Josh - 8:52 EST

Well, well, well. You thought you were all safe, did you? You should know better! I can't just introduce something this awesome without adding a twist at the last minute, right ^^? Prepare yourselves, because there's more to this game than meets the eye...

So, welcome to THONG 2.0! You can join at any time, just please note what characters are already used, and email me your choices for character and rune before you begin playing. I've updated the rules to reflect any new changes. I'll also clean up that area down there tomorrow, as it's getting a little cluttered.

The current Game list is as follows, more will be added as they are found: Grandia 3 (PS2, NTSC), Riviera: The Promised Land (GBA), FFXII (PS2, NTSC...maybe PAL. Working on it.).

The current Item list is as follows, but I should be getting a package soon with more...: Xenosaga III Art Book.

I promise more to come! ^^;

GO PENN STATE! We rocked Akron 34-16, and our defense is looking grand. Our offensive line needs to create more holes, but the fact that we were in a downpour probably affected that.

So here I am, soaked and happy, your lovable Q&A host. Let get started!

Hey Josh,

It has come to my attention that I have never played a Suikoden game, so I'm wondering, what are the best and worst of the series, and, more importantly, what would be a good introductory title? I've heard Suikoden 2 is great, but it's extremely rare, isn't it? I've heard good things about the most recent one, but how closely tied are the storylines? Loose enough to play each one individually? Hehe, now that I think about it, with the impending onslought of games in the near future, I probably won't end up playing any of them anyway. Whatever.

Any great trials that I overcame? Well, if we're including all videogames, not just RPGs, then I'd say the most memorable moment of that type would be from the NES Ninja Gaiden. Level. Six. Two. You have to play it to understand. In terms of RPGs, though? Braska's Final Aeon was a read pain for me in FFX, especially since I was horrendously underleveled. After that insane battle, I could've cared less that the Final Boss was a total pushover. Heck, I was almost grateful.

At any rate, yesterday I happened to think about Twilight Princess, right? And all of a sudden I start to think: What instument will Link play this time, if at all? Personally, I think that a violin of sorts would be pretty cool, or maybe a trumpet-like thing. Although the best thing would be an electric guitar. And then Ganondorf would also play the guitar, and the final battle would be a 20-minute long guitar duel between them, and they'd like shoot lightning bolts out of their instuments at each other and whatnot. And then at the end they decide to put aside their differences and start a rock band with Zelda, who plays the drums.

Yep. That's totally what's gonna happen. Guaranteed.

What was it that Sony said a while back about continued PS2 support? Didn't they say that there could still be games being produced for it in '08? What do you think about that? While I'd LIKE to see that happen (because I won't be getting a PS3 anytime withing the next 3 years or so), I don't know that's how things will work out. Of course, maybe they never said that in the first place, but I believe I heard that. It's just, even if Sony "says" that the PS2 is still alive, what about the developers? Would they rather make games for outdated hardware, or will they prefer to be on the bleeding edge?

Oh, and Jim's now a blind cave salamander! Until next time,
-Spiffyness

So Ouro...

How is your RPG backlog looking right now? I'm in the process of finishing Radiata Stories as I type this. After that I need to finish Final Fantasy II: Dawn of Souls and Suikoden Tactics. So I still have games to finish before my birthday hits and I have to play new games. Not to mention all of the new titles coming out soon.

What does your purchase list look like for the rest of the year?

- Macstorm

Ahoj Josh,

It is entirely possible that Fort Irwin is less pleasant to live in than Eureka, given its being in the middle of the damn desert that for some reason my great-grandparents used to live in. But all you can manage is 40 miles to a town, 70 to a good town? Bwa ha ha ha ha! Redding is 3 1/2 hours away from Eureka, and if you know anything about Redding you know that aside from being Working Designs' former headquarters it has nothing going on. Santa Rosa is 4 1/2 hours away, San Francisco another hour after that. Sacramento is about the same distance as San Francisco. Sticking around here means I could attain the most famous export of Humboldt County, the weed. But let's not get the feds sniffing around the site....

Warcraft - heh. Four years ago in the dorms Warcraft 3 was the addiction of everyone but me. I heard my roommate and suitemates getting exercised over it very often, and I may have picked up a little bit of information on the title vicariously. It even gave one friend his nickname of 'Sensei' - because he schooled another guy royally in Warcraft 3, get it?

I did try it once, after all the finals were done and everybody was packing up. Since I had no playing experience whatsoever I just played someone else with no experience and it was a well-meaning fiasco. I need practice with real time strategy titles apparently.

Y'know, it's funny. Right around the time the Playstation and Saturn were fighting it out in the opening rounds of that system war I was, for whatever reason, tuning out. A big factor was my having no job (in my defense, 13 year olds are not expected to have them) and relatives who steadfastly refused to buy me games. So I picked up a few discounted Genesis titles for the next few years and replayed them ad nauseum. I also picked up my penchant for writing enormous amounts of text around this time, thanks to having nothing else to do. It's for the best that no one reads that crappy sci-fi story I wrote with a guy traveling back in time to help Germany win World War I during these years - in retrospect it was a terrible idea. Then I did get a job during senior year of high school, and learned about eBay near-simultaneously. The rest you can probably pick up without help.

