Day 149: Wrapped up in blankets and playing all day!

Today I completed the second chapter of the Wasteland Survival Guide in Fallout 3.  And while I was working on that, I escorted that Cherry character to Rivet City.  The weird thing was, when I went back to Dukov's Place, she was there.  How did she get there before I did?  I mean, yeah, I walked the entire way back.  But if she was so adamant about going to Rivet City, why did she go back to Dukov's?  Oh well.  I read that she is possibly needed for a quest.  I just completed that one part before the actual quest began.

And then in Birth By Sleep, I completed the Cinderella world.  Actually, I should say completed it.  After all, I will probably be going back there at some time.  Anyway, I defeated the boss that was controlling the instruments.  And now I am in outer space waiting to go to the next world.

I also practiced some today for the osu! Tournament.  The registration deadline has been shortened due to the amount of participants.  So, if you are still considering joining, you have until November 30, 2013 to enter.  There are now 100 players in the Expert tournament, which is why the deadline has been moved up.  Both the Beginner and Intermediate Tournament don't even have 1/10th that amount.  Anyway, I need to start practicing more each day if I am going to have any sort of chance.

Well, that's all from me.  So, for the coming day, enjoy the games you play!

Michael, aka me3lingual, aka 情郎

Day 147: Do you want a game?

So over on TFF, they are running a contest for a free iOS copy of Final Fantasy IV: The After Years.  Here's a bit about the contest for all those interested.

Courtesy of Square Enix Community and the fine team over at Square Enix DLG, we've got a free copy of FINAL FANTASY IV: The After Years for iOS at our disposal to give away upon launch later this month! For details and rules of entry, check below the jump.

 

Though FINAL FANTASY IV: The After Years has graced the Wii eShop (episodic, 2009) and the PSP (April 2011, as part of FINAL FANTASY IV: The Complete Collection) platforms already, it has yet to see a mobile release outside of Japan. This updated release will feature the same 3D style as FINAL FANTASY IV on the DS, repurposed for the iOS and Android platforms.
In order to win your copy of The After Years on iOS, all you need to do is post in this thread telling us two things:

• What is your favorite thing about FINAL FANTASY IV?
• What do you feel gives this game a replayability factor?You are welcome to carry on conversation on these points, but both must be addressed in your first post in order to qualify.
The winner of the prize will be drawn at random out of qualifying entrants. The drawing will be streamed live via twitch.tv sometime shortly after the conclusion of the entry period (further details and livestream time to be determined post-contest). Qualifying posts will be counted until 23:59 29 November 2013, Pacific Standard Time.

Please keep in mind that the prize is only for the iOS version of the software. At this time, no Android version will be available as a prize. If you wish to participate in discussion but cannot utilize the reward, please note in your first post that you will be unable to receive the prize.

OFFICIAL RULES: No purchase necessary to enter. Only one entry allowed per user. Users may post multiple times in the interest of conversation, but only receive one entry. Users found manipulating the giveaway via multiple accounts will have all accounts disqualified, and duplicate accounts deleted as per forum regulations.

Anyway, the time for entering the contest is quickly coming to a close.  To enter, click here.  And really, this is a great opportunity to get a game for free.  It's not every day that Final Fantasy games are offered for free.  If any of my readers win, be sure to leave a comment telling me if you like the game or not.  I don't have any way to play the game, so I'm missing out.

Moving on...

I played Fallout 3 all day today.  I completed a lot of sidequests, and got my character up to Level 7 (or was it 6, maybe 8).  All of his skills are at least 25 or more.  The last thing I did was complete the Big Trouble in Big Town quest.  I think after I post this entry I may go back to playing Fallout 3.

So, it looks like Korea will be taking on the United Kingdom and Taiwan is up against Poland in the semi-finals of the 2013 Osu! World Cup.  The quarter-final matches were so great to watch!

Well, that's all from me for now.  Remember to enter that contest!  So, for the coming day, enjoy the games you play!

