Shinmaru

Aw...poor Gohan. This is a very well-written start to the story. The grammar is near perfect and the spelling is spot-on. I look forward to the next installment.

My most memorable moment in gaming would be the first time that I played Super Mario Bros. for the NES. I was at my cousin's house and we were getting ready to go to sleep. Or rather, we were supposed to be getting ready to go to sleep. As soon as his mom closed the door, he pulled out his NES and started playing Super Mario Bros. I was very young (about 3 years old) at the time and didn't really understand what he was playing. However, I did see the Nintendo light gun on the floor that was plugged into the NES. Of course, being the little rascal I was at the time, I picked up the gun and started randomly shooting at the screen. After about four shots, I hit Mario with a shot from the gun and he died. Of course, I didn't care that he died, I only cared about the funny music that came when Mario died. So, I did it again when he came back on the screen. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is my most memorable moment in gaming. Ah...memories. [spoiler]Aerith being killed by Sephiroth...that still ranks pretty high on my list of moments in games, but not because I liked Aerith. In fact, I never really liked her and found her to be annoying. I just thought it looked cool when she bit the big one lol.[/spoiler]

Heh, I'm a roll lol! *looks at James' question* Okay, the answer to this is either deceptively simple or mind-bendingly hard. Either way, I'm gonna have to do some thinking for this one. Okay, I'm gonna take a wild guess with this one. I can't remember whether Donkey Kong was released in 1981 or 1983, so for purposes of this questions, I'll say it was released in '83, which would make 2003 the 20th anninversary of Donkey Kong. Who knows, I may actually be right!

I like John Cena. I hope he'll go far in the WWE. I don't know about him being the next Rock, but if ends up being that good, then I'd certainly encourage it. Unfortunately, I won't be able to see his graveyard promo until Saturday. UPN (the station that broadcasts Smackdown! down here in California) showed a Dodger game instead of Smackdown! Actually, that's kinda good for me, since I was at driving school 'till 8:30 anyway. EDIT: WWE Superstar sighting: I went to the Dodger game today and Goldberg threw out the first pitch - and it was a pretty good pitch. A fastball, I believe. It looked to me to be about in the mid-80s range. Anyway, it was definetely the best first pitch I've ever seen a celebrity throw. EDIT #2: Saw Smackdown! last night and it was a pretty good show. The Matt Hardy/Chris Benoit match was the highlight of the night even though poor Matt got busted open (but he went on which proves his badass Mattitude). The Kurt Angle/Big Show and World's Greatest Tag Team match was okay, simply because of Kurt Angle. In my opinion, Kurt works the matches like nobody else on Smackdown! When it was just dragging on to an all-out brawl, Kurt kept it exciting. Oh yeah, John Cena's rap about Vince McMahon was pretty cool too, even though he was sucking up to Vince. Cena's stock is rising, that's for sure. And another Cena note - I saw Cena's impression of the Atlanta Braves announcer (can't remember his name right now) and former Cubs announcer Harry Carry. Cena's a pretty good impressionist, if I do say so myself - his impressions were spot on. EDIT #3: I wish someone else would post here already, so I wouldn't have to edit so much. I have to say that RAW was very good last night. It started out okay with the whole thing with Stone Cold, Bischoff and Linda McMahon. Unfortunately, she told him that he couldn't beat up superstars anymore. I was finally getting used to Stone Cold just handing out random Stunners lol. The women's tag match was okay, but it wasn't up to the caliber of the women's matches that have been taking place lately on RAW. Of course, that still means that it was a million times better than the women's matches on Smackdown! Gail Kim messed up once but she recovered pretty well. Overall, a decent effort. Randy Orton came out with Evolution and called himself the "legend killer." Randy is really starting to come out, but he's still not there yet. But I'm really starting to hate him right now (a good thing). The match was okay, with Orton beating Val Venis, but the real fireworks were after the match. Triple H carried on the customary Evolution speech on how they're the evolution of the business and that nobody could stop them. Cue Goldberg's music. This was a really good moment; finally, the WWE is starting to hype Goldberg/Triple H. Next, was the highlight of the night, and I'm not just talking about Y2J. Why wasn't this match hyped more? It was easily [i]the[/i] best match on RAW in a long time. They were both flying everywhere and they used every move in their repritoire (sp?) on each other. It was an exciting match from start to finish and the right man won in Jericho. Randy Orton also interfered in the match, so hopefully both Orton and Jericho will be put over, because they need it. I'm gonna skip a little because I don't have time. The next match was Booker T. and Test. Not the most exciting match, but it was okay. I think this match mostly served to show of Stacy, heh. Lastly, was the match between Kane and Rob Van Dam. It looked so cool when the police officers were leading Kane to the ring. It really looked like he was a dangerous criminal. Hopefully, the WWE continues this entrance because it really does make Kane look like a dangerous individual. Then, the fight began. It was basically an all out war between RVD and Kane in which neither got the advantage. Kane went crazy and a bunch of WWE officials came out to the ring (including Arn Anderson!). Kane went crazy and beat the crap out of them and then he tombstoned Linda McMahon. I kept waiting for Stone Cold to come out but he never showed up, which disappointed me. Overall, it was a good show. The only thing wrong with it was the commentary. The King seemed like he was trying to take over JRs position as the "good announcer," but he can't really pull it off. And Coach didn't really do a good job announcing either. Just stick him back on Heat and the occasional interview segment on Confidential.

