Shinmaru

Heh, I knew I was right. Fear my ability to spot gaming references out of nowhere! Also, either every gamer has that experience, or you've been spying on me, because I've been doing that a lot lately. Damn Bowser, indeed.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance is looking very good right now. Just one of many, many games I have my eye on that I want to get. It's almost too much lol. I enjoyed Final Fantasy Tactics for the PSX, but I never finished the game for some reason. I'm going to have to go back and finish it off someday. It'll give me something to do while saving up money to buy this game. From what I've heard, this is turning out better than Final Fantasy Tactics. For one thing, the translation is much better, which is great to hear (the translation for FFT was horrible - it barely made any sense to me lol). Also, I've heard that it's a bit more friendly for people that are new to the realm of Strategy-RPGs, which is also good to hear.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by James [/i] [B][color=#707875]You know, the whole "2D is inherently better than 3D" and "modern games will never be as good as classics" crowd.[/color] [/B][/QUOTE] I used to be exactly like that. I simply refused to play certain 3D titles because they weren't what I was used to. Slowly, my opinion (though it took some classics like Super Mario 64 and Zelda: Ocarina of Time to do so) changed on this matter. The people who just stick to older classics and refuse to play modern games...I find them annoying, to be honest. Mostly because I know what it's like to be one of them. And it sucks. Look at Metroid Prime. It's inherently different from earlier Metroid titles, yet very familiar. It's too bad certain people who refuse to play it because "it's a FPS and Metroid shouldn't be an FPS" are missing out on what is probably the greatest game of this generation. Metroid Prime has the classic Metroid gameplay, enhanced by modern technology to become a game unequaled by just about anything in gaming history. I dare the people who stick to classics to play this game and tell me it's not good for the gaming industry. New experiences are what drive the gaming industry. If everything was the same thing over and over again, many of the classics people play would never have existed. Many classic games are classics because they dared to go above and beyond the expectations of gamers. Super Mario Bros. was vastly different from what most people had played up to that time. The Legend of Zelda invented one of gaming's most successful genres, the Action-RPG. Classics are classics because they dared to innovate and try something other than whatever was the norm at the time. The titles that James mentioned did an excellent job of doing that and are classics, in my opinion. It's too bad many other gamers in the world don't think so.

You know, there's a reason why FFVIII has a bad rep. Because it sucks. Everything that Matto mentioned hit the nail right on the head. Also, add in the fact that the game was really, really easy (in my opinion, at least) and that certain attacks are far too powerful for my tastes. Also, I didn't like the characters or the story and found both to be pretty boring.

I like the font for the message on the top and bottom of the banner. It adds a nice touch the whole thing. And I like the whole transparency effect, too. *needs to find this movie and see it*

I thought it was a lot funnier than these people are giving it credit for. The Scooby Doo stuff was the funniest part of the episode, in my opinion. We all know Fred wants to say that stuff. I laughed really hard when Mo spit out the water for some strange reason. And the doctor playing Super Mario Bros. DX (you all know that's what he's playing - that's the only GB game with both Mario and Bowser =p) was a nice touch, too, I thought. Overall, a great episode, in my opinion.

Ah, I forgot about Mario. In the right hands, Mario can be very deadly. He's got decent speed, all his attacks do pretty good damage, and his Smash Attack is very good. Plus, he's very easy to combo with.

There are still lots of older games that I still have a blast with. Even after 11 years of play time, nothing has come close to unseating The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past as the greatest game of all time, in my mind. I have lots of fun with Super Mario Bros., Super Metroid, Super Castlevania IV and things like that. However, it's other games that I played and enjoyed when I was younger that wouldn't exactly be timeless classics if released today. There are certain games that I played when I was younger that, if released in this day and age, I would absolutely despise. I thought I would be have a good time playing these games, but playing them has soured my opinion on some of the games I played in my youth. However, there will always be the games that I enjoyed playing the hell out of when I was a kid that I still enjoy to this very day. After a hard day at school, I find nothing better than to sit in front of the television and bust out Super Mario All Stars so that I can play the updated version of Super Mario Bros. 3 and relive the glorious memories that I had of that game as a child. Crimson Spider introduced the point about a lot of people not enjoying games because of the graphics and I think that those people are ignorant, to be honest. The truly great games excel not because they're amazing graphical experiences, but because they have timeless gameplay that can be thoroughly enjoyable whether you play it the day you buy it or twenty years after the matter.

I find that this happens to me a lot and probably happens to a lot of gaming fans who have been playing for a long time. I recently found my NES and the first thing out of my mouth was "Wow, I can't wait to play all those great games again!" I set up the NES and get ready for hours of fun...then, I play some of the games and find that they weren't as good as I had originally thought they were. In fact, some of them really, really sucked. It's the same thing with the SNES. I love it dearly and it's still my favorite system of all time. However, I can't help but look back at some of the games that I played a lot and wonder "Why the hell did I think [i]that[/i] was good?" Why do you think this happens? Do our fond memories of the games that we played as children blind us to the reality that we played some really crappy games when we were kids? Do you find that more often than not, games that you really liked when you were younger just don't hold up today? Or is it just that your tastes have matured and you have a better idea of what's considered "good" or "bad?"

