Surprise! The Year of the GameBoy Continues: Burning Paper

This latest "Year of the GameBoy" post focuses on a title that's long given me a lot of joy--and has long caused me to wrinkle my nose in disgust due to the fact that almost everyone overlooks it.

What's so great about Burning Paper, which was developed by Pixel and published by LOZC G. Amusements in 1993? Its name is a good starting point, I think--even if you know nothing about its gameplay.

Speaking of which, Burning Paper reminds me a lot of one of my favorite PSP titles, Patchwork Heroes (aka Hyakumanton no Bara Bara), when it comes to how it plays.

In that game, you control a brave citizen who volunteers to save his comrades from approaching warships by hacking them to pieces.



In Burning Paper, on the other hand, you're plopped into the boots of a guy who bears a shocking resemblance to the iconic Bomberman. For whatever reason, he's been tasked with protecting a series of buildings from an advancing horde of nasty-looking beings. (OK, so most of them are kind of cute. Still, it's clear they're up to no good.)

I'm sure all of this is explained in the game's instruction manual, but at the moment my grasp of the Japanese language isn't advanced enough for me to make sense of its "story" page.

(Regarding Burning Paper's manual, by the way, it's actually pretty impressive. I especially like all of the little illustrations that are sprinkled throughout--scroll down a couple of inches to see a few of them. And keep your eyes peeled for a "Manual Stimulation" post devoted to this booklet)

Going back a bit, Burning Paper's gameplay is at least somewhat explained in the game's opening cinematic. In a series of four static images, a scientist who could pass as a close relative of Mega Man's Dr. Light creates a concoction that appears to cause an adverse reaction (to put it mildly) to some nearby creepy-crawlies.

Thankfully, mister Bomberman wannabe is on hand and comes to the rescue. Or something like that.

Regardless, each and every stage in Burning Paper begins with the above-mentioned and familiarly besuited protagonist stuck atop a high-rise. These high-rises are covered in posters. Don't ask me why--again, I don't have a clue.

As a variety of vermin--including bugs, mice, moles and a bunch of other creatures I can't properly categorize--amble their way toward your lofty position, you use some sort of laser (provided by the faux Dr. Light, naturally) to cut pieces out of the placards below. Get the timing right, and the falling scraps crash into the oncoming baddies and send them into the Great Beyond.



It's a lot of fun, and more than a bit frantic. Plus, it looks rather nice and sounds lovely.

Actually, I'd say it sounds more than lovely. In fact, its soundtrack is pretty amazing considering I'd never heard of Pixel or LOZC G. Amusements before I became acquainted with Burning Paper.

Combine all of the above with the fact that, as I've hopefully made clear with the photos you see here, this title's outer box, cartridge and instruction manual are beautifully designed, and it should be easy to understand why the lack of Burning Paper love from the GameBoy-loving masses (if such a thing can be said to exist in 2016) confounds and confuses me.

Who knows, though, maybe posts like this will help bring it to the attention of more people who still get a kick out of old-school oddities.

CIB Sunday: Hyakumanton no Bara Bara (PSP)

If you regularly peruse any of the many social-media apps or sites available to the masses these days, you've probably come across #CIBSunday.

Don't worry if you haven't, as it's easy enough to explain. Basically, folks publish photos of complete-in-box copies of games and then include in their tweets or posts the hashtag mentioned above.

I participate in this "event" pretty much every weekend on Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter. For some strange reason, though, I've never extended that participation to this blog. Until today, of course.

Will I continue to do so in weeks, months and years to come? Who knows. I'll do my best to keep it up, though--and I'll certainly whip up a post here whenever I think I've got a nice photo to show off, or some related content to recommend.



With that out of the way, what do you think about the snapshot of Hyakumanton no Bara Bara for PSP that can be seen above?

Hyakumanton no Bara Bara not ring a bell for you? How about Patchwork Heroes? That's what this Acquire-made title, which plays like an inverted version of Taito's Qix, was named outside of Japan.

