Aria 2: Changes

Waking up to our first real day in Japan, the first order of business was to get our bearings. The fact we were staying at a different hotel than last time, and the fact that half the signs on the restaurants in the area were Korean was more than enough to make me a bit nervous. So we walked around Korea Town for a bit, and noticed that it had to be garbage day, because every business had bags and bags of garbage piled up on the side of the road. Giant crows were pillaging the garbage, and there were quite a few homeless people (some of which seemed to have swine flu or something from the amount of coughing and wheezing that came from them). We grabbed breakfast at a Yoshinoya and went vending machine window shopping for drinks. I was really uncomfortable in this filthy area - it went against everything I knew of Tokyo thus far. It was run down, dirty, and sparsely populated (although that changes later in the day), and I really never felt comfortable there. Something about the whole place just felt...uneasy.

We found some Pepsi NEX again - delicious - and then went back to the hotel. Eventually, we ended up in Akihabara with Travis, where (with Lisa's permission) I took him to... THE MAID CAFE! This was the same one I went to last year, so I knew exactly what to expect. They gave us an English speaking maid, and we each ordered one item on the menu. I helped with communication when the Japanese-only maids would come over and talk to us. The food we ordered wasn't bad (two parfaits and an iced coffee), but obviously overpriced and the 700 yen "sitting fee" really didn't help much either.

Those of you familiar with Otaku culture might find this interesting. I asked the maid in Japanese to explain to Travis the concept of "Moe" in Japanese. She refused, saying "meaning is difficult in English". We explained it after the fact, although I'm still admittedly a little confused on it myself. There doesn't seem to be sexual connotations to moe, but it's not entirely innocent either. Kittens are apparently not considered to be moe, but catgirls are. So yeah, I don't quite understand...

On the streets of Akihabara, which were shockingly busy for an average Monday, there was a group from Cave holding a playable demo of Mushihimesama Futari, which comes out on Thursday. They had promotional posters there while they were setting up, and I asked if I could have one - but they said no. It turns out they needed them to tape all around the demo table, apparently. They did end up giving out some swag (a plastic Mushihime fan) but by the time they started the demo there was already a line 15 people deep to play it, and all of them looked like they knew what they were doing, so I decided not to wait in line.

Instead, we went to Akihabara HEY, where I tried out - for the very first time - BlazBlue: Continuum Shift. Now, of course, since the game just came out last week, every machine was booked on at least one side, so I had to challenge someone. I picked the easiest looking opponent and sat down to play, selecting the character I have the most experience with, Jin Kisaragi.

Big mistake.

Continuum Shift has changed the way Jin plays - completely. The Ice Car no longer travels across the screen and is only useful now as a combo tool. jB doesn't combo as well either, although 6C -> 5C -> jB -> -> C -> uC -> 5D still works (though it does look different). I didn't get a chance to combo much, because none of my moves were behaving as I expected, and so I got Nihonjin smashed right off the machine by a below-average Carl player. The fact he was playing Carl only added insult to injury. Japan - 1, Gaijin - 0.

And if you didn't understand any of the above paragraph, don't worry, it doesn't apply to you anyways. :-)

I did a little more window shopping and eventually ended up at another arcade with Continuum Shift, where I managed to knock someone playing Haku-Men off the game. I was floored by my combo-filled performance with Jin, although I still tried to Ice Car across the screen due to force of habit and usually ended up eating a combo for my negligence. Regardless, I won. Japan - 1, Gaijin - 1. "Now," I thought, "I can finally get some practice with the new mechanics of the game by beating up on some stupid computer opponents." HAH! Not in Tokyo, my friends. Not in Tokyo.

For those unfamiliar with the habits of your average Tokyo arcade-goer, they behave like this. When you see someone not playing against a human opponent, they are more often than not just toying with the computer. Either they aren't picking the character they are most experienced with, or simply playing through the game without really trying. So you hop on, and you trounce them. Normally, in an American arcade, getting trounced so handily is usually enough to make the trouncee get up and leave the game, fearful of losing any more money or ego. But not Nihonjin. Oh no. These guys are hardcore. If you beat one, they will wait about 30 seconds and then - like clockwork - immediately challenge you again. (Remember, in Japan, you can't see your opponent since the machines are back-to-back). When this happens, you are screwed. In that 30 seconds of time before the 100 yen coin hit the machine, your opponent was doing his best Son Goku impersonation, powering up and unleashing his latent Nihonjin Powers of Destruction (tm). When that second game begins, you will be fighting a completely different beast...and you will not come out of that match with a victory. Guaranteed.

And that's what happened this time as well. After trouncing Haku-men and noticing the person at the machine behind me failing to get up, 30 seconds into the match against the CPU I get pulled into a versus match against...a CARL. Another Carl. Who handily gave me my ass on a silver platter to the tune of an almost double-perfect. That puppet was moving so fast across the screen I could do nothing, and that stupid clap trap had me beat before I even started my offense. Japan - 2, Gaijin - 1.

There were a few more things that happened - we found a way to walk to Shinjuku station without going to Shin Okubo, we found a festival serving street food at Hanazono Shrine in Shinjuku, we found a beautiful Christmas lights display that was actually pretty amazing, and I ended up wanting to crash early because of the presentation the next day, which wasn't a universally well-received decision. I think I've rambled on enough for now. More interesting stuff to come.

Aria 1: "EXACTLY like last time...."

This trip started out promising enough, until we get on the plane. I had camped the seat reservations for days in advance, trying to secure a seat with at least a little more leg room. Alas, everything was gone save for one "exit row" seat on the right side of the plane. Now, common sense should have told me that there must be a reason why that "exit row" seat was left unbooked, even though NWA was charging $50 more for it as part of its "coach choice" program. So I assume I'm getting some sort of an exit row seat. Only...not. They consider the first row behind the actual exit row as "exit row seats". Great. So I ended up with a $50 seat that's the same as any other seat, except I'm directly in front of the exit row, which means maybe, just maybe, there's a chance that on THIS 13 hour flight, I won't have someone reclining into my lap.

Of course, that would have been too easy, right?

Lo and behold, here comes Douchie McDouchebag 2.0, all 350+ pounds of him, wearing a Kansas City football cap, with his small Japanese wife half his age in tow. He lets out a hacking cough, glares at the seat in front of me, turns around and flies into the seat with the force of an anvil, causing my knees to pound against the "cloth" that makes up the seat. HE HAS THE FUCKING EXIT ROW AND YET HE HAS TO RECLINE ALL THE WAY BACK?! And this continued, for the next 13 hours. Oh, and if that wasn't enough, he was farting. He was blasting me and the other people behind him with an array of Silent But Deadly's following every single time the bastard was served a meal. Fortunately this time I skipped the food, so I didn't end up feeling as sick or bloated as I usually do after a cross-continental flight, but that was a small comfort after all the discomfort I went through.

Seriously. If you see the hat at the top of my entry in front of you on a future Japan flight, get out of that seat. I mean it. No matter what it takes, don't sit behind him.

And then we landed. I thought the troubles were over, but no. See, I wanted to stay at the same hotel as last time, because it was a really nice hotel. The internet wasn't cooperating, so I settled for a hotel "10 minutes walk" from one of the train stations. Yeah, right. 10 minutes, my ass. With luggage in tow, it took us more like 30, and now with both of us sore and tired as hell.
In fact, Lisa is snoring over there, I think I'll be joining her shortly...

三番目の東京旅行始めましょう！

Here we go again. Third time's the charm?

Let's see...

Plans on deck:

Tokyo DisneySea

Akihabara, of course

A presentation at IBM Japan

Soba deliciousness at the birthplace of this wonderful noodle

Namjatown/Ikebukuro

NINJA Akasaka (we HAVE to do this)

Maid Cafe shenanigans with another friend from IBM

Another 13 hour plane ride...................... *grumble*

In the words of a certain well-known Italian plumber: "HERE WE GO!"

Potent Portables

Earlier this year during my trip to Japan, and again during this year's holiday shopping season, I've come to a realization: console games are dead.

