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Anyone else ehre like Darkstalkers btw or am I alone again? :

I used to play that in arcades from time to time! And I actually just received a bundle of Sega Saturn games in the mail 2 weeks ago and one of the games is a JP import of Darkstalkers 3 (AKA "Vampire Savior"). The game requires the use of a 4MB RAM cartridge (that plugs into the back of the Saturn) in order to have 2D animation that is on par with the arcade release. Supposedly, most Saturn ports of such 2D fighters were more faithful to the original arcade releases than say, the Playstation ones.

Although, I must say I was surprised when I opened up the character select and B.B. Hood and Hsien-Ko were known as Bulleta and Lei-Lei respectively, haha.

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Even if a lot of people don't know much about the Darkstalkers series itself, I think a lot of people are at least familiar with Morrigan and Felicia, due to all their guest appearances in various the crossover games.

But the Wii DOES have compatibility with GC games. At least mine does.

Sorry, I worded it kinda confusingly. I meant that because the Wii DOES play GC games, (and the WiiU does NOT), I can't really sell off my Wii. Even if I buy the WiiU, I'll still have to keep my old Wii around if I wanna play my (small) GC collection/ utilize my GC controllers on Wii games.

For those who want longer samples (1 minute 30 seconds, instead of just 30 seconds like in the link above), open up the actual Japanese iTunes store and find the album.

I'm trying to hold off on listening to the samples of new stuff, but I couldn't help but check out Prelude, out of curiosity... Never heard of a re-recorded intro track, haha.

@Candy Warhol,

I actually didn't like Mortal Kombat that much, haha. The fatalities were funny, but the button combinations in that game made no sense to me! But idk, I haven't really played since MK 3.

King of Fighters is good though! My friend got me the newest one, KOF XIII, but it hasn't arrived yet.

Which MK and KOF games do you like the most?

@Sakura Seven,

Guilty Gear (and BlazBlue) have really excellent 2D graphics and I admire them for that. Unfortunately, I've only gotten a chance to play Guilty Gear a few times. And have you heard of the new game, Persona 4 Arena (I believe it's made by the same developers as Guilty Gear). It has pretty good reviews.

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I wonder if it will be good.

I'm always up for a new Mario Kart or Super Smash Bros. game!

I will say, I'm a bit disappointed it doesn't have compatibility with Gamecube games like the Wii did...

@Pandabear, I agree with what you said about MvC 3. I'm fine with updates to video games, I understand they want to enhance them sometimes. BUT NOT WITHIN THE SAME YEAR and for that much money. I mean, they could have just let you download the new characters and stages for 10 bucks or something... I don't think the gameplay was tweaked enough to warrant a brand new game disc for people to buy, especially when a lot of us already had the original MvC 3.

@CaRaN, two fun series! I actually never played Rival Schools for PlayStation, but I played (and love) the sequel for Dreamcast, inexplicably called Project Justice. Really funny characters that embody all the high school cliques and stereotypes. Plus those team attacks are great.

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I think it's time for the PS3/XBOX 360 to make some new sequels for Rival Schools and Bloody Roar!

What can I say, it's by far my favorite video game genre. Something about beating the shit out of your friends with flashy attacks and super moves just can't be beat.

The amount of fighting games I have is ridiculous (probably accounts for at least 50% of my gaming collection )

Now, I'll highlight my favorite series, as well as some of the more underrated games I enjoy.

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Virtua Fighter started the entire 3D fighting game phenomenon in 1993, even with the blocky polygonal graphics. However, Virtua Fighter 2 saw some of the best graphics of the time. That game and its successor, Virtua Fighter 3 are probably my favorites. Even though VF3 came out on the Dreamcast, it was ahead of its time graphically and even featured interactive stages, where fighters could be hit into walls and fall off ledges or into water. I believe this was the first fighting game to make really interesting stages. Plus, something about the cheesy 90's keyboard soundtracks that Sega produced just get me every time. I didn't play VF4 as much for some reason and I'm ashamed to say I haven't even picked up VF5! I know the game is renown for being probably the most technical 3D fighter. Maybe I'll download the new VF5: Final Showdown that recently came out.

My usual characters are Pai, Lion, and Aoi.

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I'll be honest, I was not a fan of Tekken when it first came out. Coming out just after VF2, the game was pretty ugly looking and the gameplay had nothing on Virtua Fighter. The button configuration was pretty innovative with there being 4 buttons, 1 for each of the arm and leg limbs. However, by about Tekken 3 and Tekken Tag Tournament, the game really got better and stopped feeling as clunky, imo. Though not as technical as Virtua Fighter (a good thing for most players), Tekken does feature lots of moves and lots of characters. I'd say juggling and combos are emphasized more in this game. Additionally, Namco was famous for adding LOTS of gameplay modes including Survival, Time Attack, some form of Adventure Mode (like Tekken Force Mode) and even fun mini games like Tekken Ball and Tekken Bowl. Just this week, Tekken Tag Tournament 2 came out and it feels like just about every character in the series' existence is playable (over 50 characters!)

My usual characters are Xiaoyu, Yoshimitsu/Kunimistu, Jun/Asuka/, and Kuma/Panda.

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Dead or Alive started out as a Virtua Fighter 2 clone

, with the exception of a few things. Instead of a block button, a hold/counter button was used. Additionally, instead of the usual ringouts, the ring was surrounded by an explosive "danger zone" which inflicted additional damage, if you were to fall. HOWEVER, what the series has become infamous for is the fact the female characters were extremely objectified in this series. There was literally a "Bouncing Breast" on/off option in the first game. Dead or Alive 2 threw out the traditional danger zones, in exchange for more interactive stages (like VF3, but more) allowing you to kick people off of buildings, through fences and into other obstacles. The game's 3D movement is more fluid than other games, so you can travel around stages (or be knocked around) much more than in other games. You won't likely be in one area for a whole match. The game gets a lot of flack for its fan-service (I'll admit, it can get ridiculous at times), but I think the gameplay and stages really deserve respect. Later this month, Dead or Alive 5 is coming out. The gameplay strives to be very exciting and "action movie"-esque, really exaggerating stage interaction. Perhaps even more exciting, three Virtua Fighter characters will guest star in the game (Akira, Sarah, and Pai). I'm really looking forward to how they'll be implemented into another fighting game!

My usual characters are Ayane, Eliot/Gen-Fu, and Hitomi/Ein. But I'll definitely be using Pai in this new one!

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Probably the king of 2D fighters! My first fighting game ever was Super Street Fighter II for the Sega Genesis (Megadrive). My favorite games in the series are probably that and Street Fighter Alpha 3. I was a fan of the fairly recent SF IV as well, but I'm not very good, haha. I didn't have the money to check out all the updates to SF IV, so I'm probably missing out on the new characters and tweaks.

My usual characters are Ryu and Sakura.

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I played the original Soul Blade in arcades, but it was slow and clunky like Tekken. Then, by some miracle, Soul Calibur was released for Dreamcast in 1999 with some of the best graphics of the time. What makes this game special is obviously the use of weapons-based combat, instead of hand-to-hand (or hand-to-fireball). Soul Calibur 2 and 3 further improved the core gameplay, adding more characters and more in-depth single-player modes. Not to mention, SC always has a great soundtrack. The most recent game I've played is Soul Calibur IV for the Xbox 360 and it is beautiful looking. For whatever reason, Yoda and Darth Vader are guest players! Didn't have a chance to play SC5, but according to reviews, some found it disappointing.

My usual characters are Xianghua/Hwang, Seung-Mina/Kilik, Lizardman/Cassandra

VS. series:

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I also enjoy the crossover titles like Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter, Marvel vs. Capcom, Capcom vs. SNK, etc. Sometimes they get a bit too chaotic and just turn into "who can use the most super moves first," but as long as you're not playing a button-masher, they're pretty cool games. Marvel vs. Campcom 3 was a welcome sequel, because it was getting annoying having Capcom reuse the SAME 2D sprites over and over to make each new iteration of the game. I mean, Morrigan still had her 1994 graphics in Marvel vs. Capcom 2! It also seems like they balanced the game more having plenty of potentially good characters, rather than just having TONS of characters and only 5 of them are actually good. I have yet to try out Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, but it looks like it could be a quality game and Gawd knows that the Wii could use more fighting games. Plus, I actually own Street Fighter x Tekken, but I've only played it twice... I guess I should try that one out more!

