch, with surprising emotional beats and two main characters who I can’t help but cheer on. This one is absolutely worth your time. – Leah

You can watch Days With My Stepsister on Crunchyroll.

The Magical Girl and the Evil Lieutenant Used to be Archenemies

Having vanquished Byakuya’s familiar, the Magical Girl and the Evil Lieutenant continue their charade of being enemies, only for Mira’s henchmen to go and actually kidnap Byakuya, bringing her to their evil lair to be tortured. Mira takes this about how you’d expect. Every interaction between him and Byakuya remains a joy, with her quiet naivete complimenting his over-the-top infatuation. Every time he loses his cool because he can’t handle how cute Byakuya is, I feel it. She is just absolutely the most adorable. This episode gives us some more insight into why Byakuya is the way she is, finally beginning to peel back the layers of her nonchalance to let her personality peek through. Despite being half length episodes, this show is still the one I most look forward to every week, because it fills my heart with such joy to see these two characters interact. We’ll finally meet another magical girl next week, and I cannot wait to see what happens. – Leah

You can watch The Magical Girl and the Evil Lieutenant Used to be Archenemies on Crunchyroll.

Nyako to Hakase (Nyako and Doctor)

Nyako to Hakase, or Nyako and Doctor, is a short manga series that follows the daily lives of a doctor and her cute cat maid, Nyako. The doctor is more of a researcher who one day simply wanted a cat girl companion, and so she created one. From there, we are treated to a charming series of slice-of-life chapters depicting the doctor’s and Nyako’s days.

This became an instant favorite of mine since its debut, and every chapter has been a treat. The doctor is eccentric yet caring, especially regarding Nyako. Nyako herself is easy to frighten, yet adorable, inquisitive, and incredibly kind. It has been a pleasure to watch as Nyako expresses her curiosity, playfulness, and kindness.

This manga has just ended, having been published on the author’s twitter since 2021, and I’ll certainly miss this one. Adorable and funny, it was always a welcomed bright light every time a new chapter was released and translated. Whether through the author’s future works or through an extra chapter, I hope the author chooses to revisit this series someday, allowing us to check in on these two again. – Drew D.

What anime are you watching? What manga and light novels are you reading? Let us know in the comments!

You can read previous Week in Anime & Manga entries here!

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Currently Airing:

My Deer Friend Nokotan

So I’ve been waiting on this one for a while even before all the memes started rolling out. I randomly took a look at the manga a while back and didn’t really think this one would be getting an adaptation. That being said I’ve been liking it so far. It follows the former delinquent Koshitan, who has changed her ways and is seen as the perfect student, while trying to hide her past. However things go awry as the strange deer girl Nokotan appears, who immediately can tell what she was like and transfers to her school. Koshitan ends up becoming the club president of the “deer club” and is forced to take care of Nokotan and the chaos that follows her. I’ve heard some comparison to Nichijou with this one, which I don’t completely agree with, but I wouldn’t blame anyone for saying they are similar. While Nokotan is definitely strange, the other characters that appear also have their quirks with Koshitan being the only seemingly reasonable one. One thing I always like is how almost no one else is bothered by Nokotan’s antics and seems to see it as normal, though quite a bit of it is at Koshitan’s expense. I wouldn’t say that this is a series for everyone, but if you want an out there comedy, this one will work. – Walter

You can watch My Deer Friend Nokotan on Crunchyroll.

Manga:

Sore wa Rei no Shiwaza desu (It’s the work of the Ghost)

Over the past two weeks or so, I went ahead and re-read a silly romance, high school life manga called Sore wa Rei no Shiwaza desu, or, It’s the Work of the Ghost. This follows the blossoming relationship between Torii Nozomu, a second year high school student and new transfer student, Kirishima Kyoko. On the outside, Kyoko is a cute, charming young lady with an approachable personality. However, only Nozomu can see that Kyoko is haunted by a frightful-looking apparition. A female ghoul haunts Kyoko without her or anyone else aware, yet Nozomu can see her clearly.

Despite this, Nozomu musters his courage and befriends Kyoko. And this is what ultimately drew me into this manga. You have a new student, Kyoko, in new surroundings and not knowing anyone. She happens to be placed next to Nozomu, and he, regardless of the floating terror behind her, steps up and helps Kyoko adjust to her new surroundings. From there, a lovely friendship and more, forms, full of concern on Nozomu’s part, yet also brimming with all of the fun, emotional, and caring times and situations that accompany a high school life romcom.

A bit more ecchi than what I typically read, Sore wa Rei no Shiwaza desu is nonetheless a fun story with moments of genuine emotion and depth. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been any official English release, nor plans for it, but the fan-translation over on mangadex is serviceable. – Drew D.

