IMPORTANT NOTICE:重要なお知らせ
このブログを見に来て、英語だから読むのやめたって方、いませんか？実は私、記事は全部英語と日本語で書いてるんです。だいたい英語が最初なんで、日本語で読みたければ下へスクロールして下さい！
Hey everyone, I write my posts in both English and Japanese. Usually it's English first, but if it's Japanese first just scroll down. The English will be under the Japanese.
Hey people, long time no see! Yep, I'm writing my blog again, from Germanyland! I'm very, very bad about regular updates and so on, and typing things both in English and Japanese is... Well, a brain ache. I don't do regular updates but I keep meaning to. Curse me and my laziness.:p ANYway, today I'd like to focus on Nintendo's state-of-the-art hand-held console, the 3DS. This isn't Nintendo's first attempt at a 3D gaming console, actually. For those of you who remember, Nintendo released the infamous Virtual Boy in 1995, advertising it as the first video game console that had "true" 3D grafics. Which it did. Its goggle-like shape was designed to show the left and the right eye different images, giving the illusion of 3D. It's about as "true" as any other 3D image, and it was the first console to utilize this technology. The console, while innovative, was too early for its time. The idea was good, but there wasn't the technology to properly implement it. The result was an awkward shaped console that was neither a feasable hand-held console (which it was marketed as) or a comfortable at-home console. The grafics only came in two colors (red and black) and there were only 22 games TOTAL released before the console was killed off. So, 16 years later, Nintendo is giving 3D another shot. No awkward goggles this time, no stupid 3D glasses either. The graphic technology uses more or less the same principal as the Virtual Boy, but just FAR more advanced. Yes, it's also in full color. It has full internet capabilities (Wi-Fi) and everything that implies: Online gaming, downloads, browsing, etc etc. And the 3D is convincing and impressive. It's more of a "adds depth to screen" rather than the usual "Image jumps out at you" type, and frankly I like it better. You can adjust the 3D "Volume," meaning you can make it either more or less 3D, and if you get eye-strain or migrains or brain tumors, you can turn it off completely. Although that does sort of defeat the purpose of the console. Now, for the games. The online service offers special downloadable games for the 3DS, new 3D renditions of old arcade classics, old Game Boy and Game Boy Color games, DSi Ware and so on. That all works smoothly and the games are fun to play, if a bit lacking in selection currently. But the main issue I have is with the release titles of the 3DS. Samurai Warriors and Street Fighter 4 3D. Samurai Warriors, fine. Usual 3rd Person action game. But the one that was most trumpetted was Street Fighter 4. It recieved positive reviews on other consoles, so I guess that's why. But this was a very poor choice for a video game console that was supposed to be cutting edge 3D. For those of you who aren't familiar with games, let me put it in simpler terms. Street Fighter is a series of side-view, 2D fighting games that revolutionized arcade and home console fighting games. The 3DS is a state-of-the-art console with advanced 3D graphics. They released a by-nature 2D game as one of the first games on a 3D console. Sure they TRIED to make it 3D by making the characters jump out from the background and everything, but it's still 2D. Not very smart marketing, if you ask me. They should have waited until Legend of Zelda, Ocarina of Time 3D was finished. THAT is an epic game, and after playing it I can tell you it looks MARVELOUS in 3D. And who'd have thought? It's not doing too hot. There are a few token good-looking games out already, most of which are remakes, and the rest is a wasteland (at least as far as I care). Nintendo's had to cut the price of the console by 10000 yen (aprox. 100 dollars, 90 euros, and 5968 rupees), and the console hasn't even been out for a year. This kind of price reduction is unheard of. However, Nintendo being the awesome company that it is, has offered compensation for those of us who purchased the 3DS right away. 20 free downloadable games, ranging from NES classics like Super Mario Brothers to Game Boy Advance games such as Metroid Fusion or Mario Cart Advance. Me, I'd rather have the games than the money.:p So, in conclusion, here is what I have to say: The 3DS is an awesome console with an amazing potential. It just needs a decent library of games that fully utilize the 3D tech, and enough owners to convince people to MAKE these games. I just hope this doesn't implode like the Virtual Boy did.
