Editor
I'm not going to do a long-ass egotistical rant for this topic like I did for the other one - I think I got about as much humor out of that the first time as I'm ever going to get - but I will do a short summary. And actually, I just typed up a short summary and it was like 127,000 characters, so here's a tl;dr instead:
Disgaea DS - Beaten
Sonic 1 - Beaten
Castlevania: Circle of the Moon - Completed
Braid - Started, unfinished
Sonic Rush Adventure - Progress made
Retro Game Challenge - Beaten
Sonic Advance - Completed
Tales of Vesperia - Completed
Meteos - Completed
Metroid Prime - Completed
Metroid Prime 2 - Completed
Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2 - Completed
Scribblenauts - Completed
Shadow Complex - Completed
Mass Effect - Started, unfinished
Okami - Started, at about 97%
Pokemon Rumble - Beaten, 99% completed
Cooking Mama - Beaten
Riviera - Beaten
Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks - Completed
Revelations: The Demon Slayer - Completed
The World Ends With You - Beaten
As an aside, during the last topic I also did a list of my top 50 games. Oh god, it was such a trainwreck, I don't even know why I did that. And now, since I'm a masochist, I'm going to do writeups for every game on that list. Yep. So look forward to that.
Anyway. I'd also like to thank everyone who posted comments/their own playthroughs/moral support, or read but didn't post, or didn't read but also didn't get mad at me for posting multiple times a day and dominating the recent posts list at times. <3
The usual "don't be a dick" rule for spoilers still applies, but I think we've all gotten the hang of that at this point.
...Oh, and, just for good measure, this is the topic mascot now:
http://img686.imageshack.us/img686/5549/talkingtoaplant.png
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"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
New Moderator
I approve of this mascot.
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"That was pretty interesting. But dropping a warship on me is cheating... Take it back!"-Id, Xenogears
Liberal Arts Major
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXiU6kiq_Ms
This though? This is just win.
<->
FUCK YOU NIGGER SCHOOL IS FOR LOSERS -Random kid on Xbox Live
Editor
As for TWEWY... [Spoiler for TWEWY, click to show]I have every Secret Report for Shiki, almost all of them for Joshua (just need to defeat one more boss symbol and that's it), and a few stars here and there for Beat (mostly "kill all the pigs"). After I wrap up Joshua's week, and I might go straight into Another Day instead of going for Beat's Secret Reports, since I hear money is trivially easy to obtain there and I could really use some of it right now.
</spoiler>
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"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Editor
[Spoiler for TWEWY, Another Day, click to show]The World Ends With
I think I finished this, or at least the main storyline of it. For being so much lighter in tone than the rest of the game and being based around Tin Pin, it was surprisingly not-godawful.
Sho Minamimoto as a good guy = zetta amazing
Also, I just saw this scene, when Neku tries to enter the Shibuya River and Shiki and Beat refuse to come because, well, it's a sewer:
Neku: I guess that's understandable. All right, I'll go check it out.
Joshua: Whoa there, Black 'n' Blue. I'm going with.
Neku: You? You seem the LAST person who'd want to go in there.
Joshua: I could never live with myself if I let you go alone. Let's spend some quality time.
Beat: Whoa ho ho! You guys are... Like, you ain't...
Shiki: Blue and Pink!? Sure, they go.. but I didn't know they went LIKE THAT!
Neku: Now look what you've done!
Joshua: Hee hee... Shut up and walk, dear.
Shiki: ... I'm going, too. If something happens, I want to see... I mean stop it!
best ever
</spoiler>
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"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Editor
1. Overall, the whole story was fairly original, quite enjoyable, and incredibly well-executed. I'm putting this out front because my next few comments are going to make it seem like I didn't like it, which isn't true.
2. I really liked the story more in weeks 1 and 2 than 3. This had very little to do with Beat (who I actually found more interesting as a partner than Shiki), and more to do with the scope. That is, week 1 was... Neku trying to save himself and Shiki trying to save herself. Week 2 was Neku trying to save himself and Shiki. Week 3? Suddenly there's a big save-the-world plot (or at least Shibuya, but that's the entire game world so it counts as save-the-world). Frankly, the whole thing sorta came out of left-field - and yes, it was foreshadowed; these are not mutually exclusive, despite all appearances. In week 1, the Reapers' Game is being run normally. Week 2, Sho is breaking rules and Joshua is breaking rules, but it's mostly still running normally. Week 3, it's suddenly not about the Reapers' Game anymore - now it's a race against the clock to save Beat, save Rhyme, save Shiki, and save Shibuya in general before the whole thing is taken over by a cult. Reapers start getting teamkilled, the other players are gone, and really everything just goes to hell. Again, I'm not going to claim this direction was bad, but for me personally, I found the Reapers' Game a whole lot more interesting than any sort of the save-the-world plot, no matter how well done. I sorta wanted to do some more missions, match wits against another Game Master...
