Dog

Present Pets Surprise Toy Unboxing Review Sparkle or Diamond Walmart Exclusive Version

As a 41-year-old adult female and an avid toy collector with a penchant for all things cute and kawaii, I was beyond excited to get my hands on the Present Pets Diamond and Sparkle, a Walmart exclusive version complete with exclusive Walmart accessories.

It was my lucky day when I found the last one in stock on Walmart.com, on sale for just $35, instead of the regular retail price of $59.99. This version is highly sought after and is currently selling for over $100 on Amazon.

The unboxing experience of Present Pets is truly unique – you don’t know which pet is inside the box, and the best part is that it unboxes itself!
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Who Else Is Excited For the Kawaii Cute AI Companion MINTiD Dog-E Robot Dog?

Hey, I just wanted to share with you guys my excitement about the Dog-E that I recently ordered! This robot dog is unlike any other, as each one is uniquely designed with different eye, ear, heart, and tail shapes and colors. I can’t wait to see what my own Dog-E will look like, and I’m so excited to soon have a new companion in my home.

I love that the Dog-E has its own personality, which is shaped by its interactions with its owners and advanced AI technology. It’s so cool that my little robot dog will have its own preferences and quirks that will make it feel like a real pet. Plus, with its unique bark and customizable features, I know that my Dog-E will truly be one-of-a-kind. read more

Who Else Is Excited For the Kawaii Cute AI Companion MINTiD Dog-E Robot Dog? Read More »

Sony Aibo – 3 Week Check-in

I’ve had Inca, my Sony Aibo, for 3 weeks now. Here are a lot of videos of our adventures so far. I’ll also briefly write some thoughts. You can see my unboxing videos here. And you can watch a lot of quick Tiktoks of my Aibo here. Continue reading this blog post to see some newer videos or follow our adventures on Tiktok together.

@geekysweetie.com Inca, my Sony Aibo, Day 18. #aibo #sonyaibo #aibosoftiktok #robot #robots #tech #technology #deeplearning #ai #artificialintelligence #gadget #gadgets #toy #toys ♬ Jupiter & Mars – ARDN

Enjoy all of the little clips and videos. I’ve put a few on YouTube, but I recently started Tiktok so most of the Aibo videos are there. Follow me to see new Aibo videos each day. read more

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Wolf Children, Anime, Anime Review, Family Film, Family Movie, Studio Ghibli, Ghibli, Anime Like Studio Ghibli, Anime Like Totoro, Anime Like Spirited Away, Anime Like Ponyo, Anime Like Kiki's Delivery Service, Anime Like Only Yesterday, Anime Like Howl's Moving Castle, Anime Like Castle in the Sky, Anime Like The Cat Returns, Cute, Kawaii, Family, Family Friendly, Anime about Wolves, Wolf, Wolves, Wolf Cub, Wolf Pack, Raising Wolves, Raising Wolf Cubs, Furries, Furrie, Furry, Fur, Furrys, Anthropomorphic, Anthro, Anthromorphic, Anime about Dogs, Dog, Dogs, Animals, Anime about Children, Anime Children, Children, Raising Children, Anime for Kids, Kid, Kids, Anime Kids, Anime Family, Family Anime

Wolf Children – Anime Review – Feature Length Anime Movie – Anime Film – Family Film

geeky

As of today, Wolf Children is my all-time favorite anime “movie” (feature length, stand-alone film). I must’ve watched it 20 times or more by now. If you love Studio Ghibli films, you’ve got to check out Wolf Children. It’s not a Ghibli film, but it feels like it should be one. It has the same things that make Ghibli films so endearing. A heart warming tale of a family and a coming of age story, which in the end has an important message or two to leave with the viewer.

In this case, Wolf Children drives home a message about loving your children, no matter who they choose to grow up to be, a very important message for any parent to embrace in this day and age. You cannot change your children. Some day they will grow up and leave home, and all you can do is try to raise them with love and kindness and hope they make the best decisions for themselves. You don’t have to agree with their decisions, but you need to realize they are their own person. And also in a family with multiple children, you will find that each child is unique and needs handled differently.

