• 8Nov 09

  Blazing and Blueing

  I hate BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger. I hate it for sucking me into its world and refusing to let me go. I hate it for taking away the time I could have used to finish the massive warehouse of games I have yet to touch. I hate it for constantly distracting me from my school work and the responsibilities bestowed on me. I hate how much I love this game.

  I don't usually blog on single video games, but I feel obligated to say some words of admiration for this one.

  

  A long time ago, I noticed that Scianix-Black had (once again) changed his profile theme to Taokaka. At the time, I had no clue what BlazBlue was; it was still a relatively new game in arcades as well. I investigated this 'Taokaka' character, only to find myself engulfed in an ocean of flashy gameplay videos of an impressive-looking fighter with a totally unique cast of characters.

  As time went on, I yearned for a console port, but no such announcement would be made until months later. Week after week, new video footage was released from the arcades; combo videos found their way onto YouTube, with a particular video featuring Noel piquing my interest in her. She would later become my main character.

  

  Finally, a port was announced for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. I immediately pre-ordered it, with the promises of a first-run-only Limited Edition upgrade at no extra price being mere sprinkles on an otherwise delicious and moist cake.

  After an antagonizing wait and a mountain of delays (thanks to the release date being on Canada Day of all days), I had my hands on two copies of the Limited Edition due to some complications involving cats and the quadratic equation. I sold the second copy to a good friend of mine – the same one who had bought a PS3 on launch day and invited me over to play (which lead me to buying one as well). I would finally be able to play.

  The first few weeks were filled with absolute addiction and frustration. I was constantly getting my ass kicked in player matches, I could only barely beat Hell Difficulty Arcade, and I had trouble doing many of the combos I witnessed on those amazing videos. The bonus Blu-Ray disc did little to help, so all I could do was practice. It was not until I had made the arcade sticks when I felt like I was getting somewhere. It was a frighteningly awkward experience at first (it felt like I was learning how to play again), but once I got around the initial hump, I started winning more battles online, Hell Difficulty Arcade would be just a quick little warm-up exercise, and I was able to do some of the more basic combos I witnessed on those amazing videos. I became dedicated to the game.

  

  Currently, I continue to main Noel Vermillion and have trouble picking a suitable sub. Without a doubt, I'm in complete anticipation for Continuum Shift, along with the PlayStation Portable port of Calamity Trigger. While this game is generally infamous for its steep learning curve, I regularly have my friends come over to play a few quick matches. It's actually a blast to fight in large groups, especially since the group of friends I play this game with happened to have picked completely different mains.

  In fact, I just came back with my friends from the only arcade center within driving distance. They had a single BlazBlue arcade machine, and we tore down the house playing it for hours. One of them bought the game today, and two are going to do the same very soon. It looks like I'll have to be making some more arcade sticks… at a price

  

  One platinum trophy, hundreds of hours played, and thousands of matches spread across multiple modes later, I look back and marvel at how one game could have addicted me so much. It's definitely not my favourite game, it's definitely not a game I would consider to be better than the likes of some true cIassics, and it's definitely not one that I recommend to everyone I know, but it's one hell of a ride that I don't want to ever get off of.

  =Reviews and Resources=

  GameTrailer's Video Review

  IGN's Video Review

  My Boring Text Review

  BlazBlue's Wikipedia Page

  

  

  Takenobu Mitsuyoshi - "Sky High" (Daytona USA Soundtrack)
  

  Why is this song so much fun to listen to? ;___;

  • Posted Nov 8, 2009 4:57 am PT
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• 19Oct 09

  How to Beat a Bear in a Wet T-Shirt Contest

  Oh goody, it's blogging time! Another month of fun passes, and I urgently need to pass on my experiences to other people for some twisted reason. Let's get this show on the road!

  

  ===Upgrades===

  Here's a fun fact: my very first blog (over two years ago) was about wanting to upgrade my PS3's 60GB hard-drive. That plan never came into fruition until just a few days ago when I went ahead and bought myself a 320GB HDD. To celebrate, I suppose I'll finally buy that Valkyria Chronicles DLC, Ratchet and Clank: Quest for Booty, and maybe even Megaman 9. It sure feels nice not having to delete demos after finishing them and being able to install as many games as I want.

  

  To expand upon my memory-whoring, I also bought a 1TB external hard-drive as well. It was initially used to back up and restore my PS3's data, but now it's being used to store music, movies, games, and anime. I feel totally carefree when it comes to memory usage now.

  I also bought a PS2 to PS3 memory card adapter, which is actually a pretty useless device to most PS3 owners nowadays if you think about it (no backwards compatibility). I transferred all of my PS2 memory card data onto my PS3 so that I can experience more of my games with the convenience of a single machine.

