A few thoughts on the two new 3DS StreetPass games and the Mii Plaza 'upgrade'

Now that I've spent a full week with Nintendo's latest pair of 3DS StreetPass games, I thought I'd take a few minutes to share my thoughts on them--and the Mii Plaza "upgrade" that was released alongside the aforementioned pieces of software.

OK, so I didn't spend the entirety of the last week with these titles--one of which is known in this neck of the woods as Battleground Z and the other of which is known as Ultimate Angler--but I did spend a few minutes with them each and every day (thanks to the handful of StreetPasses I nabbed during my commutes to and from work).

So, what do I think of these bite-sized efforts now that I've experienced at least a little of what they have to offer? For starters, I'll say that I'm enjoying Battleground Z a lot more than I thought I would before I downloaded it. Granted, the main reasons I was fairly ho-hum about this game in advance of actually playing it is that I'm no longer all that enamored with the undead and I've never much cared for the beat 'em up genre. Neither of those things have gotten in the way of me having an absolute blast with Battleground Z so far, though, so clearly the folks at Good-Feel did something right when they made it.

My favorite aspect of Battleground Z at the moment: the wacky weapons that StreetPassed Miis offer up when you save them. Flash-enabled cameras, superhero costumes and Wii remotes all have been handed over to me so far, and every one of them has proven its worth in battle--while also bringing a smile to my face, of course.

As for Ultimate Angler, I'm slowly but surely warming up to it after initially finding it a bit chilly. For whatever reason, my first few stints with it had me yawning. Maybe my expectations were too high heading into it? After all, I usually love fishing games--especially cute ones.

It's quite possible my main issue with Ultimate Angler early on was its reeling mechanism, which makes enough sense (spin your 3DS' circle pad to pull in a fish) in theory, but feels kind of awkward in practice. I think I'm beginning to get a handle on it, though, so hopefully my opinion of it will perk up in the coming days.

Even if it doesn't, I'll still consider Ultimate Angler a more worthy pick up than the Mii Plaza upgrade that's currently being sold for just under five smackeroonies (that would be $5). As far as I can tell, all this purchase provides 3DS owners with is the ability to collect and catalog (à la a game of bingo) the birthdays of StreetPassersby as well as the ability to move your favorite Miis into some sort of VIP room. Pretty exciting, right?

Seriously, though, despite my rather ho-hum response to the Mii Plaza upgrade, I'm pretty happy I handed over my hard-earned cash for Battleground Z and Ultimate Angler. Are any of you feeling the same way, or are you wishing you'd saved your dough? Let me--and others--know in the comments section below.

Raise your hand if you, too, are looking forward to the two new 3DS StreetPass games that are being prepped for release

I know not everyone loves the handful of StreetPass games Nintendo has released for the 3DS so far, but I'm guessing most of those negative feelings are born out of the fact that not enough folks outside of Japan regularly have their 3DSes "on their person," as the saying goes, to make playing these digital titles worthwhile.

Thankfully, I live in a city that's packed with enough people that I nab at least three or four StreetPasses (if not more) every day while commuting to and from work.

As such, I'm pretty darn smitten with each and every one of the StreetPass games that currently are available--and I'm also pretty darn stoked to buy and play the two new ones that will be made available in North America on April 16.



The trailer above offers a peek at both of them--one of which will be known here as Battleground Z, while the other will be known as Ultimate Angler--along with something called "StreetPass Mii Plaza Premium," an app I know next to nothing about at the moment.

It appears that Ultimate Angler was developed by the able team at PROPE, previously responsible for Ivy the Kiwi! and a number of other wonderful games, and Battleground Z was made by Good-Feel, which most recently showed up in the credit roll for Mario & Luigi: Dream Team.

Will any of you be buying any of the above offerings on day one, or even at some point down the road? If so, let me know which ones in the comments section below and also let me know why you're planning to buy them.

My favorite games of 2013

I haven't played as many games in 2013 as I imagined I would before the year began, but I've still played enough to be able to write a post about the ones that have pleased me the most.

Strangely--or perhaps not, considering my current obsession with the dual-screened handheld--all of the games discussed herein were released for Nintendo's 3DS. (That's not to suggest I've only played 3DS titles this year; pretty much all of the other games I played in the last 12 months, though, were for "older gen" systems like the DS, GameBoy, PC Engine, PlayStation and PSP.)

Animal Crossing: New Leaf--If I were to hold up one of these games as my absolute favorite of 2013, it would be this one. Not only have I played it more than any other title this year, but I've spent more time with it than I've spent with any game in the last few years (if not ever). I'm still not sure which Animal Crossing game I like best, the original or New Leaf, but it doesn't really matter--they're both among the most entrancing games I've ever come across.

Attack of the Friday Monsters! A Tokyo Tale--Thank goodness for the 3DS eShop. Without it, gamers outside of Japan probably never would have gained access to this nostalgia-tinted title, which I can only describe as three parts open-ended adventure and one part card battles. Don't worry if that sounds less than thrilling--I can't imagine anyone but the most crotchety of gamers disliking this digital release.

THE "DENPA" MEN 2: Beyond the Waves--Although I haven't enjoyed Beyond the Waves as much as I enjoyed its more simplistic and straightforward predecessor, I've still had a good time with it. Sure, I find some of the newly introduced elements to be overwhelming, but I like a number of them, too--such as the new body colors and the additional clothing and equipment that can be used to alter the looks and even abilities of your adorable "Denpa" crew.

Nintendo's four "new" StreetPass Mii Plaza games--I held off on buying Flower Town, Mii Force, Monster Manor and Warrior's Way for quite a while (I only did so about two weeks ago) because I was unsure as to whether they'd be worth $15. Now that I've spent some quality time with each of them, I can safely say they're well worth the asking price--assuming you regularly StreetPass other 3DS owners--with Mii Force (the shmup shown above) and Monster Manor being my current faves.

Pokémon X--Back when it was first revealed, I wasn't all that sure what to think of the latest pair of Pokémon games. As soon as I started playing one of them, though, I was sold on its brilliance. That I've yet to get even close to finishing it says more about how hectic my life has become in the last few months than it does about the quality of this portable RPG, so rest assured I'm going to do my best to beat it in 2014.

Witch and Hero--It may surprise some of you to hear this, but I think this eShop title may be my second favorite game of 2013. There's just something about its mix of simplicity and depth (in terms of its gameplay--as in, there's more to Witch and Hero than simply bumping into baddies as quickly as possible), I guess. It's not for everyone, as the saying goes, but for me it's been the perfect title to turn to whenever I've got five or 10 minutes to blow.

A few games that I likely would've included here if I'd played more than an hour or so of them so far: Darumeshi Sports Store, Fire Emblem: Awakening and The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds