Sean Akizuki's Fantasy Critic

Back in the 1990s, it was the analog age, and people simply couldn't see the difference between the U.S. adaptation and the American original. Power Rangers was also a licensed adaptation, so dislike the franchise all I want -- I understand Toei had a contract! Now, another one that came out in 1995 (the same year as Street Fighter II V ) was the American Street Fighter cartoon. It aired late in 1995 and had a second season that later introduced characters from the Street Fighter Alpha series.  Basically, the  Street Fighter American cartoon may have been a response to the Street Fighter movie. However, the Street Fighter  movie, HORRIBLE AS I THINK IT IS, actually had redeeming factors. For example, Jean-Claude Van Damme as Guile was better than the Cartoon Guile. The late Raul Julia gave his all for the performance. However, the biggest mistake for me was the dubbing and the bad writing. In fact, more often than not, the show can go so cringy. Cartoon Guile was made the...

Is it me or is modern Disney RUINING EVERYTHING? I even wonder if Warner Bros. buying DC Comics was a good or a bad thing. SJWs are ruining games such as badly written or for the sake of some small butthurt minority somewhere. Yes, all for the sake of representation and badly created messes such as A Little Mermaid remake. I don't mind a black Ariel but shouldn't she be a reason to move the whole story to Africa? Africanize the story? That would've been the best thing to do and say, "Well, let's reinvent it and take it to Africa!" Instead, the diversity didn't work. Disney ruined Marvel such as how Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch get retconned as no longer Magneto's children (which was a very interesting plot point), how certain X-Men characters just get written off without a good reason, etc. I believe that Disney actually ruined Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite . I was getting hyped for Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite for so many reasons. I get to play as my fa...

I did previously write why I think Megaman X6 is just unfairly maligned . Now, I think I'd write why I think Megaman X7 deserves all the flak it gets. I would admit that I do have a mix of popular and unpopular opinions. Why do I consider it to be really a very bad game? I decided to try and get some of the trophies for Megaman X Legacy Collection 2. Difficult can be fun - that's why I still think X6 is so unfairly maligned! Megaman 2 still has a lot of fans due to its challenge level. Megaman X7 can probably enter into the zone of "It's so difficult to the point it's more annoying than challenging!" It's safe to say I'd probably still pick Megaman 2 or Megaman X3 over this game. We could always start with the gameplay. Seriously, what's wrong with it? It doesn't take a gaming expert to find out. If you've played a series of Megaman games before it then you might relate to the frustration. The game itself really worsens almost everything ...

The Street Fighter series wasn't officially launched as a hit game until Street Fighter II . I remembered the craze that it had with the release of the II series for the arcades and home consoles. Granted, I never had a Super Nintendo so I didn't really experience it that much. The Playstation which came during the late 90s for us brought me the Street Fighter 2 Collection disc and there was also Super Street Fighter II followed up with Turbo . I wonder what was in Capcom's head when they created the rehash of the II series. We never saw that for Mortal Kombat II being rehashed so often huh? MK3 which wasn't so popular had UMK3 and MK Trilogy as follow-ups that didn't do much either. I could remember these games to be what they are today - terribly imbalanced with the CPU that cheated you so often. The arcade machines were notoriously crazy. I remembered how it was so stupid that certain characters can do charge moves CONSECUTIVELY while you needed to charge back...

Street Fighter has been one of my favorite game franchises which caused me to question why Capcom gave us the extremely broken Street Fighter V. There was Street Fighter II series which had extremely broken A.I. at the arcade. I did manage to play through Street Fighter II series on the Playstation One though I enjoyed the Street Fighter Alpha series better. Then there's Street Fighter IV series which is basically a miles upgrade of Super Street Fighter II Turbo. Remember whenever you fought a new opponent that the plane flew between countries or you moved from one country to another in most entries? Take for example that I'm using Ryu (my favorite Street Fighter character) and I am fighting different opponents. The first opponent is Chun Li then I defeat her, then I must fly to Russia to fight Zangief, then I must fly back to Japan to fight E. Honda. Isn't that a lot of money spent right there? Not to mention both Street Fighter II series and Street Fighter IV serie...

