Three games I'm attempting to play in the run-up to Halloween

Every year (or nearly every year) I say I'm going to play through a handful of seasonally appropriate games in the run-up to Halloween, and every year I fail to make much of a dent in said wish list.

This year, I decided to make things easier on myself by scaling things back a tad. In fact, all I've committed to playing this month--other than Animal Crossing: New Leaf, Hometown Story (which releases tomorrow, by the way) and Pokémon X, of course--are the following trio of spook-tacular titles:



1. Akumajō Special: Boku Dracula-kun (Famicom)--I've been meaning to give this cute Castlevania spin-off for ages, but for all sorts of dumb reasons I've never gotten around to it. So, I'm going to do my best to do so in the coming weeks. And who knows, maybe if I can get through it quickly enough I'll be able to try its GameBoy-based remake-slash-sequel, which was called Kid Dracula outside Japan, as well.



2. Costume Quest (Xbox 360)--I actually played through a bit of this charming, Double Fine-developed RPG this time last year--and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. Sadly, I don't believe I got anywhere near its end credits. So, this year I've decided to try again. Although I doubt I'll stick with it long enough to tackle the extra "Grubbins on Ice" chapter, maybe I'll come back around to it after winter hits the real world, too.



3. Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon (3DS)--Despite the fact that I pre-ordered Dark Moon far in advance of its release, I didn't even unwrap it until a week or so ago. I've since played it for a few hours, and already I'm satisfied with my purchase. My only issue with this 3DS game so far: it seems to be less of an open-ended affair than its GameCube-based predecessor. Of course, that's also likely to make it a better portable experience in the end, so maybe I shouldn't complain just yet.

Are any of you also playing any Halloween-ish games this month? If so, which ones?

And May's 'Bye-Bye, Backlog' selections are ...

... Crimson Shroud, Fire Emblem: Awakening and maybe Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon. I'm also hoping to wrap up my EarthBound playthrough.

I know, none of the above-mentioned titles were included on the list I mentioned in this post, but all of them are fairly recent additions to my gaming backlog, so I'm going to do my best to tackle them this month (while I also continue to chip away at Super Mario Sunshine, of course).

Will I "beat" all of them? I highly doubt it, but I'll give it my best shot.

The main reason I'm attempting to play through so many of my backlogged games between now and the end of May, by the way: I'm fully expecting THE "DENPA" MEN 2: Beyond the Waves (releasing on May 30) and Animal Crossing: New Leaf (due out on June 9) to hog my attention throughout the month of June.

Anyway, have any of you fine folks played any of the three 3DS games mentioned at the top of this post? If so, what do you think of them?

See also: previous 'Bye-Bye, Backlog' posts

Don't worry, Luigi, I'll get to Dark Moon eventually

Do you ever pre-order a game and then forget about it? I do.

Not often, mind you, but every once in a while the release date of a game--even one I've been looking forward to for some time--catches me off guard.

Such has been the case with Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon for the 3DS. I knew it was going to hit store shelves across North America this spring, but until Newegg sent me an e-mail last week saying my order had been shipped, I hadn't realized its release was so near.



As I'm sure you've already assumed based on the photo above, my copy of Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon arrived yesterday. Although I've freed it from its cellophane wrapper, I only did so because I know I'll get around to playing it sooner rather than later.

Don't expect "soon" to arrive, say, next week, though, as there's no way I'm popping this cartridge into my 3DS until I beat both EarthBound and Fire Emblem: Awakening (my current gaming obsessions).

In the meantime, are any of you playing through Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon? If so, what do you think of it so far?

A few thoughts on this morning's trifecta of Nintendo Direct broadcasts

So, the folks at Nintendo provided us with another trio of Nintendo Direct broadcasts this morning. (The last ones arrived less than a month ago.) Unlike the company's previous Nintendo Directs, the three that aired today--watch the North American one here--focused (mostly) on the 3DS. And not only that, but they focused on 3DS games featuring Luigi.

Here are a few brief thoughts on the three 3DS titles that fit the above-mentioned bill:

Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon (aka Luigi Mansion 2 in Japan)--This long-awaited game, which will, at long last, hit store shelves across North America on March 24, looks as gorgeous as always. Also, the online-enabled multiplayer modes sound like a lot of fun.



Mario & Luigi: Dream Team (aka Mario & Luigi RPG 4: Dream Adventure)--This one was a bit of a surprise, wasn't it? I mean, I assumed Nintendo would release another Mario & Luigi game at some point in time, but I never imagined they'd do so as soon as this summer--especially since Paper Mario: Sticker Star only came out a few months ago. Anyway, this iteration looks superb, and it'll likely be my first foray into this AlphaDream-developed series.



Mario Golf World Tour--I guess you could say this announcement was less surprising than the one above given that a new Mario Tennis title has already appeared on the 3DS, but I still found it a bit shocking. The question is: will this game, also due out this summer, be more worthy of purchasing than Camelot's earlier effort? I hope so, as I've been itching to experience another Mario Golf game for some time now.

