OK, I  just had to come on here for a little bit.  Yeah, I know, the Livejournal is something I've practically abandoned, but there is one good reason for this post.

MEGA MAN 9, IN RETRO FORMAT, OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCED BY NINTENDO POWER!?

This is exactly like when I have one of my freaky geek dreams about video games where I wake up and say "heheh, that didn't make any sense."  Except that this is TRUE!

Cash grab?  Grab my cash all you want, Capcom... if this turns out the way I hope it will, I will go to freaking heaven.
What a way to acknowledge the fact that retro-gaming-fans still exist out there!  What a way to acknowledge that graphics and 3-year development cycles aren't necessary to make great games!  What a way to realize that a great series is supported by its ROOTS and not its branches!

I had an argument with my friend Steve over whether this was a "cash grab" or not.  Given that it will probably be released for $10 or so on WiiWare, and that ten years ago, I would have bought it for $50... it is fully worth it in my books.  Why must EVERY new game be gorgeous and 3-D and gimmicky?

Man, what a wonderful and unexpected surprise.  (And, Splash WOMAN?  Hehehehe...)
Matt

This is like the week of games.  So much stuff out, and new things to play... and none of it includes GTA4 for me!

First impressions of Mariokart Wii: 

Fun.  It feels like a giant mashing of every Mariokart game put together into one reasonably clean package.   I love that they brought back the best items- Bullet Bills make me happy.  The new stages that I've seen are often crazy fun (Toad Factory = #1 currently), and the old stages reek of nostalgia. 

The Wii Wheel feels good- it's responsive and very grippable, and steering is no problem- my main issue is with the placement of the item and hop buttons-- I'm really used to being able to do both with my right hand, so I feel clumsy, and I often mix up which button does which thing.  It might come with time.  The Wii Remote + Nunchuk is indescribably natural for this game.  I pretty much automatically knew what to do to go, use items, hop, and power slide- so that combo is wonderfully intuitive.

Having twelve competitors instead of eight is kind of an interesting if random twist- if anything, it makes the game feel a little faster-paced, though I found that they tend to keep close together in a tight pack, which means that I often got 1st or 12th, and seldom anything in between... though part of that is likely my inexperience.

Review sites LOVE bashing Mariokart games for it's "horrible item balance" and such, but I think it's bullshit.  They say it's lame and stupid to be the best driver, be in first for the whole race, get hit with a blue shell, and then lose.  But to me, if you're playing with friends and being social- which is what the game SHOULD be for- then it's way, way more lame to have the same person win every single damn time.  So, go suck it, reviewers.

A few downsides, though:  The game still feels floatier than I'd like- à la Double Dash- and they didn't get rid of the awful super-blast-cannon-things that you drive in to get blasted to a different part of the course (preventing you from attacking, etc, while being blasted- not cool).  A couple of the new courses seem lazily boring, though I guess every game needs their intro courses.  And the game is by far the most unforgiving when it comes to going off the track, since Mario Kart 64.  I guess that's another way that the game rewards good driving- if you hit a wall or go onto the grass, you slow down, and you do so significantly, in my experience.  I'm not sure if it's good or bad yet- it just is.  And the wheel- still not sure about that.  But Tom sure likes it.

More later, perhaps.
Matt

Jesus Christ, Knights of Cydonia is kicking my ass to the ground.  LOL.
Yeah, against all odds, I've been sucked into Guitar Hero III... and holy shit, it is frustrating!  AHH!!

I got through Easy and Medium without any difficulty at all, but Hard is a bit of a different story.  I'm through... well, almost three-quarters of it, but there are a couple of songs that are just... IMPOSSIBLE.  I went back to training mode and slowed down Knights of Cydonia... and after an hour of practice, I really hadn't improved at all.  Those F***ING triplets drive me up the F***ing wall!!!  AHHHH!!!   Crap.

Also, as a nice follow-up to my last emotional post, it looks like english titles for Dragon Quest IV and V have been trademarked... if Kotaku is a reliable source.  THIS is definitely happymaking.

Or it would be, if I wasn't ready to smash my guitar over my head.

Matt 

 I DID IT!!!  Wow, what a phenomenal game.  This has been one of the most satisfying Fire Emblem games I have ever played, and easily my pick for best game on the Wii.  Having played from start to end, I'm almost 100% convinced that the reviewers at Gamespot, 1up, and wherever else just didn't bother to play through the whole game.  Terrible story?  Bullcrap.  The story was one of my favourite parts. 

