Strife's Sanctum

A show from my teenage years, Big O stood the test of time as an anime that fied many American and Japanese influences together to make a show full of mystery, intrigue, and action.  While the ending leaves something to be desired, everything else about the show is too good to ignore. Timestamps  0:00 - Intro  5:49 - Characters  30:35 - Plot  36:15 - 2nd Season/Ending *Spo...

This week, I go old school again to talk about a game that proved crossovers of different genres can work.  At the heights of their respective skills, Nintendo and Square came together to create a role-playing game with Mario ephemera.  The end result is one of the best RPGs of all time.   Tentative schedule  October 12th: Big O  October 19th: MetaCon 2021 Highlights ...

A dizzying visual spectacle, Land of the Lustrous is a story about beings made of precious gemstones fighting to survive against forces of nature known as Lunarians.  The show is a gorgeous 3D CGI based anime with really great drama, comedy, and action scenes.   Upcoming schedule  October 5th: Super Mario RPG  October 12th: The Big O  October 19th: MetaCon 2021 Highlights...

This week, I talk about a game that gave me a rush while playing it.  Characters and plot wise, Tales of Berseria is a riot.  Add to that some thoughts on Tales of Arise, and you have a doozy of a podcast.   Tentative schedule  September 28th: Land of the Lustrous  October 5th: Super Mario RPG  October 12th: Big O  October 19th: MetaCon 2021 Highlights   Gam...

Time for a different anime.  This one is a dramatic, moral dilemma show with the "monsters" being ephemeral, almost parasitic beings known as Mushi.  How does one deal with things you can't see? How does one explain their life spiraling out of control due to things that "don't exist?"  That's what this show tackles, alongside being a drama, a paranormal experience, and all around ep...

This week's episode takes a look at one of the best action RPG franchises to fly under the radar.  Ys has been quietly building steam as a Zelda style hack and slash game with tough bosses and great music.  In Lacrimosa of Dana, budding quality, multi-layered story, and well-thought out characters and design mix into one massive journey that eclipses anything to come before it. Upcoming...

For my next anime review, I venture into "Isekai", a genre showing a lot of popularity.  Video games, MMOs, other worlds: all fair game for fish out of water stories.  In this one, the hero...doesn't exactly fare too well with the locals.  A second season is set for release in a year, so I'll focus on the majority of happenings in Season 1.

A bit of a different approach to the podcast, this one is a spoiler-heavy, personal discussion about a game that still influences me.  Whether you are a fan of romance, puzzles, horror, social interaction, etc, this game has you covered.  It also forces you to question things about how you view relationships and romantic interaction.  I delve into all the ways it can affect you, alo...

I decided I wanted to dabble in anime series reviews to supplement my video game content.  First up, a hard sci-fi crime show.  PSYCHO-PASS is a dark, brutal show that has great social commentary about letting technology rule too much of our lives.  While it doesn't hit the landing the longer the series goes, the first full Season (20-25 episodes) is a great experience.

My first podcast down, I dive deeper into Squaresoft's catalog to find a colorful, whimsical, lovely gem.  Secret of Mana has some faults, but those are balanced out by a breezy pace, striking visual design, and vivid music that anyone can enjoy.  

I've been an avid videogamer for a long time.  I've even dabbled in content creation on other platforms, but this is my first ever podcast.  My goal is create an ongoing review/longform podcasting series where I talk about Japanese games I've played, and why I think they stand the test of time.  The aim is to reflect on them with an analytical approach.  Analytical, yet positiv...