Welcome again to JJNN for Wednesday January 21st, 2009. Today we will be talking about the Metal Gear Solid Series.
Metal Gear Solid is a video game series that dates back to 1998. The game was a huge hit that sold over 6 million copies. The director of the series, Kojima Hideo, went on to make many sequels and prequels to the original game. The basic story is about a solder with the code name Solid Snake. He goes onto missions and has the plot of the games unfold around him. In the original game he is young, but in the newest installment he is getting up there in age. Just to give you a feel of the game here is a look at the newest game:
This game is not really news because it came out a little while ago. The news is where the series director got his inspiration for the series in the first place. It turns out that Kojima Hideo is a huge movie fan. He loves to watch lots of movies and absorb their ideas. According to this article Kojima Hideo got together with Tsutaya (sort of like the Blockbusters/Net Flix of Japan) to share with everyone the movies that gave him inspiration for this game series. There are 15 movies. If you know the movies and the game series see if you can connect the dots between the two.
Here are the movies in no particular order:
The Guns of Navarone
The Great Escape
Goldfinger
2001: A Space Odyssey
Planet of the Apes
The Deer Hunter
Dawn of the Dead
Full Metal Jacket
Predator
Die Hard
Heat
Black Hawk Down
Children of Men
The Bourne Identity
Casino Royal
There are some really good classic movies in there mixed up with some more modern fair. All in all a good list of movies to watch whether you are interested in the video game series or not.
Any way, it is now time for the word of the day. Today's word is 映画(えいが). It is pronounced eiga and means movie. The movies in Japan are so expensive to go to. I can bring my whole family to watch a movie in America for the same price as one ticket in Japan. Bah!
That's it for today. See you next time at JJNN.
Showing posts with label games. Show all posts
Showing posts with label games. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
JJNN Wednesday: Games - 12
Welcome again to JJNN for Wednesday October 29th, 2008. Today we will be talking about another classic game that I love.
So, a few weeks back I got talked into buying a play station 3. Well, to be honest, it was going to happen any way, but it happened faster than I originally though it would. The PS3 has an online store where you can by classic games. While looking though the classic games I came across one called Xenogears. I love that game. I have started it many times over but have yet to finish it. I decided that I am finally going to finish the game, so I am playing it at the moment.
Xenogears is the story of a guy named Fei. He lives in a small village in the mountains. He was not born in that village, but was brought there when he was very little. Fei has no thoughts about going out into the big world, but something happens to his village that changes that. His life is turned upside down in just one night. I don't want to get into the story too much because I want people to play this game. It is so worth it. Below you can see a video of the opening sequence of the game.
The graphics are great for a game that is over 10 years old, don't you think? The events in the opening sequence happen a long time before the events in the game itself, but everything is intertwined. This game really has a deep story where you can control 10 characters. The story goes into all the characters pasts and shows what drives them to do what they do.
As with almost all role playing games there is fighting. The fighting system is interesting in xenogears. You can either fight with your hands or weapons (depending on the character) or in a giant robot. Nothing feels better than smacking around a giant robot with another giant robot. You can see some of the fighting below.
It is definitely worth a play if anyone has access to it in any of its forms.
Any way, it is now time for the word of the day. Today's word is 戦う(たたかう). It is pronounced tatakau and means fight. I really do love the unique fighting system in this game.
That's it for today. See you next time at JJNN.
So, a few weeks back I got talked into buying a play station 3. Well, to be honest, it was going to happen any way, but it happened faster than I originally though it would. The PS3 has an online store where you can by classic games. While looking though the classic games I came across one called Xenogears. I love that game. I have started it many times over but have yet to finish it. I decided that I am finally going to finish the game, so I am playing it at the moment.
Xenogears is the story of a guy named Fei. He lives in a small village in the mountains. He was not born in that village, but was brought there when he was very little. Fei has no thoughts about going out into the big world, but something happens to his village that changes that. His life is turned upside down in just one night. I don't want to get into the story too much because I want people to play this game. It is so worth it. Below you can see a video of the opening sequence of the game.
The graphics are great for a game that is over 10 years old, don't you think? The events in the opening sequence happen a long time before the events in the game itself, but everything is intertwined. This game really has a deep story where you can control 10 characters. The story goes into all the characters pasts and shows what drives them to do what they do.
As with almost all role playing games there is fighting. The fighting system is interesting in xenogears. You can either fight with your hands or weapons (depending on the character) or in a giant robot. Nothing feels better than smacking around a giant robot with another giant robot. You can see some of the fighting below.
It is definitely worth a play if anyone has access to it in any of its forms.
Any way, it is now time for the word of the day. Today's word is 戦う(たたかう). It is pronounced tatakau and means fight. I really do love the unique fighting system in this game.
That's it for today. See you next time at JJNN.
Friday, October 24, 2008
JJNN Friday: Technology - 13
Welcome again to JJNN for Friday October 24th, 2008. Today we will be talking about what can happen when you divorce someone online.
Love comes in many forms. There is the love between parents and children, the love between siblings, the love that only lovers know, and of course there is the love that can be felt for people you meet online. This story has to do with that last kind of love. Actually, it is more about what happens when online love goes wrong.
In Japan there are a lot of online role playing games. One of the most popular ones is called Maple Story. The thing that makes it popular is the fact that you can play it for free. People from all ages and walks of life flock to play Maple Story. In the game you and your friends go out and try to defeat monsters. You can talk to people in the game and work together. The only problem is that some people get into the game too much and actually fall in love with the people on the other side of the character they are speaking with. Oh, by the way, you can see a picture of Maple Story below.
The news story that I want to talk about this time is what happens when love on the internet goes bad. Like any good love story I guess I should start from the beginning. This love story starts with two people, a 43 year old lady named Mayumi from southern Japan and a 33 year old guy from northern Japan. They were both very into Maple Story. They met somehow and ended up falling in love. They eventually decided to get married. I am not talking about a real world wedding here. I am talking about getting married within the game. Not quite normal or legally binding.
The only problem was that things do no end "happily ever after." Something happened to cause the online husband to want a divorce. The thing is, they were not actually married so he just said something like "We are now divorced." That made Mayumi angry. What do you think she did at this point? Well, she ended up doing the equivalent of online murder. She knew her "ex-husband's" password so she used it to go in and erase his character. Very simple and a lot less bloody than actual murder.
The only problem with this online murder (besides the fact that is a psycho thing to do in the first place) is the it is also against the law. No, we are not talking about murder 1 here. We are talking about a law about unauthorized access to computer accounts. Under this law, if Mayumi gets convicted, she can get up to a year in jail or a fine of up to 500000 yen (about 5000 USD). Again, not as bad as the sentence for an actual murder.
Any way, it is now time for the word of the day. Today's word is 離婚(りこん). It is pronounced rikon and means divorce. Why would anyone bother with an online divorce. You could just go off line.
That's it for today. See you next time at JJNN.
Love comes in many forms. There is the love between parents and children, the love between siblings, the love that only lovers know, and of course there is the love that can be felt for people you meet online. This story has to do with that last kind of love. Actually, it is more about what happens when online love goes wrong.
In Japan there are a lot of online role playing games. One of the most popular ones is called Maple Story. The thing that makes it popular is the fact that you can play it for free. People from all ages and walks of life flock to play Maple Story. In the game you and your friends go out and try to defeat monsters. You can talk to people in the game and work together. The only problem is that some people get into the game too much and actually fall in love with the people on the other side of the character they are speaking with. Oh, by the way, you can see a picture of Maple Story below.
