T3 - B33-35 - Game Blog

I must apologize for promising to blog and not blogging...but this time I actually have a proper excuse...well sorta. My computer wasn't working. Annoyed me soooo much. T_T. Well it's half working now...Still kinda slow on the startup.

I think I have a loooong history of killing computers. umm...I wonder why? T_T.

In any case, we got our report cards! :DDDD

Straight A's for the first time in my high school life. (:

Oh and I think those large brown envelopes are a waste of paper...even if they were made from recycled paper. I bet only 50% of the 2500 envelopes printed will be recycled again. So no matter how you see it, it's still a waste. I wonder if there'll be a day where we get our grades by email..Well I guess there would still be problems there...with hackers and crackers and all.

So I promised you I would tell you about the new game I've been addicted to. (:

Without further ado...

Disgaea: Hour of Darkness

Game console: PS2

Pros // funny and original storyline :: interesting characters :: nice twist of an already amazing gaming system :: many options :: highly addicting? (con OR pro?)
Cons // slightly repetitive :: challenges the gamer more than other games :: requires strategy and logic

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Graphics - 8/10

Story - 10/10

Gameplay - 9/10

Environment - 8/10

Overall - 9.2/10

Whoever made this game definitely had a nice sense of humor. My proof? These screenshots :D

HAHAH. Okay, lemme explain the Prism Ranger bit. (: Here's what happened when I met them in the game: (I can't remember exactly what they said, but it's somewhere along these lines...)

Red Ranger: I'm RED!
Blue Ranger: I'm BLUE!
Yellow Ranger: I'm YELLOW!
Red Ranger: And together we're the Prism Rangers!
Laharl (main character with the blue hair): Oh great, can't we have normal enemies?
Me (Out loud): No you can't.
Flonne (the angel): You call yourselves "Prism Rangers", but only have 3 colors. That's not even enough for a rainbow.
Me: Lol.
Etna (red haired demon): Yeah, why is that?
Red ranger: Well we have no friends. So it's just us for now.
Me: o_O.
Laharl: Wait, you guys are supposed to be heroes right? Then why do you want to be Overlords?
Etna: Good point.
Red ranger: Because we want FRIENDS! If we're overlords, we can make friends! And then we'll have all the colors.
Me: LOLOL. (He said it in a really funny tone (: )
Etna: Yeah, well that's not happening. *BANG* *BANG*
*Blue and Yellow drop to the floor beside Red.*
Red: NOOOOOOOOOOOO! Your deaths will not be in vain!
Etna: Well I didn't hit any vital points so they should still be alive.
Red: BLUUUUUE! YELLLOOOOW! I WILL AVENGE YOU!
Me: LOOOL. :D
Laharl: How are you going to kill us alone?
Red: Well I hired some demons from the Netherworld.
Laharl: Isn't it wrong for heroes to hire demons to fight for them?
Red: A hero's only purpose is to achieve justice. It doesn't what means they use! Now prepare yourself!

And then the fight started. I loved Red's vooiiiice!!! Oh and Laharl's!
I was surprised to find out that Laharl's voice actor is a women...

Well anyways, the gameplay is similar to Luminous Arc's and Fire Emblem's. The only major difference is the geo symbols that they implemented...oh and you can create your own characters.
The geo symbols make the gameplay slightly harder...they have effects that usually affect your stats or the enemy's stats. Sometimes positive, most of the time not. The map with the Prism Rangers had the effect "warp". My characters and the enemy were warped all over the place. ._.

A several features to look forward to if you plan on playing:
Senate system (extremely annoying) complete with promotion exams, upgrades for the item store, and character upgrades.
Item World (you can upgrade your items this way)
Hospital (you get rewards if you heal/die a lot...makes all those times I die worthwhile. x3)
Same Game Over if all your characters die...like Fire Emblem. So Save often!
Character Creation/Deletion/Personalization
Easy Map Grind

And the opening scenes to start you off! :D

T2 - B90-92 - Game Blog

Yaawn. Sorry for not being consistent with my blogs. It's really hard for someone like me who gets distracted extremely easily. ._.

