The Top 5 3DS Games I've played in 2014

But it's not the end of December yet, why are you doing this now?

Well my reasoning is because:
1. I might not have time to make this list another day, and
2. I have probably played every game I wanted to play this year, and there is nothing new that I might play or complete by the end of this year.

So keep in mind that  I did not play every game that is released for it, so if certain games are not in this list, it's cuz I did not play it (but I might play it another time, and it may appear on a future post). Also, not including game I have not beaten, and Virtual Console games.

Before we start, here are some honorable mentions. There were many great game that I've played this year, and so making this list was very hard, and these were the games that barely made the top cut.

Mighty Gunvolt - An 8-bit goodness platformer, but it game with Azure Striker Gunvolt, and its actually a pretty solid and short game.

Super Mario 3D Land - A really solid platformer. I like how they make use of the 3D effects and as a person who never played a Mario 3D-platformer, I quite like the game and the final boss fight with Bowser.

Shovel Knight - There were many good platformers I've played this year, as you can see from the honorable mentions (in fact, I also played Gunman Clive this year, as well as gotten myself the Mega Man Zero Collection). Shovel Knight is yet another platformer that was close to making up this list (I mean, very close). It had a very solid track, precise platforming, and tons of achievements, and homages to many classic 8-bit games. The reason why it wasn't in the list is cuz of my preference over 16-bit style platformers than 8-bit styled (which is why I like the Zero series of all Mega Man series due to this style).

5. Shin Megami Tensei IV (SMTIV)

This was a game I completed a few weeks after making the list for last year. SMTIV wasn't a game I got on launch, and so I went in with an optimistic outlook since I got it 2nd hand for a rather low price. Despite being difficult and me dying many times due to sheer bullshit, I still really enjoy the game. I felt that the story was alright (cuz I wasn't expecting much I suppose) and the battle system was interesting. There were customization mechanics that are severely broken if you knew how to use it properly, which allows you to make most of the game a cakewalk with the exception of certain boss fights and surprise encounter with demons. I heard of the multiple endings this game has based on your alignment and I was able to get to the ending I wanted (which was the True Ending), so I finished the game immensely satisfied. Music of the game was good too, especially the boss themes.

4. Super Smash Bros. 3DS (SSB3D)

The Nintendo fighting game made its way to the handheld system and it's pretty darn good. Due to shitty connection, I had to resort to playing the game locally, but it's still a fun experience. Controls are tight and all, but due to it being an unconventional fighting game, I can't master the controls as well as I expected (being used to traditional 2D fighters instead), but I'm not saying the game is bad or anything, it's just my inability to master Smash controls, that's all. Music for this game is good, and it is packed with content. One of my main gripes over Brawl is how the main theme sounds ridiculously annoying to me after hearing for it in the long run (and with Smash's habit of remixing the main theme, some of it really irritates me for some reasons), but the main theme for this game sounds alright, and I don't get irritated hearing the same track remixed over and over again.

3. Azure Striker Gunvolt (ASG)

This was the game that made the list instead of Shovel Knight. I bought the game even though I had mixed feelings about the game being very slow paced (compared to Zero, you will see me making a lot of comparisons to Zero), but after beating the game, I have come to realize that this game isn't Zero, and for a game that is similar to it, it's actually vastly different (but in a good way in some aspects). The scoring system takes account many factors, but it does not require the speed of Zero, while it does require you to take out everything in sight if you're aiming for a high rank, unlike Zero where there is only a set amount of enemies to kill in a stage to hit the maximum score for enemies killed. One thing about Gunvolt is that getting the highest rank, S+ requires a lot of planning as it requires you to basically not get hit for the entirety of the stage and then finish the boss of with a special move. It's as hard as consistently scoring 100 points in every mission in Zero (though it is debatable that Zero is harder to score 100 points on certain missions).

The customization options for Gunvolt is quite plentiful in this game, and GV levels up too, though that makes the game slightly easier as you have more health with each level up. My only main gripe with this game is how easy this game can be if you use Anthem and abuse Prevasion all the time, but it becomes ridiculously hard when you try not to use them a lot. Most of my gripes come from the game being super easy with those mechanics abused unlike Zero, which is hard all around. Maybe it's just me for liking my platformers with immense challenge from the get-go. The music of this game is rather meh, but the Lumen songs are rather catchy though. Regardless, ASG is a great game. While it isn't the sequel of MMZ I hoped for, it is still a fantastic game, giving a new perspective on the 16-bit sidescrolling platforming genre.