The news story that I want to talk about this time is what happens when love on the internet goes bad. Like any good love story I guess I should start from the beginning. This love story starts with two people, a 43 year old lady named Mayumi from southern Japan and a 33 year old guy from northern Japan. They were both very into Maple Story. They met somehow and ended up falling in love. They eventually decided to get married. I am not talking about a real world wedding here. I am talking about getting married within the game. Not quite normal or legally binding.
The only problem was that things do no end "happily ever after." Something happened to cause the online husband to want a divorce. The thing is, they were not actually married so he just said something like "We are now divorced." That made Mayumi angry. What do you think she did at this point? Well, she ended up doing the equivalent of online murder. She knew her "ex-husband's" password so she used it to go in and erase his character. Very simple and a lot less bloody than actual murder.
The only problem with this online murder (besides the fact that is a psycho thing to do in the first place) is the it is also against the law. No, we are not talking about murder 1 here. We are talking about a law about unauthorized access to computer accounts. Under this law, if Mayumi gets convicted, she can get up to a year in jail or a fine of up to 500000 yen (about 5000 USD). Again, not as bad as the sentence for an actual murder.
Any way, it is now time for the word of the day. Today's word is 離婚(りこん). It is pronounced rikon and means divorce. Why would anyone bother with an online divorce. You could just go off line.
That's it for today. See you next time at JJNN.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
JJNN Wednesday: Games - 11
Welcome again to JJNN for Wednesday October 22nd, 2008. Today we will be talking about a game that is suppose to help people stay healthy.
There are many different reasons to play games now days. I still remember a long time ago when games were just for entertainment, but games can be played to do anything from study for a test to learn how to cook now. I guess video games have come a long way since pong.
There are even games out now to help people say healthy. You can see one of them here. The game is for the DS and it has a name that can be roughly translated as something like "You can learn so much about your lifestyle rhythms just by walking." That is a mouth full so I hope that Nintendo gives it a better name if they decide to sell it in America.
As you might be able to tell from the name of the game, this game is all about how much you walk every day. When you get the game you get a little device that you carry around with you. This device collects all the information that the game needs to know about how much you walk every day. The device is so small that you just have to throw it into a bag or into your pocket and forget about it. You can see what one of these devices looks like below.
At the end of the day all you have to do is send the information from the little device to your nintendo DS. The DS will than take that data and play with it. It will plot how much you walk and use the information you put in about the length of your stride to calculate how far you walked as well. It also calculates funny things like how many steps it would take you to walk to Mars. You can see a picture of this screen below.
It looks like a good game and something that might help keep people healthy for a little while. I think that I might look into the game when it comes out.
Any way, it is now time for the word of the day. Today's word is 散歩(さんぽ). It is pronounced sanpo and means walk. I try to walk every day, but lately I think I like sleeping more than walking.
That's it for today. See you next time at JJNN.
There are many different reasons to play games now days. I still remember a long time ago when games were just for entertainment, but games can be played to do anything from study for a test to learn how to cook now. I guess video games have come a long way since pong.
There are even games out now to help people say healthy. You can see one of them here. The game is for the DS and it has a name that can be roughly translated as something like "You can learn so much about your lifestyle rhythms just by walking." That is a mouth full so I hope that Nintendo gives it a better name if they decide to sell it in America.
As you might be able to tell from the name of the game, this game is all about how much you walk every day. When you get the game you get a little device that you carry around with you. This device collects all the information that the game needs to know about how much you walk every day. The device is so small that you just have to throw it into a bag or into your pocket and forget about it. You can see what one of these devices looks like below.
At the end of the day all you have to do is send the information from the little device to your nintendo DS. The DS will than take that data and play with it. It will plot how much you walk and use the information you put in about the length of your stride to calculate how far you walked as well. It also calculates funny things like how many steps it would take you to walk to Mars. You can see a picture of this screen below.
It looks like a good game and something that might help keep people healthy for a little while. I think that I might look into the game when it comes out.
Any way, it is now time for the word of the day. Today's word is 散歩(さんぽ). It is pronounced sanpo and means walk. I try to walk every day, but lately I think I like sleeping more than walking.
That's it for today. See you next time at JJNN.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
JJNN Wednesday: Games - 10
Welcome again to JJNN for Wednesday October 15th, 2008. Today we will be talking about a new Japanese game that I have my doubts about.
As I said on Tuesday I saw a whole lot of games when I went to The Tokyo Game Show. There were a lot of good games. There were a lot of games that I want to buy when they come out. On the other hand, there were some games that I really had my doubts about.
The game that I have the most doubts about is an online game called Meet Me. You can see this game at www.meet-me.jp. For one thing I have had my fill of online games. Especially massively multi-player role playing games like World Of Warcraft. I guess that is more of a personal opinion than anything else, but I just can't see anything worthwhile in those games any more.
Meet Me is more than an online game though. It is a virtual representation of Tokyo that people can go to and buy land and live a nice virtual life. That's right, people don't have to deal with the troubles of the real world because they can live their lives out (well actually the lives of their characters, but most people base their characters on themselves) in a virtual world. This game has everything from vehicles, dance halls, cafes, places to fish, and a night life. You can see a few pictures from Meet Me below.
So, how does this game work. First you have to sign up. The company than gives you 3 months of free land in this virtual land. After that you make yourself and plop yourself down into your virtual land. From there you learn how to move around using cars and buses as well as just walking. When you get to where you want to go you can talk to anyone that is there. The people there can see your virtual self and interact with it.
So what happens when your free 3 months are over? Well than you have to start putting money into the whole thing. You are kicked out of what ever house you had and you have to buy your own house. I don't know how much it costs because the website did not say. In other words, when you are just getting used to your new virtual world you have to pay to stay there. Yet another reason to doubt the system.
There is one more reason to doubt the system. The fliers that they handed out at The Tokyo Game Show were are little suspicious. The front of the fliers were fine. They show pictures of the game and tell a little bit about it. The problem is with the back side of the fliers. The back side has pictures of 6 cute Japanese ladies with Meet Me shirts on and it says that you can have virtual dates with them if you get the game on time. Virtual dates... Oh my! That would be the line between stupid and sad. Though, I have got to say that this company does know how to make good fliers for the game show. I saw more lonely guys in that one place than I have seen in over a year.
Any way, it is now time for the word of the day. Today's word is デート(でえと). It is pronounced deeto and means date. I don't think I really want to include myself in with the rest of the lonely guys at TGS.
That's it for today. See you next time at JJNN.
As I said on Tuesday I saw a whole lot of games when I went to The Tokyo Game Show. There were a lot of good games. There were a lot of games that I want to buy when they come out. On the other hand, there were some games that I really had my doubts about.
The game that I have the most doubts about is an online game called Meet Me. You can see this game at www.meet-me.jp. For one thing I have had my fill of online games. Especially massively multi-player role playing games like World Of Warcraft. I guess that is more of a personal opinion than anything else, but I just can't see anything worthwhile in those games any more.
Meet Me is more than an online game though. It is a virtual representation of Tokyo that people can go to and buy land and live a nice virtual life. That's right, people don't have to deal with the troubles of the real world because they can live their lives out (well actually the lives of their characters, but most people base their characters on themselves) in a virtual world. This game has everything from vehicles, dance halls, cafes, places to fish, and a night life. You can see a few pictures from Meet Me below.
