So exahusted....
→ I've spent the entire weekend cleaning and moving furniture. I feel like this is all I do anymore--read comic books and clean. And play video games. Speaking of which.
→ Jesus Christ, there's a Puzzle Chronicles coming out now? Eh. Maybe it'll finally be the one follow-up that gets things right.
→ Jeez, there is a recent-ish Spectacular Spider-Man cartoon that I had no idea about. The internet fails on keeping me up to speed. Also, there's an Iron Man one from back in April, I think? I need to find that, too. *__*
→ So, Disney bought Marvel. This is my favorite comment on the whole thing and I kind of want it like burning now. (I personally don't think it's a bad thing, they'll probably just let Marvel do their thing. You know, aside from them owning half the world now.)
[ETA]: NO WAIT NEW FAVORITE. Linked from that thread, THIS IS THE GREATEST THING EVER.
→ So, I was looking at some of the recent sales figures for Marvel and DC, specifically June 2009. It's no big surprise that Batman and Robin took the #1 spot, but I was super pleasantly surprised to see Batman #687 in the #4 spot. \o/ But you start looking at the rest of the list and scroll back up to see the totals... and you see that Marvel is selling approximately 55-58% of the comics out there to DC's 27-29%. Holy shit, that's about twice as much as DC.
DC does a little better with trades (which isn't a surprise either, it's only been recent-ish that Quesada started pushing for more trades) but nowhere near enough to make up for that kind of difference. Looking around, that kind of seems to be the norm for the two companies? Which kind of surprised me, I'd have thought they'd be a bit more evenly matched. But, wow, Marvel is seriously kicking DC's ass and has been for awhile.
→ ....oh, christ, Marvel's going back to X-Factor's original numbering. I hate that, it's so goddamned confusing and makes me need a fucking chart to remember what goes in what order!
More video games, because I'm trying to get at least two of these knocked off before KH 358/2 comes out.
Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core:
Up to: Middle of chapter four or so. 4 and a half hours in, 7% of the missions completed.
This game is... actually kind of good? It's not a terribly deep plot so far, but it's more than I was expecting and it's really pretty solid. Of course it destroys a lot of fanon about the old era of SOLIDER days, but it's a compliation game, so I don't really have a problem slapping an AU label on it when I want to go back to old fanon. I think the only real thing (so far) that I get sad-faced about is the lack of Sephiroth/Zack friendship. I love the fanon of Zack being the one actual friend Sephiroth had, you know? And, like, leaving him exploding presents or making Sephiroth actually have fun sometimes.
Eventually, you start to see them interact more and al;dkjfasl;kjslkj oh, I ship them so hard. Like, I was definitely starting to feel things when Zack tells Sephiroth to just not believe that Genesis would support such a stupid cause, because it jarred with what he knew of Genesis, and Sephiroth... just kind of hehs and agrees.
Then they go to the Mako Reactor #5 (not that I've played that part yet, I got sidetracked by a bunch of missions) and they're supposed to hunt down Angeal and Genesis, since they've been spotted. Zack is ready to go off again, because he doesn't want to kill Angeal, but Sephiroth just keeps talking, they're going to go there and fail to apprehend them. Which Zack goes :D :D :D over and asdl;kfjaslkjs it was Zack's influence that got Sephiroth to not not be a mindless soldier for, like, five minutes.
This isn't precisely the fanon version that I love so much and you'll have to pry from my cold, dead fangirl hands. But it's close enough in spirit that I can enjoy this game a whole lot.
Ditto for things like, Sephiroth (earlier on in the game) said he wasn't going on a particular mission, so it's reassigned to Zack, Tseng says. Zack thinks they're spoiling Sephiroth by letting him just turn down a mission like that. Tseng says, well, okay, why don't you go tell him that? And a;lskdjfalskj Zack's OMG PLEASE DON'T MAKE ME ;__; face was the greatest thing just about ever.
Other things that caught my notice:
→ After downing the spider-looking machine in Banora, Zack looks warily at it and says, "It's not gonna start moving again, is it?" I lolled really hard because they're totally aware of what they're doing with Zack getting taken by surprise all the time.
→ Zack saying that it must be hard to be a Turk, when Tseng tells him to go on ahead, he's going to check the fresh grave by himself. Tseng says not to worry about it, they're paid much better than you. I lolled really hard again, I'm actually impressed by this game's sense of humor!
