Rant on Super Smash Bros.

It's almost been a week since my last post.  My lower back still hurts when I sit for too long, but I can't tell if it's a muscle pain or nerve pain.  The pain would often lead down to the back of my right thigh.  I still feel random pains around my upper back, chest, abdomen, legs and arms, but they're often sharp nerve pains that last a second or two and then disappear.  My stomach acid problems still persists and so I think I'm going to try to go to the gym today as getting a good work out at the gym has solved my stomach problems in the past.  I'm still getting a mild, numbing headache everyday and I'm starting to wonder if it has anything to do with my teeth.  I actually need to get my wisdom teeth pulled out as they're bunching up my other teeth, which can lead to frequent headaches.  The coincidence here is that I've been having headaches starting after my back started hurting really bad.  Whatever the case may be, these ailments are wearing down on me and I feel really exhausted each day.  Also, I've been waking up a lot throughout the night the past 3 weeks.  Sometimes it's because it gets too hot or cold, a few times it's been nightmares, and other times it's just waking up all of a sudden.  I'm conscious and can bare the pain throughout the day enough to work again, but it's been tough.  I might work a bit more on my current remix today, but I just finished watching the Smash Bros. Documentary that I've had on hold for 2.5 years and really wanted to talk about Smash Bros for a bit.


I watched the first two or three parts back 2.5 years ago, but then held off on it for so long and not knowing when I'd have the time to watch it.  Because I wasn't feeling well during Nov-Jan this past Winter, I've been watching a lot more videos.  I eventually took the time this past week to watch the rest of the documentary that I missed.  It's a really interesting insight on how competitive Smash Bros. came to be and the progression it had in the competitive scene.  I really enjoyed it and feel like I understand the pros that I watch on stream a little better now that I've seen their history with the game.  But the reason why I'm writing today isn't to talk about the documentary, but rather my own experience with the game and its franchise.


I remember when Super Smash Bros. was first announced for the N64.


It was shocking and exciting to hear about a game which pits all our favorite Nintendo characters against each other in a 4-player fighter.  I didn't have an N64, so I couldn't get the game.  But I had a friend that told me he got the game and that I should come over to play.  I went over with my sister and he and his sister and I got together and played in the living room and played Smash Bros.  The very first character I played was Samus because Metroid was one of my favorite games from the NES and I fancied the idea of shooting missiles, bombs and beams.  I remember falling to my death a lot the first few times I played.  I was very confused but so delighted to see so many iconic Nintendo characters in one game.  There was Mario from Super Mario Bros, Link from the Legend of Zelda, Donkey Kong, Samus from Metroid, Kirby, Fox McCloud from Star Fox, and Pikachu from Pokémon which was getting extremely popular at the time.  As my friend unlocked more characters, it revealed Captain Falcon which I was very confused with.  "Who was Captain Falcon?"  Then I found out he was from F-Zero which I thought was very strange because I didn't know they had actual characters in the game (I didn't play it, just knew about it).  Then my friend mentioned he unlocked "NESS" and I thought he meant "NES", perhaps an original character.  Then he mentioned there were the blues brothers when he unlocked him.  I immediately realized it was a reference to Earthbound of which I only knew of from the Nintendo Power magazines (still a game I haven't played yet).  I never knew the main character's name was Ness, but there he was.  Super Smash Bros. became one of the most played games whenever we saw each other every other weekends at my grandmother's house or their house.  We would occasionally play Mario Kart 64, Star Fox 64, Pokémon Stadium, and some various games he'd rent, but we definitely played 007 Goldeneye and Super Smash Bros. the most.  We played enough where I felt like I was really good at the game.  The first time I realized I wasn't that good was when my friend and I teamed up to go 2v2 against my distant cousin's cousins and lost miserably.  My friend played Captain Falcon while I played Luigi.  We had no strategy, no understanding of the mechanics at a deeper level, and no synergy while playing.  I only thought of using Up+B while my friend old thought of using B.  "How could we have lost so badly?"  That was my first taste of someone that bested me in smash, and perhaps the only time for the N64 Smash.

