Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam

Release: 1985

Director: Yoshiyuki Tomino

Rating: *****

Now we reach the meat of the pie as it were. After the original Mobile Suit Gundam was cut short, Yoshiyuki Tomino continued having little luck creating a hit mecha show. Once Gundam started to obtain followers, and shows like Macross proved you could stick a high production value on a TV anime and turn a profit, Tomino was ready to try again. This time he would succeed. 

Zeta Gundam is set eight years after the conflict in UC0079. After Zeon loses the war, the Earth Federation goes to great lengths to keep the colonies in line. An elite faction called the Titans was created to impose it's grip on spacenoids, quelling any call for equal rights. The only opposition to the Federation's complete domination of space is a rebel group called the Anti-Earth Union Group, or AEUG. This small faction is helmed by some of the veterans of the previous war. Gone is Amuro from the pilot seat this time. In his place is Kamille Bidan, a young, hot tempered teenager who builds a personal grudge against the Titans. 

Zeta Gundam marks a huge increase in art and animation quality compared to the original show. While the original Gundam was a product of the 1970s with it's bright colour palette, Zeta is a product of the 1980s. Most of the tones are darker, with less goofy designs by comparison.

While the mecha in the original series moved like a person in a costume, Zeta feels much more realistic. The continuity of sound effects are present and they still sound great today. The music is also some of the best in the whole franchise.

The show is not without some problems to note. It is a sequel to the original Gundam and as such, it's really suggested that you see that show first. It's not a requirement but it really helps flesh out so many of the characters who return for Zeta. Also, something you will find to be a trend for the Gundam universe is that it sort of just drops you in the middle of it all. If you don't go with the flow early on, you'll be asking questions that the show is not prepared to answer yet.

Some of the series tropes are first created in Zeta. This is the first Gundam series where the pilot gets a mech upgrade during the show, something that happens in nigh on every main Gundam series after this. This also is the first to do a faction role reversal. While you spend the whole time watching the original Mobile Suit Gundam on the side of the Earth Federation, Zeta portrays the second half of the coin. This is also something that happens reasonably often in Gundam.

Finally, Zeta Gundam grows to be incredibly dark in tone. I won't spoil the show needless to say, it was not something that people did when writing a mecha anime at the time. 

Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam is the anime that cements the Gundam franchise into Japanese pop culture. While there are many great Gundam shows to come, it's difficult to say if it ever got better than this. Most anime are flawed and I throw this word around for very few of them but Zeta Gundam is perfect. I would not change a thing about it.

Mobile Suit Gundam

Release: 1979

Director: Yoshiyuki Tomino

Rating: ****

In 1979, Yoshiyuki Tomino created a enormous divide in the Giant Robot or Mecha genre. Largely filled with flashy super hero robots, Tomino envisioned a future with realism. Gone were the rocket punches and special move names and in their place we have warfare tactics and more contemporary weapons. This change allowed for a story that focused more on political and ideological struggles as opposed to weekly good versus evil arenas. Fans refer to these now sub genres and Super Robot and Real Robot. This new change breathed life into the almost stagnating Mecha genre and most of the famous Mecha shows we have today are thanks in no small part to Tomino's work.

Gundam takes place during the new calender of Universal Century 0079. UC marks the first steps into space colonization from the necessity to preserve the ecosystem of the Earth. The rich and privileged primarily live on earth while the majority of the human race live on giant space colony clusters called Sides. The conflict between the Earth Federation and the Principality of Zeon continues at an almost stalemate as the young boy Amuro Ray stumbles upon the Federation's new mobile weapon Gundam while his colony of Side 7 is being attacked. Being the best choice for piloting the Gundam he soon finds himself having to look at his life through a bigger lens.

The Gundam franchise is a space opera and as such is largely about the characters. Sure there are tons of set pieces and battles but seldom do battles ever take place just for the sake of it. One thing to note going in is that Gundam is quite old for it's kind and I would be hard pressed to say it doesn't show. The animation cannot compare to Macross which came out only shortly after. The original Gundam also suffered poor ratings during it's first run and as a result had to be cut short. This causes the ending to feel somewhat rushed compared to some later Gundam shows. It wasn't until the model kits or “Gunpla” came out that the fanbase for Gundam really started to expand.

On the surface, the show looks rather unscientific for something trying to portray realism in robots but with a little reading you will see a fantastic wealth of mechanics and very little use of “magic energy” such as warp drives. If you don't know what a minovsky particle is or you don't know the difference between a Zaku and a Dom. Don't worry, it all comes with a little time. The problem is, at even the shortened length of 43 episodes, it's quite a lot to sit through unless you're really committed to watching dated looking shows. Thankfully the whole series was compiled into 3 movies and I hear they basically get you though the original show without missing anything important. Alternatively to even that, there is a faithful manga called Gundam The Origin which retells the events of the original series but using updated Mecha designs. If you want something a little bit different and far more dark, I recommend the Novel by Yoshiyuki Tomino which is a very different version of the story.

