What Are You Playing 2

[ADC]

For the DS: Castlevania: Dawn Of Sorrow
I'm...stuck. I think I've clocked about 5 minutes and I'm up against a guy with 2 swords, and I CAN'T WIN! Help?
"Doc, I can't win!" "Join the Nintendo Fun Club today, Mac!"

Wait, that was the wrong exchange. Stick and move, stick and move. If the guy with two swords can't hit you, you can't lose. Especially early in those darned Castlevanias, your best friend is the control cross. Best of luck on that.

[Azumangaman]

For the DS: Castlevania: Dawn Of Sorrow
I'm...stuck. I think I've clocked about 5 minutes and I'm up against a guy with 2 swords, and I CAN'T WIN! Help?
"Doc, I can't win!" "Join the Nintendo Fun Club today, Mac!"

Wait, that was the wrong exchange. Stick and move, stick and move. If the guy with two swords can't hit you, you can't lose. Especially early in those darned Castlevanias, your best friend is the control cross. Best of luck on that.

Control Cross? Anyway, thanks for the advice, its what I've been doing, and hey, after two more trials, I slaughtered that n00b. And of COURSE I'm stuck at the second after the boss. There's a sword, but I can't make the jump to get there. I hope I won't be struggling like this through the entire game.

[Jarred]

I finished the game and I'm thinking of starting a New Game+. I loved the ending but I didn't get the complete ending. I got the one where yu leave and Mila joins you.

That's not the complete ending!?!? Dammit. That's what I got too, although I thought it was still a nice happy ending. The last three chapters (8-10) were the best, good mystery and intense at times. I even got thrown out a few times, including twice at the end.

Up next is my February DS purchase, Lunar Knights! Hope this one is as good as the reviews have been saying. :)

[ADC]

Control Cross?
Because D-pad looks and sounds stupid, I think. Only worry is that speed-readers will think I said something about Chrono Cross in a Castlevania game. And I wouldn't do that. Castlevania is awesome; I wouldn't insult it with comparisons to one of the least games in Square's catalog.

[Greywing]

After finishing Fahrenheit (http://www.animeondvd.com/forum/showtopic.php?tid/17209/), I've gone back to Dragon Quest VIII. After putting in about four hours yesterday, I got past Khalimari and up to the point Angelo joins the party.

Foolishly, I turned the voices back on for a few horrible moments - UGH! Has to be one of the worst game dubs ever. I went straight back to old-school text only.

[Johnny]

Just got Virtua Fighter 5 this morning :D Got the bonus PS2 game too but haven't had a chance to get a look at it.
But yeah, awesome stuff.

For those that don't know, the game is dual language (oh, the wonders of sweet, sweet Blu-Ray!) so if you have your PS3 language set to English, you get it in English (but the characters retain their Japanese voices where applicable) and if you have it set to Japanese, you get it in Japanese.
In other words, if you can't wait another couple of weeks for the US release, import the Japanese one as it's the same game.

[Collectonian]

I finally started Shadow Hearts: From the New World last night. Played for almost 6 hours and stopped midway through the the Alcatraz part of the Chicago visit.

So far, this game has plenty of the fun silliness so evident in the first two (with our favorite gay salesmen from Covenant now in America, and we a cat fighting in the Drunken Fist style!!). It also has some more fun with historical characters, such as Al Capone and Elliott Ness. The story is shaping up to be interesting, though having Shania as the fusion character takes some getting used to. I hope somewhere in they will explain why Killer and Lady look similar to a certain romantic duo from the first two.

Still gathering the gang that will be the core party, but we've already had our first tradgedy, with one of those curve balls that Shadow Hearts does so love to throw in!

[Pachi]

My Wii finally got back from Nintendo. About a month ago it stopped turning on so I had to send it to them for repair. Unfortunately, they were not able to preserve the game save data we had compiled prior, and all the data we had compiled prior was internally saved. :(

So, I'm currently playing every game I have for the system (Zelda, DBZ BT2, Rayman) in the process of getting back to where I was before.

[ayareiko]

Championship Frungy Online (http://sc2.sourceforge.net/)
The Sport of Kings!

[Johnny]

Managed to drag myself away from VF5 for a bit this morning as Metal Slug Anthology (PSP) arrived. Not sure if this is out in the US yet but this is the Euro version. All 7 Slugs on one UMD. But is it good? Well yes. It has the hitflashes and there are minimal loading times between/during levels.
I noticed quite a bit of slowdown when trying to escape from a tank that's about to blow but other than that it's all good.

