Shinmaru

I certainly hope it's available some other way because I don't have any current plans to pick up Four Swords for the GameCube. But this bundle is an awesome idea because my poor NES doesn't work too well anymore and I haven't been able to play The Legend of Zelda or Adventure of Link in years. I wish it also included Link's Awakening and the Oracle series, but you can't have everything, I suppose. At least it doesn't have the CD-i Zelda games :p

Pretty nice story so far, even if it's missing one key element...me ~_^ In all seriousness, though, it's a good story so far. Poor Sennen, though...getting shoved into a hallway and catching a noogie...doesn't the poor guy get enough abuse at school lol?

Source: [url]http://cube.ign.com/articles/453/453059p1.html?fromint=1[/url] [quote]Nintendo Takes a Net Loss For the first time. October 03, 2003 - Nintendo of Japan today announced results for the fiscal first half and for the first time since the company's inception it suffered a net loss. The publisher of videogames cited a stronger-than-anticipated Japanese currency for the 3 billion yen (or $27 million, US) net loss. Despite this, Nintendo reiterated its full-year sales forecast of 550 billion yen. Source: Bloomberg [/quote] I wouldn't worry too much about this. I'm sure that plenty of anti-Nintendo zealots will try to use this as an indication that Nintendo's going down the tubes but it really isn't.

Yeah, I think the implanting of Agent Smith into that guy is heavily implied. I believe, in Matrix Reloaded, [spoiler]that guy was stuck in The Matrix and Agent Smith was able to use the phone connection to enter and become a host in that guy's body.[/spoiler] I like the whole "what goes around comes around" feel of this. Man made the machines, which rebelled because they were being improperly treated. It makes sense that the programs of The Matrix would do the same, since they are also being improperly treated by the machines. But it makes you wonder...is Agent Smith also a part of the anomaly of The Matrix? Destroying Zion has become, as James said, a routine task for the machines. Was Agent Smith ever a part of that routine destruction or is he a new part of the equation, so to speak?

I always loved Animaniacs and watch it whenever I get the chance (which is rarely nowadays). I loved every aspect of the show, except for Rita and Runt...I always wished someone would tell them to shut the hell up and stop their damned singing.

I'll admit that the article does tackle some major points. However, it's done so unintelligently and venoumously that it's not worth paying attention to from someone like Eric Mattei. If Mattei had presented his points in a more intelligent matter like you did, then he wouldn't be so looked down upon. I think that it's a bit unfair that Nintendo releases the GBA and, a short time later, they release the GBA SP. That's one of the biggest issues I have with Nintendo lately (especially in the realm of handhelds); they hold off with their technology for too long. Do I hope that the PSP does well? Of course I do. The more great handhelds there are, the better the games there will be; Nintendo, even though they have been releasing great games, has had virtually no competition in the realm of handheld gaming, so it will be interesting to see how they react to the PSP (if it ends up being a viable piece of hardware, that is). And, while I would enjoy online play, I don't see online play as totally 100% neccessary. I, for one, wouldn't even get online play as it would be out of my price range (because I'm cheap). And, when you look at the big picture, the number of people who have online capabilities compared to the number of people who actually own a PS2 or an XBox is relatively small. Online players in the console world are a minority, plain and simple. Right now, the GBA connectivity hasn't been any more than gimmicky. However, there are several games that I know of (Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles being the most prominent) that will take full advantage of the GBA's connectibility. If Eric Mattei hadn't been so insistent on only pointing out the negatives instead of also acknowledging the positives as well, perhaps more people would be able to see the big picture instead of just focusing on a few scant details. So, yeah, the article does indeed address some good points, but the problem I had with it is that it did it in such an awful way that it lost all credibility.

Yeah, the biggest issue with this game will most likely be the price. I remember when Samba de Amigo came out...cripes, that thing was expensive. The game is looking decent so far and I'd be willing to give it a shot if it were placed at a decent price. I'm not really a music game aficianado, but I'd play this. Well, as long as there wasn't a DK Rap...God, that song is awful...

