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Obsessionist

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Blog Entries posted by Obsessionist

  1. Obsessionist

    Dear College Board

    By Obsessionist,

    Please stop telling me to take the SAT again. I took it once, I am happy with my score. I realize that many students score better if they take it again. You can stop sending that email over and over. I am also smart enough to realize that, statistically, about 50% of students would do better their second time, even if they didn't get any better at math and writing and everything. So you can see how your emails are pointless. And should stop.
  10. Obsessionist

    Life Tip

    By Obsessionist,

    Put a marshmallow on chocolate chips on a Ritz cracker. Microwave until the marshmallow engulfs everything else. Consume.
     
    (Also semi-nostalgic MOC topic)
  11. Obsessionist
    I coached a First LEGO League team this year, a team which included a sister of mine, which was really cool. They won 1st in robot design and 2nd in robot scoring, which was very unexpected and very satisfying. The robot kit didn't arrive until a couple of weeks before the competition, and one of the robot's functions was built and programmed on competition day.
     
    The only time before this year that this middle school has had a FLL team was when I initiated one my 8th grade year, and that year I basically did basically all of the robot designing on my own with my own Lego. That year my team went to states because our robot won robot design, so it was cool to see this year's team win the same thing. Most importantly, getting my sister to do awesome Lego stuff is always amazing.
     
    Also I wore this mask to the competition:
     

  12. Obsessionist

    Pigasus

    By Obsessionist,

    I have a friend who, for IB History of the Americas, is doing a project on the Yippies, a hippie-like group who proposed a pig for president and were arrested for their efforts. This friend has found a lot of sources about certain protests and recently turned in the rough draft of this Internal Assessment.
     
    Now, say this with me...
     
    He has researched and written a
     
    Yippie IA
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    ...This gave us a lot of joy, but we're full-IB students operating on sleepless nights and caffeine, so your mileage may vary. By the way, this real trial on Pigasus is worth reading the whole way through. Trust me.
  13. Obsessionist

    I approve.

    By Obsessionist,

    Majora's Mask 3D is confirmed. And that's pretty nifty, given that it's my favorite game of all time.
     
    Seeing it with updated graphics will be GLORIOUS. I was kind of irrationally hoping for an HD remake, because I feel like that would add a lot more to the game experience... But who cares, we got our remake! Of course the console version will always hold a special place in my heart, and I'll come back to it someday, that doesn't make me any less excited for a super cool portable 3D version.
     
    Here's hoping they throw in some sort of master quest. As someone who has played the N64 Zelda titles multiple times before, OoT3D's master quest, which I had not played before, really sold me on that version. And even though I'm already sold on MM3D, the idea of even more Majora's Mask content to experience for the first time makes me giddy. That's just a dream, though.
     
    OH but I will say that I'm not sure I like the new in-game Moon. Maybe it's closer to the original concept art, but the exact dimensions of the N64 moon were so perfect and hideous, with even the rough polygons adding to the effect...
  15. Obsessionist

    Emulators? JRPGs?

    By Obsessionist,

    Can anyone give me some info on game system emulators?
     
    I've never done a lot of computer gaming, and no emulating at all. I'd like to play Mother 3, though. What's the best GBA emulator? How do I find an emulator and Mother 3 ROM that are very safe/reliable? How do I set up an emulated game?
     
    Any pointers are appreciated.
     
    ALSO if, hypothetically, I wanted to play any one other JRPG--albeit one that has had an official release in the U.S.--what JRPG would you suggest? Preferably ones that I can access and play on a Gamecube, Wii, Wii U, and/or 3DS.
  16. Obsessionist

    EarthBound

    By Obsessionist,

    Wow. That was an amazing experience.
     
    This was pretty much my first JRPG, so I can't really talk about the actual gameplay or battle system, have so little RPG knowledge. I liked the enemy variety, mechanic-wise. It felt great to maximize each character's stats and effectiveness. In a lot of areas, especially late-game, I found myself performing the same psi-conserving, maximum-damage motions over and over despite enemy diversity, just because that was most effective. The occasional difficult battles were excellent. The game definitely got easier as I progressed, which is maybe not ideal. I did a lot of grinding just to survive early on, only to breeze by later sections. It probably doesn't help that I did the last several dungeons out of order by accident.
     
    On that note, I loved the freedom you gain in the latter third or so of the game, while the actually linear first areas also felt good.
     
    But EarthBound's biggest draw isn't the battling, is it? It's the sheer beauty and artistry of the whole quirkily haunting experience.
     
    The title screen and file select wowed me. I booted up the game, and BAM, thematic apocalyptic images, and cut to that awesome, totally contrasting title screen. Of course I want to start a new file, and I'm immediately laughing because it wants to know what flavor of windows I prefer. And as it asks me to name character after character I pause constantly to savor that ear-worm music. (By the way, of course my most powerful PSI attack was PSI LEGO OMEGA.)
     
