Kingdom Hearts Story Primer (Part 2)

Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance arrives in North America tomorrow, so I should probably finish up my explanations of Kingdom Hearts storyline basics! Read Part 1 here. Today we'll talk about some important characters in Kingdom Hearts:

Sora
Sora is the main character in the Kingdom Hearts series. He spends a lot of time looking for his childhood friends, Riku and Kairi. He is joined early on by Donald Duck and Goofy, who accompany him on most of his journeys. Sora is a Keyblade wielder who is very outgoing, honest, and kind.

Donald Duck and Goofy
Donald Duck is a powerful magician from Disney Castle, while Goofy is head of the castle knights. Donald can be a little sarcastic at times, but he cares about Sora and Goofy. Goofy's got a big heart and he's a great fighter, even if he's a little dim sometimes.

King Mickey
Mickey Mouse is the king of Disney Castle and a Keyblade wielder. He does whatever it takes to help out the various worlds and the individuals within them.

Riku
Sora and Riku are best friends. Though Riku's actions can be misguided, he has a strength of heart that always leads him back to the right path. Riku is also a Keyblade wielder.

Kairi
Kairi is a friend of Sora and Riku's who could be called their guiding light, inspiring them to be the best they can be. She is pure in heart and values friendship.

Roxas
Roxas is Sora's Nobody. All he wants is to be a good person, but he questions his existence when he discovers he's only part of a whole and without a heart. This leads to a lot of conflict. He can bear the Keyblade just as Sora can.

Namine
Namine is the Nobody of Kairi, with a mysterious power to manipulate Sora's memories. Like Roxas, she only wants to do good, but she is valued by those who would abuse her powers for their own benefit.

I could talk about a lot of other characters, but I'm afraid that's it for now! As always, you can leave thoughts or questions in a comment!   

Kingdom Hearts Story Primer (Part 1)

Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance is about to be released in North America for the Nintendo 3DS system, so I thought I would compile a short list of essential storyline information about the series. Let's jump in:

The Beginning
The Kingdom Hearts series begins with three characters: Sora, Riku, and Kairi. These three friends live on Destiny Islands. When some kind of darkness infiltrates the peaceful world, the three are separated, but not before Sora acquires a weapon called the Keyblade.

Meanwhile, at Disney Castle, King Mickey has abruptly departed on a mysterious mission, leaving Donald Duck and Goofy with equally mysterious instructions: find the "key" and stick to it!

Thus the adventures to come are set in motion!

Important Things to Know
The Keyblade and Its Chosen Master
The Keyblade is a powerful weapon capable of releasing hearts and barring worlds against darkness. Not just anyone can wield a Keyblade: it chooses a select few who are worthy of the immense responsibility of carrying it. Sora can wield the Keyblade, as well as Riku, King Mickey, Roxas, and others.

The Heartless and the Nobodies
A Heartless is, strangely, a heart that has been removed from its body and trapped by darkness. A Nobody is what you might call an "empty shell" without a heart. When a person with a strong heart turns into a heartless (for whatever reason), an intelligent Nobody that can think and perhaps feel for itself may come into being. Roxas and Namine are examples of this.

Organization XIII and Kingdom Hearts
Organization XIII is a group of Nobodies who have one very specific goal: to regain their hearts. They believe they can achieve this goal by completing Kingdom Hearts, the place where hearts gather. When Heartless are destroyed by the Keyblade, the captive hearts are released and sent to Kingdom Hearts. Since the Keyblade is the only weapon able to release hearts, Keyblade wielders are essential to the plans of Organization XIII.

Alright, I think that's enough for today. Thoughts? Questions? Leave a comment!

Read Part 2

Don't be too certain! Halo Reach: A Review

For all those who know me, I am completely and utterly against any sort of shooting games. I just really don't enjoy them at all! At least, that's what I thought. For the last couple of weeks I have had the incredible opportunity to play Halo Reach. I started off playing this game because there was literally nothing else to do at my house. I thought it wouldn't be so bad because instead of killing humans, I was killing creepy little aliens.

Halo Reach is a pretty short game, but very entertaining. I had a blast playing it, and the story line isn't too bad either. The controls are really simple (although I did mix up throwing grenades and another button quite often...), and if you find it a little hard there's an easier control setting.

This game has cut scenes where the characters talk. In these cut scenes, the game can swear so be warned. Although it swears, I promise there are no big bad words, and no vulgarity. It is a game that I only recomend for older people though.

This is just a really fun game, but be warned - once you play this game you will have a large desire to play the rest in the series. I am fortunate enough to have brothers who buy these types of games. Now I am off to go play the others in the series! Adios!

Club Nintendo to offer double the coins for New Super Mario Bros. 2 download

Nintendo has been planning for a while now to offer the game New Super Mario Bros. 2 as both a retail purchase and an eShop download. Club Nintendo has recently announced that players who go with the download over the physical package will get double the coins when they take the registration survey: 100 coins compared with 50.

What does this news mean to you? Are the 50 extra coins enough incentive to download the game as opposed to going with the cartridge? Let us know in a comment!

