Iverion

Been forever

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 07:26:47 GMT

LIFE IS A BITCH. <3

Which is pretty much all I can say. XD I swear, everything that can go wrong usually does, or at least it ends up screwing up royally. *sighs* Summer was amazing and then....splat. I swear, it's like falling into the ocean off a cliff. Talk about a wake up slap. So....senior year.....

It's SUPPOSED to be easier than the others, but IB and AP just doesn't work that way, does it. T_T I hate essay with a passion, and I'm starting to get pretty sick of college apps.

(yes, for those of you who notice these things, I seemed to have skipped my junior year. It's complicated. Basically, I finished my sophmore classes in one semester last year and junior in the second semester and over summer. There were some weird situations that forced it to end up like that. Ah....college....*makes a face*)

AVALON CODE IS OUT!!!

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 07:27:49 GMT

*spazzes*

FINALLY! After another 4 grueling months, the English version of Avalon Code is out! God, the Japanese get everything early >_< but it was worth the wait! Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go lock myself up and probably not come out for the next 3 days straight XD I've been looking forwards to this game since....about a week after it was announced. That's nearly a year ago >_> Wow. Still, whenever I build up my expectations THAT high, there's no way the actual game can live up to it XP But as long as it's fun, I don't think I'll really mind in the end.

FFVII Crisis Core

Sun, 08 Feb 2009 22:43:16 GMT

Yes, I'm late. Hush. XD I'm always late when it comes to games. Ah well... but that's not the point

I FINALLY finished Crisis Core the other day and...well, could they make a more depressing ending?? TAT It's up there with Suikoden II for my all time favorite scenes in a game. I was trying not to cry the whole time cause my eyes would blur and I sure as hell wasn't going to miss any of the cutscene (or replay it, once was enough emo for me thank you very much >_>)

I mean, I've played FFVII, so I know Zack dies...BUT STILL!! ZACK~!!! TT_TT

....that's all. I just needed to rant a bit. I seriously wished he could've lived now.... >_<

Persona 2

Sun, 18 Jan 2009 20:34:50 GMT

For those people living under a rock, Persona 2: Innocent Sin (which was never released in the US T_T) HAS A FREAKING TRANSLATION~!! It's been out for over a month. I finally got around to patching my ISO and reburning it so I could play it on my PS2....only to have the infamous VRAM bug show up and go "Let's kill your game~"

UGH >_< So, in the end, I put it on my emulator and ran it until the bug showed up. Paused it, pulled up the source file and read through nearly 10 pages worth of code to find the freaking problem. One of the more annoying parts of my gaming career, to be sure. Since the problem actually seemed to be in the graphics plug in, I spent another hour tinkering around...

Uh, right, the point of this post. Um, basically, IT WORKS! *cries tears of joy* Now I get to go kick Hitler's butt again... IN AMERI- *shot* Ok, I mean, in English XD

For those people who like the Persona series (and I know there's quite a large fanbase now), you NEED to play this game. I'm not kidding. I rate Persona 2 high than any of its other successors (yes, even 3 and 4, get off my back). The ISO can be burned or found very easily on the internet, along with any PSX emulators. The game runs perfectly fine with any of mine. Also, the patch is a work of god. I mean, a translation AND it fixes previous bugs? Gemini is the game god incarnated. I took a look at the original code, out of curiousity. He's right. This is a game programmed by Satan >_> It's a mess. In a good way. I think... XD

Anyways, go play it you guys! It's FINALLY out in English!

Okami...

Sat, 03 Jan 2009 01:01:11 GMT

...is an amazing game. Amazingly addicting. I got it for Christmas this year (yeah yeah, I know, I'm late) and finish it on New Year's day. Less than two weeks. I've NEVER done that before. I mean, even when I gamed nonstop, I never managed to stick with one game long enough to actually finish it. My previous record was 2 months, which is REALLY fast for me already. I usually take upwards to a year to finish a single game (hush, I'm slow).

2 weeks.... jeez....

Well, now I know why it was so critically acclaimed. I ACTUALLY FOUGHT THE BATLLES FOR FUN! XDD Normally, for me, in any real time game, I avoid battles that I don't have to fight. I just can't get myself to bother with them. But I had so much fun gaping at the different weapons and figuring out the functions of each of them as a main and sub weapon that....really, I must have spent more time battling monsters than actually playing the storyline XD.

The art and music really are awe-worthy, as well. The image gallery you unlock after your beat the game.... man, it was like a brick to the head. The details of each character, weapon, landscape, demons, and just everything is mind boggling. I have the artbook and OST now, ordered off of Play-Asia with express shipping XDD I do think the word "obsession" fits me quite well at the moment.

But man, what a great game. I'm still in denial that it ever ended. Ugh, I'm hating the fact that Clover Studios closed down right now. I can't stand the idea of a sequel made by anyone but the people who created this awesome game... and I NEED A SEQUEL T_________T. There's only one complaint I have about the game, and it has nothing to do with game mechanics. IT'S PLOTHOLES, DAMMIT, PLOTHOLES. *sobs*

Okami had a wonderful storyline. It was filled with a mythlike feeling but at the same time a modern adventure. BUT IT GOT REALLY GOOD TOWARDS THE END. On the ark of Yamato, where all the backstory was revealed, I was like, "OH SH-", in a good way. But, but but! There's a lot of gaps and SO MUCH MORE COULD HAVE BEEN DONE T_T I get the feeling the details were left out just in case Clover wanted to make a sequel, but since that's no longer an option, all that I'm left with is this seriously ANNOYING, NAGGING, feeling of "this story needs a better ending!! >_<" There's a lack of a sense of closure, in a good way. I mean, it was implied all the way up to the very last line that a new adventure was awaiting Amterasu.... BUT STILL!!!

XD On the bright side, those pictures and artwork gallery have really lit a fire. I can finally feel motivated about finishing all those drawings sitting in the dark corner of my room. Won't my teacher be happy? XD *bricked* I've made a decision. I'm going to keep working on my designing and landscape skills until the day I can look at that artbook without cringing and feeling inferior. *thumbs up* ....which, might take a while. XD

Okami = <3. If you haven't played it, do so. I mean, I know at least half of America has a Wii by now (XD) so there's no more of the "I don't have the right console excuse". The PS2 version is better, in my opinion, due to miscellaneous sound and control issues, but if you have a Wii and no PS2, still get it. The Wii version is pretty much identical in terms of gameplay, story, music, and art, so there's no reason not to. You really are missing a phenomenal game if you don't. I seriously regret not getting it earlier now T_T

Tegami Bachi

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 05:51:20 GMT

....needs to update soooon~ T_T I love the freaking manga but it needs to update, seriously, SOON, or else I may just lose my mind. Tegami Bachi (or Letter Bees) takes place in a fictional world called Amberground, a land of eternal night. There's a single man made sun which illumnates the capital and, to an extent, the other ares of the empire. There's a caste system of sorts, and depending on how far away the place is from the sun, the heirarchy moves down lower. Despite the fact that the actual conspiracies and discrimination have some dark undertones, the story as a whole is a very touching, heartwrending story of friendship, hope, and the value of memories (or the heart as it's commonly refered to in the manga). For anyone's who's read/watched Mushishi or Natsume Yuujinchou, it's got that very warm, nostalgic feel to it.

The main character, Lag, was saved by a Letter Bee (those working for the government to deliver letters) and, although a brat at first, warms up to Gauche, his savior and eventually aimed to be like him. In Amberground, where the cities are seperated and the lands plagued by monsters called Gaichuu as well as the caste system barring the cities and isolating them, it's very hard for people who are in different cities to contact each other. The letters they send are often characterized in the stories as containing the "heart" or precious thoughts and wishes of a person. The Letter Bees job is to ensure that it reaches the recipient. It's a very nice manga and the artwork is lovely as well....

.....

...but, the recent chapters.... kinda made me want to cry. It's getting pretty sad, with poor Gauche losing his heart and Lag suffering so much because that, stupid, stupid idiot can't remember him anymore.... T_T *sniff* Gauche!!! I'm not giving up! I'm going to keep believing this story'll have a happy ending, goddammit! *sniff* 'Cause if it doesn't, I know it's going to break my heart, ESPECIALLY SINCE THE REST OF THE STORY IS SO BEAUTIFUL. Even the sad arcs, at the end there's always the sense of closure, forgiveness, and pulling free of the chains of life, whether it's the past, or society, or someone's death or whatever. It has to happy ending! T_T It will! I know it will!

