Nico Nico video with comments

Here are the two links to my Wai Wai World videos that were posted on Nico Nico video.

These links allow you to see the comments that people in Japan have to say. As a note (because I didn't know this myself) when you see 'wwwww' that means it is 'laughter'.

Part 1
http://d.hatena.ne.jp/video/niconico/sm8733415

Part 2
http://d.hatena.ne.jp/video/niconico/sm8865319

YCPT 2.4

I am over the moon.

Got this email from Japan today:

Dear JewWario

My handle is Koiwai, and I am a Japanese.
I have been your fan since I found the Kai No Bouken video on NicoNico.
Doraemon is also very nostalgic to me.
I am not good at English, but I enjoy watching other YouCanPlayThis videos on YouTube and TGWTG.
You love kitty! Yanki J has colored nails! lol

And I have suggestions for you.
Would you do review Konami WaiwaiWorld and WaiwaiWorld2?
They are my favorite Famicom games that I used to play with my brother when I was a kid.
Waiwai2 is less popular in Japan and easier than 1.
But I think it is also a fun game, especially two-player mode.
(And this password is not in Japanese. YCPT game.)

This is my first time to send e-mail in English.
I hope you understand:)

I'm looking forward to your next video. Please keep up the great reviews!
日本から応援してます。これからもがんばって下さい！

Koiwai

I will have to think about doing that game, now.

http://www.jjgames.com/page/retro-game-championship-2009

YCPT Translated into Japanese

For ChaosD1

This is a post for my friend ChaosD1 from the That Guy With The Glasses forums. I realized my replay was WAAAAAAY too long for a normal PM. So I posted it here.

His letter to me was this:

Since you do seem to be the most active, sane and helpful poster/contributor of the site...

I was wondering how you went about making the scripts for your videos. Do you do them in movie script format, or do you do like Yahtzee and Linkara, where you basically just write out a review, and then read it aloud to the camera.

I was thinking about approaching the latter format, but I felt it might turn out sounding unnatural, as well as not being able to properly mark the places where I wish to add certain footage. (Although I've been repeatedly told I talk exactly like I type. Typos and everything.)

I guess what I'm saying is... I need a foothold on where to start, and was wondering where you place your "ground level."

My idea has, and is being actively done (probably better) by a guy on Youtube already, (Hooray for my procrastination gene.) but that doesn't mean I'm not willing to give it a shot. I didn't pay for Fraps for nothing.

Am I rambling again? I always seem to do that...

(laughs) No problems.

You know, I was thinking of putting up a video on how I do my videos so people can see... kinda' like a 'CRIBS' episode.

But lemme write this down. At the end of this message is my latest script. Don't let it out until I have posted the video, but have a look at my video when I post it next week. Then compare what I did to what the script is like. Maybe that will help you.

First I choose a game. Sounds simple enough, but it's really difficult. Not only do I have to like the game, but I have to have played it a lot before and have to have something I want to say about it.

Why do I like it? Key points. What specifically do I think of the graphics? Are there any difficult parts that I think could be out or are just fine?

Then I start on a script. I write it in a way that looks like a movie in my head. I usually have an idea by this time.

Then I go over the script over and over and over and over until I feel good about it.
*Was there anything that's repetitive?
*Is there anything misspelled? (even though I'm reading it... it helps)
*Does the script make sense?
*Does it flow well?
*Is there enough to keep interest?

Then I start filming the game scenes. I hook up my (then Dazzle) to the computer and TV in the computer room and play for about 30-45 minutes. I look at my script while I do this. Is there anything in my script that I need to specifically show? Then I mark that out in the script on my computer in gray background (to show that I have done it).

Why so much footage? I want to show more than just the first level. I want to show a wide variety of things. Maybe I need to show things that you only see in later levels. Maybe I play and I find something cool along the way that I forgot about... that way I can add it to my script.

Then I put it into Final Cut Pro.

