Nintendo 3DS North American launch titles

The list of North American releases for the 3DS on launch day has been finalized. Though Ocarina of Time, Snake Eater, Starfox, and Kid Icarus will not see release until later on (with Ocarina confirmed for a 2011 release), the list of launch day titles includes:

- PilotWings Resort
- Steel Diver
- Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition
- Nintendogs + Cats
- Ridge Racer 3D
- Samurai Warriors: Chronicles
- The Sims 3
- Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 3D
- Super Monkey Ball 3D
- Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars
- Rayman 3D
- Asphalt 3D
- Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars
- Bust-a-Move Universe
- Madden NFL 11
- Combat of Giants: Dinosaurs 3D

(Special thanks to nintendo3dsblog for the info!)

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim gameplay trailer

The first gameplay footage of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has been released (and admittedly much earlier than I expected). It's interesting to see the variety of environments Bethesda has been working on, though I wish they had shown a bit more of the game's story - so far all we really know is that the events of Oblivion were merely prologue to Skyrim. However, a gameplay trailer this early could mean that Bethesda will be revealing more information soon.

Anime review: Full Metal Alchemist (season two)

(WARNING: There may be some spoilers if you have not seen season one)

Season two picks up directly after the conclusion of season one. The Elric brothers, now aware of what is truly required to make a Philosopher's Stone, head out with Winry in hopes of finding some alternative solution to regaining Al's body. This will ultimately lead them to cross paths once more with Izumi Curtis, the brothers' teacher from their early days of learning alchemy. Izumi was given a brief cameo in season one, but until this point the only impression viewers have of her is the harsh and unforgiving persona the Elric brothers imply her to be. This ends up as only partially true, as Izumi is thoroughly strict and will only agree to train her students if they wholly devote themselves and remain focused, but she is revealed to have a sad past and knows how to treat the Elric brothers with compassion when needed. While viewers are given a look into Ed and Al's time training under Izumi, this serves a purpose that is less focused on providing backstory and more focused on clueing viewers into the direction that the show will take over the course of the second season, primarily dealing with strengthening their relationship as brothers.

Season one only managed to scratch the surface of the story of the Homunculi, revealing a few of them and showing off their respective powers. Season two explores all seven of the Homunculi in great detail - how they originated, how they influence the brothers' journey, and what their ultimate goals are. I won't spoil the roles that each Homunculi plays in the story, though some of them do complicate things for the Elric brothers and other characters in ways other than just physical confrontations. My personal favorite Homunculus was Greed, who is both clever and immensely powerful. He relies on assistance from the chimeras he rescued from Laboratory 5 but also has a high level of respect for them, treating them as more or less his equal as opposed to science experiments. As his name implies, Greed wants what he doesn't have and is a rebel among the Homunculi, disagreeing with their plan and carrying out his own mission.


Gluttony is largely the same throughout the entirety of the series, though Lust does change her outlook on her standing as a Homunculi during the latter half of the season. Envy, who appeared only briefly in both the very early and very late episodes of season one, does make a handful of appearances of the course of season two, but his role in the overarching story is left almost entirely unexplored until the final episodes. While I was admittedly a bit disappointed that Envy's story was put on the backburner, given his role in things, it makes perfect sense to reserve it for such a late point in the series. Wrath, one of the Homunculi new to season two, plays an integral role in influencing the Elric brothers and others because of his origin, as do Sloth and Pride. The identities of those latter two are kept under wraps for quite some time with good reason.

Aside from the threats each Homunculus presents, the Elric brothers must also deal with certain members of the state military who have intentions of hindering their progress. Solf Kimblee, the Crimson Alchemist, was introduced at the end of season one and has escaped from the Laboratory 5 complex. While his true intentions remain shrouded for a good portion of the first half of season two, it is clear that Kimblee doesn't exactly follow a by-the-books style like many of the state alchemists. In a more powerful position is Lieutenant Colonel Frank Archer, a calm and collected individual who is more concerned with impressing Fuhrer Bradley than he is about the safety of his men or civilians caught up in in the states' military interventions.


In my review of season one, I made a minor complaint about Scar being seemingly phased out of the story only to be dragged back in episode twenty-four, "Bonding Memories". While I still feel the choice to carry out part of Scar's story in that manner came across as somewhat awkward, his involvement is season two flows quite smoothly. Scar gives viewers a more in-depth look at Ishbalan society, as well as a very satisfying explanation for his relation to both the Elric brothers and the Homunculi. While often a rather difficult character to read, there were times where I found myself cheering Scar on, in spite of his previous attempts to kill Ed and countless other state Alchemists.

