we get signal

This blog has moved

noreply@blogger.com (piyo) — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 16:59:00 +0000

This blog is now located at http://nice.sugardune.net/.
You will be automatically redirected in 30 seconds, or you may click here.

For feed subscribers, please update your feed subscriptions to
http://nice.sugardune.net/feeds/posts/default.

Achievement redacted! Sayonara Blogger!

noreply@blogger.com (piyo) — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 16:15:00 +0000

(tags blog)

Due to me being all Web 1.0 and Blogger discontinuing Publishing via FTP, I've decided to stop blogging these hobby posts at/via Blogger. I don't have a new blog already set up, but you can be sure I won't be able to stop exposing my strange hobbies. In other words, this will be the last blog post here at this feed. If I ever get another one started, I'll let you know. ;-)

While I'm here, I might as well reminisce. According to the Blogger control panel, this will be (or is) the 963 published post. What a nice clean number, but still less than a thousand. "we get signal" was just my little testbed to see how Blogger worked. A more than four year old testbed. And it did work, but just barely good enough so that I didn't gravitate toward anything else. Along the way, I discovered PSP and DS gaming, bought more than enough moe figures, went to some heady conventions and lost that hunger, stopped buying weekly Famitsu magazines, and other things that made my life grand (or my future job searching efforts a pain).

It's all in there. Or I wish it was, since I keep on forgetting to type it out. I know my memory isn't so great, and re-reading these entries makes me feel satisfying nostalgia. It's just that taking those pictures and post-editing them got so tedious that I stopped blogging. The typing part was fun though. I can do that all day.

Blogging is a joy, best described as... oh I'm just gonna steal that Prince quote: "To create something from nothing is one of the greatest feelings, and I would -- I don't know, I wish it upon everybody. It's heaven." I may not be playing music like he is, but I am still wrestling my fleeting thoughts into thorny, beautiful phrases (yeah right). Then again, this is a self-indulgent diary instead of crowd-pleasing, open comment, Internet 2.0 blog. I am so wrong, so very wrong, wrong in ways I cannot imagine. But it was true. True for me, when I wrote it, it whatever. It was all fiction! Or just ignorance. Bliss. BTW, I don't think I've improved myself at all. :-)

Thank you for reading! See you again!

dat ass!

noreply@blogger.com (piyo) — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 15:30:00 +0000

(tags Windows 7, Nanami Madobe, Quo cards, poster, collectibles)

dat ass!

dat quo card ass!

dat blown up, multiple ass!

dat clear file ass!

dat big ass poster sofmap ass!

Wipe dat ass!

WIPE DAT PREPRINTED ASS!

...

Ahem, Windows 7 Mania, indeed. This "official" mascot, Nanami Madobe (窓辺ななみ), sure is moe. And Windows 7? It's a pretty good Spider Solitare platform. Heh.

Why you should be playing games

noreply@blogger.com (piyo) — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 23:25:00 +0000

(tags game, criticism)

Why you should be playing games. It's to train your brain to recognize good experiences, or perhaps learn how your standard of tolerance is different from others. Not so recently, I played the Pokemon series, but I gave up on it before getting the "complete index" item, because the battle screens are so slow. Still there are millions of people playing this game.

Or more recently, it's to make yourself a noisy nuisance on the bus or train. (Games: DJ Max Portable 2, Rubik's Cube).

Or it's to inhibit (or develop!) your lust for collecting collectibles. 100% completion makes gaming like work, but I don't want to feel like I miss out.

Sometimes gaming is just for relaxation. I recently discovered Spider Solitaire, one of those Windows built-in games. It's been my guilty pleasure for the last week. I play with one deck (beginner level). I really like the bling in the Windows 7 edition of this game, because I find that the Windows XP just serviceable, not unlike the feeling of playing a Windows 3.1 game.

Why shouldn't you be playing games. Surely you need your sleep time? ;)

Caught myself iPadding

noreply@blogger.com (piyo) — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 23:20:00 +0000

(tags ipad, hardware)

Ugh, this is one of those posts that mentions the iPad. I caught myself first thing in the morning looking up its product page and availability at Sofmap. Lucky for me it's not yet available in Japan. Some negative blog posts about the developer restrictions reminded me about my decision to not buy one.

