4th Time's a Charm

So I randomly decided today that I want to play Final Fantasy IV once and for all.

I can't tell you the amount of times I have started that game, stopped, forgotten about it, and had to start over again. This had to have been like the fourth time. (Hence the title of this post.)

The sad part is, I have purchased this game THREE times. Yeah. Three times, still haven't beaten it. The first time was part of Final Fantasy Chronicles, which came out for PSX (yeah, the ORIGINAL Playstation) in 2001. Then again when it came out for Gameboy Advance in 2005 and finally more recently, when it came out for Nintendo DS. At least I bought it used this time.

But guess what? I only have the guide for Final Fantasy Chronicles. So I'm using that.

Yeah...

I used the guide to play the reincarnation of Chrono Trigger for the DS. It was okay. Obviously there was plenty of new stuff in the newer game, but none of the boss strategies led me hopelessly astray.

Final Fantasy IV, however, has been a whole other fucking story.

So I'm playing along, la la la, and I'm fighting this boss. Now I know from my past experience that IV is a harder RPG and you kind of have to level grind in order to stay ahead of the game and stay alive. So I've been there, done that, I was good to go. Or so I thought. I'm fighting this boss, "Mom Bomb" or whatever, I've got 5 fucking people in my party, and things are going swimmingly. Ye olde guide says that mama bomb will explode at one point into 6 smaller bombs causing, AND I QUOTE "about 60 - 100 points of damage to each member of your party"!!!!!!! Oh noes! Whatever. My current party could have brushed that off like a paper scratch. Okay, so my HP weren't super high, but they were high enough that I could have absorbed that no problem, and gone on with my day.

Only that's not what happened.

Instead, mommy bomb exploded in violent balls of flame, causing 400+ damage to each and every member of my lovely party of five, killing them all instantly. "The Party Has Fallen" the gamely pleasantly informed me in a neat little bar at the top of the screen, as if I was blind and couldn't see my five supposed heros lying flat on their little pixeled faces. That god damn outdated guide! WTF?! How is that 60 - 100 points of damage?! Can someone not count?! Do they need a calculator?! I was so pissed I threw my DS onto the couch proclaiming, "Fuck this game!" And stormed upstairs to check something that wasn't published when Baywatch was still on the air.

So I checked Gamefaqs. Trusty gamefaqs. And you know what I learned? That the only way to survive that battle in this newest reincarnation is to have everybody defend. Because otherwise it's game over.

So I don't know if I should be mad at Square Enix for changing their own game that drastically (can't you leave the boss battles alone at least?) or myself for using a guide as old as the series finale of Daria. (Yeah, it's been that long. Can you believe it? And the DVDs are where, MTV?)

Anyway, lesson learned. I'm not trusting that guide for boss battle advice anymore!

...But I'm still gonna use it. Because I'm cheap. And I'm not buying a new one.

The Flix

So you know what's awesome? Netflix. Before you used to practically have to strap me down to get me to watch a movie at home. I just feel like I'm wasting my time if it's on DVD and I can watch it later. I bet I have something more important to do NOW. Like sit on this couch. Yeah.

Anyway, so now that I'm paying for these DVDs I'm more inclined to watch them. Here are quickie reviews of everything I've watched so far. And don't judge me - Netflix seriously screwed up at one point and sent me random movies that were WAY far down on my queue, saved for a rainy day where I felt like watching something brainless. I'm not making this up - I have a witness.

Zack and Miri Make a Porno ~ I enjoy Seth Rogen, I must admit. And while this movie was funny, I wouldn't put it in the same humor category as 40 Year Old Virgin, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Knocked Up or Step Brothers. The movie was entertaining but not particularly memorable. A solid rental, though. Worth a watch.

Marley & Me ~ If you're not a dog lover, don't bother. But I think dog lovers like myself will definitely get something out of this movie. (Including a tear or two.) It's a really enjoyable movie - not to the point that I would buy it, but I recommend it. Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson have a great chemistry. Definitely worth watching.

Stranger Than Fiction ~ An odd movie... I enjoy Will Ferrell, but this is not one of his best. The story really teeters on being unbelievable - you'll really have to get your brain a rest to enjoy this one. Once was enough. I don't think I'd watch it again. If you like Will Ferrell you should watch it just to see him do something kind of different.

Milk ~ A solid biopic, but not my favorite. A little slow in parts. Good and solid without being great. Definitely worth seeing, but I wouldn't buy it.

Ghost Town ~ Based on the trailer I thought I would love it. But it's not as funny or clever as it could have been. An enjoyable movie, and while I'd recommend it, it's not with much enthusiasm. Paced oddly.

