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October 15th, 2009
11:27 am
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days: beaten. The ending made me sad.
( There are spoilers here, not that anyone who reads this is likely to care. )
Overall, enjoyable, and it made all the crap in KH2 seem vaguely less silly. Well, no, it's still silly, but at least I don't mind Roxas eating up the first several hours of gameplay now.
The PSP game looks promising. There's a Stitch world, a Snow White world, a Sleeping Beauty world (Maleficent's back, rawk!), an apparently mouse-scaled Cinderella world, and more of Neverland. (Well, at least that part where the astoudingly un-PC Indians live)
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October 13th, 2009
12:07 pm - Roxas sighs.
I, admittedly, have a great deal of brand loyalty to Kingdom Hearts. The initial installment on the Playstation 2 was astoundingly enjoyable, and in my opinion Chain of Memories on the Gameboy Advance was a worthy follow-up. However, Kingdom Hearts 2 was a letdown of preposterous proportions. This leads me to the DS's Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days. I'm about 2/3 through, I think.
I really dig the three main characters, Roxas, Xion, and Axel. Roxas only took ten freakin' hours to get vaguely interesting, and Axel, in what I suppose is his natural habitat, managed to be significantly rounder and less annoying. I do actually find myself pretty hooked, wondering what's going to happen next. However, I pretty much know where they end up since this game, like Chain of Memories, is bridging the time lapse between KH1 and KH2. Surprisingly (and much to my relief) it feels much less like a giant heap of Squaresoft wankery than KH2 did, choosing to deal less with bombastic insanity and absurd plot twists and more with the inner politics and plots of Organization XIII and leisurely-paced character development. Oh, and I hate the bad guy in the way I like to hate bad guys.
Basic gameplay is the usual Kingdom Hearts hack-and-slash with a new highly customizable ability and magic system that I really don't care to explain further. The character models are decent, but suffer from distracting plankhands; the backgrounds are the sort of terrible, boxy low-res to be expected from the DS. The mission system that I liked in Crisis Core, built around bite-size missions ideal for on-the-go between-class gaming is back. However, it seems about three times as repetitive, sending the player on far too many missions in the same map. The greatest downfall: no new worlds. The overwhelming majority of existing worlds didn't even get a makeover from their initial layouts pulled from the KH1 or KH2. Arbitrary, unnatural barriers and invisible walls intended to herd the player along are also used more often than I would like. The voice acting's okay, but absent except in fully rendered cutscenes; the text dialogue is accentuated by a horrid assortment of chuckles, grunts and sighs that gets very stale very quickly.
I will likely continue to play these games until well after they cease to deserve my attention. I'm enjoying 358/2 Days for the low-key plot and likable characters, but the gameplay is significantly less than spectacular. At least it's not Lunar: Dragon Song.
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October 6th, 2009
01:38 am
I, for reasons that baffle even myself, am subscribed to the For Better or For Worse newsletter. I actually opened it up and read it for the first time in ages last week.
I once read the strip religiously starting at about the time that Liz went to college until somewhere toward the end of the time she spent teaching on the reservation. I loved it. I loved the continuity. Loved the reality of the characters (even if the steady march of crazy events was somewhat goofy) I loved the relationships and drama and warm, fuzzy, happy goodness of it all. The time I read the strip was brief, considering how long it ran (and is still running, though in a different format) and as I was reading, I often thought about buying the books and reading the WHOLE THING because I loved the characters and their little world so much. Mike's growing family and his friendship with oddball photographer, Weed. Liz's friendship with Candace and Candace's relationship with her aunt. Ellie's bookstore. April's relationship with her grandfather and growing individuality.
Even after I did stop reading it daily, I would go back every couple months and binge-read the archives to keep up with what was going on 'till the official ending, Liz's (internet) controversial wedding, finally rolled around a couple years ago.
I haven't actually thought about it in quite a while. Until the recent newsletter. It contained mention and a link to a rather lengthy biography of Candace, one of my favorite characters from my years of reading the strip. Reading the article filled me with joy, nostalgia, and a strange, deep sense of melancholy. I was actually downright depressed the rest of the day. I MISS these people. These stupid fictional people. And given the time-frozen flashback format of the strip now, they're essentially gone forever.
Lame, I know.
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September 13th, 2009
11:11 am
Norman Borlaug is dead. Every time someone mentions the horrors of genetically modified food, I think of Borlaug and how his high-yield disease-resistant wheat saved millions of lives (and made India's "population crisis" a moot point). Science is awesome.
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August 29th, 2009
01:13 am
Jesus. Professor Pyg scares me more than any Batman villain ever. Perhaps more than any fictional character ever.
I am shocked to say it, but Grant Morrison, I applaud you.
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August 19th, 2009
11:25 pm
Watched Kings. I wish there was a second season. Biblical allusions (though occasionally a bit heavier-handed than I like in this instance) really float my boat. The whole modern absolute monarchy thing made for a fun setting too. And Ian McShane is badass. Always.
Also, I wish I could have Ian McShane's gravelly manvoice for a day or two. I'd sound totally awesome on the phone.
I hate feeling this isolated. I think I'll whine about it on my livejournal. Whine.