I know that they've had more than Hiroshi Yamauchi and Satoru Iwata...I'll guess four. I think that Yamauchi's father was president of the company for a while (before they started making games) and there was probably someone before him - unless he's been the president since the late 1800s o_O

O_O I was right?! I should've known James would've fooled us with a simple answer like that lol. You are very tricky, James. Okay, here's my (easy) question: Which Nintendo game was featured in the movie "The Wizard," starring Fred Savage, before it's official release?

See, I think Stone Cold handled it okay, because he at least made it seem funny, but the announcers (The King and Coach most notably) are handling it horribly. LS is putting out some okay matches and it seems like they're not even paying attention (though they probably are). But those prepared statements he reads before his matches (especially this past week when he threatened to sue everyone in the audience) make me laugh for some reason.

Do they have Casual Fridays? (Just a complete and total guess - that's the only thing that I can think about that would go on at a company on a Friday, but it's not really that special. So, I have no idea how accurate my answer is.)

Yeah, I think the major problem with this is the somewhat greedy companies who take advantage of the people who don't know better or who just buy these games and milk the series dry. Tomb Raider started out good and Mortal Kombat was okay (even though I never really liked the series - overrated in my opinion). I guess you can't really fault the consumers - after all, it is their money. But you can fault the companies for rushing the developers and putting out horrible games just so that they can come out during the holiday season. But, to be fair, sometimes companies don't have a choice. Most companies don't have the name recognition of a Nintendo, Capcom, or Sony. There are a lot of companies that have to rush their games and end up with low-quality games just because they have to get them out during the holiday season and that's quite sad.

All around the room they went dancing away. It was as if there was nobody else in the room. Nobody else mattered to Ruby and mirai; they were totally focused on each other. "You're actually a very good dancer, Ruby," mirai said. "Thank you," Ruby said. "You're a good dancer." "I'm not that good," mirai said. "I just needed the right inspiration, that's all. You know how it works." Ruby smiled at mirai and sighed happily as they continued dancing around the room. Then, both Ruby and mirai closed their eyes and continued dancing. They both knew that nothing would happen; it was like they were dancing in a dream.

Whew, scared me for a moment there lol. Heh, I'm like that on occassion; it just comes out every so often (happens in real life, too). Well, at least one person doesn't think I'm a dork ^_^. Also, right now, I'm having troubles typing in 'mirai.' I keep accidently typing 'maria' lol. ~ Mirai and Ruby danced slowly around the room. They paid attention to nobody but themselves as they gazed into each other's eyes. "You know," mirai said to Ruby. "It's actually nice to dance once in a while." "I think so, too," Ruby said. "Actually, I could get used to this," mirai said. "Before I wasn't really a dancing kind of guy, but now..." "Now what?" Ruby asked kindly. "Now, I really like the idea of dancing," mirai answered. "It's pretty fun. Especially with you, if you don't mind me saying."

Did it offend you? I'm sorry. I was just teasing when I wrote it. In case you didn't know, I'm a dork lol. ~ Mirai couldn't help but smile with Ruby. He thought she had a pretty smile. In fact, he wasn't getting nervous at all with her anymore; he barely noticed her hands on his anymore. He was getting much more comfortable with her. "There sure are a lot of people here," mirai remarked. "Yeah, I think most of them came late," Ruby said as she pointed over to DeathBug and Bandit Joeykuba (had to work the others into the story somehow lol). "Are you still tired?" mirai asked. "Not really," Ruby replied. "Why?" "Well," mirai said with a sly smile. "There are other people on the dance floor. Why don't we go back out and join them again?"