Charlie Bartlett ~ Another movie that looked promising based on the trailer. But it too was not as funny/clever as it could have been, and was also paced poorly. Just okay. If you wanna see a lot of the kids from Degrassi, I swear they shoved them all in a bus and drove them over to the set.

Definitely, Maybe ~ A cute romantic comedy starring the always entertaining Ryan Reynolds. Sweet without being sappy. I wouldn't buy it, but I enjoyed it. Definitely an different kind of a romantic comedy, which was refreshing.

Hamlet 2 ~ Another movie where the trailer was better. While a few moments were funny, most of the movie was weird and AGAIN not paced well. (Who is editting these movies? The same guy?) Just okay. There are much better comedies out there.

And this is where Netflix kind of decided to do it's own thing.

Bee Movie ~ Cuter, funnier and more entertaining than I thought it would be. Though at times it is ridiculous, it never takes itself seriously, which only adds to the charm. I actually really enjoyed this movie and highly recommend it - if you like animated movies and you like Jerry Seinfeld, you should definitely give this movie a look. I would actually consider buying this one.

Madagascar 2: Escape to Africa ~ Even more medicore than the original. If I have to hear "I like to move it" one more time... There were a few laughs, but otherwise there have been much better animated movies made. If you haven't seen the first one, forget it all together. If you have, it's worth watching if you're bored. The penguins, as always, steal the show.

Uptown Girls ~ A fluffy chick flick all the way. It's a very stereotypical romantic comedy, but it's good enough that you won't want those minutes of your life back - if you like these kinds of movies. Dakota Fanning is cute. Made me wonder what the hell happened to Brittany Murphy.

13 Going on 30 ~ Okay, this movie was really cute. Far from being anything groundbreaking, but it was just an enjoyable hour and a half. Jennifer Garner is entertaining to watch. I'd watch this one again.

Role Models ~ Who doesn't love Paul Rudd? This movie isn't as hilarious as some of the other movies he's done recently, but it's still an enjoyable comedy that's worth a watch. Not too many laugh out loud moments, but you'll be entertained.

Okay, I'm done. Count how many times I used the word 'enjoyable'. I bet it's a lot.

Harry Potter Continues

Okay, so as I previously mentioned I'm working my way back through the Harry Potter series. I just finished Chamber of Secrets, and I also rewatched the movie.

Dear god, does that movie have the cheesiest ending you've ever fucking seen, or is it just me? I guess not, because this book agrees with me. Otherwise it's a pretty good version of the book. Kenneth Branagh is awesome as Lockhart, a character I must admit I love. Also, Jason Issacs is great as Mr. Malfoy. I must admit I'm a fan of the whole fucked up Malfoy family - especially Draco.

When I first read Chamber of Secrets I thought it was amazing. I've read it a few more times since then and after reading it this past time I've come to the final conclusion that while I like the book a lot, I don't like it nearly as much as I did the first time through. I guess we can only blame the progression of the series for that. The later books are more complex and the story only grows richer. But the book has Lockhart and creepy Mr. Malfoy, which I always enjoy. I don't enjoy Aragog. And I don't care for that scene in the movie either. But I hate spiders. And Dobby is pretty annoying in this book, even if he kind of grew on me in later books.

But I can remember getting to the end of this book for the first time - where it's revealed that Lord Voldemort IS Tom Marvolo Riddle. I was shocked. One of the many things in the series I never saw coming. That sort of surprise always adds something intangible to your first experience - something you can never have again, because when you read it again you know what's coming. I think that definitely contributes to the little bit of wonder that had slipped away after this rereading.

Onto book 3 - one of my favorites.

Boy, am I bored.

I am so over this week. Is it only Wednesday? I'm already done with this week. Don't you hate that? This week has just been shit, shit, shit, shit, shit. If it wasn't for my iPod and all my podcasts, I'd go insane.

I did go on a bit of an adventure today when there was a backup on the Taconic and we got lost in the windy, hilly backwoods of Kent. So that's something at least. But now I'm sitting here. Staring.

Staring.

This Is How It Is

You know how many times I yearned to write in here? And did I? No. It's sad that sometimes the prospect of just jotting down thoughts is exhausting. There's really no excuse for it. I need to get my act together and talk about SOMETHING - anything - every day, even if it's only for 5 minutes. How successful will I be? Well, I wouldn't put money on it.

Today was just one of those days where everything just annoyed the shit out of me. I hate days like that. Though I must admit the last several work days have been more bearable than usual because I have many new podcasts to listen to. I love podcasts. They save my life. Right now I'm addicted to "Stuff You Missed in History Class". I'm a history nerd, so I downloaded all the back episodes and I'm loving it. I've learned a lot. So I like to think I'm learning while I'm working. Doing two things at once.

