The Dream: Asteroid Blues

Up until now I haven’t done any blogs on what I do in my personal life, so here it is, this is the first blog in a series of blogs about my adventures and shenanigans.

I’m a 16 year old gamer living in Massachusetts, I’ll be 17 in June and still haven’t bothered to get my driver’s license. Lemme tackle some personal history:

I’m in my high school’s Sci-Fi club with a ton of good friends who share my interests, we make videos, goof off, rock out, shout the latest internet memes at each other, and generally have a blast.

Somewhere Out West

I meant to post this a couple days ago, but I never got around to it until now. I’ve joined Masters of Unlocking, a group blog run by some people I know from the Backloggery. I’m going to cross post my blogs, just like what Alucard is doing here and on his 1up page.

I’m going out of town to go on a geology trip to visit a bunch of national parks out west in Utah, Nevada, and Arizona for the next three weeks. This means no video games until I get back home on June 13. I left home today and I’m staying on campus for a few days before I leave on the 26th to go on the actual trip, so I have internet access for now. Once I leave campus to go on the trip, I can’t guarantee I’ll have internet access for the next three weeks.

In short, I’m out of town May 23 – June 13.

I’m glad I beat Riviera: The Promised Land for the PSP while I was home from May 14 to May 23. I started the game at the beginning of the year, one of the first games I played on my PSP for the first time in three years. I made 9 hours of progress before I got distracted by other games like God of War, Eternal Sonata, and Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4. The last game took me a couple months to beat because I played it on and off. I would play it for anywhere from 2 to 8 hours a day and then take a break for a week or so. I loved Persona 4 from beginning to end. Once I beat it, I found it very tough to find another RPG to start or continue because I couldn’t help but compare it to the game I just beat. I couldn’t get into Wild Arms 3 because I found it to be just like every other JRPG, only it has a western theme. The radar system was a pain in the ass to use in the overworld and the game seemed way too easy. A lot of RPGs don’t seem as difficult once you finish a Shin Megami Tensei game. P4 was easy compared to Persona 3 FES, but that’s beside the point. I played Wild Arms 3 for 4 hours before I got bored and dropped it. After trying out a bunch of other games, I went back to Riviera and finished it. I love the music for that game! Since I explored a secret cave, fought a skeleton dragon named Hades, and got the key to hell, I unlocked an optional dungeon. Woo hoo for post-game stuff! The thing that makes this dungeon tough is that the only special moves you can use are for items you mastered in the main quest. Also, you go to the menu screen if you’re party dies in battle. It’s a nice challenge that adds about 3 more hours of gameplay to Riviera.

First game I’m going to start when I get home?

Prinny: Can I Really Be The Hero?

I won’t be playing video games for three weeks, so let’s talk about anime. I’m watching a bunch of new stuff so I can push for certain shows for my school’s anime club lineup next year. I can’t help but worry when I saw what the current president of the club suggested: Axis Powers Hetalia, Ergo Proxy, Lucky Star, Rozen Maiden, and Rozen Maiden Traumend. I don’t have any issues with Ergo Proxy, but the other shows….yeah. Gives me more reason to push for shows I want in the lineup. Right now, I’m looking at Eden of the East, Sengoku Basara, Valkyria Chronicles, Shangri-La, Boogiepop Phantom, Casshern Sins, Akagi, Toradora, and K-ON. I’m going to knock out shows until I get my list down to 4 26-episode shows and 2 13-episode shows.

Here are the previous club lineups:

2006-2007

• Death Note
• Black Lagoon / Black Lagoon: The Second Raid
  
• Jungle Wa Itsumo Hale Nochi Guu
• The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
• Higurashi no Naku Koro ni

2007-2008

• Ouran High School Host Club
• Seto no Hanayome
• Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
• Speed Grapher
• Baccano! (1st semester)
• Serial Experiments Lain (2nd semester)

2008-2009

• Soul Eater
• CLANNAD
• Code Geass
• Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei / Zoku Sayaonara Zetsubou Sensei
• Haibane Renmei (1st semester)
• Kaiba (2nd semester)

Your thoughts? Any other shows you recommend? Anything I should drop or avoid?

Until my next post, stay tuned.

And now, for DnD

Ah yes. Dungeons and Dragons. The quintessential “nerd” game, which it has been since its conception. R.I.P. Gary Gygax.

DnD is something I started playing way back in august of 08 ago. My friend had a starter pack, and they wanted ME to play with them, as DM. I agreed finally, as they’d pestered me about it the previous year. We had not played yet at this point.

My buddy Walker owns the stuff. The dice and such, at least, he did at that point. I was a complete newb at the game and had no idea what I was doing, but all things considered I did well. We played all day and night that day, staying up til 3 in the morning. The highlight of the game was the final boss: Darth Maul. That was my idea, and they had mixed reactions.

