Pokemon TCG Online Vs Prize Ladder Reset

This month we see the Vs Ladder reset with the deadly Toxicroak EX, Gothitelle, Dusknoir and trainers 'Teammates' and 'Pokemon Fan Club' as your prizes.

Gothitelle provides you with the ability to remove Stadium cards and replace it with your own.  This comes in handy against all manner of Stadium cards which can provide powerful combos.  It is always a good idea to carry at least one Stadium card or way to remove an opponents Stadium.

Dusknoir's ability allows him to increase the number of damage counters on himself in order to increase the damage delt.  This is useful for gaining a more powerful attack and also heals your other Pokemon.  However, this does leave your Dusknoir exposed and the ability to easily heal would be paramount.










Toxicroak EX doesn't seem so scary on first glace but is actually a force to be reckoned with.  His Triple Poison attack causes your opponents Pokemon to take 3 damage counters between turns in stead of the normal 1.  This means that from Your initial attack to your next go your opponent will be taking 60 hit points unless they can do something pretty sharpish.  Poison attacks are a good way to get your opponent to speed through their heals or trade their Pokemon onto the bench regularly.  This kind of deck control can fluster a lot of inexperienced players and limits what most decks can do.

His second attack Smash Impact isn't amazing for three energy.  It does 80 damage and isn't affected by resistance which isn't bad.  However, when you take into consideration you will have already poisoned your opponent they should then take an addition 30 hit points after your turn.  This means that you will be hitting for a total of 110 damage a turn!  Adding Pokemon tools such as Muscle Band will also increase your damage making him an even more formidable foe.

Check in next month to see what's on the ladder!

Nintendo's New Console Revealed!

If you haven't seen the announcement video for Nintendo's new console/handheld "Switch" you can check it and the press release on Nintendo's official site. (There's a little "news article" link in the corner of the video if you're looking for more information.)

It's something Nintendo fans have been wanting and speculating about for years (Niche's own Crosshire swears he invented it).

There's 3 main elements, a docking/charging station for playing on the TV at home, a tablet and a removable controller. You can sit on the sofa and play a game, then head out clipping the controller sections into the tablet and continue playing the same game exactly where you left off.

Full disclosure, I'm not "totally hyped" for this one... it all sounds too close to the original vision for PlayStation Vita. For example you could buy Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time for PS3, get a free Vita copy of exactly the same game and transfer your save between the two. Unfortunately support for Vita has dried up and the tech didn't go much further. (Just don't write it off completely, it still has some great niche games.)

I'm interested to see where Nintendo can take the Switch, but seriously if you like the concept go out and buy it! (Release date is planned for March 2017.) These kind of things need buy-in from the fans if they're going to be successful.

For myself there's still too many unanswered questions about battery life, graphic and screen quality, price, backwards compatibility and exactly what games are coming. I'm also curious how this is going to impact Nintendo's current handheld, the 3DS.

What do you think of the trailer and the potential of Switch? Comments welcome below.

-Mulukh

Niche Plays: World of Final Fantasy (Demo)

In case you missed it you can now try out a demo for World of Final Fantasy on either PS4 or the PS Vita.

I gave it a quick run through so thought I'd add a few of my first impressions.

First off, you'll notice the super-cute chibi style; throughout the demo you'll meet famous final fantasy characters recreated in this style but still with their usual voices, they somehow end up being both adorable and hilarious, although you wont get much conversation out of them during the demo. Your own characters can switch between being these tiny "lilikins" or grow into Kingdom Hearts style characters called "Jiants" (see what they did there?)

The style may look like it's aimed at kids but Square Enix seem to have hit a balance where the game will appeal to long term fans too. If you enjoyed Final Fantasy 9 then you won't find the character style off-putting anyway, personally I'm loving it. There's also two command modes for battle, simple button presses for kids and casuals or a classic menu style. There's a new stacking mechanic that I haven't discovered the finer points of, but a stack of characters share health and are more powerful... it also looks so cute and rather funny if you manage to topple a stack of enemies. It's classic turn based combat and some long animations can't be skipped... however if things are moving too slowly for you there is a fast forward button.

As you go you'll figure out how to “imprism” enemies, that is trapping them in a crystal or prism. There are obvious parallels to Pokemon even down to the spherical prism traps giving 3 wobbles/dings on a successful capture. There's even skill trees for each monster you collect and they can evolve into new forms. Monsters come in 3 sizes with the smaller ones forming the top of your stack. You can even ride some of them around the world (something I've heard Pokemon Sun&Moon is also doing).

It remains to be seen how much Sun&Moon will push the Pokemon franchise forward but WOFF (not sure about that acronym) is doing some things the Pokemon games should have done years ago; voice acting, top end graphics, big cinematics, tweaks to gameplay, being able to play on a home console AND a handheld!

