When I'm not loving Arcana Heart......

I'm still alive!!!

2010-07-12T12:04:00.000-07:00

Yeah....I haven't made a blog update since last year. Whatever. I'm still gaming since it's the only thing that doesn't drive me insane. I've recently gotten into Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, and the game is addicting to say the least. If you wanna win pick one of the top six characters and learn combos and run jabs. I'm telling you it's so much fun once you learn combos.

Back in May this year I placed 2nd in Melty Blood Actress Again at MWC. It was unexpected of me to do so well....and that was about it. I got a seed into EVO, but was unable to go due to lack of money. I did get to watch the top 8 at EVO yesterday before I went to work, and overall I was not disappointed with it. I was disappointed, however, at the fact that Adam Sessler did commentary during SSF4 finals. Wow.

MBAA is -- without a doubt -- my favorite fighting game right now. Much more so that Arcana Heart 3. By a lot. It helps that AH3 isn't accessible for me.

I also bought a 360 back in March so I could play shmups (or shoot-em-ups) on my 360. The most recent one I have been playing is DeathSmiles. Currently my best score is roughly 82mil, which is not bad being a week into the game. I'm hoping to play BlazBlue Continuum Shift in the next couple days. I want to play one of the worst characters though. I may not end up playing the game very long lol.

I may start updating my blog again. It's fun typing about what I enjoy the most :3

Ready for ACen 2009!

2009-05-03T23:39:00.000-07:00

GAH! I'm pretty impatient! I want to leave Ohio SO BAD right now and head to Chicago for Anime Central 2009 right NAO!!!! Obviously I can't.

I'm struggling with school right now, and it's been bugging me. The main problem is motivation to study like I need to. I couldn't tell you what it is, but I just don't have much motivation for anything right now. I should probably try and figure it out before I fail my classes....

I got both F/UC and Triggerheart, and I'm pleased with my purchases. Triggerheart, however, is inferior to the Dreamcast version in that it has frequent slowdowns. It doesn't ruin the gameplay....it actually makes it easier to dodge the bullets XD

Another recent disappointment as far as video games goes was "Suggoi! Arcana Heart 2". Simply put, the port is not very well developed. It's still playable, but it could've been SO. MUCH. BETTER. That's all I'll say on it. My hype was indefinitely killed with this port, so I don't really practice like I used to with the first one (not by a longshot), but I will still play around in training mode here and there.

Going back to ACen....I don't think I will spend too much time in the game room this time around. I want to look around at the vendor items and the panel discussions with my friends. Besides, I'm not very excited for fighting games right now. I'm waiting for BlazBlue to come out before I take fighting games seriously again :/

Update...kinda

2009-02-23T18:43:00.000-08:00

I just woke up from a much needed nap, and decided to update the blog.

My schedule sucks. I work from 4pm-1am now, and currently going to school full-time. Four days out of the week I have to get up around 7:30am or so, after getting off work at 1am so I can get ready for class. I even have a Saturday class that ends this coming Saturday because it's an accelerated course. Both school and work are full-time, and it sucks because I barely have time for myself. Any free time I get must be spent doing homework, otherwise I get behind like I am now. lol

Speaking of gaming, I just got Street Fighter IV on the release date last week. The game is fun, but there are some things I don't like about it. The main thing I don't like is the Focus Attack Dash Cancel (or FADC for short). I like it just about as much as the next guy, but the timing is so srtict, it makes the game overall just as hard as every other fighting game....I don't like that. I thought SFIV would be easy -- and you can play it basic and do fine, but not in high-level gameplay -- but because of FADC it's not looking that way. I would very much like to do FADC if it wasn't so hard to do, but timing and consistency is freaking difficult for me. Meh.

I am currently waiting on two games to be released in Japan: "Triggerheart Exelica Enhanced", and "Sugoi! Arcana Heart 2". The first comes out late March, and the next comes out the second week in April. Once I get those two games, my video game collection won't be growing for a while. lol

I want to give anyone reading this some advice about dating: DON'T DATE CO-WORKERS. You've heard it before, and now you're reading it for the millionth time. Not even mentioning work place gossip or possible situations that could result in job loss or lawsuits..I'm talking about matters of the heart. Long story short, I was talking to the new girl for a while, and she eventually told me that she wasn't ready to move on from the past. This is after we told each other we both liked each other and had been on five dates and talked for over a month. She could have told me that the first day, but she didn't for whatever reason and hurt me really bad. Looking back, I'm not sure why it hurt so bad but it did. I was upset about it for about two months, and I JUST forgave her yesterday (LOLZ). The original point I was trying to make is don't date co-workers, because you'll have to see that person A LOT if things don't work out, and it's not a pleasant feeling. So yeah, this is your warning....