わふー! はろー・わーるど！なのです。(A Kudo PC unboxing affair)

noreply@blogger.com (piyo) — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 18:28:00 +0000

(tags hardware, PC, Windows 7, Kudo)

Today was the 6th Nipponbashi Street Fair, but I was only interested in one thing: The Noumi Kudryavka PC netbook. It's a VisualArt's / Key Official Original Goods「わふーでハイすぺっくなnetbookなのです。」 To make a long story short, I purchased one way overpriced Atom Pineview netbook.

I woke up at 6:00 AM, arrived in Nipponbashi at around 7:40. I thought I was late, and I was, since there was about 500 people already. They lined us up in groups of 60. I was standing in the middle but for some reason, they decided to let our group (5th!) enter first. I finished buying everything at 9:15 AM, and I headed back home, missing the rest of the Festa.

One unremarkable cardboard box gives way to a kawaii assault. The box set is basically the netbook and the themes backup CD-ROM.

Everything seems to be in order. Glossy finish with no imperfections. Hard disk looks alright at 320GB. No discernible way to upgrade the 2GB RAM. Only two USB 2.0 ports and both of them on the left side.

There are important things to do before booting into Windows 7 Home Premium Japanese. I first checked the boot up sequence, then did a quick MemoryTest+. After that I backed up the hard drive using Clonezilla Live USB. Finally I ran Windows, played around with the themes and backgrounds, and checked out my Miku score.

This is pretty much my first time to listen to Naomi Kudryavka in depth. It's the original voice actress Miyako Suzuta (鈴田美夜子). The PC comes with 6 voice themes: maid, wife, sister, love, wahoo and russian. The wife one is good for a laugh but the sounds are longer than 3 seconds so I know I will tire of them quickly. First I need to make some noise by making errors.

Now to actually play this Little Busters!. It's been 2 years already and I still haven't finished any scenarios. I just like the way she's illustrated. Now that there's enough space I will install that game, Kudo-Wafter (クドわすたー) when it comes out, and Starcraft 1 right now!

wins the ketchup painting mini-game

noreply@blogger.com (piyo) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:14:00 +0000

(tags game, Xbox 360, gal game)

w1nnar!

w1nnar?

IRC is the mind killer

noreply@blogger.com (piyo) — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 16:21:00 +0000

(tags IRC, blog)

Just now I got stuck reading my own blog. Man, this guy is totally interesting, and I wish he wrote more. ;-) Heh.

Ever since re-joining the IRC life after meeting some IRC friends IRL (ooh scary). I have not been writing many posts. I suppose I must prioritize my limited free time but its just so easy to derive satisfaction from sitting in an IRC channel and bouncing non-sequiturs and off-the-cuff rude remarks. "Yer mom". Then again sometimes I learn about new things like new games and new Internet usage techniques. Communication is important! Says the hermit who refuses to turn on comments on his blog.

Now that I figured out how to log in my IRC client and how to keep a client session up longer (run it on my always on PC, duh), I can still participate, but perhaps I shouldn't pop in every day. Let's give that a try. Greetz and howdy for a new habit.

Nanoha cross-media uppercut

noreply@blogger.com (piyo) — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 15:46:00 +0000

(tags game, movie, なのは)

I thought my Nanoha fandom died out after ignoring the third TV series, but I got swept into this weekend's one two otaku-targeted cross-media punch: Nanoha the theatrical movie and Nanoha the PSP game. Below is the instant when my fandom re-ignited, mostly raw and unedited. I want to expand on certain facets of it in separate posts, but give me a night to polish (and collect pictures eh heh).

Written around 2010-01-22 Friday evening:

Nanoha the Movie 1 starts tomorrow. Wanna watch it. Then again its 1500 yen and no special goodie with ticket because I was too slow to pre-order. The movie is showing at Cine Libre Kobe (シネ・リーブル神戸) which is this artsy almost-independent place that sometimes shows anime. Also starting tomorrow is the Fate/Stay Night movie but I'm not into that. Well, that's two "Fate"s in one day (the other is Fate Tessterosa from Nanoha, ha ha).

Yesterday, there were many limited edition copies of the Nanoha PSP game to be had, but the regular edition was either sold out or just not in yet (or stores are forcing the sale of the expensive version first).

A Xbox 360 Holiday full of deals

noreply@blogger.com (piyo) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 03:07:00 +0000

(tags game, Xbox 360)

I spent the Xmas and New Years holidays playing the daily deals trickling off Xbox Live. It was called the Xbox Live Holiday Deal. I watched the daily unveiling through the Cheap Ass Gamer post. The Japan region had different deals from the US region, so I watched it through ホリデーカウントダウン.

