British Characters in Anime & Manga

After watching Kiniro Mosaic, and thoroughly enjoying every moment of it, I decided I would take a look at characters who hail from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, just because I can. Take a look at this list, and then consider if all anime happened to come true through some ridiculous event; the UK would probably do quite well in protecting itself. Also, I will only be looking at characters from the anime I've watched and the manga I have read.

Rory's Reviews: Kiniro Mosaic

So, another anime series has come to an end, which means it's review time. I should probably say before I get this started, that I have a strong bias towards Kiniro Mosaic, and I don't really know if my review will be helpful or not. Basically, I'm going to go on about how much I loved watching it, and probably not mention much in the way of negative points. Anyway, on with the review!

Wii Fit U Direct

Once again, Nintendo went and dropped a Nintendo Direct on us without any prior warning. As you may have guessed, this is about the upcoming Wii Fit U. Personally, this doesn't really interest me, but I figure it's worth going over anyway.

A Closer Look at the Autumn 2013 Anime Season

A while back, I mentioned the anime I am looking forward to watching for the upcoming season. I gave brief outlines of each one, and why I was looking forward to them. You may remember that there was a lot that I didn't really have too much information on. In order to rectify that, the plan is to have this blog post talk about the plot of each anime, the air dates and number of episodes. I will try to include videos as well.
Oh, and I will be referring to TV Tropes, and AniChart for information.

Touhou: The Characters of Double Dealing Character

It's been a while since the release of the fourteenth Touhou game, but I have decided to take a look at the characters within it. Better late than never, huh? Anyway, there are some familiar faces mixed in with the new ones, and I'll be going over all of them.

Rory's Reviews: Fate/kaleid liner Prisma☆Illya

As we approached the end of the summer 2013 anime season, shows must start coming to an end. The first one to do so is Fate/kaleid liner Prisma☆Illya, which isn't really a surprise, considering it was a mere ten episodes long.

My review is based on the anime alone, as I haven't read the manga. Anyway, let's begin.

Rory's Wii U Game of the Month

So, I wasn't sure whether I was going to get a game or not this month, due to saving up for the London MCM Comic Con. However, it turns out I can use my ShopTo points to drastically reduce the price of a game. In this case, I had enough to get this particular game for free.

Autumn 2013 Anime

So, I have recently looked to the past for anime I have watched, so I figure now is a good time to look to the future. Once again, I'll be referring to TV Tropes for titles and translations.

The Anime I Watched During the Previous Seasons

So, I started this blog some time ago, though I made zero mention of the spring 2013 season of anime. I figured the time has come to address that, so here's a quick rundown of the anime I enjoyed during the Winter and Spring 2013 anime seasons.

A Tactician's Journal 23 - Storming the Fort

In the last Tactician's Journal, a break was had in order to allow the characters to become stronger and develop bonds. Those bonds that have been built won't be properly revealed until the appropriate side stories. Anyway, back to the plot, Red and the Shepherds find themselves at Fort Steiger.

Catching Up: The Wonderful 101 Direct

So yeah, I decided to watch the Wonderful 101 Direct, and I have to say, it has hyped me up.

Rory's Wii U Game of the Month

There are a few 3rd party titles being released for the Wii U this month, but there is only one I have my eye on. Oh, and sorry, Ubisoft, but it isn't Rayman Legends.

Rory's 3DS Game of the Month

So, after changed release dates and some speculation, it seems that I have finally settled on the 3DS game I will be buying for myself this month.

Catching Up: Nintendo Direct 7/8/2013

So, only a week after it initially aired, here are my impressions of the last Nintendo Direct.

I'm Back!

So, I've been gone for a couple of weeks, as I am sure around zero people noticed. However, now I am back from saving the world (or maybe I had no access to the internet for awhile, I'm not sure...) I should probably preview some of my upcoming stuff.

A Tactician's Journal 22 - Basically Taking a Break

Previously, Red and the Shepherds met with the Voice of Naga, and were able to acquire an important item. With that summary done, let's get into the next entry, which will probably contain spoilers. Usual statement about being warned about spoilers here.

A Tactician's Journal 21 - A Huge Tree and the Voice

Last time, Red and the Shepherds arrived on the continent of Valm. There, they were able to enlist the help of the swordmaster Say'ri, and agreed to join her fight against the Conqueror. There'll be spoilers, probably, so consider this your usual warning.

A Tactician's Journal 20 - Battle in the Harbour

Last time, Red and the Shepherds had a battle at sea. That pretty much sums things up, so I guess we can get straight in to today's entry into the tactician's journal.

First Impressions: RWBY

And now for an impression of something that isn't technically an anime. TV Tropes describes it as an "Animesque CGI production from Rooster Teeth, animated by Monty Oum." Now, I'm only slightly aware of one of Rooster Teeth's work, Red vs. Blue.
Monty Oum, however, has produced a couple of things I'm more familiar with. The first is Haloid, an animation of a Spartan from the Halo series of video games fighting Samus Aran. The next is Dead Fantasy,  a series of animations featuring characters from Final Fantasy and Dead or Alive beating the living daylights out of each other. Both Haloid and Dead Fantasy are epic, action-packed animations, which is why learning that Monty Oum had created this got me interested in RWBY.

Time for my thoughts on it, I guess...

Nintendo Direct Mini From Out of Nowhere!

So here's a nice unexpected surprise. Today, on the Wii U eShop, a new Nintendo Direct has been made available. Coincidentally, the Wii U eShop's news tab revealed the release of a game that I thought would be arriving later this year...

A Tactician's Journal 19 - The Inevitable Boat Chapter

Last time, Red and the Shepherds had a few revelations. That's about as much detail as I can put without spoiling anything, so let's just focus on what happens to them today.
Oh, and yeah, lots of spoilers still to be found, so be wary of that.

A Tactician's Journal 18 - A Reunion of Sorts

After Red and the Shepherds were able to fight off a new threat to their continent, Ylisse and Regna Ferox turn towards a former enemy for aid in the upcoming conflict. There are spoilers in this chapter, consider this your warning.

Seriously, spoilers. Read at your own risk.

A Tactician's Journal 17 - After Two Years

Last time, Red and the Shepherds fought Mad King Gangrel. Two years after that conflict, a new threat arises, forcing the Shepherds into battle once more. Naturally, expect to see some spoilers, although nothing too major just yet.

First Impressions: Hyperdimension Neptunia: The Animation

And so we come to the last new anime of this season that I had some interest in: Hyperdimension Neptunia: The Animation. This anime is based on the Hyperdimension Neptunia games, but I have no prior knowledge of those, so this will be a fresh experience for me. Well, I do know the characters and areas are representative of the different gaming companies, but I don't think I'll spell out for you who's who.

First Impressions: Gatchaman Crowds

Finally, we've moved on to the anime that I wasn't sure about watching at first... well, one of them at least. This is Gatchaman Crowds, and here are my thoughts on it.

A Tactician's Journal 16 - A Mad King (Not Ashnard)

So there's been at least two Mad Kings within the entire Fire Emblem series... Anyway, last time Red and the Shepherds were not exactly successful in their mission, but they were able to return to Castle Ferox. Oh, and there are still spoilers, so consider yourself warned.

A Tactician's Journal 15 - A Reluctant Battle

Before Red and the Shepherds got tangled up in aiding Anna, they were fleeing from the Plegian army. The plot returns to that time. Considering the events that have happened previously and are happening, there will be spoilers.

A Tactician's Journal 14 - Recruiting a Certain Red-Haired Merchant

Last time, Red and the Shepherds... oh, wait, that's irrelevant. This time it is another side story, so whatever their situation previously doesn't matter.

A Tactician's Journal 13 - Unlucky for Some

Red and the Shepherds crossed the desert last time, slowly making their way to the Plegian capital. After defeating the Grimleal and recruiting Nowi and Gregor, they have quite an event waiting for them. There will be spoilers.

More First Impressions: Love Lab and Fantasista Doll

So here are a couple of anime that weren't on my list of ones I had taken an interest in. However, curiosity got the better of me, so here are some more first impressions.

A Tactician's Journal 12 - A Manakete and a Mercenary in the Desert

Red and the Shepherds undertook another side quest previously, but now they return to the mission at hand. It's only fairly important, so you can see why there were able to take time out to fight Risen... ¬.¬

First Impressions: Fate/kaleid liner PRISMA☆ILLYA & Kiniro Mosaic

Another twofer for this post, since I watched both of these anime relatively close to each other. Naturally, featuring more female protagonists, but hey, what can ya do?

A Tactician's Journal 11 - Let Me See You Grit Those Teeth!

After an encounter with Plegian forces in the mountains, Red and the Shepherds resume their journey to Regna Ferox for reinforcements.

First Impressions: The Sun Penetrates the Illusions

Ah, another new anime, another new female protagonist. Anyway, this time this is my first impression of Gen'ei o Kakeru Taiyo, or The Sun Penetrates the Illusions.

A Tactician's Journal 10 - Mountains and Wyverns

Whilst there's a lull in new anime releases, I figure I'll continue with this Fire Emblem thing. So, yeah, last time the Shepherds prevented a night-time assassination, but now they have to escort the would-be victim to a safer place. Oh, and there will be spoilers aplenty, although I haven't really mentioned that much since the first post. Still, nothing major in this chapter, but you know, just a heads up.

