I've already spent $5 on Nintendo Badge Arcade; how about you?

Did I say $5? What I meant to say was $10.

What on earth prompted me to hand over $10 of real-world money to play the just-released 3DS application-cum-bottom-line-stuffer called Nintendo Badge Arcade?



I'll give you three reasons, with the first being the BOXBOY! badges Nintendo plopped onto its claw machine-esque app in early November, and the second and third being the Pikmin and Pushmo badges that followed closely behind.

Thankfully, I've since come to my senses and I haven't plunked any more of my hard-earned cash into Nintendo Badge Arcade for at least a couple of days now.



All bets are off, though, if Nintendo cruelly decides to tease me with some Ice Climber or Kid Icarus badges in the coming weeks.

Strangely, despite my unhealthy fascination with the Nintendo Badge Arcade and a good portion of its offerings so far, I've yet to do a whole lot with the spoils I've yanked from the app.

In fact, at the moment, I've simply got a handful of adorable Pikmin creatures traipsing along the top of my favorite 3DS icons. (Previously, I used my BOXBOY! badges to conjure up a slightly more creative scene, but I quickly replaced it because I found it too busy.)

How about you guys and gals? Have you put any time into Nintendo Badge Arcade? If so, which of its many digital pins have most attracted your attention?

Hooray, hooray, a brand-new Pushmo game is on the way!

Actually, if you own a Japanese 3DS, it's already here. Its name is Pushmo: Hippa Land, by the way, and it looks completely and awesomely adorable--or completely and adorably awesome, if that's how you prefer to butter your bread.

Don't believe me when I say this eShop game looks both awesome and adorable (as well as, er, complete)? Check out the trailer below (or here, if the video's borked).

For anyone who is left a bit confused by that two-minute-and-forty-eight-second slice of heaven, the gist of what sets this Pushmo apart from its three predecessors is that it features four distinct worlds.

One features puzzles that are typical of the series, one features puzzles that look like objects (such as the Tower of Pisa), one features puzzles teaming with enemies and one features puzzles that are inspired by classic Famicom (NES) games.



Oh, and you control a different Pushmo character in each world, although I'm sad to say I don't know enough about the series to know anyone other than Mallo.

Twenty-eight puzzles are offered up for free (seven from each world), but after that you have to hand over 500 yen for the 100 remaining regular puzzles and 300 yen each (900 yen total) for the rest of the other worlds' puzzles (50 per world, or 150 in all).

That comes to 1,400 yen for the whole enchilada--if you buy them separately. Those who know what's up will take Nintendo up on its offer to pay 1,000 yen (just under $10) to nab all of them at once.

Considering the original Pushmo and its two follow-ups, Crashmo and Pushmo World, eventually were released outside of Japan, I have to imagine the same will be true of Hippa Land. Here's hoping it doesn't take too for Nintendo to make that happen.

I want the Cupit one, the Diskun one, the Mallo one, the Popo one, the Sukapon one ...

Specifically, I want the Cupit, Diskun, Mallo, Popo and Sukapon throw pillows that are being sold (via redbubble.com) by graphic designer and illustrator Jarmez.

Here are the pillows in question, in case anyone's curious:

Cupit is from the Indieszero-made GBA game, Sennen Kazoku.

Diskun was Nintendo's mascot for its Famicom Disk System.

If you don't know Mallo, go buy Pushmo (3DS) now.

Popo is one of the protagonists in Ice Climber for NES.

Sukapon is from the Famicom fighter, Joy Mecha Fight.

The Jarmez-made pillows above aren't the only ones I'm coveting, of course. I'd also like the Chorus Kids one, the Nana one and the Animal Crossing villager one.

Amazingly, that's just the tip of the iceberg in terms of this Redbubble shop's game-inspired head-supporters. Additional "Nintendo Legends" designs can be seen here, for instance, while Mega Man, Pac-Man and Spyro ones can be seen here.

Jarmez is selling small, 16-inch-by-16-inch pillows for just $27.04 ($19.84 if you're only interested in a cover), while medium (18-inch-by-18-inch) and large (20-inch-by-20-inch) ones cost a smidge more.

(Via @hungryhole)