Memorable Melodies: Burn My Dread from Persona 3

Song: Burn My Dread

Game: Persona 3

Composer: Shoji Meguro

Singer: Yumi Kawamura

I got my copy of Persona 4 Dancing All Night yesterday and have been playing it quite a bit. I'm a huge fan of rhythm games and any music Shoji Meguro makes. In my opinion his music is one of the main factors that Persona gives off as much personality as it does. Obviously art direction and character design play large roles as well, but Meguro's jams are just top notch!

Don't get me wrong here, I love all of the music from Persona 4. However, in my heart I love all the music from 3 a lot more. In fact, I just like Persona 3 more in  general. I liked the characters quite a bit more in 3, but I realize that 4 made a lot of improvements to the franchise. How many times can I say Persona 3 in a single paragraph? Regardless, this got me thinking about the music from P3 and how it would be cool if it made its way into Dancing All Night. I know it didn't, because it's not even DLC in Japan and I think they said they're done making content. I'll just have to settle for how it appears in its original game.

I bought Persona 3 on a whim after watching a video review. My parents went to the mall for some reason, and I called and asked them to pick it up for me. It was the last copy the store had in stock, because I believe I was getting it on its original release day. The concept was cool, but I wasn't really expecting a whole lot. I booted up the game and swiftly got my mind blown. I don't know if a game has ever hooked me as quickly as Persona 3 did. 

The intro to the game is insanely stylized, and meshes perfectly with the song. My teen mind couldn't handle the amazing nature of everything being thrown at me. This is the part where I get sad because I never actually beat Persona 3. I got right near the end, but am literally not strong enough to advance. I didn't so much like to battle, so I used a very lame tactic that I won't get into here to cheese a lot of the bosses in the game. Near the end that stops working, and since the game is time based I don't have enough time to go back and grind. I've been thinking about starting over recently on the PS3, since I used my original disc so much it's cracking!

Shoji Meguro's funky style is something that I'm glad Persona games are continuing to use. His styling can also be seen in all of the Persona 5 trailers, which I highly recommend you check out.

Memorable Melodies: Eight Melodies from Earthbound

Song: Eight Melodies 

Game: Earthbound (Earthbound 0 as well, and I guess Mother 3)

Composers: Keiichi Suzuki, Hirokazu Tanaka, and Hiroshi Kanazu

One of the earliest video gaming memories I have is playing Earthbound before I could read. I remember being super frustrated, because I wanted to know what was going on in the game world. It's crazy, because I felt the same way about Super Mario RPG and together the two games propelled my interest in reading, which then spawned my interest in writing. Both games now stand firmly as some of my all time favorite video games.

Now that I'm 25 I sometimes feel a deep sense of shame when I think about Earthbound. It's my own fault really, but I've never actually beaten the game. I've gotten pretty close on multiple occasions, but can't ever go the distance. Hell, I even got the game for Christmas a couple years ago and the cartridge goes for like $250! I'll beat it someday, but right now is a time to remember the Eight Melodies. 

The Eight Melodies is made up of eight different sounds Ness, the main character of Earthbound records in his Sound Stone. There are specific areas at the end of dungeons known as sanctuaries where Ness sees various formations and things that inspire him. Ness uses these "sanctuaries" to understand himself and unleash his true potential. It sounds really corny, but Earthbound makes me feel the same way. Even though I haven't finished it, it's one of the games that has defined who I am and my tastes in gaming. I think about Earthbound a lot and feel a deep sense of nostalgia, that makes me all warm and fuzzy. Under the right circumstances I think it would be possible for me to tear up while listening to this song.

Review of Destiny: The Taken King (DLC)

This review is based on my experience with the PS4 version of The Taken King.

Note: This review  and its score are based on the content of The Taken King. I will speak about changes made to Destiny for "Year 2," but they do not factor into the score. This is because even people who have not purchased any of the DLC will see these changes as well.