ANYWAY. Over time we’ve tried out various character types. As an aid to the reader, I will write a brief synopsis of each class and race we’ve played as and how effective they were But first, let’s go over the stats:

Strength (STR): Strength is pretty obvious. Any skill or action that would require strength logically uses this stat’s modifier. Modifier is a reduced representation of the power of a character’s stat. For example, a 16 or 17 in STR means a +3 bonus to all attack rolls, jump checks, climb checks and the like (a check is simply a test to see if the action is successful. Roll a twenty sided die [d20] and add your modifiers.) An 18 or 19 in STR is a +4 bonus.

Dexterity (DEX): Dexterity is how well you move and how graceful you are. If you can dodge an attack, that’s dexterity. If you want to pick a lock or use sleight of hand, that’s dexterity. It’s rather simple. DEX also effects your Reflex checks.

Constitution (CON): Constituton is only used for two things of importance: The modifier is added to your HP roll (see fighter section below), and it’s also added to fortitude checks. Not usually that important.

Intelligence (INT): Intelligence affects spell casting. It also affects a few skills.

Wisdom (WIS): Wisdom is used for Will checks and also effects spell casting. Since we never cast spells much (Save for Daniel, our mage) I’m unfamiliar with what INT and WIS do.

Charisma (CHA): Can you talk your way out of a situation? Are you attractive? Can you bluff someone into surrendering? That’s charisma. EXTREMELY important for classes such as Rogue and Bard.

Now, on to the classes.

1: Fighter. An all-round physical class, the Fighter is the basic class in the game. They can be ANYTHING; mercenary, soldier, bodyguard, cult member, anything physical. The fighter is a class that gets several bonus feats (special abilities, think of them as a ’special move’ that requires no actual spell use. Except for the magic feats, but those are another story) and these bonus feats are part of what make them so powerful. Their hit die is a 10. That means that every time they level they roll a d10 and add their constitution modifier and old max HP for their new max HP. Fighters are skilled with simple and martial weapons (so every type of weapon that isn’t unusual. Unusual (Exotic) weapons include Shurikens and Katanas) as well as all types of armor and all shields. Fighters are what make up your front line.

2: Paladin. A paladin is a holy warrior, sworn to uphold a code of honor and justice. Paladins cannot let evil acts they are away of occur, but they are not unable to retreat from a foe who is far beyond their skill level. A paladin has a d10 hit die, same as the fighter. Paladins are basically fighters with inherent skills that make up for their limitations. Paladins can also become Blackguards, but that’s another story entirely.

3: Rogue. A rogue is basically a thief or con artist, and in combat they use an ability called sneak attack, which grants them extra attacks if the opponent is distracted. Never underestimate a rogue in a group. Rogues are also very charming, and tend to focus on charisma-based skills.

4: Samurai. A samurai is a powerhouse class. Blessed with dual-weilding at level 2 (so they are extremely skilled with the katana and the wakizashi combo) as well as all kinds of charisma based skills and katana based skills, they are fearsome opponents.

5: Bard. Bards are musicians, performers, dancers, singers and the like. Bards are also capable of using magic to charm their opponents, making them more effective at this than a rogue. Bards are not very powerful in a fight.

6: Monk. Monks are probably very powerful if used correctly. However, our monk sucked horribly. Pray you roll your stats well.

7: Cleric. Clerics are combat medics, skilled with weapons, armor AND healing magic. Clerics can become quite powerful.

8: Barbarian. Barbarians are the ultimate scrappers. They have a d12 hit die, the highest of any class and the only class to have it. They do not wear heavy armor, but they have immense power, particularly if half-orc.

9: Ranger. I made a ranger once. He was powerful, focused on dual weilding. Rangers are medium in combat. They can only wear light armor, but their skills make up for it. Rangers are one with nature, much like druids are.

10: Druid. Druids are nature magic practitioners, and come equipped with animal companions that slowly get more powerful. Druids are not overly powerful or overly weak.

11: Wizard. Wizards have a hit die of d4. This means their HP is generally around 6 or 7 to start. At least, in our games. Daniel is our Wizard. He is a pushover, but he will soon be able to destroy quite a bit with magic. Don’t underestimate high level wizards, or they’ll catch you with Power Word Kill, which instantly kills the target.

I recommend to all of you that should you find some good friends to play it with, try out dnd. You won’t regret it.

Review #47: In defiance of Capcom’s fanboy pandering…he uses the real box….

Street Fighter 4 (PS3/360)

You win?  Ya know what Mr. Announcer?  We all win this one….

Best Feature: A spectacular return for a series that had dropped off the map for awhile….Manages to feel like the old games, but still amazingly fresh.  Awesome visual style.  The new characters aren’t all total misses like SF3…(Ooooh…that one probably made a few of you mad…)

Worst Feature: The game needs a block bar.  The traditional Ryu/Ken/Akuma-centric character balancing is STILL here and it’s STILL annoying.   (Dragon Punch > all other moves)  The final boss…is a cheap bastard…

Badges:

“Megaman – Retro” For all of it’s high res, graffiti art, 3D visual styling…and updated gameplay tweaks.  This game still feels like a classic run of Street Fighter.  That feeling from long ago is back…

“Street Fighter 4 – Spectacular Return to Form” Now first off…this badge WAS represented by the still awesome “return to form” that was Tomb Raider Legend.  But Street Fighter 4 was just so much better…that I had to re-christen the badge in it’s honor…

“Mario Paint – Awesome Art Style” NEW BADGE!  (Why did I go with Mario Paint?  Well I almost went with Yoshitaka Amano, but that would imply that the art is that good…it’s awesome…but Amano it ain’t.  Mario Paint feels more general…just gives the concept OF art..and it’s sorta bizarre to boot)  Street Fighter 4 is a visual feast, almost like playing a cool painting…that constantly depicts fights….