So, how does this game work. First you have to sign up. The company than gives you 3 months of free land in this virtual land. After that you make yourself and plop yourself down into your virtual land. From there you learn how to move around using cars and buses as well as just walking. When you get to where you want to go you can talk to anyone that is there. The people there can see your virtual self and interact with it.
So what happens when your free 3 months are over? Well than you have to start putting money into the whole thing. You are kicked out of what ever house you had and you have to buy your own house. I don't know how much it costs because the website did not say. In other words, when you are just getting used to your new virtual world you have to pay to stay there. Yet another reason to doubt the system.
There is one more reason to doubt the system. The fliers that they handed out at The Tokyo Game Show were are little suspicious. The front of the fliers were fine. They show pictures of the game and tell a little bit about it. The problem is with the back side of the fliers. The back side has pictures of 6 cute Japanese ladies with Meet Me shirts on and it says that you can have virtual dates with them if you get the game on time. Virtual dates... Oh my! That would be the line between stupid and sad. Though, I have got to say that this company does know how to make good fliers for the game show. I saw more lonely guys in that one place than I have seen in over a year.
Any way, it is now time for the word of the day. Today's word is デート(でえと). It is pronounced deeto and means date. I don't think I really want to include myself in with the rest of the lonely guys at TGS.
That's it for today. See you next time at JJNN.
Monday, October 13, 2008
JJNN Special: Tokyo Game Show
Welcome again to JJNN for Monday October 13th, 2008. Today we will be talking about my latest trip to Tokyo.
This weekend was an extremely long weekend. I spent Saturday and Sunday in Tokyo. It was a fun time, but I don't think I have run around so much in a single weekend in a long time.
Let's start from the beginning. On Thursday of last week I got a message on my phone. It said simple that I can not make or receive phone calls. In other words my phone was no longer really a phone because it doesn't work any more. I figured out that I had to go to the apple store to get the thing fixed. The closest one just happened to be in Tokyo. I guess it was a good thing that my phone broke when it did.
Saturday morning I woke up early and got on a bullet train down to Tokyo with my friends. The bullet train was so packed because it was the first real day of a long weekend. Everyone managed to get seats, but everyone was sitting away from everyone else. When we got to Tokyo station I met up with some of my other friends and told everyone I had to get my phone fixed. A couple of my friends showed me the way to the apple store and I made an appointment to get my phone fixed. The appoint was at 5pm and it was after 1 when we got to the store so we decided that there was no point going to the game show if we would only get to be there a couple of hours.
Instead of going to the game show we decided to go around and find a place to eat. While we were waiting for another one of my friends to meet up with us we found a nice park and explored it. You can see a couple of pictures from the park down below.
I spent the rest of the day waiting to get my phone fixed and wandering around with my friends. We ended up going to Akihabara (the geek capital of Japan) and seeing some of the arcades. There was also an adventure in a costume shop and other shops that I won't be getting into.
That night I ended up staying in Yokohama. The place that I stayed in was a huge spa. It has 7 floors of different baths. The roof also has a great view of the huge ferris wheel that stands in front of the building. The place where I slept was a huge room filled with lots and lots of chairs. The chairs fully recline and are comfy enough to sleep in. It is cheap and a good place to sleep. The only problem is that people snore. When you are sleeping in the same room with lots and lots of people you are bound to hear lots and lots of snoring.
The next day I met up with my other friend and we headed off the to Tokyo Game show. There was just so many people there. It was crazy. It took forever to get to any one place because of the wall of people. It was good to see just how many people are into games though. There were people from all over the world and all walks of life there. Of course most of the people were japanese, but I know there were also people form America, Canada, Germany, Korea and China.
There were so many games that grabbed my attention when I was walking though the game show. Everything from the Taiko no Tatsujin (the Japanese drum game) for the wii to Metal Gear Online to Tenchi 4. I also saw that there will be a new Professor Laiton (I don't know how they spell that in the American version) game and Genso Suikoden game. It was enough to make anyone that loved video games to just drool. You can see a couple of the pictures below.
That's just about it. I don't watn to go into depth about anything because there are just too many question marks about most of these games. I couldn't tell you when most of them come out or about the plot or anything, but I can tell you that most games do look good.
Any way, it is now time for the word of the day. Today's word is ゲーム(げえむ). It is pronounced geemu and means video game. I haven't really played any games in a long time, but I guess I am going to start playing again sometime soon.
That's it for today. See you next time at JJNN.
This weekend was an extremely long weekend. I spent Saturday and Sunday in Tokyo. It was a fun time, but I don't think I have run around so much in a single weekend in a long time.
Let's start from the beginning. On Thursday of last week I got a message on my phone. It said simple that I can not make or receive phone calls. In other words my phone was no longer really a phone because it doesn't work any more. I figured out that I had to go to the apple store to get the thing fixed. The closest one just happened to be in Tokyo. I guess it was a good thing that my phone broke when it did.
Saturday morning I woke up early and got on a bullet train down to Tokyo with my friends. The bullet train was so packed because it was the first real day of a long weekend. Everyone managed to get seats, but everyone was sitting away from everyone else. When we got to Tokyo station I met up with some of my other friends and told everyone I had to get my phone fixed. A couple of my friends showed me the way to the apple store and I made an appointment to get my phone fixed. The appoint was at 5pm and it was after 1 when we got to the store so we decided that there was no point going to the game show if we would only get to be there a couple of hours.
Instead of going to the game show we decided to go around and find a place to eat. While we were waiting for another one of my friends to meet up with us we found a nice park and explored it. You can see a couple of pictures from the park down below.
I spent the rest of the day waiting to get my phone fixed and wandering around with my friends. We ended up going to Akihabara (the geek capital of Japan) and seeing some of the arcades. There was also an adventure in a costume shop and other shops that I won't be getting into.
That night I ended up staying in Yokohama. The place that I stayed in was a huge spa. It has 7 floors of different baths. The roof also has a great view of the huge ferris wheel that stands in front of the building. The place where I slept was a huge room filled with lots and lots of chairs. The chairs fully recline and are comfy enough to sleep in. It is cheap and a good place to sleep. The only problem is that people snore. When you are sleeping in the same room with lots and lots of people you are bound to hear lots and lots of snoring.
The next day I met up with my other friend and we headed off the to Tokyo Game show. There was just so many people there. It was crazy. It took forever to get to any one place because of the wall of people. It was good to see just how many people are into games though. There were people from all over the world and all walks of life there. Of course most of the people were japanese, but I know there were also people form America, Canada, Germany, Korea and China.
There were so many games that grabbed my attention when I was walking though the game show. Everything from the Taiko no Tatsujin (the Japanese drum game) for the wii to Metal Gear Online to Tenchi 4. I also saw that there will be a new Professor Laiton (I don't know how they spell that in the American version) game and Genso Suikoden game. It was enough to make anyone that loved video games to just drool. You can see a couple of the pictures below.
That's just about it. I don't watn to go into depth about anything because there are just too many question marks about most of these games. I couldn't tell you when most of them come out or about the plot or anything, but I can tell you that most games do look good.
Any way, it is now time for the word of the day. Today's word is ゲーム(げえむ). It is pronounced geemu and means video game. I haven't really played any games in a long time, but I guess I am going to start playing again sometime soon.
