10 unfinished games I want to return to in 2020

Although I've gotten better in recent years at not only playing, but finishing, the games I buy, a few still fall through the cracks. By which I mean I walk away from some titles before I reach their end credits.

I'm OK with that now and then. For example, I failed to beat both Penny-Punching Princess and Umihara Kawase Fresh! in 2019, but I have no interest in returning to either of them.

I also failed to beat Dandy Dungeon, Dragon Quest XI S, and World of Final Fantasy Maxima after starting them last year, but I desperately want to rectify matters in 2020.

Here's why, plus similar info on seven other unfinished games I hope to get back to and wrap up between now and the end of December.

Contact for the Nintendo DS

Contact (DS)--I explored a good chunk of this Grasshopper Manufacture-made game back in 2015. Sadly, I don't remember much about my previous Contact experience other than I mostly liked it. Mostly. (If memory serves, a difficulty spike, or at least a tougher-than-usual boss, irritated me rather severely near the end of my 11-hour playthrough.) That's enough for me to want to give it a second chance, though--especially since I do remember loving its looks.

Dandy Dungeon (Switch)--While coming up with the list of titles that serve as the backbone of this post, it struck me that I rarely walk away from games because I hate them. In most cases, I leave them behind when I go on vacation, when I become obsessed with a book, or when work briefly takes over my life. That first reason is what caused me to drop Dandy Dungeon after putting more than 20 hours into it last year. I've been struggling to go back to it ever since, and I'm honestly not sure why. The only answer I can come up with is that maybe I got all I wanted or needed from the game in the time I spent with it in 2019. Hopefully that's not the case, but I'll find out one way or the other should I manage to boot up my save file again in the next few months.

Dillon's Dead-Heat Breakers for the Nintendo 3DS

Dillon’s Dead-Heat Breakers (3DS)--I devoted a good seven or so hours to this bizarre Dillon's Rolling Western follow-up in late 2018, and though I enjoyed what I encountered then, I only played the game for another hour in 2019. Typically, I don't recall why I walked away from it at that point, but I'm pretty sure another game was to blame. Something I do recall is that I was finding Dead-Heat Breakers a bit repetitive around the time I dropped it. Still, I want to know how its curiously post-apocalyptic tale ends, so I'm going to do my best to slip back in the saddle as soon as possible.

Dragon Quest XI S (Switch)--I have a real hit-or-miss history with the Dragon Quest series, which probably goes a long way toward explaining my ho-hum reaction to the initial eight-ish hours of Dragon Quest XI S. For the record, I adored both the first and the ninth game in the series, but found the seventh too long by at least half. Why am I currently leaning toward the latter with XI S? The lone culprit that comes to mind right now is that it's too just sleepy for me. In a way, I appreciate and respect that it's not as peppy as, say, Pokémon Sword and Shield, but I also wouldn't complain if it were a smidge more energetic. Regardless, that shouldn't keep me from Dragon Quest XI S' finish line forever.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance for the GameBoy Advance

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance (GameBoy Advance)--Against my better judgment, I started this Final Fantasy Tactics spinoff shortly after I started its sequel. Only one game could survive such an endeavor, and in this case, the one left standing was the DS follow-up. I don't expect to leave my aborted playthrough of the original hanging for long, though. I loved Tactics A2 so much that I spent more time with it than any other game last year, so I'm expecting to feel similarly moony about this precursor.

Great Greed (GameBoy)--I've started this Namco-made RPG numerous times since first becoming aware of it many years ago. None of those playthroughs ended with me watching Great Greed's credit roll, however--despite the fact that I adore pretty much every aspect of it. I especially like its snappy, one-on-one battles and its eclectic soundtrack. So, I'm going to take another stab at it sometime this year. Hopefully this time I'll make it far enough to marry either the king or the chief of bodyguards.

Great Greed for the GameBoy

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch)--I put more than 10 hours into Breath of the Wild back in 2017 and 2018, and both stints absolutely thrilled me. Sadly, both stints were rudely interrupted by vacations. As I've already made painfully clear, that's often all it takes the break the spell a game has on me. I always--or almost always--intend to return to these discarded adventures, but only rarely do. I have no idea when or how I'm going to buck that trend with Breath of the Wild, but I promise to try my hardest to make it happen in 2020.