“Itachi Uchiha  – Cheap” Typically…with fighting games, some cheap A.I. is acceptable.  Hell it’s generally expected.  But Seth…is incredibly cheap…seriously…he’s awful.  (Ever been THROWN while your pummelling someone with an Ultra Combo?  I HAVE!  MORE THEN THRICE!)

Okay…after that remark about Street Fighter 3 in the “Best Features” section, your probably boiling with rage, and that’s fine.  I suppose I should explain myself?  Well, I will!  I won’t go so far as to say I hate Street Fighter 3, because I don’t.  From a purely gameplay standpoint, it’s a great game.  The parry system is genius.  But there is one crucial point where it fails. The cast.  The game’s cast of characters, aside from two or three people…is all new.  That wouldn’t be so bad, if I liked any of the new characters.  That’s where the problem lies, the new cast is awful, and my favorites from the old cast aren’t here, which means…I HAVE NOBODY TO PLAY AS!  (Chun-Li was added later…as an afterthought…so that’s one…but still not enough)  That’s my beef with Street Fighter 3, thankfully Street Fighter 4 has learned from this mistake.

See Capcom?  New characters, when ADDED to a game…rather then replacing the ones people like…can be a good thing….

How?  Well Street Fighter 4 does include new characters, but they don’t remove your old favorites.  That’s how it should be done.  Don’t assume everyone is going to like them.  That’s part of what makes SF4 so good, is that it feels like the classic games but still manages to feel new.

There are four new fighters, two of which are actually usable.  You have Abel, an amnesia plauged fighter with an interesting to use grapple based style, though his lack of backstory makes me wonder I should care to be him.  Crimson Viper, easily my favorite of the newbies (I’ve actually started playing as her regularly) a merc/double agent with a high tech battlesuit.  She’s loaded with personality, and even a hidden motivation…her daughter.   El Fuerte, a luchadore in search of the perfect recipe.  That in itself is pretty stupid, and his spastic…annoying as hell fighting style makes me hate him even more.  And finally, Rufus, a rather rotund self proclaimed “kung-fu master” with some of the most annoying moves in the game.

While not all of these newbies are welcome, Abel and Viper I’d be happy to see in a future game.  But if you don’t like any of them…surprise!  Your old favorites are all back!  The original roster of Street Fighters plus Akuma, Rose, Dan, Sakura and Gen round out the cast and easily stomped out the issue I had with the previous game.  But now that I have characters to be…how does it play?

In short, brilliantly.  Familiar characters feel the same, but different and the gameplay is so recognizable that anyone with previous Street Fighter experience should be able to pick it right up.  That’s not to say that the game is unevolved, Street Fighter 4 introduces a new feature, the “Focus Attack.”  Every character can perform this chargable strike, which while charging can absorb a single hit for you, and when fully charged can break an opponents guard.  Once you figure out the proper way to use the focus attack, you’ll be feeling like a pro without too much effort.   Focus attacks, if properly used, can be a quick means of turning a fight back around in your favor.

Also, in addition to the series traditional EX bar, which allows for stronger versions of special moves to be executed, and when fully charged allows for super combos….Capcom included the Revenge bar.  And entirely different bar that charges as you take damage.  This means that when it fills up…your probably on the losing end of the fight…and when filled it allows you to exectue the Ultra Combo…your most powerful attack.  This is a nice way to keep the fights from getting too one sided.   So even if your winning…you never let your guard down, because an Ultra combo can put your back to the wall in seconds.

Look Capcom…I’ll I’m saying, is that these two aren’t the only characters in the game….

The gameplay, while fantastic…is not perfect.  One nagging issue the series has always willingly allowed is still here.  The character balancing is skewed twoards Ryu/Ken/Akuma still.  Their dragon punches serve as the ultimate breaker of all combos and attacks.  If you do a move and they do a dragon punch 9/10 the dragon punch wins.  Street Fighter games have always been this way however…so it’s hardly surprising.  They are the main characters after all and easily the most popular, so it makes sense that the developers pander to their fanbase, it sells games.  (That explains the change to the inferior…and uninspired Ryu vs Ken cover art too)  But even worse then that, the new boss Seth, is one of the cheapest fighting bosses I can say I’ve ever encountered.  (He isn’t the worst….but he’s close)  He’s a complete cop out even…simply having everyone else’s moves.

