Shinmaru

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Charles [/i] [B][spoiler] To this day, I'm not even sure if the real Sephiorth was involved in Final Fantasy VII.[/spoiler] [/B][/QUOTE] [spoiler]In a word, no. At least not real in the human sense. According to [url=http://members.tripod.com/ff7story/2000yrs.html]this website[/url], which I found over the weekend while trying to make sense of FFVII's story line, Cloud does indeed "kill" Sephiroth after throwing him into the Lifestream at the bottom of the reactor. However, since Sephiroth had been infused with Jenova cells, part of him still lived. This is because Jenova was not originally part of the planet, so it could not fuse into the Lifestream. This is the version of Sephiroth you see throughout the game...a "Ghost Sephiroth," if you will, under 100% control by Jenova. This also explains how Sephiroth could suddenly fly and walk through walls lol.[/spoiler] As for the movie itself...I can't say I'm really that interested. I mean, I loved the story of FFVII and all but the movie's looking a bit iffy to me right now. If I start hearing good things about it, I might check it out, though. But right now it's too early for me to get excited.

Well, I love The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, but Super Metroid is definitely up there. I consider it my second favorite SNES game and my second favorite game of all time. I love the way that all of the corridors and levels interconnect with each other...this is still the pinnacle of this style of levels in a game. No other game (not even Castlevania: SOTN) has done it as well as Super Metroid. The soundtrack is still my all time favorite gaming soundtrack...it always matches the pace, flow and atmosphere of whatever moment in whichever level you happen to be in. Quite amazing to listen to. The bosses...my God, they're great. Each boss has a different way to beating it and they're all tons of fun to beat...I wish there was an option to go back and fight them again, heh.

