James

[color=#507AAC]Final Fantasy Tactics Advance on GBA:SP... Excuse me... *goes into a drunken daze* :drunk: Ahh, okay. Better now. ^_^;; Anyway, yeah...the dark screen really isn't an issue these days. And it hasn't been for some time now. It was only the first batch of games that suffered from problems (and even then, it was only the very dark games like Circle of the Moon, as Semjaza pointed out)[/color]

[color=#507AAC]Desbreko, just about everyone in the gaming media complained about the GBA screen being darker than previous iterations of the machine. So, it depends on a couple of things. First, it depends on the game you play. F-Zero and Mario are both pretty bright games. But play the older Castlevania and compare it to the newer version...and you'll see a big difference. Most developers are now comfortable enough with the machine that they can use the correct color palette.[/color]

[color=#507AAC]Yep, once again...we don't use custom ranks at OtakuBoards. There are a few reasons why, which I've explained before on various occasions. Nobody has yet reached the highest rank, however. Even Raiha is less than halfway there. ~_^[/color]

[color=#507AAC]Oo Seph...I got tough boy and Rei as well. I didn't try any other tests. lol We must be alike. :blush:[/color]

[color=#507AAC]I still don't think that vengeance is the job of our justice system. Death is [i]not[/i] the worst form of punishment. For [i]you[/i] it might be. But you have to consider what is going through the minds of the criminals we're talking about here. Most of them couldn't care less if they were given an injection. Painless, easy and fast. No more troubles. Just a long sleep. What kind of punishment is that? I would much rather lock them away from society and force them to live without freedom for the rest of their days. Death is the softer alternative, if you really get down to it. And as I've said, most violent criminals either [i]want[/i] to go that way...or they simply don't care because it causes them no pain. It's all very well to talk of injecting bleach and such...but I'll use your own argument; that ain't gonna happen. The laws won't change to allow for that. So we have to work with what currently exists. And what currently exists is a painless lethal injection. What currently exists is a nice cosy slumber. Life in prison is a hell of a lot worse. You should take a tour of a prison sometime; you might change your opinion. ~_^[/color]

[color=#507AAC]Desert Shadow? You're still alive?! ^_^ Hehe, it's nice to see you back again. This poem brings back memories...hehe. I remember the day Adam posted it on theOtaku.com like it was yesterday... ^_^[/color]

[color=#507AAC]Glad you liked it, MK. ~_^ Nintendo has always been a company to focus on family-oriented games. This is primarily due to their own design philosophy. If you ever read comments by Shigeru Miyamoto, you'll find that he seems to strongly oppose very violent games. The reason is not because they hurt children or anything, it's because he finds no challenge in that type of game. And to an extent, he's right. If the sales of Mario and Zelda are anything to go by, then we can be sure that Miyamoto's ideology has paid off for Nintendo. In more recent times, Nintendo has attempted (and continues to attempt) to produce a wider variety of games. So on the one hand, the company will produce titles such as Zelda and Mario...but it will gain exclusive rights to games such as Resident Evil. Nintendo itself has also published adult games, such as Metroid Prime and Eternal Darkness. So, to answer your question...Nintendo's decision is mostly ideological. But really, their core business also lies in the "family" market. This is a market than neither Sony nor Microsoft have come close to penetrating (even though reports suggest that the average GameCube owner is older than the average PS2/Xbox owner). But over time, Nintendo is developing a wider variety of games to cater to older audiences too. Clearly, Nintendo wants to utilize its development resources to attract every corner of the market. I hope that's answered your question. It was really interesting to ask Charles what he thought of adult games and such. I think his reaction was very fair...and I know that he's already done voices in several games that could be considered more "adult" than Mario. He's done voices for various gaming villains as well. So yeah, his talents are extremely varied.[/color]

