Yay an updated Zoundry

Go to www.zoundry.com for a new version of the Zoundry Blog Writer. It looks good and a great replacement for the once superior, Qumana.

I'll be posting more later about Video game burn out which I'm experiencing right now.

Anyway, I'm thinking of bringing back the Technorati tags. Should I bother? I don't really have a lot of returning visitors even though I get more than 50 page-loads a day. I know how pathetic that number is, so what, I don't care. As long as I help people find the things they want.

Crystalis is hard to crack

I've not been blogging because I may be reading comics, playing videogames, working (if I can get off my ass), and mainly playing videogames. I'm currently playing Crystalis for the NES. Some say it's a Zelda clone, but a lot of gamers think that this game tops even Zelda (a sacrilege?). In my own opinion, Crystalis does not top Zelda, but it has a nice place next to this Miyamoto masterpiece.

For the uninitiated, Crystalis is an action rpg akin to Zelda. But in my humble opinion, Zelda is more of an action/adventure game than a real rpg. In Crystalis there's real experience points and hit points that you can level up by killing monsters. I don't have a strong argument as to whether or not Zelda is really an rpg, but I believe there's no such thing as experience points in Zelda. This is not a very informed opinion because I have not finished a Zelda game in my life (hides in shame). I'll try to finish the first Zelda after Crystalis, though.

Crystalis is set in a post-apocalyptic world where the hero wakes up from cryogenic suspension. If you need to know more about the story just try Wikipedia, I'm effing lazy. This game kicks so much ass that if I'm not playing it on emulation I would've suffered hours and hours of death and agony against this game. This game is Nintendo hard. If you are not effing careful, even small critters inside the dungeons can kick you in the junk. Although the difficulty is offset somewhat because you can save in any town you are in, it's doubly easier to save on an emulator though. I love the idea of different elemental sword but it makes the game much more difficult. For example a dungeon can be crawling with critters vulnerable to the wind sword, but goddamn, there's monsters mixed in who are only vulnerable to the fire sword. This forces you to switch swords regularly, which is really tedious.

I haven't finished Crystalis yet, but I hope I have enough gumption to plow through this little torture chamber of a game. Many won't find this game hard, namely the good gamers. But I just find this thing hard but fun enough to waste my time on it.

Update: Just finished beating that witch, Sabera. According to the FAQ, she's one of the most difficult bosses in the game. I beat her about after leveling up to 11 in about 3 tries. If this is how difficult all boss battles will be, I don't know if I can finish this damn game at all.

Geekman tackles FF6

Geekman, a friend of mine is currently playing the Snes classic Final Fantasy VI. It's been a long time since he's played any 2D rpg's but he seems to be enjoying himself even though it's only on emulation.

The beauty of these 2D games rests solely on gameplay and story. Maybe it's not appropriate to compare FF6 to FF7 since both were conceive in a different eras of gaming.

Unfortunately, some people today shun the 2D classics like they were trash. This irks me so much. I see a lot of trash talk against FF6's bobble headed characters and how the graphics detract from the gameplay. How the hell can super deformed graphics detract from gameplay when gameplay is the only premium of that said game.

I'm no 2D Final Fantasy apologist or anything, but I believe not every 3D iteration of games are better than the older ones. I'm not arguing that there's a lack of great 3D titles out there, although kids love them graphical rich games.

What it comes down to is respect for legacy. Am I being overly dramatic? Maybe. Who cares, this is my homepage anyway.

Tell me, would there be an Oblivion without Arena? Would there be Counter Strike without Wolfenstein and Doom? No. So why the hate? Just because you can afford the next great console or that shiny new 8800 and a quad core doesn't give you the right to rag on old games.

So go ahead and play your Company of Heroes, your Supreme Commander or any such things. I'll just boot my old copy of MOO and X-Com for a weekend of ugly aesthetics, clunky control systems, but a good dose of genuine fun.

Chrono Cross and Psx games

I just finished Chrono Cross and I'm sorry to say that it's a mediocre game. Compared to Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross is a disgrace to the original. The problem with these new games is the graphics, that's all it has to offer. Forget gameplay, just add a million polygons, modern gamers would consume it no matter what as long as the game looks nice. As a retro gamer and emu gamer, I find Psone games to be all flash but no substance. Can anyone recommend a good Psone game to me?

Anyway, I played this Psone game using Epsxe 1.5.2. My system is a 10-year old PC - PII 800 MHZ, 256 MB ram, Nvidia Geforce MX4000 64 MB ram. I ran the game from start to finish with minimal problems. If you are an emu gamer and you want to play Chrono Cross without any fuss, I suggest using PSXeven emu. Epsxe is great but you need to tweak it to play Chrono Cross.

I think I'll just stick to playing Snes games for now.

Tales of Phantasia is epic

I just finished playing Tales of Phantasia (ToP) for the Snes. It's in Japanese but was translated by Aeon Genesis. If you want to play it as well, just visit Fantasyanime for the rom and the translation patch.

I must say that ToP is an epic undertaking. It's one of those games where you can explore practically all the gameworld even when you're not properly levelled-up. It's not as great as Final Fantasy 4 or 6, but it has it's own charm and fun factor that the Final Fantasies do not.

Gameplay combat for ToP is real-time where you control the swords man Cless. You have no direct control of 3 of his companions but you can set up behavior and strategies for them ala Fallout. If you really want to play the 5 other characters, you can do so by putting them first in formation. This adds to the fun of the game.

ToP is an old game, so I can't really say much more about it. Although, there's a GBA remake of ToS that has updated graphics, so check it out if you have a DS or a GBA. This title is epic and loads of fun. I highly recommend it. Heck, I stopped blogging just to finish the darn thing.

Retrogaming - Diablo 1

So I've been going on a nostalgia trip when it comes to games these days. The oldie but goodie I have been playing is Diablo 1. I remember finishing Diablo during college but I'm ashamed to say that I only pwned the game with my warrior 'coz I cheated. Remember those cheat codes during the heydays of Diablo and Starcraft. Well, I used one on Diablo and when I met the last boss himself, I killed him with about two to three hacks of my sword. Not a very fun proposition.

Now, I made another character, a mage. I must say that mages are at a little disadvantage since some low level monsters are immune to magic. Meaning, no matter how powerful your charged bolt is, you won't do much damage to a low level creature with immunity. This in turn forces you to switch to brute force, which is pretty useless since you are a freaking mage. Now I remember why I used that damn cheat, yeah, 'coz it's frustrating to be killed by a freaking bat immune to magic. But no--hell no--I won't cheat this time. I'll try to finish it without any help.

Heroes on RPN 9

I'm really glad that RPN 9 picked up Heroes. Heroes is a very entertaining series from NBC, an understatement if you have watched Heroes before. I'm a big fan of this series, that's big since I haven't been watching any American series since Mcgyver - hah!

So If you are in the Philippines, watch Heroes every Sunday, 8pm on RPN 9.  Give it a chance, it will blow you away.