Heh, I thought it was pretty funny. For some reason, I thought that the moving mouth when he was talking was hilarious. I hope you can get a nice story out of it. Good luck, Gavynn!

I usually choose Roy just because I like him so much. He has very strong attacks and his lack of speed isn't a big deal if you're good at dodging attacks. I also use Captain Falcon a lot, but not as often as I used to because his speed can be hard to control on occasion. But his attacks are strong and if you can manage his speed correctly, he can be a very dangerous character. I also like using Fox because even though he is weak, he can deal a fair amount of damage very quickly with both his laser and his punches and kicks. If I time it right, I can deal about 40-50% damage to an opponent in about a couple seconds. I also like using Link, but that's just because I think he looks really cool. He looks damn awesome with his Goron Tunic; the Tunic of the *** kicking champion.

Damn, I still haven't picked up the game! I've been meaning to for a while now, but I haven't found the time to actually go out and pick it up. Plus, it's a tough decision whether to buy this or Soul Calibur II.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by OtakuSennen [/i] [B]Actually, it's the first RPG I really played, and it's a good starter too. The play control is simple enough and the game doesn't have an all-that-complex story line... *sniff of sadness* Mario didn't have a wide variety of special moves though.. Just fireball, jump and something I'm forgetting..[/b][/quote] I agree with you there. This was the first RPG that I played as well. It's easy enough to get used to the RPG style while still remaining fun. [quote][b]Short? I didn't find this game too short... Of course, I was little and got stuck at the volcano for a month.. -_- [/b][/quote] Well, it was short for an RPG. The easyness of the game didn't really do much to make things better. But the game's still fun. Maybe it's just because I wanted to play the game more lol. [quote][b]I heard about the Gameboy remake as well. Actually, I remember seeing screenshots somewhere. But it was a while ago, and I really don't remember where. However I [i]do[/i] remember they called it Super Mario Advance Four. Now that can't be true, considering that SMA4 is now Super Mario Bros. 3.. Hehe, but I think there's a good chance of it being one of the SMA games eventually.[/b][/quote] I heard that rumor, too. I think it was either in Electronic Gaming Monthly or Nintendo Power that I heard it; I can't remember which. But all this Super Mario Advance stuff is getting confusing to be honest lol. [quote][b]My favorite character was Bowser. :sweat: The chain chomp was so cool!! [/B][/QUOTE] Heh, he was my favorite character, too. Not only was he the best attacker, but he was the comic relief in the game. Square and Nintendo really gave Bowser a lot of character in this game.

I was watching Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn and Colin and Greg Giraldo were in a segment in which they were responding to hate posts against them on the Tough Crowd message boards. The post that pertained to Greg called him a sellout to the Mexican/Latino community (or something like that - it's been a while since I saw that episode) and that he's just another Mexican acting white. Greg's response was simply that many groups denounce stereotypes, but then get all pissy and call people sellouts when they don't fit the stereotype. I'm half-Mexican and I have a lot of Mexican friends. However, I don't really fall into the "Mexican stereotype" (even though I sort of look the part). I'm not an idiot, I don't speak with a thick accent, and I'm not a lazy gangbanger. I have a lot of interests that many people wouldn't see as "Mexican." A lot of my friends listen to rap and shake their heads when I tell them I listen to bands like Nirvana or Soundgarden. My friends play basketball, while I play Tennis. My friends read when they're forced to, while I read pretty much every day. A few of my friends see this as "white behavior" (which is pretty ironic, seeing as I'm half-white anyway). My point is that a lot of the people who point the finger and complain about prejudice are pretty prejudiced themselves. I don't go around proclaiming myself as an example for all to follow; I have my prejudices just like anyone else does. However, I think it's pretty stupid for certain people to complain about racism and then turn around and be racist themselves. Pretty hypocritical I'd say. But that's just the way the world is sometimes.

