Random Musings

Ever get the feeling the world is trying to tell you something?

nobody@vox.com(patapete) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 14:35:06 -0600

Was playing on my Japanese quiz thing to kill some time when this gem of a question popped into my life. Guess which one is the right answer?

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Jackie Chan is really amazing in this new movie!

nobody@vox.com(patapete) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 03:42:47 -0600

The Karate Kid Remake Trailer

"Take off your jacket!"

It's phrases like those that really propel Jackie Chan in the spotlight as a real actor, not the schtick he tends to use from his old Hong Kong chop-socky flicks. I don't why, but the tone he used and the way he says those words had some kind of emotion that I've never really felt from his previous works. And Jaden Smith really shows his acting chops that he earned from his dad here.

Dare I say it -- I'm hyped for this movie!

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Retro Fighting games: Sailor Moon Series

nobody@vox.com(patapete) — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 21:59:22 -0600

The cast of Sailor Moon R

Of all the retro fighting games I've played, there has yet to be a game with as many shenanigans as the Sailor Moon franchise. Today's post isn't about just one title -- it's about three: Sailor Moon R, Sailor Moon S, and Sailor Moon SS.

Sailor Moon is an old series with a lengthy history. I remember reading about the side scrollin' beat-em-up back in the olden days of EGM, when EGM was still young and sophomoric. If you can imagine Final Fight with peachy high school girls shooting beams out of their hands, then you're already halfway there in the Sailor Moon universe.

Today though, I'm just gonna talk shop about Sailor Moon R.

This screen never changes from game to game

Sailor Moon R has five buttons: punch, kick, jump, block, and special attack. We quickly learned that punching is top-tier in this game, since if you land one lucky punch, you can land a million of them -- until they die! As such, in order to avoid a fate worse than death, it's imperative that you have an excellent zoning game so you're always keeping the slap chop at bay.

A healthy plethora of kicks can help keep those hands of death away. Kicks are the perfect counter to punching, as they reach much further than punches do. You can't kick someone to death in this game though, so don't go thinking kicks are the be-all-end-all in this game (although that would be unbelievably funny).

Special attacks are pretty much relegated to fireballs and some kind of...uppercut move. We couldn't figure out how to do those "uppercut moves", so we just stuck to chucking plasma. Blocking and jumping were much more important however, since blocking was the only get-out-of-jail-free card against punches, and jumping can't be punished by a majority of the other attacks. Needless to say, extremely important.

So how do you win at this game?

For starters, don't get punched! Every character in the game can kill you with an endless barrage of punches in this game; don't take it lightly! The moment you get hit is the moment you lose -- which makes zoning an extremely important strategy. It's imperative that you don't get cornered, because when you get to the corner your movement options become extremely limited, increasing your chances of getting slap-chopped.

All in all, Sailor Moon R is extremely simple and extremely fun to play. It's easy to get into, and rewarding for people who catch on really quickly. It doesn't take much to win in this game, so even the smallest mistake can mean instant death.

Seriously, who knew Sailor Moon could be so deep?

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Critical Finishes -- Examu's answer to Fatalities?

nobody@vox.com(patapete) — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 21:04:23 -0600

Arcana Heart 3 All Character Critical Hearts (part1)

Arcana Heart 3 All Character Critical Hearts (part2)

They're so cute and stylish; where's the gore?

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A week in links (Trailers trailers trailers! version)

nobody@vox.com(patapete) — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 16:00:05 -0600

Now that's freaky. Nagato with EMOTIONS.

Man, so many good trailers came out this week! First there was the Fate / Stay Night trailer of all things bad ass. Then there was the Haruhi trailer of surprise and amazement. Both are incredibly hype and worth checking out! 2010 is shaping up to be a great year for movies!

Speaking of movies, I still haven't seen anything for Trigun. There's only two weeks left in the month -- after that, it's probably safe to assume it's not coming out until 2010 (or later, at this rate). What the hell happened to that movie? I was so pumped to watch it!

