This past week of school was pretty bad. I got tons of homework, and had tests in almoost every subject. Between football, guitar and all the school work I was just sonstantly busy. Lucky I got today off and i get Monday off so I have four days to chill before I go back to school. This weekend will be a weekend of gaming and hanging with friends!!!!! YES!!!!! A link to the past arrived off eBay and I have already started it. Plus I still have partners in time to play. It is going to feel real good to be able to finally just chill out and play some video games. I reall have earned this break because like I said, school was tough this past weekend. Now its time to chill out and relax, maybe party it up a bit, who knows!!!

The Super Nintendo I order off ebay arrived on Monday, but I have been really busy that I didn't have a chance to set it up and play it until today. It came with all the chords needed, 3 controllers and 8 games. All the chords work fine but 2 of the games dont work. Also, to get some of the games to work I need to still a paperclip bewteen the cartridge and the console which is kind of annoying but it gets the job done. The games that work are Donkey Kong Country I and II, Super Mario World, Super Mario Kart, Clue and NHL Stanley Cup. And of the three controllers, one works fine, one the start button doesnt work (which is very frautrating but I think it will get the job done for multiplayer) and the third is a third party controller and is very uncomfortable and the buttons dont work %100. All in all I am a little dissapointed that it doesnt work exactly the way the description on eBay said it would, but at least all the games I wanted to play actually work, and I have one totally usable controller so it is good enough. The other day I bought "A Link to the Past" and it should arrive sometime next week. That is the game I am really looking forward too on my new old SNES.

Also, I bought Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time on eBay. It arrived the same day as my SNES but I wasn't able to find time to play it until right before I went to bed last night. As a result I was very tired and only played for about 15 minutes. But the games looks so good, I am already sucked into it. I really look forward to when I travel back and forth through time, or even when my grown up mario and luigi meet their baby selves. I have loved all the Mario RPG's and this is the only one I haven't played yet so I really look forward to it.

Oh, and I bought Megaman 9 on wiiware. It is my first wiiware game so I am excited about playing it. I haven't played much of it (once again, because I was busy this past week) but I am really digging the old-school feel of it.

Yes I am not joking. Today a man ran into my school with a gun and held everyone hostage. You might of heard about this on the News, It was all over the local news and even made CNN, CTV News Net and BBC. Thankfully it didnt turn out like the situation in Finland where 10 students were killed, but it still scared the crap outta me and all of the students.

I go to Luther College High School which is a christian school of about 400 students. Everyday we get togther in our gym for chapel services. Right at the start of chapel when everyone had got there seats a former student ran in holding a gun and pointing it at all the students and the teachers. He started yelling and got our chaplain to start reading from a huge sheet of paper he had prepared. He pointed the gun at our chaplain while he was reading and waved it at the students quite a few times. But I learned today that some of my schools teachers are amazingly brave indivduals. First off, there was my film teahcer who I won't name. Right when it started, he slipped behind the bleachers and pulled out his phone. Obviously he called 911 and then he snuck out the back door. After about 20 minutes of the gunman yelling atus and making the chaplian read, the same teacher who snuck out opened the front doors to our gym. All of the students who were sitting near there were evacuated, but unfortunately I wasnt sitting by those doors. The gunman saw this and started yelling and pointed his gun in the direction of the students leaving. Our principal who also turned out to have some serious balls stepped in and pleaded with the gunman to let those people leave. After that it continued like before with him yelling and our chaplain reading from the sheet. After about 30 minutes another teacher came around and opened the side door on the side I was sitting. We started to file out because the guy had his back to us at the time. But obviously that wouldnt be the case forever, and he did turn around and yell at as. But somehow a teacher convinced him to let us go and I finally got out of there. After about 10 more minutes of it he finally was brought down. But this is the best part. I wasnt inside at the time but from what my classmates have told me our principal tackled him from behind and he dropped the gun. Then one of the students ran up and kicked the gun aside. I have a whole new respect for our principal.

The really sad part is that the gunman seemed to think he was doing this to benfit us, the students. He claimed our school is corrupt and that our prinicapl was a lier, teachers drink between classes, and a bunch of other BS. What was really lame was that he brought up an incident that happened to years ago where one of our dorm students commited suicide. He made some rediculous claims (such as that one of our teachers had been molesting the student and that is why he commited suicide) and it was really badtaste. People in our school are still sad about the incident since many of our students were friends with the student who killed himself.