That's an overstatement, of course. But more accurately, the kinds of games I used to enjoy from Japanese developers on console have migrated to portables. Though portable systems most certainly have their place, this is a distressing move. Not only does it imply that the Japanese console market is weak, but it also squeezes modern sequels and new IP (such as Dragon Quest IX, Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep, Valkyria Chronicles II, Dissidia) onto last gen (or worse) hardware. The way I see it, the current-gen consoles (the 360 and PS3) have three distinct advantages when compared against the portables.

1.) Graphics/processing power

Next-gen graphics capabilities are a no-brainer. But the bigger innovation (other than more "shiny") is that the extra processing power the consoles provide can be used in other, more creative ways to generate new kinds of gaming experiences - no goofy controller required. Many more characters on the screen, better AI, and more.

2.) Online integration

Especially in the case of the 360, there are so many things you can do by integrating online experiences into your titles. Everything from typical multiplayer games, to co-op modes, to interesting interactions with other players (like in Demon's Souls). The portables are doing some experiments with this as well - and in some ways are better equipped than the consoles for these kinds of interactions. But more often than not these opportunities get squandered. Most games that could use online integration never get it.

3.) Experience/comfort

This is the big one. This is why I'm so mad at the Japanese developers. I love Japanese RPGs. I love playing them for hours, leveling up characters and participating in an incredibly involved storyline full of twists and turns set to an orchesteral soundtrack. What I don't love is playing a Japanese RPG squinting at a 2'' screen, its orchestral soundtrack muffled by the tiny speakers of my DS Lite. If Japanese developers are going for immersion, the absolute worst thing they can do is develop a big-budget RPG on a portable platform. I'm really looking forward to Birth By Sleep - but it's so uncomfortable to play my PSP for any length of time that I probably won't end up finishing it. A shame.


Alas, all three of these advantages are no match for the cost of development. To a Japanese developer, spending $5 million to develop a PSP title for a fairly large userbase is MUCH more lucrative than spending $30 million for a 360/PS3 (or even multiplatform) title that stands to return a fraction of the sales of the portable titles. What this leads to is an incredibly vapid software selection for the consoles - particularly in Japanese games. It broke my heart to be walking through stores in Akihabara and looking through the PS3 library - more than 2/3 of the games being offered for sale were from American and European developers. Again, this isn't the 360 displays I'm talking about here - there were actually MORE Japanese-made games for sale on 360 (yeah, I don't get it either).

In every past generation, the Japanese game development industry has dictated the pace and platforms that made the industry more successful. Yoichi Wada of Square Enix was recently quoted in an interview as saying how a one-console market (i.e. one "winning" console) is ideal for Square Enix. Unsurprising to say the least, considering the publisher was probably less than happy at the prospect of having to develop a version of Final Fantasy XIII that will run on Xbox 360 for the North American and European markets. If it were up to Wada, the marketplace would have welcomed the PS3 with open arms as the PS2's de-facto replacement as "the" gaming console.

Differences in gaming habits, cultures, and the wildcard Wii effect have caused the exact opposite scenario. PS3 winning in Japan (landslide), 360 by a wide margin in the US (bigger than PS3's Japan lead), and a deadheat in Europe. This means that third party exclusives have pretty much become a thing of the past. This isn't necessarily a very welcome environment for Japanese companies, who are used to "doing what works". Portable systems are pretty much the only place they can continue to "do what works" - but in doing so, they isolate a huge portion of their userbase.

A perfect example: Valkyria Chronicles II. The first game was released to PS3 with amazing reviews but tepid sales both domestically and worldwide. Fans of the game were very vocal and demanded a sequel...which Sega eventually announced - with a platform shift. The series would be getting an aesthetic downgrade and will be appearing on the PSP. They justified it in interviews later, claiming a market need for a platform shift. Completely unsurprising.

