We don't always like being nonplussed

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Flail it Yourself: V for Vexation (Conclusion)

As I mentioned last week, there are two ways to write loanwords with Vs in them with katakana. The other of these is a modified U kana, the default version of which is seemingly pronounced "Vu." In practice it's usually modified by a small vowel sound to become Va, Vi, etc. Take a look at  the Evangelion logo for a good example:




EDIT! It's been pointed out that the Evangelion logo's pretty stylized, which makes it hard to make out what I'm talking about. So have a look at the Valkyria Chronicles 3 logo too- that's much closer to stock katakana:


Despite this, an awful lot of Japanese creators still use the B family of sounds. Particularly for the letter V itself, which is nearly always written "Bui." Which comes off as pretty damn comical sometimes:



Bui! Bui! Bui! Bictory!

Friday, September 9, 2011

Dragon Quest VI/6 - Day 46 FRIDAY VIDEO SPECIAL! (We can't count.)

Starting today: Friday Video Updates! That Guy finally finds a cave. Sadly it's one of those infinite-loop caves with one way out.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Dragon Quest VI/6 - Day 45 (I used to want a sword, but now I only want the chamber pot gone...)

And here we are again, it's always such a pleasure. Remember how I'm always fucking wrong? Oh how we laughed and laughed, except that I was raging. Under the circumstances I can't say that I've regrets.

Sorry, just finally got to finish Portal 2, and now that song is stuck in my head... forever. Where we last left off, we had finished searching the town, and now I guess we move on to the castle to look around... assuming that there is, of course, a castle.

Just keeping things moving until our blacksmith is done smithing, folks.
There is a castle, and as with any castle in the world, the second we walk up to the door they open it to let us in. I always love how royalty doesn't sweat the small stuff, like attempted assassination. I'll make sure not to to let them down in that department... unless, of course, I'd really like to shoot someone in the face-meats.

Right off the bat I think we're running into important people.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Dragon Quest VI/6 - Day 44 (A metal sammich would hurt your teeth)

And today we're back, where we're entering the not-a-cave to the north... God damn it, I would have bet good money that it was a cave, and not a little shrine thing. I feel somewhat crestfallen, to be honest. I would have bet all of my years of video gaming that's what it would be.

Yay, cave!
Does... Does this still count? Seriously, I know what it was on the outside, but this is a real cave! It's a cave! Oh thank Toriyama, I feel like a weight has been lifted off of my nerdiness. I've been wrong about so much in this game, it's nice to get something right every once in a damn while.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Dragon Quest VI/6 - Day 43 (Chasin' that lime green hobo, livin' that Dragon Quest dream...)

And we're back for Tuesday!

As I recall when we last left off, we had just had a close encounter with a bunny girl prostitute, and I guess it could be worse, because it could be one of the guys in the cowls with horns on them. Try not to think about it, just agree with me and we'll see what else we can find...

Monday, September 5, 2011

Dragon Quest X announced! (Should we be worried?)

Courtesy of Siliconera, here's everything known about the game so far! In short, it's going to be a lot like DQIX, but take things a step further in combat-system revision and multiplayer. The latter meaning that it'll have the online multiplayer Dragon Quest IX should've had. Yay! There's also some nifty new item-crafting options, and it's going to have enhanced graphics when played on Wii U. There's a beta test coming up, and I would probably give several key organs to get into it, but I'm not in the right place and lack the right region of Wii. Damn! I am happy that it's Classic Controller-compatible, as that's my Wii controller of choice.

...but as I write this, reports are coming in that the game may require an internet connection after the first few hours- which makes the rumor of a monthly fee a bit more credible. Guys, don't make a Dragon Quest I won't buy. You haven't done it yet, don't start now...

Dragon Quest VI/6 - Day 42 (Did I... did I just score?)

And we're back for Monday, and I think I've found something!

There's a town south of the temple we take between worlds, and the last time I found it while looking for a plot event, they kicked me out at the gate. This time however, things are a bit different!

Does anybody get in or out without this key item? How have they not starved to death in there?
I noticed that the guard mentioned the item that I got from the man in red in the snow church, and let me in! Of course I managed not to take a picture of him mentioning it, because I have stupid fingers, but I figured I'd throw one in there anyway. PROFESSIONALISM!

Sunday, September 4, 2011

New Soundwave 095: Zelda Skyward Sword and the PC/Console Game Divide

Once again the TF Radio Network presents New Soundwave! This week we talk Zelda: Skyward Sword, Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3, how much of the difference between console and PC games is real and how much is perceived, and Arkham City's Second Quest, among other topics! And of course don't forget to subscribe to TFRadioNetwork and check out http://www.tfradio.net!

So you want to get into Dragon Quest

You might've noticed that Dragon Quest is about to celebrate its 25th anniversary in Japan with an anthology of the Famicom and Super Famicom versions of its earliest games. 25 years is a long time for any series, and anything that sticks around that long gathers baggage- in this case nine mainline games, and at least twice as many spinoffs in Japan. So the most important part of that baggage is the part that's most difficult to address: where do you start?
You'd think this would be an incredibly easy question to answer, with two obvious, simple answers- which are both, in my opinion, wrong.