Ultimately Gundam was a revolution for anime and it's effects have gone even so far as the recent Pacific Rim. Without Gundam there would be no Macross, no Evangelion, No Votoms. That being said. The original Mobile Suit Gundam is not the best the franchise has to offer but it makes a great opener to the next series. Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam.

The Anime Shelf: Kara no Kyoukai

Ryougi Shiki has special eyes that see the death of all things.

This will be my first anime review and Kara no Kyoukai is a difficult beast to describe. Mix this with the fact that I have no formal education in film or 2D animation and we're left with a post that is probably going to be a little bit rubbish. Either way I plan to do my best and avoid spoiling anything along the way.

Kara no Kyoukai in summary, is the story of Ryougi Shiki who investigates various supernatural crimes while struggling with her own killing urges. With the help of Mikiya Kokuto and her magus boss Touko Aozaki, they spend most of the films in independent stories that tackle their problems.

Kara no Kyoukai was originally a three volume light novel series by Type-Moon. Kara no Kyoukai was their first ever work and probably stood as a prototype for their later visual novel Tsukihime. Many of the concepts that appear in Kara no Kyoukai end up in Tsukihime in one shape or form. Now that is not to say that Kara no Kyoukai (from now to be abbreviated as KnK) is an incomplete or even mechanically flawed work. It's a stand alone complete piece that works perfectly even if you completely disregard the existence of Tsukihime.

Anyway, we're not here to talk about the light novels, we're here to talk about the animated films. KnK was animated by Japanese animation studio Ufotable and released as seven films and one 35 minute OVA epilogue. The length of the films can range from as short as 48 minutes to 121 minutes. Pair this with the fact the films were released in non chronological order and you have a reasonably difficult plot to get into at first glance.

You might feel lost sometimes but it all comes together.

That being said, I urge not to rearrange the films and watch them in chronological order but to stick it out in the order they were aired. This is because that the films were designed that way and everything falls into place properly. I've yet to go back and watch the films in their chronological order but I can tell you that it's not really necessary.

The first film, Overlooking View will be the only true stumbling block in your enjoyment of KnK. Don't get me wrong, it's a fantastic film but there is little to no character development until the second film, A Study in Murder (Part 1). As such, you may be tempted to quit only a little way into it. Overlooking View is a film that is retroactively brilliant. Once you know the characters it adds more layers to the already visually stunning film. So I would ask you to keep watching KnK but if by the third film, Remaining Sense of Pain, you do not think it's for you, then it's probably not going to grow on you.

All of the main characters get plenty of development.

KnK looks and sounds fantastic. Takashi Takeuchi's art style has always been really great and the light as well as the general use of colour is really great. The music was composed by Yuki Kajiura. She's worked on some of my favourite anime soundtracks to date, including the recent Fate/Zero soundtrack. I would say that KnK was even better than that. The music fit perfectly with the scene and is honestly one of my favourite soundtracks to date. I would even say it gives Kenji Kawai a run for his money.

The story was written by Type-Moon's Kinoko Nasu. I've always loved Type-Moon stories and KnK ranks up with the best of them. The main thing that will probably turn people away is that it's very dialogue heavy. If you're a fan of action, you won't find too much here to begin with. The few primary characters get an absurdly large amount of development. You feel that you could comprehend all of the small details of the characters actions by the end. Even Ryougi Shiki, with her multiple personalities has little quirks you will probably pick up on. Some things however are somewhat broken to us due to the language barrier. In Japanese, both of her personalities are the same name but written with different Kanji. Also depending on the personality present she will speak using different mannerisms, which only those who speak Japanese or at least have some limited understanding of Japanese might pick up on. (something I did not at the time.)

Cigarette magic!

I feel that with having watched Fate/Zero recently and now Kara no Kyoukai, I've been spoilt by fantastic Type-Moon works. If Kara no Kyoukai is too much for you, I would recommend maybe getting into the Fate/Stay Night anime, (though butchered compared to the Visual Novel) if only so you can go and watch Fate/Zero afterwards. I honestly think that Kara no Kyoukai is one of the best anime films I've seen in recent memory, if it's not even the best I've ever seen. I can only imagine how good Ghost in the Shell or Akira could have been if they had the budget to release them as several, more complete films.

