10 Wii U games I'd like to play in 2013

One thing to keep in mind while reading through the following list: It's possible I won't even buy a Wii U system until late next year, so expecting me to buy and play all of the Wii U games mentioned below between now and the dawn of 2014 may be a bit much.

Still, I consider myself to be a pretty positive person--when it comes to gaming, at least--so I'm hopeful that I'll get to play at least a handful of these 10 titles before 2013 is over.

1. Bayonetta 2--Although I've thus far avoided experiencing the first Bayonetta, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't at least a little excited about its Wii U-based sequel. Don't worry, I'm planning to check out the Xbox 360 version of the original before the much-ballyhooed follow-up winds up on North American store shelves.

2. Dragon Quest X--Of all the Wii U games included in this post, this is the only one that has yet to earn an official North American release announcement. Interestingly, should the Wii U version of Dragon Quest X arrive on our shores before next Christmas (which is when I'm expecting it to be released--if at all), it may prompt me to pick up Nintendo's latest console earlier than I had planned. That's how much I want to play it.

3. New Super Mario Bros. U--Strange, but true: Apparently I'm only interested in the New Super Mario Bros. titles that are made for Nintendo's consoles. After all, I was bored to tears by the DS-based original, and I've yet to even try its just-released-for-the-3DS sequel. New Super Mario Bros. U, though, earned a spot on my "to buy" list the minute I laid eyes on it. In fact, I expect it to be the first Wii U game I pick up (unless, of course, I buy the "Deluxe Set").

4. Nintendo Land--As I believe I've said before, I'm going to get Nintendo Land simply because of "Balloon Trip Breeze." I'm also pretty interested in "Animal Crossing: Sweet Day" and "Luigi's Ghost Mansion" and "Metroid Blast," though, so it's not like I'll be blowing my hard-earned dough on a single, bite-sized mini-game.

5. Pikmin 3--This game would be on my Wii U wish list even if I hadn't seen screenshots and videos of it before now. Is it going to be the earth-shattering, made-for-the-Wii-U-from-the-ground-up sequel that some die-hard fans had hoped it would be? Probably not, but that doesn't mean it isn't going to be a ton of fun.

A few thoughts on yesterday morning's trio of Nintendo Direct broadcasts

As some (most?) of you likely are aware, Nintendo's European, Japanese and North American arms all broadcasted Nintendo Direct presentations yesterday morning.

Since I took the time to watch both the Japanese and North American ones (I didn't watch the European Nintendo Direct because I was pretty sure it would ape its North American counterpart--which it apparently did), I thought I'd share a few thoughts on them here.

Nintendo of Japan's Nintendo Direct--My only thought about this one, which focused on Wii U software and mostly covered well-worn ground: Damn, Pikmin 3 looks good. Amazing, even. Oh, and: Square Enix (or Nintendo, or both) better bring Dragon Quest X to our shores. Wait, one more: They're not really going to try to sell Wii U Panorama View, are they?

Nintendo of America's Nintendo Direct--Oh, another look at Pikmin 3. Unsurprisingly, it still looks amazing. I especially like the looks of the segment that appears to take place on a beach at night. Also: Wii Fit U to be released in early 2013? Sounds good to me. Hearing that Luigi's Manion: Dark Moon won't make it out until "spring 2013" sounds, er, less good. Is it really that difficult to give this game a specific release date, Nintendo of America? Still, we were told that Fire Emblem: Awakening will hit the streets on Feb. 4 and that Game Freak's fabulous-looking HarmoKnight (above) will hit the eShop sometime during the first quarter, so this Nintendo Direct wasn't completely disappointing.

Nintendo of Europe's Nintendo Direct--You may have noticed that the blurb above didn't include even a passing mention of Animal Crossing: New Leaf (which may just be my most-anticipated game of 2013 at the moment). Well, that's because neither Reggie nor the other Nintendo of America staffers featured in that presentation bothered to bring it up. Thankfully, it sounds as though it was discussed, at least briefly, during Nintendo of Europe's broadcast--although the word is it was given a "Q2 2013" release window, which means April, May or June. Where's that "Debbie Downer" sound clip when you need it?

What did all of you think of the information and footage that came out of these broadcasts? Were you pleased? Disappointed? Or maybe you felt an entirely different emotion after watching them?

Raise your hand if you picked up a Wii U yesterday

To those of you with hands raised: Which bundle did you buy? And which games did you pick up alongside your shiny new console?

