Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is a fun movie that expands on the Harry Potter universe.

And that's about it for me... kind of. Honestly, I've never been a fan of the 1920's setting, and it was a change of pace that I didn't quite know what to do with when Harry Potter went there. For me, the fantastical settings of Hogwarts and the Forbidden Forest were much more appealing from a fantastical theme and, in my opinion, the recently released Doctor Strange achieved the 'magic-in-the-real-world' setting much better. It felt very out of place for me in FBAWTFT, and that's probably because Doctor Strange's universe is set up in a way for exceptional beings to exist alongside the non-exceptional and doesn't have to lean on the secrecy element that the Harry Potter universe does.

The movie was enjoyable, but my favourite parts were most certainly getting to know all the fantastic creatures locked away in Newt Scamander's briefcase.

One thing that surprised me though was not anything explicitly said or done by the characters, but more the thematic portrayal of anger in the film after the 9/11 attacks in the Unnited States.

Recently in mainstream cinema, especially science fiction, we have been obsessed with the destruction of urban spaces. Going back to the Avengers franchise, New York was completely devastated by alien forces and then again in Age of Ultron. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 also features a great deal of urban devastation. In fact, many top grossing movies (especially ones of science fiction which, as a genre, often makes parallels that comments on society) feature the destruction of urban spaces. What made me pause to think while I watched FBAWTFT was the source of destruction. From these earlier sci-fi movies, we had outside forces invading the heroes' home and causing mayhem (the Avengers series). We shift from this to the Hunger Games, where the suppression comes from within society, but marginalized groups (the 12 Districts) after being pushed to a breaking point. And now we have the Harry Potter series with the destruction of 1920's Manhattan.

MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD

Skip Beat! Is about a girl named Kyouko getting revenge on a boyfriend who dumps her by becoming the top actress in Japan... And hijinks ensue.

To get to the top, Kyouko first has to start at the bottom - becoming the first member of her company's Love Me section. Despite having to wear embarrassing uniforms, Kyouko has to overcome the hardships of trying to make it into showbiz while all the while learning to gain more confidence.

During this she meets many rivals and friends who support her, one of which being the amazingly good looking Tsuruga Ren. As she stumbles through this bizarre new world, Ren slowly starts to warm up to her and Kyouko starts to move away from showbiz as a revenge tactic to actually really enjoying it. Ren and Kyouko also share a special childhood secret - but I'll let you read that for yourself!

You get to see her play a variety of roles which is really fun, from mascots to glamorous acting roles. One of my favourite arcs is where she plays a really cool punk alongside Ren as his sister. There are definitely some parts that get my heart racing, but for the most part it's a light and fluffy story.

You really end up rooting for the main character! She's not just a pretty face (in fact she makes a lot of hilariously ugly reactions) and works really hard to achieve her goals. She's the kind of character I'd really like to be friends with!

The manga is still ongoing at this time, with over 100 chapters so there's lots to get

A beautiful depiction of depression... and moving on.

When Marnie Was There is the allegedly final film created by Studio Ghibli, ending a long legacy of cherished animated features. It's actually based on the novel When Marnie Was There by Joan G. Robinson, which reminds me of the inspiration drawn in a similar fashion with Howl's Moving Castle. The story takes place in a rural town called Kushiro in Japan, the protagonist Anna having been sent there from her hometown of Sapporo due to some health reasons. Along with her asthma though, it's clear that Anna's a very introverted teen with something bubbling under the surface. It seems her foster mother picks up on it, and sends her to live with relatives, with the hopes that Anna's spirit improves as well.

After arriving, a mysterious event involving a foreign girl named Marnie quickly entices Anna into exploring the seemingly abandoned mansion across the marsh near her home. Both Marnie and Anna get along really well with each other immediately, strange seeing as Anna herself knows it's hard for her to make connections with other people. In addition, Marnie's curious circumstances only brings up more questions for Anna. Why can't she stray far from the mansion? Why can Anna only see her after high-tide at sundown? Along with a charming relationship between the two friends, it's also easy to fall in love with the spooky mystery the two find themselves playing a part in. It leaves you a couple steps behind, but immensely satisfied in the end.

