Preview: Okamiden

Hello, and sorry for the long wait between posts! It's not that I don't have any ideas, but more like I have so many different things I could write about that it's difficult to choose! (that and I'm still getting used to juggling my time so I can fit everything I want to do into a day!)

Today I'm going to talk about Ōkamiden: Chiisaki Taiyou 大神伝〜小さき太陽〜 for the NDS. While not exactly a preview, as I've played a substantial amount of the Japanese version which my mom so kindly picked up for me when she was in Japan, since the game won't be out in English until March 31st in AU (March 15th for US residents), I'll just stick to some spoiler-free general impressions for now.

European cover from the Okamiden Wiki page

Okamiden is a sequel to the stellar action-adventure PS2 game Okami, which was later ported to the Wii. Okami was hailed by fans and critics for it's artistic cell-shaded graphics and innovative controls, which had players using the god Amaterasu (in wolf form)'s "celestial brush" to preform actions. The game, however, was a commercial flop worldwide, but maintains a cult status today. 

Having played Okami when it was first released in 2006, I was pleasantly surprised to hear there would be a sequel for the DS coming out towards the end of 2010 in Japan. With the original studio behind the game now gone, however, is it possible for Okamiden to live up to its predecessor? 

Fans of Okami will be more than pleased, I believe, to play Okamiden on the DS, which makes drawing with the celestial brush to execute commands very intuitive. The graphics are in the same style as Okami, and most of the areas are taken almost directly from the old game, with a few simplifications to make them work for the DS. Some might find this tedious, but so far I have enjoyed having a nostalgic romp through the world of Okami once again.

Those new to the series, however, might be alienated from the game. I would be very interested to see how newcomers find it, and whether or not they feel their enjoyment of the game was hindered by their not having played the original (there is a recap sequence at the beginning of the game to get everyone to the same place story-wise).

An in-game screenshot (source)

While Okamiden has everything I loved about Okami, playing it on the small DS screen with limited graphics makes me wish the developers had gone the extra mile to make a luscious HD PS3 version instead. Think of the potential! The rail camera can also very frustrating at times, but I believe it was a necessity due to the game being for the DS.

The one major change for Okamiden has been the addition of a second character, who you control to solve puzzles with Chibiterasu (or mini-Amaterasu, the protagonist of the game). This makes for some different puzzles then the first game, and I was surprised to find that there is more than one character who teams up with Okami during the course of the game, and it is all incorporated into the storyline. I don't want to give any plot spoilers, but I was surprised and delighted to see how the gameplay changed slightly with the different characters.

The story so far has been fun, and is filled with old and new characters to keep things interesting. The constant references to Japanese culture in the enemies, gods, and the story itself (which was adapted from the Kojiki) really make the game a unique experience, and should thrill anyone who is interested in Japan. I can't say anything more about the story right now, but I will give a follow-up with overall impressions when I finish the game!

All in all, I'd say Okamiden is a must for any fans of Okami. It's probably one of the best-implemented action adventure games for the DS, so even non-fans should check it out (and look into playing Okami, as well!). Unfortunately, just as Okami came out at the end of the PS2's life and was inevitably overshadowed by PS3 hype, Okamiden's English release will coincide with the release of the 3DS in March. Here's hoping it gets the attention it deserves.

4/5 stars (preview rating)

top speed satria fu150

satria fu tes di sentul

RIZKY ANAK DRAG-DRAGKAN

                          SATRIA FU 150; SETING KOREK HARIAN                                                        BUAT PELAJAR
 

 Riset ini didedikasikan untuk para pengguna FU yang masih berstatus pelajar. Mengapa? Karena sekarang ini aku sering liat dijalan semakin banyak anak sekolahan menggunakan FU sebagai sarana transportasi ke sekolah, beberapa tampak masih standar, dan beberapa telah di upgrade sedikit, seperti misalnya pasang knalpot free flow tapi tanpa diikuti langkah lain, jadinya hanya suaranya saja yang kenceng tapi larinya kalah dengan motor standar. Atau ada juga yang fokus ke tampilan saja dengan mengganti pelek dengan tipe jari-jari dan memasang ban super tipis (ban khusus drag maksudnya..), ini menurutku juga kurang baik karena klo mesin motor sehat dan bisa kenceng tapi trus gara-gara pake ban tipis jadi ga bisa belok saat digeber kan malah bahaya, Bro….coba banyangin, pas lagi kebut-kebutan ma Supra x (hehehe…) dan FU berhasil melibas dengan mudanya…tapi trus tau-tau nyungsep di tikungan karena traksi buat menikung kurang…kan tengsin jadinya .

