Saturday, April 27, 2013

The Cool: The Supposed Normalcy

I think I finally figured it out. Saturdays are perfect for The Cool because nothing that I would cover in anyway would happen except for one thing that is taking place today but that can wait until next week to cover anyway so I'll do it then because it makes sense for next week's The Cool anyway. My lead story was going to be all the hoopla about Nintendo pulling out of E3 but then I remembered how much that doesn't really matter because they'll still be there but less spectacle in trade. But when damn near every other Nintendo Direct lately has a bomb being dropped then what would have been left for E3 when you need to pull those weapons out? What happens to be Nintendo's goal with this is yet to been if ever but with the way the WiiU's been this may not have been the best thing to do but maybe Nintendo knows better than everybody else. We'll soon see.

Before we get to everything else I'll take a moment to let everybody who doesn't know is that the #StreetsOfRageTrilogyProject is back and more off the chain than ever. The pimping out of my wares isn't the reason for me bringing this up though. There's a reason why you haven't seen DmC or the Vampire Savior review or anything original for a while and it was because I ran into some issues with Viacom that had to be dealt with and because of that I had to hold off for a minute. All of that and more will be coming soon so please stay tuned. And I'd suggest watching the latest episode of the Project because J & I go nuts on this video and this is just Stage 1 so imagine how crazy this is going to get. So enjoy and more episodes shall be out soon and peep out Episode 10 down below.


Now that we taken care of that let us get to the bidness at hand and wrapping up your week and such.


As good of a place to start than any is Shinji Mikami's return to the genre he helped defined with the game formally known as Project ZWEI now re-branded as The Evil Within. The trailer doesn't give us much other than the hope that with Resident Evil gone astray as it has that we can get a really good Survival Horror game with this one. No other info is know at this time but when it does come I'll make sure you have it too.


I guess our Gaming Wrap Up is to slowly tone down the scary and I guess the latest look at Earth Defense 4/2025 can do just that for us. Nothing but a showcase for you to see and there's things to see. Dead things. Lots of it. Enjoy that.


And speaking of the dead the latest information about Suda51's Killer is Dead is here in form a "TV Show" starring Cutie 3. Shouts to Pepsiman on GAF for adding subtitles to the video so you actually know what's going on because a lot of story elements are revealed here. So now you can ogle and understand at the same damn time. Please never say I haven't done anything for you. You're welcome.


I have no idea how to make this segue and damn I won't try but here's the first Character Spotlight for TMNT: Out of the Shadows for the Best Turtle...Michelangelo. People have been giving the game flack for the design choices and I do tend to agree with them because how slick and cool the Turtles look in the new cartoon (Which you should be watching by the way.) but since the look was revelaed it has grown on me quite a bit. The last couple of games from the TMNT license have been not so good but OotS may be the start of the redemption cycle for the series in video game form. Game drops this summer so we shall see.


From Ninja Turtles to Lawyers with our 1st legit look at Ace Attorney 5 and it's looking good. At least the chance is high that we'll get this in the US before Ace Attorney X Layton which I've heard a Early 2014 release for. Just good to know I'll be able to feed my AA need really soon.



Seeing as I can get The Cool out on time it would seem this would be the last time we'll double up on Character Spotlights for Dragon's Crown which shall be out soon. The two spotlights are for the Dwarf & Elf and they're just as cool as all the other ones you've seen and will see. I just have to convince the crew to get on this. And that shouldn't be too hard in all honesty.

And to close out the gaming portion for this week we have a look at some of the additional characters soon to come to BlazBlue: ChronoPhantasma.


We'll start by introducing the brand new character to the story, Kagura Mutsuki. He's mentioned in the CP story but other than that because I'm trying to stay away from story elements I don't know much else. His Drive however has him using different stances to alter the 2 moves he has in his aresnal.


And a character anybody even remotely familiar to the series should know, Yuuki Terumi. Terumi is supposed to be drastically different than Hazama. How so we don't know but it should be interesting to see Terumi let loose in a playable fashion. Can't wait.

Game time is over for this week and now just a quick recap on what I've been reading and watching. I'll start with this. Watch Archer. Do that. I've been hearing such good things on it for years but finally had some real exposure to it this week and I love the show to death now. Had a marathon of Season 2 and I'll be tackling Season 3 when I get a nice long day to do that.