WOW it's been a while. It's not like anyone reads my blog I guess, but good LORD I haven't updated in forever! Why, you ask? Because I'm a lazy fuck, and I've begun to realize writing articles in two languages at once is WAY too much trouble. So, I've deiced to fluctuate, depending on my mood. Today's English, tomorrow is Japanese, maybe Monday will be pig Latin, and so on. ANYwho, so here I am, back online. This is what, my first post since I came to Germanyland? You know, I was told Germany was efficient, quick, organized, and professional. For the most part, that's true. But let me just say, if anyone is planning on visiting here for longer than 3 months, you should apply for a visa last year. Just so you know. Well, aside from small bureaucratic bullshit, life's been groovy. Fun job, cool people to work with, and the like. Incidentally, I'm in the video gaming industry now, which is great because this has always been a hobby for me. And to think my parents thought all my gaming was just a waist of time. SEE MOM AND DAD? SEE? I TOLD YOU IT WAS A SKILL! Anyway, as much as I would love to become intoxicated in my sense of superiority and achievement, I think today I'll spend some time reflecting on this social phenomenon called video games. It's true many people still see it as a low class, geeky, and crude form of entertainment. And for the most part, I'd agree with them. Does anyone remember when movies first came out? Of course not, anyone that old wouldn't know their own name, much less how to use a computer. But research tells me movies were once viewed as... Yep, you guessed, crude, low class entertainment. But see how they're perceived now! Of course we have our share of bad movies, but good ones are considered works of art. citizen Kane, for example. Or Night of the Living Dead, for the horror fans. The Matrix (the first one. What sequels?) for Sci-Fi fans. Plan 9 from Outer Space for... Well, for shitty movie fans. Movies have become a work of art, so why not video games? There are a LOT of iconic, artistic games out there. Metroid, Legend of Zelda, Super Mario, Splatterhouse, Chrono Trigger, Fallout, Earthbound, Street Fighter, Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, Grand Theft Auto (yes, THAT Grand Theft Auto), and Resident Evil, to name just a few. Many of these explore new possibilities in gaming, as well as try to provide new experiences for the player. Their sequels have (more or less) consistently been better than the prequel, and they have added their own genre to the industry. I mean who'd ever heard of fighting games before Street Fighter II? Or RPGs (JRPGs for those everywhere else in the world) before Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy? Or Survival Horror before Resident Evil? Oh, by the way, if for ANY of the above names, you're going "Eh? What's that?" you clearly are not a gamer and don't deserve to exist. Anyway, most critics say video games haven't become works of art because they don't do the things books and movies do. They don't explore the human mind, or make observations on human society. Um... Have these people ever played Xenogears? That thing is philosophical as FUCK. Or, say, even Grand Theft Auto. Yes, yes, that super-violent, mindless, and horrifying video game all the parents seem to hate. It IS violent and amoral yes, but pay attention to the dialogue, the radio programs in the game, the characters. It really is a satirical take on modern-day society. We all like to pretend the grimy bits of society don't exist, but GTA takes that and basically shoves it in your face. How is this not a statement on society? And then there are games like Earthbound (my favorite RPG of all time... Well, at least in the top 5), Chrono Trigger, Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Super Metroid, Resident Evil 1 (GC remake) that are just beautiful to play. Each of these games delivers its own unique experience, nothing you could find in any book or movie. That's the difference between other forms of entertainment and video games: YOU are in control. You can take your character across worlds, into different dimensions, have fights and adventures... It becomes a second life experience, almost. How is this not a work of art? My guess is, we're in-between generations now. Our mothers and fathers never had video games, so it's something completely new to them. Much like movies, and Punk music, and heavy metal, and Jazz, and Rock and Roll, any new form of entertainment has to go through its right of passage, so to speak. The old folks will hate them, the young folks will love them. It's really not that big of a deal. Give games another... Oh, I dunno, 20, 30 years, and I am reasonably sure they'll be seen as works of art too. New things are always rejected by a portion of society, as a "bad influence on our children" or whatever. That argument has been used time and time again. But let me tell you. I'm a psychology major. I did research. The most violent video game has about the same influence on you as say, a Bruce Lee movie. And if you are letting your 7 year old kid watch Bruce Lee and play Grand Theft Auto, that's not an issue with the games. That's just plan bad fucking parenting. That's what all this boils down to. In stead of bitching about violent games influencing your kid, how about just, I dunno, doing decent parenting? I mean, I play GTA, Resident Evil, Bio Shock, Splatterhouse, and all these other violent games. And let me tell you, I turned out just fine. Why, I haven't even killed ANYone this week!
