2D Zelda Never Disappoints

I've been on a classic Zelda stint lately. A few months ago, I started playing through A Link to the Past yet again. After Level 5: Ice Palace, I got distracted and didn't play for quite a while, but then I started up the original Legend of Zelda on a whim. After beating that (first quest only), I went back and finished up my game of LttP, and now I'm playing through Link's Awakening.

Poor Zelda II gets no love.

I think it's been around ten years since I played Link's Awakening. I played through it twice back-to-back when I first got the game, along with my Game Boy Color, back in the day. But then I never played it much after that, which is rare for me with a Zelda game. Even Majora's Mask got picked up again a while after I beat it the first time, though I couldn't bring myself to do the Great Bay Temple again and stopped there.

While I don't remember a lot of details in LA anymore, I still amaze myself sometimes by sort of instinctively knowing what to do or where to go. And the more I play, the more memories of my first time through the game keep popping up. It's been a fun nostalgia trip, and I've only gotten to Level 3: Key Cavern so far.

Maybe I'll play the Oracle games again after I finish LA.

Edit: No, wait, I know what I need to replay once I finish LA. Zelda: Four Swords Adventures. I played it to death when I first got it because it was and still is the only 2D Zelda game to rival LttP, but it's now been around six years since I played it. That needs to be fixed.

Winter 2011 Anime

No comparisons this season because I have a lot of other things I'd rather be doing than bashing crappy fansubs. But here's the groups I'm currently going with for what I'm watching this season. Obviously, these are subject to change as more groups get stuff out.

Dragon Crisis! [Underwater-Commie]
Fractale [UTW]
Gosick [Victorique]
Kimi ni Todoke 2nd Season [m.3.3.w]
Mitsudomoe Zouryouchuu! [HorribleSubs]
Puella Magi Madoka Magica [gg]

RB3 Cymbal Penny Mod

Rock Band 3 pro drums are a lot of fun, but as soon as I started playing, I noticed a big problem: My blue and green cymbals were over-hitting (i.e. being struck only once but registering multiple hits), and they were doing it a lot. Holding a 4x multiplier was just impossible in a lot of songs. And even in songs that were mainly snare/bass/hi-hat, as soon as I'd hit the green crash to activate overdrive, that 8x multiplier would turn into a 2x.

I spent a while fiddling with the screws that hold the cymbals down on the supports and control their tightness, and that helped some. Instead of over-hitting every single time, no matter what, I got it so they wouldn't over-hit as long as I hit them softly. Better, but still not practical on fast songs.

After a couple minutes of googling to see if others were having the same problem, I came across the penny mod. I also found several posts that said people had talked with Mad Catz support on the phone and had been pointed to this mod as a possible fix that wouldn't void the warranty, which I think is pretty cool. So, I decided to give it a shot and got out my screwdriver.

Ten minutes and two cents later, I now get zero over-hits on my blue and green cymbals, even when whacking the green hard at the end of a drum roll.

Fall 2010 Fansub Comparisons

My thoughts and comparisons of groups subbing the anime I'm watching this season. Note that most of this is based on only the first one or two episodes, so group quality may change throughout the season. The tag listed next to each title is my cur...

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Summer 2010 Fansub Comparisons

My thoughts and comparisons of groups subbing the anime I'm watching this season. Note that most of this is based on only the first one or two episodes so group quality may change throughout the season. The tag listed next to each title is ...

Read the full post »