Finished Crisis Core!!!!!!

A-WHUUH?  OH, THAT IS SOOOO

NOT FAIR, CLOUD!!!

Yes, I FINALLY finished Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII, six minutes into Christmas morning.  So that was 12:06am.  Gosh there's something wrong with me :P just kidding!

I will write my reflections on the game play towards the ending of the game in the next post for Crisis Core.  It was quite the experience, I gotta tell you.  This has been one of the best video games I've ever played.  And I finished this game before even finishing the original Final Fantasy VII.  I still have one more disc to go on that one!

Now I have to remove Crisis Core from the " Video Games I've Yet to Finish" List because I beat the game.  It's just that I still would like to play more of the side missions.  I only got through 39% of those.   This way I can still play as Zack ^,^.

So again, more on this later.  I want to write the reflections on this game carefully.

Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII on December 22

Yay, I returned to Crisis Core again, and I made some progress! The last time I got to the game it was November 19th. Before I began, I played through one side mission and was able to level Zack up to level 50.  I earned a Crystal Bracelet as a reward.

Then I ran around the maze of the Depths of Judgment fighting battle after battle with monsters. I had two more Goddess Materia to find, since I had only five of them.  I needed seven.  After getting lost and refreshing my memory as to where different areas of the cave were, I had Zack Butt go to the Lake of Oblivion.  He was there some time ago, and I remember finding one of the Goddess Materia.  Apparently I didn’t look hard enough, because after doing a thorough search, I found the last two Goddess Materia items: the Sabbath Materia and the Being Materia.  I felt so good about finding these two key items that I decided to fight one of those powerful monsters that appear where those mako fountains are.  I used Graviga like last time and the battle was speedy.

After that, I wanted to check that Zack had good equipment.  I equipped him with the new Crystal Bracelet and the Dragon Armlet. This way he has a high number of magic points.

So then I quickly went to the Portal of Severance and put the final Goddess Materia into the pedestal.  So the portal opened up, and out came this sub-boss, (the same kind of creatures that ate Zack’s hair back in the highway).  This battle turned out to be very speedy because I chose to use the Graviga on this monster too. Heh heh, I can’t say I was cheating; I just had a very powerful gravity materia with which to fight it.

I didn’t get that key for the jail cell that has that giant animal-like monster.  I thought that sub-boss was gonna give it to me.  Zack says before going into the portal, something like “Genesis is just up ahead. I can feel it.” And it gives me a choice to either go on or go back and do something else.  So I went back.  I would have wanted to find out what I get after that beast behind bars.  But I also wanted to go to Genesis.  Who knows? Maybe he has the key to that cell.

I had to stop there anyway because the PSP’s green battery light was flashing.   >.<  Oh well…

Nostalgia: It's the Sonic the Hedgehog Cheerios Commercial from 1994

OMG, I forgot all about this commercial, and now I remember it!  It was great to see it again.  Yayyy!

What to do with my Mega Man X Collection…?

I gave it to Sis.

I’ve played Mega Man X, Mega Man X2, some of Mega Man X3, and X’s side of Mega Man X4. I started playing X’s side in Mega Man X5, and then it just got…well…I didn’t feel like I had to get back to the game again that eagerly. But Sis really misses it. She is as much a Mega Man X and Zero fan as I am…only more so because her favorite Reploid is of course Zero.

It didn’t make sense for me to keep the Mega Man X Collection in my bedroom when I wasn’t playing it. Sis would benefit having the collection in her bedroom and feeling like the collection is hers now rather than needing to ask for my permission to get to it when she wants to play Mega Man X5. As a matter of fact, she is currently left off at the Sigma battles for X’s side. She’ll have to play through the Boss Run again, but those will be no big problem since we know their weaknesses. It’s Sigma who’s the pain in the @$$. Sis also wants to finish playing through Zero’s side of the game, in which he had become a Maverick and X had to fight him.

[Sigh]

We made a trade; I gave her the Mega Man X Collection, and she gave me the Casshern Sins Part 2 Blu-Ray (we each bought one part of the Casshern Sins collection). This way she gets what she wants, and I get what I want, and we don’t have to pay for anything more. Heh heh, we got in an argument about this actually :D What is the Mega Man X Collection doing in my room if I am not going to be playing it any time too soon?

My Re-Appreciation of Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII ^8^

Monday night of last week I suddenly felt like watching all the unlocked scenes from Dirge of Cerberus: FFVII, so I switched on the PS2 and put the memory card and disc in the PS2. I wanted to watch all of them, from Chapter One to Chapter Twelve, but as it happened it was actually 12:00am that following Tuesday morning, so I couldn’t. Each scene has to be chosen individually and each and every scene has a loading time. Ugh. I only reached up to the very beginning of Chapter 7, when Cid Highwind’s airship The Shera comes in to help out Vincent, Yuffie and Reeve.

:D

Rosso: “Hand over the Protomateria, and I will kill you quickly.”

Vincent: “……. [Blinks]…….” (Translation: “No.”)

Rosso: “Not one to bargain, aren’t we?”

I had forgotten how great the original score for this video game was. I got the soundtrack a few years ago sometime after I got the game itself. The composer for Dirge of Cerberus is Masashi Hamauzu. I love the whole score, but I had to find the OST and put some of the tracks in my Dream Pod. Just in case I get the urge to listen to something Dirge of Cerberus-y.

Finally Uploaded Videos to my Channel

I finally got to uploading my Noseless Cloud plushie videos for my YouTube channel.  I can't do it on my computer because the computer in my bedroom is not compatible with the Flip Camcorder.  The software is too new for this old thing.

Anyway, these are only two of the videos, in which I make fun of my Noseless Cloud doll.  There is more, but I will submit them to my channel later.

Enjoy!  ^,^

http://www.youtube.com/user/AmethystAnne001

EDIT:  The videos are a bit stop-and-go at the moment.  Sis says I'll need to compress them and re-upload.

More on my progress in Crisis Core FVII on November 19th

I didn’t have the patience that day to advance further in the story by getting lost thousands of times, so I just had Zack complete some side missions to level up and get more items.

I had Zack return to the missions titled “Hojo’s Experiments” and tackled the missions Experiment 107, Exp. 108 and Exp. 109.  Last time, Sephiroth’s Heartless Angel attacks weren’t very nice to Zack, and Sephiroth sliced at Zack before I could get him to use the Cura materia.

All of the materia Zack has equipped was MASTER stage.  I wanted to change some things around, so I went to Materia Fusion and created a Dark Firaga using Firaga and Poison materia.  This fusion works great because not only is it a powerful fire attack, but it causes status ailments on the targets, such as Poison or Silence (can’t use magic).  It makes me feel more in control; lately Zack has been hit multiple times with Stun and Curse.  I switched a couple more materia so that my equipped list goes like this:

• Dark Firaga (lv 2)

• Curaga (lv 3)

• Barrier (MASTER)

• Libra (MASTER)

• Drainra (lv 2)

• Graviga (MASTER)

I added the current levels of the new materia in the list.  I did a few more missions to see if I could level them up somewhat and make them stronger for the next time I get to the game.  I finally equipped the Curaga, even though it might be too early for Zack to equip it in the level he’s in.  Curaga heals about +7,000 HP.  Zack has maybe 5, 600 HP or so.

