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?

Help me come up with some recommendations for a new DS owner who prefers retro games

My friend Simon, who runs the lovely retro-focused game blog called Red Parsley, recently reached out to me to share the joyful news that he's now the proud owner of a Nintendo DS.

Unsurprisingly, he also asked if I could offer up a few DS game recommendations.

I did just that late last night. Specifically, I said he should consider picking up some or all of the following for various reasons I won't go into here:

9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors
Bangai-O Spirits
Big Bang Mini
Contact
Dragon Quest IX
Hotel Dusk
Kirby Canvas Curse
Mr. Driller: Drill Spirits
My World, My Way
Pac-Pix
Puzzle Bobble DS
Retro Game Challenge
Rhythm Heaven
Soul Bubbles
Taiko no Tatsujin DS
Tetris DS 
The World Ends with You
Yoshi Touch & Go

Although I have a feeling all (or at least some) of the games mentioned above could keep Simon and his new DS busy for a long time to come, I also think it couldn't hurt to send him a few more suggestions.

So, I'm asking all of you: which DS titles would you recommend to someone who is new to Nintendo's first dual-screened system and who tends to prefer games of the "old school" variety? 

Photographic proof that, even when it comes to game-related pickups, bigger isn't always better

You know that ages-old saying, "big things come in small packages"? (Some of you may know it as "good things come in small packages.")

Well, I'm now a firm believer in it being applicable to game-related pickups as well as all sorts of other life situations.

This revelation was brought about by the surprisingly small package that can be seen in the photo below, by the way. (Look past the copy of Mr Driller: Drill Spirits, which I included so as to provide a proper sense of scale.)

The package in question was just (or, rather, over the weekend) delivered to my doorstep, and it contains a surprising amount of gaming goodness.



As for exactly what that gaming goodness entails, I'm sorry to do this, but I'm going to leave that for an upcoming post. Not because I'm a fan of teasing people who happen upon my blog with overly vague write-ups like this one, mind you. No, I'm doing it because I haven't yet taken--and properly prepared--photos of its this box's contents.

Still, I wanted to publish a note (and photo) about its arrival because it has me feeling more excited than I have in quite some time.

In the meantime, you could always try to guess what's inside this tiny package. Or you can wait a week or so until I share this post's follow-up.

If you decide to go with the second option, maybe you can tell me (and everyone else who reads this write-up) about any game-related pickups that have thrilled you in recent weeks?

Shall We Do It? (Danganronpa, The Legend of Legacy demo and Mr. Driller: Drill Spirits)

Now that I've wrapped up my many-hours-long playthroughs of 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors and Hotel Dusk (read my impressions of this pair of top-shelf DS games here and here), I'm finally spending time with some other titles I've been eyeing up for ages.

Specifically, I'm spending time with Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, The Legend of Legacy demo that hit the 3DS eShop last week and Mr. Driller: Drill Spirits.

Here are a few thoughts on the above-mentioned games based on my recent experiences with them:

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (Vita)--I started playing this Vita-based visual novel earlier this year but then moved it to the back burner because ... actually, I have no idea what prompted me to walk away from it for a bit.

Regardless, I’m back to playing it again—although I’ve got to admit I’m only doing so in fits and spurts at the moment. (You can blame that on The Legend of Legacy demo that commandeered my attention shortly after I downloaded it late last week. Thankfully, I think I’ve nearly exhausted that teaser’s content, so my schedule should open up again shortly.)

Anyway, the few hours I’ve played of Danganronpa since I wrapped up 999 a couple of weeks back have been pretty darn enjoyable. In large part, that's because I really like this game’s unsettling atmosphere. Its jazzy, low-key soundtrack is partially responsible, too.

One aspect of Danganronpa that I’m currently reveling in and reviling in equal measure is its free-roaming nature. On the one hand, I love being able to move around as I please, but on the other, that flexibility makes it easy to get lost—or at least become confused as to where I'm supposed to go or what I'm supposed to do next.

Of course, that’s a problem I've had with every single visual novel I’ve played to date, so maybe I shouldn't point to it as an example of something that's wrong with this particular example of the genre.

I'd recommend taking all of the above with at least a medium-sized grain of salt, by the way. I still have a long way to go before I see Danganronpa's credit roll, so it's more than possible my opinions of this much-acclaimed game will change between now and then.

The Legend of Legacy demo (3DS)--In the six days since I downloaded this demo, I've put nearly five hours into it.

That alone should indicate how much I'm digging it, as only the most special of games are able to grab that much of my attention these days.

So, which of The Legend of Legacy's components are most responsible for me feeling so gaga about it at the moment? One would be the map-drawing focus of its overworld and another would be the strategic, turn-based nature of its fights, that's for sure.

Speaking of The Legend of Legacy's overworld, I've become similarly enamored with the pop-up effect that's used with such confidence in each and every area you're tasked with exploring within this demo. I'm sure some will find it maddening, but I think it meshes well with the rest of the game's coloring-book aesthetic.

So, which of this FuRyu-made and Atlus-published (in North America) RPG's many components have yet to trip my trigger, as that quaint old saying goes? The best example I can come up with is its character designs. Although I love the frog prince, Filmia, and the bosomy Amazon, Eloise, I find the rest of this game's potential party members to be a snooze.

Sadly, I consider even the most boring character designs to be downright thrilling when compared to the majority of The Legend of Legacy's enemy designs. A few of the bosses showcased in the demo are OK, but the rest of what's on offer here is blah at best and tragic at worst.