Beware, people, because this, if all goes well, should be one huge post. Shroom was telling me that he was going to post this and I couldn't help but get excited. Anyone who knows me knows that I really love to reminisce about things like this...it's just really fun to me. And, since I can't just stop with one, I'm gonna present my three favorite developers in video games. Why? Because I'm cool like that :p Developer Numero Uno: Nintendo Okay, raise your hand if you didn't see this coming. *nobody raises their hand* Good. One hopes that it would be obvious from the moment that you meet me that Nintendo is my favorite developer of all time. They're just so damned innovative that I can't help but love them. Let's take a look at the list of things they've done, shall we? 1) They resurrected the gaming industry in America - The NES pretty much saved another barren industry from going under in America. People weren't interested in games anymore...then Nintendo and the NES came along and all was right with the world. This is how cool Nintendo is: It took them one game (Super Mario Bros.) to get insane amounts of interest in a stagnant industry that was pretty much left for dead by just about every critic in the U.S. 2) They take dull genres and make them interesting - Ah, leave it to Nintendo to raise interest in genres that they created that have somehow gone stale over the years. What, platformers are dull and uninspiring? Well, let's crank out Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine! Action-RPGs are all the same nowadays? Let's see what those biatches say when they play Zelda: Ocarina of Time! Kart racers are just a vehicle for commercial promotion? Then take Mario Kart: Double Dash and stick it where the sun don't shine! What am I getting at? Nintendo takes the very genres they helped invent and makes them new again, even when dealing with the same familiarity that we all know and love. 3) They take the time to make sure they get it right - This is one of the most infuriating arguments I hear when people whine and cry about Nintendo: "They take too long to release games!" Would you rather get a buggy, uninspired load of tripe like Tomb Raider: Let's Give It Another Go or wait through a few extra months of delays to play a near-perfect gem of a game like The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time? I'd go for the latter, myself. 4) Innovation, innovation, innovation - I can't stress this enough: Nintendo is the single most innovative company in video game history. Period. Just about every gaming cliche you see today, you can bet your bottom dollar Nintendo was doing it first. The amount of genres that they've invented is astounding: Platformers, Kart Racers, Action-RPGs, MP-style games, etc. And their track record with peripherals is second to none. Game Boy Camera...Super Game Boy...Game Boy Player...Link Cables...Rumble Paks...I could go on and on. Nintendo has never been afraid to push limits and boundaries to give the game player something fresh and new. I've always respected them for that. 5) Their games are just damn fun - No matter what else I might say, this is what matters the most. That their games are the most fun games I've ever played in my life. When you buy a game from Nintendo (with a couple exceptions) you can be rest assured that you will be getting a high quality product that you will have tons of fun with. Why do people buy games? Is it for the high quality multimedia experience? Is it for the amazing stories? Is it because you have $50 to burn? Maybe, but overall, I think you'll find that people buy games to have fun. And Nintendo, without a shadow of a doubt in my mind, has delievered more fun to me than any other developer in gaming history. But what would you expect from the developer of series like The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Super Mario Bros., Kirby (through HAL Labs of course), Donkey Kong, Star Fox, Earthbound, etc.? Okay, the other two won't be quite as long, heh. Developer #2: Sega Even I'm quite surprised at the high esteem that I hold Sega in today, because I hated them with a venomous passion during the 16-bit era. I was a 100% ***-kissing Nintendo loyalist and I thoroughly enjoyed even the slightest of victories that Nintendo got over Sega. However, as I grew up and matured (however little I have :p), my eyes have opened to the greatness that is Sega. The number one reason why I like Sega is that they have absolutely no fear when it comes to releasing games. Many gaming companies will play it safe and release a game that might not be that good but is "assured" of making them a profit. Not Sega. Sega strives to innovate and make fresh concepts for their games, regardless of whether it makes them a huge profit or not. I liken their attitude in gaming to that of a great Indy band...they might be good enough to make it in the mainstream, but they will never compromise their talent to do so (and, no, I don't consider Sega going third-party selling out...they were never any great shakes at hardware, anyway). Who else would release games like Seaman, Samba de Amigo or Space Channel 5? It's rare to find a gaming company who cares more about giving their fans a fun product to play rather than captialize on making money (though, Sega is a bit more money-based today, heh). And as long as they go that route, they will always have my respect. Developer #3: Konami Konami is slowly approaching Nintendo in sheer number of franchises that I enjoy. Metal Gear, Castlevania, Contra, Gradius, etc. The sheer number of great games they have released through these franchises is amazing (Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is amazing...the only non-Nintendo game in my top five favorites, which is quite an achievement). And they've always concentrated on gameplay first, which is something that's sorely lacking nowadays (though, the number of great games released has picked up a lot over the past couple of years). And the Gradius series is just a great lineup of shooters. I've always had a soft spot for a great shooter ~_^ Just missed my list: Capcom - Great fighting games and Mega Man. Squaresoft - If only for Einhander...God, I love that game. Enix - Dragon Warrior rules. Enough said. Silicon Knights - The most underrated developer in gaming today. Shiny - They released some awesome platformers in the mid-90s...hopefully, they can make up for Enter the Matrix. HAL Labs - Smash Bros. and Kirby Super Star...I love you, HAL! And so ends my post...it's a lot shorter than I thought it would be o_O;;; EDIT: I called them Nintendo all through my post but everyone basically knew I meant EAD, right? Right???

I'm turning 18 on November 19th for those who cared to know. It'll change my life a bit, I suppose. I'll be registering to vote so I can participate in the local issues and such. And I'll be able to get a license right away instead of having to wait until my six months are up on my driving permit. But other than that, turning 18 isn't really going to change that much in my life.

I think it's pretty well done. The pic of Sora that you got is a bit fuzzy to me, though. It's not that distracting but it's noticeable. And, even though the font does look like the font for Kingdom Hearts, I still don't really feel that it fits with the rest of the wallpaper. However, I really like the background - the pattern looks pretty neat. And I also like the big number two; it looks very cool.