Sometimes I wonder why I bother being enthusiastic about my blogs. It's not like anyone reads them anyways. Hmm. Maybe I'll just start writing a lot of gibberish that doesn't even make sense if only to have a blog. Yeah, that'll work. And no one would notice. (:

Okay. New favourite song: Lights - Lions! Amaaazing song. Well, I've always loved Lights. s2 Alright, so let's talk about how knitting/crocheting has been lately. :3 Made my shopping bag + 5 tuques. Now I'm onto....umm...more tuques. :3

So I'm guessing the whole talking about nothing isn't working.

Olympics in VANCOUVER! :3

School's been fine. Despite my B in Math. How i hate Math. Actually, I wish I didn't hate math. I wish I wasn't so bad at it. ._. I remember a time when I got As in Math without trying...ah good times, good times. (Like last year! ._.)

Anyways, before my underlying colors of math hating show through (actually I think they're already showing), I'll move onto my game review.

It's a new game I've been playing. And it's amaazingly cute + fun! :D

Okami

Game system: Wii

Pros // cute, high quality graphics :: unique fighting system :: integrated well with wii :: creative main character :: free-movement system :: good storyline :: "brush" system

Cons // hard to make perfect strokes with brush/wii remote :: difficult handling of remote

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Graphics - 10/10

Story - 9.5/10

Gameplay - 7/10

Environment - 10/10

Overall - 9.4/10

This is perhaps the most unique game I have ever played. Before I explain why, allow me to give you a trailer:

Alright. Don't you just waaaaant to play it now? You control this cute wolfie who has this annoying bug as a companion. You're Amaterasu. The Sun God and the creator of everything. The world is in darkness and you're trying to save it. (:

The annoying bug is really annoying sometimes. He gives you like MAJOR hints. Kinda reminds of Animal Crossing. All of a sudden, the person is talking and you see red text that just stands out because they want to give you hints. ._. Seriously, do they think the players will be stupid? Still, it kinda adds to the game since I don't have to do much figuring out because of that. (:

The bug is also annoying because he tells you about the brush system. The brush system is what really makes this game stand out. Besides the fact that I have to draw straight lines and complete circles, it's kinda fun. (: Though the bug was really annoying me at this one point where it kept saying "draw a straight HORIZONTAL line!" And I was like "I can't freaking do that with a wii remote!" Took me 20 tries, but yeah. It was fun...I guess. x3

LINK OUT:

Official website: http://www.okami-game.com/

T2 - B86-89 - Game Blog

Alright. Another long period of not blogging. >_<>I think I've been too fake lately. If that means anything. Sometimes I feel like the persona I've created for the web is entirely different from who I really am. Other times I feel like my actual personality in real life is fake and my reality exists on the interweb. Strange, huh?

I guess the main reason why I have two different personalities is because I tend to act differently with different people. Somehow, I'm just less friendly to those I know in real life? Or maybe I'm the same. Oh why do I have to be so philosophical?

Anyways, school has been more than stressful lately, so I'm glad I can be writing this. (:

Had a debate today which was pretty intense considering it was against the Debate Club Female President. >_<. She gave some good advice in the end though. So did Mr. H. Rights debate = talk about rights! Ahaha. Silly me for not identifying the main purpose of the debate first. It seems to obvious now that I look back on it.

It's funny, when I'm just writing a story and developing characters, I can easily type 3000 words in an hour. When I'm blogging however, it seems like I'm always stuck on what to say. Sometimes there are details I would love to include in my blog, but I find myself holding back due to how personal those details are. Funny how many others can just let loose on their blogs whereas I am self-conscious to what I blog about.

Ehh, It's not like anyone will really read into this. So why do I care?

Anyways, game review...for LA.

Luminous Arc (Series)

Game System: NDS

Pros // nice storyline :: pretty graphics and characters :: unique gaming system :: non-repetitive :: romance :: relationship system

Cons // copy of ff tactics/fire emblem system :: no character customization

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Graphics - 10/10

Story - 9/10

Gameplay - 8/10

Environment - 9/10

Overall - 9.5/10

This is, without a doubt, one of my favourite RPGs of all time. Also, one that I would recommend eagerly to any RPG lover. It's a cute, lovely RPG that is worth your while.

