I need my Nintendo news too

R.I.P. Electronic Gaming Monthly.
     I used to subscribe to two monthly video game magazines: Playstation the Official Magazine and EGM.  Unfortunately with EGM ceasing publication after January, I only got the Playstation magazine.  Then as time went by I forgot that I hardly knew anything about Nintendo games.  And this was when my Internet accessat home was limited.
     A few months later (June) I was sent the July issue of Maxim with actress Olivia Wilde on the cover.  A sticker on the cover said, "Welcome to Maxim!  This note is to inform you that Electrinc Gaming Monthly has ceased publishing with the January 2009 issue.  The balance of your paid subscription will be fulfilled with Maxim,"  blah blah blah...
     I had just sent a check for renewal of my sub to EGM and Maxim is what I get.   I couldn't have a choice in the matter?  Maxim couldn't tell by my name on the mailing label that I wouldn't be a good candidate as a subscriber to their magazine?  (though I enjoyed the Lady GaGa photos and interview.  Guilty!)  Well, that money I sent to the non-existing EGM could be well spent for something I will actually READ.  So a couple of weeks ago I found an issue of Nintendo Power when I went grocery shopping with my dad, and I decided, You know what, I need this.  This is what will fill the Nintendo void that EGM can't do anymore.  I still love to get my gaming info(previews, reviews, letters) from magazines so I'll know what games I want to look up when I want to go online to see trailers or something like that.
      I was able to get a refund check from Maxim, and I'll use that money to "pay myself back" for the other magazine.  So now the two gaming magazines I subscribe to are Playstation the Official Magazine and Nintendo Power.  I am interested in Nintendo titles like Final Fantasy: The Crystal Bearers, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (even though I can't play that one for lack of a DS), and maybe another RPG game or two.  Maybe a Naruto Clash of Ninja Revolution fighting game to play against my Naruto-fan sister. 

Crisis Core yesterday

      I always seem to play Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII at night and rarely in the earlier part of the day.  Well, there were a few times I did play this game in the afternoon.  Anyway, the last time I played Crisis Core was the fourth of September, so it had to be about fourteen or fifteen days since I last did.  When this happens, I make myself play a couple of side missions or more so I refresh my memory on which materia I have ready ( and hopefully level up; I leveled up two levels yesterday, up to level 34 but that was during a boss battle with a "scorpion mech").  I wish I can talk about the details of what happened, but I don't like to spoil the readers who haven't played as far into the game as I have.  It was out for a while, so I guess I should say I am "far behind" in playing as well.  I'll just say that it was another part where Zack got to meet Cloud again.  Yay!  There was battle after battle sometimes, though...I get annoyed when I think  all the enemies are defeated and then more come in waves.  But Zack can handle anything.  Because he's Zack. ^,^
      I like Zack even more after every time I play this game.  It's because having played far enough into the original Final Fantasy VII, I know what happens to Zack and it's sad.  There are times I play Crisis Core and it is just to level Zack up or collect more items and gil, so he can get some good-ass s***.   And maybe, just maybe, it could be because I don't want to finish this game right away.  I only finished about 22% of the side missions as the game indicated, and there will be more to follow.  Yay!  More time with Zack!
    I just KNOW I will cry when I finish Crisis Core.

Final Fantasy Versus XIII crazy at the moment...

     I don't know if I'll ever get a PS3, but it doesn't stop me from wanting to know more about the upcoming games for that console, namely the game Final Fantasy Versus XIII.  I can't help it; I'm fascinated with the main character for FF Versus XIII because the character design is also by Tetsuya Nomura, as he was for Cloud Strife.  Also his hair style reminds me of Cloud too.  Those mopey boys!  Er...men.
     I recently visited FF-VersusXIII.net to find out if this main character has a name yet.  It wasn't revealed for a long time, but I found out there that his name is Noctis.  [Squeals!]  His entire name is in Latin, and when it's something like this I go CRAZY!  These Final Fantasy makers love to come up with odd names for our heroes, huh?  I mean, the main character's name for Final Fantasy XIII is Lightning, which is a code name according to FF XIII.net. 
     What would happen if Cloud and Noctis were in the same story?  Would they be friends?  Tetsuya Nomura has a thing for mopey male characters with black clothes with zippers, doesn't he?  Hm...
     I won't say Noctis' full name here, so if you are curious enough then check it out for yourself.  Then stay and enjoy reading on more information about this game.  I dunno if there will be many more updates, but it's still fun to read.

