Joe's Thoughts - Game Magazines

Have you ever read game magazines before? If not then game magazines are books that help you understand the point of the gaming industry. I used to read game magazines a little bit, but now, I read them a lot because they have games I want to play. Plus, there's a game magazine that come in the mail, like this one.

This is the Game Informer magazine that has the various games that are being released in the month. I have got a magazine for upgrading my GameStop Power Up Rewards to a Pro Membership. My Game Informer magazines come in the mail every month. Reading them will help me understand the point of gaming. They even have various sketches. As months pass by, I get a new magazine and check out the information for games I want, including the cool RPG game I might pick up next.

A month ago, Etrian Mystery Dungeon hits US stores and online rental services, but not the rental places because they are shut down due to them not being able to meet its standards. It's a combination of Pokemon Mystery Dungeon and Etrian Odyssey. In Etrian Mystery Dungeon, they are called D.O.E's. They must be avoided, unless you're confident in your ability and strength, of course.

I might pick it up next after I'm done with Mortal Kombat X. With being stated, a review about the game will be up next, but I don't know when I'm going to write a review about it or when I'm able to beat it. So if you have a 3DS, then I'll be surprised to see you do so.

I also have this month's Game Informer magazine, but I didn't read all of the pages.

Joe's Thoughts - Omega Quintet inspired Pitch Perfect

What's up, guys? It's been a while since I haven't posted in a long time after I got wrapped up with Mortal Kombat X. I have something new to share with you. Because of my blog was connected to Google+, I have renamed RGR Fun Thought to Joe's Thoughts to make things exciting.

The first of my thought is what made me feel excited. Now, I want to go back on how Pitch Perfect got inspired by the PS4 exclusive Omega Quintet. I can't help but notice that Omega Quintet was released a month ago for the PS4. Plus, it has been a while since it was released.

Now, if you have seen any of the Pitch Perfect movies, right? If not, then I can explain what it's about. Pitch Perfect is about the female only singing group, the "Bellas" compete in a contest. The first one was out a couple of years ago while the second one hits theaters a week ago. That's how Omega Quintet inspired Pitch Perfect, female group-wise. So to set the record straight, I would support a collaboration of the Verse Maidens meeting the Bellas since both groups are female only. It may be kind of obvious, but this might actually work out.

Although I didn't see the first one, but I did see the second one, which comes in theaters after Omega Quintet releases and has the plot from it.

Omega Quintet - review

If you love idol RPG games and want to dance with the idol, then Omega Quintet is the right game for you to play and love! Omega Quintet is an idol JRPG game that is from Idea Factory and Compile Heart. You can even use the PlayStation 4 camera to put yourself in the spotlight and dance with the idols. Are you a fan of idols? Then let's read the review about Omega Quintet.

The Story:

Omega Quintet's story has a main objective called Blare. It's an evil substance that come from monsters, known as MADs. Blare generate the evil aura that can rampage the world, as well as blocking the way. With the Blare out of control, the five great Verse Maidens, the Omega Quintet, must eliminate the Blare to make the world peaceful, once again.

A young boy named Takt became the manager of the Verse Maidens. He is capable of fighting and managing the maidens' abilities. His job is to keep the Omega Quintet safe from danger and pairing up with one of them.

Meet the Omega Quintet:

Otoha - The first Verse Maiden who uses a recommended weapon called the sledehammer. Despite her anxiety, Otoha took place in Momoka's stead as a Verse Maiden. Her special is Shrine of Hope and her symbol is a heart. Her action is Eliminate, which can release the items from the cube.

Nene - The second Verse Maiden who recommendedly uses the rifle as her main weapon. She is considered as a sensitive and shy Verse Maiden. Her special is Prima Donna and her symbol is a diamond. Her action is Analyze, which opens the door with the controls.

Kanadeko - The third Verse Maiden who recommendedly uses the gauntlets. Her and Nene team up with Otoha to eliminate the Blare. Her special is Fantasy Fright and her symbol is a clover. Her action is Knockdown, which can clear a path.

Kyouka - The fourth Verse Maiden who recommendedly uses the spear. She want to do her job alone, but she decided to join up with Otoha and the others. Her special is Valkyrie Nocturne and her symbol is a spade. Her action can allow the others to get through the Blare.

Aria - The fifth and final Verse Maiden who recommendedly uses the fans. Her attitude is sleepy and never gets loud. She has a little buddy that is a black kitten. Her special is Solitary Rhapsody and her symbol is a joker. Her action is Dowsing, which can reveal and specify the location of the item.