Anna's character touches me deeply personally because of my own struggles of depression. I found it amazing how Studio Ghibli was able to capture the feelings that go on in many people's everyday life in a sensitive and realistic way. I found Anna's struggle in interacting with people an amazing message for people of all ages. Simple shyness is something you can grow out of, but the way the animation displays the sheer energy it takes for her to converse with people - even to smile - is something not really treated in stories that I have see or read. It was refreshing to see myself in this way, and even though she does overcome some of these challenges, the movie is fantastic in making you wonder if it will consume her instead. Masterful storytelling as always. I would recommend this movie solely for this.

But of course, with Studio Ghibli you also expect masterful animation and stunningly beautiful scenery. I'm happy to say that When Marnie Was There delivers on both these fronts. There's one scene near the climax of the film that sticks out in my mind, and the way that Ghibli animates things like water and simple things like grass... everything is touched with love and colour. It really blows my mind every time.

I think this would be a great movie for families to watch together because it treats subjects we encounter in life with respect and tenderness. I think this would also be a great film to study in classrooms for subjects like mental health, visual art, and literature studies among others.

[ The following contains spoilers and analysis ]

While watching this, I was aware of perhaps some influences from their other films. Of course, certain artists or studios will have they trademark looks.. but this seemed nostalgic for me. I grew up with titles like Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke, true fantasy films that transported you outside the familiar. For instance, the image of the high tide in Marnie really made me reminisce of the rising tide in Spirited Away. In Spirited Away though it marked Chihiro's passage to the spirit world, but the image of the water rising over her shoes immediately triggered the thought that maybe something similar had started happening to Anna. Before I even saw Marnie, I thought, "She must be a true ghost, or Anna's drowned and now passing to the spirit world". I held this thought throughout the movie for a time, as Anna kept being found looking dead at the side of the road, but also at the festival where they light candles. Candles typically represent life, and the one Marnie carries may represent hers at this point in the movie. When she runs to the marsh, a half-burned candle is already present on the boat which takes her to the mansion. It made me wonder, is this Marnie's candle or Anna's? It sent a shiver down my spine when the image of the candle being extinguished flashed. I thought Anna's life had been lost.

Other familiarizes between films were also apparent to me. In general, Anna's Auntie has the same facial features as the housekeeper in Arrietty, and I feel Marnie has the same mentor feeling Howl gave me in Howl's Moving Castle. She certainly carries the same magical charm Howl possessed. Even the kid that moves into the new house seems to be Totoro's Mei grown older. The old country feeling definitely feels like the classic Ghibli move to the countryside. All of these nuances weave together, making me feel like When Marnie Was There should belong with the other classics.

In terms of theme, depression plays a key role in the development of both the plot and the main character Anna. A lot of times when depression is involved in a story, I feel writers tend to over saturate the obvious aspects of the disorder. Sadness tends to overrule the character, which generally isn't true for most people who are depressed. In this case, Anna also holds a lot of frustration and anger towards her adoptive mother, which can lash out at the world around her. One example of this can be seen when she goes the the festival with the other girls. All of these intense emotions boil over and explode in this instance, but generally it results in her feeling alienated from other people. She sees herself on the outside, isolated, which is something that many people feel but is especially dangerous for people with depression. I also wonder if Anna possesses PTSD for having lost her grandmother, and then adopted, but it seems like that situation and her current state is a little far removed. I think her current condition sparks more from when she discovered that her mother had been hiding the fact that she receives money from the government as compensation for adopting Anna. This is also expressed by the mother herself as being around the time when Anna went from being a rather happy child, to becoming reserved and sad. A final thought I have towards the representation of depression here is that the depression manifests into a physical condition for Anna, another true situation that can occur in people. Again, I was really impressed by the respect Studio Ghibli demonstrated.