My World, My Way (DS)--I gave over 10 hours of my life to this Global A-made RPG in early 2015. At the time, I was knee-deep into #ADecadeofDS, a blog series I started to celebrate the existence and impressive game catalog of Nintendo's first dual-screened handheld system. As part of that series, I played a DS title for a week--and only a week--and then reported how long I spent with it, what I thought of it, and more. I was so taken with My World, My Way that I ignored my self-imposed "week only" rule and played it for seven more days. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough for me to reach the game's climax. The question is: when (not if) I circle back to it this year, will I start fresh or return to my woefully unfinished save file?

My World, My Way for the Nintendo DS

VA-11 HALL-A (Vita)--I own way too many copies of this cyberbunk-tinged visual novel to have never completed it, but that's the embarrassing truth of the matter. The only way to save face, I guess, is to force myself to finish it sometime this year. The thing I'm most looking forward to re-experiencing during my latest run at VA-11 HALL-A: its sublime OST. I'm pretty sure I could listen to some of its tracks for hours on end without tiring of them.

World of Final Fantasy Maxima (Switch)--Given how long I hemmed and hawed over buying a copy of World of Final Fantasy Maxima, it's amazing I ended up adoring the 26 or so hours I spent with it in 2019. It has its share of flaws, but none of them have bothered me much. In fact, the only thing that's bothered me about this odd Final Fantasy offshoot is the sinking feeling that I'll be completely lost when I jump back into the fray after so many months away. Fingers crossed those fears are proven unwarranted.

See also: Five 3DS games and 10 Switch games I want to play in 2020

If Nintendo put me in charge of a GameBoy Classic Edition, here are the 30 games it would include

Word on the street is Nintendo may be prepping a GameBoy Classic Edition--or "GameBoy mini," as many on the Internet like to call it--to complement its recent NES and SNES plug-and-play consoles.

Given the success the company found with those miniaturized systems, a similarly compact re-envisioning of its first handheld wouldn't exactly be a surprise.

What would be a surprise (or at least it would be to me): if Nintendo filled the memory of this as-of-now-imaginary GameBoy Classic Edition with worthwhile games.

After all, while the NES-inspired product featured a number of veritable classics, it also included some head-scratchers like Pac-Man. More surprising were the titles its omitted, like the first Dragon Quest (or Dragon Warrior, for old folks like me), Duck Tales and Bionic Commando.

Would I do a better job of cramming a GameBoy Classic Edition or GameBoy mini full of must-play games? I'd like to think so.

Admittedly, the brass at Nintendo probably would put the kibosh on a number of the carts I'd push for, but I won't let that keep me from discussing them in this post.

Alleyway--Most people pooh-pooh this "launch window" release as an antiquated bore, but I've always enjoyed it. Plus, even with its issues, I think it would be a perfect pick-up-and-play-when-you-only-have-a-few-spare-minutes title for a product like this.

Amazing Penguin--I have to imagine a lot of folks who owned a GameBoy in the late 1980s and early 1990s aren't aware of this game's existence. That's too bad, as Amazing Penguin's gameplay--equal portions Pac-Man, Pengo and Qix--sets it apart from all the humdrum puzzlers and platformers that flooded store shelves during the system's reign.

Balloon Kid--This Balloon Fight spinoff is a tough cookie and a painfully short experience, but it deserves a spot here due to its unique gameplay (it's a side-scrolling platformer in which its main character is nearly always floating beneath a balloon) and its female protagonist.

Bubble Bobble Part 2--None of Taito's handheld Bubble Bobble titles hold a candle to the arcade original, but that doesn't mean they're all stinkers. Part 2 (Bubble Bobble Junior in Japan) is the best of the bunch by far, with adorable sprites and sprawling stages.

BurgerTime Deluxe--I've long loved the original BurgerTime game, but there's no question it's often brutal. Thankfully, this GameBoy sequel is miles more accessible. It also looks great and features a surprisingly ear-pleasing soundtrack. Bonus: the Japanese BurgerTime Deluxe packaging and instruction manual are splendid, too.

