User blog comment:FedeTkd/SAO:PoA- Feedback and Polls/@comment-22247056-20141004201942

Here's my review!

So, for starters, this story is very well thought out and original. Focusing on a group of Original Characters instead of an OC intermingling with canon characters always gives the writer an opporutnity to cash in on their own creativity and let their imaginations run wild. And, you sir, capitalized on that opportunity. The battles were great,  very detailed and organized. It felt as though you were watching this story play out as a TV show rather than reading it as a regular story.

'''Next, let us discuss the characters. '''

My favorite character has to be Lance. I feel that his hotheadedness, yet undying will to fight and survive in the game, was better than it actually let on to be. The way he explodes into a tizzy after Elicia's death made me really feel for the guy. In fact, I was actually ROOTING FOR HIM when he fought Galant. By the way, I LOVED that battle even though it was extremely mirrored from the Revenge of the Sith battle between Anakin and Obi-Wan. In any story, a great villain is key, presentign a foil to the main character. And Cerdic fulfills that role. So does Ducard. The both of them add a feeling of mystery to the story that makes you keep guessing, their intentions being shourded in as much mystery as their real intentions.

As always, there can never be a story without its cons, so let's go over those.

The biggest con of this story, honestly, has to be Mordread's reveal as the overarching villain. I kind of felt that he was just thrown in at the end to set up for New Aincrad. I don't know if it was me, but there was no indication that him being a villain was ever a possibility. That's what can make or break a villain. Sometimes, an indication that Mordread is the real villain would have made his reveal all the more climactic. If you had him in disguise or even as a close ally of Galant (not necessarily a Royal Knight) throughout his travels (much like Kuradeel was in the canon Sword Art Online series), then the reveal would have been better in my opinion. Also, some of the quotes that characters say have appeared in the sequel story. For example, when Kirito said, "Shackle will be struck from every player on out path. We’ll see our numbers grow, and when they have become an army, we will face Thanos and his hordes again. And the Aesir will weep for their suffering…" it is similar to when Galant said, ''"Any player decided to fight Cerdic shall be welcome into our ranks. We will see our numbers grow. And when they have become legion, we will face Cerdic and the hordes of monsters again. And Aincrad itself shall shake for their suffering." ''I also saw this for a quote from Hao and Cerdic being similar when Hao said, "We advance on Kirito and those that follow him in rebelion, and our shadow shall fall upon them, and every man, woman or child so touched by it, struck from this world! BY THE MIGHT AND GLORY OF MY LEGIONS!" which was also similar to the line Cerdic spoke at the end of Chapter 14. Luckily, this was only a minor problem in my opinion, but not something that should be ignored.

Final Thoughts

Like I said, this story, even with some of its problems, still capatilizes upon the imagination of the human mind. It has moments of romance, but also its moments of tragedy. It has its moments of hapiness, but also its moments of sadness. They way it balances out the four is what makes this story what it truly is: Incredible!

Overall Rating

If I were ranking this on the Tomatometer from Rotten Tomatoes...

...

...I'd give this story a 86% "Fresh" rating!