Bertolak dari hal-hal tersebut aku mengadakan riset up-grade performa FU yang dapat dicontoh oleh para pelajar pemakai FU…intinya siy up-grade performa tapi dengan biaya terjangkau oleh para pelajar..hehehe…gitu loh maksudnya khusus pelajar tuh…!

Dari hasil pengamatanku beberapa bengkel top dalam melakukan up-grade terhadap FU selalu mengandalkan penggantian part dengan merek-merek terkenal yang jelas harganya mahal. Menurutku siy semua orang juga bisa ngencengin FU klo duitnya banyak…..tinggal tebus part-part racing yang mahal trus dipasang… jadi deh FU kenceng! Cuman masalahnya bagaimana nasib adik-adik pelajar yang pengen FU-nya juga kenceng tapi uang saku terbatas…hehe..maksudnya belum tentu juga uang sakunya benar-benar terbatas, tapi mereka kan punya pos pengeluaran lainnya juga kaya misalnya biaya nraktir gebetan, biaya merias diri biar cepet laku..hehhe..biaya nyogok nyokapnya gebetan..dan lain-lain, yang intinya membuat pos pengeluaran buat si FU jadi terbatas..

Nah, buat adik-adik pelajar penggenjot FU…yang tua-tua juga boleh nyonto ding, berikut adalah tip up-grade yang (sebagian besar) dah dipraktekin langsung di motorku…yang jelas aku jamin dengan melakukan uipgrade seperti ini tidak akan membuat TTM kalian terlantar,,,piss…

1. Langkah pertama yg paling gampang, ganti Pilot jet dengan ukuran 17.5, bisa pake punya shogun lama. Harga palingan 30rb. Klo mau lebih murah pake merek Kitaco harnganya 17,5ribuan

2. Lepas paking kepala silinder, pake 1 lapis aja yang tengah, langkah ini berarti naikin rasio kompresi dari standarnya 10,2 menjadi sekitar 11,4. Langkah ini siy ke bengkel aja, misalnya sekalian pas servis besar. Klo mau naikin kompresinya lebih tinggi lagi, paking blok bawah bisa dilepas dan ga usah pake paking, cukup pake lem paking aja (yang atas tetep pake 1 paking), trik ini dah dicoba mekanik jogja dan terbukti piston gak tabrakan dengan klep ataupun ada kebocoran oli. Langkah lepas paking blok bawah ini pengen aku cobain tapi blum sempet, ntar pas servis besar lagi aja kayanya.

3. Porting lubang in & out. Lubang in dan out masing-masing di gedein diameternya 1 mm Yang ini juga harus ke bengkel. Beberapa bengkel top mematok harga 300rb hingga 500rb. Tapi bengkel2 balap rumahan palingan 100rb.

4. Ganti karbu (berarti langkah nomor 1 ga perlu), saran pake punya RX King (karena murah, dan cocok dan bisa langsung pasang ke intake manifold dan filter udara standar), spuyer bisa coba PJ 20 MJ 150, setelan udara 1,5 putaran berlawanan arah jarum jam (plis note tiap motor bisa beda2), posisi klip jarum skep di ulir nomor 2 dari atas. Alternatif lain bisa juga pake punya NSR SP yakni Keihin PE 28 harga barunya 600 rbuan yang Thailand (Awas barang palsu china). Klo ganti karbu, sebaiknya juga pasang keran bensin model kompresor buat gantiin aslinya yang model vakum…biar aliran bensin lancar…

5. majuin gigi TOP 1 mata, ini berarti majuin waktu buka tutup katub masuk dan buang. Kalo mau lebih advance lagi setingannya adalah klep masuknya dimajuin 1 mata trus buangnya dimundurin 1 mata…istilah teknisnya buat nyempitin LSA-nya (Lobe Separation Angle…buat optimalkan proses pembilasan di putaran tinggi…hehehe…bingung, bingung deh….), hasilnya juga mantap tapi kerenggangan klep harus dibikin lebih sempit (jadi in 0,07 mm dan out 0,1 mm) dari ukuran standarnya dengan cara mainin tebal shim-nya. Yang ini siy jelas mending ke bengkel aja deh…trus bengkelnya juga harus yang jago.

