E3 and Corocoro! Pokemon X & Y NEWS!!! June 14, 2013

What a great time to be a Pokémon fan right?  I mean E3 just finished and we got Corocoro that leaked all in the same week.  I didn’t expect too much, but damn Masuda did a great job with all this new information!  Let’s see what we have!!!

• First of all, there’s a new type in town and that’s the Fairy type (which for all we know right now is to hold off Dragon types.  We learned that Sylveon is one of them which is GREAT news because they’ve been holding off on it for quite a while now.  Marill, Jigglypuff, and Gardevoir have also been announced as dual-Fairy types now too (so I assume Azumarill and Wigglytuff are part of this line-up.  For other old Pokémon, I would think the Clefairy line, Snubbull line, Mawile, and the trio from D/P/PT (Uxie, Azelf, and Mesprit) will be Fairy-types too.
• We got a couple of new styles of fighting, like Horde battle which is to put a little more difficulty but big rewards in battle by making you go 1 vs. 5 (yeah that’s a lot!).  Also there are Sky battles where well you fight in the sky (the unfortunate thing is that the Pokémon needs to be a Flying type or have the Levitate ability to do such a thing.
• It looks like there’ll be more Pokémon to ride with them showing Rhyhorn off too.
• Couple of places have been localized like the beginning town is Vaniville Town and the first gym is located at Santalune City which btw (Viola is the 1st gym leader and she has Bug Pokémon.
• The PSS is kind of like the C-Gear which makes trading and battles a little more easier ^^.

Anyways, with most of the big news talked about, let’s get into the meat of the post THE NEW POKEMON!!!!

Noivern

Noivern is the first we got to know and it’s a Flying/Dragon type which might not be the most original typing, but at least it kind of bases itself with Sound (like the Whismur line).  I’m sure it’s a final evolution of something too.  It looks pretty wicked and somehow might just make it on my team in my playthrough!

Scatterbug, Spewpa, Vivillon

Even though Vivillon was released first to the public, we still ended up getting the full line during the rest of the week!  Both Scatterbug and Spewpa are of the Bug type which makes sense (and I get strange Shuppet feels about Spewpa’s design) and parallels other lines in the past and Vivillon is a Bug/Flying which is definitely like Butterfree and Beautifly.  It’s an interesting line no doubt, but this might be just used for the first half of the game.

Skrelp

While Noivern and Vivillon were released in the first E3 trailer, the next three came out during the 2nd E3 trailer.  Starting with this hybrid of kelp and a seahorse, Skrelp is an interesting Pokémon for it’s looks, but it’s typing is more akin to like Tentacool and Qwilfish, it’s a Poison/Water type.  It looks a bit strange at first, but I bet it’ll evolve…plus Horsea might have a rival!

Clauncher

Our next one is a pure Water type, Clauncher, based on a crawfish, I feel like this might be the generation’s Krabby and Corphish so I assume it’ll just evolve into something more (though if it did, my mind is making it look like Armaldo or something).

Talonflame

So we also got to see Fletchling’s final evolution, Talonflame and like I expected, it did turnout to be a Fire/Flying type (which is kind of like a more watered down Moltres) lol.  My only problem is that name though, I mean that’s super lazy to name it TALONFLAME.  Though it looks like it’ll be a strong Pokémon especially since it knows Brave Bird and all!

Litleo

Then Corocoro came out and brought 4 more Pokémon to the table (Scatterbug, Spewpa, Litleo, and Flabébé) I already talked about the first two because they’re pre-evolutions to Vivillon, but let’s get into the other two.  Litleo is probably the CUTEST Pokémon I’ve seen thus far in this generation and even though it reminds me a lot of Shinx, it’s still adorable in it’s own way.  It even has a unique typing of Fire/Normal which probably will shed once it evolves!

Flabébé

Our last new Pokémon is Flabébé who is a Fairy type (so no, there’s nothing to do with Grass-type here right?).  I guess the flower is used as a weapon perhaps?  I don’t know but this cute thing is considered the smallest and lighter Pokémon out there (I guess Ghost-types don’t count?).  It did start to make me wonder if Pokémon like Bellossom, Whimsicott, and Lilligant are Fairy-types too lol.  By the way, Flabébé is the first Pokémon to have accents in its name *gasp*

SO THAT’S IT FOR THIS MONTH, SEE YOU IN THE NEXT COROCORO BATCH!!!

