chibiforte

I started writing poems again.  It's been... interesting, although I will not make them public at this time.  Yes, quite the devastating blow to the fanbase of none, but hey, that's just how the world works, right?

I have also been playing Mega Man 9.  Utterly brilliant game.  Completely impossible to play successfully, as it is, dare I say, far more difficult than any of the original NES games, but perhaps that's just me.  I haven't read too many opinions on it, nor do I really care to, since it might ruin my enjoyment of the game slightly.

I started watching GARO for the first time, and I restarted Tomica Hero Rescue Force. I find both shows entertaining, although it is completely obvious as to which show is geared towards children and which one is geared towards adults.  But that's okay, adults need tokusatsu, too.  The main "hero" (if you can really call him that) in GARO seems awesome, almost like Dante from Devil May Cry.

I purchased Unlimited Saga for the PS2 for $3.85 at Gamestop the other day.  I heard from some friends that it wasn't that great of a game, but hey, that's really, really cheap for a Square-Enix game.  I'd be a fool NOT to get it.

Oh, and I also started watching Kamen Rider Agito a few weeks ago.  It was apparently an extremely popular KR series, so I figured I'd just make the jump and watch.  I want to pick up Kamen Rider Blade again, but it is just kinda... boring to me.  And I don't particularly care for the suits.  But I guess that's just me being nitpicky.

I was able to convince a couple of the guys to watch Kamen Rider Kiva episodes as long as I lent them my PSP.  They are my friends and are just down the hall from me, so why not?  I'll just download and convert them to PSP format, then let them watch as they come out.  I gave them six episodes last night, so hopefully they'll be done with those in a few days and I can put on more.  It's so nice to be around people who actually take an interest in anime, video games (the ones I like), and tokusatsu and are also open to watching new things.

Mega Man 9 will be a reality within the time span of 48 hours. 
I will probably scream with delight (on the inside, of course) as soon as I see the title screen splash across my small TV. 
I will definitely not be listening to my MP3 player while playing this game, just to enjoy the new music. 
I will definitely buy any useful DLC that is made available to me. 
I will obviously be using the classic-style-sideways-Wii-remote function and NOT the Gamecube or Classic Controller to play this game, as I want as much of an authentic experience as possible.
I will spend as many points as necessary to buy what would make the game experience better.
I am so happy that it is only 1000 points.
I have been waiting for this game for about 10 years now, and this is a dream come true.
I will more than likely seclude myself just to play, or if necessary, I will have friends over to enjoy the experience with me. (my roommates will probably be right to consider me a freak if I hide away just to play an NES game)

I. Am. Psyched.

The only thing that could pose a problem for that day is if I had to work.  That would be a bummer.  I have to wait until 4:00PM anyway just for classes, and I will be more than a little upset if I have to put off playing it for ANOTHER four hours after that.  Although, that probably WILL happen, so I should just brace myself for disappointment.  In that case, however, I guess absense would make the heart grow fonder...

...

...Uh, no.  I just want to play.  That's it.  I've been absent from this experience for far too long as it is.

But of course, if I work, it would allow me to make more money in order to put towards Wii Points for the DLC.  That would be a plus.

...But that would mean I'd have to put off playing.

That also means that I must finish all of Tuesday's homework by tomorrow (mainly, the essay) if I want to have some personal time with Mega Man 9.  But that should be easy enough.

...

I just want to play it now.

Mega Man 9 is probably coming out next Monday.  So psyched.  Need to buy some Wii Points just so I can grab the DLC and perhaps Mega Man 2 at the same time.

I hear some rumblings of a new Hajime no Ippo anime coming out sometime in 2009.  I'm quite excited, actually.  I know some stuff about the series, and I do own the Wii game, but I'd like to watch an actual show.

Despite what my attitude seems like in this post, I've actually been feeling pretty down lately... I set up a meeting with the counselor on Wednesday just to see what's going on...

 Yeah, I'm on a college kick.  Obviously, it's because I'm AT college right now, so there's really not anything more on my mind (sleeping in dorm rooms and all).  I just need to get a car so I can go off-campus sometimes.  More than once a week, preferably.