*sniff* Right, well that's it for my rant...again XD Go read the manga if you haven't. It's absolutely wonderful. One of my favorite. It's hosted on onemanga.com as well, for easy access.

Baroque....has a freaking manga

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 01:34:00 GMT

I...I need a moment, cause I think a piece of me died from happiness. Not ONLY does it have a manga, five of the chapters have been scanlated already~ *surpresses high pitched fangirl shriek*

Jeez, I love this game to death and now I getting spoiled by extras XD Well, although this is mostly just a journal for me to rant about the manga, I might as well talk about Baroque too. In case anyone's reading this, Baroque has been ported over a bunch of times, but the only version I've played is the Wii version. It's a really nonconventional RPG and you'll find a lot of bad reviews. That's because it's much different and you have to understand that as your playing through. It falls into that rouge-like, dungeon crawler niche. See, everytime you die, you restart from level 1 with none of your items. It may seem annoying, but it's actually not that bad since the whole tower is only about 40 floors. I liked it because of the storyline, which it gives you in bits and pieces. You have to meet certain requirements to unlock the pieces. In fact, you can beat the whole game without ever once learning anything about the story. So it's a combination of patience and perseverence. Oh, and it gave me a couple of quasi-nightmares XDDD

I dunno, I don't mind grinding or starting from scratch, so maybe that's why I love this game so much, since I can ignore the annoying elements. But the story and side characteristics (like the Idea Seraphs) are so abstract and symbolic and...well thought provoking, although it's rather dark. I really like stories like those. It's a really deep game in my opinion. Too bad most people can't get past the "holy crap what the hell am I doing I'm lost" factor. Yeah, the game basically throws you right into the midst of things with no explanation whatsoever >_> So read the manual (which I always do XD Habit).

BACK TO THE MANGA. *cough* For people who can't stand the game regardless, at least for the love of god read the manga. It tells the storyline much better and is really beautiful. *huggles* Now, I haven't finished reading it yet, but I love it so far. *runs off to go read*

..... Wow, that was a really random, spontaneous journal XD I seem to be writing more of those lately....oh dear...

cough cough

Sun, 16 Nov 2008 19:43:08 GMT

Ugh, god. Those stupid California wildfires were so freaking close to us yesterday. Actually, they still are today, but the wind's died down quite a bit so it isn't nearly as bad. I live over in Placenita, which was only a couple miles away from the Yorba Linda fires. As you can guess, it was really hard to breathe yesterday and I couldn't go out most of the day. We were actually on stand by for evacuation, which worried me, but in the end we didn't have to, so that's a relief.

Anyways, it did get me wondering. Somehow I always think "global warming" whenever one of these things happen XD But I heard that this time it was actually a crime scene scenario. Apparently some of the fires were started by some idiot right IN THE FREAKING MIDDLE OF THE SANTA ANA WINDS. ARGH, whoever it was I wanna bash their freaking face in. >_>

....sniffle

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 05:25:48 GMT

Ok, so we recently had a two day holiday for Veteran's Day over here...and since Persona 4's pretty much nearly out I figured I shoul probably finish Persona 3 (yeah, yeah, I'm like a year behind. Everyone else is already done with it XD)

....

..........

..................

Final Fantasy 7 was nothing compared to this.... I literally am posting this in hindsight cause for nearly five hours after I finished I was busy trying to get over the disbelief and pull myself out of this giant swamp of emo and sadness that welled up >_> Yeah, it was that bad. I don't think I cried this much over a video game (or book or movie, etc) ....like ever. I probably won't be on LJ for a while. I'm going to go find Atlus and DEMAND a sequel (no, FES does not count) cause otherwise there's going to be an extremely angry fan at there door. I live close to Irvine, so don't say it's not possible, it is.

Games, games....and more games

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 05:05:50 GMT

God, I'm so going broke this Christmas XD I swear, everywhere I look either America's coming out with new games, Japan's coming out with new games, EUROPE's even coming out with new games, or games I loved are getting a makeover and ported over to one of my lovely handhelds, either the PSP or DS <3

To begin with, there's Persona 4, which I have been absolutely obsessed with for the last 2 months. Besides stalking the mayonakatv for the last month or so, I've been adding site after site to my long list of favorites XD Not to mention I burned the ISO and have been playing nonstop, but it's kinda laggy and just not the same as playing the real thing. So, in support of my utter obsession with the Persona games in general (yep, all the way from number 1) I'm going to buy the Japanese version...and the English version ^^; That's about $90 right there....ouch.

Next, there's Avalon Code, for which I'm getting the Japanese version cause English version for games on the DS tend to be butchered...especially voiced version *cough*Luminous Arc*cough**. So that's coming out December as well...>_>

Next we've got the Exorcism of Maria, a really cool looking otome games from the makes of Princess Nightmare. Yep, also scripted for December, along with Garnet Cradle, an otome game I'm REALLY looking forwards too.

So far that's....nearly $200....T_T Damn~ That's more than I usually spend a year, all in one blow too XD My wallet's going to be feeling this for the next couple months. Oh and let's not forget Christmas presents for everyone else (crap XD), so yeah...

What else....I know I wanted to talk about something else....
....
....
OH RIGHT! Anyone here Mexican? Since it's almost Halloween over here, my Spanish teacher was teaching us some legends related to it. There's one, La Leyenda Del Espantapájaros, which means The Legend of the Scarecrows. It's really sad, but the reason why I remember it was because she showed us a Youtube video animation of the story: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcxYYCJYtrw

You should be able to pick out the story even if you don't know the actual legend. Basically, there's a scarecrow who had no friends and was always alone. He liked to watch the birds, but they never responded when he greeted them, even when he offered them food. Then one day, one of the birds fell from the sky, a crow. It was hurt, so the scarecrow decided to take care of it. When it was better, it explained to the scarecrow that the birds wouldn't talk to it because scarecrows were made to torment birds who came down to eat. The scarecrow explained that he wasn't like that, and then the crow flew away. That night, the scarecrow decided to change his life somehow, and went to talk to the farmer. He wanted to tell the farmer that he no longer wanted a job scaring birds. However, the farmer was terrified of the scarecrow when it came into his room, and gathered his friends, telling them the it was the devil. The people gathered together, chased the scarecrow into a windmill, and burned him. The crow that had been saved told his friends about how this scarecrow was not evil, but by the time they went to go help him, it was too late. The scarecrow was burned to death, and afterwards the crows took his ashes and scattered them into the sky, so that he would never be alone again; he would always be flying in the sky alongside them. From then on, crows were alays black, in memory of the death of the scarecrow.

...yeah, it's pretty depressing. The video has BEAUTIFUL music though. I ended up putting it repeat and listening to it nearly 50 times XDD But yeah, that's the second part of this journal I knew I was forgetting. HAPPY HALLOWEEN~! Or at least to everyone who celebrates it. I was going to draw something, but I got lazy XD So instead, I'll post something for Christmas. And on a totally unrelated note, I LOVE Soul Eater, it's such an addicting manga :P Oh oh! AND! ONE PIECE! I swear it gets better each chapter....unlike some other long lasting mangas that seem to be going circles or something -_-; *cough*Naruto and Bleach*cough*...seriously though. I manage to predict the last 3 plot twists in Naruto without ever reading up anywhere past the formation of Hebi....and Bleach is still going nowhere anytime fast ._.;

Avalon Code...

