A long overdue update on my quest to learn Japanese

Those of you with good memories may recall this series of posts from early 2013 about my initial attempts to teach myself the Japanese language.

In the last of that trio of write-ups, I declared that I'd finished learning the hiragana and katakana syllabaries. Near the end, I suggested my next steps would be to tackle basic vocabulary and grammar.

Fast forward to today--more than four years later--and, well, let's just say things haven't quite gone to plan. Actually, I did learn a bit of vocabulary and grammar in the weeks and months that followed my last blog post on this subject, but that's it.

Thankfully, although I didn't learn anything new in 2014, 2015 or even 2016, I also didn't forget what I'd previously mastered.

That's hardly worth crowing about, of course. As nice as it is to be able to understand a handful of Japanese words and phrases, the point of this "quest" was to become as fluent as possible in this challenging language.

So, one of my only goals for this "sabbatical year" has been for me to get off my lazy butt and return to my Japanese studies. Although it took me a while to actually do that, I'd say I've spent the last two or three months diligently learning kanji and sentence structure.

I'm still basically clueless when it comes to translating passages in games or on websites, mind you, but that's OK. I finally feel like I'm making progress, and that thrills me to no end.

Are any of you curious as to which apps and books and sites I'm utilizing as part of my studies? Here are the main ones, if so:

GENKI I: An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese--This is what I turned to after I mastered the katakana and hiragana syllabaries. It's basically a text book, and it isn't exactly cheap (about $50 on Amazon), but it's really helped me expand my vocabulary and overall understanding of how the language works.

GENKI Vocab Cards app--I've also spent a lot of time with this companion app, which mirrors the lessons presented in An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese. It was $5.99, and I consider that money well spent due to how easy it is to use and how much it's bolstered my knowledge of the language. (GENKI also sells kanji and conjugation apps via the Apple and Android stores, by the way, and I plan to buy both shortly.)

Japanese Ammo--I randomly stumbled across this site a few months ago while looking for answers to some questions I had about sentence structure. Not only did its "How to Build a Sentence in Japanese" guide help with that dilemma, but it turned me on to tons of other articles and pages about vocabulary and grammar and even culture that I'm sure will prove similarly helpful down the road.

Remembering the Kanji 1: A Complete Course on How Not to Forget the Meaning and Writing of Japanese Characters--This is one of three (including the GENKI book discussed above) resources I'm currently using to learn kanji. Remembering the Kanji 1's main claim to fame is that it can quickly teach you the meaning and writing of over 2,000 kanji. It does this by ignoring pronunciation, which is covered in Remembering the Kanji 2. Although I'm not going through this book as rapidly as author James Heisig seemingly intended, I'm finding it really useful--and interesting. The associative stories Heisig offers up in Remembering the Kanji 1 make more sense to me than the ones used by WaniKani. Also, I like that Heisig teaches stroke order, which I have found helps me both learn and recall individual kanji. As such, I'll definitely pick up Remembering the Kanji 2 as soon as I finish the first.

WaniKani--This is another of the resources I'm using to learn kanji. WaniKani isn't perfect--it doesn't teach stroke order and I don't always agree with the mnemonics it provides to help you memorize meanings--but I like it well enough to refer to it on a daily basis. One cool aspect of this site: you can go through the first three levels for free. That probably doesn't sound like much, but it is. I'm still working my way through the second level, for instance, and already I've learned more than 50 kanji and 40 related vocabulary words. Once I've finished with the third level, I'll have to pay either $9 a month or $89 a year to continue using the site and complete its remaining 57 levels, but I'm more than OK with that given my positive experience so far.

In addition to the above, I used the Dr. Moku apps to learn the katakana and hiragana syllabaries. They're $3.99 each, or $6.99 as a bundle (if you're an iPhone user). Yes, you can learn both syllabaries for free via various sites and blogs and even apps, but I went with Dr. Moku's because of the clean interface and the ability to do randomized quizzes. (On a related note, I see there's now a Dr. Moku kanji app. I'll likely buy it soon and add it to "the pile.")

