Strife's Sanctum

Mega May concluded with a new franchise: Mega Man Zero. Taking X's Zero character into a new century and a different type of experience on the Gameboy Advance/DS era. The areas are bite sized, but they aren't lacking in jumping and shooting. It's a cool way to experience the Mega Man formula, even if the end result isn't the most spectacular experience. Upcoming Schedule June 1st:...

Mega May rolls on with Mega Man X3. It's a bit lacking music wise, but it builds on the first two games, and adds Zero on a limited basis for some needed extra fun. Upcoming Schedule May 25th: Mega Man Zero June 1st: The Apothecary Diaries Season 1 June 8th: Frieren: Beyond Journey's End June 15th: Theatrhythm: Final Bar Line June 22nd: Fishing Minigames in JRPGs June 29th: Speed Grapher J...

Leigh and I had more characters and story things to talk about, so we went back and recorded more. Podcast Schedule (Based on Saturday Upload Dates) May 4th: Mega Man 2 May 11th: Mega Man 3 May 18th: Mega Man X3 May 25th: Mega Man Zero June 1st: The Apothecary Diaries Season 1 June 8th: Frieren: Beyond Journey's End June 15th: Theatrhythm: Final Bar Line June 22nd: Fishing Minigames in JRPGs J...

Mega May continues with 3, a disappointing follow-up due to less interesting msuic, a few glitches, and a rushed development. But, hey, it's more Mega Man. Upcoming Schedule May 18th: Mega Man X3 May 25th: Mega Man Zero June 1st: The Apothecary Diaries Season 1 June 8th: Frieren: Beyond Journey's End June 15th: Theatrhythm: Final Bar Line June 22nd: Fishing Minigames in JRPGs June 29th: Sp...

Mega May year 2 begins with what is widely regarded as the gold standard Mega Man experience...unless you just get Metal Blade early and cheese the f*** out of it. Even if you do, actual stage design, amazing music, and did I mention Metal Blade already? Oh, and the opening theme and Dr. Wily 1. Gotta love those songs. Upcoming Schedule May 11th: Mega Man 3 May 18th: Mega Man X3 May 25th: Mega Man...

Leigh asked me to watch an anime with her. Little did I know that it would turn out to be one of my favorite shows of all time. Under the veneer of a silly school comedy is a layered, dynamic, and often cruel show about the bonds of family, friendship, and what helps and hurts those bonds. Leigh and I go all out to discuss a show that must be seen to be believed. Podcast Schedule (Based on Saturda...

My favorite game so far this year (and a hard one to beat for the best) is the sequel to the brawler turned Dragon Quest homage, Like A Dragon. The 8th mainline installment, this game manages to add even more to Ichiban's plate by sending him to Hawaii. By enhancing the gameplay and adding some intriguing side content, Like A Dragon makes for a huge game full of stuff to do. Upcoming Schedule...

GOBLINS! Goblin Slayer and his party are back to rid the D&D inspired world they live in from the lesser evils of the world other people think are beneath them. Upcoming Schedule April 20th: Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth April 27th: Speed Grapher May 4th: Mega Man 2 May 11th: Mega Man 3 May 18th: Mega Man X3 May 25th: Mega Man Zero June 1st: The Apothecary Diaries Season 1 June 8th: Frieren:...

Sea of Stars is a triumph of independent spirit in most cases. For its amazing soundtrack and reverence to the conventions of old school JRPGs, it fails in a couple of major aspects that end up muddying the waters. A little more effort and care (and less an emphasis on one specific character) could have made what was looking like an amazing game not fall short when it was trying to reach the finis...

KonoSuba is one of my favorite anime. The chemistry between the main characters leads to a lot of comedy landing, and it doesn't take itself too seriously. However, take the most popular character, add in the most meek and downtrodden side character "rival," and force them to carry a show for 12 episodes...and you get a bit of a letdown. Upcoming Schedule April 6th: Sea of Stars Apri...

*mind the rushed edit midway through* Punch-Out is hard, but it was one of my go-tos in the early days as a gamer. I want to go down memory lane, at least until I remember how many times the later boxers punched me in the face. Upcoming Schedule March 30th: Konosuba: Megumin Spinoff April 6th: Sea of Stars April 13th: Goblin Slayer Season 2 April 20th: Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth April 27th: Sp...

Elaina is an interesting case study. It takes the weird city ideas at play in Kino's Journey, but does it in a more comedic way...save for one specific episode. Upcoming Schedule March 23rd: Mike Tyson's Punch-Out March 30th: Konosuba: Megumin Spinoff April 6th: Sea of Stars April 13th: Goblin Slayer Season 2 April 20th: Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth April 27th: Speed Grapher May 4th: Meg...

