It's been eight months since my last blog post.

Why? Well, laziness is definitely a huge factor. That, and I tend to put way too much thought into what I want to say, and ultimately end up not saying anything at all because I can't get it to sound right in my head. But mostly, it's laziness. So, why a new post now? Basically, I have nothing else to do at the moment.

So what have I been up to lately? Well, Brawl, for one. Super Smash Bros. Brawl, that is. Got it the day it came out. First time I've ever pre-ordered a game, and I wouldn't have done it this time either except for the free $10 gift card. I don't think I've ever played a game that hits me with the nostalgia hammer as hard as Brawl does. There's the little things, like the sound effects that play when Mario and Sonic jump; there are the levels (Mario Bros., 75m, Mushroomy Kingdom) that send me back in time; but above all, there's the soundtrack. Sometimes, I just sit on the couch listening to the music instead of actually playing the game.

Of course, I do play Brawl occasionally. It's really the most fun multiplayer game I've experienced in a long time. My brother and I brawl all the time, and we're pretty evenly matched (until he picks Marth, at which point I may as well just give up). I personally prefer Mr. Game and Watch, Zelda, and the Mario Brothers, and I also enjoy playing as Jigglypuff even though I'm not that good with him (her?). My favorite stage is the Metroid lava one, mostly because of the Golden Sun music that plays there.

Speaking of which, the Golden Sun music from Brawl got to me, and I started playing Golden Sun again. At this time I'm about halfway through The Lost Age, so I'm making good progress. However, this comes at the expense of many other games that I have previously started and never finished, like Final Fantasy XII, Dragon Quest VIII, and Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, among others. At some point in the future I'd like to go back and finish all these games, but that won't be happening anytime soon.

In other news, my Pokémon adventure has hit a bit of a snag. I've managed to collect a grand total of 455 different types of Pokémon on my own and with the help of my brother, my old GBA Pokémon games, and the Global Trade Station. But to make any more progress, I'd have to seek out random people who have access to the Pokémon that I'm missing, and once again, laziness has reared its ugly head. As a result, I'm playing less Pokémon now than I was before, and my hopes of finally completing my Pokédex have been put on hold for the time being. So near, and yet so far.

I've also picked up a few new games. Bought Rogue Galaxy not long ago, and I'm enjoying it. Gameplay reminds me a little of Kingdom Hearts with its fast-paced combat, but the AI-controlled allies in Rogue Galaxy feel a lot smarter. For one, they actually ask my permission to use items instead of burning through my entire stash of heal potions in fifteen seconds (I'm looking in your direction, Donald and Goofy).

Also bought an expansion pack for Civilization IV, which was probably not the smartest thing to do. Civ is ridiculously addictive, and on more than one occasion I've fallen into the "just one more turn" trap and ended up playing far longer than I had originally intended. This new expansion pack just gives me an excuse to play more, which I really didn't need to begin with.

I recently borrowed Wind Waker from a friend. The colorful cel-shaded art style definitely went in a different direction from the other 3D Zelda games, but it works well. Plus, Link with his enormous head and huge eyes has never looked more adorable. For the most part, the game's pretty fun, but I'm a bit put off by the ridiculous amount of time I have to spend sailing from island to island. Bigger is not always better.

Finally, I've reinstalled Final Fantasy 8 (PC version) on my computer, a long process which involved reinstalling Windows XP, scouring the net for a solution to some hideous graphical glitches, and downgrading my video drivers to prevent a bizarre slowdown problem wherein the game grinds to a complete halt after about twenty minutes of play. However, it was worth the trouble, as I can now play one of my favorite Final Fantasies again.

Well, that's all I have to say for now. I know, long post is long, but that's because I had eight months of crap to talk about (and I didn't even cover everything that I could have). Hopefully it won't be another eight months before my next blog post.