When my PSP says it's sleep-time

This happened twice, both times as I played Crisis Core.
     The second time it happened, Zack was in this snowy area and fought a lot of monsters (and gained some gil on the side!).  Already, the green power light on my PSP was flashing, and it was for at least ten minutes.  Then, I come across this powerful enemy with one wing (not Genesis), stronger than the usual monsters.  During the battle the DMW was activated.  I thought "Oh my gosh, I don't NEED that right now, I gotta find the save point from all the way back near the beginning of the area...!"  So it was going to match three faces ( forgot which character already) but then it switched to summons mode, and by a lucky spin, it was Ifrit.
     Lucky?  Uh, NO!  That's because the cinematics showing while Ifrit prepares his attack take up...... BATTERY POWER.  Oh no, oh no, oh no, please hang on, hang on!  I want to save!  So the battle was successful of course, Zack being Zack, and me being Zack and all that.  I had Zack run run run to where I thought the save point was located (no map available there).  I was sure I was really close...
     And then the PSP turned off on me.
     For those who have a PSP, I have some advice.  Take it from me.  If this happens to you in the middle of playing a game, wait for a minute or two, and then turn the unit on again. There should be enough battery power left to do the next thing if you do it fast. Right after it is turned on, push the Home button and stop the playback of the UMD.  In other words, you have to quit the game.  I read it's not a good idea to take the UMD out if the game hasn't been quit.
     It should allow you to safely take the UMD out before turning off on you again.  I learned from this and it took me two times.  Now I always check my battery power before and after playing, and when the green light is flashing, I plan on saving or stopping as soon a possilbe...or right away if I have to.

One-hundered and three hours and STILL not done with FFXII

     After maybe months since I played it last, I finally gave myself a chance to return to Final Fantasy XII.  I didn't play further into the story yet. All I did what finish a hunt that I began but never finished in the Ozomone Plain.  See, I had to get used to the controls again, although I did remember that the triangle button was for the main menu and the select button was for the area map...and I leveled up Penelo, who I've designated as one of my two archers.  (The other archer is Fran.) 
     I used this opportunity to fight a lot of monsters and gain EXP, collect more loot.  I did not like the weaopns the characters had.  Basch has some sort of... hammer...and I wanted to give him this axe he doesn't have the liscense for.  He seems to me like an axe kind of guy, although he can handle a sword too...ah heh.   Balthier...now Balthier I give javelins and spears, because the guns are not as strong as the swords and the spears are.  I think he looks really sporty with the Storm Spear right now, his current weapon.  Both Fran and Penelo have the same bow and arrow type, and Fran has more magic abilities than anyone (I really need to take notes when I play so that I can remember the details I overlooked, like the names of weapons or places.  I'll update my info after the next time I play the game. Stay tuned.)
     Sky pirates...

     Will I ever finish a Final Fantasy game?  I might be able to finish Final Fantasy VII if I give up the Chocobo-raising task;  I can practically taste the third disc at this point.  Maybe if I pick a save file I can designate as the Chocobo raising one, I can always get back to that later after I've defeated Sephiroth.  I mean, after Cloud defeats Sephiroth.  You know what I mean ;) .

   

Funny Sonic Short from YouTube

A good laugh can go a long way.
     A couple of months ago when I was looking around YouTube, I came across this very funny animated video making fun of Sonic after he finds all seven of the Chaos Emeralds.  Here's the link:
     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocQErUKqasI
     I laughed to tears when I saw this, and it's worth watching again and again.   Makes me laugh every time.  :)

A revisit of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Part 1: Tails Misbehavin'

     About 2 hours ago I played Sonic the Hedgehog 2 on my new PSP (the TV with the Playstation 2 was being used, so at least I had a Plan B to return to one of my old favorites.  The Sega Genesis Collection  for PSP makes it possible).  I left off at the beginning of the Aquatic Ruin Zone, about to get my fifth Chaos Emerald...then it got frustrating.  I used to be so good at this!!
     The nice thing about playing this classic game from this collection is that I can save at any point in the game that I want.  This means, that if I plan to have as many opportunities to have Sonic transform into Super Sonic, then I can save right before I enter the special stage (or lose the 50+ rings I've collected) so that whenever I mess up, I can just reload the file.  Sweet!  Back in the day, we couldn't do this sort of thing.
     This save feature is extremely handy, either in this Sega collection or in the Sonic Mega Collection Plus for the PS2.  For one good reason: Tails can be a pain in the ass.  I used to like leaving Tails behind and then watch him catch up with Sonic, only to be stuck behind a door or trap.  But Tails is very helpful in the Special Stages...only when he doesn't lose any rings!  I have to make Sonic jump two seconds earlier than I want him to, so that Tails can avoid running into those black-and-red bombs.  You remember this, right readers?  I reloaded several times for each of the second, third and fourth Chaos Emeralds because Tails messed up.  Am I supposed to blame Sonic?  Oh yeah...I'm playing Sonic.  So who's playing as Tails?!!  No one, actually.  I mean sure, a second player (as Tails) is not necessary to play the one-player game, but it sure would help.  Otherwise, you can choose to play the one-player mode "Sonic Alone" and it should solve the problem.  But isn't it funny though, when Tails runs or jumps off somewhere on his own, or gets stuck behind an automatic closing door?  But then he'll come back and tag along again...
     My sister and I liked to do this  when we were little; one would ask the other, "Do you wanna play Sonic 2, two-players-in-one?"  One plays Sonic, the other would play Tails.  That way, Tails wouldn't suck while in the Special Stages.
     Ahh, that was fun in Sonic the Hedgehog 3; making Tails fly was fun.  I should dedicate a post to a reminisce of that game.  It will happen.