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 00:45:18 GMT

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! >< *squeals* Argh, all my pent up energy is going to burst soon. I can't wait for this game to come out! Japan gets all the good games earlier though T_T Darn, but at least it's coming over! <3333 *hugs* I'm preordering it as soon as it's available ^_^ If you haven't heard of it yet, shame on you! Go check it out now! <3333333

Avalon Code

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 07:07:39 GMT

*flails* Avalon Code is coming the US! Holy--! We ACTUALLY get a DS game that doesn't have to do with Final Fantasy or some other predetermined title?! *sarcasm*

All griping aside, I have to say I'm pretty happy. I was actually going to buy the Japanese version in December, when it comes out over there, but I think I can wait till March for the US one. I'm really looking forwards to this game. It's got beautiful characters designed, a really intriguing story, wonderful graphics (I mean, for a DS games, it looks better than some of the PS2 games I've seen >_>), and really cool gameplay (the trailers seemed so at least. I mean, you can knock monsters out of the stratosphere into outer space XD That was enough for me. I saw that and basically said, "That's it. I'm buying this game" :P). Plus, there are a couple of pairing endings you can get~<3 If I play the girl, I want to find a way to win the enemy prince XD He seems so sad, his past is pretty depressing. I think that's an otome game overload talking there though ^^;

Anyways, if you guys haven't heard of it, go check it out. IGN has a preview, the official site is up, and youtube has the trailer <3 I really have my sights set on this (SINCE WE WERE DEPRIVED OF A NA RELEASE FOR TALES OF INNOCENCE *cough cough*) and now I think I have a slight glimmer of hope that some of the other awesome DS games will come over (*cough* World Destruction *cough*) You know, importing from Japan is really expensive, so if the NA gaming companies finally decide to get their butts into gear (like Atlus <3) I will love them for life XD

Homecoming...a very strange event

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 04:28:45 GMT

Well today was officially the most surprising, most annoying, and most patience testing day I've had all year. Hell, probably my whole life. So, about two days ago, there was the whole homecoming prince and princess nomination sort of things. You know, where you nominate three guys and three girls from your grade to be homecoming king or queen, right? So, I don't really know too many people who are into these sort of things (it's a popularity contest though, really). And I'm not going to homecoming myself. I don't really have much of an interest in dances or parties like these. I'm definitely NOT popular at school, but I don't think I'm too bad (well...maybe). But anyways, I'm not the most sociable of people and I usually end up in insult-flinging fights with most of the boys in my class (go figure XD)

I'm pretty sure most of you have figured out what I'm getting to by now. So there I was, dozing off in second period during the announcement, and they're announcing the sophmore princesses....WHY THE HELL IS MY NAME IN THERE? I'm freaking serious. You need at least 25 nominations to be a candidate. I'm not even sure I know 25 people at my school that I'd call friends, much less someone who would vote for me. So I'm over going WTF is happening, and most of the class if spazzing out too. You have to realize, I'm definitely not the most popular of people and most people consider me pretty annoying and a bit nerdy. I usually sleep in my classes (mind you, I make sure I get good grades, so it's ok) and I'm not friends with too many people. I mean, I know a lot of people relatively well, just not as friends. So nobody saw that coming.

Well, it would've been ok if things had just blown over like that...but nooo, everyone had to blow it out of proportion. The whole day, a couple of annoying guys who were in a few of my classes kept teasing me about the "princess" thing, even though I made it obvious I was annoyed. It wasn't really too bad since I know they were kidding around. What really ticked me off were the other nominees. I DON'T WANT TO BE HOMECOMING QUEEN, HECK I DON'T WANT ANYTHING AT ALL TO DO WITH THE EVENT.

Basically, what had happened is, you know how a lot of people don't really know who the heck to chose so they put down some random name. Well, apparently one of the guys I know, Peter, couldn't think of anyone so he just put down my name and told everyone else. And apparently they thought that was a pretty funny idea, the thought of me as homecoming queen, so they all put me down as that third-as-a-joke choice, AND THROUGH SOME TWISTED FATE I ENDED UP BEING A NOMINEE. And what's worse, the day of the announcement, all the guys freaked out. Donnie, who's so freaking sure that he'll end up as homecoming king, was a complete jerk, basically saying (really rudely) that there's no way in hell he'd go with me. I'm over here thinking, "You think I want to go with an ass like you?!". So that set off all the other guys (this was during break when I overheard them) who went along saying all these things like how there's no way I'm suited for homecoming queen. Normally, I'd agree with them so it wouldn't bother me. But they had to continue on and start talking about how nerdy and rude and annoying and ridiculous I was. Course, they didn't know I was on the other side of the wall, totally in earshot.

Long story short, I marched over and kicked the first guy's lunch tray that I saw. They all basically shut up then in surprise. Then that guy (whose lunch tray I kicked) got mad and started shouting at me about what the heck I did that for. And I'm really pissed off right now. It's bad enough I didn't want this stupid nomination, but now people have to go and give me hell about it. I basically told him to shut the *explicit* up (XD, I know. I never curse so I even surprised myself) and that if they wanted to say something they should say it to my face and also that I didn't even want to be homecoming queen and there was no way in hell I would go with a jackass like Donnie.

By this time, the look on their face is priceless, because I'm the last person to say something like that. I'm the perfectionist, honor class student who sits in the back with a couple of friends and usually scolds others for goofing off. But man, it was funny to watch them. I wish I had a camera at that moment XD And that guy basically kinda backs down muttering. So I'm here thinking it's over, but of course Donnie is all mad now and starts hurling insults at me, and I really don't have the patience for it anymore, so I walk over and kick his lunch tray too XDD It was awesome. So now he's on his feet and really annoyed (although I'd like to point out, he's an honor student too...>_>) and said something along the lines of "the only reason I'm not bashing your face in is because you're a girl." And then I'm pretty happy when I said, "Oh good, so I don't have to worry if I do this" and I punched him in the gut as hard as I could. There's something I'd like to point out. If you don't know whether or not the person you're picking a fight with is a second degree black belt, don't pick the fight. I am, and I'm glad I am. He went down, his friends started panicking and swarming around him, and I walk over to my backpack, pick it up, turn back and say, "Serves you right jerk. So now you can go run over to the office like a baby and tell on me if you want."

XDD I swear, that was so amazingly out of character I didn't even know I could do it. It's like....I'm a delinquent or somethin DX But I really don't regret it too much, especially since apparently Donnie still had his honor left so he didn't tell after I made that comment XD But yeah, totally off day. Nothing like this has ever happened to me before, and I really hope it never does again.

EDIT:: THE RESULTS ARE IN! Thank god I didn't win. Ugh, I don't even want to think about the mayhem that would've ensued if I did >_> On the downside though, THROUGH SOME MESSED UP RIGGED COUNT I'm the runner up. What...the...hell? I swear, everyone kept saying "hey I voted for you!" and I'm over here thinking, "I don't even know most of these people!" >:/ Argh, oh well. At least it's over. I get the feeling most of the people who voted for me thought it was a funny practical joke...-_-;

Games I've yet to finish...

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 05:36:02 GMT

Warning: Rant Ahead

So basically, there's only about two people who really need to read this, and I'm really just posting it up for them XD. But if for some reason my rants amuse you, feel free to read.

Anyways, so I was sitting around today with free time for once and thinking about why the heck I have this giant stack of video games I've never finished. I'm dead serious when I say I have over 50 games and I've only finished 2 of them. Most of them, I get halfway, or even up to the final boss, and then just....stop. But oddly enough, there's always a reason why I stop, and so for Angie and Arli, no I'm not just lazy. I thought for a while, and these are my favorite games that I've yet to finish and the reasons why (there's probably quite a few spoilers, so be warned) :

Persona 3: I'm on the god damn last night, I wish I could bring myself to haul my lazy ass out of the chair and finish the game. But I won't. Why? BECAUSE WE ALL KNOW WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN AND I REFUSE TO ACTUALLY PLAY IT THROUGH. I mean, come on, it's obvious. I just can't bring myself to finish the game cause I know I'll spend like, an hour crying and being depressed afterwards. It's like a denial factor, as long as I haven't actually finished the game, even if I know what's going to happen, I can still kinda of...pretend I don't know *shot* I don't know! I just can't stand sad endings! I don't care how good the game is!! And yes, Angie, you can finish it for me, but I'm NOT going to watch.

Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess: Ok, I'll admit this one is due to my own laziness. Zelda games have always easily scared me. I remember, in Orcarina of Time, when this re-dead showed out of nowhere, I screamed and scared everyone that was watching me play...>_> Same thing happened in Twilight Princess, except this time it was worse. I was only on the first dungeon when the screaming and panicking ensued....yeah. It's actually a rather mild game and not really scary, but I'm just....really jumpy I guess? So in this case, it's simply cause I swear I have a heart attack from enemies jumping out at me every time I try to play. That and I'm a bit too lazy to move on, so I just loiter, finishing quests and stalling XD

Tales of Destiny: I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU SAY ARLINA, I WILL NEVER, EVER PICK THIS GAME UP AGAIN!! Unless it's to start a new game. I'm over halfway through this game but I got to THAT part. Yeah, for Leon's story. I REFUSE, ABSOLUTELY REFUSE, to play it. Leon's my favorite character and I just can't accept it. I mean, he deserves a better life than that, a better future! Heck he deserves a future period!!! It's just not fair! Stahn, even after all Leon did, never blamed him once! WHY CAN'T YOU JUST SAVE HIM DAMMIT NAMCO?!?!?! I don't freaking care that tragedy and drama make a better story, because of your stupid "realistic storytelling" I'm never EVER GOING TO PICK UP THAT GAME AGAIN! Happy now?! (although, when (yes when, I will save up enough money one day) I buy the Director's Cut, I might just force myself through sheer willpower and through the tears to finish the Leon's Side version. And then, maybe, BY SOME MINISCULE CHANCE, if seeing it through Leon's eyes diminishes the agony, I might finish the actual game....I honestly don't think so though)

Tales of Destiny 2: Why did I start on this game when I didn't finish 1? Because I know how 1 ends (youtube) and I know the whole storyline already (plus I'm pretty much done with 1, I just refuse to finish it). BUT GUESS WHAT?! NAMCO IS A FREAKING JERK!!! Once again, Leon (or Judas, since that makes up a whole large part of the storyline, since Kyle is so kind and stupid and naive and he keeps trying to save Judas from his pain. And although I agree that Judas is his own person, even if he did inherit Leon's memories, his heart belongs to himself, but still, I think of them, at least loosely, as the same person) DID NOT GET A HAPPY ENDING! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU NAMCO?! Do you have some kind of discrimination against the poor guy?! HOW COME REALA IS OK?! (Don't get me wrong, I like Reala....it's just....so frustrating that she comes back to life but even after repenting for his crimes and coming to trust Kyle and the others, JUDAS STILL GETS SENT OFF TO GOD KNOWS WHAT DIMENSION!) T_T I stopped playing towards the end, right before the final parts, because I know what's going to happen to Judas. HE DOESN'T GET A HAPPY ENDING IN THE FIRST AND NOW HE HAS TO SUFFER IN THE SECOND?! Come on! What is wrong with cutting the guy some slack!? HE SUFFERED THE WHOLE GAME FOR HIS SINS AND YOU STILL THROW HIM AWAY?!?! I was so mad by the time it clicked I just....threw the game in a corner and haven't moved it since....I love the game....just....yeah...

Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance: ARARARA!! I have GOT to finish this game sometimes. In this case, it's a perfectionist issue. I'm on chapter 15 and you can get major bonus EXP for not killing any of the Laguz so my stupid perfectionist side REFUSES TO LET ME MOVE ON. It's so annoying! I seriously WANT to force myself to just play past the freaking chapter but I CAN'T. This is what happens when your whole life revolves around high level competition, stress, and parents who refuse to accept anything less that your ABSOLUTE best, and my best usually is the perfectionist type best. ARGH!! I want to finish this game! >_<

Disgaea: I still love this game to death, but the fact that it allows you to level up to lv9999 is a bit much. I mean, it's that whole perfectionist thing again. Even though I'm 50 freaking levels higher than I need to be, I just can't....stop....myself. I keep thinking, "just a few more levels" and next thing you know, it's five hours later and I still haven't moved on >_> Another game I really want to finish

All my otome games: Although I've finished at least one route for most of them, I can almost never bring myself to finish 100%, even with a guide. It's really frustrating. Maybe it's because I simply don't have that much patience...I'll finish them someday....in the far, far future

So yeah. Lovely. I counted, I have 54 games, I've only finished 2. Tales of Symphonia and One Piece: Unlimited Adventure. That's....really sad. I mean, even I can tell what the word excessive means....>_> It's....I need to start finishing them. I STILL HAVEN'T FINISHED FINAL FANTASY X....WHY?!? Agh, even I don't understand what makes me just suddenly stop all of a sudden. I DON'T GET IT! @_@

Kay, I'm done. Needless to say, Arli, I probably won't ever finish the Tales of Destiny pair. I have no desire to torment Leon/Judas further. I don't care if you want the translations for the endings, I refuse to play them. I might start a new game on them for fun, but I refuse, absolutely refuse to finish them. And that's that.

Studying pays off?

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 22:19:17 GMT

So, basically I haven't checked my mail in almost.... two months, about. My parents seperate the mail and the ones addressed to me are put on my table. Anyways, recently the pile's been getting pretty big, so I figured I might as well look over them and get rid of the ones I don't need (I was tempted to just throw all of them away and save myself the trouble, but you never know when something important is in there, so...nope, I had to dig through it >_>) Aout 3 of them were from my friends, 2 were ads, and 2 were from my subscribed magazines. The rest of the 20 something letters were all from colleges, instituions, or something like that. I'm over here thinking, "Wait up there! Why the heck am I getting letters from colleges?! I'm just a sophmore! @_@"

Either way, about half of them were about my AP tests or schools recommending themselves since they noticed I was taking AP classes (which, I'm proud to say, I got all 5's on all my tests so far. One of the few acedemic achievements I actually take pride in XD The other stuff I just kinda go, "meh, good for me" XP) Then there were a couple about my PSAT since I got a pretty good score (ARGH! I almost got a perfect score if it weren't for my math section >_<)

What really surprised me were the last two. Even before I opened them I knew they were different. I mean, one of the evelopes had gold embellishment all around the edges o_o....

I GOT TWO $500 SCHOLARSHIPS!! *huggles* I couldn't believe it! One was for a writing contest I got second place in and the other was for my PSAT score!! YES! My parents were so happy I'm off the hook for studying the rest of the summer! Even though that's only 3 days I don't care. I haven't had a break this whole freaking summer vacation. I'm going to spend the rest of my three days playing games till my eyes rot. Wohoo!

Back from Beijing....with a guilt trip to boot

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 22:54:31 GMT

I GOT TO WATCH THE OLYMPICS!!! *happy*

My aunt bought me tickets to gymnastics and swimming. Oh! Oh! AND I got to go to the opening ceremony....ok, well the rehearsal. The real opening ceremony was reserved for "important people" *grumble* My aunt works for the government, so she had tickets to both the rehearsal and the actual one. She gave the rehearsal one to me and I snuck in XD (I wasn't supposed to be there). Anyways, it was practically the same as the real one, minus the fireworks and, of course, the torch lighting and athletes. Still, it was really, really cool. Some of the stuff was really archaic Chinese culture, so I didn't understand everything. And it was hot. Way too hot. But I'm still happy about it. I'm sure it's a once in a lifetime experience.

The water cube and bird's nest are both really cool (where swimming and the ceremony were held, respectively). For swimming, we saw the women's synchronized diving. I was stuck between who to cheer for XD I'm American, but I've been raised with all this Chinese culture around me, plus I was in China....with a bunch of Chinese fans....sitting in the section where everyone was cheering for China. Well, in the end I just cheered for everyone, so it all worked out XP

I kept the ticket stubs as souvenirs (sp?). I'll scan them in when I get to chance so everyone can see (well, that and I promised Angie I woud :P)

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This part is for everyone who was waiting on my translations....if there are any left....

Well, anyways, to everyone over in the otome games community....I'M SO FREAKING SORRY!!! I know I promised to do translations, and then I totally forgot about them with the whole preparing to go see the Olympics stuff. When I got back and remembered, it was like a slap in the face. So I spent about an hour panicking and then finally decided I might as well do something to make up for it. Um....so, instead of translating the requested pieces....I kinda just turned on my PS2 (which had Neo Angelique in it) and sort of did a rough summary for Hyuuga's route....which was what I was working on before I left...... Which leads me to my second point. I didn't even have enough time to do a proper translation of the conversations. This is just a summary of the storyline for anyone who plays the game and wants to know the overall gist of what was going on.... *sinks further into guilt*

SORRY! I promise the next time I ever make a commitment to do something, I'll carry through....hopefully. The truth is, even I don't really trust myself sometimes *shot* So I hope this makes up for it somewhat. I'm starting school soon, so my parents won't be letting me play any games for a while. To everyone I selfishly shoved aside, I'm really sorry!

So, when you first meet Hyuuga, he's sleeping under a tree (duh, but it's actually pretty rare to see someone sleeping in otome games, if you think about it....aside from being knocked out or fainting for too much damage >_>) and obviously doesn't really take much of an interest in Angelique (or heck, even treat her politely. He's quite cold) During your early conversations (after Angelique tells him about the Aube hunters and possibly being the next queen) he doesn't show much trust and wonders why Angelique would resemble the queen. If you keep him in your party though, as the battle progress, eventually he confirms that it's possible Angelique could be the next queen, with her ability to use the Queen's Sacra.

Oh! Oh! And, yes in that CG where he's kneeling in front of Angelique, he's swearing his loyalty to her <3 I spent a good minute or so squealing over that. Considering how doubtful he was in the beginning, it's a nice little piece of satisfaction.

Soon after in the story (I think, about after you fight the Thanatos in town) there'll be an event where Angelique finds Hyuuga training alone in the backyard. Or, was training. More accurately, she finds his spear and a knife, and decides to find him to return them. Unfortunately, when she does find him and asks him why he has two weapons (out of curiousity) he's gets all stiff and curt and basically brushes her off. And then for the next couple of scenes, he doesn't talk to her (jerk....>_>)

While Hyuuga's still avoiding Angelique (and I'm ready to go chase after JD instead XD) one of his old comarades from the Church shows up for a visit. (Oh right, Hyuuga used to be a Silver Knight for the church that was meant to serve the Queen) Because she's still confused, Angelique asks his friend about Hyuuga's past and his two weapons. As it turns out, Hyuuga's best friend (back when he was still a knight) had been possessed by a Thanatos and Hyuuga was forced to kill him. Ever since, he quit being a knight and traveled the world looking for the cause behind how his friend had been possessed.

After that cutscene, in the following conversations with Hyuuga, it's basically just showing that he's becoming more and more reserved (or as I like to call it, emoing :P) Eventually, the storyline moves on when one day he runs off to a town because he heard that their was Thanatos there spreading some kind of plague. After Angelique catches up with him and they defeat the Thanatos, Hyuuga collapses, apparently having caught the plague as well. It turns out he has a high fever, so Angelique offers to go get some water for him, but just before she leaves, Hyuuga grabs her arm and tells her "don't leave me" (another squealing moment)

Afterwards (after the dinner event, which was quite fun in my opinion) when you go to Sachie (Sajie? Sakie? What was it called again? It's the place where Hyuuga used to live) Hyuuga notices that Angelique's interested in the culture and art there. So later on, during the evening he gives her this mirror (Sumire? I think) and says that it's like a keepsake for girls in his hometown (although the way he says it, somehow it seems more like an exchange gift between lovers to me XDDDDD Maybe that's just wishful thinking)

The events following are just missions to defeat the Thanatos. You can tell the institution is up to something but nothing too big happens for a while. I think after about 2-3 missions, there'll be another cutscene. When you return to the mansion, Angelique realizes that the mirror Hyuuga gave her is missing. Of course she immediately sets off, trying to find it. In the meantime, everyone else begins to get worried because no one knows where the heck she is (apparently JD wants her to try his new dessert....what is she, a guinea pig?? XD) As fate would have it (or as the designers would have it :P) the person who finds her is Hyuuga, just as she's preparing to sneak out to go search for it. By now, Angelique's pretty much full out panicking, and while's she's trying to explain what happened to Hyuuga she keeps tripping up her words (XD It's funny). Hyuuga just calmly tells her that he's glad that she treasures it so much and that he'll help her look for it (underlying motive: spend time alone with her *bricked*)

And the next scene is another squeal worthy one (the one where he's touching Angelique's face) Basically Hyuuga tells Angelique that it's ok if she's going to be queen, but at the moment she's Angelique, and that's enough. (That....can be taken in so many different ways.....-_-;) And the final line is the kicker. Hyuuga basically says, "I can feel my hand getting warm. I apologize for that nonsense *gets ready to walk away* However, I don't mind if you missinterpret what I said" (AF#1*$W@#!!! Jeez, he's trying to play mind games now. Cut that out! Yunoki doesn't enough of that!! XD)

I'm skipping alot of the main storyline, I know. I'll fill in the gaps later, promise. I'm just....summarizing Hyuuga's specific route. Which makes it sound even lazier now that I think about it.......sorry! >_<

Afterwards, when Angelique and Hyuuga go into town, they find a flower shop called Angel's Boutique. Hyuuga talks about how this place resembles the flower field in his hometown. And as he does, he walks towards Angelique and suddenly hugs her (Me: Wah! Don't hug people out of nowhere! *not that I mind* XP) He tells her to please stay this way a little longer. Almost immediately afterwards, he releases her though, and apologizes (idiot, don't apologize. You'll ruin the mood you know XD) After he says that, from then on, he begins to distance himself. When Angelique asks why, Hyuuga tells her that he realizes that the more he loves her, the more he'll end up hurting her since she'll become the Queen and rule over the cosmos, so she can't stay by his side (oh lovely, more drama >_<) Their relationship is pretty strained for a while afterwards.

In the following missions, as the battle between Angelique and that giant Thanatos draws closer, the institution begins to develop different machines and restraints to try and combat the Thanatos, but they go out of control. After the group stops them, it's revealed that Hyuuga's friend was possessed after being used in one of these experiments. As if to prove the point, this kind of after image/Thanatos version of his friend appear before him again. The shock momentarily freezes Hyuuga, and he can't react. So Angelique throws herself in front of him just as the image/Thanatos/whatever the heck it is is about to attack and shouts "I will fight for you, Hyuuga" which brings him back to his sense, just in time too. He pushes her out of the way, taking the attack, and then using the dagger his real friend gave to him before he died, he stabs the....image thing. You know, I still don't know what the heck it really was.

Anyways, after he defeats it, and after Angelique finishes worrying over him, he walks off towards the Angel's Boutique, injury and all. (It's one of those WTH? moments where I think, why the heck did he do that? I mean, the guy's injured, just killed his friend again (or something that looked like it) and he walks off towards a flower field??? I just doesn't make sense. I think the game designers just need an excuse to set the mood for the next scene....seriously *sighs*) Anyways, when Angelique catches up, they finally both see the butterfly that's been following Hyuuga around (there was always this blue butterfly following him, but only Angelique ever saw it. It always dissappeared when Hyuuga turned around to look) Hyuuga explains that in his hometown, there was a legend that said that those who passed away sometimes becamse butterflies to watch over their loved ones. Anyways, apparently that now Hyuuga's no longer tied down to his past (and emoing over it) the butterfly turned into a normal one and flew away, signaling that it was over.

So then, on to the final battle against that giant freaking thing (Ereborus or whatever), after which, the Universe (or some kind of mysterious being that represents it) asks Angelique to take up her throne as Queen of the Cosmos, but she refuses, since she wants to be with Hyuuga. She says that since Ereborus (can't spell) has been defeated, the Thanatos will stop respawning, so the world is safe. Of course the Universe being....thing isn't very happy about it. But at the Holy City Celestium (or whatever) Hyuuga manages to meet up with Angelique again. There's the sappy music, he confesses his love, the church bells ring, Hyuuga kisses her, and the Universe gives up. Whoopee! So Angelique and Hyuuga set off together to return to his home town. Cue happy ending and credits. ^_^

And that's my rushed, mostly in order, sorry excuse for compensation. *bows* I'm really sorry! You know what, when I get more time, I'll do translations for everything else I missed, and for the other games I promised to do as well! Once again, I'm really sorry!

Video gaming....and studying

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 19:31:36 GMT

Y'know....summer just isn't quite the same when you've got crazy parents who are convinced you'll do horribly in school and on the SATs if you don't study at least 6-10 hours a day every day and go to SAT reviews and summer school from Mon-Thurs IN THE MIDDLE OF FREAKING SUMMER VACATION!!! *fumes*

I mean, I had more free time during the school year, dammit! There's something wrong with this. The only day I'm allowed to play is Saturday, and even then it's only for half a day.... T_T

Of course, nobody's home during the day, so I don't always listen to them and play for most of the day sometimes. Unfortunately, my conscience picks now of all times to kick in. I mean, I had absolutely no problem punching a guys face in on the last day of school (he deserved it, and no, I didn't get into trouble XD) but I can't go the whole day defying my parent's stupid, unreasonable order. *sigh* As it is, it's a very boring summer....dammit....T_T

On the bright side though, I got two new games! First off, Harutoki 4 is FUN. It's so addicting. But I also got Odin Sphere, which is like, the second prettiest RPG I've ever played (Baten Kaitos is still number one for me ^_^). Between these two games, I at least feel like it's summer some of the time....>_>

Yanni Live Concert

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 23:17:17 GMT

Getting away from my otome game high for just a second....(HARUTOKI 4 IS ALMOST OUT!!! <3)....