That's it for today. See you next time at JJNN.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
JJNN Wednesday: Games - 09
Welcome again to JJNN for Wednesday October 1st, 2008. Today we will be talking about another game series that i love.
There are a few games out there that I just love. I talked about my favorite game, Chronotrigger, before but there are a lot of other good games out there. Another game series that I love is called Tenchu.
The are many games for many systems in the series, but the basic point of every game in the series is the same. You play a ninja and you have to sneak around a stage without being seen and take out the enemies. It is a simple objective, but it can be hard to actually accomplish.
The news on the Tenchu front is that Tenchu 4 is coming out later this month (it is called 4 but it is like 8th one in the line). I can't wait to play this game. It is going to bring back so many old memories. It always feels good to sneak around a stage with no guards spotting you. Also, nothing makes you feel more smart than using your ninja gear at exactly the right time to get out of a tough spot and still not get spotted.
The main characters are the same as in most of the other games. There is a male ninja called Rikimaru and a female ninja (also known as a kunoichi) known as Ayame. You can see a picture of these two down below.
Now that you know what these two look like, let's see what they can do in the newest game. It seems this game has new ways to hide (like within objects or under the floor. There are also new ways to kill your enemies by surprise. The video below shows a couple of new things. Take a look.
It is amazing that a video game can look so realistic. What I worry about is the new controls. This new Tenchu game is on the wii so I wonder how they are going to incorporate the wii controller into the game play. I guess I will have to buy it to find out. (Not that I wasn't going to buy it any way).
Any way, just for a blast from the past I am including the following video. It has characters from the original Tenchu game dancing a little dance. This is just funny.
Any way, it is now time for the word of the day. Today's word is 忍者(にんじゃ). It is pronounced ninja and means ninja. I wonder if it is too late to get some ninja training in.
That's it for today. See you next time at JJNN.
There are a few games out there that I just love. I talked about my favorite game, Chronotrigger, before but there are a lot of other good games out there. Another game series that I love is called Tenchu.
The are many games for many systems in the series, but the basic point of every game in the series is the same. You play a ninja and you have to sneak around a stage without being seen and take out the enemies. It is a simple objective, but it can be hard to actually accomplish.
The news on the Tenchu front is that Tenchu 4 is coming out later this month (it is called 4 but it is like 8th one in the line). I can't wait to play this game. It is going to bring back so many old memories. It always feels good to sneak around a stage with no guards spotting you. Also, nothing makes you feel more smart than using your ninja gear at exactly the right time to get out of a tough spot and still not get spotted.
The main characters are the same as in most of the other games. There is a male ninja called Rikimaru and a female ninja (also known as a kunoichi) known as Ayame. You can see a picture of these two down below.
Now that you know what these two look like, let's see what they can do in the newest game. It seems this game has new ways to hide (like within objects or under the floor. There are also new ways to kill your enemies by surprise. The video below shows a couple of new things. Take a look.
It is amazing that a video game can look so realistic. What I worry about is the new controls. This new Tenchu game is on the wii so I wonder how they are going to incorporate the wii controller into the game play. I guess I will have to buy it to find out. (Not that I wasn't going to buy it any way).
Any way, just for a blast from the past I am including the following video. It has characters from the original Tenchu game dancing a little dance. This is just funny.
Any way, it is now time for the word of the day. Today's word is 忍者(にんじゃ). It is pronounced ninja and means ninja. I wonder if it is too late to get some ninja training in.
That's it for today. See you next time at JJNN.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
JJNN Wednesday: Games - 08
Welcome again to JJNN for Wednesday September 24th, 2008. Today we will be talking about a new game that I would love to play.
To tell the truth, there are no new games that really do anything for me anymore. They all seem to tell the same story with the same flat graphics. Sure, I would still call myself a gamer, but I guess I am more of a classic gamer now. I like the games from the old days when the story came before the graphics.
Now, I am not saying that all games with good graphics automatically have bad story lines, though that seems to be the trend. I am excited to say I think I might have found a game that has both great graphics and what looks like a great story line. The name of the game is The Last Remnant. You can see the article here.
The article doesn't actually say a whole lot, but it does go into a little detail about the battle system. It seems that every character have things called arts. There are 3 basic types of arts: Fighting Arts (really should be called Martial Arts...), Mystic Arts, and Item Arts. They are really self-explanatory. The Fighting Arts are for attacks, the Mystic Arts are for magic and the Item Arts are used for items. The picture below is an example of a Mystic Art called Assault Acid.
Sounds like most old tried and true game systems to me. The thing that gets me is the health gauge up at the top of the screen. I really want to see how they balance the Allies vs. Enemies system to make it fully playable. It seems like it might unbalance a game like this one, but they might have thrown something into the system to bring the balance back. Below you can see a game trailer, enjoy.
Looks good to me. It will be released (almost) all around the world on on the Xbox the 20th of November. It will be released later for the PS3. The price in Japan will be just a little over 8000 yen. A bit steep, but I think that it might be worth it.
Any way, it is now time for the word of the day. Today's word is 攻撃(こうげき). It is pronounced kougeki and means attack. Some of the Fighting Arts in this game look nice.
That's it for today. See you next time at JJNN.
To tell the truth, there are no new games that really do anything for me anymore. They all seem to tell the same story with the same flat graphics. Sure, I would still call myself a gamer, but I guess I am more of a classic gamer now. I like the games from the old days when the story came before the graphics.
Now, I am not saying that all games with good graphics automatically have bad story lines, though that seems to be the trend. I am excited to say I think I might have found a game that has both great graphics and what looks like a great story line. The name of the game is The Last Remnant. You can see the article here.
The article doesn't actually say a whole lot, but it does go into a little detail about the battle system. It seems that every character have things called arts. There are 3 basic types of arts: Fighting Arts (really should be called Martial Arts...), Mystic Arts, and Item Arts. They are really self-explanatory. The Fighting Arts are for attacks, the Mystic Arts are for magic and the Item Arts are used for items. The picture below is an example of a Mystic Art called Assault Acid.
Sounds like most old tried and true game systems to me. The thing that gets me is the health gauge up at the top of the screen. I really want to see how they balance the Allies vs. Enemies system to make it fully playable. It seems like it might unbalance a game like this one, but they might have thrown something into the system to bring the balance back. Below you can see a game trailer, enjoy.
Looks good to me. It will be released (almost) all around the world on on the Xbox the 20th of November. It will be released later for the PS3. The price in Japan will be just a little over 8000 yen. A bit steep, but I think that it might be worth it.
Any way, it is now time for the word of the day. Today's word is 攻撃(こうげき). It is pronounced kougeki and means attack. Some of the Fighting Arts in this game look nice.
That's it for today. See you next time at JJNN.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
JJNN Wednesday: Games - 07
Welcome again to JJNN for Wednesday September 17th, 2008. Today we will be talking about baseball.
Do any of you watch or play baseball? I grew up in a family that routed for the Yankees, except for my sister whole later came to her senses and started routing for the Yankees as well. I never really played a lot of baseball. I did enjoy trying to hit the fast ball with the little wooden stick, but I was never really good at the game.
The rules for baseball in Japan are the same as they are all around the world. Japan has two different baseball leagues: the central league and the pacific league. Both of the leagues only have 6 teams in them. Here is a list of the teams.
Central League:
Yomiuri Giants, Tokyo Yakult Swallows, Yokohama BayStars, Chunichi Dragons, Hanshin Tigers, and Hiroshima Toyo Carps.
