Cyborg Haven: Blog of a Gamer Girl

Playing Sonic Generations for the first time

2012-02-08T22:13:00.000-08:00

So I finally finally finally started playing Sonic Generations last week and I gottasay, it blew me away as much as Sonic Unleashed did. To elaborate, I had so much fun I could playon it for hours if I didn’t need to eat :D The nostalgia factor was very strong; though of course it was differentplaying classic Sonic in a very 3D version of Green Hill Zone. The colors in the game are very beautiful, of course…

I love how the music for Act 1 of the Green Hill,Chemical Plant, and Sky Sanctuary zones stayed true to their versions and weregiven only a slight face lift (or “sound-lift,” if you will). Then for Act 2 of the zones, the music ismade for the modern, green-eyed Sonic, and those versions of the songs aren’tall that bad. I especially really likethe Act 2 edition of the Chemical Plant Zone music. As for the classic/Act 1 editions of music,the Sky Sanctuary Zone Act 1 is my favorite so far.

Another cool thing I noticed was that in the ChemicalPlant Zone, in either Act when Sonic falls into the purple water, the zonemusic sounds as if you really are underwater. It’s neat; it like letting you know that you are in the water and needSonic to get to a big bubble or reach the surface for air. What other video game even does that?! It’s jenius! (I spelled the word “genius”with a “j” :D ).

The voice acting is okay. I am not going to make a big deal out of thevoice acting. I dunno why some peoplehave a problem with Sonic’s voice.

There are trophies for Sonic Generations too! I’venever earned a Trophy in my PS3 before (because I hardly play on it, besides DevilMay Cry 4 where I’m stuck. Idon’t know if that video game even has trophies).

Classic Sonic doesn’t talk. That is okay, you know why? Classic Sonic never talked. So it makes sense to me that he doesn’t say aword, and we players rely on his facial expressions and actions to read him.

Stages I’ve Completed

ü Green Hill Zone, Act 1 and Act 2

ü Chemical Plant Zone, Act 1 and Act 2

ü Sky Sanctuary Zone, Act 1 and 2

ü Sonic vs. Metal Sonic: The first ChaosEmerald

ü 2 Challenges = 2 Boss Keys

WhereI left off: I am about to get the third Boss Key.

"Dumb Running Sonic" on Tumblr

2012-01-31T19:00:00.000-08:00

Everytime I see this website, there is always a funny GIF of Sonic to laugh at. The great thing is, no one has to be a greatartist to draw and animate Sonic the Hedgehog running like an idiot. He could even be as abstract as a stickfigure or crudely drawn animal, as long as he’s blue or is an animal withspikes. I’ve laughed hard enough to getsick to my stomach, these animations are so funny. I’d try a hand at this myself if I had aTumblr account. Thanks to NiGHTS into Dreams.com’s TRiPPY on Facebook for sharing the Tumblrpage, Dumb Running Sonic. I don’t thinkI would have found out about this website myself.

www.dumbrunningsonic.tumblr.com/

Getting Sonic Generations for the Holidays, plus Sonic Unleashed

2012-01-24T12:30:00.000-08:00

Asit turned out, I got Sonic Generationsfor the holidays. And look at me, Ihaven’t even finished Sonic Unleashed,or even played any of Sonic Colors,for that matter (I don’t have that one).

Thatbeen said, after having played with NiGHTS:Journey of Dreams for a little while, I switched to Sonic Unleashed torevisit the game that I haven’t resumed since October 29, 2009. I had to get used to the controls of the gameagain because all these weeks I’ve only been playing either Final Fantasy Dissidia or Dissidia Duodecim.

Ileft off when Sonic needed to return to Adabat to complete a few NightStages. This was the one with thewhirlpools that moved wooden platforms around that Sonic kept missing andfalling into water he can’t swim in. After a few more fails and losing a bunch of lives until I had maybethree left, I realized that when Sonic grabs onto the green poles, he doesn’tneed to jump…he just has to drop down onto the platform (raft?), provided Itime the move right.

Itwas the first time I tried SonicUnleashed on the HDTV set. Sonic Unleashed was a little too HD forme at this point considering that the Nintendo Wii was a next gen video gameconsole (now a current gen console) that would go great with an HDTV. But this game has really beautiful colors andanimations.

NiGHTS Journey of Dreams on Christmas Day

2012-01-11T23:55:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the New Year of 2012, everyone! ^__^

Itwas Christmas so I figured if I played NiGHTSJourney of Dreams on Christmas Day there would be something Christmasrelated in the game, like I found out for the original NiGHTS into Dreams. I triedit and unfortunately there was no Christmas-garbed NiGHTS in the game atall. I was a bit disappointed, but thatdidn’t stop me from wanting to enjoy the game. I started playing with the Chase Mission stage in Aqua Garden, the veryfirst Nightopia I visited when I first played this game in June 2008. No Christmas-garbed NiGHTS there either. I got a C rating in the stage, which waslower than the B I got as my best score.

Sonext I went to My Dream. And the Christmas NiGHTS version of Jingle Bells,titled “Dream Bells,” was playing in the background. It was snowing, SNOWING in My Dream, for thefirst time. I squealed with delightbecause I had recently given myself a chance to listen to the soundtrack toChristmas NiGHTS, and I recognized the song and was overjoyed!! All of my Nightopians were wearing redChristmas hats in the spirit of the holiday—all 34 of them. And they were singing along with the DreamBells song, but just the first three notes, though. Man, I wish I got this all on tape but Ididn’t. My camcorder’s battery wasn’tfully charged, which must be why I didn’t think about doing that. A bunch of them were singing loudly and italmost drove me nuts! Every once in awhile I had Helen run to a quiet area with another Nightopian to get away fromall that noise. Cute, but annoying. Some of them rode on sleighs, or playedsoccer, but most of them were close to musical boxes and singing, singing, andsinging.

Next I played an Octopaw stage in the same Nightopia, Aqua Garden. I was out of practice so I did terrible, got discouraged and stopped that. So then I went to Helen's Sketchbook, and I love the version of "Dreams Dreams" that plays as I look at the concept art and sketches. I stayed in Helen's Sketchbook for twenty minutes or more just to listen to the music. So nice.

Holidays and stuff... On Hiatus

2011-12-20T01:12:00.000-08:00

I think I may have been on an unannounced hiatus, so sorry for any disappointment I may have caused for not posting as regularly as I used to.

But I will be back next month ^__^

So, have a Merry Christmas and a pleasant Hanukkah and a wonderful Kwanzaa!!!!

Update on Dissidia 012 [Duodecim] Final Fantasy: Finished Scenario 012!!

2011-12-02T16:17:00.001-08:00

So it took a while, because I made my top party members gather some extra KP before moving on. Up to 247 KP total. Yuna was the leader for a bit so she can get some more EXP as well as level up faster and get some for the other party members.

Things worked out great. At the Rift, Lightning and Vaan were my highest-leveled fighters (naturally since Lightning was in Chapter 1 and then Vaan is my favorite of the new fighters. I love his Crossbow attacks :] )

It also turned out that Lightning was the last to fight—and the right one because she was level 44 and Garland was level 39.

I liked how DDFF introduced the concept of “party” in the game series, and how you can choose to have one of the characters fight for everyone or have each character fight a separate member of the enemy party. When it was Tifa’s turn though, she was getting her butt kicked and at the end of the battle had 110 HP left. The victory line she said was, “Phew, that was a close call.” True, very true.

That’s when I noticed my PSP’s power indicator was blinking.

I gotta finish these fights quick so I can save. I was rewarded with more plot cinema, but at the same time I was afraid the battery would die on me in the middle of everything. I couldn’t relax and enjoy any of it. And then the beautiful vivid cinematic CGI graphics worried me even more, using up more battery life. Then the epilogue narration comes in, and I go, “Hurry up, hurry up, I need to save and quit the game!” I read the narration text and wanted to skip it (the narrator’s voice takes his sweet time, doesn’t he?) But I couldn’t progress forward on my own pace.

I got a new report and new PP catalog items but I didn’t see what they were because my priority was to quit the game before the PSP would shut itself off. Mission successful, with 5% battery power to spare.

I returned to the game again with my console fully charged. Went to the Museum Theater to watch those final scenes again from Scenario 012, enjoying them this time.

This is Your Year, Sonic!

2011-11-16T01:04:00.001-08:00

I can’t believe it’s been 20 years since Sonic the Hedgehog made his debut in the United States.

And now he is going to get his own new (updated) parade balloon for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade!! :3

Twenty years. That means I was at least six years old when I found out he existed, and it changed my world. The Nintendo games and Super Mario Brothers weren’t enough anymore. I had to play the video game with the cool blue hedgehog that runs fast and bounces off robots. SEGA Genesis provided video games—especially the Sonic the Hedgehog ones—that were more colorful and ran faster than Mario ever could. My Sega Genesis lasted longer than the NES. I guess what I meant to say was that I was playing on the SEGA Genesis longer than I’ve played on the NES. I spent more time playing Sonic 2, Sonic 3, Sonic and Knuckles, Sonic 3 and Knuckles, and Sonic 3D Blast than any other video game I would play on the NES or others on the SEGA Genesis.

Now that Sonic Generations is released, my appreciation for this video game character is renewed. I don’t know when I’ll get it and play it. I don’t even have Sonic Colors (the latest one I DO have is Sonic Unleashed, with is about 3 years old? now). I’m sure Sonic Colors is a good game. There seems to be a lot of hype about Sonic Generations, and so far it is looking good. I am trying to stay away from trailers or websites that are too revealing about the game. I didn’t know there was going to be a Nintendo 3DS version of SG, although it doesn’t apply to me because I know I won’t need a Nintendo 3DS. The PSP 3000 is already my handheld console of choice.

I suppose that eventually I will have to have a go with Sonic Generations. It is something I feel I shouldn’t miss out on. I am still busy with the Dissidia FFs, and really should get back to Sonic Unleashed, since it is the most HD Sonic game I have. I haven’t even tried this game on the HD TV set yet (it’s been nearly two years since I touched that vide game). I’ll bet it’s going to look so good.

I still read the Sonic the Hedgehog comic books from Archie Comics. I am about seven issues behind, though--alot of other things have been getting in the way--but I am looking forward to reading them when they celebrate Sonic's 20th.

So, Sonic…this year is for you. <3 Your 20th anniversary, new video game, ongoing comic books, new parade balloon...and most important of all, old fans and new fans of the most way past cool blue hedgehog in the video game universe.

Current Progress in Dissidia Duodecim Final Fantasy

2011-11-13T23:08:00.001-08:00

The last time I played the game, I completed Kain Highwind’s Scenario 012 chapter. I liked the music that was playing in the background while Kain roamed the field. Firion was with him. The field music definitely provided a different atmosphere playing his chapter than playing the Yuna or Lightning’s chapters. Kain is currently level 22, after finishing his story.

I like that Kain’s helmet hides his eyes, making him look more mysterious than he already shows to be. Mystery Guy.

So Tifa is next. She is level 18 now, since I’ve been leveling her up as I played through half of her chapter. Now that she is leveled up and has some more abilities, she isn’t so tough to play anymore. I ‘m so used to playing characters that have a weapon, but Tifa is a close-range type of character and so it will be interesting fighting as her.

A New Favorite FF song, thanks to Dissidia Duodecim-- Not Alone

2011-10-24T00:58:00.000-07:00

I was playing Dissidia Duodecim FF the other day and out of curiosity for more FF IX music, I used some of the PP earned in the game so far to unlock the battle music BGM track, “Not Alone.”

I really like it. It’s been stuck in my head for the past few days. I even went to iTunes to listen to the sample of it (without hearing all the sound FX during the battles). I found out there is an option in the Options Menu, where one can turn off the SFX so that you can hear the music without having the SFX obstructing the nice background music. I just might do that for a few battles and see for myself how that is.

Man I love this song now. I've never played this game but DDFF introduced me to a few really good music tracks from FF IX. As for the music track “Darkness of Eternity,” I unlocked that immediately when I realized I could unlock the new BGM music with PP. I already knew what that sounded like (I bought it on iTunes), and it is cool to have it as battle music when fighting as Kuja. Or Zidane versus Kuja.

