WEEKLY STUFF E-ZINE #28 (11-22-98) - Anime! Video Games! Manga! ^_^ Contents ^_^ 1.)Omega's Ramblings: A Rant of Mail Order Companies 2.)Miyazaki Film News 3.)'The Anime Companion' Set For Release 4.)Pokemon: I Choose You Pikachu! VHS Review 5.)Write To Naoko Takeuchi 6.)Anime Tidbits 7.)Zelda 64: Info Bytes 8.)Zelda 64: The First 12 Hours 9.)Word Search: Sailor Moon 10.)Mailing List Technical Info ------------------------------------------------------------------ 1.) Omega's Ramblings A Rant of Mail Order Companies I don't care who you are, if you can't get a set of videos in-stock in a YEARS time. You have a problem. I have had a set of then brand-new, Doctor Who videos on back-order from Sci-Fi Continuum (great selection of anything anime and Sci-Fi related, with some great prices) since last Christmas. First it was about my Ryo-Ohki doll and 6 Doctor Who videos. Then I get 1 Dr. Who video and my Ryo-Ohki about 6 months later. All, seemed fine… then we call and the other 5 videos are still on back-order. So was ask for a refund. They say call back next week. We do. Guess what? I'm still waiting on my refund so I can go to Media-Play and buy the 5 videos I am missing form having my complete set. Guess how many new sets have come out since my order? 3 new USA sets, E-Space Trilogy 3-Pack, The re-release series of 'Gateway collection' videos, and the new releases of 'Planet of Fire' and 'K9 & Company'. Ok, enough on Doctor Who lets get back to anime…. Animerica. I love VIZ and I love pretty much everything I read. I can even forgive them of the paper quality and prices compared to Dark Horses and other. In fact I really don't have any qualms with them. This little rant is about my incomplete collection of Animerica Magazines. I recently ordered the remaining issues of the magazine that I needed… but guess what? They are sold out COMPLETELY of Animerica Vol.1 #1 (Gundam cover story). I can live with that. It is an early issue, though Not the first issue (Vol.1 #0 is the first), it is a first issue and features a highly popular series, and probably a low print run. I can live with that knowledge. But, get this… Animerica Vol. 5 #4, one of the many Sailor Moon issues, is TOTALLY sold out. It wasn't like that 2 weeks before. How did that happen? I would expect that an issue this far in the magazine's run to have a big print run that would never go out of stock. But, here it is, out of stock. Who would of thought? That's my rant of the week. What's yours? Adam "OMEGA" Arnold ablarnold@csi.com ------------------------------------------------------------------ 2.) Miyazaki Film News Hi, I had an opportunity to meet Mr. Stephen Alpert from Tokuma International the other day, and here are some of the news he kindly told me: *Mononoke Hime is currently *scheduled* to be released in March. But it *can* be pushed back as late as July. (Miramax can change their schedule any time. The release date of "Shall We Dance?" was pushed back even after Miramax officially announced its release date, so the same thing can happen to MH.) *Miramax is taking time to release MH because they want to get it "right", in terms of translation, dubbing, and the timing of release. They are currently finishing up the dubbing. *They are still thinking about getting Madonna to sing a song for MH, but nothing has been decided yet (no contract or anything). *Yes, Mark Hamil is playing Musuka. And he does say "Laputa" many times. (But they can still cut that word from the film before the video comes out.) *Many of us said that James Van Der Beek sounded a bit too old as Pazu. Disney intentionally did this. Disney decided to raise the ages of Sheeta and Pazu. *The script of subbed "Kiki" was indeed based on the old Mecek dub, since Disney thought that it was the "approved" (by Ghibli) translation. Tokuma has told Disney that they have to translate from the scratch next time. ~ Ryoko TOYAMA, member Miyazaki ML: URL:http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/mailing-list ------------------------------------------------------------------ 3.) 'The Anime Companion' Set For Release From: Gilles Poitras Newsgroups: rec.arts.anime.info Subject: [US] New Anime Book Followup-To: rec.arts.anime.misc Date: 13 Nov 1998 11:46:32 -0500 New book on anime to be released. My book _The Anime Companion_ is about to hit the stores. For the past couple of years I have been working on a book devoted to explaining many of the little Japanese cultural details found in anime and manga. These details range from historical figures, locations, articles of furniture, clothing, food and damn near everything else I could identify. Originally this was planned as an electronic publication and not intended to be very long. But over time it grew and became a sizeable document in the form of a series of web pages. Fred Schodt, the noted