Category Archives: thoughts

The Great American Game Haul

I’m back! Where was I, you ask? Well, I neglected to mention that I was actually away on a month long vacation to the motherland! I’m back with a vengeance and horrible jetlag, but I have plenty of things I’m psyched to post about, so you should be hearing from me much more often from now on. In fact, I’ve got 3 posts going as I type, all of which should be going up in the next few days.

Regarding my trip: it was a blast! I got to see all my family and revisit some of my favorite old haunts. The whole trip can basically be summed up by the following two photos:

Sugar cookies in the shape of my home state! And cows… because as the old saying goes, there are probably more cows than people in Vermont

Oysters in Florida! Yum yum

Yeah, so basically Shaun and I ate our way down the East Cost. But! We also purchased many a game, which is what this is really about. I organized all the games that made the trek back to our apartment in Australia and took some photos for your viewing convenience! Here’s the first batch:

Actually, looking these over, it appears I’ve missed Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2, which I’m actually working on a review of now. I also received ICO/Shadow of the Colossus Collection for review and I have to say I am extremely excited about that! I’ll probably whip it out of its plastic either tonight or tomorrow since I’d like to get that review finished by the end of the week.

I’m sure you can make out most of the games pictured, but in case it’s unclear, the disc in the white sleeve in the third picture is actually Threads of Fate, which is one I’ve been wanting to play for quite some time. Don’t mention the fact that it’s available for only $6 on the PSN and that I still have $30 of credit, I won’t hear any of it!

Um Jammer Lammy technically isn’t new, as I purchased that one just before I moved to Australia last year. Somehow it got lost in the madness and didn’t make its way over with me back in June, though, so I’m happy to finally have it here so I can give it a go! I’m a very big fan of Parappa the Rapper, hence the necessity of playing Lammy as well.

I could go on forever about these games, but I’ve still got more to go, so I’ll keep it short (but sweet): 999 is another title I’ve been looking forward to playing for a long time, so I’m super stoked that Shaun spotted it, and Atelier Annie for the DS should be fun considering my newfound love of Atelier games. Also, it’s got my name in the title! Oh, and I definitely won’t be playing Dissidia 012. That one’s for Shaun (he’s not even done with Dissidia yet but I couldn’t pass it up).

Glory of Heracles was purchased new from Amazon for a whopping $4 (I’m sure can imagine the smug smile on my face right now) after one of my very favorite game writers, Brad Gallaway, wrote a few positive comments about it on Twitter. It was actually Brad that gave me the push I needed to finally buy a Monster Hunter title, as well! Peer pressure…

Grand Knights History and Puyo Puyo!! 20th Anniversary are both Japanese releases that my mom so graciously picked up for me when she was over in Kyoto on business. The day that Grand Knights History finally made its way into my grubby little hands was also the same day XSeed announced that they would be localizing it… Well, I am certainly elated that they will be localizing it, just not that I picked up a copy of the Japanese version (I’m lazy and would probably have just played it in English, given the chance).

Finally, here are two games I know absolutely nothing about. They were both under $7, how could I resist? And that purple ghost with the top hat in the corner of Gurumin is just too cute. Did I mention that I’m totally jealous of the extent of PSP games available in US stores? I could walk in a store and actually find some PSP games, whereas half the time here in Australia they don’t even carry any! I do regret not picking up a copy of Persona, but I had to reel it in at some point.

So, thoughts? I realize this haul is seriously skewed towards handhelds, but that’s partially because Rune Factory: Tides of Destiny got pushed back, making me unable to through my money at Natsume for that one. Speaking of which, Gabrielle’s Ghostly Groove for the 3DS was released the day before we left, but I went to a Game Stop and they said they wouldn’t get it in until this week. Unfortunate, because now I’ll have to import that one.

Let me know if there are any titles in particular you’d like me to tackle first and share my thoughts on!

Some ClaDun x2 Impressions

As some of you may already know, I’m reviewing the latest NIS America import for the PSP, ClaDun x2. Though my review won’t be live for another day or two while I finish up my playthrough, I thought I’d take the opportunity to post some nifty screens I took of my characters in action and tell you all what I think of it so far! 
One of my characters getting pummeled while I try to figure out how to take a proper screenshot
First, a confession: I have not played ClaDun: This is an RPG!. I do, however, consider myself rather well-versed on the title, and have made sure I’ve caught myself up to speed before playing ClaDun x2, largely due to the help of one of the most fabulous gamers on the net, Bryan Ochalla of The Gay Gamer. From what I understand, there are two trains of thought when it comes to ClaDun: people either love the customization and the endless dungeon crawling, or they hate it and its steep learning curve and graphical style. ClaDun x2 is more of the same but offers expanded options for virtually everything: there is more customization, more random dungeons, more character classes, weapons, you name it. 
I don’t want to spoil my upcoming review, but I will say this: if any game needed an instruction manual, this one would be it. Unfortunately, ClaDun x2 is only available as a PSN download, and the very short tutorials and in-game dictionary just don’t cut it. In all honesty, I still don’t know some of what I’m looking at on that HUD (namely the negative number next to SP in the bottom left corner. Someone please tell me what it is and why it is negative!). People who don’t want to spend the first couple of hours in over their head will probably not be willing to stick things through long enough to get the hang of the game’s magic circle systems and numerous customization options, which is a shame, because I found that once I stopped worrying about whether or not I was playing the game “right,” I found myself quite enjoying the experience overall.
For those of you who are not familiar with the game, ClaDun x2 is an action RPG focused on lots and lots of dungeon crawling. You control one character at a time, who is your “main character,” and all other characters can be equipped to your main character in order to enhance his or her stats via a system called “magic circles.”  You’ll pick up various items in the dungeons to boost your character’s stats in the magic circles, and in order to maintain a well-rounded party it is important to switch main characters every couple of levels and update your magic circles as you unlock new ones and obtain better items. While this may seem daunting at first, especially without much guidance, I found that after experimenting a bit it really wasn’t as intimidating as I previously thought. 
My 1st character, Apricot, is an ass-kicking guardian.  You can see my sub characters acting as human shields in the top right corner. This is one of the randomly generated dungeons, or Ran-geons. 
With all the character customization and equipping/magic circle swapping, you may quickly find that you’re starting to spend a lot of time in menus and not so much time fighting beasties and nabbing sweet loot. This is one area where I really felt the game could have benefitted from better instruction, so that rather than staring at the screen and wondering what the hell you’re looking at, you could actually be playing the game. But really, your ClaDun x2 experience is what you choose to make it, and once the Ran-geons opened up to me, I quickly lost myself in the superior loot and difficulty they offered. 
It is worth noting, I think, that if you’re looking for the 3 new classes (ninja, dragoon, and monk) you’ll have to replay the pre-made dungeons and beat them within the time allotted in order to gain fame, which will net you various items and unlock a number of important things in-game. 50 fame is what it takes to get the new classes, and even then you’ll need to pay a significant sum for them, so it’s worth doing this early on if you wanted to try the new classes in particular. There is no penalty for creating characters, so it’s up to you to experiment! As of now, I have 6. 
My newest character, a dragoon, getting bashed as I try to take an epic “in action” screenshot for you all
ClaDun x2 is shaping up to be a great retro-style dungeon crawler for the PSP, and bite-sized dungeons make it perfect for a handheld. The lack of story may deter some, but I think it fits well with the style of gameplay, making this a good candidate for short commutes or an hour-long plane ride. Virtually limitless customization options allow you to create music, characters, and weapons if you so choose, and the whole experience can really be catered in such a variety of ways that I think a lot of people who might not even consider picking up this title in the first place could find a lot to like here. That said, many will probably be deterred by the lack of explanation of the game’s systems, and might not be able to stick with it long enough to really begin to enjoy the experience. 
Please look forward to my full Video Game Writers review! 

Is Atelier Elkrone’s protagonist a Rorona clone?

Ok, if you haven’t seen me tweeting like a mad fiend about the recently-announced otome Atelier game, then, well, I suppose you haven’t missed out on much, unless you’re living under a rock and didn’t know that an Atelier otome game was recently announced. It’s big news for me, at least, seeing as I’m a recently-converted Atelier Rorona fan and long-time otome game enthusiast. Tthere are probably at least 2 other people in the world excited for this game besides me, I’m sure.

So far there hasn’t been much news about Atelier Elkrone aside from the fact that it will somehow combine traditional otome game elements, allowing you to pursue the love interest of your choice, as well as some aspect of the alchemy gameplay from the Atelier games. How much alchemy will be involved has yet to be seen, and I’ll admit I’m a little worried the most “Atelier” we’re going to get in the game will be in the form of character designs and story elements, but who knows. Call me a cynic.

Speaking of which, I’m already seeing some Atelier Rorona in Mery, Atelier Elkrone‘s protagonist:

Atelier Elkrone‘s Mery
Atelier Rorona‘s Rorona

You may have bought a new hat, Rorona, but you can’t fool me! I would’ve been fine if they had come out and said the game was going to be about Rorona again, but making an entirely new character that still manages to look almost exactly like Rorona seems a bit like a cop-out to me. In fact, I don’t think I’ll be able to think of Mery as anything but Rorona, actually! It’s literally hard to tell them apart!

I did some snooping on the NISA forums (NISA is the company behind the localization of Atelier Rorona and Atelier Totori) and apparently Idea Factory, the company working on the Atelier side of things, has a reputation for recycling their own material? I’d love more information on this, but I can’t say I’ve played a ton of Idea Factory games myself, so I can’t really comment. Of course the art in Atelier Rorona and Atelier Elkrone looks like it’s done by the same artist, but that doesn’t excuse them for being lazy! Well, if nothing else, this guy looks interesting enough:

Digging the steampunk goggles!

There’s still a lot to be seen regarding Atelier Elkrone, but even if the protagonist looks exactly like Rorona, knowing me, I’ll probably give it a shot.

Various Media Endeavors

Lately I’ve been doing so much consuming of various forms of media, I thought I’d just list some of it and hopefully delve into my thoughts on a couple of them. I’ll post a more cohesive blog update later this week,  which will most likely be my review of the English otome game X-Note (I’m going to review that game by the end of the week, I swear).

Film

So, Shaun and I went to see Rise of the Planet of the Apes on Saturday. Besides having an unnecessarily long title, it was actually pretty good! Even if you could care less about Planet of the Apes (which is pretty much me), the film is a fun Sci-Fi flick with a strong emphasis on characters, and it’s probably the first of the “summer blockbusters” that I’d say is worth going to see.

Besides having a pretty uninspiring female girlfriend character, that is. When all the characters are actually rather thoughtfully rendered, including an ape doctor who almost instantaneously becomes the “grounding girlfriend” is a little disappointing. I suppose you can’t have everyone be the star, but I suppose you’re also going to have to have me pick on a film when it can’t have any well-developed female characters (what can I say, it’s my nature). Either way, it’s still heaps better than that awful Tim Burton rendition of a few years back… Plus, the animation is gorgeous, and any film that can make you care for a character that is 100% animated deserves some respect.

Also, Shaun and I both agree that we like James Franco, so having him in the film was a plus (I’m not sure why we do… are we the only ones?)… I liked him as the son of the Green Goblin, anyway.

We’re also going to watch Dinner for Schmucks on DVD, which comes very highly recommended from my parents! I hope it’s good.

Manga


I don’t talk about manga very often here, but I finally picked up a few volumes of Loveless at the library the other day because the art is, in my opinion, pretty gorgeous.

The story is a little weird, though, which has kept me away from it until now, and though I’m enjoying it well enough, I think the only reason I’ve really stuck with it for 4 volumes is the art and the way it plays with gender norms, but even then I’m not sure where it’s going with that. I probably won’t seek out the rest of the volumes now that Tokyopop, the English distributor, has gone under, unless my library happens to have them already.

Games


I always have a weird relationship with games: I seem to write more about them than I actually play them!

I did start Patapon the other day, because Shaun was playing Battlefield: Bad Company 2 on the PS3, and it’s been sitting expectantly on the shelf for a couple of weeks now

The gameplay is fun, but I’m finding that it’s getting a little repetitive to tell my troops to move forward over and over again, especially when you were fighting an enemy who just ran away. But I’ve still only played a couple of missions so far, so I hope things change up a bit after I play a couple more. I’m not that rhythmically inclined, though, so I have to focus all my energy in playing the game and not getting distracted by whatever Shaun’s doing beside me. Hah!

So, what are you all playing/reading/watching these days? I’m all ears!

My Game Boy Advance Game Collection (or, my miserable start in the world of handheld gaming)

Happy Monday! Or Sunday evening, for those of you located in other parts of the world (enjoy your freedom while it lasts, eh?). Without further ado or fanfare, I present to you my most coveted collection in my gaming library: 

Ok, ok, you’ve got to know I’m kidding, but seriously: this is my complete GBA library. Sad, huh? It’s especially surprising considering what a fiend I am when it comes to the Nintendo DS/3DS (ok not so much 3DS at the moment, but I do like my Nintendo handhelds these days). So, how is it that I’ve pretty much completely skipped a game console with a library that is, on the whole, completely in-tune with my gaming tastes?

Well, I’m not going to go the whole nine yards and detail my complete gaming history (that’ll take more than one post, I believe), but I can delve into a bit of my past when it comes to handhelds in particular.

As far as I can remember, my first glimpse into the world of handheld gaming was thanks to my grandparents, who had a Game Boy (Maybe 2? Perhaps each of them had one so they could play at the same time). I remember visiting them in Florida during spring break, watching them play Super Mario Land and Tetris 2, and being awed at their skill (My grandfather was particularly good at Tetris 2, while my grandmother could clear Super Mario Land).

I got my own Game Boy at some point and have lots of fond memories playing alongside them, trying my hardest to get as far as they did (to this day I still haven’t beaten Super Mario Land). For whatever reason, though, I never really got so into the Game Boy games that I would play them even when I wasn’t visiting them in Florida. If my memory serves me right, I’d usually play for a few days after returning home, only to set them down soon after in my frustration of not being able to advance, moving on to other things until the next trip reminded me of how much fun I had.

So was my relationship with handheld gaming until a few years later, when a Game Boy Advance advantageously presented itself to me. Actually, the method by which I acquired it wasn’t quite that mystical–a well-meaning relative had gifted my grandfather with a clear purple Game Boy Advance for Christmas one year, but unfortunately he found the colors too difficult to see, so the console was passed down to me.

Honestly, I don’t really remember what I did with the thing. I bought a number of games for it, and then traded almost all of them in (There were a few dark years where I traded games in to fund buying more games, but I almost always regretted doing so. Kids, take note: always seriously reconsider before trading in your games). My most regretted GBA trade-in was Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance (oh, it hurts to remember! I still have the instruction booklet, even), but I also sold Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories more recently because I just couldn’t get into the battle system. The only other game I’m sure I had that is no longer with me was Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2, which I eventually passed on to a friend’s younger sister along with the console in my junior or senior year of high school.

I still can’t believe I got rid of this game! What was I thinking

So, even though I’m sure a got a bit of enjoyment out of the console, all-in-all, the whole thing was pretty short-lived. I guess at the time I was too focused on the Playstation 2 to care much about anything else. Good thing I still had the sense to not to toss 2 of my Game Boy Advance games, even though I didn’t have the means to play them at the time. Well, one of them I couldn’t get rid of no matter how hard I tried–which do you think it was?

Klonoa: Empire of Dreams’s Japanese box art is adorable
US box art? Not so hot… Why 3 Klonoas? 

Luckily, I didn’t get rid of my GBA pride and joy: Klonoa: Empire of Dreams. I’m a pretty big Klonoa fan, and Klonoa 2: Lunatea’s Veil is one of my favorite PS2 games. With Klonoa: Empire of Dreams being a rather rare title that was released the same year as the system, I consider myself pretty lucky to have snagged a used cartridge at my local game shop. Unfortunately, I’ve never really played too much of it, but from what I have played, it’s been great. The art style is adorable, the music is catchy (Even though some of the music and sounds seem to be taken straight from Klonoa 2), and the gameplay is fun and not too difficult. This title is one that I’m definitely going to be playing more of in the next few weeks–I picked it up for the first time in years last night and restarted my game, and am determined to finish it.

I’m really digging the long Japanese GBA boxes… 

Have you guessed which game I want to get rid of, yet? If you were thinking Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, then you were right! Why would I want to get rid of such a super game, you ask? Well, if you look closely at the picture, it’s actually the Japanese version of the game. In my excitement at seeing it for sale used in Japan during my first trip there many years ago, I decided to purchase it, even though I had next to no Japanese language skills at the time. Needless to say, I never really played it because I couldn’t understand it, and though I tried to sell it online multiple times, no one really wanted it since it was such an easy game to get in English. I could definitely pick up the game now and play through it no problem… The question is whether or not I really want to. Right now it’s not very high on my list.

Just look at this!! How could you not be compelled to buy a game like this

Mr. Driller A: Mysterious Pacteria and Golden Sun are my most recent GBA game acquisitions. Mr. Driller A I bought in 2009, the last time I was in Japan, at a used game shop in Osaka for a very fine price, and it came complete with booklet and box! Mr. Driller is yet another series I’m very interested in, but Mr. Driller A was actually the first game I ever bought. It’s great to pick up and do a few rounds, and, just like Klonoa, it has great music, adorable graphics, and fun gameplay. I consider it and Klonoa to be the stars of my GBA library.

Finally, there’s Golden Sun. This one I actually bought just this year online for very cheap, and I’m happy to finally have a copy. I borrowed it a long time ago from a friend and found it to be quite fun, so it’s always been at the back of my mind as something I wanted to play eventually. When the DS sequel was released, it renewed my interest in the series… But I still haven’t played it. Oh, I’ll probably never complete all the games on my “must play” list!

So there you have it, the story of my GBA game library. Are there any GBA “must-haves” that you’d recommend? One I’d like to get my hands on is Rhythm Heaven, since my husband and I enjoyed the DS version. My library will grow, slowly but surely!

Oh, and for those of you who must know: I did in fact own copies of both Pokemon Blue and Gold (I remember playing a lot of Blue but never really got far in Gold). Sadly, they were misplaced or lost. Who knows where they are now…

What kind of game am I playing? Or, things that creep me out about Atelier Rorona

I had a lovely, in-depth post all ready to go about my impressions of Atelier Rorona so far, but since it was such a meaty piece I decided to hold onto it and develop it into a full-fledged review for www.videogamewriters.com. I’ll probably chop it down and do a shorter version for this blog later in the week, after I’ve played a bit more of the game (I’m about 1/3 of the way through at the moment).

Nevertheless, I have quite a few things I could say about Atelier Rorona, so I don’t really see the harm in making two posts about it! I thought I’d share with you all some of the weird stuff I’ve come across in the game so far. Before you read on, keep in mind that I am seriously enjoying this game, so while the following quibbles may bug/slightly disgust me, it certainly isn’t detracting from me having more than a little fun synthesizing item upon item and meeting all the request deadlines.

First thing’s first, here’s a quick rundown of the game: Atelier Rorona follows Rorona, an apprentice alchemist under a woman named Astrid at a workshop in the kingdom of Arland. The king of Arland has decreed that unless Astrid can complete 12 assignments given to her over the course of 3 years, the workshop will be shut down. Astrid, being more interested in napping than doing anything the king asks of her, passes the task on to Rorona. Right now I’m just over a year in, and the combination of expertly-voiced story sequences, adorable artwork, catchy music, countless items to synthesize and requests to fulfill is definitely keeping me busy.

Creepy observation #1: It’s more than a little obvious that this game caters towards a certain type of male-dominated Japanese nerd culture, and I was well aware of this when I started playing the game. What I didn’t know is how much creepy innuendo was going to be a part of the game’s humor! A lot of the story features older women more or less hitting on Rorona, and while I know that’s a cultural thing to a degree (nothing wrong with a 20-something woman calling a 14-year-old girl cute, I guess), sometimes it gets a bit out of hand. Alright, ok, I know what I was getting myself into, so I won’t say much more about this (to each his/her own), but how about: 

Creepy observation #2: Some of the female characters are more than a little well-endowed for their age. I usually file these observations in the back drawer, except for when those in charge of the character models deem it appropriate to animate one of said character’s bobbing breasts even when she is standing still. Good thing for me I don’t really like said character very much and as such will probably not make her a member of my party very often, but seeing her undulating chest in every single battle is as much a turn-off for me as any.

The character in question, Lionela, is a traveling performer.
I guess I’m not the only one who noticed how her breasts seem to have minds of their own (cute cats, though)

Creepy observation #3: I’ve saved you the best for last. Last night when I was playing, I was happily introduced to my new workshop assistant, who was created for Rorona by Astrid using alchemy. Ever-curious and eager to learn, Rorona does some research into the recipe that was used to create Hom, the homunculus assistant. Ingredients include horse droppings… And in the case that horse droppings aren’t available, the use of human semen is said to also be possible. Let me reiterate that for you. The recipe that was used to create Rorona’s assistant calls for horse droppings and human semen. Just what sort of game is this?!?

Depending on how you answer Astrid when she asks you whether you’d like a little brother or a little sister, you can have either a female or male version of Hom, the horse-poo-infused assistant. I answered “sister,” but after seeing the two designs, I wish I had ended up with the male one!

 Even though I’m enjoying poking fun at the game, I’m honestly having even more fun playing it. It’s just the right recipe of pretty visuals, lighthearted story, and engrossing gameplay for me, and these weird, uh, quirks make it all the more the odd yet engrossing experience. I have a feeling this isn’t going to be the end of my creepy observations, though… I’ve still got 2 years of game time to go!

Slow Monday

Today literally was slow! I made my first stew, an Irish lamb stew from Frankie magazine, which was quite simple, took 3+ hours to cook, and tastes pretty good! Not that I have many stews in my repertoire to compare it to, but it’s a start. Ok, now that I’ve got that bad pun out of the way…

In gaming news, I finally updated the eShop and downloaded my free copy of Excitebike as well as the 3D Pokedex. I’ll admit, I wasn’t that excited for Pokedex 3D (I’d rather play an actual Pokemon game then just look at 3D models of them), but I’m all for free things, so I couldn’t pass it up without checking it out. Excitebike, on the other hand, was exciting and new for me (ok, I couldn’t help it), as I’ve never played the original before. And after fooling around with it for a few minutes, I’ve gotta say, it’s quite difficult! I don’t really understand the mechanics yet, so I either go horribly slow and get bored or try to go too fast and just end up crashing and then cursing at myself for having to wait to go again.

Have you heard about the lack of a save file delete/reset option in Resident Evil: Mercenaries 3D? This is another shameless plug, but just today I wrote a pretty in-depth post at VGW if you’d like to read more about it. Basically, though, as a way to combat used-game sales, Capcom decided to give players only one save file, which cannot be erased or reset, so you can only play through the game from scratch once. I personally think this is a horrible decision and will definitely deter me from buying the game in the future (though I admit I wasn’t particularly leaning towards a purchase in the first place), but what do you all think? I know used game sales can hurt the developers and publishers, but you shouldn’t punish consumers, and rather reward them to provide incentives to buy new games, such as exclusive DLC, etc.

In other news, Shaun and I saw Kung Fu Panda 2 over the weekend. I enjoyed the original well enough, but wasn’t going to see the sequel except I kept hearing rave reviews right and left that assured me it was actually better than the original. Story-wise, I’m not so sure I’m convinced it was better, but the animation was so beautiful I didn’t really care. Give me fuzzy computer animals and a peacock villain voiced by Gary Oldman and I will go home a happy woman. The fight scenes with Lord Shen, the aforementioned main villain, were mesmerizing. If you want to see some gorgeous animation, then definitely consider seeing this on the big screen (I didn’t see it in 3D so I can’t comment on that), but otherwise you may want to wait for a rental or skip it altogether.