Look, I'm aware this is the way things are going now. So here's what I'd like companies to do in the future. Make your portable more compatible with your home console. I want to be able to connect my PSP running Dissidia or Birth By Sleep to my PS3, which will upscale the image and run it on my big screen TV. I want to be able to control it with my DualShock 3. And I want to play it online. Technologically, I don't think this is impossible. I just wish they'd realize how big of a need there actually is for this kind of product...

My First (serious) Tournament

So last week a friend and I made the journey 90 miles north to the Minnesota Meltdown annual fighting game gathering and tournament. I ended up placing 9th out of 15 entrants in BlazBlue, which - while nothing to write home about - isn't that bad considering I took rounds (and sometimes games) from the 5th and 2nd place finishers. So although I have a lot of work to do, I made a lot of progress and learned quite a bit.

Lessons Learned:

1.) It ain't over till it's over.

More than once I resorted to my usually-useful "get them down to low life and turtle with projectiles" only to eat a Spark Bolt -> 720 for MASSIVE SOVIET DAMAGE. When playing in tournaments, playing it safe towards the end isn't always a good idea (especially when facing Tager, who I had no idea could combo his projectile into his Throw of Doom).

2.) Mind games are real.

It's amazing how much the "flow" of the match dictates what your opponent will do. There is a lot of "feeling" that you can get from the person next to you. You can tell when they're panicking, you can tell when they're nervous. It's a completely different experience than playing online. Dictating the pace of the match (and not letting your opponent do it) is the best way to gain ground.

3.) Don't Ride the Icening!

It's true what they say in the forums. Ice Car works better online than it does in person, and anyone worth their salt will know how to block it and punish you. Only use Ice Car to get across the screen or in combos. And if you lose your combo chain before initiating the Ice Car, expect a world of hurt if you go through with it.

4.) If something works on you, they'll do it again. (and again, and again...)

Two examples: versus a Haku and a Noel.

6A is frighteningly effective against j.B. So much so that he had me on lockdown for the majority of the match. Usually Haku is one of my better matchups, but I had a really hard time with the one I met there. He also managed to lull me into a false sense of security by jumping around and provoking my ice car, which always ended in badness (see above.) For some stupid reason, I couldn't stop myself from jumping in even though I was eating 6A every time. I guess subconsciously I must have thought that my placement was off and that's why I was taking the hit, but it turns out the priority of that move is godly. And he would gladly hit me with it every time I attempted a jump-in.

One of Noel's combos has a property that if you tech out the wrong way, you're going to get combo'd again. I fell for this not once, not twice, but 3 times. And another person watching even commented on it.

So yes, I gained a lot of worthwhile experience by going to this tournament. I think what I need to work on the most, rather than combo execution, is fundamental execution and pressure escape. Once I'm in a 9832749832 hit combo, I just start to mash and hope for the best. I need to study the best means of escape for the characters I have the most problems with - namely Ragna, Rachel, Nu, and Noel.

From Boom Blox to BlazBlue

Since I haven't done an entry in a while, I figured it'd be good to focus on a few things that have happened recently in the gaming industry, and particularly in my gaming habits...but rather than doing a lengthy introduction, I'll just hop right in.
Boom Blox and Why It Doesn't Sell

Boom Blox is, and will always be, a sad tale in the minds and hearts of the select few that were willing to give it a chance. The game's controls and innovative gameplay were PERFECT showcases for how to do a casual Wii game properly, the graphics were bright, colorful, and appealing, and the multitude of modes and level creation tools was second to none. It even had the support and input from Steven Spielberg (not that he's really a game designer in the first place). But my point is this. It had a lot of stuff going for it. So why, why, WHY were the sales numbers so blatantly abysmal while shovel crap like Imagine Babyz Partyz and Carnival Games shot up the casual charts? Well, the answer, I believe, is twofold:

The first problem is simple: price. The game launched at $49.99. Now, EA, I understand you spent a good amount of money developing this game. The fact it actually controlled well and looked halfway decent is proof enough of that. But casual consumers aren't looking for quality. They're looking for license/name recognition or, barring that, something cheap in the bargain bin. If you wanted to sell to the casual market, you should have priced the game accordingly - that is, $29.99 for a new copy.