author of books on and translations of manga, encouraged me to turn this project into a book, in time I agreed and called his publisher to see if they were interested, they were. After considerable effort, much of it on the part of an editor I must have driven to great frustration, it should be in most stores by December 1st. For further information on the book, including samples, see the web pages for Stone Bridge Press http://www.stonebridge.com/ You can also reach Stone Bridge Press by phone at: 1-800-947-7271 The Anime Companion is primarily distributed to stores by Consortium, it is also being handled by Diamond for the comic shop trade. If your local stores do not have the book on order I would appreciate your suggesting it to them. I will be posting author appearances on my web pages at: http://www.sirius.com/~cowpunk/ -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- With _The Anime Companion_ coming out I have removed my _Japanese Cultural Details in Anime and Manga_ web pages and replaced them with _The Anime Companion Supplement_. The supplement is a series of web pages intended to help keep the book up to date with additional information relating to newer releases as well as titles not covered in the book. The Anime Companion Supplement can be found on my web pages at: http://www.sirius.com/~cowpunk/ACmain.html Each alphabetical supplement page consists of: A list of entries found in the book for that part of the alphabet. Additional information and new examples for some entries New entries for items not found in the book. Links to related Internet resources. Other pages include: A list of secondary sources used to find the information contained in each entry. Full bibliographic citations for each secondary source used in the book and supplement. A title list of anime cited in the book and supplement. A title list of manga cited in the book and supplement. For now the supplement is skimpy but as time goes on I will be adding much more material. Gilles Poitras "Otaku snob" Profession: Librarian Obsession: Anime Make my publisher happy, buy my book. http://www.sirius.com/~cowpunk/ ~ Source: Edited by Steve Pearl- Moderator, rec.arts.anime.info, and posted to Anime/Manga Forum by Tom Mitchell [AsstOp], 76701,273 ------------------------------------------------------------------ 4.) Pokemon: I Choose You Pikachu! VHS Review Pokemon Video "I Choose You! Pikachu!" By Jim & Jayne Berg, 74067,2712 Here's the lowdown: Joint venture by Viz Video and Pioneer. SRP: $14.95 Cover is bright yellow (Pikachu in front) and blue, with Ash and Misty running behind him. Back cover has Jesse and James, a large Pokeball with 5 Pokemon sitting on top of it, and text. The tape has the first 3 episodes (75 minutes). I have a particular fondness for episodes #1 ("Pokemon I Choose You") which introduces Pikachu, and #3 ("Ash Catches a Pokemon") which has that cute scene in which Caterpie and Pikachu "talk" to each other during the night. The color/clarity of the tape is excellent. Much better than my VCR copied version. (My SMoon VCR version was BETTER than my commercially bought SMoon tape!) The OP is just featured once, before the first episode. The entire POKE-RAP follows the third episode, and then the EP. ============== GOODIES! After the EP, we get to see the Pokemon Bus Driver Commercial! YEAH! I had only seen this commercial once before. KAWAII!!! After that, there's a commercial for a Ranma movie, and then a commercial for the new KIMBA Adventures. Boy, Kimba's dad on the edge of that rock overhang sure looked familiar.... AND THERE'S MORE! Included with the tape is a mini Pokemon Comic. This is the same comic story that has just been released by Viz. The mini comic goes up to page 21, while the regular issue has 41 pages. Included is a subscription card. It looks like Viz is planning on having at least 8 issues of Pokemon comics. SWEEPSTAKES! Prizes include: N64 console, DVD player, Home Theatre System, Portable CD Player, Pokemon Videos, and Pokemon Comics. COUPON! $5 off on a Pokemon Game pak (that's almost 20% off!) I can sure use that coupon, since I only have the Blue version at the moment! (^-^) Well, that's it! Gotta fill out my sweepstakes card! ---Jayne :) ------------------------------------------------------------------ 5.) Write To Naoko Takeuchi For A Limited Time Only: Write To Naoko Takeuchi From now, early November, to the end of 1998 -- we'd like to encourage all fans (who would like to) to please write Naoko Takeuchi, the creator of "Sailormoon." Naoko's Request - Naoko has repeatedly asked for "Sailor Moon" fans (that are outside of Japan) to please write her but has been disappointed with the lack of response. Naoko isn't sure if the publishing company for "Sailormoon" (Kodansha) has been properly forwarding all of her mail or not. (There's no real way to