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Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in Tim Miller's LiveJournal:

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    Wednesday, July 8th, 2009
    10:25 am
    Trimming the lists, or trying to
     Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, season 1: COMPLETE, finally.

    And what a hell of a place to end the season. X.x; Curse you, Sunrise!

    I've also been whittling away at my game collections recently, albeit more in the form of pruning than finishing. As of Monday, I've sold off all three Metroid Prime games ... towards a preorder on the Metroid Prime Trilogy compilation for Wii.

    I was already leaning in favor of getting the Trilogy, partly due to the gorgeous box - yes, that was a selling point, it's the first time I can think of that Nintendo has done collector's-edition-level packaging. More to the point, though, I prefer the control set-up on Corruption, particularly as regards looking up or down. A period of wandering around the sunken frigate in the original Metroid Prime left me wrestling with a bit of game-induced motion sickness, due to trying to look up and down in search of footing and power nodes. I fared somewhat better in Corruption - and to my surprise, managed to finish off Mogenar and start exploring Skytown (fruitlessly) before taking the games up to sell.

    For those of you keeping track, I also ditched Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution ... not without some regret, though. That, on the other hand, is en route to a new and hopefully appreciative home.

    Anyway. It looks like PC gaming is about to get a larger share of my attention; while the benchmark program for Street Fighter IV wouldn't even run (annoyingly enough - I still count myself a Street Fighter fan), my attention's also been drawn lately to a couple of smaller projects. Ultimate Knight Windom XP is - much to my surprise - an English release of the commercial version of a Japanese originally-freeware mecha game, which I'd been meaning to check out in some form previously. I've got the demo which IGN doesn't quite link to, just need to give it a shot.

    The other game I've run into - and one which may help to scratch my itch for good fighting games (as if Fate/Unlimited Codes Portable wasn't ... it is) - crossed my attention purely by chance: Vanguard Princess, purportedly developed by a former employee of Capcom. I heard about it by way of a Kotaku link someone shared on Multiverse Crisis MUSH; I'm going to install it and give it a good look sometime in the next few days.

    Be looking for my thoughts on Windom XP and Vanguard Princess.
    Saturday, July 4th, 2009
    10:06 am
    A format born to die?/Otakon run-up
     Those of you who pay attention to the PlayStation Portable may be aware of the upcoming PSPgo, an updated design of the PSP which is significantly smaller than the PSP-2000/-3000 design, mostly due to completely removing the UMD drive from the design.

    According to an article which IGN posted this week, though, a UMD-less PSP design was always in the works.

    Stop and think about that for a moment. ( And then read on. )

    In other news, it's now less than two weeks to the beginning of this year's Otakon, and I've given up (for the time being) on Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle. Don't get me wrong, it's a gorgeous series and I'm a die-hard CLAMP fan, but I'm more interested right now in reducing my backlog by series count; Tsubasa is taking too long.

    So I'm shifting my focus to shorter series and OAVs. Right now, I'm finishing the first season of Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion (which I only had two discs left of to watch). After that, I'm shifting into the short series - Rozen Maiden's first season, Lyrical Nanoha A's, OAVs and some other partially-owned series (perhaps including Mobile Suit Gundam 00). This means putting a rewatch of The Third back on hold as well - more's the pity, but once I get a couple of titles crossed off my list, I'll see where things are. If I can scratch, oh, three series off my backlog in one week's time, I might go back to a longer series.
    Thursday, July 2nd, 2009
    12:37 pm
    PSP Reviews: Fate/Unlimited Codes Portable, Pangya: Fantasy Golf
     So I've been playing the hell out of two new acquisitions, neither of which is really an RPG of any stripe. They're both great, though.

    ( Fate/Unlimited Codes: Coming soon for non-Japanese gamers )

    Capcom surprised the hell out of me (and others) by announcing that this summer, they'll release Fate/Unlimited Codes in English, in downloadable form only ... and it looks like this is going to happen right around the time when the UMD-less PSP go hits the market. If you're already a fan of Fate/Stay Night and you like a good fighting game, this should be a definite purchase. If you're not into Fate/Stay Night, I'd still be inclined to recommend Unlimited Codes if you like a more fantasy-oriented fighting game, but do some further research on it - look for gameplay clips on YouTube or something, or read other reviews if you can find them.

    ( Pangya for PSP: Fantasy golf on the go )

    Drawbacks aside, the PSP version of Pangya is proving to be a pleasant acquisition, and I'm happy to recommend it (again) as one of my favorite games of virtual golf.
    Thursday, June 25th, 2009
    9:15 pm
    Out of the Eighties ...
     I wasn't going to make this the highlight of an LJ post, but apparently Michael Jackson has died.

