There's nothing quite like gaming with someone you care about. I've been dating my boyfriend for the past 3 months. He very vaguely mentioned playing a "multiplayer, D&D-ish game on the PS2" while he was stationed in Cuba. He said it's the only video game he remembers having fun with. Apparently he & his friends stayed up all night, playing marathon sessions of this game. I was inspired to discover what this amazing game was. Some investigative legwork led me to my best conclusion, Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance. I did some trekking and found a decent copy for cheap at a used game store in the area.

When he came over last night, I surprised him with it. He wasn't sure it was the game he played before, but was willing to give it a try. We played all night. Cooperative play works very well between us. There was no struggle as to where we should go. Neither blamed the other for a game over. I would charge in head first while he backed me up with fireballs. We would just play around as well. He'd try to hit me with the fireballs as my little dwarven legs ran around him in circles! We had a blast.

Unfortunately, I was almost correct in figuring out which game. As we were playing, he mentioned little differences that only appear in the sequel. The sequel goes for much more than the original, sadly. Regardless, we had fun and that's all that counts. Besides, this game won't be over tomorrow. I have time to search for Dark Alliance 2 at a more reasonable price.

I decided to play MegaMan Battle Network 2 on my way home from work today. Normally, I don't play games on the trolley. It's only a 20 min ride so I wouldn't get that much done and I get motion sickness from gameplay & reading. But I just felt like playing it today instead of listening to my iPod.

The FAQ I have been casually following recommended a certain area to get chips to construct a folder around the "Gatter" Program Advance. For those who do not know, a Program Advance is picking 3 specific chips in a succession in a single turn. The result is an attack much more powerful than the sum of the chips that make it up. By stacking my folder ("deck" for those who play collectable card games), I can get this combination more easily. Mindless enough & easily broken up so I could battle some while I went home. So I had been just defeating enemies hoping they'd drop the chips I was looking for. Wasn't happening for the most part. Mostly getting money & chips I didn't want. Then something happened. I saw a chip I wasn't expecting.

ZapRing2 B

I could not believe my eyes. I was certain I was wrong. After all, I didn't S-rank that battle. I only got a rank of 10. I immediately checked my pack to see if it was in there. It was. I saved. Then I saved again. I did not want to loose this chip for any reason. I'm happy. I no longer have that lingering over me. I'm going to continue the game and enjoy it, not worrying about what will happen when I reach the point that I gave up last time.

So I decided to try my hand at MegaMan Battle Network 2 again. Last time I played I almost reached the end. However, I was required to trade a item to progress the story. The only way to obtain the item (a ZapRing2 B chip) is to S-rank a battle with a specific enemy, the TuffBunny. Getting an S-Ranking requires you to finish the battle in less than 5 seconds, take 0-1 hits, and move 0-2 times. You have a little leeway if you can kill more than one enemy with a single attack. Even if you do achieve an S-Rank, the game randomly decides to give you money OR an item at the end of battle.

The frustration of being required to achieve that level of perfection to progress the story, then having a random chance of not getting the item frustrated me to no end. I deleted my nearly complete save file in disgust. I'm going to try it again, but I know this frustration will be coming back. I think the thing that bothers me the most is that I like the game otherwise. It's just this one point in the story that I can not stand.

All I have to say is that the Morlia Gallery / Dwarven Ruins in Tales of Phantasia is a one of the biggest pains I have undertaken in an RPG. Levels 10-21 took THREE HOURS of nonstop playing. I played with multiple walkthroughs, all 3 torch-like items and a very well leveled party (~60). This does not count all the attempts I did prior where I died partway down. Getting down the other 9 levels of the Dwarven Ruins and all the way back up to the surface took another 2.5 hours. I think the only reason that the trip back up was faster was because one of the items I found allows me to lower the encounter rate permanently. In all, I spent almost 6 hours on this stupid side quest. Arghhh.....

To be fair, some of the things I obtained were worth it. Pluto, Extension, and about 30 levels for Suzu are the big take aways. Black Hole, Chameleon, Golden Armor, Excalibur, Gremlin's Lair, and the Analysis Orb really weren't that worth it. Whatever, I'm done. Time to continue the story and get this game over with.

I got tagged by usagi704. Guess this is good prodding as any to update my blog.

1) I am an avid collector of all things Sailor Moon, both original Japanese and various localization efforts. I own all 200 episodes and the 3 movies in both Japanese & English (save season 5 which is only in Japanese), making for quite a few DVDs. I have considered purchasing the Japanese Laser Discs if for nothing more than the beautiful art included with each one. I am still searching for a decent copy of the three SuperS specials. This passion exceeds reason. I drink beverages out of a Sailor Moon mug and I have more on display. I have stuffed Sailor Moon characters permeating my apartment. I spent about $150 for the Sailor Moon SuperS import game for the PlayStation. It is the only game in my collection that I refer to as "the precious". I smile every time I look at it, despite having only played the game once and not currently having a method to play it.

2) I love stuffed animals/plushies. There is no rhyme or reason to the collection. Eternal Sailor Moon is next to a rhino from F.A.O. Schwartz I got in NYC (who's proceeds went to charity). Roll from Mega Man Battle Network is sitting in front of my keyboard watching me as I type while the Final Fantasy trio (Tonberry, PuPu, & Cactuar) & a Kiwi Beanie Baby look on from the background. Big Bear (a favorite from my childhood) wearing a shirt I wore as a baby & Bedtime Bear whom I have had since I was a baby are sitting on the same shelf as Kirby.

3) I love video game music. I would say about 90% of my 11,760 song library (currently) is from a video game. I would be unable to handle it all if it weren't for the robust organization iTunes provides me. My favorite composer is without a doubt Yoko Shimomura (Legend of Mana, Kingdom Hearts I & II, Parasite Eve, Super Mario RPG, etc.) I have an iPod with me at all times since the first iPod was launched in late 2001. It allows me to go into analysis mode whenever I want. For instance, I was comparing random battle themes from the Final Fantasy series after noting how "bouncy" the random battle theme from Final Fantasy X was.

4) That being said, I'm not very musically inclined even though the rest of my family is. I played 2 instruments (guitar & piano) for a number of years, but ended up quitting out of frustration. Both of my little sisters could master a technique in a few weeks and I would still struggle months later to even be competent. DDR songs I needed to practice on for some time in order to pass with more than the minimum score, they could rank A on the first try and AA not much later. It's great having playing a game with my non-gamer sisters, but my competitive side gets a little depressed to see them out rank me so easily.

5) I am extremely detail and organization oriented. I imagine many of my fellow members of the CCU could relate to this. Everything has a place and it must be in that place or I go nuts. My music benefits from this. My video game collection benefits from this. My job (and my salary) greatly benefits from this. My apartment is very clean because of this.

I tag Foolio1, HallowBastion, & vashkey.