Tomorrow is the last day of Opie and Anthony's contract with Sirius/XM satellite radio and I have to admit I'm a bit torn over what I would like to happen.
I love the Opie and Anthony Show...a lot. They've been a source of dependable joy for me for the past six years since their last firing when they had about two years off. I'm one of those dedicated listeners. I don't participate in the show directly by calling in or writing on the Instant Feedback wall...I'm not that funny. But I do like the show enough that I can listen to its entire five hour broadcast. Five hours is a lot of time taken from my day to dedicate to a show, no matter how good. I can't help but wonder what else I might be doing with my life if I didn't feel so compelled to catch their show every weekday morning.
At the very least I'd be listening to more music. Maybe I'd actually get my necessary chores done on workdays instead of my days off leaving those days to be fully enjoyed rather than only partially as it is now. As much as I would miss them, I can't help but think I would be better off without them or could, at the very least, use a break. I feel like I'm admitting an addiction.
I figure, worse comes to worst, they'll either end up on an FM station or they'll podcast. And yes, I would follow them there because damn it...it's a funny show. Vicious, dark humor. The kind I could never get away with even amongst my closest friends. It's so cathartic to listen to.
I'll just have to wait until tomorrow...
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
BIDING MY TIME...
So that "lead" on a job for my roommate seems to have been a false one. Therefore, he's still deliberately unemployed. He's attributing it to his mother misrepresenting the situation. So far his follow-up to all this is to continue marathoning the entire LOST series on the couch most of the day, pecking at his computer on this and that writing "project" that he either will not or cannot put out there, and still engaging in his "masseur" business.
June 30, 2011 cannot come soon enough...
He was finally out of the apartment long enough for me to marathon all the TV I recorded last week. I hate doing that. I'd much rather watch television in small chunks but instead I'm relegated to a four or five hour marathon-fest (cut one hour short because I fucked up the settings for Survivor) because I can't know when I'll have unfettered access to both the television and couch again. Ugh...
Yay, time to go clean the bathroom because why would he ever do it...
June 30, 2011 cannot come soon enough...
He was finally out of the apartment long enough for me to marathon all the TV I recorded last week. I hate doing that. I'd much rather watch television in small chunks but instead I'm relegated to a four or five hour marathon-fest (cut one hour short because I fucked up the settings for Survivor) because I can't know when I'll have unfettered access to both the television and couch again. Ugh...
Yay, time to go clean the bathroom because why would he ever do it...
Friday, September 24, 2010
DOES THIS MEAN I CAN WATCH SOME TV NOW?
The roommate says his mother got him an interview for a job...finally. Holy crap do I need him out of this apartment during the day so that maybe, just maybe, I could have access to the goddamned living room. Holy fuck. Nice to know that he has been entirely incapable of procuring this interview himself and that it was instead his mother, the very one whom he blames for many of his problems, that "pulled some strings" to get this done. What an ingrate.
Unfortunately, I got this news several days ago. I haven't heard anything new so did he or didn't he get this job? *grumble, grumble*
Unfortunately, I got this news several days ago. I haven't heard anything new so did he or didn't he get this job? *grumble, grumble*
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
INIMANDVS V
Just yesterday I finally climbed out of a ten day depression catalyzed by the last girl I've wanted. She's working later again so I have to see her more...again. I have no defenses against her. It was a one-two punch to my heart that got started on September 8th. I was starting to get better from that one but on the 16th, I was brought right the fuck back down and HARD. I still can't tell if this pain in my throat is from a developing sickness (it doesn't feel like one) or because I strained my neck muscles from clenching my jaw all night that night. Seriously...
When my down periods get strong, I shut down and go into auto-pilot. I still hear and see everything: I'm capable of performing the tasks asked of me (albeit more slowly)...I just shut down. I stop speaking except when absolutely necessary and even then it's minimalist and in muffled tones with no attempt made to project. My thoughts go quiet as well. I become a living machine and I get weaker the longer I'm in this state. I'm sure it's not a good thing when I get this way because what I'm feeling is me doing everything possible to REMAIN in that state rather than get out of it. I try to shut down to humor, anger, and fear...anything that would cause my adrenaline to wake me out of such stupors... It takes a lot of energy to remain in that state and it puts a lot of stress on my heart and yet once I get there, that's exactly where I want to remain... My brain is stupid.