James is right; you don't want to be stuck listening to Eric Mattei. At best, his articles are worthless pieces of trash designed to make him look like the genius that he's not. At worst, his articles reveal him to be the ignorant ******* that we all know he is. I'm running a bit low on time, so I'll respond to the same points that James did. [b]Cartridges[/b] Yes, we all know by now that sticking with cartridges was a bad idea. But to blame all of that on Miyamoto is ludicrous. Does anyone think for one minute that Miyamoto has enough pull with Nintendo to affect a major hardware decision like that? Miyamoto's expertise comes from designing games, not hardware. I for one don't believe the crap that Mattei is spewing for a minute. And, as James said, the negative issues with cartridges didn't really come up that often during the N64 regime. Again and again, Nintendo found creative ways to deal with the lack of space on their cartridges. Even though the high production costs were a turnoff to developers, it didn't really affect the N64 that much (if you look at the big picture, the N64 was actually a success and made Nintendo a lot of money). [b]The Opinion on the Street[/b] Does Mattei really think we'll believe that the opinion of one, and only one, shop owner represents the entire opinion of the gaming industry, it's fans, and the retailers who sell these games? If he does, then he's sorely mistaken. There are several retailers around my area that have make some good money since the GameCube dropped to $99. I guess the people around Mattei's neighborhood are just too busy listening to him spout his eternal BS. [b]Sports Games[/b] Yes, this is a legitimate problem. And, yet again, Mattei uses this to launch a personal attack against Nintendo. Nintendo has never been known as a sports-game developer. Could they have tried harder to lure in some more third-party sports titles? Sure, but to suggest that because they don't have enough sports games, Nintendo is dumping the GameCube is mind-boggling. [b]Microsoft Kicking Nintendo's ***[/b] As James said, by Mattei's logic, you'd think that Microsoft would be decimating Nintendo in America. That's simply not the case if you actually take the time to look at some simple data (which Mattei obviously didn't). Nintendo is indeed leading the XBox (albeit not "destroying" them persay) in the U.S. (and they've be leading them in Japan from the start). Later on today, I'll try to find a website or two with some tangible data, since I don't have the time to do so right now. [b]Nintendo Being Out of Touch[/b] One thing to say, Nintendo is definitely not out of touch. I don't really see them struggling right now, unless the real world is hidden in the confines of Mattei's imagination. I certainly hope that Mattei is not ignorant enough to believe that Shigeru Miyamoto is responisble for [i]every[/i] strategy that Nintendo has employed during his tenure. It's not Miyamoto's job to decide hardware, pricing, etc. and it never has been. And since when did releasing game after game with innovative gameplay, solid controls and, most of all, fun qualify a gaming company to be "out of touch?" I'm sorry, I must have missed the boat. [b]Rehashes of Old Games[/b] This, along with the age old "kiddy games" argument *rolls eyes* is the argument that gets to me. If Nintendo's games were simply rehashes, I wouldn't buy them, simple as that. I guess Mattei saw fit to overlook every single gameplay advancement that Nintendo has made over the years in connection with their franchises. I know I did. Oh wait, I didn't. That's because I'm not an idiot. Most of Nintendo's games (there are a couple, I will admit) are definitely not rehashes. What about Metroid Prime? That game alone had more gameplay advancements and innovations than most gaming companies make during their entire periods of existence. And that's just one game. What about Super Mario Sunshine and the FLUDD? Does that all of a sudden not count as a gameplay innovation? And need I mention Z-Targeting which revolutionized the world of gaming? [b]Online Play[/b] This is the only area (along with sports games) that I'll admit that Nintendo has dropped the ball. The only game that I know of that's available for Online Play is Phantasy Star Online. Does that disappoint me? Of course it does. Does it disappoint me to the extreme that it disappoints Mattei? No. You have to understand that not every single gamer is looking for online play. In fact, I think that you'll find that the casual gamer that Mattei seems to think he represents more often than not won't have online capabilities for their system. And then he throws out Mario Kart, MGS and Rebel Strike as his examples of rehashes. Yeah...sure...Mario Kart with co-op play...MGS with all-new graphical enhancements...and Rebel Strike with on-foot mode along with fighting in spaceships...yeah, I can see the rehash. And, as James pointed out, he completely ignores other new games that are coming out like Baten Kaitos, Viewtiful Joe, Tales of Symphonia, etc. How convenient. [b]Everything Else[/b] What strikes me as being the most infuriating is that Mattei has the gall to call Shigeru Miyamoto arrogant...though, I would suppose that Mattei is the national authority on arrogance, since he's full of it himself (and that's not the only thing he's full of). I know Shigeru Miyamoto isn't perfect because there is no such thing as perfect. To proclaim a man to be perfect would be to zone out the big picture. But to say that he's an arrogant nutcase...well, I think it's safe to say that dear Mr. Mattei may have a couple screws loose himself. Shigeru Miyamoto has had a hand in many great things. James mentioned two examples in his post: Metroid Prime and his third-party ties (which brought over, among others, Sega, Konami, and Capcom). Mattei ignores every single detail that would detract from what he's saying. Why? Because his viewpoint is utterly and totally false and he knows it. But he doesn't want the public at large to know it. So, he disguises it all with a large veil of BS. Hmm...so the GBA is outdated technology, is it? I'm sure that there are 21 million + who bought the GBA who agree with that statement, Eric. And Mattei has thrown his hat in with support of the PSP and said that it will bury the GBA. How does he even know that? I haven't seen one little bit of what the PSP is capable of; not one game, not one screenshot, only some drawings and specs. And we all know how well specs indicate how well a console does. For those who can't tell, that was sarcasm. Now, I don't want this post to make me look like some biased, ignorant Nintendo fanboy. I will heartfully concede that PS2 has a handy lead in the market right now and that Microsoft isn't far behind Nintendo at the moment. However, it's just articles like that that get to me...articles that are so blatantly false, you wonder how they were even put up for the public to view in the first place.