Finally got to start Season 2suu of Akibaranger and when you think they can't top Season 1 they do so immediately into Season 2suu. I really don't want to get into how they do but I'm very excited to tune in every week and watch.

I'll take this time to say I had my doubts about Teen Titans GO! but after watching it with a smile from ear to ear the whole time I watched it I have to say it's good to have them all back. We won't be getting the hard hitting storylines of old but this new format is fun, fast and loose and I like it. So if you had your doubts like me then please give it a shot anyway. You may be surprised what you find.

In what I've been reading this week I got a chance to look in on how Fighting is Magic is doing via a very cool Polygon article which you can read by CLICKING HERE! It chronicles how FiM got started to where Mane6 is now with Lauren Faust on the team and their starting adventures into making a great fighter with the Z Engine. I wish them the best of luck as I always do and I have the confidence that they'll create a great product for everyone to enjoy.

All of the other usual suspects went in on the I watched and read this week. And what I usually watch on will be getting dry in a couple of weeks with all the network shows going on hiatus from the summer. I just want to see how they all wrap up this season. But I have been getting into some things that'll hold me until Dexter & True Blood make their way back at the end of June.

And that takes care of The Cool for this week. I know I can make this Saturday thing hold so make sure to be ready for it when I drop it. Thank You as always and I'll see you next time.

-Triple Da G.O.D




Thursday, April 18, 2013

DoaBH Review Edition: Double Dragon II: Wander of the Dragons (XBLA)


Double Dragon II: Wander of the Dragons...how can I review this without resorting to the easy way of just slapping a bunch of GIFs to explain how I feel which I know could do the job really well instead of using my own words to describe it. Luckily for you that isn't how we do things here so you can read everything I have to say and for what the final product presents it isn't a lot.

This game is the remake it claims it is at least story wise anyway. Even Marian's actual role in this game which didn't and doesn't make a lot of sense until I actually read some information about it. Is this canon? That I don't know. However, I choose the DD2 (NES/PC/TG-16) canon on the subject for a reason I won't get into though. I am however delaying the inevitable on the subject on what this game actually is and I really don't want to because of the respect I have for this franchise. I can't really say that those behind this game share my sentiment in any way and if they do it doesn't show at all in the final product. Speaking of that...


I know most people that are familiar with this game at all will remember the above trailer. It came out just about 2 years ago just to put some timeframe to what you've just watched.


And this is the Launch Trailer that dropped when the game was finally available to everyone 2 weeks ago. You can see the small bits of polish from this version to the one above.

To be honest, none of the above matters because you're looking at it. Playing this is a whole different "experience." The game is very playable but the question remains why would you? What I really drew from it was for everything I thought the game made an attempt to do right is undone by all the wrong done. Which leave me with questions such as...

"Why isn't the game balanced for a single player experience?"

"Why does this game deal in 8-Directional combat?"

"Why is there a stamina bar?"

"What the hell is wrong with the combo system?"

"Why have an extension of defense like Perfect Guard when it's completely useless outside of 1v1 combat?"

These are just some of the issues that are on the tip of the iceberg that hit this Titanic of a game!

I really want to know who OK'ed this and why is it a representative of the lineage of Double Dragon? Not like the series hasn't had missteps in the past. Double Dragon V: The Shadow Falls I'm citing you as an example here. You sucked and you know that so that is your place in history. Respect that as your contribution to gaming.

Now I don't want to say it was all bad except for the VA which was "something." However, the cutscenes were fine and the music being a remix or otherwise was very well done. All I can hope for there will be a kind soul to rip the music from the game because I don't see a OST coming now or ever.

Just so you know there isn't any online component similar to Neon. There's also a VS Mode and Survival Mode too and they function just as "well" as the rest of the game does so have fun with that.

I've tried as hard as I can to use my nice words and judge the product on the merits given. The problem is there is no merit to be had here. This game at best is an embarrassment to the name Double Dragon and at worst I won't sully my words and dare even saying them. I will admit the game had moments where I had some fun but it is all taken away when you look at the final product and know it's just a bad game. If you had 2 years to make something better and don't take advantage of it then as someone who creates you have done not only done a disservice to yourself but those who decide to partake in your product as well.

