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Another week has flown by, so it's time to sit down and write my column. With the recent flood of games that's been pouring out of stores, I've been so busy that I wonder if I'll ever slow down. To make matters worse, two games I want come out today, but I think I'll only get one of them. Sadly, Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops will have to wait in favor of Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin. This is also largely due to the mega awesome pre-order goodies that we got for that game. I almost feel like I'm back in Japan again. They are CLEARLY the best pack-in goodies I've ever gotten. The new stylus is so much more comfortable than the already comfortable DS Lite one.
In gaming news, some of you may have noticed that I reviewed Twilight Princess. Unlike every other person on the planet, I felt that it needed to give me a little more, so I only gave it a 4 out of 5. It's a heck of a lot of fun, but I want to see the world expanded a bit. Sadly, the game I'm playing now will not be getting anywhere close to that score. Untold Legends on the PS3 is somewhat pretty, but its mindless button-mashing mechanics have yet to allow me to play longer than an hour at a time. I usually quit because I'm falling asleep. It's sad but true. I suppose if you REALLY like dungeon crawlers, it's not awful, but it's not exactly my cup of tea.
Other than that, there's not a lot else. This week's title means 'sleepy' in English. This is largely due to the fact that I never get enough sleep and I'm frequently about to doze off at work, especially at the lunch meetings.
That said, let's get this party started!
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It's actually an interesting chart this week. This is the last week before the Wii hits, and I predict some domination when it hits. In fact, considering Sony was only holding only 36% of the chart, I predict there won't be much from them left next week. If you'd said that Sony would be wiped off the chart two years ago, I'd have laughed at you. Oh how the mighty have fallen.
As for the top spot, I'm actually a little bit surprised by it. That honor goes to Osare Majo Love and Berry. I don't know much about it, except for it was always next to Sega's bigger property, Mushi King. In a way, it's fair to say it's the girls' version of that game. What is most surprising is that it managed to beat out Jump Ultimate Stars, a game that should appeal to just about every boy in Japan and even some girls. I can't honestly see ANY boys playing Osare Majo Love and Berry. It's heavily targeted at girls in elementary school. For what it's worth, Jump Ultimate Stars looks pretty fun. I have the original, and this one has WiFi support. I'd even recommend it to people that like DBZ and Bleach and are looking for a Smash Bros fix on their DS.
In other news, looking at all the high numbers on this chart, it looks like things could be pretty empty next week.
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Fans of Tales of Destiny 2 with a PSP can rejoice; Namco Bandai is making the game portable. The game was originally released in November of 2002 and is set 18 years after the original Tales of Destiny game. It chronicles the adventures of Kyle Dunamis, the son of the first game's hero and Reala, a mysterious girl. Sadly, the game is shaping up to be a strict port with no additional features.
Tales of Destiny 2 will hit Japanese shelves on February 15th of next year for the standard portable price of 5040 yen.
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It was previously known that From Software's Xbox 360 RPG Enchant Arm, known as Enchanted Arms in North America, would be making an appearance on PS3, but now fans know exactly when they will be able to pick it up. It is slated for release on January 25th of next year for 8190 yen. Those debating which version to get will be pleased to hear that the PS3 version will feature several unnamed additions.
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Idea Factory has opened a website for its latest sim-RPG, Mist of Chaos, for the PS3. Until a translation of the site is complete, the only things known about the game are the release date and price. It will hit shelves in February for 7140 yen.
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Atlus has announced an expansion pack to Persona 3 called Persona 3 Fes. It will include 23 new Personas, new costumes, new elements in the Nagashiima Shrine, a "Hard" difficulty mode, and over 30 hours of gameplay. After the completion of the regular story, the "Aegis Chapter" will begin.
Persona 3 Fes will hit Japanese shelves on April 19th of next year, and it will come in two flavors. The Regular Version will be a stand-alone game with all content included, and those that already own the game can purchase the Append Edition to play the new content.
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Despite the lag between columns, I only got one letter. I'm hoping to have an inbox with more letters next week. It'd be sad if there weren't any letters, and you don't want a sad sensei, do you? At any rate, thanks go to my regular letter-sender-in for saving the section this week.
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Hey, Sensei (sorry, that rhymed so I had to say it). I'm an anonymous reader that has never sent in a question before, although I really should since I'm attempting to learn the language. Just want to say thanks for the awesome info from overseas, as I'm a huge importer and I like to know quite a bit about what I'm importing since sometimes it's hard to tell in a language largely foreign.
As for the name suggestion for your laptop, since you seem to have a 'chi' theme going, how about naming the third one 'chikara'? I'm thinking for one, since chibi means small or little and your laptop named the same met an rather untimely end, having a somewhat opposite word like 'power or strength' would magically imbue your new laptop with longevity. Also, third time's supposed to be the charm, right? So what better charm to help your lack of technologically-attuned luck than a Third laptop named Power (automatic strength gain of +2) that's magically imbued with longevity?
I claim no responsibility if your third laptop also meets an untimely end even after being magically imbued. I guess that would just mean one thing. You have a curse of bad luck and are in desperate need of a luck-raising item of some sort. Maybe a Lu Incense or something could help, although perhaps an easier solution is contacting Square Enix and asking them which version of their Potion drink is supposed to remove unlucky curses.
Anyhow, here's my Wii code. I'm always glad to welcome any new Mii to my console.
