T-Minus 40 minutes, everyone!

You never notice it, but time really does seem to seem to fly, huh?

Well, it goes without saying that 2009 was a momentous year. I could go into "Year In Review" mode, but I'd probably go overboard. The next thing I know, it'd already be New Years! Sadly, this was alsoa bad year to be famous. We lost a lot of greats, whether it was to death or to scandals (*cough*Tiger*cough*).

Well, hopefully we can all look forward to next year. After all, we apparently only have two more years to live, if the Mayans are to be believed. Oh, and there's this. Hooo boy! *facepalm* EDIT: My bad. That actually requires a DOUBLE FACEPALM. Crazy, right?

Anyways, cheers! Happy New Year! Catch you all in 2010!

Hey! Long time no see, eh?

Well, last week was semester exams. I thought that I did pretty well on them... with the exception of Calculus, obviously. Man, oh man, was that an ordeal. I'm just glad that it's over. This cloud does have a silver lining though; if Imaintain an "A" average next semester, I (being a senior) don't have to take the final exam! Yes! YESH! HYES! Of course, this being Calculus, expect my descent into madness to become even more pronounced as time goes on. NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!*eye twitching*

Anyway, I've just been relaxing for the past few days. I'll need to start working again soon because it wouldn't be school if we didn't have absurd amount of homework... even during break. *facedesk*

Also, it was a hassle dealing with that snow storm last weekend. I've heard rumors that another big one is coming. I seriously hope not. The only thing I hate about snow is shoveling it. Well, at least I finished all of my Christmas shopping.

Oh! Good news on the college front! I've been accepted into two of the colleges I applied to! One's even giving me a full ride... and then some! Jeez, that'll my decision harder...

In case I'm out here on Friday, I hope that you all have a blessed holiday.

And now, to lead me out... it's Dancing Santa and Rudolph! Good night, everyone! X2X has left the net!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Hahaha, yeah... that's pretty much it. Short, sweet, and to the point.

Anyway, I've finally been given a break in school, so you should see a little bit more of me during this break.

So then, enjoy the stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, sweet corn, and pumpkin pie!

And don't forget about the turkey!

Heh heh, have a great day everyone.

Heh, it's been a while, eh? Sorry 'bout that. It's been hard juggling school and... yeah, just about everything else.

Ironically, it seems that Senior Year is worse than last year could have ever been. And to that I say... WTF?! It makes no sense that we should be bogged down with strenuous classes that might actually hamper our chances of getting into college, when we should instead be learning college preparatory techniques (y'know, the things that actually matter). Seriously, Calculus is by far the worst experience I've ever had with Math... and I like Math! I'm seriously starting to rethink whether or not I want to major in Engineering, because I effin' hate Calculus. I hate, hate, hate, hate, HATE IT! Seriously, if nuclear weapons were powered by hate, the resulting explosion would wipe out our solar system and Alpha Centari. I'm not saying that I'm an advocate of senioritis and taking courses like Interstate Trucking and Basket Weaving, but this is frakin' redonkulous! Long story short:

*sings* I BLAME OUR SCHOOLS! (see 0:33)

Other than my loathing of school which burns with the passion of one thousand white-hot suns, not much has happened. Cross Country is almost over, which means that I'll have some free time on my hands. Hopefully, this will give me an opportunity to catch up with reviews and other things (I've really fallen behind).

Gaming Updates!
Okami: I have to follow Moon Princess Kaguya in one of those detestable "Let's Dig for Menial Crap!" events. But before that, I'm going to wrap up a few side quests in the Capital.

MadWorld: My word, this game was amazing. Too bad that it's really short. But still, it was great. Love this game to death, even if there isn't much replay value.

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon: Marth! I'm enjoying this game, but then again I love Fire Emblem. Frey is quite possibly the best cavalier ever! He is destruction incarnate. It's too bad that Hard Mode (the canonical story that skips over the added prologue) kills him off in order to have him save Marth. Oh well, I used Jagen (that's Jeigan to some of you) as the sacrifice instead! Yup! I killed the Jeigan character! Yes, I have no shame. Oddly enough, Shadow Dragon seems to go against past FEs; in order to recruit some of the best units in the game, you have to kill off some of yours...

Devil May Cry - 5th Anniversary Collection: Let's see. I beat DMC. I beat DMC2. I beat DMC3. All that's left is to beat the extra storylines to unlock the hidden characters and then go back to see if I missed anything. CRAZY! Jeez, Dante is such a ham, but that's why we love him.

Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King: Finally, I beat Dhoulmagus! Phew, he was ridiculous. I'm now on a wild goose chase to get back the sceptre, which means that I'll have to fight Sir Leopold next. Whoopee...

Final Fantasy XII: Man, I haven't played this game in ages. I'm in the Dynast King's tomb and just vanquished those two pesky Demon Walls.

Final Fantasy X: Ditto. Finally made it past that Bevelle ordeal (the first time I played, I didn't exactly use the Sphere Grid for what it was worth, but c'mon, I was nine when I first got the game!) and beat the Chamber of Fayth (I hate those puzzles, but Bahamut was worth it! ) and trounced Seymour Natus (darned MultiCasting!). I just made it to the Calm Lands, but I believe that some level grinding (more like sphere grinding) is in order.

Final Fantasy IV: Restarted the game (due to the fact that I missed some valuable items such as Augments) and surprisingly, it didn't take long to almost get back to where I was. I'm currently in the Giant of Babil, where I must face my dreaded enemy... the CPU and its insanely cheap Laser Barrage. Ding dang it!

The King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match: This game is just so much fun to play. I wish that KOF 2002UM would be released on the PS2 in the States... Darn it SNKP!

The Legendary Starfy: It's like a Kirby game, only easier. I'm somewhere in World 4, but that's only because I'm snooping around for treasure.

So, that's pretty much it. I'll make my rounds ASAP. Ciao!

Given the nature of the video game industry at the present time, I realize that this blog and every opinion/suggestion brought up here are months, if not years, late. Nevertheless, I feel that I need to post this. I recall that the maxim goes "Better safe than sorry".

If the focus of this blog wasn't evident, I divert your attention to the title. What ever happened to that time where video game companies actually checked the qualities of their products and in some cases, actually showed their approval with ornate certification marks?

For those who don't remember the 3rd Generation of video games (i.e. the beginning of what we now know as the modern video game industry), or were born after it, were too apathetic to care, etc., it was back in 1985 when Nintendo crossed over from its humble origins as a playing cards-producing company and entered the realm of video games with the release of the NES. Considering that the industry had just suffered a particularly nasty crash two years prior due to a gross amount of low-caliber games (anyone mind digging up those buried copies of E.T. for the Atari 2600 in New Mexico?), consumers understandably were doubtful of the console. Therefore, Nintendo encouraged publishers to create high-quality games for the NES and in most cases, limited the amount of titles they could release to five per year.

It was during this time that the Nintendo Seal of Quality, a large, black and gold circular starburst, made its debut on the cover on games for the system with the following message: "This seal is your assurance that Nintendo has approved and guaranteed the quality of this product."

Nintendo's plan must have worked, for in the span of a few years, the NES had become immensely popular, from both a commercial and critical standpoint.

The Nintendo Seal of Quality would be altered in 1988 with the words "approved and guaranteed" being changed to "evaluated and approved". With the exception of this and the Seal adopting a more recognizable gold and white hue, this emblem would remain unchanged until the year 2003.

In that year, the words "of Quality" were dropped and text now read as follows: "The official seal is your assurance that this product is licensed or manufactured by Nintendo. Always look for this seal when buying video game systems, accessories, games, and related products."

