New Year

So, I was not posting stuff for almost half a month, but that's because a lot of stuff happened.

I went to an anime convention to compete in their Pokemon tournament, didn't make it past the first round (even though I believe I can do so) but I was there just to battle for fun, so there's that.

I plan to make a double battle team next, and I've breed several new Pokemons since the last post.

Then I went on holiday for Christmas and had a Pokemon hiatus since there isn't any internet. I went on and finished Ocarina of Time's Master Quest. The puzzles were more challenging (with the exception of the Water Temple, which was a lot more easier), and it was rather satisfying for me to have completed this game.

I was going to start breeding for my Double battle team after that, but then I went to Skytrex (some outdoor adventure thing) with my cousins and a friend and I had an awesome time there. Then I saw my friend playing his Shin Megami Tensei IV on the way back home, and that made me continue playing my SMT IV (I stopped playing the game after Pokemon X came out). Continuing from where I left off, I aimed to get the Neutral ending, and I was able to do so in the end, which was quite satisfying to me. I continued playing on the neutral pathway until I defeated both final bosses and the credits rolled yesterday. So now I can start breeding my team for good.

The last Pokemon I bred before the new year was a Slowpoke with Oblivious as her ability. She will be my Trick Roomer, since I plan to make a slow team for Double battling, which will become a fast team once Trick Room activates. It's very hard to coin a nickname for Slowpoke since I wanted to make a nickname based on the Slowpoke meme and that I can only put 12 letters into the name. In the end, my friend came up with 'OMG2NewTypes', which refers to X and Y having a new Fairy type but Slowpoke being slow only caught up to Johto's two new types (Dark and Steel).

Anyways, so yeah, 2014, a year whereby each day of each date matches that of 2003. Why is this so significant to me? Because I had this as a present in 2003 but I was too young to appreciate such an awesome thing.

It's a Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Datebook for the year 2003. I didn't really received this in the beginning of the year, and I never really use it for the rest of the year, so it was kind of a huge waste. But I decided when the time comes where the day and date for that year matches that of 2003, I can use this book to the fullest. 

The world has change quite a lot since 2003. With smartphones and tablets, you might wonder if I have use for this book. And the answer is... yes. I can still keep track of my assignments and notes from lectures (as in additional stuff that they don't mention on the lecture slides), so this book may still come in handy in this day and age. Typing stuff (especially important notes) on your tablet/smartphone quickly takes up way too much time in my opinion, so I prefer writing stuff down the old school way. 

2013 was an awesome/awful year. On one end, I get to play a lot of awesome 3DS games and made a whole lot of new friends with it (which is why I absolutely love their Streetpass feature). On the other end, my grades are slipping due to the immense trolling and ridiculously strict marking scheme of exams. Here's hoping 2014 will be a better year. 

End of the year round-up: The 5 Best 3DS games I've played this year.

So 2013 has been an amazing year for the Nintendo handheld. While it has its shares of ups and downs in the past, it has become one of the must-own consoles of this year with so many games coming out.

While I do admit that I'm a rather picky gamer and I don't play everything that came out this year, I did play more than 10 3DS games since I got the console at January and it has been a really amazing experience. I knew that the 3DS will deliver but it delivered exceptionally well.

For this Top 5 I'm counting down the 5 best 3DS games I've played this year. The only rules are that they have to be 3DS or 3DS eShop titles (I don't consider Virtual Console titles in this list). Games on this list may include 3DS games from previous years as this is a list of best 3DS games I've played this year, not those that came out this year. Also, this is my personal opinion so you can't argue with that. Another thing, this list will not include games that I've played but yet to complete (which is only 2 games, SMTIV and Kingdom Hearts 3D).

But before we list the Top 5, here are the honourable mentions;

Project X Zone: Awesome game with nice fanservice (in the form of gratuitous fanservice and character cameo fanservice). A good strategy game with non-luck based combat mechanics, not making the list for having extremely repetitive gameplay and a lack of a story.

Virtue's Last Reward: This game has one of the best stories in a game out there, and it has some really nice puzzles, tidbits of information and a really nice soundtrack that complements the atmosphere. Too bad it's not as good as its prequel 999 (in my opinion).

Animal Crossing: New Leaf: One of the most addictive social games out there, and a game I find myself playing at least an hour a day everyday since it's release. However, this game requires long term commitment, and so this game lost most of it's hype today with many AC communities from where I'm from dying out as members of the community has left to play other games (myself included).

So begins the Top 5 games that I played this year!

5. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D

Like the Metal Gear series, the Legend of Zelda series has always been a series that I'm fully aware of for being critically acclaim and has been a series that I've always wanted to try but never did. For this year, I did tried both series. While I enjoyed MGS3D, the port isn't very good. 

Ocarina of Time 3D, however is a better port. Menus load faster and several problems from the older game (like the confusing Water Temple) has been addressed in this game. While you can say it does make this game easier than the N64 version, this version also comes with the Master Quest, which makes each dungeon harder (with the exception of the Water Temple, which was ironically easier). 

Also, this game comes with better graphics, which is always a plus. 

4. Legend of Zelda: Link Between Worlds

Another Zelda title (surprise, surprise), only this time, it isn't a port. Link Between Worlds, while resembling Link to the Past (which I've not played), does things differently than most Zelda games. When I play the game I felt lost, and I have no idea where to go (that's a good thing, by the way).

This game encourages you to explore as dungeons can be completed 'in any order'. It's not entirely true for the first three levels (which I consider an exception) and the Desert level, which requires the use of an item that can only be obtained after completing the Thieves Hideout level. Still, it's okay (just a minor nitpick). I bumped into several dungeons on my journey, playing one dungeon halfway and dying, then went to complete another dungeon before returning to that first dungeon.

The use of rental items allows one to explore the same dungeon in different ways. While it's quite obvious that there will be 'that one item' that will help you complete the dungeon, you can actually complete certain puzzles or obtain other extra items by using other items you have, which promotes experimenting (and that's good). 

Overall, this game is pretty amazing for not hand holding you all the way. While there are times where I have no idea what I'm doing or where I'm suppose to go, the game is kind enough to subtly lead me to the next place. 

3. Fire Emblem: Awakening

I have a very hard time deciding who to place on 3rd and 2nd place. Ultimately, Fire Emblem got 3rd place because while it is an extremely entertaining game, it lacks a lot of the turn-based strategy elements the game was famous (and infamous) for. 

Sure, the game had the marriage system that FE 4 had, and the inheritance system as well, but the game doesn't have the strategic depth of older FE games, and there were several skills considered to be broken too. And the story isn't that great (don't let it fool you, it's not good). 

Now I might sound like I'm ranting on the game even though this game is placed at 3rd place, but this game was, for a long time, the only game I consistently play on a daily basis for months. The music is amazing, the support conversations are hilarious, and some of the DLC chapters are pretty darn good. There's tons of fanservice (less gratuitous, more character cameo), and some of the DLC artwork of older characters are pretty awesome (and some are not...).

The only reason why I could find so many flaws in this game is because I've sank in a lot of play time in this game (and that I've beaten the game 3 times already). But even as grumpy as I sound typing this like a rant, I could still remember the time when I first got the game in February and enjoyed the crap out of this game, and how I loved every moment of the game. 

2. Pokemon X (and Y)

Beating Fire Emblem: Awakening slightly is Pokemon X and Y, my current time-sinking game. I usually do not care at all for competitive battling. But this game made me enter this realm of battling, and make normal Pokemon battles seem like child's play. 

I love a lot of the new features of the game. Super Training is nice, Pokemon Amie is awesome, and PSS is one of the best things they've ever made. Also, Mega Pokemon, as well as the new Fairy typing makes old Pokemon relevant again. Some of the Mega Evolutions are hit and miss however, and some Pokemon who received Mega forms didn't really need it in the first place (like Scizor, Tyranitar, and Blaziken). 

The main story is unfortunately, a step-back from last gen, and none of the rivals have any traits that make them likable (at least to me). Also the change in Pokemon cries are nice for some, but not for others (most notably Staraptor and Musharna, I liked their older cries). 

Despite all that, Pokemon X and Y did one thing right, and that is it made me feel like a Pokemon trainer. The movements of each Pokemon are really nice, and since breeding is easier in this game, I was able to breed my team and use them to battle strangers around the world, and it feels great. I feel like a trainer telling my Pokemon what to do in order to get the strategical advantage over my opponents. 

Also, Pokemon is my childhood. And seeing it getting more and more awesome and also being a game which is much more well accepted by older fans (or Genwunners) is a really nice moment. 

So, what could beat the four games I stated above? It's none other than....

1. Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies

By far, the best game I've played this year. Everything about this game seems right in my opinion. The 3D models looked way better than I expected, with characters (ranging from witnesses to the main crew) looking amazing and move so fluid with the models. 

The story is also a step in the right direction. And the pacing of the game is good (cases never felt too short or too long). Not only that, each main lead got some rather equal screen time, and they also get some good character development (especially Apollo Justice, who went from an unlikable plain character in his game to one of the most popular characters of the series). Oh, and the dialogue is awesome, it's hilarious and sometimes full of pop-culture references. 

