I'm about 16 hours in right now, and so far this is the best and most addictive JRPG I've played since Blue Dragon. The combat system is wonderful, the visuals are beautiful despite the relative graphical simplicity. The characters are fun and colorful, though the voice acting is a little off, and the story while relatively simple is still fairly engaging with a fair amount of interesting little details.

Best of all, it's the first portable JRPG I've played, that really felt at home on a portable. Most JRPG's require a certain amount of dedication and time once you pick them up. Playing them for a mere five to ten minutes usually doesn't work very well, due to the constant and relatively unpredictable nature of the threats your party faces. Basically, if you want to go through the story in most JRPGs, you have to fight through a bunch of random encounters that slow you down. If you want to grind levels, you cannot really stop partway through, because it might mean leaving your party in a weakened state somewhere where they're liable to be attacked the moment you come back. This probably doesn't seem like a big deal to some people, but it is for me this is a deal breaker, as it often takes me a few minutes to fully recall the best way to deal with certain enemies after picking a game back up.

Bravely Default deals with this, by putting you in near complete control of the encounter rate. The game contains an encounter rate slider option, that allows you to set the encounter rate anywhere from 0% encounters, all the way up to 200% with 100% being the normal.

I'm not sure I'd like such a feature on a console, but for JRPG's on a handheld this is a life saver. It essentially reduces the risk of putting the game to sleep in the middle of dungeons down to zero, as you can set the encounter down to zero before parking it. Conversely this greatly speeds up the process of both Grinding, and clearing story content, as you can set the encounter rate to Max when you want to grind and essentially fight constantly, or, set the rate to zero if you just want to run to the boss without being stopped a dozen times.

This doesn't mean the game is easy though. This is actually one of the more difficult JRPG's I've played. You can completely break the games combat system and become very overpowered, and still frequently wipe if you're not paying close attention to the combat. This is because the Brave/Default system, while allowing you greater room for strategy and tactics, also allows enemies greater room for strategy in tactics. Unlike most JRPG's, it's not uncommon to see bosses using powerful attacks back to back, and there won't always be gaps in between these moves to allow you to recover. One boss, Orthros, consistently went after my healer with multiple attacks every turn, and I only won after adjusting my strategy to offer greater protection to my healer.

Situations such as these are fairly common in the game, and that's just the way I like it. So the game, on top of being charming as heck, is both incredibly convenient to play, and challenging enough to be rewarding. This in my view is an extraordinary achievement in game design, as it makes the game fitting for both casual gamers and hardcore alike.

As such, I cannot reccomend Bravely Default enough. If you own a 3DS and have even a passing interest in JRPG's, this is a must own title.

May all you happy couples spend some great quality time together. Additionally, may all us poor singles weather the storm with dignity and class. XD

They diagnosed me with seasonal depression today, and gave me a prescription for Zoloft. Shouldn't really be a surprise, what with two family members dying recently, having a long struggle with poverty, and being stuck inside during a long cold winter.

Still don't like it though. I hate the idea that I have to rely on some sort of crutch to function.

Yeah, not going to be too melodramatic about this, but I was kicked out of my static group in Final Fantasy XIV. I won't go into details, but the reasoning basically came down to, "You haven't been performing all that well, and one of our better players doesn't like you."

Which, wouldn't bother me all that much, except now it's going to be all but impossible to hang out with the members of that group whom I DID like, and whom I seemed to get along with well. Can't exactly put them in a position where they have to choose one over the other, or carefully tip-toe between two or three people that're holding grudges.

Seriously, it's so maddening. That we all get to Twintania together, are likely within two to four weeks of downing her, (sooner I'd hope,) and then, "Nah, this thing that's been working out okay for months, we've had a rough few weeks, so you're out."

Greeeeaaat, just peachy.

I think I've recently come to the conclusion that, what I want most out of life right now, what I need, in some real respect. Yet, in many respects, respect has been the most difficult thing for me to earn, it's just so elusive.

People don't seem seem to respect kindness and forethought. They don't seem to respect honesty and effort. Most my efforts at writing in my life, save for the pieces I myself don't respect, have almost without exception been panned by the writers I respect. Players whom I've tanked for for months, and whom I've cleared top tier difficulty content with, frequently criticize my tanking skills, and throw mistakes back at my face for days or even weeks.

My family loves me, but far too many of them treat me like I'm a broken thing because of my aspergers. And, no matter how understanding and respectful I am, far too many people seem to lose respect for me when they learn I may not share their political beliefs.

