Feralia.net blog. episode 5: My first visual novel experience: Steins;Gate

Posted on July 13, 2017 by feraliabooks

s gate
So this is technically another video game blog, but I think a lot of readers in general will be interested. Actually it starts out with anime, which seems fitting. Anyway, my friends and I (including Jason and Sharie, whose work you should check out) are always giving each other anime recommendations. One that the two of them spoke very highly of was Steins;Gate. At the time I wasn’t able to find it to watch and handheld gaming fit my schedule better, so I decided to play it on PSVita.
steins-gate-3
I’ve been into anime since my mid-teens (which is about 20 years ago unfortunately :p ) and had heard a lot about visual novels, but this was the first time I had tried one. For those not familiar with them, visual novels are interactive games that feature a lot of reading with pictures and sometimes movie scenes (normally anime style). They often have branching narratives as well, which depend on choices the player makes.
SteinsGate-Tutturu
Steins;Gate was an amazing experience. The story is extremely detailed and deep with strong characters and beautiful art. It tells a story of young scientists who experiment with time travel and have to deal with the consequences of their actions. I felt completely immersed and drawn into it. There were 6 different endings, some of which broke my heart while others were very satisfying in different ways. Unfortunately I still haven’t found the time to watch the anime yet, but it’s at the top of my list.
sg1
I had a great time playing Steins;Gate and I feel like not only gamers but readers in general would enjoy it. Highly recommended!

-Clint

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Amazon Page

Posted on July 12, 2017 by feraliabooks

I finally got around to updating and personalizing my Amazon page! Still learning the ins and outs of linking everything together, but hopefully this will help.

-Clint

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Feralia.net blog. episode 4: My top 10 video games

Posted on July 11, 2017 by feraliabooks

I haven’t done one of these in a while (or here on the new blog), so here we go! The only rule I made myself stick to is one game per series. I’m not going to bother with descriptions or reviews, because they’ve been done a million times already. Instead I’ve  just made a random note for each.

#10 – Super Street Fighter II
SNES, Capcom, 1993
35568-super-street-fighter-ii-snes-front-cover
Usually people pick Street Fighter II Turbo over this on their SNES lists. But I loved this one because they added 4 characters!
#9 – Super Mario 64
N64, Nintendo, 1996
6126-super-mario-64-nintendo-64-front-cover
Really this could have also been Super Mario Bros. 3 or Super Mario World, but I had to pick one.
#8 – Mario Kart Double Dash!!
Gamecube, Nintendo, 2003
mkdd
This is another one where I would have picked almost any game in the series. This one just happens to have a TON of great memories with friends. (Just barely more than Mario Kart 64.)
#7 – Crystalis
NES, SNK, 1990
crystalisu
I almost used a screen shot for this one since the cover art is a bit silly, but ended up sticking with the theme.
#6 – Persona 4 Golden
PSVita, Atlus, 2012
276137-persona-4-golden-ps-vita-front-cover
This was my first real foray into the Persona universe and I fell in love with pretty much everything about it.
Secret of Mana
#5 – SNES, SquareSoft (now Square-Enix), 1993
Secret_of_Mana_(US)
Beautiful graphics and my favorite game soundtrack!
#4 – The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
SNES, Nintendo, 1991
lttp
I love all of the Zelda games but the series won my heart with this one.
#3 – Final Fantasy III/VI
SNES, SquareSoft (now Square-Enix), 1994
ff 6 and 3
Released as FF6 in Japan and originally 3 in the US. An epic story and soundtrack are just a couple reasons I’m picking it from one of my favorite series.
#2 – Silent Hill 3
Playstation 2, Konami, 2003
151811-Silent_Hill_3_(Japan)_(En,Ja,Fr,De,Es,It,Ko)-1
While I absolutely love 1-4, I picked 3 because I love how the story ties in so well to the original. Heather is such a strong female lead character as well.
#1 – Resident Evil
Gamecube, Capcom, 2002
RERemake_US
While overall Silent Hill is probably my favorite series, REmake takes the spot for top single game, as it turns a classic into an absolute masterpiece.

Again these games are all amazing and speak for themselves at this point. So those are mine… what are your favorites??

-Clint

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Thank you Bridgeville!

