Manual Stimulation: Osawagase! Penguin Boy (GameBoy)

Osawagase! Penguin Boy's in-game graphics are cute as a button.

The same can't be said of this 1990 release's box art, which I find almost bizarrely ugly.

In fact, I found it so off-putting when I first bought my copy of the game that I waited over a year to open its instruction booklet--because I assumed it, too, was hideous.

Boy, was I wrong.

The Osawagase! Penguin Boy manual may not qualify as a stunner--like the manuals made for Bubble Bobble, Ghostbusters 2, and Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru surely are--but it's lovely nonetheless.



One reason for that is the manual made for Osawagase! Penguin Boy, renamed Amazing Penguin when it hit the streets of North America in 1991, kicks off with a multi-page comic. Yes, à la the Snow Bros. Jr. manual.



Said comic looks pretty hilarious, too. Not that I full understand everything that goes on within it, mind you.



Still, the high-quality illustrations nearly make the entire package--and I'm including the box and game cartridge here--worth the price of admission all on their own.



Interestingly, the Osawagase! Penguin Boy manual waits until the sixth page to detail the game's story. I guess its designers really wanted to rope in readers with the comic strip.



Next, we have some explanation as to how Osawagase! Penguin Boy plays. It's a fun little game, by the way, if you've yet to experience it for yourself. It's a bit like Taito's Qix, though cuter and more energetic.



Also, you get to kick objects at on-coming enemies in Osawagase! Penguin Boy. It's surprisingly satisfying.



Speaking of satisfying, that's just one of the words I'd use to describe the manual spread that showcases Osawagase! Penguin Boy's enemies. I mean, what's up with that bear character? Is he riding a cloud, or a baguette? Also, props to the bird boss exclaiming, "Love and Peace!"



Sadly, I have no clue--or little clue--as to the focus of these last two pages. I know the header on the left-hand page says something like "First Present!" but what does that mean?

If any of you have a better understanding of Japanese than I do (not a high bar to clear, if I'm to be honest) and can educate the rest of us as to what's going on in the final spread of the Osawagase! Penguin Boy instruction booklet, I'd be beyond thankful.

See also: the Japanese Penguin-kun Wars Vs. and Penguin Land GameBoy manuals

Manual Stimulation: Lucky Monkey (GameBoy)

Does Lucky Monkey not ring a bell? Maybe you know this adorable platformer by its Western name, Spanky's Quest.

I'm not a huge fan of either title, to be honest. Not that it matters--developer and publisher Natsume could've called this 1991 release (in Japan, at least) Monkey Game and I'd still love it to pieces.



Why do I love it? For starters, it's cute--and as you should be well aware by now, I tend to like cute games.

Also, a lot of Lucky Monkey's enemies are anthropomorphic vegetables or fruits--something else that's long caught my attention.



I'm attracted to more than Lucky Monkey's looks, though. I'm pretty fond of its soundtrack, too, which reminds me of the one conjured up for another Natsume joint, Shippo de Bun (Tail 'Gator outside of Japan).

And then there's the gameplay. I called it a platformer earlier, and while that's undoubtedly the best way to describe the action in Lucky Monkey, it's hardly a Super Mario Bros. clone.



Here, you take the eponymous simian through a series of tower-themed stages. To clear a stage, he (I think?) has to defeat all of its food-based baddies using balls that have been stashed away somewhere or other.

Actually, I'm not sure they're balls. After all, if you bounce them off the monkey's head a few times, they explode and shower the surrounding area--which includes some enemies, hopefully--with shrapnel.



So that's what you're getting from Lucky Monkey the game. But what are you getting from Lucky Monkey the manual?



Well, as you'll hopefully see as you go through this post, you're getting a rather nice example of a Japanese GameBoy instruction booklet.

I wouldn't call it a standout, mind you, but I wouldn't call it a turd either.



One of my favorite components of the Lucky Monkey manual: the little illustrations of the protagonist that line the top of each page.

The handful of (admittedly simplistic) other drawings that pop up now and then are worth ogling, too.



Also deserving of a thumbs-up, in my opinion: the blue-and-orange color scheme this booklet's designers employed during the printing process.

In the end, this one obviously could be quite a bit more thrilling, but even it its current state it's far from disappointing.