Score: 3/5

Destiny has been able to spread its wings for just over a year now, which means that as of the release of The Taken King we are officially in year two of the game's supposed ten year plan. With the release of the Taken King a whopping 17GB patch was released to change all kinds of things about the game. Quest lines were added, the voice actor of the Ghost was changed to Nolan North, the leveling system was changed entirely, item drops have become more frequent, storage was doubled, you can hold more bounties, and a myriad of other changes have now graced the game. To someone who hasn't played Destiny since a month after launch they might think that these changes are a part of The Taken King, which is certainly not the case. In fact, just like the previous two DLC expansions it adds new story missions, new strikes, and a raid. However, unlike the previous two expansions it tells a cohesive story that's actually interesting, while adding a brand new area to explore.

The Taken King keeps the core of the game the same. It's still a first person shooter fused with a pseudo-MMO. Even a year later I still enjoy the gameplay of Destiny, so I had no problem getting right back into the game. Bungie knows how to make a solid first person shooter. While the gameplay stays the same the story changes it up a bit, because it's actually interesting. Destiny and its previous two expansions showed a cool world, but didn't really explore it at all. All you had to go on were random voices giving you loose context for a mission. It seemed to be an empty world filled with lifeless characters who only existed for you to get weapons from. Year two has helped that issue out a bit with quest information, but The Taken King actually gives some characters a personality by inserting them into cutscenes and actually having them introduce themselves to you.

The Taken King is still all about dumping on your enemies.

The story follows up an event from the first expansion The Dark Below. During the raid, which most players never even get to do, you find yourself defeating the Hive Prince Crota. The Taken King picks up with his father Oryx coming for revenge. He pilots a huge ship called the drednaught, which is the new area to explore. You don't get to go to it right away though, because going in blind would be suicide. First you have to spend some time learning about Oryx and the threat he has brought with him. He introduces a new enemy type called the Taken. Oryx essentially asserts his control over the Fallen, and the Cabal in order to make them work for him. So you see familiar enemy types that have turned into a funky mix of white and black. If they were just another pallet swap I would have been disappointed, but each one has brand new animations and abilities. This means they add some much needed variety to the enemy encounters.

The crux of the story revolves around you finding a way onto the Drednaught so that you can take down Oryx and restore order to the galaxy. In order to do so you need to interact with the three class trainers in the tower. The one who gets the most prominent role is the hunter Cayde-6. He's a sarcastic robot man, who doesn't really respect the authority of the other council members. It's odd, because he's actually pretty funny while everyone else is super dry and serious. In the original your Ghost would make quips to lighten the mood, but those moments were few and far between. Now that Nolan North has replaced Peter Dinlage as the Ghost, your little robot friend speaks a lot more as well. The Ghost and Cade play off of each other quite well, which is good to see. Having these characters guide you through missions makes it feel less like a linear killfest than it did before.

This is Cade-6. It's only taken a year for him to get a personality!

While the missions still almost always involve shooting everyone to death, the objectives in this expansion are occasionally different. In  the original game almost every mission saw you holding off waves of enemies while your Ghost scanned an object or tried to unlock something. Even if I didn't like all of the newly introduced mechanics, it was still nice to see something new. In one of the missions there is a wide gap that's far too big to jump across. If you pull up your ghost he outlines invisible platforms for you to jump on. In another mission you're invisible while infiltrating a hive burial ground. The game forces you into third person, and you have to avoid the red vision cones of enemies like a proper stealth game.

Outside of the story there are a few more additions as well. The competitive multiplayer mode Crucible has gotten three new multiplayer modes and eight new maps. The new multiplayer modes are actually very fun, especially Mayhem. All you're really supposed to do is use your super since it's constantly recharging. This mode is perfect for the three new subclasses added to the game. Warlocks can become Stormcallers to shoot lighting from their hands, Titans can become Sunbreakers and beat everyone down with fire hammers, and Hunters can become Nightstalkers to trap enemies in place with their void bow. These three new classes are cool, and once again add more diversity to a game with very few class options.

The three new subclasses are all interesting.