→ Kunzel is kind of hilarious! Like, you wouldn't expect the character that's obviously only there to make use of the mail system and to give you tutorials and stuff to actually be pretty funny, but his whole thing about how "heroes are made by the media" and Zack's wilting and dimly responding, "Thanks for crushing my dream...."? HILARIOUS.
→ Zack's speech patterns! "Hold on, I'm a-comin'!"? ADORABLE. I love Zack so, so much.
→ Reno showing up pretty much only to get all territorial and say that Sector 8 was the Turks' was kind of great, too. I'm not sure what to think of the new chick Turk, but I'm willing to go with it because her weapon reminds me of Axel's and I lolled a lot.
→ Oh, lord. Angeal's mother says, oh, Zack is that puppy Angeal talked about. Just lolololol at Zack being compared to a puppy. It's funny because it's true.
→ You know who else I love? That dude who makes you do all his missions for him. It shouldn't be that hilarious and yet it KIND OF TOTALLY IS. You know there's going to be a whole series of them, so of course he's going to find ways to keep making you do them and yet I have to laugh every time.
Gameplay thoughts:
→ I still don't really get the point of the DMV or whatever it's called. Is there an art to it? Or is it all just pure, random luck and you should ignore it until it gives you something good? I find this method of leveling up to be kind of frustrating, since it's not something I can control, but... I get 7-7-7 often enough (I'm on level 15 now! :D) that I won't complain too hard.
→ I can now equip six materia! :D :D :D I... pretty much have 2 HP Ups, 1 Cure, 1 Fire, 1 Blizzard, and 1 MP up. I have so many materia that I'm just not even using and I'm wondering what to do with them. Same with a lot of the pointless accessories I get. I... am pretty much only ever going to wear the HP-enhancing or MP-enhancing ones. Not that I use MP much, I pretty much only use it for Cure or when there's a Fire-based enemy that I can hit with Blizzard and take it out really quick.
And even with Cure, I often wait until I'm in one of those "no MP cost" times and spam cure on myself over and over. But I can't sell anything because... omg, what if I need it later??
→ I really, really wish there were a better way to spin the camera around because I get nauseated really easily when trying to get Zack to run in a circle so I can have him go 180 degrees on the opposite direction or so I can check to see if there's a treasure box behind me. Urgh.
Other:
→ I... appear to have bought the CC guidebook. orz *waits for Amazon to ship it and it probably won't get here until Monday*
Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings:
Up to: Chapter 9-1 and all the missions that you can do up to that point.
Mostly I just wanted to bitch about what a total ass raping that chapter was. Jesus fucking christ, they make you go through four entire battles without being able to save in between? And it's just one chapter? That is so fucking cheap, Square.
I'm over-leveled at this point, so hardly anyone even died, but it took forever and no amount of plot making sense (that they're trapped there forever and that's where the aegyl's anima has gone and probably why their anger/fighting instinct is one of the first to come back, because they've been fighting an endless battle there for so long) will make up for the fact that that was so fucking cheap, Square.
It was one mission. Granted, we're getting towards the end and things are going to get tougher, of course, but cramming four fights into one mission that's only a part of one chapter is just.... al;skdjfa;lksjlskj the rest of this chapter better be pretty fucking short to make up for it.
Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box:
Up to: ....I'm not sure what chapter, I think I'm about to start chapter 4? I've gotten about 55 or 60 puzzles solved, though, and I've been doing all of them along the way.
I'm at the point in this game where a lot of the mysteries are starting to slowly wind together, they're about to head into Folsense, so they've just gone through the dark tunnel and they were all put to sleep for awhile and they're out of Dropstone already. A lot of stuff that's come up will obviously be important later, but I can't even begin to guess at a lot of what it is yet.
I also have to say... the first three hours or so of this game (which is probably a good quarter or so of the entire thing) were just not charming me the way the original game did. Maybe I was relying on looking up answers a bit too much, rather than trying some of the more impossible ones myself, I was starting to feel like I was kind of shooting myself in the foot re: enjoying this game. But it was also the plot, it just felt a little too much like they were trying to copy the original game and it just didn't have the same spirit.
There were all the same elements, but something felt much more... paint-by-numbers. Like, why does this town even care about puzzles so much? Why do the people on the train care about puzzles so much? It made sense in Mystere, but here? Not so much.
