Darklink42

Could not stop laughing at this thing, even though it's supposed to be a final boss.

Done. My self-esteem is already looking up.

Congrats and welcome to the OCR parents club.

For one thing, if this is on the 360, then I'm happy. I've still not had the ability to play 4 because I don't own a PS3. Also, and I feel like I should have posted this earlier when I was going to, I kind of like that Hideo is still messing with us so much. It kind of makes a game out of the game releases. How many other games have an odd meta-story the way this series does? Also also, I spotted Master Miller in there because that guy is so bad-ass, even being hospitalized is not enough to make him remove his sweet sunglasses.

This is the most recent picture I have of my 16 month old daughter Lillian. She was born super-premature (she weighed about a pound and was in the hospital for three months.) She's apparently part Kryptonian however, because she not only has nothing wrong with her as a result of it, but quickly developed beyond the expected curve. That and she has x-ray vision that can find even the most well hidden tasty snacks. It kills me to have to be away from her all the time, but she always has a big smile for her dad whenever I do finally get to back and see her.

I've been engaged since last year, but we don't have any definitive plans for a wedding for now. What we do have is a rambunctious one year old daughter, whose favorite toy is a Wind Waker Link doll.

If you want to spoil it for yourselves, here's a list of all the Japan DLC and it's contents: http://serenesforest.net/fe13/dlc_jp.html#list The site does a fairly good job in general of keeping up to date with the new stuff coming out.

When the game told me that normal mode was for series beginners, I was like "Well, clearly since I've played some of the others, hard mode can't be too bad." This is me now, trying to find non-story battles that even look winnable:

As much as the resale of games is an important issue here, this particular aspect disturbs me more. It instantly precludes the idea that you may take your console somewhere that doesn't have internet access and make use of it. Steam has the advantage of letting you use offline mode if you happen to be under some rock (or living on a college campus that is picky about what connects and how.) It would be way more inconvenient to haul a console wherever I happen to be going, only to find out I can't even play it when I get there. Internet connectivity is not a solid constant, and it's stupid to assume that it is.

I did it, but it took a long time and more patience than I'd have now. The perfectsims just plain sucked because they could track you through the walls.

I was the same with Castle of Illusion for the Sega. There was no way I was going to like a game about Mickey Mouse hopping around candyland and a happy forest at 11 years old. But the music blew me away and the level design is just the right combination of easy to traverse and difficult to master. Doing extra tricky stuff would net a few nice rewards, but it wasn't necessary to enjoy the game. And the easy mode was truncated, but still gave you the ending. I still love this game, and it's part of the reason I almost blew what little money I had on the Epic Mickey re-imagining they just put out. Prudence outweighed nostalgia, but only just barely.

Played it, it's fantastic. They really put a lot of thought into how to integrate the differing styles of the console Fire Emblems and the handheld ones, with some interesting innovations that haven't been in either before now. Weapon switching is now a button press instead of a menu back and forth, the side-by-side combat bonuses no longer depend on having supports, and the best part is that the characters actually have voices now. Plus it has Marth in it, you Super Smash fans. So go pick it up and try it out.

On a dare, I beat Mario 64 with all stars in under 8 hours. Not the most difficult feat, but not one I care to revisit either. That game is supposed to be fun, not stressful.

Arena grind in the first GBA Fire Emblem to get all of my characters to second tier max level. And I mean ALL of the characters. I must have been more masochistic back then because I've never been able to do it again, and wouldn't want to. So much of this:

Truly one for the ages. He's got a wonderful story arc, strong and compelling character development, and the metaphor of the stripper is wholly original and well placed. 5 out of 5 top hats. Would read again.

I'd like to tentatively put in a bid as well. I should hopefully have the time, at least until late January.

The Global Trance 8 oz. Bottled water Serve neat. Oddly appropriate, considering he was (maybe still is?) a personal trainer. And for a really odd one (it was what was on at the time): The Poets of the Fall 1 PBR Serve cold. Garnish with pickled asparagus.

They slipped the "No escape" tagline in from the MGS4 advertisements too, but as a question this time. Following this train of thought, and in light of Bleck's posted GIF reveal of the logo (damn, that's actually kind of clever) I like that they stuck with the theme of revenge by naming the studio after one of the quintessential tales of vengeance. I'm wondering though, this being a metal gear game, why there are whales jumping through the scenery and fiery unicorns rampaging in the halls?

Fire Emblem: Awakening is finally scheduled for release in the US: Feb. 4th. So much awesome.

Anybody in Japan planning on getting their hands on Professor Layton Vs. Ace Attorney? Since Level-5 and Capcom are playing coy with this one, I'd like to hear some first hand on what the game's like if I'm never going to see it in English. Speaking of Level-5 and the 3DS, Liberation Maiden is a fairly alright game, if a little bit weird to control towards later levels. It's short, and although there are achievements for playing through more than once, I don't know that's I'm all that tempted. Interesting way to do a Shmup, and one that I was able to get into. (No offense to you Touhou types.) I recommend it if you've got a couple of bucks and want something to play on the go that isn't a retro game.

Truly a classic for our time.

Many thank you's sir. And, as always, fantastic work.

The package is in the mail. Coming soon to a front door near you.

I share a dorm with a less than hygienic roommate, unfortunately. Trust me, I am already sufficiently offended by it. But you know what makes feel better about it? This sweet shirt I get to rock around campus now.

Ten days? Try two... Still, my birthday having just passed and having been requested, I opened it early and was not just pleasantly surprised, but genuinely thrilled to have a brand new Dark Link shirt to wear and an extra tag just to make sure people know what I'm all about. Apologies about the Myspace style. Couldn't get the webcam to take a decent shot.