After Nintendo president Satoru Iwata was done dropping those bombs, he turned the reins over to the crew at Nintendo of America, who chatted about Fire Emblem: Awakening DLC and (finally) pulled back the curtain on Animal Crossing: New Leaf's North American release date (June 9).



They also revealed that Game Freak's highly anticipated rhythmic platformer, HarmoKnight, will hit the eShop on March 28. (A demo of the game will be made available on March 14.) Oh, and HarmoKnight will soon be joined by a curious-looking title called Kersploosh!, Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move and Dillon's Rolling Western: The Last Ranger--the last of which will appear on April 11. All of the above looked good to my eyes, although I'm most interested in HarmoKnight at this point.



Finally, it was announced that Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D hit the streets of North America sometime this summer. I'll probably pass on the title myself, despite the fact that I enjoyed the Wii version of the game, but I'm sure a lot of 3DS owners will snap it up.



One other piece of news a select few of you may be interested in hearing: during the Japanese Nintendo Direct, Iwata discussed the next Daigasso Band Bros. game, saying that it will be able to access and play the more than 9,000 tracks that were created for Daigasso Band Bros. DX. Unfortunately, the title is still without a release date.

Another (Japanese) Nintendo Direct was promised for next week, by the way, and apparently it'll cover third-party 3DS titles. As such, expect a similar write-up about that event to appear here shortly after it wraps up.

10 North American 3DS games I'm looking forward to playing in 2013

As great as 2012 was for me and my 3DS (the same can't be said for my wallet), 2013 looks to be even better in terms of high-quality releases.

Which games am I most looking forward to shoving into my 3DS' cartridge slot over the next 12 months? Here's 10 of them:

1. Animal Crossing: New Leaf--Of all the games included in this post, this is the most shocking, right? Seriously, though, I'm looking forward to playing New Leaf more than any other title that's set to be released--for any system, not just the 3DS--in 2013. My husband, on the other hand, likely is dreading its release, as he knows it's going to take over my life for at least a few months.

2. Bravely Default: Flying Fairy--I know this beautiful, 4 Heroes of Light-esque RPG hasn't been announced for North American release yet, but I'm including it here anyway in the hopes that Square Enix will do so soon.

3. Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers--See the Bravely Default blurb above, but replace Square Enix with Atlus USA. Seriously, though, I think the chances of this one ending up in my grubby little hands are pretty good given Atlus USA's track record when it comes to the MegaTen series.

4. Etrian Odyssey IV--Full disclosure: Although I've been a fan of this dungeon-crawling series since the first title was released for the DS back in 2007, I've yet to play the second and third entries. Regardless, I'm going to pick up the fourth the day it's made available in my neck of the woods.

5. Fire Emblem: Awakening--Ever since the Japanese version of this tactical RPG was first shown off, I've wanted to play it. Given Nintendo of America's track record of bringing niche-y games to this region, though, I was a bit worried I'd never be able to do so. Thankfully, they recently proved me wrong and revealed that it'll be out in early February.

A few thoughts on yesterday morning's trio of Nintendo Direct broadcasts

As some (most?) of you likely are aware, Nintendo's European, Japanese and North American arms all broadcasted Nintendo Direct presentations yesterday morning.

Since I took the time to watch both the Japanese and North American ones (I didn't watch the European Nintendo Direct because I was pretty sure it would ape its North American counterpart--which it apparently did), I thought I'd share a few thoughts on them here.

Nintendo of Japan's Nintendo Direct--My only thought about this one, which focused on Wii U software and mostly covered well-worn ground: Damn, Pikmin 3 looks good. Amazing, even. Oh, and: Square Enix (or Nintendo, or both) better bring Dragon Quest X to our shores. Wait, one more: They're not really going to try to sell Wii U Panorama View, are they?

Nintendo of America's Nintendo Direct--Oh, another look at Pikmin 3. Unsurprisingly, it still looks amazing. I especially like the looks of the segment that appears to take place on a beach at night. Also: Wii Fit U to be released in early 2013? Sounds good to me. Hearing that Luigi's Manion: Dark Moon won't make it out until "spring 2013" sounds, er, less good. Is it really that difficult to give this game a specific release date, Nintendo of America? Still, we were told that Fire Emblem: Awakening will hit the streets on Feb. 4 and that Game Freak's fabulous-looking HarmoKnight (above) will hit the eShop sometime during the first quarter, so this Nintendo Direct wasn't completely disappointing.

Nintendo of Europe's Nintendo Direct--You may have noticed that the blurb above didn't include even a passing mention of Animal Crossing: New Leaf (which may just be my most-anticipated game of 2013 at the moment). Well, that's because neither Reggie nor the other Nintendo of America staffers featured in that presentation bothered to bring it up. Thankfully, it sounds as though it was discussed, at least briefly, during Nintendo of Europe's broadcast--although the word is it was given a "Q2 2013" release window, which means April, May or June. Where's that "Debbie Downer" sound clip when you need it?

What did all of you think of the information and footage that came out of these broadcasts? Were you pleased? Disappointed? Or maybe you felt an entirely different emotion after watching them?

