My impression on Brutal Legend

Since that my computer is going through the ghoulies right now, let me just start give a small tid bit on Brutal Legend. Brutal Legend rocks, and should be in every gamers library. Of course so far, a few people don't like the game, which is okay. I'm just afriad that a lot of people are going to start to hate it for it's fusion between action and RTS. I just hope that it's just me being paranoid, and hope that there's people out there that like the game just as much as I do.

I'll review the game soon, but for now, I need to start using my internet sparingly, since that safe mode with networking option sucks.

My top 12 favorite artists (part 2)

Now comes the epic conclusion of my two parter list of awesome artists. Again, this list is in no particular order. Now, without further ado, let's get started.

#6: Matt Holmberg
I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't know this guys name. Well, he's a video game mangakan, who's famous for his work on the cult classic card game, Magi Nation. He was also one of the game designers for the gameboy color version of Magi nation, as well as artist for all of the expansion packs that Magi nation produced. Unfortunately, he's no longer involved with any of Interactive Imagination's work, so now he's an artist for Pop cap games.
His artwork is very pretty cool, and it was one of the reason why I stuck around, and played Magi nation, as well as collect the boosters and starter packs. So check his stuff out, it's nifty.

Matt Holmberg's website

#5: Ueda Hajime
This is another name not a whole lot of people know, so let me explain. Ever heard of FLCL? That anime show with the kid getting run over by an aliens vespa scooter? If that doesn't seem familiar to you, then stop reading this now, and go rent or buy the DVDs, because it's extremely awesome. Anyway, for those that do know what it is, there's was a manga adaptation for it, and that manga was done by Ueda.
Ueda's style is very cute, little weird, and very sketchy. After FLCL, he did his own manga story, titled Q-ko-chan. After that...I haven't really heard any new projects that he's involved with, which is sad cause I happen to like some of what he's done. While Q-Ko-Chan is a very obscure story, I would recommend you check it out.

Q-Ko-Chan

#4: J. P. Targete
He's known for various illustrations (such as most of the covers for the Changeling the lost supplements), and character designs (He did work on Tabula Rasa) . This guys artwork is seriously awesome, because most of the pictures seem as if you were looking into a dream...a bleak, fantastic, over the top dream. He's also working on a graphic novel at the moment, or last time I heard.
I cannot recommend this dude enough, go look in his gallery and be amazed.

J. P. Targete's official website

#3: Yoshiyuki Sadamoto
This guy was the first reason why I decided to pick up the pencil up again, and start drawing. He's a well know character designer, and also the co founder of Gainax animation studio. At his time at Gainax, he did character designs for Wings of Honneamise, Nadia secret of blue water, Neon Genises Evangelion, and FLCL. His last job as a character designer was for the first two episodes of Diebuster (AKA Gunbuster 2).
For a while he spent time away from Gainax, and helped with the character designs for some of the .hack video games, as well as all of the covers for .hack, and hack G.U. Now he's with Hideaki Anno, serving as character designer for the new Evangelion films. He also did all of the Evangelion mangas.

His artwork is a little mix of realism, and typical design choices in anime, though sometimes he can mix it up, and bring some interesting choices of character design, such as clothing. There's an artbook that features most of his work on not only Evangelion, but other Gainax projects as well, among other things.

Der Mond book

#2: Ovisniger
He's a deviant art poster, who also happens to be a fan of Bleedman, a popular deviant artist. While Ovi will admit his style reflects that of Bleedman's, there's a little bit of uniqueness in there as well. I was one of his first watchers, and to this day I still look into his gallery. He quit DA for a while to focus more on his job and love life, but I look forward to anything else he posts.



