Monday, December 28, 2009

No Update This Week (12/28/09)

As stated in my update video on Youtube, I am not uploading the blog this week.

See you next week.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

12/22/09 - Christmas Break Busy-ness

Hey guys, SlimKirby here!

Nice to see you on this lovely Mon.....errr...Tuesday day. Yeah, I'm aware I didn't update yesterday, but I actually had a pretty good reason. I had some morning doctor appointments and then I had to babysit my younger cousins for most of the day. Then I also had some other stuff to do, such as recording (and re-recording -_-) and SM41's Holiday Trivia, so I was a very busy Kirby yesterday.

I haven't forgotten this entry though, I just had to postpone it. I thought I said that this would be postponed in my channel, but looking back, I actually didn't, so I do apologize for that.

Anyways, as I am writing this, my Christmas Break has begun, or at least the first 5 days of it. Finals week went pretty well, and I'm satisfied with my final grades. It's nothing really that impressive, but as long as I didn't get lower than a C and my cumulative GPA is over 3.0 (which it is) I am completely satisfied. Bah, grades...who needs them? :P

On Saturday, (besides the first Kirby Super Star video, which I'll get into later) I went to visit my grandmother and then go to a family Christmas party with some extended family. It was a nice time, and I got a baseball cap with my last name on it as a white elephant gift. It wasn't the best gift in the collection, but it was something I actually didn't mind getting. :P

On Sunday (and this is the last thing I'll mention from my life before getting into projects), me and my dad brought my 2 cousins home (his two nieces) for 4 days. As I am writing this, this is the 3rd day, so they'll be gone tomorrow...thankfully. It's not that I hate spending time with them...quite the opposite. It's just that I haven't gotten as much free time to myself so I could play games, hang out with friends, or practice some KSS so I don't suck on the recordings. Not only that, but as mentioned in today's video, they made me do a recording over because the 10-year old just loves the computer and the Internet and when something doesn't work for her, she shuts off the computer while a video is processing on my computer. Again, not mad that she did that, but mad that she didn't ask me first. Also, the 5-year old, the younger one, is a handful. She is just at that age where she wants to do everything, but stops in between something to start something else. The worst was when they wanted to play Rock Band. I don't think the drumset will ever work again after a 5-year old banged on it through 6 different songs. Oh well...such is life, I guess.

Anyways, only a few days to Christmas, and my birthday, where I will be turning 21! I can't believe I'm finally at the age that I dreamed of for so long. For those of you wondering if I plan on doing any drinking....well, just to be honest with you, I'm not really much of a stranger to it. I have actually experienced alcohol before, but didn't really care for it much. It's just not worth doing something stupid, even if it is just a casual drink with friends. Also, my mom, although not necessarily an alcoholic, has gotten into a few little incidents involving alcohol, and those incidents made her feel really bad, so I'm trying to use that as something to apply to myself and not make it a habit. It is cool to be of age though...kinda fulfilling, even if I don't plan to do very much with it.

Anyways, I know you are probably getting bored with what I have to say, so I'll move on to project stuff.

-------------------------------

Kirby Super Star

KIRBEH SOOPAH STAR! Oh boy, I am SO GLAD to play this game again. I forgot how much fun it is. To celebrate, I even started a new file on Kirby Super Star Ultra just so I could play ahead a bit. Great game that Super Star Ultra! Glad I purchased it!

Anyways, at this point, I have finished the first 3 games and completed the mini-games, so I just have to do Great Cave Offensive (longest game by far), Meta Knight's Revenge, Milky Way Wishes, and the extra unlockable game (you'll see when we get there). It's kind of disheartening though that for my next blog update, I'll more than likely still be in Great Cave Offensive, but that's the beauty of this game, you have to experience the Cave Offensive, YOU HAVE TO! ITS UNAVOIDABLE!

As far as project endings are concerned, I wouldn't be surprised if this project continues into the start of my Spring semester (in that case, I'll film ahead of time to make sure I get it done, so that won't be a problem), but I expect maybe 25 videos at the very most, which means, probably around January 13th (probably a little before). This also means that Yoshi's Island can start from the 16th-18th. I haven't decided, but I will decide as time goes on and as KSS comes to a close.

-------------------------------

Ok, sorry for the somewhat short update here, but I'll be back next week to talk about more stuff, including some cool stuff I'll probably get for Christmas as well (with Christmas money anyways. :P)

Talk to you guys next time!

-SlimKirby

Monday, December 14, 2009

12/14/09 - Finals Week (in more than 1 way....)

Hey guys! SlimKirby here once again!

The title of the blog doesn't lie, I am now on finals week from my heavy and busy semester. I am so very happy to be getting out of this place for Winter Break. You guys literally have no idea...unless you are also in college of course.

For the record, don't worry about my videos interfering with my exams. Mainly because....I HAVE EVERYTHING UP TO FRIDAY RECORDED AND READY FOR UPLOADING! =D No lie there! It took 3 days of finding free time to just sit down and record these videos, but it is all done. It is all ready!

I hope this doesn't ruin the enjoyment of the videos, but honestly, it was either this, or play with the possibility/risk of having MP5 encroach on Kirby Super Star, something I did not want to happen. Just be thankful (wait, Christmas is closer than Thanksgiving....) that I got it all done and it will all be uploaded in the timeframe I wanted. This means I can start fresh on Kirby Super star Saturday. Oh boy! I am getting excited just thinking about playing that game.

Anyways, before I start talking about my projects, I guess I'll rap a little about what has been going on with me in the real world! Well, to be honest....not much. I've just been working hard on my classes, hoping that I'll get some desirable grades, and then I'll be working hard to make sure I do just as well on my finals. I don't think my grades will be spectacular (I made the Dean's List last semester, but this semester I definitely fell short in that area), but as long as I get a GPA near 3.00, I'll be more than satisfied.

I guess I should also mention that we have a lot of events coming up for the Blargg Pit and Crystal Star Studio. I know we still haven't made any videos yet for CSS, but just wait! We plan to actually start doing some filming for our first game playthrough project after Christmas, so don't worry, that will start soon. We may (Key-Word: MAY) have some other small videos planned as well until then. It's really just a matter of waiting and seeing what happens. It's not like CSS hasn't been doing anything...trust me on this. We've had several meetings about this stuff. :P

But getting back to the Blargg Pit, yes, lot's of stuff happening this holiday season. ShadowMario41 has literally filled up his trivia schedule with various events in order to get interest from our fellow watchers. We also have some gaming night events as well. A link to the site will follow this paragraph. Stay tuned for front page posts given by the Blargg Pit team, and keep an eye on that calendar page for all the latest updates:

THE BLARGG PIT!


On the 19th we have MegaFreak400's Pokemon Give-Away Trivia. Our hub, #sm41triviahq, has caught the Pokemon fever as of late, mostly due to PTM's Pokemon Tournament (I'll talk about that later), and Mega has decided to start anew on his Pokemon file and give away some of his Pokemon from his first run-through. Now, Mega is quite the collector, so he has a lot of interesting and unique Pokemon in his collection. I would go over the complete list, but they are located on his front page Blargg Pit post where he talks about the trivia and Secret Santa '09, so just go to the link provided above.

On the 20th and the 23rd, PTM has some "Gaming Night" events planned. On the 20th we will be playing some Mario Kart Wii and on the 23rd we will be playing some Super Smash Bros. Brawl, so swing by the chatroom if you want more information and if you would like to be a part of these events. On the 21st and 22nd, there will be some other trivia events. The first will be ShadowMario41's Holiday Mario Trivia #3. The 2nd will be an unofficial trivia hosted by ThePastaKing. If you would like to test your Mario knowledge, don't be afraid to come by the chat on these dates. There will be prizes!

On the 26th, we have my birthday, so wish me well. On January 2nd through the 5th, SM41 will have his annual Mario Music Madness trivia. This trivia will be hosted over Youtube, so stay tuned for updates from him (remember, his channel name is "ShadowMarioXLI" not "ShadowMario41"). I'm sure he will also have a post on the Blargg Pit about it as well.

Finally, we have the Blargg Pit Cup, the Pokemon tournament hosted by PowerToMario. I would go into detail about this, but why do that when you can hear it straight from the horse's mouth?
The Blargg Pit Cup
That is PTM's video about the Blargg Pit Cup. Be sure to watch it....especially for that bowling pin in the lower right corner (just kidding).

See, we have A LOT of stuff going on this holiday season, and guess what this short 3-week break period will also bring....

THE RETURN OF THE LATE NIGHT STREAMS!

That's right, I may actually do some streams during my break. Keep in mind, these will more than likely be limited to only these 3 weeks, so expect only 2 or 3 to happen, but it's better than nothing. I suppose I should also try to plan an all-day stream as well, but let's wait on that....

---------------------------------------------------

Let's Play Super Bomberman

Well, Bomberman has reached its ending, so let's say our goodbyes to all of the bombs, all of the power-ups, and all of the cheap deaths I encountered in this LP. The last video will be posted tomorrow, and after that, this project will be put into the "Completed" section.

In tomorrow's video I will discuss future possibilities of me doing other Bomberman games, but if this does happen, it won't be for awhile. Let me get through some other LPs first. :P

I gotta admit, for a short project, this was a fun one to work on, so I am definitely glad that I chose this game. I really hope you guys enjoyed it.

-----------------------------------

Mario Party 5

Just one more week of updates, and this project will also be completed. Not much to say about this project...I think the videos speak for themselves. :P

This may have not been my favorite project to work on, but it had some nice moments as well. It has some classic scenes of ultimate domination, and also some scenes where I completely lose it. I guess you could call that a successful project. :P

In the end though, I am glad I did this game, because this game does have a lot of potential as a Mario game, and a video game. It just needs to go a little easier on the luck-based mini-games....THATS ALL IM ASKING!