Somewhere around the end of my time at Dropstone, though, you started to get deeper into the mysteries and I started to get sucked in. Mr. Anderson implied that some great "sacrifices" were made to keep this town around. His mother (-in-law) was determined to find the Elysian Box before she died, but never quite could find it, further connecting this town to the box. The Molentary Express has some connection with this town and with Folsense.
If everything ties together--and I'm hoping the obsession with the puzzles also ties into things--I'll be a lot more pleased with this game. I'm definitely perking up already. I want to know what's the deal with Katia--despite that she, too, kind of feels like a rip-off of the first game. Like, oh, you have this ~*mysterious daughter*~ of the town's main benefactor and everyone loves her and there's a special secret about her. Yes, that sounds familiar. I admit to raising my eyebrows kind of a lot when I first got to Dropstone and when I first started hearing about her.
But it's just different enough because Katia's obviously older and we see her boarding the train and she's choosing to leave the town, rather than being secreted away. Though, speaking of mysterious daughters, Flora is, like, turning into my favorite character of the series somehow. I'm not sure I can say why, it's not like they give her that much to do or that she's even that much more interesting than the others, I just... really, really adore her.
I love that she was tailing them the whole time and good enough that even Layton himself didn't notice that she was in the compartment right next door to them and Layton is that guy that notices everything. ♥ I love that she's taller than Luke, which makes shipping them just that much more adorable and delightful. I love that, of course, she had the dog! (Which of course it would turn out to be a dog, I'd be surprised if very many people didn't see that one coming.)
Just. Floraaaaa! ♥
And I really want to know what happened to her in Dropstone and why. It seems like she was kidnapped, but then showed right up again and was just... a smidge off. I wasn't sure if I was just looking for her to be a little off, if the shadowy hands that reached out for her missed or if she was replaced with, idk, a robot, but once they got back on the train... well, Flora woke up before them and went outside to get some fresh air. (Which Luke yelled at her for, because who knows what kind of creeps are out there!! Oh, god, I find Luke/Flora SO ADORABLE.) And then I was like, ahhh, yeah, something is totally up with her.
Though, on the other hand, Luke and Flora both seeing the soft sofas in the deluxe car and they both pretty much immediately go over and start jumping on them? ADORABLE.
Thoughts on some of the puzzles:
→ That puzzle with the escaping animals who were literally starving was AWFUL. I was looking at the various mazes and saw, okay, there were two animals that could escape and then I went to double-check my answer and it said pretty much only the lion can escape. THAT IS NOT TRUE, I thought! The rabbit was on the same path as the lion, so it totally had a way out! I thought.
And then it hit me. I CANNOT BELIEVE THEY PUT THAT IN A PUZZLE, THAT'S AWFUL. And yet I have to kind of laugh because I fell for it and it took me a second to realize, oh, shit, right, the lion's starving, of course it would eat the rabbit on its way out.
→ Okay, seriously, TWO flipped pictures (where you have to spot the miniscule differences) that were only about an hour apart? I know you probably have to make up a lot of puzzles because you can't directly translate them, but that was seriously cheap, Level 5.
→ I didn't mind the SECOND train-switching puzzle (again, practically within an hour of the first one) because it kind of got the point across about the plot, that they could have switched cars in the middle of the tunnel. However, I don't think they probably took as many tries as were actually needed in the puzzle itself. XD
→ I've been pleased about the puzzles tying into the plot and giving you clues to future puzzles, actually. The fountain puzzle in Dropstone that, when filled up with water, also could have read "BED" was a clue about how to figure out the destination reading FOLSENSE on the ticket, which was directly linked to the plot. THIS is why I play Layton games, yes!
I can't say it quite measures up to the first game yet, but I'm getting slowly more interested as the game goes by. A slow start, a bit too much copy-catting themselves, but... well, I look at the Puzzle Quest sequels mess and think OH THANK GOD THEY'RE NOT TRYING TO REINVENT THE WHEEL.
Chrono Trigger:
Up to: Not much further than before, actually. XD I got out of the jail and fought the next major boss, though.
I thought I was going to have to face a boss without her, but I had her in my party for facing off against the metal dragon thing? Which was a fucker, btw, even after I killed the head, which stopped it from healing itself. I pretty much spent the whole fight with Chrono attacking pieces of it while Lucca did nothing but spam potions.
