Beast Keeper Erin

Before i go to bed i like to watch 1 episode of something.
Normally this means watching one of the shows i own but lately i've been using my PS3 or PS4 (whichever is hooked up at the time) Crunchyroll App.

I figured it would be a great way to get through some of my backlog.
So after i finished FMA brotherhood i started looking through the titles and one caught my eye.
"Erin"
The promo art looked pretty enough so i gave the first episode a chance and i'm really glad i did.

I will say on the surface this show has a lot of rather confusing terms that you are just expected to know but when you get down to the basic plot it is as follows.

Erin is a young curious girl who desperately wants to help her mother take care of the village's Tohda (dragon like beast that warriors ride into war) However fate has something different in mind for her. With nothing but her insatiable thirst for knowledge and her love of seeing creatures behaving in their natural habitats she works hard in order to stop a great tragedy and possible civil war.

The anime takes place over a rather large timeframe for a slice of life show... like 8-10 years. but it's really nice seeing the characters age and see how growing up affects them.

my favourite part of the show actually has to do with the artstyle. when there are battles instead of having super detailed fight they go into a far more basic and geometric style that reminds me of papercraft. i almost wish more of the show looked like this.

The show is on the longer side for a slice of life (50 episodes) but it really allows everyone to develop and nothing feels rushed.

If i had one complaint it would be that there are a lot of reused animation clips... but considering how this show always looks very pretty i understand that they would want to save money when possible.

But other then that i am realyl glad i watched this show, i'm surprised i haven't heard anyone else talking about it.

I'll leave you with a link to the show on crunchyroll (which unfortunately you will need a subscription to watch... which is lame) And the intro song which i really loved.

Watch Beast Player Erin here

Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel 2

ah.... it's over...

Ok lets get a few things out of the way.

1. I am a bit of a Falcom Fangirl, it's difficult to describe how much i tend to love these games... so to sum up my entire remable.
it's good.... i like it.
if you want to really enjoy all the lore and references it's a good idea to play Tails in the sky (and if they ever come out here Trails of Azure/Zero) before this game... but you can play these games without playing the previous ones.... there are just a few things that wont be fully explained.

2. This ramble will be spoiler free..... which means it'll be short... cause everything is a spoiler.
Like.... EVERYTHING is a spoiler.... i would love to say "it plays like these 3 games" but i can't cause mentioning one of the three is... a spoiler. it's frustrating.

Alright onto the story.

This game takes place immediately after the events of cold steel 1... where.... um...
you follow rean as he attempts to.... uh.
theres a neat homage to the garghav trilogy at the start of the game... but past that i can't say much cause... Spoilers~
I really wish i could say more.

The overall gameplay is almost identical to the first cold steel game except everything is available rigth off the bat (as far as rushing and bursting is concerned)
There is a new ability called "Overdrive" where two linked characters can do multiple turns in a row as well as a few other benefits
There is one huge difference between the two games that i can't talk about but i think it really adds a cool level to this game.

The music is even better then last time (and i love cold steels OST... this one is just even better~) the character models don't seem to have that issue where there like a small stutter anymore and everyone is so well developed. Elliot is still my precious broken healer (only he's way more broken here cause his second S-craft is perfection)

is it my fav LoH game? not yet.... i really love trails in the sky first and second chapter.... but when cold steel 3 comes out here (in like... 3 years probably... and that's being generous) that will probably change cause wow i love rean and his story.

I hate to be 'that' person but considering that this game takes place at the same time as Zero and Azure i really hope we eventually get those games.... i mean i am happy that we are getting Trails in The sky the 3rd sometime next year.... i don't want to be greedy.... i just wanna know all the lore... so part of me wants to be greedy.

I will say once again thank you to everyone who helped bring this game over I am so happy that i get to enjoy more Falcom goodness~

I will probably replay this game (despite it's length... i took 87 hours to beat this) because i hear there are extra lore bits on second playthroughs (and having the ability to carry stuffover could help speed things up.)

but for now.... i have lots of games on my plate
(Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice, Pokemon Sun, Xanadu Next)

but yes when it come to Cold Steel 1 and 2....
They are good.... i like them.