Each case is quite good in my opinion, with Case 2 being the weakest (but it isn't that bad), and Case 3, 5, and the DLC case being my favourites of the game. This game is easily the Top 3 best Ace Attorney games of all time (Trials and Tribulations is still first though, nothing can top that, yet..). For such a top quality game, it is definitely worth the eShop credit. 

With such a story driven game, I couldn't really find a plot hole, which is nice. While I do wish the plot points of Apollo Justice be addressed in this game, I do hope that it will in the next. And when it does happen, prepare to see Trials and Tribulations' new contender for best Ace Attorney game.

So there you have it, the best 3DS games I've played this year. Next, I guess I'll make some other top 5 list. 

My experience with the Pokemons I used in competitive Pokemon battling

Competitive battling is really fun!

No, I do mean it.

What I like about competitive Pokemon battling is that it requires strategy and mind games in order to defeat your opponents. Brute force cannot work and often will be punished.

It's like more complicated version of chess. You have 6 pieces instead of 16, and each piece can be customizable to an extent. Each of your Pokemon has strengths and weaknesses and there are certain match-ups that has to be remembered (because you do not ever bring a Pokemon in to battle against an opponent that Pokemon can't defeat, knowing very well you have other Pokemons that you can use against it).

I wasn't very into the competitive nature of Pokemon at first. I was just the typical trainer who would complete the main story and maybe play a bit of the battle subway/frontier/maison/tower/etc. That being said I do have little (as in, very little) knowledge on how competitive works by playing the online battle simulator Pokemon Online.

Then Pokemon X and Y came, and that changed everything. EV training is much accessible now with Super Training and Horde encounters. IV breeding for perfect Pokemon, while still rather annoying, is very much easier than previous generations. So I thought to myself, why not give it a go?

Before trying out EV training and IV breeding, I found out my team fares rather horribly in Battle Spot's Rating Battle. So I decided to train up a team. This team was no ordinary team, it was a team comprising of 5 of my friend's favourite Pokemon (and the last one being mine). Thus, the first generation of IV bred and EV trained Pokemons were born.

Lucky * (Jolteon) was the fastest of them all, and was the go-to lead as it could use Volt Switch, it could also use Roar or Toxic (depending on the moveset I chose for it). While I rarely use him now, he was one of my most frequently used Pokemon in Rating Battle and did save me a few times.

Gordon (Starmie) was the 2nd fastest in this team. It was my Rapid Spinner and an offensive attacker. Again, like Lucky *, I hardly use Gordon now, but it's one Pokemon I have my utmost respect for making an incredible comeback when I was down three to 1 in a Rating Battle.

Hydra (Charizard), a starter with some incredible potential. He was my Mega Pokemon, and had an offensive physical moveset that comes with Mega-Charizard X. I still use him from time to time, and he never disappoints me.

Epsilon (Metagross) is a hard to breed one, but being bulky has its uses. From my experience with it, I found out that a Close Combat from Mega-Lucario is not powerful enough to defeat it, and would lose to it should Epsilon use Hammer Arm/Earthquake. It's not a staple in my team now, but it can easily be a replacement Pokemon should I need one since it's rather dependable.

Sharky (Garchomp) was another Pokemon I had that has a Mega-form, but I did not use it for the Mega-form because I thought the decrease in speed actually hinders it from doing a lot of significant damage as it might be outsped by fast Pokemon that had Ice moves. He was quite good as a normal Garchomp being able to defeat a Mega-Garchomp, and better yet defeat a Mega-Kangaskhan all by himself. But much later down the line, I was able to make a Sand Storm team, and with my Baton Passing Speed Boost Blaziken in that team, I decided that it's time for Sharky to use his Mega-Form.

Finally my favourite Pokemon, Simon the Excadrill was in the first generation of bred Pokemon and was the first Pokemon I had with 5 IVs (though not perfect). Simon was one beastly member of my team due to it's high attack. However, the fact that some people may not like the idea of using a Sand Rush Excadrill made me let Simon rest in the sidelines. But later, I realized that I needed Simon to shine, and I decided that I did not care what they thought of (since only Legendaries are considered banned), so I placed him back in my Sand Storm team.

With my first 6 members, I did pretty well against people worldwide in the rating battles, raising my win rate back to 50% (which was the minimum requirement to satisfy me). I also did something with this team which was pretty awesome in my opinion. I raised them to level 55, and pit them against the Elite 4 and Champion with Set battle format and not allowing me to use Pokemon Amie beforehand and not using healing items during battle. Needless to say, they were able to enter the Hall of Fame despite being 8 levels lower than the weakest Pokemon of the Elite 4.

Then I decided to breed another Pokemon. And that Pokemon was a Kangaskhan. I was able to breed a rather good Kangaskhan (though not perfect IVs, but I didn't mind then). She was one of my aces as she's incredibly powerful when in her Mega-form, and saving me in a couple of matches. She's still a staple in my team, but she will be traded away to my best friend since I bred her successor - a Kangaskhan with 5 perfect IVs. Nonetheless, the new Kangaskhan will still take the name of older Kangaskhan - Kate n Nate.

The first Kate n Nate was the last Pokemon I bred in my first generation of my Pokemon breeding. Since then, I've bred more Pokemons, and them having IVs in the right places.

The first Pokemon bred in the second generation of breeding was a Greninja I called Strider. I found a Froakie with Protean from Wonder Trade, and I thought 'why not breed it'. After experiencing several hours of not breeding a 5IV Protean Froakie (I had a 5IV perfect TORRENT Froakie), Arceus has decided to bless me with a Protean Froakie that has 6 perfect IVs. That Froakie turned out to become the Strider he is today, and has been terrorizing many teams due to it's high speed and the power of Protean.

Then I bred Tim Drake (the Gale Wings Talonflame). Having 5 perfect IVs, he's one of my favourite birds around (next to Staraptor) for it's amazing ability and it's approach to enemies (by Brave Bird, taking it's life in the process). He's still a threat to most teams, but due to me not having a practical way to counter Stealth Rock (the thing that eats Tim Drake and Hydra for breakfast), I decided that I would not use him too often.

 Using some spare 5IV Pokemons I have, I was able to trade them with other trainers, and I got my next three Pokemon - Tyranitar, Gengar, and Rotom.

Tyranitar was the main reason I decided I should go for my favourite kind of team (the Sand Storm team). I noticed that he had Outrage as an egg move, so I decided to scrap the plan of using him as a Stealth Rock user and make him an offensive tank. I equipped him with an Assault Vest, and from my battles, I realized that a STAB Aura Sphere from Mega Mewtwo X is not enough to take down this beast.

Gengar has an odd name (Bb15), due to his original master wanting to sort them systematically. While not having the egg-move Disable, I did place Taunt of him as a way to surprise some opponents. His fast, though not as fast as Strider, but he hits harder. At one point he had Sucker Punch in his arsenal, which surprised a Mega-Gengar user whose Mega-Gengar didn't have much health left.

The Rotom I had wasn't perfect, so I decided to breed it to perfection - but I failed. The Rotom I have with me has 5 IVs (lacking of Speed), but has a decent speed stat (as it's speed is 12 instead of 11). I decided to use it to burn people with Will-O-Wisp, and then use Rest (since it's a tank). While still new in my team, the burn it causes is invaluable. The Rotom I had took the form of a washing machine, and it's name it WRotom.

Another tank I just bred is a Ferrothorn whose name is loosely based on the popular Malaysian fruit the Durian (his name is Duryan). He is my Leech Seeder and has explosive personality. Also a new member of my team, so he hasn't had his awesome moments yet.

The latest Pokemon that I raised to level 50 is a Shuckle I called Stones. He's the latest member to my Sand Storm team and can take a beating. He is my Toxic user and another Rest user to stall the battle. He also has the Ability Contrary, and uses Shell Smash to make him even bulkier. While new, I've tested him on a Free Double Battle on Battle Spot. He was able to defeat a Mega Blastoise and Marrowak while being the only member alive in my team.

Anyways, this is just me reminiscing the experiences I have with the Pokemon I used for battle. As you can see, I'm not really a guy that aims to win the battle. While winning is nice, I enjoy the experience of battling with my team even more than that. We win together, and lose together, and that's all that matters.

Review: Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies

One of the many reasons I got myself a 3DS was the announcement of new Ace Attorney game for the 3DS at the Tokyo Game Show at 2012. As a fan of the series, I really hoped that game received localization since Ace Attorney Investigations 2 (aka Gyakuten Kenji 2 in Japan) did not receive localizations at all.

Fortunately, Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies (AA5) did. While the game was only released as a digital format downloaded from the 3DS eShop (which annoys me since I can't sell it), the decision by Capcom makes a bit of sense, as the Ace Attorney series, as a whole isn't that popular around the world as it is in Japan, where musicals, movies, and orchestral arrangements of the tracks can be found for this series. The decision was cost effective, since there will not be cost put into making the physical copy and the fact that the risks that comes with making a physical copy will not exist (having extra copies that no one will buy).

