I finally finished The World Ends With You, and it was glorious. It’s been the first DS title that I have played extensively at home, and I still have to unlock all the secret chapters. It is amusing to go back and one-shot all the early bosses, and I am amazed at how much text there is (thank goodness you can fast-forward after beating the game). Looking back, I was super noob on my first run-through, and the extra backstory is really intriguing. This game took advantage of everything the DS had to offer, and the art and story were absolutely top-notch.
In the first part of the story, I was soooooo annoyed at Neku as he is just a ball of hot emo. I kept hoping that Cait Sith would punch Neku in the nads or something, but it never happened. I liked partnering with Shiki, as her combo system is very simple. I think Joshua’s probably the best partner because his Fusion is easy to spam, but his voice is annoying and his attacks are not nearly as funny. As for Beat… he is a dumbass but there are times when his combo system is really good. Unfortunately, there are also times when the stupid cards just refuse to match up and you get screwed.
I also didn’t realize how intriguing the optimization process is during battles. I guess if you have mad skills you can control Neku and your partner, set the difficulty to Hard or higher, decrease your level to 0, and start chaining 16 enemies. Unfortunately, I’m not quite at that point, so certain tradeoffs have to be made. For instance, I totally cheese out the Taboo Noise by just setting difficulty to Easy and luring them out before putting the difficulty back at Hard for the other Noise. I also tend to use pins that have easy input methods. The Electricity ones where you scratch a empty space are probably the easiest to use without looking (so you can concentrate on your partner’s combo).
And finally a few somewhat spoilery thoughts:
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- When I first saw the real Shiki I was disappointed at her outfit. I thought Shiki was uber-seamstress… Then I realized that Eri is the creative one, which is why Shiki is wearing really boring (but super-well-made) spandex pants.
- I knew Joshua was sorta-evil the moment I laid eyes on him. White-haired guys are almost always evil in anime series. It’s funny that Joshua went out and found the most emo kid he could find to act as his proxy. Also funny was how he didn’t shoot Neku… and then he did. Trust your partner!
- Sooo… in between reports, Mr. H has nothing better to do but graffiti up the place?
- The only Fusion 3 I unlocked on the first try was Beat’s. That was disappointing, and being a skater does not automatically make you a surfer. Also, the Rhyme Noise is so strange.
- That Prince guy was awesome. I would totally read his blog. I enjoyed how he sold out and then ditched his sponsor.
- The Angels thing was a bit confusing. Are Angels above the Composer?
- I love that you fight emo thoughts off with flair.
- OMG at stupid Tin Pin Slammer. I sucked at the game so hard. I ended up just picking pins that had a weight of 8 or so and the hand that pokes you back on. I still couldn’t beat any of the hard NPCs.
- Is it awkward for Neku to hang around Eri? This could be the plot for a soap opera.
- I would totally play a sequel of this game.
Watched the VP presidential debates last night. I think the description that “Biden won, Palin beat the spread,” just about sums it up. Best part of the debate was Palin calling Biden “Obiden.” Regardless of how you feel about McCain, Obama, or Biden, most people would agree that they at least seem qualified to be in the race. Palin really brings a whole new dynamic to this race!
I bet Katie Couric thought this series of interviews with Sarah Palin would be good, but there is no way she could have imagined they’d be this good. Not only is it hard to get SP in an interview, but when you do she offers up some real gems.
Couric asked Palin what newspapers and magazines she read regularly before becoming McCain’s running mate “to stay informed and to understand the world.”
Here is her response, according to a transcript provided by CBS:
Palin: I’ve read most of them, again with a great appreciation for the press, for the media.
Couric: What, specifically?
Palin: Um, all of them, any of them that have been in front of me all these years.
Couric: Can you name a few?
Palin: I have a vast variety of sources where we get our news, too. Alaska isn’t a foreign country, where it’s kind of suggested, “Wow, how could you keep in touch with what the rest of Washington, D.C., may be thinking when you live up there in Alaska?” Believe me, Alaska is like a microcosm of America.
Are you serious? It’s like Katie was getting ready to launch into a tough gotcha question only to have Sarah falter on the setup. Do you think after the interview Katie was skipping around high-fiving all the producers? Comedians worried about Bush’s presidency coming to an end suddenly were re-energized, I’m sure.
I wonder where Katie was going to go with the question. Was she hoping Sarah would name a periodical with a certain political tendency? Was it to show that Sarah only read local newspapers? Whatever the case, I doubt Katie expected to find Sarah unable to name a single newspaper. Isn’t Associated Press a safe choice (as Reuters is British)?
I don’t like to be political on this blog, but these interviews have been really uncomfortable to watch. At the same time, you’ve got to be pleased if you are a Katie Couric fan. She was just getting hammered before, but now she looks like a freaking intellectual crossed with a rock star. Katie doesn’t even have to be mean to get these amazing responses. It’s been such a train wreck, that you know any other Katie-Sarah interviews will get awesome ratings.
More drama on the rewards front… Motivated by my tale, Bunky went to cash in her points, only to find that the program has changed. Now you have to opt-in by paying $25/year in order to qualify for the crappy rewards program. Screw that! Unfortunately, the bank also shut the program down without notice and blocked access to the rewards website. I guess I redeemed my points just in the nick of time.
Bunky wanted to cash in her remaining points and get out of the program, and the bank teller told her she would be able to if she cashed in within 2 days. Unfortunately, some evil dragon-lady at the program refused to let Bunky into the website and even yelled at her. Bunky was told that she wasn’t allowed to use any points and that her balance had been reduced to zero. When Bunky then asked to speak with a manager, dragon-lady put Bunky on hold and then disconnected her. Hmmm, a worthy opponent!
In the end, Bunky was able to redeem $35 in gift certificates (for a $5 fee, ugh), so we now have $100 to spend at Macys. Bunky also got a Macy’s gift certificate as a gift from a coworker, so next time we go to Macy’s, we’ll have 4 gift certificates to use. Bunky is going to be using her Banana Republic card from now on, whereas I continue to stick by the very impressive Amazon card.
A relative of mine attended the 2008 Beijing Olympics and mailed me some official shirts. The funny thing is that the shirts had these little hologram stickers on them to denote that they were official. I wonder if hologram stickers can really be considered a mark of authenticity. How hard is it to even make fake hologram stickers?
I read that the stickers contain hidden info too. Perhaps the stickers are more for authorities checking shipments as opposed to being for consumers looking for official products.
Back in the day, I could turn on the TV, check the DVR, and see a bunch of great shows waiting for me to watch. Then came the strike, and it was like endless days of boredom, House Hunters, and Food Network. Finally, the days of plenty have returned!
The House season opener was fantastic, and much better than the opener for last season. ▼ Show
The patient part was kinda meh like always (though the lady stripping at the meeting was odd and hilarious), but the House-Wilson parts were amazing. I can’t believe Wilson broke up with House! Also, as I watch more reruns I start to think that Thirteen is not quite as interesting as Cameron, even if Cameron wasn’t really my favorite character in the first 3 seasons. Thirteen’s attempts this episode reminded me of the De-Motivation poster about when your best just isn’t good enough.
I always wonder if a lot of doctors watch House and Grey’s Anatomy. I was watching the House episodes where Stacy was hanging around and cheating on her husband, and wow they were boring. Eli Stone was kinda goofy, too (but perhaps for different reasons). It’s like Bunky has ruined all lawyer shows for me.
Games | Kabitzin 10/6/2008 | 
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