I think she's literally killing me...but only because I let her. Sigh.....
ADDENDUM: I think this was my bottom. I entered into an accelerating recovery since this point and am actually feeling quite like myself again for the first time in a long while.
When my down periods get strong, I shut down and go into auto-pilot. I still hear and see everything: I'm capable of performing the tasks asked of me (albeit more slowly)...I just shut down. I stop speaking except when absolutely necessary and even then it's minimalist and in muffled tones with no attempt made to project. My thoughts go quiet as well. I become a living machine and I get weaker the longer I'm in this state. I'm sure it's not a good thing when I get this way because what I'm feeling is me doing everything possible to REMAIN in that state rather than get out of it. I try to shut down to humor, anger, and fear...anything that would cause my adrenaline to wake me out of such stupors... It takes a lot of energy to remain in that state and it puts a lot of stress on my heart and yet once I get there, that's exactly where I want to remain... My brain is stupid.
I think she's literally killing me...but only because I let her. Sigh.....
ADDENDUM: I think this was my bottom. I entered into an accelerating recovery since this point and am actually feeling quite like myself again for the first time in a long while.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
NEVER MEME OF DYING
I found this on Electronic Cerebrectomy's blog...
1. My favorite genre of game
I would say Action games. I like my video games to only take about an hour to win at most.
2. Favorite Games
Arcade : TMNT, Galaga, Defender, Metal Slug, Samurai Shodown IV
Atari2600 : Laser Blast, Seaquest, Super Breakout, Asteroids, Circus Atari
Atari5200 : Missile Command, Vanguard, Space Invaders, Joust, Mario Bros.
NES : Megaman 2, Tetris, Metroid, Blaster Master, The Legend of Zelda
Game Boy : TMNT, Nemesis, Castlevania, Metroid II,
SNES : Super Mario All-Stars, Gradius III, Axelay, Super Metroid, Super Mario Kart
Genesis : Thunder Force III, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Road Rash, Splatterhouse 2
3. My hated game(s)
I didn't buy games that I didn't like so I don't have an answer to this
4. My favorite minion enemies
The Kemlus Snake from Vanguard (an unusual enemy that gave you 1090 bonus points if it captured you, but it only worked three times); every minor enemy in Turok: Dinosaur Hunter because you could keep "killing" them over and over again with grenades (they'd arc through the air screaming and leaving a trail of blood even though they were already dead. It was an entertaining glitch to exploit when using unlimited ammo cheat codes); the Nazi-esque soldiers of Metal Slug, especially when they'd laugh over your dead body and then scream (and try to run away) when your character reappeared; the Ironknuckles from Zelda II were fun to fight; the changing Invaders in the Atari5200 version of Space Invaders
5. My Most Hated minion enemies
The Pterodactyl from Joust; the Big Eye from Megaman; the Hammer Brothers from Super Mario Bros., the Reapers from Kid Icarus; the Hunchback from Castlevania; the Red Devil from Ghosts 'n Goblins; the Red Bubble and blue Wizzrobes from The Legend of Zelda; the Eagle from Ninja Gaiden --- later systems tended to lack those truly asshole enemies. It seems like they were more fixated on graphics than challenge; the Revenants from Doom II, not because they were hard but because I didn't like that they shot rockets at you. When they get close, they punch and kick you which is fine enough. The game needed more enemies that didn't shoot. Too many of them did.
6. My Favorite Enemies (Bosses)
The Regenertoid (Stage 3 Axelay); the Yellow Devil from Megaman is fun to fight; The area 4 boss in Contra III was another good fight where missiles are being fired into the boss and you have to hop from one to another firing at its core before the missiles are destroyed otherwise you fall to your death; Gond of Vanguard because I think it was the first game I had ever played with a boss
7. My Most hated Enemies (Bosses)
The Level 5 boss in Raiden II - it just does not die and fires a fuckload of fast-moving large bullets that are almost impossible to fly through and in a game with no shields and you lose everything you've accumulated when you die...it proves frustrating; The Grim Reaper in Castlevania since its sickles appear and move randomly on the screen even after the boss is killed and by this point in the game, you can only take four hits before dying; the Area 6 boss in Blaster Master - it's a souped-up version of the Area 2 boss: it has longer arms and shoots these fast-moving projectiles that do twice as much damage. It's hard to get close enough to do damage (though easy to kill if you cheat); Bacterion from Gradius III because it's practically impossible NOT to beat him: in fact, if you take too long, he'll kill himself!...very anticlimactic for a final boss
8. Most Loved Good Character
Megaman
9. Most hated good-character
Alucard from Castlevania III. He sounds cool and all since he can turn into a bat and fly around the game's many obstacles but his fireballs are incredibly weak even when powered up. Better off sticking with Grant DaNasty or even Syfa :-)
10. Most Memorable Game
The most memorable game I bought was Megaman. I remember being in Toys R Us with Dad looking for the game Dragon Warrior but they were sold out. Dad, not even knowing I liked the series, wondered if I would like this game. I saw he was pointing to the original Megaman, a game I thought I would never own. I wonder what drew Dad's attention to it considering the game's notoriously awful cover art?