Earthworm Jim was a great, great game. Very off the wall even if the gameplay got a bit frustrating (especially near the end of the game - yikes, was that hard). Anyway, I'm bringing back this thread to honor what I consider to be the second greatest platformer of all time (just behind Super Mario Bros. 3). That game is Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. The first thing just about everyone notices about this game are the strikingly gorgeous graphics - they're easily the best that the Super Nintendo has to offer. The bright colorful nature of the characters, coupled with the sprite distorting nature of the game's bosses make for a truly unique graphical experience. The gameplay is as good, if not better, than the graphics. The basic goal of the game is to reach the end of the level with Baby Mario still intact (and you'll want to keep Baby Mario on your back as much as you can, because he screams like a smurfing banshee if you get hurt and let him go). Each level is crafted with expert detail and are all very interesting to go through (best level - Touch Fuzzy, Get Dizzy; it makes you wonder if certain people at Nintendo know what it's like to be on an acid trip). The bosses are very original and very fun to beat. They make great use of the eggs that Yoshi uses to beat enemies and present challenging ways of finding out how to beat them. To put it simply, I love fighting the bosses in this game and fight them as often as possible. The best part is that the game is very easy to find as it has been recently re-released as a Game Boy Advance game. To those unfortunate souls who have yet to experience this fantastic game, I would heartily suggest buying the game (or at least renting it). I'm sure that you won't be disappointed.

I'm going to have to ask for the post quality in this topic to improve markedly, or else I'll be forced to close it. One sentence posts just don't do the job, people. Thanks and please adhere to the rules better in the future.

Source: [url]http://www.gamespot.com/all/news/news_6076982.html[/url] [quote]Sega increases profit and earnings forecasts for current fiscal year that began April 1, 2003. TOKYO--Sega dropped a bombshell today, announcing sharp increases in its financial projections. Japan's financial year begins on April 1, so Sega is currently preparing its first-half earnings reports for the 6-month period ending on September 30. [/quote] I'd say that this is phenomenal news. Sega has won my respect over the past few years and it's great to see them turning a profit for once. Looks like their decision to become a third party developer is working wonders for them.

On the second disc, you have to click the little icon in the bottom left corner (it looks like a little fast forward/rewind sign) and you'll be taken to another screen. On that screen, you should be able to access the MTV Movie Awards: Reloaded, since it has it's own icon. Hope this helps you out.

Please don't bring back older threads, Morpheus. There's a reason why discussion on this has slowed a bit...there wasn't much to be discussed here in the first place. Please adhere to the rules better in the future. Thanks. Topic Closed

Yeah, it would be a sad thing for RVD to move away from the mainstream where most people see him but they're seeing a diluted version of RVD anyway. It's much better for RVD and his fans that he goes to a place that will let him showcase his talents to their fullest extent. Personally, I think that NWA: TNA would be a great fit for him.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by James [/i] [B][/b] [color=#707875]I wasn't really referring to you with that comment. I was basically trying to point out that fundamentally, Resident Evil lends itself to the current control scheme. It's obviously not a perfect control scheme (I think an ED-like system would be much better), but I wouldn't say that the controls in RE are terrible or unmanageable.[/color] [/quote] Yeah, I posted that before I got the story from you, heh. I apologize if any offense was taken ^_^ I'm just not really a big fan of clunky controls. Most games I've played have had really good control schemes...I guess I'm just spoiled lol. [quote][i]Originally posted by James[/i] [color=#707875]Well...the only problem I ever had with the controls was turning quickly. In the later games though, you had a 180 spin option, so that basically eliminated any problems I'd had previously. Also, turning while running can be somewhat slow in Resident Evil, which isn't very good. However, you're rarely in large, wide open spaces...so smoothe turning ability isn't necessary. In any case, I can see where you are coming from. Maybe I've just been playing the RE games for so long that I'm completely used to the controls...I've adapted to them and become comfortable. So, to me, they are second nature. However, I believe there is a [i]lot[/i] that Capcom can do with Resident Evil, in terms of player movement and interaction. It's possible to make the game more fluid and realistic without actually turning it into something that resembles a more outlandish game like Devil May Cry.[/color] [/B][/QUOTE] Yeah, Resident Evil type controls have never really been my style. I've found it hard for me to really get into those types of games that use this control scheme (like RE, Fear Effect, Silent Hill, etc.) because I'm [i]not[/i] used to it. Someone who's played RE for years (like yourself) can easily adapt to the controls, while someone who doesn't play it very often (like me) will have a hard time with them. I think the biggest problem with me is patience, heh. I'm not a very patient person, especially with things like this. And maybe I was going a bit overboard by suggesting a DMC-style control scheme, heh. I should've mentioned a more Eternal Darkness style control set. The pace of DMC doesn't really fit RE, anyway. To me, ED strikes a middle ground with the pace and style of the control. Too bad I didn't realize it until now :p