Are any of you trying to learn Japanese? Or have you already learned it? If so, and if you want to share any advice with me or anyone else who is in the same boat, please do so in the comments section of this post.

Your new favorite tumblr: Katakana Kitten

OK, so maybe Katakana Kitten isn't your new favorite tumblr, but it's definitely mine.

Why? A quick look at this unique tumblog's description should help explain things: "Hellow, I'm Midori. I know some Japanese. This blog posts one example of katakana usage a day, usually from video games. Please use these posts to bolster your own Japanese studies."

Here's a recent example of the kind of content Midori has published on Katakana Kitten since the tumblog debuted last December:





She always follows up the screenshot and katakana sample with a short blurb about the game in question, too. Here's the text she typed up for Clock Tower:

"A noteworthy point-and-click horror game originally made for the Super Famicom, developed by Human Entertainment, 1995. Much of the game’s content and style was inspired by the work of horror film director Dario Argento."

In other words, not only can Katakana Kitten help boost your Japanese language abilities, but it also can broaden your knowledge of Japanese video games. Now if we could just convince Midori to start a second tumblr devoted to hiragana or even kanji usage in games...

Come join me in the Rainbow Games community

I know it may not be all that wise for me to push people in the direction of a "competing" website, especially when I'd love for those same folks to start and participate in all kinds of interesting discussions right here, but the fact is that my blog is only ever going to attract and retain a certain percentage of the gaming population.

So, if you don't quite get your fill of retro, niche or Japanese games on this particular blog, or if you're just looking for another online outlet for your Japanese, niche or retro gaming obsessions and thoughts, you may want to head over to rainbowgames.dreamwidth.org, which bills itself as "a community geared toward niche and retro game discussion and celebration," and set up an account.

You'll find me there using the handle "thegaygamer," of course. If you follow suit and start using the community, too, let me know here or via some sort of direct message sent through the dreamwidth site what your username is so I can properly connect with you there.

On a related note, if there are any additional blogs, communities or other sites out there that also focus on retro, niche or Japanese games that you think I might enjoy checking out, please let me know about them in the comments section of this post.

I'm pretty smitten with this pair of Splatoon (Wii U) commercials

I honestly don't know what's come over me in the last few weeks. In that time, I've become massively smitten with Nintendo's cartoonish and squid-filled shooter for the Wii U, Splatoon.

Admittedly, I won't be playing it anytime soon--due to the fact that I still don't own the company's latest system--but that won't keep me from slobbering over it all the same.



Actually, for the time being, I'm going to slobber over the commercials shown here, which the brass at Nintendo hope will spur throngs of people to buy their shiny new game.

The one above is, or will be, airing in Japan, while the one below will be shown in North America.



Although I'm overly fond of both of them, I think I prefer the Japanese ad to its North American counterpart. That said, I can understand why Nintendo isn't using it in every region, as it's perhaps too abstract (because it doesn't give viewers much of an idea as to Splatoon's gameplay).

What do you think? Do you like either of these commercials, or maybe even both of them? Also, are you as smitten by this upcoming Wii U title as I am at the moment?

Help me blow my hard-earned cash on a couple of un-translated Japanese PSone RPGs, too

I know what some of you are thinking. Enough with all of the "I'm learning Japanese and I'm totally jazzed about it" crap! I appreciate where you're coming from, I really do, but I honestly can't help myself.

Although it's still "early doors," as British sports commentators are fond of saying, for me and my studies, I'm far enough along to be able to translate (or look up, if need be) pretty much every word I come across that's written using katakana or hiragana, and I find that pretty darn exciting. Plus, I'm finally starting to learn some kanji and grammar (not necessarily in that order), which is making things even more thrilling.

Anyway, all of the above has me itching to buy some of the Japanese PlayStation RPGs I've long wanted to experience--but previously avoided because of the language barrier--so I can pop them into my trusty PSone-plus-monitor combo and give them a whirl at last. (An added bonus: I figure playing through some of these titles, like The Puppet Princess of Marl Kingdom, will help me expand my vocabulary.)