I always have the Cure materia right after my main Offensive Magic attack, in case I need it right away.

Zack is currently level 49, from 47.   ^8^  

My Dissidia progress updates o.O + My reaction to Dissidia Duodecim news

Here are the current levels of my best heroes (and favorite villain) for Dissidia Final Fantasy:

• Firion is level 35


• Cloud is level 34

• Zidane is level 38

• Kuja is level 20

• Bartz is level 21

• Warrior of Light is level 33

I haven’t started the Shade Impulse Chapters yet. I should. I need to decide which of the characters from the Forces of Cosmos I want to play in Shade Impulse. I am deciding between Cloud and…um…the Warrior of Light.  I believe at this point they are my two best fighters, because of their levels and their attacks.

Now, I found out some time ago on TheLifestream.net that next year there is going to be a sequel to Dissidia Final Fantasy called Dissidia Duodecim (I love the sound of that title, by the way, because it is entirely in Latin). And I am pleased that Lightning is going to be one of the characters added to the roster in the game. But the latest news I read about Dissidia from the website is that Vaan from FFXII is also going to be included as a playable character.  I was overjoyed!  I don’t care if people don’t like him. He is as much a main character/hero of a Final Fantasy game as much as Cloud, Zidane, and Squall (I don’t like Squall, but whutevurh).

http://thelifestream.net/final-fantasy-dissidia/6916/ff-dissidia-duodecim-new-character-vaan/
So now I definitely want to get Dissidia Duodecim. Lightning in the game? And Vaan? That’s going to be so cool!

But what is Tifa doing there?  She is not the main hero of FFVII, but I guess there must be some important reason why she was added to the Dissidia Duodecim story. Well, then, in my opinion if the developers do this, then they will have to get Balthier in there somehow. I mean, Tifa doesn’t use swords or lances. She’s a kickboxer, so what gives? Fists against swords? I’m just ranting because I'm not a huge fan of Tifa, but she’s alright, I guess. I’m sure Tifa will grow on me if I give her a chance.

EDIT: I have decided to play as Zidane in the Shade Impulse chapters, but I have to level him up. One of the battles had a fake Squall that kicked Zidane’s li’l monkey butt eight times, and I don’t want to lose Destiny Points or Story Points. So I will be leveling up Zidane some more.

OMG ZIDANE IS DANCING! Also, Bartz and Squall

Crisis Core on November 8th + I hate those darn Anti-Action Missiles

I wasn’t able to play a game in the den like usual (where the PS2, the PS3 and the Wii are) so I had to play a game on the portable unit, which, of course as the title of this post suggests, is the very neglected-by-me Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII.

I didn’t go further into the story this time. I played the side missions to try to level up Zack. He went from level 46 to only 47.  Fourty-freakin’ seven!  Sigh.  At least he leveled up once.  He got a Curaga materia in one of the missions, and so far it is the only Curaga he has. Unfortunately I had to use a Phoenix Down in one of the missions in order to stay alive and keep that Curaga.  As long as I knew that the particular mission had a Curaga materia in one of its treasure chests, Zack needed a little more help staying on his feet. It was a mission in which Zack had to fight these machine weapons and collect data on them.  But these suckers had Anti-Action Missiles, and when Zack gets hit by one, he gets the Stun effect. I used a phoenix down and didn’t want to, so I reset. Then I went to the exact same mission and the same thing happened. But you know, I had to let that Phoenix Down go, because it gives Zack a chance to continue that mission. He gets his life saved once during this mission, and then he has to keep his butt safe (or at least keep a few HP leftover) before I frantically press the X button for him to cast Cura on himself.

I should use that Curaga.  I usually don’t like to equip a materia unless I have at least two of them.  Oh, but I have my only Graviga equipped now, don’t I? Yeah, I forgot. Oh well. Zack currently has a maximum of 5,406 HP. With help from Aeris Aerith and Angeal, Zack had 9,999/5,406 HP at a couple of instances. But they were very brief, however >.<   The last mission I played for this session was one where Zack had to go into the Shinra Building and fight these degenerating Genesis clones and this other one-winged monster every other time.  That white haired Genesis is a tough one!  Zack almost died in many of those battles.

Anyway, about Zack’s HP, I am guessing I will have to level him up some more if he is going to need a cure material like Curaga to keep him alive and kicking during the battles.

Hey, ever notice that the degenerating Genesis Copy is reminiscent of Dante from the Devil May Cry series? White hair, red clothes?

Crisis Core on November 4th

I finally had some patience to play Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII again. I left off last time at Banora, Genesis’ hometown, and Zack Fair entered the Depths of Judgment which is some sort of cave or something. The way it looked, I figured Zack would get lost, and I had played the game for a while, so I went to the first save point I could find and stopped playing. So for this latest session with Crisis Core, I wanted to focus on exploring the area and getting any treats (translation: treasure chests) lying around.

Zack kept being interrupted by these winged monsters and these egg-shaped heads that looked like baby Ike from South Park. Sometimes these guys pop up right after defeated the last bunch of enemies.

I had to use the map a whole lot this time. It’s like a maze in there!  Zack kept getting lost, and when I thought I knew where I was going, I checked the map and Zack would be completely turned around. What gives?! I wanted to go to this area that I thought I didn’t check out yet, and it’s another chamber in the cave with a lake inside.  There were a couple of mako fountains.  I had Zack take the treasure that was near it, and then had him examine the mako. It turns out it was a trigger for a sub-boss fight with this creature that used to be human but isn’t anymore.  This guy had +58,000 HP, and it just was not easy to fight.  I think I had the wrong set of Materia: Thundaga, Cura, Barrier, Libra, and Vital Slash.  I needed another offensive magic materia.  So before I ended up fighting another one of those boogers, I unequipped Vital Slash and equipped Graviga.  It is the only Graviga material that I have, and I didn’t try it yet, so I thought it would be very helpful.

Damn right it was!  I should have had Zack equip the Graviga materia several sessions ago (so like, six months ago).  That thing reduces the enemy’s HP down to one half.  I tried that on the human/beast sucker, and it took off 9,999 HP several times! And this guy had +68,000 HP; I was worried I’d struggle during the entire battle, but the new materia made things so much easier. It really helped that Zack casts Barrier on himself and defends himself constantly until there is an opening for him to attack.  I did that with the first sub-boss there, but it was tedious without Graviga equipped.

I think I have over 12 unused Thunder materia… O___O 

Speaking of Materia, Zack found some funky materia in this place; Light Materia, Heaven Materia, and others.  I couldn’t find them in my materia list, and then realized that they must have been Key Items, and found I was right.  I found the area where I am supposed to gather them together and put them onto this thing that might open the big door ahead. I needed seven; I only had five.  So I had Zack try to find the last two.

I ended up in this jail/prison place where there was a key that is needed to open the gate.  Behind the gate is the Howling Fang, an eventual boss. I examined the gate, and Zack says “I need a key…”

Gosh darnit. I got lost several times, fought loads and loads of interrupting battles (I had Zack escape a couple but had to fight the rest) and after all that and finally getting somewhere he realizes he needs a key. Where can I find that f***ing key?!!!!