Or at least that's my opinion of Lucky Monkey's instruction manual. What do all of you think about it?

See also: photos of Lucky Monkey's packaging

Shippo de Bun's stunning packaging puts a new spin on the old phrase 'nice piece of tail'

I know this post should be included in my long-running "Year of the GameBoy" series, but I've got to cut the cord on it at some point (I launched it back in early 2014), so I figured now was as good a time as any.

Plus, any write-up about this Japanese title deserves a unique headline, if you ask me. Shippo de Bun is one of the best GameBoy releases around, after all.

Not that I knew this myself until a few years ago, mind you. Back in the summer of 1991, when this game first hit store shelves in North America and Europe--as Tail 'Gator--it completely avoided my radar. It wasn't until I came across its brilliant Japanese box art, showcased in the photo above, that it made any kind of impression on me.

Shortly after I figured out its name, I plopped it into the search bars on auction sites like eBay and Yahoo! Auctions Japan--and nearly fainted.

Anyone who collects GameBoy carts won't be surprised by that news, I'm sure. Why? Because copies of both Tail 'Gator and Shippo de Bun--complete-in-box ones, in particular--often cost a pretty penny these days.

Still, I was determined to own a Japanese copy of the game, so I kept my eye out for a reasonably priced one--and snapped one up earlier this year.

Am I glad I did, now that I've had a few months to ponder my wallet-withering decision? You bet. Like I said in my first attempt at this post's header, I think Shippo de Bun's packaging alone is worth the price of admission.

Couple that with the fact that Shippo de Bun--or Tail 'Gator, whichever you prefer--is an absolute blast to play, and I'd say the game is a must-own for anyone who owns and still plays a GameBoy (or GameBoy Color or GameBoy Advance) and has the needed funds.



If that doesn't quite describe you, I'd still recommending finding a way to experience some version of this game. It plays similarly to old-school single-screen platformers like Don Doko Don and Parasol Stars, but with a number of twists.

For starters, stages in Shippo de Bun take up more than a single screen. They only scroll sideways, though, not up and down, and most seem to cover about three screens.

Also, you don't capture or trap enemies in this Natsume-made game and then use them as weapons against their surviving co-conspirators, as is the case in most examples of the genre. Here, you whack baddies with your tail until they croak. You use the same appendage to crack open safes, which litter each level and provide vital power-ups.

Finally, your goal while playing Shippo de Bun isn't to clear each screen of enemies, but to find--in a safe, unsurprisingly--the key that opens a door that sits on opposite your entrance point.

It's all a lot more enjoyable than it probably sounds. Bolstering Shippo de Bun's appeal: it looks great and sounds even better. Seriously, the soundtrack that accompanies the alligator protagonist's trials and travails is among the best ever produced for a GameBoy cartridge. It's bouncy and jazzy and even a bit rock-y.

My only complaint about Shippo de Bun's packaging: its designers reused the same art for its outer box, manual cover, and cart label.

Oh, well, at least a few original illustrations can be found on the inside pages of its instruction booklet. Don't worry, you'll be able to give them a good, long look in a future installment of my "Manual Stimulation" series.

In the meantime, what do those of you who've played either Tail 'Gator or Shippo de Bun think of the game? And what do you think of the Japanese version's packaging?

See also: previous blog posts about the packaging produced for Burning Paper, Noobow, Peetan, Snow Bros. Jr., and Tumblepop

Five things I actually like about Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley

Despite what I wrote in this post earlier in the week (and on Twitter over the last number of weeks), I don't hate Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley.

In fact, there are quite a few things I like about this decidedly and unfortunately controversial 3DS title. Among them are its:

* art style--I'm sure a lot of people absolutely loathe how this game looks, but I'm not one of them. In fact, I'm quite fond of its low-poly aesthetics, which harken back to the days of the original PlayStation and the Nintendo 64. I especially like the bobblehead-esque human characters, and the animals are pretty darn cute, too.

* soundtrack--The Lost Valley's soundtrack isn't going to outright wow anyone or make them think it was produced by Nobuo Uematsu or someone like that. (Instead, it was composed by Tsukasa Tawada, who previously worked on the Keio Flying Squadron title and a bunch of Pokémon spinoffs.) Still, it's enjoyably subtle, if a bit repetitive. I haven't yet gotten sick of any of its tunes, though, which I'd say is a pretty good sign, all things considered.

