To those who have not played Persona 4 yet; there is more than one ending in the game. To get the "Best" ending, you have to select the correct dialog choices at certain points in the game. I've gotten to those points now. Since I wasn't using a walkthrough, I unintentionally ended up with "Bad" endings, which left me unsatisfied.
Never fear, though, for I've gotten past some of these sequences. Let's just say I did the same thing Captain Kirk would've done in my situation.
"You cheated!?"
Hey, how else could he beat the Kobyashi Maru? And, okay, technically, I didn't cheat, but I did go to GameFAQs, which is close enough. (Besides, I am morally opposed to the use of Game Sharks, Game Genies for you old school gamers, and similar devices.) If you wanna see everything P4 has to offer, don't forget your walkthrough. I'm not kidding when I say that.
How 'bout this? In my next post, I might not talk about P4. I might talk about something completely unrelated to video games. Or, maybe I'll just screw with you, and continue blabbing about P4. Who knows?
Oh, and readers, you know who else is cute besides Yukiko-san? Rise-chan! Wavy auburn pigtails, cute voice, amusing dialog, she's almost as cute as an Insanely Cute girl!
Monday, March 30, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
You gotta play Persona 4!
Okay, something's wrong here. My favorite Xbox 360-exclusive game, as of right now, is Tales of Vesperia. Now granted, I haven't had the chance to play that many 360 games yet, but that where I stand as of right now. Here's where things are wrong.
I like P4 more than TOV.
None can stand before the might that is the PS2! (except for the SNES) (And also, I have a feeling the 360 library hasn't peaked yet.)
Anyways, more ways in which P4 is better than P3: your characters do not get tired out in the dungeons. Theoretically, you could crawl dungeons forever provided you have enough items and you them and your healing spells judiciously. This is good. One less thing to worry about.
Another thing you don't have to worry about; girls don't get jealous of other girls. This actually makes some of the social links easier than they were in P3. You can date as many girls as possible, and none of them seem to care that you're seeing them all at once. And, much like in P3, your character is a chick magnet. Virtually any girl close to your age and nice enough to talk to you can fall for you. Of course, I can't determine if their feelings are merely platonic crushes, or romantic crushes, or romantic crushes that eventually shift to platonic crushes. Oh whatever. Let's just say that girls are totally hot for you in P4. Realistic? Not very much. But then again, it must have something to do with being the chosen one. Your character in P3 was the same way . . .
So what are you waiting for? Play P4 already! It has everything you could want!
P.S. When Yukiko is wearing her black short-sleeved blouse and white miniskirt on days off from school, she looks so cute! She's a doll.
P.P.S. But she can't replace Yukari-chan. No female RPG character can.
P.P.P.S. Except Arche Klaine.
P.P.P.P.S. And Rinoa Heartilly, if you count games that I have a love/hate relationship with.
I like P4 more than TOV.
None can stand before the might that is the PS2! (except for the SNES) (And also, I have a feeling the 360 library hasn't peaked yet.)
Anyways, more ways in which P4 is better than P3: your characters do not get tired out in the dungeons. Theoretically, you could crawl dungeons forever provided you have enough items and you them and your healing spells judiciously. This is good. One less thing to worry about.
Another thing you don't have to worry about; girls don't get jealous of other girls. This actually makes some of the social links easier than they were in P3. You can date as many girls as possible, and none of them seem to care that you're seeing them all at once. And, much like in P3, your character is a chick magnet. Virtually any girl close to your age and nice enough to talk to you can fall for you. Of course, I can't determine if their feelings are merely platonic crushes, or romantic crushes, or romantic crushes that eventually shift to platonic crushes. Oh whatever. Let's just say that girls are totally hot for you in P4. Realistic? Not very much. But then again, it must have something to do with being the chosen one. Your character in P3 was the same way . . .
So what are you waiting for? Play P4 already! It has everything you could want!
P.S. When Yukiko is wearing her black short-sleeved blouse and white miniskirt on days off from school, she looks so cute! She's a doll.
P.P.S. But she can't replace Yukari-chan. No female RPG character can.
P.P.P.S. Except Arche Klaine.
P.P.P.P.S. And Rinoa Heartilly, if you count games that I have a love/hate relationship with.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
I love Persona 4.
And you know who else I love? Teddie. He is awesome incarnate.
By the way, I didn't recognize Teddie's voice at first, but after some research, and after seeing a crucial cutscene involving Teddie, I can confirm that his English voice is played by Dave Wittenberg. After having seen this scene, I make the following declaration:
I now consider Dave Wittenberg to be one of the best VAs of all time.
Who better than to have the voice of Kakashi, Saito, and the Computer Club President play Teddie, the "mascot" of Persona 4!? You know, Teddie could've been annoying as Hell. But, as the tvtropes article points out, thankfully due to good writing, dialogue, and voice acting, he is awesome. The same is true of Nanako, if you bother to look up the actual quote.
Yeah, kinda good when a game that's trying to tell a real story has strong writing, acting, and whatnot.
It's not surprising that Atlus has been rising in prominence within the last few years. Granted, Atlus has been around for a long time, but I myself only took notice of them when Odin Sphere came out about two years ago. That . . . would be a game I have a love/hate relationship with.
But not P4 though. My relationship with P4 is a love/love relationship! Hey, kind've like my relationship with Lunar, and Mother 3, and . . . yeah. Lots of good video RPGs out there.
By the way, I didn't recognize Teddie's voice at first, but after some research, and after seeing a crucial cutscene involving Teddie, I can confirm that his English voice is played by Dave Wittenberg. After having seen this scene, I make the following declaration:
I now consider Dave Wittenberg to be one of the best VAs of all time.
Who better than to have the voice of Kakashi, Saito, and the Computer Club President play Teddie, the "mascot" of Persona 4!? You know, Teddie could've been annoying as Hell. But, as the tvtropes article points out, thankfully due to good writing, dialogue, and voice acting, he is awesome. The same is true of Nanako, if you bother to look up the actual quote.
Yeah, kinda good when a game that's trying to tell a real story has strong writing, acting, and whatnot.
It's not surprising that Atlus has been rising in prominence within the last few years. Granted, Atlus has been around for a long time, but I myself only took notice of them when Odin Sphere came out about two years ago. That . . . would be a game I have a love/hate relationship with.
But not P4 though. My relationship with P4 is a love/love relationship! Hey, kind've like my relationship with Lunar, and Mother 3, and . . . yeah. Lots of good video RPGs out there.
Monday, March 23, 2009
The Art of the Dub
Who says English dubs have to suck?
Acting, like with any profession, is something you get better at the more you do it. It's true with any form of acting, including voice acting. The VAs in Persona 4 I can recognize are definitely more seasoned now than in the past.
Yosuke, the girl-crazy guy friend of your character, is voiced by Yuri Lowenthal. (Geeze, how many roles does he get these days!? He's gonna appear on Entertainment Tonight at this rate.) I've noticed he's more nuanced now than a few years back. Compare his Sasuke from the earlier episodes of Naruto to either his Simon from Gurren Lagaan or Yosuke, and you'll see what I mean. He even sounds better here then he did in Persona 3, and P3's dub was no slouch either.
Also, there's a character in P4 named Adachi, who is played by Johnny Yong Bosch. One of his earlier voice roles was Vash the Stampede from Trigun. He was pretty good as Vash, (I prefer his voice over the Japanese version) but in his later roles, he sounds much more natural, like when he was Renton from Eureka Seven, or Ichigo from Bleach, or Itsuki from Haruhi Suzumiya. He sounds on the mark in P4 also.
And another example, I had to look up sources for this one, because this actress didn't catch my ear until now. Another character in the game is Yukiko, a shy, elegant girl, who is played by Amanda Winn Lee. She was the English voice of Rei Ayanami in Evangelion, and was the first English voice of Etna in Disgaea. Honestly, neither of those performances impressed me, (Besides, no one can top Michelle Ruff as Etna. No one.) but her take on Yukiko . . . so good! Then again, when did the first English dub of Eva come out, 1997? And P4 came out in 2008, right? It doesn't surprise me that she's gotten better in that time.
Just about everyone sounds great. Even the voices I can't recognize sound great. Oh, also, my favorite character so far is Kanji. He is played by Troy Baker. He does a better job playing Kanji than he did Yuri from Tales of Vesperia, and TOV's dub was excellent. Yeah baby.
Acting, like with any profession, is something you get better at the more you do it. It's true with any form of acting, including voice acting. The VAs in Persona 4 I can recognize are definitely more seasoned now than in the past.
Yosuke, the girl-crazy guy friend of your character, is voiced by Yuri Lowenthal. (Geeze, how many roles does he get these days!? He's gonna appear on Entertainment Tonight at this rate.) I've noticed he's more nuanced now than a few years back. Compare his Sasuke from the earlier episodes of Naruto to either his Simon from Gurren Lagaan or Yosuke, and you'll see what I mean. He even sounds better here then he did in Persona 3, and P3's dub was no slouch either.
Also, there's a character in P4 named Adachi, who is played by Johnny Yong Bosch. One of his earlier voice roles was Vash the Stampede from Trigun. He was pretty good as Vash, (I prefer his voice over the Japanese version) but in his later roles, he sounds much more natural, like when he was Renton from Eureka Seven, or Ichigo from Bleach, or Itsuki from Haruhi Suzumiya. He sounds on the mark in P4 also.
And another example, I had to look up sources for this one, because this actress didn't catch my ear until now. Another character in the game is Yukiko, a shy, elegant girl, who is played by Amanda Winn Lee. She was the English voice of Rei Ayanami in Evangelion, and was the first English voice of Etna in Disgaea. Honestly, neither of those performances impressed me, (Besides, no one can top Michelle Ruff as Etna. No one.) but her take on Yukiko . . . so good! Then again, when did the first English dub of Eva come out, 1997? And P4 came out in 2008, right? It doesn't surprise me that she's gotten better in that time.
Just about everyone sounds great. Even the voices I can't recognize sound great. Oh, also, my favorite character so far is Kanji. He is played by Troy Baker. He does a better job playing Kanji than he did Yuri from Tales of Vesperia, and TOV's dub was excellent. Yeah baby.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Pursuing my true self
Persona 4, unlike Persona 3, has a nifty battle command you can use; guard. Oh sure, you see a similar command in many other stat-based RPGs, but being able to guard in P4 is a lifesaver. I am forever grateful to the fine people at Atlus now.
Here's something else, there is a way I found time to build up social links; like in P3, you have to beat a boss at certain days of the week. In P3, this always happened on full moon nights. In P4, you can beat a boss anytime so long as you do it before a foggy day. If you beat a boss, say, 6 days before the next foggy morning, you get six days free time! Woot! Also, there are times when you can't enter the tv world, but can still do stuff around town, like build up social links. I guess I'm not so helpless after all.
So let's recap:
Ways that P4 is better than P3: game itself is more user-friendly, is not as daunting, has a better soundtrack.
Ways that P4 is worse than P3: Social links are harder to do. And there's no one who (so far) can replace Yukari-chan . . .
Ha ha! P4 is more enjoyable so far! I can summarize my feelings for this game with one word:
Excellent.
Here's something else, there is a way I found time to build up social links; like in P3, you have to beat a boss at certain days of the week. In P3, this always happened on full moon nights. In P4, you can beat a boss anytime so long as you do it before a foggy day. If you beat a boss, say, 6 days before the next foggy morning, you get six days free time! Woot! Also, there are times when you can't enter the tv world, but can still do stuff around town, like build up social links. I guess I'm not so helpless after all.
So let's recap:
Ways that P4 is better than P3: game itself is more user-friendly, is not as daunting, has a better soundtrack.
Ways that P4 is worse than P3: Social links are harder to do. And there's no one who (so far) can replace Yukari-chan . . .
Ha ha! P4 is more enjoyable so far! I can summarize my feelings for this game with one word:
Excellent.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Persona 4: The overview
Now this is a way for a game system to go out, not with a whimper, but with a bang!
Everything Persona 3 does, Persona 4 either does better, or does it in its own unique way. Even though it's from the same developer, and even runs on the same engine, P4 is not just "P3 but in a small town." Oh no. It's much, much, more.
Okay, first thing's first, the good stuff. The storyline is once again top-notch. There's mystery, humor, angst, drama, horror, and action in the plot. The characterization is good, the dialogue is believable, and it really does its job of not losing your attention. The voice-acting is really good, maybe even better than P3's. I recognize a few voices here and there, and overall, it's great. And lastly, the soundtrack is much, much, much better than P3's. Shoji Meguro is not an overrated hack after all! Of course, P4's music is not of the quality of a Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy title, but it's leagues beyond P3's. And, the game comes with a CD of the music! Awesome!
The gameplay is more streamlined than in P3. You don't have to talk to your party members to equip them with new items, you can just do it from a menu, like in a normal RPG. (Thank the kami!) You can analyze the enemies in P4, but unlike in P3, you must discover their strengths and weaknesses by trial and error. This isn't a dealbreaker, since this means I don't have to skip turns to analyze their weaknesses. Armor raises your defense and evasion stats. And here's the clincher; you can directly control all of your characters in battle. This is how it should be. Thank you thank you thank you Atlus! On the other hand, the card game for obtaining Persona is now harder. You better have damn good eyesight now.
If there is one problem, it's this; building up social links is harder in P4 than it is in P3. You go into the 'tv world' during the evening after school instead of at night. However, the time where you can bolster most of your social links? Yeah, same time. It's not like in P3 where the two often took place at separate times of the day. I better find a way to circumvent this soon, otherwise my Persona fusion won't be of much help . . .
And also, this is just personal, but, there's no one in the game (so far) who's sweet and adorable like Yukari-chan.
"Aw, isn't that heartbreaking, xm?"
Whatever. It's no big deal.
My feelings so far; P4 may be one of the PS2's best games. If so, then the PS2 couldn't ask for a better "last big name game." More on P4 later. I need to bust Shadow skulls.
Everything Persona 3 does, Persona 4 either does better, or does it in its own unique way. Even though it's from the same developer, and even runs on the same engine, P4 is not just "P3 but in a small town." Oh no. It's much, much, more.
Okay, first thing's first, the good stuff. The storyline is once again top-notch. There's mystery, humor, angst, drama, horror, and action in the plot. The characterization is good, the dialogue is believable, and it really does its job of not losing your attention. The voice-acting is really good, maybe even better than P3's. I recognize a few voices here and there, and overall, it's great. And lastly, the soundtrack is much, much, much better than P3's. Shoji Meguro is not an overrated hack after all! Of course, P4's music is not of the quality of a Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy title, but it's leagues beyond P3's. And, the game comes with a CD of the music! Awesome!
The gameplay is more streamlined than in P3. You don't have to talk to your party members to equip them with new items, you can just do it from a menu, like in a normal RPG. (Thank the kami!) You can analyze the enemies in P4, but unlike in P3, you must discover their strengths and weaknesses by trial and error. This isn't a dealbreaker, since this means I don't have to skip turns to analyze their weaknesses. Armor raises your defense and evasion stats. And here's the clincher; you can directly control all of your characters in battle. This is how it should be. Thank you thank you thank you Atlus! On the other hand, the card game for obtaining Persona is now harder. You better have damn good eyesight now.
If there is one problem, it's this; building up social links is harder in P4 than it is in P3. You go into the 'tv world' during the evening after school instead of at night. However, the time where you can bolster most of your social links? Yeah, same time. It's not like in P3 where the two often took place at separate times of the day. I better find a way to circumvent this soon, otherwise my Persona fusion won't be of much help . . .
And also, this is just personal, but, there's no one in the game (so far) who's sweet and adorable like Yukari-chan.
"Aw, isn't that heartbreaking, xm?"
Whatever. It's no big deal.
My feelings so far; P4 may be one of the PS2's best games. If so, then the PS2 couldn't ask for a better "last big name game." More on P4 later. I need to bust Shadow skulls.
Monday, March 16, 2009
What to do if confronted by a Lamer Gamer
Now, as a hardcore gamer, I've known this for many years. Here, I'll start with a quote from the "serious business" page of tvtropes:
" . . . I can safely say that the self-styled 'Hardcore' crowd no longer care about playing games that are actually FUN. I can't go on a single gaming forum without finding at least a dozen people who refuse to play any games with bright colors in them. Or any games that don't feature guns. Because those games are 'kiddie games' (which are apparently a terrible thing) or 'casual games' (which apparently, for some reason, are even worse)."
And also this gem:
"This troper read a story on GameSpot about how M-rated games sell better. Many of the comments for the article were along the lines of:
Now I feel embarrassed for owning an Xbox 360, since most of its best-selling exclusive games are M-rated, have guns, and are not "gay". (translation: will not offend the sensibilities of homophobic assfucks) The infamous Yathzee pointed this out in his overview of Gears of War 2: a shitload of masculinity, no girly stuff, and yet it's still fun. I agree, I like GOW 2, and I don't even mind the mature content, since it is a gripping depiction of the brutality that is war, but I can't help but notice that all the violence, swearing, uber-masculine characters, and gravelly voice of the main hero was obviously to cater to the 'hardcore' gamers that grew up on Nintendo, then suddenly jumped ship when Microsoft said, "Hey, want bloody games? Buy the Xbox! (and nowadays, add a 360 to the end)" In a sense, it's a brillaint move on Microsoft's part, catering to this audience. Sega and Sony didn't get this much attention from 'mature' gamers (well, Sony did at first, when the original Resident Evil came out for the PS1, but that was a short-lived glory), and even Nintendo's more mature games (like Metroid) don't attract the insecure-in-their-masculinity teen-to-twenty-something male audience like Halo, GOW, Crackdown, and other Xbox offerings do.
It almost seems ironic that I, a guy not obsessed with appearing masculine, chose the 360 over the PS3 and Wii. So then, allow me to be at my most masculine then, addressing the 'hardcore' gamers who believe this shit.
*clears throat*
*blasts Metroid Metal's remix of Kraid's Lair*
Okay dipshits; where exactly does this attitude of "only uber-violent games with guns are good games, everything else sucks" come from? It's a crock of shit! And a logical fallacy to boot! Games don't need to be M-rated to be fun. Games can have bright color scemes and still be great.
You know what your attitude is doing? It's giving gamers a bad image. And that means, by merely associating myself with the video game hobby, people will associate me and my fellow colleagues with homophobic assfucks. Guess what? Not everyone subscribes to your immaturity and your pathetic posturing. Sure, some of my favorite games are M-rated fests I would not play in front of my baby cousins, but on the other hand, some of my favorite games are E-rated, or T-rated.
You know what I'd like to do to you retards? Challenge you to a deathmatch of an M-rated game I'm godlike on; Duke Nukem 3D, the PC version. I double dog dare you fucktards to beat me on D3D. If I win, which I would, I get to confiscate your Xbox Live accounts. If I lose, I'll let you consfiscate all my games that aren't M-rated. How's that?
Of course, I'm not kidding when I say I'm godlike on D3D. I will devour your corpses and shit out victory when I'm through with you!
JUST WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM ANYWAYS!!?!?!?!?!?!?!
That is all.
" . . . I can safely say that the self-styled 'Hardcore' crowd no longer care about playing games that are actually FUN. I can't go on a single gaming forum without finding at least a dozen people who refuse to play any games with bright colors in them. Or any games that don't feature guns. Because those games are 'kiddie games' (which are apparently a terrible thing) or 'casual games' (which apparently, for some reason, are even worse)."
And also this gem:
"This troper read a story on GameSpot about how M-rated games sell better. Many of the comments for the article were along the lines of:
- 'Games that DON'T have blood when people die make me squeamish'
- 'Thanks for stating the obvious: that better games sell better! What's next, the sky is blue?'
- 'I cannot stand the idea of an E-rated game. I want to blow up people and see them explode in gory messes, not stupid kiddy graphics or people bleeding flowers or some shit.'"
Now I feel embarrassed for owning an Xbox 360, since most of its best-selling exclusive games are M-rated, have guns, and are not "gay". (translation: will not offend the sensibilities of homophobic assfucks) The infamous Yathzee pointed this out in his overview of Gears of War 2: a shitload of masculinity, no girly stuff, and yet it's still fun. I agree, I like GOW 2, and I don't even mind the mature content, since it is a gripping depiction of the brutality that is war, but I can't help but notice that all the violence, swearing, uber-masculine characters, and gravelly voice of the main hero was obviously to cater to the 'hardcore' gamers that grew up on Nintendo, then suddenly jumped ship when Microsoft said, "Hey, want bloody games? Buy the Xbox! (and nowadays, add a 360 to the end)" In a sense, it's a brillaint move on Microsoft's part, catering to this audience. Sega and Sony didn't get this much attention from 'mature' gamers (well, Sony did at first, when the original Resident Evil came out for the PS1, but that was a short-lived glory), and even Nintendo's more mature games (like Metroid) don't attract the insecure-in-their-masculinity teen-to-twenty-something male audience like Halo, GOW, Crackdown, and other Xbox offerings do.
It almost seems ironic that I, a guy not obsessed with appearing masculine, chose the 360 over the PS3 and Wii. So then, allow me to be at my most masculine then, addressing the 'hardcore' gamers who believe this shit.
*clears throat*
*blasts Metroid Metal's remix of Kraid's Lair*
Okay dipshits; where exactly does this attitude of "only uber-violent games with guns are good games, everything else sucks" come from? It's a crock of shit! And a logical fallacy to boot! Games don't need to be M-rated to be fun. Games can have bright color scemes and still be great.
You know what your attitude is doing? It's giving gamers a bad image. And that means, by merely associating myself with the video game hobby, people will associate me and my fellow colleagues with homophobic assfucks. Guess what? Not everyone subscribes to your immaturity and your pathetic posturing. Sure, some of my favorite games are M-rated fests I would not play in front of my baby cousins, but on the other hand, some of my favorite games are E-rated, or T-rated.
You know what I'd like to do to you retards? Challenge you to a deathmatch of an M-rated game I'm godlike on; Duke Nukem 3D, the PC version. I double dog dare you fucktards to beat me on D3D. If I win, which I would, I get to confiscate your Xbox Live accounts. If I lose, I'll let you consfiscate all my games that aren't M-rated. How's that?
Of course, I'm not kidding when I say I'm godlike on D3D. I will devour your corpses and shit out victory when I'm through with you!
JUST WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM ANYWAYS!!?!?!?!?!?!?!
That is all.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
going somewhat retro
I ordered another game online. But not an Xbox 360 game, though. I bought what is said to be the last important game to come out for the PS2.
Persona 4.
When it gets here, expect me to do a playthrough of it. I only hope that P4 doesn't have P3's flaws. Then again, could anyone replace Yukari-chan? Only time will tell.
So . . . the only other PS2 game I would buy at this point is Disgaea 2, if only because I like that more than D1. Otherwise . . . my PS2 collecting days are over. The PS2 will soon go the way of the PS1; gone, but not forgotten. Except unlike the PS1, the PS2 was actually a good system, not a crappy system with a few good games and a fuckton of overrated games. Yes, considering how lackluster sales of the PS3 have been, the best of Sony Computer Entertainment may be behind us, for now.
Since I didn't get my PS2 until early 2005, I missed out on renting some of the older games. I haven't played the first Devil May Cry, I've never played any of the Jak and Daxter games, I'm probably not gonna play the Atlus RPGs that aren't Persona, I skipped the .//hack games, and I'm not really interested in ICO nor Shadow of the Colossus. Then again, when you have a system that can play thousands of different games, it would be pretty hard to find time to play through every single one of them, especially in one lifetime.
Moving on . . .
way back when I did my P3 playthrough, I mentioned that there was a character that spoke entirely in, in my words, Lamerese. Lamerese is what I call Leet Speak. I've been familiar with Leet Speak since I became an internet junkie in 2001. As an English major, I can tell you right now, I am not fond of Leet Speak. And ever since text messaging became widespread, Leet Speak is now done by non-gamers as well as gamers. However, I do remember in my halcyon days of 2001 that there was this guy who hated Leet Speak. He knew that Leet Speakers sometimes referred to people he didn't like as lamers. He then rechristened Leet Speak "Lamerese." There was also, "llama-ese", but Lamerese flowed better. When I started communicating on the web, I make it my duty to never speak in Lamerese except when I'm mocking stupid people on the internet. I'm sure long time readers have noticed this. For example, when I was writing about that article about that otaku from Japan who wanted to legalize marry between people and fictional people, I mocked the numbskulls who commented on that article, the numbskulls who assume all Japanese people are weird and perverse, by repeating what they said in Lamerese, "LOL! Japanese! amirite!?" Of course, they're just being close-minded racist assholes, but yeah, that's an example. (Then again, FLCL, the weirdest thing I have ever seen in my life, was made by a Japanese studio. On the other hand, the Japanese woman I met at college was not offbeat in the slightest sense of the word. From my observations, it's rather pointless to stereotype people.)
Anyways, getting back to Lamerese, this may be why I like Arby N The Chief so much. (just look it up on Machinima.com. It's highly ranked at the moment.) Because Chief (the action figure Chief, not the actual Master Chief) speaks mostly in Lamerese. Why? Because only idiots talk like that!
But I bring up Arby because the newest episode, Season 3 Episode 8, is the funniest one ever. If you're a long time gamer, you need to see that. You just need to.
If I start writing again, and it's not about P4 or Resident Evil 5 (assuming I can rent it) expect me to comment more on idiot gamers. Just wait. Oh, see!? I didn't say, "W8" Ha! I mock your pseudo Modern English!
Persona 4.
When it gets here, expect me to do a playthrough of it. I only hope that P4 doesn't have P3's flaws. Then again, could anyone replace Yukari-chan? Only time will tell.
So . . . the only other PS2 game I would buy at this point is Disgaea 2, if only because I like that more than D1. Otherwise . . . my PS2 collecting days are over. The PS2 will soon go the way of the PS1; gone, but not forgotten. Except unlike the PS1, the PS2 was actually a good system, not a crappy system with a few good games and a fuckton of overrated games. Yes, considering how lackluster sales of the PS3 have been, the best of Sony Computer Entertainment may be behind us, for now.
Since I didn't get my PS2 until early 2005, I missed out on renting some of the older games. I haven't played the first Devil May Cry, I've never played any of the Jak and Daxter games, I'm probably not gonna play the Atlus RPGs that aren't Persona, I skipped the .//hack games, and I'm not really interested in ICO nor Shadow of the Colossus. Then again, when you have a system that can play thousands of different games, it would be pretty hard to find time to play through every single one of them, especially in one lifetime.
Moving on . . .
way back when I did my P3 playthrough, I mentioned that there was a character that spoke entirely in, in my words, Lamerese. Lamerese is what I call Leet Speak. I've been familiar with Leet Speak since I became an internet junkie in 2001. As an English major, I can tell you right now, I am not fond of Leet Speak. And ever since text messaging became widespread, Leet Speak is now done by non-gamers as well as gamers. However, I do remember in my halcyon days of 2001 that there was this guy who hated Leet Speak. He knew that Leet Speakers sometimes referred to people he didn't like as lamers. He then rechristened Leet Speak "Lamerese." There was also, "llama-ese", but Lamerese flowed better. When I started communicating on the web, I make it my duty to never speak in Lamerese except when I'm mocking stupid people on the internet. I'm sure long time readers have noticed this. For example, when I was writing about that article about that otaku from Japan who wanted to legalize marry between people and fictional people, I mocked the numbskulls who commented on that article, the numbskulls who assume all Japanese people are weird and perverse, by repeating what they said in Lamerese, "LOL! Japanese! amirite!?" Of course, they're just being close-minded racist assholes, but yeah, that's an example. (Then again, FLCL, the weirdest thing I have ever seen in my life, was made by a Japanese studio. On the other hand, the Japanese woman I met at college was not offbeat in the slightest sense of the word. From my observations, it's rather pointless to stereotype people.)
Anyways, getting back to Lamerese, this may be why I like Arby N The Chief so much. (just look it up on Machinima.com. It's highly ranked at the moment.) Because Chief (the action figure Chief, not the actual Master Chief) speaks mostly in Lamerese. Why? Because only idiots talk like that!
But I bring up Arby because the newest episode, Season 3 Episode 8, is the funniest one ever. If you're a long time gamer, you need to see that. You just need to.
If I start writing again, and it's not about P4 or Resident Evil 5 (assuming I can rent it) expect me to comment more on idiot gamers. Just wait. Oh, see!? I didn't say, "W8" Ha! I mock your pseudo Modern English!
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Tales of Vesperia: The Review
Is Tales of Vesperia fun? Yes. Yes it is. There's lots of dungeons to explore, lots of items to find, many abilities to acquire, tons of sidequests, plenty of different monsters to fight, and so forth. TOV runs on the same engine as Tales of the Abyss, but because it runs on the Xbox 360, there's shorter load times, less lag, better graphics and sound, and a refined combat system. TOV is the best selling 360-exclusive game in Japan right now, and there is a dedicated fanbase in America as well.
What then, could be wrong with TOV? Well for one thing, it's not very challenging. If you're an RPG veteran, this game won't be very challenging for the most part. Throughout my entire playthrough, I only experienced one game over, and that was because my party was turned to stone. (Much like in Final Fantasy, the stone status ailment is a one-hit kill) Most of the bosses aren't much tougher than the regular enemies, and by the time you get to the final boss, it won't be much of a challenge if you're high leveled enough. Still, an easier game is easier to delve into than a hard game, and is less intimidating than something 'hardcore.'
Much like other Tales games, the story in TOV tries to be a real story. However, it's not up to the standards I've come to expect from a Tales game. Tales of Phantasia and The Abyss were far more epic, and even Legendia, if you're willing to overlook its few flaws in storytelling, surpasses Vesperia in this regard. Then again, it's rather unfair of me to knock TOV for its writing. Within the last year, I've played (most of) Persona 3, Mother 3, and Lunar: Silver Star Story, stat-based RPGs with way better writing than Vesperia's. And yet, the story in Vesperia is not a complete disaster. It is above-average. Vesperia's storytelling strengths comes from the JRPG cliches it avoids, thus presenting something a little more original, especially for jaded RPG gamers. Yuri, the main protagonist, is not a shrill teen boy, but rather, a twenty-something who prefers to do something about it rather than complain, unlike 90 percent of other RPG heroes. Estellise, the stereotypical healer girl, is . . . a girl who wants to save people with her powers, but is not a Mary Sue-ish moe girl like, say, Shirley from Legendia, and is actually pretty strong in physical combat; she's far from helpless. The ending isn't grand, but there is one twist, one I did not see coming. (I can't tell you what it is, because of spoilers) While not having as strong of characterization as most other Tales games, Vesperia has this going for it; the story is better than Tales of Eternia's, and there's no one in the game who is annoying like Legendia's Norma Beatty. (Thank Lorelei for that last one. TOTA reference!)
RPG snobs may overlook Vesperia because its story isn't the best ever. If they do, then they're missing out on one of the best games out for the Xbox 360. Remember, the earliest video RPGs did not have otherworldly narratives, yet some of them still sold well. If you're like me, and you play games for the actual game parts, then you owe it to yourself to play Vesperia. It is never boring.
Tales of Vesperia Final Score: 10 out of 10.
What then, could be wrong with TOV? Well for one thing, it's not very challenging. If you're an RPG veteran, this game won't be very challenging for the most part. Throughout my entire playthrough, I only experienced one game over, and that was because my party was turned to stone. (Much like in Final Fantasy, the stone status ailment is a one-hit kill) Most of the bosses aren't much tougher than the regular enemies, and by the time you get to the final boss, it won't be much of a challenge if you're high leveled enough. Still, an easier game is easier to delve into than a hard game, and is less intimidating than something 'hardcore.'
Much like other Tales games, the story in TOV tries to be a real story. However, it's not up to the standards I've come to expect from a Tales game. Tales of Phantasia and The Abyss were far more epic, and even Legendia, if you're willing to overlook its few flaws in storytelling, surpasses Vesperia in this regard. Then again, it's rather unfair of me to knock TOV for its writing. Within the last year, I've played (most of) Persona 3, Mother 3, and Lunar: Silver Star Story, stat-based RPGs with way better writing than Vesperia's. And yet, the story in Vesperia is not a complete disaster. It is above-average. Vesperia's storytelling strengths comes from the JRPG cliches it avoids, thus presenting something a little more original, especially for jaded RPG gamers. Yuri, the main protagonist, is not a shrill teen boy, but rather, a twenty-something who prefers to do something about it rather than complain, unlike 90 percent of other RPG heroes. Estellise, the stereotypical healer girl, is . . . a girl who wants to save people with her powers, but is not a Mary Sue-ish moe girl like, say, Shirley from Legendia, and is actually pretty strong in physical combat; she's far from helpless. The ending isn't grand, but there is one twist, one I did not see coming. (I can't tell you what it is, because of spoilers) While not having as strong of characterization as most other Tales games, Vesperia has this going for it; the story is better than Tales of Eternia's, and there's no one in the game who is annoying like Legendia's Norma Beatty. (Thank Lorelei for that last one. TOTA reference!)
RPG snobs may overlook Vesperia because its story isn't the best ever. If they do, then they're missing out on one of the best games out for the Xbox 360. Remember, the earliest video RPGs did not have otherworldly narratives, yet some of them still sold well. If you're like me, and you play games for the actual game parts, then you owe it to yourself to play Vesperia. It is never boring.
Tales of Vesperia Final Score: 10 out of 10.
Monday, March 2, 2009
I like to rock
Do you like Metroid? Do you like the music from the Metroid games? Do you like metal, as in, metal rock? Boy, have I got the HTML for you.
Metrod Metal.
Now this is an indie group I can get behind! They have remixes of music from most of the Metroid games. And all of their music is free and legit to download, so get crackin'!
By the way, speaking of Metroid music, the piece that plays in the item rooms in the games is called, "Item room." However, because I'm familiar with the Super Metroid version of the Item room motif the most, I prefer to call it, "The Creepy Computer Music", because it sounds like noises from a creepy computer. It creeped me out as a kid and it creeps me out now, as a young adult. And yet, it's one of my favorite pieces of music from the games.
IN OTHER NEWS:
I am looking forward to the release of Resident Evil 5. Now that I have an Xbox 360, I'll actually be able to play it! If it's anything like RE4, I'll be happy.
Metrod Metal.
Now this is an indie group I can get behind! They have remixes of music from most of the Metroid games. And all of their music is free and legit to download, so get crackin'!
By the way, speaking of Metroid music, the piece that plays in the item rooms in the games is called, "Item room." However, because I'm familiar with the Super Metroid version of the Item room motif the most, I prefer to call it, "The Creepy Computer Music", because it sounds like noises from a creepy computer. It creeped me out as a kid and it creeps me out now, as a young adult. And yet, it's one of my favorite pieces of music from the games.
IN OTHER NEWS:
I am looking forward to the release of Resident Evil 5. Now that I have an Xbox 360, I'll actually be able to play it! If it's anything like RE4, I'll be happy.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
So does this mean we can't spam the Kamehameha anymore?
So I hear a remade version of Dragonball Z is gonna air in Japan soon. 20 years after the the anime version of the Saiyan Saga debuted, and we are now introduced to Dragonball Kai, which will come in HD, widescreen, and have much less filler, and therefore, more true to the original manga. Hey, this might actually make Dragonball . . . watchable. Well, okay, anything outside of DBZ Abridged anyways. What's gonna happen if this comes out in America, though? It must suck to be a Dragonball fan, having to buy DVDs, manga re-issues, and rereleases of fighting games over and over and over. Dragonball Kai would only make things worse, even if it is better. Oh well. At least the animation in this remake should be the same quality as the graphics in the newer games now.
Speaking of (hypothetical) anime remakes . . .
Sailor Moon debuted in 1992, both in manga form, and anime form. I said that if an SM anime was made to be more true to the manga, that I would watch it. Well, three years from now, it will be 2012. Then it will be the 20th anniversary of SM. Perfect timing.
Oh, and readers, I'm gonna let you in on a little secret; I think quite a few of the Sailor Senshi are cute, not just Hotaru-chan. You know who else I think is cute? Ami-chan! ^_^ And you know who else I think is cute? Minako-chan! And you know something else? On an episode of Sailor Moon Abridged, I saw a scene with Rei/Raye in pink overalls. She is so cute in pink overalls! Not just that, but I, like Usagi-chan, think Rei is really pretty! . . . For a make believe chick. But my gosh, Rei has pretty hair! And you know who else is pretty? Sailor Pluto! (Can't remember her civilian name.) And . . .
Oh god, am I falling into the same pitfalls as most male fans of SM? Please tell me I'm not that predictable.
Over the years, I've met fans of SM. I know a few SM fans in real life. Only problem is, they're all retarded fangirl bitches. But still, I'm met many more SM fans on the 'net, surprisingly, quite a few male fans as well. However, except for these three guys (who are totally not gay, for the record) who I've met, every single guy fan I have met who likes SM only likes it because they think Sailor (insert fave Sailor Senshi here) is 'hawt'. The three rare exceptions were guys who like SM because they're serious fans of anime that are not 'real' fans.
Then again, I'm not surprised. Nearly all of the Sailor Senshi just happen to have long legs, and just happen to have trim figures, and just happen to wear high-heeled shoes of some kind while in uniform. But you know something else? Guys can't seem to agree on which Sailor Senshi to like the most. There is no universal favorite. Girl fans seem to like Sailor Mercury the most, while guy fans seem to like . . . whichever Senshi suits their taste. There's a Senshi for just about everyone: some are short, some are tall, three of them are blonde, two have green hair, Sailor Jupiter has large breasts, and so on.
Oh wait, am I falling into the same pitfalls as most guy fans? No. I wouldn't like the SM manga if all it had going was cute character designs. I mean, Fruits Basket has good character art, but you don't see me going crazy go nuts over it, do you? So therefore, SM, the manga anyways, is doing something right if I am a fan of it.
Oh wait, aren't I supposed to be talking about DB instead? Oh yeah. For those of you who care about Dragonball, enjoy the remake. That is all.
Speaking of (hypothetical) anime remakes . . .
Sailor Moon debuted in 1992, both in manga form, and anime form. I said that if an SM anime was made to be more true to the manga, that I would watch it. Well, three years from now, it will be 2012. Then it will be the 20th anniversary of SM. Perfect timing.
Oh, and readers, I'm gonna let you in on a little secret; I think quite a few of the Sailor Senshi are cute, not just Hotaru-chan. You know who else I think is cute? Ami-chan! ^_^ And you know who else I think is cute? Minako-chan! And you know something else? On an episode of Sailor Moon Abridged, I saw a scene with Rei/Raye in pink overalls. She is so cute in pink overalls! Not just that, but I, like Usagi-chan, think Rei is really pretty! . . . For a make believe chick. But my gosh, Rei has pretty hair! And you know who else is pretty? Sailor Pluto! (Can't remember her civilian name.) And . . .
Oh god, am I falling into the same pitfalls as most male fans of SM? Please tell me I'm not that predictable.
Over the years, I've met fans of SM. I know a few SM fans in real life. Only problem is, they're all retarded fangirl bitches. But still, I'm met many more SM fans on the 'net, surprisingly, quite a few male fans as well. However, except for these three guys (who are totally not gay, for the record) who I've met, every single guy fan I have met who likes SM only likes it because they think Sailor (insert fave Sailor Senshi here) is 'hawt'. The three rare exceptions were guys who like SM because they're serious fans of anime that are not 'real' fans.
Then again, I'm not surprised. Nearly all of the Sailor Senshi just happen to have long legs, and just happen to have trim figures, and just happen to wear high-heeled shoes of some kind while in uniform. But you know something else? Guys can't seem to agree on which Sailor Senshi to like the most. There is no universal favorite. Girl fans seem to like Sailor Mercury the most, while guy fans seem to like . . . whichever Senshi suits their taste. There's a Senshi for just about everyone: some are short, some are tall, three of them are blonde, two have green hair, Sailor Jupiter has large breasts, and so on.
Oh wait, am I falling into the same pitfalls as most guy fans? No. I wouldn't like the SM manga if all it had going was cute character designs. I mean, Fruits Basket has good character art, but you don't see me going crazy go nuts over it, do you? So therefore, SM, the manga anyways, is doing something right if I am a fan of it.
Oh wait, aren't I supposed to be talking about DB instead? Oh yeah. For those of you who care about Dragonball, enjoy the remake. That is all.
See you . . . never.
It's true. I really do think Cowboy Bebop is overrated. Is it horrible? No way. CB has one of the best soundtracks ever, one of the best English dubs ever, and has Spike, a very interesting protagonist. Other than that . . . it really doesn't have much going for it.
(Note: there are some major CB spoilers up ahead. If you care about CB and haven't seen all of it yet, don't read further.)
I got started on Knocking on Heaven's Door, the CB movie. It's kickass. I then saw the tv series on Adult Swim, thinking it too would be kickass. Of the 26 episodes produced, I'd say about 6 of them were kickass, like the movie. The other episodes were either boring, and/or incredibly cliched.
"Wait! CB isn't cliched! Do you see giant robots in it!? Do you see character designs that look incredibly unrealistic!? ARE THERE J-POP SONGS IN THE SOUNDTRACK!?!?! NO!"
No, that's not what I meant. Except for the character of Ed, CB doesn't have any cliches you see in Japanese pop culture. Hell, personally, I think CB should've been done in live-action. There's nothing in the show nor movie that couldn't be done in live-action film. (Although I don't have my hopes up for the actual live-action CB movie currently in production, either.)
What I mean is this; CB rips off American cinema. So much so, most of the tv series was completely predictable to me. You see, I'm more familiar with American cinema than I am with Japanese animation. You may not suspect it, but it's true. How else could I have named off all those classic films a few posts ago? Because of this, CB was so cliched, it was beating on dead horses to me. Note, I said, to me. Maybe not to you. Most CB fans I know are "real" anime fans who have abandoned Western pop culture, so perhaps to them, CB is fresh. Unfortunately, it wasn't to me. Even the CB movie had me thinking at first, "This is a lot like a Quentin Tarantino project, but with a lot less swearing."
I only saw the entire tv series because I forced myself to. Only because internet denizens would not. Fucking. Shut. UP. About CB's supposed "godliness." If I followed my heart, I would've abandoned CB after the 4th or 5th episode. It was just that monotanous and cliched to me. Granted, it's not bad enough to be on my master list of anime I hate, but it is certainly no Eureka Seven, either.
And the fabled ending? I would've liked it, if it wasn't so hackneyed. Now, its ending is unusual for a tv series. However, I've seen several movies and games with a similar conclusion. Anime otakus, the idea of a hero not giving a damn about himself anymore and killing the villains in a reckless and selfless manner has been done before! It's not 'unexpected', it's hackneyed! But hey, at least CB's ending had good music, and a sense of finality to it. I'll say that much.
A lot of people like CB for its style. Especially the music. Maybe that's why the manga adaptation wasn't well received. I read one of the manga volumes, the one supervised by Shinichiro Watanabe. It was basically a couple of typical episodes without the music, without the animation, without stuff like that. It wasn't very enjoyable, aside from a few wisecracks from Spike and Jet. Take away the style, and you don't have much substance.
And yet, it's not completely worthless. The episodes I did like show that the creators obviously have talent. And the movie was really cool. And CB does have one of the best soundtracks ever. (I have MP3s of some of the tracks.) Spike is cool, yet vulnerable in a believable manner at the same time. I do own the movie on DVD.
I can't give a solid rating for CB the series, because the quality of the episodes varies so much. If most of the series was like my favorite episodes, (examples: the first one with Ein, the two-parter on Jupiter, Mushroom Samba, the one with Cowboy Andy) I'd easily score it an 8 or 9. However, most episodes were no lower than a 4, but no higher than a 6. And yet, the CB movie I would give a 9.
However, when I do my lists of favorite anime franchises, please don't act surprised to see that CB is not anywhere on there. There are reasons for its exclusion. Also, I did not get into Samurai Champloo for similar reasons.
LATE EDIT: I did eventually give a rating for CB: 6/10.
(Note: there are some major CB spoilers up ahead. If you care about CB and haven't seen all of it yet, don't read further.)
I got started on Knocking on Heaven's Door, the CB movie. It's kickass. I then saw the tv series on Adult Swim, thinking it too would be kickass. Of the 26 episodes produced, I'd say about 6 of them were kickass, like the movie. The other episodes were either boring, and/or incredibly cliched.
"Wait! CB isn't cliched! Do you see giant robots in it!? Do you see character designs that look incredibly unrealistic!? ARE THERE J-POP SONGS IN THE SOUNDTRACK!?!?! NO!"
No, that's not what I meant. Except for the character of Ed, CB doesn't have any cliches you see in Japanese pop culture. Hell, personally, I think CB should've been done in live-action. There's nothing in the show nor movie that couldn't be done in live-action film. (Although I don't have my hopes up for the actual live-action CB movie currently in production, either.)
What I mean is this; CB rips off American cinema. So much so, most of the tv series was completely predictable to me. You see, I'm more familiar with American cinema than I am with Japanese animation. You may not suspect it, but it's true. How else could I have named off all those classic films a few posts ago? Because of this, CB was so cliched, it was beating on dead horses to me. Note, I said, to me. Maybe not to you. Most CB fans I know are "real" anime fans who have abandoned Western pop culture, so perhaps to them, CB is fresh. Unfortunately, it wasn't to me. Even the CB movie had me thinking at first, "This is a lot like a Quentin Tarantino project, but with a lot less swearing."
I only saw the entire tv series because I forced myself to. Only because internet denizens would not. Fucking. Shut. UP. About CB's supposed "godliness." If I followed my heart, I would've abandoned CB after the 4th or 5th episode. It was just that monotanous and cliched to me. Granted, it's not bad enough to be on my master list of anime I hate, but it is certainly no Eureka Seven, either.
And the fabled ending? I would've liked it, if it wasn't so hackneyed. Now, its ending is unusual for a tv series. However, I've seen several movies and games with a similar conclusion. Anime otakus, the idea of a hero not giving a damn about himself anymore and killing the villains in a reckless and selfless manner has been done before! It's not 'unexpected', it's hackneyed! But hey, at least CB's ending had good music, and a sense of finality to it. I'll say that much.
A lot of people like CB for its style. Especially the music. Maybe that's why the manga adaptation wasn't well received. I read one of the manga volumes, the one supervised by Shinichiro Watanabe. It was basically a couple of typical episodes without the music, without the animation, without stuff like that. It wasn't very enjoyable, aside from a few wisecracks from Spike and Jet. Take away the style, and you don't have much substance.
And yet, it's not completely worthless. The episodes I did like show that the creators obviously have talent. And the movie was really cool. And CB does have one of the best soundtracks ever. (I have MP3s of some of the tracks.) Spike is cool, yet vulnerable in a believable manner at the same time. I do own the movie on DVD.
I can't give a solid rating for CB the series, because the quality of the episodes varies so much. If most of the series was like my favorite episodes, (examples: the first one with Ein, the two-parter on Jupiter, Mushroom Samba, the one with Cowboy Andy) I'd easily score it an 8 or 9. However, most episodes were no lower than a 4, but no higher than a 6. And yet, the CB movie I would give a 9.
However, when I do my lists of favorite anime franchises, please don't act surprised to see that CB is not anywhere on there. There are reasons for its exclusion. Also, I did not get into Samurai Champloo for similar reasons.
LATE EDIT: I did eventually give a rating for CB: 6/10.
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