[NEWS] New Nintendo Direct announced for November 12 in the US and UK

Okay okay sorry for the LONG delay as I am an Hindu Tamil and I had to prep up for Deepavali. BUT ANYWAY, BIG NEWS! A new Nintendo Direct livestream has just been announced yesterday for November 12 in the US and UK (and yes, it's viewable internationally). The new Direct's gonna be the very first one since the passing of the previous president of Nintendo, Satoru Iwata, and will be talking about a bunch of brand-new Wii U and 3DS games. As for where you can view the livestream, it's available on Nintendo's official Twitch channel and Nintendo Direct's official website.

As for me, I have been doing live updates on my personal page on livestreams and especially Nintendo Direct since long before I set up this blog. I will in fact be carrying this over to Suzaku ProjectWorks. So yes, I will be posting live updates on Suzaku ProjectWorks' Facebook page as the livestream goes on and I will do a round-up of all the information revealed in the Direct, give or take a few days.

So anyway guys, the livestream's gonna start on November 12 at 2pm PST and 11pm CET (For Singapore, that'll be 6am on November 13). I will see you guys then.

Shu Serian
Suzaku ProjectWorks

Source: Nintendo of America's Twitter page, My Nintendo News

Winter Soldier and Falcon: Who will be Captain America after Civil War?

Okay okay I know. It's been a while since I posted anything. But we're getting back on track here, 'kay. Oh and the title might be a little misleading but I can assure you, it sort of makes some sense.

ANYWAY, Let's talk about Captain America: Civil War. So this movie is the beginning of Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, supposedly the last Captain American solo movie and probably the last time we'll ever since Human Tor-I mean Chris Evans wield the shield as Captain America.

But here's where things get interesting: Due to the source material for the storyline and Marvel's current marketing strategies, there's a likelihood that we may get a new Captain America out of this. Specifically, 2 contenders: Winter Soldier and Falcon. This blog post is basically a discussion/debate/theory/i-have-no-idea-what-this-is kind of blog post, one that will ask this question: Who will be Captain America? So let's get going, shall we?:-

Winter Soldier

So for those not in the know, the movie's adapted from a rather iconic and pivotal storyline that rocked the Marvel Universe for a good long while, Civil War. I won't go into great detail on the plot as the movie's synopsis is more or less the same as the comics, but basically, this comic book event saw the supposed death, at the time, of Steve Roger. After a short while, this leads to Bucky Barnes a.k.a Winter Soldier to take up the iconic mantle of his old partner as Captain America. Given the nature of the storyline and also that Sebastian Stan, the man behind Bucky a.k.a Winter Soldier, is signed on to play him for 5-6 more films, there's a likely chance that we may get to see him take on this mantle as an act of redemption of sorts.

Falcon

Okay so for those not in the know of this either, it's basically common knowledge by now that Marvel occasionally uses this marketing strategy of reinventing characters between both the movies, TV shows and comics to to have similarities to appeal to newer comic fans and movie/TV show fans-turned-comic fans, all without changing continuity in the comics. 4 prime examples of this is the introduction of the MCU-original character, Phil Coulson, into the comics, introducing comic Nick Fury's half-black son, Nicky Fury Jr., just so as to have a black Nick Fury in the mainstream comics too, retconning comic Daisy Johnson a.k.a Quake as an Inhuman and giving her the "affectionate" nickname of Skye simple because the same character was originally called Skye in Agents of SHIELD and was an Inhuman, and introducing the Carol Danvers incarnation of Captain Marvel in the movies due to Carol being the current Captain Marvel in the comics.

So anyway, at the moment, Steve isn't Cap in the comics. It's Sam Wilson himself. How? Well, Steve was drained of the Super-Soldier serum, subsequently aging into his proper age. As a result of this, Sam Wilson has been entrusted to take up the iconic Red, White and Blue and is now the current Captain America, atleast while Marvel intends to have this status quo. This brings me to my point: If I am right that Marvel will use this kind of marketing strategy yet again, we may likely see Anthony Mackie's Falcon as Captain America after this.
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So to the right is comic Bucky Barnes as Captain America and to the left is comic Sam Wilson as Captain America. Either of their MCU equivalents may or may not be wielding the shield. Time will tell.

- Shu

Source: Fanpop, ScreenCrush, Wikipedia and ScreenRant for images.

[NEWS] 2nd trailer for The King Of Fighters XIV now up online, confirms Leona Heidern and Chang Koehan as playable characters.

