• 4Jun 08

  Splurge CD

  I listened to a couple of songs on Puffy AmiYumi's Splurge CD (thank you, Tower Records)...just suddenly felt like listening to it...anyway, i realized something that i SHOULD have realized earlier on...a couple of tracks on Splurge sounded like they should have been on the soundtrack for the movie Goal! (The Story, for example). Some were deeply nice because they sounded like upbeat Japanese Coldplay (Sunday In The Park, Cameland)! All of the tracks sounded like awesome OST tracks, and this is a good thing, because it just shows that ALL of the tracks are full of energy...it's pretty awesome, i'm amazed at how those two have so much energy all the time, it's like as if they drink Red Bull every hour of the day. I mean, when i watch some show on MTV or Channel V that follows a certain band around, the band members are always half-dead. They're always frowny, they cuss too much, and they hardly smile. Even in ads where they're supposed to smile for the product they're promoting. But when i see Puffy AmiYumi, it's better, cos they've got nicer atittudes and they treat their fans very, VERY well. At least they're still passionate about what they're doing, cos some other bands are real ingrates. I hope a new album comes out by PAY...soon...
  • Posted Jun 4, 2008 2:16 am PT
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• 1Jun 08

  Samurai Champloo Game

  Okay, so it's been a couple of years since Samurai Champloo: Sidetracked came out, but i still feel like the game really shouldn't have been a "sidetracked" game, where the game doesn't have anything to do with the main story in the anime series. I think it should've been more GTA-ish, in a way. This IS very plausible since, in the game, the three of them (Mugen, Fuu and Jin) are forced to look for jobs at the same time to earn money for food, accommodation, etc. And, well, Mugen and Jin often have to kill a bunch of baddies to "solve" a problem or to save Fuu, who's quite a constant target. Mugen and Jin like visiting red light districts too, but that's a minor thing. Since it was pretty much like that in the show, the game should have followed suit like this (My game idea!!): Single player mode-- You can play as either Mugen, Jin and Fuu. Before switching to a different character, make sure the other two left are following you (select the "follow" setting to "Auto-Follow" at the Pause menu or Main Menu). To speed up the process of earning money, you can instruct the two other characters to take on oher suitable jobs nearby, and your current character can do a different job. Should there be any problems to the other characters while they're working elsewhere, a special icon will appear on your char's "GPS" (y'know, like in GTA) and you'll have to rush over to help them. Or i could take the Sims 2 approach and toggle between the 3 characters. Let's say you're now playing as Fuu. Fuu has just instructed Mugen to be a temporary hitman for some other high-ranking dude, while she tells Jin to work at a sushi stand nearby. While Fuu's busy being a waitress at a tea place, you can switch to Jin's screen to check on him. And while you're in Jin-vision, Fuu and Mugen are still doing their jobs well, because there's no Free Will setting to screw everything up. But suddenly, Jin gets attacked by a bunch of yakuza while he's earnestly making sushi. After much fighting, the yakuza have nearly defeated Jin and his lifebar is getting shorter, indicating that he's just a few slashes away from dying. To help Jin out, you can press a "Help" button (Okay, let's see, the Ps2...hmm...Circle button!) so that Jin can call out for help and let Mugen and Fuu know that he's in trouble. And so, after pressing O, Mugen and Fuu come to the rescue and Mugen brutally stabs a bunch of yakuza with his katana, while Fuu defeats 2 other bad guys with her sidearm (tanto, in Japanese). And then, Jin gets to restore his lifebar by resting and, uhm, drinking sake. And, oh ya, Momo is a playable character too!! Momo's like a missile, it's more like a weapon than character. Momo's attacks: peeing, biting, vicious scratching and tickling...heheh. It's attacks can draw blood too (biting and scratching), as well as causing infections(biting, scratching, and peeing). So, in my mind, the whole thing is basically GTA on foot, since there's no car to be hijacked, except for, maybe, pallanquins...heheh...but even then, that would be pretty difficult too. They just have to roam around, look for jobs, look for a place to stay, save innocent people from thugs, morons, and yakuza gangs, eat once in a while, help the current town that they're residing in each time they move (save the town from bloodthirsty yakuza gangs, help some troubled residents, or solve problems involving trade and foreigners) and eventually gather clues about the samurai who smells of sunflowers. And, to keep Mugen, Jin and Fuu happy too, try to hook up with other people. The next aspect of this game idea: Jobs (not the Apple guy). In almost every episode of SC, Fuu nags Mugen and Jin about getting jobs, and they do end up working for a short while in almost every town they pass through. If this game idea was for a Wii game, doing jobs would be so much fun! Cutting up fish or eels would be fun, being a hitman would be fun, being a bodyguard would be fun, spring-cleaning Zen Buddhist temples would be fun, heck, even waitressing would be fun! Okay, anyway, the list of 'proper' jobs i've thought of: Fisherman, Waitress, Waiter, Cook, Bodyguard, Messenger, Hitman, uhmm....okay, guess that's all i can think of. But money doesn't necessarily have to come from those jobs. Move your character around, pick a good, wide, unobtrusive spot and the option "Street Performance" will appear! So far, i think this game idea sounds a lot better than Sidetracked. If you, the player, don't like the idea of being a virtual busker in late 18th-century Japan, then you can be a con artist, or you could pick either Mugen or Jin, beat up a couple of not-really-skilled yakuza guys, then take their money! I've seen it in the "Artistic Anarchy" episode. Taking part in that even-odds betting game (as seen in the episodes Hellhounds For Hire Pts.1 and 2) is also a fine way to earn money, but it can be risky, UNLESS you're playing as Fuu, where she has Momo to help her out! There's also the question of entering the gambling den stealthily because it's often portrayed as a very underground gambling activity in the show. Anyway, Momo can push the gambling pieces to an even or odd number (depending on which number you pick) to help you win! Next: Food. Besides showcasing the awesome combat, people and places of Edo-period Japan, Samurai Champloo also manages to introduce its viewers to authentic Japanese cusine, some of which have lasted from the late 1800's up 'til now! In Sidetracked, there was this shaved ice dessert thingy, and i thought it looked cool...hahah...Anyway, like in GTA: San Andreas, this game idea will also utilize the roam-and-eat system. I'll make this clearer: Remember when CJ could walk into random fast food restaurants and buy food in San Andreas? It's pretty much the same thing here, except that the fast food restaurants are now replaced with teahouses, sushi stands, kabayaki (barbequed and sauce-dipped eel) stalls, shaved ice carts (like in Sidetracked) and the like. Also, in SA, if CJ eats too much without ever exercising, he'll get fat. But in this game idea, only Fuu will get really fat after eating a lot, because that's how she is in the series! She became "Fuuzilla" in the episodes Baseball Blues, Stranger Searching, and Bogus Booty, just to name a FEW. There's no exercise feature in this game idea, but Jin will always stay thin and Mugen will only get a pot belly that'll last for 8 seconds. ICTL...
  • Posted Jun 1, 2008 10:03 pm PT
  • Category: Games
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• 25May 08

  List 1

  My Fave Magazines (No, Wholphin's not in here):

  1. Newsweek

  2. Time

  3. T3

  4. DRUM! Magazine

  5. Reader's Digest

  6. People

  7. Transworld Skateboarding

  8. Tips & Tricks

  9. CosmoGirl!

  10. Teen People

  11. Skateboarder

  12. Us Weekly

  • Posted May 25, 2008 12:34 am PT
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