Youkai-tachi no Iru Tokoro (Where the Yokai Are)

I also came across a charismatic one-shot called Youkai-tachi no Iru Tokoro, or Where the Yokai Are. I guess I’m in a bit of a supernatural mood with my reading choices, not that it should be a surprise given my penchant for fantasy and fantasy-esque genres.

Similar to It’s the Work of the Ghost, we again have a main character, a middle schooler named Ginji, who can see spirits. However, these spirits simply choose to reveal themselves only to Ginji. With his kind nature and his rural home, many yokai have settled around and befriended Ginji. However, when they find out that Ginji has aspirations of leaving the countryside for a high school in Tokyo, the yokai stress out and begin taking actions to prevent their friend from leaving.

Mid in length, there’s plenty of humor and feelings of friendship to be had in this read. Fan-translated and available on mangadex, this is a quick, yet charming read for anyone looking for a heartwarming story with a dose of supernatural. My one critique would be that I simply want more and wouldn’t mind in the least if this were serialized. – Drew D.

What anime are you watching? What manga and light novels are you reading? Let us know in the comments!

You can read previous Week in Anime & Manga entries here!

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Symphony of the Night – Dracula X Chronicles version

A little while ago I replayed the Dracula x Chronicles version of Symphony of the Night. Mostly the same experience as the PS1 version, I have to say, I don’t mind the small changes between the two. The voice actors are the most obvious difference, but I was never as obsessed about them as others across the internet. I particularly like the extra Maria boss fight, and I wish the developers had added more beyond this. I recall hearing that the Saturn version of the game had additional areas, or at least the data for them was left over, so I wouldn’t have minded seeing the original developers’ ideas fleshed out. I guess I’m always wanting more in these instances.

Anyway, I can blitz through this pretty fast, even faster than Aria or Portrait, which is why I just went ahead and played it in a sitting or three.

One thing I’ll mention, I always took issue with the unique weapons and how rarely they drop. I also never liked how some enemies drop equips that are already available in the castle. Similarly, I never like it when castle items or weapons found later are worse than items found earlier. I just never understood the logic behind such decisions.

Equips other than weapons were never special either. I do always get a kick out of the Crystal Cloak, though, and how the sprite artists made it semi-transparent. I’m impressed with the imagination it took to do so every time I see it. It’s a personal favorite.

I’ll be done with this by the time this contribution gets published. As for what’s next, I’m leaning towards more manga and LN reading than gaming, so I’ll see you over on that weekly post. – Drew D

What games have you been playing this week? Let us know in the comments!

You can read previous Week in Gaming entries here!

The post oprainfall Week in Gaming – Jul 21-27 appeared first on oprainfall.

Currently Airing:

The Magical Girl and the Evil Lieutenant Used to be Archenemies

I don’t usually watch short episode anime, but I made an exception for this one. The Magical Girl and the Evil Lieutenant Used to be Archenemies (aka Mahoaku) is just too charming to resist. Byakuya Mimori is an orphan girl who works hard at her many (many, many, many, many) part time jobs, including being a magical girl. On one of her magical girl outings to defeat an evil rampaging dragon, she comes face-to-face with the Evil Empire’s right-hand man, Mira – who instantly falls head over heels in love with his enemy. Rather than engage in battles as they should, Mira instead takes to bringing Byakuya gifts, and the two slowly grow closer and learn more about one another. This pleases neither Mira’s evil cohorts, who insist he needs to take care of the magical girl, nor Byakuya’s magical girl familiar, who may or may not be yakuza.

It’s a fun but heartfelt genre spoof, gorgeously given life by Studio Bones, who lovingly convert the detailed and delicate manga by Cocoa Fujiwara into colorful, striking animation. Each episode is only 12 minutes, but they pack so much into each, and it never feels like you’re losing out on the extra 12 minutes you’d get in a full episode show. Fujiwara unfortunately passed away before the series finished, so I’m curious to see if Bones will give the story an ending or stick to only what Fujiwara was able to create. Regardless, I’m along for this ride. – Leah

You can watch The Magical Girl and the Evil Lieutenant Used to be Archenemies on Crunchyroll.

Manga:

Papa Told Me

When I last contributed to our Week in Anime & Manga recap, I talked about Papa Told Me, an episodic slice-of-life manga that mostly centers around Chise, an elementary schoolgirl wise beyond her years, and her author father. I had also mentioned last time that I had finally reached or was approaching chapter 100. I was looking forward to a mostly familiar experience by this point; however, the chapters that have followed have been vastly more whimsical than earlier ones, and many have been open-ended in their stories. No definite beginning or end, these particular chapters drop readers in at a moment where there may be a shift in someone’s life. We get to see some of the proceeding events, only for it to end openly and leave us with a sense of knowing that there is more to come, we just won’t see it. I cannot help but see the parallels of this style to real life, as we take actions and live our particular, individual moments, and we know more is in store, yet we don’t know how our personal storylines will end.

