The past couple days I've been watching almost nothing but One Piece. I just can't emphasize enough on how AWESOME that anime is, which is the exact reason why I get SO DISAPPOINTED to know that most of the people I know don't like it, can't appreciate it, or even hate it. It makes me wonder what part of their brain can't register that that type of art is THE art for an anime like One Piece, cos' that's the #1 reason why One Piece dislikers give.

Of course, I understand that in everything 'looks' is important, and in the case of movies and anime, it's the artwork/style. But if one doesn't even know what kind of anime One Piece is, s/he shouldn't judge it so easily by the artstyle, cos' if One Piece uses any other style it's NOT gonna One Piece!! One Piece is One Piece cos of how perfect the style fits it, and it's BECOS of that style the anime's so comical and enjoyable. It's just a freaking wonder so many people just can't understand that. GGGRRR!!! Damn, I was soo pissed the other day!! Shallow people.

Worse comes to worst when people judge it from the dubbed (American) version. God, I'll make sure the people who did it suffer. They ruined the best anime there is out there with their f*cking horrible voices and acting!! And if that impression is what those new to One Piece get, they can NEVER erase that impression and they'll dislike One Piece already before they can even judge the REAL One Piece in Japanese for themselves. GAAAHH!! ANNOYING!!!

Just think, man, if One Piece is really so bad or unpopular, why the hell is it able to to keep going and running for years?? It's currently got 264 episodes, starting from the year 1999. Now let me tell you why. Usually there are only 2 reasons why an anime can get that long. 1) The manga it's originally based on is that long. 2) The anime proves to be popular. You see, there are MANY anime whose manga is way longer than the anime. The reason why the anime version is typically shorter is cos' it takes so much more money to produce an anime and it's hard to keep it as long as the manga. It has to be really popular for the makers to keep their cash rolling in while they produce more episodes. 264 episodes, don't tell me that's little. =.= Get the point?

All right, I must say, One Piece's first episode really isn't that great. I remember my own first impression of it when I watched the first episode about 2 years ago. I thought the coloring was just horrible cos' of how plain it is for the foreground and how 'painted' the background is. But that didn't stop me from continuing. I continued on to the 2nd episode and from then on I was just "More! More!!!" The art remains the same for many many episodes, but the story and characters were just too awesome the art didn't matter anymore. In fact, after watching a couple episodes I understood why the artist chose this type of art style. Spare me the comment "Maybe he can only draw like that cos' he sucks?" Oda Eiichirou, the author and artist of the original One Piece manga series, is as talented as he can be, and his art ROCKS. It's just when it comes to anime where coloring is involved the makers decided to color it really simply, and it really doesn't matter cos the main point is the story and comedy. The problem is that MANY people find it turning off cos no matter how good the story and comedy, they won't allow themselves to try and watch and understand One Piece. SIGH....

And oh, before I forget, there's this recent ending theme from One Piece which I'm very into at the moment and have been listening to on repeat for a while. I think it's a mix of Hip Hop and Pop but it' goood! For those who interested, you can download from here.

Anyway, cos' of my current heated obsession for One Piece, I finally boot up the only One Piece game (pirated) I have called Fighting for One Piece to see what kinda game it is. Of course, I knew it was a fighting game, but I wanted to know what kind. Below is what it looks like:

Like the Naruto game I've seen and played once, this one's also a 3D cell-shaded fighting game, only with less characters to choose from. This one focuses more on the enemies that appear later in the anime, so phewz, I'm glad I saw the recent episodes first before playing this game. =) Unfortuantely, all the enemy characters have to be unlocked before they're playable, which is really annoying cos' they're unlocked by points which you earn by beating the game again and again. *Sigh* Anyway, below is how the actual game looks like:

I don't really know how to play the game so yeah, in short I basically randomly mash buttons and stuff. But like all fighting games, it has some standard rotational moves so those are what I rely on most of the time. However, it does not have any super desperate moves and I'm not sure if there's such things as combos that connect from one move to another. The 3rd picture above with the word 'combo' just states the number of hits you successfully land on your enemy at once, hence not a real combo.