This game is playable and that's about all it is. I won't even tell you not to play it. If you've decided that after everything said here and elsewhere to give it a go then please download the demo and play through it first before plopping down $10 on this and even after that when you've decided that you just might want to pay money for this then wait for a sale so you don't feel like you've been taken advantage of. Or just skip it entirely. Your choice.

Double Dragon II: Wander of the Dragons...as much as I want there to be a good game inside, the honest truth is there isn't one. Take that as my rating on it all.

Shouts to my big brother Therrty Bytchez AKA EvilFreakzilla for buying the game and letting me play it. He's a Double Dragon head and this has worked out to my advantage more than once so for that family I SALUTE YOU!!!

Thanks again and thank you for reading.

Until next we meet.

-Triple Da G.O.D

The Cool: 11 Days Later Edition

Look at us close to a week as this will ever get for now. But I'm starting to understand why these come out the way they do. A lot of times when it comes to doing this there's not enough to talk about to reason writing one but it may be time to reconsider that stance and just write every week because I need the practice and to keep my creative juices flowing. And you'd be surprised how hard that is for me and one of my admitted weaknesses when it comes to this stuff. But when it is flowing I see it in the work I do and it represents something that I can be proud of and that's what counts. So I'll find some balance for The Cool and it'll be either on Tuesday like it was or Friday/Saturday/Sunday depending on the news available. We'll see it that works out. And with that I'm very glad I waited and was lazy to approach because a lot can happen in a day and things really did happen and that's why The Cool is here to make sure you know what's really good! Let's do work!


A Nintendo Direct happened yesterday and when I say it happened, it happened! Something about a sequel to A Link to the Past and EARTHBOUND IS FINALLY COMING TO THE VIRTUAL CONSOLE!!...on WiiU. But at least it comes. When it actually does nobody knows yet and any edits to game if any are unknown as well but fans of the series will finally get some justice real soon. More is available so go ahead and watch it.

Injustice dropped on Tuesday and I'm having fun with it so far and that's all you get from me because a review comes soon. However, there's some unfinished business including the no duh finals of the Battle Arena between Batman vs Superman, the confirms of Ares & Killer Frost to round out the initial cast and some deeper looks into the story mode featuring Hal Jordan and the catalyst of the why the story mode is even happening. All of that will be below and you'll join me there when you finish that.



Batman vs Superman (Grand Finals Match of the Battle Arena)



Introducing Ares & Killer Frost



Story Mode Opening



Story Focus: Hal Jordan



The Launch Trailer

Hope you enjoyed the coverage because it'll be a minute before you see anymore at least until time to get hype for LOBO!! Very hype for that. Trust me.


We've known for a while that it was coming but now we have trailers to make it all official. Project X Zone will soon be here on June 25th! HINT, HINT, HINT!! The thing is that the voice overs in Japanese were muted during the trailer and I have no idea what that means for the final product. Hope it means a dub or dual audio because that'd be sweet. Either or we're getting it and there's a limited edition version coming as well which is just the original one repackaged. So the wait will soon be over and another game for your 3DS! #BasedHarada

Another game that soon comes is Dragon's Crown and recently we've gotten a look at 2 of the available classes of the Fighter and Sorceress! They're real insightful even though being in Japanese and you can learn a bit about both classes. Join me after you've watched them both.



Class Spotlight: The Fighter



Class Spotlight: The Sorceress


Kamen Rider Battride Musou dropped another trailer and man this game is looking better and better. We got more confirms of characters but I'll leave those for you to discover. Game is due to us on May 23rd. HYPE!!!


Darkstalkers Resurection recived a title update this week that adds Burst-In Play during certain scenarios. I have to applaud Capcom for staying hard with this title and trying to get it to more people but in due honesty I think too much was wagered on the success of this game to gauge a sequel from it. Maybe things turn around and maybe they don't but if you haven't bought it then please do so. Please & Thank You!