...man, I would've given an arm and leg to go to this event. Honestly, there's simply no words I can use to describe how amazing that would have been. Yes I know, it was a long LONG time ago ....BUT I FOUND YOUTUBE VIDEOS!!! :D I don't use youtube THAT much, so when I found these videos...<3<3<3

A quick rundown, the Yanni is group of musicians that combines all forms of music, from classic to rock to new age and to some special style of their own too awesome to describe. I LOVE their performances. If I could even get into one in my lifetime, I would be happy. I think any attempt I make to describe how awesome their music is would end up being an insult to their talent, so I'm just going to post the links to some of the videos here. Even if you dislike music, I think anyone can appreciate these songs. There's something that....for lack of a less corny phrase....resounds with your soul (yeah yeah, shut up, I couldn't have picked a more cliche line....>///<), but it really does. So without further ado, the videos from Yanni Live Conert event!

Rainmaker: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvJH_POzxmc&feature=related
The Storm: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSrH_oqnrl0&feature=related
Prelude and Nostalgia: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U79esEAO7kk&feature=related
For All Seasons: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ynv9pyPr0fg&feature=related

And there are many, many more songs that you should listen to. Their music is beautiful. I hope that at least one person sees this journal and listens to their music. If you like it, you'll know what I mean when I say it's very hypnotizing and powerful. If you dislike it, you might want to rethink about your preferences, but I can't judge you either. I hope you guys like it though ^_^

A case of a guilt trip...

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 04:22:39 GMT

Though I doubt anyone remembers, in my last post (yes, the Harutoki rant) I kinda...brushed Angelique off...

Well, call it karma or what you will, but I finally got off my lazy bum and got Neo Angelique (well, actually, I bought it a while ago, but it just came in the mail today)...

Anyways...I can't stop playing it. *is in her 7th hour straight* It's kinda pathetic. I finally pulled myself away long enough to make this post XD Now, I'm going back to go play...again...

...'cause I messed up on Nyx's route so I'm starting over... XD

Less than a month!!!

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 00:02:25 GMT

*flails* Yes, I'm back once again. Don't worry though, there's no super long review/rant for the game this time, but thanks to Aoton on one of the forums, I was reminded once again that Harutoki 4 comes out....

.... in LESS THAN A MONTH!! afjd';#$sdfj! I don't know why it took so long to kick in, but for the past couple of weeks my brain has still been functioning as if there were a month left until the release date, when there's actually...about two weeks left... O_O HOLY -!!! There's only two weeks left! *bricked*

So...yeah.... I don't think I'll last that long T_T Between school and my falling grades, I should probably worry more about reality but... Harutoki 4 .... aw shoot. This ain't good.... >_>

*just wasted five minutes of your time*

Harutoki 4 comes out in a month!!!

Sat, 17 May 2008 06:12:36 GMT

*is in Harutoki mode* I mean, look! I even changed my icon for this one :3

*does a dance* I've been waiting for this game FOREVER. Actually, since the very first day it was announced ('cause I knew they were going to make one, I mean, Harutoki is like THE otome franchise. It's never going to die. It's just going to keep going on and on and hopefully get better each time. Forget Angelique (not that I don't love that game also...it's just I love Harutoki more <3). But I love this series to death, since I'm more of an action/RPG fan myself over otome games, this game is just made of win and love for me ♥ And since the waiting for the fourth game is driving me up the wall, I needed to vent all my pent up energy and fangirling...ness. Soooo...rant time! And I warn you, if it's Harutoki, I can rant for a LONG time, so be prepared....also, it's image heavy so if your comp lags for stuff like that, you may want to use someone else's...

EDIT:: Kay, fixed some spelling mistakes and updated Sazaki's profile

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Before anything else, here's the link to the website for Haruktoki 4: http://www.gamecity.ne.jp/haruka4/   <--GO CHECK IT OUT NAO!! Even if you don't read japanese, still go look. It's got pretty music, beautiful art, and a really cool setup. <3

Harutoki is short for Harukanaru Toki no Naka de (In a Distant Time). It's a popular otome series by Koei (Neoromance) and currently has three games and lots of lots of extras and spinoffs. This is the fourth game, and it looks a heck of a lot more fun. I love RPG's, and they're put a lot more of the RPG/battles in this game and it looks...well, fun. I really can't think of another word for it (well, that and my brain's on the fritz so... >_>)

The main story for the game has always been a high school girl gets transported to another world/era in order to save it from some threat that's endangering it. She's known as the Ryujin no Miko (Priestess of the Dragon God) and there are eight guardians, the Hachiyo (Eight Guards), protecting and aiding her. Sound cliche? Well it is, that is, the set up is cliche but the actual game, storyline, music, character development, art, gameplay, battle, emotions, and everything else end up so awesome by the end (especially the third game) that I totally forgot what the word corny meant. I'm dead serious. This is the only otome game I can fangirl to this extent over. I mean, it even beat Houkago wa Gin no Shirabe for me (anyone that knows me knows that I can rant when I want.... <_<).

The original game was for the PC (made god knows how many years ago) and was rather famous for being the first to combine an actual RPG type setting to an otome game (I'm sorry, but Angelique does not, and still doesn't count in that category, regardless of what anyone says or how much I love it T_T). The second game was a bit less popular, since the characters and gameplay and enemies were too similar to the first game's.

However, the third game freaking rocked. It was set in the famous Heike-Genji warring period (for all you japanese history students out there) except 10 times better 'cause you had magic, demons, and hot guys. ♥ I have over 88 hours on that thing, and I'm still unlocking stuff. The third game took place in a totally different setting with new characters and was much more like an RPG style game. The artwork is really pretty (and the costumes! *is jealous*) and the music is very good, some of the best I've heard for an otome game (Yo-Jin-Bo was made by an game music company, so that's about the only one that's better :P). The storyline made me want to cry halfway through as well. I swear, that's got to be the only game that made me want to cry, laugh, shout, squeal, and jump up and down all in one go. I'm currently replaying it to get the stupid enemy guy I always failed at while I'm waiting for number four to come out. That's another thing about Harutoki. How many otome games let you capture a super hot bad guy as well? I mean, trying to kill each other and end up falling in love XD God, sounds like Romeo and Juliet, except with much better development (sorry Shakespeare, but your story kinda made me want to headesk. You can't fall in love that easily! I mean, you can, but it has to be the Harutoki setup sort of fall in love at first sight! (or in this case first battle XD). Tomomori is....god, I don't even know how to describe him. I guess, he's forceful, loves to fight, and....really hard to describe. He has his own type of appeal that's too awesome for words (makes excuse for failing with adjectives XP, although the game uses the word sexy quite a few times XDDD). If you're reading this, buy the game and see for yourself (since if you've read this far I'm assuming you're at least midly interested XP)

Now, you have to understand that Harutoki brings together two parts of the game world that otherwise would have never crossed path for me. I'd take an RPG over a visual novel anyday, so to find both genres in one... I obsess, badly. And as a result, I've now got this giant complex about the game and ignore all faults (not that I have any problems with any games really). I mean, the battles are fun, the storyline is great (even for the first one, which was way too much cliche in one game for me, I still loved it), and character development is touching (I get attached too easily to my favorite guy and as a result I can't get anyone else... >_>), it has great replay value, and it's not amazingly short, like most otome games. It took me roughly 13 hours or so to get through one gameplay (which is the same amount of time it took for me to beat Halo 3 :P. Acutally, it was more like 15 hours since I translate slow, but the actual game itself pro'lly took around 13 hours, since I leveled quite a bit (this is game 3 by the way, my favorite) so if you just wanted to play straight through, it's probably about 10 or so hours, depending on how much of the story you want to unlock). I know a couple of people who rant as much as I do about the game, but if you're looking for a more cutesy, less action oriented game, you probably won't like this game as much (although you WILL like it. I use my hypnosis power to command you to play it :P)

Bleh, ok, enough general ranting. Let's get down to specific ranting (yes it exists). So for those poor souls who've never played this series before, a quick rundown of all (or at least most. I don't think I could name all the side games and spinoffs even if I tried) of the games:

Harukanaru Toki no Naka de Hachiyoushou: The original title, but for the PS2. I couldn't find the cover pic for the PC or PSX one T_T Not that I ever played it. The PS2 has everything in it plus extra, so I don't think I missed out on anything ^_^. For this game, the main character is a high school girl (given name Akane Motomiya) who gets dragged into an old well along with two of her classmates. There she finds out that she's been called to fulfill the role of the Ryujin no Miko and protect the world (Kyo, which is an alternate version of Kyoto during the Heian period) from the Oni Clan, which is plotting to...well, I won't spoil it... ^_~ It's the original that started the whole thing, and even after all these years I can still enjoy it. It also came out of the GBA, (although not nearly as good graphics) for all those people with region protected PS2. The GBA is region free! <3 In terms of storyline and character, it was really good for an otome game. However, the battle system was much more low tech, without levels and power depended on the level of the bond between Akane and the Hachiyo. However, the art was pretty and the music really surprised me. Usually, otome games have very repetetive, predictable music, but Harutoki always had good music, even from the very first game. <3 This is the begining of my obsession... *sighs*

Harukanaru Toki no Naka de Maihitoyo: A side-story game from the original game, it takes place in the middle of the first game. This is the one the movie is based on (yes, that's how popular the series is. It's got movies, and anime, manga, drama CD's, anything you can name). It doesn't have anything to do with the storyline, but does provide more background info for quite a few of the characters, since the first one didn't expand too much into their pasts (there was more focus on the developing the relationship between Akane and Hachiyo rather than their backgounds). It's roughly 5-10 hours of gameplay, depending on how much you like to mess around (I mess around A LOT on all my games, so I'm probably estimating a bit too high). For the PS2 and DS (region-free, dammit, region-free *happy tears*)
EDIT:: Oh god, I take it back. Suefumi's ending is.... like 10 times sadder. I finally got around to getting him... (really, if I'm not going to capture him, why the heck did I get this game?? XD) I was literally sobbing by the end, for two reasons. One, it was sad, two, it took me three tries to get his "true ending" and he had to go and... >_< AFJKSDF)_@#(R%:#L$KKJ!!!!!(@#!!!!!!!!!!!!!!................. yeah...20 hours....T_T But in seriousness, his ending was very heartwrenching...not to mention I was playing sad music on my iPod at that time... bad combo...T_T

Harukanaru Toki no Naka de Banjouyuugi: Same world as the first, although there's a few changes. Apparently the miko has split into three, and you control one of them. You go have defeat the other three as well as the enemies. I don't know anything past that though, since I never played this one (it's a spin off). Unfortunately, it's only for the PSX

Harukanaru Toki no Naka de Iroe Tebako: Apparently, this one is a puzzle game. Aside from that, I don't know anything else...ahaha... However, it's for the PSP, so no region protection ^_^

Harukanru Toki no Naka de 2: The second (main) game in the series. This one didn't get any of the spin offs and extras and stuff (well, there are a few, but none are really big like the first one. Jeez Koei, could you milk it out anymore? There is a limit). The characters are rather similar to the first one and so is the gameplay and enemies. The storyline for this one is that Karin, a modern high school girl, get called to Kyo (a 100 years in the future though) during a power struggle between the current emperor and the retired emperor. She's supposedly the Ryujin no Miko, however there's a problem. There's already someone else designated as the Ryujin no Miko by the retired emperor, not to mention the Hachiyo don't believe that Karin is the real miko at first (for the record, I freaking wanted to punch Katsuzane in the beginning of the game >_< Good thing they eventually come to accept her otherwise, I swear, there'd probably be a lot of hurt feelings throughout that game >_>) Despite similarities, I really enjoyed the game and characters in particular, since it takes a lot more effort to get them to accept you and get closer to you in this game.

Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 3: afjd';@$#dfkj!!!!! I really thought I couldn't get any more obsessive over this series...... I was proved wrong. Game three is my all time favorite game. The main character herself suits my personality more. She's not nearly as meek, grows to be very strong both physically and mentally, has a lot more pride and confidence, and always tries her best to protect those dear to her, no matter how painful it gets for herself. And the characters.... *drools* The in game CG is soooo pretty *_* The character costumes were...well let's just say I spent a good 10 minutes staring at Masaomi. Speaking of chaacters, the storyline is this one had a bunch of giant "holy crap!!!" plot twists moments that made nearly either A) throw my controller at the screen or B) drop my controller in surprise. Yeah, it gets pretty riled up sometimes. Plus, Nozomi (main character) gets to use a sword to fight this time, which to me makes a lot more sense than just throwing your chi around >_>... The character development really....really made me want to cry. Not because it was bad, but because I ended up liking the character so much that in the middle of the game...during one of those holy crap plot twists moments, I just really wanted to start crying. Those who've played the game, yeah it's that part with the whole time travel to change history part (T_T Nozomi must be really strong, mentally. I'd have like a mental breakdown or something) and for those who haven't played it, get the game, it's more than worth it. I mean, it's only $28 for the greatest hits edition. Come on, that's cheaper than most American video games!

Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 3 Unmei no Meikyuu (Labyrinth of Fate): This first real epilogue in the Harutoki series. The rest were just spin offs or side stories. Anyways, there's a nice storyline explanation by thisissong in the comments, but for those of you too lazy to scroll down, here's shortened version of what she said (XD). Dakiniten (the goddess possessing Masako) is still alive and has now made her way to Nozomi's world/time and is trying to possess her body. Her presence is the reason the Labyrinth as well as the problems with the ryuumyaku, so everyone's stuck in Nozomi's time until we get rid of her....again XD.

Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 3 Izayoiki: I absolutely adore this game. Why? It's guilty pleasure sort of thing. I was pretty much fascinated with Tomomori's storyline in the 3rd game (although it's gets kind of almost crossing the line sometimes... >_> (yes, you know what I mean) Well, he IS a bad guy; a really hot, arrogant bad guy who's a bit too obsessive about things and people he's interested in... good thing Nozomi's strong enough to hold him off). BUT, that's not all. There's also a new character in this game, new maps, stories, and costumes. And if you have your save data from game 3, you can see extended endings, events and attacks for anyone you've cleared. I just played it for Tomomori though XD

Harukanaru Toki no Naka de 4: It's a good thing you people can't hear me through the internet, otherwise I promise you, your eardrums would've burst long ago. Yes, this is the game I've been running around in circles from waiting for the last four months >_< ~ (!!!) I'm going to die before it comes out, I swear <_<... If it gets pushed back again......yeah, not going there. Let me talk about something actually informative. This one is set in a totally different world, not he Kyo one; it looks a bit like medieval china though. Did the costumes get even cooler? Is that even possible? T_T Oh, and the seiyuu's voice different elements this time!! (WTFBBQ?! Ok, who are you and what did you do to Koei?) For example, Inoue Takehiko voices a metal elemental character in the other games but this time he voices Kazahaya, who is a wind element. This is also the first time Harutoki has used 3D characters for in game play, rather than hand drawn sprites (ok, what is this? Did everyone at Koei suddenly decide to bite the bullet and take a leap of faith?? Not that I'm complaining, in fact I've been waiting for this kind of inovation, it's just I never expected them to do it). However, I took a look at the website and the 3D figures look really pretty too. As expected. Man, I'm jealous.

Ok, anyone still with me? I'm not done yet. Since the point of this post is about Harutoki 4, here comes my full blown preview/obsessive rant ~ I warn you right now, REALLY image heavy, so if you comp lags for stuff like that, don't go on. Yes I used big images. Why? Because the artwork need it dammit >_< The character's are so pretty. Plus, I left the character info in the pictures so I wouldn't have to type it out again XD

Ok, first off, more in depth synopsis (stole it from Lijacka, all credit belongs to her. Thank you dear!):

"Chihiro Ashihara is a normal high school girl in Tokyo who sometimes feels like she's forgotten something. One day, she's swept away to a different world called Toyoashihara with her childhood friend Nagi and her teacher Kazahaya. It turns out that she is actually from Toyoashihara; she was the princess of a country called Nakatsukuni, but it was taken over and wiped out by Toyonokuni. Kazahaya took her and escaped to our world, but now Chihiro has to fight and regain Nakatsukuni.

