I was watching playthrough of Conker's Bad Fur Day on N64 (which later on got a remake on XBOX, titled Live and Reloaded) and I heard music very familiar to me, and it doesn't reference a past game Rare worked on (unlike the more kid friendly, Pocket Tails on GBC, having a musical easter egg referencing Donkey Kong Country), but one from another developer that was mostly developing games... on the PlayStation One (only throwing out a cIassic game anthology and one Ridge Racer game on N64).

Namco fighting game fans can guess this one, though it was changed with the remake.

I know I'm WAY late on this, but damn.

Did Namco even notice that? I think Rare might have since they changed it in the XBOX version.

Just watch these videos below:

Nintendo related costumes.

-Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, Toad

-Link, Zelda, Ganondorf

-Captain Falcon

-Fox McCloud

-Samus Aran (Zero Suit)

All DLC characters present in this version,some exclusive gameplay modes, one that involves mushrooms (growth and poison), as well as Starman being used in the arenas, and the return of Tekken Ball from Tekken 3.

I can tell Namco is using this to hype their involvement in Super Smash Bros. 4.

When I get a Wii U, this will (hopefully) be one of the first games I plan to get.

This time over Pokemon:

Much like animals in the real world, Pokémon are treated as unfeeling objects and used for such things as human entertainment and as subjects in experiments. The way that Pokémon are stuffed into pokéballs is similar to how circuses chain elephants inside railroad cars and let them out only to perform confusing and often painful tricks that were taught using sharp steel-tipped bullhooks and electric shock prods if PETA existed in Unova, our motto would be: Pokémon are not ours to use or abuse. They exist for their own reasons. We believe that this is the message that should be sent to children. -PETA statement

My response:

Again? They never quit, do they? I'm expecting them to cover their asses and say they're trolling (like we're going to buy that? We're not stupid, PETA), like they did with Super Mario 3D Land.

Here's a little update on my reading here

Comic/manga:

Full Metal Alchemist (vol. 12 and 13)- I'll admit it. FMA does NOT mess around in terms of it's continuity as it keeps the point rather well. I think it's one of my new favorite anime/manga series (still like Zatch Bell, Inuyasha, Dragon Ball, and Yu Yu Hakusho more, but I'll go as far and say it's surpassing cIassic Naruto).

Bleach (vol. 6)

Ultimate X-Men Collection (contains vol. 1-12)- The only Ultimate Marvel comics I've read were a few Spider-Man issues when I was in middle school. I've yet to see how X-Men fares.

Regular novels:

Doctor Who: Forever Autumn- Since Halloween is this month, I thought I'd read something related to that holiday by reading a Halloween centric book based off a great British Sci-fi series. This is set during David Tenant's (the doctor to introduce me to the series, like Pierce Brosnan when he was Bond. Yeah, that late, but c'mon, I wasn't born in the 1960's when both of these franchises were getting big) time as the doctor.

Other stuff

Speaking of Doctor Who and James Bond...

Happy 50th anniversary to the James Bond 007 film franchise. Same year as Mortal Kombat and Kirby 20th anniversaries and is getting a new movie with Daniel Craig, 007: Skyfall

Here in the UK, I saw the recent episode of Doctor Who. I won't spoil much, but let me tell you, quite a bittersweet episode for Matt Smith's run (not in a bad way as the episode itself was quite good, but I mean that it has an event that was bittersweet).

This is late, but eh, better late than never.

Here are a few games I got these past few weeks, all for the Wii:

Wii Sports + Wii Sports Resort (EU/AU compilation)

*Australian boxart shown, but exists in Europe... in one of those papery cases.

I never knew one of these existed, but from what I can gather, this was only released in Europe and Australia as an (I believe limited) deal that comes with those who buy a Wii around late 2010, early 2011. This means I have a few copies of Wii Sports 1(two standalone NA and PAL versions), as well as finally getting Wii Sports Resort, which I can say is much better than the first.

Manhunt 2

Perhaps the first (and probably only) Rockstar game I have ever played and owned. I haven't beat the game yet, but I can say the game has quite an interesting story on it's censorships for both the NTSC NA and PAL EU versions, so much so that the game got criticized for it.

