Completed: Ys: The Arc of Napishtim (aka Ys 6)

so this means i've played all the Ys games that have north American releases---- what's that... Ys Origin was release today on steam for 20 bucks? hm.....

20 bucks later....

the worst part? we ran out of bandwidth today so i can't install this till tomorrow.... oh well... at least it's the end of the month.

ah but we aren't here to talk about Origin.... we're here to talk about Ys 6.

Once again you play Adol Christian aka Adol the red who just has the worst luck of any person on a boat.... it's pretty much guaranteed that you'll start the game unconscious on a beach having survived some sort of ship wreck ... Also you know if Adol is on your island a few things are going to happen.

1. he will be the chosen one.... some prophecies will even refer to him by name
2. he will go around collecting various mcguffins to help him progress.
3. will at some point fight a god/somethign with the same amount of power as a god
4. if something external controls how magic works in the world.... he'll probably destroy it at some point.... hopefully at the end cause magic is way too useful in these games. 
5. no matter how much chemestry he has with the local girl he will continue on his journey after and never think about them again. 

yeah i think that covers everything and yeah i pretty much just spoiled every Ys game BUT it's not my fault! you don't really play this game for story.... i mean the story is alwasy good enough but lets be honest.... we play Ys games.... hell Falcom games for the music... oh and the combat system (except 1&2... that system was odd) 

so this game has the same engine as Ys 3 oath in felghana but came out a few years before ys3... whatever it feels like a buggy ys3.... the platforming is not the best.... your lucky if Adol jumps at all... and if he does jump your lucky if it's going to register the landing.... and heaven forbid you need to do a long jump.... i was lucky because there one long jump that i did on the first try to get the pretty much best item in the game.... but yeah the jumping aspect to the game sucks..... also the recovery time... there isn't really much but you are stunned for a second after being hit so some enemies can hit you 3 times before you can get away.
also the game is really open.... too open in fact.... the only thing it does to let you know your in the wrong area is throw monsters that take over half your health in a single hit... but that's every ys game so i'm kind of used to that.
these games are Action RPGs and they are hard... half the time if your taking too much damage the answer is level up or make sure you have the best equipment possible.... there tends to only be 5-7 pieces of each equip in any Ys game so that's kind of nice

it's a ps2 game and it's not easy to find but if you can i suggest checking it out... and all the other ys games (all but 4 and 5 have been released.... and the mmo)
but yeah i'm going to go listen to some J.D.K (falcoms house band and the reason Ys has such great music.) while i wait for tomorrow to come so i don't ahve to worry about bandwidth anymore....

Completed: Project Diva Extend

by completed i mean i've played every song.. yeah it's cheating but you don't really ever complete Rhythm games... especially not ones like p.diva.

First some things to note.
This is an import game that i bought at a convention for the PSP.... you can get import games cause PSP games do not have a region lock.

This game focuses on Vocaloid which, from what i understand but i could be wrong, is a program that was developed to simulate singing. There are many characters and i swear every time i look away for a month or two another 5 pop up.. granted they tend to be from a range of companies but still...

This is the third game for the psp but not the third game of the series... it's more an expansion on two.... which i don't own... i do own 1 though so i will be comparing the two.

and finally as i mentioned before it's a rhythm game which sued to only use the 4 main buttons but now uses both sides of the psp.

hm.... i think going by category would work well.

Graphics
Now it's a game that's played mostly for the song so what is going on in the background doesn't really matter however the game does give you the option to just watch the music videos without playing the game and you can tell that a lot of work went into some of these PVs. otherwise graphics are nice but not really pushing the system.

Song Selection
It has time limit, just be friends, disappearance and that freaky one with the girl in the Kimono.... not to mention a few from P.diva 1 that i really like.... so yeah overall i like the song selection here.... would have liked to see worlds end dance hall or matryoshika but hey.... can't get too picky. 
there are too many slower songs for my taste but i know the game needs a balance so that's just a personal thing.


Unlockables
From outfits to items to bedroom sets to accessories there is a lot to unlock... in fact you only get 4 songs to start off.... once you pass one you get another until the list is full.... and until you beat everything on normal your can't play hard and same thing for hard to extreme so yeah lots to do an collect however
in p.diva 1 you had to hit a certain criteria for getting certain costumes.... but that was it.... in this the criteria is pretty easy BUT you have to then go into the in game shop with points you've amassed from playing and buy the outfit you earned.... not sure which i like better... maybe a mix of both?

Difficulty
yeah this one is way harder then p.diva 1... in p.diva 2 they added a step that involves hitting the arrow and face keys at the same time.... it took me a while to get used to it but it's pretty second nature now.... except when they throw a bunch at me.... it also added hold buttons which adds a bit of a challenge.  they also added extreme so yeah... just all around more difficult but also more fun.... just.... you have to get a really good mark to even pass the song (i think it's over 80%) and sometimes... it's just tricky.... even if you've done the song really well it doesn't screw around.

Ease of play. 
The menu, the song titles (most of them) hell even the costumes all share 1 thing in common... it's all in japanese... this means it's tricky to navigate HOWEVER i managed without looking at any translations so it's not too hard.... hardest part is switching your brain to understanding circle is accept and X is cancel.... which i know verbal makes sense but considering north America has it reversed.... it messes with your head.... but still as logn as you can get to the song list your fine so in that regard really easy to pick up and play

overall?
I like it.... it's fun and addictive and a good way to pass time... just need to get better at extreme songs.... cause yeah they are just a bit too hard while hard is a bit too easy....

BUT i warn you.... the game isn't cheap.... 70+shipping (everything in japan is insanely expensive but that's a talk for another time) so yeah either look for a place that sells import games (some places are even willing to order them for you to save the cost of shipping) or wait till p.diva 3 comes out and this one will drop in price.

Completed: Anime North 2012

so i've been going to AN a long time, my first time was way back they were in the Constellation hotel instead of the doubtletree/congress center. so i think about.... 9 or 10 years...
some years ahve been better then others and most of the time there are good deals and fun people to hang out with.
This year was the first time they placed a cap on the number of people who could attend.
so i'll just do a quick day by day retelling of my time at the con.

Day 1

 After a pretty relaxing day i pack up all my things and wait for my friend to get off work since i'm getting a ride in... this is my first year staying at a hotel so i just packed enough to survive the 3 days.

We get there around 4 - 4:30 and we see the line to get in... it's huge for preorders BUT we think it should go pretty fast because...
a) everyone on friday had to be a preorder.... according to their website they sold out of friday tickets/weekend passes.....
b) due to the fact every onepreordered it would literally just be showing them the confirmation page, checking that it's real (they had an app for that) and then handing us a badge.

for some reason i still can't figure out it took over 2 hours to get through this damn line.
how do i thin the problem could have been solved? have more people helping with preorder tickets OR let people start picking up tickets sooner.... yes there is a thursday thing were people can pick up preorders but most people can't get to that part of town so very few do it..... on the friday they start handing out tickets around 3...... why not start handing them out at12.... or even ten.... yeah the dealers room doesn't open for a while but at least people wont have to wait in a stupid long line for it... anyways we get the tickets and check out the flea market since it' right there and it's jam Packed.... couldn't see anything.... oh well... we head out to eat then we get in line for anime hell and finally i head back to the hotel.

over a fine albeit uneventful day.

Day 2

Lots of things planned only got to do a handful of it.... first the one group of friends wanted to go to the masquerade so we got tickets for that... i figured why not since the 404s show was right after and i wanted to see them more so why not waste some time at the masquerade... it could be fun.... more on that later...

so after gettign the tickets we head over to the NIS America panel which was pretty good other then when the q&a starts we had a "that one guy" complain that NISA anime prices are too high.... this confused me since on their website special editions (13 eps [dvd and blue ray combo]+really nice box/art book + free things like post cards or magnets) see for about 55 and their standard editions (13 eps in a dvd/blueray case) go for about 30.... those prices are AMAZING compared to aniplex who enjoy selling 4 episode special editions for 75 or funimation who enjoys selling combo packs for around 70... yes those versions have dubs but i don't mind sub only for the prices i listed. but yeah this guy had been playing doubt the online price and was bitching at the company since he bought it in retail.... yeah thast not NISA's problem... you want a deal... go to their website.

anyways after I go to lunch.... then FINALLY end up in the dealers room.... where i proceed to buy a lot in a short periode on time.
p.diva extend on psp - 65 (considering i didn't have to pay shipping not a bad price)
vantage master - 30... yay for liking games no one has heard of.
Nyanko-sensei plush - 30.... not a bad price cause of playing for shipping but honestly this and my next purchase will lead up to a rant
Nyanko-sensei pillow/muffle head thingy for 40...

now the quick rant.... normally when you go to a convention  a few things are universally true.

1. there will be some good deals since you took the time to pay to get in and stay the weekend
2. the vendors will be willing to haggle since your business is more important at this kind of event
3. if you pay in cash you wont get charged tax however debit and credit are fair game
4. you will probably find some rare things for a decent bargain.
5. Prices will be cheaper on sunday.

yeah..... this is the first year where NONE of that was true.

the two nyanko-sensei things were bought from 1 vendor... i saw the second thing after the first.... she was asking 45 so i ask since i bought the other thing can i have it for 40.... she pauses agrees then charges me tax bringing my total to 44..... now i don't mind this but no other vendor would haggle at all for anything... it was just strange
Also most places were overcharging things.... but thats a rant for near the end.

where was i.... oh right.... so after dealers room I hang out with some people until the masquerade.... which had a huge line and started 30 minutes later then it's supposed to.... and ended an hour later then it was scheduled.... yes it was fun but i was still annoyed cause i wanted to see the 404s. so Yeah masquerade committee  heres something to think about.

1. start on time.... this shouldn't be too hard... every other panel seems to have the hang of it. 
2. if you know how many people you can fit into 2 hours then go with that many... cap the amount of entries.... or...
3. if you know you have a tendency to go over then book the room for an extra hour on either end.... that was you give a chance for people to get out safely and no one is pissed that there event is cut short by an hour.

so then we have to leave the room get back in the line for the 404s late night improve show.... which was a blast but i could only manage it for an hour.... so tired. 

the second night we flipped a coin for who got the last spot on the bed... i won but the person sleeping beside me didn't like it cause i moved in my sleep.... sorry i did try to stay still.

Day 3

last day.... really only there for the deals in the dealer room.... however most places jacked up the price on the last day...
what is with this? sunday you should drop the price so you don;t ahve to pay as much for transportation... ah whatever i found a few places who had good prices and got...
Ys book 1 and 2 dvds for 5 each.
PMMM madoka soulgem+ring for 14
PMMM madoka nendriod figure for 45

and thats it i believe.... went for sushi with friend... i'm a zombie by this point and so we all headed home around 2-3... i get home drink a lot of tea and yeah.... recover.

overall it was fun but yeah the overpricing thing pissed me off.... people were selling those nisa boxes i talked about earlier for 120 instead of the 50.... that's insane... and jacking up the price on the last day? or being like "oh this ps2 game is new and sealed! 80 bucks please!" no.... if it were rare then maybe but it's not! and yes someone who doesn't know what this stuff is worth may waste there money but everyone has the internet on their phone now a days and can double check the price online and if it's cheaper to buy there and not pay for shipping then fine but that was so rarely the case!

ah well otherwise i had a good time just the dealers room and some other BS that i wont mention was pissing me off.... will i go next year? probably.....
all three days? no.... i highly doubt it. unless they lower the cap or figure out how to streamline everything.... ah well.... more p.diva time~ 

A 'Quick' Ys 6: The Arc of Napishtim Rant

quick rant.... oh god i feel like i'll be doing on a day until i finish the game (which at the rate i'm going will be tomorrow.)

In gaming you can generally make overarching statements about the types of games a company will produce.

examples. Rockstar games tend to have open world elements.
Ignition entertainment games tend to suck.
Nintendo games tend to be for kids...
and then we get to Falcom.... probably my favorite company next to atlus.... funnily they both share this trait but anyways.... Falcom games are Stupidly difficult. not the legend of heroes series as much.... but the Ys series? yeah it doesn't hold you hand... and if it does it's probably leading you off a cliff.

So.... i'm playing ys 6 and i'm doing the first trial cause... why not?
after 20 minutes of precision jumping i get to a chest.... which contains a simple healing item i can buy at the store..... then i spend 40 minutes trying to do the rest of the platforming to get out of the damn room.... why was this so hard?

Platforming in ys6 is not very good.. why? cause half the time the character doesn't jump when you hit the jump button... the other half the hit detection doesn't register you as being close enough to the edge to make the jump. In then end though... that's fine.... frustrating but the enemies don't re-spawn  unless you leave the room.... but it's still annoying when you think your going to make the final jump... and you dont... and you have to start all over.

so why the rage? well in addition to the jump there is something called a dash jump.... which i can only manage to do 10% of the time.... you do get to go farther but it's just another way to screw up the jumping.... first you hit the direction you want to go in.... then attack... and then with no delay at all the jump...and you have to hope it jumps or you will just fall to your doom.... or to another room with monsters hell bent on killing you...

but again... lots of games have specialty jumps... why does this one make you mad....
well in the dungeon i'm on there's a item called a bloody nail that restores a little health with every monster you kill... you get to it you need to dash jump (which as stated before is REALLY hard and the game just expects you to know how to do it) to a platform that you can't see.... it's hidden by the bridge above... and it's a small platform... and you have to dash jump off it as well....

no game.... no.... nononononononoooooooo i refuse.... i do not need your damn item.... i prefer to keep my sanity intact..... i mean.... i spent a huge amount of time just on the damn trial... which has rather large platforms.... and you know what doesn't help? you firing lasers that knock me off the narrow strip that you call a bridge..... but whatever... it's all good... right now i just need to get strong enough to defeat the boss.... i don't care about this platforming BS...

the best part? Ys 3 Oath in Felghana runs on the same engine (but was made after) and it's platforming is not too bad... i mean there are stupid parts where Adol takes a step after jumping but compared to this.... it's wonderful....
funny this is i still love this game... i'm just.... annoyed beyond belief right now... i'm worried i may break my controller...

oh well...

Completed: 3 seasons of Sgt. Frog

well i finished the other two seasons a long time ago but i wasn't writing these back then....
so i'll do a quick summary of all three seasons and hopefully it wont take too long .

Aliens crash land on earth hell bent on taking over the planet.... can't even take over the house they crashed into.... hilarity ensues.

yeah that's..... pretty much it.

Okay a quick note.
I watched this show with English dub... why? because it's the only way to get some of the jokes... i know quite a bit of Japanese cultural references but still most of the stuff would go right over my head.... so for comedy anime i make a point to watch it in English first then later watch it as it's meant to be seen.

however i have listened to a few episodes in japanese and i can say the main differences

1. English Version has a narrator, from the episode i saw the japanese doesn't... just those subtitles that pop out to deliver some jokes.

2. those subtitles i just mentioned are changed in the english version to make sense to an english speaking audience.... one scene has almost the entire screen covered in writing but the subtitle just says "a lot of crap" i think this kind of stuff adds to the humor.

3. the english voice cast is almost identical sounding to the japanese cast except Keroro who has a much more gravelly voice in the original version.

again i will watch it all in japanese i'll probably do a versus so all i'll say for now is it was fun.... but i have so much more to go and i don't know is Funimation is releasing anymore...it just finished last year at 358 episodes over 7 seasons.  (in japan it's 7 seasons.... FUNimation is sellign it like 26 eps is a season so.... yeah.... way more seasons in english)
and i just finished episode 78... oh boy..

well since i don't have much to say from here.... STORY TIME~

back in high school my friends were really into this series (in manga form cause it took YEARS to finally get to dvd) and for some reason they decided to attach a frog to members of our group of friends...
So the one who likes the show the most was Keroro, soon followed by our friend who was a bit of a techy being Kululu, our friend whom we deemed was a ninja both in past and present life was Dororo... the other girl in the group was Tamama cause he's so cute... despite the dual personalities.... and I was given the title of Giroro... the angry red one who enjoys nothing more then fighting... he also likes cats, cooking and has to deal with unrequited love.
Yeah i think it was more of a slam then anything but Giroro fits into my personality frighteningly well (other then the fighting.... i'm too lazy to fight) and he's my fav colour so it was a bonus.... and even though i wasn't into the show before that but i gave it a shot and yeah it was a fun time. I'm normally not into comedy anime but this one has a charm probably because of my friends including me into this group of frogs lol.

Completed: House

I will state a few things right away.
i was not always a fan... i would catch an ep here and there and laugh at all of Houses silly antics but i've only seen the past 2 or 3 seasons solidly.... i got into it right as everyone else left because they were sick of the formulaic plot.

But even though you knew that some point in the last 10 mins... hell last 5 mins he will have the side story cause an epiphany to help him diagnose his main case it was really fun getting to that point.

the show was more of a guilty pleasure then anything else cause it was a lot of fun.

Tonight was the two hour season finale... the first hour was a featurette about how the show was made and the actors and all the people who don't normally get seen on camera... yeah it doesn't show the Hurry up and wait that is the film/television industry but it shows the fun times... which anyone who has worked in drama of any kind knows that the fun/funny/random stuff is really all you remember.

the second hour was the final episode which was pretty good and had a really interesting ending, is it my fav ep of house that i've seen? probably not... but i felt that it was a good ending... things happen that needed to happen to help redeem this character who for the past 8 years has been an insufferable jerk...

so yeah i guess i'm saying I liked it.... it was fun.... and now it's over...

no more being erica (yeah i know it ended a long time ago i still really liked it) ... no more house.... what will fill my monday night viewings..... hm.... maybe Natsume yuujinchou season 5 has been announced for fall? i guess that's probably a little too hopeful

Completed: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

Well it was WAY better then part one.... but i think everyone in the world knows that already so....

Story time~

Way back in 4th grade i was over at a friends house when her mother came up to me all smiles holding a hardcover book.
"Look we got the new harry potter book! we were lucky since it was almost sold out!"
I gave her a blank expression.... I had never heard of the series before... and this was the 4th (or maybe 3rd) to be released.
however after that moment i noticed some of my classmates reading them as well... each one with a different cover....
However at this point in my life i didn't really like reading.... it just never drew me in and could never hold my interest.... however my parents had heard that this book was getting kids into reading... so they bought me the volumes that were out and gave them to me.
Again the first few pages didn't really catch my attention but my parents wanted me to read so they started setting deadlines "you must have a chapter read before the end of the week" kind of thing.

Now anyone who knows me understands that i'm am stubborn to a fault and if you tell me to do something... even something i would have done otherwise... i will dig my heals in an refuse... so this actually made me dislike reading.

so after being forced to read the first three books my dad brought up a different series, the Belgariad by David Eddings. "read it i you want... it's one of my favorite series"
so i put off reading book four and started the Belgariad... now i'm eight or nine at the point as i started reading it.... and a whole new world opened to me.... I ADORE the books and to this day when people say "what should i go read" i say "David Eddings, Brent weeks and Aaron Pogue"...

anyways so with this new found love of reading i go and read book 4.... and i loved it.... to this day it's my fav of the 7 harry potter books.... i still don't really like 1-3, they are okay but i just don't care....

So eventually the seventh book comes out and i read it in a day and i'm left with a bit of a bad taste in my mouth... i mean most of the book is really good but the epilogue.... kinda ruined the whole thing for me....
also i don't find any of the canon pairings have any chemistry....
but hey at least snape who since book one was always my fav character got probably the best storyline in that series so... yay~

so what was the point of this storytime?
well even though this series is no where my fav book series i still found it enjoyable and i'm sure years from now when it's not as saturated into the market new kids will hopefully pick it up and enjoy....
yes the series in my opinion has some flaws but it's a lot of fun and i understand why so many rank it as their top pick.... so yeah if you haven't already... go read the books, see the films.... whatever just enjoy it.... so yeah.... kinda glad there will be no more to tell the truth cause it ends on a high note *erases the epilogue from her mind*