At first, the 30$ price tag on the game seems rather hefty to me (even though a normal 3DS game usually cost 40$ at retail), and I thought that it should be cheaper. I still bought and downloaded the game on Day 1, and after playing it, I can say that this game is indeed worth the price.

Story:
The story takes place where Apollo Justice (AA4) left off, with Phoenix now getting is lawyer badge back and being a lawyer once more. Depending on which case, you'll be playing in the perspectives of one of three characters - Phoenix, Apollo, or the newest member of the Wright Anything Agency, Athena Cykes.

The game's story is pretty amazing, with each case giving some sort of significance to the overarching main plot of the game. There are five cases total (not counting DLC), and among the five case I would say Case 2 is the weakest among the five. That being said, the case isn't bad (it does have its merits), it just pales in comparison to the rest.

Graphics:
This game looks amazing. I was a bit skeptical at first with the use of 3D models in the game compared to the sprites of previous games. My main concern at first was the way the mouth moved as it didn't seem natural looking to me (this is my first impression when I saw the trailer, at least), but when playing the game, I never seem to notice it all (they were fine).

The use of 3D models also helped make characters more lively. I felt that several characters in this game were designed such that to take advantage of the things they can do with 3D models that they can't with 2D sprites. Each character appears to have several kinds of animation, and the animation is extremely fluid (like Klavier's finger snapping, it looked really natural). The 3D models also enable them to alter the appearance of certain characters (like a pickpocket who stole and wore someone's item will be seen wearing that item, when he wasn't wearing it at all a few minutes ago), and this also gave us one of the most surprising villains in an Ace Attorney game ever.

Another cool thing in this game is the Thought Route sequence. Why is this in the graphics section? Because before and after this sequence, you'll be zoomed in and out of Phoenix/Apollo/Athena. when zoomed in, you can see that the character models were outlined such that they looked like they were from an anime/manga, showing us the kind of artstyle that the game is using, which I liked a lot.

Sound:
You can't deny that Capcom games have some of the best musics in video games ever. The Ace Attorney series is no different. Each game has it's own awesome song. This game is no different. The music is awesome as always, and certain tracks are throwbacks to songs from the previous games. Take the 'Objection' theme for example, it heavily resembles the 'Objection' theme from Trials and Tribulations.

Most of the songs have an orchestral feel to it, and they sound good. The orchestral songs in this game could be due to the person in charge of the music being the same person in charge of the Ace Attorney orchestral album. While I didn't like the orchestral remixes of the Ace Attorney orchestral soundtrack (as they were inferior to the Ace Attorney Jazz soundtrack) I enjoyed the orchestral feel of the music a lot in this game.

Gameplay:
Gameplay is divided into two portions - Investigation and Court. Many argued that the Investigation part of the game is easier than in previous games, and I do agree, but it's probably because it's streamlined. This game is designed to have a linear gameplay experience (like in the older games of the series), but the problem with older games was that because it is linear, you have to present 'that one evidence' to 'that one person' in order to move on, and sometimes, you don't know who are you supposed to talk to or present evidence to. Some people get stumped because of this and stopped playing the game, so the streamlining of gameplay in this game is indeed a plus.
Older game mechanics like the Psyche-Lock and Apollo's bracelet makes a return in the game, accompanied by the new courtroom-only mechanic, the Mood Matrix. Personally, this game mechanic is a hit-or-miss. Sometimes, solving problems with the Mood Matrix is satisfying. But there's also times where a mechanic of the Mood Matrix appears due to the person's disturbed emotions, and that part is more lucked based in my opinion.
Oh, another thing I forgot is that if you get a game over in court, you can consult your partner should you choose to continue (as a hinting method to the gamer should you get stuck in court), which is somewhat nice.
A problem with the game (which is somewhat prevalent in older games) is the lack of grammar and spell-check for some of the cases (this usually happens in the 2nd or 3rd case, and hardly happens in the final case).
Another minor bug I found was the 'missing text'. In this game (as well as older games of the series), in case you clicked next too fast and missed out on a dialogue, the game lets you re-read the dialogue by viewing the activity log. The problem is that sometimes, the conversations and actions are missing from the activity log, hence the text is 'missing'. Though this problem can be solved by saving your game and loading it once more from the title select screen, but it is somewhat annoying.

Characters:
I would say that the characters in this game are rather likable. Every character in this game have some sort of quality that makes them stand out (even the side characters). The design of some of the characters, as mentioned earlier, felt like it was meant to show off the power of 3D models in this game.
Our newcomer prosecutor, Athena is an alright character. At least she turns out to be more likable in her debut game compared to Apollo Ace Attorney 4. The story of this game is much more focused on her, so it's natural that she gets more attention in certain episodes. My main problem with her is not in her personality, but her voice actress in the animated cutscenes. I'm not saying that Wendee Lee is a bad voice actress (she did a fine job as Faye Valentine in Cowboy Bebop), it's just that the voice acting didn't feel right, for me, and I think that if Athena was voiced by another VA it might have been better.
Simon Blackquil, the Twisted Samurai, and the main prosecutor for this game, is also really likable with his awesome pet bird Taka, and his quotes of his fellow prisoner inmates. Compared to the prosecutors of older games, he is a pretty competent one. By playing more of the game, I realized unlike Franziska and Manfred (and at one point, Edgeworth), he does not aim for a perfect win streak, he's just doing some fine prosecuting with his abilities. I would say that his prosecuting skill is slightly below Edgeworth's and I would rank him in my top 3 prosecutors of the series.
The third new character of the main crew is Detective Bobby Fulbright. He's considered the likable/unlikable character. Some may like his hot blooded personality and his sense of justice, some may not like the fact that he replaces Gumshoe as the detective for this game. As for me, I think he has a catchy theme, though the theme is somewhat annoying when you hear it almost on repeat on the later cases. Also, if you're a player reading this review and have not completed this game, Fulbright's may become increasingly likable or hated as the game progresses (not spoiling anything there).
Now, a special mention to Apollo Justice, as he's much more likable and has more personality in this game compared to Ace Attorney 4. The awesome thing of Ace Attorney 5 is that while you do control 3 attorneys, they do give each attorney almost equal amount of screen time for them to develop their personalities. And while Phoenix didn't need much development, Apollo needed it, and they did a fine job making Apollo a likable guy.

Animated cutscenes and voice acting:
Personally, I thought it was awesome that Capcom managed to hire Bones studios (the guys who animated both adaptations of Full Metal Alchemist) to be in charge of their animated cutscenes. So the animation and quality is there.
What I didn't like about those cutscenes was there isn't an option to switch between English to Japanese dubbing (with added subtitles), it's not because I prefer Japanese audio over the English one, but there are certain cutscenes I find to be cringe-worthy (there is one in the 3rd case, so keep in mind that).
As for the voice acting, it's decent, but could be better. There's only one person whom I felt has the perfect voice actor for the job (and that's Phoenix Wright). There were a few moments where Apollo's voice acting sounded very cliche. Also, I didn't really like Edgeworth's voice as it did not suit him. I thought he was an American, why does he sound like he's trying to imitate Professor Layton? (Unless they're trying for that regal feel since he looks so formal and stuff, so they thought a British accent would suit him)

Is the DLC worth it:
Yes (for the DLC case), and no (for the DLC outfits). If you're reading this and decide to buy the game, you won't be able to get the free costumes for Phoenix, Apollo, and Athena (those costumes are buy-the-game-early bonus). And while it's nice to see Phoenix in his old suit, it's not much different from his new one. Apollo's and Athena's outfits are different though, but I don't think it's worth paying for it (unless you're really a fan of the game, but if you were a fan of the game, you would have gotten the game earlier, and would get these costumes for free, so I dunno...).
As for the DLC case (Special Episode Turnabout Reclaimed), that is definitely worth it. The case is pretty good, and this DLC doesn't seem like a half-baked one, as the case is as long as or even longer than the 3rd case. It is rather well written and somewhat tragic. There were also more cutscenes in this case than the usual cases, and it has as much evidence as the 4th and final case. The best part of the case was how it shows an epilogue, taking place a few months after the courtroom trial, and seeing how the characters in the case are doing. A minor problem you'll face in this case is the tutorials for Investigation mode appearing once more (which is justified because Case 2 introduces you to Investigation mode, and you can only face this DLC case after Case 1).

Final Verdict:
Overall, Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies is a well polished game for the series, and is a huge step-up from the rather disappointing Apollo Justice game. While the gameplay is linear as always, it makes up for it with it's amazing story and well-written characters. The game is far from perfect, and it has yet to beat the amazing game that is Trials and Tribulations, but it is certainly up there as one of the better Ace Attorney games of the series.

Pro's:
Amazing Story
Well-Written Characters
Fluid 3D Model Animation

Cons:
Some Voice Acting Were Cringe-Worthy
Grammatical & Spelling Mistakes In Some Cases
'Missing Text' Bug

Score:
9/10 Without DLC Episode
9.5/10 With DLC Episode

I'm back from exams.

