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Well Finally finished Castle Vania III Curse of Dracula. I must of saved and reloaded the game like 200 times, some times even 20 or 30 times on a single section. I have no earthly idea and how in gods name NES players back in the day were able to conquire these games with like only 4-6 lives and 3 continues in addition to taking down all the bosses. I really envy gamers back in the day. A 10 year old kid could probably accompilsh feats that a PRO gamer today wouldn't be able to.

I started playing Super CastleVania, man can you really see the upgrade from NES to SNES, not only in the graphics and music but also the controls. One of the most terrible annoyances of the NES era was Button lag which added to the frustrating difficulty. Thankfully there is none in the SNES. Not to mention frame rates are much more steady and its just alround so much easier to play games. This specific game toned down the difficulty level quite considerbly so I am really having a blast with it.

But in any case I am going to take a break from CastleVania and play something else now. I have had enough of platforming for one day.

The fandom of BSG is actually saying that the only space opera series that even comes close to the level of BSG is "expanse" so I am VERY intrigued to want to see this show as its currently airing. So far from what I have witnessed from specific space opera shows, really have not impressed me too much. At least not nearly on the same deep level as some anime shows have like LOGH or leiji matsumuto’s works.
I watch star trek, bablybon 5, and stargate and well they are all interesting with some great story arcs and explosive scenes, looking at these shows over all especially stargate which has like 20+ seasons and many exchanging of writers, directors and actors. It is hard to feel invested. You need a show like breaking Bad or BSG with a solid cast that can stay contracted for the full length of the series, so you have this consistency in quality acting that fits the roles of the narrative. Then you have this solid Beginning, middle and end and BSG specifically has a very brick pacing to it. There really isn’t much down time at all. It is very cohesive.

Speaking of which, there actually is a new BSG project in the works which really has me overly joyed to see how this will come to be and better yet it is actually inspired by the 2004 BSG and not the 1970’s version.
This is the article:
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/battlestar-galactica-reboot-sam-esmail-works-at-nbcus-streamer-1239018

And Sam Esmail quoted “BSG fans, this will NOT be a remake of the amazing series @RonDMoore launched because ... why mess with perfection? Instead, we will explore a new story within the mythology while staying true to the spirit of Battlestar. So, say we all!" Esmail tweeted Tuesday.

Now that is not to say this is going to have the same type of quality as BSG 2004 by Ronald D. Moor. But more Battlestar of anything to me is awesome. Perhaps explore a different part of the lore and universe of the franchise. Will just have to wait and see I guess, but for now I am probably going to start expanse soon because bsg fans highly recommend it.

These books actually got me into classic video games that were not even role playing but just looked so amazing with its detailed sprite work and the way its presented on the pages. I just had to take them for a test drive, one such game was castlevania which kind of resparked my interest for this series again and also Gradius and pocky and rocky which is r both shooter game. One being a rail shooter and the other being a run and gun shooter. Not a huge fan of shooters but the artwork and sprites was pretty awesome looking. Pocky and Rocky especially had some pretty vibrant level designs and had alot of japanese mythological sprites every where. It was pretty cool but also challenging lol.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-tXc944E-w

Sent you a PM and for plex if you decide to do that, i gave you the link for that as well. Its not something that is mandatory for viewing files on your tv but its really made things much easier for me personally. It isn't complete devoid of issues though, i mean with any PS4 apps, there is always the tendecy of apps crashing and that is just because the PS4 just has that problem with alot of apps. Memory crashes are pretty frequent.

Yeah that Bitmap book is a day 1 purchase for me, probably even go further and get the limited edition. 600+ pages of nothing but RPG goodness, i mean come on.

Bitmap really creates some excpetional books, I own 4 of their books already and you will be amazed at the quality. They are actually housed in a chipboard box that is dust free and scratch free with a very tight binding and glossy pages lots of reading, text and pictures to view with multi color ribbons for bookmarking all for like maybe $35 for a 350 page guide? Serously. I am a fan.

Oh and yes I am reffering to the 2000 series, not the classic. Though At some point i do want to watch the classic just not sure when.

