Darklink42

QFE You know, it's funny because when I was looking at the update list, I thought Olimar was going to be an AT. I agree with Global though, I doubt you'll see a Metal Gear as one. I also don't think Snake's FS is inappropriate for him either. Sure he never uses a helicopter in the games, but it's not outside of believability. Why would Snake summon a Metal Gear for his FS anyways? He fights them, he isn't allied with the people that have them. On the topic of Olimar, I just hope he doesn't play too gimmicky like I felt the Ice Climbers did in the last one. Could be a fun alternative to them, on the other hand, and that in itself has my interest. Can't imagine what his FS will be. Maybe the Pikmin swarm you in huge numbers?

I thought the whole purpose of secret characters was to suprise people once they've bought the game and want a little more out of it. The funny thing is, I loved 2, bonus characters and all. (Obviously Link was my fav, but I liked playing the game in general too). 3 was an utter letdown for me. The whole game was flawed in my mind, from the story mode down to the character balance. I'd like to see them fix that instead of adding flashy new characters and hoping people will forget the horrors of trying to beat the worst fighting game AI I have ever played against. It's the only game I've ever played that caused me to break a controller out of sheer frustration. Stupid Zasalamel...

Oh wait... Didn't know if Kirbos had been done yet.

I played this game a long time ago for the NES, but I don't think I ever got past the second level. I did, however, remember it being fun and finally got the chance to play it again later on my computer. Truly one of my favorite games for the system, though I can't say the same for the sequel. It was a lot shorter and not as fun for me. Anyone ever find the secret room that led to another secret room, and then lead to a death trap room? I fall for that one every time.

Basically any program that has a "record what you hear" function can get it done. I've never tested it out myself, but I can't see why it wouldn't work. I use Audacity for that sort of thing, but I'm sure there are other ways too.

I actually came in around Tempest myself. I made the effort of trying to play past Apocalypse. It lasted about one set in, and I was already sick of it. Since then, there have just been too many rules added, gimmicks played out, and redesigns for me to handle. I still play old school* MtG with some of my friends from high school, but it's rather rare. *Old school to me means anything up to the Odyssey cycle, with few exceptions.

I want a Wii, and a job that's not a scam or hell bent on kicking the shit out of me for less than the job is worth. The Wii seems a lot more realistic at this point.

Excellant photography, and congratulations. Best wishes to you both for a happy future.

Alright, I'm not the best Photoshop user on the planet, but here's my idea. It's really basic, I know. But I figured if someone wanted to do it better, I'd give a relatively clean slate. I may add more humor as whimsy strikes.

I offer my condolonces to Reuban's family. To loose someone that age is heart wrenching. He will be missed, but his legacy will live on.

Working on a lucky charms parody, be done tomorrow hopefully.

: P Damn DS version got me again...

Wow, the sheer varity of interpretation on this topic astounds me. [fanboy] For my two cents, I'm one of those people that has played every single Zelda game. Before you ask, yes I'm obsessed. I don't own the bedsheets or the personal upper thigh massager, but I do enjoy the games quite a bit. The world it presents, the challenges, and just the basic theme are all things I can relate to. So what if it's just a basic hero idiom, that's what makes it great. It's accessible to anyone that wants to give it a try, and the story will always deliver at least one awesome moment. As for timelines, I prefer this one which links them pretty well based on endings and Dark Link (yeah, I made it myself >_>) 1. Ocarina 2. Majora’s Mask 3. Oracles 4. “ “ 5. Awakening 6. Zelda 1 7. Adventures of Link 8. Link to the Past 9. Wind Waker 10. Phantom Hourglass the only thing out of continuity is the four swords adventures, because the sequel to Wind Waker is Phantom Hourglass. That makes Minish cap, Four Swords, and Four Swords Adventure their own timeline. There is no Vaati anywhere else. [/fanboy] Now that that is out of the way, here's my stand on the epic TP versus OoT versus LttP. (with mario64 and galaxy in for good measure) Frankly, OoT is epic. Zelda tends to be on the leading edge of adventure games, and it didn't disappoint with it's first 3D iteration. There are 8 dungeons to explore, plus Ganon's tower. Five different independent realms within the world itself. No matter how you look at it, that is truly what made that game spectacular. The dungeons weren't slouching either, each one was multi-leveled and felt monstrous. Conquering one always felt like an accomplishment. How does it stack up to TP? It doesn't. For me, TP is not superior to OoT, period. Not only did I manage to beat it in half the time it took for me to beat OoT, I'm still trying to get myself to go through and play it again. Sure, it had it's moments that I greatly enjoyed, but somehow it just didn't carry the same weight as OoT did. The Dark World was also disappointing to me (I've always been a huge fan of LttP for it's dark world. So awesome.) However, I will say that in it's defense, it improved a lot of what OoT lacked. It was easier to get from place to place, there were no weird moments where you just felt like you were wandering with no clue where to start. Link controls a lot better, and the world is both more open and more beautiful to look at. Sacrilegious as it seems to say though, my personal favorite game on the 64 will always be Mario 64. I haven't played Galaxy, so i can't weigh in there, but if it even gets close to 64, then that makes it a good game in my book. You have no idea how many times I've gone back and gotten all 120 stars, just because it was so fun to replay all the old levels. I know where all the stars are. but there's something about that game that just makes it fun no matter how often or when you play it. Nintendo created the perfect formula with that game and not even the DS port ruined that (I was iffy on the other characters, especially Yoshi.) Hell, I heard Spinlock when it was posted a few months back, and after going back to hear what the source sounded like, I ended up starting a new file on the old 64 and got a few stars before I put it down. I can't really say what makes it stand the test of time for me, but I guess it a combination of the ability to complete the game in any order I saw fit, the variance of the levels (yeah I know that some of them are pretty similar), and the challenge that some of the stars present even when you know how to get them (Whose hands didn't sweat when they played through the Bowser levels for the red coins?) Would I go back and play through OoT? Yes, in fact I try not to think abut doing so, because if I do I only know that I will end up wanting to beat the fucking thing again. Even if you know what you're doing that thing still takes hours to beat. In the end though, I don't think it's just nostalgia that brings the majority of people back to older games like Mario64 and OoT. I don't even think it's just nostalgia that brings most people back to even older games like the original Zelda games. It's okay to disagree, and it's also okay to just go back for nostalgia's sake. But games like the above are ones that stood out then for being excellent, and taken in context, still stand out to this day. Be it for challenge, storyline, or just plain fun factor. Edit: okay, I forgot to mention LttP, But I'll keep it short. LttP is the golden age of Zelda. A ridiculous amount of dungeons, two full-sized maps, and interaction between both of them made it, at least IMO, the best the series has ever offered. The game has no flaws in my eyes and is still enjoyable to this day and accessible to people from every generation.