I don't pretend to know every single aspect of the religious nature of The Matrix but even I've noticed some of the more obvious religious aspects of the movies (such as Neo being the messiah of his people). But I'll take your word for it and do some research on this, heh. It does sound plenty interesting. I haven't had time to watch the other extras but they're mostly just behind the scenes stuff, anyway. I did see the hilarious MTV Movies Awards: Reloaded, though (it's even better now because it's uncensored...bleeps are very annoying). Anything Will Ferrel is in is immediately pure gold...he's the man. [spoiler]Neo: Why am I here? Will Ferrel (Architect): You just shut your mouth! Neo: Why am I here? Will: Ergo! Ergo! Visa-vi![/spoiler] Great stuff. EDIT: Just finished reading a great article about the religious overtones of The Matrix. If you want to read it, it's at [url]http://webpages.charter.net/btakle/matrix_reloaded.html[/url]. It's a very interesting read; I'd suggest it heavily for those who wish to better understand the movie. Anyway, this article dealt with many things, the most interesting being the roles of both The Architect and The Oracle and about Agent Smith. This deals with the basic religious stuff like The Garden of Eden (The Matrix) and reality (Zion). It also presented the idea of The Architect as God and Neo as the devil. However, not the devil in the sense that many people think of the devil. The God that The Architect is represents leaving the world static. The devil that Neo is represents change. It's all explained much better in the article than I can really explain it off the top of my head. The stuff with Agent Smith was very interesting, as well. The article breaks down Smith's many similarities with Neo and also talks about Smith's "humanizing" as it were. Smith is becoming more noticeably human every time we see him. In the first movie, he speaks about the fact that he hates humans and how he hates that they multiply and breed. He speaks with a rather disgusted tone when he says this. However, Smith is now replicating himself at every chance he gets and he has even gone as far as to transplant himself into a human. Why? Because he now has a purpose and that purpose is to kill Neo. That's just a taste of what the whole thing talks about. Again, I'd highly suggest reading it because it makes sense out of a lot of things that go on in The Matrix and it's sequel.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by James [/i] [B][color=#707875]As much as I know it sounds lame, I somewhat agree with Capcom's thoughts about the controls in RE. I mean, really...it wouldn't be hard for them to make RE a more "Devil May Cry"-esque game, when it comes to controls. They say that the controls are more realistic...in terms of the fact that real human beings can't do backflips and double jumps, etc. I mean, you know...it feels very "confined" and almost "heavy". But, I wouldn't object to a totally redeveloped control system in RE4. Personally, I'm so used to the controls in RE that they don't bother me anymore. But that doesn't mean that Capcom can't or shouldn't change them.[/color] [/B][/QUOTE] Well, I wasn't really going for backflips and double jumps in RE games lol. I was going for something more akin to Eternal Darkness, which uses something similar to the DMC style control scheme, in that up always goes up, down always goes down, left goes left and right goes right. I just feel that there shouldn't be any excuses when it comes to bad controls...I enjoyed Eternal Darkness much more than Resident Evil because I had a much easier time with the controls. I never felt I had to wrestle with the controls or wonder which control goes where when the camera angle shifts, etc. When you don't have to worry about things like that, it allows you to get more immersed in the atmosphere.