* characters--By this, I don't mean character designs, especially as I mentioned them earlier. No, I'm talking about the characterizations featured in The Lost Valley. Each of the non-player characters you encounter in this game have unique and appealing (for the most part, at least) personalities. I wouldn't call them amazing, mind you, but I'd definitely say they're more pleasant than they have any right to be.

* story--In a way, at least. I mean, in a way, I hate this game's story with the heat of a thousand suns--mainly because it's responsible for the first, in-game year taking place in a nearly constant winter--but aside from that, I like its overall arc about returning the seasons to this desolate land by enlisting the aid of its handful of denizens.

* developer's daring (some may call it bat-shit crazy) decision to put and leave players in a completely uncomfortable situation for long periods of time--This one's another odd choice (just like the last bullet point), I have to admit, as it's the aspect of this game that is sure to piss off nearly everyone who plays it. Still, you've got to give it to the folks at Natsume (and Tabot, Inc.) for having the balls to take such a route. If only it had resulted in something that were more artistic and less ... annoying.

See also: previous posts about Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley

Shall We Do It? (Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley)

If you follow me on Twitter, you've likely seen me comment on my Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley playthrough quite a bit over the last couple of weeks.

A lot of those tweets have been pretty negative, and for good reason. This 3DS game--which was made internally at Natsume rather than by the folks at Marvelous Entertainment--does nearly everything it can to break the heart and soul of the person playing it.

First, there's the blink-and-you'll-miss-it passage of time. As in, each in-game day lasts about five minutes in the real world--which may not sound all that bad, but it surely is when you have to try to fit tending to your crops, milking and feeding your cow, chatting with semi-random visitors and many other, similar sorts of tasks into such a severely compressed period of time.

This is what summer looked like in my version of
The Lost Valley--for two whole days.

That's especially true when it comes to the portions of the game that revolve around watering flowers and other plants as well as the Minecraft-y ones that involve re-sculpting the landscape (by digging into the earth or excavating stone) in various ways. Crops are fertilized, watered and harvested one plant at a time, for instance, and digging and excavating stick to a similar formula.

Another way in which The Lost Valley attempts to deter even the most Pollyanna-ish players is tied to all of the annoying "fetch quests" that are forced on those who would like to push along the story that sits at the center of the experience.

Here's a much more typical view of my particular
portion of this 3DS game's world.

And believe me, you'll want to push along the story as quickly as you're able, as doing so allows you to eradicate from the game one of its biggest and most obnoxious issues, which is its seemingly never-ending winter.

For those of you who've yet to read or hear much about The Lost Valley, you may be surprised to learn that it drops you (or, rather, your avatar) into a desolate, snow-covered landscape. Unbelievably, that's about all you'll see for the first 20 hours or so, assuming your playthrough is anything like mine has been so far. That's because, as per the game's story, your main task during your first year in The Lost Valley is to help bring the seasons back to this harsh and deserted environment. Although it's possible you'll be able to do what it takes to see a couple days of spring, summer or fall before they cruelly snap back to winter, the most likely scenario is that your initial 120 days with this title (each season lasts 30 in-game days) will be spent staring at a blanket of white.

Presented without comment.

As I said while recording the latest episode of The Nichiest Podcast Ever, a part of me actually respects and even appreciates that The Lost Valley's developers were so brazen as to plop players into such an uninviting world. Another part, though, absolutely hates them for it, as what seemed like an acceptable-enough situation for my first few hours with the game has since become almost unbearable.

Note I just said "almost" unbearable rather than, say, completely unbearable. That's because despite all of my complaints so far, I've still devoted more than 20 hours to The Lost Valley since I first crammed its cart into my 3DS a couple of weeks ago. Clearly, something keeps drawing me back, even if that "thing" is nothing more than a stubborn desire to prove--to myself, to shidoshi, to designers who surely snickered as they pieced together this masochistic experience--I can make it through the game's abominable opening salvo.

Believe me, I enjoyed summer as much as I could while it lasted.