Another theme I feel is prevalent and goes along with the theme of depression is how a life can affect the people around you. For example, Marnie's life touches many characters. The painter (Marnie's childhood friend), the silent boatman, the new girl who moves into Marnie's house, Anna... I find that through all these stories is an elaborate metaphor regarding the effects of suicide. There's no doubt that throughout the movie, the action is focused on Anna. However, by seeing Marnie through Anna we can see how one life affects others. When Marnie leaves, the memory lives on in the present through other people. Since a theme of depression has already been established, I think this idea of human lives not being mutually exclusive from others is an important one to convey to audiences.

tldr; While I could go on, instead I'll urge you to give your support to When Marnie Was There. We need more movies like these that provide important conversations accessible to children while still being enjoyable for adults. I'll miss you Studio Ghibli!

The best MMO I've played in a long time!

INTRO

Final Fantasy XIV: A Real Reborn is the next MMO after XI that Square Enix has undertaken. After the initial facepalm of 1.0, Squeenix has bounced back in full with what is referred to as 2.0 (and above). With the first expansion, Heavensward coming out in just a couple weeks, I thought I would share my thoughts on this popular MMO. Just for reference, I have played Guild Wars 2, some World of Warcraft, and a few free to play MMO's on Steam. When A Realm Reborn first came out, I played the early access on the PS3, and then bought the game on PC. I've been playing on the PC ever since!

STORY OVERVIEW

The game starts with character creation! You as the player have access to many different races and an extensive character creation screen. I certainly enjoyed going through all the options when initially creating my character. With the entry fee (you get your first month free!) you can create one character per server, so playing with your friends shouldn't too much of an issue. 

After creating and naming your character, you get to choose your initial class. This will also determine your starting area! Classes are divided into the three classic roles in MMO's: the tanks, the DPS and the supports. I personally prefer playing as support classes, but have ended up leveling classes in all areas. (More on the classes in the Gameplay section).

The 2.0 storyline starts of 5 years after the calamity at Ala Mhigo during 1.0. Don't worry though, the game assumes you haven't played that first game (since many people didn't). As you can expect, you're the voiceless hero (eventually) that ends up doing all the grunt work for Eorzea's good guys (mostly). Not too exciting, right? It's strange but the more you play, the more invested you become in the characters despite the typical MMO framework. I think part of the reason is that you get more time to get to know the characters as well as that distinct Final Fantasy flavour.

ENVIRONMENT

A lot of this game's scenery reminds of Final Fantasy X, with a dash of VII. I say that because a lot of the end-game areas have a darker technological feeling to it. A lot of the themes derived from the story deals with Nature versus Technology, which is reflected in the world's scenery. In a lot of cases, the lines are blurred which is always something I like to see. Fanatics on either side aren't welcome (as seen with the Garleans and the Beast Tribes).

At first, players only have access to in-game taxi services like the Chocobokeep, or teleporting via Aetheryte. Later though, players can use the airship and a variety of mounts to get to the other city-states. Some mounts are copy and paste duplicates (like the horse mounts), but Squeenix makes up for it by adding cool unique soundtracks or special effects to the rarer mounts.

The main areas (Thanalan, The Black Shroud, and La Noscea) all have their own unique look ranging from lush forests to sandy deserts. As you gain levels, other areas such as Mor Dhona and Coerthas Central Highlands become available. There are also many Fates (something inspired by Guild Wars it may seem) that spawn around the map at various points. While these events don't carry as much impact on the world as they did in GW2, it still keeps the areas looking lively, with many opportunities for you to grind out your classes.

Players also have access to residential areas for both private housing and Free Company (guild) housing. Each area is based on the main city-state it belongs to, so each area has a distinct style with varying sizes in plots of land available for purchase. Sometimes it's fun to just run around and meet your neighbours!