Pacific League:
Hokkaido Nippon-ham Fighters, Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, Saitama Seibu Lions, Chiba Lotte Marines, Fukuoka Softbank Hawks
The Yomiuri Giants are like the American Yankees. They were known for winning the championship a lot in the past, but haven't really been doing anything lately. The strange things about these teams is that almost all of the team names have the names of companies in them. The teams are really not teams for an area, but are teams for companies.
There are a lot of things that are the same between baseball in America and baseball in Japan, but one of the differences is how the fans act and cheer for their team. Most American baseball fans just sit back and cheer their own team on in the way they see fit. Sure some fights might break out every so often when they beer is flowing, but it is a very nice way to cheer for your team. On the other hand you can see the Japanese way to cheer for their team below.
Yep, the chant and the dance are all made up and all the fans just perform the dance. It is a little creepy for me to see thousands of people all doing the same dance and chanting the same thing. One word comes to mind: cult. But, that is what works in this country, The fans of the team buy little megaphones and the like and have a good time cheering on their team. All the best to them
I know some of you are reading this and thinking that baseball is a sport and not a game. Well, I guess you are right about that. So, let me just add this classic baseball video game to the end to make all right with the world.
Does that make you feel better?
Any way, it is now time for the word of the day. Today's word is 野球(やきゅう). It is pronounced yakyuu and means baseball. Literally translated it means field ball. That could be any sport really.
That's it for today. See you next time at JJNN.
Do any of you watch or play baseball? I grew up in a family that routed for the Yankees, except for my sister whole later came to her senses and started routing for the Yankees as well. I never really played a lot of baseball. I did enjoy trying to hit the fast ball with the little wooden stick, but I was never really good at the game.
The rules for baseball in Japan are the same as they are all around the world. Japan has two different baseball leagues: the central league and the pacific league. Both of the leagues only have 6 teams in them. Here is a list of the teams.
Central League:
Yomiuri Giants, Tokyo Yakult Swallows, Yokohama BayStars, Chunichi Dragons, Hanshin Tigers, and Hiroshima Toyo Carps.
Pacific League:
Hokkaido Nippon-ham Fighters, Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, Saitama Seibu Lions, Chiba Lotte Marines, Fukuoka Softbank Hawks
The Yomiuri Giants are like the American Yankees. They were known for winning the championship a lot in the past, but haven't really been doing anything lately. The strange things about these teams is that almost all of the team names have the names of companies in them. The teams are really not teams for an area, but are teams for companies.
There are a lot of things that are the same between baseball in America and baseball in Japan, but one of the differences is how the fans act and cheer for their team. Most American baseball fans just sit back and cheer their own team on in the way they see fit. Sure some fights might break out every so often when they beer is flowing, but it is a very nice way to cheer for your team. On the other hand you can see the Japanese way to cheer for their team below.
Yep, the chant and the dance are all made up and all the fans just perform the dance. It is a little creepy for me to see thousands of people all doing the same dance and chanting the same thing. One word comes to mind: cult. But, that is what works in this country, The fans of the team buy little megaphones and the like and have a good time cheering on their team. All the best to them
I know some of you are reading this and thinking that baseball is a sport and not a game. Well, I guess you are right about that. So, let me just add this classic baseball video game to the end to make all right with the world.
Does that make you feel better?
Any way, it is now time for the word of the day. Today's word is 野球(やきゅう). It is pronounced yakyuu and means baseball. Literally translated it means field ball. That could be any sport really.
That's it for today. See you next time at JJNN.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
JJNN Wednesday: Games - 06
Welcome again to JJNN for Wednesday September 10th, 2008. Today we will be taking about my favorite game of all time.
I think everyone out there, even the people that hardly ever play video games, has a game that is special to them. A game that they call their favorite. What is that game for all of you? For me, that game is Chrono Trigger. It was the first game that I was totally absorbed into. I loved the graphics (at the time) and the way it played. I spent hours and hours on that game leveling up so that I could get every ending. Even to this day I still want to go out and buy the old system and get the old cartage and play it once again.
Fortunately for me, I don't have to go that far. It turns out that I don't have to go as far as buying the old system. According to this source and this source Nintendo is putting Chrono Trigger out on the DS this winter! Yay! I think I found my Christmas present to myself.
Here are a few pictures from the new remake:
Looks a lot like the original, right? Even after 13 years it still looks good. The only difference is in the first picture. The brackets around the characters and the two bars below them. The reason for those are the fact that the game is going to be played with the DS's touch screen (though it can be played the classic way as well) and the new fighting system that the game is going to use.
According to the second source Chrono Trigger is going to be using ATB ver.2 as its battle system. ATB stands for Active Time Battle. It is the same type of system that is used in some of the final fantasy games. It means that the time keeps flowing throughout the battle. Time does not stop to let you make choices. Look at the picture below.
The bottom blue bar is the ATB bar. When that bar gets full the character can make an action. When 2 or 3 characters are ready they can perform combos with each other to inflict more damage. This is like the original game.
The game looks good so far and I can't wait for it to come out. Here is the teaser trailer. Enjoy.
Any way, it is now time for the word of the day. Today's word is 懐かしい(なつかしい). It is pronounced natsukashii and means something like a thing from your past that brings back memories. There are a lot of words in Japanese that are just hard to translate into one or two English words.
That's it for today. See you next time at JJNN.
I think everyone out there, even the people that hardly ever play video games, has a game that is special to them. A game that they call their favorite. What is that game for all of you? For me, that game is Chrono Trigger. It was the first game that I was totally absorbed into. I loved the graphics (at the time) and the way it played. I spent hours and hours on that game leveling up so that I could get every ending. Even to this day I still want to go out and buy the old system and get the old cartage and play it once again.
Fortunately for me, I don't have to go that far. It turns out that I don't have to go as far as buying the old system. According to this source and this source Nintendo is putting Chrono Trigger out on the DS this winter! Yay! I think I found my Christmas present to myself.
Here are a few pictures from the new remake:
Looks a lot like the original, right? Even after 13 years it still looks good. The only difference is in the first picture. The brackets around the characters and the two bars below them. The reason for those are the fact that the game is going to be played with the DS's touch screen (though it can be played the classic way as well) and the new fighting system that the game is going to use.
According to the second source Chrono Trigger is going to be using ATB ver.2 as its battle system. ATB stands for Active Time Battle. It is the same type of system that is used in some of the final fantasy games. It means that the time keeps flowing throughout the battle. Time does not stop to let you make choices. Look at the picture below.
The bottom blue bar is the ATB bar. When that bar gets full the character can make an action. When 2 or 3 characters are ready they can perform combos with each other to inflict more damage. This is like the original game.
The game looks good so far and I can't wait for it to come out. Here is the teaser trailer. Enjoy.
Any way, it is now time for the word of the day. Today's word is 懐かしい(なつかしい). It is pronounced natsukashii and means something like a thing from your past that brings back memories. There are a lot of words in Japanese that are just hard to translate into one or two English words.
That's it for today. See you next time at JJNN.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
JJNN Wednesday: Games - 05
Welcome again to JJNN for Wednesday September 3rd, 2008. Today we will be taking about a new version of the PSP.
Many of you have probably heard of or used the PSP. For those of you that are not into gaming I will say that the PSP stands for playstation portable and it is like the playstation's version of the game boy. The version of the PSP that is out now is called the PSP 2000. The PSP 2000 has been on sale since September of last year. But, in August Sony announced that on the 16th of next month they will be releasing the next in their PSP line, the PSP 3000.