A couple of the games I'm contemplating at the moment:

PoPoLoCrois Monogatari--This beautiful, sprite-filled adventure is based on Tamori Yousuke's 30-plus-year-old manga series. Sadly, that's all I know about it right now but, really, what else do you need to know about a game that looks a stellar as the one showcased in the screenshot above?

The Puppet Princess of Marl Kingdom--I'm a bit more knowledgable about this Japanese RPG, which was released in other regions as Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure (and eventually was ported to the Nintendo DS). What am I looking forward to most about this title? Seeing its flan attack in action, of course.

TwinBee RPG--OK, so this Konami-made joint isn't as much of a looker as the games mentioned above, but I still want to play it. I mean, it allows you to control low-poly versions of TwinBee, WinBee and GwinBee while battling similarly low-poly enemies that look like turnips and carrots. What's not to like?

As always, I'm open to any and all suggestions you may have when it comes to Japanese PSone RPGs I should add to my ever-growing "to play" list, so feel free to name some in the comments section below.

See also: 'Help me blow my hard-earned cash on some un-translated Japanese PSP RPGs'

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.

I will hug, and pet and squeeze my new Hobonichi Techo and call it Mother (or maybe Onett)

I've wanted a Hobonichi Techo ever since I first became aware of the existence of this popular Japanese daily planner--which is produced by Shigesato Itoi's company Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun, aka Hobonichi--some time ago.

The Itoi connection is of the main reasons for my interest in this product, of course--hello, the man gave the world three of best video games ever in Mother, Mother 2 (EarthBound) and Mother 3--but another is I love that a culture of creativity and customization (for lack of a better phrase) has built up around these planners in the last few years.

So, in early January, when the "Onett" (yes, the same Onett that's found in Mother 2 and EarthBound) cover once again became available for purchase--it was sold out for a while at the end of 2014--I nabbed one.

Although it was left on my doorstep a few weeks ago, it took me until this past weekend to take some photos of it.

Before we get to my snapshots of the snazzy Onett cover, let's check out the similarly snazzy packaging that protected my Techo and related products as they made their way across the pond.

As nice as Hobonichi's packaging is, there's little question that it pales in comparison to the Onett cover (and associated components) that I mentioned earlier.

For example, check out the Mr. Saturn-branded "pencil board" (above) that was stuck inside my Onett cover. (You can slide this accessory under the page you're currently writing or drawing on to keep from marking the ones below it.)

As for the Onett cover, well, it kind of speaks for itself, don't you think? (It's showcased in the photos above and below this text, in case anyone missed that fact.)



Unfortunately, I haven't actually started using my Techo, so I can't yet share with you any cute, crude or otherwise creative doodles. (That's mainly what I'll be including in my planner, in case you're curious.)

As soon as that happens, though--and it should be soon, as I did a bit of "practice doodling" on random pieces of paper over the weekend--I'll photograph or scan my favorite concoctions and then publish them here, on Instgram, on Twitter and maybe even on deviantart.

This deluxe Hatsune Miku 'plush pouch' is making me want to do bad things ... with my wallet

What business does a guy like me, a guy who doesn't own a single Hatsune Miku game (although I'll have two shortly), have desiring something as fan-focused as the "deluxe plush pouch" showcased in the photo below?

I don't know. All I know is that I think it's fantastically adorable and that I want one--despite the fact that my life currently is one, big "Hatsune Miku-free zone."



To be honest, though, I have a feeling I'll chicken out on buying one when all is said and done. After all, the darn things are going to cost about $35, if not more, and that's before shipping is included.

Still, it comes with the most precious little sushi-themed screen cleaner (also pictured above), and that alone has to be worth about $10 or $15, right?

#ADecadeofDS: Catch! Touch! Yoshi!

Amount of time devoted to this DS game in the last week--One hour, 54 minutes.

Most recent boss toppled, location reached or milestone achieved--Erm, I spent a good bit of time with each of its four main modes--will that suffice? (I've yet to experience the game's "Battle" mode for what I'm sure are obvious reasons.)

Overall comments on the experience--For starters, don't read too much into the time listed above. Catch! Touch! Yoshi! (Yoshi Touch & Go outside of Japan) isn't a game you play for hours and hours on end--or at least that's not how I played it. Instead, it's one of those games you put five or 10 minutes into while you're lazing away on the couch on a Sunday afternoon.

