One Productive Month.

Man, I had one productive month on this blog. This month, I wrote six entries for this blog. Well, seven if you count this one. That's a personal record for me. I'm hoping that next month just may be a bit more productive, with more entries and perhaps even some funny images or two, like these!

Putting up pictures is one of my favorite features of this blog, but it would get screwy on occasion, I will admit.

I do want to do some more comic reviews. I found an app that turns an iPad into a scanner, so I can scan pages from a comic book, but trades are a bit more of a challenge. Hopefully, I will think of something, as I do want to review the Skull the Slayer series and talk about why it's an underrated bit of 1970s Marvel.

It actually is quite fun, albeit a bit dated. I'll talk more about it once I figure out a way to scan the comics from the trade paperback without making them look stupid. And once it works out, maybe more comics will be reviewed.

I also will continue my Adventures in Pokémon Y series. I enjoy writing down my thoughts on the game, as it encourages me to keep playing it. I haven't beaten a Pokémon game since the original Red.

I still do want to talk about other things I also like, like games and movies. I am eagerly awaiting for Avengers: Age of Ultron to arrive, and I hope to type down my thoughts on it. I do hope Hawkeye gets a bit more spotlight and development. I've also heard that there are talks of a Black Widow solo flick, which I hope works out, and one does come.

Here's to this blog turning a year old, and hopefully, this'll be around many more years in the future, and who knows where it will go. Thanks for enjoying!

Adventures in Pokemon Y Part 10: Route 6 and Parfum Palace

Well, I planted an Oran Berry and a Pecha Berry, and one day later, I got a pleasant surprise. The berries blossomed into trees. And I ended up harvesting a boatload of Pecha Berries (plus a free Qualot Berry due to a mutation), and a bunch of Oran Berries. This is neat. I think I'll plant a couple more Berries. I also found a Miracle Seed in this farm. I'll keep it in my bag, I might have a use for it.

Thing is, you still have to take care of weeds and wild Pokémon. Got surprised by a couple of Spewpa, heh heh. Anyway, after planting the berries, watering the soil, and getting ready to leave, a woman approaches me, and asks me if I'm the owner of the farm. I tell I'm not. I don't think I am, anyway. The guy just lets me plant berries here. She tells me she is researching Berry mutations, and to meet her at the house. Neat. I can tell her about the free Qualot Berry I got!

I meet her in the house, and I'm guessing the woman is telepathic, because she remarks that the Oran and Pecha create a Qualot. Wait...how does that work? I only planted the berries! I didn't try to crossbreed them! Maybe it's a plant thing? Anyway, since I know I don't have to worry about watering them for a while, I'll hit Route 6 and check out Parfum Palace. Shauna's been wanting to go there anyway.

Route 6 is incredibly neat. It's a path that is lined by trees. The trees provide shade over the path, and I get the impression that I am entering a temple, with the leaves as a roof, and the tree trunks as columns. There are also a couple trainers along the route, so I can get some experience and some money along the way. And there's a couple areas of tall grass and more Trainers, and lots more wild Pokémon to collect.

One feature I think this game could use comes from the original Gold and Silver. In that game, some Trainers would exchange numbers with you and call you for rematches. I loved that idea, as I can imagine in this world, there would be rivalries between Trainers, and rematches may happen a lot. It also added to the replay ability of the game because you can continue battling Trainers. Would be even better if those Trainers came with stronger Pokémon, showing that like your character, they have grown stronger with time as well. That would be nice.

Passing through Route 6, I arrive at Parfum Palace. And I have to admit, the graphics on this thing are amazing. The palace is so beautiful, even at night. Looking at this palace, I am amazed by how the Pokémon series has grown graphically since the days of Red and Blue on the original Game Boy. In almost twenty years, the Pokémon games really have grown. I'm hoping that for Pokémon's 20th Anniversary, they give the original Red and Blue updates like they just did for Ruby and Sapphire.

One thing I can't help but wonder, though. I wonder why Shauna thinks we could learn more about Mega Evolution here? Does an expert on Pokémon evolution live there?