First Impressions: Senki Zesshou Symphogear G

Although can this count as a first impression if it's for the second series? Well, regardless, I have an impression of it.

First Impressions: Chronicles of the Going Home Club & Stella Women's Academy, High School Division Class C3

So, I've officially joined in with the new season of anime, and I'll start by giving my first impressions of the first two anime series on my previous list.

Summer 2013 Anime

So, here we are in the start of a new season of anime. In this post, I will go over the new anime series that interest me. So, yeah, just click that read more link below this to get on with it. Also, any English translations of the titles have been taken from TVTropes.

A Tactician's Journal 9 - A Battle in the Night

Previously, Red and the Shepherds helped the merchant Anna defend a village from a group of bandits. Now, that had very little connection with protecting Ylisse, but this is where the story returns to that plot.

A Tactician's Journal 8 - Another Distraction

Red and the Shepherds fought against the Plegians after they had captured Maribelle, and won her freedom. With this, Plegia had declared war on Ylisse. However, the Shepherds' next destination doesn't quite relate to protecting Ylisse...

A Tactician's Journal 7 - The Duke's Daughter

Red and the Shepherds were able to enlist the help of Regna Ferox after fighting against Marth in a tournament. With the promise of reinforcements, they return to Ylisse.

A Tactician's Journal 6 - A Battle at the Arena

Last time, Red and the Shepherds took a detour to the Farfort and enlisted Donnel into their ranks. With that distraction out of the way, the Shepherds can now focus on meeting with the khans of Regna Ferox in order to gain some reinforcements for Ylisse.

A Tactician's Journal 5 - Just a Quick Detour

After proving themselves to not be brigands pretending to be Ylisseans, the Shepherds were allowed entry into Regna Ferox. However, rather than go and meet with the khans, the Shepherds take a quick detour to the Farfort, located on a small island roughly east of Southtown...

A Tactician's Journal 4 - Doing Things the Feroxi Way

Last time, Red arrived in Ylisstol and met with the exalt, Emmeryn. With the threat of the Risen, the Shepherds had been given a mission to march north to Regna Ferox in order to recruit some reinforcements. On the Northroad, the Shepherds encountered some Risen, but they were able to defeat them.

A Tactician's Journal 3 - Ylisstol

After meeting with a masked swordsman named Marth, and fighting off a group of strange creatures during the previous night, Red and his companions arrive at Ylisstol.

A Tactician's Journal 2 - Masked Swordsman

So, after being accepted into the Shepherds by Chrom, Red and his new companions travel towards Ylisstol. But first, they decide to camp for the night...

A Tactician's Journal 1 - Premonitions and People

So here's the first part of a series of posts that follow Fire Emblem: Awakening's Avatar on his journey to prevent dark forces from destroying the land. In this case, the Avatar will be male, and named Red. There will be spoilers, you have been warned (and will be warned every new post, just in case).

Coin Flip Chronicles Side Story: The Ancient Keep

Dark clouds loomed overhead, occasionally illuminating the gargantuan castle with bursts of forked lightning. Thunder roared over the sound of the wind and the rain for a few moments. Many puddles had formed around the castle, and the moat was overflowing. Trees were bent sideways in the gale-force winds, almost being torn up from the very earth itself.

The castle itself was resisting the storm fairly well; it had been constructed eons ago out of mighty stone blocks. Whilst the castle was still intact, the shutters on the windows were not faring as well. The ferocious winds were smashing them open against the castle's interior walls, except in the case where the shutters had been already forced from the windows.

Inside the tallest room of the highest tower, of course, a young blonde woman sat on a bed. She was listening to the wind rattle at her window; it was managing to survive the onslaught of the storm, but she wasn't sure for how long. From her seat, she could not see anything outside the window; the rain was obscuring the outside world. However, just for a moment, she thought she caught a glimpse of a fierce glow.

Braving the fierce storm, a lone woman approached. She was wearing a duster that whipped violently back and forth in the wind. Her long purple was much the same. She carried a sword on her back. She took a glance at the castle that stood before.

'What's up with this bloody weather?' Rin muttered. She had no one to keep her any company, so her voice was the only entertainment she was able to provide for herself. 'This whole setup couldn't be any more typical...'

Rin continued to grumble as she walked forward, taking one step at a time due to the wind. When a sound that didn't quite seem natural roared out over the sound of the storm, Rin stopped for a moment. Before she could assume the foetal position, however, she sharply reminded herself what her aim there was. 'Besides, it was only thunder, right...?'

Despite having the castle in sight, it took Rin quite an extensive length of time to finally arrive. The torrential downpour had turned the the grounds around the castle practically to marsh, almost resulting in Rin losing her boots several times.

After having crossed the marsh, Rin found a new obstacle before her. The castle's drawbridge had been raised, and the portcullis lowered. Rin just sighed, and reached into her pocket for a scrap of paper. Unfortunately, the rain had soaked through her duster's pockets and all the ink had ran.

Rin cursed rather loudly, but her voice was lost in the din of the storm. She cast aside the now useless piece of paper and examined the castle's wall. It was quite a feat, as the rain was coming down heavily, and looking up with a clear view was practically impossible. Rin quickly abandoned the plan, and unsheathed her sword.

The sword was a katana; the only one of its kind in the known world. Rin had grown accustomed to wearing it on her back; she had owned it ever since her youth and carrying it at her side had not been an option then.

As she unsheathed the blade, the very rain seemed to split as it came down on the edge of the blade. Rin primed her sword, and took a deep breath. She summoned up all of her might, and swung the sword in a diagonal arc.

Another unique thing about the katana was the power contained within; it was a dark power, but it increased Rin's abilities by an exponential amount. Naturally, there was a great risk to using it too much, but Rin made a concentrated effort to never rely on that power.

The result of Rin's attack resulted in both the portcullis and drawbridge being sliced in half. Fortunately for Rin, they debris created a path through the moat to the castle's entrance; admittedly it wasn't exactly over, but Rin didn't have the time to concern herself with that.

Inside the castle, torches flickered to life as Rin approached them. 'Neat,' she said, nodding approvingly. She could sense some faint mystical power, but she was well aware that she was stepping of pressure-sensitive plates on the floor as she entered the castle. Whilst lit torches were easy enough to deal with, Rin knew that she would have to watch out for any traps.

Rin's fears were quickly founded when the ground seemed to rush up past her. She didn't have enough time to react, so she ended up landing awkwardly on her leg. Her ankle twisted as a result, but Rin continued to soldier on.

The depths of the castle were surprisingly warm, Rin discovered after recovering from the shock of her fall. It was an unnatural warmth, but it felt somehow familiar and comfortable at the same time. No light penetrated depths, so Rin stumbled along with her left hand on the wall. She felt certain that she had gone back on herself a couple of times, but the corridors quickly twisted to new areas.

Rin soon discovered a door, with light filtering out from the cracks. When Rin tried to open it, the door resisted. Rin gave a second and third attempt, using more strength each time, but to no avail. Her fourth attempt had her slashing the door open with her katana; the blade was unnaturally sharp, and never needed any care. This tended to shock the people that Rin met who were knowledgeable about blades.

The door quickly gave way to the might of her katana. Rin was blinded for a moment as the light filtered into the hall. It took a couple of moments for her eyes to adjust. Once they did, Rin found herself staring at an empty room. Only a single fireplace stood in it, with a fire blazing away merrily.

'The heat couldn't be coming from just that...' Rin muttered to herself. Regardless, she felt herself drawn to the fire. As she approached it, it seemed to change colours; from red, to yellow, to orange, even unusual colours like blue and purple.

Rin's body moved against her will, and she found her hand reaching to touch the fire. Whilst her body was out of control, her mind was screaming at her to stop. There was something about the fire that wasn't quite... natural.

When Rin's hand was mere millimetres away from the flames, she could feel it beginning to burn. She tried to urge her hand back, but to no avail. Rin's hand continued to edge closer and closer to the flames.

Suddenly, the flames guttered out. Rin quickly withdrew her hand and examined it; there had been no damage. Afterwards, she eyes the fireplace suspiciously; there were no ashes where the fire had been burning, nor any burn marks.

'I have a feeling I don't want to come up against whatever was responsible for that,' Rin said to herself. She quickly examined the room for any hints about her location, but was unable to find anything.

Rin returned to wondering the pitch-dark corridors, still blind from the darkness. Several times she thought she heard other creatures stirring in the depths of the darkness, but Rin wasn't fazed by rodents. She even accidentally trod on one and apologised to it, but it only scurried off in response.

Rin thought about attempting to follow the rat, but that was one particular skill she didn't quite possess. Instead, she continued wandering through the corridors, her hand upon the left wall.

Hours passed, and Rin felt like she had made absolutely no progress. She was growing weary now, and thought about taking a rest in the next room she discovered. Suddenly, as if in response to Rin's desire, a door seemed to materialise beneath her left hand.

Rin couldn't be bothered to take things cautiously; she was soaked through, tired and hungry. When she entered the room, she discovered a luxuriant four-poster bed, a dresser with a beautiful mirror edged with gemstones and a regal wooden wardrobe.