Posted on July 10, 2017 by feraliabooks

Thanks so much to everyone who picked up a copy of Feralia Revised Edition on Saturday! There is also a copy to read at the Bridgeville, DE Library now!

-Clint

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Hashi-Con

Posted on July 5, 2017 by feraliabooks

hashi
This Saturday I’ll be at Hashi-Con in Bridgeville, Delaware! Stop by and grab a copy of Feralia: Revised Edition and check out all the other fun activities. Admission is free!

-Clint

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Feralia.net blog. episode 3: My top 5 To-Read Books

Posted on July 3, 2017 by feraliabooks

While Goodreads makes it easy to catalog and list books in any way you like, I wanted to take a minute to write just a bit about the books on my To-Read list that I’m most excited about. I’ve picked my top 5, but they’re listed here in no particular order…
Thrawn by Timothy Zahn
thrawn
I was excited as anyone to see Thrawn enter the new official Star Wars canon. The original Thrawn Trilogy was amazing back in the day, helping Star Wars fans through the long drought between Return of the Jedi and The Phantom Menace (yes, there were the Special Editions, but we’re talking brand new movies). Plus, I’m a big fan of Timothy Zahn anyway. (I have a blog about him planned.)
Another by Yukito Ayatsuji
another
The anime adaptation of Another ended up being my favorite anime of 2012 and one of my favorites all-time, so this one was a given. It’s a great anime, an atmospheric horror experience, so I’m super excited to read the novel it was based on.
Beginner’s Guide to Jungian Psychology by Robin Robertson
jungian
This one’s the odd-ball on the list. I’m normally not big into psychology, but after playing Persona 4 Golden, which draws inspiration from Jung’s work, I became curious, and took the game’s classes on it, which are sort of a special feature of the game. While I might not fully buy into a lot of it, I still found Jung’s theories and ideas fascinating and fun.
Darth Plagueis by James Luceno
plagueis
While this one is now under the Star Wars Legends banner (ie. We may or may not borrow elements from it but it’s no longer the main canon), I’ve heard so many great things about this one, and I really liked James Luceno’s writing style in the other Star Wars books of his that I’ve read. Plus, some insight into Palpatine’s origins, Legends or not, seems pretty interesting, and I can’t help but wonder how much even though no longer official still has an influence on the saga over all.
The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia by Akira Himekawa with others
hyrule
Since I’ve been a big fan of Zelda since pretty much the beginning, I can’t wait to see everything pieced together! (Also, this is off-topic, but Breath of the Wild is amazing!)

Most of these have been out for some time, which shows how far behind I am on my reading.

What books are you looking forward to most?

-Clint

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Congrats to our giveaway winners!

Posted on June 28, 2017 by feraliabooks

Congratulations to the winners of our Goodreads giveaway! Your copies are on the way!
book giveaway shipment
Thanks to everyone who entered. We’ll try to have another one soon!

-Clint

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Thank you Too Many Games!

Posted on June 26, 2017 by feraliabooks

Thanks to everyone who stopped by to grab a copy of Feralia: Revised Edition this weekend! I hope you guys have a good time reading it!

-Clint

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Too Many Games! 

Posted on June 22, 2017 by feraliabooks

This weekend I’ll be at Too Many Games, one of my favorite shows of all the many we do! I’ll have signed copies of Feralia: Revised Edition along with the usual free stuff. If you’re in the greater Philadelphia area and/or are into video games, you should be there! Great guests, bands, an arcade and an amazing marketplace are just a few of the fun things to see. Stop by and see me at the Alicia’s Anime booth! 
-Clint

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Thank you Awesome Con and Anime Mid-Atlantic! 

Posted on June 21, 2017 by feraliabooks

Thanks so much to everyone who stopped by at Awesome Con this weekend! It was awesome talking with you and I hope you have a good time reading the book!

Also big thanks to everyone who picked up a copy at Anime Mid-Atlantic! I hope you enjoy it as well! AMA is one of my favorite shows and I was super sad to miss it since we had to split up for two shows. I have a ton of friends and super cool people who I really missed seeing this year and I hope to be there to see all of you next year!

The summer is going to be crazy, with 13 shows over a 15 week period, but I hope to squeeze a blog entry or two in there somewhere! 

Check the conventions page for a list. I hope to see you there!

-Clint

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