Adus

I didn't know she had a pony. How was I to know she had a pony? Who figures an immigrant's going to have a pony? Do you know what the odds are on that? I mean, in all the pictures I saw of immigrants on boats coming into New York harbor, I never saw one of them sitting on a pony. Why would anybody com here if they had a pony? Who leaves a country packed with ponies to come to a non-pony country? It doesn't make sense.. am I wrong?

Lake Mungo.

Am I the only one who didn't really care for the original "Rebirth" trailer? It was very well-produced, but I guess I just wasn't interested in a "realistic" take on MK. MK is too out there. For example: If you turn Baraka into just some guy who went crazy and put blades on his hands, well, that's not Baraka... I was relieved that Legacy stuck to the mythology, however the few episodes I saw just weren't all that great as far as production values and acting go.

@Chavtheworld: Yeah, Amorphis is one of my favorite bands at the moment. Skyforger is excellent and I really suggest checking out the rest of their stuff. I personally prefer everything with the newer vocalist which starts at the Eclipse album, but the stuff before is still good. Their latest album is the best album this year so far.

@Berezov: No problem. That's only a fraction of the stuff I know and I left out a few things on purpose for one reason or another, but if you ever want more recommendations just let me know. Also my last.fm will list a number of things. Not everything there is symphonic or orchestral but most of it is and if it isn't then it's on there for a good reason.

Hadn't heard of Biomechanical, but I like it.

Been trying to think of which Ayreon song to add to the list but it's difficult since they're pretty varied and no single song really represents them.

I suppose I'll go with Abbey of Synn.

I do, and I'm just going to link rather than embed or else this post will have too many videos in it. I'll try to go alphabetical and no particular order. I'll put an asterisk next to the ones I consider favorites (though they all are in a way) in particular, as well as an (h) if they contain harsh/growling vocals because I know some people don't like that.

In Nomine... by Adagio

Monolith of Doubt by After Forever

* (h) Soothsayer by Amorphis

Endeavour by Andre Matos

Winds of Destination by Angra

* The Scarecrow by Avantasia

* Wheel of Time by Blind Guardian

(h) The Shining Was A Potent of Gloom by Carach Angren

April Rain by Delain

* (h) Progenies of the Great Apocalypse by Dimmu Borgir

The Ministry of Lost Souls by Dream Theater

Unleashed by Epica

Score to a New Beginning by Fairyland

The Quest by Freedom Call

(h) La Terra Santa by Haggard

* (h) Leonor by Heavenwood

(h) Son of Perdition by Hollenthon

(h) L'Alchimista by In Tormentata Quiete

Paschendale by Iron Maiden

(h) One of Fail by Kalmah

The Black Halo by Kamelot

The Age of Mystic Ice by Luca Turilli

* Lonely Winds of War by Masterplan

The Oswald File by Mob Rules

7 Days to the Wolves by Nightwish

Last Regret by Paradise Lost

Dawn of Victory by Rhapsody of Fire

* (h) A Great Mass of Death by Septic Flesh

Velatum by Serenity

Iron Soul by Shaman (Shaaman)

With Honor by Shadow Gallery

* (h) Euphoria by Sirenia

Soul of a Vagabond by Stratovarius

The Art of Loss by Stream of Passion

(h) Resurrected Messiah by Suffering Souls

Egypt by Symphony X

Sitra Ahra by Therion

Maybe more later.

I haven't played Catherine but regarding the subject of "How can someone like the characters/story in one and hate the other" I don't think it's as simple as that. We'll use Jeff as the example since we know his experiences with both games. To be honest, I never got the impression that Jeff liked all the characters in P4, but rather there were a few that he just really liked (Chie, Kanji) and it made up the difference with the ones he didn't care much for(Yukiko, Rise, Naoto). Catherine's smaller, more focused cast gave that happening again less of a chance. Even if it did, it wouldn't have had the S Link system to let you choose who you spend time with and make those relationships feel more meaningful.

He also wasn't oblivious to when they did or said stupid things, and actively was irritated when they couldn't put together the simplest clues. So it's not as if he went through P4 without criticisms. Concerning the plot, and I'm just speculating, but if you were to ask him if P4 had a good plotline I don't think he would answer yes. I think he would say the characterization was solid and it made you invested in what happened, even if what happened ended up being ridiculous. It sounds like Catherine's characters are inherently and probably intentionally less likable, and that'll lead to being less lenient on the strange direction of the storyline.

It sounds like one of his biggest issues, though, was the gameplay. The block puzzles only served to frustrate him to the point where he actively was glad they were over and did not look forward to doing more. When playing Persona, I don't think he loved the battle system but he never seemed overly irritated by it. It seems to be a situation where the gameplay of P4 was tolerable, even if it wasn't great.

Finally Jeff might be a special case due to how he experienced P4. He played it with Vinny (and Drew) and was able to share the fun moments with the game while having someone to joke around with when things got dumb or dull. It dulled the pain of the bad while simultaneously enhancing the points that were already good even further.

If someone else had my avatar I would endeavour to give them a high five.

@iGaboru said:

@mwng: I also played Blue Dragon back when I had a 360 and I didn't like it very much. Much preferred Lost Odyssey. As for the games you mentioned, I'm trying to hunt them down on PS3 this time to give them a try.

Unfortunately unless you speak Japanese you probably won't be able to play Tales of Vesperia on the PS3. The revision was never localized, though I believe there is a fan translation patch being worked on. Really though, it's not as if the PS3 version is some fix of a broken port or anything. The 360 version is great and easily one of my favorite JRPGs ever. The characters are really what make the game stand out, especially the protagonist. It was nice to have a mature, funny, and generally wise main character who wasn't a brooder or spastic child. The battle system is perhaps the game's key strength. It's really fluid and is complex without being confusing.

It's on Games on Demand now for $30, but seeing that you commented on how you sold your 360 I guess that's not much of a help. I'd say if that patch comes out, you can get the Japanese PS3 version and it would be worth it even if it ends up being a bit pricey.

Also I approve of Lost Odyssey in the list. A very under appreciated game. The 1000 Years of Dreams were a great way to develop Kaim, especially since they were so well written. The soundtrack is also some of Nobuo's best, in my opinion.