[color=#507AAC]The problem is that you're implying that anti capital punishment advocates are somehow not in favor of victims' rights. And that's bogus. You're not going to get [i]anyone[/i] here (regardless of their ideology) who believes that a one year term is at all suitable in that situation. Of course it isn't. I'm quite happy and willing to accept the flaws in the justice systems of both the USA and Australia. Nearly every country in the world occasionally has these outrageously light sentences. And every time they occur, I denounce them just as vocally as you. You have to understand that whether or not people agree with capital punishment as an appropriate consequence for criminal behavior, their beliefs on the justice system and the severity of crimes is not necessarily tied up with their views on capital punishment. It's very easy to target someone who doesn't agree with capital punishment and proclaim that they are somehow less tough on violent criminals or that they "care less" about victims. That couldn't be further from the truth. There are many, like myself, who believe that capital punishment is the easy answer and [i]isn't enough[/i]. So, this is why I'm pointing out that it's unfair and wrong to generalize about people whom you disagree with. The fact is, you [i]can't[/i] just throw people into one group. As I said, it's almost offensive to say that those against capital punishment are somehow in favor of a criminal over a victim.[/color]

[color=#507AAC] 1) The infrared capability was mostly a gimmick. It wasn't very workable. 2) The GBA screen is inherently darker, which is why many early GBA games (the first Castlevania title, for example) looked too dark. Game developers now tend to produce games with brighter color palettes in order to cope with the dark screen. 3) I'm not sure what you mean. There are two cables for GBA. One allows you to play with GBA and GameCube linked up. The other allows you to play with other GBAs. The GBA Link Cable will allow you to play multiplayer games between GBA units.[/color]

[color=#507AAC]I never say "lock them up and let them think about what they have done". As I said, I'm for harsher prison sentences/conditions. However, I'm not going to support an ineffective punishment (capital punishment) until that time. Of course, there are many problems with the justice system. The prisons are part of that problem. But the answer isn't to simply throw up our hands and say "Oh well, kill 'em". The answer is to work hard and find a better solution. Too many people are too lazy to work hard...and thus, a better solution never presents itself.[/color]