Tetris is the game I was most happy to receive. Nan filled me in with the story on what must've been Christmas Eve 1989. My Uncle was the one who got the game. It must've been one of the last presents I opened and apparently I was very grateful that someone had remembered :-)
Of the games I never asked for that I ended up liking, Rygar for the NES I think was the best - awesome music and graphics with interesting enemies. It was one of the three NES games my brother and me got when we received the Nintendo for Christmas
Samurai Shodown IV makes me think of the gang at college and also the first arcade game I ever won :-)
Galaga was the first arcade game I ever got good at and TMNT was the first arcade game I was ever excited to play every time I saw the cabinet ANYWHERE
11. Least Memorable Game
Some stealth fighter game we got for Christmas that neither of us asked for. It got boring quickly. Golf for the Atari2600 was tedious.
12. Favorite segment of a game
The destruction of the Level 1 boss in Raiden II...it makes for a very satisfying thump :-); Stage 2 from Axelay has some awesome visuals; the "bonus" levels of Lemmings were uniquely designed and had special music. They were generally easier than any of the other levels so they acted as a breather level before getting back into the hard shit; the fire background effect for the Gorgon stage (2:50 in) in Thunderforce III is cool-looking
13. Least favorite segment of a game
Any Lemmings level that relies too much on luck or overly precise timing rather than skillful problem-solving with Mayhem 29 being the best example of this. The level is hard as fuck already taking over six minutes to complete. The problem is right at the end: two metal blocks that stick out only by a pixel so the falling lemming only walks on for less than a moment. Mistime the mouse click and you have to do it all over again. The fact that you have to do it twice makes it all the more infuriating. Lemmings 2 abounds in these kinds of levels too...unfortunately; Stage 4 in the NES TMNT had these instant-death spike walls closing in for three segments and your turtle had to drop down these narrow gaps. Miss one and you'll never make it; Any game that makes you spend oodles of time building experience points in pointless battles like Zelda II; and any adventure game that artificially limits where you can go and when early on. I liked how you didn't have to go through the dungeons in order in The Legend of Zelda. It's not smart to go to Level 3 first, but you COULD. Every other Zelda game prevents this. Dragon Warrior let you wander into territory with monsters way more powerful than you could fight; and most importantly...every Mortal Kombat game in the arcade. How the fuck were we supposed to figure out the key combinations for the Fatalities? How frustrating was it to win the match only to be completely impotent with your flailing opponent? Plus the computer often didn't perform the fatality on YOU when you lost. How cheap. You'd think it'd be the least the game could do to make your losing worthwhile. Plus, no special Goro fatality for your character? Ugh...
14. Most loved storyline
Honestly, I have never really played games with real storylines. I guess I would have to say the Ninja Gaiden series by default.
15. Favorite secret/easter egg/cheat
Infinite shield recharge for Nova 9; the Konami code for 30 guys in Contra and Life Force (I like how it backfired in Gradius III. If you used the code, your ship self-destructed!); pausing Blaster Master while damaging the bosses of Areas 4, 6, and 7 allowed them to keep taking damage until they died (especially helpful in Area 6); saving the animals who helped you out in Super Metroid before Zebes self-destructs was cute