    Never had I played a game that kept me so consistently engaged. The music makes the game amazing in and of itself. In most games there will be a couple of themes that really catch my ear, but in EarthBound I found myself constantly appreciating every piece. Some were ambiance, yes, but brilliant ambiance. Paula's theme, the bus theme, basically everything made me stop for a while and just listen. The sheer quirkiness of the sound design really brought all of the game's areas, funny or serious, up a notch.
     
    The silliness could have so easily seemed forced or cliche in the worst way. Somehow, and I'm not sure how, the perfect balance between absurdity and satire (of America, RPGs, and people in general) is reached. My goodness, the writing is good. And the game looks fantastic, with an art style that beautifully captures the game's ideas and general style.
     
    When the game gets serious, it's powerful and perfectly implemented. And the final hours of gameplay were an amazing roller coaster of emotions and adrenaline. I really wanted to immediately replay the final boss and endgame, but it just wouldn't be the same.
     
    I feels cheap to rank it, but this is definitely now one of my favorite games. These things vary with time, of course, and whatever game I've played most recently tend to seems better than I will eventually remember it as being, but I would rank EarthBound very, very close to Majora's Mask, my all-time favorite game.
     
    I love the two games for a lot of the same reasons, in fact. Dark themes paired with absurd worlds, the constant threat of destruction urging you on... Both are very thematic experiences in which you, the player, are pulled in and personally challenged. Yet the two are incomparable as it seems all games are incomparable. EarthBound is a JRPG, Majora's Mask is action-adventure. EarthBound struck me as more of an experience you went through, Majora's Mask struck me as more of a world to appreciate.
     
    I can see why both are cult classics (EarthBound admittedly more so than Majora's Mask).
     
    Now to try and get my hands on Mother/Mother 3. I've never emulated, and I'm a real stickler for keeping things legal and experiencing things as their official releases on their legitimate, intended platforms, but given the unique situations of those two games I just might have to make an exception.
     
    ...I still don't understand how to use Ness well in Smash Brothers, though.
  19. Obsessionist

    Motivation

    By Obsessionist,

    I don't really feel motivated. I understand why I would be motivated. I'm invested now, I want to do my best, I'm too close to success to let one more sleepless night get in my way. But I don't regularly feel a powerful urge to do what I do.
     
    Thank goodness there is some sort of unavoidable, powerful, subconscious motivation at work, because I have 100% relied on it to drive my academic pursuits. I get my homework done, by golly, because I can't not get my homework done.
     
    This has been a confusing few sentences and I'm not entirely sure what I was trying to say. It's been nice procrastinating on that Bio paper, though.
  20. Obsessionist

    A Note on Idioms

    By Obsessionist,

    If you, like me, in your bumbling speech, cannot avoid accidentally mixing up the terms "Hang on" and "Hold your horses," say "Hang up."
     
    Do not tell your friend to "Hang your horses."
  22. Obsessionist

    Gear functions?

    By Obsessionist,

    GEAR FUNCTIONS!
     
    Onya is a thing!
     
    That Kanohi Akaku!
     
    Dual-purpose weapons!
     
    Pohatu has... Glider boomberangs? What?
     
    BIONICLE AESTHETIC PIECES!
     
    Trans colors!
     
    Green and brown!
     
    GEAR FUNCTIONS!
     
    Onya looks good with purple!
     
    Onya's giant shoulder/hammer parts!
     
    What if Onua had actually been changed to Onya, a female Master to even out the genders?
     
    GEAR FUNCTIONS!
  23. Obsessionist
    The Gamecube controller adapter for Wii U will only work with Smash Bros. Nintendo had the solution to all of the Wii U's backwards compatibility and virtual console problems within reach and they whiffed.
  24. Obsessionist
    The Good: Smash Bros for 3DS has a fantastic soundtrack. Surprising standout tracks include the PAC-MAN mixes and the Mii Plaza mix. The ability to use the 3DS as an MP3 player is a small touch, but really fun and useful. I have my 3DS hooked up to some speakers right now to serenade me as I do some homework. Also, giving you the soundtrack CDs for the 3DS and Wii U versions if you buy both is a wonderful idea.
     
    The Bad: The witty, clean, well-produced, and hilarious webcomic Brawl in the Family has reached its end. I will forever miss what was by far the best webcomic I've ever encountered. It was a very well-planned end, though, much more satisfying than a sudden stop of posts.
     
    The Ugly: The Harmony of Heroes website is down, so I can't get my hands on it! I guess the hype must continue.
  25. Obsessionist
    I really like the Classic mode.
     
    Smash Run is fun but annoying. Maybe if I used faster characters I would enjoy it more.
     
    I haven't tried out many of the characters, but thus far Pac-Man is my clear favorite, though I do enjoy Charizard and Toon Link as well.
     
    Pac-Man's side special is incredibly satisfying to KO with.
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