Come Play Grandchase !

I've been playing this game for a long time now. Today I would like to try to recommend it for all the readers out there. Its a 3D side-scrolling dungeon crawler game with mmorpg properties. You can level up and get items which (like diablo, has different special properties). So no two equipments are ever the same ! Read on for more details.

The game's plot is a bunch of children (Its funny, I know) travelling different continents to save the world from evil. They call themselves the "Grand Chase". You start with 3 characters who level independently from each other which gives replay value to the game as well as more options to find out what you like. There are quests which you can buy from the shop and complete to unlock and play additional characters. Each character has 4 jobs except for Mari, Dio, Zero, and Ley. Each job plays different from the previous and are unlocked via level requirement and quest completion. In addition to jobs, some has skill tree to enable further customization of comboes, special attacks, and additional skills such as evasion or berserk mode.

List of Characters, taken from Ntreev Grandchase website.

Elesis, typical swordsman and leader of the grandchase. Melee.

Lire, archer with unique gameplay which reminds me of gunbound (though not exactly). Ranged.

Arme, magician with overwhelming power. Melee/Ranged.

Lass, thief with speedy attacks and typical hard hitter. Melee with some ranged.

Ryan, druid with ability to morph into a creature for additional power. Melee.

Dio, demon which introduced another way to use special attacks, very powerful and cheap. Melee.

Ronan, magic knight which plays similar to elesis and has good defence. Melee.

Zero, wanderer and with new special attack input like dio, another powerhouse. Melee

Seigheart, gladiator with berserk mode for increased damage output for a short duration, very similar to Elesis. Melee.

Amy, dancer, probably fastest of all the characters with low hp and def, damage is mediocre but can regenerate allies' MP. Melee with little ranged.

Jin, fighter using hands and legs to attack, speedy blows with good attack power, can charge up ki to shoot fireballs. Melee with one ranged attack.

Mari, rune caster with very unique play of building structures such as towers and portals, uses machines to fight. Melee/Ranged.

Ley, summoner with ability to call creatures to fight for her, also uses unique special input like dio and zero. Ranged.

You can get more information about characters here,
http://grandchase.ntreev.net/guides/Characters_elesis.aspx

There are 2 main gameplays for Grandchase. The first is a dungeon crawler which is a party of up to 4 people going through a dungeon and defeating the boss. After winning, you are rewarded with a chest which could be equipments, items (potions and alike), or ingame currency, or nothing at all ! Monsters in the dungeon may also drop items to aid you. There are dialogues (not spoken) for the plot in each dungeon. Whether you choose to read it or not, is up to you, most people skip it. Of course, you get experience which lets you level up to improve your character. Also, a quest system exists to help speed up levelling. All quests involve crawling one dungeon or
another. There are 6 continents to explore in total with countless dungeons.

Continental Map, 6 continents, many dungeons in each. Including hero dungeons.

Equipments, common is white, rare is blue, epic is yellow, relic is pink. Common has no special properties, rare has 1, epic 2, relic 3. Shops gives commons, dungeons drop rare and epics, events gives relics.

Dungeon Crawling, up to 4 people per room for dungeon.

I personally only do dungeons, I enjoy coop play with other people so if you do sign up, add me. I use AznWizzie for my character name.

The second gameplay is pvp. It stands for player versus player. As you can guess, you face other people who also play Grandchase. Here, mostly skills are required but items also matter alot. So just go blindly into battle ! Most rooms will state its requirements in the room title so it will be roughly a fair match assuming everyone met those said restrictions. Pvp also rewards experience but no items.

Those are the two main attractions to the game. There are plenty of other features in Grandchase, for example the hero dungeons which are dungeons for level 40+ (Sanctum of Destruction) and 30+ (Crucible). These dungeons are different because monsters' strengths are equal to the averaged stats of all the players in the room. Where as normal dungeons has a level range, where if you're 30 levels or so above the dungeon, you will mostly 1 hit ko the monsters. This proves a challenge to even the long time players in Grandchase.

Another feature is the workshop where you can create or disassemble equipments you picked up in the dungeons or bought. The created items are usually only found as dungeon drops or created via workshop.

There are also guilds and a friend system which is normal to all mmorpg by now.

Theres a couple system which could be interesting or not. Couples boost each other's experience multiplier when levelling up so you level up faster. Aside from that, nothing special about it.

This game has alot of benefits for being a casher, however I was never one for online games and probably never will be. Cash can either grant you better equipments than other people, special skills for characters, unique pets (which aid in combat, non-payers can also get pets though), and gacha and spell breaker gacha.