Thank god I'm the type of person who always has to have 80 potions in my inventory. 80 is good enough to be able to spam with them when I need to, but still enough room that I can stock up when enemies drop them or when they're in chests. ....yes, I think about that sort of thing.
I guess you only had to fight your way past the sentries without her? Ironically, I'd done that BEFORE I realized that I was supposed to be able to get her back, so I literally panicked over nothing. XDDD
I really like this Arashi meme going around, too. Snatching from honooko and myjulien and probably more, if I kept paging back on my flist.
Favorite Member: I could lie and say it's so hard to choose, but I think we all know Matsumoto is my favorite. I just love him. I love him in all his fabulous ridiculousness and his crushes on his bandmates and that he is so bossy sometimes and yet he clearly loves Arashi the most. I am goo for him like he is goo for his bandmates.
Least Favorite Member: It depresses me how many people list Jun as their least favorite, but I sort of understand. Lots of times you don't go with the one you're baited with and Jun's fans are... oy vey, sometimes I'm embarrassed to be associated with them. Therefore, in rebellion, I AM NOT CHOOSING A LEAST FAVORITE, BECAUSE I DO NOT HAVE ONE. >:|q
Member with the Best Hair: I'm sort of in a toss-up between Jun and Aiba. Jun's hair is by far the most fabulous and I find he makes the least amount of mistakes (these days). He's had a few REALLY BAD choices (imo), but he's generally consistently pretty good. Aiba... when he gets it right, holy hell, nobody is hotter. But I also feel like he isn't as consistent about his hair as Jun. (I miss his early D no Arashi hair, the slightly reddish tint to the very straight, sleek look. God, that was hot.)
Member with the Best Eyes: Jun for me, easily. He's got the best bedroom eyes of the group, he knows how to work a camera with that half-lidded look when he wants to. Just. a sdl;fkjasl;kj stop that, Matsumoto, I don't want to find you attractive like that!
Member with the Best Smile: I can't choose. I love all of their smiles equally.
Member I’d Most Want to Kiss: Aiba. He'd be enthusiastic and probably the most experienced of the group.
Member I’d Most Like to Have Sex With: SAME. We know Aiba's been with women before, we know he's a total hornball but an enthusiastic, upbeat, happy one, we know he's been around the block. He'd totally know what he was doing, but he'd also be really into it and enjoying it with the other person, it'd be awesome.
Member I’d Make Lunch For: Ohno. Because Mr. Cast Iron Stomach would like it no matter what I made. Either that or DEPENDING ON WHO NEEDS TO EAT THE MOST THIS WEEK.
Member I’d Go Singing in the Rain With: If I must, Aiba. Because he'd make it super fun.
Member I’d Go Shopping With: Depends on what kind of shopping. Probably Nino, though, just because I don't enjoy shopping and I don't think he would, either, and thus we could bitch about it the entire time.
Member I’d Go Dancing With: Nino. Because he'd probably notice my awkwardness and take all the discomfort on himself, which would be really sweet, or else he would mock himself the entire time (like he did during concerts) and I would be laughing too hard to care that I was making an idiot of myself in public.
Member I’d Take Over the World With: Aiba. NOBODY CAN RESIST HIM, THANK GOD HE'S NOT AN EVIL GENIUS OR WE'D ALL BE SCREWED. Either that or Ohno, because nobody would suspect him and it'd be amazing.
Member I Most Want to See More Of: ...sigh, I know I get to see tons of him already, but. Totally Jun. :< I never get enough, okay.
Favorite Pairing: Anybody with Jun. :| I have my needs, okay. :| (Aiba/Jun is my favorite, but I seriously pine for Ohno/Jun and Shun/Jun and Nino/Jun like you wouldn't believe and I wish desperately that Sho and Jun would interact more and I love Jun/Mao-chan and I would totally read Jun/Gakki fic and--)
Least Favorite Pairing: ....no. >:|
Annnnd today is comics day! Except there's almost nothing good coming out this week, bleh. DC's site says Batman #690 is coming out today, but I'm not sure I believe them. I checked the site a few days ago and it said it was coming out next week. I went to check August's releases and, sure enough, it was week 2 of the month, not week 1. I remember because the Blackest Night tie-in came out the same day and I was all OMG TWO AWESOME COMICS ON THE SAME DAY HOW WILL I COPE--!! about it. So... idk. I guess we'll see.