3. Related to the above, the last week crams a lot of content into not a lot of time; mostly, I'm talking about villains. Let's review. Who are the villains in week 1? Well, there's only one of them: Higashizawa. Okay, there's some support from Kariya and Uzuki, but still. How about week 2? Sho. Again, Kariya, Uzuki, and Beat play supporting roles. Week 3? You've got Kariya and Uzuki in main roles, Konishi as GM, Kitanji as the big bad, a revived Sho vying for Kitanji's spot, and the silhouette of the Composer looming ominously in the distance. And I guess 777 is playing a support role, sorta. It's just less focused, and it shows. Why did Sho come back? Did he serve any real purpose? Did Konishi do anything that couldn't have been done by Kitanji and Kariya/Uzuki or, for that matter, have any development at all? I certainly couldn't spot any. Heck, for a better part of week 3 I assumed there was no Composer or that the Composer was good/neutral, just because I didn't think they could fit another villain in without the endgame imploding.
</spoiler>
Editor
...That's all I've got for now, if I think of anything else I'll post it. Or if a Secret Report contradicts something I just said, I'll post about that, too.
Oh, and character ranking: Joshua (week 2) > Sho Minamimoto > Joshua (entire game) > Neku > Kariya & Uzuki > Beat = Shiki > Hanekoma > 777 > Sho's hat > Kitanji > Shooter > Higashizawa > Konishi
...And just to drive a point, character design ranking: Rhyme >>> Shiki > Sho Minamimoto >>> Joshua > Hanekoma > Kariya > 777 > Kitanji > Uzuki > Fanservice > Neku > Beat > Ram-crotch
</spoiler>
I can't believe I hit the ****ing character limit on that. I swear to god, this goddamn character limit... Someday I will have my revenge.
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"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Liberal Arts Major
Over-all a good game. But. I dunno...
Unlike other games, like Dragon Age Origins, and Mass Effect... I don't feel satisfied that I completed it. I dunno, that's the only way to explain it.
<->
FUCK YOU NIGGER SCHOOL IS FOR LOSERS -Random kid on Xbox Live
Editor
One of the Secret Reports involved fighting an annoying elephant boss. Elephant Noise are always a problem - excluding this boss, I think I've fought like one the entire game, that was three too many - but this boss is particularly annoying. But don't believe me. Let's see what the TWEWY Boss FAQ on GameFAQs has to say.
Woolly AOR - Difficulty 8/10; Annoyance Factor 10/10
...
Strategy:
Don't fight it. Seriously. Just don't.
I lol'd.
</spoiler>
On a note less related to TWEWY and more related to me wasting even more money, Persona 3 FES GET!
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"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Liberal Arts Major
yesssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
Editor
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"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Liberal Arts Major
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
New Moderator
</spoiler>
Aw yeah Persona 3 FES.
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"That was pretty interesting. But dropping a warship on me is cheating... Take it back!"-Id, Xenogears
Editor
YES
I meant to complain about this but I forgot!
I mean, I GUESS it makes some amount of sense if you say that the force from them stomping is just that great (think anime characters who destroy buildings with just the force from their punches/slashes/whatever), but even then I wouldn't take it to knock down Joshua. Shiki, sure. Beat, probably. Joshua? No.
--
Anyway, I have every Secret Report except for the one on Another Day. With the way I've seen some people complain and complain about these things, I really thought it would be harder. o_O
The last Secret Report quests I need to complete involve climbing Pork City, defeating pigs along the way and destroying the bonus boss at the end. I've been playing on Ultimate for a while now, but I might knock the difficulty down to Normal for this because Pork City retains its stupid "only certain brands work lololol" gimmick during Another Day and it makes battles tedious as hell.
As an aside, I've now figured out how you're supposed to fight Konishi, and she's become probably my favorite boss fight in the game, and maybe even one of my favorite boss fights ever.
</spoiler>
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"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Editor
So... Sho Minamimoto was being manip'd by Hanekoma as a backup. And Joshua fled into Another Day's world after being blasted by Sho. Does that mean that the Joshua in Another Day was the same Joshua, or what? And wait, I thought Another Day wasn't canon so... wait. The Hanekoma in Another Day said something about his Secret Reports. But then it was the Hanekoma from the main game that went to Another Day to retrieve Joshua, but didn't want to hang around because the Hanekoma of Another Day would report him for working against the Composer, but then Neku followed him up Pork City and...
