[Review] Ghost of Tsushima: What Makes it the Most Beautiful Game of All?

I saw a ton of reviews calling Ghost of Tsushima the most beautiful game ever made. Now, I was pretty skeptical. We live in a time where good graphics is a must for open world games. So what is it that makes people keep calling it beautiful?

Dir en grey Tour19 This Way to Self Destruction @ Gramercy Theater

I never got the time to write about the concert experience and this was the last concert I went to before the pandemic hit the United States. I consider myself lucky to have been able to attend Dir en grey's performance in 2019 because from what I heard, all the tickets were being scalped no matter what state you were in. I had been lucky to have obtained the pre-sale code because on the day the tickets were released to the general public, there were none left. It had been sold out during the pre-sale. A serious case of ticket scalping if you ask me. Now looking back in the year 2022, this was the last concert attended before COVID-19 and will be my last one for a very long time.

[Review and Recap]Ramen Shop (2018)

Originally named Ramen Teh, Ramen Shop is about a young man named Masato going on a journey to Singapore to learn more about his deceased parents. When he arrives at the food metropolis, he learns that he is uncovering a very painful past surrounding his family that he was never aware of. I saw very little information about the film and very few people even reviewed it. With a bare minimum synopsis and my small admiration for Saitoh Takumi who plays Masato, I decided to give this movie a try about 2 years ago and didn't review it until now. Full spoilers ahead, you have been warned.

[Review] Lost Judgment

This post is a conclusion of my thoughts on Lost Judgment after finishing the game and a continuation of the previous post [Impressions] Lost Judgment.

I had an awesome time with Lost Judgment. RGG Studio proves to us fans that they keep improving themselves with each game by making changes when necessary and consistently keeps content fresh. While I was unfortunately spoiled on the ending when browsing on the Internet, it didn't completely deter my enjoyment only lost the element of surprise. The final boss fight ... man I struggled hard with it.

[Impressions] Lost Judgment

Today's post is more of a first impressions and less of a review. At the time of writing, I have not completed the game yet. This post covers up to Chapter 9: The Weight of Guilt. I will avoid major spoilers and try my best to omit character names. Game titles will be abbreviated to initials for better reading.

Our favorite Kamurocho detective, Takayuki Yagami, is back again with another case and direct sequel to Judgment. Fans like myself really enjoyed the first game as it diverges from the main Yakuza series and can be played as a standalone game. Of course, if you are longtime Yakuza fans, playing all the games is a plus and adds to the experience for better immersion. In the timeline of Lost Judgment, events in Yakuza 7/Like a Dragon are canon. Ijincho is now an accessible map with the additional of Seiryo High School. Some areas and building previously accessible in Y7 are now blocked off as they do not pertain or add to the story of LJ. Less noticeable in Kamurocho, but Little Asia is no longer accessible. Those of you that have played Y7 know that Ijincho is a lot larger than Kamurocho so this allows for more exploration. I will give my opinions on most of the game mechanics.

[Review] Final Fantasy XV: It Could Have Been Better Sadly

It's been 6 years since the release of Final Fantasy XV. There are talks about a Final Fantasy XVI and frankly I'm not really pumped for it. Unlike other players, I'm not a veteran in the FF series. FFXV was my first FF game and I plunged into it with no knowledge of the lore whatsoever. While I was aware of the many criticisms and flaws of the game, I was one of those people that were able to enjoy the game regardless mainly due to the fact I had little knowledge of the universe to begin with and I played it 3 years after its release. By then the Royal Edition was already out with the Ardyn DLC and a lot of patches had been released. But I had also missed the limited time Assassin's Festival event.

[Movie Review] The Blood of Wolves 孤狼の血

A nitty gritty homage to yakuza films. While this genre is no longer as prevalent as it was in the old age of Japanese cinema, The Blood of Wolves captures the essence of the yakuza and police in Showa era Japan. This is my first yakuza film to date. Other content I've watched are usually focused on something else while the yakuza are side characters or pushing conflict in the story. I don't think I've mentioned on this blog (or maybe I did) that I am a big fan of the Yakuza game franchise. This series of games and spinoffs really furthered my interest in yakuza/gangster media and related entertainment. Naturally when I discovered a title like The Blood of Wolves, I knew I had to give it a try. I only heard about this film because there's a sequel planned for it and Saitoh Takumi was announced as one of the cast members. As a result, I decided to do some additional research which led me to this amazing movie. Japan sometimes creates some questionable movies, but then they come out with gems like these.