Bah! You can't hurt me for I have a protective sheild!

aspro said:

Ravenprose said:

phantom_leo said:

Awesome! 1Up just did a Best of 2010 (So Far)... and guess what games were not on ANYONE'S list?

Halo Reach?

Yakuza 3?

Fixed!

*it's gonna be a long day...*

Ravenprose said:

Halo Reach?

everyone knows that real gamers don't play halo

Took out Godwyn with my Second Cartidge's Party...

Did I ever happen to mention their names are Leo the Paladin, Steel the Gladiator, Vader the Martial Artist and Robio the Thief (cracks me up everytime)...?

I've got a HUGE Hammer. Steel Protects the Party with an Uber Falcon Sword, Vader Psyches himself up for Huge Hits with his CombustaClaws and Robio robs crap from the Monsters... (Go Team!)

I've started to explore the Realm of the Mighty, but I'm torn. I don't know if I want to go straight to the end or If I want to try and conquer some Grottoes...

I'd REALLY like to see what some of the Post Game Story Quests entail. If they actually continue the Story-Line and they are going to be releasing these Quests for the Next Year... GOD! This game has some legs!

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Just as an alert: It was an Eyewear Spectacle Weekend on DQVC! This basically means I got an incredibly cool pair of Sunglasses for Steel to wear which actually have higher defense than most of the Helms in the game! Steel Shields the party from Danger at all times --AND-- looks cool while doing it!

There were no new Guests this week.

Don't you have enough of those already?

i am still playing the game when my backlog lets me so fliping many games to play and not enough arms and heads to play more then one at a time woe is me

HOLY CRAP!!!

DO!

WANT!

Ladies, Gentlemen and Hamsters, I now present to you the most AWESOMEST place on EARTH ! ! !

*From 1Up's The Grind*

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My time here in Tokyo is winding down, but I've been making the most of it these past few nights. And by "making the most" I mean "being a big stupid nerd going to videogame-themed bars." For the most part, those have been 8-Bit Cafe-style places -- that is, small normal bars with an abundance of classic gaming systems on free play and a handful of weak, themed beverages -- but there was one glorious exception.

Yes, I'm taking about Luida's Bar in Roppongi, the official, Square Enix-sanctioned cafe dedicated to Dragon Quest IX.

I was taken aback by the location, at first. Luida's Bar is right in the center of Tokyo's hostess club district; the five-block walk from Roppongi Station to the bar is a gauntlet of nightclub barkers determined to get you to come have overpriced drinks with scantily clad women. But not us, though. No, we were determined to have overpriced drinks with a bunch of pasty nerds who are really, really into Dragon Quest.

On further consideration I realized that this is a pretty fitting area for a bar like this. There's a definite undercurrent of gentle sleaze to the Dragon Quest series. And there's nowhere better in Tokyo to get a puff-puff than Roppongi. Or so's I hear, anyway.

Luida, incidentally, is the Japanese name for the character Erinn, who runs Stornway's Quester's Rest inn. The bar was specifically opened last year for the express purpose of pimping Dragon Quest IX; I suppose it's been profitable enough to encourage Square to keep it running even now that the DQIX phenomenon has died down. The bar has "leveled up" to promote the recent Japanese release of Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2, but it's still predominantly DQIX themed.

Which is why the waitress dresses like Erinn.

It's a small cafe, standing room only for about 20 people; you have to make a reservation in advance, and you can only visit in parties of four. Because a DQIX party is four people, you see. It's all very over-the-top, in its quiet, reserved way.

The cafe is surprisingly classy, all wood surfaces and stone tile, warm colors and low (but not dim) light. There are also a couple of girls dressed up like a videogame character, but that's supposed to be part of the ambience. Just like the DQIX town and Quester's Rest themes playing constantly in the background.

Impressively, Luida's bar actually sells its own house-brand liquor. The bar sells a special brew of beer, served in a stainless steel stein, as well as its own white and red wines. I tried the red for myself, and it was perfectly decent. A bit fruitier and sweeter than I prefer my wine, but definitely a few notches above your typical vinegary restaurant house wines. I'm not sure I'd pay ¥5000 (about $62) for a bottle, but that's totally an option, if you feel compelled to take home a souvenir.

The fourth drink here, on the far right, is a non-alcoholic beverage called Yggdrasil Dew. Well, it was called sekaiju something or another; but the point is that all the drinks are named for consumable items in DQIX. Look, I told you was nerdy, so you don't need to act all indignant about it.

The highlight of the trip may have been my attempt to explain to one of the Luida clones how to pronounce "Yggdrasil," a word that is thoroughly unsuited to be pronounced by Japanese tongues.

But anyway, sometimes nerdy is awesome, as in the case of these two nikuman dressed up to look like Slimes. Adorable! And edible! A nikuman is basically a Chinese steamed pork bun, so it wasn't exactly a stretch of creativity to draw a Slime face on them. The left one is plain, while the one on the right is curry. They're actually pretty decent; the bread is perhaps a bit dry, but the filling is tasty. And you can imagine them screaming in cheerful pain as you devour them. I ate mine face-last so that it would remain conscious to experience every last moment of agony: my revenge for countless fruitless battles with Metal Slimes.

The decorations aren't actually as excessive as you might expect. Really, the most flamboyant thing about the cafe are the swords on display right above our table. Surprisingly detailed replicas of the Zenithian and Loto swords are mounted on the wall above a case emblazoned with that eagle-like symbol that Dragon Quest uses as a religious icon in the place of a cross or Star of David or whatever.

You can also eat the religious emblem in the form of cookies. They're nothing special, just standard sugary shortbread cookies with a jelly blob in the middle that tasted vaguely of fruit. Despite their unremarkable flavor, you can buy a box of them to... I dunno impress your friends or something. Or serve them to people who don't care at all about the series and throw your money away on fruitlessness.

Of all the themed foods, though, the most impressive has to be the "tiramisu" in the shape of a teeny sanguini. I take offense to this being characterized as tiramisu, since it's pretty much just custard sans the espresso-soaked ladyfingers, but on the other hand.... that's a damn good likeness.

Each visit to Luida's Bar is limited to 75 minutes, at which point you're ushered out the back door to make room for the next set of parties. Here's a shot back into the bar from right outside the back door. You may notice that the series' religious emblem adorns the door to the restroom. I don't think a lot of thought was necessarily given to the placement of that thing, honestly.

In short, Luida's Bar is completely ridiculous. It's pricey, gimmicky, and kind of kitschy. And this is, in fact, the source of its appeal. It's designed for the amusement (and bilking) of Dragon Quest super fans, and as a staunch supporter of the series I confess that I enjoyed the experience. I'm not enough of a super fan to go back, but for those who are, you can take home a point card that tracks your spending. Drop enough cash and eventually you'll earn a free Legendary Buttered Toast! I'm gonna guess that's a piece of jumbo bread with the Dragon Quest religious emblem toasted on it. Ridiculous! But charming in its own way.

Now that I think about it, I'm surprised there's nothing like this in the U.S. Yes, yes, we're all too cool for such nerdy things -- or so you'd like to believe. But I suspect that if this were a World of Warcraft bar, or even a Final Fantasy VII-themed Seventh Heaven with barmaids dressed as Tifa, it would do pretty well for itself. Think about it, Blizzard, and give me a call when you need further biz dev suggestions.

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Steamed pork dumplings ftw.