Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword Demo (DS)

That's right - a DS demo! The new Nintendo Channel on the Wii allows the download of DS game demos, which is pretty ace. Well, except I had all the games already. Apart from this one!

And it's pretty good. It seems very similar in style to the Ninja Gaiden II demo on the 360 I played last week, only you do everything with the stylus. And it works better than you'd expect too. I was quite impressed, although I don't think I'll be buying it.

Nodame Cantabile (DS): COMPLETED!

Erm, yeah. Already.

After just another half and hour's play, I reached the final performance, in which it was revealed that virtually all the other characters in the game are, in fact, the orchestra. I imagine you'd know that if you'd seen the anime the game is based on, or can read Japanese. And then there were the credits.

After that, racoonhamsterbear thing played a Special Stage (the game's theme tune), and it was all over. And! Shock! Racoonhamsterbear was just someone in a suit! OMG!

So, a game that's excellent fun, but very short. However, Ouendan is also very short (albeit a lot harder than this), so I can't really hold that against it. And it was only four quid. It's gone up in price a bit now, but Play Asia still have it pretty cheap if you want it.

Nodame Cantabile (DS)

So I've had this for ages, but because we were redoing our lounge and ditching old bookcases and stuff, it got packed in a box soon after arriving. It was unpacked a few weeks ago, and I remembered it today. So I thought I'd give it a quick go.

Two hours later, I had to put it down. Yes, it is very good.

If you haven't heard of it (and that's pretty likely - I hadn't and only bought it because it was really cheap), then I will try to explain. You're a bear. Or possibly a giant hamster. Or a racoon. Something like that. Or maybe even a man in a costume. I DON'T KNOW. And you seem to play some sort of mouth-keyboard-organ-recorder instrument, you know, like off of the 80s.

Anyway. You're in a school, or college. Or university. And you talk to people, who talk back. I don't know what you or they say, as it's all in Japanese. There's quite a bit of talking too, but you can skip it all. After some talking, you're asked Hai or Iie. That's yes and no, if you didn't know. Replying Hai takes you onto a game. And the game is... Ouendan! Sort of. Only a bit different (notes come in from the right and pair with note symbols - you tap them as they pair up). And all the music is classical music. But it's ace! Honest!

And it goes on. Different characters, different (or possibly the same - who can tell?) chats, different ye olde bangin' choons.

Then... it went a bit odd. I had a tune I had to drum along to, like that Namco drumming game. In fact, with the Namco drumming game drum in it. And then I had to cook a meal by chucking ingredients into a frying pan (like Cooking Mama). And then, most bizarre of all, it turning into a side scrolling jumping game on the moon where you control a boy who has to jump and duck bears, rabbits, fireballs and spikes, whilst The Can Can plays in the background. WTF? Then I had to sort books and laundry and rubbish for some girl?

But it is excellent. I never knew so much fun could be had from tapping along to The William Tell Overture.

Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland (DS)

With virtually no rupees left at all, I needed some quite badly. I went back to the Deku Tree and filled all my bottles with Life Dew, hoping to make BIG CAHS MONEY$, only to find they're worth just 80 rupees each. Pff.

I then made a few new foods, selling one to the creepy fat trader on the pirate ship for quite a lot of money, and the others to people in the town. This netted me quite a lot, so I braved the Gooey Marsh once more, although I couldn't find anywhere to hire a bodyguard from so had to do lots of running away.

Found the three butterflies for the exploration party, netting me 15,000 rupees, meaning I could buy back the map of the previous area, buy the Queen Juice recipe for reviving the journalist (again), and buy the map of the marsh. And still have enough left over for the bus fare home!

Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland (DS)

I seems I only needed a couple of thousand more rupees in the pool for it to grow another level - to so high I've opened up a whole new continent. There, I found an island covered in marsh gas, and spent a fair while blowing up the vents spewing the gas into the air.

With that done, I'd pleased a queen bee (as the flowers could grow again). I also found a hole to fall in, to find it was actually a giant bottle. With a man in it, who claimed to be the inventor of empty bottles. I'm sure he is.

