My favorite GameBoy photos (so far)

While prepping yesterday's post about the GameBoy's 25th anniversary, I spent some time wading through all of the photos I've taken of my GameBoy "acquisitions" over the last few years.

Although I think the shots I've snapped of, say, my DS, Game Gear and even WonderSwan games are more appealing (in general) than the ones I've snapped of my GameBoy titles, I like enough of the latter to share a smattering of them here--you know, so we can keep the GameBoy anniversary train rolling for at least a few more hours.

Dragon Quest Monsters: Terry's Wonderland

Kitchen Panic

Japanese Tetris box, cartridge and manual

Wario Land II + GameBoy Pocket

Balloon Kid cartridge and case

BurgerTime Deluxe's Japanese packaging

Top flap of Painter Momopie's box

Pokémon Red

If you'd like to see a couple (OK, a lot) more photos of GameBoy and other handheld carts and systems, head over to this Flickr album of mine at your earliest convenience.

12 import games I bought in 2012 but didn't tell you about until now: Dragon Quest Monsters (GameBoy Color)

I know what at least a few of you are thinking right now: "Wait a second ... you bought a copy of Dragon Quest Monsters: Terry's Wonderland even though you don't understand Japanese?"

Yes, I did. There's more to the story, though, than me stupidly spending money on a game that's surely going to force me to consult a guide or an FAQ should I want to get through it.

You see, I came across this particular copy--and its wonderfully colorful cover art--of the original Dragon Quest Monsters while perusing eBay on a quiet Sunday morning this past May.

(OK, so I don't remember if it was a Sunday morning or if it even happened in May, but it did happen sometime early this year.)

Anyway, it caught my attention because it was selling for just one cent (plus a few bucks for shipping). "That's interesting," I thought. So, I placed a bid for, you guessed it, a single cent--with no expectation that I'd actually "win" the auction at that price (or at any price, to tell you the truth).

Of course I did win it, although I'm not exactly sure what to do with it now that I own it. Oh, well, the cover art isn't nice, don't you think? Also, its instruction manual may be a good candidate for a future installment of "Manual Stimulation."

One last thing before I hit "publish": Two additional (and more intriguing, if you ask me) photos of this acquisition can be found on my Flickr photostream, should any of you be interested in such things.

See also: Previous '12 import games I bought in 2012 but didn't tell you about until now' posts

Let's Play: 'Which Box Art is Better?' (Dragon Quest Monsters: Terry's Wonderland edition)

This edition of "Which Box Art is Better?" is going to be a trip down memory lane. Or at least it will be for me. I'm guessing some of you (many of you?) have never even heard of the original Dragon Quest Monsters title, let alone played it.

Still, I'm going to devote a post to the game because, well, I like the box art that's been made for its many iterations.

Speaking of which, here's the art that appeared on the cover of the initial release of Dragon Quest Monsters: Terry's Wonderland (called Dragon Warrior Monsters in the States):

And here's the box art that was produced for the PlayStation remake, released in 2002, of the same game:

Finally, here's the art that will grace the cover of the soon-to-be-released--in Japan only, for the moment--3DS re-imagining of this portable, Pokémon-esque RPG:

As for which one I like best: Although I quite like the art that was conjured up for the latest iteration of this charming game, I think it's my least favorite of the bunch.

The cover of the GameBoy Color-based original is really nice, too, and I'd probably put it at the top of my list if the rainbow-hued illustration were a bit larger. As it is, though, I'm going to have to give that honor to the box art made for the PSone-centric Dragon Quest Monsters 1+2.

Now that I've had my say, what do all of you think?

See also: Previous 'Which Box Art is Better?' posts