It should be blatantly noted that a product that is marketed as official does not equate to a product that is of (at the very least) decent quality. For a more secular analogy, an official in (American) football doesn't automatically have to be good at his job (although he should), hence the reason why you'll see them get so much flak for bad calls during a game. It's the same thing in this case.

Honestly, I don't really see why Nintendo changed its stance on quality versus quantity. Perhaps, it was due to Nintendo struggling against the family-friendly image it had cultivated as well as trying to prevent a lack of third-party support (as was most evident during the GameCube's run, wherein the console's profits came almost solely from first and second-party support; the GameCube would end in dead last with approximately 22 million units sold, slightly behind the Xbox's 24 million and light-years away from the PS2's staggering 138 million). Only the higher ups at the Big N truly know for sure. What I do know is that now, such circumstances shouldn't be preventing Nintendo from checking the quality of its products since it is currently outselling its competitors on both the home and portable fronts.

Specifically, just because the Wii and DS cater to a more universal crowd (children and adults, casuals and hardcore gamers, etc.) doesn't mean that its software library should be full of redundant, gimmicky, bland, or just plain awful games. For example, Carnival Games for the Wii, despite generally poor reception, broke the 1.5 million mark, putting it ahead of titles such as Metroid Prime 3: Corruption and the Wii version of Resident Evil 4. Logically, this seems backwards; Carnival Games (which already has a spin-off title released and a true sequel on the way) strikes me as a watered-down Mario Party (a series which suffers from sequelitis) while Metroid Prime 3 and RE4 were much better received.

Nintendo is still seen as a far-cry from its 8, 16, and 32-bit days (try typing in "Nintendo Wii is a joke" or "Nintendo Wii is a kiddie console" at Google), a heated debate that you may have seen brought up at forums here (or at GameFAQs) many, many times. Reintroducing the real Nintendo Seal might actually help Nintendo; publishers who are trying to ride the wave that is the success of the Wii and DS would actually be nudged to produce quality titles and Nintendo could reaffirm its status as a contender instead of being scoffed at by people who think that Mario and Kirby are the lamest things this side of... well... E.T. the video game.

Also, I want to make it clear that in lieu of the last few paragraphs, this blog can be applied to all video game developers. As far as I know, neither Sony nor Microsoft even have a formalized process of checking games in the vein of Nintendo's. Plus, every console has had its fair share of stinkers (yes, not even the Nintendo Seal could prevent some of the most outlandish wastes of brainpower and money from slipping through). Shaq Fu, a game notoriously hailed as the worst fighter ever, made its way onto the SNES, Sega Genesis, and Game Boy (among other systems) at a time when both Sega and Nintendo had their own seals of quality. Ninjabread Man (whose status as a scourge of the earth should have been easily seen from its ridiculous pun of a title) was on both the PS2 and Wii. The original Xbox had Kabuki Warriors and Drake of the 99 Dragons. Ping Pals for the DS was just a sad rehash of the portable's built-in PictoChat app. Spawn the Eternal (PS1) was god-awful. Lair (PS3), despite being created by the genius behind the Star Wars: Rogue Squadron series, didn't exactly garner positive attention. Bomberman: Act Zero for the 360 doesn't even merit a comment. The mediocre, multiplatform Shadow the Hedgehog almost made me reconsider my status as a Sonic fan. There are countless more half-baked (or worse) games based on licenses with good potential. And do I even need to mention Superman 64?!

Long story short, it's not a necessity for video game companies to start using seals of quality (I highly doubt that there will be another video game crash), but it would definitely help. I see it as a win-win situation. Developers wouldn't waste money making games that would ultimately backfire and explode in their faces (because they'd be working on crafting titles that would be meaningful andnot shovelware), while consumers (that'd be us) would be able to enjoy what video games are meant to be: entertaining and exceptionally well-done mediums of art (yes, video games are a form of art, but that's one argument that should be saved for another time).

I mean, would you honestly want to mar your gaming experience playing something along the lines of Bubsy 3D when you could be enjoying the vastly superior Super Mario 64 instead?

No, seriously. This isn't the GS User Soapbox editorial blog I promised last blog (which was about a month ago... ) Sorry.

So... how are you guys doing?

I really don't have much to say in this one. I've been tied up with my summer reading assignments (reading Brave New World and Othello back-to-back and then having to fill out a packet's worth of questions is killing me) as well as other miscellaneous tasks that my parents have relinquished upon me (i.e. researching colleges, taking practice SATs, etc.). It's not my cup of tea, but well... I need to do it irregardless.

Hm... it also seems that I've finally made it to Level 28. Since I've always explained where each level moniker originated from before, I see no reason why I shouldn't do so now.

Bionic Commando (known as Top Secret in Japan) is a Capcom-developed arcade game from 1987 where the hero, equipped with a gun and grappling bionic arm (he can't jump, so he uses the grappling arm to cross chasms and such), must infiltrate an enemy base and stop them from launching missiles.

However, the Bionic Commando that more people are familiar with is the 1988 NES sequel (also known as Bionic Commando, but titled Top Secret: Hitler's Revival in Japan) that was drastically different. While the gameplay remained the same, the plot had Nathan "Rad" Spencer fighting imperial Nazis in the year 198X and rescuing fellow agent Super Joe. As you can guess, all of the Nazi references were censored in the NA and PAL releases (e.g. Nazi = Nazz/Badds, Hitler = Master-D, swastikas were altered, etc.). This game was remade as Bionic Commando Rearmed for the PSN, XBLA, and PC last year and was followed by a direct sequel (again, it was christened as Bionic Commando) earlier this year. There was also a Game Boy port of the NES title (with a few script changes) and a similar, yet different game known as Bionic Commando: Elite Forces for the Game Boy Color. A lot of info, right?

Ok... that's pretty much it. My editorial blog (which has been long since overdue) will be posted in a few weeks' time. I'll also start posting my reviews then (I've finished a few, but I've been too occupied to do anything). I'll be making my rounds ASAP. Catch ya later!

After a (somewhat) long absence, I make my (sort of) triumphant return!

That's right! Junior year is officially over! THANK GOD! I can't believe that in one year, I'll be graduating...

Last week was finals week, but I thought that they were pretty tame compared to 9th and 10th grade. That's kinda odd because 1) I didn't nearly study as much as I did for the other 2 years (I mostly goofed off and watched TV/played video games ) and 2) you'd expect Junior year in general to be a pain in the... ahem... you know. This is how I believed that I did:

Physics - B
U.S.History - A
American Literature - B+/A-
Sociology - A+ (according to my teacher, I aced it... with a 105% )
Pre-Calculus - B
Theology - A
Latin I - B+/A-

Report cards will be mailed this Friday, so I'll know how I really did soon enough.

Other than that, I haven't been up to much (aside from my usual video gaming fare). Hopefully, I'll do more than just sit at home and sleep, but I'm not promising anything.

Also, expect some new stuff (reviews, fanfiction, etc.) this summer since I'll have free time (theoretically).

Before I move on to the normal stuff, last blog's quote ("Read the mood!") came from an obscure source that not even most (non-Japanese) SNK (Playmore) fans would have caught onto. See for yourself...

Gaming Updates!
No More Heroes: Beat the game (again) and unlocked the real ending (Henry makes Jeane look like a walk in the park). The only thing that I'm missing are a few of the cards as well as some of the balls you need to collect for that drunk guy whose name escapes me at the moment. Can't wait for NHM: Desperate Struggle, but 2010 seems so far away...

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption: After a long absence, I've returned to this game. I've made it past the Leviathan Seed portion of Sky Town and I'm now en route to the Pirate Homeworld. I have a premonition that I'll have to fight Gandraya here. In Metroid-related news, Metroid: Another M looks sick!

