KIBA the DARK KNIGHT GAIDEN

Following the 25 episodes of the series GARO, Beast of the White Night and Red Requiem, another movie will be added to the GARO franchise. This time it will feature the series' antagonist, Barago, as the main character. The story will focus on how he became the Dark Knight, Kiba.

It will be released in DVD and Blu-Ray in September. Here's the trailer for KIBA the DARK KNIGHT.

*edit* 2nd trailer added.

Sources:
Official Site
KeitaAmemiya - Youtube

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Tekken to have a new movie: Blood Vengeance

The details are still coming in. Namco Bandai has announced a new Tekken film coming out this summer which will be titled Tekken: Blood Vengeance

Finally, we can start forgetting about the Tekken 2010 Hollywood film which was a critical failure.

Blood Vengeance will be a full length CGI feature and will be led by Digital Frontier the animation company that behind the Tekken 6 and Tekken 5 opening cinematics, 2004 movie Appleseed and 2008's Resident Evil: Degenration.

Tekken producer Yoshinari Mizushima, who is the head of the art and graphics department at Namco Bandai, will also be involved.

Dai Sato, whose works include Cowboy Bebop and Ghost in the Shell, will be writing the script and Evangelion's Shinji Higuchi will be working on the storyboards.

Here is the first trailer for Blood Vengeance:

Sources:
GamingUnion.net

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What could have been Final Fantasy VII...

(just a re-post of one of my very first entries)

I stumbled upon this when I was searching for fan translations of Japanese RPG SNES Roms. Then on a fan site of Final Fantasy VI, I saw this article about Squaresoft's plans back then for the next Final Fantasy after FF6 which was called Final Fantasy SGI and made it as a demo. This is where Squaresoft first worked on 3D graphics. It was intended to be a direct sequel so that means no Cloud, Aerith or Tifa, instead it features the characters from FF6: Terra, Locke and Shadow and many assumed that it will be for the Nintendo 64 consoles.

And the rest was history...

Here are some screenshots of the demo:

Sources:
The Real Final Fantasy 7
Lost Levels
Final Fantasy Wiki 

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Metal Gear Solid: Philantrophy Review

Searching for any movie or animated film about the Metal Gear game series, I stumbled upon a trailer for non-profit, fan-made film titled Metal Gear Solid: Philantrophy.

MGS: Philantrophy is created by Hive Division, a team of Italian students and filmmakers. It is written, directed, and edited by Giacomo Talamini, an Italian student filmmaker who also stars as Solid Snake in the movie.

Philantrophy is intended to have three parts. The movie that's out so far is the first one, subtitled "Part One: The Overnight Nation".


Summary:

The Overnight Nation follows Solid Snake as he teams up with the organization called Philantrophy. Their aim is to stop the Metal Gears around the world. Snake (Giacomo Talamini) teams up with Elizabeth Laeken (Patrizia Liccardi) and Pierre Leclerc (Nicola Cecconi) as they go on a mission to rescue Senator Abraham Bishop and to attempt to find out what is really going on in the so called "Overnight Nation".


Overall:

To sum it all up, MGS: Philantrophy is an AWESOME WORK. The action scenes, special effects, locations and the CGI shows how much effort is exerted for this fan made film. Giacomo Talamini looked a lot like "the" Solid Snake that we see on the MGS Games, Harrison somehow resembles Otacon, Elizabeth is the sexy, mysterious but deadly soldier and Pierre serves as the, somewhat, comic relief to the team. This is a good example of what movies adapted or based from video games should be like. Now, that's a product made by a group of talented, dedicated fans to you. Even Mr. Hideo Kojima, creator of the Metal Gear series, loved this movie.

There's still no word about the making of the second and the third part yet but still, Kudos to Talamini and the rest of the Hive Division team for a job well done.

Here's more screenshots from the movie:



Links:
MGS: Philantrophy Official Page

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Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection review

One of the few new PSP games that I grabbed recently. Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection is basically a compilation of enhanced ports of Final Fantasy IV (SNES, PSX, GBA, Nintendo DS) and it's sequel Final Fantasy IV: The After Years (Nintendo Wii, Mobile) plus an additional story which is an Interlude between the two games.

Just a quick summary. Final Fantasy IV follows the quest of a young Dark Knight named Cecil, commander of the Red Wings, which is the airship squadron of the kingdom of Baron. After leading an unprovoked attack to a nearby village followed by the theft of it's crystal, Cecil began to doubt his loyalty to the kingdom and his way of life. Voicing out his concern didn't go well with the king of Baron's apparent new personality disorder. Cecil had his rank stripped off and was sent off to a delivery routine to re-establish his worth for the kingdom.