Okay so I guess I skipped a day, huh? No matter, let's get back into the swing of things. Anyway, the 2nd official trailer for the upcoming PlayStation 4 game The King Of Fighters XIV, which was previously showcased at the Sony Computer Entertainment Korea Press Conference, is now online on SNK Playmore's YouTube channel. And this one reveals Leona Heidern, who last appeared in KOF XIII as a member of the Ikari Warriors Team, and Chang Koehan, who last appeared as a playable character in KOF 2003, KOF '98: Ultimate Match and KOF 2002: Ultimate Match and as an NPC in KOF XIII, as playable characters. Previously, series flagship characters Kyo Kusanagi and Iori Yagami were confirmed as playable characters.

Anyway, the trailer is in the link below so go check it out and leave a comment. And yes, I am aware of the horrid graphics. Even I hate it too. But atleast we're getting a new KOF game after God knows how long. So keep it civil, 'kay? Anyway, check it out below:-

Source: Siliconera, SNK Playmore

[NEWS] Q&A with Taro Yoko and Yosuke Saito on NieR:Automata

Okay so for those not in the know, coming soon is a PS4 action-RPG game being developed by Platinum Games and published by Square Enix called NieR:Automata. The game itself is the second entry in the NieR series, which itself is part of the larger Drakengard series. But don't worry, NieR:Automata is completely standalone and fully accessible to new players.

Anyway, both Famitsu.com and Dengeki Online recently sat down with director Taro Yoko and producer Yosuke Saito to do a Q-and-A, where new and extra details were revealed. Here's a translated excerpt from that interview:-

Q: How many protagonists are there?

Saito: “By ‘actual protagonists’ then two characters.”
Yoko: “I kind of feel like there are three.”

Q: What is 2B’s gender?
Saito: “a girl… type?”
Yoko: “It’s a secret.”

Q: Why did you guys make her a female?
Yoko: “Because I like girls.”
“Akihiko Yoshida asked for ‘a costume that’d be easy to cosplay’.”

Q: Are there androids of other genders?
Yoko: “The genders are a secret, but there are ‘girl/boy-types.”

Q: What’s the meaning behind “YoRHa?” Yoko: “Nothing in particular. Its kanji is ‘寄葉’but it’s nothing of deep significance.”

• The androids are the ones fighting in order to recapture Earth, but the humans don’t participate in the actual fighting itself.

• There are plenty of weapons that we’ve yet to see. Q: About how many? Yoko: “Quite a lot.”

• The “Pods” will help with ranged attacks while the player can focus on close-ranged attacks. Again, you’ll be able to use it to glide and also for getting your way across the maps. The Pod can speak, but it isn’t much of a chatterbox, so think of it as more of navigational system for cars. It does not have any emotions.

• There are ideas for Pod customizations, but they’re not sure how it’ll end up.

• There are possibilities of DLC costumes for 2B.

• 2B’s skirt will begin to break after she takes a certain amount of damage. Beneath the skirt she wears a white leotard.

• The base of the Living Machines are the same but they’ll come in varieties of parts, colors, texture, and ones that ride on different obstacles.

• The giant Living Machine shown in the trailer isn’t a boss, but a ‘kind of strong small-fry.” That one was relatively on the smaller side, but you’ll see some gigantic Living Machines.

Q: There was something like a warthog, but will we get to ride it?
Yoko: “I’ve told the folks at PlatinumGames that I’d like for people to be able to ride them.”

• There’s also a living creature that is similar to a deer, and there’s a chance that you’ll be able to ride it, too.

• The game takes place in the same world in a different era, but story-wise they’re not connected much. They wanted to prevent having things that only those who played the first game would be able to enjoy. If anything, there will be characters or events that will bring a smile to those who are familiar with them.

• Yoko: “PlatinumGames’ action might seem a little high-end, but they’re working on adjusting it so that just about anyone can enjoy it and feel that they can play it.”

• Saito: “When looking at Yoko-san’s plot, it has some very happy ending-like content. On the contrary, the story is so good to the point where you’d like to ask him ‘is it okay for it to be this much of a happy ending?’ I really hope you look forward to that.”

• Yoko: “The development is going favorably, but there’s so much to it that we don’t know what will happen.” Saito: “We’re entrusting the young development team’s passionate ‘we can do this!’ attitude, so us older folks are excited. And also praying for nothing to go wrong. Yoko: “Although if it does go wrong somewhere, I think it’d still be NieR-like in its own way. It wouldn’t be bad to have a NieR that will makew you go ‘Huh!” It ends here!?’”

