Fire Emblem: If / Mass Effect / Journey

Video game post dump! As per the usual - me just rambling about my thoughts on the games. I've played more games than these throughout the year, but these were the big ones that left an impression on me. (Also the ones I actually finished ^^;;)

Fire Emblem: If (Hoshino)

I really, really, like Awakening. In fact, I need to replay it some day, but when Fire Embem: Fates was announced back in North America I was super stoked. And then I moved to Japan and Fates was already out and me, being me, picked up a New 3DS (used) and a copy of Fire Emblem as soon as I got my first pay check.

...I don't necessarily think the game lived up. This might sound weird, but I felt like this game just had too much. Part of it is due to the fact that it's actually three games so there are a lot of characters you need to keep track of. I've only played the Hoshino path, but you still learn the whole cast of Conquest and just... yeah. Keeping track of everyone is hard. I haven't done the research but I feel like Awakening's cast wasn't even half as vast? Not only this, but in general the game just had a lot of stuff in it. The village, your house, that weird... massage... game... thing... (let's just forget about that, I honestly did not get the point. Why).

Seriously though. The village. I collected food, upgraded stuff, got gems and what not, but I never really did much otherwise. Maybe it plays more if you do spotpassing and online battles? But if not, it's a pretty big waste.

Story wise... it was alright. Due to the cast I found it really hard to get into the characters and the story--and I really wasn't feeling the family turmoil at all. Maybe I should've started with Conquest, because I feel like that would've been more interesting? Destroying things from inside? Hoshino was just kind of like... eh... all though Ryoma is a bad-ass. Seriously. And I liked Takumi for the most part. But your step-siblings suck, except for the sister. But we all know what happens to her -_-;;. Your brother Marcus though is a grade-A jerk Yeah, you can tell I really could not get into the story. At some point I actually found it pretty tedious.

I found the new jobs kind of interesting though. Didn't... understand them, but interesting. Would've liked dragons and magic user, although the ninja class was pretty handy if you levelled the properly. For Hoshino the levels were pretty standard, I really only got stuck at the end (the two stage boss battle which oh my god did I get stuck. I got REALLY stuck). But beyond that... I never found any thing in the main game was too difficult. BUT I wasn't a tank like in Awakening either. Although, I also played hard. I remember switching to Regular just to see the ending after dying for the Nth time and was so surprised at how much easier it was. I'm glad I started with Hard right off the bat.

All I can say though, was that when I finished the game, I was glad to put it down. Yeah.

I think part of my lack of enjoyment may have been due to how text heavy Fire Emblem is as a game, and my Japanese is... good. Like, I understood most things and the story and everything, but actually taking the time to read through all the character conversations and side convos and pairing convos got really tedious after a while and took a lot of work and brain power.

Overall though, I think I might just stick with Awakening. I liked Chrom and the kids made more sense in that game (the kids didn't make sense in this one... why do people have grown up kids? What the fuck)? Anyway.

Mass Effect Trilogy

Okay. Okay. I know, you're probably like wait--you just started Mass Effect? And in my defence, I don't like shooting games and I always remembered this as being an Xbox game, which was a double "no" for me. I really should just make an entirely separate Mas Effect post, but laziness means I won't. So. Things to talk about for this game.

Mass Effect 1:
A lot of people shit on Mass Effect 1 for clunky and crappy gameplay, but I actually liked it? Yeah, it was kind of slow, but it worked considering I can't play shooters at all and am not used to playing shooters. Also the best thing about ME1 gameplay was that you had a separate crouch button and you didn't just randomly stick to things because the X button was your only button for doing anything. God the amount of times I died in 2/3 because I was trying to roll or run away and then accidentally stuck to a fucking wall. Or even worse, I'm trying to stick to something and then LEAP OVER IT AND DIE.

So in terms of button layout Mass Effect 1 hit it on the spot SO well. The menus were god awful. Ugh. The menus.