Now, for some of the more underrated fighters I like:

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Fighting Vipers was developed by the creators of Virtua Fighter, but featured faster, less technical gameplay and more importantly, armored characters and walled-in levels. If characters took too much damage and received a critical hit, their armor would fly off and they'd be even more vulnerable. The game featured a standard thrashy and hardcore soundtrack and had some of the most gawdy 90's-tastic characters ever, haha. Additionally, the Fighting Vipers characters were also featured in a VF crossover game called Fighters Megamix, including some other very RANDOM Sega cameos. Even though the Saturn is hardly remembered these days, this was really a fun game. Maybe some of you remember it in arcades at least? An even less well-known sequel, Fighting Vipers 2, was released in Japan and Europe for the Dreamcast. This game is also pretty good!

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Power Stone and Power Stone 2 was released by Capcom for the Dreamcast. The game is not your average fighter. Instead of one-on-one fighting focused on landing hits, the game was almost a fighting game/platformer combo. Characters ran around interactive stages collecting 3 large crystals ("Power Stones") to transform into their super-self, all the while picking up/throwing or utilizing other items and weapons (laser guns, flame throwers, magic wands, etc). The game was made even more unique by being a TRULY 3D game. Whereas Super Smash Bros. has a similar concept, the game is played on a 2D plane; Power Stone is totally 3D. Power Stone 2 really upped the antics having totally interactive stages that required you to move around and of course more items. It made for some of the funnest multiplayer ever! A shame that no Power Stone 3 seems to be in the works...

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Obviously, I left out plenty of games, but this has taken long enough to write, haha.

Discuss whatever fighting games series that you own/ are into, which games you dislike, favorite characters, 2D vs 3D fighters, etc.

Be sure to post videos or screenshots whenever you can, just because that makes it more fun!

Hooray, excited for this!

This would be their first proper album release, right?

Oh shitaco.

I was trying to find this on HMV or CDJapan (or SOMEWHERE) to pre-order it and I saw this on their site:

"タワーレコード限定での販売になります"

Correct me if I'm wrong, but that means it's only being sold at Tower Records?

Whoa, such a thorough intro post!

My favorite Jrock bands/artists are:

Luna Sea

Dir en grey

Plastic tree

Tokyo Jihen/shiina ringo

You've come to the right place and I can assure you, you'll find plenty of fellow fans of these bands here. I'm a big Shiina Ringo fan myself!

And just curious since you mentioned video games, what fighting games are you into?

Anyway, welcome!

I actually quite liked Milky Latte (it's like a 7/10), though it is a bit uneven. I can't imagine what the lyrics are about (unless it's like the Flipper's Guitar song "Coffee Milk Crazy," haha). The acoustic guitar plus the electronic touch was fairly interesting. When Shaneth said an electronic/rock crossover, I was honestly expecting the very passe autotune-core shit that everyone loves to do right now. Thankfully, it wasn't. I'd say this was actually pretty experimental for a VK band. I'd like to see them further explore this style.

When I first heard 夏の行方, I thought it was a'ight; solid enough for me to check out the full single. As everyone has mentioned, this song plus the VERY NEXT SONG have extremely similar choruses. I wish they would have just eliminated one of the songs, but they didn't. That's a huge bummer and makes me think they don't have too much songwriting finesse. Or, maybe they were just rushed by their label to churn out a single. I hope they'll take more time for their next release.

I have to disagree with sugibo on one thing, because I actually like the vocalist! He's got a nice "natural" voice; doesn't sound like he's too mannered with his singing, nor is he "over-singing" like a lot of VK guys can do.

I'll keep my eye on them, as I can definitely hear some potential.

6/10

Hell to the yes!

Thanks for the info, Number Girl!

EDIT:

Wait, it's not December 3rd, it's October 3rd!

Taken straight from the website: "2012.10.3 Release"

Hurray, less waiting!

Heroin, glad to see Slowdive! They are fantastic, as is the entire Souvlaki album.

And zess, not bad. I guess I didn't actually understand what dubstep is, but this is certainly better than the Skrillex offshoot stuff.

As for my song of the day, it's a nice band from the Austin, TX music scene: Tacks, the Boy Disaster

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Rubik finally makes more use of their youtube channel.

Here's a (semi-)live video of 夜光ハイエナ. I say semi-live, because sometimes I swear, the live audio (very sneakily) switches to the studio version of the song.

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I'm sad to say I've never heard them before, but "glory days" is a great song!

It's pretty unfortunate but what was the cause, has there been an explanation? I'm guessing it might not be revealed but can anyone speculate? Lets not be total retards and say EL OH EL TAX EVASION. How about use your brain and have a nice discussion.