Of course, it's possible I would've spent more time with Catch! Touch! Yoshi! over the last week if it had grabbed me from the get-go. Unfortunately, it didn't, and my first few stints with it left me thinking it just wasn't "my cup of tea"--or whatever the gaming equivalent would be.

I stuck with it, though, in part because I felt I needed to give it a fair shake and in part because I found it to be pretty darn easy on the eyes, and I'm glad I did, as its unique, touch-screen-centric gameplay--which alternates between using a stylus to form cloud-puff paths for an airborne baby Mario and using it to guide an always-on-the-move Yoshi through a seemingly endless ground-based stage--eventually grew on me to a surprising degree.

The game's "Score Attack" and "Time Attack" modes have proven to be my favorites, by the way, with the "Marathon" ("Endless" in the Japanese version) and "Challenge" modes being just a bit too tricky for me on most occasions.

Unfortunately, each of these modes are so similar in terms of aesthetics and gameplay that they're nearly interchangeable--a fact that makes Catch! Touch! Yoshi! seem dangerously thin, content-wise.

Still, there's obviously some good, almost "old fashioned" fun to be had here, and that shouldn't be overlooked--nor should the surprisingly attractive visuals that are on offer. (I especially love how the look of each "stage" slowly, but surely, morphs as the seconds tick away--from blue skies, to sunset, to nighttime and back again.) Add in what's sure to be an enticing price point--even for "complete" copies--and it's easy enough to overlook this cumbersome cart's handful of negatives.

Will I continue to play this game in the coming days, weeks and maybe even months?--Yes, on and off. Mind, you, I'd be far more likely to play it on the regular if a digital version of it were on my 3DS at all times, but as it stands, this colorful cartridge will have to settle for only occasionally making the journey from its case to one of my treasured DS or 3DS systems.

Do I recommend it to others?--It's kind of hard to say, actually. If 3DS owners could download Catch! Touch! Yoshi! (or Yoshi Touch & Go) from the eShop for a couple of bucks, I'd throw my full weight behind it, as it's definitely the kind of game a lot of people would enjoy dumping a few minutes into when they have some free time. It's harder to recommend it, though, when playing it requires tracking down an actual cart that's unlikely to stay in someone's DS or 3DS for very long.

Next up--Taiko no Tatsujin DS

See also: previous #ADecadeofDS posts

'Tis the season for Snow Bros. Jr. (GameBoy)

There was a time--not too long ago, in fact--when I wasn't all that interested in Toaplan's painfully short-lived Snow Bros. series.

Its garish use of color and its nightmarish cast of characters--including the titular Nick and Tom--just didn't sit well with me, I guess.

At any rate, I pretty much ignored the handful of Snow Bros. ports and sequels that were released over the years until I came across the cover art showcased in the photos below. (Check out my Flickr photostream if you'd like to see a few more.)

The game in question is 1991's Snow Bros. Jr., by the way, which was published in Japan by Naxat Soft. (Capcom brought it to North America the following year as Snow Brothers.)

Admittedly, this version of the game lacks the color that abounds in pretty much all of its counterparts, but that doesn't impact the experience as negatively as you might think.

It helps, of course, that the gameplay found in the arcade original seems to have survived the transition from big screen--or at least bigger screen--to small mostly intact. Also, the portable port's soundtrack is just as zippy and energetic as it is in any other Snow Bros. release.

Let's be honest, though: even if I considered every other aspect of this GameBoy title to be a bit crappy, I'd probably still have searched far and wide for a complete-in-box copy.

After all, just look at its box art--and the contents of its instruction manual, too. I mean, it even includes a little comic strip. What's not to like about that? (Sadly, I don't understand a lick of its story.)

Sure, the back of Snow Bros. Jr.'s box is by far the least enticing aspect of this otherwise-precious package, but you can't always have everything, can you?

Have any of you played this portable take on Toaplan's somewhat-sinister, single-screen platformer? If so, what do you think of it?