'This seems like a strange place for the royal bedchamber,' Rin muttered. Still, she had finally found somewhere to rest. Rin gave half a thought about entering the room, and then reached up to the locket she wore.

'Huh, heads,' Rin said after flipping her coin. Regardless of the risk, Rin entered the bedroom and locked the door behind her. Further investigation revealed that one of the other doors in the room led to an outdoor hot spring; or rather, a hot spring that had the appearance of being outdoors. In contrast to the horrendous weather Rin had experienced outside the castle, the air around the hot spring was actually pleasant. Stars shimmered in the night sky, and a crescent moon shone amidst them.

That same warmth that pervaded the castle's depths could be felt there as well. Rin was a bit dubious about using the hot spring, but a coin flip quickly but her worries to rest. She shed her clothes there and then, and jumped into the water with zero grace whatsoever.

'I've always wanted to do that,' Rin muttered to herself. She could already hear Amity for chiding her for such behaviour, but Amity was there at the moment. Rin sat down in the hot spring, allowing the water to wash over her weary body.

All her aches seemed to fade away instantly; her weariness disappeared as well. Rin just leant back and closed her eyes.

When she opened them a few moments later, she discovered that her clothes had been cleaned, dried, folded and placed neatly within her reach. Rin never put much stock in ghosts, but she was glad that whatever it was haunting the castle was actually fairly nice.

After all, she was wide open to attack; despite her katana's remarkable properties, Rin carefully ensured to never submerge it. Besides, she thought the healing properties of the spring would vanish if she even dared to put her katana in the hot spring; one of its traits was its ability to repel magic.

Of course, Rin was the only magic user in the world at the moment, so that little fact was fairly useless. However, there were still ancient weapons that seemed to retain some of their old enchantments, and one of Rin's previous enemies had developed a force similar to magic, but not quite the same.

Rin's thoughts quickly turned to Amity; the two had been practically inseparable from their first meeting, and they had formed quite a relationship. Rin was always there for Amity; the same was true the other way around as well. The adventures the pair had shared were numerous, and their bond only ever grew stronger.

Rin had thought about asking Amity for her hand in marriage after they helped a queen who also had a relationship with another woman. The queen and her wife were beloved by the people of that particular city, and they had only come together thanks to the help of Rin and Amity and the sacrifice of many good soldiers.

That wedding had been the first time that Rin had worn a dress in her adult years; it had also been the case for Amity. The two could barely keep their eyes off each other. Just recalling Amity from back then made Rin want to-

'Guh! Snap out of it, me!' Rin chided herself. Getting lost in thought in an enemy castle was an unwise decision; although freely using their bedroom and hot spring hadn't exactly been too intelligent either.

Rin suddenly noticed that her katana wasn't with her pile of clothes. Her locket was still there, and her duster as well. Rin valued those three items above all else; she had no issue with walking around wearing nothing but a duster, her locket and the katana at her back.

Rin didn't even begin to panic. She could tell that everything around her wasn't exactly real. She concentrated hard for a couple of seconds, and felt a disturbance in the mystical forces around her. She then reached over and produced her katana as if from nowhere.

'Hiding something like this when it can render that kind of trickery null.' Rin just tutted, and gathered up her clothes. They had become eerily warm, but Rin wasn't too bothered.

'Well, g'night,' Rin said to no one in particular. She jumped into the bed; it felt like lying on a cloud. Well, maybe not quite the same, as clouds tended to be fairly moist, and this bed was definitely dry. It still felt pretty damn nice to Rin, however, and she was able to drift off almost instantly.

Rin woke with a start. Something was sat at the foot of her bed. After Rin rubbed the sleep from her eyes, she saw that it was Amity with her back to her.

'Yeah, this isn't going to be that easy,' Rin said to the phantom.

Amity, or rather her phantom, did not respond.

'You're a pretty crappy fake, you know? Man, if you had been more like the real Amity, I could have made a serious mistake and then-'

Suddenly, Amity's phantom whipped around. There was no flesh on her skull, only hair. Deep dark voids stared into Rin's eyes, and bones seemed to clack together. 'I am no copy,' the phantom said in a male voice that in no shape or form fit Amity, 'I am a vision of things to come. Tremble before the fate which wall befall your friend! You cannot stop the tides of destiny.'

'I beg to differ,' Rin said. She kicked out with all of her might. Her right foot found its target; soft and squishy. In that very moment, Rin truly awoke. She had been sleeping on a hard stone floor, yet she did not feel in the least bit weary.

'Aargh...' the quivering mess before Rin groaned. 'I'm never going to have kids, now!'

'Well, try not to mess around with me in the future, all right? Now, why don't you explain what just happened to me?'

'Why?! You're perfectly unharmed! What's the point of doing so- ah!' The pitiful man found the tip of Rin's katana pressed against his neck.

'I'm sure there are some of us who require a better understanding of all those events I did... or did not experience.'

'W-w-well...' the man managed to pull himself up into a sitting position, but he still was holding his crotch. 'There were illusions; with a hint of truth. The room never really existed; the hot spring was actually a poison swamp and the bed was of nails. I believe that accursed sword prevented any harm from befalling you.'

'Ah. I suppose that dream was you messing around with my head, right?'

'You are wrong on that account. I tried to enter you mind, but there are... things... in there. I was thwarted instantly.'

'So who was in my head, then?'

'There is another being in this castle, one whose power far exceed mine own. Mayhaps he was the one that intended to drag you into the pits of despair?'

'Mayhaps? Did you just change the way you were talking... well, whatever. Now, tell me where you're keeping Amity.'

'I can't do that- ARGH!' The man screamed as Rin swung her foot and brought it to a stop mere inches from his wounded area. He was rather forthcoming with the information after that.

'Thanks for that,' Rin said politely. 'Oh, you may want to find some ice for that, 'k?' Rin then left him.

'It's split!' the man wailed a couple of minutes later.

The man's information turned out to be quite reliable, and Rin found herself faced with a huge pair of oak doors. Intricate patterns traced their way down the doors, and the hinges and other metal parts seemed to glow golden. Rin placed her hand upon the door and pushed.

Nothing happened.

Rin unsheathed her katana and slashed through the doors.

The doors were far more willing after that.

Beyond was a staircase that ascended into darkness. Rin immediately started climbing the stairs. She quickly discovered that it was a spiral staircase.

Rin climbed for what felt like an age, growing increasingly dizzy as she went around and around. The staircase was too dimly lit for Rin to actually tell whether she was making any progress or not, so all she could do was keep going.

Suddenly, the image of Amity's phantom appeared in her mind. She hadn't been too worried about the “vision of things to come”, but now a sense of foreboding washed over her.

Rin shook her head, and tried to peer through the darkness. It was futile; she couldn't tell how far she was up the stairs. Unable to tell whether she was actually making any progress or not, Rin took a quick breather. She sat upon the stairs, and thought carefully about her next move.

It didn't take Rin too long before she reached for her coin, which she flipped. However, there wasn't enough light to actually see the result; fortunately, Rin was able to feel that it had landed on tails. She returned the coin to the locket, then unsheathed her katana. With a single slash, the spell that had been hiding the world in shadow was undone. Rin could now see the top of the staircase, so she promptly made her way up.

At the top of the staircase was a bare stone landing. Aside from a couple of windows, nothing could be seen on the stone walls, and there was nothing to cover the floor either. At the end of the landing was a huge pair of oak doors, seemingly impossible to open with human hands.

When Rin stepped towards them, they slowly slung open, hinges screaming in agony. They revealed a bedroom on the other side; unlike the landing, the bedroom was well-decorated. The centrepiece was a huge four-poster bed, with an assortment of dressing tables and cabinets lining one wall. There was an ornate mirror, with a wooden chair.

Upon the bed, Rin could see the familiar shape of Amity. She was sleeping deeply, but definitely unhurt. Rin immediately rushed over to her, and tried to shake her awake.

'It's futile, my dear,' a voice said from the shadows. It echoed all over the bedchamber, making the owner sound like he was everywhere at once. 'I have cast a spell over her that will force her to sleep for all eternity. There is nothing you can do to prevent me from taking her life essence to fully revive myself.'

'A sleeping spell?' Rin asked. 'Ye gods, I never dreamt I would run into such a cliché...'

'What? How dare you mock my power! I may not possess my full strength just yet, but you stand no hope of escaping this place alive!'

'You know, people tend to escape with their lives fully intact whenever the bad guy says that.'

'Bad guy? You would view me as evil? How pretentious! I merely seek to restore my former power, so I can unite all the nations of this world for an era of unprecedented peace.'

'Wait a minute. Right, let me sum things up. You, a disgraced-'

'I have not been disgraced! I merely angered that bastard of a king...'

'A disgraced sorcerer, or mage, or whatever, seeks to restore his power using the life force of an innocent person. I'm not okay with this at all.'

'Hey, if I had known you would have caused such a fuss, I would have picked the second person who came along and suited my needs... but I've started the ceremony, and there's no way to prevent the loss of that girl.'

'And I bet your “unprecedented peace” would be achieved through a dictatorship, right? Since who would listen to someone who fell out with a king?'

'It's the only way to ensure I can achieve peace!'

'One last thing. Amity here looks perfectly healthy. I don't think you've managed to drain any life force from her at all.'

