MEDIA LOG

Drop dead, Gorgeous!
Paradise Kiss
Story & Art: Ai Yazawa Animation Studio: Madhouse
Year: 2005
Genre(s): Romance, drama, fashion
After finishing Nana we decided to watch Paradise Kiss, which was published before Nana. The world is very stylish and I love George although he's a bit of a pain in the butt with that mysoginistic attitude, but....he kinda fire too. To be honest, I don't care about IRL fashion, but this was a fun series to watch along with my friend, and the opening and ending are killer songs.

'Hey, Nana...'
Nana
Story & Art: Ai Yazawa Animation Studio: Madhouse
Year: 2006
Genre(s): Romance, drama
Nana has been in my radar for years but I was either too busy or too lazy to start watching it, until a friend from uni told me: do you want to watch Nana together? So I said yes, and thanks to her I had a lot of fun watching this. Sometimes the story was a bit frustrating because of Hachi's stupidity but the music and story itself is amazing. My favorite character is Yasu, I love a bald guy with a heart of gold who cares about others. Nana was great too! If you're looking for a romance anime that is worth a bingewatch go for it!

RIP my sanity
Seventh Lair
System: PC
Year: 2013
I can't stand that this spinoff game is way harsher with Giselle and Michel than the original The House in Fata Morgana. I bought this game back in 2022 because it just released in Steam but didn't bother reading the sypnosis, therefore I thought it was a silly and harmless spinoff............but it wasn't. I wanted to cry my heart out after the plot twist. And the worst thing is that there isn't an alternative or golden ending; there is a fixed one that will you make cry to your sleep. 11/10.

What were they thinking?????
Lufia 2: Curse of the Sinistrals
System: Nintendo DS
Year: 2010
Copypasted from my Backloggd review because this game isn't worth my time lmao

I wanted to (truly) enjoy this, I really did. Lufia 2 is one of my favorite JRPGs ever and there's a remake on my favorite system?????? I GOTTA PLAY IT, but this is such a letdown compared with the original SNES classic. The turn-based combat is replaced with boring button smashing combos making the usage of different party members quite awkward outside of puzzles. The "world map" is more of the same. Instead of a classic world map à la FF and DQ you get a boring menu that teleports you to any place, making the story 100% linear without making room for any exploring. The puzzles are waaaaay dumbed down than the original game. And worst of it, they made Arty a more generic character!!!!! HE HAS BLUE HAIR AND PRO-ok you get my point. And don't talk me about the New Game Plus ending, it doesn't make sense, it completely strips off any originality of the classic and bittersweet ending of Lufia 2. HOWEVER, I gotta say that if you take this game as a simple reimagining more than a 1:1 remake is a fun time-waster if you're looking for less well-known DS games. So you rest easy, it's not Lunar Dragon Song.

What a long and restless night
NO SLEEP FOR KANAME DATE - FROM AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES
System: PC
Year: 2025
I'm a huge AI and Uchikoshi fan, so naturally I had to play the newest AI game. It's not as good as the mainline entries but I still had fun with the short story and the escape rooms and somniums and all that. My favorite thing about the game is the extra content, including classic-styled mini VNs about gags from the whole trilogy (the Atami stuff lmao) styled like classic Chunsoft VNs. Kaname Date is love, Kaname Date is life. Obviously, I 100%'d this thing like the other AI entries.

O, Warrior of thy Light...
Final Fantasy I and II: Dawn of Souls (Final Fantasy I)
System: Gameboy Advance
Year: 2004
Just played FF1, but might play FF2 in the future. Sincerely, for a remake of a game originally released in 1987 I had a blast! The story was barebones but the gameplay was fun and it was great so see how the FF series started. Also, you can save anywhere (unlike FFIII 3D remake...). P.S.: Monks are the best.

Will you take her hand?
Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance
System: PC
Year: 2024
Shin Megami Tensei rules, and this entry ain't an exception. With this enhaced version, human party members make a comeback and a whole new storyline is introduced. It was my first run, but I had to play the Canon of Vengeance, which was friggin' awesome. The exploration and quests are fun and the story is pretty good. It was completely worth it waiting for this version to drop. If you're looking to slay some demons, look no further, young man!

It's like a classic anime OVA from the 90s, yeah!
Metal Slader Glory: Director's Cut
System: Super Famicom
Year: 2000
My story with this game isn't so interesting; I became acquainted with it a while ago because of its status as the last Super Famicom release. Yes, this game was released after Fire Emblem: Thracia 776. It was released when the Nintendo 64 was on its last legs!!! There is an English translation patch that was released this year. You can find it here. Before this patch the only TL available was of the original SNES version. It's a classic ADV game with some humor a bit dated but the story is fun and the CGs are gorgeous. Also, it's very short (around 4 hours or less), so if you're into obscure Nintendo stuff try it!!!!