The Palace does remind me a little of Buckingham Palace, but since Kalos is modeled on France, I wouldn't be surprised if they modeled this place on the Palace of Versailles. I headed up to the front gates, which have Serperiors on them. A man there tells me that it will cost 1,000 gold to go inside. 1,000 Gold?! Do I look like I'm made of money?! Really?! Are you kidding me?! What, is this place only visited by dignitaries and entrepreneurs?

Thankfully, Shauna shares my outrage on it. The doorman, or should I say, gate man, explains that the owner believes that one can never have too much money. Ahhh, the owner is a greedy jerk. The man also explains that the fee is so high because the money goes towards maintaining the palace. That makes sense, actually. In real life, castles are very expensive to live in. Anyway, we pay the fee, and he lets us inside. Probably...

Jeez, this place is huge up close. Never thought I'd see buildings shown this...BIG in a Pokémon game. Anyway, we walk inside, and we see a man standing in front of a Milotic statue. He is screaming about not being able to find something. He's screaming about his Furfrou. Shauna suggests we help look for it, she saying that she empathizes with the man. I don't blame her. But I have no idea where to start. This place is opulent like you won't believe. It's walls are white with what I can assume is possibly marble, and there's lots of gold patterns on the walls, and busts of gold-clad knights everywhere. No wonder the entrance fee was so high.

I spot a butler in front of a pair of large blue doors. He states that beyond the doors lie the Palace's courtyard, described in his own words as 'too-vast'. I'll bet. A place as opulent like this, I'd be disappointed if it had a tiny courtyard, heh heh. I decided on exploring the place a bit. I found the King's bed...and I took a nap. Evidently the bed is a Pokémon Center, because my Pokémon feel good, too.

Walking around the place, you encounter various people, and through them, learn a bit about the mansion. I learned the current owner inherited the place. I also learned it was built when Kalos won a war with neighboring regions (A bard revealed the war happened about 3,000 years ago). That's interesting. Was Kalos warring with the regions featured in previous Pokémon games, or with other regions that haven't been seen yet? And Pokémon fought in those wars, too? Maybe that's where the battling thing came from. Gives you a lot to think about. Huh. And the same three paintings appear often in the place. That's funny. But I did find in one room a portrait of a person. It may have been the king who originally commissioned this palace.

Earlier, I spoke about how much the graphics in the Pokémon games have grown over the years. The second-floor balcony is further proof. It gives a view of...well, a too-vast courtyard. And it's quite a sight. You really get a sense of the size of that place. When I played the original Red and Blue on the original Game Boy back in the day, I never imagined I'd see a courtyard like this. Breathtaking.

Further exploring, I found what appeared to be a private library. Talking to the butler, he says that he heard a rumor that there was a book that contained a secret for restoring dead Pokémon to life. Foreshadowing, perhaps? He claims such a book is not in this library. Looking at the shelves, I found a book called "The Transforming Pokémon and the Mysterious Stone", about an incident in Shalour City. It's about Mega Evolution! Shame I can't take it...

Ah well, to the Courtyard! Once there, Shauna says she'll look around in the back. I get the front then, I guess. Looking around through the gardens, I find some items, including HM01, Cut. I also noticed the statues of Zekrom and Reshiram, the legendary Pokémon of the Unova region. A nod to Black and White, neat. Anyway, we find the Furfrou, and it runs off into a maze. We have to trick it into running into a dead end. Shauna and I manage to pull it off, though. It was pretty simple when we put some thought into it.

The owner is so overjoyed, he arranges a fireworks show. Wow. So, we decided to go up to the second floor balcony to watch the show. Shauna confesses she never watched fireworks with a boy before. Aww.The fireworks show is absolutely amazing, bright and colorful. We remember we came there for the Poké Flute, to wake up the Snorlax. The owner sends his butler to retrieve it. He explains that it was the treasure of Shabboneau Castle, but that he took it as payment for a loan. Sheesh, ever heard of payment plans? Anyway, the butler retrieves the Flute for us. The man advises us to always return what we borrow.

