You know, it's weird. Videogames are one of the great loves of my life, minus novels, and yet I can't seem to recall the last time I had written an entry that focused on videogames.
Ever since I have entered the period of time known to students as Summer Vacation, I have been in a gaming frenzy. Just a few weeks before, I had made a vow to complete a wide series of games under my property, including Lost Odyssey, Persona 3, Xenogears, Final Fantasy Tactics, Breath of Fire 4, and Suikoden. All but the first two were games I downloaded onto my PC because I could not find them in stores.
If you did not count my desire to do things besides playing videogames (like, perhaps, writing a book), it is very apparent that I have a busy summer in store for me.
Two Thursdays back, I ordered Final Fantasy IX, because I was determined to essentially complete my collection of the Playstation era of Final Fantasy. The only title that is absent is 11, but since it is an MMO, I want nothing to do with it.
I knew even before I inserted the CD into my PS2 that FF9 was designed as a tribute to the previous eight entries in the franchise. I was expected to be alienated for the most part, due to the fact that I had not completed 6 of the games FF9 was a tribute to. For the most part, FF9 is just as enjoyable as 7,8 and 10.
It is a fun game. I love how each character has a class, with limits and advantages. Zidane is a thief, so he is the only character that can steal...but despite his high health, his defense is not up to snuff. Vivi as a Black Mage is a powerhouse, but his health and defense is dismal at best. Steiner has little MP, and not the best strength, but as a Knight his defense and health is through the roof. These are just a couple examples. It brought back memories of the one aspect of WoW that I loved - everyone has to know their class and work together. It is the reason why I will be adopting the Enforced Class System Challenge when I eventually get to play 12 (with the exception of everyone being able to use items).
9 is the most humorous entry in the series I have encountered. 7,8,10, and especially 12, is a lot like the Gundam anime - any sort of comic relief is strictly forbidden. It's almost as if the story writers thought of themselves as "Manly men who can only write manly stories for manly games! Comedy is for sissies! We are manly! Final Fantasy is manly! So, no comedy for Final Fantasy!" Steiner's antics of him trying to perform his Knightly duties always bring a smile to my face.
However, there was one instance of Final Fantasy 9 that just made me pull my hair out - the dancing scene in Cleyra. It is was just sheer idiocy, and it just looked so stupid. I never wanted to see humanoid rats dance some cross between Polka and Folk before I played Final Fantasy 9, and I certainly do not want to see it after the fact!
Besides Final Fantasy 9, I have also been playing Final Fantasy Tactics. I have been fascinated with Strategic RPGs ever since I first encountered Ogre Battle 64 in Junior High, and I have head time and again that Yasumi Matsuno was a master of the genre. I also wanted to understand Matsuno as I played up to Final Fantasy 12 - from Tactics to Vagrant Story to finally his latest piece of work.
Strategic RPGs have never been known for being simple to understand. There is a reason why you can have access to a tutorial right from the start menu, and why said tutorial can easily last an hour - these games make you think! Alot! I don't want to exaggerate the matter, but Strategic RPGs are the Risk of console games. You can easily miss a good deal of essential game mechanics just because you wouldn't know that it was there. It was only after reading a FAQ on GamwFAQS that I learned my characters had to manually learn skills.
I am barely into the game, but the story is intriguing. I like the idea of a young noble being placed in a position where his naive beliefs will be challenged. It should make for good storytelling. And when we know right from the beginning that our main character will be wrongly told as a villain make for an intriguing way to prepare us. We see Ramza as he is now. How will he be at the end? Will he make some immoral acts of judgment? Will the government paint him as a villain, or will his own actions be all the evidence historians need?
Overall, this should be an interesting summer.
Nine years ago, gas was just ninety nine cents a gallon. Now, it's almost four dollars.
Really makes you envious of those who were old enough to experience such wonder.
And before you ask, yes, the all caps title was needed for a movie as wonderful as "IRON MAN".
We've all seen our share of just downright bad movies, especially comic book ones. Anyone who has seen the direct to video Captain America or The Fantastic Four knows what I am talking about. In most cases, comic book movies are either geek love stories that stay so close to the original material that everyone else doesn't get attached to it, or films that take so many creative liberties from the original material that to call them adoptions would be downright insulting.
Amazingly, somehow, "IRON MAN"'s director, Jon Favreau, managed to reach a middle ground, and amazingly so. It is a roller coaster ride all the way through, one that is wonderfully acted, and the pacing is just great. If you were to find a flaw, I suppose you could say that it would be that even at just a little over two hours, "IRON MAN" ends too soon. I went to see the 9:30 show with my friend and brother, and before we knew it, it was already 11:30. It just speeds by, and I wouldn't mind at all if it was an additional four hours long. Heck, I probably would of have preferred it that way!
Of course, with Favreau having signed up the actors for a trilogy, I really shouldn't have any complaints.
I was a fan of "Hellboy" ever since the movie came out three or so years ago. And after watching the trailer for "Hellboy 2: The Golden Army" for the millionth time, I was in something of a Hellboy rush, if you will. So, I decided to download the comics, to see if they were any good.
