Perk it up with an update!

The thing about blogging abt life is that it never reflects how busy you are actually living it. Here, to give it a new breath of fresh air is Fi. Soon, Fi will be blogging about the recent anime she's watched (Ao no Exorcist) and the recent game she's played (Disgaea 3 etc.) simply because the holidays are here! And there's a new member of the family in the house!

So, look out for it!

(found @ http://sorachicken.deviantart.com/art/Hope-Estheim-in-FFXIII-2-258809509)

Love,
Fi.

[game] Dragon Age: the game(s) that established as scientific fact that men evolved from darkspawn

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"Dragon Age III: Bloodlust". Ftw, anyone? Or is it just Lust?"

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Look at the time... What? It's 3 am in the morning of June the 24th and I've only sat down in front of the PS to start playing Dragon Age I: Origins all the way through Dragon Age II, in, oh... when was that again?... ah, that's right... ONE whole month ago.

By the way, this is all M's fault.

Dragon Age Origins could be fatal if avoided, poisonously fatal if indulged, and all because of one character named Alistair: accidentally romantic, clumsy, tragically vengeful if faulted and irresistably *hawt* ... that is, until, he turned 26+ in Dragon Age II. Yeah, in a cameo appearance in Dragon Age II (in which he becomes royalty if played to that ending, or a mad drunk if played to a different, more tragic conclusion) Alistair became a lazy programmer's late-night-party-drinking-morning-after-hangover version of Alister, King of Fereldan, btw, and if you must know, kick-ass tanker and sword-and-shield warrior who eats darkspawn ogres for breakfast... and I mean that... literally.

"Hmm... That's a switch."

What did that programmer decide to feed him these past 6 years in Dragon Age's Ferelden? Did they run out of stew? It caused some sort of genetic deformation in him. At least, they kept his hair intact.

"Swooping is bad..."

Of course, then, there's Fenris: the grumpy dwarf, i mean, elf, who gave brooding, angsty emo a whole new set of tight, black and shiny wardrobe. Sexy, in his feisty 'i hate all bleeding mages' mode (especially with another tight-pants Balthier's voice-acting) but a little exhausting to romance. Could I venture to say that conversation in Dragon Age II took psychological stress to a whole new level?



Indeed, Fenris is best when he is brooding, moping or whatever Varric can come up with, in a solitary corner and reading a book, or at least, trying to. Heh!

Anyhow, this is just a short post to reassure you that I'm alive and not drowned in darkspawn. But I DID wish Dragon Age II had a better ending... the whole world ending in chaos just seems a bit... depressing. The Champion, after all, worked her way up in society from nothing all the way to.... nothing again? Hm... What's up with that, I wonder?

Dragon Age III: Qunari War against the Tevinter Mages, anyone? Or shall it be Ferelden vs. the Orlais Empire? Hah! We'll see!

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Dragon Age I: Origins (my choice of Human Female Noble Rogue, later, Warden-Commander Queen)




Dragon Age II (my choice of Human Female Rogue, later, Ex-Smuggler, Templar-Killer, Mage-Supporter War Renegade)



...and her bed warmer, I mean, partner, Fenris...




Mimi, the Noble Feline Beast, who warmed the PS3 for the entire month and stood by me through darkspawn and poltergeists (I was scared in Varric's brother's haunted house!!!)



and finally, a, er, rather funny situation in Dragon Age II with Anders in the Deep Roads...
(Note: Look at the red dots in the map at the top right hand corner)


Anders: "As a Grey Warden,
I can sense other Wardens even in the Deep Roads...
(glances behind me)...
Or, of course, it could just be Darkspawn..."

Hawke: (silent thought) "Mistaking Darkspawn for a Grey Warden, yeah...
...but an ENTIRE horde of them????
Come on!"

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If you notice, I like the hairstyle and the white/silver/platinum-blonde hair on my characters! They could be lost sisters, who knows?!! They're both from Ferelden, anyway... Haha!

Keep it cool & Love all,
W.

~~a new blog face~~

Introducing our new blog face, it's rather blue but it's because dear M didn't manage to get to scan the 'gold bkgd' that we wanted! silly mac!


Anyhow, hope everyone likes it. Adding html coding, adjustments, Adobe hang-ups and colour matching [text, Cbox etc], it officially took me under 6 hours.

Work, tomorrow! Dammit... :p

Cheers to all! :p

[game] Eternal Sonata (PS3) 2008

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"Eternal Sonata" or "Trusty Bell: Chopin's Dream" (Japanese title-- a dodgy title, at best)
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Famitsu: 35/40=87.5%
GameRatings: 82.39%
Metacritic: 80%
GameSpot: 83%
IGN: 87%
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History
As Gustav Mahler once said, "If a composer could say what he wanted to say in words, he wouldn't bother trying to say it in music." Thus, Eternal Sonata was born in the mind of director Hiroya Hatsushiba to celebrate his love for classical music and for the Romantic work and life of 'the poet of the piano' Polish-born Frederic Francois Chopin (1810-1849). At an age when Bach (1685-1750), Beethoven (1770-1827) and Mozart (1756-1791) would have still been apprentices, Chopin was already recognised as a master of his art and started composing piano solos at the tender age of 7. He died at age 39, however, of tuberculosis and left in his place a legacy of Romantic piano solos that still enamours listeners even to this day.