Super Smash Bros. Brawl & Mario Kart Wii: Still honing my skills to make sure that I don't get rusty. By the way, I'm hyped about New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Super Mario Galaxy 2, and Mario & Luigi: Inside Bowser's Story. I need to get a job so that I can pay for all of this...

Mega Man Star Force 2: Zerker x Saurian: Beat the main final boss (Le Mu, who happens to be worse than Andromeda from the previous game), and opened the pathway to the extra set of bosses (cheap!), and obtained all of the Indie Frags. I'm currently completing the new side-quests as well as trying to obtain most of the Boss battle cards (I have a feeling that I'll need 'em). I think that Mega Man Star Force 3 should be due in a few months.

The King of Fighters '94: Yup... still playing it. I did get a greenlight for going to GameStop soon, so I'm hoping that I'll be able to get my hands on KOF XI or KOF '98 UM (or both! ) in the near future.

Well, that's all for now. The next blog may be a bit different than what you're accustomed to because I'm considering writing an editorial blog for GS' User Soapbox. I'll be making my rounds soon. Tata!

A cookie to whoever figures that first line out before my next blog. Trust me, you'll probably have ample time.

So, I hope that everyone is enjoying a well-deserved break. I know that I am. Yes! Only two weeks of school left! And now, for some somber news...

According to news reports, Wayne Allwine (the voice of Disney's beloved mouse since '77) died on May 18, 2009 due to complications from diabetes. He was 62. Normally, I wouldn't make such a fuss over the death of people I don't know on a personal basis, but I mean, c'mon! It's the voice actor of one of the most iconic characters in all of animation, and he's been doing that falsetto voice longer than most of us have been alive! Surely, he'll be missed.

I've heard rumors that he finished recording for Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days before his passing. I wish good luck to whoever Disney finds to be his replacement, but I'll always think of this guy when I see Mickey.

*silence*

Yeah... kinda a joy-killer, right? *scratches head* Sorry...

Well, I went to go see X-Men Origins: Wolverine last Saturday. If you've seen the movie already or don't care for spoilers, you can read the mini-review below (it is possible to read it as is, but you may need to highlight it). If not, go on ahead to the next part. BEWARE!

WARNING: A spoiler is below.

*sigh* Well, let's see... I don't like debunking the film with actual facts (since you can argue that the movie is AU), but there were so many wrongdoings, so I feel like I need to. Here goes:

What was done wrong:
1. Sabretooth and Wolvie are (as far as we're concerned; the origin story is still a bit hazy) not half-brothers. They are bitter enemies/rivals. End of story.
2. Kayla Silverfox can't persuade people via telepathy via touch; her powers were a healing factor and age suppressant. On top of that, the Silver Foxpresented inthe comicsgave me the impression of a femme fatale with skills in firearms. Finally, Emma Frost and Silver Fox are not sisters. Seriously, WTF?
3. The Blob and Chris Bradley were never a part of Weapon X/Team X. Never.
4. Deadpool (at the finale). This honestly deserves its own section. Deadpool is not Weapon XI. Wade Wilson was a dude with cancer who was augmented with a healing factor in an attempt to cure his ailment. He also had mad skills and reflexes. The only thing the movie gets right is his regeneration powers and martial arts skills. To hit the most obvious one on the head, Deadpool does not have the abilities of Kestrel (teleportation) andCyclops (optic beams), norwere his katanas grafted with adamantium and placed in his body akin to Wolvie's claws. Heck, it's even implied that if Stryker had more time, he would have given Weapon XI Emma Frost's diamond form. And how the *insert word here* can he be the "Merc with a Mouth" if his mouth is swen shut until a post-credits scene?! Way to *insert word here* drop the ball.
5. Continuity. X2 implies that Wolvie lost his memory from the adamantium bonding procedure, not from a *insert word here* adamantium bullet to his skull.

What was done right:
1. Aside from the stuff I pointed out above, the rest of the film sticks (mostly) to the established story (i.e. Wolvie's relationship with Sabretooth and Silver Fox) and powers/abilities of the cast.
2. The actors. Hugh Jackman brings that "gruff n' tough, but well-meaning" charm as Wolvie, while Liev Schreiber has the conflicted, animalistic nature of Sabretooth down pat. Ryan Renolds satisfyingly wisecracks, slices, and dices as Deadpool for all of the 12 seconds that his character sticks to its root. And Taylor Kitsch plays a surprisingly good Gambit. He definitely has the Cajun charm down. His accent could be a bit better, but yeah... no complaints here.

WTF Moments:
1. If Cyclops was captured by Sabretooth, wouldn't he recognize him in the original X-Men? I mean sure, you could joke that Sabretooth was played by two different actors...
2. Professor X cameos at the end when he telepathically directs Cyclops and the other mutant children out of the island base to his helicopter. Why didn't Prof. do anything else to help out? In the first movie, he telepathically controlled Sabretooth to stop Magneto from killing a bunch of officers. So why didn't hedo the same with Stryker?
3. The fight with Weapon XI. *facepalm* For once, Weapon XI deserved to lose because he was so *insert word here* stupid! If you have the powers of several mutants alongside a mastery of martial arts, why the *insert word here* would you only use one power at a time? At the end, when Wolvie decapitates Weapon XI, he is busy firing an optic blast. When Wolvie slashes him, the beam stops as Weapon XI falls into the tower, his head starting to detach from his torso. It is then that the optic beams miraculously restarts, blasting through the tower on the way down. My dad says that it's because the blood was still rushing to his head, but if that was the case, why didn't the beams stay on the entire time? And heck, why didn't he just teleport out of harm's way? Brilliant.

- END OF SPOILER -

Overall, there were some nice action sequences, and the plotline (despite straying from actual continuity; how come Marvel does that in a lot of their movies?) did flow quitenicely. My dad jokingly calls Wolvie "Gerald Butler" (y'know, Leonidas from 300) when he emerges from the adamantium bonding process. For those who disregard/don't know the actual plot, Wolvie gets a B; for those who don't/do, it's more like a C.

I plan on going to see Star Trek with my family soon. I've been hearing a lot of good things about the movie. Set phasers to fun! In more bad news, it seems that Hollywood refuses to stop screwing over every video game and anime seriesthat we

love. Aside from movies based off of Tekken, The King of Fighters, Death Note and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (IMO, my money is on the Tekken one), it seems that Sony Pictures is adapting Shadow of the Colossus into a film. No joke. Funny thing is... that's not even the worst part. The script is being wrote by the same guy who wrote Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, while the producer of The Scorpion King is negotiating whether or not he'll produce. Can you smell what The Rock is cooking? Yep; it's a 'lil something called failure.

However, I have some good news! Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Cross Generation of Heroes is coming to the States and Europe under the new title of Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All Stars! Capcom USA (and The Man, Seth Killian) worked out the licensing issues! I'm so happy, I could cry!

Animation Updates!
Wolverine & The X-Men: It's about time! New episodes! One question... why is Bishop bald?

Batman: The Brave and the Bold: Glad to see the Boy Wonder in the latest episode.

Gaming Updates!
Super Smash Bros. Brawl: Just honing my skills and earning the remaining trophies from All-Star Mode. In order to help the process go smoother, I've decided to focus my attention on training solely with Ike and Meta Knight.

Mario Kart Wii: Ditto, although it really doesn't take much toregain your skills in this. I've finally managed tounlock all thefast staff ghosts, so I unlocked the second Mii outfit as well as the Sprinter.I'm definitely thinking about making a mock version of the attract mode from F-Zero GX, only with Baby Mario in the Blue Falcon (or Mario in the Wild Wing/Sprinter).

