dreamweaver13

They are upgraded Whistlewinds.

Thanks for the tip. Wouldn't have known to upgrade the whistlewinds. I've been focusing solely on the weapons.

With that in mind, what other accessories have notable upgrades?

Also, I noticed that some weapons have built-in stagger-lock skils, which "prevent" the staggering of enemies. One weapon for Snow even has the "enfeeblement" skill, which lessens his strength. Why would I want to use these weapons at all?? Just curious, do they come into play somehow with a particular boss or something?

Cobra Mission and Knights of Xentar.

Heck, I was young. And a virgin.

On that note, why does it seem to be impossible to make a good Lovecraft-based movie? The only good ones are Reanimator and Ghostbusters, and neither of those are terribly faithful to the source material.

Well, there's the Call of Chthulhu silent film a few years back. Could use a lot more budget, but still awesome in its simplicity.

Maybe you should change your avatar to this...?

lol. I actually tried to, but it didn't work for some reason.

And so it begins...

*Great ride for a date around Saturn's rings.

*Can be controlled remotely by simply moving your fingers. Beat that, Batman.

*Very useful for making smoke artwork in the sky... forget about love messages, we're talking complex dragon art.

*Has frickin lasers on its head. Dr. Evil would be proud.

*Doesn't need refueling. Ever.

*Amazing legroom in the cockpit. Enough to fit a drum set.

*Has a radio system that conveniently konks out when you're with a hottie.

*Can do a kabuki pose.

*Cockpit can detach from the body and convert into a mini jet... wait, did that really happen?

Where do Kim, Shammy, and Vanessa fit in?

Oh damn you. *nosebleed* damn.you.

No, SIGHUP's right. Watch the "Easter Egg" interview with Noburo Ishiguro on disc 9 of the AnimEigo release. The interviewer asks him if something was "going on" between Misa and Global, and Ishiguro answers that yeah, there might have been.

He also says that he thinks the Macross's continual bad luck was due to Global bad karma.

Hmm... so in that case, a Misa-Claudia-Global threesome then?

Why hasn't anyone even mentioned Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky yet?

If you're going to to complain that "Final Fantasy" is misleading as applies to Spirits Within because it's sci-fi and not fantasy, then I'm going to take issue with Final Fantasy II-XIV + any all spin-offs, on account of what "final" implies.

Hm..ok... I don't know you well enough to know if you're kidding or not. I'd like to think you are. Otherwise... no, i'm not even gonna say it.

Correct me and you probably will have to if I'm wrong.

But in TV Macross wasn't it implied that Captain Global and Misa had a little 'something something' doing on?

I'd sooner believe that Misa and Claudia were more likely to have something going on.

But that's just me; i think that of all lady roommates/friends.

overrated:

people calling moore's BSG overrated.

tim burton's Batman and all subsequent sequels.

Gundam 00 and especially season 2

Code Geass

District 9

Underrated:

Superman Returns

Lol. Agree on BSG.

Also agree on the first Batman by Tim Burton. But I have to wonder if i'm only declaring it as over-rated after Batman Begins and Dark Knight came out. After all, before Nolan's versions, what better versions were there? Specially when compared to Schumacher's travesties.

I would agree on Superman, if not for it's mistake of painting itself into a corner with the illegitimate son thing. I recall with amusement the first time i watched that movie, and when the hints were starting to pile up, my mind was screaming oh no, this can't be happening. singer, you're being a troll. you're f**king with our heads, you won't dare!. And when the piano came flying, oh no he di'int!

So it was missing, what... chocobos? An androgynous fellow with a sword a guy twice his size couldn't lift? It's not like there's a lot of commonality between the games.

Oh I don't know, maybe... magic? a summon, at least? or basically anything that would at least put the movie in the realms of a "fantasy", as opposed to a sci-fi movie.

And before anyone says that if I was only looking for fantasy, then I should have not watched Spirits Within in the first place, they're absolutely right. But as I said, the use of the phrase "Final Fantasy" in the movie title is completely misleading, because of what that phrase implies. If they were going to show a movie about the future annhilation of mankind by space ghosts, then by all means do so. But don't use your most popular label/product just to promote it.

