BlueYoshi

[color=teal]It's true; the panels are starting to get over-crowded, which isn't always nice if it's not your intention. I think the main problem here is that you're over exaggerating the scenes a little, for example, in the last panel we don't need all those sprites and animation, we generally need to know the gist of the situation, especially that the premise of the story is based more around the comedic side, which generally makes the fight scenes irrelevant. I like that you've colour-coded the dialogue with each Link, if not then it would be confusing as hell, but overall I think that it's fine as it is, but I still think that James? proposal is worth trying out.[/color]

[color=teal]School sports are fun. It beats playing table tennis with nobody on the other end; and believe me, I'd know... I enjoyed sports back in my junior days, whether it be soccer, hockey, badminton, or even athletics (well, I actually hated athletics so :D). The only problem I really had with out door sports in school was what they made us wear, plus the fact that the weather in England is always cruddy. Oh well, I guess I should be grateful that there weren't any bugs about to bite my toosh while I wasn't looking, heh.[/color]

[color=teal]Thanks for your reply CrH, your recruitment sheet is satisfactory. One thing that I'll have to ask you to change though, you've taken the role of Shuya Matsumoto, and you say him and Ken are old friends. In the prologue they've actually just met so do you think you can say that Akira or Jacky befriended him and took him in? I'm sorry for the confusion there; it just didn't make sense that's all. EDIT: I added Akira Kagome's personality to the sign-up sheet, and even though I didn't ask for one, I felt it would be important that we all know his since he's the main character after all. Anyway, here it is... [b][u]Name:[/b][/u] Akira Kagome [b][u]Age:[/b][/u] 52 [b][u]Appearance:[/b][/u] Akira has got natural ink black hair that is always combed back. Sometimes, he can be found in front of a mirror combing his hair slowly since he is extremely paranoid about the way he looks in a socially embedded environment, and like every other member of the Kagome family, he will sport a set of large sunglasses when out in the open. Though not a fan of jewellery or any other accessories of the type, Akira wears a very thin gold chain around his neck that was given to him by his wife, which he sees more as a symbolic token, and also a gold watch that he received as an acceptance gift from other members from back when when he first became a Yakuza Boss. As a result of having been shot in the leg, right underneath the knee cap above the shin to be specific, Akira will always be carrying an oak brown cane walking stick that has a small Samurai warrior helmet on the handle to help him walk. Concealed within the cane is a half- sized, razor sharp Tanto blade, which he uses for domestic purposes as well as savage. He is still capable of walking however, just with a limp that?s most likely to slow him down. Besides the fact that Akira resents jewellery, he does have incredibly expensive taste, ranging from the cigars he smokes to the vehicles he rides in, Akira will always behold top of the line items, and his dress code is no different. Akira's suits, shirts, and shoes are all custom made to his liking and size by the number one designer wear manufacturers known. Very rarely will you see him in a more casual, country looking style, but the rest of the time it?s 'business before pleasure'. [b][u]Personality:[/b][/u] Usually a calm and subtle individual, Akira is not one you want to mess around with. He will open his heart to his two sons and anyone who remains loyal and devoted to him during any rough peril they may encounter. Coming from a rough childhood and background, Akira is very old fashioned, which has caused him to develop a rash hatred towards Western technology, and will ultimately try to avoid any form of interaction with alleged Westerners since he finds them crude and not to be trusted. Thus explaining why he prefers to carry a blade rather than a firearm. For a man who only speaks when he feels the need to, Akira is a ruthless and as cold hearted as they come, and generally lacks the hesitation to make the harsh snap decisions of busting one's business partnership or killing a fellow or rival Yakuza gang member, whatever their position may be. But, as arrogant as he may be, Akira has a tongue for a glass of warm sake every now and then, and is actually quite light-hearted and humorous to be around with when drunk--he is particularly famous for his sexist jokes and remarks, though he has never fooled around with woman since the death of his wife. Previously an avid gambler back in his late teens, Akira forced his way through the slums by his exceptional talent in Poker. You would only see him in the games with the highest stakes involved and considered the rest as a waste of his time. After losing almost all of his money and winnings in a game with many other Japanese syndicate leaders and crime lords, Akira made an oath never to gamble again. From time to time Akira would play a friendly game or two with some of his co-workers, but nothing too serious though. [b][u]Biography/Background:[/b][/u] Born in 1952 and brought up in the rough neck of the woods in New York, Akira lived with his father, Kenji. Before enrolling at high school, Akira would work a part-time job at a small coffee shop stall to scrape in a few extra dollars to pay the rent, and would usually receive a lot of stick from the other American kids whilst working. This is where he developed a stereotype for these 'snobby kids' as he called them, and decided to protest against them in his years at high school. Forming a coalition with a few other Japanese boys, Akira took satisfaction in beating up other gangs and it wasn't soon before he was fired from his daily job. In response to Akira's unsoundly ways, his father would punish him by beating him up. Akira condemned this and became even more so juvenile and decided to boycott school. At the age of seventeen and as a result of many years of stress from this, Kenji suffered a heart attack and died three hours later in hospital. It was at this point that Akira decided to stop attending school altogether, and it was only months later that he was convicted of his first crime. He had gotten drunk with his friends and out of the blue they severely beat on a patrolling police officer--only Akira got six months in the juvenile hall for GBH since he was the only one to have gotten caught and refused to rat on any of his friends during his interrogation. It was in the juvenille halls where Akira met a Japanese guy called Tetsuya who was in there for petty crimes. They had both learned how to play poker together as a means of passing time. After weeks practise Tetsuya realised that Akira had a gift for the game and decided to put it to use by betting cigarettes and matches in the joint. Upon their releases, Akira and Tetsuya decided to up the stakes a little, so they went around town hustling any sucker they could find on the street just to skim in a few extra bucks, and it wasn't long before they ran into a Yakuza member called Tatsuro. He knew the tricks and only played along to see the kid's talent. After revealing himself as a Yakuza gang member he made them an offer that they couldn't refuse. Basically, Tatsuro as a Yakuza member, was connected in the streets, he would find the games going on and send in Akira and Tetsuya to play and win in those games. As long as Akira and Tetsuya got some of the winnings, and Tatsuro got his cut, everyone was happy. You'd think that Tatsuro's Boss, Boss Kuragame, would have been outraged at this when he found out, but he actually held his own stake in it all, too. One night, Kuragame told Akira and Tetsuya about a big Poker game that was coming up. He told them that is was with the other Yakuza crime lords and that it would be tougher than usual. Obviously, they agreed, and so spent the next few days polishing up on their skills. Hours before the game though, Tetsuya had managed to get himself beaten up by other gang members, it turned out that he was drunk because he was over clouded with nervousness. Unfortunately, Akira only found out about this while he was at the Poker table and about to begin the game, which forced him to play alone. Akira fell nervous and isolated and lost the game even quicker than he thought he would. He lost everything; the money, his money, all the winnings, it was all gone. Boss Kuragame didn't accept this either, and decided to have young Tetsuya killed for his foolishness. He understood Akira's circumstances and forced him to lay his life for him, thus he worked as another of Kuragame's henchmen. Boss Kuragame was still in debt from the severe Poker loss and was receiving threats from all over the place. He now had a week to pay off the debt or he'd be killed. Kuragame was in a mental distress until he thought a plan; he thought that he could use Akira to get him out of this mess, though he tried to plan it legally so it was a guaranteed score for him. The plan was to send Akira off to deliver five keys of cocaine to an abandoned warehouse where a man would be waiting to collect it. Kuragame told Akira that the man would be dressed in blue, so he tipped off the cops and told them the situation. Poor Akira got six years for the possession of and intent to supply cocaine. All of his assets went to Kuragame through a legal contract and he used them to pay off his debt, meaning Akira would have nowhere to go when he got out, he would literally be a bum. During his interrogation Akira never said a word as usual? instead he followed his instincts and decided to take matters into his own hands. Six years later, Akira was released from prison and then immediately embarked on his mission to kill Boss Kuragame as revenge for stealing his life and possessions. With a few hired guns and a pretty nice arsenal, it would be easy; in and out. Upon his successful assassination attempt on the Yakuza Boss, Akira suffered a bullet to the leg--everyone else was dead. Days later, the word got around. All kinds of stories spread around the city, but it didn't matter at all to Akira. He had just toppled the Kuragame Empire and became a made man from it all, Akira was now a Yakuza mob Boss, practically taking Kuragame's place. The other Bosses gave him a mutual equity amongst the New York underworld. Akira was set for life. One year later he met the love of his life in a small and old county club restaurant. She was a Japanese woman called Sakura Mitsiko, she was beautiful. Almost two months later they got married and had their first-born child, Ken. However, due to Akira's involvement with the Yakuza and the mob life, he spent much time outside of the house and away from Sakura. Because she never saw much of him and became lonely and deeply depressed, she started to persistently drink to take away the pain. Due to this, she developed a major stomach ulcer during the late stages of her second pregnancy and had to be hospitalised. Sakura died shortly after giving birth to their second son, Jacky. Nowadays, Akira stands tall as the head of the Kagome crime family. His sweat, blood, and tears have gone into it and he won?t let anybody take it away from him.[/color]

[color=teal]The ultimate aim is to escape from prison. I heard that as you progress through the story you gradually learn as to how Riddick acquired his 'shining' ability and other personal stuff. That will be interesting to see, heh. I think what people look forward to most with COR is the stealthy spin involved. Coherently, Riddick does suit that role since his character is very deviating--he has the ability to see in the dark--and that obviously plays at a huge advantage for us all. But, I can't help but think whether Riddick was purposely used, surely if a brand new character was produced just to fit the role and show off the features that COR has to offer then he'd most likely be classed as a 'rip-off', but none the less, it's good to see that Starbreeze have actually made the game playable rather than attempting to make their sales through name only. I'd think that any game revolving around a stealth plot hole would completely be limited if narrowed down to first person. COR doesn't go over the top by letting you perform lots of stealthy moves like those in MGS or Splinter Cell, basically you are given exactly what you need to use and what fits the environment, there's no exaggerated hype here. However, when comparing such a game to a more realistic title, say SC, it wouldn't really be a fair judgement. Riddick's character is much more versatile than Sam Fisher or Snake could ever be, he has enhanced attributes, which like I said before, offers much more to gameplay. Despite COR being based on an entirely fictional story, along with the prequel and sequel, the extent of the realism in game is great. It's minor details, such as small and petty sounds, and glowing red bullet holes to portray heat (which eventually cool off) that add up to set standards for video games in general. For a game that concentrates on at least some action besides all round hiding, I'd like to make a decent comparison of it with SC:PT even though both are in completely different formats, it'll be an interesting view to see them from.[/color]