Then I set up my cameras. What angles do I want for this video? I usually do a straight on and a 90 degree shot... to mix it up and keep it interesting. I have these marked on my script in bold,

Now I have my script on my laptop and put it in front of me. I used to (before the laptop) print out the whole script and have a Sharpie right next to me. I would tape every page to the table just under the camera and then get up and flip it as I needed it.

Those were my cue cards. Printed out in BIG 40 point type. Anything said on camera was bold. Anything said off-screen was not. But now that I have the laptop, I just place it to the side.

Then I position, white-balance, and focus the camera. Every. Single. Time. I don't know what might have happened before, but EVERY shot is different. Always be prepared.

Then I hit the record button, take my place, and start reading.

Note that I haven't memorized the script? But it's in my head... so I know what I want to say, I just need cues.

So I will look at the script, memorize a sentence or two, and then look at the camera and speak. Then I FREEZE! Have my eyes be the only things that move, look at the script, read another line... OH this one I do part on camera and part off... at the word "buzz" (or something)... so I look back at the camera and start reading again and when I hit the word buzz I can look straight at my script and read everything.

Remember, I know what I want to say... I've worked it over and over. I know how I want to sound. Just do it that way.

Then I take all that footage (usually 30 minutes or so... because I never hit stop even when the phone rings, when the dogs are noisy upstairs, or I flub a line or want to re-do it. This way I have several takes.

Then onto the computer and onto Final Cut Pro.

Then it's just editing. Cutting out pauses and mixing them together. That just takes skill. I have made 12 YCPT videos, 1 PPC video, 4 Ludus videos (my first videos), and 1 rock video (for the Infendo contest) and so I have learned what sounds good and what does not over the montha and months of doing this. Now, it's just your computer skills.

So that's how I do my videos. I hope that helped you. ALWAYS feel free to ask questions. I wouldn't have gotten this far without my best mate Max (Shuuki) who knew the tech and gave good ideas for angles and shots.

If there's anything confusing here, let me know and I will try to clarify it when I do my "How I Do This" video when I shoot this latest video.

Cheers,
JewWario


**********************
SCRIPT
**********************

JUSTIN: (takes off reading glasses and puts down newspaper)Hello, and welcome to a new season of You can play this.

You know, Some of you thought that I go into too much detail in my reviews. So, for those of you out there who like fast straightforward reviews, here you go.

(Speeded up beginning)
(Justin as Deter speaking Sweedish)

J: Meurke meurke braugh (Very very good) Buy it.

(speeded up ending)

J: And now, for the rest of you...

YOU CAN PLAY THIS!

J: (holding paper) See this? This is the list of games I planned on doing this season. Now, watch. (tears it up) Yup. There. Know why I did that? Because I got so many good suggestions for games that I decided to make this whole season user-suggested.

So, we're going to start off this season with a suggestion made by 'retromanpresents', and one of my personal favorite games: Pop'n Music.

Pop'n Music originally came out in the arcades in Japan in 1998 and then onto consoles for the Dreamcast and Playstation 1. From there it has spawned several sequels and add-ons and is now onto its 14th version on the PS2.

Now to play it you need a special controller. You can play it with the normal controller, but it's much more difficult when you start playing the higher levels.

(Justin as Deter)

J: The controls are like bongos.

(Regular Justin)

J: … … ...

(gameplay)

Even if you are color-blind, and I have some friends that are, you can easily play this game as not only are the buttons arranged by color, but are in order from left to right.

Navigating the menus is super-simple as you just use the buttons to back and forth and up and down the options.

(back to Justin)

And of course there is the infectuous music. Each version brings a wide range of various tunes (gameplay) from J-Pop, to Russian Pop, K-Dance, and even Neo Folk Rock.

And there are different characters to represent each genre. They all have their own style and their own animations. The art style is not realistic, but cartoonish and light.