If you'd like to see more photos of Hyakumanton no Bara Bara's lovely case, cover art, instruction manual and UMD, by the way, check out this "Nice Package!" write-up I published last year. Also, read my review of Hyakumanton no Bara Bara (or, rather, Patchwork Heroes).

Are any of you fans of this 2010 release? If so, please share your love of it in the comments section that follows.

Nice Package! (Hyakumanton no Bara Bara, PSP)

Some of you probably know this 2010 PSP title by the name--Patchwork Heroes--the powers that be at Sony gave it before it was released in Europe and North America.

Sadly, the game was only sold digitally in the West. Sure, that made North American and European copies of Patchwork Heroes quite a bit cheaper than their Japanese counterparts, but it also meant that people who picked up the former missed out on Hyakumanton no Bara Bara's beautiful packaging, which can be seen throughout this post.

For starters, there's this quirky action game's box art, seen in the photo above, which I can say without hesitation is one of my all-time favorite examples of PSP cover imagery. 

Quality illustrations are plastered across the front of Hyakumanton no Bara Bara's instruction manual and the label of its UMD, too. (Don't worry, you'll get a better look at the latter near the bottom of this post.)

Actually, sketches done in a style that's similar to the art that graces the cover of this Acquire-developed game's manual also can be found on a number of its inside pages. 

The rest of Hyakumanton no Bara Bara's instruction booklet isn't as noteworthy, but it still wows now and then--with the character bios shown in the snapshot above being a case in point. 

Speaking of this PSP title's characters, a number of them can be found on its colorful UMD label.

Sadly, the backside of Hyakumanton no Bara Bara's packaging, below, doesn't quite achieve the heights that are reached by the rest of it.

Of course, if I had to force the designers responsible for producing this product to skimp on one aspect of it, I'd go with the back of the box, so to speak, so don't expect me to complain too much about the above.

What do all of you think? Do the photos shared here make you want to run out and buy a copy of the Japanese physical release of Patchwork Heroes as soon as you're able?

Note: if you're like me and you aren't entirely satisfied with the quality of the photographs showcased in this post, head over to my Flickr photostream, which features versions that are both brighter and less blurry.

Five favorites: Japanese PSP box art

You didn't think the DS and Wii were going to be the only "riding off into the sunset" systems honored with one of these posts, did you?

If so: surprise!

Anyway, folks who have done their best to ignore Sony's first handheld while it was still au courant may be shocked to hear this, but the PSP has showcased some pretty great examples of box art since it hit store shelves nearly eight years ago.

My favorite such creations were produced for Japanese PSP games, of course, so those are the ones I'm planning to focus on in this post. (Oh, and look for me to highlight five more of my favorite pieces of Japanese PSP cover art in a follow-up post that'll be published next week.)

1. Final Fantasy Type-0--I nearly didn't include this one here simply because I'm still mad that Square Enix has thus far failed to release it in North America in any form. In the end, though, I just couldn't leave such a beautiful piece of cover art off of a list like this.

2. Hyakumanton no Bara Bara--This piece of box art is the main reason I wish Patchwork Heroes had received a retail release here in the States. Also, it's the main reason I'm constantly finding myself this close to picking up a copy of the Japanese version. Do I really need two copies of this adorable action-puzzler? No, but, man, I'd sure like to be able to look over and see this box sitting on my (non-existant) game shelf.

3. Parodius Portable--I'm pretty sure only folks who have hearts of stone fail to be impressed by Parodius Portable's colorful cover illustration. OK, so people who have phobias related to flying pigs, mustachioed octopi or bunny girls riding oversized bullets are likely to be unimpressed, too, but everyone else should grin from ear to ear upon catching a glimpse of it.

A somewhat gay review of Patchwork Heroes

Game: Patchwork Heroes

Genre: Action puzzler

Developer: Acquire

Publisher: SCEA

System: PSP

Release date: 2010

True story: This digital-only game, which is called Hyakumanton no Bara Bara in Japan and earned a full-on retail release in that country, is one of a small handful of titles that prompted me to pick up a PSP nearly three years ago.