Well, there are a couple of rooms with elevators in this general cave area. Maybe I have to check those out. But next time.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Amethyst Anne here, wishing all of you readers to have a very happy Halloween and lots of your favorite candies!

Some favorite things about Vector Man

I've only played this game on the PSP.  I could never get into it while I had the SEGA Genesis and was on a Sonic-only diet in terms of that game console.  After some experience playing it, though, I have some favorite things about the Vector Man video game:

• I like he way I try to make Vector Man go against a wall, and he puts his elbow against the wall and leans against it.  He's looking at the player (me) as if to say, "I can't go through that wall.  You have to make me do something else."  And then he throws some of his orbs up in the air, catches them, and then looks at me again, appearing very annoyed.  Nyaw. (I want to find a picture of that, but it's not so easy.)
• I like how I can make Vector Man shoot right, left, straight upward and even diagonally at his enemies.  It's so fun that way.  It also makes fighting bosses easier.
• I keep thinking he's a robot.  Of course, he is called an "Orb-Bot" according to GiantBomb.com here (as well as what the little in-game story's prelude includes).
• The little cry he makes when he loses a life (it sounds funny).
• Collecting those little white circles is fun!!!
• Why is he green?????  (Idea: he is eco-effective for the ruined planet he is trying to help clean up?)

An old Shadow the Hedgehog sketch

I realize that Shadow is missing his left arm.  Needless to say this drawing is incomplete, but I still want to share it.  I used a reference, obviously...




Drawing by Amethyst Anne, November 24 and December 18, 2001
Shadow the Hedgehog belongs to SEGA.



     2001 was the year that I got the SEGA Dreamcast for the reason that I wanted to play Sonic Adventure 2.  The Sonic the Hedgehog Archie comic book series did a brief thing on SA2 in issue #98.  It is one of my very favorite issues of the comic book.   I ended up getting the Dreamcast with a Sonic Adventure Bundle (SA, Sonic Shuffle, and a demo of SA2).   By December 2001 I was about half done with finishing the game, and even though Shadow was a villian, he was growing on me, probably because he was a hedgehog like Sonic.  So I wanted to draw him.

I drew this picture during winter break from high school.  I'd feel bad drawing him when I'd have homework to do, so winter break was a nice time to do it.  :3  It took a few days; I left it and got back to it again.

Yay Shadow!!!   ^,^ 

An Anniversary (if anyone rembembers...?)

Today is the 16th anniversary of the release of the video game Sonic and Knuckles for the SEGA Genesis.

I remember this date because it was on an ad in a video game magazine my dad used to buy for me when I was in third grade.  Or fourth grade.  One of those.  The Sonic and Knuckles logo was on this black page and it said the release date on it: 10-18-1994.

I'll include a link to a Wikipedia page on the game.  It says that the North American release date was October 17th, but I REMEMBER in the magazine ad it said 10-18.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic_&_Knuckles

Dissidia on October 12th

In Dissidia Final Fantasy I just concentrated on leveling up the characters on Bonus Day.

• Zidane ------30

• Bartz---------19

• Onion Knight--------8

I found out by playing that the Onion Knight is probably the best fighter against The Emperor, because the Emperor’s attacks are powerful but slow, and the Onion Knight is fast. Sometimes I call him “the boy who is fast on his feet.” Maybe not quite like Sonic the Hedgehog, but still fast. Also, Onion Knight doesn’t jump very high, but he makes up for it by jumping up to five times in the air, more than the three that Zidane can do.

Cyborg Haven Update: Jak and Daxter Artist Bob Rafei has a website!!

The following website has been added to my list of favorite websites:

• Bob Rafei Concept Art and Illustration     http://www.bobrafei.com/home.htm

Bob Rafei is the concept artist behind the Jak and Daxter series, one of my favorite video game fanchises for the PlayStation 2.  There is concept art and illustrations included in galleries for:

• Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy
• Jak II
• Jak 3
• Jak X: Combat Racing
• A couple of Crash Bandicoot titles
• Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

I couldn't help it and had to look at the character art for Jak and Daxter: TPL and Jak II, and I love those galleries a whole lot!!  I have yet to look at the art for Jak 3 and Jak X.  Bob Rafei's artwork inspires me to want to draw my own artwork of Jak, but I don't know which Jak to start drawing.  I could start with Jak from the first game because he's Bambi-eyed and there are less details to worry about  :3  Plus which ever game he is in, he has a cute nose.  Why did I say that?  Maybe because I like the way Rafei draws his nose/nostrils.  0__O   Anyway, I got to know more of Rafei's art  years ago when I got the Jak 3 official strategy guide book.  The book features a lot of his art and I fell in love with it.  I didn't know he had the website back in 2004.  Now I know about it.  I'm so happy I stumbled upon it today!

So fans of Jak and Daxter series, if you love Bob Rafei's artwork, go check out his gallery website.  A lot of the pieces he did will surprise you, especially the very early concepts of Jak, what is called "Pre-Jak."  Wanna know what I'm talking about?  You'll see on page 2 of the gallery for Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy.

I'll just say that I am very pleased with the way Jak finally turned out...   :3 

Art by Bob Rafei

This image is from the Jak 3 strategy guide.  I wanted

to include this here to give my readers an idea of what

Bob Rafei's art style is, at least for Jak 3.  To see more of

his artwork, check out http://www.bobrafei.com/home.htm .

Mega Man X5 on September 30th

So here we are, at another Mega Man X game in the collection, Mega Man X5.  I thought I'd use the audio recorder as I played the game because since it is sort of "new," I wanted to take note of the things that were different in this sequel, without having to write it all down on paper.

I decided to play as X again, because since Zero mode is fun but frustrating, I shall stick to the tried and true that is X mode.  Besides, X keeps his Fourth Armor (only if I chose X’s story) and I can still have him hover and shoot his plasma Charge Shot.  But now he needs new weapons.   :O

Here is a short summary of what the story in MMX 5 is about so far: After the Sigma Virus is released, this space colony is on its way towards Earth and is going to collide. The old weapon Enigma is the only thing that can destroy the falling Space Colony, but it needs some upgrades. You start out with sixteen hours until collision, and I found out the hard way, whether you complete the mission or fail it, it is minus one hour each time. At least, if you lose all your lives, you can continue from the last quarter of the stage that X lost a life. That’s pretty darn helpful, because it seems that each game in the Mega Man X series gets more difficult, and so far, X5 is pretty wild.

The first stage I tried was Squid Adler, but it was another Land Chaser stage, so I immediately sucked at it. This was the stage to which I unwittingly lost an hour of the collision time, so I was left with 15 hours. I was successful for the next two stages that I tried out. I have to say, I love the boss fight music from Mega Man X5. I heard it first when fighing against Axel the Red. It is the coolest-sounding boss battle song in, I think, the whole MMX series. My next favorite boss battle song is the one when X is fighting against Dr. Doppler in MMX 3.

Axel the Red (I called him the Flower Rose Robot cuz he’s pretty)

14 hours til Collision. Clear time: 14min 23 secs

Total Mavericks defeated:137 Total damage received: 365 Total Rank: B

Alia: “You got DNA from the boss you have just defeated.” And that attack is…. Alia: “From this DNA the special weapon has become yours.”

What is it?!!! (Sis laughs).

Alia: “Equip the weapons using the L1 and R1 buttons.”