As I will say in my final video, don't expect Mario Party 6 until the 2nd quarter of 2010. I have a few other projects I would like to get under my belt first, and two of them happen to be pretty lengthy. I would predict April for the start of MP6. However, I'm sure I will keep you informed, so do not worry about any of that.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Well, that is about all I wanted to discuss for this blog entry. Sorry for the lateness of this update, but I had a lot of other stuff to do today, including one of my final exams, so surely that excuse will suffice. I'll see you next week readers when I will be on break and ready to talk about Kirby Super Star and other things.

-SlimKirby

Monday, December 7, 2009

12/7/09 - May the Winds of War Bring Snow.....and an Update

Hey guys, SlimKirby here for another week of updating. We are in the final month of 2009, but it seems like it was only a few months ago that we were in this position of 2008, at least to me anyways. Time seems to fly by even more quickly when you are older, I guess.

Anyways, today was a very interesting day as it was the very first snow of the season....at least where I am located. I didn't notice until I checked the family website of mine, that it had snowed in Indiana about a week or two ago where my aunt lives, but it didn't make it over to my area. Not that I am disappointed or anything, but snow starts to become a pain the older you get, especially for college students....with vehicles.

I'm thankful that it wasn't a really big storm or anything, and most of it had cleared up by the time I had to leave my dorm for classes, but this is definitely the beginning a long line of snowstorms to come. I'm sure I will endure though. The only thing that stands in my way between my winter break are 2 assignments, 4 finals, possible weather conditions, and then I'm free.

---------------------------------------

Let's Play Super Bomberman

Now, wasn't this a nice little project? A lot of you guys seem to have enjoyed this choice of game, and I'm glad I made that choice, because honestly, I've been having fun with this. Bomberman may have not been the most original or practical choice to make, and in a way, it is "filler" before I embark on the Winter Break adventure of Kirby Super Star, but at least I can say it has been fun.

Tomorrow I will have the final episode of story mode. In addition to the final boss, I went ahead and made something special for the episode (mostly because it was only 5 or 6 minutes long. It's something I have/had been working on for awhile now, and I finally managed to pull it together. What is this surprise? You will just have to wait until tomorrow.

Finally, I will also announce that I have finished the Battle Mode videos for the game. They came out to be 5 videos, which is about what I expected. Frankly, I'm just glad it wasn't more than that. Those 5 videos should all be posted within a time period of 5 or 6 days, but I will be alternating between this and Mario Party 5 for the remainder of the next two weeks. At the rate I'm going, or planning to go, Batle Mode should be finished by Tuesday of next week.

--------------------------------------------

Mario Party 5

The Mario Party 5 extras have started, and I'm happy to say that they will be continuing, but now expect them to be uploaded during the week, and not just at the end.

First off, I have Super Duel Mode planned for Wednesday. That should take me about 2 videos to show everything I would need/have to show/explain. Of course, to unlock everything in Super Duel Mode, I would have to do some serious farming off-screen, but I don't think that is completely necessary, so I will not be doing that. Anything I don't have unlocked (or bought) will be mentioned, but not shown.

Next we have Extra Mode, which I plan to show this Saturday (the 12th). To be honest, I'm actually looking forward to this part, because one of the extra games (Card Party) ranks highly among some of my favorite Mario Party extras in the whole series, so I am definitely looking forward to that.

Finally, the most extensive section of the MP5 extras will be Mini-Game Mode. In the past, this mode has basically just been me covering the mini-games I haven't played, and extra modes like "Mini-Game Stadium," "Mini-Game Island/Coaster," etc. In this game, there are 5 other modes of play in Mini-Game Mode, "Mini-Game Battle," "Mini-Game Tournament," "Mini-Game Circuit," Mini-Game Decathalon," and "Mini-Game Wars." In my playthrough, I plan to cover Circuit, Decathalon, and Wars, but I am unsure about the first 2 modes. Mini-Game Battle is merely a "Play to 'N' wins" (N being a number determined by you before it starts), and Mini-Game Tournament is merely a 4 duel mini-game mode that determines the standings based on those duel victories, so honestly I'm not that crazy about covering it since it seems like a waste of time.

But why are the other 3 not a waste of time? Well, personally, there is something about the other 3 modes that I just find unique. Mini-Game Circuit, for example, is an actual board modeled after a race-track, and in a way, it's based on classic board games of the past which depended on movement more than knowledge of how to play the game. Of course, in order to move, you will have to win mini-games, so it's not completely based on movement, but still, I'd like to show it. Mini-Game Decathalon is a little interesting because it involves all of the "NEW RECORD" type games you can play in MP5. And one thing I like about this mode is that even if you don't win any of the games, close seconds could still come out to be a win for you. Of course, I have a feeling that mode will feature a blow-out of SlimKirby....just being honest here.

Then there is Mini-Game Wars, which will more than likely be the big draw of Mini-Game mode. It's somewhat a game of strategy, but it is mostly dependent on mini-game skill. I would go into more detail, but honestly, it's simply just playing through 4 Player games, which are randomly determined, so really, there isn't much to explain until I'm actually playing it, so I'll leave it at that. The only reason I'm even considering to play this is due to the fact that it is somewhat hard to unlock.

Finally, we have the "Final Battle" of Story Mode, code-named "Frightmare." I will be doing this on December 18th, that last day before I start Kirby Super Star to close out the project. I may end up showing the game credits as well.

And that will about do it for Mario Party 5.

---------------------------------------

Wow, once again Mario Party 5 gets all the attention! Don't worry though, as this attention will not last very long. Once again I feel bad for spending so much time talking about current projects and not about future projects, especially with CrystalStarStudio. We are working on something, but don't expect it to be something really big or anything, until Winter Break. We have a few ideas and it seems like the only thing left to do is to just get together, have a vote and decide, but as I have explained earlier, we are trying to get a lot of other stuff sorted out....

GaiaCrusher9 has oral surgery coming up... me, Mega, SM, and PK have college finals to take care of... PTM has finals and scholarship stuff, and K-Man...well, honestly I don't know where that little freak is, but I'm sure he is busy too. :P

After all of that stuff gets sorted out, we will have some stuff for you guys, we promise. Just let us take care of a few things, eh? ;)

Anyways, that is about this for this week. Next week I will start talking about the conclusions of both Super Bomberman, and 2-month long MP5, giving my thoughts about the projects, and then start talking about Kirby Super Star, one of the greatest games of all time! =D

Later folks!

Monday, November 30, 2009

11/30/09 - Bomb Your Heart Out

Like a swift kick to the behind, Thanksgiving is over, but surely the celebration doesn't have to stop there. Christmas is just around the corner, after all. Just three more weeks of classes (for me anyways).

I had a good Thanksgiving, and I hope all of you had a nice one as well. If you don't celebrate it, hope you at least had a nice week regardless.

Anyways, I have some explaining to do...

---------------------------------

Let's Play Super Bomberman

This may be a shock if you check my blog first before Youtube, but let's just say I started a new LP today. Many people were right in assuming that Bomberman had something to do with the LP, so congrats to everyone who guessed correctly (despite there not really being a prize). I'm aware that the solution was pretty obvious considering, but in a way, I didn't really care if people really found out early or not. It was merely just something I wanted try out.

I'm not going to go over all the details about the LP, as I'm sure they are explained clearly in my first video, but as for the length of this LP, I don't predict it being very long. Expect 6 updates this week (yep, I'm updating on Sunday again, for the time being, and then I'll be doing some alternations between this game and Mario Party 5 for the next two weeks. Hoping I'll get this project done, along with MP5, before Christmas break, and before the Kirby Super Star replay.

---------------------------------------

Mario Party 5:

Finally....well, not really finally, but it was definitely comforting to have another win in Mario Party 5, after that damn 3 game losing streak. At least I ended with a positive record, on a recording nightmare I wish never would have existed. :P Redoing the recording twice wasn't exactly a convenience for me

Anyways, I went ahead an posted a schedule on my main channel description about the dates on which I would be updating/uploading the specific extras. I would post that schedule here as well, but I don't know if I can put any of that information into stone just yet. I can assure you that Story Mode will be updated on Saturday, December 5th, but anything beyond that, you will just have to wait until next week when things become a bit clearer. If that saddens you, blame Bomberman. That's really the only factor at play, but he is helping me keep my sanity in giving me a buffer between the extras.

----------------------------------------------

That's actually all I really wanted to talk about in this entry, so this a pretty short entry for the week, but there is one thing I'll say really quickly for good measure.

These next three weeks are going to be pretty big for me. Classes are concluding, finals are approaching, and I'll be trying to keep my cool for all of that. I just want to let you guys know, and properly warn you that not everythin will be as consistent as it has been in the past. All of you have been fairly supportive about this kind of stuff, and I really appreciate it, but it's hard to predict what will happen in the coming weeks.

Thanks for your time, and I'll see you next week.

Monday, November 23, 2009

11/23/09 - Turkey Week (or in my case Peanut Butter Sandwich Week)

Hey Guys! SlimKirby here!

First off, I hope you all (in America anyways) have a good Thanksgiving week. For all of you non-USA people, just have a good week I guess. :P Anyways, this has been the week I have been looking forward to for weeks. More than one measly day off from school...get to see my wonderful family....and plenty of Youtube stuff!

Well....to be honest, scratch that last thing.

