It's just a box: Rozen Maiden suitcase

(tags character goods, Rozen Maiden, anime, figure)

At the figure section of Sofmap, I saw a cardboard box with the words, Rozen Maiden "Bara Otometachi no Kaban" (薔薇乙女達の鞄) I was intrigued but not willing to pay 6000 yen on something sight unseen. Luckily I remembered the name and the all-seeing Internet brought me this:

Uh huh, 6000 yen for a box with no doll inside, and it's only for display use. Right. Makimasen (巻きません)

Still no Card Captor Sakura movie collection

(tags DVD region 2, anime, Card Captor Sakura, purchase, failure)

I still haven't found the newly released Card Captor Sakura movie collection (「カードキャプターさくら THE MOVIE COLLECTION」) at a price I want. I have been waiting for Animate to have the goods but unfortunately they don't have it in stock and there's no omake. Sofmap doesn't have it and pre-orders were sold out. I went to Gamers Kobe, and they had one copy at full price. I have enough points at Gamers so I held out, but the day after it was gone. Even Joshin didn't have a copy.

I want to go to Nipponbashi today to search for it, but I'm stuck blogging. Oh wait, I can stop now.

Shining Wind's Kureha (figure) makes CERO B

(tags figure, game, PlayStation 2, sexy, illustrator)

I like that illustrator Tony (nsfw). Recently it seems Tony has been crossing over to all ages illustration, heading up the character design in the Sega PlayStation 2 games Shining Tears and Shining Wind.

One of the characters from Shining Wind, Kureha, will get (pre-built) figure treatment soon. Here is "Kureha", a 1/7 scale figure by Shunji Hagai (?) (萩井俊士) and produced by Max Factory/Good Smile Company. I like this character design, because she has a bow in front, a bow-like sleeve billow, and she's holding a bow. Also, well, zettai ryouiki.

Though I haven't played the game, I am considering purchasing this figure.

I read though that Shining Wind got a CERO B ranking (12 years or older) instead of being all ages (CERO A) because the illustrations are a bit sexualized. Tony, it's all your fault.

Odin Sphere goodies, seiyuu style

(tags seiyuu, game, PlayStation 2)

I have been ignoring Odin Sphere (オーディンスフィア) even though the 2d anime-like side scrolling action seems to be right up my alley. I did pick up the previous game Princess Crown on the PSP to see what the fuss was about, but the PSP presentation didn't sway me.

It turns out that Famitsu did a special interview session with the main voice actors, Ayako Kawasumi (川澄綾子), Susumu Chiba (千葉進歩), Miyuki Sawashiro (沢城みゆき), Mamiko Noto (能登麻美子) (『オーディンスフィア』声優インタビュー＆声優コメント動画を独占配信!! / ファミ通.com). There's a video as well. Finally there's a raffle for 5 autographed copies of the art book. Never hurts to try to enter.

Canvassing after school

(tags CD, purchase, anime)

My main target today was the Card Captor Sakura movie DVD collection, but it wasn't out. Tomorrow will be the big spend.

I was able to buy Kotoko's latest single "Hayate no Gotoku" for the anime Hayate no Gotoku. Today is also the infamous day for the release of the Lucky Star CD single. I haven't watched a single ep, and the music just turns me off.

My new blog habit is j1m0ne's blog. There's a review of all the anime and anime-like jpop released today. This person knows music, or at knows the music and anime I like.

Finally I went to Sofmap just to check. I was able to nab Gurumin (PSP) for 1500 yen. I also scooped up Halko Momoi's CD effort in Lovely Idol called "Variety CD 3 Mai Nonomiya: Lovely de cute nanodaa!". The CD came out in March, but I picked this one up because it's Halko Momoi. It said it came with a poster but the new guy at the counter first forgot to check, then couldn't find it. He called the posse, and I had 3 guys try to find it. One of the older guys came up and said, this is embarassing but well we couldn't find, but the new guy interrupted him because he found it. I noticed it was scratched up as if they used it, but I'm sure this poster's easy to part with.