#1: Vinson Ngo (AKA Bleedman)
If your a member of deviant art, then chances are you've heard of this guys brilliant work. He's a mangakan, though he mainly does fanart, and stories centered around characters from a Cartoon Network show. Right now he updates three of his popular webcomics on SNAFU, "Powerpuff girls", "Grim Tales from down below", and the only thing not based on a cartoon "Sugerbits". In fact, that's Bleedman's only drawback, is that he's really talented, though he spends most of his on fanart.
Bleedman's deviant art
Like OMG, an interview with Bleedman

Well that's it for my list, and I hope you enjoyed the list, as I enjoyed making it. Until next time, take care.

My top 12 favorite artists (part 1)

I take an interest in two things, and that's artwork, and game development. When it comes to the indy developers, or good programmers, most cannot draw...at all. So that's why we have an artist, so that they do all the designing of monsters, characters, sets, ect...

I was drawing when I was 4 or 7, then I didn't do it as much...but then I got back into it at age 14, and once again I stopped doing it...but two years before 2009, I finally got back into it, and the reason for that is if I should even come across a good programmer in need of an artist, he would not only get an artist, but a good game designer as well. It's much easier for me to draw ideas, or write them down, than to code it in, so that's my only weakness, is a lack of programing skills.

This list is dedicated to all of the artists I found while surfing the internet, or word of mouth. These are the dudes that not only got me into drawing, but keep me there as well. Why top 12? Because I like to go TWO steps beyond, in your face Nostalgic critic...though I will have to make it a two parter, because it's a big list, and I would rather not rush it. This, in no real order, is my top 12 list for my favorite artists.

#12: Robert Dejesus
Catchy name eh? Well I found his Youtube channel, because one of my favorite artists (whom is also on this list) subscribes to his work, so I thought I give it a shot. What I didn't know is that Robert has been drawing anime for a very, VERY long time, and to this day is still doing it. You wouldn't know who he is, but let's say that if your a reader of PSX, the unofficial playstation magazine, he drew the mascot for that magazine. He also did artwork for an author, and he ever posts himself drawing on his Youtube page.

He's a very talented mangakan, so check his work out if you haven't yet.

How I draw Hatsune Miku
How I draw Nurse Lindsay (goes well with this song )
His official website

Notice in his drawing videos, he uses the super power every artist uses...the power to shift the sketching pad to feel more comfortable!!

#11: Andrew Dickman
Yeah he's got a funny name, but damn it he's freaking talented. He's got a deviant art page, (his avatar is a cartoon version of himself, nose bleeding to death) a website dedicated to all of his projects, and a youtube page where he does some sketch work. When it comes to illustration, he's what I consider a jack of all trades, because he draws in different styles, ranging from anime, to cartoony, or a mixture of both. Check his stuff out.

Starfield creations (his official website)
art video - itchy trigger
OMG, his cat is Jabba the hut

#10: Rob Schrab
A few of you may not know who he is, but let's say that he, along with his pal Dan Harmon, co wrote the movie Monster house. Though Rob is really know for his awesome comic series, Scud the Disposable Assassin. He also made the live action movie Robot Bastard, the six part series Twiggers Holiday, and Ringwald and Molly, which was the debut of Rob Schrab's unique style of puppetry, draw-less animation. Rob's style is cartoony, but there's also an edginess in his style that makes it so appealing.
If you have never read Scud, or seen any of his films, then go do so, he's a talent to be reckoned with.
Scud Vlog #7, Rob drawing up the final Scud
Explanation of Draw-less animation
Rob Schrab's official website

#9: Doug Tennapel:
Come on, you know this one guys. Who is Doug Tennapel? Well, his Neverhood series is in my blog, and before he did that, he's most know as the creator of Earthworm Jim. He also does a lot of graphic novels in his spare time, and currently, he's working on a new video game for Earthworm Jim, a new Earthworm Jim cartoon series, an Earthworm Jim movie, a new Neverhood movie, and a movie based on one of his graphic novels, Monster Zoo.
I love this guys work, because he's basically the John K of the video game world. All of the titles he's worked on have visuals and sound that made you feel like you were playing a cartoon. His graphic novels are pretty cool as well, because his style is gritty, cartoonish, and atmospheric. Get one of his graphic novels, you won't be dissapointed.

