Saturday, October 11, 2014

A very special delivery from the proprietor of the Japanese 3DS tumblog

A few months ago, Brian, the proprietor of Japanese3DS.com (seriously, start following it today if you aren't already doing so), asked me if I'd like a few free Japanese GameBoy cartridges. Apparently he won a lot--and by that I mean a collection or set, not "a bunch"--of such carts recently via an eBay auction and a handful of the titles that ended up making their way to him were duplicates.

I've never been one to turn down a free game or two--or 15, in this case--so I cheerfully informed Brian that I'd love to relieve him of said dupes. They arrived on my doorstep a few days ago, and of course I snapped some photos of them (a couple of which can be seen below).



The shot above is of the aforementioned GameBoy carts cosily encased in bubble wrap. That yellow cartridge in the middle is Donkey Kong Land--or Super Donkey Kong GB, as it's known in Japan.



A bunch of my favorites can be seen in the photo above--namely, Hoshi no Kirby 2 (Kirby's Dream Land 2), Tenjin Kaisen (Mercenary Force) and the Japanese version of Revenge of the 'Gator.



A closer look at that last title's colorful cart label can be seen above. The game is known as Pinball: 66 Hiki no Wani Daikoushin in its home region, by the way. No matter what it's called, though, it's a fun little HAL Laboratory-made romp--or at least that's been my experience with it so far.

I'll play the rest of Brian's offerings soon and then publish my impressions of them here. In the meantime, feel free to share your own thoughts on these titles in the comments section below.

16 comments:

Zaphod65 said...

i love Revenge of the Gator. It's always been one of my favorite Game Boy games. I have it on my 3DS XL and 2DS so I can play it either way. Always easy to bliss out with it when I need to pass some time.

thegaygamer.com said...

I can't believe I haven't played it until now, Terry. I mean, I've always loved pinball games, and this one is better than the usual examples of such games because it features adorable crocodiles (and adorable cover/cart art). Plus, it was made by the masters at HAL! Oh, well, at least I'm playing it now, right?

Zaphod65 said...

Thumbs up.

iamnotagoomba said...

I absolutely loved Revenge of the Gator Pinball back in the day! Zen Pinball isn't a patch in comparison!

thegaygamer.com said...

I'm starting to feel like the only GB owner in the world who hasn't played it, Brian! What's wrong with me? LOL :P

iamnotagoomba said...

I picked it up on Virtual Console too and can happily says it's not just nostalgia!

thegaygamer.com said...

Ah, that's good to know!

Justin Difazzio said...

It's nice to hear about good things happening on the Internet.

thegaygamer.com said...

I wholeheartedly agree, Justin :)

Chief said...

Very nice of him. I've been following him almost from the beginning of the blog. I wish someone would do that for the Vita since Japan is the only place making physical games for it.

Chief said...

(Raises hand slowly) I've never played it but, I've meant to add it to my collection. I can never find it.

thegaygamer.com said...

Ah, well, at least I'm not alone! Do you only look for games in local shops, Chief? I ask because I'm guessing you could find it on eBay, etc., if you really wanted it!

thegaygamer.com said...

Yes, it was *very* nice of him! I've been following him since the beginning, too. And, yes, it would be great if someone would do something similar for the Vita. I kind of doubt it will be Brian, though, as it sounds like he's busy enough with Japanese 3DS and work and life...

Chief said...

I search locally, ebay, Amazon, and have a few friends in Japan that I work out deals with. My problem is I'm being really selective :-p

thegaygamer.com said...

But even using all of those sources/avenues, you've yet to come across a copy of Revenge of the Gator that appeals to you?


Which version are you looking for, BTW, the NA version or the JP version? I ask because I've definitely seen nicely preserved, complete copies of the JP version on Yahoo Auctions Japan in the past...

Chief said...

I haven't found a price I'm willing to pay for a boxed copy.