tell.) We believe that part of the problem is that there has been no real concerted effort for fans to write to her. Further, licensees of her work (companies which have the rights to publish or dub "Sailormoon" into different languages) seem to always ask fans to send letters to them, in their own country, and not to Naoko in Japan. (This is not always a bad policy.) The SOS Campaign - We'd like to help Naoko out by asking fans to write to her (for a limited time) to see if she receives the letters. This will only be for a limited time since there is always the chance that Naoko may no longer stay with Kodansha--in which case they (Kodansha) would, indeed, no longer forward her mail. Anyone could write, even fans in Japan (for reasons explained below). But before you write please make sure that you are an informed fan and Ask Miss Haruna for a Naoko Takeuchi Reading List. Naoko Takeuchi Reading List - Class! Make sure you know enough about Naoko-sensei before you write to her. The following articles are not required reading and are only optional--but you really should read them! The more you know, the better! SOS Biography of Naoko Takeuchi Naoko At The Comic-Con Yoshihiro Togashi, Naoko's Boyfriend The Proposed Live Action Feature Naoko Considers New Anime of "Sailormoon" Make Sure To Include - You may write about anything you'd like but make sure that you let her know who you are. Naoko would especially like to see any artwork you might create but will not be able to return it. (Send a xerox if you don't want to send an original.) You don't have to send her drawings from "Sailor Moon"--you could send drawings of your own characters. We believe that she'd like to hear your reaction to any of her later work such as "PQ Angels." Please Remember That... Naoko has nothing to do with getting the rest of the series and features dubbed into English. However, if you should be informed and have an opinion on how Bandai handled "Sailor Moon" in North America--we'd like to encourage you to please let Naoko know of your feelings. DiC - While Naoko had some say over the original Japanese version of the anime series & features, she has had little say over the other language versions. Naoko did have approval of the DiC version but is not versed in English enough to make judgements concerning it. Fans who would like to make comments concerning ANY of the foreign (non-Japanese) language versions are to encouraged to do so but to make clear in your letter how familiar you are with the original Japanese version. As an example, you could love the DiC version or hate the DiC version--but please let Naoko know if you have seen and/or have understood the original Japanese version. Please remember that Naoko has limited say over censorship. It is up to each licensee to determine which elements need to be changed or edited for the different countries they cover. (Please be aware that if any more episodes of the series should be dubbed into English that the SOS might mount a campaign against censorship. Such a campaign would, rightly, have nothing to do with Naoko Takeuchi.) But it would not hurt to let Naoko know your feelings over any censorship which you feel is unnecessary. Mixx Entertainment - We would hope that fans would leave "personalities" out of their comments. (In other words, you don't need to ridicule Stu Levy. When dealing with other professionals we do not speak of him in the same way [and we hope you'd do the same].) The more respect you show to others, the more respect Naoko will show to you (and the more your comments will be heard). Fans are encouraged to let Naoko know about their feelings concerning how Mixx is handling the manga. (You just don't need to make it a personal attack on Stu Levy.) Pricing issues may be of little interest to Naoko (everything costs more in Japan) but the topics of presentation, translation and availability will. Also keep in mind that Naoko was at the San Diego Comic-Con--you don't need to tell her all about it. But you could let her know about events which she might not have been aware of or your feelings about certain aspects. Disney - Naoko is expected to have a very important but limited part if the live action feature should go into production. Naoko will probably have approval of the final script. Remember, it isn't going to be up to her how the film gets made. Naoko will only get to decide how many changes from her original work she is willing to tolerate. If she should demand too much, the film will not get made but if Disney makes too many changes--it won't appear like a "Sailor Moon" film at all! If you'd like, write to her about those elements which you think are important (but keep in mind that Naoko probably already feels the same way). More Anime? - Naoko is probably aware that most fans would like to see more episodes or features of "Sailormoon." You do not need to let her know that you'd like more anime. We believe that the decision will mostly be a business and creative decision. Fan support will play little part in her decision. However, what the new stories will be about is open for discussion. Toei has supposedly already outlined a direction for a new series in its dealings with Kodansha. While some may consider this premature --it might have been necessary to demonstrate to Naoko where they wanted to take the characters next. We, like Naoko, have not always enjoyed where Toei has taken the characters in the past. To Toei, we say "Arigato" but believe that there should be some input from the fans. It doesn't matter how much time or money Toei has spent on developing a new series --that doesn't make it the right direction for the characters to go in. Toei must be prepared to throw everything out if Naoko should disagree with their direction. Editorial - This is a wonderful opportunity for fans to say which direction they'd like to see any future anime productions go in. But since when do English speaking fans have any say in Japanese productions? Since right now. Kodansha & Toei would like nothing better than to have a successful series in the English speaking world. And though, at first, they might object to actually receiving "input" from us (via Naoko), Toei would be hard pressed not to listen to what is (essentially) invaluable market research. In other words, if they want a successful show in the West, they need to listen to what the fans have to say. Do fans know what's best? Most of the time, they don't. One of our Industry Advisors writes, "I have seen some awful suggestions and comments concerning some of the shows that I've worked on. I have seen almost none of that concerning "Sailor Moon." This is mostly an astute, informed fan base." Should Japanese fans take part in an English Language Campaign action? Absolutely! Though they may not have been vocal in the past (because there has been no need for them to be), this would be an excellent opportunity to let Naoko know what they'd like as well! As we have reported before, future stories could deal with: The past - "The Silver Millennium" The future - "Crystal Tokyo" Sailor V Chibi-Usa If you would like to make a comment on what you'd like to see (and why) please let Naoko know what you have seen of "Sailormoon" so far. (How much of the manga you have read, how many of the anime episodes & features you've seen or Sera-Myu's you might have attended?) Don't be embarrassed to admit that you only know the DiC version--but please let her know where you are in the story. Further, there is no reason why any future series needs to be limited to one of the proposed stories listed above. You could propose your own. An Online Chat - And finally, let Naoko know if you'd like her to take part in an Online Chat to be organized by us, the SOS. We've never asked her! (We have only asked Mixx Entertainment and the San Diego Comic- Con.) Please let her know of what you think of our work. We'd like to have an Online Chat in April or in the Summer of 1999 when a number of us will coincidentally be in Japan at the same time. Or, we could hold one in San Francisco (during one of Naoko's unpublicized visits) at almost anytime since a number of us are in (or could easily get to) the Bay Area. For information on how such an Online Chat would be organized please visit our Proposed Chat page for the 1998 San Diego Comic-Con. Okay! Here It Is! Please make sure that you include enough postage! Letters to Japan do cost more to send; check with your parents or go to the counter of your neighborhood Post Office. Please mail before December 31, 1998. Write To: SOS - Naoko Takeuchi c/o Kodansha 12-21, Otowa 2-chome Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 112-8001 Japan ~Source: Saki Lynn, member of New Sailor Moon ML (moon@coollist.com). ------------------------------------------------------------------ 6.) Anime Tidbits +++ Tenchi-Muyo In Love 2 +++ The "Tenchi Muyou! in Love 2 Harukanaru Omoi" movie will be in the movie theaters during Golden Week of 1999. The new character is Tsubaki Haruna (voice by Inoue Kikuko). Tickets will go on sale 1998.12.23. It is a 1999 calendar poster ticket, limited to 5000 copies. --- Hitoshi Doi + "I flipped through the latest copy of "Billboard" today to see if any anime made and found that the "Tamagochi Movie" debuted at #39 (out of 40). No doubt some of those sales were to Tama- addicts." --- Edmund Yee, 70621,1167 + Minor Totoro Sighting - Check out this URL: http://www.herdthinners.com/kk980612.html +This is the guide that I was shown. Evangellion: Death Clips from TV show, new footage 65 min. Evangellion: Rebirth(AKA: Air)First movie, played in theaters as double feature with Death. 