Tuesday 30 December 2014

Year End Top Ten: Worst of the year

I try not to be negative. when i come across something i don't like... i just stop watching/playing it. I may come and do a rant here but after that i stop caring.

i'm still annoyed about most of this stuff.
I'll be frank, this year for all it's up points had some real lows.

and i know one choice in particular is going to annoy some people but understand this is just my opinion and these things just didn't click with me... i don't think they are bad, i just didn't like them.

The rules for the list:
1. I had to see it/play it for the first time in 2014. This means that older shows/games can be on here as long as i hadn't seen/played them before.
2. even though i called these things top tens... i may go under or over that limit depending on the situation
3. Everything is fair game.

12. Hamatora
I wouldn't say the show is bad but it just took forever to get anything else across and then they killed off my favourite character so... it's here because i dropped it but i don't think it's bad... just boring. had some interesting artistic choices.

11. La Cordo d'oro -blue sky-
Pointless but at the same time harmless, i wish this had a bit more substance since i remember enjoying the other seasons of this show but this one was just far too bland and whiny.

10. White Album
This show could have been interesting but it ended up just being very dull, i didn't care about either of the girls feelings for the main character because i didn't buy that either of them felt that strongly about him. the art was okay and the music was fine but overall pretty forgettable.

9. Future Diary
I know a lot of people really like this series, one of the people who had a dairy actually ended up triggering a anxiety attack in me so i didn't like it... i just can't deal with the death of a character that young/a character that young being a murderer so i had to stop the instant that happened. Plus i am not a fan of stalker story lines... so yeah... one of the worst shows i've seen all year.

8. DRAMAtical murder
Once again the word pointless comes to mind, things happen but there is no reason to care because the characters don't get enough development... i'm sure that different in the game but it's not the type of game i like to play so i'll never know.
Also that artwork... i know i have called sailor moon, world trigger and samurai flamenco 'derpy' but this title takes the cake for horrendous animation.

7. Bravely Default
I think if i try to put this any higher on the list a bunch of my friends will disown me.
But please listen to why i didn't like this game... first some positive.
The music is amazing, as good as JDK falcom sound team. Revo does an amazing job with the soundtrack.
The pseudo paralax scrolling in the fixed camera towns is so cool! not only does it make it feel like a bit of a pop out story book but it just has such a neat look.
Being able to pick between so many classes is pretty neat and i love the over the top designs for some of them (i mean... merchants have no reason to be that adorable)
So why didn't i like this game?
Overall i'm not sure but i think it has to do with a handful of things.
a) I figured out the plot twist almost immediately... i mean i saw one character speak and i knew exactly what was going to happen... this always bums me out when it happens.. i like being surprised so to figure out everything within the first few hours is just so disappointing... but i'm sorry no one gets that excited or insitant about something without having an agenda.
b) i felt like characters personalities would flip flop a lot, the main girl in particular... i dunno it just made her unlikeable and if i don't like the characters i wont like the game.
c) I was insanely bored of the tedious story before i activated all 4 crystals... so when i heard about what happens after you activate them i was stunned. Had I played to that part and seen thats what they planned to pull... not once, not twice, not thrice but four times? I would have chucked the game out the window. I would be so mad. nothing would have stopped me from putting this at number 1 no matter how much it annoyed my friends. It's just one of the most bullshit moves i have seen to pad out a game since A witch's tale.
however i didn't play that far so... game is only boring to me... still great music
oh and i guess...
d) the combat while interesting at first get broken when you can brave 4 times. which i did for everything except bosses.
oh and
e) environmental hazards.... i don't always hate these but considering how the status effects never seemed to ware off and curing them was a pain... yeah i didn't like it.
So yeah, not a bad game but a game that i really didn't like... maybe BD2 will fix all the issues i had with 1... i'll probably never know unless i hear from everyone how different it is.
oh wait.
f) microtransactions? really? this game already cost me 45 bucks... screw your micro transactions

ok enough of that.

6. Yowapeda
This one upsets me cause it was really fun and sweet and then they get to the grand prix and it just grinds to a halt, they stop focusing on Onoda and focus on all these characters i don't care about. I thought after the first sprint Abu guy would shut up but NOPE... we continually cut back to him talking to andy and frank (his pecks) and i just couldn't sit through it anymore... plus it was taking forever... dragon ball z levels of time passing so slow snails are telling you to hurry up.