Michael, aka me3lingual, aka 情郎

Day 146: A Terra-ble time.

The game that kept my interest today was Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep.  I was working on the Sleeping Beauty world today.  The battles are very fast-paced.  I had some trouble at first with using the directional buttons to change what special attacks and spells I wanted to use.  I sometimes used Potions when I didn't need to.  Other than that, it was fine.  I like the sticker book, and how you can meld two abilities together to make a whole new ability.

I guess the story is okay, too.  I am still getting acquainted with people that aren't Sora, so everything seems like it's not a Kingdom Hearts game.  It just feels weird, playing as Terra.

I also played some Fallout 3 today.  I am working on a few side quests to gain experience and raise my Level.  Right now, I am at Level 4, and I just finished the quest at Arefu.

And I practiced some more for the Osu! tournament.  There are now 5 players in my category, so the pressure to do well is increasing.  There's still more than two weeks before sign-ups close, so feel free to join!

Well, that's all from me for now.  So, for the coming day, enjoy the games you play!

Michael, aka me3lingual, aka 情郎

Day 145: To Bomb or not to Bomb

One of the biggest decisions I always have trouble with when I play Fallout 3 is to either blow up Megaton, or keep it safe.  Normally I go for saving the city, but I always wonder what if I were to be mean and blow it all up.  My moral compass is just so strong that I can't do it.  I guess the descriptions online will suffice.

Anyway, I didn't get around to playing Final Fantasy IX today; because I was playing Fallout 3 and Dissidia Duodecim Final Fantasy.  I am having a slow time of Fallout 3, because I have about 30 pounds of extra weight I'm carrying.  I want to sell some of it, but the store isn't open yet.  And I can do things before it opens to help reduce the amount.  I have a lot of scrap metal I can give to Walter now that I finished fixing the leaking pipes.

And in Duodecim, I began journeying as Vaan.  I learned that I shouldn't go up against the Kuja Maniken after I have already fought 4 battles in a 5-battle chain.  I will lose, every time.  I like battling as Vaan way more than Lightning.  Maybe because I have spent hundreds of hours playing as Vaan in Final Fantasy XII, compared to the tens as Lightning.  Anyway, I really like how it's giving a different viewpoint as well as the one I'm fighting as.  And how some of the characters are on a different side than in the first game is neat as well.  Especially with Cloud and Terra.  Well, maybe Terra, I don't know about her.

The new monthly competition in Osu! has started.  I have gone through all 6 maps for osu!mania, and I am currently in 12th Place after only one full run of the maps.  And I didn't know about this until a couple days ago, but there is a leader board for those who gained the most points on maps.  And I am on it!  I currently rank #708 in highest score.  I am still practicing for the tournament, but I have taken a little break on the tournament maps for right now.  I don't want to become bored with them.

Tomorrow I am going to make another attempt at playing Final Fantasy IX.  But since the osu! World Cup is having matches tomorrow (Top 8), I will be watching that as well.  And with that, we have come to the end of another entry.  So, for the coming day, enjoy the games you play!

Michael, aka me3lingual, aka 情郎

Days 142 and 143: Slumber

I had planned on post an entry yesterday, but I fell asleep.  I guess all the weirdness in my sleep pattern finally caught up with me, and conked out on the couch by the fire.  And then when I woke up, it was 7am and I just said that I'd just post one this evening to make up for it.

So, yesterday I worked some more on Tomb Raider, I am at Midas Palace right now.  I have one of the lead bars needed to progress to the next area.  I hate this area, because I always get lost.  I remember back when I first reached this area, I found it so funny to stand up on Midas' hand, and be turned to gold.  The sad thing is, I thought that first time it happened that I was meant to stand on the hand.  And I learned quickly that I was not supposed to do that.