30 min. End of Evangellion Second Eva movie, had Rebirth edited into beginning 80 min. Evangellion: Extended TV eps TV eps 21-24 with add'l footage, some from Death 29 min. ea. Evangellion: Air/Love is Destructive part 1 Re-edited Rebirth, coupled with the first part of End of Eva for video 50 min? Evangellion: Sincerely Yours Re-edited second part of End of Eva, possibly reworked TV eps 25-26 50 min? Note that this chart does not include theater-only edits (of which there were many) --- GMHaruka ------------------------------------------------------------------ 7.) Zelda 64: Info Bytes +++ Zelda Makes Legend A Reality +++ Zelda: Ocarina of Time has set an historical industry milestone as over 325,000 American consumers have placed deposits toward purchase of the game. Consumers and Nintendo-employees alike are eagerly awaiting the game's release, as it could greatly rekindle Nintendo's global profile, which has noticeably decreased in recent times in tandem with Sony's PlayStation success. The 256-megabit RPG-adventure has a suggested retail price of $69.95, and Nintendo claims Zelda 64 is the first title ever to "combine the complex, immersive storyline and character development of a traditional role-playing game with the full 3D action and exploration of a first-person adventure game." Nintendo's games industry guru, Shigeru Miyamoto, spoke about the effect he wanted the title to have upon gamers: "What I set out to create is an entirely new emotional experience for video game players. New technology creates new opportunities. We can still feel the danger and excitement of a main character while he battles an enemy. But with more life-like animations and complete 3D worlds, for the first time we can also begin to feel the hero's fear, frustration, confusion and elation as he journeys through a 360-degree world in service of his princess." "Every Zelda game ever released has significantly advanced the entertainment and technological performance of the system on which it played," enthused Nintendo of America's Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Peter Main. "And this fifth Zelda title, and the series' first for the Nintendo 64, continues that legacy. This is a video game masterpiece of the first order." Courtesy Next Generation Online --- SYSOP*Joe Talladira, 104074,3641 +++ Zelda or Bust +++ If you didn't prepurchase your copy of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, you may be sitting on your hands a couple weeks after the game's Nov. 24 arrival in stores - unless you're ready to really hunt down a copy. We confirmed today with local and national retailers that many locations are no longer guaranteeing you'll get your game on the release date if you prepurchase today. A Nintendo spokesperson said that the company knows it has a very important hit title on its hands, and that new shipments will be steady. Initially it recognizes that there may be some stores selling out of the title, but that supplies will be replenished quickly. An EB sales associate told GameSpot News Wednesday that they are guaranteeing prepurchases made now will be filled by December 24 (this goes for EB's online store as well) but are not giving specific dates as for when copies will be available. Babbage's has currently sold out of its stock of gold cartridges and is already taking preorders at many locations for the gray cartridges, which are hoped will be in stores about a week apart from the initial shipment. FuncoLand told us a similar story, that all the copies in the first shipment (gold cartridges) have sold out already, and that they have started taking deposits/names for the second shipment, which isn't expected until early December (and those are the gray carts). A local Toys "R" Us told us today that they have completely sold out of the gold cartridges and are currently taking preorders for the gray copies, which, according to the person we spoke to, will be in-store next Tuesday. In fact, the only way you may be able to snag a copy of the most-anticipated video game of all time is to wait in line at one of the stores that doesn't have a prepurchase program next Tuesday. By Chris Johnston, videogames.com --- SYSOP*Ken Gagne, 75162,3001 +++ Link to the Rescue? +++ Nintendo reported its financial results for the first half of the fiscal '98/'99 year Tuesday, announcing lower sales and operating profits. With Zelda 64 just days from release, though, the company has high hopes for the future. Nintendo is currently focusing its promotion and marketing efforts on Zelda both in Japan and the US. The company announced that it shipped 360,000 N64 units in Japan during this period - a paltry amount when you consider that it shipped 3.29 million units in overseas markets (most of which likely were sold in the US, although Nintendo did not split up US numbers from its worldwide figures). It expects N64 shipments to