This week will actually be pretty light as far as videos from me. You will have the Lolo video today, the extra video tomorrow, and Bowser's Nightmare on Saturday. While it is exciting to witness the end of one project, and the end of the largest part of another, I know some of you will feel kind of sad about not having a SlimKirby update, but to be honest, I really need this break right now.

Things have actually been pretty stressful for me lately. My classes are really starting to just get the best of me, I'm almost halfway done with my Junior year and I barely have any credits for my major due to switching three times, I barely get to see my friends anymore because they turned into drunken slob college students who don't know any better, and.....really...it's just tough.

I don't want you guys to worry too much though. While this stuff is a lot to take, I feel like I have the ability, drive, and the patience to handle it. But you know, sometimes...this shit happens, and sometimes you feel the effects of it, regardless of how strong you are. There are some individuals out there who can't handle it all, and I feel sorry for those individuals. Things shouldn't have to be this tough, but they just are.

There is something I would like to say though...to all of you guys. I really do appreciate all of the support you have given me. My readers...my subscribers...my fellow members of Crystal Star Studio and "a select few" of you from #sm41triviahq. Because of you people, I have gained strength and confidence in myself, and I feel like I can do whatever I put my mind to. I know it seems silly, but it's true, it means a lot to me. Around this time 2 years ago when I was just starting out on Youtube, I had no freaking idea I would have nearly 5000 subscribers and that they would be growing at an exponential rate. It has been an honor to provide videos for you guys.

Anyways, to get back to my point, I would like a few days off just so I can relax a little, visit with my family, play Mario Party games where I don't get screwed by annoying luck, play puzzle games without medusas, and of course, play New Super Mario Bros. Wii, which from what I have played thus far, is an amazing game. =)

Also, I am not kidding from the title. I don't like turkey. Not because I am a vegetarian, but just because it never really tasted that good to me. I do acknowledge it as a tradition though. Anyways, everytime we have Thanksgiving, my mom always makes me a peanut butter sandwich, but not just any sandwich....a sandwich that is made with love! I know that sounds kind of cheesy (it is, I agree), but it's something she has done for me every year for the last 20 years and I'll never forget her for it. I would make it myself, but as my mom says, something always tastes better when somebody else cooks/makes it for you. In this case, it is true. :P

------------------------------------------------------

Next Week:

Anyways, time to stop talking about that stuff and start talking about what some of you may be more interested in. So, with nothing really going on during Thanksgiving week, but what about the weeks after? The weeks before I'm supposed to do Kirby Super Star replay? Well, I'll quickly go over that right now.

First off, on December 5th, 2009, I will be starting the extras for Mario Party 5. What will the extras consist of? Well, here is what I plan to cover in the extra videos;

1). One Map of Story Mode:
Some of you are probably hoping for a complete playthrough of Story Mode, but really, there is no need. I've shown you all of the boards, and Story Mode just has smaller variations of those boards we have already played. There is a new mechanic of story mode, which makes it a little different than party mode (hence why I am showing at least one board), but I really don't want to drag this game on longer than it needs to. I will show the conclusion of Story Mode, but probably not til the end of the project (kinda like the Final Battle video of the Mario Party 4 Board Playthroughs project).

2). Mini-Game Mode:
I'll probably show Mini-Game Mode after the Story Mode feature, because after that point, I wouldn't be able to unlock the mini-games I don't have. Which reminds me, I still don't have that last stupid duel mini-game. What I may end up doing is setting up some CPU controlled games and seeing if I can unlock them in that fashion. And I'll just keep doing that until I unlock it, because even if CPUs play the game, you still get the game unlocked...it just has to show up. I'll basically show all the games that haven't been shown off (keep in mind, I would show the Final Battle in the last video of the project, not here). I'm also considering showing off Mini-Game Circuit, Mini-Game Marathon(?), and Mini-Game Wars, with possible footage cuts (so it doesn't drag on).

3). Super Duel Mode:
At the beginning of the project, I had my doubts about this mode, but after playing it a bit of it during one night, I may cover more than I originally planned. Not that it would be a very long, extensive playthrough, but I would basically show the basics and how you would go about unlocking some features.

4). Extra Mode:
I'll basically play one game of Volleyball, Ice Hockey, and (brace yourself PowerToMario) CARD PARTY! I'll try to put Ice Hockey and Volleyball together in one video, while having a small video series dedicated to Card Party and its awesomeness.

5). Final Battle:
I'll show the final battle of Story Mode, and probably the credits of the game. May take two videos.

And that will be the project. I don't think these extras will take as long as Party Mode, but still, I will have quite a bit to cover and there will probably be quite a few videos. This may end up being the longest (in video length) Mario Party project thus far.

As for the scheduling for the extras, they will start on December 5th, but from then on, I'll be uploading them along with my new LP (which I will talk about later). I'm hoping this won't take very long (before I start Kirby Super Star anyways), but I'll find a way to be efficient with my uploads, so don't worry.

--------------------------------------------------

Lolo 2

Well, what to say about Lolo 2's finale? Well.....I will say I am glad that it is over. Not that it's a bad game or anything, but near the end of the project, I faced some difficulty in motivation and just in making the videos due to all the cuts I had to make. I didn't want to cut so much stuff out, but as I stated in I think Video #9, I don't want you guys to watch me do nothing for several minutes. Even the failures, which are usually entertaining, still felt boring and bland because it was just me trying to figure it out for a very long time. Not worth it in my opinion.

Anyways, with the extra video tomorrow, the project is completed! I can put it to rest! No more Lolo for awhile! Again though, it's a great game, it just felt tedious near the end there.

--------------------------------------

New Project:

All right! New Project! Oh boy! I can't wait!

People have already started speculating on what project I will be beginning next week, and boy are they excited. However, I think they may be getting a bit too excited. Not that the game is boring or anything, but like Lolo, it won't last very long at all. I expect to finish the main game in less time than I would normally finish Lolo, to be perfectly honest with you guys. Maybe 7 or 8 videos? I think that is a fair estimation. Keep in mind that I did say the main game, which means I do have extra content planned, but still, the extra content shouldn't last for too long. If I had to pick a project to compare it with....probably about Maze Game length.

I said I would mention something about hints in this blog entry, but I'm really not going to give very much of anything here. As I said in the last Lolo video, this is a more recognized series....a bit arcade style....has a level system like Lolo. I know I said it was a lot like Lolo, but in actuality, not really. There aren't really any puzzles at all. It's more of just a "get to the end of the stage and move on" type of game, like Donkey Kong '94. It's not the first game of the series, but it's the first on a gaming platform. Morshu would be very interested in financing this game.....and I guess that is all I will say about it. :P

If you figure it out, I won't tell you if you are correct, but I do ask you to treat it like a guess and not an answer. So don't go to my channel page and say "OMG! I KNOW! YOUR NEXT LP IS ______________." If you are right, you spoil it for everybody. If you are wrong, you are mean and people won't like you. Don't treat this like a contest....it's really not.

--------------------------------------------

Anyways, that is about it. I'll see you guys later this weekend for Bowser's Nightmare and next week for the next blog entry and my new LP! See you guys later! =D

Monday, November 16, 2009

11/16/09 - Another Month Halfway Over

Hey guys! SlimKirby here for another weekly update. These last few weeks have been pretty busy for me, and from the looks of it, will continue to be pretty busy as well. I am rather excited about next week though for it's good ol Thanksgiving. Not only does Thanksgiving mean a few days off from my classes, but it's also a nice time to relax and get caught up with your friends and family. I am definitely looking forward to it, I must say. What will that week mean in video updates though? More importantly, what can we expect this week, in the present? I will be going over that, right now!

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Lolo 2

The first week of Lolo 2 went pretty well. Had a few little trouble spots here and there with some difficult puzzles, and it didn't help that I had to remake Video #4, but for the most part, I made good progress and got through quite a bit.

This week I will be attempting....pretty much the 2nd half of the game, where things start to get a little annoying. I have up to Wednesday filmed at this point, and even I will admit that I was pretty surprised at my progress. So surprised that I even made a claim that the project could potentially end on Friday.

On second thought though, definitely do not expect that. Lolo 2 will definitely end before Thanksgiving, but a finishing date on the 23rd or 24th is a lot more likely. It's not that I doubt my abilities, but if you remember back in Lolo 1, Video #9 and #10 only covered 3 levels each (along with the credits and closing in #10), and I'm not quite sure what to even expect in this game for final levels. We are getting close though....so close that I could almost taste it.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mario Party 5

They say 3rd time is the charm, but I definitely didn't expect the third time would be yet another loss. That's right, once again, despite feeling pretty good about the way I played, I was unable to pull out a victory at Undersea Dream. I'm not really sure what it is with this game, but it really does not want me to win. I think I took the loss pretty well this time though. Yeah, I cursed a few times, and I shouted a few times, but really when you think about it, you can't really blame Luigi for that much. He just got lucky with the dice. If I was in his position, I would have made the same decisions, and I would have bought a star whenever I could, which is pretty much what he did. Would I screw my teammate in 2 vs. 2 minigames though? Well, that is a much different story, but Im not going to complain about that too much because things actually went my way in that department, despite how screwy it was.

Now, I want to get into a few things. I will probably talk about this in Rainbow Dream before I just plain stop talking about it, because I feel I have brought this up numerous times. I got quite a few comments this time about my cursing, my anger, and a few other things that came out of my mouth during this playthrough. I just want to address this again......

"If you don't like the cursing, deal with it yourself."

