Blog Update: Label Changes

Renamed 'rankings' label as 'lists' to accurately define the label's content. In the future, this 'lists' label will be used for other purposes besides rankings as well.

Removed 'lists' and 'quotes' labels from the Categories tab on the sidebar as these two labels are rarely used (in my opinion) and those affected posts can be found through more frequently used labels. What's your feedback on this? Like/dislike the removal of those labels?

My Top 5 Favourite Ecchi Anime of All Time

Okay, it's been a very slow month for anime. Most of the good anime have ended their current seasons and there is a noticeable drop in quality of the newly released anime (especially the scarcity of good ecchi anime). So here I am, giving you a list of my top 5 favourite ecchi anime of all time (most of them premièred within the last 2 years so the list is relatively fresh).

Ecchi is defined as 'sexually suggestive' in the world of anime. As such, the following content is for audiences of 15 years and above (it is not mature-rated as there are no hardcore pornographic scenes). Most ecchi anime contain the usual sexual overtones such as upskirts, cleavage, suggestive poses etc. but some of the better ecchi anime may contain partial nudity of the breasts and nipples (but rarely female genitalia and never male genitalia). 

I will mark each of the following titles with asterisks (*) based on the degree of ecchi they contain as follows:

Light (*)         : contains no nudity (upskirt, downblouse, suggestive situations, suggestive clothing)

Moderate (**) : contains partial nudity (exposed breasts, all of the elements of Light (*) ecchi)

Heavy (***)    : contains full nudity (exposed genitalia, all of the elements of Moderate (**) ecchi)

Note that a good ecchi title is not solely defined by its use of fanservice, but rather how the fanservice is incorporated into the rich storyline and background to make an already excellent anime truly legendary. The art style and quality is also important in determining what makes a good ecchi title.

Top 5 Favourite Ecchi Anime of All Time (as of 26/7/2012)

1. Vandread (*)
2. Highschool DxD (***)
3. Highschool of the Dead (**)
4. Ladies versus Butlers! (***)
5. Ikkitousen (**)

As you can see, fanservice used in the right situations can propel certain anime to great heights. Vandread just barely scratches the surface of ecchi (the only ecchi element here is suggestive clothing), yet the use of ecchi coupled with its rich plot and background makes it one of the best anime of all time across all genres.

Here are some other ecchi titles for you to check out if you've already watched the above list. These titles contain varying degrees of ecchi elements, but did not make it into my top 5 either due to slow story progression, unimaginative plot, bad art style,unmemorable characters or just plain boring. The one similarity they all share is that they all contain fanservice. 

If I put 'n/a' next to the title, it means 'ecchi rating not available', as in I have not watched far enough to know the degree of ecchi due to any of the aforementioned reasons.

Other Ecchi Anime to Check Out

• Chu-Bra! (*)
• Kiss x Sis (***)
• Manyuu Hiken-cho (***)
• Moretsu Pirates (n/a)
• Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt (**)
• Queen's Blade (***)
• Ranma 1/2 (*)
• So I Can't Play H? (***)
• Training with Hinako (*)

Fixing Glitched Word 2010 Icon

Okay I finally found the solution to a problem I've been having for almost 2 months. Here is the summary of the problem, cause and fix.

How to Fix Microsoft Word 2010 Icon

Problem: Microsoft Word 2010 application icon not showing up properly, instead a broken icon is displayed.

Cause: Installing Microsoft Service Pack 3 can cause glitches in some icons (not just MS Word 2010) not displaying properly.

Fix: Go to Control Panel -> Programs and Features -> MS Office 2010. Right-click MS Office 2010 and select Change (DO NOT UNINSTALL!). Select Repair in the next pop-up. Wait a few minutes (shouldn't be longer than 3 minutes). Accept the system restart pop-up. Restart the system and the icons are now back to normal.

Great Obstacles Offer Great Rewards

I haven't been online much lately because I'm trying to get all the trophies I missed during my first playthrough of Tales of Graces f on the PS3 a few months ago. This time, I'm a little smarter as to what challenges await me, which sidequests are missable and the solution to dungeon puzzles. Also, I'm on New Game + with X10 EXP rate, X2 item drop rate, X2 gald (currency in Tales of Graces f) drop rate, X6 SP rate, mastery bonus (X2 SP rate for mastered titles in first playthrough) and lots of other cool bonuses purchased from the Grade Shop.

