http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_QydNXI_ok

I haven't even played Katamari Damacy, but I really want to check it out at some point because the soundtrack sounds awesome.
And "Lonely Rolling Star" is just so cute and contagiously happy .

I find K-Pop generally to be pretty bland as most of them are basically large girl and guy groups filled with attractive men and women singing pretty generic pop music haha. I mean of course, there are exceptions but for the most part that's what K-Pop is to me. Sometimes it's entertaining though.

I like J-Pop and just Japanese music in general a lot more, though I really haven't scratched the surface of it that much aside from video game music, TV music, film music, etc. I feel like Japanese pop tends to be a lot more open to experimenting with styles and stuff like that. Shibuya-kei is like, pop with influences from lounge and bossanova. It's just a lot more interesting. One of my favorite albums despite my lack of experience with J-pop, is a Shiina Ringo album, a really great J-pop artist.

As for Canto pop, haven't really listened to it much haha. But Faye Wong is nice. "Eyes on Me" among other things haha.

For me, my favorite console would have to be the SNES, hands down. While I didn't really play a lot of the SNES games without emulation as a kid, I had a handful of games I got to play on the SNES that my aunt had, and those pretty much made up my childhood.

Playing some more SNES games on Vizzed made me realize how incredible the SNES library is. There are just so many great games on this system, including some of my all-time favorites like pretty much any of the Final Fantasy games on SNES, Chrono Trigger, Mega Man X and Super Metroid, among many.

After slaving through the original Castlevania game, I decided to skip Simon's Quest and Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse and head straight for Super Castlevania IV because it's generally regarded as one of the better Castlevania games in the series. Seeing that I started playing these games through Aria of Sorrow, I was still trying to get used to playing the "classic Castlevania" as opposed to what people like to call the "Metroidvania" games that started with Symphony of the Night.

Super Castlevania IV takes the formula of the original game and doesn't try to innovate the series through drastic gameplay changes, such as the RPG elements in Simon's Quest and the various playable characters in Dracula's Curse, but instead IV sort of aimed to refine the series' gameplay instead of invent large new gameplay elements or introduce gimmicks. I found this to be a pretty pleasant thing especially coming straight out of Castlevania; the original was very innovative and important for its time, but by today's standards the game's controls in particular are pretty dated and for some, very difficult to handle. Now, whenever you jump, you have some bearing over how far you jump instead of having a set distance that could lead to your death. Along with that is the incredibly entertaining ability to control the direction you can whip, and this gives you much more freedom in how you can approach attacking enemies. I feel as if the game itself is just a lot more free. You're able to do much more and you're in control of your actions in a larger sense than in the original. Along with these slight but important gameplay changes is the whip-swinging segments, which in brief moments like "the revolving room" can really highlight how creative the developers were with their level design. Ultimately, it sort of leaves me longing a bit for even more though, since there are some really nice gameplay elements that they could potentially incorporate with the whip since it's so prominent in this game compared to its predecessors.

The presentation of the game overall complements the gameplay pretty well. There's a lot of nice effects to whenever you strike something with your whip, the flashes and the sounds, and it's satisfying when you're just wailing on things. The music of the game is incredibly catchy and memorable and fits the situations of the game really well. Put in some throwbacks to older games and you've got a really memorable soundtrack. All the monster designs and sprites are nicely done, and sometimes there's some Mode 7 for certain segments like jumping on large chandeliers or running through a large revolving tunnel. These really envelop you in the game's setting and events leading up to Simon Belmont's confrontation with Dracula once again.
 
Probably the largest complaint I have with this game aside from the fact that story is virtually the same as its predecessors is actually the gameplay at times, where specific aspects of the game are simply too easy in comparison to the rest of it. While the actual levels themselves can be pretty difficult, especially anything that involves fatal platforming, when you reach the boss of the level it usually only takes your incredibly long and powerful whip and you mashing the X button a couple times to kill it. While I did say that it was satisfying to wail on enemies with your whip, it seems almost petty to kill bosses with that strategy over and over. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that it's almost optimal to exclusively use your whip in almost every fight in this game. The items that you get in the game have significantly less value and you never really have to worry about running out of hearts to use them unless you died and spawn right before a boss or something. But of course, then you can just use the whip and you're fine.