In the Office:

As Takt, you can do sorts of things in the office. The panel is located by the black board. The panel can give you missions. As the story progresses, new missions will be added. The POV maker allows you to make videos of the Omega Quintet performances. The makeup room allows you to give the Verse Maidens a new look. You can buy the outfits, hairstyles and other stuff by using coins, which can be earned from finding them in the field and completing quests. The shop has varieties. The Create option allows you to create items using EP, which earned from winning a battle, completing a mission, a quest and dissembling an item in the Dissemble menu. The Repair menu allows you to repair the Verse Maidens' outfits by using EP. The Upgrade Outfit menu can strengthen up the Verse Maidens' outfits. The higher the level, the longer the outfit will last. You need EP to strengthen up the uniform.

The Training Facility:

The place called the Training Facility allows you to train and level up the Verse Maidens. You can even get more raw materials to complete quests and create items. The higher the level, the stronger the enemies will be. The enemies have a symbol that indicates how strong the enemy is. You need to look before you leap in. There are walls that can be removed after getting a certain item.

Affection Increasing:

Each of the Verse Maidens have an affection, which can increase from doing them a favor. In the Affection menu, you can view their affection level and Takt by the lines of affection. The highest affection level is 5. When Takt paired up with a Verse Maiden with the higher affection level, his actions will increase.

The Gameplay:

Let's start with something simple like running around in the field. In the field, press the Square button to have the first strike when you approach the MAD. But when touched behind by the MAD, they will have the advantage, so be aware of it. There are varety of things to do on the field, like finding treasures. The field has a wall that can block the path until the story progresses.

The battle system in Omega Quintet is engaging. The Voltage Gauge is located on the bottom right corner of the screen, and can be filled up by fighting, taking damage and more, but will decrease when one of the Verse Maidens dies. The level decreases when chosen the special skill or selection the level during Live Concert Mode. The number by their portraits represents the action count, which can be consumed, by selecting of the actions. When the proficiency level reaches a certain level, the action count will increase. Also, you can increase the action count bonus instantly by doing certain conditions, like defeating the MAD.

Each of the MAD has a Magnetic Field, which can be broken by fighting until the gauge reaches 0. Once the MAD enters a Field Break status, its defense will be decreased and will turn back. But, it might change its mind.

Be careful, the Verse Maidens have an Outfit Gauge, which can be depleted by taking damage or getting a virus ailment. Once the gauge reaches 0, you'll enter a Break state and your defenses will be decreased until outfit repairing.

Harmonics:

Harmonics is an action that can allow all Verse Maidens to go all out and attack the MAD together. The Harmonics action is found by pressing thr right directional pad and can be turned on after meeting certain conditions. Conditions are, Takt has enough action points and the Verse Maidens' turn must be consecutive. During Harmonics, you can perform Chain Skills, which can be learned by earning blueprints. When you see the word "Chain," it means one of the Verse Maidens are capable of doing a chain. And during Harmonics, you can give them as many hits and damage as you can. It can even help you get the MAD to an Overkill and the Field Break state. The Overkill state that the MAD has can be entered when the red meter is filled all the way up to the end.

Live Concert Mode:

During Live Concert Mode, the music will be play as the battlefield will be hotting up. Depending on the voltage level, the battle system starts heating up and can give you various flash effects frequently. During the state, you can fulfill requests by doing exactly as the request tells you. The Live Concert menu can allow you to create your own music and make your own bonuses. Live Concert Mode wears off after a certain turn and will wear off immediately after one of the Verse Maidens dies.

The Verse Maidens' Disc:

Each of the Verse Maidens have a disc that can have skills to be unlocked by using points. Points are earned by levelling up. In the Disc Analysis menu, you can learn and upgrade skills by using points. The Disc Set allows you to set up E. Skills, which are different than Mic Skills. The skills consume MP, which is needed to use skills. Make sure you use your points wisely and you can earn more after reaching a certain level. Takt also has a disc, which is completely different than the Verse Maidens' disc. His disc has action level increasing and making the paired/group defense interesting.

Pairing Up With One of the Verse Maidens:

Like I said, Takt is capable of pairing up with one of the Verse Maidens. When it's one of the Verse Maidens' turn with him pairing up with her, immediately press X to do a pursuit, which can make the MAD to turn back. When the MAD targeted one Verse Maiden that Takt paired up with, quickly press X to do a Paired Defense and Square to do a Group Defense. He can earn EXP at the end of each battle. At the end of each battle and after completing a quest, the approval rating is earned for Takt. When the approval rating reaches a certain point, he will level up. At the Change Order menu, you can let Takt pair up with a different Verse Maiden, by using the Square Button.