The second problem is a bit more complex: lack of notoriety. The game's graphics look odd. The box doesn't tell you much about the type of game you're buying, and the game wasn't advertised to the masses properly. The combination of the graphical style (which some "casual" and a lot of hardcore users would call: "GHEY!11!!!") and lack of advertising basically doomed the game before it shipped.

I had the original game, and I sold it for pretty much the same price I bought it for ($30 used, from Gamefly).

A sequel was eventually crafted, but in a "slick" marketing ploy they decided to drop the Boom Blox moniker entirely and call it simply "Bash Party". I purchased this game for $30 on sale at Target yesterday, after my friends asked me one too many times over the last few months, "Where is Boom Blox? Why did you sell it?" Admittedly, the game's "screw your neighbor" video-Jenga was some of the most fun I've had with a third party title for the Wii - and apparently both my gamer and non-gamer friends agree that the game is appealing, not intimidating, and a whole lot of fun.

Sadly, they retained the look of the original - though they beefed up all the modes. I'm looking forward to trying it out with a group. However, its sales numbers paled even in comparison to the first game's. They did attempt to make some inroads with the casual crowd - lowering the launch price to $39.99 for starters - but it wasn't enough.

Brand recognition makes or breaks the Wii more often than any of us like to admit. If EA wants to make any money off of the Boom Blox franchise, I have an idea: if they are to do a third game, why not partner with Nintendo? The Boom Blox engine is great, but the blocky characters and generic backgrounds lack appeal. You want assured sales for your franchise? Here's an idea:

Mario's Bash Party

Those three words would solve any problems your franchise currently has. Nintendo's marketing plus recognizable characters plus your engine and decent minigames = SUREFIRE sales. If Mario and Sonic can sell millions, this certainly can, too. It would certainly be a better game Hardcore would buy it (for the franchises and gameplay), casuals would buy it (ooh, it has Mario), and Nintendo fanboys would buy it too (MARIO!). Imagine all the minigames that could be created using Nintendo star power plus the Boom Blox engine? Trust me, guys, it's a win-win situation for everyone.

You listening, EA? Get on it.


MAHVEL, BAYBEE!



OKAY. Now for a rant.

As an owner of the DC, PS2, and NAOMI (yes, arcade) versions of Marvel Vs Capcom 2, I was thrilled at the announcement of an HD reworking of the game with online play for release on the 360 and PS3. And after trying the offline-only PS3 demo I was even more excited. After waiting, and waiting, and waiting, they finally announced the release date - July 29...on 360 only.

What...the...fuck?

So those who wanted the PS3 version (for the better pad controls) were slightly screwed. Which was OK. I mean, I had plenty to play while I was waiting and it's not like I couldn't pop in the PS2 version if I was having a serious MvC2 craving. I wanted the PS3 version for the Dualshock support and also to be able to play on my SFIV TE stick, so I was willing to wait.

So finally, they release the game - or did they?

After hitting refresh on the PSN store for the 20th time at 4:30PM CST yesterday, I finally get to download...a 6kb unlock code....

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! We've had the whole game for the last three months?! Ok, fine, some Xbox360 games do that too. Release demos early which are basically the full game, and then issue an unlock code later. So this in and of itself wouldn't be a huge problem - except for the bugs....

Yep...this game is BROKEN. Seriously broken. We were sitting on the full version of a game that, for all intents and purposes, was nowhere near ready to be released. I'm not a hardcore Mahvel player so I don't know the character specific glitches but here's what I do know:

1.) Online is busted. As in, certain features not only fail to work, but CRASH THE GAME. Like BlazBlue PS3, it will cause the console to lock up and force you to do a hard reboot. Unlike BlazBlue, it doesn't happen when randomly connecting to matches (which is another gripe I will address in the near future)...instead, it occurs WHENEVER YOU ATTEMPT TO SEARCH FOR A MATCH. Yes. You heard right. The entire match selection screen is broken. Someone in QA was asleep at the wheel.

