Things that I like…that I shouldn’t? Naruto.

So I’ve been watching Naruto.  

Like many people I first came across it on TV in its English dub, and edited version.  I kind of hated….BELIEVE IT!   God,  I got so sick of that being literally screamed at me, I kind just totally tuned out and went on to watch other things. 

Recently I came across the original series on Netflix, and decided to give another go, making me quite the late comer.   Well in Japanese/English subs it was pretty tolerable, filled with all standard shonen tropes, but tolerable.   Than something really weird began to happen.  I started to get invested.   No, I certainly didn’t really understand why our lead hero Naruto made friends everywhere, nor why Saskue was so cool, lots of repeat animation/flashbacks to save cash and spread it out artificially.    Yet, it started to grow on me.  It’s kind of hard to say why, maybe because there was some actual character growth as I watched it, perhaps the stacks where pretty high, or just the idea of a world dominated by Ninja nations.  But I have to say, it wasn’t as bad or infuriating as some people have said.  Some annoyances yes, but far from terrible.  It’s quite interesting to see the clear divide between fans and haters of this series. 

Then came time to watch Naruto Shippuden on Crunchy Roll.  First a word on Crunchy Roll ad supported version.   It’s pretty great watching Anime for free, and the Ads are pretty short and harmless, so that’s a win win,  Only small issue is a few video error issues and sometimes keeping track of what I’ve been watching, but I can live with it to save some coin.   Immediate Rating of $$$$.

As for the series, it basically starts off as a 3 years later from the original series, with characters a bit older and wiser, and lot more training montages under their belts.  So blah, blah, blah, yadda, yadda, yadda, things kind of sort of progress, training goes by, than the slow burn suddenly becomes a raging fire.  Without spoiling (its 2007, but I literally just started watching it) too much, by the time I get to the Pain arc (starting at about episode 130) things get real, as long time cast members start to drop.   It’s something I haven’t seen in too many shonen where core characters often have serious story shields.   But with some very inglorious and quick deaths, it caught me a bit off guard and wondering who would buy it next (or if they will find some way to reverse it later).  And unlike Game of Thrones or Walking Dead where someone dies, I just kind of go “well there’s another actors contract up, hurray”  I caught myself at one point yelling at the TV “wait, no don’t kill…..”    So in my world that makes Naruto pretty good.  It actually got me emotionally invested, almost without me realizing it.

Reaching the episodes I’m watching right now, 168-69, there’s a nice little sub-text (not really subtle though, so super-text?) questioning the value of an eye for an eye, with a jab against the whole idea of a punitive justice system.  All brought together with way over the top of fights that are beyond ridiculous and body counts approaching Gotchaman (seriously another topic for another day) levels.   Also throughout the series (and the original) war orphans, generational hate, and of course the standard tropes of loyalty, friendship, working hard, student/teacher relations are examined.   

So yay, good stuff so far.  I'll post once I reach the episode that may all change my outlook, damn Crunchy Roll ribbon giving me spoilers.....grrrr back by episode 175 or so. 

Rating:  V__V  for first series,  ^__^   for Shippuden.      

Future Investment:  Putting off pretty much everything else to watch it, so yep. 

Mortal Kombat (MK X)

Mortal Kombat X

Well I already did my rant on all the extra payments required to play an already $70.00 game, so I won't do it again here...except for one exception below.

I've had for about a month and half now and have put in about 25 hours of play.  However, my unwillingness to purchase a PSN+  account has limited my online player to less than 2 hours when I first got the PS4 and had a short trial sub.  A busy work season meant only getting to play a few times against others online (and also one of the reasons I have held off PSN+ in the first place).   My pal has played locally with me a few times and it has worked without issued.   

Good Points/Bad Points
Graphics are pretty good, grimy in all the best ways.  Yet still sharp enough to be kind awesome, nice that not everything is washed out brown.   However, still same issue as DC Injustice from the same studio, with 2 people playing the same character, even with so called alternative costumes it gets pretty easy to loose one's self on screen.   As for textures, water effects, etc. etc. its not really a big deal to me, but all are pretty decent.  I certainly didn't pay $70.00 to watch rain fall, puddles splash, or sweat on the screen. 

