The return of the PC Engine

Sadly, the header above doesn't refer to the return of NEC's PC Engine--quite possibly my all-time favorite console--to Japanese store shelves. Rather, it refers to the return of that system's relevance to my far-too-regular eBay excursions.

That's noteworthy because it's been many months since I last purchased a PC Engine game. In fact, I can't remember the last one I bought. Is it possible that it was Gokuraku! Chuka Taisen (read about it here), which I picked up last November? I think it is.

Anyway, that's neither here nor there, is it? Much more relevant to this particular discussion is the pair of PC Engine games I acquired a few weeks ago: Naxat Soft's Star Mobile and NEC Avenue's Splash Lake, both of which can be seen in the photos below.

Star Mobile, a CD-ROM2 game originally released in 1992, has intrigued me for ages thanks to the fact that it's a Zodiac-themed puzzle game that challenges players to stack stars of different weights on a gilded scale without dumping them into the intergalactic void.



Splash Lake, on the other hand, is an action-puzzler that puts players in the shoes of a legless ostrich (wait a second...) that's tasked with destroying various bridge planks--by pecking them--and sending each stage's baddies into the titular body of water.

I actually owned the North American version of this game, which hit the streets in Japan in 1991 and jumped the pond a year later, way back when, but I stupidly sold it along with the rest of my TurboGrafx-16 collection so I could buy a Japanese Sega Saturn at launch.



I really like the simple-but-cute label that's affixed to Splash Lake's CD, by the way. You can see it in the not-so-stellar photo above, or you can see an appealingly clear scan of it here.

Splash Lake's instruction manual is pretty nice, too--not to mention short--so look for a "Manual Stimulation" post devoted to it to be published sooner rather than later.

Just to make this blog even more (temporarily) Animal Crossing-centric ...

Hey, at least this post isn't related to Animal Crossing: New Leaf, right?

As for what you're seeing in the photos below: it's my recently acquired copy of the game that started it all, Dōbutsu no Mori (which basically translates to Animal Forest).

As I'm sure most of you are already aware, Dōbutsu no Mori was released for the Japanese Nintendo 64 all the way back in early 2001. Sadly, that was right before the GameCube hit the market, so Nintendo never released it elsewhere.

I've wanted to own a copy of it for ages, but various things kept me from snagging one until a few weeks ago, which when I spotted the rather beautiful specimen seen in the snapshots below.

The photo above shows off the front cover of Dōbutsu no Mori's box, of course. I love how it looks like a shipped package, or maybe a postcard. Also, it features K.K. Slider, which always is a good thing.

This photo (above) showcases the back of Dōbutsu no Mori's box--which, admittedly, is quite a bit less thrilling than the front. Still, I thought some of you might like to see it.

Next up is the cover of the game's instruction manual, which features one of my favorite pieces of Animal Crossing-related imagery. For some dumb reason I didn't take any photos of the manual's interior. Oh, well, I guess that means I'll have to type up another "Manual Stimulation" post soon.

Guess what the mailman just delivered? (Hint: it's a Japanese 3DS game and its title begins with 'Sayonara' and ends with 'Kawase')

Oh, and stuck between those words is "Umihara."

Still scratching your head? No worries--the delivery I'm talking about in the header above is the copy of Sayonara Umihara Kawase I ordered (from AmiAmi) a few months ago.

Actually, the delivery included a copy of the game--the long-awaited 3DS-based follow-up to Umihara Kawase (released for the Super Famicom back in 1994) and Umihara Kawase Shun (first released three years later for the PlayStation)--as well as the game's original soundtrack.

Speaking of which, the photo below showcases both the game's and the soundtrack's cover art (although I guess it does a better job of showcasing the latter's).

Thankfully, I snapped a few close-up shots of the game's cover art, too. One example can be seen below.

I took a photo of the back of Sayonara Umihara Kawase's case, too, just in case any of you are curious about it.



Oh, and here's a shot of the back of the soundtrack's case:



Not impressed? How about the following one, which shows off the interior of the soundtrack's case as well as its CD?

Finally, I know the photo below--of Sayonara Umihara Kawase's cartridge--isn't the best, but I decided to use it anyway because it's hardly the most thrilling example of 3DS cart-label art.

Something I didn't capture with my trusty digital camera: this game's instruction manual--or, rather, its "instruction pamphlet" (if it can even be called that).