And then, I also tried Bleach: Erabareshi Tamashii after that, and this one's interestingly different from the other anime-originated games like Naruto and One Piece, cos' of the fact it's not a fighting but a hack-and-slasher action game. O_o Well, you can't expect much out of a game like that, really, but well... here's how it looks like:

The above are some of the menu screenshots. The game is 'mission-based' but to simply explain it it's hack and slashing all the way broken into separate stages, that's all =P And for every mission, you are given a rating/grade at the end based on the time you took, combo chains and other criteria alike. The better you do, the more points you get, altho' at the moment I'm not sure what the points can be used for. My guess is it's used to unlock things...? The game is also 'partner-based' (dunno how else to call it), meaning you choose and use 2 characters together and can switch back and forth between them, perform combos together and use support moves and such.

The screenshots above are taken in a mission where it's night time, hence the darkness. I'd have prefered a brighter area but in the beginning you aren't allowed to choose between missions and this was the next one and I had no choice so please bear with it. There's even Renji in it for Renji fans =3

The backgrounds are pretty plain and the characters are cell-shaded, but really, I never expected much out of anime-originated games so it's acceptable =P I'd be SURPRISED if they can really make a crazy game out of it =P

Well... I finished professional mode on RE4 a few days ago and figured I might as well write something about the new unlocked gun since I talked about all the other guns before. The gun unlocked after beating pro mode is called the P.R.L 412. It probably stands for parasite remover laser or something, and it looks like this:

Looks cool, don't you think? =D It has slow firing speed and charging the laser takes some time, but if used wisely the PRL can be even deadlier than the rocket launcher. No ammo is required, neither is reloading. Shooting a fully charged laser will kill ANY enemy instantly, and it doesn't matter what part of the body you hit (even for the garadors). All enemies have parasites in their bodies, and the PRL removes it, hence killing them as if you ripped away their soul (not that I believe in souls). It shoots in one single narrow beam/line and penetrates everything it touches so if the situation allows you can even kill 20 enemies in single file =P When not fully charged, the PRL acts as a stunner/flash grenade. It can instantly temporarily blind a bunch of enemies, which is very convenient when you happen to get surrounded. The one bad thing is, the PRL takes up a good portion of your attache case.

Oh yeah, I also broke my highest record today. At first it was the usual, Wesker in the castle, with a total score of 143 400, but shockingly I broke his record using Ada! O_o!!! It was only a little higher - 145 000+, but nevertheless it's NOT Wesker! O_o!! I surprised myself! Hahahaha!! But the half dozen times after that I kept getting slaughtered. ^^" Wonder why... Oh, that's also when I realize Ada's rifle isn't as insane as Wesker's. O_o Firepower seems the same, so is the firing speed, but Ada's rifle has half the capacity =.= Oh well...

Next, I have to say I'm glad I finally cancelled my subscription to Gamefly. How many months has it been man?! It started out end of November, I remember, cos' I subcribed to it to rent RE4 and Shin Megami Tensei =P So... woot. 7 months. O_o Yay, no more monthly fees for game rental. No more games I wanna get, and I've been lazy to rent/return games quickly so I was in quite some loss.

Anyway, since I'm not getting anymore games, I was testing out the last 2 game copies that I burnt to make sure they work before I return the originals back to Gamefly. First off, it was Shinobi, a 2002 action game. Dude... the ninja from this game is so cool!! Meet Hotsuma, the kick-ass protagonist of shinobi.

I've tried Shinobi only for a bit before I had to leave for a friend's party. At first it was ridiculously easy (well, it's the introduction, what do you expect), but it wasn't very long before it turned pretty annoying, then unbelievably frustrating and nerve wrecking. I actually think its difficulty is parallel to that of Jak II, altho' at the moment I still think no other game is harder than Jak II just yet. The game's cool for a start and it should easily impress people for its great graphics and interesting gameplay considering it's from 4 years ago. However, I do predict that the rest of the game is going to be pretty much the same as what I've seen in the beginning...