(back to Justin)

Now gameplay is much like a mixture between playing a kettle drum, piano, and bongos. (gameplay) You can start off at a low setting, and, as you get gradually better, you can increase the number of buttons you can use.

Now, navigating the menu will not be challenging at all since all the menus and sub-menus are in English. Many of the menu explanations, mini-games, and special areas are in Japanese... but this game is playable without those extras, so feel free to pass them over.

(back to Justin)

Now some of the more difficult songs will place the pop'n characters very close together. It may not seem the correct move, but the best way to play these is to speed the song up.

(gameplay)

You'll soon figure out the best speed for each song as you play. The way to get to those controls is to press both yellow buttons at this screen. When you have changed the options to your liking, press the red button to start the song.

(Justin)

Now, let me stop here for just a second and address something.

Now, some of you have asked me why I don't review bad games. Well, I'm about to.

You see, in 2008 X-Box live came out with an American version of Pop'n called Be-- (starts to throw up in mouth) Beat 'n Gr--- (same thing but takes a drink of water) Wow. Excuse me... Beat'n Groovy.

(gameplay)

And wow is it bad. I mean, look at what they did to my precious pop'n characters!

Why Americans insist on changing Japanese things to reflect an American ideal, I have no clue. The games are fine the way they are.

They took out the two main characters for crying out loud! My bunny girl... and my kitty girl.

(Justin)

KITTY! (glee)

(gameplay)

Now, while the gameplay is just like pop'n, the music is nowhere near as good as the worst pop'n music song.

So while I will tell you to go out and give this version a try if you must, I will in the same breath tell you to give this one a pass and just import a pop'n game.

(Justin)

So... as we wrap things up... let's enjoy one of my favorite songs. “Scotland” “Dream Parfait” from Pop'n Music 11.

(gameplay)

Audience – Music game enthusiasts will get the most out of this game, but that's not to say that there isn't something for everyone else. If you like hitting buttons and listening to groovy J-Pop, then this is the perfect game for you

Difficulty – With lots of songs for all levels of play, you can definitely grow with this game. Earlier versions are, however, more difficult as Konami was really getting the feel for the genre.

Graphics – Kiddy graphics make this not too spectacular to watch, but it's a music game. You should be concentrating on the game, not on graphics in the background.

Language Difficulty – 1 out of 5 – Even with Japanese extras in each game, I think that this is one game series that can be played by anyone and everyone without any difficulty.

Controls – The controls are basic and simple. As you play longer and get better, the controls will become second nature and you'll see patterns that you didn't see before.

Replayability – With infectuous songs for every version, this is one title you will play over and over and over and over....

Cost – The first games on the Playstation and Dreamcast don't run that much. You can purchase these for fairly cheap. The Playstation 2 games run a bit more, but nothing that isn't affordable. Konami Best versions are even cheaper.

(Justin)

Now out of all the versions, I think that Pop'n Music 11 is my favorite version and the one that I would recommend beginners start with. It's got a great set of music and

Also, if you're interested in making a controller for these games, check out my own pop'n music controller builds.

And as always, thanks for watching. And be sure to leave comments about what you thought of this episode, or of other games you might like to see me play in the future.

(Justin waves)

(cut to Justin in Deter clothes)

Now is the part of You Can Play This where we dance.

(music starts)
(people dancing)
(credits)

You Can Play This!

Starring
JewWario

Written and directed by
JewWario

Sweedish Consultant
Santa Luchia

Edited by
Two Poor Sods

Episode 2.1
'Pop'n Music'

Pop'n Music 1-14
© Konami
1998-2009

Music:
Funk Fujiyama
© Kome Kome Club

K-Dance
From Pop'n 10
© Konami

Scotland
From Pop'n 11
© Konami

Neo Folk Rock
From Pop'n 11
© Konami

Elegoth
From Pop'n 11
© Konami

(credits cut off suddenly)
(funny thing here)
(credits end)
Fin

That Guy With The Glasses

I'm happy to be a part of the Blistered Thumbs group on That Guy With The Glasses.