Yeah, my exams are finally over.

It was okay I guess, I just hope I didn't do too bad (cuz I felt like I've been playing more video games this semester, even though I told myself not to).

Anyways, my plans immediately after the paper was to find out which one of my friends have plans to do something and just tag along with them. Problem with that plan was because only my Food Science friends end today (while my other friends who took other science degrees like Biotech and Biomedical Science all ended a week ago), so there wasn't many people to look about for plans to do after our exams.

Most of them were too tired from studying our final paper and wanted to just have a snack, then head home and relax, so that was what I did - I had lunch with two of my friends.

We went to eat outside the university compound so we head to one of our friend's car. While heading to the carpark we stumble upon one of our lecturers. He is one of the lecturers that taught us the unit Food Bioprocessing and Technology, which so happens to be our last paper.

Funny story,

So we were chatting with him on the questions he prepared for the exams (each lecturer prepared a number of questions for the paper based on what they taught us), and he was telling us how easy his questions is (provided we read is lecture materials). After chatting for a while, there was a short silence, and he looked at me, and asked me:

'Are you one of my students?'

Somewhat stunned that he doesn't recognize me, I said 'Yeah..'

'Oh.... Did you skip my class?'

'No', I said 'I was present in every one of your lectures except the first one (which was a mistake in my part during enrolling in the units)'

'Oh.... You sit at the back of the class, didn't you?'

'No, I sit in the middle (there were only 30+ students in a class that can fill a hundred, it's so empty that we have no choice but to sit in front since he asked us to).'

I realized (and I think he did too) that he didn't recognize me despite me being present in his class. I don't blame him though, not all lecturers remember their students faces since they have so many students. While the Food Science lecturers are starting to remember our faces more (since we ARE Food Science students), this lecturer is a sessional lecturer, meaning he's not teaching full time. It also could be due to the fact that he only asked questions to the same few people in his class, and I'm not one of those people, so I don't stand out.

I feel like I'm like a ghost in his class - a being which is present all the time in a room or area, but not detected by the presence of certain humans. If I didn't bump into him just now, he wouldn't know I existed at all, which is somewhat awesome?!

Anyways, after that I just went for lunch and head home a few hours later. The first thing I did when I got home was download the new DLC case in Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies.

I'm not sure if I posted about it before, but I've beaten the game within 3 days of it's release in the 3ds eShop. It's a really fantastic game that I'll be reviewing later. Seeing the DLC case being out on the last day of my exams got me really excited so I playing the DLC was the first thing on my to-do list when I got back.

You know what, it didn't disappoint. It's pretty good for a bonus case (as in it was well made, up to standard, and better than some of the cases in the main story). Beaten the game last night and I probably won't touch for a while.

So what's next? A review of the game Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies!

Quick Post

If you haven't notice by now, I don't really make much posts lately. It's due to exams and Pokemon.

Yeah, when I'm not spending time studying/revising, I'm playing Pokemon.

Currently, I've made what I called the 'Friends Team', I asked 5 of my friends on their favourite Pokemon, and make a team out of it (with the 6th Pokemon being my favourite). It consists of Jolteon, Charizard, Starmie, Metagross, Excadrill, and Garchomp. It did fairly well in Rating Battles (increasing my win rate to 50% in singles).

After that I went and breed a Kangaskhan. Keep in mind that most of the Pokemons I bred are not with perfect IVs (cuz I'm not that much of a fuss). As long as they have 3 or more perfect IVs, or an 'outstanding potential' evaluation from the judge, I'll keep them in my team.

That being said, I was able to breed a Fletchling with 5 perfect IVs today (HP, Atk, Def, SpDef, and Speed), that comes with the hidden ability Gale Wings and is Adamant natured. So I'm definitely using this guy on my team.

That's all for now, my last two papers are next week, so I have time to study for them.

I caught them all. Pokemon I mean. A simple guide to catch'em all.

I have completed the Kalos Pokedex!!!!!

It's by no means an easy task, but it's entirely possible. And I'm gonna teach you a few steps to follow on how to complete the Pokedex.

1. Beat the game fast.
Beating the game fast allows you to have access to Victory Road, which is a key area for leveling up hard to level-up Pokemons. By the time you beat the game, you would have access to the Friend Safari, which might help you complete the Kalos Pokedex (provided you have a good amount of friends). Also, you need the Battle Maison if you wanna get Sneasel and Gligar's evolution.

2. Breed (a lot).
The thing about Kalos is that it's so big that you'll almost always find a new set of Pokemon in each route, which means that you're less likely to have encountered the pre-evolved form of the Pokemon at later routes (unless you find them in horde battles). So you'll most likely need a Ditto (found in the Pokemon Village at the 8th Gym) to breed all the evolved Pokemons. Also, breed your starters, they're high in value at the GTS at the moment, so you use them to get other starters as well.

3. Find a good place to train hard-to-train Pokemons.
Go to Coumarine City to get the Lucky Egg from the girl at the hotel by showing her a Pokemon with max happiness. You'll need it for pseudolegendaries that evolve pretty late. While there are many ways to level up your Pokemons like battling in restaurants or fighting the Elite 4 and Battle Chateau members, my training method of choice is to use Sweet Scent in Victory Road to fight Floatzel hordes (and using Earthquake/Petal Blizzard on them). A Floatzel horde gives 3.5k Exp, so that's pretty amazing for a wild Pokemon encounter.

4. Find a trading partner.
Find people who plays Y (if you play X) to get the version exclusives, or someone who uses different starters from you (GTS works for starters too), or people who used the other fossil Pokemon. You'll need someone who'll trade you their exclusives for yours, and someone who'll help you evolve Pokemons by trade.

5. Catch every Pokemon species you can find (duh).
Check on websites like Serebii to find out what Pokemon can be found in which location, and how to encounter the Pokemon as some Pokemons can only be found in horde battles. Also, check with gaming forms like Gamefaqs often if you have trouble finding certain Pokemon.

6. Be patient in catching the Legendary Bird
You'll encounter Articuno, Zapdos, or Moltres depending on which starter you choose. The problem with their encounters is that they'll flee straight away without giving you the chance to do anything. You'll have to try to increase you chance of encountering the bird in the wild. After several encounters, the bird will be residing in the Sea Shrine Cavern (that thing North of Coumarine City), and that's when you can fight it in a proper battle.

7. Make sure you hatch eggs the same time you raise your Pokemon's happiness
Pokemons like Golbat and Riolu only evolve by happiness. Make sure when you're hatching the eggs you got from the day care that you bring these Pokemons along for the ride to raise their happiness. That way, you could save time and money in increasing their happiness.

I guess that's all the advice I have at the moment. It's a good thing I completed the Pokedex now since my exams are coming soon. Also, I wanna focus on playing Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies too.

My Pokemon X Update:

If you have not noticed, I have not been making posts in a while. I not only have assignments to finish, but every moment I spent when I'm not doing my assignments I spend playing Pokemon X.

Now that every assignment for the semester is done, exams are coming soon. But I have some time to play and today, I'm gonna do a little quick update on what's going on in my Pokemon game.

So I've already beaten the game, now I'm just trying to complete all 3 Kalos Pokedex. It's kinda hard since you'll need to do trading and a lot of help from people with Pokemon Y, but so far, I've managed to own around 382 out of the 450+ Pokemon in the region, which is no small feat since some have to be trained, some needs breeding, and some needs to be traded.

How do I train the Pokemons is by using Sweet Scent to encounter a Floatzel horde as those are the highest exp. yielding wild Pokemon I can find. For catching them I use my Aegislash that has False Swipe and my Vileplume/Bellossom (I have both, and they're both awesome). I used Dittos for breeding (obviously, and bought those incense in Coumarine City for baby Pokes. There's still 70 more Pokemons two own before I complete the Pokedex and I hope that I can do it.

Today, I was also very, very fortunate to have encountered a Shiny Floatzel while training my Pokemons. It was the first ever shiny that I've encountered (apart from Red Gyrados).

Anyways, that's all the update I have.

Pokemon X - Thoughts

So, I got my game last Saturday. There was a launch party over here where I'm at. Over 100 people came to collect their copy of Pokemon X and/or Y, so I was able to get the achievement of 100 Streetpass tags in a day (yay!).

Enough about that, how about my experience with Pokemon X? It was fantastic. I chose Chespin because I had an affinity for Grass starters since Gen IV (Before that I was part of the Fire Starter Master Race). The plan was to beat the game as fast as possible so that I can unlock more stuff.

My original plan was to have a team of 6 Pokemon that are all Gen VI Pokemon. I knew I wanted Chespin, Amaura, Honedge, and Fletchling in my team, but I wasn't sure for the last two. In the end, I used the other starter (Squirtle) instead, and I caught a Goomy along the way. Was it a good team? Not really (In terms of competitive battling wise, or maybe it's cuz I suck), but it did the job.