Also, story wise, Mass Effect 1 has the best story. It was exciting, yeah you only went to three worlds but I felt all the missions for the worlds were engaging and interesting. It wasn't just shoot up some people here and shoot up people there. The cast was engaging and fun. Also, Illos was beautiful. And that whole conversation you have with Sovereign was like... what the fuck?! I remember my jaw just dropping and being like "holy shit what did I get into". The reapers were scary and how was I supposed to beat this? HOW WAS I GOING TO BEAT THIS GUYS? Which of course, leads into...

Mass Effect 2
Which, contrary to popular opinion, is actually my least favourite game? The thing is, I love the cast of Mass Effect and the characters definitely make a lot of the game for me. I love the interactions, the friendships, which is why I loved Mass Effect 3 and all the little details they added with crew member interaction. The problem though, is that I also need a story. And yes--Mass Effect is a trilogy with an overarching story, I know that. Defeat the reapers. But within a single contained game, I also need a story and Mass Effect 2 had no story.

What was all the crap with the collectors? Where were the reapers? The opening was so promising, when my ship got blown up and Shepherd DIED and I was like "WHAT THE FUCK" and then it kind of just... stalled. I went and collected my crew, and did all their loyalty missions and it was at stage two that I realized.. wait... there is no fucking story. All I'm doing is building a team to invade the reaper base? THAT IS ALL I AM DOING?! Screw you TIM. Screw. You.

The suicide mission was cool though. I'll give you that. It wasn't too hard to figure out who went were and get everyone to survive, but it fun and actually made me feel like all my efforts paid out in the end (unlike ME3...). Also, I love, love, Illium. The Asari are just... such an interesting species, and no, not because they're hot or sexy. It's because they're so damn catty and fickle. Hearing all the conversations that occurred at Illium was hilarious. Favourite race besides the Salarians--and that's mostly because of Mordin. Whereas for the Asari, I just like the as a whole because... yeah. So bitchy. My god.

Mass Effect 3
This game was so great until about the time Kai Leng showed up. I loved, loved, loved, how you got to visit all the home worlds and see what they were like. I thought it was so cool. I loved the world in Mass Effect 1 too, and... I don't remember any of the worlds in Mass Effect 2 except for Omega and Illium (and the collector ship of course), but Mass Effect 3 I remember everywhere. Tuchunka was amazing--that entire sequence, even just going through the ruins.

Mordin =(. Mordin was one of the most memorable, amazing characters out there. I was so distraught when he died, I really did tear up. But damn, Tuchunka was hands down the best part of the game. Then... yeah, things just went oddly downhill from there.

Thessia and beyond was when it really hit rock bottom actually. I was so stoked for Thessia. The great Asari homeworld! We hit the ruins, find out there is a fricken PROTHEAN BEACON THERE... and then some Ninja shows up and just jacks the data and leaves. What the hell? Like. What was Kai Leng? WHAT WAS THAT? Then there was Priority: Earth, which in of itself I didn't mind. Yay, we finally get to go to earth and figure out what the fuck is up and destroy a lot of people a long the way. Cool. Fun.

...and then it just end?  You sprint, go up to the light, have that annoying ass slow-mo moment and then boom. Star child and pick your path. What. The. Fuck. I didn't spend all this time saving the Geth/Quarians, recruiting the Rachni and uniting the entire fucking galaxy so I could pick a path. Also, I had no problem picking Destroy, just FYI. Why? Because I figured we could just make the Geth again. Why not - it's not like people lost their brains and all their data. It just made these things unfunctional for now. Why can't we just remake them?

And for people saying I'm missing the point and EDI and Legion became actual people due to their experience and bonds. Okay--sure, I buy that. But at the end of the day... wasn't the idea just to get AIs and Organics to get along? And we achieved that (presumably). Look, I get it, you formed personal bonds with Legion and EDI, and they won't come back, but the option is total annihilation, or annihilation something that came return. I pick the latter. I couldn't bring Ashley back, or Mordin, or Thane, but I sure as hell can remake the Geth.

