Saturday, October 24, 2015

Help me come up with some recommendations for a new DS owner who prefers retro games

My friend Simon, who runs the lovely retro-focused game blog called Red Parsley, recently reached out to me to share the joyful news that he's now the proud owner of a Nintendo DS.

Unsurprisingly, he also asked if I could offer up a few DS game recommendations.

I did just that late last night. Specifically, I said he should consider picking up some or all of the following for various reasons I won't go into here:

9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors
Bangai-O Spirits
Big Bang Mini
Contact
Dragon Quest IX
Hotel Dusk
Kirby Canvas Curse
Mr. Driller: Drill Spirits
My World, My Way
Pac-Pix
Puzzle Bobble DS
Retro Game Challenge
Rhythm Heaven
Soul Bubbles
Taiko no Tatsujin DS
Tetris DS 
The World Ends with You
Yoshi Touch & Go

Although I have a feeling all (or at least some) of the games mentioned above could keep Simon and his new DS busy for a long time to come, I also think it couldn't hurt to send him a few more suggestions.

So, I'm asking all of you: which DS titles would you recommend to someone who is new to Nintendo's first dual-screened system and who tends to prefer games of the "old school" variety? 

Thursday, October 22, 2015

You've ogled The Legend of Legacy's lovely Japanese packaging, now ogle that 3DS game's North American packaging

Don't remember the fabulousness of The Legend of Legacy's Japanese packaging? Check out my blog post about it, which features photos of that release's case (interior and exterior), cartridge and folded-up "manual," as well as its soundtrack sleeve and CD.

As for the North American version's packaging, continue reading (or scrolling) to see how it compares to that of the Japanese original.


Admittedly, beyond its size, the North American iteration's outer box--above and below--isn't all that amazing.

That said, I quite like the illustration of the little cat-like character (do any of you know if he or she has a name?) that can be seen in the lower-right corner.


I'm also pretty fond of the random pieces of art that can be spotted on this box's sides and flaps, such the following example.



If you ask me, though, all of the above pales in comparison to the beauty that's showcased on the front and back sides of The Legend of Legacy's North American soundtrack sleeve.





Can anything top that bit of design work? I'd personally suggest--perhaps only meekly, though--that the game's main cover art achieves that goal, although I'd also understand anyone who opposes that line of thinking.



Some of those folks surely prefer the illustrations that grace the front and back covers of the art book that's packaged along with launch-window copies of the North American iteration of The Legend of Legacy.


That book's front cover can be ogled in the photo above, while the back cover can be ogled in the photo below.


Did any of you pick up the North American release of this SaGa-esque 3DS RPG? If so, what do you think about it so far--assuming you've played at least a smidge of it?

I've put about 18 hours into my copy of The Legend of Legacy so far, and I have to imagine I'll put in at least 18 more before I'm done with it.

Don't worry, I'll share some additional impressions of the game long before I reach that point, but in the meantime, I hope these snapshots will serve as a suitable stand-in.

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

We're nearly legal (aka The Nichiest Podcast Ever #17 is now available for your aural pleasure)

Are you the sort who likes to listen to silly people chat about video games during your free time? If so, you'll probably get a kick out of the latest installment of The Nichiest Podcast Ever.

What do Anne, Mollie and I blather on about this time around? A bunch of recently released and soon-to-be-released North American games, for starters, Also, a small handful of just-announced Japanese games.

Oh, and all of the above are niche-y as hell, of course.



We also spend a couple of minutes discussing our ever-embarrassing backlogs, with SaGa Frontier 2, We Love Katamari and The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D being a few of the games I singled out.

Finally, we pull out our favorite pom-poms and cheer on a trio of titles we think deserve a bit more attention. (Actually, my pick--the fabulously EarthBound-esque Undertale--has gotten a whole lot of love on line as of late, but I bring it up here anyway because I'm enjoying it so much.)

Sound scintillating? Point your Internet browser of choice to radio.morningproject.com--or search for "The Nichiest Podcast Ever" on iTunes, I guess--and have a blast.