RonRoen

Suikoden [PSX]

19 Aug 2017
Ronald Roen

Based on 1 of the 4 great literature of Chinese culture: How did it do? ‘Water Margin’-ally Great!

I have decided to revisit my love for the Suikoden series. HUGE huge fan of the Suikoden series. Suikoden was the first ever Konami RPG game. In actuality, Suikoden 2 was written before Suikoden. The developers decided to write a prequel as a mean to get experience on in-game development. Thus, it meant that the story of Suikoden sets up the whole Suikoden universe. Did it successfully acted as a foundation for the series?

In this game, you control a silent protagonist, whose canon name is Tir McDohl. His adventure started as he was enlisted into the army, serving under a corrupt commander. His best friend, Ted, bears a true rune, which the evil court magician wants. In order to protect the true rune, Ted passed the true rune unto Tir and acted as a decoy for his best friend to escape.

With the true rune in hand and as a fugitive, Tir was founded by the rebel army. He succeeded Odessa as the leader of the rebel army and went against the kingdom to bring peace and rid corruption to the land. Major portion of the game was Tir going around enlisting help for the rebellion.

The once beloved king was believed to be under the magic of court magician, started making strange decisions. However, at the end, he was merely acting out of affection for the court magician. A love story for the antagonists. His power was the Sovereign rune, granted him the power to transform into the final boss of the game. After being defeated by the rebellion, he grabbed Windy and jumped off the castle – never to be seen again. Windy had the power to transport herself, I am sure she can just teleport away as they sky dive from the castle walls. Did they die? Or survive?

The story was great – the politics, the plotting. It was a fresh take on traditional save the princess RPG that was abound during the era. However, I did not have love for antagonists’ story. King Barbarossa reason to being an antagonist was merely out of love whose feeling came about as the Windy looked like his late wife. Really? The kingdom and its citizens versus feelings for a look-alike who did not reciprocate the same feelings he wished. Bad BAD king, to think he was once a ‘beloved’ hero.

The game has a very oriental vibe incorporated – from the music to the aesthetics. Mostly due to the main characters’ choice of clothes. They even had the Tir redesigned to using a bo staff instead of sword in order to stay to the oriental premises of the game design. This decision to go oriental was due to the game being based on the chinese novel, 水滸傳[Water Margin].

Water Margin is a story of outlaws, 108 to be precise, forming an army against invaders. It is one of the great four classics of Chinese literature. The game borrowed much of its foundation from the book. The game was set to 108 stars of destiny forming an army and fighting against an enemy.

In this game, we can recruit a total of 108 characters to fight with. But at the end of the game, we were forced to take up Viktor and Flik as final members against the final boss. So out of 50(or so) fighters , we only get to pick 3 favorites. Not to mention, we are pretty much stuck with Gremio for majority of the game.

Battles in this game is just a basic 6 man team formation with the usual: Attack, Magic, Item, Run options that you would find in a japanese RPG. Runes allow the modification of a character that essentially any character would work the same (unless they have unique runes). Unique runes are visually different yet none of them really stand out, damage and utility wise (other than the Falcon Rune).

Conclusion

The game was very VERY easy. Bosses drop like flies. Even the final boss. Too easy that there was no challenges ever posed in the game. And no grinding ever required to achieve those boss-smattering status Not even the mini games were hard. Actually the mini game, Chinchirorin, was purely lucked based and the only annoying aspect off the game.

The story. It goes against the cliche “save the princess/world” story that you would hear of countless times in Japanese anime/games of the old era. And being an avid lover of collecting/recruiting type of games (ie Digimon, Pokemon), I really love the recruiting aspect of the game.

Challenge #1 – Evaluation

9 Aug 2017
Ronald Roen

Get to a Healthy Weight

Overweight at 96kg, healthy weight for 174cm is 78kg. THAT is the target.

Action Plan:

Get to a Healthy Weight
- Meet daily step goals of 10,000 (bought a garmin tracker just for this)
- Workout at least 4x a week
- Develop a Hydration Habit – 3litres a day.

EVALUATION:

Getting to 78kg was not possible for a month. But 78kg is my long-term goal. In the span of the challenge(a month) I have only managed to lose 2kg. People have told me the healthy weight loss is 1kg a week – to lose 4kg was my intended goal in mind. Therefore, I have only achieved 50% of what I have intended to do.

Daily steps were changed and yet, I still struggled to meet them for majority of the month. Working out 4x a week was met for 3 weeks, which is not bad. For the week I have failed to do so was because I suffered headache and bad sleep for 2 days, and missed a workout. Hydration habit was not satisfactory. I have noticed that I tend to forget to drink whenever I am too focused on what I am doing, I should place a bottle of water within my field of view wherever I am working.