So. Plus points for ME3 was overall the gameplay--as in how the game was structured, was amazing. But plotwise it failed bad. Also the menus. What the hell happened to the quest menu and why did they have to fuck it up like that? WHY? Ugh. The menus in ME2 were amazing and then they had to take a crap all over them. *sigh*.

Romances
I went Liara / Garrus / Garrus (although I kind of strung Liara along for a bit because I had trouble deciding). In the end though, the deal breakers was that I realized I was only hanging onto Liara because she was the person I picked in ME1 and I felt bad breaking up with her, because I really liked Liara from ME1. I thought she was very sweet and likeable, and then she gained some well-needed spunk in ME2 (Lair of the Shadow Broker DLC was so great). In ME3 though... a lot of things just felt really forced with her and I felt like all the conversations and interactions actually ended up feeling really awkward.

Part of it was the voice acting. I don't know who did her voice acting, but it sounded like Liara had lost all form of emotion. She couldn't even sound properly indignant when talking with Aethyta. Seriously. What happened? It was like the life got sucked out of her. Ugh. So in the end it was Garrus. Garrus was my bro.

If I were to play the game again though, I think I'd remain relationship less. Although I hate the fact that it's so easy to slip into a romance--especially if you are like me and try to talk to everyone. Also, man, some of the girls just throw themselves at Shepherd. Like. What. Why is everyone so thirsty in this game? I just don't get it. Liara in game 1 included.

Choices:
Saved Rachni Queen. Saved Wrex. Killed Ashley. Romanced Liara. Everyone survived the survival mission. Destroyed Collector Base. Romanced Garrus. Cure ghenophage, Mordin died. Saved and recruited Rachni. Brokered peace between Quarian/Geth. Romanced Garrus. Destroy Ending.

Also, no I did not have Javik or the Citadel DLC. I saw all the videos on Youtube though.

Also, also. This is really random and out of all the ships I could become obsessed with in this game, I got really attached to Benezia/Aethya. They're like... two pretty minor side-characters, but I just find that whole angle really fascinating. WHAT HAPPENED? WHY DID THEY SPLIT? It helps that they're so black and white and then you have Liara thrown in.

Also it helps that the first Mass Effect fic I read was Saving Nezzy and... man is it amazing.

So yeah. Mass Effect. What a ride. I would love to replay it again. :)

Journey
Final game I will talk about is Journey. My friend made me play it in like.. 3 hours and what I can say? It's cute, it's beautiful, and I really need to thank the dude online who helped me throughout the whole game. And it was just one guy. I'm sorry, you probably thought I was a total dumbass who had no idea how to follow you around. I'm sorry I got lost at the very last part when we had to go up the mountain. I was so distraught going up alone and then I finally saw you at the end and then you died and I got so distraught and confused.

It worked out in the end though :D

Journey is cute though. I can see why it got a lot of rewards. At the end of the day though, unless we're doing actual co-op where the other person is in the room with me, I do not like playing games online with other people. Journey is nice in that you just interact with musical sounds, but in some ways... that made it more stressful. I wish I hadn't known that he was an actual person. It would've been nice if I just assumed they were an NPC who just happened to guide you. But oh well.

Glad I got to try it out. ^_^

Also. So pretty.

Arashi - 復活LOVE [review]

The first Arashi single this year has been released and despite only being the song for a CM, they packed a lot of money into this one. So, what do I think of all the effort?

Let's Welcome in the New Year - 2016!

I used to do this on my livejournal every year, but since I've kind of stopped posting there and this blog seems to be the slightly more relevant/active one, I'll be doing my annual year-end review here. To start off, as per the usual  here is a table outlining the games I've played, books I've read, movies and shows watched.