Here is a link to a video that features "Not Alone" (or "You're Not Alone") along with some footage from the original video game: http://youtu.be/Sx_Qqzs4cfk

My New Video: Vincent's Time To Shine

2011-10-13T19:42:00.000-07:00

It's Vincent Valentine's birthday today: October 13th. Cenzo (Vincent) is feeling egotistical today so he blocks Cloud from view on the poster. He wants us to know that he is a Final Fantasy VII hero too.

Happy Birthday Vincent Valentine!

Dissidia 012 [Duodecim] Final Fantasy Update on My Progress

2011-09-30T21:00:00.000-07:00

So far in Dissidia Duodecim FF, I am up to Yuna’s Chapter in the story mode. I leveled her up to level 4 before beginning her story. Currently she is level 11.

Sigh. She’s not my favorite character to play, but I am getting the hang of playing as a character that lets her Aeons do all of the fighting, hah hah. I learned that Shiva is a short-range attack and Valefor (my favorite Aeon only because he is the only Aeon I have in my current progress of Final Fantasy X) is long range. Bahamut is long or short range depending on how long I hold the BRV attack button to charge the attack. I love that one.

I was so mean: I let Yuna fight against the sweet Terra Branford. But oh well, I could have leveled her up with someone like Squall or the Warrior of Light. I just thought it would be interesting to have Yuna fight against another girl. Even Terra can be tough, though. Her “Benevolent Wind” attack gets annoying when she keeps using it (and she got Yuna with it three times in a row), but, that’s Terra for ya.

I decided to keep Firion in his Alternate Form #2 for now. In the first Dissidia, he is in his Alternate form already. I prefer him with spiky hair (Final Fantasy trend, anyone? Does anyone wanna see Zidane with spiky hair?). I prefer Terra with her emerald-colored hair, and, um…for now, Cloud Strife is in his Alternate Form #2 also. Just to see how he fights with white shoes. :D

I want to see Kain Highwind’s face, so I have him in his Alt. Form #2 where he wears the hat. Yes I know he may look more dangerous and powerful in the purple dragon armor but I like his desert garb. As for Warrior of Light, I currently have him in his Red Form (that was a lot of PP to spend), but I will change him back to his light blue form with the long hair and the horned helmet. I am quite used to him like that already. Why change him, right? His Red Form is for those who want that nostalgia factor in their game, and for the original Final Fantasy I, I don’t have that nostalgic feeling playing the Red WoL.

And oh! Actually, about Zidane and spiky hair... his hair does get kinda spiky when he turns into a pink monkey for his EX Burst. Okay, then that’s settled. Never mind. But suppose he asked Cloud nicely…

: 3

Cyborg Haven Update

2011-09-16T02:01:00.000-07:00

The following item has been added to the list titled "Video Games I'm Looking Forward To":

Legend of Zelda: The Skyward Sword (Wii)

The following item has been added to "My Favorite Websites":

Demon Lord Ghirahim

What ever could this mean??!!!!

My curiosity started with page 19 of the Nintendo Power August issue, and now I've seen the Ghirahim trailer for the game from ComicCon 2011 online.

I am a new Lord Ghirahim fan :3 And my curousity about this new interesting, beautiful villain is what is sparking my interest in the video game LoZ: The Skyward Sword.

More later!
;)

Two Year Anniversary of Cyborg Haven!!!

2011-09-05T22:15:00.000-07:00

It's been two years now since I've started Cyborg Haven: Blog of a Gamer Girl. I couldn't maintain a healthy blog while I still had school to finish. Since September 3, 2009, I've started this blog and kept track of the video games I've played and loved and look forward to.

I really should update Cyborg Haven at least once a week, although I don't play video games on a console as often as I used to. Lately, Mega Man X8 has been the console game (PS2) I play, while Dissidia: Final Fantasy or Dissidia Duodecim: Final Fantasy were the PSP titles I'd return to playing, and I would just update the current levels of the Cosmos heroes or which story modes I began.

I will try to bring more variety into my posts for this blog, even if they are games I am not currently playing or have played in the past.

Wow, two years. I've written and shared so much over the months.

Further Progress on Mega Man X8, late August

2011-08-31T23:50:00.000-07:00

It all happened so fast.

I finished Mega Man X8. But it was on Easy Mode. I finished the game using Axl and X in his full Neutral Armor. Of course X has to be one of the ones to fight Sigma, because he has some weapons that may work against him. However, the fully charged shot was even enough to do some helpful damage against Sigma, so even that was good. Axl was my support, but he got KO’ed in the process, so it was up to X.

The credits rolled and I had to choose a new mode of game play: Normal or Hard. I chose Normal, since the mode I played before was Easy. I loaded the clear data and ended up starting the game all over again, but with the leftover Metals included so that I can level up the three Maverick Hunters from the beginning. The game even saved the Intermission stages for the two stages that had them, so it works out great for the Central White stage; that is the place to get more and more Metals for level-ups. Axl is the best for that one because he has the continuous shooting. ;)

I already had X acquire his Neutral Armor and Head Parts I as well as Body Parts H. Thanks to Axl :)!!! I have to deal with Retry Chips now, as it is Normal Mode that the game is in currently. Hey, it’s not so bad. I might just even give Hard Mode a try later on, when I’ve got at least 80,000 Metals that I can help give the Maverick Hunters an easier time getting through the Hard Mode. And maybe the ending would be better? Like, more satisfying than just one little battle with Sigma? What about Lumino? Er, Lumine? Sorry, I had to keep that typo in there because I’ve been calling Lumine “Lunimo” to remind myself he is a male Reploid. Or is he genderless? I mean, I guess it is a unisex name...

Playing NiGHTS Journey of Dreams on NiGHTS's 15th Anniversary

2011-08-26T02:39:00.000-07:00

Of course this was back on July 5th, but I only recently uploaded this on my YouTube channel.

NiGHTS IS GIVEN STAR POWER IN NINTENDO POWER!!!

2011-08-07T15:10:00.000-07:00

I screamed at the top of my lungs the first time I saw NiGHTS in the Star Power section of the gaming magazine Nintendo Power. Boy did I scare my family (after I finished screaming I immediately explained that I was not in pain and that I was just really happy and excited about the special attention NiGHTS received in this issue of the magazine.). The section is on pages 16 and 17.

It is finally the time that NiGHTS gets some recognition, especially since Sonic the Hedgehog has his 20th anniversary this summer, and NiGHTS has his 15th anniversary on the same season. Just days apart from each other! Unfortunately NiGHTS is not on the cover of the magazine. According to NiD.com and The Sonic Stadium, NiGHTS was on the cover of Nintendo Power close to the days that the video game NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams would be released that November 2007.

I don't know if I am going to continue to subscribe to Nintendo Power after my subscription expires this December, so I am so happy that at least Mega Man and NiGHTS were given Star Power pages this year. Without it I wouldn't have known that Mega Man could have been called "Rainbow Battle Kid" (because he changes colors depending on the type of weapon he's using).

I love the timeline that shows NiGHTS's appearances along the past 15 years. I guess it is a month late in doing this for him, but at least it is soon (within the month of July 5th). The facts (and ideas) about him are on the right page and they are quite fascinating, namely about his hands, feet, and "peculiar purple headgear".

I've been aware for a long time that NiGHTS is genderless, but I find myself calling NiGHTS "he" and "him," as the magazine has. If he is also called "she" and "her," I have no problem with that because in my opinion, NiGHTS is whatever anyone wants him to be. It really helps that I am attracted to colors related to purple or lavender. : 3

You can take a peek at the August 2011 issue of Nintendo Power on its website (the link is below). Or, if you are also a fan, pick up a copy from the newsstands if you want to check out what NP has to say about our favorite purple flying hero NiGHTS. Hopefully this issue of NP will introduce potential new fans to this character and his popularity can climb higher.

http://www.nintendopower.com/

^____________^

My Vincent Valentine Plushie Watches Himself on TV

2011-08-05T00:03:00.000-07:00

I plan to make and upload more of these (with and without the TV) once I have a proper plan/script written out for them. This one didn't have a plan, I just did it live, short and sweet.

This is the debut of my Vincent Valentine plushie on myYouTube Channel (wait, I don't have many videos uploaded on my channel, WTF...) O__O

Vincent knows I am watching cut scenes from Dirge of Cerberus: FFVII but he blocks my view and is surprised to see himself in the game. The audio for the TV is not meant to be loud or clear, so if you can't hear the audio, don't worry about it ;P

Here's the link if you want to check out more info on my video : http://youtu.be/Udog3W-D7m4

Dissidia Duodecim Final Fantasy on June 26 + DFF Levels Update for July 12th

2011-07-17T18:57:00.000-07:00

For Dissidia Duodecom FF, The 26th was just an hour long, so I had time to mainly level up Bartz. I chose Zidane to be his Assist Character because, well, they’re buddy pals.

Here is a list of the levels of the characters I have played so far…

• Cloud.............................1 (or 2?)

• Vaan………………….14

• Lightning…………….13

• Bartz………………….4

• Firion…………………4

• Warrior of Light………6

After a battle fighting as WoL, a victory line he says is, “That took too long.” :D

Dissidia FF up to this point, July 12th
Here are the levels of the characters of DFF so far:

• Kuja………………….36

• Cloud………………..63

• Zidane………………71

• Firion……………….56

• Bartz………………..42

• Tidus………………14

• Cecil………………21

• Squall……………….6

• Sephiroth…………….3

• Terra…………………...7

• Warrior of Light……………52

Mega Man X8 on July 12th

2011-07-15T20:57:00.000-07:00

I got pretty far into the game this time. I am almost done with the game now. According to the save menu, I am 93% done with the game now. I found more parts for X (with the help of Axl in one stage and Zero in another) and defeated all of the Mavericks. To know more, read on for the details. :3

First I went to the Primrose stage, where I chose Axl and Neutral Armor X (I always choose Neutral Armor X so that he can pick up the parts and equip them immediately). Pallette was my Navi and she tells Axl and X that there is another teleportation door in the room they stopped in. It took some trial and error and lots of dying from instant-death spikes, but Axl was able to take X to the capsule that contained Head Parts I. This part “causes damage to enemies by jumping near them,” says Dr. Light.

The second stage I went to, choosing Axl and X again, was the Pitch Black stage. The last time I went there, Axl and X could not find the generator that turns on the lights, and still we could not find the capsule with a part for X. So I was lucky this time; Axl had to jump up the elevator/moving platform area (the one after the light-source robot lights up the dark room) and there was a room at the top of the elevator that lead to a capsule. This one contained Body Parts H. It allows X to be “invincible to weak enemy attacks,” says Dr. Light. So now X has two types of Body Parts armor, and personally, I prefer this one to the other Body armor.

Central White was next. That is the stage with the Avalanche Yeti, the Maverick for that stage. I love this stage because the Maverick hunters get to ride on snow mobiles. :D Better than slipping on ice, right? Not only that, but this is a good stage to build up my collection of Metals that function in this game as currency for upgrades on X, Axl and Zero’s strengths and abilities. This time I had to leave Axl behind and choose Zero and X. I like Zero’s attack from the snow mobile, and he really came in handy to break the barrier (huge ice blocks) that cut off access to a capsule for X. I had Zero try different things in this area, but I tried the Tenshouha and it broke the ice blocks just like that. I knew there was something there if the ice looked breakable and shiny. Zero was useful here after all.

This is a job for Zero, the red Maverick Hunter! Ha hah, his new nickname can be Ice-Breaker. O__O

In this capsule was Head Parts H, which according to Dr. Light “increases the weapons’ charge speed when equipped.” Yes, X definitely can use this to his advantage! He may need it more than he knows…

Here are the final special weapons each Maverick Hunter earned after the Avalanche Yeti (by the way, in defeating this guy, X was completely knocked out and Zero managed to finish the battle with one health bit left!).

• Zer0……………….Hyouryuusho

• X…………………..Drift Diamond

• Axl…………………Ice Gattling

So now that all the Mavericks are defeated, there is more plot revealed and as usual, there are a few more stages to complete before getting to the final final boss. I love the music for the Stage Select at this point; I just let the music play a few times before moving on.

Oh, I learned within this session of playing MMX 8 that if a character is knocked out, they might come back in five or ten minutes with about a fifth of their energy left. That is what happened to Axl in the Pitch Black stage, and after fighting an ambush and earning metals and energy crystal, I let Axl take that energy crystal. I am nice, am I?