[color=teal]It's also going to be released for the Nintendo DS, though it's uncertain whether or not the games will replicate each other. Anyway, here's a [/color][url=http://www.gamespot.com/ds/action/mobilesuitgundamseed/media.htm][u]movie[/u][/url] [color=teal]that's supposed to show some cool in game footage of the DS version of Mobile Suit Gundam Seed. I haven't seen it yet but I'll probably watch it later.[/color]

[color=teal]I like the structure of the poem very much; short and effective, and as well as rhyming it also portrays a hidden meaning within it. The end is very compelling as it?s kind of a cliffhanger, but you're still led into knowing what will happen afterwards, so it's not your ordinary poem. The poem displays the spider as the all powerful and mighty being who's at the top of the hierarchy and food chain. But, the spider is not necessarily the bad guy since it?s only doing what any other spider would do, it just wants to survive, that?s just its nature. Another interesting point is that the poem is laid out in the first person perspective. It shows the view of the spider and the butterfly in a totally unbiased way, almost separately [i]and[/i] together.[/color]

[color=teal]The PS2 version is set for a release on the 10/12/2004, though the Xbox version is unconfirmed, but will definitely come out towards the end of the year[/color]

[color=teal]I watched a few episodes of the live action series instead, thinking it was the anime when I downloaded it. Terrible. It surprised me how two traffic police officers have the authority to undergo sting operations and have arrest and search warrants. I didn?t like it one bit. The music was terrible, Miyuki and Natsumi are terrible, and their sense of style is terrible. The twists and turns the story took in some episodes weren't even funny, I could have seen them coming from a mile away. The love interest is typical, too. I never reached the end of the series but I'm taking a wild guess that that?s when everybody confesses their own feelings for one another--I haven't even gotten as far as learning anyone's names, lol. I have no intention of watching the anime, but for those that do, for your sakes I hope it diverges in a completely different angle from the live action series.[/color]

[color=teal]First off, Mortal Kombat: Deception will be a PS2 and Xbox release only, excluding the GameCube from its development. Reason being that the GameCube made poor sales following the previous game, MK: DA, in comparison to the competition, and Midway are planning to conclusively discontinue the overall Mortal Kombat GameCube line up all together. So what now? Another blood-fest with a hilarious dialogue and a feisty story line? That's not necessarily what the previews out there think. Mortal Kombat has always been about the fighting and violence involved within it ever since MK1, never about the competitiveness and the ranks, and after each instalment was released players found that the franchise became more brutal each time. Mortal Kombat 4 introduced 3D environments and categorised weapons, which provided a much wider span for this, Deadly Alliance improvised on the surrounding, making them more dangerous in-game. And now, Deception brings out the best of both worlds, bringing them both together and so much more. Following DOA2's concept of driving your opponent off high cliffs and destructible environments, Midway have implemented that route and merged it into Deception, and there's no doubt that we won't be seeing a more bloody sequence upon falls and such. Also, within the cruel depths of the slightly enhanced Mortal Kombat arenas are 'Hot Spots'. Hot Spots consist of three different areas in each level, if you can tactically manoeuvre your opponent into stepping into one of these areas then it's game over for them. Admittedly, it does bring you around to think more about where you move and focuses mainly on the ability to side-step, but when it comes down to the crunch, I generally want to watch two players repeatedly bashing each other in the head with fists and huge objects, heh. It almost wraps around a state of seldom and non-stop turtling. Midway has diverged from the traditional Fatality system, too. This time, instead of waiting till the end of the match to perform your gruesome finale, you simply step on a panel engraved onto the arena floor, indicated as a red square. Seriously, that won't be nice for the more serious players since almost anyone can now completely turn the match around by the push of a button, even more-so by stepping on it by accident. But, in the light of all this... 'brokeness'?, a more skilful dynamic has been revealed as MK will now contain counter attacks within fights. Basically, when your opponent is open to an attack, a set of lights will appear practically [i]telling[/i] you to counter, obviously though, you have the option to toggle this feature on or off to work on your own reflexes and such, heh. Other modes include Konquest, which has a touch of a role-play element to it very similar to that of Deadly Alliance, and to brighten things up in the dark and dreary world of Mortal Kombat, there's also MK Chess and Puzzle Kombat, but that doesn't rest assured the fact that it won't be gory to say the least. Mortal Kombat is changing, for the better by the sounds of it, and with online capabilities for all three game modes, who knows what to expect. With a little bit of spark MK: Deception could be the knight in shining armour that saves old-school arcade gaming.[/color] [img]http://ps2media.ign.com/ps2/image/article/514/514772/mortal-kombat-deception-20040513011408239.jpg[/img] [img]http://ps2media.ign.com/ps2/image/article/514/514772/mortal-kombat-deception-20040513011410582.jpg[/img] [img]http://ps2media.ign.com/ps2/image/mkdeception_032404_02_1080150596.jpg[/img] [color=teal]Konquest mode, MK Chess, and Puzzle Kombat:[/color] [img]http://ps2media.ign.com/ps2/image/article/514/514772/mortal-kombat-deception-20040513011402458.jpg[/img] [img]http://ps2media.ign.com/ps2/image/article/514/514772/mortal-kombat-deception-20040513011419144.jpg[/img] [img]http://ps2media.ign.com/ps2/image/article/514/514772/mortal-kombat-deception-20040513011424424.jpg[/img]