Sonic Rivals 2: Least favorite rival is Knuckles? Now I know why...

     Earlier today, this afternoon actually, I spent a half hour playing Sonic Rivals 2.  I found this game at a Game Stop, in a value-pack with Sega Genesis Collection.  Well, I thought it would be nice to play because it may be the only Sonic game I might experience that contains the fairly new hedgehog character, Silver.
     So far, the characters...rivals...that I play the most in the Story Mode is my personal favorite Shadow the Hedgehog, and even Silver too.  Anyway, I glanced at the Game Summary, and I noticed that it says Shadow is my favorite rival.  But then it also tells me that Knuckles is my least favorite rival.
     I also hadn't played as Rouge, Tails, or Espio in this game yet.  So why does it say that Knuckles is my least favorite rival?
     My friends, now I know why...
     Today I played Shadow's story.  The last part I ended up being stuck is in the second stage (or zone?): the Sunset Forest boss level.  Here, it's Shadow versus Knuckles on who hits Dr. Eggman's train, boss thingy six times first.  The only way to fight this thing is to jump on the little flying bombs so that they drop on the "train's" head.  On top of that, Knuckles was kicking my ass.  So I had Shadow kick his ass back.  And then in frustration I just ended up fighting Knuckles instead of focusing my energy on knocking the bombs onto the boss train.  Twice I restarted the act because I knew Knux was going to win.  There was even a time when I started out good with three out of six hits, then Knuckles caught up...and won.  Uh-gain.
     Ultimately, I found out the reason why this game said that Knuckes is my least favorite rival.  And it makes sense.  Who knew this game could tell the future?  I thought that was Silver's thing.
      Now, if Shadow were to get himself some boxing gloves...heh heh heh...

Why do people hate this game?! #1

Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII

     Okay, fellas.  I'm a Vincent Valentine fan.  He's my #2 video game character, man.  Yes, I'm not a big fan of third-person shooters, disregarding Jak II and Jak 3.  I sucked at playing some of the missions in Dirge of Cerberus and of course I am not as good at aiming as Vincent wants me to be, ha ha.  But I finished this game.  I finished it.  Wanna know why?  It's cuz I didn't care how frustrating the gameplay was.  As a Vincent Valentine fan, this game was a must-have for me: it's Final Fantasy VII part three, starring Vincent!  There is enough to appreciate about this game just because it's another Square-Enix / FFVII title:

1.  The music is beautiful, in my opinion.  Composer Masashi Hamauzu is another musical genius who is almost as wonderful as Nobuo Uematsu.  The Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra plays so well, expecially the violins.  Listen to the title screen/game start music.  The violin tugs at my soul.
2.   Gackt.  This video game is the reason I knew about J-rock star Gackt in the first place, with his two songs "Longing" and "Redemption."  These songs rock ass.  I'm glad I have the original soundtrack; I could not deny myself this pleasure.
3.   Vincent's past and origin.  Yes, I just had to know exactly what kind of demons Vincent was fighting inside him.  His past with Lucrecia Crescent, and Hojo, and the result of the experiments in which Vincent was a subject.
4.   The cutscenes.  To me, they are rewards--breaks, if you will-- for surviving through some of those frustrating missions.  When I reach a checkpoint, I could relax and watch Vincent blink, or pull out his gun.  Ah heh.
5.   Close-ups of Vincent.  Nuff said.

     I know that not everyone liked this game.  I wonder how many people have finished it too.  It may not have helped some to be a FFVII fan.  It helped me though.  It made me love Vincent even more.  I mean, he's so cool!  I'd tell you guys why Cloud Strife and Vincent Valentine are both my two favorite characters in the Final Fantasy series, but I would have to save that for another post.  Stay tuned.