I know that! What is the weapon?!

Alia: “Every enemy has a weak point.” Thank you, but I know that!

Alia: “Find the most effective weapon for each enemy…”

Weapon: You got the Spike Ball and Twin Dream.

Orbiter Engine, for the Enigma weapon.

The next stage I tried was for Duff McWhalen in the mission, “Obliterate the Battle Ship”. This stage was actually both challenging and fun, and the music is a remake of the water level in MMX 2.  That brings back some fond memories of playing MMX 2 this past March and April.

13 hours til collision.                          Clear time: 34min 10secs
Total Mavericks defeated: 292          Total damage received: 704        Total Rank B.

Weapon: G-Shaver F-Splasher.  Energy (Uh...energy what?)

Hydrogen, needed for the weapon Enigma.

Next, X fights Dynamo. An interesting, curious character…He’s bored and he wants to play… O__O

12 hours til collision.   Clear time: 3 min 39 secs     Total Mavericks defeated : 1 (duh!)

Damage received: 93 Total rank: B

NO DNA/WEAPONS RECEIVED

Complete energy up.   "Alright!!!!!! I will save, and stop. Rest my fingers, hee hee." 

@.@   

Mega Man X4 progress…complete September 25

This post is a few days late.  Internet problems also extended the delay.

Sis finished Zero’s story in MMX 4 before I finished X’s story. She reeeeeeally wanted to defeat that Sigma.

Then five days later I finished X’s story in X4 and I dunno why, but I should’ve felt euphoria. Am I getting tired of playing the Mega Man X series? I don’t want to believe it. I mean, it was fun, and it is a rewarding feeling to finish playing a video game, but I’ve done it before three other times, it felt like.

But each game in the Mega Man X series has more story that is revealed, and new characters to introduce. That’s what keeps the series fresh. And Zero is still going to be playable in MMX 5. I’ll let Sis take care of Zero again, because I tried it out as Zero first, and it is frustrating. I am so used to the long-distance fighting that X is so good at. Since Sis is a huge Zero fan, I am more than happy to let her take over the Red Reploid again.

My favorite level in MMX 4: The Snow Base stage. I love the music and the icy colors in the environment. It is also a good stage to fill up X or Zero’s two Sub-Tanks.  There are five medium-sized energy pills near the beginning of the level and two extra-life items I can pick up, escape the stage, and then return to the same stage to pick them all up again. 

I still have Mega Man X: Command Mission and Mega Man X8 to continue. In fact, I think the first time I tried MMX 8, I had an epic fail and lost all of Axl’s lives. So I will have to start over again for that game.

The adventures of Mega Man X continues...at some point.

The story of how I got into Kingdom Hearts and ultimately, Square Enix PART 1

It was the summer of 2002, in September. I had finished playing Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy, and I was ready to buy a new PlayStation 2 game. I had no idea what I wanted. I thought about the game Sky Gunner, which was cute and a fly-shooter genre, but I knew there were other choices.

I remember a trailer for a video game that I watched from a demo DVD from the now defunct Official PlayStation Magazine. This was a trailer for Kingdom Hearts. The music was cinematic and there were Disney characters like Donald Duck and Goofy. It seemed that the main character was this spiky-haired boy with blue eyes. My first thoughts were “What? Who’d wanna play that game? A boy enters the world of Disney and meets Tarzan and Ariel and everyone else? What the f***? Tsh, who cares.”

Then on September 20 (and it was a Friday, I remember that detail) sitting in my keyboarding class in high school, I was looking forward to buying a new video game later that afternoon. It was a really good day, and knowing I’d buy a new game made it even better. Later that day at home, I was watching Pokémon (when I still watched it) and during a commercial break, a TV ad for Kingdom Hearts began. It started with a piano key note in “A” with the words SQUARE ENIX on the screen. Then as the visuals for the game were showing, the chorus for “Simple and Clean” played in the background. “Oh, I love that song. That sounds nice! What game is it for…Kingdom Hearts? Ya know, I just might buy that game!” And ultimately I did…because I liked the song.

I got the strategy guide for it too. It was the very first video game strategy guide that I bought (and there would be more to come).

Later, I’ll write about how my love for Kingdom Hearts led me to my love for Final Fantasy VII and generally Square Enix. I’ll give you guys a hint: it’s spelled C-L-O-U-D.   ^,^ 

Bartz in Dissidia Final Fantasy, September 18th

I started Bartz’s Destiny Odyssey in Dissidia Final Fantasy, and it was challenging but not too difficult, since Bartz was already at level 13. Bartz and Zidane are in the same little story together, so now that I know what Zidane went through, I can see what Bartz was doing in the meanwhile.

I noticed that the characters say a different encounter line or victory line when they win in a Quick Battle and when they win in a Destiny Odyssey battle.

One of Bartz's new encounter lines: “Don’t follow a path. Make your own.”

In Destiny Odyssey V-3, I had Bartz come across a very difficult piece, which was a fake Kuja. This Kuja was at level 16, and at the time, Bartz was at level 15. I earn a Destiny Point by just winning the battle. Uh oh, I wonder what that meant. Bartz had to be lucky and have a few successful EX Bursts to defeat the fake Kuja, but I would release the EX Mode too soon and so he couldn’t land a good HP attack on him. The fake Kuja kept kicking Bartz’ @$$.

I did not want to give up. I had to win fast, because the green light on my PSP was flashing, which meant that I had at least fifteen more minutes to do this, and then I better quit. The next two times were epic fails. And then on my 4th try, I was smarter and had Bartz release his EX Mode to counter-attack fake Kuja. I did the same thing a few more times in the same battle, so that time after time, Kuja’s HP was much lower than mine. Needless to say, I won that battle, and gained the Destiny Point.

Then I had to save, and then push the Home button to quit game play, so that I can safely take out the UMD and then turn off the PSP.  And charge the battery...

So Bartz is now level 17, from the level 13 I had him start with at the beginning of his DO.

Another NiGHTS related dream!!!!!!!!!!

Yay!!! NiGHTS! ^,^

I dreamed that I was in a video game/anime convention and I saw an art corner where there was a lot of NiGHTS fan art! The drawings looked really good, and there were a lot of adorable smiling NiGHTS.

One drawing showed NiGHTS protecting dreamer Elliot Edwards from an unseen Nightmaren.

Another one showed multiple NiGHTSs sitting in mid-air, or posing, and smiling on different parts of a huge tree in a My Dream-like environment.

Within the same dream, I had a new Sonic the Hedgehog comic book and inside the comic book was a page that had a subscription slip for the NiGHTS into Dreams comic book! The NiD comic book was back in production and I could order issues #1 to #3, #4 to #9, and subscribe to the upcoming issues!!

Oh man, if only that were true…

Dissidia Final Fantasy: Personal progress update

So  in Dissidia Final Fantasy I finally started playing as another character: Cecil Harvey from Final Fantasy IV.  Since he is voiced by Yuri Lowenthal, I can hear Naruto’s Sasuke whenever he talks, except with less angst.

I never liked playing against Cecil because it got annoying to me whenever he changed from his armored form to his white knightly form and shouted “Beneath the light…comes judgment!”  So…!  As I played as Cecil this time, I got to enjoy doing that attack whenever my opponent was unsuspecting.  Cecil is level 3 now, as a result of this new beginning.  The difficulty in his Destiny Odyssey is high, so I should level him up to at least 10 before playing through his storyline.