It's lovely in comparison to games such as final fantasy tactics because unlike ff tactics, it doesn't make you go on boring quests. It also has character development for all the characters you control, so you go beyond just having the main characters developed while the rest of the characters are just mindless guys you control to kill things for you.

It's better than Fire Emblem simply because the characters are better drawn and better developed. Not that Fire Emblem characters aren't developed. They're just less developed.

Character favourites: Althea (LA2), Alph (LA), Cecille (LA), Fatima (LA2), Lucia (LA), Rina (LA2).

LINK OUT

Something new for once...here's the official website:

http://www.atlus.com/luminousarc2/

T2 - B14-15 - Game Blog

Yaaaawwn. Long day. ._.

Kay. Woke up at 1pm. Yesh. I am a failure. :) But I'm a nice failure, right?

Anyways. Worked on project when Mary got here at around 1:30ish.

piano recital tmrw. sigh.

Okay. Game review blog. For...:) Well. I totally forgot to add this to my Top10 list, but I do love this game (series) so much. Well, here it is. :D

Phoenix Wright (Series)
Game system: NDS

Pros // extremely mind-boggling (challenging) :: scary but funny :: great character development :: nice mystery :: well put together :: good procession :: original :: great plot
Cons // a little too challenging for the general public :: time-consuming

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Graphics - 8/10
Story - 10/10
Gameplay - 9.5/10
Environment - 8.5/10
Overall - 9.4/10

Amazing, simply amazing. Phoenix Wright is one of the best well-thought out games out there. It's simply not be missed by intellectuals. The only ones who would rate this game poorly are those who are not so intelligent. No offense. Wait...I do mean offense. This game is AMAZING.

Although quite challenging at times, I find it to be part of its charm. Its sequel, Apollo Justice, stumped me to the point where I had no choice but to use GameFAQs to help me. The bracelet was hard to use, but I guess if I tried forever, I would get it.

As Phoenix Wright, you have to solve cases for other people. This includes gathering evidence, going to court, and WINNING IT. You can't lose or it's game over. x3 Great game, great procession, and pretty much straightforward. Little look at the characters:

I'm in loooooove with EDGEWORTH. <3 ^ The guy in the red suit with black hair.

Why? Cause he's cool...although he keeps losing to Wright. x3

Anyways. I'm too tired to elaborate on how much I love this game. So just play it and love it for yourself. :3

LINK OUT:
GameFAQS (1): http://www.gamefaqs.com/portable/ds/home/925589.html
GameSpot (1): http://www.gamespot.com/ds/adventure/phoenixwright/index.html
GameFAQS (2): http://www.gamefaqs.com/portable/ds/home/933086.html
GameSpot (2): http://www.gamespot.com/ds/adventure/phoenixwrightaceattorney2/index.html
GameFAQS (3): http://www.gamefaqs.com/portable/ds/home/939065.html
GameSpot (3): http://www.gamespot.com/ds/adventure/phoenixwrightaceattorneytrialsandtribulations/index.html

T2 - B6-9 - Game Blog

WOW. I haven't blogged for soooo long. Must be a new record in not blogging. O_O. This year anyways.

The reason? My latest obsession. Grand Fantasia.

I know, I know. Less computer time for me. Still, with a game to rely on, I feel the urge to blog less and less. Probably since I vent all my feelings into the game. ._.

Anyways, the past few days have been fine. 3 projects. Foods. Science. Science Fair. Science and Science Fair are NOT the same. Science = element game.

Worked on the element game today with rachel, natalie, and mary. Was very fun.

I think the punctuation in my blogs are getting worse. Oh well.

WISH. :)

I dunno why I said that. I just felt like reminding myself what a wishful thinker I am. I'm always wishing and wanting. I admit it too. I'm a wish-wanter.

Okay. Without further ado, I present to you my review on Grim Grimoire (the title that has been my msn status for the past week. x3)

GrimGrimoire
Game system: PS2

Pros // stragetic planning :: intelligent :: cute :: simple concept :: nice story :: nice tutorials :: fun to play
Cons // repetitive :: recurring flashbacks :: very slow pace talking :: not challenging enough

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Graphics - 7.5/10
Story - 8/10
Gameplay - 9/10
Environment - 7.5/10
Overall - 7.9/10

I'm sorry I have to give such a great game low ratings. I still want to leave you with the impression that it's a game worth playing though. And by the way, it's a coincidence that I chose to review two games by Vanillaware (Muramasa and GrimGrimoire), I'm not trying to discrimate between video games. Here, a little trailer to start us off on the right note.

GrimGrimoire is an arcade-like game which I found to be quite interesting and fun. Not so much a challenge though. A mix of stragetic games such as Warcraft III and tactics games such as Final Fantasy XII : Revelant Wings, this game is definitely something you should try.

Very old-like graphics, but still enjoyable. Reminded me of more simplistic games like Wyvern (it's an MMORPG.)

Lillet Blan, however head-ache causing at times, is a very creative main character. Though I wished there was more romance, it's still a very playable game and although I didn not give it the best ratings I could have, it's still enjoyable.

By the way, it's rated pretty high on GameSpot, so although my ratings are low, it's a great game for almost all ages. :) The violence really isn't violence.

LINK OUT:
GameFAQs - http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/ps2/home/937039.html
GameSpot - http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/strategy/grimgrimoire/index.html

T1 - B60 - Game Blog

Today was alright. Slept a lot. Played some Wii. Finished Muramasa. Earned 5 new songs on Taiko although I really hate them. O_O. They sound like a bunch of noises thrown into a song. Ew.

First session with a new math tutor. Made me wish again that I wasn't in Enriched and didn't need a math tutor. But my tutor's nice, so it's alright. :)

Anyways, review on Muramasa, a wonderful RPG that I just finished on Wii. x3

Muramasa : The Demon Blade
Game system: Wii

Pros // classic arcade-style system :: simple and easy :: straight forward tutorial provided :: appealing for both genders :: simple inventory :: no grinding necessary :: interesting plot :: great environment :: hard mode for better gamers
Cons // no strategic or intelligence challenge :: little variation

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Graphics - 9/10
Story - 7.5/10
Gameplay - 8.5/10
Environment - 8.5/10
Overall - 8.7/10

Had to give this 8.7 since I find Muramasa to be a better game than Rune Factory although the two really shouldn't be compared since they have very little similarity. Still, 8.7 it is. :D

First off, I'll provide a trailer so you can have a look at the cute and cool characters in this game.

Next, here's a look at the gameplay. :)


Hehe. Already, you want to play right? x3.

Anyways, Muramasa is a game perfect for both casual and hardcore gamers since it has a easy mode (Musou) and a hard mode (Shura.) I played most of it in Muso since Shura takes a lot out of your hp. I like cutting things without worrying about well...dying, so I decided to go with Muso. It doesn't matter really though since even if you die in this game, you don't lose anything and you just re spawn to where you were before the battle. In fact, I found this to be pretty funny. I would walk into one of those hole/dungeon things in this game and fight until I died. Usually I would level. The funny thing is, when I die and am teleported outside, I regain all the items I used in the place and still keep my levels. Whether this was intentional or a bug, I don't know.

I really liked the Japanese voices in this game. All the cutscenes were cute. :) This game is definitely one of the best RPGs for the Wii.

Forging blades was no challenge to me. The whole system was well balanced and interestingly mapped out. There are 3 endings for each story in this game...So 3 for Momohime's story and 3 for Kisuke's story. I loved both stories, but the fact that there were only cutscenes before/after bosses made me lower my score for story. I quite like cutscenes in RPGs and I just found Muramasa to be lacking them.

As for environment, I liked the backgrounds and the music was very Japanese. Perfect atmosphere for sword fighting and there were nice sound effects and very nice flashy sword moves. Although some of the sword moves had horrible delay or would jump upward and miss. T_T. Well besides that, I loved them. And I loved the fact that you would go into hotsprings as Momohime and see Kisuke...and vice versa. That was funny. x3

In any case, if you own a Wii, Muramasa is not a game to miss out on. Simply because it is cute, simple, and a whole lot of fun. :)

LINK OUT:
GameFAQS - http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/wii/home/943228.html
GameSpot - http://www.gamespot.com/wii/rpg/oboromuramasayoutoden/index.html

T1 - B52-54 - Game Blog

Sorry for not blogging the past few days. On Friday, I was a little too tired and well...just not in the mood for blogging. On Saturday, I wasn't on the computer at all. It was Halloween. <3

Anyways, today I will write a game review. I think I'll start giving ratings in my reviews. The reason why I never did for my manga reviews is because they were all my favourites and I thought it would be strange to give them all 10/10. So i'll start today....@_@. Nice to see me improving my reviews, eh?