16. How many games you've think you've played in your life
Probably over a hundred
17. How many games you (think) you own?
Unfortunately I no longer have the Atari2600 and Atari5200 systems. Of what I have left, I'd say between 50 and 75 cartridges
18. Favorite Weapon
Although not strong, I liked the concept of the "toothpaste beam" in Raiden II; the Metal Blade from Megaman 2 (this game made good use of the bosses' weapons throughout the stages unlike Mega Man III and up where they were basically only good against the bosses and not the stages - though I should take that back as I've seen videos recently on YouTube which show weapons from Megaman III and IV being used quite effectively throughout); the Spreader gun in Contra; the boomerang in Castlevania and Castlevania III; although an ineffective weapon overall, the Shockwave Weapon in Turok Dinosaur Hunter was fun to kill weak enemies with. When you hit them, they froze in place with this electrical effect around them and darkened before suddenly exploding
18a. Least Favorite Weapon
I felt I should add this one. I'll give it to Link's sword beam from Zelda II. It was completely worthless. First of all, it only travelled halfway across the screen before evaporating and secondly, it only hurt a few enemies like the bots and moglins, never the ones that such a distance shot might be helpful against. In the original game, having the sword beam was hardly a game-breaker...it was more of a relief that you didn't have to fight so dangerously close to the Like-Likes, Wizzrobes, and Darknuts.
The Megaman series is rife with these as well. The Gutsman technique, the Time Stopper from Flashman (you couldn't fire your weapon when using it), the Top Spin and Spark Shock (it froze enemies, but you couldn't switch back to your arm cannon to finish them off like you could with the Ice Slasher), the Rain Flush, etc. etc. etc.
19. Favorite spell/power
I didn't play RPGs so magic spells rarely applied. My favorite though (by default I suppose) was the "Hurt" spell from Dragon Warrior. Probably the most appropriately named spell ever. :-)
20. Hardest boss you've ever beaten
I generally find the stages in games to be harder than the battles themselves at the end. I guess, as a kid, Dracula from Castlevania would count [no pun intended] since it took me quite a while to defeat him. --- The three-eyed crab guarding the Dive module in Area 5 of Blaster Master gave me a lot of trouble growing up. I can defeat him no problem now but as a kid, I needed the NES advantage for both slow-motion and turbo to beat him. --- I could probably also add Shao Kahn from Mortal Kombat 2 since I can only defeat him with Kitana and Baraka.
Nowadays, I have to make games harder on purpose by trying to win with lesser weapons and such. Using that metric, I would have to say Elecman and Iceman from Megaman are the hardest. I've beaten them, but I still can't defeat them using only the arm cannon. --- I could also add the final bosses from Double Dragon, but I've never defeated them without the Game Genie giving me all sorts of extra lives and using the NES advantage for turbo.
21. Easiest boss you've ever beaten
Bacterion from Gradius III goes down with barely a fight as does Zelos from Life Force. I think it's actually a tradition in the Gradius games to make the final boss be a pushover for some reason. --- The red Gohma guarding the Triforce piece in the Level-6 dungeon from the Legend of Zelda goes down with a single arrow. In fact if you shoot the arrow the moment you enter the room, you'll beat him before he fires a single shot.
22. Favorite System
The original Nintendo Entertainment System. It wasn't my first system nor was it the last but so many good memories have come from it :-)
23. Favorite gaming controller
I think the SNES controller demonstrated the maximum number of buttons one could comfortably fit upon a single controller. It allowed for arcade games like Street Fighter II to be adapted and it gave just enough control options to make other games useful. Also, unlike the Playstation controller, the Y and X buttons were concave and the B and A buttons were convex allowing for tactile differentiation.
24. Best Level Design
For aesthetics, I'll give it to Axelay for the SNES for its numerous creative backgrounds and stage elements of which Stages 2 and 3 excelled. The Casino Zone from Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was pretty cool-looking as well. --- For challenge, Super Mario Bros. "The Lost Levels" still makes me curse quite a lot. Several levels in Lemmings and Oh No! More Lemmings featured rather creative puzzles to solve.
25. Console or PC
While PCs are better for graphics and complexity, almost all my gaming memories are from consoles
26. Scariest moment in gaming
I remember jumping when the giant Bot appears out of nowhere and without warning in the final castle in Zelda II :-)
27. Most suspenseful moment in gaming
Whenever I'm in a new area on my last life, last continue, low on energy [or sometimes all three]. Knowing you're in a room full of traps doesn't help either. :-)
1. My favorite genre of game
I would say Action games. I like my video games to only take about an hour to win at most.