I also brought Kuja up to level 11.  He is just fifty points away from reaching level 12.  As for Zidane he is level 27 now. I had him fight against Jecht, and boy was Jecht brutal…..

“Come on, come on, come on, come on! One more!” (Twice in a row!)

At least in the Quick Battles, the characters I play still get to keep their experience points after losing the battle.  It’s just that the only other thing I earn is PP.

Devil May Cry 4, September 3—and I’m stuck

It was nice to return to a non-Mega Man X game for once. Devil May Cry 4 is a breath of fresh air.

Last time I left off at the end of Mission 2, so this time I started Mission 3. Which I never finished, unfortunately, because of the wide-spread puzzle in the Castle Fortuna. Read on for the details.

I learned that if Nero has a full health gauge, the green orbs add up as extra red orbs, and that’s so cool! I can always use some extra red orbs. And I also look for anything breakable that could give Nero even more red orbs. The chairs and the benches are always a must. Okay, they are furniture, but does anyone even care about that furniture after Dante caused havoc in Fortuna? So that’s why Nero is allowed to destroy things so that he can get more red orbs and maybe buy some more, uh, Green Stars.

I love the way that the camera moves as Nero is walking down the bridge to the Castle Fortuna and the angle used to be above him, and then it slowly gets behind him, as if it was a cinematic scene. Neat. And things got very interesting when this female assassin character showed up. That was unexpected. Is she supposed to be an adversary, or should she be a friend or ally of Nero? Her name is Gloria. She doesn’t look like a “Gloria” to me; she should’ve been given a name like Natasha.

I don’t think she wears underwear under that outfit O__O.

It was nice of Gloria to help Nero out there, and I hope I’ll be seeing more of her later in the game. This makes up for my not getting Bayonetta yet. It was either going to be Bayonetta or DMC 4, but I chose DMC 4 since I was more familiar with the franchise (plus it cost less than Bayonetta at the time). I seriously though Kyrie and Lady were the only females in the game, but then here comes Gloria and WOW! BAM! She kicks ass.

Anyway, Nero goes into the castle and there is a big coffin with glowing blue lights. Nero can’t investigate it yet. He doesn’t have the power to open it up. So there are many doors he goes through and these lead to long halls, where of course he has to fight more demon puppets. Then I come across this script on the wall telling Nero to find the Gyro Statues in order to open this big door.  Another hour passes and I go everywhere, only to not know what to do with Nero.  How the hell does he get this Anima Mercury whatever to destroy the statues?!!!( or am I confusing this with another puzzle?)

Errrrgh, stuck stuck stuck! I finished Devil May Cry 3 without the need of a strategy guide book, so if I am playing in Human Mode in DMC4, I intend to finish it without a guide book as well!   @,@ 

Another Mega Man X Drawing...

Here is a drawing I did of Mega Man X a couple of days ago.  I was getting sleepy and I didn't want to take a nap too close to bedtime, so I drew him to stay awake and busy.

I used a #2 pencil for drawing, some colored pencils, and a mechanical pencil to outline the drawing after I finished coloring it.  It was my first attempt at practicing the shading technique on a drawing I did (besides art class in middle school).  I drew the left hand, but the scanner didin't allow it to be very visible.  I don't like the way the left hand turned out anyway.  The right hand is in Buster mode.  I did the best I could as a free-hand picture.  I generally love the way the picture turned out.  ^_____^  

I still don't know if I want to join DeviantArt or not.

Drawing by Sara/Amethyst Anne.  Mega Man X belongs to CAPCOM.

Mega Man X4…making some more progress ^,^

In Mega Man X4, I had to let my sister take the controller as Zero again, because she was, as always, eager to play that dang Zero.

X is jealous.

She went to the Military Train stage to fill up Zero’s Sub-Tank. There are a lot of opportunities to get energy pills; from the bats carrying the bombs and the little Mets walking around. It took a bunch of lives and frustration, but Zero was able to beat Slash Beast and he learned the attack called “Shippuga.” It is an attack Zero can do during a dash.

Zero was also able to take on, and defeat, Web Spider. From him, Zero learned the attack called “Rajingeki.” This is good for distant enemies. I don’t think Sis used it yet. We are having trouble figuring out what buttons to push to make the new attacks. I thought maybe the directional buttons might have something to do with them. So she learned how to do the Shippuga, but it’s a bit confusing for the Rajingeki.

That’s interesting: Zero’s attacks are in Japanese, and then X’s attacks are in English here. Maybe since Zero’s attacks are with his Z-Saber (which is essentially a sword), his attacks have a Japanese style, so they are given Japanese names. X’s attacks have an element and a style.

As X I was able to move on as well. After some tries I finally got my very own Sub-Tank from the Military Train. Hur-ray!!! Now I might have a chance to survive at least one more other boss battle, yes? And survive, X did! I had X fight against Web Spider and from that, he got the attack Lightning Web. With this, X can reach harder -to -reach places. I knew exactly what to use this power on; there was a life-up item in the Snow Base stage that X was finally able to get because of this new attack/power. I didn’t know what the heck it did, though. Then after X lost all his lives to Slash Beast, then in the next batch of lives, X starts out with 4 extra lives (five, altogether) instead of two extra lives. Ooooohh, that’s what that big heart tank item was for. So it didn’t extend the height of the life energy gauge; but it gave X two more extra lives to start with on each batch of lives.

I almost didn’t make it, but I was able to defeat Slash Beast as well in the Military Train stage. X got the Twin Slasher. I didn’t try it yet because right after getting that attack, I saved my game and stopped playing. But I will try it next time I get to MMX 4. I have three bosses left; Jet Stingray, Split Mushroom, and, uh, yeah, actually, I only have two bosses to defeat now.

1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF CYBORG HAVEN!!!!!!

September 3rd, 2009

Wow, I can't believe it's been a year already! 

I want to take this opportunity to thank my readers for reading my blog so far.  I feel bad that I could not post videos of much of the playing that I've done. Most of this blog is written with words, but I try to add some visual aids when I can.  I want to be able to do more of that in the future.

I remember when I was just starting this blog.  The posts would be short, and then they got longer as I took notes or recorded my reactions to the video games I've played.  Since that first post, the blog grew so much, with the list increasing in length and the archives getting more content.  I was afraid that I would get tired of the blog and maintain it less frequently, but it hasn't happened.  I love to do them; playing video games and writing.  So why not combine my passion for both hobbies?

And since I am a huge NiGHTS fan, I have to include dreams that have to do with video games or video game characters, many of which in fact were about NiGHTS himself.  I think it adds a variety to the types of posts I write for Cyborg Haven.  If I play video games, I am bound to dream about extra adventures for the characters in those stories.

I love sharing my personal gaming experience with other bloggers and internet surfers.  I thought it was a nice idea to keep the background dark so that readers who are visiting the blog late at night don't have to squint from a bright computer screen.  I hope it is helping. 

I am more than happy to continue posting on Cyborg Haven for another full year!  ^____^

Dissidia Final Fantasy, August 29th

In Dissidia I focused on leveling up Kuja, since I wanted to get used to fighting as him. I haven’t used a lot of his attacks efficiently yet. It’s weird. But that night it was EXP day, which really helped out.

