Nice Package! (Mr. Driller: Drill Land, GameCube)

Considering every aspect of Namco's long-running Mr. Driller game series is utterly adorable, it astounds me it took me so many years to jump aboard.

In fact, I didn't buy my first Mr. Driller title--that would be the PlayStation port of the very first one--until late in 2011. A year later, the Mr. Driller floodgates opened and I bought the DS entry, Drill Spirits, as well as the WonderSwan iteration of the original.

Today, I own so many Mr. Driller games they're coming out of my ears. OK, that's obviously overstating things a tad, but the point stands. I have a lot of Mr. Driller cartridges and discs at the moment. Without question, the one that's most dear to me is the one displayed in the photo below.

Why am I so smitten with Mr. Driller: Drill Land, you ask? Well, to begin with, it's a GameCube title. That alone is enough to make me swoon these days. (I'm a tiny bit obsessed with Nintendo's last "traditional" console right now. Which of course means you should expect me to publish a slew of posts about it in the coming weeks and months.)

Another reason is Drill Land's gorgeous packaging. Seriously, take a gander at the front of the game's outer sleeve (above) and try to tell me it doesn't make you tear up a smidge.

Naturally, the back of Mr. Driller: Drill Land's outer sleeve is looker, too--though I doubt anyone would argue it looks better than its flip side. That said, I quite like the 1970s-esque "swoosh" that flows down the reverse's right edge.

Drill Land's outer sleeve also sports a lovely little illustration near the base of its side flap. A small detail, yes, but a nice one all the same.

That same illustration pops up on the game's shockingly teeny disc, which can be seen in the previous snapshot. The use of orange here is rather nice, don't you think?

I don't know that I'd go so far as to suggest that inside Mr. Driller: Drill Land's instruction manual is where all the magic is, but I'd definitely say some magic is present within its many pages.

The spread showcased above is a good example, as is the one below.

Admittedly, Drill Land's manual suffers from a lot of the same ailments that hold back most such booklets produced after, say, the PlayStation era. Which is to say it features too much text and too little art. Still, I'm not going to toss it into the trash anytime soon. So I guess I'll just leave things at: "it could bet so much better."

As for the actual game that's on offer here, well, it's not a whole lot different from what's included in other entries in this series. Mr. Driller: Drill Land does present that tried-and-true gameplay in a somewhat unique way, though, and that is to be applauded. (Basically, players can pick from five distinct drilling games, each of which are styled as theme-park rides.)

Have any of you played Drill Land--and any other Mr. Driller title, for that matter? If so, please share your thoughts about them in the following comments section.

FYI: I'm quickly becoming obsessed with the GameCube

Granted, it's really damn easy to fall head over heels in love with Nintendo's fourth console thanks to the adorable form factor of its hardware. Also, the packaging of the system's Japanese games is beyond precious.

Speaking of which, the latter is what's prompted me to regain interest in the GameCube in recent weeks.

What do I mean? Well, after spending time with Mr. Driller: Drill Spirits last month,  I decided to get off my lazy butt and buy Mr. Driller: Drill Land as well.

In case you weren't aware, Drill Land's box art is pretty darn nice. Just as nice, though, is its overall package, which is a lot smaller and cuter than you might think (about the size of a Japanese GBA game box, although thinner). Plus, the little cardboard sleeve that covers and protects the plastic case beneath is a nice change of pace from the bulky DVD cases publishers have used since the PS2 hit the streets all those years ago.

Anyway, that single purchase spurred me to pick up a few more Japanese GameCube titles as well--all of which I'll of course chat about in future blog posts.

I'm also seriously considering finally picking up an "orange spice" Japanese GameCube system sometime in 2016. Not only have I wanted to own one for ages, but making it happen now (or soon) would allow me to play all of these recently acquired games in style, wouldn't you agree?

That may be just what I need to finally get behind this "failed" console. After all, I've hardly been its biggest fan over the years.

I don't know if I've ever shared this here, but I'm surprisingly inexperienced--given my overall love of Nintendo games and hardware--with the GameCube.

I waited a good couple of years before I bought one, and even then it was only because the console was $99 and because I felt a desperate need to experience the weird life sim, Animal Crossing, for myself. (The latter also was on sale at the time, thanks to it being one of the company's rare "Player's Choice" offerings.)

I purchased a few other GameCube titles afterward--The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Mario Power Tennis and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door among them--but once I was done with them, I moved on to other systems and rarely looked back. (Animal Crossing has been the one exception, naturally.)

So, this will effectively be my "second chance" with this sixth-generation console--and believe me, I intend to make the most of it.

What do all of you think of the GameCube, by the way? Do you like the system and its catalog of games, or is it a console that's never really done much for you?