Both gacha work like a lottery, it takes coins or seals to unlock either pets or equipments which are usually limited time.

For those who don't cash or even those who want more cash. Ntreev do offer "free cash" methods, such as completing surveys or watching a video, or installing spyware (don't do that one). Some ask for your mobile phone number then they send you a pin where you have to enter on a computer, but I never tried that cause giving them my phone number seem like a bad idea.

But thats about it for what I can say about Grandchase, if you have any other questions, feel free to post in the comments below. There are alot of other small features I neglected but there are alot more things Grandchase has to offer so give it a try !

Once again, if you do join and quite like the game, you can add me at AznWizzie. I don't play too often, I usually play when theres a good event. Speaking of events, Ntreev does provide a good event every now and then, completely unlike their other game Pangya which seems only to have events which require cash.

Also note, if you do plan to start, you should start sooner, because they have an event at the moment which gives you special items for completing level checkpoints (level 1, 5, 10, etc).

Thanks for reading. The link below is to sign up under my referral, it gives me certain benefits if enough people sign up. I won't keep my hopes up but it'd be nice if there were some people who do start playing because of me.

Sign up link:http://grandchase.ntreev.net/entrypoint/etp_rf.aspx?r=bAmbnlWeiZqQekEj0dSjDcI47GsHE87GCrApzuqRrDm8N1TiKVkFN0BZTMXefpoT

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[QuesQ] Moriya Suwako Figure Review

July 6, 2011 was when my first figure from QuesQ arrived. I really had no expectation from a company who I have not yet purchased from. So I could not say how the figure would turn out. I would be delighted if it turn out like the prototype. But most figures I've preordered had been spectacular and I haven't been devastated yet. Lets hope it doesn't start now. Read on for the full review.

I first read about it on Nekomagic, my one stop place for figure news. And instantly I was sold on the face. Usually if I buy a figure its because I love the face. While the pose or other elements are important, when I look at something, its the face. Regardless or if its a person, an artwork, a photo, everything.

First thing I saw when I looked at the box was... its SMALL ! D8 Kind of the same feeling I got when I received the the Ameri figure. Then I looked at the box, and didn't find a scale ratio. Boo.

But size isn't everything, yes, it looks strange when put beside my other 1/8 Touhou figures, see below.

But adding details on small figures is much more difficult than on larger ones. Atleast thats what I believe.

In terms of the photos, I first took them using the photo shooting box my dad got me a long time ago in broad daylight. I thought it was fine, but when I got on my computer they were dark +_+. Someone must have messed with my camera setting cause when I checked it afterwards, the exposure setting was set to -1.0 (0.0 is normal). Not cool. And by then it was already evening, so I took the stuff up to my room and shot it there with a desktop light lying around.

Here was the contraption, because the nature of the lamp, the colour was tinted yellow. (Don't give me those eyes if you see spongebob, its a great show. And I happened to have won it at Seaworld on my trip to California.)

This was taken in the morning with the reduced exposure setting. But notice how the image is not tinted yellow like in the ones below. Would be perfect if the settings wasn't changed.

Anyway, moving on to the review.

Luckily, the product arrived as anticipated from images I've seen online. Not much deviation was spotted and I like it as much as I did the prototype images. Great thing considering prototypes are usually meant to be perfect copies for the product to appeal to customers.

The face still captures me like a rock versus paper... (ok, thats bad.)

Smile ! ^_^

The colouring was well done upon closer inspection (Unfortunately, macro shots are not possible with my camera, so you'll just have to take my word. Sorry, hope to get a macro lens later.). Also, I didn't see errors like chipped or cracks. I think for quality this is pretty well done.

The gimmicks are pretty nifty too. It comes with 2 right hands which uses a tube mount to connect to the figure. Part of the tube and the mount is squared so you wouldn't be able to rotate the hand and there is only 1 correct way to connect the hand onto the figure. This is actually nothing new but as T's System's Kochiya Sanae had it too for the head (Though, why the head was removable on that figure remains a mystery to me.)
The second thing was the hat. It sticks on magnetically, just like the Pixie Hiyori from Good Smile Company, but a bit poorer made. The hat on Hiyori didn't have grooves from inserting the magnet, but it clearly shows up here. Luckily, if you put on the hat, no one knows. They won't even see the line across the forehead thats on basically every figure.

Magnetically attached hat but you can see the groove where the PVC was cut to insert the magnet.

The left hand softly wraps around the hat when you put it in place. Very life-like !

Nice detail on the clothes, the decal (?). Those are frogs because Suwako is portrayed as a God whose a frog. However that may work.