I had Kuja fight against Warrior of Light at first and then Sephiroth next, which sucked. And then I had Kuja fight against The Onion Knight. Hah hah, that was less frustrating. As a result, Kuja is level 7, from 4. One of his attacks resulted in gaining 5, 744 EXP.  I was like, "Wow!  Now that's a boost!"

I wanted to level up Bartz too, but I missed playing as Zidane, so I played Zidane against, uh…Sephiroth, oddly enough. Out of a few battles, I won only one, but at least Zidane is level 25 now, from 24.

Kuja—level 7

Zidane—level 25

Then I watched all the scenes from Cloud's Destiny Odyssey.  :3 

"I will aways be [around]...to pull your strings."--Sephiroth, Dissidia

Video Games I Haven’t Played in a Long While That I Should Return To

The Mega Man X Collection has been taking up a lot of time that I'd otherwise spend on the other video games I play.  That's the problem with having several video games to beat; I spend time on one so much that the others are neglected.  So here is a list of the games of which I've been meaning to play also, if it weren't for that robo-duo Mega Man X and Zero:

• Sonic Unleashed (the latest Sonic game I have)

• Final Fantasy XII (I’m supposed to be in the Stilshrine of Miriam now…)

• Sonic Rivals 2 (Stupid elusive Chao…stupid Sonic…LET SHADOW WIN!!)

• NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams (Why do I neglect NiGHTS so?)

• Devil May Cry 4 (Yeah…because I only played one session on it.)

• Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier (uh, yeah…this game too)

:P

Mega Man X4, a more successful playing session

What a relief, we thought we were going to be stuck in this game for a long month.

I let my sis play as Zero first for this session, since I knew I was very stuck as X.  Zero got the “Rakuhouha” after defeating Cyber Peacock.  A heh heh, let’s call this Rakuhouha the "peacock tail attack" once in a while.  In fact, it was just what Zero needed to defeat the Storm Owl in the Air Base stage.  The Rakuhouha was limited in its power and must be used carefully, but Sis/Zero tried it against the Storm Owl and it took him out within five or so hits!  After that battle, Zero got the “Tenkuuha”, which is a powered-up form of his Z-Saber.  Cool!

I decided to give the battle “X versus Colonel” another try, even if it wouldn't work out.  I failed the first few tries again.  Then I remembered that X had his hover ability with his leg armor, so what if he uses that to his advantage?  The attack that I hate the most from Colonel is the slash-n-dash-away move.  So right before Colonel does that (and I can sort of time when he might), I have X hover at the very edge of the screen.  I was more comfortable with X on the left side. X can hover for a full four seconds if he stays in place, so when X hovered as Colonel slashed, he was just out of reach.  This saved me a lot of trouble and kept X’s health gauge full longer.

After I tried this, I though, “Hey, maybe I’ll be able to win this after all, now that I know what to do.”   So I kept at it. X still got hurt from the beams that Colonel throws at him at least once every other time, but avoiding the slashes multiple times really gave X the advantage.  Colonel wasn’t going to do any other moves different from the ones I was used to.

The battle turned out to be not-so-difficult after all.   It’s just that since I had to have X keep firing full Charge Shots at Colonel, my thumb felt overused, and I didn’t play for even twenty minutes by then.

Mega Man X4 Woes

Godd----t I’m stuck. I returned to MMX 4 as X and all of a sudden, Double tells X that there is a message from the Colonel.  The Colonel wants to meet X.  And instead of choosing when to go there, X is immediately in this other stage. I guess this is the midpoint stage; after beating four bosses, this is what happens.  I don’t even think X is equipped enough to defeat Colonel just yet.  I kept losing over an over.  I’ve learned how to dodge his attacks, but he still hurts X enough to take away his lives.

I may have to start X’s side of MMX 4 from the very beginning.  I don’t have a sub tank for his health gauge.  None of the four weapons X has works against Colonel; only a full Charge Shot is the best weapon X has against him at this point.

As for my sister, she was able to have Zero defeat Walrus.  She used the sub-tank she found, but the ice spikes instantly killed Zero.  The next life, she was able to have Zero defeat Walrus without the need of the full sub-tank.  Zero got the Hyouretsuzan, but we’ll call it the Ice Attack, heh.

The Cyber Peacock stage was difficult for Zero, seeing as X was more successful in defeating that bird from a distance.  She also tried out the Bio-Lab stage, and it seemed to be a really difficult, obstacle-laden stage, but she managed to reach the boss, Split Mushroom, if not defeat him yet.

Crisis Core on August 19th

Yeah, I finally returned to Crisis Core, only to not finish the darn game. Yet.

It was a long while ago…June, was it…that I left off with Zack walking into Gongaga and meeting Cissnei there. They have a conversation about Zack’s folks, and then Cissnei gives Zack and Cloud time to run.

I didn’t explore too much around Gongaga since I left off there last time. This time I gave Zack a chance to run his butt around the town and get some goodies like, uh, I should have noted what they were, exactly. It was nice not needing to do any fighting for a short while. Then I took Zack to the end of the Gongaga hills and well, Genesis returns and there’s more plot. Genesis seems to have silvery white hair, and for a split second he might remind one of Dante from DMC fame.

Zack has to return to Cloud, so I had to have him retrace his steps back to where he left him. He had to face group after group of monsters along the way, though. When he reaches Cloud, he’s surrounded by the bad guys, and then another familiar character comes in. Gosh, why am I so afraid to tell the details of these events????  I don't like to be the jerk that spoils major plot items.

Zack is in Banora now, Genesis’ birthplace. I reached the underground area, and I was lucky to have a save point when I did. Wow, a damn lot happens before their last stand. I paused moving further along in the story of the game and just went ahead to level up Zack again, to see if I could.  I did: he is level 45 now, from 44. I am guessing Zack has to fight Genesis again, so maybe I ought to level him up a few more levels, no?

This is what a Noseless Cloud is...

The title of my channel AmethystAnne001 is called "Home of the Noseless Cloud."  So, this is what I mean by that:

I think most anime/video game character plushies are not given a nose,

adding to their adorableness.

I bought this Cloud Plushie at this Japanese pop store called Sugoi Life, and it's

within the Northridge Fashion Center area, just outside the movie theaters.  Once I saw this plushie

I had to pick it up and  hold it until I was ready to pay.  There were only two

of them there and I held on to the one with plastic wrapping that

didn't look so beat up.  I was going to get a Cloud Plushie at the

Anime Los Angeles Convention next year, but it might be sold out like last time. 

 I thought,"While I'm here, I better buy one now." 

So this is the Nose-less Cloud.

Because he doesn't have a nose.

My YouTube Channel Is Set Up!

Hey guys, my You Tube channel is ready.  I haven't uploaded videos yet; I have an idea what may be the first two of my own videos.  My Plush Cloud doesn't have a nose, and I plan to make fun of that.  I should also hope to upload videos as well, maybe a video reaction to a playing session of a video game.  I'll see.

Meanwhile, I have a few videos that I "favorited."  You can see what they are at this link.  I will also have my You Tube Channel available as a special link on the side bar of Cyborg Haven, under "My Other Personal Websites."  There will be many more favorites coming up.  I know I have a lot, I just didn't have a You Tube account earlier to show/list them.

