we get signal

If the game was as good as the trailer: Prince of Persia (2008)

noreply@blogger.com (piyo) — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 05:58:00 +0000

(tags game, Xbox 360, video)

I downloaded some sample videos from the Tokyo Game Show 2008 via the Xbox Live Dashboard. By far the best one that I keep playing over and over again is Prince of Persia. A search for "prince of persia tgs 2008 video" turns up downloadable versions. This game will come out 2008-12-18 for the Japan region. There's not much about the gameplay, but I love the scrolling backgrounds and cinematic camera. Plus the song "Breathe me" which probably has nothing to do with the soundtrack, just sets a great atmosphere.

Perhaps this is like Ace Combat 6's trailer vs gameplay.

WTB Macross Ace Frontier PSP

noreply@blogger.com (piyo) — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 02:08:00 +0000

(tags game, PlayStation Portable, Macross, shooting, flight)

Acutally I want to buy that Macross Ace Frontier game for the PSP, but I'm waiting for two things. One is that I want to buy a new PSP so I can still keep my crackable PSP. However, all the PSP-2000s are gone, in preparation for the PSP-3000. Another thing is I'm waiting for a trusted online friend who like mecha more than moe to review it. I'm not sure if he finally got a PSP though.

I see that the infamous Famitsu cross review give it 8, 9, 9, 7 (issue 1035, 2008/10/17). No wonder Gamers Kobe had no stock left on a Friday night.

bye bye DS Lite accessories

noreply@blogger.com (piyo) — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 15:09:00 +0000

(tags game, hardware, Dual Screen)

My reaction: I don't want the Nintendo DSi, yet. Wake me up when there's a Pokemon version.

So when this thing comes out in a little less than a month from now (in the Japan region), probably all the DS Lite accessories will be gone. It's like trying to find a USB-based power charging cable for the GBA Micro. Impossible. I had to use Yahoo Auctions JP for that.

I am going to hoard the screen protectors and faceplates and cases (edit: and connector cap replacements).

Kudo-tan Get: Little Busters! Ecstasy Sofmap point poster and telephone card

noreply@blogger.com (piyo) — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 14:23:00 +0000

(tags telephone card, stick poster, figure, Little Busters, Kuda-tan, Miku Hatsune, zettai ryouiki, loli)

Sofmap recently implemented a Pre-Order Ticket award system, where if you pre-order 1 video, game, or hobby (figure, toy model) related item, you get a "Ichi Map" (1 "map") ticket. (新品TVゲーム、PCゲーム、DVDソフト、ホビーの予約購入チケット、「壱マップ」). You can normally redeem them for a discount, but I don't think anybody would be foolish enough to do that. If you have 10 "Ichi Map" tickets, you can redeem it for a exclusive telephone card. Sometimes there's a diamond in the rough. Yes, look what I did here:

Posable Figma Miku Hatsune figure says "Wow!" to the Kudo-tan

Alright, I've never played the gal-ge visual novel game Little Busters! (リテルバスタース！) by VisualArt's / Key, but it sure does have a lot of commercial backing and support. You can't swing a dead neko-mimi in a character goods shop without hitting one of the many games, magazines and figures that pimp this work. Without checking the Wikipedia, I bet you this game will have a mainstream game release, followed by animes, movies, and stuff. I've already seen the hug-pillows and the itashas.

This telephone card is an illustration of Noumi Kudayavka (能美クドリャフカ). I though she had an affectionate nickname call "Kudo-tan", because it was mentioned at Senaka Ota-Road blog, but I was told I was wrong to use that name. Anyways I like this character and this particular illustration because of the zettai ryouiki, and also the cute hat with the big button. It reminds me of the button on Saga (in the background). Furthermore, I like to collect telephone cards that have "Sofmap" written in them. I don't intend to actually play this game, though.

To tell the truth, I bought the card and an accompanying stick poster (shown above) from Sofmap Saurus 1 Treasure Box floor (委託販売階) for 8000 yen. This is actually a steal, in comparison to buying 10 video games, or dueling with auction snipers (the average open auction is about 10000+ yen right now). So the story on the stick poster was that it was the tokuten for buying 3000 yen worth of goods at Sofmap, probably at the same time this telephone card was released. Both items appear to be already out of stock, and both were only released 3 days ago. Frantic hordes, I think.

