[Editor's note: Zulu ends this month's Monthly Musing topic with Persona 3. -- CTZ]

Well Hell, I guess motivation has hit me at quite an awkward time. There's only one day left for this musing. Despite it, I think I'll be able to write something out. So yes, "Playing With Yourself", quite an easy phrase to poke fun at as an innuendo. We all know that it's quite funny, but I'll try my best to restrain from taking the low road.

I enjoy playing games with others, and I usually have a much more exciting and fun time doing so then playing alone. For me, the outside experience surrounding the game is what I take in and cherish most when I play a game with others. A one player game however tends to pull me inside, the experience within the game. Multiplayer or not, memories are made despite the number of folks on my couch.

[Editor's note: Monthly Musings aren't the only things that get promoted around here! Zulu took a look at Ikaruga and what it means to him. -- CTZ]

In a day and age where the majority of videogames have based their purpose solely on having us breeze through an experience, Ikaruga was there to throw us back again; back to a different time and period. A time when practice, consistency, discipline, and dedication all needed to be applied to complete a game. A time when videogames were merely all great tests of skill.

So, what exactly is the allure of Ikaruga? Why do so many spend countless hours day in and day out practicing and honing their skills at this game? Bragging rights? A sense of completion? Or is it just the simple dream of achieving the impossible, or in this case the almost impossible? I understand that many shmups are just as difficult, and possibly even more difficult than this game. Ikaruga though, in it's popularity, somehow took the position down the line as the poster child for impossible shumps. With that said, out of all the reason I believe people play Ikaruga, overcoming the impossible seems to be the biggest draw for myself personally, and for the many that do play it. 

[Editor's note: Zulu takes on Mega Man 9 for his Feel the Hatred Monthly Musing piece. -- CTZ]

Mega Man 9 kicked my ass, took my lunch money, and gave me a swirly. Not since Ikaruga, has any other modern game stepped in to beat me down and strip me of my pride. Mega Man 9 however, has taken the pleasure of breaking up this gap for me. Don’t get me wrong, subjecting myself to 8 bit beatings is nothing new in my book. I tend to be very masochistic as is when it comes to playing older games. I seem to believe that I take on this pain inflicting attitude simply because my expectations for difficulty generally gravitate pretty high for the games of yesterday.

In comparison to the majority of games today, older games tend to be the equivalent of eating nails. Mega Man 9, as a modern day game, is an exception. I went in expecting the difficulty to be somewhat lackluster and watered down because of it’s date, but I was wrong. Dead wrong. This game not only looks and plays like the original titles, but it hits just as hard.

Disappearing blocks, one hit kills, and near impossible maneuvers, these are all staples of the Mega Man series. Capcom clearly did not feel any guilt liberally throwing plenty of these obstacles into their latest installment. Mega Man 9, much like the previous titles, is all about luck, skill, trial, error, and memorization. This is not your boys games; this is not Twilight Princess. You will actually bare witness to the game over screen. You may even go as far as breaking a controller or shedding a tear or two. In the words of Ivan Drago, this game will “break you“.

I’ve played through all six of the original NES Mega Man games, but it has been quite some time since my last endeavor. I have forgotten what it was like to be totally in the dark with a new Mega Man game. I didn’t spoil this game for myself when content leaked out to the press. I went into this game almost as blind as Stevie Wonder. I wouldn't be totally blind though, I would still have my past Mega Man experiences there to guide me. 

[Editor's note: Zulu takes a look back at Link's Awakening for his Monthly Musing contribution. -- CTZ]

Long before Link's Awakening was ever conceived in the mind of Mr. Miyamoto, I was already into videogames. I started out with my first game being Pong on 2600, and years later I would finally find my first genuinely loved game: Super Mario Bros. I decided not to write about either one of those cherished classics though.

When it comes down to the nitty gritty, Link's Awakening was and will always be the first game that really brought me in and enveloped me into a different world. I played all of the previous Zelda titles off and on through the acts of renting and borrowing up to that point. This one however really stuck with me and pulled me in like no other game has ever done before. Nore after the jump.