Ōkami: Just finished the Moon Cave and beat Orochi. Obviously, there's much more to do, but I'm glad that I found the time to pick this back up again.

The King of Fighters '94: Beat the game again. It was actually pretty easy this time around (Rugal included). I'm planning on picking up KOF XI and KOF '98 Ultimate Match once school is out. By the way, when will KOF '02 Unlimited Match reach the States? I want to burn people with the black and red flames of Nameless!

Now if you'll excuse me, it'sfun time! I may not be able to reach you guys until after June 6th, due to the last two weeks of school (finals included). 'Til then, au revoir!

Yeah, yeah, I know. It's been awhile since the last blog. But then again, it's me we're talking about.

Well, first and foremost is the fact that school is just about over (finally!). I have one week until a short Memorial Day break, and then I'll only have two more weeks of school. *sigh* I'm glad that it's almost over; junior year has been, hands-down, the biggest pain in the... ahem... you know.

Other than that, nothing notable has happened. My work load is finally starting to wind down, so I should be able to get back to my other work (fan fictions, AMVs, etc.).

So... how are you guys holding up?

Gaming Updates!
Shadow of the Colossus - The 12th Colossus is a pain in the rear; that's for sure. Dormin (the disembodied voice) keeps on telling me that I need to get to higher ground, but the only elevated pathways I see either take me far away from the Colossus or end up having me be swept up by a raging river and off of a waterfall. Oh well... I'll figure it out eventually.

Tekken 3: Man, I'd almost forgotten how much fun this game was. Almost. Jin Kazama was such a god in this game. Not to say that I don't like playing as him now, but I'm glad that Devil Jin retains most of Jin's moves from this game. They're epic with a capital E.

X-Men vs. Street Fighter: Just playing for fun. Still hate the fact that the PlayStation port removes the ability to switch between both characters, thus hampering the game's fun factor. Tsk.

Yu-Gi-Oh!: Forbidden Memories / Duelists of the Roses / World Championship 2004: Why am I playing three video games based on a trading card game based on a manga/anime series that has now lost its appeal? I dunno. Maybe it's because I bought the games when I actually liked Yu-Gi-Oh! and now I'm just bored. In Forbidden Memories, I started a new file, and funnily enough, I'm farther than I was before. I made it back to Ancient Egypt, but of course, my deck has few good cards, so I'll probably be stuck there for awhile. In DotR, I've started a new file as well. I've made it to the final opponent of the Red Roses campaign, but in typical end-boss fashion, he's a tricky 'lil sunnuva... In World Championship '04, I've finally figured out how to unlock the third-tier duelists as well as some useful booster packs. Yeah...

I'm somewhat surprised that this blog is so short. Hm... bah, what the heck. I'll make my rounds soon (probably during this weekend) and hopefully, you'll hear from me again sooner. Catch you guys later.

Eh... sorry for such the lengthy period of absence. This time, it really wasn't my fault.

I don't know how much time I have before my PC goes haywire again, so I'll try to abridge this as much as possible.

My Easter Break ended last Monday. The entire week before that, I was being dragged around on campus visits for a few of the schools I was interested in. Honestly, it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. A few of the colleges were quite impressive, and the son of my dad's co-worker even offered to give us a personal tour of his school. Still, it took up most of my free time over the break, which is part of the explanation for why I wasn't here at GS after my last blog.

Believe me, you're gonna love readingthis next part.

Thursday was the only day that I actually had time to do homework and the like because I had to get up early the next morning for a campus tour and we had plans to stop by my bro's college for a play. A few days earlier, my folks decided (for unknown reasons) to upgrade our internet connection (Verizon DSL) to Verizon FiOS. However, that's when things started to go awry. You could not start up or shut down the PC without seeing tons of messages about "script errors" and "blah blah blah program was unable to start properly". Then came the unbridled fury of hell.

Remember last summer when my PC crashed and I had to resort to awkwardly using my bro's laptop for about half of the remaining summertime? The same thing happened, only worse. Instead of "The Black Screen of Death", we got "The Blue Screen of Death". So, we had to reboot our PC, causing us to lose every program on the PC. Then, we had to reinstall all of the necessary programs. We almost had the PC running back up to pre-meltdown levels a few days ago. My dad tried to reinstall the FiOS connection. "The Blue Screen of Death" made its triumphant return. Luckily, the customer support crew at Verizon HQ (wherever the crap that is) managed to "pull a Superman" and miraculously sent the PC's operating system back in time a few days before the second crash.

My guess: the FiOS upgrade literally *insert word here*ed up the PC. Either that, or that computer virus that was supposed to be launched on April Fools Day somehow managed to infect our PC. Fortunately, we managed to get all of the useful aps and programs running, but I have to be careful while on the 'net because I'm not sure if our firewall, anti-Spyware, etc. are up or not.

*sigh* You can tell that I had lots of fun these last few weeks, huh?

In slightly good news, Track is just about over. Our "championship" is this Wednesday. Coach wants me to go all out in the 800, but in order for that to happen, I'm going to need to get out of the relays that I was mysteriously inserted in. However, the next week is some kind of make-up meet (the team missed a season meet over Easter Break) consisting solely of relays that is just for fun. I swear to God... if he decides to put me in a relay event... Then, a few weeks after that will be the real championships (i.e. all of the A and B conference teams will be there), but I know that I won't qualify for anything, so I don't see any point in coming to a practice after next week.

Even better is the fact that I only have about five weeks of school left! HYES!!!

Unfortunately, my mom is pretty much forcing me back into driver's ed. *insert word here*it. Also, I have to tangle with the SAT this Saturday. Even though I like Math, I hate Geometry. My goal is to get at least a 600 in each category so that I won't have to worry about not being able to get into a school with a good engineering program. *sigh* Wish me luck...

AMV Updates!
On infinite hiatus for the time being. While I know that the clips didn't lead to the crash, I'm going to play it safe and wait until I get a PC of my own. Either that or I'll only redownload all of the Final Fantasy clips I had.

Fan-Fiction Updates!
Don't worry. I'm not finished with my fan-fiction stories. I'm still working on them. Hopefully, a few new things will be up by the end of May.

Animation Updates!
G.I. Joe: Resolute: I was never really a fan of G.I. Joe, but *insert word here*! I mean, seriously, holy *insert word here*! The only downside was the fact that Cobra Commander cheated death and avoided a redirected beam of superheated particles (read "death from above with a FINAL FALCON PUNCH!"). However, the brutality of the final bout between Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow (spoiler: Snake Eyes wins by using the "Seven Steps to the Sun" martial art to kill Storm Shadow in seven attacks) was much appreciated.

Gaming Updates!
Super Paper Mario: Ok, so I've managed to get a bit farther. I'm now at Chapter 2-4. Gee, this game is turning into a child's version of The Exorcist or something. That part with Mimi freaked me out (see 4:08+). Unfortunately, I had to warp out of there because I was low on supplies. So, I had to trek all the way back to the beginning of 2-4.

Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door: I've made it to the end of Chapter 2. I'll probably complete a few sidequests before I move onto the next chapter.

Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen: So, I'm finally at the climax of Chapter 5. I've collected all of the Zenithian Armor and even met the Zenithian Dragon himself. I plan to level up my party and collect some more money to buy better equipment before I deal with Psaro the Manslayer.

Sonic Unleashed: I beat the game, but not with 100% completion. I probably won't though. If the daytime stages were the only part of the game, this would probably be the best 3D Sonic... ever. But because it isn't... well, I'm a tad bit disappointed.