And get this, the gunman was an ex-student who was expelled last year because the administration said he was "unstable". You think? He didnt exactly prove his case by taking the whole school hostage. And he seemed like a total stalker. In the stuff that he made our chaplian read, he talked about how he liked this girl at our school but that her friends didnt like him and they tried to get him in trouble. Apparently that pushed him over the edge and he threatened the girl and her friends which is what lead to his expulsion.

Anyways when I finally got out the roads were blocked off by police cars and according to the media there were over 30 cops there including the swat team. We all went across the street into a church and stayed there until everyone had got out of the school. The we could call our parents and go home. It;s really lame though because I got a message from our vice principal that we had to go back to shcool tomorrw. Hello, the entire school was taked hostage, give us a break!

But anyways that was my day today, and it was one I am sure I will never forget. I'm just glad it all worked out ok and that no one was hurt.

So this past weekend was my schools big start of year party, "slosh" as they call it. I'm sure all highschools have it but maybe with a different name. Even though I never drink I still usually go to the partys, if for nothing else but to make sure all my drunk/high (usually both) friends dont do anything stupid. But aside from that I usually enjoy the partys and I like to have a good time. But I decided that I was not going to go to slosh because I was kind of tired, had some homework, and just didnt want to deal with a bunch of drunk people. Now hes where it went downhill.

So I have three friends. Well I have more but there are only 3 in this story. And those three friends are all friends with each other. Friend A and B are going out and friend C likes friend B. And I`m in the middle of it. And at slosh, me and friend A stayed home and friend B and C went to slosh. But C kissed B at slosh. So know its some stupid fight cause for some reason C and B had some conspiracy to make sure A never found out. But its rediculous cause at least 60 peole were at this party. I didnt even go and I still heard about it before the weekend ended. But all of my friends are wussys and decided they wouldn`t tell friend A. So I told him and now everyone is mad at me cause I broke the conspiracy, and for some fricken reason people are mad a friend A even though he is clearly the victim in all this.

And just to complicate things, Friend C(the guy who kissed A`s girl at slosh) apparently told another one of my friends, friend D(who is also friends with the whole gang) that he liked A`s girlfriend and that he was going to make a move at slosh. And for some fricken reason D decided he wasnt going to tell C that it is a bad idea to make a move on your friends girlfriend, especially when she is also your friend.

But seriously its so stupid how I got dragged into this. I try to avoid drama (especially stupid s*** like this) but it always seems to find me....

Arggh but I wont dignify this stupid stuff by writing anymore about it.

I finally got my eBay acount set up. I have used eBay lots but it was always my moms acount with her credit card and then I just paid her back later. But its really inconvenient because I always have to ask her every time I want to buy somehting which makes me feel like I`m 11 again. ANd then every time I buy a video game I get some lame lecture about how I spend way to much time playing video games. Which is rediculous because half the time she thinks I playing video games I actually doing other things like play guitar or homework.

My first purchase was Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time. It wasn`texactly an eBay deal but I really want this game.

Then I bought a Super Nintendo with 8 games and 3 controllers. It was a good deal, around $75 (thats including shipping). The games are Donkey Kong Country 1 and 2, Super Mario Kart, Super Mario World, NHL Stanley Cup, Mortal Kombat and I cant remember the rest. Its form a Canadian shipper so shipping was cheap and it should arrive soon. I can`t wait!!

...and then you found out it was broken beyound repair.

How would you feel? I know how I would feel because something just a traumatic as that happened to me today. I was in Minot, ND and I walked into a Gamestop. If you check my game list or read my blog frequently then you know that I really would like Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time. I have to play that game! And gamestop had it! Finally I had found it, after probably at least a good 6 months of searching. Sure, it wasn't in the original packaging and had no manual, but the sign above the used shelf said "guanteed to play so I shelled out the $30 it cost to buy it. (yeah I know, thats really expensice for a used game, but I wanted that game so bad) So 2 hours or so later when I had finished shoppping I met up with my parents to see when we would start our drive home. Thay were still shopping so I went out to our van to keep our dog company and to finally play the game I had wanted for so long. Unless you skipped over the title of this blog you already know what happened next. It didnt work. I turn on my DS and it says "No game pak inserted" or whatever it is. I tried several times to get it to recognize the cartridge but it wouldn't. luckily I found out it didnt play before we started heading home so i was able to return it. The staff at gamestop were really nice about it and gave me my money back, which was nice since I thought they would only give me store credit.