Goodbye, Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon; hello, Style Savvy: Trendsetters

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Nintendo of America revealed earlier this morning that Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon won't be released in this neck of woods until "the first half of 2013."

Although that makes me all kinds of sad, I won't be shedding these salty, bitter tears for long. That's because Nintendo's North American arm also announced release dates for a number of 3DS games that will take the place of Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon on store shelves between now and the end of the year.



The question is: Will some of these games also take the place of Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon in our hearts and minds between now and whenever that much-anticipated (and much-delayed) title finally hits the streets?

For me, the answer is a resounding "yes." In particular, I'm planning to pick up--and thoroughly enjoy--copies of Art Academy: Lessons for Everyone! (which will be released on Oct. 1), Crosswords Plus (Oct. 1), Paper Mario: Sticker Star (Nov. 11) and Style Savvy: Trendsetters (Oct. 22).



I'll also likely pick up Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask (Oct. 28) and Freakyforms Deluxe: Your Creations, Alive! (Nov. 5), but I'm not yet sure if they'll be added to my 3DS collection this year or next.

Are any of you also planning to purchase one or more of the above-named games? If so, which ones?

My two-word review of Nintendo's 3DS Software Showcase: More meh

Actually, saying that yesterday's 3DS Software Showcase was a "meh" experience is like saying my early teens were enjoyable.

A much more accurate description of the event, in my opinion, would be to say that it sucked. Or, rather, that it completely sucked.

The reason: The folks at Nintendo of America didn't show or even announce a single new 3DS game. Yes, you read that correctly--not a single new 3DS game, first-party or otherwise, was discussed during this so-called showcase.

Because I spent an hour of my time to watch it, though, I've decided to write a blog post about it. Be warned, though: I have almost nothing nice to say about Nintendo this time around.

* I hereby nominate Nate Bihldorff to lead all of Nintendo of America's press events, E3 and otherwise, from here on out--Bihldorff, for those of you who haven't played through games like Animal Crossing and Paper Mario and read their end credits, is a senior localization manager and producer at Nintendo Treehouse. He was brought on stage twice during the 3DS Software Showcase--once to chat about New Super Mario Bros. 2 (below) and once to chat about Paper Mario: Sticker Star--and both times he showed that he has more presence than his superiors, Reggie Fils-Aime and Scott Moffitt, combined. Whereas Moffitt, who headed up this particular presser, was as awkward as can be, Bihldorff was relaxed and even witty. More Bihldorff, less Fils-Aime and Moffitt in the future, please!



* Thanks for offering up such specific release dates, Nintendo!--In a move that will surprise nearly no one, but will irritate nearly everyone, Moffitt reiterated during the 3DS Software Showcase that the numeral-phobic pair of upcoming releases known as Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon (below) and Paper Mario: Sticker Star will hit store shelves (and the Nintendo eShop, too, I'm guessing) "this holiday season." Gee, thanks! I'll be sure to circle the entire months of November and December, and maybe even January, on my calendar in anticipation. Really, would it be so hard to provide us 3DS owners with actual release dates? I guess so. At least they didn't leave us hanging in regards to New Super Mario Bros. 2, which will see the light of day--both digitally and at retail--on Aug. 19.



* If Animal Crossing 3DS isn't released before the end of the year, I'm going to make voodoo dolls that look like Satoru Iwata and send them to anyone who wants one--Unexpectedly, the long-awaited (by me, at least), 3DS-based iteration of Animal Crossing wasn't even mentioned during this so-called showcase. Why? I have no idea. I'm guessing it's because Nintendo of America had too many other great 3DS releases to talk about during this hour-long event. Only they didn't. Like I said earlier, not a single new game was announced yesterday. Even worse, only a handful of previously-announced games were given center stage, with those games being Castlevania: Lords of Shadow--Mirror of Fate (what a great title!), Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion, Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, New Super Mario Bros. 2 and Paper Mario: Sticker Star (below). In other words, Moffitt and Bihldorff had plenty of time to toss out a sentence or two about the game that's sure to sell as much as each of the aforementioned titles combined.



* That's all right, Nintendo, I wasn't planning on buying any more eShop games this year anyway--OK, so that's a lie; I was planning on buying more eShop games this year. Sadly, Nintendo of America decided to mention just two of them during the 3DS Software Showcase: Pokémon Dream Radar and Pokédex 3D Pro. I'm guessing this means the Dragon-Quest-meets-Pikmin curiosity known as Denpa Ningen RPG won't be making its way to our shores anytime soon? If so, bummer.

I could easily add a few more complaints--such as, oh, the fact that Fire Emblem: Awakening was completely ignored--to the list above, but why bother? I'm sure you get the idea that I was more than a bit disappointed (disgusted may be a better word) by Nintendo's 3DS Software Showcase.

Were any of you similarly turned off by the event? If so, what were you hoping the folks at Nintendo of America would discuss or reveal?

See also: 'My one-word review of E3 2012 (thus far): Meh'