Hi, I'm Dranzerstorm
Welcome to the Video Game & Music Lounge
This world is dedicated to Video Games and Music as I'll be showcasing the following.
Video Game Reviews set to the same tones as Retro Retrospective's Anime Reviews
Music reviews of Anime Openings & Closings
Western Cartoon music
Vocaloid Classics.
We may even have some Top Tens
I hope this World entertains you.
Post Number 8 and we go retro for a classic side scrolling beat em up in Caveman Ninja.
Caveman Ninja is by Data East, a lost relic of the old Console Wars, it featured Joe and Mac, two colorful caveman as they battle huge dinosaurs and rival cavemen tribes in the bid to get back their girlfriends using a variety of different prehistoric weaponry, so a basic damsel in distress plot but done in a way that's quite original and very colorful.
Your health bar does act as a timer so you do need to keep up the food intake on the way to each boss which makes for the game's greatest strengh as you battle huge dinosaurs. I remember this game fondly having played plenty of times on holiday at arcades as a child and one of the few games I actually finished. It's a little dated but fun none the less.
Current State: Like Data East it's pretty much defunct, last seen in 1995 with a sequel to the original.
Why Should it be Revived?: It's called Caveman Ninja which shouts money maker for any potential tv series and it suits the Retro revival movement so well.
Post Number 7 and we take a break from anime to look at one of my favourite games of all time, Hydro Thunder!!!!! (Between this and San Francisco Rush you have to shout the title)
Hydro Thunder was released in arcades in 1999 and was an instant hit being the only powerboat racing game to ever be released on that level of detail and gameplay, using a number of different boats from standard powerboats and hydroplanes to ones based on top fuel dragsters, World War II aircraft and even an alien spaceship, there was more fun in the bonus boats with an armed Police boat, a fisherman’s boat with a barking dog, a scaled Titanic and a hovercraft; if you thought that was wacky it gets better with the circuits as you race from everything from the Arctic Circle and the Greek Isles to the inner realms of Ancient Egypt and a destroyed flooded New York city heck you can even make the boats jump to reach shortcuts and out of reach turbo power-ups which is crucial for certain victory as the game is quite challenging and the game lets you know that with quotes such as “you’re crazy!” and “experts only” when selecting certain boats and tracks. The game was ported to every console under the sun at time of release but when Midway shutdown, it was thought that the game was going to be lost with it until two sequels came out unexpected.
In 2009 a few former employees of Midway made H2Overdrive to act as Hydro Thunder’s spiritual successor to keep the unique arcade cabinet in most major arcades; but it was a year later when developer Vector Unit not only bought the rights to Hydro Thunder but created a sequel to it dubbed Hydro Thunder Hurricane which to this day is one of the most successful titles on X-Box Live Arcade and still has an active multiplayer lobby.
Current State: Not much has been done to the current game Hydro Thunder Hurricane since its release bar a DLC pack of new events, boats and tracks and with Vector Unit being a very small company it’s very unlikely to expand into mainstream game development especially when the Vector Unit’s staff can be counted on one hand and needed contractors to finish Hydro Thunder Hurricane.
Why Should it be Revived?: It’s one of my favourite games and a third instalment for next gen consoles and dare I say Virtual Reality would give it a mainstream feel that it needs back.
Okay were a couple of days behind but were back on track now, here is the top 10 best Tekken Characters.
Honourable Mentions
Jun Kazama: Was great to control but I hated to see her cut from the cast and brought back as a generic monstrous boss type.
Jack Series: They’ve always been interesting to watch and they do behave like robot characters should, but left off the list as there’s no one Jack character that’s better than the other.
Kazuya Mishima: Gone up well in my estimation since Tekken 8 released.
Anna Williams: She fits her persona a lot better than Nina and injects some much needed style in a series very reliant on a set style for its characters, but doesn’t control well enough to be included on the list.
Leo Kleisen: I applaud then for using a female character with a more ambiguous gender design and she plays well but she reminds me too much of Elliot from Dead or Alive to the point that they could be twins.
10. Alex and Roger
Only in Tekken can you have a boxing Kangaroo and Raptor as part of the selectable cast, their novelty has worn off a bit recently but you can’t deny that they are fun characters to play.
9. Kuma and Panda
More fun with animal fighters, Kuma and Panda are very colourful fighters in the Tekken series, adding some humour and decent fighting mechanics to wild animals. Not to mention Panda being very cuddly.
8. Eddy Gordo
When he was released in Tekken 3, he was a phenomenon as no one had ever seen his style of combat before, he was the one who put capoeira on the map, but since then he’s kind of faded away but his impact still shows today.
7. Lee Chaolan
At first I thought he was a spoiled brat not helped by the terrible animated movie but he actually plays really well and has hilarious dialogue, he truly is “Excellent”.
6. Sergei Dragunov
Another hilarious character this time under the comically serious type, his body language makes him look like a competent Mr Bean but is still rather goofy looking when his victory poses consist of crawling and politely humming to himself.