Allrighty then. I'll make my rounds soon. So... catch you guys on the flipside. Later!

This would have been up earlier, but I got back from mass late last night. Plus, I had to tie up some "loose" ends today to keep my parents off of my back... Joy...

Anyway, I'll make this quick: My family is throwing an Easter dinner at my house. My aunt from up north will be here soon, so I'll probably be stuck watching over her spoiled-beyond-all-reason daughters () as well as any other children who show up...

I hope that you all have a great time today. And remember: Even though people nowadays associate Easter with this cute lil... guy...?


Er... what?!

That's better.

Anyway, make sure that you know what Easter really stands for.

Please don't make me have to spell it out...

Ok. Fine. I'll do it anyway.

Er... what?! Wrong picture...

So... have a great day!

Now... then... where's my chocolate?!

Ralf: "Ikuze Crakku!"
Clark: "Oh!"
Both: "CROSS CHANGAA!!!!!"

Man, you've just got to love the Ikari Team's homages to tokusatsu and anime. In case you were lost, this is a homage to Super Sentai (the Japanese series that was bastardized into Power Rangers) the translation goes something like this:

Ralf: "Let's go, Clark!"
Clark: "Oh!"
Both: "CROSS CHANGER!"

Oh... while I'm on the subject...

In non-cool King of Fighters news (Searchy actually uncovered this first), the premise of the KOF movie (yes, you heard me right) is looking worse and worse by the minute. First comes footage from the set. Then comes the cast... (1, 2) And of course, the plot (think a mix of '94-'97) has the mandatory "sci-fi" spin. Well, if it's a consolation, at least Uwe Boll didn't get his pestilence-ridden hands on this. That and the fact that it'll probably still be better than Dragonball DeEvolution.

I know one way to cheer myself up: Listening to the awesomeness that is Sadistic Eyes, Cool Jam, and Tears!

As usual, life is a snorefest. At least I have Easter break to look forward to. My family is having the usual big dinner at my house on Sunday, so I'm sure that I'll have some tedious duty to attend to...

... That is if I can make it through my Track team's second meet this Wednesday. *sigh*

Gaming Updates!
Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door: Although I was near the end of the game, I decided to restart the game from the beginning. I'm currently at the end of Chapter 1. Come to think of it, I probably finished the chapter faster than I did the first go-round. Then again... I have already played the game once. Actually, I need to play some more Super Paper Mario... I'm only on what? Chapter 2-2?!

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars: I just rescued Princess Peach from Bowser (not to mention recruit Geno and Bowser to my side). Honestly, I don't know why people wanted to see Geno in Brawl so badly. All that he is is a being from the Star Road with an unpronouncible name who inhabits a doll that is armed with lasers, guns, and rocket fists (among other armaments). Big whoop. Besides, Geno is actually a copyrighted character of Square Enix, not Nintendo.

Yeah... kinda uneventful. Just in case I can't reach you guys before Easter, have a nice holiday.

Ah, Sheng Long... The infamous EGM April Fools joke that led to the creation of (IMO; Capcom neither confirmed nor denied this) Akuma in Super Street Fighter II Turbo and the inclusion of Gouken in Street Fighter IV. Epic indeed.

Yup, looks like I finally leveled up. I wonder how long it'll take me to reach Level 28...


In the words of the great Sagat: RYUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hm... needs more tigers. And cornflakes.


Anyway, life has been moving at the same lethargic pace that it's been traveling at for the last few months. I'd say that I'm looking forward to my school's Easter Break in about two weeks, but I'll be tasked with accompanying my dad on a few campus tours for college.

Hey! At least the weather is starting to clear up!

Unfortunately, that is offset by the grueling trials I've had to endure thanks to Track. Wait. Did I say "thanks"? I meant "no thanks". My legs are still sore, my shins still ache like heck, and I still loathe my coach (not the assistant coach though ).

For once though, my loadwasn't too heavy this weekend. I'll try to finish up a few reviews today. I'm also thinking about uploading the Mega Man AMV that didn't go through at YouTube here.

Animation Updates!
Bleach: Well, at least the Bount Arc is almost over. Despite its status as filler (which I detest with the passion of one thousand exploding suns), the Bount Arc was actually one of the few fillers that didn't come across as half-shelled.

Ben 10: Alien Force: The season finale kinda came across to me as somewhat lackluster. It was... well... how can I describe it... underwhelming? For one, Ben has the Master Code unlocked, giving him access to all of the aliens stored within the Omnitrix (including the ones from the original series), yet he doesn't even use the best ones (sorry, most of the Alien Force aliens were pretty much retreads/fusions of the ones from the original series; i.e. Swampfire = Heatblast + Wildvine)! None of the original ten (minus Ghostfreak of course)? None of the Ben 10,000 aliens? He only used Cannonbolt, Upchuck, and Way Big? The fraking heck?! At least Ben now has access to ten more heroes. I swear, they had better be good ones...

Batman: The Brave and the Bold: Sherlock Holmes! The world's effin' greatest detective!

Gaming Updates!
Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood: Well, that's a wrap. The final battle against the Master Emerald-empowered Ix with Super Sonic was pretty much a letdown. No challenge at all. I'll probably do another playthrough in the future just because I didn't reach the requirements to see the "talk" between Sonic and Amy.

Sonic Unleashed: I'm at the 4th Werehog level of Eggmanland.*insert word here*it! There are too many fraking Werehog stages. That alone is why the game is getting so much flak. Sonic Team, if you don't make a normal Sonic game without all of this additional/detracting *insert word here*, I will kill you all!

F-Zero GX: Ohohoho! This is delicious! YEESH! I did it! I beat all of Story Mode on Very Hard! I'm so happy that I could cry...

Wario Land: Shake It!: I finally got back into playing this game. I've already made it to the 3rd World, but I'm going to backtrack so that I can finish the missions for Level 2-4. This game is amazingly beautiful, and Wario is hilarious as ever. *mock Wario voice* Rockn' Roll!

No More Heroes: Started a new playthrough on "Bitter" (the hardest difficulty). Just beat Death Metal and Dr. Peace. Of course, I'm now broke after buying the upgrades for the Tsubaki-MKIII.

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption: I'm now in Sky Town, trying to assemble some sort of ballistic missile weapon. Of course, I'm now stuck at some kind of chasm that not even the Space Jump can cross. *insert word here*

Mega Man Star Force 2: Zerker x Saurian: Yeah, I'm supposed to be looking for Sonia now, but I'm wrapping up a few sidequests beforehand.

Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution: Kicking butt and taking names; that's what Lion Rafale is all about.

Yeah, so that's all for now, folks. Catch ya later.

Eh... not really. If you're curious about the title, then you must have had a depraved, Darkwing Duck-less childhood. Oh, you poor souls.

Did you know that the show's catchphrase "Let's get dangerous" didn't always keep its meaning when the show was dubbed in a multitude of languages? No? Well, now you do! On an unrelated note, my bro's British Literature teaching messed up the catchphrase by saying (no joke) "D-d-d-dangerous!"

For those who are still clueless, here's the original opening title sequence. And for giggles, here's the Dutch version (no offense to my brethren who hail from the Netherlands): LATEN WE LEKKER LINK GAEN DOEN! ("Let's get risky!").

*silence*

Yeah... that had nothing to do with anything. *scratches head*

Anyway, sorry for the long interim between this post and the last. As I thought, my free time is pretty much shot. Meh...

It seems that I'm almost out of Level 26 (I'm currently at 90%). It took me, what? Months?

I'm thinking about changing my avatar again. I've encountered a few hilarious ones, including two with Dan "The Man" Hibiki! OYAJII!