Speaking of ninjas, there's no way I can forget this sexy babe:

His sexiness can be considered a crime, dude, crime. O_o And for those who dunno who he is (who don't, really, except for my sister?), this hottie here is Raiden from the Metal Gear Solid series. This picture is taken from the trailer for MGS4 which is to be made for the PS3, which explains why the graphics is uber gorgeous. Raiden is not the typical/traditional type of ninja, neither is any other ninja from MGS for that matter. He doesn't use shurikens, kunais and smoke bombs =P Well okay, maybe smoke bombs, I'm not sure, but come on, don't tell me you think of a ninja the moment you see that picture? =D Man, I'd so upload and share with everyone the 1+ minute or so scene of him (exclusively) in the trailer if I can but there's no where to download it so too bad. O_o

So that's it for Shinobi and ninjas for now. The other game that I last burnt from Gamefly is Bouncer, a Squaresoft action game made in 2001. O_o Squaresoft...and...ACTION game?? Mwahahhaa! Man... I was shocked. ^^" And dude, for a game made in 2001 it's got really good graphics, I say Final Fantasy 10 equivalent or so. Although, I did crack up when I saw the name Nomura Tetsuya under character designer. Hahaha! NO WONDER I thought the character design looks so FAMILIAR. Check out the pics below. The young boy with the somewhat spikey brown hair is the protagonist, Sion, a hybrid of Cloud, Squall and Tidus.

And not only that! Look at the girl on the right with the long black hair! Come on you Final Fantasy gamers, you SHOULD know whose descendent she is. I haven't really started the game yet so I have no idea who she is in the game but well, I was just speechless when I saw that pic while I was trying to grab some screenshots from Gamespot to add to this blog. For those who're still clueless, look below.

Hopefully you know that they're two different people, only designed by the same person. Look at how even the background isn't helping in differenciating those two =P Oh well, back to Bouncer. Like I said I haven't really played the game. I tried it for about 15 minutes before I had to go to work but based on what I've seen/experienced, the game shouldn't be as bad as I thought it would be. The idea of a BOUNCER is just ridiculous enough, that's why I couldn't stop laughing, but I suppose maybe it can prove me wrong =) The story seems pretty interesting for a start, cos' dude, first thing in the opening and what I saw was NINJAS!!! Who don't love ninjas?!!

Okay, weird ninjas, I know, but nonetheless they ARE ninjas!! ^__^!! They made me go WHOA when I saw the opening. I mean, dude, what are ninjas doing in an urban town, heading towards a bar where 3 fancy bouncers work?? O_o Hahaha! Oh well, let's see what the story's like when I finally play the game for real... which I dunno when it'll be just yet, since I still have Shinobi left to finish... altho' I doubt I can ever finish it cos' of its damn difficulty...

And one last thing, just a notice for those who may be interested... I updated my profile page bout a week or so ago, tho' I never mentioned it so I doubt anyone noticed. It's a lot of crap and I wrote them just cos' it's fun, the end.

I was just playing The Mercenaries alone again yesterday and recorded some gameplay. There're some where I broke my personal high scores so I was happy! ^__^! It is harder to perform well when I record cos' I have to watch the game on the computer and the capture screen is a lot smaller and way lower in resolution so it was harder to see where the red laser is pointing for me to shoot accurately. Anyway, here they are:

Area: Waterworld Enemies killed: 97 Score: 81 700 Max kills in a row: 19 Click here to download (27.9 MB, 11:17)

Area: Village Enemies killed: ?? Score: 76 060 Max kills in a row: 8 Click here to download (21.3 MB, 8:43)

Area: Island Commando Enemies killed: 91 Score: 93 170 Max kills in a row: 25 Click here to download (22.4 MB, 9:03)

Area: Castle Enemies killed: 138 Score: 178 570 Max kills in a row: 138 Click here to download (43.5 MB, 12:53)

No Leon for me, unfortunately. Don't wanna die so badly =P

OMG!!!! I finally cleared all 4 areas with all 5 characters with a 5 star rank and unlocked the handcannon!! OMG!!! Aaaahhh!! I'm sooo happy I can't believe it!!!! O_O!!! It was TOUGH to finally clear the Castle and Waterworld with Leon!! He was such a P@|N in the @$$!!! GAAHH!!

