.hack

.hack//* has been an entertaining multiple-media experiment, crossing over storylines in games, TV anime, OVA, manga, and novels. After completing the 4th game, .hack//Quarantine last night, I have now finished all parts of the main story, excepting the novels. Each piece exists nicely on its own (with the possible exception of the OVA, which really supplements the games and shows what is going on in the real world at the same time as the games), but they also tie together to give a broader story. Familiarity with one aspect of the story adds to the enjoyment of the others; besides a better understanding of the root story, there are numerous references, cross-overs, and inside jokes you will get. For instance, the game features cameos from the TV anime characters and items, while the TV anime and manga reference areas and events in the games.

Nowhere is this crossover more entertaining than in .hack//GIFT (pictured above), a bonus pardoy episode on the last OVA disc. It has characters from both the games and the TV anime, and is full of self-referrential humor and inside jokes. The basic plot has Orca killing Bear (who both look similar) and pretending to be him, since Orca was knocked out in the beginning of the games and never got to do anything. Meanwhile, the other characters try to find the killer / find a hot spring ... with BlackRose and Mimiru (who look similar) constantly fighting, as well as Tsubasa constantly bludgeoning/abusing the Silver Night. Very odd and very amusing if you are familiar with both the games and the TV anime.

Overall, the .hack franchise has been a fun ride. I plan on getting the novel, .hack//AI Buster eventually. There are other novels slated for release in the US, as well as another game, .hack//G.U. coming out down the road. If you are an anime/RPG, I certainly recommend giving at least the TV anime a look.

Yum, food.

At the Shilin Night Markey, food similar to "Hibachi" resaurants, only it costs only 10% of what it does in the US. 

Shilin Night Market

I was only lucky enough to get one whiff of "stinky tofu". 

Why Breath It When You Can Drink It

Nothing is more mouthwatering than a bottle full of SARS! 

Pimped Out Ride

 

C.K.S.

Chiang Kai-Shek does his best Abraham Lincoln impression.

Is That Taipei 101, or Are You Happy to See Me?

 

What Kind of Walker?

Spotted in Ximenting. 

Honey, Where Did We Park?

Near Taipei 101, some sort of scooter spawning ground. 

Home Again

Been up for 27.5 hrs and counting now (since 5:30 am Taipei time).

Trip was mostly uneventful ... at least until the O'Hare connection. Oh, the flight was on tiem and all, but I knew I was fucked as soon as I saw they were boarding 4 separate flights from the same gate in a span of 25 minutes ...

Sure enough, get to SYR, and no baggage. Well we will see ... it is supposed to come in on the 8:55 flight, but after the above mentioned number of hours up, I wanted to get my sleepy driving on snow out of the way sooner, rather than later. It is supposed to be delivered tonight (yea right), or tomorrow morning. We shall see ...

34 - 17

And Pittsburgh is on its way to Detroit.

And kVn is on his way to breakfast.

Mid trip update

A good morning to all, or at least all on this side of the world. A good eve to all you wacky western hemispherians.

Yesterday was a day off for kVn here in Taiwan, so I took the opportunity to go see some sites. After lazying around a little in the morning, I headed out and hopped on the MRT. One line change and five stops later, I arrived at the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall. Many pictures were taken, including a number of short videos of the changing of the guard. The hall itself, along with the National Concert Hall and National Theatre are quite impressive and large affairs; hopefully some of the pics will turn out decent. (Unfortunately, kVn neglected to bring his camera USB cable, so he must wait until he is home to see the pics).

The weather was somewhat cooperative - it was warm, but there was an on-and-off drizzle most of the day. Fortunately, the haviest rain occured when I was looking at the exhibitions in the C.K.S. Memorial Hall.

After a quick trip to the hotel, it was off to Taipei 101 for lunch, shopping, and more pictures. Lunch was had at a pretty neat restaurant whose menu had quite the mix of asian, western, and european foods. I had a set meal with pumpkin soup, caesar salad, chicken and steak fajitas (fah-jee-ta, according to the waiter), honey cake, and iced tea. All quite delicious. Entertainment out the window was watching one man using a lift to paint the underneath of a bridge-like sturcture by himself. In the States, there would be at least one or two others working on it for, at the very least, safety considerations. One thing you discover quickly is safety standards are not quite the same here ^_^

Taipei 101 itself was really frickin' tall. I didn't go up in it, but did hit the connected mall (which contains mostly expensive stores like Gucci), and hit a nice bookstore in there.

After Taipei 101, I took the MRT to the Nanjing E. Rd. exit, and hit an FNAC (fun to say as F'n AC, heehee) for browsing DVDs, CDs, and electronics. Unlike Japan, CD and DVD prices in Taiwan (talking legit here, not bootlegs) are on par with US prices. Since J-Pop is reasonably popular in Taiwan, this made kVn quite happy. I was able to pick up the latest cd from Ayu, as well as the most recent release from Aikawa Nanase for quite reasonable prices ... 1/3 of what I'd have paid in Japan.

