The Real Deal on Philippine Culture

A batchmate of mine sent this URL (Get Real Philippines!) via our highschool batch's yahoogroup; pinoys out there may want to check it out. I found it a very amusing read, but it's not news, though. We Filipinos certainly do have festering culture. Still, I'm damned proud to be part of it.

Game on.

My Matrix Name

Find out your Matrix name. Mine's Ares.

Game on.

Landfall

(or Dawn Of A New Day)

I've been trying to reconcile what I'm truly feeling for the past few weeks. Something (or more appropriately, someone) suddenly came up and swallowed me whole. And the funny thing is, I was actually glad it happened.

Before she came, I was nursing my wounds from a previous battle, wounded and hovering on death's door. I was beginning to slide back into my previous Darkness, that ugly misshapen thing that had once consumed my being and spat it out, angry, forlorn, and cynical. I was getting sick of people leaving me. Leaving with promises that they'll never forget me and yet breaking them almost immediately.

But now she's here--my Muse, my Inspiration--and I've thrown my fate to the whims of the random cosmic forces of the multiverse, hoping that she will be the one. That this time, it's for real. That this time, it's forever. Because I will gladly face opposing odds, just to be with her.

It's finally sinking in, this new reality. The last battle was not the final one. I am still standing, thanks to her healing hand. My beloved's hand.

And here I am poised upon the brink of the future, thinking, I am so thankful she decided to stay...

Game on, all.

Farewell To A Friend

As I was updating my blog links today, I took a peek at Enelya V.'s pRO journal and got quite a shock. It's been closed! o_O

(Now that I think about it, my Inspiration mentioned the fact to me in passing a week or so ago... but a lot's been happening then for the fact to sink in.)



Enelya V. was a great acolyte in Rune Midgard (yes, on all three servers), and a good friend as well. Her absence will surely be missed. Those of us who struggle against the final days of our world have lost a valuable ally.

Game on.

Sevrin's Knighting

I've mentioned Sevrin Astergarden's reaching knighthood earlier. Here's a screen cap taken a couple of hours before her knighting, showing the two taking a much needed break after some frantic combat in the fourth level of the Payon Caves.



And this one's taken while we're celebrating her knighthood; she's already wearing her knightly armor here:

Fynn Elenium, Assassin

Should have posted this earlier but didn't feel like it. Here are pics of Fynn as an assassin (he joined the ranks of the assassins some time last month).



Oh yeah, Fynn's really blue-haired. I made a mistake with his previous pics (see Fynn Elunium, Thief of Morroc). Thanks to Mai for pointing it out ^_^. One more thing, Fynn's surname is "Elenium", unlike the Rune Midgardian armor-upgrading ore (which is "elunium", of course).

EarthBound!

From my retrogaming news front: I just finished EarthBound on the SNES! I've had a copy of this game for some time but I only managed to find enough time to sit down and play it this month. Now that I've played through and defeated Gygas (the game's final uber-menace), I'm wondering why this game isn't as famous as it should be. Sure, the graphics, battle scenes, and story may not be as cool or as angsty as other RPGs on the SNES (particularly Final Fantasy 6, Chrono Trigger, and Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals) but EarthBound has a charm of its own: it doesn't take anything, even itself, seriously!

EarthBound: The War Against Gygas! is actually called Mother 2: Gygas Strikes Back! in Japan, since it's the second game of the Mother series (the first game was Mother on the NES, but it wasn't released in the US; Nintendo of America translated it but scrapped it before release; the prototype ROM got out though and was dumped by DemiForce).

The game is set in a world like our own 1990s Earth, and tells the story of four kids who are destined to save the world from an evil force called Gygas. Along the way, you meet a talking space bee, demented policemen, skate-thrashing street punks, Mr. T (yes, Mr. T), a Blues Brothers parody (The Runaway Five), insane cultists who worship the color blue, flying saucers, living piles of puke, dinosaurs, a village full of beings all named Mr. Saturn, a town infested with zombies... And then there's also the background music ranging from blues to a weird ambient techno-thing. The list is long and the weirdness never ends. Well, until you get to the end of the game, that is.

The battle engine is menu-driven, similar to the Dragon Quest series', where you choose which action each character takes every round. You fight un-animated enemies on a psychedelic background of swirling colors, and there's a text box that tells you the effects of the combatants actions. The game varies the text for certain enemies so you don't get the usual "So-and-so attacks!" and instead have "The Spiteful Crow pecks at your eyes!" as well as "New Age Retro Hippie uses a toothbrush!" (Yes, both are examples taken from the game itself). Combat is fast and fun for the most part, with the challenge factor amped a few for the bosses. Most bosses have a weakness you can exploit though.