FNS 歌謡祭 - Arashi [2015.12.03]

FNS Kayousai is my most favourite year end music special. Why? Because unlike Best Artist which is turning more and more into a Johnny's fest every year, and Music Station which tends to just focus on more current Jpop stars, FNS has a good mix of everything--and they literally mix it up! I love seeing the collaborations between groups and singers, and hearing older classic songs spruced up with the latest singles.

All in all, as a music show I think FNS has the most to offer and is the most entertaining. With that being said, ever since the great fiasco of 2011, Arashi stopped appearing live on FNS which made me not really watch it anymore. This year though, they were there, which got me really excited because that meant that a) they were going to collaborate and b) hopefully they would sing live again?

Well. A was partially true but I really shouldn't have gotten my hopes up for B. I mean, at the end of the day I don't mind if Arashi lip syncs. I really don't--I'm not  here for there spectacular singing voices anyway. BUT. The thing is, at FNS, it is so obvious that everyone is singing live. You can hear it. Even if you don't necessarily recognize the song and have never heard the recorded track, you can tell just from the sound of their voices that they are singing through a microphone. Arashi? Yeah. Nope. And the reason this bugged me?

BECAUSE  IT MEANT THEY DIDN'T DO A SINGING COLLABORATION. I was so upset! I loved when Arashi did their collaborations in 2009 and 2011. They were really great and super enjoyable and fun to watch. And at least for their version of Hatenai Sora in 2010, it was obvious they were singing live. But no. This year, they did a "collaboration" with Momo Clover Z where the girls just back danced for them. And obviously the girls couldn't sing a long because Arashi was lip syncing (and they were, it was obvious). If you listen to the sound of Arashi vs the sound of literally anyone else who performed, it is obvious those voices aren't coming from the mics. Or--if they were (which I think for Ai wo Sakebe they kind of were)--it was accompanied by heavy backing vocals.

Honestly. Part of me feels like the only reason they appeared live this year was because Matchy was there. If they didn't need to support their sempai (seriously watching all the Johnny's standing front and centre pretending to enjoy Matchy's performance was so embarrassing... I wonder what everyone else though), then I doubt they would have showed up. I wonder if they'll even bother showing up next year or if it'll be back to sending in studio recordings again :|

Also. Finally. What the hell was up with MatsuJun's hat?

Oh. This was supposed to be a performance review wasn't it? Um. I thought it was cute that MatsuJun shook the hand of that MomoClo girl before they left. Ai wo Sakebe had Sho making faces as usual and Jun looking super happy. Uh............ yeah. I don't even remember what song they did in between Wish and Ai wo Sakebe. Did they do song in between? You can tell how impressed I was with the performance. Sorry. I love Arashi, but guys, no one is going to freak out if you sing out of tune okay. We all saw the 2011 fiasco, you can't get worse than that. Seriously. -_-;;

Once Upon a Time - Ranting about Season 5 (SPOILERS!!!)

So last year (wow, only last year) I got into the ABC drama Once Upon a Time. One of the very few English dramas I watch, and besides Modern Family, the only American show I have ever followed while it was airing. Basically, that means that I like this show a lot. 

Or at this point, I am very tempted to say that I liked it. Why? Because season 5 has been such a train-wreck. (SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT - LIKE REALLY SERIOUS ONES - YOU  HAVE BEEN WARNED)

大野智 - 暁

(Translation Index: Here)

大野智 - 暁 (Akatsuki)

ふと見上げ　おぼろ月浮かんだ　夜に
可憐に咲いた　花よ
時代が　流れ流れても
遠く　時を超えて　運んでゆく　あなたの元へ

Casually, I looked up at the moon  hanging dimly in the night sky
Like a flower that has bloomed, oh so sweetly
Even as time flows on and on
From far away, overcoming time itself, I'll make my way to your side

離れてく　千切れ雲
追いかけて　さざ波
触れずとも　魅せられて
儚き　影の中で

The scattered clouds have drifted away
The ripples are scattering to catch up
And without even needing to touch you, I am enchanted
Into those fleeting shadows