I'm expecting video game news to slow down, now that Final Fantasy XIII is out in Japan. I bet a lot of Japanese gamers and bloggers are going to retreat into their domains, playing the hell out of that game. Until then, hopefully next week will continue being as good as this week was in news!

Michael Moore visits a maid cafe in Akihabara
As awesome as the pretext sounds, it was something of a let down. I wonder if Mr. Moore was a little concerned footage of him going out to a maid cafe might be taken in the wrong context and used against him -- he seemed a bit nervous in there.

VAP、細田守監督「サマーウォーズ」を3月にBD/DVD化 -AV Watch
$100 bucks for the BluRay, and rougly $75 for the DVD? Is it no wonder the anime industry is dying?

The Escapist : News : Sony Says the "M" Words About PSN Again: Monthly Fees
Hat tip to Shyang for giving the heads up. Hopefully Sony won't commit suicide and alienate their user base. But then again, this is Sony we're talking about here...

『けいおん！』シリーズ第四弾！「ねんどろいど琴吹紬」が本日より案内開始なので遊んでみたお！
K-On! gets figmas! News that's just in time for Christmas, lol

Haruhi Suzumiya Film's New Promo Video Streamed - Anime News Network
Woot!

Spike VGAs highlight problems with industry awards
I agree whole-heartedly with this article. Uncharted 2 wins game of the year, but not action-adventure title of the year? What gives?

Dungeons & Dragons For Microsoft Surface Has Come A Long Way - Dungeons & Dragons - Kotaku
Can you imagine what it'd be like if the Microsoft Surface was compatible with Project Natal? Mind blown, sir!

FF13にはちゃんとパンチラあります安心してご購入ください : はちま起稿
One brave gamer bites the bullet and provides...panty shots...for the rest of us non-Final Fantasy XIII owners. Oh dear...

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The first 15 minutes of Final Fantasy XIII

nobody@vox.com(patapete) — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:30:07 -0600

The first 15 minutes of Final Fantasy XIII

You might want to turn off the comments though, they're pretty annoying. I didn't think Japanese comments could be as vile as American ones (haters are universal, I suppose).

Not to spoil anyone either but, there's reports coming all over the place about how linear Final Fantasy XIII is shaping out to be, although, it's still too early (I don't believe anyone's beaten the game yet at this point).

You know what's funny though? Ryougi Shiki's seiyuu Maaya Sakamoto does the voice of Lightning, the main heroine. They act almost identically! I instantly recognized it right when she opened her mouth. I'm such a nerd...

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Iron Man 2 Trailer!

nobody@vox.com(patapete) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:02:04 -0600

"You complete me!" lol

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Retro Fighters: Advanced Variable Geo 2

nobody@vox.com(patapete) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 20:29:11 -0600

Advanced V. G. 2 for the Playstation

A while back, Phong introduced me to this weird 2D fighting game with women in it. He said it plays like Street Fighter Alpha, with a little bit of Street Fighter IV in it. I like Street Fighter, so we popped it in and played a few rounds. I didn't think much of the game at the time, but later that night, I found out what the game was based on.

A hentai game.

Read a little bit about the story and you'll see what I mean: in the future, waitresses at various restaurant chains around Japan fight in a large tournament. The winner receives a large cash prize of 10 billion yen, as well as the title "Virgin Goddess". The loser, however, gets "humiliated" by either being stripped of their clothing or at worse, gang-raped.

The playstation version doesn't have any of those humiliation scenes, so don't ask me about it.

Yuka Takeuchi, shotokan extraordinaire

Looking past the surface, the gameplay is really fun and iconic of traditional late 90's style fighters: combos, super meters, dashes, you name it. It's not too terribly deep, although the combo system is fairly unique in this game. It has a juggling mechanic similar to Tekken that really dishes out the damage.

Footsies are incredibly important in this game. Some of the best characters can keep you outside of combo range with just their limbs alone. Ayako for example has a light kick that can literally kick you half a screen away.

Super moves are also extremely good. A successful super on hit will always do 50% life, changing the momentum of the game in an instant. Tamao, for example, has a super fireball reminiscent of the Marvel vs Capcom series: she fires a humongous full-screen fireball that's unbelievably quick on start up! Crazy cheap!