The inital shock of living alone has, more or less, worn off.  I've gotten used to living with roommates, but I hardly see them during the day, and hardly any more at night since they're gone until after 12:00AM, usually.  They have CARS, so I guess I can understand that.

I've also somehow eased my way into a group of other freshmen here, so that's nice.  And they're really nice, so again, no complaints whatsoever.  I even just found out last night that some of them like anime and role-playing games, so I was having fun actually conversing with people IN PUBLIC about anime and such earlier today (one knows about Kamen Rider, amazingly).  Quite a shock for someone like me, who has never found a real, live person who liked the same things that I do.

I also had a nice, short talk with a "Missionary Kid" (I believe that's what she's considered).  I'm actually thinking about missionary work and that's the profession she's thinking about going into, so why not try to understand what it's like?  I learned some things from her, and she's really nice, so it's all cool.  It's nice to talk to someone who doesn't use the mild curse words that I don't use, but seem to be acceptable words to use in this society anymore.

I just need to find a good church, now.  That's all I ask for.

I just wanted to type down some random thoughts I had about my current life and college experience.

+Girls here, while being a lot nicer than most, still don't know how to dress modestly (even though there's a modesty policy!).  Seriously, can we please stop with the super-short skirts and shorts?  I know I'm in the minority, but some of us want to keep our minds clean and, y'know, not sin when we see that.  They really need to learn to COVER UP.

+The FYE class is mainly busywork, "designed" to integrate you into the school, but really just causing you unnecessary grief.  Too many essays to write...

+Dorm life is easier than I thought it'd be, initially.  I can pretty much come and go as I please, and the 2:00AM curfew is insanely generous.

+It's harder to find time to listen to podcasts, it seems.  My class schedule is a bit weird, so it's tough to really get in two hours a day to listen to even one radio show.

+It's nicer to talk to students who are not from this country and have not been here for an extended amount of time.  Seriously, they don't cuss or even speak in certain ways that causes me to not associate most American teenagers and students.

+It's lonelier out here, so my desire to find someone has been increased quite a bit.  I've met some prospects, but I need more time to develop a more informed opinion.

+We are too far from the town, and not being able to drive is really crippling me.  The buses don't run on Sundays, either, so I have to bum a ride off somebody to go to church.

That's all I got.

The title says it all.  God finally caused me to do it.

Saying anything more in this post would just trivialize it, so for now, I'm done typing.

I'm not even going to talk about the college nonsense that's going on.  It was such a ridiculous problem that it burns me up just thinking about it.

I just wanted to say that I finished Kamen Rider 555.  I thought it was good.  More in-depth thoughts may come later.

I just added another PSP game into the family.

Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops

Granted, I'm absolutely terrible at MGS games as a whole, but I might be able to handle this one.  Or maybe not.

I finished the After Story on Clannad earlier today...

It was... sad.  But it was also absolutely fantastic.

This entire series has just been... amazing, I guess.  I watched the anime, I've played the game... all that's left is the After Story anime this fall.  I'm nervous as to how they'll handle it (hopefully they don't go for a sad ending), but again, I'm also the guy who thought they did a good job on the ending to the first anime, so that 'll show you how I think (not many people enjoyed it, apparently).

I just hope they have a happy ending.  This was a great ending to a fantastic game.  As soon as they finish the English patch for the full-voice version, I am certainly going to be purchasing that game, no ifs, ands, or butts about it.  This game needs to be on my shelf.

It makes me appreciate anime and visual novels so, so much more...

 The counselor from Simpson called this morning, giving me all the information that I need in order to choose some classes.  I also got an e-mail last night from another counselor giving me recommendations for classes, so I'll have to look at that, as well.  I'll wait for my Mom to come home though, since she wanted to help me out with that.

Played as much of the After Story in Clannad last night and this morning.  It's taking forever... and the directions aren't exactly the clearest.  I just want to get this done and move on.

Got past the second dungeon in Link's Awakening.  Got the Conch Shell, which played that little section of the Ballad of the Wind Fish fantastically.  Can't wait to hear the entire song again, with all the instruments and whatnot.