The September rush of Miku Hatsune (VOCALOID 初音ミク) figures also cannot be ignored as well. I only lucked out on that figure through a buy-it-now auction. Sweet, because its sold out everywhere. The non-posable but killer Good Smile Company version was released a week ago, and it's probably fetching beaucoup (?) bucks (?). I actually pre-ordered this one, but mine will be coming in the October shipment. Uki uki!

Aki Misato comes to Otaroad Gamers

noreply@blogger.com (piyo) — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 22:36:00 +0000

(tags anime, artist, concert)

Aki Misato (美郷あき) is a recent singer that just celebrated her third "best" album. She usually sings slow and fast ballads and anime theme songs. Broccoli Anibro-Gamers had a couple of Aki Misato events, which was really a "talk, live, and handshake" mini-contest. I got a free ticket for buying her CD.

Actually I dread these in-store concerts. Not that I don't mind seeing the artist, but that there are those pushy bodyguards that make sure you don't handshake for longer than a second. At least that was my experience back when I saw Halko Momoi. So when the day and time rolled around I was the opposite of excited. I brought the CD, even though there was no expectation of receiving a signature. I also learned that I was in the second group event. The first group got a little something something. Perhaps they got a poster.

The concert was held in the basement of Nanba-Nipponbashi Anibro-Gamers, but rather call it Otaroad Gamers. I didn't expect good acoustics with concrete walls and industrial ceilings but I'm tone-deaf anyway. There were about 50 people, which made it somewhat intimate. Also there was a questionnaire to get some good topics from the crowd, which they collected before the start.

Anyway, so Aki Misato showed up all dolled up. It was actually the first time I've seen her "move". She looks pretty good on the album covers, haha. And in person she was alright, but actually I couldn't see over the first 6 rows, um. The first part was a talk, with a local host personality keeping the conversation going. Aki Misato doesn't have enthralling dialogue, haha. "Osaka is great, even the one way streets." It seems I missed her other live event that weekend, and I don't keep up with her radio show outings. Other people, probably college kids, kept on nodding their acquaintance with her various radio events. She said she went to Brazil for work, but I didn't pickup/understand the details.

She then sang three song from her newest CD, "I lost the place", "Disarm Dreamer", "Here I am". For most of the time she sounded just like her studio voice. Was she lip-syncing? She did crack and off-keyed some notes, though. She didn't move from the center stage so I still couldn't see much of her. The people around me were the typical hesitant types, so they didn't break into dance. At least the guy at the front row broke out at least 8 glow sticks (sailium), one between each finger. That was pretty crazy cool.

Afterwards, the dreaded hangshake scene. But what's this? No bouncer types? Each person getting about a minute time?!? Nice. I didn't really have anything to say to her, and I didn't really do my homework (memorize the CD). When she took my hand, I thought of two things. One was to wash my hands throughly afterwards and another was that her hands were really soft. I just asked if she spoke English (!) because I read somewhere that she was in New York. But no, she doesn't. No surprise there. Thank you for your songs and keep on singing! A parting handshake later, and I belted myself out of there.

Now that I checked out how paltry her Wikipedia entry is, I feel kinda bad that she's not getting more play time. I hope her company brings her out again to Osaka for a concert. The announced concert for 2008-11 is Tokyo only.

720p Hype: Mirror's Edge

noreply@blogger.com (piyo) — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 06:10:00 +0000

(tags game, Mirror's Edge, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)

I learned from the latest Famitsu's ad that Mirror's Edge will be arriving to Japanese shores on 2008-12-11, for both the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360. I know the Xbox 360 version will be good and will be one I want to purchase, but I want to see this on the PlayStation 3 as well.

But, the US will be getting it on 2008-11-11. Ugh I can't wait.

Ah, the official Japanese site has been up for a week already.

And recently there was another Story Trailer video released. Kinda reminds me of the Animatrix. However the news post linked to downloadable high-definition video trailers, including a 1GB biggie that shows a whole lot more in-game footage. I got it from AOL's Big Download page.

I keep on watching and re-watching these trailers. Sweet. Except that I have some nits to pick. The solar panels are not facing the sun. They are angled for good jumping, I suppose. The ladders are unusable for normal people, only suitable for people who take flying leaps... No mirror image of your persona in a window.