He also found being in the cramped space with Tingle a little uncomfortable in more ways than just it being a tight squeeze. Amazing.

After all that, and cooking some stuff with my newly available ingredients from the marsh and Deku Forest, I went back and did some stuff for Junglo and finished off a couple of maps. With all my made money, I managed to "grow" the tower some more, and open up yet another island - with lots of really hard baddies that I don't want to take on yet as my bodyguard died and I didn't have enough money to revive her. Yeah, her - I ditched Titch and hired Valerie or whatever her name is. She has a tache like Hitler.

Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland (DS)

Just a bit more wandering on this today, and went off to find the kid who'd gone walkabout.

Made some more money selling things I'd cooked as well, but despite chucking all my rupees (almost 15,000 in total) into the pool the tower didn't actually grow any further.

Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland (DS)

Had a wander around the Deku Forest for a while, digging lots of holes, and finding Junglo - an aging Tarzan type who, although advertising himself as strong and brave, needed rescuing from some dung beetles.

No, really.

I then went back to some earlier areas to stock up on some more ingredients, made some more things and sold them.

Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland (DS)

After eventually figuring out how much Duke the Gay Workman wanted for his spade, I could start digging stuff up. Stuff like sweet potatoes and rupees! Well, OK - only sweet potatoes and rupees. Although I did dig some holes I could fall through and found some treasure chests with more rupees in.

Then the tower shrunk! I didn't know it did that! It seems if you don't keep chucking rupees in, it shrinks again, undoing all your rupee-earning. Rubbish!

Thankfully, I made a pile of rupees from the jeweller for saving his daughter from the Oinkers in Lon Lon Meadow, so I could grow it again, and then grow it some more. Phew! I've unlocked Deku Forest now too.

Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland (DS)

First off today I went and cooked a load of stuff using up most of my ingredients. Then I wandered round the map for a while picking more ingredients, and collecting some Snatched Pearls and other stuff of value.

Selling these things, and more food, I scraped together enough rupees to make the tower grow another stage. This gave me access to Lon Lon Meadow, which is full of evil cows and mushroom things. Wandered round there for a bit, but became a bit low on rupees so retreated to my house.

More Brain Training (DS)

24. Grr.

Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland (DS)

The pirates are amazing. They're all dead, and as a result are skeletons. And they act all hard and they're not scared of anything, until a dog appears, anyway...

So found may way into their hideout, did some mundane tasks for them (including killing cockroaches), and then beat up their boss. I found a load of "swag" too, although I'm not really sure what to do with it yet - it just sort of sits in my loft.

Oh, and the dog has been "Tingle-ified" with a green hat and tights. And now lives in my house. It's very odd.

More Brain Training (DS)

23. Once again, the method by which this is decided confuses me, as I did better than usual in terms of time, but worse in terms of age.

More Brain Training (DS)

25.

Bah.

More Brain Training (DS)

Back to 22 today :)

More Brain Training (DS)

Bah. 23 today. I don't know what went wrong.

More Brain Training (DS)

22 again! Wooo!

Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland (DS)

Really getting into this now, even though it is almost entirely guesswork. I think it's the high rating it scores on the Quirkometer. And I do like games with high quirkery.

My bodyguard died, and I hired another (a clown) who was totally useless. Hurrah! And I found a load of pearls, sold them, and made loads of money. And paid the Village People construction worker bloke to fix a bridge. And mapped some stuff.

Amazing scenes!

More Brain Training (DS)

The confusion continues! I did worse on all three tests than I did yesterday, and got an age of 22 - one year better than yesterday.

I think the maths in this game is up the spout. OH! THE IRONING!

More Brain Training (DS)

I'm even more confused now. I did worse than yesterday, only ended up with an improved age: 23. I seem to recall similar anomalies in the first game too. How odd.

I then played Hard Mode of Germ Buster for a bit. It's very hard - not least because you have three "pills" dropping at once.

More Brain Training (DS)

Today's age was 26, even though I did better on two tests than yesterday, and was only very slightly (less than a second) over on the other one. Very odd.

It would seem that, like the older Brain Age (the US version of the first Brain Training game) the minimum brain age possible is actually 20. Bah.