World of Final Fantasy is out nearly a whole month before Pokemon S&M (possible a worse acronym) so there's time to try it out, at least check the demo. The full game hits 28th October. Pokemon may have an edge with its mainstream appeal but Final Fantasy might just have a solid contender, even if it is a bit more Niche.

Niche Game Club: Actual Sunlight

Welcome to the first Niche Game Club, think of a book club but for games.

We'll pick a game and give everyone chance to play it, then meet back here for a discussion.

This time we'll try Actual Sunlight, it's available on Steam but has the advantage of being available as part of a PS Plus subscription if you happen to own a vita!

It may be more of an interactive story than a game but it takes a close look at depression, so there'll be plenty to talk about. I'd be interested to hear what people think if they've not experienced mental illness.

Feel free to comment at any point but I'll give y'all a month before we move on.

Niche TV: Go 8 Bit

This month is about to get crazy for geeky TV; Marvel has Agents of SHIELD Season 4 on TV and Luke Cage for Netflix, Red Dwarf comes back to Dave, the new season of Star Wars: Rebels hits Disney XD and The Walking Dead is on the horizon (technically next month)... and I'm sure I'm missing some. You may not have noticed that a new video game gameshow (?) has been airing on Dave. Hosted by Dara O'Briain the 3^rd episode aired Monday 19^th September. Having got caught up I've realised this is something I want to share.

Photo: UKTV

Two resident team captains are joined by (possible) celebrities, as they go head to head playing some of their favourite games. Each contestant gets their own 8 bit style avatar complete with 3 letter nameplate. The audience vote on who they think will win each challenge and this also determines the amount of points up for grabs.

The nostalgia factor is strong with this one, the first episode featured Tetris, Chucky Egg, and a particularly tense match of Tekken... things got more modern with a round of Star Wars: Battlefront and then ended with a very unique take on Bust-a-Move.

I have to commend the way the show handles gaming, treating it as a legitimate hobby rather than the domain of “lonely nerds”. However I worry this may rely on the quali.... attitude of the celebrity guests, but overall there's a respectful and positive attitude.

The humour won't be to everyone's taste, although it is reminiscent of a few gaming nights I've shared with friends, there is some adult humour such as a tangent regarding chicken bumginas... I said “adult” humour, not “grown up”.

The whole thing is refreshing and entertaining. I haven't seen a gaming show on TV in an age, and Go 8 Bit feels like a spiritual successor to classic GamesMaster. If that isn't reason enough to give it a try I don't know what is.

For an extra challenge, see how many gaming references you can spot in the intro!

If you've missed the first few episodes try UKTV PLAY for on demand content from Dave.

Full Review: Hatsune Miku Diva X

It’s here! I’ve been waiting for more rhythm based fun for my Vita. You may have seen my rather excited preview based on the demo?
Well now I can sink hours and hours into the full game and let you know if I think it’s worth it.

For a rundown on how the game plays, who Miku is and what exactly Vocaloid music is when it's at home (or anywhere else for that matter), see our handy primer....HERE or get up to speed with our review of Hatsune Miku: Project Diva f and f 2nd in issue 9 of Niche: Treat Your Geek (special free preview HERE).

Hatsune Miku: Project Diva X is a rhythm action game and if you’ve been reading Niche for a while now then you know how this works already but the linked Primer goes into more detail. Not much has changed for the core gameplay; chained combos have gone, rush notes look a bit different and there’s a new score multiplier feature, there are plenty of other changes to cover though.


It’s evident that the developers have made an effort to improve the experience as a hole, refreshed graphics, streamlined menus and much shorter load times all become apparent pretty quickly. The game isn't simply recycled from last year and none of the new features feel gimmicky, although I feel like the new story mode could have used a bit more fleshing out.




The first mode you’ll be able to play is this new story mode, songs are separated into clouds and it’s your job to help Miku and Co sing well enough to restore the cloud and unlock the next one. On your first run through there’ll be regular breaks for visual novel style conversations, I like that they’re bringing more focus on the characters and while there’s some funny or cute moments it is a little underwhelming, I’d have preferred full blown cutscenes similar to the intro movie for each game. I was worried that splitting the songs into clouds to be unlocked in any order might cause problems for new players with massive difficulty spikes, although helpfully playing through once on easy is enough to unlock every cloud, every song (almost) and progress to the next phase of the story, no difficulty spikes in sight. Once you have restored each cloud you’re then free to pick which song, difficulty or challenge you want to do, and you’ll also have the songs unlocked in the more traditional free play mode.