2. Bravely Default (BD)

This game is amazing. I am a sucker for games with class-based system like Bravely Default. I was actually contemplating on buying the game at first, but I got it on launch in the end. It took me a while to complete the game (4 months after I bought it) cuz I took a long break from playing it, and continued playing the game during June. One thing I can say about the game is that the music of the game is one of the best I've heard, period. The composer of the game is Revo from Linked Horizon, who is the person in charge of the ridiculously popular opening songs of Attack on Titans. In BD, the music works so well for everything that is going on. And each piece is beautifully crafted as well. My personal favourites are the Theme of Eisenberg, the Civil War Country, the main theme Overture of Hope, the ending theme Ballad Moving Towards Hope, and finally the best track of the game - the Asterisk boss battle theme 'That Person's Name Is'. There are many more tracks in this game that are amazing (in fact, I do believe the entire soundtrack qualify as spectacular).

So I have told you how amazing the music is, how about the gameplay and story. The gameplay is pretty standard old-school JRPG with a twist. I also really like how they blend it character themes with their special attacks, it's a nice little touch. In short, gameplay is pretty solid. As for the story, I actually enjoy it a lot. I know a lot of people's main gripe of the game is the middle of the game where many of the things you need to do are really repetitive. But to me, I didn't really find them repetitive at all, and I was able to plow through the game rather quickly without feeling bored of it. All it all, this game is fantastic in terms of story, gameplay and music, and I hope that Ryo from Supercell, being is the composer of Bravely Second deliver in terms of providing an equally good soundtrack for the game. It's a shame Revo can't return as the composer of Bravely Second due to his busy schedule. I can't wait for the sequel though. This is one game I highly recommend to everyone who is a fan of JRPGs.

This year has been great for the 3DS as well. But there is one game that beats all the games I've played this year. No, make that two, as the best 3DS game I've played this year is a tie between:

1. Pokemon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire (ORAS)

Since I gotten myself both copies of the game, and well there are almost the same game (with some differences here and there), I might as well put both games here. This game is probably placed here due to my bias towards the Gen III Pokemon games since I have very fond memories of them. So ORAS was a game I have quite high hopes for since it's riding on all that nostalgia, and it delivered quite well.

The first thing I shall talk about the game is the music (of course). The Hoenn games are very well known for it's music. While many think it has too much trumpets I still think their music is pretty darn good. Most of the remastered tracks of ORAS met the expectations of many players of the older games (including myself). While more instruments are used this time around, they do make some of the older tracks more fitting to the setting. Trumpets do still make a return though. Route 110 sounds much better now due to more trumpets. But I do wish that they gave an option to play the original RSE tracks in all its GBA glory (like what they did in HGSS). One thing I like was that some of the newer tracks in this game sound amazing, including things like Zinnia's themes, and especially Wally's theme (the one you hear when you face him in Victory Road).

So we've talked about how good the music is, how about the story and gameplay? Is this game considered a good remake or RSE and a good sequel to X and Y? The answer is Yes. While the game lacks character customization like in X & Y, I would argue that this was done to cater to people who wanted to play as Brendan and May back when there aren't any. Not a strong argument to be honest, but I wasn't really bothered by the lack of customization. There isn't any city in Hoenn that is as large as Lumiose City in Kalos (which is so big that you can get lost if you're not familiar with it). While the newly improved Mauville City is the largest city in Hoenn, it's not to a point that you will get lost in the city, so that's good. I also liked the fact that the Berry Farm area in Hoenn is filled with one of each berry very nice for people who play competitive like me as I do not have to hunt for every berry or play the PGL. There are significantly more legendaries in ORAS than in XY, so that's another way to sink in some time. The Delta Episode post-game is also better than the Looker missions in my opinion. What Zinnia does is rather questionable in the episode though, but the Delta Episode does give an homage to fans of Pokemon Emerald, having Rayquaza as the centerpoint of the episode. You also get to fight Wallace (with his Champion team in Emerald) and Deoxys, so that's really nice.

As for how it has improved over the originals, the evil team's purpose of reviving the mascot legendaries seems more legit now than last time. The rivals for this game has a huge improvement too. May/Brendan actually evolved her/his starter when you battle at Lilycove City, and he/she has the starter in it's Mega Form in the battle after defeating the Champion. Wally, on the other hand had ridiculous amounts of improvements. Not only were there tiny hints here and there on how hard he's pushing through the gyms, when you eventually fight him at Victory Road, he has a Mega Gallade this time instead of a Gardevoir (btw, his Gardevoir back in RSE has always been male, so it's nice they gave him Gallade instead this time around) and the scenery, along with the music, and what happens after, makes this battle so good. Rematching the Elite Four also brings out their ace Pokemon in their Mega forms, which is neat.

While the game uses the same graphics engine as X & Y, Hoenn looks very beautiful, much more beautiful than Kalos. There were more cutscenes this time around, as well as more viewing angles to show off the engine better. Another thing is that secret bases in this game are pretty awesome as well, and you can use it to do a bunch of stuff like running your own gym or an exp farm (like the Blissey farm used to help people level up their Pokemons). Contests also makes a return, and its just like the Hoenn contests, which I like as I find the Sinnoh ones a bit complicated and not as fun. Battle Resort is the replacement of Battle Frontier, and its the only thing lacking in the game for now, as it only has a Battle Maison, which has the exact same building structure as the one in Kiloude City. But it is hinted that Battle Tower will make a return. Hopefully we will see it one day, along with the other battle facilities that make up the Battle Frontier of Pokemon Emerald.