The roster and world of MK X is, as always, strange and cool.  New characters like Cassie Cage join old ones like her dad Johnny making for a nice mix.   I'm not really sure if I'm too keen on the three fighting styles/modes for each character though, there does seem to be some in-balance and moves not quit suited for the pace of the game.   For example, I find of many of Kotal Khan's specials are slow and labored, though I have found a 103% combo video for him...with a non-moving opponent.   I'm sure a more practiced player could work it out in game play, personally I'll stick with his swords.

For offline play we have towers everywhere.  A new themed tower comes out daily, hourly, and for special events, which is great.  Set towers for individual story modes and challenges exist as well.  I however, oddly, got tired of them after the first 10 or so hours, though will play a tower or two a week.  The main story mode was surprisingly long, and took me a few sits to do it, which was really nice. 

There are a number of crazy game mods, which for exception of the screen flip (playing upside down) I really quite enjoy.  Personal favorite is less gravity, hello combo time, even for noobs! 
     The only thing I'd pine for (and have been since the early days of home fighting games) is a randomized elimination.  Each player gets a random character, though the system makes sure no mirror matches happen.  Players can set how many elimination rounds occur to see who wins.   This would be fantastic way to push players outside of their comfort zone, and in balanced game should be no issue.   Sadly for the few hours I played online, I faced Goro and Scorpion at least a dozen times each and no one played or wanted to play random.  I totally get it, but with all the strangeness of MKX, it would be kind of nice to add.    Khans 103


The greatest sin in my opinion is the Krypt.  At first, I kind of liked the idea of exploring a dungeon like some old school 1st person adventure  game.  I even had no issue in needing to earn Koins to unlock stuff.  While earning a bit more would be nice, doing towers and even offline player vs. player actually got me quite a few unlocks fairly quickly.  What I did have issues at is that my player 2 did not get any unlocks I have already done.   This is most likely a PS4 issue, where my second player is a guest account and most likely has his stats separate from the game.....but hours of unlocking, and now unless my pal goes and gets a PS4 and MKX to account for his own unlocks, we have to do it again (which btw I don't if would work even, since the game is on my system).   BS.   

And yes I know, if you do a fatality or what not, it comes up on the command list without needing to unlock it, but that's not really not the point.   The point is that, if I go pay an extra $20.00 cnd, I'd probably get all the unlocks for both players I'm guessing.   That's bit awful.

Ratings

V__V

Initial:  $$$    After stewing:  $$  (maybe an extra 1/2 point on each, but that's cheating)
Investment: $85.00  so far.    Per hour of play:  $3.40.    Future Investment:  Nope

Ramblings be here!

OK so I decided to separate my RPG stuff with reviews of other stuff.  Be Warned will be commenting a lot on micropayments and the like!

You can find my first review here.  

Wrestling with RPGs. PS4 (Pocket-money Stealing) 4 Dummies


I'll otherwise being reviewing whatever hits my fancy.   Movies, Shows, Games, Software, and of course my favorite topic, Cost; or more appropriately value for your money.     I'm no expert, just another average consumer with a bit of skeptical an cheap side.

I'll be using the following very unscientific ratings, depending on the item being reviewed.

Price/Value:  The cost of the item and my personal view of what the actual value of the item should of been.
$  Not worth the cash
$$  Lower than average, a very big maybe, wait for major discounts if you can.
$$$  Average,  if you have the spare cash you think about a purchase.
$$$$  Above average, a good purchase worth the cash.
$$$$$  Superb,  well worth the purchase, get it.

Satisfaction:  Was I satisfied.  Reserved for stuff I've played or seen,   This is usually far from aside the price/value of the item.

">__<"   Hated it and perhaps violently reacted to it.
O__o       What did I just see/or play.   Surprised, odd, unsure what to think. 
V__V      Meh.   Ok I guess.  worth doing once, but not missing much if I'd had passed on it.
^__^       Really good.   

Initial/Stewing:  A comparison of what I first felt about the topic, and what I think about it after looking at again.  Includes multiple uses, views, plays, etc.  overall staying power.  This may include initial reactions to things I haven't tried as well.  

Good Point/Bad Point:  I'll try never to give major spoilers about something, unless it is warranted.  But I will try to divvy up some good and bad points about it.