I don't see the point in giving a score for anime as it's really going to depend on your tolerance for tropes and pacing. All I will say is that Kara no Kyoukai does what it does perfectly. There is very little room for improvement and aside from one small spoiler related aspect at the end, I had no real gripe to speak of. Only watch this show however if you're willing to sit through tons of dialogue and waiting a little while for the character development to kick in. 

The biggest setback I have left for the end. As of now, it's not available to buy in the UK and the US boxset by Aniplex will run you up something like $500 last time I checked. You can rent the films on the US Playstation Network but other than downloading, it's the only legitimate way without spending an absurd sum.

Letter of Apology: Dynasty Warriors

To save effort I'm going to used the localized naming conventions for the series so this mostly disregards the first game which is a fighter. I jumped into the Dynasty Warriors series with the third entry. I had no idea what to expect but you gotta try things out right? When I started up the game I was greeted to some characters who I hate no hope of pronouncing their names properly. (Neither did the English voice actors for that matter.) I thought that this Zhao Yun guy was pretty cool looking (Turns out it was the only character I ever used besides Xiahou Dun at the time.) and proceeded into the game.

After some awful voice acting I was itching for a fight. I had no idea how I was supposed to win against such odds but sure, I'll wing it. It was after my first few encounters that I realized that I was more than a little bit overpowered. Zhao Yun was wailing on the enemy and in retrospect it was almost like playing a third person shmup. Other than the fact that I won't die in a single hit or several for that matter. In fact, other than a select few generals, there was no challenge to be seen.

This was only one small part of the problem though. Lack of challenge is one thing but I was quickly realizing the limitations of my attack options. Hammering the square button before finishing off with triangle got old quickly for me then. I felt like I was playing a game about rising the kill counter more than anything else. It was dull and boring, I quickly gave up after a couple of playthroughs. Other than playing the two Drakengard games, I mostly stayed away from hack & slash games ever since.

Well that all changed when I played Dynasty Warriors 6 (Better represented in Dynasty Warriors 7 however.) I finally started to realize what these games were all about. Dynasty Warriors is very much a game about base capture and field control. That may not exactly sound astonishing on paper but I can assure you that it adds a surprising amount of tactical depth to a game where you expect there to be none. Still don't believe me? You want to know one of the more popular game genre's around these days? The MOBA or Multiplayer Online Battle Area. Those games are about squashing minions while slowly pushing forward to gain influence on the map. Hindered only by the other player characters on the map. Dynasty Warriors is more or less the same formula but singleplayer. (or co-op if you're going to be pedantic about it.)

I'm not a massive fan of MOBA games because to my experience I’ve found the people to be quite rude and I don't want to sink as much time into a game like a MOBA demands. Like my Final Fantasy VI apology, this is all a little bit pointless but I wanted to write this because I now think that Dynasty Warriors is a great franchise and it's lead me into not only playing tons more hack & slash games like Sengoku Basara but it also get me greatly interested in the source material Romance of the Three Kingdoms. (Which I recommend you read if you ever get the chance or time.)

Disposable Nature

Every scene sticks in my mind.

Maybe I'm getting old but I'm starting to notice a trend in the games industry lately. It seems that even though online gaming is at it's biggest ever, the longevity of of those experiences are weakening. I've been thinking about how to kill time until the UK release of the latest Fire Emblem game and I thought back to Chrono Trigger. “Maybe I could go grab some of those endings that I missed” Then I thought about my memories of the game. Mini-games at the millennial fair, punishment based on your subtle and not so subtle actions at the court case, seeing the depressing state of the future, learning how everything ties together. Chrono Trigger really stuck with me and it was just one of many games.

Persona 3 was a great example of game I always like looking back on.

Flash forward to the current generation. I played a few of the earlier Call of Duty games and despite the hate it gets, is actually a solid shooter. The problem is that it has left me with nothing. I don't remember the story much or what I was fighting for, something to do with guns I’m sure. Okay fine, It's an online game...I can dig it. Problem is...I don't remember much about my experiences with the online either. I got stressed more than a few times and I got some cool head shots but I don’t really “remember” them. The next version of Call of Duty made the last mostly obsolete. Call of Duty was a game that you were supposed to dispose of when you were done..

I think this is from Modern Warfare 2?

This is not to say that all games in recent memory have been this way. Some of the most striking games have come from this gen. Bioshock, Journey, Dark Souls, Ni No Kuni. That being said, there is a alarming increase in throw away games and it just kind of makes me sad. I don't want my games to just be time sponges, I want them to be experiences that I really take in. Maybe it's a change in business model, maybe it's changed according to the needs of majority of gamers. Maybe games have always been something to whittle away their free time with.

