Lately I’ve been playing Chrono Trigger on my PSP Go.  It’s my portable game, which I am maintaining alongside Dark Souls, my console game.  Despite the years of progress in the industry between the two, they are not without their similarities.  The other day it dawned on me that there are certain familiar RPG moments and features that just make me feel good.

What’s Your Name?

With the influx of fully voice-acted titles, games that allow you to name your hero (let alone your entire party) are on the decline.  Some games worked hard to fit this in, such as Final Fantasy X — did you notice that despite full voice acting no one actually says “Tidus”?  Other games with silent protagonists can eek this out, but it’s clear the industry is moving away from voices that echo in our heads alone.

When presented with the option of choosing a character’s name there are several ways to proceed, each with their own benefits.

1. Simply select the pre-set name: This makes you feel good, like you’re playing the game the way you should.  The developers or writers clearly wanted you to do this, but were still kind enough to allow you an option.
2. Use your name: Oh yes, I had friends who did this.  Personally, I don’t like my name enough to force it upon any protagonist or character other than Roy from Fire Emblem, because well… that’s actually his name too.
3. Use a different name: For every playthrough of Final Fantasy VII, I have named Red XIII after my beloved house cat.  Said house cat happens to be named after a certain tiger from Calvin and Hobbes.  If you aren’t making the connection, then we can’t be friends, I’m afraid.  At this point, the thought of naming Red anything else on subsequent playthroughs is just ludicrous.  I also always name Vivi from Final Fantasy IX “Bob”.  Long story.
4. Use a herp derp name: We’ve all done it: ruined any seriousness a game might have simply by selecting silly names.  My first outlet for this desire was found with Pokémon Red.  You better believe my rival was not named “Gary”.

The King/Queen/Princess Want To Have You Over For Dinner

In RPGs the hierarchies of medieval Eastern Europe are a necessarily evil.  In some most games they bore me to tears — others, I can deal.  But there is one time when are they easiest to swallow (pun highly intended): when the man or woman at the top wants to host my party for dinner!

“300 Year War?  Oh yeah, it’s terrible.  Can you pass the chocobo wing?”

I may not get to eat it myself, but just watching my team being pampered makes me feel warm and relaxed.

My favorite instance of this occurs in Breath of Fire III.  In that game the silent protagonist is a young orphaned sprat adopted by a pair of thieves.  It’s tough times for the world of the game as food becomes very scarce.  Much later, after scrounging for food, taking odd jobs and the like, the party is rewarded with an epic meal that made my stomach growl.  Also, is it just me or does pixel-food look much more appetizing than HD-rendered-food?

Gearing Up

Is there any better feeling than finding a new weapon store and buying the best of everything for your party?  Or purchasing a stack of 99 potions for the long road ahead?  I really don’t think there is.  Well, finding a treasure chest off the beaten path is pretty awesome.  So is using some form of alchemy system to create new gear.  Oh, and we mustn’t forget stealing a weapon from an enemy.

While this euphoria is easy enough to provide to a player, a lot of games get in their own way by adding unnecessary depth to what should be a simple and enjoyable system.  It is perhaps the old school games who, with limited resources, best hone in on cultivating this satisfaction.

Hurt Me More

Advancing in the main story of a game is all well and good.  Enemies increase in difficulty slightly and the player is expected to keep up.  But some games offer a sabbatical from the straight and narrow in the form of an optional boss or dungeon.  One that in all likelihood will obliterate players on their first attempt, making it abundantly clear that the ceiling for your characters is far from having been reached.

I remember fondly facing off against Ruby Weapon in Final Fantasy VII.  I always made sure to go into battle with two dead party members, otherwise Ruby would remove them from battle.  Dragging two corpses into the fray made him stick his appendages in the sand so he couldn’t remove anyone.  I also came equipped with the Phoenix summon materia, naturally linked with Final Attack, which not only does damage but revives fallen allies.  Round that out with Knight of the Round, W-Summon (on a different summon, you can’t put it on KOTR, DUH) and Mime and you’ve got a strategy.  Speaking of which, there are oodles of them on how to take this guy out.