Something that I have started using is called Plex media and man let me tell my life has been so simplified because of it. It allows you to literally allows you to organize and list all your files from your hardrives in a media server system that you can use on your playstation 4 to watch pretty much everything you want, its directly ran from your computer so its not a seperate program with codec restrictions since its all based on your hardware of your PC. But you can compile a library of shows or movies or anime, what ever you want, it comes with sypnosis, character bios, and almost looks like your viewing netflix. The plex media works in a way that is synces up with meta data from various internet movie databases to import all the photo's, cover art, actor biographies, descriptions, etc. The greatest thing about Plex is its 100% free, yes there is premium services but not required. I have an entire 21 TB library compiled through my plex connected to around 17 hard drives. :)


In any case its what I been using now as my ultimate Media Center for viewing everything on my big 55" TV. Instead of having to watch stuff on your computer which does hurt your eyes after to much long time exposure of LCD panels.

With BSG unfortantly its not available on many streaming sites, it used to be on netflix. So its one of those series that you will have to download or torrent or something like that. Or you can purchase the set but it will run you about $80 dollars. To me its worth it and I have my own physical collection but there is a blueray rip online. I can send you the links through your PM if you like.

So apparently bitmap books finally released some infromation on their massive guide to the japanese role playing book. included our some screen shots and a description on what the book is about. Pretty awesome. I can't wait to get this as a collector item and it will cover over 650 games in total from the 8 bit micro chip era to the modern times.

https://www.bitmapbooks.co.uk/products/a-guide-to-japanese-role-playing-games?mc_cid=eefdb43a8d&mc_eid=b034e1e4d0

It has information on YS I and II of course lol

I have not seen the leftovers and Have not really been following any newer shows recently but there are some that I do want to get into. Also stuff involved with Ronald D. more which is personally one of my favorite directors, he did Battlestar Galactica. One of my favorite shows. I have seen that series so many times and still love it. Just like every now and then I'll rewatch episodes of it because I still enjoy that series ever going as far as to put on my plex media so I always have it lol. Lost has been on off netflix for a while but its still one of my favorites.

As for what I am planning on watching, well I am not quite sure yet. There is some new stuff I am looking forward to but I have not yet compiled that list yet.

Just been mostly watching anime, playing video games and catching up on some film series.

With CastleVania, the series starts kind of with platforming elements and sort of becomes the bases for the gameplay. The NPC interaction and visiting of towns really is only mostly a side excursion at least on the NES titles, but as the series evolves, it becomes far more interesting, introducing more of a seamless connected world kind of like Super Metroid Or Zelda. With greater intuitive rpg mechanics such as being able to level up, go to shops and purchase and outfit yourself in gear and weapons to explore the world and the games start to tell a more compelling story with great characters. SOTN in particular i think is a very high peak for the series in realizing what the castvania series eventually develops into.

Final Fantasy V I think gets alot of unnecessary criticism but at its core, it’s one of the greater fundamental games with well-balanced mechanics and probably more strategy than any FF game until FF XII with its dynamic class-based system. Final Fantasy III had a job system as well, but it was not nearly as great as FF V in my opinion. I remember really having a lot of fun with that game and creating such awesome battle parties for any type of battle situation. The story itself is probably not the highest point but there are some interesting iconic characters like the infamous Giglamesh introduced.

Final Fantasy IV is by many fans labeled as like the holy grail of the series next to VI. Its considered one of the best FF entries in the series and for good reason, the story grips you from beginning to end with great characters and probably one of the best backstorys of any villain in the series until Sephiroth of FF VII. Its character writing at least on the villain side of things is also much more involving than FF VI kefka. I loved FF VI but I did think there was a bit left unexplained about Kefka and his lack of appearance in the 2nd half of the game was kind of concerning. But it was made up for the amazing world building and seeing how Kefka single handily transformed a world into a desolate wasteland due to his tyranny as a twisted sociopath with immoral views on society. (I don't think I am helping my argument here am I, lol sorry it’s just so hard to say anything bad about FF VI since I really love every aspect of that game)

