| Shin Megami Tensei Strange Journey |
[Jan. 1st, 2010|12:22 am] |
While playing SMTSJ around 4PM, I told myself I'd watch Kohaku Uta Gassen(it's on the last day of the year). Well, when I looked up at the clock moments later, only to realize it was 12 midnight already! Damn it, I missed Kohaku Uta Gassen for the 3rd year in a row.
Anyway, this game is awesome. Now I see what all the fuss about demon fusion is about and why all the religious overtones may have been controversial back in the NES/SNES days.
My biggest gripe with the game would have to be the small text, even on the gigantic DSI LL screen. It must be microscopic on the DS Lite. |
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| Troubleshooting In Japan? |
[Dec. 31st, 2009|12:50 am] |
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Reading about sephamore timeouts on both the Japanese and English web, it seems like there's no solution. Makes me want to call up Buffalo Inc.(maker of the DVD burner) for troubleshooting(not that I would, I don't see why they'd be more help than google). But I wonder how it'd be different from the US. Surely it wouldn't be a poorly paid Indian with a terrible Japanese accent that'd be helping me over the phone after putting me on hold for an hour? |
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| Gundam RPGs |
[Dec. 30th, 2009|10:09 pm] |
I bought a new burner that has allows for connecting to the PC through two USB ports for double the connection power! I still got sephamore timeouts, but somehow, I now have a working copy of SD Gundam Generation!
What's with these types of Super Robot games starting with a long wikipedia like introduction? Who wants to start an rpg with a long, boring history lesson?
The original Gundam is still rated the best among the majority of Gundam fans, but I just can't get into it. Even when it shows up in the games, the lame character art, the corny music, ugh...EDIT: It's not really working, skips during battles...
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| (no subject) |
[Dec. 29th, 2009|05:42 pm] |
Very short video post for you guys :3
meet the greatest part of coming home, meeting my new puppy!
:')
- yes, he is wearing a diaper
- that voice in the background is my stepbrother Tony
- Yukio makes an excellent dust mop ♥ |
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| Shining Force Feather |
[Dec. 29th, 2009|10:19 pm] |
Hmm, the dialogue in Annie no Atelier was definitely more fun to read.
All these games that would really fit the PSP more than the DS: Shining Force Feather, Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume, Summon Night X, Suikoden Tierkreis, etc. They just saw the DS sales and figured it'd sell better on the DS even though they make practically zero use of the stylus and dual screen.
And DS can definitely handle full voice acting if they use 256MB carts. The HIgurashi games and Hiiro no Kakera all have full voice acting and are rather long games. I guess most companies just don't want to bother because it's more acceptable on the DS. But crank out a PS3 rpg with only the main important story parts voiced and the fans WILL complain.
Metal Slug 7 too, but they actually did remake that for the PSP. |
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| 天地人 |
[Dec. 29th, 2009|08:44 pm] |
On Nobunaga's side is a female ninja, 初音(yea, same kanji as Hatsune Miku!). Googling reveals that she's a fictional character, meaning it's not just Koei with their Kunoichi and Capcom with their Kasuga, Zabi, and Itsuki, even NHK makes up fictional characters(then again, the drama's is based on the novel)! A lot of famous samurai have a different names before they become famous, so I thought maybe Hatsune was Oichi, but nope.
Oh, and she's supposed to be Sanada Yukimura's younger sister. Takeda Shingen has already been crushed by Nobunaga.
NHK has done lots of Sengoku-Era dramas, but always from different points of view. |
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| ffffffuuuuuu--- |
[Dec. 28th, 2009|09:03 pm] |
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Bad nuus: The person with the stroke has reported an increase in the pressure inside his head. Thankfully, there's no moar bleeding, but this combined with his previous health problems does not bode well. They might have to do surgery on him again...here's hoping things work out. ~_~ |
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| Sakura Note |
[Dec. 29th, 2009|10:30 am] |
I enjoyed this game very much, so it pains me to see the low scores.
-I can understand why many wouldn't like it though. This game's got a sort of Trinity Sight System where you see the game through the cat and dog's POV(I've never felt more emotionally attached to a cat and dog in an rpg!), the problem is since they travel often together with the main character, a lot of the scenes are repeated and it gets dull seeing the same scenes over and over again, and there's no way to speed up or skip the dialogue which would have helped tremendously with the repeat scenes.
-Battle system pretty much sucks, there was only person listed in the credits for battle programmer. It's like how Legend of Heroes: Prophecy of the Moonlight Witch could've done without the battle system. It's really more like a mini-game in Sakura Note though, and battles are very few and far between, so I didn't mind. Though would it not have been better to turn it into a full fledged ADV and write awesome battle scenes like Fate/Stay Night? I guess you need Nasu Kinoko for that.
