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One of many Addictions: Video Game Guide Books

Tuesday, November 22nd, 2011 at 3:16 am

I won’t lie. I have a weak willpower. It’s the thing that makes me think “I’ll just have a little Bacon on that Double Cheeseburger” instead of “Salad is the way to go”.
I’m not weak willed but I’ve definitely got a highly addictive personality.

I’ve collected Books (Garfield, Calvin and Hobbes), Comics (16 large boxes, having collected comics for over 10 years), Manga (DBZ, Naruto, Death Note, Neon Genesis Evangelion), Magazines (PSN, Wizard), Artbooks (maybe I’ll do another post on these), Toys (RAH DX Gundam Seed toys, Adam Hughes DC Statues, Jim Lee’s DC Universe Online Statues, and most recently Marvel and DC’s Kotobukiya line) and finally: Video Game Guides.

Now, that’s not to say I buy them all. No, far from it. But when I see a guide to a game that I know I might play, as opposed to one I do or have played, I have to have it. Even more so, if there’s a collector’s edition: I have to have it. And I have to have it new. Yes, I’m weak like that.

Today, I had some time to kill so I went to Indigo. A hundred and something dollars later, I have these 3 books:

My reasoning for each book:
Batman Arkham City Collector’s Edition Guide because: I have the Batman: Arkham Asylum Guide and EVENTUALLY, I plan to play this game.
Zelda: Skyward Sword Collector’s Edition Guide because: Given the buzz around the game, maybe eventually I’ll play it. Also, I have another guide like it….(see below)
And finally a Super Mario 3D Land Guide because: I don’t know, I’ve finished the game and gotten all the gold medals…there’s very little this guide can tell me.
(in fact, after reading the guide, I realize I’m not done the game..I have 4/5 stars. The last star involves reaching the top of EVERY flagpole AND beating every level with Luigi…currently, after 1 day, I’m on World 3…again >_<). Anyways, I'm stupid in the way of buying guidebooks and games. Even worse, Collector's Editions always really screw me over. I have a Collector's Edition DC Universe Online [PC], BlazBlue [PS3], Gran Turismo 5 [PS3], Catherine [PS3], Marvel VS Capcom 3 [PS3], Street Fighter 4 [PS3]....AND a Final Fantasy XIII [PS3] and Metal Gear Solid 4 [PS3]....and those last two both remain sealed still -_-; Another example of my addiction:

Well, I have 2 regular Zelda Guides because Z and I both got one before we moved in together. We have two Twilight Princesses [Wii] and two Wii’s too :) But one of the guides is still shrink wrapped.
And then I have the Collector’s Edition Guide because….well, I wanted that one over the regular one. I just HAD to have it, despite 98% of the content being the same probably. Also, the Collector’s Edition Guide is still shrink wrapped too! (Well, why use that when I have a regular guide to “destroy”).

Click the image above for a larger one
I have tons of Video game Guidebooks, many for games that don’t need one or of which I’ve never/rarely used:
Street Fighter IV, Smash Bros Brawl? Why would I need fighting game guides?

Games I’ve never played, but have guides for: Kingdom Hearts II, Metal Gear Solid 4, Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy XII, Dissidia: Final Fantasy

Games I’ve only played for a moment, but got distracted: Super Paper Mario, Metal Gear Solid 3, Zelda: Major’s Mask, Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus, Batman: Arkham Asylum

I will admit that I love guidebooks, even if I don’t use them really. I love looking through them, looking at the art (same reason I buy artbooks), looking at the strategies, even if I may never use them.

I don’t regret buying these guides, but it does seem a bit unnecessary some times. Still, who’s to say what games I could be playing in the future. I played 5 year old New Super Mario Bros. [DS] just last month, I played 10 year old Zelda: Ocarina of Time [N64/3DS] last/this year.

I would much rather buy the guide new, when it’s out than buy an old, damaged guide for a high price. Seriously, a New/Like New Majora’s Mask guide is IMPOSSIBLE to find. Even old beat up guides range from like, $60 to $200. Ridiculous. I was able to get 1 off ebay in horrid condition for $30ish and another one from my local vintage gamestore for a bit more than cover price (that was like finding gold, seriously).

I just wanted to write about game guides, since I bought 3 of them today….and since I haven’t blogged in a while. ANY TYPE OF INSPIRATION WILL DO.