I tried to experiment with Evil difficulty (I unlocked it by chance when I started New Game +) and I was amazed at the EXP, SP and shard drop rates. Needless to say, once you reach a moderately high level for your area, you should increase the difficulty to as high as you can survive. Even on Evil difficulty, my party was destroying enemies in less than 20 seconds per battle. It's a good way to grind levels, arte usage and master titles.

You can set food items that give huge HP recovery post-battle in the Eleth Mixer to eliminate downtime after battles at high difficulty since you're bound to suffer damage. I find Miso Stew is an excellent choice because it greatly boosts your Eleth Mixer capacity growth after each cooking, easy to trigger (> 50% eleth post-battle), gives near full recovery to the party (94% HP heal) and greatly increases tempering rate (X4) to help tempering equipment.

Set Miso Stew in the Eleth Mixer and couple it with Book of Potential for double Eleth Mixer capacity growth, Book of Smithery for extremely fast tempering of equipment and Book of Maintenance to restore up to 5% of maximum eleth after battle if no cooking is done (this maintains the equilibrium so you will always have enough eleth).

Rip to pieces! STAMPEDE.....

I found this neat article that lists every caption said by the characters in Tales of Graces f when performing their A-artes, B-artes, Accel mode and mystic artes. All credit for the article goes to Justin Liuzzi (list created on 22 March 2012).

Pascal

Wind Needle: “Greeeeeeen, and pointy!”
“Hither and yon. Wind Needle!”

Fearful Storm: “Gunna get freaky! Storm’s a coming!”
“Into the maw mayhem. Fearful Storm!”

Grim Sylphie: “Chaotic turbulence forms my wall of shattered peace! Grim Sylphie!”
“I destroy with fetchers of peace, hither to me! Grim Sylphie!”

Pyrogenic Ring: “Crimson flames! Hot hot hot!”
“Scorching flames, burst! Pyrogenic Ring!”

Infernal Prison: “Punishing flames! It’s high heat time!”
“Find redemption in hell. Infernal Prison!”

Bloodflamme: “Scorching flames, find redemption in my fists! Bloodflamme!”
 “I swing with fists of destruction, hither to me! Bloodflamme!”

Spread: “Azure seas! Spaaaloosh!”
“Drink the wellspring of fate! Spread!”

Maelstrom: “Round and round it spins. Twirly twirl!”
“Into the depths of the blue. Maelstrom!”

Cyandine: “Drink of the depths of the blue, strike with the purest of will! Cyandine!”
“I strike with the purest of will, hither to me! Cyandine!”

Trinity Bit: Red, blue, green! Unlock!”
“Protect me tri-color shield! Trinity Bit!”

Assault Sign: “Everyone assemble! Now go go go!”
“Sharpen our blades! Assault Sign!”

Rampart Sign: “Everyone toughen up! Fight with might!”
“Fall to pieces! Rampart Sign!”

Shining Field: “Team hug in the heal ring! High spirits everyone!”
“Healing for friends, retribution for foes! Shining Field!”

Enflame: “Lend me power my friend! Enflame!”
“Lend me power! Wheel of vigor!”
“Scorching winds!”

Magnetic Gate” “Lots of birds! Just one stone.”
“Door of origins! Magnetic Gate!”

Fangirl Dream: “Hither to me my newest creation! Fangirl Dream!”
“Bear witness to, my masterpiece!”

Celestial Eight: “Come multitudes of knowledge, over the Earth hither to me! Celestial Eight!”
“Scatter ‘em all over! Send ‘em flying, go!”

Accel - Runic Shield:
“Open, perfect barrier!”
“Totally invincible!”
“Totally invincible...ish!”
“A nearly perfect defense!”
“Runic Shield!”

Mystic artes:
"Y'okay! O lord of verdure, cut 'em to shreds!"
"Y'okay! O lady of azure, blaze a trail to the unknown! Sapphiring Squad!"
"Y'okay! Oh titan of crimson, smash 'em apart! Full throttle ahead! Ruby Inferno!"
"Y'okay! Hop along! Let's go! Da da da! Fever Dream---WOOOOOAH!"

