Steins;Gate

So, after a very, very, very slow start ... did I say this game has a VERY start? @.@ Steins;Gate turns out to be exactly what critics had long lauded: an excellent localised VN game. I cruised through the final three-four chapters last weekend ... I just couldn't put it down. I laughed, I cried and I cried some more before a very, very satisfying end.

Since I am not a big VN fan -- I don't have the patience to unlock every single ending --  I went straight for the the True Ending (though I did, by mistake, unlocked the Suzuha ending) and though it is kinda long (an full extra chapter) but it wraps up the whole story very nicely.    

Okay, *** Spoiler alert ***

moments of comic relief

...and high tension 

Take away the padding (and there is quite a bit) the structure of Steins;Gate is actually quite simple. Protagonist Rintarou Okabe (brilliantly voiced by Mamoru Miyano) accidentally stumbles across a way to send emails back to the past (D-Mails) and, inadvertently, sending himself to another "worldline" (like, an alternate reality). Without knowing what happened and the (serious) consequences of sending these emails, he gradually leads himself into a reality (Alpha) in which his oldest childhood friend has to die. When he finally realises his "mistakes", Okabe, with the help of the very intelligent (and later love interest) Kurisu Makise (voiced by the equally outstanding Asami Imai), has to undo all the D-Mails that eventually takes him back to his original reality (Beta). But all is not well in this reality -- from the beginning, we know Kurisu dies here -- so who is Okabe going to save? His childhood friend or love interest??? It's heart-breaking to witness the many sacrifices that he has to make in order to save at least one of his friends ... but, if you get to the True Ending, at least there is one reality -- known as Steins Gate, where this game got its name from  -- in which they all survive, alas, with an unpredictable future. 

Is He a She?

The True Ending ....

So now I just started Steins;Gate 0, which is pretty dark as it is set in the Beta reality in which Kurisu is dead. So how does Okabe cope with this reality? With some of the old cast returning and new characters joining, I'm going to find out. But at least the pace of this follow-up game seems to be a lot faster (no need to reintroduce characters / background I guess) so I hoe it's more engaging than the early chapters of Steins;Gate, which did put me to sleep :-)

More (Thoughts on) Handstand Practice

So. Hand. Stand. 

Standing on the hands. 

Though this might seem all too obvious (DOH), as the video in my last post shows, to be able to do handstand you do need to have 1) core strength, 2) good alignment and 3) shoulder/body strength. Once you've acquired all these three conditions, then the focus should be back on the hands! Hand. Stand. For some reason I've been faffing around with my legs/ feet (reflex?) when I'm upside down, which makes holding my handstand very difficult. Last Saturday, my yoga instructor helped me get into alignment and he was counting to see how long I could hold my handstand without falling. Many things went through my head... like, am I squeezing my butt and legs, am I tucking my ribs in ... then I thought, What are my hands doing? Let's use those fingers to balance!! So I started to shift my body balance - ever so subtly - on my palms, those ten fingers and before I knew it I was up there for 10 seconds (the longest I've held a handstand). I felt a great sense of achievement and I think I am now another step close to mastering this pose :-)  

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII ~ Revisited (finale)

Truly, one last post on my fav RPG game EVER (also my first!!!)

Kinda 100%

So I 100% the DMW wheel (Genji Armour), 100% the Missions (Heike Soul) and beat Minerva (Divine Slayer). Hurrah! But I will not finish the main story cos its ending is just TOO SAD. So my Zack will always be on the verge of meeting the final in-game boss (Genesis) but won't take him out (with the gear I have, piece of cake!!)

Instead, I will play through the tough missions again ... the thing is, even with top equipment, you can still get killed so this is how challenging this game is (even on normal).

Also, I'm a bit split about Heike Soul, the "ultimate" accessory in the game. Though it basically makes Zack godlike (and doubles, like, everything including casts), it is 1) cursed and it 2) consumes SP. I don't mind so much about being cursed, since I am now done with the DMW (it is now forever in Heavenly state tehe) and levelling, I am not sure about it eating up my SP ... so will explore just how practical this piece really is. I've kept the Genji Glove cos it guarantees critical hit every time. Divine Slayer and Ziedrich are for stats boost. I probably won't be putting this game down anytime soon (I also love just holding the Crisis Core Limited Edition) though I must admit Steins;Gate is getting Really Good so these two games will keep me happy for some time yet 😊

New Year Resolution

But of course! This being New Year Day! (And Happy New Year !!!)