Catrap--Yet another often-overlooked game that really should be played by everyone who comes within a foot of a GameBoy system. Not only are its cat-eared protagonists (you can switch between the girl or boy at the beginning of every stage) cute as can be, but the time-bending, brain-melting, puzzler-platformer action at its core is completely brilliant, too.

Dig Dug--You just know that should a GameBoy Classic Edition ever be made, Nintendo's more likely to include Namco's portable, black-and-white Pac-Man port instead of this one. Which would be a shame, as the puzzle-heavy "New Dig Dug" mode included here (and not found anywhere else) is a breath of fresh air.

Donkey Kong--This may well be the best game ever made for Nintendo's first portable console. If you've never played it, it takes the arcade original's straightforward barrel-jumping action and transforms it into the puzzler-platformer to beat all puzzler-platformers--and that includes the many Mario vs. Donkey Kong titles that followed in this 1994 release's footsteps.

Dr. Mario--Truth be told, I've never been a huge Dr. Mario fan. I know a lot of folks like it, though, so that's why I'm including it here. I also think it's a good counterpoint to the far less flashy Tetris.

Final Fantasy Adventure--It would be easy to give this game's slot to another thanks to the presence of Link's Awakening (see below), but I'd campaign against that tactic for a couple of reasons. For starters, not everyone loves Link or Zelda. Also, Final Fantasy Adventure's ARPG gameplay is different enough from its aforementioned competitor's to be worth a go even if you're a Zelda veteran.

Final Fantasy Legend II--Purists probably would prefer to include the first Final Fantasy Legend title here, but I think its sequel is the better, more interesting, game. Either title should be seen as a welcome addition to this line-up, though, as it's decidedly lacking in traditional RPGs.

Gargoyle's Quest--This was one of my most-cherished cartridges back when I first owned a GameBoy thanks to how it combines exploring an RPG-ish overworld with conquering side-scrolling action stages. And it was among the hardest to let go of when I stupidly sold my system and collection of GameBoy cartridges a number of years after I bought them.

In honor of the 28th anniversary of GameBoy's Japanese release, here are a handful of my all-time favorite GB games

A little birdie (OK, so it was this NeoGAF thread) told me this morning that the Nintendo GameBoy launched in Japan 28 years ago today.

If math isn't your forte, that means the Japanese GameBoy was released all the way back on April 21, 1989.

Given my love for Nintendo's first portable game system (see my "Year of the GameBoy" posts for a taste of how I feel about this handheld), I thought I'd publish a post that discusses some of my favorite GameBoy titles in honor of today's milestone.

Astro Rabby--This choice is sure to raise a few eyebrows, as I know folks who think it's a bit of a turd. Still, I really enjoy playing it--flaws (like its hair-pullingly frustrating bonus levels) and all. Some of that enjoyment is derived from the uniqueness of Astro Rabby's gameplay--which puts you in the paws of a robotic rabbit that hops through space via a top-down, auto-scrolling stages in search of "power-up parts"--I have to say, although I also have to say it's simply a lot fun to soar through this 1990 release's levels while its peppy soundtrack plays in the background. For more on why I like this game so much, read my Astro Rabby review. Also, see my "Year of the GameBoy" post about it for photos of its box, cartridge and instruction manual.

Balloon Kid--By now, it should be clear that I not only love this Balloon Fight follow-up (it's actually known as Balloon Fight GB in Japan), but that I've loved it since it was first released in North America 27 years ago. After all, I recently published a post that explained why Balloon Kid helped shape my taste in video games. It's far from perfect, of course--the scrolling is choppy and there are only eight stages to complete--but it's such a nice change of pace from the typical platforming fodder that fills the GameBoy's library that its imperfections are barely worth mentioning. To learn more about this game's pros and cons, check out my Balloon Kid review.

Bitamina Oukoku Monogatari--True story: not only did I not play this Namco-made RPG back when it first hit store shelves in my neck of the woods (as Great Greed), but I wasn't even aware of its existence at that time. Now that I've played through a good chunk of it (you can read some of my thoughts on the experience in these old posts), I'd actually go so far as to call Bitamina Oukoku Monogatari one of my favorite role-playing games from that era. It's beyond antiquated, and the text in the North American version (I can't comment on the text in the Japanese original) is so stilted and simple it's often difficult to decipher what's being said, but its breezy, one-on-one battles are such a blast and its soundtrack is so blissful that these missteps are easy to overlook.

