Nintendo eshop Game Haul!!

For some reason, buying games on the Nintendo eshop is magical for me. I think it's just the concept of being able to have all these games on you at once while only carrying one thing. My fiance has quite the digital game collection, both on his Wii U and 3DS XL. I want to build up my collection, too!

We traded in a bunch of stuff the other day, and I got a $35 eshop card! I was originally planning to get one big 3DS game and one smaller Virtual Console one, but then I thought about it and I was able to get four Virtual Console titles, one indie game, and one 3DS title! And I still have a little over a dollar left over! I'm going to need to get a bigger SD card for my 3DS soon!

So I'm going to talk about what I got briefly...I'm not really going to get too in-depth into the games, but moreso my personal first impressions of them. (I haven't had too much time to play through them all, yet!)

I am going to go ahead and say, I do recommend all of the games listed! Some moreso then others, and of course it al depends on what sorts of games you personally like to play, but they are all worth trying and all under $8!

Megaman 

(CURRENTLY ON SALE)

The original. The first. My fiance's favorite franchise. Too bad it's dead. Every time he plays it, it seems really fun and I really want to play it. So I finally bought one! I decided to start with the first for a few reasons...because it's the first, obviously (though fiance called it the hardest, oh nooo), secondly because it was on sale. And it is a lot of fun! It's also really hard! I love platformers but gosh am I terrible at them! But even though I'm constantly dying and I'm stuck at one part, I'm having a lot of fun trying, and I am improving! I also love the simplicity of it and how it's really stood the test of time and is still relevant and fun today!

Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse

Castlevania is another one of those franchises that I've heard about forever but never tried out. Just hearing about it from friends, I knew it was hard. But I love vampires and all things spooky, so I decided to try it out. Much like Megaman, I'm not very good at it, but I am having a lot of fun! Unlike Megaman, the images are so complex and detailed; it's absolutely gorgeous. I love how much work was put into the character and background design. I also think it's perfect to play now since Halloween is coming! 

Color Zen

I rarely find anything that strikes my fancy in the "Indie Game" section of the eshop, so I was very surprised to see something so wonderfully lovely. Color Zen calls itself a puzzle game with no real right answer, a game where you should just plug in your headphones and relax. While I have to disagree a bit with that statement (there are right answers to the puzzles, just many ways to get there), it is indeed quite the relaxing game. I haven't tried all the modes in the game yet, but the main mode is very fun. You are presented with colored shapes on a black background and you must get the main color to be that of the border color. Most of the puzzles so far have been pretty easy, but it's still very fun and satisfying to slide one color into another. The sounds that go with this game are also very lovely and ambient. I know I've already said that I recommend all the games here, but I really, really do recommend this one.

Pokemon Battle Trozei

I'm usually skeptical of Pokemon side games. Mostly because I was so let down by Mystery Dungeon, and I've heard bad things about a lot of the newer side games. But my fiance has this and it looked a lot like Puzzle Challenge to me. And this really is a lot of fun! It is like Puzzle Challenge or Puzzle League in that it is a line-them-up game, but it's also so much deeper. It's providing me with both ease and challenge, and it's really loads of fun. Also...the Pokemon are drawn really cute!! 

Super Mario Bros. 2

I'm sure a lot of people know this, but the American Mario 2 was actually a completely different game in Japan retooled to be a Mario game, while the Japanese Mario 2 is known as "Lost Levels." Because of this, this game does indeed play different then all of the other games in the main Mario franchise. But it still works as a Mario game, and it's still a lot of fun. I mentioned I was kind of bad at platformers, and I am not the best at this, but I'm not terrible. This game also introduces one of my favorite Mario characters, Birdo! This game is one of the classics, so there's really not much I can say here. I've really been in a Mario mood recently; I also bought Super Mario Bros. 3 recently, and that plus this game has sated my needs.

Legend of Zelda

The original. The classic. And I've never played it before! My first Zelda game was Link to the Past, which I loved. However, after a while, I had to print out a walkthrough because it was so hard. I might have to be constantly looking a walkthrough for this game as well! There's no map, no real objective. But that's the fun of it, you get to be a real adventurer; a real explorer. I think this is the game I've played the least of out of the six, so I can't say too much of it, but...it's Zelda. It's the first. 

24 Years Old! Birthday Haul!

I'm only more then a week late! Haha. I've been busy with cleaning and hanging out ._. Anyways. This is my birthday overview and a haul of what I got. As with all my hauls, I'm not bragging, I just like sharing what I got, and I like watching and reading other people's hauls!

So on my actual birthday, the 28th, I was off work! So I got to sleep in. I got all dressed up and waited...and waited..and eventually headed a few towns over with the fiance to the Cheesecake Factory to meet my parents for dinner! It was really nice, and I always enjoy seeing them, since I get homesick so easily, haha. And, cheesecake. Yum.

After that, my friend Chelsea picked me up and took me to Nashville, to Dave&Busters! For those of you who don't know what it is, it's like an arcade place, where you pay to play all sorts of games, and most of them give out tickets which you can exchange for prizes! Eventually our friend Megan joined us and we played for hours! It was great because I hadn't seen Megan in YEARS.

When it came time to exchange our tickets for prizes, I had quite a few, so I was able to get some nice things...

A cute Domo keychain which I attatched to my purse...

A Pikachu plushie which is GREAT for late night cuddles...

And then this journal! Which has not been written in at all yet.

And, of course, candy!! I got a lot of candy so the fiance could have some, too. Then my friends surprised me by using their tickets to buy me presents!

This cute purple, spiky bracelet and Hello Kitty earbuds!! Thank you~!

After that, Chelsea took me home, where my fiance and presents from my parents were waiting! My big present for the year is...

A red Keurig! Um, ignore the dirty pan x_x As you can see by the empty K-Cups, I've already used it quite a lot. They got me three different kinds of coffee and tea, and the Keurig came with samples...so I have lots of varieties. My favorites so far have been the iced coffees and teas! It's been very useful. Maybe a little too useful, haha.

There was also a plethora of hair and makeup goodies!! Yay! My favorite of these has been the Tarte lip color!

They got me this book, How to Be Like Walt, which is so far very interesting!!

They also got me my favorite peanut butter, because I have an addiction problem...heh.

I feel like I'm leaving something out, but...I don't know what...

And then on Saturday, I had another little party with friends! Two of my friends couldn't make it, but my good friends Erik and Ashley did, and they brought cake and chips and soda and etc! We went out for lunch, coffee, came back and watched the Power Rangers movie, talked lolita with Ashley (I can play dress up with her! I am in a happy place!) and then we just talked and watched other things.

Ashley gave me a really nice gift...

A Hello Kitty tin, four little Hello Kitties, a wallet, some tissues, and a bracelet I wear often! Oh, and CANDY!

All and all, I've had a great birthday and a great couple of days. As I said at the beginning, I'm doing some heavy duty cleaning...in order to renew our lease at the apartment, we have to do a walkthrough, and while I know our level of cleanliness and how much clothes are strewn on the floor probably isn't what they care about, the apartment does need a serious cleaning. Hopefully we can get that done before tomorrow. I just purchased Tomodachi Life, also, so hopefully I won't get too distracted...

And tomorrow is International Lolita day! I'm trying to get together with a few friends, but it may be just me dressing up alone, haha.

New Pokemon Games Announced!! Top Ten Advances Made By Ruby and Sapphire!!

I'm writing this on my phone, so apologies if something looks weird.  EDIT: Updated to be a list!

If you haven't heard the news, Nintendo announced two new Pokemon games today - remakes to the game's third generation, Ruby and Sapphire!! 

Maybe you're jumping for joy at the news, or maybe you're groaning because third gen was your least favorites. People have some pretty strong opinions about Ruby and Sapphire, both positive and negative. Me? The internal battery in my copy of Sapphire has run dry from playing it so much, and I'm even doing another run through right now! While Silver was my first and favorite Pokemon game, Sapphire is a close second. Yet I can see why people could dislike it. Being on a new, more advanced system, they tried a lot of new things - from music, to Pokemon design, to game mechanics - which were very different from the previous two games. Some things worked, and some didn't. 

Later tonight, I'm going to edit this post with my top ten favorite innovations made in third gen! Stay tuned! Right now I'm at the dentist office for fiancé, so I can't add too many images or do fancy editing, but later tonight I shall!! I just wanted to start this post now to share the news!

Okay, top ten time! Now, this is going to be a top ten of advances and changes made in Ruby and Sapphire only. It's no secret that Emerald added the Battle Frontier and such, and Fire Red and Leaf Green made their own contributions, but this is strictly going to be about the first two games to generation three. Also, I'm going to be listing my personal favorite advances, not necessarily the best. Trust me, if you didn't like Ruby and Sapphire, I already know a few of these you're going to disagree with very strongly. Also also, this is in no particular order.

10. Secret Bases

Introduced in Ruby and Sapphire were these little notches in the wall, weird patches of grass, or odd trees that could have the move "Secret Power" used on and turned into your very own secret base! There you could place PokeDolls, furniture, and other decorations however you wished and make a little place of your own. Pointless? Yes. But still fun. You could even see your friends' secret bases if you mixed records with them. This was highly expanded on in Generation Four with the Underground Routes and all that introduced. Will we see these again with the new remakes? The possibilities for new improvements and such are endless!!

9. Weather

One of the main plots of Ruby and Sapphire included weather change, and there was even a weather Pokemon introduced! With the introduction of Abilities (which will be mentioned next), weather also played a huge part into how certain Pokemon performed. And you know, it's just kind of cool to run through a rain storm.

8. Abilities and Natures

 This is probably one of the biggest changes Ruby and Sapphire introduced, or rather, one of the most important. It seems nowadays people are always breeding for that perfect nature and hidden ability (hidden abilities were introduced in Generation Five, however). Abilities were an extra little thing that could play a big part in your battle. They could help you or hinder you. Some abilities were pretty basic, such as the increase of critical attacks when your HP was low, others were a bit more useful in that they could boost the Pokemon's speed after each turn or cure them instantly from and status-changing effects. Natures were like a little boost and a little hit at the same time, as your nature increased one stat a tiny bit, and reduced another a tiny bit. Natures also determine the Pokemon's personality, and what sort of flavors they like. 

7. Running Shoes and Different Bikes

Running shoes are the greatest. You get them super early in the game so you can travel faster and encounter more Pokemon quicker. Yet you're not quite as quick as on a bike, which makes the character easier to control. While in the third generation, players were not allowed to run inside of buildings, which can be very frustrating, it's a very useful function. In the remakes of Silver and Gold, there was even a button which could be pressed so that the player did not have to constantly hold the B button! And then there were the bikes...which I know are a subject of controversy. Yes, it frustrating to have to constantly change bikes to access certain areas. Yes, the Mach bike is hard to control. But, I think it's cool, and I love the silly hopping you could do with the Acro bike! This is another feature which has not reappeared in subsequent games (though in one game you could change the speed of your bike) and I'm interested to see if it will be implemented in the remakes.

6. Two Different Teams

This one's more of something that I just find pretty cool. Whereas the previous two games had the same villain, these games not introduced one new baddie, but two! Much like the types of Pokemon you find in the wild being dependent on which version of the game you chose, the evil organization does as well. But the other team is still in the game you choose, just in a different role! And though I'm not talking about in this list, you face them both in Pokemon Emerald! Rad!

5. New Berries and PokeBlock Making

There were loads of new berries introduced in Ruby and Sapphire, berries with cool looks and names. Some of these berries only had one use - making PokeBlocks! PokeBlocks increased the condition of certain Pokemon conditions, which was useful for contests. They also were used as bait in the Safari Zone. And you know, they were just pretty darn fun to make. 

4. Contests

Love them or hate them, you have to admit that contests were something new and innovative for the games. I...I really don't have anything else to say on the matter.

3. The Art Changes!!

Again, love it or hate it, nostalgia goggles or no...you have to admit the art was an improvement (and of course I'm not saying you can't like the old art, I like it too, but...). You could actually tell what was what! Every Pokemon also had their own sprite in the Pokemon menu or in the Boxes now. The colors were bright and crisp, animation was smooth...it fully utilized the new system. And the designs? Again, this is my own opinion, but I LOVE them.

2. The Music

I matched the colors! Anyway...I actually LIKE the music in this game. Yes, the horns. Yes. Horns. I know. It can get a little...horns...but they were trying something new. Did it appeal to everyone? No. Is it the most memorable? Perhaps not to everyone. Is it a step in the direction of improvement? Yes.

1. A Darker Plot

In Generations One and Two, we had a similar side plot of Team Rocket taking control of everyone with their Pokemon. They kidnapped Pokemon, cut off their tails, lied, cheated, etc. In Ruby and Sapphire, we introduce two new teams who also want to control everyone...but not just everyone, the world. They want the whole world to see their way. And doing this nearly ends the entire world. While not a "shock" or anything by today's standards, it's still a big jump from just stealing Pokemon. Will they stick with the same plot in the remakes or give it an alteration? We'll have to wait until November to find out!!