I finally am getting caught up on my WOTMR podcasts.  Finally.  Took me a couple of weeks, but I'm about there.  I have to listen to yesterday's broadcast, and then today's broadcast will be released after 2:00, so it's perfect timing.

Well, time to get back to what I was doing...

I ordered the CD single for Individual-System and the mini-album for Supernova.  That was the other night.  Haven't shipped yet, but because CDJapan seems reliable, they'll probably be sent out soon.

...Which is why I completely prefer CDJapan over Play-Asia, anymore.  Play-Asia has been so unreliable for my last couple of orders.  These Haruhi CDs were supposed to be sent out by August 4th, if not way beforehand (I ordered them on the 19th of July).  They seem to be stuck in the "Preparing Order" loop that my H20 CD was in, which never actually got sent out and ended up with me cancelling my order.  I'll give it another week or so, and then I'm going to send them yet another e-mail.  But all they'll offer me is the chance to order something else from them, and I only bought these CDs from them because they're the only ones that have them, as far as I know.  I don't WANT anything else, and that's what gets me angry about Play-Asia.

I don't think I'm being impatient.  I need to get these CDs before I leave for college in a few weeks, and the shipping method I chose isn't exactly the quickest method.  This is just getting ridiculous.

I must've purged at least 100 games from my NES/SNES collection this morning.  Most were sports games, and just various other games that just held no interest for me.  I'm just keeping the bare essentials for my college collection.

I also went through my portable games.  I actually didn't realize I had about 12 games for the PSP.  So, I'll list those out.

Jeanne D'Arc (RPG; Tactical Strategy)
Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- (RPG; Mission-Based)
Patapon (Side Scroller; Rhythm Combat)
Harvest Moon: Boy & Girl (RPG; Farming Simulator)
Riviera: The Promised Land (RPG; Chapter-Based)
Maverick Hunter X (Side Scroller; Action Platforming)
PoPoLoCrois (RPG; Turn-Based)
Death Jr. II: Root of Evil (Platformer)
MegaMan: Powered Up (Side Scroller; Action Platforming(
Street Fighter Alpha 3 Max (2-D Fighter)
Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology (RPG; Mission-Based)
Brave Story: New Traveler (RPG; Turn-Based)

Good mix, overall.  A fair bit of RPGs, but there are some good non-RPGs in there.  I've only finished... two of the games?  No, three of them.  It's nice actually finishing games.

I also have about... 24 DS games?  Well, might as well list them out, too.  I'll figure it out then.

Electroplankton
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Justice For All
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Trials and Tribulations (Japanese; Dual-Language)
Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan (Japanese)
Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii: Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2 (Japanese)
Final Fantasy IV
MegaMan ZX Advent
Jump Super Stars (Japanese)
Jump Ultimate Stars (Japanese)
Trauma Center: Under the Knife 2
Tetris DS
Power Rangers: Super Legends
Pokemon Pearl
Summon Night: Twin Age
Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day
Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day
Nodame Cantabile (Japanese)
Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
Elite Beat Agents
Naruto: Saikyo Ninja Daikeshuu 4 (Japanese)
ASH: Archaic Sealed Heat (Japanese)
Guitar Hero: On Tour
Pokemon Diamond (Japanese)
R4 Flash Cart

That... should be it.  I'm not putting what types of games they are, I'm just acknowledging which ones are Japanese copies.  I have... only 9 Japanese games?  That's a bit less than I thought I had.

...Might as well list the Gameboy games, as well!

Pokemon FireRed
Pokemon LeafGreen
Pokemon Ruby
Mother 1+2
Mother 3
Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
Dragonball: Advanced Adventure
MegaMan & Bass
Castlevania: Circle of the Moon
Capcom Classic: Mini Mix
Nintendo MP3 Player
Action Replay for GBA
Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons
GBA Movie Player

Still building that collection up.  I really want to get Oracle of Ages again, that game was fun.  I think we might have Tetris around here, I should find that...

I'm not listing any more games out.  I have some for the Playstation and Wii and Virtual Console and all that, but eh... that's another post entirely.

I forgot to mention, but I also bought Link's Awakening for the Gameboy while we were gone.  It's still so much fun.  Can't wait to go through all the dungeons again.