The game looks amazing and sounds amazing. However I did notice a drop in framerate during certain scenes in Pokemon battles (which is more obvious when 3D is turned on), but it didn't really bother me a bit. While the story was on a lighter note (compared to the great story that was on Gen V), it's not too bad. It had a proper conclusion, a great lore of the region, and Team Flare is an alright team, nearly as menacing as Team Rocket, slightly fanatical like Team Plasma, and not like the joke that is Team Galactic.

Travelling the region has never been so accessible in this game. You can walk, run, skate, and ride a bike in 8 directions, which is a new addition to Pokemon. It makes a lot of sense cuz this game is on the 3DS. which has the circle pad. Embarking on your journey has never been so fun.

Also, this is the first game where you're able to customize the player character. You can choose the character's skin tone from the very start (apart from gender, of course), and throughout the game, you'll find shops selling hats, accessories, bags, shirts, dresses and more. It just brings out the inner shopper in you. I spent around 400k Pokedollars on clothes alone, that's saying something. You could also change your hairstyle, hair colour, as well as the colour of your eyes using contact lens, giving tons of variation in each player's characters.

The region of Kalos is really beautiful, having plenty of landmarks across the region. From fountains, to palaces, to waterfalls, and to historical landmarks, this place has lots of it. Plus, you can take a picture of your character in those backgrounds using the camera options in the game, and post these pics online. You could also make a PR video and share it with other friends, and the PR video making procedure is very vast, and like clothing, every trainer could have a different PR video.

Everything in X and Y is faster and more accessible. When not connected to the internet, saving the game takes less than a second, which is a vast improvement from the Diamond and Pearl days, where saving could take up to 20 seconds or more. The Player Search System (PSS) is a pretty handy tool, allowing you to interact with players around the world anytime, anywhere (when connected online of course). Trading Pokemon has never been so easy in X and Y, and with the Wonder Trade, expect random stuff to happen when trading away your Pokemon. The PSS is a really amazing tool for trading with strangers, battling with them, or just giving shout outs.

You could also chat with people online with the Game Chat feature in the game. I was able to chat with my friends when trading and when battling, which is pretty nice. Chatting (with my internet connection) was alright, not many hiccups.

While X and Y are pretty amazing, there are some flaws to it. The most obvious argument people have is the design of the Pokemon. I don't find them horrible looking, but it's a matter of preference, and some didn't really like the newer Pokemon. Also, there were lack of new Pokemon in this game, with the total number of new Pokemon only being around 70. That being said, this number does not include the Mega Evolutions that older Pokemons got. Also, X and Y did a huge balance patch by including the Fairy type, which affected several old Pokemon (compared to Gold and Silver's Dark and Metal typing only affecting the Magnemite line from Gen I), so you could say it is justifiable for having so little Pokemon (or not).

Also, this game was rather easy. If you're thinking I'm saying this game is easy because of the Exp Share, you're partially right. The Exp Share does make your team levels way ahead of the opponents (which takes away the strategy of playing the game), but you can turn it off if you want to. The easiness of the game comes from the Gym Puzzles in my opinion. None of them remotely resemble a puzzle except for the last gym.

Another flaw in the game was the game breaking glitch in Luminose City. Apparently, saving the game in the city (but not inside buildings) cause your game to freeze when you load the save file, which may force you to restart your entire progress. It's a bit sad to see your save file go to waste in this city, but for me, I have always saved my games in the Pokemon centers (in the middle of the Pokeball logo) or in front of the Gym Leaders/Elite 4/Champions. So, to anyone not aware of this glitch, DO NOT SAVE OUTSIDE OF BUILDINGS IN LUMINOSE CITY.

Apart from the flaws, the game does place some really cool touches, like how you're able to see your Pokemon's sprite in the screen of the Pokemon center, how your character stretches himself if you go idle for too long, how the Zangoose horde will attack the sole Seviper in their horde before attacking you, and how the world map shows you surfing on an actual Lapras when you use Lapras for surf. There are a lot of little things in this game that makes the game awesome, and makes the Kalos region feel real. How every house in this game feels bigger, how each city/town has a hotel (being a beautiful region). The scale of the game is huge and alive.

Overall, if you're a fan of RPGs, and once loved the Pokemon series, you should give this game a go as it will not disappoint.

Haven't been blogging much cuz I was playing Pokemon X

And I just beaten it. My team was all Gen VI except for 1.

I used Goodra (Fio), Chesnaught (Yurnero), Talonflame (Soraruda), Aegislash (Falchion), Amaurus (Frosty), and Blastoise (Kamina).

Will post my full thoughts soon.

My Top 5 Hopes For Pokemon X and Y

Pokemon X and Y is out in 10 days, how exciting. I've heard that there's some people around the world getting their hands on a review copy, some of them even leaking some of the info bit by bit.

While that's all fine and dandy, some people don't really like spoilers. I'm not the type that refuse to look at spoilers, but I would like it if those people follow the rules they were given, and not reveal any info until the proper date. I heard that the official day for all info to break loose is Oct 4th, which is the day the reviewers who got the review copy to actually release their review of the game. So I wouldn't mind if any info revealed after that date since it's official.

Anyways, not the main point of the topic. While the leakers revealed stuff bit by bit, I still didn't see a whole lot in the game, which is good. So I can keep my hopes up on what they might have added in the game itself.

Here's my top 5 hopes for Pokemon X and Y (not in any order):

5. Pokemons Walking With You.

I really like the idea in Heart Gold and Soul Silver where the Pokemon in your first slot follows you wherever you go. It's really adorable (even though sometimes the Pokemon aren't, haha). And the fact that you get to interact with them makes it so nice, like you bonded with them a bit. 

It's sad that this feature did not appear in Gen V, which is strange. Considering how N was urging people not to keep their Pokemons in the Pokeballs, you would think that you could walk with your Pokemon right?

Since it is shown that you can ride certain Pokemon like Gogoat, I really do hope you can walk with them too. But even if you can't, I really wouldn't mind.

4. Easy Understanding of IVs.

I knew what were EVs and EV training since I learnt that sometime last December, but I never understood IVs. They just seemed so complex. Getting the perfect Pokemon is hard enough, but the fact that the game never really tells you directly what are your Pokemon's IVs makes it very confusing sometimes. I really respect those guys who play Pokemon competitively, cuz I never really understood how they were able to breed such perfect Pokemon and yet have such good skills at battling with people.

In X & Y they revealed this thing called 'Super Training', which seems like an easier way for EV training your Pokemon. I think this is a good idea, since EV training will take a while, but I would also like if they add some features to help people understand IVs better, or make people get perfect Pokemon a lot easier.

3. Awesome Streetpass Features.

I live in a country where there aren't many 3DS users, but we do have a community of 3DS users in my country. Sometimes (usually once a month), they will have this thing called a 'Streetpass Gathering', where people with 3DS would meet up and play some games like Mario Kart, Monster Hunter, and Animal Crossing.

Games like Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem has this Streetpass feature that lets you sent your team (in Fire Emblem) or you house (in Animal Crossing) to other 3DS users who have the game. I am 100% certain that Pokemon X & Y will have Streetpass functionality, but I do wonder what would it be, and how awesome will it be?

I would like it if they have this feature where you not only send your trainer card to others, but also your team. And you can have your Streetpass team (controlled by AI) fight with the opponent's team like how Pokemon battles are played in the Battle Tower/Subway/PWT. It would be even cooler if you could 'trade' one of your Pokemon for one of the Streetpasser's Pokemon, but I doubt that would happen. 

2. Special Outfits for Spotpass.

As we all know, we can dress up in Pokemon X and Y. So I guess it would be a no brainer for Nintendo to regularly release some special outfits to wear on Spotpass like Red's attire. Dressing up as your favourite characters in Pokemon would be really cool if they do release tons of outfits from Spotpass. Then we can see people dress as Gym Leaders, Champions, and even Evil Organizations from previous generations. 

I could imagine the sheer amount of people who would be wearing Red's outfit should they release it, or even a whole gang of people in Rocket's uniform when they group up in the union room. That would be so cool to see.

1. Version Exclusive Mega Forms for Certain Pokemons.

It was revealed a while ago that Mewtwo has two Mega forms, exclusive for each game. It has also been revealed from the Pokemon Origins OVA that was aired in Japan a few hours ago that Charizard also has version exclusive forms. And we see a lot of people cancelling their pre-orders for Pokemon Y in favour of a Fire/Dragon Charizard in Pokemon X ( and my decision to get Pokemon X doesn't seem like a bad idea anymore, in fact it just gets better and better). 

Overall, it's still a bit unfair that they revealed Mega Charizard X and not reveal the fact on whether the other two Kanto starters will have version exclusive Mega forms or not. In fact, it's still a bit unfair that there is Mega Blaziken but no Mega Swampert or Sceptile in sight. 

While I'm pretty certain that other Megas like Absol and Ampharos won't be getting a version exclusive form, I would like it if the remaining Kanto starters would have it, and that all remaining starter Pokemon that has not have a Mega form have one (and version exclusive ones too) since starter Pokemons are usually the more 'special' Pokemon.