Don't fret if  you were hoping to get a glimpse of that here, though, as I'm planning to highlight it in a post that'll be published tomorrow morning.

See also: 'Manual Stimulation: Umihara Kawase Shun (PlayStation)'

Say hello to my copy of Nazo Puyo: Arle no Roux (aka a Japanese Game Gear puzzler I won't be playing anytime soon)

For once, I'm not saying that I won't be playing (insert name of random Japanese game here) anytime soon because I don't yet own the system needed to play it. That's because I recently bought a used--"thoroughly used" may be a better way to describe it, sadly--Game Gear from a local shop for just 30 big ones.

So what's keeping me from popping the Nazo Puyo: Arle no Roux cartridge seen in one of the photos below into my newly acquired Game Gear and taking it for a spin?

Animal Crossing: New Leaf, of course. Seriously, the latest iteration of Nintendo's world-conquering "community simulation" has taken over my gaming life--actually, it could be argued that it's taken over my non-gaming life, too--to the extent that the only other title I'm considering playing at the moment is THE "DENPA" MEN 2, and even that's only getting a passing glance from me at the moment.

At some point, though, this whole Animal Crossing: New Leaf front that's clouding up my gaming skies will pass, and when it does Nazo Puyo: Arle no Roux will be there waiting to be enjoyed.

In the meantime, I thought I'd share a few photos of this weird little Puyo Puyo spin-off, which is based on the "puzzle" modes that were included in some of the series' earlier installations.

An interesting note about this particular Nazo Puyo title (two others were released for the Game Gear prior to this one): it includes an RPG-ish mode that's akin to the ones found in Arle no Roux's Super Famicom-based counterparts.



Also worth mentioning: Arle no Roux has a short, but sweet, instruction manual that features a number of completely adorable illustrations (such as the one in the photo above).

Don't worry, I plan on devoting a "Manual Stimulation" post to this sucker soon. Until then, though, you'll just have to imagine how cute Arle and her puzzle-loving compadres look while inhaling copious amounts of curry.

Acquisition Time with The Gay Gamer™: Pizza Pop! (Famicom)

No one's ever accused me of having an altogether level head with it comes to buying games--especially Japanese ones from the 8-, 16- or 32-bit eras.

Case in point: the recent-ish pick-up seen in the following photos.

The pick-up in question is Jaleco's Pizza Pop! for the Famicom, of course. While most people consider this side-scrolling platformer to be of questionable quality (at best), it's always held a special place in my heart.

Why? I'm not entirely sure. Yes, I like its "totally '80s" graphics, and I'm also pretty darn fond of its colorfully cartoonish packaging, but I'm not sure that tells the whole story.

Regardless, I like the game quite a bit--which is why I nabbed this particular copy as soon as I came across it on ebay a few months ago.

I've only popped it into my lusciously red Twin Famicom once since then--mainly so I could make sure it's in full working order--but I'll return to it sooner rather than later, there's no question about that.

In the meantime, I invite you to take in the photos published throughout this post and the walkthrough video that can be found here.

The photo below highlights a particularly interesting part of this game's box, by the way--specifically, the advertisement that appears on its top "flap."

Have any of you played Pizza Pop! before--either using a real cartridge and Famicom or via emulation? If so, what did you think of it?

See also: previous posts about the Famicom

Acquisition Time with The Gay Gamer™: Umihara Kawase Shun (PlayStation)

So, you know how I told you a few weeks back that I bought a bunch of (mostly retro) Japanese games via eBay shortly after Christmas? Well, the game you see below was part of that mighty haul.

You're all well aware of Umihara Kawase Shun, right? Especially after reading last week's "Which Box Art is Better" post? If not, all you really need to know about it is that it's the sequel to a two-dimensional Super Famicom-based platformer that stars a girl with a pink backpack and a fishing pole.

Oh, and that girl, the titular Umihara Kawase, uses the latter accessory to grapple onto ledges and even swing from them, Bionic Commando-style.

It's all rather awesome, of course, which is why I've been meaning to pick it up for ages. The only thing that's kept me from doing so until recently: the prices copies tend to fetch on line (generally upwards of $50, although copies of the "Second Edition" can go for a lot more).



The copy you see in the photos above and below, though, was quite a bit cheaper than average, though, so naturally I snapped it up as soon as I was able.