I love Fire Emblem, because you get so attached to certain characters, and it's almost sad to watch them die.  Man, I feel so awful that Nolan, Astrid, and Nephenee were gone by the end- they were all so amazing.

Add to all of this a soundtrack that is easily the best I've heard since Final Fantasy XII... and well, how can you go wrong?

My brain hurts, though.  It IS an extremely challenging game- that much is certain- and it's stressful too.  But shouldn't war with gods be stressful?

My top 10 units:

10th:  Rolf -  58 kills
9th:  Meg - 59 kills
8th:  Edward - 59 kills
7th:  Mia - 64 kills
6th:  Marcia - 72 kills

5th:  Ilyana - 76 kills
4th:  Boyd - 77 kills
3rd:  Haar - 79 kills
2nd:  Micaiah - 90 kills
1st:  Ike - 112 kills

God... now what am I going to do?  One day I'll play again, but after 96 hours... I'm up for a break.  Is it time to break open Dragon Quest Swords?  (Or time to study for my comprehensive exams in May...?)

Matt

OK, a bit of a follow-up...

I almost never give in and search the internet for hints on video games, but I tried this time... and discovered that it looks like not many people have gotten past it anyway, lol.  I have SOME idea of what to do now, but only based on random people from message boards.

It's a bit challenging for me, because I've taken a party in that does not contain ANY of the bigwig laguz... they're too cheap, and I've brought up so many other people so lovingly, I don't want to just deposit them here at the end.  My group looks like this going into the final battle:

Micaiah:  Level 19 Light Priestess
Useless against the final boss itself, but absolutely essential for basically every battle leading up to it.  With her maxed out Mag, Luck, AND Res, and 50 HP, she can take more shit than you might expect from a mage; her 32 Speed is a big improvement from what she used to be like, too.

Ike:  Level 20 Vanguard
Well, I have no choice in the matter here.  Ike is a dangerous person to "have" to bring along, because his 16 Resistance is utterly horrifying- the worst in my group.  Add to that the fact that he has abysmal Hit against the final boss, and he is often, sadly, a liability.  Never did I think that godly Ike would be insufficient... but here, he's borderline.

Haar:  Level 20 Dragonlord
Another low Res tank, but with higher attack power and defense than Ike.  Haar's main problem is that he's just too slow- while he can heavily damage the final boss, he will die if he doesn't get the kill, because she gets to attack twice against him.

Mia:  Level 16 Trueblade
Mia is a saviour.  She is so fast that she's able to attack twice against the boss, and strong enough that she can do significant damage as well.  She lacks HP, but at least she can hit the damn bitch.  Mia is key to this battle.

Marcia:  Level 16 Seraph Knight
Marcia, together with Mia, make the dynamic duo that can work to take the final boss down most of the way.  Like Mia, she's fast enough to get two hits in, and with the Wishblade, she can do decent damage as well.  Her Canto ability ALSO lets someone else come in and attack at close range.  Without Marcia, things here would be impossible.

Meg:  Level 20 Marshall
Meg is a wonderful unit.  She took a bit of work to bring up at the start, but the effort has been worth it.  She's my only unit with 30+ Defense AND Resistance, and thus, thanks also to her maxed-out Speed, she is my only unit that is able to take two attacks from the final boss without dying.  She is ALSO my only unit that has excellent Hit% against the final boss:  91 or 100, depending on if support unit Ilyana is around.  So, while her attack power is only 11-16, she is a solid unit who can stand up against any enemy instead of shrinking back.

Ilyana:  Level 11 Arch Sage
Ilyana, Ilyana.  Some days I love you, and some days I don't.  Her low defense, speed, and HP make her a sitting duck for the final boss's targeted attacks- it is very difficult to live very long with her.  However, with her custom-made tome, she has very exceptional Hit, and is very good at playing the dual-role of backup healer if need be.  Against the final boss herself directly, though- it would be an unfortunate loss of life waiting to happen.

Sanaki:  Level 11 Empress
Sanaki would be amazing if it weren't for her horrifyingly low HP.  I'm always taking care of her, it seems, to try and prevent an untimely demise.  She is, however, stunningly useful against the barriers- like Ilyana- and with her item that she gets going into the final battle, she can at least withstand most things that the final boss throws at her from afar.  Up close, though?  She can do 4 damage, but she comes within a hair's breadth of saying hi to the next world...