I picked up all the free stuff. I also picked up Marvel Vs. Capcom 2, Castle Crashers, Battlefield 1943. Only Castle Crashers held my attention longer than a day. Actually the first day I played it, I logged into a game and some high level total strangers helped boost me. I then played the game with some closer aquaintances and got a complete Achievement from it. That was fun.

Acutally the Deal of the Week was Shadow Complex, which I played to completion on Hardcore the first time. That was pretty fun but I don't feel like playing that game a third time through.

Finally I picked up A Kingdom for Keflings, which was the following Deal of the Week. I like this game a lot because of the building and resource collecting. I even purchased one of the DLC packs which is just two extra maps. I'm feeling the tinge of boredom with it now, but the first time I played it was a 5 hour straight session.

Xbox 360 don't fail me now.

My Avatar movie experience

noreply@blogger.com (piyo) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 02:27:00 +0000

(tags movie)

"Do I really have to do this now?" "Yes while it's still fresh."

Avatar hasn't moved me to write a screed. But it reminds me of earlier last month.

I was digging through my stash when I found this old DVD of Terminator 2, with burned in letterboxing. Unlike other DVDs I owned, I felt the need to watch it right then and there. Two hours flew by, and I had new found (refound) respect for this James Cameron work. Remember when the T-1000 rammed the truck through the bridge barricade? This was the point of the movie for me where I know the bad guy (and the production crew) wasn't just messing around. That was movie magic.

So with that Terminator 2 fresh in my mind, and the buzz and hype from blogs I read (I mean skipped over) and other Internet friends, I decided to watch it on a theatre discount day. The weekend before was also a discount day and I watched the sequel to Tinkerbell there as well, which I hoped was a good as the first but unfortunately was forgettable Disney moralizing and deus ex machina.

I announced my intention to watch the movie to my IRC chat buddies at #insertcredit and most of them recommended the 3d version. I was set on watching the 2d version with subtitles but after some rumination (you can't duplicated the experience at home) and seeing the price difference (only 300 yen more, so it was still a good discount), I decided to give the 3D "IMAX" version a try. BTW, I always thought the "IMAX" thing was the distorted 180 degree bubble screen. I think that was the last time I ever saw anything called IMAX.

I arrived at the theater one hour before, intending to watch the 13:10 but it was sold out. Was this the result of the discount pricing? The second showing was at 20:10 but I didn't hesitate. Coming back again, I decided to get popcorn and drink with this movie, hoping the movie food would suspend my disbelief. Buying overpriced snacks at the theater is a rarity for me. I felt dismayed when the admission lady handed me the required 3d glasses though.

Still I sat throught the whole 2 hours and 40 minutes not wondering when it would end. I also spent the whole period wondering what is CG and was wasn't. Technically speaking, the 3d effect is not very impressive and has turned me off to the 3d display push now happening in the consumer electronics arena. All it does is make the background blurry. Maybe I need to have my eyes checked, but maybe only young people can enjoy this 3d effect. Not me.

After the movie ended, I had to walk home uphill 30 minutes during a winter midnight. At least the weather wasn't too bad. My brain was stuck on processing the movie, but nothing of eloquence or insight came out. It was just as if I've seen Terminator 2 full of awesome visuals, but with none of the satisfaction of thinly-veiled moralizing. The story played with my emotions bouncing them in obvious ways. Too much happy end and deus ex machina. Because of that, I unfortunately don't think this one will stick in my brain. It will be a year or 10 before I feel the urge to watch it again.

I'm not saying that this movie is bland, but perhaps that watching all this anime, reading science fiction and playing fantastic backdrop games, etc etc, its standard fare for my imagination.

Okay now onto the web to read all the other reviews I skipped.

Happy New Year 2010

noreply@blogger.com (piyo) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 02:22:00 +0000

(tags greetz)

Greetz and Howdy for the 2010 year.

With that out of the way maybe I can write some random blatherings.

Kansai themed Melon-chan (Melonbooks key-holder)

noreply@blogger.com (piyo) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 14:38:00 +0000

(tags Melonbooks, collectable, goods, kawaii, Kobe, Osaka, Kyoto)

Last month I went to Kyoto to see the Autumn Leaves in fancy Japanese temples and shrines. Big woop but my camera failed to capture the leaf beauty.

