CNet’s Crave blog had an interesting link.

Pop a few bucks in for a chance to pick up a Wii in a UFO catcher. I can’t help but wonder how much damage those consoles sustain after dropping out of the claw. How does the warranty work if you do defy the odds and win a defective console? Multiple droppings would no doubt mess up all those delicate electronic parts. Crane games are okay for plushies and figures but a no-no for expensive electronics. When will people learn?

Currently listening to: Kosaka Riyu - Danzai no Hana ~ Guilty Sky~

Today’s post will cover the Lucky Star anime, a very hit or miss anime full of cultural jokes and not-so-subtle self-promoting references to Kyoto Animation’s previous shows, most of which is based on Haruhi. Take a premeasured box of Azumanga Daioh, mix with a cup of Genshiken and let simmer for 24 minutes to create this wacky show. The show started with the Haruhi Suzumiya’s director, Yutaka Yamamoto, at the helm, and it was pretty dull for the most part. Anyone that saw the first half of episode 1 can vouch for that.

Yasuhiro Takemoto (Full Metal Panic) took the director’s seat from episode 5 and the quality improved drastically. I for one do not remember anything funny in the first four episodes, because the most memorable skits started with the new director. The Initial D parody in episode 6, anything with the crazy Anime Tenchou, and Kagami’s yaoi encounter are the first things that come to mind.

However, Lucky’s comedy comes like a rollercoaster. There are a lot of slumps, but when the comedy hits it is hilariously funny. I’ll compare the comedy acts to another comedy anime currently airing called Hayate no Gotoku (Hayate the Combat Butler).

Hayate is more consistently funny but its high points never reach Lucky’s best moments. So do we prefer to have a trade-off with quantity versus quality?
Currently listening to: Yoriko - Daia no Hana

Today’s article will cover Growlanser V, set for an NA release on 9/11/07. Growlanser is a long running Japanese Strategy RPG series developed by Career Soft. The original game was released in 1999, and the series has come a long way since then.

Growlanser remained unknown to North American audicences until Working Designs brought Growlanser II and III in a special collection entitled Growlanser Generations. While we didn’t get the first game, Growlanser II is a direct sequel with a different main character like the first two Suikoden games. For the uniniated, the series is well known for interactive branching storylines, diverse characters, a fun battle system, and a romance system via conversations like a bishoujo game. However, Growlanser Generations was to ultimately be the final swan song from Working Designs, who had always been a niche company by localizing obscure Japanese games for American audiences. The dream to see future Growlanser games was hazy until just recently…

Atlus has picked up the reins to this series by announcing the release date for Growlanser V. What happened to Growlanser IV: Wayfarer of Time? Maybe it will be skipped, or maybe it will get a domestic release if Growlanser V sells well. Atlus USA is kooky like that. There is actually a bit of confusion surrounding this game’s title.

Growlanser V was originally called Growlanser V: Generations, but because of the localized name for the US release of numbers II and III, Atlus had to rename the subtitle to Heritage of War. It’s not a major thing, but it’s a fun bit of trivia. Heritage of War will be released as a Limited Edition package with a 100 page artbook, a CD-Rom packed with extras, a keychain, 2 linticular cards, and 3 pins. A collector’s dream if there ever was one. Be sure to pick it up when it comes out because it might become rare.

Sources:
Gamestop

So I started this thing in April, but it’s been a little longer than 3 months since the last post. I guess I couldn’t really find anything to write about coupled with a bout of laziness. Time to just write random stuff that strikes me.

Today’s rant/post is about Jump Ultimate Stars, the sequel to the wildly popular Jump Super Stars. JUS as I will refer to it from this point on was released in November 2006, meaning there has been adequate time for communities to set themselves up around the game. The game is quite popular on wi-fi, letting you play against worldwide players with a variety of decks built to your choosing. JUS improved on several aspects of the original game and nearly doubled in the number of series featured. So as you read on, you might be wondering what the point of this post is getting at; The answer is the online community.

While the game itself is fun, the community really drags the game down. I’m not naming names here, but the teeny boppers that play the game take it too seriously. They treat it like it’s a serious fighting game when it’s not. If you want to talk serious 2-D fighting, please turn to the Guilty Gear series, Street Fighter II/III, the VS franchise games, or anything SNK.

The JUS elitists act like they’re the big kahuna by being dial-a-combo masters or making other people conform to their rules. An example of this is by telling others not to use supports which are a big part of the game. Another annoyance is the “character title” craze a certain forum has started, which is really inane and made unnecessarily complicated by said forum members. Then there are the complainers. I’ve never encountered such a whiny bunch of teeny boppers in a game save for the likes of free online games like Gunbound. These guys complain about healing yet will run an entire match with 30-40 seconds still on the clock. Talk about a frustrating bunch of hypocrites. It might just be the minority that makes everyone look bad, and I hope I’m wrong about the majority of JUS players.

That’s enough of a rant for now. I’ll probably talk about some anime next time.