With that out of the way, Umihara Kawase Shun's cover art is pretty great, don't you think? I especially like that its watercolor-esque sheen. The back page of the game's manual (above) is nice, too, with the plucky protagonist using her trusty fishing pole to swing from her own name.

Last, but not least, there's the actual game disc (below), which displays a subtle attractiveness not unlike that of the aforementioned cover art.



If after reading what I've written here you'd like to learn a bit more about the Umihara Kawase series (and you should), I'd highly recommend reading its Hardcore Gaming 101 entry and watching this (translated) episode of GameCenter CX at your earliest convenience.

Note: I recently decided to change the title of this series of posts from "Acquisition #123" to "Acquisition Time with The Gay Gamer™" because, well, I've worried for a while now that the original name could be considered kind of off-putting. The replacement was inspired by the "Adventure Time" TV series, by the way, and the ™ was tossed into the mix because everything looks more professional with a ™ symbol attached to it.

Acquisition #150: Ore no Ryouri (PlayStation)

True story: I've been a bit obsessed with this PlayStation-based cooking game since I first heard about it shortly after its Japanese release in 1999.

Despite my interest in it, though, I've yet to play it. Oh, I've attempted to play it via emulation a few times in the past, but for whatever reason none of the PlayStation emulators I've used recognize my controller's analog sticks--which are required to play Ore no Ryouri's Order Up!-esque, restaurant-based mini-games.

Given the above, you might find it strange that I recently decided to pick up a complete-in-case copy of this Japan-only game--a number of photos of which can be seen below.



The fact is, I've been thinking of buying either a Japanese PSone or PS2 system for ages, so picking up a copy of Ore no Ryouri--especially a rather cheap one--didn't seem all that weird to me.

In the meantime, I guess I'll just have to busy myself by taking in the beauty that is Ore no Ryouri's disc label (above), which makes the CD appear as if it's a bowl of delicious ramen.



Just as cool, in my opinion, is the image that sits behind the disc tray--which looks like a bowl of ramen that's (nearly) been wiped clean.

Although I won't be able to share my impressions of Ore no Ryouri for at least a short while, interested parties can go to the Twin Dreams blog to read more about it in the interim.

See also: previous 'Acquisition #123' posts

Don't worry, Luigi, I'll get to Dark Moon eventually

Do you ever pre-order a game and then forget about it? I do.

Not often, mind you, but every once in a while the release date of a game--even one I've been looking forward to for some time--catches me off guard.

Such has been the case with Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon for the 3DS. I knew it was going to hit store shelves across North America this spring, but until Newegg sent me an e-mail last week saying my order had been shipped, I hadn't realized its release was so near.



As I'm sure you've already assumed based on the photo above, my copy of Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon arrived yesterday. Although I've freed it from its cellophane wrapper, I only did so because I know I'll get around to playing it sooner rather than later.

Don't expect "soon" to arrive, say, next week, though, as there's no way I'm popping this cartridge into my 3DS until I beat both EarthBound and Fire Emblem: Awakening (my current gaming obsessions).

In the meantime, are any of you playing through Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon? If so, what do you think of it so far?

Acquisition #149: Binary Land (Famicom)

Full disclosure: I went on a bit of an eBay binge shortly after the holidays and ended up buying a bunch of Famicom, GameBoy Advance, PlayStation and even PSP games.

The game seen in the photos below--Hudson Soft's Binary Land for the Famicom--was one of the aforementioned pick-ups.

I know a good number of you won't believe me, but I didn't buy this one because of its overt pinkness. In fact, it's one of my favorite Famicom games (here's a video of its first stage), and the only reason it took me so long to add it to my collection is that complete-in-box copies of this unique, arcade-y title don't seem to pop up on eBay all that often.



Sure, this copy's box is kind of banged up, but I don't mind. Actually, I like that its previous owners showed it some love.

Here's a better look at the game's awesome box art, by the way:



It's hard to hate on a game that features a pair of adorably pastel penguins, isn't it? It's also hard to hate on a game that has a logo made up of a number of hearts.

Or at least it's hard for me to hate on a game that meets such criteria.



Going back a bit to my comment about the love this copy of Binary Land was shown by its previous owner(s): as you can see in the photo above, the back of its box features a smidge of handwriting. I don't suppose any of you can suss out what it says?