Burning Paper--How this game has flown under the radar for so long--it first hit Japanese store shelves in early 1993--is beyond me. I guess its pedigree (for lack of a better word) could have something to do with it. A company called Pixel developed Burning Paper, while LOZC G. Amusements published it--and neither had even slightly pinged my radar before I first became aware of this game. Regardless, I think it deserves a spot on every write-up ever published about GameBoy games you need to play thanks to its arcade-y, Patchwork Heroes-esque action and its shimmering background music. Also worth noting: Burning Paper's beautiful packaging.

Donkey Kong--I have to imagine a lot of GameBoy owners passed on buying and playing this title back in the day because they assumed it was just a black-and-white port of Nintendo's classic quarter-muncher of the same name. That describes the cart's first few levels, but after that this portable entry in the Donkey Kong series reveals its true colors as a puzzler-platformer of nearly unrivaled quality. Although I'd of course recommend picking up a physical copy of Donkey Kong for GameBoy (due in part to its pretty packaging) as a result, a digital copy (available via the 3DS eShop) will only set you back $3.99 at the moment, so go that route if you're no longer in the market for actual GB carts.

Osawagase! Penguin Boy--Much like Burning Paper, above, this Natsume-developed title features gameplay that appears to have been inspired by Qix. Don't worry if you find that Taito product to be a bore; Osawagase! Penguin Boy (Amazing Penguin outside of Japan) is a far zippier affair. It's also far cuter, thanks to the beret-wearing penguin that serves as its protagonist. In the end, if you're looking for a GameBoy cartridge that'll entertain you whenever you've got a couple of free minutes, or if you're any kind of Pac-Man or Pengo fan (both of are represented here, along with the aforementioned Qix), you'll want to give Osawagase! Penguin Boy a try as soon as you're able.

Painter Momopie--Speaking of Pac-Man, this Sigma Entertainment effort easily could be described as a clone of that world-conquering Namco classic. In fact, I did just that in a recent post about my five favorite Pac-Man clones. Painter Momopie sets itself apart from everybody's favorite dot-chomper, however, by basically inverting its predecessor's gameplay (your goal is to fill each screen--with paint--rather than empty them) and by being set in what looks to be a witch's home or academy. (Do you know Japanese? You'd help me immensely if you checked out the first page of the Painter Momopie instruction manual and then educated me on its backstory.) Curious to learn more about this Japan-only release from 1990? Read my Painter Momopie review. Also, ogle the game's packaging here.

Pitman--This may well be the best game Asmik ever developed or published. Even more impressive: Pitman (Catrap in the West) is one of the best, most interesting titles released for the GameBoy during the system's 14-year reign. If you've never played it, it's an action-puzzler that sports adorable graphics and animation as well as brain-busting gameplay. Bonus: Pitman's box, cartridge and instruction manual are every bit as precious as its in-game visuals.

Shippo de Bun--The good news about Shippo de Bun, which was called Tail 'Gator when it was released in North America: it's yet another top-shelf GameBoy title that is unlike pretty much every other game made for Nintendo's first handheld. The bad news: even loose cartridges go for a pretty penny these days. (Don't even think about buying a complete-in-box copy unless you're a serious collector or you're willing to part with a good amount of money.) So, your best bet, should you want to become acquainted with the single-screen platformer-esque action of Tail 'Gator or Shippo de Bun, is to play it using an emulator. I know that won't be the most appealing option for many of you, but I'd recommend it anyway given the compelling nature of this Natsume GB cart.

Do you have any favorite GameBoy games (Japanese or otherwise)? If so, share your thoughts about them in the comments section of this post.

See also: 'Some of my favorite SNES games in honor of the system's 25th anniversary' and 'Seven ways you can celebrate the 27th anniversary of the PC Engine's release'

My favorite games of 2016 that weren't actually released in 2016

Well, this is the last of my "favorite games of 2016" posts.

I'm sorry the previous pair--here's one, and here's the other, if you've yet to read them--were so 3DS-centric, by the way. The fact is, other than the couple of hours I put into the Chrono Trigger DS port early this year, most of my "gaming time" in the last 12 months was devoted to 3DS titles.

