Weapon of the Week: Cooper Cane

Who needs $300 worth of burglar tools when you have a fancy looking stick?

Franchise: Sly Cooper

Appearances: All Sly games

Type: Bludgeon, tool

What is a thief’s most valuable tool? His quick wits? How about a well thought out plan? Maybe a weapon if something goes wrong? You may have your own opinion, but for one thief, his most valuable tool is his family heirloom.

The Sly Cooper games center around the titular character and his partners in crime. He comes from a long line of master thieves who specialize in stealing from criminals. Each have managed to create their own thieving techniques and unique thieving styles. The Cooper Clan’s exploits have been the focus of the series’s stories, from the Thievius Raccoonus, the book that is used to teach the techniques to the children of the Coopers, to the Cooper Vault, a vault containing greatest treasures stolen by the clan. And regardless of the Cooper in question, none are seen without their cane.

The Cooper cane is the iconic tool of the Cooper Clan, and it’s to see why. The cane is incredibly versatile, able to aid any Cooper in his adventures. The cane can be used to latch onto hooks, help a Cooper attach himself to a climbable object, pickpocket unsuspecting guards, and can even serve as a tool of offense when cornered. Without the cane, none of the Coopers would ever come close to the thieving masters they are.

The Cooper cane is a thief’s best friend, or at least it would be if it isn’t for a brainiac turtle and a muscly hippo. Next time, we’ll look closer at a certain heroic robot. Until then, see ya.

Press Start: Top Seven Video Game Sequels

Sequels have big shoes to fill. Usually, a sequel means the first game was well received enough or sold well enough to warrant another game. The developers have to be extra careful, since so many things can go wrong. New problems could arise from introducing new mechanics, or even trying to fix problems with the original game. Making any sort of mistake with the sequel could result in the game being worse than the original. Making a sequel is a precarious matter, which is why a great sequel is something to celebrate.

There are a few things to keep in mind when reading this list. First, I can only put games I’ve played on this list, so you won't be seeing games like Portal 2 or Resident Evil 4 or any other games that I recognize as good sequels but haven’t played. Second, this is my opinion, so if you don’t see your favorite sequel on this list, don’t sweat; this isn’t an official, end-all-be-all list. Third, if there’s a sequel you think I should play, leave a suggestion in the comments! With that said, let’s get started.

#7- Borderlands 2

The original Borderlands was one of my favorite FPS games. Not only did it have great co-op and gunplay, but it had tons to do and explore, with a wicked sense of humor to boot. However, the game still lacked a few things. For one, the story and universe were wafer thin, and the game lacked a lot of variety in its locations. It was still fun the whole way through, but improvements could have definitely been made. Great thing the sequel did that and then some.

Borderlands 2 fixes most things wrong with the first game and adds tons more. Thought the Pandora in the first game was too barren? Now you can explore glaciers, badlands, forests, and tons more. Thought there were too little people? Now the planet is filled with hilarious NPCs and allies. Want more guns? Good golly, you’ll get more guns! Not the mention the boatload of new content added with all the DLC. This is easily one of the best sequels I’ve ever played, but I happen to like the next six more. Still, can’t go wrong with a spirited session of shooting and looting.

#6- Devil May Cry 3

The Devil May Cry franchise got off to a bad start with me. I thought the first game was, while fun, was heavily flawed. It felt clunky and even unpolished in some places. The second game was worse, managing to be boring and unengaging. My expectations weren’t very high when getting ready to play the third game, and after seeing one of the greatest cinematic openings in gaming history, my fears were quickly put to rest.

Devil May Cry 3 is not only a huge step up from the first two games, but it’s also one of the best hack and slash games out there. With loads of combat options, several crazy weapons, and amazing boss fights, DMC3 offers a stylish adventure match by very few games. And for an extra edge, it’s crazy hard. There’s so much for a hardcore action gamer to love about DMC3, from Dante to every crazy combo you can pull off.

#5- Rayman Legends

Rayman is an underrated franchise. It’s home to some fantastic and creative platformers. One of them was Rayman Origins, a return to the 2D roots with some tight platforming and beautiful visuals. There wasn’t much wrong with Origins to begin with, but when its sequel went so far beyond, I was truly impressed.