But, then, new Irredeemable today, I think? Plus, I haven't finished last week's stash and I have a whole huge backlog.
→ Jesus Christ, there's a Puzzle Chronicles coming out now? Eh. Maybe it'll finally be the one follow-up that gets things right.
→ Jeez, there is a recent-ish Spectacular Spider-Man cartoon that I had no idea about. The internet fails on keeping me up to speed. Also, there's an Iron Man one from back in April, I think? I need to find that, too. *__*
→ So, Disney bought Marvel. This is my favorite comment on the whole thing and I kind of want it like burning now. (I personally don't think it's a bad thing, they'll probably just let Marvel do their thing. You know, aside from them owning half the world now.)
[ETA]: NO WAIT NEW FAVORITE. Linked from that thread, THIS IS THE GREATEST THING EVER.
→ So, I was looking at some of the recent sales figures for Marvel and DC, specifically June 2009. It's no big surprise that Batman and Robin took the #1 spot, but I was super pleasantly surprised to see Batman #687 in the #4 spot. \o/ But you start looking at the rest of the list and scroll back up to see the totals... and you see that Marvel is selling approximately 55-58% of the comics out there to DC's 27-29%. Holy shit, that's about twice as much as DC.
DC does a little better with trades (which isn't a surprise either, it's only been recent-ish that Quesada started pushing for more trades) but nowhere near enough to make up for that kind of difference. Looking around, that kind of seems to be the norm for the two companies? Which kind of surprised me, I'd have thought they'd be a bit more evenly matched. But, wow, Marvel is seriously kicking DC's ass and has been for awhile.
→ ....oh, christ, Marvel's going back to X-Factor's original numbering. I hate that, it's so goddamned confusing and makes me need a fucking chart to remember what goes in what order!
More video games, because I'm trying to get at least two of these knocked off before KH 358/2 comes out.
Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core:
Up to: Middle of chapter four or so. 4 and a half hours in, 7% of the missions completed.
This game is... actually kind of good? It's not a terribly deep plot so far, but it's more than I was expecting and it's really pretty solid. Of course it destroys a lot of fanon about the old era of SOLIDER days, but it's a compliation game, so I don't really have a problem slapping an AU label on it when I want to go back to old fanon. I think the only real thing (so far) that I get sad-faced about is the lack of Sephiroth/Zack friendship. I love the fanon of Zack being the one actual friend Sephiroth had, you know? And, like, leaving him exploding presents or making Sephiroth actually have fun sometimes.
Eventually, you start to see them interact more and al;dkjfasl;kjslkj oh, I ship them so hard. Like, I was definitely starting to feel things when Zack tells Sephiroth to just not believe that Genesis would support such a stupid cause, because it jarred with what he knew of Genesis, and Sephiroth... just kind of hehs and agrees.
Then they go to the Mako Reactor #5 (not that I've played that part yet, I got sidetracked by a bunch of missions) and they're supposed to hunt down Angeal and Genesis, since they've been spotted. Zack is ready to go off again, because he doesn't want to kill Angeal, but Sephiroth just keeps talking, they're going to go there and fail to apprehend them. Which Zack goes :D :D :D over and asdl;kfjaslkjs it was Zack's influence that got Sephiroth to not not be a mindless soldier for, like, five minutes.
This isn't precisely the fanon version that I love so much and you'll have to pry from my cold, dead fangirl hands. But it's close enough in spirit that I can enjoy this game a whole lot.
Ditto for things like, Sephiroth (earlier on in the game) said he wasn't going on a particular mission, so it's reassigned to Zack, Tseng says. Zack thinks they're spoiling Sephiroth by letting him just turn down a mission like that. Tseng says, well, okay, why don't you go tell him that? And a;lskdjfalskj Zack's OMG PLEASE DON'T MAKE ME ;__; face was the greatest thing just about ever.
Other things that caught my notice:
→ After downing the spider-looking machine in Banora, Zack looks warily at it and says, "It's not gonna start moving again, is it?" I lolled really hard because they're totally aware of what they're doing with Zack getting taken by surprise all the time.
→ Zack saying that it must be hard to be a Turk, when Tseng tells him to go on ahead, he's going to check the fresh grave by himself. Tseng says not to worry about it, they're paid much better than you. I lolled really hard again, I'm actually impressed by this game's sense of humor!