Click here to view the embedded video.

It always feels like an amazing accomplishment when you amass the strength to defeat one of these bosses, although the game suddenly feels void of a challenge as well.  Still, it’s better than a game that never offered an extra challenge.

To The Lions

There is a certain excitement that comes with an arena or colosseum scenario in an RPG.  Sure it’s a battle, but when it’s in an arena it becomes an event.  There are two ways the arena scenario is used.  The most common seems to be as a story device: the party learns there is a competition going on and decide to join for some reason.  In Legend of Dragoon, for instance, the player meets one of the most integral story characters by competing in an arena.  I remember mopping the floor with the foes leading up to him.  Even though I was alone, it felt as though what I was doing was really being watched by a mass of people to the sound of thunderous applause.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The other purpose for an arena is as an optional event allowing the player to test their strength against increasingly difficult enemies.  This we’ve seen in games which seek to really challenge players such as Final Fantasy X and Resonance of Fate.  Arena battles really provides a sense of excitement different from a standard battle of even a boss battle.

Conclusions

Naturally every RPG shouldn’t have all of these features or scenarios — that would just bring the genre even closer to stagnation.  But if games don’t have these specific elements, developers should still strive to create the same feelings for the player that these features evoke.  I want to be able to customize something.  I want to imagine a contrast of having nothing and then experience the highs and lows of the game’s world.  I want the simple joy of finding new weapons and armor.  I want to know that a challenge is waiting for me outside of the main story.  I want to experience a thrill that is accented by my environment.  These feelings are what inspire me to play games.

I love video games.  At times, I think I may love them too much.  Staying up later than I should, being exhausted at work, ignoring those around me, etc.  If you experience any of these signs, maybe you, too, need to take a step back and make sure you’re still aware of reality.

Whenever I realize my error in becoming too engrossed in a game, I remember a parable from my college days.  It’s the Buddhist parable of the burning house.  You can read the whole thing if you want, but I will summarize:

The house of a rich man spontaneously caught fire.  The man quickly ran out of the house, but realized his children remained inside, engrossed in their games.  Realizing this, the man shouted to them, “There is a cart of great treasure out here, so come out and you can totally have it!”

“Oh, sweet, Dad.  Here we come!”  And they left the house to find a banging cart all filled with awesome stuff like white bull bullocks and shit.  But most importantly: they left the house safely.

Now there are different interpretations on the meaning of this parable, but I will only bore you with one: we are all in that burning house right now, and the teachings of Buddha seek to get us out before that shit collapses.  Now I am not suggesting that you should become a follower of Esoteric, Mahayana, or God forbid Soka Gakkai Buddhism, but I think this parable has a very real application when aligned with the issue of loving your games a little too much.

Let’s break this down by element to make it easier to understand.

The Children

So we gamers are the children.  We are totally engrossed in something, unaware of the negative impact it may be having on us, or will be having on us very soon.

The Games

You’re joking, right?

The Burning House

Yea, that is the negative impact — the looming danger.  It could be deadlines that won’t be met, goals that will never be achieved, or hours that will never be slept.  Naturally, in our state of engrossment, we are oblivious to this.

The Cart

This represents all the things that you alone are stopping yourself from achieving.  Do I sound like a fucking infomercial or what right now?  Hell, there may be things you haven’t even thought of on this cart, like becoming the new voice actor for the Aflac duck.  Basically these are things that are better than the things you think you are enjoying.

The Father

This is a tough one, but try to follow me.  The father represents anyone on the outside, looking at your hunkered mass and shaking their head.  Odds are they have reached out to you, but you totally couldn’t hang out because your Linkshell made plans to hunt a hyper notorious monster.  If you get that reference, then it may already be too late for you… just kidding!  It’s never too late.

So what can you do?

