Adorbs Hatoful Boyfriend plush, anyone?

Full disclosure: despite the interest I've shown in the Vita version of Hatoful Boyfriend both here and on The Nichiest Podcast Ever, I've yet to buy the damn game.

I'm going to do my best to buy it before the end of the year, though, so don't judge me too harshly, OK?

Anyway, despite the fact that I'm a horrible person for failing to jump aboard the Hatoful Boyfriend train (yet!), I'm still really interested in it.



Am I interested in it enough to support Erick Scarecrow's "Hatoful Boyfriend Official Plush Project!" on Kickstarter between now and when it wraps up on Dec. 5? I'm not sure.

I mean, the sample plushes that can be seen in the photos included in this post (and in the video featured on the project's Kickstarter page) are beyond adorable, but because I know next to nothing about the pigeons that inspired them, I'm having a hard time convincing myself to pull the trigger on a pledge of $16 or more.

How about you? Do any of you love this game's feathered cast of characters enough to hand over your hard-earned cash for a plush version of one or more of them?

Gunman Clive gallops onto the ... GameBoy?

To be perfectly honest, I think I would've preferred a Neo Geo Pocket Color or WonderSwan Color "demake" of Bertil Hörberg's Gunman Clive to the GameBoy-ified version that can be downloaded from gunmanclive.com, but don't take that as a complaint.

After all, even this pea-green-and-black recreation of the first Gunman Clive's first level is pretty darn awesome.

It was produced by Hörberg himself, by the way. Here's what he had to say about the effort on the site linked to above.



"I've always felt that it's basically a GameBoy game at its core. I emersed myself completely in the world of 8-bit assembler code, four-color tiles and monochromatic screens, and I enjoyed myself tremendously.

"But it ended up taking a lot more time and going a lot slower and than I anticipated. After over a month of intense development I finally have a presentable demo. There's a few more things I'd like to do with it, but I don't know if I can justify spending any more time on it."

I haven't yet tried it for myself, but apparently this ROM can be played using any "decent" GameBoy emulator or even on an actual piece of GameBoy, GameBoy Color or GameBoy Advance hardware--assuming you have access to a working flash cart.

Say hello to the cutest piece of Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer promo you'll ever see

Leave it to Nintendo to give us something we didn't know we needed or even wanted.

Granted, I'd prefer they give us an actual game that fit that bill, but considering they're busy prepping the NX system (or systems) for release, I think they can be forgiven.



Plus, the real-life pups seen in the latest trailer they created for Happy Home Designer are beyond adorable.

Speaking of that Animal Crossing spin-off, I've yet to even unwrap my copy of the game. Of course. How about all of you? Have any of you played it? If so, what do you think of it?

FYI: I'm quickly becoming obsessed with the GameCube

Granted, it's really damn easy to fall head over heels in love with Nintendo's fourth console thanks to the adorable form factor of its hardware. Also, the packaging of the system's Japanese games is beyond precious.

Speaking of which, the latter is what's prompted me to regain interest in the GameCube in recent weeks.

What do I mean? Well, after spending time with Mr. Driller: Drill Spirits last month,  I decided to get off my lazy butt and buy Mr. Driller: Drill Land as well.

In case you weren't aware, Drill Land's box art is pretty darn nice. Just as nice, though, is its overall package, which is a lot smaller and cuter than you might think (about the size of a Japanese GBA game box, although thinner). Plus, the little cardboard sleeve that covers and protects the plastic case beneath is a nice change of pace from the bulky DVD cases publishers have used since the PS2 hit the streets all those years ago.

Anyway, that single purchase spurred me to pick up a few more Japanese GameCube titles as well--all of which I'll of course chat about in future blog posts.

I'm also seriously considering finally picking up an "orange spice" Japanese GameCube system sometime in 2016. Not only have I wanted to own one for ages, but making it happen now (or soon) would allow me to play all of these recently acquired games in style, wouldn't you agree?

That may be just what I need to finally get behind this "failed" console. After all, I've hardly been its biggest fan over the years.

I don't know if I've ever shared this here, but I'm surprisingly inexperienced--given my overall love of Nintendo games and hardware--with the GameCube.

I waited a good couple of years before I bought one, and even then it was only because the console was $99 and because I felt a desperate need to experience the weird life sim, Animal Crossing, for myself. (The latter also was on sale at the time, thanks to it being one of the company's rare "Player's Choice" offerings.)

I purchased a few other GameCube titles afterward--The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Mario Power Tennis and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door among them--but once I was done with them, I moved on to other systems and rarely looked back. (Animal Crossing has been the one exception, naturally.)

So, this will effectively be my "second chance" with this sixth-generation console--and believe me, I intend to make the most of it.

What do all of you think of the GameCube, by the way? Do you like the system and its catalog of games, or is it a console that's never really done much for you?