Ah...young love lol. ~ Mirai awoke from his sleep reluctantly...he was having such nice dreams. But he no longer needed rest, so his body had forced him to wake up. He awoke to find that not only were his arms still holding Ruby but she was wide awake and looking into the crowd. Mirai turned a little red, but remained quiet because Ruby didn't notice that he was awake. It was then that mirai decided to play a little trick on Ruby. He made sure that she was not looking and lowered his head close to the side of her head. He put his mouth close to her ear and whispered "How you doing, Ruby?" in her ear. She jumped a little and glared at mirai with a slightly red face. "How long have you been awake?" she demanded. "Just a couple of minutes," mirai replied. "That wasn't very funny," Ruby said. Mirai smiled at her. "I'm sorry if I scared you," mirai replied. "That certainly wasn't my intention, Miss Ruby." Ruby smiled and laughed. Mirai laughed along with her; the laugh was very infectious, to tell the truth. "Thanks for making sure I wouldn't fall down," Ruby said. Mirai looked down to see that his arms were still around Ruby and he blushed. "Well...I...er...uh..." mirai stammered. "You don't need to explain anything," Ruby replied. "I thought it was sweet of you." Mirai turned even redder, but he didn't reply.

It was called Legends of the Hidden Temple. They show old episodes on Nick GAS everyday it seems. It was a pretty good show and, for some reason, I crack up when Olmec mentions The Shrine of the Silver Monkey. Are You Afraid of the Dark was a cool show too, but I can't remember the name of that episode unfortunately. I'll go look it up somewhere. Old school All That was just hilarious. Kenan, Kel, and Josh will forever go down as the best cast members ever. EDIT: I researched it and the episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark in question is called "The Tale of the Thirteenth Floor."

I like all three pictures. No need to call them ugly, m'lady. Can't believe I didn't notice this before; the Art & Design forum isn't where I usually hang out lol. But all three pictures are pretty good.

It's really no contest. Vash would simply outgun everyone else without even trying. He was born with abilities far beyond those of a normal person and I just don't see how anyone could really compare (no matter how impressive they may seem in their anime/manga). The fact of the matter is that Vash would probably win without even trying very hard. He just chooses not to lead a life of violence. With that said, my favorite gunman is definetely Spike of Cowboy Bebop, because he does it with style. That's not to say Vash or anyone else doesn't do it well, but I just like the way that Spike goes about his business; with a cool air of confidence that's matched by no other person. That's why Spike is my favorite anime gunman.

Well, if it's a "dating game" you want, maybe it should be done the way The Dating Game here in the U.S. does it. Basically, the bachelor (or bachelorette) asks three contestants different questions and he/she chooses the one that they like best. This is just an outline for the idea if you want to use it.

Looked up romanticism and it turns out I was [i]way[/i] off (curse you, vocabulary!). Romanticism was a movement in art, music and literature during the late 18th century in Europe. It was characterized by a revolt against adherence to rules, forms, and traditions. It exalted feelings and had a marked preference for individualism. So, there you go. ~ Mirai looked down and noticed that Ruby's eyes were closed. "Ruby?" mirai asked. "Are you awake?" Ruby made no response. "I guess she must really be asleep." Mirai looked down at Ruby. "Well, sweet dreams, Ruby," mirai said. He kissed her forehead gently and wrapped his arms around her to make her more comfortable and so she wouldn't fall. Mirai then started to get a little drowsy himself. His eyelids were getting heavier by the second...his consciousness was fading into darkness...he tried to fight it until he could take it no more...then, he fell asleep holding Ruby in his arms. ~ How romantic! Almost makes me want to cry! But I think that I'll refrain from that, thank you very much.

I have a Fan Fiction account as (who else?) mirai_torankusu. I write mostly DBZ humor fics and I have a YGO humor fic. But I only have one fic that I'm really serious about right now and that's The Man in Black. I also have a Fiction Press account under the same name if anyone's interested. The link is in my signature if anyone is really interested.

Well, I believe that HAL Laboratory is famous for creating Kirby, so that's what I'll go with.