Sadly, I won't be adding the Wii U to my collection until sometime in 2013. In fact, I may wait until this time next year to purchase Nintendo's new system--although I could be swayed by, say, a summer release of a localized Dragon Quest X.



Oh, who am I kidding? It's more than likely that the five-punch combo of New Super Mario Bros. U, Nintendo Land, Pikmin 3, Wii Fit U and The Wonderful 101 will push me to pick up the darn thing before next autumn, but I'm going to do my best to hold out until then (mainly because of the ton of awesome 3DS games that are set to be released throughout 2013).

Still, I'd love to hear what those of you who decided to buy a Wii U on launch day think of it and its games, so please share your stories, opinions and more in the comments section of this post.

Five favorites: Japanese Wii box art

Since I'm feeling kind of nostalgic when it comes to the Wii--and the DS, too--right now, I thought I'd work up a few posts dedicated to my favorite pieces of box art created for Nintendo's "seventh generation" systems.

This one focuses on box art that was created for the Wii, of course. Note that I'm only covering Japanese box art in this particular post. I may publish a similar post in the future that focuses on, say, North American Wii box art, this one is limited to box art made for game-buyers in the Land of the Rising Sun.

1. Dragon Quest X--Say what you will about Dragon Quest X the game, but it's hard to knock its cover art, don't you think? Not only is it wonderfully colorful, but it's filled to the brim with characters and other details. I'm especially fond of the grinning Puklipo who seems to be doing a backflip on the right edge of the illustration, by the way.

2. Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon--Given my love of post-apocalyptic novels and movies, I find it kind of astonishing that I've yet to pick up a copy of this Tri-Crescendo-developed title. Granted, it received fairly poor reviews, so that probably had something to do with it. Regardless, the Japanese release featured one of the best pieces of box art this "era," in my humble opinion. Had the folks at Xseed Games (Fragile Dreams' North American publisher) used that image rather than the one that ended up on store shelves I likely would have purchased it the day it was released.

I think I'm going to have to get a second job

Last night's trifecta of "Nintendo Direct" broadcasts nearly brought me to tears. The reason: They reminded me that the next 12 or so months are going to be absolutely brutal on my wallet.

Case in point: They reminded me that a new Animal Crossing game will be released sooner rather than later. (Or maybe I should say "later rather than sooner," considering Nintendo of America's current aloof attitude toward this title?)

Speaking of which, here's the latest footage of the game that will be known in Japan as Tobidase Dōbutsu no Mori:



I still scrunch up my face whenever I see this game's taller characters, by the way, but I think I'll have gotten that out of my system by the time it hits our shores.

The Japanese "Nintendo Direct" also reminded me--rather horribly, I might add--that the pseudo-successor to one of my favorite DS RPGs, Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light, will be released in the Land of the Rising Sun sometime later this year.



Will Bravely Default: Flying Fairy eventually see the light of day in other regions, too? I sure hope so, although I honestly wouldn't mind if it didn't hit store shelves in the States until the second half of 2013. (You know, so my bank account can recover from all of the abuse it's going to have to endure after Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, New Super Mario Bros. 2, Paper Mario: Sticker Star and the Wii U and a number of that system's "launch window" games are released.)

A number of other upcoming 3DS releases mentioned during last night's "Nintendo Direct" broadcasts prompted me (and my credit card) to sit up and take notice, too--such as the Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers remake (trailer here), Freakyforms Deluxe (revealed during the European "Nintendo Direct") and New Art Academy (discussed in all three broadcasts).

Why Nintendo of America decided to ignore those last two titles, I'll never know. Hopefully they'll be released in all regions, though.

Last, but not least: The Japanese "Nintendo Direct" was capped off with this stunning, 11-minute look at Dragon Quest X:



Now, my wallet is quite happy knowing the Wii version of Dragon Quest X has little-to-no chance of being translated into English and sold outside of Japan, but I don't share her feelings. (Yes, my wallet is a "she.")

That said, I have high hopes that the Wii U version of this online RPG will receive the treatment it deserves (i.e., it'll be released in North America) from the folks at Square Enix and/or Nintendo.

Anyway, that's my two cents on the many titles that were talked about during last night's trio of Nintendo-sponsored events and that nearly brought me (and my bank account) to tears. What are your feelings on any or all of the above-mentioned games?

(Via andriasang.com and tinycartridge.com)

Random blatherings about a bevy of recently revealed box art

The last two weeks have been great ones for fans of well-made box art. Case in point: The just-revealed illustration (below) that will grace the covers of Capcom's Monster Hunter-themed puzzler, Airu de Puzuruu.