I'm nearly through my first year in The Lost Valley, by the way, so it's possible the game will take a turn for the better shortly. Being an avowed cynic, I'm not going to place any money on that coming to fruition, but who knows? Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised for once.

Even if I'm not, I'm planning to plow ahead (pun intended), at least for the time being. I won't be shocked if my interest in the game wanes sometime the next week or two, though, as I just can't imagine it's going to change enough once I rid the world of its oppressive frigidity to the bowels of hell--or somewhere similarly suitable--to keep my attention. 

I'll let you know one way or the other in my next "Shall We Do It?" post, of course. In the meantime, have any of you played Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley? If so, what are your thoughts on its particular pros and cons?

What kind of idiot buys a Wii Virtual Console title in 2015? This kind!

Which Virtual Console game did I buy via my too-long-ignored Wii, you ask? The SNES version of Harvest Moon.

I bought it because I've had the Harvest Moon series on the brain ever since I received a copy of The Lost Valley for Christmas. Specifically, I've been thinking about the trio of Harvest Moon titles I've wanted to play for some time now: the aforementioned original, Harvest Moon 64 and Harvest Moon: Magical Melody for GameCube.

I pulled the trigger on this long-running franchise's first game yesterday because, well, it was a lot easier to trade in $8 worth of "Wii Points" and then download the digital version of that title in a matter of seconds than hunt for physical copies of the Nintendo 64 or GameCube sequels on eBay and then wait a week or two for them to arrive on my doorstep.

(That's not to say I haven't also done some of the latter over the last few days, but let's save that discussion for another day.)

Sadly, but hardly shockingly, I've yet to put more than a few minutes into this delightful-looking farming sim. I'm planning to devote an adequate amount of time to it this weekend, though, so look for a few thoughts on it in the "Shall We Do It?" post that'll be published late next week.

In the meantime, do any of you have any experience with the SNES version of Harvest Moon--or Harvest Moon 64 or Magical Melody? If so, I'd love it if you'd share your opinions of them in the comments section below.

Santa Claus brought me a copy of Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley, and I'm going to play it despite shidoshi's warnings against it

I've been curious about Natsume's homegrown take on the ages-old Harvest Moon series since it was announced earlier this year.

There were all sorts of reasons even then to give this recently released 3DS game a pass, with the Nintendo 64-esque visuals and the fact that it was being made internally rather than by series creator Yasuhiro Wada and the folks at Marvelous being the most noteworthy.

Still, I wanted it. So, I included it on my birthday wish list--and then, when I failed to get it for my birthday (I got Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call instead), I moved it over to my Christmas wish list.

Considering it was the only game I named on said list, I really shouldn't have been surprised to find it was among the Christmas gifts my parents sent to me, but I was.

Sadly, but not shockingly, I've yet to even start The Lost Valley. That's mainly because I'm still busying myself with three of the games mentioned in my last post (Fantasy Life, Slime MoriMori Dragon Quest 3 and Woah Dave!), but I'm planning to dial back my playtime with those titles over the next few days so I can find for myself if Natsume's effort is as crappy as everyone--including my podcast mate, shidoshi--says it is, or if it has even a couple of redeemable qualities.

I'll let you know either way in my next installment of "Shall We Do It?" In the meantime, are any of you playing Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley? If so, what do you think about it?

FYI: I'm still pretty darn keen on Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley (3DS)

Actually, I'm now more interested in this upcoming 3DS title than I was previously thanks to the trailer that can be viewed below.

Sure, the game still looks like an old Nintendo 64 or PlayStation game, but that's a big part of its appeal, in my humble opinion.



Also, I just think the Minecraft-esque gameplay that's been crammed into this iteration of the long-running series--which was made by the folks at Natsume rather than by creator Yasuhiro Wada and his crew at Marvelous--looks like a lot of fun.

Are any of you also planning to pick up The Lost Valley after it hits the streets (and eShop) of North America on Nov. 4  or after it finally makes its way to Europe?

And the winner of The Gay Gamer Giveaway™: Osawagase Penguin Boy Edition is ...

... Adam Lee.

Yet again, I offer up the sincerest of condolences to those of you who took the time to share your thoughts on your favorite arcade games but didn't walk away with the free copy of Osawagase Penguin Boy.