More Brain Training (DS)

25!

I can't see how to actually improve that though. Is 25 the minimum for this game? It was 20 for the original.

More Brain Training (DS)

Hmm. 27.

It's a small slide, but a slide nonetheless. Badness!

Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland (DS)

With the first boss dead, I went over to the pool near my house and chucked pretty much all my rupees in. This made the pool rise into the air, as a tower, and the bloke-in-a-nappy reappeared - now in a suit. Hmm. Get the impression he's making you work for him?

The tower allowed me to access the next area (or continent, as the game calls it, although they're a bit small for that, I'd say). I wandered round there for a bit, hired another bodyguard, and beat some baddies up with him. I'm out of money (well, almost) now, so can't do anything else until I do some cooking and selling.

More Brain Training (DS)

25 today. Improving!

Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland (DS)

I had some time before bed, and my DS was out anyway (for the brain games), and so I thought I'd have a quick go. So I've done the first dungeon, along with a bodyguard I had to pay (twice!) which was pretty easy. I'm not sure I like the combat (run into baddies, hammer the screen), but the dungeon puzzles - and sound effects - are suitably Zelda-esque. Which is good!

The boss was pretty good, if a little simple. Tingle gets his balloons (from Link's Awakening!) and has to drop bombs on a giant slug-thing's eyes. Aces!

More Brain Training (DS)

27! Woo!

More Brain Training (DS)

My age is down to 38 today. Still rubbish, but better than 45!

Some Brain Games (DS)

Maths Training and More Brain Training both arrived today, so I gave them both a go.

The former seems a bit shallow. Yeah, I know they're not supposed to be game-games, but still - there's only really variations on simple sums. Surely they could have been more creative, and it remain maths-based?

The latter is much better. Aside from the return of the Sudoku puzzles, it's all new since the first Brain Training game. There's a rock-paper-scissors game, a "count the change" game, and even a "hidden" version of Dr Mario.

Both games, however, are having problems recognising my 8s. I draw them the opposite way to how the game expects, so it keeps thinking they're 6s or 0s. I had this problem with the older title too, but I don't remember it being so profound.

Geometry Wars Galaxies (Wii/DS)

That's right - Wii and DS. The Wii game arrived today, and, to my surprise, it lets you send a copy of a port of Retro Evolved to your DS. Hurrah!

First up was the Wii "Galaxies" mode. It is ACE. I was expecting a slight drop in clarity of visuals (over the 360 Retro Evolved) but there isn't really. It's just not HD, that's all. The level-based nature is a big difference to the game, but it works really well. I've worked through the first set of planets, and then two from the second set.

After that I had a go at the included Retro Evolved game, managing a feeble 300,000-ish points, ranking me 212th in the world. Ste Parker, of posting-in-ugvm "fame" is at 7th or 8th! Pff.

Finally, I played the DS version for a while, getting 360,000 points, even though it seemed much harder. How odd.

Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland (DS)

It's the campest game in the world! And that's before you even open the box! Amazing scenes.

So, needing a break from Assassin's Creed, that I've played rather a lot today, I've gone for Something Completely Different. I wasn't really 100% sure what to expect of Tingle, assuming it'd be some sort of Zelda-lite. Well, it isn't. So far, it's been mostly about giving money away to dodgy geezers.

You see, the aim is to earn an unspecified amount of rupees, and chuck them into a pond. To earn rupees, you have to kill things, collect things, cook things, and do things for people. However, to get to talk to people, you mostly have to give them an unspecified amount of rupees. Then, they'll give you things to do, advice, and sell you things for an unspecified amount of rupees. Sometimes, you'll sell things to them, for an unspecified number of rupees.

Yes, that is a lot of unspecified numbers of rupees. In fact, so far, the game has been mostly giving people a random amounts of rupees, and often more rupees until they decide to do what you're after. Guesswork. It would appear that most of the gae is just guessing.

But... I'm still loving it. It's camp, and it's great. Um.

Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS)

Firstly today, I set off to get hold of a cannon for my ship. This involved taking a long route around an island because Link seems incapable of hopping over a small fence.

With the cannon, I could then reach the north-west map area, although I came across the Ghost Ship and got lost in some fog. So I adjourned to an island in the south-west corner where I hope to find a way to get through the fog. Something about digging where lines between stone tablets cross or something. But I have a spade!

Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS)

With Phoenix Wright (sadly) over and done with, it's time to move on to this. I played it for a short while when I bought it a couple of weeks ago, but hadn't even set sail from the first island yet.

Today, I went to the Temple of the Ocean King, and had to do an annoying section where your health drains constantly, and then got a map and rescued Linebeck, who let me use his boat. With that, we went to another island where I had to free a fortune teller, who then let me into the fire dungeon (or whatever it's called), which was brilliant.

Unfortunately, having killed the (very easy) boss, I had to return to the first island and go back in the Temple of the Ocean King and do another stupid section which was both timed and required stealth. I hate stealth sections in games. Grr!

Anyway, I managed it.

Phoenix Wright 3: Trials and Tribulations (DS): COMPLETED!

Stunning. Absolutely stunning. There was about an hour of game left, and it really did feel like the end of an epic story. I can't really say much else, in case I spoil it for you, the reader of my diary.

I will say this though: I'm really excited for Apollo Justice - the next game in the series, and the start of what I hope will be an equally amazing trilogy.

Phoenix Wright 3: Trials and Tribulations (DS)

It seems I was a bit wrong when I said there can't be long left now. I played solidly for three hours tonight, and still there's more!

This time, however, there really can't be much left. I know who did it. Everyone has testified everything. All I have to do is prove who it was.

I have to say, I've been throughly gripped throughout the whole final case. It has been huge, yes, but well worth playing through. All the loose ends from the entire series are being tied up, and it truly feels, well, epic. Not bad for what is essentially a game of multiple choice!

Phoenix Wright 3: Trials and Tribulations (DS)

Ah! I've just realised - Iris didn't fly over the bridge at all! When Larry saw it, he was upside-down, so she actually fell from it!

Of course, it doesn't help that Iris couldn't physically be in two places at once, nor that although I found that Dahlia is her twin, so it could happen, Dahlia is in fact dead. Oh.

Anyway, most of today's play (at least two hours!) was spent on investigating some more around the scene - this time as the now-recovered Phoenix. As expected, this case is typing up everything together. And I mean everything. Misty Fey, Morgan Fey, Iris, Dahlia, Mia, Maya, Edgeworth, Franziska von Karma, Larry...

So now I'm back in court, and am cross-examining Iris. Can't be long left now...

Phoenix Wright 3: Trials and Tribulations (DS)

Well. That was bizarre. Edgeworth was clearly somewhat confused the whole way through the first day's trial, but I've managed to finish it with things just even more complicated now than they were previously.

Most confusing was the picture that Larry ("Laurice"? Pff) drew - It appears Iris can fly. Er, yes.

Phoenix Wright 3: Trials and Tribulations (DS)

I was right - I didn't win. There's a bit of a plot hole left now too, as Dahlia's poison from the first case was around a year beforehand, and she's killed three times now. Hmm. Anyway, Case Closed!

And then, Case 5? So much for everyone saying there were only four. Tch.

And it's a big wrap-up case too. I can see it - there's more about Misty Fey. Dahlia isn't dead (even though she's been banged up on death row) and seems to be in a "channeling dojo" where Phoenix, Maya and Pearl have gone. Larry is back again, there's another murder, and the dojo is next door to the bridge from the previous case. Dahn dahn daaaaaahn!

And! Maya and Pearl are missing, and Phoenix is in hospital! So who is representing the defendant? Miles Edgeworth. No, really. That's who I am at the moment. And! Franchesca von Karma is prosecuting - at Edgeworth's request?!

WHAT

Phoenix Wright 3: Trials and Tribulations (DS)

Well, this case certainly seems a lot shorter than I was expecting for a final case, which is a shame. Of course, there's still a chance for a twist at the end, but I'm not sure how there can be one.