As for the game so far, well, I think it's okay. Some Wii motions feel very shoehorned on standard combat when you try to fight with your fists (doesn't feel that way with certain weapons though). I'm not getting a good early impression on the story either.

Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop

Basically a separate version of the original Dead Rising on XBOX 360, but instead being built on the Resident Evil 4 engine and having a better focus on gunplay at the expense of a few things. Having beat this one already I can say, while not the best version of the game, it isn't bad considering it's limits and for what it is, I enjoyed it. I liked on how you can improvise your fighting against the walking undead by using anything interactable and using it as a weapon.

It has it's flaws though, like how using the motion controls for more powerful swings feels a little slow when compared to the quicker swings by pressing the A button. Not to mention, the aiming (when you use firearms) feels a little awkward at first by using an analog stick to look up and down, while you aim with the Wii Remote. It doesn't take long to get used to, though.

Even if it isn't as good as the 360 version, it's still fun in it's own right I think.

That's it for me.

For those in need of the info, Nintendo announced that they are publishing Bayonetta 2 as a Wii U exclusive in a deal with SEGA (who was reported to have cancelled the game but are still serving as ambassadors) and Platinum Games (who are also developing The Wonderful 101 for Wii U, which is, again, published by Nintendo). This announcement caused controversy for a multitude of reasons.

1. A multiplatform game (the original) going exclusive

I start with this because this is the ONLY understandable complaint. As even I felt disappointed that a fourth game (though says III) in the Soul series wasn't going to be on the GameCube, especially to the shock that the third (aka II) sold well (second best as a matter of fact) on the GameCube (PS2 version sold more, XBOX version sold the least).

Exclusive:

Multiplat:

2. An M rated game on a "kiddy" Nintendo console

Oh boy, an unreasonable complaint on SO many levels.

True, Nintendo consoles usually have most of their install bases run by kids, but they do at least try to get "mature oriented" games on their systems, mainly from third parties (biggest examples: Activision and Capcom, but we do see some stuff from Ubisoft, Grasshopper, and heck, Rockstar threw a few things Ninty's way).

Hell, even Nintendo has published a few of these games under former second parties, or at least a deal with standalone devs.

Shown below: Perfect Dark (Rare), Eternal Darkness (Silicon Knights), Geist (n-Space)

Let's also not mention Nintendo of Europe's involvement in publishing some third party games:

What also comes to mind is the fear of censorship, something Nintendo hasn't forced upon in years (not counting what happened with the Binding of Issac's canned 3DS release). As an example, the SNES version of Mortal Kombat II had all the gore the arcade version had, when compared to the SNES version of the first game. Even on the matter of sexual content (which Bayonetta is known for), Nintendo has still allowed it on their systems. Look at Conker's Bad Fur Day as an example, yes that game caused tension between Nintendo and Rare for it's content, but despite the circumstances, Nintendo still allowed the game to be released on their system for all it had, one of them being a moment where Conker had a mission to bring a king bee and a sunflower together, and I think you can guess that result.

Still, when Mature games come on their systems, there are still complaints, which goes into...

3. A third party exclusive (or any third party game) on a Nintendo system

Prime examples of this: Resident Evil 4 (Capcom)*, No More Heroes (Grasshopper)*, Tatsunoko vs Capcom (Capcom/Eighting), Goldeneye (Activision/Eurocom)*, Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes (Konami/Silicon Knights), Resdient Evil Remake (Capcom), Resident Evil Zero (Capcom)

*- eventually did go multiplat to other consoles (notably PS2, PS3, and XBOX 360), but the criticism still stood when Nintendo exclusive.

On a final note: don't gamers get on Nintendo's ass for not having third party support or enough "mature oriented" games on their systems when compared to their competition? NOW they are getting flak for trying to address those complaints?

*brain full of f*** image here*

That's all I needed to say on the matter. Really, it saddens me that Nintendo and SEGA have become two of the most controversial gaming companies for reasons they shouldn't be.

