Final Fantasy Frustration

Okay, so I'm a stickler for perfection in some things. Namely, my video games. So when I lost my only PS2 memory card, I decided not to try and play all those game hours all over again-- not when I'd worked so hard to get where I'd gotten only to lose it in an instant. So I got the MaxDrive and some save files, which gave me a good start into where I'd already been in FFX and FFX-2, with a bunch of pretty good accessories on the side. A pretty good trade-off, considering I still had a lot more work to do.

So I play (FFX-2, in this case) and play, and I notice, one of the GGs that hasn't carried over from the New Game Plus (which is what the MaxDrive save file was) is The End garment grid, which is one I've always wanted. So I start oversouling all the fiends I can, and lo and behold I get SOOOO CLOSE...! Anyway, I'm trying to get one called the Quadricorn now, a Ruminant-class that's normally pretty easy to find and beat.

My BradyGames guide says it can be found on the Mi'ihen Highroad, Dry Plains (which are... where?), the Moonflow, Mt. Gagazet, and Bevelle "Towers" (aka Via Infinitio, but anyone who's played the game would know that Via Infinitio is NOT a tower; it goes UNDERGROUND, like Via Purifico did in the last game. It's a dungeon, NOT a tower; the "last mission" in IL+M is a tower, but VI is *NOT*) 1-3. So of course I went to Bevelle first, but for some lame reason, Quadricorns there are always paired with Nashorns, another Ruminant-class fiend. And the whole thing with Oversouling in FFX-2 is that if you defeat X monsters of Y class, the next monster of Y class -regardless of whether it's the same type of monster you've been defeating- you encounter will Oversoul.

Example: It takes 12 Ruminants to Oversoul. If you beat 6 Quadricorns and 6 Nashorns, it's the same as defeating 12 of each, 11 of 1 and 1 of the other... you get the idea. And regardless of whether you encounter a Quadricorn or a Nashorn next, it'll oversoul. Problem? If they both show up at the same time, as in Bevelle, it's RANDOM which one will Oversoul. But the both times I did it, it was always the Nashorn who oversouled, so I tried finding some areas where the Quadricorn might be on its own, or at least with some other non-Ruminant-type fiends.

NO FREAKING LUCK. Everywhere it says Quadricorns are supposed to be, I keep running into Balihvaras, another Ruminant-type that has four horns (like the Quadricorn), but it's NOT the Quadricorn, and thus is USELESS to me for completing Shinra's bestiary and getting The End GG! >_

One ticket, please

I got back just a short while ago from the mall/movies, where I saw both "Rush Hour 3" and "3:10 To Yuma," both GREAT movies. Since I don't particularly feel like spoiling either movie, I will say that they were both a joy to watch, though for entirely different reasons. RH3 was practically non-stop laughter, and I gotta admit-- Jackie Chan speaks decent Japanese! (I'm fairly sure the bulk of the audience thought he was speaking Chinese, but I knew better; also, "Inspector Lee" did mention at one point that he knew a person who'd been raised in Tokyo, so it would make sense that if he was close with said person, he would have learned *SOME* Japanese)

3:10 was fabulous, though... honestly, I think Christian Bale deserved top billing. He really was the main character, and had more screen time than Russell Crowe, anyway. What I think is that Crowe is just better known, so he got top billing (or perhaps he's snooty about that kind of thing; what do I know? I mean, is he still chucking phones at people?) I do think Crowe was a DAMN good actor in this, as he was in "The Cinderella Man." I haven't heard anything bad about him lately, so I'll say he was likable and leave it at that. Christian Bale was superb, a refreshing change from the last movie I saw him in, "Harsh Times" (DVD), which I mentioned... he just wasn't suited for. It wasn't him, it was the story as well. But "3:10" was based on a short story by Elmore Leonard, and it was pretty damn good.

I also returned my spare copy of xxxHolic 7 and in exchange got the new Full Metal Panic novel, along with the first volume of Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne (YAY! More Arina Tanemura! I'm only semi-into Gentleman's Alliance+, though) by CMX. I will say, CMX has done a pretty good job with this, so props to them! What I want to know is, why does "A Look into Arina Tanemura's Private Life" begin with Part 5 in the first volume!? Where are the previous 4 parts!? (And before you ask, YES, I looked throughout the volume-- they're not there!)

I also got 3 new calendars (what can I say, I'm obsessive AND indecisive)-- the Bad Girl's Rage-a-Day desk calendar and two wall calendars-- one for the Egyptology book that's so pretty (and fun! and interactive! Have you seen it yet? It's from the same people that did Dragonology and Wizardology... and possibly Pirateology, though I'm not sure about that last one), and one for the Disney Princess magazines-- something I saw and wanted in Japan, but didn't buy, because it was a day planner and almost all in Japanese-- aka useless for me that needs at least a LITTLE English to get by on. In any case, I'm so glad the Disney Princess "magazine style" art is finally out here, even though they're all ones I've seen (and I love the Villains one, too, so I hope if this calendar is a success, they'll either do more versions or introduce more art).

I also discovered a new store in the strip of stores near the mall-- Sugoi Life, which is surprisingly NOT a shoe store or something like I expected-- it's actually an anime and other Asian-goods store! I saw a Death Note (with feather) there, a bunch of HK-rip DVDs (no urge to buy those, even if they did have an Asian-language version of the Yu-Gi-Oh movie), and... YAN YAN! Which is now trans-fat free, apparently. I only had $1 in cash on me when I went into the store, but a guy on his cell phone in front of me in line was nice enough to lend me the $0.39 I needed to buy it. :) (He was faking out whoever he was talking on the phone to, which I found concurrently amusing and pathetic.)

Tomorrow I might meet up with Shawn-- he went to his grandparents for Rosh Hashanah (when Baba found out he was Jewish, she went "Aw! Now I'll have to be nicer to him!" Of course she was being sarcastic, because she's never been anything BUT nice to the boys I've introduced her to, but I found it amusing nonetheless), and I guess he was still eating dinner there tonight when I called him back after RH3.

I got a package from mom today, too-- my old fleecy purple blanket, a bunch of canvas bags for Baba and Grandpa to use when they go shopping (Baba is awful stubborn about continuing to get double bagged paper-and-plastic, which I had to remind her costs her extra and kills trees), a bunch of bookmarks, a new passport holder (even though I already have one...), a card holder and keychain set (I hurt my thumb trying to put the keychain on my bag) and... a PINK iPod case. >_< It doesn't properly fit my headphones, but that's really a minor point compared to the fact that it's PINK. I can't believe she thought it was purple. There's a kimono-patterned one I want from Amazon, but I don't think it has a belt clip, which is like a pre-requisite for me and an iPod or iPod case. So I'm thinking I'll invest in a sturdy clear case and just get a skin from the store at the mall. They might even have them both.

So tomorrow I might go back to the mall just to get any missing manga from my last mega-spree (or at least special order them and hopefully get them before the 5 for 4 deal ends), plus the iPod case if they have it at the Apple store or the nearby kiosk, and perhaps a refill of some of my necessary Clinique stuff. I got my Macy's Star Rewards credit card today in the mail, and while it does have a crazy high interest rate (I got the Visa, though I didn't get to choose and I have absolutely no intention of using it outside of Macy's, let alone NOT paying my bills on time), I did get a 15% off coupon through November. Problem? It's not usable in most of the places I shop at Macy's. -_- Real genius. I might as well just walk into the store and say "Hi, where CAN I use this?" Hell, I wonder what I might even NEED that's not Clinique? (Well, maybe shoes.)

*yawn* I think that's it for now... it'll be nice to sleep (in) on my own bed; last night I fell asleep for HOURS AND HOURS on the rec room couch. I didn't even have dinner! But tonight-- my own bed! YAY!

...I need an Arina Tanemura icon. Or six. (And more xxxHolic! Yuuko owns my soul!)