G4 talks with Doug Tennapel
Rob Schrab talks Scud with Doug Tennapel
Doug's super awesome movie series, Sockbaby...GO WATCH IT NOW
Doug's official website

#8: Andy Hopp:
Now before I continue, this guys artwork is not cute, or cartoony...well it is cartoony, but in a really, REALLY grotesque way. Andy Hopp is not a well know artist, but I should mention him on here, since that his work is sick, but in a weirdly awesome way. Andy Hopp has been drawing monsters ever since he was a kid, and before he knew it, he would have some of his creations featured in different D&D monster manuals, Call of Cthulhu RPG, among other things.
Now a days, he's focusing on his convention, Con on the cob, as well as spin off games in his series Low life, which is a really interesting series. Low life originally started life as a campaign setting for the Savage worlds RPG system, though he expresses to turn Low life into a franchise. Low life is a fantasy/ post apocalyptic world, in which our world as we know it, was destroyed by a weird event known as the great flush.
Basically what happened is that our world was destroyed by an alien invasion, earthquake, flood, tsunami, meteorites, any scenario of Armageddon imaginable...all at the same time. The result was Motha Oith, a land filled with humanoid piles of junk, goo monsters, humanoid snack cakes, humanoid cockroaches, stranded aliens, mutants, hybrids of animals, and humanoid worms.
Andy Hopp's style is very gritty, very slimy, and very, VERY weird. So if you can stomach that kind of stuff, go right ahead and check his stuff out...but don't say I didn't warn you.

Official hub for all things Andy Hopp

#7: David Peterson:
The creator of a great comic series, Mouse Guard, is a pretty talented artist. Almost all of his works are in color, and his use of color is spot on. In case you don't know what Mouse Guard is, it's a series of Comics that centers around a group of mice...not humanoid Mice, just Mice...who happen to talk. Anyway, the Mouse Guard was formed as a little branch in Lockhaven's army, and the Mouse guard was used in time of war.
A few years have passed since the time they were formed, and they spend most of there time acting as weathermen, trackers, guardians of the road...basically rangers. So far, The first in the series is Fall 1152, which is now in a collected omnibus. The second series, Winter 1152, is still going, so there's still time to get into the Mouse Guard story. Trust me when I saw that Mouse Guard is a really good series, and David Peterson is a really talented guy. Highly recommended.

David Peterson's site

Well that's all the room I have for tonight, so I'll finish it up tomorrow. See you then.

Name chance, and additional update.

Yo guys, how's it been? Well, I decided to rename my blog, as it will now focus on not only reviews of video games, but my personal opinions on the now, and then of various topics (though nothing to heavy, such as politics) . At one time, I use to own another blog that had opinions as well, though I'm not proud of what I posted on there, so I decided to go back and try it again.

So why Monstrous sanctuary? For one, I have a thing for monsters, though my tastes are more of the monsters in the D&D manual. I also imagine monsters in any form of media taking the slack for the hero. They put up a good fight just long enough for the heroes to beat them senseless, and loot there well being for gold, XP, or any other valuables. Though monsters are better than that, they have class, and they have a home as well. They have families, dangers to face, an underground empire to keep, as well as hopes and dreams...you know, like the heroes that slay them?

Well anyway, that's the backstory for my blog title, I thought you might want to know. For the purpose of this revamp, I decided to to give an additional post, plus I'll redo the very first blog page I did. So look for it on this page, or somewhere in 2008...whatever, just lurk some moar.

My review of "Skull Monkeys"

Intro: After playing The Neverhood all the way through, I thought my journey through the magical, clay crafted world of the Neverhood was finished. I got bored with Final Fantasy Tactics, so I've been a bit lost, also take note that this was well over a few months ago. Anyway, I was checking out the bargin bin at a Half priced bookstore, and I was shocked to see Skull Monkeys on sale...for three bucks. I mean, the cheapest one you can get through amazon is like 20 or more, but this was a rarity.