Rayman Legends is filled to the brim with brilliance. Not only is it a well designed platformer, but it is jam packed with content and creativity. With levels set to wacky renditions of popular songs, the ability to replay levels from Origins, tons of things to do in each level, Legends lives up to its name as a legendary platformer. The music is also amazing, with memorable instrumentals, some even including instruments like kazoos and didgeridoos. Rayman Legends is perhaps the greatest 2D platformer I’ve ever played, and it’s an amazing sequel.

#4- Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time

Sly Cooper deserves way more attention, if you ask me. From the first game on, the games have been fun romps through colorful worlds with equally colorful characters. Even though the series isn’t very big, it will always be one of my favorite franchises. So of course, when I heard it was finally getting another installment after nearly ten years, I was ecstatic. Even though it was handled by a different developer, the new installment was just as good, if not better, than any of the original trilogy.

Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time is one of the greatest love letters ever written. Its more than just a fanservice game for Sly fans; it’s a full blown, incredibly satisfying adventure through time. It features some great platforming, hilarious dialogue, and succeeds in capturing the magic that made Sly so great in the first place. Not to mention all the replayability this game has. This game does nearly everything right, and as a fan of Sly, it makes me very happy. I hope that we get to see Sly and the gang in another adventure soon.

#3- Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door

Mario has games encompassing nearly every genre out there. He’s done sports games, puzzle games, and even RPGs. Surprisingly, some of Mario’s best titles are his RPGs. Games like Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga and Super Mario RPG stand as some of the best games Mario has to offer. Recently, I played the original Paper Mario on the Virtual Console, and while it was an enjoyable game, it made me appreciate one of my favorite games even more.

Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door is a fantastic RPG experience, and a step up in every category over its predecessor. It features a better battle system, better music, a better sense of humor, better settings, better characters, and better use of the paper gimmick. On its own, it's already a brilliant RPG, but when taking its predecessor into account, it’s amazing to see how far the sequel goes. This game is brilliant, and is perhaps my favorite GameCube game ever.

#2- Kingdom Hearts II

You’d be surprised on what could work as a video game. How about a game where the hero spends his time catching highly intelligent monkeys? Sure. Or how about a game where a three inch tall robot cleans a house and befriends all the family’s toys? Sounds great. How about a crossover between Final Fantasy and Disney where you play as a kid wielding a giant key? You’d think that’d flop, but now it’s a huge franchise. Kingdom Hearts may be out-there, but it’s a terrific series of games, home to one of the greatest video game sequels.

Kingdom Hearts II, like Thousand Year Door, is an amazing game in its own right, but it's absolutely incredible as a sequel. The combat got a flashy overhaul with more combat options and the introduction of reaction commands. Bosses got bigger, badder, and more satisfying to fight. The music is more memorable and features some of my favorite music tracks. The game is such a huge step up in terms of gameplay and presentation that I find it hard to go back to the original game. But there’s still one video game sequel I like even more…

#1- Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal

Did I mention how much I like Ratchet and Clank? I have? Well, let me do it again.

Ratchet and Clank is my favorite franchise. I grew up with it, and I have no intent to stop playing it any time soon. Every game brings forth an assortment of crazy weapons to blow up a new batch of bad guys with. While not all of the games are perfect, even the worst games are just mediocre. Ratchet has an impressive track record, and under his belt is, in my opinion, the perfect example of a video game sequel. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal.

As a sequel, Up Your Arsenal does nearly everything right. The new mechanics introduced in Going Commando, like upgrading weapons and profitable sidequests, are finetuned for a much better experience. The level design is top notch, and the game never reaches an unfair level of difficulty. The series’s tone remains intact, delivering some truly hilarious moments. Not only those this game do everything better than its predecessor, but it handles itself so expertly, it’s practically the perfect sequel.

Hope you enjoyed yourselves! As always, constructive criticism is welcome.

Sentai Time! Double Follow-up

In order to clear up some backlog, I’ve decided to do follow-ups of both Kyoryuger and Shinkenger at once. Sounds unwieldy? Maybe, but I think its worth trying trying. Let’s start with…

New Rangers

Kyoryu Silver and his partner Bragigas supply up to one-fifth of the world's badass.