Rhys:  Level 11 Saint
Rhys is interesting.  He's not strong enough to attack most anything, especially on this final map, but without him, I wouldn't be able to use my Fortify Staff (with its remaining two charges) or Matrona Staff (fully charged).  Man, I wish I had brought more Healing staves along... but I left so many back with the other group, for fear that I'd need to use them at some point.  *mistake*

Ena:  Level 23 Red Dragon
Well, shit.  Ena is necessary and very important because of the fact that she can boost your units' Strength and Skill, giving you a little bit of hope.  However, she's BARELY strong enough to survive attacks from the great final boss, and I'm always scared that I'll lose her.  And losing her makes things a level tougher for everyone else.

Reyson:  Level 31 Heron
Oh man.  Reyson, of course, is nothing but useful.  With his inflated Movement of 10, thanks to the boots that I gave him, he is absolutely essential to everything I do in this battle.  If there is one complaint I have about him, it's with Herons in general:  Their Laguz-Juice runs out too damn fast, but without him in a transformed state, his usefulness is about 25% of what it is otherwise (ha ha).

These are the people I brought in.  Can I do it this time??  I'll try again shortly...

Matt

Why is it that we must always be left hanging for SO long when it comes to RPGs outside the realm of the amazing, revered Final Fantasy series? 

I just read at Gamespot that Final Fantasy IV DS has been (unsurprisingly) confirmed for a North American release.  I'd love to get excited, but honestly, who the hell cares?  Haven't we already bought this game twelve times or so?  I have to admit that it does look attractive, and I'm glad they're implementing some new changes here and there... and I'll probably end up buying it myself... but still.

Clearly, this rant isn't going to be as much of an anti-FF rant as it will be a pro-DQ rant... but especially in light of the success of Dragon Quest VIII and Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker in North America, why haven't we heard anything about the DS remake of Dragon Quest IV?  We've been here before, several years ago, and on several different occasions... where I'll long for not just any game, but a remake of my FAVOURITE game of all... and get all excited, wait for the announcement... and keep waiting... and keep waiting... and eventually lose hope.

Why should we get all of these side-spinoffs, including half-assed crap like DQ: Swords (from the sounds of it- I haven't actually played the game yet) but not the frickin' main series entries, which are masterpieces?  It's so utterly frustrating, and I don't understand at all.  The demand is out there... people are talking about the DQ remakes on message boards everywhere, so it's not as if they wouldn't sell.  I'm at a loss, and I'm running out of patience.

Sigh.

(My hope, of course, is that now that I've ranted about it, they'll come out and announce it tomorrow, to make me look like a dumbass.)

Oh, and Sock 2 finished this week!  My life can finally progress... I fihure I'll do a couple last Q&A columns over the next couple of weeks, and then finally say "bye" to RPGamer after two and a half years... 10% of my life!  Yikes.  It's been fun while it lasted.

Matt

Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn is challenging, but it isn't OVERLY so.  It's tough in spots, but so is every other Fire Emblem game that I've ever played.  Have the masses finally been conditioned by the Super Paper Marios to the point where a little sweat makes a game "terrible"??  It seems so.

The game has a nifty story and keeps intact the characters from Path of Radiance quite well.  It also has a wider variety of maps and more interesting victory conditions.  The one thing that it doesn't do as well is the Support system, which I'm sure just about everyone who is a fan of the series would agree with.  Lazy, lazy, lazy choice there!

But, on the whole, I'm liking this... probably AS much as I liked Path of Radiance, to this point.  Take that, disagreers.

Sigh... now, how to conclude the most unproductive weekend in the world?  Tomorrow is actually a statutory holiday... "Family Day" (thanks, Dalton, I s'pose).  The rest of the week, though, while everyone else is off vacationing and whatever during reading week, I'll be busy collaborating with Davide, my co-advisor from the University of Milan, and Herb.  I'm excited, sorta, but I feel like I should be moreso.  I'm scared that I'm not going to be able to keep up with whatever they expect of me... and I'm scared that I won't get the chance to totally defragment this week.  Cuz dammit, I really don't feel like doing shit these days.  Blah.

Matt

 Mega Man ZX Advent:  Finished!

What a great game.  This series is Mega Man's strongest since the X-series- to me, there's no question about that.  The bosses are mostly great, the challenge-level is reminiscent of the "golden years" of Mega Man X3 through X5, and the music is top-notch.  Add to that the most ridiculous final level since that endless King level in Rockman & Forte, and you have one VERY happy customer.