Anyways, this is just my hopes and ramblings on what I hope for in the new Pokemon game. I really hope that it lived up to it's hype. 10 more days for the release of the game that will dominate this October!

Why I prefer Pokemon Black/White even though Black 2 and White to is better.

I'll be honest with you. When Pokemon Black and White came out, it was really amazing. I thoroughly enjoy the game, the story, and the music. Then they decided to not a 'Yellow' or 'Crystal' version for this generation, and instead released Pokemon Black 2 and White 2, which are sequels set a few years after the events of Black and White.

Was B2/W2 good? Yeah, it had tons of additions, more Pokemon in the Unova Pokedex, and Pokemon from older games in it. But despite the advancements the game has made over B/W, I still prefer B/W. And here's my reasons.

Note: I do acknowledged that B2 and W2 are far better games with the sheer amount of content it has. It's more of a personal preference on why I prefer Black and White.

Also, spoilers.

1. The Story
When Pokemon Black and White came out, I felt that the story was quite amazing. Gym Leaders played a bigger role in the game compared to previous games as they also had other jobs to do. They even help you out on your journey when facing Team Plasma. You see them outside their gyms more often in the main story compared with other gym leaders (who you only see when you wanna fight them in a rematch post-game).
Also, you don't exactly fight the champion on your main story due to N interrupting the battle. Instead you face three battles without break where you catch the main Legendary of the game, face N, and then his backstabbing adopted father. This was very refreshing. You hardly see boss rushes like these where you can't reshuffle your team on who to go first (like a competitive battle).
Defeating this boss rush feels extremely satisfying, and the ending was someone bittersweet, but was quite awesome too.

Compared to B2 and W2, the story is still good. They did continue where it left off from B and W, but it just doesn't feel as nice as the former. Sure, you get a boss rush in the form of facing Kyurem followed by Ghetsis, but it doesn't feel the same compared with facing Reshiram/Zekrom, N, then Ghetsis.

2. The Ending Theme.
What I don't like about Pokemon is that whenever I beat the game, I am usually greeted by slow-paced music along with the main character cycling/running away. Sure that didn't happen in Heart Gold/ Soul Silver, and at least in R/S/E they showed you the Pokemon you've caught in your Pokedex in the ending, but I didn't really enjoyed it.
Pokemon Black and White on the other hand had their ending sequence extremely simple - A white or black background with scrolling text (with Reshiram or Zekrom being the White or Black in the background if this is the first time you watched the ending sequence). While there's nothing to watch, it's far from boring, as the theme playing is by far the best ending theme in the Pokemon main games ever. It's so fast paced, it's so amazing, it has a message saying 'it's not the end of your epic journey yet'. It is a great way to finish a great game.
Though I give props to Black 2 and White 2, for showing us, the players, that we didn't just simply teleported back home after entering the hall of fame, as the player gets congratulated by the Elite Four and Champion, and celebrated on his way back through all the towns he visited along with the Gym Leaders, ending with him running back to home to his mom (which is pretty sweet, in my opinion).

3. The Pokemon.
The great thing about Black and White is that the Pokedex is filled with only Gen V Pokemon, meaning your journey in the game will feel like a fresh one since you will not encounter any familiar faces until you've beaten the game. It gives attention to some of the newer Pokemon, that are usually hated upon by older fans for several reasons. While I seem to notice that the design of Pokemon is starting to shift a little, with Pokemon somewhat resembling Digimon in certain ways, I don't really mind it one bit since I'm a fan of both series.
Also, Because of being unable to use older generation Pokemons, I had to use only Gen V Pokemons, and that made me realize that these Pokemons are kinda cool. In fact, a lot of my new favourites in Pokemon comes from Gen V like Haxorus (who reminds me of a Digimon), Serperior, and Excadrill (whose drill is the drill that will pierce the heavens).
That was the slight problem I had with Black 2 and White 2. Because I was able to use Pokemons from previous games, I really end up using them. Four of my six Pokemon in my final team was from an older generation (Gen I-II). It's not like I don't wanna use new Pokemons, it's the fact that if you give a users a way to access stuff they're familiar with (older Pokemon), they will use those stuff. I could have easily used Joltik instead of Mareep. But since you catch Mareep so early in the game, and the fact that I used Mareep in my Soul Silver file made me had an attachment to it, so I ended up using it.

4. The theme of the game.
The Sinnoh games' Team Galactic was really weird. I mean, I find the theme of the game really strange. They tried to one-up what they did in Hoenn (which was creating two organizations, one wanting to fill the landmass, and the other doing the exact opposite) by trying to make things even more epic with Poke-Gods and Time/Space distorting Pokemons. Yeah, on sheer scale, Team Galactic do seem really evil on trying to create a new world with the legendaries. But if you look at the bigger picture, it's kinda dumb. The grunts don't appear to be serious most of the time (despite world destroying being something rather serious), and Cyrus has so little charisma that it's a wonder how he recruited so many blue haired spacemen.

In B & W, we have N and a bunch of medieval armoured grunts called Team Plasma. What they did was they stopped trying to make the bad guys evil in a sense of the sheer scale of destruction they will cause, but make people think that the bad guys are more towards being misunderstood, with them talking about 'Pokemons should't be kept in Pokeballs'. Also, you can tell that they're serious about their motives, but somehow you feel like there's an ulterior motif by someone, but you can't figure out whom, until the final battle, where you found out that Ghetsis was evil by doing what he did to his adopted son N. They went for a more ideological approach instead of a 'destroy stuff with legendaries' approach, which I like.

While the Team Plasma in Black 2 are somewhat similar to Team Rocket in the older games and Team Aqua and Magma of Hoenn - being evil by trying to take over the region by using a legendary to change the landscape of the region (by freezing it). While having motives similar to previous evil organization, I do like it when you see Plasma members having conflicts, with some siding with N, and others with Ghetsis. You then realize that some people who joined Team Plasma in B and W really supported N's ideas, and they were caring to Pokemon. And that made Team Plasma a really great organization. However, the motives of Plasma has changed to something similar to that of older games, so it was an average experience to me, when facing Plasma.

In conclusion, I don't think Black 2 and White 2 is bad, it's just that Black and White made a bigger impact on me compared to their sequels. B2 and W2 made a lot of advancements that I do like (like asking you whether you wanna continue using a repel, that is just genius), but I guess I'm one of the very few who likes the older game better.

What I learnt from Apotheosis

Hooray for having less assignments now!

Haven't been posting much on the blog cuz I just got Shin Megami Tensei IV second hand (which is eating up a lot of my time), as well as Pokemon Black (which I'll be using to transfer Pokemons to GEN VI).

Anyways, back to Apotheosis. So on my previous posts I did mention that I learnt a lot of stuff from playing this map. And here's the stuff I learnt.

1. Hawkeye combined with Luna+ sucks ass.
I have not tried Lunatic or Lunatic+ yet (cuz I'm still playing my Hard/Classic playthrough). I know that in Lunatic+ whenever this skill combo appears, you have to restart the game since you have no chance of defeating the opponent. But in Apotheosis, while this skill indeed sucks, you can counter it (though it's hard). This skill combo really sucks cuz it hurts you a lot and that it always hits, and that I died from the Berserker boss that uses these skills multiple times because of it. But there are some important things that you have at your disposal to counter this stuff.

2. Optimal pairings are important in children characters too.
A lot of people say that it is important to pair the right parents together to get a better (or more versatile) child character. But I think in preparation for this map, you'll also need optimal pairings for children characters because pair ups are so important in this map. One example was my Lon'Qu! Inigo (Assassin) who got S-Support with Virion! Kjelle (Swordmaster). When Kjelle paired with Inigo along with the use of rallies and speed tonics, Inigo hit a Speed stat of 84, which is enough to double any opponent in this map (since the highest speed units in the map has a speed of 70, anything 75 or higher can double them).

3. Support skills are important in this map.
Pair ups are vital in Apotheosis. In order to maximize on this, your supporting characters should be equipped with Dual Guard+ (most importantly) and some with Dual Support+. These skills can help a lot against opponents with Hawkeyes that hits hard (like the aforementioned Berserker). I didn't have units with these skills (which made the map hard), only Laurent and Chrom had it (but I used Chrom as a convoy, so it's quite useless for him to have it, and Laurent was paired with Nah, and she hardly attacked as I used Laurent as  a support healer).

4. Galeforce is good (again).
One of the best skills in the game (and in some situations the most overrated of all the better skills) is Galeforce. While Galeforce is extremely useful for clearing a map of weak units ridiculously fast, or speeding your way to the boss, or even performing hit-and-runs against stronger enemies, it's greatest weakness is that if you fail to kill your opponent, you just wasted a skill slot as you can't move again. However, this skill is extremely good in Apotheosis as you would be prepared with max stats and paired up characters with stat boosts from rallies and you would be strong enough to defeat opponents and move again in this scenario. That being said there were occasions when the RNG didn't work in my favour and I didn't manage to kill the opponent to activate Galefore, and that Galeforce is not good for a Streetpass team (mostly cuz they can't pair up).