StarCraft 2 itc (in this chat)

(tags game, real-time strategy, Windows, announcement)

I made the mistake of spending my weekend online on #insertcredit. I had no idea that Saturday, 14:00 Japan Standard time would be so lively.

StarCraft 2.

Announced at a Korean game tournament, but live blogged at IGN and NeoGAF and of course #insertcredit.

As a gamer who has only played WarCraft II, I don't understand what is going on in those in-game videos. Still it seems exciting. "Nuclear launch detected" "GG"

I did say I wanted to play StarCraft, and I even went as far as to put it in my virtual shopping basket at GDEX game online store yesterday. But after reading the Wikipedia page on it, I decided that I'm not really fond of micro and macro mangaging and detail level managing at all. Also the 800 by 600 limitation is annoying.

Will StarCraft 2 be a reason to upgrade my computer? It would have to ride on Unreal Tournament 3.

How much 3 color-clearing games can I take? Puzzle Quest DS

(tags game, Dual Screen, puzzle, RPG)

I finally opened my copy of Puzzle Quest for the DS.

After a night and day of non-stop playing, I can say this game is alright. Certainly there's an inherent addiction to the puzzle part which is a lot like Bejeweled 2. But I've already played Bejeweled 2's Endless Mode for countless hours on my Sony Clie (Palm). Do I want to keep doing the same thing for this RPG-stat based game? One part of me says yes, the other part says no.

This game makes so much more sense on a touch-panel system instead of a D-pad system.

I am learning something new though. It was difficult for me to think ahead but now since my opponent is playing on the same puzzle as me, I must think about how the pieces fall and how not to give the good moves away.

This will be my commute game for this week. So long PSP, it was nice toting you.

A close reminder: Nanoha A's "Raising Heart Necklace"

(tags anime, Nanoha, character goods, collectable)

I have an anime DVD backlog that if measured in yen is probably... well let's not get into that. In any case, I think its a motivational problem that I haven't seen all the DVDs I own.

So, for the 2005/10 season anime Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha, which I still haven't seen, I bought a collectable that reminds me of the series: the "Raising Heart Necklace". This 4000 yen toy is a replica of the necklace and weapon that the main character Nanoha uses.

And I wear it, all the time. When I'm in non-anime mode I put it underneath my clothes, but when I'm out otaku shopping, I display it. It's kinda like those people with anime/character goods in their cars. Other fans will understand what it symbolizes, while normal people will think its just an exotic trinket.

Actually I saw this necklace at K-Books going for 8000 yen mint pre-owned, but the Animate in Nipponbashi had a stash load of them, so it's not as rare it appears.

The little red orb is supposed to transform into this weapon. Yeah, this is an anime with a girl transformation sequence.

I can say after wearing this necklace for a week, it had an effect. I finally dug out my DVD set of Nanoha A's and I am now watching it. Maybe at this rate I'll be talking about StrikerS next week?

Frustrated to tears: DJ Max Portable 2

(tags game, PlayStation Portable, rhythm)

A week ago I achieved my goal on DJ Max Portable 2, the max combo (no-miss) of the "Seoleim" stage.

There were other songs to achieve. I kept hacking it on the train and in the bus. I achieved max combos on the level 5 and lower stages. I started developing endurance for longer and longer sequences, which was satisfying. I'm no longer a gibbering puddle of thumbs trying to mow down the bars, at least for the songs I know.

But still it is frustrating. I'm not leveling up fast enough, I'm not getting the songs right fast enough. The gold and experience point levels are not moving up fast enough. I finally unlocked one more song ("Syriana", also featured on this collectable t-shirt) after two weeks of plateaued performance, but there's still 10 more to go, I think.

Perhaps my body just won't cut it for this game. I'm going to put this one on "back burner" for now.

Completed Final Fantasy XII Revenant Wings

(tags game, Dual Screen, Final Fantasy, failure)

I completed Final Fantasy XII Revenant Wings DS game after a two week vacation just using my PSP. It turns out I stopped just before the last chapter. One more major boss fight and I could have ended it.