See also: previous 'Year of the GameBoy' posts

Shall We Do It? (Fantasy Life, Final Fantasy Explorers Light and Solitiba)

There's a reason I haven't published one of these posts in some time. (Not since Oct. 14, in fact.) Actually, there are two reasons, with one being the North American 3DS title, Fantasy Life, and the other being the Japanese 3DS eShop title, Solitiba.

Although I've put far more time into the former than the latter in the last month and a half, I've gotten such a kick out of playing both of them that no other game has been able to steal my attention away from them.

Well, that's not completely true. I forced myself to download the Japanese demo of Square Enix's Final Fantasy Explorers (called Final Fantasy Explorers Light) a weekend or so ago, after all, and even gave it a few plays before stuffing it into a folder somewhere and moving back to Fantasy Life and Solitiba.

Anyway, keep reading if you'd like to read a few more of my thoughts on this trio of 3DS games.



Fantasy Life--You want to know how completely this recent Level-5 release has me wrapped around its finger? I've put 76 hours into it so far, that's how completely.

Actually, I probably should've said "had" rather than "has" in the sentence above, as I haven't booted up Fantasy Life since I played it for about four hours while flying from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Seattle last Friday. Don't worry, I'll get back to it shortly. After all, I've loved pretty much every minute of it so far--and I've spent a lot of minutes with it.

I've accomplished a lot during all those minutes (and hours) of play, of course, although I've yet to finish the game's main story. I believe I'm nearly there, though, so expect me to wrap it up between now and the next time I publish one of these posts.

The fact is, though, that most of what Fantasy Life has to offer people happens outside the confines of its main story--or, rather, happens while the main story is "on pause," so to speak. In my case, for instance, the majority of my experience with the game has been spent leveling up various "lives"--to the point that I've now spent a good amount of time with eight of the 12 jobs included here. (All of them have been brought up to "Hero" level except blacksmith, which is only up to "Master.") My favorites at the moment: archer and angler, I think, although I honestly get a kick out of all of them.

I still find Fantasy Life's verbose nature to be a bit annoying, by the way, but it's easy enough to skip through all of the blather, so don't worry about it too much if you're on the fence about buying the game.



Final Fantasy Explorers Light--Although I downloaded this demo of Square Enix's upcoming Final Fantasy spin-off (for the 3DS) as soon as it was uploaded to the Japanese eShop, I put off playing it until a couple of days ago due to the fact that I've been luke warm (at best) on its art style ever since I first laid eyes on it a few months back.

Which is a shame, as now that I've spent some time with the game and seen its graphics in motion, it really doesn't look all that bad. It also doesn't look stellar, mind you, but it looks better than I thought it would based on my first impressions.

As for the gameplay, all I've gathered so far is that it's quest-heavy--it's similar to the Bravely Default demo, in that regard--and vaguely Monster Hunter-esque, although I hesitate to say the latter as Final Fantasy Explorers seems a lot less strategic than Capcom's money-maker.

I'm going to play Light for a little longer before making a decision about the full game, but I've got to admit that at the moment I'm leaning toward not picking it up--assuming Square Enix even bothers to release it in North America. (Because there's no way I'm importing and playing through the Japanese release.)

In a way, I kind of hope the remainder of my time with Light prompts a change of heart, because for some weird reason I really want to like it--even with its questionable art style. Why couldn't the artist responsible for, say, the original Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles have worked on this sucker?



Solitiba--I actually stepped away from this (sadly) Japan-only offering after putting about 35 hours into it. Not because I was tired of it, mind you, but because my copy of Fantasy Life arrived and I was just a bit more desperate to play it than I was to continue playing Solitba.

Now that I'm taking a bit of a breather from Fantasy Life, though, I have plenty of "brain bandwidth" to devote to Solitiba again.

In case you haven't gathered already, this is one of those games that latches onto you and refuses to let go without a proper fight. I guess that could be due to the fact solitaire is such a prominent part of it--and solitaire's right up there with games like Tetris when it comes to sucking you in and wasting more of your time than you thought it would, although of course it could be argued that one is a bit less exciting than the other--but I don't think that's entirely what's going on here.