The good news is that at least one more Gay Gamer Giveaway™ is being prepped as we speak. Look for information on it to be published here within the next week or so.

In the meantime, congratulations to Adam and thanks again to all of you--not only for participating in these giveaways but for continuing to peruse this blog, too.

See also: all of my 'Year of the GameBoy' posts

The Gay Gamer Giveaway™: Osawagase Penguin Boy (GameBoy) Edition

Are you tired of being given the chance to win free Japanese GameBoy cartridges? I hope not, because I'm offering up another one today.

This Gay Gamer Giveaway™ is for the cart showcased in the photo below, which contains an adorably fun little ditty known in Japan as Osawagase Penguin Boy. (Elsewhere it went by the name Amazing Penguin.)

If you've never played this Natsume-made joint, it basically combines elements of Kickle Cubicle, Pengo and Qix.

Should that mean nothing to you, just know that the mash-up results in an enjoyable time-waster that calls to mind the kind of classic "quarter muncher" gameplay (see: Dig Dug, Donkey Kong, Pac-Man and the like--not that Osawagase Penguin Boy resembles these particular titles in any way) that's rarely revisited these days, even in the retro-tinged releases that still seem to be all the rage.

Anyway, should you want to own a copy of this unique title, share the name of your favorite retro arcade game (there are no wrong responses) in the comments section below between now and the morning of Monday, July 7--which is when I'll randomly point to one of those comments and send the person who published it the rather ragged-looking cart (sorry about that, it came that way) seen above.

See also: previous Gay Gamer Giveaway™ posts

I have a feeling The Lost Valley may be my first Harvest Moon game

This may surprise some of you who haven't heard me talk about it previously (such as on the most recent installment of The Nichiest Podcast Ever), but I've never played a Harvest Moon game--despite the fact that the decades-old series of adorable "life sims" would seem to be right up my alley for all sorts of reasons.

My short explanation for this admittedly embarrassing gaffe is that I ignored the first few titles for reasons I no longer can remember and after that I quickly became overwhelmed by the myriad options (and sequels) the series presented to me.



I'm starting to get the feeling, though, that Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley, the upcoming 3DS iteration that's being made internally by long-time North American publisher Natsume and not series creator Yasuhiro Wada (who helmed the Bokujō Monogatari title that will be released here as Story of Seasons later this year), may be the game that finally introduces me to the Harvest Moon world.

Why? Because I really like this version's low-poly art style--which can be seen throughout The Lost Valley's first trailer, above--for starters. I also like its seemingly Minecraft-inspired elements.

What do all of you think of this divisive 3DS game? Are you interested in it, too, or will you be passing on it--possibly so you can pick up Story of Seasons instead?

(Via tinycartridge.com)

Lucky Monkey? More like lucky me ...

You the saying, "never judge a book by its cover"? Well, in the case of this game, I wish I would've heeded a slight twist on that oft-used cliché ("never judge a game based on random screenshots") long before now.

Oh, well, at least I pulled my head out of my keister eventually, right?

And, really, it's at least somewhat understandable that I would've ignored Natsume's Lucky Monkey--released elsewhere as Spanky's Quest--for a certain period of time, as it's hardly the most attractive (in terms of graphics) GameBoy title out there.

Not helping matters was the fact that Natsume published a second game called Spanky's Quest in the West--this time for the SNES--which long led me to believe the GameBoy iteration was little more than a second-string bastardization of its 16-bit big brother.

So, what prompted me to change my mind about this oddly compelling (in the end) portable title? Unsurprisingly, perhaps, it was the Japanese version's box art:

Actually, its cart-label art is even better:

Lucky Monkey's Arabic-leaning logo (see the first photo, above, for the best view of it) also is pretty cool, if you ask me--as is the curvy, English version of the same logo that's plastered across the side of its box.



Thankfully, this GameBoy game's packaging isn't all that's attractive about it. Its gameplay--which basically involves clearing each stage of fruity (literally) baddies by bouncing bubbles on the titular monkey's head before tossing them at the aforementioned adversaries--is pretty great, too, once you get a hang of it.