Just be satisfied that I don't blurt the f-word out every two seconds like other LPers and Youtubers. Frankly, I think I'm doing a pretty good job in limiting my cursing. I honestly don't curse that much, and it when it does happen, it's not like I plan in my mind, "Ok, I haven't said a curse word in awhile, so I'll say one here, and other one in 10 seconds!" No, it's not like that at all! If it comes out of my mouth, it comes out of my mouth. I am 20 years old for crying out loud, and I'm even going on 21 in 40 days. I've been around cursing my entire life. My mom even let me watch South Park when I was only 10 years old, only because she knew I was mature enough to handle the content, and she knew I wouldn't make a habit out of it. And if I did make it a habit, I'm quite certain my dad would whip me into shape (not physically, more verbally if anything).

Honestly, you kind of have to just look past the fact that they are "curses" and look more at the fact that they are just "words." Take stuff like that with a grain of salt. Trust me, very rarely will you see me using the words with their literal meaning. And if I do, you would know.

The same thing kind of goes with the anger thing. I wouldn't say that I was really "THAT" angry with the game. The only thing that really annoyed the heck out of me was Clock Stoppers when Luigi just refused to move. You gotta admit, that is pretty annoying when your teammate doesn't do anything and the other side moves flawlessly. I really don't take games THAT seriously. It's just the heat of the moment when you kind of lose that fundamental control over what you are going to say.

Anyways, Rainbow Dream will happen this weekend. I think I am still going to go with Normal computers as I believe the case I made for myself still kind of applies. I mean really, I'm usually on top when it comes to mini-games, and even when Im not, it's by a ridiculously small margin, usually determined by luck *cough*MATHLETES*cough*. I'm sorry if you guys will lose some appreciation or interest because of this, but I just want to see what will happen because of this. Knowing me, I'll probably go back to Hard for Bowser's board, but we'll see what happens.

I'm still trying to figure out how I am going to structure the extra videos though. I'll probably go over that on next week's update when it will be more relevant, but for the most part, I'll probably stop the weekly updates and try to get on more of a "every 2 or 3 days" update schedule. More on that will determined later.

-------------------------------------------------

Short LP on Horizon

For those who haven't noticed, I did actually add another LP to my main channel description for "Late November 2009." This was the "short LP" I discussed in my update a few weeks back. When I say "Late November," I mean it in the most strict of definitions. I'm actually planning for this project to start on November 30th, the very last day of November. Now, I may not set that in stone JUST yet, because I can always start it on the 1st of December as well, so the start of a project can begin at the start of a month, but I want to make sure that this new project and MP5 are done before I start Kirby Superstar on the 19th of December. So yeah, expect this project to begin in two weeks. I'll go into a little more detail of this project in next week's update, and possibly give some hints on what it will be. I won't have a contest this time though, because the contest for Lolo was a bit of a trainwreck.

--------------------------------------

Anyways, that is about it for this update. See you guys next week for THANKSGIVING WEEK! Woo! I can't wait! =D

- SlimKirby

Monday, November 9, 2009

11/9/09 - Monday, Cruddy Monday!

Hey guys, SlimKirby here for another blog entry!

I think I've decided that my blog entries are going to be held every Monday now. Monday seems like a good day because it's the start of the week, and I always seem to have some free time (which is strange, because I shouldn't have this time at all). I miss the days when I could update daily, but I just don't have that strength within me anymore.

Anyways, a few things happened during this past weekend as a flood of CSS and Blargg Pit videos hit Youtube, and I was the one to start it all. =D Anyways, just a reminder on that, Blargg Pit is a website ran by ShadowMario41 that I will also be making contributions to. CSS (Crystal Star Studio) is a collaborative Youtube channel hosted by me, ShadowMarioXLI/41, KManRules1331, MegaFreak400, PowerToMario, GaiaCrusher9, and ThePastaKing. While the site still has a ways to go in updates, and while CSS is still thinking about some main projects for the channel, don't expect there to be very much content as of right now. In the future though, this will all change.

I'm not going to go into very much detail about everything, but I will give you guys a link to a video where I did give a lot of detail. If you saw the video already, this will be old news for you, but I really don't feel like going over everything again for a 2nd time.

My Video (Regarding Information to the Blargg Pit and Crystal Star Studios)
^ Click for direct link

In the mean time, enjoy this awesome CSS trailer made by ShadowMario41 =D


-------------------------------------------

Mario Party 5

I know what you guys are thinking....."ONE COIN!"

There is not much I really have to say about Sweet Dream. It went pretty well until those final turns. If I would have just won Whomp Maze, I probably would have been fine, but the forces of luck were stacked up against me in everything else. The thing I blame most about my loss was that game of Mathletes. I only got 2 coins while everyone else got 24. That game alone put me in a tight spot against Mario. Not to mention Mario also made a good score in Coin Cache as well. The Bowser Bonus had very little impact on the game itself. Even if I had that star, Mario still would have won the mini-game star, and then we would be tied in stars, and he had more coins anyways. Now if I won Whomp Maze, the Bowser Bonus would be at fault, but otherwise it was merely an inconvenience.

I hate to admit it, but before Sweet Dream, I was actually having a lot more fun with this project than I originally thought I would be having. Sucks that two BS losses had to ruin my fun. Oh well, the party boards are halfway over, and some of the extras are kind of fun, and then the project will be over. Still no estimated finishing date because I have no idea how I want to structure the extras at all.

Anyways, expect the next board to be uploaded overnight this weekend. I will be home once again, which means I have my good desktop computer (which is always on) to work with. On Fridays I go to bed at either 2, 3, or 4 AM (depends on my mood and how tired I am), so expect the uploads to start around then, possibly at 2 so I can at least check on them. Last time I was home I had trouble with Future Dream Part 7 being uploaded, so definitely expect some uploading errors as well.

--------------------------------------------------

Lolo 2

All right! New project starts today!

To be honest though, Im not sure how to feel about Lolo 2. Normally I don't jump into a game with this much of an "unsure of" feeling, but I really don't have anything else to give at the current time. I know some of you are probably thinking, "Well SlimKirby, if you aren't sure about something, don't do it! We can wait!" but to be honest, it's not that I'm unsure of the game, or the project, or the reason why I am doing this project. It's kind of difficult to put into words. I guess it can be explained by, "Well, I don't have any doubts or complaints, nor do I have any good reasons or excitements either, I'm just doing it." I guess that's to be expected from someone who has been doing this stuff for over 2 years now, and on such a regular basis that it just feels like a daily task/duty of mine.

Anyways, as said in numerous other places, Lolo 2 will not take very long. Probably about 11, 12, or 13 videos and then it will be finished. Like Lolo 1, expect updates on the weekdays only. Sunday will remain my day-off from Youtube, so don't expect a video then either (especially since I upload 7 or 8 of them on Saturday already X_X)

-------------------------------------------

Update on Future Projects:

Well, many of you responded well to my update video last Friday when I started announcing the possibility of Yoshi's Island very, very, very soon. You also responded quite well to the GBA Yoshi's Island replacement idea as well.

Anyways, I'm going to get straight to the point here. I really don't like giving bad news, but from the way this is looking, Yoshi's Island is going to get pushed back a bit, and not only that, GBA YI is not looking good either. I'm going to be straight with you guys, for SMA3:YI, I would have to use an emulator because, first of all, I don't have the game anymore (actually, I may have not had it at all, I don't really remember). Second, even if I found the game, it would have to be done on my GameCube's Game Boy Player, and Im not taking a 3rd system up to college. Anyways, I have been doing some test runs of the game on emulator, and so far it does work pretty well. However, when it gets to World 3 (Monkey World), it lags like hell. I played through a few levels and it was like "matrix-style" throughout the whole level. And I wasn't even recording either. I even had several other programs closed, but still no success, and I'm not about to give you guys a playthrough like that. I'll keep doing some research to try to fix the problems, but Im thinking I'll just play it safe and stick to the SNES game. Since you guys responded so well to the idea though, I definitely won't throw out this possibility...just give me some time to work out the kinks.

Either way, with the postponement talked about earlier, this playthrough probably won't happen/start until January 2010 anyways. You can expect Kirby Super Star during Winter Break though, that's a promise! And you'll get the game in all of its SNES glory! =D

-----------------------------------------

I think that's about it for the update. I wanted to maybe talk about a few other things, but this update ended up being a lot longer than I originally intended it to be. Hope you enjoy Lolo 2, and the next MP5 board. Also, don't forget to check out The Blargg Pit and Crystal Star Studio. The links are in the first section of the update. See you guys later!

-SlimKirby

Monday, November 2, 2009

11/2/09 - November News

Hello people, I hope you all had a spooky Holloween. I had a very scary weekend of my own...featuring a very, very long take-home Statistics exam. So yeah, while I could have been casually updating my blog, I had to work on course projects....not very fun....especially on the weekend. Any free chance I got, I used it to sleep/nap or to play games, so I am sorry about neglecting this, but I wanted to use that free time well, since I barely get any as it is.

Rather than apologize numerous times for lack of updates, I think I'll just get on to the update.

-----------------------------------------------------

Lolo 1

First off, as far as recording is concerned, this project is completed now. The final video will be posted on Tuesday. While I am ashamed of the progress made in these final two videos, in the end it isn't so bad because I knew it would take 10 videos regardless. 6 levels (difficult ones at that) are really hard to fit into one video, especially with the ending sequences.

While this was a nice small project to work on, as far as I'm concerned, I'm not even halfway done because....

-----------------------------------------------------

Lolo 2

....when one Lolo game is done, another one emerges. I may consider myself a bit crazy for working on two Lolo projects back to back, especially since Lolo 2 is a lot harder than Lolo 1. It's also 5 floors longer with all new puzzles....definitely nothing to be jumping up and down about. However, I'm the type of guy who is willing to challenge himself, and considers the rewards for completing a tough challenge to be spectacular. This could be interesting.