2. Favorite Games
Arcade : TMNT, Galaga, Defender, Metal Slug, Samurai Shodown IV
Atari2600 : Laser Blast, Seaquest, Super Breakout, Asteroids, Circus Atari
Atari5200 : Missile Command, Vanguard, Space Invaders, Joust, Mario Bros.
NES : Megaman 2, Tetris, Metroid, Blaster Master, The Legend of Zelda
Game Boy : TMNT, Nemesis, Castlevania, Metroid II,
SNES : Super Mario All-Stars, Gradius III, Axelay, Super Metroid, Super Mario Kart
Genesis : Thunder Force III, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Road Rash, Splatterhouse 2
3. My hated game(s)
I didn't buy games that I didn't like so I don't have an answer to this
4. My favorite minion enemies
The Kemlus Snake from Vanguard (an unusual enemy that gave you 1090 bonus points if it captured you, but it only worked three times); every minor enemy in Turok: Dinosaur Hunter because you could keep "killing" them over and over again with grenades (they'd arc through the air screaming and leaving a trail of blood even though they were already dead. It was an entertaining glitch to exploit when using unlimited ammo cheat codes); the Nazi-esque soldiers of Metal Slug, especially when they'd laugh over your dead body and then scream (and try to run away) when your character reappeared; the Ironknuckles from Zelda II were fun to fight; the changing Invaders in the Atari5200 version of Space Invaders
5. My Most Hated minion enemies
The Pterodactyl from Joust; the Big Eye from Megaman; the Hammer Brothers from Super Mario Bros., the Reapers from Kid Icarus; the Hunchback from Castlevania; the Red Devil from Ghosts 'n Goblins; the Red Bubble and blue Wizzrobes from The Legend of Zelda; the Eagle from Ninja Gaiden --- later systems tended to lack those truly asshole enemies. It seems like they were more fixated on graphics than challenge; the Revenants from Doom II, not because they were hard but because I didn't like that they shot rockets at you. When they get close, they punch and kick you which is fine enough. The game needed more enemies that didn't shoot. Too many of them did.
6. My Favorite Enemies (Bosses)
The Regenertoid (Stage 3 Axelay); the Yellow Devil from Megaman is fun to fight; The area 4 boss in Contra III was another good fight where missiles are being fired into the boss and you have to hop from one to another firing at its core before the missiles are destroyed otherwise you fall to your death; Gond of Vanguard because I think it was the first game I had ever played with a boss
7. My Most hated Enemies (Bosses)
The Level 5 boss in Raiden II - it just does not die and fires a fuckload of fast-moving large bullets that are almost impossible to fly through and in a game with no shields and you lose everything you've accumulated when you die...it proves frustrating; The Grim Reaper in Castlevania since its sickles appear and move randomly on the screen even after the boss is killed and by this point in the game, you can only take four hits before dying; the Area 6 boss in Blaster Master - it's a souped-up version of the Area 2 boss: it has longer arms and shoots these fast-moving projectiles that do twice as much damage. It's hard to get close enough to do damage (though easy to kill if you cheat); Bacterion from Gradius III because it's practically impossible NOT to beat him: in fact, if you take too long, he'll kill himself!...very anticlimactic for a final boss
8. Most Loved Good Character
Megaman
9. Most hated good-character
Alucard from Castlevania III. He sounds cool and all since he can turn into a bat and fly around the game's many obstacles but his fireballs are incredibly weak even when powered up. Better off sticking with Grant DaNasty or even Syfa :-)
10. Most Memorable Game
The most memorable game I bought was Megaman. I remember being in Toys R Us with Dad looking for the game Dragon Warrior but they were sold out. Dad, not even knowing I liked the series, wondered if I would like this game. I saw he was pointing to the original Megaman, a game I thought I would never own. I wonder what drew Dad's attention to it considering the game's notoriously awful cover art?
Tetris is the game I was most happy to receive. Nan filled me in with the story on what must've been Christmas Eve 1989. My Uncle was the one who got the game. It must've been one of the last presents I opened and apparently I was very grateful that someone had remembered :-)
Of the games I never asked for that I ended up liking, Rygar for the NES I think was the best - awesome music and graphics with interesting enemies. It was one of the three NES games my brother and me got when we received the Nintendo for Christmas
Samurai Shodown IV makes me think of the gang at college and also the first arcade game I ever won :-)
Galaga was the first arcade game I ever got good at and TMNT was the first arcade game I was ever excited to play every time I saw the cabinet ANYWHERE
11. Least Memorable Game
Some stealth fighter game we got for Christmas that neither of us asked for. It got boring quickly. Golf for the Atari2600 was tedious.
