THE 'DENPA' MEN: My favorite 3DS game of 2012

Considering I have four current-ish systems (the 3DS, PSP, Xbox 360 and Wii), you could be forgiven for assuming I'd conjure up four "Favorite Games of 2012" posts and not just two.

The sad fact is, though, that I bought so few games for the PSP, Xbox 360 and Wii this past year that I feel it would be inappropriate for me to devote entire posts to those systems.

So, I'm devoting one to my favorite 3DS game of 2012 and one to my five favorite non-3DS games of the year.

As for the 3DS game I decided to honor in this particular post: What more can I say about it, really? I've written so many posts about it in the last few months that anything I say here is bound to be a rehash of something I mentioned at last once before.

Given that, may I direct you to my "somewhat gay" review of this innovative, Genius Sonority-made RPG?

Something that I don't believe I said outright in that review that I'd like to share now, though, is that I had more fun with this game than any other I've played this year--and that includes a lot of games (some of which were released for the 3DS, and some of which were not).

It's important to note that, I think, because it's still the most important aspect or attribute of any game I decide to play these days. Basically. Yes, sometimes I want to be intrigued or moved or scared, but most of the time I want to be entertained.

"Fun" and "entertaining" also are words I'd use to describe the game I consider to be my second-favorite 3DS release, by the way--with that game being Square Enix's superb Theatrhythm Final Fantasy.

Had THE "DENPA" MEN not made it to our shores this year, I surely would have shined the spotlight on this adroitly crafted rhythm title, which I found to be far more interesting and enjoyable (and difficult!) than I imagined it would be when it was first announced.

See also: Past 'favorite games of the year' posts

Five things I dislike about THE 'DENPA' MEN

I've mentioned Genius Sonority's 3DS eShop RPG, THE "DENPA" MEN, quite a few times over the last few weeks and months, and pretty much every one of those mentions was the definition of positive.

In this post, however, I'm going to be a bit negative. Don't worry, "DENPA" MEN fans, I'm not going to rake the game over the proverbial coals. All I'm going to do is point out the few aspects of it that irk me ever so slightly, beginning with:

1. What do you mean I can't change the hero?--I get that the first "Denpa" man you capture becomes the "hero" of your particular playthrough. What I don't get is why you're never allowed to give the guy a rest. Surely he still could serve as the game's central character even if he's sent to the sidelines once in a while? Don't get me wrong: I like my so-called hero (his name's Rudolph) a lot. I just wish I could replace him with a different "Revive"-sporting "Denpa" man on occasion.

2. Every "Denpa" man for himself--I mean that literally in this case. After all, according to the people who made THE "DENPA" MEN, there's only one female character in this game--despite the fact that a number of them look like ladies. As someone who considers himself a bit of a feminist and who prefers to play as female characters in games, that disappoints me. Thankfully, it appears as though this problem has been rectified in the title's just-released-in-Japan sequel.

3. "Defend"? Who needs "Defend"?--I have a feeling one of the folks responsible for the development of THE "DENPA" MEN said something remarkably similar to the comment that kicks off this bullet point while working on the game. How else can you explain its total lack of a "Defend" option during battles? (Those of you who have yet to play this portable RPG: Please note that this is by far the least important of the complaints I'm sharing in this post.)

A few more QR codes for THE 'DENPA' MEN fans

Silly aside (can you start a blog post with an aside?): My original headline for this series of posts was, "Show me yours and I'll show you mine."

So, why didn't I use it? I wanted as many people as possible to find these posts and not only add my favorite "Denpa" men and women to their parties but also share with me (and you) QR codes of their own fave characters, so I went with the more straightforward header you see above (and here).

Anyway, I've captured a few more cool-looking "Denpa" men since my last post on the subject, so I thought I'd share their QR codes here. Please share some of your own in the comments section below--especially if they're either swirly or cute.

This is Layton. He has sparkly eyes and a rainbow-colored antenna that (eventually) allows him to use "Laser Beam." That skill is pretty useful in one particular dungeon, which is why I'm sharing Layton's QR code here.