No guarentees, but I'll see if I can't come up with a song for this. I've always wanted to mess around with Christmas songs, and with a certain amount of free time coming up, it'll be good to break out the instruments. Either way though, good luck. I'd listen to it, if for no other reason than the current barrage of Christmas songs is just a little old these days.

Wow. I didn't know the guy at all, but I still feel terrible. There is one thing we can do, and that would be to link the family to this page that they can know there are people out there around the world who are sending their condolences. Rest in peace Reuben.

Haven't gotten to the Sparta reference, but I laughed my ass off when Phoenix got nailed by the cup of coffee.

I just got this a few days ago, and I'm on the third trial right now. I'm really loving this game so far, and it's killing me trying to guess who Godot really is. Does he remind anyone else of Jake Marshall from the first one's Fifth case?

Well one day late, but happy birthday. Keep up the excellant work.

Hell, if I'd have known about it a few months earlier, I'd have gone to it. Ah well. If it does live up to the hype of E3, I'll likely go to this thing next year. Definitly something to look into for sure.

Does anyone have an example of the Russian song that's not got the distracting talking? I'd like to hear without the interruptions if possible. Outside of that, I hear the similarities but I don't think it constitutes plagiarism so much as a coincidence. Unlike more verbatim plagiarism (see Vanilla Ice for a cliche example) this just has a couple similarities. I can hear the MGS theme in the russian piece, and on the same token, you can hear Sviridov in the MGS Theme. But I personally don't feel like it's a strong enough resemblance to say that it was stolen or even borrowed from. I hear very distinct differences in the two in both style and choice of progression. Perhaps these are certain progressions that TAPPY happened to like. I think he just made a coincidental choice, and these guys just happened to be listening to Sviridov one day and went "You know, this sounds kinda familiar." I do that all the time with songs. It's not fair for people to do that to two different pieces of famous music and call it stealing right out of the door. By the way, it may just be me but it looks like Hideo is wearing an E3 badge. Anyone else seeing that?

Well, I personally own a PSR-275. I got it at Costco for something like 300 bucks. It's pretty damn decent in terms of sound libraries and MIDI control. I've never used it for more advanced purposes, but for general use I'd say it stands atop some of the other crap I've played around with before. Like Yoozer said, it depends entirely on what one you get as well. I've seen some of the later PSR models, and they look like ass but do roughly the same as mine without any really added benifits. I guess it all depends on what you want it to do. I'd reccomend it though, if that's what you wanted to hear. : D

Happy birthday and thirded. Can never have too many.

Bring it on.

Well, I hope somebody gets something in there soon. I really would rather win on merit than by defualt due to there being only two pieces currently...

Just goes to show that the internet is a blessing and a curse to those of use that want to earn money on pursuits other than the typical 9 to 5 grind. Mass communication was never considered fully before it was implemented, and now we have pirates pirating from the poor. Sad times indeed.