Out of Print Anime #2 - Roots Search

During the late 1980s, Japan went through an economical boom that saw the country being flushed with cash. While the rapid adaption of VHS players saw the rise in straight to video, anime projects that bypassed the creative restrictions of advertiser driven television. The result of all this money and creative freedom was an avalanche of OVAs, some good, but many would fade into obscurity like Roots Search.

Released in Japan in 1986 before receiving an English subtitled release courtesy of Image Entertainment in 1993. Roots Search is an Alien knockoff similar to Lily Cat albeit with poorer execution.

The anime kicks-off with woman on a research facility undergoing brain experiments before the staff receives a distress signal from a space ship called the Green Ship. Stop me if you have heard this set-up before.

After landing on the Green Planet, the crew finds a single survivor and a mysterious Alien that is simply dubbed X. Taking no chances the Captain orders the Alien to be jettisoned into space like pickles from a cheese burger. But it doesn't take long until he returns to attack the crew using his psychic abilities. 

Three of the crew members meet their Waterloo, leaving the two survivors to fall in love with each other and have weird fantasies where they prance around naked. After snapping out of la-la land, they decide to initiate the space station's self destruction sequence and escape in the Green Planet. Unfortunately everything goes tits up and they get caught up in the blast.



Despite my Grade 8 physics teacher telling me that people die in explosions, our heroes come out unscathed. At the 40 minute mark, the anime simply ends with no conclusion or resolution. Either the production crew ran out of money or they were leaving the door open to a sequel that was never green lit.

The saddest part is Roots Search had potential. The concept of an invisible Alien that attacks people through mind manipulation is an intriguing vehicle for horror. But is lost upon the anime's poor pacing, abysmal music and dreadful animation. It's obvious the film had a tiny budget, as the Alien is never animated beyond a single key frame.

Unsurprisingly, the OVA has been out of print for over 25 years and will most likely remain lost to time. It was popular enough in Japan to receive a vinyl release of the soundtrack and a movie comic adaption for those who didn't want to shell out 9,800 yen for a VHS copy. A Spanish dub was produced for Latin America but I haven't had the chance to listen to it.

Out of Print Anime #1 - Fantasia (Girl from Phantasia)

Animated by Production I.G. (Ghost in the Shell) and directed by Jun Kamiya (Blue Seed). Fantasia (or Girl from Phantasia as it was renamed overseas to stop the House of Mouse from flexing it's legal muscle) is a 25 minute OVA released in 1993 on VHS and Laserdisc to promote the manga of the same name.

The story follows a horny high school student called Akihiro that is eager to get inside the pants of his girlfriend Miyuki. Our protagonist hopes to reach third base by outfitting his bachelor's babe pit with a dirty old rug he finds lying on the street. I guess that explains my single status as a rug doesn't adorn my living room floor.



Upon cleaning his newly acquired rug, a magical girl named Malon emerges from the land of Fantasia Phantasia which is housed inside said rug. Malon is immediately infatuated by Akihiro and sets out to win his heart by showing off her magical abilities. It doesn't take long for the two to become intimate before Akihiro's girlfriend walks in on them.

After being demoted to former boyfriend, Akihiro tells Malon to take a hike and she finds herself being targeted by the malicious Roll who is hell bent on destroying Fantasia Phantasia. But the heart broken Malon is unwilling to fight back as she is pursued through the streets of the unnamed Japanese town.

Reverting back to Akihiro's bedroom, Malon's classmates from Fantasia Phantasia convince him to mend bridges with Malon. This restores her will to live and she immediately sets out to vanquish Roll from the face of the Earth. The following day, Malon has been transferred to Akihiro's school where she continues to express her affection to an unresponsive Akihiro.

Girl from Phantasia is far from being a masterpiece, but the anime's fast paced nature and slap stick humour makes for an entertaining piece when you have nothing else to watch on a lazy Sunday. The animation by Production IG doesn't match the studio's efforts during their later years, but the over the top expressions and visual gags makes up for the lower budget. Voice acting is a mixed bag with Malon's voice being particularly annoying.

As you can guess from the title of this blog entry, the anime has been out of print since the 90s and is unlikely to ever be rescued. Outside of Japan, it received a limited VHS release in the USA courtesy of ADV Films and was most likely the result of a packaged deal. The manga was never localised and seems like Girl from Phantasia will remain lost to time. A sad fate for what seems like a promising property.