The year is 2001, and Nintendo had announced their new console: The Nintendo Gamecube (formerly known as the Nintendo Dolphin) with the launch title being Super Smash Bros. Melee and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3.  I played THPS3 a LOT, but still felt like THPS2 was a bit better.  But what I couldn't have imagined was that I'd be still playing Super Smash Bros. Melee even now every once in a while.  I had begged my parents that year for a Nintendo Gamecube since I missed out on the N64 entirely and really wanted the new Smash Bros.  I remember turning it on and watching the opening for the first time.  Every level we went to, I would pause the game to pinpoint what specific game the song was from.  And one of my favorite early memories of the game that's still very vivid in my mind was challenging Marth for the first time.  "Who is this guy?  I've never seen him before!"  But I paused the game and listened to the music and instantly fell in love with it.  The arrangement of "Together we Ride" and the "Main Theme" of Fire Emblem is possibly still one of my favorite arrangements in the Smash Bros. franchise they've created.


My sister would get impatient with my consistent pausing and listening to the music, but I'm shocked that it's left such an impression in my memory of that day playing it for the first time with her.  I think my first character for Melee was Pikachu.  They had changed them a little and I had no idea what I was doing.  The game was faster, smoother, and bots were harder.  I felt like everyone was weaker as it took more hits to smash someone out.  It was difficult adjusting to Melee, but Smash N64 felt slow after I got used to Melee.  I would continue on playing classic mode, events, adventure mode, and unlocking all the characters.  With Melee, I felt like I didn't play it with my friends as much as I did with the N64 one.  We were all growing up and had more homework and responsibilities during High School.  I eventually stopped playing it as much and only played when friends were over.  I was still able to best most of my friends in 1v1, but those were friends that didn't have the game and/or didn't play videogames very much.  When a few of my sister's friends started coming over often, I'd play smash bros. with them.  That's when I lost a lot of matches and realized how much further in experience they were compared to me.  I still had fun and still thought of the game as being pretty casual for all to play.

Fast-forward to around 2007-2008, the local game store is holding a Smash Bros. Melee tournament with the grand prize being an Xbox 360 or Wii.  I didn't know there were tournaments for Smash Bros.  I wanted to participate and see how it was like, even though I knew I wouldn't get far.  It was a doubles tournament with team attack on, something I never tried before.  I told a friend that I made that worked at another game store about the tournament and played him and realized how good he was.  I asked him to be my partner for the tournament and he agreed.  Eventually, he messaged me and said that he wouldn't be able to make it due to some family issues.  I asked my friend that lived down the street from me if he wanted to try it out.  He was a bit hesitant as he was much younger and felt he wasn't very good at the game.  I just told him it was for fun because I didn't think I was very good either.  So we both signed up for it and practiced.  I wanted to make an extra effort to try to get better within the week that I had, so I looked up guides and videos.  That's when Smash Bros. had changed for me.  "I've been playing this game wrong for nearly a decade!"  When I looked up stuff on Smash Bros., I realized that Smash Bros. has been played professionally for years now in a underground sort of way.  When I watched videos of those tournaments, I noticed that everyone were using the attacks from the "A" button.  Up until then, I have always used the "B" button skills to whittle down an opponent by raising their percentage and THEN using the "A" button to smash someone out.  I was in such disbelief on how ineffectively I had been playing the game for nearly 10 years.  I was also shocked at how incredibly fast everyone was moving around on the screen.  They were also playing 4-stock matches when I've been used to playing 10-20 stocks (which last really long in retrospect).  I wanted to know how and why they were moving so fast because it didn't even look like the same game I've been playing all those years.  Then I was hit with a bunch of terminology I've never heard or seen before: SHFFL, Wave-Dashing, Fair, Nair, Bair, edge-guarding, gimping, shining, etc.  All this new information about the game was mind-blowing.  I couldn't believe the things you could do in the game:

"You can use Fox's reflector as an attack?  You can chain grab?  You can perform combos?"  I was just so fascinated by the intricate executions of high level players that it changed the game for me.  I had been mostly a Marth/Roy and Pikachu player at that time, but learning so much from what I researched I picked up Fox and gave him a try.  I spent hours practicing wave-dashing, shines, edge-hogging, off-stage follow-ups, and just trying to adjust to using normal attacks rather than using specials.  I then practiced with my friend who was a Samus player.  We were awful and can hardly beat the bots with team-attack on as my friend's missiles often killed me or I accidentally smash him out.  We arrived at the store and went up against our first duo of young boys who looked half my age.  The first thing that happens is one of the boys walks off the stage.  Needless to say, we won decisively.  Our second match, we went against boys around my friend's age who was about 5-6 years younger than me.  I just remember one of them being Dr. Mario and constantly juggling me with dash attacks while I tried to avoid my friend's missiles.  I eventually got shot out by my friend's missiles and I remember getting caught underneath the stage of Final Destination (making it difficult to grab the ledge accurately, they fixed this problem in Smash 4).  We lost and I shook their hands, congratulating them.  I wasn't upset or salty, but rather really excited.  There was still a lot of room for improvement and a lot I can still learn from the game.  In short, that one tournament and research I did on professional smash bros. opened up a whole new spectrum for me on how to play the game.  The game was nearly a decade old and it was suddenly fresh, new and exciting again for me.  My sister had partnered up with one of our friend's boyfriend and got up to 2nd place in the tournament losing to two of our other friends that participated.  It was a fun and lasted the whole day.  It was already dark and night out by the time we got back to my house, but all I could think about was playing more Smash Bros.  My sister was sad and apologized to me saying "I wanted to get the Nintendo Wii for you".  I told her it was okay, I had fun, and that she did great climbing all the way up to 2nd place.  Ever since that day, I've had this drive and interest in Smash Bros.

The trailer for Super Smash Bros. Brawl is probably one of my favorite trailers for videogames.


So many years have already gone by without another Smash Bros.  I was already in college and didn't think much of a new Smash Bros.  But when one was announced, it caused quite a stir.  There was finally a Smash Bros. to replace Melee!  I loved that trailer so much I watched it over and over.  The very first thing I noticed was how grandiose the music was compared to the past 2 iterations.  "This sounds like something Nobuo Uematsu would compose for a Final Fantasy game!"  I looked at the credits at the bottom of the page and sure enough, his name was there.  How could we not get excited about another Smash Bros. game?  It revealed Meta Knight, Pit, Zero Suit Samus, Wario, and then when it already got your excitement level up, you hear a very familiar *beep* *beep* sound from the Metal Gear Solid series.  By that point, I was wondering "what's going on?"  When Snake popped out of the box, I was in such disbelief I didn't know what to do at that point.  It made sense to me since Snake was on the original NES with Metal Gear 1 & 2.  The one character that made me excited above all else was Sonic the Hedgehog.  The old classic rivalry between Nintendo and Sega was about to be represented through the form of their mascot characters duking it out in Smash Bros.  It's too bad Sonic sucked.  I played him for a very long time and still didn't like how he turned out.  He was fast, yes.  But he had very few kill options which made it really difficult to end a match.  I think the first character I played on Brawl was actually Pit, though.  I was excited for Pit's inclusion as Kid Icarus was a game I played quite a few times on the NES when I was younger; however, I wasn't exactly ecstatic (maybe I was, I don't remember).  All I knew was that I wanted to play the game, and it took 2 years before it was released from the announcement trailer.  In short, it was a really fun casual game but a really awful competitive game.  Everything was slower, random slipping was part of the game (and can't be turned off), everyone felt even weaker and required more hits before smashing someone out (unless you were Ike), and the cast of characters were torn vastly in the tier list with Meta Knight being god tier (never left that spot).  I had a lot of fun playing the game in free-for-all and team matches with a bunch of friend or playing all-stars, boss rush and subspace emissary (adventure mode) with my sister.  Subspace Emissary was the greatest thing about Brawl.  It was great how they took the ideas of Adventure mode from Melee and really expanded it by a large amount.  But when it came down to play more seriously with friends, it wasn't really that enjoyable.  The slow-fall and random slipping was the worst part of it.  I ended up not playing Brawl nearly as much as the previous Smash Bros. games because it released right before I moved out for University.  I participated in a local tournament for Brawl just for fun (I just wanted to play Smash Bros.) when I was still in University and lost in the first round.  The TV had an input delay, I didn't get to practice, and I didn't know much about competitive Brawl.  Despite all that, even if the TV didn't have an input delay and I knew a bit more about brawl, I wouldn't have won anyways as my opponent had a solid understanding of the game compared to me (maybe practice might have improved my chances).  It was in that little tournament that I realized why everyone was complaining about Meta Knight.  The top 3-4 players in the tournament all played Meta Knight.  I still didn't understand WHY he was good, only that everyone that wanted to play at the highest competitive level for Brawl played Meta Knight.  When I finally graduated and came back home, I played Smash Bros. Brawl every once in a while.  But I also would go back to Melee every once in a while whenever I had the urge to play it.  But I kind of lost the drive to play Smash Bros. unless someone asked me to play with them.  Brawl was supposed to have online play, but it was so awful that it was unplayable with even my friend that lived down the street from me.

