'Mass Effect 3': Part I

Time to finally wrap up the Mass Effect trilogy before Mass Effect 4 comes out ten years from now!

Joking aside, if you gathered from my final verdicts of ME1 and ME2, this is my favorite game in the trilogy. Mass Effect 3 has most of the features I liked about the previous titles and improved on them. The story is an intense roller coaster ride after the forty to fifty hours I poured into the first two games. Heck, even the overall difficulty was amped up a bit to keep me on edge. Not many sequels I've played tend to like to do that.

YES, I'm looking at you, that one game I kept bashing for over a year.

Anywho, back to Mass Effect 3, my favorite game in the trilogy. And the review begins -

Hold your horses, people. I ain't going there yet. Let me say what I like LONG before touching that can of worms.

Possible spoilers ahoy.

'Shin Megami Tensei IV', Part II

This review ended up being pretty short, considering how long-winded I can get over the silliest things. Perhaps I need to beat more Shin Megami Tensei games before I can go on for seven parts. Maybe then I can overanalyze every fault in characters, gameplay, plot, and theme that I come across.

I do like this game, but I don't feel the desire to deconstruct and reconstruct the game's basic elements from start to finish. Not yet at least. There is an unfortunate reason for that.

Superior being[s], I fricking hate that one picture so much. So, so, so, so very much.

So let me get the gigantic, stubborn elephant out of the room briefly before I continue onward. Oh, and possible spoilers.

'Shin Megami Tensei IV' Part I

It feels great having beaten a mainline Shin Megami Tensei game. This may not be the hardest game in the entire franchise - spin-offs included - but the fourth installment is still pretty difficult. It's a fact by this point that Atlus likes torturing gamers as frequently as possible. Beating it means I feel less like casual filth and demon chow and feel more... mediocre. Or a masochist. Or both.

Anywho.

I'll accept this registered quest.

...

Before I begin, just as a very brief note, I will refer to the protagonist as Flynn. You can create a name for him, but I want to simplify this and minimize confusion.

And uh, I hinted at if not outright discussed spoilers in this part. I tried keeping it to a minimum. I apologize in advance.

SMTI for iOS Gives Me a Reason to Finally Use my iPod

I'm still in the stone ages of tech. My all-in-one device is a laptop. My phone and iPod are separate and neither are my places to check email. And I sure as heck don't write essays or play app games on my iPod. It is just a music machine for me.

And then Atlus announced the North American release of Shin Megami Tensei I for iOS this March. For like $8.00.

And I said, why the hell not?

It's been over twenty years since it first came out, and there are a bunch of ports of it already only in Japan. A version of it (maybe the PS1 port, or just the music from the PS1 version will be used) will finally be available without turning my computer into an emulation machine or learning Japanese to play an old Famicom game. If the port sucks b/c most RPG ports on iOS seem to turn out bad, then... at least it's eight bucks. As iffy as this made some people who relied on emulation and ROM hacks, I'm happy about this. Officially, this game will become localized and will be released to the North American public. This is a sign that Atlus might send their Japanese-only stuff over here in the future. 

A-Anywho. *sniff*

Regardless of the port's quality, I'll still support it. The game will be obscenely hard and dated, but having it for the sake of giving it a chance never hurts. I'm not sure how soon I'll tackle it, but I'll make time. My backlog is pretty big, but manageable.

Well, for once I don't have to save up pennies. Sweet. If I end up hating SMTI, I can drown out my sorrows with some new music. 2013 was a good year for heavy metal apparently. I should check to see what bands I like released new material...

'Persona 4' Part IV

I'm done. I am practically screaming at a brick wall within my own psyche by this point. I just cannot bring myself to enjoy Persona 4. The more I think about it, the more problems I find and want to bitch about.

But I'm done. Once I finish this review, I will just live my life as if this installment meant nothing to me. I will ignore the abhorrent concept of Dancing All Night existing, and I will keep my Vita's skin, even if I hate the majority of Golden's content. I can tolerate Arena because I get to see some of the old members of SEES again. I'll still play Persona Q just for everyone in SEES coming back.

Maybe one day, I'll pick up the original Persona 4, just to get a better sense of the gameplay. Otherwise, if I have killer hangover and have the need to be blinded by yellow, I'll just watch the anime.

Now, let's finish this review. Onto things I am more positive about before I give out my already controversial final verdict.

'Persona 4' Part III

...I just need to get to the point.

No build-up, no long introduction. Let's get this story tackled.