I also sent a message to the Osu! tournament organizer about my recent rank improvement.  And I am clear to compete in the Beginner Tournament despite having a rank that would qualify me in the Advanced Tournament.  This is great, because I'd have no chance at all if I had to compete at the Advanced level.  I haven't had any training sessions with my training partner at all this week.  And now that there are 4 players competing in the Beginner Tournament, there's going to be more pressure in playing well.  Anyway, the deadline for signing up is still December 8, 2013; so there's a chance to have even more people join.

Now for today.  Today I started yet another Fallout 3 Game file.  I am horrible with keeping up a single file of Bethesda games.  They are just so good at the beginning when I am making my character how I want it to be, but then actually going forth into the world with the character is not something I feel like doing.  So, I need to be committed with my choices and finish the main story of this game.

In Final Fantasy XIII-2, I had to go online and look up information on Wild Artefact locations, because I couldn't advance.  But now I have gotten a different timeline for Academia.  And then I mastered all of the Brain Blast questions...with some help.  The questions were mostly easy for me to answer.  I didn't like the "Red or Black" and "Odd or Even" questions.  And how was I supposed to know about some obscure person in a time that I haven't learned about.  I think the game was expecting you to do these things multiple times to get all of the correct answers.  Well, I had no time for that, and so I looked online for the answers to some of them.

I cleared another stage of the chapter in Dissidia Final Fantasy after Cosmos "dies".  It took some luck (well, a lot of luck), but I am now at the stage where there is an boss enemy and the insignia.  It's the boss that comes after Kefka.  I haven't scanned the area yet to see how it is.  But I do know that there are three enemies blocking me from even advancing two squares.

Well, that's all for this double day entry.  So, for the coming day(s), enjoy the games you play!

Michael, aka me3lingual, aka 情郎

Day 136: Fallout: New Vegas - Initial thoughts

Okay, so I started playing Fallout: New Vegas today.  It's okay so far.  I had to get rid of my save file of Ni No Kuni in order to start it, but I didn't feel bad because I hadn't played it in months.  Anyway, it is very orange.  I had to change the color of the status stuff on the bottom of the screen in order to make the game seem less orange.  I like the story so far.  I haven't met any children in the game, which was something you have thrown at you in Fallout 3.  And at the price I paid for it, it was a good deal.

I had another osu! training session today.  I am getting better.  Not much better, but better.  After that was over, I went and played some of the newest maps that were added just for fun.  And since they didn't have a lot of plays on them, I earned performance points and raised my rank.  So now, instead of #307,224, I am now ranked #207,211.  And it was because of a few songs.  I fully expect to lose what performance points I have when the songs I earned them on get played more.  I just wasn't expecting there to be a jump of this size.

The plan for tomorrow is to bring either my DS or PSP with me to work just in case I have nothing to do and have to wait for stuff.  Then once I get home, I will probably play something on a console.  Then in the evening, it will be more osu! tournament training.  So, for the coming day, enjoy the games you play!

Michael, aka me3lingual, aka 情郎

Day 135: Counting Down...

After this entry, there will only be 49 days left in the year.  This also means that I only have 49 days to finish the challenge, or get as close to completion as possible.  Either way, it also means that this blog will be finished in 49 days.  And that's probably worse than not completing the challenge.

Anyway...

Today I continued the main storyline of Fallout 3.  I am now on my way to Rivet City, which is someplace I have never been to in my previous attempts at playing this game.

And I also completed a few more missions in Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core.  I haven't continued its main story in a few days now.

And finally, I had my first training session with a fellow participant in the Osu! Challengers Beginners League Tournament.  I learned that even if there are only two people in the Beginner's League, I will still have my work cut out for me if I am going to win.  During our training, I lost every time I think.  I may have won once.  I will have to keep practicing if I am going to win.

Well, that's all from me for now.  So, for the coming day, enjoy the games you play!

Michael, aka me3lingual, aka 情郎

Days 52 and 53: Not much of Anything

I apologize for not posting yesterday.  There was a bad storm yesterday, and I was without power for most of the night.  When the power came back, I made the decision to not post an entry because it was nearly midnight.  I had to get up early this morning, and I wanted to be rested up for it.  Anyway...