If you're a new visitor, feel free to comment at their forum HERE or on the comments area below this post.

YOU CAN PLAY THIS!

Can you dig it?

CAAAN YOOOU DIIIG IIIT???


And then, something funny...
click the image to see it full-size

Metal Gear NES

Well, this weekend I am coming out with a new video. It's going to be a "My First Time" thing where I play the classic NES title: Metal Gear!

I'll be posting the finished video here and on YouTube.

On another note, my favorite Japanese television programme, Game Center CX, is coming stateside under the title: Retro Game Master.

Let's see how badly the bungle this translation up, eh?

"The World Ends With You" Homemade Pins

Hey all! I'm selling The World Ends With You pins.

These are the pins from the FANTASTIC Nintendo DS game. I'm really surprised nobody has made these before now...

Visit my auction HERE!!!

LET'S BRAWL!!!

4596-9263-4114

Post your codes in the comments below

Ludus Challenge #3: Myst

Myst III: EXILE - Completed

Well, I didn't hate it as much as I expected to. In fact I quite enjoyed it. Saavedro was truly an interesting character and I feel like the good ending really said it all. He has been redeemed. I also, for the first time, feel like the Atrus/Catherine ending really made me feel more at peace with my accomplishments that was experienced in Myst and Riven. I really hated those endings.

"Thanks... bye."

I held a grudge for Atrus for quite some time. I must admit that when I was watching Saavedro wax on about Atrus and his uncaring... I was agreeing with him!

"Dude, you don't know that half of it. I save HIM from exile on D'Ni and what does he do? He says I can have his island. Send me home? 'Don't bother me, I'm writing' he says.

"And then... THEN I save his wife, capture his father, and save Riven what does he do? 'Oh, this Myst book will take us back. Thanks.' and he links out letting the book fall into the star fissure... leaving me stranded on Riven. I guess "US" meant him and Catherine. Sure the fissure took me home, but I didn't know that. I thought I was going to die in space. Saavedro, I feel your pain, man. Now... um... put down that hammer and let's find a way off of Narayan.

"What? You have tried combinations and they don't work? Let me tell you something... I was sent to Myst and finally decided to get myself off of it. By the end of the day I was in D'Ni. Yeah. Four Ages in one day.

"Riven had five islands. I had saved Catherine, imprisoned Atrus' father Gehn, and ventured everywhere in 3 days.

So Saveedro, my friend... if it takes me more than 2 days to solve the way to bring down this forcefield... I DESERVE to be captured here. Now get that hammer out of my face so I can think."

Notebook page 1
Notebook page 2
Notebook page 3
Notebook page 4

Professor Layton, Myst and Riven

So for the past several weeks I have been playing three games. One, for the Nintendo DS is: Professor Layton. The other two (for the PC/MAC) are Myst and Riven. I have really been enjoying them as I really like puzzle games.

All three are also games I never thought that I would like.

Professor Layton at first glance is a cartoony boring story game... but it, in fact, is filled with puzzles. ALL SORTS of puzzles! Playing five minutes into it got me hooked... and I knew it would become one of my favorite games on the DS. It is an adventure game with puzzles, murder, intrigue, mysteries... and great DS animation. Yes, animation.

Don't walk... RUN to get it. It is worth $30.

As for Myst and Riven... I love them both, but I can see why people don't...

For one thing, you are not told what to do. No rules, no goal. Nothing. So part of the game is trying to figure out what to do. That's actually not as hard as it may seem... it just takes time.

But Myst and Riven are both unforgiving in that they rarely tell you if you have done something right. You have to search and deduce... and many people have started Myst and never played too far into it for that reason. So I can understand being frustrated.

Luckilly, I LOVE puzzle games and am pretty good at them, and so I fell in love with the series. I have just started Myst III and was pleasantly surprised to find one of my favorite actors playing a role in it: Brad Dourif!