5. I didn't prepare enough Waste and Celica's Gale tomes.
Doubling an opponent is important in this map, and capitalizing your ability to outspeed your opponent with forged weapons is a must to complete this map. The best weapons to use in this map are weapons that allow you to attack four times if you double the enemy, so Brave weapons are essential in the map. However, I didn't prepare enough Celica's Gale and Waste (which are the Brave weapon versions for tomes), so my magic users (Owain, Noire, Laurent, and Brady), weren't able to capitalize on the kill. Fortunately Brady was paired with Cynthia who has Brave Lance and Bows, and Noire was paired with Yarne who has Brave Bows and Swords. Laurent was playing a support role, so it was okay I think.

6. I realized how useful Bows are again.
Don't get me wrong, Bows are good weapons for their ability to deal tripe damage to fliers. It's just that the Sniper and Bow Knight class (which are primary bow users) aren't the best classes in the game. However, in the hands of Gerome, Yarne, Inigo, and Cynthia, it really helped defeat the enemy fliers in one turn (even when they had Aegis+ with them), and Inigo was able to defeat Anna in a turn.

7. Mounted units are good, even though my main attacking force aren't mounted units.
Falcon Knights are extremely useful supporting units are they negate terrains and can use Staves (and Rally). Also, mounted units have great mobility and their some of their stats aren't that bad. The problem is I never use them for my attacking force (aka the children) because they have weakness. If you're able to defeat everyone in the area with mounted units then good for you. But if your units fail to kill that one Archer with Pavise+, you're screwed if you have a Flier nearby and Dual Guard did not trigger.

8. The best attacking skills in this map are Luna, Vengeance, and Astra.
Sol is still a top tier skill (especially against people with Counter), but if you almost always defeat the opponent in one turn with no damage received, then it's not that good. Ignis is okay, but it doesn't have a good damage output if you didn't max either Strength or Magic out (or if either one of those stats are your flaws). Aether is not really worth using, to be honest.
Luna is good in this map because it helps damage the opponent even more since they have Aegis+ and Pavise+. Vengeance is particularly useful against people with Hawkeye that deals a lot of damage since you'll be able to dish out the damage back to them if you're hit (it's even better if the Vengeance user is a Sorcerer with Nosferatu/Averssa's Night). And Astra, well, this is one godlike skill that enables you to deal a maximum of 28 hits to the opponent (Brave weapons on both paired units, Astra and Dual Strike triggered all the time), which will surely kill the enemy.

So yeah, Apotheosis Secret Path was one of the best experience I had with this game despite being tough. It is the best strategy experience you can get in Awakening. Even Normal Path is good too, since they also use different skill setups for the enemies that require you to think a bit more (but not to the extent of Secret Path, and you don't need the same amount of prep for Normal Path). Overall, this is one great DLC that you should buy if you have a stat capped team.

Pokemon, PSV TV, Skytrex, & Apotheosis.

So, I have not been posting stuff in a while cuz I'm busy (with assignments). I still have assignments now, but I'm not as busy as before.

For the past few weeks, some awesome stuff happened. So I'll summarize some of the stuff (note, I'm doing this on the top of my head, so I may miss some stuff)

Pokemon Direct, and more Poke Stuff:
Holy crap, you get to choose a Kanto Starter?! How awesome is that? And said starter can Mega Evolve too?! Mega Blastoise look so cool!!

Yeah, that was my reaction. Not really a big fan of the PokeBank thing for now, since I can't see myself catching so many Pokemon that I have to use it, but I may in the near future. Some may complain on the USD 5$ price tag, but I think it's reasonable.
While it is true that Pokemon data (in bits) will most likely not be a lot, and that you can store 3000 Pokemon. An estimation of this cloud storage service is that you pay 5$ to store about 5-10 Mb worth of Pokemon data (assuming that you fill all 3000 slots),  from that perspective, it does seem like a ripoff, but bear in mind that this cloud storage service may be used for future generations (which is a good thing), and seeing that so many people worldwide play Pokemon, there needs a maintenance fee for all the servers.

Oh, and Mega Mewtwo X rocks, glad I pre-ordered X. It's like, at the cost of not getting Yveltal as the mascot legendary, I get the more awesome looking Mega Mewtwo X, while they get Mega Mewtwo Y. Fair trade. Also, the fossil Pokemon looks cool too. And a poodle Pokemon that can be groomed, Simba's (I mean, Litleo's) evolution (which looks different depending on gender, similar to real lions) and that cat (?) Pokemon who's stats and movepool depends on its gender all looks cool.

Finally the 1st evolution of the starters were revealed. Do they look weird? Mostly, but it's okay. I don't think there is any 1st Evo Starter that looks good, all of them looks awkward and derpy in some way (like real teenagers, lol). One cool thing about their evo's is their names, possibly revealing what their final form may be (and what typing will it be).

Quiladin's name resembles Paladin, which (to me) is a mounted class that uses lances and swords (Fire Emblem reference). It's more to being a noble knight who may wield magic. From what I've gathered, Chespin and its evo has a Rock and Ground attack in his movepool. I'm hoping that when it is true that Quiladin will evolve into a more badass Paladin, he will have either Rock or Ground armour.

Braixen looks like a Mage, with that wand and stuff. While most starters gender ratio is skewed towards males, Braixen looks like a female Pokemon to me (maybe it's the colour, and the stick reminds me of a witch's stick instead of a magician's staff). While it has some Psychic moves, we may see the final evolution being a Fairy too.

Frogadier took a turn to be more badass. His name resembles Brigadier, which is a high ranking military person. While not the highest rank yet, I think his final form will give him a name which resembles the highest military rank (being evolved and all). He may get Fighting or Dark as his second typing, but we won't know this for now.

Ohhhhh, I almost forgot, you can customize outfits now!!!!!! I'm gonna like this a lot (LOL)!!

Yeah, other than that, that's all I can think of for Pokemon. Next up

PSV TV:
So, a strange announcement (like the 2DS), but it seems like a great idea. After all, most Vita games have the quality of a PS3 game right?

Well, this cheaper PSV lets you remote play the PS4 on another TV too, and you can play PSP games and PS1 games on it. All that at the cost of portability.

But the thing is that the controller that comes with PSV TV is the Dualshock 3 controller (the one for the PS3) and not the PS4 controller. Why is this a problem? Cuz some Vita games uses the touch screen, as in the front (and sometimes back) screen. Dualshock 3 doesn't have that, Dualshock 4 doesn't have that either, but it could be implemented on that small touch-sensitive area in between the analog sticks.

I dunno about you, but the Vita, while having some genuinely good original games, would be better off as a handheld, or it will defeat the purpose of having the Vita as a handheld, but that's just me. Nothing much to say here since I don't own a Vita. But with this PSV TV it will turn the tide of battle for sure, but I think there will be a cost. I mean, is the Vita how a console-handheld hybrid now? Will the increase in sales of the PSV TV cause game devs to make games less focus on the touch screen? Will those game devs also make more console oriented games for the Vita now? It's still hard to tell for now.

Next up, it's

Skytrex:
A few weeks back (on a Saturday), I went to this place called Skytrex. It's basically an obstacle course 20m above the ground in the rain forest. What you do is that equipped with safety gear, you climb up this ladder to the platform of a tree. You travel from one platform to another by completing an obstacle. Some of the obstacles are challenging, and some are easy.

Despite the assignments I had I still went for it because the last time I was there (which was 5 years ago), I enjoyed the experience with my cousins. Now, we're older, and they just opened a more challenging course. Problem is we couldn't find the time to go there together as a group. And I saw some club in my uni organizing this event, so I went away.

I never consider myself to be a fit person, and being there with guys who goes to the gym (or play sports), I felt a bit intimidated, and I think to myself 'I'm gonna suck at this tough course'. How wrong was I.

I was the first person in the entire group to start the course because the two guys in front of my dare not be the first to take up the challenge (and one of them is the rather muscular leader/organizer of the group. Some brave organizer he turned up to be). So I blazed through the place and completed it way faster than I expected. Was it tiring? Yeah, but it was very satisfying.

If you like extreme sports and in Malaysia, you should go try it. Even if you aren't an adrenaline junkie like me, you should go try it, it's very fun.

Lastly.

Apotheosis completed:
After grinding my team for a while, I decided that my team is ready to face the secret route of Apotheosis.
The 20 people I brought are:
Chrom (the convoy), Lissa & Cordelia (Main Healers), My Avatar, all 13 Children Characters, Olivia (Dancer), and two Rallybots.

Needless to say, I restarted a few times due to not being prepared. The first wave (Generals and Clerics) was easy and was completed in a turn to trigger the first wave of the secret path.

Secret Path (SP) 1 was easy. SP2 was easy too, even though the 70 speed Sniper and the Counter Snipers are a bit intimidating.