rise to 1.5 million units for Japan and 7.5 million units overseas for the full fiscal year. Game Boy shipments for the year are estimated at 4.5 million in Japan and 8 million overseas. Nintendo reported that as of September 30, it had sold 69.56 million units of Game Boy hardware (20.07 million in Japan, 49.49 million overseas) and 19.78 million units of Nintendo 64 hardware (3.5 million in Japan, 16.28 million overseas). Parent operating profit dipped to 45.75 billion yen (US$382.31 million) compared to a profit of 48.24 billion yen ($403.11 million) for the same period a year ago. However, Nintendo's first-half parent current profit was boosted by the weak yen-to-dollar rate, up 28.5 percent to 63 billion yen ($526.45 million). Nintendo predicts a 6.5 percent rise in sales to 460 billion yen ($3.8 billion) and a 2.9 percent rise in the parent company's current profit to 129 billion yen ($1.07 billion) for the full fiscal year. By Chris Johnston, videogames.com --- SYSOP*Ken Gagne, 75162,3001 +++ Zelda DD: The Other Adventure +++ Shigeru Miyamoto talks about the 64DD version of Ocarina of Time. Last week, IGN64 sat down with Zelda-creator Shigeru Miyamoto to talk about Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and other upcoming Nintendo 64 games. In the interview, we asked Mr. Miyamoto about the progress of the 64DD edition of Zelda. As you may remember, Nintendo initially announced that Zelda would include so-called 64DD hooks, which allow the game to access data stored on a 64DD disk (if the drive is connected). "Ocarina of Time has been designed with the disk drive system in mind," Mr. Miyamoto told IGN64. "More specifically, if you connect Zelda with the disk drive, an icon will appear on screen, announcing 'Ura-Zelda', or 'Another Zelda'. There were several ideas that I could not incorporate [in the current game] because of the time shortage and other reasons. In the future, I want some new areas and new dungeons to be available for players who have already finished Ocarina of Time, where they will find new challenges." While the prospect of new adventures and dungeons sounds intriguing, even Mr. Miyamoto is still unsure about the future of the disk drive add-on which would unlock the new quests when coupled with the optional Zelda DD disk: "We were assuming that the disk drive system would be introduced next year," said Miyamoto. "But since the DD hasn't been introduced, we have to still determine product reliability and other factors -- which may not allow us to release Ura-Zelda next year." So what happens to the extra quest if the DD doesn't come out? Said Miyamoto candidly: "If that happens and we cannot introduce this second game, we may have to have a special edition release in the future." Since Nintendo of America is currently not planning to release the 64DD in the US, the prospects of a special edition of "Ura-Zelda" or perhaps a lock-on cart with new adventures are a good indication of what's to come in '99. For more on Zelda, be sure to check IGN64 in the next few days. Courtesy IGN64.com --- Will W. [STAFF], 105340,730 +++ Toys 'R' Us is currently demoing Zelda64 at many of there stores. Be sure to check it out. ------------------------------------------------------------------ 8.) Zelda 64: The First 12 Hours… AllZelda: The First 12 Hours Jeff Gerstmann is known to us in News as Iron Man Jeff - as much myth as he is man. But we really started to worry when we hadn't heard from the playmaster for hours. He was sent home with the instructions to "play Zelda till your fingers bleed." We were sent the following report from Jeff - with the following disclaimer. "Must... sleep... but... can't sleep. Must play... more. Must... finish.... I'm so @&%$# tired I could eat a train. I... don't...know...what...that...means." The First 12 Hours - Wednesday 15:30 Busted out extreme green controller, put drinks in fridge, changed into comfortable clothing, started playing. 16:00 Beat first dungeon. 18:30 Grabbed a soda. About halfway through Dodongo's Cavern, the second dungeon. Still haven't come close to dying yet. 18:57 Shield got destroyed by a flaming bat, carelessly got crushed by statues. Yep... it's my first death. Knew I shouldn't have jinxed it in the previous entry.... 19:15 Beat second dungeon. 19:30 A couple friends came by in an attempt to get me to eat something. Told them to "get out of my house before I beat you to death." 22:20 There's a gate up, preventing me from getting into the lake area. The gate wasn't there in the beta version I played a couple months ago. I'm stuck. No one is saying anything of value. Seems like a good time to grab another soda and perhaps partake in some Rice Krispies. 22:24 Got a ham and swiss sandwich instead - it's easier to eat than a bowl of cereal, while playing. I'm convinced that if I knew the Lost Woods better, I would never have to bother running around the overworld. 