Today was the day of the concert. Oh boy oh boy was its good. It was a lot better than I was expecting. The pieces I didn't know seemed familiar, and the nostalga from seeing all the old game I grew up with made it just that much more special. The music was amazing. Though, they did focus on VIII to much. It had some great music but you gotta spread the love around. SPeaking of love they played Theme of Love (IV) which was my favorite piece they played. It was just so calming relaxing, it brings a tear to your eye. It ran about 2 hours long with one great song after another. The cool thing was that Nobou Umatsu (SP) the composer for the Final Fantasy series was there. So we got to see him, he said some words. It was really cool and made it even more unique to have them there. I loved it and hope the San Fransico Symphony does it again. Now all I need to do is see Motio Sakuraba. I love a concert dedicated to Tri-Ace games haha (won't happen) but I can dream.

ps

We had third row seats. Right along the aisle. We could see everything. Amazing seats. Just right there. Got me an album and a program. oh so worth it

Now bear with me as these are rough drafts. Please point out a few as I am sure there will be many grammatical errors if you find any thanks :)

Star Ocean The Last Hope is the fifth(or fourth depends on who you talk to) installment of the Star Ocean series. You follow the protaganist Edge Maverick and Reimi Sayongi through a tale into the stars. While the game looks, play and feels great, it does have some short comings.

Tri-Ace are the masters of battle systems for RPG but all that effort seems to get dropped when it comes to story telling. While their stories aren't horrid, the awkward dialouge, and movements of the characters make the story seem a lot worse than it is. While the story has a different way of being told, through a series of small segments on different planets, it ultimately never gets out of generic. It does keep you interested and is enough to keep you driving forward to find out whats next. Though at the conclusion of this tale you are left dry.

Some say an RPG is only as good as its cast. While the cast certainly isn't bad in their own right, its mainly the voice acting that will drive some insane. Wethers its the monotone Lym, or the overly stupid, high pitched, monotono Sarah; some characters go from silly to down right grating. IF you can handle a few characters with bad voices and bad dialouge you can find a few gems in this cast. Of course Edge and Reimi's characters steal the show. Reimi got the best dialouge and probably the best voice actor too. Her character really shines. Combined with some touching moments with Edge these two really steal the show. Though, some honorable mentions go to Meracle, Arumat, and Myuria. The cast has about a 50/50 split between serious dialouge and silly dialouge. Tri-Ace seems to be putting a lot more humour in their games. While it eases tension it can be distracting. They did a good job of developing each character and you can notice a distinct change in each one. They all stay in story so no one is left behind.

The battle system is the key point of the game. Its fluid, looks pretty and keeps you on your toes. The new mechanics of blind side and fury really change the game dynamic. Allow me to elaborate. The blind side mechanic, involves charging up your character and moving the stick before the enemy attacks, allow you to get behind the enemy and score in some crits. While fury after you taking enough damage or dealing enough you can engage fury, which increases speed, crit rate and you can't get knock over. The battles have four involved characters and stay as hectic as ever. Though the game suffers from a lack of concrete targeting system. It would vastly improve the combat if I could manually select who my character fights. Its just a minor problem. Every character can have a variety of skills assigned which makes for some cool combos and a lot of trial and error to see which ones work together the best to get max damage potienal.

The graphics are wonderul the character models are great Each character is wonderfully detailed. The enviroments can be rather big and its easy to get lost but they give a full map of each dungeon so its easy to keep track of where you are going. There is a lot of use of the bloom effect, it seemed really bright at first but now other games seem dull to me haha. Each map is very distguished and you don't see much repitition in the game. Making each city, cavern, seem new and exciting. Sakuraba has put together a wonderful soundtrack, with lots of fan service and you will hear both new and old. Fans of the old music will delight in some of the remixes and rejoice with some of the new works as he really has done a good job with this cd.

In the end Star Ocean: The Last Hope is a great RPG. Though, it is lacking in the story department it will keep you entertained through out the end of the game. Even more as the bonus dungeons keep it going. If Tri-Ace could get some better writers Star Ocean would have been at the top of the class for xbox RPGs. I still have it near the top, but its not as good as it could have been

8-8.5

Valkyria Chronicles

Valkyria Chronicles is a breath of fresh air in a stagnant genre, the question remains if it is enough to revive it? The story takes place in a fictional Europe, which seems to be around a WWII setting. You are a young student who traveling to the capital for refuge from the Empire who is invading the neutral country of Gallia. He is met by a girl named Alicia who is part of the Militia of their home town who suspects him of being a spy for the Empire. From there the story unfolds in a great drama, full of twists, sorrow, joy, and a bonds that cannot be broken.