-Complaints about length, bleh. People expect too much from their games these days. It took me about 10 hours to beat it.
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As for the good, music and story are top notch. Uematsu Nobuo, with the nickname of Nobiyo, appearsas youkai in the haunted school, where he rants about how he used to take care of his precious records back in the good ol' days, and people can easily obtain anything they want these days( yea, bittorrent!), so they don't take good care of their possessions anymore.
The scenario is penned by Nojima Kazushige, who also worked on FFVII, FFX, FFX-2, and now FFXIII. But he got to write a modern day real life Mother-like setting for this game.
Graphics are gorgeous, it bests many attempt at 3D on the DS. I would been nice to have seen, for instance, Suikoden Tierkreis with these graphics.
The central theme is very similar to Mother 3, thanks in part to the setting, characters, and style of dialogue.
Ultimately, it was the story and music that drew me in, just like LOH3, so it might have fared better as a visual novel. |
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| こっくりさん |
[Dec. 29th, 2009|12:04 am] |
中学時代にこっくりさん亜種が流行。やはるハマる。その結果、自己暗示で手が勝手に動くようになってしまい、オカルトに詳しい幼なじみのカナメの相談する。 - From Takako's profile in Sakura Note
So I googled こっくりさん亜種 to see what it was all about. Now I have goosebumps from reading about various urban legends. Great. Basically, it seems like the Japanese version of Ouija Board. |
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| super cryptic |
[Dec. 28th, 2009|12:10 am] |
The dark times will pass.
...Also, I just realized I forgot to post the cat post again, so... just go back and look at the old one, 'k? |
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From ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) shadowings |
[Dec. 28th, 2009|12:54 am] |
| [ | Tags | | | life | ] |
| [ | mood |
| |  busy | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Melted Snow (765 pro ver) - Kisaragi Chihaya, Hagawara Yukiho, Miura Azusa | ] |
CHECK THIS OUT, DO IT NOW.
Done by shadowings, whose journal is thoroughly enjoyable and needs more regulars. |
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| Console Wars |
[Dec. 27th, 2009|10:21 pm] |
Looked through game boxes at the store today. I paid attention to the ESRB rating(or whatever it's called in Japan) on the bottom left, and pondered why if the ratings are so specific for games, why are there no ratings for manga? I still remember that Front Mission manga I bought where you think it's just about war from the cover, but there were some very explicit sex and rape scenes within. There is no warning on the cover or back that such content is included. So even newborn babies can easily purchase such manga.
Anyway, I thought about what games I'd buy if I had a PS3, Wii, and XBOX(and realized a lot of the games I usually acquire, I definitely wouldn't if I had to plunk down gil):
XBOX360
Blue Dragon - I don't like the kiddie character design, but good mk2 reviews.
Losy Odyssey - Awesome characters and story according to all who've played through it.
Looking down the upoming release list, I hardly see any XBOX exclusives. Trusty Bell, Star Ocean, Tales of Vesperia all went to PS3. I guess Mistwalker would port their games too if the initial XBOX sales were any good, or if they had a bigger team.
Wii
Arc Rise Fantasia
Final Fantasy Crystal Bearers - Gameplay+camera said to be problematic, but story's supposed to be good
Final Fantasy IV After Years
Fire Emblem
Smash Bros.
Tales of Graces
Trauma Team
Zelda: Twilight Princess
PS3
Agarest Senki Zero
Assassin's Creed 2
Atelier no Rorona - Atelier no Annie on DS showed me how much fun the series is, and I learned that Iris and Mana Khemia are really just offshoots of the original series. Ar Tonelico too in a way, no alchemy in it, but it's got that familiar Gust feel.
Batman Arkham Asylum 2 - Already announced. Hoping it doesn't try to cash in on the success of the 1st one and end up being crap.
Demon Souls - RPG of the Year awards abound!
Disgaea 3
Dragon Age: Origins
Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion
FFXIII International - betting that it comes out. I remember when KH2 first came out, there was some kinda announcement saying they wouldn't make a Final Mix, but they did eventually. So yea, maybe the same thing here even though Squenix has already announced they're not looking at making International right now
Folk Soul
God of War 3
Metal Gear Solid 4
Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2
Ryuu ga Gotoku 3, Kenzan, 4
Samurai 3 Dou Plus
Star Ocean 4 International
Super Duper Street Fighter 4(or whatever they're calling it)
Tales of Vesperia.
Tears to Tiara
Tears to Tiara Gaiden
Valkyria Chronicles
Uncharted 2 - loved by Japanese players too. It's by creators of Jak, explaining why it's so good! Also winner of many Game of Year Awards!
