Nintendo 2DS?! Are you serious?!

Just a short while ago I found myself scrolling through my Facebook news feed to find someone sharing this introducing video to the Nintendo 2DS. Personally I watched the YouTube video sitting and laughing at the idea being rather pointless, then to my shock I went to the Nintendo official website to find that this video and this handheld is real. http://www.nintendo.co.uk/Nintendo-3DS/Nintendo-2DS/Nintendo-2DS-796712.html

Dear God Nintendo I know you have mad some pretty shitty handhelds in the past but this takes the prize. I really don't see the point into designing this- this- this speak and spell rip off! (Look it up it looks exactly the same). Apparently this handheld is able to play all current and future 3DS games in 2D!!! Wow Nintendo no one thought to turn off the 3D feature on their 3DS when their eyes are bleeding so why not buy a handheld which does it for us! Well its also able to play a majority of DS games and download DSI store games, but seriously what is the point to this I really don't see the need for this and the 3DS plays all DS games anyway. And its not even the concept of the device that's bad its even bad in the way it has been designed to be held and look, the point of having any DS is having the ability to take it out wherever you want to and be able to play on the go I mean that's what a handheld is right? So why is this thing design to be this block that isn't able to fold closed, fit in someone's pocket and even fit in someone's hand comfortably. Lately made apparent with the 3DS Nintendo is having a problem with designing comfortable handhelds, the 3DS really hurts my fingers if I play it for longer than an hour so imagine holding this. I can clearly see so many of Nintendo's customers complaining because they accidentally dropped it.

So what do you honestly think of this? Because if Nintendo honestly believe that releasing this on the 12th October this year is a good idea, then they are seriously going to have to come up with something big to make up for this mistake.

Pokemon mega-evolutions

So most Pokemon fans must know by now about the mega-evolutions introduced in Pokemon X and Y, Nintendo did early release Mega Mewtwo but most fans took it as a normal evolutionary stage which was a surprise when the mega-evolution method was released August's issue of CoroCoro.

Mega-Evolutions unlike the evolutionary methods know to this point is very different. Much like Digimon this form of evolution is temporary and requires a form of mega stone for different Pokemon in which they hold, the effects wear off after the battle (So kinda like Red using the fire, water, and thunder stones in the manga with Eevee). So far there are seven release mega-evolutions:

MegaMewtwo       MegaBlaziken         MegaLucario             MegaMawile        MegaAbsol
Type: Psychic        Type:Fire/Fighting  Type:Fighting/Steel   Type:Steel/Fairy   Type:Dark

MegaAmpharos            MegaKangaskhan
Type:Electric/Dragon   Type:???

Mega-evolutions have extremely increased powers and gain new abilities and in some of these Pokemons' cases, change or earn another type to them. MegaKangaskhan is the most interesting out of these as the baby in it's pouch jumps out giving it a unique ability to make any attack used affect twice. Considering the new EV training systems has come up this Pokemon is a clear must have for competitive fighting in which anyone will now be able to do.

 So what do you think of this new type evolution? Which of these Pokemon mega forms do you like most, and what Pokemon do you want to have a mega form? Personally I'd like to see one of Dragonite, as they have a new found weakness to fairy types.

Finally what is it you are looking forwards to most for Pokemon X and Y?

Hyper Japan June 2013

This year's Hyper Japan was an exciting and an improvement experience over the past couple of years in which felt like the stalls were all the same, so it felt this year had more of a variety. I've been going to this event since it started in 2010, so I'm glad to be a part of the best J-Culture event available in the UK that is still growing to this day.