Much like Snow White with the Red Hair, Arte is a show held together by its main female lead. It doesn't try to do anything amazing, but Arte has enough charm to be a solid short show to watch. Upcoming Schedule March 16th: The Wandering Watch: Journey of Elaina March 23rd: Mike Tyson's Punch-Out March 30th: Konosuba: Megumin Spinoff April 6th: Sea of Stars April 13th: Goblin Slayer Season...

When JRPGs migrated to mobile platformers in the mid-2000s to early 2010s, a new IP managed to evoke memories of Chrono Trigger to the point it has become one of the standard bearers for the entire genre. By mixing many strong JRPG elements, adding in its own take on time travel, and having a great set of main characters, Radiant Historia is one of the games I wish had a main console port. Upcomin...

Back on the games from my childhood. I kinda realized as I was recording I sounded way more negative towards the game than I remember actually feeling. It was a weird vibe. Sonic 2 is great, but all I seemed to remember was being a bit annoyed at some of the difficulty spikes of the later levels coloring my recollection of playing the game. I do think that has more to do with how I play games now...

*Minds the weird edit in the middle: had to record the second part twice* This was a solid war anime focusing on the dichotomy of haves versus have nots, and the issues dealing with such. It succeeds due to the two main leads and the two story arcs at play. Upcoming Schedule February 24th: Sonic the Hedgehog 2 March 2nd: Radiant Historia March 9th: Arte March 16th: The Wandering Watch: Journey of...

Atlus has been on a high lately. However, their attempt to bring back the Soul Hackers spinoffs didn't work out how they hoped. The lack of sales did a disservice to a character that completely revolutionized what I hope SMT and Persona games do forward: Ringo is the best thing about it, and the one thing I would vouch for if you wanted to play this. Upcoming Schedule February 17th: 86 -Eighty...

Sometimes, you just want a nice show that does what it is supposed to do and doesn't screw up in any way. Snow White/Red Hair is about a girl who is smarter than she's given credit for, falling for a prince who respects her for being who she is. What happens in the show isn't groundbreaking, but the characters and scenarios are likeable and fun. Sometimes, that's all a show needs t...

Now with the game in the rear view mirror, it is time to take a look back on what Final Fantasy V did right (a lot), did wrong (fairly little), and what its place in gaming is considered. Upcoming Schedule February 3rd: Snow White with the Red Hair February 10th: Soul Hackers 2 February 17th: 86 -Eighty Six- February 24th: Sonic the Hedgehog 2 March 2nd: Radiant Historia March 9th: Arte March 16th...

Everyone has to start somewhere. The first anime I ever watched was this mid 90s gem that still holds up, despite its age. I first watched Tenchi back in 2000 thanks to the Toonami block in the afternoons. While I wouldn't get the full on anime bug until a couple years later, I remember watching these first two adaptations (and Tokyo...meh) and loving them. It is a full-on harem show, with all...

This week's game review is an interesting title from Level-5. An underused genre for games like this, space opera stuff is only usually reserved for Star Ocean and sometimes Tales games (usually). Add in a colorful cast of pirates, and a host of cool minigames and upgrade mechanics, the game holds its own against much more well-known JRPGs. Upcoming Schedule January 20th: Tenchi Muyo/Universe...

This week's anime review centers around a dark retelling of one of the most enduring anime and manga franchises: Lupin the 3rd. Doubling down on the sexuality, both as a weapon and a power dynamic, the show centers around Fujiko, the main Lupin female lead, finding out her past and learning to deal with it. Obviously, the usual Lupin heist and subterfuge hijinx are at play, but this show revel...

What a lovely game, full stop. DKC2 takes everything the original did, and just made it better. Let's revel in the fun. Upcoming Schedule January 6th: Lupin the Third: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine January 13th: Rogue Galaxy January 20th: Tenchi Muyo/Universe January 27th: Final Fantasy V February 3rd: Snow White with the Red Hair February 10th: Soul Hackers 2 February 17th: 86 -Eighty Six- Feb...

An adaptation of an adult visual novel of the same name, Rumbling Hearts is a melodramatic take on the effects of guilt, time lost, relationships torn apart, and what a person is meant to do when faced with grief they cause. While the visual novel explores some REALLY messed up scenarios, the anime adaptation sticks to the main two character routes. Much like Catherine, I think a lot of this show...

This week's review returns us to the Breath of Fire universe. While not as good as 3 or 4, 2 gives a solid experience, let down by a high encounter rate and some weird story beats. However, some character moments shine, and it is worth playing...if you have a SNES still. Upcoming Schedule December 23rd: Rumbling Hearts December 30th: Donkey Kong Country 2 January 6th: Lupin the Third: The Woma...