So Immediately I asked my oldest brother to pick this one up for me, and I would pay the money back. While the disk was missing the manual, and the disk was kind of scratched, it ran pretty well. So now I told you how I stumbled upon it, now let's dive back in...let me take you back into the wonderful world of Neverhood.


It's teh evil Klogg Monkey, RUN.

Story: The game takes place after the original Neverhood. All I can say is, without spoiling the story of the first game, is that there was a happy ever after, and the evil antagonist Klogg was sent far away into space. Although if Klogg really did die out there, we wouldn't be talking about this game now would we? He just so happens to drift so far out into space, he lands on a mysterious planet, which is home to the skullmonkeys. Ordinary monkeys with oddly shaped skulls on there heads.

Anyway, Klogg happens to land on the leader of the skull monkeys, and he declares himself as the king of all Skull monkeys, Klogg monkey. All of the Skull monkeys submit to Klogg, and the first thing Klogg wants his slaves to do...is built an evil engine...Evil Engine Number 9. So all of the Skull monkeys get to work, all except for one. Jerry O, who happens to be the smartest Skull monkey there ((Or at least I think so)) saw through Kloggs evil scheme. So Jerry O sends a flying machine to pick up the only man that would save the Skull Monkeys from doom...Klayman.


Collecting stuff to look tough.

Gameplay: Skull Monkeys is very different from the previous game, which was a point and click adventure game. Skull Monkeys plays out more like Super Mario Brothers, or any other side scrolling platform game. Basicly you go from point a to point b, using only your wits, a few power ups, and any of the lives that you have. You don't have any health, though there are power ups that can protect you from harm. If you die, then a life will be taken away. Run out of all of your lives, then you can either give up and go back to the main menu, or keep going. If you keep going however, you loss all of the cool stuff you collected previously.

Now let's talk power ups. You can bounce on curtain Skull Monkyes, though some will require you to jump beyond them, or the use of a nifty power up. There are a crap load of power ups that you can use, and you will have to use them sparingly in order to survive this game. You can collect bullets to shoot people with, homing birds that work like homing missiles, call your friend Willy to collect any hard to reach power ups, use a universe enema that destroys all of the enemies on screen, and my personal favorite, the phart head, which calls forth a scout that'll take your place if you die.

There's also some nifty bonus rooms you can visit, granted if you collect all of the three swirls, which are in every level. There's even a super duper secret level that takes place in the 1970s. This is the toughiest level to get to, and the three bonus room tokens can be found by those who search closely. If you make it here, and survive it, then it'll be well worth it.

There are a few levels in each stage, and after you complete each stage, you'll be given a password to continue on where you left off, plus a nifty cutsceen every once in a while. True that you can't save your game on a memory card, just remember a password. Although I don't mind this, and personally you shouldn't worry about that too much, because I'm sure you have writting material at home...oh, I almost forgot. The game has bosses, and each boss is pretty unique in not only appearance, but attack pattern as well.


Oh, fancy lab.

Visuals: Seriously, do I need to explain this? If you've read my last review, then it pretty much says the same thing. The whole game is made with clay, everything, from the characters, to the sets. Although this time around, realistic objects were used, such as a can of beans, a live hamster, and even one of the bosses uses one of the heads of the many NH developers. There are cinimatics every two chapters beaten, and they're hilarious. Like when Klayman picks up the can of beans, and farts on a mean Skull Monkey that stalks him. Really there's not much to disscuss.

Music: Once again, Terry S Taylor provides an awesome soundtrack, and like last time, you should hear what I mean, rather than just listen to me. First, let's hear some of what we have now a days compared to skull monkeys.


Tales of Destiny battle theme


Halo theme

Now lets hear the Skull Monkeys theme


Wasn't that fun kiddies? I will also say this much about the Skull Monkeys soundtrack. Neverhoods soundtrack was more focused on slow melodies, while Skull Monkeys is more fast paced, since that it's a platform game. On other audio notes, the voice acting is top notch...nuff said, let's move on.