Posted in All Posts, Art, Design & Art, Games, My Life, Shopping, Things I Own | 1 Comment »

Life is good again…sorta

Saturday, November 5th, 2011 at 3:09 pm

This week was a busy week. I was working super hard since last Friday…all the way until about Wednesday night (including the weekend). Overtime any moment I had available. But I was still trying to sleep a decent amount, so as not to get sick again. This was all in preparation for a launch that was supposed to take place yesterday night, from 6pm and take me all the way until 11am.

Fortunately, late Wednesday, they delayed the project. Good news for me. I was able to relax a bit…I’m still working hard, still doing lots of overtime…but not killing myself with stress. I have another week..maybe two.

In the last week, I’ve done more real development than I’ve probably done all year. I learned a lot, because I was forced to. I’m really proud of what I’ve learnt and accomplished this week. And my love for web development was renewed once again. I can’t wait for this project to be over so that I can start my other development projects.

I’m going to Niagara Falls tomorrow with Z for some wine tasting. Staying there overnight…and coming back Monday. Pretty excited…I still have to pack for it though..and I dunno when I can, cuz I’m about to go to Richmond Hill’s Go for Tea and then dinner and maybe karaoke?

I’m happy though, I worked so hard this week and pretty much every moment I was awake…I even worked last night from about 10pm until 4:30am. And this is my reward :) Hanging out with friends…being social and going out…I feel like I haven’t seen anyone in weeks. Anyways, I’ll try to catch up more blog wise, I know I’m royally lagging behind but yeah, my life has been all work, no play, so there isn’t really much to blog about anyways.

Wait, to say I was using all my free time doing overtime was a lie. Every day I’d spend one hour between the long work day, and the long overtime nights playing Kirby: Return to Dreamland with Z. We actually beat the game in about a week…we got all the 120 gears you’re supposed to collect…though we’re still only at 94% completion as of yesterday. Have to figure out where the last 6% comes from…but I’m determined to get it, and be 100% complete :D

I’m also playing Kirby Mass Attack occasionally, but it’s at the really hard levels and I’m not really enjoying it as much. I’ve never REALLY enjoyed this game despite that it’s a side scrolling game, with a stylus twist. One thing I pride myself in side scrolling games is that I’m generally able to move the way I want to move. The coordination I feel between my head, fingers, and characters on the screen is generally pretty fluid. This is not true for FPS games, some driving games, etc. But side scrollers…I’m generally pro at. In this case though there are always 10 Kirbys moving around, that you have to keep track of. You can’t move the way you want because they move in a group…and some Kirbys always lag behind. Also, when you get 10 (the max) – which you need to unlock stuff – they take up so much of the screen.

Anyways, must work for the next 25 minutes, then get ready to go out…and then go out for the rest of the night :D even now, I’m still so damn busy! But I love it! <3 Oh wait, one more thing to write about. My cough seemed to mostly go awake this week! I don’t know why, I was so stressed…not eating right…HOWEVER, we were sleeping with the windows open, rather than the A/C on. I’m going to assume that was the key….the fresh air at night. Really happy it’s pretty much gone cuz we got mini-karaoke tonight…and in 2 weeks :P

Posted in All Posts, Daily Randomness, Development, Games, Games, My Life, Reviews | No Comments »

Zelda: Ocarina of Time – Final Chapter –

Wednesday, April 13th, 2011 at 11:20 pm

Sorry for the lack of updates, I wanted to stop spending time writing about what I was playing and just play…but…now that I’m done…

Date
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Friday, April 8, 2011
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Progress
Start –> Deku Tree –>
Dodongo’s Cavern –> Jabu-Jabu’s Belly –>
Forest Temple –> Fire Temple –> Ice Dungeon –>
Water Temple –> Bottom of the Well –> Shadow Temple –>
Gerudo’s Fortress –> Desert Colossus –>
Spirit Temple –> Ganon’s Tower 4/6 –>
Ganon’s Tower 6/6 –> Ganon –> End !

Another game taking 7 days (New Super Mario Bros. took 7 days too).