Another note, Chise’s maturity and leadership has begun to challenge her father’s role in the story. He has become a passive passenger rather than a teacher or leader as a parent ought to be. Several times, Chise has appeared to be the more reliable and reasonable of the two. Yes, she’s the MC, but undermining the father’s character does zero favors for a moment of humor or progress in this stand-alone chapter style.

Regardless, I’m almost at the end and will tell you my feelings once my journey with this mostly delightful manga ends. – Drew D.

Karakai Jouzu no (Moto) Takagi-san

It’s always melancholic when a great series comes to an end. Earlier this week, Karakai Jouzu no (Moto) Takagi-san or Skilled Teaser (Former) Takagi-san, just had its final chapter released in Japan. This manga takes place years after the original Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san (Skilled Teaser Takagi-san) where Takagi and Nishikata are married and have a five-year-old daughter named Chi. Teasing is, of course, one of the main themes, yet family, growth, experiences, and appreciation are all themes of this manga, too. Just as lighthearted and entertaining, (Moto) Takagi-san was an absolute pleasure to read.

This series ending is made even more melancholic, as once the final spin-off series ends, that will mark the end of the entire Takagi saga. Since 2012, we have enjoyed the teasing skills of Takagi throughout her middle school years, as well as into her and Nishikata’s adulthood. We’ve seen her love for Nishikata blossom, as well as Nishikata’s own realization of his feelings for Takagi. We also got to see how great they are to each other and as parents to Chi. I, and I’m sure plenty of fans, would have liked to have seen their highschool and college days, but, as of now, we are being told that this is the conclusion of the Takagi era.

*Sigh*… I’m realizing more and more that I’m finding it hard to say goodbye. Yes, I’m overjoyed that we received a wonderful manga and so many excellent spin-offs too. And yet, these goodbyes are becoming more emotional and tougher as time goes by… – Drew D.

Light Novels:

Spirit Chronicles – Vol 4

I’m almost finished reading volume 4 of Spirit Chronicles and I’ve also begun writing my review. While trying not to sound like a broken record, I reiterate what I said last time, in that this volume has marginalized most of the supporting cast again, but this time to introduce one new main character, yet two others who will mostly likely end up on the ever-growing list of side-characters. It’s a shame because the author, Kitayama Yuri, has such a talent for creating and developing characters. And so to see so many characters forgotten along the way, I can’t help but feel like this series is becoming an ongoing cycle of missed opportunities.

I am hoping the flow of new characters finally ceases and we get to spend more time with those we have, as so many of them are unique and intriguing. Not to mention the list is already immense and any more, at this point, may just dissuade me from immersing myself, as I would then know that disappointment is all that awaits. I want to keep reading, but author Kitayama is making me work for it… – Drew D.

What anime are you watching? What manga and light novels are you reading? Let us know in the comments!

You can read previous Week in Anime & Manga entries here!

The post oprainfall Week in Anime & Manga – Jul 21 – 27 appeared first on oprainfall.

This week in gaming I continued to progress through Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero. I’ve made it up to chapter 4 and I’m very curious to see who or what KeA actually is. Finding out about Lloyd’s brother would be very interesting to at this point. Hopefully I can finish this one up this week and get some answers.

I also started looking at the Nintendo Switch version of Tokyo Xanadu eX+. I can say so far the localization seems to flow better than the previous releases and the game runs really well on the Switch. I know it should since this started life as a Vita title, but with Switch ports you never really know til you dig into them. I hope to have a full review ready soon. -Steve

I honestly haven’t been doing a lot of gaming lately. I’ve been spending my free time watching random shows, badly attempting some art stuff and playing a tiny smidgen of games on the side. I always play a bit of mahjong every day on my phone via Mahjong Soul and Riichi City, but other than that, I’ve been very slowly making progress in Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance. I’m still pretty close to the beginning of the Shinagawa area. Also, this past weekend while I was away from home and only able to play my Switch undocked, I didn’t really want to play SMTVV. All the of the visual details are a bit small undocked. And thus, I actually ended up finally starting Sea of Stars which I’ve been sitting on for a long time now. I’ve been sitting on quite a few games actually, and as usual, I have now started yet another game I probably won’t completely play through and finish all at once. Nonetheless, I got into it and played for a few hours. I’m not too far into it yet, but I think I may potentially enjoy this game a bit more than Chained Echoes, the last big 16-bit indie RPG I played a chunk of. All of these indie RPGs inspired by famous games of the past, tend to have more tedious battles that start to wear on me pretty quickly. But at the moment, I definitely am enjoying Sea of Stars’ system a bit more. It’s not too overly complicated and while early battles are a bit challenging, it doesn’t feel like every single battle is a whole ordeal in itself. Though I have gotten stuck a few times and had to restart when these large ant looking things kept inviting their friends. But other than that, battles seem to be relatively reasonable and the atmosphere of the game is as charming as expected. – Jenae

What games have you been playing this week? Let us know in the comments!

