for how long do you intend to remain rank #3 in all three sections?
Dec 1, 2015
by
sumwun
Finished with all the story stuff in Super Mystery Dungeon and did some post-game dungeons (although I still have a lot more to do). So I feel now is a good time to give my opinion on it.
It is certainly better than Gates to Infinity. However, it does not reach the levels of the Rescue Team games and certainly not the crowning achievement of the series which is the Explorers games (especially not Explorers of Sky). The post-game story content is as minimal as it was with Gates to Infinity. Thankfully post-game content is actually decent in terms of dungeons, and there are a lot of difficult dungeons to explore with Legendary Pokemon to battle. With 720 Pokemon, this leads to a good amount of content to entertain, and while it isn't on the level of the Darkrai post-game from Explorers or the Mewtwo post-game from Rescue Team, it still is better than the absolute nothing from Gates to Infinity.
The biggest change to the series is the Connection Orb, which replaces random recruiting and the job board. I prefer the Connection Orb, since it allows you to easily get a bunch of quests going and ensures your recruitment of Pokemon. The main problem is one that we saw with Gates to Infinity and the partners you got such as Virizion and Hydreigon in that you can get massively overpowered Pokemon early on in the game. While my two starters had yet to reach level 20, I had gained access to Team ACT (Alakazam, Charizard, and Tyranitar) which has two members above level 50. While they can't be used much in the story, they do make expeditions easier.
All in all, I enjoyed the game. I've always liked how the series integrated things like the Pokedex entries into the gameplay. And while it isn't the overlooked gem that Explorers of Sky was, it is still a good amount of enjoyment. I'll be playing more of it, since I haven't gotten bored of it yet.
Nov 30, 2015
by
trachy
Higurashi is the short stories one, yes. The anime art isn't terribly bad, but the manga has better writing. The problem with the art is the proportions of heads and the rest of the body. It's appalling.
Western inspired stories, got it.
Nov 22, 2015
by
Ninja
It's hard to find manga / anime using horror like the western world does, so I'm just going to list some psychological material that leaves most people uneasy.
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni / When the Cicadas Cry is a fantastic horror manga, but the art is pretty bad. It's a time-loop mystery. I'd recommend the anime instead. Collection of short stories that tie together in the end.
Kiseijuu isn't entirely scary, but it's an incredible horror / psychological story. It's very old, but it just received an anime adaptation this year that's very faithful to the source material. Long chapters.
Shinsekai yori is heavy on psychological horror. Easily the greatest horror / psychological story I've ever seen, but the manga is garbage. Watch the anime, you won't regret it. Very sci-fi.
Corpse Party is a gorefest with high quality art, but lacking in depth. 40ish chapters. 4 episode OVA that's not nearly as good.
Gakkougurashi is totally different from anything I've mentioned so far, but it's worth a look. A group of 4 girls and a teacher live in a high school under the name of the School Living Club where they perform activities that keep the school in shape. The twist is that all of this is simply a broken girl's delusion, and the reality is that they are living in an apocalypse. The other girls allow Yuki to live in this state of mind because it gives them hope, but it's naturally a huge setback. It's got a lot of cute girls doing cute things, but the meat of the story is how the girls handle living a normal life in an abnormal scenario.. It's currently ongoing at 40ish chapters.
Monster is a very complex story that most people won't be able to grasp, but you can probably handle it just fine. Describing how complex this story is is impossible, so here's a copy-paste of the premise: Dr. Kenzo Tenma is a renowned young brain surgeon of Japanese descent working in Europe. Highly lauded by his peers as one of the great young minds that will revolutionize the field, he is blessed with a beautiful fiancé and is on the cusp of a high promotion in the hospital he works at. However, all of that is about to change with one critical decision that Dr. Tenma faces one night—whether to save the life of a young child or that of the town's mayor. Despite being pressured by his superiors to perform surgery on the mayor, his morals force him to perform the surgery on the young child, saving his life and forfeiting the mayor's. All of a sudden, Dr. Tenma's world is turned upside down by his decision leading to the loss of everything he previously had. A doctor is taught to believe that all life is equal; however, when a series of murders occur in the vicinity of Dr. Tenma, all of the evidence pointing to the young child who he saved, Tenma's beliefs are shaken. Thriller / Psychological. Very long. The writing style is similar to that of Stephen King's work.
Berserk is easily the greatest manga ever written, and also has horror in it. It's been going on and off since 1989 with long-ass chapters. The art is grim and dark, with all the monsters getting some high detail. The main character is Guts, and he's the living embodiment of suffering. It's a fantasy setting inspired by the Dark Ages of Europe. I think you'll really like it.
You should read / watch all of these, of course. They're all great. They all have anime adaptations as well. You should create a MyAnimeList / MyMangaList if you plan on getting invested as it would help me make more personalized recommendations. Hope this helps a bit!
Nov 20, 2015
by
Ninja
Read all of Junji Ito's stuff. Fantastic work there. I'm actually wanting to read more horror manga now. Hopefully I can find some good short story collections, those tend to be my favorite. Any suggestions are welcome.
Nov 20, 2015
by
trachy
MaRo said they don't put reminder text on mythics.
But yeah, I don't believe them either. At the same time, I need some colorless basics for Ulamog EDH.
Nov 19, 2015
by
Ninja
Doubt these "spoilers" for Oath of the Gatewatch have any truth to them. Mainly because they're missing reminder text for what seems to be a complex mechanic.
Nov 18, 2015
by
trachy
Zeratul. ;-;
Nov 17, 2015
by
trachy