While I was in the area I picked up the Melonbooks key-holder goods (メロンブックスオリジナルの特製グッズ交換「ご当地めろんキーホルダー」). Basically, each Melonbooks store has their own themed key-chain goods, based on their lead moe-ish character "Melon-chan".

It was no sweat to pick up the Kobe's Sailor Melon (神戸／水兵メロン). Kyoto's Maiko Melon is the classic (twin-tail) beauty (京都／舞妓めろん). And Osaka's Takoyaki Melon makes me laugh nandeyanen?! (大阪／たこ焼きめろん).

Artist Shun Kazakami (風上旬) is responsible for this killer design. I totally forgot about it, but this artist was featured every month in the now defunct moe-friendly Majikyu magazine (マジキュー連載「５階美少女家電売り場でございます」). I have all 40 issues, heh heh.

There are 20 themes in all, and all of them are pretty kawaii. Gotta catch 'em all, except I hate travelling. I've been trying to do the Auctions but not all of them are up. I did collect some already but at this rate I think I'll be done in 2011.

Oh, and the official web banner. Hawt. I forgot how much 300 Melonbooks points is in yen, but it's not that expensive. I have like 4000 Melonbook points. Now all I need is a bicycle to ride around.

Cannot squeeze one game in

noreply@blogger.com (piyo) — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 15:55:00 +0000

(tags Xbox 360, Street Fighter)

Too much stuff to do before I go to sleep... I have the Street Fighter IV disc waiting to be started up but it's gonna need to wait. That one as well as the Tales of Vesperia.

Uh oh, a Kudo-tan encountered (PlayStation 2)

noreply@blogger.com (piyo) — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 15:43:00 +0000

(tags Little Busters, PlayStation 2, Kudo-tan)

Uh oh, a Kudo-tan encountered:

Finding a common game:

Batted a single:

See you next time, on the PlayStation 2:

Hm, I also need to learn using my own vocabulary notes.

Get a grip (grapple?): Umihara Kawase

noreply@blogger.com (piyo) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 16:10:00 +0000

(tags game, Dual Screen, Umihara Kawase, PlayStation Portable)

My right thumb hurts from pressing buttons too hard. It's a death grip on my grapple button, since one miscalculated release will have my avatar plummeting to a watery doom.

Umihara Kawase (海腹川背). I've only recently discovered this old gaming franchise. The demo game station showing the PS1 version at a retro game store captured me for about 20 minutes. I saw the PSP version at my price threshold of 2000 yens and decided to jump in.

UK is a Bionic Commando with no forgiveness. Basically a fantasy platform game, UK asks me to traverse ledges with nothing more than my fine-tuned swinging control. Yes, abilities are not unlocked. It all depends on my skill. The heroine, Umihara Kawase, has this strong yet elastic grappling hook made of red-white twine and fish hook. It is a source of constant frustration and delight. It feels so... analog. It feels like there's a physics engine in there.

The fishing cuisine theme pervades the levels and the enemies. The title of the game is a play on a Japanese cuisine preparatory phrase, "Ocean fish are fatty in stomach while river fish are fatty (tallow) in the back." (海の魚は腹に、川の魚は背に脂がのっている) Or so the manual claims. My well-read Japanese tutor never heard of that phrase though.

Enemies are these strange walking fish. Most of them are one touch, one kill. But the worst ones aren't the ones that kill me right away. They will hit me into an uncontrollable stun for a few seconds. This game plays with my mind. Will I fall off the ledge or not?

But the best enemy is the environment itself. UK doesn't give me any help or hold my hand. There is a technique to swing up to a higher ledge. At first I thought it was impossible. But after dropping the broken PSP version and coming to terms with the game physics on the higher quality DS port, I am executing the technique with a high success rate. When I can hit this technique on the first try, in a fluid motion, I feel like I'm in control. However, when I mistime the release, I have to wait and re-fine-tune my swinging motion to propel me in the right direction.

This reminds me about the difference in forgiveness. I was playing Bionic Commando on my Xbox 360 and one of the regular techniques to propel myself forward is to jump off a platform from behind and grapple. It's a sweet maneuver full of kick-ass, right? BC makes this feel totally safe and dependable. I try this move in UK and I sweat bullets. I never seem to get it to work. Despite the millisecond-timed reflexes this game requires, I feel like it is fair. Well at least the early levels.

