1/4/10 - Happy 2010!

Hello everybody, SlimKirby here!

Once again, sorry for no entry last week, but I just couldn't handle it due to all the stuff that was going on. Thankfully, things are a lot calmer now.

I have nothing really to report in current events, which is a good thing, because my life is pretty boring as it is. Unfortunately, it seems like every one of my relatives have been getting sick, moving away, or going to the hospital. My parents have been fighting off sinus infections and the flu for several days now. The 2 cousins I talked about in the last entry, well, unfortunately for my uncle, he lost the custody battle for them, so now they moved away with their mother to Arizona, so instead of being in the same state as me, they now live like 10 states away, which kind of sucks. I've been told that I'll still get to see them during holidays, so that's a good thing, at least I'm not losing complete contact with them. My grandmother, who I think I have mentioned a few times in my videos, is at the hospital now, unfortunately. A few years ago, she had a few incidents that eventually led her into a state where she was 200% less mobile, so basically she can't really walk without the use of a walker, and even then she has trouble getting around without someone assisting her. Eventually she got to the point where she was able to move back into her own house last year, and has been doing pretty well since, but after a few nasty falls, she's back in the hospital. I'm not sure what to make of the situation though, because she is one strong lady, and for all I know, could be back home in no time. Still, kind of unfortunate that it happened now, and even more unfortunate that all of this other crap happened, especially around the holidays.

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Christmas/Birthday Review

For my Christmas and Birthday, I got a few new games and a new system of sorts, so I thought I would take a section to talk about some of the things I got.

Nintendo DSi - My original DS (as some people call it, the DS Phat) has been in pretty bad shape for awhile now. One of the hinges had fallen off, and the 2nd one wasn't far from dropping as well, and don't even get me started on the touch screen, so when I opened the present that contained my new Nintendo DSi, I was kind of relieved that I had a new replacement. I'm personally not big on systems that have that "multiple-use" and "OMG! MY CELL PHONE HAS A CAMERA" type of features, but from what I have seen, the DSi is definitely more oriented to just gaming, even if they removed the GBA slot. The new DSi menu, and the ability to download DSi Ware games are very welcome additions to the system, and the system feels great to just hold and play. I'm still getting used to the stylus holder being under the system, but that'll grow on me in time. I also really appreciate the brighter screen. I'm not sure of the difference between the screens of the DSi and DS Lite, but for someone who has been using an original DS for the last 6 years or so, seeing the brightness of the screen....I nearly passed out from the awesomeness and prettyness. My only real complaint of the DSi is....WHY IS THE POWER BUTTON LITERALLY A FEW CENTIMETERS AWAY FROM THE DIRECTIONAL PAD? I'm always worried that I'll accidentally turn it off, and that is something you DO NOT want to do, especially when playing Pokemon Platinum. I haven't accidentally turned it off yet, but that concern is still there.

Anyways, my verdict, it's a cool system and if the features interest you, specifically the DSi Ware, definitely get the system. However, if you are just looking for a replacement to play DS games and don't care about the downloadable content, a DS Lite will probably fulfill your needs.


Psychonauts (PS2) - A game that caught my eye ever since I started watching griffinlobster's LP of the game. A very fun and creatively made platformer that will have you laughing from beginning to end.....at least it did for me anyways. The controls are a bit awkward on the PS2 at first, but you grow into them as you play the game. I will warn you though, if you ever decide to play or get this game in the future....don't make your first playthrough a 100% run, because that kind of took away some of my enjoyment in the game at first, but still, the more you collect and rank/level up (since most collectables increase your rank), the more powerful your abilities become so it is rewarding....just not when you are crawling through levels to make sure you got everything, so keep that in mind. Still though, I really do recommend this game, and I'm glad I got it. Really hope they make a 2nd, even though most die-hard fans of the game say that a sequel would ruin the story.

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks - I was just wandering around Best Buy when my dad said he wanted to get me a game for my birthday, and since there really wasn't anything else I wanted, I just found Spirit Tracks and figured..."What the hell, I'll get it." Although at this point I haven't even come close to finishing it, so far I've been enjoying it. You would think a touch-controlled Zelda would feel to weird and awkward, but you would be surprised, and the use of the DS microphone is pretty unique, although a bit tedious to switch between touch controls and mic. Now, the question on everybody's mind is..."WHAT ABOUT THE FRICKIN' TRAIN?" Honestly, I think the train controls work well with the game. Like the boat in Wind Waker, the transition segments can get kind of long and boring, but once you get a specific upgrade to the train, they become a lot more fun than you would think, and have given me some guilty pleasures >=). I'll talk more when I actually finish the game, but for now, I'm impressed with what I see.

Dynasty Warriors 6 - I give Amazon a 0/10 for failure to deliver this game, because it hasn't come in the mail yet. As for the game, I obviously can't review it yet. =(

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Kirby Super Star

Still going along in Kirby Super Star land. I started Milky Way Wishes today, which means that I am at pretty much the final stretch, but it really depends on how long this game will actually last. So far, I've managed to get 2 planets done in every video recorded thus far, and I've recorded 3 videos, so on my "To-Do List" I got one planet left, and all the ending stuff, which will probably mean.....2 more videos, 5 videos in total...one of the videos a slightly shorter video that has the final boss and credits, so I'll end Milky Way on Video #20. Arena should take only 2 videos, and I may have an extra video of sorts as well. Expect this to be a #23 video project (including extra video) and for it to end on next Monday.

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Future Projects

On January 18th, 2010, I will be starting my final, planned replay project of Yoshi's Island. Like the original project, it will be a 100% run through the game, which means I'll be going through red coin and star hell as I get 100 points in every level. Also, I plan to do the same thing I did in my original project, which means each video will have one level. This will really shorten a lot of the videos, but I'm not trying to do a speed run here, and trying to fit in more than one level in every video will look more sloppy if anything. This of course means that there will probably be 50+ videos in the project, so I may be doing this game for quite awhile. Not that it bothers me...but just be prepared for that.

And if Yoshi's Island isn't enough, I'll be starting another long-ass project along with it, only this one won't start until February, just due to the fact that I'm starting my Spring Semester, and I don't want to be completely boggled with Youtube projects at the very beginning. This other project will more than likely be longer than Link's Awakening, more than likely be longer than Simpsons: Hit and Run, more than likely be longer than the Yoshi's Island replay, and will more than likely be longer than my Super Mario RPG LP. But...it can't possibly be longer than Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance.....could it? Well, even I have my doubts. Honestly, I don't know how long this project is going to be, but it's going to be big, and I MEAN BIG! Not only that, but it will be a nightmare when it comes to updating, but I'll talk about that more as we get closer to its release. I will say that it isn't Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, I can assure you of that.

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Crystal Star Studio

Wait.....CSS? Am I actually talking about CSS? That's right folks, it is about time for CSS to release its first project, and it could be released in less than a week if you guys are lucky (and if we don't encounter any problems whatsoever with the recording and editing processes). I know it has been a VERY long time since we have done anything, but if you knew the truth of what we have had to do and work with, it would seem like we'd been working on this for months. You'll find out more about this process as we try to bring it together for our first videos.

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Anyways, I think that is about all I wanted to discuss. I made this entry a lot bigger than normal, just because I didn't give anything last week, but things will be back to normal next week. Hope to see you guys then! =)

Later folks!