And so I finally saw the handcannon for my first time O_O!!! It's a pretty huge magnum, and it's, needless to say, badass. O_o Unlike the Chicago Typewritter and the Infinite Launcher, the handcannon requires for you to upgrade it like you do with your other guns, and it costs quite a lot to do so. But, fully upgrading will turn your handcannon into a 'handlauncher'. With a firepower of 99.9, it's TOTALLY capable of killing most enemies in one shot without having to go into your 'launching' stance like for a rocket launcher, giving you a much faster firing speed. Of course, that is not to be compared to the firing speed of a handgun since it's a magnum after all. However, consider this.... It's got unlimited ammo!!! Mwahahahahaha!!! BUT!! It doesn't start out with unlimited ammo. Tricky eh? It has unlimited ammo only AFTER you've fully upgraded it. So before that happens, it's pretty much quite 'useless', especially since it requires a different type of ammo from the regular magnum ones. Enemies seldom drop them too. And like most magnum guns, Leon can't hold his aim steadily. O_o Fair enough, don't you think? =P

Now these are the other 2 insane guns from RE4 - the Chicago Typewriter and the Infinite Launcher. These are unlocked the moment you clear the main game and Ada's side game, but to GET them you'll need 1 million dollars for each. O_o Sounds pretty crazy but TRUST ME, it's NOT a quarter as crazy as trying to unlock the handcannon. As you can see (if you can understand the pictures), they are actually EVEN STRONGER than the handcannon. The Chicago Typewriter, my personal favorite, fires 10 rounds per second and each round is 10.0 in firepower, totalling in 100 firepower a second assuming every single round hits. Because of this you can practically use it like a TMP, only 10 times stronger and with unlimited ammo. =P The rocket launcher, after much testing, calculating and confirming, I found that its firepower is approximately 300 (THREE HUNDRED!!), plus, it is capable of blowing up MANY enemies at once. Of course, it has the slowest firing speed you can ever imagine, but what do you expect from a rocket? O_o The rocket launcher in Metal Gear Solid 3 is even slower =P

Anyway, man, playing The Mercenaries was just nuts!! It was fun but man, it was pretty intense for me when I play alone, altho' it's less fun than when playing with a friend or two. Below is a record of the highest records (If I can remember) for each area for each character:

Village: 65 000+ Castle: 84 000+ Island Commando: 6X XXX Waterworld: 71 000+

Village: 6X XXX Castle: 145 530 Island Commando: 100 800 Waterworld: 84 400

Village: 78 000+ Castle: 112 650 Island Commando: 84 730 Waterworld: Don't remember

Village: 114 3300 Castle: 116 650 Island Commando: 93 170 Waterworld: 97 420

Village: 90 850 Castle: 143 400 Island Commando: 97 710 Waterworld: 82 000+

I've had tough times with the assholes of The Mercenaries so written below is just my rambling on what I've learnt about them.

Bella sisters (Chainsaw sisters)

Garador (The 'Wolverine'/blind dude)

Gatling Commando (Gatling guy/chaingun guy)

Dr. Salvatore (Giant chainsaw dude)

One last thing before I forgot... I actually started watching anime again! Mwahahahahaha!!! XP! Wooot!! It resumed when I had the URRRGGEE to watch any new yaoi anime and then I found Gakuen Heaven (whose game I've played and manga I've read). And from it, I hopped on to season 2 of Meine Liebe (13 eps), then Samurai Champloo (26 eps). I watched an episode of Princess Princess and decided it's NOT my type, along with Saint Beast. Then thanks to my sister, I started on Ouran High School Host Club as well and didn't regret it. It was AWESOME ^__^!!! Thanks sis!! I even got a friend addicted to it =P Anime banzai!!!