I see the pre-ordering across the ocean comes with a designer carrier bag, for a total of USD 140.00. I would go for that. Of course I would use the bag. What is the sense of buying it without using it? What, it has a rendered woman's face on it? :-)

Banner it up! Kumatanchi

noreply@blogger.com (piyo) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 12:33:00 +0000

(tags game, Dual Screen, Kumatanchi)

Kawaii overload... Banner it up!

Where's Duke Nukem 3D?

noreply@blogger.com (piyo) — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 13:38:00 +0000

(tags game, Xbox, Xbox Live, FPS, DLC, failure)

I was anticipating at least playing the demo of Duke Nukem 3D for the Xbox Live Arcade. But it's not available from a Japan-based account? Argh? Anyway I don't have this game, but I played it at a friend's house oh so long ago.

Two days ago I tried out (again) Doom for the Xbox Live Arcade (JP version). Um, I have this game on PC somewhere. I swear I even have the GameBoy Advance version too. Come on, not worth the (oh it's on sale?) 400 points.

Dual Wield Dual Screen Duel: Pokemon Pikachu DS and games

noreply@blogger.com (piyo) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 16:25:00 +0000

(tags hardware, game, Dual Screen, Pikachu, Princess Maker, Ketsui, Chrono Trigger, telephone card, television)

The other reason I was in shop today was to pick a screen protector film for my Pokemon Pikachu DS. Yes I haven't opened it until now and I've really been meaning to do it. The film made by Suncrest and called "magic film", claims to "self-heal any scratches". Sure. I only tried it out because it's about the same price as the other films. Anyway, slap that puppy on. I'm pretty happy with how I positioned the film. Usually I'm pretty sloppy. Unfortunately air bubbles and dust never seem to leave me alone.

So I recommissioned the DS (lite) I have been using, my pink Love and Berry DS, as my permanent One-Seg TV in my rack. I can't keep it on twenty-four seven: there seems to be a hot-spot that whitens the center of the screen after a day or two. Don't worry, it seems to disappear after I power off for a couple of hours.

Anyways, in a couple of days, I will have two DS games in the "training" catagory. (How else do you translate "育成"?). One is Princess Maker 4, of course I cannot pass up the ero-kawaii Naoto Tenhiro telephone cards. The other is the Kumatan-chi (くまたんち). I only liked it for the 2D static graphics, then I saw a gameplay/official trailer video and I was completely (re-) sold. The animation is so fluid and so cute. Plus the telephone cards FTW.

And Japanese shopkeepers never remind you to preorder. That's just too pushy. Instead, they have a wall where you can anonymously gawk and slack. I took a ganderand there was Ketsui DS coming around on 2008-10-23. Shmup action on the DS, bring it! Also Chrono Trigger DS as dated as 2008-11-27. I am not missing this one either, in both senses of the word. (Still need to dig out Chrono Cross, ugh) Neither of them have telephone card type omake, but they come with soundtrack CDs, I think. Perhaps Ketsui has a "superplay" video disc?

Surely now I can restart my Mysterious Dungeon: Shiren The Wanderer stuff again?

Region this: Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict

noreply@blogger.com (piyo) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 15:18:00 +0000

(tags game, Xbox 1, Unreal Tournament, GTA, Xbox 360)

On a whim I bought Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict. Oh that was last year.

On a whim I bought Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict today at Sofmap for 780 yens. Yes this is my second copy, and no I didn't forget about the first. It's just more convenient to get this one that digging through my cave. (!)

This software was marked as "overseas version" (duh), and I was under the impression that "overseas" Xbox 1 games are not playable on Xbox 360 JP. But I bet with my money and came away a winner. Yes I will accept the update to this game.

I played the single player campaign for about 45 minutes. The controls fit the Xbox 360 perfectly, but aiming is still like painting a Seurat with bricks. I like how the first levels bots sound just like those breathy heavy armor robots from UT2004. Graphics aren't too bad, but the screen is all letter-boxed, which skews the ratios.

Oh, and today I also bought Grand Theft Auto 4 for 4000 yen new. I might as well get this English version while there is still some stock sitting on the shelves and there is a lull in interest.

No longer a game PC: Touhou Chireiden

noreply@blogger.com (piyo) — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 13:18:00 +0000

(tags game, Windows, shmup, Touhou, failure)

So I got my copy of the latest Zun / Shanghai Alice "Touhou" series shmup, 東方地霊殿　～ Subterranean Animism (Touhou Chireiden: Subterranean Animism). A fresh store copy, not a copy from Comic Market 74 a month ago. Install and play. Or try to and fail, because my pad does not work. I try a bunch of stuff, including downloading the latest DirectX, but I finally fix it by making the pad the preferred device "for use with older programs". Oh.