Also, I say this about EVERY fighting game, but I’ll say it again.  IT NEEDS A BLOCK BAR!  Nothing is more annoying then fighting an endless stream of blocked attacks.  Street Fighter Alpha 3 had such a mechanic that allowed turtlers to be penalized, Guilty Gear has one too, there is no reason any fighting game should be without one in this day and age.

But one thing SF4 adds to the preceedings that helps extend it’s life, is the online play.  For both PS3 and 360 you can find a limitless number of opponents online.  (It really banks on this feature too, as it offers you new icons, titles and ranks to acquire in your battles)  But online, a fighting game is a tricky experience.  Even the smallest amount of lag can be a lethal flaw, but I’m happy to say that for the most part Street Fighter 4 performs smooth as butter.  (I’ve only had a couple of fights that were crushingly laggy, obviously that was the other player) These offer up a longer lifespan for the game.  (I just wish that people wouldn’t quit after they lose!  But that can hardly be attributed to the game itself…just poor sports…)

Suddenly Ken realized…there was only one way he would EVER beat Ryu….

Visually, the game has ditched sprites but hasn’t gone totally polygonal either.  It uses the graphical horsepower of the PS3 and 360 to produce moving graffiti painting style graphics, that really add something of a comic book feel to the game.  (There are even ink splashes and streaks with particularly nasty hits)  I wouldn’t mind if every SF game was done this way from now on, because it looks simply amazing.  Going even further, they added camera zooms and angle changes during ultra combos and win poses, which definately give more of a realistic feel to the whole affair, and make the ultra combos a joy to pull off not just for the damage they do…but because you just like to see them.  (Rose’s is my fav)

This game is a must own for any PS3/360 owner, but if you have both consoles…go PS3.  (The only time you should probably do that with a multiplatform game I suppose)  The 360 D-Pad is just a tad mushy and imprecise, while the Dual Shock D-pad is solid as a rock, which is perfect for this game. That being said, I have played both versions and I dunno if I’m just imagining it, but even with the Hard Drive install, the 360 game does feel like it loads a bit quicker.

Viper kills bugs good…..

I understand that this review has taken a pretty negative tone, and despite that…I love this game.  That old school feeling of just playing a fighting game to get as good as you can possibly be has been missing from my gamer life since Street Fighter Alpha 3 and the first Soul Calibur…and I’m glad that I’ve gotten it back.  And with the addition of playing online, I can keep on refining it.  This is a game I will be playing for a long time to come. (In fact, I’ve been trying to tear myself away to play other stuff…but I just can’t…)  Capcom, being Capcom, will probably release some expanded version in a year or so…(hopefully with Karin Kanzuki!)  but even if they didn’t and went straight to a Street Fighter 5, I would be tremendously happy with just this game as is.   Way to bring back the fighting spirit Capcom, your even bringing Tatsunoko vs Capcom here.  Now can I get Darkstalkers 4 please?

Review # 46 Hit Me With Your Best Shot!

No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy

In H.A.R.M.’S Way

Remember when shooters were actually

fun?

Best Feature: Great setting and atmosphere (as far as shooters go), fantastic sense of humor, some pretty unique gameplay ideas that even shooters today don’t incorperate….It’s not afraid to be wacky…

Worst Feature: Occasionally spotty enemy AI…

Badges:

“Joker – Sense of Humor” This game, unlike so many other games…isn’t afraid of a little comedy…in fact it thrives on it! So many comedic moments of varying sizes and impacts are peppered throughout the game….

“Belldandy – Great Leading Lady” I know…I already have a Leading MAN badge…but it somehow just didn’t seem appropriate. I want to point out the likable main character that is great for more then just her figure….she’s witty, tough, smart and quite hilarious.

“Kain – Great Voice Acting” Whether it’s Cate’s snarky English voice arguing with the Scottish brute Magnus Armstrong…or the simple silly henchmen conversations you will run across all of the voices are very well done.

Ya know…I don’t play a lot of shooters. In the past, I was actually a fan of the genre. I loved the original Unreal Tournament…Half Life is one of my favorite games of all time to this day…but now I see the genre as overpopulated and stale. So what do you do when that happens? You roll backwards in time! In doing so, I dug through my CD wallet of old PC games…when I came across No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy In H.A.R.M.’S. Way, a game I forgot I had. I had finished it, but it had been so long since that day that I remembed nothing about it, so having may as well never played it…I popped it in.

Just because your a spy, doesn’t mean you can’t still look good…

I will NEVER forget about this game again. This game, while not a masterpeice on the level of a Half Life or Half Life 2, is simply brilliant. While this is the second (and last) game in the series, I have never played the first. (But I am looking forward to ebaying it) NOLF2 is a parody of the classic James Bond 007 series, moreso the older ones. It takes place in the swingin 60’s, and stars the slinky, smart mouthed U.N.I.T.Y. agent Cate Archer. As it starts, you (Cate) are sent to a small Japanese village to meet an informant who claims to have information which may lead you to the super-villianous organization H.A.R.M. Like any decent secret agent opener…this turns out to be a trap, and the adventure begins! (It even opens up after the climactic story setup moment…with an opening credits music video…just like you know who…)

And so does the razor sharp parody of the 007 films. (Seriously…this is ALMOST as good as the first Austin Powers…easily way better then those awful last two…) Cate comes equipped with bizzare gadgets like any good secret agent would. From a stun gun built into her mascara container, to her makup compact…which contains a small computer that seems able to crack most any password, decode any electronic lock. But the humor isn’t quite so simple…even in the backgrounds and environments it pays homages and makes fun of it’s obvious source of inspiration, and generally just shows off how funny the writers for this games script were.