Typing this just now made me feel good. I should try and update this thing more often. >_<

UPDATEZ

2008-10-29T14:23:00.000-07:00

It's getting hard to update this thing. Reminds me of when I had my journal back in high school, and I pretty much never wrote in it. lol

Ok...so life is more or less of the same. I have been doing ok in school so far. Just took a test in my math class on Monday. I wonder how I did....? Work is still work. As much as I dislike the job, it pays bills and lets me import really expensive games from time to time. lol

I finally figured out how to record gameplay and upload lots of videos to YouTube. I only wanna use that page to upload me playing video games, nothing else really. I'd do a bunch of combo videos for Arcana Heart if I wasn't so terrible at doing combos at that game. lol

As far as video games go, I just got done with a tournament a couple of weekends ago called "Season's Beatings III", right here is Columbus, OH. The location was perfect considering I really had no money for traveling purposes that weekend. I did TERRIBLE in every game I participated in, expect Garou and Arcana Heart. I actually did well in both, considering I still lost. I also played Battle Fantasia for the first time that weekend too. I picked Watson, the little magician bunny :) I figured out how to a lot of stuff really quickly, to the point I was doing combos into specials. Still lost though.
In my casual gaming life, I've been playing a game on the PSP called "Yggdra Union". A cute game with a cool system, awesome visuals, even more awesome music, and it's just friggin' hard!! Although it's a time-consuming game, I still manage to find time to play it, since I usually have my homework caught up. I've had to quit playing Disgaea 3 entirely though :X I think the last time I played it was mid-to-late September, right before I started school again. That game is a soul sucker....
The next two games on my "Want to Import" list are "Trigger Heart Exelica Enhanced", and "Fate/Unlimited Codes", both for the PS2. I was skeptical about getting both of them at first -- Triggerheart for the price, and FUC for the combo system...yet another game for me to fail terribly at -- but I am a fan of cute things, and the figurine being sold with both of the Limited Editions was more than enough to sway me. I just hope I have extra Christmas moneh come December >_<

I'm still single, and intend to keep it that way for a while :D

Where to start....

2008-08-18T21:49:00.000-07:00

Ok, so it's been a while since I posted in here. I don't know what to say really. Well, I'll just start from June, which was my "Month of Joy".

In June, I went to Chicago for my 22nd birthday, and a video game tournament called MWC (Mid West Championships). Overall, I had fun, met new people and old familiar faces. I didn't do well in tournament play as usual, but I gave it my best.
I got a new phone which ended up getting damaged, so I got it replaced not even a month having the phone.

In July, I got attracted to a little site called eBay. Needless to say, I spent a lot of money in a short amount of time. I'm happy though, cause I got what I wanted.
More importantly than eBay and video game nostalgia, my brother came home for a two-week vacation from Iraq. It was grerat having him around again, but the time went by so fast. It's funny, cause I wasn't at work at all his last week here at home because I had sprained my wrist and took time off to let it heal. So I got time off from my stressful job, AND got to spend time with my brother before he went back overseas.

In August, Ohio had two newcomers on the fighting game scene. I introduced them to my little group, and we played video games. It was fun, but I don't think I'll be doing it again. I burned a quarter tank of gas picking them up and dropping them off, in as little as four hours. Those were all city miles BTW.

Currently, I'm worried about school...not really the money, but my ability to pass classes. I only have three more math courses before I can transfer to OSU and start my major. The only problem is that I just can't seem to grasp the concepts in class. I have notes, examples in the book, and very lengthy homework. Usually, I can do half of the assignments and get it, but for whatever reason I can't pass the quizzes and tests because I can't remember enough of the material. I guess I need to get a tutor and hit them books REALLY hard.

And as funny as this sounds, I've sworn off women. And to stop any incoming jokes, NO I'M NOT GAY. I need to focus on finances and school. Besides, I'm tired of having my little ol' heart broken time and time again.

In a nutshell, life could be better, but it could always be worse. Isn't that the same for everybody though?

June: My month of joy!

2008-05-29T21:19:00.000-07:00

I just got the coolest phone on the 28th! It's a Sony Ericsson. I got mine in this cool green color. It's a sliding phone that takes great pictures, doesn't limit the time you have for recording (and the clarity of the video is superb!), and it has a walkman feature on it! There's also an FM radio on it that I don't ever plan on using. I was able to put possibly one of the greatest BGM tracks from a fighting game on my phone as a ring tone: "Fatal K.O."......I couldn't be happier.

Here are a few things I'm looking forward to next month:

1) My birthday. I'll be 22.
2) Midwest Conference (MWC). It's a video game tournament, more specifically for fighting games.
3) Most importantly, a fighting game called "Sengoku BASARA X". I personally think the game is going to be a blast, but only if Capcom/Arc System Works fixes the more significant part of the game's problems.

I would take my video game training a little more seriously right now if it weren't for RPGs. The main ones I'm playing now are "Makai Senki Disgaea 3" and "Tales of Destiny". Man, they are SUCH cool games. But I need to start playing "Arcana Heart" again, which is not an RPG. I just did some casuals with my friend a couple of nights ago, and we both made some substantial improvements in our gaming. We've also noticed things we need to work on. I'm actually getting a little more comfortable attempting to do the things that I once thought were flat-out impossible.