Shauna doesn't really like the Palace's owner, but the butler defends him by saying that running this place is hard on him. She then remembers that she was hoping to learn some things about Mega Evolution here, and she asks the butler if he knows anything. He explains the he remembers reading about it in the Palace's library. He also gives us TM17, Protect.

Well, now that we got the flute, it's time to wake that Snorlax!

Pokémon Obtained:
Quilladin (Chestnut) - Evolved from Chespin
Jones (Audino)
Venom (Venipede)
Braixen (Vulcan) - Evolved from Fennekin
Slash (Honedge)
Lookout (Sentret)
Frogadier (Neptune) - Evolved from Froakie
Weird (Oddish)
Psykitty (Espurr)
Goemon (Nincada)
Xerox (Kecleon)

Adventures in Pokemon Y Part 9: Route 7 and the Berry Farm

It's good to have friends. After complaining to one of my friends about the Global Trade System, she agreed to breed a couple Pokémon for me. Thanks to her, I got a Charmander and a Squirtle. I have all three Generation One starters, so my Bulbasaur won't be lonely. I was grumbling because of what people demanded in trade. I searched for Charmanders, and what did people want to trade for them?

Arceus. Mew. Real legendary and hard-to-get Pokémon. This I found incredibly annoying. Look, I do get that Charmander, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur are starters and can't really be caught in the wild. I get it. But here's the thing. They are not Legendary Pokémon because you can do something with those three you can't do with Legendary Pokémon: BREED THEM. You can BREED Charmanders. You can BREED Squirtles. You can BREED Bulbasaurs. If you have one, another compatible Pokémon, and a Breeding Center, you can CREATE more of the starters to trade to people. You don't need to demand Legendaries for starters. Yes, I do get that starters are hard to get, but so are Legendaries. And starters are not that hard to get as unlike Legendaries, they are breedable.

I start to leave Camphrier Town when I come to a crossroads. One route goes to Route 7, and the other goes to Route 8. Shauna appeared and told me the way to go, Route 7. Going down the route, we encountered a moment that made me smile a little bit.

There was a Snorlax blocking the road. Just like in the original Red and Blue, you encounter a Snorlax blocking the road. I had to admit, it was nice to see that little nod.

Two men are talking about using a Poké Flute to wake it, but the flute's owner doesn't have it anymore. When one of the men spots us, he explains that the flute can be found in a place called Parfum Palace. Shauna decides to go there to get the flute. She explains the Palace is just past Route 6. She's also hoping that they could learn something about Mega Evolution there. I don't see what you can learn about Mega Evolution at a palace, but it's Pokémon, so I'm just going to go with this.

While going back along Route 7, I noticed a path, so I decided to explore down that way. When I got there, I noticed what looked like a man and a little girl talking...or just standing there facing each other. I got a little closer and they noticed me. The man than asked me if I could take over his Berry field. He says that by planting a Berry, a person can get more Berries. I agree to take over the field (and end up learning the man is the little girl's grandfather), and he shows me how to take care of the field.

Basically, what I have to do is plant a berry in the soft soil, and over time, it'll grow into a Berry Tree which you can pick Berries out of. He gave me some Oran and Pecha Berries to start out with. The granddaughter gives me a Sprinklotad, which is a Lotad-shaped watering can. The grandfather explains that he can't garden like he used to due to his bad back, but the granddaughter explains that she and him live in the house in the corner of the field.

I'll be honest about something. I like Berries. I really do. I often grew them instead of buying certain healing items because it was a great way of saving a little money so I could put it towards other items. Having a Berry Farm for me has both one big pro and one big con. The big pro is that you can get a LOT of Berries just by planting a few. The big con is that with this farm, you have to stick around to make sure your soil is moist and also keep an eye out for wild Bug Pokémon that will try to eat your Berries.

