My 2 Cents - Pokemon Sapphire [GameBoy Advance]

Time for a "scoreless", short review (though not necessarily shorter than regular ones), for starters- Pokemon Sapphire. At the beginning I wasn't sure if it will please me, as a moderate fan of the original Pokemon games I was slightly biased against the the design of new monsters, but in the end I have to say that new pokemon weren't that bad, though I still missed a whole lot of original ones. Gameplay is pretty much the same, some new gimmicks were introduced like the pokemon contests, 2 on 2 fights (could've been more challenging...), redefined pokedex, new region- Hoenn was introduced and of course the visuals and music were improved to reach GBA standards.

I spent quite a few hours with PS, and after seeing the credits there's still a lot to do as I barely scratched the pokemon contests, the Battle Tower was unlocked, allowing you to fight against waves of trainers and reaching a high score in consecutive wins, not mentioning "catching them all" and facing the improved "Elite Four". So when it comes to replayability, it's better than in previous installments. Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire is a solid title, but I still prefer the original Red/Blue/Yellow (nostalgia?), by the way, the fighting system shoul've been revamped in R/S already, today there's Pokemon for DS and it's still virtually identical, with minor tweaks, to the original. When it comes to GBA, I'd more interested in the remakes of original games, FireRed and LeafGreen, which doesn't mean I don't recommend trying out the Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire, solid game.

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Jean Michel Jarre - Equinoxe

After "Oxygene's" success Jarre kept up the momentum and created a new, equally impressive, album- "Equinoxe", which was significantly more tuneful than the previous one. One could say that if "Oxygene" was "linked" with the air, then "Equinoxe" is connected with another element- water, not once you'll hear the sound of storm or rain thorough the album. Though "officially" this cd is supposed to represent a day in life of a human, it's easier to associate the sounds of "Equinoxe" with the omnipresent nature. Similarly to "Oxygene", tracks on this cd blend with each other creating a whole, without any intervals.

Equinoxe part I, a buoyant track, sounds like a musical interpretation of sunrise and the beginning of a new day. Slightly drowsy Equinoxe part II, somehow similar to Oxygene part I, can illustrate nature slowly waking up. Tempo arises with Equinoxe part III, and then even more in Equinoxe part IV, fast, up-beat and mysterious, probably the most famous track from this album and my personal favourite. Afterwards you hear the first sounds of storm and along with the hit of a thunder starts Equinoxe part V, remembered by Polish Jarre fans from the opening credits of a popular science show "Kwant". Equinoxe part VI is essentially a link between the previous track and brilliant Equinoxe part VII, which slightly turns the tempo down. Equinoxe part VIII starts with the melody played on the accordion, with the sounds of heavy rain in the background (this part is also known under the name of "Band in the Rain") and then fades into a tame melody, essentially identical to the one from Equinoxe part V, just slower.

Just like "Oxygene", "Equinoxe" is a timeless album. Wealth of amazing soundscapes allows you to discover something new everytime you listen to this cd.

======Lista utworów======

Equinoxe Part 1 (2:24)

Equinoxe Part 2 (5:02)

Equinoxe Part 3 (5:13)

Equinoxe Part 4 (6:53)

Equinoxe Part 5 (3:48)

Equinoxe Part 6 (3:24)

Equinoxe Part 7 (7:26)

Equinoxe Part 8 (5:02)

(8 utworów, łączny czas 39:12)
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Segata Sanshiro - Japanese Sega Saturn Commercials (Part 2)

Next five commercials featuring the Sega Saturn mascot :P

Reklama 6- Greatest Nine 98'

Reklama 7- Sakura Wars 2

Rekalama 8- Nippon Daihyou Chimu no Kantoku Ni Narou ! Sekaihatsu Soccer RPG

Reklama 9- Shining Force 3

Reklama 10- Azel Panzer Dragoon RPG (Panzer Dragoon Saga)

Harvest Moon A Wonderful Life Special Edition [Playstation 2]

PS2 didn't have much luck with the Harvest Moon series. First there was "Save The Homeland", a decent but way too butchered game compared to it's predecessor, then there's "Innocent Life", a port of PSP title, very enjoyable but also different in more ways than one. In the meantime PS2 received a port of "A Wonderful Life", originally released for Gamecube. AWL was received well by critics and fans, so the PS2 owners were looking forward to finally put their hands on the new Harvest Moon game, and boy, was it a disappointment.

There's really not much to say about this. The game's content, identical (or rather slightly enhanced) with the GC's version, is pretty huge but it doesn't matter really because the PS2 conversion of AWL is virtually unplayable. 90% of the time it works in constant slow motion (even twice as slow as the original sometimes), and by looking at the graphics, it's really hard to believe how such mediocre looking title can run so slow. Obviously it's the fault of programmers, but in that case those had to be the most lazy ones out there. Even if you try to grit your teeth and try to play it after all you'll quickly refuse to do so, every action, whether it's watering the plants or brushing animals, stretches in time so much it will drain your patience in a matter of seconds. It doesn't help that, unlike in previous installments, you have to repeat most of these tasks again during the day, and the loadings feel like an eternity...