• The next update of information will be sometime around this spring. They’re hoping to be able to make some announcements in Japan next time.

 So anyway, anyone excited? I know I am. Been a BIG fan of action-RPGs and Platinum Games' games are some of my favorites too. Plus, I've been a long-time fan of the NieR and Drakengard series'. So yeah I'm so stoked.

Anyway, sound off below you thoughts and I'll see you guys in the next article/blog post.

Shu Serian, signing off.

Source: Siliconera, Game Jouhou! Game no Hanashi, Famitsu.com, Dengeki Online

A Geek History on the current mainstream Transformers franchises

Okay so let's talk about one of my favorite things right now: Transformers. I grew up with Transformers. Picked up the Unicron Trilogy (Armada, Energon and Cybertron), watched the original (G1) and the entirety of the Beast Era (Beast Wars and Beast Machine). And yes, watched the goddamned live-action movies and even the newer shows too. But for today, for those not in the know but are interested in learning abit on Transformers, let's talk about the different franchises. Specifically, let's talk about the current franchises Hasbro's using for marketing purposes.

In total, there are 3 running co-currently. Granted, we've got the IDW comics as another continuity, but we're gonna be talking about the ones being used for the mainstream media like movies, TV shows and, yes, web series. So let's begin, shall we?

Movie Universe

So we all know this one. The live-action films done by Michael Bay. Starting from the first movie up until Age of Extinction, it's been widely hated due to the atypical tropes from Bay himself. I didn't totally hate all of them except the last one. Age of Extinction was extremely difficult to understand, the one saving grace for me was Drift's portrayal, though that might've been me being bias due to my everlasting fanboying over Drift. But anyway, Hasbro announced plannings to make a cinematic universe out of these movies so yeah that's that. Not alot to say except watch the movies..........if you dare and can.

Aligned Continuity

Okay the logo may not look like it's got relevance, but the related TV show is part of this continuity. Anyway, Aligned Continuity. Basically, Hasbro created a book of sorts called the Binder of Revelation, a super-secret book accessible only to content producers hired by Hasbro and Hasbro themselves containing a story bible built using information from Hasbro's in-house story team, fans and anyone in-between. The backstory is that Cybertron had a civil war between the Autobots and Decepticons and eventually after Cybertron's fall, they fled to Earth where they would eventually have multiple large-scale battles. The various video games, comics and TV shows under this continuity depict these events. For the Cybertron backstory, War for Cybertron, Fall of Cybertron and the novels like Exodus and Exiles are depictions of this backstory. Likewise, the TV series Prime and the new Robots in Disguise TV series (NuRID) are the most recent stories in this continuity, NuRID setting after Prime. Also, Rescue Bots is a spinoff setting during Prime too.

Anyway, target audience-wise, it's varied though these days, the TV shows are geared towards the main audience, that being kids, while Rescue Bots targets much younger kids like pre-schoolers. The video games and novels are aimed at an older audience though.

Prime Wars Trilogy

This is the latest continuity that has been established. Well actually, it's more of a marketing campaign than a continuity. IDW Publishing's continuity has elements of Prime Wars Trilogy in their storytelling but otherwise, the main medium, as it appears, is mainly the Transformers: Generations toyline and Machinima's web series.

Anyway, what is known is that 2 entries have been confirmed, Combiner Wars (the first part) and the upcoming Titans Returns. Another thing to note is that each part focuses on some kind of gimmick. In Combiner Wars, the focus goes onto combiners (DUH!) while for Titans Return, focuses on the cityformers and especially on Titan Masters, miniature Transformers that become heads for larger ones, like G1's Headmasters. Web series-wise, only Combiner Wars has been confirmed, though given that Machinima has some involvement, we're likely to see Titans Return as a web series too along with the third entry.

Oh and for those wondering about the target audience, it's been confirmed that the Prime Wars Trilogy is specifically targeted towards teens and adults, well atleast the web series is.
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So anyway, you guys are now caught up with what's happening. It's a little convoluted and I may have gotten a few things wrong here so let me know if I gotten anything wrong. Oh and the Machinima web series isn't even out yet so there's that to look forward to.

Anyway, I'll see you guys in the next blog post.