Let’s learn about Super Smash Bros. for Wii U/3DS June 12, 2013

WOOO! We got news of the fourth game in the most interesting series Nintendo has put out!  Add in the fact that it’s two separate games for the series!!!

As you can tell there were so many different things shown.  First off let’s talk about the 3DS…version, I was surprised of the art direction, but it makes sense because Sakurai stated that he put black outlines on them because the 3DS screen is so small as it is (XL doesn’t help either lol) but it looks edgy and cool and then the Wii U version looks sharp in HD and I can’t wait to see more in the future of both games!

Characters

Watching the trailers, we got to see returns of the most of the main cast from the original (Mario, Link, Kirby, Pikachu, Samus, Fox, and Donkey Kong (lulz at Yoshi being absent).  Then Melee’s Bowser and Brawl’s Pit.  A lot of them had graphical boosts (Samus being in her Other M suit, Bowser standing up more straight, Pikachu’s slimmer look) and there were some moveset changes (like Pit for example).  Though the biggest news are the three new characters introduced.

The first is Villager from the Animal Crossing series.  I assume Sakurai announced him first because of AC: New Leaf being released last week was a good enough reason to bring him in first.  From the looks of it, Villager seems to be a character of trickery and big rewards but hard to deal with.  I mean the axe-chopping tree smash move looks a bit odd to pull off, but could pull of damage.  Though it’s surprising to see him since Sakurai in the past (like back in Brawl days) said that AC was too friendly of a series to battle…but look at it now XD

With all that trouble Mega Man has been in (cancellations of games and Fatty Mega Man in Street Fighter vs. Tekken), it was a breathe of fresh air to finally see the Blue Bomber back in action!  It’s kind of funny though because he kind of reminds me of his Super Smash Flash style and MvC2 style as well.  He’s got tricks and power and it’s great to see Capcom finally letting this guy in (because we know how hyped up we were with Brawl).

Though the biggest surprise was Sakurai’s first decision on his WTF character and it’s the Wii Fit Trainer.  No one expected her to be chosen and I feel like it’s a great choice because we really did need a new female representative.  From what was shown, she uses the exercise moves to attack (which does make her somewhat plain) but she has power.  Also besides Samus, we get to see her final smash (which is a larger-scaled version of Meowth’s Pay Day).

Gameplay

Well right from the start, we see a return of the Final Smash with both Samus and Trainer proving it (though it does make me wonder if Zero Suit Samus is returning because they didn’t show the aftereffects).

Crawling is back

Air Dodging, but it’s unknown if it’s like Melee’s or Brawl’s quite yet

Stages

According to Sakurai, there will be stage differences depending on the version of game.  The 3DS will focus more on stages based off the games from the handhelds while the Wii U version will focus more on the console games…so what do we know

3DS

• Battlefield – it looks like Brawl’s version but still cool and basic.
• Gerudo Valley – big!!! lol
• Arena Ferox – looks like Pokémon Stadium 1 & 2
• Stage based off of LoZ: Spirit Tracks – not a bad stage, small though
• Stage based off of Super Mario Land: 3D – looks like the new Rainbow Ride 0.o
• A Nintendog stage – Basic, but cute!
• and other stages based off of New SMB 2 and Kid Icarus: Uprising
• There’s also a DKCR3D stage but it looks too big to be a normal stage (adventure mode?)

Wii U

• Battlefield – Same thing, but very pretty background
• Skyloft – but acts in the way that Delfino Plaza and Mute City were before it
• Boxing Ring – though it seems to be created solely for SSB and not from any particular series
• Smashville 2
• Dr. Wily’s Fortress
• Wii Fit stage – very flat

Of the stages shown, to be honest…they feel slightly basic (with a couple standing out) I’m sure there’ll be a lot of exciting stages in the future.

 

 

That’s really it, I’ll prolly go into detail when more information come out ^_^ so keep an eye out!

Weather Girls – Koi no Love♥Sunshine June 8, 2013

Track Listing

1. Koi no Love♥Sunshine
2. Tonight’s weather
3. Koi no Love♥Sunshine (Instrumental)
4. Tonight’s weather (Instrumental)

1. Koi no Love♥Sunshine

Onto the group’s 3rd A-side, Koi no Love♥Sunshine is credited to be their summer A-side and it does sound like one too which we all know how much I LOVE those and there’s only a couple of songs that are actually good like KARA’s “GO GO Summer!”.  That being said, this track actually kind of reminds me of some AKB-related summer songs but with a tad more synths involved.  Though it does have a certain K-pop flair about it too which is something they’ve been known for since their debut.

