Mobile Friday - KAIJU NO. 8 THE GAME - An Approachable Great Looking Game With An Anime Feel

For this week's Mobile Friday i tried KAIJU NO. 8 THE GAME from developers Akatsuki Games on my iPhone 14 Pro.

I'm a little familiar with KAIJU NO. 8 having watched some of the first season, but i wasn't up to date with it so i was wondering if this was a game that covered the entire anime story or not. turns out, this takes place after the entrance exam ark from the first season.

Another thing i was curious about was the game's size. i knew that there would be additional data installed as the app store page showed the app was only 190.3 MB. Over 3 GB of additional data was installed. but this game was polite and honest about it. it installed about half a gig to get to the tutorial and whilst we're in the tutorial it downloaded and installed the rest of the data. so you really do need to be playing KAIJU NO. 8 THE GAME on wifi when you start it for the first time.

The tutorial is pretty decent, slowly showing and telling you to perform more and more moves. i found it quite accessible. the presentation of this game is also great. it looks like the anime and when you turn on the auto play function, it's actually enjoyable to watch the fights happen by themselves. this is also a useful feature for those commuting. as someone who uses buses and trains to get and from work there are times when i may not have both hands free so to have the game able to play itself is rather nice.

When you do want to play, the combat has some nice depth to it. you can have up to 4 people in your team, and they're paired up. you're able to do automatic combo attacks with your pair.  these are initiated when you destroy an enemy's plate. once this defensive plate has been broken, you'll automatically summon your teammate to attack and that enemy, if it survives, will be weakened. But the enemy, much like you, have special attacks that charge up. it's clear on screen how much time you have before the enemy unleashes their special attack and you're able to target different enemies. by defeating an enemies plate, you're able to reset that charge timer. so the combat is fine for simple attacking, but if you're paying attention you'll be able to stop enemy attacks, do combos, and unleash your own special attacks.

This first hour with the game only got me to the start of the game's main story. what we played was essentially a retelling and tutorial. but it was enough to keep me interested and wanting to know what happens next. i would recommend KAIJU NO. 8 THE GAME for fans of the anime/manga but also to action combat fans, too. the game makes a great first impression and is well worth trying regardless if it's based of an anime or not.

Version 1.0.4 Played

Demo Play Thursday - Nikoderiko: The Magical World - Director's Cut On PS4

For this week's Demo Play Thursday i played the PlaySation4 version of Nikoderiko: The Magical World - Director's Cut from VEA Games.

Nikoderiko: The Magical World wasn't a game i was aware off but when i saw they released a DEMO for the Directors Cut update to the game i was curious and wanted to give it ago. So if you have Nikoderiko: The Magical World, check to see if you have got the Director's Cut update.

The game is very colorful but not in a childish way. for me, someone who's played games for a long time, this visual style felt like the PS1 Era of colorful games with fun mascots. this PS4 version of the game didn't feel like a downgrade either.

In this demo we get to explore 3 areas, the Sacred Forest, the Tricky Caves, and the Snowland. the first area is more of a traditional platformer,  whilst the second area had us moving sidescrolling and vertical scrolling (like Crash Bandicoot), and the third area had some swimming and hiding sections. as we make our way, the game teaches us in a decent way how to play it. however, there were moments with the enemies where i didn't know how to attack them or in one instance whether or not the animal was an enemy or not.

there were moments where i found some tricky platforming, so again this isn't a game designed at a younger audience. but even when things were a little tough, it always felt achievable. there were also quite a few collectables to get, so once you've mastered the level there's yet more to do to 100% it.

The only thing this demo was lacking was whether or not if there was a save file if it carried over into the main game. there was an option to get the demo from the PSN, which games don't always do, and having a message from the developers at the end made it feel bespoke. I do feel like this is a good demo and after playing it, i am interested in Nikoderiko: The Magical World - Director's Cut and would look to get the Deluxe physical edition as it comes with an OST CD, which is always a great deal but more so here as i genuinely enjoyed the soundtrack.

Stories on Tuesday - XBlaze Lost: Memories - Part 2

The new game in the Stories on Tuesday series is the PS3 version of XBlaze Lost: Memories from Arc System Works and Aksys Games.

This is the second part and it starts from the first memory sequence and ends when we descend down from the second Shadow Field.

Check out previous parts:

Part 1 - https://youtu.be/fPjjATSfhcM

Backlog Conquering - Final Fantasy On #PSP - From Start to Finish - All The Battles

Welcome to Backlog Conquering. This is a series were i play a game from my backlog that i may or may not have played before. the goal isn't necessarily to finish the game, the goal is to play it. that way, i can have an opinion about it. The newest game in the Backlog Conquering series is the #PlayStationPortable version of #FinalFantasy. this is the downloaded version of the game, but it is also available on #UMD. To help with this playthrough i'm proudly using a guide from #GameFAQS. here's the link, https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/psp/937909-final-fantasy/faqs/55625. i'm not following it exactly, but it's useful to have. 

Combing all 17 parts into one video was too long for YouTube's current 12 hour video limit. so instead, what i've done is include the start of the game up to the first fight, then it's all the fights up to the final boss, and then it's the ending of the story. So you get the start of the story, the fights, the end of the story.

i didn't include the fights that were pointless. for example, there were a couple of times where i died and had to continue from a previous save file. the fights up to those deaths are not included here.