I'd like Tyler, above, even if his skill wasn't "Revive (All)." Being able to use "Revive (All)" sure helps, though! Anyway, I have to admit that I didn't find Tyler myself. I'm sharing him here, though, because he's one of the cuter "Revive (All)" characters I've discovered (on the Internet) thus far.

I can't imagine I'm ever going to use Ryder's "Great Weaken" ability, but I'm keeping him around because of his rosy cheeks and puckered mouth.

THE 'DENPA' MEN QR codes for all of you dreadfully shy types

Now that all of you who own 3DSes have purchased THE "DENPA" MEN from the eShop (ahem), and since you've all advanced to the point where you can scan QR codes (right?), I thought I'd share a few of the ones that were generated by my personal favorite "Denpa" men and women.

Please share photos of your own QR codes in the comments section of this post, if you're open to such things.

The name of this "Denpa" man is Aarav. His antenna produces "Mud Stream."

The "Denpa" man in the photo above is known as Leonidas, and his antenna provides him with the "Cyclone" skill. Whoosh!

Want to send waves of water at your enemies? Add pig-nosed Joshua (and his "Tidal Wave" skill) to your party.

Ten things I love about THE 'DENPA' MEN

Sorry, I can't help but use capital letters whenever I type THE "DENPA" MEN, kind of like how I can't help but use them when I type PINK x WHITE while discussing this just-released-in-Japan 3DS LL.

Anyway, who cares about that, right? You clicked on this post because you want to read about the 10 things I love about this Genius Sonority-made 3DS RPG.

Without further ado, then, here they are (in no particular order, mind you):

1. Gotta catch 'em all!--Who would've known that catching the so-called "Denpa" men would be so addicting? Not only that, but it's fun! Sure, you look like a complete idiot when you scan a public area for them, but that's easily forgotten as soon as you encounter a shiny, striped "Denpa" man (or woman) sporting a "heal (all)" antenna.

2. Such character--Call me crazy if you like, but I actually think these little "Denpa" dudes and dudettes (some of them are women, right?) are cuter than Nintendo's Miis. I love the wide variety of shapes, colors, faces and expressions. My current favorite: A blue-and-orange striped one with pink, heart-shaped glasses.

3. Show me your skills--Although it's true that the "Denpa" men and women have nothing on the cast of Final Fantasy V thanks to their extremely limited skill sets (each character learns just one skill), it doesn't much matter while tackling this eShop title. That's both because of the breadth of skills--such as "heal," "revive," "snowstorm" and "summer sun"--made available to players and because of the enormous size of THE "DENPA" MEN's parties. (More on that in a second.)

4. A new meaning to the phrase "giving head"--If you'd asked me before I played THE "DENPA" MEN for the first time if I'd prefer to hurl an avalanche of rocks at my opponents or slam into them using my characters' hard-as-granite noggins, I'd surely have gone with the former. Now that I've spent some quality time with the game, though, I can assure you the latter is far more exciting.

5. The more, the merrier--So, back to the enormous size of this game's parties: At them moment, my party is made up of eight "Denpa" men of various skills, shapes and sizes. Don't worry if that sounds more than a tad unwieldy; it isn't. Please note, by the way, that I'm seemingly only halfway through this portable adventure, so it's possible my party will get even bigger before all is said and done.

Get your iPads, iPhones and iPods ready, guys and gals: THE 'DENPA' MEN soundtrack is now available on iTunes

Any of you who follow me on Twitter likely already know that I'm enjoying the ever-loving hell out of Genius Sonority's THE "DENPA" MEN: They Came By Wave.

I'll be sharing some in-depth impressions of this 3DS eShop RPG in a post that will be published tomorrow morning, but in the meantime I thought some of you might like to know that the game's wonderfully jaunty soundtrack is now available via iTunes. ($9.99 for the whole she-bang--a whopping 32 tracks--or $.99 per song.)

All of the songs that appear on THE "DENPA" MEN's soundtrack were brought to life by Hitoshi Sakimoto and Basiscape, by the way. A sampling of Sakimoto's past efforts, in case some of you aren't up to snuff when it comes to this Kagoshima-born composer and arranger: Chip Chan Kick!, Final Fantasy Tactics, Muramasa: The Demon Blade, Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen, Radiant Silvergun and Vagrant Story.