Oh boy, where do I begin:

-$300 standard edition (8 GB storage)

-$350 premium edition (32 GB + Nintendo Land pack in)

-Bayonetta 2 exclusive and published by Nintendo (like the EU version of Capcom's Resident Evil Revelations on 3DS was and what the Wii U version of Tecmo/Team Ninja's Ninja Gaiden III will be)

-TVii (probably won't use this much, but it's nice to have it I suppose)

-Call of Duty: Black Ops II (meh, good for the major CoD fans though)

-New Super Mario Bros. U looking a bit better by announcing a map with a Super Mario World (SNES) feel with branching paths

-Project P-100 is now called the Wonderful 101 (lame name, but still looking like an awesome game)

Most of the announcements like that leave me this reaction:

What E3 2012 should have been.

Though I won't get a Wii U right away as I still have plans to get more games on my older systems, as well as try and focus getting either a PS3 or 3DS first (want both, but I think I'm leading towards a PS3). Still, at least the announcements are better by... quite a bit.

So first the avatar change, after stages with a rebel reporter, a born American espionage agent with a British accent,a Vault Hunting Siren,the Full Metal Alchemist, as well as recurring runs from Edenia's princess (who is still lingering in the comments) and Hong Kong's finest International police detective(ironically, both the princess and the supercop both started in sequels in their respective franchises, both second games). I decided to swap to the triple sword wielding swordsman, Roronoa Zoro (or Zolo) from One Piece. Who in my opinion, is the most badass member in Monkey D. Luffy's crew.

Anyway, on to a movie I recently watched and that is Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

For a while, this was one Indiana Jones film I haven't seen. I even skipped it (unintentionally of course) and saw Kingdom of Crystal Skull (which really isn't as bad as proclaimed). But what do I think of this film? Well, I can safely agree that this is indeed the best in the franchise. One of the best reasons is Indy's (Harrison Ford) relationship with his dad (Sean Connery), which is really funny and it also works in regards to father and grown-up son reationships with similar archeological interests. Another is the action, is pretty much what you'd expect out of Indiana Jones films, typical leave your brain at the door action, which is a good thing in this case.

In regards to the entire series, I'd say:

Last Crusade > Raiders of the Lost Ark > Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (James Rolfe, aka AVGN actually did a good defense for this film) > Temple of Doom (Nostalgia Critic, a comedic reviewer I still like did a pretty poor review for this film)

I liked all the films though.

If you haven't already, read my review for Sonic and SEGA All-Stars Racing (DS version).

See ya around!

Check it out here, and tell me what you think.

So on a reading update, I'm up to Full Metal Alchemist vol. 10 and 11. Vol. 8 and 9 was showing that s*** was going down. All in a good sense for the reader though.

I'm on Bleach vol. 5 now and while it seems to have drifted off a bit after (spoiler) Ichigo fought the hollow that killed his mom a few issues ago (/spoiler), the ending to vol. 4 is starting to have it build up with the introduction of Uryu Ishida.

As for another comic I'm reading, it's a crossover with Witchblade and the Tomb Raider franchise. I've never heard of Witchblade (though the comic also features Jackie Estacado from The Darkness, which I've only heard of through the games that were later released), but I've only played two Tomb Raider games , Legend (GameCube) and Anniversary (Wii) and both were awesome, while I've only seen one film, which is the Cradle of Life, which sucked.

Hopefully, this gives me good ideas on what the TR comics are like though.

To end this, The Concept of Love and it'sMIDI version(should try out a Jet Set/Grind game).

So, I tried reading Fairy Tail volume one and let me start with this one word: MEH!

Quite mediocre if you ask me. I haven't read all of Rave Master (only two volumes), but out of what I read, I actually like it. Don't get me wrong, I don't think Hiro Mashima is a bad manga artist or writer, but something about Fairy Tail just feels... uninteresting.

The action is quite dull, the characters feel a bit unlikeable (especially the main hero), and despite the different settings, this actually does feel a bit One Piece-ish (though this isn't entirely a bad thing as One Piece is a damn good series). Not just by art styIe (which Hiro Mashima's art does confuse me with Eiichiro Oda's quite a bit of the time), but even some other moments like the character design in their clothes. Heck, even title looks pretty similar to One Piece. The only things different are the setting, which is the most interesting part, and story line, which is just boring, and this comes from a guy who likes Shonen action series.

Time I get back to reading more Full Metal Alchemist. I'm at volumes 8 and 9 now.