I highly recommend EarthBound for RPG fans. This is a game that deserves to be up there with the classics.

Earthbound Review Rating:
Gameplay: 9/10
Story: 9/10
Graphics: 9/10

For more information on Earthbound and the Mother series of console RPGs, see starmen.net, which is probably the best Earthbound-related site out there.

Game on.

A New Look

Okay. I've finally done it. And I think it's not pretty. Grabbed a template from somewhere of the net (*cough* blogskins *cough*) and modded it with my meager html skillz (thanks, maystar! ^_^). It'll have to do until I learn more and/or find time to redesign.

Also added whole new stuff on the sidebar thingy off to your right. Cool Blogs includes links to my inspiration's and her friend's RO journal (Sevrin and Mirielle, respectively); it'll fill up with other blogs of note when I update in the future. Check out also the Online Comics I read: currently only Sluggy Freelance and RPGWorld right now.

In other news, Sevrin Astergarden has reached knighthood in pRO Loki. Congratulations, Lady Sevrin! Fynn is looking forward to more adventures with you in Rune Midgard. May we always get the rarest drops! ^_^

Game on, all.

BlogSpeak

The Blogger editor thingy gave me hell, but I managed to set up a way for anyone to leave their comments, courtesy of BlogSpeak.

Game on.

Fynn Elunium, Thief of Morroc

Here's my only character on the pRO Loki server (shown is his combat stance where he wears a dorky Hat and one of those annoying Smiley Masks the King of Prontera keeps promoting, and his sitting position, while waiting for his date in a room at the Pronteran Inn):

Selrotta, Archer Inept

Blitz's constant travelling companion, Selrotta is also a member of A.E.G.I.S. Adventurers. She calls herself "Archer Inept" but she's a better shot than Blitz ^_^ (she's shown here wearing a Red Bandanna).

Laire Allicran, Knight of the Rune

And here's a picture of my knight in pRO (wearing a Helm and Sunglasses... he lost his Phantom of Opera Mask in the 7-day rollback 'coz I was playing with it at the time >_<;;):

Blitz Harper, Fate's Falcon

Here's a picture of my hunter in pRO (he's wearing an Apple O' Archer, Purple Glasses, and a Flu Mask):

An Acolyte's (ongoing) Tale

Not a flash movie, but definitely cool, here's the ongoing account of an acolyte's journey through Rune Midgard: Enelya Vardamir's Adventures in Philippine Ragnarok Online. This daily journal chronicles Enelya's thoughts, experiences, and hopes, on both pRO servers (Chaos and Loki). May fortune smile on you, good cleric!

An Assassin's Tale

Here's a flash movie that'll touch the hearts of most RO players out there. It uses text-based illustrations and BGMs from RO and .hack. It's Japanese-created, and the "Engrish" is pretty bad in most places... but somehow, I was too caught up in the story to notice the typos and grammatical errors. Enjoy!

"Assissin is a very strong job!"

Returning to the fold...

Hi, everyone. I'm very sorry for my absence this past few months. But like I said in my previous post below, "Ragnarok Online has taken over my life..." Heh. Well. Since the game's beta test period in June, until it ended last August, and up to now, which is the second week of pay-to-play service, I've adventured, explored, fought, died, loved, laughed, triumphed and lost in Rune Midgard. And I am looking forward to more experiences still.

My pRO Characters
Here's my two characters in Philippine Ragnarok Online (pRO). They're both on the Chaos server (I've not created any characters for the Loki server yet).

Blitz Harper Hunter Lv. 60/30—Also known as "Fate's Falcon", this mysterious hunter hails from the Forests of Payon. He has travelled the length and breadth of Rune Midgard as an archer, from the Mandragora-infested woodlands northwest of Prontera City to the Hode-spawning ground south of exotic Morroc in the Sograt Desert. Together with his guildmates and a few other travelling companions, he has braved the depths of the Pyramids in Morroc as well as the Coal Mines north of the magical city of Geffen. After these wanderings, he returned to Payon to join the Hunters. He now hunts the Argoses and giant Argiopes on Mt. Mjolnir, with his falcon, Beat, and the huntress Selrotta and her falcon Chopper, as his constant companions. As the world spirals ever closer to Ragnarok, it is yet to be seen what part Fate's Falcon will play...
Guild: A.E.G.I .S. Adventurers [ Fate's Falcon ]
Pet: Rottie Lv. 3(poring)