I can only guess as to what Square was thinking when they decided to make Spirits Within. Did they decide to make a sci-fi film, and only use the label "final fantasy" to promote it? Or did they initially want to create a real fantasy movie in the same spirit as their FF games, but wussed out due to the perception at that time that "fantasy" doesn't sell? Either way, it was bad decision-making on their part, i think.

it's still a better, more interesting plot than most of the big budget, high grossing crap that has come out in the last couple years. If Spirits was released now with today's state of the art animation and CGI (which was my point originally, not just re-releasing it but doing it now with Avatar quality CGI) I still say it would have been a hit. if Avatar (or the bayformers movies for that matter) teaches us anything its that audiences today will spend ludicrous amounts of money on movies just because they have shinny CG and big explosions.

But that's exactly what I said - i think it wasn't about the CGI. Sure, it's an ok plot when compared to other crap. But whether it's using the CGI technology, or using updated avatar-quality CGI, ultimately I think the plot just wasn't good enough to be a hit. Avatar and Transformers are different creatures entirely, because of their big-name directors. And also, I would hazard a guess that Transformers, as a brand, is a wee bit more popular than Final fantasy.

But that's just my guess, as your guess is the opposite. It's all pretty speculative, really.

It's overrated because it's only good if you're a huge fan of the games, but it's frequently made out to be this amazing movie regardless of if you've played the game or not. even in the complete version it still makes no sense if you never played the game, it's totally inaccessible to outside audiences. it's bad enough when a sequel to a movie is like this but it's even worse when it's a sequel to a completely different media.

Good point. I'm guilty of definitively saying it's an awesome movie, but I still have enough self control to tell this only to people who have an FFVII background. In other words, I still have enough discretion not to geek-out and give my "four-thumbs-up" to any random film-viewer. But, I would still recomment it as an ok movie -- the Complete edition, that is -- and say that at least it's worth watching.

So in effect, if an FFVII fan is telling another person who at least knows about FFVII that Advent Children (Complete) is awesome, then I don't think it's being overrated at all. Coz, like i said, the Complete edition is actually a good movie. On the other hand, if an FFVII fan is telling a random movie goer that Advent Children is an amazing, perfect and life-changing movie, than yeah, it is overrating the movie a tad bit. But really, is there anyone who actually does this? For example, will I really tell my girlfriend who has never played a console game in her entire life that, "Oh my god, this is the most frickin awesome movie ever made. You have to see this or you're missing half your life!!"?

The point being, it's a given that Advent Children will not be anything more than awesome eye candy to those who haven't had a whiff of FFVII in their lives. But even among those who have exposure to FFVII, the verdict is still out whether or not Advent Children was a good movie, and deserves its praise among gamers. And I suggested that before you do decide on this, make sure you saw the Complete edition first.

Finished watching Martian Succesor Nadesico. Has a lot of really funny moments, a couple of memorable characters and some good ideas, but is ultimately a bit of a letdown if I consider how many good things I'd read about this series. Specially the ending feels really rushed and fails to address many of the series subplots. I know that there's a movie sequel, but apparently it doesn't seem to improve upon the series. Anyone care to comment?

Nadesico was a fun ride. Think of the whole thing as a tribute to both the Super Robot and the Real Robot genres, as well as the current trend of anime at that time(evangelion) , and you'll see why a lot of anime fans have such good words for Nadesico.

The sequel has a completely darker feel to it than the series. The humor is still there, but not from the characters you would expect. It takes place a few years after the end of the series. I'm not sure what you mean about "improving the series". What I can say, though, is that the series already had an actual ending (though rushed), and you could close the book there. The movie added another conflict, somewhat still related to the conflict in the series, and using the same characters, but, boy, some of them have grown. Basically, the nadisco movie is a reunion of sorts, but not necessarily a happy one.

Pretty much yeah. Spirits Within's only problem was that it was made a decade ahead of it's time. The technology at the time was to expensive and to primitive, but mostly People just weren't ready for life-like, all CGI movies. It was a beautiful looking film with a solid story, but people just weren't ready for it. Had Spirits Within been released today it would have been a much bigger success because general audiences are open to CGI-intensive films.

as for Advent Children, it was pretty and fun to see FFVII in super-detailed Hi-def CGI, but really the movie barely makes sense if you HAVE played the game. For anyone who hasn't the movie makes absolutely NO sense at all.

also I think Advent Children automatically gets undue praise just because it's FFVII, and conversely Spirits Within gets unfairly ragged on just because it's unrelated to any of the games.

