Moved

Moved to Wordpress. Everthing from here is already imported to there which is a pretty cool feature. I'll probably stick with Wordpress now =] link below:


vBiku

Spring is coming!

Whoosh its already March and daylights savings has already gone by! wow a lot earlier than it was last year. I haven't updated this thing for a while and currently procrastinating on a paper so of course its the perfect time to do this! >.>

Hmm what have I been up to...nothing much really. School and work is kinda stressful but I'm getting by. Not much trouble yet really, enjoying Japanese class though =] とのしです！Typing in Japanese and actually being able to read it is awesome! Except theres still an issue with Kanji ans some Katagana but its still awesome =]

Currently playing an awesome RPG. Star Ocean: The Last Hope (SO4) on the Xbox 360. Since I don't have much to talk about I'll talk about this game for a bit. Star Ocean, famously known for its AWESOME gameplay and somewhat lacking plot. Plot usually ignored and is more focused on gameplay. Which isn't too much with SO4 this time around. Plot is actually decent. WWIII has occured and the aftermath of it was bad enough to make Earth's atmosphere pretty much impossible to live in. Thus, went into Space to settle in and possibly search for a planet that resembles much like Earths. Story takes place in A.D. 2097 and in this game, they refer it to S.D. 10, meaning they started S.D. (Space Domini) in 2087, where the first successful space warp has been achieved. You take control of Edge Maverick, the hero of the story and take on missions from the SRF, eventually taking control of your own space ship the Calnus and going to planets.

The battle system is personally my favorite of all. Just like Star Ocean: Till The End Of Time on the PS2, its free roam and is able to control all the characters in battle (only up to four in the battle field but can switch out and replace members if you have a large party). Pretty much like Tales of Symphonia battle system. Theres a feature called Blindside which makes your character rush behind the enemies' backs and the first hit is always a critical. Regardless, its really fun and I can never get sick of battles which makes grinding a lot more fun.

Graphics are gorgeous due to the 360's hardware. Environments are lively and has much details like wind movement, shadows, and reflections to name a few. Gameplay graphics are really good for an RPG and doesn't stray too far from the CG cutscenes. My only HUGE complaint is obviously, the DUBBING!. First off, it doesn't fit the characters mouth flaps at all. Looks terrible. And the voices on SOME characters, not all, are just terrible. But its a dubbing so I expected much.

Other than those issues, the game is great. I has some references from Star Ocean: The First Departure on the PSP but I believe SO4 is a prequel to that, making it jsut fine for first time gamers for the series. Battle system is awesome as usual, plot is somewhat lacking but thats how Star Ocean is. The characters are pretty awesome and their PAs (Private Actions) are interesting. Has some romance in it which is a plus to me. Its a long game, 3 freakin discs, which isnt a bad thing. Still havent finished it but i just got to the second disc. Overall, if you have a 360 and is an RPG gamer, definitely take a look at this. Its great.

Well I should get back to this paper =_= really wanting to play SO4 but must not give in....this month is pouring with birthdays and other events, one of them being tomorrow. So i must say
たんじょうびおめでとうございます！(Tanjoubi Omedetou Gozaimasu!) or Happy Birthday! Still 30 mins before tomorrow but thats ok! =]
愛してるあなた！

Tears of Tiara (PC)

Tears of Tiara is a Japanese Adult Tactics RPG which i current got from Jiu (alias), a RL friend of mine. Now ive played ero-games before like Tsukihime, Utawarerumono, FSN, Shikkoku no Sharnoth, and a couple more, but i gotta say, Jiu was right when he said the ero scenes are just.....freakin random. Like....really random. First the protagonist and his party are off to sea, heading towards a new region and then when it the screen goes blank thinking its gonna be the next day, it just turns into a one night stand =_=. Usually theres some sort of lead-in where you can tell its gonna happen....not with Tears of Tiara lol.

Besides that, its a really fun tactics RPG. Arawm is the protagonist in this story and is a Demon King which gets re-awakened and now is traveling with Riannon (voiced by Yuko Goto by the way ^^) who basically released Arawm from his slumber and becomes in love with him (shes like a white mage). Arthur who is Riannon's Brother and is the First Soldier of their tribe, and Ogam an old magician who knows of Arawm and is pretty well known.

The battle system is like tactics except theres no spaces in which u move, more freelance and can select auto commands and or straight forward commands on each character in your party. Experience is gained through the attacks or spells that connect in battle from each individual rather than the end result of a battle. Just like any tactics game though, grind, level up, equip nice stuff, all that.

Overall, its a really fun tactics game, interesting plot, love the battle system and the sprites and CGs are done really well. The game is all voiced which is neat. Again, it is an Adult game with, seriously, random ero scenes which arent really needed (then again, what ero-games with good story plots do...) so it can be easily fast forwarded holding crtl (we know most of you wont though hehe).

DJ Max Trilogy [Limited Edition Set]

Its the beginnings of a new year 2009 =] i had a pretty quiet New Years this time with just family but either way it was still nice. And now to DJ Max:


This is the box haha its pretty big i didnt expect it but what can i say it looks really nice =]



Just opening the box, its the game itself, which the box is pretty thick (u'll see why in a minute) and a DJ Max Trilogy Mug haha dont think ill ever use it



and this is everything out of the box. Its a bundle haha but then again it is limited edition =]



This is the PC game box which contains the installer disc, game info booklet (its in korean so i cant read it >.>), 2 soundtrack cds, and a USB profile key. You need the profile key in order to play the game which is pretty cool but at the same time kinda a hassle.



Heres the artwork that comes with it too. Just a bunch of screencaps from the different song titles that are in it, usually the popular ones. Really nice art.



and the Outlaw cards (Outlaw was the theme of DJ Max Portable) and a 2009 Calendar which will come in handy. Now i dont have to buy a calendar =]

and thats basically it. Overall its a great Limited Edition for all DJ Max fans out there. I got mine from Play-asia but they're out of print and wont be stocking it up again. Great game, great product, i give it a 5/5.

DJ Max Trilogy [Limited Edition Set]

More on this purchase coming soon....Happy New Years Eve everyone!