Aside from the occasional "old" game, I mean.

Speaking of which, the titles discussed below, all of which were released before 2016 (most were released years, if not decades, before), are the ones I enjoyed the most this year.

Dragon Buster II (Famicom)--No one's ever going to call this one of the Famicom's best games. Hell, only a handful of folks are likely to call it one of the system's many overlooked gems. Still, there's no denying it's an intriguing title that's worth exploring if you've had your fill with that 8-bit console's "classics."

Just make sure you don't go into Dragon Buster II thinking the experience is going to be on par with, say, The Legend of Zelda or Faxandu or Crystalis. This cart has nothing on that trio in pretty much any area--music, graphics or gameplay. I spent a good number of hours with it in 2016 anyway, though, because I find its stark, dungeon-crawling action strangely captivating.

You see, Dragon Buster II is one of those games that offers players very little information. You're plopped into labyrinthine stage after labyrinthine stage with no map and no direction or assistance other than "find the key that'll allow you to leave." Said key is hidden inside a random enemy, which means you have to stalk each cavernous locale until it appears.

That Dragon Buster II compels despite its barebones premise, and despite its low-rent visuals and utter lack of backing music, goes a long way toward explaining why I devoted so much time to it this past fall.

Great Greed (GameBoy)--I've been meaning to play this Namco-made RPG (known as Bitamina Oukoku Monogatari in Japan) ever since some kind soul brought it to my attention in the comments of an earlier post--or maybe it was on Twitter or Facebook?--a number of years back.

Why did I wait until 2016 to bite the bullet and give it a go? I honestly don't know, although I have a feeling I dragged my feet for a good, long while because I was turned off by Great Greed's one-on-one, Dragon Quest-esque battles.

I'm now kicking myself for being so foolish, as the enemy encounters here are both snappy--and not just because there are so few participants--and a lot of fun. On top of that, the game's soundtrack is shockingly good and its many environments are wonderfully atypical for the genre. (My favorite is an old record factory--complete with spinning disks that have to be strategically traversed.)

Admittedly, the text in the North American version is rough--to the point of being nonsensical most of the time--but even that generally adds to Great Greed's charm. Sadly, I've yet to beat the game, but I'm planning to do just that early in 2017.

Monster Manor (3DS)--My 3DS Activity Log says I've put more than 35 hours into StreetPass Mii Plaza games so far this year. Almost all of that time was spent with the Prope-made Monster Manor, I can assure you.

Although it's not a game you can play for long, all of my five- and 10-minute stints with it apparently added up over the course of the last 12 months.

Monster Manor's the only StreetPass Mii Plaza title I still return to with any regularity, by the way. (Well, other than Puzzle Swap.) Why? I love its part Tetris, part RPG gameplay, for starters. I also love its wacky assortment of guns (the weapon of choice in Monster Manor). Its colorful cast of ghoulish baddies is a plus, too.

Sigh, I'm going to be so sad if this kind of experience isn't replicated on the Nintendo Switch.

SaGa Frontier (PlayStation)--It's been years since I last played SaGa Frontier. Which is a shame, as this weird, non-linear RPG is one of my all-time favorite games. As for why I returned to it earlier this year, that would be the fault of a guy named finchiekins. He approached me a few months ago about playing SaGa Frontier concurrently, with the goal being to record a podcast about it in 2017.

Sadly, I'm nowhere close to completing my playthrough of Lute's story. Still, I'm getting a kick out of revisiting some of my favorite locations in the game, like Koorong, Manhattan and Shrike. I'm also having a blast reacquainting myself with Kenji Ito's rocking soundtrack. More than anything, though, I'm loving SaGa Frontier's mind-blowing battles, which to this day make me giddier than those found in pretty much any other RPG.

Honestly, if I could play this on my Vita, I'd probably plunk more hours into it than any other game in 2017.

Which games--old or new--did you enjoy the most this past year? Share your thoughts and feelings on them in the comments section that follows.

Shall We Do It? (Great Greed, Kingdom's Item Shop, Onyanko Town and SaGa Frontier)

I know it's no longer surprising to hear me say I haven't spent much time playing games in recent days and weeks.