And I guess we can leave our gaming news on this note. Maybe you remember my coverage on the F2P Chinese Fighter Xuan Dou Zhi Wang and all that came with that. Now the creators of the game are reaching out to SNK for some "legitimacy" by announcing that Terry Bogard and Benimaru Nikado will be playable characters in the game. When they'll be available for play is unknown but when something comes I'll let you know. And I'll have something for people who want to play the game up soon. So be watching from that. Honestly, looks like I picked the right time to get cracked out on it. Been playing it very heavily the past 2 weeks. That good!

We leave games behind for what I've been watching and reading and it hasn't been a lot because of the prep for May Sweeps. I do have to say that all that I consume in this area is going in. And some of it is going in without me and that happens to be out of my control and when I do get to that I can get hype for that too. The major moments that stick out for me are the Dallas Season 2 Finale, Sasuke's choice, Hyper Beast & Infinity Style and the last 15 minutes of the last Game of Thrones episode. SOOOOO GOOOOOD!!

I do have to quickly shout out the GARO because I was finally able to get past Episode 1 and I'm really enjoying it. Trying to get through all of it so I can get to the new series ASAP. Give it a go if you haven't. Very recommended.

And with that I'm all out of stuff to say. Here's the hope to getting this out on time next week. Until next time.

-Triple Da G.O.D

Friday, April 5, 2013

The Cool...Every Month Instead Of Every Week Like It Should Be Done

I'm really only good for one of these in a 30/31 day period? Where in the hell does the time go? We may never know but I need to get back in a flow of writing stuff more often anyway and it seems that today I'm struck with the writing bug so I better go for it. So what could happen to the world I wish to indulge in a month's time? Let us find out.

When I took a look at top stories last time Lab Zero were just starting the IndieGoGo campaign for Skullgirls and just funded Squigly and were on their way to some panty dropping Big Band love and then something happened...$829,829 WAS DONATED!!!! Which meant a whole lot of stuff was coming to Skullgirls and Lab Zero would be able to make kick ass shit for a whole lot of days to come and so would the new and improved Mane6!!!! Look at how both of my top stories from the last The Cool are all in collusion and what not! At this time everyone who donated is in a middle of a "war" to choose the 1st Fan Voted DLC Character and people are out in force repping their #TEAM! I however haven't made a decision as of yet and it'll probably be last minute because I suck at making decisions and sometime multiple choice tests. Tell no one. What I did do last week was take a look at all the characters up for vote, looked at all their information and weighed in on what I thought and you can read that HERE. If you seem to be at the crossroad I currently see myself at maybe my thoughts can help you.

Top stories out of the picture let us get to the motion picture part of the madness and I guess we can kick it off with some Injustice love I suppose. During the time I wasn't so inspired to put word to paper a lot has been seen from this game including a demo which I'll speak on at another time. With the time passing the Battle Arena has made whittled down to the World's Finest.

Regardless of the no duh of the finals I got your back with all you may have missed and you'll be able to see all those matches for yourself. The other thing is that we got 3 new reveals as well of Doomsday, Raven & Black Adam. And because the 360 version is all over the internet the "whole roster" is out there but I want some surprises for the remaining reveals so I haven't taken a look at it at all. So I can't write about what I haven't seen. So enjoy the reveal vids and the Quarter & Semis for the Battle Arena and I'll catch you down below that.



Introducing Doomsday



Introducing Raven



Introducing Black Adam



Lex Luthor Character Trailer



Harley Quinn Character Trailer



Batman vs Wonder Woman



The Flash vs The Joker



Superman vs Green Arrow



Aquaman vs Green Lantern



Batman vs The Flash



Superman vs Green Lantern


Alrighty with all of our Injustice coverage out of the way let us talk about the truth. At GDC, Hideo Kojima let the FOX out of the bag with reveal of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. What we do know is that Grounded Zeroes & The Phantom Pain are one and the same so to speak with Grounded Zeroes being the prologue to The Phantom Pain. The other bit of news is that "allegedly" and I use the words in quotations because of the company kept with this project is that David Hayter will not be returning as Solid Snake. Which sparked a whole lot of talk about the subject which shouldn't be hard to find the juicy details of it all. Feel free to indulge away on that. Other than that we didn't get too much more info but trust it'll be coming soon.