All in all, ORAS has surpassed my expectations, which is why it's the best game I've played this year.

Anyways, we will see what games will make the list next year. Until then, that's all for now.

The 2nd Place Report for the Tournament I had last weekend.

Just a note: I made this report in a doc format in Facebook, so I'm just gonna copy the words into this blog, and maybe edit a bit of stuff. Without further ado, here's the report:

Farewell Kalos - A 2nd Place Kyo's XY Tournament Report

Hi everyone, I'm Yew Sun, but most of you know me as Sunny in the Nintendo Pokemon Communication Group (NPCGM). I have known of Pokemon since it was first introduced in Generation I, but it would take till Generation III for me to start my Pokemon Adventure in Leaf Green (and then Emerald). I wasn't a competitive battler when I started Pokemon (barely understanding EVs and IVs), but it was until the introduction of Pokemon X and Y when competitive battling became more accessible to newcomers, and I started playing Pokemon competitively (be it Singles or Doubles). 

The announcement of Omega Ruby and Alpha Saphire (ORAS) got me really excited, as Hoenn is one of my most favourite regions of all. One of the local Nintendo game sellers - Kyo's Mini Game Mart, decided to have a Launch Party for ORAS, similar to what he did last year for the launching of Pokemon X and Y. Kyo also organized a Pokemon X and Y tournament during the launch party, similar to what he did last year for the X and Y launch (having a Black/White/Black 2/White 2 Tournament). Having more experience in battling (and in VGC), I decided to give the tournament a try. 

After six rounds of Swiss and a Top 8 Top Cut, I got 2nd place due to some luck and skills (but mostly luck I suppose). I didn't really much videos of my battles, so there isn't gonna be any videos here to show how my team fared. Also, I didn't really want to make this report, but my friend insisted, so I'll just try my best to write this report. 

The Team

While I do have a bunch of Pokemons well suited for a double battle, the one VGC team I've used the most frequently consist of a Lum Berry Garchomp, Bulky Sitrus Gardevoir, Mega Manectric, Leftovers Rotom-W, Weakness Policy Aegislash, and a Support Life Orb Talonflame.

However, playing with this team frequently made me realize how frail this team is (and how I need to beat the opponent fast to win). However, I still wanted to stick to the Dragon-Steel-Fairy core that the team has. For the team I used in the tournament, I changed up two Pokemons for the earlier team, while at the same time, changed the items and sets for the remaining four Pokemons, so here is the team I used:

Garchomp@Cynthia

Focus Sash

Jolly Nature

252 Atk & Speed, 4 HP

Rough Skin

Earthquake, Rock Slide, Dragon Claw, Protect

There's nothing much to say about the Garchomp's EVs and nature, it's all standard stuff. As for the item, I went for Focus Sash so that it could survive any incoming Hidden Power Ice from a Pokemon, as well as survive an attack that would kill it in one shot (like a Draco from Noivern & Scarfed Salamence/Hydreigon or any Fairy attack) and possibly return with at least one more attack before it dies. 

My Garchomp was a female, so I named it after Cynthia, the Sinnoh Champion who's Garchomp is her ace, and the most feared of all her Pokemons in many trainers. 

Aegislash@Joan of Arc

Leftovers

Quiet Nature

252 HP & Sp.Atk, 4 Sp.Def. IV: 0 Speed

Stance Change

Shadow Ball, Flash Cannon, King's Shield, Substitute

Standard set for a Substitute Aegislash, but something new to me. I used to run a Weakness Policy Aegislash, which was deadly when the opponent does stuff like Knock Off on me. But I see putting Substitute and a Leftover on it seems like a good idea as it makes it more bulkier and annoying. People who do not run Mega Khan has to gang it to destroy the Sub (or use Heat Wave and Earthquake). But with the right pairing, I could check the EQ or Heat Wave user, which makes Aegislash very dangerous. 

My Aegislash was also a female, so I named it Joan of Arc, after the French heroine (since we're in Kalos and all). 

Talonflame@Akahige

Life Orb

Lonely Nature

188 Atk, 68 Sp.Atk 252 Speed

Gale Wings

Protect, Overheat, Bravebird, Will-O-Wisp

One of the things I changed from my previous team was that I re-bred a new Talonflame for this tournament. Seeing Se Jun Park running a Mixed Talonflame in Worlds made me try it out, and it's surprisingly good as I do have success with it to some degree. Having Overheat instead of Flare Blitz allows be to kill Steel types like Mawile and Ferrothorn without the Attack drop or the Iron Barbs. I run Protect as a way to scout opponents, and Will-O-Wisp as a way to burn certain Pokemon since this team does not carry Intimidate. 