'...It's a slow process. Now, if you would kindly leave, I can continue working towards a grand peace for the world!'

'Sorry, but as a mercenary, peace is not an appeasing prospect for me.'

'You were hired for this mission?'

'Ah, no. I came on this mission because Amity here happens to be the person closest to me. Now, I'm going to wake her up.' Rin climbed on to the bed next to Amity, and leaned in towards her.

'Err... please stop that, miss... although, I guess I don't mind, hehe...'

Rin just ignored the sorcerer, and kissed Amity's lips. It was a gentle touch, but one that immediately woke Amity up. She immediately returned the kiss, and the pair of them spent quite a while enjoying each other's lips.

'I can't believe I actually just broke a curse on you with a kiss,' Rin complained.

'A curse? Oh, right, yeah... Well, if you complain, you won't get to kiss me again,' Amity said.

'In that case, I apologise. Still, what a damn cliché... next I'm going to have to slay a dragon or something...'

Suddenly, a plume of fire burst through the bedchamber's wall, leaving a charred hole. The sorcerer had the misfortune to be caught in the blast, and collapsed to the ground as a blackened husk of a human. Outside the hole, a jet black dragon was staring at Rin and Amity. It had yellow eyes, and slit-like pupils. Its ebon wings beat against the air in a steady rhythm, whilst its tail whipped back and forth. The dragon bared its teeth at Rin and Amity, before letting loose another fireball.

Rin and Amity dived from the bed, which immediately turned to ash upon being hit by the dragon's breath. 'Why the bloody hell did I have to say slay a dragon?' Rin cried. 'Why not pet a kitten or eat a luscious meal? I mean, come on! That's an honest-to-goodness dragon!'

'Maybe we should save our complaints for later,' Amity suggested. She drew the short sword that she carried around on her hip and stood before the dragon. 'That's really big, isn't it?'

'Yeah, but we can handle it,' Rin said, stepping up beside Amity with her katana drawn. The dragon reached a scaly arm into the bedchamber, and attempted to swipe at Rin and Amity with bone-white claws. Amity dived backwards, whereas Rin leapt over the attack. Rin had managed to land on the dragon's army, but didn't anticipate crashing into the wall as the dragon continued its attack. The impact had been enough to draw blood from Rin's head, but she remained conscious.

'Rin! You're bleeding!' Amity cried.

'I noticed!' Rin called back, wiping blood from her left eye. That was futile however, as the wound was bleeding quite heavily.

'Damn you!' Amity cried, charging at the dragon. Rin had to dive onto Amity to prevent her from meeting a fiery end.

'Amity! What's that healing spell again? I've lost my list!'

'What? Oh, right... it's rememdium!'

'Rememdium!' Rin repeated, holding her hand over the wound on her head. The pain she was feeling subsided, and the blood stopped flowing as the wound closed up.

'Should you be using your magic like that? What if you get worn out too quickly?'

'Quit worrying, Amity. I should be able to beat this thing with my katana, which means I can save my magic for healing.'

'I just hope you're ri- AAAAH!' Amity was cut off mid-sentence as the dragon wrapped its claws around her. The dragon then lifted Amity effortlessly out of the bedchamber, and held her before its snout.

Images of the phantom Amity Rin had encountered earlier flashed through her mind. 'Amity, I'm coming!' Rin called. She charged towards the smouldering hole in the bedchamber, and leapt out towards the dragon. Rin had grossly misjudged the distance between the dragon and the tower and found herself plummeting down from quite an alarming height.

The dragon's tail was flicking back and forth, which allowed Rin to grab it. She clung on with her all her might as the dragon's tail whipped back and forth. The nuisance on its tail had meant that the dragon had lost interest in Amity for the time being.

Just as Rin thought she had got a decent grip on the tail, the dragon slammed her against its own back. All Rin saw was a rush of jet-black scales followed by a solid impact. Rin was dazed for a couple of seconds, but she managed to regain enough senses to plunge her katana into the dragon's body. Thanks to the katana's mysterious power, the blade easily pierced the dragon's scales.

The dragon roared in pain, and started to fly in circles around the castle. Amity was still firmly in its grip, and Rin was on its back clinging on for dear life. The dragon's flight was erratic, and it twisted and turned several times. Still, Rin tenaciously remained on the dragon's back.

'Amity, throw me your sword!' Rin called.

'I can't!' Amity shouted back. 'It's got my arms pinned!'

Suddenly, the dragon came to a halt, hovering high above the castle. As Rin peered upwards, she caught a glimpse of the dragon's eye. She swore that it had a look of maliciousness.

'Oh, crap,' Rin uttered, before the dragon nosedived towards the ground at breakneck speed. At the last second, the dragon twisted in the air, and crashed into the ground.

'RIN!' Amity screamed, immediately drawing the dragon's attention again. 'Oh...'

A jet of fire burst forth from the dragon's maw. Amity could feel the intense heat surrounding her, with the bright light proving to be blinding. Amity closed her eyes, awaiting her inevitable end.

'Hey, it turns out dragon's breath must have magical properties,' Rin said.

Amity opened her eyes to find Rin balancing on the dragon's arm. 'What? What the hell happened?' Amity asked.

'I'm not sure... I may have defied all sense, but I don't think you should complain about that.'

'Okay then... you know what, I'll just get you out of there and we'll slay this dragon together.' Rin slashed through the dragon's arm, her katana slicing through scale, flesh and dragonbone as easily as a knife through butter.

'There's no way a normal person with a normal sword could ever pull off something like that. Still, I would have never fallen in love with a normal person.'

It had taken the dragon a few moments to process what had just happened, but when it did, it roared in pain. The dragon's roar was deafening; enough to immobilise Rin due to her fear of loud sounds. The dragon's arm was gushing with black blood, that had steam running off it. The blood itself burnt everything it came into contact with.

'Rin! Rin, get it together!' Amity yelled. Rin had crouched down and covered her ears, so Amity crouched next to her and tried to shake her from her stupor. 'Dammit, Rin! Pull it together, or we're going to die here! Rin, we need to move-'

Amity couldn't finish her sentence before the dragon swiped at the pair of them with its intact arm. Rin was too low to be hit by the attack, but Amity took the full force of the blow. She was sent flying through the air, crashing into the castle. The impact left her unconscious, with blood running down from her mouth.

'Amity?' Rin said, barely recovered from cowering at the noise. She turned to see the state Amity was in. Immediately Rin retrieved her katana, and stood before the black dragon. 'Hey, lizard-breath! I will not tolerate anyone hurting my friends! I will kill you!'

Rin charged at the dragon, but it just ignored her. Instead, it moved towards Amity, its prey finally subdued. It reached out to grab Amity. Rin slashed at the dragon's leg, inflicting a wound that caused it to stumble. Now Rin had the dragon's full attention.

Several fireballs smashed into the ground around Rin, surrounding her with a fearsome inferno. It was clear that the dragon had not been missing on purpose, providing Rin with no chance to escape. The dragon let our an almighty roar.

Rin did not cower this time. Instead, she focused all her energy on saving Amity, pushing back her primordial fear. She had a tight grip on her katana, and determination in her eyes. The dragon let another stream of fire burst forth, covering Rin in dragonflame. A second passed before Rin appeared from the smoke, completely unharmed. Having grown tired of having fire spit at her, Rin charged forward.

'I'm going to save Amity!' Rin screamed. She reached the dragon, and brought her sword forward in an upward slash. Something had increased Rin's power dramatically; her slash tore through the entire dragon's front, sending a shower of black blood everywhere. The dragon gave one final roar of pain, before collapsing backwards and remaining perfectly still.

Rin had lost track of herself for a moment, and was surprised to see the dragon dead before her. She examined her hand for a moment, and caught a glimpse of the dark power from within the katana escaping into the air. 'Dammit, I lost control...' Rin muttered. She didn't have time to worry however; Amity was in a pretty bad state.

'...sorry, Rin...' Amity rasped as Rin knelt beside her.

'Don't overexert yourself, Amity. I should be able to fix you right up... er...'

'The word you're looking for is rememdium.'

'Oh, yeah.' Rin cast the spell, and all of Amity's injuries were healed. However, Rin was left feeling drained.

'Hahahahahahaha! I never thought someone powerful enough to slay that damn dragon would ever visit my keep!' A familiar voice cried. It was the sorcerer from the bedchamber, who was still scorched.

'Huh, so you're still alive, then... well, I don't think you'll be much of a problem, though,' Rin said, stumbling forward as she unsheathed her katana yet again.

'You fail to understand, my dear. Absorbing the dragon's life essence will make me unimaginably more powerful than that from a normal human! And you've saved me the effort of a troublesome fight.' The sorcerer placed his hand upon the dragon's corpse, which collapsed into ash shortly afterwards. The sorcerer cast aside his cloak, revealing that his skin had taken on a black-scale like appearance, and his eyes had turned yellow with black slits for pupils.

'You're not going to start spitting fire as well, are you?' Rin asked.

'You mean to challenge me? You can barely stand, you fool! I intend to take advantage of this opportunity to remove the only one who could defeat me!' The sorcerer raised his hand, and began to mutter a chant. Suddenly, a blade burst forth from his chest, splattering red blood on the ground in front of him.