I dare say there are plenty of throw away games from earlier generations. Fighting games are probably the most guilty offender here. Why own Street Fighter II when Turbo is out? In their defence, this was also a method to perfect the game itself but the end result is the same. Sell Street Fighter II because Turbo is better in every possible way. Most people have learnt their lesson with fighting games (myself excluded) in that it's best to wait for the Hyper Rainbow Super Turbo Remix EX Alpha GOTY edition. It is however harder to draw the line with the next Battlefield or Call of Duty, exactly when you should jump into a new game.

No Super Bars Yet.

Maybe I'm wrong and I missed something, maybe most gamers prefer to move on with their games. As long as there is space enough for both mindsets, I'm fine with it, if it's what people want. It might be too strong a word that the industry is evolving but there is no doubt that it's changing.

Letter of Apology: Final Fantasy VI

It may or may not be obvious online, but to those around me it's clear that I love RPGs. Suikoden, Legend of Dragoon, Legend of Legaia, Shin Megami Tensei, Fire Emblem, Secret of Mana, Dragon Quest, you name it. I am also a big fan of the early to mid Final Fantasy games. It was always odd to me however, that is could never really get to liking Final Fantasy VI.

Generally speaking, there has always been two major camps when it comes to Final Fantasy. Those who love VI and those who love VII. I was always under the understanding that you did not need to dislike one to love the other but this was most definitely the case for me. I loved Final Fantasy VII, it was a game with no flaws at the time. Now I still do love Final Fantasy VII but it has a couple more problems than I remember. Some of the pacing is a little off during Midgar and the middle segments of the game but I still maintain that it's a fantastic game.

When I first played Final Fantasy VI, I felt it had a terrible mechanic for Magic and Stats and that the early stages of the game were very tiring. As a rule I don't like RPGs where the characters effectively become clones of one another inside battle. If every character can learn every spell in the game then there is little thought needed when building a party. Sure, each character has a unique skill but magic tends to overrule them for the most part. Those few with really great skills tend to dominate party set-ups and that's not a very good mechanically either.

Those were my first experiences with the game. I did not want to “ruin” my characters by building them with the wrong stats. This effectively pulled my game to a crawl as I tried to micromanage learning magic vs building the best characters. I recently got the GBA version of the game and decided to give it another try. The sound was awful but we had a run feature without the need of a relic. This time I was determined to play the game without worrying too much about what stats to build with each character or that they would eventually all have the same spells.

This time I was really having fun. The “slow start” of the game flew past as threw caution to the wind and proceeded to forget about those “wasted levels”. I did not struggle. In fact the game was just the right level of challenge. Once I reached the endgame it did start to become a little bit easy with the overpowered magic spells but there were still a few monsters with dirty little tricks to keep my entertained. 

What I mean to say by this long winded and frankly pointless post is that sometimes there are games I misjudge. Maybe a lot of us do but I am glad that I went back to Final Fantasy VI and proved myself wrong. Granted, I still find the mechanics a little bit flawed. I find that learning every magic spell or having stats awarded by needlessly shuffling through menus is a terrible idea. A testament to just how good Final Fantasy VI is can be shown in how little these affect the overall game.

If you have any similar experiences, where you went back on a game that you thought you hated but managed to find something you loved about it or maybe it's just a game you never really could like that everybody else seemed to go crazy over, drop a message below, I'd love to hear it.

Aliens: Colonial Marines Review

Game over man! Game over!

This game is terrible. Just...Just trust me on this. Avoid it. buggy game with terrible lighting, stupid A.I. from your allies and the enemy...Those things might be forgivable but it's just so damn boring! Honestly, save your money and go buy any Aliens vs Predator game or better still. Grab your DS and buy Aliens: Infestation. Seriously, Infestation is a far superior game in every aspect. Your marines have perma-death and there are a finite total amount of marines to encounter during the game. Each with their own personality. This helps each encounter come with a sense of fear and tension as opposed to just popping back two minutes to the last checkpoint. It shares a great deal with Metroid, which in itself is inspired by Alien. It's arguably the best Aliens game to date.

I cannot understand why Colonial Marines failed so badly...I mean it's textbook! You make some aliens and then you have them jump out at you...Not run slowly upright towards you in the same comical animation. That is, of course, when you actually fight aliens...You spend a good chunk of Colonial Marines not even fighting aliens but humans. Other than a couple of nods to the Aliens film, some good, some bad...I cannot even recall a single remarkable thing about the game. Pulse rifle had good sound effects I guess? As a result, I am forced to give Aliens: Colonial Marines...