Malik

Rock Lance: “Weapons of fury! Rock Lance!”
“Watch your step. Stone spear!”

Cluster Raid: “Cairn of kings, intur them in thy tomb! Cluster Raid!”
 “Behold. Crystal blade!”

Air Pressure: “O’ Cairn of kings, carve thine epitaph of doom! Air Pressure!”
“Settled your affairs? Ring of blight!”

Disruption: “Cairn of kings, thy rage made real, thou shalt act as both brave and digger! Disruption!”
“You messed with the wrong guy. Ushers of ruin!”

Photon Burst: “Flames are passion true! Searing heat!”
“Breaths of flame! Photon burst!”

Burning Strike: “O’ angry howl of the dragon gods! Burning Strike!”
“Let’s make it a medley! Bursting Flames!”

Phantom Flare: “O’ ghostly fury to ignite a weary soul! Phantom Flare!”
“Parting is sweet sorrow. Ghostly flames!”

Blazing Hearts: “O’ ever throbbing pulse of destruction, set thy steadfast hand upon this heart! Blazing Hearts!”
“You ready for this? Bright, burning valor!”

Cold Front: “O’ iceius of perils! Cold Front!”
“Keep it cool. Cloak of ice!”

Ice Spires: “Icy fang, pierce and pummel! Ice Spires!”
“A bit hot under the collar? Flash frost!”

Glacial Rain: “Icy fang, form thy lance and commence annihilation! Glacial Rain!”
“Last chance to flee. Pallid spear!”

Frigid Coffin: “Icy fang, form thy severing blade and strike down those who’d oppose me! Frigid Coffin!”
“Ashamed to part ways. Sword of purity!”

Spectral Chains: “O’ foul hex constrict them! Spectral Chains!”
“Ready to be ensnared? Iron chains!”

Deathmire: “O’ corrosion, butcher of hope! Deathmire!”
“Struggle no more! Dark chains!”

Culling Flare: “Wind, thou quickened dagger. No shield can repel thine unforeseen stab! Culling Flare!”
“Let’s get this over with. Assassin’s blade!”

Dragon Slayer: “O’ sacred sword, thine is the light that severes the gloom. Pierce the dragon and deliver victory! Dragon Slayer!”
“I claim the name Dragon Slayer! Holy Sword!”

Eleth Flare: “Look to me and then understand! Danger slumbers everywhere!”
“Erupt O’ rage of the Earth! Eleth Flare!”

Last Resort: “A willingness to fight is a will to live! Last Resort!”
“A passion that burns! Your fate beckons!”

Accel - Harsh Lesson:
“You ready!?”
“Harsh Lesson!”

Mystic artes:
"Let's begin! Calamity Rondo!"
"Let's begin! Dance with fire! Can you see it coming!? Blistering Waltz!"
"Let's begin! Embrace your pride and sleep! Dust to dust! Eternal Serenade!"
"Let's begin! Ready for this!? Tremorous Celestial Sundering Shredding Light of Cyclonic Butchery!”
"Let's begin! A man speaks with his back! Malik Beam!"

Cheria

Pixie Circle: “Strands of forbearance, give name to your radiance! Pixie Circle”
“Hear my plea oh tiny sprites! Pixie Circle!”

Healing Circle: “Strands of tranquility, give name to your miraculous soothing light! Healing Circle!”
“O’ miraculous soothing light! Healing Circle!”

Fairy Circle: “Strands of succor, give name to the effulgence that brings fortune to all! Fairy Circle!”
“Let the sprites give grace! Fairy Circle!”

Nurse: “Strands of love, give name to the brilliance that offers its nurturing hand! Nurse!”
“All shall bask in warmth! Nurse!”

Revitalize: “Strands of embrace, give name to the luminosity that begat this majestic land! Revitalize!”
“This task we shall never forswear! Revitalize!”

Resurrection: “Strands of rejuvenation, give name to the glimmer that burns eternal, never to be doused and instill it with hope! Resurrection!”
“We can’t lose yet. Right everyone? Resurrection!”

Remedy: “With this name your weight is lifted! Remedy!”
“Help’s on the way! Remedy!”

Recover: “With this name all curses are cast into oblivion! Recover!”
“Without a trace! Recover!”

Insight: “I instill thee with sharpened precision! Insight!”
“Couldn’t miss if you tried! Insight!”

Fleetfoot: “I instill thee with heightened speed! Fleetfoot!”
“Crux of evasion! Fleetfoot!”

Veil of Faith: “Cloak of blessed gossamer, reveal thy name! Veil of Faith!”
“A protective weave. Veil of Faith!”

Seraphic Bolt: “Bear this name in judgement. Strike!”
“Ready? Strike!”

Ethereal Rift: “Carve out a warning in this name! Erupt!”
“Sacred seal. Erupt!”

Lightning Blast: “Blessed droplet, drive away evil in this name! Lightning Blast!”
“How about this? Lightning Blast!”

Divine Saber: “Assemble blessed light, and in this name lay waste to our foes! Divine Saber!”
“Blessed bolts, seal our triumph. Divine Saber!”

Virtuous Radiance: “Reveal the name that shines upon us, not with rage or mercy but with simple truth! Virtuous Radiance!”
“You have forced my hand, now prepare to suffer! Virtuous Radiance!”

Indignation: “Darken heaven’s light. Bear this name as you open the gates of hell! Indignation!”
“Retribution shall strike! This is the final Indignation!”

Accel - Temporal Rift:
“Still the flow!”
“Temporal Rift!”

Mystic artes:
"It ends! I'll show you my true potential! Asterism Line!"
"It ends! Virtuous souls, gather in the garden of healing! Shine on! Garden of Innocence!"
"It ends! Swarm of infinite blades! Your dreams shattered in vain! Punishing Blossom!"
"It ends! Here it comes! It’s too late to cry! I won't hold back! Trillion Drive!"

Richard

Soul Reaper: “Come ghastly fangs! Soul Reaper!”

Sword Deluge: “Come rust of blades, draw out the pain! Sword Deluge!”

Shade Imperial:  “Come shadow kin, open the door to despair! Shade Imperial!”

Vengeant Fangs: “Fall before me! You’ll pay!”
“Fall before me! Emerald typhoon!”

Antidote: “Bond of purity! Antidote!”

Deathmire: “The fen shall claim your quivering feet! Deathmire!”

Lightning Blast: “Annihilate all who stand before me! Lightning Blast!”
"Annihilate any villain who stands before me! Lightning Blast!"

Infernal Prison: “Stand and thrall in your scarlet cell! Infernal Prison!”
"Stand and thrall at the bars of your scarlet cell! Infernal Prison!"

Holy Lance: “O’ divine spear, run my enemy through! Holy Lance!”

Shooting Stars: “The light of the heavens shall rain upon all who hinder me! Shooting Stars!”

Acce l- Arcane Vigor:
“Arcane Vigor!”
“It’s not over yet!”

Mystic artes:
"I'll settle this! Roar like the wind’s, shining blade! Vertex Rose!"
"I'll settle this! Destiny calls! Do you dare witness it’s aurora!? Majestic Gate!"
"I'll settle this! The blood of things royal! Sword of royal crimson! Spiral Ascension!"
"I'll settle this! Fall before me! Burning Phoenix!"

Sophie

First Aid: “Imbue the light of life! First Aid!”
“Let’s go! First Aid!”

Heal: “Healing light I call upon thee! Heal!”
“Shine! Heal!”

Cure: “Gather light of life, impart us with your healing glow! Cure!”
“Light come to me! Cure!”

Rejuvenate: “I beseech of you the gift of rebirth. Light take form and grant thy boon! Rejuvenate!”
“I can help! Rejuvenate!”

Invigoration: “We’ll prevail! Invigoration!”

Accel - Ex Boost:
“I will not fail!”
“Ex Boost!”