Background to 'Eternal Sonata' (some spoilers and lotsa grousing, M!)
The premise of the game takes place just a few hours before 39 year-old, tuberculosis-ridden Chopin passed away in the night in the company of his doctor and (what seems to be) his close confidante, mezzo-soprano Pauline Viardot. Without their knowledge, Chopin had entered into his own dream world and is battling life-and-death, reality-and-illusion in his mind alone.

Frederic 'emo' Chopin

Polka

In this dream world divided by the countries of Forte (led by evil Count Waltz--an allusion to his illness and most famous works) and Baroque (led by heroic Prince Crescendo--an allusion to the age of Baroque music that came before the Romantic era), Chopin meets the 14-year old Floral Powder seller named Polka, who also appears to be terminally ill. Due to her predestined death and incurable illness, she is (through the reality of this game) able to use magic. Needless to say, while Chopin is in this dream, he too is able to use magic.

Prince 'noble badass' Crescendo

Additionally, Count Waltz is the lead manufacturer and promoter of the use of Mineral Powder to cure illnesses. Unknown to many residents of Forte, however, is the fact that a certain percentage of Mineral Powder users become even more sick, and inevitably, turn into monstrous, magic-wielding, mindless monsters. Duh.

Princess 'kickass' Serenade

On the one hand, a rebel group in Forte aims to topple Waltz's malevolent government. Led by buster sword-wielder and womaniser, Jazz, and his lady minions, I mean, er, lady companions (read: weak, spineless, hopelessly romantic, I-wanna-be-a-house-wife-in-the-Scottish-Highlands characters) named Claves and Falsetto, their story is one of intrigue, betrayal, suspense and even comic relief (if a death monologue lasting an entire night doesn't make you laugh, nothing else will). The Baroque Prince Crescendo and Princess Serenade, on the other hand, lend their support to these rebels from across the sea but prefer to offer themselves up as prisoners-of-war to Waltz rather than go down in a fight. Hey, there are stranger things than fiction in the world, but this one really takes the cake. These two are, imho, hopelessly romantic but kickass nonetheless and POWs just doesn't make a lick of sense in the general framework of the story...?

Claves

Jazz

Falsetto

What makes them think that a Count who allows his own citizens to consume Mineral Powder and turn into bloodthirsty monsters is in the right frame of mind to negotiate?

Allegretto

Beat

Meanwhile, on the opposite end of the political spectrum, Allegretto and Beat are stealing bread on the streets of Forte to feed the hungry, orphaned children of the sewers. Upset by their poverty, they leave their home to see Waltz and their chance meeting with Polka and Chopin (who were on the way to see Waltz as well so as to change the lives of the Forte citizens before they die) thus lead them on a journey to save the world, and at one point, even the time-space continuum! Although, this only happened, I think, because what is a RPG without a wormhole threatening to destroy not only mankind but also existence itself?!

Other characters include, sheepherder girl, Viola,


the fast, adorable and POWERful Guardians of Agogo Forest, quiet March,


and garrulous Salsa.


On a more practical side of the story, the game itself is divided into several chapters with befitting titles that relate to Chopin's music, art and life; such as 'Raindrops', 'Nocturne' and 'Revolution'. Each chapter introduces a 'history chapter' about Chopin and about the various, innumerable number of women in his life (apparently, Chopin was quite the looker and while diminutive and pale, was quite the catch in society). They also showcase some watercolour paintings or images of Chopin's beloved homeland, Poland, his life aboard Europe, mostly France, and the various places he lived. Not too brief, not too long, these little snippets are a welcomed rest from button-bashing, especially that every chapter ends with a big, bad boss––don't say I didn't warn ya!

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REVIEW
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All in all, Eternal Sonata seemed to promise an epic journey with an unbeatable battle system, that while mildly annoying and remotely liable for a series of head bashing, thumb bandaging, and Panadol overdosing incidents, keeps its battles lively and dynamic throughout the grinding hours of gameplay.

Fugue

This game is, after all, for lack of better terms, one of those games in which you sleep, you die. 'Tactical Time' at the beginning of every action your character partakes goes to 'zero' by the end of the game, and the 'Action Gauge' your character gets to kill off his/her chosen enemy is always, always counting down to 'zero'. For sure, there are 'Harmony Chains' and 'Special Attacks' to counteract these limitations but... well... it's not just button-mashing here, it's button-mashing with a vengeance. And when you come across this character, Fugue, in Chapter 3 of the game, you'd be crying in your bed to sleep and throwing pillows at the thing we call 'fate'. But game on, my friends, and persevere, because Fugue is voiced by none other than Johnny Young Bosch, who also voices Nero in 'Devil May Cry 4' and Ichigo in the English-dubbed Bleach.