Of course, I'm a complete sucker for the company's Felyne characters--especially when they're depicted in chibi form, as they are on this PSP game's cover art.

Another piece of box art that caught my attention in the last few days: The one that's been produced for the Wii version of Dragon Quest X.

I know some folks--die-hard Dragon Quest fans, especially--are upset about a number of things related to this particular entry in Square Enix's long-running RPG series, but surely its beautiful cover art isn't one of them.

Nintendo's New Super Mario Bros. 2 has been similarly divisive since it was revealed a short while ago, with some gamers calling it a cheap cash-in and others comparing it to the Second Coming. (OK, so I haven't heard such comments. Yet.)

I'm not entirely sure what I think of this 3DS release myself, but I am sure that I like its golden cover art.

Speaking of golden cover art: Check out the one below. It's for a PSP game called Super Dangan Ronpa 2, which will hit store shelves across Japan next month.

About the only thing I know about this adventure title--well, other than its name, general release date and the fact that it's a follow-up to another PSP game called Dangan Ronpa: Academy of Hope and High School Students of Despair--is that, thanks in large part to its box art, I wish it were being prepped for North American release.

Sadly, it's not. Which means I'll just have to make repeated return trips to this post so I can ogle its oddly captivating cover imagery.

Hey, Square Enix: Now that you've told us when Dragon Quest X will hit Japan, when are you going to tell us your plans for the rest of the world?

The folks at Square Enix announced yesterday that the Wii version of Dragon Quest X will hit store shelves in Japan on Aug. 2.

They also released a new, four-minute-long trailer for the game, which can be viewed below (and here).

Although it's been clear for some time that Dragon Quest X is never going to win the "Prettiest Game on the Wii" beauty pageant (no joke, I've been considering hosting one), I think it looks rather nice in motion.

I especially like the battle scenes near the end--with the one involving the crowned pink slime taking the cake.



I also love how the characters in the trailer above hop around like they've been guzzling 5-Hour Energy like it's going out of style. I can't judge, though, since that's exactly what I tend to do in games that offer up a jump button.

Sadly, Square Enix has yet to say when Dragon Quest X will be released in other regions. My guess: Only the Wii U version will make it to Australia, Europe and North America. As such, I have a feeling us westerners won't hear anything about it until E3 at least, and we probably won't see it sitting on store shelves until sometime next year.

Hopefully the powers that be at Square Enix (and Nintendo, too) will use that time to find a way to make this MMO-ish RPG's price tag a bit more palatable, since copies of the game will cost ¥6,980 (about $86) in Japan while 30, 60 and 90 days of online play will cost folks in that territory ¥1,000, ¥1,950 and ¥2,900 ($12 to $35), respectively.

(Via andriasang.com)

Five games I'm looking forward to playing in 2012

If you run a gaming blog, every year has to end with a post about your favorite games of the past year and another post about the games you're most looking forward to playing in the coming one, right? Well, I checked that first box yesterday with this post, so today I might as well check the second box with the post you're currently reading.

This post originally contained 10 games, by the way, but it seemed a bit long so I broke it in two. As such, expect to see a similarly titled post published tomorrow that will include five more games that I'm looking forward to playing in 2012.

Bravely Default (3DS)--This Square Enix RPG looks like it's going to be a spiritual successor to 2010's Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light. I consider that Final Fantasy side story to be one of my favorite DS games, so you can bet I'll be all over this one like white on rice--assuming it makes its way to North America.

Dragon Quest X (Wii)--I know a lot of long-time Dragon Quest fans were disappointed to hear that the series' latest installment would focus on an online-multiplayer experience, but I'm not one of them. In fact, I'm downright excited for this entry thanks in part because of its online focus and in part because it will feature more of the crazy customization that was present in its DS-based predecessor.

Final Fantasy Type-0 (PSP)--The word on the street is that this game--and, yes, it's another Final Fantasy offshoot--will be released in North America sometime this year. Here's hoping that's true and that the game will be released on PSP UMD (as opposed to PlayStation Vita card) and will feature the same fabulous cover art that appeared on Japanese copies of the title.

Inazuma Eleven (DS)--I have next to no interest in the game of soccer (or football, for those of you who live outside of North America), yet I want this game. Why? Because I've heard great things about it on the Internet--things like, "It's like a soccer-themed Pokemon game." I like the sound of that, so I'm planning to buy the first game in this series from the UK sometime next year. Who knows, I may buy the second one, too, which is scheduled to hit the streets throughout Europe in early 2012.