I ended the day wandering around Ximenting, a cool shopping/restaurant area frequented by the Taiwanese youths. It felt like a mix between Shibuya and Harajuku.

Well, kVn must get some work done, but will be posting pictures on his return to the states.

Ni-hao!

After 24 hours spent in the timeless and dateless airport/airplane limbo, I have arrived at my hotel room in Taipei, Taiwan. So, yea, it is a nice room .. complete with balcony, and most importantly, hi-speed internet!

On the ride from the airport, the radio was playing none other than Gorillaz, as well several R&B english pop songs that I am sure the kids know and love, but which all sound the same to me ...

The most amusing portion of the ride, though, was all the mopeders, who increased in number the closer to the hotel that we got. At a stop light, they would all filter through the cracks between cars, and for at the front; as soon as the light turns green, there is a horde of literally 30+ mopeds fighting for lanes with the cars. Rather interesting ...

Well, kVn must shower and get to bed, so he can wake up at 3 in the morning local time ...

The Icing is Sweet

In a heart stopper of a game, the Steelers went from certain victory (1st and goal with 1:20 left), to certain defeat (Bettis fumble being returned, a great saving tackle by Big Ben), to certain OT (46 FG attempt by the Colts), and finally swung back to certain victory (horrible, horrible FG attempt). The game saw some strange calls (blowing the play dead without calling a false start or offside) and some horrible calls (overturning the Polamalu INT) by the officiating crew. In the end, though, the Steelers played the game they had to play, and did what no one thought they could do - beat the Colts in a playoff game in Indy, becoming the first 6th seed to make it to a Championship game.

My main desire 3 weeks ago was for the Steelers to make it to the playoffs and defeat Cinci. I felt Steelers were the better team, and would prove it on a rematch. Everything after that win would be icing. Well, this icing tastes pretty sweet.

Media Plaaaay ... is dead.

I made what is likely my final trip to Media Play today, to score some heavily discounted anime DVDs that were needed to finish off a few series I was collecting.

Media Play was one of the first B&M stores where I spent my younger years that actually began stocking a decent amount of anime titles, especially on DVD. It played a large role in not only my interest in the genre (the ability to browse at a store is very helpful for finding new titles), but played a larger role in the past several years where anime and manga has become more "mainstream." While people like to debate whether it is a good thing for anime and manga to become mainstream in the US, it does lead to far more series being picked up and brought over here; series that a decade ago would have never seen a US release.

More than that, Media Play served as a bit of a hang out place in HS/college - a place to meet and get the night started. There is nothing quite like memories of chasing your friends around and hitting them with sticks in the parking lot ^_^

Recently, though, I have been buying less and less from MP. I have cut down my spending on entertainment, but more than that Best Buy and online stores usually have MP beat on price - most titles at MP are only 10% off the suggested MSRP.

I do have to wonder if Media Play was losing money for Musicland, or if it just wasn't making enough money. And if it was losing money, was it due to mismanagement, or a failure to price aggressively enough?

Whatever the reason, by the time I return from my trip out of the country, the old stand-by will be closed.

My final, nicely discounted, haul:

• Texhnolyze 5
• Requiem from the Darkness 2 - 4
• Kaleido Star 5, 6
• Burst Angel 4, 5
  

OH the Games They Will Play

As my earlier loot list indicated, kVn has acquired quite a few more games to waste hours on. In the past I have tried to focus on just one (for instance, recently completing the excellent Nippon Ichi game Phantom Brave). For now, though, I am juggling between Dragon Quest 8, .hack//Quarantine, Phoenix Wright, Mario Kart DS, and Animal Crossing: Wild World. Each of these games are quite excellent in their own right (although to be honest I am more into the .hack series for the story than for the gameplay). I plan on writing impressions as I feel like it ^_^

Dragon Quest 8 (PS2)
Formerly known as "Dragon Warrior" in the US, Squenix has decided to use the Japanese title at last. It never really concerned me, but always seemed like an odd change to make. Of course, quite a few liberties were taken in the original NES translation of Dragon Quest, that I guess the change is not too surprising.

Unlike what we see in the included FFXII demo, Dragon Quest 8 sticks to its roots. If you have played past games in the series, you know what you are getting. If you like those games, then DQ8 is a real treat - it puts a lot of polish and production values on the traditional DQ formula. The cell shading is perfect for the series, and well done (funny, all the people that screamed "Celda" and wouldn't play wind waker because of the "cartoon" graphics - which perfectly fit the Zelda world, if you look at the art several past iterations - seem to be quiet about DQ going cell shaded ...). Combined with the fluid animations, the game is a real treat to watch.

Dragon Warrior was the first console RPG, hell, first electronic RPG I played, and so has always had a nostalgic spot for me. When I think of the essence of how I like console RPGs to play, I think of the NES Dragon Warrior and the NES Final Fantasy. The Final Fantasy series has strayed far from its roots - I certainly have enjoyed even the more recent ones, though - whereas Dragon Quest still offers old-school RPG goodness.