Admittedly, there were three episodes in season two that I felt were not as cohesive as the rest in regards to how they factored into the overarching story. "Reunion of the Fallen" tells the story of a village where the people have contracted a disease that slowly turns their bodies to stone. This is by far the single weakest and forgettable episode in the entire series. That isn't to say that it is performed poorly, but it is more filler than substance. The only payoff this episode manages are the first steps in exploring a side of Lust that viewers have not previously seen. "Her Reason" - the first episode of the second season - flows somewhat better with the themes and story of Full Metal Alchemist as a whole, though it is largely focused on Winry's relationship with the Elric brothers, more specifically with Ed. The events in this episode are somewhat split down the middle. One one hand, it does a good job of reinforcing the characters and their long history together, and begins to bring Winry forth as a more important character than in season one. On the other hand, much of the episode is spent running in circles as Winry wants Ed to be more grateful for all the help she's provided him with over the years, and the new characters introduced in the episode are some of the very few throughout the series to never be heard from after their initial debut. Finally, "The Flame Alchemist, The Bachelor Lieutenant, and the Mystery of Warehouse 13" is a less-than-serious take on the current state of affairs in Colonel Mustang's unit. There are a few short subplots woven into the episode and while it doesn't manage to accomplish much in the grand scheme of things (aside, perhaps, from further fleshing out the characters of Havoc, Fuery, Breda, and Falman), overall the episode meshes well with the rest of season two, and is the source of a few good laughs among an otherwise darker-themed season than the first.


The animation is just as good as in the first season, with perhaps some minor tweaks/improvements sprinkled throughout. Some of the backgrounds are given more detail and lighting/shading effects seem to be a bit more dramatic in season two (though this could be due to the different locales visited in season two). The soundtrack utilizes many of the same pieces used in season one, though some new pieces are introduced along with variations on the aforementioned familiar tunes.

Full Metal Alchemist has one of - if not the single best - English dubs of all time. Vic Mignona and Aaron Dismuke steal the show as Ed and Al respectively, but Travis Willingham as Colonel Roy Mustang and Chris Sabat as Major Alex Louis Armstrong go above and beyond in their roles as secondary characters. Every one of the Homunculi is matched with a fantastic voice actor, each of whom emphasizes the traits that give the Homunculus their namesake in a manner that is entertaining but not overbearing.

Full Metal Alchemist has quickly climbed the ranks to become one of my favorite anime of all time. With a wildly entertaining cast of characters, fantastic animation, and a captivating soundtrack, it's an experience every anime fan should give a try. Even though the story diverges from the plot of the manga, Studio Bones did a phenomenal job of carrying a story that captivates viewers' imagination. The finale is about as satisfying and near-perfect as they come, avoiding the cliche while proving just how strong of a bond the Elric brothers share.

My rating (for season two): 9.5 (out of 10)

My rating for the series as a whole: 10 (out of 10)

Anime review: Mobile Suit Gundam F91

Taking place thirty years after the conclusion of Char's Counterattack, Mobile Suit Gundam F91 centers around Seabook Arno and Cecily Fairchild, two friends living aboard the space colony Frontier IV, as they are caught up in the conflict between the EFSF and the Crossbone Vanguard. Early on in the film, viewers are shown that the two share romantic interests in each other, but it is implied that currently they are just friends. A short while after the Crossbone Vanguard attacks Frontier IV, Seabook and Cecily become seperated, and it becomes clear that Cecily is not entirely certain of who she is, as members of the Crossbone Vanguard claim she is an heir to the Ronah family, the most prominent figures in the Crossbone Vanguard. Escaping the colony with a group of his friends, Seabook eventually takes refuge aboard the Federation ship Space Ark, and discovers that his mother had been devloping the newest Gundam, the F91. Determined to rescue Cecily, Seabook agrees to aid the Federation and takes up the responsibility of being the F91's pilot.

There is a lot crammed into the two-hour film, a result of the plan to originally release F91 as a series. Things do seem to fly by at a bit of a fast pace, but it isn't to the point where the characters and events are simply glossed over. The film's events flow in sequence quite smoothly and refrain from being particularly choppy in a sort of cut-and-paste manner (which easily could have been the case, considering the project's history). The story's conclusion surprised me a bit, as I thought things might simply end in the fashion of Gundam SEED, but instead it is paced out just enough to provide a fitting wrap-up without overstaying its welcome.