It's hard you know. I really don't want to be a whiner, but there are so many times when I wish there was a manual for earning and keeping the respect of others.

I think its about time, that I gave my watchers a better idea what sort of person I am. What I believe, what my philosophy is, and what I stand for.

Suffice to say, a full detailing of these things would take up far more room than a single journal entry could reasonably hold, but that doesn't mean I can't get started. Forgive me if I wax poetic at times, sometimes it's the best way to get my feelings across.

In moments of laziness, I might call myself a conservative, or that I have Libertarian leanings. While superficially accurate I don't belive this label is sufficient. These are terms to describe political philosophies, and there are as many variations of these broadly defined philosophies as there are people on earth. What's more, these terms are both subjective and narrow. They are subjective in that a conservative in Europe would frequently be seen as very liberal in America and other nations, and they are narrow in so much that they only describe your stance on a scant few issues rather than an individual's broad world view.

So if these sorts of labels are insufficient, what is it that I believe ?

I believe that, that the world is made better by the work and efforts of good men and women. I believe that utopia is a myth, that happiness, love, and prosperity are the only things that really matter. I believe that it is important to be humble, and to be personally generous with your dealings with others. I believe in hard work and sacrifice, and that these things are the only true path to lasting prosperity.

I believe that it is mankind's destiny to colonize the stars, and to one day break past our own inherent flaws and limitations. I believe there is evil in the world, but that good men and women ultimately outnumber the bad. I believe that any political system can conceivably work if lovingly administered, but many systems will end in tragedy when they are not.

I believe that friends and family are worth fighting for. That women should be treated with dignity and respect. I believe that so long as men are good, we should be forgiven for the occasional immature fantasy, and that women are entitled to the occasional fantasy of thier own.

Finally, I believe that when people love each other, they should be faithful, and do all that they can to support one another.

I realize that a lot of this probably reads like a series of platitudes, but I really do have reasons to believe everything I've written here. To me, all of this is rational, all of it makes perfect objective sense.

Id like to go into it sometime, but, like I said earlier, that all might be a bit much, for one journal. XD.

Yes I know what's going on. No it has nothing to do with me. I'm not moving, if any activist type writes anything about me being complacent, fark you, I've got a life to live, and I don't have the time or inclination to take up every cause that wanders on by.

Again, I know what's going on, but it's none of my business, and probably none of yours either. This is an issue between two private adults, and maybe the authorities, I'm going to treat it as such.

A little over a year ago, I commissioned an artist name  robaato, and since then I've heard nothing back from this artist, despite multiple attempts at getting ahold of him, at several different email addresses.

Now, this wasnt a particularly expensive commission, and it is very possible there was some sort of initial miscommunication. However, I know for a fact that I'm not the first buyer this artist has blown off, and if there was a miscommunication there has been ample opportunities for it to be resolved.

At this point, I'd be satisfied with a simple refund, but regardless I feel that this artists irresponsible behavior should be documented, both as a means of cautioning future commissioners and to promote more responsible behavior.

So, yeah, I haven't been as active here as I'd like lately. The holidays took a lot out of me, and I feel like I'm only now recovering.

Commissions are going to be a bit slow for awhile, but they should pick up in February. January tends to be a low pay month for me, since the few weeks after the holidays tend to have really low sales. In the short term, the big priority is going to be a story that I'll be sending Desmonds way, another Sadira pic, and another muscle/growth sequence at some point.

Also, there's a free weekend for FFXIV starting tomorrow. I'd highly recommend giving it a spin. :)

Seriously, I have GOT to get this! I really hope they aren't over promising when they're talking about custom avatars in the future. To actually be able to talk to people AS Anion, would be awesome as heck. XD

Gonna keep this simple since I'm writing this on my mobile phone.

So.

I got a turtle beach stereo headset, and Super Mario 3D World world from my parents. No real surprise, since I provided links where they could get both items on sale, but still awesome none the less, my old headset was headache inducing.

For myself I picked up, Persona 4 Golden, a 16gb Vita memory card, and I traded in my 3DS for an XL, cost me about 100usd after trade in. All these items combined cost 140usd, so I made good use of sales.

I grabbed a new Blu Ray player for my parents, since thier existing player couldn't do closed captioning for Netflix, Amazon, or July. For my brother in law I bought two copies of FFXIV, so he and my sister could both play with me.

They're both enjoying it very much so far.

Oh, speaking of my baby sister, seems I'm gonna have another nice or nephew in nine months. You know, FYI, whoda thunk it.

Haven't really had the time to give you guys as much attention as you deserve. I have time for this though!

Merry Christmas everyone, and have a happy New Year! :D

Yeah, picked up Dark Souls off Amazon for 6USD today, entirely with the intention to gift it to somebody who didn't already have the game. Thing is, I know WAY too many people whom I'd love to be generous towards.

So, I've got a question to ask all my friends and regulars. Who out there thinks they're really enjoy sitting down with a copy of Dark Souls, dying over and over on end for weeks and weeks! C'mon speak up, don't be shy. XD

Really though, this isn't a raffle exactly. This is just the move effective way I have of reaching a large number of people at once. :)

As some of you may already know, the relatively small amount of art I've commissioned this year is largely due to debt that snuck up on me, at a time when it would have been difficult to repay it.

Well, the debt isn't gone yet, but if it weren't the Holiday season, I'd easily be able to get rid of it using maintenance payments by this point. Still, I'm getting close, so you should see a small uptick in the amount of projects you see me submitting, early next year.

So, hopefully, I'll soon be able to give some very talented artists the attention they deserve.

So, what's with the sudden influx of people faving this picture by Strype?

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/9105388/

Great picture and all, but usually I get a ton of faves on a pic the first few weeks after it was submitted, only to see it slow to an irregular trickle later. I don't usually get a flood of people all saving the same picture, especially a picture that's been around for a year already.

Trying to plan out some humerus setups for at least once growth+muscle expansion sequence, but, there are only so many times Cindi can trick me into drinking Milk. Any ideas how I might be exposed to enormous amounts of enormity inducing milk?

So far I've been trying to stick to simple scenarios, since they're cheaper to commission, but I may have no choice but to pay for complexity in this case.

Edit : never mind, it finally came to me! People will put almost anything cold and wet into thier mouths, after accidentally eating Guatemalan Insanity Peppers!

I'm watching my nieces today, but one of my nieces brought her pet hamsters with her today. Apparently, one of my sisters animals got into nieces room, and attacked her hamsters. So I'm essentially on death watch today, preparing myself to jump in and comfort two little girls when their pets likely pass on.

I suppose they could recover, but it looks to me like that'd be cruel for the little things.

Life has been really crazy these past few weeks. I haven't been very active here lately and I really feel bad about that. Hopefully things will calm down soon, and I can become more active soon.

In somewhat related news, I'm in the early process of trying to adapt the typical transformation story to fit the Monomyth formula. I wrote a ton of transformation stories as a kid, but stopped when I realized how fragmentary most of them came out. If they can be adapted to the Monomyth however, that should largely correct the issue with transformation stories.

Yes I know, lame joke, shaddup!!

Ryono's doing a YCH commission, and it looks like if you act now you may have a good chance of getting in on it at an affordable price. He's a good artist, so you should really check him out anyway.

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/11925964/

:)

The winner, by default, is  Benjamin_Mahir, congratulations!

Hopefully more people will participate next time. XD

Okay, I'm going to keep this simple.

I'm looking for a fun little SFW scene to write, and because of idea bloat everything I'm thinking up right now turns into a major project before I even start.

So, if you're a watcher, and have a fun little idea for a scene you'd like to have written up, leave a comment detailing it. So long as I get three comments or more, I'll pick the one I like best, and write it up nice and quick. Then, of course, you can repost the story to your own accounts as you see fit.

The informal deadline for this is Saturday night, so don't wait around forever. XD

It's been ages since I've experienced an arctic winter, and despite how harsh they are, I do still occasionally miss them. I think this video does a good job of demonstrating why.

It FINALLY spawned while I was online, a creature that only appears once every few days, at more or less random times. I was totally and completely unprepared for it.

So, uh, yeah.

Rainmaker Entertainment, the company that Mainframe Entertainment eventually became, is opening a new side-studio called, Mainframe Entertainment. Mainframe 2.0 shall be marking it's relaunch, by Rebooting Reboot, giving it a new and revamped direction.

Not entirely certain what they mean by that, but seeing as I mostly missed this show as a kid I have no real investment in it either way. I'll let those of you whom adore the show worry about that. ;)

http://youtu.be/gvYfRiJQIX8

I'm still not entirely certain I'm sold on it, to be honest, the whole thing looks a bit odd, and it doesn't look like it'd work well on genres like platformers. Still, it might be just fine, I won't know until I have a chance to try it.

More details can be found here. http://store.steampowered.com/livin.....eamController/