The story is very deep. It seeks to ask to some serious questions about history. Who writes history, can we believe it. Is it merely the victor telling a tale that makes them look like heros while disgracing the enemy? The story will make you think. The story is very engaging and will be a driving force for this game as you try to see what will happen to Welkin and the his squad. As you uncover the secrets of the Valkyria, it is a tale for the ages. The story is going to revolve around a few characters in your squad, Welkin, Alicia, Welkins Sister, Rosie and Largo. Who are they? You'll find out. You will have 20 characters in your squad and about 50 to choose from. They aren't part of the story. Thats not the say they aren't developed as you play through journal entries will open up saying why they joined the war and who they are before. It makes you feel more attached to the characters. Other than having a 50 person cast you get a few very developed people and some that you just get to know as you use.

The art style in this game is fantastic, the shading looks like it was all done in pencil and the character designs are all realistic yet distinguished. You feel like they are a real squad. Playing the game just for the art wouldn't be a bad idea either. I loved watching the word "vroom" come out of my tanks engine as I drove around, it just gave you a good feeling. The hand drawn feel makes you feel like you are in a story book. The game is full of bright beautiful landscapes. A great change of pace from the usual dark colors. The art style is new and refreshing and some of the best around. While the music is enjoyable it could have been a bit more dramatic. For a war story it often seemed to cheery, though in its own right its still great. It has some wonderfully somber pieces like presented here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVlED9AMSCM

The music is dynamic

Story and art are just icing on the cake, the gameplay is the real kicker. There are 5 unit types, scout, storm, lancer, engineer and sniper. Each one has distinct characteristics. Scouts have the most movement and most vision, meaning they can spot hidden enemies better and find enemies at a distance. They have a weak 5 bullet rifle but it gets the job done. Storms have a limited movement, but more health defense, and a fully automatic rifle of 20 bullets. Lancers will be your anti tank units. Engineers can restore sand bags, disarm mines, and re arm your troops. Snipers are snipers. So the movement is free you aren't restricted by a grid. Hey if you want to shoot then move no problem you can do that. It really changes the dynamic of finding out where you need to be to get best attack positioning then where to go to be defensive. Of course you have to be careful, the enemy isn't going to stand around while you position they are going to fire back, you gotta move quick, stay out of sight and flank. The game has open ended maps which allow for endless stratdegies. Some other unique features of the game is the retreat mechanic. This sends one unit off the battle field to avoid death or you can use it and then resummon them at a forward base. Allows you to keep snipers in prime positioning.

Combat, at any moment you can hit r1 this will intiate aiming. Enemies will cease fire and you will be given an infinte time period to aim. there is a circle that shows bullet spread so you have to take account that. At the top of the screen it will say how many shots to kill. Head shots are critical damage so you always want to aim for this. But you have to take into account its a smaller target. Also sand bags negate headshots so it might be better to destory the sandbags with a grenade. You will always be thinking about the best possible route to dispatch enemies. Or you might try and find the best route to avoid enemies. Its up to you. Of course that point you have to think about bonuses. Some the girls fight better with men or get increased defense. Or some fight worse when they are alone. Some can get a reduce damage bonus when charging into fire. You have a lot to take into account so plan carefully.

The game doesn't operate off of a every unit gets to move once mechanic either. You are giving Action points. Usually 10 each round. Its up to you use these as you see fit. You can build a strat around 4 units as you can use as many action points as you want on a unit but there movement is reduced each time. Using multiple AP on a unit is great for getting to the weak points of tanks with your lancers. YOu can also call out orders like retreat, increase offense, increase defense, heal, artillery. If you have all your units in a position you like you and you have remaining AP no worries it will carry over ot the next round. Amazing. The gameplay will test your abilities as a commander, and you won't feel like luck is involved. The AI is decent, though it does have an occosional lapse. It wasn't anything I found to be abnormal.

Valkyria Chronicles in a revolution in TBS. Its the best in its genre. A piece that has brought so many changes from gameplay to art. This game shows creativity has not died, and that great stories have yet to be told. It captures your heart and you feel part of the squad and you mourn the death of a squad mate if they fall on the field. The music will move you, the characters will form a bond with you. The story will bring you tears. If this game can' t revive TBS then nothing will. This game must no be missed by fans the genre

9.5

Everything is on a 10 point scale!

Hope you guys enjoyed.

I am tired I am gonna write more on star ocean. But I had more time to write VAlkyria Chronicles.