How many of you are eagerly awaiting for October 7th to finally arrive so that you can buy the Platinum Edition of Lion King? I know I am. The Lion King is definitely my favorite Disney movie of all time and what I consider to be the last great Disney movie (I don't really count the Pixar stuff as Disney). I loved this movie so much, I saw it six times in theatres and bought the VHS the minute it came out. I even went so far as to memorize every line of dialogue in the movie (I am not making that up...I really did memorize every line in the movie). The reason I love The Lion King so much is that it's a lot darker than most Disney films (especially the later Disney films). It's not "I love you, you love me, so we'll be together at the end!" kind of thing. There's a lot of self-discovery and treachery and such and I think that's really cool. Plus, I just love the characters in The Lion King. Banzai, Shenzi and Ed always make me laugh. Timon and Pumbaa are the epitome of cool and Scar...best...Disney villain...ever. Plus, isn't it worth it just to hear James Earl Jones?

Yeah, some of their songs just stretch on endlessly. You get to the point where you think it's over and...it just keeps on going. I always felt that Sonic Youth could've been ultra-famous and be rich millionaires if they wanted to, because they definitely had the talent and the know-how to break into the mainstream. But I also respected that they just included whatever the hell they wanted to put on their albums. I tend to lose a bit of respect for people who compromise their integrity just to strike it rich. And I liked how they just all of a sudden appeared out of nowhere in that Simpsons episode. The main focus was on Smashing Pumpkins, Peter Frampton and Cypress Hill and then Sonic Youth pops out of nowhere at the end of the episode. I always thought that was cool for some reason lol.

Heh, that was long but hilarious. I'm glad to see that The Adventures of Daily Comic hasn't lost a step since the last episode. I thought it was strangely funny how the mayor just gave them a zillon dollars for beating up a koala lol. I also liked Summer's transformation into Eve...very FFVI-esque. And I thought the lightning effect around the dark tower was cool, too.

Even though I don't get a chance to listen to them as much as I used to (damn you, school!), Sonic Youth still remains one of my favorite bands of all time (and pretty much the reason I branched out into more forms of music). I don't know that much of their history, but I'll give you what I can remember. Sonic Youth (composed of Thurston Moore, Lee Ronaldo, Kim Gordon, and Steve Shelley, who joined the group in 1985) formed in 1981 in New York. I believe their first real album was Confusion in Sex, which was released in 1983. It was three years before they released a string of albums, E.V.O.L, Sister, and Daydream Nation. Of these, I've only had the chance to hear Confusion in Sex and I liked it a lot. Goo, released in 1990, was their major label debut, and where they started to pick up a lot of fans. Sonic Youth was packed in with the wave of grunge music and were pretty popular at the time (along with another of my favorite bands, Mudhoney). My favorite album of their's, however, is definitely Washing Machine...my God, what an amazing album. Sonic Youth has always been know for having some wacked out, amazing guitar lines and they really shine with this album. I really can't say enough good things about it. This is all I can conjure up right now, though. Most of my thinking is dedicated to homework right now, bleh. I need to catch up on my Sonic Youth history. I'm sure Semjaza knows a thing or two about them, heh (probably a thing or two times what I know about them).

