Alphadia Genesis Arrives on Wii U: Finally, a JRPG On a Console That Should Have MORE!

Posted on November 21, 2014 by geelw

It’s a sad thing indeed to see a Nintendo console with no original JRPGs on it after over a year on the market, but that’s finally being rectified. Even though Natsume’s freshly released Alphadia Genesis is actually a mobile port of a Kemco mobile game, it’s going to be the first “new” JRPG Wii U owners have played. Whee, you! Anyway, here’s the plot of this one, for those of you who don’t own tablets and may want to know what’s what before you buy this from the eShop:

Alphadia, Year 1092: Fifteen years have passed since the end of the terrible Energi Wars, where clones were used as weapons. Two kingdoms, after nearly destroying each other and the natural resources of Energi, signed an important peace treaty, and have been co-operative neighbors ever since: Augustine and Archleign, where the story of Alphadia Genesis begins.

Sure, it’s not a visual showpiece for the hardware, but like WaterMelon’s gorgeous (but faux) JRPG Pier Solar and the Great Architects, it’ll be the go-to game genre fans will most likely gravitate top while they wait for more info on Monolith Soft’s new Xenoblade game next year. I’ll have a review up in about a week, as I just got a code today and am setting aside time to play this one from start to finish. Heck, I’m not doing anything for Thanksgiving, not having a kitchen to use and all, so I may as well play some games while I’m on that diet. Okay, it’s not THAT bad, but it’s pretty inconvenient to be waiting so long for things to go back to normal. Thank goodness for games!

Alphadia Genesis is out NOW via the Nintendo eShop for $14.99. Check it out if you’re a genre fan looking for a fix on a console that needs a good deal more games like this.

Review: Adventure Time: The Secret of the Nameless Kingdom

Posted on November 21, 2014 by geelw

Platform: PS3/PC

Developer: WayForward Technologies

Publisher: Little Orbit

# of Players: 1

ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10+)

Official Site

Score: A- (90%)

In the Nameless Kingdom, there’s a huge shop early on that “sells” nothing but the clay vases Finn been smashing to bits in that first dungeon you went through that opens the game. Finn can’t actually BUY a vase at all as far as I can tell. He can only lift one up to carry around and eventually try to leave with it. Or he can smash as many as he can with a weapon or just throw that lifted vase to the ground, breaking it. The only thing that happens when he does any of those things is an alarm goes off and a timer starts ticking down. Fifteen seconds later, a guard from the castle grabs Finn and then he’s outside the shop. When you go back inside, the clerk/owner scolds you a little and that’s that. Well, that is until later in the game when you discover a way to really get that guy’s attention by busting every jar at once. Such is the weird world of Adventure Time.

But that one event and its oddball randomness yet familiar to the show sameness is neither here nor there. The third time’s the charm (and how!) for WayForward Technologies with Adventure Time: The Secret of the Nameless Kingdom being the best of the three games they’ve made to date with Finn and company. This latest title is clearly influenced by Nintendo’s older games in The Legend of Zelda franchise to the point that it feels like a really spectacular mod that happens to be Adventure Time related. It’s also a surprisingly tough game, or not so surprisingly tough if you’re well versed in how this style of game should be played. There’s no hand-holding here, you learn what needs to be done by observing the environment and enemies while paying attention to (and using) what’s in your inventory. You’ll very likely get stuck in spots, but the game has enough hidden stuff and offbeat side quests that make up for the vagueness it often bashes you on the head with…

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Hikari Friday: Universal Monsters Want To Stalk Your Shelves!

Posted on November 21, 2014 by geelw

Continuing the Hikari Friday madness, Funko has two really sweet Universal Monster vinyl figures up for grabs this week. Check out the Original Creature Hikari Sofubi Figure:

#1 of a mere 500 pieces can be YOURS if you’re lucky! The other vinyl up for grabs is this ToyZoo.com Exclusive Grey Skull Frankenstein Hikari Sofubi Figure, #1 of only 750 you’ll be attempting to claim for your own:

As usual, all you need to to is hit up one of Funko’s social media sites:

http://www.facebook.com/OriginalFunko

Tweets by OriginalFunko

Instagram @OriginalFunko

Once you’re there, enter as required and if you’re lucky you’ll be getting a little surprise in your inbox within the next week or so. If you don’t win, you can grab that Creature at your favorite Funko emporium and the Frankenstein exclusively at Toyzoo.com. As usual, good luck in your efforts and if you win, remember to remember me when you’re sending out those holiday greeting cards!

I’ve Got The Power (Back!)…

Posted on November 21, 2014 by geelw

Okay, as annoying as this week has been for attempts to get work done, it almost got a wee bit too out of hand. Last night, I plugged in the laptop to tinker with a few posts (I’d forgotten to charge it the day before) and as I’m walking out of the room to make some coffee… I hear a loud “POP!” sound and turn around to see a wisp of smoke rising from near the computer. Gaaaah! Fortunately it wasn’t my laptop that fried, but the power cord on the adapter deciding to ruin my evening. Won-der-ful. Given that I only had about 9 minutes of power left, I decided to call it a night and head out in the morning to a few places around here to look for a replacement cord, hoping it wasn’t the actual power supply that blew out. Of course, being the technical ghetto up here in the wilds, the chances of finding a replacement quickly were slim, but it turns out I didn’t need to spend a dime.

I’d almost forgotten I have a duffel bag full of power adapters, AV cables and other replacement gear in a closet here and after the surprise visit from a painter this morning, I dug out that bag from a closet and spent a bit of time hoping I had the correct cord. Thankfully, I found not only one that matched that Mickey Mouse configuration, it’s also longer. Okay, now I need to get out of here and get back to work. I’m way behind schedule and I hate not being able to get work done that I need to when I want to. Oh, and that painter? Nope, it wasn’t for the kitchen at all, but the wall in my room that wasn’t exactly plastered that well and yup, she ONLY painted the spots that were plastered and not the entire wall which would have made more sense. *Sigh* Well, the entire apartment needs to be done at some point, but still…

Okay, time to get some stuff done, as today’s going to be a bit hectic with a bunch of downloads and uploads and game updates needing to be done. Back in a bit…