Well, I was thinking why I'm not writing a review for MGS3 and I thought that's prolly most people already played it since it's been out for 2 years now and no one really needs a review... but well! Mwahahaha! So what?? It's fun writing reviews!! So YES, once again it's review time!! I just like stating my opinion and views, so here you go:

1. Graphics:
   Great graphics. Absolutely no complaints. Everything is so-called real-time, so don't expect pre-rendered CGI cutscenes, but even so it's damn sweet. I don't see many games where the cutscenes change when you wear a different outfit, or that even the background changes when a cutscene is triggered at a different place. In-game graphics look really good, despite the same type of colors used from the 'palette' the makers chose.
2. Storyline:
   I don't think I'm in any position to comment too much about the storyline since I didn't follow the entire series and started with MGS3. Even though MGS3 is the beginning of the story I suppose it's still better to know what's already known from MGS1 and 2. Anyway, in short, I say the story's great. It's about war in general, but it's got bits and pieces of fantasy/sci-fi which makes it a lot more interesting than it may sound for a first impression. Not to mention all the humor Kojima throws in for many of the dialogues.
3. Gameplay:
   • Originality:
     I think most of you don't have to hear me rant on about the things you already know, so yeah, that's that. Just gotta emphasize on the fact that I've not seen any other game like this - a stealth game. Plus, even if there're other stealth games today, the pioneer is still the MGS series.
   • Camoflage:
     This seems to be a new feature in MGS3 and it's pretty neat. Everywhere you go, wherever you are, you will be given a 'percentage' for camoflage. Naturally, the higher the number, the less known/visible you are to enemies. Your camoflage is 'graded' by the uniform/face paint you wear, which can be changed anytime anywhere. Camoflage can also be increased by squatting/laying flat on the ground/not moving, hiding in a hole or something, laying in the bushes...etc Fun, ya? =)
   • Food/Stamina:
     This game tries to make it so realistic, they added stamina to the game. It's separate from your health bar and your character won't die even if your stamina depletes completely but you'll suffer the consequences of starvation. You won't be able to heal properly, you can't shoot/hold your gun properly, you walk/run slower... etc The way to recover your stamina is to eat, and to eat you gotta find food. To put it simply, it's a survival thing. It may sound "WTF??" for someone who's playing MGS for the first time, like me, but hey, you'll get pretty used to it really quick. Plus, it's really to find food in the game. It's not something you'll have problems with.
   • Cure/Heal:
     This is the other thing that makes the game more realistic, altho' if you think about this enough you'll still think it's not realistic enough, but hey, it's a game. Just leave it the way it is and don't question too much. So, what happens is that your character gets shot/hurt, he'll have to be cured using the first aid items or he'll have lower performance. So long you don't run out of healing items this shouldn't be a problem.
   • A.I. interaction:
     I don't know what to call this but I'm basically referring to how you can manipulate enemies in many ways the way you want it. If you feel evil, you can shoot them in parts of the body and watch how they react, or grab them and threaten them, dig out info from them then kill them, or blow up their provisions room so that they starve and has lower performance, sneak up behind them then knock them out with close quarters combat or throw porn/hentai magazines at them so that they totally daze over them and then you massacre them...etc This is unique and original of MGS3 and I think it's totally cool.
   • Keropan frogs:
     These are like very random green toy-like frogs that you can find in each and every single area in the game, totally in 64 of them. When I first saw one under some logs I wondered WTH it was. Later I realized that they're there for you to shoot and if you can shoot all 64 of them you'll unlock the stealth camoflage which basically turns you invisible, making u invincible as well. I WISH I could unlock that =.= Sounds easy eh? Shooting the 64 frogs. Problem is, they make a loud sound when you shoot them and you'll alert the enemies so there. Plus, in the last few areas you pass them while riding a bike and finding/spotting and shooting the frogs from a moving vehicle in the distance? Tsk tsk tsk... Sounds pretty impossible for ME.
   • Easter eggs:
     I usually don't notice these cos' I'm not observant enough all the time but MGS3 has a number of them. From time to time you'll see a random poster of a Japanese woman in bikini, or posters of existing anime inside some lockers, or Metal Gear action figures...etc For those who know what they are they may be pretty humorous =)
4. Music:
   Great music. It fits the game very well and I bet everyone will agree =) It has a theme song, Snake Eater, which is very James Bond-ish, but still very awesome. =P If you're interested, you can download here.
5. Humor:
   This came as a big surprise to me. I did NOT expect at all for the MGS series to have any sort of humor in it since I assumed it'll be entirely serious considering it's a military/war themed story. But WOOT, dude, this game's FUNNY. I know it may be somewhat hard to believe for someone who's new to this, like I was, but Kojima really has a great sense of humor. The actual storyline is NOT funny, but the other little things in the game are. For example, every time you save your file, you have to 'call' this lady and after saving she'll always talk about movies she's seen and what she thinks. It's pretty random, but their conversations are funny. The Major whom you can also call is a big James Bond fan, which I think is directly reflective of Kojima himself, and will argue with Snake, the main character, about why James Bond is da man, even in the middle of a mission. The weapons and technology expert guy, Sigint, comments some really hilarious stuff when you call him at with the right things equipped, especially a cardboard box. Some characters are also pretty funny to begin with, like Snake himself, Ocelot and Raikov.
6. Parodies:
   It's interesting to see how many parodies of their own game they've made. They make fun of almost every character and is really good at comedy. However, the parodies are only available either online (anything's available online =P) or in the Subsistence version of MGS3, which is what I have. They're so worth everything to watch =)
7. Save system:
   This game actually lets you save at ANYTIME, ANYWHERE. Isn't it crazy? Well, even so, when you reload your game later you always start at the beginning of the area you saved in so you don't exactly save every second of your progress by saving everytime but still this is pretty neat.
8. Voice acting:
   I REALLY LIKE the English voices for this game. Well, I really won't be expecting Japanese voices for a game that's about war between US and Russia, you know, but anyway, the voices are extremely wonderful. Everyone's voice is done properly and it's really enjoyable to listen to. I especially love The Boss's voice. Great job, MGS!!!