5.  Glasslip
Every week i tuned into this hoping it would have some kind of point
a message
a theme
just some reason for existing.
every week i was disappointed.
the animation was decent but considering which animation house it came out of boy was this show a huge disappointment.

4. Brynhildr in the Darkness
It could have been interesting
it could have had a point.
instead it wanted to be a harem show with one of the worst deus ex machina/god mode endings i have ever seen.
it didn't even set off my fear of space cause it was just so unfathomably stupid.  but what could i expect in the end... it was just a stupid harem show.

3. Golden Time
this was made by the same creator as Toradora.
Toradora is adorable and sincere and sweet and well made.
this makes me wonder if the creator actually had amnesia and forgot how to tell a good story.
I'm supposed to like this girl? i'm supposed to care about her getting together with banri even though she is awful to him the entire series? I'm not saying Linda would have been better but had the story focused on linda and banri things would have made more sense.
but it doens't it focuses on koko for no reason... i don't understand how this was made by the same person who made toradora. i do not get it.

2. Wolf Girl and Black prince.
This one may be as high as it is cause it's so recent.... but honestly i think it's here cause it glorifies an extremely abusive relationship and it's supposed to be cute and endearing? NO. No you stupid piece of crap that is not sweet... becoming more submissive to avoid setting off your boyrfriend isn't cute. having your boyfriend get you hopes up just to crush them and revel in your broken hearted face is not adorable. NO. Easily one of the worst shojo titles i have ever seen and i think it will bump free for my top five all time shows that make me rage.
Free is dumb but harmless.... this... everytime i see something who thinks this is cute i worry that they will think abusive relationships in real life are okay. they are not... if you have someone treating you like that or breaking your stuff or isolating you from your friends or treats you like an objects then get out of there. do not hesitate, just leave.

And the number one worst thing i endured this year shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who hears me talk about it. (just to reiterate it is playable but boy i didn't like it)

1. Tales of Xillia 2
This game doesn't need to exist. That may sound harsh but this game could have never happened and nothing would have been lost. (ok maybe elle... she is pretty darn cute)
The plot is pointless, this doesn't need to be a Xillia game it may have been better if it weren't but the main character is so bland i don't even think it could have been saved by being called something else.
maybe it would have been better if Elle was actually the main character since she is bursting with personality but... uh.... Ludger? that was his name right? well he's extremely bland and thats in part because of the stupid choice to make him silent (unless you beat the game, then you can unlock his voice) all for a twist that you can figure out the second you see elle.
Maybe if it had a theme of the ramification of choice it could have been really cool. but it doesn't, the choices are arbitrary and do not change a damn thing... it's not even really the illusion choice and most of the time the choices you have suck and are not things you would do... or they are slightly different worded options for the same thing. the best you will probably get is an extra line of dialogue from a character if you pick right.
And then there are returning characters who have less personality then they did in game one. Like i can't count the number of times a certain character betrayed you in the first game but thats more then he ever does in this game... he's just there cause he was in the first one.
I do like that you get some character you couldn't play as in the first game.... thats pretty cool.
I hate that you can't change your characters on the fly anymore since that was the best part of xillia 1.
but the saddest thing of all were the stupid forced breaks to pay off your debt... just to have your debt paid off in the final chapter no matter what... i mean i'm sure theres a different ending for payign it off yourself but i will never know because i can't be bothered to do so that much useless padding.
I swear if you tried you could beat this game in 10 hours on easy.
I know cause i beat it in like 15-17 on normal
also most of the music for the planet without mana is terrible.
so we have bad music, bad character, pointless predictable story, a worst combat system then it's predecessor and no overarching theme or plot lines to make it interesting (not to mention less then no reason for the characters from Xillia 1 to be there)
Therefor i just have to say it was the worst thing i played this past year.

Agree? Disagree? either way it's fine, most of these i have personal reason for disliking and i don't expect anyone to agree. what was the worst piece of media you experienced this year?
I hope you had a great 2014, i hope 2015 is even better! Have a happy new year everyone.



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