Talonflame was named after the Japanese Robin, whose scientific name is the Erithacus Akahige. 

Gardevoir@Fung-Jie

Choice Scarf

Modest Nature

4 HP, 20 Def, 252 Sp.Atk, 228 Speed

Telepathy

Psychic, Dazzling Gleam, Moonblast, Thunderbolt

One of the most versatile Pokemons around, Gardevoir has been my signature Pokemon way back in Emerald when I use it in my main game team (Specifically, a Male Gardevoir). It's one of my favourite Pokemons out there (not in a waifu kind of way cuz I don't have Pokephilia). The Fairy type buff made Gardevoir a viable Pokemon in VGC as its able to wall Dragons now. Gardevoir runs Psychic to kill Pokemons like Gengar, and Venusaur in general. Moonblast is the go-to Fairy type attack, but I also want to have a spread attack or in case I fight a Hydreigon, so I run Dazzling Gleam as well as it would OHKO it (and at the same time chip his partner a little). Thunderbolt is there to weaken Charizard Y a little, as well as to kill off Gyarados if I ever saw one. The EVs for Speed is enough for me to outspeed a Noivern, as I believe that a Specs Noivern may tear my team apart (if I see one, of course). Remaining EVs were distributed to Defense to give it a little bit more bulk (just a little). Telepathy is there to negate any Earthquake damage in case it was paired with Garchomp.

As my signature Gardevoir has always been a male, this one is no different. My Gardevoir's nickname was based on my friend Chi Fung, whose nickname is Fung-Jie. He has long hair that is very well kept (in fact, its better maintained than some of the girls I know), and he is occasionally mistaken for a girl due to this. 

Kangaskhan@Onee-san

Kangaskhanite

Adamant Nature

252 Atk & Speed, 4 HP

Scrappy/Parental Bond

Protect, Sucker Punch, Double Edge, Power-Up Punch

One of the best megas in the metagame, I picked Kangaskhan over Manectric as my mega of choice this tournament for its bulk and damage. Double Edge was important in securing crucial kills, while running Protect helps in the long run as it is Adamant instead of Jolly. Other than that, there's nothing much to say other that I picked Adamant for more damage output. 

Kangaskhan was named Onee-san, like the big sis of the team... or something. I didn't really put much thought into naming her. 

Meowstic-M@Nyan-Nyan~

Sitrus Berry

Calm Nature

252 HP, 100 Def, 156 Sp.Def

Prankster

Protect, Safeguard, Rain Dance, Charm

I swapped my Rotom-W over this guy. I rarely bring him on to battles as I wouldn't normally win battles with him, but he was crucial to my team for a few reasons. It's the 2nd fastest in the metagame, losing only to Liepard, meaning I could use Safeguard before Sableye or Klefki inflict their status on my Pokemon (or before Sableye can taunt it). Safeguard also ensures I win against Khan-Artist leads (Dark Void Smeargle + Mega Kangaskhan). Since I don't run Intimidate, it's Charm can reduce some of the opponent's attack power (also the reason why I didn't invest much in Def compared to Sp.Def). I also anticipated matches where I have to fight in the Sun or Sand, which is why I brought Rain Dance, to weaken Charizard Y further, forcing it to switch. Switching the weather to rain also allows Gardevoir to OHKO a Tyranitar as the lack of Sand means its Sp.Def is not that high anymore. 

I didn't give much thought to Meowstic's nickname. It was called Nyan-Nyan~ cuz my first Meowstic was called Nyan, that's about it. 

Team Synergy

Usually, I don't have a specific lead Pokemon as I tend to lead based on what I see during Team Preview, but here are some of the team pairings I can think of.

Meowstic + Anyone with Protect (Not King's Shield)

This match up gives me some sort of tactical advantage against Smeargle leads. I can double Protect the first turn to scout the opponent and attack the next turn. Meowstic with Safeguard ensures my Pokemon don't get fallen asleep. Meowstic also helps with Prankster leads, but I have to thread with caution if I'm dealing with a Liepard (because of the potential Encore). 

Aegislash + Anyone with Protect against anyone with Fake Out pressure.

Due to it being ghost, it can't be faked out unless the opponent has Scrappy. Depending on the situation, I could set up a Substitute or just go offensive on the opponent. As mentioned earlier, setting up subs will make him more annoying to the opponents. 

Meowstic + Gardevoir

This specific pairing is to deal with Sun or Sand (as I expected these to be the most common weather to expect in the tournament). A Char Y lead will almost always Mega Evolve the first turn. Priority Rain Dance will weaken it severely, and I could hit it back with a Thunderbolt. The switch in weather also helps me in match ups against Tyranitar. Most Ttars do not expect their Sandstorm to be disrupted by a Meowstic, and they know that Gardevoir can't OHKO it in sand. Changing the weather to rain allows me to OHKO Ttar (unless its a rare max HP Sp.def builds). 