Though there are relatively few major characters that the story of F91 is centered around, this works to the film's advantage as viewers are able to connect with them more so than if Bandai and Sunrise had chosen to spend an equal amount of time developing every character in F91. While viewers aren't given as much time to familiarize themselves with the likes of Zabine and Iron Mask, they still come across as rather well-rounded, even if they don't match the level of infamy of other Gundam villians (or anti-heroes in the case of Zabine) such as Char Aznable or Paptimus Scirocco . The secondary characters are developed well enough to come across as believable, though they certainly won't stand out as the greatest supporting cast in the entire Gundam metaseries. The strongest of these are Seabook's sister Reese and mother Monica, the latter of whom doesn't actually appear until rather late in the film, and the two play important roles in influencing Seabook's actions. Seabook's friends from Frontier IV, however, are left largely underdeveloped. A few of them do aid indirectly in the fight against the Crossbone Vanguard, and if nothing else, they provide a glimpse into the effect the conflict has on civilians.

While I would accuse few Gundam series/films of having a poor dub, Gundam F91's really stands out for how well the English voice actors portray their characters. Their emotions come across as genuine, whether in the heat of battle or fearful of loss. There really are not any significant improvements over the quality of the animation in Char's Counterattack, but F91 still looks well done for a 1991 release. The soundtrack is classic UC Gundam, and - in a similar fashion to Char's Counterattack - balances tense battle themes with light flowing pieces.

When it all boils down to it though, Mobile Suit Gundam F91 is classic Gundam. It doesn't try and throw in too much flash and flair like some of the Alternate Universe series, and it manages to balance the political aspects and character development in a near-perfect manner. The film's pacing is a bit fast and perhaps Bandai and Sunrise could have improved certain portions of the story had they allotted more time to F91, but if you are a fan of Gundam's Universal Century storylines, this is a film worth checking out.

My rating: 8.25 (out of 10)

Final Fantasy XIII-2 announced

Gamespot (as well as a number of other similar websites, I imagine) announced earlier this week that Square Enix's Final Fantasy XIII would be receiving a direct sequel, titled Final Fantasy XIII-2. Only so many details have been released thus far, but it is clear that Lightning will be returning as a lead protagonist. The game has been slated for a Winter 2011 release. Surprisingly enough, a trailer has already been released (in English, no less), which I have posted below. It's only a short teaser, but I can personally say that I'm quite looking forward to FFXIII-2's release.

Anime review: Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny

Based on a large amount of negative feedback I’d seen from other members of the Gundam community/fanbase, I decided not to save SEED Destiny for one of the last series I watched with my ‘Project Gundam’ (my attempt to view every Gundam series, OVA, and film ever released). I was afraid that if I were to do so, it might leave a poor aftertaste, and I’d prefer to reach the end of the aforementioned journey on a high note. I was very surprised, however, to find that I not only enjoyed SEED Destiny much more than SEED, but found it to be among the stronger of the alternate universe series.

Unlike with SEED, where things seemed to keep running around for the better part of the series’ first half, SEED Destiny knows where it’s going and how it’s going to get there right off the bat. Though the first few episodes may seem a bit slow going in comparison to SEED’s explosive debut, the pacing throughout SEED Destiny is nearly flawless. There’s an added level of complexity thrown in due to the inner-working politics of the series. Things aren’t as much of a cut and dry “good vs. evil” scenario as in SEED, as the true force driving the war and the intentions of ZAFT chairman Durandal are kept under wraps to be slowly revealed as the series progresses. Each faction is explored in great detail, offering glimpses into the motives and methods of each, something that SEED only managed to scratch the surface of.

The characters are a combination of new and old, and this makes for an interesting dynamic in terms of how each individual views both the previous and current conflicts. Plenty of familiar faces return, including major players such as Athrun, Kira, Lacus and Cagalli, as well as some characters including Murrue Ramius and Andrew Waltfeld, whose roles are somewhat more important this time around (even if they don’t receive much more screen time). The new lead character is Shinn Asuka, the highly-capable coordinator pilot of Zaft’s Impulse Gundam (and later, the Destiny Gundam). Shinn and Athrun carry the majority of the story, with Kira and the crew of the Archangel popping up as need be during the second half of the series. As someone who personally very much disliked Kira in SEED, I was quite happy to find that his role was scaled down in SEED Destiny, even though his personality remained the same.


