The Nichiest Podcast Ever: Take 16

If you need a little Monday pick-me-up (and, really, who doesn't?), you could do worse than listen to at least a few minutes of the latest edition of The Nichiest Podcast Ever.

That's especially true when you consider that this "take" is: a) a bit shorter than usual--just an hour and 21 minutes--and b) perhaps a bit more fun than usual, too.

The latter's purely my opinion on the matter, of course. Regardless, though, Anne, Mollie and I had a blast recording this installment, and I think that comes through in the finished product.



Which games and systems brought out the best in the three of us? Here are a few examples: the North American launch of the smaller New 3DS, the release of Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai DX in the Western world, the revelation that New Style Boutique 2 (aka Girls Mode 3 or Style Savvy 3) will hit Europe this November, a whole slew of recent Vita game announcements and releases and more.

Sound appealing? Head over to radio.morningproject.com to check it out. (Don't worry if you'd prefer to listen to it via your smartphone or even tablet, as relevant links can be found there as well.)

Also, keep an eye (ear?) out for the 17th iteration of The Nichiest Podcast Ever, as it will include banter about the saddest (because we've yet to play them) as well as most embarrassing games in our enormous backlogs.

Five additional games I'm looking forward to playing between now and the end of 2015

Last Friday, I published a post that featured blurbs about five soon-to-be-released 3DS, Vita and Wii U games that I'm looking forward to playing between now and the end of the year.

In that write-up, I mentioned that a second such post would be published sometime this week. Well, today is that day, and here are five more upcoming titles that currently take up space on my ever-growing "play as soon as humanly possible" list.

Dragon Quest VIII (3DS)--I know a lot of folks in Japan and elsewhere were unimpressed (at best) when this PS2-to-3DS port was announced a short while ago. I am not one of them--although, to be honest, that's probably due in large part to the fact that I've never played this particular entry in Square Enix's triumphant series of RPGs. (I own a copy of it, but it's yet to leave its packaging, I'm embarrassed to admit.) Regardless, I'm pretty stoked that an upgraded--in the areas that matter most to me, at least--version of Dragon Quest VIII will soon be playable on the system I favor most at the moment. That said, I'm dragging my feet in terms of pre-ordering it, as I want to wait a little while longer to see if the powers that be at SE decide to bring the game to North America. (Yeah, right.)

Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai DX (3DS)--This super-cute music-rhythm game was supposed to be released stateside in May. Just before its "arrival date," though, publisher Sega revealed that it wouldn't hit store shelves in the region until early September. Although I know some folks were upset by the delay, I actually applauded it, as I barely had time to play games--even those of one of my favored genres--at the time. Now, though, my schedule is much less hectic (or at least a bit less hectic). Hopefully the same will be true in a couple of months. Even if it isn't, though, I'm maintaining my pre-order--no ifs, ands or buts.

Persona 4: Dancing All Night (Vita)--Oh, hey, another rhythm-music game. What a surprise, right? Especially since I just told you it was one of my "genres of choice." Anyway, this Persona spin-off only recently leaped onto my "to buy" list, and mainly because it looks to be the definition of cool. One of the reasons I passed on Dancing All Night earlier, by the way, was that I pre-ordered Taiko no Tatsujin: V Version ages ago and I was all that sure that I needed to own two rhythm games for my criminally neglected (so far) pink-and-white Vita. After seeing more footage of it around this year's E3 event, though, I changed my mind. Plus, the new Taiko will be out in a matter of days, so surely I'll be all set for a similar-ish title by the time September rolls around?

Splatoon (Wii U)--OK, so this game doesn't belong in the "soon-to-be-released" category that pretty much all of the other ones that have been mentioned here and in my last post on the subject fit within, but I'm including it here anyway simply because I'm beyond interested in it. Is most of that interest tied to this Wii U shooter's completely fabulous art style? Yes, it is, but I'm OK with that. Also, I've read and heard enough positive impressions of this Nintendo-published effort that I'm willing to take a chance on it despite my general lack of love for the first- and third-person shooter genres--or I guess I should say that I'll be willing to take a chance on it after I finally obtain a Wii U console.

Steins;Gate (Vita)--Why is this oddly named visual novel taking up valuable acreage in this post instead of other portable games that don't include random pieces of punctuation in their titles? Because it's been hyped to the heavens in various online spaces, that's why. Oh, and then there's the fact that I find the VN genre to be pretty darn fascinating at the moment. Unfortunately, no one seems to know when Steins;Gate will finally show up in North America. (Both physical and digital versions have been available in Australia and Europe since the beginning of June.) Thankfully, I'm in no particular hurry to play it, so I'll happily pick up a copy of it--preferably a boxed one--whenever it eventually sees the light of day in my neck of the woods. (Update: apparently it was announced earlier this morning that it'll be released here on Aug. 26.)

Are any of you also planning to buy one or more of the 3DS, Vita or Wii U games mentioned above? If so, which ones? Or maybe there are other titles--even for systems like the PS4 or Xbox One--that have you eagerly anticipating their arrival on your doorstep? Regardless, please let me and others know about them in the comments section below.

See also: 'Five games I'm really looking forward to playing between now and the end of 2015'

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?