It’s worth mentioning that Kyouryuger is the Super Sentai series with the most rangers, with 10 rangers spread over 21 different characters. That being said, the tenth ranger, Kyoryuger Silver, is easily my favorite auxiliary ranger of the series (it wouldn’t be fair to call him a 6th ranger, because the team already has one). His debut was so damn awesome I couldn’t help but smile the whole way through. It also helps that he’s one of the shows best characters. I won’t spoil his identity, but I definitely look forward to him lending his strength more often.

Make sushi. Act hammy. Beat up demons. All in a day's work.

As for Shinkenger, the sixth ranger of the the team is Genta, Takeru’s childhood friend who becomes Shinken Gold in battle. I honestly have mixed feelings about Genta. A lot of his actions are carried out in this manic energy that made Go-Onger so annoying for me. His wild actions seem seem to tone down as the show progressed, but the energy his actor puts in the role is often too over-the-top. However, in battle, Shinken Gold probably has my favorite style out of all the Shinkengers, and I have to admit his manic actions carry over well when in the suit. He’s growing on me, but it’ll take a while to get over the lousy first impression.

New Mecha

This is Bragi-Oh, who must be a RPG character because his weapon is as big as he is.

The newest mech in Kyoryuger is Bragigas, a silver brachiosaurus robot and partner of Kyoryu Silver. Just like his partner, Bragigas has a brilliant debut, with his humanoid form, Gigant Bragi-Oh, completely no-selling all the enemies’ attacks. He’s probably my favorite giant Zyudenryu, but I have to say its fusion with Kyoryuzin is probably more dorky than like an ultimate weapon. Still, you can go wrong with a giant robot with an axe as big as it is.

The crown makes it all work.

Shinkenger brings the Ebi Origami, a gold lobster mech created by Shinken Gold, to the party. Its humanoid form, Daikai-Oh, a colorful robot with several different weapons based on the four cardinal directions. Daikai-Oh is a very versatile and very interesting robot, but what really steals the show is Daikai Shinken-Oh, a fusion of Shinken-Oh and Daikai-Oh. The design is steller, and its ultimate attack is a true spectacle. As far as ultimate weapons go, its really, really cool.

Super Forms

Too silly, you say? Not silly enough, say I!

At this point in both series, the super form has been introduced. For Kyoryuger, the only ranger to have a super form is Kyoryu Red. His super form is called Kyoryu Red Carnival, and it allows him to borrow the powers of Kyoryuzin’s various combinations. This form packs several new, flashy attacks, and the ability to change armaments mid battle is something I really like. I do have to protest that Kyoryu Red is the only one to get the super treatment, but most fights that have had Kyoryu Red Carnival have been very enjoyable.

"Elvis Goes to Japan" never really took off.

Shinkenger’s super form had a much better build-up, but I found the payoff to be more disappointing. Yes, the first use of it by Shinken Red is pretty impressive, but the super form doesn’t look very...super. I’ll admit I haven’t seen it in action too much, but I still find the super form to be underwhelming.  

Thoughts on Kyoryuger

For a brief time, the Deboss Army had a new general: Endolf, the Chevalier of Hate. despite being based on a candle (of all things, a candle is what you chose?), he’s probably the strongest knight in service of Deboss. There isn’t much I can say against him. I like his personality, his fighting style, his sexy voice, and especially his combat prowess. My only objection to him is that he disappears after only a few episodes (for plot relevant reasons that I won’t spoil). Had he stuck around, I would have loved it.

Other than that, Kyoryuger is progressing smoothly, and I’m still enjoying the show an awful lot. It’s lighthearted without being void of entertainment. It’s energetic without being manic. The fights are as excellent as ever. I’m totally looking forward to the final 12 episodes.

Thoughts on Shinkenger

Super Sentai may be a kid’s series, but Shinkenger can get dark sometimes. How dark? How about one of their villains being a woman scorned who burned down her crush’s wedding? How about another villain who became a demon so that he could experience the joy of killing for a longer time? But despite this, Shinkenger never gets too gloomy. It maintains a great balance between its darker elements and the light elements usually found in Super Sentai. I look forward to the next set of episodes.

Weapon of the Week: Neotank

What's a neotank? Only the most sophisticated weapon ever conceived! And it's spherical! SPHERICAL!