[color=#507AAC]Er...can we please keep this on topic? Last time I checked, CWB wasn't in a video game. Anyway, if I chose anyone...I'd have to come out of left field and choose Raiden. He's the only naked character I've seen in a video game (if you don't include the chicks from Duke Nukem and such). So uh, yeah. Sure, I don't fantasize over MGS2...not at all. :worried:[/color]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Crazy White Boy [/i] [B] First and foremost, I don't feel that the death penalty is state-sanctioned murder. The "You're no better than the murders" argument is popular, but transparently false. Simply put, the state has rights that the private individual does not. In a democracy, those rights are given to the state by the electorate. The execution of a lawfully condemned killer is no more an act of murder than is legal imprisonment an act of kidnapping. [/B][/QUOTE] [color=#507AAC]Nuh uh. That doesn't gel. There is a massive difference between taking a life and simply imprisoning someone in a lawful way. You know very well that there are major differences between some idiot kidnapping someone else and an individual being sentenced to a term in prison.[/color] [quote][i]Originally posted by gokents[/i][b] The biggest part of that arguement that is lacking is the criminal conscience. You have to ASSUME in your arguement that the criminal is gonna feel bad. [/quote][/b] [color=#507AAC]No, I think you're missing the point. Nobody here is saying that the criminal is going to feel bad about what they've done. If they did feel bad about it, they probably wouldn't have committed the murder in the first place. It's not a question of the individual feeling good or bad about what they've done. It's a question of removing their freedom for the rest of their natural life and (hopefully) causing physical and emotional stress on that person in the process as punishment. You certainly won't find me defending a lot of the prisons that allow TV and Internet access, for example. I think a prison should be a prison; [i]no[/i] entertainment of any sort. It should be a house of punishment...not a holiday camp. I'm sure that on that point, you and I will both agree. And this is the sort of place that murderers should be put in. Of course, this would be a maximum security prison. Drug addicts and shoplifters wouldn't go in a similar place, because in both of those cases, there is a chance for counselling and rehabilitation. You obviously aren't going to achieve that same result with a cold blooded killer.[/color] [quote][i]Originally posted by gokents[/i][b] I dont like leaving things "hanging in the air." I want to know for sure that the criminal has payed. I dont want to have to ask myself if they are unhappy because they are getting that free holiday where you only get to see the family you dont care for once every week. I would rather know that justice has been served and the whole ordeal is over with. Not that the murderer is sitting on the other side of a wall thinking about whats coming on cable tonight. (which, most prisons do have now, including internet.) [/quote][/b] [color=#507AAC]Are you reading my own arguments? I'm not ever suggesting that violent criminals should be left in the lap of luxury. Not at all. Prison [i]should[/i] be a harsh and stressful place. If you read my earlier statement, you'll see what I mean.[/color] [quote][i]Originally posted by gokents[/i][b] James, I know you care, but why leave Westerfield in jail just to read and enjoy what little freedom he still has. All the while, Daniel is gone. And not just gone, but actually stuck in the limbo of being a memory, which (if you had your way) will never be avenged. [/quote][/b] [color=#507AAC]Avenged? What is this? Do you live in Saudi Arabia or something? We live in a modern society with laws. "Vengeance" has no place in our criminal justice system. [i]Appropriate punishment[/i], however, does. Don't for one second think that I'm any less angry or horrified at David Westerfield's crime than you are. Just because I don't support a simplistic and barbaric law doesn't mean that I somehow care any less about issues such as this case. You must understand where I'm coming from. You're too busy spinning my arguments (or not reading them) to realize that what I'm saying is [i]far more harsh[/i] than what you are suggesting. I'm suggesting a life of almost intolerable suffering, via a very strict prison system. You can't possibly tell me that an immediate death is worse than a life of almost intolerable suffering. Read that above paragraph carefully. I'm [i]not[/i] in any way suggesting that we give people like Westerfield a slap on the wrist. I'm talking about harsh and direct justice. "Vengenace x 100", if you want to call it that.[/color] [quote][i]Originally posted by gokents[/i][b] will say this much, if it makes you feel better, go ahead and tell yourself that prison is worse than death. And if you dont believe in god, you should support turtore and then death. Not the limited freedom and civil rights that you get in jail. (That sort of punishment will never be enough to avenge a wrong like what daniel recieved.) [/quote][/b] [color=#507AAC]The thing is, God doesn't take center stage in our justice system. If he did, we'd be no different to Iran or Saudi Arabia. This is why we benefit from having secular laws. In any case, once again, read what I posted above. You'll find that I'm suggesting significantly harsher (and perhaps more constitutional) punishment. If you truly understand where I'm coming from, I don't think you'll disagree with me. Just quit lumping me in with everyone else here; you need to slow down, take a deep breath and actually [i]read and comprehend[/i] various people's arguments. I know it's easy to get riled up and throw every objectionable argument into the same spin basket. This time, try not to. Everyone's opinions are valid. Suggesting that people who disagree with you somehow care [i]less[/i] about Danielle is not only wrong, but it's offensive to those people.[/color]

[color=#507AAC]I don't think that Sonic Team is reproducing Sonic Adventure for GameCube to give its newer programmers experience. lol Really, this is just an easy cash-in. Just like what Nintendo has been doing with its GBA ports. That's not to say that it's a bad thing though. It would be pretty silly if Sonic Team weren't updating the game [i]at all[/i] though. But for those who have only played SA2, I think you will probably end up enjoying SA a lot more if you're a fan of the old Sonic games. As CWB correctly points out, it really does retain a lot of that speed from the original 2D games. Of course, it's far from perfect. There are so many things they could/should have done but didn't. Oh well...[/color]

[color=#507AAC]This is all fine and good...but some of you are posting the same cheats over and over. Try not to continuously repeat what others have posted. ^_^[/color]

[color=#507AAC]Once again, you've outdone yourself. It's up there with your other silly songs. ~_^[/color]