6. lepas saringan udara (klo dah ganti karbu), yang dilepas hanya elemen saringan udaranya aja…itu tuh yang ada ada kertas saringanya. Sedangkan boknya masih terpasang dan tersambung ke karbu . Kalo masih tetap mau andalkan karbu standar maka saringan satndar masih dapat dipakai/dipasang tapi kertasnya di lubangi dibeberapa tempat, guntingin aja, palingan 3 lubang ukuran 0,5 x 4 cm (panjang x tinggi). Bisa dilakuin sendiri

7. potong kabel koil 2 cm (=ngurangin resistensi kabel sekitar 10%), Bisa dilakuin sendiri. Ingat masang kabelnya lagi harus bener2 kuat, caranya ditusukin dan diputar hingga ngedrat.

8. ganti pake busi Iridium (saran yang agak murah pake merek Sindengen/SDG 30rb) hasilnya lumayan. Klo mau tetep pake busi standar juga gapapa, cuman atur lagi celahnya jadi 0,9 – 1 mm

9. oli pake yang khusus motor (merek apa aja yang penting asli), trus pake yang 10/40.

10. ganti knalpot free flow, saran yang murah dan cukup ampuh pake bikinan Edi Sawangan (yang pelat pernis cuman 250 rb)…yang jelas tampilan jadi lebih sangar bin bengis karena bahan knalpot dari pelat yang di pernis doing plus coklat-coklat kaya karatan …jauh dari kesan klimis yang sering ditimbulkan bila pake knalpot aluminium atau krom…hehehe…no offense ya buat yang pake knalpot mahal 2… )

11. Posisi as roda pada penyetel kekencengan rantai diusahakan pada posisi sedepan mungkin, klo perlu potong 2 mata rantainya. Keuntungannya, jarak poros roda depan belakang makin pendek jadi motor lebih lincah bermanuver..khasiat lainnya buat mengurangi bunyi-bunyian dirantai karena rantai beradu dengan lengan ayun.

12. Per kopling di ganjel kurang lebih 1 mm, bisa pake potongan per kopling (bisa pake punya motor apa aja asal diameter sama, harga palingan 15 ribuan), tapi mesti ditipisin pake gerinda dulu biar ga ketebelan. Langkah ini sebaiknya dibengkel aja deh. Trus di ujung kabel kopling yang di atas bak mesin, diujungnya dipakein per yang sering dipakai di rem teromol (harga 5 ribuan) untuk ngedorong tuas pengungkit kopling agar baliknya cepet. Hasilnya kopling jadi cepet baliknya dan motor langsung loncat begitu kopling dilepas….yang jelas kedua langkah ini bisa juga diganti dengan pasang per kopling racing (100 – 150 rb, tapi awas, beberapa pemakai per kopling racing mengeluh motornya cuman enak 3 bulan, abis itu per jadi lembek dan kurang nendang lagi….per kopling standar terutama yang CBU kayanya lebih durable dan dengan diganjel, kekerasannya akan setara dengan per racing). Tapi perhitungkan efek sampingnya yakni jari tangan kiri jadi pegel2 klo lewat jalan macet.

13. Pulser digeser 1 ampe 2 mili…yang ini aku ga tau kenapa bisa bikim motor makin melesat, tapi aku praktekin hasilnya memang berasa kok. Suruh orang bengkel aja yang mundurin.

14. nah klo semua langkah diatas…atau beberapa aja deh…udah dilakukan pasti performa motor dah melonjak. Tapi khusus untuk temen2 di Jakarta ato daerah yang ramai dalam artian trek lintasan pendek2 yang mengakibatkan ga bisa leluasa pol gas di gigi 5 ato 6…maka disarankan ganti gir depan pake yang 13 mata (standarnya 14 mata) bisa pake punya yamaha crypton ato F1ZR…beli aja yang buatan aspira atau indopart cumin 30 ribuan…hasilnya motor lebih narik lagi ampe gigi 6 sekalipun. Langkah ini tidak mengurangi Top Speed secara signifikan (lagian kan disaranin buat yang sering kena macet jadi ga pernah nge-top speed..hehe) malahan justru bikin motor lebih cepat menggapai top speed.