Mega Man X4, with X and Zero!!! August 14th

I beat three bosses in this session as X!  Read more for the details.   :)

I realized, well, the Cyberspace stage IS a difficult stage, but suppose the boss is not so hard? Just because the stage is hard doesn’t mean that the boss is impossible at this point.  So I went in.  I didn’t realize that X had to have a Rank A to make it to the next area of the stage. I  kept getting a B rank at the end of the third area of the stage and I was getting bored with it.  What do I need to do to get an A rank!  Keep a high-filled health gauge, get through the area quickly, or what?

I struggled to keep X’s health high. There weren’t many Mavericks for X to shoot at to get any energy pills. Plus these yellow lemon-shaped things were going to suck X’s life energy out if he got near them.  Shooting at them doesn’t destroy them, but it moves them out of the way, at least.  Then there are these triangle things that attack X because they think he is a computer virus.

I finally got through that part of the stage by some miracle, then this next area was confusing; buttons switched the top and bottom of the stage. It seemed confusing at first, but then I memorized the ones I pushed, and got out of there in almost no time.  I was so glad that I reached the second area of the stage because if I lost all my lives, I only have to start from the beginning of area 2 of the Cyberspace stage, and the same goes for all the other stages, for that matter.  The boss of Cyberspace was Cyber Peacock.  He’s a difficult son of a b****, but as I got used to his moves, it wasn’t so hard.  He can be taken out good by X’s X-Buster.  The part I found annoying is when he sticks to one side and shoots peacock feather lasers at X, and the damn things follow him!  Charge shots work best against Cyber Peacock.  After several tries, I beat him and X got the Aiming Laser for his buster weapon.  I love the colors X changes to when he has this weapon equipped: lavender and sky blue.   :3 

Next I visited the Air Force Base to see if the laser attack would work on Storm Eagle…er, Storm Owl. Yeah, Storm Owl. It turned out the Aiming Laser did work against him well! Getting Storm Owl into the aiming cursor was tricky, but I got the hang of it (it depended on which way Owl was and the direction X faced). From Storm Owl X got the Double Cyclone. Hooray!

Then finally I tried one more stage before I handed over the controller to Sis: the Volcano stage, where Magma Dragoon was waiting for X. I love the music for this stage because it’s reminiscent of music for Sonic…for some reason, in my ears. I got though the stage quick because I reached the boss before but didn’t defeat him. So I tried Storm Owl’s Double Cyclone, and well well, it was Magma Dragoon’s weakness! I was on a roll here! And from Magma Dragoon, X got Rising Fire. So at the end of my session X has three Heart Tanks and four weapons.

I think the Rising Fire ability would be great against Web Spider, but I will have to try it out next time. After I defeated Dragoon, I let my sister play as Zero again. She tried the Jungle, Snow Base, Military Train, and the Marine Base stages but couldn’t defeat any of the bosses. Zero’s close attacks have a downside and bring Zero closer to getting hurt by the boss. I thought Walrus should be the first boss to defeat, but for Zero it seems difficult because of his up-close-only attacks for now.

However, Sis had a fun time playing in the Marine Base stage, the one where X or Zero get on a Land Chaser and ride it the entire stage. She said this stage was addictive. Like I said, it is short but fast-paced. As often as she lost lives, she tried that stage again and again. She got past the first area and reached Jet Stingray, but didn’t defeat him. However, I applaud her because she got the Energy Tank. She thinks she will need it to survive a boss battle as Zero, perhaps the fight with Walrus.

Mega Man X 4, with X and Zero!!! August 9th

This post is delayed by a few days, so apologies.

In this session, I played as X for the first half, and then I let my sister take over for the second half to play as Zero. She’s been waiting for that for months!

From Mega Man X4 and on, there are

no more Mega-Heads.  There are only

Mega-Helmets.

So okay, I started this session with a stage that X hasn’t been to yet: the Military Base, with Jet Stingray as the Maverick Boss. This stage is short but fast-paced. I was writing down a note when X was already on the Land Chaser from the very first moment. “AAAARGH! Wait wait wait wait, slow down!” I realized that the whole stage was going to be like this. In fact, it was part of the specific mission for this stage that X will be using the Land Chaser. I often didn’t jump in time and X crashed into walls and platforms, and fell into gaps. From that I learned that I can slow down (get back) or speed up (go forward) so he can know when it’s a good time to jump a gap or jump a raised wall.

There’s an Energy Tank in the Marine Base stage. I’ll worry about that after I’ve defeated Jet Stingray, which won’t be for a while.

After the Marine Base, I had X go to the Bio Lab, and then the Military Train stages. I couldn’t defeat either of the bosses—well, I didn’t reach the boss in the Bio Lab. The stage is actually difficult, not impossible. It will take several tries to get through the stage.

I got the Air Dash ability from the Dr. Light capsule in the Jungle! It also has hover ability, so X can hover for a maximum of 4 seconds. It’s so cute watching hover and then shoots once or twice from his X-Buster. So adorable. (That’s my feminine side talking.)

I was frustrated that I didn’t beat any bosses that session. I wanted to take a break, so I handed the controller to my sister so she can play as Zero. She was more than happy to do that! As she played the game as Zero, we learned that she would be playing Zero in place of X. The story is slightly different, because Zero meets the female Reploid Iris but X doesn’t. The Repliforce was suspected of being responsible for the falling of Sky Lagoon. X and Zero each both tell Colonel that the Repliforce (the Reploid military) will be seen as Mavericks if they don’t follow the hunters to the headquarters.

Of course, Zero has a different feel to his controls. Instead of shooting from his buster from a distance, Zero uses his Z-Saber to get close to his enemies and slice them. I guess Zero likes this way of fighting; rather than using his Z-Buster to blast at Mavericks, he gets up close. He has an interesting collection of vocalizations with his jumps and attacks, including a “Yeah!” when he wall-kicks. Is it an effort to make Zero sound “cool” or something?

"Yeah, this is fun!"

"Yeah, I rock!"

"Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah......!"   O__O

So after this session was finished, Sis and I decided that we will each have a turn playing Mega Man X4 each session: I will play as X and she will play as Zero on a separate file.

Post for the next session coming really soon.  Like, very soon.

Devil May Cry 4: My first session, August 10th

Devil May Cry 4 is going to be my very first video game that has “Sexual Themes” in its content (which is one of the reasons why it’s rated “M” for mature). The only other rated M game I played myself was Devil May Cry 3.

I put the disc in the PS3 and expected that there would be a data install that would take about ten to fifteen minutes. It was neat; the song from the game’s soundtrack “Out of Darkness” played as the screen showed text and images of the Devil May Cry series. That’s nice. But that song played at least six times, so it was stuck in my head when I went to bed. Hah. Sounds like a Christmas song.

Anyway I had to sit closer to the TV than I am usually used to, since the cord for the PS3 controller is short. I could go for wireless, but we stuck with the controller that was provided, so it will have to do. Those things are $60 a pop, like the former “next-gen” video games on their release dates.