12. Favorite segment of a game
The destruction of the Level 1 boss in Raiden II...it makes for a very satisfying thump :-); Stage 2 from Axelay has some awesome visuals; the "bonus" levels of Lemmings were uniquely designed and had special music. They were generally easier than any of the other levels so they acted as a breather level before getting back into the hard shit; the fire background effect for the Gorgon stage (2:50 in) in Thunderforce III is cool-looking
13. Least favorite segment of a game
Any Lemmings level that relies too much on luck or overly precise timing rather than skillful problem-solving with Mayhem 29 being the best example of this. The level is hard as fuck already taking over six minutes to complete. The problem is right at the end: two metal blocks that stick out only by a pixel so the falling lemming only walks on for less than a moment. Mistime the mouse click and you have to do it all over again. The fact that you have to do it twice makes it all the more infuriating. Lemmings 2 abounds in these kinds of levels too...unfortunately; Stage 4 in the NES TMNT had these instant-death spike walls closing in for three segments and your turtle had to drop down these narrow gaps. Miss one and you'll never make it; Any game that makes you spend oodles of time building experience points in pointless battles like Zelda II; and any adventure game that artificially limits where you can go and when early on. I liked how you didn't have to go through the dungeons in order in The Legend of Zelda. It's not smart to go to Level 3 first, but you COULD. Every other Zelda game prevents this. Dragon Warrior let you wander into territory with monsters way more powerful than you could fight; and most importantly...every Mortal Kombat game in the arcade. How the fuck were we supposed to figure out the key combinations for the Fatalities? How frustrating was it to win the match only to be completely impotent with your flailing opponent? Plus the computer often didn't perform the fatality on YOU when you lost. How cheap. You'd think it'd be the least the game could do to make your losing worthwhile. Plus, no special Goro fatality for your character? Ugh...
14. Most loved storyline
Honestly, I have never really played games with real storylines. I guess I would have to say the Ninja Gaiden series by default.
15. Favorite secret/easter egg/cheat
Infinite shield recharge for Nova 9; the Konami code for 30 guys in Contra and Life Force (I like how it backfired in Gradius III. If you used the code, your ship self-destructed!); pausing Blaster Master while damaging the bosses of Areas 4, 6, and 7 allowed them to keep taking damage until they died (especially helpful in Area 6); saving the animals who helped you out in Super Metroid before Zebes self-destructs was cute
16. How many games you've think you've played in your life
Probably over a hundred
17. How many games you (think) you own?
Unfortunately I no longer have the Atari2600 and Atari5200 systems. Of what I have left, I'd say between 50 and 75 cartridges
18. Favorite Weapon
Although not strong, I liked the concept of the "toothpaste beam" in Raiden II; the Metal Blade from Megaman 2 (this game made good use of the bosses' weapons throughout the stages unlike Mega Man III and up where they were basically only good against the bosses and not the stages - though I should take that back as I've seen videos recently on YouTube which show weapons from Megaman III and IV being used quite effectively throughout); the Spreader gun in Contra; the boomerang in Castlevania and Castlevania III; although an ineffective weapon overall, the Shockwave Weapon in Turok Dinosaur Hunter was fun to kill weak enemies with. When you hit them, they froze in place with this electrical effect around them and darkened before suddenly exploding
18a. Least Favorite Weapon
I felt I should add this one. I'll give it to Link's sword beam from Zelda II. It was completely worthless. First of all, it only travelled halfway across the screen before evaporating and secondly, it only hurt a few enemies like the bots and moglins, never the ones that such a distance shot might be helpful against. In the original game, having the sword beam was hardly a game-breaker...it was more of a relief that you didn't have to fight so dangerously close to the Like-Likes, Wizzrobes, and Darknuts.
The Megaman series is rife with these as well. The Gutsman technique, the Time Stopper from Flashman (you couldn't fire your weapon when using it), the Top Spin and Spark Shock (it froze enemies, but you couldn't switch back to your arm cannon to finish them off like you could with the Ice Slasher), the Rain Flush, etc. etc. etc.