Well things have been going less than smoothly. Work is becoming a chore, I no longer find joy in my volenteering. To be honest there isn't much I find joy in. Though, I suppose I am just anxious for school to start. Although, I am taking solice in the fact that I got in. Everyone tells me "You are so lucky you got in" and I am I know it. But it wasn't how imagined it. I wanted to feel like I earned it. Not the fact that I just lucky and got in. In personal anguish i started to resent getting in. I had no merit to be accepted. I just was in because I am luckier than the next person. I talked to my cousin about it and she said prove it to yourself you belong and be the best you can be at school. THat hit me. Through all my pondering and thinking this idea never came to me. So I feel better about that

I have been getting a lot of pressure to try online dating or just date in general. While the idea still doesn't excite me its getting rather grating to be told try online dating. I don't feel like dating at all. The concept just doesn't stike me as particular enjoyable anymore. I actually hate the process, and the fact that I haven't found someone that tickles my fancy yet. Or the fact that I still miss my ex. Who knows. There is a lot to it, but I am gonna be honest, no girl has interested me in the past year and a half but two, one rejected me. The other was taken. So I guess I have tried but to no avail. That makes me feel better thinking about it.

Today was Star Ocean: The Last Hope day. Yeah, it was a good day. I beat the first bonus dungeon. I rocked Gabriel Celeste. With that, I also got a ulti weapon and armor for meracle. W00t. I got the philosphers stone so I can dup that and make even better equipment. Yeah, star ocean is going just swell for me. I'll have that review with Valkyria Chronicles posted up soon. Check back next week if you want to see it.

I played Blazblue today great game going to pick it up, they did the game play right but that isn't what this is about. Its about how they made all the first release copies Limited Edition. So people who want to early on get rewarded. Hey whats that rewarding your fanbase instead of making them pay more. WTF kind of concept is this. I am gonna go order blazblue right now :)

Got my CPR training done. So I am ready for nursing school. It was pretty easy and only 3 hours long. So thats good. I am pretty excited now.

Everyone seems to be coming to be with relationship stuff. and its only making me think of Kirsten. Which is a bummer. I got volenteering today. SO I wonder if I will see her mom. I am kind of hoping to. Yeah, I am pretty bummed out about that right now. I have been acting out in ways I don't like so it ids making me feel bleh but I donno how to stop it. Eh I'll work through it. Right?

Alright, first off I finished Valkyria Chronicles. Quickly, efficiently and I loved every bit of it. It was great art style, lovely story nothing amazing but cute and made you feel for the people of Gallia with a few life lessons thrown in. Anyways, a great TBS. Punishing yet forgiving. A good stratedgy will always win out. And the battle seem somewhat believable. your 10 mean against 15 or so of theres. The game adds a lot of depth and by the end you feel attached to your squad. Anyways I don't much to say as its not a full review that will come later. The game was awesome.

Me and a buddy or looking for tickets for FF Distant Worlds. Very excited for that.

I got in my last poster today. Star Ocean Second Evoluton poster, and my SFIV Sakura cloth. Both look awesome and are wonderful addition. I will post pics of my room with my review of Valkyria Chronicles.

Today has been rather nice, and on the plus side its ony 4 o clock. So I got plenty to do still. The day started off with a simple wake up at 10 but I opted to not get out until 12. There is just something about being in the half awake state where I drift in and out of my thoughts never being able to distinguish if its reality or just me. So i had that, upon getting up I followed my usual routine. Keep in mind it is now 1 o clock. Spending a bit of time online and listening to some music I deceided to get sushi. Grabbing a book, All the Shah's Men, I headed down to a sushi place order a roll becasue its cheaper. Had a very relaxed meal, and read. It was great atmosphere, though some annoying kids were there with their parents it wasn't to over bearing. Getting home and turning on some more music I laid down and just listened. SOmething I haven't done in awhile with my music. So it was nice just to slow things down today.

Yesterday was busy I got my schedule for nursing, and man it was cheap. 240 dollars for classes. THough books will be expensive. I see it as a thousand a semester approx, and thats on the high side. Leaving me in pretty good standing with all the money I have saved over the course of the year. I am a bit nervous about nursing and what to expect. I also have a problem facing my dreams, the problem is when I obtain the dream, what do I have to hope for. I must have something else to pull me towards the next day. I am currently finding out what that is.