On top of all that, the game does what Mega Man has done very well for the past twelve years or so:  Make little connections to past games and hint about some GRAND AWESOME TRUTH that most probably will never be revealed.  This game makes me want to play as Axl (in Mega Man X8, thank you) all over again.

ekkuse : we so have to talk about this sometime soon.  AHAHA!

Matt

83% Hillary Clinton
82% Chris Dodd
82% Barack Obama
80% Mike Gravel
80% Dennis Kucinich
80% John Edwards
79% Joe Biden
70% Bill Richardson
44% Rudy Giuliani
31% John McCain
28% Tom Tancredo
26% Ron Paul
25% Mitt Romney
21% Mike Huckabee
12% Fred Thompson

2008 Presidential Candidate Matching Quiz

Surprise, surprise...

What a strange, strange, strange January day.  People walking around in short sleeved shirts while my dad barbeques ribs outside?  This is CANADA!  The high temperature at home was 63 F, which translates into 17 C, if you swing that way (Compare the normal high:  31 F or 0 C).  If that wasn't enough, they had thunderstorms... there was even a tornado watch this evening.

How bizarre and wonderful.  I, for one, hate cold weather, so if this warm spell wants to stick around for awhile... absolutely.

Matt

 Gaming-wise, I've had a pretty productive go this holiday season.  I started out by chugging through the final floors of Etrian Odyssey before predicting the storyline-twist at the end and getting creamed by the impossible final boss, and since then, I've beaten the majority of Super Mario Galaxy *and* Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker.

Playing DQM: Joker reminds me of EXACTLY why Etrian Odyssey sucks.  The games are very different, yet oddly similar.  Both games are quite a grind, neither one has much of a plot, and while the graphics are better in DQM: Joker, the music is better in EO.  Both have turn-based battle systems, and many people would simply dismiss them as being exactly the same because of this... but that would be incredibly wrong, because that is where the difference becomes absolutely clear.

I complained on IRC a few weeks ago that Etrian Odyssey was stupidly balanced:  By the time you're finished with any floor of the dungeon, you can kill almost any enemy group within one turn- but travel to a new floor, and your party could easily be wiped off the map.  When I voiced this, revered Myst was all "It's okay for a game to be challenging once in awhile" or somesuch.  But, it's not hard:  It's idiotic.  The enemies on the final floor do a couple hundred damage apiece, yet the final boss can do upwards of 500 to every member of the party... more than any of my characters' Maximum HP.  Clearly, not good.  Etrian Odyssey sucks as a pleasant RPG because it has absolutely no balance whatsoever, and it drives me up the friggin' wall.  It suffers hugely from Disgaeitis:  Either you are overpowered OR the enemies are overpowered at any given time-- there is almost never any in-between.

Playing Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker is such a breath of fresh air in this respect.   It remains a challenging game even though it isn't completely impossible to progress.  Where there ARE absurdly powerful monsters, there is still hope.  Why, you can actually DETECT a difference when attack-bonus or defence-bonus or agility-bonus spells are cast upon your party!  The game, like all Dragon Quest games, features GOOD BALANCE, which is the most overlooked aspect of RPGs on the market, especially when it comes to so many numbskullish review sites that care only about three things whenever RPGs are the subject.  Those are 1) Does the game feature a traditional battle system?  If so, let's subtract a point; 2) Does the game look pretty?  If not, let's sour the rest of the entire review; and 3) Does the game feature the words "Final" and "Fantasy"?  If not, let's wait to review the game a month after its actual release in order to ensure that the least possible coverage is granted.

I'm such a cynic, but grr.  Anyway, DQM: Joker is by no means perfect, but it's one of my very favourite games I've played for the DS, and I'm not just saying that as a desperately lost Dragon Quest fanatic.  I am a hopeless fan, to be sure, but I know a quality game when I see one and I'll be the first to admit that the previous two DQM games were shitty and mediocre, respectively.

Anyway... yeah.  Does anyone know at -all- what I mean?  One way or another, it's not as if my blog entries are ever going to change the world... "Reviewers, grab a brain and do your job right" or "Videogame industry, start inserting balance into your damn RPGs- the ones you choose to spit at us Western joes, anyway" just won't have an effect, sadly.