So, what's the difference between the PSP 2000 and 3000? Well according to this article there are some design and technical changes. Look at the picture below to see if you can find the changes.
In the picture the 2000 is on the top and the 3000 is on the bottom. Hmmm? Changes? Well, to the naked eye there is not really a lot different design wise. It seems that the 3000 is a lot more rounded on the sides and the logos have been moved around a little.
There are actually 3 major changes. The first one is to the left of the "PSP" logo on the bottom of the 3000. That little hole is actually a microphone. Sony decided to jump on the random microphone within gaming platform bandwagon. They should have seen that it didn't really go anywhere for the Nintendo DS and just left it out, but they decided to put it in any way. They are even making games that use that microphone technology. Personally I don't needed to be yelling into a microphone to win a game if I am in a train or anywhere outside my house. Sort of takes the "portable" part off the PSP.
The second change is the location of the buttons. They just did this so that the location of the buttons on the PSP match the location of the buttons on the PS3 controller. What a company will do to tie its consoles together and try to make more money, huh?
The 3rd change is the display. Sony found a way to make their already beautiful PSP display even more beautiful. I don't know exactly how they did it, but look at the following picture.
The top of the picture is the 3000 and the bottom is the 2000. Both of them look good, but as you can see the colors come out more boldly on the 3000 than the 2000. Personally I would not use the PSP to watch movies or look at pictures, but a screen like that can make games a lot more interesting to play.
Any way, it is now time for the word of the day. Today's word is 液晶(えきしょう). It is pronounced ekishou and means liquid crystal. The technology for liquid crystal displays really has gone a long way since I was young. They can do so much with those types of displays now.
That's it for today. See you next time at JJNN.
Many of you have probably heard of or used the PSP. For those of you that are not into gaming I will say that the PSP stands for playstation portable and it is like the playstation's version of the game boy. The version of the PSP that is out now is called the PSP 2000. The PSP 2000 has been on sale since September of last year. But, in August Sony announced that on the 16th of next month they will be releasing the next in their PSP line, the PSP 3000.
So, what's the difference between the PSP 2000 and 3000? Well according to this article there are some design and technical changes. Look at the picture below to see if you can find the changes.
In the picture the 2000 is on the top and the 3000 is on the bottom. Hmmm? Changes? Well, to the naked eye there is not really a lot different design wise. It seems that the 3000 is a lot more rounded on the sides and the logos have been moved around a little.
There are actually 3 major changes. The first one is to the left of the "PSP" logo on the bottom of the 3000. That little hole is actually a microphone. Sony decided to jump on the random microphone within gaming platform bandwagon. They should have seen that it didn't really go anywhere for the Nintendo DS and just left it out, but they decided to put it in any way. They are even making games that use that microphone technology. Personally I don't needed to be yelling into a microphone to win a game if I am in a train or anywhere outside my house. Sort of takes the "portable" part off the PSP.
The second change is the location of the buttons. They just did this so that the location of the buttons on the PSP match the location of the buttons on the PS3 controller. What a company will do to tie its consoles together and try to make more money, huh?
The 3rd change is the display. Sony found a way to make their already beautiful PSP display even more beautiful. I don't know exactly how they did it, but look at the following picture.
The top of the picture is the 3000 and the bottom is the 2000. Both of them look good, but as you can see the colors come out more boldly on the 3000 than the 2000. Personally I would not use the PSP to watch movies or look at pictures, but a screen like that can make games a lot more interesting to play.
Any way, it is now time for the word of the day. Today's word is 液晶(えきしょう). It is pronounced ekishou and means liquid crystal. The technology for liquid crystal displays really has gone a long way since I was young. They can do so much with those types of displays now.
That's it for today. See you next time at JJNN.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
JJNN Wednesday: Games - 04
Welcome again to JJNN for Wednesday August 27th, 2008. Today we will be taking about more games played in Japanese schools.
I was planning on doing a report on a new MMORPG (Massive Multi-player Online Role Playing Game) called Lucent Heart but it is impossible to actually enter the game because of all the people that pounced on the game when it started. I guess I can't really complain because it is a free role playing game. There are a lot of people that loved the other games put out by the same company so I guess I should have known I would not have been able to play on the first night. If I get a chance to play LH before next week I will give a report on that next week.
Instead of LH I want to talk about more games played in Japanese elementary schools. Last time I talked about dodge ball so this time I guess I will go for the other classic game. Well, not really game but set of games. The dreaded TAG! (start the dramatic music).
I think we have all played tag at least once in our lives. It is the classic "run away from someone" game. Tag in Japan is exactly like that as well. The terminology is a little different though. Instead of saying "it" to point to the person that everyone is running away from they say "oni." Oni actually means demon. I guess that makes sense, I know i would run away from a demon.
Did any of you have an special rules for the way that you played tag? Or, did you have any special tag like games? In Japan there are so many different types of tag. It is sometimes hard to keep up when the kids run up to you and ask you to play tag. You have to ask them what type of tag and if there are any special rules. After all that I am made to be the oni nine times out of ten. Bah
Any way a couple of the popular tag games that we play at my schools include the Japanese versions of freeze tag and a game the kids call "Tasuke Oni." Freeze tag is just like in America where if a person gets tagged they can't movie. They can move again if someone else that is not it goes under their legs and "unfreezes them." Tasuke oni is sort of like freeze tag, but instead of a person freezing they have to go to jail. All the people that are in jail can link hands if any other person touches them they can all leave jail. This is a great game if you are not it. If you are it you have to spend all your time running.
Below is a picture of tasuke oni. I think it will only make things more confusing, but it might help some of you out there so I am going to put it in the post.
There are a lot of other types of tag that they play at my schools as well. One that comes to mind right off is called "maru dashi." The game starts off with the person that is it standing in the gym outside any of the circles that are painted on the floor. When I say circles on the gym floor I am talking about the ones that are their for basketball and other games like that. All the other students pile into the circles, which are safe zones. If a kid gets tagged outside the circle or pulled outside of the circle they also become it. I don' like this game because it almost always leads to crying kids rubbing their hurting shoulders.
Any way, it is now time for the word of the day. Today's word is 鬼(おに). It is pronounced oni and means it or demon. The name for tag in Japanese is oni-gokko which means to act like a demon. A funny name for a kids game when you really think about it.
That's it for today. See you next time at JJNN.
I was planning on doing a report on a new MMORPG (Massive Multi-player Online Role Playing Game) called Lucent Heart but it is impossible to actually enter the game because of all the people that pounced on the game when it started. I guess I can't really complain because it is a free role playing game. There are a lot of people that loved the other games put out by the same company so I guess I should have known I would not have been able to play on the first night. If I get a chance to play LH before next week I will give a report on that next week.
Instead of LH I want to talk about more games played in Japanese elementary schools. Last time I talked about dodge ball so this time I guess I will go for the other classic game. Well, not really game but set of games. The dreaded TAG! (start the dramatic music).
I think we have all played tag at least once in our lives. It is the classic "run away from someone" game. Tag in Japan is exactly like that as well. The terminology is a little different though. Instead of saying "it" to point to the person that everyone is running away from they say "oni." Oni actually means demon. I guess that makes sense, I know i would run away from a demon.