The pose fits the character, Moriya Suwako very well as being cute and childish. While I don't exactly know her personality in the official Touhou Games by ZUN. But fan works have given her that kind of chara. She can also be portrayed as a dark character. Clearly not the case here.

I've rarely regretted buying anything and certainly I haven't regretted buying this. Though the price was somewhat expensive for something this small. Its a nice piece of addition to any Touhou Project fan or just any collector looking for a cute figure.

My display case as of July 6, 2011. The new figure is on the top level to the right.

Gallery is below, thanks for reading.

[QuesQ] Moriya Suwako PVC Figure

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Photos from Vacation to California USA

Its been a while, since I got back from California on July 3, 2011. After going through all the photos from several cameras I am finally able to upload the photos. Great place in California, a bit too hot for my liking though, especially when the sun is scorching you nonstop. After this trip, my arms got "burnt", my dad was even mistaken for a Mexican. Lol. Read on for links to photo galleries and a summary of the vacation.

Summary:
Very good trip, lots of new things to see, my cousin's son, "Nathan" was alot of fun. We played games together, goofed off together, lots of laughs every moment. Maybe I do act like a kid. Meh.
When I got there, I found out that in California, it was a law that all restaurant and fast foods show the calories of each food on the menu. Atleast thats what a cashier at a McDonald in Walmart said. She also said that not everyone obeys it though. But to me, it was interesting to see in big numbers, the calorie for say... a big mac.
It was alot of walking though, more than what I would have liked. But since it was with other people, I couldn't exactly just complain. Since my daily routine would be, play, sleep, eat, play. LOL ! Also, my GPS on my iPhone 3GS refused to work... had to read a map like a pro @_@. Sucks, but exciting. Getting lost can sometimes bring you to neat, unforeseen places !
Next trip will be where I wonder... I can't wait ! ^_^

Galleries and Description:
June 24 - Once we got off the plane at Los Angeles, we went to Thrifty to rent our car, then drove for 2 hours until we got to San Diego where my cousin and his wife and son lived. Together, we visited the Old Town of San Diego and ate Mexican food. We stayed at Motel 6, probably the worst hotel of this trip. NO FREE WIFI... WHAT THE H*LL ! D8

June 25 - We started off by going to a district by the beach with houses in the millions because of its location and not size. We had some interesting sweet cookies because we haven't seen them before. Everyone complained it was too sweet, I loved it. We went to another beach afterwards and that was when my cousin had to leave us to pick up her wife. So it was just my dad, mom, big aunt (whos the cousin's mother), Nathan, and myself. Since we were with a child, we went to Legoland ! OMFG LEGO !! Its amazing, all the things that could be built with lego.

June 26 - Breakfast was at a pancake restaurant, they serve many different types of pancakes. Some were big, others not so big. I had the apple pancake, it was huge. I couldn't finish it. After our filling breadfast, we went to Balboa park. There, because Nathan really wanted to go to the science center while everyone else had something different in mind. I was chosen to go to the science center with him to make sure nothing bad would happen. The science center was an interesting experience. I always enjoyed those more than museums or sight seeing (what my parents had in mind) since science centers had interactive yet educational games. While we were there, my parents went to some cactus garden taking photos of cactus. Ew. When we met up, there was a weird parade. Music and dancing with people dressed up as things I couldn't recognize. HOWEVER ! I saw someone dressed as Naruto, but with all the people and chaos, I couldn't get a picture of him. We parted ways after with me and my dad going alone and my mom, and the cousin's family together. They went to outlets to shop and sight see while we went to the Midway Museum. What is that you ask? What about USS Midway Museum? Thats right! Its a warship. An aircraft carrier at that. While the ship wasn't left in an original state (it is probably rendered inoperable), there were still many fighter planes (which may be working or not) to take pictures of. Some even let you ride inside it (of course it doesn't move or work). We also went into the control tower with a guide explaining the roles of the different crew. Lots to learn about.

June 27 - We started the day with Seaworld. Another amusement part. This one had shows with sea animals such as dolphins, whales, and sea otters performing. Oh, there were people actors too of course. We stayed there basically the whole day from 9am to 6:30pm. We went through basically every exhibit. The last few pictures were me chasing a pigeon with my camera, kind of pointless. I just realized how pigeons don't like to fly.

June 28 - Today, we leave San Diego, so my cousin, his wife, and Nathan did not follow us. Only my family and my big aunt continued towards San Francisco. Most of the day was spent traveling. Afterall, it was around 6-8 hours road trip to get from San Diego to San Francisco. We did stop by Google Inc along the way and I got to hug the cute android. (^_^)V We had dinner at the Japan town eating Japanese cuisine. The hotel we lived at was Presidio Inn, they finally had free wifi and I started all my torrents of ANIME ! This place had the fastest wifi connection of all 3 hotels we lived at.