Before I end this very long post, lemme just say that I did at least reach the stage where I had to fight against the Mavericks again. I want to choose a careful time to finish the game. I still have one more Part for X to go, in the Pandamonium stage, but it is almost impossible to reach it at this point. I am hoping I can finish the game without it. It was a very productive session of MMX 8, and I had another Intermission Stage unlocked at Central White this time.

@_@

Mega Man X8 Music!!!!

2011-06-29T13:28:00.000-07:00

I love this song. It makes me think of Axl cuz I had him ride the ride armor first in MMX 8. Axl my booo!

The music is from MMX 8.

Update + Mega Man X8 on June 3rd

2011-06-28T12:51:00.000-07:00

It's great to be back on Cyborg Haven again. I was recovering from a bilateral tonsillectomy (both tonsils were removed) so while I was living on liquid Vicodin, antibiotics, applesauce, apple juice and Gatorade, I couldn't update Cyborg Haven on time. Even after eating more types of soft foods, I was still tired and sick because of the medicine. But now I am well enough to return and share my gaming experiences. Yayyy!

So here is the blog post I meant to put up that week of my surgery. There are a few other posts I wanted to complete by this time, but for now enjoy this update on my progress for Mega Man X8.

I went to the Optic Sunflower stage to find armor parts for X. See, in the Stage Select screen if it says that a stage is “30% Complete,” then there must be something that X needs to get there, so one of my characters that I choose to play MUST be X (preferably with his Neutral Armor on). And of course Axl goes with him! (Sorry Zero : P)

After defeating Gigavolt Man-o-War at the Dynasty Stage, the heroes got these weapons:

X: Thunder Dancer

Axl: Plasma Gun

Zero: Raikousen

I still have yet to fight the Avalanche Yeti in the snowy level. It’s really fun and I get a lot of metals in this stage, but 98% of the time that the characters die, it’s because they fall into one of the pits. I haven’t reached the Maverick yet in this stage since I keep falling into the pits. Well, it is the last Maverick. Meanwhile I wanted to at least acquire X’s other armor parts so he can be powered up to fight harder bosses. There is still one other weapon X needs to find along with the last special weapon. Is it the Giga Attack chip? I dunno.

In the Mining stage, I found a breakable rock that was blocking some barrels, behind which there was a capsule. I wanted to get to it, but that big ol’ Mechanaloid was trying to shoot at X and Axl. After fighting that big thing as a sub-boss, I checked back after it started walking away, then found that the rock was gone. I was able to burn up the barrels and get to the capsule, where X got his Body Parts I.

There are still three areas/stages that have an item X still needs: Pitch Black, Primrose, and Booster Forest. I thought I’d still have to get one in Inferno too (the Burn Rooster stage) but I ended up getting that one that night as well. It took a while since there were a lot of spikes on the walls and on the floors to avoid. I had to go down a few levels, and then jump to a wall on the side and wall-jump up alternate sides to avoid spikes on either side. So Axl was the best go-to-Reploid for this stage. Axl is basically like insurance. Hah hah ha! Right before this wall, Axl had to fall then I had to push the hover button (X for a second jump) to hover over to the side wall. And I had to time it right or Axl would fall onto the spikes. After at least thirty deaths, Axl manages to get to where the capsule is, and X obtained his Foot Parts H. Dr. Light’s hologram tells X that these will help him “gain speed in movement.” I tried it out, and it certainly does.

After saving, and Chip Development, I went to the stage select to just do a brief play in the Intermission for the prologue stage. But it turned out, that there was an emergency intermission for the Inferno Stage! A hole developed in the volcano and X and the others are needed to see how deep it goes. It was almost 2am. I said, why the hell not, this will be the last thing I do before I stop playing for the night. I chose Zero, and big mistake. HE doesn’t run as fast as the other characters because he is carrying his saber with him. Ergh, sloooowww! After a few times with Zero, I tried X with his new foot parts and I can definitely feel the difference in the speed. He got more metals than Zero too. After those, I had enough and stopped playing for the night.

This game is so much fun! One of these days though, I’d like to return to Mega Man X3 or Mega Man X4 again. I love the music and game play for both.

Pac-Man Zero

2011-06-13T14:41:00.000-07:00

Yeah, another stupid doodle. After I drew it within two minutes I found it very hilarious .

May 27, 2011 by Amethyst Anne
Zero belongs to CAPCOM
Pac-Man belongs to NAMCO

Mega Man X8 on May 27

2011-05-30T12:26:00.000-07:00

Yay!!! Axl never disappoints me. :3 Mega Man X8 is fun because of him.

I’ve defeated a couple more Mavericks in this session: Earthrock Trilobite and Burn Rooster. I also acquired some parts for X’s armor.

I found the Neutral Armor in the Optic Sunflower stage. I needed Axl’s help because it might have required his hovering skills to get to the area where it was. There was a barrier blocking access to the capsule. Alia tells Axl and X that they need something that can break it, and I immediately figured that it was X’s gravity weapon that would do the trick. So I tried it, and it worked! :) I’ve been wondering what those things were because they didn’t look like capsules I would recognize in the earlier Mega Man X games. So after getting to this first capsule, X got the Neutral Armor and Buster Part H.

I knew where another capsule was, so after this, I exited the stage (since I beat the maverick here) and went right to the Prologue stage. I brought X in with his Neutral Armor and of course, Axl my boo. In this capsule X gets Buster Part I. The Dr. Light hologram tells X that this chip can allow him to power up his special weapons into charge attacks. That is gonna be swwweeeeeeeeeet! I’ve tried out the ones I have and I can't wait to have X put them to practical use! I feel good when I figure out which of the special weapons works on a difficult ememy or barrier.

Oooo, I love Axl’s rainbow attack weapon. I forgot what it’s called (I should have taken notes last time. Next time I’ll just write down the attacks that all the characters have up to the point I’ve played.). When Axl shoots, it bounces off walls and gets enemies that are hard to reach from an awkward angle. Its three shots at a time though, but after a second Axl can shoot more. Again, Axl has proved very valuable in this video game. WHY DON’T PEOPLE LIKE AXL?!!!

Again, when I write down the weapons Axl/X/Zero got, I’ll update this post :)

EDIT 6/4 : Here they are!

Here are the weapons I got for each character up to this point:
X

• X-Buster

• Shining Ray

• Squeeze Bomb

• Shadow Runner

• Melt Creeper

• Crystal Wall

• Green Spinner

Axl

• Axl’s Weapon

• Ray Gun

• Spiral Magnum

• Black Arrow

• Flame Burner

• Bound Blaster

• Blast Launcher

• Copy shot

Zero

• Zero’s Weapon

• Tonshouha

• Juuhazan

• Rasetsusen

• Enkoujin

• Rekkyoudan

• Youdantotsu

Dreaming About Video Games Again

2011-05-13T20:13:00.000-07:00

I dreamed that I was playing another Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII video game as Vincent Valentine, and there were always bullets flying toward him. I had Vincent do all kinds of evasive manuvers just to get hit by as low as one out of every eighth bullet. It was some kind of hard mode or something.

Am I dreaming about this game because I miss it? I do want to watch the scenes again. Vincent is a cool-enough character to get his own game like Cloud Strife. Of course that is my own opinion.

Also, NiGHTS appeared in my dreams in some shape or form, twice in a row (adjacent nights).

That reminds me: Lynne Triplett (aka TRiPPY) from NiGHTS into Dreams.com is including fan art for the NiGHTS into Dreams and NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams games into the website. I am so excited to see the art work there and I kept squealing and squeeing with delight at how wonderful these drawings are. I plan to submit some artwork of my own, but I will have to wait til later. I mean, I can start drawing now (or soon), but I need to wait until the existing fan art has been posted from the old website to the new/current website so that she is not more overwhelmed than she already is :D I am patient and can cook up some NiGHTS and Reala fan art of my own so that they are ready when the time comes to submit them later.

Here's the link if you wanna check out the art work for NiGHTS into Dreams: http://www.nightsintodreams.com/?p=1568

Here's the link for fan art of NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams: http://www.nightsintodreams.com/?p=1591

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! NiGHTS! SQUEEEEEEEEE......!

MEGA MAN X8 + OMG AXL IS SO COOL!!!

2011-05-06T18:31:00.000-07:00

Mega Man X is happy that Amethyst Anne

has returned to playing his video game series.

When it comes to playing Mega Man X8, Axl is my boo.

It was time I finally returned to playing a video game in the Mega Man X series. I think I need a break from Dissidia Final Fantasy, as fun as that game can be. My love for the Mega Man X series has weakened the longer I went without playing any of it.

The last time I tried Mega Man X8 (MMX 8 here for Amazon.com) was sometime last year in February. I was trying out the game to make sure it was a working copy, since it was used and in very good condition. It worked like a charm; however I started the game in NORMAL mode, so it wasn’t impossible, but it was frustrating. I never made it past the prologue stage, and I was still getting used to Axl’s controls.

Well, when I started this game again, I chose EASY mode. And I went to the Options Menu to change a couple of button controls for the controller configuration. I wanted to switch characters using the R2 button because I am used to switching weapons on other games with that button. I kept the “switch weapons” control to its original L1/R1 buttons. It made the tag-team game play so much easier. I usually, er, maybe never changed configuration for video game controllers, but I wanted to make things easier for myself if I wanted to have fun with this game. I am also pleased that the game play is side-scrolling style, yet the game play’s graphics are in 2.5D and the colors are very vivid and rich. I’d like to think that the voice acting is decent, especially with Lucas Gilbertson’s Zero being just right for him. Axl’s and X’s voices are agreeable to me as well.

Everyone starts out already having the DASH move! Yippeeeeee!

I was so excited to play as Axl, the third Reploid in the Mega Man X threesome…0.O I almost always choose Axl first when I go through the Character Select. I didn’t even get to play this character in MMX: Command Mission yet, so I was so happy I could play as Axl from the very beginning. Here are some reasons why I love playing as Axl in MMX 8 (and why he should have been popular):

• Auto-shooting (non-stop bullets)

• Auto-shooting in ANY direction

• Great chance of large-numbered combos during attacks

• Weapon and Special Weapons don’t use Weapon Energy

• Hovering

• Hovering + shooting

• Hovering + moving

• He’s just so awesome.

The Options Screen has such beautiful, calming music, much like music that helps promote brain waves that can help a listener fall asleep. It is a good change from always having loud or fast music in the levels or the results screen. I don’t need to change anything else in the game, so I occasionally go to the Options Screen just to listen to that relaxing music :D MMX 8 has a great music soundtrack. I fell in love with the music track used for the Bamboo Pandamonium stage.

Here are the stages in which I’ve beaten the bosses so far in my personal order:

• Bamboo Pandamoniom

• Optic Sunflower

• Graviy Antonion

• Dark Mantis

I still need to find X’s Neutral Armor and some items that I can’t seem to find now. I am getting the hang of playing as Zero since he wields the Z-Saber instead of shooting. I enjoy playing as all three characters, and as I’ve said, I love playing as Axl most of all because of his hover ability and endless weapon energy. Sometimes I have to decide that a stage can do without Axl, and X needs some more fighting to do together with his buddy-pal Zero. I have a suggestion though: use Axl and Zero in the Avalanche Yeti stage because they have the best shooting weapons for the stage. This stage is also a good way tol collect lots and lots of Metals. Those Metals are important for creating things call Power Chips that enhance X, Zero and Axl on their missions.

I am going to be having a lot of fun with this game :) So I will write more about it in the near future as I play further into the game.

@.@

Dissidia on April 23 and 30 + Getting Ready for Dissidia Duodecim Final Fantasy

2011-05-01T22:23:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the looooooooong wait, guys. =P

I’ve been reading up on DDFF (from The Lifestream.net and FFU) and I am very pleased about the additional goodies that come with the sequel to Dissidia Final Fantasy. Man, I am wayyyy behind. I am on Chapter 3 of Shade Impulse and left off needing to level up Zidane and a few other heroes.

I haven’t touched Squall and Tidus, probably because they are my least favorite heroes fighting for Cosmos. If I ever do, it may be only to see their side of the story of Dissidia. I had just finished Onion Knight’s DO on April 30th and it was really easy for me, considering that he was near level 20 when I began. I am starting to understand why Terra is with the Chaos group on the cover of Dissidia Duodecim Final Fantasy (DDFF). And Tidus, I’ll see. What I really want to know is why Cloud is standing next to Sephiroth in the Chaos half of the box art for DDFF. Poor Cloud, he doesn’t know what he wants to do. At this point, my guess is that Cloud will have to be a character that can be unlocked once certain requirements are met. That was how it was for the villains in this first game.