Gardevoir + Garchomp

There's nothing much to say about this pairng other than Telepathy preventing EQs from Garchomp, and that Gardevoir can take out most Dragon threats of Garchomp. 

How my tournament journey went

To be perfectly honest, I don't remember in full detail of the battles I had, so this is gonna be really, really short.

In Round 1, I faced off against a Trick Room team. I lost due to the opponent having the Pokemon advantage after 15 minutes (tournament time given). Should my Aegislash be his Weakness Policy build I would have won the match as the opponent's Hariyama decided to go for Knock Off on it instead of faking out my Meowstic (Neutral Flash Cannon wasn't enough to kill off the Aromatisse). The fact that my Aegislash had long animation for changing Stances and having the Substitute up wasted a lot of time making the matche less in my favour as the time passes. This was also the point when I realize that Meowstic may not be a good Pokemon to use as I thought it was when I made the team as the lack of offensive options as a support Pokemon makes it hard to turn things around. 

After Round 1, my current standings was 0 (Win) -1 (Lose)

Going into Round 2, I fought a rather newbie trainer who used a Dragon Dance Charizard Y. Meowstic was able to disrupt it easily with Rain Dance and Charm, and the battle was an easy win 

Current Standings: 1-1

Round 3 came, and I had to honour to fight a guy I know as Forte. He's a formidable trainer I know from the Play! Convention last June, who won the Flat Singles Tournament on his birthday. I didn't know he played VGC too, so I was kinda nervous when I fought him. Despite him having Tyranitar, I go with my guts and decided not to run Meowstic (from what I learnt in Round 1). Surprisingly enough, he did not bring any Mega Pokemons to the tournament, as I realize his Tyranitar had a Life Orb (Mixed Ttar), and there's no way his Salamence is his mega (lol). I made a crucial mistake when I switched out Gardevoir to Talonflame, dying in one hit to the Rock Slide (Talonflame was rather important in killing Ferrothorn), but I was able to make up for it by defeating his other Pokemons (Neutral Kanga OHKO'ed his Salamence, showing the importance of Double Edge landing crucial KOs), leaving him with just his Ferrothorn, which I defeated with Aegislash and Gardevoir.

Current Standings: 2-1

Round 4 I faced a guy named Haizan (I'm not too sure if his FB name is Haizan Ryuki or not). He had a Mega Lucario (which I anticipated had Bullet Punch, and I was right). I don't remember much about the fight, other than the fact that I sacrificed my Gardevoir to his Lucario, but was able defeat both of his Mons with an EQ from Garchomp. 

Current Standings: 3-1

In Round 5, I faced off against a friend of mine named Ji Yun. Seeing me as his next opponent, he told me he has no mood to fight since I'm his opponent. I defeated him in a really short match (Sorry, Ji Yun)

Current Standings: 4-1

Round 6 was one of the most fun match I had in the tournament, against another friend named Akill. He had a really unique team that has Charizard Y, Rhyperior, Probopass, Yanmega (and some others I can't recall). The Yanmega had Hidden Power Ice and was Orbed, which would have killed my Garchomp, but it was sashed. But I made some misplays and I lost the match against him (it was a very close one). 

Current Standings: 4-2

After the Swiss rounds, the tournament bracket generator Challonge ranks each players based on their Win-Lose ratio. In the event of a tie, Challonge apparently ranks the trainer based on who they face to get to the rank they are now (it has its algorithms and I dunno how it works). The Top Cut was to have the top 8 players move on to Quarter finals. I was ranked 10th place, just barely didn't make it. So I just stayed in to cheer on for Teo (aka Flurk) and Akill as they move on to the Top Cut. 

However....

It was during the Top Cut when the judges realized someone in the top 8 brought a Pokemon that is not found in the Kalos Pokedex (I wonder why no one has ever noticed this till then), as the trainer had a Cradily in his team (the only Fossil Pokemons you will find in the Kalos Pokedex are the Aurorus and Tyrantrum line, as well as Aerodactyl). He was then disqualified, and the wins he had were changed to losses in the Challonge system. With the changes made, the some of the Top 8 players had their positions shifted, and it was because of this, I barely made it to the Top Cut, being 8th place now. 

Battles started immediately, and now it's best of 3. My first opponent was unfortunately Akill (again....). Knowing that the lost I had earlier was due to a mistake on my end. I figured that I do not need to change lineup of the Pokemons I bring, so I brought the same Pokemons for all the matches I fought against him in this best of 3 (which were Garchomp, Gardevoir, Talonflame, and Kangaskhan). I won him the first round, and in the 2nd, I got introduced to his Probopass, which I had no idea what it can do. It had Wide Guard, shielding itself from his own Earthquake (and mine). Despite this, I was able to beat him this time, winning 2-0 and moving on to semis.

I fought Eric in the semis, in what I would consider the toughest victory I had in the tournament. Eric ran a team whereby 5/6 Pokemons he had were the same Pokemon I brought to the tournament. The only difference was that he had a Sableye while I had my Meowstic (even then, both of them are Prankster Pokemons). It was a mirror match, and it became somewhat of a battle of wits. While most of our mons are identical, the sets we run might be different. His Aegislash has Substitute, but it's a Weakness Policy build, his Talonflame is a Physical LO support similar to my older Talonflame, and I assume his Kanga is a Jolly build with Return. Losing the first round (cuz I brought Meowstic), I was able to win him in round 2, and lucked out in Round 3 when my Talonflame got really lucky and I pulled a double Protect with my Garchomp if I'm not mistaken. I moved on to the finals in a very close game. My score was 2-1.

I faced Stephen Tan in the finales (or as I like to call him Stephen Stone, cuz being the champion and all). He had a Mega Venusaur, Salamence, Rotom-W, Mamoswine, and some Pokemons I can't recall. I recall that I had trouble against his Rotom-W (the fact that I didn't bring my safeguarding Meowstic didn't help either). I was conflicted on bringing it actually, as from past battles, I couldn't win due to lack of fire power, and now I lost 2-0 as I can't kill off his Rotom-W cleanly without it disrupting my team. 

Final thoughts

I didn't expect to not use Meowstic that often, as I thought he would be the gamble I need to win certain matches. In hindsight, I should have go for a different build for my Rotom-W to take people by surprise. But oh well, what's over is over, and at least I won a lotta stuff from the tournament, which I did not expect, so I'm not complaining much. 

Special Thanks

Shoutouts to Kevin Ngim. He is by far the best VGC battler I know in Malaysia, and it was a shame he couldn't join the tournament as he was late for registration. The discussions I had with him were crucial in planning my team and how it synergises with each other.

Special thanks to members of the Midnight Multi Battle, you guys are one of the best battlers (and friends) i've met since playing Pokemon X. 

Also, special thanks to my parents, who are surprisingly okay with my hobbies in gaming.

I hope you enjoy reading this report, this is my first time doing such a write-up.  

Haven't been active in a while, have I?

Being in my final year is taking its toll. So many assignments to rush, and I do not have time to update this blog. Thankfully, this semester has ended, so I shall summarize what I've been lately.

I watched the last two Ruroni Kenshin movies (which were both good, but I felt the final film was a bit lacking). Nonetheless both films are great films and they are somewhat true to the source material.
I trained up my Pokemon team for the Pokemon XY tournament that ended last Saturday, which happened in conjuction with the Omega Ruby Alpha Saphire Launch Party. I went there to get a copy of Omega Ruby and Alpha Saphire for myself, since I like the Hoenn region so much. But.....
I also got 2nd during the XY tournament, surprising myself. I guess I was really lucky to even get such a position, but it was a great experience, and I won myself some cash, eShop credit, and another copy of Alpha Saphire, which makes me have 1 copy of OR and 2 copies of AS with me.

My friends wanted me to do a 2nd place report for my team (even though I never thought of doing one to begin with). I shall make a 2nd place report on my friend's request, posting the team I used on this blog.

Until then, that's all for now.

I'm somehow alive

I have been ridiculously busy lately in university, with so many assignments due constantly, it's hard to find time to post here. To sum up what happened so far, here's what I've been playing for the past few months:

Azure Striker Gunvolt and Shovel Knight, both are excellent platformers that are available for the 3DS. It is up for debate which is the better one though, but I'm pretty sure the majority would say Shovel Knight is (while I'm leaning more towards Gunvolt)

Kid Icarus Uprising, traded it for Project X Zone. It's rather fun, but I haven't got time to play a lot of the game.

Professor Layton X Ace Attorney. Really good music, really nice story. Only major gripe was that the puzzles in this game were waaaayyy too easy.

Lastly, the Smash Bros. Demo. Never would I expect to spend 4 hours on a demo.

On the Pokemon front, I did breed a Shiny Drilbur, who is now a Shiny Excadrill named GurrenLagann. He has Sand Rush and 5iv perfect stats (which was nice). Didn't take me long, just about 300+ eggs for him to hatch, so I was overall rather satisfied with this since it's my favourite Pokemon.

Yeah, that's about it.

Bravely Default, and it's amazing soundtrack

So, we're at about a week before semester starts, and I just completed Bravely Default. What do I think about the game? It's pretty good. I know that most people will say that it has a lot of padding in the later chapters, it didn't really bother me one bit, since the padding can be gotten past pretty quickly.

One thing I got to say though, is that it has a spectacular soundtrack. I'm a kind of person that usually likes music from Capcom games (like the Mega Man and Ace Attorney series), and soundtracks from other games don't usually receive high praises from me, but Bravely Default is an exception, it's music is just that good.