→ Kunzel is kind of hilarious! Like, you wouldn't expect the character that's obviously only there to make use of the mail system and to give you tutorials and stuff to actually be pretty funny, but his whole thing about how "heroes are made by the media" and Zack's wilting and dimly responding, "Thanks for crushing my dream...."? HILARIOUS.
→ Zack's speech patterns! "Hold on, I'm a-comin'!"? ADORABLE. I love Zack so, so much.
→ Reno showing up pretty much only to get all territorial and say that Sector 8 was the Turks' was kind of great, too. I'm not sure what to think of the new chick Turk, but I'm willing to go with it because her weapon reminds me of Axel's and I lolled a lot.
→ Oh, lord. Angeal's mother says, oh, Zack is that puppy Angeal talked about. Just lolololol at Zack being compared to a puppy. It's funny because it's true.
→ You know who else I love? That dude who makes you do all his missions for him. It shouldn't be that hilarious and yet it KIND OF TOTALLY IS. You know there's going to be a whole series of them, so of course he's going to find ways to keep making you do them and yet I have to laugh every time.
Gameplay thoughts:
→ I still don't really get the point of the DMV or whatever it's called. Is there an art to it? Or is it all just pure, random luck and you should ignore it until it gives you something good? I find this method of leveling up to be kind of frustrating, since it's not something I can control, but... I get 7-7-7 often enough (I'm on level 15 now! :D) that I won't complain too hard.
→ I can now equip six materia! :D :D :D I... pretty much have 2 HP Ups, 1 Cure, 1 Fire, 1 Blizzard, and 1 MP up. I have so many materia that I'm just not even using and I'm wondering what to do with them. Same with a lot of the pointless accessories I get. I... am pretty much only ever going to wear the HP-enhancing or MP-enhancing ones. Not that I use MP much, I pretty much only use it for Cure or when there's a Fire-based enemy that I can hit with Blizzard and take it out really quick.
And even with Cure, I often wait until I'm in one of those "no MP cost" times and spam cure on myself over and over. But I can't sell anything because... omg, what if I need it later??
→ I really, really wish there were a better way to spin the camera around because I get nauseated really easily when trying to get Zack to run in a circle so I can have him go 180 degrees on the opposite direction or so I can check to see if there's a treasure box behind me. Urgh.
Other:
→ I... appear to have bought the CC guidebook. orz *waits for Amazon to ship it and it probably won't get here until Monday*
Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings:
Up to: Chapter 9-1 and all the missions that you can do up to that point.
Mostly I just wanted to bitch about what a total ass raping that chapter was. Jesus fucking christ, they make you go through four entire battles without being able to save in between? And it's just one chapter? That is so fucking cheap, Square.
I'm over-leveled at this point, so hardly anyone even died, but it took forever and no amount of plot making sense (that they're trapped there forever and that's where the aegyl's anima has gone and probably why their anger/fighting instinct is one of the first to come back, because they've been fighting an endless battle there for so long) will make up for the fact that that was so fucking cheap, Square.
It was one mission. Granted, we're getting towards the end and things are going to get tougher, of course, but cramming four fights into one mission that's only a part of one chapter is just.... al;skdjfa;lksjlskj the rest of this chapter better be pretty fucking short to make up for it.
Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box:
Up to: ....I'm not sure what chapter, I think I'm about to start chapter 4? I've gotten about 55 or 60 puzzles solved, though, and I've been doing all of them along the way.
I'm at the point in this game where a lot of the mysteries are starting to slowly wind together, they're about to head into Folsense, so they've just gone through the dark tunnel and they were all put to sleep for awhile and they're out of Dropstone already. A lot of stuff that's come up will obviously be important later, but I can't even begin to guess at a lot of what it is yet.
I also have to say... the first three hours or so of this game (which is probably a good quarter or so of the entire thing) were just not charming me the way the original game did. Maybe I was relying on looking up answers a bit too much, rather than trying some of the more impossible ones myself, I was starting to feel like I was kind of shooting myself in the foot re: enjoying this game. But it was also the plot, it just felt a little too much like they were trying to copy the original game and it just didn't have the same spirit.
There were all the same elements, but something felt much more... paint-by-numbers. Like, why does this town even care about puzzles so much? Why do the people on the train care about puzzles so much? It made sense in Mystere, but here? Not so much.