I've also been busy rereading the Harry Potter series. I started with the last book, actually - it was the only book I'd only read once. And when I read it that one time it was right after it came out, and I totally rushed through it, just dying to know what happened. I thought it was okay, but I felt kind of hollow when it was over - and not just because the beloved series was over. For me, I just felt like stuff was MISSING. On reading it again I realized just how much of the plot I actually didn't remember. (Though I clearly remembered every last person who died.) And although I found I did enjoy it more, that same hollow feeling remained. I guess I just didn't find the ending fulfilling. I felt like stuff was missing. That doesn't make it bad...it just makes it...hollow.

So then I went back and read "The Sorcerer's Stone", which I hadn't read in years and years. There's so much in that book that you have to really suspend belief a bit to really absorb properly. There were so many moments when I couldn't help thinking "You're first year students!" or "You're eleven!" That really didn't detract from enjoying the book - stuff like that doesn't really get to me too much, even though I do recognize it. Sometimes you have to just step back from logic and enjoy something for what it is. Most of the time, it's not a big deal.

I'm on Chamber of Secrets now, which is one of my favorites. Gotta love Lockhart.

But I did think about something as I was rereading Sorcerer's Stone...if you were a Muggle parent, and got a letter from some school you never heard of, telling you your kid was a wizard/witch and had magic powers, wouldn't you freak out a bit? Would you automatically want to send your child to this school, into this world you know nothing about? I think it would take a lot of convincing in most cases. I'm sure there would be parents who would refuse to send their kids at all.

But, like I said before, it's not a big deal really. Just one of the things you have to let go.

Rising...

I'm back!

So I'm starting this up again. Stay tuned.

News and Stuff ~ Week of October 26th

Yeah, so I skipped a week. And yeah, I'm kinda late. But most video game news doesn't really interest me. Why? Because most games nowadays are stupid. Why back in my day...haha, just kidding. But seriously most games are stupid FPS or other stupid interchangeable shooting type games. But I digress.

• First and foremost I need to complain. About what this time? About the character battle currently going on at the Gamefaqs website. They do this same nonsense every year, and every year either Link, Sephiroth or Cloud ends up the winner, depending on which characters they decide to let in it this year. Well, this year they're all in it. So la de freakin' da, I could have proclaimed Link the winner before this whole thing even began. It's really getting boring now. Once a character wins they should be retired for a long time. Like 5 years or something. At least. But surprisingly, that's not my real complaint. My real complaint is L Block. L Block, you may be wondering (and justifiably so), who the hell is L Block? Well, my friends, L Block is not a who, but a what. L Block is not a person. L Block doesn't talk. In fact, L Block never even appeared in a game where there were talking characters of any kind. L BLOCK IS A FUCKING PIECE FROM THE GAME TETRIS! Yeah! And as my sister pointed out, it's not even the best piece. (That would be the straight line, of course. They never give you one of those when you need it.) So while Gamefaqs may be up on it's high horse about having strict guidelines for it's content, they certainly don't abide by their own guidelines for their own contest. Because last time I checked, L Block is just that. A fucking block. And it's not a magical enchanged block that was once a sorcerer or something. It's just a block, like one of those bricks Mario smashes with his head. And last time I checked, blocks don't count as characters. So why is it in the contest? And worse, WHY ARE PEOPLE VOTING FOR THE BLOCK? Haha, let's vote for the inanimate object! WTF? If it's a character battle, keep it that way by only allowing CHARACTERS to be included. None of this block bullshit. Because if that's the case I'd like to see the ? blocks from the Mario games included. At least there's a little surprise with that box. Never know what might come out!

• Okay, that was long. Anyway, speaking of long, looks like the new Metal Gear Game has been pushed back to Q2 of 2008! Yikes! That news even caused Konami's stock to take its largest drop in 4 years! Guess everyone really wanted to get their hands on Solid Snake as soon as possible. ...That sounded wrong.

• The rumor is that Gamestop will no longer be selling PRPs (that's product replacement plans) on the Xbox 360 systems! Why? Um, maybe because way too many people are seeing the Red Ring of Death on their systems and a lot of people are losing a lot of money because of it. So far Microsoft has spent over a BILLION dollars repairing the dysfunctional systems. Maybe they should have spent more time on the system instead of rushing it out the door.

• And finally The Simpons Game is out in stores. Gamespot gave it s 7.0 in their review. I played the demo and while I thought the game was very clever and visually fantastic, the demo was hard! Mostly because the controls weren't the greatest. In fact I wound up giving up on it. So while I'd like to play the game, I think it's definitely something I'd rent just to enjoy the humor of the game. Definitely not worth buying.