I would really suggest these games as well as they are thinking games that let you take your time and not rush. They're also fun games to play with others as you can all suggest ideas and wrap your minds around them.

To help you all play (those of you that never got too far out of frustration) I give you this help for MYST... without spoilers:

IDEA: You have found a strange book and have been transported to this new island. Inside of the library on the island are two books~ a red and blue one. Both tell you to find pages to add to them. There are other books that link to other worlds (called 'Ages') that you must find to get these red and blue pages... but you must find these books as they have been hidden around the island. Touch paintings, read journals, push buttons, be curious, and keep notes of everything you find. When something changes... look around. Something may be different and the island is small enough to discover even small differences without too much work.

The game journal I made during game play is below... but it is LOADED with spoilers.

SPOILERS ABOUND

MYST
mystjournal1.jpg
mystjournal2.jpg
mystjournal3.jpg
mystjournal4.jpg
mystjournal5.jpg
mystjournal6.jpg
mystjournal7.jpg
mystjournal8.jpg
mystjournal9.jpg
mystjournal10.jpg
mystjournal11.jpg

I didn't know what I would need, so I left room for as many Ages as I could. You can see that I didn't need all of it. That would change with the Riven game.

RIVEN
mystjournal12.jpg
mystjournal13.jpg
mystjournal14.jpg
mystjournal15.jpg
mystjournal16.jpg
mystjournal17.jpg

OGR: Umihara Kawase 01

So we got to thinking that we could do better video game reviews than the majority of the YouTubers out there.

So we did.

Woot.

Lemme know what you guys think.



And Umihara Kawase is coming out for the PSP March 19th (well, in Japan...)!

Fun Times

It's not often that you see such dedicated work from people when it comes to gaming history. Check this stuff out!

* Famicom Disk Cartoon Manual (translated)

* Howard & NESter Comics

* Beggar Prince (translated and for sale)

So much fun.

Samus Unwrapped... so to speak

Ah, the "Justin Bailey" code to Metroid. When we find out that Samus Aran was actually a hot lookin' girl.

So today I was browsing through a webcomic favorite of mine (Dueling Analogs) and I came across today's comic...



I began to wonder about the "hot girl" images you can find in the games (being the dirty old man I am) and so began to look for the elusive images for this babely video game figure's figure.

METROID-NES/FAMICOM
The Nintendo Famicom (the Japanese NES) had Metroid as a disk game. Yes, the whole game was on a floppy disk. So the elusive "Justin Bailey" code was ONLY in import games that didn't use a save-state as the disk did.

What is the Justin Bailey code? The Nintendo Famicom (the Japanese NES) released Metroid as a "floppy" disk game. Yes, the whole game was on a floppy disk. So the elusive "Justin Bailey" code was ONLY in non-Japanese games that didn't use a save-state as the disk did.

Who was Justin? Well nobody really knows for sure... it might be a fluke of the password code process, it might be a reference to an actual person... nobody really knows, and Nintendo ain't talking. All we know is that if you input the code, you get to play Samus in a purple leotard.



Well after this code there is another rumor that if you play fast enough and long enough into the game, she continues to remove clothing. This is a falsehood... especially with Nintendo of America's staunch conservative beliefs. I'm actually surprised that the leotard got through.

Now the endings were even special as well. This was quite the stretch again for Nintendo of America. Nintendo of Japan wouldn't have minded at all, but Japan is a completely different monster when it comes to showing skin. The first is for beating the game in under three hours. The second image for beating it in under 1 hour.



METROID II-GAMEBOY
The sequel that came out on the Gameboy handheld system even threw it's shoe into the fray with its own "special" ending.



SUPER METROID-SNES/SUPER FAMICOM
The Metroid go into the Super Nintendo realm kept the cheesecake factor as Samus, once again, would show some "skin" if you went through the game under three hours. She actually changes very fast and such work for under 3 seconds worth of virtual sexiness is a bit too much even for this dirty man.