Well truthfully speaking, With FF IV, the writing is consistent, and the major villains have a bit more story evolved, and I think you may appreciate the antagonists having more screen time. Also, the DS remake needs a mention here as I think they did a phenomenal job at portraying such a great story with awesome voice acting and kicked the production value up a notch to where it really feels like when these moments happen in game, its truly a spectacle to witness especially as a longtime fan growing up with the original game. Also, the PSp remake is the definitive collection if you want to play the most authentic original with upscaled textures and lots of extra features including of course the interlude and after years which are two full games. However personally I think after years was just an excuse to create a sequel with more characters and larger dungeons. Well, there were some interesting new mechanics that made the combat system fun, I didn't particular care for it that much in terms of the characters, the writing and long dungeons. It goes on record though for having one of the largest Final dungeons in any FF game to date with a staggering 50 floor deep dive. If you are a hardcore veteran and you appreciate large dungeons, you may like it.


Ahh Final Fantasy X. What can I say about this? This in my opinion was the most accessible FF title of the bunch not just for hardcore fans but mainstream audiences as well. The graphics were freaking amazing for its time and I remember when this was first released on the Playstation 2, I was absolutely in awe at the levels of production this game brought to the table of the series. Every cinematic was breathtaking and had some of the greatest musical tracks coupled with great fluid motion of characters on screen and stellar voice acting. This was also the first time, motion capturing was used to depict more realistic motion flare of characters on screen during cutscenes. It was a very experimental stage this point in time but fans were blown away by it when it was first introduced. This technique obvously became a staple that continued into later years and new generations and is pretty much norm now a days for visual motion projection and even going as far as using real life humans for motion capturing. We sure have came along way since its introduction in FF X. This was also the blueprint for FF XIII CG glory. It is also very notable for being the "last game" in the series to actually have a decent good story as most fans will tell, you the writing aspect of FF sort of dipped after this.

Speaking interms of gameplay and mechanics I loved the sphere grid system to as it enabled you to really take control of your party roles more aggressively instead of being restricted to certain player archetypes. Its also the one game where I put probably close to 500+ hrs into it. It’s a standard 50-60 hr game for the main story but trying to complete everything including the battle arena’s certainly takes a lot of time and commitment but it was one of the games I think I had the most fun playing next to FF XII in the sheer number of things you can do in the game. That being said, the game does follow a more linear approach and gets rid of the over world system present in most FF titles as you probably already know at this point. But its still a great game with amazing set piece moments and great characters and an interesting story.

Most YS games are self-contained adventures with very little overarching of storylines. However as to which game to play first is kind of a controversial question amongst the fandom. Some fans say to play a game that is more accessible or user friendly with more refined controls and mechanics as an easier entry point into the series more so then starting with the first games which tend to have more archaic controls.

Other more Purist will tell you that you can never go wrong with "release date order" which I personally agree with myself. However, you can really play any of the games in any order, but I think YS I and II should almost always definitely be played before YS origins. YS origins build’d upon the story and background of YS I and II and there for spoils a lot of the story from those games and is also more deeply connected. It does have some references from YS VI but there subtle and nothing extreme so it’s not necessary to wait to play YS origins, if you want to play it directly after YS I and II, then that is ok.

Now for own my personal view on this specifically referring to how I play any series. I always play every game in its release date order, but I also sometimes like to see how the series evolves and changes with each entry. I also have a firm belief that with release date order is the preferred way the creators/developers intended for you to experience the series and for me you can never go wrong with that.

For example, in Kingdom Hearts, Birth by sleep might be the first game in the story's chronology but it’s based on your large familiarity of the series, the world and its characters as a whole and so absolutely would not be a good starting point for Kingdom hearts. YS although not nearly as interconnected as trails, still I think holds some truth to those rules especially with a company like falcom who is known for such forshadowing, throwbacks and references connected to to other games in that respective franchise.