- Shu

Source: Wikipedia for logos, TFW2005 for Prime Wars Trilogy logo and info (http://news.tfw2005.com/2015/10/08/nycc-2015-hasbro-transformers-panel-updates-302802), The Hollywood Reporter for info (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/transformers-forming-epic-storyline-toys-830399 , http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/comic-con-transformers-animated-series-807464)

Kamen Rider Drive - My issue with Kamen Rider Drive Type Formula and Chase's mid-series character progression

 

Okay so I was looking into what I can blog about for today as I had decided to atleast put up one blog post a day. And then this topic came into mind: Kamen Rider Drive. Kamen Rider Drive's one of my favorite Kamen Rider TV series. In fact, my second-favorite. Why? Because of the middle portion of the series.

Let me be clear: I do not hate Kamen Rider Drive. It's got a cool motif, great character progression, great story. But the middle portion, atleast in my own opinion, sucked. But let's just go through what exactly sucked about it, shall we?

The image above. On the right is Kamen Rider Drive Type Formula and on the left is Mashin Chaser a.k.a Chase's second suit. Make no mistake, it's relevant here. Well to be specific, it's about the existence of Type Formula and Chase's character progression.

First up, Type Formula, and let me be blunt about it: It was a total waste of time. They had a bullshit story about the need for Type Formula as it's the only usable Type under Super Heavy Acceleration, but I don't buy it and I shall explain why.

See this? On the right is Kamen Rider Drive Type Dead Heat and Kamen Rider Drive Type Tridoron. Both these forms are power-ups but have unique circumstances that play into character progression. Dead Heat makes him more powerful. But there's a catch: Using the form for too long and the user loses control of himself and the form physically wears the user down. So it's like a double-edged sword: Be careful when using it and use it only when needed.

As for Type Tridoron, there's a backstory. There was an episode where Shinnosuke (Kamen Rider Drive) was thought to have been killed when the A.I. of his belt, Belt-san, synchronized his mind with Shinnosuke, putting him in suspended animation. Because of this, the one way to revive the both of them was with Shift Tridoron and their car Tridoron, essentially creating Type Tridoron, where Tridoron becomes the suit and Shinnosuke and Belt-san have the ability to take control of Shinnosuke's body while in this form. Oh and did I mention that Type Tridoron can operate under Super Heavy Acceleration? Yeah he can.

So see my point here? Type Formula was a waste of time and a cheap cash-in to sell toys at the expense of the plot.

Anyway, next issue: Chase's mid-series character progression. So the character was the prototype for the Roidmudes (read: Monsters), Proto-Zero, and was originally a good guy as Kamen Rider Proto-Drive too before getting reprogrammed by the Roidmudes and becoming Mashin Chaser. The early to mid-early parts of the story depicted Chase progressively recovering his memories and slowly discovering his true identity. From how he was written, he was meant to later become a good guy again, which he does and becomes Kamen Rider Chaser.

But then, it happened: Just when he was about to regain all of his memories, he get reprogrammed yet again, like it was all too easy. And he stays this way for the middle portion of the story. Oh and how did he regain all of his memories and become a good guy again? By getting defeated by Kamen Rider Drive Type Formula. It wasn't any kind of flaw in his reprogramming that allowed him to regain his memories at the last moment. No, somebody had to defeat him and the impact of the finisher reverted his programming to how it originally was (kind of).

So you see how bad the middle portion of the series was? But overall, it wasn't all that bad. If you wanna watch it, I recommend it, but only if you can survive the middle portion of the story.

So anyway, I'll see you guys in the next blog post.

- Shu

Credits: Kamen Rider Wiki for images (http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Kamen_Rider_Wiki)

[News] Ninninger to get adapted as Power Rangers: Shuriken

Yes, I am a Tokusatsu fan and a Power Rangers fan. Don't judge me. It's still counted as a geeky thing so FUCK YOU.

ANYWAY, BIG news. Collider has just exclusively announced that starting in 2017, Power Rangers will be bringing Power Rangers primarily to Netflix with an adaption of one of my favorite Tokusatsu right now, Shuriken Sentai Ninninger. The new series will be called "Power Rangers: Shuriken" and like Power Rangers: Ninja Storm and (to some level) the third season of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers and (probably) the spinoff miniseries Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers, they will boast a ninja motif once more, this time with an extra emphasis on shurikens. Another thing to note is that this is the first Power Rangers series to have both a Pink and White Ranger as primary members and the second series to have both Blue and Yellow as male (the first one was Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers). Oh and did I mention that you can expect a Gold cowboy-themed Ranger joining them later on? Yeah that happens and so does his hamburger-themed morpher. Yeah Sentai is crazy.

Anyway, what do you guys think? Sound off below in the comments.

Source: Collider (http://collider.com/power-rangers-netflix-2017-season-24/), Saban Brands (image)