2. Tonight’s weather

After knowing the group for a while and decided that they have better B-sides than their A-sides XD.  Tonight’s weather is just another reason because while it’s a bit more cheesy musically, it’s got a better structure and the vocals are so nice to listen to.  It’s very nice of a song and while I LOVE THE SHIT out of “Kimi Youhou”, this is a good contender!

As they come up to their first album, Weather Girls saved the best for last with Koi no Love♥Sunshine.  Finally, an A-side that I can get behind even though it does fall into the typical summer pop song category, at least Tonight’s weather is there to fully make the experience complete!  I’m curious for the album now! ^_^

MEG – SAVE

Track Listing

1. SAVE
2. Wasurenagusa -Yume wo Mite Ita-
3. SAVE (off vocal ver.)
4. Wasurenagusa -Yume wo Mite Ita- (off vocal ver.)

1. SAVE

Compared to “KISS OR BITE” this is less synth heavy and has more focus with 8bit and guitars which is a strange mixture especially with MEG’s vocals being auto-tuned as well so it’s a bit odd.  SAVE though is a bit too frantic and messy in the arrangement and just doesn’t seem to be great A-side material.  I will say that I enjoyed the piano in the middle 8, but the rest of the song is just kind of weak.

2. Wasurenagusa -Yume wo Mite Ita-

I love the intro to Wasurenagusa because of the dreary and sad orchestral background.  It kind of picks up with some fun synths here and there, but the slowness of the song feels a bit too dreary and sluggish of a song to listen to.  It just sounds as messy as “SAVE” if not moreso.

Damn, comparing this single to its counterpart, “KISS OR BITE” is such a wide margin of appreciation.  This single felt lazy to me and both tracks really sounded like a mesh of sound that didn’t work together.  Maybe Wasurenagusa will grow on me, but SAVE just wasn’t that great.

MEG ZOMBIES – KISS OR BITE

Track Listing

1. KISS OR BITE
2. Gladiolus -Yume Nara Ii no ni-
3. KISS OR BITE (off vocal ver.)
4. Gladiolus -Yume Nara Ii no ni- (off vocal ver.)

1. KISS OR BITE

Working with Teddyloid (quite well known in the electro community), KISS OR BITE is very familiar to MEG fans who’s been her fans when she was with Nakata and even before.  This song is a bit more gritty and has little traces of dubstep throughout.  I really love the song being so evil and just giving us a different side to MEG…though this feels like it would’ve been more effective as a Halloween released track, let’s be honest!

2. Gladiolus -Yume Nara Ii no ni-

Getting into the B-side of the single, Gladiolus lets up on the dark and creepy sound for something that would’ve oddly fit on her last album, “WEAR I AM”.  It’s got a flurry of synths but it also has some weird quirks about which definitely is MEG’s route for sure.  Her voice is a bit pitchy as she’s singing in a higher register, but it adds to the whole dreamscape sound of the track.  Not bad.

 

 

As the first of two simultaneously released singles out, I was curious about KISS OR BITE more because of the whole MEG ZOMBIES shtick she was doing (and I still don’t understand why it is, but whatever) this is a good single for her.  KISS OR BITE is just an evil song and I’m happy she returned to that for this single because it’s been a while (“FREAK” was probably the last one she did if I remember correctly).  Gladiolus is familiar territory for her, but it’s not bad, just a tad weak for me…still good job!!!

Kavka Shishido – Kiken na Futari June 4, 2013

Track Listing

1. Kiken na Futari
2. Tsuki no Kagayaki Kata
3. Wonder Girl
4. Hunger×Anger
5. Kiken na Futari ~ROUDOKU~ (Regular only)

1. Kiken na Futari

Going into Kavka’s 3rd A-side, Kiken na Futari seems to be a tad more laidback, but still carries that flame that Kavka has securely been holding up since her debut and I still admire the energy she puts into her performances because she seems to be finding herself to be more comfortable with her vocals and her style of music and putting them together because I felt this is her best A-side yet!

2. Tsuki no Kagayaki Kata

I think for the first time, Kavka tried a ballad out to see how it’d turnout and for someone who is so focused on percussion, it was curious to see how’d she handle such a style.  I thought she did well, though her vocals aren’t totally the most strongest, the song was pretty good and the later addition of brass instruments and strings really kind of made the song pop out more too!