Story also has a few bells and whistles over freeplay so it might be worth sticking around. For instance, equipping accessories will boost your score multiplier, if they match the theme of the cloud, making it easier to pass challenges and recharge the cloud. You can also equip new costumes called modules that add to this multiplier but also have special bonuses, such as extra points for long combos or a greater chance of a rare loot drop... Yes I said loot drop, story mode is the only mode where you have a chance of unlocking new modules (appropriately during chance time) and if you score high enough you’ll receive random accessories or gifts for your idols. I think this is a great addition, it removes the early grind for points of previous games, no more exiting the game to the shop menu, purchasing and going back into the game and with the attached bonuses there’s more reason to switch up gear and try new things. These small instant rewards are something we see more of in modern games, and that’s because they’re so effective at encouraging prolonged play... as if I wasn‘t addicted to these games already! One issue I have had with this customisation though is that during story songs the game wont automatically set the correct performer so at one point I had Miku playing all the male parts... rather confusing. There is a little symbol to match up while picking your module though so the game doesn't leave you completely clueless.

Pick up a few of the gift items an you’ll be able to give them to your favourite singer, this time around you don't need to go into separate menus. The last character you performed as will live on the main menu and even occasionally comment on your progress, at times they’ll make a vague request for an item and you’ll have to pick which item you have that would make them happiest, this can be tricky now that you can't select exactly which gifts you want to buy but it’s a nice way to integrate the gift giving, plus get it right and eventually your relationship will level up, granting you a bonus to the way you build your multiplier. Streamlining of the process does mean we lose some of the gift giving scenes and room customisation but that isn't something I did much of given that it was separated from the main game, plus the results are still the same; your relationship goes up or down and items appear on shelves in the background.

We do lose out on a few features through this streamlining but they tend to be lesser used features, edit mode has gone but you can still produce performances to existing tracks, load screen art has gone but there are some stills to unlock and the buff/handicap items are now built into challenges or free to use in freeplay mode. There are two features that I’m sad to lose though; gadgets seem to have been taken out, meaning you cant set up playlists to just watch or listen to... this is how Miku invaded my life before, I could take the songs anywhere, but I guess it was one of the less popular features. The other change I can see fans disagreeing with is that we no longer get full music videos for the tracks, the new stage performance style suits the themes of the game but aren't quite as engaging or impressive, on the plus side this means there’s less to distract you mid song and everyone has a chance to show off their mad dance skillz.

This time I even managed to put down my precious vita and go try the PS4 demo, it’s the same game but the graphics really pop on a big screen and it suits the game’s concert vibe. I didn't have any problem calibrating for display lag this time either. PS4 also has the promise of VR content once the PSVR is released... although I can‘t justify buying in to VR just for the sake of Virtual Miku concerts... or can I?

Project Diva X, advances the series with several improvements that make it more accessible and get you into the game quicker. Two of my favourite features have gone, and I'm not too happy about that, until I pick up the game again and realise I still love the music and the gameplay. If you're looking for rhythm game you can't do much better... provided you're open to vocaloid music. The loss of the background music video style means I'm reluctant to refer to this as the definitive Hatsune Miku game, but that doesn't stop it being one of my gaming highlights this year.

Hatsune Miku: Primer

With the run up to Niche X, it's all been a little quiet here on the blog, but we do have some content coming!

In preparation, here's a beginners guide to Hatsune Miku and the Project Diva games, you may need it.

The main gameplay involves targets appearing across the screen, usually in a pattern that helps discern the rhythm, and then button prompts fly in and you have to hit the corresponding button as it passes the target in time with the music. There’s also a few star-shaped notes that you need to swipe either with touch or thumbsticks. Songs also feature two special sections; Technical sections require you to hit every note for a hefty score bonus, Chance Time sections require you to hit enough prompts to charge a star shaped gauge, hit the final star target in the sequence with a full gauge and in most games you trigger an event and some extra points. It's pretty engaging and well designed rhythm gameplay and the difficulty scales nicely so that on Easy you only have to worry about one button (not nearly as boring as it sounds) but on extreme symbols fly thick and fast in all four varieties plus some requiring hitting two buttons at once.

Each and every song is performed by Vocaloids, a kind of Virtual Japanese Idol built around some fancy voice synth technology that can create whole words from a bank of recorded phonetic sounds and turn that into singing. It's then up to some very talented producers to create professional quality songs using these tools. It’s very Niche, very Japanese and I find it fascinating. It helps that these virtual voices are attached to actual characters. Miku herself is the quintessential Japanese Idol, a manufactured super cute diva. In the games you'll see her star alongside other vocaloids; KAITO, MEIKO, Rin, Len and Luka

With the rising popularity of vocaloid popstars (Miku in particular) several games have already been released under Project Diva for PlayStation platforms and Project Mirai for Nintendo 3DS. You might also spot collectable Nendroid and Pop figures of these "Piapro“ characters – created by Crypton Future Media, the developer of the voice tech. If you’ve ever seen a cosplayer with long green hair and not been able to place the character, chances are it’s Miku in one of her many costumes (referred to as modules in game). It's clear a lot of effort has been put into giving these characters personality and style.

Intrigued? Feel free to ask any questions and get involved in the conversation or check out our other Miku content.