6601 4604 4472 9296
Best regards,
animetayl
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Sensei
I just want to say that's an AWESOME suggestion for a laptop name. I do have a 'chi' theme going, and I'd never even considered Chikara. I can only hope this laptop does not meet an untimely end, but should it have problems, I'm armed with AppleCare this time. I never used to buy extended warranties, but I think it's more than worth it for laptops.
Thanks again for the cool name, and I hope you enjoy my Miis. I have every single one on my console set to wander, so you may end up with some others that I didn't specifically send. And feel free to send in a letter anytime.
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Hmm, seems like you want to continue with the "ch" sound for your computers. Let's see...How about Chocobo or Chuchu?
Bucket
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Sensei
While those are both decent suggestions, Chikara is my favorite by far. This computer is probably more powerful than my last two put together, especially since it's an Intel Duo Mac.
Thanks for the suggestion, and you're always welcome to drop a question in, Bucket.
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Okay you wanted a question so here it goes:
In every video game/anime I've ever seen, there always seems to be some
little sister who is completely obsessed with her older brother, to a
very scary degree. Is this indicative of real Japanese culture or some
Leave it to Beaver perfect world fantasy?
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Sensei
I don't think it's quite as strongly as portrayed in anime, but families do seem to be pretty tight-knit in Japan. That does lead to a certain amount of siblings paying extra attention to each other. Honestly, from my experience, it didn't seem that unlike the US.
Thanks for the question!
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Consoles, Cannons, and Kanji
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Dear Sensei,
Forgive me for not writing in the other week. I'm having a flurry of projects due at school before the big Christmas vacation. I'm going to try to be polite here, but if I get out of control. . . Yoroshite. (Forgive me). . .
YOU GOT WHAT!?!?!?!? HOW? WHEN? I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU GOT A PS3 AND A WII! I'LL BE DEAD BY THE TIME I FIND A WII! MY GOD, YOU LUCKY GUY!!!!!!!!!!
Sorry about that. I've been looking for a wii everywhere (I was stupid enough not to pre-order) and with no success. I've resolved not to pay over-retail for it though. I fear I won't get one this year. . . Some of my friends have them though. I heard a rumor of a terrible glitch in Zelda TP; there's a room with a cannon you go to to get to one of the later dungeons and if you save there, the person you need to talk to will disappear, and you won't be able to warp out, AND you'll have to start the entire game all over again. If you haven't gotten there yet (it's supposed to be near the end of the game) I hope I've offered some help. If you've gotten through this part. . . Well whatever.
I too will one day finish Final Fantasy XII. I'm busy with Tales of the Abyss. Seriously, I think that game(TotA) is underrated. Would you agree, or have you not played it? As if that isn't enough, I have FFIII to think about as well! And I though the problem would be paying for these games!
Anyway, enjoy your new systems in my stead!
-Nick
PS: A small favor, I saw this old samurai movie by Akira Kurosawa (famous Japanese director) the other day. The title is sanjuro. I think it means 30 years old, cause of a line in the movie. Can you verify or try to? Thanks!
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Sensei
It's good to hear from you again. I worked with a girl that was as excited about the new console launches as I was, and she had been calling around. When she found out about the pre-order campaigns, she let me know. Then we talked about it and made our gameplans. We decided on going to a somewhat ghetto mall that had an EB Games in it. We figured that'd be the best place to go, especially since there was a GameStop just down the road. I rolled in an hour and a half before the mall opened, and as expected, I was first in line. I even had enough time to swing by the aforementioned GameStop to plunk down a second pre-order on another PS3 that I am still trying to sell. (If you know someone interested in one, have 'em send a letter my way) I managed to repeat the process for the Wii and was first in line again. It's lucky for me that I work for a place that was willing to let me come in late for work two times that week. They didn't even dock my hours. This place is awesome. Truth be told, had things gone down on a weekend, I'd have been screwed. The since it happened during the late morning on a work/school day, I was all set. I sure felt bad for all the people camping out to get their systems. It stormed something fierce the night of the PS3, and it was SOOOOO cold for the Wii launch.
As for the glitch you speak of, I managed to avoid it by not saving, but I did see a video of it on YouTube. I'd be all manners of angry if that had happened to me. There is no way around it. I should have multiple saves for games like that, but I never do. The only game that I keep two saves for is Final Fantasy Tactics. I've had my save destroyed more than once by getting into a fight I can't get out of.
Lastly, I'm not quite sure what it means, but 30 years old would be sanjyusai. I tried to get a translation of the final kanji, but neither google nor my built in translator could do it. I'd gladly do it on my electronic dictionary, but I seem to have lost it. I'll ask Sic next time I see her, and I'll reply directly. It's likely to be a very old kanji she won't know though.
Oh, before I forget, I have to admit that I've never played any game in the Tales series, so I can't really answer your question on that. It looked good from what I could see, but I don't know how it actually plays.
Thanks for writing, and I hope you don't mind that I did a little editing to your letter. Even though it's a minor spoiler, I thought this would be best.
Hope to hear from you again soon!
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Another week, another column. I hope you all enjoy the flood of games that seems to be continuing. My backlog is up to six, I think. Sadly, RPGs are feast or famine. Usually, I only let myself get one game each month, but this month is kind of special. There's also the fact that if I don't get a game at launch, it's very unlikely I'll get it later. So yeah, I'll be nice and busy.
Catch you on the flip,
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