Regardless, expect to see a number of "Acquisition #123" posts in the coming weeks that focus on the remainder of my recent eBay haul.

See also: previous 'Acquisition #123' posts

I can't decide if I should hug my mailman or hit him

I say that because the pair of games seen in the following photo found their way into my mailbox over the weekend--and we all know I need more games like I need another migraine.

Just in case any of your eyes are as terrible as mine are, the games in question are Etrian Odyssey IV for the 3DS and the first  Touch Detective for the DS.

You may notice they're both still wrapped in plastic. That's because I know I'm not going to be able to play them for a while (thanks to EarthBound and Fire Emblem: Awakening).

I bought Touch Detective a few weeks back, by the way, in order to make the wait for my copy of the 3DS-based puzzler Osawari Tantei Nameko Daihanshoku (aka Touch Detective: Funghi's Big Breed) more bearable.

Little did I know it would make its way to my doorstep yesterday. (I assumed it wouldn't arrive until later in the month.)

You probably can't tell by looking at the photo above, but I actually opened Osawari Tantei Nameko Daihanshoku--mainly so I could check out its manual and see if it came with the adorable set of stickers I'd seen elsewhere.

Unfortunately, although the stickers are present, I'm not sure I can say the same for the manual. Sure, there's a piece of folded paper in there that explains the basics of the game, it's pretty disappointing when compared with the beauties that used to qualify as "instruction manuals."

Oh, well, I'm still happy I bought Osawari Tantei Nameko Daihanshoku and I'm very much looking forward to sinking my teeth into it soon.

Acquisition #148: Mr. Driller (WonderSwan Color)

Will the copy of Mr. Driller seen in photo below be the last WonderSwan game I ever buy? I highly doubt it. I'm hoping, though, that it'll be the last one I buy until I (finally) pick up a SwanCrystal system.

As for why I bought it: I had three reasons, although none of them could be called good ones. First, it was cheap. Second, I thought it would be a nice on-the-go game to own. Third, I liked its box art--which, if you look closely, has a fabric-like texture to it that's pretty cool.



The cartridge label (below) is rather nice, too, although I obviously didn't know that until it landed on our doorstep.



Anyway, hopefully I'll be able to put it and all of my other recently-ish acquired WonderSwan titles through their paces sooner rather than later. In the meantime, maybe I'll devote an upcoming "Manual Stimulation" post to this game's instruction booklet (assuming it's actually worthy of such attention, of course).

See also: Previous 'Acquisition #123' posts

Hello, Fire Emblem: Awakening; goodbye, holiday weekend

Guess what our pipe-smoking, shorts-wearing (even in winter) mailman plopped onto our doorstep the other morning? If you guessed a brand new copy of Fire Emblem: Awakening for the 3DS, pat yourself on the back. Don't let your head get too big, though--after all, I basically spoiled the surprise in the headline above.

Anyway, the game's cover art (below) is pretty nifty, don't you think? In person it looks even nicer than it does in the photo below, actually, as the gray/silver background has an appealing shimmer to it.

Fire Emblem: Awakening's cart art is similarly noteworthy thanks to the pixelated reworkings of what I'm guessing are the game's main characters. Yes, I just admitted that I know next-to-nothing about this title at the moment.

Why did I buy it if I know little about it (and if I've never before played a Fire Emblem game)? Because I really liked the looks of the battle scenes that were shown off when it was first announced.

Also, I've long been a fan of tactical RPGs, and this is supposed to be one of the best, so the question really should be: how could I not buy it?

As of now, I've yet to even stick the Fire Emblem: Awakening cartridge into my trusty pink-and-white 3DS XL, but that's only because I'm completely obsessed with Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime right now. (More on that tomorrow or Monday.)

I promise to tear myself away from Rocket Slime sometime today (or maybe tomorrow), though, so expect to hear me gushing--either here or on Twitter--about my experience with Fire Emblem: Awakening shortly. In the meantime, are any of you playing it? If so, what do you think of it so far?

Additional evidence that blogger Anne Lee is an awesome gal

Is there anything better than a free game? OK, yes, of course there is--I just thought of a bunch of examples, in fact, some of which could be shared here and some of which couldn't.

When it comes to the hobby sometimes known as gaming, though, can you think of anything better than obtaining a piece of software for the lower-than-low price of nothing?

