#ADecadeofDS: Penguin no Mondai Saikyou Penguin Densetsu!

Amount of time devoted to this game since I started playing it just over a month ago--Two hours and 56 minutes.

Most recent boss toppled, location reached or milestone achieved--Sadly, I was basically barreling through this comical and colorful Metroidvania until I came across what I believe to be its second major boss encounter. After trying my darndest to beat that Dragon Quest golem lookalike (I took him on a handful of times), I gave up--and haven't returned to the game since.

Overall comments on the experience so far--Given what I just said about this pint-sized platformer, I'm sure you can guess that I have somewhat mixed feelings about it.

On the one hand, I love its overt quirkiness, which brings to mind one of my favorite PC Engine platformers, Obocchama-kun. Like that game, Saikyou Penguin Densetsu! is unabashedly wacky--a fact that's especially noticeable when you consider its colorful (which is putting it mildly) cast of characters, the highlight of which is what appears to be a penguin-faced pile of poo. Saikyou Penguin Densetsu! recalls the aforementioned Pack-in-Video-developed HuCard in another way, too, with that being its oddly appealing shabbiness. (Some of its graphics are admirably well drawn, while others are the definition of sloppy.)

On the other hand, like many Metroidvanias (I guess--I honestly haven't played a ton of them so far), this one can be annoyingly convoluted at times. Admittedly, it may seem less so to folks who can understand all of the text it throws at players, but I obviously can't comment on how true or false that assumption may be.

Still, despite the fact that I was embarrassingly tripped up just as I was about to start my fourth hour of this penguin-centric adventure, I enjoyed the seconds and minutes I put into it before that ill-timed fumble. That's because this Penguin no Mondai title (which is one of three that were released for the DS in Japan) has a lot going for it--and that includes components that are completely separate from the positives I pointed out a couple of paragraphs ago.

A few noteworthy cases in point: the deeper-than-they-initially-appear battle controls, the more-fabulous-than-they-have-any-right-to-be mini-bosses (all of which are penguins, too) and the guffaw-worthy gear the just-mentioned baddies give up after they've been defeated.

Will I continue to play this game in the coming days, weeks and maybe even months?--I think so. I'd be a lot more confident of that if an English walkthrough of this game could be found somewhere on the Interwebs, but unfortunately that doesn't seem to be the case.

Do I recommend it to others?--If you're an adventurous sort, yes. Even complete-in-box copies can be obtained for about $10 via eBay these days, so even if you wind up getting stuck like I have, you shouldn't feel as though you foolishly wasted your money on it.

Next up--Hotel Dusk

See also: previous #ADecadeofDS posts

Shall We Do It? (Contact, The Legend of Kusakari, Penguin no Mondai: Saikyou Penguin Densetsu! and Rhythm Tengoku: The Best Plus)

I've played a lot of games since I last published one of these "Shall We Do It?" posts (which happened all the way back on June 22, incidentally enough), so I figured now would be as good a time as any to get off my lazy butt and work up another.

As for which games I've played in the last month-plus and what I think about those experiences, here are all of (or at least most of) the relevant details:

Contact (DS)--Yes, I'm still plugging away at this always intriguing and sometimes infuriating adventure. Or at least I was plugging away at it until about a week ago. That's when I reached what I believe is the game's final location, and after spending a few hours grinding (the enemies in this level are quite a bit tougher than the ones I had to deal with previously), I basically chickened out on taking on the last boss.

The plan at the moment is to take care of him (or her, or whatever it may be) in the next few weeks, after I wrap up my playthrough of Penguin no Mondai: Saikyou Penguin Densetsu! (see below for more on that title), but who knows if I'll actually follow through with that.

I don't suppose any of you can provide me with any motivation here? I mean, will Contact's ending make my gargantuan effort thus far worthwhile, or will it make me wish I'd never shoved its cartridge into my trusty 3DS?

The Legend of Kusakari (3DS)--If you've never heard of this one, it's a 3DS eShop that's only seen the light of day in Japan so far. I picked up last week because it was cheap (just 300 yen, which is about $2.50) and because Brian, the proprietor of the Japanese 3DS tumblog, has said interesting things about it since it was released a couple of months ago.

Speaking of which, Brian recently described The Legend of Kusakari as being a "fun cross between the 80s ZX Spectrum lawnmower simulators and A Link to the Past," and even though I've sadly never played any ZX Spectrum lawnmower simulators, I definitely can see where he's coming from with this association.



After all, The Legend of Kusakari basically involves whacking away at clumps of grass, à la A Link to the Past, while bystanders and baddies block your path (both of them can cause you harm) and a timer ticks away.

No one is going to accuse this digital title of being an overly deep experience, but it's fun and cute and has a wonderfully weird soundtrack, so for me it's more than worth its bargain-basement price tag.

Penguin no Mondai: Saikyou Penguin Densetsu! (DS)--It's funny that I mentioned the Japanese 3DS tumbler's Brian in the segment above, as he's responsible for me playing this game, too. (Here's some more information on why that is, if you're at all curious.)

