El Cruzado

Playstation 3, please.

I dunno about the explanation. I thought Ashcraft had already told you guys that all Japanese men are exact clones from the same metrosexual white haired stock. They often wear fake moustaches or dye their hair black when gaijin are around, to make us feel at ease. But I really shouldn't need to remind you of all that.

There's no such thing as too much blowing up Spanish pseudo-zombies.

I don't know why all the discussions, when it can be summarized in so many words (9 in fact): The PS3 is going to be this generation's N64.

The Zero Suit Samus one is hysterical:

"If I take all my gear off I might be able to catch her"

Ugh, because 90% of parents suck and don't enable parental controls.

That won't prevent some of that 90% to bitch and moan when the kids start playing cooperative Manhunt 3 with sexual predators.

Sad but true. Remember Nintendo was there in the 80s, suffering the slings and arrows of parental self-righteousness. I don't blame them for having become overly cautious, even if I don't particularly like it.

I guess I got far too grumpy. Truth is, even though the concert did disappoint me, I still fully appreciate you organizing it in the first place and hope it will be a sign of better things to come in the future. For whatever is worth, if you come again to the area and I get news that it's not going to be the exact same concert I'll be first in the line buying tickets (or, more accurately, first online). And I'll applaud all the parts I like and stay politely silent on the ones I don't ;)

Also, much of the criticism is personal in nature. I fully take the point that you must make a show for the masses, especially since this is kind of a very new thing (well corroborated by the news we're posting these comments to). However, I'm probably one of the most hardcore elements of your audience (I hate the word but I think it's valid to use it in this particular case) and so I'm probably not the kind of guy you need to cater to. I don't really have anything against the Sephiroth theme (and in fact like it) it's just that I've heard it so many times (various arrangement CDs, the Final Fantasy 20022002 concert, and others) that I would love it if someone placated the FFVII fans (I know they are legion and they need to be placated) with something else from the game. The game certainly doesn't lack good pieces. Maybe if someone could come up with a good medley of pieces of the game...

It may well be that the parts where your concert was different didn't, in their majority, say anything to me. I did love the arcade medley at the start, and both the Medal of Honor and Civilization IV pieces were great. But I didn't personally care much for Tron nor Advent Rising (nothing wrong with them, they just didn't resonate with me. Again, I'm insisting much of it is my personal opinions).

The particular complaint about "same old arrangement" is mostly about Zelda and Mario, which I guess I should have stated clearly. I'm not familiar enough with the others you mention (Halo and Sonic in particular) to know how similar they are to the ones I've heard before.

I didn't hear anything from Beyond Good & Evil in VGL DC. If you play something from that game in other venues (you seem to imply so), then I'm really sad that you didn't in your DC concert.

Also I stand by my criticism that I'd rather have less show and more concert. Other people may disagree and anyway it's your decision to make. Or maybe I'm just pissed that I didn't get a chance to get that Alienware ;)

All in all, I hope you don't think of me as an internet boor (although I seem to play one on TV every once in a while). Maybe I just wanted it to be perfect but it wasn't made for me.

P.S.: the guys behind me in the concert hate you because you didn't play anything from neither Castlevania nor FFVI (the medley not counting). Make them happy too the next time you come ;)

I went to that DC concert and found it underwhelming. It was a combination of factors (the bug I had got a day before didn't help either). For one, I already had most of those pieces and they played the Exact. Same. Arrangements. each and every time they had a chance. And they also played the exact same music you would expect them to play. Also I didn't like all the showmanship injected into it. Last year's "Play! A Videogame Symphony" let the music speak more by itself (and they played Chrono Trigger too, although the Metal Gear Solid sounded better in VGL). The music from Advent Rising was completely unnecessary, and only there because the organized composed it.

It would have been nice if they had tried surprising us with something. Anything. Try playing the Ocean theme from Wind Waker instead of the same tired all arrangement. Same for Mario. Add a good one from a game not many have played (i.e. Beyond Good and Evil). Cut down on the Final Fantasy VII obsession a little, please, or at least stop playing the Sephiroth theme every damn time.

They could as well have played something from Oblivion too, and brought in someone from Bethesda softworks (they live, like, next door). No idea where Jeremy Soule lives but while they were at it they could have played something from him (there's some really great stuff in his Guild Wars work, for example).

And Nobuo Uematsu's high points were FFVI and FFVII (let's not start the discussion between those two, ok?). He's kind of not really got there anymore since. Very good, but slightly overrated. Let's recognize new blood too.

Enough grumpiness for today...