Yesterday, I played a few games.  I worked on a few missions in both Fallout 3 and Skyrim.  Basically, it was missions I had already done once before, and had to do them again because I died and didn't save my progress.  I didn't advance the main questline in either game.

Due to the storm's blackout, I was reduced to playing games on my Nintendo DS.  I figured I'd play a short game, one that I could possibly finish in the time it took the electric company to restore power to the neighborhood.  As one would expect, it takes HUGE chunks of the game out or changes it to fit the game's needs.  But all in all, it is okay to kill time.

Right now, I am on my way to the Restricted Section of the library to get the book needed to make the Polyjuice Potion.  It won't take long, because I have played this game through several times in the past.

As for today, I haven't played anything.  I was so tired after I got home from work that I slept for five hours.  And when I woke up, I started typing this entry.

So, that's all for now.  For the coming day, enjoy the games you play!

Michael, aka me3lingual, aka 情郎

Day 49: CRASHing and FALLing OUT

Today I started the day by playing Crash Bandicoot.  It is one of the first PlayStation games I have ever owned.  I got it when I was only eleven years old, so it's been quite a long time.  I am surprised it has lasted as long as it has.  I have played and completed the game so many times that I was able to complete it easily today.  I started playing it as soon as I woke up this morning, and was finished by lunchtime.  I didn't 100% it, because it isn't necessary to complete the game.  Besides, it doesn't feel like I actually complete the game by taking the shortcut to the end.  If there isn't a final boss, then it isn't a proper game.  And anyway, the second game continues where the non-100% ending ends.  It wouldn't be connected otherwise.

My favorite levels are when you ride the boar.  It puts your reaction ability to the test because you aren't able to turn back in case you miss something.  I also like the river levels.  One thing I don't like about this game that I am glad they changed in the future games is that you weren't able to save your progress with box busting if you died.  In this game, you had to collect all of the boxes in one go.  They fixed that in 2 and 3, and allowed you to keep the count in case of death.

After I finished Crash Bandicoot, I spent some time working on Osu! and raising my rank.  And I accomplished my task as well.  I am now #881 in the U.S.A. and #17,141 in the world in osu!mania.  I found quite a few songs that aren't played often, and received high scores for them in single player mode.  Then I went over to multiplayer and played some rounds with Kimmiee (Atca wasn't online at the time) and some others.  There were some players ranked higher than I, but I held my own and managed to perform well against them.

That's also what I am doing now.  I am playing against a few that are ranked higher than I am.  I actually have had the game loaded up for nearly 12 hours today.  But my brother wanted to use my computer so I played a different game when he was online.  I just didn't turn the game off.

During my time away from Osu!, I played Fallout 3.  I am already at Level 5.  I am just doing random quests right now, because I don't like the main story quests.  Maybe it is because of my strained relationship with my father (for more details on that, read my personal life blog), but I don't see the point of going after your father when he randomly leaves you to defend yourself when he puts your life in danger for putting his desires over that over the family's.  So there is very little motivation for me to complete the main questline of this game.  I probably will at some point, because how else will I complete the game.

I also progressed some in 999.  Or I guess I could call it 379.  After all, there are only 7 people still alive, and 3 hours left.  I am really liking this game.  I have my dry erase board filled with number combinations and the locations of the characters.  I know that as it stands, there will be at most only five people to leave the "ship", which means that two more people will most likely die.  I am leaning toward Lotus being one of the dead.  I haven't figured out who the other person will be.  Today I focused more on which room I should go into out of the three possible choices.  I do know that there is only one choice that gets all seven to the next area, but I want to see what happened with the story if I should choose the other choices.  I am saved right before I have to choose, so I can reload after finding out.  I didn't expect Junpei (my character) to cheat though.

Well, that is all for tonight.  For the coming day, enjoy the games you play!

Michael, aka me3lingual, aka 情郎