Which brings me to my pained thumb. Some of the stunts sequences require me to reenact Tarzan with no safety net. I am deathly afraid of falling, or even more so of repeating the same ground over and over again. I hope my DS can take the strain.

The DS version (海腹川背・旬セカンドエディション完全版) was released at the end of last month, which might explain why that game shop was demoing the older versions. Though I picked up the PSP version and tried to deal with the pain, I heard through the Internet that it was a broken port. I wasn't convinced until I played the DS version though. Another reason I picked up the DS version was that it came with a telephone card (at Sofmap Saurus). Silly me. Still this latest release sacrifices none of the difficulty, while at the same time modernizes the rewards with illustration gallery and soundtrack unlocks. The demo recording feature is also intact but not UI enhanced like the PSP version. The game comes with a port of the original Super Famicom version, the PlayStation 1 version, and a new DS path mode based on the PS1 version. The PS1 ports have the 3d like scrolling effects and more environmental art (like giant soy sauce bottles?!), but the SF ports's grappling hook physics feel crispier. Also the PS1 based modes seemed to have all the minor enhancements like practice mode with success/miss counts and continues (!?) while the SF port doesn't even let me assign diagonal grappling to the top buttons. None of the gameplay seems itself seems to be affected or cheapened, but I don't really know since I haven't played the 90s versions.

I really want to keep playing this game despite the difficulty. I do wish though there was more easy levels. The difficulty just ramps up too fast.

Let me put my two cents about the heroine, Umihara Kawase. She appears in gameplay as some school aged girl (because her backpack looks like a randoseru) with no fear of heights (no fall damage). However the insert graphics make her out to be some 20 year old with sex-sells breast size and anime girly eyes. There's basically no story and no dialogue so I don't really understand why she has to become Indiana Jones/Pitfall Harry/The Last Starfighter/Ikaruga. Finally at the game over screen I see her in pajamas watching TV relaxing after a hot shower or something. Well?

Finally, the music is soothing and relaxing. I mistimed my grapple and fell in the water but the music just keeps me calm. It's all my fault.

Games like this remind me that the DS still has credible action games.

Mermaids

noreply@blogger.com (piyo) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 02:56:00 +0000

(tags Disney, art, Pop)

Ariel sitting on the rock coming out of the sea did me in. Brushing her hair and winking at her prince. Disney's The Little Mermaid. I still don't have the DVD though. Perhaps I'm waiting for the Blu-ray?

From the blog of The Art (and random adventures) of Eric Tan, comes this stunning poster art. It was commissioned for the recent hardcover book The Art of the Disney Princess. (ISBN-13: 9781423123712)

This release reminds me of Pop-sensei picture book take on the original story, Pop Wonderland Ningyo Hime Little Mermaid (POP WONDERLAND にんぎょひめ, ISBN-13 978-4-591-10603-7) from last year. Unfortunately the retold story follows the original too closely and is depressing.

More Heart: ToHeart2, and other game pickups

noreply@blogger.com (piyo) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:46:00 +0000

(tags ToHeart, game, PlayStation Portable, Wipeout, Xbox 360, XBLA, Kimi no Yuusha, Dual Screen, PlayStation 3)

Just wanna say that I'm starting ToHeart 2 now, PSP version. I'm kinda annoyed it has the same music (but remixed) from ToHeart 1. 40 minutes.

Also I finished ToHeart 1, completely. Every picture unlocked, music mode, massage mode (Hocchan giving massages! well at least verbally). I think the best part was the unlocking of the shooting game. The last hidden scenario was not very interesting at all. Probably 25 hours.

I picked up Wipeout Pulse (asia version!) at Sofmap Nipponbashi South, after waiting for A-Too to drop the game's price (playing chicken with a shop just doesn't work). I felt like it was impossible for the first level, then I passed it and now I'm just sailing. 2 hours.

I even tried to get into my DS. I still have Kimi no Yuusha stuck in there. The last extra boss is really hard though. I cannot beat him, so I give up. 55+ hours.

I want to start playing Final Fantasy Tactics A for DS that I picked up a couple of weeks back during that Play-Asia and Visa card sale. 0 hours.

Man, this is starting to be a potpourri post.

Yeah, I also got some Xbox games like Ace Combat 6 and Bionic Commando for under 2500 yen, each. Nice (but used). I was playing the latter and I really like it the swing thing. It feels like Crackdown and you know I love games like Crackdown. It's the open environment jump-to-collect-them-all feeling. 7 hours.