Demos, Gaming, and prizes

The first thing I noticed about this year's event is that there was more to do. Nintendo decided to hold a little collecting game by giving out passports to complete. Nintendo had set up a variety of game demos in which you would have to collect stamps by playing them and when completed were given a limited edition sticker for your 3DS, and the fun part was that Animal Crossing: New Leaf demo zone was themed as the town based in the game and had a photo booth were you can pose with the many tools of the series and post the picture on the town board, Pikmin was a slightly themed area too that had grass and Pikmin hidden in the grass.The demos included ;

Pikmin 3, I have played the previous in this series so it was interesting to try out the Wii U controller for the first time and to see how responsive it actually is- except with the Wii U controller its like playing the game on gamecube having a restriction on moving the courser. There was also a pick a Pikmin real life mini-game to get prizes, I lost. ;(

Animal crossing: New Leaf,  It was interesting to play the newest addition to the series as I had played the previous. There were a lot of interesting new features and as most know the most exciting is that this time you are mayor of the town and you make the choices in development and laws, with the rest of the other aspects there were in the previous games.

 Luigi's Mansion 2,  this was one of the demos I was looking forwards to most and I got to test out the mulit-player mode with a friend of mine, and it was a lot of fun and from what I've seen of the game so far Nintendo have really managed to re-capture the fun that everyone had in the original game with new features like a second flashlight to find hidden objects and new ghosts to hunt to.

 Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, I had already play the demo for this previously as it was available on the 3DS store to download (Having said that I was a little confused on the controls as I hadn't played the previous games). But with the help of my friend I was able to enjoy the game much better than my first time, but the monster we were versing took too many hits and knocked me out so does game require a vast amount of patience? Something I lack.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney- Dual Destinies, This was another demo I was looking forwards to playing as I am a fan other the series and I enjoy the in-depth story experience when the brain is put to the test. I didn't get to play it for too long but I find the new emotion matrix feature interesting it sort of reminded me of the perceive ability that Apollo Justice had in his game, but if you want more defensing and more wacky characters then this game is for you.

After finishing these demos I found another demo stand for the already release Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm 3, this really excited me as I really wanted to get this game so I played a few rounds with another person with the extensive new range of characters from the manga. But it was on an Xbox so that was my downfall as I am not use to that control, I really sucked at that. -_-

Anime and manga galore 

Hyper Japan is notoriously known for the vast stall selling your favorite new released anime box sets, and the latest of the freshly printed manga, at a slightly lower price. I found myself rummaging through DVD to DVD,  manga to manga to find the series I watch and read that can't be found in stores anywhere else. This year also had a new stall selling a cosplayer's dream, weapon props (or is that my dream?) This stall sold offer hand forged real metal swords from your favorite anime like Renji Abarai zanpakuto, Cloud Strife's Buster sword, and even the Oblivion keyblade from Kingdom hearts :3

There's even a stall that sells handmade jewelery from movies and games such as Tony Stark's Arc reactor, Legend of Zelda pixelated pieces of heart, and Kingdom hearts on a necklace. The quality of these items is extremely have and are laser-cut to perfection.

Then you find yourself doing what any fan would and search through the piles of T-shirts to find one of Adventure Time, Bleach, Death Note or whatever it is you like to buy so you can make your fandum known to the world on a daily basis.

Cosplay

Cosplaying is a standard must do for this event, whether it be casually wearing or carrying a prop from a certain movie or series, or to the pro cosplayer hand making your own costume and building your own props and enter the cosplay contest as your favorite character. While I was there I saw both of those types of cosplaying, I saw characters such as Kuroko from Kuroko's Basketball, Monkey D. Luffy One Piece, Sora from Kingdom hearts, and even Fionna the Human from Adventure Time :3

I myself want dressed as Tobi from Naruto, as he is a hilarious character who changes to be the most fear enemy awesome.


The End of the line

Hyper Japan is a most go to for any anime, manga, J-culture fan out there. Its the chance to meet and share your love for everything Japanese, and here's a huge tip insure that you save your money for this event or your end up regretting it as there's a lot to buy and they may end up being a lot you end up missing out on.

I hope next year's Hyper Japan to be just as good or better than this years, and I hope to see many more fans at there to. :)

You can check out details for Hyper Japan's next event date and get tickets here: http://www.hyperjapan.co.uk/

Animal Crossing New Leaf

During Hyper Japan in June I came across the demo for Animal Crossing New Leaf, in which I remembered the joys of playing one of the previous quite a few years back. Which then lead to me buying the game just a few weeks ago, and you know what I generally don't care if people think I'm too old to be playing the game, or because I'm a boy as some have said.