But Virtua Fighter 5, fuckin' hell how good is this game? I've always loved the VF series but have always considered Tekken to be the king of 3D fighters. But not anymore, I'd nearly forgotten just how much depth there was to the game. The Quest mode is fantastic, where you travel around various real-life Japanese arcades and challege people in order to earn items or rank up.
Got Jacky (my VF character of choice) up to 5th Dan now and kicking ass all around me :)
If the 360 version does feature online play then I'll definitely rebuy. I'd want a stick for the 360 though as IMO the pad isn't suited for fighters much. The Sixaxis handles the game like a dream but I'll probably end up buying one of the PS3 sticks at some point.

Great to Sega on such a roll at the minute, kicking ass. Between VF5, Virtua Tennis 3/Bleach DS 2/Sonic Wii in a couple of weeks, After Burner PSP and Hokuto no Ken in March etc they're spoiling us.
If they announced a PS3 port of HotD 4, Virtua Cop 3 and Initial D 4th Stage I think I'd orgasm :neko:

[Galt]

Right now, I'm concentrating mostly on Final Fantasy XII. Still having trouble with a particular boss (Garuda, at the Tomb of Raithwall) so I'm spending some time leveling and getting some better weapons.

Others: Still working on finishing Bully. Also going to start a season in Madden 2007.

Galt

[Chacranajxy]

Managed to drag myself away from VF5 for a bit this morning as Metal Slug Anthology (PSP) arrived. Not sure if this is out in the US yet but this is the Euro version. All 7 Slugs on one UMD. But is it good? Well yes. It has the hitflashes and there are minimal loading times between/during levels.
I noticed quite a bit of slowdown when trying to escape from a tank that's about to blow but other than that it's all good.

But Virtua Fighter 5, fuckin' hell how good is this game? I've always loved the VF series but have always considered Tekken to be the king of 3D fighters. But not anymore, I'd nearly forgotten just how much depth there was to the game. The Quest mode is fantastic, where you travel around various real-life Japanese arcades and challege people in order to earn items or rank up.
Got Jacky (my VF character of choice) up to 5th Dan now and kicking ass all around me :)
If the 360 version does feature online play then I'll definitely rebuy. I'd want a stick for the 360 though as IMO the pad isn't suited for fighters much. The Sixaxis handles the game like a dream but I'll probably end up buying one of the PS3 sticks at some point.

Great to Sega on such a roll at the minute, kicking ass. Between VF5, Virtua Tennis 3/Bleach DS 2/Sonic Wii in a couple of weeks, After Burner PSP and Hokuto no Ken in March etc they're spoiling us.
If they announced a PS3 port of HotD 4, Virtua Cop 3 and Initial D 4th Stage I think I'd orgasm :neko:

Phew, good to hear that Metal Slug Anthology has the hitflashes on the PSP. Having played the originals a lot, it was unbelievably annoying not having those... I already sold my copy of the Wii version and made back all the money I wasted on it, so all's well in the world. The PSP version isn't out here yet, but I'm waiting for the PS2 version, so hopefully that'll deliver and have the hitflashes and no slowdown. It's good to see progress being made though.

And Virtua Fighter 5... I want it. Really bad. It's just depressing when it's not a matter of "oh, I have to wait until next week" -- it's a matter of "I have to buy this system and then the game... or I will die." Quite excruciating.

[Johnny]

And Virtua Fighter 5... I want it. Really bad. It's just depressing when it's not a matter of "oh, I have to wait until next week" -- it's a matter of "I have to buy this system and then the game... or I will die." Quite excruciating.


Well there's Resistance, Ridge 7 and Motorstorm as well so you'll be getting a lot of playtime in :P
Come on Chacrana, you know you want one! :>

[Chacranajxy]

And Virtua Fighter 5... I want it. Really bad. It's just depressing when it's not a matter of "oh, I have to wait until next week" -- it's a matter of "I have to buy this system and then the game... or I will die." Quite excruciating.


Well there's Resistance, Ridge 7 and Motorstorm as well so you'll be getting a lot of playtime in :P
Come on Chacrana, you know you want one! :>

Unfortunately, Johnny, you can't convince me to buy something I'm already sold on :P . I'm obviously getting one, but I'm trying to hold out until spring break next month so that I can put a good amount of time into RR7 and VF5 (which are the only games I'm really interested in right now.)

On a side note, I've been having a hell of a tough time getting my D-Link wireless adapter to stay reliably connected. I'm pretty close to smash time with this thing after trying to get it to even load the configuration screen... it's keeping me off of Xbox Live and I do not like that. So I'll probably just buy another adapter today and smash the D-Link (it does make me feel better.) What a piece of shit.