  Oh, and I decided to change my flashy GameSpot profile banner into something a little more subtle and clean. I even went through the painstaking process of creating a blog banner which continues on from my main banner – viewable if you go to my main profile page. I'll probably keep this one for another year or so like my last one.

  

  ===Games===

  Alright, let's start with the obligatory one: Uncharted 2. After playing it bit-by-bit over the last three days, I got up early in the morning (11:30AM to be exact) and didn't move from my couch until five in the afternoon to finish it up. The game is pretty much one giant cliché executed extremely well. There wasn't a single moment when I felt bored, but there weren't many moments when I felt surprised either. Overall, I loved it.

  

  BlazBlue has been taking away all of my gaming time yet again, instigating a trophy hunt for the first time in my life. I'm just one trophy away from my first Platinum; all I need to do is play 80 or so more ranked matches and I'm good to go. I won't be hunting for any more Plats anytime soon though. BlazBlue just happened to be a very special case for me.

  Zone of the Enders 2 also met its end, and it was fabulous as well. I freakin' love mechs so much.

  I'll probably start playing Demon's Souls and Dead Space now. Demon's Souls is souly, and Dead Space is spacey. That's all I can say for now.

  I also decided to get DJ Max Portable: Clazziquai Edition. It's definitely a lot easier than Black Square, but I love the song selection.

  

  ===Game Development===

  School-wise, I decided to take a senior animation course which occurs every Tuesday at night for two hours a week. I get four extra credits upon completion, and it's a course I was supposed to take next semester. This means that my independent game studies has been bumped forward by half of a year – giving me more precious time to create my atrocity of a game.

  Speaking of which, remember that pretentious sounding music game I had envisioned? From a design point of view, the idea sounded fun at first, but to execute it well would have been a frustrating process. That's why I decided to simplify things and replicate a tried-and-true formula. Here's how a snobby Hollywood producer might pitch my idea:

  StarFox with Mechs!

  So yeah, an on-rails, mech-piloting game would be a safer thing to try. It'll be like a love child between StarFox64 and Zone of the Enders 2 – or at least on paper. Here are some random ideas I've put down:

  • The cast will consist of 4 pilots – all with their own unique mechs and abilities. You play as a badass guy who always wears sunglasses and screams every syllable (idea pending), because I'm honestly sick of wimpy pilots in badass mechs. There will be two other gals and one other guy as support.
  • Lots of voiced radio-chatter with character portraits and subtitles. Yeah – just like StarFox.
  • 100% piano soundtrack. I'll be commissioning a friend of mine to compose and record an intensely relaxing soundtrack. It's totally not going to fit the mood, and that's why I want it.
  • You won't ever see the pilots rendered in 3D, and you won't ever see the mechs rendered in 2D. The story will be delivered through 2D stills (which I'll have to draw by hand ) and played through a 3D engine. The best of both worlds, no?

  So yeah, I'll try posting my progress on this as much as possible – assuming I don't move onto an even simpler idea. Here's a concept drawing I did half-heartedly a few days ago. The best part of making a mech game is drawing those skin-tight plug suits the pilots have to wear. It's because of the synch ratio – I swear!

  

  Rawr.

  

  ===More Facts===

  Finally, I've been tagged again… again. Just like those other 30 times. Here are 5 more facts you shouldn't have to know about some dude you met over the internet:

  1. I love swing dancing. There's nothing like becoming the puppeteer of a female body – manipulating how they turn, spin, jump, and flip on and around my own body like a delusional snake. Oh, and it's fun too.

  2. I love dogs – I see them on a scale of living value just as high as or even higher than human beings.

  3. Anything I say pertaining to the number 4 will be false.

  4. Anything I say pertaining to the number 3 will be true.

  5. I've never missed trick-or-treating on Halloween in my entire life, and don't plan on doing so until I graduate from high school next year. It's always a thrill to go out at night dressed up as some sort of abomination – ringing doorbells and screaming for candy with my friends. What can I say? I'll always be a kid at heart.

  If you have a mom, then I'm tagging her.

  

  

  Yello - "Oh Yeah"

  OHHHHHHH YEAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

  • Posted Oct 19, 2009 2:46 am PT
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• 19Sep 09

  You Damn, Dirty Liar.

  It's a beautiful, rainy Friday evening, and I had the sudden urge to write that long-overdue blog I said I would write a while ago. I'm such a damn, dirty liar.

  Oh, and brace for a huge-wall-o-text you should probably skip for the pretty pictures.

  

  Although I'm well into my Junior Year of High School, I decided that this would be a good opportunity to look back on another wonderful summer spent doing absolutely nothing meaningful.

  If I were to summarize my summer in one word, it would be "work". I probably worked more hours this summer than my own father did. I tutored a total of four children in two separate households every single day for at least 3, 4, sometimes even 6 hours a day. I probably had an accumulated number of 5 days off throughout the entire summer tutoring for almost-as-low-as-minimum wage. A huge plus to sacrificing my youth like this has to be the money – and there was a good amount involved for someone my age.

  I managed to buy the items in my next section while keeping a very substantial savings for any post-secondary education I may decide to take part in. Even now I have steady income – still working nearly every day while balancing honour-roll status, friends, family, and other extracurricular activities such as band, dance, anime, and of course – games.

  I can't lie – life's treating me pretty well lately. Fabulous.

  

  ===Game Purchases===

  I managed to buy a lot of games over the summer; the funny thing is, only BlazBlue LE was something I spent the full hard-copy game MSRP for. Even Batman was obtained during the Canadian 40-dollar sale upon release. The PS3 games are older titles that have been marked down, with the PS2 games being bought from either EB Games, Craigslist, or eBay.

  

  As you can probably guess, I haven't even started half of these titles yet. Some of them are actually my brother's which I bought for ****s and giggles, including a fully-paid Demon's Souls Deluxe Edition pre-order. I'm just that cool of a brother.

  

  ===Other Purchases===

  Adding to that substantial games list (at least to my standards), I've gone ahead and bought something I should have bought a long time ago: a laptop! In fact, I'm typing up this blog on my baby right now. She's a beautiful HP something-something. All I know is that she has good video memory, a roomy HDD, and a fingerprint scanner to protect my… secret data. No more note-taking by hand for me!

  

  As mentioned in my last blog, I also spend a good amount of cash on constructing those two arcade sticks. Now, it looks like some of you are under the impression that I was able to make the whole thing by myself. Nothing could be further from the truth. jt4mtb pretty much held my hand (in a manly way) through the entire procedure; so please direct any compliments towards his expertise.

  

  It also looks like I managed to buy two more PSPs and a GameBoy Advance SP from someone for 90 bucks altogether. That's right – I now have one slim PSP, a fat PSP, and another fat PSP. Not to mention, I now have a GBA to replace the old one I lost a while ago. In the end, one of the PSPs along with the GBA went to my brother since having three PSPs would be ridiculous enough, and the GBA is just something that's replacing my brother's lost one.

  

  In between these "investments" was money spent on little things like eating out, movies, and gifts. Those damn scarves from those "Hermes" brand places are incredibly expensive, but make good birthday gifts for your mother. Going to movies with friends became a costly tradition for me; while buying toys for my dog is something I now find to be enjoyable (squeaky toys are just so damn cute). Overall, I spent money like any other teenager would. I spoiled myself, but also made sure I did the same for those around me.

  

  ===Anime===

  I didn't see as much anime as I would have liked to, but I did spend a lot of time re-watching a lot of shows with my brother (whom I've suckered into the anime world with Gurren Lagann and the like).

  Besides weekly doses of Haruhi Season 2 (Endless Eight FTL) and Spice and Wolf 2 (hells yeah), I went ahead and watched both seasons of Code Geass. I thought it was going to be some sort of pretentious, over-rated crap with the occasional mech battle to make up for bad pacing. I'm glad I was proven wrong, since it quickly latched itself onto my top 10 with its massive production values, smart scenarios, and awesome action. I've seen both seasons twice now.

  

  I also finished Kanon (2006), which turned out to be my second favourite KyoAni produced anime ever (second to Haruhi S1). It's simply a wonderful tale brimming with excellent characters and story arcs that are constantly fun to watch.

  

  Minami-ke also managed to climb its way up my personal standings – right next to Golden Boy in terms of comedy! Besides the shows above, I didn't really get a chance to watch as much as I would have liked. I did manage to squeeze in another watch-through of Gurren Lagann, which was again much, much win.

  

  

  So I guess that's it. Sorry about this being another long blog, but it really gives me a sense of accomplishment and purpose to write everything I've done over a long period of time out so I can see it all lain out in front of me.

  Now excuse me while I sleep before I end up writing up anything I might regret in the morning.

  

  

  A'z - "Sorairo Days A Cappella Cover"(Gurren Lagann OP)

  Holy crap, this is awesome; absolutely no instruments were used in this a~cappella cover. Also, the manly grunt at the beginning gets me excited.

  • Posted Sep 19, 2009 3:30 am PT
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