Now that Nintendo has announced Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Adventure, or whatever the former Four Swords Plus has turned into, that's become the new darling of the GameCube/GBA connectivity movement. Poor ol' Crystal Chronicles has been tossed out in the miasma.

Will Zelda save the GCN/GBA connection? Nintendo's push for connectivity is almost universally derided on forums, magazines and websites. It's become the new Raiden Sucks. One complaint I've seen repeated many times is that the connectivity stuff is either a useless bonus or a feature that could have been integrated into the game itself. For example, in Crystal Chronicles, could the game's "personal inventory screen" idea been accomplished with the GBA connection?

The benefit to having your own interface screen is that you don't have to pause all the other players when you want to quaff a potion or talk to a shop clerk. That info pops up on your GBA screen, leaving the TV clear for continued fighting or running by the other players.

We had kind of a Japan-themed movie weekend: Lost in Translation and Ringu. Both films somehow made it through the comprehensive sieves I have in place that control these sorts of purchases.

I'm in a kind of Asian Cultures 101 phase right now. It's actually been going on for some time, propped along by video games, Pokemon, and whatever Cartoon Network runs after midnight. Somehow, this weekend managed to turn into a nexus point... we bought Lost in Translation earlier this week, more or less an impulse pick. And I've been secretly planning a Ringu purchase for a couple weeks now, and the time just seemed right.

Rhonda loves watching a good movie, lately I usually don't. My hatred of physically entering a movie theater has bled over into our home life over the past few years. It's not that I don't like movies, it's just that I resent the time they occupy. Rhon brought home Pirates of the Caribbean one night, and I really resisted watching it. Yes, I was skeptical of the content, cynic that I am. But moreover I just didn't like knowing that I was about to lose two+ hours to an untested product. I actually set myself up with something to do while the movie ran - playing with my new Xevoz toys - as a silly effort to duplicate my time. It's a burden; I'm working through it... if only to avoid becoming a total prick about future movie events.

Pokemon Colosseum is an awful disappointment. It hurts me to say that, but it is all too true. Colosseum is the first game I've played where I have actually nodded off while playing. Multiple times.

And it's not like this is Nintendo's first attempt at a big-scale Pokemon game. They had two in the N64 Stadium series (three in Japan), and the problems of those games were obvious. Although they sold well, I can't recall a single glowing review. The audio was lousy, the battles were uncompelling, the gameplay was repetitious. Each time, Poke-fans figured "They'll fix it and make the next one so much better."

Nintendo did not. They made it worse. By ignoring the failings of the Stadiums, and providing an entirely bonus-free Colosseum, they have turned the game into probably the third most painful game in the franchise. (Right behind Hey You Pikachu and Pokemon Channel.)

Had a bit of Puzzle Pirates drama last week. Out of nowhere, my Captain gave up the game. I didn't investigate why, personal reasons outside the game I'd imagine. Perhaps connected to the amount of time it takes to run a small fleet and crew.

The Captain took with him our crew's Queen as well (they're a real life gaming couple. I think.) so our crew lost our key leadership in one blow. He promoted one of the officers to captain, and a flurry of new officerships followed. They role-played it to the end, maintaining the piratey accents in their farewells... even switched their avatar clothes to rags to simulate a Riches to Rags story.

Capitalism never ceases to intrigue and amaze me. Especially after living in the shadow of Las Vegas for many years, it was easy to become fascinated regarding the world of commerce. Which makes my interest in gambling and casions a bit odd and perhaps hypocritical when you couple it with my notion that the world would be better off if businesses weren't trying to make a buck at all costs. How can I enjoy strutting around Bally's Casino when the mere thought of anything Disney or evenly remotely capitalistic sends my mind into apolexy? How can I like, no savor, playing blackjack? Suppose it's all because gambing to me is a game, and anything that is a game trumps my distaste of unbridled capitalism. That must explain all those Doomtown and Magic cards I own.

Now onto the story.

I finally located that Sadako Flash cartoon I mentioned the other week. Thing is, I was googling all wrong. I had tried Ringu Cartoon, Sadako Flash, Ring Flash and all the permutations inbetween. Today at work I suddenly recalled where I had even heard of this flash cartoon in the first place... Insert Credit.com. So I tramped through their news archives until I found their original newspost about it.

Lie. I found the correct archive page on the first click, September 2003. My memory must be better than I remember. Regardless, their link was no longer valid. But they did mention the true title of the flash file, sada_end.swf. Googling that turned up the long lost cartoon, although a couple of the Google links were just as dead.

I am behind the times. This is obvious for many reasons, not influenced at all by my red/green colorblindness (which does mean I have to ASK if I match before I head out the door to school - kids can be cruel sometimes!), but the newest of which has everything to do with my collection of games and tech toys.

It started back with the PS2.....I went to Joe's, played his for all of 5 minutes, and then promptly went out and bought one. I use it sparingly now, with the exception of when my few PS2 friends stop by - and of course at band staff parties (they love Eye-Toy....its really fun after a beer or two).

I was expecting a lot from Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles. Previews all gushed about the graphics, the co-op multiplayer. The chief draw was, for me, the Game Boy Advance connection. We've had quite a few games that offer simple bonuses for hooking up a GBA, and the lovely everpresent level map, but never a game that required a GBA. That's a challenge I'll gladly accept.

You might be aware that Nintendo's GameCube / GBA movement has an abundance of detractors. The biggest complaint is the expense involved, which, for FF:CC and 4 GBAs, could be crushing. The next largest is the idea that Nintendo is cheating game buyers who don't have the other half of the connection... like those bonus Super Mario 3 levels only available on eCards. The thought being that Nintendo could easily have included those levels on the SMB3 cartridge and skipped the whole unlikely eCard/eReader deal.

Personally, I don't give a crap about either of those, because I like spending money. And until Nintendo switches over to a release line of solely pro wrestling and bass fishing games, they can have all of my money that they want. Quality is worth jumping through hoops for.

I don't recall any preview of Resident Evil: Outbreak mentioning the awful load times. But then, that's the sad point of previews, to talk the game up no matter what actually ships. The inevitable review will sort all the ugly bits out later.

Back in the early days of the PS2 Network Adapter, Resident Evil Online/Network/Outbreak/Loading was the Big One. For me anyway, because I don't have much interest in Final Fantasy 11. This was the forthcoming game that would bust the internet-enabled PS2 wide open. Exploring Raccoon City with other live players, blasting zombies and seeking the key-coded way out. Droolworthy.