Btw I am not sure if you are a fan of bitmap books but they are creating some excetionally amazing books that are usually 500 or so pages or more with history, lore, box art of classic titles and many games shown with screen shots and illustrations. Well there is a new book in production that is tentativly called the RPG book and its being released some time in june. This is supposed to have a whopping 800+ pages of content. It is an RPG tome the lenght of a damn bible damn near and I think in the next month or so they are going to start displaying some screen shots so you can see what it looks like. It will for sure be a hot selling item. The guy told me it covers from the rpg roots of DnD on up to like modern hardware. Not entirely sure how far it will go but he said its major work of love within their company. Anyways just thought I would mention it. If you don't know about Bitmap books, ill give you the site. You can look at these some of these books like the SNES Visual Compendium and preview the screen shots and the size of the book. These books are amazing and I am so happy to have these in my collection.

https://www.bitmapbooks.co.uk/collections/all/products/snes-superfamicom-a-visual-compendium

Yeah, fair enough, at least you know how to change it and it works for any game on up to trails of azure.

So, after years and years, I finally played the CastleVania series lol. This is one series I sort of passed on growing up due to its sheer difficulty coupled with the fact you cannot save on the regular nintendo made it seem impossible but now with the PS4 collection, I can finally replay these games and I am going through the WHOLE series. I been wondering why fans always indicate castlevania as a rpg series because I never saw that with the first game. It was mainly a platformer with frustratingly difficult sections, so it was cool seeing how the series kind of evolved with CastleVania II, then Super Castlevania and finally SOTN. It kind of reminds me of playing Super Metroid but with rpg elements where you can talk to people at towns, buy equipment for your action/platforming adventures. Honestly, I been having alot of fun with this and it is just one of the franchises I wanted to get to before I get to damn old lol.

Anyways been trying to Prioritize myself a bit more these days, only tackling video games that I just must play in my lifetime instead of trying to play all the niche and obscure titles. For example, did you know I have never actually played Saga Frontier before? and with the remake coming out, it’s a perfect time as any.

Over the last few years, I have garnered quite a splendid collection of PS1 titles. At one point I sold all my ps1 games and was left with hardly anything but now managed to get most of them back.

My sole purpose in life though is to conquer every popular rpg video game franchise out there, ones that I completely overshadowed or that flew under my radar in favor of like Final Fantasy growing up. I am waiting for FF VII remake part 2 and IF they manage to release the Yufie DLC for ps4, I’ll play that to at some point. How ever I am not investing in a playstation 5. It’s just far too soon for that. We probably will not get FF XVI any time soon so there is no point in purchasing a console with nothing to lookforward to. I have enough on my plate as it is and I am having LOADS of fun just playing some of these classics.

Also I am not sure if you are aware but with the voiced dialogue mod, it actually sets the dialgue to "auto play" which some players don't paticular care for and they like to take their time to read the text. So if this is a situation you are having to deal with it. All you have to do is EDIT script file of your Voice.INI and set it to 0 for auto play instead of the default 2. The way you open up the script for that file is by using notepad and then save it. Now you will no longer have to worry about "auto play" for all your dialgoue.

Oh ok, wow your going to be in for a suprise when you see certain developments take root in the sky arc that you probably are familiar with from playing cold steel I. its backwards but you'll see things from a different point of view. It will be interesting, that is for sure.

My suggestion and you don't have to do this if you don't want to but since you have played through FC already, you could play it on easy mode, just to experience the story and not run into an serous challenges or anything so you can get through it much quicker and move on to SC. But that is ultimatly up to you. Personally I love Normal or hard difficulties because it really showcases the full strategical tactics of the gameplay mechanics. Easy mode kind of retcons alot of that.

Oh yeah absolutly, one of the greatest aspects of any game trails is the NPC interaction and the world building you get from that. Just a farmers side quest story has so much depth to it and replaying these sequences, you may notice other things pop up that you didn't catch before.

wait, so you have not played TOS the 3rd yet? All this time I thought you kind of finished the TOS arc and were just re-playing it. Well good to know.

Also Joshua's and Estelle's Reunion i believe happens in Chapter 7, its not quite the full end. Its far into the game but its the perfect emotional setup to the crazy train ride awaiting players in the final three chapters beyond that.