dragon quest v

Yesterday, Square Enix released the first "next-generation" version of Dragon Quest, a PlayStation 2 remake of the 1992 Super Famicom game, Dragon Quest V: Tenkuu no Hanayome (The Bride of Heaven). As those of you who know me are aware, Dragon Quest is one of my top three favorite game franchises of all-time (the other two being Mario and Zelda). However, it just so happens that this Dragon Quest in particular is especially dear to me...

As it turns out, Dragon Quest V was the first import RPG I ever played, and the main reason I bothered to learn Hiragana and Katakana, the two simple forms of the Japanese alphabet. I had just finished the English version of DQIV and I was fiending for more, so I decided to buy a copy of DQV from Japan and play through it in Japanese. I ordered the game, went out and bought a Japanese dictionary and a blank notepad, and got to work. Seeing as how the game was pretty massive for its time (around 40 to 50 hours), I decided to write everything down -- the places I went, the items I found, the stuff they sold at the shops, etc. -- so I could get around more easily. In doing so, I literally taught myself how to write Hiragana and Katakana (and a few of the more common kanji), and in the process, realized how fascinating the Japanese language was. This was one of the catalysts that got me seriously thinking about studying Japanese and going to live in Japan someday. It also turned me into a big-time importer; after getting DQV, I pretty much never looked back, importing almost every major release that I was interested in that wasn't guaranteed to eventually come out in English (and even some that were -- I mean, who had the patience to wait an extra two months for Street Fighter II? Not me!).

Of course, it wasn't until 1997 that I finally got to visit Japan, and I didn't move here until 2000, but I eventually made it. So, now, a dozen years later, I'm sitting down again with this game that meant so much to me back then, and I can't help but feel a little nostalgic about the whole affair. It doesn't hurt that it's a superb RPG with a really touching story, but that's not even the point, really. :)

BTW, according to initial reports, DQV sold over 722,000 copies in its first day of sales yesterday. Apparently I'm not the only one who has special feelings about this game!

random stuff

So, I was cleaning up my desktop and I noticed I had some miscellaneous files here that I'd been meaning to throw online at one point or another. Nothing special -- just a couple of random videos from several months ago and a photo I took yesterday while standing on the platform at my train station. (I dunno what it is with me and Japanese trains and train stations, but I really like taking pics of 'em for some reason.)

NOTE: If you wish to view these movies, I would really appreciate it if you could download them once and keep them on your local drive. I don't have a whole lot of bandwidth, so if this turns into a problem for me, I may have to stop posting videos. Thanks in advance for your understanding!

OK, so, first up, we have yesterday's shot of the tracks heading toward Shibuya:

Next, a video of the passing scenery while riding the Tokaido-sen from Yokohama to... probably Shinagawa or Tokyo (I forget -- it was months ago):

Tokaido Zooming (5.72 MB)

And finally, a short video of a crosswalk signal from somewhere in Kanda. Tim Rogers, I took this video for you months ago, but totally forgot about it. Sorry about that!

Crosswalkin' in Kanda (2.11 MB)

I still haven't posted the pics from the Nike Museum exhibit I promised, but I promise (again) to get to that soon...

smokers, are you reading?

Tokyo is probably one of the worst places in the world to live if you're repulsed by cigarettes and cigarette smoke, but it's nice to see that someone here is finally trying to spread a little anti-smoking propaganda. If all the ads are as entertaining and thought-provoking as this one, they might just make a difference!

Sadly, these ads in particular are from Japan Tobacco themselves. They're not trying to get people to stop smoking; they're just trying to get Japan's gazillion smokers to be more polite and environmentally friendly to the rest of us. Real noble cause there, but as long as they keep selling this stuff, they're still being indirectly responsible for the deaths of millions of people each year.

More info on their bold initiative (which only lasts for two weeks, BTW):

http://www.jti.co.jp/JTI_E/Release/03/no51.html

I suppose you could argue this is better than nothing, but...

it's a secret to everybody

After replaying the original 8-Bit Legend of Zelda three times over the course of the past three months, I've come to the conclusion that it is, in fact, the best Zelda game of them all. As much as I love all of the different Zelda games for varying reasons, none have been able to keep me hooked through repeated play-throughs the way the first one has. I played through the entire first quest of the American GameCube version over Christmas break in one sitting (the one that's on the Zelda: Collector's Edition disc), and then I played through both first and second quests in the Japanese GBA Famicom Mini version over the course of the last three weeks.

To my surprise, I actually forgot a lot of stuff about the second quest ("Ura Zelda" to Japanese gamers). I guess it's been over a decade since I last played through it. The cool thing is, it gave me a chance to experience Zelda all over again the way it was meant to be experienced. I refused to ask for help or look up FAQs or anything; I just kept going and going until I found everything. In the end, I'd say it took me a good two weeks to finish. Major sticking points were finding levels 5 and 6 (I can't believe I forgot those), and one of the hidden heart containers, which had me so stumped I actually started drawing out a map and crossing off the areas I'd cleaned out. Just like the good old days, eh? :) Anyway, I finally found it yesterday and went on my merry way to level 9 to finish off Ganon and complete the game. Here's my lovely reward for all that hard work (I never died, BTW):

This experience made me realize just how much I really do love the games of the NES days. I had more fun replaying Zelda these past three weeks than I've had with anything from the current generation. Nintendo REALLY needs to expand this Famicom Mini line past the original set of ten games! I think I'll probably buy them all if they do... :)