Somewhere around the end of my time at Dropstone, though, you started to get deeper into the mysteries and I started to get sucked in. Mr. Anderson implied that some great "sacrifices" were made to keep this town around. His mother (-in-law) was determined to find the Elysian Box before she died, but never quite could find it, further connecting this town to the box. The Molentary Express has some connection with this town and with Folsense.
If everything ties together--and I'm hoping the obsession with the puzzles also ties into things--I'll be a lot more pleased with this game. I'm definitely perking up already. I want to know what's the deal with Katia--despite that she, too, kind of feels like a rip-off of the first game. Like, oh, you have this ~*mysterious daughter*~ of the town's main benefactor and everyone loves her and there's a special secret about her. Yes, that sounds familiar. I admit to raising my eyebrows kind of a lot when I first got to Dropstone and when I first started hearing about her.
But it's just different enough because Katia's obviously older and we see her boarding the train and she's choosing to leave the town, rather than being secreted away. Though, speaking of mysterious daughters, Flora is, like, turning into my favorite character of the series somehow. I'm not sure I can say why, it's not like they give her that much to do or that she's even that much more interesting than the others, I just... really, really adore her.
I love that she was tailing them the whole time and good enough that even Layton himself didn't notice that she was in the compartment right next door to them and Layton is that guy that notices everything. ♥ I love that she's taller than Luke, which makes shipping them just that much more adorable and delightful. I love that, of course, she had the dog! (Which of course it would turn out to be a dog, I'd be surprised if very many people didn't see that one coming.)
Just. Floraaaaa! ♥
And I really want to know what happened to her in Dropstone and why. It seems like she was kidnapped, but then showed right up again and was just... a smidge off. I wasn't sure if I was just looking for her to be a little off, if the shadowy hands that reached out for her missed or if she was replaced with, idk, a robot, but once they got back on the train... well, Flora woke up before them and went outside to get some fresh air. (Which Luke yelled at her for, because who knows what kind of creeps are out there!! Oh, god, I find Luke/Flora SO ADORABLE.) And then I was like, ahhh, yeah, something is totally up with her.
Though, on the other hand, Luke and Flora both seeing the soft sofas in the deluxe car and they both pretty much immediately go over and start jumping on them? ADORABLE.
Thoughts on some of the puzzles:
→ That puzzle with the escaping animals who were literally starving was AWFUL. I was looking at the various mazes and saw, okay, there were two animals that could escape and then I went to double-check my answer and it said pretty much only the lion can escape. THAT IS NOT TRUE, I thought! The rabbit was on the same path as the lion, so it totally had a way out! I thought.
And then it hit me. I CANNOT BELIEVE THEY PUT THAT IN A PUZZLE, THAT'S AWFUL. And yet I have to kind of laugh because I fell for it and it took me a second to realize, oh, shit, right, the lion's starving, of course it would eat the rabbit on its way out.
→ Okay, seriously, TWO flipped pictures (where you have to spot the miniscule differences) that were only about an hour apart? I know you probably have to make up a lot of puzzles because you can't directly translate them, but that was seriously cheap, Level 5.
→ I didn't mind the SECOND train-switching puzzle (again, practically within an hour of the first one) because it kind of got the point across about the plot, that they could have switched cars in the middle of the tunnel. However, I don't think they probably took as many tries as were actually needed in the puzzle itself. XD
→ I've been pleased about the puzzles tying into the plot and giving you clues to future puzzles, actually. The fountain puzzle in Dropstone that, when filled up with water, also could have read "BED" was a clue about how to figure out the destination reading FOLSENSE on the ticket, which was directly linked to the plot. THIS is why I play Layton games, yes!
I can't say it quite measures up to the first game yet, but I'm getting slowly more interested as the game goes by. A slow start, a bit too much copy-catting themselves, but... well, I look at the Puzzle Quest sequels mess and think OH THANK GOD THEY'RE NOT TRYING TO REINVENT THE WHEEL.
Chrono Trigger:
Up to: Not much further than before, actually. XD I got out of the jail and fought the next major boss, though.
I thought I was going to have to face a boss without her, but I had her in my party for facing off against the metal dragon thing? Which was a fucker, btw, even after I killed the head, which stopped it from healing itself. I pretty much spent the whole fight with Chrono attacking pieces of it while Lucca did nothing but spam potions.
Thank god I'm the type of person who always has to have 80 potions in my inventory. 80 is good enough to be able to spam with them when I need to, but still enough room that I can stock up when enemies drop them or when they're in chests. ....yes, I think about that sort of thing.