Do I regret that decision now that I've finally (and fully) played through this portable puzzler? Not at all. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that it's one of my favorite PSP-exclusive games (of the ones I've experienced, of course).

Heavily responsible for that, I have to sheepishly admit, are the superficial aspects of Patchwork Heroes--i.e., how the game looks and sounds. The former especially rocks my world--thanks to the colorful, textured and textile-filled art style used by Acquire's designers--although the latter's Middle Eastern-influenced soundtrack is nothing to sneeze at.

That's not to suggest Patchwork Heroes is a completely superficial experience. On the contrary, its gameplay and even story--something that isn't always a priority when it comes to puzzlers--more than hold their own against its music and graphics.

How so? Well, players are shoved into the shoes of a blue-hatted lad named Titori and then tasked with protecting his hometown from a never-ending stream of colossal, bomb-wielding warships, for starters. As for how they're supposed to accomplish all of that: Titori is flown up to said ships, latches onto them and then brings them down by cutting them into pieces. (You do this by pressing your PSP's O button and then moving its analog nub in the direction you'd like to slice.)

Frankly, it feels a lot like Taito's classic coin-op title, Qix, turned on its head, which is a treat for folks like me who grew up on such games. (Don't worry, it's sure to be a treat for those who've never experienced it, too.)

All of the above is sure to make Patchwork Heroes sound easier than it is, so let's get one thing straight: This game is not a push-over, nor is it simple. While you're cutting apart the giant ships that are threatening the protagonist's idyllic hamlet, for instance, you've also got to save a number of your fellow citizens who have, for some reason or other, become imprisoned within the advancing contraptions. Also, each ship is equipped with various forms of defense, all of which do their best to keep you from attaining your goal--and often succeed, if you're anything like me. 

Thankfully, a variety of power-ups pop up on occasion to aid you in your quest, although to assume that they'll help in any significant fashion would be the definition of foolish. Still, any form of assistance is welcome while working through Patchwork Heroes' story and challenge modes.

None of them assist this title's other possible shortcoming, unfortunately--with that shortcoming being the utensils that are used to control it (i.e., your PSP's analog nub and directional pad). Neither option makes Patchwork Heroes anywhere near unplayable, but both do their best to get in the way of things on a regular basis.

If you can get past that and the stiff challenge, though, you're sure to find this digital release to be more than worth its $9.99 price tag and a welcome addition to your PSP game collection.

See also: Previous 'somewhat gay' reviews

Acquisition #123: Patchwork Heroes

Full disclosure: I don't actually own 123 games--or at least I don't think I do. Honestly, I've never counted my collection, and I don't plan on doing so anytime soon. (I'm not sure I want to know how many titles I've purchased over the years, to tell you the truth.)

I had to attach some sort of number to this post, though, so I went with 123.

Expect to see headlines similar to the one above pop up here and there from now on, by the way. I'm tired of writing headers that are akin to "Hey, I just bought another PSP game!" so pretty much all future posts related to acquisitions will become part of this "series."

Anyway, enough about that. As the headline above suggests, my 123rd-ish acquisition is the puzzler-esque PSP game, Patchwork Heroes.

Because Patchwork Heroes is a PSN-only release, I can't share any photos of this purchase. (The box art on the right belongs to the Japanese UMD version, which is known as Hyaku- manton no Bara Bara.) I can share a few impressions of it, though--despite the fact that I've only played a bit of it thus far.

Basically, the game is a bit like a buffed-up (and inverted) version of Taito's arcade classic, Qix. That's not the most accurate comparison, I have to admit, but it is the best one, as far as I'm concerned. What that means in practice: Players control a blue-hatted lad named Titori, who has been tasked with protecting his fellow citizens from what can only be described as a never-ending stream of colossal, bomb-wielding warships. How does he achieve that objective? Why, by latching onto said ships and bringing them down by cutting them into pieces.

I'd like to save the rest of my thoughts on this addictive, charming title for a "somewhat gay review" that will be published shortly. I can already tell you, though, that the gist of said review will be that I heartily recommend Patchwork Heroes to anyone who has a PSP and 10 bucks to spare.