Anime Central: My impressions

2008-05-19T11:34:00.000-07:00

I'll keep this one relatively short.

I HAD A BLAST!!! I spent over $300 easy. I was handing out $20 bills like they were candy! I love all of the merchandise I bought. My favorite is the Yusuke doll!

Video games were fun as well. Both of my friends placed 1st in their respective games and represented us very well. I placed third in one game, which is extremely good for me.

I could easily see myself going again, just as long as I plan ahead a little better and have more money.

Just a little about my life

2008-05-12T16:06:00.000-07:00

This is my first blog. I never found them interesting or whatnot, but since I'm pretty good at typing....why not?

Where should I start? I think I'll start with my schedule. My school generally changes, but I always go on Mondays and Wednesdays, my only days off from work. Once I get out of school, I have to do all of my homework that day, otherwise I fall behind. It's bad enough that I struggle with material even after doing homework and studying notes.
Next would be work. AH YES, my job. I work at Wal-Mart. Everyday from 2-11pm except on Mondays and Wednesdays, I work at the best and worst job I've ever had. The best because the pay isn't really that bad, and they're willing to work around my school schedule. The worst because of the people I have to deal with - both customers AND associates. I work in the back room to avoid dealing with customers, but inevitably it's impossible to avoid them all day. Even my own crew is a let-down. I honestly feel that I am the hardest worker back there. There are a few other people who do work hard at their individual tasks and actually try...but the rest of them just don't care (edited lol). I push myself so hard just to try and help everybody out. If I get done early, I'll help them with their tasks, just for them to end up leaving when 11pm hits....and there's still work to be done. I developed the worst part of my personality working at Wal-Mart, and all the people I have to deal with. If I didn't work there, I'd be so much happier...

Now let's move onto something a little more cheerful: Video games. And not just any video games, FIGHTING GAMES. It started out with probably Mortal Kombat on the 32-bit Sega Genesis, and then it moved on to Street Fighter on the Sega and then Super Nintendo. I remember trying to play Street Fighter in the arcade while I was younger and was not very good because of the joystick layout. I developed a fear of playing on stick very young. But going back to the subject, I never actually really took fighting games seriously until 2006. That's when it hit me that I have to actually PRACTICE outside of doing casuals and complaining whenever I mess up and lose (which I still do by the way). Unfortunately, I'm still not that good, even with practice. I finally bought a stick back in October 2007, and a new one in April. I still have difficulties doing motions seeing as I've only been playing stick since October '07.

I have so many fighting games that I own, but the one that I mainly play is called "Arcana Heart". She is the love of my life. She the one I talk to when I'm down and stressed. She cheers me up when I do one combo correctly that I've been practicing for over a month :D Speaking of which, I finally did the first part of possibly the hardest combo in the game after a little over a month of practicing it. I have not been able to pull it off again, however. The more videos I watch, the more discouraged I get....I mean, some of this stuff I see is beyond my mental capacity and execution. I can understand most of it, but I just can't do it myself. I keep trying to tell myself to stop being so negative and either practice more or use an easier character, but I'm being stubborn. It makes perfect sense to just use someone easier, but that's like 7 months focused on one character down the drain. I've asked questions, practiced, researched, put in the effort, and focused. I seem to come up short though. It may be mental block, or just a severe case of "beating myself up too much". Either way, I need to go back to basics and remember why I began playing video games. Last time I checked, they were supposed to be fun. With all of the competition. ego trips, and selfless jerks these days, it's so easy to forget that.

By this point, I'm pretty sure you realize that I take video games too seriously. The way I see it, I have to. I don't do anything else besides work and go to school, both full time. After I take care of all of my obligations, there's really nothing left to do but to play video games. I play them to cope, because my life is so stressful and I generally don't talk to people about my problems. I think it's important to find my own answers to my problems, and 'video games' seem to work fine most of the time.

I won't even talk about women. Let's just say that I don't plan on dating ever again. Oh yeah, there's this game I want.....

The last thing I want to bring up about my life is the type of music I listen to. If you haven't guessed it by now, I listen to Japanese music. That is ALL I listen to. Seriously. Like right now, I'm listening to a song called "Distance" by Nami Tamaki. Bet you've never heard of her. If you have, then introduce yourself to me (lol). I don't know jack about music in the country that I live in...and I don't really care. As horrid and close-minded as that sounds, I like what I like. I'm not going to force myself to listen to something that I don't enjoy listening to. I don't understand most of the lyrics, but I can translate some. My major is going to be in Japanese once I transfer to OSU, so I think it's purely coincidental that some T.V. programs I watch, video games I play, and music I listen to are in Japanese. I do love that language.

That's pretty much me in a nutshell. Thank you very much if you bothered to read this far. I actually had fun typing this.