It's clear that Super Castlevania IV was made as an attempt to bring fans back to the franchise as well as expand its audiences, as the gameplay was refined to be much more accessible and entertaining by bringing some small gameplay changes. The great level design and intuitive controls give the game surprisingly substantial replay value, and the difficulty is satisfying enough for the hardcore fans to play while still being possible to advance through by those newer to the franchise. With all these in mind, Super Castlevania IV places itself among some of the more noteworthy titles in the SNES's library.

Hands down,, probably Princess Mononoke by Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. That movie is pretty much perfect.

Yeah I don't know about the whole community thing. I'd say it's probably more toxic than whatever I've dealt with in terms of online games, but that's probably because I don't play Call of Duty. A language filter is automatically on the first time you play the game so that's pretty much covered but that probably wouldn't stop people from being inappropriate sometimes.

Basically, if you're really invested in the game and you really want to improve in the game, you really wouldn't care about what people do to screw around with your head and make you irritated, and you can always just ignore them with a button that mutes them.

It's a bit daunting at first, because you really need to learn the ins and outs of the game to really do well in it, and it's frustrating when you don't, even if no one tries to pick on you about it. But it's incredibly fun and satsifying once you do. Get some friends to play with you often so you're less likely to run into toxic players, and play the game. It's incredibly time-consuming though! xD

I had just finished watching Neon Genesis Evangelion and End of Evangelion and now I guess I'm just going to watch the Rebuild of Evangelion films that have been coming out recently.

I love how the one game I wanted to play on Sega CD is Sonic CD and it's available xD.
Thanks for all the hard work on the project!

Davideo7: Well, I remember joining because of the Retro Game Room haha.
I remember finding this site because I wanted to play a certain game or something (I don't remember what it was anymore xD) and I actually played lots of games in the RGR before even posting on here. I guess seeing the forum every time I log onto the site somehow convinced me to start posting haha x)

Nice review for one of my favorite RPGs on the SNES. I'm assuming you played the fan-translation? xD

I honestly thought the story was a little on the dry side compared to its IV and VI counterparts, but the Job system in this game has to be probably the best iteration of the Job system.
I absolutely loved combining Duel Wield ability with X-Fight and having like 8 hits from one command, each dealing like 4-digit damage haha.

I have both of them on my PSP. I was a huge fan of the first one and I played it to death (I think I unlocked like, everything O.o)
Then when I heard there was going to be another one I was so excited for it and checked for news on it everyday, since I was such a fanboy back then.

But i was really disappointed when they didn't add new characters from VI and IX... >.>

Huh, I'm surprised that I was ever on this list

I had this site bookmarked for a long time but I haven't visited much for a long time. Maybe I should start posting again xD

I hope none of you guys that knew me back when I still posted thought I left cause I didn't like it here or something

Annette : Haha I wanted to see what people would choose, but apparently not many people know about Ghibli...
That reminds me of my aunt who used to collect Disney VHS too, which was great when I was a kid because I'd just watch Disney movies until I fell asleep lol.
XxChaosxX : To be fair, Pixar has always been on computers so you really can't blame them lol. They were sort of the pioneers of CGI movies. Disney, on the other hand, shouldn't really do that and try to bring back the hand drawn movies like before, but even if they don't, they deserve credit for their great films back in the 20th century.

thenumberone : Studio Ghibli's a critically acclaimed anime company.

There's a certain greatness about this game that draws me back to play it again and again. After all, Final Fantasy IV is the stuff of RPG legend. In America, people knew it as Final Fantasy II (I shouldn't have to explain this to you guys ). It put emphasis on the story instead of the gameplay, taking away the usual "name your characters and make them whatever job class you want" style of gameplay in I and III, locking the characters in specific jobs and and roles in the plot. It follows the story of Cecil Harvey, a story of redemption that many RPG fans today all know and love. A reason for that is the fact that there were characters set in stone, complete with names, personalities and special abilities. People fell in love with the summoner, Rydia, the dark and mysterious dragoon, Kain, Cecil's White Mage girlfriend, Rosa, among others. The story was also complex for its time, and still is worth playing through today. For many, this was the JRPG to play during the SNES era before being overshadowed by the more ambitious Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger. For some, this was the best Final Fantasy game in the series.

