so earlier today i was comparing myself to a dog.... why? idk. what? well, pay attention;
when it comes to relationships; im extremely loyal and caring, i love the attention, but im happy enough knowing im caring for someone, being cared for, and knowing im there for my mistress. if i dont get enough attention or im abused, ill have a bad temper, if i get too much, i eventually get turned off and run away
i know most dogs arent like this, but imo the best ones usually are, and id say its somewhat accurate
Anthony "Sorin" Bold - 15 years, 9 months, 16 days ago

okay... so... what makes me a romantic?
first - simple things; i like love songs (lifehouse is a SWEET band), love stories and other such stuff... love seems to be a turn on for me
second - chivalry; im a big believer in chivalry and i try to be curteous and as sweet as i can be (though it hasnt really gotten me anywhere)
third - i am very caring.... even if im not in a relationship with someone, as long as i like them i am super loyal and super caring. i dont mind hearing problems, i love listening, and always try to help
fourth - umm... i dont know how this fits anywhere... Romeo and Juliet is my favourite shakespeare play, for one its a love story, and a big reason is; i used to (and still kinda do) fantasize that id play Romeo in some kind of production, and the girl who played Juliet would be my soul mate... though we wouldn't realize it right away... we'd realize it when we start practicing one of the love scenes closer to performance day, then it slowly clicks
Anthony "Sorin" Bold - 15 years, 9 months, 16 days ago

Top 10 favourite video games (part 2)
5) Tales of Symphonia - Nintendo Gamecube
Namco's Tales series started with Tales of Phantasia on the Super Nintendo (released only in japan until the remake for GBA) but was never widely known. Until they brought this little Gamecube exclusive gem to America. It's almost a prequel to Tales of Phantasia, set in the same world (for the most part), filling some plot holes (creating one or two more though), and even the world maps are eerily similar. The music is beautiful (and can almost be used as an example of why they called it "symphonia") and the story and characters are all so deep that this game is a true work of art. The characters are all also -very- unique fighting style-wise. Sure, Lloyd, Kratos, Zelos, and Raine are kind of cliché, but Genis with, what's essentially a ball-in-a-cup, Collete with bladed frisbees, Presea, a little girl wielding a HUGE axe, Regal, fighting only with his legs, and Sheena, fighting with cards, are actually very interesting. The battle system has laid the groundwork for the best RPG battle system ever (in my opinion) that Tales of the Abyss boasts. It has good voice acting, a few bad points, but great at least. A ton of branching paths depending on the order on which you do things, with sort of a butterfly effect, you do something in one order, and it does affect at least the next couple parts of the game. There's replayability in an "item collection" book, tons of subquests and titles (that affect the way the character levels up), a cookbook with recipes to collect (and use after battle for minor healing or stat increase for the next battle), a sort of "pokedex" for monsters. And to make it easier, collecting enough "grade" which is increased or decreased depending on how well you do in battle you can purchase a buff that will give you x10 XP as you go through the game (as well as other buffs). It's 2 disks so it's (the fastest you can go through it is maybe 50 hours if you tried.) It's an excellent game that should never be overlooked.

4) Sonic CD - Sega CD, PC
I've said in a review that Sonic Unleashed had the best soundtrack ever? I obviously wasn't thinking of this. Argue as you may, I found the soundtrack in the American release to be amazing, and addicting, every time I hear it I think; "damn, I wanna play that game again." That's not the only reason I love it though. The timetravelling gameplay was a very good addition, and if you know the level by heart, you can kill all the robots in Act 3 without actually getting to the level. And, it's probably one of the only Sonic games with a difficulty curve that can be compared to running into a brick wall or climbing a mountain. Sure the first level is easy, and the second is okay, but they just get harder from there. Couple that with the special stages, the first one, piece of cake once you learn how to do it, the other six? That's running into a brick wall. Even now I don't exactly know how to do the last few. What's worse... or maybe best, is that they taunt you when you beat it without collecting all timestones. There's actually some great unlockable content (through time trials and beating the game) and a cartoon opening, and two cartoon closings (one for a "good" future and one for a "bad" future). Also, it has, in my opinion, 2 of the best boss fights in the series; a race against metal sonic, and the most rediculous eggmobile boss ever (3rd level boss).

3) The Legend of Zelda: Oracle Duality (Oracle of Ages, Oracle of Seasons) - Game Boy Colour/Advance
I believe that this is actually a rare gem, and I'm happy I have both games and that both are in perfect working condition (for the most part). These were actually the last 2 games ever released for the Game Boy Colour, which is shown by their bonus feature with the GBA; the Advanced Shop and associated items. The games each brought puzzles and challenges that definately surpassed Link's Awakening (an earlier game boy instalment), also rings that either increased your attack, defense, or gave you a Moblin costume, Gasha seeds that could cultivate rings, fairies, potions, Maple, a flying witch who often dropped cool stuff when you run into her, loveable characters from the N64 games, and linkability (where, either through a password or a link cable, you could continue your game on the next one, bringing with you an extra heart piece, all your rings, new unlockable content, and Twinrova/Ganon as a final boss.) And that feature alone is what makes it my favourite. The music was pretty sweet too, and Subrosia (an underground land from seasons) will always be in my heart. Although collecting rings is fucking hard, I can still beat it, all 4 games (Seasons, Ages, Hero Ages, Hero Seasons) practically 100% in one weekend, only missing maybe 1 or 2 rings. I miss this game actually... I'm probably gonna play it later.

2) Pokemon 2nd Generation (Gold, Silver, Crystal, Pokemon Stadium 2) - Game Boy Colour, Nintendo 64
This remains the real reason I stayed into pokemon. While everyone was off playing their new "Ruby and Sapphire" games when they came out, I was still working my way at this. Not only is it pretty much the reason for my 3 favourite Pokemon in the series, but it's the best generation. The "competitive battle school and library" in Stadium 2, the challenge cup (the random pokemon style of battling is still my favourite cause through it really shows off certain pokemon that I would never consider), the battle tower in crystal, the music in all the games in the generation. What's TERRIBLE about this series is that the internal battery supported both a real time clock and the save file, and because of that, most, if not all the batteries in the world have died and these games will no longer save. It's possible to charge or replace, but it's deep magic, but still, it sucks that it can no longer be played properly anymore.

1) Sonic 3 & Knuckles - Sega Genesis
This is probably no surprise but it is my favourite game ever. Sonic 3 was originally supposed to be longer then it turned out to be. However, there wasn't enough space on the cartridge, and the last few levels were still being tweaked. Those last few levels were released as Sonic & Knuckles, which also had lock-on technology. Sonic 1 gave you a special stage generator, Sonic 2 gave you the ability to play through the "best-selling" genesis game with Knuckles, and Sonic 3 brought you a more complete version of the events. 14 emeralds... About 13 or 14 stages, some of the best music in the series and the BEST gameplay in the series (especially with Tails as Sonic's partner). This game has always been number one since I played it. Also this gets bonus points for the WORST death trap in the entire Sonic series (until you figure it out or somehow glitch through)... Carnival Night Zone Act 2, you know what I mean....

Honourable mentions to the (long) list of games im not allowed to play cause im too good at them, and also to Donkey Kong Country 3, the rest of the Sonic series (with a few exceptions), Ecco the Dolphin series, Gauntlet Legends and Resident Evil 4
Anthony "Sorin" Bold - 15 years, 10 months, 4 days ago

my top 10 favourite video games (part 1)

10) Pokemon 4th Generation (Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, Pokemon Battle Revolution, *wishful thinking; Golden Sky, Silver Sea, please Nintendo???*) - Nintendo DS, Wii
First of all, don't go bawing about Ranger and Mystery Dungeon; screw you those are spin-offs NOT the real 4th gen. When I finally got into the third generation I had managed to get 381/386 pokemon on Fire Red... This game came out and I noticed the pokedex had jumped to 493. "Oh joy!" I said with glee when I realized my job wasn't done. Aside from the collecting, the 493 pokemon, the extra moves, and the new physical/special element added to the 4th generation really bolstered the fun of raising and breeding pokemon for competitive battling. The graphics (especially from what screens of the Torn World from platinum looks like) are the greatest they've been in the series, and the Wi-Fi trading and battling is probably one of the best things I've experienced (I actually have the Pokedex for a few of those event-exclusive legendaries thanks to wi-fi.) And the music, though not as good as the 2nd generation, is still great. However... The story involving Team Galactic kinda got lame, and Platinum almost looks like a completely different game rather than a different version, but its enough to bare.

9) WarCraft 2: Battle.net Edition - PC
This (WarCraft 2 in general) is actually the first Blizzard game that I ever played. It's also the first RTS that got me into the genre. After playing through the campaigns, I ended up loving the story. The music was awesome, and playing online through battle.net was the best experience. Loving the story got me looking forward to WarCraft 3, and actually the lore of the entire series is why I play WoW.

8) F.E.A.R. - Xbox 360, PC
Ben introduced me to this game after I started to get into "horror survival." Although... like Resident Evil 4, this is NOT horror survivor. This is more "psychological horror." While the shooter parts are entertaining, and the music is awesome, there is no other experience like the "nightmares." As you're making your way through an empty hall, lights will flicker, you'll hear random static on your radio, and little girl laughter behing you. You investigate it and either something freaky will jump out at you, or you'll go into a "nightmare" revealing more about your character, the story, and being really spooky at the same time (with doors on ceilings and blood on the floor.) After the 2 expansions, I am greatly looking forward to F.E.A.R. 2 coming out in February.

7) Sword of Mana - Game Boy Advanced
Music excellent, story amazing, graphics great for the game boy advanced. Made by square enix, I can't think of what specific points I like this game for, but I know the main reason I loved it. It was the very first game I ever used the names "Sorin" and "Andrea" in. The two lovers from my Sierra series pretty much had their name origin here. And I'm pretty sure ever since I started playing this game and using Sorin in it, I started using Sorin everywhere, to the point that its a nickname now. While the story is linear the gameplay is half Zelda, half Final Fantasy. There's a class up system, the magic gets more powerful with each spirit of that element you collect. It's crazy complicated, but it's a great game.

6) Sonic Adventure 2 - Sega Dreamcast
This had to be on this list. It's the game that really got me into the newer Sonic games... Or even the newer gaming scene to begin with. 130 Hours to try and collect all 180 emblems (im at 178 right now...) It's the ONLY good game with Shadow in it, and I actually liked the story a lot. I like how even though light and dark game play was similar, they both had different puzzles. And I liked the gameplay, the Sonic/Shadow levels were fast, but the platforming was intense. The Tails/Robotnik (freakin playable Robotnik, thats enough for me to like it) were really fun shoot-em ups. The Knuckles/Rouge levels were actually vastly improved over Sonic Adventure 1's lousy treasure hunting. The last level where they all work together still remains the hardest in the game, and the last boss as Super Sonic/Hyper Shadow was really fun. Playing versus and trying to unlock the bonus costumes, bonus characters, and game modes kicked ass. The music is great, the voice acting is actually better than most games in the series, and it is one of the last dreamcast games to see the light of day. Raising Chao is just as rewarding and maybe even better than raising pokemon, and yes, because of the bonus 10th anniversary 3D remake of Green Hill Zone, it definately is.
Anthony "Sorin" Bold - 15 years, 10 months, 4 days ago