I get my ass handed to me on level 2, normal. No stick control. I'm a gonna turn in.

ipod (non-) lust 2008

noreply@blogger.com (piyo) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 13:51:00 +0000

(tags hardware, iPod, iTunes)

I am so glad that the iPod product announcements are like clockwork, come every September. I know exactly when my iPod becomes a lemon.

This new round of iPods is not very interesting, but I had a chance to sample them at a store recently. I first thought I would gravitate toward the new "classic" 120GB, but I feel bogged down by the weight. I dig the motion sensor of the slim iPod Nano, and I tried the shake-to-shuffle feature. You can't turn the shuffle off that way, it seems. Plus rotating to Cover Flow and other spirited animations makes me say "Shiny!". I did forget to sample the iPod Touch. I think its the price that puts me off.

Anyway, I'm going to try to go another year without an upgrade. I hope that solid state discs (SSD) tech will reach the size of my library, which is now about 60GB full of mostly 160 kbps MP3s. Anyways, that would make my current iPod 5.5gen almost two years old. AppleCare on it is almost expired. Adding bluetooth makes it somewhat feel new again but battery life is abysmal.

This iPod news has made me re-stitch some cover art for my ripped CDs. I found this great blog for anime related CDs scans. Strictly 600 by 600 pixel samples. I'm going to keep an eye on it.

And iTunes 7.7 is frustrating. I know iTunes 8 is out but the software quality on these Windows releases make me pause. 7.7 seems stop ripping my CDs if I click on the window while it's ripping. WTF, this is totally unlike the previous versions. I want to downgrade, and yes Old Versions of iTunes for Windows will work nicely. Actualy this is the only quibble I have. It's still slow and unresponsive, but my data seems safe and not corrupted (knock on wood).

Borrow books or re-read yer collection: Baxter spree

noreply@blogger.com (piyo) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 13:20:00 +0000

(tags book, science fiction)

Over the last couple of weeks I've been re-reading some of my science-fiction books that I purchased a long time ago. I read The Light of Other Days by Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter, and more Stephen Baxter stuff like The Manifold Series which includes Time, Space and Origin. I am still looking around for my copy of Phase Space. Oh yeah, I also re-read his Timelike Infinity.

I think the whole thing started when I found that haven't read his 2006 book Resplendent, which finished off the Destiny's Children series. I found a copy at my local favorite (only?) import bookstore, Kobe Random Walk.

It was a shock to learn that there were closing down, because the parent company went bankrupt. Even the web page is dead, and I am searching Google's cache for more info without success. The Kobe location is still open, but the end seems near, because the sci-fi section is dwindling.

Just this weekend I finally applied for a library card. I don't expect to use it much, but I heard browsing and scheduling a book retrieval is easy over the Internet. But what exactly am I going to read in Japanese? I want to read some romance novels, actually. Then again, I could read my copy of Across Realtime by Vernor Vinge, again.

I am reminded to read a book read a book read a mother fucking book.

No fancying Phantasy Star Universe

noreply@blogger.com (piyo) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 13:11:00 +0000

(tags game, Xbox 360, RPG, Phantasy Star)

Phantasy Star Universe for the Xbox 360 is ugly and repetitive and slow. Well I did get it for about 980 yen so maybe that makes up for it. I'm only two hours into it, though. The songs are in English, oh so laughable. About the only thing that makes up for this is the zettai ryouiki, but I'm already grasping straws if it comes to that.

gimme sum'in teh shoot: PDZ and Uncharted

noreply@blogger.com (piyo) — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 13:57:00 +0000

(tags game, Xbox 360, FPS, Perfect Dark Zero, PS3, Uncharted)

I only played the Uncharted: Drake's Fortune demo last weekend at a store's PS3 demo unit. It plays nice. I wanna shoot something.

And at the same shop I finally succumbed to buying Perfect Dark Zero. Only 1500 yens, used of course. I was in the mood for some FPS so that's what I'm playing right now. Hey the graphics look pretty good and the sound effects sound like something from Halo 3. I like the English voice cast, but the lines are pretty sucky. Cover takes too long to get into, though. Who thought of those little delays?