Confidence Boost

Low confidence has made me the poster boy for bullying target, though I am fortunate enough that it did not happen to me. (I had great classmates.) And also, I want to feel what vanity feels like. That rush when someone tells you that you look good. Or that liberating feeling of stripping your shirt off just because you feel like it. (of course, within permissible boundaries)

Action Plan:

Stop Picking on Skin. I have bad eczema. And made worst because I pick my skin when idle, scared, stressed, etc
Cold Shower. Heard it is good for eczema.
Lotion up after shower. Didn’t do it because I thought it was a girly thing to do (is it though?). But I guess I have to now. I’m so dry.

EVALUATION:

That rush…did not happen. Onwards I go to feed my hidden vanity!

I have noticed I don’t pick as much now. I still do…not as much or to the point where I am bleeding. Cold shower…is still cold. Lotion-ing up did not form into a habit, I will continue to do so whenever I remember.

Handle Life with Gout

26. Gout-sufferer. Doesn’t ring nice, does it? I understand (after countless doctors telling me that) – it is a lifelong disease. I want to learn to handle it – so the least I could do is handle it well-enough, that it doesn’t become a lifelong bother on my mind. I heard some patients that handled it good, only relapses once a year, even once every 2 years. My goal is that.

Action Plan:

Study on Gout.
Uric Acid Blood test (or blood test in general) every 4 months.
Develop and cook gout diet plan
Keep a Gout/Pain Journal

EVALUATION

I feel that I have dedicated a lot of my free time studying on gout. (lol, maybe I should go get a medical license because I have yet to find Doctors here that are satisfactory on gout knowledge). Did not do a blood test as this challenge did not coincide with the blood test schedule. I have created a diet plan, and has been sticking to it for a week. A journal was also created to document any discomfort, I will bring it on my test follow-up checks with my doctor to show him that I have done all I could and know.

Digimon World: Next Order [PS4]

5 Aug 2017
Ronald Roen

Welcome to the Digital World!

Digimon! I am a fan of monster collecting games, and out of the 2 well-known franchises..I definitely side with Digimon.

The Digimon franchise have underwent many gameplay changes, changing from each game. But Digimon World: Next Order is definitely an ode to the very first Digimon World franchise. And I LOVE it!

The story is very simple. And smartly simple too. The writers have cleverly hidden the main villain till the last chapter (though for a very short of time too). The Digital World is threatened by a virus that causes the affected Digimon to leave and forget the city. And so a digimon-passionate youth was sucked into the Digital World and journeys to restore the Digital City. The virus has also turned a few of the inhabitants to turn berserk and threatening the livelihood of the Digital World’s inhabitants. Unknowing that the mask behind the virus was a power hungry maniac who lost his mind..for a very childish reason too! The ending dialogue was a painful exchanges of awkward forgive you-forgive me…It was painful to go through, definitely an ending I did not expect (in a bad way).

SPOILER: Ending Dialogue video (Credits to Primera Espada)

Another SPOILER: I think Mameo is the main character from the first Digimon World (1). His clothes(yellow clothes and black beanie…Sounds familiar?)…and his love for Mamemon, which was somewhat of the mascot back in Digimon World.

The story was a simple but the breeding definitely wasn’t!

The Digimon breeding was so complicated, I had to have pen and paper with me and also the magical mr.Google.

Certain stats, precise reborns, specific conditions, causes the Digimon to evolve(digivolve) into a specific Digimon. There were times when I wanted a certain Digimon, following the laid out plan from my paper and the website…and still it digivolves into a being I did not expect it to. And then realized that it was because I had not let it poop in the wilderness enough. Of course, at end game, we get to manipulate this process through a game function.

This. Badass -mons

Battles start as you touch an enemy. A circle ring will materialize and your two -mons will freely move in that ring, crushing the enemy with the power of the bond between the tamer and the -mons. In actuality, most of the battle system involves mashing the X Button at the right time and then do a finishing move that wipes out almost all opponent…so it was easy. And sometimes even when you have lost the fight, your partner will somehow fuse into one and become badass-mon and wipe the already weakened opponent. So…yeah, that was easy.

Of course, you need to plan before every excursion into the Digital World. Not enough food? Sickness awaits. Incompatible terrain? Sickness awaits. Haphazard pooping? Sickness awaits. Always carry a band-aid! or death comes a step closer for your -mons. But don’t worry, they get stronger than ever from each death.

Gotta keep them HAPPY 🙂

I could keep on playing this game, but the ending has somehow dampened my mood to further delve into post-game so I only spent 3 hours on post-game. Besides that…after a very food stuffing abuse, my -mons were obviously too overpowered where the final boss and a few of post-game recruitable -mons were easily beaten. That certainly took much from the replay value…for me.