I do like the idea of the Berry Farm, though. If you want a whole lot of Berries, you can use it. This reminded me of the Berry Pots from HeartGold and SoulSilver. I would love if you could also get those in X and Y, so a Trainer on the go can grow some Berries. Yeah, you wouldn't be able to produce as many berries, but it would allow a Trainer to keep an eye on their Berry trees.

For a laugh, I decided to plant an Oran and a Pecha tree. We'll see how that goes. Once the trees bloom, I'll head towards Parfum Palace.

Pokémon Obtained:
Charmander
Squirtle

Review A Great Game Day Bonus: Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies (Nintendo DS)

With Review a Great Game Day past us, I thought it would be nice to do a bonus review, one of my favorite games for the Nintendo DS: Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies.

Dragon Quest. In its native Japan, this RPG series is regarded as one of the greatest RPG series of all time (It's even more popular than the Final Fantasy series over there), and the first game in the series gave birth to the modern JRPG.

In the United States, the series is not very well-known, the Final Fantasy series being the go-to RPG series here. Which makes Dragon Quest IX an underrated game, the first in the series to be released for handheld consoles.

Your character is a Celestrian, essentially an angel. You have justundertaken the task of protecting the village of Angel Falls, so you can earn benevolence for the World Tree. Enough benevolence causes the Tree to sprout Fyggs, which are needed for the Celestrians to move to another realm.

However, a mysterious force attacks the Celestrians' home, separating them, and knocking your character to the mortal world.

You must now go on quests to collest the fyggs, and undo the twisted wishes of people who have eaten them. Over time, you can form a party, collect gold which can be used to buy new weapons and armor for yourself and your party, and eventually become strong enough to fight the force that attacked the Celestrians' home.

There are two features in this game I love. One is alchemy. By collecting various components from treasure chests and battling monsters, one can create various items, weapons, and armor. Recipes are hidden everywhere, and you can experiment with recipes of your own.

The other feature is that you see the monsters on the overworld. Instead of being caught in random battles, you can see monsters around you and your party and avoid them if you do not wish to battle at the moment. It's a great idea, and more RPGs should use this concept.

The only complaint I really had so far was that the game requires a LOT of grinding, especially if you are trying to get enough gold to buy better equipment and weapons for your party. It can wear on the patience at times.

If you're looking for an RPG to play for your DS, pick this one up.

Review A Great Game Day: Vectorman (Sega Genesis)

For "Review A Great Game Day", alongside Wild Guns, I decided to do a second review. This is one of my favorite games for the Sega Genesis, a game which I considered an underrated gem: Vectorman. You can also read it on the One More Castle site here.

Take Wall-E, mix in Transformers with a dash of Mega Man, and you got this guy.

The Sega Genesis, like its Nintendo counterpart, the Super Nintendo, has its own fair share of underrated games.

The action platformer Vectorman is one of them.

Vectorman is an "Orbot", a robot that is tasked to clean up the Earth after humans leave it due to their pollution and environmental damage they caused. After firing a load of garbage into the sun, he returns to Earth to find his fellow orbots being controlled by Warhead, an insane computer network that was accidentally linked ot a nuclear missile. Warhead had taken control of all the other orbots, and is now using them to fight any humans that dare to return to Earth. Vectorman was unaffected due to not being on Earth, and now must fight his fellow orbots to stop Warhead and save humanity.

Vectorman is a fun little game, the robot using a standard blaster to attack and destroy his fellow orbots, being able to temporarily use other weapons like a bolo gun, machine gun, and even a triple blaster.

The coolest mechanic in this game is that Vectorman, due to his construction, is able to temporarily morph into various forms, each with their own abilities, like a drill or a bomb. In some levels, Vectorman assumes a unique form for fighting a boss.

This game uses pre-rendered graphics, much like Donkey Kong Country. Despite this, Vectorman has his own look, more grungy and industrial, compared to DKC's bright, jungle theme. It also has a cool soundtrack.

If you like action platformers and have a Sega Genesis, pick this game up. It's also on the Wii's Virtual Console.