Matt

Oh, it's the time of year that the Gaming Awards start coming out at all the big sites.  I always get so stressed out over the fact that so many games inevitably get overlooked and that others get oddly chosen in order to make some strange statement that I don't quite understand.  Gamespot has thoroughly done the trick this time, by virtually ignoring every game not made for the Xbox 360 and PC, other than Mario Galaxy.  The fact that Metroid Prime 3 is absolutely nowhere in any category, including "Best Wii Game," is an absolute testament to how much they give a crap about other consoles.  And hey, not to sound like a whiny Nintendo fanboy, the almighty Uncharted for PS3 had absolutely no nominations either, which seems more than a little fishy.  What a garbage website.

In other news, FFXII: RW is great, and DQM: Joker is phenomenally fun.  AND it uses the awesome boss music from DQH: Rocket Slime, which pleases me to absolutely no end.

Matt

Two of my favourite series, Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy, recently had spinoffs released in the form of Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker, and Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings.  I can't wait to play them both, since I put them stupidly on my Christmas list, forcing me to have to wait.

 I took a trip down to vgchartz.com today, and what to my VERY wondering eyes should appear?

What.  The.  Fuck?

Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker is outselling Final Fantasy XII: RW in North America, and by a fairly significant margin.  In this bizarrely unexpected twist of fate, looking at the first four weeks of sales, the former has had 20% better sales than the latter.  Not only that, but six weeks after its release, DQM:Joker finds itself the 64th best selling game this week; FFXII: RW is down to 84th after only four. 

This is so incredibly encouraging as far as DQIV, V, or VI remakes are concerned... numbers like these can do nothing but convince Square Enix that Final Fantasy is not the only potentially profitable franchise in North America, and that it's more than worth their dime and time to localize these three games.  I swear, I will be in heaven if these remakes are officially translated.  Heaven.

PLEASE!

Matt

So, I went to New York City last week! It was a ton of fun, even if it wasn't particularly busy. Fine by me, really... nothing beats lazing around and playing video games, and besides, I didn't do *NOTHING* - I did a little bit of sightseeing every day, went shopping, went down to the Chelsea district, went out to a club, met up with  epenthesis for some delicious Thai dinner, went to the awesome Nintendo World store, sauntered through one wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art after a chilly walk through central park, and spent a ton of time with the guy I was staying with, Jeremy.

It's always scary to meet someone from online in person- you never know whether they'll be "normal" or "weird" or "scary" or "creepy," but there's always the hope that it'll be good.  We had talked a bunch beforehand, so I figured it would be okay, and it was great.  I was so happy to see him after I found my way to his place (Ahhh, the subway!  You learn quickly.)  It's just fun to blur the line between "online friend" and "real life friend" and I really hope that I get to spend more time with him sometime again in the future.  He was quite like Tom- a slightly gayer, nerdier version of Tom.  He used the same shampoo, similarly made fun of me for my... larger-than-average wallet, and even required the exact same back-crackage.  It was a little unnerving at times, but we got along really well, and I'm so happy that it turned out the way it did. 

New York was awesome!  And now my task is to finish up my academic responsibilities before Sunday evening, when I have to hand in my final assignment of the semester to Herb, after we go to his place for dinner.  With a Christmas party tomorrow, will I be able to get everything done?  I hope so!

And then Monday is freedom:  Dad is coming to pick me up and take me home to the deliciousnessfest and gaming heaven that will be Christmas vacation at home.  For some reason, I feel like this year, I need it more than I have in the past.

Hmm, hmm.  That's all!  I hope that everyone has a safe, happy, and relaxing holiday!

Matt

Sometimes lately, I've been thinking lots.

How easily is one's world turned upside down?
How easy is it for one's feelings to evolve over time?
How difficult would it be for me to completely change the way I do things, the way I approach situations, the way I deal with new challenges?

I feel more thoughtful than usual lately. I'm not really feeling moody or overdramatic at all. I'm not really happy, but I'm definitely not feeling sad. I feel really lonely lately, yet I don't really feel uncontent about it.

It's easy to sweep away all of this neutrality- everything is neutral these days- as the typical "Oh, I'm too busy to care!" argument, but it just doesn't hold water. I've been busier... far busier... and I've experienced happiness and sadness, and bigger, bolder flavours of feelings.

I want to experience exciting things and enjoy my life again. Yet, I'm scared of what that might entail. To be grey and comfortable, or to take risks and see colour again?

Some decisions are impossible to make.

Matt

It's a weekend of work that lies before me.