This game NEVER forgets to throw a few barbs at 007….even with it’s mission objectives….

But what really surprised me about NOLF2, was the game itself. It is a shooter yes…and it’s good at that capacity, but the game is designed around the idea of actually being a super spy. That is…it’s designed around stealth. You are given a good deal of weapons (Usually you start any given stage with your Silence pistol and maybe Cate’s favorite…her Crossbow) You hide in dark corners, behind walls trying to get the drop on that next H.A.R.M. henchman or ninja. (yes…you fight many ninjas) You get even tools for distraction, from the simple (a coin to make a noise) to the elaborate, (A robotic cat that explodes when they try to pet it), to the classic. (A bannana peel…which you should be able to figure out)

Even more keeping with it’s mentality of being the spy, the hidden threat, is the games emphasis on collecting intelligence for U.N.I.T.Y. You’ll listen in on conversations between goons (Oftentimes…these are hilarious) Root through peoples personal effects and files undetected and generally snoop around.

Why is all this non shootery stuff important? Because Cate comes with upgradable abilities! And you get points for every objective you complete, every peice of intelligence you collect or important item you pick up. Which means…that tackling those bonus objectives…reading that memo about the Soviet Base’s toilet paper shortage…are all generally good things to do. These upgrades can do anything from make you better at staying quiet and hidden…to raising your defense so you take less damage.

All of those skills will become important at some point, as the game doesn’t resolve itself to that one style of play. Sometimes a girl has gotta shoot her way out of a base riding a snowmobile, or fight an entire ninja clan in a trailer park in nowhere Ohio…DURING A TORNADO…or even…getting into a low speed trycycle chase with a mime… This game doesn’t short you on giving you a variety of things to do with Cate, so the action never gets stale.

The game presents itself incredibly well, threading it’s comedy into a movielike appearance coupled with very crafty dialouge and fantastic voices to match. Cate becomes likable pretty fast, usually having a snappy quip for someone and even dishing out threats to a Scottish brute of a man 3 times her size. (And you know what? He’s actually afraid of her!) The whole roster of characters is likable in there own way…right down to the gung ho “LET’S JUST NUKE EM!” American Military Commander.

Those H.A.R.M. henchman apparently didn’t pay much attention in class…or finish the diarama …

I really can only think of ONE THING…ONE THING that bothered me about this game. The enemies are sometimes pretty braindead. If you get spotted, (and you will) they attack on mass…they start coming outta the goddamn woodwork, but you can generally win the massively handicapped match by entering a small room and facing the door with your gun at the ready…they will run like cattle straight into your crosshairs rather then try to bait you out or find a smarter way of attacking you. Also…when they lose you…sometimes they just totally forget they were all just shot at by a girl wearing a bright orange maisey patterned skirt. But this is a pretty old game..so it’s mostly forgiveable.

This game also effected me in a very unexpected way. Not only has Cate Archer become one of my favorite characters, but this game has served to REALLY depress me about the current state of the shooter genre as a whole. Aside from the occasional flash of greatness, (Half Life 2, Bioshock) the genre is loaded with generic…cookie cutter garbage. If a brilliant game like No One Lives Forever 2 couldn’t survive in 2002…it sure as hell has no chance now, which makes me incredibly sad. Why is this? I have my theories:

Number One: The protaganist is a strong, witty, female. She doesn’t wear really skimpy outfits…she isn’t a dullard who simply bows to a man’s lead. She beats up most guys. The primary audiance for the shooter genre is the blood hungry frat boy types…they don’t want to play as a girl.

Number Two: No One Lives Forever isn’t a serious game at all. All shooters now take themselves seriously. TOO seriously. Humor doesn’t exist. (Bioshocks goofy cartoons excluded) A game filled with jokes, however sharp and hilarious they may be, would be seen as sissyfied because the game is about more then blood.

Number Three: It has a larger color pallette then grey and brown. All shooters (Hell most games) now take place in destroyed, mechanical…post apocolyptic style settings. Which means, everything is destroyed and burnt up. Resulting in a lot of brownish tinting…TO EVERYTHING. No One Lives Forever’s wide range of bright swinger colors, (Oranges, Yellows, Neons) would have no place in this current climate.

That is all really too bad, this game is total aces. Anyone with even a semi compitant PC can run it at high settings and join the fun. (Sorry Vista users…I checked for you…apparently it glitches constantly for you) I am extremely dissapointed that this game will probably never see a sequel. (I imagine it didn’t fair well financially) It is truly one of the more brilliant shooters that nobody played…and is now one of my favorite shooters ever. A copy on ebay will run you $5 or less…so if you haven’t…$5 isn’t a bad asking price for a game this good is it?