Megaman is one series that I was obsessed with in my late tens and early teens. Then I thought that I do still have an obsession with Megaman (to a certain extent) but not as far as to "must have every Megaman item and game" -- I just want to gather all the favorites that I played in the NES, PSX and PS2 games. Note that I won't be ranking them according to collections such as Anniversary Collection and Legacy Collection and neither will handhelds be mentioned here since I have NO handheld systems. Games like Megaman NAVI and Megaman Star Force won't be included. Spin-off games like Megaman Legends 2, Megaman Legends and Misadventures of Tron Bonne will be included. But I'd actually rank them by series as to avoid confusion but I'd actually also rank the series ACCORDING to my preferences. This won't cover up an entire list either and I still am getting hesitant to get Megaman 11 and play Megaman 9 and 10 too... I. Megaman X series -- my favorite X s...

Megaman 2 is the game in its early stages and I called it the most unforgiving Megaman NES Game . The game also had balance issues and one weapon REALLY stood out so much. It may not be a panacea or cure-all for the game but it certainly is the most powerful weapon available. Only a few enemies were immune to it. But others, sheesh -- it popped Bubbleman and made lumber out of Woodman. It also had very high ammo and killed several enemies (but not all could be hurt by it) in one shot if they were aligned near each other. It also could be fired in several directions AND it had incredibly long range. Successors of the Metal Blade weren't exactly that powerful. Megaman 3's Shadow Blade had medium range and couldn't be fired downwards plus it didn't have the rapid rate of the Metal Blade. Megaman X2 presented the Spinning Wheel -- it was one strong weapon but it couldn't be fired in multiple directions. I guess the people behind Megaman thought that the Metal Blade ...

While playing Megaman X7 -- I still think it's what I'd call innovation GONE wrong. Yup, as much as there's much to explore but this is one game that just had no idea on what to do or can't decide. I mean, the game annoyingly shifts between 2D to 3D forcing you to adjust to situations too quick. Some can go ahead and say Megaman X6 is the worst X game ever but I beg to disagree . This game is even worst than X6 due to factors like how X is reduced to a whiny brat or how gameplay can be SO horrible. Now here's my thing -- Megaman X7 should have just focused on getting fully 3D instead of a mix of both. Aside from the fact like DO NOT make X a whiny crybaby -- the gameplay was also another focus. For instance, make Zero still have his effective jumping slash which was severely destroyed in this game. So how can we have a good 3D Megaman game? Analyze the Megaman Legends series' 3D gameplay together with the more effective Lock On feature for bosses. I mean, Meg...

The Megaman series was obviously coming to an end for the NES era -- it was the 90s and the rise of the16-bit era with the Super Nintendo era was coming. In fact, if we think about the timeline we've had Megaman 4-6 during 1991 to 1993. Megaman X came out in 1993 -- the same year and one came out in November and the other came out in December. This also started showing some signs of decline for Classic Megaman. I remembered playing Megaman 4 and it started a new method of gameplay -- the charged Mega Buster shot. It also had a skeletal enemy where one was forced to use the Charge Shot. The players had to learn when to use charge shots and when to use regular shots. It was a new change where the castle stages were extended into two parts -- Part 1 and Part 2. There was NO password where one could start in Part 2 which made the game a little more tedious. It's like how one had to go to the Cossack stage before the Wily Stage, the Darkman stage before the Wily Stage and the M...

While Megaman 2 is considered by many as the best of the classic series but I beg to differ. Instead, my pick for the best of the classic series for the NES anyway was Megaman 3. I remembered having the Family Computer and my love for Megaman. The first Megaman game was THAT ridiculously hard and Megaman 2 (which I played on the Megaman Anniversary Collection disc for the PS2) is what I'd call the most unforgiving Megaman game for the NES. Megaman 3 IMO somewhat balanced the formula before the "Mega Buster" series came in that's from Megaman 4 up to 8. Megaman 9 to 10 ended up removing the charged shot and sliding for the more classic feel. So what's with Megaman 3? I think it was trying to perfect the formula and I think it's the peak of gameplay for the NES series. Shadow Blade is a more balanced version of the Metal Blade -- that means no more of the whole "overpowered thing" or you can talk about how the game is a little easier this time ar...