CONCLUSION

Fans of the first Digimon World, will definitely love this. The battle gameplay is a certainly a development update from the that game.(and another Digimon Re:Digitize on 3DS). There also various odes to the first game, from the system sounds to the characters.

Score: 7/10

Challenge #1 – Doctor Troubles

11 Jul 2017
Ronald Roen

So, in my attempt to understand gout and its affect on fitness life. I went to see a nutritionist and physiotherapist, on top of the internist I went to.

Nutritionist:

Gave me a list of food on what not to eat, which was kind-of-a lazy printout of a list I found easily while googling. I studied that list and dug deeper into the internet. And being the internet, information was conflicted. I will study this more and create a gout-friendly diet.

I wonder is that all a nutritionist should have done. Aren’t they supposed to help you create a diet plan or something?

Physiotherapist:

Was of no help. Partly my fault because I did not know that I had to be in pain for the doctor to even listen to me. I came in, she said “I see no redness or swelling, I cannot help you. What are you here for?” So I started to tell her my gout history. I had a few questions I wanted to ask (a few from the Gout and Fitness thread I started here.), but before I could even get to that she cut me off saying the same thing about me not being in pain and she could not do anything. I was annoyed (I have kind of an explosive temper), and told her then cant you at least hear me out and refer me to someone who could or a treatment plan or anything. And when she opened her mouth, her words were “look I really cannot help you unless you are experiencing pain.” I just stood up, told her sorry for wasting her time and left. To me she sounded like she has no experience in the gout field and/or too lazy to help out this misinformed patient.

Well, that was annoying. I wasted her time, i wasted my time and money. I could have googled all that shit or bought a book on it – which I did. Recipe Book and whatnot.

Guess maybe it is because I am living in a third-world country (Indonesia) where the doctors are not educated enough or just plain lazy as shit.

Action Plan:

Study the books – understand more
Create a gout diet plan – because nutritionist was of no help.

Life Challenge #1

11 Jul 2017
Ronald Roen

My first (second attempt actually) on a challenge.

3 Goals:

Get to a Healthy Weight

Overweight at 96kg, healthy weight for 174cm is 78kg. THAT is the target.

Confidence Boost

Handle Life with Gout

Action Plan:

Get to a Healthy Weight
- Meet daily step goals of 10,000 (bought a garmin tracker just for this)
- Workout at least 4x a week
- Develop a Hydration Habit – 3litres a day.
Confidence Boost
- Stop Picking on Skin. I have bad eczema. And made worst because I pick my skin when idle, scared, stressed, etc
- Cold Shower. Heard it is good for eczema.
- Lotion up after shower. Didn’t do it because I thought it was a girly thing to do (is it though?). But I guess I have to now. I’m so dry.
Handle Life with Gout
- Study on Gout.
- Uric Acid Blood test (or blood test in general) every 4 months.
- Develop and cook gout diet plan
- Keep a Gout/Pain Journal

That is it for this challenge. Help me on this journey. Any advises are extremely welcomed. Thank you~

Lost Odyssey [X360]

9 May 2017
Ronald Roen

Lost Odyssey: Hironobu Sakaguchi – A lost gem for SquareEnix

Lost Odyssey is one the few traditional JRPGs to be released on the Xbox360. It was developed by Mistwalker, which was headed by Hironobu Sakaguchi – the father of the Final Fantasy series. Lost Odyssey was his first RPG, since leaving Square Enix. This created a following and the anticipation for the game’s release from the fans of early Final Fantasy release, which was largely due to way the Final Fantasy series has changed.. Furthermore, the team developing this game also included the now-defunct Nautilus – developers of memorable JRPgs such as the Shadow Heart series (one of my favorites) and the Legend of the Dragoon (a highly acclaimed JPRG on the PSX). So what could go wrong? Nothing! I have thoroughly enjoyed Lost Odyssey.

Story! Lost Odyssey story was what stood out for me. Lost Odyssey follows a group of “immortals” take back their memories. The group is then joined with mortals who are closely tied to their memories. The story has a very emotional moments for me – Lirum’s Death and the epilogue. The epilogue really shows that every character in the party has gone through a very fitting character development. (I still fail to understand what is the purpose of Vaan where he is not really tied much into the story and yet is a main character – well, I will be playing the the Zodiac Age remaster to find out~)

The main story involves Kaim and his immortal friends regaining their memories – where they are observers from another universe. As time flows differently, in the current world, they are made to be immortals. And being immortals, is not easy. They outlive their loved ones, goes through changes of time and could only observe. Eternal rest is never easily attainable. Also with lots of power and time, the mind corrupts, therein created a threat to the land. And only the immortals could stop it. Equipped with the desire to protect their loved ones, his legacy, her love and her people. They fight.