Did I mention I picked up my first PS3 game? Motor Storm for like 1000 yen. I also saw the Atelier no Rorona limited edition (with laser etched crystal "objet") dropping in used priced down to 7500 yen, but that's still steep. The well-regarded Demon's Souls (US English edition) almost made it into my virtual shopping cart but well, I don't have a PS3 yet.

Um what else. I am not playing any PC games. Still waiting for StarCraft II to come out then I will make my last ever game PC. Oh I bought a ton of DRM free PC games from GoG's first anniversary sale including Duke Nukem 3d, but get this, I have not downloaded the bulk of them yet. WTF. I am still hoping they pick up Sinistar: Unleashed.

Uh, I am still scoping the Xbox Live Deal of the Week, and I recently bought yet another clear-3-colors game and the Sudoku clone. Hey, only 400 XBL points, each. You say the next deal is a cartoony golf game? 400 points? I'm there dood.

Not really my hardware: Xbox 360 Update locks out non-licensed memory devices

noreply@blogger.com (piyo) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:33:00 +0000

(tags hardware, Xbox 360, DRM)

Software lockouts seem to be a theme lately. There's the Apple and the Palm Pre synchronization battle, the Apple Store (also Zune, Android) approval nightmares. The latest one hits home: the November 2008 Xbox 360 Update will render my Datel Max Memory expansion cards useless, according to the official insider blog, Major Nelson. (Thanks Kotaku, Joystiq)

I used the first card of 8GB for all the DLC I bought including XBLA games and expansions. I used the second card of 8GB for Xbox official videos that are no longer available like the Prince of Persia (2008) video where the rock beast enemy thumps the wall in time with music beat change. I think it was an E3 exclusive release, but revised afterward.

I was mad at first, but I'm not really that angry anymore. So what if my game saves disappear? I let go of my saves from my Apple IIgs games, Mac games, and I sure don't have my Doom, PS1, PS2 saves backed up anyway. I haven't really accomplished anything worthwhile, except maybe my high scores. No 1cc replay data anywhere. Perhaps this is the feeling of not being able to take it with me. I bet the only things that will be saved in the next 10 years will be my YouTube videos about Bangai-O Spirits and this blog. Oh wait, I haven't backed this blog up recently. Uh oh.

Check Bayonetta out

noreply@blogger.com (piyo) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 12:35:00 +0000

(tags game, Bayonetta, Xbox 360)

I don't check out many demos on Xbox 360 because they are mainly disappointing. The recently released demo for Bayonetta is one true exception. I'm not talking about how the main character is woman (which is how I like my avatars anyway). And I'm not talking about how over-sexualized she is. Who stands like this?!

Yes I will check, thank you.

I like how this game reminds me of the fun I had with Devil May Cry 4. It's slick, 60 frames per second, timing dependent button pressing reaction gaming with plenty of action and reaction. The tutorial shows the combo list directly, encouraging me to try it out. The loading screen also shows this combo list tutorial, which is a step forward. The evade system rewards me with the bullet-time slow down. I like using this in my offline Unreal Tournament III sparring practice, because it makes me feel super human.

Other than that, it feels like a DMC. It's the same old same old. Enemies are strange, there are gory death effects, invisible walls impede my exploration, weird floating and glowing things to collect, completion ranks. The combo system and weapons systems are different, but I'm still mashing the X, Y and B buttons. Oh wait I like that part. Will they ever fix the polygon collisions? Also the leaves on the trees are faked using the old Doom like sprite rotating trick. I didn't notice it until my second walk through, though, so its no biggy.

Wanna get this when it comes out.

Can't win against Ayaka-ojousama (ToHeart 1 PSP)

noreply@blogger.com (piyo) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 12:25:00 +0000

(tags game, ToHeart, PlayStation Portable)

Instead of playing new galge, I'm still hacking on ToHeart on the PSP. It's just so convenient to relive my old PS1 memories through this portable machine.

I thought the Iincho/Hoshina scenario was my favorite, but it turns out the Ayaka Kurusugawa scenario is the more interesting story. It's too bad I have to finish the Aoi and Serika scenarios first to unlock it. Also, Serika and Ayaka are voiced by the same seiyuu, not just because they are sisters, but because Serika has so few voiced lines. It would be a shame to have another seiyuu for this essentially mute heroine. It's even worst because the seiyuu, Junko Iwao (岩男潤子 of Tomoyo from Card Captor Sakura fame), has such a lively, attractive voice. To hide this voice behind an unlock is a crime. However the Ayaka scenario does make up for it by being so positive and uplifting.