I've exposed the girl's true identity (which was blatantly obvious, but only to the player as the cases in this game are played out of order), and I know she did it, but the thing is - I know that I can't win this case. In a previous case, Mia says she didn't win her first case (which is this one), and the prosecutor is Edgeworth (in his first case too), and in the first Phoenix Wright game Phoenix was the first person ever to "defeat" Edgeworth. So I must lose. Anyway, Fawles has taken the stand now, so we'll see...

Phoenix Wright 3: Trials and Tribulations (DS)

Case Closed!

I was right with who was the killer, and the reasons why. I was half expecting Violetta to come in at the last minute as a witness though, but that didn't happen. Surely she's got to turn up again later in the game? All that story about her and her mafia family surely needs to be explored further?

Now I'm on to Case 4, which, if the conversations on ugvm and rllmuk are to be believed, is the final case. And... I'm Mia again. Not only that, but it's her first case, and her mentor in it is not entirely unlike Godot. Hmm.

So far, we've established that a guy who was sent down for murder five years ago (11 years ago really, if you're on "current Phoenix time", as this case is 6 years ago in the game...) escaped, and the police woman who testified against him was murdered - in the same place as the previous murder. I can see some holes already (from the bridge where the murder took place to where the police picked up the defendant takes 30 minutes to drive, yet that would have left no time for the actual murder, if it happened when it appears to have done), but I can't see how to present the evidence in a relevant matter.

Phoenix Wright 3: Trials and Tribulations (DS)

Dug up some more evidence, and un-Psylocked Basil at Blue Screens, Inc. Seems Glen was a gambler (which was obvious anyway). Found a CD with the MC Bomber virus on it too, which now means I know for certain both who killed Glen, and why.

Off into the next day of the trial, then, and I'm already about to prove the real killer guilty. If only I can figure out what bit of testimony to press him on, as the judge has decided that he'll penalise me if I press unnecessarily. Pff.

Phoenix Wright 3: Trials and Tribulations (DS)

So the trial consisted of Gumshoe (who wasn't really much use), and then Kudo (the old bloke who likes pigeons). There wasn't anything too difficult to put together, which is good considering at the start of the trial every possible chink in the evidence was patched over by Godot.

There was some confusion over the ear Glen had a radio in, and the hand he used to drink his coffee, neither of which seem that important at the moment (although they're very odd, nonetheless).

After the first day of the trial, I've spent a while back at the restaurant, and have gone to Blue Screens, Inc - the programming company Glen worked for. His boss, Ms Basil, is amazing. The dialogue there was great too, with Ghost in the Shell and "This is Sparta!" references. Also, I think I know now why the real killer killed Glen...

Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS)

I wasn't going to buy this just yet, as I have a mountain of games to work through as it is, but it's £21 at Asda, and being a first party Nintendo game is unlikely to ever be much cheaper than that.

So I bought it, but then I didn't intend on playing it, as I have a mountain of games to work through as it is, but somehow it ended up in my DS.

And it is lovely. As everyone on the planet is probably aware, it's a sequel, of sorts, to The Wind Waker on the Gamecube, and shares the same graphical style. However, you control it all using pretty much only the stylus (which takes some getting used to - especially rolling). So far, I've only obtained a sword, been "trained" on it, and made my way through a cave to the local port. Now I need to find some bloke who owns a ship.

Phoenix Wright 3: Trials and Tribulations (DS)

Forget what I said yesterday about there being no real "characters" in Phoenix Wright 3. Case 3 has already thrown up not one, but TWO amazing people.

First off is Jean Armstrong, camp chef extraordinaire. The way he... minces is quite something. Secondly, is Kudo, who feeds pigeons. Well, throws seeds at pigeons, anyway. He's a regular at Armstrong's restaurant, although he only goes there for the, uh, attractions.

Namely, the attractions of waitress Maggey Byrde (she of previous games, and the accused in this case).

Of course, Kudo is a grumpy old sod so won't speak to me. Or Maya, even when she's dressed up in "revealing" waitress attire. He longs for something with a bit more "plumage". Much like his pigeons, I suppose. The solution? Well, Maya channels Mia of course, since Mia is rather more impressively endowed. Genius.