Granted, acquiring a bad game for free isn't as exciting as acquiring a good one for the same price (or lack thereof), but I think even that can be pretty cool.

I bring all of this up because I recently got my greedy hands on a free copy of the DS version of Puyo Puyo!! 20th Anniversary (it's also been released--in Japan--for the 3DS, PSP and Wii) thanks to my blogging and podcasting pal, Anne Lee (aka apricotsushi).

You see, over the holidays, Anne held a giveaway on her blog, Chic Pixel, and I ended up winning the above-mentioned copy of Puyo Puyo!! 20th Anniversary--which finally arrived on my doorstep just a few days ago. (Hey, give it a break; it had to come all the way from Australia.)

Because all of my attention is focused on completing, or getting as close as possible to the end credits of, Chulip, I have yet to spend any time with ol' Puyo Puyo.

I promise to give it some time in my DS (or maybe 3DS) soon, though, and after I do that I'll force myself to sit down at my computer and hammer out a blog post about my initial impressions of it.

Once again I've been taken in by sexy box art

I guess I should have called this post "Acquisition #147: Contact (DS)," and you certainly can think of it that way if you so desire, but I decided to go with the header seen above because, well, I think the truth of the matter is more interesting than saying, "Guess what? I just bought the Euro version of Contact!"

As for why I bought the Euro version of this Grasshopper Manufacture-made title: that would be because of its awesome cover art, which can be seen in the first and third photos below.



It could go without saying, I'm sure, that I love the adorable little Mother-esque sprites that populate the front of Contact's Euro packaging. I'm also pretty darn fond of its retro-tastic logo, though, which I think gives off an appealingly '70s vibe.



The cart art (above) isn't bad either, although I'd like it a lot more if it featured fewer logos.



Unfortunately, I have yet to stick this cart into my DS, so I can't tell you if I think the game itself lives up to the promise of its box art.

Have any of you played Contact? If so, what did you think of it?

See also: Previous 'Acquisition #123' posts

Acquisition #147: Style Savvy: Trendsetters (3DS)

Considering this a warning: I'm going to be featuring quite a few 3DS games in posts like this one in the coming weeks and months. That's not to say I'm only going to write about 3DS "acquisitions" between now and the end of the year, mind you, but I am going to write about a good number of them in that timespan.

With that said, let's focus on this one. It is, after all, a game I've been looking forward to play for some time.

So, was Style Savvy: Trendsetters worth the wait? Very much so. Granted, I've only played it for about six hours so far, but I've enjoyed those six hours a lot more than I imagined I would before I obtained this syn Sophia-made title.



As for why that is: Well, I really like its "throw together an appropriate outfit for each customer" gameplay, for starters. There's also a rather meaty store-management aspect to Style Savvy: Trendsetters, though, that adds another dimension to the proceedings.

Wrap all of that in an attractive-enough art style and you've got yourself a portable title that offers players an enjoyably unique gaming experience--or at least that's what it's offered me so far.

I know that's a pretty general description for a game that's about more than simply playing dress-up, but that's all I can offer at the moment due to having played it for only a few hours. I'll continue working my way through it, though, and I'll do my best to share some more in-depth impressions (as well as a full-on review) sooner rather than later.

See also: Previous 'Acquisition #123' posts

Acquisition #146: Otocky (Famicom Disk System)

My initial idea was to begin this post by saying, "I have no idea why I recently bought this game." I thought that because, truth be told, although I own a rather wonderful Twin Famicom system--a cherry red one; here's a photo of it, and here's another--I rarely play it or the many cartridges and disks I've acquired for it thus far. (Yes, that means I tend to play said games via emulation these days.)

As such, picking up yet another Famicom game--especially a disk system one, as I play them even less than their cart-based counterparts--seemed to me to be a waste of money at best.

So, why'd I go through with this particular purchase? Well, beyond the fact that this game--ASCII's Otocky, which was released in Japan in 1987--is completely awesome, I went through with it because I'd never before seen a complete-in-box copy of it for sale and I was worried I'd never come across one again.

Before I move on to some of the photos I snapped of this acquisition, I probably should share a detail or two about Otocky with those of you who've never heard of it. The main thing you should know: It was conceived and designed by the great Toshio Iwai, who later made Electroplankton for the Nintendo DS.