I've finished Hoshina, Akari, Kotone, Remi, Multi, Serika, Aoi, Ayaka. Now I only have Shiho and that ahoge musume. I think the Shino scenario is another tear jerker but I like her outgoing personality, so I'm looking forward to it.

Miku in my Chrome

noreply@blogger.com (piyo) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 13:20:00 +0000

(tags browser, customize, Hatsune Miku, Windows XP)

Google Chrome, as far as theming and skinning is concerned, is a big miss. Artist-created themes seem to have been released yesterday. 95 themes but none of the hit. This official Artist-created theme with Hatsune Miku, while somewhat stylish, is not very attractive or functional.

I mean the colors are garish and the contrast between background and text when hovering over links is not strong. Besides, other windows in Google Chrome are not themed!

I gave up and installed the default Classic and/or the Grayscale theme. They match great with XP Royale and Zune skins. Too bad my desktop look the same as it did 3 years ago.

Edit:

I missed the Good Smile Company one, which also has some adorable Miku. There are some games and anime as well, so my interests are well represented.

It's missing something: Halo 3 ODST

noreply@blogger.com (piyo) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 02:33:00 +0000

(tags game, Halo ODST, Xbox 360)

Halo 3 ODST. As one of the few rare games that have I pre-ordered, bought, and played on the first day of release, you would think I can be called one of those Halo fanboiz. I disagree. My fascination with the products is the single player FPS mode. Although it's not the arcade-style FPS that I like with Unreal Tournament, it's forgiving casual entertainment with headshot satisfaction.

I think the sticker on the plastic wrapped game case starts this new product experience on the wrong foot. The sticker reads, "Halo: each [sic] multiplayer beta access". Microsoft Japan has trouble with their "R"s. Hahahaah. lololololol

Okay, I said the requisite joke. You can headshot me now. \(>_<)/

There are more comments I want to make on this but I want to commit ritual dark-map hikikomori with the Rookie before the end of this weekend so I will follow up in a later post. I am sad though, the weather outside is glorious and sunny.

a sweet Nano review: iPod Nano G5 and A Little Snow Fairy Sugar

noreply@blogger.com (piyo) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 23:04:00 +0000

(tags iPod, hardware, Sugar)

I did update my iPod to the Nano "generation 5". Orange, neck strap, grippy case.

I've been rewatching A Little Snow Fairy Sugar (ちっちゃな雪使いシュガー). I have not seen yet my favorite anime facial expression, which could be summed up as \(>.<)/ . I don't miss a thing.

MacBugs GETS HYPE (no emu)

noreply@blogger.com (piyo) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 11:38:00 +0000

(tags game, Macintosh, nostalgia)

I was deprived as a child. No Sega, no PC, and certainly no Mac. So Apple Macintoshes held a special place in my nostalgia, because they were intertwined with my school computer room antics. I once left a college computer room's Mac running multiple anime videos ... AT THE SAME TIME. Ranma 1/2 OVA? Macs were power, at least back in 1994 and a college Internet connection.

But this particular post is provoked by nostalgia for Mac Bugs!. This is a game with name that makes it virtually unsearchable, and it is not so notable enough to have a Wikipedia page. So I could not recall this game. I do remember trying to start up one of the high school's Macs to get a quick session in, but being interrupted by some tough boy, who was acting as teacher's deputy/pet.

I swiped this animated picture from the Japan based The Vintage Mac Museum. Thanks!

The object of the game is to get a high score, like most 80s games ask you to do. You will be assaulted by Apple Macintosh icons (or is it Lisa icons?) from all directions, but attacking will be your trusty mouse, aiming in the direction of your movement. Don't hit the spiky bombs! In modern parlance, this is an Arena Shooter with a Centipede wave like motif.

I could try playing this again, with an abandonware copy of the software and a free PC based emulator, but I fear the pain of installing weird software outweighs the 15 seconds of fun. NO thanks. Play Echoes instead.

I learned that the author of this game was Sunnyvale, California-based Michael Ouye. Given the 3 or 4 years, I'm sure it was easy to propagate to my neck of California. According to Mac Garden, it was enticement for a 150 USD C programming package back in 1985 but I suppose I got to experience it through someone's else sneakernet warezin'.