Don't miss, don't miss, DON'T MISS.

Flaws: Skull Monkey isn't without it's flaws, sad to say. For starters, the platforming is tough...I mean it, this is perhaps one of the most difficulty games you will ever play. I mean it's really challenging, and at times even unfair. You'll have to make jumps that seem imposable to make, and he he, good luck with trying to complete the game without any use of the power ups. I will admit, I wish the game's jumping puzzles would have been better placed.

There's also the bonus rooms, in which promise a chance to wind down, and collect some really cool stuff. Though later on in the game, there will be enemies in some of these rooms...what the hell is up with that? I would have been fine without any of the monsters, since that I look forward to a bonus room with free time to smell the roses.

Last little thing is the ending, which I won't spoil for you. Although I will say this much, and that there are two endings, and one of them can be yours by collecting the swirlies in the last level...the last level, which is the hardest level in the entire game. I'll also say that the original ending will not be worth it, so try to collect the swirlies at the last level if you want a decent ending...and good luck with this.


HA HA, Doug has an ear ring. XD

Conclusion: Despite it being as hard as Ikaruga, Skull Monkeys can be a delightful adventure, and there are even some original levels that I forgot to mention. It's worth it if you want to revisit an old time platform game.

My review of "The Neverhood"

Intro: After playing Final Fantasy Tactics for a while, I thought it would be a good game to review, just for the heck of it...then something occured to me. Rather than giving another first impression, why not review a game I completed? One which was an awsome game, but not a whole lot of people remembered it. One which deserves to be mention whenever anything adventure game related is disscussed. This, my friends, is that game. I present to you, a little slice of heaven called, "The Neverhood" .

Basic premises: The Neverhood was a PC, point and click, adventure game, that was released back in 1996. The project was headed by Doug Tennapel, of Earthworm Jim fame, and some of the teammates were also apart of the Jim team. The developers studio, which is also Neverhood, made a game which involved solving puzzles, exploring a weird enviorment, and some top notch storytelling.
What made the game great wasn't really the puzzle solving, but everything, ranging from the sets, characters, and props, were all made out of clay...five tons of clay.


Ahh the wonders of The Neverhood.

Gameplay and storyline: The storyline is sort of hard to explain, so let me just lump that part into the gameplay section. You play as Clayman, who if you haven't noticed already, is the weird looking fellow in the screen shots. He wakes up in a nursery, and starts to explore the place. You guide our hero through many wacky locations, and solve some puzzles, which range from being quite easy, to being mind numbingly difficult, or somewhere in between.

The locations in the game are all sculpted marvelously, and you can find a few funny things here and there. There's a place with a talking television, a place where you can make a tiny rat hole into a man sized arc way, and even run into the dreaded weasel. You can pick up items in the game, but there's no inventory, which is okay, because some of items you can use in the same room you got it from, plus it's simple to know which items go to which room.

Some locations will have tapes, along with television screens. You can insert the tape in one television screen, and that tape is linked to all of the television screens in the Neverhood, so you don't have to worry about going back and getting a tape to watch it all in one place. While you can watch them, you won't be able to see the whole message, so collecting all of the tapes is the main objective in the game. The tapes are used to tell a story about how you got in the Neverhood, who made it, and why the creator has been replace with the antagonist.

The sound and music: The music is what also made the game great. To describe it is just doing it injustice. Here's a few songs from other games...

The theme of Final Fantasy


A battle theme for Devil may Cry 3


Now prepare yourself, for klaymans theme


If that wasn't enough, here's one of my favorite themes in the game


I know, both themes sound rediculous, but that's the point. The music is suppost to be a obscure, simple, and a unique piece of art, and it matches the overal theme of the game. Go ahaid, listen to them, and compair it to what we got in todays world of gaming soundtracks. It stands out as being one of them most messed up, and yet catchy soundtracks out there...shame that the actuall soundtrack is rare to find today.