Luigi's Mansion 2 (3DS)--Is it weird that the game that spurred me to ask for a 3DS for Christmas was this one? Well, it's true regardless. Oh, sure, I was keen on Mario Kart 7 and Super Mario 3D Land, too, but not as keen as I am on Luigi's Mansion 2, which looks to take the basics presented in the GameCube-based original and run with them. The only downer at the moment? The folks at Nintendo of America have yet to give it a release date. (Please be sooner rather than later, please be sooner rather than later, please be sooner rather than later...)

What other games am I looking forward to playing in 2012? Come back tomorrow to find out!

A few glimpses of Dragon Quest X (Wii) and Ni no Kuni (PS3) gameplay

I'm looking forward to getting my grubby hands on a good number of games at the moment, but only two of them are RPGs: Dragon Quest X for Wii and Ni no Kuni for PS3. (Oh, I just thought of another one: Paper Mario for 3DS. Still, my point stands.)

Since neither will hit store shelves in North America for some time (if ever, in the case of Ni no Kuni), I've decided to busy myself with searching for gameplay videos of both of the above-mentioned titles.

Well, I hit the jackpot earlier today. Here, for instance, is a smattering of gameplay footage of the Level 5-Studio Ghibli collaboration, shot on the floor of the Tokyo Game Show 2011:



Sure, the game's battle scenes look a bit boring, but its world map is a stunner.

As for Dragon Quest X, well, I can't share any YouTube videos of that much-anticipated title's first official trailer (included in the just-released-in-Japan Dragon Quest Collection) here, but I can direct you to a site where you can download an FLV version of said trailer.

If you can't be bothered with downloading and figuring out how to view an FLV file, you can always check out this post over at tinycartridge.com.

Question of the day: Have the head honchos at Nintendo and Square Enix lost their minds?

I ask the question above because of a pair of situations that have made headlines the world over in the last few days.

In regards to Square Enix's sanity (or lack thereof), there's Monday's announcement that the company's much-anticipated Wii (and now Wii U, too) title, Dragon Quest X, will be an online RPG. Not only that, but the game reportedly will require an online connection beyond its first few hours (i.e., after the game's introduction, you likely won't be able to play it off line). Oh, and the cherry on top of this bat-shit crazy sundae: According to an official press release sent out by the folks at Square Enix, Dragon Quest X will, in some form or fashion, make use of subscription fees--at least in Japan.

Man, that is one ugly peripheral, isn't it?

As for why I'm wondering whether the brass at Nintendo have lost their minds, consider the following: The current issue of Famitsu magazine includes a "secret scoop" that suggests Nintendo will soon release, alongside Capcom's Monster Hunter Tri G, a peripheral for the 3DS that will provide the portable system a second "circle pad" and a pair of additional shoulder buttons. Unsurprisingly, this reveal has both Nintendo fans and haters alike believing that the company will soon announce the imminent release of a 3DS "revision" (à la the DS Lite, DSi and DSi XL) that will incorporate all of the above-mentioned features.

So, what do all of you think? Do the situations detailed above suggest that the decision makers at Nintendo and Square Enix are a few bits short of a byte, or do they suggest the opposite?

(Via andriasang.com and tinycartridge.com)

Square Enix's three-step plan to sell a million copies of Dragon Quest Collection for Wii

It's a pretty simple plan, really.

Step 1: Include video footage of the much-anticipated Dragon Quest X on the main disc (which, in the case of Dragon Quest Collection, also will include the first three Dragon Quest games in their original Famicom forms and the Super Famicom Dragon Quest I&II and Dragon Quest III remakes).

Step 2: Mention said footage on the game's packaging (below) and in any and all promotional materials.

Step 3: Sit back and watch the title sell by the truckload.

Sadly, it's doubtful the folks at Square Enix will be employing that plan anywhere else in the world, as the 16-bit Dragon Quest remakes weren't released outside of Japan. Thankfully, the footage is sure to be shared on YouTube shortly after Dragon Quest Collection hits the streets on Sept. 15.

(Via andriasang.com)

You know what Dragon Quest X needs? A strawberry slime!

Actually, this upcoming Wii release could feature a whole slew of fruity slimes--such as a banana one, a grape one or even a pear one--don't you think?



I'm not exactly sure how their, er, fruitiness would alter their battle tactics, though; maybe they'd distract combatants by launching their succulent fruit of choice at them?