Because dear superior being(s), I don't like it.

SPOILERS, of course. I reeditted this post to remove my digression with other games. But still. Mass Effect 3 and Tales of Xillia handled their "big bads" better than Persona 4. My god, this game will be the end of me.

Out From Under a Rock!: First 2014 Update

Please don't kill me! I'm back for realz, I swearz!

Looks like I got so caught up in vacation and breaks that... well... I neglected my blog again. Whoops.

Thus in a vain attempt to make my two or three imaginary readers forgive me for my crimes, let me say I have been pretty busy during the holidays. Real-life stuff, of course. Mostly enjoying a mellow and agnostic Christmas, freezing my ass off thanks to below 0 Celsius weather that swept the east coast lately, realizing my cousins are counting down the months to when they can get me legally smashed, lamenting my B+ average grades this semester, etc.

Otherwise, I've been gaming. No shock.

'Persona 4' Part II

The guys at the DDS-Net forums are pretty laid-back and cool people. No massive wars started yet. No internet drama and bullshit erupted. Since it's still a small community, I managed to find my voice among a sea of veteran fans.

Not long after I published part 1 of my review, someone started a Persona 4 thread. I laid down my opinion of the game and tried to be as honest as I could. Within hours, people flooded in with their own few cents. Just recently, a few of us got heated over a tiny aspect of the game. Had someone not pointed that out, the discussion could've blown up into full-scale war.


It's funny how I am most experienced with the Persona series, but I have more in common with those who like other SMT games.

I have... TONS of issues with this game. Let's say that this can be the ending of Mass Effect 3 levels of rage.

Spoilers ahoy.

'Persona 4', Part I

Whelp, the Persona reveals on November 24th exhausted me. Though I got eight hours of sleep and did not watch the stream, I still ended up cranky and angry at the world. And I liked three out of the four new games! How can something I like make me ecstatic and piss me off so much at the time?! If I become an alcoholic once I'm 21, I'm blaming Atlus!

Anyway, I've delayed this review long enough. Time to get to business.

...

Before I do, I find it funny that I said I don't COMPLETELY hate Persona 4, yet I'm sure many people came to that conclusion anyway. Just because I found a lot to whine and nitpick about, that doesn't mean the game was garbage. I've torn the Mass Effect games a new asshole a few times and I still play them endlessly. Though I know it's extremely campy and flawed, I still love Shadow the Hedgehog. As much as I sing high praises to my favorite band ever, I still step back and laugh at how hilarious and awkward HIM is at what they do. You can't be honest with yourself if you say you love everything about something.

So no, I don't hate Persona 4. Not entirely, at least. To know how I really feel, let's finally get this review started.

BTW, some Spoilers will begin to appear early this time around.

Four Early Christmas Presents

Persona has been on the mind all year, and it won't go away. Heck, nearly every year on this blog I rant and rave about something forever. And for some reason people keep coming back... I guess I'm not trying hard enough.

Anywho.

Ever since I joined a new Shin Megami Tensei forum, I've been listening to so much Persona-related new lately. The freaking out was getting pretty bad with rumors flying everywhere. So to not go on an emotional roller coaster, I watched LittleKuriboh's Yu-Gi-Oh! Abridged as I played my fourth full playthrough of Fire Emblem Awakening yesterday. Once I got online today, I arrived in the aftermath of the forums exploding with conversation and squees. I tossed in a few cents on the new threads after looking up the new stuff. Real-life drama was never my cup of tea, though the place is still pretty laidback next to the rest of the internet. No bloodshed, no violence. Just the occasional poking fun at someone's alignment.

Anywho.

Today's announcements were what I needed after all the homework I finished.

Persona 4: the Golden Rant

This is an emergency.

I really need to get this off my chest. All progress on my review is on halt because of my emotions. I cannot make any progress and cover Persona 4 objectively without tossing out moldy food from the fridge. I have so much beef over so many things so trivial that I have no idea how to not make an unfair, unbalanced review. And I swear to God this is the last teaser for the review! I am sorry, I am sorry, I am sorry, I am so very sorry!! So let me just say this stuff now before we get another Persona 3, Part 4.

I am glad Gamestop charged $50 for Persona 4 a few years ago. It would have been a big mistake to invest in it that soon. Because if you are interested in Atlus and their Shin Megami Tensei franchise like I was, Persona 4 and Persona 4 Golden are the worst gateway games to try first.


Before anyone makes a doll of Fangirl and starts tearing her limbs off... HEAR ME OUT.

