PixlBit

I remember when the PS2 came out, the US government was actually investigating claims that the Emotion Engine was powerful enough to control nuclear weapons delivery systems, and it supposedly caused minor political friction between the US and Japan.

After initially snubbing the PS3 due to price and then trying the 360 only to have less-than-optimal experiences with it, I got a PS3 (60GB, native BC) and Valkyria Chronicles in 2009, and it has become the hub of my living room, since it can play most of my game collection and run Netflix and Amazon Instant Video. I'm actually rather bummed that the PS4 won't be backwards-compatible, but I still want one at some point. Maybe when Final Fantasy XV comes out. After all, I got a PS1 for FFVII and a PS2 for FFX.

I've only been on a bus/train cross-country a couple of times, as living in the West necessitates that most trips will be done on the freeway in one's own vehicle, but yeah, that sounds like hell.  I think the wannabe gangstas would probably be the real deal-killers for me. :)

I played the demo. It was interesting enough, but I pretty much dismissed it as a poor man's Valkyria Chronicles. I suppose I was part of the problem.

I remember seeing the print ads for Lunar: The Silver Star in a 1994 issue of GamePro I bought for the Mortal Kombat II strategy guide (this same magazine was also where I got my first look at Final Fantasy VI). Man, did I want that game, but I was a kid and my parents weren't about to form over $300 for a Genesis + Sega CD combo. So I got a SNES instead and contented myself with the aforementioned Final Fantasy VI.

Four years later, by then gainfully employed and owning a PS1, I heard rumors that Lunar was being remade for the 32-bit consoles and released in the US. Since WD was still a Sega publisher, I assumed the games were coming to Saturn and I'd have to buy one of those to play them.  I went to Electronics Boutique at the mall to inquire about what the staff there knew about Lunar. Not only did they confirm that Lunar was indeed being re-released in the US, but it was being released for the PlayStation, not the Saturn! Needless to say, I put down 5 bucks on the counter for a pre-order. Come May 1999, I came home with my Lunar prize. I loved the hell out of that game, A year later, I likewise picked up Lunar 2. I still own both games with all their little feelies and boxes, and they remain among my favorite games today.

As to whether I'd like to see the series revived? Sure, although I'd like to see it done using either Sega's CANVAS engine (the Valkyria Chronicles engine) or the engine used for Ni no Kuni, in glorious 3-D. And hopefully without whatever bizarre thinking that guided the development of Lunar: Dragon Song. Keep it back to basics but in wonderful cel-shaded 3-D, and maybe give me a box of feelies, and Game Arts would have $60 of my money right there.

Hey-hey-hey. Glad to see you here, Cary.

Hey-hey-hey. Welcome to Pixlbit.

I grew to love the PSP better than the DS, overall. The PSP had great games like FF7 Crisis Core, Valkyria Chronicles II, and Persona 3 Portable. I have a PSP-3000.

I've done a few blog series. I just keep up with them as long as I can. If I get tired of the series, I just stop writing it. :)

Honestly, I think the days of gaming revolutions are pretty much done. You might get an occasional surprise, as I did with Valkyria Chroncles, but the industry has matured. Even the much-vaunted indie scene is largely retreads of 1980s game design.  You can only repackage game design concepts so many ways.

I think the last new system I was excited for out of the gate was the PS2, and before that, the N64. The PS2 lived up to the hype, the N64 not so much before I jumped ship to the PS1, a system that had nothing I cared about until two years after its release and which went on to become my single favorite platform of all time.

I think that as more developers get their sea legs on the PS4 or Wii U we'll see better games. Very few consoles have great launch titles, and even the better launch titles end up being deemed as overrated several years later once better games start coming out.

My sister bought a huge white rat (he was over a foot long from nose to the tip of his tail) in Boston and gave him to me. I really liked the big guy. Even my cat tolerated him. I was really sad when he died.