I also bought three Kamen Rider Collection Stage sets at the anime store in Bakersfield.  These things are so cool, they're little bottle cap figurines that have 15 separate Kamen Riders in the set.  I totally love 'em, and they very well could be worth some money in the future.  And the best part?  I got all three sets for $4.26 total.  These things are probably worth at least $20 a piece.  Awesome.

The beach was fun.  It's been awhile since I swam in the ocean.  Didn't get battered against the razor sharp rocks this time, interestingly enough.  Although, I didn't really bodysurf at all, so that probably has something to do with it.

I ended up trading those 360 games in that my cousin gave me.  I first bought Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword with the money I got from them, but I decided to take that game back and bought Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness instead.  Ninja Gaiden is supposed to be fun, however, it is very heavy on the stylus use and could possibly break my screen again, which I don't want to deal with right when I'm about to go to college and all.

But I've only played the first five minutes of Pokemon so far.

I bought Riviera: The Promised Land for the PSP, yesterday.  Didn't plan on it, but it was only $17.99, and I received a discount for it because it was used and I had my Gamestop card.  I played about an hour or so earlier today, and it seems enjoyable.  This was a game I wanted to buy ever since I saw it for the GBA, so hopefully it'll turn out good.  I'm lovin' the fact that it's pretty much fully-voiced, as well.  I chose the Japanese VAs because I'm familiar with their work, and because I heard some not-so-good things about the American VAs.  It's always nice hearing voices that I can recognize.

I also finally got that GBA SP from my cousin when we were out and about in Lancaster.  But I couldn't find Link's Awakening for the original Gameboy anywhere in that town.  Maybe when we go to the beach in Ventura tomorrow, I'll find it at the video game stores there.  If nothing else, I'll buy it online.

Yeah, we're going to the beach tomorrow.  I want to go back to that one anime store.  While they have a ton of bootlegged CDs, they did have some quality merchandise (like Mario pillows shaped like coin blocks).  They might even have some legit CDs, which I'm hoping for because I want some legal FF7: Crisis Core tunes and Pokemon background music on my MP3 player.

MegaMan 1 is apparently being released on the Virtual Console this Monday.  Fantastic.  I may own the original cartridge AND the anniversary collection, but I am totally fine with buying it again in a digital format.  Perfect practice for the upcoming MegaMan 9.  Totally awesome.

I started Kamen Rider 555 last night.  I watched up to episode 8.  Seems interesting.

Yes, I know I'm on a bit of a Kamen Rider "kick" (pun totally intended), but I want to make sure I watch all the seasons that are subbed as I can before I get to college.  I decided not to watch Hibiki (yet), since it wasn't a great series as far as I hear, and since Dragon Knight will be a localized version of Ryuki, I don't see any reason to watch it yet.

Anyways, 555 seems neat.  I like the henshin sequence, and the use of cell phones.  Hopefully it will get even better.

I also started Kamen Rider Blade today.  Got up to episode 2.  It looks like it might get interesting, but to be honest, the way they introduced the characters and their lack of a coherent plot for those two episodes just has me confused.  I'll have to keep watching, I guess.  The playing card theme sounds like it might make an intriguing story, though.

Watching all these Kamen Rider shows makes me want a henshin belt really bad... I would totally cosplay if I had one, no joke.

I just finished Kamen Rider Kabuto a little bit ago.

It is truly a series that walked the path of Heaven.  I have no complaints.

Much like how Boukenger was the ideal Super Sentai anniversary series, Kabuto was truly the ideal Kamen Rider anniversary series.

It's difficult to describe how unbelievably perfect that season of Kamen Rider was, precisely.  While I may have enjoyed one or two of the other series more, there's no denying that Kabuto was, in terms of storytelling and everything involved, simply perfect.

My only regret is that I didn't watch it sooner.

She's not in the office until the 5th of August?  Okay... but I really need to send off that deposit... I just hope this doesn't mess with my chances of getting into the classes...

Yeah, I'm going to college.  Barring any unfortunate mishaps in the meantime, it's guaranteed.  Hopefully nothing happens.