    I'm not quite sure how I feel about this. Yes, he was a major center of controversy in the past several years, but once upon a time he was also a highly popular singer/performer, and he's responsible for some songs which are still big hits.

    What I was going to post about was that I went to see Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen today, and was suitably impressed. I'm not quite sure whether it stacks up as better than the first Transformers, but it was at least in the same category, and ramped up the action on all important areas.

    I'd say more about the movie, but I'd risk treading into spoiler territory. Suffice to say that I had a fun time watching.

    Current Music: Michael Jackson - Beat It
    Monday, June 22nd, 2009
    11:28 pm
    Tales of Phantasia OAV: complete.

    I need to play the actual game sometime; even if the GBA port is sub-par, it's the only version I've got.
    Sunday, June 21st, 2009
    12:40 pm
    Big week for gaming
     So. Last Tuesday, Ghostbusters - still a fun game, although I ran into what may be one of the most frustrating puzzles in the game yesterday afternoon. The fact that the PS3/360 and Wii/PS2 versions of the game are so drastically different in terms of design is a bit annoying - it cuts down massively on where I can get help with the game. (Still, I think I know what I need to do at that point ... it's just actually doing it that's going to be hard. x.X)

    Then there's the Japanese release of Fate/Unlimited Codes Portable, which I imported. It's well worth it in my opinion - of course, it helps to be a fan of Fate/Stay Night in the first place, but it's a pretty good game even without that background. I'll post a full review at some point.

    Finally, this week will see the release of two other games I'm looking forward to: Shin Megami Tensei Devil Summoner for the DS, and the PSP version of Pangya (the exact title of which I'm not sure of). I'll probably snag those on Wednesday ... hopefully on the way back from going to see Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Unless I'm working that day.

    On the other hand, I need to sort out some other games that I'm willing to get rid of. I ditched a couple of my Wii titles in the course of snagging Ghostbusters, but I have two more games to decide on, plus a couple of DS games.

    Anyway. Big week for entertainment generally ... but the usual irony continues to vaguely amuse me: either I'm earning enough money to readily afford all the games and DVDs I'd like to get (at the expense of not having time to enjoy them), or I'm not earning money but I have plenty of time to watch DVDs, play games, etc. It's an ongoing tradeoff, but it's playing out in my favor at the moment.

    Of course, with Otakon coming up, money's about to be more important than time again. Whoever said "time is money" left some critical factors out of their proof.
    Tuesday, June 16th, 2009
    4:23 pm
    More pruning
     So, finally got the benefit of a day off with my plans lined up to do some sorting. I'm not done yet, but so far, I've managed to kick about four manga series off of my shelf, clearing up quite a bit of much-needed space for newer and ongoing acquisitions, and I've ditched Okami (goddamn digging minigame) and Super Mario Galaxy from my Wii game library. On the other hand, those two made room for (and defrayed the cost of) Ghostbusters, which looks quite good from what I've seen on IGN; I'm looking forward to actually playing it.

    Still got some more sorting to do, but at this point I think it's going to be more a matter of arranging the manga I'm keeping and diving into the other game libraries. Also, probably, ditching some DVDs ... possibly more-or-less unwatched in exactly one case.

    Current Music: Ghostbusters theme (parked in my head)
    Monday, June 15th, 2009
    9:24 pm
    The value of music
     The Christian Science Monitor ran a column recently about the importance of music in our lives. Specifically, the columnist wrote that music isn't just a luxury or a form of entertainment: it's something that we need.

    Here's the article for those of you who want to read; I know I've got at least a few friends on LJ who should be interested.
    Sunday, June 14th, 2009
    5:11 pm
    History of completion
     Jinki: Extend - completed last night.

    ( Background and review )

    Next on the list:
    Tales of Phantasia OAVs
    Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle
    And at some point I'm going to start re-watching The Third: The Girl With the Blue Eye - but I may well intersperse that with other series.
    Sunday, June 7th, 2009
    2:44 pm
    Blocking in
     One day late, but happy birthday/anniversary to the most addictive video game in history.

    Twenty-five years of falling blocks. That's staying power, particularly given that the core rules have never really changed - it's mostly the implementation that varies, with different rules for gravity, rotation, and number of blocks previewed.

    My personal favorite version is probably Tetris DS, which ... may be out of print. Which is too bad; it really is one of the best versions I've played, with not only the classic version but a few very creative variations. Following that, though, Tetris Party on WiiWare is a good implementation, lacking some of Tetris DS's innovations but still good, and compatible with the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. It's a third-party game, but if you have 1200 Nintendo Points to spare, it's worth the download.

    At any rate, the Tetrisversary and my revitalized interest in this classic look likely to put another dent in how fast I chip away at my gaming backlog .... ^^;;
    Saturday, June 6th, 2009
    7:52 pm
    Forgot one
     Never did mention finishing off Blue Seed Beyond (or rather, Blue Seed 2 as the Japanese title screen called it). Fun stuff.
    2:11 pm
    As close as I've come to a classic
     Mazinkaiser OAV series: complete.

    One of my most recent acquisitions, and one which I wasn't sure I'd get for a while, for reasons of supply (limited release, during a period when I wasn't too interested) and demand (a very critical friend of mine said of the ADV release, and I nearly quote, "The Hong Kong bootleg version was better").

    Apparently my friend was either watching a different version, or was focusing on details that I'm willing to overlook. Either way, Mazinkaiser was well worth picking up - and I'm looking forward to checking out Shuten Doji, which this release was packaged with. I did see where my critical friend had potential reason to get upset; ADV used a couple of questionable romanizations, but honestly? The rest of the translation was damn good, so I'm not going to complain too much.

    Also, as the subject of this post refers to, this is the closest I've ever come (short of untranslated SRW games) to the classic Mazinger Z franchise.

    And on the subject of Super Robot Taisen, this also means the only series which was in Super Robot Taisen W that I haven't actually watched any of is now GoLion. Granted, this leaves out the OAVs and movie sequels of Tekkaman Blade, Martian Successor Nadesico and Mazinkaiser ... also the Gundam Seed Astray and related manga ... but, I've seen all of the other core series now. I may take it into my head to get GoLion at this rate, depending on how my backlog stands come Otakon.

    Anyway, the other series I'm watching right now is Jinki: Extend, a 13-episode series based on a substantially longer manga. I may slip some other OAV-watching in between episodes of J:E, but for all that it's reputedly recycling a ton of meccha anime tropes, it's still being an enjoyable story so far. (Interestingly, this one also came to my interest by way of SRW ... except in MUSH form, not one of the actual Banpresto games.)
    Sunday, May 31st, 2009
    1:29 pm
    Another one down
     Blue Seed, main series: complete - finally.
    Blue Seed Beyond will follow later.

    This is, incidentally, in spite of running into a frustrating number of playback glitches on my copy - ADV's original DVD release of the series, I think. Fortunately, it's still in print ...
    Monday, May 25th, 2009
    7:42 pm
    Time loop-de-loop
     So I went to see Terminator: Salvation yesterday, and liked it a heck of a lot. I also managed to catch the maybe-most-recent trailer for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (probably my next movie for the summer) ... wow. Devastator is freakin' scary in movie-theater-screen detail. @.@;;;

    That trailer also marked the first time that I've given any degree of serious thought to getting a Blu-Ray player of any sort. I doubt I'll follow through on that for a goodly while, though.

    Anyway, Terminator: Salvation lives up to the standards of the franchise in my book. Granted, I'm not necessarily the harshest of critics (I enjoyed T3, which a lot of reviewers gleefully took apart), but people who were paying attention going in knew that this was set during the middle of the war with Skynet. At risk of throwing out a significant spoiler, this is as close to an origin story for the Terminators as we're likely to get.

    So, good movie overall, and even though it's down to sharing a title and meta-timeline with James Cameron's original movie (and its sequel), I'm entirely prepared to consider Salvation another worthwhile piece of the Terminator franchise as a whole.

    As far as other entertainments go ...

    Anime: Still plugging away at Blue Seed in spite of an increasing urge to take a break and watch something else. x.x; I've got 12 episodes to go on the TV series, plus the three OAVs. Hopefully I can burn through that over the course of this week (especially if I actually get most of the week off ... *knocks on wood*).

    No certainty at the moment as to what I'll watch after Blue Seed; I'll decide on that when I'm done with it.

    Gaming:
    - Tossed the Samurai Shodown Anthology back into the Wii over the weekend and gave SS6 a try. I'm duly impressed, and will probably give up on any amusing notions of "playing the games in order". ^^;
    - With Endless Frontier finished off, I've slotted Super Robot Taisen K back into my DS's card slot. Gundam Seed Destiny (or at least, the carryovers from Gundam Seed) and Fafner in the Azure are now in play, and I'm probably going to stick with Fafner storyline events throughout the game's branches. I'm not sure at the moment whether I'll do what I did with my first playthrough of W and play both forks, or just stick with a straight playthrough on a given set of branches ...
    - Also have been digging away at the visual novel Princess Waltz, about which I've said remarkably little on LJ for a certain reason. Those of you who know me on the MU* circuit have probably heard about this game by now, but among other things, it's one of the things that's slowed me down on watching Blue Seed. Heck of a good game, though - I'm glad I took a chance and got it.
    Saturday, May 23rd, 2009
    10:54 am
    Thursday, May 21st, 2009
    7:48 pm
    Finally
     Super Robot Taisen OG Saga: Endless Frontier - COMPLETED during my lunch break today.

    Got some notes together for a Boss Battle Breakdown, but I'm sufficiently tired from work that I'm not gonna toss it up tonight.
    Tuesday, May 19th, 2009
    8:31 am
    Meme'd from [info]amelia_seyroon
    Comment to this entry and I'll pick three of your fandoms. You must then update your journal and answer the following questions:

    01: What got you into this fandom in the first place?
    02: Do you think you'll stay in this fandom or eventually move on?
    03: Favorite episodes/books/movies/etc.?
    04: Do you participate in this fandom (fanfiction, graphics, discussions)?
    05: Do you think that more people should get into this fandom?

    ( My fandoms: Fullmetal Alchemist, Galaxy Fraulein Yuna, Full Metal Panic! Answers behind the cut. )

    On an unrelated note: yay for Dollhouse being renewed - even though they left the first season at a pretty good stopping point as far as the plot went. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, though ... augh. I hope somebody pays to get the third (and later) seasons so the plot can at least be properly resolved.
    Monday, May 18th, 2009
    8:04 pm
    Geekgasm combo?
     I swear, there must be something going around the American side of the video game industry. Let's go down the list:

    Earlier this year, Atlus surprised me by announcing that they would be releasing Super Robot Taisen OG Saga: Endless Frontier in English. (It's been out for a couple of weeks now, I need to take another stab at the final boss chain.)

    About three weeks ago, Capcom announced that Fate/Unlimited Codes (Portable), the PSP version of a fighting game based on the visual novel Fate/Stay Night and its related stories, would be getting an English release - albeit only as a downloadable (yet relatively full-priced) title through the PlayStation Store.

    Last week, NIS America announced that Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love (the fifth game in the Japanese series) will be the first Sakura Wars game to see an American release. And for bonus points, they're porting it from the PS2 to the Wii in the process.

    And last night, someone on Multiverse Crisis MUSH's OOC gaming chat channel linked to an article on Kotaku about Capcom announcing that they'll bring Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Cross Generation of Heroes to the US, for the Wii (which it was originally made for in Japan - well, arcade and Wii versions).

    Holy. Freaking. Crap. O.O Not counting Endless Frontier (which I considered an outside chance at best), that's three games announced inside of a month which I never would have expected to see released in America. Either they're desperate for good titles to bring to the American market (which is entirely possible), or somebody - several somebodies - are starting to pay real attention to the fact that there is a Western market for Japanese games.

    Current Mood: ecstatic
    Current Music: JAM Project - No Border
    Sunday, May 10th, 2009
    5:28 pm
    Review: Star Trek
     NOTE: This review includes spoilers. Do not read behind the cut unless you have either already been to see Star Trek, have no intention of watching it, or do not mind finding out what happens.

    All I will say before going to LJ-cut is that it is a good movie.

    ( The spoilers start behind the cut. )

    I think that covers everything I needed to say, and I need to get this post up.

    Errata, 7:24 pm - Okay, there was ( an addendum. )
    9:35 am
    Holy .... O.O Thank you NIS!
     Wow. After all Atlus's time as the first source for "games which we'll never get in the US - except we did," NIS America is making a definite bid for that role ... in the form of Sakura Wars. For the Wii, yet.

    Holy freakin' crap. O.O Even though this is only the most recent (fifth) game in the main series, and doesn't have any of the cast from the first four games as major characters ... in a way, that makes this the best choice for them to translate at this point. New cast, not much backstory for the characters, probably easier for people to jump in on. (New battle system, too; the first four games used turn-based battles, while Sakura Taisen V utilized real-time combat.)

    Wow. I am preordering this as soon as it's got an American release date. I wonder if they'll make the third quarter of this year ...

    Current Mood: surprised
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