'It seems I'm perfectly capable of defeating you as well,' Amity said, peering round from behind the sorcerer. She retrieved her blade from the sorcerer's chest, and flicked the blood of off it. The sorcerer wordlessly fell to the ground, his life at an end.

Rin returned her katana to its sheath, and leaned against a wall. 'Thanks Amity... I guess I'll have to repay that once we get home.'

Amity just grinned at Rin. 'There's a pretty nice bed in the castle, you know...'

Some stuff that may or may not be upcoming from me

Well, I haven't posted here for a little while, have I? I figured I would rectify that by posting something, although this particular post won't hold any great value.
Anyway, on with what I want to say. I have finished writing a short story featuring the protagonists of the Coin Flip Chronicles, Rin and Amity. It was just an unconnected piece, playing around with the usual story of a knight storming a castle to save a princess... in this case it's Rin storming a castle to save Amity. It's not exactly a one-off thing, but it doesn't fit in with the main plot of Coin Flip Chronicles. Consider it a side story, like something from the Outrealms in Fire Emblem: Awakening.

Talking of Fire Emblem, I've been tempted to do a sort of tactician's journal. Starting from the very beginning of the game, and following the tactician's thoughts and feelings right through until the end and maybe even covering the DLC maps. Sort of like a let's play, but with no way for me to upload decent screenshots... however, I'm sure I can borrow some official artwork.

I'll definitely post something whenever Nintendo offer a new Nintendo Direct, but I don't really have much else planned for this... maybe something will make itself apparent in due course...

Super Smash Bros. 4 Characters

As anyone who's seen the Nintendo Direct @ E3 2013 or my previous post knows, a trailer for the new Super Smash Bros. games was shown off. In this post, I'm gonna talk about the characters confirmed so far. Naturally, there will be future posts with more information on any reveals, but this'll do for now.

So, first, let's take a look at characters returning from the previous game:
Mario
Donkey Kong
Link
Samus
Kirby
Fox
Pikachu
Bowser
Pit

So, the usual suspects then. They have had some changes made to them, such as Samus now possessing her look from Metroid: Other M. Bowser now stands upright, and runs properly. Pit is able to use some of the weapons seen in Kid Icarus: Uprising.

Next up, new challengers.

The first new challenger is: Villager, from Animal Crossing. The Villager will be able to use the tools from the games as weapons: slingshot, axe, spade and others. Also, he is able to catch projectile attacks and store them in his pockets to fire at enemies later on. I wasn't sure on this one at first, but the videos I've seen have convinced me that he'll be a fun character to play as.

The second new challenger is a character who had his prime during the NES days; Mega Man. Mega Man has had his NES look recreated for the new Smash Bros., and will be able to use weapons from the Robot Masters he has defeated in the past. People have always wanted Mega Man to be in Smash Bros., and I bet a few people cheered when they saw this revealed. I'm definitely satisfied with the inclusion of Mega Man, and it seems we'll be getting a Dr. Wily Castle stage as well as the Mega Man 2 title screen music and the music from the 1st and 2nd Dr. Wily Castle levels, also Mega Man 2. At the moment, this is my favourite new challenger to be revealed, but that could change... especially as Fire Emblem hasn't been represented yet.

Finally, a new challenger that I thought was a joke at first; the Wii Fit Trainer. Like many people, I was skeptical of her inclusion, but then I saw the trailer introducing her. It was funny, and her gameplay actually looks fairly decent. Also, I'm all up for quirky characters joining the roster, so I don't have any complaints about this.

2014 is a long time away, but there will be other games to pass the time. Still, the next Smash Bros. games might just be my most anticipated at the moment. Show me some Fire Emblem characters, and a decent character from Namco (not Pac-Man... seriously) and I'll be happy. Also, judging by Mewtwo gaining a new form in Pokémon X and Y, we may see a return of the Mew clone... no one can say for sure.

Nintendo Direct @ E3 2013

So, let's take a look at what goodies Nintendo revealed from today's Nintendo Direct, and my thoughts on them.

First up, more information on Pokémon X and Pokémon Y. They are introducing a new type, Fairy. Fairy type attacks will be super effective against Dragon Pokémon. Sylveon, the newest Eeveelution, will be one of the Fairy type Pokémon. Older Pokémon such as Jigglypuff, Gardevoir and Marill are all gaining this new type as well.
Another new feature in the games is called Pokémon-amie, which allows a trainer to bond with their Pokémon by feeding, petting and playing with them. I can't say for certain whether this will have an effect on the Pokémon's stats in game, but I imagine it will be a pretty good way to evolve the Pokémon who evolve based on happiness.
During the video, two new Pokémon were also revealed. A dragon- and flying-type Pokémon called Noivern, also known as the Sound Wave Pokémon. Apparently the sound waves it emits can destroy boulders with ease. The next Pokémon was Vivillon, a Bug- and Flying-type Pokémon (cos we don't have enough of those...) Vivillon will be able to learn the move Struggle Bug, but will it be worth using?
Finally, more information will gradually be revealed about the games up until their worldwide release, October 12th.

Next up was Super Mario 3D World. Think of Super Mario 3D Land, but make it HD and that is pretty much that game. As long as it is more challenging than Super Mario 3D Land, I'm looking forward to this one.
Anyway, Super Mario 3D World features a new power up: Cat Mario. This powerup allows Mario to attack enemies with his claws and climb up walls.
The game will feature 4 player co-op/competitive play. The characters available are Mario, Luigi, Toad and Peach (Holy crap she's not been captured for once!). Each character has unique abilities; Mario does the all around thing, Luigi has the higher jump and lower traction (probably...), Toad can run faster than the others, and Peach is able to float.
Super Mario 3D World will be released in December 2013.

Sticking with Mario, the next game unveiled was Mario Kart 8.
The bikes from Mario Kart Wii return, as do the glider and underwater sections from Mario Kart 7 (man, they're getting creative with these titles...)
In addition to the gliding and underwater areas, the game will also have anti-gravity racing. The gameplay showed Mario and friends driving on sideways roads and upside down.
The game will feature Miiverse integration, and a wide array of online options (or words to that effect)
Finally, the release date for this game will be Spring 2014

Next up, Wii Party U. The sequel to Wii Party on the Wii (duh...), it features board games and mini games.
There will be 80 mini games, and tabletop games played using only the GamePad. And in quite a common occurrence for Nintendo games, the game's release has been delayed until the end of this year. Still, it'll probably turn out to be the best party game on the Wii U, so...
Keeping on the subject of sequels to Wii based games, Wii Fit U has also been pushed back to a winter release. Since I'm not in any need of burning of weight, that really doesn't concern me.

Nintendo have announced a new Art Academy game for the Wii U, although it seems to be a little way away at the moment. However, they are going to borrow features from the game and make them available on the eShop so people will be able to colour in their frankly amazing MiiVerse drawings. If I was better at drawing, this would intrigue me, but...

Next up came a list of 3rd party titles being released on both Wii U and the 3DS. I barely managed to take note of the names before they moved on to the next game, so don't ask me for release dates. Anyway, the list was as follows:
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag - Wii U
Batman: Arkham Origins - Wii U
Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate - 3DS
Deus Ex: Human Revolution Director's Cut - Wii U
Disney Infinity - Wii U
Just Dance 2014 - Wii U
Rayman Legends - Wii U
Scribblenauts Unmasked - Wii U & 3DS
Disney's Planes - Wii & DS, Wii U, 3DS
Shin Megami Tensei IV - 3DS
Skylanders SWAP Force - Wii, Wii U & 3DS
Splinter Cell: Blacklist - Wii U
Sonic Lost World - Wii U & 3DS
Watch_Dogs - Wii U
Quite a diverse list, although some interest me more than others. Shin Megami Tensei IV would probably be my personal pick of the bunch, but Rayman Legends, Watch_Dogs and Assassin's Creed IV have also captured my interest.

Next, Nintendo showed off upcoming eShop releases. These are them:
Ballpoint Universe
Cloudberry Kingdom
Coaster Crazy Deluxe
Ducktales Remastered
Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara
Mutant Mudds Deluxe
Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty
Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath HD
Scram Kitty and His Buddy On Rails
Shovel Knight
Spin the Bottle
A World of Keflings
So I don't know a lot about most of these games. However, I do know Cloudberry Kingdom will be one of those ridiculously difficult platformers, and that appeals to me. I knew of Ducktales and Dungeons & Dragons, and I'll probably buy them if they get favourable reviews. Oh, I also know of Mutant Mudds, but I didn't get the 3DS version, so I'm not too bothered about this. The Oddworld games are a nice surprise, Shovel Knight looks like it could be fun, and A World of Keflings looked weird.

Going back to first party games, further information about the Wii U version of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker was revealed. It will run at 1080p, uses shaders and has refined textures. Basically, it looks pretty damn nice.
Adjustments have been made to the game. One, for example, is that the Tingle Tuner has been replaced with the Tingle Bottle. The Tingle Bottle integrates Miiverse with the game, allowing players to send messages in bottles to others. Also, players will be able to attach pictographs to the letters.
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD will be released in October... great, October's shaping up to be an expensive month for me... on the plus side, I have my birthday at the beginning of the month.