Around the time I graduated from University, online streaming started to get really big in the videogame community.  People would be playing games while talking to their viewers live.    I never cared too much for watching competitive matches in videogames.  I watched a StarCraft match on TV when I was in China and didn't have anything better to do and found it to be really boring.  Why was it fun to watch competitive matches?  I didn't get it.  In my first year of University, one of my friends brought me to BlizzCon and we watched the tournaments for Warcraft 3 and StarCraft.  It was there that I understood what it was all about.  On TV, you watched the game from the commentator's view which doesn't show the individual actions of each player.  At BlizzCon, there are 3 screens: The two opponents and the commentator's spectator view.  Much like my reaction to how fast players moved in Smash Bros. Melee, I was awestruck by how quickly the players were playing these RTS games.  They were setting buildings, ordering units, executing abilities, ambushing, countering, and body blocking all so quickly.  They were playing anywhere from 20-100x faster than I would normally play.  I'm really slow at RTS games where I would have to read all the descriptions and requirements.  So it was then that I started to become a bit more interested in watching professional gaming competitions.  After College, streaming started to become common.  A lot more tournaments and special events were being streamed on sites like Twitch.  Conventions like E3 were being streamed.  But one of the best ones was EVO, the grand stage where players from all over the world gather together to play Fighting Games of all kinds.  I don't remember if I watched EVO in 2010, but I think 2011 onwards I watched a bit of it while working or playing games.  In 2013, Smash Bros. Melee made it to the EVO floor show and it was an important event to get people excited for the game again.  I remember watching Grand Finals for it and watched Mango climb all the way up to the top to win it, it was exciting.  It was also in that tournament that I learned about wobbling where you can infinitely pummel an opponent in a grab state with Ice Climbers.  The community for Smash Bros. Melee was stronger than ever and it really created an awareness for its community since then.  I really got into watching EVO more and more every year and last year was the first year where I watched all the matches intently and really enjoyed the matches for all the games that were played there.

Super Smash Bros. Wii U / 3DS was announced and I was both excited and scared at the same time.  I was extremely excited to see Mega Man as one of the characters and I still play the heck out of that character even now.  But my concerns were with the result of Brawl being so casual.  Smash Bros. Melee was almost banned from being Stream at EVO 2013 because Nintendo didn't want any of it but quickly changed their mind following community backlash.  How were they going to make this next Smash Bros.?  I got more and more excited for the new Smash Bros. as new information on the game trickled out every month.  Shortly before the launch of Super Smash Bros. 3DS, I found out about a mod called "Project M" where it turned Brawl into a game that was closer to Melee.  I tried it out and loved what they did with it.  I especially loved the changes to Sonic and played him a whole bunch.  I was very disappointed with Sonic in Brawl and really wanted Sonic to shine in Smash Bros.  Sonic felt a lot more viable and well-rounded in Project M than he was in Brawl.  So despite it being a mod, Project M was essentially its own game.  There are tournaments held for it and players can play online if they wanted.  I play it once in a while, but not often since there isn't anyone to play with.  So Super Smash Bros. for 3DS finally released and I went crazy over that game.  I spent hours unlocking characters, creating Mii Fighters, and playing online with friends.  Ever since the very first Smash Bros. on N64, I've always dreamed about having a Smash Bros. on handheld to play on the go.  I honestly didn't think Smash Bros. on 3DS was going to be any good because I didn't think the hardware could handle it.  The game went far beyond my expectations in what it was capable of.  Online play works pretty well and I can play with my friends who live in different cities from me.  What also surprised me was how they embraced competitive play.  Sakurai was pretty adamant about creating a party game for smash so that everyone can enjoy it and not only the most hardcore players.  They really thought long and hard on how to appease both the casual audience and the competitive audience for this iteration of Smash.  Out of all the praises I could give Smash 4, it would be how satisfying the game felt.  Landing a smash attack, recovering back onto the stage, performing a combo; everything felt really good when playing the game.  When they announced having DLC in the game, I was a little disappointed with Nintendo and their stance on "delivering the complete package" be broken.  They came out with Mewtwo, Lucas and Roy; they're all returning characters from previous iterations of Smash Bros.  Then they released Ryu, which was unfortunately leaked and didn't have the impact that Nintendo wanted out of the announcement.  I was super happy to have Ryu part of the character roster.  Then the unthinkable happened: Cloud from Final Fantasy VII was announced to be part of the character roster in Smash Bros.  Maybe I've become more emotional in the past few years, or perhaps it was just the greatest thing I've ever seen; the announcement trailer for Cloud was one of the most exciting news I've ever seen for a videogame to have moved me to tears.  And then it happened again a month later when they revealed Bayonetta as the last DLC character.  I hate DLCs.  I hate how a lot of publishers get greedy with cutting out content to sell them separately or to release half-baked content for money.  That in turn often makes me avoid DLCs if I can help it.  So I've never been more happy to purchase a DLC for a game than I was when buying the DLC characters for Smash Bros.  I considered the circumstances and decided that Smash Bros. is a game I'm going to be playing for years like I have with all the previous games, so I think the DLCs would be a worthwhile investment.  Out of all the games I own, I often get the urge to play Super Smash Bros. the most.