GAMEPLAY

 I much prefered this classic system over Guild War 2's solely because I felt the satisfaction of fulfilling my chosen role. For instance, in GW2 the idea was that you should be able to heal yourself rather easily without the need of a dedicated support. Or rather, anyone can preform pretty much any role they should choose, with minor differences. This lessened my enjoyment of the game because I play characters with a certain role in mind! That isn't to say that certain support classes in FFXIV can't dish out some serious DPS! (Hello, Scholar!)

Rogue (which unlocks Ninja) can be unlocked after entering the game in Limsa Lominsa)

The sheer amount of things to do in the game as it is right now (pre-expansion) is simply massive. By end-game, the player has access to an inventory of different dungeons ranging with difficulty, 24-player raids, end-game raids, PVP, guildhests (short objective-based quests), end-game weapon quests, intense primal fights (similar to giant boss battles), and probably a few more things I'm forgetting! And these are just the things which are battle-oriented! I know quite a few players that focus on crafting and gathering too.

COMMUNITY

Are you a fanboy or fangirl of the Final Fantasy series? WELCOME!

A lot of games that focus online tend to have a lot of people who don't socialize. They do their thing solo and generally get really frustrated with you. In my experience, while people do tend to get frustrated if they hit a wall in a dungeon or primal fight, people in general are happy to interact with you in the overall world. Many times I'll be doing something and someone will wave as they pass by, or if I died in the map I know I can just /shout in chat and someone will come to raise me.

I haven't seen people be openly hostile in chat either. In fact, after coming out of a game like League of Legends, I think the FFXIV community is really energetic and positive by comparison! I think part of the reason why I've played for so long is that I've built up some meaningful relationships in my Free Company and elsewhere. It's great when you can play with people who you can speak to on a regular basis! Of course, this is generally one of the many charms of MMO's. It's can also break an MMO for someone too.

My rule of thumb for people looking to get into this kind of game is to take it slow, but also to put in what you expect to get out of it. So, if you want these meaningful interactions with others, try putting some energy into chatting with others! I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

CLOSING REMARKS

I haven't even really scratched the surface with everything available in the game as of now, and surely that list will grow like crazy once Heavensward is released. For those of you still on the fence about the game, I say take the plunge! While the subscription service is hefty for some people, the incentives are pretty nice, the first month is free, and Steam sometimes has the game on sale. So keep your eyes peeled and you may find that you'll end up in the same boat as the many others who enjoy the game! 

See you in Eorzea!

Ahhh yes, the ancient rivalry between penguins and apes! 

This is a really hard game! I'm not the greatest at platformers, but I have fond memories of playing level after lever of the SNES games without too much difficulty... I can't be getting old right?

I have only played the game in multiplayer so that's the only experience I can speak to.. But I miss the days when dedicated multiplayer was an option in games. In DKTP, Player 1 is forced to play as Donkey Kong while Player 2 can choose between Cranky, Dixie or Diddy Kong. Each Kong has their own skill, but they all generally perform the same task. You kill enemies by bouncing on their heads or throwing something at them.

I started as DK and quickly got frustrated with how hard he was to control in the air. So many times we would die from silly things like seemingly easy jumps. His sprint is also unpredictable because you can overshoot your landing... Especially when you're forced to play the character, it can get a little frustrating! Especially when you share lives with teammates, if one person keeps dropping the ball then it's really easy to run out of extra tries. My partner and I found it easier to just use up the four lives and game over than to buy extra lives.

So far my favourite Kong to play as is Dixie, because her helicopter banana hair gives you a little more control while in the air. Cranky has an interesting cane jump so he doesn't get hurt by spikey pitfalls, but there are so many drops so far in the game that I'd much prefer having the control in the air.

The levels are pretty fun! With lots of platforms and dynamic views. The barrels you can jump into will sometimes shoot you into the background where you'll be chased by various scary things. The enemies are generally very weird.... penguins, owls, fire pigs...? Then again, it's not like crocodiles made much sense either. Also the random pig allies at checkpoint are weird... I don't get it.