How good you may ask?

What I like about Bravely Default's soundtrack is the ability to its main themes in different parts of other music. Like how the title screen theme is also used in part of the overworld theme (when it's night time). Or how the overworld theme (during daytime) is used in the music when travelling by sea and air in later parts of the game. It reminds me of the theme in Mega Man Zero 4 (Resistance and ending theme) and Ace Attorney Dual Destinies' Objection theme (which has elements of the Objection theme in the third game). Also, the overworld theme in Bravely Default can also be heard in the game's ending song, which had vocals (a duet between a female artist and the composer of the game, Revo). It's a really nice song, and fitting for an ending theme.

Another thing cool about Bravely Default is that it has a different versions of themes that are found in the game as part of their soundtrack. A few months after I got the game, I went on Youtube, and I found that in Japan (cuz they released the game much much earlier), they had a Bravely Default live concert, done by the composer's band (which is Linked Horizon, formerly Sound Horizon, and the people responsible for the two Attack on Titans opening song which is catchy as hell). What I liked about the live concert is that i realized that some of the game's tracks have extended versions, or vocalized versions, which sounds pretty good as well. I like that a lot as it also reminded me of Mega Man Zero and ZX's remastered sountrack, which makes a track in the game that is put to loop, and turn it into a song.

Bravely Default's music is amazing. They have really catchy and amazing boss themes (the best one being the Asterisk boss battle theme, His Name Is, or Ka no Mono no na ha). Their overworld theme is good. The cities theme is nice as well (special mention to the theme of Hartschild - The Civil War Country). Dungeon theme is nice as well. Best of all, the random enemy encounter music (Conflict's Chime) does not sound tedious even though you're listening to it for the 1000th time (to put in perspective, I normally mute the Pokemon Wild Encounter theme when I EV train my Pokemon cuz it gets boring to listen to after a while). Oh, and each character has their own theme (activated when they perform a special attack), and each of these themes have their own vocalized version as well, which sounds nice and actually has meaning to it (like most of the vocalized songs in this game). Finally the final boss theme (Serpent Eating the Ground) is a pretty awesome theme, combining tunes of several tracks (including the character themes) and putting them into one epic theme suited for a final boss.

I know I've been praising Bravely Default's music to no end, but I really can't help it, it's really amazing. Now, I don't know much about the history of Final Fantasy's music since I don't normally play JRPGs, but I heard it's pretty good due to them having a good composer (Nobuo Uematsu, I think). Some people say that the music for this game is not up to standard since it's not Nobuo composing but Revo instead, and honestly I can't really say I agree or disagree since I've never played a Final Fantasy game. But I can say one thing though, Revo did an amazing job as a composer in my opinion as the game sounds great, and has vocalized/extended versions of existing tracks, and tracks of the game that are done live as well, so I don't have much to complaint on the music.

Before I sign off, I would like to say that the Ba'al boss battle themes sound awesome (albeit a little disturbing to some).

That's all for now.

Some update post cuz I didn't update much

So, my exams are over, so I'm playing more games, what have I been playing?

Pokemon (mostly), I had a few breeding and training projects to work on and also some tournaments that I join for fun, so I was preparing for that. One of those breeding projects involve me breeding a lot of Ghost-type Pokemon because I was helping out my friends in their PokeLARP event (a Pokemon Live Action Role Play, where contestants/trainers battle 8 gym leaders, and the elite four to become the champion, the champion then has to challenge any newcomer that has just defeated the elite four to defend his/her throne). It was quite fun, and the ending was a satisfying one.

Anyways, I also continued playing Bravely Default after receiving some motivation to play it during my study week before finals (a horrible time to get into games, but is a time where you have the urge to do stuff you don't normally do, like this). From Chapter 2, I continued playing till my current progress at Chapter 6. I am still not done with the game yet since its just pass the halfway mark till the finale, but I do intend to beat it soon after getting motivation to play it.

One more game I just bought was Shovel Knight. I did not kickstart the game, but the trailers and the reviews intrigued me, since it looks like the kind of platformer that I would play as it has similar styles to Mega Man. I downloaded for my 3DS and loved it. It's a really good game I would say, and I have beaten the main game already. Attempting to beat it in New Game+, but it's not easy, like it is ever. Shovel Knight is quite hard, being a homage to NES platformers and stuff, but I don't mind it one bit.

So yeah, that's all I have been doing. I'm also gonna watch the VGC US Nationals streams if I can stay up that late, and I'm definitely watching EVO next week.

That's all for now.

Hoenn Confirmed!! Top 5 Hopes and Top 5 Pokemon that should get a Mega Evolution.