You can read previous Week in Gaming entries here!

The post oprainfall Week in Gaming: Jul 7 – 13 appeared first on oprainfall.

Castlevania – Portrait of Ruin

Since my last contribution to our Week in Gaming post, I played and completed Castlevania – Portrait of Ruin. One of my favorites of the series, this plays and feels like a true Metroidvania without forcing tacked-on controls or stylus-based play mechanics the way they were with Dawn of Sorrow.

For the uninitiated, Portrait of Ruin follows vampire hunter Jonathan Morris and his friend the talented witch Charlotte Aulin, as they investigate the appearance of Dracula’s castle. A vampire by the name of Brauner has taken over the keep, channeling Dracula’s and the castle’s powers for himself through the use of his magic paintings. Having suffered a tremendous family loss during World War I, Brauner intends to use these powers to remake the world, again engulfed in a world war, to end all strife and finally create a peaceful existence for himself and his daughters.

Before starting it, I distinctly remember being upset with the art direction, as they did not opt for Ayami Kojima’s talents, instead adopting a more common anime style. Anyway, soon after, I noticed that the game itself still looks great, combining detailed 2D sprites with the use of 3D backgrounds throughout. The soundtrack has several real bangers, too, with remixed classic tracks and new music composed just for this title.

The gameplay is still fun, though I encountered the weird difficulty curves I remembered from previous playthoughs. I felt like I would swing from underpowered to overpowered, back to underpowered in spurts. I also did not entirely enjoy the game’s quest system, as so many quests are only complete-able or even available towards the end of the game. Being a completionist, I, of course, mulled through them all. I also did something I hadn’t done in previous playthroughs: I never powered-up Vampire Killer. I, instead, opted to complete the game using alternate weapons and a heavy reliance on Charlotte’s magic. Especially using Charlotte more than I ever did previously, I think this ended up being my most enjoyed playthrough. And so, flaws aside, I had fun re-experiencing this chapter in Castlevania. – Drew D.

I started the week by finishing off The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the 3^rd. I really enjoyed this entry in the series and I learned a lot about all of the characters involved, especially Renne. I knew she had some bad stuff happen to her, but I had no idea how messed up it really was. No wonder she is a bit crazy and lays everyone that gets in her way to waste. Anyways, I’m looking forward to seeing her more as I play through the rest of this franchise.

After that I started Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero. I was pretty excited to see a new region in this world, and Crossbell doesn’t disappoint so far. The cast of characters here is great. Lloyd is a bit of cheesy guy, but he is very likable. The deadpan Tio basically stole my heart from the beginning and I can see why she is so popular among the fans. I can’t wait to see more of the antics from this crew and where this adventure leads me. – Steve

My whole week has been solely dedicated to getting through Final Fantasy XIV’s latest expansion, Dawntrail. After the universe-ending stakes of Endwalker, it’s been nice taking a detour and helping out Wuk Lamat and company on an entirely new continent. I’ll have a fuller review ready later, but so far I’ve really enjoyed this expansion. Wuk Lamat is a great character, and spending more time with Erenville and Krile is never a negative. XIV has always excelled at world building, and getting to see a new region and people’s for the first time, and building up their political and cultural structures, has been such a joy to experience. The music as well has been phenomenal, with Soken pulling out all the stops to bring forth newer styles with varied instruments that really fit the tone and messaging of this expansion. I’ve also been having a blast with the fights and dungeons. This has been an all around enjoyable time and I am so excited for when Arcadion drops in a couple weeks. – Leah

What games have you been playing this week? Let us know in the comments!

You can read previous Week in Gaming entries here!

The post oprainfall Week in Gaming: Jun 30 – Jul 6 appeared first on oprainfall.

Manga and LNs

Papa Told Me

For several years now, I’ve been steadily reading through an older manga called Papa Told Me. Presented like a collection of charming, slow moving slice-of-life episodes, Papa Told Me follows the lives of Chise, an intelligent, curious, yet sometimes rambunctious elementary school student, and her widower, novelist father. Chise possesses a particular way of seeing and interacting with the world, usually approaching each day with maturity and calmness, with good bits of charming childishness too. She is inquisitive and tough, too, as she isn’t afraid to stand up for what she believes.

I like this manga as it does an amazing job of emphasizing the point that chance encounters and meetings can have profound affects. Chise seems able to influence the days, works, or even lives of those she meets throughout. You never know how an interaction will occur or how it will play out, and that element is exceptionally developed here. I also appreciate how much emotion the characters possess and convey, whether they are regulars like Chise’s aunt or her dad’s editor, or one-time characters that have been impacted, directly or in passing, by Chise. This manga is truly heartfelt and I am impressed with how vivid the feelings can be. Every chapter is something new to look forward to.