That being said, developer Square Enix (once Squaresoft) is seemingly trying to keep this game alive for as long as possible, making several ports, a mobile phone and WiiWare episodic direct sequel The After Years, and even a DS remake with updated 3D graphics, voice acting, cutscenes, sidequests, and more. However, this didn't seem to stop them from making yet another retelling of the Final Fantasy IV story, this time taking it back to its roots with updated 2D sprite graphics while using the updated soundtrack from the DS remake and adding FMVs. The game also includes the special features of the FFIV: Advance port, including the Lunar Ruins dungeon and being able to switch characters like Palom and Porom and Edward back into the party.
But, another addition is that instead of just giving you the original game, the game also includes the direct sequel, The After Years, as well as a bridge story set between the two games called Final Fantasy IV: Interlude, making what seems to be three games total.

Now, I think it's very clear that Final Fantasy IV is a great game. You don't need my review to know how excellent the first Final Fantasy installment on the SNES is, as professional reviewers have given it critical acclaim and I've also already given it some high praise in the last few paragraphs. But, just to recap, Final Fantasy IV revolutionized the RPG genre as we know it because of its gripping story, amazing soundtrack, and fun and large cast of memorable and lovable characters.
Everything in the Complete Collection release of Final Fantasy IV is the same. All the locations of those hidden chests, all the dungeons, and all the bosses, they're how you should remember it. No new augment systems or changes to classic bosses, just good old Final Fantasy IV with an updated soundtrack and graphics. The updated graphics are very nice and they're sort of a marriage of the old and the new. Heck, you can even listen to the original soundtrack of the game instead of the updated version if it pleases you. I played with the updated soundtrack the whole time, but knowing that the choice is there is always a very comforting thought.
I probably should have listened to the original soundtrack when I played the original game though, because Interlude and After Years uses the same soundtrack. So it might be a bit tiring to hear the same tracks after a while if you're playing straight through the three parts of the collection. Only The After Years uses three to five new tracks, but that doesn't seem like enough for me, so I was a bit disappointed at the fact that most of the music for the rest of the compilation is virtually the same. Since that was how After Years was made, reusing graphics and sound for the nostalgia factor, it might be unjust to criticize that aspect, but I think most people who played The After Years haven't played the original in quite sometime, making the soundtrack more appealing.

Interlude, the brand new part of the game, with a never before seen plot, tells the story of what happened between the two games. Despite this, Interlude was the most underwhelming and weak part of the collection. It was extremely short and it gave very little insight on what happened during that time. One could pretty much skip it and still very much enjoy the After Years with little to no confusion.

I won't spend all day reviewing both Final Fantasy IV and The After Years but I will point out some things about the latter. While for the most part, the original game is spot on and great, the After Years falls short of its predecessor's fame and greatness. It's still worth playing in my opinion, however, you do have to be patient for this game. The game is pretty difficult compared to today's RPGs but that isn't where players have to endure. The problem about The After Years is that the game was previously released in episodes. This makes the story, while certainly interesting and fun to experience, very disconnected and sometimes tiring to watch. It's also a bit annoying to constantly backtrack to the same places just because you're using different characters. For example, the waterway that you had to go to before fighting the Mist Dragon in the original game is revisited more than three times in The After Years, and by then even a big fan of the original like me would be tempted to just put it down for a few days just because of that. Also, the game reuses many of the original's bosses, or a variation of them, which, again, if you played the original a while ago and then played the direct sequel, then it wouldn't be as bad. But, on a compilation, you're bound to play the original game before playing the direct sequel, especially if you're a newcomer to the world of Final Fantasy IV, let alone JRPGs or Final Fantasy. Because of that, you'll be bored by the fact that you literally just played a game with the same bosses, and a case of dejà vu will ensue. Though, I guess with the new Band system(similar to Chrono Trigger's Dual and Triple Tech system), and the Phases of the Moon system, there is a fresh spin on the classic bosses.
Yet another problem with the episodic nature of the game is the way the save files are handled in the game. I've never played the WiiWare or mobile phone version of the After Years, but I'll assume that the separate storylines of each character are saved in separate save files that can be used for later stories. I'm not sure if it's the same for those releases, but in the PSP version, the save files are a hassle. Once you clear a story, you can save the clear file and keep it for later stories, and retain your leveling, equipment, spells, and items. However, without much clarification from the game, my naive self thought it was alright to save over the first story clear data and it would automatically carry the stuff over to the next stories. But obviously this wasn't true, and to my horror I had to replay the first story all over again.
It might seem like I should've known better, but then again, why couldn't they just make it so that the save files do carry over without making more than 12 save files? It seems completely unnecessary.