Bringing things a bit closer to now, more information on The Wonderful 101 came next. Controlling a group of heroes, they will use a power called Unite Morph to fight evil. More skills can be bought from the in-game shop, opening up a diverse array of methods to dispatch foes. The different attacks are activated by drawing on the GamePad, and bigger drawings bring in more heroes for more powerful attacks.
The game will also feature five player co-op, which is nice.
The Wonderful 101 will be released on August 23rd, with more information being revealed in a Nintendo Direct dedicated to the game before then.

Going from groups of heroes to hairy apes, next up on the list was Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. Vikings from the north sea take over Donkey Kong's island, which means more platforming action across five islands to reclaim his home.
Diddy Kong returns, and Dixie Kong does so as well. The game will include 2 player co-op, just as Donkey Kong Country Returns did. Also, the dynamic camera shows off the environments. Also, the HD graphics allow you to see Donkey Kong's fur.
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze will be released towards the end of the year.

From a big hairy ape to a woman who fights with her hair... Bayonetta 2. A trailer showed off Bayonetta fighting someone dressed in white, whilst everything seemed to be crumbling. I've never played the first game, but we've been told that Bayonetta has had a haircut, and gained new abilities.
The release date for Bayonetta 2 has been scheduled for 2014.

The next game they showed off would have been my highlight for the Direct, except the last one... well, we'll get there. Now, though, another trailer was shown off for Monolith Soft's "X". Ye gods, that game looks amazing. Using the experience from creating Xenoblade Chronicles, Monolith Soft are creating a large scale open world that one can explore seamlessly. The game will feature "human-shaped robots" that players can travel around in, some with the power of flight. Huge environments, huge monsters, and the song playing for that trailer seems to indicate nothing but good things about this game.
Actually, there is one bad thing; the release date has been given as a vague 2014. Still, this is one game I plan to acquire no matter what.

Wrapping things up was probably the most anticipated part of this particular Nintendo Direct. The video started off showing a village from Animal Crossing, where a villager received a letter and dashed off. It didn't take long before cutting to the familiar-yet-so-damn-awesome scene of Nintendo's finest kicking the crap out of each other. Of course, this game is Super Smash Bros.
It will be available on both 3DS and Wii U - the 3DS version seems to be using cel shading, whilst the Wii U version will be making use of the HD capabilities of the consoles.
So, Mario, Link, Kirby, Donkey Kong, Samus Aran and Pit all appeared in the trailer (and probably others who I can't remember...), which also seemed to reveal that the Final Smashes were still present. Then we got the reveal of our first new character: Villager! The villager from Animal Crossing, who uses the tools from the games to fight - Bug Next, Spade and maybe others.
After showing off a bit more, we got to my favourite part of the trailer; New Challenger Approaching!
So, we have a silhouette of a boy, who then dons a familiar helmet... BANG, it's MEGA MAN!
So we get to see Mega Man fight against Nintendo's finest, and... get his arse kicked. Then, he starts using the weapons acquired from Mega Man 2 to fight, and that was amazing.
In the last part of the clip, the Yellow Devil from Mega Man put in an appearance...

So, that was Nintendo Direct @ E3 2013. There will be more videos and developer interviews on the official website as E3 goes on, and Super Smash Bros. will be getting a Miiverse community and official website.
Overall, I enjoyed this Nintendo Direct. Admittedly, a new Metroid, Star Fox or F-Zero would have been nice, but, hey, you can't get everything you want. Also, seeing Animal Crossing in Smash Bros. has really tempted me to get Animal Crossing: New Leaf for the 3DS...

Less than 24 hours until Nintendo E3 Direct!

Yeah, that title pretty much says it all... still, why not have some speculation?
Judging by the silhouettes on the official site, we'll be given information on Super Luigi U, The Wonderful 101, Pikmin 3, Mario & Luigi: Dream Team Bros., The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD and the new 3D Mario platformer for the Wii U.
However, what I'm really looking forward to is the ones they aren't teasing. Monolith Soft's "X", which may receive a proper title; Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem; Retro's project (possibly Metroid or Star Fox - that seems to be the general consensus) and mayhaps some new unexpected Wii U titles.
As for the 3DS, more information of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past 2, Bravely Default: Flying Fairy, Shin Megami Tensei IV and more new games would be welcome.
Arguably, the main draw of this Nintendo Direct will be the Super Smash Bros. 4 trailer. Tomorrow, we will possess a little knowledge about one of the biggest crossovers in gaming history, and that excites me. I'll be posting my reaction to everything after the Direct, so keep an eye out for that.

New Touhou Characters!

With the official release of Touhou 13.5 ~ Hopeless Masquerade and the demo of Touhou 14 ~ Double Dealing Character released at Reitaisai in Japan today, new characters have surfaced (well, sort of...) in Gensokyo.

Up first is The Expressive Poker Face, Hata no Kokoro.

 

Kokoro is the final boss of Hopeless Masquerade. She is a Menreiki (don't know that is, and didn't find anything on the internet. I'm sure more information will surface soon). Kokoro has the power to manipulate emotion.

The next pieces of artwork you will see are ZUN's own, so if you feel the quality is lacking compared to the one above, that would be the reason why.

Anyway, the first boss of Double Dealing Character: Mermaid Living in Fresh Water, Wakasagihime.

As you may have noticed, she is a mermaid. She lives in the Misty Lake, and has the ability to grow in power when she's underwater. That's about all I know of her for the time being.

The midboss and boss of the second stage is the Bizareness of the Rokurokubi, Sekibanki.

She is a Rokurokubi, and a weird one judging by her title. Also, she has the ability to make her head fly... No idea on that one, personally.

The final character introduced in the Double Dealing Character demo is The Bamboo Forest's Loup-Garou, Kagerou Imaizumi.

If you know French, I think, you would have already worked out that Kagerou is a werewolf. Naturally, this means her ability is to transform into a wolf on the night of the full moon. She is the boss of stage 3.

Nintendo's E3 Nintendo Direct and MCM Comic Con Stuff

So, after the short but sweet Wii U Nintendo Direct, the next one will be the big E3 one. Nintendo have confirmed that it will be the first chance for everyone to see the new 3D Mario game, the next Mario Kart and the new Smash Bros. Just those three alone will make it worth it, but there will be other games as well.
Maybe we'll get more information on Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem, or even a proper title for Monolith Soft's 'X'.
There will probably more details on 3DS games. If I had to guess, maybe release dates for The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past 2 and Bravely Default: Flying Fairy. I also think both of those titles will be changed somewhat for US and EU releases, but we'll have to wait.
Anyway, the Nintendo Direct is due to take place on June 11th, at 3PM BST. I'll definitely make an effort to watch it.

Now for the MCM Comic Con stuff. After queuing for quite literally two hours, my family and I entered the convention hall. As a result of the queue, I missed out on the panels I wanted to sit in on; definitely gonna get an early entry ticket for the one in October, methinks. Actually, I would have done so in the first place if my Mum and youngest brothers hadn't decided to go along as well.
Anyway, stuff I brought. Well, I made a beeline for the Manga stall (Manga being the name of the company that distributes anime in the UK... yeah), where I brought Bleach the Movie 4: Hell Verse, Black Rock Shooter: The Complete Series and One Piece Collection 1. Here's an interesting thing about One Piece; it hadn't been available in the UK till around now (released officially on the 27th May, available early at the MCM Comic Con). The same had been the case for Dragon Ball Z as well, so Manga got both of them licensed, and have been releasing a season every two months. I believe up to season seven is available now, with two more to come... Don't quote me on that.
It seems that Manga are going to release the One Piece collections every two months; each one has around twenty-six episodes, I think. Unlike Dragon Ball Z (I have season one...), I will try and stay on top of that particular collection.

Anyway, the next stall I visited was the MVM Entertainment stall. That's where I picked up Rozen Maiden: Ouvertüre and Ga-Rei Zero. 

As for manga, I picked up new volumes of Soul Eater and Fairy Tail. I was hoping to get the next volumes of A Certain Scientific Railgun, but I couldn't find the fifth one anywhere... six and seven were available, though. However, I have now ordered volumes five, six and seven from Amazon, bringing me up to date. I should have tried to pick up more Bamboo Blade manga, but that completely slipped my mind... I might do so after I get paid again, however.

Other purchases I made at the convention included a Laughing Man t-shirt (from Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - a sort of smiley face logo with the phrase "I thought what I'd do was, I'd pretend I was one of those deaf-mutes."), a pack of A Certain Scientific Railgun playing cards, Pocky and a couple of other sweet treats, and a statue of Homura Akemi from Puella Magi Madoka Magica.

With a little looking around on the internet, I was able to find the news that I missed from the anime industry panel. Manga have acquired the license for Attack on Titan, and Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works will be released on August 26th. MVM and Anime Limited had licensed and re-licensed a few anime, but it wasn't anything that intrigued me.

So, yeah, it was a pretty good day, and as a result of buying stuff from Manga's stall, I got entered into a raffle to win a load of anime related goodies.

Wii U Nintendo Direct

Well, today's Nintendo Direct was rather short.

Anyway, first up was the announcement of a new Mario & Sonic game. It will probably be called something like Mario & Sonic at the Sochi Winter Olympic Games. It looks pretty nice, although I haven't really played any Mario & Sonic games since the first one.