Did any of you have an special rules for the way that you played tag? Or, did you have any special tag like games? In Japan there are so many different types of tag. It is sometimes hard to keep up when the kids run up to you and ask you to play tag. You have to ask them what type of tag and if there are any special rules. After all that I am made to be the oni nine times out of ten. Bah
Any way a couple of the popular tag games that we play at my schools include the Japanese versions of freeze tag and a game the kids call "Tasuke Oni." Freeze tag is just like in America where if a person gets tagged they can't movie. They can move again if someone else that is not it goes under their legs and "unfreezes them." Tasuke oni is sort of like freeze tag, but instead of a person freezing they have to go to jail. All the people that are in jail can link hands if any other person touches them they can all leave jail. This is a great game if you are not it. If you are it you have to spend all your time running.
Below is a picture of tasuke oni. I think it will only make things more confusing, but it might help some of you out there so I am going to put it in the post.
There are a lot of other types of tag that they play at my schools as well. One that comes to mind right off is called "maru dashi." The game starts off with the person that is it standing in the gym outside any of the circles that are painted on the floor. When I say circles on the gym floor I am talking about the ones that are their for basketball and other games like that. All the other students pile into the circles, which are safe zones. If a kid gets tagged outside the circle or pulled outside of the circle they also become it. I don' like this game because it almost always leads to crying kids rubbing their hurting shoulders.
Any way, it is now time for the word of the day. Today's word is 鬼(おに). It is pronounced oni and means it or demon. The name for tag in Japanese is oni-gokko which means to act like a demon. A funny name for a kids game when you really think about it.
That's it for today. See you next time at JJNN.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
JJNN Wednesday: Games - 03
Welcome again to JJNN for Wednesday August 20th, 2008. Today we will be taking about one of my favorite games.
This week I am working with a lot of elementary school students. I am part of a summer English "camp" where the students have to put on an English play. It is really good fun, and an old guy like me really gets to feel young working closely with elementary school kids. I find myself thinking back to my own elementary school days.
Back when I was in elementary school we used to play a lot of different games after lunch. The one that I liked the best was kickball. It always felt good to kick at the ball as hard as I could (even though half the time I would miss). I think I was always the catcher, but I didn't care because I was having a good time.
My second favorite game was dodge ball. After elementary school I never really played dodge ball, but that all changed when I got to Japan. When I got to Japan I started teaching jr. high school students and elementary school students. It was actually really rare for me to teach elementary school students, so I really never played anything besides basketball and volleyball with the kids. When I came to Nagaoka 4 years ago I started teaching in an Elementary school at least once a week, It was at this time when I ran into dodge ball once again.
I was actually very happy to see a game that I knew well. Japanese kids play all sorts of games that made no sense to me, so I was glad to see dodge ball again. I figured that I knew the ins and outs of dodge ball so I joined a game without even thinking that there might be different rules to dodge ball in Japan. I mean, what could be different? It's called dodge ball. All a person has to really do is dodge a ball, right? Well actually, the rules are slightly different if a person couldn't dodge the ball. I didn't think about this until years later, but the rules are sort of like the ones used in the old NES game called super dodge ball. Here is a taste of what the game super dodge ball was like:
Notice that there are people that are on the outside of the court. In Japanese dodge ball when a person gets hit by the ball they have to go stand on the outside of the opponent's court. That way a person on your team can throw you the ball and you can try to hit your opponent from the other side of the court. In most of the games I play (different from the NES game) if a person in the outer court hits their opponent they can go back to their court. This means that even if you are hit you can get back into the game. This leads to very long and interesting games of dodge ball.
I assume that most of the people that read my blog are past the age where they actually play dodge ball. That's too bad. I don't think that anyone should be too old for dodge ball. I challenge everyone out there to a game of dodge ball! If you find yourself in Japan make your way up to Nagaoka and I will take you on! I bet you good money I will kick your ass! (I have been practicing with the kids). WHAT SAYEST THOU, NAVE!?
Any way, it is now time for the word of the day. Today's word is ドッジボール(どっじぼおる). It is pronounced dojjibooru and means dodgeball. You know, even now I am not sure of dodgeball is one word or two.
That's it for today. See you next time at JJNN.
This week I am working with a lot of elementary school students. I am part of a summer English "camp" where the students have to put on an English play. It is really good fun, and an old guy like me really gets to feel young working closely with elementary school kids. I find myself thinking back to my own elementary school days.
Back when I was in elementary school we used to play a lot of different games after lunch. The one that I liked the best was kickball. It always felt good to kick at the ball as hard as I could (even though half the time I would miss). I think I was always the catcher, but I didn't care because I was having a good time.
My second favorite game was dodge ball. After elementary school I never really played dodge ball, but that all changed when I got to Japan. When I got to Japan I started teaching jr. high school students and elementary school students. It was actually really rare for me to teach elementary school students, so I really never played anything besides basketball and volleyball with the kids. When I came to Nagaoka 4 years ago I started teaching in an Elementary school at least once a week, It was at this time when I ran into dodge ball once again.
I was actually very happy to see a game that I knew well. Japanese kids play all sorts of games that made no sense to me, so I was glad to see dodge ball again. I figured that I knew the ins and outs of dodge ball so I joined a game without even thinking that there might be different rules to dodge ball in Japan. I mean, what could be different? It's called dodge ball. All a person has to really do is dodge a ball, right? Well actually, the rules are slightly different if a person couldn't dodge the ball. I didn't think about this until years later, but the rules are sort of like the ones used in the old NES game called super dodge ball. Here is a taste of what the game super dodge ball was like:
Notice that there are people that are on the outside of the court. In Japanese dodge ball when a person gets hit by the ball they have to go stand on the outside of the opponent's court. That way a person on your team can throw you the ball and you can try to hit your opponent from the other side of the court. In most of the games I play (different from the NES game) if a person in the outer court hits their opponent they can go back to their court. This means that even if you are hit you can get back into the game. This leads to very long and interesting games of dodge ball.
I assume that most of the people that read my blog are past the age where they actually play dodge ball. That's too bad. I don't think that anyone should be too old for dodge ball. I challenge everyone out there to a game of dodge ball! If you find yourself in Japan make your way up to Nagaoka and I will take you on! I bet you good money I will kick your ass! (I have been practicing with the kids). WHAT SAYEST THOU, NAVE!?
Any way, it is now time for the word of the day. Today's word is ドッジボール(どっじぼおる). It is pronounced dojjibooru and means dodgeball. You know, even now I am not sure of dodgeball is one word or two.
That's it for today. See you next time at JJNN.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
JJNN Wednesday: Games - 02
Welcome again to JJNN for Wednesday July 23rd, 2008. Today we will be taking a look at games and being trendy.
Today is going to be a quick post because I have a "let's party to the point that we forget the fact that it is so damn hot out" party tonight. That means I am here at just past 5 AM trying to think coherently and type at the same time. This post is for the gamers out there that are proud that they are gamers. It's for those gamers that get up in the morning and think to themselves "You know, I like game and I want the world to know that I like games." The original story can be found here.
Playstation put out a new line of clothes and other accessories that would make any gamer proud. The think that I like the most about these things though is that they are subtle. I mean there is a big difference between a gamer that goes around wearing a loud tie with a video game character on it and a bright hat that has a video game logo plastered on it and these clothes. I mean take a look at this shirt with a playstation logo on it.
A person that wears this shirt makes the statement "I'm a gamer, but I am not in your face about it." There are definitely extra points to be had for people that are willing to show they love something but not wanting to be in everyone's face about it. The same goes for the playstation signature watch shown below.