Anyway, the first day of the trial is about to start. Incidently, I suspect the victim's name is going to cause a twist (literally) in the case somewhere - it's Glen Elg. Which also happens to be a palindrome...

Phoenix Wright 3: Trials and Tribulations (DS)

Case 2 COMPLETE! I still get the feeling something is missing though. Like, not much was made of the broach. But anyway.

I'm finding that PW3 is somewhat more difficult than it's predecessors, but not because the cases are more complicated, more because the obvious conclusions I come to don't manifest as evidence I can present. It's difficult to describe without spoilers, but I knew there was a contradiction regarding the blackmail letter. However, I couldn't present that, as I had to present something else (which didn't make as much sense).

Anyway, the game is still fantastic. It is missing some great characters though. Godot is good with his coffee fetish, but where's the Sal Manela? Where the Moe the Clown?

Phoenix Wright 3: Trials and Tribulations (DS)

So I'm defending DeLite again now, this time for the murder of the CEO of the security company he used to work for. The investigation was slow going as I'd missed showing one person one piece of evidence, so was stuck for a while, but now I'm up and flying again.

I did have to barge into another courtroom (complete with Payne as prosecutor and a different, but surprisingly similar, judge) to stop them sending Atmey down for theft, as he'd been accused of murder.

Yes, all very confusing!

Phoenix Wright 3: Trials and Tribulations (DS)

Well, I was right. I think. Certainly, Atmey was found to actually be Mask deMasque, but I'm not actually all that convinced any more. But, that was the end of the trial and Ron DeLite was found to be Not Guilty.

However, that wasn't the end of the chapter, as Ron has now been accused of murder! A murder which occurred at exactly the same time as the robbery he didn't commit.

Phoenix Wright 3: Trials and Tribulations (DS)

OK, so there's a twist already. Basically, Mask deMasque has been "caught", but it's not actually him. It's someone who thinks he's Mask deMasque. Which means that Ace Detective Luke Atmey is still my main suspect - not least because, after searching his "office", I find he's trying to become famous for, well, anything. I'm betting he created this character Mask deMasque so he could then "capture" him, making him famous. Or something.

Apparently one of the treasures stolen by deMasque was the "Jewel of Emanon". Emanon being "No name" backwards. Hmm...

Also, there's been a lot of flashbacks and plot filling relating to Maya, Maya's mother, Pearl, and the Kurain Village in general. I expect some sort of tie-in (aside from the stolen urn) at some point. Perhaps with Misty Fey (Maya's mum) returning? We'll see!

Phoenix Wright 3: Trials and Tribulations (DS)

Hurrah! Case 1 WON! I'm surprised, actually, that nothing more was made of the umbrella that Doug was holding, as it was very much like Dollie's... anyway.

So Case 2 then. So far, I'm convinced the Ace Detective bloke ("Luke Atmey" - ha!) is actually the same person as Mask deMasque. The urn (Mystic Ami's urn, from Phoenix Wright 2) has been nicked, and Adrian Andrews is back too. Not a murder then? Well, yet...

Phoenix Wright 3: Trials and Tribulations (DS)

This isn't really a suitable game to play in short bursts. It certainly isn't how I played the previous two in the series, anyway, but for some reason I've only been grabbing 30 minutes here and there. It'll make the game last longer, for sure, but it's also making remembering facts so as to find contradictions somewhat harder. Maybe I need a notebook?

Wait! Make the next game have a built-in notebook like in Hotel Dusk! Genius!

Anyway, I've got Dollie (not Dottie as previously reported) on the run now, having tied her to a previous murder. Can't be long before I've "won" this case then, yes?

Phoenix Wright 3: Trials and Tribulations (DS)

Yes, it is going very slow. Partly because I'm not playing for long each sitting, and partly just because that's how the game is.

Still great so far though! Phoenix has been dropped in it a bit by his girlfriend Dottie, who was supposed to be defending him but ended up making it worse. Mind you, I'm with Mia in that she was clearly pretending to cover for him, and now she's lying.