I am afraid to read reviews of the game because I don’t want much of the story to be disclosed to me. I guess it’s my fault for not playing the game frequently enough to be almost done by now. I know there are other games I can rent or buy, but as a Dissidia fan I cannot miss out on this, and the next big game I am excited about may not even be release by the end of this year (I’m talkin’ Final Fantasy Versus XIII, and maybe Metal Gear Solid: Rising).

I am giving myself more time to finish the first Dissidia. It might be the only video game I get to for the next couple of months. In the meanwhile, besides updating my progress, I will respond to the occasional video game news or reminisce about another game I’ve played in the past. Possible upcoming topics may be:

• FFVII remake for PSP 2?

• More thoughts about Dissidia Duodecim

• My introduction to Square Enix continues: FFVII

• News from FF Versus XIII.net

• Return to the world of NiGHTS

• Reminisce about my excitement about Jak II

• Video game-related dreams

• Video game YouTube videos

EDIT: There may be more topics than this. See the next post.

Dissidia: Final Fantasy on April 5 + Gaming Habits

2011-04-08T23:22:00.000-07:00

The next Destiny Odyssey I will tackle next is that of the Onion Knight. But on this Bonus Day I just focused on leveling up characters again. It is a good day to do that. I’d rather not play a DO on a Bonus Day just in case I have to replay a whole story again and lose all of the EXP and Gil that way. So here is the level-up progress on my faves from that last playing session:

• Warrior of Light………..42, from 39

• Firion……………………47, from 45

• Zidane…………………...50, from 48

• Cloud…………………….47, from 45

• Bartz……………………..33

• Onion Knight…………….16, from 13

I need to talk about something else now, actually. I haven’t been touching my PS2 lately. I’m not tired of it; there are just less opportunities for me to get to it. I use the PSP more frequently (if it has enough battery power in it, of course ;p ) I am saying something about this because I am afraid my blog might be running out of steam if all I play are the few PSP titles that I have. Sigh. I am going to make an effort to get to the PS2 or Wii games. Maybe even the one PS3 game that I do have, Devil May Cry 4. I am stuck in that game and will have to give myself an hour or an hour and a half to figure out what the hell Nero is supposed to do there in that castle place. I could find tips or just get the strategy guide for the game but I got through DMC 3 without the help of a guide. So why not DMC 4? And don’t get me started on DMC: Devil May Cry…….

Okay, now I am rambling on and on. Back to Dissidia. I saved a couple of battles of Cloud vs. Sephiroth, where I had Cloud pull off some good blocks and dodges from the Masamune sword. Sigh again. I need to upload these vids on my YouTube channel. Now to get them on my computer, hopefully if this can work.

Sonic Rivals 2 on March 31st

2011-04-04T20:11:00.000-07:00

Ha ha haaahh...I wondered why I didn’t get back to this game for a while, and then I realized it’s because this game made me temporarily hate Sonic the Hedgehog. After reading the Sonic the Hedgehog comic books from Archie Comics Publications, Inc, I was in a SEGA mood. Issues 215 and 216 have a lot of Silver the Hedgehog, so I felt like playing the only video game I have that contains Silver: Sonic Rivals 2.

I warmed up by playing a singular player race and then a free play to get used to the controls and the setting of the game. Then I wanted to continue Silver’s story in the game, which is next to Espio the Chameleon. It was right where I left off; Silver and Sonic were going to compete in a challenge where the one who captures and collects the most Chao wins. Well, Sonic knew what he was doing, but Silver/I didn’t. Whenever I stole Sonic’s Chao, it didn’t count because I had to have Silver take back his own Chao from Sonic. In all, Silver had to have collected six Chao; three of his own and three of Sonic's Chao. It took a few more losses to learn that was what I had to do. I can't believe I didn't learn that last time I got to the game, which was how long ago, exactly....? Maybe at least four months ago?

What happened after that, what next, what next…Shadow had to compete against Sonic to beat the boss, Dr. Eggman, with the most hits. After a couple of times I got it. Next, Espio wanted to get info from Tails, but Tails said, “I don’t know. I gotta run and catch up with Sonic. See ya!” Espio had to race against Tails and win the race, or, beat Tails to the end of the race so he can ask Sonic more questions. Espio is not really a fast runner :( and I got fed up so I stopped the story and chose Silver to search for Chao in Act 1 of Zone 1.

I got a Mephiles card at some point during my playing session. I know he’s from Sonic ’06. Hah, I dunno if I am ever going to play that game after all.

Silver's growing on me, though. It's more because of the comic books, not the video game.

LITERAL Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood Trailer

2011-04-01T20:06:00.000-07:00

Sorry I've been a bit behind...or lazy...with writing about my gaming. I played Phantasy Star IV on the PSP's SEGA Genesis Collection and I also played Sonic Rivals 2 just Wednesday afternoon. In the meanwhile, here is another one of my favorite LITERALs from YouTube's Toby Turner. You can visit his YT channel at http://www.youtube.com/tobuscus .

LITERAL Halo Reach: Trailer

2011-03-17T00:08:00.000-07:00

I remember this trailer for Halo: Reach and the music is so cinematic and inspiring. It must be why I enjoyed this YouTube video so much. I've already added it to my favorites :)

I love the singing, and the lyrics are so literal and funny! I've never played Halo: Reach and I still laughed a lot. Enjoy.

Dissidia on February 25th and March 5th

2011-03-08T19:16:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I think Zidane is ready to continue Shade Impulse chapter 1 about now. He is currently level 47, from 45. I think he was in the mid-30s when I tried before. I finished Bartz’s Destiny Odyssey this past Saturday and it left me in a really good mood, in fact quite bubbly for the rest of the evening! ^__^

• Cloud….42, from 41

• Zidane….47, from 45

• Bartz….32

• Sasuke (I mean, Cecil Harvey)…..4, from 3

• Kuja…..23

• Onion Knight…...11, from 8

I realize that Dissidia Duodecim (012) Final Fantasy will be released within a month, but I won’t be buying it anytime too soon. And frankly I don’t care much about those special downloads people can get if they preorder the game from Game Stop or Amazon or whatever. Do the characters have to have four or five different outfits to be successful? I like many options as much as the next guy, but I just want to keep it simple for myself.

Oh!!! I saved three battles. One of them is a very tense battle between Cloud and you guessed it Sephiroth. But I won’t say whether I’ve lost or won; I am planning on sharing it on my YouTube channel once I OPEN THAT DARN USB CABLE (for the PSP) PLASTIC BOX THAT IS VERY IMPOSSIBLE TO OPEN WITH ANYTHING!!! Hey, why don’t I just get an electric chainsaw to open it, right? Hah hah haha.

Speaking of hah hah haha, during that session I played as Kuja versus Kuja. So after I won the battle, he poses and then he says, “I thoroughly enjoyed myself.”

@o@

Nostalgia: Mega Man X on March 1st

2011-03-05T22:35:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday, I returned to Mega Man X. It has been a really long time since I played a Mega Man X game, so after a short hour of playing the game my thumbs were feeling overused. I beat four bosses; Chill Penguin, Launch Octopus, Storm Eagle, and Sting Chameleon.

I tried to get through Flame Mammoth first, but the level was too difficult without the leg upgrade. So after some failed attempts, I skipped over to Chill Penguin because I remembered that the leg upgrade was in that stage. It helps soooo much.

I tried Armored Armadillo next, and got a sub-tank, but didn’t beat the boss. So then I had X go over to the Spark Mandrill, and I wasn’t lucky in that one either. Annoyed, I went to Launch Octopus and got a heart tank and defeated him with the help of the sub-tank I got earlier.

Next I went to Storm Eagle’s stage and got a Mega Head (extra life :D), the helmet upgrade and defeated that boss. After that I went to Sting Chameleon and got the body armor, another Mega Head, and defeated Sting Chameleon with the torpedo weapon. Then I called it a session.

My hands are rusty having not played a Mega Man X game for a few months.

One-Year Anniversary of Playing Mega Man X

2011-02-22T22:41:00.000-08:00

It was the 24th or so of February. That was the first day that my sister and I played Mega Man X for the first time. The game had been out for long time by then, but we were only then just getting into it. I was so excited, learning about the Mega Man X story and getting used to the controls for the game. The graphics were bright and colorful and the music for many of the levels was catchy.

We were in third grade when this video game series started. We were loyal Sonic the Hedgehog fans, so we didn’t dare consider getting a whole different console to play other video games. But a certain video game magazine allowed us to learn some things about this new Mega Man series. A Santa Claus-looking scientist portrayed by a blue light; a Mega Man with white armor; and Mega Man X changing colors depending on the weapon he has equipped. I don’t remember being familiar with the classis/old school Mega Man during that time. Oh, there was a Mega Man Soccer game for the SNES (?), I believe, and THAT was the classic Mega Man because Roll was in it. The design for the video game however looked like that of Mega Man X, though. Odd. :D

We were curious about this Mega Man X, but again, we didn’t intend to stray from Sonic the Hedgehog, so for the next several years, (1994 to 2002) we were only SEGA/Sonic girls. It was either Nintendo or SEGA during those years.

Thank goodness for the Playstation 2, right?

Playstation 2 opened up our options. We can play PS2 video games, AND we can play Playstation video games as long as we had the corresponding memory card for that type of game. That’s how after Kingdom Hearts I was able to play the original Final Fantasy VII, for which I had to buy a set of 3 PS1 memory cards. Playstation 2 allowed me to try other genres of video games; adventure, action, eventually fighters.

Sis and I didn’t pay attention to when the Mega Man X Collection was released. We ignored it or missed it. The part of us that would be Mega Man fans was kept deep inside where it would be hard to let it out.

I am glad that we didn’t miss out on Mega Man X after all. Yeah it’s a 2-D video game but it has enough charm to amuse a new Mega Man fan.

But really, I have to thank Nintendo Power magazine for the preview on the Mega Man Zero Collection. That is how this whole craze began: we found out from there that Zero, originally from Mega Man X, is a “super-powered robot,” and all this time we didn’t know that Mega Man, X, and Zero were robots (we thought they were humans with super-powered armor and weapon instead). It just made our interest in the franchise even stronger! Mine especially, since I was already fascinated with cybernetic characters.

In wanting to understand this fascination, I started a new blog. Getting into the Mega Man X video games was a push that I needed to start Cybernetic Dreams, my blog about my fascination with robots, androids and cyborgs. Why am I so interested in robots, especially robots that are (or are not) capable of demonstrating human emotions? The same goes for androids. Cyborgs too; I am interested in how a human can be part machine. I don’t really write much about the Mega Man X series in Cybernetic Dreams, but someday I should. Just because Mega Man X is a robot. :)

Whew, long post @.@

Return to Dissidia Final Fantasy on February 1st and 5th

2011-02-13T14:53:00.000-08:00

YAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!

It has been OVER A MONTH since I laid my fingers on my PSP, to play Dissidia no less, considering it is a video game I haven’t finished. Will probably not completely finish, considering the other video games I still have to finish up. I haven’t even finished the original FF VII, yet I watched FF VII: ACC, finished Dirge of Cerberus (the main game, anyway) and finished Crisis Core: FF VII just over the month ago.

Anyway, it was good to return to Dissidia on a Bonus Day Tuesday, leveling up one of the characters very well, in fact. I gave Zidane a big boost.

• Bartz-------------------29, from 28

• Zidane-----------------45, from 42

• Cloud------------------42, from 41

• Firion------------------41, from 37

• Warrior of Light-----37, from 35

As I was playing as Cloud in his Alternate form, I made a sort of mistake by not customizing Sephiroth’s stats (yes…I had Cloud fight against Sephiroth again, okay? Sheesh :D) So he was not impossible against my Cloud but hard enough that in four battles in a row I did not win. Just before he lost the third battle I said, “Poor baby!!” What? Why did I say that? Cloud’s stronger than that.

Should I Play Final Fantasy XIII? Also: Versus XIII Game Play

2011-01-30T21:08:00.000-08:00

I recently found out from the Final Fantasy Union website that there is going to be a sequel to Final Fantasy XIII, and it’s apparently named for now Final Fantasy XIII-2.