No, I think the real reason Solitiba is so easy to pick up, and so hard to put down, is that all of its elements--the solitaire portions, the horse-racing segments, the magnificent art style, Game Freak's "golden touch"--combine and conspire to produce a whole that's far more enticing than the sum of these aforementioned parts.

As a result, I really hope the folks at Game Freak--or Nintendo, or some other publisher--are toiling away on English and other language versions of Solitiba, because I honestly consider it to be a gem that people all around the world, and not just those in Japan (or those, like me, who own Japanese 3DS systems), should be given an chance to experience.

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

Square Enix may never give us another SaGa game, but at least they gave us this GameBoy entry (and its two sequels)

It's kind of hard to believe in 2014 that there was a time when Westerners had little to no access to Japanese RPGs.

A lot of that changed around the time I first got into gaming--which is to say, around the time Nintendo published the original Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy games in North America in late 1989 and early 1990, respectively.

The first JRPG that really had an impact on me, though, was 1990's The Final Fantasy Legend, a GameBoy title that began life in Japan as Makai Toushi SaGa (aka SaGa).

I mean, I spent a bunch of time with both of the above-mentioned NES RPGs as a gaming noob, but neither of those titles sucked me in like The Final Fantasy Legend (and, a few months later, the North American version of Final Fantasy IV).

In a way, that kind of surprises me, as I distinctly remember being confounded (and even disappointed) by some aspects of this portable adventure. The breakable weapons are one example, and the Dragon Quest-esque (i.e., invisible party members) battle scenes are another.

Both of those niggles eventually grew on me, of course--or maybe I should say I grew to respect, if not completely adore, them.

Anyway, I mention all of this in order to explain why I recently picked up the complete-in-box copy of the Japanese version of The Final Fantasy Legend, SaGa, that can be seen throughout this post.

Admittedly, nostalgia wasn't the only reason I bought this copy of SaGa. Two more reasons were: this particular copy was pretty darn cheap (less than $10, including shipping) and I hoped it might be another game that could be put to use in my journey to learn the Japanese language.

If you're looking for a few additional reasons to purchase your own copy of SaGa, you may want to consider the photos of the game's instruction manual that I've published here. Needless to say, it's chock-full of awesome illustrations.

Have any of you played any version of this handheld JRPG? If so, what are your thoughts on it, or what are your memories of it?

See also: previous 'Year of the GameBoy' posts

Don't forget: it's still the 'Year of the GameBoy'

I may be planning to publish a meaty series of posts about Nintendo's DS next year (oops, did I just say that?), but my (primary) focus for the remainder of this year will be the company's first handheld system, the GameBoy.

That shouldn't come as much of a surprise to those of you who have popped in here for some time, as I've already published a ton of "Year of the GameBoy" posts since I started this series back in the middle of February. In fact, I've published 40 such posts in the ensuing nine or so months, if you can believe it.

Quite a few more of these posts are yet to come, of course--some of which likely will be published next year. (I guess I'll have to declare 2015 to be "Another Year of the GameBoy"?)

In the meantime, I thought some of you might want to check out some of the "Year of the GameBoy" posts that are available right now. My favorites, in case anyone's wondering:

* "The Great Gaymathon Review #66: Painter Momopie"

* "The Great Gaymathon Review #67: Kitchen Panic"

* "I guess you could say I bought Bubble Bobble's GameBoy port because of its box art"

* "Manual Stimulation: Ghostbusters 2"

Another "Year of the GameBoy" post will be published tomorrow, by the way. I wonder which game will serve as its focus?

See also: all of the 'Year of the GameBoy' posts that have been published so far

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

Let's chat a bit about the awesomeness that is Kirby and the Rainbow Curse's Japanese box art

Also, let's chat a bit about how awesome it is that games like this are still getting released via retail--as opposed to only being sold digitally. Speaking of which, copies of this absolutely amazing looking Wii U title will hit store shelves in Japan on Jan. 22 and in North America on Feb. 13--although European (and I'm guessing Australian?) store shelves won't be stocked until sometime in third or fourth quarter of 2015.

The question is: will Western copies of Kirby and the Rainbow's Curse sport the same great cover art that was created for Touch! Kirby Super Rainbow (that's the Japanese version's name), or will Nintendo's European, Australian and American artists once again ruin everything by transforming this cuddly cover boy into "angry Kirby"?

(Via neogaf.com/forum)

What I'm playing for #NISNovember: Marl Jong!! for PlayStation

Those of you who follow me or the Chic Pixel blog (or both) on Twitter probably have already heard that Chic Pixel's proprietress, Anne Lee, has proclaimed this month to be #NISNovember.

For the uninitiated, all that means is that Lee would like whoever is interested to play one or more games that have been developed or published by Japan's Nippon Ichi Software or NIS America at some point during the month of November and then use #NISNovember to tag any social-media posts that are related to your playthrough.



Anyway, thanks to the header above, I guess the cat's out of the bag in regard to which Nippon Ichi game I'm currently playing as part of #NISNovember.

Should Marl Jong!! not ring a bell for you, here's the gist: it's a Japan-only PlayStation game that combines NIS' "Marl Kingdom" characters--featured in games like Rhapsody, Little Princess and Tenshi no Present--with what seems to be a rather basic version of mahjong.



I say "seems" in the sentence above because I'm far from an expert when it comes to mahjong. I know enough to have beaten a few of my opponents in this particular game, though--which is more than I can say about my experience so far with, say, Nintendo's Yakuman for GameBoy.

Although I only recently acquired the copy of Marl Jong!! that can be seen throughout this post, I first became aware of the game some years ago, shortly after I discovered the wonderful world of emulation.
 


Don't worry, I attempted to track down an actual copy of the game as soon as I fell in love with its adorable graphics and accessible gameplay, but accomplishing that feat proved to be rather difficult--until, like I suggested a few sentences ago, I came across one on eBay.

Thankfully, the wait was worth it, as not only is the cover art that was made for Marl Jong!! all kinds of cute, but so is its disc and manual.



Along with Marl Jong!!, I'm also hoping to play one or more of the following DS titles as part of #NISNovember: Atelier Annie, Disgaea DS and Rhapsody. Have any of you played any of these games? If so, I'd greatly appreciate hearing your thoughts (good or bad) about them in the comments section of this post.

See also: 'On the one hand, I'm glad I finally own a copy of one of Nippon Ichi's first PlayStation games, Cooking Fighter Hao'

I'll be pre-ordering the 3DS version of Rodea: The Sky Soldier, too--as soon as somebody allows it

How's this for a blast from the past? A game that first made noise all the way back in 2011, but has barely been heard from since, is roaring back onto the scene courtesy of the latest issue of Japan's Famitsu magazine.

The game in question is Rodea: The Sky Soldier, a unique-looking action game that, a couple of years ago, was being prepped by former Sonic Team-er Yuji Naka and his team at Prope for an eventual release--courtesy of Kadokawa Games--on both 3DS and Wii.

Unsurprisingly, the Wii iteration has been moved to the Wii U. Aside from that, though, it appears that little else has changed in regard to the "NiGHTS into Dreams meets Shadow of the Colossus meets Sonic the Hedgehog" action that was showcased in this old trailer:



The only thing that doesn't thrill me about all of this: I'm still not the biggest fan of the design of Rodea's protagonist.

Still, I'm all set to put some money down on the 3DS title--as soon as somebody allows me to do so. Considering Rodea doesn't yet have a specific release date (it's supposed to be released "next spring"), I have a feeling my pre-ordering is going to have to wait at least a few months.

In the meantime, I'll save up a few bucks, as the 3DS version is set to be released with a 5,800-yen (about $50) price tag attached to it. (The Wii U game will cost 7,200 yen.)

(Via neogaf.com)

I just pre-ordered a copy of The Legend of Legacy (3DS), which means a North American localization should be announced any day now

Actually, I pre-ordered a number of 3DS games--Japanese and otherwise--in the last week or so, with two of the "otherwise" games being Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. and The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask.

Getting back to The Legend of Legacy, though--as I've said before, this Japan-only (for the moment, at least) 3DS RPG is being developed for FuRyu by a bunch of the same people who worked on Square Enix's now-defunct SaGa series back in the day.