If I didn't already have a nice watch I would think about getting that watch. Not because it is a playstation watch, but because it just looks cool. There is more than just fashion being sold in the playstation signature store. There are traditional items of geekery like fashionable PSP covers and PSP stands. There are also things like wallets, notebooks and mugs. I don't know if they ship out of Japan, but it is definitely worth taking a look. You can find it at http://www.playstation.com/signature/.
Any way, it is now time for the word of the day. Today's word is 腕時計(うでどけい). It is pronounced ude-dokei and means wrist watch. My watch is a Casio G-shock. A little expensive but it is a good watch. I love how it can set its own time and charge itself up with a tiny solar panel that runs around the edge of the display.
That's it for today. See you next time at JJNN.
Today is going to be a quick post because I have a "let's party to the point that we forget the fact that it is so damn hot out" party tonight. That means I am here at just past 5 AM trying to think coherently and type at the same time. This post is for the gamers out there that are proud that they are gamers. It's for those gamers that get up in the morning and think to themselves "You know, I like game and I want the world to know that I like games." The original story can be found here.
Playstation put out a new line of clothes and other accessories that would make any gamer proud. The think that I like the most about these things though is that they are subtle. I mean there is a big difference between a gamer that goes around wearing a loud tie with a video game character on it and a bright hat that has a video game logo plastered on it and these clothes. I mean take a look at this shirt with a playstation logo on it.
A person that wears this shirt makes the statement "I'm a gamer, but I am not in your face about it." There are definitely extra points to be had for people that are willing to show they love something but not wanting to be in everyone's face about it. The same goes for the playstation signature watch shown below.
If I didn't already have a nice watch I would think about getting that watch. Not because it is a playstation watch, but because it just looks cool. There is more than just fashion being sold in the playstation signature store. There are traditional items of geekery like fashionable PSP covers and PSP stands. There are also things like wallets, notebooks and mugs. I don't know if they ship out of Japan, but it is definitely worth taking a look. You can find it at http://www.playstation.com/signature/.
Any way, it is now time for the word of the day. Today's word is 腕時計(うでどけい). It is pronounced ude-dokei and means wrist watch. My watch is a Casio G-shock. A little expensive but it is a good watch. I love how it can set its own time and charge itself up with a tiny solar panel that runs around the edge of the display.
That's it for today. See you next time at JJNN.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
JJNN Wednesday: Games - 01
Welcome again to JJNN for Wednesday July 16th, 2008. Today is gaming day.
Today I want to talk about a certain type of game that is popular in Japan. It is the rhythm game. This is the type of game where you have to push a button (or do the equivalent action) when the it says to do it on the screen. It sounds like a simple game, but it can be very hard to pull off some of the songs on hard.
My favorite version of the rhythm game is called pop'n music. There are nine buttons (though I usually play on the 5 button mode) and all you have to do is hit the button when the colored bar reaches the bottom of the screen. Since I have no natural rhythm (anyone that has ever seen me dance can attest to this) it is not that easy for me, but that is not true for all people. Here is a video of a Japanese guy going crazy on a song in hard mode. Check it out.
There are also other types of games of course. The one that I have been playing lately is called guitar hero. In this game you run around with a plastic guitar with a wii remote stuck into it. The 5 buttons (though again I am on the normal difficulty level now so I only use 4 buttons) are by the left hand and there is a little plastic switch-type-thing on the right that you have to hit in time with the colored circles. There is also a whammy bar just for fun and extra points. This next video is a 4 year old Japanese kid playing one of the songs on easy. Maybe he should be concentrating on how to play a real guitar or some other instrument.
There are many other types of games like this that include drums and other musical instruments. There is one that I played just once that is near and dear to my heart though. It is the shamisen game. It is just like guitar hero but you go around with a plastic shamisen instead of a plastic guitar. I wish I could find an arcade that actually had one of those in this area. It would be fun to skip shamisen practice just to go and play a plastic shamisen.
One other game that I want to talk about is band brothers DX. This is a game that is sold for the DS. It is even possible for this game to interact with the Wii and download extra songs. In this game you can play any of the instruments in a particular song. That is an interesting thing, but not the most interesting part of the game. The best part is that you can compose your own songs for the game itself. You can try to make a classic song that just happens to not be included with the game or make up your own song. The game play after that is just hitting buttons with the beat of the song, like the rest of the games. Here is an example of a band brothers song.
That is a theme song from a kids TV show by the way. I know I just scratched the surface when it comes to these types of games, but a package from amazon just came so I am going to read a nice geeky book. If you have any suggestions about anything you would like to hear about, just leave a comment or email me.
Any way, it is now time for the word of the day. Today's word is 大合奏(大合奏). It is pronounced dai-gassou and means large concert. That was part of the full name of Band Brothers. I still don't understand why the Japanese love to give products names with meaningless English. Well I guess this one is better than the snack food that is called cream colon.
That's it for today. See you next time at JJNN.
Today I want to talk about a certain type of game that is popular in Japan. It is the rhythm game. This is the type of game where you have to push a button (or do the equivalent action) when the it says to do it on the screen. It sounds like a simple game, but it can be very hard to pull off some of the songs on hard.
My favorite version of the rhythm game is called pop'n music. There are nine buttons (though I usually play on the 5 button mode) and all you have to do is hit the button when the colored bar reaches the bottom of the screen. Since I have no natural rhythm (anyone that has ever seen me dance can attest to this) it is not that easy for me, but that is not true for all people. Here is a video of a Japanese guy going crazy on a song in hard mode. Check it out.
There are also other types of games of course. The one that I have been playing lately is called guitar hero. In this game you run around with a plastic guitar with a wii remote stuck into it. The 5 buttons (though again I am on the normal difficulty level now so I only use 4 buttons) are by the left hand and there is a little plastic switch-type-thing on the right that you have to hit in time with the colored circles. There is also a whammy bar just for fun and extra points. This next video is a 4 year old Japanese kid playing one of the songs on easy. Maybe he should be concentrating on how to play a real guitar or some other instrument.
There are many other types of games like this that include drums and other musical instruments. There is one that I played just once that is near and dear to my heart though. It is the shamisen game. It is just like guitar hero but you go around with a plastic shamisen instead of a plastic guitar. I wish I could find an arcade that actually had one of those in this area. It would be fun to skip shamisen practice just to go and play a plastic shamisen.
One other game that I want to talk about is band brothers DX. This is a game that is sold for the DS. It is even possible for this game to interact with the Wii and download extra songs. In this game you can play any of the instruments in a particular song. That is an interesting thing, but not the most interesting part of the game. The best part is that you can compose your own songs for the game itself. You can try to make a classic song that just happens to not be included with the game or make up your own song. The game play after that is just hitting buttons with the beat of the song, like the rest of the games. Here is an example of a band brothers song.
That is a theme song from a kids TV show by the way. I know I just scratched the surface when it comes to these types of games, but a package from amazon just came so I am going to read a nice geeky book. If you have any suggestions about anything you would like to hear about, just leave a comment or email me.
Any way, it is now time for the word of the day. Today's word is 大合奏(大合奏). It is pronounced dai-gassou and means large concert. That was part of the full name of Band Brothers. I still don't understand why the Japanese love to give products names with meaningless English. Well I guess this one is better than the snack food that is called cream colon.
That's it for today. See you next time at JJNN.
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