Pow, right in the kisser.

Problems: My only real problems with this game is it's limited access, and difficult puzzles. Some of the puzzles are just down right confussing, and while you do have a hint system via the nusury bathroom, most of the time those won't help. Also, the game is so rare by todays standers, it may not even run on modern systems like Windows XP. If you happen to know a friend who owns the game, borrow it, and try to get it to work.


Genious at work

Final thoughts: After there first game, The Neverhood wound up making an all clay, PSX exclusive sequal, that involved platforming, rather than puzzle solving. There was also a PSX, 3D fighting game, before Neverhood shut there doors down.

We've got a whole bunch of tools to use now a days, when it comes to gaming visual, but nothing now a days could compete against the wonders that this clay molded masterpiece holds. True it's difficult at times, but what game isn't? While it's rare to find, the spirit of The Neverhood lives on. Heck, there's a movie that's soon to be in production, curtisy of Doug Tennapel.
A lot of people are still mentioning this game today, and a handful would rather go back to there buster sword wielders, football players, and gun toting super heroes. It's sad, I love anime, shooters, and RPGs, but I also have an intrest for cartoons, western style visuals, and good old fashion comicbooks...but those people are a rarity now a days.

I thought this game was great, and I'll never let go of my copy. I don't incourage you to hunt for the game, especially when it's pretty expensive now a days. If you do manage to find it, play it, complete it, enjoy it, because we'll probably never get another game like it.

First impressions of Unlimited Saga

So I've been reading up on this game for quite a while, and despite the negative critisism it got, I decided to try it out for myself. After picking it up yesturday, I can safly say that I'm very, very glad I picked it up. Now for some of you that don't know what I'm talking about, Unlimited Saga came out a few years ago, and was met with heavy critisism, and a lot of returned copies. People thought it was bad, confusing, and tough, and quite frankly I think they were just jumping to conclusions after they read the magazines.

I won't talk about what people thought about the game, instead I'll talk about the gameflow, followed by my opinions on the game, also you may want to skip the first segment of this impression if you already played it. Basicly Unlimited Saga is an RPG, but it isn't of any typical caliber of easy, soap opera RPGs on the market today. Instead it follows in the SaGa caliber, which it's typical features are seven selectable characters, an open ended world, and extream difficulty.

Unlimited Saga continues that tradition of SaGa esque gaming...but does things a bit differently. When you start out, you select your starting character. Each of the seven characters have a seperate goal, different skill sets, and different stories. Although some of these characters do wind up meeting each other, not all of them will wind up together.

Anyways, your introduced to the character, what he or she is doing, and what there goal is. After that, your taken to the starting town, which you can't roam around freely in a 3D enviorment, but instead just select where you want to go, and confirm it, just like a menu. While you won't have any options right away, you can click on them anyway for fun. Most towns will have a carrier guild, which give side missons that involve deliveries, but this is only possable if you have a member of the guild there.

You also have an inn to go to, where you can shop, get information, view equipment, and see what adventures you can go on. There will also be places that not every town has, such as a blacksmith, which repare items or make new ones, or magic guilds...I really don't know what they do yet. Anyways, it's best if you get information first, that way you can see who can join your party, and belive me when I say it's good to have company. If they don't have a misson for you, then go to the adventures section of the inn, select what you want, and your on your way.

Onto the field. On the field, your character is represented by a metal miniature, which moves around a board one at a time. While not moving, you can see your characters stats, equipment, use skills, and even do a quick save and quit, though it get's deleted after you boot it up. The only time to save is when your at an inn. Anyways back to the field, your characters can move one at a time, and how this is done is simply holding either the left or right analog stick in the desired direction.

The directions you can take will be represented by little windows, question marks represent unexplored territory, while titled places are routes you already taken. Each one will also have a color on it, blue is safe, yellow is caution, and red is danger. Go into a yellow one, and monsters might notice you, though you can sometimes slip right past them, while red is unavoidable monster central. Also, you can't run away from a fight, but really, who does that now a days, besides out of bordom?