To prevent further spoilers I'd just say that the mission didn't go well. That started Cecil's quest to atone for his mistakes as a Dark knight and to determine the reason behind Baron's thirst for power and the unusual monster attacks as well.

Interlude is set roughly a year after Final Fantasy IV to bridge the first story with The After Years.

The After Years takes place 17 years after Final Fantasy IV. Cecil survived in the story of the first game, he is now a hero, married to Rosa and now has a son named Ceodore. It starts with Ceodore's test to become a part of the Red Wings like his father. After succeeding in his trial, he and the Red Wings returns triumphantly  to Baron but they were attacked by monsters on their way.

The After Years is divided into 11 Chapters following the stories of each new and returning characters as they solve the mystery of the return of the Second moon and the return of sudden monster attacks.

Overall:

Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection was well presented. The gameplay graphics are based on the GBA version, enhanced for the PSP's screen. The FMVs look good just like any other new gen Final Fantasy game. For the audio, You can select the original musical score as you play for a bit of nostalgia or you can select the new arrangements.
The gameplay is the same as the original games. It still implements the Active Time Battle (ATB) system on battles and a top view perspective as you explore places.

For the record, I grabbed this game for The After Years and the Interlude (I have finished Final Fantasy IV on the DS). I was a bit disappointed with the plot of The After Years, some scenes and events just repeat itself and it's not very challenging. Well it's not bad enough to be labelled as Electric Boogaloo so I'm still thankful. I'm happy with how Interlude goes so far.

So for Final Fantasy fans out there, Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection would be a sweet addition to your collection. It's always good to have a full saga in one game.

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Mazinkaizer SKL: Sect-2 Search and Kill Review

The second Episode: Sect-2 Search and Kill... Move out!

*Warning: This Section May Contain Spoilers, But I'll try to give as less spoilers as possible :D*

After defeating the Kiba Army on the previous episode, Ken, Ryo and Yuuki headed out to the home base of the Kiba Army to shut down it's main plant's energy. Meanwhile, back in the Octagon, Galan's army prepares to attack. Seeing that time is running out for their mission, The Death Caprice rushes to Galan's fortress while Yuuki goes out to retrieve "something"...

"Wipe yourself up... you're dead!"

Again, It's another adrenaline-packed episode. Ken gets to show off more of his sword skills, Mazinkaizer SKL shows off more of it's weapons and it's ways of wiping out an entire army of foot soldiers Yuuki gets her share of the action as well as the ladies from the Octagon. We also see how the connection between Aira and Himiko gets revealed and a bit of Ryo's (very very vague) past.

Even the most hellish soldiers need a break

And just like any other anime, there is one point that even the most badass characters gets their share of defeat, For Mazinkaizer SKL, It's this episode. Yeah, they got beaten up by Galan. How? I won't tell.

One thing is for sure, you won't see the Devilman Lady-like mecha on this episode yet.

For now I'll just show more screens from the episode...

This wasn't really explained well...

Galan and Himiko

Ken, Yuuki and Ryo. Ambushed.

Somehow, he reminds me of Momotaros from Kamen Rider Den-O

Insert Samurai Champloo joke here.

SKL in action.

Galan's mecha (I forgot what it's called)

Overall:

For a follow up episode, Sect-2 Search and Kill wasn't that bad. The battle scenes are still entertaining and the defeat of Kaizer was acceptable. In the end you'll be looking forward to seeing Sect-3, to see how it is all concluded.

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All Kamen Rider Generation for the Nintendo DS

It seems like Okamiden won't chalk the demise of the Nintendo DS. Something big is still coming up... for Tokusatsu fans, that is.

Following games such as Kamen Rider Battle: Ganbaride Card Battle Taisen for the DS and Kamen Rider Climax Heroes OOO for the PSP, Bandai Namco Games will release another one entitled All Kamen Rider: Rider Generation (オール仮面ライダー　ライダージェネレーション). It will be a side scrolling game featuring Ichigo to OOO with graphics nostalgic to those of earlier games (remember Kamen Rider Club for the NES? That's a good example).

All Kamen Rider: Rider Generation will be released in August 4, 2011

Sources:
JEFusion
Official Site

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Mazinkaizer SKL: Sect-1 Death Caprice Review

Mazin... what?


Mazinkaizer SKL (known as Mazinkaizer Skull) is a spinoff for Go Nagai's Mazinkaiser (which is yet another spinoff for the Mazinger series). It is a 3-episode OVA which follows the story of the Skull Force's mission to the Machine Island.

The first Episode: Sect-1 Death Caprice... Let's Rock!

*Warning: This Section May Contain Spoilers, But I'll try to give less spoilers as possible :D*

"Insane Grim Reapers"... yeah, it is the best way to describe them.