[color=teal]There was a lot of Toriyama character design bashing in the Chrono Trigger thread so I stumbled across this and thought I'd post it up. This year, Atari have promised to give us three new DBZ titles ranging from both the PS2 and GBA. I'll run down each one separately below. First up is DBZ: Supersonic Warriors. I put the search function to use and found that Charles has already said what needs saying about this one, so I'll mainly be talking about the other two.[/color] [url=http://otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=34558&highlight=budokai][u]Click here[/u][/url] [color=teal]to read the thread. Atari's second piece, DBZ: Buu's Fury, is also for the GBA. Still under Webfoot?s development, Buu's Fury is an RPG that takes the Z warriors through the dramatic incident of the Buu saga, call it The Legacy of Goku 3 if you must. However, you may want to hold your criticisms for now as new combos, moves, battle system, and fusions sound promising from various other previews. Obviously, we can't expect much from a small 2D RPG, but it will be interesting to see how Webfoot combine these new features together, especially in the role-playing format. Last but hopefully not least :rolleyes:, Budokai 3. Very little has been said about this one, but this should be Atari's crème de la crème, probably not in terms of game play at all, but definitely under the fan-basis. I have no idea how they'll go about this, Budokai 2 took us to DBZ's limit in the Buu saga and pretty much put almost every DBZ character to use in the versus mode--plus some new 'made-up' fusions. It'd be great to see a new storyline overall though, maybe one relating to one of the movies? Regarding graphics and visual designs... nothing yet. I'd prefer to see Budokai 3 cel-shaded in a more polished form as I was rather contemptuous towards the plain, serious-looking graphics displayed in the first game, though by all means that doesn?t solemnly affect the state of the game in total. All in all, this info is about a month old, so the good news is that it shouldn't be too long before we receive the next scoop on the upcoming DBZ games.[/color]

[color=teal]Mine is definitely Orlandu the Holy Swordsman from Final Fantasy Tactics. That white beard is just so cool. [img]http://www.ffgurus.net/fft/characters/pictures/orlandu.gif[/img] Orlandu is the leader of the Nanten Knights in the service of Prince Goltana, and is undefeated in all of his quests and battles. As the only Holy Swordsman in the game, Orlandu can use any sword skill available--not bad for an old man, eh? His personality is quite rare for an FF character too, and that's what I like about him besides from his compelling speeches, like before casting Holy Explosion he just has to shout out: "Heaven?s wish to destroy all minds? Holy Explosion!?, it makes him stand out as some sort of god. Regardless of his personality and dialogue, Orlandu is also a very effective party member to have; you wouldn't wan to lose him in battle. Like I said before, he can use any sword skill in the game, and reaches high levels of HP, which other characters can't really achieve thus bringing them down the ranks. Also, Orlandu can pack quite a hard physical attack, maybe not as strong as that of a Ninja, but it is worth it for those horrible 'one-hit left KO' situations. Possible negatives would be that his compatible armour and helmets don't really provide much support. They may be strong and ductile, but tactically and elementally they aren't of great use. Finally, a side note for the FF Cid fans. Orlandu is the Cid of Tactics. Watch closely, 'Thunder God' [b]Cid[/b]olfas Orlandu.[/color] ;)

