Ending B

Tales of Vesperia comes out tomorrow. Just and FYI

Does this wolf have a sword... and a PIPE?! I'm so buying this now

*edit* Apparently, in the world of video game retail, a release date (not ship date) of August 26th means 11:30am to 12pm on August 27th. Go figure.

As a lad, I enjoyed a little game released by Enix called "Star Ocean 2". Since then, they've only released one other game to the US (Till the End of Time) and, to be honest, I really didn't like it. That's why I was excited to find out that there are some more Star Ocean games coming out to the United States (so I can get a better idea whether I like this series or not). Except for "Second Evolution", I know next to nothing about them. But! I have some release dates to share!

Star Ocean: First Departure (PSP), a re-release of Star Ocean for SNES (not brought over to the US); 10/21/2008

I sense a color scheme going on here...

Star Ocean: Second Evolution (PSP), a re-release of Star Ocean 2, which was all kinds of awesome; 01/06/2009

Oo! This is my standard party! Left to right: Celine (Mage), Rena (Healer), Claude (Power Warrior), Ashton (Technique Warrior)

Star Ocean: Last Hope (XBox 360), new... but looks kinda standard... and not Anime-ish... I don't know about this one...; Q2 of 2009

Too bad, I really liked the Anime style of the others

Square-Enix's Official Star Ocean Site

That is all

This is relevant to my interests, and hopefully to yours too!

I wish that I had robot masters...

Otakon is over and done with. Sunday was the shortest day with the con closing at 3pm. Fewer people were cosplaying and some of the dealers and artists had closed up shop and left already. While less crowded than previous days, it was still busy, especially the Dealer's Room where dealers started offering discounts to try to get rid of some of the leftover merchandise. The whole feel of the con was a bit different also. It seemed a little less friendly, a little more hectic, and really like it was just time to finish up.

Artist's Alley and the Dealer's Room were just as busy

The biggest change came after we ate dinner. By that time there were no more cosplayers anywhere around and almost nobody who even looked like they had been at the con. For the last three days everyone who we saw at the hotel was there for the convention, but suddenly there were businesspeople and families. The streets around the Baltimore Convention Center were practically devoid of life. Maybe it was just me, but I really felt an incredible sense of loneliness. It was as if the whole convention had been wiped away and never happened.

This whole weekend was a blast and I would love to be here again next year! Unfortunately, I will most likely be unable to attend due to their choice of moving Otakon 2009 up to mid-July. We'll have to wait and see if any of the other Ending B squad make it out there. I hope everyone else who was at Otakon had as much fun as we did. Now, however, it's time to sleep.

Yeah, I know, the second day report is a day late. Don't blame me, blame Eric.

So, the second day of Otakon was fun. The first day was spent mostly in artist alley and wandering around the con (at least for me, and I think it was the same for Eric and Steve). Day two was my day to heavily explore the dealer's room. They had a lot of good stuff, but unfortunately a lot of the merchandise I could either purchase at a bookstore or a place like Best Buy. However, I did find two rare items I decided to purchase. One was a Kanon art book, and the other was a Breath of Fire art book. Besides that, I took a lot of pictures and had some taken of me as well (I was dressed as Ike from Fire Emblem.)

I was not able to go to any panels or special events, but I've never been to any of these at any con I've ever been to, so I'm okay with that. I also helped Kim and Brandy & Brian by running some errands and occasionally running around for food. Eric, Steve, and I also met up with our old friend, Thomas, and we all went to dinner and had crabcakes. Yay crabcakes!

You're the one who's whole... ah, nevermind.

More on Otakon day 3 from one of us... hopefully ^^;

I'd post a picture but there's so many that I don't know where to start. I got up this morning and played some Brawl while thinking about what I needed to do today, I think I'm about halfway done with the Subspace Emissary. I'll definitely get some time on the two French papers I need by Monday, maybe I'll meet with my project group tomorrow, though why they meet at a place like Panera, where I usually can't get any work done doesn't make any sense.

Also, since I never got it before, I'm working on getting the Adamant Armor for Final Fantasy IV DS. I've never received it in a previous version, so this will be a first. I may also try to get some of the Onion gear, but I'll have to see if the grinding for that would be worth it. By the way, I can pretty much go down and stomp Zeromus with my team whenever I want, my highest level is Cecil at 81, with Kain being the lowest at 75. Oh why can't this game be like the previous games, where characters who eventually come back merely gain experience with the rest of the team so they never fall behind?

By the way, I got a Wii + Smash Bros. for 200 bucks, good deal or what? Well, anyhow, I think I'll eat some breakfast now.

Whew, can I breathe yet? First of all, my only previous con experience is Ohayocon which is quite a bit smaller than Otakon. Interestingly, Otakon actually feels less crowded because they have much more space to work with...but there are so many more people, rooms, panels, vendors, and just space that I was practically blown away.

Resident Evil cosplayers in action

Anyway, check back tomorrow morning for more info cuz I'm dead tired.

We made it! Craig, Steve, Kim, I, et al are hanging out in a hotel room across the street from the Baltimore Convention Center.

The entrance to the BCC at night.

Taking pictures and finishing costumes is the order of the day here. Ah, procrastination... Today is just badge pickup for preregistration, but quite a few people have already donned their costumes. Expect more cosplayer pics tomorrow once the con actually starts.

P.S. California Tortilla is really tasty, really close, and gives 10% off if you have a con badge. Just sayin'...

Otakon is less than a week away and the Ending B squad is going this year! In case you're unfamiliar with Otakon, I'll quote Wikipedia ... "It is considered the second largest and one of the longest-running Anime conventions in the United States." It's held in Baltimore, Maryland, and this year we'll be there with Kim from www.mhho.com. Kim, as usual, will have a table set up in Artist's Alley to sell some of her amazing art. If you're also going to the con, try to keep an eye out for some people dressed up as Smash Bros. Brawl characters, they may be us! Or they might be some other random people, either way say "Hi!" and make some new friends!

Thanks to the magic of The Internets and Digital Photography, we'll also be bringing you news and pictures from the con floor itself. Look forward to more as the week progresses!

Live, Eat, and Breathe Anime

Last Tuesday, I bought Final Fantasy IV for the DS, and I must say it's quite fun. Now, when reading this post, you have to keep in mind a few things. First, I played FF4 back in the day it was called Final Fantasy II on the Super Nintendo. Second, I could get to the final dungeon of this game when I was in the 1st grade and FF2/FF4 helped me learn how to read. Third, I have played through this game multiple times ever since it first came out. Fourth, FF4 is probably my favorite video game ever made.

Now that I've given a background of my history with this game, it's time for the main point of my post.

*ahem*

Oh my god, I can't use the Tornado spell to kill the Dark Dragon guarding the Earth Crystal! The game is actually making me... FIGHT HIM! I've used that Tornado (back in the day, Tornado was called Weak) trick ever since my first encounter with the Dark Dragon. I have NO IDEA how to fight him normally! The DS version is actually expecting me to... go into battle... without cheap tricks!

Don't get me wrong, this game is insanely fun. But... *shakes fist* Damn you and your strategy altering ways Square-Enix!

This image has nothing to do with my post about the Dark Dragon. I just think Rydia is kick-ass.