I have a demo of FF XIII that comes with the Blu-Ray for Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete. I’ve never tried the demo yet. But I want to, because I don’t want to at least miss out on that. I haven’t finished FF XII, but it is a very different story so I am not going to worry about that (I should still return to it though. I mean, I bought it, I have to finish it at some point :D ).

Now that I know that there is going to be a sequel to this latest FF, I am curious as to how it turned out in the end that made it seem like it should have a second part.

I also decided to check out another one of my favorite websites, http://www.ff-versusxiii.net/ and I found that there is some new game play footage released. This is the new trailer for Final Fantasy Versus XIII for 2011. To be honest, I am relieved that the subtitles for the dialogue are still in Japanese kanji; I don’t want the dialogue/plot stuff to be revealed right away anyway. I got a big kick out of the game play content that the trailer included. It looks so fun to play—probably because the workings for it are very similar to the game play action from the main Kingdom Hearts titles. There is some real-time stuff that happens during the game-play (like explosions) and Noctis reacts to them simultaneously. So cool!! This video game is THE REASON I wanted to have a Playstation 3.

Here is a direct link to where I found the 2011 trailer for FF Versus XIII:
http://www.ff-versusxiii.net/index.php?page=article&article=Final-Fantasy-Versus-XIII-HD-Trailer--643

New Year, New Habits

2011-01-17T19:06:00.000-08:00

The New Year has started and I don’t think I even touched my PS2 or my PSP so far. Maybe I needed a break from gaming? I dunno. It is still one of my favorite pastimes. I guess after finishing Crisis Core near the end of last year, I feel like, “Gosh is there any other video game as good as this?”

I need to return to the list of games I started but haven’t finished yet. That should get me started. Of course, that will include Mega Man X: Command Mission and Mega Man X8. I probably shouldn't buy any more new video games until I finish at least five of the ones I already have :D ! And Dissidia: FF is going to keep me busy on the PSP for a long while.

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

• Sonic Unleashed (the latest Sonic Game I have)

• Final Fantasy XII (I’m supposed to be in the Stilshrine 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 just started it.)

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

Lately I've been having dreams that included Cloud Strife, even Zack Fair, and/or Vincent Valentine. The graphics were as good as FFVII: Advent Children Complete. I feel like even though I've sort of already finished Dirge of Cerberus: FFVII, I should give the Extra Missions a try. The extra missions in Crisis Core seem more appealing to me though (more than the ones in Dirge of Cerberus). That could be because I am not that good at aiming Vincent's Cerberus at things. I just make him shoot and hope that the target mark stays where it's supposed to so that he gets a hit. I should just go for it and give Vincent's game a chance again. That mysterious Vincent...I am all of a sudden interested in his mysteriousness again.

In a Final Fantasy VII Mood ^8^

2011-01-06T22:31:00.000-08:00

As I’ve said, I am in a Final Fantasy VII craze phase. I found my copy of the FFVII OST and imported my favorite tunes from the game into my iTunes library. My number one tracks are “Holding My Thoughts in my Heart,” “Anxious Heart,” “Life Stream,” “Tifa’s Theme,” “Highwind Takes to the Skies,” among others. I like “Aeris’ Theme” too; I just avoid it most of the time. “Cait Sith’s Theme” always makes me smile and snap my fingers! “Sandy Badlands” has been stuck in my head multiple times last year.

Aside from listening to music from the original Final Fantasy VII, I am thinking about buying the OST for Crisis Core: FFVII, maybe within the next couple of months. I have some new iTunes credit, so I won’t feel guilty buying it. I’ll see.

Now the more interesting part: I have been watching funny videos/dubs of either game on YouTube. The guys at The Lifestream.net are doing a play through of the original game while providing commentary at the same time. It’s interesting listening to what they have to say about the story and characters. But what I really enjoyed though is the hilarious videos on YouTube coming from a group of young comedians SonsofSatire. I noticed that they have a parody dub of Crisis Core. I watched up to Chapter 12 of that series, called Crisis Core Dub Parody. Then I found out that SonsofSatire also are working on a parody dub of Final Fantasy VII, called Final Fantasy VII: The Abridged Series. I’m like Hell yeah I wanna check that out! And I’m glad I did. I LOVED episode one. Every intro is slightly different (Kyol who voices Cloud sings different lyrics for the beginning song each episode).

I found out SonsofSatire also did a parody dub of Last Order: FFVII, but I think I should stay away from that until I’ve seen it one more time. I’ve seen it twice already, but that was maybe over a year and a half ago.

Also I am curious about the CloudxZack doujinshi scans on YouTube. ‘Nuff said about that.

Noseless Cloud is getting more attention from me. I always keep him on my bed, but for two nights so far, I found myself holding his plush hand for comfort. I give him more squeeshy hugs.

Here is the first episode of both the Crisis Core Dub Parody and Final Fantasy VII The Abridged Series.

I almost died laughing after this one XD!!!

My Reflections on Finishing Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII

2011-01-03T23:31:00.000-08:00

THERE ARE SPOILERS. So if you haven't finished the game, skip reading this post.

So, it’s been eleven days since I finished this game. I had to give myself some distance from watching the ending since I was still a bit sensitive about it. Yes, I cried, I believe I said that already did I? I didn’t sob, but the tears kept coming during the ending scene and through the end credits.

I left off right before Zack was to enter the Portal called the Light of Doom. So I ended up going ahead and going to where Zack felt Genesis was. First there was a scene, and then the battle begins. Even if Zack has the Libra materia equipped, the number of Genesis’ HP doesn’t show. I just had to keep attacking and attacking. And not at Genesis directly: for this battle, his sword is the weakness. He doesn’t have it low enough for Zack to hit it all the time. And if that’s not enough, there are minions that try to slow down Zack’s progress of defeating Genesis. Sigh, this battle is going to go on forever, is it?!! I wouldn’t even know how finished I am since his HP won’t show. I kept using my Dark Firaga spell and Cissnei gave Zack the Lucky Stars ability multiple times. I used up my magic points quickly because Dark Firaga takes around 32 or so points at a time. Luckily I had plenty of Ether I gathered over time to help me out. I used an Elixir to save Zack’s life as well. Cloud was a good boy and helped out Zack as well, along with Angeal and, uh, Aeris.

Genesis actually helped out Zack in the DMW. How IRONIC is that for this battle?

After some time that I didn’t take into account, I finally won this fight against Genesis. But I only thought I was done; there was yet another fight Zack needed to win against Genesis. At least this time I can see his max HP: 99,999. WOW. The battle was speedy because I used Dark Firaga. I forgot if Graviga was effective or not. I would have to play the battle again and see. But the fight went very fast for me, too fast in fact.

I realized to my horror there were no more save points since the point right before the battles with Genesis. At this point I believe I’d finish the game that night. Looking back at it now, I see that it was not necessary to have any more save points. There would be no more game to play afterwards. It turned out I was right.

After another few scenes come up, and before I knew it, Zack was on the truck already. I said out loud, “Oh no, ohhh no, here it is.” All I could do was watch on. So I did.

Turns out, there is one more battle Zack still needs to do. And the developers (and Tetsuya Nomura, I have to guess) decided that he’d give players the experience of fighting Zack’s last battle, the one against the Shinra soldiers. This battle was very different though. As Zack fought, his DMW seemed to be malfunctioning. I thought that was really weird, but then I think it makes sense what the developers were trying to do making the DMW unavailable. I mean, it still appeared, but some characters were missing and there were no matches. Pretty much the only thing that the characters in the DMW did to help was Zack’s memory of them, saying to “hang on” and “don’t give up.” I believe it was Cloud who said “hang on,” but again I didn’t take notes. :( I think Zack was too distracted for the DMW to work properly, not to mention that he fought bunch after bunch after bunch of soldiers with no end in sight. I found a really good comment from someone on The Lifestream.net who explained the significance of the DMW’s malfunction. I responded to his comment, agreeing with him and thanking him (I put myself there as “Sara,” by the way).

LINK: (This is the title of the post in which I responded to a comment in The Lifestream.net)

The Most Memorable Moments of the Compilation of FFVII - Part 2

I knew what was going to happen, but I wanted to have Zack fight as long as he can, because I wanted to fight as long as I can. I used my most powerful materia, slashed again and again, healed Zack again and again, and dodged attacks. I did everything in my power. There was just too many of those soldiers, and I felt as overwhelmed as Zack must have felt. I personally was fighting for Cloud, but as well as for him, Zack also fought for SOLDIER honor. It was just so touching to be involved in that part of the game, in this part of the story.

The last wave of soldiers was very difficult, with the DMW almost gone. I lasted as long as I did, and then it was the end of it. And then this rookie infantryman just had to walk up to Zack and look down at him, like “I’m going to fill you with more bullets,” and I was so angry. I saw it happen in the original game, but in full FMV from Zack’s point of view, it was so frustrating. There was nothing that could be done. Zack was trapped.

As for the finishing scene, well, I don’t have to tell you much about that at the moment. I always cry when best friends are separated by death, and that was the most painful example of it. Maybe I’ll do an analysis of the ending scene of Crisis Core sometime in the future, after watching it again. There is so much to say about it and this post is long enough already :D Sigh.

Thus I am in a Final Fantasy VII craze phase.

@,@

Finished Crisis Core!!!!!!

2010-12-26T14:03:00.000-08:00

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

2010-12-24T00:24:00.000-08:00

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

2010-12-21T23:45:00.000-08:00

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…?

2010-12-11T20:08:00.000-08:00

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^

2010-12-09T19:08:00.000-08:00

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.

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

2010-12-06T12:20:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-22T22:44:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-16T23:04:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-11T23:31:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-10T01:49:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-05T21:34:00.000-07:00

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!!!

2010-10-31T12:38:00.000-07:00

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

2010-10-26T19:15:00.000-07:00

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

2010-10-21T20:52:00.000-07:00

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...?)

2010-10-18T00:03:00.000-07:00

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

2010-10-17T12:14:00.000-07:00

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!!

2010-10-09T21:01:00.000-07:00

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

2010-10-06T12:40:00.000-07:00

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

2010-10-01T20:10:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-24T18:16:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-22T12:34:00.000-07:00

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!!!!!!!!!!

2010-09-21T14:53:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-16T22:30:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-12T12:22:00.000-07:00

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...

2010-09-10T19:22:00.000-07:00

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 ^,^

2010-09-03T11:14:00.000-07:00

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!!!!!!

2010-09-03T00:00:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-02T18:34:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-30T18:25:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-28T22:37:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-25T21:40:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-24T18:47:00.000-07:00

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...

2010-08-24T16:38:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-08-21T15:53:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-18T21:22:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-17T18:21:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-16T01:35:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-06T00:15:00.000-07:00

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^

Mega Man X3 is finished; MMX 4 coming soon...

2010-08-02T21:17:00.000-07:00

It took a grueling 20-22 hours (total, not all at once, mind you) spent on the battles against Sigma, but my sister finally got through it and finished Mega Man X3 last night. She REALLY REALLY REALLY wants to watch the anime scenes in X4. We know that the anime in this next game is from the 1990s, but it's still so cool, it's Mega Man X anime!!!

She couldn't wait and she started the game and played through the intro stage. I was afraid she was going to hog this game from me too 0.o . But we are sharing the Mega Man X Collection, so it's fair that I let her play some of the game. In a few days I'll be playing the game myself. What's so cool is, you can play the game as either X or Zero! I'll start with X because he's the main character. I'll bet Sis wants to play as Zero, so maybe I'll let her do that. I don't know if both characters have to be played to get to the final stages or not. Some games are like that, such as the Hero Story and the Dark Story from Sonic Adventure 2 in order to get to the final chapter.

I'm looking at Tuesday or Wednesday. I'll write about the different feel Mega Man X4 has (it definitely has it. The graphics are 32-bit instead of 16-bit, and X has newly-added vocalization). So there will be new music, a new dialouge format, and the menu screen and one or two other new things.

And I know, I know, I still have to finish that darn Crisis Core. I did say I was going to finish it by the end of July, didn't I. Aw man. I need to charge the battery of my PSP for that, though. It might take one more session to finish it, or it might take two more. Darn it, I don't wanna cry...