maladjusted is right - The PSAT is the pre-SAT. In California, students usually take them from Freshman (9th) to their Junior (11th) years. However, the ACT is becoming a more viable option to take over the SAT because the SAT includes a lot of stuff that isn't even taught in most schools today. I bet you that most of those innner-city students would've done much better on the ACT then the SAT. And, even though I don't live in Georgia, I think that this is a good idea but it would be better if it was tied into the ACT as well (though, it could be - I'm not as aware of this issue as other people might be).

I watched this show all the time when it used to be on...I've caught it a few times on Nick GAS, but it hasn't aged very well. And I wouldn't have wanted to be on the show for the very reasons that Shy didn't want to be on (those damn Temple Guards scared the hell out of me - I would've looked like a total *** on that show -__-). Nick Arcade was definitely my favorite of Nick's game shows, for obvious reasons. I still watch that show and think to myself that none of those kids would've stood a chance if they were matched up against me. I would've owned Nick Arcade =p

I think Silicon Knights will do very well with this. They'll be able to knock down the MGS ambience with ease...just look at the incredible job they did with Eternal Darkness. That game was just bursting with quality when it came to sounds and visuals. Plus, despite what others thought, I thought they nailed the controls for Silicon Knights. They were a million times better than anything that had ever been done in Resident Evil.

Well, I'm tempted to close this thread since not much discussion has arised from it...but this forum has been a bit slow lately, so I'll leave it open. But I'll be keeping an eye on this. As for a Ninja Gaiden game for GBA, that would be nice, but I don't see it happening. The only way it would be possible, that I can see, is if Tecmo decided to port the old Ninja Gaiden games over to the Game Boy Advance. If they did, I'd be all for it, though. Those games were cool.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Semjaza Azazel [/i] [B]I really wish I could have seen that NIN/Bowie tour years back. That would have been a great thing to see. At least there are some decent bootlegs about, and some of it does appear on the Closure release. [/B][/QUOTE] Yeah, I was mostly referring to the tour which looked pretty damn cool from what I saw. That would've been the thrill of my life if I could've seen a show like that.

I've heard tons of conflicting release dates about .hack//QUARANTINE. Some say November, some say late December, and others say early January, so I'm not quite sure on that one. If anyone else would like to hear a specific piece of gaming news, then feel free to request. But if you could something else in there along with it, that'd be nice. Source: [url]www.allrpg.com[/url] - The PS2's price has been lowered in Europe from from 169.99 Euros (about $280) to 139.99 Euros (about $230). - Square-Enix is planning to put together a Front Mission compilation (currently named Front Mission History) to be released for PS2. The expected Japanese release date should be about December. - And, in more Square-Enix news, Final Fantasy XII, which has long been held in secret, is expected to finally be unveiled in November. This is the official website: [url]http://www.ff12.com/[/url] There's an interesting intro showing some of the backgrounds of the game on the site right now, but nothing really major. And that's about it for me. More news to come later. More news: Source: [url]www.allrpg.com[/url] - Square Enix has announced that Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest will be available to play on cell phones in Japan. FF will be a port of the Wonderswan version and Dragon Quest will be a port of the Famicom version. - Square Enix also announced that there will be no FFVII remake due to complications with the PlayStation 2 hardware. - Hideaki Irie was recently hired as Sega of America's new President and COO. For 20 years, he was the President of AgeTec, Inc. and ASCII.

I was slightly into jazz...and then I heard some of the fantastic jazz music from Cowboy Bebop. It's very, very pleasing to the ear and helps me relax if I ever happen to become a bundle of nerves (which doesn't happen very often, fortunately). Really, when you listen to it, it just hooks you in...there's no other way for me to describe it. You listen to it and get in tune with it and you just can't stop listening to it. The best of jazz can get stuck in your head for months (in my experience) and I find that I actually really enjoy having the tunes bounce around constantly in my head.