風　いたずらに　吹き抜けて　水面に
浮かぶ空　掻き乱してゆく
移ろう　（時を）　願う
手を伸ばしても　ただ　溢れるだけ

The wind aimlessly blows upon the water's surface
Disturbing the reflection of the sky drowning within it
I wish (that time) would move on
But even when I stretch out my hands, it simply floods past me

もう　来ぬ人を　待つような　想いで
過ぎてゆく　あてもなき夜
心　（消えぬ）　景色　汚れなき　微笑みに

Feeling as though I am waiting for someone who will never arrive
I pass these aimless nights
And in my heart is a scenery (that won't disappear), giving me a smile not marred by anything

「心にも　あらで憂き世に　長らへば．．．」
知らぬはずの　燃えるように　鮮やかに　輝いて　

"Even if I do not wish to, if I must remain within this bleak world..."
I shouldn't have know about it, but there it is shining so brightly, like it's burning

暁に　胸の中
叩く音　とまどい
夢の中　近くとも
どんなに　遠きことか

As dawn enters into my heart
I am troubled by a throbbing sound
Although you are close to me in my dreams
How far am I away from you in reality?

今　映し出す　離れない　記憶は
叶わない　約束としても
深く　（響き）　渡り
身を尽くして　ただ　羽ばたいてく

These memories appearing in my mind that I can't be rid of
Act like a promise I will not be able to fulfill
(Echoing) deeply inside me
Simply flapping their wings to the point of exhaustion

そう　舞い落ちる　花びらは　夢想の
彼方へと　呼び覚ましゆく
出逢い　（深い）　調べ　ざわついた　隙間にも

The petals that have fluttered down
Call for you, who are in my dreams, to wake up
Meeting, creating (profound) music, stirring up the spaces in my heart

「心にも　あらで憂き世に　長らへば．．．」
追えど見えぬ　掻き分けて　雲の間に　輝いて

"Even if I do not wish to, if I must remain within this bleak world..."
I chase it without seeing it. Pushing it's way through, it shines brightly between the spaces within the clouds.

「心にも　あらで憂き世に　長らへば　恋しかるべき　夜半の月かな」

"Even if I do not wish to, if I must remain within this bleak world I will yearn for the moon hanging in the midnight sky"[*]

[*] - this line is actually a poem from part of the "百人一首" (Ogura Hyakunin Isshu), a collection of 100 poems written by 100 poets, and is central to the card game karuta. 

----Translators Notes---

I don't usually make comments but this song is actually just so beautiful lyrically and very poetic--so much so that I think I actually need to explain a few things and my translation choices.

I don't think I did justice translating the poem itself, and thus the rest of the song, but I also didn't like any of the translations I found online. The idea behind the poem though seems to be that if the person must continue living in their present reality against their wishes, what they will find solace in, is the beauty of the moon.

And this song--Akatsuki--reflects the sentiments of the poem almost perfectly. The subject of this song is also taking about their longing for the moon and to be close to it. Also there is a line up there "I wish that time would move on" - and this reflects the part of the poem that expresses having to remain in the world against the persons wishes. In the song, "wishing that time would move on" implies a notion of change as time moves on---so not just time passing, but time changing and ultimately (I assume) for time to bring this persons death. But the next line "even when I stretch out my hand..." shows that despite the subjects wishes, time just continues moving on but not affecting him.

In fact--the fact that the song itself is named Dawn just makes so much sense because this is the moment when the moon begins to disappear. So the subject tries to chase the moon as it it outshone by the sun, despite not being able to see it--but you know how you can see the moon sometimes on a clear day? So the moon shines through regardless, even when it should have disappeared with the morning light.

Blargh, I honestly hated analyzing poems but man, this song just... I don't know, it strikes a chord in me. My English tutor would probably have tears in her eyes if I told her this xD.