Only 5 weeks left until I actually have to move into the dorm.  In the meantime, my Dad wants me to try to sell a bunch of stuff and my Mom wants me to condense all my stuff in our shed and in my room into as little boxes as possible.  So, I probably won't get to play as many video games until I move in, but that's fine.  Hopefully I will have time to actually PLAY these new games I got once I'm there, and that college classes don't give me 40 hours of homework a week.

I bought a 2,000 Wii Points card and Final Fantasy IV for the Nintendo DS.  With the Wii Points, I bought Super Mario World on the Virtual Console (because I see no reason NOT to have that game available whenever I want to play it :3).  I have some points leftover now, though, since Nintendo decided not to release the new Strong Bad game this week, either.  When are they going to release that game?  I didn't get a chance to play a lot of FF4 last night, but that's okay, this isn't something I can play until I have a lot of time to invest into it.  Nice opening CG scene, though.

I received my super-awesome Kamen Rider Den-O Complete CD Box in the mail today!  So awesome... there's about... 119 tracks in all?  Sweet.  And it comes with that DVD disc containing the PV for "Climax Jump DEN-LINER Form".  Seems kind of a waste to only put a single movie file on a disc that has a personalized jacket, jewel case, and CD artwork, but if that's what they wanna do, I guess it's fine with me.  It's a cool PV, reguardless.  Need to get the TV-Nihon subs for it, now...

Kabuto is getting pretty good.  The director's cut of the movie was certainly epic, that's for sure.  Hopefully the end of the series will be equally as awesome.

It seems like I probably will end up going to Simpson University instead of the community college in Bakersfield.  That's provided that they actually give me my loan and it covers the rest of what I owe.  I had to take out a pretty hefty one ($9,500), but my Dad said that they monthly rate at which I have to pay it back is quite low, so I should be able to handle it after I finish college and get a job.  I'm surprised at how low the monthly payments are so low, like at $25 to $30 or so.  All I'd have to do is not buy as many video games every month and it'd be simple to pay it back (and considering that I'll have an actual full-time job, buying less video games won't be a problem).

Hopefully this covers the cost of the books and room + board, or else I'll have to shell out several more hundreds of dollars...

I'm quite addicted to Geometry Wars Galaxies lately.  I only bought it for $15 at K-Mart for the Wii, and it's a solid game.  I'm finally getting the hang of it, and stuff like clocking up my multiplier isn't as difficult as it was when I started.  Neat stuff.

I'm having difficulty actually wanting to start playing Zelda: Phantom Hourglass.  I just know it's gonna be an epic game that will require so much time to play, and I'm actually not looking forward to playing it for hours on end (which is going to be a required part of playing).  Hopefully that mindset will change.

I put so many N64 games on eBay the other day.  Like, seriously, about 31 or 32 in a row.  Hopefully they'll all sell, so I can have some cash in my pocket again.  Need to buy the "Individual-System" CD single, as well as the "Go-onger 2nd Lap" single.  And the "SuperNova" single whenever that comes out.  And the "Super Survivor" CD, unless I win that in the contest.  That'd be really nice.

 Reading:
Still Growing, by Kirk Cameron.
The Five Points of Calvinism, by Steele, Thomas, and Quinn.
"Triablogue" entries

Playing:
Geometry Wars Galaxies (Wii)
Ar Tonelico: Melody of Elemia (PS2)
Wild ARMs 4 (PS2)
Metal Saga (PS2)
Summon Night: Twin Age (DS)
Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS)
Trauma Center: Under the Knife 2 (DS)
Pokemon Pearl (DS)
Pokemon Ruby (GBA)
Castlevania: Circle of the Moon (GBA)
Brave Story: New Traveler (PSP)

Listening:
"Double Action" (all variations)
"Climax Jump" (all variations)
"Bouken Desho Desho" (and remixes)
"Hare Hare Yukai" (remixes + variations)
"Kentai Life Returns"
"God knows..." (and remixes)
The Narrow Mind Podcast (past archives)
The Way of the Master Radio

Watching:
Kamen Rider Kabuto
Kamen Rider Kiva
Engine Sentai Go-onger
Tokusou Sentai DekaRanger
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
Spice and Wolf
Kanokon
Lucky Star
Kanon
Clannad
Digimon Adventure