Video Games, Anime, and Everything in Between! We are two buddies that have known each other since Kindergarden. Now here we are almost twenty years later and still geeking out over action figures, anime and most importantly, video games!
My entry for the Wind Waker fan art contest!! Tetra’s going to start team killing if you don’t step up your game, Link!!
Everyone’s pieces that I’ve seen look SO AMAZING I’m pretty sure I don’t stand a chance ha ha…… (but 50 is a lot of winners!?! So maybe there’s hope!!)
I thought about making a beautiful blue composition but I think I still have PTSD from 39029 hours I spent sailing when I first played through the game. Can’t wait to play it again in HD with the SPEED BOOST!!
I wrote the following article for fun some time in 2011 in response to the Nintendo 3DS circle pad-pro. I thought I would come back to it and add to it, since I had to eat my words.
   So Nintendo has inevitably done it again. I honestly feel sorry for all the suckers out there who became early adopters of the 1st generation Nintendo 3DS. I knew from past experience with the Game Boy Advance, and Nintendo DS, that the 3DS would basically be a prototype. A beta-test even, if you please. This new 3DS Expansion Slide Pad is stupid looking, annoying, and a slap in the face to current owners of the 3DS.
It was an oddly balmy December in 2004 when I received my Nintendo DS. The DS was a great system. I played it for hours on end. Fast-forward to June 2006, the month the master sword would be pulled from its proverbial pedestal over my eyes and I would be thrust forward through the Sacred Realm into a dark age where video game companies didn’t make games for me to have fun; they did it for the money. What was it that stole my innocence away and made me ever weary of purchasing a piece of hardware in the first generation again? It was the release of the DS Lite: what the DS should have been. I jealously looked on at kids with their newfangled DS Lite’s. With their brighter and bigger screens, and thinner and more streamlined body design, DS Lite owners looked down on me with disgust (I can only assume). I knew from then on, to never again purchase a Nintendo handheld until they released the “real” version of their system.
(image source: en.m.wikipedia.org)
Look back at the 1st generation DS, and it looks like a prototype DS, ripped prematurely from the womb of a secret Nintendo lab. So when Nintendo announced the 3DS and all my friends got all hot-and-bothered over it, I sat back and shook my head at the fools.
Well here we are now [not really], September of 2011 and Nintendo has announced a bulky second thumb-stick add-on peripheral for the 3DS; which inevitably will culminate in a hardware redesign. What that redesign will also most likely bring will be things like: sleeker, thinner body design, a better screen in some form or another and the second thumb-stick which should’ve been there in the first place. So thank you to everyone who ran out and got a 3DS the first day. You played on Nintendo’s prototype 3DS, and now they will release a new and much improved iteration of the 3DS. Hate to say I told you so, but I did. This of course doesn’t just fall on Nintendo but Apple as well, as a prime example of a company that year after year releases newer, way better versions of their ipods and ipads. Here’s to hoping companies will stop treating it’s eager and loyal consumers like a bunch of guinea pigs who have to pay for testing a piece of hardware.
Revision and Update:
Bitter guy eh? Well, here we are in September 2013 (wow, two years later) and I look pretty foolish, I must admit. The Nintendo 3DS was the strongest selling console for the month of August. Nintendo did eventually release the 3DS XL, which looks better with it’s rounded edges and bigger screen. I still think the 3DS looks like a prototype, and plan on purchasing the XL version in the near future. Regardless, I’m certainly eating my words, especially as the circle pad-pro wasn't as necessary in as many games as I thought it would be. However, I’m guessing that’s due to the lack of a system redesign.Â
I was holding out for a real redesign of the 3DS, but instead got hit with the laughable news of a 2DS redesign (and from what I’ve read, it’s easy on the hands). However, I like something which folds and can fit places comfortably. So here I am, a little embarrassed that I once wrote that angry piece from above, and yet can you blame me?
The 3DS is one of the best selling systems out, and definitely at the top of my must-buy-soon list. I feel that I must apologize for my angry rant back when the system wasn’t quite as hot as it is now. Here’s to Nintendo’s continued success with the 3DS, as long as they don’t screw me over and release a redesign of the 3DS (XL) soon after I purchase it.Â
   Wow, it’s been 11 years since Final Fantasy XI Online first opened up to players across the world. As mentioned before, we used to play XI quite a lot, maybe even too much (it’s never too much!). To mark this occasion a special limited edition Final Fantasy XI XIth Anniversary keyboard is being released for a mere $275. To say we weren’t tempted by the purchase would be a lie, but maybe more so for GokuBear than me. We ended up getting into a friendly debate on whether or not it’s worthwhile to purchase this beauty of a collector’s item.
Iceler: So my feelings of cheapness seem to be the most prevailing factor here. $275 for a keyboard is simply not worth it, no matter what. Yes it is back-lit, and there’s a “high-quality treated” metal plate embossed with the Final Fantasy XI logo. And the keys have gold Final Fantasy font! And it’s just too much money for a nice looking keyboard!! I can’t justify this purchase for any reason unless it also makes you milkshakes.
Goku Bear: Okay, but look at that superb packaging: that red box with gold trim and gold Final Fantasy lettering! The keys have special characters on them such as the moogle on the enter key, and the F keys are in roman numerals (just like the games in the series!).
It also has Japanese style keyboard layout with a small space bar and larger enter key. It’s also more lightweight and has Topre switches.
Ice: What the hell are Topre switches?
GB: Topre switches also make it so you don’t sound like Ernest Hemingway banging out his next great American novel. It’s just better designed all around. And you get three bonus in game items.
Ice: You don’t even play XI anymore!
GB: Doesn't even matter. They’re collector items. And the area behind the keys are back-lit.
Ice: Eh, that’s kind of cool. Okay it’s a better keyboard for your fingers and all that but do you really need an ergonomically designed keyboard for $275? Is it just because it’s a collector’s item?
Ice: I completely understand your point, and yet at the same time, $275. TWO-HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-FIVE DOLLARS?! For a keyboard. You already have one. Just not worth it. To me. Maybe if I was a millionaire I’d be singing a different tune.
GB: If you look at it as a keyboard for $275 then yes it is not worth it. I look at it as  keyboard filled with great memories. I view the great memories as priceless. Can’t put a price tag and good times.
Ice: Well, I don’t know what else to say to that. If you really want to blow $275 on a keyboard, which could be spent on new games, then be my guest.
GB: I’ll let you know this weekend on what my final decision is. You can enjoy your hard on the fingers keyboard and get Carpal Tunnel Syndrome while I relax and play FF XIV with my new topre switch keyboard. You've obviously never used one before.
Ice: Okay well, it doesn't come out until November 11th (see what they did there?), so hopefully you will come to your senses before then. Just like when I warned you about the PSP Go
GB: The PSP Go that you played more than I did.
Ice: Okay, yes it did save me while I lived in China, but let’s not get any further from the point.
The Final Fantasy XI XIth Anniversary Limited Edition keyboard comes out on November 11th, 2013 for $275.
GB: I’ll post my review once it comes in the mail.
So...I saw this in Brooklyn. I love actually seeing game ads like this in person instead of just on the internet. I also just noticed that only the PlayStation logo is in the ad and not the Xbox 360. What gives? Is this a Rockstar-Sony joint ad campaign? Or are there ads out there with just the Xbox 360 logo? Both? Anyways, we're all definitely eagerly awaiting this game. September 17th can't come soon enough!
A Realm Revisited: FFXIV: A Realm Reborn Beta First impressions
It took Jesus Christ himself three days to resurrect from the dead! Who would have thought that Final Fantasy XIV would take over two years?!
   After an amazing run with the first MMO game we ever played: Final Fantasy XI, Dave and myself were itching for a new MMO to play. Although Final Fantasy XI was great, it had its share of flaws: with sub-par graphics, lackluster PvP, a ridiculous amount of unnecessary zones, new monsters who were really just old monsters with new names, certain jobs which became obsolete, no support for solo play and a slow leveling system that sometimes was unbearable. Nothing was worse then freeing up your entire day for Final Fantasy only to sit seeking a party for over four hours.
   When we first heard of the release announcement during E3 for Final Fantasy XIV, we were stoked. This was exactly what we wanted. Square Enix's second foray into the MMORPG world. What could go wrong? The question we should have asked was, "What could go right?"Â
   Fast forward to September 22, 2010 and the long wait was over. Did Square Enix succeed? Nostradamus himself couldn't have predicted this train wreck. There was barely any content, a poorly balanced job system, and the user interface was clunky and slow. In summary: we were looking at a gorgeous game (we both upgraded our PC's) but with enough bugs to fill the Animal Crossing museum three times over. The class system and other jobs were so convoluted, not only in name but in their nature that players were left scratching their heads as to what their job was even supposed to do. (A miner is supposed to able to get through a battle with an orc?) In other words this game sucked.
   Fast forward (yet again) to August 16, 2013 and the phase four open beta of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. This is essentially FF XIV 2.0. To get the full experience we hooked up two PS3's and TV's in the same room and played side by side for the first night of the open beta. After nearly four torturous hours of coming up with our characters appearance and names, we finally stepped out into the world of Eorzea. After an additional six hours, glued to our seats, filled with snacks and beverages, we couldn't get enough. To say the least, we were thoroughly impressed with what we had just played.
   The game does a great job of introducing you into it's vast and intricate world while explaining the main game mechanics. The user interface is clear and user friendly. You can even customize the placement of sections of the HUD in a grid-like system within the options menu. Early quests keep exp. flowing like wine, unlike the typical grind in most MMO's. So the good news is: the great graphics remain intact, the music is splendid, and the updated job system makes sense and feels like you're actually playing a Final Fantasy game. The only bad news was that the beta was only two days long, when we could have easily sunk an additional week of our lives into the game.
   Big props must be given to Producer and Director Yoshi P. for setting this would-be Titanic back on course. His tireless dedication to the project is evident in the care and craft this game has. We pre-ordered the collector's edition of the game for PS3 and eagerly await early access this coming weekend (Aug. 24). Final Fantasy XIV is a Realm Reborn indeed.