Wandering #19 – Warm Weather and Sunshine

After spending the first half of this year shivering from the cold weather and doing schoolwork, I’m back in South Florida for the summer.  I miss the warm weather, I have to say.  Pennslyvania isn’t what a lot of people would call really cold weather, but for someone who lived in Florida for most of his life, it was something I had to get used to.

I had a pretty awesome semester.  I only had classes Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, meaning that I lived on a four day weekend.  This gave me a lot of free time to play a bunch of video games, watch anime, and do whatever else I wanted to do.  I remember reading a blog on 1up called something along the lines of “How to be a Gamer in College.”  One advice it gave was to stay away from RPGs since they are time sinks.  Well….my love of the genre made it impossible for me to follow that advice.  I made a new year’s resolution at the beginning of this year that I would beat at least 7 RPGs, two of which had to be Chrono Trigger and Persona 4.  Chrono Trigger didn’t take me too long on my first time through, but I love the game so much that I’m going to replay it in the future.  The next RPG I tackled was Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.  I had a blast in the 10 hours it took me to beat the game.  I didn’t get the best ending because I didn’t explore enough of the castle, something that I need to go back and do.  I wrote a long post about Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 a couple days ago, so to make my story short, it took me most of the semester to get to the true ending of the game.  Somewhere along the way, I explored Frederic Chopin’s dream world in Eternal Sonata for the 360.  The game sound and looked beautiful, even if the plot made me scratch my head near the end.  That makes 4 RPGs beaten so far this year.  What am I playing right now?  Riviera: The Promised Land for the PSP.

I want to do a Disgaea marathon sometime in June.  My goal is to Disgaea 1, 2, 3, and Prinny: Can I Really Be The Hero? If I have time, I’ll one of the three main games.  It’s going to take me all summer, but it should be a lot of fun with tons of level grinding, combo chaining, and Prinny tossing.  This all depends on if I can send my PS2 and memory cards back home since I left them at school when I took off a couple days ago.  I’m going back to campus in about a week, so I’ll see if I can pack and send them home.  If not, I may have to get a PS2 slim and a spare memory card because my PS3 won’t read PS2 games.  Otherwise, I’ll just focus on Disgaea 3 and the Prinny game.

I wanted to send my PS2, Wii, and 360 back home for the summer, but I left them at school because I didn’t have enough time to package them and ship them via a post office due to me putting off packing the rest of my stuff until the last minute.  I was supposed to fly home on Wednesday, the same day I finished my only final of the semester, but I missed my flight.  Leaving campus late and checking in at an aiport 20 minutes before a plane takes off screwed me over.  My punishment?  Waking up at 4:00 the next morning and getting to the airport by 5:30 so I can get on a 6:30 flight.  I slept through most of the flight from Allentown to Atlanta to West Palm Beach.  I was out of it for the rest of Thursday and fully recovered by yesterday.  I think I learned my lesson about packing up and not leaving it until the last minute.  At least I made it home.

I’m not worried if I can’t send my 360, Wii, or PS2 back for the summer.  I still have a bunch of PSP, DS, PS3, Gamecube, and Game Boy games I need to go through.  Either way, I’m set for this summer.

The Backloggery Chronicles #4 – A Year in Inaba

So two things kept me from posting a blog post for almost a month.  First was a lot of school work.  As I ranted in my last “Tales of a Wandering Mind” post, I had a lot of papers due during that time.  Let’s see….a 15 page, a 10 page, a 6 page, a 5 page, and an 8 page paper all due between mid-April and now.  The second thing was Persona 4.

You see, I played that game as much as possible so I could get to the end of the game before I had to study for finals.  I was surprised that I was able to get all my papers done on time.  It’s crazy, but I did it.

I started Persona 4 back in early January.  I went back to school early, even though spring semester didn’t start until the end of the month.  If I wasn’t at the one class I took during that month, I played a lot of video games because there wasn’t anything else to do on campus and I was one of the few people in my dorm in the freezing weather.  I could have spent the time watching a ton of anime, but I needed a break from watching stuff after my burnout from trying to watch all of Trinity Blood.  I couldn’t have picked a better time to start Persona 4.

Review – Fullmetal Alchemist: Dual Sympathy

Fullmetal Alchemist: Dual Sympathy has the potential to be a really good game.

It’s based on the highly popular anime and manga series and it’s a beat-em-up at that.

You get to play as Edward Elric Alphonse, Armstrong, Scar, Mustang, and Izumi.

The game closely follows the storyline of the first anime series.  You even get to hear clips from the English voice actors.  In addition to the main game, you can do a bunch of minigames, such as chopping wood with Armstrong.

What could possibly go wrong?

How I Got This Way

Of all my favorite authors, Patrick F. McManus stands out as one that heavily influences my writing style. To me, anyway. So I suppose that would explain why I stole a book title of his for this.