I am very disappointed with it. The controls are wack and slow. Its hard to select a certain character during a fight. The characters themselves are so pixelated that when they do a thumbs up gesture it's laughably crude. The story was forgettable, with the theme of all for one and one for all.

Still I finished the game, all 23 hours of it. There are 3 extra bosses I tried but couldn't collect. Those are for the hardcore. Forget it, I will never play this game again.

Manabi-shiki de arimasu! DVD pack-in game, vol. 2

(tags game, MMFlash, Windows, DVD region 2, anime)

The pack-in Flash game for Manabi Straight! DVD 2 wasn't as hard as last time.

It was one of those 4 by 4, 15 tile plus gap slide into order games. I kept on clicking the row expecting more than one tile to shift automatically, but they don't. Frustrating. I failed the four minute game but got it on the second try.

Believing in the PSP: games, movies, advice

(tags game, PlayStation Portable, movie, purchase)

My favorite game device for the moment is the PSP. I've got that DJ Max Portable 2 making me make a scene in the trains and cafes. Yesterday I bought that Tatsujin no Taiko Portable (太鼓の達人ぽーたぶる) used (but this is because I want to make sure I know about it before it comes to the DS). I'm going to head out today to buy the current Famitsu PlayStation Portable magazine (with Final Fantasy Tactics screen wiper but I don't care).

And last night I settled in bed with the UMD version of the movie (2000) Crouching Dragon, Hidden Dragon. I got this UMD and Spirit UMD used at yesterday's Nipponbashi canvassing. Unfortunately I kept confusing this movie with Hero. Yeah, I wanna watch that movie again but I can't find my DVD of it. I did, while searching my room, coincidently find the promotional postcards for the Japanese release of Crouching Dragon, Hidden Dragon, shown below:

Also yesterday evening, some visiting dude wanting to get a PlayStation Portable from the used console case at Sofmap Saurus was having problems being understood by the staff. I was peering at the case myself and he asked me some questions in English. I made sure that he knew about the "cracking" that could be done, and pointed at the firmware version numbers that Sofmap writes for buyer convenience. "Get a PSP with firmware 3.0.3 or lower". He seemed to be in a hurry though, so maybe I should have answered his original question: "Does this come with 1GB Memory Stick?"

I still haven't downgraded my silver PSP, though. I'm sure to get to it when things cool down, ha.

Max combo achieved!

(tags game, music, PlayStation Portable, rhythm)

I finally achieved a Max Combo (No Break) on "Seoleim", that "Level 5" Cute Pop song in DJ Max Portable 2.

Well, this is on Beginner (lax button recognition) and 4 buttons (instead of 5, 6 or 8). But still it feels good to get it done right. And I swear DJ Max is for experts and musicians, not game dilletantes. I got it accomplished at a Nipponbashi McDonalds. They have nice track lighting and seats so I can chill.

The reward for the No Break is a background of the animation accompaning the song. I am going to post it, but it's time for bed.

update: added lower res

Downturn: Manabi Straight vol. 2

(tags anime, Manabi Straight, DVD region 2, season 2007/01)

Episodes 3 and 4 of Manabi Straight were a bit of a downer after the first two happy episodes. There were a lot of serious scenes. For example, Mei hiding from Manabi and friends because of her neurosis. She seeks refuge in a console RPG video game.

If this is gaming in the year 2035, its disappointing. Let's face it, this anime series isn't about real trends in future technology.

Still, the gaming in bed is my type of thing. But, if you have some holographic virtual screen thing going, couldn't you at least have the option to tilt it to fit your head angle?

I am enthralled with the attempt to address real-world problems about school apathy and problems. Yes, despite the puni-puni moe moe shape of these high schoolers, its a serious anime. But my mood is comedy right now.