What am I playing now though? Neo Geo Battle Coliseum. I played like... 1 round of the game when I got it back in late July (this was when I'd gotten my wisdom teeth out so I felt kinda like shit at the time) and I was disappointed. I put the game in again yesterday and I ended up playing about 3 hours of it. This is really a fantastic game. There's so many different characters to try and since it draws from pretty much every SNK game that matters, there's a lot of variety in the characters. It's only about $30 now thanks to it becoming a part of the SNK Best collection so go git' it!

[Johnny]

Unfortunately, Johnny, you can't convince me to buy something I'm already sold on :P . I'm obviously getting one, but I'm trying to hold out until spring break next month so that I can put a good amount of time into RR7 and VF5 (which are the only games I'm really interested in right now.)

Heh, yeah but I just wanna kick your ass at RR7 online :D


What am I playing now though? Neo Geo Battle Coliseum. I played like... 1 round of the game when I got it back in late July (this was when I'd gotten my wisdom teeth out so I felt kinda like shit at the time) and I was disappointed. I put the game in again yesterday and I ended up playing about 3 hours of it. This is really a fantastic game. There's so many different characters to try and since it draws from pretty much every SNK game that matters, there's a lot of variety in the characters. It's only about $30 now thanks to it becoming a part of the SNK Best collection so go git' it!

I'm the same. Bought the UK release when it came out late last year and have only played about 10 mins of it so far. Definitely wanna go back to it though, it's just finding the time to do so.

On an SNK/Neo Geo related note, I've been playing Garou quite a bit recently. Ashamed it's taken me this long to buy the damn thing but this is my fav SNK fighter for sure and up there in my top 2D fighters too. Plays so, so well. Only cost me £13 too :)

[Suwako Moriya]

I'm apparently getting near the end of Atelier Iris 2: Azoth of Destiny. I say this because Eden has been more or less restored I'll say the recent attack I gained for Fee helps improve her quite a bit. Yeah I'm talking about the attack she gains in the trial for members of the royal family of Slaith In regards to another one of her attacks I need to figure out how many times Endless Blade actually hits. It would be nice if each hit did more damage. :sd:

Heh part of the fun has been the references to the first game. Max calling Felt "Klein" which I figured had to happen eventually. The look of some of the areas. Also I finally have the recipe for the Ruby Prism. Now it's just a matter of actually making it in the future perhaps.

It's too bad "Grand Phantasm" has yet to come out here and who knows if it ever will. Regardless of how much better or worse it is than the first two Atelier Iris games. I am curious to play it and see what happens in it. I guess probably because I like the first two games well enough.

As for everything else. Sword of Mana I'm still playing through very slowly. Although progress is still progress I guess. While in the case of Romancing SaGa 3 it's more or less time for the final area. However right now I want to improve the party a bit first. So it's mainly a matter of time. I have a basic goal in mind in terms of the stats I want to reach, but I may move forward earlier or later than that.

[Azumangaman]

I'm trying to play Final Fantasy V Advance, but its not all that fun. I spent forever training, then went on to face Shiva and got slaughtered, so I lost all my data (35 minutes of training and upgrades!)so I got pissed of.
I just can't seem to beat her. I read a walkthrough and it was talking about buying FireRods from some place...I'm so lost in this game! All I was doing was getting 1 ABP per fight so it was taking forever to get stronger. I need some help!

Also, I tried to play more Castlevania: Dawn Of Sorrow but I just can't make the stupid friggin jump. Its DIRECTLY after the first boss with 2 swords.

[tuffy]

At least I'm not the only one struggling through a Final Fantasy game. I've been working my way through FF3 and damn Kraken kept slaughtering my party. I'd fight my way through the entire dungeon, heal up before the last boss and he'd take me down after a half dozen turns. I'd check GameFAQs, change tactics, and he'd still wipe me out - over and over again.

Finally, I decided to run from every random dungeon encounter so my party was at full strength for that last fight. Then I plugged his hit point total into a calculator (courtesy of GameFAQs) and kept track of it by hand, subtracting after each of my hits. Finally, using a simple "hit him with everything I've got" tactic, I was able to take that jerk down because I knew exactly how hard to hit him and when I didn't need to hold back.

The only other Final Fantasy I've played is the first one, but I'm having lots of fun with 3 - especially now that the Kraken is out of the way.

[ADC]

I'm trying to play Final Fantasy V Advance, but its not all that fun. I spent forever training, then went on to face Shiva and got slaughtered, so I lost all my data (35 minutes of training and upgrades!)so I got pissed of.
If you've been to Karnak, you should have Fira. If you have Fira, you'll blow her up. If you're trying to get it done early, well, best of luck.