Unfortunately, it's the truth--and has been for a while now. That's mainly because I went from being acceptably busy to ridiculously busy earlier this year when I was promoted at work (from senior writer to managing editor). Before, I pretty much never brought work home with me; now, I work basically every weekend and also some weeknights.

And when I'm not working, my attention's often pulled away from playing games to take care of all those boring things nearly everyone has to do on a daily basis--cleaning the house, cooking dinner, exercising, yadda yadda yadda.

Oh, and I have to maintain this blog.

I was able to shove most of that aside just long enough the last two weekends to put in some time with the following titles. Keep reading to hear what I think of those experiences.

Great Greed (GameBoy)--Until a couple of years ago (right before I bought a copy of Bitamina Oukoku Monogatari, the Japanese version of this portable RPG), I was completely unaware of Namco's Great Greed. Which is too bad, as I now know I would've loved working my way through it as a teen. (It was released in Japan in 1992 and crossed the pond the next year.)

Why? The main reason is the battles. They're as snappy as you're ever going to get in a turn-based RPG on the GameBoy. All of them are one-on-one tussles (the game's protagonist versus a single enemy) and they move along at a nice pace thanks to the fact that commands are mapped to the system's A and B buttons as well as its control pad. (A prompts you to attack, B causes you to dodge and the d-pad casts magic.)

On top of that, Great Greed has a surprisingly stunning soundtrack. And then there's its undeniable weirdness. Some of the themes and other things you'll encounter while playing it: time travel, flan enemies, environmental pollution, corrupt politicians and dungeons set in abandoned record factories. In other words, it's basically the best game in existence.



Kingdom's Item Shop (3DS)--I've got to be honest: I paid little attention to this ASOBOX- and PUMO-developed game between the time publisher Circle Entertainment announced and released it. In fact, it wasn't until someone asked me (in the comments section of this recent post) if I'd bought Kingdom's Item Shop that I was made aware of it.

That push prompted me to do a little digging, which brought me to the screenshot above. As soon as I saw that, I was hooked. That's because the scene in question reminds me of an old PC Engine CD title I've had my eye on for years: Monster Maker. Granted, the games are nothing alike--Kingdom's Item Shop is more of a store-running sim with some fun, fast-paced battles thrown in for good measure, while Monster Maker is a full-on, traditional RPG--but that's never stopped me from salivating over a game before.

Anyway, Kingdom's Item Shop is a whole heap of fun. There's no question it has that "mobile game" feel, but at least the feeling here is of quality rather than "cash in." Those fights I mentioned a couple of sentences ago are the highlight, by the way. They're not what you're used to, though; in this adventure, you give commands to for-hire combatants and then race around the battlefield picking up items and ingredients dropped by your foes.

Then you take your haul back to your shop and use those components to concoct enticing products--drinks, food dishes, weapons, clothes and more--for the titular kingdom's inhabitants to snap up. There may be more to the experience than that, but for the moment, that's it as far as I'm concerned. And I'm more than OK with that.

Onyanko Town (Famicom)--I've been curious about this Micronics-made and Pony Canyon-published cartridge for ages now thanks to its adorable box art. Why I waited until a couple of weekends ago to play it for the first time, I can't say.

Am I glad I've finally experienced it? In a way, yes. I say that because Oynanko Town's graphics, while simple, are miles better than what I'd expect from a developer that's never before pinged my radar. (I especially like the sprite of the dress-wearing mama cat that serves as the game's protagonist.) Its gameplay, which reminds of Namco's classic Pac-Man, also surprises.

On the other hand, Onyanko Town is far from a perfect game. While the main backing tune is catchy, it's also piercing and wears out its welcome after just a few minutes. Even worse is the slowdown that regularly brings the action on offer here to a crawl. That's a big deal because the point of the game is hunt down your baby kitten and then bring him (or is it a her?) back home without being accosted by the many dogs and butchers who roam each of the cart's expansive stages.

The latter issue is especially disappointing, as I could see Onyanko Town being held up as a treasured classic, or at least a hidden gem, if it weren't sometimes so frustratingly slow.

SaGa Frontier (PlayStation)--It's been a long time since I've played this wackadoodle, late-1990s RPG. So why am I returning to it now? Because my friend finchiekins suggested it.