And let's not talk about DK's creepy voice!

Let's talk about graphics. This is a beautiful game! I enjoyed the immersion in each stunning scene and the effects seemed to work together. I liked the familiar-made-new style from the older games for a new generation. And just look at that fluffy gorilla! So soft...

I've been looking forward to new games with co-op being a strong focus in the gameplay. I'm tired of games that treat multiplayer as solely means for PVP. I think sharing the surge of excitement after beating one of these levels with a partner is really great and the level difficulty is refreshing to say the least. If you're looking to share some of that Donkey Kong nostalgia with your kids then maybe give this one a shot. You'll definitely need a lot of patience, but I think it's worth the grind for such a good game.

You're a kid now! You're a squid now!

Splatoon is the recently released, super-colourful 3rd person shooter from Nintendo. I had zero interest until I saw how fun and and hectic the versus mode is! You get to play as either a guy or girl squid... thing... but other than changing your eye and skin colour there isn't much customization for your physical appearance. The gameplay focuses around your ability to turn into a squid, as well as your ink-shooting water gun. As you gain experience, you can unlock many different attachments that alter the playing style of your gun. You also have access to different sub-weapons like grenades and turrets that spray your colour of ink.

Where this game really shines is its team-based versus mode. With four players on each side and short match times, you can easily get addicted to re-queuing for hours! In this mode, the aim is to cover as much of the map in your colour as you can. Rather than Call of Duty or other shooters where the aim is to kill as many people as you can, killing other players in this game only serves to temporarily give you a respite from the action. You can maintain control of one corner of the map and have a huge kill count, but unless your team works together you'll probably lose more games than you'll win! I think I really like this because the nature of the game is more casual and friendly for people of all ages. I find the different gun types work well for different team roles too. 

For instance, I really like the paint roller so that my team can race forward to secure more territory while I paint the base! Plus, it has a large area of coverage so it feels super epic when you find a spot that isn't painted. On the other hand, the PVP of the paint roller isn't very strong since it's very close range, so someone with a strong gun can shoot you from afar! It's all about what you want to bring to the team...

I've only played a little bit of the story mode so far only because PVP is so much fun! What I can say though is that story mode aims to hone your skills (which is should), while providing a fun platforming experience. The puzzles aren't necessarily hard at first, and I think the difficulty is gradual. The bosses are really silly, with tiny little feet and funny character design. One thing about story that I feel they missed out on was the concept of more collectibles. So far, you only need to collect pages of lore in each level, but I think it'd be neat to also have areas where you can fill in outlined graffiti with ink that provide other little boosts or maybe Miiverse stickers! Something extra to reward your exploration of the world would be appreciated, I think.

Another thing I think may put some players off is the ultra-cutesy and 'hip' style the game fronts. For instance, the fashion in the game is very urban so some players might feel limited in the customization of their character. Especially at first, since you have to play the game a ton first in order to even unlock the ability to buy different clothes! There's this whole theme in the game of being fresh enough (seafood joke, anyone?) and practically every NPC says this on a regular basis. It's a bit cheesy, but kind of endearing at the same time.

Finally, I think one other thing this game excels at (especially for Nintendo) is the integration of the Miiverse messages players can create in-game. In the Plaza, the overworld in a way, players can access their Miiverse and created messages. These messages will be displayed with your character as they appear in the Plazas of other players. After a PVP match, your Plaza will refresh to display new players. It's really fun to walk around and look at all the neat artwork people have created for the game! A lot of Squidward memes though, haha! Your artwork can even be featured as graffiti in the Plaza, or in the arena during PVP matches. I was able to find one of my drawings during a match today!

tdlr; Splatoon is addictive and crazy! I think you'll really enjoy the PVP!---- WAIT A MINUTE $70?! *SWEATS PROFUSELY*