Innovation is part of keeping up a business yet there's always the trial and error process. As a fan of the Megaman franchise, I did enjoy many of the new changes the game had especially introducing the Megaman X series. I'm a fan of the notoriously difficult Megaman X6 but X7 -- well it can now officially be the worst Megaman X game. It has the poor transition from 2D to 3D not because of that but because of issues like super hard controls, the poor lock-on system (where Megaman Legends does it better, sigh only if they analyzed the lock-on from Megaman Legends 2 or smoothed it out) and the really poor camera where the military deserves to get fired -- plus this game will be re-released on Megaman X Legacy Collection. One of the worst changes is turning Megaman X into a crybaby. Having to unlock X in a game based on him is B.S. to the max. No, this isn't the adventures of Zero and Axl -- it's Megaman X7!  You could only start as Zero or Axl. You can only play as ...

I always hear the hype of Megaman 2 is the best Megaman game. Personally, I don't think so. It's a good game but I thought about it as perhaps "the most unforgiving" of the Classic Megaman series. Let me tell you a couple of stuff while I started playing this game with the frustration factor. Then again, there's always the frustration when you start playing older games in a game franchise -- when I didn't start with the first two games. I thought about some frustrations. I could talk about Quickman's stage and those annoying cannons. Easy way? Use the Time Stopper but you need it to beat Quickman! I think about the whole game where you lose Energy Tanks in-between the castle stages. Now I could talk about the frustration factor with the fortress bosses! Yes, them! Once you die you must go back AGAIN to a certain part and the frustration -- especially with the incredibly challenging (and often frustrating) level designs that you had to venture through ...

I remembered checking out the chronology of the release of Megaman games. If you noticed, the first Megaman X game was released for the Super Nintendo after Megaman 6. The ending of Megaman 6 showed us that at long last, Dr. Wily was arrested by Megaman. Megaman 6 was released on November 5, 1993 and Megaman X was released on December 17, 1993 under the Rockman title. Megaman 7 was a game that was released after Megaman X3. I call these games as the " prequel games ".  I gave a thought on it if Megaman X became more popular than Classic Megaman then why was the latter given more games after X6? My speculation has to do with this one: Megaman X2 and Megaman X3's plotline called for it. If Classic Megaman just ended with X6 then it'd be difficult to provide explanations for plot in X2 and X3. X2 reveals a bit of a puzzle where Sigma says that Zero is the last of the "Wi... numbers..." and X3 reveals that Megaman X will one day have to fight Zero. It wou...

I remembered the hype that Marvel vs. Capcom 2's three on three which took Tag Team at a different level. It was fun experimenting on not just two but three characters and see what insane Team Hyper Combos I could come up with. I enjoyed messing with the Assist system and using it against my friends. It was fun but there was a drawback. That drawback is where matches can take longer to finish than a two vs. two gameplay. I could remember how often I turned off the timer in the console version just so I could beat all three opponents. The game was cool but suffered some drag and I felt like it was too much on quantity and not quality. Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite going back to the standard two vs. two feels like a breath of fresh air. Sure, I'd like to see the three vs. three matches improved some time but it's sometimes nice to have an old school feel in a new school game. Two vs. two is more focused than three vs. three. I just made that realization after I played Mortal ...

While Street Fighter V came out as a disappointment, I don't deny I have a love/hate with Marvel Comics now for ruining the childhood of their readers and allowing themselves to get sold to Disney  and a lot of bad plots (ex. Suddenly throwing Magneto's paternity out of the window, pairing Cyclops with Emma Frost and randomly killing Jean Grey, making Cyclops no longer the character he was, killing Wolverine) and Capcom for how it treated Megaman. Yes, I've been calling Capcom as Crapcom ever since Marvel vs. Capcom 3 which is supposedly a new school game but it looks incredibly ANEMIC making the old school games a better play. But I never thought I'd actually tackle on Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite's updates. The new villain is known as Dark Kahn. It was nice to do some crossover plots like allowing Akuma to become a cyborg thanks to Apocalypse in Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter. This time, I feel like Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe (and I personally disl...