Wow. Massive earthquake hits Japan. Here I thought I was gonna put up a movie review or something as my first post from Germany. I've moved, settled in, work is fun and overall I am doing well. But wow. Words fail me. The death toll is expected to be over 10,000, and god knows what's going to happen with the nuclear reactors. It won't be another Chernobyl, but nuclear fallout is bad news no matter what scale it's in. My heart goes out to those who were killed, to those who have lost friends and family in the catastrophe. The shake was the 7th largest in the world(depending on your source). But I have faith in the Japanese people. They rebuilt after the firebombing of Tokyo, the nuclear annihilation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the earthquake of Kobe, and they will rebuild after this one too. But it does not make this any less of a tragedy. There are some heartless fucks in America (and China, from what I hear) that claim this is Karma from Pearl Harbor, or the Rape of Nanjing. First off, America, you dropped the fucking nukes. That makes it even in my eyes. The Chinese do have some right to complain, but c'mon. The people who were crushed, burnt, and drowned had NOTHING to do with World War II. The government is the one who should be apologizing about that, not the citizens. Can we, as a species, PLEASE MOVE ON FROM NAME CALLING THAT WAS OBSOLETE 50 YEARS AGO? Thank you. *sheesh* Anyway, I am not one to pray normally, as I believe it is a convenient excuse to do nothing productive while still claiming to be helping. Why waist time praying when you could be out helping? But for now, all I CAN do is pray. I plan on donating money to help rebuild as soon as I have a paycheck, but for now I just hope as many lives as possible are saved. If there is a god, let Him/Her/It be merciful and spare those who can be spared. As for us, let's do what we can, and hope rescue operations go better than expected. 7800 missing still. 日本語はここから ドイツに引っ越して最初の投稿。長い間ご無沙汰していて申し訳ありません。今回はパーッと映画のレビューでも、と考えていましたが、ここは地震で犠牲になった方、愛しい人を亡くした方を考え、地震について少しだけ書こうと思います。幸い、自分の家族友人はとりあえず無事な様です。本当に幸運でした。犠牲者は現在でも４０００人近く、最終的には１００００人にものぼると予想されています。今回日本を襲った地震はマグニチュード９、日本史上最大の揺れです。遥か北京までも揺れが感じられたそうです。実際、今回の地震はあまりにもいきなりすぎた。これまでもマグニチュード６、７の地震はありましたがそこは地震慣れした日本。でもドイツ時間３月１１日は驚きました。まったく仕事に手がつかなかった。木曜日にいい気分で寝付いて、金曜日も爽やかな朝を迎え、上機嫌で職場へ向かった。そこで初めて知った。自分は生まれ故郷が仙台、若林付近に住んでいました。あそこらへん、ほぼ壊滅です。でも、日本人じゃない自分が言うのもあれですけど私は日本を信じている。第二次世界大戦の後も、阪神大震災の後も日本は短期間で立ち直ることが出来た。今回もその力を発揮してくれると信じています。しかし、亡くなった人は帰ってこない。現在、行方不明者７８００人。一人でも多く無事に救出されることを祈っています。
WHOO it's been a while. Sorry folks, I've been somewhat preoccupied with RealLife(tm) recently, especially since I am gonna move to Germany soon. Haven't written a blog in ages! My most humble apologies to my readers. The reason for the move is simple. I have found a job in Germany, translating video games.
Fuck Yeah.