Took me a bit to get around to them, thanks to both work and finals rearing their ugly head, but I read the first two volumes: Seed of Destruction and Wake The Devil.
First let me say this: I love Mignola's artwork. Maybe its the way that some colors of the characters fade in with the solid color background, or perhaps its just the '70's style way of it being drawn. Maybe it's just the fact that it's just different? Whatever the reason, I simply love it.
A small pet peeve, because Broom was significantly more developed in the film than he was in the graphic novel. But in retrospect, Rasputin is a far more interesting character in the graphic novel, so it all balances out.
The graphic novel is more of a mystery-adventure story, rather than the action-adventure tone Del Toro went with the film. Now, both story types suits the tone Hellboy goes with, so it's not a bother to me. However, I have to say that Mignola did a better job with the way he did things than how Del Toro did. The focus here is on Hellboy, not Hellboy, Abe Sapien and Liz, and that's an advantage in my book.
However, one qualm I have to say is that there is not enough development overall. It seems like, plotwise, not much really changed. It didn't seem like the overall way of things haven't changed...at all. The characters as a whole never truly progressed, the villains didn't really seem like they did a whole lot... It still tells a good story - I just wish more stuff happened within it!
I hate how I have to get a new e-mail just because my old GMail account won't recognize my password. Now I have to remember all of the newsletters that I subscribed to. Oh, frustration!
I have been forwarded to what could only be described as an "interesting" opinion editorial, in which the author's opinions on anime can summed up in these few words: 'Anime is stupid. Thus, it is making kids stupid. We are doomed.'
Now, when I read the title, "Japanese anime destroying American society", I was already a little distraught. Anime is a subject that is of importance to the article, and thus, the title itself. It goes without saying that it should be capitalized. When Mr. Glucklich did not do so, I only assumed he just did not have enough care to proofread his own article.
Already he was off to a bad start.
The University of Oregon junior goes on to say things that are described as being truly foolish, ignorant, and shows he did not even do his research on the subject matter. He grouped shows like "Pokemon" and "Yu-Gi-Oh!" in the same group. True, they share similarities, but they are not of the same genre. He says that Pokemon was the cause of widespread seizures.
The thing is, that case happened almost ten years ago, to only 100 children, in Japan. The way he had written it, it was very recent, was widespread, and the cases occurred in America. If I am not mistaken, that is on a very similar level as propaganda - over exaggerating the facts to meet your goals.
The article goes on to show how anime is a worthless medium, but the only anime titles listed are the big, mainstream ones. He dosen't state those that have an actual storyline, or even better, those with a storyline that has some relevance in today's day. "Gundam 00" comes to mind. The story has a very post-9/11 feel to it, and you can relate to most of the political conflicts that are occurring in the world.
In the end, the article just reeked of foolishness and short sightedness. I am sure Mr. Glucklich is a very intelligent individual, who knows a good deal of foreign cultures or other matters of interest. But in this regard, he has acted very foolish.
You can find the actual article here.
By the date of my last post, it is self evident that I have taken far too long to post an update on anything that may be of interest to me, or you, or anyone else in particular who wandered onto this quaint little blogging space. To do so, I am prepared to rectify that with all due course.
Since my birthday, January 11th (which coincidentally enough, was when I last written here), little in my life has changed. I have made few friends, but those who I have befriended I am most fortunate to have met. Unfortunately, I have been far too busy with, I suppose personal projects is the correct term, to actually talk with them...or do much of anything for that matter. I would like to rectify that, but having a part time job consumes more time than people would presume and desire.
On the good side of things, I have gotten on better grounds with Peter. We are currently scheming on forming a weekly roleplaying game group. The awkwardness of such a move is painfully clear - playing with people I have little knowledge of, as well as the negative viewpoints of the pastime at least my parents posses on the matter. Regardless, the forming of such a group is very likely - whenever I intend on pursuing a new form of story telling, chances are I will give it a shot at least once.
My last novel, Kazoku, has been abandoned. The reasons for such is far too numerous to count, so let me summarize it as such: I just lose interest in it. I lost the love, the passion, for it. When that happens, its best to just move on. It is a hard thing to do - I spent a year of my life working on it. But it had to be done - other wise, I would of spent several more years working on something that would be a below quality product.
More to come soon. I hope to keep a much more up to date recording of my life and interests as they occur. Goodbye for now.
I will allow no man to narrow and degrade my soul by making me hate him.
And what does this show what we are? Nothing. Hate is an extreme emotion and expression. If you hate somebody, you are willing to kill that person. If a person purposely bumps into you, and you claim to friend "I hate that guy", are you willing to uphold your word and plunge a knife into his heart?
I doubt it.
This is an important quote because it makes life so much easier. If somebody at work pisses me off, I just remember the quote, and I calm down. Because I want to show that I am better than that. I am not wasted breath. Its easy to hate, but not so to forgive. And hating does nothing but bring inner torment, and no one wants that.
In other news, its my birthday! =D But like always, no friends. :( But Peter is coming over tomorrow, so hooray! =D
Now who would say that is not awesome? And even better, I get Bioshock for my birthday, which is next Friday! This has been a glorious two weeks. :)