Sound miracle: DJ Max 2 Portable collector's edition

(tags game, music, PlayStation Portable, rhythm, import)

This is my new obsession:

No, not the girl in the A1 poster, but the PSP game DJ Max Portable 2. (디제이맥스 포터블2). This is a music game that has you tapping the buttons in time with the music.

As far I'm concerned, this is the system selling game for the PSP. No other game I've played has made me feel as good for buying the PSP. Then again, I'm pretty much a newcomer to music games. Even though I have two Dance Dance Revolution pads and games for the PS1, I never got a chance to use them, and now they're at my sister's place collecting dust. I was enthusiastic in the same way for the more casual Rhythm Tengoku on the GBA. But the PSP has more space for music and variety (47 songs!) and plus it has the fantastic screen to back up the visuals.

I saw the demo video playing on the upscan widescreen and also the PSP upscan unit at Game Hollywood, so I decided to first evaluate the regular version on Saturday. They were running a really cute video, moe anime style with a fun beat (turns out it was for the song "Seoleim", pictured above). After a relaxing bath, I started the game. I slowly but surely came to the conclusion that I would get totally hooked (ハマっちゃいました！), so on Sunday of my Akihabara trip, I decided to get it with the 3 disc soundtrack. But the only way to get it is to get the limited edition for new:

I chose the DJ Max 2 Portable black "Orpheus" Limited Edition (Japan release but not Japan-only). It came with the poster shown above. I chose it over the Silver Limited Edition because there's a portrait inside the same poster gal. Ha ha. The Silver's portrait is the twin girls, which is ok but not as fabulous. Also the Japan-only "Champagne Gold" wasn't anywhere and I wasn't aware of it. The goodies look like this. It was only 2_5000 yen, ha. (Korean Limited Edition was around 1_0000 yen for the same thing, and at GDEX it is about 2_0000 yen, ouch)

But before I got the black case, I saw the predecessor game, DJ Max Portable "Prestige" Limited Edition at one of the Liberty stores. This one comes with a 2 disc soundtrack CD set as well. It wasn't there on Saturday. I decided to get that too, but there was some other guy looking at it for what seemed to be a long time. It was a nerve-wracking minute or two. When he gently put the box back on the premium shelf and shuffled away, I quickly grabbed it up. Only 1_7800 yen at mint used price. It also seems to be that you can play the tracks from the first game on the second game. I'll have to check this out later.

Well, how does it play? Here's a sample user video from the GDC. More to the point, how do I play? Of course, I'm doing "Easy Mode" and "4 buttons for the beginner". I am not even close, although I did get some perfect "max combo" at the level 1 and 2 after practicing non-stop these last few days. I really like the music, well at least most of it, and the videos have high quality anime feel. Like I said, I'm spending most of my time on "Soleim" (a level 5 song) and I'm not going to rest until I perfect that one (because I want to and because it unlocks a downloadable background). Just prepping this blog I finally got under a 5 Break after spending most of yesterday and today at under 15 Break (shown above).

I have to say though at the beginning, I wished there were more beginner songs. But after spending more time with it, I started to warm up to playing fast, or at least faster than what my Sudoku-induced atrophied fingers are used to. So bring on the level 5s and 6s LOL (FYI level 5 is still beginner) Plus I love the feeling from learning something. Also I seem to be able to read that falling bar thing without hesitation now.

Ahh, I need to play this more until my thumbs bleed. Two or three buttons per thumb? Surely you jest.

Atheist on the Highway: Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune music for free

(tags music, free, game, race)

According to the elitist snobs at Insert Credit, there was (and still is) a freely available music collection for the arcade game Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune (湾岸ミッドナイト MAXIMUMTUNE), composed by Yozo Koshiro (古代祐三). You can download this free 14 track trance-themed soundtrack.

Gaming outside Akihabara: Mandarake Galaxy

(tags game, import)

Since my main reason for heading to Tokyo wasn't Akihabara, but instead Ikebukuro, I decided to check out Krispy Kreme donuts and that "Best Video Game Store in Japan" as recommended by Chris Kohler. The store in question is Mandarake Galaxy (まんだらけギャラクシー) which is part of a cluster of Mandarake stores in one building in Nakano.

Unfortunately it was underwhelming given the other stores I'm used to. Sure they have some interesting stuff in the glass cabinets and old Nintendo stuff. I expected more volume, a whole rack of soundtracks like Nipponbashi / Den Den Town's Retro Gaming Revival and/or Super Potato, etc. But the shop was small. I don't think Nakano gets the traffic. That cassette tape of the Legend of Zelda mentioned by Kohler? It's still there, waiting to be purchased.

Then again, this is Mandarake. Figure this one out: The Dreamcast version of Ikaruga cannot be found on the shelves in many of the (premium) used game stores I frequent. Yet there are many copies here, all in the 6000-10000 yen price range. However, no copies of the Gamecube version could be had at all. Maybe they chaff the wheat?

I ended up buying just some copies of Arcadia magazine, since I'm still trying to save a "perfect copy" of the Ikaruga arcade era. I don't think I picked up any magazines new to my collection, probably just copies I already had.

Well, it wasn't a total loss. The rest of the cluster of Mandarake stores had some pretty nifty items. Anime DVD box sets, anime music CDs, signed items, old manga. Mandarake to me is all about bad lighting and dingy shelfs, but they have a lot of rare stuff.

Still I didn't buy anything.

On a strangely personal tip, I visited Nakano in my "former life", by walking from Shibuya / Meguro-ku. It took me about 1 hour to walk. I was looking for some interesting stores. I obviously missed Mandarake.

Don't drink the local water

(tags travel, Tokyo, failure)

Um, there's something strange with the water in Tokyo. In any case my ear felt weird and I felt a little down. This was after I enjoyed an immersive bath at the hotel. What, do they get the water directly from Ochanomizu river?

Still looking for Starcraft, but coming up empty-handed

(tags game, import, real-time strategy)

Eventually I'll play this game because I feel like it's a necessary part of gaming history (just not necessary enough to get it RIGHT NOW). Aso Bit City didn't have a copy even though they had an entire aisle of foreign PC games, the biggest assortment I've seen in Akihabara (but that's not saying much). As always Messe Sanoh Chaos had a copy on the third time I canvassed the shop in two days... Yup, the Battle Chest edition for 6000 yen.

No. Way.

In plain English: I didn't buy it.

I think I just want to play it for 1000 yen or less. (Yes the online store has it for USD 9.99 and ships to Japan but but...)

I don't understand, Starcraft is big in South Korea. Because Japan is close, you'd think they'd get some copies? But the Japanese version is nowhere to be found.

Update: maybe this page has the reasons why Japan doesn't "get" Starcraft.

So glad that I didn't buy Gripshift; Puzzle Quest for the DS

(tags game, Dual Screen, import, RPG, puzzle)

One of the themes of my trip to Akihabara was import gaming.

As I mentioned before, I was looking for Puzzle Quest for the Nintendo DS. I canvassed my regular haunts, Game Hollywood and Messe Sanoh Chaos but there was none to be found. Sure, there were plenty of copies of the PSP version, but who wants to play a Bejeweled clone with a DPad? Frankly I've already had enough time logged with my Palm version of the Bejeweled 2 to know the answer.

I kept my eye out, but still I didn't have any luck. Aso Bit City seemed to be very promising for import PC and console gaming, but they didn't have a copy. They did have some discounted games such as Gripshift for the PSP. (In the same bin there was a new import GBA Micro going for 2000 yen but I passed on it). I didn't know if this game was any good, and though 2000 yen is my insta-grab price, frankly I have enough to play with. So I waited to consult the Internet. My hotel had a free Internet terminal so "metacritic gripshift"... Given the comments, I decided to buy first thing on Sunday morning.

Unfortunately, Sunday morning and there was no more copies.

On a chance that maybe I overlooked where they put the discount bin, I went to the store again at around 22:00 (no donuts, natch). But of course it wasn't there. However, Puzzle Quest was available!

I don't know why, but maybe they got a shipment late Sunday? In any case, score!

I'm not likely to open this game any time soon though, for reason I will reveal in another post.

Oh yeah, I already saw the video of some homebrew hacker giving himself the win with one touch.

Where to begin: Donut run 2007/05

(tags travel, Tokyo, snack)

OMG, the last two days felt more like a real vacation than the first seven days (of my nine day Golden Week). FFXII:RW? It doesn't compare at all. I have so much hobby blog post ideas but I don't have enough time. So lets start with an easy one:

After finishing the Ichigo Masimaro voice actor event (帰ってきた「苺ましまろでショー」in豊島公会堂イベント), I went to the first and only Krispy Kreme donut shop in Japan, located south of the Shinjuku station. Even though it was about 9 PM on a Sunday night, there was a 40 minute wait to get into the store.

Actually, I've only had a Krispy Kreme donut once, when I was in San Diego. I was planning to buy a dozen for the trip back home to Kobe. But! While I was in line, the store attendant gave me a free glazed donut. It tasted pretty good, and there was no doubt I would blaze through a whole box. But after I finished the donut just at the threshold of the building, I decided I didn't need to buy donuts. So I left the line still licking my glazed lips, content with just the memory.

Off to see the seiyuu

(tags anime, failure, games-of-chance, Ichigo Masimaro, live, seiyuu, Tokyo, voice actor, game, import)

Well I'm turning in, so that I can get a jump on the shinkansen tomorrow. So that I can attack the Akiba stores on Saturday. So I won't have to worry about Sunday. So that I can show up to the Ichigo Masimaro voice actor event (帰ってきた「苺ましまろでショー」in豊島公会堂イベント) with good seats (but seat assignment is a raffle).

But I'm laid back you see. The only thing I need to worry about is being at Ikebukuro at 16:00 on Sunday afternoon. No problem.

I haven't prepared anything except the invite and what import video games I should consider. Racketboy is putting spike in my punch with his recommendation for TMNT for the GBA. And I don't really want anything... except Puzzle Quest for the DS, and maybe some PSP games like After Burner: Black Falcon and Ratchet & Clank. Perhaps I'll see some telephone cards, or I'll see some CDs to complete my collection. Shoot, I should have prepared my inventory. My memory is not so good, but it keeps telling me it's excellent.

Well I am bringing an extra PSP battery (from my silver) and charge cables for iPod, DS and PSP, but its all really dead weight until I wait in line on Sunday. I should not be playing my games when stores are open! Plus I have a plan to reconnoiter Ikebukuro on Saturday night to make sure I don't get lost. I do wish that my copy of Harry Potter was electronic so I can get rid of dead-tree weight. I am not bringing my computer, there's plenty of Internet cafes to be had.

I am wondering if I'm going to write up this event. I failed to write up the Sachi Tainaka (タイナカサチ) live in-store event (last year), the Halko Momoi (桃井はるこ) live in-store event (last year), and even the recent Midori Karashima (辛島美登里) event (last month). I took notes,though! I'm not aiming to report at full verbosity like I did with Yoko Ishida (石田燿子) or Savage Genius, but just a liked it/hated it would be useful.

Um, maybe I should get to sleep now? With this, my vaction in Kobe (at home) is officially over.

Like an RTS should

(tags game, Final Fantasy, Dual Screen, real-time strategy)

The extra missions unlocked before the endgame are kicking my ass. I think they finally turned on the AI on the enemy side. I am having flashbacks of Homeworld frustration.

That is all.

Manabi-shiki de arimasu! DVD pack-in game

(tags game, MMFlash, Windows, DVD region 2, anime)

The limited edition Gakuen Utopia Manabi Straight! (がくえんゆーとぴあまなびストレート！) DVD 1 came with a CD-ROM disc "fun disc" for Windows PC (.NET 2.0). Among the useless things (3D Manabi Amamiya very-non-kawaii, scheduler software, email launcher), there was a Flash game. It was not a joy:

Bascially its a obstacle game. You must avoid the on-coming garbage and hit the bonus speed ups. But it was almost impossible. Okay, so maybe it took 30 minutes to beat this 2 minute game, but I had to overcome:

• bad control and lag
• tendancy for Manabi to creep to the right side of the screen on every boost, which means less reaction time
• necessary to grab every 5 second bonus (there are three)
• random patterns
• sometimes impossible to avoid garbage patterns
• starting the game with a mouse but its a keyboard game... move that mouse pointer off the screen, argh

But I beat it, after using my right hand for up and down and left hand for move back, since ESDF (you may recognize it as WASD) wasn't speedy enough.

Of course, the prize was sitting naked in the same installation folder as a background picture. Still I feel like accomplished something, huh. Just like writing a blog post, huh huh.

Before I did the game (to put this DVD away) I watched the DVD again in its entirety a third time. It's still magical. "Manabi-shiki de arimasu!" Awesome.

A tricorder in yoko mode: PSP GPS and Minna no Chizu 2

(tags hardware, PlayStation Portable, GPS)

Last week along side the DS purchase, I bought the PlayStation Portable GPS attachment with the Minna no Chizu 2 (みんなの地図２, or Everybody's Map 2). This is the first GPS I have that I actually use as a mapper. So now I can cart around the PSP as a toy GPS. Yes, it's just a toy for the dabbler.

I already traveled my normal work route and my Nipponbashi / Osaka Den Den Town route from Tennoji through that Tennoji Zoo. The GPS part is functional, but it doesn't mean its reliable. It seems I have to wait a long time (couple of minutes?) for the first synchronization. If I have clear skies and no big buildings around me, it will continue to receive signal and show my current position in signal intervals. This is after learning I need to keep that GPS attachment parallel (not perpendicular) to the ground. There doesn't seem to be a way to add an attenna to it.

There is also another signal method, called PlaceEngine. This is very interesting. I'm not exactly sure how it works, but it requires that you turn on your Wi-Fi. It's a service that can be used from your notebook PC, as well. Just with the PlaceEngine (free) service, you can get your position within a couple of meters, when it is accurate. Most of the time it's not, and most of the time there's no signal. I got an accurate signal in downtown Kobe, on occasion. Hm. Am I "warmapping"?

For walking around and looking geeky, I set the signal polling to every 10 seconds, "PlaceEngine then GPS" method. That way I can turn off PE with the hardware switch. There is no such switch for the GPS. This works, because if I get both PE and GPS, and PE is not giving me a good positioning, I want it to use GPS. Since the PSP is not a PC, it doesn't seem to multitask the PE and GPS polling. One alternate method "GPS then PE" seems slower. This doesn't drain my battery as fast as I thought.

Minna no Chizu 2 is more than a GPS/PE enabled map. It is connected to the online user-generated content site PetaMap. You can upload your "My Spots", edit and share them in Web 2.0 fidelity. When you want to put the data back onto your PSP, you just download it as a Guide, kinda like a restaurant guide. Unfortunately, PC integration ends there. You can't download it in format you started with, or make paths or do more fancy stuff.

PetaMap uses Google Maps, which in turn uses Zenrin map data, which is the creator of this PSP software. Zenrin is the big name for map data, and as far as I can tell its accurate. The map data includes icons for convenience stores and gasoline stores, etc.

Also that PlaceEngine requires service data (of course the UMD has some data already). It's a big 15MB file that seems to be updated weekly. One interesting thing is that you can post your position data to PlaceEngine which they will use to correct the data. Since the PSP is a lot smaller than a PC, it should work better for this purpose.

Here's a couple of things I wish it could do:

• Work in an (outdoor) train or bus.
• Automatically record waypoint data like a normal portable GPS does.
• Add a graphical user layer for paths.
• Add/draw my own icons for positions.

Here's a couple of things it does that I think botches it:

• Load times to get to the first map. Ugh, 2 to 3 minutes? Who needs a movie intro?!
• Fade in/out effects for the menus. Ugh, waiting 2 seconds is the crap.
• Loading "My Spots" data is not automatic.
• Favoring measurement method. Sure you have both signals coming in, but which one does the user want to use?

And well, here's what it does good:

• GPS works
• PlaceEngine works in a downtown area
• You can rotate the map freely because everything is a vector.
• Find best path from an arbitrary Start and Goal.

Unfortunately for me, I had to upgrade my PSP firmware to 3.11 to use it.

Well if I ever travel, I'm going to try to use this. There is Tokyo this weekend...

Set your addiction to "stun": Final Fantasy XII Revenant Wings

(tags game, Dual Screen, Final Fantasy)

I opened my copy of the Final Fantasy XII Revenant Wings (I've been procrastinating with the PSP thing). The game starts out slow and doesn't get very challenging, which is what the FF story mode is all about. I'm not totally addicted to it, I even started reading a Harry Potter book (the 4th one). But I have put in about 15 hours and I must say it's ... not work, so it must be fun.

Can I complain about the pixelated sprites? Or how it's so hard to select just one character to heal or something? Never mind, I'm going to finish the story mode.

Can't take it with you, but you can certainly put it in plastic

(tags poster, anime, game, seiyuu)

I don't collect posters really, but they just seem to accumulate. I finally started organizing some of them:

I love this poster set from Kimi ga Nozumu Eien (君が望む永遠) DVD series. Animation character designer Youko Kikuchi (菊地洋子) translated this PC game well.

When I first tried to take a picture of this poster set, it was hard to capture the immense size of two A2 B2 JIS B2 posters side by side (which makes it A1 B1 JIS B1 size but I digress). So I put in the other posters that were laying around, though I probably have twice as many stuck in the closet.

I am sticking the unravelled posters into a poster binder. Unfortunately it's hard to get the paper to stay unravelled while I put it in the plastic sheets, so I prep them by hanging on my refrigerator. I do have wall space but it's undiscovered country. In fact, I still have some calendars from up from previous years, even a Salvador Dali one from 2003. Ugh. I don't really want to turn my rooms into an emulation of a gal game shop, however.

You may notice that posters on the right hand side are from Mahou Shojo Lyrical Nanoha A's (魔法少女リリカルなのはA's) by the font design. Also there are some seiyuu artist and game posters mixed in. I probably need to buy another binder though, this one is getting heavy and full. At 3000 yen a pop, though, it's expensive to keep paper.

(I wrote this post because I wanted to take a picture of the Hekiru Shiina poster)

edit: The posters are JIS B2, not A2 or B2.

Pieces are falling into place: flash memory for PSP

(tags hardware, PlayStation Portable)

It seems I don't even have to lift a finger anymore, since Sofmap carries all I need. Take for example this MicroSD to Memory Stick Pro DUO adapter. It can be had at many of the Sofmaps I frequent.

Geez, 2GB is literally nothing to sneeze at. It's so tiny!

2GB hits the sweet spot on price. Well the Sony official MSProDuo is about 8000 yen, and this MicroSD is about 5000 yen. The adapter cost 1500 yen so I'm still ahead. (I am not considering throughput, though.) But the biggest MicroSD is currently only 2GB, though it seems 4GB is just around the corner. Also, the PSP cannot use memory cards over 4GB without firmware 2.81. That's no problem for me, since I'm not willing to buy 1_5000+ yen memory yet.

2GB is good for holding and ripping up my UMDs. A UMD is about 1.8GB. Though I'm not downloading ISOs, I do want to speed up my game playing. Comic Party is still on my list of things to do, and it better be quicker this time around.

But why still the official MSProDuo? Ripping needs stable hardware, and plus I don't yet trust MicroSD + adapter right now. But going with MicroSD is beneficial if I get a "flash cart" for my DS. I haven't researched this part so I don't know the benefits.