Although he deserves a hearty pat on the back for both introductions, that's especially true when it comes to Penguin no Mondai, which is a surprisingly enjoyable--and adorable--Metroidvania that was developed (I believe) and published by Konami.

In fact, my only complaint about this action-heavy DS release is that its protagonist--a roly-poly penguin--is made of polygons rather than sprites, which is what was used to construct pretty much every other component of Saikyou Penguin Densetsu!

Other than that little niggle, though, I've really gotten a kick out of the handful of hours I've put into this game in the last few weeks. I especially like how you regularly encounter various minibosses--which also are penguins, by the way--that offer up their outfits and weapons upon being defeated. From then on, you can mix and match their swag to alter your move set, health, power, defense and more.

Anyway, I've had such a blast with it that I'm planning to pick up the other Penguin no Mondai games Konami made for the DS as soon as is possible.

Rhythm Tengoku: The Best Plus (3DS)--Sure, I've put a lot of time into all of the previously mentioned games in the past month or so, but this is the one that's taken up the lion's share of my attention during that span. Specifically, I've plopped over 13 hours into my copy of The Best Plus since it arrived on our doorstep at the end of June.



As you may have heard, this iteration of Rhythm Heaven features a story (which a lot of long-time fans seem to hate), 70 "old" mini-games and about 30 new ones. I've now experienced--and "beaten"--all of them, along with their corresponding remixes. In fact, I gleefully encountered its ending credit roll this time last weekend.

So, what do I think of this iteration of Nintendo's fabulous series of music-focused games? I think it more than holds its own with its predecessors, for starters. Admittedly, the story does slow things down at first, and it takes far too long to get to this version's remixes (as well as a number of its new mini-games, a couple of which are as good as any that have appeared in past Rhythm Tengoku titles), but even then it's a joy to behold.

I'll say more in the "Great Gaymathon" review of The Best Plus that should be published late this week or early next, but in the meantime, just know that I highly recommend buying this game if you have a 3DS that's capable of playing Japanese carts. And if you don't, well, here's hoping the powers that be at Nintendo do the right thing and bring it to other regions sooner rather than later.

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

FYI: two awesome Internet pals recently sent me free copies of three Japanese DS games

Especially astute folks who read the entirety of my most recent #ADecadeofDS write-up likely noticed that in the "next up" portion of it I revealed that I'd play two (rather than just one) games before I publish the series' next entry.

The reason for that change in routine: as mentioned in this post's headline, two rather awesome people (who I've gotten to know via Twitter and elsewhere) recently sent me a trio of Japanese DS games that I'd previously never experienced.

One of those awesome folks (the lovely MintyPocky), sent me a complete-in-box copy of Bokujou Monogatari: Youkoso! Kaze no Bazaar e, which most people in the Western world know as Harvest Moon DS: Grand Bazaar. Here is the Japanese version's vibrant box art:

Meanwhile, another person entirely--Brian, proprietor of the Japanese 3DS tumblog--sent me cartridges for two Japan-only DS games, one of which is Konami's Shounen Sunday x Shounen Magazine: Nettou! Dream Nine.

To be completely honest, I initially turned up my nose at this offering, as I assumed it was "just another boring baseball game." A quick Google search of its title, though, has me believing Nettou! Dream Nine's actually some sort of interactive comic, which sounds far more appealing (if possibly less accessible).

The other "loose" DS cart that was sent my way is Penguin no Mondai: Saikyou Penguin Densetsu! (The first part of the title apparently translates to A Penguin's Troubles.)

Apparently it's based on a rather famous Japanese manga series about a penguin named Beckham Kinoshita, who attends Kirikabu Elementary School and likes to eat hamburgers and "hot chips."

You may be wondering why I'm sharing pieces of cover art that were grabbed from GameFAQs rather than photos of the cases and carts in question. That would be because Blogger is being a dick (yes, that's the technical term) and screwing them up whenever I attempt to upload them.

So, I decided to cut my losses and use the images seen above instead. If you'd like to see the few snapshots I've collected of Bokujou Monogatari's case and manual, as well as Penguin no Mondai's and Nettou! Dream Nine's cartridges, check out my Flickr photostream.

As for what I think of the actual content of this these Japanese DS games, well, I've only played two of them so far--with the pair in question being Bokujou Monogatari and Penguin no Mondai--and even then I've only spent about an hour with the latter and a half-hour with the former.

Still, that's been enough for me to think I'll like both of them in the end--although I've got to admit that attempting to work your way through a Bokujou Monogatari title with only a minimal understanding of the Japanese language is a bit ... trying. It could do wonders for my vocabulary, though, so I'll stick with it for a while for that reason alone.

Penguin no Mondai also features a bunch of mostly unintelligible text to wade through, too, but that's far less of an issue for me because, at its heart, this game is a pretty basic--but still fun--platform. (The aforementioned text tends to be limited to between-stage cutscenes.)

I'll share more impressions about both of these games in my next "Shall We Do It?" post, which will be published shortly. In the meantime, if any of you have played one or more of the games mentioned here, let me know what you think of them in the comments section below.