Even though I'm stepping backwards and forwards in time in the coverage of all this, there are things we need to speak of and they both surprisingly come from Capcom. At PAX East Capcom dropped NORTH KOREA LEVEL NUKES which the first being that WayForward is doing doing the HD Remix of the 1st NES Ducktales game called Ducktales Remastered. And from all the info from various sources saying that this has been in the works for years which doesn't surprise me in the least. What this does is open the door for other games of the same ilk to get the treatment like the kind of related Castle of Illusion remake supposedly coming to XBLA soon. This can be nothing but good for the future and I'm real hyped to see it all.


Part 2 on this THROWBACK NUKE BOMB TOUR by Capcom is that a Dungeons & Dragons compilation of both arcade games titled Chronicles of Mystara is coming as well. This is even a bigger deal because both games have never made it to home consoles outside Japan on the Sega Saturn a long time ago. And with 4 Player Online this should be a treat. Can't wait for both of these.


Finally the confirmation that Final Fanatasy X & X-2 will be coming to somewhere other than Japan. From what we knew and know now is that both games are based on the International Versions of the game. Which leaves us with the one thing I really want to know. Will Last Mission be dubbed? Tara Strong or Gwendoline Yeo haven't said anything via anything and nobody knows "Where in the World is Hedy Burress?" So it'll be a wait and see thing if they do dub that portion of the game but I'm hoping!


Speaking of SquareEnix, HD Remasters & most things that never showed up in the US outside of Re:Chain of Memories is that Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD ReMIX is coming to the US as well. Same questions plague this as does FFX/X-2. Will the extras from the Final Mix games that need dubbing get dubbed? Wait and see about this too I guess.


What about more stuff that's confirmed for MURICA SHORES. Dragon's Crown will be coming this summer. Still as beautiful as ever and still coming to DAT TRUPLE and the Vita as well. HYPED!!


MO OF DEM CONFIRMZ OF DEM GAMEZ COMING TO MURICA SHORES! I GOT DAT! Suda 51's Killer is Dead has been confirmed as well. Comes out in August. Be prepared for mind blowing Suda 51 stuff.


We already know that EDF4/2025 is coming to MURICA SHORES however the game is confirmed to have a brand new class, the Fencer. The above trailer can do it better justice than I ever could but know that I'm SUPER HYPED!!! for this one!


To completely switch gears from MURICA SHORES to IMPORT OR DIE NIGGA TIME! A new trailer for Kamen Rider Battride Musou dropped and man this game is looking sicker by the moment. Gotta wait until the end of May and knowing how my backlog is stacked I must make some time for this and maybe a special #RunDatReXXX cometh? Will not confirm or deny it but look for it anyway.


And what better way to close out our gaming portion than with a new look at Deadpool: The Game. I want this. I need say nothing more.

With all of that in the bag I'm going to switch up my "What I'm Watching and Reading" portion of The Cool and drop in some cool YouTube vids I've seen in the past month. You'll get something out of this too. You always do.


If I'm starting anywhere it'll be this special 1 Hour Edition of Game Grumps featuring Grant Kirkhope. If you have no idea who he is why he matters so much you should shame yourself now. However he's responsible for a lot of great music from OLD RARE from GoldenEye007, Banjo-Kazooie & Donkey Kong 64 to name a few. Given Game Grumps usual tone and flow Grant was able to give a lot of history into OLD RARE and how things were done then. A great watch if I do say so myself. AND GIVE HIM MONEYS FOR BANJO-KAZOOIE SOUNDTRACK BECAUSE HE'S GRANT KIRKHOPE!!


You want the UBER CASE OF THE FEELS? Then watch Snowdrop a fan made My Little Pony animation. It's a very touching story and you should watch it. Fan or not. That good.


Since I'm still in the Pony portion then watch some Double Rainboom after feels time. It's about 30 minutes long and I figured I'd warn first. I say no more.


I always have time to tell you to go watch some Sonic For Hire. About midway through Season 6 and this show is still damn good. The above is the premiere for Season 6 but title gives away the premise for the season but not like it really matters though. Just watch it.


Finally got around to watching Video Game High School. Late as hell I know but better here than never here I say. All I'll say on this is watch it if you haven't. No more to be spoken.