Doing Quests:

Omega Quintet's quests are somewhat special because they have a deadline, and are points of progressing the story. This is very blunt here because once the deadline has passed, even if you fulfill the quest, you will not earn any special rewards. You must not let the quests be expired and do the particular quests to increase the Verse Maidens' action level, otherwise your progress WILL be barred, and you must start the game from the very beginning and remember to complete the quests you missed on your previous playthough. Unless the patch needs to change the subject. But the good news is, you can skip cutscenes that you already saw to quickly get to the point where your progress was barred, after completing quests you missed on your last playthrough. If you did fulfill a quest before the deadline is passed, you'll earn rewards.

The Conclusion:

Omega Quintet is not a game for everyone because their progress is barred after letting the quests being expired. I can't call it perfect because of the only issue I'm having, which is barring my progress because of the missed quests. But just because the object of the game says it doesn't mean you can stop playing. If you don't want to play this game, then don't buy it. But, you can rent it if you wish if possible.

Pros:

+Excellent gameplay quality
+Hot Harmonics
+Awesome combo creating

Cons:

-Starting over after a barred progress is a pain, but can skip cutscenes to make it easier.

Omega Quintet is an awesome game, overall, though. You just need to look out for the quests before they expire. Which is why I'm giving Omega Quintet a 9.0. It was very close to perfect, but worth a try.

Final Fantasy Type-0 HD - review

Now that I have finally got out of the sad crisis, it's that time again! A few years ago, Final Fantasy Type-0 was originally released on the PSP. After years later, it was remade into a HD remaster that has bright and clean graphics better than the PSP version. You want to know how this HD remake is about? Well, you have came to read this review of Final Fantasy Type-0 HD!

Welcome to the Land of Orience:

This magical land called Orience is where Final Fantasy Type-0 HD takes place. The land has crystals that governed the whole world. The war was waged by the one and only Cid Auldstyne, the leader of the Militesi Empire. And now, the 14 students from Class Zero must stop the war before anyone dies.

It even has a school named Akademia, a school where cadets learn and partake on missions. Akademia is not just a school, it's a town filled with shops, kiosks and various places. You will be living in Akademia as a home while partaking missions. Your classroom is Classroom Zero

Meet the Team:

Final Fantasy Type-0 has 14 members of Class Zero. Here's a list of members of Class Zero with weapon relying and traits now.

Ace - Relies on using cards and work well on flying enemies.
Deuce - Relies on using a flute and slowly attacks enemies.
Trey - Relies on using a bow and arrow and goes well on flying enemies.
Cater - Relies on using a pistol and goes well on flying enemies.
Cinque - Relies on using a club and uses close-range attacks.
Sice - Relies on using a staff and dodges enemy attacks.
Seven - Relies on using a sword whip, attacks enemies head on and can fight like Ivy from the SoulCalibur series.
Eight - Relies on using punches and kicks, uses Kung-Fu-based attacks on enemies and dodges while attacking.
Nine - Relies on using a staff like Sice, but doesn't dodge much while attacking.
Jack - Relies on using a katana, but moves slowly while his sword taken out to make him a pain.
Queen - Relies on using a sword, but usually stabs enemies.
King - Relies on twin guns, attacks well on flying enemies.
Rem - Relies on twin daggers, does insane combos on enemies.
Machina - Relies on twin swords, does quick attacks well on enemies.

Doing Whatever You Want in Akademia:

During non mission days, you are free to do whatever or however you want in Akademia. However, the countdown was displayed on the lower right corner of the screen. Time will pass as you talked to the person with an "!" above his/her head and exit Akademia, which elapsed 6 hours.

There are some tasks you can partake on when it's not mission day yet. When it's mission day, you need to go to the office and hear about the mission. Also, if you're antsy to do that mission, you can even go to the office to depart immediately when it's not yet mission day.

In Classroom Zero, you can talk to Mog to listen to its lectures. Listening to lectures will increase EXP, maximum HP and MP and attack and defense points, magical and physical. It will also elapse a couple of hours.

