Z Space Blog

Every now and then, a game comes out that looks unassuming, but has a hidden, interesting side that takes you by surprise. This aspect is true of Radiant Historia, a turn-based JRPG for the Nintendo DS developed by Atlus and Headlock Studio. One of the aspects of Radiant Historia that comes out of left field is the time traveling mechanic, which allows you to explore two different paths of history. If you enjoyed Chrono Trigger and enjoy revisiting the same place in different points in recent history, you'll warm up to Radiant Historia. Gamers who don't care for backtracking or subtle time puzzles will want to skip this one.

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Shantae is a half-genie who lives on the outskirts of a place called Scuttle Town. Her first appearance was in the GameBoy Color cult hit Shantae. I'll be honest: I don't know why Shantae got the attention that it has, even on the DSi. Between the unclear game progression, a shop that's hardly labeled, and controls that aren't as responsive as they should be, Shantae: Risky's Revenge leaves much to be desired.

Before I begin, keep in mind that this game comes with a 1200 DSi Point price. That's $12 USD. I don't consider this game worth the $12 I paid for it. Its graphics are nice, and the music's decent, but everything else is lacking. It's a shame, because if this game had focused more on replayability or something to make the gameplay more varied and interesting, you'd have a winner.

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Today marks the second full version of Sporkblog, which I've been aiming for since October 19th, 2009! Almost 3 years and 61 commits later, Sporkblog has come a long way. It's a bit easier to work on, for starters. The source is still a bit messy, but the implementation is somewhat correct, and it's not hard to figure out which files are associated with each view. The majority of the time spent between commits was spent thinking about the best way to implement each feature (that is, when life wasn't getting in the way).

So, how far has Sporkblog come in real, "tangible" ways? Well:

• It has an installer, so you don't have to manually setup the database;
• The Atom feed generator works for all three major views instead of just one;
• Commenting actually works;
• There's a site editor, so settings can be modified as needed;
• The templates are built with HTML 5, so it's future-proof for a while and allows for awesome themes

I'm happy to have finally reached the 2.0 goal. There are still plenty of small quirks that need to be worked out, but it's still ready for regular use and hacking.

The Legend of Zelda series is known for its high quality games. From the beginning, Zelda has set the bar for the action-adventure genre. Other games in the same genre (and some in other genres) tend to emulate their success, but never seem to reach it. Among games, the Zelda series is at the pinnacle of quality and creativity. Skyward Sword is no different. Remember E3 2005? Nintendo promised us a Revolution. They said the new console would change the way we perceived and played games. Today, we can see the effect the Wii has had on the market, but motion controls still felt a little like an add-on instead of a full-blown innovation. We knew the potential that MotionPlus had, but nobody was using it for anything serious. Until November 2011, anyway. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is the experience that Nintendo promised us at E3 in 2005.

To put it shortly, if you own a Wii you cannot miss this game. Skyward Sword is the reason the Wii was made. It's the full realization of every gameplay feature the Wii has to offer. It utilizes the Sensor Bar, the accelerometers in the Wiimote and Nunchuk, and is the best application of the MotionPlus. To ignore this game is to miss out on what the Wii is all about. I don't care who you are: you need to own (or play) this game.

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I've been playing Etrian Odyssey and was looking around for skill trees so I could plan a proper party. Nowhere I looked offered what I was looking for, so I gathered the data and made my own diagrams! After a little sprucing up, it turned into a FAQ.

Etrian Odyssey » Class Skill Trees, ver. 1.1 — updated 2012-08-06

It features fairly easy-to-read diagrams and skill cost highlights so you can plan your skill spreads accordingly. Enjoy.