Alas, still no grasp on SFIV. Argh! The humanity!

Track is going ok. One of the students teachers is helping out, and I already like her better than our real coach. I really need to ice down my legs because I have shin splits and they ache like heck. *winces*

Unfortunately, my parents are chewing me up and spitting me out due to a lack of initiative towards college on my part. Admittedly, my efforts have been lackluster, but it's not because I don't give a rat's behind; it's more like I can't juggle so many things at once. But hey, my parents' and I never see eye-to-eye. My dad has threatened on multiple times to take away my video games (as if that has some kind of leverage on me) if I don't "drive the car". Honestly, I can't wait until my bro comes back from college (he went back on Sunday)... :rolls:

It's just occurred to me that I haven't given up anything for Lent, and we're already in the third week. I'm at a loss for what to give up. I already gave up video games back around the time that I first joined GS and that's about it. I don't think that God will condemn meto Hell because I didn't sacrifice anything for Lent though. I hope... *gulps*

Animation Updates!
Wolverine and the X-Men: I have no qualms with last week's episode "Time Bomb", but the show completely altered Nitro's background. For one, the comic's version of Nitro was a psychopathic human mutate whose actions caused the "Civil War" arc, not a kindly mutant who struggles to control his devastating powers. Still, I have nothing against Nitro or the show for that matter.

Batman: The Brave and the Bold: For once, the episode with Adam Strange was somewhat subpar. Maybe there wasn't enough humor. Still... Strange does have a rocking theme.

Bleach: If there's one thing I don't get about Head-Captain Yammamoto, it's this: Why the *insert word here* doesn't he just go after Kariya and kill him before the Joukai Crest activitates? I'd bet that the geyser is capable of doing so saying that he's (implied to be) the strongest member of the Goutai 13! Heck, it seems that a lot goes on because this old fart is an apathetic *insert word here*.

Gurren Lagann: "Believe in me who believes in you! Your's is the drill that will pierce the heavens!" Yep, Sci Fi channel is reairing one of the greatest mecha series I've seen (still can't beat Gundam Wing and Gundam 00). Check it out.

Gaming Updates!
Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King: Whew! Haven't picked up this beaut in awhile. I'm currently at Trodain, which means that I'm not too far off from where I ended last time. Of course, I was stuck at the second part of the boss battle with Dhoulmagus. *insert word here* godmoder...

Odin Sphere: Finally found Revenant, the Desecrator of Souls. After 3 years, I found it. You wanna know how? I walked backwards for about 3 seconds. Then, it popped out of nowhere (I mean,it literally materialized out of nothing) and scared the frak out of me. Believe me, the 2D art direction in this game is so awe-inspiring that you'll encounter things way more creepy than any Resident Evil or Castlevania can throw at you. Unfortunately, I had to finish my homework, so I turned off the game and I'm back at square one. Drat.

Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood: I managed to solve that "Simon Sez"-esque puzzle on Voxxai Colony Alpha. I then went on to utterly obliterate the Overminds. I'm currently on Nocturne (the final planet), chasing after Gizoids Scylla and Charrb.

Chrono Trigger: I'm now at the Black Omen (you know, the Ocean Palace that has been lifted into the sky in all time eras due to Lavos' power and the tyrannical Queen Zeal). I just beat the boss who occupied the opening foyer, but I'm having some difficulty tackling its improved variant. Typical.

Final Fantasy IV: I beat the Giant of Babil's defense system! Yes! After so much frustration, I did it! And Kain is finally freed from Zemus' mind control! Double score! Now, I'm gearing up to take on Zemus. I'll probably level up a lot first and go to The Lair of the Father and obtain Bahamut before I confront Zemus though.

Street Fighter Alpha Anthology: Four words: Dan. Hibiki. Owns. You. Got it memorized? Yattaze... OYAJII! Man! That never gets old! Get on the Saikyo groove!

Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution: It has been eons since I played this game. Like Street Fighter before it, I seem to be a lot better now that I have a grasp of the fighting schematics. In the words of Lion Rafale, "Why am I so great?!"

Well, that's it. It's getting late and I have a full week ahead of me. Catch you guys on the flipside.

It's been about a fortnight since my last post, right? Now is as good a time as any to get back in touch with you guys.

Track season began this Monday. Considering that I haven't ran since the beginning of December (the end of the Cross Country) season, I'm actually not feeling too sore. It'll probably be a work in progess, though. The new coach isn't too bad. I liked my coach from freshmen year the best, but since he has to look after his infant daughter and coach both Varsity Football and Varsity Girls Basketball, the new coach will have to do. *shrugs*

Unfortunately, I've ran into some "trouble" with my folks (especially my mom, who I tend to ignore, because her berating loses all meaning when she repeats her message a gazillion times ). On March 5 (next Thursday), I have a Critical Book Review due. The book I picked was Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson. However, I happened to pick out a version of the book that contains opinions, reviews, and analysis from other writers. What I thought was a 538-page book was actually only a 247-page book. Thus, my mom went one of her overly pessimistic, "the world is going to end", "there's no way in **** you can finish this book in time" tirade.

My mom forgot two main points:
1) I'm one **** of a fast reader (and that includes actually understanding the material).
2) I've read far worse and much, much, much longer books.

So, I read about five-sixths of the book in a single night, and I just finished the book today (thank God I didn't have school today!). Therefore, I have more than enough to finish my report, and I already have a good example of what to write. Ha! In her face! If I didn't have self control, this would be the time where I do a cocky dance and then belt out at the top of my lungs, "And what?!" Luckily, I do.

Oh yeah! Tomorrow, I'll be going to see my brother again. I believe that he has a main part in a musical, so that will be nice to see. After that, unfortunately, I won't see him until his semester is over. I kinda miss him; out of my immediate family, the two of us get along the best, which is odd considering that we used to fight and bicker a lot when we younger. Heh, I guess that time changes a lot of things, huh?

Remember a few months ago when I said that a girl asked me to her school's ring dance? Apparently, she wants me to her to Junior Prom, as well. Hm... I must have done something right back then, huh?

To go off on another tangent, I really need a job. Honesty, there are too many great games that are out or coming out this year (not to mention titles for the Wii's Virtual Console), and I usually don't have enough cash to buy them. That and my parents think that more games would only worsen my studying habits... Pshaw!

A list of interesting games (that I can actually buy) for this year:
The King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match (PS2 - 3/3)
The King of Fighters 2002 Unlimited Match (PS2 - TBA)
MadWorld (Wii - 3/10)
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (DS - TBA)
Mario & Luigi RPG 3 (DS - TBA)
Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride (DS - out since 2/17)
Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled (DS - 3/17)
Muramasa: The Demon Blade (Wii - TBA)
Sonic and the Black Knight (Wii - 3/10)
Mega Man Star Force 3 (DS - August)
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon (DS - out since 2/16)
Pokemon Platinum (DS - 3/22)

Of course, that doesn't include all of the other games I want that are on other systems.

Alas, it seems to my plans to mooch off of my friends and play Street Fighter IV have been thwarted. My one friend who has a PS3 (I told you before, I refuse to play SFIV on a 360; it just does not have a good setup for 2D fighters) is unsure about getting the game and says that he's saving up for Tekken 6 (Bloodline Rebellion). While I no qualms with that (since I want to play Tekken 6 also), I'm still up the creek without a paddle.

Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen: Well, I've obtained the Zenithian Shield, Zenithian Armor, and Zenithian Helm. I'm currently at Mamon Mine, where I'll have to face the Ruler of Evil, Estark (read "****ing godmoder"). Oh boy...

