A hearty holiday thank you to a reader who'd prefer to remain anonymous

Over the weekend, someone who has been following this blog for quite a while now surprised me by sending me a late birthday gift (his words, not mine) via The Gay Gamer's Facebook page.

Specifically, the rather shy reader in question gave me a Nintendo eShop card.

Such a gesture deserves public acknowledgement, don't you think? Well, I do, so I'm offering up a virtual shout-out to this anonymous follower courtesy of this post.

I've already spent a portion of the eShop card's balance, by the way. On what, you ask? On Kaz Ayabe's Attack of the Friday Monsters! A Tokyo Tale, which is on sale for just $5 at the moment.

I'm not entirely sure what I'll buy with the remainder. The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, perhaps? Or maybe Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney--Dual Destinies plus a couple of eShop-only titles I've had my eye on for a while now?

Feel free to chime in with any suggestions you may have in the comments section below. Also, thanks again, mysteriously benevolent reader!

This morning's Japanese Nintendo Direct sold me on Gyakuten Saiban 5 and Monster Hunter 4

And possibly Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate as well.

Honestly, I've been thinking of hopping onto the Monster Hunter train for a while now, so the admission that I'm strongly considering picking up 3U and 4 probably isn't much of a surprise.

My sudden interest in Gyakuten Saiban 5 (aka Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney--Dual Destinies) is a bit of a shock, though, as this long-running series barely registered on my radar in the past (despite its rather glowing reputation, I should add).

Here's the trailer that sold me on the game during this morning's Japanese Nintendo Direct (which can be viewed in its entirety here, by the way):



And here's the trailer that seemingly pushed me over the edge in regard to Monster Hunter 4:



Monster Hunter 4 will hit Japanese store shelves--as well as the virtual ones of that region's 3DS eShop--on Sept. 14, while Gyakuten Saiban 5 will be released there on July 25.

Are any of you planning to buy either or both of these 3DS titles if and when they leave Japan?

Six mouth-watering 3DS game trailers for your viewing pleasure

Although the Tokyo Game Show 2012 has been a bit of a dud (in my opinion, of course) as far as new game announcements are concerned, the event has been good for at least one thing: The release of a slew of awesome-looking 3DS game trailers, six of which can be viewed below.

Ace Attorney 5 (Capcom):



Bravely Default: Flying Fairy (Square Enix):



Fantasy Life (Level 5):