Unfortunately, I don’t believe Papa Told Me has an official English translation, but the fan-translation available on Mangadex is more than satisfactory. – Drew D

Spirit Chonicles – Vol 4

If you’ve been following my reviews, you’ll know that I’ve been making my way through the LN series Seirei Gensouki – Spirit Chronicles. And after three and a half volumes of reading, I have to say, I question the direction this story is proceeding. The first volume was excellent, with wonderful development of backstory for our hero, Rio, and an immersive introduction to its world and its many facets. Volume 2 went further and offered a fantastic continuation of rich world building, exciting action scenes, physical and mental trials for Rio, and the debut of Latifa, one of the most vivid characters thus far. In two immersive volumes, the story also offered a robust cast of charismatic side-characters, each possessing qualities that I hoped to see enhanced and refined. Volume 3 took quite the detour, however, by having Rio take off and leave everyone and everything else behind. And now, with Volume 4 and Rio’s return from said detour, another major isekai event has been introduced.

With Volume 4’s newest additions to both the overarching story and the cast, unfortunately, there’s not enough novel to include everyone. My biggest grievance is the treatment of Latifa, my favorite character and one who again receives brilliant character development in Vol 2, who has since been relegated to side-character status. We also haven’t seen Cecilia at all since Volume 1. She was a mentor and the only real friend our main character had for five or so years of his life, so you would think there would be something, anything, regarding her. I have heard she, at long last, appears again in Volume 5, so we’ll see.

Needless to say, I simply don’t know where the story will go next, but I do hope the spotlight returns to those who imparted such an impression on me during those first two volumes. – Drew D

What anime are you watching? What manga and light novels are you reading? Let us know in the comments!

You can read previous Week in Anime & Manga entries here!

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Rise, ye Tarnished, for yet another ass-kicking!

So yeah, I’ve been banging my head against the Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. Thanks to work and family commitments I haven’t spent nearly as much time as I’d like playing, but what I’ve tackled so far has been both frustratingly difficult and incredibly fun. Jumping back into the Lands Between and the Realm of Shadow is like coming home after a long stint away, and while there’s a lot that’s stayed the same, the changes add up. I don’t think the DLC is actually that much more difficult than the base game, but the addition of the Scadutree blessings means base-game levelling doesn’t account for as much here, so even though I was at end-game, everything in the Realm of Shadow hits like a truck. New enemies have also been thrown into the mix, so I’ve had to relearn a lot of animation tells and fight mechanics. It’s added back a lot of wariness and trepidation while exploring that I was able to forego when trotting around the Lands Between for the most part, and that’s refreshing. It also feels like my INT build isn’t nearly as viable here as it was in the base game, but I’m too stubborn to switch up play styles so I’m either going to beat it this way or die trying.

The Realm of Shadow is stunningly gorgeous. Exploring the map has been an absolute joy, not only thanks to overcoming difficult enemy encounters but because it’s just so gosh-darn pretty. I’ve stopped numerous times to just swing my camera around and take in the sights. The opening area is breathtaking on its own, with endless fields of ghostly graves dotted with broken and writing trees; but the castle keeps are also vast and varied. Several locations in the Lands Between ended up feeling samey, so that possibility remains for my time in the DLC, but so far I haven’t found anything that quite strikes me as the copy-pasted catacombs did in the base game. There have also been some stellar enemy designs (see the above dragon). I love me some grotesque beauty, and Elden Ring has it in spades. I find myself constantly thinking about this game and wanting to get back to it even when it frustrates me to no end. Actually, I think I’m gonna go boot it up right now. See you on the other side, fellow Tarnished. – Leah

This week in gaming I finished up Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance. The new route is pretty interesting, and they definitely brought the difficulty late game. I will have a review of this and Sisters: Last Day of Summer later this week.

Other than working on these reviews, I setup The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the 3rd on both my laptop and desktop. I want to get back to the series, since I loved the first two games I played a year or so ago. Hopefully I can get up to the Cold Steel games by the end of the summer.  – Steve

What games have you been playing this week? Let us know in the comments!

You can read previous Week in Gaming entries here!

The post oprainfall Week in Gaming: Jun 16-22 appeared first on oprainfall.

This week in gaming I’ve spread myself a little thin, but I made a ton of progress. First up I finished up my review of Genso Wanderer -FORESIGHT-. I love this franchise, and I was very happy got this review done. I should go live on the site in the next few days.

Sisters: Last Day of Summer from JAST is the second title I’m working on. I’m just about finished with this very interesting mystery title, and I’m very curious to see how all this turns out. This is a unique visual novel in that it is fully animated, and honestly it looks great. I’m hoping to have this review out by the end of this week or the first of next.