Wait
How did Another Day's Neku even fight him?! He shouldn't have been able to use psyches! This whole thing doesn't make any goddamn sense!
And the bonus boss sucked, too!
</spoiler>
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"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Liberal Arts Major
So... Sho Minamimoto was being manip'd by Hanekoma as a backup.
Yes.
But now I have to rage here for a minute even though you didn't prompt it. People saying that Hanekoma outplanned Joshua and was some master tactician because of this cause me to rage. "lolz Hanekoma was running circles around everyone else his main plan was to get Neku to get Joshua to not destroy Shibuya but even if that messed up he had Sho as a backup. Best manipulator ever."
...Except that it was a terrible plan, and Joshua demonstrates exactly why. The only reason Hanekoma even bothered with Sho in the late game was so he could eliminate Joshua if Neku failed and Joshua went on to win his game and destroy Shibuya. ...Only Sho faced off against Joshua in Week 3 Day 7 in the Shibuya River and Joshua apparently won with such ease he made sure Sho died an ironic death. So really Hanekoma's plan was terrible because his entire backup plan hinged on Taboo Sho being able to defeat Joshua. Which is hilariously stupid.
But anyway...
And Joshua fled into Another Day's world after being blasted by Sho.
Actually, IIRC, Sho didn't even hit Joshua in Week 2, Joshua just "dodged" by jumping into Another Day. But either way, yes, the main point is that at the end of Week 2, Joshua went to Another Day Shibuya.
Does that mean that the Joshua in Another Day was the same Joshua, or what?
No. Or rather, you apparently didn't play Another Day enough. Either you can have me explain it, or head to Another Day Shibuya River and keep going until you reach the Week 3 Final Boss Room. You can probably answer this question after you've been there.
And wait, I thought Another Day wasn't canon so... wait.
There are two events in Another Day that are canon. Or well, I'm not sure they're "officially" canon, but in my opinion they definitely are for reasons if you don't get upon seeing them, I can explain my reasoning.
1. The Another Day Shibuya River Final Boss Room Scene.
2. The Boss Fight against Hanekoma.
The Hanekoma in Another Day said something about his Secret Reports. But then it was the Hanekoma from the main game that went to Another Day to retrieve Joshua, but didn't want to hang around because the Hanekoma of Another Day would report him for working against the Composer, but then Neku followed him up Pork City and...
Hmm... You know, I always assumed you were dealing with Main Game Hanekoma, but admittedly I can't remember the exact conversations.
The author of the Secret Reports and the Boss Fight should both be Main Game Hanekoma, at least.
Wait
How did Another Day's Neku even fight him?! He shouldn't have been able to use psyches!
I forget, does Hanekoma say something about that? Maybe, maybe not. Either way. >_>
</spoiler>
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
Liberal Arts Major
Oh yeah, if you want an extra scene after the [Main Game] Ending... now that you have all the secret Reports, beat the Final Boss in Week 3 again and it should be after the credits.
</spoiler>
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
Editor
In fairness, Taboo Sho was clearly either the second or third strongest character in the game (1. Joshua, 2. Neku or Sho, 3. Neku or Sho - depending on how much, if any, Neku improves between his fight against Taboo Sho and endgame) so uh, it was a bad plan, but at the same time there weren't many better options.
Speaking of Taboo Sho. According to the Boss FAQ, you're supposed to lose that fight. <_< I never would have guessed considering how I crushed him with the greatest of ease.
No. Or rather, you apparently didn't play Another Day enough. Either you can have me explain it, or head to Another Day Shibuya River and keep going until you reach the Week 3 Final Boss Room. You can probably answer this question after you've been there.
That's the boss rush, yes? I haven't bothered with that yet. >_>
Hmm... You know, I always assumed you were dealing with Main Game Hanekoma, but admittedly I can't remember the exact conversations.
The author of the Secret Reports and the Boss Fight should both be Main Game Hanekoma, at least.
I was under the impression Pork City had to happen before Neku entered the Tin Pin tournament and started that whole plot arc.
If it can happen afterward or during, then there's no problem, and both times are the same (Main Game) Hanekoma.
...Or actually, I might be forgetting when exactly the Secret Report conversation happens, you might be able to trigger it before entering the tournament... I thought you needed a full party, but maybe I'm remembering wrong.