METROID FUSION-GAMEBOY ADVANCE

With the Gameboy Advance system, Metroid Fusion (a very fun game if I may say so myself) went even further offering MANY different shots depending on how fast you completed the game. The main shot would stay the same, but the scan still-shot would be different. The main shot was the tight suit:


And if you beat the HARD MODE then you got these (with a special America only image shown last here):


WOW What a lot of images to put into a game! Those wacky... dirty... old men!

METROID ZERO MISSION-GAMEBOY ADVANCE
The second Gameboy Advance game featured even more sleek pics and the first inclusion of the now infamous Zero-Suit. Once again, the main picture was the same:


With the rest of the scroll-shots being different. You even got a gallery at the end to view them:


You can see how Samus has become a "cheesecake" icon while keeping her bad-ass-fighter demeanor.

The GameCube and Wii versions have taken out this semi-erotic feature. So now, they just show Samus changing into her Zero-Suit, but not in a sexy way. Why? I think they now are focusing on enjoying the game as much as possible and trying not to deal with people speeding through it to see a hot girl in a tiny swimsuit. It quickly becomes cliche, and a "Yawn, oh well" gimmick. That's my theory anyway. Take the endings from Metroid Prime, Metroid Prime 2, and Metroid Prime 3 and you'll catch my drift.



To me, METROID features Samus Aran in one of the rare instances where a powerful female character in video games keeps her femininity intact without being too overtly sexual. She is comfortable in her skin while not showing too much skin... especially as the games progressed.

Sure there are inevitably hentai and dojinshi comics that contradict this, but I believe that Nintendo has done well to keep her strength and beauty together in a non-degrading way. Unlike Laura Croft who from the game-get-go shows way too much T&A for a strong female character to show, Samus only gives you a PG glimpse and only to those who prove themselves "worthy".

Thanks to Wikipedia, Metroid Database, and Video Game Museum for the images borrowed.

Twilight Princess 49 hours 36 minutes

MAN! What a great game! And the ending? Stellar! Best ending of all the games!


So here I gush (spoiler warning!):

There is so much to say about the game that I really cannot express it without giving too much away... and much of the Zelda experience for ANY of the games is the surprise factor. But I will say this...

The Wii is the ONLY way to play this game. If you have a GameCube version then sell it AND your GameCube, sell some of your blood/plasma, take out a bank loan and get a Wii and this game.

Playing with the motion sensitive controller is so much fun and brings a whole new aspect to the game that would be lost if you played it on the GameCube. Your arms do not get tired. Trust me. Well, fighting Gannondorf last night really did make my hand ache... SHEESH! I just wanted to yell out "WHY WON'T YOU DIE?!?!"

And then came the best part of the game: the ending. I love Zelda endings, and this one did not disappoint. "Midna" was fantastic.

The graphics rocked and the storyline was deeply involved. I plan on going back and finding everything I missed.

I give it 5 farewell Warios.


So now, I say goodbye to my original quest to play all the Zelda games before I played "Twilight Princess". What have I taken from this experience? Have I gotten anything out of this other than a good time playing video games? I think I actually have!

I have learned to think in new ways when playing games and when tackling obstacles. My eye has been sharpened to look for things that I may have missed. I have gotten a new appreciation for the stories Nintendo tells. Sure, that may seem fanboy-ish, but these games have a story to tell and they tell them (for the most part) well.

Link, Zelda, and Gannon have a link to each other and it's always exciting to see the climax when you play. You begin to care about these characters and look forward to seeing them again even if the plotline is to "rescue Princess Zelda". The Legend of Zelda games will always hold a place in my heart now as I go forward in my gaming... and I'll always look forward to the next Zelda game.

What is to come for my future gaming? Who knows? But it will not be as exciting and as enjoyable as my experiences in Hyrule.