In terms of a straight-up strategy game, the closest you’re getting from Nintendo would be their Wars series. Stretching back all the way to the Famicom (the Japanese equivalent to the NES), Nintendo’s Wars series involves the player (or players) producing an army to control and eventually conquer the map. The series did not see an international release until 2001 with Advance Wars. The international releases introduced several new mechanics, such as CO Powers, abilities that could turn the tide of battle, and weather conditions.

The Advance Wars games gives the player tons of units to work with. From the tank, which serves as your army’s backbone, to the bomber, which spells doom for pretty much any land unit, every unit has a use. Each game introduces new units to play around with. Advance Wars Dual Strike, for example, introduced the piperunner, an artillery unit with great range but can only move on pipes. The subject of today’s post is the new unit introduced in Advance Wars 2: the neotank.

The neotank is a superweapon developed by the villainous Black Hole. While expensive to deploy, the neotanks pack a powerful blast that can obliterate most land units. While it was outclassed by the megatank in Dual Strike, it still has several legs up over it; it's much more mobile, has more ammo, and much more fuel. The neotank is a unit with few downsides that can steamroll most land units thrown at it.

The neotank is the best land unit of both Advance Wars 2 and Dual Strike, and it’s a shame it didn’t make it into Days of Ruin. Next time, we’ll look at a rodent’s favorite thieving tool. Until then, see ya.

Sentai Time! Mahou Sentai Magiranger Review

The proof of courage!

Translation: Magic Squadron Magic Ranger

Number of Episodes: 49

Original Run: 2005-2006

Theme: Magic

Adaptation: Power Rangers Mystic Force

Well this was a long time coming. But with school and life, I had to put this on hold for longer than I wanted. However, I coming back with a review for Magiranger. As per usual, this is a review of the first chunk of the show. Let’s get going!

The Concept

They've never been to Vegas, but they're still the best magicians out there.

The war between Magitopia, the land of magic, and Infershia, the land of demons, has been raging for centuries, unbeknownst by humans. 15 years after being sealed away, the forces of Infershia have risen again to conquer the Earth and Magitopia. Standing in their way is the Ozu family, a household given the power of magic by Magitopia’s Heavenly Saints. With the powers of the Heavenly Saints, the Ozu children transform into the Magirangers. Only they can protect the world from Infershia’s onslaught.

The Sentai

From top left going clockwise: Urara, Houka, Makito, and Tsubasa. Kai is in the center.

The Mahou Sentai is entirely composed of the Ozu siblings; three brothers and two sisters. There’s Kai (MagiRed), the fiery youngest son, Tsubasa (MagiYellow), the cynical second son, Makito (MagiGreen), the plucky eldest son, Urara (MagiBlue), the caring youngest daughter, and Houka (MagiPink), the cheerful eldest daughter. Each sibling has their own magical talent, such as alchemy or potion brewing, and in battle, each draw their power from a different Heavenly Saint.

Check it out! Comic relief that's actually funny! What will they think of next?

This sentai was a huge step up from the Go-Ongers. Each member has a well defined and endearing personality, and the actors play off each other like actual siblings would. Each supplies legitimate laughs, and even if a couple of them get manic at times, it nevers goes overboard or drags for too long. The members of the Mahou Sentai are quite the cast, and their interactions with each other and the outside world is perhaps the best part of the show.

The Villains

Wolzard, the only villain worth mentioning thus far.

The Underground Hades Empire Infershia is ruled by demons and employ black magic in order to conquer both the earth and heavens. They are ruled by the mysterious and malevolent entity N Ma. Infershia’s generals include Vancuria, a vampiress that can split into two gothic lolitas (wait, what?), Branken, an ill-tempered demon-machine hybrid, and Wolzard, an enigmatic dark knight with a strange sense of honor.

This show has great monster design, but I'm bummed that they don't speak.

As much as I love the heroes of this show, I’m not a big fan of the villains. I don’t hate them, but I find them to be very uninteresting and generic. They may look monstrous, but they don’t really catch my attention. The monsters are a mixed bag; on one hand, they are well designed and threatening, but on the other hand, they don’t talk, and thus lack any personality. Really, the only remotely interesting one is Wolzard, but it’s pretty obvious he’s just a brainwashed Magiranger.

The Mecha

This is Magiking. He fights evil with a massive sword and a cool hat.