Lucky Monkey is a game that can be enjoyed no matter which language(s) you understand, by the way, so feel free to pick up the Japanese version, the North American version (called Spanky's Quest) or any other version of the game you come across in your pursuit of portable, ball-bouncing, fruit-flaying action.

Do you know of any other GameBoy "gems" I should add to my collection? If so, let me know about them in the comments section below.

See also: 'Who you gonna call? HAL Laboratory's Ghostbusters 2 for GameBoy'

Shall We Do It? (A Link Between Worlds, Hometown Story and Puyo Puyo Tetris demo)

Hey, I'm actually publishing another of these "Shall We Do It?" posts. Who would've thunk it, eh? Especially given my propensity to introduce columns with tongue-in-cheek titles that I return to only sporadically.

Well, screw history. For the time being, at least, I'm really enjoying writing these posts. Plus, they're seemingly giving me that extra push that's sometimes needed for me to sit down and actually play the games I buy.

With all of that out of the way, why don't I get to some of my experiences with those aforementioned games?

I may as well begin with the game that captured the bulk of my attention over the last week and a half or so--The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds for the 3DS.

I'm about 15 or so hours into A Link Between Worlds now and, boy, does it have me by the balls. I love nearly every aspect of it--from the crisp controls, to the "it's amazing how pretty they are in motion" graphics, to the triumphant soundtrack, to the satisfyingly unique feature that allows Link to turn into a piece of graffiti so he can scamper along walls and shimmy through cracks.



I even love the title's open-endedness--despite the fact that it's prompted me to turn to GameFAQs more times than I'd like to admit (because I'm completely stumped as to where I should go or what I should do next).

My absolute favorite aspect of this portable adventure so far: traipsing through Hyrule's fabulously malignant flip side, Lorule. It's both beautiful and a bit creepy, plus its denizens really mean business (especially in comparison to most of the pushovers that populate the sunnier side of Link's habitat).

Thankfully, I have a feeling I'll be exploring Lorule (and Hyrule) for a few more hours yet, as I've only completed what I believe to be just over half of the latter area's dungeons.

Anyway, as much as I'm loving A Link Between Worlds, it isn't the only game I'm playing at the moment. One of the others: Hometown Story.

Last time I mentioned this title, made by Harvest Moon's Yasuhiro Wada, I confessed to being a bit torn about it. On the one hand, I rather like how it looks--although some are sure to find it just a bit too twee--and I really like its 1990s-esque soundtrack, but the gameplay ... well, let's just say I'm still on the fence about it (and that I'm currently leaning toward the "it's not quite my bag" side of things).



Although Hometown Story's main gameplay "hook," which revolves around running a shop in a quaint if somewhat creepily empty town, grew on me a bit during the hour and a half I spent with the title over the weekend (I've now played it for just over two hours), it still seems more tedious than fun.

Don't get me wrong, I like that I'll be able to change the decor of my shop over time as well as expand its size, which will allow me to sell an increasingly diverse selection of goods to the town's citizenry, but I really can't see either of those things doing much to enhance the appeal of the title's core gameplay.

In the end, the gist of Hometown Story seems to be: stock shelves, sell items, buy more inventory, stock shelves, sell items, buy more inventory--lather, rinse, repeat. If that sounds fun to you, you may just get a kick out of this Natsume-published release, but I'd be hard pressed to say I'm "enjoying" it at the moment.

Still, I'm not quite ready to give up on it, so expect me to keep plugging away at it for a little while longer--and look for me to give it at least a passing mention in the next one or two "Shall We Do It?" posts, too.

Last, but not least, I downloaded the Puyo Puyo Tetris demo from the Japanese 3DS eShop late last week and gave it a whirl.



I've felt a roller coaster of emotions about this upcoming 3DS release--first feeling excited about the possibility of playing a game that includes two of my favorite puzzlers, Puyo Puyo and Tetris, then feeling disheartened after the first screenshots were released and revealed it would use the same boring art style the series has utilized since 2004's Puyo Puyo Fever.

How do I feel after playing a few rounds of the just-released (in Japan, sorry) demo? Somewhere in the middle of the two above-mentioned extremes, I guess. On the positive side, Puyo Puyo Tetris feels really good. Also, I found it surprisingly fun to be able to choose to play either Puyo Puyo or Tetris against my AI-controlled opponent (who also could choose either Puyo Puyo or Tetris). Finally, I have to admit that, in action, this title's art style is more appealing than I originally considered it to be, although I still vastly prefer the old Puyo Puyo style to it.

