Another installment of The Nichiest Podcast Ever is on the way

You know how I spent the latter part of last night? I spent it chatting (via Skype) with Anne and shidoshi. We weren't just shooting the shit, of course; we were recording a new episode of The Nichiest Podcast Ever. (The finished product should be available sometime this weekend or early next week.)

We covered a lot of ground this time around, beginning with discussion about a bunch of niche-y games that we're all looking forward to playing this year, including Atelier Ayesha (PS3), Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers (3DS), Killer is Dead (PS3/Xbox 360), Muramasa: The Demon Blade (Vita), Rune Factory 4 (3DS) and Valhalla Knights 3 (Vita).

We also talked about the physical edition of Class of Heroes 2 that may or may not be offered the game-starved PSP owners in the coming months, the not-so-well-received-by-shidoshi-and-Anne Corpse Party: Book of Shadows (PSP), the recently released PS3 RPG, Ni no Kuni, and the awesome outfit-creation aspect of Animal Crossing: New Leaf (3DS).

Oh, and during this podcast's "Cheerleading" segment, Anne trumpeted Pandora's Tower (Wii), while shidoshi did the same in regards to Fire Emblem: Awakening (3DS) and I once again blathered on about that wacky PS2 "classic," Chulip.

One more thing before I hit "publish" on this sucker: be sure to stick around for the end, when I am deemed (by shidoshi) to be the "bad boy" of this niche-game-loving trio.

See also: previous 'Nichiest Podcast Ever' posts

Five favorites: Japanese Wii box art

Since I'm feeling kind of nostalgic when it comes to the Wii--and the DS, too--right now, I thought I'd work up a few posts dedicated to my favorite pieces of box art created for Nintendo's "seventh generation" systems.

This one focuses on box art that was created for the Wii, of course. Note that I'm only covering Japanese box art in this particular post. I may publish a similar post in the future that focuses on, say, North American Wii box art, this one is limited to box art made for game-buyers in the Land of the Rising Sun.

1. Dragon Quest X--Say what you will about Dragon Quest X the game, but it's hard to knock its cover art, don't you think? Not only is it wonderfully colorful, but it's filled to the brim with characters and other details. I'm especially fond of the grinning Puklipo who seems to be doing a backflip on the right edge of the illustration, by the way.

2. Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon--Given my love of post-apocalyptic novels and movies, I find it kind of astonishing that I've yet to pick up a copy of this Tri-Crescendo-developed title. Granted, it received fairly poor reviews, so that probably had something to do with it. Regardless, the Japanese release featured one of the best pieces of box art this "era," in my humble opinion. Had the folks at Xseed Games (Fragile Dreams' North American publisher) used that image rather than the one that ended up on store shelves I likely would have purchased it the day it was released.

So, I just pre-ordered Grand Knights History

I was on the fence about this Vanillaware-developed, Xseed Games-published, PSP-based RPG (yes, even after begging North American publishers to bring it to our shores) ... until I watched the following gameplay video the other day:



As soon as I saw the curved, globe-like backdrop and the beautiful, Princess Crown-ish (or maybe I should say Muramasa-esque?) characters in motion, I knew I had to pre-order this game--which is set to hit North American store shelves on Feb. 21--and pronto. (If you'd also like to pre-order a copy of Grand Knights History, you can do so here.)

I'm also on the verge of pre-ordering another PSP game, Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom, by the way. And Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time. And Gungnir.

Anyone who can talk me out of picking up any or all of the above-mentioned releases will earn my (and my bank account's) undying love and appreciation.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii: One of my favorite Wii games of 2009

I know what you're thinking: What a shocker! I mean, what blogger/critic/journalist/poet/writer hasn't placed Mario's latest two-dimensional romp through the Mushroom Kingdom at the top of his/her "best Wii game of 2009" list?

As much as I hate bandwagons (they're so bumpy!), I have to take a seat on this one. Sure, New Super Mario Bros. Wii isn't a perfect game, but it is a perfectly fun game. In fact, it's the funnest game I've played in a very long time.

That alone is enough for me to declare New Super Mario Bros. Wii my favorite Wii game of 2009. Yes, other aspects of the title--its charming and colorful graphics, its nostalgia-laden levels, its maniacal multiplayer mode--are worthy of adoration and praise, too, but all of them pale in comparison to its imitable "fun factor."

Since I have so little to say about New Super Mario Bros. Wii, why don't I share my thoughts on the games that nearly topped my "best of 2009" list?

Little King's Story--Yoshirou Kimura, the mastermind behind the bat-shit crazy Chulip, also made this simulation-slash-RPG, so you know it's a little weird and a lot wonderful. (Or maybe a lot weird and a lotter wonderful? You know what I mean.) It's also cute, charming and compelling--and well worth its (current) $43.19 price of admission.

Muramasa: The Demon Blade--button-mashing action RPGs really aren't my bag, baby, but I'll make an exception for Muramasa. Why? Well, for starters, the graphics are amazing. Actually, they're more than that--they're what I imagine heaven would look like if heaven was a two-dimensional video game created by the folks at Vanillaware. Second (and third, I guess), the game sounds and plays like a dream. A wet dream. A wet dream you experience over and over and over again, until you're completely wiped out. At least, that's what it's like for me.

Wii Sports Resort--This sequel/spin-off/whateveryouwannacallit to Wii Sports certainly is a steal. It includes 12 (yes, 12) different "sports," for crying out loud! The funny thing is, you'll probably only care about half of them--if that. It won't matter, though, because you'll really care about the half you care about. (You're following me, right?) For me, the "sports" (sorry, I can't help but use quotes here) that make this title worth the moolah: air sports, archery, frisbee, swordplay and table tennis.