• Create something. Something you could look at and say, “Damn, I made that.”  I don’t care if it’s a blog post pointing out everything wrong with what I am saying right now, or if it’s a boat in a fucking bottle.  Maybe you’ll find you enjoy making boats in bottles more than gaming, maybe you’ll get a job putting boats in bottles.  Maybe you’re the best person in the whole world at putting boats in bottles.
• Learn something new.  Find something you know absolutely nothing about, and learn all you can.  With the Internet, you would be amazed at how quickly you can be a relative pro on just about any topic.
• Exercise. I am not gonna claim for a second that all gamers are out of shape, because that’s a dick thing to say.  But odds are good that you could use more exercise — just about all of us can (with the exception of The Situation, cuz his abs be off da chain, see below).  Exercise is also a great way to have some…
• …Quiet time. When is the last time you went for a walk?  How long can you go without whipping our your phone and checking texts, tweets, or your state-of-the-art fax machine?  When things are quiet, you may just start thinking for yourself, and you may just learn a thing or two about what you really want.

So there you have it: how to escape the burning house.  You may be wondering why I am suddenly talking about deep shit like this, and not blabbering about some game like I ought to.  The truth is, I’m not entirely sure.  Sometimes I feel like I am only a consumer; someone who perpetuates and hypes consumption.  I don’t want that to be what my blog is entirely about, so expect some more thought-provoking shit like this in the future!  Now get out there and do something: there is a whole world of white bullocks out there for you to experience.

Related Entries:

Let’s Get Serious: Depicting War in Video Games: East Vs. West
Thank You, Japan

Click here to view the embedded video.

At work the other day my desire to spend more time with Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood brought me somewhere I generally fear to tread: Facebook.  I hate Facebook, but after seeing the above trailer I figured Project Legacy wouldn’t be a bad way to burn some time while trying to look busy.

The game uses a simple AP driven gathering system.  Basically you execute certain missions a number of times which increases your “sync” and earns EXP and florins.  Executing a mission consumes a set amount of AP, which regenerates slowly: 1 point per two real-time minutes.  You can get some random rewards from certain missions, such as units, gifts, and crafting materials — all of which may be required for other missions.  If this sounds familiar, that’s because it’s the basic Mafia Wars formula.

You assume the role of a person recruited by Abstergo, a.k.a. the Templars, to relive your ancestors’ lives — basically what Desmond went through in the first title.  The memories you will experience round out the world of Assassin’s Creed, showing you the French front, Rome, and other parts of history tied to the main story.

You have four stats:

• Conflict: your physical strength, increases max AP
• Shadow: sleight of hand, increases your chance of receiving bonus items
• Intrigue: usury, increases the florins you earn after a mission
• Knowledge: diligence, allows you to craft a certain number of items at once

Each time you level up or complete a memory sequence you are given the opportunity to boost these stats.

You can also participate in skirmishes with other players and bug your friends to play — one of the reasons I hate Facebook, but hey, it is a feature.  You can also earn a number of achievements to show off to others.

Project Legacy seems like a rather ordinary Facebook game, so why am I addicted?  Well, the main draw for me is that hard work put into the game earns rewards in Brotherhood.  For instance, by syncing up the two games via UPlay I can train my rookie assassins, making it easier to send them off on missions when I get a chance to play Brotherhood. I also earn some bonus florins to boot.  As the above video points out, Roman landmarks are also linked between the two games, allowing you to get your ducks in a row in order to earn a bunch of florins in either game.

Training my rookie assassins

Getting Started

The process of linking Project Legacy and Facebook to UPlay, and then to your Brotherhood save file is not exactly user friendly, so for those of you who are interested here is the process I went through:

1. Complete memory sequence 4 in Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood (optional, but a good idea)
2. Log into Facebook and begin playing Project Legacy
3. Once you complete the tutorial click on either “Contract” or “Training”
4. This should give you a popup allowing you to link your UPlay account to Facebook (if you do not already have a UPlay account, create one)
5. Start up Brotherhood, but after selecting the name of your account, press triangle on PS3, or Y on XBox 360, to sync your Brotherhood save file with your Project Legacy game — this will load your Brotherhood file on your console

Like I said: not exactly user friendly.  Each time you load up Brotherhood it’s a good idea to do it as described in step 5, so you will be continually syncing the two games.

Project Legacy is pretty a fun way to kill time once you learn how it works — hopefully my findings will help people avoid some of the frustration I experienced.  The story elements are not crucial to the understanding of Brotherhood, but do prove interesting at times.

Won’t you join me in the whimsical world of 18th century Italy, where we can both pretend to be working?

P.S. Here is a special promotional code to get you started: 7D05C12C

Today Bethesda revealed all eight companions you can recruit in Fallout: New Vegas.  That’s right — I turned my attention to something NOT Tokyo Game Show related!  That is a luxury I doubt I will be afforded much longer!

I was interested to learn that just by having a certain companion, the main character can enjoy unique perks. As with the last game, the player can have one human ally and one non-human ally.  I am already starting to think of some good combinations!

Read on if you want to meet the team and check out their perks.

First, the humanoids, which of course includes ghouls and super mutants:

• Arcade Israel Gannon AKA “Arcade”
• Perk: Better Healing – While Arcade is a companion, the player regains more health from all sources.
• Description: Arcade is highly ethical and moral, but he understands the post apocalyptic world is one in which sometimes, people just have to be shot in the head. Most of Arcade’s concerns about the world around him have to do with large-scale issues rather than the needs of individuals. While he appreciates what individual people go through, he firmly believes that it’s more important to affect large-scale societal change than fix problems little by little.

• Craig Boone AKA “Boone”
• Perk: Spotter – While Boone is a companion, hostile targets are highlighted whenever the player is actively aiming.
• Description: Boone is a town guard and former NCR sharpshooter, bitterly whittling away the hours until he can find out who’s responsible for his wife’s death — and kill them. Hardened and psychologically troubled from his time in the NCR military, Boone vacillates between being a stone-cold killer and a decent human being. Venturing out from the relative safety of Novac brings Boone into close contact with his old life until he is forced to deal with the tragic events that caused him to leave the military.

• Rose of Sharon Cassidy AKA “Cass”
• Perk: Whiskey Rose – While Cass is a companion, she and the player gain Damage Threshold when they drink Whiskey. Additionally, the player does not suffer intelligence loss from consuming alcohol and ignores the negative effects of alcohol addiction.
• Description: Worn down by years of hard luck and a recent rash of terrible misfortunes, Cass is a despondent merchant who’s about to get out of the caravan business. She’s smart, tough, and steady with a gun, but she hasn’t been savvy enough to survive the ruthless caravan wars that have flared up in Nevada since NCR’s expansion. Though she’s quick to join up with the player for some easy money, she’s still interested in finding out if she’s been suffering from bad luck or something more sinister.

• Lillian Marie Bowen AKA “Lily”
• Perk: Stealth Girl – While Lily is a companion, the duration of Stealth Boys is increased by 200% and all Sneak Attack Critical Hits do an additional 10% damage.
• Description: Though she now lives a peaceful life tending to Bighorners in the community of Jacobstown, Lily was once a Nightkin in The Master’s army. Before that, she was an elderly grandmother enjoying a simple life in Vault 17. Heavily medicated, Lily struggles with her dangerous schizophrenia and distant memories of her old life.

• Raul Alfonso Tejada AKA “Raul”
• Perk: Regular Maintenance – While Raul is a companion, the Condition of weapons and armor decays 50% slower.
• Description: Raul is an old Mexican ghoul who has had a long and storied history. After living the life of a wild gunslinger, Raul took up the trade of a simple repairman in Nevada. While traveling to New Vegas, he was swiped by Nightkin from Black Mountain and imprisoned by their leader, Tabitha. After being freed from captivity, he will join the player out of gratitude. A new taste of adventure reminds Raul of his tumultuous past, prompting him to consider if he should embrace his old gunslinging ways.

• Veronica Renata Santangelo AKA “Veronica”
• Perk: Scribe Assistant – while Veronica is a companion, the player can craft Workbench items through Veronica’s dialogue.
• Description: Veronica is a Brotherhood of Steel journeyman scribe who has been indefinitely assigned to the role of “procurement specialist”, responsible for venturing out of the Brotherhood bunker to find and acquire resources that the Brotherhood cannot create on its own. Irritated by what she sees as the Brotherhood’s unrealistic and uninformed views of themselves and the world, Veronica is a perpetual outsider caught between her loyalty to the Brotherhood and troubling doubts about the validity of their current course.

And let’s not forget the non-human companions, every bit as important and just as much as asset to any wasteland wanderer:

• Eyebot (Duraframe) – Subject E AKA “ED-E”
• Perk: Enhanced Sensors – while ED-E is a companion, the player can detect enemies at an increased range. Additionally, enemies will appear on the player’s compass and can be targeted in V.A.T.S. even when cloaked.
• Description: Unlike standard eyebots, ED-E is a highly customized “duraframe” model with hardened armor and specialized weapons. It was an eyebot on an incredible journey, carrying an enormous amount of valuable data when it was badly damaged and taken in by a Primm shop owner. Though ED-E still retains all of its data and an understanding of its mission, its internal positioning hardware is badly damaged. The only reason it has not been seized by interested parties is because ED-E has not communicated its special mission to anyone.

• Cyber-Hound Mk. III, LEO Support Model, Serial Number B955883 AKA “Rex”
• Perk: Search and Mark – While Rex is a companion, unequipped chems, firearms, and ammunition within a short distance are highlighted when you zoom the camera.
• Description: Rex is a cybernetic dog that has been around since pre-war times. He was used by the Denver Police Department and Caesar’s Legion before being mostly blown up during the Battle of Hoover Dam. Since then, he’s been the loyal pet of The King of The Kings in Freeside. Capable of sniffing out loot and taking a large amount of punishment, he only has one (big) problem: his brain is starting to deteriorate.

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It’s nice to see the series’ trademark humor in these colorful allies.  The textures are also looking to be improved over the last game which is nice to see.

The first awesome combo that comes to mind is Lily and ED-E for a sneak character.  You could see enemies coming early and depending on the situation, boot up an improved sneak boy or just snipe from afar for increased damage.  Another good combo is Veronica and Rex: find materials with Rex and use Veronica to combine on the fly.  With just over a month before its release I am already appreciating the depth in battle that New Vegas has to show us.

A new promotional movie for Persona 3 Portable became available on the game’s main website.  It is nearly identical to the last promotional movie with the exception of a comical voice-over by both Elizabeth and Theodore.  Theodore you may recall is the new, male host for the velvet room.  Judging by the back and forth between the two, he seems to be somewhat of a pushover, but that could just be in contrast to Elizabeth’s aggressive sarcasm.  I was gonna labor over  a translation, but just don’t have the mental concentration while at work, so here is a translation via. Xcomp:

E: A~TLUS!!
T: Sis, didn’t you overdo it?
E: Teo, it’s already started.
T: Oh, do excuse me.
E: Greetings. It’s nice to meet you all again. This is Elizabeth. Finally, I can introduce the new game without my master’s presence. Lets get started about what’s instore-
T: Sorry, sis. I have yet to give my introduction. This is all voice only so I must insist-
E: And this my not really worthy, silly little brother, Theodore. There you go.
T: What kind of introduction is that!
E: Teo, we have guests before us!
T: Err…
E: Now where were we again? Oh yes, we’ve watched this many times over but, it’s still such wonderful a Persona summoning.
T: It is. But sis, shouldn’t we explain about Velvet Room…
E: Well… Lets talk about how long our Master’s nose is.
T: Why that!
E: Shhh! Quiet! It’s one of those battles that load extremely fast.
T: Wow… Then these are the everyday life scenes. Improvements made to give it a more pleasant gaming experience as well.
E: The PSP is a handheld console so to make it more convenient, we have customised it a lot.
T: Cust… Customize?
E: It means kid.
T: I- I know that! Hahaha…
E: And from this version, we have two kind of visitors.
T: There will naturally be some differences enjoying your youth as a male or female.
E: I will turn male.
T: No you won’t.
E: And Teo will turn female.
T: No. What kind of change is that…
E: Then our Master will turn…
T: Please STOP.
E: This portable version is jam packed with features. Truly it must be worth your money.
T: Why are you suddenly putting on a Jika-net imitation…? Come on, it’s almost over.
E: Well Teo, we should take this seriously until we finish.
T: That’s my line!
E: I will permit you to say the title. Right, 3-2-1 go!
T: *Stumbling* Persona 3 Portable goes on sale November 1 2009.
E: *Sigh* And we were at the most interesting part too.

