It's finally here folks! Tokyo Game Show '07! :D

Well, now that it has finally started, tons of updates for my most anticipated games are surfacing! I am going to put them all here in this nice little blog post. Mostly just to share with you guys what I am really excited for! Enjoy!

Kaz Hirai's Keynote

Kaz Hirai delivered his keynote and touched on a lot of very exciting stuff for the future of Sony! A lot of news regarding the PSP and the PS3.

Sony plans on extending the multimedia capabilities of the PSP. Adding things such as voice recognition, access of multiplayer games, spectators, etc. Also, expect to be able to play your PSP games on your PS3 and then if you have to leave you can continue playing on your PSP on the go!

Hirai also stated that over 300 titles are scheduled to be released this year for the PS3 alone. At this TGS, Sony is going to have 40 PS3 titles on the show floor which were shown as a video montage at the keynote. Highlights included FFXIII, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Devil May Cry 4, Sega Rally Revo, Call of Duty 4, Spider-Man 3, Conan, Heavenly Sword, Metal Gear Solid 4, and Afrika.

He also said that Sony is continuing to work close relationships with partners and is going to improve development environment. They also plan on accelerating development on first party titles - especially for the PS3. It seems like Sony is finally kicking into gear and hopefully we can see some great things from them this coming year. :)

Also - Dual Shock 3 has been confirmed! It looks like DMC4 and MGS4 will be some of the first games to use it. Japan will see the new controller this November, while NA and EU gamers will have to wait until this coming Spring. The Dualshock 3 looks exactly like the sixaxis. I am still not clear whether the Dualshock 3 will still have the tilt function or not. *EDIT* The Dualshock 3 will still have tilt functionality. *END EDIT* Existing games will be able to use the dualshock via an upgrade from the PSN.

HOME, Sony's ambitious new online system, has been delayed until Spring 2008.

Sony is reducing manufacturing costs of the PS3. (Possibly leading to another price cut? Maybe this holiday season or next Spring?)

As of today, the PSN is now accessible through PCs, and information can be transferred to your PSP.

Kaz Hirai signs off saying that he wants Sony to "...be a much more active member of the gaming industry". And that Sony needs to get back to basics.

My take

Overall, I thought it was a pretty good keynote. Sounded quite promising, with lots of cool new features announced. And who wouldn't be happy about the Dualshock 3? :D I would have liked to have heard about new game announcements or actual dates though. Regardless, 2008 seems like an excellent year for Sony and the PS3!

Some great news to check out here at GameSpot:

- Q&A Session with Phil Harrison - Phil Harrison chats with GS about the new PSP, bad press, and the future of PlayStation.

- The Dualshock 3! - Features a long list of all the games already compatible with the new controller.

Hands-On articles from GS!

- White Knight Story (PS3)

- Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (PS3)

- Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PS3)

- PS3 Game Reel (Trailer from Sony Keynote) - featuring MGS4, FFXIII and Versus, Warhawk, Heavenly Sword, Killzone 2, and LittleBigPlanet

- Dissidia Screens (PSP)

- MGS4 Trailer (PS3)

- Last Remnant Screens (PS3/360)

- Uncharted: Drake's Fortune Screens (PS3)

- Final Fantasy Versus XIII Screens (PS3)

- Final Fantasy XIII Screens (PS3)

- LittleBigPlanet Screens (PS3)

- Soul Calibur IV Trailer (PS3/360)

Stay tuned for more!

- All content, news, and media courtesy of GameSpot and IGN -

This here is home to all the stuff I've written about the big gaming events! :)

Take a look!

:: Updates, updates, updates! ~ Day 1 ~ :: - (September 19th, 2007)

:: My Updates coverage of Day two TGS! :: - (September 20th, 2007)

:: Day 3 of the Tokyo Game Show! :: - (September 21st, 2007)

:: E3 - The Press Conferences :: (July 11th, 2007)

:: queen_valentine's Top 10 Picks of E3 - Part 1 :: (July 14th, 2007)

:: queen_valentine's Top 10 Picks of E3 - Part 2 :: (July 20th, 2007)

Hahaha, everyone else is doing it, so I thought ah, what the hell!