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So the conclusion is, if I were to purchase a next-gen system, PS3 would be the way to go. But let's worry about that after I finish all my PS2, PSP, and DS games.
Of course, I'd buy all the games used. Used games seem to much easier to find in Japan than in the US. Interestingly, I saw a used Unlimited Saga and Grandia Xtreme, for 400($4) yen each! |
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| Kanken DS3 |
[Dec. 27th, 2009|07:25 pm] |
Seems like a great software for anyone taking Kanken study seriously. Reviews complain about Jun 1ikyuu and 1ikyuu being insufficient, but you've got to be seriously hardcore if you're challenging those.
However, my eyes already get too much radiation from playing real games. So I prefer the traditional study method of Kanken problems book, e-dictionary, and lots of scrap paper.
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On the subject of scrap paper... They don't really sell packs of looseleaf paper here in Japan. They don't really have the concept of binders and dividers. However, packs of 藁半紙 are sold at 100 yen shops. I asked the part-time Social Studies teacher about 藁半紙, and he told me everything from the history, etymology, to how they're made. It turns out he also runs a paper factory! |
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| So... |
[Dec. 27th, 2009|07:16 am] |
A bunch of things, I suppose.
First of all, late holiday wishes to everyone from Brazil. Hope everyone had a great Christmas, although I already know that's sadly not the case for everyone :(
But yeah, I'm currently in Brazil (have been for two weeks now), spending time with ishtar_vr and enjoying a surprisingly mild summer (and missing out on the first white Christmas in the Netherlands since '81 in the process XD). It's a more than welcome change from the depressing weather I left behind, although I sadly couldn't do the same with my architecture work. Final presentation is coming up on the 12th of January, and since it's groupwork and kind of important I pass this design course... "sob" expresses my feelings well enough.
But that and the fact I'm leaving in a week (sob. ;_;.) aside, there's a much bigger reason for this post: today we saw Avatar in 3D.
That shouldn't even be a reason for a post, really. The movie itself was "pretty okay" more than anything. It pretty much lived up to my expectations, not that I had many to begin with. It has a completely unoriginal and predictable storyline (Pocahontas and Ferngully meet Halo sounds about right), and the characters are more caricatures than actual characters. The visuals are fairly impressive: the world of Pandora looks great, mechanical design/animation and the Na'vi were pretty good too, although hardly inspired. The other creatures were a lot less impressive and most of them looked and felt like minor characters. But in the end, it all came together quite nicely, and the 3D effect definitely added something to the experience as well, but the movie also pointed out plenty of weak points with the format.
Despite/thanks to the above, Avatar was a very entertaining film for the almost 3 hours. It certainly didn't feel like we'd spent that much time staring at the ridiculous love story "unfolding" on the screen, which makes it a worthy movie in its own right already. Although there are many things I could go deeper into, mostly related to the visuals for me, I don't think that'd be enough reason for me to actually make this post.
No, that reason would be the ridiculous amount of good reviews this movie is gathering. It's just mind-blowing. "Best movie of the decade/last 30 years/ever"? "A powerful love story"? "Amazing spiritual movie"? "James Cameron brings the CHANGE that Obama could not deliver"? "The Mona Lisa of film"?
No. If you're open to the movie's premise and technique, Avatar can be an engrossing experience. But it doesn't even come close to any of the superlatives above. A movie with such a huge list of faults is not any kind of best movie. The "love story" is nonexistant. Its message is shallow. It's not going to be the movie that'll change cinema forever because of the ridiculous budget required to even make a movie like this. And the Mona Lisa one is just silly. I honestly can't fathom how people can seriously make these statements.
So I guess in the end this is just a post about how I don't understand most people and how they make me sad :(
also lol unobtainium |
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| Writer's Block: The morning after |
[Dec. 27th, 2009|11:31 am] |
Of the two, I must say the latter. Socials alone are fine, but not how much more you have to prepare for them (and the expectations thereof) during the holidays always gets to me.
But, aww, I missed yesterday's qotd. Way too busy with everything else? Kind of.
Feels like I'm overindulging myself this holiday season. I better find a way to moderate it a bit, at least. |
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| (no subject) |
[Dec. 26th, 2009|05:22 pm] |
FRIENDS WITH XBOX LIVE ACCOUNTS
My main Christmas present was a year of xbox live gold membership :3 While... I can't actually start using it until I get back to school, I would love love love to add you guys as xbox friends if any of you have accounts! So... let me know :3
my live account name is misquared. I don't have a ton of games to do multiplayer with yet, but Left 4 Dead 2 if anyone else has ♥
.... that's all. I'll talk more about Christmas when I'm not exhausted /melts |
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amused
restless
giggly
awake