Bila dana masih ada
Langkah lanjutan adalah mengganti CDI, koil dan camshaft racing…paling ga untuk 3 item ini butuh 1,5 juta..tapi sangat setimpal bila dilakukan..hehe.. saran pake CDI XP Andrion HP 7 (400 ribu) dipadu ama koil andrion juga (170 ribu). Sebagai informasi, untuk teman2 di jawa tengah ma timur lebih suka pake CDI Rextor. Untuk CDI BRT sebenarnya bagus juga, hanya saja menurut produsennya dan dari hasil test, BRT hanya cocok bila koil masih pake yang standar…klo koilnya racing malah kadang drop tenaganya atau CDI-nya cepet mati.


Bila CDI telah diganti racing maka sebaiknya per klep juga diganti yang lebih keras, bisa pake merek2 racing seperti WRD, CLD, TK, dll…atao bisa juga pake aslinya tapi diganjal 1 mm (ini lebih recommended karena kasusnya sama dengna per kopling, yang racing kadang jadi lembek lama-lama…

Untuk camshaft/noken as bisa pake WRD, CLD, Kawahara, Akutagawa (850 – 1 jutaan…ato NMF yang hampir 2jutaan)…ato apalah terserah…soalnya aku sendiri blum nyobain klo yang ini. Klo dah ganti chamshaft pake yang racing berarti langkah No. 5 tidak perlu dilakukan.

Semoga berguna.

Porting Polish
Lepas packing, pake 1 aja yang tengah
Busi Sindengen Iridium
Karbu RX-King, PJ 20 MJ 150
PAIR dinon-aktifkan
Kabel koil potong 2 cm
Pulser dimundurin 2 mm
Per kopling di ganjal 1 mm
Semi open filter
Celah klep in 0,07 mm out 0,1 mm
Klep in maju 1 mata, out mundur 1 mata
Gear 13/43
Performa: gigi 4 120 kpj (mentok limiter)..gigi 5 135 kpj…gigi 6..blum pernah ketemu jalan yg cukup sepi buat full throttle…

Spesifikasi & Harga Suzuki Satria FU 150:
MESIN

Jenis : 4-Tak, DOHC, SACS, 4-Katup (Berpendingin Udara)
Jumlah Silinder : 1 (satu)
Diameter Silinder : 62,0 mm
Langkah Piston : 48,8 mm
Isi Silinder : 147 cc
Perbandingan Kompresi : 10,2 : 1
Daya Maksimum : 11,7 ps / 9.500 rpm
Torsi Maksimum : 12,4 Kgm/8500 rpm
Karburator : Mikuni BS 26 – 187
Saringan Udara : Jenis Kertas
Sistem Starter : Kaki & Listrik
Sistem Pelumasan : Perendaman Oli
DIMENSI & BERAT

Panjang Keseluruhan : 1.945 mm
Lebar Keseluruhan : 650 mm
Tinggi keseluruhan : 980 mm
Jarak Antara As Roda : 1.280 mm
Jarak Mesin Ke Tanah : 140 mm
Tinggi Tempat Duduk : 764 mm
Berat Kosong : 106 kg
KELISTRIKAN

Sistem Pengapian : CDI
Busi : NGK CR8E / DENSO U24ESR-N
Accu : 12V 2,5 Ah 10 HR
RANGKA

Suspensi Depan : Teleskopik, Bantalan Oli
Suspensi Belakang : Lengan Ayun, Bantalan Oli
Sudut Kemudi : 45° (kiri dan kanan)
Radius Putar : 2,0 m
Rem Depan : Cakram
Rem Belakang : Cakram
Ukuran Roda Depan : 70/90 – 17 38P                              
Ukuran Roda Belakang : 80/90 – 17 44P
KAPASITAS

Tangki Bahan Bakar : 4,9 Liter
Oli Mesin : 1.000 ml
Dengan Penggantian Saringan Oli : 1.100 ml
TRANSMISI

Kopling : Manual plat majemuk tipe basah
Transmisi : 6 Percepatan
Arah Perpindahan Gigi : 1 ke bawah, 5 ke atas
Rantai Penggerak : DID 428 DS, 122 mata
Pilihan Warna
Harga Rp.18.640.000,-

JAPAN: Arcades++

Darius Burst-

Sort of space fish themed shooter. Uses two screens. Hmm, not much to say about this one, to be honest I didn't play it more than once.