Next up was the reveal that Nintendo and Sega have formed a partnership for the Sonic the Hedgehog series, and the next game, Sonic: Lost World will be released exclusively on Wii U and 3DS.

Game & Wario will be released on June 28th. I'll probably get this one, and that's about all I have to say on the matter at the moment.

Resident Evil Revelations will be released on the Wii U on May 24th, but I think everyone knew that already. I have the original 3DS version, so I won't be getting this... plus, I'm saving my money for the London MCM Comic Con.

New Super Luigi U, a sort of expansion pack for New Super Mario Bros. U will be released on the Wii U eShop on June 20th. There will also be a standalone version launched on July 26th, for anyone who doesn't have an internet connection or New Super Mario Bros. U.
A new character is available for multiplayer, as Mario is nowhere to be seen. The character is Nabbit, who can't power up, but can't get hurt either. I imagine bottomless pits will still do him in, though.

The Wonderful 101 has a launch date of August 23rd, with more information being made available between now and that time.

Pikmin 3 was probably the main draw of this Nintendo Direct. The three new characters seen in the screenshots have been named: Alph, Brittany and Charlie. They are on a quest to bring food back to their home planet, and since the fruit in the Pikmin's world is larger than they anticipated, they enlist the help of the Pikmin to acquire it.
There will be several methods of control available, from the GamePad to the Wii U Pro Controller to Wii Remote and Nunchuk. Pikmin 3 is due for release on 26th July.

Now, this Nintendo Direct wasn't as great as the 3DS one, and I'm sure many people will agree. However, Satoru Iwata did state that it would be focusing on titles released this year, and we've been given release dates for games that seemed to be constantly pushed back.
Next month is E3 as well, with the promise of a Nintendo Direct to showcase what Nintendo have coming up. So whilst this was by no means the greatest Nintendo Direct, I feel it was just a prelude to greater things.

New Nintendo Direct Incoming!

On Friday 17th May, Nintendo will be streaming a new Nintendo Direct. It is set to focus upon the Wii U.
I hope that it is as good as the recent 3DS one; announcements of several new titles would make me happy.
Actually things I hope to see: more information on Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem, more on Monolith Soft's 'X', a release date for the HD Wind Waker. Details about the Smash Bros. 4 would be nice, and maybe a sneak preview of what Nintendo are offering at E3.
Actually, I can see this Nintendo Direct being the last one for this half of the year, what with E3 next month I believe. Although Nintendo won't be holding a big conference, I very much look forward to what they will be announcing through Nintendo Direct around that time.
Also, as a side note, Nintendo Unleashed will be at the London MCM Comic Con, showcasing both 3DS and Wii U games. Playable Wii U games will be Game & Wario, Resident Evil Revelations, Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Director's Cut, Rayman Legends, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, Coaster Crazy Deluxe, Toki Tori 2, Cloudberry Kingdom and The Cave.
The playable 3DS games will be Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity, Animal Crossing: New Leaf, Project X Zone, Mario Kart 7, Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move, Super Little Acorns 3D Turbo, 3D Space Harrier, Luigi's Mansion 2 and Cut the Rope.

So, Nintendo Direct tomorrow at 3PM UK time, the finale of Doctor Who the day after and then the London MCM Comic Con on the 25th May. I've got a decent time ahead of me, by the looks of it.

Ace Attorney 5 Confirmed for UK!

So today, I discovered that the next game in the Ace Attorney series is going to be released outside of Japan. I've only played the first three games, but they were pretty damn good, in my opinion. This sort of gives me an excuse to acquire Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney and Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth.
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies features the return of the spiky-haired protagonist in the title. There are new characters as well: Phoenix's new assistant Athena Cykes, and Winston Payne's younger brother, Gaspen. Apollo Justice makes a return as well. Oh, and the same judge is still there.
I would like to see Maya Fey return, although that might not happen until Phoenix Wright vs. Professor Layton gets released (if it gets released outside of Japan, that is...)
Unfortunately for some, the game will only be released through the Nintendo eShop. Whilst this isn't a problem for me (thanks to an SD card with more memory), I imagine there are a few who would prefer a physical copy... and the question of the price is one thing that could decide on how many people buy this.
I may wait a little while before getting this game, since I would like to see Apollo's story, so I don't spoil anything. Technically Ace Attorney Investigations isn't part of the main series, which is why the newest game is known as Ace Attorney 5. Still, more Ace Attorney suits me fine, even if it isn't quite the same as trying to get a not guilty verdict.
Although there is the slight issue of Ace Attorney Investigations 2 not being available outside of Japan... 

14th Official Touhou game announced

On May 11th 2013 at 5:00AM JST, ZUN announced the fourteenth official Touhou game. Its English title will be Double Dealing Character. A 3-stage demo will be made available at Reitaisai 10 on May 26th.
All I know at the moment is that there are three playable characters. Two of them are Reimu Hakurei and Marisa Kirisame, of course. The third is making a return as a playable character after a fairly long absence; Sakuya Izayoi, the Perfect and Elegant Maid from the Scarlet Devil Mansion.
The story involves the protagonist's weapons acting odd (not sure how knives can act odd, but whatever...) and youkai rebel (as they tend to do...). It seems the protagonists will be choosing whether to take their weapons in hand to fight the youkai, or cast their weapons aside. This being Touhou, I can't really imagine the protagonists allowing youkai to run freely causing havoc.
Also, the next Touhou fighting game, Hopeless Masquerade is set for release at Reitaisai 10 as well.

London MCM Comic Con

I will be attending the London MCM Expo Comic Con at the end of this May. I will be the redheaded guy with glasses who won't be cosplaying - don't bother looking out for me!

Anyway, I thought I would take the opportunity to write some stuff about what's going on there, since I haven't really posted much in a little while.

The main attraction for me is effectively what is a market for anime, manga and video game based goods. I have plans to pick up a few new volumes of manga, some anime DVDs, and some useless stuff I would never need. Oh, also Pocky.

Another thing that holds my interest is the opportunity to play new video games, particularly Nintendo ones. However, at the time of writing, there has been no news about games publishers appearing... still, I'm certain that there will be a few.

There are always special guests at this event, and this year is no exception. I really only have interest in one at the moment, but I'm sure more will be announced. The list so far looks like this:

Mark Meer - The voice of Commander Shepard from the Mass Effect series of video games.

Brad Bell - Cheeks from Husbands

Jane Espenson - The producer of Once Upon A Time

Keegan Connor Tracy - Blue Fairy/Mother Superior from Once Upon A Time

Raphael Sbarge - Archie Hopper/Jiminy Cricket from Once Upon A Time

Remi Aubuchon - Producer of Falling Skies

Drew Roy - Hal Mason from Falling Skies

Sarah Carter - Margaret from Falling Skies

Shinichiro Watanabe - Director of a few mighty fine anime series: Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo among them

Camilla Luddington - Voice of Lara Croft from Tomb Raider

Daniel Sharman - Isaac Lahey from Teen Wolf

Crystal Reed - Allison Argent from Teen Wolf

Jessy Schram - Karen Nadler from Falling Skies

Christian Taylor - A writer whose works include Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Teen Wolf, Lost and others

Ashley Miller - A writer whose works include X-Men: First Class, Thor, The Fantastic Four and others

Rob Van Dam - A WWE wrestler

Holland Roden - Lydia Martin from Teen Wolf

The Dead Lay Waiting - A metal band, promoting their comic

Barrett Foa - Eric Beale from NCIS Los Angeles

Renee Felice Smith - Nell Jones from NCIS Los Angeles


If you hadn't guessed, Shinichiro Watanabe is the only special guest I have any major interest in, although I guess the writers also hold some intrigue for me as well.

There will be loads of cosplayers as well. Some of the costumes are amazing with highlights from previous years being a Captain Jack Sparrow who could have actually been Johnny Depp and a really convincing Ryuk from Death Note.

Anyway, I will be going, and returning with a whole bunch of stuff that will take up more room. I'm quite looking forward to it.

The Mythology Behind Coin Flip Chronicles

I thought I'd go over some of the myths and legends from the world of Coin Flip Chronicles. So, yeah, let's get down to it.

One of the most common legends referred to throughout the series is the Witch Queen. She was a powerful woman who had flawless control of magic. Also, the magic changed her hair colour to purple, which was passed down through her family.
The Witch Queen performed many feats during her time; the first of which was gaining the trust of the divided kingdoms of the land. The kingdoms had constantly been at war with each other, always seeming to find the smallest excuse to invade each other. Of course, many people had grown tired of the constant fighting, but they didn't have the power to overthrow those who forced the fighting.
At this point, the Witch Queen did not have such a title, and magic was a little more believable during that time. Still, she had often found herself outcast due to her hair colour, a problem that continued down the generations.

Regardless, the young Witch Queen did not allow that to get to her. Instead, she earned the love of the people by fighting against those who were oppressing them. Due to her powerful magic, she was able to bring a temporary peace to the land whilst she lived. She also rose to the position of queen, hence the title she gained.

Another legend that will be mentioned throughout the series is that of the Demon Slayer. This one revolves around the katana Rin carries. It is said that a demon once invaded the land, and was slaughtering the populace. Hero after hero attempted to slay the monster, but they all met their ends at its hand.
One man, however, caught wind of this demon. Instead of rushing out to try and claim glory, he researched ancient texts that concerned similar beings. He could not find a surefire way to kill the demon, but he did discover a method that could be able to seal it.