That, along with the game's interesting art style and unique pop-up-book world, was enough to push me to pre-order a copy (it's supposed to hit Japanese store shelves on Jan. 22) via amiami.com recently, despite the fact that I'm sure to flounder horribly while attempting to play through it.

While I was pre-ordering The Legend of Legacy, I also pre-ordered a copy of Sega 3D Fukkoku Archives, which combines six of the Sega 3D Classics eShop titles that have been released in that region so far (Fantasy Zone, Ecco the Dolphin, Out Run, Shinobi III, Space Harrier and Streets of Rage) as well as two bonus games--updated versions of Sega Master System's (or Sega Mark III's) Out Run 3D and Space Harrier 3D titles.

This budget-priced compilation is set to hit the streets (again, in Japan only--at least for now) on Dec. 18.

Considering Nintendo announced its intentions to publish Level-5's Fantasy Life in the West shortly after I picked up a Japanese copy of that game, I'm hoping these recent pre-orders of mine will prompt similar announcements regarding The Legend of Legacy's and Sega 3D Fukkoku Archives' overseas prospects.

Someone bought this rad FM Towns II computer via eBay late last week and now I'm sad

I'm sad, of course, because, in a perfect world, I would've won this particular auction, as I've wanted to own some sort of FM Towns system since I first laid eyes on one in an old issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly magazine.

Granted, if I were to drop my hard-earned dough on one of maker Fujitsu's FM Towns machines, which were released in Japan between 1989 and 1997, it probably would make more sense for me to pick up an FM Towns Marty console rather than the PC variant seen below, but the latter won me over with its "original Macintosh" looks.



Anyway, this entire conversation is moot due to the fact that I only discovered this auction after it had wrapped up--and even if I'd come across it earlier, I wouldn't have had $960 to blow on it.

As for which games I would've bought alongside this FM Towns II (in the hypothetical situation that would've allowed me to do such a thing): the system's arcade-perfect Bubble Bobble and Rainbow Islands ports, for starters. I'd also love its supposedly spot-on Splatterhouse conversion, although I've heard copies tend to be pricey.

(Via retro-treasures.blogspot.com)

Seven ways you can celebrate the 27th anniversary of the PC Engine's release

In a perfect world, this post would include 27 ways to celebrate the 27th anniversary of the PC Engine's Japanese launch day, which occurred on Oct. 30, 1987. Instead, it includes just seven.

Still, that should be more than enough to allow all who are interested in honoring the release of what I consider to be the coolest-looking console ever to see the light of day to do their thing.

1. Play one of the two games that launched alongside the diminutive system in Japan--That would mean playing either Bikkuriman World or Shanghai. Personally, I'd go for the former, which is an ancient, but still immensely fun, side-scrolling platformer.



2. Pick up one of the handful of PC Engine titles that can be found on the PlayStation Store--My suggestions, especially for folks who have little experience with this console and its catalog of games: Bomberman '94, Galaga '88 or PC Genjin 2 (Bonk's Revenge in North America).

3. Buy one of the PC Engine games that are available on the Wii eShop--The previously Japan-only Battle Lode Runner is my top choice here, although Akumajou Dracula X: Rondo of Blood is a worthwhile option, too.



4. Ogle some photos of the original system and its packaging--A good number of them can be found on my Flickr photostream. (Sadly, I no longer own the white PC Engine that is showcased throughout.)

5. Read a couple of the "Second Chances" posts I've written about PC Engine games--If you're not sure where to start, I'd recommend the ones devoted to Gokuraku! Chuka Taisen, Hana Tāka Daka!? and Jigoku Meguri.



6. Virtually flip through a few of the instruction manuals made for its games--My personal favorites: Don Doko Don, Mizubaku Daibouken, The New Zealand Story and PC Genjin 2.

7. Watch one of these wacky Japanese TV commercials--This one, for PC Genjin 2, probably is the best of the bunch, although this one (for Kato-chan & Ken-chan) and this one (for The Kung Fu) also are a lot of fun.

See also: 'Five TurboGrafx-16 memories in honor of the system's 25th anniversary'