Sean Akizuki's Fantasy Critic

  Mortal Kombat like any game, would always have a history of ups and downs. Mortal Kombat Deadly Alliance was a daring experiment, but one can say that it was a game with JUNK CHARACTERS . One of these characters is Hsu Hao of the Red Dragon. The Red Dragon clan in Mortal Kombat Deadly Alliance was an interesting concept. The Red Dragon was also a PLOT DEVICE meant to make Kano look cooler. Hsu Hao may get a lot of hate. However, the Red Dragon's Hsu Hao, as hated as he is, actually HAD A SERIES OF PRETTY DIGNIFIED DEATHS. Hsu Hao was an interesting concept DONE BADLY. The fact that Hsu Hao originally had his cybernetic heart ripped off by Jax wasn't just a random thing! Hsu Hao actually was a DANGEROUS INFILTRATOR for the Red Dragon in the Special Forces. Hsu Hao died while in the line of duty! It was an honorable way to kill an OTHERWISE HATED CHARACTER. The reboot timeline from Mortal Kombat (2011) to Mortal Kombat 11 didn't feature the Red Dragon. Kano would be MORE PO...

  I remember back when I called Movie Thulsa as "Wrath-Amon" -- back when I saw Conan the Barbarian (1982) as a child . It was a shock for me (or not) to realize that the "Skeletor" I kept seeing on the cover of the Conan comics was actually closer to the LITERARY THULSA DOOM . I thought about talks about Movie Thulsa also being like "Skeletor" with the skull symbol. It was kind of a "HUH?!" for me. However, one could look at the helmet itself. This is the phenomenon called pareidolia, where one sees things by resemblance. Thoth-Amon was obviously LOST in translation . The Movie Thulsa had this helmet trick. Sure, the close-up showed part of the late James Earl Jones' face. However, one should notice that while NOT A LITERAL SKULL -- Movie Thulsa's helmet has a skull-shaped facial opening with a noseguard. From close, the face doesn't look like a skull (because the human self is revealed) but... However, several screenshots of Movie T...

  Mortal Kombat (2011) is a game that's celebrated for being a franchise reboot. However, no game is ever free of blot. One could think that Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance was a junk game -- a mistake to be learned from ! I wrote about Motaro being reduced to a cameo . I wanted to reimagine what if Motaro was in Mortal Kombat (2011)  and what possible ramifications would it have to the OVERALL PRODUCT. Mortal Kombat 3 was already infamous for breaking the balance. Motaro was added and the character was already known for his BRUTAL DIFFICULTY. Motaro was even more difficult than Shao Kahn. One could observe that Motaro was practically NATURALLY IMMUNE TO PROJECTILES . The huge body size, the huge hitbox (both front and back) and the MASSIVE DAMAGE MOTARO DID were all factors that made him worse than Shao Kahn. I found his look cool (at first) but the guy is a COMPLETE NIGHTMARE. Mortal Kombat (2011) introduced several new technical fight features. The story mode showed that Mot...

  It's no secret that I'm such a nitpicker -- to the point that my own storywriting falls apart! It's already known that I'M NOT A PROFESSIONAL WRITER. I wrote my own assessment as to why the Dragon Ball Z movies aren't canon . I watched the Dragon Ball Super: Broly film and thought about how Broly is now supposedly canon now (due to the late Akira Toriyama's involvement). This reminds me back when I borrowed some VHS (back when they were still the thing) and VCDs of Dragon Ball movies. For example, I watched Dragon Ball Mystical Adventure and Dragon Ball The Sleeping Princess . I remember criticizing Dragon Ball Mystical Adventure for its creation of Emperor Chiaotzu and having Tien (who was made a royal servant) kill Master Shen (to defend Chiaotzu) with a Kikoho. However, that's not how the events unfolded in the actual Dragon Ball series. Master Shen was somehow never heard from again. The last Tao Paipai was show was during the Cell saga -- being too sc...

  It's no secret that I don't want to play the first eight entries of Mortal Kombat anymore . Mortal Kombat (2011) or Mortal Kombat 9  had given a lot of stuff that defined the entry. Sure, I'm skeptical about Mortal Kombat 1 where I call it a BAD FANFICTION that feels like NetherRealm Studios hired me to write it UNSUPERVISED! Earlier, I wrote an entry on how Mortal Kombat X fixed Mortal Kombat 4 . It's highly possible that NetherRealm Studios revisited Mortal Kombat Trilogy and discovered ways that they could fix the game. One could consider that we had the fifth generation console (PSX), the sixth generation console (PS2 and I no longer long to replay the 3D era), and the seventh generation (PS3). The news that Mortal Kombat Trilogy might be included in the Mortal Kombat Legacy Collection (and I have no intention to replay the older games). Now, I'd like to write where Mortal Kombat 9 managed to fix Mortal Kombat Trilogy (given the leap of technology) while high...

  Mortal Kombat 4 is often considered to be a low-tier game. MK4 was disliked presumably due to it not knowing WHAT TO DO. The dodge mechanic is utterly slow and near-useless. The final boss fight with Shinnok was underwhelming -- especially with Goro from the home versions. MK4 came out in 1997 while Mortal Kombat X came out in 2015. I remember getting a refund when the PS3 version was CANCELLED. Apparently, when John Vogel (?) said to save up some money because NetherRealm had something special -- Mortal Kombat XL wa that compensation package. Sure, not all costumes were included and I NEVER unlocked the costume I coveted the most -- REVENANT LIU KANG!  Given the difference between 1995's fifth generation console (PS1) and the eighth generation console (PS4) would mean, "Hey let's revisit this and GIVE IT AN UPGRADE!" NetherRealm Studios revisited Mortal Kombat Trilogy and made the huge wonder Mortal Kombat (2011) . It was time to visit MK4 again and try to improve ...

Dragon Quest Heroes has had two entries. So far, there aren't even hints that a third game is in the development. If a third game comes out then it should introduce the handheld-only characters as part of the crossover. The game apparently doesn't take place in the first Dragon Quest Heroes game. The first Dragon Quest Heroes game was more linear and map-based. The second one may follow the same formula but with significant modifications.  I confess I enjoy the brokenness of the first game. It was easier to get all psyched-up to fire up a High Tension move. However, the second game manages to make it harder to psych up -- presumably for balancing reasons. It sort of ticked me off but I got used to it. The first game also somewhat overpowered the Monster Medals. The second game tries not to do that. I wasn't a big fan of the Substitute type of Monster Medal. However, it was probably meant to balance out combat.  It would be interesting to see some familiar faces return. For ...