After the game data was installed, there was a trailer that showed before the title screen appeared. It’s a really cool trailer in my opinion, but I was afraid it was almost going to show the whole game before I can play it. I like the song that was playing in the background though; I am hoping I can find it in the game’s soundtrack in iTunes. Soon I chose New Game and had to choose between Human and Demon Hunter. As much as I probably would have enjoyed being in Demon Hunter mode since I am almost veteran at DMC gaming, I chose Human mode to make it easier on myself, and I use Automatic so that combos are easier to reach. Hey, I’ll try the harder stuff later when I’ve beaten the game once, but I at least want to get through it to see the story unfold.

There’s so much action in this game. It’s been pretty much all action. I enjoyed watching the fight between Nero and Dante in the beginning. I though it was interesting when they locked legs and shot at each other (is this where the “sexual themes” in the game come in???). It was like an acrobatic act with violence. I read the instruction manual for the game some time ago, so it was very helpful that there was a tutorial. I always enable the tutorial. It reminds me which moves Nero can do, and also which orbs are for what:

Red Orb: For buying items. I always like to break objects that look breakable because Dante or Nero (depending on if it’s DMC 3 or DMC 4) can always use as many red orbs as possible. Those benches in the church looked so nice—but I had to destroy them if I wanted a boost in red orbs. Ha.

Gold Orb: Revives Nero or Dante back to life at the spot where they died. I hardly use those. I want to use them only in an emergency. Otherwise I prefer to continue from the last checkpoint. I think I can collect more red orbs this way.

Blue Orb: Extends Nero’s life capacity. I guess Dante’s too. I have to find them in four fragments. Otherwise if I have Red Orbs to spare then I can get one that way. The special secret missions reward Nero with a Blue Orb fragment. I’ll try to find as many of those as possible, at least one in every mission. The secret missions are indicated by a piece of paper stabbed to a wall or pillar.

Green Orbs: Heals Nero or Dante. It’s my favorite type of orb, next to the Red Orbs. They are usually small, but there is also big ones every once in a while.

I also like the Mission Menu, where I can either go to the next mission or replay another mission to get more red orbs and a better score. Oh yeah, that’s right. The scores. I got as far as Atomic A, and it really helps to do a variety of attacks. I like how D is for Deadly, so that it makes me not feel so bad about getting a low killing score on those demon puppets. I’m getting the hang of Nero’s Devil Bringer. It’s also so cool to watch him fly when he uses the Devil Bringer on the Grim Grips. He goes like, Whoooosh!

I left off right before Mission 3. In the second half of Nero’s battle against Berial, I found out he can grab on to a horn (or something) and attack him from there. I almost thought, “Okay so he’s a fire beast, so I should get my ice weapon so he’ll…oh wait, that’s Mega Man X or something.  Or isn't it wind against fire?”

Which reminds me, the next time I get to a console game it will be Mega Man X4. I still have to post about my last session with that game…

My first playing session with Mega Man X4

I had so much fun! It feels good to be able to play a Mega Man X game again. What I definitely noticed was the difference in the graphics, the music, and the pause menu. Of course like I said last post, the graphics are 32-bit instead of 16-bit, and the colors are livelier. Mega Man X looks more 3-D, in fact. He also has vocalization when he jumps and gets hurt, and when I have him charge his X-Buster and fire, he says, “Take this!” When he gets low on life energy, he says, “Time to get serious!” And the interesting part of it? I can sort of believe it now when other people who’ve played this game had said he sounded like a girl. I am not bothered by it at all. I know he sounds different from the voice he has in Mega Man: Maverick Hunter X. But I am not offended by it at all. It actually makes him more adorable to sound like that.  :3  As you play the game, X’s life energy gauge is one green unit, not little yellow notches like from X1-3. When he’s a third low, it turns yellow, and less than a fifth, it turns red.

The music is GREAT! I love every track that is used in the game so far. I love the music from the Snow Base and Volcano stages, but all of the music in this game is a big step from the music that is from MMX 2, even MMX 3. Since this game was made for the PlayStaion, there was more room to work with bigger levels and music that makes a Mega Man fan want to go to the pause menu to listen to it for a while.

Okay, so this time unlike MMX 3, there is a specific mission for each of the eight stages. It is not the usual “get to the end of the stage and defeat the Maverick Boss” stage. But the game play is pretty straight forward, so that X won’t get lost. I took note of the names of the stages: Jungle, Cyber Space, Air Force, Volcano, Marine Base, Bio Lab, Military Train, and Snow Base.

The menu screen has a very different feel to it. No more of that green everywhere and the little X standing next to the Mega Head that represents extra lives. Now X’s picture is on the bottom left side, in anime style (It will be interesting to see Zero’s pic for the menu). The weapons are on top and the energy gauge is green, and on the bottom there are slots for other items that X needs to pick up. One of them is a Sub-Tank, and I guess the other ones are...I don't know what they are for yet.  They are empty slots that have the letter "E" on it, and I guess the E stands for Energy.  I don't have an instruction manual for this game (it didn't come with it, just the disc of the collection did).  I am sure the purpose will reveal itself when it is time...

I tried the Jungle stage first. What is new is that each stage is going to have two halves to it, two parts if you will. At the end of the first part is a door, and when you go through it, it takes you to the next part of the stage. The Jungle stage was not so complicated, so I was glad I started with that one. But the boss for that stage, the Spider, was very difficult. After another batch of extra lives, I had to move on to another stage, so I tried the Snow Base. I was blown away by the mysterious-sounding music for this area. Like in MMX 3, the icy level makes X slide and slip on the ground, so I had to be cautious and guide him carefully so he doesn’t fall into an endless pit or a spiky pit. I ended up defeating the Walrus Maverick , and X got his Frost Tower attack. This will come in handy when I go to the Volcano stage.

Next I tried the Air Force stage, and there’s a ride armor that shoots and has a hovering ability. I reached the boss on my second batch of lives, but Storm Owl is too difficult to beat without the correct weapon. The last stage I visited was Volcano, where the Frost Tower did prove to be useful for protecting X from the rolling fireballs. This happens in the second half of the stage. I didn’t reach Magma Dragoon yet. But hey, I got a Sub-Tank from the Snow Base and the Frost Tower from Walrus.

[Sigh] That’s a whole lot of Mega Man X stuff there. Since I am the one playing MMX 4, it may be easier for me to post about my individual sessions with the game, but if I need to, I can combine two or three sessions into one post if not much happen between the few sessions.

Yay for Mega Man X!!! Yay for Zero!!!  ^,^ 

Extra: I also tried out the unlocked game Mega Man: Battle and Chase, just to see how it was like. It’s pretty entertaining. I think it’s less frustrating than Sonic [racing]. I love the music for this game too. It is a nice reward for completing half of the Mega Man X Collection. To get used to the gameplay I played as the little Mega Man in a Time Attack race. It got frustrating because I was in a mountainous area. Well, I learned my lesson. I chose Bass and raced against Quickman in a track called the Sky Circuit Chase 1. I lost, and Bass was frowning. Nyawwww. Then I chose little Mega Man to race against Bass. I learned how to shoot from the race car to slow Base down. That really helped me out toward the end. There were five laps to race, and we were neck and neck. Near the end, Bass was ahead of Mega Man, but at the last few seconds, I slowed Bass down with the shooting ability, and made it in first place just in time. Yay for Mega Man!  ^w^