In some cases, you will have to fight, but don't worry, your not completly weak. Combat in Unlimited Saga is completly different, rather than selecting an option one at a time, you have the option to selecting up to five options of attacks, which range from a one man stand, to a fantastic three showdown, or a hive five attack pattern...those aren't actuall choices mind you.

Anyways, your character can select what weapon attack he can use, and after the five attacks are selected we get onto the battle. If your enemy doesn't start out first, then a reel appears, which is kind of like a roulet wheel you can find at a casino. If your character is just starting out, he will only have one attack variaty, which is green. But if he uses the attack repeatifly, he will sometimes have a new attack to show off, and it does more damage than the green tile attacks.

Although you can't select these new attacks, you can use them by doing the previous attack again, and try to score a different color pallet. You can also do team combos, and this is done by holding an attack. You can have up to five people that can combo it up...but there is a drawback. Sometimes your enemy will interupt your combo, and you just do a normal attack, followed by the enemies attack, at the same time. While it can suck to be interupted, sometimes you have to know when to take the risk.

Attacks take a little bit of health out of you, so it's best to try and balance attacks with different allies, rather than stocking up attacks on one guy...speaking of health, I'll cover the HP and LP system. Your character first soaks up HP when you get hit, as long as you have HP, you have a high chance of protection against LP. If you have no HP left, your enemies will have a better chance to reduce your LP. Once your allies are out of LP, he or she is out for the rest of the adventure...but if your protaganist is out of LP, it's game over.

There's no way to restore LP besides completing a misson, or if your run out of time on some timed quests. So it's best to restore HP, and this is done by either clicking on the left of right analog sticks on the field, or letting a character skip a turn while attacking. You run a risk of running into an enemy when resting, but sometimes they don't attack.

After a quest is complete, your taken to a screen which shows what skill your character can master. Basicly you have seven grids, and some of them will have empty slots in them. You must either replace a current skill you have, or put one in an empty slot. After selecting what characters get what new skill they learned, plus the boost in max HP, you will be prompt to save your game. I should also note that there is no XP gain in this game, so this is theo nly way the characters will ever get stronger.

So that's how some of the gameplay works. Do stuff in town --> Select an adventure or delivery --> explore + battling --> growth grid --> save game --> do stuff over until completed. While it did take me a long time to explain what you could do, heck I left a few things out, that should give you a basic idea on how the game is played.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Now for my opinions on the game. It can be really fun to give the smackdown on weaklings on the field, though when your fighting a boss, you'll require careful planning, plus a really good eye to spot those greater attacks. I wish you didn't have to use a little bit of your HP to use an attack, that way you could have a little chance at defeating the boss. Plus the reel system, while satisfying it may be, can be frustrating at time, especially when it comes boss time. So practice timing is a must.

The voice acting can be pretty horrible at times, especially with Armic's voice. Lastly, it can be frustrating to not run into a blacksmith that can't repair your favorite weapon type...or not being able to have a blacksmith in the first place. But the game is pretty fun, and it's tough but rewarding reel system get's my thumbs up. I'm not bothered with the whole board game feel, heck I love it. When I was a little kid, I always loved using my imagination, and tried to fill in the blanks of two or three frame rate animation.

While I can understand that some people don't like the board game feel, it shouldn't have been heavily critisized. That's just down right stupid to judge a game by not being able to move around a town, or that your character is a metal piece rather than a polygon man. I would rather just point and click on my towns, than try to cover each and every inch of a huge 3D city. Running around can be boring, and talking to NPCs with nothing intresting to say can be a bit of a letdown.

Unlimited Saga is a bit rough, but it isn't discardable like everybody else says. With that being said, I shall bid you farewell, and I will give you a full review this Sunday.

EDIT: Sorry, but I'm going to drop the actuall review for Unlimited Saga for a while. Mainly because this first impression page took almost forever to write.