Tekken 4: Now I remember why I stopped playing this game after I unlocked everthing: the game is almost as sluggish as the first 2 games! Plus, the story was so horribly deus ex machina! Honestly, Tekken 5 may have made the whole "Devil theory" worse, but the root of the crap started with this game. I have nothing against Kazuya, but if you're dropped down an erupting volcano by your father after he gives you the retribution beatdown of a lifetime, you should stay dead, regardless of whether or not some cloning corporation recovers your body. End of story. Plus, some of the other sideplots weren't exactly notable...

Sonic Unleashed: I. Hate. Platforming. Sections. With. Spinning. Poles. That. You. Must. Time. Correctly. Hate. Them. Darn. You. Adabat. That. Is. All.

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars: Um, I'm in the sewers... Yeah...

I hope that everyone enjoyed Valentine's Day back on Saturday and had a chance to spend some time with that "special someone". For those of us who alternately celebrated National Singles' Awareness Day (like me), I hope that you all indulged yourselves with numerous spoonfuls of Ben & Jerry's and cried yourselves to sleep.

Well, today is the last day of my 4-day break from school. Unfortunately, tomorrow's going to be a pain; I have two tests (American Literature and PreCalculus), one quiz (American History), and a memory quiz (Theology), plus I'll have to come in early to tutor (hopefully, the person I have to tutor won't show up again).

At least I enjoyed my free time. I can't wait until I'm off next Friday for Parent-Teacher conferences...

Also, next Monday marks the beginning of the Track season. In typical me fashion, I haven't ran since the end of Cross Country, but then again, who'd be crazy enough to run when its 10 degrees outside? I know that I'm not. To say the least, this season will be interesting, considering that our coach is a new teacher who's constantly lampooned by most of the high school.

Of course, this means that my time on the Internet with nonschool-related items (i.e. GS, YT, FFN) will pretty much go down the toilet until early May. I'll try to get in a blog every week or two or so, but (as usual) don't expect me to hold true to that promise.

Oh yeah! Guess what I saw on TV on Saturday! A trailer for Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li! Man, it looks so bad! I think that I might actually cry.

Wolverine and the X-Men: Gambit! You lovable Cajun, you! I love this show. Of course, this has renewed my dad's "Gambit antics" (French accent, random French words and phrases, referring to himself as Gambit in the 3rd person, etc). Nightcrawer shows up in the next episode, but I don't that he talks about the Munic Circus (in Germany) nearly as much as he does in X2.

I think that X comes on tonight on Sci-Fi... I might have to check it out.

Here's Vincent Valentine - Alumina.

The other AMV I uploaded to YouTube (a Mega Man-themed one called Hunters Fighting For All the Wrong Reasons) doesn't seem to be up, so I may have to reupload it.

Fan Fiction Updates!
I surprised myself that I actually got something done.

New chapters have been added for SFA: Senshi no Kyogi (5) and Ragnarock (5, 6). Check 'em out if you've been following.

I'm also working on a SSBB one-shot (which is about halfway finished) before I move on to the Sonic one.

Technically speaking, I should have three reviews up, but you know how I work.

Gaming Updates!
Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood: I'm currently on Voxai Colony Alpha. Man, I hate some of the puzzles in this game...

Fire Emblem (Blazing Sword): I'm currently in the middle of Chapter 20. It's time to save the village!

Tekken Tag Tournament: This is my favorite Tekken. Jeez, this game is so addictive! And that music is snazzy!

Well, that's a wrap. 'Til next time friends!

Hey, it looks like GS has revamped the look for the blog editor/template. Looks kinda snazzy, if you ask me.

Yeah, I figured that I should stop by for a visit and post something, considering that a new blog has been somewhat overdue.

This would have been up earlier, but I was busy taking a practice SAT... this morning... at school. Crazy, right? I had to wake up at the same time I do on the weekdays, so it wasn't exactly my cup of tea. By the way, the math on the practice test was brutal. I enjoy math and all, but even I have my limits.

Other than that, not much has been happening. I'm supposed to have this Friday and next Monday off, so I'm hoping that this week flies by fast. Oh, and I did go to Borders and bought The Protector (Tony Jaa is a riot! ) and Robot Chicken Season 2 on DVD. I'm hoping to pick up Robot Chicken Season 1, The Legend of Drunken Master, and Resident Evil: Degneration sometime in the future.

Gaming Updates!
Kingdom Hearts: ReChain of Memories: Still fighting baddies to increase my levels (and thus, increase my Card Points). My deck in already overpowered as is (even more so than it was in the original Chain of Memories), but I still want to add a few more cards to the ensemble.

Sonic Unleashed: I finally finished the Shamar Night stages, and I'm now on the second Anabat (South America, I believe) Night stage. I still wish that the Wii version wasn't so stripped-down. It's not like they couldn't have balanced out the number of Day and Night stages (considering that the Day stages were much better received) or made the villages actually hubs a la Sonic Adventure (which was on the frakin' Dreamcast FYI).

Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood: I'm finally getting a hang of the reaction commands. I still have my qualms with the stylus, but it's much less of a problem. I've also managed to get significantly farther in the game within a span of about 3 days; last time I updated, I was just at Mystic Ruins. Now, I'm on the first world in the Twilight Cage, and I've already recruited the entire cast of characters, Omega and Cream included.

Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master: Made it all the way to Level 6 ("Traps"). Unfortunately, I used up most of my lives and continues on said level. Oh well. I enjoyed hacking up Neo Zeed with honorable Joe Musashi.

On a related note, I need to get back to Metroid Prime III: Corruption, Odin Sphere, Final Fantasy IV, Dragon Quest VIII, Final Fantasy XII, FFXII: Revenant Wings, Wario Land: Shake It!, Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, DQIV, and Shadow of the Colossus. I haven't played any of those in awhile. That's the problem with having too many great games, but little time to play 'em. *sigh*

BTW, remember how I couldn't find a particular boss in Odin Sphere (Revenant, the blah of something else blah)? Is he a smokless monster the hovers in the air? There's a picture of Gwendolyn fighting this monster (it's the 17th picture in the rightmost column) on the second page of the Princess Crown/Odin Sphere article at Hardcore Gaming 101, and I definitely don't remember coming across something like that.

Animation Updates!
Gundam OO: It looks like the final two episodes of the 1st season's English dub will air on Sci Fi channel this Monday. It's been a hectic season, and that scene with Lockon Stratos, while not heart-wrenching, was sad nevertheless. He will be missed.

Bleach: I've said it before; the Bount arc isn't bad, but I can't wait 'til its over so that we can finally move on the Arrancar and Huendo Mueco arcs (i.e. the good stuff).

Code Geass R2: Silly Kallen. You don't engage Li Xingke without recharging your Guren.

Batman: The Brave and Bold: The sheer campiness of this series (i.e. Aquaman's "stories", "PLATELET!", Batman punching the mob boss with a baby's face, etc.) is worth the admissions price alone. Granted, it's nowhere near the greatness of Batman: The Animated Series (TAS) or The New Batman Adventures. Heck, it might not even beat out Batman Beyond, but I never said that it was bad.

Wolverine & The X-Men: It pretty much a slow build up to bigger things to come, but it's all good. My dad is stoked about the next episode because everyone's favorite Cajun, Remy LeBeau (that's Gambit to you, punk!) is in it. FYI, my dad likes to emulate Gambit's portrayal in X-Men: The Animated Series (using random French words and phrases, referring to himself as Gambit in the third person, speaking with a Louisiana Creolean accent, etc.). In the words of Alexander the Great (but not really): F***in' ACE!

Ok, then. I'm out. Later.