Mystic artes:
"Release! No escape! Critical Blade!"
"Release! Come forth! My heart roars! Infinitia Soul!"
"Release! Impale with light! Rise forth toward the sky! Zero Dissolver! Goodbye..."
"Release! It ends now! Watch me run with the wind! Arte! Shadow Moment!"
 "Release! Burn! Burn...ablaze!"

Hubert

Gravity Blast: “Gravity Blast!”

Cross Mirage: “Your fate is sealed! Cross Mirage!”

Beast Blaster: “You’re mine! Beast Blaster!”

Absolute Zero: “Face your fate! Freeze!”

Antidote: “Be cleansed! Antidote!”

Healing Wind: “Rays of life, shine upon us! Healing Wind!”

Accel - Arrow Squall:
“To Heaven!”
“Arrow Squall!”

Mystic artes:
"Prepare yourself! Dance like the damned! Instant Valse!"
"Prepare yourself! You've have angered me! You'll regret this! Tempest Arrow!"
"Prepare yourself! I'll give you everything I've got! And this! And some of these! Expiation!"
"Prepare yourself! It's now time! I show my ace! No Quarter!"

Asbel
Accel - Spiral Surge:
“Spiral Surge!”
“I won’t lose!”

Mystic artes:
"It's over! Rip to pieces! Stampede Strike!"
"It's over! Shining blade of triumph! Lunar Requiem!"
"It's over! No mercy! It's time! Expunging Sword!"
"It's over! You and me, Lambda! Pierce the skies! Radiant light, strike forth! Divine Conqueror!"

Current Version: 1.8
Last modified on: July 6th, 2012
Version 1- All currently learned artes are up.
Version 1.1- Fixed Pascal’s Wind Needle incantation.
Version 1.2- Added Sophie’s Invigoration incantation.
Version 1.3- Added Cheria’s Virtuous Radiance incantation.
Version 1.4- Updated Richard's incantations.
Version 1.5- Added Malik's Last Resort incantation.
Version 1.6- Added Malik’s Dragon Slayer incantation, and Pascal’s Fangirl Dream incantation.
Version 1.7- Added Mystic Arte incantations.
Version 1.8-Added Accel quotes.

Created by Justin Liuzzi
on March 22, 2012

Note: Asbel's list is incomplete. He has way more skills than that. But many thanks to Justin Liuzzi for compiling this list.

Distinctly Victorious

I passed Pathology! 74 (Distinction)! Yay!!! Bye bye Monash!

PS Vita Home Space Challenge: Walkthrough

I justfinished the PS Vita Challenge at the PS Vita lounge space on PS Home. The challenge can be initiated by going up to the huge PS Vita globe icon model on the ground floor of the PS Vita lounge space. Basically it goes like this:

PS Vita Challenge Quest

1. Activate the control panel (the 4 blank squares in a horizontal line opposite from the globe model. It's directly behind you).

2. Find a golden PS Vita somewhere on the lounge space and bring it back to the control panel in 30 seconds (timer only starts when you activate the control panel and stops when you find a golden PS Vita). Here's the catch, the golden PS Vitas spawn in random points around the entire lounge space (on ground floor and first floor) and only one spawns at a time. Check everywhere. These are some locations that I missed and saw the golden PS Vita several seconds too late. There may be more but these are what I observed in my quest.

Ground floor

• in the plant pot next to the stairs
• on one of the booths
• at the end of the pond hidden from view 
• in plain sight but blocked from view by the tables

First floor

•  anywhere on either side of the railings of the stairs 
• at the end of the first floor 
• the hidden corner directly behind you as you enter the first floor from the stairs  

3. Repeat step #2 another 3 times (you need to find a total of 4 golden PS Vitas).

4. A message will pop-up asking you to find the safe. Memorise the 4 digit code that appeared on the control panel when you delivered the 4 PS Vitas to the control panel.

5. The safe is on the wall behind the globe model. If you can't see it, walk along the wall behind the globe model until you get a trigger message. Input the code you memorised. 

Reward: PS Vita Challenge Trophy (ornament for your personal home space)

Note that you can get 2 clothing rewards just by entering the PS Vita lounge space so definitely visit it if you haven't.