As for starting dates, in tomorrow's video I am going to announce that the project may start either near the end of this week, or Monday of next week. I'm going to say right now that the project will more than likely start next week. I may take the end of this week to post some update and advertisement videos that I need to make. Some of which you may find interesting, others of which you may just want to pass up. However, do not fret because there will still be a Mario Party 5 board this weekend (I'll get more into that next), and I'll start fresh on that next Monday with Lolo 2!

-------------------------------------------------------

Mario Party 5

For those of you who saw Pirate Dream, you are probably wondering if I am ok after the final two turns from hell. I gotta admit....that was ridiculous, and I'm not even trying to make excuses here. Everything that happened in those turns was just pure BS. I can accept Daisy stealing a star from me earlier on, but losing two stars to that chance time, losing my coin edge over Daisy to chance time, Toad being stupid and not stealing from Daisy.....really too much. Definitely not the result I wanted after spending quite a bit of time recording that board. Thankfully I have nothing going on this Friday, so recording should be a lot smoother.

Hard to believe that after this week I will be halfway done with the party boards already. If this was Mario Party 1 (when I recorded one board every two weeks), I wouldn't even be close to finished. It's also kind of cool that I'll actually be doing Bowser's Nightmare during my Thanksgiving Break (cool in the sense that the finale board will be covered during a holiday period, not the fact that it is Bowser's Nightmare). Don't worry though, I'll still probably be covering the game after Thanksgiving since I have quite a few extras to cover in addition to Party Mode.

Once again, expect the next board to be uploaded during Saturday morning on the 7th of November. The uploading process will begin around 9 AM (EST (Eastern US TimeZone).

-------------------------------------------

Future Projects:

I'll talk more about this in my update video this week, but let's just say that I have some ideas. There are 3 possible projects that are guaranteed to happen very, very soon. I'll define them by the following codenames; Project Short LP, Project Long LP, and Project Replay.

Project Short LP - Near the end of Hit and Run, I started thinking about possible projects to embark on in the future. Right away, there were 2 series I was thinking about covering extensively, one after the other. The first one was Adventures of Lolo, which I am doing now, but the other was another series (comprised of short single player modes) that has some similarities to Lolo, but has different mechanics and is more well-known. I still plan to cover this game (and possibly a few others in the series), but the question of when is still out there. I'd like to do it after Lolo 2, but it depends on Project Replay.

Project Long LP - Wait...LONG LP? Like...SMRPG and Fire Emblem: POR long? That is correct. For awhile, there has been another series I have wanted to cover in some way, shape, or form, and I planned to introduce it at the end of 2009. Whether this will still happen or not...is completely dependent on a few other factors. The first depends on Mario Party 5. While the Party Mode will end before December, it's hard to say when I will get those other features covered. I probably won't strictly hold the extras to weekends unlike the Party Mode boards, but still, it's hard to say when I will get those done. For all I know, this project may not begin until January 2010. I can't really say much more about it without saying that......it depends. It depends on what I'm doing at certain time periods.

Project Replay - I've talked about this before in another update, but as you know, Kirby Super Star is finally starting to appear on Virtual Console game lists (at least in Japan anyways). Whether this will predict a release in the US soon or not....I have no idea. In the meantime though, I've actually considered the possibility of actually doing Yoshi's Island first. I'm going to talk more about this in my update video this week, but let's just say that I may go a step further in my replay of this classic walkthrough of mine.

I know I haven't gone into very much detail about these project possibilities, but keep in mind who you are listening to here. I like to keep secrets and remain mysterious about my LPs. That is who I am. Don't worry though, you will get a lot more information this week on my update video.

------------------------

Anyways, that's all I really have to say for now about current and future projects. Remember to stay tuned for the conclusion of Lolo tomorrow, an update video near the end of the week, and the next Mario Party 5 board.

Later folks!

-SlimKirby

Monday, October 26, 2009

10/26/09 - Hello Everybody, SickKirby Here

Updates:

I am really, really, REALLY sorry for neglecting this blog for the last week. The part of this not updating thing that gets me the most is the fact that when I did this daily, I was doing a really good job of of getting my daily updates in, but now that I have given myself less updates and more time, I can only seem to get one in. I feel really bad about this readers. I'd like to say that I had a good excuse, and while I do think it is an acceptable excuse, I wouldn't say it was necessarily a good one.

Anyways, I'm sure some of you are already familiar with this, especially if you watched my Mario Party 5 board for the weekend, but I caught a sinus infection near the end of last week, and it was also my Fall Break, so right away, I was in a bad place at a bad time. There are also a few other things that put me in a bad and sickly mood, but I'd rather not waste time in naming the details. I knew that updating Thursday was going to be out of the question no matter what, since I had classes smack dab in the middle of my day and I also had to drive home as well. It was almost 8 when I got home, and I really don't feel like updating a blog at that time when I just want to relax, especially when I had to wake up early the next morning for my appointment. On Friday, I had to worry about Mario Party 5 stuff, on Saturday I had to worry about making sure that stuff got uploaded and I also had some family coming over that day, so I wanted to spend time with them. And then yesterday.....well, yesterday was a pain as well since I had to worry about getting back to my college, and I wanted to make the best of what little of Fall Break I had left.

So yeah, they may not be the best reasons to why I was gone, but those were the reasons. I really do apologize for the lack of updates though. Thankfully, there is not really much to talk about.

Lolo:

I thought the first 3 episodes went pretty well (3 up as of now...currently uploading 4th). This confirmed to me though that this will be a very short LP. It will definitely take less than a two week's worth of videos. I'm not going to give an approximate end date, because things can still happen, but assuming the uploads continue as planned, it should be finished by the beginning or middle of next week.

After I finish Lolo 1, I have already decided that I will follow it up with Lolo 2. Lolo 2 is a bit longer than Lolo 1, but not by much (I think it has 55 levels instead of 50, and also the puzzles are a bit harder). After I finish with Lolo 2, I'm not really sure about how to advance from there. I have a few ideas, but let's just wait on that.

Mario Party 5:

Besides a little snippet of trouble with Video #7's upload, this board went pretty smoothly. I only wish I wasn't sick, as that probably hurt the commentary a little. I didn't have any glitches (that I noticed) with the game audio this time, so that was a plus. My main beef with this board was how long it ran after the last 5 turns. I know I want to show everything in this game, but 5 star spaces really hurt my timing frames. Stars were a lot easier to collect, and those "NOW THE STAR IS OVER HERE" scenes are like 15-30 seconds long. Then we had the duel mini-games which also added quite a bit of time. Then there were the Tweester capsules, which added more star moving scenes.....ugh, a timing nightmare. If that didn't happen, the board could have easily ended in 6 or 7 videos. Wasn't crazy about 8....

Other Stuff:

Well, it seems like there is a trend with me and Sunday. For the last two Sundays, I have gotten honors for channel views. This time I was up in the 40s of the Top 50, which is really impressive. It means for that day, I am one of 50 Youtube directors that have the most channel views. And when you think about how many director accounts there are.....that's impressive. I don't see myself going that much farther, but it's fun to just sit back and enjoy the ride. :P And of course, thanks to all my fans for making this possible.

----------------------------------------------------

Anyways, getting back to the update thing.....I think I have decided that I'm going to go to a weekly update schedule now. Not really because Im busy....not really because I hate doing this....but it just seems to make more sense in the long run. I really don't have that much to say about stuff except for my videos and the games I am playing, and usually you get the gist of that in my videos. It just seems like this would be for the best in the long run and in the grand scheme of things. I'm sorry if you really enjoy these blog updates and whenever I do update, I'll try my best to make them as enjoyable as possible, but it is slowly becoming too much for me.

So here is the deal....I'm not going to tell you when I'll switch over to this new update schedule. I'll keep trying to adapt to this current 2-4 entries per week system, but if it becomes too much, I'll just start phasing entries out as time goes on and will start working towards once per week. It will be a gradual process, not an immediate one.

Thank you for your time readers...hopefully I'll get better soon :P

- SlimKirby

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

10/20/09 - "The Adventures of Lolo Revealed!"

Well guys, after a very poorly ran contest, the results and the information is in. My new Let's Play is The Adventures of Lolo for the NES. 44 people were able to crack the code of the contest and determine this next LP for me (and if they didn't crack the code, they at least managed to copy other answers). Anyways, here is the process by which I decided to do this game for my next LP.

I first played this game a few years ago when I was really into using emulators and ROMs, something that I'm not really into very much anymore. I heard about this game through Nintendo Power on a Top 100 list they posted of what they considered to be the best games of all time (I think it was Issue #100) and sure enough, Adventures of Lolo managed to appear on the list. Because of this mention, and since I recognized the characters from Kirby Superstar, I decided I would give the game a try. During that week, I played through all 3 NES games and enjoyed every minute of them.....well, except the parts that gave me a migraine due to the insane puzzles of later stages. Anyways, when I heard that Nintendo was putting them on the Virtual Console, I was ecstatic. You see, this is what the Virtual Console is for....ancient and undiscovered gems like these. Stop complaining about Banjo Kazooie's high possibility of not being available.