Laire Allicran Knight Lv. 63/35—this self-styled "Knight of the Rune" once wandered Rune Midgard as a swordsman, fighting the ever-growing monster tide, and aiding those in need. He has since been inducted into the ranks of the Knights of Prontera. While he has mastered the skill of Cavalry, he currently eschews riding Pecopecos. He has fought against the Golden Bug at the end of the Pronteran Culvert, but was unable to defeat it; the reason why Thief Bugs still infest the underground waterways. He has also explored the Undersea Tunnels beneath Byalan Island, helping keep the monster population there in check. He has also taken part in the A.E.G.I.S. Emperium Hunt which scoured the caverns of the Orc Dungeons. Recently, he was last seen near the Sunken Ship, just off the coast of the merchant-city of Alberta, looking for Success, to commission the hard-to-find master blacksmith for the forging of two star-wrought katanas, one with the power of the winds and another with fire. As Ragnarok approaches however, he knows the weapons will be of little help, but he has no choice but to try.
Guild: A.E.G.I.S. Explorers [ Knight of the Rune ]

Well, that's all for now.

Game on.

Ragnarok Online has taken over my life...

This June marked the start of the beta test period for the Philippine Ragnarok Online MMORPG*, and it also marked a fundamental change in my life.

On June 11, I acquired the free Ragnarok Online CD and immediately installed the game client. Then I connected to the 'net, created a game account on the Level-Up Games site. Noting down the password they provided, I launched the game, which then proceeded to download the latest patches, a process that took all of 20 minutes on my 56.6 modem. Finally, I was able to enter the game itself! And it was then that I got hooked. I'd find myself waking up during the wee hours of the morning just so I can adventure some more with my character during the off-peak hours....

As MMORPGs go, Ragnarok isn't actually that groundbreaking. But the anime-ish 2D characters and the rich 3D world both combine to provide a certain magical charm. Most of the game is mindless hack-and-slash, but it offers the same thing the popular Muti-User Dungeons do: a dynamic world populated by "real" people where adventure lurks around every corner.

The Philippine Ragnarok Online beta test will last until August after which Level Up Games will most likely switch to a prepaid scheme just like their "chat game", OzWorld. As if I needed another vacuum for my money...

So until I join Ragnarok Addicts Anonymous, you can catch me on the Philippine Chaos server as the swordman, Laire Allicran, who specializes in two-handed swords...

*Massively Multi-player Online Role-Playing Game

Golem Destiny

Golem Destiny has a new home:

What's Up?

I swear, my posts are getting rarer and rarer by the week... Anyway, back here in the Philippines, the Holy Week had ended with Easter Sunday. The vacation time was much-needed and refreshing allowing me to catch-up with my RP gaming. Yep, had a marathon D&D session starting last Wednesday up till Easter Sunday (well, not actually a marathon but pretty close to one). I was taking my gaming group through the Sunless Citadel and they're almost done with the place. We'll probably see the final battle next session... Which reminds me to set up the Forge of Fury module as a sequel.

What I'm Doing...

... on my PC:
Pleurghburg: Dark Ages -- point-and-click adventure game by an independent company, Gaspop Software.
Icewind Dale 2 -- CRPG based on the Baldur's Gate engine modified for D&D 3e.
Legion Saga 1–3 -- Suikoden-esque CRPG created using RPG Maker 2000.

... on my bedside table:
The Path of Daggers -- 7th volume of the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan.

... on my TV:
Alias -- cool spy drama series on AXN.
CSI -- 21st century Sherlock Holmes set in Las Vegas; also on AXN.
Rave -- fantasy anime; again, aired on AXN.

... in my head:
The 2nd installment to the Golem Destiny, a series of stories I've recently started.

That's all for now, folks. See you all later, and game on, always.

Golem Destiny

It's been a while since I've posted anything here. I've had problems with my computer, and real life's been hectic as well. Anyway, I've started another weblog over at we::blog. It's called Golem Destiny, and it's supposed to be a serialized story of sorts: a sword and sorcery romp through another world plagued with wars and gigantic walking weapons. Check it out! There's not much at the site right now except for a short teaser, but I plan on changing the template soon, as well as starting the story...

Game on!