[color=teal][CENTER][size=3][b][u]The Prologue[/u][/b][/size][/CENTER] Looking down the distant hallway, the sounds of echoed footsteps could be heard. They were from loafers; nothing could be more irritating than loafers on a hard and subtle surface. It got louder and louder, whoever was coming was getting closer and closer at every step, and finally, behind the wave of heat that had spread like mist throughout the entire corridor, the images of two blurred men appeared as they continued walking. They arrived at the recollection centre and stopped, it was a Japanese man and his escort--a prison warden. His appearance was extremely scruffy; you could almost call him a bum. A puddle of sweat had gathered by his feet, each drop trickled down his rough, rugged face before hitting the floor, but his eyes were the worst, those red blood shot eyes popped out of his skull as if they were ready to explode, it looked like he hadn?t had a wink of sleep for days? and then suddenly, it hit me? He was no bum; this man was a legend in the slammer. He ruled the cells and everyone in them when only one month in, it was him who told the guards what to do and when to do it, nobody would mess with him. He did what he had t do, for he was no ordinary con, that man was a part of the notorious Kagome crime family, he is-- ?Ken Kagome, serial number 88628, right this was please?, said Ken?s warden. He went round through the door and into the office as he held the door open for Ken on his way in. The warden took a big brown envelope out of a huge filing cabinet and spilled the contents out on the desk. ?Cigarettes, a lighter, and? your wallet.? The warden went through Ken?s things one by on, naming them each separately. Ken just returned a sharp yet direct nod to acknowledge him. The warden then pointed at the forms and said, ?Then if you?d just sign here sir you?ll be good to go.? Ken picked up the box of cigarettes and slowly took one out; he lit it, took a puff, and then released a cloud of smoke from his mouth in the warden?s direction. It had gotten into the warden?s eyes and as they distinctly started to tear he lightly waved his hand back and forth to redirect the smoke. He was continuously hinting small coughs from time to time, trying to maintain a tough guy act. As his vision started to come to, he replied to Ken in a slightly agitated tone. ?Sir--I?ll have to ask you again--?, but was interrupted as he noticed Ken?s signature on the paper. The warden merely returned a puzzled look in comparison to the cheeky grin on Ken?s face. He always loved fooling around, but then again who could blame him? He had just done four years inside, and that ain?t no walk in the park either. ?Very well sir. Have a nice day and, er, try to stay out of trouble?. The warden winked at Ken and then adjourned their little meeting by closing all the files previously opened. Ken slipped his belongings into his blazer pockets and then left the building. Ken made his way outside and walked promptly through the sandy prison grounds. You could clearly hear the grit crunching underneath his shoes. Ken scouted the car park briefly, left to right to left, and then noticed a shiny, new-looking limousine with tinted black windows and a Japanese man leaning on the back door. The man looked really slick, neat hair do, expensive sunglasses, flashy clothes--the works, his gun poked out slightly from underneath his blazer. As Ken approached the man, he gave him a bow and opened the car door for him, and entered it quickly. ?These ******* hacks?, Ken straightened his blazer and put a cigarette in his mouth, ?who the hell are you?? ?Shuya Matsumoto. Your father assigned me as your new lieutenant. It is my duty to lay my life on the line for you sir.? Shuya shut the door behind him and went inside the car from the other side. ?Spare me the tough guy crap. Any word from my father?? Ken uttered his words quickly and precisely while randomly hitting his palms against his pockets in search of a lighter. Shuya pulled out his lighter and reached out towards Ken to light his cigarette as he replied, ?Kagome-san, the Boss requests that you see him immediately regarding the start of your rehabilitation courses.? Ken took his wallet out of pocket and opened it; he counted the money inside, $1500, more than enough to start out on. He took a deep puff from cigarette and told Shuya, ?I don?t think so.? Ken blew smoke out of both his nostrils. ?Driver, we?re going to New Tokyo Casino? step on it!? [CENTER][size=3][u][b]A Life of Crime[/b][/u][/size][/CENTER] The First Yakuza, a life of crime in the Japanese-American underworld where predominantly the strongest survive and the weak get wiped out. Set in New York City at the present, the story revolves around the Kagome crime family run by Yakuza veteran, Akira Kagome, along side his own two sons, Ken and Jacky, and a pack of barbaric henchmen who all strive to join Akira as the Boss of all Bosses in the current syndicate going on. This is the liberty they?ve all taken since the Kagome?s acceptance into the Circle--the united Yakuza bosses of New York? and they will use any means necessary to meet it. Loyalty, Pride, Honour--in a life led by those three codes of conduct, the Kagome?s will learn that only together will they shadow over each problem thrown at them as they are constantly overthrown by abuse, praise, and even death. The First Yakuza: Series one takes us through the eyes of Ken Kagome. After being sentenced to four years in prison for pursuing an armed robbery on a jewellery store, his father, Akira, made him promise to quit his mischievous ways in the Yakuza and to start flying straight, in the opposite direction of the law. Ken believes that the Yakuza lives inside of him and nothing will ever change that. However, it?s Akira who has the last laugh as he [I]forces[/I] Ken to agree with him under oath as it was down to him who narrowed Ken?s sentence down.. And now, four years to the day, Ken is released from prison. After being picked up by his men, he develops a sudden craving for cigarettes, alcohol, and gambling. So, on his first day of rehabilitation he heads for the casinos, only to fall horribly in debt with the highly acclaimed Hatzo family, and it?s only then that Ken realises the significance of his father?s words. Forced back into the life without Akira?s consent, Ken must fight his way through New York?s ruthless crime Circle and raise enough cash to save his own life. [CENTER][size=3][b][u]The Characters[/u][/b][/size][/CENTER] As of Series 1, there will only be a select cast of characters so far, and they will vary from the two families involved within the story?s plot: the Kagome?s, and the Tanegashima?s. Each family has a set of the Boss?s own subordinates in which you, my friends, will represent. What your character has been up to before the events leading up to this point are entirely and conclusively up to you, along, with their personalities and up bringing. There will be more chances to recruit for this RPG in the series to come, since I?m hoping to kill some characters off, and introduce some new ones, so the mix will be pretty balanced. One thing I really want to stress however, so read carefully, is that I don?t want to see everyone?s character as a ?hardcore, self-centred, badass?. I?d really like to limit this factor to its minimum, so please work with me here. Obviously, I will pick the best recruits in contrast to their post quality, commitment, detail, punctuation and grammar to join the RPG. The specific roles of each character are as follows: (Remember, these are the [I]roles[/I], and not your character?s personality/background). [u]The Kagome Family[/u] Akira Kagome ? The Boss of the Kagome family. Ken Kagome ? Second in command of the family, Akira?s personal bodyguard and gun. Jacky Kagome ? Family accountant and successor to the Kagome family after Akira. Shuya Matsumoto ? Ken?s lieutenant, friend, and best gun. Ash Tatsuya ? Shuya?s sworn brother (not blood related). Will do anything for each other. [u]The Tanegashima Family[/u] Taka Tanegashima ? The Boss of the Tanegashima family. Ryo Tsubame ? Boss?s adopted son, bodyguard and personal gun. Sasuke Itari ? An undercover cop working for the Tanegashima?s in order to try and bust them. He merely serves Taka as a henchman. One final point before we press on to the sign-up sheets, I?d like to clear up the fuss about names. In the process of writing The First Yakuza, I used names that relate to original Japanese names that I gathered from my knowledge of anime and video games. These are also the names listen above with the character roles--they are only default names that are there to indicate you to who?s who in order to avoid any confusion. Therefore, I?m actually going to let you choose your own names, and if you choose to do so, please state it clearly in your sign up. There?s a catch though, for those of you who choose a character who?s related to either of the Bosses, i.e. son, brother, etc, you must remain with the assigned surname. So if your Akira then your own name would be something like: BlueYoshi Kagome. Or if you?d like a full name then it will be like: BlueYoshi Akuma Kagome They are just examples. Oh, and don?t worry about the fact that names have already been used in the prologue, I?ll edit those accordingly if need doing so. [CENTER][size=3][b][u]The sign-up[/u][/b][/size][/CENTER] Okay, with that aside, here is the structure of the sign-up sheet: [u][b]Name[/b][/u]: This is the name that [b]you[/b] choose. Please leave blank if you?re going to stick with your character?s Default Name. [u][b]Character/Default Name[/b][/u]: The character you choose from the list above. Please fill this in even if you?re using your own name so we know exactly whom you?re playing as. [u][b]Age[/b][/u]: Your character?s age. Please be realistic and in proportion to others age?s. So, a father would be a lot older than his son. [u][b]Appearance[/b][/u]: What your character will look like in terms of dress code, body features, etc. [u][b]Background/Biography[/b][/u]: Relive your character?s past and tell us about the events that took place up to this point. Like where they went to school or their up bringing, Try to be specific and compelling as these will affect the direction of the stories. [b]Important:[/b] with the exception of Sasuke, you may put what you want. Sasuke is an undercover cop so the bulk of his background must relate and be relevant to that. [u][b]Current Family[/b][/u]: You can ignore this for now. Reason being is because in later series to come, characters will be either killed off, or moved to other families. You?ll have a better view of this as the story progresses. Now, the only way I see this RPG working is if all of the positions are taken, so I guess we?ll start as soon as they?re filled. And, I?m going to reserve the role of Akira Kagome for myself since I haven?t the time to do it yet, so I?ll post my sing-up later.[/color]