Review A Great Game Day: Wild Guns (SNES)

For "Review A Great Game Day", I decided to do a review of one of my favorite games for the Super Nintendo: Wild Guns. I also put this up on the One More Castle site here.

Rootin', tootin' action, battlin' bad ol' robots in the Wild West. Yee-haw!

The Super Nintendo Entertainment System has a massive library of games. With such a library, there are many games that have become classics and must-plays: Final Fantasy 6, Earthbound, Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Super Mario World, F-Zero, Starfox, etc.

Such a library also includes its fair share of hidden classics, one I wish to speak about.
Wild Guns.

Published in 1994 by Natsume, Wild Guns is the story of Annie, who hires a bounty hunter named Clint to help her get vengeance on a villain for murdering her father. The game is essentially True Grit...if the Old West in that film had modern weaponry and robots.

Choosing either Annie or Clint (There really doesn't seem to be any real difference in the characters speed or damage-wise), you play through six levels, including a futuristic train, an ammunition depot, and even a mine. The levels have some element of destructibility, which makes the game a bit more fun.

The game is a third-person shooter in the vein of a shooting gallery one can find at fairs, you having to move your character's crosshairs around to aim, but you can also move the characters to help them dodge. Dodging and leaping are good skills to master, as one hit is fatal.

There aren't really much in the power-up area, you can shoot gems and moneybags for points, but occasionally, you can get a power-up that switches Annie and Clint's default guns for various other temporary guns, like shotguns and machine guns, but you can also get a peashooter, that temporarily renders your weapon useless. If there are too many enemies on the screen, both Annie and Clint have bombs that they can use to clear the screen, but they only have three, so use them wisely.

The ultimate weapon in the game is the Vulcan Cannon. This can be obtained by filling up an energy bar. This is done by shooting down enemies' bullets before they hit you. In a nice bit of fairness, this game will warn you when a bullet is coming towards you, in the form of the character having a "Look Out!" word balloon appear. You're going to have to think carefully when it comes to shooting down enemy fire. When you get the Cannon, you're also temporarily invincible. Getting the Vulcan Cannon is a blast, as it does more damage than any other weapon in the game.

The soundtrack of the game is incredible, fast-paced, gets you pumped, but also has the Western feel to it. My personal favorites are the Boss Fight and the Final Fight tracks.

The only complaint I can really say about this game is that it is a bit short at only six levels. It's still a lot of fun to play. The cartridge is rare, but the Virtual Console service for the Wii has this game, and I believe it is also obtainable for the Wii U's Virtual Console service. This game is great for hardcore players and fans of shooters, as it can be a bit difficult for casual players.

1st Anniversary!

Today is my 31st birthday. It is also another special day for this blog. This blog is also celebrating its birthday, its first.

I originally started this blog because I wanted a way to express my opinions on various things I like. Being a bit of a nerd, I enjoy films, comics, and other nerdy stuff. I have talked about various things: film trailers, talked about video games, even attempted reviewing a couple of comic books.

A long time ago, I was a big fan of Dave's Long Box. It was a funny blog started by Dave Campbell that talked about comics. Essentially, it was about him reviewing the comics in his collection. His blog is long closed, but it's still around. It was the main inspiration for this blog, as I am a comic book and trade paperback collector. I also drew further inspiration from Linkara, whose series Atop the Fourth Wall was always good for a laugh.

Some of my favorite entries on my blog has to be when I track my Adventures in Pokémon Y, where I play through Pokémon Y and discuss my thoughts on the game as the story in it unfolds. I'm really enjoying it. I also started a series on X, but I thought it was rather redundant, so I stopped that one and concentrated on Y. I've enjoyed those entries, being an old hand at Pokémon, playing since the original Red and Blue...although I will admit, I haven't beaten a Pokémon game since Red.

I do want to write more comic reviews in the future, as I do own quite a few comics. I've been looking at various other comic blogs, trying to figure out way to write comics that fits my style. I also hope to just be able to actually put up more entries in the future, as well as try to be more entertaining on this blog.

Have a great day, everyone!