OK, so there was more to the decision than that. After all, SaGa Frontier is one of my all-time favorite games. What can I say? I adore its absolutely bonkers, combo-filled battle scenes, which did the overkill thing way before Disgaea and its ilk entered the picture. Also, its Kenji Ito-composed soundtrack is beyond fabulous and deserves to be discussed right alongside the music created for two other Squaresoft greats, Final Fantasy V and VI. Finally, there's something undeniably cool about being able to play through an RPG multiple times using different protagonists.

Have SaGa Frontier's graphics stood the test of time? Hardly, but let's be honest: a lot of people considered it hideous when it first saw the light of day. In that context, I'd say it's no more ugly today than it was back then. Plus, I've always found its character sprites and (somewhat poorly) pre-rendered enemies rather appealing. Even if I didn't, I'm pretty sure I'd still look at SaGa Frontier lovingly thanks its many other positive traits.

See also: previous 'Shall We Do It?' posts

Which old or new games should I start playing to help me learn Japanese?

Well, there you have it: I'm trying to learn Japanese. Again.

You may remember that I said this very same thing (well, not the "again" part) a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, after memorizing the language's katakana and hiragana syllabaries and then beginning the process of learning actual words and grammar, my studies fell off a cliff. I don't remember what prompted that plumet, but I'm pretty sure it had to do with a deluge of freelance writing assignments.

Dragon Quest (Famicom)

Given the amount of time that has passed since that original, aborted attempt, I basically was forced to go back to the beginning for this second one. I'm already back to where I left off, though, thanks in large part to a couple of handful of apps I added to my phone a couple of weeks ago.

I'm going to keep using those apps, as well as a few new ones and even the GENKI series of textbooks, to continue my studies, but I also want to toss some slightly more entertaining, real-world "lessons" into the mix this time around. Specifically, I want to use Japanese games to bolster what I learn about the language via the above-mentioned applications.

Some of the games I'm currently considering for this endeavor:

Bitamina Oukoku Monogatari (aka Great Greed, GameBoy)
Chocobo no Fushigina Dungeon (WonderSwan)
Dragon Quest (Famicom)
Lunar: Samposuru Gakuen (Game Gear)
Madou Monogatari (Game Gear)
Mother (Famicom)
Pro Tennis: World Court (PC Engine)
SaGa (GameBoy)

I'm not far enough along in my studies to understand all of the Japanese text these games are sure to throw at me, but I should be able to understand the bulk of the katakana that pops up, plus I plan to regularly look up words that make use of hiragana.

Mother (Famicom)

I pretty much pulled the selections above out of thin air, by the way, so if any of you know of other games--I'm especially interested in hearing about any Japanese 3DS, DS, PSP or Vita games that could help me expand my vocabulary--that you think would be useful for this purpose, please share their names in the comments section below.

For the two or three of you who've been dying to check out photos of the box, cart and manual made for Bitamina Oukoku Monogatari (GameBoy)

I wish I could remember who turned me on to the existence of this game, which was released in North America in April of 1993 as Great Greed. (Its Japanese launch occurred in September of 1992.) I know it was someone on Twitter, but that's all I can recall.

At any rate, I'd like to extend a hearty "thank you" to that (at the moment) nameless, faceless person--should he or she happen across this post or any of its related social-media accompaniments.



For those of you who've never heard of either version of this GameBoy title, it's a rather odd turn-based RPG that features, among other curiosities, a corrupt politician, pollution and a surprising number of characters, enemies and locations named after food.

Actually, I'm not completely sure the above is true of the Japanese version as, duh, I can't understand much of its text at the moment, but it's certainly true of the North American version.

Some of you probably are wondering right about now why I decided to buy the Japanese version of Great Greed rather than the English one. My response is pretty straightforward: the copy of Bitamina Oukoku Monogatari shown throughout this post set me back a whole $5. Also, I liked its logo, box art and overall pinkness.

The game's instruction manual is pretty nice, too, as you should be able to see from the photographic glimpse above. (I'll hopefully be able to show off the rest of it in an upcoming "Manual Stimulation" post.) 

Have any of you played either Bitamina Oukoku Monogatari or Great Greed? If so, please share your opinions, if you're willing, in the comments section below.

See also: previous 'Year of the GameBoy' posts