Give me something to buy: Xbox 360 DLC, iD super pack

noreply@blogger.com (piyo) — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 03:59:00 +0000

(tags game, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, DLC, Soul Calibur)

I can't remember the last time Microsoft had a sale on DLC, but here's one lasting till the end of October. It's called Extended Play Download Days, and applies to Beautiful Katamari, Oblivion, Forza Motorsport 2, Lost Odyssey, and Mass Effect. Also Guitar Hero 3, but I mention it seperately because I don't have that game (yet?). There's nothing I really need, but I think I'll go for the Katamari stuff first. (Thanks Kotaku)

Soul Calibur 4 and (Japanese?) schoolgirl costumes. It's not yet done, Bandai-Namco, (hint hint Idolm@ster) but yer getting there.

Also, Steam discounted the "iD Super Pack" showcasing past seminal FPS titles including Quake and Doom. I blogged about this desireable last year, and now at this price I am reconsidering a purchase. At the very least, I recommended this to a friend who just bought a top-end video card.

Only 180 seconds worth of bullets: Geometry Wars 2 Deadline

noreply@blogger.com (piyo) — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 11:33:00 +0000

(tags game, Xbox 360, shmup, Geometry Wars)

Progress is progress, however miniscule. I passed 25 million in Geometry Wars 2 "Deadline", yea me. I think I died once, so there has to be some way to squeeze out some more points.

(extracted 2008-08-31T11:16Z)

Live version again:

Only 180 seconds worth of bullets, really. Don't waste them on the wall.

Devs hate/like Xbox 360: FFXIII, Death Smiles

noreply@blogger.com (piyo) — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 07:02:00 +0000

(tags game, Xbox 360, Final Fantasy, shmup)

Okay, so I know Square Enix likes the Xbox 360 because it has some games on it, some of them even exclusive (for now). But how about that the recent Final Fantasy XIII in Japan (anti-)confirmation published in an interview with FFXII director Motomu Toriyama by Dengeki Playstation magazine: "Absolutely No Final Fantasy Xbox 360 For Japan (says director/writer Toriyama)" (日本でのXbox 360版「FF XIII」の発売は絶対ありません（鳥山氏）) (thanks Kotaku).

By golly it makes me irritated, but then again, I only bought FF XII when it was used and cheap. Anyways, why should a director say the game is not coming out for a system? This is bad PR for Square Enix, because this kills anticipation. However this is good from a business point of view for SE, to force those Japanese gamers on the fence to commit to purchasing the PlayStation 3 version which is presumably on schedule. I bet he is saying, "Do not be confused, loyal Japanese gamers. The first version of FF XIII available will not be delayed (because the 360 version is a not yet created port) so that our financials won't be impacted."

(promo screen from FF XIII, reported by Gamespot Japan 2008-08-04)

I suppose it means I won't be meeting this lovely ~~creature~~ puppet any time soon. There's always the screenshot gallery, ha ha.

On the other hand, arcade shmup developer Cave's game Death Smiles (デススマイルズ) is being ported to the Xbox 360. No other platform is mentioned for now. (Thanks Famitsu) This is nice, except I never played this game and I'm not that much of a Cave fanboy. Still gothic lolita (though it doesn't matter in-game) and purple enemy bullets grab me more that that touch-screen/pad gimmick that is Otomedius.

I can almost taste it: Geometry Wars 2 Deadline

noreply@blogger.com (piyo) — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 18:40:00 +0000

(tags game, Xbox 360, shmup, Geometry Wars)

My actual performance is very random, but once again after probably a hundred games I updated my score in Geometry Wars 2 "Deadline". 24.6 million, back in the top 500 after quickly snubbing out after only 5 days.

(extracted 2008-08-29T18:27Z)

I can almost see 25 million, w00t. Live version again:

I started culling my bad games. If I die 1 time in the first minute (of three), I start over. If I die 2 times in the first two minutes, I start over.

I also figured out that the first black hole shows up based on my performance. If it appears within the first 25 seconds, I'm on track for a high score. If not, well I must be slow on the points or the geom collecting.

Oh yeah, I memorized the stage music too. The music subtlety changes every 30 seconds, but I still look at the clock.

I really need to rest my right hand though. Frequent breaks, there's a pause button on the controller, dummy.

