Wii

(tags game, hardware, advocacy, Nintendo)

Nintendo's new gaming console:
Codename: Nintendo Revolution
Official name: Nintendo Wii
The public reaction summarized:

• Slashdot: "Nintendo Revolution Renamed 'Wii'"
• Slashdot: "Both Sides of Wii"

Me? I'm still interested in my PlayStation 2 and Nintendo DS, and I don't really give a care about the next-gen until I can see the games in the store. I don't care what they call it, it will probably be the first thing I buy in the next-gen.

I first heard of the name through a friend who was reading the Japanese announcement. Reading it in Japanese made it more palatable. I think all those corny "wee-wee" jokes will be cast aside because language is fluid. My take? Thumbs up. "Soccer moms" will be saying "Nintendo Wee" because they grew up on "Nintendo", duh.

But then again, given the game industry's tendancy to make sequels, we are going to see games out for the system with "Wii" in the name. I could probably find a game on each Nintendo system (except for the Famicom/NES) that incorporates the system moniker:

• Super Nintendo: Super Tetris (truth: ???)
• Nintendo 64: Tetris 64
• Game Boy: Tetris
• Virtual Boy: Tetris (truth: no game?)
• Game Boy Color: Tetris GBC
• Game Boy Advance: Tetris Advance (truth: Tetris Worlds)
• Game Cube: Tetris GC (truth: no game?)
• DS: Tetris DS
• Wii: Tetris Wii

Yeah I craft this post in falsehoods.

Broken game system

(tags game, DualScreen, Tetris, purchase, Animal Crossing Wild World)

So I did purchase Tetris DS, and I ripped it out of the package the moment I walked out of the store. But I haven't actually played it yet. My brain is still Animal Crossing. In fact, I wished that Tetris DS gaming would get me some bells. Because I need some.

Headless workstation?

(tags hardware, monitor, failure)

My 17 inch Attic/Koshida CRT monitor (it says MG1778A, but its not listed in the discontinued page) that I used for Project Asobi, Project Asobi "II" (w/o SCSI), and Project Sugar finally conked out after 6 years of use. The display doesn't light, and it smells of burnt capacitor, and me being a software guy, I don't dare try to repair it myself. Rumors of monitor electronics holding their charge for weeks on end and "a little knowledge is dangerous" keep me from opening the cover.

Wow, April 1998. 8 year old monitor, and around 1.5 year old when I bought it used. Thanks "Attic" MG1778A, it's been fun.

Suffice it to say I was pretty depressed but I'm using a combination of my backup "Dinner" 17 inch LCD monitor (MB157AT), Windows XP Remote Desktop, and Putty/OpenSSH to use the computers connected to its 2 inputs (BNC and DSUB).

I have two worries, though: How am I going to dispose of this monitor? Searching the web, I saw that disposing of the monitor properly will cost me 4200 yen:

• PC3R (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) initiative page
• sample info from Iiyama
• informal blog post
• The last word from Attic/Koshida 家庭系ディスプレイのリサイクルに関するご案内 (PDF)

That's not including sending the monitor through the mail. What to do?! I guess do exactly what it says on the PC3R web page, ouch.

The other worry is how am I going to play around with my PS2 Linux Kit? But I haven't touch that thing in over 4 years, so this is really low priority.

Finally out! Tobitsuki Hime soundtrack

(tags game, Windows, shmup, soundtrack, shop)

Melon Books Kobe always has the good stuff. The Tobitsuki Hime OST (Original SoundTrack) finally came out in the stores. I'm ripping it now and yeah it's great, fast paced game music with mainly guitar. Go to the site to get some sample music. I was pretty enthusiastic about the announcement for this soundtrack.

I opened the booklet and read about the sound producer Masashi ”MSS" Yano (矢野雅士) complaining about the pressure under which he had to produce. The director/programmer for the game, 01 step's "Mu" (む), evidently set pretty high goals:

Mu: I'm going to make a shooting game so write the music, m'kay?
MSS: Gotcha. So what kind of songs?
Mu: Something with rocking guitar, something cool. Something like Gra--ius!
MSS: *look of shock*
Mu: Something like S.S.H (埼玉最終兵器) or MintJam, m'kay?
MSS: *look of shock* (kill me now)

There's also notable remixes of the first and fourth stage music, but MSS's original arrangement does it for me. This is a great topping to the treat that is Tobitsuki Hime. And shoot, the jacket illustration artwork by Naoki Honda (本田 直樹) is right up my moe alley.

Past performance may not be indicative of future results, again.

(tags game, DualScreen, Animal Crossing Wild World, courage, failure)

The stalk market truly skins my tater. So I decided that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. I sold most of my turnips at 167. I sold the rest after half a day at 147. I was hoping for an upturn but I guess you can't expect that on a Thursday. Experience bore me out as the day after showed 74 bells, etc. Ugh. Tough wave to ride.

Now I got 2 million bells in the bank and the bank sent me a box of tissues! OMG I'm rolling in the dough! Hahaha. But I gotta prepare for next week. Tables and tables galore. Good bye HRA points!

BTW, I got the title of the last Animal Crossing related post "wrong". I need to read more prospectus stuff huh. (the financial kind)

Past results are not indicative of future performance

(tags game, DualScreen, Animal Crossing Wild World)

I'm trying to milk the Stalk Market in Animal Crossing Wild World. What better way to predict trends than collecting data about the buy rate. I see Tom Nook at least two times a day now:

As I said, when it hits 200 I intend to cash out. "Last week" was a total bummer, never rising above 100. Then again it was "Flower Fest" the whole week.

I'm going to try to collect more data and update this graph.

Card Captor Sakura DVD-Box Omake Figure

(tags アニメ, Card Captor Sakura, DVD, region2, figure, omake)

I got the message that Geneon Entertainment sent me a package. Why? Is this another one of those "I forgot" episodes? Yeah, it is.

「カードキャプターさくらDVD-BOX」全3巻購入特典のフィギュアだよ！

After buying the Card Captor Sakura DVD-Boxes re-release last year (2005/4, 2005/6, 2005/7), I sent in the coupons (2005/8) to redeem the special figure, which I only now received today in the mail (2006/4). It was supposed to be in my hands in January. The official page shows a picture of the special figure, but you can't see much of anything with that. So here we go:

First let us line up the packages. (clockwise starting from the top left: the unopened figure box and DVD Boxes 3, 2 and 1.)

Opening the box reveals Sakura's staff. Gives me a giddy feeling just looking at it.

The figure comes pre-painted but unassembled. As always, the pieces are seperated into different plastic bundles.

I forget to take off the plastic before taking this picture, because I was totally blown away at the quality of the head. Look at the cute hat! Look at her antenna hair! The eyes! Glorious!

"Wait, Sugar, don't eat her head!" cries Salt as a concerned Pepper looks on. Just trying to enjoy the Sugar enlighted moment.

This is truly weird. I heard of fitting square pegs in round holes, but this?!? In truth, this is to allow you to position the hands at whatever angle you choose.

Her outstretched back really conveys her relaxed, free spirit. That and the big hole in her back is a clue for me to stick the cape connector there.

Her cute smile betrays the fact that she's not yet complete. Here I put on her free hand.

Complete! The staff gave me some trouble because it wasn't a perfect fit with the hand. Actually, some of the paint on the staff came off and now there's this ugly white gash. There goes the resale value. (^_^) Yes, the figure is supposed to be propped up by the cape which is flexible but stiff plastic. She looks likes she's floating. Actually, having the cape touch the ground ruins the effect, but how else can you prop up this figure?

This figure has a couple of good angles. (Sorry for the lack of exposure on her left side. I suck at taking pictures.) It's the eyes. I am totally satisfied with the eyes, and when that happens, the rest of the figure follows.

Let us compare it with the other Sakura figures I have out on display. These other two came from last year's collection set, which was I think 500 yen per figure. As you can see today's figure is pretty big. Pretty and big. It's not quite the height of a DVD case, as you can tell from the back there.

A little closer to the other figures. Notice I secretly replaced the background with some Card Captor Sakura licensed Game Boy Advance games.

And from the other side. My favorite costume has to be this white dress with pink frills, and the one legged stocking, hm.

I have to say I'm pretty satisfied with this figure. It's very cute, and big enough, and it's pretty high quality. It has more quality that those 500 yen figures, so I would pin it at either 2000 or 3000 yen. I'm not too enamoured with the costume however. I rather see Sakura in a frilly dress. Plus the yellow doesn't match well with the blue-grey stockings, but it's not too garish. Finally, the colors look faded, especially the arms of her sweater in comparison to her bow. But, all in all, this is a great omake for the DVD box set.

Let's make love not war, nostagia keeps me in the dark

(tags game, Unreal Tournament 2004, machinima, video)

This Unreal Tournament 2004 made machinima video is funny brilliant. Brilliantly musical. The friend who forwarded it to me said it reminds him of "Fame".

"Look at my junk! It's glorious!"

Shoot, while we're talking YouTube, this is the commercial I think of when I think of my NES: "Legend of Zelda (NES) TV ad 1987" (Thanks Kotaku). "Octorocks!" indeed.

(edit: added credit, changed title)

PCs get them later, can't get away from PlayStation 2

(tags game, ECsite, PC, PlayStation2, GameCube, DualScreen, purchase, shmups)

I was walking around Sofmap earlier this evening and I saw something shmup-y interesting: Raiden III. The official game ported from the Arcade to PC by CyberFront, with PC only features like being "ported from the Arcade" and Net Ranking (big woop). Impress Watch reviewed it back in March. It was going for 6000 yen. Who would buy that? I got the PlayStation 2 version, what else do I need?

I also saw Shooting Love: Trizeal for the PlayStation 2, right next to its INH video. Hm. Great!

Finally I saw for used in the PC section Gunstar Heroes by Sega going for 1200 yen. But I got the PlayStation 2 version, what else do I need?

I saw the stack of Oodama (大玉) boxes for the last week and today, and it didn't seem like people were buying it. I like pinball and I like funky gimmicks like microphones, but I haven't even opened the last GameCube game I bought, which is Famicom Wars (突撃!! ファミコンウォーズ). Plus I'm waiting for the price to drop.

I saw Okami, the artistic Japanese mythology PlayStation 2 game that scored 10 10 9 10 in the previous Famitsu. Put this one on my "gotta play it when things cool down" list, yeah Final Fantasy 12 is on that one. The artwork doesn't grab me, even if it is different, and I don't want to read Japanese mythos in Japanese. Call me a new-type gamer. I took a flyer to remind me.

Finally, the reason I was in the shop was to collect the Rozen Maiden: Duellwalzer PlayStation 2 game, but it was pushed back one week. Gotta pick it up with Tetris DS. I was thinking maybe I should go buy Okami now, but I thought about Kashimashi and how I can start finishing it this weekend...

A warehouse of turnips

(tags game, Animal Crossing Wild World, DualScreen, obsession)

18.5 tables
4 turnips icons per table
100 turnips per turnip icon
100 bells per turnip
2000 bells per table

Initial cost: 770 000 bells

Other costs:
HRA rating dropping down 50000 points.

Sell condition: 200 bells per turnip at Nookingtons.

"Stalk Market" turns the tables

(tags DS, Animal Crossing, FAQ, spoiler)

I've had it with the fruit orchard money making scheme in Animal Crossing: Wild World. I've got a life outside of it, yo. We're going to do things the new-fashioned way, the "stalk" market. Unfortunately I had to consult a money making FAQ to do it. In it, migito gives sound advice: "But remember, if you let your obsession with getting virtual money go to far, such as planting an orchard that takes 3 hours to pick, you've stepped over the line." Sorry, I've stepped over the line throughout the whole of March, and I'm just now getting a clue.

So what about the "stalk market" with the white turnips?

• Buy white turnips. Just buy them, it don't matter what the price, because you can wait as long as it takes.
• Buy tables. Lots of tables. You are going to need some tables to store your white turnips. Why? So that you can keep turnips from rotting indefinately. I've got turnips I bought 3 weeks ago just waiting for the right price to sell. Come on Mr. Nook! But the drawback to this is that at least one of your rooms is going to be a turnip warehouse. There goes your HRA rating!
• You can time travel, just make sure its DS time traveling, going forward only. Don't "phone" time travel.
• Mr. Nook changes his prices once in the afternoon. So you have two chances to win per day.

I've been recording the prices for the last two in-game weeks, but I lost part of the data to computer failure. I'm trying to get more than 200 bells per turnip, but I've only seen the high bid of 160 bells per turnip. The FAQ and other places say that it can go up to 500. Whoa mama.

Typical Japanese service

(tags figure, ECsite, アニメ, 苺ましまろ, failure)

No, I'm not talking about the bowing or the ladies at the department store or the nonchalant maido, ookini that you get from the vendor on the street or even the waiting for the newest game at your overcrowded "electronics life" store. No I'm talking about service you get using postal mail.

I got two postcards in the mail with my name on it. The message on the front of each card, though, was illegible. Whose fault is this?

I remembered I ordered something... which led to a Internet search, which brought me to Animage magazine's delivery service about their Ichigo Mashimaro dolls which I ordered back in December. The message on the postcards is also on the website: the dolls will be delayed one more month. Sigh. It's okay, I still have to buy the stands for them, and this gives me plenty of time. Until then, you'll have to imagine what kind of dolls you can get for 45000 55000 yen, because they won't show you what they look like anymore. And no, I am not talking about "Real Doll", just keep that to yourself.

BTW, this is the same service that sold the Rozen Maiden "Shinku" doll (with plastic hair) that I photo-mentioned.

(edit: I just remembered why there are two postcards, hence the strikeout text.)

Unreal Unreal Tournament Fan

(tags Unreal Tournament, game, video, emotion)

I would like to say that this video is not a representation of a typical Unreal Tournament fan. Please, watch this with earphones for your own protection.

Thanks to Mr. Alvin for the heads up.

Buying the DVD for the opening song

(tags アニメ, music, Gundam 0083, mecha)

Does this bring back memories?

My first taste of college/fan-club-style anime fandom included Gundam 0083. Ah, Tenchi Muyo! OVA also brings me back to that era. So I was surprised to see another DVD set of Gundam 0083 released in January of this year. You know what that means? True fans that want only one copy will sell their first DVD set to used DVD shops... Then we leechers can buy it for cheep (if you can call 3000 yen per DVD cheep)...

So I bought DVD 1 of 4. This DVD has English voice actors as well. I wish it had subtitles though. The opening song is "The Winner" sung by Miki Matsubara (松原みき). Ah, this is what I left running in the Mac labs long ago (as a downloaded video). Great. But I still don't understand WTF is the deal with "mobile suits" and why it is so important who gets to pilot the "Gundam". I am not a fan and you can call me an ignorant idiot, go ahead.

Also, the female lead voice actress for "Nina Purpleton" is Rei Sakuma (佐久間レイ), oh yeah.

Same-sex love stories

(tags same-sex, love, game, PlayStation 2, movie)

Previously I've been waxing about Kashimashi, a guy-turned-girl love triangle love story. I finished reading the novel (pictured below with a Di Gi Charat cloth book cover) by stand-in author Mako Komao (駒尾真子) and actually it wasn't very satisfying. In fact it was not very emotional. 3 out of 5 stars for not botching up the details. Whatever happened to having creative license with your characters?

I'm still working on the PlayStation 2 game, on the "Haneru" scenario. The "Kakeno" scenario was passably interesting. I don't know how to pin this game quality-wise. The stories hold together, but they don't have much plot. The stuff that holds my interest are just the voice actresses. Namiko Tsuki gags are just funny, or is it just me?

Just yesterday, I went to the movie theater (a rare event for me) at Cine Libre to see Brokeback Mountain. It was that or watching films that promised massive violence like History of Violence or Crash. I left the movie theater wondering, if genders were switched, or if it wasn't 1963, etc. I wiped a tear away some scenes, but other I just couldn't get into (ah my eyes, no more fishing!). And I still didn't understand the scene where Ennis got mad at his wife for trying to put 2 and 2 together. What exactly was he mad at? I suppose I have to go rent it, but you'd have to pay me in units of time.

Which brings me back to Kashimashi. Why can I accept this entertainment more readily than Brokeback Mountain? Is it because it's "girl meets girl" instead of "guy meets guy"? The truth of the matter is that Kashimashi is cartoony and lacks realism. Or maybe waiting in the wings there's some hot girl-on-girl action, like I think every hetero-male like um dreams about um... NO! Kashimashi is a wholesome story! Stop with the over-sexualization! Ack sorry.

What the PS2 game or novel doesn't explore is if Hazumu (the guy-turned-girl) could start liking guys. In fact the "Aster" scenario (Hazumu's best guy friend) is just a solidification of the buddy-buddy friendship. What the PS2 game does explore is the harem situation with 4 girls ready to swing that way. Um, sorry, yeah because girls see that Hazumu hasn't really changed on the inside. Yeah. Yup, this product is for sure for guys, no doubt there.

What I do like about the game is that you can also pick the "parents" scenario and elder aunt "Tokuko" scenario, which explores some family settings. Then again it helps that "Tokuko" scenario introduces some cosplay: gothic lolita, maid, and the (out-of-fashion) nurse outfits. Hazumu does sure make a handsome girl, aw shucks kawaii that's just the way she's drawn.

Taking "expert" "advice" with a grain of salt

(tags advocacy, programming, Lisp, Ruby)

Ever get to that point where your opinion on a person changes from "knows his stuff" to "can't trust what he's saying"? Seems like a normal thing on the blog-o-sphere, though. Surely everybody doesn't read a blog post in the same way.

I mentioned my nascent idolatry of Steve Yagge in previous programming post. I started reading his long-winded rants because they were right up my alley with Ruby, Lisp and Emacs. But ever since he started his with-comment blog, well-sounded critique comments reminded me to vigilant for accepting intellectual dishonesty. I heard Stevey's shocker "Lisp is not an Acceptable Lisp" through Jochen Schmidt's "Steve is Not an Acceptable Lisper" on the Planet Lisp feed. I unfortuately don't have the breadth of knowledge like Steve or these critics, so its hard to know who is right. But definately there are some really good links here to follow up. Even the author of the recently acclaimed programming book Practical Common Lisp, Peter Seibel, fires a shot across the bow with this tasty quote from the comment section:

Peter Seibel said...
I was trying to figure out why on earth you spent so much time writing about something that you apparently don't like. Then it hit me: HCGS [Helpful Critical Guy Syndrome]. So thanks for your help.

Stevey then goes on the defend himself with the next post "Software Needs Philosophers", since he himself says that he is not cut out to create the next "Lisp". So he's a philosopher now. Okay, I gotta fix up my internal categorizing system, because I seem to be really naive believing that Kool-Aid isn't Kool-Aid. What with him saying: "Let's call it [the previous post] a troll, then, because it was poorly researched", you gotta be wary of the posting for blog masterbation in place of the intention of being informative. Am I at fault for expecting the stuff he makes off the cuff to be the same quality as a [insert some publication you trust] article? Evidently yes, I left my thinking on auto-pilot.

But this reminds me that having comments on blog balance the posts out. For me, not having comments on my own posts means I'm missing out on the people who want to quickly correct me on my misinformation (calling any HCGS-ers?). Oh boy do I have plenty. But I still lean to the no-comment on my blogs because I don't want the hassle of being responsible for what they say. Perhaps he does have the same intention of being informative as I do. I certainly am not an expert at video gaming creating or even consumption, so how can I know when wholly ignorant about a subject. There it is, the answer was always waiting for me: Enable comments.

Even the good cafes are in Tokyo

(tags cafe, アニメ, Tokyo)

One of my favorite animes, Honey & Clover, actually has a cafe to back it up. Called the Hachikuro Cafe (ハチクロカフェ), it is in Odaiba in Tokyo. There seems to be some good character goods there. But how long will this cafe last?

I haven't been there, but next time I head to Tokyo... Ah, why can't the good stuff come to the Osaka/Kobe area?

In other news, Honey & Clover will be brought to anime once again, according to the official homepage. It's tentatively titled Honey & Clover II. Hopefully they'll pick a better name, like H&C Repure or H&C Alternative or H&C A's or H&C Another Love Story or H&C Nyo or H&C Gyu or H&C 0083 or ...

Note to self: please stop overflowing my queue

(tags stack, video games, purchasing)

Every time my thoughts come to Final Fantasy XII, I want to buy the game. Seriously. I really want to play it. It's only 6500 yen used at Sofmap now, ooh price dropping (yeah right). I don't know, it's the thought that the battles actually are faster now and programmable make me think it could be fun.

Then I remind myself that I still want (? need?) to finish Kashimashi: Girl Meets Girl: First Summer Story PS2. I'm working on the "Kakeno" scenario now.

... that I pre-ordered Tetris for the DS for Japan. Perhaps this will be the Tetris that will recreate the fun I had with the GB Color version?

... that I pre-ordered the Rozen Maiden: Duellwalzer PS2 game and it's coming out in a few days. Sweet sweet Shinku (she's tsundere, too) and the cutest doll of them all, Hina-Ichigo!

"Hina!!" doujinshi (all ages) by Akira Sakuragi CherriA 2006

... that the Ichigo Marshmallow PS2 game is still waiting for me. Gotta send in the DVD coupons to get the Barasui omake.

... that I have My Merry May with Be PS2 game sitting pretty close to the PS2 and unopened. No extra comment here.

... that I want to go dynamic with my web pages but I haven't even lifted a finger.

... that Microsoft released Virtual Server 2005 R2 Enterprise for free and I'm having too much fun trying to Gentoo "sudo emerge -uDNvta world" and Debian "sudo aptitude install ...". Yeah I should have my own dedicated linux box but I'm still a Microsoft junkie and I only like my linux installs to be virtual (Colinux, Cygwin). Don't even get me started on Linux having a Windowing System (Systems, *cough*, I like xfce4), it's zsh and Gnu Screen and putty-jp with "xterm-256color" for me all the way baby. Oh yeah I still need to check out that VMWare Server beta for free because Microsoft thingy makes my Project Sugar computer crash hard and crash often, not even with a blue screen. Ugh.

I have to face the facts: Final Fantasy XII and other games that catch my fancy like Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy X-2, Mario & Luigi Partners in Time, Shinyaku Seiken Densetsu (oops Sword of Mana for GBA) are not going to get done this spring. Not to mention that I still carry my DS with me everywhere with Animal Crossing: Wild World stuck at 2006-03-18 12:18 (because I gotta milk the orchard for all it has) and interesting things like a special North American/European download surprise, according to British Gaming Blog.

Geez with this schedule you'd think I'd schedule some fun in there.

My wallet "Under Defeat", cases and cases

(tags game, Dreamcast, shmup, 縦, G.Rev, failure)

How many copies of a game do you need? How about a two? Here we go for the "last" Dreamcast game, Under Defeat.

I make it a habit to go to Sofmap @ Tennoji now, because sometimes the rare (new and used) stuff isn't picked up as fast at this location. It's on the Osaka Kanjyou-sen (the JR loop line), so I don't understand why it's not as populated. Sure, it's a ways out though, farther south from Osaka station than Nipponbashi "Den Den Town", but it's pretty big. Sofmap @ Kobe which is closest to me, gets some stuff too, but you have to pre-order to get the goodies.

Is this really the last Dreamcast game? According to the wikipedia page for Under Defeat, another shmup developer Milestone says no. Heck, I think Milestone is just going to make some other scrub shmup (okay XII Stag really turned me off) and publish it after Under Defeat so that they can claim the title. In any case, I don't think there are any more love-sim games coming out for the Dreamcast, they are all going to the PlayStation 2.

Under Defeat comes in a typical "DVD" case, even for the regular version. I suppose they could have just went with a typical Dreamcast "CD Jewel" case, but it would mess up the artwork and the traditional Dreamcast CD case for two CDs just is too bulky. I tried hard to recall what other DC games came out in a DVD case. One is After ～忘れえぬ絆～, the love-sim game ported from the PC by Pionesoft featuring that illustrator Tony (very sexy drawings, thank you). Another was that 3d tennis game, which is going for 8000 yen at Retro Gaming Revival. I gotta a copy but I'm too lazy to go find it now. Hm. I also recall the close to DVD paper case games, such as Wind the re-release edition, and Comic Party. Who could forget the "bigger than big" paper cases for Card Captor Sakura and Ah! Megami-sama or even Love Hina?

I guess I could just look at the case and be satisified. Perhaps I could be just satisfied with a picture of the case? Then I wouldn't have to even buy it.

(original posted 2006-04-04, delayed because lazy to take a picture)

Everybody loves DS

(tags DualScreen, case, 特典, ポイント交換, used, glass case, character goods)

I got away from work to go to Osaka. About the only thing interesting that I got my hands on given the 45 minutes I was in Nipponbashi "Den Den Town" was this used ("mint") DS carrying case in the shape of Mario's hat: 「オリジナルDSポーチ：マリオ帽」.

I can't remember where I saw this first. It was probably one of those Joystiq or Kotaku posts from last year.

Even though I'm a Club Nintendo member, it takes a lot of money to accumulate the 200 points for this item. I just forgo this step and look through the "glass case" shops for interesting items. I got this one at Big Tiger, the north side. Or is it one of those Super Potato shops?

"The Secret Lover" coming to my mailbox

(tags game, arcade, 虫姫さま, shmup, 縦, replay-data, ECsite)

I just thought about it. I ordered The Secret Lover Mushihime-sama DVD from Tanomi last week. But what do those delivery guys think about what I purchase? "The Secret Lover Mushihime-sama" line item on the invoice. A DVD. It's gotta be pr0n. Animal pr0n. Insects. Submission. Ha. Yeah, I don't care. What I do care is how do I dispose of the shipment label which has my name, address, and invoice on it? I gotta buy a paper shredder.

This DVD is one of those Tanomi INH super play DVDs for the game Mushihime-sama. I'm a super play video fan, so I've been wanting to buy this DVD. It's been out since February 2006, and Insert Credit gets the win for reminding me of this thingy, but I just ordered it now. One thing good is that INH Tanomi doesn't seem to be out of stock on this series of DVDs. Which is good because I'm still setting my sights on the Street Fighter "nostalgia" DVD as well. I'll order it later, maybe next month.

Tobi Tsukihime, final shop version with super play DVD

(tags game, Windows, shmup, 横、同人, 月姫, replay-data, 弾幕)

I reviewed the demo of Tobi Tsukihime last year September. Two weeks ago, my local Melon Books got a shipment (apparently it sold out at Comic Market 69) and I quickly bought a copy. It was 1890 yen and this time the shop version includes a super play DVD. I mean, last year's two level demo was enthralling. The music was kickin'. The sheer point scoring feeling and sprite storm was mega stokin'. It was a no-brainer to pick it up. And I'm glad I did!!!!1 It's been calling me pretty much for the last couple of days, now that I figured out the scoring system. (What is the "magic" gauge? What is the "amber" gauge? What is the shot gauge? What is the combo gauge?) Of course I spoiled myself by watching the super play DVD. I don't have time to figure out this stuff by myself anyway.

You can check out a movie of this game by downloading the Comic Market 69 advertise movie (63 MB, .wmv). Why didn't they include this in the shop version? You can also try out a free demo of the game (preview 2, stage 1 only, easy difficulty only, 19MB).

Right now I'm having fun just stage selecting "normal" "last stage" and trying to make the points rain in. What I mean by that is if you pass a certain condition, you start getting more and more bonus points. The "presents" start appearing and you start auto-collecting them in increasing frequency. The sound effects reward you by telling you you're raking in the points. The last stage is not overly difficult danmaku but rich in "presents", and this makes it ideal for practice. The screen fills with "presents" and your drone racks up the kills with its half-screen barrier. The whole screen is noisy and you can't tell friend or foe, but the auto-collect kicks in with all the "presents" flowing toward you, the level-up chirp whistles, each present shows a "+100" at it's screen position (very noisy but very satisfying), and your score skyrockets. Ah the feeling of just making the system work for you. What the hey, I'm a sucker for shmup bells and whistles.

I even like the sound effect when you get hit by a bullet and die. How can I describe it? Somebody knocking you off your broom with a bamboo mallet? Okay, that doesn't describe it at all.

This time, the real game brings pictures of the characters and some veneer of story and dialogue. The drawings are very cute and clean. I'm not talking Lum girl eyes, I'm talking To Heart 2 eyes. It's the eyes, everybody is drawing like this now. (This is a topic for another post, however.) But the actual in-game "ship" and "boss" characters are 3d models of the characters, and they are not moe-able at all. They're downright ugly. Ah what the hey, they're servicable.

Looking at the official web page I see that there is a plan to release a original sound track (see the picture above). I'm going to get this too even though I've played each stage tens of times. The music is urgent rock. Okay, I can't classify music but I can tell you my pulse races when I hear it.

Finally, this game kind of reminds me that I'm still in the mood for collecting the DVDs to the anime Tsukihime (yes, I do care now). I have the first three DVDs, and Sofmap has been keeping the used prices at around 3000 yen. I've recently seen the anime version of Fate/Stay Night and I have come around on Type Moon stuff. Or, at least I have figured out that Tsukihime and Fate/Stay Night are not the same thing, and that Type Moon is the biggest thing to come out of the doujin world out of recent memory. (Yes I don't know squat.)