The idea of creating a main character that is an amnesiac 1000 years old allowed the writer to tell many stories – which was done through the dreams. Dreams are sort-of like a visual novel where Kaim, recounts his memories acquired throughout his thousand years. These short dreams were very, – highly emotional. I could remember the story of man who was imprisoned so long, burnt his eyes at the first sight of freedom and sunlight. Or the story of the “Upstreamers” who journeys a never-ending journey.

Each “Dream” Kaim has, serves a different moral to the story. Kaim was like a blank slate wherein his 100 years, he experiences different things – each teaching a different lesson and invoke a different emotion.

Youtube user ATYoD has uploaded all 33 dreams on his page.

Gameplay was very basic. Turn-based strategy, where in the battle characters would wait for their turn to beat the crap out of the enemies. Their Aim Ring System was relatively easy. The system allows for bonus damage or ailments atop of the basic attack. A perfect trigger would create most advantage. Think of it sort of like the GunBlade from FF8. Other than attacking, the battle is a traditional turn-based RPG where you command your characters to do an action. Skills, Magic and Item usage does not use/trigger the Aim Ring System.

Characters are divided into 2 types: Immortals and Mortals. Immortals are able to learn all skills by learning from the Mortals and/or from accessories. Much like the AP system of Final Fantasy 9. Although they are able to learn everything, the immortals are still locked to the traditional warrior/mage build. Warrior immortals can never be a mage and vice versa, which makes the infinite possibilities of skill build redundant as they can only be what they are determined to be.

It is very easy to be over-powered in the game, which I regretted. Having attempted the side quests/DLC before the final boss, puts you in a position where the boss is just WAY TOO easy. You would figure the side quests to be hard, but it wasn’t. I attempted them under-leveled and yet manage to survive battles that provide much EXP that slowly the party gets strong enough to finish through the side quest and then break the game.

Graphics were at the top during the game’s release. However, there were some who had issues on the loading times, though being patient, I do not find it much of a deal-breaker.

Nobuo Eumatsu…the godfather of Final Fantasy music scored this game. Need I say more? I enjoyed 2 particular OST – Howl of the Departed (Final Boss Theme) and “Dark Saint Battle”. It makes the near-ending boss battles seemed way epic.

“Howl of the Departed” has choir, rock and a rapping Satan – Who would have guessed choir and rap sounds good together. Though I am a simple mind…hair-standing choir chorus has always been present in game music and yet I find these soul-igniting choruses makes almost any battle music sound so awesomely epic.

“Dark Saint Battle” was only used a few times near the ending and yet it is so memorable. The use of a cowbell-like sounding instruments made it so unique and I couldn’t get enough of it. And of course, being a boss battle music, it tied to deliver an epic battle…but the Dark Saints weren’t that much of a threat and only confronted the party once, so the emotions the music delivered was not delivered through this battle. I mean it was just a battle against lesser unknown, none threatening, final boss lackey and yet the music used was so epic I would have used it on a much bigger, more awesome boss.

Conclusion

Story was great but I do not like the character design at all. Kaim has a weird, androgynous clothing on. Mack looks like a girl, especially if you equip him with magic-teaching accessories. Cookie sounded weird. Seth is a bad ass pirate…with a simple sun dress. And Sarah has glasses on – I mean Kaim could survive a meteor crashing on him and Sarah couldn’t get her eyes fixed?

Kiyoshi Shigematsu has really done a great job on penning these emotional and rich short stories. I much prefer them than the main plots of the game. I wished these dreams were narrated. I would think these stories, accompanied with emotional narration would create a more memorable, emotional impact.

I would think – with the battle system – Lost Odyssey was the true successor to the Final Fantasy series. I would think so as Lost Odyssey was created by creator of past Final Fantasies. I will rant about the Final Fantasy transitioning to an action-game in another post.

Score: 8/10

The Single Grain of Sand – what will he move?

24 Mar 2017
Ronald Roen

Growing up…was rather uneventful.

I do not go into fights, I do not join competitions, and I was just average in my studies.

I never stood out. No one knows me (outside my class) and no one remembers. And so, I grew up thinking, who am I – trying to influence the world? I am nothing but a grain of sand.

A life that passes by, through an individual who thinks that the world will never be influenced by his actions. A grain of sand in the expanse of the Earth.

However, as the philosophy of Fichte goes –

“You could not remove a single grain of sand from its place without thereby changing something throughout all parts of the immeasurable whole.”

So, what will this grain of sand be capable of moving? I am excited to find out!