After winning a trivia contest held by good friend MegaFreak400, he actually surprised me and gave me a gift of any VC game worth 500 Wii Points. Immediately I went for Lolo and I didn't regret my decision. Later (just recently actually), another good friend... and rival, ShadowMario41 actually gifted me Lolo 2 from my trivia winnings in his trivia contest, so it's nice that I can actually enjoy these games forever now and play them without feeling guilty about not owning an NES and using emulators. :P

Now....my decision to actually LP these games was a very easy one that actually took awhile to register. After the Summer of 2009, I was actually kind of lost on what I would do for upcoming projects. I knew Hit and Run was going to be in the works eventually, and I had 2 other replays to do as well (which are still going to be put on hold eventually), and I had no freaking idea when I was ever going to do Mario Party 5. However, once I started figuring out the scheduling for Mario Party 5 and some other projects I was planning for Fall 09, things started to come together. And sure enough, after looking at my Wii Menu, Lolo was one of the first games to come to mind.

Lolo will be first in line of a bunch of mini-projects I have planned for this season. I figured that since MP5 would be updated during the weekend, and that it would be a pretty long project regardless, that the best thing to do was to fill the weekdays with some filler LPs. Although I don't really like the term "filler," since I try to LP every game to the best of my ability and not put any projects above and below other projects, you can't really ignore the name, because that is essentially what the project is. However, I definitely recommend you give the game a fair chance, because it is honestly a great game. Kind of brain-hemorrhaging at times due to the amount and type of puzzles, but still kind of challenging (in a good way) and quite a bit of fun as well. I definitely don't expect this to be at the top of people's "Top SlimKirby LPs" list though.

I would like to eventually do all 3 of the NES Lolo games. Fortunately, I don't see Lolo 1 lasting two weeks, so expect that project to finish rather quickly. I'd like to do the sequel right after Lolo 1, but from that arises two concerns of mine. I actually am not that familiar with Lolo 2 than Lolo 1 and from my understanding, that game is quite difficult compared to the original, so that will definitely cause some issues, but hopefully not many. Second, I don't want people to get too bombarded with the Lolo series or the game genre at once, because I'm actually planning another Let's Play after Lolo that revolves around a similar gameplay mechanic, but too a much lesser extent. You'll see what I mean when I get to the game, as I'd rather not reveal it right now.

Anyways, the first video will be uploaded tomorrow, so I hope you guys enjoy this new LP! Personally, I don't have much else to discuss, so I think I'll end this part of the entry right here. Once again, I do apologize for the half-assed contest of mine (as talked about in the last entry), just because looking at it from a different perspective, it definitely didn't meet the standards I should have had.

---------------------------------------------

SlimKirby Shoutout

The shoutout this time actually goes to a person who is not very well known in the LP world.....mostly because he doesn't name his work as "Let's Plays" rather "Talthroughs." My shoutout today goes to Mr. roundthewheel.

His Channel

Round has been doing talkthroughs for quite awhile now...since June 2008. He started with Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins and is now working on his 21st talkthrough, which is Sonic the Hedgehog 2. You find very few people who have done so much through Youtube yet have very few subscribers. RTW is one of those people, and definitely deserves a lot more credit for all the work he has done. I discovered him through his very long and extensive talkthrough of the PC game Lemmings and have been an on-and-off again watcher of his work ever since.

Even though most of his projects are pretty mainstream, there is no excuse not to at least check him out. Like me, he's just a heavy-set 20+ year old gamer wanting to show off the finer points in gaming, and perhaps give you a little help along the way.

Keep up the great work Round! And congratulations on getting married recently as well. ;)

--------------------------------

-SlimKirby

Sunday, October 18, 2009

10/18/09 (Blog Adjustments)

Hello everybody, SlimKirby here!

In a few minutes, I'll get to talking about the first Mario Party 5 board, and maybe a few other things, but first, I want to talk about my blog, and some of the things that have been going on.

As you know, yesterday was the 2nd day in one week that i hadn't updated this thing. Before then, I actually think I did pretty well with my updates. I almost went an entire month without skipping a day, and I think I had the format down pretty well. Then on last Monday, I decided to take a break from the blog since I wasn't really updating anyways, and I also had some homework I had to get done as well. Then yesterday I just completely spaced it all-together, and when I did remember it, I just decided that updating probably just wasn't worth it by that point. Besides, I had such a hassle with the Mario Party 5 editing (moreso than the actual uploading, because the uploading went really smooth considering I had 8 to upload).

So while these two no-update days weren't that surprising, they have gotten me thinking a bit about how I should continue with this thing. Personally, while I do think there is a lot I can talk about, I don't think there is enough to satisfy a whole week's worth of content. Solution? Well, I talked about this when I started the blog, but basically, I think I'm actually going to try a slightly new format.

I'm no longer going to be updating daily, BUT, I am going to be uploading at least twice a week (somewhere between 2-4 updates per week). This way I can keep you guys updated on things maybe once or twice during the week, and then I can talk about Mario Party on Saturday, and then talk about upcoming stuff on Sunday. This might actually work out better for me, considering my schedule during the week is pretty unpredictable, and with a new project starting soon (which I'll get into later), I'm going to need a much less hectic schedule. I think this is fair.

Unless something important comes up, I would never expect a blog entry on Monday or Friday if I were you guys. Monday is kind of the "Ugh, new week...time to feel like crap" day for me, and Friday is either the "I want to come back to my dorm room and sleep for hours due to a long week" day or the "I have to spend an hour packing, an hour getting my car, and an hour driving home, so leave me alone" day. To figure out my weekday blog schedule, check and see if I post anything on Tuesday. If I do, I will probably be updating twice during the week, on Tuesday and Thursday. If I don't update on Tuesday, expect an update on Wednesday, and probably only that one Wednesday update. I will try my best to update on both Saturday and Sunday, but take that with a grain of salt, because with my schedule, I don't even know if I can be counted on. In fact, just keep that in mind for any updates. I'd like to be Mr. Reliable, and while I do come through most of the time, there is not always a safety catch. As I stated before, my real life does and will always prioritize over my Youtube and blog stuff.

-----------------------------------

Mario Party 5:

Ok guys, yesterday I uploaded the first board of Mario Party 5, and I have to say that it went pretty well. Sure, it took 8 videos, but 8 is always better than 9, I guess you could say, and that is saying a lot because I remember back in the day when my original MP1 project had boards that were over 20 videos long >_>.

Anyways, perhaps since I am using this blog as a way to give more inside information about the production of these videos, I could share with you guys the process by which I make, edit, and upload them. Let's just walk through those phases right now, shall we?

First we have the actual recording, perhaps the most fun part of actually doing these playthroughs. To be honest, this would be a lot more fun if I actually had a program that could record for more than 17 minutes and 53 seconds. I know that Youtube videos are 11 minutes at most, but with Mario Party, you really don't want to stop and wait, especially when you have a laptop with very small hard-drive space. And before you computer nerds get in my face about getting an external hard-drive, let me just stop you and have Mario explain it in a way you would understand.....

While an external hard-drive would be nice, I just don't have the money, and my parents don't really want to give me money for something that they deem as unnecessary. Besides, I'm also saving up for other things that I would like to have as well. While I don't necessarily agree with my parents, I do agree with them in the sense that if I don't need it, I don't need it because this would be more for convenience. Anyways, I didn't actually start the filming of the board until like 3:45 on Friday. For once I actually had a very busy Friday as I had an exam I had to schedule for the date, and I had to move my car, which is not as easy as it sounds. Anyways, the basic procedure for filming MP5 was recording two 18-minute segments, going into Movie Maker, editing those segments down into Youtube length and saving them as WMVs, deleting the raw computer-stealing footage, putting the new video files onto a Flash drive, and then start recording the second two 18-minute blocks (and the conclusion) of the board. This process took easily 2 and a half hours at least (all of the saving and importing added on to this) and I wasn't done until about 6:30 or 7:00.

The importing, editing, and publishing, although time-consuming, is the easiest to work with. Mostly because while something is importing or saving, I can actually DO OTHER THINGS. I can get caught up with MegaFreak400's quest to find treasure, kill turquoise birds, and talk about the differences between Zelda: Four Swords and New Super Mario Bros. Wii for 10 minutes, or watch ShadowMario41 fail horribly at fighting berserkers. As for the editing, with the way I do it, I just match up the commentary with the game footage on the video timeline(easier than it sounds), adjust for 11 minutes (or close to 11 minutes), and then save it. Not very hard at all....

The uploading is perhaps the least hands-on, but it has the most opportunities to fail. Youtube is definitely far from perfect when it comes to uploading (if the administration and moderation wasn't crap enough). For one, uploads can fail! They may not be the fault of Youtube, and moreso your own connection, but still, it's annoying. Second, if you are uploading multiple videos, there are chances for some of your later videos to upload first. This actually hasn't happened to me very much as of late, but in the past, this occurrence was definitely the bane of my existence. Also...and I don't know how this happens...sometimes if your video is exactly 11 minutes (and sometimes just under), the video will be mistaken for over 11 minutes, and we know what Youtube does with those videos, don't we? REJECTION! Many people have said this, especially LPers, but why does Youtube have a time limit? Wouldn't file size be the bigger concern here? Thankfully though, uploading can be pretty fast, especially at college and high-speed connections, so even if something bad happens, it's just an extra 20 minutes of waiting, most of which can be used to watch other videos or play games or something.

Anyways, that's pretty much how the process goes. As you can see, the recording was pretty bad for me this time, due to all the variables had to deal with. And even when all that was said and done, I still had some recording glitches (at the end of Video #5 and start of #6), so even though I was pretty cautious with my recording, these stupid things are equally likely to happen regardless, which can be a kick in the face. Thankfully it was only 2 minutes worth of footage...