Ughhhh... I guess its ebay here I come. I have tried a few times to get the game from ebay but the game either gets to expense for someone outbids me and I dont realize it. But now that I know it will be $30 in stores I will be fine with spending around that on ebay.

Anyways enough complaining about that. I had a really great trip to Minot. I go down there with my parents a couple times a year because we all like the shopping there and the company my dad workd for has offices there so he sometimes gets sent there on business. I always get some sweet clothes and this time was no exception. I bought a Minot State t-shirt, a bunnyhug (yes I am from saskatchewan, it is called a bunnyhug and always will be!) a belt, some pants, and some awesome Nike shoes.

A good part of the trip is the Minot video game tradition I have. The mall in Minot has a Target, a Bestbuy and two gamestops, and there is a store called Gametraders nearby so there are lots of places selling video games. Every time wew go to minot, I buy a videogame (usually some old used GBA game) and play it on the trip back. Some of the games I have bought there are:

Pokemon Emerald used

Megaman Battle Network 3: White (for 5.99 used)

Golden Sun used for 7.99

Metroid Prime: Hunters (NEW but it was only $25 at Target!! That was close to a year ago and now I havent seen it for under $35. A great bargain)

Advance Wars: Days of Ruin new (the only Minot game I have payed full price for)

Megaman Starforce Dragon used

As you can see I go for the used games. Thats because where I live there arent any decent used game stores.

This time I picked up Megaman Battle Network 4 Blue Moon and Mario and Luigi PiT (ARGHH!)

MMBN was only 5.99 but it is in really bad condition and wont play in my DS. It only plays in my SP. If I had checked it a little closer I wouldn't of bought it. The real find this time was Megaman Battle Network 4 Red Sun. I know it will be similar to Blue Moon but from what I've heard it is different enough that for any BN fan it is worth getting both. Apparently the plots are totally different. And when i beat it I can start over without losing all my chips and stuff. Red Sun was also only 5.99 but I came with the origianal packaging complete with the manual. It looked brand new and when i popped it in, the previous save file had only 5 minutes of play time! Yes!! I scored big time on this find!

Sorry about the long blog, the non descriptive title, the lame analogy (obviously I would be more hurt if the ferrari didn't work) and the fact that this blog is several topics thrown in as one. I just sort of started writing and realized half way through that I was going to end up talking about minot and then segue into Megaman Battle Network. And then into a lame apology. I doubt anyone is reading by this point.

I am not going to enlighten you further by telling you just how great Super Mario RPG is becuase I am sure its legend speaks for itself. Instead I want some WiiWare or VC recommendations. I have 1900 points left over and am trying to decide what to get. Right now I am thinking maybe OoT or Star Fox 64. Protothea looks good for WiiWare, and I have always loved homestarrunner.com so Strong Bad's Cool Game For Attractive People looks good. (that is one of those games where and abbreviation won't do, you have to write it all out!) But, I am a little turned off by the fact it is Episode 1 in a 5 part series, and I dont want to be sucked into buying all 5 since they are 1,000 points each.

So recommend WiiWare or VC titles!

OK OK OK OK OK. SUPER MARIO RPG: THE LEGEND OF THE SEVEN STARS HAS FINALLY BEEN RELEASED ON THE NORTH AMERICAN VIRTUAL CONSOLE!!!. Sorry to blog twice in one day but I am just so freakin happy!!!! According to wikipedia it was released today but I haven't checked so maybe that isnt true. BUT I REALLY THINK IT IS AND I AM SO HAPPY!!! It is the best video game of all time and if you have never played it you are really missing out. As soon as I get back from school tomorrow I am going to buy some points and buy this game. Its not really good timing for me. School and football start up again tomorrow, I "quit" (I use quotations because I didn't really quit, just took a big break) my job so I could go on my month long vacation to Australia but I guess where I work is understaffed and my boss said he wanted me to come back. So I will have to work again. And piano and guitar lessons are back but thats not really an issue since even when I am not really busy I spend a lot of my time playing instruments. So they wont add any extra strain. My point here is that the day Super Mario RPG: The Legend of the Seven Stars is the same day that I all of a sudden become really, really busy. If the game had been released, say last week, I would have had it to look forward to coming home from vacation and would have been able to get some serious play time in before I get really fricken busy.