I'm in yer browser, rubying (Furigana Injector)

noreply@blogger.com (piyo) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 14:54:00 +0000

(tags browser, Japanese, Firefox)

I only bumped into this today, but it seems useful for language learning. There is a Firefox extension that automatically adds the furigana readings (pronounciation) for kanji on a web page. It's called Furigana Injector. Here's a sample from picture-heavy, kanji poor Moeyo Akiba Blog, regarding the "Moekore Plus No. 3 Miku Hatsune" PVC figure sample preview for 2008-08 (my trans. from 「ボークス「モエコレPLUS No.3 初音ミク」PVCサンプルレビュー」).

In this sample, all of the conversions are correct. I did notice some incorrect conversions on some other pages, though.

The conversions are added on the fly, and you can manually add them through right-clicking. You can dial the non-conversion level to your level of competency. I have mine initially set to ignore the "980 most common" kanji. Yeah, manga and figure blogs aren't really good Japanese practice, I know. Perhaps this will help when slogging through Yahoo News or Wikipedia, ugh.

This extension works with the XHTML Ruby Support extension, which I've been using without much practical benefits.

I never did understand why furigana was also called ruby. I better read up on the ruby explanation at Wikipedia Japanese. Oh, the name comes from the 19th century England-created font. Okay.

Gal Game for Xbox Achievement Points, it is inevitable (Clannad)

noreply@blogger.com (piyo) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 14:09:00 +0000

(tags game, Xbox 360, gal-ge, Clannad, telephone card)

I often wondered why the Xbox 360 doesn't have as many gal-ge games as the Xbox 1. I mean come on, no Bistro Cupid sequel or followup for that strange metal-girl game? Hahah.

Today Clannad for the Xbox 360 came out. This is a visual novel game from famed software developer Key. The original PC game came out eons ago (whoa 2004!). There's also a PS2 and PSP version I think. I was going to buy this version because (1) it's easy Xbox Achievement Points for a read-em-up and (2) this lovely telephone card:

Flowers, kawaii.

However, my local Sofmap did not have this special telephone card for the walk-in purchase. Pre-orders got it though, and I had ample time to pre-order. Anyways, I jetted over to Gamers to check if there was a similar (but different design) telephone card offer but there was none. So I skipped buying the game today. I'm keeping an eye on the auctions right now, though. Perhaps stealing one of those auction's scans (as shown above) will diminish my TC-lust. I think its working. :-)

Here are two other exclusive designs, both from Kantou-based shops Media Land and Messe Sanoh respectively. I think only the latter allows mail ordering.

Thanks to those auctioners who aren't scrupulous enough to watermark their photos. :-)

I checked the opinions of two friends who played the game. On the PC version, one of them said it was long and I got the feeling that he wasn't very satisfied in comparison to the other Key games like Air and Kanon. The other played it on the console, but I forget which one, and he was also not very forthcoming with his evaluation. So is it junk? It's probably long convoluted junk. I didn't bother watching the 2008 tv anime adaptation, either. Hm.

edit: added those two other telephone card designs for throughness

Is that DS ejecting a cart in your pocket? Shiren

noreply@blogger.com (piyo) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 12:59:00 +0000

(tags game, RPG, Dual Screen, Shiren)

To tell you the truth, I haven't been playing Shiren since last Friday. On that day, I decided to chance an epic adventure through many floors I haven't seen. Unknown floors, unknown danger! And I got past them with luck and skill on my side, even while escorting a NPC. I think it was floor 16 or something, where I got to the third town. I felt really satisfied with Shiren, despite the constant fear of losing my progress while on my concentration-breaking commute.

Anyways, I had to put away the DS for a moment, so I closed the cover while the power was on and stuffed it in my bag. The next time I checked up on it, though, the cart was sticking out. Oh no! Yes, I lost my progress, because "this save game is corrupt so resetting your save to level 1". Argh! I don't carry epic swords any more, but to think that all that time levelling up gone made me... not turn on the DS for a week. Haahhaha. :-/

Castle Crashers, is it any good?

noreply@blogger.com (piyo) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 12:42:00 +0000

(tags game, Xbox 360, arcade, side scroll, beat-em-up)

I didn't really understand the hype for this "delayed" XBLA game, Castle Crashers. The hype did motivate me to make sure to download the demo, though. So I play through the demo once and yes it felt like Final Fight, with upgrade elements. Actually only the hint of upgrades, because the demo timed out on the boss encounter. Stick and run, stick and run, over and over again. At least this game isn't designed to bleed you of your quarters. Eventually I decided it's not worth the 1200 XBLP, for now.