To say the least, school was "interesting" this week. While Monday was the normal case of "ugh, I can't believe that the weekend is over", a snowstorm (well, sort of) hit my area, providing me with a two-days break from school. There were rumors of another storm on Friday, but nothing happened. Oh well. For me, the less school, the better. There's another rumor of snow tomorrow, but I highly doubt it. *shrugs*

Other than that, not much has happened. I'm still wandering around Level 26, I've yet to finish the AMVs that I'm working on, and I haven't made much progress with reviews (I am currently working on them as I type up this blog). But hey, what'd you expect?

Gaming Updates!
Kingdom Hearts: ReCom: I backtracked and found all of the hidden enemy cards and Keyblades. Now, I think that I'm missing most of the regular enemy cards, a few sleights, and the Pluto friend card.

Kingdom Hearts II: Made it to the final boss, but I'm probably going to fill out the journal first, wrap up the synthesis process, retread through the Gummi Ship levels, and defeat Sephiroth first.

Kingdom Hearts: Finished the Olympus Colliseum. I'm now in Deep Jungle, having bested Sabor for the first time.

Castlevania: OoE: Wrapped up a few sidequests. I've still yet to start my run through Mystery Manor. By the way, those Evil Force enemies (the gigantic fleshless heads that spew malformed tongues) creep me the frak out.

Chrono Trigger: Beat Promience of the Sun. I'm just about ready to head to the floating Ocean Palace and take on Queen Zeal.

Street Fighter Annivesary Collection: Because I'm too much of a lazy bum, I've decided to "cheat" my way to unlocking Gill in Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike; with the exception of the Shotos, I'm setting the A.I. to Level 1, setting the damage level to 4, and making each battle one round long for all of the characters. I don't have the time to go through with each character and learn their movesets just to be creamed by Gill.

That's it. Pretty short, huh? Later!

That was some inauguration, right?

Anyway, tonight concludes my two-day break from the school. Tomorrow will be the last day of 1st semester, and then the final dash of my junior year begins. Hence the title.

What's worse is the fact that it snowed here on the days that I didn't have school. Talk about a major drag.

The ring dance was actually pretty fun considering that I was dateless. Of course, most of my class left to go eat after getting their rings, so that left only about 20 of us (myself, the people I was hanging out with, and four other girls and their dates). Hm... could've been worse, eh?

Anyway, that's pretty much it. I didn't really manage to do much, mainly because I was too busy playing video games and stuff.

Gaming Updates!
Kingdom Hearts: ReCoM: I did it. I beat Reverse/Rebirth. Funnily enough, "Ansem" (read "Xehanort's Heartless") was a cakewalk compared to Zexion. I'll probably go back and get the hidden treasure cards in Sora's story soon. And I'll definitely gonna make a video about that "darkness" thing once I get a working camcorder.

Kingdom Hearts II: Yup, I started replaying this one too. I decided to try my hand at Proud Mode (the hardest difficulty); it's not that much of a challenge yet. I'm currently at Halloween Town for the first time. I wish that the Final Mix versions would not be Japan-only releases. It really *insert word here* me off, and I bet that fans of the series who don't live in the "Land of the Rising Sun" would share my disapproval.

Kingdom Hearts: Playing the midquel only made me want to go back to this one too. I'm not too far (I'm only on the 1st day of the Destiny Islands), mainly 'cause the second game is so much more enthralling.

Okami: I'm currently at the Moon Cave (Orochi's stronghold) looking for some ingredients for the snake's gourmet meal. Of course, that's when I'll sock it to him with some good 'ol Celestial Brush-brand beatdown.

Chrono Trigger: Completed a few more side quests. I'm not quite ready to fight Lavos though.

Mega Man SF2: ZxS: Found Bud. Of course, he doesn't want to go back because the locals of Whazzap worship him as a god. Where's a napalm when you need one?

Well, that be it. Later!

Yeah, I had planned on posting an update earlier, but a little something called "life" got in the way.

After a long two weeks, my first semester of school is finally over. Or, at least it would have been, had it not been for an "accident" yesterday. Apparently, my school had hired Latinos (and I mean that in a non-derogatory way) to do some work on the rooftop. They had been working since Christmas Break, but apparently, they still had a ways to go. Then, a huge chunk of the roop caved in and fell in the middle of the hallway. Because of that (and the fact that the school already had a 2-hour delay due to ice), we only we in school for about 2 hours. Therefore, the end of the semester (which was supposed to be today) was moved back to Wednesday (which is when my short break ends). Never a dull moment at my school.

On a even worse notes, driving is becoming an even bigger pain in the *insert word here* than before. Remember those three, 2-hour sessions that I had with my driving instructors? The first two weren't bad, but I managed to complete them. The third one... That was pure *insert word here*. Now, I have to redo all three sessions, and they're "suggesting" that I come in whenever I have the time to go on practice drives with them. How the *insert word here* am I supposed to do that? I barely have enough time as is! *Insert word here*! As you I can see (or read), I'm not in a good mood about this.

Also, tomorrow is my school's ring dance. I'm going stag (alone), only because 1) I didn't bother to get a date and 2) most of the people going are leaving after they get their class rings, so what's the point? *shrugs*

At least I can say that I'm looking forward to being off on Monday and Tuesday.

AMV Updates!
Nothing, actually. I'm hoping that I'll finally have the time to finish some videos that I've been working on.

Fan Fiction Updates!
As you can see here, I have quite a few stories that I'm simultaneously working on. I'm hoping on finishing Passing the Torch (a SSBB one-shot) and Sayanora, Shadow... (ditto, but for Sonic) sometime in the next two weeks or so.

Both Ragnaröck and SFA: Senshi no Kyogi have been updated, for anyone who is following.

Review Updates!
Again, nothing. Maybe I'll be able to do something over the long weekend.

Gaming Updates!
Chrono Trigger: After besting Magus and going through the whole "Ocean Palace > Death's Peak" fiasco (anyone's who played the game should understand what I mean by that), I'm now ready to face Lavos! However, I'm partaking in a few side quests as well. I'm currently at the Geno Dome in 2300 with Robo, Magus, and Ayla trying to make it to Mother Brain (yes, they stole that from Metroid).

Kingdom Hearts: ReChain of Memories: I'm now on the 4th basement level in Halloween Town. Only a little longer, and I'll be facing Lexeaus and Zexion. Can't wait to eradicate 'em. And remember, say "no" to darkness!

No More Heroes: Wow... that was some Rank #5 match... or not! It seems that the engimatic (and Irish) Henry has a flair for killing your opponents, especially after a long (but hilarious) cutscene. Oh well, at least Travis' swearing tirade was worth it.

Wario Land: Shake It!: I'm at World 1-2. Still not much progress, but the game is fun. There's no denying that.

Sonic Unleashed: After making it past Holoska, I'm now in some Arabic-themed land whose name escapes me. Jazz it up!

Mega Man Star Force 2: Zerker x Saurian: After finding Zack and beating some dude with a UMA whose name escapes me, I'm now in Whazzup (think Native American culture in the Midwest) looking for Bud! Meh.

Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master: By far the best and fastest ninja game I've ever played! I'm currently at Level 8. Joe Musashi FTW!

Streets of Rage: I finally managed to beat the game with Adam. It just goes to show that a few suplexs, flying kicks, and napalm bombs can go a long way.

Final Fight: Having made it past Sodom and Edi. E, I made it to the Bay Area. Unfortunately, there lies an even cheaper boss named Abigail. What's worse? Abigail is a guy. Wha?

Forgotten Worlds: I always make it to the third level, but then I die.

That concludes another random blog. 'Til next time folks!