(Besides, I've got another little tidbit of news, besides just school :P)

Tuesday the 4th

Anyway....so...it's back to school this week! Tuesday was my first day bright and early at 7:45am. Parking wasn't too bad that day - since it was so early. And I only had one c.lass - Architectural 3D CAD. We didn't do too much....just started on a floor plan. I got out at 10:00am.

Later that day I had to work from 11:15am-3:15pm! A short "princess shift" as we like to call them over here at my store. :P When I was done with that I headed home and just sat around for a while. Nervous. Why? Well...I am not sure if I have mentioned it before but I've been quite interested in the Art Institute of Illinois - Chicago for quite some time now. I requested info and the school called me. I talked to this guy Kent and we set up a phone interview for 6pm on the 4th of September. Now do you see why I was nervous? :P

Anyway, he called at about quarter after 6 and he said that he just wanted to talk with my mom and I for about 45 minutes to an hour to fill us in with info. Well...turns out we ended up chatting for almost 2 hours! The interview was really informative and he answered all our questions. Well...this school ROCKS. He said that I did the interview sooo well and that he is going to recommend me to the applications board. He says I need to fill in my app (and do my portfolio :?) by the end of the month if I want to get in by January. Yes, THIS January...as in 4 months from now!!! That is super nerve wrecking for me...I had it planned out in my head that I wanted to leave for Fall '08, not 4 months from now! I am weird when it comes to my plans changing too drastically like that...so I was a bit of a nervous mess the days after. I am doing better now but I really need to get into gear and start working on my portfolio!! I am going to call him back on Monday and ask him some more questions about that and other things.

Oh, by the way, what will my major be in? Game Art & Design. :D Basically it's just tons of art c.lasses and a bunch of cool game stuff. They set you up with an internship your junior/senior year which by the time you graduate you become an employee of.

So that was my Tuesday...

Wednesday the 5th

Back to school again! This time I had three c.lassess: Survey of American Government, Western Civilization - 1500, and Art History. Well...I guess I would've had three c.lasess if it wasn't for parking being the most horrible thing in the world. I arrived at school at about 9am (my c.lass started at 9:30am) and waited in line...for 50 minutes!!!! Needless to say...I missed my c.lass :( When I finally managed to get in and find a parking spot it was 10:10am. Grr...I was upset! I dinked around in the library for a while until my next c.lass started at 12:45pm. Which was Western Civ. It was an OK c.lass although my prof. is hilarious! We got out 15 minutes early (at 2:45pm) and then I had Art History at 3:15pm. We had to do the typical "introduce yourself and say something unique about ourselves" thing, which sucked, and then she talked about the c.lass and gave us a syllabus. The c.lass is supposed to go until 4:45pm but she let us out at 4:15pm.

I didn't have to work that day! Yay!

Thursday the 6th

Last day of my first week of school. I only had Architectural 3D CAD and that was it! I got to go to home by 10am! Whee! No work!

So anyway..school...it's not too bad this year. Better than last year. I can't wait 'till this semester is over with though...just 'cause I could be in Chicago by January. :D :D :D

This weekend looks to be full of work. Tonight I am closing, Saturday I have an 8 hour mid-day shift, and Sunday I have an 8 hour morning shift. But that is OK! Because then I can save up for Chicago! :D

See ya around guys!

- Celes

Hello!

It's a really hot day today...kinda took me by surprise!

Well, anyway, I am going to have to be brief as I have to go to work in about an hour.

I updated my page a bit! I switched some images around but the most important one would be - a new OST review!!! :) I have reviewed Final Fantasy IV Piano Collections! You can read it here! Please do! I think it's a pretty good review, and hopefully you'll think so too! :P ;)

I also added an Archives page for the OSTs. (Now that I have more than one, hahahahaha.) You can look at it here.

Well, I hope everyone has been having a fantastic weekend! Mine hasn't been too bad. Tomorrow is my day off...and then...it's off to school. Noooooooooo

See you around!

- Celes

Welcome to my Soundtracks Archives page!

I haven't done too many as of yet, but hopefully that will change over time! If you have any questions or have a request, please just leave a comment.