Finally I got started on Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance. The new story is very interesting so far and I’m glad they let me carry over some of the demons from my run in the vanilla game. I had to get my Alice out of the compendium first thing of course. I will be doing a review for this as well, but it will probably take a me bit to get this one ready to go. – Steve

I also got started on Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance this past weekend. Now, I wasn’t sure I was going to start it at launch. I pre-ordered the game for Switch but I figured I’d either get further and try to finish Persona 3 Reload first, or I’d go back to the vanilla SMT V and work on my existing path which I never finished. Ultimately, I ran a poll on my Twitter (X) account and no one voted that I go back to my vanilla path and the majority of people who voted, said I should just enjoy Vengeance at launch. Thus, despite my plans to backlog it, I ended up starting Vengeance after all.

I’m finding lately I have this weird need for significantly challenging RPGs. Ever since I played Xenoblade Chronicles 3 a couple years ago, which was way too easy in comparison to prior entries, I worry about my RPGs being too easy to breeze through. I mean they’re already super long games, but I find I’m pretty worried about the experience ending too quickly and not having time to truly be absorbed in the game and enjoy my time with it. It’s a bit of an irrational complex lately. I bring this up because both Persona 3 Reload and SMT V: Vengeance so far, seem way too easy in comparison to their prior releases. I decided to play P3R on hard because I heard it was much easier than before and I always played Persona 3 on normal. I’m playing Vengeance on normal because I didn’t actually expect Vengeance would be so much easier than the original. I just feel like I’m breezing through this first Da’at area too easily and the demons haven’t been that much of a challenge at all. I know they rebalanced the game, but it’s still Shin Megami Tensei. It’s not like I want my games to be impossible either, I’m quite lazy when it comes to grinding. Still, I’ve got this weird complex recently and I feel like I should’ve played P3R on merciless and gone with hard for Vengeance.

So far in SMT5V I’ve gotten up to the save right before Tokyo Tower, but I haven’t yet grinded enough for the boss. I’m now doing quests in the area and trying to level up a bit more on the latest demons by the Tokyo Tower save point. I’m mostly enjoying the changes to the game. I really like the little area to converse with your demons, mainly because you get to talk to Aogami more. It’s no longer just him advising you on what to do while you’re out in the field. I think my only big complaints are the seemingly significant difficulty drop, like I said before and also I feel like this is yet another re-released game that has had the sound levels thrown out of whack. I got it on Switch because I wanted a physical copy, which the PS4 version lacks, so I’m stuck playing without earbuds to enjoy it docked. I don’t yet own a wireless pair of earbuds, though I’m now considering buying a budget pair soon since I do so much docked Switch gaming now days. My biggest gaming pet peeve is wonky sound levels and it feels majorly out of whack in Vengeance. My old TV equalizer settings I used for the vanilla version didn’t work and I’ve had to do things a bit differently with the in game sliders. Plus, I’ve had to turn my TV up even louder than last time as well. I really wish these devs and/or publishers would stop messing up the sound levels when they re-release games. It drives me up a wall fiddling with equalizers and sliders and whatnot, plus having to constantly change my TV volume at different parts of the game. – Jenae

What games have you been playing this week? Let us know in the comments!

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Recently, I’ve finally been playing Persona 3 Reload. I’ve been my bad habits self lately and put aside Infinite Wealth before finishing it, having played for anywhere between 85 and 100 hours. I needed a break and a nostalgic fave sounded like just the thing to jump into next. At the moment, I’m in June and I just finished up the latest section of Tartarus. I believe I’ve dealt with two full moon bosses already, outside of the initial one you fight at the start, when you show up to the dorm for the first time. I haven’t gotten too far in yet, but I’m enjoying most of the new additions, such as being able to hang out with the guys on the team periodically when they ask you to, and having study sessions with everyone before an exam week.

There are also some other changes which I don’t enjoy as much, being a longtime fan of Persona 3. Mostly however, it’s minor nitpicks. For one, that “I’m minding my biz, so mind your own biz,” line in the dorm song lyrics starts to become quite annoying after a while. It really stands out more than the rest of the song and it gets old fast. I wish this game had the option to use the old soundtrack, or even better, something more like what the Atelier games have and let you pick between both soundtracks for various situations or places. Also, it’s disappointing they give you a whole little intro/forewarning about the Reaper and Fuka doesn’t get to say, “I sense death.” It was cooler in my opinion, when the chains just randomly start and Fuka mentions death. Overall though, I’m enjoying myself so far and I appreciate the added time spent with the guys on the team. I didn’t realize until I just barely started a Persona 3 Portable replay on my Switch last year, how much that version of the game was truly missing in comparison to FES. I mean I loved it back in the day on PSP, I love getting to hang out with all the guys and being able to date Shinji. It’s just weird you don’t get to do anything with half the team in PS2 versions of Persona 3. But otherwise yeah, P3 always needed a significant update. It sucks we didn’t get a remade FeMC route, but at least the game got some extra content regardless. It definitely needed this refresh. – Jenae