...BTW some SPOILERS run amok.

'Mass Effect 2' Part IV

Duh-na-na-na-na-na, Duh-na-na-na-na-na, Duh-na-na-duh-na-na-duh-na-na-duh-na-na-duh-na-na-duh-na-na-duh-na-na-na...

DUH-NA-NA-DUH!

You have obtained Part 4 of the Mass Effect 2 review! To read this post, click the "see more" link if viewing on the main page. Otherwise, scroll down. Remember to keep your eyes on the screen. But don't forget to take breaks, or else your eyes will melt and you will suffer killer headaches! - Love, Nintendo.

... wait.

In all seriousness I actually like doing these posts. I put so much time ranting about the characters here that I realized how much I retained from the superior being(s) know how many times I played this game. The Mass Effect Wiki is mainly a reference to make sure I don't miss a few details. And if I even so much as make a minuscule error, I might gain a Douchey McNitpick! ... I don't want that. At all. PLEASE.

Anywho.

I kissed the characters I love, hugged the misfits, sent Thane a lawsuit for being one of the worst fathers in video games, and mocked the mediocrity of Legion.

While I fight off the inevitable horde of angry fans worldwide, let's finish this!

'Mass Effect 2': Part III

Six down, six more to go. So many teammates. Not enough time. I do like these guys, but MAN! @_@

Okay, enough complaining. Let's get back on track and finish the characters you're stuck with. Miscellaneous guys will be mentioned briefly in part 4, when I finally end this review... I hope.

Because this was my first Mass Effect game and it's the one I've played the most, I can say quite a decent bit about it. But is it my favorite in the franchise?

... We'll see.

Once again, SPOILER warning.

'Mass Effect 2': Part II

This post is long... and way beyond overdue. Life and college tends to do that.

I apologize.

Anywho.

Taking some time away from these games to live my life and try new things, sometimes I get a fresh new view on Mass Effect. Although there is quite a good bit of the fiction I still really enjoy, there are others that have lost their luster.

Sometimes I go on and on about how lovable a cast can be, and it's only true to a certain extent. When it comes to stories in many mediums of fiction, I find myself truly caring about one in every four people. Most times it's because there's not enough time to develop and get to know these characters. Otherwise, another one in four is simply entertaining in the short term. The two quarters are either in the category of "Who gives a shit?" or "FALL IN A PIT AND DIE!"

Mass Effect has been pretty good in the sense that most characters fit in box two: short-lived, but fun. Some take up type three (forgettable) and almost no one is type four (except one person to be noted in the third game). Several people fit in box one... and it's thanks to this game.

Once again, and I am 100% serious: SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE FREAKING FRANCHISE HERE.

If you don't want the plot ruined, PLEASE play the games. The Trilogy box set is about $35.00 for three games. $11.50 each: that's a deal. It's cheaper than buying ME1 on the Playstation Network.That is cheaper than Skyrim and all it's DLC. This is cheaper than Far Cry 3. And you get 90 hours of gameplay. What are you waiting for? BUY IT.

Or if you just like spoilers in general, keep on reading.

Persona 4: the Golden Preview

... Ladies and gents. First, it was Persona 3. Not long ago, it was Persona 4 Golden. I finally beat the two most popular, referenced, and overrated Persona games in the subseries under the gi-friggin-normous Megami Tensei umbrella of a franchise. My Vita may not have as many games as my 3DS, but it sure was happy to be used.

So, the big question. I adore Persona 3 to no end, just ask my 460 page fanfic. Does its successor, particularly the Golden version, sit on the same level? Or does it surpass it?

'Mass Effect 2': Part I

At last, a Mass Effect title I can bitch less about! ...Maybe.

There is far too much to say about the trilogy, hence my splitting the first game's review into three parts. If there were too many unnecessary details thrown, I apologize. (But I really had to get the inventory system disaster off my chest.)

This game will probably get as much attention, mainly because the team you assemble is much, much larger. I'll get to them when I can though. One step at a time.

Heh, even after I finish this, I know I will have skipped over a ton of material. I can never win.

Once again I'll warn everyone that there are SPOILERS.



And one of MANY stupid memes that I need to reference just to shut the fans up.

Everyone, cue the infamous one finger air quote:

Now... let's begin.

July 2013 Update

When I'm not continuously suffering from blogging-writer's block, I'm up to my usual shenanigans. Listening to music, playing video games, reading a few books, waiting for summer to end...