I need to get a lot done so that I can actually feel GOOD about what I've done this semester. I feel like I haven't really accomplished much over the past 7-8 weeks- at all. It makes me feel icky.

So, of course, I started off this productive weekend by playing through World 4 of Mario Brothers 3 and subsequently Chapter 4 of Shining Force. Two absolutely fantastic games. What would I do without you, Virtual Console?

I'm also cash-richer than I've ever been in my entire life, thanks to my good fortunes of late. Why, I almost have positive dollars for the first time in seven years, when you take into account my student loans. Yay.

It snowed this week- pretty much every day, it did, including one day when it snowed continuously throughout the duration. It was too warm, so nothing accumulated, thankfully.

OK, I'm really tired. Time for BED.

(Side: It's been at least three weeks now...)

Matt

What a week!

Jeez.

It started with a bolt out of the blue. There are some prestigious national awards given out to university students across Canada, and a subset of them is provided by a governmental organization called NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council). You have to apply almost one full year before your actual study period, and they told me back in March that I wasn't going to be getting a scholarship in a plain white envelope that caused my face to fall.

Well, on Monday, I discovered that incredibly, there were a few extra or left-over awards, presumably due to people dropping out or leaving their intended program... and that I would be getting an award after all, because I was high-up enough on the "losers' list"!

This is incredible news. It's a hugely substantial amount of money, and it's good to know that I was able to compete and win. I'm going to be able to pay off my student loans with this, and maybe even buy a console that I don't really want.

Tomorrow, though, my first cell phone. Yep. I'm kind of excited about this.

Oh yeah. And I finally beat Mario 2 last Sunday. Another mini-piece of good news.

Another exciting thing is that the Canadian Dollar is more valuable now than it has been in some 130 years. One of our bucks is now equal to $1.07 in US funds, which is just crazy. A $59.99 video game is worth $49.99 in the States, which is now about $45 or $46 in Canadian funds. With 14% tax slapped on top of it here, the difference is somewhat painful. Yeah, I'm going to be doing some shopping while I'm in New York.

OK, that's all!
Matt

It's been an oddly busy week.

I wish I could explain where my time goes, but it is highly flammable, and always burning away, like the wick of a badly-made candle. Strange comparison... yeah, I'm not at my prime right now.

I've been working for the past month and a half on an assignment- the first of two- that my professor/supervisor gave myself and Kim for a special reading course. For the past week, I've been trying to write it up in good, and I keep running into things that are truly testing my understanding of some pretty fundamental math concepts. I'm becoming embarrassed at myself by some of the mistakes that I'm making.

Anyway, my week has basically been "do stuff on campus" followed by "go to the gym" followed by "tabulate/publish the day's contest page" followed by "make dinner/do dishes" followed by "work on figuring out wtf is up with my homework" until I get frustrated and go to bed at around 1:00; I get up in the morning and start the cycle over. It's so tedious, but moreover, it's so not what I want to be doing. Grr.

The only real gaming I've been doing lately has been with Planet Puzzle League, which I've been playing religiously before bed every night. My records are pretty awesome, I think. Garbage Attack: 254; Score Attack: 97,142; Lift Attack: 7414. I don't care so much about the Garbage attack, but I'd love to break 100,000 on Score and 8,000 on Lift one day, though the former seems likelier than the latter.

I've also been playing the real Mario 2. World 8 is like an art. I've mastered 8-1 and 8-2, and I can get to 8-3 with 6 lives. The problem is that 8-3 is somewhat based on luck- it all depends on whether the sprite limitations of the NES will allow the first Hammer Bros you meet to fling hammers from the start. If not, they're easy to get past. If so, they are nearly impossible to get past. Either way, the whole damn level is twisted. 8-4 is simply ridiculous, and full of strangeness. I love it, but I've only gotten to an area with a long, long corridor followed by a wide gap with a couple of awkwardly floating-around Paratroopas. 'Twas my downfall. I'll try again soon.

I'm so optimistic for New York- I need a good release. But I feel so optimistic that I'm a little scared that it won't turn out that way... or that something will put a serious kink into my plans (like, for instance, last year, when my end-of-year plans were fun until I returned home and found out that my Uncle had died.) So, maybe I'm more cynical than optimistic...I'm not sure. I just- my hopes are so high and I really want things to go well. Either way, it's going to be a drudgefest to get there. Bleah.

That's all for now. :)
Matt