[color=#507AAC]Most of my actual "friends" don't seem to talk about me in that way. But I [i]am[/i] aware of people on the Internet who show a nice face when they talk to me and then proceed to verbally bash me behind my back. But I'm secure in the knowledge that they are in the wrong and that I am simply doing the best I can. At one stage or another I think we probably all experience this. It really depends what is being said; you know, if it's really venomous or if it's not really of a very serious nature.[/color]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by gokents [/i] [B] Yet, by killing them with no mercy, those selfish bastards will fear for their lives and not be as likely to kill.[/quote][/b] [color=#507AAC]The death penalty is actually not much of a deterrent. I can tell you that from the experience in my own country; we abolished the death penalty in all states and territories during the late 1970's. And through our own experience of both having it and not having it, we've definitely discovered that it doesn't make much of a difference, in terms of prevention of crime.[/color][quote][b] My biggest thing in this is that no one has addressed the victims rights. What about them, arent they worth something. [/quote][/b] [color=#507AAC]I think people [i]are[/i] addressing the rights of victims. We all understand that the victim is the one who suffers most of all. I don't think anyone is ignoring victims here. The question is whether or not the death penalty is appropriate. And there are a few angles through which you can come at the debate. Do we lower ourselves to the same standards as common criminals, by murdering via the state? And is life in prison really [i]worse[/i] than death? I don't know. I think life in prison is probably worse. Consider the fact that you may be beaten, raped or even killed in prison. I'm 50% on your side, in the sense that I don't think life in prison is [i]really[/i] harsh enough. That's why I'd combine it with my earlier suggestions.[/color][quote][b] You can prevent much more by executing those people. Those people are the ones that dont care about the after life until the moment of death, if they cared they wouldnt kill in the first place. [/quote][/b] [color=#507AAC]Once again, I don't think so. There is no evidence to suggest that the death penalty serves as a serious deterrant. You actually contradict yourself with that second point. "If they cared they wouldn't kill in the first place". That's absolutely true. And that is exactly why the death penalty offers no real deterrant. It takes a certain level of mental instability to murder someone in the first place (assuming it's a premeditated murder and not self defence). If the murderer cares so little for the life he/she is taking, do you really think that he/she will care about the consequence of the death penalty? Of course not. This is the key contradiction which brings down the whole question of deterrance.[/color][quote][b] 60 years in prison is a gift to them. They know the things they did are worth their own lives, but they know people like you will protect them the way you should have protected the people they wronged. Everything is complicated today, and nothing can be settled easily. Yet people like you wish to continue arguments by protecting the lowest of the low.[/quote][/b] [color=#507AAC]Who is suggesting that criminals be protected? I don't think anyone here would object to a combination of their freedom being removed and hard, forced labor being compelled by the prison. Nobody is protecting murderers. Objecting to the death penalty is [i]not[/i] a protection or a justification for criminals. By that standard, I could say that you are protecting murder. And we both know that you aren't. So I don't think it's fair to tell people who disagree with you that they are protecting murderers.[/color][quote][b] Yes, they deservED our simpathy, but after what they have done, they no longer do. ****, do you know who David Westerfeild is? Until any of you can answer that, just be quiet. [/B][/QUOTE] [color=#507AAC]I can answer that. I know exactly who David Westerfield is. I saw his mother's extremely emotional comments in the courtroom, after his death sentence was handed down. Believe me, that was a very emotional moment and I feel for Danielle's parents so deeply. That is why I want justice for them. I don't want David Westerfield to be killed quickly and silently. I want him to suffer for the rest of his days for what he has done. I want him to feel the pain of Danielle 100 fold. Killing him won't even come close to doing that. But a life without freedom and with massive physical and mental burdens absolutely will.[/color]