Humans and gods used to live together in peace in this world, but after the destruction of Nakatsukuni, some of the gods transformed into malevolent beings called Aramitami. Chihiro must fight the Aramitami with her comrades and return them to their god form. It's unclear who the 'bad guy' is, but I'm guessing someone from Toyonokuni."

Ok, now for characters (these are just the main ones, 'cause if I listed everyone...well, forget other people's computer, I think I'd overload my own comp...)

Chihiro: The main character. I think this is the most interesting main character (not best, I still like Nozomi's attitude the best ^^) in the sense that this is the first one where the main character actually has a personal connection to the other world. Before, it was just some random high school girl who happened to get wrapped up in a giant mess XD. But she's actually the princess. Interesting and I look forwards to finding out more about what happened in her past. Oh! Oh! And, she uses a bow. Regardless I'm going to love her ♥ Yes, I'm a sucker for long range weapons. In all my RPG's it's always my snipers and bowman and mages and long range people that pwn everyone XP Plus, her costume's so beautiful T_T All of Harutoki's costumes are so graceful and beautiful...

Kazahaya: Chihiro's teacher in the modern day world, but he was her gaurdian back in Toyoashihara. He's really level headed and kind and looks out for Chihiro. He's more like an older brother than father figure...although he is eight years older than her XD. Oh well, doesn't bother me *shot*

Ashvin: Ashvin? Asvin? I'm not quite sure about the pronunciation. Oh well, guess I'll figure it out when the game comes out. Anyways, he's actually an enemy prince from Toyonokuni. I'm definitely getting him first XD Yes, I go for the bad guys first. There's just something satisfying about not only kicking the guy's behind, but also getting him to fall in love. XDD Tsundere much? I kinda feel sorry for the main characters I play... >_>

Nagi: Chihrio's friend and classmate, he also fled Nakatsukuni with her in the past. He's a bit aloof and doesn't waste words, but he's always there for her. I'm probably going to get him second :3

Sazaki: I take it back, I'm getting him first. He has wings! Ok Koei, what the heck, you guys really went all out and threw the norm out the window. Yay! This is cool, since this is the first time we've had other races on OUR side. I mean, in number 3, the bad guys got the demons but we didn't get anyone new T_T Anyways, Sazaki's apparently a bandit, used to be a pirate till his ship got taken away from him XD (a winged pirate...sure) and Chihiro has to break him out of jail...? Am I reading that right? Well this definitely sounds interesting...

Edit: Ok, see my initial reaction? It still applies, except I have to add this part. So I was all happy and stuff about having a winged guy in the game and then... I looked at his age. WTH?! He's 14 years older than Chihiro! O_o So I spent a nice minute or so freaking out, then realized....oh wait, I don't really care *shot'ed* Yes, I'm a pedophilic idiot or something >_< I freaked myself out, ok? I spent at least a minute panicking that for some reason the fact didn't bother me.... >_>

Futsuhiko: A warrior for Nakatsukuni that's been awainting the return of the princess (true heir to the throne, that sort of thing). He's very dedicated but understanding. Hm, I think he's one of those sad past sort of guys that's looking for someone for revenge, but it's not confirmed yet...although he certainly doesn't look the type, but I've learned not to judge any Harutoki character by looks alone (I mean, Yasuaki's ending cretainly threw me for a loop)

Hiiragi: This guy is probably going to end up high on my "want to punch" list. He's a traitor to Nakatsukuni who sold out the princess and the country (if you've ever read my rants on any website, you know how overprotective of main characters I can get, so this guy'll probably be in for a world of hurt, unless he turns out to be like Tomomori, who I could not bring myself to beat no matter how many times I tried >_>)

Tooya: a member of the tsuchigumo clan who can communicate with the aramitami (which are the gods, but apparently after they've forgotten their original form, which makes me wonder. I mean, if he can control the gods, but only after they've become Aramitami....you know what, never mind. I'll leave you guys to figure that one out on your own ~_^) Anyways, apparently he doesn't serve either side at first, so I'm guessing we'll have to end up recruiting him or something.

Katsuragi: A general of Nakatsukuni, he seems to have some connection to the wolf tribe (a tribe of werewolf like members, except they don't have a human form. Basically kinda like anthros, they're wolves but they walk on two legs and speak as well). He's often times cold and serious, although apparently he has a mischevious side and likes to pick on Chihiro >_> He might end up on my "want to punch" list as well...or not. He's too handsome, darn it >_<

Phew, ok, did I kill anyone's computer? Mine's kind of lagging right now... -_-; Whoops. Anyways, there's actually twelve more main characters O_o, but I don't want my computer to die on me, so I'll leave it at this. Next, we have to game play, and then I have to get to bed before my parents kill me XD

As far as I can tell, Harutoki 4 uses 3D in the movement as well as battle scenes. Plus, in addition to the maps, you're allowed to move around in towns and areas, just like in a normal RPG

You didn't use to be able to wander around town or move around on the screen. Usually after you reached an area there was a cutscene or something and maybe a battle, but this time you get to walk around, and the backgrounds look very pretty. It reminds me of an MMORPG for some reason though... :P

Battles are turn based, and each character starts out facing their own opponent.

I have to say, the sprites look pretty good in my opinion. At the very least they're not bad, and they're better than Ar Tonelico's (ok, why am I still comparing Harutoki and Ar Tonelico? >_< *smacks self* Maybe it's cause they're both RPG/visual novel hybrids...hmm...) Anyways, if Chihiro defeats her opponent before the others, she can go help one of the Hachiyo and her bond with them strengthens. Your relationship with the Hachiyo affects the abilities you can unlock for that character as well as whether or not Chihiro can perform a combo attack with them.

Each character and enemy has a related element (notice the little symbols above their heads in the picture above) and whenever you defeat an enemy, you get an increase in megumi related to that element.

Although, apparently there are two types of Megumi for each element this time around. You use megumi to level up stats and learn new abilities.

*squeals* Yay! This really does look like a full blown RPG, except with a storyline I can enjoy more easily (I can never handle melodrama too easily (I'm looking at you Final Fantasy games) and cute guys to capture). But...I have to wait another month...oh god... *smacks*

Ok, I gotta get to bed, so that's it. I'll edit this journal if I remember anything extra tomorrow.

Shikata Akiko is my god~

Fri, 09 May 2008 03:53:27 GMT

So, after going through a period of relative music stagnation (I still love music no matter what, it's just there wasn't any new music I particularly liked for quite a while) I decided to finish my Ar Tonelico game since I freaking love that thing and it's one of the few games I love the art and music for. Anyways, after a while of thinking, I went to wikipedia to see who it was that sung all those lovely songs. Lo and behold, my introduction to Shikata Akiko. Her music is so beautiful, and it's so different and refreshing. I haven't gotten tired of it yet and probably won't for a long time. If anyone wants to check it out, there are quite a few songs on Youtube (which is where I found most of them ^^;)

She's so amazingly talented and her singing is really powerful. ♥ I absolutely adore her songs. I've already caved in and ordered three CD's, despite the horribly annoying shipping cost from Japan. It's worth the sacrifice! *strikes pose*

.....Yeah, go listen. She has a beautiful voice as well.

I'm letting it die, aren't I?

Tue, 06 May 2008 03:24:48 GMT

Despite my whole paragraph of ramblings about how I wouldn't let this poor journal die and whatnot, it seems that's exactly what's happening to it. T_T I suppose it can't be helped. I actually don't have much to put here. I'm just here to stalk the communities XD. BUT! I'll try to get some stuff up in case anyone is reading this by some god forbidden miracle. So...le'see....current interests are...

Oh, right! My new Otome game Houkago wa Gin no Shirabe finally came about three weeks ago. I was so happy I was shouting and jumping up and down and my parents came running to see what was wrong...ahaha...^^; Maybe I'll get an in depth review in later.

First post?

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 02:51:03 GMT

Um, so...what to say? XD I finally have a livejournal, after weeks of pestering by my friends. Hopefully I'll actually use it once in a while. I have a nasty habit of letting my online stuff die (my DA account is a shining...er, dying example). I also want to try my best to stop shooting my mouth off. It might sound weird, but online, when nobody can see the other person they're talking to, there are a lot of times where it's easy to be really rude and mean and lie. I have that problem (and I'm willing to bet quite a few other people do to). So, this time I'm going to try my best to keep away from those sort of things (baaad experiences on my previous forums. *sigh*). Hopefully I'll meet some new friends too. It's nice to meet everyone! ~♪