Right now, there is a lot of talk about the Nintendo NX.  Within that discussion of a possible new console by Nintendo is a rumor about a new Smash Bros. game coming out with that console.  Some speculate that it'll be a port of the newest Smash Bros. with all the DLCs included.  If it really is a new smash bros. it'd be the perfect launch title for the new console.  So to sum it all up, I loved the Super Smash Bros. series.  Even coming from a more casual perspective of the game growing up, I think the competitive aspect is what kept the interest for the game alive for so long.  I don't ever plan on entering tournaments or becoming pro, but it's an uplifting experience to practice at a game you love so much and find yourself improving.  I don't know if we'll get anymore Smash Bros. as Sakurai has wanted to stop making them a few times, but I'll always treasure the memories I've had playing the game with friends.  I imagine I'll still be playing Smash Bros. for many years to come.

Suffering again & Ranting on games [SPOILERS]

It hasn’t even been 2 months since I’ve recovered from my 9 weeks of ailments throughout November, December, and the beginning of January and I’ve already fallen into another string of problems.  It started around 3 weeks ago when I started feeling like my lower back was tightening up.  It’s not too surprising since I still sit a lot throughout the day to: work, eat, and play.  I had been working out harder in the gym in previous weeks since I got better and was able to move forward with my physical growth.  But starting 3 weeks ago, I haven’t been working out as much and have been under stress with things at home.  2 weeks ago, Black Desert Online came out and I decided I wanted to dedicate some time on an MMO since I haven’t since Guild Wars 2, which was 4 years ago.  I’ve been keeping a close eye on both Blade & Soul and Black Desert Online for years now.  With Blade & Soul, I haven’t had much time for it.  But with Black Desert Online, I wanted to take the time to play it intently since I spent money on it (B&S is free-to-play, BDO is a one time purchase).  I had a lot of fun playing it while simultaneously playing Final Fantasy Explorers whenever my character had to run to a far destination.  But throughout the week, my back got progressively more irritable and it became difficult to stay seated without feeling pain.  I had been doing stretches and taking breaks to ensure that it didn’t get worse, but it didn’t help.  So last Monday, I spent the day vacuuming the house and then worked on my ab carver.  The Ab Carver is that rolling mechanism device that’s supposed to tighten your abdominals and strengthen your arms and back.  I’ve been using it for two months now and worked my way up to doing 15 repetitions forward and 7 repetitions on each side (left and right) 3 sets each.  That’s 87 repetitions total.  So last Monday, I moved up to doing 20 reps forward and 10 reps on each side 3 sets each.  I didn’t feel anything initially.  But throughout the week, my lower back got worse to the point it was difficult to stay seated.  Adding along with stress and sudden weather change to a cold and wet environment, I was starting to feel the effects of everything adding together.  I also stayed up quite late a few nights two weeks ago talking to friends.  With the pain on my back, I started going to sleep earlier than usual which my body is probably not used to so it’s been difficult to fall asleep.  So throughout the past week, I’ve been having all sorts of body aches, headaches, nerve pains, light-headed drowsiness, and a back pain that won’t go away.  Some things will go away while new things will occur.  I had one day where I woke up feeling like my arms and legs were numb and felt cold but wasn’t cold.  I have other days where my arms feel like in constant pain as if I had just gone to the gym and did some weights.  Since the rain cleared up and it’s bright and sunny the past few days, I’ve been walking a lot more.  I think it might be helping certain things like blood circulation, but I still have aches and pains occurring randomly throughout my body each day.  Worst of all, my stomach problem is back where I feel hungry throughout the day, generate air, and sometimes have a burning feeling.  There isn’t anything particularly severe that would put me in agony, but the little problems here and there make me feel exhausted each day.  I’m just hoping whatever is wrong with me right now will be gone by the end of this weekend so I can go back to working again.  I’ve been making good progress so far with two completed remixes with the 3^rd one started right before I started feeling all these ailments.