Let's go to the Dark Ages!
The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
System: Nintendo 3DS
Year: 2013
I played ALTTP earlier this year and had a blast, so naturally I had to give a spin to this pseudosequel :D. If you've played the SNES classic is like a rehash of that game with a new storyline and a spin on the classic dungeons. This is one of the 3DS all-time great titles that everybody should play if you're remotely interested in the Zelda franchise or Nintendo handhelds.

Heliocentrism is back on the menu, baby!
Orb: On the Movements of the Earth
Story & Art: Uoto Animation Studio: Madhouse
Year: 2024
Genre(s): Drama, historical
I don't usually watch historical dramas, but this was a nice series. Most of the time the characters are only vehicles for exposing the author's ideas, but I enjoyed the history and world well-rooted in reality until the last two episodes lmao. However, it's a hidden gem!

A very empty world and an annoying dungeon!
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
System: Nintendo DS
Year: 2007
After playing through ALTTP earlier this year I wanted to play this game for once because it's on my favorite system ever, but it was quite disappointing. The controls were fine, but the Temple of the Ocean King was a pain in the ass with these almost invincible enemies and the stupid timer, and the game world was very barebones. ALTTP had way more secrets and it's a 1991 SNES game! I was so disappointed when I finished it, I only liked Linebeck.

Katsura Hasino makes history again as an amazing game director.
Metaphor: ReFantazio
System: PC (Steam)
Year: 2024
As a Persona fan (I've played all mainline games + Q) I NEEDED to play this, and boy, it didn't disappoint at all: it's basically P5 in a fantasy setting and I couldn't ask for more since P5R is one of my favorite JRPGs and I've played a few of them! The dungeons may be the weakest part of the game since most of them were very basic and there weren't many roadblocks like with Madarame in P5R, but the narrative was great and the gameplay was a lot of fun! Also, this game is very lenient with the followers (social link) system, and you can finish all of them with ease in a single playthrough.


The GBA FE games are unmatched.
Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade, The Blazing Blade and The Sacred Stones
System: GBA
Year(s): 2002, 2004, 2005
I decided to replay all FE GBA games since I love them so much, specially The Sacred Stones (it was my third playthrough!). Maybe FE6 isn't that good, but I love Roy and Lilina a lot, and I finally used Rutger, he was a beast!! About FE7, I fell in love with Raven and Lucius and I ship them so much. Fun little SRPG games :).

It was fun but I prefer DQVIII.
Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies
System: Nintendo DS
Year: 2010
I wanted to enjoy this, but as a solo game isn't a lot of fun, you need friends because there's a lot of grinding. I didn't particularly cared about the secondary quests/missions because most of them relied on RNG drops, so I ignored them. The art style is gourgeous, don't get me wrong, but this game can't hold a candle to the amazing Dragon Quest VIII.

I love Marth, Shiida/Caeda, Merric and Tiki.
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon + New Mystery of the Emblem
Remakes of FE1/FE3 (NES/SNES)
System: Nintendo DS
Year(s): 2008 (Shadow Dragon), 2010 (New Mystery)
This has been a very fun replay. Shadow Dragon was the second FE game I beat back in 2020 albeit with horrible tactics, so I didn't get to enjoy the gameplay to the fullest, same with New Mystery. Since I've played most FE games my tactics have improved A LOT. Moreover, I finished both games on my DSi with all units recruited and the best endings (yeah!). What can I say? I love Akaneia/Archanea and its simplicity. SD is undoubtely a gem that should be played by any JRPG fan, and Marth's story is one hell of a ride.

Virginia Maxwell my beloved.
Wild Arms 3
System: PlayStation 2
Year: 2002
The third entry in the Wild Arms franchise is probably the best one, with gorgeous cellshaded visuales and and amazing soundtrack, but the narrative quality is not behind either! It suffers from janky stuff like a lot of encounters and some annoying exploration quirks (you have to discover the cities yourself, they aren't on plain sight) but it's amazing.

Rei Asaka was the best part of this anime, such a beautiful and disaster lesbian.
Oniisama e
Original story and art by Ryoko Ikeda
Animation Studio Tezuka
Year: 1991
Genre(s): Shojo, yuri
Well, this was something. I didn't expect such an angsty and soap-opera-natured series, but that was my main experience with Oniisama e. The drama is rampant, and I don't understand how someone so sweet as Nanako Misonoh didn't think even for a second about leaving this hellhole of a school, because most of the cast was kind of crazy and unhinged but lmao. Also, it was easily a 9/10 anime until the dropped the ball with episode 32 until the end of the story. I was in disbelief when I finished episode 34, and my rating of the series plummeted till a 7/10. Also, let me bring up the animation which was mostly made up of (beautiful) still images, but the animation itself was pretty nonexistent.