Full disclosure: I likely won't be buying THE "DENPA" MEN soundtrack myself, but that's not because I think it's a stinker. Rather, I'm just not sure I'll spend much time listening to it--especially since I've already heard most of the songs over and over again while playing the game itself.

The 'Denpa' Men have arrived

Er, kind of.

What I should have said in the headline above is, "The demo of THE 'DENPA' MEN: They Came By Wave has arrived," as the full version of the game won't hit the North American 3DS eShop until next week (on Sept. 27, to be exact).



Sorry, Australian and European 3DS owners: This digital RPG, made by the able folks at Genius Sonority, has yet to receive a release date for your regions, as far as I'm aware.

Anyway, I just downloaded the demo and gave it the ol' college try. My impressions so far: I (surprisingly) like how you catch your 'Denpa men' (who then serve as your party members) using the 3DS' AR functionality, for starters. Also, I find the game's art style completely adorable. Oh, and Dragon Quest-esque battles are fun, too. (Although I wish I had more control over them--unless I'm missing something?)



Have any of you spent a bit of time with THE 'DENPA' MEN demo? If so, what do you think of it? Also, does it make you want to pick up the full game when it's released next week (with a $9.99 price tag attached to it, unfortunately)?

See also: 'I'm totally buying this 3DS eShop game on Sept. 27 despite its rather terrible name'

I'm totally buying this 3DS eShop game on Sept. 27 despite its rather terrible name

The game I'm talking about in the header above, by the way, is THE "DENPA" MEN: They Came By Wave.

As for why I'll be buying it despite its cringe-worthy name: It's the North American localization of Genius Sonority's Denpa Ningen RPG, a Japanese eShop release I've mentioned here on quite a few occasions.

Anyway, even if you've never read any of my drool-filled, Denpa Ningen RPG-focused posts, you'll probably want to check out the following trailer for THE "DENPA" MEN, as I think it looks pretty cool:



As mentioned in this post's headline, THE "DENPA" MEN will hit the North American eShop on Sept. 27. Oh, and it'll set you back $6.99.

See also: 'Who wouldn't want to play an RPG with characters who look part Teletubby, part Tingle, part Pikmin, part Mr. Driller and part Mii?'

My body's ready for the North American release of Denpa Ningen RPG

If the name Denpa Ningen RPG doesn't ring a bell, how about "that previously Japan-only eShop RPG that features characters who look part Teletubby, part Tingle, part Pikmin, part Mr. Driller and part Mii"?

Note how I described it as a "previously Japan-only" eShop RPG. That's because this wacky, Genius Sonority-developed title is on its way to the North American eShop, according to at least one source.



No word on when it'll arrive, but the same source suggests a Denpa Ningen RPG demo will hit the eShop in advance of the full game's release, so we're sure to get at least a bit of warning before we're forced to hand over our hard-earned dough.

Still not convinced that the announcement above constitutes good news? Check out this trailer for the Japanese version of the game.

Who wouldn't want to play an RPG with characters who look part Teletubby, part Tingle, part Pikmin, part Mr. Driller and part Mii?

I don't know why, but I find this soon-to-be-released (in Japan only, for the time being) eShop game's characters--which look as though they're part Teletubbies, part Tingle, part Pikmin, part Mr. Driller and part Mii (I know, that's a lot of parts)--oddly captivating.

Actually, I find its gameplay to be oddly captivating, too. According to andriasang.com, you begin the game by capturing the aforementioned critters (actually, they're "electric wave people") using your 3DS' camera and AR technology before tossing them into dungeons to battle baddies, collect treasure and, of course, rescue "an important person from the demon king." (To see all of the above in action, watch this trailer.)

Denpa Ningen RPG--which was made by the folks at Genius Sonority, whose previous credits include Dragon Quest Swords and Pokemon Coliseum--will hit the Japanese eShop on Feb. 8 carrying a price tag of ¥800 (about $10). Here's hoping it eventually finds its way onto the eShops of other regions, too.