What I really want to achieve this year is ... *drum roll* Doing the Handstand ^^

I am, like, half way there ... as I can kick up to handstand in the middle of the room with scissors legs:

To have straight legs is much harder, I think... well at least for me (!) I find the video below THE BEST in explaining how to do a handstand (the three requirements mentioned are CRUCIAL)

It totally matches with my own experience. First and foremost you have to have core strength. Without which then it's not possible to hold yourself up without assistance. Alignment is also extremely important ... again, without which you are just gonna fall. Of course you'd need strength !!! I have Core and Strength but Alignment is a bit of a hit or miss; sometimes it's there and other times it isn't ... I know, totally weird. That is partly due to my shoulders being not as open as they should be and am still too scared to flip over (even though I know how to fall)... But slowly, slowly, I am getting there... I just need to practise more!  

So that is my Number One resolution for 2017. In general, I want to improve in both my practice and teaching while at the same time become (more) mindfulness. I think I still pay too much attention to the shape (to be able to "do it") than the asana itself... like, what is the purpose of the pose and what is it supposed to do?? Think will have to think more about that. 

AND I will have to control self and buy fewer (if any!!!) games and even fewer phones!!! ><!!  

One Last Entry in 2016

Wow, so I beat the SuperBoss in Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core before this year is out (hence I now have the Divine Slayer accessory) and above is more or less my endgame setup, bar SPR Up++; I don't really need maxed SPR now so I've swapped in Zantetsuken just to make the gameplay more fun (you just need to have one decent summon in a Final Fantasy game, right?)

The battle with Minerva wasn't as bad as people made it out to be... it is just very... long (cos she has, like, huge HP) ... so it was, like, chipping that away slowly while keeping Zack alive. I stole 99 phoenix downs off her in my second attempt (to keep reviving Zack after those OHKO attacks - Judgement Arrow and Ultima) ... and won! Turns out you do need to max both VIT and SPR (defence against physical and magical attacks, respectively) but not MAG since most of the time I just spammed potion than use Curaga. And my ingenious decision ^^ to include Lucky Stars really paid off. Whenever Zack was in grave danger, the Modulating Phase popped up and good old Cissnei was there to lend a helping hand and got the DMW up to "heavenly" as well as healed Zack etc. And she kept popping up (love her). Equipping it just made the long and tedious battle more, well, fun. 

Now I just need to complete all the other (easy) missions and 100% the DMW (I only need one more scene for Cloud) and I'm done with this game. Am not sure I wanna jump into NG+ right now but I'll definitely return to Crisis Core time and time again. I think this is more fun than FF X-2 (or FF4 or even type-0!!)  

I'm ready for the New Year and More good video games !!!

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII ~ Revisited (3)

Final Setup ?

Believe you me, even having equipped both Lucky Stars and Moogle Power, it was NOT -- repeat NOT -- easy to get the Moogle DMW! Insane. I had to grind for about half an hour to max both the Quake and Moogle Power materia *argh*

But it's done now. Am ready to face The Ultimate Boss ><

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII ~ Revisited (2)

Oh My, this game is getting seriously fun -- am only, like, three dungeons away from the ultimate bada** mission boss Minerva >< and I find the final leg very challenging, though not impossible.

Hardcore stats

This morning I finally max-ed out on the HP stats, without which I found it was not possible to survive the last dungeons (when enemies inflict huge damages and can cast invincible on themselves -- like, wtf! TOTALLY broken ... but just beat that Malboro....) So with 99,999 HP, there is no need for Darkness (to make Costly Punch work) and I've swapped Quake in (even though it's not mastered ... I'm only after its HP stat boost). I will have it mastered at some stage (might throw the Moogle materia in just for fun)... Quake should also be fun when doing Mission 1-1-6 LOL 

I have a choice between using Lucky Stars and Zantetsuken, the latter gives MAG a boost, meaning Curaga can heal more per cast. Since I have just got the Genji Gloves (critical every hit), I don't really need Lucky Stars that much (other than to get more Cissnei on the DMW, which I love LOL). I read that there are only two important stats that really matter for the final boss: VIT and SPR and I've maxed both, thanks to the Ziedrich accessory. So am good to go!

The Limited Edition of this game is really, really nice. A real collector's item so I am keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn't die quick (please please please) but it IS already a decade old (even though the one I bought on eBay is supposed to be "brand new"or unused...)