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July 30th, 2009
12:08 am
I'm tired of seeing Michael Cera. Okay. Arrested Development was pretty funny. He wasn't the reason why. Juno was cute n'all... but god. I'm tired of looking at the kid. He has ONE performance. He's incapable of doing anything else.
And now he's playing Scott Pilgrim! Rage!
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July 28th, 2009
July 4th, 2009
07:57 am
Gigantor the space-age robot is at my command!
So what do I do with said space-age robot? ( I think that should be obvious. )
Disneysea rocked my socks clean off. The Ghibli museum was pretty awesome too. I go home tomorrow.
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July 2nd, 2009
05:22 pm
I've walked the nakasendo... well, about 6 of 332 miles of it. About halfway through my first stretch of walking (between Otsumago and Magome) I actually came to the realization "OH, This is a MOUNTAIN pass!" Being in the mountains surrounding the Kiso river, I should've realized this sooner. They weren't kidding when they called it mildly strenuous.
Also went to Inuyama and Matsumoto since last post. Lovely castles, both. Inuyama had a GREAT view from the top floor balcony. Matsumoto's exhibits mostly concerned Japanese firearms from the feudal days. I would say I seem to enjoy the lesser-visited castles more than Himeji, but Matsumoto isn't really an out-of-the-way spot. Neat stuff.
If Disneyland is a Snickers, Tokyo Disneyland is like a fun-size Snickers. Except, y'know, actually fun. It was raining a bit (not even enough for me to get wet) so the lines were short. The only thing I had a serious wait for was the new Monsters Inc. ride. Even though I got there about 12:30 and all the fastpasses were gone, I got to ride everything I wanted, some twice. I skipped some things, though. As much as I love the Jungle Cruise, I fear it would be lost in lack-of-translation.
Disneysea today.
MISADVENTURES!
Apparently my hostel reservations didn't go through, so I'm moving to a different, cheaper hotel tonight.
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June 29th, 2009
04:34 am
Railroad and Sakaiminato ended up taking up all of Saturday since I didn't really get out of Nagoya 'till late morning. Wandered Matsue on Sunday morning. Matsue was ridiculously hot, and castles tend to be on hills with lots of stairs. The castle had some neat stuff inside, but photos are fuzzy 'cuz the lighting inside was pretty limited. The view from the top was great. Lafcadio Hearn's house was kinda dull, but the museum next door was pretty nice if small. The samurai house was pretty nifty too.
Then I rushed on to Himeji and headed for the castle after trying briefly to get the wifi to cooperate. I almost thought they were gonna close the gates before I could get inside. They start shutting down at 5 and I got there at 4:30. Once inside I realized why they close so early. The entire interior is lit by natural light through the windows. The west baily and princess's tower were neat. The exterior was lovely from all angles, but Matsue castle had cooler stuff in the main keep. Again, great view from the top.
Got up early today and headed for Iga. Went to the ninja museum and that was pretty fun. Lots of interesting stuff. The secret passages and whatnot in the house were all very clever, and the gear in the museum was cool too. Sadly didn't get to see the demonstration stunt show, cuz the next one was scheduled for an hour later. I ended up taking the afternoon to go to Nara to see the Daibutsu (REALLY big Buddha) and some assorted other giant statuary. Very impressive. The religious grandeur was somewhat lessened, however, by the horrible stench of deer urine. Deer EVERYWHERE. It rained. I got wet. My umbrella is, I assume, keeping my sunglasses company somewhere in Kyoto.
I am now tired.
More as it develops.
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June 16th, 2009
06:28 am
How was Tokyo? Ridiculously crowded. This may have something to do with the fact that we were hitting major tourist spots on the weekend, though. First up we hit one act of Kabuki in Ginza (a classy part of town). The single act was a dance about ill-fated love and such. Interesting show. I wouldn't mind seeing a full performance sometime, but that's way too pricey.
Akihabara was like the sleeziest comic shop in the world exploded and became a neighborhood. There were fewer toystores than I had hoped there would be. I did find some cool books at reasonable prices, though.
Odaiba was neat. It's a manmade island built on what was once a landfill. Lotsof great views from the train-in-the-sky. Also went to Toys R Us. Oh, and there was a lifesize Gundam robot. I don't even like Gundam, but it was quite impressive. (My dislike of Gundam established, I must also say that the virtual-gundam-pilot games in the arcades are pretty darn awesome too)
Sensoji was VERY crowded, but a lovely huge temple with some impressive statues of various Buddhist deities. I rattled the little can of fortune telling sticks and got the most fantastically horrible fortune ever. I laughed a lot. Apparently I should't do anything new or important in the near future and there will be unpreventable strife around me. Normally such a horrible fortune would be tied to a post or tree around the temple to prevent the fortune, but it's such a great souvenir I had to keep it. There was a performing monkey at the tiny Shinto shrine next door. He was pretty amusing.
Harajuku was VERY crowded and VERY tourist-filled. There were a few strangely dressed people on the bridge, but the main weirdness shopping street was too packed for me to really want to venture into. Several of the more elaborately dressed loligoths had strange old men in cowboy hats preventing tourists from photographing them. Odd. Yoyogi park was fun though. The dancing greasers were out in force blaring surprisingly good Japanese rockabilly. Saw traditional wedding photos being taken at the Meiji Jingu shrine. Interesting stuff.