How about we stay in the High School swing with School of Thrones. It is what is name tells you it is. Game of Thrones Drama + High School Drama. Really great watch and awaiting Season 2 of this as well. High School stuff back to back. COLLUSION!!


And to end this portion with some April Fools awesome how about Team Four Star Presents Abridgimon Episode 2. All I need to say is ShadyVox is a genius. Nobody was better suited to voice Tai in it. Just a great April Fools joke and kept me laughing the whole way through.

So now you have some time to waste on Youtube. You're welcome. That seems like a segue into "What I'm Watching" elsewhere that isn't YouTube.

The winter came with the premiere of Game of Thrones last Sunday and things pick up right where they left off with my MainMan™ Tyrion trying to get his just due. Jon Snow doing Jon Snow things. Mama Stark still in a bad way with Robb. Joffrey & Cersei are getting used to Margarey's way of doing things and of course Littlefinger being Littlefinger. Great start to the season and it'll be over in no time at all.

Dallas is just roaring and I'm just waiting for the next crazy thing to pop off on it. This is something if you're a fan of TV Dramas should be on your list whether or not you have any fondness for the old show.

Revolution is back to finish the 2nd half of the 1st season and a lot has been revealed but after watching the last episode and figuring out what led to the blackout is just on WTF level to me. If you haven't been watching it may be time to get on in and start watching if you haven't.

Arrow is still going strong and about to wrap up Season 1 and it does seem that a lot of the loose ends for the season may get wrapped up...I hope. We shall see on that.

The Vampire Diaries is getting better and better. I don't know if they can get a good and clean finish for the next season set up but they're damn sure are going to try. I for one hope they succeed.

I don't know how much I'd said about Kyoryuger in the last The Cool but I'm so loving this show right now. The team is just a great mesh and it looks we're about to get into some "Sentai Drama" in the next couple of episodes. Should be a great watch.

Wizard right now is all ready to set up Beast with his Hyper Form. And the only question I really ask myself as I have been in the last couple of years is that "How is this going to work in Climax Heroes?" The last set of episodes before this were damn good and we got some backstory out of it for one of the Phantoms so that works too.

I'm still ehhhh on MegaForce and "Alex Murphy Ranger" isn't helping either. The only thing I'm really noticing about my watching habits of Power Rangers is that ever since I really became engrossed into Sentai is that I'm spoiled on it. It also doesn't help that this adaptation is trying to squeeze something out of both Goseiger & Gokaiger which were great Sentai on their own into this hodgepodge anniversary season. I just wish Power Rangers had the time to tell a great story with both of those separately instead of what we're forced to watch. I'll keep watching because I'm a fan. I just want to start enjoying it is all.

In other stuff before we move on is that Burn Notice will be back June 6th and I'm very hype for that and True Blood which I hope keeps in its winning ways will come 10 days later on the 16th. And the new season of Arrested Development premieres on May 26th on Netflix. Can't wait. Been waiting way, way, way too long!

For what I'm reading on is that Naruto & Bleach are still stuck telling throwback stories for the sake of whatever plot was lost years ago. I can't really determine which is actually forwarding anything at all but I'll give the nod to Bleach because at least that flashback is character development for not only Ichigo but others as well. The Hashirama stuff on the other hand, I still have no clue what this does for Sasuke at all. I just want there to be some payoff for skipping rocks and what not.

I'm also deep into reading Freezing which I tweeted about a while back and my new manga vice, Highschool DxD. Read both of those if you're looking for something a bit different in your weekly manga rush.

And I think that about does it. A shame really I can only do great work sometimes but anything other than I can never pull off. I just have to be ready on Tuesday regardless of what news is out there to just write just because I need the practice in doing so. This has also fallen over into #DiaryofaGameWhore and the #StreetsofRageTrilogyProject. Not getting that Vampire Savior review out by now is all my doing but J hasn't been feeling good so no blame on him if his body can't hack it. But whatever creative mojo I have left I'll get something done. I have a #DoaBH review coming this weekend once I get the remaining information I need to bring you a well written review so please be watching out for that as well. Thank You as usual for trudging your way through and let us all hope and pray that The Cool will come out on time for a change. Have a great weekend everybody!!

-Triple Da G.O.D