Enjoy! :)

:: Final Fantasy IV Piano Collections (added Sept. 2nd, 2007) ::
:: Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles OST (added Aug. 6th, 2007) ::

- Last Updated: September 2nd, 2007 -

Title: Final Fantasy IV Piano Collections

Composer: Nobuo Uematsu

Arranged by: Shirou Satou and Osamu Saitou (last track)

Discs: 1

Tracks: 14

Released: September 24th, 1994 by NTT Publishing/Square

Track List

1. The Prelude

2. Theme of Love

3. Prologue

4. Welcome to our Town!

5. Main Theme

6. Chocobo-Chocobo

7. Into the Darkness

8. Rydia

9. Melody of Lute

10. Golbez, Clad in the Dark

11. Troian Beauty

12. The Battle

13. Epilogue

14. Theme of Love Practice

The Piano Collections is a series of CDs in which certain songs from the original soundtracks are taken, arranged for piano and then released as albums. Final Fantasy IV Piano Collections is the first in this musical tradition.

Final Fantasy IV had a fantastic soundtrack, it stands the test of time and is one of the best in the series. The Piano Collections version however, isn't as good. While the songs picked from the original soundtrack are great, the arrangements are quite simple, and instead of elaborating on the song and bringing the best parts out, the song suffers instead. This may be because this album is the first in the series, and maybe the arranger didn't want to mess too much with Uematsu's initial design.

The album starts off with "The Prelude". FFIV Piano Collections is the only album out of the series which features a song solely dedicated to this famous tune. Standing at 3:34, the song is too long for such a simple arrangement. Although it is a beautiful melody, the arrangement is too repetitive and almost becomes a nuisance to listen to. The last parts of the song are the best, I wish the arranger could have cut the beginning short and brought out the ending parts.

"Theme of Love" is one of the better arranged pieces. You hear the main tune at the very beginning but then it winds deep into the piece with a jazzy flair and ends with a beautiful arpeggio. "Main Theme" starts off slow, similar to the way "The Prelude" starts off, and it isn't until about two minutes into the track when the melody is brought out, and you finally recognize what song is playing. "Chocobo-Chocobo" is a simple, cute and fun arrangement of the lovable Chocobo tune. "Rydia" is a beautiful song, but it feels like you're listening to the original. Absolutely no re-arranging has been done to this piece, making the listener wonder why it was even put on the album in the first place.

"Golbeza, Clad in the Dark" is the song which suffered most on this album. The original was a dark and gruesome organ piece which really showed Golbez's personality and flair. This arranged piece does away with all that leaving you with an empty feeling. It doesn't sound a whole lot like the original and is much too long for how bad of a song it is.

"The Battle" is one of my favorite songs on the album. It is a medley of all the battle themes in the game ("Battle 1", "Battle 2", "Battle with the Four Fiends", "The Final Battle"). Brilliantly arranged and played, it stands at a tall 6:44 of pure musical bliss. "Epilogue" is another excellent track that takes you through the entire end-theme. Even though it is quite a long track (7:13), its length is easily dismissible because the track has such expansive variety.

The album ends with a bonus track called "Theme of Love Practice". Taking the listener by surprise, this track is actually an orchestrated arrangement of track 2, with a piano accompaniment in the background.

The Final Word

This is one of the weaker installments in the Piano Collections series. I don't recommend this CD unless you're a hardcore fan of the Final Fantasy IV soundtrack, or you're looking to complete your Piano Collections. It's really too bad that this album is so disappointing, especially since the original soundtrack was so fantastic.

Don't Miss

Track 2 - Theme of Love

Track 5 - Main Theme

Track 12 - The Battle

Track 13 - Epilogue

Hello!

I felt like doing a blog, 'cause it's been a while since I did one.

Anyway - it's Friday! Yahoo! Payday! :D

Unfortunately, it should be a rather small check, since I was gone all last week. :P

So my Friday has been rather OK so far. Got up really early (8:00am) to go get textbooks for school. The total was about $386. Ouch! But I had $260 in MEAP money so I didn't really have to pay too much out of my own pocket. But still, more than $100 for dumb textbooks which I really could care less for, is really just too bad. I'd rather spend it on something else (like Bioshock). So even though today's paycheck will be small, it will be helpful indeed!

Then I tried to sell my Calc book. OK, note - my Calc book, which I bought last year, was about $150. Apparently, there is a new edition out, and so the book that I have isn't being used anymore. I thought I'd try it anyway. And guess how much I could sell it for. Oh? What's that? The book has NO VALUE!? BS...I tell you, it's a load of BS!!!! I was soooo angry...