Playing Crisis Core 1: Extra missions

Ahh. Hello.
     So yesterday I was playing Crisis Core:Final Fantasy VII for an hour and a half.  The last time I played it, it was a few days ago, and I reached the part when Zack is a little older (so he'd be 17).  This time, I just wanted to play through a few extra missions.  Y'know, to kick some monster-ass butt.  That...and to see the older Zack use that famous Buster Sword.
Heh heh...
     In playing those missions yesterday, I discovered something new that I should've figured out sooner.  Late last month I used "Materia Fusion" to create the Silence Blade materia, and I'm glad I did.  Helps me out a lot; it's more powerful than the regular Attack and for three-fifths of the time I use it, it causes Silence status effect on the enemy.  Yeah...it was so sweet I used it most of the time instead of the regular attack.  Which was a mistake.  I realized too late after a while that my AP (action points) went down to 22/257 points.  Ah heh...what?  How did that happen?
     So I watched the AP go down by ten or so with every hit Zack made with the Silence Blade.  And to make it worse, those insectoid monsters had this magic attack that takes much of Zack's AP away.  How was I going to defend myself (I mean, Zack) from other attacks if his AP was zero?!  Oh no!! So I solved the problem with a soma.
     Then that annoying-ass insectoid stole 96% of Zack's AP again.  Gosh darnit!  Oh well.  I'd just have to defeat those bugs once and for all.
     And it really helps that the DMW is there for me...some of the time.  It's funny when three Tsengs match and I have only one weak-ass monster to kill and it's almost done.  "Is this the end?" says Tseng.  You know what I'd want Zack to say?  "NO!! Let me be a man and finish this f***-a** blue wolf thing myself!!!!"

The Memory Card I Lost

     It was some time in November 2006, soon before Thanksgiving Day when this happened. I was playing Jak X: Combat Racing, and I was done with about 38% of the game, as it indicated. At some point in between races, I decided to upgrade Jak's ride. I changed color after color, wheels, the engine and something else, I forgot. But I didn't realize that after every time I made a change to the race car, the game automatically saved. I didn't take that into account until I saw that the auto-save indicator was still flashing like it was still trying to save. I played another race, and the auto-save check mark was still on the screen. I didn't like that; somehting was fishy. I stopped playing and tried to see if I can exit to the title screen, but it wouldn't let me. There was no way to get out of it. I made a no-win decision to reset the game, and it happened: the data in the memory card became corrupted.
     I knew it was a bad idea, and I did it anyway.  I lost the data for the finished Chaos Legion, Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic Mega Collection Plus, Jak II completed, Jak 3 completed, and ultimately Jak X. I kind of cried.
     Boy, did I screw up...
     But it was soon before Thanksgiving Day. After a short while, I thought, Hey, at least the world didn't end and my family is safe.  And besides, this past June I realized the joy of playing Jak 3 all over again.

Dreaming about Jak

My dreams are weird.
     There have been many times I've dreamed about playing a new Jak and Daxter game. I just had one Wednesday night. I had another one recently too. In that one he was in another planet, with a green sky and lots of trees to climb on. I don't remember if ottsel partner Daxter was with him or not.
I used to dream a lot about Jak when I was excited about Jak II. I really wanted that game. Plus I knew he was going to talk in that game, since in Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy, he didn't say a word. I guess my unconscious self knew what was on my mind; after I finished the first game, I wanted to know what was next for Jak.
     Maybe I'm dreaming about playing Jak again because I know now that there is going to be yet another sequel in the Jak and Daxter series, titled Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier.  This I found out from a magazine I subscribe to called Playstation the Official Magazine from its October issue.  I don't know if I want to get it for PSP or PS2.  I can't let go of my PS2 yet.

The First Time I Saw Sonic the Hedgehog

     I had to be about seven or eight years old. Friends of my parents were having a pool party and we were invited. I swam in the pool for a while, and then I went inside the house in my wet swimsuit and wrapped in my towels. And there it was: a big TV, with someone playing a video game starring the blue spiky character. I walked up to the crowd of kids watching this other kid playing the first Sonic the Hedgehog game, and I don't remember how long I stood there staring, but I was entranced by the colorful first level and Sonic's fast running.  I wanted that game.  I only had the Nintendo console and for a while Super Mario was most of what I knew.  Colorful graphics and cool music, and an adorable blue hedgehog...it was a kind of love at first sight.
    

Welcome to Cyborg Haven!!!

This is my first blog, and I feel so excited!

     The most recent video game I played was Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII the past Wednesday. I just got the game this past April, and I have to say, this game is the reason I wanted to get a PSP.  I couldn't deny myself this pleasure of learning more about what happened in the world of my favorite video game.  For a while I even let myself accept the fact I'd never learn about Cloud Strife's origin, let alone play through the FFVII story with Zack Fair.  I only started playing the original Final Fantasy VII back in Fall 2004 (thank you Kingdom Hearts, you turned me into a Square-Enix Nut), and I haven't finished the game yet.  But I already know what happens.  I'm almost done; I still want to see it for myself.