It reminds me that I still want to get that XBLA Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game only available in the US (well at least not in Japan).

Geometry Wars 2 keep on boasting

noreply@blogger.com (piyo) — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 17:47:00 +0000

(tags game, Xbox 360, shmup, Geometry Wars)

I don't know why I hesitated buying Geometry Wars 2. This is definately a meaty game totally worth the 800 XBLA (1000 yen) I put into it. "Summer of Arcade"? Hah. "Summer of GW".

I again updated one of my personal high scores in Geometry Wars 2. w00t. Ranked globally under 500 in "Deadline" with 23+ million points, at least for a little while.

(extracted 2008-08-24T17:15Z)

Comparing my results to "Evolved", I suppose I lack concentration skills. I really can't seem to go the distance in the latter mode.

Live version again:

I am also totally digging "Sequence" mode. Learning how to play this mode is helping in the other modes. I find that I shoot down baddies faster now.

I bet if I play "Waves", my peripheral vision skills will level up. I hate those fast amber ships.

And lately I have been feeling that other video games don't or won't give me the same satisfaction as GW2. I was at a used game shop today, which reminded me of all the other games I have laying around in my room. But I don't want to play them because time-to-satisfaction isn't within 15 minutes. I wonder when I'll be at the point where Carrie Fisher wrote, "Instant gratification takes too long."

CM 74 goods: Tama-tan and others by illustrator Koge Donbo (Koge Koge House)

noreply@blogger.com (piyo) — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 17:07:00 +0000

(tags goods, illustrator, Koge Donbo, CM74)

This is the second CM74 goods I actually care enough to buy. However I didn't have to canvass any shops to get these official doujin goods. I only had to read illustrator Koge Donbo's blog, "Do-Bo*JO" and buy the goods from her virtual shop only hours after she announced it. Only 2500 yen through bank transfer. No pain, no irritating scalping, all gain, too easy. Koge Donbo explains the goods herself.

This time around Koge-Donbo's goods include a doujinshi-sized tote bag (detailed picture). This is not cloth or paper, but laminated vinyl, I think, which is surprising. I always intend to use bags like these, so I already folded, spindled and mutilated it. (Which reminds me, I should do a blog post on the bishoujo-otaku-for-life bags I carry around as backup.) Unfortunately this one is inconvenient as a shoulder-tote bag because the strap is too short to thread my arm through.

The illustration itself is "Kazune Miku", which I suppose is the character Kazune from Kamichama Karin (2005 manga and TV series?) cross-dressing into Hatsune Miku clothes. Um. WTF.

The back side is something more palatable to my eyes. It's "Tama-tan"! I already got this figure (though I didn't blog post about it and I tried to buy-prevent it). According to that figure's accompanying doujinshi, she's a schoolgrader that transforms to this frilly girl in order to combat trolls on blogs. Huh. Anyways, Tama-tan has her own blog, called Tama-tan Blog, surprise surprise.

On a related note, another CM74 item is a vocal CD based on this original character, called "USB!!! -うさみみすぅい～とばに～がぁる-". The seiyuu for Tama-tan is Momoko Saito (斎藤桃子). I don't really know her. I just want the illustration, ha. (BTW this illustration has really good eyes. Koge Donbo's illustrations as of late have had some terrible eye drawings. Did she have a falling out with one of her assistants?) Unfortunately there's no info on how to purchase it, so it's a CM only thang. Ouch. Well I could always look at the official nico-nico douga video. Or get the backgrounds jpgs. Wow, 1600 by 1200 pixels. Rawr. Thank you Koge Donbo for giving this away.

Finally rounding out this goods set is a doujinshi, a clear file with the same illustration, and a flyer (chirashi). I haven't read this goods' doujinshi yet, but it looks like an original character, trademarked Koge Donbo kawaii with bunny ears and bunny dolls.

Speaking of which, Koge Donbo has a new manga work called Naki Shoujo no tame no Pavane (亡き少女の為のパヴァーヌ). I thought this work would have different character style, but one character, "Misaki Kanda", looks like a recycle from Pita-ten. Hahah, more bunny dolls hanging off headbands, please.