Animal Crossing New Leaf as the previous games in the series have includes the features of owning your on house in a town in which you name, collect and grow flowers, fish and catch bugs for the museum or sell, and dig up fossils. As well as having the ability to design to an extent your own clothing, hats, and umbrellas. But now there's MAWR! :D

In this addition to the series as you may have already heard, you are made mayor of your own town in which you will decide the type of town you want it to develop into; with your own laws and public projects that add more to the town and the experience, rather than focusing completely on paying your loan for Tom Nook :l Oh yeah! There's also the ability to remodel your house's exterior to the theme you want with the help of your good old friend Tom Nook at Nook's Homes, but don't worry the general store is still there and is run by the family, And the Able sisters are still there too.There's a new entertainment venue now called Club lol; this venue is used by- you guess it K.K. Rider who plays both on his acoustic guitar with a range of new songs to collect, but there's also on some night DJ K.K. Rider so grab your friends and get on the dance floor! But wait there's one more feature to the Club lol, give fruit to the venue's owner Dr. Shrunk who will do his comedy act giving emotions to the player as usual.

Collecting things in animal crossing is second nature but now there's more nature out there to explore, grab your wetsuit and dive into the ocean! You can collect a variety of sea-critters like lobsters, octopuses and more.There's also the new a interesting feature of being able to visit the dream of another town and see what they've developed visiting either at random or if you have someone's dream address you can enter that in and visit their town. That's acts as a good source of inspiration for the casual players out their who want to develop their town, but just need that little kick to help.

There are many more additions to the game but that covers most. There's some much that anyone can do with this game if your a creative, make a diverse town themed to your inspirations that will dazzle other players and encourage them to develop their own town, or you could be the casual player that spends their time catching all the bugs and fish to save money to get the furniture you need to match the wallpaper.

Initially I dived into the game being the casual player, but I decided to incorporate my drawing skills and now I'm creating a Japanese themed city with zen gardens and wooden walkways, my park bench with flowers and with the Kingdom Hearts Emblem and Mario mushroom tiling, also with my favorite public works project the zen bell :3 And now I play it daily and love each and everyday of it.

 My Town is called Saiugu, and here's me dream address for any of those who want a little inspiration for you town or house. I'm still developing my town right now too so comment your dream address too if you want. :)

So even if your thinking about getting this game even ever so slightly, get it! You won't regret it at all.

Animal Crossing New Leaf is available on Amazon for about £25:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Animal-Crossing-New-Leaf-Nintendo/dp/B00BCTXR5S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377449330&sr=8-1&keywords=animal+crossing+new+leaf

Also at the moment there is a limited edition Animal Crossing New Leaf 3DS with the game per-installed if you haven't already got a 3DS:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nintendo-Handheld-Console-3DS-XL/dp/B00CEUQ9YA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1377449330&sr=8-2&keywords=animal+crossing+new+leaf

Will we survive? Devil Surviver 2 The Animation

For those who have been following the newest anime, Devil Survivor 2 would have seen the season's finale; But don't worry!  It's available on Crunchyroll for premium and non-premium members. Oh- and don't be confused by the title Devil Survivor 2 The Animation is the first in it's series, as Devil Survivor 1 was a Nintendo DS release that didn't quite make it to the UK, however it got a port to the 3DS and DS late March this year.

Anyway to the point! Devil Survivor 2 The Animation is a supernatural series where we follow our protagonist Hibiki Kuze a high school student along with his friends. One day his friend Dachi shows him a dead face delivery website known as Nicaea which predicts your death, and later that same day the clip arrives showing them being crushed by a d-railing train seconds later to actually happen! But manage to survivor by deciding to live or die.