Lords of Vermillion 2.

An arcade style collectible card game. Looks kind of like a Japanese WOW from the outset. Great graphics and sound. Even though I can speak and read Japanese ok these games are kind of beyond me. They're quite popular machines though. Again, goes with the Japanese trend of keeping people down playing for hours and hours down the game center.

Electronic Darts.

Now we're talking. Me and a buddy must've spent every evening in 2008 playing these little suckers in the darts bar over here. If I was ever asked to choose a Japanese product abroad I felt would make me a million quid exported it would probably be Japanese electronic darts. Why?

These are so much fun, the boards are made of pins that pick up with extreme accuracy where your darts land. Everything is done via the computer- no more writing on a chalkboard and arguing with your mates about your bad sums, these babies take care of all of it for you. You can choose from about a zillion different darts games and their variations, Count Up, Cricket, even some unique ones like MyLand (or was it MyCountry), where the winner is the one who gets the most Japanese prefectures (represented by numbers) converted to his colour.

Personalise your darts in the shop. Customise your flights, use thin shafts or heavy shafts (not a sexual pun), etc. Plus you can always buy a beer and play doubles with a couple of nice chicks you meet there too.

Another cool thing is, like most arcade machines in Japan these days, you can link up to a national network and play against people anywhere else in Japan. So even when you're alone in the bar, you can still play with real people.

JAPAN: Arcades

Taito Station- One of the bigger game centers where I live. 5 floors. Got every type of game under the sun here; UFO Catcher's (claw crane machines), photo-booth Purikura (obviously more popular with the ladies), Retro Classics coin-ops(Final Fight, Super Mario,

etc), Guitar Hero-type games, RPG card-based games, Gun games, coin challenge games, man, just anything and everything, some of which I'll go more into detail below.

(Free candyfloss on the door at weekends)

This place obviously also has a TON of the latest games and their linked units, some of which you'll never see abroad. Competitions are held here and you can be quite the local hero if you win a Super Street Fighter 4 tournament. Some players are fiercely good though, as you'd expect this being the gaming hub of the world- so don't bank on ever winning unless you spend most of your life practicing online.

The place is totally packed out all the time, nothing like mild UK arcades.

Metal Gear Arcade-

New on the scene Metal Gear Arcade utilises some of the cool 3d technology we've been seeing everywhere these days- you wear the specs while you play, just like at the movies. This really adds to the gameplay. The game is kind of just an amalgamation of MGO elements and even features the same maps. You buy credits with real money, play missions or do vs online or neighbour link-up. The more money you throw in the better and longer levels you can play. You can customise your character just like MGO but you need to register to do it. Not sure if you've actually buy a card (like some games) or you just choose a unique number on the machine, but anyway once you've got your character saved you can level up and get on the national rankings system.

First impression- nothing like other gun games. The gun controller is very sophisticated and has about a dozen different buttons and switches, along with a PS3 thumb-stick that governs movement. Although I do love MGO the arcade version is hard to get to grips with at first, and the amount of controls are simply overwhelming. That being said I've been trying to persevere with this one and I'm starting to see it's brilliance. The coolest thing about the game is clearly the 3D, which in combination with putting it on first-person mode amps the intensity up big time. The screen moves with your head too, a sweet little control method, this game brings you closer to being in a real war than any other FPS I've played.

Negatives-I think Konami are really throwing the challenge out there for casual arcade gamers to invest a lot of time and money in this game and frankly I'm not sure it's going to hit off with anyone except for hardcore MGO guys like myself. The staggering amount of info you have to get through just to get into the game first time takes some perseverance indeed.

That being said sometimes these things take time to warm up, and besides the trend over here for Japanese gamers these days is moving towards arcade games that you're never done with after 5 minutes. I wonder if Konami aren't killing off their audience with the excessively complex cabinet, but either way I'm not quite done with this one yet, I sense that it's going to pick up in popularity once people start giving it a chance.