Then on we went to Shinjuku and hung out on the observation decks of the city government building. The views would've been more impressive had it not ben very, very foggy. Finally, we returned, exhausted, to Nagoya; I got to bed around 12:00. All in all, I had fun, and I got some things out of the way and will have more time in Tokyo when I go back in a couple weeks.
Ah'm goin' ta Disneyland!
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June 12th, 2009
02:50 am
Crowded though they may be at 8am and 6pm, the trains run exactly on time and I never have to wait more than five minutes. The city is unbelievably easy to get around. I've had a good bit of time to wander around, and the Osu shopping area around the big Buddhist temple is my favorite place in the city. Lots of second-hand shops and nerd stores/toy shops as well as anything else you might be looking for (including a little store-front church)
I still haven't made it up to Inuyama to see the castle/giant penis shrine/various old stuff. It looks lovely. Nagoya castle was kind of ugly up close (being a concrete reconstruction, but it was certainly imposing. Those stone walls are original and HUGE, and there were some neat exhibits inside.
Someone bought the Micky Mouse/Optimus Prime transformer I saw for cheap while I was elsewhere shopping around. This made me sad; however, I did find an awesome Hakaba Kitaro figure in super oldschool manga style.
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June 6th, 2009
07:28 am
I left home this morning around 7:40 to meet up with the school crowd and head up to Meijimura. It was fantastic. Full coverage at a later date. There are many pictures. Ended up getting home around nine. Oy.
In case you're wondering, TX=7:42am, Nagoya=9:42pm.
On the way home, I stopped by Animate, a large anime/manga/related-junk shop near Nagoya Station. The manga was plentiful, but the system of organization was baffling to my neatly alphabetized western mind. I did find and purchase the first three volumes of Saint Young Men, much to my delight. I don't think they had any Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro stuff.
The merchandise floor was sadly unimpressive. Overpriced Square-related figures and no Tetsujin 28 Revoltechs. TONS of character folders and keychains and such. The best toy shop I've been to is a wacky little place with lots of vintage Kamen Rider, godzilla stuff and gashapon toys. It's on a spiffy little shopping street near the temple. I'll be heading back to the neighborhood to check out some shops I missed.
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June 4th, 2009
06:37 am - im in ur country steelin ur wifi
My god. Class is hard. I somehow magicked my way into the intermediate class. It's all in Japanese and I'm a bit of a slow learner when it comes to the language, so I pick up very little of what's going on, and I have little time outside of class. The one exception was this morning's lesson from Yoshikawa sensei. She keeps it all on a pace I can handle.
Had an amusing half-conversation this evening with the host family (an older retired couple) about various Japanese local dialects which led to discussion of American presidents and their oratory ability.
Other assorted tidbits: Japanese rush hour is, indeed, crazy-go-nuts. I get to ride my host family's little granny bicycle (they're all little granny bicycles in Japan) through some interesting backstreets on my way to the station every morning. Once there,it takes me about 35 minutes to get to downtown Nagoya.
This weekend Moriuchi sensei (from TX State) is taking us to the Meijimura, a big open-air museum with transplanted buildings from the Meiji era. Police boxes, the gate from the first Japanese public school, common houses, and of particular interest to me, the lobby and courtyard of the Tokyo Imperial Hotel designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
Nagoya station (I get off one stop before) is HUGE and has tons of stores in/around/under it. It's pretty awesome. There're several interesting-sounding places within easy train-riding distance. We'll see where I end up.
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June 1st, 2009
05:03 pm
There were monks eating breakfast in the lobby of the hotel this morning. I finally feel like I'm in Japan.
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May 30th, 2009
05:35 pm
I'm in quaranteine! Japan is ridiculously afraid of the flu, so the school's put us up in a hotel for a couple days to make sure we don't bring about the downfall of Japanese civilization with our germs or something. Tons of people with their little masks on on the flight.
Watched Valkyrie and Gran Torino on the flight over. Valkyrie was bearable. Gran Torino was good, but then I usually can't help but like Clint Eastwood. Also saw bits of Takashi Miike's Yatterman and was fantastically amused by it. It's based on a late 70's anime from the company that made Gatchaman, and the movie was essentially a live action anime complete with goofy (downright awkward at one point) mecha battles, speed lines, and special attacks with silly names that must be shouted.
JAL's pretty nice. The food was decent and plentiful; the service essentially never stopped. The stewardesses (Ahem, cabin attendats) wore uniforms that looked like they were straight out of a 60's airline ad complete with a little neck scarf.
That's all I got so far!
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May 19th, 2009
01:20 am
That was quite a chore. More like the Curious Case of Benjamin Boring.
HBO's John Adams was quite good, though. His insecurities concerning his lasting legacy and perceptions of history were especially interesting. It was really a spectacular performance from Giamatti, a stronger character than any I've seen him portray previously (excepting, perhaps, The Amazing Screw-on Head).
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May 18th, 2009
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