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Battle System: 8/10
For its innovativeness, challenges and evolutionary tactics at every game level.
However, it could improve on its EXP acquisition and a more transparent Skills learning curve.
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Its character designs are cute and interesting, if not typical. However, its character histories and stories will make Tolkien roll over in his grave and Shakespeare grieve at his own headstone. The life of a spy, especially female and prone to falling in love with their targets (where did they get their damned training!!?) is miserable but does it have to make me miserable too?

Certainly, Polka, seems to bear some sort of resemblance to Chopin's own real-life little sister, Emilia, who too died of tuberculosis at age 14. In fact, I seem to recall Chopin (character) calling Polka 'Emilia' in the final few minutes (or hours, if you include the ending movie sequence) of the game. Despite how it sounds, however, the game is more about Polka and the rest of the dream characters rather than Chopin, himself. Isn't this game inspired by Chopin? Chopin as a character doesn't involve himself much in the story/plotline of the game and seems to me rather like calefare (not even a cameo).

Sure, I understand that Hatsushiba might have desired to 'preserve the memory' of Chopin, but... but... but it made Chopin the most distant main character in the history of RPG!

At the same time, it's dungeons are... Well, is 'boring' politically correct, I wonder. Why do I miss those days traipsing down to the temple puzzle dungeons of FFX with Tidus? Perhaps, this is because the only 'Chopin-inspired' dungeon was the final one involving a tower, a piano floor-board, and a music sheet (in my head), and that was only to test my memory retention skills (which isn't much, btw).

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Character & Dungeon Design: 7/10
For its adorable design, smooth, flowing garments and crisp 3D images.
May have to re-innovate the relationship between Chopin's art and RPG game landscapes.
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Unfortunately, plot holes, plot loops and plot huh-s? abound and the most interesting one about the strange, alien-looking rock that Polka throws off a cliff and then has it returned to her the very next moment by Allegretto simply set me on a wild goose chase. (The whole reason I continued playing this game was because of this!) There is a reason why House MD had so many writers working on its drama and if you aren't DA's resident staff writer like Patrick Weekes, Tolkien, Tolstoy, or Shakespeare, it's okay to ask for help, Hiroya Hatsushiba!

And so there goes an (almost) epic tale mired in its own weak plots such as the gawd-get-me-the-hangman's-noose-the-sturdy-tree-branch-and-the-grease-already tragic love lives of female spies and the ONE man who loves them all. And don't even get me started on the near-death monologues!

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Story: 7/10
For its thrilling premise, its creative use of a classical music legend in a PS3 game.
Yet, needs massive improvements in its overarching story framework, its minor characters and even its major ones!
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The saving grace of Eternal Sonata, of course, is it's amazing OST. A game imbued with the richest, most delicious sounds ever made for a game; Motoi Sakuraba's Chopin-inspired music direction created powerfully evocative background music that brings the player (that's me) to a Romantic/fantasy world. Stanislav Bunin's piano playing was light, refreshing and melodic, just as Chopin's music (especially the waltzes) should be. It also didn't hurt, of course, that he won the International Frederic Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw in 1985.

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OST: 9/10
For its brilliant renditions of Chopin's most gorgeous pieces. Need I say more?
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Overall Score for 'Eternal Sonata'
31/40 or 77.5%
(I would replay it only to get screenshots, i.e. if I needed them).





Cheers!

[ost] Eternal Sonata

Quick post: I just had to post this so you guys could listen!

Moon, you MUST play this game. It's the background music in one of the dungeons, Aria Temple. I'll review the gameplay as soon as I hit a lull in the gaming process (levelling up, sidequests, you ~know~ what I'm talking about!)



Cheers!

P.S. Congrats on the first post, Obs! :p

stollen, ftw

First dips!

Okay, my auntie Rose, is well-known among us as the preferred baker and confection-maker during holiday season. Pineapple tarts, experimental pineapple briyani, or was it, raisins, er, nvm, and fruit cakes are her specialities, and now, we’ve even got a stollen. When my mum got the sms: ‘Please come to take stollen for fi…’, my mum went: ‘I don’t know if it’s a typo…’ so we went to google it and found out what it was…

Stollen: “a loaf-shaped cake containing dried fruit, and covered with sugar, powdered sugar or icing sugar” (wiki entry for stollen).

I went: Fruit cakes, again?!

Mum: You better eat it…!

Monday morning and everybody was hungry before work, so guess what was offered on the table… Stollen.

Oddly enough, it was a fantastically tasty loaf of bread with just the right amount of sweetness, fruits and nuts, and sugar (yeah, so, I swiped away some of it) but it was great! My mum took some to work. My sis grew the green eye of jealousy, since she’s an experimental baker herself, and I’ll never say ‘no’ to fruit cakes again!

Thanks auntie Ros! (that reminds me… i haven’t replied that sms yet… i guess the stomach asks for pleasure first too…)