櫻井翔 - Rolling Days

(Translation Index: Here)

櫻井翔 - Rolling Days

揺らめく様な　香り近づく　目を閉じても　君と分かる
夢じゃないさ　零れる吐息は　高鳴りを連れて

A faint scent comes closer and even with my eyes closed I know it's you
This isn't a dream. The breath that escapes you makes me tremble.

聞こえているか？　漂う音が
気付けば falling down　止まらない想いで

Can you hear it? The sound hanging in the air.
By the time I realized, I was already falling down in to memories that wouldn't stop.

刻まれた　時間の中　生まれゆくダイヤのような
そこにしかない　輝きを　君の指に飾るから

In the time that has passed, a brightness is born that can only be found in diamonds
And I want to put it on your finger

どこまでも深い場所まで　二人落ちてゆけるなら
何も見えない闇さえ　優しく包み込むから
終わりなんて　怖くないのさ…
始まりは　いつも underground
もっと響かせ

If the two of us fall into the deepest of places
Even in such absolute darkness where we can't see one another, I'll embrace you gently
I'm not afraid of the end...
The beginning always starts from underground
Make it echo even more

とても綺麗な　涙が落ちる　透き通る様な　水晶になる
触れてみれば　懐かしさに似た　痛みを映した

A breathtaking tear falls, becoming a clear crystal
And when I tried to touch it, a pain close to nostalgia was reflected

覚えているか？　あの日の音が
打ち抜いた breaking down　変わらない想いで

Do you remember? The sound from that day.
Hitting and breaking down those unchanging memories.

脱ぎ捨てた　その肌は　なめらかな刃のようさ
傷ついたって　かまわない　君のそばにいたいから

The skin that you've shed is like a smooth blade
Even if you hurt me I won't mind, as long as I can be near you

強く抱きしめるたびに　壊れ落ちてゆくのなら
全て無くなるほどに　ひとつになればいいから
終わりなんて　いつか来るのさ…
始まりは　いつだってあるのさ
ずっと響かせ

If we break and fall apart every time we hold each other
As long as we become one, to the point where everything else is gone, it's fine.
When will the end come?
There will be always be a new beginning.
Keep on echoing

Ah　一時の快楽
燃えて　また灰になる
終わりなんてないはず
会いたく...（なる）　また拝借

Ah. That small moment of pleasure.
Burning and returning to ashes
There shouldn't be such a thing as an end
I want... (to see you). To borrow you again.

香りだけ漂う
想いまだ彷徨う
嗚呼もう　Wanna know?

Only your scent hangs the air
As my feelings continue to wander
Ah, that's enough. Wanna know?

もう闇の中へ逃げよう　（Oh)
僅かな光の強さを見せよう　（Oh）
もう離れなくていいんですよ　（Oh）
だから…　傍にいてよ　（Oh）

Let's escape into the darkness (Oh)
Let me show you how powerful even the smallest light can be (Oh)
We don't have to be apart anymore (Oh)
So please... stay by my side (Oh)

汚れたまんまでもいいの
夢の中まで逃避行　（Yeah yeah）
いつも現実は強引で　（Yeah yeah）
Rolling, rolling days

Even while tainted, you are fine
Let's disappear in to our dreams
But reality is always pulling us out to those
Rolling, rolling days

心叩くたびに　火花を巻き上げた
二人見つめたまま　光の中へ
重なり合う音が　螺旋を描いてた
溶け合いながら　永遠へ

Every time my heart beats, sparks fly
While gazing at each other, we head in to the light
And the sounds overlap to create a spiral
As we meld together into eternity

どこまでも深い場所まで　二人落ちてゆけるなら
何も見えない闇さえ　優しく包み込むから
終わりなんて　怖くないのさ…
始まりは　いつも underground
もっと響かせ

If the two of us fall into the deepest of places
Even in such absolute darkness where we can't see one another, I'll embrace you gently
I'm not afraid of the end
The beginning always starts from underground
Make it echo even more