The waking up early, starting uploads, and then going back to sleep process I tried actually worked pretty well. I only got about 3 or 4 extra hours of sleep, and all 8 videos were up by the time I woke up, which is pretty impressive. Let me tell you guys though....on the weekends, 10 AM in the morning is EARLY for me. It really is. On the weekends, I try to sleep to noon, one, or two. Why? Because college classes drain my precious energy. I really do put a lot of work into my studies and my education, almost too much. Because of that, any chance I get to sleep or just relax, I take it, and that's all Im going to say about that!

As for the actual board (finally, we are actually getting to the video content....), damn was that a rollercoaster of "fun." I was definitely glad I was able to achieve victory, but man, I do not like doing it on the last turn during the bonus stars. I have a pretty good track record of getting those stars, but even when it comes down to the nitty-gritty, it's still just about luck, especially considering the annoying capsule system. Speaking of which, Mr. Blizzard, I hope you melt in a fire. Given, I was reluctant to use the Wiggler capsule at first anyways, but still, it would have been nice to have that back-up. Another thing that got me pretty bad was that warp pipe at the very beginning, which pretty much took me away from that first star. Then, after getting Blizzard'd, I had another chance to get a star, but I fell one space short...which happens a lot in the first boards of these playthroughs, ironically. Also, Scaldin Cauldron? That was a knee to the groin in every retrospect.

Either way, there were some upsides during this board. Unfortunately these moments seemed to happen at the very end of game. I will say though, it was nice to win that duel game and completely pwn everybody in coin amounts. =)

That's about all I really have to say about Toy Dream. Sorry I kind of just rambled on there, but I guess that is the point of blogging...or is it? I dunno, but that was definitely an interesting start to a new project, and Im sure some of you can agree.

--------------------------------

New Project:

Ok, the LAST thing I want to talk about is my new project. First and foremost, the new project will begin on Wednesday, the 21st of October. I know I haven't been very clear in my videos, or in my channel description, but I can tell you that Wednesday is and will be, the day. I will reveal the game on Tuesday night with a revelation video, and then I'll have the first video sometime in the afternoon on Wednesday.

I will admit, I didn't organize the contest very well, but at least I can take this as a learning experience. Hell, I also learned that there is a "Pending Comment Approval" feature, something I had no idea even existed.

I will say though, I probably won't have a contest ever again on my channel. I really don't have that much to offer anyone. I'm not crazy about Let's Trys...shoutouts can only go so far...and while I do appreciate your support, Im not crazy enough about letting people I don't know very well do co-commentary with me on my videos. So as far as video-viewer interaction, I'll probably just stick to board polls in my MP playthroughs and if I ever have a situation like in Hit and Run with the clothing. That's all I really want to say about that.

Anyways, looking forward to getting this new project off the ground, and I hope you guys enjoy it!

-------------------------------------

Finally....and this is ironic because this actually happened while writing this blog....

"#82 - Most Viewed (Today) - Directors"

That may be the first channel honor I have gotten since I've been here at Youtube. Wow...just....wow! I am stunned and speechless. Thanks to everybody who made this possible! I really appreciate your support! =)

Actually, this isn't my first honors. Ironically, my video "I Pissed Off the Wrong Soda" had a really high number of views in Ireland on the day I uploaded. Why Ireland? Well, let's just say an acquaintance of mine....an Irish Captain Falcon....really enjoyed that video. :P

Still though...I really appreciate the support you guys! =)

That's about it for the update. I realize it's kind of long, but think of it as a way to make up for my lack of updates this week :P

And remember, the new blog adjustments take effect after this entry, so don't expect an update tomorrow.

- SlimKirby

Saturday, October 17, 2009

"No Entry" for the 2nd Day in One Week?

Yeah, sorry that Im slacking on the blog guys. I had some stuff to do today, and then the Mario Party uploads cut into some time as well, so I just ran out of time. I will definitely have an entry up for tomorrow.

In the meantime, I did upload Toy Dream, the first board of Mario Party 5 today, so if you haven't checked that out, go for it. It is filled with Mr. Blizzardific moments.

Friday, October 16, 2009

10/16/09

Hello everybody, SlimKirby here!

For today's entry, I'll be doing a special update to celebrate my now-completed LP of The Simpsons: Hit and Run, an LP I've been doing for the last month and a half, but a project that has always had a special place on my channel. I had a good time working on this project, but now it is time to see it go. This may be far from the end of my channel, but this was definitely the end of a very influential project.

Back in 2007, I decided I was going to do a Hit and Run walkthrough shortly after completing my first walkthrough, which was Kirby Super Star for the SNES. It was a game that I really enjoyed from the moment I bought it, and felt that the game was definitely a sleeper hit (a game that is given high marks, but is overlooked by other major titles that are released during the same time) of 2003. Because of this, I wanted to share my enjoyment of this game with the Youtube public, and since the Simpsons movie was due to come out around the same time, it felt like a good idea and try to push the project based on that.

After finishing the project (since I didn't feel like having an update schedule back then), I started to notice that my videos were periodically getting a high number of views. After only a few months, the first video soared to 10,000, 20,000 and eventually, 30,000 views. Of course I don't think the reason was due to my walkthough, but rather the Simpsons name being attached to it. It did feel nice getting noticed, even though it didn't really bring a big # of subscribers with it.

The game quickly became the most viewed project on my Youtube channel, for pretty obvious reasons. As time went on though, and as my video quality improved, the major focus of my channel shifted over to better quality video projects, Mario Party videos, and other Let's Plays. Videos of my old project still managed to stick around on the most viewed list regardless of that, which was still a pretty imprssive feat. The first video, "Episode 1: The Simpsons Go GTA!" remained the most viewed video on my channel until it was surpassed during the Summer of 2009 by the first Mario Party 3 video, and #2 until recently when it was surpassed by the first video of the new project, but before its deletion.

The decision to redo the project occurred in Early 2009, but I was unsure if I wanted to do the game right away, or if a redo was even necessary. I decided that the redo was going to officially happen, along with the other old walkthroughs on my channel, after the deletion of the classic versions of Mario Party 1 and 2. However, if you were subscribed to me back then, you would know that I was definitely a fan of postponing the project longer than intended, due to the fear of copyright claims and putting my channel at risk.

I finally decided, in August, that the project would come into fruition, and decided I would upload the first video on the first day of September. I was worried about my standing in college, but after looking over my schedule and class load, and scheduling recording sessions, the wheels were finally put into motion.

My idea of a schedule was basically to record every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday night. On all of these days, I didn't have to wake up early the next morning for classes, and could pretty much stay up as long as I wanted, assuming that I could get my work done. These made perfect openings for recording, and I would only be getting 2 or 3 videos ahead of myself. Also, Friday night recordings would mean less things to worry about during the weekend. =)

I think the new project went very well with my viewers. If I had to make a rough estimate, I gained approximately 1,500+ subscribers during the course of this project, which is actually quite amazing since it took me almost 2 years just to get that many originally. Videos from the project are already approaching the top of the Most Viewed charts, and my Youtube Insight graphs have never been this high. Clearly it was due to Hit and Run, and only Hit and Run, that this data was able to come into view. Either way, the main point of this is I am really glad you guys enjoyed this project, because I had a fun time making it.

Downsides? Well, besides a few glitches, and recording software glitches and oopsies, I'd say the project definitely had more ups than downs. There were a few episodes where I felt the commentary could have better, and the audio levels may have been a bit inconsistent and not as balanced, but many LPers struggle with those problems. I felt the viewer polls went pretty well, although the numbers for a few of them were insane, and as I said near the end, the last viewer poll crashed Microsoft Word when I tried to copy and paste the comments. I really did enjoy getting the viewers involved in the project, even though I found that the majority of my viewers like to see a grown mid-30-year-old in his underwear.

So yeah, this was a fun project to work with and Im glad I decided to it. Not only was it a tribute to a great game, but it was also a tribute to my old Youtube days as well. =)

- SlimKirby

Thursday, October 15, 2009

10/15/09

Video Summary:
Let's Play The Simpsons: Hit and Run Extra #3


Here it is! The final extra! Time for this project to officially close.

Not much to say about this...just showing the main menu. For those who haven't noticed yet, I did post a video last night to correct some misconceptions and statements about the Bonus Game. Apparently you could change the camera angle and I just assumed that you couldn't. Big mistake on my part, and thanks CuteArceus for the correction =P.

Anyways, tomorrow I will have a special video where I will talk about 4000 subscribers, the end of Hit and Run, Mario Party 5, and the new LP that will start midway through next week. It's a video you may not want to miss!

--------------------------------------------

Game Chat:


First impressions of Bowser's Inside Story (Mario and Luigi 3)

In one of my first blog entries, I talked about this game a little bit, but remarked about not having it yet. However, I've officially had the game for about a week now, so I felt I would talk about it a little bit. Keep in mind, I haven't been able to play it THAT much, since I have been busy with other things, but I'd say I'm a good 4, 5, or 6 hours into the game by this point.

Warning! I am going to try and not use spoilers, but there is a good chance I may mention one unintentionally, so read at your own risk if you don't want to get spoiled.

First of all, classic Mario and Luigi gameplay still exists. If you are a fan of the first two games, you will feel right at home with this title. One of my main gripes about Partners in Time was that you always felt stuck in one area until you cleared it, and went back to Peach's Castle (the main hub of the game), but even then it still felt like you couldn't really go off and do what you want as you always had to focus on the next part. In this game, there are elements and parts of that, but after they are over, you feel like you have complete freedom. Also, with some in-game conveniences, it is easier to get around the world map, allowing you to revisit older areas with new abilities and to find cool, new things.