The Taken King puts Destiny on the precipice of being an amazing game, but it falls just short of that goal. Yes, there was excellent story content and a new area, but is that enough? Sure there's a new area to explore, but just like everything else in the game once you get through the story content you're going to be running the same missions for all of eternity trying to grind rep and get the rare item drops you so desperately crave. It took me just over two hours to run through the main story missions, which feels far too short. Yes, I could do all kinds of stuff to grind for better gear, but then there is nothing new to tackle after beating the new raid. Sadly, I probably won't even get that far, because I'll never be able to complete a raid without in game matchmaking.

People who love Destiny will love what they find here, but if you didn't like it before there isn't a whole lot that's going to change your mind. The Taken King shows that Bungie is trying to take steps towards making the game as good as it can be and that they're willing to make changes based on fan feedback. I think that the problem with Destiny for me starts at its core, so I hope that throughout the next few years they can continue to tweak the game in order to make it realize its true potential. However, if they keep adding expansions on top of what they already have as opposed to making a full fledged Destiny 2, we may never see this franchise blossom into the amazing game I feel it could be.

Memorable Melodies: Bob-omb Battlefield from Super Mario 64

Song: Bob-omb Battlefield

Game: Super Mario 64

Composer: Koji Kondo

This week I decided to continue the trend of putting up songs I like to whistle to. My last summer of high school and during my college breaks I would work at my uncle's convenience store. It sounds cool, but I mostly sorted cans of stale beer. I don't know if you know what stale beer smells like, but I can assure you that it's heinous! One of the songs that I took to whistling all the time while performing the gross task was Bob-omb Battlefield. 

There's something that tends to stick with me about songs that appear near the beginnings of games. For those of you who are unfamiliar Super Mario 64 sees Mario trying to rescue princess peach by jumping into the paintings of her castle to collect stars. The first world Mario jumps into is Bob-omb Battlefield, which is where this classic jam plays. It's very upbeat, which is totally at odds with the bob-ombs falling down all around Mario as he tried to traverse the mountain. Mario is like that though. Tons of awful stuff happens, but he's always down for it. He needs to rescue the princess, even if he has to beat up a bunch of bombs with faces.

I never owned my own copy of Super Mario 64, so I would always play at a friend's house. Most of the time I would have my file erased for some reason, so I would always start right back at Bob-omb Battlefield. Classic.

Now I can't stop whistling this song again. I did this to myself.

Memorable Melodies: Seaside Town from Super Mario RPG

Song: Seaside Town

Game: Super Mario RPG Legend of the Seven Stars

Composer: Yoko Shimomura

Last night after streaming Inazuma Eleven I hunkered down to play Metal Gear Solid V. I kept getting the nagging feeling that I was forgetting something, and I was! The fact that I hadn't posted Memorable Melodies came to me earlier today at work when I started whistling a delightful video game tune. I have now snapped out of my Metal Gear Solid induced haze to deliver you the newest edition of Memorable Melodies.

As you may have imagined Seaside Town from Super Mario RPG is the song I was whistling all day at work. I don't know why, but I have a rotation of video game songs I like to whistle. Seaside Town in particular is fun, because it's a jaunty sea shanty. There's no real rhyme or reason to it either. I just feel the need to whistle and something comes out!

There are numerous songs from Super Mario RPG that I adore, but I figured I'd start with this one. Seaside town is a coastal resort village, which is inhabited by weirdos when you first get there. The villain Yardovich took all the villagers and stuffed them in a shed while he and his minions pretended to be them in order to trick anyone who visited. Obviously Mario figures it out and beats him to a pulp, and the town returns to normal. There's a bit more story in between, but that's unimportant to this feature.

I know I'll never forget Seaside town, even if the only two sea related things in it are a wooden anchor at the entrance and this enchanting sea shanty. I just can't help but think of this song playing through some saloon doors down by the docks in a pirate infested world. Obviously Mario RPG isn't totally infested by pirates, but you do fight a pirate shark, so that's close enough I guess.

I hope that listening to the song has given you the urge to whistle! If you do make sure you do it loudly and proudly! Look forward to more dope tracks from Super Mario RPG in the future.

Memorable Melodies: Main Title from Banjo Kazooie

Song: Main Title (Banjo and Kazooie Theme)

Game: Banjo Kazooie

Composer: Grant Kirkhope

I felt bad that I didn't include much talk about Rare Replay in the August edition of Game Time, so here's some Rare goodness. This week it's all about the introduction of Banjo Kazooie.

There's something about Rare games that's magical and fun. It's hard to describe, but their games are full of a whimsy that most other developers can't even come close to. A large part of that comes from the art style and music. As we saw a few weeks ago Dave Wise is an excellent composer, but Rare also likes to hire Grant Kirkhope for many of their projects. 

Kirkhope has a very unique style, which is very easily discernible. What I like about the intro to Banjo Kazooie is that it shows all the signature Kirkhope instruments. His style has a whole lot of banjos. xylophones, and any woodwind instrument you can think of. I mean seriously, Mumbo busts out a Saxophone! 

While I like almost all the music in Banjo Kazooie, this intro theme in particular strikes an emotional chord with me. It takes me back to the days of video game rental stores and my fascination with everything on the Nintendo 64. Sadly, both of those things are gone now, but that's the time this song reminds me of. Even better, this song personifies Rare to me. It has style and whimsy you won't find anywhere else. 

Game Time - August 2015

As August and Summer draw to a close I still have a few games left to talk about. Even though I was visiting various cottages and playing Ultra Street Fighter 4 at Summer Jam 9, I actually found time to play video games. Most of which were new!

One such game that I won't be talking about here is the Rare Replay Collection for Xbox One. It collects 30 Rare developed games from the past 30 years. Obviously games like Donkey Kong Country can't be featured, but fan favorites such as Viva Pinata, and Banjo Kazooie are. All I want to say about this is that all companies releasing a game collection in the future should take note. This is how you collect games into a package!

As for brand new releases I picked up LBX or Little Battlers Experience for the 3DS. It's a robot fighting game from Level 5, the makers of Inazuma Eleven. It has as much charm and content as most other Level 5 games.

Next up we have the game I wish I didn't pay $60 dollars for, but had to have, One Piece Pirate Warriors 3. It's Dynasty Warriors, but with One Piece characters...for the third time!

Last but certainly not least I finally got around to playing Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes. It's not new, but I did break the seal on my disc copy. That makes it new, I guess? I had to prep for the true Metal Gear Solid V, so it was going to happen sooner or later. Speaking of MGSV I'm in the process of playing through it right now and I need to get back to it.

It's game time!

LBX: Little Battlers Experience

For some reason Level 5 decided that they wanted most of their franchises to be pan-media. They started with Inazuma Eleven and have continued on to LBX and Yokai Watch. Inazuma just had a game and an anime, while LBX and Yokai watch have expanded into the toy realm as well. With all of their franchises the games come first. However, in the case of all of these franchises they take a while to see the light of day outside of Japan. For example, there are three LBX games in Japan and the first one is only just coming out here now when it was first released in 2011.

In Japan the success of these games leads into an anime, while here in the U.S. it was the opposite. LBX was dubbed and shown on Nickelodeon. It was actually quite popular, despite the fact that half of the episodes were cut out for audiences outside of Japan. That's right. This show about battling tiny robots was too violent and professed ideas not suitable for American children! To be honest it is kind of crazy some of the stuff that takes place in this game. No joke, I had to stop a tiny robot from assassinating a prime minister, None of this makes sense without context though, so let me give you some.

Now that the cardboard is reinforced no one will get hurt!

Tiny robot toys called LBX were released to the public, but their battles proved to be too dangerous. After some kids got hurt they were banned. After a few years someone invented a super strong cardboard box for the robots to battle in. I can't make this up, it's called reinforced cardboard! Even though they're still super dangerous outside of the cardboard, because you can use them to kill people... Anyways, now kids love controlling these hot toys with their phones.

The gameplay is relatively simple. You control your customized robot in battle in third person. It can hold two weapons that each have a basic attack. Each time you attack it costs stamina. Running and jumping also decrease stamina. The game is essentially all about stamina management. If you run out you're left vulnerable and your attack decreases. After a few seconds it recharges, but the battles in LBX tend to last only 20 or 30 seconds. Every second and point of damage is crucial.

All the kids love a good LBX battle!

I'm not necessarily the biggest fan of the gameplay, but it's not bad, My enjoyment comes from collecting the hundreds of robot parts and weapons. I've always liked any game where you can customize robots for battle. Custom Robo and Gotcha Force on the Gamecube are two excellent examples of this. While I like those games better LBX definitely has an interesting story to back it up. I'm almost done with the story, so I'll wait to make a final judgement until the end.

One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3

I don't want to type a lot about this game. It's the same as Pirate Warriors 2, but with ten new additional characters. You mash square and triangle in order to decimate hordes of enemies. I enjoy it, but it's not for everyone. As opposed to basic gameplay I'll talk about the new systems they implemented.

In the previous game you equipped coins in order to increase your stats. Now you can spend coins permanently to upgrade your stats. This works out a lot better, because you don't have to mess around with changing out coins. You get coins by completing various missions, and each time you defeat officers in battle. If you defeat an officer with a special attack you get even more coins.

These are all the playable characters! (There are many non-playable characters on  here)

The other main change is the Kizuna Rush system. Each map you will be given specific partner characters who you can freely switch between. As you fight the bar next to the partner will fill up across three levels. At level 1 you will be able to push either square or triangle after you end a combo to have the partner attack as well. If the partner kills enemies they will be counted as ! kills. What sucks is that ! kills are one of the three things you're graded on each level and I've only ever gotten it to S rank one time.

Once the kizuna gauge is filled you can push R2 to power up. This will make your character stronger for a limited time. You can push circle to unleash a special from both characters. You can also chain Kizuna specials up to 3 times. So if you enter the powered up R2 state with two characters, the third time you do it and execute a special everyone used so far will attack in unison with you. It's super powerful.

Gotta destroy all the enemies!

Pirate Warriors is a lot different, but mostly the same. I like when they try to make refinements to the generic gameplay and test out new mechanics. It's always hard to try new things, so they get a kudos for trying.

Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes

When I saw a disc based copy of Ground Zeroes on amazon for $5 dollars I jumped right on it. It's been sitting on my shelf for approximately six months now. I decided to pop it in on August 31st, because I wanted to prepare for the release of the true Metal Gear Solid V the following day. After playing Ground Zeroes I now agree with everyone who said it was an overblown tech demo, because it is. It took me an hour to complete, and only had story in the beginning and end.

As a Metal Gear game it was kind of disappointing, but as an open world stealth playground it was amazing. It makes sense that this is how Metal Gear would transition to the new generation of consoles, but I can imagine it won't sit well with most fans.

It's a sneaking mission.

My issue with a lot of stealth games is that once you're caught you're completely screwed. With the new non-terrible controls in Ground Zeroes it's easy to gun down everyone once you're caught. Sure you won't get a very high score, but at least you'll complete the mission. Even better is that you have a lot of options. There are tons of ways to approach any given scenario. It's fun to figure out a plan and then execute on it, but the scale is just too small.

I don't really have much to say about Ground Zeroes to be honest. It's a fun sandbox with almost no content. Sure you can do side missions, but it all takes place on the same military base. It's more or less a proof of concept for the full game. I actually would have been angry if I paid $30 for it. After playing MGSV proper I can say that the scale of the game is much larger than anything Ground Zeroes had to offer,

Metal Gear!?

I don't know what to think about Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain yet/ I do know that it has started off September with a bang though. It certainly doesn't have as much story as the previous entries in the franchise, but so far the gameplay makes up for it. I really liked MGS 1-4, but I was not a huge fan of the controls. Most of the time I felt like I was struggling with the controls to make it to the next story beat.

That said, I'm going to keep playing V to see what happens in it. Maybe the open world stealth will wear thin, but it definitely hasn't happened yet. Next Friday I'll be picking up Super Mario Maker for Wii-U as well, and on the 29th we'll all get to witness the magic of Persona 4 characters dancing.

The games are going to start coming fast and furious, which means that I need to get playing! See you guys next time!