Sonic Mania Plus (Switch) - Review

   Protocol demands that I label Sonic Mania as the best game in the series and suggest it’s the only good Sonic game that’s been released in the last 20 years. But to be honest, I’m one of those weirdoes that actually enjoys the likes of Lost World and Generations. Seriously, why don’t more people acknowledge the brilliance of Generations? Still, there’s no denying that Mania captured the hearts of Sonic fans and tingled their nostalgic glands. So naturally, Sega is captialising on the game’s success with a physical release, brimming with new content that is also available as DLC for those who took the digital route. But is Mania still worth playing in 2018 and what does the DLC bring to the table? Let’s find out.

   Sonic Mania is the collaboration of multiple Sonic fans taking the series back to its 2D roots. As you don the older, cuter Sonic, you do what he does best, manoeuvring various obstacles at a blistering speed. The core gameplay is basically identical to previous outings, but it’s done extremely well with a high degree of polish. Of course the star of the show is game’s level design and each stage with brimming with neat ideas. Every level also ends with a boss encounter and each one feels unique. A match of Puyo Pop against Eggman, anyone? But the game isn’t exactly a bed of roses, my biggest bug bear is the reliance of recycled zones from previous games. Yes, they’ve been redesigned and tweaked in some areas. But when the number of older zones outweigh the newer ones, there’s just too much déjà vu for my liking

    The DLC adds the new Encore mode which features remixed levels from the main campaign. It also adds two brand characters, Mighty and Ray. The difficulty has also been raised with extra lives being replaced with a new character system, when all the characters in your party die, it’s game over.  To be honest, I wasn’t impressed with the DLC and would have preferred some new levels. Especially when the base game already relies on recycled content.

   A single run of the game will take less than 3 hours and you can revisit any of the levels in the time Attack or race against a friend in the competition mode. Bearing in mind its local two split-screen with no online available. There’s also a tonne of secrets to unlock like a debug mode, alternative endings and a few extra mini games. Sadly I’m not skilful enough to unlock all these.

    Every facet of Sonic Mania’s presentation feels like a labour of love. Not only did the developers capture the look of the old Megadrive games with bold, rich colours. But the beautiful introduction and stylish menus are a work of art. This is all complimented by the amazing soundtrack with remixes of familiar tunes and brand news ones with a strong 90s vibes. Speaking of the 90s, you can also apply CRT filters to the game’s visuals.

   Sonic Mania Plus is basically the same great game but with new content and features. Admittedly, the DLC doesn’t bring a lot to the table and I’m not overly keen of the reliance of older zones. But I can’t argue the core gameplay and presentation of Mania is top notch. If you longing to relive the days of playing Sonic on the Megadrive or simply, a connesucor of 2D platformers. There’s no denying this is something that should be in your collection.

Five Reasons The Nintendo Switch Is Better Than The Playstation Vita (Satire)

Formerly known as the Nintendo NX, the Nintendo Switch will become the new king of portable gaming. Crushing everything that comes before and after it, including the Nokia N-Gage. But instead of discussing trivial matters like technical specs or the hype machine, I have organised a list of five extremely compelling reasons why the Switch is superior to the Playstation Vita.

1. The Legend of Zelda.

Everybody recognises and loves Link, sometimes called Zelda for some reason. It seems every week there is a new Kickstarter trying to make a live action adaption or product based on Zelda but gets taken down by Nintendo's lawyers. I'm pretty sure I've never seen a Kickstarter for an Everybody's Golf or Killzone film on Kickstarter, because nobody cares about Sony. Lets not forget that Rule #34 favours Nintendo's IPs FAR more than Sony's IPs.

2. It actually has games

The initial trailer showcased a total of five games and even though Skyrim and NBA 2K17 have not been officially confirmed by their publishers, three is still a higher number than zero. Which is the total number of games in the Vita library since I've been told by random people on the net, the Vita has no games. It must be factual because the internet never lies.


 

3. Nobody wants to affiliate themselves with Vita owners.

If you look at any advertisement for the Vita, it usually shows a single, lonely person playing the Vita by himself. What a loser! Vita ownership automatically makes you a social outcast and a complete bogan. The Switch on the other hand attracts people with red cups like a party in those Hollywood films. This is the ultimate verification of your superiority above all manner of creature, both animal and human.

4. The Controller looks like a cute puppy.

While the Vita looks like a giant lump of someone's vomit after consuming too much grog.

 
5. Adult films look better on a 720p screen.

The Switch will sport a 720p screen, while the Vita has a tiny, puny 544p screen. Henceforth all adult films are going to look better on the Switch. Why do you think there is an article every other week about someone finding adult images on a used 3DS? Portable consoles are designed for viewing smut with games being a very very very distant second.