_source

It’s always refreshing to have some smart humor in your game advertising.  This reminds me a bit of the commercials for Hero 30, which I guess is now known as Half-Minute Hero (see related entries) in the West.  Thanks for giving us all a good chuckle on this Monday morning Atlus!

Related Entries:
Hero 30: Talk-Variety
Hero 30: Talk-Variety Part 2
Hero 30: Talk-Variety Part 3

Chunsoft has revealed key information regarding the 4th installment of their iconic rogue-like series Furai no Shiren.  The newest title, which translates to roughly Shiren the Wanderer 4: God’s Eye and the Devil’s Navel, is for Nintendo DS.  Once again the player assumes the role of adventurer Shiren joined by his lovable talking weasel Koppa.

The duo set off by boat in hopes of exploring a distant desert when a great storm suddenly shipwrecks them.  They wash up ashore a mysterious southern island known as Koh Tang.  By chance they come across the island’s inhabitants who mistakenly take Shiren to be a demon.  Shiren and Koppa are quickly tied to a stake to be burned alive.  At the last moment the game’s heroine, Kamina, steps forward and stops the angry mob from making a terrible mistake.  Shiren and Koppa may be saved, but the mob decides to imprison Kamina believing that she may be conspiring with demons.  A jaguar-headed Shinto priest approaches Shiren and informs him that by acquiring a legendary treasure known as the “Jaguar’s Eye” Kamina may be saved.  Thus the journey begins.

The 4th installment to the Furai no Shiren series is receiving a number of new systems to keep the roguelike game fresh and innovative.  Here are the new systems and what the player can expect:

	DAY & NIGHT: It’s now possible to enter a dungeon during the day and have night fall as you progress.  During the night, Shiren is basically blind unless he has one of a number of tools to light his way.  Different enemies also come out during different times of the day. It’s possible for a dungeon to take several game-days to clear.
	TERRAIN FEATURES: A number of traps, gates, and other mechanisms can both be used to Shiren’s advantage or inconvenience unaware players.
	MONSTER AURA: Some monsters will have a fiery aura around them.  Depending on the color of the aura, a certain ability will be enhanced for that monster.  The player will need to become familiar with the different aura colors to know what monsters to avoid and which ones to attack.
	TECHNIQUES: A new system allows for Shiren to use various techniques which are capable of dealing damage to a large area.  At the moment details are scarce as to how this system works, but more will be revealed by Chunsoft soon.

I really like the new art style used for Shiren the Wanderer 4.  It definitely contrasts the traditional feudal era Japanese aesthetic of past games with a more southern island/tropical feeling.  I am nostalgically reminded of Okinawa…  The game’s official Japanese website can be found here.

Atlus’ upcoming localization of Shiren the Wanderer 3 for the Wii makes me pretty confident that we’ll be seeing this game in the West in year or so.  I really think Shiren is probably the most polished and innovative rogue-like series out there, so I am definitely excited to play this game.

