A few QR codes for fans of 'Denpa' men with triangle-shaped noggins

How's this for a niche-y blog post?

After all, not only is its focus a rather niche-y game--Genius Sonority's eShop RPG, which I previously wrote about here, here, here and here--but it focuses on a niche-y aspect of said game (that being "Denpa" men with triangle-shaped heads).

Some of you may recall that in this recent-ish post about the game, I mentioned that I wasn't a fan of "Denpa" men with noggins shaped in such a fashion. Well, I've had a change of heart in that regard, and now I actually like the little buggers quite a bit.

As such, here are my current favorites. A few were collected via others' QR codes, I have to admit, but the majority were caught by myself.



This guy's name is Casen. His antenna allows him to call on the power of "Rising Flames." (Oh, and I originally added him to my collection using someone else's QR code.)



And this guy's name is Jeremiah. Isn't he cute? I love his spectacles. Anyway, his antenna eventually evolves to "Ice Missile."



I believe this fellow's name is Aditya, but it may be Aditva instead. Anyway, his antenna allows him to cast "Revive" on fallen "Denpa" men.



I don't often use "Great Wall," but I keep ol' Terrell here around because he's just too cute.

Maybe I won't sell my Xbox 360 after all

As I mentioned during the most recent episode of The Nichiest Podcast Ever, I've been giving serious consideration to selling my good ol' Xbox 360 as of late.

The fact is, I don't play it that often. Also, I haven't bought many games for it since I acquired it a year and a half ago. (True story: I've picked up just one retail release so far, that being Deadly Premonition.)

So, with the 3DS quickly gaining a foothold in my brain, the PS3 still occupying my dreams and the soon-to-be-released Wii U doing its best to nudge its way into my life too, I've been wondering for a while now why I don't sell my Xbox 360 to someone who would give it the attention it deserves.

The problem is, of course, that selling it likely wouldn't provide me with much of a windfall. Also, all of the money I spent on XBLA and XBLIG games basically would flow down the drain, as I wouldn't be able to include those titles in the sale of my system.

As such, I'm back to thinking I'll hold on to it. And it's not like doing so would be the end of the world. I've got a ton of great digital games that I'd hardly say have been overplayed thus far, after all. (I'm looking at you, Castle Crashers. And you, too, Epic Dungeon.)

Also, there are a number of both digital and retail games that I'd still like to pick up--games such as Bayonetta, Blue Dragon, Catherine, Otomedius Excellent (maaaayyybe), Space Channel 5: Part 2 HD and Terraria.

What do all of you think? Do you think I'm making the right decision or am I making a horrible mistake?

To buy or not to buy, that is the question when it comes to the 3DS game called Dangerous Jī-san to 1000-nin no Otomodachi Ja

Don't worry if the title in the headline above doesn't ring any bells. It's hardly the kind of release that tends to receive a lot of attention from western gaming sites and blogs.

That said, I have mentioned it here once before--in the cheekily titled post, "Is this 3DS game's heath bar really made up of little butts?"

Of course, this Namco Bandai-published 3DS game, which will hit the streets of Japan on Nov. 22, didn't have a title at that time. Now it does. It also has a new and rather effervescent trailer that's packed full of so much weirdness it nearly makes my head spin.



For those of you wondering what this game may be called if it ever earns a European or even North American release (yeah, right), my podcasting pal Anne (aka apricotsushi) took the time to translate the Japanese title for me last night after I accosted her via Twitter. Her suggestion: Dangerous Grandpa and His 1,000 Wicked Friends.

Another possibility would be Grandpa Danger and His 1,000 Wicked Friends, considering that's the verbiage Viz Media has used for the North American version of the anime.

Regardless, the guy obviously has a lot of friends, and all of them seem to be wicked. Which may be why, according to the now-defunct andriasang. com, they're turned into post cards at the start of this game. (I know, I don't get it either. Although I guess that's why ol' gramps is constantly shown interacting with mailboxes in the trailer above?)

455 reasons next spring can't come soon enough

How can I include 455 reasons in a single blog post? By sharing the just-released 455-second trailer for Nintendo's Tobidase Dōbutsu no Mori (aka Animal Crossing: Jump Out) that can be seen below (and here).

