I got a 3DS!

I am aware I am a little late to the bandwagon. I still played on my DS lite that I got back in 2008. I was never really allowed handhelds as a child so I was always very jealous of my friends who had game boys as I had really wanted to play them! I was so excited with my DS lite and I have played many, many games over it during the years. When 3DS got announced, I was so excited! 3D without the glasses, how cool! I couldn't get it at the time and since then I had always put it off. Now there is a New(!) 3DS XL which is a little silly but alas. I had recently finally purchased my own 3DS!

 

I opted for a 3DS XL as the size was much bigger than the original. I considered a 2DS but it just looked and felt too much like a child's toy. I like the 3D aspect, I like the bigger screens and just the ability to close it. I didn't get a New 3DS XL as they're still a little expensive and I didn't feel the need to splurge for one just yet. I also originally wanted the pink 3DS but I totally loved the Animal Crossing version! Like many affectionately call it, the "Poptart 3DS". I bought it pre-owned from Gamestop for 140$. I had received it and it seems to be very nice quality! Obviously looks like it was used a little bit but the screens were perfect (the bottom screen looks funky in the pic because of being terrible at placing screen protectors!) and only a few scratches here and there barely noticeable on the top.

Coming from a DS lite, the weight surprised me a little. It was much larger and heavier! It will take me a while to get used to like most electronics. (My phone felt so heavy and fragile when I first got it, but it's totally normal now.) The picture is really nice and clear and the 3D works great! I also like the home screen menu and the themes! There's many neat little options such as the built in pedometer and the ability to play demos. 

Since there was a deal going on at Gamestop, I was also allowed to choose 3 games under 10 dollars for free to go along with the pre-owned system. Honestly, as one can expect, the game selection was not the great but I'm pretty happy with the ones that I did get.

Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy

As one can tell from my various social medias, I really love rhythm games. I haven't played very many Final Fantasy games but I know the soundtracks to them are absolutely lovely so I was very excited to get this one. I have only played the first two stages so far but I am really enjoying it. I know there is "Theatrhythm: Curtain Call" which is a deluxe version of this game and I think if I like this one enough, I might pick that one up as well.

Dead or Alive Dimensions

I think this one was the first game I technically played on the 3DS as a demo version in a store. I thought the 3d looked nice and I think fighting games are generally fun. I haven't played any other titles from this series, but it got decent reviews so I'm looking forward to playing.

Art Academy

First things first, I can absolutely not draw. I am terrible at it. Nonetheless, this game looks interesting and was one of the highest reviewed under 10 dollars so I figured it was worth picking up!

So those were my three choices of games! There really, really weren't that many great ones but I'm excited to pick up lots of newer games in the future. Already on my wishlist is ~

Rune Factory 4

Story of Seasons

Project Mirai DX

Super Smash Bros

Pokemon X

Pokemon Alpha Sapphire

Animal Crossing New Leaf

Phoenix Wright Dual Destinies

Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright

And maybe a few others that I am probably forgetting!

Overall, I'm super happy with my purchase, I absolutely love the Animal Crossing design on the 3DS and I am just super excited to play all of the games that have come out so far~!

Cinderella Girls: Starlight Stage Review

As one may tell from peeking at my social media accounts (namely twitter) I have really been obsessed with School Idol Festival for the past year! I've been really loving the songs and the game and the card collecting aspect. I had been wanting to look into various other games as I know both Hello!Project and AKB48 have come out with their own rhythm games but I wasn't a huge fan. While searching, I happened upon an Idolmaster game! I had heard of the series before from the older console games but I never had the means to play them. I was excited to check this game out (and unknown to me, I didn't realize the game had just come out that day (September 3rd)!) 

Basically, I totally fell in love!

There is so much going on in the game, the stories are well detailed and long and I love that most of the characters (even the side ones) are voiced. I like the variances between the characters of the idols, the ages, how they look, etc!  I will actually do another post later detailing my favourite idols from Idolmaster! Since I have discovered the game, I had also started watching the anime series which I also really enjoy.

Coming from SIF, the rhythm aspect is still a little hard for me to get used to as there are only five buttons in a straight line but I find the gameplay enjoyable! But the true winner of this rhythm game aspect is the amazing backgrounds during live shows. For a mobile game, they are so, so pretty!