As you likely heard, the US Nintendo magazine, Nintendo Power is stopping publications after 24 years. Like most Nintendo fans, I was one of those readers.

It all started back in my elementary school years when I was in second grade. We made visits to the school library and a friend and I forgot our books to check in. Our teacher then told us to take a look at the magazines back there and what did we see, magazines dedicated to what we love, Nintendo games.

Really, all we ever did back in my elementary school years with Nintendo Power was look at the magazines and talked about what the games were about. Though in my 7th and 8th grade years in middle school, I started to check older issues from the school library, even during the weekend so I had an extended time frame as if you checked them out on Monday-Thursday, you had to turn them in on the next day. If you checked them out on Friday, you had until Monday (or whatever day you came back after certain days off, save for days when you were absent). In my 9th grade year in middle school, it was then where I got a subscription of my own as an early Christmas present from my parents and getting an issue with Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance on the cover. I was so excited on what the next issues were about and I was so happy to bring them to school to read in case there were times I needed something to keep me occupied when I had nothing else to do.

Though there came a time where my subscription was running out and I didn't renew it until a bit later in my 10th grade year in high school, I still read whatever issues I could through newsstands. When I did get a late renewal of the magazine, it wasn't until I had a problem with my Nintendo Wii console and when my dad was making the call to customer service to fix it under the warranty. They gave me a free six month subscription to them, which was nice.

When that subscription ran out, I didnt get anymore issues than I wanted too. But it still didnt stop me from reading and cherishing my older issues, even during my last years in high school where I read other things on the side like older issues of Shonen Jump and various novels I liked. Heck, I didnt even check out any more of the recent issues until summer of 2010 with the Sonic Colors issue and from what I got out of that, I still enjoyed it and wanted a new subscription, but never got a chance to do it.

Now will never be the time with them shutting down though, but I would so buy the last issue should I get the chance, which will be very hard for me being that right now I'm outside of my home country and where I'm at, they dont sell Nintendo Power here, but a UK equivalent called Nintendo Official Magazine, which I have a few of the older issues of, gotten for free at a recycling shop.

Thank you, Nintendo Power magazine for all the enjoyment youve given me over the years and thank you for the easy cure for the amount of boredom whenever I was in class, nothing to do and had you at my side. I will surely miss you.

Anyone remember when we swapped into a new comment system and our older blogs lost all the comments? Well, depending on how old the blog is, they seem to be coming back (please check out my Mario Kart: Double Dash + Zelda: Collector's Edition blog as an example).

Only one thing... who is DeborahSeely?

Yes, folks. After playing his recent, more traditional outing on Wii on the first playthrough, I will say it is that dang good, so much so it's become my favorite in the franchise.

Is it easy and simple? Well, simple yes and it can be easy in some places, but it does pack a few challenges. Besides, IT'S KIRBY, a franchise known for it's simplicity and was even the point of the game when Masahiro Sakurai first created the franchise.

The drop-in, drop-out co-op feature is a very welcome addition and it's also noce to give other Kirby characters (Waddle Dee, Meta Knight, and King Dedede) some playability too.

Not to mention, I'm seeing quite a bit of replay value with the challenge modes, mini-hames and when you beat the game:

If you love Kirby and perhaps platformers overall, go check it out. I highly recommend it.

8.5/10

Yep, finally beat the most controversial entry in the Metroid franchise.

Q: Is it a flawed game?

A: Yes. It can be quite frustrating with how one enemy is a bit unfair and will gang up on you, sometimes even while you're down. Not to mention the health system isn't that good with how the only way to heal is by concentration, which only works if you have no missles or are about to die. It makes it an even bigger pain when you can't get in a position to recharge when in battle and still getting a higher risk in getting hit.

Q: Did I end up liking it?

A: Yes. The story was okay to say the least, but to me, it answered questions on Samus' relationship with Adam Malkovich, not to mention the flaws I mentioned above weren't enough to deteriorate my fun.

Q: Would I recommend it?

A: Well, it's cheap now in some places (some as low as $10 US for NEW prices), so maybe if you're curious. The control scheme sounds odd at first and is understandable on why it turned a lot of folks off, but it isn't that bad.

All in all, a flawed, but entertaining game that isn't as bad as the Metroid fanbase is making it out to be.