Sort of on topic, because most of the FFs we're talking about here are older than Azumangaman. Should we continue with the Hide tags? I don't know that they're really necessary.

[ADC]

Finally, I decided to run from every random dungeon encounter so my party was at full strength for that last fight. Then I plugged his hit point total into a calculator (courtesy of GameFAQs) and kept track of it by hand, subtracting after each of my hits. Finally, using a simple "hit him with everything I've got" tactic, I was able to take that jerk down because I knew exactly how hard to hit him and when I didn't need to hold back.
That's dedication to the task at hand! I don't have the patience for such things anymore … When I took on Kraken, the only person to survive was Arc — and he was a Thief! Thieves are ridiculous in that game!

If there's a defect to FF3, it's that Phoenix Downs can only be found, not bought. Once you get Raise, maybe it's not as big a deal, but until then, you have to be über-careful with the Phoenix Downs. Sucks.

[Kinomoto_Shinji]

Great day today. I got up and decided to clear up some of my backlog. Finaly beat Residen Evil 4 today. Wish I would of gotten around to it sooner. Also sold two games I know I'm not going to get around too...Atelier Iris and Grandia 3 for $50, so that's three games off my backlog.! w007!

Now I'm continuing with Final Fantasy XII. I just got my first Esper. The plot is starting to pick up. Hopefuly I should have it done with in another ten hours, then I'll go to either Twilight Princess or Disgaea 2.

[Suwako Moriya]

If there's a defect to FF3, it's that Phoenix Downs can only be found, not bought. Once you get Raise, maybe it's not as big a deal, but until then, you have to be über-careful with the Phoenix Downs. Sucks.

You'd think the limited amount of phoenix downs would spell the end of the world. Yet by the time I got the raise spell, I still had several in my inventory. In fact I still had some after defeating the final boss. Actually that's the funny thing about rare items. Sometimes you can be so nervous about using them that by the time you truly are ready to start using them... Well by that time you really don't need them that much anymore.

Thieves are definitely awesome to have. Especially once you realize what you can steal from whom. Although from what I can remember the items a thief is able to steal from an enemy is dependent on Job class level. By coincidence one of Arc's chosen classes was the thief.

[Suwako Moriya]

Sort of on topic, because most of the FFs we're talking about here are older than Azumangaman. Should we continue with the Hide tags? I don't know that they're really necessary.

It may still be good to use tags for more serious spoilers. However for stuff like "I'm facing generic boss" or "I'm facing a summon" doesn't really need to be hidden. I don't think knowing someone is facing a purple dragon will ruin a game. Like wise fighing summons is common enough in the Final Fantasy series that there is really no need to cry bloody murder if someone says "I'm facing Ifrit" or "I just got Cactuar".

One thing I would probably not bother using hide tags for is things like favorite/current party. Yes it may be somewhat of a spoiler to mention a character can/will join. However let's get realistic here. It's not fun to hide everyone's name in tags or call them by code names at all. One should be proud of their party.

Heck my current party in Atelier Iris 2: Azoth of Destiny is in fact Fee, Noin, and Viese. Sure one could claim that's a potential spoiler. Yet it's not because it's blatant she'd join the party. Mainly because she has a level. The only reason to have a level is to raise it. To raise the level requires experience. Experience means fighting battles. You get the picture.

The above is an example of how some things are blatant enough to not be considered a real spoiler. Now while saying my current party is Fee, Noin, and Viese is not a spoiler or much of one. Mentioning when, how, and why Viese joins the party would be a major spoiler. Thus the key is sometimes in the detail you're giving.

There is a huge difference between "I just got the holy elixer from the cave" vs "I just got the holy elixer from the cave because Sara was poisoned by Joe who decided to betray the party. See Joe is actually Sara's twin brother from an alternate universe". Go figure and sorry I ran out of stuff to make up.

Finally I will freely admit part of the reason I won't hide the fact Viese is in my party is because I love her. Well in the context of being a fantasy character. I know she's not real. Thus with pride I will say I'm making use of her. I won't allow the precious one to be hidden in the shadows. I will proudly say I'm making use of her.

This post has not only been a view on spoilers, but sort of an update on progress in Atelier Iris 2: Azoth of Destiny. It may even contain hidden pheonix downs so ADC will actually have enough to use in Final Fantasy 3 DS. :> Ie the ones I never really used.