Funny story for SP3. I didn't know all my units were standing on the exact location where the Sorcerers will spawn. I had to devise a plan to kill them all in a turn or my supports will die. And I did. The general strategy I had for SP3 is to kill all in one turn.

SP4 was by far the toughest one. The Soldier, Snipers, and Tricksters are okay. But the ShadowGift Dark Fliers were annoying. Having such huge range with Hawkeye, I had to make sure my supports are not hit by them. But by far the most annoying units are the Hawkeye, Luna+, Aegis+, Counter, DragonSkin Berserkers. I died so many times from the boss because Dual Guard won't trigger. I had to resort to Nosferatu Sorcerers to weaken him.

SP5 wasn't as hard as SP4, but is still hard. Had to take down the Berserker henchmans with my Magic users. The Sorcerers weren't that tough, neither is the Snipers (since it's the same Snipers in SP2). Anna was surprisingly easy compared to the SP4 Berserker boss. I one-shot her with Inigo (Assassin) paired with Kjelle (Swordmaster), something I can't do with the SP4 boss. I had Inigo use a Bow to not get Countered, and he was able to defeat Anna pretty easily since he was able to outspeed her (Anna's speed is 70, my Inigo hit 84 after rallies and pairups), defeating her.

Finally got the Supreme Emblem and can equip it for bragging rights.

I did learn a lot of things from Apotheosis, and may talk about that in the next post. But for now, that's all.

The 2DS

So Nintendo just announced a price drop for the WiiU (now $50 cheaper), which is could considering the XB1 and PS4 are gonna be released during holiday season, and a console widely regarded as the weakest of the trio being priced this high will not be beneficial to Nintendo.

But enough about that. They also announced the Nintendo 2DS!

The 2DS is a flat handheld, no longer sporting the clam-shell design that the DS, DSi, 3DS, 3DSXL had. It plays all DS/DSi games and all 3DS games, but you can't enable the 3D features on the 2DS like you can on the 3DS.

Ever since they announce this 3DS alternative, I see a lot of butthurt coming from the internet. I'm here to try to not sound bias by presenting a few counter to the arguments going on online.

1. There's no hinges in this console like the 3DS. Instead, it's flat, and it's ugly as hell.

I do agree that the design of the 2DS is rather odd (it looks like a piece of toast to me), but you have to consider why they designed this console -it's for kids 7 and under (or around that age group).

One of the things that make the DS/3DS/GBASP flawed is the hinges, it breaks rather easily, especially in the hands of a child. It is especially flimsy in the DS era, and it's a sad sight to see children crying when their DS/3DS snapped and they can't play. The hinges are also one of the main reasons why parents are hesitant on getting the 3DS as they fear of it breaking (and not be able to get a refund, or something).

The 2DS is much sturdier and would be able to withstand mishandling by children, and it will most definitely get the support of parents.

Also, if you think that you're not a 'clumsy person' and would most likely take care of your 3DS well, you have to know that sometimes, shit happens and your 3DS breaks.

2. It's so big and bulky.

So is the 3DSXL, Vita, and whatever tablet you use. Most of the time when you carry a 3DS or a Vita, unless you have a really big pocket, you would keep the handheld in your bag, like you do with your tablet. So just do the same for the 2DS, what's the difference? Also, the 2DS isn't really that big if you compare it to your tablet, and it is very likely to be able to be handled by a 7-year old, let alone a grown man.

3. Why pay for a handheld that doesn't have 3D when you can already turn off your 3D anytime on the 3DS.

Simple, it's a cheaper alternative for people who wanna get a 3DS but can't afford it. It's not only priced at a low low price of $129.99, but it's also released on the same day as Pokemon X & Y, a kid-friendly mega-franchise. Imagine a parent walking in and getting both a 2DS and a copy of Pokemon for only $170, which is the price of a 3DS during the price cut. Isn't that a good deal?

4. No additional circle-pad pro/ Mono-audio

Again, the targeted user of this console are kids who aren't likely gonna play a lot of games that require an additional circle pad like Kid Icarus: Uprising or Monster Hunter 3: Ultimate. However, it's kinda sad that you can't use the CPP like you can on the 3DS/3DSXL, but I'm pretty sure they'll develop one soon.

Regarding the mono-audio, again, target user. They aren't likely gonna be able to differentiate mono and stereo. Plus, you can still use stereo when you plug in your earphones, and if you're the type of person who likes to listen to your 3DS game's music, you would most likely be listening through a headphone instead of listening through the speakers.

I guess that's all the problems I can address for now (and all I can think of). I am aware that the name '2DS' will cause a hell lot of confusion in the game shops when parents ask them why aren't there any 2DS games. But if you think about it, calling it a 3DS isn't a suitable name too, since it's not 3D enabled. They can't just call it the '3DS Flat (with no 3D)', so I do hope that the confusion in the name won't be too bad.

One thing cool about the 2DS was from what I observed. I noticed that it was flat, meaning like a tablet, and I thought to myself 'Nintendo is trying to compete with the tablet using industry, with the 2DS being flat like a tablet, but with buttons, and more suitable for slightly hardcore gaming'. A few hours later after that thought, they revealed that the 2DS is actually one screened, where the borders between them is just there to avoid confusion and all. The top screen is actually a touch screen like the bottom screen, only covered in some thick plastic, meaning....

The 2DS is a 3DS tablet with buttons, and no 3D. Wow!

To end this 2DS post, here's a message to all butthurt gamers.

The 2DS is not meant for you and may not be meant for you. I know it's sad to not be able to buy a 3DS without the 3D unless you buy a 2DS, hopefully they'll create a new 2DS next time. Also, I think that the 2DS won't be a failure like the GameBoy Micro, but it won't be as successful as the 3DS. So, just deal with it, or I'll hunt you down with my axe.

eShop games

Having $46.50 of eShop credit left on my 3DS (which I'm saving for Ace Attorney 5), I can't help but have this feeling that even this amount of money is not enough to pay for the game and the DLCs that come with it (special outfits, whale chapter).

I'm guessing that I will be reloading an additional  $50 into my 3DS in the near future. While I know that is a lot of money pumped into the 3DS, I wanted to top up this much because I feel like downloading 2 eShop games, which are:

Bit Trip Saga

I don't really have any reason to buy this game, other than the fact that it will be on sale this September on the eShop, selling at $5(!) from $15, I heard that it's even more expensive before, at $40, so this game is quite a steal. All I know that this game is a rhythm platformer, I hope it's good.

Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX

Gonna get this game for free on Club Nintendo (yay!). Since the only LoZ game I played was a 3D one (OoT), I thought I would give a 2D Zelda game a try. If I like it, then I may get Link Between Worlds for the 3DS.

There's other games like the newly released SteamWorld Dig and Attack of the Friday Monsters that I might be interested in getting, but I'm still not sure about that.

As much as I don't really care about indie games (as of now), there is one particular game that I really do wanna play, and it's a shame that it's not on the 3DS, and that's

Yup, this super awesome flash-game looking, no combo needing, two-buttoned parody fighting game that is selling for $10 on Steam and PS3 and PS Vita. I really like the idea of a fighting game that is deconstructed to just the mind games, and that's Divekick for you. 

When I saw the game on a fighting game stream a year or two ago, it looked fun as hell, especially with the custom two-button arcade stick that they used. Now the game is out, and it looks fun as hell. I really hope it will be released on the 3DS, I'll download it without a second thought. 

Sure the graphics are unacceptable by many, but for a game that uses two buttons, it has a lot of depth to it, and it is a plus to have so many hilarious fighting game references to other fighting games, and to the fighting game community. 

Did I mention how awesome of a drinking game this will be?

Anyways, that's all I have to say. I dunno how many eShop games will I get, maybe more recommendations from friends will convince me to get other eShop tittles. 

3DS update 18.8.13

In anticipation of Ace Attorney 5 (and the very high likelihood of it being a digital-only release, dammit Capcom!), I have topped-up 50 USD worth of eshop credit to my 3DS.

And since my balance became $55.50, the first thing I bought was the last few Fire Emblem DLCs that I have not bought and was hesitant to buy due to lack of money. I bought Challenge pack and Apotheosis.

I have completed Apotheosis normal path. I didn't do much preparations, and I didn't change the skills of most of my units (even though it was necessary to do so in order to not suck in this map), and I didn't have all my units stat-capped, which resulted in 2 deaths (good thing I played casual). Needless to say, even with me thinking half of the time with below-par battle prep and completing the map with just 2 deaths, I'm pretty sure this map isn't that difficult for Normal Route. Secret Route on the other hand will be tough.

So, new gameplan for secret route. I need all my children characters stat-capped, money-grind more for more forged weapons, but more weapons and staves, train up my 2nd rally-bot Katarina (whom I got for completing Apotheosis normal path), bring Olivia in, change the skills of my team before entering the map, and most importantly of all, not letting any units die (cuz I'll be playing it seriously this time).

And while preparing for Apotheosis, I'll be attempting the 3 Challenge pack maps.

Yeah, that's all.