(I like both but I think Spirits Within is much better as a movie)

Spirits within underrated? I disagree. It wasn't about the CGI, i think. At that time, the technology was already amazing. In fact, if not for its superior CGI, i think the movie would have been more of critical and financial flop than it actually was. The problem I had with Spirits was its uninspired plot and over-dramatized conflict. As much as I would like to sympathize with the end-of-the-world-last-human-civilization atmosphere that the movie was trying to project, somehow I can't because they're basically being threatened by incorporeal ghosts that just take the soul. Also, the ultimate mystery behind it all was quite disappointing. What is the mystery behind these world conquerors that destroed the earth? Oh, they're just spirits that were restless because their world was destroyed. Any reason why they are trying to eat all human souls on earth? Oh i dunno, don't all ghosts do that? I mean, really, who you gonna call?

I'm ragging it as a movie, on its own, and not as a part of the FF franchise. I'm not even putting that into the equation yet. Coz if I did, I would be forced to say that the title was the most blatant form of false advertising that I have ever seen. CGI and the mere presence of Cid do not a final fantasy make.

Advent Children overrated? I would also disagree, but with a qualification. I think Advent Children was perfect, and I loved that movie. But that was just as a FFVII fanboy speaking. I can't distance myself from that. Heck, put all those characters together in a cage match and I would still declare it the best.cgi.movie.ever. I can see how the story didn't make sense at times, the plot was all over the place, and the storyline jumped from one concept to the next without really explaining what the point was. For example, there was all this talk of a Reunion, but what the hell was going on, where did these 3 come from, what's the connection? And how did Sephiroth come back in the first place? But heck, who cares, Cloud and Sephiroth faced off again, that's good enough for me!

BUT. That was before I watched the Complete version of Advent Children. Until then, I had no idea that there was an actual fluid story taking place. A lot of stuff was cut from the Complete version to make the cinematic release. A LOT of dialogue that basically connects the action that takes place over the course of the movie, and a lot of character development that explained the relationships between Cloud, Tifa and the orphans, between the three antagonists, Sephiroth and Shinra corporation.

Basically, the cinematic releases of Advent Children was a lot of awesome, breathtaking, mind-blowing action glued together with a ghost of a plot, whereas the Complete version was an actual story, that also happened to have awesome, breathtaking, mind-blowing action. Seriously, I don't understand why they edited that much out for the cinematic version.

So, I would recommend first watching the Complete version of Advent Children before deciding whether or not it is overrated.

But I don't think it's fair to judge it from a neutral perspective. Serenity is the end of Firefly; judging it without the benefit of the background that Firefly provides is like watching and critiquing the Godfather II without having see the Godfather. You're missing half the story.

At the same time, it's also unfair to require a viewer to watch the series first before watching the movie. or dismissing a person's opinion on the movie just because he hasn't seen the series first. Godfather I and II are a different matter - they're both movies. Somehow, you can criticize a person for watching the sequel first before the original. Would you criticize a fan of the Buffy series if he hadn't seen the movie first? (Ok, granted, i'm just trying to be funny with this example. )

I think a tv series and movie are still different artforms. Ultimately, Serenity was a movie, and technically, it wasn't a sequel or a prequel. Thus, I won't take it against anyone for judging it on its own merits, without the series.

Full Metal Alchemist is pretty awesome.

Are you referring to the new one? Indeed, absolutely awesome. Sadly, i'm stuck at ep39 since i don't have the later episodes yet.

Hmm... Fifth element....

overrated?

underrated?

A class of its own. I can't say it's underrated, coz it's not that brilliant a film to begin with. Can't say it's overrated, coz even if i love the movie, i'm nowhere near declaring it the best.scifi.ever.

Personally, I loved it. It was just so crazy it worked. And, besides, any faults of that movie are washed away by the sight of Milla Jovovich in her bandages.

LOL! Seconded!

A friend of mine was just telling me how he walked out of Serenity (theater) a mere 15 minutes in. And now this?!?

Serenity is one of my favorite sci films, and I love it to death. But I know for certain that i'm saying this from a Firefly fan's point of view. I can never be impartial about this movie. Maybe by itself, it's just an ok movie. But as the continuation of one of my favorite (albeit short-lived) series, it cannot be anything less than absolutely awesome.