I’m not very good at introductions. I haven’t had to seriously introduce myself in a long time. So where should I start? I think I’ll start where my life changed forever: One day, on the drive I took when I moved cross country a ways, I got a magazine from a gas station called “The Official Playstation Magazine”. This was WAY back, at least five years. Maybe even six, I really don’t remember. But that changed my life forever. For you see, in this magazine were several advertisements for 1up.com, a website I’d never heard of. I’d never joined a forum in my life, or any other website. I didn’t have an email address of my own. I had a playstation 2 and about five games, none of which were that great. But after reading this magazine, I realized that this simple console I’d taken for granted after I beat all the games I cared to play, this console was a BEAST of entertainment. I joined this website after a month or so, when I finally got a computer I could “share” with my parents that I quickly requisitioned for my own purposes.

Another important fact of this time is that I had a music collection of very few CDs: Linkin Park’s Meteora, Eiffel 65’s Europop, a couple Beatles CDs, a switchfoot CD, and that was pretty much it. But when I got to 1up, all of that changed. I became the person I am today, I was basically defined by and found myself through a website designed for gamers to interact with each other. I wasn’t even much of a gamer at that time. All of this changed over the course of several years.

At the time of my joining, I was homeschooled for 8th grade. I went through several phases on the site, until my natural “mild” mania led to a few people who regularly checked my blogs. During this time I found a club called the VGM club. As you may know, VGM in this case stands for Video Game Music. It was HEAVEN for me, I found so many awesome tracks through there!

While at 1up.com, I met several influential people in my life: Heaie, (AKA the Strudel Ninja [Yes, I still remember]) who helped me get into metal and opened my eyes to RPGs beyond Final Fantasy X (pathetic. I’m aware now.) as well as Jester, who opened my eyes to Metal Gear Solid, and who also convinced me to get SO MUCH MUSIC. I found Overclocked Remix, which led to Ailsean’s (one of my favorite remixers) website, which led to Dwelling of Duels, an AWESOME site I recommend to every last one of you. I also met Glassadam, whose quirky sense of humor perfectly matched mine; TheNintendoTheory, an accomplished writer in his own right, much better than myself; and a slew of other people who all changed my life in their own ways. I still reminisce quietly to myself every once in awhile about how much I miss those days. Nowadays, 1up.com is a trash site, hardly worth using or visiting. It would seem that even TheNintendoTheory, one of its stalwart supporters, has started to move on since the UGO takeover and subsequent firing of a massive majority of the staff.

I found the Anime and RPG tournament leagues, waaay back in season 2, in which I practiced and honed my writing talents that have long since dulled. There I met Snakeeyez, who in a roundabout way introduced me to many an RPG, the main one of which that stands out being Disgaea. Disgaea 2 is the one game I’ve spent the most amount of time on, you see. Without Snakeeyez, I would not be what I am today.

Over time, I followed Heiae and Jester to Outer Heaven, the metal gear solid club on 1up that convinced me to play the game series. I have over the years had incredible luck with rare games, snatching them up like nobody’s business without ordering online. This includes a torn up but still playable copy of the original Metal Gear Solid. Anyway! After a spammer and flamer messed with the moderator of Outer Heaven, Unit-Foxhound one too many times, Fox (as he came to be known) created a website called Pikei. I was one of the original members, right alongside such now familiar faces as Glassadam, Jester (Who no longer has internet access), and Heiae. I convinced Snakeeyez and Red Wizard (at least in an inadvertent way) to join the site as well. This be my posse, yo.

I listen to all kinds of music, at least a little bit of every genre. I especially am a video game music fan, particularly remixes. I play a wide range of games, possessing over 60 games for my PS2. I am almost finished with my collection for said system. Recently I purchased a PS3, and will finally be able to rock Metal Gear Online once more. I’ll suck this time, but that’s to be expected. These are the only two consoles I presently own. I have very little interest in the 360 because all the games I want save for a scant few (ace combat 6, for instance – I am a HUGE ace combat fan, having beat zero on Ace) are either multiplatform or PS3 exclusive (Disgaea 3, anyone?)

My most hated things are idiots, people who mindlessly hate on things they don’t understand, and people who make fun of games I cherish for no reason other than to be jerks. My favorite series are Metal Gear Solid, Devil May Cry, Ace Combat, Final Fantasy, Disgaea, Shin Megami Tensei (and the spinoffs in particular), the Onimusha series, and the Koei games (including Romance of the Three Kingdoms X, which is radically different from the others.

That’s all there is to know about me.

Review #45 Review Power Make Up! (Almost at #50!)

AlucardsFate

Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon (Super Famicom)

This is a Beat-em-up?  Where is the tough guy character?

Best Feature: Lots of nice small touches from music to visuals, make good use of the source material.  5 playable characters, allow for pretty good variety not always seen in these kinds of games.  Surprisingly good music.

Worst Feature: Exceedingly cheap bosses.  The game is pretty short.  Isn’t particularly noteworthy as far as beat em ups go…Tuxedo mask grades you pretty harshly….