Notes:

Finished with 100/100 Skulltula tokens, 36/36 heart pieces, and all the upgrades.
Water Temple was the first dungeon where I missed something or had to go back or had to look in a walkthrough for what I missed…it took quite a while. Also, it was epicly annoying swapping boots, something I’ve heard will be fixed in the 3DS version
Bottom of the Well was scary…the ReDead scare the crap outta me…they’re like, these skinny naked dudes that move when you stay still….and when you get close, they unexpectedly and quickly latch on to you…Q_Q /dislike!
Shadow Temple, specifically Bongos Bongos was interesting. I wrote this whole, 400 word post right after the fight because it was so epic but I don’t feel like writing/posting it. To summarize, I went into the boss fight with full life and 3 fairies (used one during the actual temple). I couldn’t figure out how to beat him…until using all 3 fairies (with my full life at the start of the battle, I effectively went though 3 full lives before figuring the fight out). I finally knew what to do in my last life, but it was still pretty difficult because I was out/low on arrows. Eventually, I beat him with 1/4 of a heart left…it was uber close and I was on such a high after beating him…if there’s any fight I’d like to do again, it’d be this one, now that I know what to do. I wish I fraps’d that…I’d love to have re-watched it.
Spent a good chunk of time getting the 50 arrow quiver upgrade (riding Epona and shooting the targets). I saved right before playing it, played through 500 rupees, and then just reset and started again (so I had the experience, w/o technically spending the money). Even when I realized you could hit the bottles (effectively giving you an easy 700/1500 points), it was still tough. Eventually, I posted a post-it note on my TV for where the arrow would hit. Once I did that, my accuracy improved from an average 1000-1100 points to 1300-1450…but it took quite a while to break 1500. It was pretty fun though
After doing the Spirit Tower and just before Ganon’s tower, I noticed I only had 19 hearts instead of the 20 I should have had. I had all the heart pieces (I’d been keeping track), the only way to miss one would be the boss fights. So I returned to a child, went through the Deku Tree, Dodongo’s Cavern and Jabu-Jabu’s Belly looking for the heart I missed (fortunately, it’s pretty easy to get to the boss rooms from the beginning). I was scared though, none of those 3 dungeons had the heart and I specifically remember getting the hearts from the Water Temple and on…I went to the Fire Temple (before the Forest Temple) out of convenience and it wasn’t there either. Seriously, if the heart had disappeared, I would honestly restart the game because I could never finish the game with 19/20 hearts…Anyways, lucky enough, it was still in the Forest Temple boss room. I was ecstatic when I found it :D soooo relieved.
*Spoiler Alert* from this point on
When Ganon first “died” I was like “WTF, so easy!” and then when we were escaping the castle (which I found uber annoying as Zelda had to be really close to you to proceed….you couldn’t even go ahead of her), I started to think there was more. And then the ReDead caught me and freaked me out :'( And finally, at the end, Ganondorf finally turned into the Pig/Boar Ganon, which was what I was expecting the whole time, given my knowledge of Ganon. I found it quite interesting that throughout the game, he’s known as Ganondorf, but occasionally, they’ll call him Ganon (like, <10 times). The only thing I didn't like is that you finish Ganon with your sword. Ganon is SUPPOSED to be killed with the Silver/Light Arrow. That's how it is in Zelda, Zelda: A Link to the Past, and the Zelda comic in Nintendo Power (based off A Link to the Past). Anyways, I was expecting to finish Ganon with the arrow but disappointingly, Link just slice and dices his head.
I thought the ending was interesting…the fact that Link went back in time was…the right thing to do but I wanted Link and Zelda to have more..moments. I guess it’s always their destiny, to be so close when they’re physically so far apart and to be apart when they can be together. Anyways, if Link goes back, and Ganon’s defeated, doesn’t that void most of the game? Stupid time travel and paradoxes! I’m guessing, based on what I read, this is how Majora’s Mask is. The other world/alternate reality. I found the END end to be interesting, when small Link greets small Zelda. Was that a moment from the past, when Link first met Zelda? Or is it current time, Link seeing Zelda. Or…I dunno. I’ll read up on it…I didn’t want the game to end though :( Story was great but I wanted more…
*Spoiler Alert END*
I found getting the 51-100 Skulltula tokens pretty worthless. By the time you get all of them, you’re pretty much finished the game. If you got all the mini-game upgrades ahead of time, then what do you have to spend money on? Also, with the light arrows netting you 50 rupees with any guy killed, you pretty much have infinite money that way too. I think that was the most disappointing part of the work I did.
Can’t wait for the Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3DS game. I found the story, music, puzzles, and gameplay to be great but the graphics were a bit outdated/pixelated. I noticed at first, but as you play more, you get used to it and don’t mind anymore. But every once in a while, you’ll see something that looks a bit too pixelated and it took me out of the story. I’m a bit too late to get Pokemon Black and White as they seem sold out in many places, but if I were to get a 3DS, I’d like to have purchased those Pokemon games. Granted, I’ve only beat red, blue, yellow (and maybe green, I don’t remember)…and I missed any games with 152+ pokemon, I still like the concept/wouldn’t mind. Those games were worth it, despite not getting all 150 Pokemon (due to the game I played being emulated and thus, trades were impossible).
What next? I dislike the idea of playing Zelda as a kid again (Majora’s Mask)…so obnoxious! Can’t deflect with a proper shield, the shield you can deflect with sets on fire and disappears (HATED THAT). Sword is so tiny and weak. I also dislike the idea of a time limit cuz I play slowly -_-; Not that Ocarina of Time took close to 72 hours…but still. Not sure what I’ll do just yet…play Metal Gear Solid? Study some web stuff?