I forget, does Hanekoma say something about that? Maybe, maybe not. Either way. >_>
I don't remember him saying anything about it. =/
Oh yeah, if you want an extra scene after the [Main Game] Ending... now that you have all the secret Reports, beat the Final Boss in Week 3 again and it should be after the credits.
Yeah, I know, I just haven't bothered with this yet either. <_<
</spoiler>
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"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Liberal Arts Major
In fairness, Taboo Sho was clearly either the second or third strongest character in the game (1. Joshua, 2. Neku or Sho, 3. Neku or Sho - depending on how much, if any, Neku improves between his fight against Taboo Sho and endgame) so uh, it was a bad plan, but at the same time there weren't many better options.
Right, but Hanekoma should have been able to know how strong both of them were and know that that idea was terrible.
Hanekoma himself is probably the only character in the game who could have defeated Joshua, but apparently while he was willing to break a number of rules to set his plan up, actually stopping Joshua himself if it came to it was just too far for some reason.
Speaking of Taboo Sho. According to the Boss FAQ, you're supposed to lose that fight. <_< I never would have guessed considering how I crushed him with the greatest of ease.
I never would have guessed you were supposed to lose any fight in the game. I think Taboo Sho put up a slightly better fight then the Beat ones though.
That's the boss rush, yes? I haven't bothered with that yet. >_>
It is, but I believe the scene occurs before you can choose to do that. Just entering it should start the scene I'm talking about. After that scene is over you can choose to do the Boss Rush.
I was under the impression Pork City had to happen before Neku entered the Tin Pin tournament and started that whole plot arc.
If it can happen afterward or during, then there's no problem, and both times are the same (Main Game) Hanekoma.
Pretty sure you can. I think you get locked out of Pork City during the Tournament bit and the ensuing shenanigans that follow, but you can enter both before it or after it's totally completely done.
I don't remember him saying anything about it. =/
Eh, well that might be a plot hole then.
</spoiler>
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
Editor
Am I to infer that Neku's entry fee in the final game was his friendship with Joshua (hence "I've already collected it" after Joshua reveals his plan/that he killed Neku/etc), and thus when Neku lost the game he lost that... So Joshua was annoyed that he wouldn't be able to hang out with Neku anymore, but then decided to do it anyway (hence Hanekoma's "It's their world. . . . [Joshua leaves] Some folks just won't take no for an answer")?
Because I can't think of any other way to interpret it, really. <_<
</spoiler>
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"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
New Moderator
I got the impression Hanekoma knew Sho wasn't going to work, but he felt obligated to do SOMETHING. It was either 'I'll sit back and watch Joshua blow up Shibuya' or 'I'll bring back the strongest guy I can that would fight him and hope that .00000001% chance works out'. So I don't think it was stupidity so much as desperation.
Either way, the fact that the guy who sells you coffee is the most powerful boss=hilarious.
As for the ending, the friendship part is probably right. I had the impression that Joshua was more miffed by the fact that Neku NOT shooting him caused him to, in a sense, 'lose'. Shibuya stayed as it was thanks to Neku's actions. He isn't able to do what he originally had in mind, and Hanekoma is remarking on that.
But your explanation, as far as I can tell, makes quite a bit of sense. So now I'm not sure. I'll have to see what xp has to say. =P
Oh, did you catch on to what Rhyme's entry fee was? Some people actually miss the implication.
</spoiler>
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"That was pretty interesting. But dropping a warship on me is cheating... Take it back!"-Id, Xenogears
Editor
This is how I'd interpret it if I wanted to accept that Joshua is an enormous jerk. >_> Though Joshua deciding to not destroy Shibuya is foreshadowed a bit by his phrasing before the duel (in fairness, this could just be a translation error that looks like foreshadowing, like how on W2D1 Joshua calls Neku by his name and then asks him his name a second later, which apparently only happens in the US version).
Oh, did you catch on to what Rhyme's entry fee was? Some people actually miss the implication.
I didn't, but then I sorta stopped trying to figure out anything regarding entry fees after it became evident that Reapers could exact a great deal of control over what to take, sometimes ignoring what's actually more important if it allows them to screw with the Player even more. <_< I think I saw someone mention that it was her hopes and dreams, though, which would make a decent amount of sense.
I'm actually more interested about what Kitanji's entry fee was.
</spoiler>
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"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Advanced
</spoiler>
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"A man chooses. A slave obeys." -Andrew Ryan, Bioshock
Liberal Arts Major
What has always thrown me about what Neku's entry fee in the game against Joshua in the end is that assuming it is related to Joshua, which seems absurdly likely, Neku's ending monologue, IIRC, seems directed to Joshua, and it's not hostile or anything, so it's not like he lost his memory of Joshua, and probably not his friendship either.