[quote name='Torpedo']What platfrom is it going to be released on. I would be interested in playing this game. I have not read much about it, but I enjoy the series.[/quote] [color=teal]It will be released for the PS2 at the beginning of November this year. I'm not really interested in the game itself, as I've had pretty poor experiences with previous Bandai titles, especially that this one will be an RPG, though overall I'd like to see how it works out. Anyway,[/color] [url=http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/rpg/inuyashamaskofjuso/index.html?q=inuyasha][u]read on[/u][/url] [color=teal]if your not that well informed about it.[/color]

[color=teal]At their current stages, I'd like to see them more or less as 'nets' that will give some idea, or some distinct planning at least, of what the pieces will look like at their peaks. Anyway, the Naruto pics look great. Like James said, you've captured the character's facial expressions pretty well; you've got Kakashi's dopey look, Sakura's frequent depression, Naruto?s hyperactive attitude, and Sasuke's lone-wolf temperament. They've all been aspired well. I can tell from the picture of Kenshin that you've mainly focused on again, his facial expression--moderate and patient. Though I like the way that his hair moves in co-ordination with his back dashing, readying to draw his sword. To comment on proportions and other elements as such, you really have applied it well. Everything is in accordance with each other, no arm or leg is deemed longer than the other, making it a pretty successful score. To say the least, even without fancy Photoshop works and digital whatnot, you can evolve your art into something even more appealing and well-focused than it already is by simply using the most basic arts and crafts equipment.[/color]

[color=teal]It's not really even a DBZ element we're dealing with here, the character designs just happen to have been done by the same person, that's all. Moving away, I like the newly spawned graphics and in game details, it's kind of like a mixture of WW and the Chrono series, especially that shot of the island. I personally think that the Toriyama character designs work well in 3D, even if the they [i]do[/i] resemble those of the DB series, it doesn?t necessarily mean it will have an effect on such things as personalities and attributes. Besides the lame fact that Chrono reminds me of Gohan, the game overall is looking good. It almost provides an incentive for there to be a fully-fledged DB RPG, lol.[/color]