The conflict is still largely focused of Zaft vs. Earth Alliance, though this time around there is an added level of intrigue with the crew of the Archangel observing from afar and trying to deduce the complexities of the war’s underlying politics. While Lord Djibril is played off as a power-hungry leader pulling the strings for the Earth Forces, ZAFT Chairman Durandal is a far more difficult individual to read. I won’t spoil anything for those who not yet seen SEED Destiny in its entirety, but his charisma/influence and knowledge of the conflict as a whole led me to find him to be one of the most entertaining characters in any Gundam series.

Some of the cheesy elements that dragged down SEED return in SEED Destiny, though the vast majority of these – oddly enough – don’t start popping up until about the last ten episodes. A large part of this has to do with how the majority of the series is told from Athrun and Shinn’s perspectives. It’s true that Kira plays a very important role in the story, but the less time viewers have to sit through Kira preaching about how no one should be fighting and then subsequently blasting everything in sight with beam spams and double standards, the better, as Shinn and Athrun present a far more practical and realistic outlook on the Earth-ZAFT conflict. That’s one of the things that ties SEED Destiny more closely to its UC counterpart Zeta Gundam than SEED was to the original Mobile Suit Gundam – a classic combination of sci-fi action and flair with a grounding in certain realistic situations and relatively believable characters.

The vast majority of the series’ episodes involve one or more flashbacks to prior events. Early on, these are more than necessary, as they provide a good balance of backstory with the tense atmosphere and heavy combat. However, as the story progresses, these flashbacks become increasingly unnecessary and a tad annoying. It’s almost as if Bandai and Sunrise lacked faith in their viewers’ short-term memory. Certain elements of the story that are meant to be played out as somewhat of a mystery – in particular, Neo Roanoke’s true identity and Rey Za Burrel’s role in things – aren’t terribly difficult to solve, especially if viewers are familiar with Gundam SEED.

I am not a fan of recap episodes, and though SEED Destiny has four in total, only one of these provides a cut-and-dry retelling of the entire series in one fell swoop. The other three present interesting perspectives via narration by Shinn Asuka, Gilbert Durandal, and Meer Campbell respectively. Each of these includes some new footage not yet seen until that point and the former of the two (Shinn’s and Durandal’s) further tie SEED and SEED Destiny’s events together in cleverly-executed ways.

Much like the finale of SEED, SEED Destiny lacks any sort of epilogue. That’s not to say that the series leaves any loose ends unexplored, but the series’ conclusion does feel rather abrupt and awkward. Bandai and Sunrise did go ahead and release SEED Destiny Final Plus, which – to my understanding – includes new footage of both the original events of the latter episodes of SEED Destiny, as well as some post-conclusion footage, but it wouldn’t have been that difficult for them to have included this in the original series, especially if they had cut out some of the many unnecessary flashbacks.


There aren’t any drastic improvements in the animation since SEED, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing as mobile suits are nicely detailed and characters and backgrounds lush and colorful. There do seem to be some minor improvements in regards the lighting/shading effects, however. The soundtrack follows a similar style to that of SEED, with a number of pieces constantly reprising over the course of the series. That said, SEED Destiny does have a completely new orchestrated soundtrack that fits the series’ events well.

The Japanese voice actors are largely the same as they were in SEED, so viewers can expect their performances to be pretty solid overall. As for the English voice actors, improvements have been all across the board, with the only exceptions to this being Chantal Strand as Lacus and Matt Hill as Kira, both of whom seem to put forth rather lethargic and poorly-forced efforts, and Samuel Vincent as Athrun, who provided excellent work in SEED and keeps the standard just as high in SEED Destiny. Matthew Erickson does a nice job as angst-ridden Shinn Asuka, though at times he seems to under-dramatize a situation, while Ted Cole as Gilbert Durandal, Maryke Hendrikse as Lunamaria Hawke, and Venus Terzo as Talia Gladys all fit their characters with near perfection.

In short, SEED Destiny is a significant improvement over its predecessor. The story feels far more fleshed out and the characters both more varied and of greater depth. The conflicts of SEED Destiny are presented from a handful of unique and interesting viewpoints, and the quality of the animation and soundtrack are both quite good. If viewers were not particularly pleased with SEED, they might consider giving a look into SEED Destiny.

My rating: 8.25 (out of 10)

Funimation trailer for Rebuild of Evangelion 2.22: You Can [Not] Advance

Funimation released a trailer for Rebuild of Evangelion 2.22: You Can [Not] Advance on Hulu a few weeks ago, which is attached below. The English voice actors have also been confirmed, with Tiffany Grant reprising her role as Asuka, Trina Nishimura playing Mari, and J. Michael Tatum playing Kaji.