Part 1 - https://youtu.be/QWXAyHh-R0s

Part 2 - https://youtu.be/95BsHWcN6K0

Part 3 - https://youtu.be/eMh6cvudEOA

Part 4 - https://youtu.be/LCrkwFxlEJs

Part 5 - https://youtu.be/6SKK1o1QGV0

Part 6 - https://youtu.be/lrgjxlOgUiI

Part 7 - https://youtu.be/0zQLSh9TjaQ

Part 8 - https://youtu.be/yehXjEWljbM

Part 9 - https://youtu.be/DVdc0-6uLXM

Part 10 - https://youtu.be/jb86mpdg_nA

Part 11 - https://youtu.be/h5u0JNtLCmg

Part 12 - https://youtu.be/RbIXaYmSKhI

Part 13 - https://youtu.be/Ps7KNTkX5pE

Part 14 - https://youtu.be/9-eLWGpCIyo

Part 15 - https://youtu.be/olPRCSUgqXU

Part 16 - https://youtu.be/Z2oNbzjmlJI

Part 17 - https://youtu.be/TwShdgJwuPo

Cloud Monday - Ratatouille - Part 2 - Streaming It Is Convenient, But There's Few Other Positives

This week's new Cloud Monday video is part 2 of playing the PS3 version of Ratatouille on PS4, via the PlayStation Plus Cloud Streaming Service to my Japanese launch model PlayStation 4.

Part 1 didn't go great, not because of the game being streamed from the Cloud but because it's just not that great. the platforming was testing my patience more than anything. We also learned that there were no manual save points in that part but i held out hope that once we got out of the tutorial area that maybe there would be save points added. so even tho i wasn't expecting the game play experience to improve, i was still hoping.

Unfortunately, we never found a way to manually save in this part. there was more progress made through the level, and when i was stuck i was able to use the in-game sniffing button to get help to show me where to go. but it wasn't always able to help out, for example in the kitchen, and it often felt like Ratatouille wanted to slow you down with all sorts of hindrances. before the speed test i did complete a challenge without encountering the squirrels, but the time it took to complete it felt like it's own hindrance. 

Streaming Ratatouille from the Cloud is easier and maybe more convenient than finding an original disc copy of the game. But with no trophies, no manual saves, and a poor auto save, it's hard to say if there's much to gain from playing the game. You can do it, but i don't think the game is good enough for it to be worthwhile doing.

Mobile Friday - RPG Dragon Spira - An Interesting Freemium Pixel RPG That's Not Full Of Adverts

For this week's Mobile Friday i tried RPG Dragon Spira from developers KEMCO on my iPhone 14 Pro.

Many of the games i play for Mobile Friday are ever evolving and growing, which is why i always try and put the version of the game i played. but RPG Dragon Spira is a finished game. it's available as a premium version you can pay for and get no adverts whilst you play or you can download this freemium version and watch the occasional advert. 

After playing this for an hour, i had to sit through 8 adverts. it's more than i expected but certainly not as much as many other games i've played as part of Mobile Friday. all of these adverts were short, but they also had videos. personally, i'd recommend playing RPG Dragon Spira with wi-fi as the data these adverts use will build up over time.

Another odd thing about this first hour of RPG Dragon Spira is that i didn't get to the game's gimmick. KEMCO RPG's often have a unique gimmick and this one seemed like it was going to involve a roulette wheel. but the pace of RPG Dragon Spira meant i never got to use it. the game does have a lot of talking between characters which did slow down the pace. the adverts also slowed things down. but even tho it was slow, it didn't feel too slow as the story and character interactions were mostly fine.

What i found interesting about RPG Dragon Spira was how it did combat. it takes full advantage of the widescreen of my phone. i can see how the number of heroes and enemies could be quite high and there'd still be space on the screen. at the top it shows who's next to attack, the right are commands for our team, and on the left we can turn on auto attacks, speed up the fight, escape, and see the type chart. there is a lot on screen but it never felt crowded.

Launch Version Played.

Demo Play Thursday - Space Adventure Cobra - The Awakening On Switch

For this week's Demo Play Thursday i played the Nintendo Switch version of Space Adventure Cobra - The Awakening from Microids.

This isn't an anime or game series i was aware of. so for me, the appeal was the nostalgic look and feel of the animation. i've learned since i played this demo that the game itself covers the first 12 episodes of the 1982 anime.

Unfortunately, as much as i enjoyed the look of the game, as a demo this isn't great. it takes place from the third mission in the game, which means it's after any proper tutorial. so the developers appear to shoehorn in tutorial and it doesn't work. after the animated intro to the mission, we're shown how to move and then how to jump. but the character quips about the collectable at the same point the game tells us how to jump. but the platform is unstable and means we have to skip the collectable as we have no idea how to get it.

the character next quips about exploring the cemetery, so i do that. but then we're up against bats and have to work out the shooting. thankfully the game does tell us how to use the psycho gun, tho it doesn't call it that.

the tutorial aspect isn't great, but the rest of the demo was quite enjoyable. the mix of animation and gameplay worked well for me. it's not quite seamless switching between the two styles, but it's fine. it was surprising to get a mix of combat styles, there's a shotgun style weapon as well as hand to hand combat. by the end of the demo, i was starting to get into a flow with the gameplay.

What the demo was successful in showing was the varied types of gameplay. there's "traditional" platforming, there's puzzle platforming, there's underwater sections, and there are sections where we're avoiding in-coming enemy fire. it's a demo where playing it a second time would probably feel better. 

the demo does have a cool trailer at the end, after a "to be continued section." it shows off other characters, several other locations, and a few other gameplay platforming mechanics and situations. Whilst the demo is aimed at the original Anime, the nostalgic feel of the game, and therefore this demo, worked for me too and after playing this demo i would be interested in trying out the full game. so whilst it wasn't the best execution of a demo, i do think it's a successful demo.