[COLOR=Teal]For information on all of the new and upcoming games you can check the[/COLOR] [url=http://otakuboards.com/showthread.php?t=39422][u]Game Thread List for E3 2004.[/u][/url] [COLOR=Teal]There are also other titles that have just recently been announced or have just began development such as PSO2, but I'll try to go through those later on.[/COLOR] [COLOR=Teal]I'd say Semjaza and Shinmaru made a thorough distinction of the more playable Gamecube titles out, so I'll try and head in a different direction, heh. Full Spectrum Warrior seems to be a fairly decent game. I wouldn't call it a must-buy but its background is quite impressive since it was formerly meant to be an urban warfare simulator for the US army. Judging by that, THQ really must have applied a sincere amount of realism to it, and I've heard nothing but good things about the AI. As opposed to the Tom Clancy series, FSW shows a lot more proportion and variety; you can squad platoons and categorize troops, and then toy with them and see for yourself what works best. The character models look brilliant and the 3D maps show some great depth..It's heading for the Xbox and PC at the beginning of next month and is Xbox Live compatible. If you prefer to play in a more fantasy-like environment however, then Halo is your game. Nothing could be more fun than the savage fatalities of hordes of alien scum. Halo may lack competitiveness in the story it pursues, but definitely redeems itself in gameplay, graphics, and multiplayer. Bungie (the games development team) really made Halo user-friendly, too. The controls aren't at all difficult to get used to, and the maps are fairly distinguishable, so it's pretty hard to get lost--thus avoiding backtracking. Possibly the greatest FPS out yet, a [b]must-buy[/b], and look out for the sequel later this year. The third generation GTA series are pretty good too, not for the light hearted though. If you're solely looking for a challenge, then I suggest GTA3, but on the other hand you have GTA: Vice City, which primarily tops off the game with the essentials missing from GTA3; more guns, character dialogue, motorbikes, and most of all, story line, which gives a more direct approach of the thug-life in a more exaggerated way. Regardless, you can buy both games in a special deal pack--well worth you money. Expect the next instalment, GTA: San Andreas, later this year around mid October time.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=Teal]The official site opened two days ago, you can find it[/COLOR] [url=http://www.eagames.com/official/goldeneye/rogueagent/us/][u]here[/u][/url]. [COLOR=Teal]Nothing interesting really, the official announcement is on there which tells us more about online play with Xbox live along with some other EA titles. Besides that you won't find anything you wouldn't see on your usual games website.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=Teal]I'm sure we all share the same thoughts and views on what makes a good RPG here on OB. They should be fun, interesting, original, deep, and so on. I truly believe that we all have different tastes depending on the outcome of the story or plot though. For example, I'm not much of a LOTR fan, I may have seen the movies but that's about it. If someone was to make a fairly decent LOTR RPG that accomplished the aims above then that would be great, it may display commitment, depth and lifespan. However, in terms of the films, I seriously disliked them, in fact I found them boring. This theory is entirely relevant in the Adventure forum; no one would join an RPG if they weren?t familiar with the background work. They would lack guidance and would indefinitely get lost in the basis of the RPG. That's why I think it's important to support original ideas, newly developed stories and characters. Kill Adam and Zidargh's Zelda RPG are brilliant pieces of work; they have everything--the works. However, I can almost guarantee that some people would be put off from them solely upon the fact that they lack the knowledge that's compatible with them. My upcoming RPG, The First Yakuza, will take you through the eyes of a life crime, where you experience the Yakuza suffer the hardships, and joy for that matter, of being involved within the savage underworld (slightly exaggerated of course). Not only am I producing one RPG though, I'm going to let it run into a matter of series that all link within each other one way or another, kind of like The Sopranos, but different in its own way. I'd say this is an original turn for me. I'm building a story from scratch with my own twists and turns along with my own characters, each going to have their own history, information, etc. You won't be left in the dark upon their appearances either, you will know everything you need to know about them. To tell the truth, I was working on a Reservoir Dogs RPG (a film about a robbery gone terribly, terribly wrong) until I scrapped it for The First Yakuza. I asked myself, how can I make Reservoir Dog's into a sleazy spin off? The answer, I can't. If I were to copy all the aspects of RD then I would simply be reproducing the film again. It's entirely original, and by the structure of it, if an RPG about it were made, then it would be classed as spoilers pretty much since I can?t see how it can be changed around to prevent this. It's ultimately about a robbery, it doesn't matter who they're robbing, I can change that, I can also change who lives and who dies, [i]but[/i] my RPG would merely revolve around the film's own story. Simply put, I'd be copying it. That's why I scrapped it in the end.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=Teal]The closest thing to Phantasy Star Universe that was shown at E3 was a short teaser that played once every two hours; their aim must have been to get the PSO fans blood boiling (it worked, lol). Anyway, it's making its way to all three consoles, so no worries there. Sega are still in charge of development, nothing else has been said about it so far, just comments on the dynamics and potential it bears, which look stunning in Gamespot's three minute trailer. I've posted the link below.[/COLOR] [url=http://www.gamespot.com/gamecube/rpg/phantasystariv/index.html?q=phantasy+star+universe][i]Click here[/i][/url] [COLOR=Teal]No actual in game footage, CGs mainly, the physics on the giant two-headed dragon look great though. I'll be sure to check in with more updates.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=Teal]At least Bandai have used the RPG format, that's probably one good thing they have going for them as it differs to many other of their titles. I couldn't possibly imagine some of the Inuyasha characters in a typical hack and slash, particularly Kagome, heh. Let me retort to what RealHalfBreed started, you choose between a boy or girl who generally lives a normal, moderate life until one day you're sent back in time to the era Inuyasha and his friends live in (not too far off the anime), and inevitably join their crew. The battle system relates to that of FFX, allowing characters to switch in and out, so you can expect another experience points galore, it?ll also feature cel-shaded graphics, which would be a colourful addition I think. As poor as Budokai 2 was, it was always nice to see the surroundings and energy beams glow around the gameplay? only a cel-shade could accomplish that. I can't help but feel that Bandai are trying to fawn us out by producing popular animes and toys into games in the end, since I generically haven't found any consent in anything they've made yet. I hope Inuyasha will speak for itself though.[/COLOR]