All that said, I'm very much looking forward to getting my hands on the full, retail version of The Legend of Legacy halfway through October. I don't suppose any of you are in the same boat?

Mr. Driller: Drill Spirits (DS)--I've got to be honest here: when I bought Drill Spirits, I did so expecting not to like it very much. My previous experiences with the Mr. Driller series left me cold, mainly because they made me think there was absolutely no depth to its gameplay.

Still, I've always loved the series' protagonist, Susumu Hori, and I've also always loved its Candy Land graphics, so I picked up Drill Spirits in the hopes that they would prompt me to fall in love with the rest of what Mr. Driller has to offer.

Has it succeeded? Actually, I think it has. After all, I've devoted more than three hours to Drill Spirits in the last week or so.

An even more impressive feat, if my opinion: all of that time has been spent on the first two of this game's "Mission Driller" stages. (I call that impressive because usually spending such a long time on just two stages would drive me batty--to the point that I'd rather toss the cartridge in the trash than continue to plug away at it.)

I'd say the most positive thing about my playthrough (if it even can be called that) of Mr. Driller: Drill Spirits so far is that it's gotten me to stop thinking of this series as being one full of releases that feature paper-thin gameplay. No, there isn't a ton of depth to be had here, but there's more than initially meets the eye, that's for sure.

Even if that weren't the case, though, I'd still probably get a kick out of Drill Spirits' frenetic excavating action. I don't know that I'd call it fun, exactly, but it's definitely satisfying--especially whenever I'm able to complete a level without any special-item assistance--and that's more than enough for me right now.

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

Which game should I play next as part of my #ADecadeofDS series?

I know they're not the most popular of the many series I've started over the years (a few of which have fallen by the wayside, it pains me to admit), but I'm really having fun digging through my ever-growing stash of European, Japanaese and North American DS games so I can play and write about them in one of my "A Decade of DS" columns.

That said, I'm having a hard time deciding which DS game I should go with for my next such write-up, which will be published in about a week (following the one I publish about Awatama, aka Soul Bubbles).

So, I thought I'd ask all of you to help me choose. I'm not going to ask for you to name random suggestions, though; instead, I'd like you to select one of the following:

Contact
Mr. Driller Drill Spirits
My World, My Way
Pac-Pix

Not that it matters, but the first two DS titles are the European versions of the games, while the third one is the North American release and the fourth is the Japanese iteration.

And what if no one votes, or if some folks vote and there's a tie? In that case, I guess I'll just flip a coin or something.

See also: previous 'A Decade of DS' posts

12 import games I bought in 2012 but didn't tell you about until now: Mr. Driller Drill Spirits (DS)

Remember this post from earlier this year? If not, no biggie. The reason I'm mentioning it now is that in that post I asked folks for their opinions as to which version of Mr. Driller Drill Spirits I should buy--the European, the Japanese or the North American one.

As you can see in the photos below, I ended up going with the European one. Not because I prefer its box art to the box art that was used for the Japanese or North American releases, mind you. Rather, I bought the Euro version because I came across a dirt-cheap copy on eBay and just couldn't pass it up.

Anyway, this iteration's box art is pretty nice, don't you think? I, of course, like the soft color scheme, although I have to admit I'm not at all sure why Susumu Hori (the protagonist) and Puchi (the pup) are framed by pink and purple puffs.

The photo above is of the back of Mr. Driller Drill Spirits' box, as I'm sure you can tell. I'm including it here just so I can cover all the bases. Plus, it features a rainbow.

Have you ever wondered what the cartridge that contains the European version of Mr. Driller Drill Spirits looks like? Well, wonder no more! I know, it could be a smidge more exciting, but it is a DS cart label we're talking about, after all.

See also: Previous '12 import games I bought in 2012 but didn't tell you about until now' posts

Let's Play: 'Which Box Art is Better?' (Mr. Driller Drill Spirits edition)

Hey, don't look at me that way. I told you (last week, in this post) that I was a bit obsessed with Mr. Driller at the moment, remember?

Anyway, thanks to said obsession, I'm thinking of picking up another Mr. Driller title. (I currently only own the PS1 port of the arcade original.)

Specifically, I'm thinking of picking up the series' DS-based sequel, Mr. Driller Drill Spirits, which was released in Japan and North America in 2004 and throughout Europe in 2005.

Normally, of course, I'd just pick up the North American version, as it's sure to be the cheapest. When it comes to Mr. Driller Drill Spirits, though, that isn't the case, as all versions of the game (European, Japanese and North American) can be purchased for between $15 and $25 right now.

Also, I'm a bit wary of buying the North American release because it lacks a few of the features that are found in the Japanese and European releases.

As a result of all of the above, I've decided to devote an installment of "Which Box Art is Better?" to Mr. Driller Drill Spirits--in the hopes that your comments and opinions will help me decide which iteration I should add to my collection.

Here is the art that graced the cover of the European version of the game:

And here is the Japanese version's box art:

Finally, here is the art that was produced for Mr. Driller Drill Spirit's North American packaging:

Truthfully, I like all of the cover illustrations that were created for this game. If I had to choose a favorite, though, I'd probably go with the Japanese one--mainly because I like its use of pinks and browns.

I'm sure most folks consider the North American box art to be the "best," thanks to the fact that it's the only one that attempts to depict this portable puzzler's gameplay, but for whatever reason it doesn't appeal to me as much as the others.

So, those are my thoughts on this (completely silly) issue. What are yours? Which version would you pick up if you were me?

See also: Previous 'Which Box Art is Better?' posts