The episode starts off with one half of the Skull Force, the Gren Falcon Squad, en route to a remote location named Machine Island. An Island which is isolated from the rest of the world where three factions: The Galan Army, Kiba Army and the Aira Army (The Octagon) battle for total dominance of the island. The island also contains large amount of resources, allowing the three factions to create a supply of giant robots for their armies.

Upon landing on what happened to be a war zone, unknown shots hit the Skull Force's aircraft killing everyone except one soldier, Yuuki Tsubasa. She escapes using a Hover Pilder-like aircraft, gets off in the clearing only to be confronted by one of Kiba's soldiers, who eventually got slashed and crushed by none other than Mazinkaizer SKL. We then get to have a good look at the other half of the Skull Force, Ryo Magami and Ken Kaido, called the Death Caprice...

Friend or foe, get out of the way.

Personally, I liked how the characters of Ken and Ryo were depicted. Ken is basically a vulgar, hot-blooded S.O.B. who specializes in knives, swords or anything that has a blade on it. Ryo, on the other hand, has a more calm, nihilistic, mysterious persona who is skilled in using handguns. When piloting Kaizer, they take turns, depending on the weapon that is needed on the situation. They're too badass they'd kill an ally if he or she gets in their way.

Yuuki Tsubasa

Yuuki's character design seems like a reference to Kouji Kabuto of Mazinger Z.She served as the superior of the Skull Force when everyone else was wiped out. She appears to be timid and innocent, but is very skilled in combat, engineering and very strict in performing missions.

Not Sayaka Yumi! Not Sayaka Yumi!

For the battle scenes, Everything's awesome. Everything's presented well starting from Kaizer SKL's first battle within the first five minutes of the episode up to the Aira army battling against Kiba's army and then to Kaizer SKL's (literally!) groundbreaking re-appearance. Ken and Ryo demonstrated Kaizer SKL's weaponry and owned every one of Kiba's soldiers and each of their hits was like overkill.

Kaizer SKL, Storming through the burning fields

The one on one showdown between Kaizer SKL and Kiba went on just like any typical boss fight. The opponent gets one or two hits and the main character gives more hits... and the killing blow.

I think words won't be enough to describe some cool battle scenes so I'll show some screenies instead:

The traditional Mazinger Z comes out of a giant pool. Mazinkaizer SKL comes out of hell!

It's incomplete without the mecha perv scenes.

"These are cool but I hate waiting for them to come back" -Ken referring to Kaizer SKL's Turbo Smasher Punch

"I'm giving you five seconds to choose which way would you want to get shot... time's up!" - Ryo shows his handgun skills.

Breast Triggers...

...it resembles Devilman's face when holstered to Kaizer SKL's chest.

TURBO SMASHER PUNCH!

I've seen a sword that looks like this before... Keywords: Capcom, PSP...

Overall:

Despite the plot being similar to a typical post-apocalyptic mecha anime, Mazinkaizer SKL is an extremely awesome OVA, It is a must-see for any Super Robot fans. The first episode alone is enough evidence for that. I mean, it's just the first episode but it's already full of action, had some cool moments and the back story of the Machine Island was well explained. It proves that Go Nagai hasn't run out of ideas yet for his Mazinger series. The only thing that disappoints me is that it's TOO SHORT! Seriously, I've seen a Mazinger in action and at the end of the episode I wanted to see more.

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back then, there was Kamen Rider: Climax Heroes...

...now, Namco Bandai will be doing a Super Sentai crossover game. It's going to be called Super Sentai Battle Ranger Cross.

Remember the Kamen Rider Decade craze back in 2009? Just a bit of a back track, Kamen Rider Decade is the series to commemorate the 10th Heisei-era Kamen Rider featuring the 9 previous Riders since Kuuga (and some heroes from the Showa-era shows, I won't tell). Well, bottom line is that fans loved it. Old fans and those new to the Kamen Rider series alike.

It spawned 3 Kamen Rider: Climax Heroes games.

Now, let's fast forward to the year 2011. Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger.

This is the series for the 35th Super Sentai Anniversary. I've seen some episodes and personally, I'd say that some elements are similar to Decade... but it's a lot better. It features the new team, the Gokaigers, and all the previous Sentai teams since Himitsu Sentai Goranger.

And then, Super Sentai Battle Ranger Cross was recently announced.

Some reports states that the gameplay will be similar to Dynasty Warriors and will be released in Japan this fall. Also, Namco Bandai gave word that they will be working on a Power Rangers: Samurai game... Well then, let's just stay tuned and see how these games will turn out. Not much Super Sentai games were produced back in the old consoles and it'd be nice to see them in video game action.

Sources:
Siliconera
Orends Range

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