Now when it comes to the in-battle gameplay and mechanics, they are as fine-tuned as ever, and it is SO MUCH FUN playing as the Koopa King in battle, with all of his raw power and burning fire breath. In this game, they have combined the ideas of the Bros. Moves from Superstar Saga and the Bros. Items from PiT for the special attacks, so now you have attacks that function like the Bros. items, but use FP/SP (whatever) instead of how many of the item you have. Bowser's special attacks involve him coordinating with his minions, which can be a lot of fun....assuming the stylus works well for you, because so far from what I have seen, all of his special attacks involve the stylus in some way.

At first I was a little worried about Mario and Luigi being stuck in Bowser's body for a great period of time, but the game has actually managed to implement the idea pretty well considering. At random times in the game, Bowser will run into trouble, and it will be up to the Mario Bros. to fix the problem. For example, when Bowser is involved in a feat of arm strength, the Bros. will have to go into his arm cavity and play a small mini-game that will activate the nerves in Bowser's arm to get stronger. Thankfully, a lot of these mini-games can be fun to play, but some can also be difficult, so be careful. When Bowser isn't in peril, you can switch to the Bros. anytime and explore Bowser's body at his your own leisure, but I've found there isn't much you can really do during these times unless you have specific moves. However, I may not be very far into the game to actually know for sure, so don't take my word for it just yet.

Still not quite sure what to think about Fawful being the new villain (not much of a spoiler, you find out at the very beginning). Fawful was a good character in Superstar Saga, but he's given me a completely new look of him in this game. It's not necessarily a bad outlook....just different. He still has some of the most bizarre quotes you will ever hear. "I HAVE CHORTLES!"

So right now....I'd say it's definitely a good game. If you like the Mario and Luigi series, definitely check it out. Otherwise...kind of hard to say. I will always love Superstar Saga, but my opinion may be a bit biased, since that was the game I started with in this series. I'll try to give my opinion later on when I've almost completed the game, or have completed it.

--------------------------------------------

R.I.P. Captain Lou Albano!

In memory of him, everybody do the Mario!

-SlimKirby

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

10/14/09

Video Summary:
Let's Play The Simpsons: Hit and Run Extra #2


Wow, and I complained about some of the main game mechanics..... this mode is a LOT worse. Top down views of this caliber just don't work. At least the one in Kirby Air Ride was close enough so you could actually see what you were doing. The angles here were just horrid. At least I won the first race, but overall, this mode realy wasn't worth the thrill of that first place.

Only one extra video left, and this project will be.....COMPLETED!

Also, thanks to all the users who pointed out my mispronunciation of "Wager Race" as "Rager Wace" in yesterday's video. Now I feel ridiculous! Thanks a lot guys! :P XD

-----------------------------------------
SlimKirby Shoutout

In this shout-out, I am only going to be giving a shout-out to two individuals, but there is a catch......there is only one project being advertised.

Griff 'n Spack Play Final Fight 3 (griffinlobster and Odinspack33)


I've talked about these blokes before I'm sure, so it was really no surprise that I was going to give them a shout-out, but what can I say...these guys do an excellent job so it is only proper that I give them the praise they deserve.

About a month ago, these two finished a long-term (in terms of updates) co-op project of Kirby Super Star, perhaps one of, if not, the best, Kirby Super Star co-op playthroughs I have ever seen. Because of these two, I am very reluctant to do an LP (or rather, the replay of the game) of the game, because they did the game great justice, a justice I would not want to encroach on.

Now that they have finished Kirby, it's only natural that they would try to get another co-op project going, which is only sensible because great duos like these don't deserve to die. Now instead of sucking, spitting, burning, hammering, and bombing (Kirby copy abilities) their problems away, they are getting a bit more down and dirty as they take the fighting to the streets of Final Fight 3.

I've personally never been the biggest fan of fighting games (besides Smash Bros. and old-school Street Fighter), but it will be great to see what these two manage to come up with in this project. Only one video has been posted so far, so definitely look out for some other videos to come. Keep up the great work guys (if you two happen to read this, anyways).

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

10/13/09

Video Summary:
Let's Play The Simpsons: Hit and Run Extra #1


Ok, these summaries are going to be pretty brief since they are only extra videos.

Anyways, this video has wager races and it also shows you were to use the Level 3 ticket you can get with all the collector cards. That's really all it is. :P

I gotta say though, that Level 7 wager race really rubbed me the wrong way. It seemed like everytime i hit something, my car automatically turned the other way. That annoyed me more than actually hitting anything, because the game is fairly generous with that.

Also, I talked about a trick to getting coins in the video that I never really elaborated on because I was going to give a link to those cheats. However, I don't really remember if the trick is in that section or if it was in an FAQ I checked. Basically, if you read this blog, here is the trick;

"When you go through levels for the very first time, don't destroy the boxes or the vending machines. Instead, kick them twice, get the coins, and then leave the level. Come back and the boxes will be restored. If you destroy the boxes, they will disappear forever."

So yeah, that may actually be the best way to get coins (maybe), but the wager races also help as well. Only thing about the wager races is that traffic can screw you very badly. However, if you have a good car and if you are a decent driver, you should be fine.

That's about it for this video though. See you tomorrow for the 2nd of 3 extras!

----------------------------------------------------------

Back in the day, I watched a lot of TV. Whenever I would do something in my house, I always made sure the TV was on. And since my room is the perfect angle from my living room, I can play video games in my room, look through my doorway, and still see the tv perfectly. However, as I have gotten older, I find myself not watching as much tv anymore. I'm not really sure why, but there are really only 3 or 4 shows I watch anymore that I actually turn on the TV to watch; The Simpsons, Seinfeld re-runs, South Park, and the show Im going to talk about today; Hell's Kitchen.

I don't know why I like Hell's Kitchen so much. I've never really been a fan of the premise of reality shows but for HK, it just seems to work, and I have been an avid watcher since the first season. Anyways, tonight, the season finale of this batch of contestants (Season 6, btw) is here and I'll actually have something to watch tonight during a 2 hour block, something that rarely happens to me.

Just a warning, if you have no idea of what I am talking about, you may want to just skip this entry entirely.

Anyways, I thought this season was rather interesting. I thought they had the most unique selection of chefs than they have ever had this time, and what's more is that all of them (or at least a vast majority) had some kind of unique character trait that made it at least a little interesting to watch, and now the finale is upon us and Im finding myself wanting to see how this season closes out.

I think I'll cover the major points of the season (and the major contestants) one by one and give my opinion of them.

1) First of all, bringing Robert from last season back was a huge mistake. I liked Robert last season, but this season he was acting like a bitch the entire time and he made himself look like an asshole. There were some funny moments, but I don't think that justified him being back again. Also, he definitely wasn't healthy enough to warrant that comeback (even if he did lose some weight, he was still at major risk).

2) When Joseph treatened Chef Ramsey at the end of Episode 2, that was just ridiculous and looked really fake and played out. If he was honestly that mad at being tormented by Ramsey, then actually punch him. Don't call him a bitch and look tough if you aren't going to do anything. Or perhaps he was all talk and no fight? Either way, it looked really fake....

3) How many chefs got injured or sent to the medic (or hospital) this season? Definitely more than any other one. What's kind of disappointing is the way they try to make these accidents look more serious than they actually are. I've gone into 3 or 4 episodes now with the impression something bad is going to happen to Dave (who fractured his wrist and can't move an entire arm), and even though I know it's just HK's way of making it look very dramatic when it actually isn't, it gets annoying....very very quickly.

4) Chef Suzanne.....I never want to see her again. She is such a bitch, she is so full of herself, and she has no idea how a team functions, especially in Hell's Kitchen. The contestants were quickly annoyed with her, and so were the viewers. I don't think there was a single person out there who was actually rooting for her, and I'm glad she wasn't the winner this season (although she did make it to the Top 5). Yeah, she was good, but she wasn't the only good one, which she made herself out to be. I really hate people like that. My play-by-play on Suzanne.....she just needs to stop talking.

5) Ok, now for perhaps the most controversial contestant....Tennille. To be honest, I actually didn't mind Tennille. She had some rough moments, and sure, her attitude was far from the best, and of course she talked and complained a lot. However, in the long run, she could cook, she could get aggressive in the kitchen, and she has strong leadership qualities and could possibly lead a kitchen....that is if the kitchen didn't want to destroy her first. She has shown remarkable growth and determination of any contestant I have ever seen and she should definitely consider herself a winner in that fashion.

Ok, I'm sure I could find other things to talk about, but I don't really want to cover thirteen 45-minute episodes worth of content, so I just touched on the major points. Now I'll go on to the finale.

They are doing something a little different this year. Instead of having 2 episodes of the last two contestants, they are having 2 hours of content in one week, the first half being the Final Three, second half being the finals, which I guess they are condensing quite a bit this time. The remaining chefs are Ariel, Dave, and Kevin. Ariel has shown great promise throughout the season, but is still weak in many areas, and her performance lately, I think, doesn't warrant her being in the finals. Dave is great, he is a hard-worker, and he can be a force to be reckoned with and only have 1 freaking arm to work with. He definitely deserves to be in the finals, but I don't know if he can bring a strong leadership role to the table though. Kevin has been consistent throughout the entire competition, has made very few mistakes, and can definitely lead a kitchen better than anyone else at this time. He perhaps has the best chance to win this, but will growth and determination excel over experience? In the past it has, but I think Kevin has a pretty good shot right now. Dave and Ariel will have to overcome their weaknesses, and if they do, Kevin may not win. I will be rooting for Dave though.

So yeah, just felt like giving my opinion on the matter. Can't wait for the finale tonight! Good luck HK chefs! And for my readers, sorry I wasted an entry on this, but since I've been watching, I felt like I wanted to broadcast my opinion in some way :P

-SlimKirby