Well, I think that the WWE has taken some steps forward and some steps backward after this past Monday: Forward: Kane - Obviously, this Kane angle is getting more interesting. It makes a lot of sense that Kane's "scars" are psychological rather than physical. It's been a long time since Kane's potential has been unleashed upon the WWE and I'm happy (although, I could've done without JR getting burned). Evolution and Randy Orton - I think Evolution could end up being the best group in the WWE since Degeneration X. Triple H, Ric Flair, and Randy Orton (with a couple of exceptions) are really tearing up the WWE right now and it made so much sense to give Randy Orton all three pinfalls, since they're trying to build him up. Really, isn't Randy Orton the perfect heel? He just makes you want to hate him so much. He's pretty much perfected the look of smugness upon his face. Rob Van Dam - RVDs been involved in a lot of great matches lately and I couldn't be happier. First, he fights Triple H for the World Championship and now he's fighting Kane. If Kane doesn't totally destroy him, this could be a real boost for RVD, being involved in Kane's storyline. Women's Division - The women's division has really taken off in recent weeks. A lot of their matches have been even more exciting than the men's matches! I mean, that Gail Kim/Molly Holly match was one of the best I've seen in a while. And the Gail Kim/Victoria match before that was great as well. I just hope that the women can get some more storylines written for them instead of them just wrestling every week. Backwards: Stale matches - Come on, how many times does the WWE think we can watch Steiner/Test and Christian/Booker T. before it gets boring? At least, they tried to liven things up a bit by throwing Kevin Nash into the mix, but he's too talented to have to deal with a crappy storyline like this. Lance Storm - I really hate how the WWE is handling Lance Storm by calling him boring all the time. I'm not a huge Lance Storm fan, but it's obvious that he's a talented wrestler and this "boring" crap just isn't pulling any weight. The WWE is just telling people that this match is too boring to watch and crap like that could lose them ratings. Well, that's about it for me. One thing I do find intriguing for next week's RAW is Linda McMahon; will she fire Stone Cold? If she does, will she hire someone different? There's just so many things that could happen, that I can't wait to see what the WWE actually does.

I look back on the years of the Super Nintendo/Sega Genesis regime with fond memories. Those were the times when some of the best games in history came out, many of which I still play. Of course, that isn't the point of this thread. The point is this: which side of the spectrum were you on? Were you a supporter of the Super Nintendo or the Sega Genesis? Why was that your console of choice? And [i]please[/i] put a valid reason and not "because Nintendo roolz" or "Sega ownz" or something like that. I'd hate for this thread to have to be closed, because I'm sure that there are some interesting stories out there. Me, I was firmly on Nintendo's side, but not because I hated Sega. I hated to admit it, but I had a grudging respect for Sega and the Genesis, because it had it's fair share of great games. The reason that I stuck with Nintendo and the SNES is because Nintendo was all I knew. For as long as I can remember, the NES was the only console that I had for a long time, until the SNES came out. The funny thing is, I had no idea that the Sega Master System had even existed until about a couple of years ago, when I really became a Sega fan. Anyway, Nintendo was the gaming company that shaped my fondest memories when I was a young kid and I couldn't (and still can't) even bear the thought of ever switching my allegiance to a different developer. Of course, after the SNES came the N64. Now, I loved Nintendo dearly and defended the N64 to the last, but I have to admit that I spent far more time with my SNES (and Super Mario RPG and Super Mario World 2 which were the games I was playing at the time). I was content with the SNES at the time, since I only had a couple of games at the time (Super Mario 64 and Mario Kart 64). Then, came Zelda: Ocarina of Time. This was the game that completely sold me on the N64 like no other. I had so much fun playing it, that I was easily ignoring the taunts sent my way by PSX fans. But then came the dark spot on my squeaky-clean Nintendo record: my grandma got me a PSX for Christmas. I was skeptical at best of it, but I decided to play it. And I got hooked into buying great games for it (Final Fantasy VII and Anthology plus Metal Gear Solid and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night). I have to say that some of those games rivaled even my great times with the SNES. And now, we come to GameCube, which I have solidly supported (even though I've longed for a PS2 - I just don't have the money, heh). I've had a blast with Super Smash Bros. Melee, Animal Crossing, Metroid Prime, Wind Waker, and other games (mostly Nintendo, mind you - it's kind of hard to trust the third parties except for Sega). I've been a staunch Nintendo gamer almost all my life and I've defended them as my favorite developer of all time - nobody even comes close to them for me. However, in the past few years, I've become much more open minded and receptive to other gaming companies (*takes the time to thank Treasure for their plethora of amazing shooters*) and games that I never would've bought before. So, even though I support Nintendo to the last, by no means are they the only company I support. Any other thoughts? EDIT: Added more to the story, since everyone seems to want to outdo my post lol.

I've played guitar a couple of times when my friends brought them to school. It's pretty fun to play, but I'm not too experienced with them, unfortunately.

That's probably for the best. I was just throwing some ideas around this morning, but it probably is for the best that everything is included in one thread.

I usually watched Nick just to catch their animated shows which were (mostly) brilliant. Rocko's Modern Life, Angry Beavers, Ahhhh!!! Real Monsters!; great stuff, that was. I always loved Salute Your Shorts, too. I'm glad Noggin's started showing that. But I'm finding that I'm not as fond of Nick Arcade as I used to be. I think that it's because I know I could go on that show and beat any of those teams that they had by myself (add that to the fact that the contestants had horrible taste in video games lol).