...Maybe his memory that Joshua came back, so Neku still thinks he died at the end of Week 2? I don't know, that just came to me now and I haven't seen the ending/played TWEWY in months, so it could be way off. Or maybe the ability to see him again?
Completely agree that Joshua had already decided to spare Shibuya by the time of the final game. Which probably makes him more of a jerk for having the game at all. While "Joshua is a jerk" is an easy cop-out, it might have been that Joshua was just putting the spirit of the game with Kitaniji to the test (the actual game with him, of course, Joshua had won, so this would have been for Joshua's own curiosity), and see if Neku changed.
In any event, the fate of Shibuya seemed secure before anyway. Since Joshua could only win the game and have the choice if Neku did nothing and let Joshua fire, it would be proof that Neku changed and thus spare Shibuya. But if Neku did fire, even if Joshua was still just curious, Neku would win and would presumably save Shibuya. ...Of course, perhaps Joshua could have used his power to block the shots and won anyway, and take Neku's decision to fire to condemn Shibuya. So maybe not. Eh, whatever.
As for Hanekoma and Sho, I should point out I said I rage when other people point to the Sho thing as a sign of Hanekoma's superior manipulating or planning. Which it's clearly not regardless of what Hanekoma's actual thoughts on its success were.
</spoiler>
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
New Moderator
I never even thought about Kitaniji's entry fee, but that's a good explanation, Epyon.
And I was in the mindset that Joshua would spare it too unless Neku went through with shooting him. It's Joshua, I can't see him being unable to stop a bullet. Heck, Sho tried shooting him, look where that went.
I also agree with xp's last point. Hanekoma definitely wasn't out manipulating Joshua, nor do I think that was even his purpose.
</spoiler>
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"That was pretty interesting. But dropping a warship on me is cheating... Take it back!"-Id, Xenogears
Editor
Pretty much just been trying to fill out all the drops in the Noise report, which conveniently also lets me master some pins. It also lets me eat a lot of food, which thanks to the Hollow Leg item, has let me become ridiculously powerful. NO LONGER DO I FEAR TABOO NOISE, EVEN AT LEVEL 1. <_<
I hit the level cap a while ago, but that's to be expected.
I think I own everything that requires Scarletite, which is nice because it means no more grinding for Dark Matter. Or at least, minimal grinding for Dark Matter.
As an aside, fighting against Higashizawa has informed me that it's "Kitaniji", not Kitanji. Of all the names in the game, that's the one I get wrong. Amazing. I don't know how I never noticed that before.
Maybe I should just call him Shades like everyone else.
</spoiler>
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"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Editor
Most remaining drops are mostly for:
1. Bosses that never appear as symbols, and thus are annoying to fight multiple times (the week 1 shark, corehog, bear, and rhino, for example).
2. Bosses that I'm scared of, even though in the majority of cases I have no reason to be since I should be able to destroy them even at level 1 on Ultimate (Taboo Sho, Konishi, etc). Notable exception is the bonus boss, who I am scared of for an entirely justifiable reason, that reason being that it is ****ing terrifying.
3. Annoying enemies that don't show up very often and/or have stupidly low drop rates (Doom Metal Drake! *shakes fist*)
4. Woollies. Enough said.
...It's. It's hard to get stuff like this accomplished in a timely manner when my DS' battery life is so shot.
</spoiler>
Might try to finish Okami and/or Braid this weekend. I would really, really like to get my backlog under 100 games, and to be on track to do that I need to beat 4 games this month. This is not going to happen, but I could at least make an effort instead of wasting time on nonsense, you know?
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"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Editor
I've been working on mastering pins, and pretty much went from 40% mastered to 60% mastered in the last two days. It's pretty easy to master most pins, the problematic ones are the ones that require Mingle PP. I haven't even tried Mingle Mode yet. So that'll be tedious.
</spoiler>
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"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Editor
While mastering pins, I got Joshua up to 999 Brave, which meant that I could equip the Angel Feather as soon as acquiring it. Which means that Joshua is currently wearing: Pi-Face's Hat, Pi-Face's Coat, Mr. Mew Suit, and Angel Feather. That is quite possibly the worst outfit ever devised, but the stat boosts are pretty good!
</spoiler>
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"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Editor
>beat dies in one hit against kariya/uzuki
>retries
>it happens again
![[user image]](http://img.imgcake.com/awesomeface.png)
WELL THEN
I GUESS IT'S BACK TO GRINDING FOR ME
</spoiler>
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"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic