[その他] は～い、まだ生きているよ～！

So yeah.

Been out of the radar for a good long time, and while the better part of it was spent writing the ZZT3 FAQ (which rest assured will be concluded soon, for those of you who were looking), more of it was all about dealing with real life, both good and bad.

While I won't go into detail because it's not my style, let's just say that two people were subtracted from my already modest list of social contacts. I don't take kindly to those who insult my hobbies and go as far as to try and convince me to give them up for more "orthodox" interests.

Orthodox my foot.

Letting it go now... I just got my copy of Persona 2 Tsumi for the PSP and will be writing a review for it eventually, but first, allow me to show off a couple of rare otaku finds that I got for a practical steal.

覚悟しな...　全開で行くよ！

First, my very own Busou Shinki Ach. Ever since I started playing Battle Masters, she's been my favorite shinki to use for all the major competitions. Aside from the fact that she's voiced by the inimitable Yui Horie, Ach's in-game personality also tickles my fancy... being a High Speed Trike Type, her credo is "Strike hard, win fast", and telling Ach to slow down makes her embarrassed as heck, almost as if she was asked to strip naked or something.

The figure is a bit hard to find nowadays since it's a first generation MMS, specifically from Wave 7. I've tried every hobby and model shop in my locale, but ended up with zilch. All the eBay hawkers in Japan are selling them overpriced and with payment methods I can't hack. I've all but given up hope of ever getting it, and waited impatiently for the bonus helmet re-issue (which also never came to our area for some reason) until one of the hobby shops whose website I've subscribed to posted this in their new arrivals list, and in it's original price, too.

Ach is truly a sight to behold. Unfortunately, the equipment makes her totally heavy, which prohibits any and all halfway decent standing/action poses without using the figure base (and even with that, the screws on the base's arm have to be tightened on a regular basis to maintain it's position). To that end, I just took them off and assembled the "Patrolcus" trike for her to ride on instead. She looks better this way, and the composition gives off a more convincing aesthetic impression of speed.

Next, the fruit of my eBay sniping skills: A Skeleton Black WonderSwan. This handheld system was the one of the Game Boy's major competitors, designed by the late great Gunpei Yokoi after he left Nintendo. It never saw stateside release since it's market debut circa 1999, so all of it's games are in Japanese. The WonderSwan also had the distinction of being the most energy-efficient portable console of it's time, requiring but a single AA battery for roughly 30 to 40 hours of sweet colorless gaming pleasure.

Unfortunately, the latter Color and Crystal incarnations did not enjoy the same success as their monochrome grandma, which led to the line eventually being phased out by Bandai around 2003.

The listing took me by surprise, since the price was 60% off the original and had 4 bundled games (Super Robot Wars Compact 1 & 2, Meitantei Conan and Rockman & Forte). The box has seen better days, but the system itself was totally shiny, almost as if it wasn't used at all. As usual, it got the traditional strap and mascot treatment from me. Whether or not I will ita-fy it is another story all together...

So, that's about it. Should be enough to prove that I'm still alive, lol.