The Gameplay:

Alright, the gameplay stays the same as the PSP version, but in the HD remake, the battle system is more engaging than ever. The four buttons are displayed at the bottom right corner of the screen. The first button allows you to do normal attacks. The second and third button allows the use of AG attacks, which can deplete the AG gauge on the top of the command bar and magic attacks, which can deplete the MP gauge below the HP gauge. Finally, the fourth button grants the use of defensive magic. When holding the R1 button, you lock on to the target. When the mark is yellow, you perform the Breaksight which can cause massive damage while the Killsight causes an instant kill after the mark is red.

When idle, your HP gauge will recover until it reaches to maximum. You need to pay attention to your HP that can deplete by taking damage. When it reaches 0, your team member will die. In total, if all of your members die, it's game over. The catch is, people in the reserves won't earn EXP, so you need to train them evenly.

There's also one way to train them evenly, which is going on a combat simulation. In the combat simulation, which is west of Akademia, only one can participate. You can kill as many enemies as possible. If you die, you will be exiting the simulation instead of getting a game over and keeping EXP and phantoma. There's also the secret training feature that allows one of the members of Class Zero to secretly train while outside of the game.

Every time you level up, you earn AP, which can give the character's new skills and skill enhancements

Replaying Missions:

After clearing a mission, the mission you cleared will be posted in the mission screen, which is on the title screen. It also helps you level your team up before proceeding the story. You can level them up one by one until they are strong enough for the main story.

Phantoma Harvesting:

When you defeat an enemy, hold the R1 button and press the Square button to harvest their phantoma. Phantoma are artifacts of their living, which can be spent on the Altocrystarium. Each phantoma comes in different colors that can enhance magic usage.

The Altocrystarium:

The Altocrystatium is located in the hallway to Classroom Zero. It allows you to enhance magic abilities with the phantoma you have harvested from the enemies you killed. You need enough phantoma to improve magic. For example, if you have enough Red Phantoma, you donate them to the Altocrystarium to enhance fire-based magic.

Assigning Your Party:

After assigning to a mission, you will assign your guys to your party. When the character's stats is yellow, it represents recommendation. You don't have to assign your recommended characters you don't have to. You can even reassign your party in the save crystal.

Squad Commands:

When your AG gauge is full, press the Triangle and Circle button simultaneously to perform a Squad Command. There are three types of Squad Commands.

Triad Manuever - Allows three characters in your party to perform moves at a same time.

Eidolon - They are giant monsters that can tear up the battlefield. When summoning an Eidolon, one of your characters is sacrificed, so call forth your Eidolon sparringly.

Vermillion Bird l'Cie - The l'Cie is responsible of helping your team. This command was hard to perform, so you have to figure it out.

The Conclusion:

Final Fantasy Type-0 has excellent graphics that are better than the PSP version. Basically, the battle system was more engaging, but it was close to perfect as I speak. In conclusion, it's not a game for everyone because it might be a bit of a chore to play. That is, until that part when you beat the first playthrough, the opportunity to choose which mission to work on was here on the second playthrough. The second choice gives you a new mission that haven't did on the first playthrough.

Pros:

+Excellent graphics
+Engaging battle system

Cons:

-Jack is a pain to deal with
-Deuce using a flute as a weapon is just plain stupid

In the end, I'm giving Final Fantasy Type-0 HD a 9.0, which is close to perfect. It was tough on some parts, but I still liked it,

Rest in Peace, GoPlus Plan...

Okay, you understand what GoAnimate is about, right? Good, because I have some sad timing updates to share with you. After careful consideration, I have discovered that GoAnimate's cheapest plan, the GoPlus plan, has been retired due to the less popularity. That means I won't be making videos in a while, unless I made enough money for the GoPublish plan. First off, GoAnimate was started in 2007.

In the beginning, the GoPlus plan was there at the first year of GoAnimate. GoAnimate features grounding videos for getting all F's on his/her report card, making fake VHS openings from any company, etc. It don't only feature grounding videos, there are non-grounding videos as well. After eight years, the GoPlus plan was retired because of the less popularity. In fact, they retired the cheapest plan I entered in the beginning of the year!

So unless I made enough money to enter a GoPublish plan, I will be leaving GoAnimate and I won't be making videos, including the video about Erika, Zara and Annabelle becoming the Murakumo Unit models based on BlazBlue, which is the fact that I was able to beat Final Fantasy Type-0 HD. In addition, I have taken a screenshot of the two families to have memories. I also have videos on my computer to retain memories.

Sadly, I didn't automatically renew my plan because I turned off the setting and spent $18 on the three-month plan, but I'll switch the the GoPublish plan that allows you to make business videos of some sort.