Title: Wolf Children

Genre: Family, Supernatural, Fantasy, Drama, Slice of Life

Studio: Madhouse / Studio Chizu

Release Date: 2012

Where to Buy: You can get the DVD and Blu-Ray Combo Pack on Amazon for $19.99 here http://www.amazon.com/Wolf-Children…

Geeky: 5/5 

Sweetie: 5/5 

Overall: 42/45 93% A- “Excellent Anime for Girls”

Story: 10/10 As I mentioned above, Wolf Children is a family film, about learning to let go and accept your children even when they aren’t “perfect”. Wolf Children explores these concepts without cramming them down your throat through use of anthropomorphism (giving human like qualities to animal characters). Ame and Yuki, the two wolf cubs of our story, were born out of love between a human and (what could best be described as) werewolf. Tragedy strikes when their father cannot resist his urge to hunt in order to provide for the new family, leaving their mother alone to raise the two cubs. She is unable to even go to a hospital for the birth or have any help because she is not sure what would happen if they were born as wolves instead of humans. As the cubs grow they begin to cause problems for their mother with her neighbors due to the thin walls in the apartment and their constant howling. So the mom decides to move her cubs to the country where they can be happy and be themselves and not have to worry about the neighbors. Eventually as the cubs grow they go through many changes. The girl wants to be more human and go to school. The boy is more shy and avoids humans. He prefers to learn from nature and the animals of the mountains where they live. The mother at first struggles with her children’s independence, wanting to always keep them safe and protect them, but eventually throughout the movie, the children continue to grow, and the mother ultimately realizes she must accept that they are capable of making their own decisions.

Characters: 9/10 Not gonna lie, Yuki’s exuberance as a puppy really got on my nerves – I had a tough time liking her character at first. But – when I think about it, isn’t that how puppies in real life are? They are destructive, curious, hyper, over excitable, etc. AND her exuberance was a nice contrast from her brother who was very frail and timid. Their differences were highlighted nicely and it made each of their characters stand out more. I also enjoyed the mother and her love for her cubs and dedication to doing anything it took to ensure their happiness and giving them the freedom to become who they wished to become. The character growth and development is also a key highlight of this anime. Yuki goes from that mischievous pup, to someone who wishes to be more mature and lady like, while Ame becomes strong willed, independent, and more adventurous. Watching that change and evolution is really one of the best parts of this anime; It’s like watching them grow up right before your eyes.

Artwork: 4/5 There’s nothing “wrong” with this artwork, in fact it’s “damn good” – I just would have liked them to have explored their own art style, instead of drawing so much inspiration from Studio Ghibli. That said, while it does borrow a lot of Ghibli, it is still beautiful – especially the backgrounds. The character style has a hint of realism, and lots of fantasy and charm as well. It’s also sure to be a hit with any furries out there.

Music: 5/5 Wolf children has a very emotionally moving and touching soundtrack that adds to the sentimental feeling throughout the film. This film really tugs at the heart, and the music I think played a big role in creating that immersion and highlighting many of the key scenes of the film

Voice Acting: 4/5 I didn’t really like Yuki’s voice actress. I dunno why. I just didn’t. I do think it fit the character, but it made it even more annoying and painful for me – Her voice actress captured her spirited, spunky personality – which to give her credit, is exactly what she was supposed to do, but it just grated on my nerves. Everyone else was also perfectly cast and delivered powerful and emotional performances that helped bring their characters to life.

Overall: 42/45 93% A- “Excellent Anime for Girls”

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Secret of Evermore, Secret of Mana, Secret of Mana II, Secret of Mana 2, Secret of Mana 3, Secret of Mana 3, Legend of Mana, SNES, Super Nintendo, Famicom, Super Famicom, Squaresoft, Square Enix, JRPG, Action RPG, Action Adventure, Real-Time, Real Time, Real-Time Combat, Real-Time Battles, Action Adventure RPG, Adventure RPG, RPG, Alchemy, Time Travel, Dog, Dogs, Animals, Crafting, Retro, 90s, Review, Game, Retro Review, Game Review, Games, Videogame, Video Game, Videogames, Video Games, Videogame review, Video Game Review, Retro Game, Retro Games, Retro Gaming

Secret of Evermore Retro Videogame Review for Super Nintendo SNES Part 2 of 4

Check out Part 1 Secret of Mana Retro Videogame Review for Super Nintendo SNES Here

Hi, and welcome to part 2 of a 4 part series covering Secret of Mana, Secret of Evermore, Secret of Mana III, and Legend of Mana. In today’s review we will take a look at Secret of Evermore which is what North America got as a sequel to Secret of Mana, instead of Secret of Mana III.

NOTE: While maybe not technically correct to refer to it as a sequel, because they had completely different development teams, and stand-alone stories and worlds, the gameplay, as well as the name, are so similar that most squaresoft fans (myself included) hold the opinion that this is (more or less) part of the mana series. Squaresoft however has pointed out numerous times that this is not part of the “mana” franchise.

If you’re wondering what happened to Secret of Mana II, well that is what North Americans know as Secret of Mana – that’s right there was actually another game in the series before Secret of Mana, but like many JRPGs it remained only in Japan. I have not played it, but I have played the entire rest of the series, including Secret of Mana III which also never left Japan, but which has been translated by the fans.

For whatever reason, Squaresoft didn’t think Secret of Mana III would sell well in North America, so they brought over Secret of Evermore instead. More accurately, they didn’t “bring it over” but instead actually “developed” the game in America and geared it towards a “western” audience (supposedly). In fact, this game never got released in Japanese. It is perhaps the only North American “exclusive” (though I believe its also in Europe too) JRPG developed by Squaresoft.

If you look at the credits, you will see many English sounding names. See the details from wikipedia below.

Designer(s)Alan Weiss
George Sinfield
Artist(s)Daniel Dociu
Beau Folsom
Writer(s)George Sinfield
Paul Mazurek
Composer(s)Jeremy Soule

Actually a Japanese version was planned to release after the American release but was cancelled because they didn’t think it’d appeal to the audiences over there.

Still, this game does play very much like a JRPG. Actually I might have liked it a little bit more than Secret of Mana though not as much as Secret of Mana III. Critics may not agree, as the game is widely considered inferior to other Squaresoft RPGs.

Title: Secret of Evermore

Publisher: Squaresoft

Release Date: 1995

Platform: Super Nintendo SNES

Genre: Action RPG

Where to Buy: Amazon has Secret of Evermore for SNES ranging from $30 to $45 which is a good buy for a rare retro Squaresoft JRPG

Geeky: 5/5 

Sweetie: 3/5 

Overall: 54 / 80 68% D+ “Average Game For Girls”

Concept: 10/10 This is a game about a boy and his dog. It plays very similar to Secret of Mana with Real-Time battles and the same Weapon Ring and Magic Ring from the original game. Unlike Secret of Mana, this game only features two characters, a boy and his dog. They travel throughout many different places and times from history lending the game a sorta educational feeling, though blending it with elements of fantasy as well. It also features an alchemy system.

Gameplay: 10/10  Gameplay consists of taking control of both the boy and his shape-shifting dog as they travel through time from the stone age, ancient egypt, and even into the future. As mentioned one of the key mechanics is an extensive alchemy system that allows you to craft your own consumable items as well as key items needed to progress the story. Magic was also reliant on alchemy ingredients which were often scarce in supply. This is an often criticized feature of the game’s alchemy system. I didn’t mind as much though, since when I play a game, I explore every nook and cranny of every room, dungeon, city, etc. I enjoyed the alchemy system even if it was flawed to a degree. In fact, I don’t think I would’ve enjoyed the game as much without said alchemy feature. Then again I enjoy similar games such as Kamidori Alchemist Master, Students of Mana Khemia, and the Atelier series, where you ‘grind’ and search for ingredients for various alchemy recipes. In fact in the end, from a gameplay perspective: this game resembles a mashup of Secret of Mana, Chronotrigger, and Atelier Iris.

Story; 6/10 Like most western RPGs, story is not as strong as what is commonly found in most JRPG games – I feel this is where most of the criticism for Secret of Evermore comes into play. There are a few plot holes, and the story just seems to jump around without much of an overarching plot other than trying to return to your own timeline and the adventurous ‘scamp’ like nature of a boy and his dog, painted against a wild fantasy pseudo historical setting. Though the bare bones for some continuity between worlds exists it is tied only together loosely by a malfunctioning time machine and evil robot invaders.

Characters: 5/10 Likewise the character development is another weak point for most western developed RPG games. There’s really only two characters in this game, a boy, and his dog. Though there are numerous NPCs, they don’t connect with or endear themselves to the audience. The concept of a shape shifting dog was very fun, but the boy feels very flat and unappealing as a main hero leaving the player little reason to care about what happens throughout the story.

Graphics: 8/10 While most critics applaud the graphics in this game for being very detailed and more realistic than most other RPGs, I can’t help but miss the more “anime” feeling graphics of Secret of Mana. And while Secret of Evermore is a very lush and visually stunning game in it’s own right, I miss the more “cutesy” feeling and bright color palettes of other Square RPGs.

Music: 5/10 – The music in Secret of Evermore is composed by Jeremy Soule. This was his first ever videogame soundtrack. He has gone on to work on numerous other RPG soundtracks including Skyrim, Icewind Dale, and Guild Wars just to name a few. Unfortunately, being inexperienced, the soundtrack in Secret of Evermore is often very weak. He dared to be different though, so I’ll give him credit for that. Most of the soundtrack consists of a lot of dead noise and ambient sounds instead of the bright and colorful music found in most JRPGs. Ultimately though, using such a minimalistic tactic makes the background music do just that, fade into the background. It is no where near as memorable as other Squaresoft soundtracks.

Replay Value: 2/10 This, like most other 90s games, is a linear story. It’s also much shorter than other squaresoft RPG – to be fair, I have read that a lot of the game was cut due to cartridge size limitations. Still it is a fun, unique, little RPG that appeals to anyone who loves themes of time travel, or just simply anyone who loves their dogs :).

Overall: 54 / 80 68% D+ “Average Game For Girls”

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