I’m really happy that I got around to, finally played, and beat the game. It’s been on my to do list for soooo long, it’s great to cross that off :) Major accomplishment here! Didn’t even take very long…can’t wait to play it on the 3DS, for the better visuals, the Master Quest version, better and more usable UI, and to revisit and redo fights now that I know them.

Fin.

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Zelda: Ocarina of Time – Part 3

Sunday, April 10th, 2011 at 1:57 am

**Spoiler Alert**

I figure I should have a spoiler alert as I’m going to discuss where I am in the game now.

Update – 1AM
I just beat the Fire Temple. It wasn’t quite the puzzle that Forest Temple was imo…but I still have 4? more complicated dungeons to go.

I still don’t know how to do Zelda: A Link to the Past – Dark World Dungeon 5 (Ice dungeon). I was stuck on it for so long when I was younger, that I decided to go to dungeon 6 and get the key item that would allow me to continue dungeon 5. Ever since then, I’ve always done Dungeon 6 before 5….it just seems to work. And it makes 5 really easy :)

Anyways…
73 – Skulltula tokens
33/36 – 1/4 Heart Containers
4 Bottles
All 3 tunics
Biggoron’s Sword
…and all that other stuff.

I’m admittingly using the internet to play…in an ideal world, I’d have to time to mess around and figure everything out on my own like I did for Zelda: A Link to the Past…but those days when I had that much time are gone. I try to avoid spoilers and I don’t use any help when doing dungeons…but I use the internet for like, where the skulltulas are and where the heart containers are. And how to get the 4th bottle.

Right now, I think I have everything I can get at my current time of playing. Like, I have everything I could have, right now. I must admit, it’s kinda cheap…because there’s no way, playing on my own, that I’d have 31 Heart Containers. I imagine if I weren’t using any guides, I’d likely be around 12 or 16….and I wouldn’t have this 4th bottles…not that I really need it so far. Just feels kinda cheap to me, this game, so far, is pretty easy and that might be why. Cuz I’m cheating!

Things that made me laugh, or that I failed at, or thought was awesome so far.

Zora, moving his fat ass ever so slowly to unblock the door to the 3rd dungeon (made me lol cuz it took so long)
In the Forest Temple, with the 1 skeleton knight, followed by 2 skeleton knights…those guys owned me royal. Everything so far had been dirt easy, no use for Lon Lon’s milk, fairies, nothing…so I had one bottle with a bug (you never know when you might need to unearth a Skulltula!), one bottle with Lon Lon’s milk and…one bottle with the blue flame (which, as I said in my last post, I bought). Anyways, I had beat one skeleton and had 3 hearts lefts….1 skeleton left. And then the other skelleton came back to life! I used both my Lon Lon’s milk but the 2 skellies took that off in like, 15 seconds. I thought I was gonna die so I just aggressively attacked my ass off…and I beat them…but I barely survived. It was then that I decided…to get some fairies :) 4 Fairies…so now, I’m prepared for it all!
Forest Temple’s Puzzle ghost. Moving the blocks in time and preparing them to work after a rotation. Never had a puzzle like that in Zelda, it was awesome.
Forest Temple’s first boss: Phantom Ganon. Just the idea of coming out of the paintings…and I had no idea what to do. Well, obviously use Bow and Arrows (as that was the weapon of the dungeon) but…I kept missing, and getting shocked! Jerkface! Thought that fight was pretty interesting in concept. Kinda like Haku from Naruto, Zabuza partner…going from mirror to mirror
One of the reasons I HATE Zelda dungeons: That stupid hand that comes from the ceiling and brings you to the beginning. As someone who does things thoroughly one time only, I can think of nothing worse than having to repeat things unnecessarily. Waste of time. It got me once and I was like “WTF???”…and then was like..”F*** YOU!!”
I used my expensive Blue Flame to unfreeze Zora to get the Biggoron sword. It was well worth it.

