I may be a bit miffed with Nintendo at the moment, but I'm still looking forward to a mountain of upcoming 3DS games

There's no question Nintendo of America irritated me and a lot of other North American gamers during (and after) yesterday's Nintendo Direct.

Did the company irritate me to the point that I'm considering giving up on its 3DS system? Of course not. In fact, I'm as smitten with Nintendo's second dual-screen handheld as ever--if my ever-growing list of pre-ordered games is any indication.

For instance, I've had three North American 3DS games--Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. (due out on March 13), Etrian Mystery Dungeon (April 7) and The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D (Feb. 13)--pre-ordered for some time now, and the same can be said of two upcoming Japanese 3DS games, The Legend of Legacy (Jan. 22) and Theatrhythm Dragon Quest (March 26).

I actually had Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate (Feb. 13) pre-ordered until last night, but I canceled it after I had a not-at-all-awkward heart-to-heart chat with myself about the fact that I've only put a few hours into MH3U so far and, as such, I really shouldn't buy its follow-up until I can be sure I'll give it the attention it deserves.

And then there are all of the North American and Japanese 3DS titles I'd pre-order in a snap if I were allowed to do so, like A-Train: City Simulator, Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai DX, Lord of Magna (assumed to be the North American title of Marvelous' Kinki no Magna), Puzzle & Dragons Z + Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition and the just-announced fourth game in the Rhythm Tengoku series.

Finally, there are two Japanese 3DS RPGs that I'm hoping beyond hope will make their way to our shores at some point in 2015: Bravely Second and Final Fantasy Explorers.

How about you? Are you looking forward to a bunch of 3DS games, too? If so, which ones?

(Almost) right on time, another episode of The Nichiest Podcast Ever appears

Those of you who enjoy listening to shidoshi, Anne and I wax poetic on anything and everything related to niche-y games and systems may recall that I ended my last blog post about The Nichiest Podcast Ever with an announcement that we're aiming to make this sucker a monthly thing from here on out. (Or from here until whenever we quit doing it, I guess.)

Although we didn't quite meet that goal this month, we got pretty darn close. We're only a week late, after all.

Anyway, this episode, take, whatever you want to call it touches on a ton of niche-y titles, including the Brandish PSP remake that's supposedly coming to North America (via PSN) by the end of the year, Etrian Mystery Dungeon (3DS), Hatoful Boyfriend's second-quarter 2015 release for PS4 and Vita, Keita Takahashi’s (Katamari Damacy) new game, Rodea The Sky Soldier (3DS and Wii U), Suikoden II's long-awaited appearance on PSN, Theatrhythm Dragon Quest (3DS) and Yakuza 5's just-announced localization.

During the much-loved "Cheerleading" segment, Anne discusses Monster Monpiece (Vita), I blather on about a curious Japanese 3DS eShop title known as Pinch 50 and shidoshi attests to the quality of Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth.

Oh, and before I forget: the three of us also spend a good amount of time at the start of this podcast chatting about the 10th anniversary of the DS' North American release and the 20th anniversary of the original PlayStation's Japanese launch. (Sadly, we completely forgot to acknowledge the 10th anniversary of the PSP's emergence. Maybe we can belatedly cover that in our January "take"?)

Should all, or at least some, of the above sound like something you'd like to hear me, Anne and shidoshi talk about, head over to radio.morningproject.com at your convenience.

I wish we were getting a new Shiren the Wanderer title rather than Etrian Mystery Dungeon

Or a new Chocobo no Fushigina Dungeon game. Or a new Torneko no Daibōken adventure.

Both of which, admittedly, would have required at least a bit of (uncharacteristic) interest and action on the part of Square Enix, but the point still stands.

So, why have I gone from being blown away by Etrian Mystery Dungeon's unveiling to wishing the folks at Spike Chunsoft (or whichever developer is crafting this 3DS roguelike) had endeavored to make a new Chocobo no Fushigina Dungeon, Torneko no Daibōken or Shiren the Wanderer title instead?

For starters, I'm feeling a bit burned out on the Etrian Odyssey franchise at the moment. Or maybe you could say I'm burned out on the idea of the Etrian Odyssey franchise? Because, honestly, although I spent a good number of hours playing through the majority of Etrian Odyssey IV earlier this year, I haven't played or even bought any of the series' other entries since then. I guess all of the recent releases and announcements--Etrian Odyssey Untold I and II, Etrian Odyssey V, even the spinoff of sorts that is Persona Q--have taken a toll on me and my interest in this otherwise appealing IP.

Another reason I've cooled on Etrian Mystery Dungeon in the last few days: I'm skeptical as to how it's going to measure up to past Mystery Dungeon efforts. That's mainly because it seems likely that this title won't feature permadeath, something that's generally considered a series staple, although I'm also sort of stumped as to whether leading four, rather than just one (or sometimes two), characters through this game's labyrinthine dungeons is going to be an interesting change of pace or an annoying impediment. (Oh, and before anyone asks, yes, I know players won't fully control all four party members in Etrian Mystery Dungeon, but leading them around still may prove awkward.)

All that said, I'm very much looking forward to getting my hands on this game and giving it a thorough once-over--even if I end up being disappointed by it. In fact, I've already pre-ordered a copy of it.

Are any of you also itching to play Etrian Mystery Dungeon? If so, why?