So mix that with lack of sleep and spending too much money on silly textbooks, makes for kind of a crappy morning.

Luckily, I was with a friend, so it wasn't as bad as it could have been. I don't like being alone.

Then I got a phonecall from work. I don't have the heart to avoid the call so I picked up. Turns out someone called in "sick" and they want me to come in early. Boooo. I was really looking forward to my short 4 hour shift! So now I have to come in at 4:15pm, instead of 7:45pm. :( Oh well. Extra cash is always good? :?

I guess the thing that bugs me the most is that this girl is always calling in "sick". But she's not really sick. Once, I worked with her (I believe it was a Sunday morning) and she said, "Ohh...I'm so tired. I almost called in sick today." There's nothing more annoying than people who call in sick, when they're not really sick. That's really bad karma. And it's unfair for the people who have to pick up her slack (ie - ME.) *sigh*

OK - enough ranting. While looking this blog over it makes me sound like a really angry person. Hahahaha, I usually am not, I don't think anyway. :|

I think before I go to work I am going to get some pictures developed. I found two disposable cameras in my room. Ooooh, what could be on them! A mystery for the ages! Hahahaha, if it's anything interesting I will post it. I believe they are pictures of my room!

OK, I've rambled on long enough, I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!! :D

- Celes is

(dead tired).

Hello!

After about 9-10 hours of driving I am finally back home, safe and sound! Although it was a long drive, it didn't really feel like it. Listening to music helps a lot!

I had lots of fun in Tennessee. Although it was insanely hot, I still managed to enjoy it! I went swimming at the private pool a lot - and managed to get a nice tan :), went shopping, relaxed...and played lots of FFXII...:P All in all, a good vacation before school starts in about two weeks. The only downside I guess would be all the money I spent in gas! :P But that's a given.

I got my FFXII Limited Edition soundtrack in the mail today!!! I am so excited! Although...I am wondering if it's genuine. They got it from gkworld.com and everything in it looks fine except for the discs themselves. They look...odd. It sounds fine, obviously, but...hmm, I dunno. Anyone else also have the Limited Edition? What does yours look like?

Well...this week looks to be full of work, but I must still fit in some sort of gaming time - I am so close to getting everything in FFXII!! I have one more esper to get - Zodiark. The Henne Mines really kicked my ass so I took a break from Esper-gathering and decided to do some of the smaller sidequests. And as far as hunts go - only two more to go: The Seer and Yiazmat. I think I'm up to about 123 hours now...

Bioshock came out a few days ago but I didn't get it (lack of funds!). Maybe I'll be able to get it in about a week? I've been waiting for this game so long it's a shame I can't afford it right now. :(

Alrighty, well I hope everyone's week has been wonderful! Talk to you all later!

- Celes

Hello everybody!

I am leaving tomorrow morning to go to Nashville, TN! I am driving all the way down there by myself - I am sooo excited!! It's going to be quite the experience.

I am bringing my DS and PS2....hee hee. I can't be without my games! :P

You guys'll probably still see me around though (my dad finally got high-speed), but not as often as usual.

I will be back Saturday the 25th! Probably later at night!

Take care everybody!!

- Celes

Hey everyone -

Life always tends to be able to throw a curve ball at you. Things have been kind of down lately. And I feel really bad complaining about life 'cause my birthday was a few days ago and it was really good. I shouldn't be complaining.

I don't know, I guess all of a sudden a few things changed. And so I've seriously started looking at some colleges out of state. Chicago and New York are looking up.

I know I'm being vague but...I just don't know if I can really go all out and share everything. I also tend to be quite a private person - please, don't be offended! :? But I was really getting to the point where I just had to say something to somebody. It was just starting to feel like I was going to emotionally overflow or something. Cheesy, cliche - I know!

OK...well, I guess I'll talk to you all later. And hopefully my next blog update will be either feature-related or at least a bit more happy. :|

- Celes

P.S. - This Monday I will be leaving to go to Nashville to visit my dad for a week. I am driving down there by myself! Should be pretty cool....so don't expect to see too much of me this coming week. My dad does have internet, but I might be doing other things.

Oh - also, I leveled up finally. Done with level 20!