Tag Archives: characters

Waifu Wednesday: Isabelle

At the time of writing, everyone and their dog (no, uh, no pun intended) is playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons on Switch.

I am not, because I’ve never really “got” Animal Crossing for one reason or another. I tried both Wild World on DS and New Leaf on 3DS and found myself tiring of both quite quickly… though I must confess I’ve always liked the gentle, relaxed atmosphere — and the creative aspects of New Horizons are rather appealing, so I’m not ruling out giving it a shot at some point in the future!

In the meantime, however, despite my general ambivalence towards the series from a gameplay perspective, I do understand the widespread love for Isabelle. So let’s give her some time in the spotlight!

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Waifu Wednesday: Kurokishi

I may well be writing myself into a corner with this one, but after this week’s discussion of beat ’em ups on The MoeGamer Podcast, I spent some time with Denjin Makai. And I’m in love. Or possibly just lust.

Denjin Makai, for the unfamiliar, is a beat ’em up from Winky Soft and Banpresto that originally hit the Japanese arcades in 1994. It got a port to Super Famicom under the name Ghost Chaser Densei, but neither the arcade version nor this port ever came West in any capacity.

Which is a shame, because Denjin Makai is superb — as is its sequel Guardians, which likewise didn’t make it over here — and Kurokishi is super-hot. Let’s see what we can find out.

Continue reading Waifu Wednesday: Kurokishi

Waifu Wednesday: Rio Rollins Tachibana

With Rio stepping into the spotlight for today’s episode of Warriors Wednesday, it’s only fitting that we take a look at where she came from and why she’s included in the Warriors All-Stars cast.

She’s not an especially well known character here in the West, since most of her prior appearances have been confined to Japan-only popular media, but she’s had a fairly long and eventful career on her native soil.

So let’s take a look at this feisty young casino dealer and see what makes her tick!

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Waifu Wednesday: Yukino Tsubaki

Despite PQube’s excellent Kotodama: The 7 Mysteries of Fujisawa not being a romance-centric visual novel, it has no shortage of characters — both male and female — designed to be very appealing.

My personal favourite from the ensemble cast after completing the whole thing — that is, after finding out all of their respective dirty little secrets, anxieties and woes — was, without a doubt, Yukino Tsubaki.

Allow me to explain further! Continue reading Waifu Wednesday: Yukino Tsubaki

Our World is Ended: First Impressions are Lasting Impressions

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A common theme explored throughout the visual novel medium in general is the idea of people not being quite what they appear at first glance.

The reason for this is mostly a practical one: the very nature of the visual novel medium makes deep dives into multifaceted, layered characters a viable thing for creators to explore. Enthusiasts of visual novels are already accustomed to the medium’s slow pace and relatively limited interactivity compared to games with a stronger emphasis on their mechanical components, so writers and developers are more than happy to allow us the opportunity to get to know the main cast extremely intimately.

That doesn’t mean those first impressions the characters set don’t matter, mind you. On the contrary, they are extremely important for setting expectations as to how those characters will behave and interact — and then, in some cases, subverting rather than confirming those expectations. Let’s take a look at how Our World is Ended’s cast presents itself in the early hours of the game as the narrative is getting underway.

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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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Evenicle: Family Affairs

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One of the things I’ve found most interesting about Evenicle is its treatment of polygamy.

I’ll level with you, dear reader, I figured this was going to be the aspect of the game’s narrative I had the toughest time with. Despite knowing (and accepting, I might add) at least one person in my circle of online acquaintances who lives an openly and happily polygamous lifestyle, I’ve always been something of a traditionalist at heart. “When two people love each other very much” and all that.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Evenicle handles the situation… if not exactly “delicately”, then at least positively and with a mind to contemplating what people might get out of such an arrangement. Besides ready access to multiple sexual partners, obviously.

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Hyrule Warriors: Leading the Charge

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The Warriors series as a whole has experimented with a few twists on its basic mechanics over the years, and Hyrule Warriors most certainly provides one of the most accessible, immediate takes there is.

This is at least partly down to the influence of Koei Tecmo’s division Team Ninja, who played a role in the game’s development alongside longstanding series producers Omega Force. The result is a speedy, fluid Warriors game that is easy to get into but challenging to master in its entirety.

Today we’re going to take a look at the various components that make Hyrule Warriors’ gameplay tick, and see how they come together to create such an enjoyable experience.

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Waifu Wednesday: Zelda

Zelda is an interesting entry in Nintendo’s substantial portfolio of beloved characters… because she isn’t just one character.

While some may debate whether or not the convoluted, multi-universe, split-timeline narrative of the Legend of Zelda series as a whole was intentional from the start, it’s certainly true that both series protagonist Link and the titular princess have undergone numerous revisions over the years. And, in the latter case, she’s become some of Nintendo’s most memorable characters. Plural.

Let’s take a look at some of my favourite takes on Zelda — and if your picks differ from mine, feel free to share ’em in the comments.

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