George Lucas has apparently said Indiana Jones 4 will be like The Phantom Menace (check the latest EW for this quote). Indy isn't really cut out for the RPG world though, but did Lucas have to make THAT comparison?

T&A. A little goes a long way in my experience, yet with some of the more recRPGs we seem flooded with it (I'm carefully ignoring other genres of games here). What's your stance on the baring of assets, Baron Ouro?

Thanks for that little Earthworm Jim link. It's not enough to make me even consider buying a PSP yet, but I like knowing that the system is slowly getting a few worthwhile titles. I have both EWJ titles on Genesis, thanks to the first one having an extra level on Genesis that SNES players never got to see - heh. I don't think there were any differences between the consoles for 2. And I hereby nominate Professor Monkey-For-A-Head to show up in a random title as an automatic boredom elimination!

Do you have no thoughts on Dragon Force? Certainly Panzer Dragoon Saga is worth playing by every RPGamer, and Albert Odyssey is a lot of fun, but Dragon Force is one of the most consistently praised titles on the English Saturn.

FF7 rumors again? Blah. Has anyone else never played the game so I can feel a little less alone? Without having played it, I can say that Cloud must have amazing stamina if that sword in his artwork is as heavy as it looks. And his hair styling must take hours.

Y'know, I think new PS1 games are still being released. They are of course the crappiest stuff one could probably buy in today's market, being intended for small, stupid children in the main; but such are exactly the audience to be given outdated technology by uncaring relations.

A friend of mine made this suggestion, but since he's currently busy selling RV's I'll submit his idea instead. You've seen Team America, right? Well, why don't we throw out 'The Star Spangled Banner' and insert 'America: **** Yeah!' as the new US national anthem? Reactions from people who know what I'm talking about are welcomed!

Now here's a system even I wouldn't make the effort of procuring: the Phillips CD-i. It seems renowned solely for possessing those (apparently) horrible Zelda knockoffs, but does anyone know any more about the thing?

Oh come now, the Virtual Boy wasn't a COMPLETE failure. It lasted, what, 4 months? And it didn't generate any lawsuits from its headache-inducing setup that I remember upon the spur of the moment! Notably Nintendo is not including Virtual Boy titles in its Virtual Console even though the names are eerily similar. Coincidence? YOU MAKE THE CALL!!!

Can I get a second for more Streets of Rage (or Bare Knuckle, depending upon where you live)?

Collate for us all your Sakura Wars knowledge now Dr. Ouro, because by the time this is posted I will be done with Princess Crown and have started the first Sakura title.

Is Act Raiser 2 the severe dropoff in quality lore would have it as? Because the platforming aspects of Act Raiser 1 are the weaker of the two game portions to me thanks to their iffy controls.

I might've played Light Crusader this week (a Treasure RPG? I'm interested!) but the seller on eBay ran into the evil of the United States Postal Service. He was really nice about it, refunding my money and offering to give me a discount on something else he's selling (anybody heard of Cadash? It seems mildly intriguing) but this still means I have no Light Crusader until I get it from another eBay seller. Please tell me I'm not speaking to the wall about Light Crusader.

Does Gauntlet count as an RPG? Hardly a typical one in that there is no story and it's all about mindless hack & slashing, but it can be addictive with someone else along. I bought Gauntlet Legends (or whatever the Dreamcast one is) after I got addicted to it on a cruise ship 6 years ago and threw way too many quarters into the arcade machine.

Monster A Go-go you'll probably have to acquire through non-Rhino methods. For whatever reason Rhino hasn't released that one yet. Nor have they released The Starfighters, the movie with no plot whatsoever, just a bunch of jet footage. Admittedly there is some footage on the ground of Bob Dornan romancing some woman and arguing with his movie father over whether to pilot a bomber or a fighter, but this is just filler in between the jet footage. Truly, nothing happens in the movie.

Stesti!
JuMeSyn

Hi, do you think that will be a next Castlevania game for Game Boy Advance? Because that thing of dual screen on Nintendo DS is so boring =/ Of couse the game is cool, but I just thinking for more vampires in GBA. Thank's a lot.

HAH! You cannot defeat me. I've devised a series of only the most diabolical of questions! Prepare to meet your maker!

#L1. (Number of SNES Megaman games in US) x (Number of FFVIII playable characters) x (Number of Dungeons in LoZ: Link to the Past (excluding the Pyramid where Ganon lies)) = ?

A. 225
B. 390
C. 660
D. 715
E. 810
F. 930

Ouro's Note: &%$%%$&**#!! Well, it's come to my attention that two of these answers are technically correct, so you'll be correct if you choose one of the two. Don't worry, they'll be harder in the future. Don't think you've gotten off so easily. ^^

Hehe...I think it's time for some fun. So, while you guys amuse yourselves with THONG, how about getting some letters in?

What is it about games that make us want to purchase them? Is it a stunning review? A commerical? And after we buy the game, what helps that along? A great manual? Extra bonus goodies? Why do you buy a game, and what validates your purchase? Sound off, guys!

Oh...and, good luck. ^^

***Josh is ready. Are you?