7/10

So, you want to know what games I got on my 21st birthday (which was July 23 of last week)? Here they are:

Kirby's Adventure Wii (aka Return to Dreamland in North America)- Almost sounds like a remake of the NES platformer by that title. Ironically, on his 20th anniversary too. Should be fun in co-op with a team of Kirby, Meta Knight, King Dedede and Waddle Dee.

Sonic and SEGA All-Stars Racing (DS version)- I know the 360 version is the only version to have a guest star (Rare's Banjo and Kazooie), but meh. Though I did think that the DS version if it had a certain electric mouse as a guest star would have been kind of cool. Either way, having more kart racers on my DS alongside my favorite Mario Kart game (and more Sonic, with other SEGA characters like Virtua Fighter's Jacky Bryant and Shenmue's Ryo Hazuki) should give me a wild ride after my try with the demo sometime ago.

The Sims 3 (DS version)

So yeah, I can say with my three birthday games and the past five PS2 games I got this month (007: From Russia With Love, The Getaway, True Crime: Streets of LA, Red Faction II, and Devil May Cry), I have a DAMN good haul this month.

Translation: It's my 21st birthday. Dang, being 20 didn't feel that long. Now that I'm this age, I'm legally allowed to drink alcohol by US laws... but that won't happen anytime soon.

I'll go over my b-day gifts later, but on other matters.

New avatar: The Fullmetal Alchemist... and part time troll, Edward Elric.

So, after reading a few volumes and watching some episodes of Fullmetal Alchemist, I decided to swap my avatar to the eldest Elric brother, Edward. Even though the comments are still keeping Kitana.

Manga I'm reading

Speaking of Full Metal Alchemist, I'm almost done with volume four going into five. It's getting better each passing chapter.

As for other manga, I finished Shaman King volume two and Bleach volume three. One thing odd is that when I read Shaman King volume two, it contained a few chapters I read in an issue of Shonen Jump (the chapters where Yoh and Amidamaru fight Li Bailong and Tao Jun), and I noticed that they changed the mild swearing contained in the Shonen Jump magazine versions like "Go to hell!" is changed to "You wish!", and it's still recommended for the same T rated audience. That being said, it's still a good read.

Shows I watched

Flight of the Conchords season 2 finished (again). It's still one of my favorite TV shows, but I noticed that season 2 was a bit inconsistent compared to the first season. I also hated when one episode derailed Murray's character in regards to how he sees his friends (Bret, Jemaine, Greg) who have been there since season one. Though, the songs were still funny as heck, and with my favorites being "Too many D***s on the dance floor", "Carol Brown (Stick Around)", and "Friends" (despite coming from a derailing episode).

That's it so far, and I'll see ya around folks.

What's that crazy rumor? Well, it involves Nintendo and their former partners, Rare and a possibility of getting a few of their franchises.

Well, I try not to believe stuff like this as think this is a little to far-fetched, but still. This would be quite a shock if true. Banjo and Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts did NOT look the same as the cIassic Banjo games on N64 (which I still would like to pick up), heck, I can see Ninty using Perfect Dark a lot more since that went well for them before getting bit by two GameCube games intended for a similar audience.

As far-fetched as it sounds, I still do miss you, Rare. I had great fun with a lot of your games (Donkey Kong Country, Donkey Kong Land 2, Goldeneye 007, Perfect Dark, Star Fox Adventures) and there are still some of your stuff I've yet to get (Banjo Kazooie and Tooie, Killer Instinct SNES and Gold, Blast Corps, Diddy Kong Racing, and Jet Force Gemini as examples, the only thing Rare I couldn't care less about is Conker). But even your former workers even thing you're not the same anymore.

*Can't find PAL boxart of Devil May Cry as I got that version, but it's the same game anyway.

Yep, a few days ago, I got a recent addition to the PS2 collection with 007: From Russia With Love. Now it looks like two cops (LA's Nick Kang Wilson and London's Frank Carter), futuristic soldiers, and demon hunter Dante (Hideki Kamiya's version) is willing to join 007 on the fun.

I haven't started them yet, but man, I'm going to be busy and I haven't been this busy with PS2 since 2010 (when I got my NA PS2).