Was it bankruptcy? The label was being pretty ridiculous, with stuff like buy all four copies from the shop and receive a special five minute long DVD! KISAKI would also start new projects like the Underground Music MP3 store but quickly gave that up before it even had a chance. The label continuously funded bands that weren't doing well in Japan (Arc, Em~Grief) and I am also told that the attendance at lives have diminished over the last year. Perhaps the bands just weren't appealing to the current generation of fans.

Did you see this article?

http://www.jpopasia.com/news/kisakis-ho ... 11759.html

And there was pretty much a whole thread devoted to it:

viewtopic.php?p=230991#p230991

Considering his panicked reaction of deleting all his blog stuff, maybe crazy fangirls in Japan discovered even more "secret" stuff and he couldn't face it. So he closed up shop.

I'm not saying it's THE reason, but I feel like it probably had at least something to do with it.

"For a new VK band, they sound fairly promising."

I knew this could never truly be typed by Cat!!!

There should have been a second experiment before all was revealed, where the music was something TOTALLY un-VK, like post-rock or Boris or something. Because "Zeluva" could at least pass for a VK band, sound-wise.

Would have been interesting to see the response.

Both bands have amazing guitarists (in different ways of course), but for me, Versailles' music is a bit more consistent. Some people might interpret that as "derp, all their songs sound the same" but shush your mouth. At their high points, both bands are excellent. Feerie, Gerbe, Metamorphose, Beast of Desire, God Palace, Prince, etc. Versailles AND Lareine have made some of my favorite songs.

In the end, I think Versailles wins, just by a bit. I never got into Lareine's entire discog like I did for Versailles. Not to mention, I generally like Kamijo's vocals better in Versailles (minus the occasional exception: his most recent shouty vocals). However, I appreciate both bands and I'm glad that Kamijo was a part of both.

Well, I still would like to e-mail them to ask about whether they will carry a certain CD.

Thanks for your replies!

I'm no photographer (I don't even have one of those fancy big-lense cameras), but I'm semi-proud of a few pics I took in Europe last year, with my trusty old point-and-click camera.

Cathedral in Köln, Germany (aka Champ's Palace)

Bern, Switzerland

Lake Brienz, Switzerland with cool rock thingy

Awesome shots for a point and shoot! Nice composition too

Aww, thanks man!

And I'm digging these sunset photos. Very nice.

I used to do pre-orders from Closet Child, which meant just sending an e-mail to them telling them which CDs I wanted, but I seem to have lost their address.

Plus, I think they changed their ordering system for overseas people.

Can anyone tell me if they still let you pre-order unlisted things by e-mailing (or at least asking if they will be able to get you a CD)? If so, what's the e-mail address?

I've always wondered about this too.

Listening to both VK and K-pop, among a number of other different genres and international music isn't hard to understand. You have varied tastes in music, no one's questioning that.

But when people listen to exclusively VK and K-pop, or do the infamous all VK to all K-pop switch, it's confusing... I guess the superficial aspect makes sense. I didn't really see the visual connection, until these pics popped up in one of ViViD's threads:

Left: ViViD; Right: Taemin (of K-pop group Shinee)

(Yes, ViViD has always pretty much been the epitome of sellout trendy VK, but you get the idea.)

My personal theory, I think blogspots might also have to with the VK/K-pop phenomenon. When you have loads of blogspots fully devoted to VK, uploading all your music, it makes it very easy to get comfy and not venture outside of that. I don't have any experience with K-pop, but I assume there's also many blogspots where people download to their heart's content. And after people get all jaded with VK, it might make for an easy transition to just move on to downloading K-pop.

I'm no photographer (I don't even have one of those fancy big-lense cameras), but I'm semi-proud of a few pics I took in Europe last year, with my trusty old point-and-click camera.

Cathedral in Köln, Germany (aka Champ's Palace)

Bern, Switzerland

Lake Brienz, Switzerland with cool rock thingy

I actually semi-agree with Aftermalice here *GASP*. VK band or not, it can get extremely cheesy, extremely fast when you just have the band plopped on the front cover.

However, at least in this picture, there's a concept. It's not just them standing in front of the camera, like the Philia and Destiny covers.

This one's more like song/PV of the day:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xs9ji8 ... 2012_music

ねごと (Negoto) has always been awesome and they take a much quirkier approach than usual in this song.

I personally love it (actually the whole single is awesome).

If nothing else, the video is extremely fun!