Elsewhere, Mayle, Womb Odyssey and other excellent 'My Famicase Exhibition 2013' entries

Calling all fans of faux cartridge labels: this year's "My Famicase Exhibition" entries are now available for public consumption at famicase.com.

Surprisingly, a good number of the fake labels that were compiled for this year's event--which annually collects a mountain of made-up Famicom cartridge art and then displays them on line and in Tokyo's Meteor shop--were concocted by Western artists. Among my favorites:

Apple Pickin's--This John-Charles Holmes charming creation tasks players with picking apples "on a warm and breezy May afternoon. But only the ripest apples will do!"



Elsewhere: Labyrinth of Cemetery--Jeremy Hobbs' entry plops players into the shoes of a "lost monster girl" who has to escape the Great Graveyard or "become its newest resident." (For more information on this imaginary game, head over to Hobbs' great blog, Ribbon Black.)



Mayle--Does the idea of delivering mail to a bunch of islanders sound fun to you? If so, you'd probably enjoy playing artist Paul Veer's summery Mayle. (I know I would--even if it sounds a tad tedious.)



Witch Hunt--Only folks with hearts of stone--or a certifiable aversion to witches--could fail to be captivated by Elena You's deliciously dark label art (below). Also sure to appeal to most right-in-the-head gamers: this title's premise, which has players "navigate complex mazes and avoid capture" while attempting to escape a treasure-filled pirate's lair.



Womb Odyssey--Marc Rios' entry certainly wins the "Most Intriguing Title" award of this year's "My Famicase Exhibition." Its description is similarly intriguing, as it sends players on a "microscopic excursion into the sacred chambers of life."



All sorts of additionally wonderful concoctions can be found at famicase.com/13/, of course, so I'd highly recommend checking out the site at your earliest convenience.

See also: previous 'My Famicase Exhibition' posts

You know what? I've changed my mind about the NES version of Bubble Bobble

I've always turned up my nose at the Famicom/NES version of Bubble Bobble for no other reason than, well, it isn't the arcade version.

While composing this post the other day, though, I thought to myself, "You know, the sprites in the NES version aren't so bad. In fact, they're pretty darn good."

I bought the NES version via the Wii Virtual Console shortly after it was added to the service (yes, despite my aforementioned disdain for that iteration of the game), so last night I decided to take it for a test run--you know, to see if it's better than I remember it.

Surprisingly, it is. Sure, the background graphics and music are simpler than the arcade version and the game becomes a flicker-fest when more than a few bubbles are on screen, but the Bob, Bub and enemy sprites are spot-on, as is the all-important gameplay.

Don't get me wrong, I'll still play the arcade version of Bubble Bobble over the Famicom/NES version if given the chance, but it's nice to know I can turn to the latter in a pinch.

(In other Bubble Bobble news, check out this awesome piece of cover art--which appeared on the cover of the Sega Mark III/Master System version of the game.)

I think Burp'n'Shoot would have been a big hit in the U.S.

This is one of those days I look forward to all year: The day the latest "My Famicase Exhibition" creations are displayed on the Interwebs (courtesy of the folks at Meteor, a Tokyo-based "game culture shop").

Never heard of the Famicase exhibition? No worries. Basically, it's a collection of imaginary Famicom cartridge covers created by Japanese artists and designers.

One of my favorites is Burp'n'Shoot, which Boing Boing's Brandon Boyer says is a "fun lazy redneck experience" that involves "sitting on the backyard couch, drinking Budweiser and shooting at empty cans, watermelons and a broken TV" while avoiding the errant basket- and baseballs of the neighbor kids.

Unfortunately, unlike Boyer and the chaps at tinycartridge.com, I don't understand a lick of Japanese, so you'll have to go here or here to read translated descriptions of some of the exhibition's other entries.