As for the demo's negative attributes: actually, I don't have any to share, other than all of the positives mentioned above failed to sway me to purchase the retail release that'll hit store shelves in Japan in early February.

That said, I think it's possible I'll break down and buy it at some point in the future--although not until I've gotten my money's worth out of a few other 3DS puzzlers I've picked up (or pre-ordered) in recent months, including Kumamon ★ Bomber Puzzle de Kumamon Taisou and Touch Detective: Funghi's Big Breed.

See also: 'Shall We Do It? (Attack of the Friday Monsters, Bravely Default demo, Hometown Story and more)'

You really need to try these three GameBoy titles, if you haven't already

Warning: despite the fact that I'm enjoying the hell out of my 3DSes right now--thanks in part to games like Pokemon X, Sayonara Umihara Kawase, Touch Detective: Funghi's Big Breed and, yes, Animal Crossing: New Leaf--that system actually pales in comparison to the original GameBoy and its catalog when it comes to taking up space in my brain at the moment.

Yes, I'm currently a bit obsessed Nintendo's first handheld. Actually, I've been obsessed with it for a few months now--ever since I became aware of and wrote about import-only curiosities like Noobow and Peetan.



Reading about and eventually playing those titles prompted me to do some digging to find a few similarly overlooked (by myself, if not by others) "gems," three of which can be seen in the photo above.

Although the GameBoy port of Snow Bros. Jr. (above, upper left) is well worth checking out, especially if you're into single screen platformers like Bubble Bobble, the games I want to focus on in this particular post are Painter Momopie (upper right), Penguin Land (lower right) and Osawagase! Penguin Boy (lower left).



Painter Momopie's probably my favorite of the bunch right now. Why? Because it stars an adorable little witch, for starters. Also, it's a surprisingly appealing Pac-Man clone--which tasks the aforementioned witch with racing through a home (hers? I'm not sure...) and painting (I think) its floors while avoiding various baddies. Sure, it gets a little repetitive after a while, but the same can be said for the iconic Pac-Man, so I'm not going to be too harsh on that aspect of it. My only real qualm: that its developers never released an updated version for the GameBoy Color.



As for Penguin Land: well, it's actually a port of Sega's Doki Doki Penguin Land, an odd little game that brings together the platformer and puzzler genres in a really unique (and fun) way. (Play revolves around guiding an egg to the bottom of each level by moving or destroying blocks that are in the way.) The Master System and Mega Drive versions of this title look better than this Pony Canyon-made one, of course, but I still wouldn't say the latter is at all unattractive. Plus, as is often the case with old games like this, there's far more to Penguin Land than its outward appearance.



Finally, there's Osawagase! Penguin Boy, released in North America as Amazing Penguin. I'm not exactly sure how this one escaped my attention for so long, although I think its rather terrible box art may have played a role. Thankfully, I first discovered Penguin Boy via a review of its gameplay, so the crappy cover didn't keep me from giving it a try once I became aware of it (the game, not the cover art). As for its gameplay: it's basically a mash-up of Pac-Man, Pengo and Qix, if that makes any sense. If not ... uh, watch the video above, which explains things pretty well.

See also: 'From the back of my boyhood closet, part seven'

The question is: will I enjoy Hometown Story more than shidoshi has so far?

Full disclosure: I only bought Hometown Story now--as opposed to waiting and asking for it as a birthday or Christmas gift--because I wanted the "Red Ember" plushie seen in the photo below that was given to everyone who pre-ordered the game from Amazon.

Because as anyone who has visited this blog in recent months likely is well aware, the last thing I need at the moment is to add more games to my 3DS backlog. (My as-yet-unused copies of Etrian Odyssey IV, Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask and Shin Megami Tensei IV are glaring at me right now, as are my underplayed copies of Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon and Paper Mario: Sticker Star.)

Still, I bought it. And now that it's in my hands, I can't say I regret that decision one bit. I mean, just look at the adorableness below:

Of course I've yet to actually pop the Hometown Story cart into my 3DS. There's a reason for that, though: rather than play it this past weekend, I put a good amount of time into Pokemon X, Sayonara Umihara Kawase and Touch Detective: Funghi's Big Breed (an import puzzler I've been meaning to try for ages) instead.

