(addendum: i have a Flickr account!)

I’ve reached that point in Dawn of Sorrow. You know, the point where you’ve explored all you can, and you’re missing something that you need to go on. I’m not wandering around aimlessly though. I’m upgrading everything I can. The upgrade system is wonderful. Not too involved, and not too easy.

I’ve done the punches up to the Mach Fist, but now I’m into katanas. Up to Osafune, currently. Also, my second-favorite type, the axes, has been stuck on Bhuj for some time. (Giant Armor, which I’d need to upgrade it, it is in a part that I can’t get to anymore. poo.)

I’m 7 hours in, and I’m surprised to see that. 7 hours in Trace Memory was enough to finish it, and 7 hours in Lunar was enough to get through fetch-quest #1. It feels like I’ve been playing for maybe an hour. The time just flies by.

I guess you could compare CV’s upgrade system to Lunar’s earning-money-for-new-equipment-buying system, since they’re actually quite similar. The thing is, one is fatally flawed, and the other is not. In CV, all you have to do is seek out a certain soul. You can kill that monster over and over, preferably with some Luck-raising gear on, and eventually get it. (it’s never taken me more than 10 minutes once i locate the monster.) In Lunar, you have to make deliveries to earn any sort of usable money, and that is done with annoying little MMORPG-style fetch quests. Go find 32 acorns and 15 chocolates, and some other junk, and bring it to someone. Then do it a couple more times. The worst part is that the acquisition rates for many of the delivery-quest items are terribly low. And you can’t earn exp to level up at the same time. (if you could, i would be lvl 50 easily. i’m only 20 right now.) It is mainly my love for the Lunar series that keeps me going on this one. And that’s not amounting to a whole lot in the face of Castlevania, Trace Memory, Trauma Center, and Phoenix Wright.

BTW, I have the power to…