June 29 - We went to the crooked downhill road, forgot the name. It was like a zig-zag downhill, and there were even houses on either sides. Imagine how hard it would be to get out of the house during busy times (in the afternoon or evening). We went early so there were few people. But when we went back later (passed by on streetcar), it was packed. We drove to China town afterwards, neat buildings. Some looked like ancient China. To my surprise, fake Yugioh cards! Yippe! Now I can distinguish real and fake ones (aside the obvious change in price, maybe I'll make a post later). After that, we went to Pier 39 which is a famous pier with restaurants, shopping, and boat tours. Of course, we didn't miss out and got on a boat tour for the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz. After the boat tour, we got on the streetcar, the wait took almost an hour. The streetcar brought us all the way to union square in downtown. They had something similar to our Eaton Center in Toronto, huge mall. From downtown, we walked to Japan town where my mom and myself went there while my dad and my big aunt went to get our car back at the pier 39 parking lot. Of course they went back by bus so it wasn't too time consuming. Lastly at night, we thought we'd get another close up view on the Golden Gate Bridge before our return to Los Angeles early tomorrow, so we went at night to take a few pictures at the closest point that cars were allowed to go.

June 30 - Today, we set off to Los Angeles, another 4-6 hour drive. Our airport was at Los Angeles. We passed by Apple Inc in Cupertino along the way. Unlike Google, there weren't many places to take pictures off and inside any building was out of bounds for visitors. So we only got photos from a car. Their street name is interesting though, "Infinity Loop". Except it was small and the infinity was finite... What a shame. Due to the long drive, we stopped occasionally for my dad to rest, we went to Trader Joe's to buy souvenirs for relatives in Toronto. Apparantely, Trader Joe's was a well known super market in California with its own brand of products. The scenery was nice, there were several pictures of that along the road. The scorching heat however was not nice. The first thing we did when we arrived at Los Angeles was to see the Hollywood walk. I found some famous names and was astonished to see names like "Godzilla" and "Winnie the Pooh". Crazy. There were also many people dressed up to take pictures with, however it was a custom that if we got a photo taken, we'd have to pay. So we juts took pictures of other people who took pictures with them. Or flat out, take picture when hes not looking. Yay for stalking skills !

July 1 - The hotel we stayed at was Guesthouse Inn & Suites. The nicest of all the hotels on this trip, however the free wifi was not very fast, 80kbps was the most I could get out of it from my torrents. It was over 200kbps on Presidio Inn. But thats fine, as I only torrented while we slept. We first went to Beverly Hills, the rich and wealthy area where celebrities are said to live. We got honked by this Infinity 35Z because we wanted to slow down to take pictures. Arg, I don't like them rich people... We also went to the shopping district of Beverly Hills where we saw a very unique car. The Bugatti Veyron (atleast thats what I think it is). Its also the fastest car available at the moment (I might be wrong now, my news is outdated). The spoiler rises automatically when going fast enough, the woman driving it (yes, its a woman) opened the spoiler probably because she knew people would take pictures. Sure enough, it wasn't just me taking pictures, others were too. After Beverly Hills, we returned to the Hollywood Walk because we didn't finish all of it yesterday cause part of it was closed, and it was getting dark, rendering my camera lesser and lesser capable. Lastly, we went to the China town and Japan town for a visit. We ate at China town in a familiar Chinese restaurant as it had all been some foreign food for the past 4 days. When we returned to our hotels, we went to a supermarket to get some water and found very cheap breads, 3 for $0.99 so we bought those along with some of our instant noodles we brought and ate it for dinner. Yummy.

July 2 - Today was our last day. Our flight was at 10pm while my aunt's was at 7:30pm. We already finished basically all of our plans so we decided to go a bit further and went to Manhattan Beach in the morning. It was sunny x_x but the view was nice. Many very nice houses with unique styles unlike the ugly houses I see around my area. We then went to a mall to pass time, my dad was so tired he paid a dollar to those massage chairs to relax for 3 minutes. He said 3 minutes definitely wasn't enough. Afterwards we went to return our car and took a shuttle bus to the airport. We signed in much before the scheduled departure time, at 5:00pm or so. Then waited until my aunt got on the plane. We waited a bit more then we got on our plane. When we arrived back at Toronto, it was 5:00am. So I took a nap on the plane as if I slept from 10:00pm to 5:00am. Currently, I do not feel any jet lag.

So that was my trip. Hope you enjoyed the read and pictures. See you all again soon !

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