Magiranger gives a very interesting twist on the whole mecha mechanic of the series. Instead of summoning mechs, the Magirangers casts a spell that turns them into mechs. From there, they can combine into Magiking, the main mecha, or Magidragon, a mechanical dragon. The mecha are neat looking and simple without being plain. Magiking may not be my favorite giant robot of the Super Sentai universe, but it is serviceable enough for me to enjoy his fights. Also, he has a cool hat. Can’t go wrong with cool hats.

The Fights

The Magisticks, the main weapon of the Magirangers.

The fights in Magiranger make heavy use of the magic motif. The Magirangers use battle spells for flashy effects, and use magic to summon objects for some pretty creative (and pretty out there) moves. However, the core fights themselves didn’t really impress me. They actually felt like a step down from Kyoryuger and Shinkenger in terms of choreography, and it seemed that they were relying on the magic gimmick to carry the fights. I wouldn’t say it was the weakest part of the show, but they aren’t the strongest fights I’ve seen.

The Music

Magiranger’s music is a real treat. The opening theme’s is one of my favorites, and the regular music fits perfectly with the show. Its fun to listen to, and it's even memorable. While it doesn’t have the best music of all the Sentai shows I’ve seen (Kyoryuger holds that title), but it's still outstanding.

The Verdict

Magiranger is a good experience. It has a great sense of humor, the characters are endearing, and the show gets really creative with is use of the magic gimmick. It may have weak villains and subpar fight scenes, but those don’t ruin the show. Magiranger is definitely worth watching.

7/10 - Good

Mechanime: Final thoughts on Nobunaga the Fool (light spoilers)

I still believe that this anime must be seen.

So I finally got around to finishing Nobunaga the Fool, and I have to say, the last few episodes of the anime really impressed me.

Watching this anime in chunks has allowed me to better appreciate the shifts in tone the story goes through. While never terribly lighthearted, the series does start out much lighter than when it ends. The last few episodes in particular got really dark really fast. This usually happened when I watched the last episodes:

Me: Well at least things can’t get any worse.

Show: (goes even further south)

Me: Well crap…

This isn’t a bad things though. Nobunaga the Fool handles its tone very well. Things gradually descend into chaos (except for the last episodes, were things go south at supersonic speeds), and nothing feels like it’s totally out of left field. The tone always feels appropriate, which is one of the greatest parts of Nobunaga the Fool, and part of the reason I like it so much.

The last few episodes also highlighted the main theme of the anime: a clash of ideals and ideologies. Is it worth living a life without death, even if that means a lack of passion or motivation? Is free will worth the suffering that comes with it? While I previously commented on how one-sided the whole East vs West thing is (the Westerners are clearly the bad guys, I have to give them credit for trying, and for the most part succeeding at, to present to different views on life and suffering.

In the end, Nobunaga the Fool remains my favorite mecha anime thus far, and I found its conclusion very satisfying.

This frees up space for Eureka Seven. To the skies!

Weapon of the Week: Keyblade

The Keyblades of Kingdom Hearts II. Can you name them all?

Franchise: Kingdom Hearts

Appearances: Every KH game

Type: Sword

Kingdom Hearts is one of my favorite franchises out there. Sure, the story is convoluted as all heck, and each installment creates more problems with the story than it solves, but it's still a very fun series. With great combat mechanics, flashy effects, and great boss fights, it remains one of the best gaming experiences I’ve had. And of course, no great action game would be complete with a great weapon, and in Kingdom Heart’s case, we have the Keyblade.

The Keyblade’s purpose and powers has expanded as the series went on. As of now, it can seal the Keyholes (which protects the worlds from being destroyed by the Heartless), can clear the paths between the worlds, can unlock or lock any seal, can enable its user to wield powerful magic, and can even restore worlds taken by the Heartless. But one thing that has remained constant is its ability to be one of the greatest blades in video games.

Keyblades come in all shapes and sizes, and each has its own special use. Some boost your aerial combat skills, some give you massive strength boosts, and some make it easier to obtain rare items. But regardless of the Keyblade, it remains the biggest tool in fighting the Heartless menace. Without the Keyblade, the hearts freed upon a Heartless’s defeat would simply find its way into a new Heartless.

The Keyblade is a creative and powerful weapon, and I can’t wait to see what Keyblades KH3 will roll out. Next time, we’ll look at a true war machine. Until then, see ya.