Been busy lately, though I do keep track on news happening around Nintendo, and it was around a week or two ago, when they announced Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire (aka ORAS). It was pretty hyped, since me and a lot of the people I knew grew up loving the Hoenn region a lot (especially in Emerald). 

So today, I'm gonna give you two list. The first being the 5 things I wanna see in ORAS, and the second being the 5 Pokemon that should get a Mega Evolution. 

5 Things I wanna see in ORAS:

5. More legendaries.

There's a lack of legendary Pokemon found in X and Y, and I was hoping that we will see more legendaries make an appearance in the region of Hoenn. If I recall, the Hoenn games are filled with non-event legendaries, from the weather trio, to the regis, and the eon duo. So here's hoping that the legendary roster gets expanded, like having Regigigas in there, and maybe Heatran and Manaphy (with relation to Groudon Kyogre). 

4. A different storyline for the evil teams.

One thing that made Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire unique was that the enemy organisation that you face is version dependent, where you fight Magma in Ruby, and Aqua in Sapphire, and you fight both of them as their stories combined in Emerald. I have hopes that there will be slightly different scenarios of which you face them in their respective versions to make the game more unique than before. 

3. Battle Frontier revamp.

I would have to say that the Emerald Battle Frontier is really awesome. Too bad not many of the things that made Emerald's Battle Frontier got brought over to Gen IV games, where I find their Battle Frontier boring. It was even removed completely in Gen V, with Battle Subway and PWT, and Battle Maison in Gen VI. 

I really wanna see Emerald's Battle Frontier make a return in ORAS, because it's one of the best post-game content of any Pokemon game to date. 

2. Online Pokemon Contest.

You know what would be cool? If you could battle with others online in Pokemon Contests. Pokemon Contest was a really nice little addition to Gen III that let's people sidetrack themselves from the main story. It is surprisingly deep for something that is considered a mini-game. With online being better now in Gen VI, why not do an online Pokemon Contest? Seeing tons of people duke it out to find out who's Pokemon is the Master of the contests. Also, with contest returning, I wonder how will Feebas evolve this time around. 

1. Streetpass/Online Secret Base.

Secret Bases are cool. It's like that treehouse you have away from home (except it isn't a treehouse). I liked how R/S/E implemented it compared to D/P/P, cuz in Gen IV, your secret base in underground, in a mine, that's not interesting at all. At least in R/S/E, you can built your several options scattered across Hoenn, and each base is unique in it's layout, so you have many options to choose from. Hopefully, we can also see more customization options in Secret Bases, and the option to visit your friend's Secret Base, or even better, visit the Secret Base of someone you Streetpassed. 

So that's the first list. Now let's move on to the 5 Pokemon that should get a Mega in ORAS:

5. The Mega Starters.

This one is a no brainer, mostly because Blaziken already has a Mega evolution. It's very unfair to the other starters if they don't get one, so they will have a Mega Evolution for sure in this game. Typing wise, Mega Swampert should remain, and hopefully Sceptile gains a new typing. Not sure how their stats will end up like, but it'll be interesting to see. 

4. Mega Milotic

To many, Milotic is considered the counterpart to Gyarados, and with Gyarados gaining a Mega form, Milotic should have one too. Story-wise, Milotic is the ace of the final gym leader, Wallace (who is champion in Emerald, but this is ORAS, so it should be based on R/S). I'm hoping that to make the battle with him tougher, his Milotic Mega evolves to give us some challenge. 

3. Mega Gallade

But..... Gallade is from Sinnoh. True, but Ralts is from Hoenn. Gallade is the Male evolution for Ralts that was introduced in Sinnoh. X and Y came along and Gardevoir received several buffs (new typing and Mega Form), leaving Gallade the more inferior evolution. This certainly isn't fair for Gallade as he isn't blessed with one. So he should get one for the next game. 

2. Mega Kecleon

The original type changing Pokemon, Kecleon received the hidden ability Protean in X and Y, but that certainly didn't buff him that much. I'm hoping that a Mega form will give him more defenses and some physical offense to be a bulky Protean Pokemon. 

1. Mega Metagross

The signature Pokemon of Champion Steven, Metagross was very formidable Pokemon prior to X and Y, until Steel types received some nerfs and buffs, which hurt Metagross more than others. Having four weaknesses now instead of two makes Metagross a rare sight in competitive play despite having super effective damage of Fairy types. With a Mega Form, let's hope Metagross returns to its former glory.

I can see this happening almost as expected as the Hoenn starter Megas mostly for one reason. Steven is a fan of rare stones, and Mega Evolutions are done by letting the Pokemon hold a rare stone, see where I'm getting at?

There is a high chance that in this updated remake that Steven must have found a Metagrossite along his search for rare stones, and is able to use it on his Metagross in the battle against you. If this is true, that would be pretty sweet. 

Anyways, that's all I have to list for now. I hope that all these things will happen in ORAS. As a random internet person once said 'HOENN CONFIRMED!!'.