Kuja is up two more levels in Dissidia

2010-07-25T22:54:00.000-07:00

I played Dissidia: Final Fantasy on Saturday afternoon. Since I haven't played the game for a while, one of the Moggles gave me 300PP and a Mog's Amulet through the Mognet. Then I had to play a few Quick Battles with Firion to get used to the controls again. I was so out of practice, I sucked at playing the first several battles.

I realized my favorite Dissidia villian, Kuja from FFIX, was only at level 2, so I decided to level him up. Gosh, it is hard to play as him because he only has short distance and long distance attacks. There aren't attacks that easily go right up to the opponent. I made a big mistake of having Kuja fight against that brutal Sephiroth, and I won in only one of the three times. Sheesh. Sephiroth's so mean. He didn't give me a break in between attacks sometimes, and before I knew it, Kuja's Bravery Points was at BREAK. So then I had Kuja fight against Squall in The Rift stage to have a bit of an easier time. Squall is mean too. I try not to set up the Quick Battles at an easy difficulty because I like to have a challenging fight. Then that way the experience points that my fighter earns are worth it.

Then I got frustrated so I watched all the scenes from Cloud's Destiny Odyssey VII. It cheered me up. I like Cloud's awkward dialogue with his battle pals. Steve Burton is the perfect voice for him. I cannot hear Cloud having any other voice. =P

Anyway, now Kuja is level 4, from 2. He should've been at least level 6, if I didn't lose those battles against Sephiroth!!

Where are my magazines?!!!

2010-07-22T22:17:00.000-07:00

The last issue of Nintendo Power that arrived at my house was the May 2010 issue. I should be getting the August issue by the end of this month. That means I missed two issues: June and July. Heck, I’ve been subscribing so that I can save money. The first thing that comes to my mind when I am over two months late receiving an issue is that someone stole it from the mailbox before I could get to it. Or, the mailman (the one who usually doesn’t bring mail to my house every day) decided to keep it for himself and bring it to his son or friend. That’s my money, man, MY money this is coming out of!

Sigh. I haven’t received PlayStation the Official Magazine yet either. I can understand if one of them didn’t come. But two issues of Nintendo Power? And two issues of PSOM? I think it is something fishy that is going on. These magazines are where I get most of the video game news. I only go online to find out about video games when I find a title in the magazine that I want to learn more about. Gosh, are times this hard now that people have to steal other people’s MAGAZINES?

I hate to do this, but I will have to contact the magazines and ask them if the June and July issues have been sent, because I didn’t get mine. I shouldn’t have to pay $5.99 or more for each issue I miss when I am already subscribing to the darn magazines.

EDIT: Maybe both magazines are going defunct?

Sis is almost done with Mega Man X3 already O.O

2010-07-20T15:04:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the delay in Cyborg Haven. I was out of town for three days last week.

Also, my sister got to Mega Man X3 THREE DAYS IN A ROW before I can blog about those sessions with our favorite video game robot. I really wanted to make detailed posts about these sessions, but seeing as it's been a week since I updated Cyborg Haven, I will have to condense them into one shorter post again.

Mega Man X is angry at me now...

So as punishment I will have to finish Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII this month once and for all (well it's not really a punishment but I've put it off for far too long, and I know some readers are itching to know how I experience finishing one of the best PSP titles ever). I have to write a detailed post about my response for that one. So without even further delay, here is an update on how my sis is doing on Mega Man X3:

Sunday night she was very close to finishing the game. But Sigma is a pain in the butt. In fact, I have been the one fighting Sigma in the first two Mega Man X games. She had no "Sigma experience" and she thought she would be alble to finish the game that night. It turned out she wasn't prepared. Not to mention that her thumb was tired and sore by the time she finally reached Sigma. All that wall-kicking tired out her thumbs.

It wasn't all frustration. Zero made a couple more apperances to help X out, and we sqeeeeealed with joy. (That's pretty much the only girly thing I do. Squeal.)

Also, aside from finding all the rest of the Armor Parts for X on the same day, she also came across the Pink Capsules, the ones that hold the Enhancement Chips. This is new; so there are eight capsules in total in this game. There are the Armor Chip, the Foot Chip, the Energy Chip, and the Arm Chip. However, the Dr. Light Hologram in the capsule said that X's body can only handle one enhancement chip. "Go into the capsule if you are sure you want this power." It took some thinking, and more playing, but eventually sis decided to get the Energy Chip. It is very helpful for filling up the tanks speedily when there aren't much energy pills to find. It was especially handy when X arrived at Dr. Doppler's hideout and had to fight him. That bastard healed himself every ten seconds or so. It is good to have all four Sub-Tanks full for that battle, and the fight against him is right after the second fight with the Maverick Bosses (or the Boss Rush, as YouTube's Clement calls it). That's why that Energy Chip is so cool...

Next, Sis is going to try something different. She will keep the Energy Chip for the first three stages of the Dr. Doppler Lab, but before she goes to the Sigma stage, she will see if she can have X get to the pink capsule that has the Arm Chip. I thought that whichever Enhancement Chip she chose, she was stuck with. But perhaps Dr. Light meant that X can handle one chip at a time. Why didn't Dr. Light say that if that's how it was supposed to be? It's worth a try. X can go back to the earlier stages at any time if he needs to return to the pink capsules. Against Sigma's Ultimate Battle Body, I think Sis has the right idea about getting the Arm Chip for this battle. If it will work; it has to.

Continuing Mega Man X3…

2010-07-13T19:22:00.000-07:00

Three playing sessions went by so far already, so I will have to combine all three playing sessions for MMX 3 into one condensed post. Which is fine by me. Sis REALLY wants to get to Mega Man X4 as soon as possible. She is more ambitious about it than I am. But hey, I applaud her determination. :)

She defeated six out of the eight Maverick Bosses, but currently she is struggling so much with the boss Crush Crawfish. That guy is so freakin’ annoying because he makes X use up all three of his Sub-Tanks before even a quarter of the battle is finished. In the middle of the stage X had to fight a difficult sub-boss, Vile. It can take a lot out of X and afterward, Sis had to refill the Sub-Tanks, which took around 20 minutes or more doing that in the Crush Crawfish stage.

She realized some time ago that the best stage to have X replenish his Sub-Tanks is the Toxic Seahorse stage. Right after the beginning, downstairs there are these purple turtle-like robots that shoot balls at X. They give out energy pills (or energy crystals, my sis likes to call them) almost every time. For a few times, they don’t give anything. However, X rarely gets hurt trying to fill up the Sub-Tanks with these guys, plus it only takes about five to seven minutes.

The final regular Maverick Boss that’s leftover is Volt Catfish. The level was difficult to get through, so Sis was saving that stage for last.

Update: Sis realized too late in the playing session that she indeed had to go to the Volt Catfish stage first, because it turns out that the Triad Thunder is Crush Crawfish’s weakness. Actually, it was my suggestion, but I wasn’t a hundred percent on it right away. It turned out I was right. :)

I DREAMED ABOUT NiGHTS!!!!!!! AGAIN!!!!

2010-07-09T02:20:00.000-07:00

The dream was about a trailer for a new NiGHTS video game. It was put to really cool music. In addition to the new NiGHTS video game, the copy included the original NiGHTS into Dreams game. NiGHTS’s voice sounded similar to the voice in Journey of Dreams but a little gentler in tone, more feminine.

So I decided to return to NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams, since I forgot to do so on July 5 (one more year until his 15th Anniversary!!! =D ). I went to Helen’s Dream to go back to My Dream, where I had 31 Nightopians waiting for me. When one Nightopian starts to sing, the others around it begin singing as well. It always happens. There was an egg laid above a fire, and I had Helen take it away from the fire. She hatched the egg, and the Nightopian’s name was Oare.

Then I exited the Dream World to try out one of Will’s Dreams. I took the NiGHTS flying demo again because I had to sort of get comfortable with the controls again. I practiced doing the Acrobatic Flight, although to be honest it is one of the things I have NiGHTS do especially during the boss fights. Then I went back to My Dream and tried to feed a few more of the Nigthtopians whose rings were orange or red. Thirteen of them gathered around Will, and then one started singing and then several more joined. Ahh, the noise…only if it sounds in unison or in a pattern is their singing pretty, but this time it was just a mess! And every time Helen or Will touch a music box, they all start singing automatically. I'd run into a music box by accident, and then those little guys go nuts.

I needed to improve my score on several levels, so to make the story shorter, I went from a “D” to a “B” in the Vs. Cerberus stage. Then I got a “C” in the Broadway Guide stage, up from “D” from before. The music from the Broadway Guide stage is stuck in my head because it sounds jazzy and catchy. I currently have 14 Dreamdrops. That’s 46 from the total 60 Dreamdrops there are in the game.

I’m so glad I dreamed about NiGHTS. I was very giddy after I finished playing it for the day. I'm always giddy after playing that game. Sigh. NiGHTS is my anti-drug…one of my anti-drugs.

http://www.nid15.com/

Starting Mega Man X3, July 2nd

2010-07-06T21:41:00.000-07:00

There was an anime intro movie! Yayyyyy!!!!!!!

So my sister tried out the game. She had X go to the Blast Hornet stage, which had a copious amount of energy pills for X if he were to fill up his Sub-Tanks. It was a short level. But she didn’t reach the boss yet.

Next sis tried the Blizzard Buffalo stage. I love the music for this stage, and I love how there is a purple sky and stars, and the crescent moon in the background. It is one of those stages where the surface is slippery, so this is something new that the MMX series has introduced as one of its obstacles for X. There is a Sub-Tank in this level that needs some sort of grabbing weapon to get (but I don’t know what kind of weapons exactly the Maverick Bosses would give after being defeated.)

What’s different about this game is that the background music fades out and then fades in again, rather than playing in a constant loop. The music also has better quality than that of MMX and MMX2.

Does Mega Man X fly? I mean, he appears to beam down to the stage, right?

Next sis tried out the Crush Crawfish stage. One the first play of a MMX game it is a good idea to just try out the stages and get a good idea on its layout, the enemies, obstacles,…instant death spike locations (shudders). There is a place where there are two Mega Heads together, and that might need some grabbing weapon as well. Sis reached the boss, and it looks like X’s Body Armor is going to be verrrrry important for this battle.

Then she returned to the Neon Tiger stage again, to get further into the stage. We learned that X can ride on the flies. That’s how she got the first Sub-Tank. Those green flies are the key to getting to the other side or another ledge sometimes. After losing all her lives again in that stage, she returned to the Blizzard Buffalo stage because we knew there was another Sub-Tank there. In fact, though she couldn’t get the Sub-Tank yet, she was able to get to the first capsule, which turned out to be the Leg Parts. Yay!!!! I pointed it out to her, and it took several tries, but she made it and got to the capsule. The new Leg Parts allows X to dash in mid-air, left, right, and up. After losing the rest of her extra lives to Blizzard Buffalo’s brutal attacks, she started the stage again and was able to get the second Sub-Tank using the dash jump and the upward dash.

I wonder if I should give this game a try myself…

Finished Mega Man X2!!!!!

2010-07-05T00:31:00.000-07:00

I finished the game June 29th. I thought I was going to need to try again, but I got so far that I decided to see if I can finished it, What the hell, I’ll go for it, I said. I have all I need, so I’ll go on ahead and learn what’s around for next time. It turned out that it wasn’t a waste of four hours…well I had to eat dinner in the middle of it because I didn’t like to play hungry. Read on for the details…

I still had a couple more upgrades to get before venturing out to the X-Hunters’ Base. I wanted to get the last Sub-Tank located at the Central Computer stage. It was difficult because even though I learned that I needed to use the Fire Dash move, I kept jumping too soon or falling right before I reached the edge of the wall. After several tries, I ran out of fire energy and had to EXIT and start the stage again with full WE for the fire weapon.

After I got that last Sub-Tank, I tried to get the Heart Tank above the spikes in the Dinosaur Tank stage. I lost cluster after cluster of lives before I finally did a good long dash jump and then the fire dash move….and it seemed like I made it, but I fell into the spikes again >=( But I got it the next time.