As an incurable optimist I'd state happily that the aforementioned "matrix" nearly doubles the time it takes the game to complete, which, taking into account that "originally" AWL required even a 100 hours to finish, sounds grotesque to say the least.

As far as I know, HM: AWL is the most pathetic port ever released for the Playstation 2. I find it really baffling that there are players that actually enjoy it, I guess you may as well if "Hardcore Gamecubeless Harvest Moon fan" is written on your forehead. It's really sad that the most "complete" Harvest Moon installment of all three available for Sony's console had to be the most screwed up. And it could've been so great...  

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Also available for: GameCube

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HD Loader: Compatible
USBAdvance: Incompatible

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Jean Michel Jarre - Oxygene

Jean Michel Jarre, arguably the most well known electronic music composer and definetely my favourite musician. My experience with Jarre's music has started pretty early since I listened to him for as long as I can remember. For a long time though the only album I cared about was "Oxygene 7-13", that and few tracks from the "Images" compilation, for some unexplainable reasons I ignored the "Oxygene" for years, not mentioning other albums I didn't own. "Oxygene" was the springboard for future career and world fame of the French composer. When I finally listened through the whole album for the first time I realised how much I missed out on.

"Oxygene" heavily contributed to popularisation of electronic music, everybody heard Oxygene 2 or 4, Oxygene 4 as a matter of fact remains to this day as the most recognizable track of Jarre's (though definetely it's not the best one). One of the reasons of "Oxygene" success was that it sounded very modern (it was called "music of the future") and accessible at the same time, despite very few expecting a major success.

It starts with a calm and slightly oniric Oxygene part I , gently itroducing the listener to the world of electronic soundscapes, which fluently advances into Oxygene part II, much more dynamic and melodic with it's instantly recognizable solo. It ends with the sound of rustling wind, and after that begins a short and slightly oriental Oxygene part III. Next is the album's single Oxygene part IV, most rhytmic and catchy track on the entitre album. Afterwards the tempo calms down with the beginning of Oxygene part V, which eventually hots up, presenting another lightly oriental solo. The album ends with calm and nostalgic Oxygene part VI farewelling us with sounds of seagulls and sea waves...

This is a timeless album, it sounds as great and fresh today as it did over 30 years ago. Is it the best of Jarre's works? Many think so, though many critics consider the "Zoolook" album as JMJ's magnus opum. Personally I'd find it hard to pick a definitive "top", but undoubtedly "Oxygene" will always remain for me among the very best albums in Jarre's discography.

=====Track Listing=====

Oxygene part I (7:39)

Oxygene part II (7:54)*

Oxygene part III (3:06)

Oxygene part IV (4:13)*

Oxygene part V (10:11)

Oxygene part VI (7:05)

(6 tracks, total time 40:08)

(Track lenghts according to the remastered version)

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*The best tracks (IMHO) of the album are marked in red. 

Segata Sanshiro - Japanese Sega Saturn Commercials (Part 1)

Segata Sanshiro was a fictional character starring in Sega Saturn commercials aired in Japan. He was a parody of Sanshiro Sugata, a judo master portrayed in Kurosawa's movie. You could say that Segata was a japanese Sega Saturn's mascot, a type of mascot that would beat the shit out of you if you decided to do anything but play Saturn games, and let's be honest here, he was damn right about that. Segata encouraged playing on Sega's system in the course of 20 differnt tv ads, often using his catch phrase "Sega Sataan Shiro" which translates in both "Do Sega Saturn" and "White Sega Saturn", additionaly it sounds almost like his name. Segata eventually starred in his own game, "Segata Sanshirō Shinken Yūgi" which contained several mini-games, some based on Segata's commercials.

Ad 1- Segata as Santa Claus

Ad 2- Sonic R

Ad 3- My definitive favourite :D Saturn Bomberman Fight!

Ad 4- Another "general" Saturn ad

Ad 5-  Solo Crisis

First post...

Year ago I started a blog, mainly to have a place to write reviews of various stuff, mainly video games, music albums and such. While I was writing it mainly just for myself, I didn't mind of course if anyone wanted to read, in fact that's some good motivation (as long as you receive some feedback that is :). After a month I abandoned it, which was just a par for the course in my case as apparently the idiom "a flash in the pan" is my second name. This time, as usual, I promise myself it won't happen again and I'll deliver a new post every once in a while.

This time I'm starting a double blog so to speak, one in Polish, as before, and one in English. Some post will be direct translations and some not, depends. Posting on this blog will be a good way to practice my English, writing specifically, in future maybe even other languages, as soon as I'll reach a sufficient skill in e.g. German. And of course writing in English means more readers, right? :P

I really hope my motivation won't fail me this time, if I got some readers in the course of time, then it'd probably really help me :) So stay tuned.