As bad as everything sounds, this month hasn’t been completely awful.  Quite a few games came out this month with Black Desert Online being the first one.  I’ve played around 42 hours or so and wanted to at least get to 50 hours to make those $50 worth it, but my true goal was to at least get one character to level 45 (where afterwards you’re flagged for open PvP and players can kill you) and then start a new character and play several characters in that manner to enjoy the game.  It’s a fun sand-box MMO that has a lot of content for players to enjoy, but I mainly focus on combat and ignore the economy side of the game.  Earlier this week, Senran Kagura Estival Versus released and I got it a day earlier from Amazon from its release.  So far, I am extremely impressed by the game.  This is the 4^th game in the series to release in the West and each game has been pretty different.  The goal is still the same: beat everyone up.  But the mechanics change with each game.  Estival Versus slows the game down by quite a bit by eliminating animation cancels.  So you can exploit animation cancels to chain huge combos with little consequences.  I believe this change was made to create a balanced cast of characters for Online, competitive play.  It’s a bit difficult to get used to the delay between attacks and there are a few animation cancels you can somewhat do to better position yourself, but I’ve been enjoying the game immensely.  Then Pokken Tournament came in the mail today when it should release tomorrow.  I haven’t had the chance to play it yet, but I will tonight.  Hyrule Warriors: Legends on 3DS and Trillion: God of Destruction on PS Vita both release near the end of the month.  So there are quite a few games to enjoy this month.

What I’ve wanted to do for a while is talk about a few particular games in-depth.  But I don’t think I have time to talk about them in great detail, so I’d like to just rant about each one for a bit.

[SPOILERS COMING UP]

[Bravely Default: Where the Fairy Flies – Nintendo 3DS]

I mentioned this game a bit in last months post.  Bravely Default is a JRPG that harkens back to the days of classic Final Fantasy with modern innovations to make the game feel relevant, fresh, yet familiar.  I wasn’t sure if I wanted to get through the entire game and it was kind of driving me half crazy with on particular design choice it made.  The game has 9 chapters total.  Between chapters 1-4, the heroes sets off on a journey to awaken the 4 crystals around the world to (supposedly) stop the darkness from swallowing up everything like it did to Tiz’s (one of the characters) village.  At the end of chapter 4, it makes it seem like you finished the game, but that’s not the case.  In the beginning of chapter 5, the party realizes that everything they’ve done to help the world was undone or perhaps they traveled back in time (In actuality, they traveled to a parallel world to their own).  Then it happens again in chapter 6, 7, and 8.  Each chapter changes ever so slightly, but the objectives stay the same.  Story wise, I loved it.  I really enjoy stories that involve time-travel and parallel universes.  But gameplay wise, I questioned what I was doing with my time.  What should have been a 30 hour game turned into 60+ hours of grinding, rematches with the same bosses, and doing the same thing 5 times before you get to the last chapter which leads to the final boss.  There are 3 pre-bosses before the true final boss of which the last boss has 5 phases.  It was certainly drawn out and it was really cool as a narrative, but I was tired and stressed from the gameplay as I didn’t want to start all over if I had failed.  I really enjoyed the game and liked the plethora of classes you can choose from.  Two of the greatest mechanics that they introduced is being able to fast-forward through battle animations and being able to control the spawn rate of random battles.  You can even turn it off.  From what I understand, they’re adding these two mechanics to the re-release of Final Fantasy 9 on Steam PC, of which I’m looking forward to as it’s one of the few Final Fantasy games I don’t have.  In the beginning of the game, I really like Agnes and Ringabel.  But I had grown quite attached to Edea throughout the game for her sassy personality and her constant belief in justice.  I loved the music and am really surprised that it was composed and produced by musicians that normally didn’t write for videogames before (they made the opening theme song for Attack on Titan animé).  Despite the 4 extra loops the game put me through, I thought it was a magnificent game.  Bravely Second releases this year and I’ll be borrowing that from my sister once she’s done.