Otocky is every bit as experimental as the aforementioned DS game, although I personally find this one--which conceals its musical aspects within the confines of a side-scrolling shmup--to be both more accessible and more fun. (To catch a glimpse of the game in action, check out this gameplay video.)

With all of that background information out of the way, let's get to what most of you likely clicked on this post to see: Otocky's packaging. Here's the front of the game's box:



And here's the back of its box:



The game's box is larger than most Famicom games, by the way. In fact, I'd say it's nearly the size of a PC game box. Why? Don't worry, I'll get to that in a second.



The photo above shows off the case that contains the Otocky disk. Sure, the art is the same as what was used on the game's outer packaging, but it's so cute and colorful I'm not going to complain.



So, here we get to the reason for the outer box's girth: Otocky's manual. If someone were to tell me that it's the largest instruction manual to be included with a Famicom game, I wouldn't bat an eye. Not only is it large in terms of dimensions, but it's also large in terms of number of pages. It's 72 pages long!



Thankfully, it's not simply 72 pages of text. In fact, it includes a number of completely adorable illustrations--one of which can be see above, and one of which can be seen below--that are nearly worth the price of admission all on their own, in my opinion.



I also really like the pages shown in the photo below, which shine a light on a few of Otocky's enemies.



If you somehow haven't gotten your fill of Otocky information in this post, head on over to my Flickr photostream to see a few more photos of its outer packaging and its disk.

See also: Previous 'Acquisition #123' posts

Acquisition #145: Art Academy: Lessons for Everyone (3DS)

Two weeks ago, I mentioned (in this post) that I'm eagerly looking forward to a number of 3DS games that will be released in North America before the end of the year.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star is just one of those titles, of course. A few of the others: Crosswords Plus (which hit the streets on Oct. 1, actually), Freakyforms Deluxe (due out on Nov. 5) and even Style Savvy: Trendsetters (Oct. 22).

Oh, and let's not forget Art Academy: Lessons for Everyone, which also arrived on North American store shelves on Oct. 1, interestingly enough.

Did I pick up the copy seen in the photos shared here on day one? Actually, I would have, if I could have found one in any of the stores near my home. Since I couldn't, I ordered a copy from Amazon instead.

As is far too often the case these days, I've yet to put through Art Academy: Lessons for Everyone through its paces--although that has nothing to do with any kind of lack of interest in it on my part. Rather, I've just been too busy with other things (work, mainly) to pop it into my 3DS.

I promise to give it a go soon, though, and as soon as I do I'll share a few impressions (or maybe even a full-blown "Great Gaymathon" review) here.

See also: Previous 'Acquisition #123' posts

Acquisition #144: The Berlin Wall (Game Gear)

Considering my last two "Acquisition #123" posts focused on Japanese Game Gear titles, it probably didn't shock many of you to see that this post will focus on one, too.

Specifically, this entry in the "Acquisition #123" series will focus on Kaneko's The Berlin Wall, a rather adorable Bubble Bobble/Fairyland Story clone that hit the streets of Japan in 1991.

Although the game began life in the arcades, Kaneko's crack team of programmers did an admirable job of downsizing and squeezing it onto a comparably tiny Game Gear cartridge. In fact, I actually prefer the cuter, simpler looks of this portable port to its quarter-munching cousin.

Unfortunately, I've yet to actually give this cart a test drive, so to speak, as I still don't own a Game Gear. (I'm waiting for a particular UK-based eBay vendor to offer another refurbished, banana-yellow Game Gear system for sale before adding one to my collection.)

I've played and enjoyed this hammer-centric single-screen platformer (which, to tell you the truth, has as much in common with Brøderbund's Lode Runner as it does Bubble Bobble and its boppy, bouncy ilk) enough via emulation, though, to know that I'll continue to have an absolute blast with it as soon as I finally get my hands on one of Sega's brick-sized handhelds.

In the meantime, I guess I'll just have to stare at its package (that's what she said) and its similarly, er, "stimulating"--not to mention adorable--instruction manual.

Speaking of the former, I've just uploaded a number of additional photos of both the front and back of The Berlin Wall's box to my Flickr photostream, so please check them out if that's your kind of thing. (I also uploaded a bunch of shots of Banana's, Ganbare Gorby's and Magical Puzzle Popils' packaging, in case any of you are interested.)

See also: 'Another Bubble Bobble/Fairyland Story clone approaches'