In our neverending quest to defeat our backlog and play a bunch of games we missed out on growing up, my sister and I completed Lufia II. Much like Ys and Lagoon before it, this was a nice romp through some nostalgic, old-school RPG gameplay, and was overall a lot of fun. The characters were charming if one dimensional, with that very specific style of 90s localization that is fun and bouncy but not necessarily the most accurate. (Considering Lufia II isn’t even the game’s original title, this all tracks.) You can definitely feel the beginnings of what would later be deeper, more fleshed out narratives and characters as developers iterated on the concepts laid down here and in its contemporaries, but what I found refreshing was the game wasn’t bogged down by a lot of the more frustrating aspects of 90s RPGs. It wasn’t overly grindy. There weren’t a lot of obtuse directions to follow. It was a straightforward, breezy affair where we never felt like we needed to focus on leveling up or needing money. Gear upgrades were frequent and impactful. I really liked the IP system attached to gear, which would grant your character certain abilities based on their equipment that could only be accessed by a separate resource bar that filled when you took damage. Some of these abilities were straight up game breaking, but it also meant there was some give and take between whether you wanted to keep a piece of gear that had a good IP trait or had better raw stats. It was nice.

That said, the game was also substantially easier than a lot of its contemporaries. Magic felt overall weak and I spent most battles just hitting enemies with melee attacks or IP skills. The capsule monsters were a fun idea that had no teeth and ended up being glorified punching bags that would, at most, save me a round of healing. They were a great way to unload excess armor and weapons when I filled my inventory though. There were also several bugs, including a persistent text bug in the equip menu, as well as several bits of untranslated text and one entire area that was completely glitched but thankfully navigable. Item, spell and IP descriptions were unhelpful at best, misleading at worst, with some items being translated in two different ways (at least one of which was definitely for censorship purposes). Even characters would randomly change names, such as when Guy was suddenly Gai. It made for an uneven experience in terms of quality, but the fun if easy combat, charming characters, gorgeous sprite work, impeccable soundtrack and overall comfy feeling of the game was enough to outweigh a lot of the negatives, which were more humorous than detrimental for the most part. For folks who like old school RPGs, you honestly can’t go wrong giving this one a try. As for me and my sister, we’re moving on to Lufia I, so I’ll let you all know how that goes!

I’ve also been gearing up for the launch of Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail (and you can read fellow Warrior of Light Quentin’s excellent Media Tour coverage here, here, here and here!). The end of expansion lull always gives me a lot of little things to catch up on, so I’ve been finishing up my sorely neglected tribe quests and FATE grinding, as well as crafting to get me through the opening levels of the expac with as little hassle as possible. The developers also released an updated benchmark that fixed several lighting issues and tweaked the upcoming graphics update. The best part is that they fixed the missing tarutaru nose smudge for lalafells! This graphics update is long overdue and very much welcome, but I cannot express how upset I was that I might have lost my nose smudge in the process. Thankfully, that’s been averted, and my lalafell is as adorable and perfect as ever. The end of June is jam-packed with stuff I want to play alongside Dawntrail as well (looking at you, Shadow of the Erdtree), so I’m sure to have more thoughts of those going forward~ – Leah

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Lately, I’ve been playing a ton of mahjong and hopping between a couple of other games. A few weeks ago was the Whale Cup tournament in Riichi City, which I joined last year and yet again signed up for this year. I feel like I possibly did even worse than last year. However, Riichi City‘s helpful tip features, dora tile highlights, winning tile wait hints, etc., being turned off for the tournament, I didn’t find much of an inconvenience at all this year. Last year, that was a bit odd for me and I more significantly felt that change from how I usually play. This year, it didn’t really matter to me much at all. So I suppose in some ways I’ve improved. Although, I have been having horrendous luck in mahjong overall, all year.

Not only did I do miserably in that tournament for the second year in a row, but I’ve also managed to recently lose my rank in Mahjong Soul. I went from an Adept 3 star rank, back down to 2 star. I wasn’t even a high rank to begin with, but I just haven’t had much luck lately. Some of it is my own fault. Nonetheless, these last couple weeks I’ve been using the efficient discard method to try and rank back up and I haven’t been making significant progress without eventually losing it all simply due to bad luck. Sure, occasionally I’ve taken a risk or two and those losses have been my fault, but in the majority of my matches I’ve been making myself play efficiently and it’s been going extremely slow. I already felt like Expert 1 star and the gold ranked rooms were quite far away, now I feel like I won’t even ever rank back up to where I was. I’ve pretty much been losing all my points this year in both Mahjong Soul and Riichi City.