Out.

EDIT SEPTEMBER 1st, 2008.

I went to Walmart on my way home from football practice to get some wii points (I hated showered and was totally gorss, haha the clerk was staring at me the whole time) and they were sold out!! GRRR... The welcome back dance is tomorrow, I have a football game thursda, and I will probably go out friday night so I was counting on today after football practice to be my chance to enjoy gaming at its finest for a little bit. But no, it was not to be. I will have to wait until the weekend.

My neighbour and good friend has a Wii but its at his cabin. So when his sister picked up Wii Fit and Mario Party 8 he brought them over to my house so we could try them out.

I wasn't sure that I would ejoy Wii Fit but I actually love it! The balance games are really fun and the excercises really make you sweat. I am a guy who works out a bit, usually for 20+ minutes a day. But since I was on vacation for the last month I haven't worked out for a long time and was worried I would have trouble getting back into it (which I need to do since football practices start this week). Since Wii Fit is currently in my basement I have been using that to help me get back into things. I know it is not even close to substitute for a gym workout routine but for me it is perfect right now for getting back into things. And I can see this being something I would use on say a day when i want to take things light, or just take a break. Overall I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it. And it gave me on the funniest moments I have ever had while gaming. Wii Fit called my friend "obese". HAHAHAHAH!!!!!! If you knew my friend you would know that he is certainly not obese, but he is a big guy.

My friend also brought over Mario Party 8. I won't even bother to write a big thing on this game, I have wasted enough time on it already. My friend and I agreed that we would both rather play the original N64 Mario Party than this one.

So it is almost time I leave the land down under and return to where the true north is strong and free. As much as I have been enjoying Australia, it will be good to return home to Canada.

On my rip I visited Melbourne, Sydney and Cairns. I saw the Opera House, the botanical gardens, The Dark Knight in IMAX, the aquarium, zoo, parramatta, bondi and manly beach, went snorkeling and scuba diving, went dwn to Cape Tribulation and so much more. It was a great trip but for various reasons that I wont go into right now it wasn't as fun as it sounds. OK I'll go into it a bit right now. I don't really like travelling too much, and I definitely don't like travelling with my family. And I had to miss camp, which may sound lame to you but it is always the highlite of my summer. PLus I missed a really big basketball camp which means I might not play that much on my school team this year, and I missed training camp for football. I still get to play but I am going to have to do a lot of catching up since I dont know any of the plays. But all in all it was a decent enough vacation, and one I know I would have enjoyed a lot more if I wasn't missing so much at home.

Gaming News!

I have only been playing my DS as you might have guessed since I am away. I am at the Dark Elf in Final Fantasy IV, I am at the final boss, Alpha, in Megaman Battle Network 3, I am close to getting all 200 chips in MMBN 6 Falzar, I started a new file in Golden Sun and am at then lighthouse, I played a lot of Metroid Prime: Hunters but couldn't get onto wifi so I just played wireless against bots and the single player. And about the wifi. I can connect to a network but during the test in wnt let me connect and I get an error saying sopmething about my wifi ID being inactive. I think it has something to do with the fact i have a North American ID and maybe it would work in Australia. Anyone know more on this?

SInce I have been playing a lot of GBA games I am going to write a blog soon witht eh top ten GBA games IMO. Let me know what you think should be on the list.

I am in a man that has internet so i figured i kill some time until my movie (dark knight) starts. WOW!! GAMESPOT WIDE!!!!! I like it!!!:D These are just first impressions after 5 minutes of using it but I won't really be able to get into it until i get back from my vacation. I like the Friend tracking thing. now I know not only when there is a new blog, but new anything! very nice. And the wide size will fit my moniter at home a lot better. I also like how you can put the tags in before you post your blog. my only gripe so far is the emblems. I know I only have 9 but I am very proud of those 9 and liked being able to see them all. now I only see eight!!!:( but other than that I like gamespot wide. Anyways good bye for another week or so!