Crazy for Games

On 09/04/2013 at 04:17 PM by KnightDriver

I remember this feeling back in the 80's when I was mad for music and collected vinyl albums whenever I had some cash to spend. When CD's started coming out, I was even more enthusiastic and, on weekends, I would jump on my bike with my lawn mowing money and dash to one of the fly-by-night import CD stores that cropped up to get the first CD pressings of my favorite albums. I used to fight with a friend of mine, who was crazy for music too, over who got to buy the one copy the store had of Genesis' Lamb Lies Down on Broadway album - fresh from the U.K.. It was $40 for that double album on CD (probably like $80 today), but I was so excited, I didn't care. Well, now I'm that way about video games. I have a friend who's just as mad for them as I, and I can't help myself when I think a new release might be hard to find down the road. I just have to break my budget and get it. Today was such a day and I picked up Dragon's Crown for Vita and Shin Megami Tensei IV for 3DS after being haunted by them for over a month. Whoopie!

I still don't have a Vita, but now I have two games for it waiting for that bigger purchase (the other one being Muramasa: Rebirth). SMTIV is my first purchase of a game in the main SMT series. I've bought several games in the Devil Summoner and Survivor series before but not SMT proper. When I heard it was a good entry game for those new to SMT, that pushed it into must-buy territory for me. I've played a little of Persona 4 on PS2 as a rental, but not enough to really get a feel for it. I'll have to pick up Golden for Vita sometime for sure.

I got the special edition of SMTIV because that's what the Gamestop employee brought out when I asked for a new copy and I decided to go with it because it just looked cool; and if I'm breaking my budget, I might as well do it in style. Also, it's still shrink wrapped and I was afraid of asking for the regular version because it might be opened, like Dragon's Crown was. I didn't want to be all picky about it with the nice goth chick employee. I know I'm late on the $30 eShop promotion for getting Fire Emblem: Awakening and SMTIV, but I still wanted a valid code to register it on Club Nintendo. Opened, who knows if that thing would work.

I've got to do another blog on the games I played last weekend because I've made huge progress with Okamiden, started Valkyria Chronicles II again, done a few more hours of Ni No Kuni, and finished several more missions for the Dark Brotherhood in Oblivion.

Yea, baby. I'm crazy for games - crazy like a Kitsune!

[That's Nintendo Voice Chat podcast on my iPod Touch there. I'm catching up since I'm a few episode behind]

Matt Snee Staff Writer

09/04/2013 at 04:26 PM

That $30 e-shop promotion is great.

I too am a game nut. Isn't it awesome?

KnightDriver

09/04/2013 at 04:47 PM

It's so much more awesome in the 21st century with being able to blog about it like this.

Ranger1

09/04/2013 at 04:31 PM

I know what you're saying...broke my budget big time Monday evening - was supposed to be getting baby shower presents for my cousin and somehow I ended up at GameBox, purchasing their last copy of Tales of Xillia. New and shrink-wrapped. I am weak of will...

09/04/2013 at 04:49 PM

I put the amount spent on a piece of paper I keep on me to remind me to pay myself back. I'm not letting myself get off scott free.

Homelessrook

09/04/2013 at 04:37 PM

I need to get DC.

09/04/2013 at 04:50 PM

It's gotten better reviews than I would have guessed. It might be the best reviewed Vanillaware game to date (gotta check that though).

09/04/2013 at 04:53 PM

I need to check and see if there is any cross content with the PS3, like Disgea 3. Do you know if there is?

09/05/2013 at 01:50 AM

The wiki page says you can use your save file with either PS3 or Vita versions of the game. I've heard that on the Official Playstation podcast as well.

jgusw

09/05/2013 at 08:27 AM

I don't own a Vita yet either, but I have Persona 4 Golden. I'm playing SMT4 now. It's a good game. It's tough, but if you stay with it, it becomes easier.

09/06/2013 at 02:18 AM

I'm getting better at tough games. I've become more patient and persistent with them. My determination to finish any game I start now is also stronger.

daftman

09/05/2013 at 07:42 PM

SMT IV is definitely a good "brand new" buy thanks to all the stuff it comes with. The whole first printing was the special edition, though, so I'm not sure you could even get the game new by itself yet. But James is right. It's pretty tough at the beginning but it gets easier as you go.

I wish I had a copy of Okamiden. Of course, I ought to play my copy of Okami first anyway...

09/06/2013 at 02:19 AM

I noticed the soundtrack disc in the SMTIV special edition. I'll be looking forward to that.

I still need to finish Okami too.

mothman

09/05/2013 at 08:45 PM

All the copies I've seen of SMT IV are the SE but the guide/artbook is actually pretty cool and way better than the poorly made piece of crap that I got with Nocturne. SMT does not take lightly to those who come unprepared or those who try to play when they're pissed. (So I've heard, I wouldn't know anything about it personally. LOL )

Oh and Lamb Lies Down is a frikkin' great album. I actually saw Gabriel do it live. It was amazing.

09/06/2013 at 02:26 AM

If you saw him do it live, you are a special person because Genesis only did a handful of shows on that album. Genesis was my favorite band in High School in the 80's. I wouldn've killed to see them in their Gabriel years.

09/07/2013 at 10:50 AM

I can't remember the venue that well but I believe it was Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. All I remember was the show starting without Peter on stage, then we heard his voice and people screaming behind us. We looked back to see Gabriel in a leather jacket up in the nosebleeds and he started clambering his way down to the floor seats and ran up the aisle to the stage. It was such a great entrance.

09/07/2013 at 03:55 PM

Did he address the crowd in French? I used to have a bootleg called L'Ange Gabriel where he begins with "Salud!" and then explains each song still in broken French. I used to try and figure out the words since I knew the story of the songs like the back of my hand. His French description of Cinema Show was pretty funny in French. It was from the year before actually, now that I think of it. Their 1973 set.

09/07/2013 at 05:03 PM

Nope, he wouldn't have gotten away with that in Toronto. In Montreal I can see it though since it's a predominantly French community.

09/08/2013 at 03:08 AM

Interesting. Learn something new every day.

09/07/2013 at 04:16 PM

Oh man, here it is. The bootleg I had was 4-21-1974 at Montreal University Sports Center. It's the first album on the upper left on this web page: http://digilander.libero.it/visionofangel/Genboot74.htm

PixlBit

Crazy for Games

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