Other than mahjong, I’ve done a smidgen of console gaming here and there, but not a lot lately. Finishing up Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, has been going a bit slow. I’m nearing the end, but also trying to finish up various side adventures. I’m attempting to not simply rush through the end like I did Gaiden, back when I wanted to finish it and be ready for Infinite Wealth right at launch. I mostly want to finish Infinite Wealth simply because it’s been months now, in addition to the fact that I finally got my hands on Persona 3 Reload a while ago during a sale and have been anxious to start that. Persona 3 was always my favorite Persona. Also, this past week I managed to get my hands on Endless Ocean Luminous as well, thanks to Nintendo. I’m playing that with the purpose of reviewing it, so I won’t say too much about it now. I’ve gone on some solo dives, made a bit of story progress and have done some online dives as well, plus I checked out the first online event this past weekend. But once again, if you want to hear more about my thoughts on Endless Ocean, you’ll have to wait for my future review. – Jenae

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It’s been a while since I’ve gamed, as the urge to play just hasn’t been there for me lately. I’ve been reading less manga too, but have read a few more LNs here and there. However, I had a chunk of time this weekend and decided to replay Aria of Sorrow. I really needed to just turn my brain off and I know I can easily blitz through this game in a sitting or two effortlessly.

Hardly any story to be had, Aria of Sorrow follows exchange student Soma Cruz as he finds himself transported from Japan to Dracula’s Castle, which is currently bound within an eclipse. To find a way out, he must traverse the castle and reach the throne room, utilizing his newly awakened ability to collect the souls and copying the abilities of enemies.

Anyway, having replayed this many times, I know which weapons and souls to go after to mow down everything in the least amount of time. And, well, it’s kinda satisfying, in that it’s a game I can quickly get into, while also being quick for me to complete without feeling guilty for playing it over something in my ever-growing backlog.

After this, I may revisit Dawn of Sorrow, as I’ve only played that twice or thrice, though I distinctly remember enjoying it far less than Aria due to gimmicky touch-screen nonsense and powers that felt lame. Thinking about it as I write this, maybe I’ll do the Julius mode for that so I can play as Alucard instead. – Drew D.

So I’ve been waiting ages for The Alliance Alive HD Remastered to go back on sale in the eShop. I loved the game on 3DS and have been wanting to replay it on Switch. Unfortunately, I missed out on the Switch physical copy before it went out of print and I also missed out on the last eShop sale over 10 months ago, not realizing it would be so long before it went on sale again. Anyway, it finally went on sale again a few days ago and I’ve spent this past weekend beginning my replay. I always loved The Alliance Alive. Back when it came out on 3DS, I do believe I had already bought my PS4 and played a little bit of some more recent console games I missed out on for years. But it really hadn’t been that long since the newest RPGs I played and had access to, were all on the 3DS. I was still pretty behind on current console stuff and hadn’t played all that many modern games. I spent so much time on the most wonderful 3DS games for years, which I might not have even noticed if I was distracted by a bunch of fancier and larger console titles at the time.

Replaying it again for the first time in years, now having played tons of flashier RPGs and other games on both Switch and PS4, I see now how simple The Alliance Alive is. The visuals are very basic and the cinematic scenes almost seem like they couldn’t make them quite as HD as the rest of the game in this port, they’re somewhat more blurry. Also, there is no voice acting. However, despite all this, I still find it to be an extremely charming little RPG so far. I don’t think I would pay full price for it today, but I still think it’s a fantastic game to pick-up and get into during a sale.

The Alliance Alive has always felt like it was the answer to the various complaints people had about The Legend of Legacy, its predecessor. Now, I personally enjoyed the time I spent with The Legend of Legacy, but thinking back, it was definitely an even simpler game and the story was something subtle you had to piece together for yourself. Nonetheless, Cattle Call seemed to add all of the features “missing” from The Legend of Legacy when they came up with The Alliance Alive. You’ve got charming characters, a much more present and significant story and a whole world to explore in typical RPG fashion. I’m quite enjoying the time I’ve spent so far replaying the game. I do think they could’ve added a speed toggle on cinematic scene dialogue, it skips ahead a bit quick sometimes. But other than that, I like the simple charm of the game and it’s still a pretty great game. I definitely think it’s an underrated gem a lot of people missed out on, possibly due in part to people’s fear of it being just like The Legend of Legacy and also simply because many people haven’t heard of it before.

Before The Alliance Alive finally went back on sale, I also checked out the Switch version of the SaGa Emerald Beyond demo. Honestly, I didn’t find myself eager to finish it after playing for about an hour or two. My main issue with the game, is it seemed ridiculously cheesy. I think a significant part of what makes it feel so cheesy, is the English dub. For example, in the early game this narrator voice is constantly cutting in during battle to explain basic mechanics, and the way they voice their lines makes it sound like they’re trying to explain to a child how awesome and exciting all of the game’s basic battle features are. Also, the overall game seemed very simple and like it didn’t have a lot going on. Although, it is the very early game, so maybe I judged it too quickly. But typically if it’s a game I would normally play and is actually good, the demo sucks me in relatively quickly and I find myself impatiently anxious to experience the full game. SaGa Emerald‘s Switch demo did not do that for me, at all. Plus, I felt like battles moved a bit slow and I just really didn’t enjoy my time with it. – Jenae

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