Demons begin appearing all over the world and Hibiki and friends fend themselves with a strange phone app that is able to summon their own demons! Afterwards being taken away to a secret government organisation known as JP's that have been protecting Japan from demons over the years using magic, mystic barriers and even their own form of the demon summoning app to defend cities such as Shinjuku. They request that Hibiki and his friends join their ranks as powerful demons known as Septentriones arrive in Japan to test humanity in a seven day trail, and have to defeat the seven Septenriones to prevent the end of the world, and granted one wish if they succeed.

However Yammato Hotsuin leader of the JP's wants to create a new world in which the unnecessary will seize to exist. Hibiki tries to change Yammato's ideals and stop him from rewriting history if they can survive.

This anime is full of action with much that was unexpected when I started watching it, such as the demon summoning app which to me resembles the digivce from digimon taking me back to a much enjoyed childhood series. I recommend if you haven't seen it already or have already seen it, add it to your summer anime watch list, watch it here at Crunchyroll http://www.crunchyroll.com/devil-survivor-2-the-animation

And I'll also guarantee that the opening theme "Take your way"  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNQBPU_tiWk
And the ending "Trauma" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeeBOyRjRrE
Will be added to your music playlist :D

Oh- and Hyper Japan 2013 is rapidly approaching I'll be there on the 26th I'll be taking my camera with me to take photos, while trying to lug a sword around wish me luck ^^'

Pokemon Adventures volumes 1-7 Kanto region

 Beginning a new adventure! (well quite an old one) :l

Recently I've been I a huge revert back to my childhood love, that being Pokemon of course! What else would I be talking about?! DIGIMON?! (must say I am a huge fan just making a point :P). Finding myself fully immersed into the video game series I only found it fitting that as a Pokemon fan I must acquire the Pokemon Adventures manga, after reading about it in June 2013 issue of NEO magazine.

And so in 10-12 looooooong days of waiting for amazon to deliver the holy books, I finally dived into the adventures of Red the trainer NOT ASH KETCHUM! The ridiculous excuse for a trainer.

After just reading the first volume I found myself unable to wait to read the next. The story itself written by Hidenori Kusaka, is that of which any fan could hope for following with Red's journey to collect gym badges up against his rival Blue along with Team Rocket coming up with their devastating plots with familiar faces to help Red along the way, and new one's too.

The art/illustration is done by Mato, and I couldn't say it could be any better. The art style consists of both the normal character and chibi style, which brings back the memories of playing the first generation of Pokemon games which couldn't make me any happier :D

 For those who haven't read the Pokemon Adventures manga and have only seen the anime there are a few differences one that the main protagonist is Red not Ash Ketchum, his rival is called Blue (Green in Japanese version), and that the battles and level of strength in the characters differ hugely in comparison to what is in the anime. In the manga Red has a comedic side to him but is also a very serious and strong willed trainer, and the battles are much more gripping in terms of strategy and... what can happen in a pokemon is a lot more horrific...

Yep... poor Arbok :(

        As the story progress Red processed to challenge the poke league as expected, and ends up in the finals battling his rival in a epic battle of the trainer's true strength and wits. I won't say who's won but the story doesn't end there. Once that section ends we then pass two years into the future were Red has disappeared and a new trainer named Yellow appears and journeys off with his Pikachu.

Within 7 volumes, 90 chapters there has been a huge storyline constructed extremely well and would be unfortunate for any Pokemon fan to miss. All the characters are carved perfectly and have never grown annoying or seemed completely useless to the storyline at some point or another, however this could be said for Green (Blue in the Japanese version) as she comes in only as a sort of gimmick for comedic purposes or to assist in the important showdowns. But this is forgiven as it is boring to keep a adaptation of much loved childhood game being completely serious 100% of the time.

There were a few problems I had come across in the manga such as...

     There are a few noticeable mistakes in the manga in terms of character names and Pokemon names... but they are just in few numbers of unfortunate mistranslations (I hope). Other than these few and I mean very few mistakes the manga itself was a very immersing read and depth as the story continues over the other regions seen in games, of course this is just after reading the first region. It is a must read for all Pokemon fans and can now be bought for the first time in the UK, check your local WHSmiths or Waterstones as they may come into stock, but there's also Amazon to fall back on.