Just the news that Megaman X will appear in Marvel VS. Capcom Infinite makes me think, "Well I hope Crapcom doesn't screw it this time!" I remembered how I got so upset with Marvel vs. Capcom 3, how I didn't like the whole idea that Megaman X wasn't put and we only had Zero. There's always that feeling, "Screw you Capcom!" Then there's Keiji Inafune leaving and unfortunately Mighty No. 9 didn't do so well on its launch. But I'd like to talk about my history with Megaman games. As a child, I remembered owning a Family Computer before we had a Playstation. I enjoyed playing the Super Mario Bros. series especially my personal favorite Super Mario Bros. 3. But one game particularly caught my attention and it was Megaman. My first Megaman game was Megaman 3 followed by Megaman 6 and Megaman 5 so I had a hard time adjusting to the first Megaman and I only played Megaman 2 during the Megaman: Anniversary Collection Game when we finally had...

So I haven't played the original Street Fighter game and I may not intend to because some old games just suffer too many issues or age badly. My first Street Fighter game was namely the Street Fighter II series which I played via the first Playstation. Then there was Super Street Fighter II followed up by the upgrade called Super Street Fighter II Turbo. Super Street Fighter II Turbo was more or less the rough draft for Super Combo system in the future. I'll admit that I haven't had the urge to play the Street Fighter II series as much as the later games.

While I would want to believe that Megaman Legends is just a spin-off and not related to the Classic Megaman/Megaman Legends timeline since their setting is hardly as hi-tech as that of the settings in Megaman X... I mean think most of the vehicles here are more typical to ours than to that of Megaman X.  But what if the world underwent drastic changes or two... like Megaman ZX there is hardly a distinction between Reploids and Humans.  Megaman ZX happens in the year 25XX as opposed to Megaman X which takes place in 21XX.  So we think of Megaman Legends 2 where there is the 3,000 year gap so when did things happen? In the Megaman Zero series, Megaman X had already become a Cyber Elf.  Maybe the Cyber-Elves have later become the Ancients.  So after Megaman Zero's events, maybe Zero became "The Master" or one of the Ancients.  Maybe after the disasters in Megaman Zero and Megaman ZX, where the Carbons had existed.  Along the line, Megaman X may have ...

I found these statement from the Reploid Lavatory to be pretty interesting. It says: The new “Rockman X” is, to put it simply, a game that is set in the same world as the “Rockman” that appears on the Famicom. Only, the “Rockman” time period is set in 20XX A.D., while “Rockman X” takes place in 21XX. That is, “X” is set in a slightly later era. Our protagonist this time is X, who is of course an entirely different person from Rockman. He’ll still have the Rockbuster on his left hand, the helmet, and everything that’s come to be associated with Rockman, but he is in fact a separate character . He is merely inheriting the world stage of the “Rockman” series, and that means the same familiar types of enemy characters will be around as well. Please think of this as new series set further along in the same universe. Looking at that statement from the development room, it looks like Megaman X and Megaman are not the same robot. It seems confirmed because unlike Megatron and Galvatro...

So I did get a second hand Super Street Fighter IV game for my birthday last month. Although I am mad with Capcom for its ill treatment of Megaman but I am still a Street Fighter fan. I decided to pick up the game while I do have Tekken Tag Tournament 2, Tekken 6, Mortal Kombat (Komplete Edition) and this is my current fighting game for the PS3. On the other hand, I have Street Fighter Anniversary Collection (PS2), Street Fighter Collection, Street Fighter Alpha Anthology and Capcom vs. SNK 2 from my older series. So I started to pick up the game and well, it had really impressive graphics for a 2.5D game but not as great as Mortal Kombat (2011) for me. Still, the cell-shaded graphics made a 2D/3D effect. I soon noticed in spite of new concepts, the game itself still throws back to one series called Super Street Fighter II Turbo. In what way? Here's what I observed after playing the game. There's a lot of throwback to Super Street Fighter II Turbo: I.) Some characters play...