I'm surprised to find that I was mostly on target with my predictions. Unfortunately, Chris Jericho didn't win the title as I had so dreamed he would, but oh well. And it really sucked how Triple H kept the title after fighting for like five minutes. He could've worked a little bit longer, at least, even with the groin problems. I also thought that stuff with Coach was pretty interesting. I always thought in the back of my mind that Coach would make a good heel because I hate him so much lol. But now to the original intention of my post. In just about every wrestling website I go to, everyone is trying to make predictions about who the next big star is. On the RAW side of things, the guy getting the big push (whether warranted or not) is Randy Orton. Christian (who I think should be the next star of RAW) is also getting a bit of a push right now. Mark Jindrak and Garrison Cade are also being showcased as a decent tag team, along with La Resistance. On the Smackdown side of things, the Basham Brothers are looking like a great tag team, as are The World's Greatest Tag Team. And you can't forget John Cena (who was my second choice for the next big star of the WWE). But there's one person who I think will stand above the rest as the next big star of the WWE. And that man is Matt Hardy. Here's why: 1) His physique - He has the physique that we all know that Vince McMahon loves. He's big enough to warrant a main event push, but light enough to be agile and give a great match. 2) Mic Skills - Matt has made noticable improvements in the area of mic skills ever since he adopted his Mattitude gimmick. He was never really given the time to talk before, but now has shown that he is more than competent on the mic. 3) He's easy to remember - This is a very important and often underlooked talent in certain wrestlers. Everything about Matt is eye-catching and you can immediately trace it to him. From his Mattitude sign, to the names of his moves, to his MFers, everything about him just sticks in your mind. 4) Experience - This is what puts him over John Cena, in my opinion. Matt simply has more experience than Cena does, both as a tag team wrestler and a singles wrestler. Cena is still a bit off in the areas of ring psychology and such, whereas Matt excels at that. 5) He's homegrown talent - This is also very important, because we all know how Vince holds back the guys who aren't homegrown (need proof - just look at Kanyon, Sean O'Haire, Eddy Guerrero and Chris Benoit - and that's just at Smackdown). However, Matt has the advantage of being homegrown talent, which almost assures him that he will be placed as top priority. Bottom line, Matt Hardy has the tools, the gimmick, and the superstar quality to rise to the top. He sells well, he's capable of carrying people to great matches, and his gimmick is over with the fans. Mark my words, Matt Hardy will be the U.S. Champion very soon and he will be the WWE Champion within the next few years. Who do you guys think the next big star will be? EDIT: Just dropped in to say that I saw Christian's rant on RAW again when I watched The Bottom Line and I thought it was great. "Hello?! Intercontinental Champion over here!" Christian's rants are well justified; if there's anything that RAW needs, it's more Christian.

I think they look pretty good, if a bit pixelated/blurry. I also agree with terra that the font color doesn't really go with the Luigi's Mansion banner. It's a bit too bright and colorful to go along with the picture. But overall, they're pretty good.

I'm a huge fan of Super Mario RPG, but I wouldn't go so far as to call it one of the best games ever. It's way too short and easy to earn that distinction lol. With that said, though, it still is a really good game. It's very funny and the fighting system is pretty good. And the story, even though it isn't anything really special, is the best that any Mario game has ever had. I've heard several rumors about this game being remade for the Game Boy Advance, but nothing official has been announced so far that I know of.

Well, I'm sure others will talk about the obvious titles such as Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Super Mario 64, etc. so I'll stick to other titles. F-Zero X: Still my favorite racing game of all time (hopefully, it will be replaced by F-Zero GX). The speed is incredible and the tracks were really amazing. It's quite a rush starting out at the back of the pack and working your way to winning the race. Perfect Dark: If the multi-player was smoother this would be the best reason to own an N64, in my opinion. The single player isn't too shabby, either. A lot of work went into this title and it shows. Star Fox 64: Nice, smooth controls and lots of enemies to blast equal a good time for me. The bosses were pretty cool (if a bit easy) and the multiple paths created some nice replay value.

I think that you should keep the complete title on the banner, so that you're representing both games. Anyway, I really like the banner (though, I might be a bit biased, seeing as SMB 3 is far and away my favorite Mario game of all time). It's very simple and very clean. I also like Mario wiggling his tail for some odd reason...

I don't see why you had to mention that you didn't like the GameCube and N64, but whatever. Anyway, I enjoyed Mario Party 4, but I still found it to be little more than a new Mario Party with sharper graphics. There weren't any really major gameplay updates, just new boards. I liked the games in this a lot more than the ones in Mario Party 3, but I think that if Nintendo is going to continue the series, they need to freshen it up a bit.

Well, I don't think that Mario Kart is very good on the Game Boy Player, because the game's controls are bad. They're way too sensitive and they make it very hard to powerslide. However, I can't see any reason why most GBA games wouldn't work well with the Game Boy Player; every game I've played on it thus far has worked perfectly.

I don't know if I'm getting this game, but I would certainly like to. Super Mario Bros. 3 is still my all time favorite NES game and probably my favorite Mario game. I would especially like to get it seeing as my NES and SNES aren't exactly in the best of condition, heh. Also, that stuff with the e-reader intrigues me, but the conditions to set it up seem like a big hassle honestly. But the game would be still worth buying, in my opinion, if not just to experience SMB 3.

Personally, I think spending any time wondering what's going to happen when you die is wasting your life. Whatever happens, happens, and you can't change it. All you can do is go on and live your life unconcerned about death and whatnot. Maybe when you're actually dying it's not such a waste of time to think about it, but while actually physically active, I don't see why you'd spend your time thinking about death.

What a lot of people don't realize is that the decision to drop the Atomic Bomb was not an automatic decision. Harry Truman agonized for a long time over this and even after he made the decision to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki, he still wasn't sure that it was the right decision. Personally, I have to agree with what Raiha said about it being the lesser of two evils. The Japanese were willing to risk everything they had in the hopes of winning WWII. Something had to be done and, unfortunately, dropping the A-Bomb was it. Regrettable but inevitable.

My thumbs have gotten a lot stronger over the years, so it takes a lot of gaming for my thumbs to hurt nowadays. It's not really healthy to play games for hours on end without taking breaks (an understatement, I know). I try to take breaks [b]at least[/b] every couple of hours when I play games (though, I rarely play for such long stretches anymore - don't have the time I used to).