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[revbrandon]

For all you DS owners out there, Shiren The Wanderer was released the other day. There's been a translation patch for the SFC version for quite some time, and I fell completely in love with the game through the translated ROM. You can probably just play the SFC game if you want, since the two versions aren't that much different, but the draw of

Comments

[transfestunerix]

I don't know. I still remember that time you recommended I play Mega Crap.

[revbrandon]

Oh come now, Mega Man 5 is a completely adequate game, and Bryan's personal touch adds that special je ne sais quois that raises Mega Man 5 from being a weak entrant to an illustrious series, yet still a reasonably solid and fun game, to being a full-on classic that will be remembered at least until we decide to stop paying for the Zeroesunlimited domain.

But without a hint of Zeroes Unlimited ethos, Shiren is a beautiful game. I've sunk far more time than any healthy, well-rounded individual should over this weekend. It's Sunday night - well, Monday morning now - and I'm feeling as if I just spent the weekend sampling "a handful of each" out of the medicine cabinet, responsibilities and relationships having fallen to the wayside to a wholehearted, wall-eyed obsession with grabbing myself a piece of the Full Extent of the Jam. Except I've just been trudging around randomly generated dungeons all weekend.

[transfestunerix]

It's probably better than what I did: go through the very same dungeons and such I have before an unknowable amount of times since 1992, in the Gamboyadv Final Fantasy iv (and not, as the apparent internet odds would suggest: smashing brothers with the Wiiii I won't have this decade). It's a bit depressing... I've tried a bunch of games for that thing and it's this one I've seen to the end ad largenumberum that claims my interest. You know how it is.

I can tell you that should I accumulate adequate imaginary digital bravery to dare risk random levels, it will be as Shiren and not the rube who lugs an egg around for no reason that is ever explained in Dragon Crystal, one of maybe five games I owned for Game Gear. That has not endured so well (but still better than Fatal Labyrinth).

[revbrandon]

Oh man, that's practically a yearly ritual for me; to go through Final Fantasy IV again despite having already played through it thirty or forty times already. It's worse for me, since I can literally play through any of the scenes in my head and don't actually have any *need* to play it, aside from my brain pumping nostalgia through my brain like so much cooking fat and coffee grounds down the kitchen sink. I'm actually off-and-on playing the DS version right now - in Japanese, since Square Soft With New Enixes has been lollygagging and neglecting to announce its inevitable release - but even with my barely-there knowledge of Japanese, that game is imprinted on my DNA now.

You owned Dragon Crystal? No wonder you haven't beelined to your nearest House of Ill ROMpute and picked up a copy of Shiren yet. Did they actually expect ten year olds to understand the how and why and why the hell anything even matters at all of that game; did the manual actually tell you anything useful as to why you were plodding through forests of

[transfestunerix]

More than once... the entire time, really, I would recite my favorite dialogue and monster names of the old English translation when the time came. Improved clarity is nice, but to me "Giant Soldier" will always be MacGiant. I am also aware that while Kain may indeed be a shameless dog, we mustn't forget that he is at heart dirty slime