Tag Archives: characterisation

Cover Games, Sonic the Hedgehog

Sonic the Hedgehog: Take 2

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Remember back when we explored Sonic 2006 and I suggested that game was an attempt to provide a “big-budget movie” type of Sonic experience? It’s hard not to see Sonic Forces as Sonic Team having another crack at that.

All the major components of “big-budget movie adaptation of popular series” are here: recognisable but somewhat different setting; established characters in unconventional situations; brand-new, original characters designed for newcomers in the audience to attach themselves to; and significantly higher stakes than seen elsewhere in the series as a whole.

If you’re a “once and done” kind of player, you can also probably add “done and dusted in two hours” to that list, too, but rest assured, if you’re the sort of person who likes collectibles, secret levels and objectives, there’s significantly more than that here. Let’s take a closer look.

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Cover Games, Sonic the Hedgehog

Sonic the Hedgehog: A New Twist

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Sonic Generations rather ably demonstrated how the Sonic series’ gameplay had evolved over the years… but where could it go from there?

Certain members of Sonic Team were already contemplating this by the time Sonic Colours had completed development and work on Generations was underway. The concept grew from experimental attempts to make use of the Nintendo 3DS’ unique features, and the subsequent announcement of the Wii U console and the interesting possibilities it offered prompted Sega to focus the new game’s development on Nintendo platforms.

The result was Sonic Lost World; an unusual, highly creative and vastly underappreciated installment in the series, and one that would prove to be an ideal fit for Nintendo platforms. (As always, today we’ll be focusing on the home console version for Wii U rather than Dimps’ handheld incarnation.)

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Waifu Wednesday

Waifu Wednesday: Ginchiyo Tachibana

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Those of you who have been following the Warriors Wednesday series of videos will know that in each of Warriors Orochi’s campaigns, I’ve found one warrior in particular who has proven to be an ever-reliable killing machine that I can fall back on in most circumstances.

In the Shu campaign, which we’re currently embroiled in the middle of at the time of writing, that warrior is Ginchiyo Tachibana, someone who erstwhile protagonist-of-sorts Zhao Yun and friends stumble across in the very first mission.

She’s grown to be a formidable force on the battlefield and one of my favourite characters to play as — so let’s take a closer look at who she really is.

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Waifu Wednesday

Waifu Wednesday: Is Malon or Saria the Best Legend of Zelda Waifu?

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All right, own up. Who has been repeatedly searching for this exact question on this site for the last week? I know you’re there.

I’m not mad or anything. In fact, since you’re asking, it might actually be quite an interesting question to contemplate — though naturally “best” is an entirely subjective term that not everyone will agree on. As such, today I will do my best to explore the virtues of both Zelda waifu candidates, and then you can make your own mind up at the end of it all.

Sound good? Good. Let’s begin. (Oh, and obviously, those who know me well will already be aware that my own personal correct answer to “who is best Zelda waifu” is, of course, Marin, but I’ll let that particular matter slide for today. Kind of.)

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Cover Games, Death End Re;Quest

Death end re;Quest: Down the Rabbit Hole

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Death end re;Quest, in keeping with the rest of Compile Heart’s Galapagos RPG project, is an ambitious and rather unusual affair from a narrative perspective.

The setup for the game is pure isekai, but almost immediately after actually starting the game for the first time, you’ll come to realise that there’s much more going on here — a really interesting blend of genres and styles that makes good use of its medium to tell a story and raise some intriguing questions.

Let’s take a closer look.

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Waifu Wednesday

Waifu Wednesday: Lucil Filarete

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Death end re;Quest’s cast, like many other Compile Heart ensembles, is designed in such a way that pretty much everyone will find someone who appeals to them.

If you’re the type who likes the kind of girl who speaks in a wispy, seemingly emotionless, far-off voice, then you’ll probably get along with Lucil Filarete. If you like petite elf girls with honkin’ great boobies, you’ll probably also get along with Lucil Filarete.

In short, she’s a very appealing character for many, many reasons!

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Waifu Wednesday

Waifu Wednesday: Clea Glaive

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Everyone’s sure to have a favourite from among Death end re;Quest’s all-female cast. And I imagine a popular choice will be Clea.

A great example of how the game sets and subverts expectation with regard to character tropes, Clea might initially seem like your common-or-garden ohohoho-ing ojou-sama, but over time it becomes abundantly clear that there’s more than meets the eye here.

Let’s take a closer look!

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Waifu Wednesday

Waifu Wednesday: Shina Ninomiya

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One of the more interesting things about Death end re;Quest, as we’ll discuss in more depth when we talk about its story in detail, is its dual-perspective narrative.

The “real world” unfolds from the perspective of main male protagonist Arata Mizunashi, while the “game” side of things is the domain of trapped director and lead heroine Shina Ninomiya, who initially has absolutely no recollection of how she found herself in a virtual reality game so realistic it’s difficult to distinguish from “reality”.

Shina is an excellent lead for the “in-game” side of things, for reasons that will become apparent shortly. Let’s take a closer look!

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Waifu Wednesday

Waifu Wednesday: Sumika Tokiwa

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Being a Compile Heart game, Death end re;Quest is, naturally, overflowing with colourful, interesting and delightful female characters.

In fact, women make up the majority of the cast… though, again, this is nothing unusual for a Compile Heart game. What is a little unusual this time around is the fact that the game unfolds across two discrete “worlds” — the “real” world and the “game” world.

For today’s Waifu Wednesday, we’re taking a look at one of your companions during your time in the “real” world, as you attempt to uncover the conspiracy that has led to heroine Shina Ninomiya — and possibly others — becoming trapped in the virtual reality massively multiplayer online game, World’s Odyssey.

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Waifu Wednesday

Waifu Wednesday: Maria Osawa

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Before we bid 428: Shibuya Scramble a fond farewell from the Cover Game spotlight, I wanted to give some love to one of its main characters.

Since many of the articles on MoeGamer deal with the core narrative themes of the games under the microscope, I don’t typically bother with spoiler warnings. However, in this instance, I will preface today’s article with one, since… well, to explain why would probably in itself constitute a major spoiler for 428: Shibuya Scramble. So consider yourself warned.

Armed with that knowledge, then, let’s spend some time with Maria Osawa!

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