Finished playing Megaman X5

Finished playing Megaman X5 (2001, Capcom, PS) on 12/7/2016.
My second playthrough.
Hours: 42~

Months after the events of Megaman X4, Sigma is resurrected and challenges the Maverick Hunters X and Zero with the intention of losing to spread a Reploid-infecting virus that turns them into Mavericks. Sigma also employs a Reploid mercenary named Dynamo to collide the space-colony Eurasia with Earth. X and Zero must then use the Enigma laser canon to destroy the space-colony before it collides. But will it work?

7/10 - This game is interesting with its couple of alternate endings. I can't remember what ending I got last time I played but I was lucky to get the best ending on my first try this time around. Yes, lucky, because certain timeline deviations are left up to chance more than the player's actions in this game. Not sure if previous X games implemented that same system or not. It's been a while. The game isn't terribly difficult either aside from maybe one of the last few bosses and the final boss himself.
The soundtrack is alright, nothing to write home about expect for maybe one or two good tracks. The main theme and the track for the level where you fight all eight bosses again were my favorite ones.
I also found the Squid Adler level very interesting and amusingly challenging with the bike section. I also like how you can stock up on 1Ups in that level too. But I never did find out what those V blocks were for. Maybe next time.

I have a hate/love relationship with the Megaman series. Why, because even though I've played every main installment before that preceded this one, I never really understood how to play Megaman games. I had actually given up on the series after I first played X5 a few years ago because I couldn't handle the immense frustrations I always experienced with the games. But I've always loved Zero and his own game installments very much, so I decided to give X another chance, even though I don't really find him very agreeable. So this time around I went in with an open mind. Megaman games are very challenging, but not without reason. These are games you're supposed to play over and over until you learn things like level design and enemy patterns. So with that in mind and without getting upset every time I lost, I pressed on over and over and over again until I was breezing through levels and bosses with flying colors... except for maybe Sigma... and Yellow Devil incarnates... ugh. And I think that's how you're supposed to play Megaman games. So here I go, onto the next one.

Finished playing Final Fantasy VI

Finished playing Final Fantasy VI (1994, Square, SNES) on 11/20/2016.
Hours: 85

A mysterious young sorceress named Terra finds herself under the mind-control of an Empire that rules over the land with Magitek, a technology that combines the power of magic and machines. After escaping the Empire's mind-control, Terra is rescued by and joins forces with the Returners, a rebel group seeking to put a stop to the Empire's dictatorship.

Quite possibly the most ambitious game of its time, Final Fantasy VI still stands today as one of the greatest RPGs in history. This being my third time playing this amazing game only reminded me how true that really is.
I really have no complaints about this game. The characters are great, their story is deep and well written and the music is exceptionally beautiful. The game even features an opera show with just as much emotion as the game's own story. Of course the gameplay is just as great as well with so many sidequests and hidden little things that will keep you playing and replaying for hours on end.

10/10 - Ten atta ten! This game is avaialble for dirt cheap on the iTunes store, Google Play store and Steam, so if you ever want to play an old FF game this would be it and there's no reason why you can't get it.

Finished watching .hack//G.U. Trilogy

Finished watching .hack//G.U. Trilogy (2008, Bandai, 1hr 33min) on 10/28/2016.

After leveling up his virtual character in an MMORPG called The World, Haseo butts heads with Tri-Edge, a powerful virus character who deleted Haseo friend's character effectively putting her in a real coma. Haseo is also defeated and but instead of a coma, all the progress he's made so far in the game disappears. That's when a group called TaN picks him up and promises to awaken a fearsome power within him.

7.5/10 - Trilogy is a CGI movie, and the graphics are appealing and smooth with attractive colors. The only thing that threw me off was the facial animations, specially with characters speaking. Often times the shape of the mouths didn't match the words or would open and only move slightly for each word before closing awkwardly slowly. Although I do have to give it to them for really showing Haseo's emotions with his crazy eyes and stuff. What I did enjoy the most was the fight scenes, they were very powerful!
The story got a bit dull at times though, and I found myself almost falling asleep or my eyes wandering off the screen. Also, I think the movie is an adaptation of the final moments in the games, which is pretty cool. I'd like to try reading the manga adaptation of all the games though.
But overall it was a good movie. Like I said before, the fight scenes I think hold the movie together pretty well and despite it getting dull at times the plot is interesting, albeit a little predictable too. I also liked to see the voice actors reprising their roles from .hack//roots.

Finished watching .hack//Roots

Finished watching .hack//Roots (2006, Bee Train, 26 episodes) on 10/17/2016.

Haseo is a new player of an MMORPG called The World. But as soon as he starts playing he is attacked by other more experienced players in the game. A mysterious man named Ovan saves him and invites Haseo to join his guild, the Twilight Brigade. This guild and its members seek to find the fabled rare item called the Key of the Twilight. But TaN, another guild stands in their way as they too seek the same item.

Hmmm... this show could've been handled a lot better if there weren't so many episodes, most of which dragged on for too long or felt useless to the advancement of the plot. Even some scenes felt like they were purposely stretched to fill in runtime.

The story itself was... alright, I guess. It's apparently a prequel to the PlayStation 2 games, which I've never played, mind you. I'm sure fans would've enjoyed this show a little better. Anyways, the characters weren't quite that interesting to me, except for maybe Haseo, but even he was a little pathetic. I really feel like the story could've benefited from fewer episodes.

The soundtrack didn't seem that great either. Some tracks were just absurd to me even. Not much really stood out to me.

5.5/10 - What can I say, Bee Train just really doesn't do it for me. I don't know what it is but from the stuff I've watched from them, it seems like they don't really... care? That much? Sorry, but this show was just dull to me.

Finished watching .hack//Legend of the Twilight

Finished watching .hack//Legend of the Twilight (2003, Bee Train, 12 episodes) on 9/15/2016.

Shugo is convinced by his twin-sister, Rena to play an MMORPG game called The World. When they begin, they are awarded limited edition character models based on legendary players Kite and BlackRose respectively. As Shugo plays along, odd events take place where he obtains the mysterious Twilight Bracelet from an elusive girl named Aura. The twins set out with new-found friends to unravel the mysteries that surround this odd bracelet.

PLOT - The story is somewhat interesting, and the characters aren't half bad and, but it's not really that complex of a plot more than it is entertaining. The animation is alright with vibrant colors. The way the characters are animated isn't too stiff, which is good. The soundtrack isn't bad, but it's nothing to write home about with only a couple of catchy tunes here and there, but it can be lively for the most part.

6.5/10 - Overall, for a 12 episode show it's not that bad but there's still room for improvement. If you're a fan of the franchise you'll definitely enjoy it, otherwise it's just a cute Saturday-morning cartoon that any little kid would enjoy.