Rune Factory Frontier

Game System: Wii

Pros // unique fighting system :: an "enhanced" Harvest Moon :: easy system to understand :: simpler than Harvest Moon :: kid-friendly :: intricate storyline :: wonderful graphics

Cons // Harvest Moon "copy" :: lack of variety of income sources :: highly repetitive :: no female starter

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Graphics - 9.5/10

Story - 8.5/10

Gameplay - 7.5/10

Environment - 8/10

Overall - 8.5/10

Rune Factory Frontier is basically a different approach to Harvest Moon. It doesn't have the animals, fishing, or even gathering. Instead, a fight system is incorporated. You do not start with a pet in RFF, but you can catch one of your own later. Interesting, no?

Alright, let's start with graphics. The backgrounds in RFF are absolutely lovely. Cute and pleasant. The only thing missing is the 3D effect. It's sort of 3D, but at the same time...not really. The characters are also really cute and well...It's a 9.5 simply because I love cute games. If you ever ask me to review a game that's not so cute, then I'll be guaranteed to give a bias low rating.

As for the story, I'm not quite finished. But from what I've read from GameFAQs, the story is quite interesting. You meet more people throughout the game and of course more cute characters! Anyways, unlike Harvest Moon, there is a story to follow along. And you have to fight for it. The story is quite unique and more importantly: makes sense. It's hard to find a game story that makes sense. Most games just want to drag it on and as a result, it either seems like they ran out of good ideas and are stretching it just so that it'll be longer or the plot just falls completely off the original idea. Rune Factory Frontier does not. The only downside to the story? Well, it's hard to balance story and farming. It's also hard to factor in the building of relationships. So the story can go fast or slow depending on the person. If you're the type who can't wait for the story, then you'll probably just do less farming and more story. The story requires a lot of fighting and time, so the reason I took points off is because the story may be decent, but it certainly is hard to find time for when you're trying to get used to the farming lifestyle in the game.

As for gameplay. RFF is pretty good. It's easy to remember the controls and fighting doesn't take a genius to figure out. The downside? In order to give a person an item, you have to open the items menu and look for it. There is no item shortcut like in Harvest Moon. In addition to that downside, you have to open a tool/weapon/seed menu when you want to switch tools/weapons/seeds. One final nuisance is the menu itself. Instead of the old Harvest Moon bar at the bottom, there is one main menu. And you have to go left and right on that menu in order to access the other windows. Other than those time-wasters, I have no complaints about RFF's gameplay.

When I put "environment", I mean the overall mood of the game. The music, effects, cut scenes, and of course...the chatting. The music in RFF is calming and you're unlikely to hate it even if you listen to it for hours after hours. The effects...? Well, it's mostly a farming game. So it isn't one of those flashy fighting games. The fighting effects are alright, I guess. As for cut scenes? They go fairly quickly. I don't remember if they're skip-able or not, but even so...they're not that long that you want to skip them. Unlike the cut scenes in Tales of Symphonia, these don't go on forever and don't go annoyingly so. The chatting system is the typical bubble system. Very rarely do you get to choose what to say, so it's a fairly simple "they talk to you and you seem to just be there" system.

So overall? A 8.5/10. I enjoy playing RFF, but it does get boring. Still, I enjoy the cute graphics and the interesting character personalities. RFF is something you should definitely give a try if you have a Wii since it's a lot simpler than Harvest Moon : Tree of Tranquility which I have yet to get past the intro of. Why? There are simply too many things you can do in the Harvest Moon for Wii.

LINK OUT:

GameFAQs - http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/wii/home/946789.html

GameSpot - http://www.gamespot.com/wii/rpg/runefactoryfrontier/index.html