5. Miguel Caballero Rojo
Fighting games don’t always use the straight up brawler type, but that’s exactly what Miguel is and it’s refreshing to see, and his roaring rampage of revenge is very reminiscent of Inigo Montoya.
4. Heihachi Mishima
He’s the reason Tekken is so popular, a larger than life personality with the mannerisms to match, a worthy candidate for any list of best fighting game characters let alone Tekken, and he has a lighter personality which does wonders for his popularity.
3. Julia Chang
A surprisingly well rounded three dimensional character with more than one fighting style up her sleeve and an intriguing relationship with Ganryu gives some more insight into the lives of the lesser story characters which I tend to prefer over the quote on quote “Main Characters”
2. Hwoarang
The go to character for Tekken pros and I can see why, he’s a very good character to use and the best in his category among all fighting games beating out the likes of Juri and Kim from Street Fighter and Fatal Fury respectively.
1. King
But the character I control the best is King, for some reason I seem to swing more to the wrestler types but many of them are tanks with not much movement; King was a more diverse character with his move set including power hits and a good mixture of throws and grapples and the full head Jaguar mask just screams iconic value for Tekken. There’s no other character like him and even Armour King despite being an obvious clone plays very differently to the main man King; makes me wonder if he has an actual face under that Jaguar Mask.
Double list time! Since I've been playing it alot lately it's time to look at Tekken Characters and how I rate them starting with the worst list.
Dishonorable Mentions
Craig Marduk: Very forgettable but at least he controls well.
Christie Monteiro: A poor female clone of Eddy Gordo but personality makes up for it.
Lili De Rochefort: There have been better fighting characters in her category but is at least interesting.
Ganryu: Generic Sumo Wrestler is generic but his personality makes up for it and controls well.
Raven: Don't like the design but is at least useful.
10. Bryan Fury
There have been better fighting characters in his category but unlike Lili who has similar problems has no redeeming features; he's no Dead of Alive's Bayman that's for sure.
9. Bob Richards
He looks like a human Kung Fu Panda, which is ironic considering the game does have a fighting Panda, he only needs Jack Black's voice and he'd be complete.
8. Feng Wei
Generic Chinese man is generic, between him and Ganryu they are the most generic fighters in their category, the only difference is Ganryu is a good character to use and has a better story while Feng looks like he's constipated.
7. Nina Williams
She controls really well but not exactly big on personality and didn't deserve her own terrible spinoff game.
6. Xiaoyu Ling
Generic Chinese girl mixed with a rather irritating personality, got way more screen time than she deserves but nowhere near as bad as two of the top four in hogging the limelight and not earning it.
5. Steve Fox
I don't mind if the British character is a boxer but at least make him decent, I've never been so frustrated in controlling a character in all my life, when I want someone to punch, I want them to bloody punch! Not move around trying to dodge attacks that aren't coming.
4. Alisa Bosconovitch
Tekken's most recent important character is a Waifu, seriously Tekken? Watching the story with her and Lars in Tekken 6 is awkward and it gets worst in the spin off Blood Vengenace movie when she's now friends with Xiaoyu. Gets way too much screentime.
3. Lars Alexandersson
Because Tekken really needs another member of the Mishima clan who controls even worse than all the other family members and has none of the personality of the other members, in fact he's basically a worst version of Jin Kazama who is probably the blandest member of the family.
2. Reina
Congratulations Tekken, you've created a fanfiction character, everything about Reina was stolen from a fan fiction written 30 years ago. Shame on you Tekken.
1. Gon
Gon is a little chibi Dinosaur who was included in Tekken 3 as a secret character, he's the type of character trolls use to guarantee a win because they aren't good enough to win with an established character and ends up becoming a bullying tactic. You are a terrible person if you are one of those people and should apologize to the sibling, friend or cousin you upset for doing so. Not saying any names and they may not even read this but they know who they are.
Video game review now as I pick up something I recently finished, Liberation Maiden.
Continuing the theme of the company Level-5, we look at a shoot-em-up done with cooperation from Suda 51 as part of the Guild series that focuses on potential new IPs in cooperation with other video game companies known as Liberation Maiden; you play as Shoko, newly elected President of Japan following the assassination of her father. Along with the help of your assistant Kira and the mecha known as Kamui, you take to the skies to stop your enemies from stealing all of Japan’s energy by destroying giant structures known as Spikes. Despite a lack of in-depth story and shortness in gameplay it feels so epic to play, so much so that it left me wanting more. I really think this game could be something special in the right hands and should be extended beyond its arcade title and with Level-5’s track record with the likes of Inazuma Eleven, Professor Layton and Yo-Kai Watch, it’s in safe hands.
Current State: Last seen in 2013 as a visual novel sequel for Playstation 3 and Vita as a Japanese exclusive, this is despite having a full English Dub in the Western 3DS Release of the original game.
Why Should it be Revived?: It really needs some love and I would so play a full game with double the levels.