Working quickly, but carefully, the man forged a katana; the only one of its kind in all the world. He followed the forging techniques from the ancient texts as best he could, but just produced an ordinary blade. Admittedly, it was an absurdly sharp ordinary blade, but it didn't seem to have any demon slaying properties.

With the people becoming even more fearful of the demon, the man set out and confronted it. The creature had monstrous strength, but the man was able to keep up with it. Eventually, he was able to strike a mortal blow. To the people, it had seemed that the man had slain the demon.

The man died a few years later, without a family. His sword was enshrined in a temple to be kept under a close watch; those were his last words. However, the sword become an object of desire, and it was lost when thieves ransacked the temple.

It turned up many decades later, where it found its way into the hands of Rin's father. He could feel the darkness within the katana, but was confident that he could control it. However, he never truly got to test it out before being slain by a mysterious silhouette; he was only able to pass it down to Rin.

As with many myths and legends, there are a great many tales concerning the Witch Queen and the Demon Slayer. However, those are not the only fables from the world of Coin Flip Chronicles, and I may get around to writing them all one day.
First, however, I will be focusing on Rin's journey.

Coin Flip

Ah, no, this isn't a reference to my series of writing that revolves around Rin and her adventures. Rather, this is the decision made about which game I should claim for free. The winner is...

Luigi's Mansion 2!

Besides, Animal Crossing: New Leaf is something that I would play a lot at first, but then I would just allow it to gather virtual dust, sitting unused on my 3DS' memory. Then again, the same could be said about any game I download... but there are consequences for leaving Animal Crossing alone for a long time.

So, I'm gonna get my code, and then claim my free game. I might make a post about it.
Also, I'm toying with the idea of writing reviews...

Just some Wii U stuff

Wii U's Virtual Console will be made available tomorrow (27/4/2013), the day after the update to decrease loading times (well, for Europe, anyway. As far as I know, both Japan and the US already have this).

The launch line up for the EU Virtual Console looks something like this:

• Super Mario World
• Excitebike
• Mario's Super Picross
• F-Zero
• Ice Climber
• Donkey Kong Jr.
• Punch-Out!!

 I already have Mario's Super Picross, and I'm not sure whether I'll pay the extra bit for the added Miiverse functionality. However, I have yet to download Super Mario World, so that may just happen.

With the news of Earthbound getting a worldwide Virtual Console release, I'm hoping we'll see some of the older Fire Emblem games that were available on the NES and SNES and never made it outside of Japan.

I have an SD card with more memory... but still have a dilemma

Continuing to talk about the So Many Games! promotion, I now have enough memory on my 3DS to download that free game.
There are three games that particularly appeal to me, as I may have already said. These are Luigi's Mansion 2, Animal Crossing: New Leaf and Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D.

Maybe going over them here will help me to choose, who knows?

So, first up is Luigi's Mansion 2. The sequel to the GameCube's Luigi's Mansion (duh), it features more mansions, and is longer. I've heard that this focuses on puzzles more than vacuuming up ghosts, giving it a Zelda feel. This really tempts me, since The Legend of Zelda is one of my favourite game series. There's also local and online multiplayer, which helps to add to the replay value.

Animal Crossing: New Leaf is next up. There isn't really a point to Animal Crossing; you start a new life and move to a town populated by anthropomorphic animals. In this one, however, you end up as mayor of the town. So in addition to gathering bells (the game's currency) to pay off your loan to a raccoon name Tom Nook, you can make changes and additions to your town. There's all the usual stuff you would expect of an Animal Crossing game as well; fishing, fossils, bugs, etc.

Finally, Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D is a remake of the Wii version of the game. I already own the Wii version, but this remake features some additions. First, there's a mode that makes the game easier; something I will ignore if I do get this game. There's a new world, which also means new levels. Also, the game will make use of the stereoscopic 3D with the levels that require Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong to venture into the background.

...that didn't help at all.

However, I do know that Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D is my lowest priority. With a choice between two games, maybe I should flip a coin...

Nintendo really do spoil us

After the excellent Nintendo Direct showcasing a bunch of upcoming 3DS games, Nintendo have revealed a neat little offer. The promotion is called 'So Many Games!'.

Basically, if you have registered three of the Nintendo 3DS games in the promotion, you can get download a fourth for free. The eight games are Luigi's Mansion 2, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, Fire Emblem: Awakening, Animal Crossing: New Leaf, Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D, LEGO City Undercover: The Chase Begins, and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity.

Half of the titles aren't available in Europe as I write this (and I don't know if this promotion applies to all territories), but they will send a code for the free game to your e-mail address shortly after it has been released. Also, the promotion runs until June 30, so by the time it ends, all the available games will have been released.

Now, I own Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate and Fire Emblem: Awakening, and I registered them. Therefore I am eligible for the promotion. The trouble is that I don't know which game I should get for free, or whether there is enough memory left on my SD card. I could just buy a bigger one, but then I'd need an SD card reader to copy my files over. Still... I think I might just do that.

Anyway, as for what I will choose. At the moment, I'm considering Luigi's Mansion 2, Animal Crossing: New Leaf or Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D. I've played the original Luigi's Mansion on the GameCube, and I enjoyed it. Animal Crossing is a game that having ready to play there on the system would be extremely convenient. I own the original Donkey Kong Country Returns on the Wii, but I haven't completed it.
Still, I should probably consider getting a bigger SD card first.

Choices, choices...

A New Entry in Coin Flip Chronicles Appeared!

With a little inspiration from Fire Emblem: Awakening, I have developed a new plot for Coin Flip Chronicles. Of course, whether this will become a published work or not... well, who can say. For now, though here's the basic idea of the plot.

As Rin and Amity continue their adventures, they come upon a strange gate. During their stay at night, it emits a bizarre light, leading the pair to go and investigate. Before they set off, bandits who may have arrived from the gate attack the town.
The bandits are defeated, allowing the pair to finally go to the gate and investigate. When they get there, the light appears again. This time, they find a young girl who looks bizarrely like Rin. The girl then claims to be Rin's daughter; an impossibility, considering the relationship she shares with Amity.

Rin quickly learns that the child is being hunted by those from the other side of the gate, who invade her own world. With the enemies claiming that Rin is the Witch Queen and calling for her death and the fate of the young girl's life hanging in the balance, Rin and Amity will be faced with new troubles.

Fire Emblem: Awakening is Ace!

Well, I've been somewhat distracted lately. I'm pretty sure you can guess by what from the title. Still, I'll clarify it here; the Nintendo 3DS game Fire Emblem: Awakening is possibly the best Fire Emblem game yet.
Admittedly I haven't finished it quite yet, but I've loved every last minute of it I have played.

I'm also glad to see that after their absence in Radiant Dawn and Shadow Dragon, the support conversations have returned. Just another little feature to help get you further attached to the characters you're commanding. Of course, if you can get the support level between a male and female unit high enough, they'll get married and have children who will join your cause.

So naturally, I (that is Rory, the avatar I created for me in the game), married Nowi, a manakete. What's a manakete, I hear nobody ask. Well, a manakete is someone who uses the power of Dragonstones to transform into a dragon. Anyway, thanks to some higher power, I was also able to recruit my daughters; Morgan and Nah.
Morgan looks practically identical to Nowi, only with shorter hair. She aspires to become a great tactician like her father. Nah, however, inherited my hair colour. She takes everything seriously, which is something that she finds troubling about her mother.
Anyway, with Nowi, Morgan, Nah and I one the field, no enemy should ever consider laying a finger upon my happy little family.

Yeah, so Fire Emblem: Awakening is damn good. If you have a 3DS, get it. If you don't have a 3DS, get one and this game. Then afterwards, go and experience all the other Fire Emblem games.

Fire Emblem Week: It's here!

Whilst I wait for my 3DS to recharge, I thought I would post the news here that Fire Emblem: Awakening found its way through my letterbox this morning. It came with the limited edition artbook, and I love what I have played of it so far.
As I play through the game, I will be posting my thoughts and reactions if and when I feel like it.

Fire Emblem Week: Micaiah

Continuing Fire Emblem week, I will now be taking a look at the Silver-Haired Maiden, Micaiah.

Micaiah, and Yune

Micaiah was first introduced in Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, as the leader of the Dawn Brigade. She wields light magic.
After the Mad King's War three years ago, Micaiah's homeland of Daien had been placed under the rule of Begnion. However, the Begnion soldiers abuse their power, which is why Micaiah is leading a band of freedom fighters called the Dawn Brigade.
Micaiah has a strong bond with Sothe; a thief who get ended up working under Ike during the Mad King's War. Sothe is never far from Micaiah's side.
As far as main characters go, Micaiah could be considered to be the worst. Don't get me wrong; she's a solid enough unit. However, as she is a mage, she has next to no defence and falls easily to physical attacks. This is a problem when she has to survive if you don't want to see the game over screen.
Micaiah loves her home of Daien, and will fight for it, even if that isn't the right path. During the events of Radiant Dawn, she comes to realise that her actions aren't the best. Still, she goes ahead with them, due to unforeseen forces manipulating her.