Manual Stimulation: Nazo Puyo: Aruru no Roux (Game Gear)

Let's be honest here: Aruru no Roux's instruction manual would be worth checking out even if it consisted of nothing more than a single slip of paper bearing the yellow-tinged concoction seen below.



Thankfully, though, there's more to this manual than its striking cover imagery. Much more. Case in point: the following illustration of the titular Aruru (aka Arle).



That's far from the last of this manual's fabulous illustrations. In fact, here are four more:

Should you want to take a closer look at any of this post's many scans, by the way, just click on them.



Anyway, although the next few pages of Nazo Puyo: Aruru no Roux's manual are a bit less awe-inspiriring than the ones seen above, they're still pretty awesome. I mean, how can you not love an illustration that shows the Puyo Puyo series' Carbunkle character cooking Nasu Grave (aka Eggplant Grave)?

Five more favorites: Japanese Game Gear box art

Last week around this time, I published a post devoted to five of my favorite pieces of Japanese Game Gear box art. Today, I'm publishing another.

Don't worry, this one features absolutely no purple-tinged cover illustrations--although it does feature a few pink ones.

Nazo Puyo: Aruru no Roux--There's a whole lot to like about this piece of box art, in my estimation. First, there's the giant photo of a plateful of curry. Then, there are the illustrations that depict the titular Arle (Aruru) and her pal Carbuncle as chef and, uh, a curry-loving flying-carpet rider. Finally, there's the flashy and fun logo.

Pengo--OK, so the bird in the cover illustration above looks more like a duck than a penguin (and I'm pretty sure the protagonist of this classic game is supposed to be the latter), but the rest of it is so cool that I'm giving it a pass.

Phantasy Star Adventure--This game's box art can't hold a candle to that of its counterpart, Phantasy Star Gaiden, but I think it still deserves a spot in this post. If only the main illustration took up the entire cover...

Psychic World--I've never much cared for this title's gameplay (or graphics, to be completely honest), but I very much care for its cover imagery. That its border is a pleasant shade of pink just adds to its allure in my mind.

Putt & Putter--I know what some of you are thinking in regard to this selection: "It looks like one of those nasty posters that appear in movies from the 1980s!" I can't disagree with that assessment. Still, it appeals to me. I'm guessing it's because of that retro-tastic logo.

See also: five favorite pieces of Japanese Game Gear box art

Say hello to my copy of Nazo Puyo: Arle no Roux (aka a Japanese Game Gear puzzler I won't be playing anytime soon)

For once, I'm not saying that I won't be playing (insert name of random Japanese game here) anytime soon because I don't yet own the system needed to play it. That's because I recently bought a used--"thoroughly used" may be a better way to describe it, sadly--Game Gear from a local shop for just 30 big ones.

So what's keeping me from popping the Nazo Puyo: Arle no Roux cartridge seen in one of the photos below into my newly acquired Game Gear and taking it for a spin?

Animal Crossing: New Leaf, of course. Seriously, the latest iteration of Nintendo's world-conquering "community simulation" has taken over my gaming life--actually, it could be argued that it's taken over my non-gaming life, too--to the extent that the only other title I'm considering playing at the moment is THE "DENPA" MEN 2, and even that's only getting a passing glance from me at the moment.

At some point, though, this whole Animal Crossing: New Leaf front that's clouding up my gaming skies will pass, and when it does Nazo Puyo: Arle no Roux will be there waiting to be enjoyed.

In the meantime, I thought I'd share a few photos of this weird little Puyo Puyo spin-off, which is based on the "puzzle" modes that were included in some of the series' earlier installations.

An interesting note about this particular Nazo Puyo title (two others were released for the Game Gear prior to this one): it includes an RPG-ish mode that's akin to the ones found in Arle no Roux's Super Famicom-based counterparts.



Also worth mentioning: Arle no Roux has a short, but sweet, instruction manual that features a number of completely adorable illustrations (such as the one in the photo above).

Don't worry, I plan on devoting a "Manual Stimulation" post to this sucker soon. Until then, though, you'll just have to imagine how cute Arle and her puzzle-loving compadres look while inhaling copious amounts of curry.