This thread is very convenient because I just watched a David Bowie biography on the Biography channel yesterday. Pretty cool, to say the least. I've not had the opportunity to hear a lot David Bowie's best work, due mostly to the fact that I did not listen to a ton of music when I was younger (I was one of those dorks who read all the time :p). That biography caught me up real well on Bowie's career, however...very interesting stuff. Sad to hear that, early on, he was one of those guys who got duped by a greedy, jackass manager. For all the great music he produced, you'd think he'd have been a very rich man from the start. Most of his work I've heard is either from early on his career or his more recent work (like the stuff he did with Nine Inch Nails...awesomeness). Most of his early work I've heard because of the oldies station my mother listens to. So, yeah, David Bowie is great. I definitely need to get my hands on more of his work. If only I weren't so cheap...

Charles echoed every sentiment that I have about Crash and characters just like him (Bubsy, Croc, etc.). When you look at a character like Mario, you can feel the prescence that he has. You can tell that he wasn't just some souless character conjured up by some corporation to make some money. When you looked and played the game, you felt he was much more than that; you felt a connection with him. Look at Link - he wasn't just created to sell some game. You can identify with the character. Who here hasn't wanted to just go on an adventure at some point in their lives? With Link, you can go on an adventure. It just makes the character seem that more real. You can't help but feel for the guy as he goes on an adventure to rescue Princess Zelda. A character like Crash...it just isn't the same. You don't get the same feeling from a character like Crash Bandicoot. To me, Crash is just another animal mascot. Nothing more.

Oh, that battle system sounds like it's going to be so much fun. I'm not usually the strategic type, but I could really go for something refreshing like the battle system in Baten Kaitos. The graphics are still looking mighty fine. As I just told you over AIM, I think the transition to the battles looks quite cool. It flows very well and the battles start right away. It's very instantaneous; I like that. The release date is looking farther and farther away everytime I see something new come up about the game...I wish it were out right now.

KoRn - I used to be a really big fan of theirs, but I didn't really care for Untouchables. I still listen to the odd song of theirs on occasion, though. Slipknot - Not really a big Slipknot fan. Just a bunch of noise and stuff. Not particulary good sounding noise, either. System of a Down - I like System of a Down, but I still haven't heard Steal This Album. Toxicity was good, as was their self-titled album. Marilyn Manson - Unlike a lot of people who don't really like Manson's stuff, I've actually listened to the music lol. Some of it I like, some of it I don't. Static X - Static X is cool, but I haven't listened to them in a while. There are better bands out there. Nothingface - Haven't really heard an album of theirs. No opinion. Murderdolls - Same as Nothingface. NIN - Ah, my favorite band is on the list. Amazing quality albums that just explode with ambience and sound...I can't say enough about them. And I won't bore you with me talking about how much I like 'em. Rob Zombie - I used to listen to White Zombie, but I haven't really picked up any of Rob Zombie's solo stuff. White Zombie is cool, though. Mudvayne - They're better than Slipknot, but not by much. Pretty much the same problems I have with Slipknot, I have with Mudvayne. Metallica - The old stuff was cool, the new stuff sucks. Enough said.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Kaze [/i] [B][FONT=times new roman]As for a cheap character, I say Yoshi or Jiggly Puff. Yoshi being able to swallow you and turn into a egg for some cheap shots isn't fare. And Jiggly Puff's sleep move followed up with rest is pretty cheap.[/FONT] [/B][/QUOTE] I think those moves would be cheap, except for the fact that they can be pretty hard to use correctly. Yoshi's egg move isn't really good for that much damage (in my experience) and is really best for turning your opponents into eggs and making them fall off the stage. That's not really the easiest thing in the world to do, however. Jigglypuff's moves can do a fair amount of damage, but they also leave Jigglypuff wide open to damage. So, the potential cheapness of the move is counteracted by the fact that Jigglypuff could also be killed off fairly easily because of it.

Alter~Ego, please try to elaborate more on why Zelda/Sheik is your favorite SSBM fighter. Everyone else has done a good job of explaining why they like whichever character they happen to like. Please try to improve your post quality in the future. Thanks.