Seems like I won’t be able to finish the game by tomorrow sadly. I’ve spent a lot of time the last 3 days play…but I’ve also been sleeping a lot and going out…basically just recharging. I finish, at most, 2 dungeons a day. And I have….4 to 5 to go….and after tomorrow, will have to take it easy time wise (cuz I go back to work). I guess my goal is to finish before the end of the week…if I can do that, I’ll be happy. I’m glad I finally got around to playing this…it took a long time to find the time to do it…but I’m glad I finally did.

Update – 3AM
I just did the Ice “Dungeon”. Don’t know if I said this, but I HATE Ice and Water dungeons…and levels. Very happy Ice Dungeon was so short. When I saw the map, 1F, I was like “WTF!?” but yeah, not complaining…omw to the Water Dungeon, but I should sleep…….

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Zelda: Ocarina of Time – Part 2

Friday, April 8th, 2011 at 9:22 pm

Update – 9pm:
I’m just about to enter the Temple of Time and (I think) get the Master sword.

My status:
44 Skulltula tokens
17/36 Heart Containers
A useless Stone of Agony (because I have no rumble pack on my Wii controller)
5 songs
3 medallions
max deku bullets (50)
max bomb bag (40)
max deku sticks (30)
max deku nuts (30)
bombchu (50)
3 bottles
500 Rupees
2 Magic spells (Din’s Fire & Farore’s Wind)
8 Magic beans planted (and still have 2 left in my inventory)

.
.
.

I realized that there MUST be a way to go back as a kid because some of this stuff is simply unreachable at this point. Like visiting the Desert Colossus to plant a magic bean. Can’t do it with those Gerudo blocking the way.

I’m pretty happy with my progress so far.

But that was the easy part. Part 2 will probably much harder.

Oh, also: I spent 30 minutes today fishing for a 10-pounder for a 1/4 heart container. I think I almost caught the 10-pound fish twice, the first time tho I didn’t reel fast enough :( And then, 10 minutes later, finally got him. Stupid fishing.

Oh Oh, also: I bought this blue flame and 300 rupees (because i had money to burn) right before giving my bunny mask to that guy…he paid 489 rupees for it :D it was awesome seeing the money go from 11 to 500 :)

Comparison to Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Like all Zelda games, the sword, shield, bombs, and boomerang are the fundamental weapons. Bow and Arrow as well but, at least for Ocarina of Time, I’ve yet to obtain it, despite seeing arrows for sale since the beginning of the game. While I only have strong Zelda: A Link to the Past knowledge, it seems like bottles in this game are pretty similar. The first 2 are easy to get. The 3rd you get eventually (but fairly quickly), but the 4th is difficult to get until late in the game. Also, in Zelda: A Link to the Past, you get boots that make you run fast after the first dungeon. Those boots come in handy like crazy. In Ocarina of Time, especially the way I’ve been doing things, running around inefficiently (since this is my first time playing the game), going to one place, and back, and everything, on foot as a child is sooooo slow. I know I get a horse later in the game (as I see Link riding a horse in the intro :P) but…man, couldn’t they find a mount for young link? A boar or big dog? So much play time wasted doing that.

@Karol RE: Majora’s Mask
When I talk to my friends who played both OoT and MM (and there are 3, you being one of them), the other 2 don’t really like MM. Complicated, time travel, takes place in one day…that’s all I really know. Not sure if it’s on Wii Virtual Console or not…if it’s not, I probably definitely will not play it. Anyways, I’ll decide after I finish OoT. MM better not be based around water. I hate all the water levels/aspects of water in any game. Hard to maneuver under water, can’t move the character like I want….anyways, that’s a rant for another time… :)

Posted in All Posts, Games, My Life | 1 Comment »