I've heard Capcom give many reasons for the control scheme. None of them have been particulary good reasons, though. The worst was that the control scheme makes the game "scarier." Scarier only because you have to repeat a ton of crap if you die because of the controls...though, that could be just me, heh. If RE4 does address the control issue, then I'd be more than happy to play it. With great controls, a Survival Horror game can be really great, especially due to the amazing atmosphere (which RE for the GameCube had in spades).

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Semjaza Azazel [/i] [B]I've never met a person who gushed over the controls in RE, so that's a rather null point. In a game where the camera angles are static and change constantly, do you honestly want the controls to be like Super Mario 64 and change constantly based on camera placements? I sure wouldn't. You'd have to adjust your directions on every new screen. The games were good in the first place, it's just that they never really evolved much. RE4 looks like it will fix a lot of these problems, to me. Controls are supposedly being adjusted and since it's 3D, you won't have as much of that static problem. I still think Majora is the best 3D Zelda. I wouldn't call it overrated, mostly because a vast majority of the people I know think it's pretty crappy... while a handful of others seem to think it's the best one yet. [/B][/QUOTE] No, I'd rather the controls were more like the controls in Devil May Cry. That game had some rather static backgrounds and constantly changing camera angles and I thought the controls worked great even with all of that. Survival Horror games have never really been my favorite of genres, anyway...I'm probably not the person you want to go to for an unbiased opinion about them lol. It's pretty much the opposite around my area (except for my best friend, who absolutely hated Majora's Mask...the poor fool :p). A lot of people I know think it's the best Zelda ever. To me, it's not, but opinions seem to vary a lot according to what you said, heh. I think Ocarina of Time is better than Majora's Mask but I'd definitely put Majora's Mask up there with it...it's not like Ocarina of Time blows Majora's Mask out of the water, which a lot of people I've seen on the internet think as well.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by James [/i] [B][color=#707875]I cannot speak for other boards or web forums, but I can only say that we [i]don't[/i] allow blatant rudeness at OtakuBoards. We expect members to treat other members with respect and dignity -- in the case of art, we want people to display [i]constructive criticism[/i] and not pointless, mean-spirited comments. Not only does this actually provide for better discussion, but it doesn't discourage people from posting their artwork. [/color] [/B][/QUOTE] I think that's the biggest issue with all of this: the criticism that actually takes place in the Art & Design forum. Really, a lot of it just isn't up to par. It's either one of the extremes most of the time; someone says that a person's work sucks or they kiss the person's *** and say their work is the greatest thing in the world. There are disturbingly few people who actually try to be objective and give good criticism. That is, they point out both the flaws and the good points about the work and provide an intelligent opinion. I know for a fact that Syk3 has been trying to correct this for ages - trust me, more often than not you'll see him asking people to be more constructive with their criticism than just posting "Your banner sucks!" or "OMG! Your banner rules!" I venture into the Art & Design forum quite a bit...I'd like to think I know what I'm talking about even though I'm not much of an art aficianado. I completely support the ban and not just because of what Magdalena was doing on OF. I'd like to think that this might just send a message to people who provide sub-par critique when they speak about a particular persons work.