So basically, i'm not surprised if someone didn't like it, or thinks that it's over-rated. from a neutral perspective, it probably is.

It's funny cuz my favorite team right now is Light/Fang/Sazh, having Light as a Medic, Fang as a Sentinal and Sazh as a Synergist has saved my bacon quite a few times. Not only does he cast Haste but if possible cast elemental properties on the weapons which just decimates most enemies plus he's not to far behind Light, Fang, Snow in strength too. I've got those three in the 1800-1400 range while he's been upgraded to around 1100 plus I've taught him some Medic skills so he can also heal too.

The thing is, i have this natural bias for using Light primarily as a Commando. I don't know why... it just doesn't feel right if my team leader doesn't do the hardcore attacks. 13 years' worth of FF conditioning, i guess. If anything, that's my only problem with Light and Fang together on the team, since Light would have to take the RAV role.

Off the top of my head...

Azumi -- same as the OP, major CRUSH on Aya Ueto to this day. Watched the series "Attention Please" just for her. So adorable.

Seven Samurai

Drunken Master

Shaolin Soccer

Kung Fu Hustle

Twilight Samurai

Yojimbo

Just made me think. While I was a kid, I always found ninjas to be the most intriguing of the bunch (as against samurais and kung fu warriors). So I find it surprising that I can't think of a good ninja movie right now.

True to self, what brought me on board was hearing about the next episode preview for Live Alive that featured an M7 reference

Bomba!!

i didn't watch the tv version, only the movies, and I am not sure I liked it or not...maybe I should've watched the series instead? Maybe the movies were too condensed, as typically is the case.

Definitely should have watched the series first. The movie (specially the first one) was a very condensed version, spliced with seemingly random animation sequences in the middle (which almost make no sense if you haven't seen the series). The awesome parts are still in the movie, but without the build-up of the plot and the characters, the awesome parts have less impact somehow.

Even the second movie might be too crazy to make sense. If you hadn't seen the series first, the final battle mght just be a tad too absurd.

Also---Fang! She is the hardest-hitting character, period. The best 2 parties in the game (in most people's opinions and mine) are Light/Hope/Fang and Light/Van/Fang.

I also think Light/Hope/Fang is the best all-around team, with Light/Vanille/Fang a close second. L/H/F gives me the perfect combination of defense (Hope's SYN, Fang's SENT) and offense (Fang's SAB, and the 2 ladies' raw power) that makes quick work of enemies. L/V/F, on the other hand, is a destructive force with it's double SAB attack). Both combinations can also let me use one of my favorite paradigms: Delta Attack.

That being said, i've been having a lot of fun with Snow in the lineup as well. Usually a Light/Snow/Vanille combo. It's interesting to battle without really worrying much about being KOd, or having to heal characters every now and then. Snow's tough as a sentinel; it takes a long time before his HP even reaches midpoint. And my other 2 characters barely get hurt at all.

So far, the only character I can't seem to find useful is Sazh. Sure he's useful as a SYN to cast haste, but given a choice between that and Hope's defensive SYN spells, I'd usually go for the latter. (Later on, I expanded Sazh's crystarium to include a few SEN abilities. Have any of you seen how Sazh moves when casting Provoke? Hilarious. Almost enough to make me use him. Almost. hehe.)

A couple nitpicks I would level against the game for now would be the dialogue and "restrictive" camera. I don't understand why devs don't let you rotate a camera a full 360 degrees.

I seem to remember that i could rotate the camera a full 360degs. I'll have to check again later to be sure, though.

On another matter, I can't get over how much this cosplayer actually looks like Vanille...

I was noticing that about Lightning, hence why I switched from Gladius to BlazeFire. I'm merely wondering whether they're strong enough at the point I'm at. I think so, but I'm sure being a bit stronger helps.

Any Ch.9 grinding tips, guys, since this is supposedly one of the better points to do it?

I'm still grining in Ch9 too. Do you know the save point that is at some open space area of the ship, which you can reach after a long corridor full of PSICOM huntresses and raiders? I just keep going back and forth between those areas, since the enemies refresh each time you enter the save point area. made quite a fortune already, but i think i'll keep going a bit until i reach 300k gil.