[Senran Kagura 2: Deep Crimson – Nintendo 3DS]

I can’t remember if I talked about this game or not last year.  More of a sequel to Burst than Shinovi Versus, Deep Crimson talks about the rise of Dōgen.  He’s mentioned in every SK game (not sure on Estival Versus, but I doubt he’s in it) so far and he dies every game, so he’s as tenacious as Dracula if this continues.  This game was a lot more different than I thought it’d be.  A sort of slanted, downwards camera angle, a partner mechanic to switch between characters, various changes to character playstyles (I particularly liked how Mirai could switch between 3 different weapons), and going more for humor than before.  I was expecting the game to be a lot darker and serious considering how every screenshot and video I saw for the game was filled with red and black levels and how grungy and heavy the music was.  But the game was a lot sillier with the resurrection of Orochi with boobs (which was really weird), and Dōgen looking sort of like a clown (he didn’t have an image in the first two games and he looks vastly different from the animé version).  Another reason I believed Deep Crimson would have a heavier tone is that the game right after is set on the beach and is the complete opposite.  Estival Versus is bright and colorful with happy sounding music.  But nope, Deep Crimson has the setting for a darker story, but is mostly humorous.  It tries to be touching at one point, but it didn’t get much of a reaction from me.  Estival Versus, on the other hand, has already made me cry like 3 times and I’m only half way done with the main story.  Does this mean Deep Crimson was a bad game?  No, I don’t think it was.  But I do believe that it’s the weakest one in terms of story out of the series (not counting the animé; that was just bad rendition of the first game).  I still really enjoyed the game and even bought the $15 DLCs ($5 each) for it of which I only regretted getting 1 out of 3 of the DLCs.  I didn’t play it as much as I wanted to (I think I played 30 hours and wanted to play at least 50) but I got distracted with other games at the time.  I still plan on revisiting it and leveling the characters up while playing the harder difficulties.

[Tokyo Twilight Ghost Hunters – PS Vita]

I can’t believe I actually got through this accursed game.  The first time I played the game, I failed on the tutorial mission.  The game is half Visual Novel and half Strategy.  In the Visual Novel parts, you read dialogues and make decisions based on choices or senses/emotion (Love, Friendly, Sadness, Anger, Wondering – Touch, Sight, Smell, Hear, Taste).  In the Strategy side of the game, you place traps at the start of a mission and then take out ghosts on a grid board using up to 4 characters.  You set where your characters want to go and do (attack, use items, heal, etc.) and then execute them.  Everything will move at once: your characters and the enemies.  So you need a bit of foresight in order to strike a ghost.  It’s a bit like Frozen Synapse for PC.  The Strategy part of the game was so frustrating and random that I wasn’t enjoying the game, but the stories of each chapter is so interesting and entertaining that I couldn’t stop playing.  The game is set up like a standard 13 episode animé with each chapter starting and ending with the opening and ending credits.  Each chapter, the characters take up a client’s request on exorcising a ghost.  Some are lost loves.  Others are those of desire.  Each chapter had an interesting story that continually introduces new characters that gradually adds to the kooky cast of ghost hunters in your party.  I muscled through the game just to know what happens next and then I got to the end and got the most boring ending out of the bunch.  There are a ton of endings you can get, but none of them are on the internet for me to see and I have no patience to play the game over again.  I really enjoyed the Visual Novel parts and how unexpected some of the parts are.  I tried kissing one of the characters using the conversation wheel and I ended up tasting the cement in an old apartment building.  It was a really interesting game, but the strategy side of the game really ruined my experience playing it.

That’s it for now.  Hopefully I get better soon and get back to working on projects.