But, the game does get better by the end, and while it uses famous bosses from I, II, III, V, and VI at the final stretch, this is because The After Years is an homage of sorts to the old days with the 2D NES and SNES Final Fantasy games, and this was a blast to play. If you're feeling confident, you could even take a stab at good old Shinryu, Omega, and Ultima Weapon from V and VI, respectively. And while the plot of the game is a bit disconnected, it's a lot of fun to see how the characters have fared after a couple years. I enjoyed seeing grown up versions of characters, as well as new ones, and seeing how their relationships from the original game had become. For example, Edward is now a complete boss (both figuratively and literally) and I was especially surprised at how different Palom and Porom looked (Pink hair?) But overall, the game did satisfy me in that I could see how everyone fared after ten years or so, and it was especially refreshing to play a traditional RPG.

So, in conclusion, Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection will not disappoint fans of the game wanting yet another excuse to play this game. Also, people who have been wanting to try The After Years but don't want to bother downloading all the episodes individually on WiiWare will definitely consider buying this game (That was the main reason I bought it xD). While there are a few problems, I do recommend buying this game if you want to play an updated Final Fantasy IV but not the somewhat different DS remake.

Graphics: B+
A fresh new way to look at a classic JRPG, the 2D sprites look great and everything is how it should be in the game. Menus in game are pretty much the same as before.

Sound: A
You can't go wrong with Uematsu's acclaimed score. The only reason I didn't give an A+ is because there wasn't enough original music for the After Years. I'm assuming the original music written wasn't by him, too.

Story: A (FFIV)/ B+ (TAY)
The original game's story changed the way RPGs work today. Should I say more? The sequel's story is fun and enjoyable, but falls short.

Gameplay: A
The original game's Active Time Battle system revolutionized the RPG genre and the series, and bosses are fun and challenging. The After Years' new systems and gimmicks put a new spin on things. The difficulty will satisfy seasoned gamers and fans, but may turn away some newcomers wanting to give the series or the game a try.

Overall Score: B+
It wasn't A material because of the flaws of the compilation, and those were actually the Collection's big selling points. Playing through the games unlock bonus material, like artwork and music to listen to in a player, but other than that there isn't that much more to do. The bonus dungeons could give some extra playing time.

Any questions or objections? Sound off in the comments!

Please go to the review section for the review. Sorry, I accidentally double posted.

Would a mod please delete this thread?

So I tried to play Earthbound but while it was loading (with the percentage and all that) it was interrupted. Now I can't seem to play it at all since it won't load. I've tried another SNES game and it worked fine, and I also tried reinstalling the game. I think both browsers (Firefox and Chrome) each have the same problem as well.

Is there a way to fix this? Thanks

So we still haven't heard anything from her or anyone she knows?
I've been gone from Vizzed for quite a while, so long that I kind of thought someone would tell me what happened to her or better yet, she would tell me. But I'll still try my best to contribute as much as possible.

What do you think about games that were pay-to-play that became free-to-play, such as Team Fortress 2 or Age of Conan among other things?

And also, what do you think about the MMO genre in terms of the amount of free ones? In my opinion, there's too many free-to-play MMORPGs or shooters and other things like that. I just can't stand the sight of them. There's certainly nothing wrong with the concept of MMOs. I've always wanted to try an MMORPG out. I don't think I ever will, since I've always thought of them as being a "luxury," if you will. I've always looked at World or Warcraft or FFXI or Star Wars MMOs or any other MMORPG as a luxury because you need to invest your time and money in them.

Stuff like League of Legends, fine. I don't mind that. It's being different. Some people say "it doesn't belong in a specific genre blah blah blah." . But companies like Nexon, they're just dishing out endless heaps of MMOs that it makes it seem like the MMO genre is just another fad.
I mean, I used to even consider trying out free MMOs, only my computer's a useless piece of scrap metal lol. And now, I don't even want to, because there's just so many of them out there now.

When I saw that Halo 4 was coming, along with a trilogy, I couldn't help but notice that it left a sour taste in my mouth.

Didn't they say that they were going to "Finish the Fight" when Halo 3 was coming out? I mean, I know the ending sort of left stuff open for that kind of thing, but a new trilogy? Come on. And the fact that Bungie isn't doing those games anymore also makes me a bit skeptical about how the game's going to perform.