Hmmm.... and so I started Metal Gear Solid 3... and I hate to admit this cos' I sadden myself everytime I think about it, but I really suck like shitass crap you've never seen before. So bad, I actually cried in frustration when I just couldn't figure out how to do things right or why it's not working right. Godammit! So what exactly did I do that can go under the Hall of Shame?

1. Electrocuted myself with the electric fence at least 4 times in 5 hours of gameplay.
2. Kicked a mushroom and got caught in an obvious rope trap thing. And, I didn't know how to get out of it and had to call and was laughed at by the Major.
3. Never used a single support item (motion sensor etc) cos' I practically forgot they exist. And, when I finally used it I didn't know how to utilize it. Still don't know how, btw.
4. Couldn't locate the other dog and landed right ON it after jumping off a tree branch.
5. Keep squatting, laying flat and getting up for no reason cos' I can't get used to the controls.
6. Don't know how to threaten/grab enemies. Still don't.
7. Ate rotten food 3 times in a row.
8. Couldn't fire a gun I had full ammo for in a boss fight while I could before. I STILL don't understand why it won't fire. That was what made me cry in frustration and I'm NOT kidding. Took 1 hour to beat him and I'm playing Easy mode. The 'pain' of that fact hit me HARD. In the end, I had to take him out with the tranquilizer gun. The irony.
9. Always get taunted/mocked at when fighting bosses. I don't know if that's how it's supposed to be for any case but it hit my pride hard, again. I feel like an idiot and Snake is an idiot.
10. Always get discovered for no reason. Hardly ever pass any area unseen.
11. When heeding the Major's advice and finally using the binoculars, The End (boss) got me from behind (failure cutscene) and... The End.

Stealth games... what horror. I stopped after losing against The End. I just couldn't believe how stupid and bad at that game I am. I suppose that reflects myself, showing how I'll perform if I were to survive independently out there somewhere. Not to mention how certain I'll win the ridiculously funniest MGS3 gameplay award.... Oh, it took an hour, too, trying to take out The Fear. That f*ck is just sooooo ANNOYING!!!

Seriously, I DO NOT think MGS3 on Easy mode is hard at all. I mean COME ON!! It's EASY MODE for a reason. I'm just doing REALLY bad. I can see how it's easy and I know they've toned down the difficulty like hell for losers like me, but ARRGGHH!! Don't think it changed anything for me!!!! The bosses are like.. WTF. The Pain seemed easy as hell, and The Fear was just tedious but is still easy, and The End... *SIGH* I'd rather make Snake harakiri himself than let that shameful end happen to again. It's not like I think it's so hard and annoying that I piss myself off... it's really the other way round.. and that's why I'm pissing myself off so bad... URGGGGGHHH....