A Lot of Things Have Changed

1 year after my last visit to Playstation Home (PSHome), I'm pleasantly surprised to see so much new content. Granted, most of the new clothing items require payment, but there are a lot of new areas, minigames, quests and rewards to check out. I personally loved the Lollipop Chainsaw event (got a t-shirt from the event quest too). In one session, I tried out several amazing games (District 9, Orbrunner etc.), explored new areas, played a few minigames that give daily rewards (fossil digging, Trap-o-matic etc.) and got a ton of new items (miniature unicorn pet, goldfish, excavation tools, clothing items, bamboo sword, statues etc.). The connection is much more stable than it was a year ago and the traffic in PSHome has increased.If you haven't been to PSHome in a while, I highly recommend you check it out.

Thank Goodness I Took Those Dreamweaver Classes

Little known fact - I once took Macromedia Dreamweaver (currently known as Adobe Dreamweaver) classes 11 years ago. Dreamweaver is a web designer program. I learnt mostly HTML coding language since it was just a basic course. I was poking around Blogger and discovered some solutions to my problem with some of my posts turning up blank or line breaks which popped up out of nowhere when I published a post. It seems that Blogger has a faulty HTML code that generates anomalous line breaks (<br>) and randomly changes the font background during long posts. So all I needed to do was fix the HTML language. Yatta! Problem discovered and solved. ^_^

Lollipop Chainsaw: Review

Gameplay

From an action hack-and-slash perspective, Lollipop Chainsaw is a excellent. The combos are easy to learn, use and master. Triangle for heavy attack, Circle to jump, Cross for low-aiming attack, Square to melee with pom-poms. When used in sequence, other special combos are activated. But that's not all. There's also sparkle hunting (decapitating 3 or more zombies together results in bonus medals which are used to buy items), Nick Roulette (Nick is Juliet's boyfriend), Chainsaw Blaster (the camera goes into first-person shooter mode and you use your chainsaw as a bazooka) and so much more. The combat system is rich and intuitive, making battles fun and it doesn't feel like grinding even if you're replaying cleared stages.

Graphics

The graphics are comic book-style mixed with HD cutscenes. Apart from a few minor graphical glitches when using Nick Roulette near walls and 1 grainy moment in the ending, the graphics are great. The camera is responsive but doesn't always show you the way because in some areas the camera is locked, making targeting zombies a little difficult. 

Longevity

Lollipop Chainsaw's main story can be completed in roughly less than 10 hours on first playthrough without guides. This is not a game you're looking for if you want a long-winded story, rather it was designed to be replayed multiple times to collect everything there is in the game.

Music

The music in Lollipop Chainsaw consists of punk, metal, groovy, funk and rock n' roll. Each category is based on the theme of the stage it is found in. I'm not really a fan of rock music so I can't comment here. I did enjoy some of the classics here such as 'You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)' by Dead or Alive and the theme of Lollipop Chainsaw, 'Lollipop' by Ronald & Ruby.

Replayability

I've played the Prologue stage over 20 times and I'm still not bored. The combat system really extends the life of this game. You have to play each stage at least 3 times if you want to unlock every trophy, costume, soundtrack, artwork and combo in this game. Theoretically, it is possible to unlock everything in two playthroughs, but that would be if you used a guide (which spoils the joy of discovery). Also, some stuff are only unlocked on harder difficulties. And, you need to register a high score online for leaderboard rankings if you wan absolutely everything this game has to offer.  

Story

Quite original for a survival horror action game. I won't spoil it. The story is simply put... unique.

Trophies

On your first playthrough, you will most likely unlock 10~ bronze trophies, assuming you took your time and went over eveything meticulously. After your initial playthrough, you can replay older stages now with experience of where everything is and Juliet (main heroine) is also now stronger and able to take down zombies with less difficulty. Hence, more playthroughs are needed for silver and gold trophies. The excellent combat system helps make it fun and replaying stages never feels like a chore.

Conclusion

Lollipop Chainsaw is an excellent hack-and-slash action game that is on par or even better than God of War, Bayonetta and the rest of the action game legends. This game received mixed reactions due to the abundance of fanservice content. I'm thinking "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE?!". Since when is fanservice a bad thing? Go to hell, haters. I'm loving my upskirts and panty shots. <3 Juliet forever <3