I guess you only had to fight your way past the sentries without her? Ironically, I'd done that BEFORE I realized that I was supposed to be able to get her back, so I literally panicked over nothing. XDDD
I really like this Arashi meme going around, too. Snatching from honooko and myjulien and probably more, if I kept paging back on my flist.
Favorite Member: I could lie and say it's so hard to choose, but I think we all know Matsumoto is my favorite. I just love him. I love him in all his fabulous ridiculousness and his crushes on his bandmates and that he is so bossy sometimes and yet he clearly loves Arashi the most. I am goo for him like he is goo for his bandmates.
Least Favorite Member: It depresses me how many people list Jun as their least favorite, but I sort of understand. Lots of times you don't go with the one you're baited with and Jun's fans are... oy vey, sometimes I'm embarrassed to be associated with them. Therefore, in rebellion, I AM NOT CHOOSING A LEAST FAVORITE, BECAUSE I DO NOT HAVE ONE. >:|q
Member with the Best Hair: I'm sort of in a toss-up between Jun and Aiba. Jun's hair is by far the most fabulous and I find he makes the least amount of mistakes (these days). He's had a few REALLY BAD choices (imo), but he's generally consistently pretty good. Aiba... when he gets it right, holy hell, nobody is hotter. But I also feel like he isn't as consistent about his hair as Jun. (I miss his early D no Arashi hair, the slightly reddish tint to the very straight, sleek look. God, that was hot.)
Member with the Best Eyes: Jun for me, easily. He's got the best bedroom eyes of the group, he knows how to work a camera with that half-lidded look when he wants to. Just. a sdl;fkjasl;kj stop that, Matsumoto, I don't want to find you attractive like that!
Member with the Best Smile: I can't choose. I love all of their smiles equally.
Member I’d Most Want to Kiss: Aiba. He'd be enthusiastic and probably the most experienced of the group.
Member I’d Most Like to Have Sex With: SAME. We know Aiba's been with women before, we know he's a total hornball but an enthusiastic, upbeat, happy one, we know he's been around the block. He'd totally know what he was doing, but he'd also be really into it and enjoying it with the other person, it'd be awesome.
Member I’d Make Lunch For: Ohno. Because Mr. Cast Iron Stomach would like it no matter what I made. Either that or DEPENDING ON WHO NEEDS TO EAT THE MOST THIS WEEK.
Member I’d Go Singing in the Rain With: If I must, Aiba. Because he'd make it super fun.
Member I’d Go Shopping With: Depends on what kind of shopping. Probably Nino, though, just because I don't enjoy shopping and I don't think he would, either, and thus we could bitch about it the entire time.
Member I’d Go Dancing With: Nino. Because he'd probably notice my awkwardness and take all the discomfort on himself, which would be really sweet, or else he would mock himself the entire time (like he did during concerts) and I would be laughing too hard to care that I was making an idiot of myself in public.
Member I’d Take Over the World With: Aiba. NOBODY CAN RESIST HIM, THANK GOD HE'S NOT AN EVIL GENIUS OR WE'D ALL BE SCREWED. Either that or Ohno, because nobody would suspect him and it'd be amazing.
Member I Most Want to See More Of: ...sigh, I know I get to see tons of him already, but. Totally Jun. :< I never get enough, okay.
Favorite Pairing: Anybody with Jun. :| I have my needs, okay. :| (Aiba/Jun is my favorite, but I seriously pine for Ohno/Jun and Shun/Jun and Nino/Jun like you wouldn't believe and I wish desperately that Sho and Jun would interact more and I love Jun/Mao-chan and I would totally read Jun/Gakki fic and--)
Least Favorite Pairing: ....no. >:|
Annnnd today is comics day! Except there's almost nothing good coming out this week, bleh. DC's site says Batman #690 is coming out today, but I'm not sure I believe them. I checked the site a few days ago and it said it was coming out next week. I went to check August's releases and, sure enough, it was week 2 of the month, not week 1. I remember because the Blackest Night tie-in came out the same day and I was all OMG TWO AWESOME COMICS ON THE SAME DAY HOW WILL I COPE--!! about it. So... idk. I guess we'll see.
But, then, new Irredeemable today, I think? Plus, I haven't finished last week's stash and I have a whole huge backlog.