19. Favorite spell/power
I didn't play RPGs so magic spells rarely applied. My favorite though (by default I suppose) was the "Hurt" spell from Dragon Warrior. Probably the most appropriately named spell ever. :-)
20. Hardest boss you've ever beaten
I generally find the stages in games to be harder than the battles themselves at the end. I guess, as a kid, Dracula from Castlevania would count [no pun intended] since it took me quite a while to defeat him. --- The three-eyed crab guarding the Dive module in Area 5 of Blaster Master gave me a lot of trouble growing up. I can defeat him no problem now but as a kid, I needed the NES advantage for both slow-motion and turbo to beat him. --- I could probably also add Shao Kahn from Mortal Kombat 2 since I can only defeat him with Kitana and Baraka.
Nowadays, I have to make games harder on purpose by trying to win with lesser weapons and such. Using that metric, I would have to say Elecman and Iceman from Megaman are the hardest. I've beaten them, but I still can't defeat them using only the arm cannon. --- I could also add the final bosses from Double Dragon, but I've never defeated them without the Game Genie giving me all sorts of extra lives and using the NES advantage for turbo.
21. Easiest boss you've ever beaten
Bacterion from Gradius III goes down with barely a fight as does Zelos from Life Force. I think it's actually a tradition in the Gradius games to make the final boss be a pushover for some reason. --- The red Gohma guarding the Triforce piece in the Level-6 dungeon from the Legend of Zelda goes down with a single arrow. In fact if you shoot the arrow the moment you enter the room, you'll beat him before he fires a single shot.
22. Favorite System
The original Nintendo Entertainment System. It wasn't my first system nor was it the last but so many good memories have come from it :-)
23. Favorite gaming controller
I think the SNES controller demonstrated the maximum number of buttons one could comfortably fit upon a single controller. It allowed for arcade games like Street Fighter II to be adapted and it gave just enough control options to make other games useful. Also, unlike the Playstation controller, the Y and X buttons were concave and the B and A buttons were convex allowing for tactile differentiation.
24. Best Level Design
For aesthetics, I'll give it to Axelay for the SNES for its numerous creative backgrounds and stage elements of which Stages 2 and 3 excelled. The Casino Zone from Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was pretty cool-looking as well. --- For challenge, Super Mario Bros. "The Lost Levels" still makes me curse quite a lot. Several levels in Lemmings and Oh No! More Lemmings featured rather creative puzzles to solve.
25. Console or PC
While PCs are better for graphics and complexity, almost all my gaming memories are from consoles
26. Scariest moment in gaming
I remember jumping when the giant Bot appears out of nowhere and without warning in the final castle in Zelda II :-)
27. Most suspenseful moment in gaming
Whenever I'm in a new area on my last life, last continue, low on energy [or sometimes all three]. Knowing you're in a room full of traps doesn't help either. :-)
A QUICK THOUGHT
I used to fight a lot with my previous roommate, a person who was/is my best friend. She gets annoyed that I don't fight similarly with my new roommate despite the fact that he has been a far worse one in terms of helping out around the apartment. I think the reason is thus:
Outside of expecting him to pay his bills on time, I have no expectations of my current roommate and unfortunately, he meets them.
OF ALL THE LUCK!
I got my first 2010-D nickel last night and I'm kinda irked because of it.
I have all the Philadelphia pieces but still need the Denvers for the 2nd and 4th design of the Bicentennial Lincoln cents; the nickel; the dime; and for Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and the Northern Marianas quarters...and 2010's almost over. It's cool but the fact that I have a 2009-P nickel is what annoys me.
On November 22, 2009 [yes, I keep track of these things], I received my first (and so far only) 2009-P nickel.
I hope the economy tanks again. There's been talk of a double-dip recession for some time now. I'd love to see 2011's coin production plummet like 2009's again. Coin collecting has never been more fun for me. Yes that comes at the expense of many out-of-work people but I can't be thinking about that as the mint creates illusory modern rarities. 2010's production has already outpaced 2009's and I regularly see 2010 dated coins in my change...except for quarters. I've only seen two so far all year but then I give out half dollars in change so I don't go through quite as many as I used to. So while 2010's mintages are already boring, there's always hope for 2011 if the economy threatens collapse again.
I just have to come to terms with it: My happiness is predicated in others' pain. It's the way of the world. I should embrace it rather than pretend it isn't so.
*evil laugh*