Badges:

“Batman The Animated Series – Great Use of Source Material” There are all sorts of nice touches in this game, from the spot on series music, the characters or even the enemies and bosses you recognize.  It’s clear that the people who made this game had seen the show.  (I can’t believe they included the theme park princess robot as a boss…that was not only a one shot baddie…but a funny one…with an Exorcist style rotating head!)

“Chrono Cross- Good Soundtrack” Now…I’m not suggesting in any way that this game’s music is comparable to Chrono Cross’.  Because it’s not.  But one of the things that did stick out to me was the fact that the game music was not only spot on faithful to the show, but it was actually…pretty good.  

“Lucky – Short” This game is only about 5 stages…not very long at all.  You can beat it in one sitting.

“Itachi Uchiha – Cheap” The enemies in this game can occasionally be cheap…like most beat em ups…but the bosses…the bosses are horrible…in the worst way….

Most people probably don’t care about Sailor Moon as a show.  They probably care even less about it as a game.  Well, I am not like most people.  You all should know by now that I am not only just a fan of Sailor Moon, I am the obsessive type of fan that has probably creeped you out at one point or another.  So it only makes sense that I would seek out what gaming opportunities there were to be had based on one of my favorite anime.  That search brought me to the height of the show’s popularity, the early to mid 90’s and while their are a lot of Sailor Moon games on a variety of consoles, I focused primarily on the Super Famicom.  (Or Super Nintendo for the two of you who don’t know that already)

And while the SNES is home to at least four Sailor Moon games, one of the most notable is the beat-em up based on the very first series, Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon.  What does that mean?  It means you a typical arcade style game, where you take your character from one area to the next, clobbering anyone who gets in your way.  But being based off of Sailor Moon, that also means 5 characters to choose from, which is not only unusual for such a game, but since every character has their strengths and weaknesses, it adds a neat sort of variety allowing you 5 different play styles to choose from.

Decisions…Decisions….

If you have ever seen the anime, these styles should make at least a little bit of sense to you.  For example, Sailor Jupiter, who in the show is athletic and an expert hand to hand martial artist, has the greatest attack power, usually removing most enemies in a few hits.  While Sailor Venus, the more frail girly girl type, has poor attack power but uses her “Love Me Chain” to have a massive range advantage.  And obviously, Sailor Moon herself plays the part of the balance character…having no real strengths, but no real weaknesses either.   The other two fall in between, with Mercury having little range or power, but being incredibly fast and Mars functioning like Venus with a little less range and more power.  If your like me you can pick your favorite (Jupiter) or just experiment with them and find one that suits your tastes.

The gameplay doesn’t step out of the box in any way, sticking to beat em up conventions.  You have attack combos, jump attacks, throws and a health draining special attack that attacks on both sides of your character.  But the game does allow you one more weapon in your arsenal, a second special attack.  While it only travels across the screen, it doesn’t drain health and requires you to charge it up, this is a pretty useful addition.

It’s just like watching the show!  Well…as long as you don’t expect it to move…

As you might expect, these attacks are your respective sailor senshi’s special attacks from the anime. (Sailor Moon throws her tiara, Mercury uses Bubble Spray etc)  But things like that really show off what this game does right.  It takes the source material and uses it remarkably well for such a game.  (The attacks even have character voices!)  The stages are all familiar series locations, from downtown Tokyo all the way to the snow filled poles of the planet, where the final battle with Queen Beryl took place.  The music is taken straight from the show and note for note sounds just as good in a lot of places, which is pretty impressive for a 16bit console vs an actual anime.  Even the bosses are lifted straight from the show, from the Obvious ones like the Dark Kingdom lackeys and Queen Beryl, to even one shot episode baddies like the Princess Doll in the theme park (An episode I like by the way) such attention to the show was really nice to see.

But speaking of the bosses, let’s talk about this games biggest problem.  The enemies, especially the bosses, are incredibly cheap.  Most beat em ups after you get knocked down, allow you a short period of time to get up where you have the vaunted old game flashing invulnerability.  Well, that doesn’t exist in this one, if you get knocked down in a corner…be prepared to get beaten down something awful.  This cheap tactic works on your end as well, but the computer (especially the bosses) will exploit it more then you will ever think to and that can get frustrating.

Luckily for you, before you break something the game will end.  This game is only about 5 stages long and can easily be knocked out in one sitting.  I suppose the 5 characters and a 2 player mode allow for some replay value, but still with as many villains and settings as the game covered, it is sort of disappointing that the game is so short.  Maybe a few bonus stages to earn 1ups could have been added based on series events.  For example, maybe a stage where you must dodge volleyballs spiked at your face by Rei.  Or maybe a ski race…vs Rei.  (Wow…why is she so confrontational?)

I wish I could have scored this game a bit higher, but it’s short run time and slightly frustrating nature in addition to it’s rather unremarkable formula keep it from being a great mark in the anime based game recordbook.  While it’s good, it’s also somewhat forgettable to anyone but a fan like myself.  But it does have a sequel based on Sailor Moon R, maybe I should review that one for you too?