[ADC]

It may even contain hidden pheonix downs so ADC will actually have enough to use in Final Fantasy 3 DS. :> Ie the ones I never really used.
How can you not? I barely scraped past Kraken because I didn't have any! And it's not to say that he's really that tough of a boss so much as, because of the artificial valuation of Phoenix Downs, I couldn't bring back a single person during that battle! Just one Phoenix Down and I'd thumped him with extreme prejudice! But nooooo, no matter how deep you get into the game, nobody sells them; and even after leveling Arc past Thief level 60, I can't steal a Phoenix Down to save my life! (And that's the worst thing, because that's what they're supposed to do!)

All I can say is, when they remake it for PSP (and let's not kid ourselves; they will), they'd better have a Phoenix Down shop for retards like me who insist on plunging through the game as fast as possible without leveling up nearly enough. :realanger:

[Suwako Moriya]

How can you not? I barely scraped past Kraken because I didn't have any!

I forgot the exact set up, but part of it involved having Luneth the Black Mage cast Blizzaga. While Refia used the strongest items she could to damage or heal. Yay for the Scholars being twice as effective with items. It's more awesome than it seems. I need to remember what Ignus and Arc were doing during that battle. Probably enough to contribute to the victory I think.

I think part of what helped was by experimenting with various classes, I was able to get a better idea of how to exploit them for max benefit. Such as realizing that the Bard's songs are preemptive which becomes even more of an advantage at higher levels. Plus one of the songs does damage based in part on the enemy's remaining HP.

Thus during the final boss battle that attack can easily do 9999 damage for awhile. When the damage starts to fall you know the boss is getting closer to death. Especially if your bard has a decent job level. Heck that's part of what I used during the final battle the first time along with a song that increased my defense.

Oh speaking of reviving characters. I've had several cases where the revived character is suddenly targetted the second he's revived. It's almost as if there is some code that says "X has been revived, you are now allowed to torture X to death again. Make the player cry." Nah that couldn't be the case could it?

[ADC]

Oh speaking of reviving characters. I've had several cases where the revive character is suddenly targetted the second he's revived. It's almost as if there is some code that says "X has been revived, you are now allowed to torture X to death again. Make the player cry." Nah that couldn't be the case could it?
Roger that. It's almost worth it to let the dead stay dead until after the battle. Problem is, the one who dies is usually Refia, and she's my Red Mage (read: healer). I keep her in the back row! She didn't do anything to you, Kraken, what's your problem! It's probably worth it to carry an extra healer, but I always think that I'm going to run out of spells halfway into the dungeon and where will I be if I have a White Mage with his/her awesome attacking skill set of hitting 10 times with a stick for like 12 damange. For the whole attack, not per hit.

[Suwako Moriya]

During times Refia was a White Mage, I'd end up using Staffs as items to cast spells for damage. The best part is no matter how many times I used the staff to cast a spell it never got consumed. Although there are two obvious catches. If I have only one Ice Staff then only one person can use that Ice Staff during the round. Like wise if the person can't equip a staff then a person can't use it as an item. So don't think your Warrior can suddenly cast magic by using staffs as items. Also in some cases I'd just have Refia the White Mage defend until she was needed to heal.

[ADC]

During times Refia was a White Mage, I'd end up using Staffs as items to cast spells for damage. The best part is no matter how many times I used the staff to cast a spell it never got consumed. Although there are two obvious catches. If I have only one Ice Staff then only one person can use that Ice Staff during the round. Like wise if the person can't equip a staff then a person can't use it as an item. So don't think your Warrior can suddenly cast magic by using staffs as items. Also in some cases I'd just have Refia the White Mage defend until she was needed to heal.
I've used that to my advantage as well — Luneth's only a Black Mage until I can turn him into a Magus, after all. But I think my game has a bug in it, then, because I generally carry one Light(ning) Staff for general use and it can be used once per magic-capable character per round. So Arc steals a Potion, then Luneth uses the Light Staff, then Refia uses the Light Staff, then Refia dies, then Ingus uses the Potion on himself because Refia's dead. It's a vicious cycle.

I have not yet succumbed to the urge to beat myself about the face and neck with my DS. I do, however, sit where I can't reach any hard-bound books.

[Suwako Moriya]

I have not yet succumbed to the urge to beat myself about the face and neck with my DS. I do, however, sit where I can't reach any hard-bound books.

It's kind of strange to go from one board where the person was essentially saying the game was easy and even easier than the original version. Although I stated part of that had to do with many classes no longer sucking. Yet here FF3DS is being treated as a rather challenging game. Personally I found it to be one of those games where several areas were smooth sailing, but on occasion certain enemies would be annoying.

[Johnny]

Diddy Kong Racing turned up today and I've put a few hours into the single player and online modes. Anyone else got/playing this? If you are, fancy a few online races? I'll get my code added to the DS Friend Code sticky later on.

[Chacranajxy]

I told myself I'd wait until Thursday to play Final Fantasy VI. I couldn't.

[ADC]

I told myself I'd wait until Thursday to play Final Fantasy VI. I couldn't.
:evil: Welcome. Check your soul in the little room to the left and leave a healthy tip for the bellman so he doesn't "lose" it while you're here.

[Chacranajxy]

I told myself I'd wait until Thursday to play Final Fantasy VI. I couldn't.
:evil: Welcome. Check your soul in the little room to the left and leave a healthy tip for the bellman so he doesn't "lose" it while you're here.

Unfortunately, I couldn't attempt to marathon the game because my schedule this week doesn't allow it. Maybe I'll just play 12 hours of Rogue Galaxy straight whenever I get that. Oh well.

So lik... FFVI is awesome. This is much better than what I played of the PS1 version for some reason other than the disgusting lack of "son of a submariner." Seems this really is the definitive version when you count all the extras. And as for the music being a bit different in places... the stuff I've noticed has actually been better IMO. Like that "Kids Run Through the City Corner" song that plays in Figaro... the instrumentation here makes the song a lot less annoying and actually enjoyable.

Of course, the game's music isn't as good as what you'd hear in the Final Fantasy VI Piano Collections, but that's irrelevant I suppose.

[Suwako Moriya]

Okay so I have a bit more to do in the game than I thought I did. Still so far I like using Viese. She's definitely a defensive character. I like how she has three different skills that regenerate HP over time for everyone. The Bless Rain (Low) and Heal Drop (Mid) in normal battles. Which depends on the situation and sometimes I may not use either one. While Healing Rain (High) will be for boss battles obviously. Used to be Heal Drop, but things change with new skills.

In any case I should probably make a bunch of cores and raise my stats. Although I don't want to spend hours raising stats to max. So I'll probably just raise them on occasion. With of course bias toward Viese then Fee then Noin and err I'll worry about the guys later. Although I'm still debating on which stat to concentrate on. I guess mainly attack, magic, and HP.

I think one nice thing about Atelier Iris in general is the very aspect of the system promotes item use more heavily than some other RPGs I've played. Although sometimes it can get a bit annoying trying to find certain ingredients/recipes. Still Viese' skills make me kind of wish I could use wide item and power item at the same time. Then again that would probably be over powered and they are plenty of multi-target items.

[ADC]

And as for the music being a bit different in places... the stuff I've noticed has actually been better IMO. Like that "Kids Run Through the City Corner" song that plays in Figaro... the instrumentation here makes the song a lot less annoying and actually enjoyable.

Of course, the game's music isn't as good as what you'd hear in the Final Fantasy VI Piano Collections, but that's irrelevant I suppose.
I think that the GBA isn't capable of as many distinct sound channels as the SNES was; the result is that the arrangements are rather spare and sharply defined. It's not the Wall of Sound production that you get on the OST, but it still sounds quite good. The only tune that lacked the … whatever … it had the first time around was 'Dark world,' the first overworld song in the World of Ruin. It sounds like it's played on a pipe organ on the OST, but rather thin and wimpy on the GBA. Bummer. It's probably my favorite overworld music in the series.

[MalrocK]

Man, this game is awesome. Eileen is easily the best new character a fighting game has had in a long time. Not having played VF since VF4 first came out, I skipped Evolution, it took me a while to get used to it's unforgiving play but I'm starting to get the hang of it again. Graphics are awesome, stills don't do the game justice. You must see it in full speed 720p glory. Trying to build cash to buy "Saru-Ona", my Eileen character, stuff. Slow going. Anyway, I consider this the PS3's first killer app, even more so than Resistance. I noticed that Play-Asia is processing my Virtua Stick High Grade, I hope it's a fixed one from sega.... :sd:

[Chacranajxy]

And as for the music being a bit different in places... the stuff I've noticed has actually been better IMO. Like that "Kids Run Through the City Corner" song that plays in Figaro... the instrumentation here makes the song a lot less annoying and actually enjoyable.

Of course, the game's music isn't as good as what you'd hear in the Final Fantasy VI Piano Collections, but that's irrelevant I suppose.
I think that the GBA isn't capable of as many distinct sound channels as the SNES was; the result is that the arrangements are rather spare and sharply defined. It's not the Wall of Sound production that you get on the OST, but it still sounds quite good. The only tune that lacked the … whatever … it had the first time around was 'Dark world,' the first overworld song in the World of Ruin. It sounds like it's played on a pipe organ on the OST, but rather thin and wimpy on the GBA. Bummer. It's probably my favorite overworld music in the series.