Gah, and I call myself the Nintendo Mod :p I completely forgot about the GameCube version of this game, what with all the other awesome games that are out right now or coming out, heh. Online play is definitely not an issue with me - I've always enjoyed golf games a lot more playing single player rather than multiplayer. Plus, if I won't pay for online to play Phantasy Star Online (the best online game on GameCube), then I won't pay online for golf, heh. The multiple discs wouldn't be a problem that I can see, either. It might be a bit of a hassle but only for the notoriously lazy. Yeah, I know...I had really high hopes for Mario Golf. I still play the original quite often (I just unlocked Bowser - I'm way too slow -__-). Tiger Woods 2004 completely rocks all over Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by maladjusted [/i] [B][size=1] I never though Majora's Mask was overrated. I really enjoyed the game almost as much as Ocarina of Time, and it's probably one of my favorite games. Many people ranked it lower because of the continuous repeats of activities because of the whole 3-day limit, but I guess they're taking the whole point of that the wrong way. Well, you know, I've never read any article about Majora's Mask before.[/size] [/B][/QUOTE] To be honest, the continuous repeats of activities and the 3-day limit wasn't what got to me about Majora's Mask - in fact, they made me enjoy it a bit more because it gave you some sort of purpose. I don't know...something just rubbed me the wrong way about Majora's Mask. The closest I can come is the extreme (compared to Ocarina of Time) difficulty of the game, but other Zelda games are much tougher than this one. Eh, this is just one of those times where there's no accounting for taste, heh - I'm certainly not denying that Majora's Mask is a great game.

I bet that's how my brother feels [strike]sometimes[/strike] all the time. We've had some real wars playing Super Smash Bros. Melee and I'm not embarrassed to say that he's handed me my *** quite a few times. He's gotten a lot better at games over the years...I'm so proud of him :D Anyway, last night I was thinking about the Zelda Compilation Disc (off topic: There had better be an option to buy it as a separate game without buying a GameCube) and I couldn't help but notice that it's been years and years since I played the original Legend of Zelda (which I'm still lucky enough to have...even though it's hidden in my closet >_>). I loved so much about The Legend of Zelda...especially the cool dungeons and the different weapons you could use. I was almost overwhelmed by all the stuff you could do, yet it never seemed overly complicated (which is good because, if it did, I would've quit playing the game; I was never the most patient of children :p). And the bosses...well...they were simply amazing. I can still remember just staring in awe at them because I'd never seen anything like them. But, most of all, I loved the gold cartridge. It was just so damn shiny :D

I just don't like the Yankees because they've won too many damned championships...someone else needs a turn :p Seriously, they need to go on a Celtics-esque playoff losing streak. Yep...have them lose every year until the day I die... Anyway, my team, the Dodgers, pretty much screwed everything up, despite a high payroll and nearly unlimited spending potential...cripes, our management blows.

I've actually heard many, many great things about this game - it was even the Game of the Month in a recent issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly, I believe. From what I've seen and heard, this has to be a million times better than Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour. Everything is supposed to be completely realistic and true to golf (unlike Mario Golf's god-awful putting, bleh). I've also been able to check out the Create a Golfer feature. I must say that I came away very impressed. The number of differents features and the level of detail that you can put into your golfer is simply astounding - even better than the best stuff Acclaim made with their WWF games (which had really, really good Create a Wrestler features). I really don't believe that you have to enjoy sports to like a good sports game. If the game is good, then it should be fun regardless of whether it's a football game, golf, tennis, etc. Seriously, I'd consider buying this if I had a PS2 (which I don't, unfortunately) because it really is that good.

That's a very, very good banner. The image of KOS-MOS is a tiny bit fuzzy but other than that it's a very high quality banner...even if it is a bit bright o_O

The Red Sox are currently beating the Yankees 4-1 at the top of the 6th ^_^ If the Yankees lose, I will be the happiest person in the world. I really wanted the Cubs/Sox WS but I could hang with a Marlins/Sox Series...especially if the Sox win. I'm not a big Red Sox fan but I've always been a big fan of Pedro Martinez (Don Zimmer had it coming, people...he was practically trying to tackle him). *crosses fingers and hopes that the Red Sox hold out for the win*

I love the winters here in California because, in my opinion, it's nothing but perfect weather. Constant 60 degree days with some rain here and there...doesn't get much better than that, people. I like the Fall weather here, too, except for the beginning of Fall where it's still a bit Summery... I hate the Summers and Springs because they're too damned hot. I hate hot weather.