2.) The widescreen is glitchy. Really glitchy. Yes, I know it's a reworked feature, and the game is technically being played in just 4:3 mode, so I understand some issues will occur there. But some of the issues I've seen range from stuff being chopped at the 4:3 barrier entirely, to disgusting sprite and animation glitches at the edge of the screen reminiscent of the MvC2 xbox version (as played on 360) - yes, sometimes it really is that bad.

3.) Playlist functionality is broken in Ranked and whenever voice is turned on. Yep. Prepare to be "taken for a riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide" if your opponent has his headset on. Joy.

This is unforgivable, Capcom. You released the full game to us (in demo form, waiting to be unlocked) on April 30th. As a software developer I'm aware how much additional time affects quality. And your QA should have found these issues. I understand the graphical glitches to a degree since the code is basically a mishmash of DC/NAOMI code and new features, but having entire features of the game causing crashes is something that no top-tier game developer should be able to get away with. You should have held the game back until these issues were dealt with. I'm hoping you have plans to patch some of this stuff, because as of now it's a pretty sad port of the game. I'd go as far as to say the PS2 version is superior - which is not a good thing.

With the fighting game renaissance in full swing, having serious online issues in a game that is so blatantly multiplayer is a cardinal sin, and if I would have known about this I most likely would not have purchased the game. Of course, at this time, since most of us voted with our wallets, there's really no way to tell Capcom that they fucked up. We all bought the game anyways, and it's apparently ranked high on both PSN and XBL's download lists.

And with that, I'm out of here. I have a BlazBlue tourney to practice for. Hopefully it pays off. "ICE CAR! ICE CAR! I'M CRAZY!!!"

The Great Fight Hype

Well, apparently Gamestop is up to some serious shenanigans, because they managed to completely botch the release of King of Fighters XII.

They dropped the game on a Friday, four days early. And never bothered to tell anyone about it.

When walking into Gamestop on a whim earlier today, I managed to walk out with a copy of the game - which was scheduled for shipping next week. Odd. And most of the press online from other players who managed to get the game early isn't good. With this action Gamestop managed to wipe out whatever hype was building for this game (admittedly not much, since we're all playing SF and BlazBlue) ruining whatever small chance it had at retail in the first place. Usually I hate hype. I hate the fact we have to wait for something that's obviously done, just so we anticipate it more. But having hype killed for such a niche game doomed it.

I'm not going to write a full review, but I will make a few points here. But before I do, a word of warning: I played this game while visiting Japan, so I will be able to compare it to the actual arcade release...

1.) The sprites are beautiful, huge, and animate well. Problem being, they scaled the roster back to offset the demands of next-gen development and having to redo all the sprites by hand. Only 22 characters this time around. The backgrounds are vibrant and lively, although (like characters), there really aren't many of them (6-7).

2.) Online lags HORRIBLY. I tried playing one match, and could barely get through. Ignition has plans to address this and will be patching the game upon its previously expected release date, next Tuesday. So I will save my opinions until then.

3.) Special move inputs, like most SNK games, are overcomplicated and difficult to do even with a TE Fightstick. Now I may not be a fighting game expert, but I'm far from a noob, and if I have serious problems pulling off more than one super in the game, they're most likely too difficult. Terry's Power Geyser (21416P) is especially difficult for me to pull off.

4.) After BlazBlue, fighters tend to feel similar, and there isn't a tag system like in other KoF games. Why no tag system? I think it has to do with the loading - which, by the way, is TERRIBLE if you don't install the game.

5.) No SNK Boss Syndrome....but that's not a good thing - because there IS no boss! The Arcade mode is simply five Time Attack matches. W...T....EFF?!~

6.) Blatant DLC grab. In so many words they've confirmed the roster is expanding, but you're gonna pay for it. Excluding Mai was deliberate so they could offer her up for DLC.

All that said, the game isn't TERRIBLE, it just stinks horribly when compared against SFIV and BlazBlue. The fact they're charging the full $60 for what amounts to a game with a budget set of features (but good production values, at least from a visual standpoint) really hurts. And the promise of DLC wrecking game balance hurts more. And lack of Mai on the default roster hurts the most...