First Impressions: Kingdom Hearts Re:coded

In preparation for the release of Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance, I have been frantically trying to catch up in the Kingdom Hearts series. A few weeks ago, I was about 10 hours into Kingdom Hearts II, but playing through it was a very slow process: I thought the combat uninspired and the storyline stale.

So I'm afraid to say I quit. I hoped that the two Kingdom Hearts entries on Nintendo DS would impress me.

Enter Kingdom Hearts Re:coded for the Nintendo DS. I'm glad to report that Re:coded is a really excellent RPG.This may seem strange if you know the game's basic story: Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, and Jiminy Cricket are trying to repair Jiminy's journal from the first Kingdom Hearts adventure. To do so, they enlist the help of a digital Sora. The player will traverse all the same worlds that are in the first Kingdom Hearts game.

In theory, it may seem kinda lame, but rest assured Re:coded and the original Kingdom Hearts are far from the same game. Button-mashy combat that is a staple of the series is present in Re:coded, but a variety of other play styles are thrown into the mix with pleasing results. A well-designed platforming stage at the end of Traverse Town is one such example. My favorite gameplay deviation has to be the turn-based battle system in Olympus Coliseum.

Re:coded has really impressed me up to this point, so I can't help but be optimistic about Dream Drop Distance.

Don't mess with the best! A review of Super Smash Bros. Brawl

It's been the privilege of gamers all over the world to play the Super Smash Bros. series. Super Smash Bros. Brawl for Wii has been out for a few years now, but I recently bought my very own copy of it (for many years I shared a Wii and a copy of the game with my younger siblings).

Brawl belongs to the fighting video game genre. At it's most basic, it sees up to four players duking it out as their favorite Nintendo characters on one of the many Nintendo-inspired arenas the game has to offer. As players are hit, their damage percentages go up, and the higher the percentage, the farther they fly when hit. A life is lost when they are hit out of the level's boundary.

That's the gist of it. But I'm sure most of you know all about that. Now I want to focus on the gameplay in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. The controls work incredibly well and are even customizable. Players can use the Wii remote + nunchuck, classic controller, Gamecube controller, or even Wii remote by itself. From there, the controls can be further personalized and assigned to player names.

Brawl pulls off an incredible feat by creating an unprecedented balance amongst a massive and varied character roster. No one character will give a player an inherent advantage, but you'll find that certain types of characters fit your playing style better than others. When it comes to the line-up itself, you'll find no shortage of great fighters to choose from. From Mario to Marth, from Pikachu to Pit, there's a character for everyone.

On the content front, Brawl is no slacker. When you're with friends, the battles you can create are virtually unlimited thanks to options that alter play mode, time limit, item frequency, and much more. A large collection of arenas adds to the variety, and a level building tool allows players to contribute something of their own to the game's depth. If you don't happen to have a friend to play with, no worries. Brawl also contains an extensive amount of solo modes, one of which is the colossal Subspace Emissary adventure.

Slick menus, smooth-running graphics, and an okay online mode round out one of the best gaming experiences on Wii. In short, Super Smash Bros. Brawl is simply a must-own game for any Wii owner.

Metroid Prime and lots of screaming

I don't like to be horrified. Whether it's games, movies, or books, the "horror" genre is the last I would deliberately seek out.

I wouldn't call Metroid Prime a "horror" game, but it has a distinctly spooky atmosphere about it. It's terrifying, but in a very satisfying way. Does that make sense? Well, what if I just told you that I have screamed, out loud, many times while playing it?

What's the game's secret? It's got to be a combination of a lot of things, including art direction, level design, and music and sound effects. Especially music and sound effects. Just listening to some of the boss themes will send shivers down my spine, no problem. Sometimes you hear things. You hear, but don't see. You move forward a couple of steps, ever so cautious, look around for whatever's making the noise, and still you don't see.

I think atmosphere is the calling card of the Metroid series. I've played a lot of Metroid games, but none boast the same raw, well-defined creepy feel as Metroid Prime. Then again, I haven't even reached the second or third Prime games yet.

You're playing that?!



For some it's this way, for others it's opposite

All of us have those game genres that we absolutely cannot stand! The question is why? Why do most girls hate sport and killing games? Why do most guys love those? It's all a matter of opinion!

Personally I can't stand games that involve guns and shooting/killing or games that you play a sport in! Every time I see one of my little brothers playing those types of games I say something along the lines of, "You're playing that?" Every time they answer back, "This game is awesome!" I have never ever understood it.

I'm not saying those games are lacking in any way (especially considering the fact that shooting games improve your reaction speeds in real life), I just really hate those types of games! I'm more of a strategizing kinda gal myself!

I believe girls are more peace-loving and calm, and that's why the majority of us love games genres like RPG and Platformers. Men, on the other hand, love the action and adrenaline that come with fast paced shooting games.

What about you? What kind of games do you enjoy most to play? Why do you think that certain people enjoy certain games? Leave your response in the comment section below! We love to hear from you guys!