Mia doesn't like her either, as she isn't too keen on the way all the men in the courtroom are fawning over her...

Phoenix Wright 3: Trials and Tribulations (DS)

Hurrah! It's Phoenix Wright!

Playing this was very odd. Firstly because it's exactly like the others in the series -the same art, sound and even characters. Secondly, because the first case is set before the first game, with me as Mia Fey (who is killed at the start of the first game) defending a young Phoenix. It feels very strange, to say the least.

I've not played much yet, though, just enough to get through the first two testimonies. I kept failing on the second one, because I forgot to re-press on one statement and choose the other of two options open to me. Tch, eh?

Sonic Rush Adventure (DS)

It would appear that my upgraded water bike thing (that'd be "jetski" then) still isn't nearly fast enough to beat Johnny the Torpedosharkrobot for the remaining Chaos Emeralds.

So, I won't be getting them any time soon then.

Sonic Rush Adventure (DS): COMPLETED!

Phew! It's about time I completed another game. Haven't completed one in weeks! So there was just one more set of levels (well, aside from repeating a few hidden ones to pick up items I'd seem previously but it wouldn't let me collect) - the pirate's base in the old ruins. It was pretty easy, and the face-off with Captain Whisker and Johnny was alarmingly simple.

Of course, there was a reall boss after that - a giant robot thing - who was also easy.

Now, it'd be nice to go and collect all the Chaos Emeralds, just the last three are plainly impossible. I have, however, upgraded my water bike, so that may help matters.

Sonic Rush Adventure (DS)

I think I may have done a couple of levels in the wrong order, as the ice level I've just finished was not only much easier than Sky Babylon, but also before it in the Stage Select list. The boss was bizarre - a giant metallic whale you smack on the nose before jumping inside and finding what looks like it could be a huge tonsil and smacking that too. Amazing.

It's also "nice" to see The Laws Of Platform Games in full effect, what with the ice level and all. Now all we need is a mine cart level! Even Super Paper Mario had that.

Sonic Rush Adventure (DS)

Bumped into Johnny The Torpedo Shark Robot Thing first of all, but couldn't beat him. He gets far too far ahead right away, so launching stuff at him doesn't work (they don't hit him), and I can't boost to catch up as he's too fast. So I gave up on him.

Instead, I explored another couple of islands, and then stumbled across Sky Babylon, which was actually pretty difficult with lots of electro-floor insta-deaths and precision jumping. I found a problem with the jumping too: When you move right, the "viewport" of the screen adjusts to move Sonic further to one side of the screen. This is to allow you to see a bit further ahead when moving at speed. However, if you jump just a little to the right, say, then stop, Sonic appears to jump up, right, then left on his own, before moving to the right again as you stop. Of course, he doesn't, but it makes difficult jumps harder than they need to be as it feels like you're been blown backwards.

But finished it in the end, and the boss was pretty ace too, so it wasn't all bad.

Sonic Rush Adventure (DS)

Didn't play for long as my battery started to go flat. Did find a few more islands, and redid an earlier one to get some more Bronze Material so I could build a hovercraft. Well, so Tails could build it, but anyway.

With that, I found a couple more islands, and can see where I need to go next but didn't actually attempt to get there due to the battery thing - you don't want to be losing your game because the power goes off, do you?

Sonic Rush Adventure (DS)

After complaining about the backtracking and repeating levels thing on this game in ugvm, I got a reply saying that you don't need to redo levels so much, if you explore the map and find hidden islands, and do those instead.

So, armed with that advice, I set about finding hidden islands, which did indeed provide a larger quantity of Material needed to build things (in this case, a radio tower) than the proper "story" levels. I had to redo a few of them to get enough, but they're easier and shorter than the story levels, so that wasn't really a problem.

Hurrah, eh? That means the game instantly stops being crap and some of my former faith in the Sonic series has been restored! Only some mind - there's still all them horrid 3D ones...

Anyway. So with the tower built, and Johnny the Shark beaten a further three times (I have four Chaos Emeralds now), I found the next story island, the Ghost Ship one. And killed the far-too-easy boss at the end.