I noticed a pretty dramatic difference between when I listened to the game with the DS Lite speakers and when I listened to the game on headphones... needless to say, the headphones were much better since you actually had some sort of bass. Sounded really, really good, especially when you take into account the GBA's hardware. I was actually surprised by how good the translations of the songs from SNES to GBA went.

[ADC]

I noticed a pretty dramatic difference between when I listened to the game with the DS Lite speakers and when I listened to the game on headphones... needless to say, the headphones were much better since you actually had some sort of bass. Sounded really, really good, especially when you take into account the GBA's hardware. I was actually surprised by how good the translations of the songs from SNES to GBA went.
I don't think I've ever heard my DS Lite's speakers. Or my old fat DS's speakers. I remember hearing the speaker on the GBA and thinking, ouch, that's bad. And given the lack of improvement on, for example, the Wii Remote speaker, I don't think I really need to try out the speakers at all. I'm pretty happy with headphones. And that's even though I'm too cheap to buy good ones. Pair of cheap Panasonic canalbuds and I'm pretty much okey-dokey.

[Chacranajxy]

Unexpected FFVI Day!!

My school has never had a snow day in its 157 year history.... except for this year. This is our second snow day. So if you'll excuse me, FFVI awaits.

[Jarred]

I'm currently at Chapter 4 in Lunar Knights (NDS). First couple of chapters - easy.
Third chapter - got a little tougher, difficult boss battle at the end.
Fourth chapter - ass handed to me repeatedly.

I have figured out that I just can't run up to every enemy and try to chop them down, and instead move around with more stealth and use the whistle feature to draw enemies away. So I've now gotten farther, although I'm stuck on how to proceed in the current train station dungeon (damn spikes won't move!!!) And I still haven't quite figured out the whole weather changing system.

The game is a blast. The music is top notch and I dig the anime cut scenes. The 2D sprites look really nice and I like the weapon and character building the game has to offer. It's like a mashup of RPG, Castlevania-like action, space shumping, and all hard enough to give me a challenge.

[EmperorBrandon]

Unexpected FFVI Day!!

My school has never had a snow day in its 157 year history.... except for this year. This is our second snow day. So if you'll excuse me, FFVI awaits.

Enjoy! :D

I got one of my first tests in one of my classes tomorrow that I need to study for, so I'm going to have to put FFVI away for a moment sometime later today. :sd:

Got my Paladin's Shield uncursed, and in the process of massacring Peepers also have Terra and Relm with Ultima. Time for some fun...

[PhilipReuben]

I completed Kingdom Hearts 2 last week. I thoroughly enjoyed it - it vastly improved on the first game in both story and gameplay, and I have few complaints. Sure, it's still all about button mashing, but at least there's a little more variety in which buttons you mash :D

Today I started Metal Gear Solid 3. I completed the introductory section that leads up to the "opening credits", but it took me about 6 hours and multiple retries of everything, despite only having about 3 areas with enemies -_- I dunno why I'm finding it so much harder than the first two... I guess just because I never played either of those above normal mode so I'm very unused to not having the radar. I even ended up taking a very violent route in beating that run-down factory area ^^; which always makes me feel like I'm not playing the game properly. Hopefully my sneaking skillz will develop a bit more as the game goes on.

[Azumangaman]

Bought Elite Beat Agents at EB Games with store credit, and remembered why I hate those freaking SOBs so much. "This IS new" says the guy who pulls the game from a paper sleeve out of the drawer. If it was any other game or if I was paying with cash, I would've walked out. But since I only spent 40 bucks to get 83 dollars in trade credit, I just bought the damn thing.

Needless to say, the game is extremely fun, and addicting as hell. I'm stuck on "Material Girl" "Lala" and the other song in the trio.

I'm also sad that I missed Amazon.ca's crazy deals, which included GHII BUNDLE for 30 dollars and Okami for 10.

[Johnny]

Got a nice Playasia package today (order 1 from their sale) which included, amongst other things, Kororinpa for the Wii. I know Jarred and a few others have been asking about this and after my initial play I'm very impressed. Nothing too taxing or anything, just a nice cute puzzle game which is more or less Marble Madness with Wii-mote controls, more cuteness and soothing music.
So yeah, worth considering when this hits the US/Europe.

Got Capcom Puzzle World PSP yesterday too, a title I forgot I had on preorder. You get Puzzle Fighter, Block Block and 3 Pang games. All in all a decent retro package. I bought this on the strength of nostalgia mainly as I have fond memories of playing Pang in the arcade when I was a lot younger. Already own Puzzle Fighter on the PSX but it's well worth revisiting.

[Chacranajxy]

So how does Puzzle Fighter on the PSP compare to the PS1 or other versions out there?

I should be getting a Play-Asia package tomorrow when I get back home and it'll have DJ Max Portable and Darkstalkers Collection. I'll hopefully have impressions of DJ Max Portable tomorrow night assuming The Office and FFVI Advance don't steal away all of my time.

[Suwako Moriya]

Well that's that I've completed Atelier Iris 2: Azoth of Destiny. Admittedly it could have been more challenging, but it was an enjoyable game over all. Still some battles were in fact a bit annoying. Such as the final boss battle. Also it's evil of them to make the final boss from Eternal Mana an optional bonus battle. The guy was annoying enough the first time, but in this version it's not only fast it can regenerate 999 HP each turn. I guess I'll need better stats, but revenge against the guy would be good.

I also completed Katrina's quest in Romancing SaGa 3 (again). So that leaves only Sword of Mana left on the table. However that's on the portable side of things. So I need to think of something to play console wise in the next few days or so. Something other than doing bonus stuff in game X, replaying game Y, and defeating the final boss of game Z for the 17th time.

At least I've got plenty of choices to decide between. Final Fantasy 12, Thousand Arms, Wild Arms Advanced Third, Xenosaga 2, Xenosaga 3, Valkyrie Profile, Valkyrie Profile 2, and more. However I don't feel like listing everything right now because I'm lazy.

[untoldsorrow]

I'm about to go pick up BLeach DS 2, I hope its awesome. Even if its the same as part 1, the new characters will be worth it.

[Johnny]

So how does Puzzle Fighter on the PSP compare to the PS1 or other versions out there?

Seems pretty identical to be honest. Sound is a little quiet though but that's the only real difference I noticed.

I should be getting a Play-Asia package tomorrow when I get back home and it'll have DJ Max Portable and Darkstalkers Collection.

Nice one. I'm trying to find a copy of DJ Max (not the international version) but am having no luck :(

[untoldsorrow]

Well, I picked it up, and I have to say its the same but yet so different.

Moving between fore and background doesn't take up 1 special move bat anymore. The big difference now is the delay after every move. After every special move you perform, you can spam it like before. You have to wait for a bar to fill before you can use that move again, usually takes only a sec or 2 but that means low combos due to less spamming.

Example: Momo has a flame thrower move, back in part 1, you can spam 3 EX version of the move then cancel into the super version of it. Now you can't even connect 1 of the special into the super of it.

They basically nerfed alot of stuff to make the characters less cheesy and more balanced. Like no more Super A 3x in a row for neko-chan anymore...only allows up to 2 times because the last hit knocks the enemy higher than usual so if you do a spam the 3rd one, you go right under the person.

I also it it got a little slower in response?? I don't know....or is it just me? I press buttons and the hits come out late or none at all :(.

Someone please pick this one up besides me and tell me what you think.

[Johnny]

Someone please pick this one up besides me and tell me what you think.

Mine's on it's way from Playasia. Should be with me at the start of next week or Saturday if I'm lucky.

Sounding good so far. The first game was great and so more of the same isn't a bad thing.

[mrcool256]

I'm currently playing Final Fantasy 12, Gears of War, and Guitar Hero 2... I wish I had more time... so many good games on the menu!!!

[DiGiKerot]

I finally got around to finishing Final Fantasy XII yesterday (well, technically, it was the wee hours of today). I have very mixed feelings about that game - I don't regret playing it, and I'm glad I saw it through to the end, but its pretty much the only FF game where I really feel no desire to ever revisit it.

My only problem now is that I have absolutely no idea what to play next - its not that I have nothing to play, its that I have too much to play and simply can't decide :sd:

(Oh, on a vaguely related note, Tim Rogers posted his epic review of 2006 (http://www.insertcredit.com/features/fukubukuro/2006/index.html) on Insert Credit yesterday - the review of FFXII (http://www.insertcredit.com/features/fukubukuro/2006/05.html) is particularly strange, spending as much time bashing Tetsuya Nomura as it does actually talking about the damn game, though he does at least acknowledge that in the header). :sd:

[Chacranajxy]

So I've been playing DJ Max Portable and... yeah, this is probably the best music game I've ever played... holy shit. All the music is fantastic and it's like Beatmania without a stupid gimmick controller. And there seems to be lots of unlockables. I've got the International version which adds a new song and is completely in English. Definitely get this if you have a PSP.

[Collectonian]

Time to refresh the thread, so please do any future responding at the new one (http://www.animeondvd.com/forum/showtopic.php?tid/17445/)