I didn’t bother to get the Heart Tank in the Crystal Mine stage, it was just too frustrating. So I went ahead and started the X-Hunter Base. It was refreshing to hear music different from the music for the other stages. I had to use a lot of skills, especially the dash jump, and even the crystal hunter weapon got some good use. I had to have X use it to crystallize some Mavericks to get to an area that he couldn’t reach…

This Mega Man X2 game is the first one to introduce the choose-your-battle stage of the Maverick bosses. This is the order of the Maverick bosses I fought:

1. Crystal Snail

2. Morpho Moth

3. Flame Stag

4. Magna Centipede

5. Overdrive Ostrich

6. Wheel Gator

7. Bubble Crab

8. Wire Sponge

Gosh, I hate that Wire Sponge! Next to Magna Centipede, anyway. But it’s those little plants that Wire Sponge throws out that annoy me because of shooting him, I have to shoot those plants first or they’ll hurt X. And if I touch Wire Sponge at all, it hurts him to much so I have to avoid him, of course. I’m glad that there were at least four small energy pills after every battle so I can survive up until the last boss. Then, after that stage, I went to the Dinosaur Tank stage to fill up all four of my Sub-Tanks really quickly. I ‘m glad I did, because the next thing I knew, I’d be at the final stage.

My sister wants to be the one to start Mega Man X3. That’s the one where we can play as Zero. Since we’re playing the Mega Man X Collection together, I’ll blog about the stages and bosses she encounters, and the things I notice that she isn’t while she plays (because I make a good backseat gamer).

My Own YouTube Channel coming soon

2010-06-30T17:36:00.000-07:00

Within the next week I will begin setting up my YouTube account. I already have a Google Account, so I just need to go right to the steps to create a YT account. I am deciding between two usernames. My sister told me I won’t be able to change it once I decide what it is. I’ll post the name up once I get that task done.

I already have a couple of videos to upload for my channel, with which I used my new Flip Video camcorder. They will be video game related, of course. Maybe on occasion they will be on something else.

Update on NiD15.com

2010-06-28T22:18:00.000-07:00

There are more supporters for NiGHTS’ 15th Anniversary now than when I first found out about it. I am supporter #699 =3 and the last time I looked there were 959 supporters. Wow! If you want, go HERE and see how the website is doing.

Returning to Mega Man X2…upgrading…

2010-06-28T13:48:00.000-07:00

It’s been a while since I played a successful session with MMX2, but last Wednesday I was able to get X’s last capsule (the arm parts) and then from there started getting the other heart tanks and another Sub-Tank. I still have difficulty getting the heart tank in the Dinosaur Tank stage and the fourth Sub-Tank in the Central Computer stage, so I will have to try again later. But I wouldn’t have known that that was where these items were located (and how to get to them) if it wasn’t for this video I found on YouTube. In the second half of the video, Clement shows viewers how to get the Arm Parts, the leftover heart tanks, and the last two Sub-Tanks. Here it is. (It might buffer on this page, so if you want to see it on the YouTube page if the buffering takes awhile, then see the video here .)

Thank you, the Great Clement, for providing these walkthroughs of Mega Man X2 for entertainment and for help for the stuck gamer.
I can probably play through the rest of the game on my own, but if I need more help, I know where to go :)

NiGHTS' 15th Anniversary is July 5th 2011 !!!!!!!!!!

2010-06-21T19:57:00.000-07:00

I first found out about this today in an email message from NiGHTS Community, and I had to get to it right away. I am all smiles about this! This year will be NiGHTS' 14th anniversary and I should play NiGHTS Journey of Dreams that day. Then July 5th next year should be an exciting year for NiGHTS and NiGHTS fans everywhere!

I am writing about this to spread the word. Trippy and DiGi Valentine of http://www.nightsintodreams.com/ have a new website that explains the new campaign to let SEGA know that there are other fans of NiGHTS from other countries (such as the U.K. and the United States) who want to be able to play the original NiGHTS into Dreams, whether it's on the XBOX Live or on the PS3 (PSN).

The new website has been announced: http://www.nid15.com/

(that is where I got the new NiGHTS banner from ^,^)

If you are a fan of NiGHTS, please check out that new website. It'll tell you to push/click on a button to show your support for a 15th Anniversary treat for NiGHTS and NiGHTS fans. Read the About page too. More details are on those websites.

Oh, I'm soooo happy!!!!! :)

Mega Man X2 on June 11th

2010-06-16T23:26:00.000-07:00

I should've posted this last week. o.o

I only needed to defeat Crystal Snail and Magna Centipede before the final showdowns. I had X go to the Dinosaur Tank so he can collect energy for his two Sub-Tanks. That’s what I forgot to do the last time I went to fight Crystal Snail and ended up losing all of X’s lives twice over.

Like my sister did before, I decided to use only the X-Buster for fighting the snail, since I knew that full Charge Shot works well enough against him. In a life with a good turnout, I used a sub tank to have an advantage over Crystal Snail. I could tell when he was going to charge, but not the direction he would charge, so occasionally X got hit. Eventually I defeated him and X got the weapon Crystal Hunter.

Next was Magna Centipede. Neither I nor my sister even came across Magna Centipede yet, so we didn’t know what kind of attacks he was going to do. This stage, the Central Computer stage, was the hardest of all the other stages because of the endless booby traps that cover the place. It was pretty darn frustrating; I lost cluster after cluster of extra lives. There are two sub-bosses in this stage; the first sub-boss, the cyber sword, is not too difficult, but the second one, which looked like a bug-dinosaur?????was even more difficult. I lost a life and then I had to have X use a sub tank just to stick around.

Then X finally met Magna Centipede. After several tries and another cluster of extra lives, I figured out that this boss was weakest against the Silk Shooter. But he kept kicking X’s ass anyway. It was hard to get Magna Centipede while he was on the walls. I figured that X should hit him with his fire weapon just so this boss gets hit, and then when he’s on the ground, get him with the Silk Shooter. It got harder as the battle when along though. Magna Centipede occasionally attracts X with his magnetic powers and makes him heavier, so that X can’t jump as high and his wall kicks are sort of useless. It was a big challenge, but as long as I knew what to do for next time, and come prepared with at least one full Sub-Tank, X would win for sure. The weapon he got after the fight was called the Magnet Mine. I still need to figure out how it works.

I think the final capsule is in the Volcanic Stage. I believe I have to use the second beetle to get to the third Mega-Head. There are moving platforms that may take X up to where the capsule may be. There are two. The beetle doesn’t come back after it goes into the volcanic zone. Then I have to Exit and go through the rising lava part again, in which I always fail at least twice before making it on the third try, IF I make it.

So I only defeated the snail and the centipede, but the X-Hunters’ base is actually a challenge. I can’t complete unless X gets those Arm Parts. Violen is the toughest of the three, and he is first. Am I still going to fight the eight bosses as well?

Mega Man X and Mega Man: Maverick Hunter X

2010-06-10T00:27:00.000-07:00

So here it is. Finally. :3

On Friday May 28th and later that night, I beat MM:MHX and MMX, respectively. I kinda figured I’d finish the PSP remake first because it was much easier to play than the original game.

It took me a couple more playing sessions to finished MM:MHX. Wednesday I started the D-Rex stage (Sigma Palace 3) which it turned out this was where X finds Zero and fights Vile. In the original game it was in Sigma Palace 1. Anyway, D-Rex wasn’t hard to beat here. Then I had about 15 more minutes to play because I had to head to the gym. But I wanted to try and finish the game. Wolf Sigma still proved pretty difficult, maybe since I tried to rush it. I saved that last battle for a later time. At least I didn’t have to start from the very beginning of Sigma’s Palace.

Then Friday afternoon I had some time to go ahead and give it another try. I always finished uh, Sigma’s pet’s battle fairly quickly, and the first battle with Sigma was harder because he shot yellow bullets at X in addition to his usual attack of jumping from wall to wall with his saber. It varied how well I did each time because the pattern of his attacks change each time I lost a life. That’s what makes both games challenging. I lost some lives, got up to 8, lost a few more lives, and then I didn’t have to use a Sub-Tank until the Wolf Sigma battle. I realized he’s not that hard to fight after all; I just needed to know where to go whenever he attacked and watch out. He didn’t spit electric balls at X like in the original game. But that’s alright.

I want to compare the endings of both games. Story-wise it is the same, but the epilogue’s words are quite different… (narrator versus Dr. Thomas Light)

I finished MM: MHX first, so I’ll start with that one. Fighting Sigma here is more fun that in the original, that’s for sure. After Sigma’s defeat, the game cuts to an anime ending scene with X looking over the cliff he stands on, watching Sigma’s Palace fall apart. The credits begin. The anime switches from X to Dr. Cain watching Dr. Light’s message of X’s creation and situation.

In the original MMX after X defeats Sigma, X still stands on the edge of the cliff watching Sigma’s palace collapse, but there is narrating text rising up from the bottom of the screen, an epilogue of a sort. It says X is “exhausted” and must he keep fighting, and asks the player “How long will X’s pain last?” and those suggest that he seems human. Mega Man X is capable of feeling tired and experiencing physical and emotional pain, especially after losing his bosom buddy :3 Zero.

Then the game shows X running down the highway in the late night, and slowly the sky begins to light up as the sun is rising. Now the credits are showing, and then there is also a list of the mavericks that X fought in each stage. Then the Boss Mavericks are listed, along with an image of them. Then Vile, then Sigma, and then last and the best, Zero. My sis and I went like, “Awwwww, Zerooooo.” It was sort of an In Memoriam sort of moment. Finally the list says “And YOU as Mega Man X” as X does his dash move into the new day. Then the actual credits begin.

---------------SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!! Kinda sorta...----------------

Comparing Zero's death in both video games:

In MMX, X only kneels down next to Zero, and only Zero speaks.

“My power is fading fast…You are more powerful than I thought. Maybe you will defeat Sigma…”

In MM: MHX, after X defeats Vile, he runs up to Zero, kneels down and picks him up, holds him close so he can see him and talk. X talks too; it is a conversation between both Reploids, rather than a one-character speech. The background music is piano; it is the same song that plays during this scene in the original game. It sounds much more endearing an emotional here. In this game there are voice actors, so you hear X and Zero’s voices, and Zero sounds like he’s really in pain (because robots don’t feel pain, but Reploids are a kind that do). Their facial expressions can change. X wants to get Zero fixed but Zero tells him to leave him and defeat Sigma.

ZERO: “I’m always telling you to be more careful. Now look at me…”

X: “Don’t talk, Zero! We gotta get you fixed up!”

ZERO: “No… [you go on ahead]. Sigma is close…very close…”

I didn’t notice (after so many times of getting to that part in the original) that Zero’s lower body is missing until I got to this part in Maverick Hunter X. I thought, Oh, man, he’s in really bad shape. Where are his leg—oh.”

What really makes it harder for me to watch is the part when Zero stops talking. X, (and whoever plays the game) hear only the electric sound coming from the broken Zero. Then his head falls limp in X’s arms…I know they're robots/Reploids but it's still emotional and sad. I would have to say that the game was enhanced in so many ways in this PSP version.

@,@

Start-Over of Mega Man X2, June 4th

2010-06-08T02:05:00.000-07:00

I woke up unusually early that morning, on a not-so-crowded day. What can I do 10AM at home? I thought, I’ll start Mega Man X2 all over again and see how I can do better.

I played through 5 stages, and then only 2 of the X-Hunters were available. So that was 2hours down the drain right there. I really wanted to fight all three X-Hunters so X can gather all of Zero’s parts and bring him back. After a refreshment and a bathroom break, I tried again with more luck, stopping after the fourth stage (Flame Stag) before choosing which X-Hunter to fight (and which stage to tackle next). They were difficult opponents. Sometimes I was unprepared and didn’t have both Sub-Tanks filled. Serges, Violen and Agile mention something about “the unification” and “the construction.” I think I know what those three are talking about. I mean, I already know that Sigma will return, so maybe they are rebuilding him. His head might still be in one piece. Ha, Sigma, how do you feel in pieces, huh? It’s your idiot henchman Vile’s fault that Zero is physically messed up. Sigh, rambling….But eventually I beat all of the X-Hunters and got all of Zero’s three pieces.

Poor Zero. He’s in three pieces…

Speaking of three, I have three Armor pieces for X now: the Body Armor, Foot Armor, and the Head Armor. I still don’t quite know how to use the Head Armor’s search function. I just need the Arm Parts now. I may not be able to find them for a little while, until X is “leveled up” enough to find that last capsule. Hah, the Foot Armor is actually called the “Main Drive Unit”. I found that capsule in the Overdrive Ostrich stage, using the spiked wheel to break the barrier boxes. Man, I used the Wall-Kick Dash so much in MM X2. There are so many areas in this game that are more accessible using that move. My right index finger got tired from all that Wall-Kick Dashing in the Flame Stag stage. Yikes.