This coming weekend (if not earlier), though, I promise to put Hometown Story through its paces--or at least devote an hour or two to it.

By the way, do you think this game's cover has enough logos and other text on it? First, there's the "Family of Harvest Moon" logo in the upper-left corner, followed by the Hometown Story one to its right. Then you have the ESRB rating in the lower-left corner, Natsume's logo opposite and ... the gigantic blob of text you see above.

Although I applaud Natsume's design folks for their nod to French and Spanish gamers, I'm not sure we really needed the "Playable in 2D and 3D" blurb repeated three times.

Anyway, I don't suppose any of you also picked up a copy of this "Family of Harvest Moon" title--or plan to do so soon?

A few quick-and-dirty impressions of Sayonara Umihara Kawase

Those of you who read this post the other day probably noticed the bit at the end about how I've already put some time into both Pokémon X and Sayonara Umihara Kawase since my Pokémon Center 3DS LL arrived on my doorstep.

Would you believe I've played more of Sayonara Umihara Kawase than I have Pokémon X? Well, even if you don't believe it, it's the truth.

Now, I haven't experienced so much of the third entry in the vaunted Umihara Kawase series--which, as you've hopefully heard by now, will hit the North American 3DS eShop in early 2014 as Yumi's Odd Odyssey--that I'm ready to fully review it, but I've experienced enough of it (a couple of hours, I would say) that I'm more than ready to share a few early impressions of it. So, here they are:



* If you're looking for a "looker," you'd better look somewhere else--That's a long (and rather stupid, I have to admit) way of warning folks that this game is pretty darn ugly. And this is coming from a guy who generally doesn't care how attractive or unattractive a game is. I think my negativity in this case stems from the fact that I like the visuals of this game's two predecessors. The good news here is that if you're anything like me, your hatred of Sayonara's graphics will soften fairly quickly (due to your enjoyment of the rest of the game, of course).



* I'm not so keen on being forced to use the 3DS' d-pad to control ol' Yumi--I understand that the d-pad's probably more accurate than the circle pad when it comes to controlling this 3DS title's oddly busty protagonist, but would it have killed the developers to allow us to come to that conclusion on our own? As it stands, I often feel like I'm fighting the controls (those set to the uncomfortably located d-pad, specifically) as well as each level's slippery platforms and enemies--something I never (or rarely) felt while playing the first two Umihara Kawase games on the Super Famicom and PlayStation, respectively. (UPDATE:  I just discovered that you can enable use of the 3DS' circle pad within the game's settings menu. And guess what? I much prefer using it to the system's d-pad--while playing Sayonara, at least.)



* It may look all cute and cuddly (if also kind of ugly), but this game will kick the crap out of you--Granted, that should come as little surprise to anyone who's played, or even heard of, the previous entries in this strangely titled series. If you're an Umihara Kawase virgin, though, you may be shocked to discover just how difficult this version can be. My suggestion: just go with it. Embrace the fact that dying in this game is like gaining "1-ups" in a New Super Mario Bros. title and you'll enjoy it a whole lot more, I say.



* Despite all of the above, I'm still having a blast with Sayonara--While playing this game's fifth stage the other day, I must have died about 15 times (if not 20). Sometimes I died after nearly making it to the stage's exit, sometimes I died just a few steps from its start point. After each and every death, I let out a surprisingly hearty guffaw given the situation at hand.

To me, that last bit is all you really need to know about Sayonara Umihara Kawase. Yes, it makes some of Ubisoft's shovelware look like masterpieces in the graphics department (OK, so that's probably going too far), it can be awkward to control and it's often tougher than a two-dollar steak, but it's also totally unique and an awful lot of fun.

As such, at the moment I'd highly recommend it to 3DS owners who yearn for something new and different and who aren't afraid of a stiff challenge--especially should it arrive on the eShop carrying a $20 price tag, as has been rumored.

See also: 'Guess what the mailman just delivered? (Hint: it's a Japanese 3DS game and its title begins with Sayonara and ends with Kawase)'