I love Dragon Quest. So maybe I am biased when I say this, but I really believe that Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake is one of the best games of the past year and one of the best JRPGs in quite some time. While it is indeed a remake, this new HD-2D version of the JRPG classic really stands on its own and adds so much upon the original and truly brings it into the modern age. Dragon Quest has always excelled in its simple game design layered upon a foundation of complexity. These games are easy to pick up and play, but there is a lot of substance beneath that simplicity that keeps players coming back to these games again and again. The world of Dragon Quest is both straight forward but also rich with character and lore that begs to be explored. Dragon Quest 3 is still regarded as one of the best of the series and with the HD-2D remake its easy to see why. The game has a bit of everything but most of all it is just so much fun. Exploring the world and leveling up is rewarding and the deeper ...

  There is a lot of music biopics in recent times and a lot of them generally feel the same. That cannot be said for the Robbie Williams biopic 'Better Man' which does something entirely off the wall in that it portrays Robbie as a CGI monkey throughout its entire runtime. The use of the CGI monkey to portray Robbie was actually quite a stroke of genius. It sets the movie apart from the countless other music biopics on the market and adds a layer of emotion that may not have been achievable had it simply been a regular actor portraying the role. It is much more devastating the see a monkey go through the tragic scenarios that plagued the life of Robbie Williams than if it were just a man. But beyond all that, the use of the monkey has a profound impact on the story that is being told. The monkey is how Robbie sees himself and it is a manifestation of his tortured psyche. Ultimately the CGI monkey is used as a means to convey what the film is truly about: mental health. While it...

If you have not read this chapter yet, there is light spoilers below. Chapter 59 - Blackout: The anticipation for chapter 59 of Kagurabachi has been palpable. After the big twist of Samura turning heel on the bachibros, we had a bonus chapter side story of Sojo at the sauna which was better than it sounds. That said we now get the anticipated follow up and boy does this chapter deliver on that Samura twist. Samura has pretty much wrecked everyone and seemingly killed Uruha. Chihiro isn't too pleased with this betrayal and gets sliced and diced by Samura for his troubles, an assault which we learn 'kills' Chihiro. So I guess the protagonist is dead now. It's doubtful but I am curious how Chihiro will make it through this.  After attacking Chihiro, Shiba rocks up in the nick of time which seemingly scares Samura off who flees the scene and meets with the Hishaku. Samura basically reveals that he has decided to work with the Hishaku to kill all the sword bearers but after ...

  If you have not read this chapter yet, there is light spoilers below. Chapter 13 - The Silver Snow Witch: This week was not the most substantial chapter but there was some interesting layers added to Togeice's character as we got to see a bit more of her backstory. We see that she is the favourite of one of the head witches and had a tumultuous relationship with Descaras in their younger days. Togeice is the polar opposite to Descaras. She is very serious and studious and has little patience to suffer fools. It becomes clear what the head witches plans are and they seem insistent to mold Ichi in the style of Togeice and aiming to get him into their schooling system. I hope that the series doesn't go the school route because that would not be the direction I would like to see this story go. Outside of the look at Togeice and Descaras in the younger days, we see that Ichi is hot on the trailer of the Mushroom Majik and that's pretty much where the chapter concludes for now....

  With the recent release of Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake there are more eyes on the Dragon Quest series globally than there have been in quite some time. With the new release breaking all sorts of records, I thought it would be interesting to look into different type of records when it came to Dragon Quest 3; speed running records that is. The Dragon Quest series has been subject to a lot of interest from the speed running community, primarily in Japan where the series is most popular. It is an intriguing series to try to speed run as the games are notorious for being lengthy and at times quite difficult. However over the years the attempts to speed run the games in the series have evolved and speed runners have tried just about everything. One such speed runner is a gamer who goes by the name of Hitshee. In 2020 the speed runner achieved notority for their anything goes speed run of Dragon Quest 3 where they famously put their Famicom console onto a hot plate and heated it up unti...

  If you have not read this chapter yet, there is light spoilers below. Chapter 12 - The Kindake Majik: The latest chapter of Ichi the Witch sees the hunt for the Kindake Majik officially begin. Ichi and company rock up to a village that is being overrun by giant mushrooms. The sight of the giant shrooms towering over the tiny village was a cool visual. Ichi is surprised to learn of the deal struck by the witch bosses in the previous chapter that if he fails to capture the Kindake Majik then he must go to witch school but if he succeeds his identity as the only male witch will be revealed. I am personally hoping for the latter because this series is doing good with its current direction as a somewhat monster taming fantasy adventure series and I would not like to see it become a school based series. The other noteworthy thing in this chapter was that a mystery person crosses paths with Ichi. It looks like we may be getting a look at a potentially significant character here. Could h...