The 3d backgrounds are just stunning! I love that each song has their own choreography and backgrounds considering how many songs are already in the game. I love that each animated idol captures the essence of the character and they don't all look exactly the same (ie the taller characters are tall and the shorter characters are short) One improvement is that I would really like to change their outfits sometimes from the default "Cinderella" outfit.

Though if your phone can't handle the 3d mode, there is also an adorable chibi 2d mode! I don't play in this mode often but I do appreciate that it's more representative of their card outfit and honestly, it's just so cute!

Another aspect of the game I really love is the office! I love that we can earn special items as we level up and I also love the decorating aspect. It feels very personal and very "mine". I love that we can also see our main 5 idols walk around and interact with the objects in the room!

Some other things I really like about the game

☆The gorgeous SSR's and SR's in this game! I love that they have very well drawn backgrounds and actually take up the entire homescreen. I am also so happy that we can idolise them without having to rely on getting a second copy.

☆The 60 gem pulls! I haven't bought anything in the game yet but I think this is a nice little bonus for people who purchase star gems in the game considering the normal soloyolo is 250 gems.

☆Solo song versions! I like that there's an option to have our centre girls solo version play for particular songs. 

☆SR's from the local audition gatcha! Unlike in SIF where you can only obtain SR and UR's from Honor Scouting, you can obtain SR's from the Regular scouting in the game. I'm not sure how rare it is, but I managed to obtain one!

☆The quests are fun! A little easy to get through so I would really like them to add more in the future.

I'm sure there's more but I can't think of anymore at the moment. But! This is my general opinion on the game after playing for two weeks so far! I had no idea what to expect when I downloaded this game as this was my first forray into the Idolmaster series, but I'm already a huge fan! I can't wait to see the developments for this game (I would love some events in the future!) and I'm definitely going to keep playing~ I totally recommend it!

By the way, here are the SR cards I have earned so far

Anime Series I'm Currently Watching

Honestly, I don't really watch that much anime. I was the type to read manga instead and even then, I would generally stick to more slice of life or shoujo series. Ihave tried watching numerous popular series but I just could not get into them. Before this period, I don't think I had properly watched an anime series in about 5 years (until I started getting into Love Live, Madoka Magica and Sailor Moon) Now, with the new(ish) season, I decided to watch some new series that I'm actually enjoying a lot! So here are the shows that I am currently watching~

My Love Story

I was randomly browsing series and I came across this extremely odd looking thumbnail. I was like.. is this a joke series? From the first 10 minutes, I was hooked on this show. There is so much heart and sweetness to this show that it is impossible not to root for all of the characters. Takeo is a gentle giant, Yamato is extremely adorable and Sunakawa is one of the greatest friends. I really enjoy this series and their take on this unconventional first love.

Himouto! Umaru-chan

Like the above, from the first couple of minutes I was hooked on this show. It has a slightly cliche, bratty little sister dynamic but it's just so funny. Himouto is a ridiculous little character that I think all us nerds can relate to. Her friends are interesting and the dynamic between her and her brother are fun to watch. Very cute series with a lot of fun references.

SCHOOL-LIVE

This show takes on the zombie genre and twists it around a bit. The first couple of episodes were slow for me but it's definitely gaining traction. I have only made it to episode 5 so far, but I am interested to see how this series progresses. It feels like it will get darker from here on. Basically a slice of life show with zombies!

Wakakozake

A very short little series about a 26 year old Office Lady that enjoys various foods. The synopsis doesn't sound like much but there's something relaxing about these episodes. It also ends up making me hungry.

The Idolm@ster Cinderella Girls

Okay! This one isn't exactly a new series but I decided to give it a try as I wanted something like Love Live to watch! I watched the original series and it was a little hard for me to get into so I didn't have high expectations for this series. I ended up really liking the first couple of episodes though! (I think my problem with original idolmaster, was that there was too many characters in the beginning for me to keep up with.) On the 3-4ish episodes, I also found out there was a rhythm game coming out so it made me want to watch more! I am about halfway through the first season and I know there is also a second season too.