Yeah, summer's not as fun as it used to be as a kid. For the first time in my life, I actually prefer sitting at a desk and listening to teachers drone on and on. It gives me a more predictable schedule. Now? All my friends either live too far away to meet up with or they're so busy it's impossible to find the perfect day. So yeah, I'm a bit of a sad bum for now. I do some housework to keep things going, but... The awkward late-teens early-twenties transition can be a pain. At least once I get back to school, I'll probably be a tudor to earn a few bucks...

Anywho. Onto slightly more entertaining things. Like Fire Emblem: Awakening.

...Why was I complaining about a $40 game for the past several months?

Last weekend, I was at Best Buy, contemplating on trying out either Skyrim or Fire Emblem Awakening. The universe FINALLY dashed the price of the former in half (only for the newest version with all DLC to be at $60 - fair enough I guess); the latter continued to linger at the $40 benchmark. Realizing that my handheld sat with only Ocarina of Time as a 3DS title in my DS library... the most recent blue-haired, dragon-slaying prince won.

Now TV Tropes has a new reason to suck my soul away bit by bit...

As I hoped, Fire Emblem Awakening is really, really, damn fun. I am still angry at Nintendo for last year's E3; they announced the game's US release via a small text. One lousy message sent to one of the guys in Nintendo who mentioned it briefly before diving back into the over-the-top Mario festival of excess they held.

Sure, Mario is not my thing. I prefer Sonic the Hedgehog, and playing The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition was the reason I wanted a Gamecube. Now with two Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing games, I have no reason to get Mario Kart. When I play Super Smash Bros, I use any and characters besides those in the Mario franchise. And as much as I found Mario Party and Super Mario Sunshine to be mildly entertaining, for some subjective reason I just can't seem to care about the adventures the red plumber goes on.

Yes. Even THIS train wreck is more entertaining than Mario.

This is a rant for another time, I guess.

For now, I'm still playing Fire Emblem: Awakening... seventy hours of one and one-half playthroughs and counting. Looks like this and Persona 3 Portable are my distractions for the next semester. As long as I keep a decent GPA...

Anywho.

I'll try to complain less and enjoy the free time I have. In moderation.
Plus I have a few drafts sitting around that need to be worked on.

I'm still alive, and that's fine for my blog... maybe.

PS - A part of my world felt empty and sad after the last single-player DLC for Mass Effect 3 came out. There are several things I miss, like a companion and criminal with an adorable sense of silliness and humor.

"...Sugar?"

Thanks, Fire Emblem: Awakening. He's no Kasumi Goto, but Gaius is a keeper. :)

I Won the Lottery...

Oh, I sure do wish. It doesn't help that BOTH of my parents buy tickets occasionally. It's just so out of character for them, but then again, the economy has sucked since 2007. After six years of this mess, I'd consider spending twenty bucks a ticket to win superior being(s) know(s) how many millions of dollars. Graduation from college is gonna suck.

Anywho, onto more positive things.

That was me in real life yesterday... seriously.

I finally found a Gamestop that wasn't trying to rip my limbs off. The selection of new and used games was much larger than I was used to. That meant a greater possibility of finding games I once claimed "rare". And boy, my day was made.

'Persona 3' Part V

*sips pomegranate tea*

... Note to self: never, ever, ever read Persona 3 fan fiction. Never again. Ever.

This has to be the worst game I have ever played. The story, the characters, the gameplay, the fans, the fanfiction, EVERYTHING related to this game deserves to be destroyed. If only there was an appropriate punishment worthy of this abomination of a game's existence! All thanks to Atlus, they owe me four trillion yen in tissues for P3P's New Game Plus ending alone! That's not even covering all the other non-Shinji relates moments in the game! Yukari's dad! Junpei and Chidori! Takeharu Kirijo! New Years Eve!

Why on earth did I play this game?! ...Oh, right, a bunch of other traumatized folks on the internet recommended it to me so I could join in the parade of misery. There... there are just no words...

That's it. I made it this far. There have been a few moments when I came very close to slicing my jugular open. Instead I threw a tantrum because I have self control! Today, I will end this review once and for all! I will not falter this time! Watch me!!

'Persona 3' Part IV

Grrrr...

Why this guy? Why now? Do I seriously have to pause the review for one stupid character?! He's barely in the game! There's no point in paying any attention to him!

...

*sighs*

...

Looks like I can't progress any further until I deal with this asshole first.

Damn it.

SPOILERS.