Hello again Destructiod!

This is the third Episode of my review series on Japanese games called "Very Japanese Games". The focus of this series is to look at games that were never released outside of Japan and introduce them to people who might not otherwise have played them.

The topic this time is the side-scrolling shoot em up, Otomedius Gorgeous. A Japanese Xbox 360 exclusive. Despite the sexy anime girls, this game is a great revival of the Konami side scrolling shooter. Of course, minus space ships and plus Otome.

Check it out here:

http://youtu.be/9jR09eacLRo

Anyway, check out my review and of course feel free, leave any comments or constructive criticism here. It was very helpful last time, which is why I love Dtoid.

First, I want to give a huge thanks to everyone who commented on my last blog. I took what everyone said into account and put it towards improving the second episode. It’s not exactly where I want it to be but it should be an improvement over the last one. I definitely have the Dtoid blog community to thank for that.
 
So, this is the second Episode of Very Japanese Games. The focus of this series is to look at games that were never released outside of Japan and introduce them to people who might not otherwise have played them.
 
In this episode I talk about the PSP Yakuza game Kurohyou: Ryu ga Gotoku Shin Shou （クロヒョウ：龍が如く新章）, which is a PSP only game in the Yakuza series that will never see a release outside of Japan. It’s too bad really, it’s a great game in a great, and criminally underrated series.
 
Anyway, check out my review and of course feel free, leave any comments or constructive criticism here. It was very helpful last time, which is why I love Dtoid.
 
http://youtu.be/QT5J8z24yjM
 

This is the first episode of my new gaming series “Very Japanese Games”, in which I look at games that only got releases in Japan.
I realize the quality is pretty bad at the moment but hopefully, as I got along and get better at this whole video thing the quality will get better and better.

In the first episode, we are looking at Gal Gun, a quirky on-rails shooter only released in Japan on the Xbox 360. Take a look at it here:
 
 
http://youtu.be/3p6oPK0F1Hw

 
*I was a bit busy over the weekend so I didn’t actually even turn on either of the HD consoles but I did finally finish up Devil Survivor on the DS. I haven’t actually gotten much use out of my DS but this game made it worth having. I finished it and immediately started a second playthrough. I’m eagerly awaiting the sequel that comes out at the end of July.
 
*Now that that is over, I have to move onto something new. I actually have a pretty sizeable backlog at this point but that hasn’t stopped me from picking up a bunch of stuff. I picked up Crackdown 2 and Lost Planet 2 for the Xbox. These are my choices for online co-op with friends, though Crackdown seems to be the winner with everyone else I’m hoping someone will want to do Lost Planet 2 with me.
 
*Beyond that I picked up some more portable stuff as well. Since I picked up a PSP last week I went on a bit of a game buying spree. I picked up four more PSP games; Silent Hill Origins, Devil Summoner, Me and My Katamari, and the first Persona game. I really wanted a copy of The Warriors but it wasn’t released in Japan and the import copies I found were priced in the realm of ridiculous so I’ll just have a friend send a copy from the US I think.
 
*So far, I’m enjoying the PSP. I haven’t put a ton of time into it but I played around with the net radio and tested out a few minutes of each game to see how they play. I probably should have picked one up sooner considering the large amount of games I want to play for it. Once PSN is back up (still not up in Japan) I’ll think about getting something new.
 
*Speaking of that, I hope Japan gets some interesting stuff in their “Welcome Back” package. The US one is OK for the PS3 but the PSP games are lacking. Hopefully Japan will have different choices.

 
* I love horror games, though recently I haven’t really played any. The most recent horror game I played was Catherine and that isn’t scary, so much as it’s a fun puzzler in a horror environment. I ordered Silent Hill Origins for the PSP the other day, hopefully that’ll tide me over.
 
* Speaking of the PSP, I only just got it this week. Welcome to 2005! Or, since it’s a 3000, welcome to 2007 I guess. Anyway, I got three games SNK collection vol. 1, Vampire Chronicle (Darkstalkers Chronicle in the English speaking world?), and the PSP Yakuza game (Kurohyou: Ryu ga Gotoku shinshou). I’m mostly happy with it so far.
 
* I say mostly because I haven’t been able to use all its features due to the PSN being down still. I have a PS3 but, since most people I know have an Xbox, I rarely use it online, so I haven’t really cared about the lack of PSN. Now, the one time I actually want to use PSN it’s still down. Ah well, I guess I can wait for downloads.
 
* Speaking of PSN, does any know if I can transfer downloaded games from two separate accounts? I have two accounts (one for the Japanese store and one for the US store) and I'm wondering if I’m going to have trouble transferring stuff I get. Are downloads specifically linked to my account or to my PS3 in its entirety?
 
* I’m thinking of starting a video series about Japan exclusive games and weird Japan gaming stuff. Living in Tokyo and being fluent in Japanese, I have access to a bunch of stuff that a lot of other people don’t. Any suggestions or requests for things you might want to see reviewed or talked about or explained?

 
*I’ll admit it, I have gaming OCD for some things. First, I must finish every game I buy. It doesn’t matter if the game is terrible or the controls are bad or if the story is boring, once started, I have to finish it eventually.
 
*Once I start with some kind of meta game, I can’t stop. As awful as it was, I am one of those guys who went around and collected all the feathers in Assassin’s Creed 2, or did all of the herb collection in Red Dead Redemption. I can’t leave that stuff alone once I start. Though, in some cases, I avoid getting into these things just to circumvent the need to do them (I’m looking at you 420 Assassin’s Creed flags).
 
*Side-quests are not optional. In RPGs, I feel like I’ve missed out on the game if I don’t do all the side quests. Case in point, I’m currently grinding my way through The Last Remnant. It’s decidedly mediocre and has a lot of frustrating design choices. I could probably blow through the rest of the game in a couple of hours if I was so inclined but instead I’m grinding for levels in order to beat some ridiculous optional enemies that are part of side quests.
 
*I can’t play a sequel without playing the original. Though really, the order isn’t important. I played AC2 before AC1, I played Saints Row 2 before Saints Row 1, etc., however once I get into a series I always go back and do all the games before/after it.
 
*I don’t really care about achievements/trophies to any real extent unless my gaming nemesis has a higher score/trophy amount than me. Overall, I generally do the achievements that I deem reasonable (for unreasonable see games like Devil May Cry 4 or Lost Planet) and end there. However, I have a friend who is my gaming nemesis. The only goal is to beat him. It’s not just achievements/trophies though. In game leaderboards also count. Beyond my rival I don’t really care but insert the rival and it’s OCD time.