In regards to Pokemon's development time, Stevie was close. Pokemon Red and Green were started in 1990 and released in Japan in 1995. And I was disappointed too with the amount of stuff that was removed from Ruby and Sapphire. The only thing that really bothered me, though, was the removal of so many Pokemon. Without Ditto, breeding Pokemon actually requires thinking! Not that you need to breed that often, as Eevee and Tyrogue are both gone, along with some of the baby Pokemon. It's painfully obvious by now that the Gamecube game will allow you to acquire the remaining Pokemon, but I really hope the Gamecube game either unlocks a switch in R/S or actually installs a new world into the flash RAM, because Pokemon is a game much better played on a long car ride or in the school cafeteria than in front of a TV.

BL Alien

Don't know if anyone's mentioned this yet, but there are some errors on that .GIF file for the katakana syllabary:

1. The symbol WO is pronounced WO in katakana, not O. It's only in hiragana that it's usually pronounced otherwise.

2. The symbol N belongs on its own line, not on the W line.

And 3. The symbol shown for N on the file is NOT the symbol for N. For some reason, you've got U put down as the symbol.

For the person who wanted the information, if you're reading this, check out the second-to-last symbol in Googleshng's signature pic. That's N.

Now for some game questions, ^^

...1) I've been thinking about this for a while... We occasionally hear about how this game or that game will feature some sort of compatibility between the GameCube and the GBA. What I'm wondering is, has anyone considered the possibility of using the GBA the same way as the PocketStation was intended? As in, you download a game (or files for a game) from the main CD, and play it on your GBA. It would take a blank, formatted GBA cartridge, some sort of adaptor to fix it into a memory card port (and we know how Nintendo likes the add-on hardware), and if they kept the games simple, they could probably fit 4 or 5 decent mini-games onto one cartridge. Games like Chocobo World, GO GO Digger!, or Ring Ring Land, or even CCG like Triple Triad or Tetra Master could be made into portable accessories on the GBA.

...2) Looking back at most RPG storylines (yes, yes, probably a worthless pastime, but anyway...) I noticed that very few of them are really centered on the gaming/world environment that they exist in. No, I'm not talking about environmental themes. I had enough of that with the FF7 'Save the Planet' craze. What I mean is, there are many, many stories in literature and on film where some vital part of the story's environment plays a primary part in the story development. Like how an entire adventure can take place during a hurricane, and in the end, it's not a question of hero vs. villain (though that can exist), but of everyone against the storm. Some sort of implacable phenomenon, which cannot be reasoned with, confronted, or even fought, but which provides both the background for the story, and much of the forward momentum. It's not the villain, per se, because it cannot be a character.
I can really think of only one game that's even tried this to the extent that I'd like, and that was Wild ARMs 2, of all things. The threat of the impinging paradigm (sounds hokie, yes, but no more so than the movie 'The Core'), provides much of the motive for both sides, good guys and bad, to do whatever they're doing. The villains themselves act and react to this threat as much as the heroes do. And in the end, it is this background menace which is really the most important part of the storyline, even if it is rarely in evidence.
When I first heard of FFX's storyline, I thought/hoped that something similar might take place with Sin. And it does, but only to a certain extent. Personally, the revelation of Sin's 'true nature' just brought this incredibly powerful force of nature down a few pegs, into the realm of human screw-ups. I'd have rather seen Sin remain a vague, impersonal threat that could not be faced directly, but that's just me.

Well, I've typed enough for now.
Hasta luego, au revoir, auf wiedersehn, dewa mata,
Michael (sorry, no nicknames, :p)

Howdy Google.

About Wurmple - I caught only two of the beastie and both of them evolved differently - one into Silcoon, the other into Cascoon - around a similar time of day, both in the same version (Sapphire). My sister did exactly the same thing in her Ruby version. It appears that Wurmple's evolution is a random factor, and there's no telling which it's going to become until it actually happens. It's your standard coin-flip matter of probability... Nintendo's strategy guide (if you believe their propoganda, which in a case such as this I do) confirms this random nature.

As long as we're on the subject (well, as long as I'm on the subject), have you ever created a Pokemon character of your own? I love to know about such creativity... This may not be appropriate for a Q&A column but I gotta share just one family I came up with. I've actually created quite a few of them, but I'm saving most of them for a series of novels I'm writing *cross your slimy fingers, they may eventually see publication*.

My fresh creation is Chickatree, a grass/flying type which looks like a tiny wooden chicken with a few green leaves around its wings and crest. Properly raised it will evolve into Sparroot, and then into Fordor. As expected, its strength increases in sunlight. I like to arm mine with Peck, Leech Seed, Absorb and Wing Attack (at higher levels I give up Absorb for Solar Beam).

Thought I'd share, and ask if you had anything like that to be proud/ashamed of.

Jax Mandrake

Hey Googleshng. I recently acquired some money from a huge paycheck. Okay it is not huge as most paychecks go but since it is my first in triple digits I want to celebrate. I was wondering what GBA compatible (GB, GBC, GBA) games you would suggest. My favorite games are: Chrono Trigger, FFVI, Secret of Mana, FIFA World Cup 2002, and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. Also, I was wondering, what if any, TV shows on DVD are you looking forward to. I am really anticipating Family Guy and Futurama Season 2 and am a little excited about Simpsons Season 3. Also, Dark Angel!!! Jessica Alba is the hottest girl on the planet. SOrry just had to lose my composure a bit. And lastly, for all those loyal readers who want to help Googleshng and Andrew out, here is a way to make their jobs easier: learn HTML tags and put them on your emails. Here is a site I found and am in no way affiliated to. The MIDI that plays is annoying but that's its only knock. http://members.tripod.com/~Cannonball2/newbees/tutorial.html See ya next time kids. S.H. Silver

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