Multi-media "Kashimashi" love

(tags anime, music, game, book, love-sim)

I mentioned before about the Kashimashi figures coming out that caught my eye. Here's some more character goods: The Sofmap omake CD and telephone card, and the Gamers omake postcard for the opening theme CD, and the back of the PlayStation 2 limited edition version.

I'm totally into the Kashimashi - Girl Meets Girl story. I just finished the anime which I give 5 out of 5 stars. I love the opening and ending themes, especially the supplemental song by Mao Yuu (ゆうまお）, "Songwriter". I'm reading the novelization, which is kinda slow actually and it's not very fun. I also bought the PS2 game, K - GMG: First summer story and I am very satisified with this visual novel style. Actually I haven't read the manga, which seems to be the original work. Even with all these different medias, they all don't tell the same story, which is good.

About the game: First off, the drawing style is different from the anime, but it is very attractive. Hazumu is really cute, the character design is very pretty. Even the teachers have a simple but attractive visage. Next, even though the voice actors for this game are the same as the anime, it is only in this version that I really get into Hazumu's seiyuu, Kana Ueda (植田佳奈). I have come to really adore her voice as Hazumu. Yes, powerhouse seiyuu like Yukari Tamura (田村ゆかり), Yui Horie (堀江由衣), and Masumi Asano (浅野真澄) voice the side characters, but I just come to realize that Ueda's voice is just terrific.

Despite the above main characters, the first character scenerio I wanted to clear was Ayuki (cv Masumi Asano). She's just Hazumu's friend, but I wanted to see if there was any more. I won't spoil the ending, but I'm just going to say that it was disappointing because there's no resolution. Next I worked on the Namiko-sensei and Aster scenarios at the same time. Namiko-sensei's part is gag funny, but not very enriching. The end is equally disappointing. Aster's isn't much improvement either. Even so, the vocals are superb (shoot am I just deaf here!?).

As for the rest of the scenarios, I have:

• Tomari (cv. Yukari Tamura)
• Yasuna (cv Yui Horie)
• Haneru (cv Mikako Takahashi == 高橋美佳子)
• Kakeno (cv. Miyu Matsuki == 松来未祐)
• Tokuko (cv. Yuriko Yamaguchi == 山口由里子)
• Jan-pu (cv. Ryoko Shintani == 新谷良子)
• Hazumu's parents
• that alien guy 宇宙仁 (cv. Keiji Fujihara == 藤原啓治)

to finish, but not in this order. I'm going to try Tomari's first, to see if there is an ending that is not disappointing.

(edit: added picture and description, revised scenarios into a list)

A Xbox 360 game to get excited over, maybe?

(tags Xbox 360, flight simulator, PlayStation 2, bargain bin)

A Japanese friend with an Xbox 360 who has a friend with a Xbox 360 related to me the following: Over G is too realistic. He said he can't land on the aircraft carrier. Hm.

Over the weekend I went to Sofmap Osaka and they had a demo unit with Over G on it. I played it for a couple of minutes. No, actually I played it for an hour or so. While the part of the game I played itself wasn't enthralling or too difficult, it was the first time I felt good gaming vibe. I played demos of Ridge Racer, Kameo and Ninety-Nine Nights but these demos just didn't hit it for me. Anyway, Over G is hard and it doesn't hold your hand. The first map I was puzzled for the first 30 minutes. Where is the target? Then I figured out it was the planes that look like commerical airliners, with no tatical indicators telling me that these are the bogies. In any case I got through a couple of missions. The 360 with a high-def TV really looks like PC gaming, and the fighter plane looks beautiful.

So I was in the flight-sim mood so I purchased a really cheap flight sim, only 500 yen in the bargain bin: Energy Airforce Aim Strike by Taito for the PS2. When I got home to play it, it felt exactly like Over G. The controller was the same, the screens looked the same (well less texture detail but you get the picture), the announcer was in English mode, the replay mode felt the same. I haven't actually researched it but I have a feeling that Over G is also made by Taito and the same team as Energy Airforce.

So much for wanting to buy a Xbox 360. I'll just keep playing my PS2.