Related Entries:
Furai no Shiren 3: The Sleeping Beauty of the Trick Mansion for Nintendo Wii
Furai No Shiren 3 Update
Furai No Shiren 3 New Feature: Dragon Pulse

I sure wish I had this guide a few weeks ago when I was working my way through Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha Vs. King Abadadon.  As you may have read in my review, I really love the game, but trying to figure out where you’re supposed to go isn’t always easy.  Included in Doublejump’s e-guide (electronic guide) is the following:

• Event scenario list
• Maps for every level
• Strategies for all bosses

The first list is the one that strikes me as the most convenient.  Here is a sample of the event scenario list for the first chapter of the game, which I was able to find in the sample given on Doublejump’s site:

Sorry if that is a bit difficult to read, but as you can see this section is pretty cut and dry.  I think the simplicity of it is helpful and really all you would need.  This information is available for all seven chapters in the game and this guide is on sale for $5.99 at DoubleJump’s site.  In my opinion this is a great price considering it is more than enough to thoroughly beat the game.

At first I was a bit weary of DoubleJump’s transition to e-books, but I think as long as all the info is there and the price is right I don’t mind.  I think I may feel different depending on the game though…  If they decide to not make a physical guide for the next Disgaea (or Disgaea-ish game) then I will have some issues.

Still, I highly recommend this guide to anyone who is just starting Devil Summoner 2, or anyone who is too hard up on time to really sleuth their way through it.

Related Entries:
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha Vs. King Abaddon Review

In an attempt to make some money and get rid of some junk for the eventual move to California, Foxes and I have started selling stuff on eBay.  Last night I gathered a bunch of my movies and games and we put them all up for auction starting at .99 cents with free shipping.

Here are some of the games you guys may be interested in (if you don’t already own them):

• The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Game of the Year Edition)
• Assassin’s Creed (Playstation 3)
• Tekken 5
• Disgaea DS
• Final Fantasy III (Nintendo DS)
• Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift

Anyone who reads my blog will get a random goodie if they win!  Just e-mail me or put “kotowari.org” in the comments section of your pay-pal payment.  Happy bidding!

	Phantom Brave Walnut, your love of cheap wine and stubborn persona are an inspiration to us all.  Kudos to NIS America for not changing the wine into Putty-juice or some other bullshit.
	Okami You showed us the immense power of sake.  With it, one could become stronger or simply a washed up hack.  Playing this game really made me want sake, but don’t tell the ESRB that.
	Fallout 3 This game proved that come the end of the world, you’ll still be able to get your drink on.  And you have your option of what you would like to drink: vodka, whiskey or beer.  Again, booze gives a stat boost, but with the possibility of addiction.  Just like in real life!
	Patapon While it may have gone under the ESRB’s radar, it was quite clear that these little guys got completely tore up after a victory.  I sure wish I could have joined them…  Pata-pata-pata-pon
	Persona 4 High school students are not supposed to drink, and I am not really if they did or not.  Either way the scene at Club Escapade was hilarious.  People I wanna party with: Rise, Doujima and Chie.

Maybe next St. Patrick’s day I will do a list of games which had alcohol references altered so they now make no sense.  Like the “cider” in Final Fantasy VI/III…

Everyone, please have a safe and happy St. Patricks day.  Also, while you are drunkenly celebrating, take a moment to toast some of your favorite games.

Our hard-working maintenance person Foxes recently launched a personal project that has been in the works for a while now.  The site is called iChamploo, named after an Okinawan delicacy of the same name.  iChamploo is a community blog for mixed-Asians where several individuals contribute articles across multiple categories.  The articles pertain to the unique experiences of the authors who are all of mixed-Asian descent.

Currently there are only a few authors including Foxes and Sophie, a frequent commenter here at Kotowari.org.  I anticipate great things for the site and encourage everyone to check it out and read a few articles.  If you know any mixed-Asians who you think may be interested in writing articles, or just reading some, let them know!

My personal recommendation is a recent article involving a bunch of confused Japanese diners and a conveyor belt.  Congrats to Foxes on the launch of the site!  I just hope you’ll still be helping out here at Kotowari, it would fall apart without you!