Yes, I am basking in the glory of soundtrack after soundtrack and there is still so much more to purchase. I have am on a huge soundtrack binge and I am going to purchase everything that tickles my fancy. So far I have purchased

The Last Remnant (received)

I pre ordered Knights in the Nightmare just for the pre order bonus soundtrack. (received)

Star Ocean: The Last Hope (awaiting arrival)

Starting off with The Last Remnant (TLR for now on) TRL is just as majestic as I remeber the game being. A sense of calm composure ensues with the game. The city themes are majestic, ranging from crushed fortesses, epic kingdoms, to small towns, the game captures the heart of them perfect. My favorite is, A Crushed Fortress, which follows the kingdom of Ghor, as they are a Kingdom that is down trodden, almost crushed but the pride and willingness of people keep it going. As you first walk into the city and you hear the bells, and you see the scenary it just hits you. As you talk to the people you learn of there story, and the music picks up with a slight hint of hope and power. And it is just something else. The sound tracks battle songs are there I wish there were more because he makes some great battle music, it really gets you pumped.

Knights in the Nightmare (KitN) I haven't played the game but this soundtrack is wonderful, its very upbeat, something to workout to. Its orchestrated, with a great variation in the instrumentation. The sound track starts off with an slightly eerie pace and goes full blast with the next song and has not stopped. I am excited to explore this cd more. And much love for amazon for letting me get the pre order bonus when I pre ordered 4 days before release. I got the game just for the soundtrack. Riviera: The promised land is my second favorite and this is the third in the series so I figured I would go for it. Haha.

Star Ocean The Last Hope (SOTLH) Haven't received it yet but I love the in game music. Sakuraba has yet to let me down. Eagerly awaiting this one.

Pending Purchases

Valkyria Chronicles OST

Chrono Cross OST

Infinite Undiscovery OST

Funny story. Valkyria Chronicles has been the one game I have been dieing to play on the ps3. Well a friend asked me to watch his house get his mail what not while he went on a trip. I said hook me up with ps3, and he did, I snagged some blu ray movies from his collection and we went on our merry ways. I go into work and see Valkyria Chronicles for 20$ How could I pass up this opporunity. I bought and this has been the best stradegy game I have played. Its trumps Front Mission which I adore, I can't compare it to fm5 sadly. But it beats Fire Emblem. Its just unarrivaled stradegy.

I am in a good mood, and hey guess what. While writing this SOTLH has arrived haha.

Yeah I am off from college but not from work. And while I hate work, I hate it less because it is something to do. I am still excited for each day I am just ready to start my nursing program. I want to move forward and quit this job to be honest. I have just played games worked and hung out with friends. Its a good summer but eh I am ready to learn follow my passion. Ya know? These long summer nights have brought up a lot of past things that well. I tried asking Y out that ended with rejection. So there goes that. Haha, it was worth a shot right? Nothing ventured nothing gained. Things have been awkward but eh, we are gonna go see up on Saturday. So that will be nice, since we haven't hung out in a long time. I have been talking to Kirsten's mom about every week now. She is doing summer school, so she is still at college. It just gets me wondering. But then I try to squelch the curiosity with hate and its a bad cycle to be in. So I have been having to deal with that. Either way I would love to hear from her just to see whats up. So my thoughts have turned to romance with no one who is catching my interest or I have already been rejected by so its kind of bleh. haha

I contacted an old friend and that been going a long quite well. It seems we have been having many debates and discussion that is pushing me forward in research and my arugement abilities. So that has been good. Its been most enjoyable, he was always the analytical type and I think he was surprised to see me become that way to.

Yeah its been awhile, I just noticed my firefox has stopped working gamespot so I am using IE now at least for this post. Anyways, I have been super busy with work school and the massive amount of tenstion that has gone with not knowing if I will get into a program or not. I got in and omg I feel soo much better. I just want to go to bed but eh the night is still young so I will spend it writing this. School is winding down and I am left with one more final. Leaving my grades at 3 A's and a B . Not to bad. My spare time has been filled with work and SFIV. But of course there is more but not really. Haha.

I beat RE5 and it was an enjoyable experience. The co op was done nicely and it was a very fun game, but it was lacking replay I did a solo run through and a co op and felt like i had done everything it had to offer me. I am playing fear 2 which has been awesome far. I am really liking it. On another note, my old 360 got fixed up for free by microsoft and bam, I gave it to a friend that has 360 robbed, along with fear2 and SFIV , I am currently borrowing fear while he is out of town. Haha. So that has been cool.

Sakura, where to start. She is awesome. She is also my character on SFIV. I found a cool poster of the offical art work but now I can't find it anymore and I am super bummed. So my 360 friend is gonna do a drawing for me and he did the penciling and I really like it. He really captured the heart of Sakura. SHe has me infatuated haha. I am doing pretty good with her in SFIV she is a lot of fun.

Ok the big news, aftera year of failure I got into an RN program, and in california that is a big thing a very big thing. I am so excited about it. I get to quit my job and move forward with my life. Man oh man. Ok I am tired now I'll write more tomorrow when school is done! Peace all~!