22:47 Discovered warp to lake from Zora's Domain, recovered the letter from the bottom of the lake. Now starting the third dungeon. 23:30 I'm currently at the exact same spot I got to on the beta version before being forced to turn the game off by Nintendo reps. It took me 13 hours to get to this point before, as opposed to the eight I'm currently sitting at. 23:57 Wow, the third dungeon boss was really easy to beat. Received the Ocarina of Time. Now it's time for Adult Link. Still feeling pretty awake. I'm hoping to get at least four more hours of play in before sleeping. Better go grab another drink. Still only one death... game seems a bit easy, but then, I've played up until this point before. So I'm flying blind from here on in. Thursday 01:50 Picked up the Hookshot and made my way to the first temple. Getting through the Lost Woods is a real pain this time around. Use bombs on the crazy guy with the club that blocks your path. I'm now playing while lying in bed, trading a little bit of my response time for comfort. I never thought I'd say this, but the controller extension cord is a brilliant idea. 02:51 Got the bow. There are these crazy ghost paintings in the forest temple. The picture moves to a different one the minute you look at it. I managed to hit one with an arrow, and it burst into flames, but hitting the others is tough. I'm not sure if this is just the way it is, or if the fact that I can barely keep my eyes open is somehow hampering my aim. Perhaps it's a bit of both. 02:58 Whoever decided to write the crazy warnings that say "take a ten minute break for every hour of play" ain't nothing but a sissy. 03:49 OK. So there's a room in the forest temple that forces you to make like David Bowie in Labyrinth. So you're never quite sure which way is up or which way the room needs to rotate in order for you to proceed. I think I rotated the crazy room the wrong way, because I can't find a way to get through. It's probably something stupidly easy that I'll find first thing in the morning. I have saved the game and powered down. Even if one or two parts are kind of annoying, they really feel rewarding to solve. By Jeff Gerstmann, videogames.com --- SYSOP*Joe Talladira, 104074,3641 ------------------------------------------------------------------ 9.) Word Search: Sailor Moon *+*+*+* DIRECTIONS: For proper viewing of Word Search on all computers. Please COPY & PASTE this section to 'Windows Notepad' for proper proportions. Or select this "Omega's Word Search" area and change the font to 'Courier New'. The puzzle should now be a square. *+*+*+* Sailor Moon V R O L I A S P I M A D A N D R E W O D O E T H E O T Q O N E G E C I T S U J I M W M G X D I U R E N Y C H R O N O S A A O U R F Z M E X A M M O O N P R R N M L P B A I O E E M E R A L D E Y E F E O A M E N L I M N E V D N L I Z N S U P N C S V D E S A B M I O O P C E A U N H D H I I P S I S E I L Y A M C H A N X R Z I R D A M T T R N D D I A A R T E M I S T P E V O E E Y A N N M A P S P V Q T O E N N I E B R L N A L A N N D K O C E I D O I E G A D E N A K R O M O L L Y J H P O Z I M E L V I N D O O M T R E E A C S M X N K F R I E N M A R S L O C K D T O P X C R O F S D R E N E I R A D C E O N L I T A R L I O A R U C Q U T B H I G O W M X Y E F L A C C L O D B N U R I A R H I R E T I P U J U P M N E I N O E M H C N E T A G E M O R A I A U O N L E A C R O P S E R E N A Y C C W S P Y I F T ~~~ WORDS TO FIND ~~~ Sailor Moon .... Serena Mercury ........ Amy Mars ........... Raye Jupiter ........ Lita Venus .......... Mina Tuxedo Mask .... Darien Luna ........... Artemis Rene ........... Andrew Molly .......... Melvin Grandpa ........ Bunny Jadeite ........ Nephrite Zoisite ........ Malachite Queen Beryl .... Doom Tree Alan ........... Ann Rubeus ......... Diamond Emerald ........ Wicked Lady Locket ......... Sailor V Love ........... Justice DiC ............ MixxZine Moon Prism Power Created by Adam "OMEGA" Arnold Next Week: Tenchi-Muyo! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 10.) Mailing List Technical Info ~ Back Issues can be found at Omega's Vanishing Point: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/ablarnold/wsemain.html ~ You can set which Version(s) of WSE you wish to receive. A.) Anime/Video Games (weekly), B.) Sci-Fi/Comic Books (monthly), C.) BOTH Versions of WSE, or D.) Unsubscribe completely. ~ To subscribe a friend send e-mail to ablarnold@csi.com, with the subject of _Subscribe WSE_ . ~ To unsubscribe send an unsub e-mail to ablarnold@csi.com, with the subject of _Unsubscribe WSE_ . Digested Digest II #1 and Weekly Stuff E-Zine #29 will 'hopefully' be out by/on Thanksgiving. Adam “OMEGA” Arnold ablarnold@csi.com ; ICQ #7737442 http://welcome.to/vanishing.point/ Omega's Vanishing Point - One Year Anniversary: GOING ON NOW!!!