[url]http://www.square-enix-usa.com/seui/index.htm?/seui/registerFM4.html[/url] [COLOR=Teal]Yup. They still are my friend. Just follow that link to get to the registration form, you need to be a member though. I should be receiving mine in a couple of days, heh. Can't wait.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=Teal]So far only the online battle mode, or Skirmish, is really appealing to me, nothing else. The Star Wars franchise is pretty large, and many of the games aren't really all that great. Bounty Hunter and Jedi Outcast, for example. Third person mode was pretty poor in that aspect, LucasArts would have to work harder if they hope to accomplish more in the games market--especially with Halo 2 and MP2 coming along. I'm not too sure on the Conquest Mode though, it doesn't reflect Skirmish very much, meaning you [i]will[/i] have to go online to obtain the cream of the crop. Instead, LucasArts has taken a more strategic approach to the game, similar to that of Front Mission, which, to be fair, I'd prefer KOTOR if I was heading in that direction. On a side note, the graphical content looks really cool, they've really captured the terrain of the environments and the lighting effects are pretty impressive. Those Snow Troopers must be as cheap as hell, I can hardly see 'em![/COLOR]

[COLOR=Teal]It'll be amusing to see where this goes, heh. I like the Four Swords adaptation you've used, it blends in pretty well with the original Zelda settings. Keep it up, I'll be sure to tune in. Scout's honor.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=Teal]The game should be in its final stages of development around now since its set for an early June release in the US, yes, next month. On with it, FM4 takes place 20 years after the first game where you take control of two new characters, Elsa and Darril. But there is a lot more than that in terms of gameplay, there have been some major changes made as well as lots of cool new features. Square-Enix have taken the liberty of making FM4 much more user-friendly, so you won't need to customize your Wanzer before every set mission, unless you choose to, you just simply buy existing ones that suit the mission needs. Plus there's a new job system that diverges from customisation; so if a mission requires a Sniper, then just set your Wanzer to job mode Sniper. Simple. FM4 will probably lack the complexity it contained in previous titles, which is bad for us existing FM fans, but I can understand why since Square-Enix are trying to attract new buyers to the market. In any case, I'm looking forward to trying out the new systems and all. Oh and, for the first time in FM history, the game will cast English voiceovers, which are reportedly good, heh.[/COLOR] [img]http://ps2media.ign.com/ps2/image/article/513/513195/e3-2004-front-mission-4-screens-200405101000251.jpg[/img] [COLOR=Teal]Nice office. Looks similar too any trashable one you'd expect in a FPS.[/COLOR] [img]http://ps2media.ign.com/ps2/image/article/513/513195/e3-2004-front-mission-4-screens-200405101000892.jpg[/img] [COLOR=Teal]I've gathered that the images of Wanzers close up are usually poor. But it's not graphics that matter with tactical war sims like FM so[/COLOR] :p [img]http://ps2media.ign.com/ps2/image/article/513/513195/e3-2004-front-mission-4-screens-200405101000595.jpg[/img] [COLOR=Teal]Looking good[/COLOR] [img]http://ps2media.ign.com/ps2/image/article/513/513195/e3-2004-front-mission-4-screens-200405101000470.jpg[/img] [COLOR=Teal]Not too sure about this one... seems pretty blocky.[/COLOR] [size=1][color=blue]Merged the two Front Mission 4 threads. Next time, just do a quick search of the forum before making a thread. Thanks. I understand if there was a bit of confusion if this game was not on the list, though. - Shinmaru[/size][/color]

[COLOR=Teal]I figured that I'd post this here since we've got more of a discussion going on rather than in the PSP thread. Anyway, according to Game Industry, who claims to have received their info from MVC magazine, both Nintendo and Sony have marked March 18th 2005 as the European release date for both systems--the week before the Easter holidays apparently, which is ?traditionally? a busy time for the games market.[/COLOR] [QUOTE]"The PSP is expected to launch at a price point of at least 300 Euro, while the DS is expected to be given a price tag of 199 Euro - or perhaps even as little as 149 Euro - emphasising the difference in approach on the two machines."[/QUOTE] [COLOR=Teal]By the looks of it there will be a serious engage between the two companies on the alleged release date. Personally, I think either company should aim to head for a slightly earlier release or at least for around Christmas time; it will probably give them space to build up some credit, I suppose.[/COLOR]