[color=#507AAC]I don't support the death penalty for two good reasons. First, it's unconstitutional. How on Earth can you have laws against murder when the state itself is immune from such laws? Think about it. It's ridiculous. The state has absolutely no business teling people that they can't murder one another if it is prepared to start murdering people (for whatever reason). Secondly, the death penalty isn't harsh enough. If someone had raped my sister for instance...would I really want them to lay back and fall asleep peacefully? Hell no! I want that person to suffer for the rest of their life. I want them to engage in hard labour until they die of natural causes or whatever. There is no way a lethal injection is appropriate justice; half these idiots [i]want[/i] to be killed in a peaceful way. There is no pain or suffering...not like the pain and suffering inflicted on the victim. How is that [i]true[/i] justice? It's not. If you want an appropriate form of punishment, you should be thinking on a bigger and less simplistic scale. Let's get away from the "Hu hu, yah, let's kill 'em bastards with a needle ya'll" and start thinking about how we can [i]most appropriately[/i] punish people. Imagine if you were a murderer. What is worse? A lethal injection where you feel no pain and simply fall asleep...or decades of back breaking work all day, only the bare minimum food (the bare minimum of what is legal, ie: bread & water) and hardly any hours for sleep each day. If I knew that the latter was going to be my fate (a fate worse than death), I'd gladly take the needle.[/color]

[color=#507AAC]I don't think we need something like that here. We have a very specific set of rules that we apply to every situation; I don't like the idea of "opening the floor" and allowing a post or thread to be deemed unsuitable based on totally unknown criteria. I mean, people might vote a thread to be closed or removed simply because they dislike the thread's creator. It's just not suitable for this particular site.[/color]

[color=#507AAC]Yep, we've had suggestions like this before. It's the reason why we have Moderators; so that members don't need to perform these functions. If the Moderator of that forum isn't available (if they are online, however, they ARE available), you can always PM a Category Moderator (either from that category or another). Category Moderators can perform actions anywhere on the site. They should be your second point of contact, after a Moderator.[/color]

[color=#507AAC]Yes. As far as I know, members can list "public dates" and you can input things. Of course, most people here don't ever view the calendar...so it's never been used. But potentially, all sorts of dates and events could be added to it. ~_^[/color]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by genkai [/i] [B] Had anyone suddenly died from something you really didn't know about, and, whether you knew them well or were only an aquaintance, did it really shock you? [/B][/QUOTE] [color=#507AAC]Yep. An old friend of mine. He was a couple of years younger and ended up going to a different school. My parents at one point rented a house that his parents owned. Because of that, they used to visit often. His little sister was a good friend of my little sister, as well. One day at school I heard that he'd been suddenly killed. He had gotten out of his dad's car to post a letter in a mailbox across the street somewhere...and a drunk driver had mounted the curb and hit him...and then driven off. His last words to his dad were "Dad, it hurts so much...". :( His funeral was so sad...there were [i]so[/i] many people. Lots of teachers and students from both schools...it was a sad day. And I've never forgotten how tragic it was.[/color]

[color=#507AAC]Isn't it Sonic Adventure where you unlock that? o_O Anyway, I don't know if I really want to get the game on PC...I don't have a gamepad or anything. If I see it out there though, I might just pick it up. It's a fantastic game. I miss it.[/color]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by GinnyLyn [/i] [B][color=royal blue]*grins* Love that last line, James. Awww, no, [i]really[/i]. You know we love you. Just don't kill yourself doing all this stuff. I tried it once. Eh. Many times. Ended up either letting others down or going crazy. And thus is the story of how Ginny became who she is today. :D [/color] [/B][/QUOTE] [color=#507AAC]Heheh, yep, you know how it is. I'm amazed that I have lasted this long. :drunk: :worried: [/color]

[color=#507AAC]My single biggest regret when it comes to games is selling my Mega CD. I have never done anything more regrettable in my entire life. lol Sonic CD is just magic on a CD-ROM. It's incredible. EVERY Sonic fan should play it. Sonic & Knuckles comes in a close second. But still, Sonic CD is just a masterpiece...I think that Sonic Team have never bettered themselves there. I'm really hoping that the next actual Sonic "sequel" doesn't include all of the shoddy adventure aspects; it should be a 3D action game in the exact same vein as the originals. Some of those levels would have looked SO great in 3D...which is why both SA and SA2 disappointed me somewhat, as a hardcore Sonic fan. It was a shame that both games never really captured the essence of the series. SA did a bit better than SA2 though, in general terms.[/color]