There's 12 characters available at the start, along with two extra "hidden bosses". You have your traditional shotokan styled fighter in Yuka with fireballs and uppercut attacks; the combo friendly techno-raver Ayako; and the deliciously KoF inspired, sadistic-looking Kyoko. Every character plays identical in some form or another with quarter-circle forward commands and the occasional charge back moves. This makes for a somewhat dull lineup, but in the same breath puts the entire cast on the same page making for a somewhat balanced fighter.

It ain't broke if everybody has it!

All in all I would recommend this game for the retro enthusiast. It's not an incredibly deep fighting game, nor is it too simplistic that you can't have fun with it. Everybody should check it out once if they can. Just ignore the wonky story plot and enjoy it for senseless mayhem!

[Advanced Variable Geo 2 match] Japanese casual

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Calculating risk vs reward

nobody@vox.com(patapete) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 16:23:26 -0600

Sometimes Panda wished she had just stayed in the zoo

One of the least talked about yet heavily emphasized tactics in fighting games involves weighing risky moves versus safe moves. It's a gamble. You don't want to let down your guard at any moment, but sometimes during the middle of a heated battle taking a risk pays off.

And sometimes the opposite is true as well.

So how do you calculate risk vs reward? Paying attention to your opponent's patterns is a start. It's important to keep in mind all the options you have available to you at all times, and selectively catagorizing which move is appropriate for each situation.

Let's examine one particular move from Tekken: the hopkick (uf+4)

Asuka demonstrates a hopkick

By itself, the hopkick is a very basic looking move. On hit, it knocks the opponent up into the air, allowing free damage. Hopkicks in Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion also carry another unique trait: they "crush" low attacks, meaning they're invulnerable to all low-hitting moves.

Why is it low-risk? Simple. Hopkicks benefit from the fact that on block they're -12 frames. That means that only moves that can come out in 12 frames can effectively punish it. In the world of Tekken, only jabs can reliably punish hopkicks, and for most of the cast there aren't very many jabs that can deal a whole lot of damage. At best, jab punishing will only turn the momentum in the opponent's favor, but it won't exactly destroy your health bar.

Look at it from your side. If you land a hopkick, you're liable to take away up to 40 to 50% of your enemy's health bar -- why wouldn't you want to throw out more of those! That's why hopkicks are extremely high-reward, low-risk moves.

There are other instances where the risk is minimal while the rewards are plentiful. In 2D fighters, jump in attacks can be considered high-reward, low risk moves. If you land a jump in, chances are you're going to follow it up into a combo. But if they other guy knocks you out of the air, you won't exactly lose a ton of life -- just that one opportunity of dishing out damage.

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Tekken 6: BR Nationals

nobody@vox.com(patapete) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 17:56:24 -0600

First off, I need to apologize to the guy who claimed he watched the Tekken 6 Nationals over the weekend. He was right. They did happen over the weekend. I was wrong about that. However, I won't apologize for the claim he made about the top three players being Bob users. That was flat out wrong. Not only that, but he was being a total couch warrior about the matches, saying how boring they were to watch and uninteresting.

I hate couch warriors.

The top place finisher was an old schooler from the Tekken Tag days named ChetChetty, a really phenomenal Paul user. Second place went to Mr. Naps, a very excellent Bryan user and Street Fighter player. Third went to another Tekken Tag player (who coincidentally is a former National champ for the U.S.) named Insanelee. He used Julia.

Congratulations to all the placers. Good luck in Japan guys; take home the world crown for the U.S.!

Youtube user Nyawu has a ton of match vids up from the event, which I'd recommend over the UFragTV stream. The UFragTV stream has 10 hours worth of coverage, but there's no timestamps around to tell you what exactly you're looking at, if you happen to skip around a bit.

Here's a sample match vid between Antonio and JTChinoi, a super-impressive Xiaoyu player:

Tekken 6 National-GGL Semi Finals - Antoniooo (Julia Lars) vs jtchinoi (Ling Xiaoyu) (PS3 side)

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