3. Wonder Girl

Fans of “Countdown” would pretty much enjoy Wonder Girl because it’s got the same sassy attitude and edgy atmosphere that really made both tracks really stand out amongst the other tracks in her discography.  I mean, it’s not as good as the previous two tracks because they’re real good, but this is a nice Kavka song.

4. Hunger×Anger

The last B-side is the Glico tie-in track and funny enough is pretty damn short only really 2 and a half minutes in length.  Though is it strange to say this song had the most potential of the four tracks and could’ve went a lot longer than it should have?  Hunger×Anger is just cool to listen to and Kavka sounds great singing!  Still…too damn short of a song!

5. Kiken na Futari ~ROUDOKU~

Finally the extra track on the regular edition of the single, I feel like it’s just Kavka speaking the lyrics of Kiken na Futari which is quite haunting when she’s speaking it.  After a short while, a latin guitar is thrown in, but it’s just there for aesthetic effect which I guess is a nice touch but was this track necessary?

As I finish Kavka’s 3rd single offering, I do think it’s a slight step down from “music”.  Kiken na Futari is a really solid A-side and is definitely her best one yet!  Tsuki no Kagayaki Kata is an interesting ballad track from her and would love to see her do more of this in the future!  Wonder Girl is more of what we’ve already heard from Kavka so it’s just there as that B-side that doesn’t win nor hurt the single.  Hunger×Anger is great if it wasn’t so short and the ROUDOKU version of Kiken na Futari is just a bonus incentive and it’s just didn’t work otherwise lol.

AMOYAMO – LIVE/MAGIC

Track Listing

1. LIVE
2. MAGIC
3. MAZE (Regular only)
4. DARLIN’ (Regular only)
5. TWINKLE (Limited only)
6. LIVE (Original Instrumental)
7. MAGIC (Original Instrumental)
8. TWINKLE (Original Instrumental)

1. LIVE

Keeping with the energetic tone the duo has been putting out, LIVE kicks things out with a pretty strong guitar intro and keeps up with the strong push for the entire track is great.  AYAMO from what I can tell is getting a bit better at singing while AMO is just doing her thing sounding quite strong as she has been since their debut.  LIVE is pretty good of a song and it stands out to me more than “LET’S GO OUT” did.

2. MAGIC

The other A-side takes it down a notch and focuses more on their poppy side rather than their punk rock tone from “LIVE”.  I have to say that I’m kind of not liking AYAMO’s tone in the song because it’s so squeaky and pitchy while AMO still is just whooping her ass all over the floor lol.  MAGIC though does sound like Tomoko’s newer sound which makes sense but it’s quite catchy nonetheless.

3. MAZE

Then the single splits off into it’s pressings only songs.  The regular features two extra tracks of both are solo tracks.  AMO goes first with MAZE.  It starts out with this VERY CREEPY intro of the girl telling us a story (in a British accent no less).  It made me think of Tommy’s Halloween songs with the way it was styled.  AMO though sounds SO GOOD in this song though which isn’t surprising but she does it so well!  I do like the waltz atmosphere when the song does get moving and even the synth/keyboard solo was really cool.  I have to say this was a surprisingly amazing track….give AMO a damn solo career xD.

4. DARLIN’

Next is AYAMO’s turn at the mic with DARLIN’.  Of course I’ve said she’s the weaker vocalist of the two and it wasn’t surprising she was given a kind of genki punk rock track to try to give reason for her meh singing here.  I do like her Engrish though since she kind of has the same grasp as Tomoko does except younger lol.  The song is a bit like “LIVE” but this song sounds like it could’ve been better by AMO, just saying.

5. TWINKLE

The limited edition comes with a different song sung by both girls of course!  However, unlike the previous tracks, this track is pretty made for some kind of shoujo anime because it’s sugary cute and I hear AYAMO a LOT in this song which is kind of meh to me.  Even AMO is trying to doll up her voice because it asks for it.  Not my kind of song though.

AMOYAMO’s 2nd single, LIVE/MAGIC is a tad bit better than their first single which shows progress for sure.  The leading tracks were both quite good on both aspects of their rock and pop vibes (which leads me to believe that Tomoko is fusing her heavenly and February personas into these two).  TWINKLE though was a bit too sugary cute and pitchy in vocals.  As for the solos, I was completely taken aback from AMO’s solo more than AYAMO’s.  Yeah a filled out single, but it was pretty good.