Yes, I actually think every second of this trailer can be pointed to as a reason that spring 2013--which is when this 3DS title is supposed to appear on North American store shelves--should hurry up and arrive already.



My favorite moments of this particular trailer: The cherry blossoms at 1:45, the amazeballs space-themed room at 4:13, the blue fish at 6:13 and the twirling umbrella at 6:58.

Also, I have to say that I love how the grass seems to shimmer in this installment. A small detail, to be sure, but not an altogether insignificant one (in my opinion, at least).

(Via tinycartridge.com)

Hot for Professor

I came across the photo below--of a rather steamy Professor Layton--while perusing the Boy Culture blog's coverage of New York Comic Con 2012 the other day.

You're far from alone if a feeling of déjà vu washes over you while taking in said photo, by the way. Apparently the guy posing (literally) as the esteemed Hershel Layton has appeared as a shirtless, muscled version of every gamer's favorite professor at numerous conventions and related events over the last few years.

In related news, did you know that someone actually created "an aggregate tumblr for general Hawt Proffy [as in, Professor Layton] stuff"? Well, you do now--and you can find it at hotforprof.tumblr.com.

I just perused the first few pages of said tumblr (for research purposes only, I assure you) and I'm sad, er, I mean happy to report that none of the drawings, illustrations and other images that I came across were of the not-safe-for-work variety.

Attention Vita owners: Dokuro is now available for purchase via PSN

OK, so most of you probably don't own a Vita. And if you do, you likely already know that GungHo's 150-level puzzler-platformer Dokuro is hitting PSN today. Just in case any of you weren't aware of that fact, though, I thought I'd remind you.

Oh, and I also should remind you that this "two-dimensional Boxxle and ICO mixture with chalk graphics" title (according to NeoGAF user deimian86) will cost you just $19.99.

Here's a (Japanese) gameplay video of Dokuro--which is Japanese for "skull," basically--for those of you who've yet to see it in action:



If you just can't get enough of Dokuro, you may want to watch this video, too, which takes viewers through the game's Japanese demo. (Warning: The guy playing said demo is very annoying.)

Personally, if I owned a Vita I'd probably pick up the Japanese retail release of Dokuro, as I'm pretty fond of its box art, rather than the North American PSN version, but I'm weird like that.

See also: 'Surprise, surprise: The first (and only) Vita game that interests me is an odd, niche-y one'

Five things I dislike about THE 'DENPA' MEN

I've mentioned Genius Sonority's 3DS eShop RPG, THE "DENPA" MEN, quite a few times over the last few weeks and months, and pretty much every one of those mentions was the definition of positive.

In this post, however, I'm going to be a bit negative. Don't worry, "DENPA" MEN fans, I'm not going to rake the game over the proverbial coals. All I'm going to do is point out the few aspects of it that irk me ever so slightly, beginning with:

1. What do you mean I can't change the hero?--I get that the first "Denpa" man you capture becomes the "hero" of your particular playthrough. What I don't get is why you're never allowed to give the guy a rest. Surely he still could serve as the game's central character even if he's sent to the sidelines once in a while? Don't get me wrong: I like my so-called hero (his name's Rudolph) a lot. I just wish I could replace him with a different "Revive"-sporting "Denpa" man on occasion.

2. Every "Denpa" man for himself--I mean that literally in this case. After all, according to the people who made THE "DENPA" MEN, there's only one female character in this game--despite the fact that a number of them look like ladies. As someone who considers himself a bit of a feminist and who prefers to play as female characters in games, that disappoints me. Thankfully, it appears as though this problem has been rectified in the title's just-released-in-Japan sequel.

3. "Defend"? Who needs "Defend"?--I have a feeling one of the folks responsible for the development of THE "DENPA" MEN said something remarkably similar to the comment that kicks off this bullet point while working on the game. How else can you explain its total lack of a "Defend" option during battles? (Those of you who have yet to play this portable RPG: Please note that this is by far the least important of the complaints I'm sharing in this post.)