So, I figured why not, I'll do a review of the new (or not so new, in 2011) Mega Man 10 on the Wii virtual console. Or Wii ware, or whatever the fuck it's called. I've already voiced my opinion about the name Mega Man, so I'll leave that out. But Mega Man 9 was received with praise both domestically and overseas. It seems many fans of the series were eager to play Mega Man with 8-bit graphics. It's true, All Mega Man games (not the spin-offs, the originals) were on the Famicon, (that's the NES, English speakers) except for 7, 8 and Mega Man & Bass. 7 was OK, 8 I think is too experimental, but I do recommend Mega Man & Bass. It's a tough game, but fun. ANYway, I digress. Mega Man 9 was a throw back to the Mega Man many players fondly remember. So, Capcom decided to do the same with Mega Man 10. The question is, how does it compare? Personally, I actually liked 10 better than 9. I realize I am a complete minority in this, most people say 9 hit the nail on the head, 10 was kinda lacking. And don't get me wrong, 9 was great. But 10 had trickier bosses, trickier stages, unique weapons, and I felt it was more fun to play. My understanding is it didn't go down so well in the US because of its "too serious" story, goofy bosses (Sheep Man got the heat) mediocre music (for a Mega Man game) and hard-to-use special weapons. And yes, Sheep Man's weapon is almost completely useless. But I think 10 was more of an appeal to Japanese humor and sensibilities. Its story is not tongue in cheek to Americans, but it is very corny and enjoyable to Japanese people. Of course, I'm not Japanese, but I grew up here. So shut up. The enemies too, what a lot of Americans don't get is that the bosses, more often then not, are SUPPOSED to be laughable. Sheep Man uses lightning as an attack. Why? The OFFICIAL EXPLANATION is that he is using static electricity stored in his wool. I mean sure, he's also a reference to "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" but still. Come on. You are taking the game WAY too seriously if you are complaining about the bosses. The stages are more unique and fun to play through than 9. 9 had some great gimmicks, but 10 definitely makes better. Some enemies power up if they attach to parts of the stage, there are blocks that disappear if you land on another block of the same color, the middle-bosses require thought and skill, it's all and all just a lot more fun to play through each level. I found myself constantly wondering what the game was going to throw at me next. But yes, be warned. It is FUCKING HARD. But this time, since some people (aka WEAKLINGS) complained that Mega Man 9 was too hard, there is an easy mode. I mean, it's a good thing for beginners, but my feeling is that if you're playing a Mega Man game, go balls to the wall. Beating it on Easy Mode is like being proud of winning a fight against a 5 year old. If you want that sense of accomplishment, go Normal, at LEAST. Next, the weapons. in 9, many of the weapons had secondary uses. The black hole bomb could suck up otherwise-invincible enemies, the tornado weapon increased your jumping height, the concrete shot could be used as make-shift footholds, etc. To be fair, not quite the case with Mega Man 10. But in 10, you are given a remarkable control over the weapons themselves. The baseball weapon ricochets off walls, allowing you to hit enemies in otherwise unreachable locations. The command bomb allows you to change its direction of movement twice, making it possible to clear out enemies behind walls or on the ceiling. The 3 way blade weapon fires either upward or downward depending on whether you are on the ground or in the air when you shoot. YOUR skill makes each weapon either useful or useless. So stop complaining and practice. Except for Sheep Man's weapon. That thing, even I have to say is virtually useless. At best maybe it could be used as a impromptu barrier to prevent enemies charging you, but otherwise it won't hit ANY enemy that is moving. So, music. The music in this game, to be true, does not match 9. It's not bad, far from it, but not memorable like Mega Man 2's Wily Stage music, or many of Mega Man 9's songs. Which is a little bit of a let down. One of the defining qualities of Mega Man is its kick-ass music. But oh well, you can't have everything. I tend to be more forgiving of a video game if it is overall enjoyable, but I do understand for some people music is a critical factor. So to each his own. So, yeah. There you have it. That's my two cents on Mega Man 10. It is more tricky than 9, which is a plus for me, but also I realize I'm kind of a minority. Give it a play, and think for yourself. I had fun, anyway.:)
Oh, and the Wily stage? FUCKING AWESOME. How people could NOT like that is beyond me. Just play it.