What’s cool about the Body Armor is that this time it can “absorb damage and transfer it into explosive weapon energy,” as Dr. Thomas Light tells X in the capsule. I love the animation when X tries it out. I tried it myself, and it worked okay against Serges but not the other two X-hunters. Perhaps it is best used if there are multiple mavericks to destroy at a time.

I’m excited about Mega Man X3 because Zero is a playable character in that game. It also means more MMX music to listen to. I have a feeling that I will be able to start it within the following month. Now that I’ve been replaying MMX 2, I have to talk it over with my sister who gets to begin MMX 3.

Cyborg Haven Update

2010-06-06T01:15:00.000-07:00

Two different notes:

1. The MMX/MM:MHX post will be coming within the next few days. It's been a week since I've finished playing them, but I still want to share my thoughts about my experience.

2. I am planning to get a You Tube account in the next couple of months. I am hoping to submit my recorded battles from Dissidia to my channel if I get one, and also I will use my new camcorder to make short little videos with my Cloud Keychain. And maybe more fun and funny stuff.
I want my potential You Tube channel to be sort of an extension of Cyborg Haven. It will be another thing extra thing I want to do, but I am starting to like this "share yourself to the world through the internet" thing. I might still want to have the pseudonym Amethyst Anne, if I can. I'll see. Starting something like a You Tube channel gives me the same amount of thinking over I needed to do for Cyborg Haven because it is another public outlet. It's even more public because it's videos and not a blog. I'm hiding behind words, basically. I want to show my love for video games, not just write about it.

Chaos Legion Music

2010-06-05T20:28:00.000-07:00

Chaos Legion , Capcom

I started putting some of my favorite tracks from the Chaos Legion OST in my purple iPod Nano, and it occurred to me, I had to write about one major thing about this video game that made me love playing it: the music.

I first rented the game in the spring of 2004. It was from a Hollywood Video (when it wasn’t out of business). When I had to rent Chaos Legion and stopped playing it the day I had to return the copy, the music on the title screen was so beautiful that I did NOT want to turn off the PS2. I let it play twice or three times the whole way through before I reset the PS2 and opened the disc tray.

I loved the music, the game play, and I liked Sieg’s red hair and wanted to know what happened between him and Victor Delacroix (how they became enemies). I decided I liked the game enough that I wanted to buy it. It was hard to find at my usual video game shopping stores, so ultimately I bought a new copy at a Game Stop. Here’s my conversation:

“Um, excuse me; do you have the video game Chaos Legion?

“Let’ me check… [checks on the computer system]…Yes, we do.”

“You have it?! Oh, thank you, thank you so much!!”

“o.0 What, you want it?"

I could tell from the title screen music that maybe the story is a sad one, or bittersweet, but the song was so beautiful. This was before I knew there was an official OST released, so the only time I heard music from this game was whenever I played it. I especially loooove the song from Stage 6; that’s the one with the red moon in the background. The bass and the strings rock! Then there’s Stage 7 Misty Ravine, which is a nice change from fast-paced music to a slow, mysterious atmosphere, even more emotional. But really the whole soundtrack is amazing, in my opinion. There are bells, choir singing, strings, rock percussions, and there’s even singing in Stage 8, although I can’t tell exactly what language it is in. There’s a bonus for true Chaos Legion fans who appreciate the music for the game: the music for the released legion is played for about the last thirty seconds of the Stage track. The composer for the game is named Hideyuki Fukasawa.

Unfortunately, and to my disappointment somewhat, the OST does not include music that comes in during the cinematic scenes. If I want to hear those again, I have to play the game again. I would watch the scenes from the movie player screen—if only I didn’t lose the data to my corrupted memory card.

There has to be a video of some Chaos Legion game play somewhere on You Tube (cuz I dunno where else to look). This is surely not the best video game ever, considering the repetitive hack n slash game play along with the fragmented storyline and unclear time period/setting (somewhere in Europe). However, it is the very first Capcom video game I ever played, personally, so it has that special place in my gamer girl heart.

I Drew a Mega Man X

2010-06-04T19:54:00.000-07:00

Well, it’s supposed to look like him. I went with my family to Outback Steakhouse for my birthday and when I got the box to take my leftovers home, I drew on the Styrofoam. It just had to be Mega Man X. I gave him a little dot for a nose. :3

The PlayStation 3 has ARRIVED!!! Plus+: Female Protagonists

2010-06-01T15:39:00.000-07:00

Neat! We don’t have to worry about switching memory cards anymore because the software will save the game data to the PS3’s hard-drive. It’s the 120 GB Slim version that came in a bundle with a Blu-Ray Player Remote Control and—what I didn’t expect—a Greatest Hits copy of Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. Hmmm… My dad started playing it, but I might give it a try sooner or later for myself. After setting the PS3 up to the new TV set, he wanted to try out the Resident Evil 5 that he already bought some time ago. Wow, so this is what a PS3 can do: show every stubble hair on Chris Redfield’s chin.

I’m still debating within myself whether I should first buy Bayonetta or Devil May Cry 4. Final Fantasy XIII will have to wait (I don’t have the patience for another JRPG now). But I’ve never played a video game where the main protagonist was female, not even Lara Croft Tomb Raider. And no I did not playgames in the Metroid series either. Nope. But…there was that Aliens arcade game, the one with the face-huggers. And that was a first-person-shooter. Hmmm, think back, think back… But nope, females were side characters; there’s Arcia from Chaos Legion, which I got to play in only one stage while Sieg Warheit had to rest. In Final Fantasy XII I control Vaan in the cities, but during travelling and battles I can have Fran, Ashe, or Penelo as temporary leaders of the party. For a female leader I almost aways choose Fran... for, um, certain reasons. Otherwise it's Balthier or Vaan.

I’ve thought about Heavenly Sword, but…maybe I’ll rent that one. In terms of an action title with a female protagonist, Bayonetta is first on my list. So…Bayonetta or DMC 4? Meanwhile, I have a demo of FF XIII in the Final Fantasy VII: ACC Blu-Ray DVD that I can try out if I want to get a feel for it. Within the next month, anyway.

Did I just do that?!

2010-05-29T19:16:00.000-07:00

Hey, guess what, guys? I finished both video games! Mega Man X and Mega Man: Maverick Hunter X!

I want to write about my thoughts and compare/contrast ideas carefully and organize them, so look forward to that. It might even take two to three posts because there is so much for me to say. I probably can't say everything, but I can say a lot. I also watched The Day of Sigma and I loved it, even though it was shorter than I thought it would be. I don't care if people think the anime is out-dated. Hello, it's Mega Man X anime!!!

So yeah. I have a lot to write. Too much Mega Man X.

Mega Man: Maverick Hunter X---Got all 4 armor parts!!!! May 24th

2010-05-27T00:40:00.000-07:00

That video soooo helped me out!! The title of this post sums up what I’ve accomplished. So now here are the details…

I went to the Flame Mammoth Stage and found the Foot Parts right where I saw that they were in the video. It’s funny that when he gets his armor in the capsule, he growls, RRRAAAGHHH!! Then I escaped the stage to save my data. Next I knew exactly where to go: the Chill Penguin stage. The first spot where I thought was a capsule would be an extra life helmet, “Oh, pooh, that’s not what I need right now, I want that Head Armor.” Well, I knew where there was a closed area, and X’s Foot Parts were able to take those blocks down. And that’s where I found the Head Parts.

So after that I went to the Storm Eagle stage. The blocks that kept me out of another secret area were no match for X’s hardened head, so there I found his Body Parts…er, Body Armor. Heh. Which is neat, because those pieces really help him survive tough enemies.

Where else can I find another capsule? The Sting Chameleon stage! I remember in the original Mega Man X I found the Body Armor capsule after defeating a sub-boss in that stage. I wondered if the same sub-boss was going to be in that same place. I wouldn’t know for sure until I had the Foot Parts, which X got already. After I defeated that sub-boss this time, I found the Arm Parts. Sweet.

Long story short, I defeated the Bosspider and [the boss that was for Sigma Palace 2, whatsitsname]. The Super Charged Spiral Shot is the best, I think, for both of these bosses. I’ll try the other elements whenever I play this game for a second time. So now I left off at Sigma Palace 3, and I’ve got everything I need to get through this game. I really wanna see that The Day of Sigma movie.

In my opinion, the remix of the music for Simga Palace 1 is the best in this game. :D

What if...?

2010-05-26T19:22:00.000-07:00

Is there going to be a Dissidia: Mega Man? Wouldn't that be so cool for us Mega Man fans?

MegaMan Volnutt versus Mega Man X?

MegaMan Zero's Zero versus Zero from Mega Man X?

Harpuia from Mega Man Zero versus Tornado Man?

Cuh-RAAAAY-zee...

What about Final Fantasy VERSUS XIII?

2010-05-25T17:52:00.000-07:00

Isn’t the game play for this title supposed to be something similar to Kingdom Hearts? Well, it hasn’t been seen by anyone in the U.S. at this point, I’m sure.

I wonder if the Tokyo Game Show 2010 is going to show anything about Final Fantasy Versus XIII. Hah, no Keyblades here, folks. I like this whole “magical sword” thing going on. I also wonder how Noctis got those powers. Was he born with them, or did he acquire them between his birth and the throne?

At an Anime Los Angeles convention I saw two cosplayers, one dressed up as Noctis and the other dressed up as Cloud. They were walking together. Together! O M G FAAAAN FIK-SHUN!!

So like what if Cloud Strife and Noctis were in the same, uh, story? They wear similar clothes, similar hairstyles, they both hardly smile…And hey, it’s Cloud’s big-ass Buster Sword versus Noctis’ many magical swords, and uh, other things I don’t know about yet. Sigh. Where did I read it? I learned that character designer Tetsuya Nomura is doing the character design for Versus XIII, which is another reason…what am I rambling about? I think after a while of not playing Dissidia: Final Fantasy, and then getting back to it again (after MMX drove me nuts), I start wondering what would happen if THIS character were to be up against THAT character. Man, I guess D:FF has a sneaky way of doing this to Final Fantasy fans. Okay, here’s another one: Lulu versus Lightning. Or…Tidus versus Jecht? Ha ha ha, that one’s already being done. And then the winner of the fight gets to, uh, I dunno, eat some cake or something. Gosh, I’m random this time….

Dissidia on May 16th--Finished Firions's Destiny Odyssey

2010-05-24T18:23:00.000-07:00

Dissidia on May 16th (Sorry, this post was delayed)

I finished Firion’s Destiny Odyssey. I recorded some Quick Battles playing as Firion and then as Kuja. For some reason I like to pit Kuja against Sephiroth, because Sephiroth is a very hard opponent to beat, and Kuja’s attacks miss 50% of the time. At least I know how to dodge now; before I didn’t know how to dodge and there were attacks I could’ve saved my fighter’s ass from. When Kuja dodges, he says, “Well, now…” I can fill it in with “Well now, isn’t that interesting?” or “Well now, don’t be so stubborn, I want my attack to actually HIT you, Sephiroth! Cuz you’re so mean. Yes.”

One battle with Kuja I saved because he finishes Sephiroth with the EX Burst Attack, in his red Trance form. “Talent can be so cruel.” Whether Kuja’s in his normal form or his Trance form, he always appears womanly. I wonder if anyone also put Kuja against Sephiroth and came up with fan-fiction from the result. I'm sure it happened. (Gasp, OMG) Maybe I can give that a try…….? 0.O That battle I saved was really good. I used EX Burst, then it didn’t work, and then Sephiroth used his, but luckily I pushed the O button enough to defend Kuja’s life points from Sephiroth (I mean, hit-points…where did I get “life points,” Yu-Gi-Oh!?). It seemed that Sephiroth was going to win. But then I had Kuja use EX Burst when his EX Gauge was full again, and that finished it.

So what happens now? Well, Kuja is fuzzy and kinda nekkid, so….yuh know…

LEVELING UP

Bartz is level 12…still…

Jecht is level 2 now

Kuja is level 2 since I played a couple of battles as him against Sephy

Gosh, wouldn’t it be better to see this battle rather than having me write about it? Man…